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4 5 6

SPORT AND ADVENTURES

AMONG THK

NORTH-AMERICAN INDIANS.

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M'OUT AND ADVIINTUIIKS

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NOUTI[-AxMi:i{ICAN INDIANS.

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BY

CllAKLKS ALSTON MlvSSlTKU, I'.U.Ci.S.

5»

d

WITH ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHARLES WHYMPER.

LONDON :

K. H. PORTER, 18 TRTNCES STRKI<7r, ('AVENDTSTT SQUARE.

18!»0.

PIlINTi;r) MY TAYI.Ult A N I» I' KAN CIS,
lli;l> I.IHN ( oiitT, I'l.KIT nTUKKT.

I

i

ri!i;i'A(;i;.

1 FKKL that Nome excuse is iiece»sary for publishing tlic; lollow-
in;,' rrmiiiiscoiiceM of uiy life in tlio "Fur West," llie state of
tliiii;;s herein (k'scrihcd haviiij^ almost i-iitircly piissed uwiiy
with the hnlVah) ; hut it scenis to nu; that now, when so
many ol" my countrynu'n and countrywomen j;o W(!st every
yeareitlier for ph;usure or i)r()rit, it nuiy interest them ami their
fricmls to know what lift; there once was, ami it will not he
so hard for even those who stay at home to realize it now that
" HuHalo Hill" has made so many familiar with the noble red-
man and tlic bullalo ; and tliose who {^o to Western America
can still sec plenty ot Imlians, very little improved in appear-
ance from those with whom 1 came in contact. It may be
said that the incidents wliich I have related are sonunvhat
tlirillinfi; but anyone at all conversant with Western life aa it
was will know that many adventures even nu)re excitiu}^ were
continiudly liap})eniii^' in those days ; and I can only say tluit 1

yir

VI

niKKAiK,

liii\r ictalrti tliiiii I'Miiil) an Ihcy orciiriril, rxii^^rriitiiiK
lii>tliiiiK, uimI liikiii^ tlicitt Iniiit in\ jniirriiilH uhlU-ii on llto

l»|N)t.

I iiiii>t ttftk lor hoiiir iiidiilj^'ciin* mm n-^iiinlM my want of
literal) hkillj un I uiii not iim<1 to writing, tiiul it wuh only ui
tlu* iii'p;(*iit rci|iu'Ht of Noiiir IViciiilH tliiit, iil'tcr ho iimiiy y(*urN, I
tit l('ii;;t)i KiiiNciitdl to write hoiiie of my tidventiireM, ami I
liiiil il tlillieiilt tu c()iii))i'et«N the euntH uf tliirteeii ycaiH into
HO Hinnll II eom|iiiMM. I Iiav(> left out miiiiy iiicideiitM and
e^llel•ieuce^*, no as to a\oi<l weaiyiii;; the reader, and I havo
etidea\(itired to \lr|ii('t the lile of a ^|)or't^matl and traxller an
it >vaM duriiiK tlu* period eomjiriNed in the narrative.

I

4

-^^^^^e^OO^-s---

^^rlttlll^

on llir

Uillll of

only ut
yrui'M, I

•H, and I

i>urH iiitu
■iitH and
I I iiuvu
ivcllcr as

(JONTKNTS.

('II M'Tii; t.

I'
l.ftiV)' Mn^lntid. — \'ttyii>ft' iiml iini\iil iil (/ihIh'c. — IVm i| to 'rmniilo

mill llnti III S|. I'liiil'i*.- 'riiii'uli'iinl ri-iiij^iil' (In- Siiiiix. ItMcuiiKi'M,

'i'lii' Ntni'iii liin>tx. -- \Vr "<fiii( I'nr I'lirl ('hHIhii. — l>t'Kcri|itiiiii uf

jtitinii'V. A II i\ III lit Fuit AlHTt'iiiiiiliit'.- Il>i,-tilf liiiliiiii".-- IJiucli

(ii'itry'i'tiiwn. Attack on Tort AlK'irrunihii'. ■ llinluiiity of tint

initiiiiis. Krti'i'iil in nitintw. — Awfill Htunn,— Aniviil at I'otnliiiiii.
— Aii'i\ul lit l-'iirt (lurry. — Our (iiiiili' nml |iif|iaiiitii»iiM to Mtiirt. —
" 'I'Ih' I'lirly liii'tl ciitcliiM tlit> wnnii," A Wi'd-liiviT j'lirl. Li'iim-

I 'ml (liiiiy. — ( 'roMi-iiii.' tin- Sii-.Kiilrliii\viiii. Aniviil ut Fint ( 'ml tun.
I Vlit lii'twi'i'M liliMiilliiiiiiiil mill Willi'. I iistiiiii-li tlii> liiiliiiiH.

A liii\iti;r-iiiiitcli. lt!<ii»ii><L'(jii«'iiL't'M. — MiiuliT at niunril nt llRliall^'.

IIH M'Sailrt •• •• at •• •• •• tl ••

^•\u^

('iiAn'!:i{ II.

1,1'iivi' I-'ort rarhon. — Swimniinj,' Ihumi's. Our lir>l IiiiHIiId. -
l.iii'iiiiili''.N iiiftlinil (if liilliti^'' liiilliilii. Ihir lii'.st iiii'i'tiii;: willi wiltl
Iiuliiiiis, .\tti'iii|)t t(i Mtalk niitrlii|if. 'iiiiih'Iim- Ik T'Is hI' biiHiiln.
- .\ rim with Imiraliuw. — I riiiidi)Wii a \Nnlt'. Suililrii iiiipi'iinirici'
of tliiii' liulians. — An unplfiisaiit lulviii.iin'.- A night in an
Italian hidgi'. - Rejoin my C(lInl)llniun^'.- Tho iid\aiilaj.'i's ul' ntfid
liohbU'«. — Studying a hiitTaio at cliw qinirlfrH.- -IVairit'-dogM.--
Hi'tnrn tn l-'urt Cmlton. — Our I'arty IroaKs up.— I h'avc Inr
Thirkwoi'd llill.<. — Sk'igii-dogs

lis

VII?

CONTKNTS.

ril,\i''ii;i; iir.

Scarry ill ill.! 'riiif;l(\v..o(l Hill.. |{uil.liti;.rlnilH. -Turn l!.,r,|. ||

l-Adi;

IM .s|/l!

iiiKlMlmii^'-lli. Oiiriiciir.-.| ii..iM-|,|„,||,.. Vi^it tlicSnnlli Sii-|<iif,cl

III-

wiin.

l-iiiyi! ('luri)) of (y'n'n.-i. A Sioux I ml

mil jin.-onfir.

11

IS

friul and faff. AttempfH fo hhvh liiiii. W.i l.iivn tlio Ciiiiip.
Kctiirii ji.iiriicy, DivimII'iiI Hjir^cluclr-. Srltjn^r i„ ,,f winter.
Seven, ccM. D.jscriptiuii ..I" t.rH|i|iint,' in winter. (IniileiiHunt
iiilveiitiire witli IndiiiiiM. 'I'dmi j'.Mdt, to t.l

le rcMCiie

pi

IM DIOWr.'MM.

— A-tii-liii-liMiip initlfeM f'riend.H. Sin.w-Hlioe tnivolliiijr. A viMit
I'loiii Driver

ii!»

('MAI'TKI;, FV.

A inixHe.Jinnt.— I»e,^friptiori nf my tent. - ,\-t(i-|{u-koiip in ninip. -
(innliiit.'' nifnme (in Hnow-HJiocH. !)e(it,lis nC ii ))iil! ii,nd a cow.

i-yiix-lniiitiiit.'-. — ''"'•' ''""''■ 'I nniHiinee.— !'' 'h liiMlory. His

irii.MeratiJe (condition. I tiike liini willi me. IJeantiCyinj,' the

liiil.- I'' and I visit, my Idle conipiinioin. Our journey. — 'l'ln>

Wolverine.— fiettin;,' I'' liome. i'md^'er ne^'lect.s tiif; trapH. —

Narrow encape of lieiiij,'' iniirden^d. My prefiinfioiiH for the
rutiire. — A/1 invitafion to a Mtealing-party . .

\r,

i (I

('IIAI'TKI.' V.

Flow to make ii. ]iliim-pn<ldiiij(. Our (IlnistiniiH party. - -Nocturnal

vi.sifH of I'" und myrtelf to tlie plnni-piiddin/.' Our daily

ntiitirie. !'' dix-.s not onjoy wintt^r. F am Hiimiiioned to a

( 're<j council. A ni^dit apparition. Tlii! Cree camp, Accii.siitioii.i
••l/aiiiHt inc. J'lnmity of Homr! of thr; IndiaiiH. — JteHCMKid from a
dani'croUH position hy "White Hawk." — A new relifrion, —
frnpiinity of lunatic.M. Fifsave, (!ree cani|). .MiH-ta-wa-Hi.s corrects
his wife with an ax(!. Attempt to miirry ine.— A-tn-ka-Jioiip
pnipitiates tlm hunliiiK frod. (,'ampin^' in the hiiow. - A doi(-
nleiirh described. - JJehavioiir of (oi's

r,7

CONTKNTS.

IX

VAlll.

CIIAITKI.' VI.

hi'iir-liiint. (/'iirioiH Htury "f n hi-nr. A wiir-lmiil,.-- IimIuim
(|fi(^-<. \"\h\\, l''(ir( Ciirltoti. Ificipii for l.'iililiili'xi.— A Imll at,
I''iirf. (Iiirltiiii, I'oniiiH wiriti'Hnf.' in tlif hiiow. fiitclli^fcuci!
of Hl«)i^'li-(|f)>;H. Iiii^'riilitiKJc oC Ki-clii-rii<>-l(()-iiiiui. Tmn Mnof,
It lliii'f. Di-tiTiiiiii'! in ])\iu'\^\i liiiii. A-tii-l(ii-l('iii|i jiiiiiH inn
in 111'' ••iitorpri.si!. SiiqiriHif 'rmii Mnot. 'rrmm^nfioiiM i<\ri\'/<^'\i\
'{'0111 r.o'if. r<!(;i'ivi!.M a tlirii.sliiiif/. Lcavf^ our liiit, fur l''f,rl, ( 'arlloii.
Sf-rimiM (lilliciilty at tliu r'lwr. Ni'iuly Mturvfd. ki'.Hcuod
hy lioat. My ftxit fro/fsn. — 'I'Iks inaMufiiotiin! of |)<wnini(;ari. —

I'lM/cii fi.Hli.— /\ prof<!H.Hionftl hoar-hnnffir. — I'' mkI I part. —

MlToctof filoqiJiinoi! riii [niJiansi

i'\(k\:

■ir,

cnAi'Ti;!;, vii.

Am Indiiiii Hwinn tli<! SiiHlditciiawan. — Start i'viwii P'ort, ('iirltidi. —
I'miri"'. Iir<'. mul narrow oHcapi!. — (InploaHnnt Hnrpri.H'!. — A Sioux
ciiiiip. liitrivii'W witli till! cliicf. SiiHpicioMH cirr.urnHtancuH.
A parl'iy witli tlm cliiof. — A li^rht and rac»! ffir lift;. -Our niodo
of travfllin^'. Arrival at Fortdarry. Our inisi'ralilo ii|>p(;arii,Ti(;(j.
- 'i'lir; compoHitioii of ;.'al(!ltr!. -'I In; Sioux oiitbri:al< and caus';. —
Threat lo Hack I'ort Oarry, - l-wiinity lictwocn l']ni,'liHli and I'Vcncli
lialf-lirc'd-t. .My t\i:\v t-'uid';, and lii.s cliaractur. - KindncHH of tljf,
citi/rriH. -Start for fort Oarry and mode of travidlin;/. l)<'Hola-
tioii of tin; coiuitry.-My lir.st ni^'litin a IkkI, and ooriHcqunncuH. —
'i'akfii for a lialf-hniisd Hcoiit. Ivxpcdition af,'aiiHt tlio Indians.
Its utt<T failuH'. - I).;!itli of "Jiittlo (Jrow ". - Mxijcution of
IndiaiiM.- Start for J'lnfrland . .

CIIAITKI.' Vlli.

arniii^r iiiriiiiist olili^'in^r

Jtcturn to AiiKirica. Start for KanHiiH. W^

Htran;.f<UN. 'I'Iim town of Troy. llol•H()-ra(•.iM^^ A Hoft tliin^f. -
A breakdown. — A wrostlinfr-inatcli. — My now man Fox. 1 1 1.4

,»

.it

CONTKNTS.

I'A<(i;

ohjt'ction to sheriffs. — The Hi'ttleiiii'iitor Wliitt- h'ock. Its history,
— A liiiit]>y liiiiitiiij,'-^:rouiul. -A 'rfn(lnro((t'.s first run with hiilliilo.
He pri'liMs wulliiiijf. A woiKlcrl'iil uuuv. I hiiv her. Tvy'unt
Ih'own'fs coiira^t;.-'Ap|H'iiriiiiCL' ol' Imliaiijj iR'ur fiiinp .. .. 105

f.

;♦. !

it.i

(^IIAlTKIl 1\.

Fiiul a Sioux cuinp-<rrouiid. —The onuiivoroiis liorsi'. —A UocUy-Moun-
tiiiii monso.— A hir;it! tiu'kcy-roost. — A dosfrtt'd suttU'Uit'iit. — Vox.
tliiiiks lit! is },'oin<j; to die. —Crossing tho river under dillicultii's. —
A fast bulliild-cnlf. — Advonturo with u bulTaht. — (Jauip doserttid.
Another made, liow with tho i.-oii. Ihown discharged. Ke-
niove to old camp. — Morebiiffalo-liunting. — Surprised by Indians.
Cut off from camp. I'hm of getting tlirougli. Its success and
safely.— Neighbourhood getting too warm. — Fox declines going
near a sheritl. — Ueturu eastwards . .

CIIAPTEK X.

Another expedition to White Rock. — A lighting butcher. — The f/ite
of Fox. — Excitement about Indians. — Advised to turn back. —
Settlement No. 10 at White Kock. — Bold settlers. — FiXamine
bufl'aloes at close quarters. — The bold settlers demoralized. — A
large herd of elk. — Desperate struggle with a horse. Laid up
from a kick.— The fate of our bullalo-tongues.— Settlers about
to avenge themselves. Their indillerent armament. A serious
consultation. The expedition ^iven up. — I intend going alone to
Fort Kearney . .

CHAPTER XI.

Start on my journey. — Miserable weather. — Appearance of three
Indians. I compel them to breakfast with me. An uncomfort-
able breakfast-party. I bid them adieu. — Reach the ranche.—

ll.-i

I2<i

I

..s

( ONTKMS.

\l

I'A(»K

105

Ui'p(i»-i of our linviny bft-ii iminliTfil.— Mr. Miirliii. Ili> history.
— NisiL to Fort Koimicy.— Iiil<'rvit;\v willi .Mnjur .Nortli. His
rtM-fiit. (ij,'lit with Si(»ii.\. — Start on my ret in ii journey. — Undinny
>inlit. — Ih'nso fog. — Canii> on Lilllf lijiu) IJivcr.- Ilorse niifying.
Vain I'lTorts to track him.- -Woury jonrnt'y buck to ranchi-.
Quite doiK! lip. Kindness of liif Martins.- Hdiini jounify t<i
canii). — A jilciwant surprist'. — Narrow o«ca]>o from ludiau,s. A
horrible .sight . .

•\ti\:

J .if.

ll.-i

ClIAlTKll MI.

Awfnl thnnder-.storms. — Had wator-.^upply. — Life in camp. — I leave
for Si. Joe. — Come acros.s two Indian.s. — Arrive at Ijikis Sibley. —
Swarm of griis.shopj)er,s. -Ajiprehen.sions of the settlers. — A man
wiMJies me to engage him. I decline. — 1 make the acfiuaintance
of a detective. — A plan to rub me. I nninagi! to frustrate it. —

Meet F at Martin's. — Sionx steal Pawnees' horses. Pawnee.s

and Whites try to recover them. A light and repulse of Pawnees.
—.Mrs. Martin's reminiscences of her husband. —Poor sjjort. —
J{elurn to St. Joe. — Intend to winter in Texas. — Pilly lireeze.
His history

103

1-jn

CHAPTER XTII.

Voyage down tlie Missouri. — Wild-fow 1 shooting. — Objectionable freed
slaves. — New Orleans. — ]My companion d'w.H of cholera. I also
am attacked. I recover. — Meet some (\)nfederute generals. —
Gambling-saloons. — Galveston. — Several shooting-trips. — An ex-
pensive uiglit's lodging.— A., young Englisliman joins us.— A New
Yorker and his supper-party. — The lone tree.— Difliculties with
the waggon.— The town of Kiclimond.— We are fined. But do

not pay.— F has an accident.— A u.^^eful doctor.— General

Sheridan's horse.— Buy a Avild horse.— A stream in flood.—
Racing iu Texas.— A racing mule

1U4

H'

XU

CONTENTS.

CIIAITEH XIV.

'A(tK

Mi)V(! to Clonr Fial{o.--A bankrupt railway. -Al)iuuliiiiec <pf jjrnmi>. —
Stalliiii;,'' wild ffooso. — Invitation to a IxNir-Imnt. — A nortluu". Story
of a nortlior. — livncli law. — llcar-lumtitif^ poor sport. — (h'oat
abuiidanco of snipt«. — Good shooting. — Ext(n'tionato landlord. —
Semi-wild liogH. — Wild bulls. Narrow escapes from thoni.— Our
dog jJoozc. His fighting capabilities.-- Invitation to a plantation.
Melanciioly appearance of it. — A good afternoon at tlw; ducks. —
A Masonic tip. — A Texan ball. — IJuying mules. — Fishing in Texas. ]H0

II

CHAPTER XV.

San Antonio and Texas in 1808. — Horse-stealing. Its punishment. —
Shoeing and breaking wild ponies. Negroes the best breakers. —
Mexicans and their mode of life. — Part Avith IJilly Breeze. — Move
to Frederick'sburg.— Too hot for dogs. Death of one. — Trying the
men's courage. — Ilalliday, his history. — A real frontiersman. Ho

declines to go with us. — II has an adventure while on guard.

— Fort Mason. — ludians catch and torture a man. — J Jig-foot Wal-
lace. Refuses to go with us. — Leave Fort Mason.— Fight between
horses. — A refractory mule. His cure. — An over-confident Major-.
— Start for Fort Belknap. — A plundered waggon. — I meet with
Indians. I am pursued. Shoot an Indian's horse and escape. —
Difficult country . . . . . . , , 194

CHAPTER XVI.

Fort Belknap. — Buflalo-dance by Tonkaways. — A-sa-ha-be. Wo agree
to his coming with us. Ilia suspicious conduct. He leaves us by
night. — We turn back. — Appearance of Indians. — A-sa-ha-be
comes to propose terms. They are rejected. — The Oomanches
attack us. — We still move on. — We kill and scalp an Indian. — A
reinforcement of Indians. — Downfall of A-sa-ha-be. — Arrival of
three Caddo Indian scouts. We send one of them for help. He
is pursued, but escapes. — Our casualties. — Halliday's courage. —
Arrival of troops. — W^e reach Fort Arbuckle . . . . . . 211

M

(JONTKNTS.

xm

I'AOK

me. —

Story
(irt'iit
)r(l.—
-Our
(ition.
;ks. —
'oxas. ]H()

CIIArTKR XVII.

'I'ho Caddo Iiidiaiis.— Story of tlicir chief and tho Coniaiiclips.— An
insolent bla('l<.snutli. Ilin piini-slmu'iit. Our ciinip lirfd into. —
Dinrovery of tlic culprits. Their puniMlinieiit. Leave l''<trt
Arhuekle. — ('ha.-«e of n wolf by a jxiinter. - Dillieulty of
cros.siui,' the lied Kiver. I return for ])rovi>ioiis, Hillieulty of
curry i 1 ifj: ejrjjM on hnr.sebaek. — An Indian reservation. Incivility
of an Indian. Wo become better friends. — Thir.sty o.\en.— < »nr
party breaks up

I'AdK

.)0,

194

CllAl'TElt XVIII.

Account of .Tulesbur}^'. A specimen of the manners of .1 ultsbiir;.'.
Our lodgings. Seeing the town. Its inhabitants. — Gambling-
saloons. — We start for Sheyenne. — Description of hotel aoconi-
modation. — A citizen shot by nn oiricer. — Start for Elk Mountain.
— Ileach Willow Springs. — All Houston. — Camp at Willow
Springs. — ^\'oodclu)pper^, bad characters. — Story about Houston.
— Obligi.'d to hunt singly. — We go together to hunt. — A deserted
hut and grave of occupant. — A visitor. — Polly's behaviour. —

F starts for Sheyenne. — Snowed in. — ViUainous-looking

visitors. They are induced to go. — Precautions. — F 'a return.

— I return to Sheyenne. — F goes to Virginia Dale . .

238

211

CIlAPTEll XIX.

Move to "S'iiginia Dale. — Meet my old driver. — Stage drivers. —
Abundance of antelope. — Reach Sheyenne. — Vigilance com-
mittee.—Election for Mayor. — An unplea.saut neighbour. Play a
practical joke on him. — Life in Sheyenne. — Action of the Vigilance
committee, — Stories of various desperadoes. — Joe Riley, the
prize-fighter. — Racing at Sheyenne. — A railway quickly made. —
Leave for England and sell " Polly."

254

•I«i

XIV

CONTKNTS.

cn\iTi:i: \x.

hitnid to j,'(> lip tilt) Wirliifii timl Ked KivcM. — (Irtmso-Mliootiiin:. —
Oi'cnHiiijjf n Imrso, — Poor HottltTM. — A muney-lcndiiif;; juirHoii, —
hiiiipT of Mexican cooks). — l[ciii'ii't(ii in 1^7 J. — A norther. —
lloii;fIi cowboys. -liOMc my horse. — Uctiirii towanlM ileiiriettii. —
IiidiiiiiM al)oiit. -A siiMiiicioiis horHciiian. lleacdi lleiiriettft,- -Thi)
Hettleiiieiit niiih-d Ity lUaclv Ketth'. - Tlio Hettlers cowod. -.\.
Iinaidier. Tiie pi'eaclier and I put ii|i in the same room. Tik
lii'Ht iii;,dit he scores; the flecoml I do. — I^ife of a cowhoy.— .V
new chiss of cowboy. — .V geiith'tnan cowhoy. — A good HJiootiii},'-
ground, — I nhoot a puma. — .V hidiy Hport.sman

l'A(»K

2(1(5

CIIAITKU XX [.

Camp on Ruffalo (^roek. — Awful thunder-storms. — Two cowboys visit
our camp. We return tho visit. — Description of a .sliack. —
Stories of attacks by Indians. — A buck-jumper. — A cuiious sliot.
— A refractory mare. — Loss of a horst;. — A herd of wild horses.
Old i5rid},'er's opinion of them. — Camp nearly destroyed by lirn.
— Poisoning wild animals, — A ghost story . . , . . . . . I'Tri

CHAPTER XXII.

Kesolve to go to the Judith IJasin. — Ctdonel P agrees to accompany

me. — Start for Carroll. — Delay at JJismarck.— Have some slnxtt-
ing. — Journey by steamer up ^lissouri. — Laud to hunt every day.
— Como upon an old hunter. Ilis history and end. — The remaining
Indians concerned in the Aliunesota massacre. — Arrival at Bulbrd.
— Freak of a lieutenant. — Symonds joins me. — Start with Major
Keed for Judith IJasiu. — Tho ways of Indian agents described.

— Join Colonel P in camp. — Good news of game. — Adventure

with a bear. — Description of the Judith Dasin. — Hunting
mountain-sheep. — Reed and Bowles at home. — Visit the Crows'
camp. Go with them to meet the Bannocks. — I5ny a horse fvom
the Bannocks . ,

i

1>8"

CONTKNTH.

XV

I'AUK

CIlAITKIi \\ir[.

A nipo-tfnipt'r<'<l lioixo. — .V liny« l)aiitl of flU. — I'littiiij? out I»iii(rt fur
Ix'iirH. Tlu' lir.Ht II f'liiliirt). Tlii' scroiid ii Miurcts. Hiiy u nnw
pony.— A ^iMid biirKuiu. — Kisli.-l >^ot«,«4 lor lt'll«r.>«. — Anli'lnpc-
stiilkiiij^. — A us»'l(Hs il(»(^. — Kishul h(W liia iioniHSHtolcii. lit* and I
pny a visit to tlie (Jrow Iiidiaiw. — A bullnlo-ruu witli tin* IVowi*. —
Tilt' fiiiliiiii ifatno of " lliiiid." — A visit to tln' raiirlii-. 'rcmlui,
tilt' ciiit'f of tilt* Mamioc'lH. Storiiw of liim. — IJupliMisaut (luart.is.
— How llowli'H got his wifn . . . . . . , . . ,

I'AttK

.'1(W

L'(H3

liro.

L'78

i

C'lIArTKlt XXIV.

lii'cd sliools a K'ri/zly bear. — A yplt-tidid liiiiitiiii^-ijroiiiid. — Wliolcsalo
iimssacrt' of dfcr. — Tho Coloiit;! slioota a ^Ti/zly. I p't imo llio
iit'Xt nit,'iit. — Aiiotiu'i'bi'ar.- 'i\«iitloi pays us a visit, llisappn-cia-
tioii of ciu'ry. — Suspicious tmclts. — •Ilorso-tliiovos. — Mxpi'diliou
to dt'stroy thouj. — llorst's Htaiiipcdt'd. Tiio cause. — Kisiicl aud I
po aud 800 th(! Crow war-danco. — Crow sluuu Hjflit.-- Foolish
freak of an Kuirlislmuin. — Tho war-danco. Uuploasaut rollodioiis
tliort'ut . .

CIIArTKR XXV.

Syuionds leaves us. — T explore tlie Little Snowies.— Follow the trail
of a gi-izzly. — Try to get back to camp. — A dillicult I'oad. — A
tine view. — Plenty of game. — I enjoy a siesta. — An alarming
awakening. — Peculiar rocks. — Mountain-sheep. — I bag a grizzly.
— Good sport. — Meet a party of white men. — The Greenhorn. -
Attempt to lasso the grey. — Indian attack defented by (uven-
horn. — Stories of grizzlies. — Sheep-rnuches

ii-J-J

281

CIIAPTEIl XXVI.

Visit Crazy Woman IVIimntains.— Dillicult ravine.- Parlv-like country.
—Narrow escape from a grizzly. — We nuike for the trade-road.—
The end of my grey horse.— Some bragging hunters. — 1 part

.Ik

xvi

cONtKNTR.

compniiy from Colonol I* mid tlio num.— Tho utii^fc wnfrj^on.

|)iiii;.'t'r^ orHtii^rt'-tliivrrH. A ruiupiinion JuiiiH im. (^iim' story
iiliuiil liiiii. I liilf jmrl of tlui wiiy witli liitii. — AitImiI at Milr.s
< 'ify. [ am ntTiicd (iimittTii. Wliicli I dt'clino.- Call mi (iciii'nil
MilfM.- Slnrit'm)f (li'noral Milfn. I li'avr l-'itit Kcn^li witli tlm
(li'iM'ml. I»nii),'li Jom'ii('y.--Yfll(»\VMtiiiii' Ktlly.- -Arrival at Fort
Ahniliaiii Lincoln. KindnoMflof Anitrican olliccrM. Itoad n^v'cntM,
-M<iic iiMt'cdolos of (icmral Mili's. Arrival at ('lii('a;,'o, Tlio
|ir«'S('nt Htate of my old liiintinji-K'"<'iii»d>4.--('()n(lufion

I'AitR

MH

V\UK

••r Mtiiry

t MilrM

M'tii-riil
itii tli<<
lit Fort

. The

:Mh

LIST 01' IIJ.irsriiATlONS.

I'A«»>'

i

ir.' Hinpp..(1 iiboiif six f.M't fn.in iii" iiml .-hook liis H.st . . . . FroHfiM,,ifc>

Our liiit in (he 'riiickwood Hills. ,

I (li'L'W my rovolvKr iwui tirM at liini

• • • • • • • I t ■

"" '■""'•'v«h1 his hint.kot, in spit ' (1„. n.iM. and wruppin^ tlic

JK nius|{('t in it luitl it down

I vviiM siirprisod to m> a wnirfroti on the hv.\\<

I tired at iiis cliest

Tilt' Coninnclips mado a rush at us

My pony spun round so quickly

01

l.W
207

•JUU

I saw a row of shining coppiT-coloiiri'd I

ai'tvs

i^t

i

Sl'UUT AND ADVENTUKES

AUOXO Till

NOin II-AMEUICAN INDIANS.

CIIAPTKU I.

i

■J

Loavo Eiiglfttiil. — VitynjJTo niul nrriviil nt (iiii>bt>o. — I'rocood to Toronto ftud
th«n to St. I'luil's.— 'rhmvtontMl ri.Miig of tho Sioux. Its cim.i»!M. Tlio
Btorm hurHtt.— Wo start for Fort Carlton. — Doscription of jourmiy. —
Arrival at Kurt Ab«'rcrombio. — Ilustilo IiidimiM.— Ut'ttcli Ooorj^otown. —
Attack on Kurt Abt^rcroinbin. — lliirharily of llio Indians. — Ut'troat in
ciinofs. — Awful stonn. — Arrival at I'l luliina. — An-ival at P'ort (iarry. —
Our (Jiiiilo and preparations to start. — "Tiio early bird catclit's tlio
worm." — A Ht'd-KivtT cart. — Loavo Fort Garry. — Cro.ssin^f tlio Sas-
hatc'hawan. — Arrival at Fort Carlton. — l'"i^'lit botwoon bloodhound and
wolf.— 1 astonish tho Iiid'ans. — A. boxiiig-nuitcii. Its con8of[uonco8. —
Murd»)r at council of Indians. Its results.

I LKFT Liverpool ill June 1802, by the Allan line of steamers,
for Quebec, ehoosing this rout" as it was the only one which
would carry dogs, as I had a young bloodhound, a son of
Grantley Berkeley's celebrated dog *' Druid," which I wished
to try against wolves on the [)rairies.

While in Liverpool I met two English gentlemen, also on
their way to the West, and intending, like myself, to fit out at

B

^l

^1

•T. PAUL •.

Fort Onrry, on IaxVc Wiunrprjf, «o wp fiKirwl to join rompnnjr

for NO Ion;; it<i it Niiitnl n<t, and I will call tlirni M-
C in tlir following |m;?rn.

Tlir incidiriti of onr

tnd

iiro v«ry much lik«' lumtlicr, no

I

\\\

nny vrry

vrry littlt! «»f

on<'. \V«> liml tlu' ii"*!!!!! hetcTo-

f^mcouM collection of {rnHNcnf^crH, and the nNiiul NwccpMtukui
cnch day m to the run of tlic Nhip, and nlno n rnthrr nnnnual
one, and tliut whn, iin to which foot the pilot would place on tho
deck first wlnii he came on honnl, there l)ein^f iiit«'jis(r excite-
ment when h(^ Mtoppcd on the ladder to ^pcuk to the captain.
Tho nunul whales and iccherj^s were hccii ; hut nothing of any
interest «)ccurred till we reached (iuebcc, where we lundi'd,
littvinj? <li)iie the run in eleven davB.

Wc went to UusseH'H hotel and renmined there two (hiys,
visiting; tho citadel, the liei^^hts of Abraham, &c., and left on
the third day for TorontM, where wc hud some friends.

From Toronto wc did not stop nj;ain till we reached St. Paul's,
now a city of more than four hundred thousand iidiahitants;
but then it was only a atra;;};linj; town of four or five thousand,
most of the houses being built of wood, and nuiny oi logs only.
Here the railway then ended, and wc had to travel by IJur-
bank's coach to Georgetown, on tho Red Uivcr, a distance of
four liundr(!d atul twenty miles, where wc sliould find a small
steamer bound for Fort Garry.

The scenery round St. Paul's is very fine, the city standing on
the banks of the Mississijjpi Uivcr, which are here about two
hundred feet high, and the country round being hilly and l)cauti-
fully wooded, and containing some of tlic loveliest lakes in tho
world, surrounded by woods, and so clear that you can see tho
pebbles distinctly at a depth of twenty-five or thirty feet.

til

III

ul

Sil

nii|

a

atil

oil

th

i

I'oiiipniiy
— and

otlipf, no
lictcro-

('|iNtiikrN

0 on tluj
? cxrito-
rnptain.

: of nny
lundrd,

'O (lavH,
It'l't on

I'aul'H,
)itnntM;

iiNuiid,

■( only.
V Hnr-

nrv, of
snmli

ing on
it tuo
)(';iuti-
II the
(•(! the

ItlSl.NO or TUB HlOl'X. 8

Wc fonnd ft Kood drnl of cxcltrmrnt in tlir town, m It wnn
thrnitiMinl by thr Sutnx Indiiin*, nndrr " Liltli' ('n»w/' who
thoMKht thrniMlviH wron^i'd hy their n^vut, nnd hud hi^uu
what cndnl in thr Minni-*ut« nm-iin'n*. It •vvtus that tho
Sioux hud I'lmv in to Kct thrir ycurly unpplir* of hhinUrts,
ninnninition, kc, from thn (Jovrrnmcnt, nnd fonnd that oidy
ii portion of thmc huvin|< co?nr, the nt(rnt n«fn!«rd to nrrw ont
unythin^ till thi' arrival (if thr r«'nuiinihr. The Indians had
only hron«ht food for ho many duyn nnd wrrv noon on tho
vcrjfo of starvation, whfn oin* day thrrr drf»v<' np to thr n;rwnt*H
hoiHO n wa^jfon (h-awfi hy f«)nr Hpan of very fiin- fat oxen.
A nninhcr of half-ntarvcd IndiioiH were Htaiidiii}? ronnd, and
one of tlit'm frit the oxj-n with hiM linjjcr, ri'inarkin^ to hii
rompanionM what a t^rainl frant they wonhl nuiko. On thin
tlic driver hit hitn with his wliip, and wuh ut <mu*o i«hot dead
hy the Indian, and within five niinntcn the uj;ent und his
family were all nnirdcrcd. This was the hint straw only, .is
the Indians had had a ;;()o(l deal to con'; !ain of hcfore this
happcMicd. They all imnicdiatcly disappeared to mature their
plans, and there was u Inll which preceded tin; awl'nl ^to»"m
which broke soon afterwards. 'This had liappiiied bcfori" oiir
arrival, and all who conid do so had left St. Panl's, cxi)ectin|j;
it to he attacked ut any moment.

It turned ont afterwards that what liad delayed the onthreak
was the fact that " Ilole-in-tlie-day," the great Chippewa chief,
had not been able to join the; Sioux, and his tribe refused to
rise withont him. II(! had come into the town to buy aiiunn-
nition, and had bccMi s(;izt(l and put in jail, where he remained
till the whol(! thing was over, and his tribe, living all round
St. Paul's, had prevented the town being attacked.

b2

Si-i

* . il

'01

■: 'ill

4 START FOR I'OHT CARLTON.

\Vc found hero jibout thirty Englishmen, who, liuving been
tempted ])y a bubble company to subscribe forty pounds apiece
on the understanding that they should be transported to the
gold miiu's of British Columbia, had been east adrift here, most
of them without money, and we found them swe(!ping the streets,
chopping wood, and doing any work they could find, some of
them being broken-down gentlemen, and none of them ever
having done any manual labour before.

In sjjite of much good advice as to the danger of proceeding
any further, we took our places in the express waggon — a four-
horse coach — which made the journey between St. Paul's and
(jcorgetown once a Mcek, stopping for the night at small log
stage stations, where the accommodation and food were both
very nnigh, the latter being almost invariably pork and corn
bread, with very bad coft'ee. The first portion of the drive
was through a very pretty country, and, as the driver let us
get out now and then to shoot grouse and ducks, the time
passed very quickly. There was, however, the chance that the
Indians might attack lis at any moment; so that the front
scat of the waggon was a complete armoury, the driver having
a revolver and a rifle beside him, and the conductor, who sat
behind, being armed in the same way. The conveyance itself
was like a long waggon, with three cushioned seats across it,
hung on leather straps, which were very long, and caused it
to sway a good deal from side to side, the whole having a
cover on " bows," which could be rolled up ; the luggage
being placed behind, Avhere there was also a small seat for
the conductor. The teams were very good indeed, but often
(piite new to the work, and unused to being driven four-in-
hand, so that sometimes they would run away, and wc flew

M

ATTACK ON FORT AHERCROMIUK.

viiig been
lids apicco
ed to the
icrc, most
ho streets,
, some of
hem ever

rocecding

I — a four-

'aul's and

small log

^crc both

and corn

the drive

cr let us

the time

that the

he front

r having

who sat

ice itself

cross it,

aused it

laving a

iiggage

seat for

it often

four-in-

wc flew

along over the prairie, the driver whipping instead of trying
to stop them ; the gronml being so level that they were
invariably tired before we eaine to a bad bit of gronnd.
After leaving the woods and getting on the prairies the
journey became very monotonous, the only houses we came
across being the one where mc dined, and our night's halting-
place.

At about one hundred and twenty miles from (rcorjjetown
we stopped for the night at Fort Ab{;rerond)ie — a two-comi)any
post, where the soldiers were almost all of them (jlerhuuis. Of
course, the whole conversation lun'e was about Indians, and
they were expecting an attack, Indian scouts having been
seen on the surrounding hills for some days. The ollicer in
command was somewhat doubtful of the courage of his nuMi,
most of them being recruits ; but he had strengthened the
defences, and had placed two small guns in position.

On the second day from the Fort we reached Oeorgetown, a
very small place, of some ten or twelve log houses and a large
stage station, which we found almost deserted by all but the
stage agent and his men, all the settlers having gone down the
Red Hiver in flat l3oats, as some Indians had been seen in the
neighbourhood. The stage agent — a very plucky fellow —
declared that he would remain alone, if necessary, and
defend the company's property, and we offered to remain
and help him, but circumstances rendered this unnecessary.

The day after our arrival came the news of the attack on
Fort Abercrombie and of the massacre of a number of settlers
throughout Minnesota. It seems that the commanding
officer's fears about the courage of his men were justified ;
for Avlien the Indians made a rush at the place, they retreated

6

RETREAT IN CANOES.

into a block-house, nhicli stood in the middle of the fort, and
was meant to be used only in the last extremity, and out of
this they refused to eome, till the oflicers and a few American
soldiers drove them out Avith their revolvers; the place being
saved by the two guns, which frightened the Indians by the
noise they made. Some of the settlers had been murdered
under circumstances of awful barbarity, and one poor woman
crawled seven miles into Fort Abercrombic with her nose,
ears, and both breasts cut off.

On the morning of the second day from our arrival at the
station, orders came from the company at Su. Paul's for the
agent to close the station, and make his way to the nearest
town with the horses, and we heard, just before leaving, that
the coach immediately following the one by which we had eome
had been attacked by Indians, and the conductor killed, the
mails being thrown into the Red River. This made our staying
at the station any longer an impossibility ; so finding that the
steamboat which usually ran between this place and Fort Garry
had ceased to do so, owing to the unsafe state of the country,
we bought two bark canoes, and, laying in some provisions,
we started for a four hundred mile paddle down one of the
most crooked and, I should say, muddiest streams in the
world ; there being hardly a place on its banks where you
could land without sinking to your knees in black mud.

Canoe travelling was a new experience to all of us, and we
were very nearly upsetting a great many times, as the canoes
were round-bottomed and very light. At the time I am speak-
ing of, the banks of the Red River were entirely uninhabited,
and the course of it is mostly through vast prairies, making it
very monotonous, especially as Me often paddled for an hour

AWFUL STORM.

and more, only to find ourselves within a few liundred yards
of where wc started from, the river having wound in almost a
complete circle. For some days nothing of any consequence
happened. We saw a few antelope and might have stalked
them, but we were afraid to fire ; so we lived on pork and
Coffee : the weather was fine ; but about the fifth day wc had
an awful thunder-storm, such as none of us liad ever seen.
It came on at night, just as we were going to camp, and the
rain came down in such sheets that, having no tent, we sat
where we were and baled out the water, or we should have
sunk. The thunder seemed just overhead, and the lightning
was all but incessant and lasted till nearly morning, when we
lauded and waded through the mud to higher ground, where
we wrung the water from our blankets and went to sleep.
In the morning the sun came out and nearly dried our clothes,
when a second storm came on and soaked everything again,
and we had another miserable night on the same spot. The
second day was fine, so we started again, feeling very miserable.
All our baggage was damp, and our guns one mass of rust j
our hands, too, being unused to paddling, were very much
blistered. We struggled on, however, and about the nintn
day reached Pembina, a small settlement with a custom-
house, it being on the frontier between Canada and the United
States.

We found the place deserted by everyone but the United
States' custom-house agent, who had sent away his family, and
had fortified the upper storey of his house, destroying the stair-
case, and going up and down by means of a ladder at a window,
drawing it up at night. He had a bed covered with weapons,
with the ammunition for each lying beside it, and would, no

■m

'HI

i

8

PEMBINA AND FORT GARRY.

doubt, liave sold his life dearly; but I am plad to say that he
was not attacked, and was still at his post when the place was
visited by the troops, who left a garrison there.

Soon after leaving Fembina we were very glad to meet with
the steanier, which had come as far as this and was waiting for
news, and now, on hearing what had happened, the captain
decided on turning back and remaining at the fort till all was
quiet once more.

Fort Garry was then a long straggling settlement, of about
three thousand inhabitants, extending some ten miles up the
lied River and about the same distance up the Assincboine
lliver, the fort being built at the junction of the two. Most Oi"
the inhabitants were half-breeds, many of whom were married
to Indian wives ; so that the place was a curious mixture of an
Indian camp and a white settlement, the wives* relations being
very often camped round the houses of half-breeds. There was
no hotel of any kind ; so we put up a tent, which we bought,
in the garden of one of the principal half-breeds, who had
been recommended to us as a guide. This man's name was
Louis Laroude, and he was considered the best guide and snow-
shoe walker, as well as the strongest man, in the settlement.

For several days we were very busy engaging men and in
buying horses, there being a good deal of competition among
us as to who should have the best ; and I remember that I got
up once in the middle of the night and rode nearly forty miles
to buy a horse, "which was said to be the fastest in the settle-
ment. We had all heard of him, but kept it to ourselves, as
each one meant to get up early the next morning and go and
buy him ; but by that time I had him tied close to the tent
door.

A RED-RIVER CART.

9

In tlic evenings wo went to some half-breed balls, and found
many of the women were very liandsome, ehieHy those who
were the children of half-breeds, with no more admixture of
Indian blood. Anywhere else you would have taken them for
Spaniards ; the oidy thing whieh spoiled them was their hair,
whieh was always very straight and eoarse.

At last our outfit was ready. We had two ponies apieec and
three small carts between us, each drawn by a single ox, as we
had been told that they went better through mud than ponies.
Each cart contained a thousand pounds' weight ; and the way
in which the loads were adjusted was somewhat unusual, Laronde
getting under the axle on his hands and knees, and raising the
whole thing oflF the ground. We soon found that we had made
a mistake in taking oxen, as they only did a mile and a halt
an hour, and riding with the carts was simply purgatory ; so we
exchanged them for ponies before we got out of the settlement.

A Red-River cart is an extraordinary structure; it stands
on two wheels, and is made without a single piece of iron in it^
whole composition ; the wheels have no tyres, and the felloes
are fastened on witli wooden wedges. The axles are of wood,
and two spare ones are carried by each cart, as they wear out
quickly; and there being no boxes to the wheels, I leave my
readers to imagine the noise they make, this pleasant music
being audible for miles.

When once out of Fort Garry, we passed very few houses,
and those only during the first thirty miles, Avhen they ceased
altogether, and an undulating prairie country was spread out
on all sides of us. Scattered over this were an immense number
of ponds, some of them almost deserving the name of lakes, and
these were always covered with geese and ducks, while snipe

10

CROSSING THE SASKATCHAWAN.

could generally be i'uuiul round their edges, and you now and
then put up u few swauH, atl'ordiug splendid sport, and making
a very pleasant eliange from everlasting ham, whieh was
the only kind of prc8crved meat whieh wo could get at Fort
Garry.

AVolvcs were very common, one or more being generally in
sight, and w^e had many chases after them with the blood-
hound, but, aa he was young, he never did anything. When
after the wolves one day, I had a very nasty fall. 1 was going
down a hill at full speed, when my pony put his foot in a hole,
and over we went, describing, as it seemed to me, at least three
summersaults, and, as 1 was carrying a heavy ten-bore gun by a
strap on my back, each time I turned over the gun hit me on
the back of the head, raising a bump as big as an egg, and
obliging me to sit some minutes before I could take in the
situation and find out Avhich way to ride home again.

We saw no big game, except wolves, till near fort Carlton,
when we made out a band of antelope with a glass, and one elk,
which was, however, on the other side of the Saskatchawan, at
a place where we could not cross.

Our first trouble was crossing the south fork of this river,
the stream being swift and deep and about eighty yards wide.
The carts being constructed entirely of wood formed a good
raft, and as they were loosely made, we had only to remove the
bottom boards and arrange them as a platform on the sides,
and towing this over with a long rope, everything was got over
safely ; but when it came to the horses, we had some trouble,
most of them refusing to enter the water ; so that we had to
drag them down and push them in, keeping them from lauding
again by pelting them with stones, and in this manner we

AIllUVAL AT I'OIIT CAULTON.

11

we

maunged to get t .era over to tlic other sicle, swimming over
ourst'lvcH. Froir. wlicrc wc crossed the river to Fort Carlton
Mus twenty mik's, and we rcHuucd it safely. Wc found it to
be a scjuare stoekade, about twenty feet higli, having a ba .tion
at caeh eorner, while all round the inside ran a platform, some
five feet from the top, to enable the defenderti to fire upon any
assailants.

There were small guns in the fort, but more for show than

use. Mr. L , a Scotchman, was in charge, and received us

very hos[)itably. He put us all up, and our animals were turned
out with the fort herd. We had piles of buffalo robes as bc^ds
and found them very comfortable, spreading our own blankets
on the top.

We remained here a few days to recruit ourselves after our
long Yilc, which had been made more tedious by the slow pace
at which we had beeu obliged to travel so as to keep with the
carts, as there was always the chance of an attack by Indians.

J\Iy bloodhound had as yet been of uo use, and I began to
fear that he had no pluck, as he would not face the sleigh-dogs
at the fort, always keeping close at my heels when wc went out
and never leaving the house by himself. These sleigh-dogs
were large animals, many of them being as heavy as he was, and
numbered about a hundred. They had nothing to do in the
summer, but took the place of the horses when the snow had
fallen. They were of every colour and size, and were chiefly
bred from Indian dogs crossed with Esquimaux, and any looks
they might have had were spoilt by cutting off their tails, which
got in the way of their harness.

Hearing one day that the sleigh-dogs had a wolf at bay in
a bush near the fort, I took my bloodhound out and, driving off

1'^

A SCOTCH CLKriK.

f 1

the other doj?;*, I let him f^o, when lie nt once runhtMl in nnd
closed with the wolf, luid for Homc time it wnH donhtful which
uould get the bc8t of it, till the honnd getting u chance seized
the wolf by tlie throat and very soon killed him.

While we were at Fort ('arlton we fro(|Ucntly had shooting
mntchcs, some IiidiaiiH who had come in to trade; shooting with
us; and when coniiiig hack to tlie fort one day, with a donblc
rifh; in my hand, which I wished to fire oil", I saw a crow coming
over my head and fired at it, and no one was more astonished
than I was when it fell dead, and from that day, as I firndy
refused to waste any more ammunition on crows, I found that
I had gained a wonderful reputation as a shot among the
Indians — licaring of what I had done many nu)nth8 afterwards
in an Indian camp.

We found at the *' Post" — as all forts are usually called — a
Scotchman named Alexander, who having tried a great many
things and failed at all of them, had ended by becoming a
Hudson's Bay Company's clerk, at twenty-four pounds a year
and his food. Having some relics of his departed greatness yet
with him, he went about in an old velvet dressing-jacket, bound
■with gold cord, with a cap of the same material on his liead,
and being a fine man and very handsome, he looked quite
imposing and was the admiration of all the squaws.

One day I heard a story of him, which is worth inserting
here. It seems that the Sio-ix and Cree Indians wished to
make peace, and it had been arranged that they should do so at
the Post. Accordingly the Sioux chief " White Cloud " arrived
with seventeen warriors and camped outside the stockade, tlie
Crecs having also sent a deputation to meet him, and while the
preparations were being completed, " White Cloud '' — who was

A BOXINO-MATCH.

13

a BplctuVKlly-nmdc Indian, ntnnding over h\x feet in liis moeca-
siiiH, with a really fine t'aee — almost lived in tlu- fort. He was
one day in Alexander's room, when the latter took np Home
boxii){:f-glovc8 and pnt them on, tellini^ " White Clond "
that these were the things with whirh tlu; white man learned
to fight, asking the chief if ho would like to put them on.
" White Cloud " of course had no idea of what would happen ;
for Indians never hit with the hands, and to hit one of them is
to insult him most grossly. "White Cloud" said he should
like to try them ; so Alexander first took away his knife and
pistol and loeked them up ; then putting him in the middle of
the room and telling him to stand on his guard, he kiujeked
him to the other end of it, and on his rising and rushing at
Alexander, he was agaiu sent to the same plaec. His rage,
I was told, more resembled madness, and, tearing off the
gloves, he tried to get his knife from the drawer ; but finding
it locked, he suddenly calmed down, or seemed to do so, and
demanded to be let out. Alexander asked him what he would
do when outside, when " White Cloud ** told him that he
and his men would instantly attack the fort and kill everyone
in it.

Seeing that only desperate measures would have a chance of
succeeding here, Alexander took a revolver from a drawer, and
told the chief that unless he promised, within five minutes, to
give up his intention and make friends, he would shoot him and
chance what came of it. For some minutes ''White Cloud''
was obstinate, and then seeing that Alexander meant what he
said, and being somewhat tempted by some presents which were
promised him, he shook hands and, receiving his ])istol and
knife, left the room, carrying with him two bottles of whiskey,

14

II

WIIITR CT.OIJI)

i»

for which nii Iiuliaii will Aa niiytliiiij^, and which they hn.©
no iticaiiM of ){cttii>i; in the IIiuImom'h Day territories, nn they
forhid its itnio to the Tndinns. Thou^h never friendly n^nin
with Alcxiinder, the chief kept his word, and no harm rcHulted
from this foolish jok(>.

This cliij^C showccl uu) sometime afterwards some foerteen or
(ifteeti wounds which he hud received in l)attl(\ most of them
beinj; from knives an«l arrows, Icailinj; his followers to hclit'vo
that he could not \)v killed. In conse(|iUMic(; of this and of his
great courage and strength, his authority over them, even in
time of peace, was something wonderfid. On one oecasion his
men were in tlie Post and luul been giving a good deal of

trouble by quarrelling with the employes, wlu'u Mr. L

went to "White Cloud" and asked Iiim to order them out.
He went at once out into the yard in front of the Post and
blew liis war whistle, and when his men came running out
of tlic dillerch, houses, he simply pointed to the gate in an
imperious way, and they were all out in a moment. Happen-
ing to go into the kitchen soon afterwards, he found one of
his men eating a meal which the cook had given him, on which
he picked up a log of wood and knocked him down senseless,
remarking that he hoped he had killed him, and this man, when
he recovered from the blow, seemed to owe him no gru(l;je.

Mr. L told me that when the meeting took place at

which peace was to be made, what was intended for a friendly
meeting very nearly ended in a fight. It seems that a Crec
warrior, who was not among the number admitted into the
council lodge, owed one of the Sioux a grudge ; so, first ascer-
taining whereabouts he sat, and finding that bis back was only
a few inches from the skin of the lodge, he stabbed him in the

>

BIMMAIIY I'lJNlMIIMKNT.

15

back from tlio oittiiidc. Of course, there wnM immediately
an iipronr, the Sioux thinlinfi^ thnt tlicv would nt once he
Tiiurdcrcd, m the OeeH outiiunihcrcd them ten to one; hut
the Cree chief rushed to tlu; door of the lodp;e nnd ntood in
front of it, harriii>( the way, nnd ordered the nmrderer to ho
hrought to him lit once, and on his nppeanuice, and when he
had owned to thu deed, he hruincd him with \m tomahawk
on the ipot.

Such nets an these occur very Ncldom amonjjf what nro called
" Wild Indians/' though when Ncmi-eivilized they are heard of
frcijuently.

10

•WIMMINO ItORREI.

CIIAPTKR II.

Lmt« Fort f'nrltnn.— Swlramliij? liorHPn.— Our first buffnlo.— linrDtuli-'M
nn'tliiiil III' Killing IjiiHiiln. Our lirMt ini'ftiii^ witli wild IndiiiiiM.—
Atti'iii|it til f<tiill( aiilflnpi', — ImiiHMi'H" hvuU (if liiitTulit.— A run with
buHiiliit'M. — 1 run ditwii a wolf. — Suddun ii|i|)t'iiniiiL'«( of ihivo ludiiiiw.—
An unplfftMiiiit iidvi'uturi'. — A niKht in iiii Indian lodg^i'. — i{t'j(iin my
(■(UU|ianii)nM. — Tim udvantairt'H of nievi lii)blili'.><. — Studying a hutTHlu
nt cloHo (iinirt«TH. — Pruiric-ddgs. — Kt-turn tn Fort Carlton. — Our I'urty
bri'aivs u)i. — I Icuvo lor Tliicliwood liillrt. — Sl« igli-doff«.

Ai'TKii rciiiainiii}^ at Fort Curltoti five or hIx diiys, we Htartcd
once more, p;oiii^ south, iuteiulinj; to vrosn tlio soith bruneh of
the Saskatchawau Itiver, and hunt ht^tweeii thut and the
Missouri in the iieii^hbourhocKl of tlic Milk River. Crossiiij^
was as troubh'sonie as before, a new horse we had ])ouji[ht
utterly refusin^^ to swim at all, so that after we f,'ot him in,
he was carried down by the stream, and had he not reaehed a
sand-bar, he must have been drowned. As it was we had to
nuike a small raft and tow liim across, liolding his head above
water.

One of my liorscs was so fond of switnmin}^ that I had to
watch him when I took him to driuk^ or he would jump in

»i

OUR flUMT rHJ»TAt.O.

17

Atid iwim, and morr tiinrt onco liu wvtttul all 1 hnd (in liitii liy
(loinff MO.

»r

rh(' (ItHt hiiflalo wc nirt with wiw n ((r«*fit rxcitrmrnl to un

nil, t)ioii<{li lie wiiH u tMM(Tul)li' (lid li'lldw uhdin W(! would itnt
hnvo tdticlicd H week liittT. All the lar^^r licnU liiul been
drivcit Mdiitli that Niitiiiiirr, and iiiatiy Ndlitary cild hulls hud
been left behind um worthlcNs, this bciti)^ oik; iii'thctM.

^V(' hud Mtiirtrd early in thtj nuirtiiii;;, hiiviii}^ loimd IVcoh
builulo Mi((n, aiul wcru nil of uii mounted on our bcxt lionieM,
moaning to hav(> a i«trii(;<;le for firNt bldod. My horHr waM thn

fanti'Mt, but i\I had one nearly an tnHt, and an <ild hand at

the work, knowiii;; an inueli about it at any num. This horse,
havinj( been earerully trained by Tiarond(>, knew exactly the
position to take up when ehasin;; a buH'alo, ran<;in;( up elose to
him on th(> oil' nide, with ids head opiiosit.! to the bulValo's
qunrtcrM, no that when the aninud charged ]u< paHsed bchiud
liim to the left, nnd the buffalo had to ttirn eotupletely round
to follow him by which time tho horse whm Bate. We eanu^
on this bull siuldcrdy on ri(lin<( over Momo risiti^ ground, and
were not more than UiM) yards from him. We were none
of us ready, our ginis bcin^ sluui; on our liacks, but away we
went ludter-skclter, each man doiiij? his best and gettin*;
his gun ready fur action. I had u double ten-bore shot-
gun, a muzzle-loader, and I do not sujipose I could have had
n worse weapon for the iiurposc; but breech-loaders were
only just then coming into use, and the only one I had was
a new one, and I did not like to risk it over rough ground.

M had a lO-bore breech-loading gun, carrying bull, and

C a single brccch-loading rifle.

For the first quarter of a mile we were nearly neck and neck,

III:

enri: i.

m

18

TONOUINO A BUFFALO.

and then my horse bej^an to forge ahead, and I saw that I
shouhl have tlic first shot. I was soon alongside (for a good
horse can very soon overhaul a buffjilo) and fired, aiming well
forward as I had been told to do, missing him elean and cutting
ui) the dust in front of him. I was now a little in front of
the bull, which putting his tail up charged me, and for a few
seconds seemed to be awfully near, I climbing on the front
of the saddle, as all ** tenderfeet " do under such circum-
stances, having the idea that I was getting faster out of the
animars reach. As I got away and tried to turn my horse

for a second shot, I saw M range up and fire, hitting

the buflalo, which stumbled and stood still for a moment, and

then seeing C close to him he made a desperate rush at

him, and the two disappeared over a rise in the prairie, it
seemed to me within three feet of one another.

On regaining control of my horse, I rode after them and

found M and C standing over the bull, which it seems

M had killed, and we decided that as he was old and tldn,

we would only take the tongue, this being always good eatiiig.
We had not been shown how to do this, so we supposed it
was done from the mouth, and with great trouble we prized
the jaws open, putting a wooden stirrup to keep them so, and
then pulled at the tongue, only succeeding in getting about three
quaiters of it, and even this very much hacked about; the
proper way being to set the animal's head nose in the air, by
sticking the horns in the ground, and then to cut the skin from
th'^ under side of the jaw and take the tongue out from below,
and in this way it is very easily done.

We found no more buffalo that day, but we got Laronde to
go with us on the morrow, and soon came across a small band

\

s
e

s'
s

f

MRTHOD OF KILLING BUFFALO.

10

of five cows and two cnlves. Larondc went on ahead of us, as
we had slower horses than the day before, and he had his okl

horse, which M liad ridden on the previous day, and before

we couhl come up with him he had four buffaloes down, three
cows and a calf, and yet he was using a single muzzle-loading
flint-lock gun, called a trade gun, and costing in London
seven and sixpence. His plan was as follows : — The powder
was in a bag carried on his belt and the bullets were in his
mouth. He would put in half a handful of powder, and then
drop in a wet ball, giving the gun a slap, to drive the ball
liome and the powder into the enormous pan, when he would
lower the gun and fire at once, the muzzle being within a foot
of the bufialo; and aiming just under the spine at the small
of the back, the animal was down at once and could not rise

again. I got one of the calves and C another cow.

M 's horse behaved badly and would not stand fire.

We should not have killed so many had we not been close to
a camp of Crees, to whom we gave the meat and they gave us
in exchange two wolf-skins. These were the first Indians that
I had a good opportunity of seeing close, and I came to the
conclusion that they were much better when not seen too near.

M and I slept in a lodge one night, and we had to work

hard to rid ourselves of the consequences.

One morning a small band of antelopes came near camp, and

while they were examining it very curiously, not having our

wind, C ■ and I crept out and tried to stalk them. It was

a bare prairie, but there were hollows here and there, deep

enough to hide us, and with infinite trouble and much loss of

skin from our knees (the prairie having been burnt in the

spring and consequently covered with sharp stubs) we got

c2

■iy

in '

It!*

'I

m-'

20

IMMENSE HERDS OF BUFFAT.OES.

within about two hundred yards. Here wc pulled up some
grass whieli wc stuck in our hat-bands, and held up some in
our hands in the form of a fan, and in this way we made
another fifty yards, when seeing the antelope were beginning
to get suspicious, we both of us fired, the only result being that
something seemed to fall from one of them, and on reaching
the spot we found a straight line of white hair, the only

explanation of which was that the antelope C fired at,

having stood broadside to him, he must have made a very bad
shot, and his bullet grazed the animal behind, where he is
covered with white hair, and cut off a line of it. I had made
a clean miss, I suppose from excitement.

For some days we saw only scattered buflPalocs, but as we
approached the Missouri they were in good sized bands, atid
towards evening one day, we saw an immense number of them
in the distance. It being too late to do much that day, we
camped, and busied ourselves all the evening in getting things
ready for a run on the following morning.

Laronde gave us a great deal of advice as to how we ought
to behave under all imaginable circumstances, but in the
excitement of a run, who can think of all this ? and it would
not be half so much fun if you could remember all your
instructions ; the getting into scrapes and out of them in your
own way being the best part of it.

Early the next morning we were off, M and C armed

as they were before, but I carried my twelve-bore breech-loader,
having found it impossible to load the other gun on horseback
without pulling up. The herd was where we had seen it on
the previous evening, and by reconnoitring from a high mound
we found a small ravine, and riding down it we got within

I

.^

A RUN WITH BUFFALOES.

21

about four hundred yards of the " pickets/* as wc called the
old fellows, who were on all the higli ground and were evidently
guarding the herd.

As there was no further cover wc came out of the ravine,
and made for the buffaloes at a sharp gallop ; they allowed us
to get a hundred yards nearer, and then went off at what looked
like a clumsy canter, but was really a pretty good pace. A
race of a mile Ip, d us alongside of the hinderraost, but we were
riding that day to get into the heid and see how they looked
at close quarters, so urging our horses to do their best, and
shouting to clear a road, into the middle of the mass we went,
it being rather nervous work, as they could not scatter much
at once, the outside of the herd not knowing what the matter
was on account of the dust, which was awful. After being
among them for some minutes the panic seemed to spread, and
the mass scattered right and left, going off' in two bands, and
we pulled up and let them go, as we had plenty of meat in
camp and did not come out to kill. I think this was the most
exciting gallop I ever had, being my first, and not knowing
how the animals might bcixave. It is curious to watch the tail
of a buffalo while you are running him. It hangs dc ,vn when
you start and remains so for perhaps half a mile, then it begins
to rise in the air by a series of little jerks, and when it is erect
and the end begins ■',0 shake the head will go down, and he is
going to charge, in which case, after running from him for
thirty or forty yards, if you turn oft* at right angles, he will
almost invariably go straight on and leave you.

C was once chased for more than a mile by an infuriated

bull, as his pony was slow and only just able to keep ahead of
the bull.

,1

m

1

I*''

i

22

A WOLF RUN DOWN.

As Larondc told mc that my horse had run into a wolf on
the open prairie, I determined to try and do it again ; so I
started alone one day and tried all the high grass I eould find,
but saw no wolves, but as I was going baek to eamp one came
on to the top of a ridge close to me, not knowing that I was so
near, so I ])ut my horse to his best and raced after him ; I did
not gain a yard during the first mile, but went gradually up to
him in the second, and after he had thrown me out twice by
turning suddenly, I rode right over hira, and fired as I passed,
hitting him and wounding him slightly, but I caught him very
easily the second time and killed him. This sort of thing does
not answer, however, when your horses are doing hard work
and have no food but grass, so I did not do it again.

I tried the bloodhound several times after wolves, but he only
caught one, and then we were not with him, as he had worn us
uU out and run away from us. He came back, however, in the
evening with his jaws covered with blood and with marks of
bites on him, so altogether he was a failure, especially • as
he hated the very sight of an Indian, and had to be tied up
when any were in camp or he would have attacked them at
once.

One evening we were startled by the arrival of three Indians
in eamp. It was getting dark, but we had not yet put on our
first guard, so they took us entirely by surprise, coming in on
foot so quietly that no one saw them till they were standing by
the fire. They were apparently Assineboines, but had Sioux
moccasins ; these have a raw hide sole, while the Crces and
Assineboines make theirs without a separate sole, the same
leather going all round. They told us that they had lost their
way, and seeing the fire had come to it. This was an utterly

I

AN UNPLEASANT ADVKNTUHE.

23

impoasil)lc story, and no one lookinj? at their villainous fares
would have believed that they did not come for some bad pur-
pose. Their being on foot, too, was a very siispicious circum-
stance, as an Iiulian never walks on the prairie, unless he is
going to steal a horse.

After they had had some supper they said they would go,
but this our guide would not permit, tcdling them that they
must remain till morning, and if they tried to go before then
they would be shot, so they remained very unwillingly and lay
by the fire all night. Had we let them go, they would probal)ly
have visited us again before morning, and have tried to run oft'
our horses.

I had one unpleasant adventure before the end of the summer ;
I had been running buffalo, and had killed two old bulls after
a very long run, during which I had turned so many times, that
when I had taken the tongues I found I did not know the way
back to camp. It was beginning to get dark as I took the
second tongue, and I at once started in the direction in which
I thought the camp was, but I had not ridden far when a snow-
storm came on, making my chance of finding camp very doubt-
ful. However, I rode on for about an hour, when 1 was wet
through, and so cold that 1 had to get off" and lead my pony.

For some miles I trudged on, firing my gun every now and
then and stopping to listen for an answering shot ; but hearing
nothing, and as my pony was tired, I thought I would light a fire
and remain by it until the morning, so at the next willow bushes
I came to, I cut some of the driest-looking of them, and striking
a match tried to light a lire ; but everything was very wet and
would not burn, so after I had struck some twenty matches
without avail, I gave it up, and started again, firing occasionally

<w I'

HiiKi/n;iiKi) in indianh.

> \

h

till (Ik: |»i'iiniii^ of iny ^iin {j^ai wet iiiid it would not ^o off,
v>li('ti I liiiil to conlciit inyNcir willi Nlioiitiii^;. As I wiin |iUHNiii^
iiiMlcr u sin.'ill hill I riiiicird my slioiitN wen; aiiNwcrrd, and on
looking ii|), I ('o(dd, v<'ry iiidiNtinc lly, niako out some wliiti
(i<{iinH Ntandin;; on llic lop of it, and I at first thought it mi^lil
l)c my rompiinions, l)nt on (;rttin^ near I saw it was a |>arty of
ahoiit ten Indians^ who hcckoncd iim; to follow them to som«;
tents, which I now saw on the o|i|iosilc side of tin; hill. 'I'licy
mi^ht have hrcn " hoHtilcs " for all I knew, hnt it was too late
to );o hack, so I walked down alter them, and ^ivin^ my pony
to an Indiiin, I went into om; ol' the tents, heiixr so nnserahU;
that I did not nnudi e.ire who they were, so long as 1 eonld get
neiir a fir(- ami liav(; si:m(*t!iing to eat.

Ahont twenty mow Indians eann! in to have a look at uw,
and all of th(;m shook hands, wlii<'h was a good sign. I was
given a hig plateful of boiled hnll'iilw-nKtat and honu; tea, and
soon felt mneh hitter. I then made; signs that I wished to
change! my clothes, whi<'h wen; soaking wet, iind put on a
lilanket, and that tin; women had h(>tter go out while J did so,
(Ml which they all laughed, and tin; women crowded round and
helped mi; to undress, pinching and slapping nu; when they
had done so. Tlicy gav(; nn; a hnflalo rolx; and hlaid^et, which

latter I put on Indian lashion, and ielt almost on(; of them-
selves.

I soon turned in, ho|)ing to have a ;';(jod night, or ralh(;r
morning, for it was now nearly live A.iVi. Hut alas ! for the
])lans oi' mice and m(;n ! I had not (juitc gon(i oil' to sleep when
I hegan to leel something hiting nn;, :muI this feeling spnuid till
J fancied I must la; on lire, so I jumped iip and found that it
was ..nly the usual inha])itants of an Indian's huH'alo rohe

A NHJIIT IN AN INDIAN I.ODdK.

2.'.

'

>\

fciistin^; on Motiuitliitif; Hol'Irr tliuri tlicy usimlly ^^ot. Dn my
telling' tli(^ IhdiiiiiH wliiit i\n' riiiittcr wuh tliry lunched, mid snid
I should Moon ^rt unvd to it; l)i>t not iMilicviiij; this I j^ot up
mid put oil sotn(r of rny hull-dried p^urriiciits, and lay down
ti^iiiu thiiikiii^ that ii(>w my troiihirs wen; over, iiiMt(;ad of
which they vv(!r(! only hcf^inniiij?.

'riuTC an; koiik; lew p(u;uliaritii's alioiit an Indian (;amp
whieli very mueh intcrlen; with the npoN(! ol anyoru; vvImj is
not iis(!d to them. Tin; first tliin;^ which woke mo on more
was the pressure of the ieet of some animals passing over me ;
th(;n eame u number of others of the same kind, and these
seetiKul to f^o round ami round tin; tent. It strnek me
almost immediately that they W(;re do^s liuntin*^ lor N(;ra|)s, s(»
I pulled my rohc; closer round me and dosed oil" a^ain. I're-
Hcntlyj howev(;r, I heard a yell followed hy a rush, and the do^s
passed over me aj^ain, Ibllowed hy a furious s(piaw, whose hi^
flat feet wen; not at all jiarticular where tluiy trod ; and this
happened several tim(;s till I felt as if I was lyin^ in the sawdust
of a (;ir(!Us, with the whole performance i^oin^ on on the top of
UK!. I moved ut one(!, ^dtinj^ as close to the side of the lod^^e
as I could, or I should have been flattened out, stpiaws as a rule
bein^ very clumsy and lieavy. What made the chase last so
lon{( was the dillieiilty of findiiif^ the (l(jor, which was small,
and as it was dark outsidc!, did not show at a'l.

On the departure of ...le doj^s, I thought i should have p(;afr(!,
but J was mistaken; the noise had wok(; up an Indian, who
fancied that he could, witli an ell'ort, cat a little mon;, ho he
proceeded to get up and (;(K>k some meat (ju the fire in the
centre of the lodge;, and thinking he had a line; voice; which
siiould be cultivated, lie sang all the time. This loused a

I

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20

REJOIN MY COMPANIONS,

i

second Indiati to do tlio name thin^^, and it was almost
morning' when I really got off to sleep.

Sometimes there aro other plcusunt surprises for tho visitor
to a lod{^c, such as a disconsolate widow, going round the camp
bewailing her lost husband, which she is supposed to do for six
months, unless she gets another in the meantime. lie may
liave beaten her every day with a lodge-pole, and she may have
been delighted to have got rid of him, but she must nevertheless
go through this perform?' /i, and it is always done at night.
Then, too, some Indian often gets up and sings for an hour or
more, beating an accompaniment on a tom-tom, and no one
thinks of sending for a policeman or of shooting him, as would
seem natural.

In the morning five or six of the Indians mounted and rode
with me, seeming to know where our camp must be, from being
acquainted with all the water-holes in the country, most of the
small streams being now dry, and within an hour we met three
of our men coming to hunt for me.

The Indians accompanied us to camp, from which I had been
distant only about four miles, where I made them a number of
presents and they left apparently very contented ; but I met
some of them afterwards at Fort Carlton, where they calmly
informed me that for several days after seeing me to camp
they had followed us, meaning to steal our horses, and said that
they would have had th.;.n if a snowstorm had not hidden our
tracks, so that they lost us. They owned that we kept very
good guard, as ■';hey had lain and watched us for hours hoping
for a chance, but did not get one, as we brought the 'lorses in
before dark and tied them to the waggon.

I had brought steel hobbles with me from England to lock on

WATCMINO A LIVE BUFFALO.

27

nt night made of case-hardened iron, and these, on one oeeasion,
gave rac a great deal of trouble. Seeing great quantities of
(hicks in some ponds ne;tr camp, one of my companions and I
had our horses left for us, the waggon going on, and remained
to have a day's duck-shooting. We luul capital sport and
returned to camp loaded, to (iiul that my horse had l)e(!n left
with the hohbles on, while the key had gone on with the
waggon. We tried breaking them with a stone, but found it
to be impossible, as we eould not get a good blow at them ; so
I had to wait with the horse till far into the night, while my
companion rode after the waggon, nearly twenty miles, and
sent one of the men back with the key.

Soon after this we returned to Fort Carlton, only one inci-
dent worth relating occurring on the way. I had run an old
bull some little distance, when Ave came to a narrow " groove"
in the prairie, looking almost like an old watercourse, aiul when
the butlalo went down this I remained on the bank above,
keeping parallel with him. After going a few hundred yards,
the hollow came to an abrupt end, forming a perfect cul-
de-sac, the banks being about ten feet high and quite
perpendicular. Here I got off my horse, and sitting on the
edge pelted the bull with Carth ; and he kept rushing at the
bank, bringing down at each charge showers of dust and
stones. It was a splendid opportunity for watching a live
buffalo at close quarters, and I remained there and ate my
lunch, after which I rode ofl" and left him.

In this part of the country there were immense numbers of
prairie-dogs, whose towns extend sometimes for thirty or forty
miles, and make the prairie very unsafe to ride over on account
of their numerous burrows. They are very amusing little

I

w

2S 8i,F.inii-i)0(iH.

fcllown, nnd burked at us uiul mIiooIc thoniNrlvt^s an if in n
furiouH rage nt our tr('M|iu.<4Niiig on their trrritortui; and dived
down into their lioleH the iuHtunt we eume too neiir. They are
MO (juiek thiit they <-an (hiek at the Mush of a gun without being
hit by the ithot, and \\c only got one, though wc often fired
at thctu. A friend of mine, an otllucr ill the American Army,
drowned some out by pouring water into their lioles, but then
he had about u hundred Hohliers to help him.

On reaehing Fort Carlton our party broke up, my com-
pnnioiiH going forty miles north of the Fort, where they put up
a cabin, while I engaged u hulf-breed, numed Hudger, und his
wife, nnd sturted for the Thiekwood Hills, ubout ninety miles
Korth-west of Fort Curltoi^, where 1 intended to puss the

winter. Mr. L kindly ullowed us to buy winter supplies

at the Fort, it being tlie rule that nothing but furs should be
received in exchange for sujjplies. Everything is vulued at so
many skins per pound or yurd, as the euse nuiy be; the skin
referred to being that of u heaver, whieh is here vulued at two
shillings, all more vuluuble furs being worth so many beaver.

Before leaving the Post, I l)ou<.''\t the bes^ team of sleigh-
dogs they hud there, giving a double rifle iu exchange for them,
and I ulso got u second teum, puying for them in money.

When winter has once set in in tlicsc regions, horses are
useless, the snow falling to a depth of from two to three feet in
the open, and from seven to eight feet iu the woods, wh»'re it
has no chance of melting, nnd all travelling nmst then be done
■with dogs, i also bought two sleighs, and some elk-skins and
brass wire tor making ban. ess, the latter being used to stiflen
the collars. Having completed all our arrangements, we wished
everyone good-bye aud started for our winter-quarters.

TIIICKWOOI) IIII.I.H.

20

CIIAITEU 111.

SoetU'iy in the Tliick wood Tlilln.— niiiMinj; liiits.— Tom T^)ot. IIIm mIzo mul
8tr<'iijrtli.-()iir nt'iirt'st n»'in:lili<»iir. — ViNit t\w South Siif<l<iitoliii\viiii.—
I.invc ('amp of (VfcM. — A Sioux (udiiiu |iriMout'r. His trial ami latH,
Attfni|p|,«i to MUM' hiui. — \V»' Iriivo tlit>('aui|i. — Ucturu jouruty.— Dread-
ful f*i)('('taclr.— Sfttinn- in of wiiitor. Severn cold. — I>('scri|itiou of
trappiujr in winter.- I'Mplt'iiHant adventure with IndiaiiH. Tom Hoot to
the reseue. Ili» prowess. — A-ta-Ua-koiij) nnikes friundH. — Snow-nhoo
travelling. — A vi.'^it I'roin Driver.

We had sent all our carts but one back to Fort (larry, as they
were useless to us in the winter, and on this one we piled our
winter supplies — tent, clotliiu^, beddiuf?, &c., — with the two
sleighs oil the top, and I had liired an ox at the Post to draw
it, as no pony could have done so. It was ninety miles to
where we intended wintering, and this took us four dnys to
do, as our load was so heavy and the country very wet and
muddy; my man's wife, too, who had intended to walk, gave
in, and had to be put on the top of the cart with her child,
which did not improve matters much.

As we got nearer the Thickwood Hills, the country improved
in appearance. The first fifty miles was along the river, through

xii

UK'

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:iO

lIUT-nUII.DINO.

prairie, Imt iiftiT lliut wo ((ot ninon)^ tnn**, rliirfly pinr, with
lovrly little prtiiricii ptrnttrrrd tliroiiKli tlicin luukiiiK cliurtiiiiig
cuii)pinK-;{ruuii(N. At IunI wc rruclicd u pliu'(> where then* wnn
a Niitall opening i» tho trem, with a fine RpriiiK uii oiio lidu of it
— II |K«rfect plaec for a hou«c, «o licro wo decided to erect our
cuhin.

W«' first of nil put up tho tent nud n hotmo ninde of honj^dm
for my inaii iitid Win wi'e, iiiid thru marked oil' a npaee, twenty
feet by sixteen, (dearin)( ofT the hruMh and levelling it ; and then
caino th(! hardest part of onr work, that in, cutting the logi.
My man Iladger wan n i^ood hand with an axo, but I was new
to that kind of work, and found it very hard. Wo had druwu
ft plan of the house, nuiking it of rather too olabornton pnttern,
having gable ends, which are u great deal of trouble to build ;
aiul a house; thus built is not any nu)re (*()nif(>rtabl(; thati the
common form of log house, which is made as follows : — You
first put up a frame of logs, notched where they cross one
another ho as to let them lie close, and of the reipiircd dimen-
sions, making the back of the house higher by two logs than
the front. Out of this you cut what doors and windows you
require. You then nuike the ro(;f by sloping small straight
poles from the lower to the higher side, and cover them with
gross and a foot of earth, putting cross polos to keep it all
on ; and after making your doors and windows your house is
finished on the outside, the only things remaining to be done
being the chimney and floor, the former of these being always
a difficulty.

We got on very slowly with our house, and were wondering
how wc were going to raise the higher logs, wlicn an immense
half-breed called Tom ]3oot happened to come along, and we

IICT-BUILDINO.

:u

onKn(i;(>(1 liitii to liclp ih. Tlii« ttiiiii )M>in|{ nix fiTt icvrii imlics
liigli, Hiiil tlir hi^K«'Nt man in »vrry way I (<v(T Hnw, rotilil lilt a
U)\^ hy liiniNcIf wliirli Uadger uud 1 iitaggijrt'tl uiidur, umi uur
liouHc wan K()oii built.

Wc mndu n door of a portion of our cnrt,nnd put in n pnrcli-
mcnt window nindo of dccT-liidc, in^crtin^ ono Mtnall pano of
i^hiHH, tlu; only ono they could Mpurc nu> ut tlu^ Fort, in tlit* niiddio
of it ; then W(! nuid(> Momc very rou;(li HtooU and a tabit; out of
morn of tli(> cart, an<l put down a floor of piiu<-|o^H, cnch lo)^
making one hoard, nn wo had no Haw — a plan I cannot rucoiu-
ucnd, UM huin)( on economical principles.

Tlicn camo the chimney. Oh ! that chimney ! I think it took
ns Ion;; to build aM the whole houMo. We would f(ct it up
about halfway, and in the moniiti^ tind that it had fallen down
n^ain in the ni^ht. There were no MtoiicH about and no pro[)er
clay, 8o we had to work graHs into the mud to nuike it Ntand.
We made it acrosH a corner, as biiin^ easier to build there, and
left a lary;e space for a fire, five feet H(juare, in which we had
some Mplendid ones during the winter. Why it did iu)t take
fire T cannot imagine, as we hud put in any number of sticks
to keep it up, and there was as much grass as mud in its
composition.

Wc did not make any l)unk8 such as arc usual in lo;; cabins,
preferring beds on the floor made of the buflalo-skins which ue
had got during the summer, with our blankets on the top.

Our next task was to cut a lot of wood for the winter; nnd
Tom Boot was splendid at this, a seven-pound axe being n mere
Imtchct in his hands, and wc also put up a meat-stage and a
small store-house. This done wc began to look about us and
see what neighbours wc had, and found that wc had only one

'J

i

I

VISIT TIIK SOUTH SASKATC'IIAWAN.

within oalliii}? distanro, and that he was a Crcc caHorl A-ta-ka-
koup, wliich means the ** spirit of the blanket;'^ lie was very
much married, having three wives and no end of chihlren.

We made a eall, Hadij^er going with me as interpreter, but
found them all away on their autumn buffalo-hunt, to lay in
meat and tallow for the winter: however, they eame back a few
days afterwards and returned our call, coming a i)arty of twenty
or more, an;l stayed an unfasliionably long time, being with us
nearly all day aiul eating two meals, making an awful liole in
our supi)lies, cs|)ecially in the sugar-bag, out of which I could
iu)t keep the children's fingers.

Having made things fairly comfortable, we determined to
pay another visit to the South Gaskatcliawan to get a sujjply of
meat, as the weather was now pold, an ! the meat would keep
until spring, freezing so hard that you could kill a man with a
strip of it. We took two ponies for packing, hired from A-ta-
ka-koup, and we each rode another ; and on the third day we
arrived at the camp of Badger's father-in-law, a Cree Indian,
whose name was Mis-ta-wa-sis, or " the buffalo," where wc
remained two days.

Old Mis-ta-wa-sis was also well supplied with wives, having
three of them, and lived in an im.mense bufPalo-skin lodge, in
which, besides his own family, there was room for two of his
sons-in-law and their families, and still there was plenty of
room for us ; it was one of the few clean lodges I was ever
in. He and I got to be very friendly, by the help of signs, and
I promised to visit him again as we came back.

Two days* more travelling brought us to the South Saskatch-
awan, both this and the main river being solidly frozen over, so
that we had no difficulty in crossing, and here we found a

]

I

* 1

m

m

>. 'J'

■if' ;r.

, If ■■ " t|

''^.."l|

J%e no.— Our hut iii the Thickwood Hills.

D

'■ 'I

■'1

i

m

I'.l.:

m

It '

If

ilii

A SIOUX PRISONER.

35

U

large camp of Crccs who wcro much excited al)out the capture
of a Sioux Indian by some members of the tribe; the Sioux and
Crces being once more at war, as the peace whicli had i)ceu
made at Fort Carlton had lasted only one summer.

On our arrival we were given a small lodge by an Indian, who
turned one of his wives out of it, and wheu we had put our
saddles, packs, &e. in it and placed a boy to watch them, we
went to pay a visit to " Big licar" the head chief. We found
him in liis lodge, holding a council as to what should be done
witli the Sioux, and he hardly noticed us till this was over,
when lie informed me through Badger, on my inquiring as
to the mau^s fate, that he was to be tortured on the next day
but one. I remonstrated and offered to buy him of them,
giving everything I had with me, but to no purpose, and I
left vowing vengeance which I liad no means of executing.

On the following morning I got leave to see the prisoner,
whom I found to be almost a boy, very small and weak -looking
but perfectly calm, though he had been told what his fate was
to be. Badger managed to make him understand that I was
trying to save him, on which he shook hands with me, but
seemed to think he must die.

I went to see the chief again in the afternoon, and had a long
talk with him, adding to my previous offers if he would let me
have the Sioux, but he assured me he had really no power in
the matter. During the night I went near the lodge several
times in which the Sioux was confined, hoping to get him out
in the dark, but always found it guarded, and was ordered
back.

In the morning we left the camp, as we did not wish to
see the torturing done, and late at night we reached a small

D

80

WINTER SETS IN.

band of Cliippow.is vvlio were out on a hunt, and remained
M'itli them throe days — seeing a good many huffaloes, l)nt
fiiiding the running very bad, as there had been a light fall of
s!iow, so all holes were covered, and I got one very bad fall in
consejiuenee. We loaded all the ponies M'ith meat, and started
on our return journey leading them, aiul on the morning of the
third day we rcaehed the Cree eamp once more and found it
deserted; but in the inidcUe of it stood a big stake to whieh
was bouiul all that remained of the Sioux prisoner, and a
lionible sight it was. They had cut off his hands and feet
with Indian iiatehets, taking perhaps ten or twelve blows for
each linil) ; then he was scalped, his tongue was cut out, and
one of his feet was forced into his mouth, whieh had been slit
to admit it, and he was stuck full of small spikes of wood, most
of these horrible tortures, I was afterwards told, being done
by the women. We buried him as well as we could with our
hiuiting-knives, and proceeding on our journey reached home
safely, stopping a few miuiUes with old Mis-ta-wa-sis on the
way. ]wery thing was just as we had left it, A-ta-ka-koup
having been in charge, and I do not think that anyone had
been iii the house.

The winter set in soon after this, and we had furious snow-
storms iinu the wind howled in the tops of the trees, though
where we were we did not feel it. This time we passed
in making dog-harness and nuMuling our clothes, the former
being slow work, as it is made of three thicknesses of elk-skin.
I fouiul that stockings were of no use, one's feet freezing in
them. All the Hudson's Bay men use long strips of a very
thiek flannel called duflle, whieh is wrapped round the foot up
to the ankle. Of this you carry a fresh supply, and the strips

*

*;

TllAlMMNC IN WINTKR.

;u

you have on must l)o tiikoii off aiul druMl when they bccouu! thr
least (lamp, or you will have frozen feet.

After the snow was down we dad deliglitful weather, Jis bright
as in summer, and there l)eing no wind the cohl was tutt
unpleasant, thouj^h the thermometer sometimes fell to over 50°
below zero, liig game was scarce, as it was unusually cold,
and most of the deer and elk had moved south ; but wo
managed to kill several early in the winter, aiul had fair luek
when trap?)itii^-, getting a good many marten, mink, foxes, and
wolves. As this mode of trapping is peculiar to North America,
I will describe it here. Having arranged which direction you
will each of you take, you start off on snow-shoes, carrying
some meat for food and for baits, coffee and salt, a knife, fork,
and spoon, a plate, and a big tin cup which answers the purpose
of both coffee-pot and cup, as you cool it in the snow, a small
axe, and two wolf -traps, with two blankets rolled up and put on
soldier fashion ; all this is not a bad load when on snow-shoes
and in deep snow. You keep as straight a course as you can,
stopping when you come across " sign " to erect a fall-trap,
Avhich is made as follows : —

You first choose two young fir-trees growing about fifteen
inches apart, and enclose a semicircle behind them with stout
stakes driven firmly into the snow. Then you cut a small log,
which you lay on the ground against the front of the trees,
fastening it in its place by two uprights two feet high, opposite
to the trees. You then cut a fall-log about twenty feet long, and
place it between the uprights and the trees, filling up the space
above it with short logs. You then prepare your trigger, which
is about a foot long, and sharp at one end, on which you put your
bait ; then cut a short piece of wood, sharp at both ends, and

i

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m

11

38

AN UNPLKASANT ADVKNTUIIE.

rtiisiiig the fall-Io};, Hupport it on one end of this while the
other holds the end of the trigger, and your trap is ready and
will kill anything smaller than a fox — wolv(!s and foxes requiring
8t(U!l traps, whi(!h, instead of fastening to the ground, you simply
tie to a rough log, so that the animal soon gets hung uj), for if
you |)egge(l the trap down, he would bite the foot off and get
away. On your way baek in the morning, you take out what
you have eaught and rearrange your baits, generally going
down your line twiec a week ; some professionals, however, go
three times.

Your trouble is in keeping warm at night, two blankets being
all that you can carry ; but I got over this difficulty by leaving
a deer-skin bag at the further end of the line of traps, taking it
there on a dog-sleigh ; and it is curious that no Indian will
ever touch anything left on another man's line, or set a trap
near one of his.

I had one very unpleasant adventure, which happened to me
shortly before Christmas, and which very nearly ended badly
for me.

We had with us a small keg of what the Hudson's Bay men
call " shrub " — a kind of liqueur made with rum — which we
were keeping for Christmas day ; but one evening, having come
home very tired and cold, I thought I would have a glass, and
I had just finished it when A-ta-ka-koup came in, accompanied
by six other Indians, who happened to be camped near his
house — one of them being his son-in-law, and whom I had
already met.

Now an Indian has a nose for spirit like that of a hound
for a fox ; so they at once smelt the " shrub " and asked for
some, but, as I knew they would finish it and that then

I

I

AN UNPI-KAHANT ADVKNTIJRK.

8^

there would prolKihly he a fif^ht, I refused, telliiij; them thut I
hud very little of it, and was keeping? it for medieiiie.

This did not satisfy them, however; and seeing that we had
only one plaec in the room whore it eonld he kept — a hox
whieh ^^too(i under the window — A-ta-ka-koup opened this and
took out the kejj. I was standin;^ iu;ar him, ami at oiu;o
snatehed it from him and threw it into a corner, and catching
U[) an axe I stood in front of it. Wc had one candle hurnlng
in the room, as it was nearly dark and we were on the [)oint of
going t" \cd when the Indians came in. A-ta-ka-koup'» son-
in-law seized this, and throwing it down put his foot on it. I
saw that this meant a light, in which knives would be used,
and that I had better get outside as soon as possible ; so I
went down on my hands and knees, taking the keg under one
arm, and keeping close to the logs, as being the safest place,
I made for the door, which was ou the opposite side of the
room.

1 got on very well till 1 reached this, hearing the Indians
searching for me and now and then touching them ; but lujrc
I crawled between the outspread legs of one of them, who had
set his back against the door, and who at once struck dowu
with his knife, cutting me badly hi the back. I seized him
by the legs and upset him behind me, caught up a double gun
which was close at hand, and opening the door I went out and
closed it after me, drawing out the latch-string — the latch
being on the outside.

Immediately on getting out of the house, 1 beat in the head
of the keg with the butt of my gun and spilt the contents ou
the snow; the Indians bursting open the door as I did so
made a rush at me, A-ta-ka-koup leading ; but seeing that I

•in

TOM IJdOl TO TIM", UI'.SCIJK

I

took uiiii tit hill), Uv stopped ulioiit six feet f'lOTii ixn) uiid sliook
liiH f'lHt in my Cium;. I told liiiii tliut I would Nlioot the first
innii wlio tried to touch iiu;, at the huiih^ time huekiiif^ uwiiy,
to give niys(!ir more iDom in ease of a rush. I had only two
harrels, aftci which I meant to usi; the hntt-cnd of my KUii —
a very poor weapon, as it would hrtiak at tlic first blow.

The Indians had a short talk, and tlxMi A-ta-ka-koup came
towards me and told me that, an I had thrown away the; rum
and had threateiu^d to shoot iiim, they would kill mo, hintitif^,
however, that I might buy them oil'; the whole thin;? • i'in;<
(h)ne to get all they could out of me. Poor liadger, being
very little more than a boy, was frightened to death ; he had
not attempted to help me, and now advised mc to give tin;
Indians big presents, or I might be killed. This I, of eoursc,
refused to do, ami they all sat down on some logs near the
door of the liouse, occasionally shaking their <ists at me.

I liad come out in my socks, having removed my boots
before they arrived, and as I was standing in the snow, 1 soon
lost all feeling in my feet and knew that they were frozen; my
only clothing, too, was a flannel >ihirt and a pair of drawers —
rather light clothing for a night with tlie thermometer far
below zero.

How it would have ended I cannot think; but just at the
right moment up came Tom Hoot, returning from a hunt.
Now, fortunately for me, there had always been a rivalry
between him and A-ta-ka-koup as to their relative strength
and hunting capabilities ; so, on seeing who the leader of the
Indians was, Tom Boot asked him what the matter was, and
on being told what I had done and that they intended, to kill
me, he ordered A-ta-ka-koup to stand out of the way and let

II 18 PROWKHS.

41

^1

mo RO into the lioiiHr, uiul wImmi Ik* rrfiiscd to do tliin, Tom
Ht'iisod him ruiuid the wiUNt, picking him up likr u child, iind
threw him ngainnt tlio Io};n of the hounc, stunning him, and
c'liUMiiij; the others to driiw back hastily. Tom Hoot then
carried me into the house, an I was hy this time too NtifT to walk
— Khiitting the door, and taking no notice of the other Iiulians.

I asked him if he thought we were Hafe, on which he Hmilcd,
and Hiiid that there was not a man on the Saskatchawan who
dare come into a hou^c where he was if he did not wisli him to
do 80. ThiH I found to he true ; and there was a tradition
that he had only once hit a man, and had then killed him.

Tom Hoot had been for years in the employ of the Hudson's
Bay Com|)any, at the time of the rivalry between that company
and the North-Wcst Fur Company, aiul had seen a great deal
of fighting which went on between their employes when they
met in an Indian camp. Both companies used to hire fighting
men to drive their rivals out of any camp to which they had
gone to trade, and I was told at Fort Carlton that two French-
(^aiiadian prize-fighters had come on ])urp()se to look at Tom
Boot, having lieard a great deal about him, and that they liad
walked round him and declared him to be too big to be any
good, on which he picked up one of them and threw him at
his companion, both of them coming down, when the French-
men walked off, not wanting any more.

On the present occasion he was very good to me, rubbing
my frozen feet with snow, making me some tea, and doinj^ all
he could for me, and remained with me till morning. Just
then A-ta-ka-koup put in an appearance, looking very dilapi-
dated— his face having been much cut by the logs, and one of
his arras was in a sling.

k

PI'

M'

If

42

BNOW-HIIUKH.

\\v Hccni'd to !)(• iiH friendly an tiNiml with Torn Moot, till tlio
latter Imiipened to leiivn tlu) ealiin, when \w Hhowed mo a lock
of Tom HooI'h hair, which he luid he had pulled out diirinK
tlic itrui^^le, and hy means of which ho aiiHurcd mo ho cuuhl
muko him " licap-o-sick." It RccmH that Indians — who arc
very 8uper>4titi(>UM — bclicvo that if an cneniy can ^I't liohl of a
i)it of their hair, ho ean, hy throwing a little now aiul then into
the fire, eunso them to have a very Hcrioun illneMN.

A-ta-ka-koup had comj to nrike piuiee with me. as I wan
much too valuable a friend to (juarrel with, and ho hau brought
mo a pair of moccasins as a peace otferiu}^.

For ft long time I would not look at him or his olTorin},',
though t)ie latter lay jusl in front of me, and when he called
my attention to it I pushed it towards lun», when he would
wait a few moments and then put it in froat of mo again.
This went on for fully an hour, as I was employed in making
some dog-harness. When 1 lu»d fini?<hed what I had been
doing, I called Badger and gave the old fellow a good talking
to, ending by saying that if I )\ad any more trouble I should
leave that part of the country, ami he would then lose all I had
intended giving him jcfore I went away in the spring, lie
was very penitent, and we eventual' y shook hands, and I had
no reason to find fault with him again. After th'j 1 often went
liunting with liim, and found him to be a first-rate trucker and
a wonderful man on snow-shoes in deep snow.

I liad come to America believing that a man could do eight
or even ten miles an hour on snow-shoes, and thai, you went
along on the surface ; but all this I found to be a mistake —
the fact being tliat when the snow is soft you frequently go
in to your knees, and have at each stop to shake oil' the snow

)

i

I

A VIHIT fKOM " nmvKR."

48

I

I

bof«)ro miikinj< another, ai'tl wlicii tlioro in u cruHt luid you «lo
go Oh the Hurfiico, the jar in «o great that you arc cvcu uooncr
tired — five milen nn hour hcing fnnt travcIlinK.

The nfiow- iliocs we used in the North wore very different
from thoHe used in Ciuuulii, us ourM had tl»e ends much ruor«^
turned u|) iind eiuh'd in a point, whilr in ('ana<ln they turn up
very Iitth« and are ronn«h'd in front. ()ur«, too, were very
much h)nj;er, nuiny ol' them beinn over five fW-t in length.

It is very amusinK to hvv. a beginner, who iius t'alleu with
liis nnow-dhoci on, trying to get up ; his hands ftnd no firm
reNtiii^-placo in the deep snow, ami \\'\h face is Iniried in it,
wliile the points of his snow-Hhoes stiek in, so that he cannot
turn himself over; and it is only after he has pouiuh'd so h)ng
at the snow that he has made it solid, that he can manage
to raise himself fur enough to remove the snow-shoes uud
get up.

1 hud a visit from an old liulian trader called "Driver"
about this time. I had seen him in Fort Garry and had told
him of my intention to winter somewhere near Carlton ; so
liearing of me from some Indians, he had come out of his way
to pay me a visit. He had been an Indian trader all iiis life,
and hud done well at it, in spiic of the Hudson's Bay Company,
wlio had tried to starve him out many times.

He told me that no man could oppose them in the North,
being too far from his base of supplies, but tliat down here he
did as he liked. He had once sold tlic forbi(M?u wliiskey just
outside the gates of Carlton, but then he had a number of
rough men with him, and could not be meddled witli.

On another occasiou he had penetrated into the heart of
Athabasca with a trading outfit worth about eight hundred

11

*t

It

DKIVKRN fiAHTHONOMIC IDEAS.

I

t

tl

I

IioiukIn, liiiil wuiilil hnvc iimdr it |iny wril if \\v liml hcfii U*t
iilonr ; hut the (!oiii|miiy liniril of it, uiiil M>iit iiiirtli ut once
to ti*ll the ItidiuiiN tliut if tlicy would not go nrnr hiiu or mcII
liiiu nnytliinK, iUvy would givo awtiy iw prcNciitR nn outfit C(|ual
to hill; mid thin thc'y did — poor •' Driver" arlliiiK uothiii^ riiid
Im'Iii^ iicurty Ntiirvcd.

I thought I would ^ivc him a really k"'"' dinner; no having;
Honu! hu(Talo-liuin|i riliM, I roahtcd them myMcIf, and expected
to hear him eiithuHiaHtic in their prairte ; hut no, not n word
did he nay, no I UHked him what hu thoui^ht of the meat,
whieh wan ns tender am a welUkcpt chicken, on wliieh ho »aid
that hv. preferred Honu'thiuK tliat lie could );et hold of, whieli
he could not do with what he had jiiNt eaten.

He left me, after remaiiiitiK two dnyH, invititij^ me to vinit
him at hin enmp on Ued Deer lliver ; hut I did not do
MO, th()u;;h liiH account uf the quantity of game there wuh
must tempting.

lit';

Mr TKNT.

4:>

CIlAPTKIl IV.

A inonso.lmnt. — DoMcriptioii nf my ti'iit. -A-tft-kii-koup In PAiitp. -nuntln^r
iiiotmo on Nnow-Mhi *«■!<. I)t'iilli4 of u bull iiml it cow. I.yiix-linntin^.—
Toni ll<ii)t n niiimmro. I'' - ~^'h liiNtory. I In nuscrultl)* conililion.

1 laid" liini with n«. lUtiintiryliiK tln' hut.— F uml I vi^il ni} Into

conipiiniuii'*. Uur journ«y.~'l"hi« wcilvt-ri!!!*. -(Ji'ttinj^ F^— ho»n'.—
Dait^cr iii'^li'otN tho trripN.— Narrow i>^cii|m> of Mw^f tiiunlt'n*)!. My
prt'ciuitiotiH fur tho futuro. — An invitation to n Ntoaling-party.

A-TA-K v-Koup having found Monic moose nign not far fron> tlu;
hut, we iin'an<;o(I to have a Imnt togv'thcr, remaining out Mevcrul
nights, and Badger was to look after my trapN in the mean-
while; and a few days later we Ktaited, taking two of my dogs,
ami a light sleigh, mo as to cam}) eomfortahly.

\\v did not attempt to hunt till we were ten or twelve; miles
from the eahin, and then we put up a eomfortahle eamp, in a
hollow surrounded by bushes. This partieular kind of eamp
was an idea of my own, so T will deseribc it.

I got a s(|naw to make me an A-tcnt, elosed at both ends,
and used this on the dog-sleigh instead of the usual big ah<;et;
when going on sueh a hunt as this, and when we had ehos(;n a
spot and sl»ovelled away tlie snow, after hiving down a foot of
either willows or bmall iir branehes, wc put up my tent on its

46

A-TA-KA-KOUP IN CAMP.

i^

i

side, tlio other side forminjj a slant, and the two ends kcci)ing
ont all draughts, making us very comfortable. A-ta-ka-koup
rather laughed at it when ho saw it unpacked, but he laughed
no more when he was lying in it, and said that his squaw
should make him one.

In ft dry country such as that was, where a storm was a
rarity after tlie snow was once down, such a shelter as this
was far better than a tent, being much more easily warmed, as a
fire could be lighted so much nearer to it; and many a night I
have lain in my bag, chatting with whomever formed t he party,
and felt as if I would not change my quarters for the finest
room in the world.

On this occasion the amount of chatting was necessarily very
limited, as A-ta-ka-koup knew only about twenty or thirty
words of English ; but he was a grand companion in other
ways, being always ready to get up, liowevcr cold it was, and
make up the fire, besides cutting all the wood, and bringing
most of it into camp.

Sometimes he seemed to forget that I did no., understand
liim, and would go on talking, evidently, from the signs he
made, telling me of battles he had fought and of men he had
killed, and I would give a grunt now and then — Indian fashion
— as if I understood it all.

Having made a very snug camp, we started at once, and soon
came on moose-tracks of that morning. A-ta-ka-koup said
that they were those of three coavs and a bull, and we followed
them for more than an hour, by which time we were evidently
close to them. The snow was here very deep, as we sank in
nearly to cur knees with snow-shoes on, and the moose
evidently had to jump to get along at all.

A MOOSE-IIUNT.

47

As wc were going round a small thicket wc heard them
start, and almost immediately they broke cover about two
hundred yards ahead, going pretty fast. A-ta-ka-koup seemed
to be confident of coming up with them, and started on the run
after them, going at the rate of perhaps six miles an liour,
which he could not have kept up for long, and I followed at
al)ont the rate of five mil's. 1 had had so much snow-shoo
travelling that I was in good condition, but I was not such an
old liand at it as he was, so that he continued to gain on me,
and in half an hour was two hundred yards ahead and gaining
still, in spite of all I could do.

I then heard a shot, followed by another, and came up to
him standing over a cow, where I left him, as he told rae the
bull was not far in front, and in a few minutes I saw him,
evidently labouring, about a hundred yards off; so I fired,
missing with the first barrel and liitLmg him too far back
with the second, on which he increased his speed for a few
hundred yards, and then stood at bay. Thinking him weaker
than he really Avas, I went up to within ten yards of him,
when down went his licad, and in about three tremendous
jumps he was almost on me. I fired at his head, and, fortu-
nately perhaps, missing that struck him in the neck, dropping
him at once — not three feet from me. He was a splendid
fellow, and had a good head, which A-ta-ka-koup carried to
camp for me, Avhere wc hung it high up on some boughs,
intending to fetch it in the spring.

On returning to camp, A-ta-ka-koup took the sleigh and
dogs and went to fetcli some of the cow meat, the bull being
too tough to eat.

As there were a good many lynx-tracks about, A-ta-ka-koup

48

LYNX-IIUNTINO.

\i^

m

went home the next morning to fotcli some dogs wliich he liad,
and which were good at treeing lynxes ; so I took my shot gnn
and hnnted for grouse round camp. There were a good many
riilTcd grouse and a few willow-grouse, both being capital eat-
ing ; and I liad six of them broiled by the time A-ta-ka-koup
returned. lie appreciated them thoroughly, and declared that
for the future he would always have them cooked in that way,
the usual Indian manner of cooking them being to throw tliom
into a pot after skinning them.

The next day we started after lynx, taking my sleigh-dogs
with us, as they made so much noise if tied up in camp, and
might attract some passing Indian

A-ta-ka-koup*s dogs soon found a fresh trail, and away they
all went — my dogs leading, as they were in better wind, and
we followed as fast as we could. As we went along, A-ta-ka-
koup explained the tracks to me, seeming to know what turns
they had made and which dogs were leading at the time, and
as liis dogs were very much smaller than mine, they made a
track about half the size.

We had not gone far when we heard them all giving tongue,
and knew that the lynx was treed, and soon came to where he
had gone up a low fir tree. A-ta-ka-koup came up first, and
fired, on which the lynx dropped wounded among the dogs.
Mine immediately bolted, sleigh-dogs seldom having much
pluck ; but the two smaller ones went in and killed him in
good style. We found two more during the day — losing one
and killing the other. I had the luck to get the shot, as I
happened to take the right-hand side of a thicket, whilst A-ta-
ka-koup had to go some way round.

We had one day at white-tailed deer, but had bad luck, as

Im'.'

8 HISTORY.

49

wc only got one, tlic reason being that A-ta-ka-koup's doj^s
behaved badly, by rushing on in front and putting up the deer
long before wc got near enough to shoot, for which conduct
they got an " Indian beating/' which Avas much worse than
that given by an English keeper.

On the fifth day we returned home, having had a most
enjoya])le hunt.

On our return wc found Tom Boot camped near the hut,
liaving come to live on us, as he was too lazy to hunt for him-
self, and was very insolent if you refused him anything ; aiul
here he remained nearly the whole winter, begging and steal-
ing, and altogether he was an awful nuisance.

Late in December I paid another visit to the fort to get

supplies, and found there a Scotchman named F , who had

had rather an eventful career.

He was the son of a clergyman in Edinburgh, and had run
away from school when he was sixteen, and turned actor. As
he did not make much money at this, he had gone out to
St. John's, New Brunswick, just after the greater portion of
tliat city had been burned down. Here he had hired himself
to a house-painter, and had developed a decided talent for that
kind of work, being particularly good at imitating different
woods ; but after a time he got tired of this, and had gone to
George Town, Demerara, where he had set up for himself
as a house-painter and decorator, and had done well. He
then returned to Scotland and married, and had two
daughters.

Then came the British Columbian gold boom, and, bitten
with the mining mania, he had sent his wife and daughters to
Iowa to some friends, and had paid forty pounds to a bubble

£

I' :

50

S HISTORY.

company, whiol' had contracted to take liim to the mines for
that Slim — })cing one of the men whom we had licard of in
ISt. Paul's wlien the company hroke up. Having a little money
still left, he bought an ox and a cart, and travelled alone to
Fort Garry, and worked there to make some money to buy a
fresh outfit, and with this he started for Uritish Columbia — a
journey of twelve hundred miles; but on rc;aching Carlton his
ox died, and when I found him he was living in a miserable
lodge with some old Indians, who were given scraps from the
fort, M'hicli he shared with them, as it was against the policy
of the Company to help any white man coming into their terri-
tories, wishing to discourage immigri'.tion, as it interfered with
their monopoly.

lie was so miserable when I found him that I think he Avould
have died that winter, not being used to cold or able to eat
much of the food, which was only such as the sleigh-dogs got.

I found him to be a very pleasant and amusing man, who had
seen a great deal of life of most kinds, and we soon became
friends ; so when I was about to leave the Post I proposed that
he should come and pass the winter with me, an offer which he
accepted.

The journey ok to my cabin was a dreadful trial for him,
as he would ru ase snow-shoes, so that the track we made
would not bcf ■• ' im and he had to struggle along in two feet of
snow. Where the going was fairly good he could ride on the
sleigh, but then he immediately froze, so that several times we
had to stop and light a fire to warm him.

We were three days doing the ninety miles, and I think
that Badger and I were quite as thankful to see the house as
he was, though the roughness of it struck him at once, and

DECOUATINO TFIK IIUT.

51

ink

us

bid

his spare time during the winter was spent in hcantifving the
inside.

lie had some paints with him and began first of all on the
fire-phiee, wliieh he painted all over, and then ornamented by
representing a marble mantlepiece with vases on it; and he did
it 80 well that all tiie Indians who carae in wouhl go up and
touch it, and then look at it sideways to see why it aj)peared to
stand out. lie rcstopped the house inside too, and painted
the stopping blue, I, however, had my doubts as to its being au
improvement.

When making his bed, instead of slev^ping on the top of a
number of buffalo-robes and boar-skins which we had bought of
the Indians, he would get under them, retaining two only to lie
on, and would even then say he was cold.

For some days he thought he would cook instead of Badger's
wife, but we found that what he prepared had such an extra-
ordinary flavour that we reinstated our old cook. He had the
remains of some West-Indian sauces with him, and lie would
put these in, adding a quantity of cayenne pepper, which he
could eat as we did salt, as he had lived fifteen years in South
America.

About a week after F 's arrival, I made up my mind to

go and pay a visit to my late companions, whose house was only
about forty miles from mine, making them near neighbours for

that part of the world ; and I at last persuaded F to go

Wi.h me, as I intended taking four dogs and a sleigh, and he
could ride most of the way.

I engaged a Cree Indian called Ki-chi-mo-ko-man, or " Big

knife," to act as guide, as Badger knew nothing of the country

north of the Saskatchawau.

e2

52

VISIT MY LATK COMPANIONS.

It took us tuc ilnys, and I thouglit that F would linvc

^ivcu 011*^ m()i(! than oiicc, as the; snow "vvas soft and he was
iV)iccd to walk occasionally, hut wo arrived at last, aiul foniui

M and C livinj; in a much less pretending house than

ours, it luMug made on the principU; which I have descrihed.

They had i)ut up hunks I'or hcds, usinjf fir houj^hs for mat-
tresses ; and as the bunks were one above the other, you could
not sit u^) in eoinfort, nor had you light enough lor writing or
reading, which we often did in bed when it was very cold.

They had had fair sport, and Larondc being a nnu'h better
trapper than Badger had done better in that way, but had been
very much troubled ])y a wolverine, an animal which is the
trappci's worst enemy, as it goes along his line of traps and
takes out anything which may have been caught, and tears up
all that it cannot cat, apparently out of pure mischief. One of
these animals had destroyed a number of good skins for them,
and it did not seem possible to catch him, though they had
tried poison and many kinds of jraps.

I heard of some being killed with spring guns, and it was in
this way that they eventually got him. Indians and trappers
nearly always torture a Molverine when caught, very often
roasting him alive over the fire.

We remained only one night with my friends, as Christmas
was near and I had a good deal to do before then. Unfortu-
nately there was a snowstorm on the night of our arrival, which
made the travelling very bad, burying our tracks so deeply
that they were of no use to us on the return journey, and we
were obliged to walk most of the w.^y.

Ki-ehi-mo-ko-man, too, was not nearly so good a man in
camp as A-ta-ka-koup, as he shirked his work, and being more

DISADVANTAfiES OF A HKAIU).

63

used to cold til. Ill oiirsi'lvca, \vc were obligi;d to {^v.t up in tlio
iii^lit to repleiiitili the tire.

I have already described my leather A-teiit, wliicli wiva in-
valuable when such a mail us V was with us, who would

have frozen it' he had slept in tlu; opiMi. lie had made! hiinscll:'
u bulTalo-baj; too, and watching him getting into it was very
urausing. The process is simple, being merely to open the mouth
of the bag and step into it, tlieii giving a jump and pulling the
bag up at the same time, continuing this until far enough in to
sit down, wlien you slide yourself in, turn the end in under
your head, and you soon get warm if lying by a tire : your
breath contributing a good deal towards the warming of the

inside air, though I fear the ventilation is bad. Now with F

the jumping was the difliculty, his attcmjjts much resembling
those of a young elephant, making even Ki-chi-mo-ko-man laugh.

1 found during this trip that a man with a heavy beard and
moustache labours under great disadvantages in a very cold
country, as his breath freezes it all into one solid mass. This

was the case with ¥ , and we had great fun by making him

laugh, as this necessitated his opening his mouth so that he felt
as if all the hair was being torn out by the roots.

Very soon after starting F had to get out and walk, and

in less than an hour he was in difficulties. I cheered him up as
well as I could, and Ki-ehi-nio-ko-man frightened him by telling
him of Indians who had been partially frozen and then eaten by
wolves (an instance of which I saw myself on another occasion) ;
but it was all of no use, and about four o'clock on the first
afternoon he sat down and declared he would go no further.
We put him on the sleigh and managed to get him to a good
camping place, where we remained till morning.

54

(>KTTIN(» F-

llOME.

"NVc stfii'trd fpiito briskly the next morniiif?, niul tlirrc wm no
tr()iil)l(' till af'tiT (liiincr, as wc only stopixid oucv for him to
warnj liinisclf, hut very soon iit'ti'r\vunl« he };ivve out iij^ain, and
sitting' down he wished us both j^ood-hyc, saying thiit ho meant
to ri'main where he was and die. We lit a lire and warmed him
thoroughly, and ^ot him on another mile or so, but beyond that
he would not j;o, and it vas ov\ h) pretending; to (|uarrel with
I m and by hitting him, .'• : he ^t.t furious and elmsed me,
that I got hiui home at in-^t. u. took several days to appease
liis wrath, and to prove that I only li.v, what I had done to save
his life.

When 1 got home I found tlmt Madger had ])een negleeting
the traps, spending most of Ins time in A-ta-ka-koui)'8 house;
and on going along my line I fomid that a wolverine had paid
the traps a visit, and had eaten two martens and left nothing
but the tail of what must have been a fine fisher, a skin whieh
is worth fully two martens. I got one fine Molf, and I fear
that the poor animal had been several days in the trap, as he
had eaten everything in the shape of a twig within reach, and
had gnawed the bark from the log to which the trap Mas
fastened.

On my way home I was crossing a small ridge M'hen I saw
A-ta-ka-koup^s son-in-law, the man whom I had thrown over
my head in the struggle for the " shrub/' and who had never
forgiven me, go qniekly into a clump of small ^r trees, which
were on my way to the hut, and I also noticed that he had a
gun in his hand, and seemed to move in a stealthy way as if he
had seen me coming, and did not wish me to know of his being
there. Now I had been told by Badger that he had vowed to
be revenged on me for what I \i^'^ done to him, so that he

A NAUllOW ESCAI'K.

D)

?■!

I 1

probably nir'nnt to wayliiy n\v. and shoot mo as T passed. T was
about an hour's jouriioy froin tho cabin, but thcr snow was in
good onh'r, so \ turned asich* from the dinu't road home, and
I (h) not think I ever made bettor time ou Huow-shoes in
my life.

Ooinj? straiji;ht to A-ta-ka-koup's house, where 1 found him
nt home, I tohl him what I had seen, and ass\ired him that I
shoidd always in future carry a ^un, ami that if I ever met liis
aou' in-law I should shoot him, A-ta-kakoup left the house at
once, and on his eomin}^ to sec me in tin; (;v(;nin^, In; told nu>
that hv. had sent his son-in-law Houtli, to his father's ( . uji i
the Saskatehawan, nnd that I should not sec him ajr <• ; \\ '■.,
to be on the safe side, in case the man luid not u'ly (one
away, from that day I always carried a revolver aiiu took
with me a favourite dofij, so that he nuj^ht not gc j. cnaiu'C,
or I f(!el convinced he would have taken it.

The dog I refer to was a huge white Escpiimaux exactly like
a wolf, whicdi I had made very fond of mc, and which always
slept against my back, adding greatly to my comfort.

That day two strange Crces whom no one knew arrived and
stopped with me, saying nothing of tlieir errand on the first
day, but they asked me the next morning whether I would join
them in a liorsc-stcaling expedition, which they and some of
their corapanious were going to undertake in the Blackfoot
country, south-cast of where we then were.

Of course I refused, much to their surprise, but A-ta-ka-koup's
son joined thera, and I heard from him the result of the
attempt.

It seems that they reached a large Blackfoot camp, and found
out where the horses were herded, but were discovered bv a

1

I

50

A imilSE-iTlALlNO EXPFDITION.

hui'HC-gimrd uiul liad to l\y, losing one of their nuinlu'i', uiid my
iiifuriiiunt wu.s uImu uouiuled. They only Ciico|K;d through thrir
Ihmiijj; iiiiuh h(!tt(>r on HiioM'.Mhucii than the HIackiVet.

Siu'h cxpeditioMH as thcNC an; h)okt'(l upon an bring utrictly
honouralilc, and arc not regarded as Ntealing; thoii^di an ludian'it
ideas on this Huhjeet are not very orthodox, um witli them it is
only wrung to be found out.

\

h I

>i»

'ir
is

rui:i'AiiiNu rou cuiti»TMAs.

57

CIlAl'TKU V.

Il(.\v to nml<«' n |tliin»-|iinlilin);.— Our CliriHtuiBM |tnrty.— Noctiirtml vii-itu (tl'

y niul iiiy»eU" to tlio |iluiii-iiiiil(liiiK'. — ()ur iliilly ri»utiii(>. — K

(liM'H Hilt mjoy wiiit<'r. — I iiiii Nimiiiiiiiii'tl lo h Cret) I'miiicil. — A iiljrijt
nii|iariti(iii. 'I'lio Civo cmni). ArctiHuiintm n^raiint inc. Mniiiity oi'
Huiiir of tliu Iiuliiui,'*, HcsciH'd fioiii a (liiii).i^t'ruiiM inwilion by " \N liito
Hawk." — A rU'W n'li|i^it>n. — Inijuiiiity nt' Imialici*. liCavf Cn'e cunp.—
Mis-ta-\va-«i8 corrects his wif»* with aii nxo. — Attt>in|»t to ninrry u»»'.—
A-tft-ka-lioup jtiopitiatoM tlio hunting ^'od. — ('uiii|iiii|^ in tho snow. — A
dofT-Jtlt'ijrh dt'Ncribod. — llehaviour ofdoj^B.

We were now within three days of Christinas, and began to
look up our njuteriuls for the festivities of tliut duy. We had
reserved some butfulo-huinp ribs, wliieli having been frozen for
more than two months would be tender; we had, too, a bottle
of whiskey, obtained at the F< rt, and the materials for a plum-
pudding, and this last was our only dillieulty, none of us knowing
anything about the manufaeture of that artiele.

F having lived in South America for fifteen years had

not seen one all that time, so 1 constituted myself ehiet cook

and F was appointed kitchen-maid, and we commenced

operations by F 's sewing two towels tcjgether for a

pudding-cloth and my washing out our best wooden bucket

r)^

oni I'l.UM-l'UDDINO.

Hi

i

k

ii <i

for A )m«iii. Tlic iiij^rrdiciitH — currutitH, riUNiiiR, nitd citron,
wliic*! w(! hnil currfiilly Nuvcd — were thru iniiprf'tiul, and tliu
lii'Mt tliin)^ wu nutici'd wan u most lunicnluble drlicicncy in tliu
<|iutntity, not more than Imlf of what wo had brou^lit hcing
found ; hut of courae no ono had toucluMl thnn. V
■aid ho had found a Mtray raiNiu or currant now ami tlieu,
and I had done the nauu^ and had thought it wnn of no umo
K>avin;( it to ht; HpoiU^d ; liowcvcr, thin could not account for
HO lnrj(c a dcfici«'iu'y. Then wc found u j(ood nuuiy pcrcuH-
kIou capM, Hhot, pow(h;r, atui otluT triilcN among the fruit, hut
wc agreed that none of thcMO were puiiionous, lo wo picked
out an many an we coidd and h'ft the remainder. Our chief
doul)t was the eKf?M, of which we had hrouj^ht four (hy/.cu packj'd
in hran ; hut these were all unniistakahly had cx(;ept four, whi(*h
wen* douhtful, ho we gave tluuu tlie henefit of tlie douht ond
put them into the hucket witii 7 or H lb. of Hour, abotit .J II). of
currantH, ^ lb. of raisins, and hoiuc citron-peel. It ntruck nto
that the proportions nii^^ht not be correct, but it was the best
I couhl do. I then added about 2 lb. of suet, cut fine, and a
small tin of baking-powder J it was our last, and I had my doubts
about its strength, so I put it all in and poured in a lot of water

and stirred it for about an hour, F taking a turn now and

then. We then put the pudding into the bag, sewed it up, and
deposited it in the camp kettle, which we placed by the fire so
that it should not boil too rapidly.

All this had been done two days before Christmas day, so as
to have plenty of time, and the event showed that we had not
begun too soon. When we went to bed wc left the kettle beside
the fire all night and recommenced boiling the pudding in the
morning ; but the cooking only seemed to hardcu it, so that in

OUB CIIRltTNAll PARTT. 50

the evening we Kent for A-tn«kii-koii|)'» wife ami paid her to \hh\
it all ni^ht, telling her that it wn« White man's niedieinn ond
Kndd(Mi (Icuth to an Indian (which in its* thrn Ntate it well u\\y;\\t
)n'), Irnt mIic niiKht be teni|>t((l to try it; ol'conrjte hUv. Raid nhe
had done what we h'ul paid her for, h\it it Hecnicd juHt um haul
in the morning.

There were non»e live or nix Indiann eneamped in the n«igh-
hourhoud, wIiomc ehief amuRcment cuntiated in Hitting for hinim
ngninHt the wall of onr honwc, not nttering a w(»rd the whole
tune, nnd we invited all thene and the A-ta-ka-koup family to
dinner, aiul on their arrival we raii^'<*d them all round the
room, we onreelveH Mitting at the table, and itadger nerved the
dainticM to \\n.

First w(^ all had a ghiNN of grog nnd drank to the health of
the Queen, the Indians wondering why wc stood up um we did
it. Then Rliers of bntfalo were handed on the cndu of stieks to
nil the Indians, thene being tli( fasioiiablc substitutes for forks
in those regions, and waving a great <leal of breakage and eonsc-
(|uent loss of temper; nnd then enme the pudding, wlii(;h had
been left in the towels till the last moment so as to give it every
chance. On sticking a knife into it, it was hard work to get
it out again, ami when it was extracted it brought with it
more of the pudding than is usual.

A portion wns at last cut for everyone nnd handed round,
but though on most of the slices a plum or a currant, and in
some cases two (./ three, were visible, there was not that enthu-
siasm about it will h wc lind hoped for, everyone eating his or
her portion in silence. My piece remiiulcd me of what school-
boys call " turnpike pudding,'' plums occurring about as often
as turnpikes do in travelling.

}

00

NOCTUUNAL VISITS TO THE rUDDINO.

«5

After (linucr wo had a talk about game with tlu; Indians, and
then turned in, liaviiig dined fashionably hite to give tlie |)U(hling
an opportunity of becoming soft ; but before we went to bed wc
marked what remained of it showing how inueli wc were to eat
each day, and finding that wc had some 5 lb. left, enough with
care to last us five days.

On trying to sleep I could tliink of nothing but pudding, till
at last 1 thought I must have one small piece more ; so I got
out of my bufialo-robcs, crawled to the box, and raised the lid ;

but that sly man F had piled some things on it after

putting out the light, and down they all came with a great noise.
F , it seems, was awake and also thinking of pudding, and

he immediately shouted out asking who was at the box : I told
him that I only wanted the smallest possible piece, which I took
and retired to bed, replacing such of the fallen articles as I could

find on the box, a thing which evidently F did not expect,

for presently down they all came again and there was the man
who had abused me for taking the pudding doing the same thing
himself, and I am sorry to say that wc each of us made two
more visits to the box during the night, and when we came to
look at it in the morning we found one of us must have taken
more of the pudding than he should, as it had dwindled down
to about 1 lb., so not liking to be reminded of our misdeeds we
ate that for breakfast.

After the dissipations of Christmas, we settled down once
more to our weekly routine, which was as follows : —

On Monday I went along my line of traps and took up
what had been caught, and had happened to be left by
the wolverines. On Tuesday I returned home, doing the
same thing. On Wednesday I generally went deer hunting

tfci.

SUMMONKI) TO A CKF.E COUNCIL.

01

with A-ta-kti-koup or Ki-chi-mo-ko-man ; and on Thnrsday
I (lid wliiit was necessary round the honse, shot rabbits,
which, by the way, turn white in winter, and on Frichiy and
Saturday I again visitod my line of traps. Sunday being a
day of rest we emi)loyed ourselves mending our clothes, dog-
harness, &c., and read once more one of our very few books
and newspapers.

F was very miserable during the whole winter, almost

living in bed with all the spare skins and rugs heaped upon
him. I have come home sometimes and have missed him, and
on calling to him have ])ecn answered by a small voice coming
from under an innnensc heap of deer- and bud'alo-skins ; when
it ajjpearcd that, the wood giving out, he had dread(;d the cold
too much to go outside and cut some, and Badger being also
away liunting he had crept under the skins and had been there
for hours shivering in spite of their weight.

I found game becoming very scarce, and by the end of
January we were very nearly out of meat, and the flour was
getting low, so it was determined that Badger and I should pay
another visit to Ins father-in-laAv's camp, and we were waiting
for good weather for our start when a runner arrived to
summon me to a big council of the Crccs, which was to be held
on the north fork of the Saskatchawan.

He did not know why I was wanted, or said he did not, and
returned at once. The day after he left we started, taking a
sleigh and four dogs, a little flour, and some presents in the
form of beads, brass wire, sham jewellery, and powder and lead
for the Indians. The snow was deep and the travelling bad,
but by following the tracks of the runner, who was on snow-
shoes, we got on fairly and did some twenty miles a day — a

62

A MIDNIGHT APPARITION.

good (lay's journey with dogs being from forty to sixty, ac-
cording to the state of the snow.

Our second night out was on the open prairie, and wc had
had to carry wood with us and to sleep without any bushes or
fir-boughs under our buft'alo-skins. Tiie fire being very small
anil likely to go out soon, we had turned in early, and in the
middle of the night, feeling very cold, I put my head out of my
bulfalo-bag to see what sort of a night it was, when to my
extreme surprise I saw two Indians seated smoking their pipes on
the o])posite side of the embers. I thought at first that I must
be dreaming, but on my moving they both raised their heads,
and I saw that they were men and not the fancies of a dream.

I at once woke liadger, and on his questioning them, we found
that they were Crees and on their way to the big council to
which Ave were also bound, and who, having seen our fire, had
come to warm themselves.

The next evening we reached the Cree camp, which we found
to consist of nearly two thousand Indians, no women or
children being present. I was given a lodge and was told that
the next meeting would be held at sunset that evening.

After making our lodge as comfortable as possible and lighting
a fire in the centre of it, I sent Badger out to discover, if
possible, why we had been summoned. He returned in about an
hour with the information that the Crees, hearing that I had
been killing a good many bulfaloes, had been most indignant,
and had sent for me to say that 1 must leave the country at once.

The main object of the council was to discuss certain wrongs
which they thought they had suflered at the hands of the
Hudson's Bay Company in allowing their enemies, the Sioux,
to trade at Fort Carlton.

1

AT THE COUNCIL.

03

I attended the meeting in the evening, which was hehl round
a eirclc of tires, the chiefs and sohlier Indians sitting two and
three deep round the circle, the younger men being in the
middle keeping up the fires.

The first speeches were all about their differences with the
Company, till one of the Indians pointing to me reminded
them of their having sent for me ; and then one of the younger
cliiefs rose and began what Badger told me was a speech
against white men not belonging to the Company killing game,
especially buffalo, in their territory ; he was very moderate and
calm about it, but he was followed by an old Assineboine chief,
whose name I remember was " Big Vulture," who was by no
means calm ; in fact he worked himself up into such a rage
that he several times shook his fist at mc, and slapped his knife
meaningly. His speech had a bad effect, Indians bciiig very
easily roused by c man who is eloquent. On his sitting down
I rose, Badger putting what I said into the Cree language. I
began by saying, That I was a stranger from a very distant
land across the big water ; that I had there heard of the noble
Red Man and had come to visit him, bringing him many presents,
some of which I had now with me. That I had only shot what
game I had wanted for food ; and that during the summer I
had only killed thirteen buffaloes, several of which Mcre old
bulls, and therefore useless. I then said that the " Great
White Mother" (as they always call the Queen) took a great
interest in her Red children ; and that I should go back and say
how kind they had always been to me. Here I was interrupted
very rudely by a young Indian sitting near me, who wanted to
know whether I had brought presents lor all of them. Of
course 1 was obliged to say that I had not, on which he worked

04

A NEW IlKLIfilON.

I

;<!< I

hi

m

himself up into n fury, ending by saying " that if I were
allowed to go hiiek, many more white men would eome," on
whieh an old Tndian, who had seatcul himself beside me,
tonched me on the arm and pointed towards the tents, evi-
dently meaning me to go with him, whieh I did, taking IJadgcr
with me.

When we reaehed his tent, which was a very large one and
evidently belongiul to a ehicf, ho motioned me to a seat and
told me, through Hadger, that if I had remained at the eouneil
I should eertainly have been killed ; but that with him I was
safe.

He said that he was ehief of a large band of the Crees then
present, and being a friend of the white men would proteet rac;
but I must remain in his tent till the council broke uji, whieh
it would probably do in two or three days. Not a very pleasant
prospect as I had no books or newspapers with me.

IJadger was sent for our things and reported that the talk at
the eouneil was still about me; and that a good many Indians
were opposed to injuring me, as it would do thera so much
harm with the Company.

Late in the evening I was surprised by five of them coming
in and a sort of service being held, during whieh something
wrapped in a beautifully dressed buffalo-calf skin was laid in
front of the chief and treated with great veneration ; and after
the service was ended and the Indians gone, I asked him what
this was, and what the service meant.

Fe very carefully unfolded the skin and produc^/l a book,
evid.Mily »>;ade of sheets torn from a large ledger, the paper
being li i ■ I foolscap; and this he very reverently held up to the
\}[;hi oi iliii {ire, when I cot'ld see some watermarks iu the

IMPUNITY OF LUNATICS.

05

|)fi|)rr; and those, he told me, wore the l)oginnings of a new
relij,M()iJ, wliicli was bein;^ rovoaU'd to liiin l)y dc^'roos. He
assured me that there was mi)re of it on the paper then than
tlicre had been a short time before; and that soon the whole of
it would be there, when he would be the greatest ehief in North
Anieriea.

Of ooiirse I did not attempt to put him right, as he would
not have believed mi) and might have turned me out, wh.ieli
would have be'fi very awkward just then. It seems that the
serviec had been a series of prayers to the new (lod, and that
the five Indians were the o>ily eonverts he had made so lar.

One great reason for my safety while with him was that
most of the Indians looked upon him as a madman ; and, as
sueh, under the spi;cial protcetion of the •* Great Spirit." I
have seen a good many lunatics in Indian camps, and they were
always well eared for, and perfectly sale from everyone, uo
matter wluit they might do. One of them has taken a chief's
gun from a lodge in which I was sitting and Malked away with
it ; and the chief has only followed him on the chance of his
laying it down, and never dreamt of taking it from him.

The camp broke up on the morning of the second d: much
to my delight as I had had to remain the whole time in te tent,
and had been constantly stared at by Imndreds of lumaus, who
were coming in and going out all day long, evidentl loping to
get presents; but my host advised me not to give ' , as 1 had
not enongh for all and should consequently only m .ke enemies;
l)ut I found out afterwards that he hoped I would give the
whole of them to him for having saved my life.

I remained another day with my old friend, who was called
" White Hawk" (a most inappropriate name, as he v s one of

F

it.

i^3

jj '^1

H

!f

0(i

••1,1

i-

m

S*'

4

r. '

ATTKMI'T TO MAURY MK,

tlio (laikcst Iiuliiins I cvrr saw), and bclorc I Irt't lie asked me
whether I would give liiin a testimonial, showinjij nic s-^rno
wliieh he had from various nu nd)cr8 of the Hudson's IJay
(\)nii)any,

I urave him one, mcntioninj^ in it wliat he had done for me.

and

we par

i-ted.

I icaelKid Mis-ta-wa-sis' eamp on the evening of the day I
left " White Hawk," and faneicd he did not greet me as warmly
as usual ; and on in<piiry 1 found that he had almost killed one
of his w ives the day before with an axe, and was afraid of what
1 mi'iht sav to him.

i immediately left his lodge and said I would never enter it
again, at whieh he was very mueh hurt, though he said nothing,
and 1 moved into one of the neighbouring lodges, where 1
lound an old Indian with four daughters, one of whom he very
nnieh wanted ni", to mai'ry, bringing the yocrg lady for me to

look at

•fi

)liteh

dd. 8h

shed

look at ; anu on my reiusnig as ponteiy as l coulu, slie rushe(
out of the lodge in a great rage and did not again a]»i)ear.

On my return home 1 found F , as usual, very miserable,

sinee, having had no on • to chop wood for him, he had neuHy
starved and was almost frozen, I remained two days to eut a
good supply, and thm started for a last hunt with A-ta-ka-koup,
as there were signs of a herd of deer having eome sontli lately.

We remained out lour tlays, and got seven deer, a wild cat,
three wolves, and a fox; and I had a good o])})ortunity of
seeing the way in whieh the Indians try to projjitiate the
hunting (iod when on the trail of game.

Wc had followed three deer nearly all day, jnm])ing them
onee but not getting a shot, when we ascertained that they
were in a large thicket about three or four hundred yards ahead

I

«^

wi: PRorrriATK tke fiuntincj ood.

07

of us. A-ta-ka-koiip stopped inc and lit n small fire, at wliirli
he sat down, and lightin}^ his pipe ho blew a whilF to the north,
south, east, and west, and one upwards. He remained
solemidy lookiuj; at the Kre for nearly an hour, evidently
pravin;^, and then deelared himself ready, and a[)i)r()a(du'd the
hushes on oiu; side, phuMn;^ nij on the othtir ; and very soon
the deer eame out elose to me. flavin;^ remained so loug by
sueh a little fire my fiuf^ers were aliu'ist frozen and I missed the
first; but broke the hiiul le;^ of the seeond, and A-taka-koup
ran it down, bounding through the deep snow like a deer. He
seemed to think that my hitting the ileer was in answer to his
l)raycrs, and was very pleased.

I have before mentioned, what a good eompanion A-ta-ka-
koup was when out hunting, and how he was ulv ;.vs ready to
make ii(» the fire at night, and in this he was a ^leat eontrast
to most Indians, who will try and shirk work in eamp, leaving
vou to do evervthing.

It is amusing, when camping in the snow, to observe the
little artifices put in practice to make your neighbour get up and
renew the fire instead of doing it yourself. 1 have seen men
pretend to have nightmare, screaming and kicking in furious
style ; then they have coughing fits or roll against their
neighbour. Anything is better than getting up yourself, as it
means wading through the smow to fetch more wood, and some-
times going far into the timber to get it, and taking a good
deal of snow into your bag when you turn in again.

Sleeping out in a snowstorm is a curious experience, till you
arc used to it. Snow falls so rapidly in that country that yon
very soon have from six to eighteen inches of snow on you ;
and I shall never forget my feelings when waking n[» one

I' M

I {>

08

l)(Mi-hl,KI()IIM.

iiioi'iiih;; mid putting; my liciul out of my hng, I found myself^ uh
I t)i()ii<;lit, deserted. 'I'lic wlioU; pmiric for miles uas pc ilVctly
level; tlic d(>;;s, slciirii, and my companions wciv all ^ono, and
it was mo>t curious, when the real state of the ease occurred
to mc and I had shouted several times, to see the snow open
in one s|)ot :ind reveal a man's head, and in another a
dog's. Oil this occasion enough snow had fallen to cover
the 'eigh and uvurvthiny: on it, the latter bein^ some fiftee

u

vnelics

hiiih

AVhen speaking of a sleigh as used with dogs, of course one
does not meun such a one ns is used in Canada for horses, even
on a snnill scale. A dog-sleigh is simply a hoard of hirch-wood
foiirtccn inches wide and one inch thick, and about ten fiet
long, having one end turned up and tied hack. Along the sides
of this board are arranged loops of raw hide for lashing, and
the way it is packed is as follows : —

A large sheet of buf!'alo-lcather is laid on the board so that
perhaps four foct of it projects all round. Your baggage is
then arranged iilong the sleigli, care being taken that it shall
not be quite as broad as the board. "When tlic load is high
enoiigh (and it must not exceed sixteen inches) you Avrap the
.spare leather over it, tuck in the ends, and lash with raw hide
rope, made of elk-skin. When travelling with plenty of dogs,
you often have what is called a carriole with you, in which you
can sit and go to sleep while your driver manages the dogs.
The carriole is made of a board of the same size as the sleigh ;
but three feet from the hind end is placed a piece of board as
a back, two feet liigh, which is kept in its place by cords going
from end to end and passing over the top of it, and the space
between the back board and the front of the sleigh is filled up

;1 I'

.1 '',

non-Bi.Kioiist.

()<)

with |)uivliiiuMit n'kK'm, niukiii;; u very miiu;; place to take ti iiait
ill, the motion of the nleif^h heiii;; very xinoolh and noi««eh-«ft.

SotnetiiMCM on a Nteep Mlu|)e the driver has to hold a cord iii
hiH hand to prevent the nleigli ^oinj; down too rapidly, antl
NJioidd he Hlip or let )^o IiIm hold tlu^'esidt is diMastronH. On
(IMC o('easi(Mt we were passing; along the nide of a hdl, and
Madder was holdini; a line attached to tiie end of the Mlei<;li,
when from scnne nnknown cansi; he let ^o, and as I was on tin;
wlci'di at the tinu; awav I wcMit down the hill, winduiy; the do^s
(who arc harncjssed sinjjiy, one in Innit ol' atiotlicr) roinid tin;
sleigh, thns tying me np and preventing my getting out when
we reachetl the Ijottom. The dogs nsed inv sleighing are
always !*nvage animals, one remove I'rom wcdves, and >ery tew
of them will allow anyone hnt their driver to touch them ; so
on reaching hrvcl ground they all lufgan to fight on the top ol"
me, and my chances ol" being bitten wer«c very good imlecd, and
the situation iu)t ut nil pleasant. Tl^c unwinding took some
time, and was aecompuiiied l)y a greut deal of beating.

When ncaring a fort you generally strike a firmly jtressed
snow road, made by hauling in firewood ; aiul the dogs
knowing where they are, always start oil at a furious rate, which
is kept uj) to the fort, perhaps some eight or ten miles or even
more; and should there be; any sudden turn in the road,
round some stump or tree, the sleigh is upset, and then you
must walk the rest of the distance, as nothing will stop tlu-m
but the sleigh becoming jammed between two ticcs, and the
cliaiues of this happening arc very small.

ii

70

A UKAIl-IIUNT.

il

ciiArn':u vi,

r

-h

A iM'iir-linnt, — ('iiri<pu« wtury of a Innr. A wulf-lnmt.— Iiulinn dopn, — Vicit
Kurt ('arlti)n.— HfcijM' fur Ivuhhiliod.- A l/nll ul l''<»rt Carlton.— rtniitH
wiiitfriiifr in tlit« biiow. - Iiiltllijr<'in't' of •Ifi^rlxlo^''*. — Iiifrrnlitiitln nf
Ki-rlii-iiiii-Ko-inaii.— 'rtin Moot a tliicf. l>i>t<<niiiiM> lo piinisli liiiii.
A-ta-ka-koiip joins ni(» in tlio ontiTjirisi'. Sur|iriNe Tnni JJoot. Trt-
nifiiilonH Klrnfrjrlo. Tom Hoot rt-oeivcN a tliraj'liin|.'.~l,t'a\o onr liut for
Tort Carlton.- -SitIous (liHiciilty at tlio river. Nearly starved. lU'scni-il
by boat. My feet frozen. -Tlie niamifaelMre of jienmiiean. - I'Vozen

lisb. — A j)roft"i.-ional beur-Iiunter. — 1*" ami J jiart. l.tYeet of elo-

qiiencu on Indians.

I HAD always told tlic Indians >\Ii() catiic to sec us that it"
they broiij^ht us word when they ehaneed to find a bear's
Minteriug-hole wc wotdd reward them liberally; so, shortly
after my return from visiting my friends, an Indian boy eame
to mc from Ki-ehi-nu)-k()-man to tell me that a bear's hole
had been found, aud that I nmst eonie at onec, as it being now
the month ot' jNIareh, the bear was likely to eome out any time.
IJadger and I therefore started the ucxt morning, taking with
us two dogs and a small sleigh for onr bedding. The crust on
the snow was good, and we were in excellent training, so that
we reached Ki-elii-mo-ko-nian's house late that night, having
travelled nearly forty miles.

A HEAR-IIUNT.

71

We found u niwiiorr of Indiana cikiiikuI roiiii I Kl-clii-ino-ko-
inaii's hoiiHC, iiiuiiy of tlic.i liuviii<; Iutii at tliu Iti;^ Crrc coiincil
to wliicli I had Ix'iMi Niiiiunoiicd. 'riu-.sc iiilmi told iiie that thry
(lid not think I ^lioidd liuvc been killed, even if old " White
Iluwk" had nut takoii mu under hin prutootioti, but that I
MJionld most certainly have been robbed uf all I had Avith tne,
and have been warned out of the country.

The I'ollowinj; luornin},' Ki-ehi-nio-ko-nmn, IJadj^er, and I
started lor the bear-hole, whicdi wan about four milcH from the
cabin, and found that it was in a Hinall tiiickct of wIIIowh, and
that the only aperture was a breathin^^-hole, some three iru'hcM
in diameter. An Indian had taken shelter in the bushes during
a snow-utorm, atul had diHCovcrcd the hulo by accident. It waM
arran^eCi that Ki-chi-mo-ko-raiin should stir up the bear, and
that Badger arul I should stand ready — I with a double sixteen-
bore rifle and Badger with a sin(i;l(; Iiulian trade {j^un. It took
a f^ood deal of stirring to make the bvar move, and then, with
a loud f^runt, out he came — a half-grown, cinnamon-coloured
bear — and he was at oiue rolled over bv a shot from the double
rifle. I was stepping forward to take a ncar'T view of liim,
when out came another huge bear, which turned out to be tho
motlu'i", who, taking in the state of afl'airs at a glance, came
straight at mc. I had snow-shoes on, so I could not run away;
I therefore took careful aim at her chest, at about ten feet
distance, with my remaining barrel, and fired. She fell, but I
think would have been up again in a moment, had not Badger,
who usually did not display mucli courage, stepped forward
and, putting his gun to her head, finished her. llcr skin
measured 7 feet 10 inches bv G feet 4 inches, and I think she
weighed OOO lb.

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23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. H580

(716) 872-4503

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Wliilc) at Ki-clii-ni()-k()-iiijin's, an Jndiau told nic a vciv
curious stor} u\' a bear, which 1 hclicvc to be true, as all tiu;
Indians there said it was so. It seems that almost all the
Plains Indians desert their old i)eo|)le whtn they are |)oor and
cannot j)ay to he taken care of, and that in the early })art of
that winter some Assiiu'hoincs, on their way south to kill
hnllalo, had deserted an old wonuin, giving her, as usual, a
little food and water, a small axe, and a worn-out lodge, Mliich
last they i)ut up for her. So(m after the Indians had left her,
she lighted a fire, and was cooking some food when she fancied
she saw the snow under the fire heaving up ; and a few minutes
aftei'wards the head of a bear (;amc out, cvidentlv only half
awake. Now the nose of a bear is its most vulnerable jjoint,
and the old woman knew this ; so she hit it several times with
the axe, using all her strength, and killed it. She then dragged
it out and skinned it, and cut up the meat and dried it, and
lived on tliis for some weeks, till some Hudson's IJay men, wIkj
hapi)cned to pass, took her into Tort Pitt, wlierc my infornuint
told me she then was.

When with Ki-ehi-mo-ko-man I saw one of the very few
pretty Indian women whom I liave ever come aerosb. She was
the daughter of an old Cree, and liad been nuirried to a membei-
of tlie same tribe ; but he w as too lazy to provide for licr, and
she had left him and returned to her father. I remained two
days with Ki-ehi-mo-ko-man, going on the second on a wolf-
hunt, as a great many had been seen round the house ; but we
only killed two. Our mode of proceeding was to form line and
beat all the thickets, a number of curs of all kinds assisting^
and mIicu a wolf was started all the dogs were put on his trail
and we did or.r best to keep up. AVolves are thin at that time

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INDIAN |)0(iS.

73

of year, and coiispcuicntly ucak, so that we only lost one of
those which we started. On our way home in the evi-iiiii^^ we
came on a Iviix, and if there had hecMi sutlieient daylij^ht, I thiidv
wc shotdd have killed it, as they generally go up a tree after a
short ehase, and can then be very easily shot; hut it got so
dark that the dogs ran away from us, and only returned in the
middle of the night.

These liuliau dogs are very like wolves, aiul look as if they
must have some wolf hlood in them. When going into an
Indian camp in the night, it is advisable to carry a thiek stick,
and to call for some Indian to come out and aet as guide, or
you might very easily be killed by them. They coUeet in
packs, and tliough cowards when alone, their numl)er gives them
courage, and they w ill attack a man in a moment. If I was in
an Indian camp and wished to leave it, meaning to return, I
used always to borrow an Indian's blanket, and cover mvself
entirely with it, when the dogs would come and smell me and
let mc pass.

On the third dav Badj-er and I returned to our house, and

t, CD '

after resting the dogs for a day, we started again for the ibrt
to arrange for having our horses, which liad been herded with
the fort band, brought out to the house. Travelling was fairly
good, and we reached the Saskatchawan on the evening of the
second day, crossing to the fort in the morning. The river is
here about a hundred yards wide, and runs between banks fully
two hundred feet high, and on the opposite side stands Fort
Carlton.

J\lr. L was very glad to see us, but could not give us

anything but pemmiean, as all game had gone south, and no
fresh meat had been brought into the place for a long time ;

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but Ik; liiul sonic potatoes, niid with these and some petninK^iin

u dish was niaiiuf'aetured calh^d " ruhhihoo.

Tl

ic n.'cipc IS

simple; and I will ^ivc it here for the l)(;ii(;fit of housekeepers.
^Oii tak(; as niiudi |)eniniiean as you think will he eaten, and
havin;^ thawed it at the; flri;, you heat it up into lihres and put
it into a rryin<^-paii with souk; ^^reasc;. You tluui take some
l)oiled potatoes, and mash tlu^m up with a fork, and stir tluiin
in, Ji(l(linj( salt and j)(;pper to taste, and the result is " riihlii-
boo." I'lateii hot, and takinj^ care to he very hunj^ry, it is not
bad, and the hunj^ricT you arc; the better it will be.

On the eveniii}^ of our arrival Mr. L ^ot up a ball for

us, th(! company consisting of about twelve; or lourt(!en half-
bre(;d woinen, and aiiout twice that number of men — lialf-brceds

and Indians — and liis wife and himself, Mrs. L being the

only white woman i)rcsent. The ball began at 7 I'.m., the illu-
minations being sundry saucers of fish-oil with wicks in them,
and the refreshments consisting of a glass of whiskey and water
all round and tea. I have certainly seen more b(;auty and more
elaborate dresses, but 1 never saw a dance kej)t n\) with more
spirit, I l)egan rather diflidently, but soon warmed up, and I
think 1 jumped as high and made as mueli noise as tlie others,
which seemed to be all that was required. The dancing was
kept up till midnight, by whi(;h time I was utterly worn out,
and very glad to turn into my buffalo-bag. I have for-
gotten to say tiiat the event of the evening was having a dance

with Mrs. L , who kindly gave each of us one turn round

the room, and as there were nearly thirty of us, this was no

small undertaking. The steps were extraordinary; IVIrs. L

valsed, and her partners ran round her, or jumped round, as
the fancy took them. A good many Indians were present who

roMi'.s IN \vinti:h.

75

lor

Ii.'kI come from Koit (iiirry, and iiii^jlit \ic called partially civi-
li/«(l; but a niunljcM' of (JrccM, wIkj were in the iicit^iihourliood,
caiiu! and flattcjiicd their noses aj^ainst the windows, and any-
thin;; nior(! honible than they looked under these cinininstanecM
can hardly \iv, iina^^ined.

In the niornin;; 1 borrowed a pony and rod(! down tlie river
some twelve miles to where the fort band of horses was, un
Indian Ixty goin^' with me to show me the way; and I do not
think I (iver saw anything more enrions than the; a[)pearane(;
th(! prairies, wher(! they had been feeding, presented. The
ponies arc turned out late in the autumn, and have to sidft for
themselves until th(! following Aj)ril, and, if judiciously Ijcnhid,
they will come up (piite fat, though this Hit is soft and will iu>t
last if they are at once worked hard. When th(! snow becomes
deep, they scrajx; a hole and get into it, pawing away the snow
till they get at the grass, when they will enlarge the h(de at the
bottom, to get as mucli grass as ])Ossible, and win i they eiin
reaeli no more they plunge out and make another lioic, the
sides of tlu!se holes serving as a protection against the cold
winds of winter. A prairie aft(!r tluy have lelt it presents
much the a])p(;aranec of a dilapidated pieet; of honey-comi).
After arranging that tlie liorses — of w hich ] had tiiri^e — should
behrouglitto my liouse during the following week, 1 went back
to Fort Carlton, and tlie next nu)rning returncid home, taking
three days to do the journey, a siujw-storm having nuule the
going soft and hidden our tracks.

J had while going back an opportunity of watching tlie won-
derful intelligence displayed hy these sleigh-dogs. I had my
best train with me, and the trail being had had put a big
black dog called " Paijillon " in front. This dog's strong

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70 INii;l,iJ(iKNCK OK SM.I(.ll-|)()(iS.

poiiit was the fiiuliii^ of diilicult trails, and now, tlioii;;li thu
Miiow liad covered the trail we had nia(l(> in eoniiti<^ and had
made the whole [)rairie level, yet this do;; kept to our old
road the whole way, rendering; it unnecessary to i)eat a track
for liitn. Tlu! old trail was onlv some three inches under-
iieath, and when lu; ^ot oil" it he was in (Icfp snow at once,
l)ut this I never saw him do with more than his lore feet
(lurin;^ the whole ninety miles, and yet our trail was very
winding, going round clumps of hushes, trees, &e. continu-
ally. If I had hi'cn racing- 1 should have i)ut my favourite
(log " Jumi)er ^^ in front, as he was much the most active dog
J had, and thoroughly knew what he had to do. My man took
as much ])ride in this team as coachnu'U do in their horses, and
considered them the fastest team on the river, which they pro-
hablv were.

lleai'ing that we wert; leaving the country, all the Indians

an(

within twenty miles came m, JH)[)nig to get presents
amongst others came Ki-ehi-mo-ko-man. Now this Indian
had hunted ^vith me on several occasions, and though he
seemed to think that I went to cut wood ike. for him, still
we had always got on well together, and I had made up my
mind to give him a good many presents ; so I called him in
one morning and, telling him that I -was much obliged to him
for all lie had done for me, and that 1 hoped I might meet
liim again on some i'uture occasion, I gave him a sj)lciididly-
eoloured blanket, with brilliant stripes at the ends, an axe, two
hunting-knives, and a number of small things. lie thanked
me very earnestly, and said that he should always remember
his white brother, and a gnat deal more to the same effect, and
then gathered up his presents, which were a large armful, and

TOM HOOT A Tllli;r.

77

un» loavinj,' tlif lioiisp, wlicti I misHcd a sjnall broken pen-
knife, wliieli wus viilnjibh; to nie ;ih beinj^ the only one 1 Inul.
It was broken all to picccrt, tuul bad only one sound blade
I'eniaininj^ ; but Ki-ehi-mo-ko-num bad taken a fancy to it,
and bad bei-n bandlin;; it for sonur time. On my asking bini
if be bad it, be said be bad not; but I saw bini (dose bis band
on sonu-tbin^, and eat(!bini;' bold of bis band, 1 took tin; knife
from it. He ^'ot in a f^reat raj^e, and asked nu' ubetber I was
jjoin}; to take it away from mv red brotber, and on mv savin;;
tbat I was, lie eulli'd mc nn'an and (iverytbin;; bad be eonid
tbink of, ami said I was no better tban all wbite nien^ vvbo
only eame for wbat tbev could take from tbc Indians. On
tills I made bim put cverytbiufj; (lo\vn, ami turned bim out of
tbe bouse, and tlie whole of that day be rrMmiined with his
ba(!k against a tree, looking at tbe door of the bouse, hoping
I would relent ; but finding 1 took no notice of bim, be
returned to bis caljin.

When I came to look oyer my things to sec what I had to
give away, I missed a number of articles, and could not find
them anywhere. Now when your house consists of only one
room, IG feet by 13 feet, it is not yery easy to lose anything,
and I concluded tliat they must have been stolen. Badger was
away at tbe time, but on his return I asked him if he knew
anything about them, on which he told me, with great reluct-
ance, that while I was on my last bunt with A-ta-ka-koup,
Tom Boot had come and had taken a number of things, telling
Badger that I was going away and would never need them,
and threatening to beat Badger if he told rae : he also said
that if I followed him to try to get the things back he would
shoot me ; and yet this man would have starved during that

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winter if I had not f^ivcii liiin food. I at (moo wont to nop
A-tii-kii-kou|), niid asked him if he woidd >;o with ino to try
and recover my proix'rty. Now A-ta-ka-koiip had never for-
j?ivon Tom Moot for havin«^ thrown him a;(air\it the lo^^s of the
honse, and this looked liki; a ^ood ehaneo of Ix'ing even with
him. I ma(h' A-ta-ka-konp {jromise not to carry any weapoi",
thoM;,di 1 had a revolver hidden away myself, and findini; from
some Indians, who wen; camped h ny house, that Tom Moot
was eneam|)ed ahont twenty miles (.• « sonth of us, wc started
one morninj;, and reached the small prairie on whi(d» his lodj^c
stood hefon; cveninj;. A-ta-ka-koup went ahead to recon-
noitre, and remained in hiding till he saw Tom Moot ji^o into
his lodije, when he returned to mc. Our plan was as follows :
we were to creep up to the Icdj^e after the (ire; was out, and
we mi}j;lit sui)p( Me that Tom was in bed, wiien we were to
enter (inictly — A-ta-ka-koup jumping on his shoulders ami I
on his legs, aiul then we were to tie him, if possible, aiul
recover my pro[)erty.

Wc renuuned on the edge of the prairie for two hours after
suiulown, and until I tliought I should be frozen, when wo

crept up to the lodge and peeped in. Everything was (piiet,
and wc could hear Tom's heavy breathing ; so we went in.
A-ta-ka-koup sprang on o)ic end of Tom and I on the other,
and then began an awful struggle. I know I was thrown
about like a ball, and got some terrible blows, but fortuiuitely
from bare feet.

After what seemed an hour, and might have been onlv five
minutes, of tliis, wc managed to tie liim witli buckskin thongs,
and were able to get up. In the meantime his wife, who had
at first taken us for hostile Indians killing her husband and

LKAVE FOR FORT CARLTON. 70

had holtcd, wn« Hcrratniiij; in the diNtaiirc; no T MOiit A-tn-ka-
koiip to tell hrr what it was all ahoiit, on which nIio rctiinu'd
and tried to untii; Torn, and when \c. [ircventcd her nIu;
attacked uh with un axe ; and it was only when A-ta-ka-konp
threatened to kill her that she desisted, ami sat down and <'rii'd.
Tom Hoot refnsed to Mpeak, so we ({avehirn a ^ood heatitj}; with
a raw liide rope, took sneh thinf^s of mine that we eoidd find,
and left, telling; him that it' he eain(^ near my liouse a<rain ho
woiild bo shot at once.

Wo (uimped about two niili's from the scene of onr strnji^^Ie,
both of us bein^j; worn out; and I know that 1 felt as if I had
had a severe beatin*; myself. On reaehin;; home tlu; next day,
1 I'ound the horses had arriviMl and were look in;' very well and
fat; thouj^h of eours(! very rouj^li in their (^oats. They wero
the three best I had bou^^ht for bull'alo rininiii'^ the year before,
and the one I intended to ride to Fort Garry was the fastest
h()rs«! in the lied River settlement, the other two beinf^ nearly
as {jfood. Not one of them was more than 1 1.^ hands, but they
were very stronj^ly built.

On the 7th of April we started for Carlton for the last time,
IJadger driving a sleigh whilst I rode one horse and led the
other two. The spring had not yet set in ; but tlu; sun was
very warm and the snow was melting fast, so travelling was very
bad indeed, liadger had left his wife and child with A-ta-ka-
koup.

We liad given away so much that the sleigh was very lightly
loaded, there being nothing on it l)ut our bedding and guns,

with F sitting on the top. On the evening of the third

day we reached the north bank of the Saskatchawan, to find
that tbc ice was just breaking up, and that we were too late to

f ■,

mm

80

Minors DM riCUI.TV AT TIIK lUMll.

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rroMM. Now tliift \\m RcriuuN, uh wv. Iiiul very little to rat and
IiikI ^'ivcii away iiumt of i>ur l)laiik(tM, iitt(Mii)in{( to p^vt new oticN
at till! Fort; liowcvcr, tlirrr wan no lirl|i for it, and uc had to
caiiip, and hy lyin^( vrry close toj^rtlirr wv niana^('<l to j^et
tlin>ii;;lt the ni;;lit fairly i-otnfoitahiy, or at Ica^t Mad;;(>r and I

did so; but K dcTluri'd that he was fro/en still' when day-

li;;ht appeared, mid we uuly thawed hiui hy lighting u lire on
hoth sides of him.

Mr. \i and a number of the nu'u from the I'ort came

down to the ()[)posite bank during the next day; but th(>y eould
do n(ithin<{ for us, as the ice was now (*oming down in immense
nuisses, and from the way in which the; smaller pieces were
ground up by the larger oni's, we saw what our fate would be
should we attempt to cross. Our only chance was to fiiul sonu;
game, so Badger and 1 took a horse each and hunted up aiul
down the banks for miles, getting only three grouse and a few
s(juirrel8 ; we also saw a band of antelope in the distance, but
were not able to stalk them on account of the ground being
covered witli hall'-melted snow and water.

On the afternoon of the third day F was so miserable that

I shouted across, offering ten pounds if they would bring a boat
over, aiul I saw them go away to fetch ojie. Towards evening,
a lieavy flat-bottomed boat was in the water, and throe strong
lialf-brecds were poling her across, keeping off the masses of
ice with great difliculty, and in ten minutes they were in our
camj). Of course the horses had to be left, so wc turned them
loose, and getting into the boat we were soon in the Fort.
Here I found that my feet had been partially frozen, and they
had to be put into iced water to thaw them ; as the circulation
slowly returned it was curious to see small icicles form on them,

t|!

IM'MMK AN.

81

vvliicli ailltcrcd (|iiit(< firtiil\ , wliilc tlu, puiii huh wry ^rcut. it
Im ((iiiti; coiiunoii (or iiuu to Iohc liiij^iTit or Uw*, uiiil in hoiuc
CUMCH (vw liiilt'of tito foot. Am it wao, I only lo^t ^nt^(> of tlir
nulls iiiul A Hinull portion of ont* toe. Tlii't luid nu: np toi*
Motnu (luyM, (luring wliicli nolhin;; coiilil exceed the kindnenH of

Mr. I.

to both F

and niVH(>lf. There wuh no food hut

Iteinmiean ; hut we were ulvvuys hun^'ry, und «oon got to like it
when in the form of " rul)i)ih()u" and iiHed to cut an enorniuuM
iiMinunt of it.

I have said M(iHiin<^' about the tiianiifacture of peininieati, no
I may as well do so here, as it is a lost art now that the hulYulo
has disappeared. The hullalo-meat is first cut up into thin

Hiiees and dried in the sun or over smoke until it is as
hard as leather ; tlien the skin is taken raw, cut s(|uare, and
sewn into a ba^ about three feet lonj; by eif^hteeii inches wide,
with th(! hair outside. The meat is then taken and beaten with
a tiail until it is all fibres, and the fat is nu'lted in lar;ie kettles
and about three iiudies of the baj:; is filled with boiliii{jf fat ;
an ecjiial (|uantity of fibn* is then put into it and is beaten down
with a heavy stick used as a rammer, then more fat is jjouicd
in and more fibre; and so on till the ba|j: is full. It is then
sewn up with raw hid(! or sinew and beaten flat, and is ready for
use. Thns prepared it will keep for three years, only becoming
dry with age, tudess it is kept in a damp |)lace, when it becomes
mouldv. Sometimes it is made; with buH'alo-marrow instead of
fat, in whieli case it is rather nice, as the marrow always remains
soft ; and again 1 have eaten it with sweet berries in it, which
is also an imi)rovement. Its appearance is against it, as it very
much resembles what we call dog-greaves in England, and it is
cut up in the same way, with an axe. It is said that on no

I I I

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82

A IMU)I'»>H|(>NAI. HK.VU'llL'Nrir'.R,

I'oihI hilt thin mil n ninu do m(i iiiucli work or i;o no fur, wliicti

■(•(■Ill<«

likely

U<t

it i<« one liair tut. In tlii) IlinNoii'i liuv

(!oiii|)uiiy it iH tliu n'^iiliir wiiitiT I'ood lor all tlir «Mii|ilt»y«'H, or
1 nlioiiM Hiiy wuH till the Itullulo wnn t'Xtrnniiiiitcd, which in
now |ii'U('ti('iilly till* I'UHc.

I''urth('i' north, a gnut inuiiy white (inh nrc ctiii^fht in itctH M>t
tlii-ou^di holcH in the ice, uiul tiieHu nru nearly un riouriNJiing un
pcininicMn. A man ^«'tM fi Ih. of |)(>inini('an or (l finh a day, and
a do;; when in work tlu; Hanu;. When not workiii;;, tli('M(> la^t
lire Hii|)|io<«(>(l to i'e(|nire no food, or at all eveiitM they do nor ^et
it. In (di)kin^ two fisli, uliich is generally done by Htandin;( a
lryin;f-|>an with them in it in front of the fire at a eon<»ideiai)l('
all((l(^ till! men get generally aliont a (jnartcr of a pint of oil,
tliuMC HnIi being very fat, and tloN tluy biini in their lamp«.
It is a enrions si;;ht to sec the frozen finh staeked in the
yards of the northern forts, each being uh hard uh a Mtone,
and in this state they are kept five or six months.

On this occasion I met at the Fort tlie first Indian I ever
km5W who was a professional i)car-hnnter, and this Ii(> eontinncd
to be in spite of the dreadful manner in which one b(>ai' had
torn him. His only weni)on was what is called a trade gun.
This man was follow in;; the trail of a huge grizzly, and coming
on him very suddenly the bear <;haiged him ; he at once fired
steadily at the horse-shoe on the chest but failed to stop him,
and knowing that he could not escape by running, and that a
bear will very seldom touch any portion of a living man but hia
face, Ife threw himscit' down and held liis face Hrnilv to the
ground; the bear came up and tried to turn him over, but
failing in this bit one of his legs and then sat down and looked
at him for a minute; he then got up and walked off shjwly,

AVI) I PART.

8$

tliiiikiiit(, I prt'oiituc, iliut the inuti iiuil (IIcmI very rikIiIimiIv. Nim^
if the Iiidiati hud rciiiiiiiu'tl ijiiirtly wiicri' lir >va<« until tlic linti
hail tt'ft the place all wmtUI htive Uvcix well, hui he ^'oi up
before it wan nut of iiiKht,aml the hear hearin)( himehaiied hiui.
The ludiau threw hiniHcii' down in the Kauic poMitiou, luit the
hear wum uot to he taken in a necoud time and tried hard to
turn hiui over, tearing oiV the \vh(d(! nealp in hin efl'ortx, when
the man fainted, und on eoniing to liiniNeli' found thiit he had
been hitten in three or four phu'en, uiul that the uhoh; of the
Mkin wan goiu; from thu tk)p uf hin head. When 1 muw hitn he
had n hnndann handkerchief hound rtminl \\\s forehead, and on
takinif thiN oil, I nuw that he hud been entirely nealped, the
Nkin heiu}; j,'one nearly to tiic eyes. In spite of this he was the
best hear-huntcr on thu SuMkatehawan^ and nnide a fair living
by Melling the MkiuH.

The tinu! had noweonie for F uiul I to part, an he\vi<»lu'(l

tu continue liiM journey to the niincH in Hritish Culum))ia; and
I found that he wuuhl not have much diiticulty in gettin;j^ to
Fort Fdmonton, near the head wateis of tin; river, whence
parties of Hudson's Hay nu;n often crossed the mountains to
the Fraser River, where the mines were. It was urran^^ed that
he should rcnuiin at Carlton till the spring had set in, and then
join the first i)arty going u[) the river.

I had been able to buy a little corn at the Fort, so that my

horses, which had been brought across, were now in very

fair condition, and by riding then gently at first we hdpcd

to do the six hundred miles to Fort Garrv in about

twenty days. I laid in a few provisions, siuli as tea

and sugar, flour, salt, and pcmmican, these being all I

could get, and ouc of tlic half-breeds made nic a very good

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84

A l''ARKVVi:iJ, PAHTY.

|Ki(k-«<a(l(ll(; For our third liorso, so that wo were ready to
Mtart.

I arranged to h-avc; th(! bh)odh()mi<l at the Fort, as the

journey woidd have heeii too imudi for him, Mv. L

promiHiiij^ to send liini (h)\vn at the first opportunity. A
farewell supper was {^iven in my honour, atwhieh the only dish
was " rul)l)ii)u()," aiul we woutid U[> the cveniii}^ with a dance,
not f;ettin^ to i)ed till after niidni;^ht. /vt the eiul of tin;

eveniuf^ I"' {,^ave a recitation from "Julius Ciesar," which

impressed the Indians very much. Ih; liad been an actor for
some years, aiul remembiu'ed ])ortions of a ^rciit numy plays,
and these lu; world recite with a blanket round him " j\ la
tof^a/' Some of his performances at our cal)iu before a larj^e
and select audience of Indians had been most successful,
thou;j;h they did not understand one word of what lie said. No
j)eople admire elocpiencc more than Iiulians do, and a num who
can speak well can do what he likcH with them. This was
shown very clearly in the case of " Sitting; Jiull," the suj)pose(l
nuirderer of (Jeneral Custer in 1870. He was chief of a very
small band of Sioux, and he raised himself by his eloquence to
b(! chief of the whole nation.

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DKLAYKl) IN OUIl STAUT VWOM I'OIIT CARLTON.

Fort, US the

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•rtiinity. A
tlu! only (lisli
kvitli ii (liiucc,
(!ii(l of tlu;
ijsjir," wliieh
an actor lor
many j)lays,
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('fore a large
t successful,
ic said. No
1 a man who
. This was
;hc suj)posc(l
ief of a very
eloquence to

CHAPTER VII.

An Iiidiiiii Hwiiurt tlid Saskatcliiiwiiii. — Stint IVoni Fort Cnrllon. -Prnirie
lirt! and iiiiirow c.sca])c. — Ijiijjlcasanl Mii'iiiiM-. — A Sioux camp. Jiitcr-
vifiw with tlm cliii'f. Suspicions circuinstaiKMi.s. A parlt'y with tho
(•liicr. — A light and a rixcv. lor lift;. — Our iiiodo ol" travelling''. — Arrival at
KortOarry. Our iiiiHcraldc app('a"nnc(;.- The coiuiio.sition ol' (.'alittc.
—Tho Sioux ()ut1)ri'ak and cause. — Threat to sack Fort(iarry. — ]']niuity
botw(!on I'lnjjlisli and French halt'-ljre^-dH. — My nmv guide, uiul Ids
character. — Kindn(!(-8 of the citizens. — Start IVoni l''ort (iarry and
method of travelling. — Desolation of tin; country. — JNIy lirst night in
a hed and c()nse(|ueiices. — Tak(!n for a half-lireed scout. — T'^xpedition
agitinst the Indians. Its utter failure. — Death of Little Crow, — ICxo-
culion of Indians. — Start for I'higland.

On the morninjij of the 17th of April, Badjjjer and I ijjot every-
thin}^ ready for our start ; but we were delayed for some
hours by the arrival of an Indian, with a waj^j^on and a ])air
of ])onics, on the opposite side of the river. I heard a great
deal of shouting going on, and went down to see what it
meant. It seemed that the Carlton ferry-boat had not yet been
l)ut into the river, there being still a good deal of ice going
down, and the Indian was urging them to put it in at once.
This they refused to do, nor would it have been of niiieli use
to this man if they had eoiis(;nted, as stretching the rope

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across tlie river and arranging the apparatus would have taken
an entire (hiy.

finding that they would not do as he wished, the Indian
shouted to us, to say that he should swim tlic river — waggon
and all ; and this he prepared to do, driving down to the edge
of the water, and fastening all he liad Mith him on the scat,
whieh was a board placed across the waggon, and this he
secured with a rope. Everything was done to prevent his
trying to cross, but to no purpose, and we saw hira drive into
the river — the ponies seeming rather to like it. As soon as he
was clear of the bank the current carried him rapidly down,
and we had to walk fast to keep abreast of him. The ponies'
heads showed plainly, and they seemed to be swimming
strongly and to be gaining ground — their driver standing on
the seat, and urging thrra on with wild shouts. Once they
struck a sand-bar when more than half over, but they plunged
off again, and reached the bank more than half a mile below
the fort, at an angle of the river where it was shallow. It
was impossible to drive up at this point; but the ponies were
brought up, and the waggon was left to be carried up in
sections.

All this prevented our getting off till the afternoon, and we
only made some ten or twelve miles that night, camping on a
small stream running into the Saskatehawan, having crossed
the south branch of that river. A great number of wolves
came to serenade us that night, seeming to know that we were
leaving the country. We fired at several of them, as it was a
bea'itiful moonlight night, but we did not get any.

The next day we were up at dawn, and as our breakfast was
not a very tempting one, we were soon off, and made, I should

A PRAIRIE FIKE.

87

think, about thirty miles by sunset. The country Mas unin-
teresting, being what is called a rolling prairie, covered witli
small ponds, on which were a few ducks, and ol' these we
managed to shoot three, and when they were split open and
broiled they made us a capital supper.

The first eleven days of our journey were very uneventful,
the only incident being the unsuccessful stalk of a white-tailed
deer and the shooting of two wolves; but on the night of the
twelfth day we were awoke by feeling our feet burning, and on
jumping up we found the whole prairie on one side of us on fire,
and three sides of a large blanket on which we were sleeping
quite black. We at once rushed to the horses, pulled up the
picket-pins, and rode them into a swamp, by the side of which
we had camped in order to get willows for our beds. VVc
then rescued our bedding, or what remained of it, and our
rifles, which, lying in the middle of the blanket, had escaped
damage, and joined the horses in the swamp. The fire soon
passed us, leaving the whole country a black desert, the ponds
and a little marshy ground round them being the only green
spots — not a pleasant prospect for us, as we had to follow^ the
fire, our journey lying in the same direction. There was no
use in going to bed again ; so we had breakfast and started at
once, making a long day^s journey. We hoped to find that
the fire had been stopped by some large stream, but all those
which we passed during the day had been too small for the
purpose, and the fire had leaped over them. We had therefore
to camp by a swamp, and picket our horses in it, their only
food being the wet rushes, which were very bad for them, as
such food is very likely to give them colic.

I noticed that Badger had been in very bad spirits all day.

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88

A SIOUX CAMP.

niul I found on questioning liim that he felt sure that liostih'
liuliuns were near us, and that tlie fire of tlie past ni^dit was
an attempt by some small party of them to stampede; our
horses. Knowin*^ that we were in friendly Indian country,
1 did not agree with him, and in any ease there was nothing
for it but to push on. The following day we got into an un-
burnt prairie again, the fire having taken a turn to the south,
as there was a good deal of wind blowing in that direction, and
a small stream, which sufficed to turn it.

On the fourteenth day of our ride, wc were off late, having
made another unsuccessful attempt to stalk some antelopes ;
but these had been so mneh frightened by the fire, and the
ground was so bare, that wo could get no nearer than three
Inindrcd yards — too far for a round-ball rifle.

Some time afterwards wc fancied we saw a mounted man
disa])pear behind a hill ahead of us; but as we saw nothing
more of him, wc concluded it must have been an elk, and mc
were riding along carelessly, Avhen, on mounting a ridge, we
found ourselves close to a small Indian camp of nine lodges.
They were so elaborately painted and so large that Badger at
once said they must be Sioux ; but it was too late to retreat,
and the man wc had seen was in the middle of the camp talk-
ing to some sixty or seventy Indians, who were evidently
expecting us, as there was no surprise expressed at our appear-
ance. As we rode up the Indians retired into their lodges,
only some boys remaining to look at us, and we noticed that
there seemed to be no women with them.

The proper thing to do on arriving at an Indian camp is to
enter the chief's tent, so we looked round, and seeing a spear
and a number of scalps hanging over the door of the largest of

SUSPICIOUS ( IIirUMSTANCES.

89

tlicm, \vc cntcvi'd, and t'oimd three hidiiius soatcil round tliu
fire. A very tull, hhiek-looking Indiim seemed to be the eliicf,
so I motioned to Hiult^er to sit on one side of him, whiU; I
seated mysell' on the other. All three hxhiins stared strai{,dit
at the fire, and I was sure tliut sonicthin;^ was wron;^ ; so I
determined to put the matter beyond (U)ubt, and li«ihtin<]f my
pipe, 1 passed it round. Now no {;;reater insult can be oiVered
to a man by an Indian than to refuse to smoke with him, and
yet all these men passed my pipe back to mc — not one taking
a single whiff.

JJadger reeomniended our starting at oiu'c, but I was very
hungry, and lielpcd myself to some boiled buffalo-meat from
a pot on the fire, IJadger doing the sanu;. It gave mc a
curious feeling, sitting ])y those three silent Indians, who
were probably our deadly enemies, and old stories of Indian
atrocities came back to me in a very unpleasant manner. I
had a large Tranter revolver and Badger had a Colt ; but what
could wc do against seventy men ? It was a bad sign that no
other Indians came into the lodge, and the camp was unnatu-
rally quiet — a few low, muttered sounds being all wc could
hear. They had no dogs with them, which I could not under-
stand then, though I did so afterwards, and there being boys,
and yet no women, was another unusual circumstance.

As soon as wc had eaten all we wanted of the meat, I told
Badger to go outside and tighten up girths, and mount, and
that I would join him on hearing that lie was ready. This he
did, and in a few minutes called to me, on which 1 rose and
backed to the door, not caring to give them a chance of stab-
bing me behind. On getting outside I found Badger mounted,
and holding my horse with one hand and the pack-horse with

k 1 1

<H

90

PAIILKY WITH TIIK CIIIKF.

tlic other, so I took mine, and put my foot ii' the stirrup to
mount, uht'ii the siuhlle — which was only an Indian one, and
fastened on uith a surein-jh- — turned jjartially round, and 1
had to undo it and put it straight, and this I was proceeding
to do when the ehief and his two friends eanu; out, aiul at
the same time the other Indians — who nad;,^'r said had heeu
Avatehin^' him from the (U)ors of their tents — also apj .ared.
The ehief eamc up to me ami, pushing me (m one side, asked,

his t

erri-

in very had Crec, how I dared to eonu; hunting on
tory. He then said he was a big ehief, and owned all the
conntry round, and that he hated the white men, who had
never done him anything hut harm. I answered through
IJadger, wlio had translated most of this, that he was not a
Cree at all (for we had found out from his dress, and especially
from ids moccasins, tlnit he was a Sioux) and had no right to
be where we found him ; that I had seen one man of Ins tribe
tortured by the Crees for b'jng where he then was, and that a
similar fate awaited him if he did not at once leave and go
south ; but tliat, so far as I was concerned, I was an English-
man and friendly with all Indians. lie answered tliat he could
not be my friend, but that if I would give liim my liorses and
rifles, I was free to go where I wished. I of course said that
this was impossible, as I was a long way from liome, and in a
country where game Mas very scarce and hard to get even when
one w as armed, but that if I gave up my rifle I must die ; I
was willing, I said, to exchange horses with him, he giving me
two for one, as mine were so much better than his. On this
lie took my horse by the bridle and was leading him away, and
when I stopped him he opened his blanket and hit at my head
with a long club which he had concealed under it. 1 had

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iiiilxittonod my liolntor, but T was too Into iti drawing; my
revolver, ho I threw up my left arm to wan! oil the hlow, wliieh
broke the arm above the elbow aiul eut my head open. I
drew my revolver and fired at him, hitting him in tJie chest,
and thinkiii;; that I eould not posNibly ^ct away, I fired at him
a neeond tim(^ the ball taking him in the throat jiiHt as he
Ntn<;gercd back. 1 then put my back against my horse, which
being used to firing had ntood (piitc Htill, and faced the other
Indians. The^c, on sc n;; their chiijf fall rushed into their
tents, and I kiunv they had gone for their guns, 8o making a
desperate ellnrt, I serandjjcd on to my horse and rode off,
]{adger having already started and being some distance in
advance. A good nuuiy shots were fired at nu' during the
first few hundred yards, but I lay forward on my horse, ajul
thcv all missed mo, though some of thorn sc'cmcd to com(> nrcttv
close. T soon caught up Badger and told him that lie hid to
stick to me or I would shoot him, ami being little more than a
boy, only twcuty-one, he was so frightened that I do not think
be wished to leave me.

The Indians' horses were several Imndred yards from their
camp, and it took them fully ten minutes to get them and
saddle up, but at the end of that time we saw them coming
strung out in a long line. We were fully two miles ahead hy
this time, and we kept our liorscs at three-quarters speed, which
we found prevented their gaining on us. As we rode along
liadger and I consulted as to our best route, as he knew the
country well, and so far as I could judge from what he said, for
an Indian or an half-breed has a very poor idea of miles, we
Avcre nearly tliree hundred miles from Fort (Jarry, the first
settlement being some twenty miles nearer— a fearfully long

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ri(U' for oiic'm life 0!i KiUMH-fid hoinrs. Ouih were (Trfuiiily
much fuMtcr tltaii thoHU uf tliu IiuUuun, hut these hist, though
Miimll, arc u^ed to hard work and poor fare, aiul to heing ri(hh<ii
loMj; dlMtaiuH'M without rcMtiii^, and we knew that the IixhaUH
wouhl not hesitate tu use the [lointn of their knivev to drive
them along. We were going froin two o'clock in the afternoon
till nearly t»cven in the evening, when we were uhie to take a
rest, as the moon rose late and it was very dark.

The Iinlians, though wonderfid trackers, could not follow us
until morning, as the moon did not give Huflieient light for
tracking, so wv. determined to throw them olf the scent if
possible, and after Badger had hound my arm across my chest
with strips cut from my leather hunting-shirt, wo started again
at midnight and rode alxmt two miles due north, choosing u
hard rocky ridge, as it would not leave much trail, and then we
again rode in the proper direction, which was due east.

V\) to this time my arm had not been very painful, having
been apparently nund)cd by the blow ; but it had been swinging
about for five hours, and when we came to examine it we fouiul
that the bone had come through the skin in one i)laee. Badger
bound it up very well and fastciu'd it tirndy; but the pain was
now very great, and nothing but the certainty of being tortured
if caught kept mc going. Up to about nine o'clock the next
morning wc thought that our ruse liad been a success, but
then the Indians appeared again, running the trail like blood-
hounds. Wc had, liowevcr, fully three miles start and
managed to keep it all day, though we Iiad to make frc(iuent
halts to breathe our horses. That night wo passed in some
licavy timber, where I renuimber that the noise made by insects
was 80 great as to resendjie that made by a threshing-machine

OUIl IM.AX or TUAVKI.I.tNO.

05

u ImmliiMl yunU away. Ilrn- wc HiTiounly «li'»ruHM'(l tlw
poHiihility of mukiiiK aomu kind of n Nhcltcr with trunk* of
trceit, and krcpinj; the IndinnM oil', in tliu ho|>cs thnt Nomo
friendly IndiauH nn^lit (.'ornc up and drive them away; hut tho
utatc of niy arm finally ch'('i<U'd uh to j^ivc up the idea, as it wa-*
very uiueh Nwollen an<l looked uh if it might mortify. I kept
cohl water on it continually, and an we pa^Hed ponds at
frequent intervals, I could k»'ep the handa^^es cool.

Our plan of travelling was to halt noon aft(>r sunset, when
Badger ruhlied down the hordes and Mtiiked them out, watering
tiuMU when cool ; we then sli-pt, or tried to do so, for ahout
three or four hours, when we mounted ami nxh; at a canter till
nearly daylight. Tin; horses had then two hours more? rest and
were nibbed down again, w(ukiiig the sinews of the legs well
with the hands, after which we nKnintcul and rod** all day,
getting off now and then for a fi-w miuutcH. Uy these nu'ans,
we had gained a good many miles on the Indians, who some-
tinu's did not come in sight till m-arly twelve o'chx.'k, when the
fast riding began.

Hadiicr behaved splendidly during the ride, and was very
hopeful of our escaping. The horses were getting very thin,
and we had to throw away nearly all our pack, including a
ritle and a lot v>f amnmnition, breaking the former so that it
might be of no use to our pursuers. On the morning of the
fourth day, our ride having lasted three days and three nights,
we came to the first iiouse, whicih was iidiabited by a man with
his wife and one child. AVhen thev iieard that the Sioux were
only a few miles behind us, they got in two horses, and leaving
everything, joined us.

We saw the Indians oucc during the morning from a liigh

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iiKMiiiil, luit ^ooll nftcrwurilM \vi< rami* to livo or mU nion* lioimrN,
till* iiilialtittiiitN of wliicli tiiriuil out aniii'd iiiiil roth* out to
iiiri't I III* IhiliuiiM; u l)(i(|y of iinirly tvu'iity iiicii, ami wv. wrro

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I «lo ii(»l HU|i|t(>Nr that two iiioriS iiiii«crnl)lt'*iookiii(; wri'ti'iii'ii
vwr nxlc into a <4('ttli>iiu>nt fliaii oiirMcIvc"*. For I'mir iliiyx wo
liiiil not iiNcd water, and onr cIoIIich ucrr liirty an«l a muimh of
rii;:'* ; tlirn, too, my liuir hail not lircn cut lor nearly a year, and
I WiiM tli» I'olonr of li^ht niiiliu;;finy. Wc Ntop|ir(| at tin* (iint
house, and on(> of thi^ wonu'ti dre««Med my atin lor ine, id'ter
wliich we wetjt to hed and Htaye«l then? for nearly t>\enfy honrn ;
then ue hud a ^'ood meal of pork ami potatoes, and in the
afternoon rode on tf» Tort (iarry, where we attracted a j;ood
deal of att(;ntion, onr horM(!H Ixmii;; mere ha;(H of IxnieH,

Kidin;; thron^h the scttlenuMit, for theri! wan no town tin'rc
at that time, I met a ^ood n^any people whom I had known
(he previous year, ae I all of them were very anxions to know
where I had tiirmd np from, and why I w:is in my present
condition ; hnt 1 only answered ihem hy askui}^ for the haker's
sho|), as some lu'w hread seemed to me (he one tliinj? of all
others that I most desired, for no one who has not j^one with-
ont it for months can ima<;in(< what the craving lor it is. I had
cat* I nothing; hnt " jfalettc; " in camp or in my l()<; eahin
dniiiif; the winter, and at Fort Carlton had only got rolls made
with soda.

1 may as well mention that "galcttc" is made of llonr,
water, and " saleratns," mixed ns don^h and formed into flat
cakes, one of which is then put into the fryinj;-pan, and this is
placed in front of the fire; when the cake j,'ets stiff it is taken
out and put hy the fire with a stick to keep it up, another la

ni

•lOUX OUTIIKKAK.

07

thou put in tlio fryiug-|mn, nml ro on till you liavo cooked
chou({li for tlic^ pnrty. It i« uot Imd wltoii hot, hut only (It for
uiiikiii;; hullftN wlicu cold.

Wlini I rciu'hrd tho hiikor'n, nud wan ({ivoii a how touf nnd u
pound of hiitti'i*, I uti! tluMU in ulioiit ('c|uiil proiMirtiont, and do
uot think I (!vrr (iiijctycd anything no much in my life.

At tliut tinu! there wan no hotel of tuiy kind iu the icttlc<
ment, no that ouo of thu luttlurt kindly put nio u|h and I roou
recovered from my fnti^uc, while a hulf^hrccd doctor lot my
nrm after a fu>«hion.

I found the pluco iu a stnto of ((rent excitement, and it
Hcerucd that th(> outbreak of the Sioux IiidianM, to which I have
l)( fore r(;fcrn'd, and which took |da(re th(> pr(;viouH y(>ar while
we were on our way to the Hcttlcrnent, had cnhninatcd in an
awful uuiHMacre, nearly 1 KM) men, women, and chihlren ha.in^
been murdered in ono nij^ht, under circumstnuecH of dn-adfnl
hai'harity. TIk^mc Indians had plundered the whole of Minne-
Kota with tlic exception of three or four towns, had hurnt^d all
the HcttlcrM' houses, and had carried oil' a nuinher of wonu ii
and a j;reat many cattli;. Tlu; United States' troops had been
scut to the spot and had scrattcrcd " Litth? Crow's" band for a
time, but could not catch any of thcin, and it wua mmw. of the
mcmhcra of this band who had chased inc.

It appears that when "Little ('row" was driven from Min-
ncsota he took refu;j;e in Hritish territory, collecting his scat-
tered men, till he was said to have more than l.'JOO warriors
under hin>, and with these he now nnu'clicd on I'ort (Sarry,
sending a runner to say that unless he was given so much
money and so many horses, kc, ho would sack the settlement.

There really was no danger if the half- breeds would oidy work

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tofi^otlicr ; ])iit this tliry never -would do, beinj; ulwjiys divided
into two i)!irties, Kuj^lisli and Freneli, very jealous of one
another and IVecjuently coming to l)k)ws. The settlement in
addition vas so scattered that it was impossible to defend it
all, and many of the settlers were for bribing " Little Crow "
to go away, though fortumitely these were outvoted, and a body
of rangers was raised, but this was not until I had left.

Ik'ing anxious to reach a town and have my arm properly
attended to, I made encjuiries as to the best way of going to
St. Paul's. The distance Avas about six hundred miles, and no
houses would l)e found on the way, everything having been
burned by the Sioux, Avho were scattered all over the first half
of that distance.

None of the half-breeds to whom I spoke seemed willing to
act as guide, and I began to think of trying it Avithout a guide,
taking Hadger with me, when I heard of a French lialf-brced
called Isidore jNIarondc, who lived some ten or tAvelve miles north
of the Fort, avIio, everyone said, Avould face anything for money.
He bore a bad character, being rather too ready to use his
knife in a quarrel ; but this Avas a small matter, so I sent for
him. Ilis appearance Avas not in his favour, his face being a
bad one ; but he was a very fine man physically, and Avas said
to have ])ecn in many fights Avith the Indians. He at once
said that it was only a question of money, as he was quite
ready to face the " Devil " himself if properly paid for it ; and
it was at last arranged that for guiding me to St. Paul's and
getting back the best way he could, he Avas to have £oO in
money, a fine double gim of mine, and the three horses which
Ave should use on the road.

The next thing to do was to find the liorses, for although I

IMIKI'AIMNG TO LKAVK FORT GAIlllV.

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should Imvc liked to have taken on the three horses which I had
l)r()iijjfht from the Saskatchawan, they were so utterly worn
out that it was doubtful whctluM" they would ever be worth any-
thing again, and in any case it would be; months before; they
could be richUni ou such a journey as that which I w;is about to
undertake. I let it be known therefore that I wanted three fast
horses, strong enough to carry heavy loiuls for six hundred
miles in fourteen or fifteen days, and I very soon had several
huiulrcds brought to me.

In those days the half-breeds lived almost entirely on buffalo
meat, going twice a year for a big hunt ou the prairie to get it,
and bringing home dried meat and penmiican in the spring and
fresh meat in the early winter. These hunts necessitated their
owning a great many horses, and these from the hard life they
led, and the amount of galloping they got after bulfalo, couUl
go almost any distance on nothing but grass, and over all kinds
of ground without falling. Wc selected three of the best of
these, and had them well fed and exercised for several days ;
we also bought a new outfit, provisions, &c., taking nothing
hut what was absolutely necessary, and our weapons consisted
of a shot gun and two revolvers. It was of no use our taking
rifles with any idea of making a fight of it, in case we should
meet Indians, but a shot gun might be of use in procuring us
food, as grouse and ducks aboumlcd. Nothing could exceed
the kindness of the inhal)itants of Fort Garry, the JJishop,
Dr. Anderson, kindly offering me a carriage and pair to take
me down to St. Paul's, saying that he did not care if he never
saw it again ; but this would have been a novel way of travelling
through a dangerous Indian country, especially as we were

going where there were no roads.

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OUR JOURNEY.

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Oil tlic Slid of May wc said good-bye to everyone, and got
oil' about five o'clock in tbo afternoon, a good many settlers
coming a short distance with us, and bidding us adieu as if
tliey never expected to see us again. Our idea was to ride at
night, liiding away in the daytime, and this we did throughout
the journey.

The whereabouts of "Little Crow" and his band was known,
so that we could avoid him, but there were small parties of his
warriors wandering about all over northern jSIinnesota and
southern Dacotah, through whieli territories our road lay, and
we hiid to be constantly on the watch. Maronde used to ride
ahead at a canter, and I followed, leading the pack-horse, which
Mas fastened to my souiul arm. Now and then wc saw fires,
and had to make a detour to avoid them, and several times we
heard shots fired, l)ut this was during the day, when we were
well hidden in some thicket or under the bank of a river. Our
horses, though not so good as those I had ridden from Carlton,
wore vci'y fair and in capital condition, and we frequently
went at a canter for hours. AVe passed several burnt farm-
houses, and in front of some of these there was a row of graves,
showing where the soldiers had buried the dead.

The first inhabited house which wc reached was near a small
settlement called St. Cloud, and here we had our first good
sleep, for it takes a long time to get used to turning day into
night. There were only two small rooms and a "lean-to"
used as a kitchen, one of the two rooms being a bedroom and
the other the living-room. I found a number of lumlerers
staying there, and as I said I had not slept in a l)cd for ten
nights I was given the only bed, and thought I was most lucky,
though I had afterwards reason to change my mind.

A COMFORTARLK BED ! 101

We liad arrived about eleven o'clock in tlic morning, and
having passed the dangerous portion of our journey, we deter-
mined to take a day's rest, so remained until the following
morning. When night came I took possession of my small
room, the lumberers and my guide slee])ing on the floor of the
living-room, and my host and his wife in the stable. The first
feeling was delightful, and I was just luxuriating in it when I
felt something at ray neck, and a little later it i'elt as if I had
a blister on. I got up and lighted the candle, and found the
pillow alive with B flats ; they swarmed everywhere and the
walls, or rather logs, were also covered with them. It was out
of the question trying to sleep there, so I put on some of my
things and went into the outer room, stumbling over a man as
I did so. He asked me what was the matter, and on my telling
him he laughed at me, and said I was a pretty frontiersman to
care for such trifles, and that if I was not going to use the bed
he would do so, and he proceeded to move his things into my
room, Avhile I took his place on the floor. I had just got off
to sleep when out he came again, using most unparliamentary
language, and declaring that he had been very nearly lifted out
of bed.

Of course I had a good laugh at him, when he and I
adjourned to the stable, where we finished the night very com-
fortably on some hay.

The next day we rode into St. Paul's, and after putting our
horses into a livery stable, we went to tlie principal hotel in the
place. Here they were at first disposed to refuse us admission,
till I reminded the landlord of my having been there the year
before, and of my having left some things in his charge.

Dinner was just beginning, so I washed my hands and went

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TA KI'.N lOH A SCOl'T,

ill, in\ ili'css coiisistiii-; ul' a Iciilhcr shirt, IcatluM' troiiMcrs anil
iiiorcaNiiis, and a I'lir ('m|), all oC tlicni Immii;; very iiiiicli tlic
M()r>(< lor \\(ai'. Maroiidi*, alter l(iokiii<r into tin/ ilininu,-i'i)iiMi

nnd si'cinir sonif hnlics, rcluscd (o ^o in, aiid was accoininodatci

I'ISJU lUMC

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y a|)|)('ai'ani'(> caused (jiiite a st^nsation in the

roiini, and there was a ;;reat deal ol' whisix'rinj; aincni;;' the
jiin'sts. and a waiter was sent to lind «)iit who I was. Anionj;'
those present w as a jicneral ollieer of the llnited States' Army
and his stall', many «)!" the latter having- iheii' wives with them,
and I had \\o\ been loiin' at table w hen an aide-de-eam[) eame
to t(>ll me to i;*) to the (ieneral at once, !ie evidently takinjij me
lor a hall'-hri'i'd seont. 1 s(>nt lo say that I would eome when
I had linislu'd my dinner, and on my j;oinj; to him, the (ieneral
apoioijized l\)r his apj)arent disi'ourtesy, althoiii;Ii he did not
tell nu> what lu' had taktMi me lor, nor eonld I hlame him
mneh lor tlii> mistake lu' had maiU\, when I looked at mysiH'in
a I'nll-liMiuth ulass.

1 i'.

louml that he had been siMit to take eomniand ol some
twi-lve Inindri'd men wlu) were about to mareli aj;ainst the
Indians, ;inil Mas theri'l'ore anxious to jjct any information he
eould as to tluMr wlu'reaboutSj the nature of the country, and
ot' tlu> best I'oute to take.

1 lold him that the mou he w;is takinj;' with him would bi' of
viM'y little service against such enemies, beiny; almost entirely
infant rv, and 1 advised hiui to raise a bodv of rauiiers frou) the
halt-breeds of the Hed Hiver, any one of whom was equal to
two Indians; but 1 eould not get him to agree with me, as he was
(piite new to tliis kind of lighting. 1 told him that the Indians
would luing round his line of march, cutting oil' stragglers and
shooting his sentries, they themselves being always invisible.

KNKCIJTION or INDIANS.

10.",

Mvcnts turned out as I liiul predicted : tli(' expedition Htiirted,
saw a few Indians in tlie distane<' whom they I'ailed to eat<r|i,
remained out alxnit (liree months, harass(<d in every way I)}
the Indians, and rittnrned having (h)ne nothin;r.

In llie meiintiinc!, *' Jiitth' (.'row's " hand, rMHlinj; themselves
(Mit oir I'rom their hnntin^-^^ronnds, rose; aj^'ainst their h;ad<'r,
who Ih'd to l"'ort (Jarry and was shot hy a S(!ot<'h N(;ttler, for
the pri(;e put on his head hy tin; U.S. (iovernment. His men
eamc! in and ^av(! themselves np, and w(!re tried hy eonrt-
niartial, sonu; thrcn; hnndretl of them hein;; eondi^mmui to h(;
hnnj^. This whoh;sale sentenee was, howeviir, not (tarried out,
orders hein^ sent i'roni \Vasliin;^ton that all tin; Indians should
be retried, and (!ventually only thirty-two or three; wen; hnn<?
at Mankato, a s(|uar(; ijlatlorm hein^ erected, rouiul tin; sides of
which they wcu'c executed.

('uriously enough, whih; wallvinj^ one day in the streets of
St. Paul's, I found amon<f a number of photo;fraphs of Indians
a i)ortrait of the man who had broken my arm, whos(5 name
was Ki-chi-mu-ka-ses, "the LittU; Fox/' and who was chief of
one section of the Sioux. lie had come frequently into St.
Paul's before the massacre, anil had been j)h(;to}^raphed, as had
also *' Little Crow " uuil many other Sioux. 1 found there was
a reward of a thousand dollars oii his head; but it would not
have been advisable to have stopped in St. Paul's on the chance
of getting it, as there was no one, except Badger, to prove that
I had killed him.

I went to a surgeon about my arm, and found that the half-
breed doctor had merely tied some splints round it, and that
now it was too late to do anything, the bones having set
themselves, giving me a stilf arm for life, but not interfering

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LEAVF, FOR KNC.I.AM).

much with its use for shootinp, ridinfr, Sro. Uv mu\ nothing
l)\it tlio healthy life I had been leading; had prevented mortifi-
cation from aettin<; in.

1 left St. Paul's for ICngland soon after this, and thus ended
my first trip to America.

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RKTURN TO AMF.IUCA.

1(1.")

CllAPTEll VIII.

nc'tnni to Aniericn.— Start for KaiiHaH. — Wuriiiii^f agaiiist oUijrir.g'Htrnngors.
— The town of Troy. — IIorHu-racing. A Hoft tliiiij^. — A brualidowii. —
A ■wrcHtliii^'-iiiatcli. — My new man Fox. His objection to eiu'rills. —
Tlio settlunu'nt of Wliitt' liock. Its history. — A liiippy liuiitinf^-groiincl.
— A Tt'iidcrfoot's first rnn with biilliilo. Jlo prefer.-j wulKing. — A
Avondcrful mare. I buy her. — Trying Brown's courage. — Appearaui't?
of Indians noiir camp.

I RETAINED suc'li plcasaiit mcmorics of my visit to tlic jjruirics ia
180)2 that I determined to go again; so I left England in June
18CG, intending to hunt during the summer on the prairies oi:
Kansas, and to winter wliercver I could hear of there being
plenty of game.

I started alone, but came across a young Englishman on the
steamer who had a great desire to sec the West, so we arranged
to go together. After a sliort staj' in Canada, \\c readied St.
Joseph's, Missouri, where we intended to fit out. And here
let me warn anyone who may think of doing as I did to
beware of specious men who offer to buy horses, mules, and
outfit for them, on the plea that they know the people and
tlieir ways, and can save them a lot of money. I am of course
speaking of total strangers, who come up and introduce tliein-

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1<M) AN Oin.l(ilN(i STUANdKK.

Holvrs to yoii, niul \\\nwo nppriiriuuT i« often in tlicir favour.
Such II man, ulioin I >vill rail " tlu; ('oloucl," which was thr
name he ;;<'n('rally went i)y, was most uiixioiis ** to savi* inc all
troiihh'," HO aj'tci* thaiikiiif; him protnscly 1 commissioiu'd him
to buy me a ^'ood span of mules, and four horses snite<l to the
West, the residt heinj; as follows : — There were a span of lim*-
lookin;; mules of which oiw was hum; and had been so for
months, one horsi* which had hcen sold heeanse In; was a eon-
lirmed bolter, another because Uc ate np his bridle, reins, or
anything else with wliich he mi;;ht be fastened, and a third
because he Mas touched in tlu; wind, the fourth was a "race-
mare," who could do a mih; in some wonderfully short time,
and of w hom more hereafter.

Fortunately I j;ot my men myself, takinj; them on the
reconnuemlation of an old freijjfhter, and viM'y good they both
wcri' — Ivor going as cook and Hen as driver, the only necessary
(lualification for the former berth being the knowledge of how
to make a fire and to put on water to boil, all the rest being
suj)i)ose(l to come.

It took ten days to get everything together, and about the
betiiimiug of July we started, our outfit being carried in a light
waggon, in which we had nearly twenty-five liuudred weight,

much too great a load over such roads. INI and I had two

horses each, riding one and leading the other, and the two men
travelled on the box of the waggon.

I must not forget to say that I had on this trip a number of
patent compendiums, than which nothing could have "worked
better or seemed more convenient iu the shops, but all of
which we gradually threw away, as they became dinted and uo
longer litted one inside another.

A IIOUSK-IlArE.

I(i7

Oil Iciiviii}; "St. Joe," um it is ulvvuys callrd, \vc wci'i?
told that II ({ood \t\iu'v to ('aiii|i the lirnt iii;i;lit would he at tlu;
town of Troy, as it was not so far lint lliat wi; could easily
scud liack for auythiii;; which had Itccu loi'^ottcii, as it wih
only tliiifccu luilcs from St. .loc. Wc Ucpt a j^ood lo<d\ out as
W(; rode alon;; no as not to pass tin! place, and wIhh wo
arrived at a liousi; and harn, think in<; we must have donu
tliii'teen miles, wc asked a man, who was sitting; in front of the
house, where Tioy was, on which he lau^^hcd and said that wu
could see all there was of it, the phu'(; having heen |)lanued and
pcj^^ed out hut ni?vi;r huilt, on(! house, a harn, and tin; p<';<H
represcntiu;; tlu; town. 'rhi;rt.' ustul to he many places of thisi
kind in the West, represented hy ^rand pictures ut a;;ents'
olIle(;s and railway-stations as tlourishin;^ towns, and when
eri'dulous jx-ople had hon<;ht (!orner lots, ami (;aine to visit their
property, they found mueh sueh a town us Troy.

The first four or live days of our journey, throu^li a nund)er
of small settlements, were very unintcsrestinj^, the only {^aino
heinj; a few grouse, and the only incident, my losin<^ ten
pounds in a cleverly manaj^ed liorse-raec of three hundnil
""nls. A settler came into camp one mornin;^ on a poor-
looking horse, and oU'ered to run it a;^ainst anything we had
for ten pounds (hfty dollars), the distance to be three hundred
yards. I took him up and saddled the racc-mare, thinking 1
had a " soft thing." The race was to be on the sandy road,
which here ran along the side of the hill, having a ridge on the
outside of it, and turning just beyond camp round a sharp
corner. We started from a point a short distance on our side
of the corner, my opponent taking the inside, and when he
came to the turn, he crowded me out of the road on to the

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A UUF.«TI,IN{J-MAT( II.

ri(if(c, NO that my mnro nearly camo dowiii and lio won racily.
Knowiii)^ all I do now, I «liould not have paid the money;
hut 1 wuN groun then, and did no, and it wan a good le^t^on
to mo.

Wc had a piece of had luck jiiHt before nMiching tliC last
Mettlenieiit, a place ealle<l Luk(! Sihlcy. Wo were goitig along
very well, and were thinking of camping for lunch, when tho
mulca Hliied at a dead ox, wliich wait lying on the road-dido,
when the front axle broke and the waggon rolled over. Fortu-
nately, the mulcH behaved well and broke nothing ; but we had
to camp where we were, away from wood and water, and
unpack the waggon into the tent, the weather being Htoriny,
and we made a Nheltcr for ourselves out of the waggon-cover.
1 rode to the settlement the next nu)rning to try and find a
smith to put on a new axle, but found that one must bo sent
for from St. Joe, involving a delay of a week , so rather than
remain where we were, I exchanged the waggon for another,
givii g money into the bargain, though mine was a new one,
wh( reas ihc one 1 got was several years old.

During the evening we had a good many visitors to the tent,
and among others the man of whom I hit' got the waggon,
and another man called Brown, who wanted to go with us as
guide, as he said he knew all the country we wished to hunt
over and was not afraid of Indians. The waggon man, whoso
name was JJelknap, began bragging of his wrestling, telling us
that he had never ])cen thrown, on which Brown said it was
quite time that he should be, and challenged him to come out-
side. Of course we all went out to sec the fun, and the two
men stripped and clinched, when Brown, first making a feint,
threw Belknap over his shoulder, giving hira a bad shaking ;

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MY NKW MAN rOX.

1(11)

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• MOOiul Htru)(((lr cudcd in tlu; Niiine way, nftcr wliich nrlkiiiip
Rnid very littlo. I hciinl in the coumo of the evciiin^^ of
anotluT niun.wliom ovtryono Kuid I ou^lit to liiivr, wlioNr niiniu
WM Fox, and n\1io Ncomcd from ull aucountN to fear notiiing,
liuvii.f? been ont by himinlf on the Solomon River hnntinj? for
a limt ninle, when no other ten men in the netthMnent wouhl
have done it, hm the Iiiditms were very hud jnMi then ; mo I
determined to ^'o and Hee him in the morniri;;, havii'tr already
enj(ii^'<'d Hrown. I foniid him di^'j;inj; a wtll tor a new Ncttler,
at tt small plaec a few mih'H lower down tlur Hepuhlican llivcr,
and alter a Mhort talk engaged him. Seeing that he was bare-
footed, I said that he had better g" ii>^'> tbc Hcttlemcnt and buy
himself Home boots, and that I would advance him the money,
on whieh iu; rc^tlied that la; had rather not do no, as the sherilT
wanted him, and would perhaps detain him, as he had killed
two (iermans in u gambling row; and it eatne out, too, that if
our journey led us in the direetion of Texas, ho eould not
accompany us, us the sheritl' of Houston also wanted liiin,
though he would not say why. He was evidently a first-eluss
desperado, but as our trip was a dangerous one, his pluek more
than counterbalanced everythii»g else. 1 tried to get boots lor
him, but the few they had at Sii)ley were all too small, and ho
had to go barefooted, and make himselt' moccasins from the
first bufl'alo we killed.

The following day wc left Sibley, and two days' travelling
took us to the north of a crock called "AVhitc Rock," on which
wc expected to remain some time. This place had a curious
history, having already been settled nine times, each set of
settlers having remained only a part of a summer, and being
then scared away by Indians. One lot had just loft, and it

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110 UIIITI IO<K.

lowurnl Hniun very much in t>iit' catiiimtioit when s\c (ound
thnt )w hnil lN*rn one of thrrn.

I coultl not iliNrovrr that ri Niii;(l(* mixn, womwim, or rhihl hail
hiTn actually killnl during tlir whole nine NiininnrN, hut onr
nt:tn hail hern wiiundcd thin lant Niininicr, and thr r(>Ht ol' tliriii
Mrctncd always tu have run M H(M>n i\n thry cither Mau an
Indian or the track of onr. For Nonu) niiluH np the vnvk >vo
caiMc acroHM houNCs, in many of uhich ('verythin^^ heavy, kucIi
as h((N and NtovcM, had been left ; ai.d we uImo found a ntitnlxT
of Muiall eorn-lieldM, juNt eoinin;; into ear, which we determined
to vi«it later «)n. Wv. kt-pt on for about thirty niilen until wo
had |)a«tMcd all houses, and then made a eomfortahle camp, not
«»nly pnttinf,' up two tents, hut erectinj( a hon^^h shelter from
the Hun, \»liicli \v(! called the " diiiin;;-roon)," and aho cuttin};
a Minoke-honse out of the lmid\ of tlio Ntrcnni for hnlTalo.
tonjrurs, of which wc had promised to brinjf ])aek n supply.

We had not Hcen much j?amo ko far, ami nothin;^ hi^^Tf^f'r
tlinn a turkey, hut above onr c.-onp found it very plentiful,
includin;; white- and black-tailed deer, any number of turkeys,
and a ^ood many elk, while by K'*bij( south wc found plenty of
buffalo. It eertairdy was a " happy hunti " ii;round," and wc
had it, and were likely to have it, to ourselves, so far as white
men were concerned. The Indians were our otdy trouble, and
as they knew that the creek was deserted, there was not much
to temi)t them to come near us.

My friend M , havin{^ lived all his life in a town,

knew nothing of ridinj,', though I did not know this till
afterwards ; and a few days after we reached this camp I pro-
posed to have a run at butlalo, so wc started, I riding the
bolter, and M the oiuLivorous animal. The country

A TkiNUKiirooi .sriKii jarrALo.

Ill

\vn« rolling prniri , with very often n ilry w.itrrrouimo in the
hollowN, mill an tliCMV wcro overthrown with imntlow«>r>«, wi^
could not Ncr \\\nrv they began, thu Nnnllowcrii hcing higher
llian our hrmN.

A riiU; of iihout two houm took un to ii hi^h riil^c, from
witich wr luul tin fXtcnMivo view, tuul wu couUl ncc many Nnuill
hiinilM of hutluhi, of from three or four to fifty ; niul ('hooHin((
(MIC of tliCMC, UM they W('t'(> on ^ood ridiii); (ground, we niiidr for
them, lv('0|)itij< in n hollow wliich iiid iim till wv were within ii
(|iitirt(>r of ti niilo of th(!m. We then tightened our ^irthM and
loaded. 1 waN UNing u Nixteen-hor(> douhl(> ^un, nnd M
u double rill(! of tlu; Nanur cnlibre, which I had lent him. I
notieed that he held hi^ reinn very awkwardly and had soinu
trouble in niana(;ing liiM horMC and liolding IiIm rifh* at the
Manie time, hut I wm too excited to tliink (d* anything but the
run before uih, ho leaving the hollow, we rode on to tlu; level,
and were ut once Keen by the biillaloer', Mhieh commciieed
^oing off.

(living a shout and telling M to put the Hpurs in, away

I went, leaving him a little behind me, and w\' were going
down a Mteep hill, when I heard Htrango nouikU in my rear,

and turning round in my saddle, I saw M holding on both

before and bi'hind, and flying about in an extraordinary way,
his hat and gun gone, and he evidently being on the [)oint
of coming to grief himself; and just as I turned my head to
see what was in front of me and to pull up, 1 heard a thud,

followed by a loud groan, and saw M on his back, heels

in the air. 1 caught his horse as he passed me, and then rode

back, finding M unhurt and unable to account for what

had happened ; the rifle was not broken as I feared it would

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A VISITOR.

be, so iio nMiiountcJ uud wo started nj^aiii, taking a new
(lii'0(;ti()n, as our huil'ulo would have alarmed all on tliat side.
On going round u point of timber we came on an old bull,
and innnediately gave eiiase, and after many turns and two
furious charges, I killed him, having to give him seven bullets

before he dropped. M came up as I was taking out the

tongue, and owned that he couhl not manage a horse and a gun
at the same time, and that for the future he would content
himself with stalking. We tried a good deal more ground,
looking for cows and calves ; but the country was disturbed,
and we had to go ba(!k to camp with one tongue only.

On reaching eamp, we were surprised to find a young fellow
from Sibley who had come, hoping to sell us a very nice little
bay mare, but he wanted a hundred and fifty dollars for her,
and I thought this too much. He asked if he might remain
a few days and hunt with us, wishing to have a run at buffalo ;
and I of course said yes, as there was plenty of room in the
men's tent. On the following morning Brown, the stranger,
and I saddled up for a run, I taking my race-mare, and Brown

M 's second steed, who made noise enough for a locomotive,

and we started south, keeping to the east of the ground we
went ovc- the day before. A solitary bull was soon met with,
and not knowing whether we shor.ld find any more, we got
ready for a run. I supposed that I was going to have it all to
myself, as my mare was nearly sixteen hands, Avliilc the bay,
whom her owner called " Polly,'^ was not more than fourteen ;
she was, however, made like a race-horse, having a good
shoulder and good muscle behind.

"We started together and remained so for a short distance,
Avhen the locomotive dropped behind, and I put on a spurt to

A WONUKRKUL TONY.

1|:J

leave tho nmro, who, however, rcinaiiKMl iit itiy knee, though I
was (h)iiig my hcst ; a minute hiter she passed me easily, ^oiii};
over the rou^h ground like; a eat, and tlu; stran;((;r j^ot tin; (irst
shot, ai\(l ill th(^ end killed the hull, I heiii}^ simply nowhere, as
my mare tried to run away on heariiij^ the firin;;', and hein;^
very bad wlieu the {ground was roiij^h.

I need not say how disjjjiisted 1 was, tliouj^li th(! mare's
owner l)eliaved very wcdl and refraiiuul from ehallin'^ uh). \Ve
took tlie hull's tongue, and Hrown havinj; joined us, with his
liorsc entirely pumped, we started onee more, hut found no
hud'aloes till late in the al'ternoon, when we came on a small
hand of cows and ealves, wliieli scattered on our ehasin^ them ;
and T manajjed to <^vt one after firinj;^ nearly twenty shots, as
my man; jumi)ed many Ceet every time I raised my gnn,
so tliat it was impossible to take any sort of aim.

On the way to camp I exchanged the rac(*-mare for the
pony, giviuf^ fifty dollars to boot, thoujjjli she had cost m,: two
liundred dollars (,t lO). This was by far the best animal that
I ever sat on in America, and though so small she seemed to
make nothing of my fifteen stone, going over awful groand
Avithout a stum])le, even at full speed, and standing fire like an
old shooting pony. Although 1 gave a long price for her
I did not regret it, as she was tlic means of saving my life
more than once, as will be seen further on. I owned her for
three years, and then sold her to a companion on my leaving
for home.

The mare's owner left us the next day, and we moved south
to the Solomon River, the large lierd of Ijufl'alo benig on the
other side of it, so that it took us nearly half a day to reach
them from wlicre we had been camped. \\'e established our-

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114

TKSTIN(i HHOWN S COUllAGE.

srlvcs on tlio forks of the Solomon, wliicli was, altli()uj;h \v(!
(li<l not then know it, a favourite; reiulozvous of the Sioux, tiicir
usual caiup hcinf^ uot (juite two miles from where we then Avere.
lirowu and I went out a few days after our arrival, and
ns the j,n'ass was bad aud our horses thin Me went on foot.
After walkinj; some miles, aud seeing nothing hut some very
wild autelojje, we suddenly uotieed what 1 took at first to be
smoke amoujj^ some trees ahead of us, but whieh I reeollccted
soon afterwards was nothin*^ but some dead cottouvvood trees
staudinj;' amou<jf «irecn ou(>s, as I had reu.arked the same
appearance a fc^w days previously and had gone to ucc what it
Avas. I thoiif^ht this a good ojjportunity to test IJrowu's
eourage, about whieh I had my d()ul)ts, as lu; was always
boasting of the uumbt^r of Indians he had killed ; so 1 pretended
to Hiink it was snu)ke, ajul told Brown that 1 should go and
see what it meant, on whieh he refused to accompany me, aud
started olf in the direction of cam]), saying that he did not call
that courage, but I'ool-hardincss. After Avalking a short dis-
tance, liowever, I turned and overtook him, an<l had a good
laugh at him, telling him what it really was, when he assured
me that he knew it all the time and merely wauicd to try me.

On our return to camp we found that we might very easily
have come across some Indians, as eight or ten of thcni had
during our absence ridden on to the bluffs which overhung the
camp, and had shaken their snnars at those in it.

We had a consultation that evening, and all the men, with
the exception of Fox, wished to give up the trip and niturn
home ; but as the latter assured me that he would go on with
me alone if ncccssarv, thev were at last shamed into remaining.

TIIK OMNIVOROUS HOUSE.

115

hill

'it

CHAPTER IX.

Finil a Sioux cnmp-Tonnd.— Tlio omnivorous liorso. — A Uocky-Mouutaiu
moose. — A Lirfre lurkuy-r()u.st. — A tlosiTti'il si-ttUsuifnt. — Fox thinks lie
is iiouv^ to dio — Crossin}^ the river under dilliculties.— A fust bnli'alo-
calf, — Adventure with ubutYalo. — Camp deserted. Another made. Row
with the men. Urown discharged. IJemove to old camp. — More laitTalo-
huuting. — Surprised by Indians. Cut oil' from camp. I'lan of getting
through. Its success and sufety. Xcighboui'liood getting too warm. —
Fox declines going near a sherilK — lleturn eastwards.

As wc found a great deal of Indian sign about, and came one
morning on the big Sioux camp-ground, ■which was so close to
us and which had cidcntly been lately occupied, we thouglit
it wise to move some miles up the Solomou River, where
we camped on a small stream wliich ran into it, and found
capital grass and a spring of ice-cold water.

Here the ho>'se whose peculiarity it was to cat liis reins gave

us a specimen of his skill. jNl , to whom he belonged, had

been out for a ride, and on coming home had taken off the
saddle and bridle, and had tied him to the waggon-wheel by
liis picket-rope, meaning to put him out later ; but this he
forgot to do, and there he remained all night. In the morn-
ing we found he had torn off all he could reach of the waggou-

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A UOrKY-MOHNTAIN MOOSK.

(•{)\cr, :niil had then |tnll»'(I out !i l)!!}^ coutiiiiiiiij; sixty pounds
ol' su^iir, (if uliicli lit- liiid ciitt'U all \\c, could, trait\|)linic ♦li<'
rcinaiiuKr into llic ground — a j^rcat loss, as wv. wi-u! so far
IVom any place wlici'c \\v could <^vi any more.

A (lay or two alter this, INI , l'\)x, and I Avcre out al'fcr

hiiil'alo, ^\h('n uc cauie across a fine had^cr, which, lindin;;: he
could not jict a«ay, flattened liiinscU' ojit on the prairie,
thinkinj;-, 1 supjiosi", that we should not then see him, and
sank so low that he did not seem to he more than two inclics

thick. ]\r , uho had never seen one, ask(>d what it was,

on which \vc told him that it was a " Hocky-Mountain nu)()se,"
and as such it was described in his journal and in his letters
home.

Ilearinj^ from Brown that there was a gfood-sized settlement,
wln''re we could probably buy suj^ar, about sixty miles down
the river, Fox and 1 detcM-mined to fjo there, inakiufjj a circuit
to avoid the Sioux camp. We calculated on doin^ it in three
days, and took our best horses and weapons, as it was very
likely we mi<;ht be chased by Indians. The first day we
camped a few mili^s below the folks of the I'ivcr, sceiu;^ no
fresh Indian si^n, and we killed two turkeys from a roost
Close to where we camped. There were at least two hnndi'cul
in it, and only a few of the nearest flew away wlicn we fired,
so that wc could easily liavc killed many nu)re. AVc liad
jiathcred a nmnbcr of mushrooms durinji; tlic ride, and with
these and broiled turkey we had a splendid supi)er.

On the followiuij; day we readied the settlement, which lay
on the opposite bank of the river, and found it deserted.
There were some twenty liouses, and they seemed to have been
left very suddenly, as many small things were lying about

OUR MKN AIIK ACIUK HTUICKKN.

117

rouiul tlu; doors, which in most canes \vci'(; open. \V(; went
into some of (hi; houses, liiidiii^, as on White lloek, that
evervthiii}^ heavy had heeii h-lt Ixhind ; and in one —a vei y
Hniall house, of oni^ room oidy — we were surprised to se(! short
red hair lyin^ ahout all over the fh)or, th(; exphmation of which
we heard sonu; mouths hiter. It appears that a lew (hiys hel'ore
our arrival there had hueii an Indian scare, aiul all the settlers
had nm uway, tlu; man who lived in this house lirst euttin;^
uit' his iiair close to his lutad to avoid hein<^ scalped should tlu;
Indians ^^et him. On «)ur way hack, Fox had an attack of
ague, and, plucky man as he was in other ways, he entirely
hroke down under it, and we had to camp where we were,
almost without provisions, as we had sliot nothing that day.
For some hours ho thought he was dying, and he woidd j)ray
cue minute and use the most awful language the next. In
the morning he was well again, and we reached camp that

evining, only to lind M ami all the nusn down with the

same (;oniplaint, the camp being on very low ground. We
therefore determined to nujve, crossing the river so as to be
nearer the bull'alo. The banks were high at this point, the
one on the opposite side being al)out eighty t'cet from the
water to where we could rest the mules, and that eighty must
be done with a rush.

The proper way would have been to empty the waggon
aud to have carried the contents over ; but everyone was so
miserable that we determined to chance it, as the mules, having
done nothing lately, were fresh and in good ohler. Going
down was comparatively easy, as we tied the wheels, Fox and
1 managing the waggon, the others lying in it, as they felt too
weak to help. The water was shallow, but the bottom was

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muddy, mid \vc liiul a stnifjf^lc to rcacli tlic opjjosite side : Ikiw-
cver, Ave sent the luuli's at tl»e hank and ^'ot up halfway, ^hcii
the" stopped aud thi; wa<r<;o!i hc^aii to come l)aek. Now mc
were on a h\()[)V. which Mas at nn an{^h' of 15°, and f^oinj; hack
meant a totnl smash and a very had time tor those inside; so,
shontinj; to ihem to j^et out and help us, l'\)x and I each seized
a M'lieel, and licld on as I think I never liehl on to anytliing
ill n)y life, so much del)endin^; on it. Tlic others recovered
with marvcMous rapidity from their iHness, and to sec them
jumpin}^ al)out you wouUl never liavc believed tliat there was
anythin}^ the matter with them. The mules were staunch and
tried again, and tliis time we readied the /esting-plaec, from
which the slope was more gradual. We camped about tlircc
miles further up the river, in a small l)end of it — a capital
j)hiee if we were attacked, as the water was deep all round the
bend. The only timber was near the tent, and tlic men made
quite a little settlement, putting up a large dining-room,
covered with a spare tent fly, and making benches and a table :
we had also a smoke-stage, hitchinj^-bar for the horses, and
the two tents.

Here the buffalo were all round us, and a large band crossed
the river just above the camp on the evening of our arrival ; so

]M and 1 crept up under the bank, so that fully a hundred

must have passed within three yards and never scented us, the
wind being from them to us. It was great fun to watch some
of the young ones, who hesitated about going down the steep
l)ank, being butted down by the old fellows. One of these, by
the Avay, missed his blow, and nearly came on the top of us.

I had a run on the following day after the fastest calf I ever
chased. I was mounted on my bolter, and though I ran the

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ANT-FinilTINn.

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liorst; to a Mtiindstill, I hud to ^ivc it up, so 1 n'tiinicd to camp
and cliangod the saddle to the mare, and af^'ain went alter tlu;
calf; and in five; minutes it was dead, tiic mare ijoinj? up to it
at once.

Meat being plentiful, we gave up hunting for a day or two,
and lot the men go out ami kill some old bulls, their tongiies

being as good as any others; so M and I renniined in

camp mending our clothes, cleaning our guns, &c., and making
experiments in cookery, though no were very se' ^om abh; to
eat wiiat wc had cooked.

One evening we heard turkeys Hying up to roost, and on
going to tlic spot after dark found the trees full of tliem, and
we })r()ught back five fine ones. This is a very tame way of
getting them, however, as they arc shot sitting, and you cannot
well miss, using a shot gun and no. (5 shot, wliieli, l)y the way,
is much more deadly than a larger size, if you fire at the head
and neck. A better way was to run them into the bushes on
horseback when you found them out feeding, and by following
them at once, they would rise all round yon and give you
some very pretty shots.

One of our amusements in camp was to find a rcd-ants* nest,
and then one of the white ant, and to lay a train of sugar or
syrup from one to the other, and lie down about lialfway
between the two and watch the result. Ik'fore long you woidd
see a mass of them coming from both sides, and when th; y
met the fun began. They would first form up into a solid
body on each side, and seem to hold a palaver, after wliich
they would separate and, rushing across the intervening space,
would seize an adversary; they would throw him on their backs,
and carry him off to the ant-hill, Avhcrc, of course, lie was

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Btowi'd iiway lor food. It was noudcilul to mcu with wliut east!
they coulil curry an ant as hi^ aH tliciiKsclvcN, uiid in half an
liour the dcvstrucUion must have been uwlul They drew oil'
alter ti time, most of them heinf,' away alread} with captives,
und we lelt wi; were even with them lor all the sugar they had
tarried oil" from us, the only thinjif which would keej) them out
of the teut heiu^i: a line of coal-oil.

A few days later M aiul 1 had an amusing adventure

Avith a huil'alo, which we had wounded and were following
thr()n;;h a country .nterseeted by a number of snudl streams,
when we eame to one of these with a very steep bank, about
fifteen feet hij;h, and at the Imttom of this the bulTalo — an ohl
bull — was waiting for us. He eame up with a rush, very
nearly catching us, as we had not been expecting him. We
both fired, and b(dte<l in opjjosite directions, and he took after

]\1 , who, instead of going down the bank into the timber

in the bottom, ran along it, and had a viry close shave for it,
just doubling in time. On seeing him (lisa])pear, the bull
stopped for a moment, liiving me time to get in a shot, which
struck him well forward ; on which lie slowly descended the

bank, close to where JM liad gone, and walking into the

stream lay down and rolled over.

Thinking that he was dead, we both went up to him, leaving
our rifles against a tree a few yards away, and before taking
out the tongue we sat dow n on his body and began to discuss
the affair, when thv. buffalo gave a violent heave, nearly throw-
ing us off, and tlicn tried to get up, causing us to go up the
])auk faster than we had come down, forgetting our rifles iu our
hurry, it was, however, a hist effort, ami he -vas soon dead.
It >s astonishing how much lead a buffalo cu carry away if

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not hit in the ri^lit place. 1 rcnuMiilu'r on one occasioii putting
Hixtccn no. 12 balls from u sliot ^un into one, tind then having
to wait a long time tor liim tu (iif, U8 my uminuniliun wus
cxluuihtcd,

I had bc'on ont ono day with Fox after anteloi-e, and had had
l^ood sport, liaviiig killed three, when on retnrninj; to camp \\v.
fonnd it deserted, ever}thinj^ havin;; disappeared. It was too
hitc tu hnnt for it that iiii^^ht, us it wum very dark ; so havin;^
nothinji; hut simple saddle-hlankets by way of beddinj^, we
nuidu a large tire, and sat by it nearly all night, and started
on the waggon-trail very early in the morning, and fonnd oiii'
camp j)itehed on u hill, about four miles away, the top of wlmli
was fortitied with boxes and sacks of Hour, ilcc.

On incjuiring what it meant, the men told us that a large
band of Indians had passed by the day before, going along a
ridge not mure than a mile from camp, fortunately without
seeing it, and that, as the band came from tlu; direetiou in
which we had gone in the morning, they gave us up as lost,
and packed up everything, moving to where we fouiul them,
and meaning, if we did Jiot return early in the morning, to go
back to the settlement. There was a stormy scene, which
ended in my discharging Hrown, of whom everyone was heartily
tired, giving him the broken-winded horse to ride into Sibley,
wlicrc he was to leave him for us. He was always talking of
what he would do when there was no danger, and did nothing
but counsel flight when it came. "Wc returned to jur last
camp as soon as Brown was gone, and the following morning
the buft'alo were close to us, a small band coming almost up to
the tent. They were not more than thirty yards from it, w hen
one of us happened to go out, which frightened them.

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Fox iind I liiid Noinc very rxcitiii^' khUoP" al'tt'r tlicm, j^cttiii^j
into the iiii(lill(> of u bi^ herd, and liuviii|( tlicm no cIonc till
i-ouiid MH tliiit Moiiu'tiincs we could have toiiclted them with our
ImiidH. A t'alMe Htep on the part of one*!* horiie, and our huiIulo<
huntiii|{ wouhl hiiv(> hicn at an end, um we Nlmuld have been
trampled to death by thohe behind ; the oidy drawback wan
the duMt, which liid everything outride the radius of a few

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arils

I had ^one out by myself one nioriiin^^ on tlu; mare, and had

ridden about (i^

ith, when I

two white-tailed

Kun anout nv(< nines oiu; south, wtu<n 1 saw two wlntc-taiicd
deer feeding on the other side of Monie timber, on the edge of a
small stream. They were abcnit two hundred yards out on the
prairie — much further from cover than they are usually seen.
I tied up the nuiri; on the near side of tin* timber, loosened
the girths, and taking olT the bit hung it on the saddle, leaving
the iu'ad-stall on, ami fastening the saddle-rope to u bush. I
then crawli'd out towards a small rise, from Mhich I could see
the deer, and on reaching it raised my head, and as 1 did so I
saw two Indians raise theirs. I jumped up at once, and ran
to where I had left the marc, making capital time, slung my
rifle on my hiwk as I ran,aj>d drew my knife, with which I cut
the rope, jumped on the loose saddle, and, guiding the mare
V ith my hands, galloped out of the timber and on to a ridge.

Here I looked round and saw that the Indians were not
coming, but that they had gone some way down the timber to
where their horses were, and were now mounting. I got oft',
put on the bit, fastened my girths, and remounting, galloped
off the prairie as I thought for camp, wondering very much
that I was not pursued ; but on reaching a high point the
apparent mystery was explained — as I was going straight away

i 1 lili

NAIIROW IHrAI'F.,

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from ramp, and tlir Indian* knew it, nn wan proved hy tlitir
dcrinivc* NlioutN an I turned and eaine hack. I navy now that I
wun in a fix, the Indiana, to tlic num))(>r of Neventeen, ha\in^
Npread out in a line hcUvern niu and eauip. I knew ol' no
pinco for whieli 1 eonhl make on this sido; hut how I \\t\n to
^et tl' ' >ugh them was th(; (jueNtion.

So far an I eould »ei» with a k''"*"* ^'"'y '""' "" '"'^^ 1»oi*Ne!«,
and I did not think that any Indian ponv eould eateh Polly;
htill fiv(> mile.H was a lon^ gallop, and the ponien would Ik*
driven hy every nu>ans known to Indian eruelty, no that I wan
far from safe, even if I did fjet throu;;h the line.

At hiMt 1 thou<j;ht of a plan, and proceeded to put it into
oxceution. I rode alouf^ the line of Iiuliann at a hand (gallop,
they keepin;^ parallel with nu', jjradually increasin;^ the pare;
till T had dropped the slow ponies, and iuul about v\ii\\t of the
fastest opposite to me, and this I kept up for about two miles,
hy whicli time tluM'e was a fjap of (piite three hundred yards
between the first lot of Indians and the seeoiul. I had been
edging in gradually, aiul was now nut nu)rc than a hundred
yards from them, when 1 suddenly turned, and keeping the
butt of my gun going against the mare's ribs, 1 rode through
the gap, lying as flat as I could on my horse. I passed within
hixty or seventy yards of those behind; but though they tired,
it Mas wliile galloping over rough ground, and no aim eould
be taken, so that neither I nor the marc was hit, and I was
soon Gilt of sliot and gaining fas ', and it now all depended on
whetlicr the mare could hold out. She had done two miles
before I got through the lino, making it a long gallop; so 1
eased her a little up the hills^ which fortunately were not very
steep, and the only place where the Indians gained on me was

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nt two old wiUiTfoiirMrM, ut wliicli I litut to limit lor u crixKHiiiK,
wlirn'iiM tliry crij^ttMl wlinvvrr tlii-y cutiit? to tlu'iii. On iiioimt-
iiig tlu! ri(l;;(! ahovu cnnip I niiptird my revolver riipidly — u
Hi{;n:it we liail ii^^rLTtl upon — un<l three of tlit> inrn rnii out to
meet iiu* iiiitl tirril at my purnitrrx, who ttiniid iiiul riMlc oil',
milking itiNiiltiii;; ^^otiircN at um.

It had h« ( II a very vhrn* tUiu^i for althoiiKli tl>e man* held
out nohly, nhiMvuN nearly done when I jiiinpcd oil' and looHiMied
the ^irtliM.

'i'lic liidiiiiis had no doiiht ealciilated on eaiitiirin;; nie aiivci
or tlu'v \v(»iild lia\(* u^cd their rifles when 1 lirxt naw them, and
had I heen mounted on any other home iu camp, they would
nu)itt likely have Muceueded. Ah tliiH waM only my nccoixI trip
on the plains, I niiiy he excUNcd lor havin<{ made the iniHtnke 1
did in ;;all(>piii;; away i'roin eain[) thinkin*^ I wan ^oin;; towards
it; the whole thing, too, was ho smhU'ii that there had hceu no
time to think.

Am this nei;;lil)()urho()d was getting too warm lor us, we
hitehed u[) at once, erossed the river, and, carrying water with
UH, camped on a high ridgu, cutting grass for the uuimulti, uU

of which we tii-d to the wagti^on ; M '» rein-eater heing

fastened .vith a traee-eliain to the end of the pole.

Thc! Indians could only have heen a small |)arty, as we saw
nothing more of them; and on the second evening we reached
our old (!amp on White Itoek.

Fortunately thc budalo had come north again and there
were thousands on thc creek, nuiking it easy to sujjply cami),
as wc dare not now hunt at any distance from it, and always
went in couples, as in those days very few Indians had rifles,
and two men could kcej) oil' a nutnhcr of them. This being

IIITVRN TO HT. 309..

1 e5

oIiUkimI to ri'timin in or iicur oainp wan very »lo>v work, and wt*
niatlr up our nuniU to return to St. Joi>, ix'iuK coiitirnird in
our intention l)y tlir Krrivut of two I'awnro iirout« fnnn htrt
Kcnrncy, who ri'iMtrtud that the country wun full of nmnll hamU
of Sioux. Tlic-y had hvvtx trnwWwm at ni;<ht, and during thr
prt'viouN oiu> had [laNMcd ncvt'ral ('an)|)-lii'<'<«.

\\>\ \vi\ UN at Sihicy, not traring to ^o any nearer tu tho
Nheriif; and our (Uily incident on the return journey wan my
winning; niv (il'tv dtiMani hack, with twentv-flve added to them,
from the mioi who ha<l ehentcd me ^'oin^ out. Our animaU
N\ere oo thin that he uuh deceived, and my mare won very
eanilv.

On renehiu}? St. Joe I went eant with M , ffivinp: up my

intention of wintcrin;; in the mountains, and I noM oil' the
oiillit except I'olly, w' )m I U-ft to he taken earc; of for inc
till the Mpring. ^

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ANOTHER EXPEDITION TO WHITE ROCK.

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CHAPTER X.

Anothor oxpcilition to Wliito Rock. — X jilting butcher, — The fate of
Fox. — IvvcitciiUMit about Indians, — Advised to turn back. — Settloineiit
No. 10 at Wiiito liock. — ]JoUl settlors. — Examine bufl'al 3 at close
quarters. —The bold settlers demoralized. — A largo lurd of elk. —
Desperate struirgle with a horse. Laid up from a kick. — The fate
of our bulKilo-tongues. — Settlers about to avenge themselves. Their
iudillerent armament. A serious consultatiou. The expedition given
up. — I intend going alone to Fort Kearney.

I RETURNED to St. Joc ill tlic Spring to meet a friend from

England, whom I will call F , and we arranged to make

another expedition to the White Rock country, going further
west than we had done the year before. AVe determined to
buy everything ourselves this time, and to have no more roarers
or bridle-eaters; "^o we let it be known that we wanted horses,
and they soon poured in, and we selected from them three very
fast ones, wlose names were '^ Jcff,^' " Rob,'^ and '^ Bally,^'
also a very good white pony and a pair of horses for the
waggon. We secured Ivor, my cook of last ycai", and were
some time in getting a second man. At last, however, we
heard of a butcher called Douglass, who had fought seven others
in the market, and had strewn them all over the place ; so we

' • la

WE BUY A BULLDOG.

127

thought he would be just the man to suit ua if we came across
any Indians, and getting him out of jail, we engaged him.

Shortly before starting, we had bought a half-bred bull-
dog, taking a faney to him in the market ; but after having him
a day or two he was stolen, or else strayed away, and we oflcred
a reward of ten dollars for him, and a man brought him back
the day we started, deelarin", of course, that he had found him
one day in his yard. After crossing the Missouri, we drove
through a struggling suburb of St. Joe, and were passing a
whiskey-saloon, when one of a number of rough men standing
in front of it claimed our dog, saying that he had found him a
few days before, and that he had been stolen from him that
morning. We told him we had paid one reward for him and
should pay no more, on which the man advanced to take the
dog, his companions seeming to be inclined to back him up,
when Douglass got off the box of the waggon, and asked them
if they had heard of a disturbance there had been in the market
a few days before. They replied that a big butcher had, they
had heard, scattered a good many of his companions, on which
Douglass told them that he was the man referred to, and that
he was ready to do the same thing again if necessary, on which
they cooled down again wonderfully, saying that they only
wanted what was right, so we drove on.

We camped again at Troy, which had not grown a bit since
my last visit, and reached Lake Sibley without anything
happening worth mentioning. Here I inquired for Fox, on
which the man to whom I spoke took me a short distance,
and pointing to a mound under a tree, told rac that Fox lay
under it. It seemed that after I left. Fox and Belknap (the
man from whom I had bought a waggon) had started together

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FATR OF FOX.

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on .1 liimt, takiiif? Avitli tlicm, among other tliinj^s, a lot of sham
jewellery, which T had brouj^ht out for the Indians, and not
wautinjij it, liad j^iven to Fox, and that about a week afterwards
Helkiiap had eonie back, riding one of the two small mules
whieli tliev bad driven in their waggon, and said that they liad
been attacked i)v Indians and that Fox had been killed, and
that he liitns(>jf had escaped by cutting a mule out of harness
and riding oil*.

As this story was hijOdy improbable, a party started for the
place where Belkna}) said that the waggon was, to incpiirc into
the matter and get at the facts, and on arriving there they
found Fox lying in the bottom of the waggon, with his head on
his arm, as if asleep — the ball Avhich had killed him having
entered under the arm and passed upwards, so that he must
have been shot while asleep. His money was gone, but the
waggon was not plundered, and all the sham jewellery was
left, Avhieh was the first thing Indians would have taken.
The party returned at onee to Sibley to hang Belknap, but
found him gone, and he had not been heard of since. There
was a good deal of excitement in the settlement about Indians,
a woman having been killed at a house on its outskirts, and
two men had been shot at when herding horses about a mile
away, and the horses had been driven off.

We were advised to turn back, but we had got away safely
the year before, and we believed we should this time, so Ave
determined to go on. On coming in sight of the mouth of the

White Hock, F and I, who were riding ahead, saw a

number of tents there, and of course our first idea was,
Indians; but on using a glass we mauc them out to be white
men, so we rode on and were soon in the camp, and it turned

FRESH SETTLERS AT WHITE IlOCK.

121)

out to be a tenth lot of settlers, who hud eome to reoccupy the
liouses on the creek. We camped near them, and had a lon^
talk with them that 'iight, giving them our experience of the
place, and saying that we hoped they meant to remain longer
than their predecessors. On this they were very indignant,
asking us if they looked like the sort of men who would run
away; and they certainly did not, if that went for anything,
which, however, was not our experience. They were putting
up a large block-house on the Republican River, just opposite
to the mouth of the creek, to which they said they should
retreat if hard pressed, not with any idea of running away after-
wards, but to make a good stand and give the Indians a lesson.
They also said that they hoped we would fall back on them
if attacked. We bought some milk and eggs from them and
crossed the river, promising to let them know if we found
Indians up the creek. There were about thirty men in the
party, beside women and children, and tliey looked as if they
ought to give a pretty good account of a hundred Indians ; but
in this case appearances proved to be deceptive.

We found the houses on the creek much as we had left them
the previous year, excepting that the buffalo had broken down
many of the fences to get at the corn, which they must have
enjoyed immensely. Game seemed to be more plentiful than
ever, buffalo being everywhere, and we saw plenty of fresh sign
of elk and deer.

I did not go in so much for running buffalo, as I had killed

so many in that way, but F , who was new to it, had some

capital runs. The new horses were a decided failure, for
having been trained to run short distances, three and four
hundred yards, at top speed, we could not break them of it ; so

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THE SKTTM'.llS I)HM011AI<F/KD.

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tluit you went up vcny rapidly at first, and just as you were
getting near tlie bud'alo, up would go their tails aiul they
Htojjped, urging them after that meaning the breaking of a
blood-vessel and bleeding at the nose. 1 ere[)t up a ravine one
day, at the head of whi(!h three old bulls lay asleep, and
watehed them for some time, lying not more than nine feet
from the nearest, every now and then throwing a small piece
of mud at his nose, making him bellow with rage, thinking, 1
suppose, it was the flies that worried him. After I had
examined them sufUeiently, I jumped up and gave a yell, on
whieh they sprang to their feet, tumbling over each other in
their haste, and made off.

One night we were awoke by an unearthly scream, coming
from the other side of the creek, and on going in the morning
to see what it had been made by, we found it Avas a puma,
which had scented us, and expressed in this way his displeasure
at finding us in his hunting-grounds.

After about three weeks on White Rock, F and I

determined to go into Sibley to get some butter, eggs, &e.,
taking a straight cut across country, as being nearer than
going by the mouth of the creek. We remained one day,
finding some letters for us, so Ave stopped to ansAver them, and
then returned to camp by our old road, and on reaching the
block-house Ave found the Avhole party living in it and in a
great state of excitement. The Indians had paid them a
visit Avitliin a few days of our leaving them, just as tliey Avcre
getting ready to go up the creek, and had speared a man
Avithin a hundred yards of the block-house ; and although there
were more than a dozen men in it at the time, there had not
been a single shot fired at the Indians to try and save him,
though there Avere only seven of them.

A I,AK(5K HANI) OK KLK.

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( am afraid wo spuko our luiiulii very irecly as to what we
tlioii^Iit of them, and we caiiiiot be said to have parted friends.
A few shots wouhl have been (luite enough to liave saved the
poor fellow, and there was not the slij^htest fear of tlie bloek-
housc beinj; attaeked.

On arriving in camp we found all well, and no Indian had
been seen, though the men had done a great deal of hunting.

A few days after our return, F • came across a baiul of

about five hundred elk. lie was riding along and had seen no
sign of game, when there was a noise as if several companies of
cavalry were dashing out of a raviuc to his right, and this
enormous band of elk appeared on the opposite side, and the
bulls tossing their great heads in the air, stood for a moment

to see wliat had disturbed them. F liad time for one long

shot, and dropped a fine bull, which was in such good ordjr
that he had more than three inches of fat on the brisket, and
kept us in lard for some weeks.

One of the horses I had bought at St. Joe was so much

given to running away, that he could not be safely ridden at

any pace but a walk when in a town ; but this he had given up

on finding that every time he tried to bolt he was whipped

instead of being stopped, so that it did not pay, there being

practically no end to the galloping ground. He Avas a very

handsome animal and had wonderful bottom, but never having

been fired of^' he was very hard to manage when running

buffalo. He would spring on one side when I fired and would

bolt, and the buffalo would be out of sight by the time I had

stopped him and turned him in the right direction. I hud,

however, got him much quieter, and one day had killed a cow

and tied most of the meat on his back. It was the first time I

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STUlKiCLi: WITH A IIOIISK.

had made him {'iiirv il home, us I had ^iciicrally went soiuc ono
for it, hut this time I thoii^lit I would try it, and a|);>ar.'iitly
hr did not ohjcct. I was standing; in front of him, 'j)nttin^ on
my coat, when ho turned his head round and smelt iUr meat,
Ht'cminj; to take in for tlu^ lirst time what it was, and then
hr^an as (l('s|u'rati' a stru^j^Ic as I ever had with a horse. He,
kicked ami reared and jumped. I was holdin;; on to tin; hit,
and was often tak(Mi olf my feet, the meat tlyinj^ ahout and
hitting liim and (h'ivinp; him nearly mad. I knew that if I let
liinj };<) he would join the lirst herd of hullalo he met with, and
I should prohahly never see him aj^ain ; so 1 hunj; on, skinninj^
my hands and heing pounded hy his knees till, thank goodness,
the huckskin strap gave way, and the nuMit f<'ll, and I managed
to lead liim ])ack to where tlic bulTalo lay. Hero 1 secured
him to the cow's head and blindfolded him with mv coat : 1
tied on some more meat, mounted and got ready before I
removed the coat for the second act of the performance. He
saw tlio meat at once, and started across tlie j)rairie, jumping
and bucking. I managed to turn him in the direction of
camp, which was about tlirce miles oft", past which we flow,
nearly stampeding the picketed horses, and making the men
think I Avas pursued by Indians. I described a circle on the
prairie and returned to camp, the horse being now as quiet as
a lamb, and by tying him up near where the meat hung, and
making him constantly carry a little, I soon got him quite used
to it — the only trouble with him being that he would some-
times kick as you passed behind him with the lash-ropcs, once
hitting me on the thigh and bolting ; and if it had not been for
the cook's passing near me, returning from a hunt, I should
have starved, as my leg swelled up so nmch that I had to cut

FATF, OK ()V\l lUFI'AI^O-TDNOl'KS.

I3H

my trowscTH optn, uiul I wns nix milcM i'roni ciim|) und iiiiuhlo
to m(»vc.

I do not think I whs (^vcr in a nioro perfect liuntinf^-j^ronnd
than this was in those (hiys — the (hmjjer From Indians f^ivinR it
that (hisli of excitement wlii(;h is always needed to make any
life really ix-rlcct.

Onr cook had improved very nnn^h nnder F 's tnition,

the following heinj^ a common hill of fare;: — Sonj), enrry of
tnrkcy-hrcast, antelope steaks, riee-pndding with syrnp, and
•jood stronji; coftee — not a l)ad bill of fare wIkmi seasoned with
h... ^v.r sauce.

Wc had a nnmhcr of hulfalo-tongncs salted and smoked, hnt
these were for otir friends at liome, and wc^re taken every care
of, to he eaten eventually by the servants at an hotel in
St. Joe, where I left them for some months forj^etting all
about them; and when I wrote direetinjj; them to lu; forwarded,
I was informed tluit the rats had eaten them all^ which, as they
were fastened up in a barrel, was im[)0ssiblc.

One day, after 1 liad recovered from my ki(;k, wc were
startled just as wc were goiii}; to dinner by seeing a consider-
able number of men coming up the volley, v/lio at first wo
supposed to be Indians, as they were several miles distant, and
some of those wlio were riding in front liad yellow bandana
handkcrclnefs round their heads, and wore old ])luc soldier
overcoats, a dress much afi'ected by the Sioux. A glass showed,
however, tliat they were white men, and tliey proved to be
sixteen of the men wliom we had left at the mouth of the
creek. Wc asked tliem what was the matter, on which they
told us that they had fully expected to find us all killed, as the
Indians had again visited Lake Sibley and had carried oil' a

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SKTTLKIIS TlllllST I'OU VKNnKANCR:

woman nnd a rliild, ami lind firod into M<>voraI of the lionHCH,
'IMicv wore now, they said, on their way to tlu^ Sioiix ramj), to
demand the Nurrcndcr ol' the woman and child, or to tnko
th(!m hy forro, if ncccsMury. Th(»y .spoko so confuhMitly, that
wo really believed they meant husim'ss this time, and told
them that if they would stay to dinner, Ihnu^ of us would join
them, and could guide them to the Indian camp, as it was
most likely the largo one wo had found the previous year at
the forks of the Solomon River, to which the Sioux came every
year. They agreed to this and piek(!t(!d their !»«, '^08. Dinner
for nineteen people was a serious affair, hut we managed it at
last, (tutting up almost the whole of a small deer to make a
stew, as their appetite was enormous. When dinner was over,
wo thought that perhaps it nnght he as well to ascertain what
amount of ammunition the party had brought with them.
They were armed with a most miscellaneous collection of fire-
arms, no two being alike ; some had long muzzle-loading
Kentucky rifles, others old Tower muskets, and a few had
niuz/.Uvloading shot guns, not exactly the weapons to face
Indians with. When wc inquired as to ammunition, a lament-
able state of things was disclosed, many having no more than
the loads which were in their guns, and very few had more
thau six rounds. We offered, however, to make up deficiencies
and lend rillcs 'o those who had shot guns, as m'C happened to
have a good number of the former in camp.

The men asked for time to talk the matter over, and went
aside for that purpose, returning to us in a fcAv minutes,
to say that it would after all be very foolish to go any further,
as they were only a small party,, and knew nothing about the
number of the Indians. The fact was that tl e Lake Sibley

Til Kill rorRAOP. EVAPORATF.S.

135

people liiul siieecu'ded in cxeitirif^ tlicrn for a tiiiu*, l>y an
acrount of tlie ontru^e, l)Ut that their coura((e iiiul now nil
oozed away at their fin;?er ends. Nothing we eonid Hay was of
any une, and they eiuh^d liy mounting and retnrnin<; the way
they had eonie.

My horM(! " ,]v{X" waw !)y this tinie mo thin, beinj; iiiniNed to
d()in<.^ withont corn, that I deti^rniini^d to start the next
nioniinp;, and to taker hini to a ranelu* whieh U(> kncrw of, a',i)nt
ninety miles north-west of our present eainp, and about thirty
miles from Fort Kearney, to which place wo had directed
letters to he stMit, so that I could kill two birds with one stone.
I meant to leave; the horse at this rancdic till tin; end of our
hunt, when I could fetch him, buyin<; a pony at Kearney to
repliicc; him and to ride back on. The ranche was owned by
an Kn;^lishman, whose name was Martin, who wc knew would

f(;ed the horse up and keep him till I came for him. F

atul the men were to remain in the present camp, uidcss ifnuw.
became scarce, when they wiirc to leave a paper at a certain
s|)()t, telling me in which direction they had ^one, as I
expected to be back again in eight days at latest.

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Slnrt nti my jfiirtiov. — Mi» nildc wjmiIIht. — Ap|icnrn,'ri> of lirco Fuliiin'
I «'iim|i)'l llii'iii to l)i'«>iil<rii.-^t with nil*. An iincoiiifortulili' hii ultra''t-
)iartv. i l)i*l llii'iii iiilii'ii. Itt'iirh t lit* ranch)', l(*>|H)rl of our liiivin^
h<cM iiiiir»h'r«Hl. — Mr. Miirliii. Hi-* liiMtory. Visit to Kurt Konrnoy. —
lull r\ii\v with Miijnr Nrrth. IIiMn'Ocnt tight with Sioux. — Start on
my rciiiiii joiiriiKy. — Uncanny f<ij;lit. — IVhm*' i\tg, — Camp on l/itllo
nint' I'ivfT. Il(iis(> missiii^r. Vnii! efforts to track him. — Weary
journi y hacl< to lanclic. (^uife dono up. K:ntliii'.>.H of the MartipH. —
lieturn journey to camp. — A pleasant Hurprwe. — Narrow escape from
Indians. — A horrible wigiit.

T sTAiiTKi) tlie next moraing with ns light a load as jKossihlo,
;)iily tailing my hlaiikcts ui\(l a small waterproof .shoot, cofrco,
two (lays' bread, a tin ru[) and plate, kuile and fork, and
enough meat for one day, trusting to kill game on tlie way.
I earried a rejjcating rifle lioldjng nine cartridges, a knife and
small belt axe, and a hundred rounds of ammunition.

I only knew the first twenty miles of the road, but had
studied it on a map; and as the house I was hound for was on
the great Californiun stage road, I could "not well miss it, as by
going north I was bound to strike tliis road. I calculated on
doing the ninety miles in two days, camping on a stream called
the " Little IJlue " the first night, when I should have done
two thirds of my journey.

Konnii WF.ATiii-.u.

1.17

It wiiM a fiiir morruiiK whrn I left cnnip, mid I hml a very
plcniiant ridr through a pretty country, chiefly rollinK prniric,
till T renchril the Ilepiihlicnn River, which I eroNKod without
iiiiy trouhic, jiiiiipiti)^ u fine elk an I luiuU^d oit the opixmito
hunk ; but very hoou ul'tcrwurdN it In'^iim to ruin licuvily.
About midday I Imlted to dine, nmkin;; my Nnuill tin* union);
Honie biiHhcM, in euHc of IndiuuM bein;; ubout. lIuviiiK reHted
two lioiirs I started u^uin, bikini; by this time wet through. I
rortniiutcly had brought u eoinpuHs with nic, us I could not hco
mure than u tew hundred yards ahead ; and lute in the evening
I Htruck the Little liluu liiver^ and eumped in as Mheltcred a
Hpot as I eould find, putting up my Nheet as a tent.

Indians dislike bad weather (|uite an mueli as we do, and on
such a ni^lit as this would be uiid(;r the shelter of their lodges;
then, too, the fog was ho thick that a fire eould not be seen
Car, NO I made up a (;ood oiu; and risked it.

It was a very rough night, and the ruin blew under my
shelter, making me very wet and miserable, so I was glad to
get up at daybreak to make a fire. It was still raining, and I
had very hard work getting it to burn up, and was obliged to
go down on my knees and blow at it, when, happening to look
towards the bills on my side of the river, I saw what I took to
be three buffaloes, but knowing that they were everywhere just
now, I thought no more of them.

Having made the fire burn, I got in my horse and saddled
him, tying him close to my slecping-plaec; 1 then put on my
tin cup full of water to boil, and cutting my meat into
" kabobs," I peeled a dry stick, and threading them on it,
sloped them over the fire to roast, this being one of the quickest
"cookinir nieat. Everything being now in trim, I looked

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to MO Mliat liail Im'comm' of flu- iMifraltH'x, nn it wiin niiicli li);iitrr
liy thiM time, wlicii I wwn wvy iimcli Htiirtlcd to nco that tiny
wcrtf tlii'cc liiiliaiiN, ulio liail immik? iicurcr anil were >vat('liiti;(
nic. I iHrkoiicd to tluiii, nnikiii(( tlu; p<'uc'(> NJi^n, to loinc
into my camp, hnt tlicy rciilicd hy pointing over the liill, ami
hcckoiiin^ WW to ^o with them, anil an 1 Mliouk my linul lliry
turned and wire walking iiwny.

It wa», <»f c'ourMC, of tin- utmost iniportanee to know whether
they W(T(^ friendly or not, no I uulkcd out touanU tlieni, on
which they turned and eaine hack towards me. I had my rilU;
in my left hand, an<l was holding my ri;,dit in tlu> air, with tin*
open palm to the front, the universal peace i^\}^\\ amon^; IndiaUM.
They answered my si^Mtal in th(> Name way, and \\v met iind
Nhook hands, uhen I a^'ain pointed lu my (ire, and intinuUed
that I wished them to cotnc and huvu hreukfuNt with mo; but
i\\f,\\\\\ they refused, and started to leave nie. Now, ol Course,
this would never do, as they would soon In; hack a;j;ain uith a
mnnher of their companions, and if they were Sioux, as I
Htronj^ly suspected from their moccasins, my hair was not
worth on hour's purchase. I called to them, therefore, and
nuide si^ns, that if they would not go with me, I shoidd sluiot
them, taking,' aim at one of them as I finished my nigns.

The party consisted of :in old man, who had a musket with
the borrcl cut s]u)rt, and two young men, one of whom had a
bow and arrows, and the othor a cavalry sabre; and thinking;' 1
meant what 1 threatened, they slowly followed mc to the fire,
I going backwards, and keeping my rillc ready, till we all
stood by it. I then sat down on one side of the fire and they
on the other, and with my rifle in my left hand, I gave thcni
the kabobs with my right, and then passed the cofiee, first

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ARRIVK AT THE RANCH K.

141

putting in some sugar, of which all Indians arc very fond.
The only thing which made rac feel uncomfortable was the old
man's musket, the muzzle of which pointed my way, so I told
the old fellow to lay it down on the grass, but he refused to do
this, making signs that the grass was wet and would hurt it;
so I took aim at him again with my rifle, on which he removed
his blanket, in spite of the rain, and wrapping the musket in it
laid it down. We now became quite friendly, so much so,
that they finished all my cofPee before I had had any, and it
was necessary to get water to make some more, and this
involved going to the stream, which I managed to do walking
backwards, still holding my rifle. The Indians made up the
fire, and we soon had a second brew and some more kabobs,
which they made better than I did, it being a favourite Indian
way of cooking meat when on a hun*^.

It was now about time for me to go, and fortunately I had
already saddled the horse, and had only to make up my small
pack, put on the brjdle, and mount, when they rose, evidently
expecting me to go with them, and were very much surprised
and gesticulated violently as I rode off, waving my hand to
them and feeling rather uncomfortable, till out of gunshot,
lest they might shoot me in the back. The last thing I saw
of them as I topped the next ridge was all three running
in the direction in which I supposed their camp to be, on
which I put my horse into a hand gallop, and kept him at
it for more than an hour, so as to get clear of the neighbour-
hood of the Indians as soon as possible.

I arrived about three o'clock at Martin's ranche, and noticed
that they seemed surprised to see me, Martin telling me after-
wards that a report had been brought into Fort Kearney that

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142

MARTIN S HISTORY.

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wo hud all been murdered by the Sioux on tlie Rci)ubliean
River.

I remained two (hiys at the ranehe luxuriating in new bread,
butter and cream, and a comfortable bed. And here I may ns
well say something of my host, as he was a good specimen of
what can be done by perseverance and pluck.

He had come out from England about twenty-five years
before, having been a groom in a racing-stable, and his love of
fighting was always getting him into trouble. lie had worked
for wages in the I']astern States till he had saved enough to
start with on his own account, when he had moved west, and
liad put up a house on the stage line between Nebraska city,
on the Missouri Itivcr, and California. Here he had kept a
station, where the overland stage changed horses and the
passengers passed the night. This he had gradually added to,
and had enclosed fields, till he had a good ranehe, Avhieh he
worked with the help of one man and his wife and sons, finding
a ready sale for all he raised to the freighters who were con-
tinually passing. The life had been a very hard one at first,
and they had to be constantly on their guard against Indians,
who on several occasions ran off animals and fired into the
ranehe, but had never ventured to attack it. He told me that
two of his sons, the eldest being only nine, were one evening
bringing in the cows, both of them riding one horse bare-
backed, and that when about a mile from the ranehe, some
Sioux, who had no doubt been lying in wait for them, suddenly
appeared and chased them, yelling as only Indians can. The
boys, though frightened, stuck to the cattle, and brought them
in safely, closely followed by the Indians, who Avere driven off
by Martin and his eldist son, as they haj)pencd to see them

MAJOR NOIITII.

It3

coming; and it was then found that an arrow liad passed
through the hinder boy, and had stuck into the one in front,
pinning them together. I saw the marks of the wound on one
of them, the arrow having passed through on the left side of
the spine and low down.

When I asked Mrs. Martin if she had not been very much
frightened, she answered tliat she had lived too long in the
West for that, and her husband added that once when some
Indians, supposed to l)e friendly, had come into the house and
had been very insolent, finding only a woman at home, and
taking whatever they fancied, she liad, as he said, gone for
them with an axc-handle, and had driven them out of the
house in no time. Martin hiid, he told me, come out with
only enough to keep himself and his wife for a few weeks, and
he owned to being worth thirty thousaml pounds, all of it
being made without speculation or mining.

I left the rauchc on the third day for Fort Kearney, a ride
of thirty miles, to get letters and a few supplies, and arrived
the same evening. The Commandant kindly put me up, and
made me remain the next day, as he wanted me to meet a
Major North, who was in command of about six hundred
Pawnee Indian scouts, and who was away at a ranche on the
Platte River. Major North was an Englishman who had come
out to America when very young, going eventually into the
army during the war, and was appointed to the command of
the scouts about two years before my visit to Kearney. These
were picked men from the tribe, and, now that they were well
disciplined, did good service against any hostile Indians, being
mounted and armed as soldiers.

Major North came in the following morning, and told me

■ \f M

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Ill

HATTIiK WITH INDIANS.

that 1i(* luul only rctiirncd Irotn a scout on \]\v. Hcpuhlicaii
Uiv;'r a ('i"v days hi^'ort', and that lie had hccn driven in hy thi;
Sionx, the I'ollowinj; Ix'inf; his arconnt of tho allair : —

It «(MMns that h(» was out with ahont a hundred aiul lil'ty of
his men, when he eatne upon :i hand of sonu' six huiulred
Sioux inuh'r Whiter (Mo»id, the }j;reat Sioux war ehiel', wlio
iinnu'diatelv attacked liiin and (h'ovc him into a ravim\ tho
si(U*s of which North lined with two thirds of his mcn^ ouo
third of them heinjj; (U'taihMl to hohl tlie hors(>s.

The Sionx \w said foujjht well, riding up to the edj^es of tho
nivin(\ and tirinjj^ as cahnly as if 8lu)oting ^aiue, though they
were faUinj; fast, the Pawnees hcuv^ much l)etter aruuul ; they
were, however, grachially driven back, liavinj; more than a
hundred kiUed and wounded, and at hist they drew olT, wlieu
North retreated to the Fort as fast as he couid j;o, having h)st
sixteen men and many more being wounded. He toUl me
that all AVhite Cloud's men were drilled by that chief and
always charged like cavalry, using their rilles and revolvers, as
they had no sabres.

The fight made it very unlikely that the Sioux Mould remain
in the same neighbourhood, as after a loss of this magnitude
they generally return for a time to their villages to mourn for
the dea(' so that I should only run the risk of meeting «nudl
parties, i 1 Mas Milling to take my chance Mith them.
Biddin ,nv friends adieu, I rode back to Martin's and
remained there one day, trying to get a pony ; but he had
none to spare, and I had not been able to get one at the Post ;
so as my horse was already much improved by nnlimitcd grain,
I determined to take him back again, carrying a bushel of corn
behind the saddle.

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DKNSK F()(J.

145

Mi'H. Martin put iik; up all kinds of ^ood tliiii({H for my
jouriu-y, 8uch as cold cliickcns, l)r(;ad and butter, and hard-
l)oiU;d ('j?t;N, and I Ici't tlu; raiu;li(; on tli(! IJrd of .July, with a
thick i'o^ all round, whurh made it a |>o()r sort of day for one
to find tlu! way over a wild country ; hut I had Ixicn away ho
lou}^ that I feared my companions would come to look for mc;,
when wc mif^ht v(!ry (iasily miss oiu; another. 1 kiujw tin;
direction which I had to keep, and roth; on for some hours, the
fof^ getting thicker every minute, and on reaching a small
stream about midday, I caniped for dinn(;r, and remained for
two hours, when I started agai. . 1 int(;nd('d (;am|)ing tha(.
niglit on the Little Blue River, hut could not fiiul it, so I
rode far into the night, when I saw something which at first
startled me wry nnich.

I was in a totally nninlialntcd part of the country, j'lid yet
there above me was a house with a bright light shining from
several windows, and it was not until I got nearer that I made
it out to be a deserted house, which had lost its roof, and the
moon was shining through where the windows had been, only
showing for a few moments through a rift in a cloud, and then
all was dark again.

This place I thought would do to camp in for the night, so I
rode up the hill on which it stood, disturbing an old buffalo
bull which was lying asleep near it, and which looked enormous
in that light and against the sky line. I found that nearly all
the roof was gone, and all the doors and windows, but there
was cnougli left to shelter me from the heavy dew, which was
almost like rain, and I ripped off some remains of flooring for
a fire, and having made the room look quite cheerful with a
bright blaze, I off-saddled and brought in everything, [)icketing

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" JclX" where 1 liiid found the bullulo, jis it was most probably
the best grass. There was, of course, a j^ood ehnnce of my fire
bcin^r seen, ns the house stood in such a conspicuous phicc, but
till! I'ojj was thick, ant! it was too great a temptation to resist,
so I ate a jjood supper and turned in, and nothing? happened
during the night.

The morning was anything but a promising one, the fog
having turned to raiii; and I did not start till after dinner, I)y
wliich time it had cleared up. On consulting my compass, I
came to the conclusion that I had kept too much to the cast,
as I found that the house 1 was in had been formerly a stage
station ; so I now turned south-west, and towards evening
struck the Little lilue River, and cami)cd in the midst of
a thick clump of trees close to the stream, and tied my horse's
picket-rope to a large bush where the feed was very good. It
came on to rain again in the night, and in the morning there
was another dense fog, so being wet and cold, 1 got up early
and went to bring in " Jclf " and water him, but both he and
the hush to which I had tied him were gone. 1 could track
him for some distance, us he seemed to have gone back the
way we had come on the previous day; and thinking he would
not luive gone far on such a night, I followed him at once, not
stopping to cat breakfast. The trail became very indistinct as
I came to a hard ridge, and I soon lost it altogether ; but as I
thought it most likely that he had gone back to the ranche, I
kept on in that direction. It was still pouring, and the
mosquitoes were simply awful, rising out of every small hollow
in clouds, and it was impossible to keep them off.

I now began to feel the want of my breakfast, but I buckled
my belt tighter, and tried aot to think of the cold chicken

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A WKAHY WALK.

147

which 1 had h;ft hchiiul ino, wulkint; faster so as to {^et hack to

the raiichc timt evening if possible, huviiij; tlurty-five iniUis to

do, if I went straij^ht, and this I was not hkely to <h> in such

weather. I halted for a fe'v minutes now and tlu'u, sittinjj (h)wn

on the {ground, where thc»e was now more water tlian griuss.

Night came and found rac still tramping on, though very

tired, the going being very slippery, especially as I was wearing

raoccasin«<, and about ten o'clock 1 lay down and went to

sleep, with my iiat over my eyes, and slept nearly all night in

spite of rain and mosquitoes. 1 was so stiff in the morning

that I could hardly get up, and had to rub my legs for some

time before I could start again. About noon I reached the

stage load, and the question now, and a very important one,

was, had I struck the road above or below Martin's? If the

former I was all right, as the Fort wa;, on one side of me and

tlie ranche on the other; but if the latter and 1 took the wrong

direction, there was nothing between me and Lincoln city, u

distance of about eighty miles, which probably meant death.

I therefore determined to leave it to chance, tossing up a coin,

and deciding that it should be " heads up" and " tails down."

It came heads, so I turned up, and struggled along till about

nine at night, when I saw lights ahead, which, proved to be the

ranche. Here I was so done that I could not mount the three

small steps to the door, and fell against them. The rattle

made by my rifle brought them all out, when a few words

explained the state of affairs, and I was carried upstairs and

put to bed. Mrs. Martin made me some soup and fed mc, as 1

was 80 stiff that I could not do it myself. 1 slept sixteen

hours, and on waking could not turn myself in bed, everything

having to be done for me, and nothing could exceed the kiud-

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nvHH of tho \vli()I{5 Martin fimiily. Tlicy made* mr nil kinds of
jjood tiling's, imd (;arn(r and sat with mo nearly all day ; it was
oidy on tlu; fonrtli day that I could walk down NtaifN, and then
with dillicultv.

FFavirifij now hccn away from canip so Ion;,', I insisted on
startiri;;, and Miss Martin kindly lent ni(' her favourite pony,
whoso Jiame was " liihl)," and I promised to hriti}; her hack
heforo leaving; *" " St. - ^, > ) about noon I left the raiudi(>, tho
little |)ony carry iu,,', u\*^ capitally, thon;];h she was somewhat
lazy. I reaelud t LuMo Blue llivcr that nij;ht, passin;^ a
IVcsh Indian camp, the marrov. -bones which lay about ull over
tlic camp bein;; still moist.

As T happeiuMl to reeo^^ni/o this part of tju; stream, and
know that 1 was not far from whore I had lol't my saddle and
pack, I rode down till I reached it, when what should 1 sec
standiu;^ within a hundred yards of where I had slept, but the
horse I had lost, with the ro[)e still round his neck, and a
portion of the bush to which I had tied him at tho ciul of it.
lie had evidently been uiud)lc to (ind his way back to the
ranchc, so lie had returned to where he had been tied, and had
remained about tlujre lor the last st:v(!n (lavs. iVt first I
thought tiiat the Indians must luive caught him, and that they
were somewhere near; but when I saw that he was loose, I
knew that this coidd not be the ease. He was as glad to see
mo as I was him, aiul galloped round the pony several times,
very nearly throwing us down with his r pc. 1 camped on the
old spot, and in the morning started at a good pace, ridinj^
Jeff and putting my small pack on the pony, Jeff being
so much more comfortable to ride, as my feet almost touched
the ground when on Libb.

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A iiOKIllMI.I': HKillT.

151

I liud my (liiiiior in tlu* dcrp hod of u Ntrctiin, tVt'diiiK tlio
liorNf'H witli corn ; and it wuh lucky that I did fm, for on ^f^i'\l\^^
up to look round Ix^forn ninrtin^, I naw a baud of ludinuM,
evidently running bulYalu, about two milui uliead of mu. I
lay down and watctuul them for about two hour!*, by which
time they had all croHNcd a hij^h divide on my left, when I
Htui'tcd a^uiu, taking; care to reconnoitre before croNNiiiK any
luKh Kroiind, ty>i>K ^l>^* P<)»y <^iid Jeff to<;ctlicr wliiU; 1 did
MO, when they tviMild remain patiently till I returned,

I saw nothing more of tin; IndiauM, and Htruek the U(!publiean
Uiver about hIx o'clock in the evening, and wan HurpriHcd at
Mociiifi^ a waggon on the bank among Home buNhcM. On reach-
ing it I fouiul it had been plumlered, while round it lay the
b(»(lies of live men and four horses, all of the former being
Hcalpcd, and one who lay under the hind end of the waggon
had had the top of his head chop[)(ul oft down to tlie eye8.
There were no signs as to who they were, but a small note-book
which I found in the pocket of the man under the waggon, in
wluch was written "J. Ralston," and the book contained
accounts. It was time to camp, but I could not do so there,
so I crossed the river and camped about a mile from the
waggon, dreaming during the night of the horrible sight, and
jumping up several times, thinking I was aHacked by Indians.
The men looked as if th ;y had been dead about a fortnight,
and as they were partially eaten by wolves, they were not
pleasant to look at. I heard afterwards thac the party had
consisted of an American major and five men, who 1 ad been
out on a hunt, and who had been attacked and murdered by
the Sioux, only one man escaping, as he was on outpost duty
at the time of the attack. The major had incurred the hatred

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152

RKACII CAMP.

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of the IiuliutiN wlicti thry litul vinitcd u Tort, nt wliirli lit* rotii'
tniiiKlnl, iliiriii|( u tfiii|Mirury immicc, uiiiI tliry liml vliuwii tbiN by
trt<utiii){ liiiii inorr burlmrouitly tbaii the otbrm.

I found ull well on reaching CAtiip. K hml liad good

R))ort and bad nvvn no IndiaUM, having been buntiiiK cbirlly to
tbi> Montb.

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Awful tliimtltT-iHfonnx.— Iliul wftfrr-»ii|>|>Iy.— I.if»» in rnnip.— I It'ftvi' fi»r
St. JiM>.— Coiiio lUTtmM lw(» liiiliiuiH. — Arriv«» nt l.alit' Sihlry. - Mwiirni
of (jrmi«'«liopiM'rH. Appri'lu'iiNiniH nf llm Hottlt'i.>i.- A iiwiri wImIimh iih* to
•Mi^ii^u liiiii. I ilrrliiii'.— I iiiiilo' till* ucijiiuintmici' III' ii ilftc<'tiv)-. A

pliiii to rub me. I iimiiii^' to fniMtnito it. — .Mtu-t !■' nt MurtiirH. —

Sioux Htt'ftl I'liwniW lioifloH. I'liwiii'i'N And Whiten try to nrovnr
flioiii. A lijrlit iuhI n»|)ulHf of l*ii\vnMi'H.~Mr«, .Martin'^ ri'mini(»ct'nri<M
of lnT IiumIxuiiI. I'nur t<\)mt. — Itfturn to St. Jo«>, — Inlirnl ti* winti-r in
TcxiiA.— Hilly llrct'zt). His luHtory.

A rv.w (InyH nftcr my return wc had nomo of tin; moNt uwl'ul
tliniKlcr-stormH I ever huw even iti America, where they are
alwavN much more severe tliaii in Europe. The ruin eanie
down in 8licet8, and the lightning was incoHHant, and the thuii(h>r
scen)ed to be just over the ridj^c-pole of the tent. We got a
good deal of water inside owing to the ditch, which we always
cut round ti tent, not being deep enough. In the morning
we found one uf our ponies dead : it had evidently been struciv
by lightning auv. killed at otice; the head was folded under tin;
l)ody, and seemed, at first, to have been cut off, so entirely w;»s
it hidden. On such a night as this the wolves seem to be "ery

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154

HAD WATKll-SUi»l»LY.

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mucli frightened, their liowling being incessant, and the soniul
seems to be even more melancholy than usual, combining with
the storm to keep the traveller awake.

As the water in the stream was very bad and muddy wc
hunted for a spring, and found that what we had been drinking
had all filtered through the ribs of a buffalo which had been
dead some months, and which lay right across the channel.
Why wc were none of us ill I cannot understand, as wc had
been drinking this water for weeks. Water in the autumn
was always the great trouble, as nearly all the streanis dry up
and leave stagnant pools, out of which we often drove buffalo,
and the edges were as much trampled as if a flock of sheep had
l)ccn there. Along the banks of the larger rivers there are
some bcavitiful springs, especially on the Republican River,
where we found a number of them as clear as crystal, and as
cold as anyone could wish. Most of them had been carefully
cleared out and covered with stones by the Indians.

Our life in camp here was very pleasant, game was plentiful
and in great variety, and we sometimes tried to make elaborate
dishes, as the one told off to keep camp had plenty of time on
his hands ; but, as a rule, the " game pics " and "vol-au-vents"
were not successes, the pastry being hard to make and very
much so to swallow. The bulldog, too, was a good deal of
trouble to us, as he would al ways attack any porcupine he came
across, coming into camp very often with his mouth a mass of
quills — it took us sometimes fully an hour to pull tliem out —
and in spite of this he Avould attack the next one he met, so
that we thought of shooting him. lie was a strange animal j
on our way through the settlement he had allowed any dog to
bite him, hardly seeming to know what fighting meant, ai»d yet

COME ACROSS TWO INDIANS.

155

on our return he tlirashed every dog he eame across, and did it
scientifically, knowing exactly where to take hold.

As we wanted a good many things from St. Joe, including
money, I made up my mind to ride in on the horse which had
kicked me, as he had become very thin and not fit for camp
life, intending to sell him beforcl returned and to buy another;

and as F was going to move camp to Martin's, it was

arranged that I was to go up from St. Joe by steamer to
Nebraska city, wliich would shorten my return journey. I left
about the cud of July, taking as little baggage as possible ; and
yet I found that I had nearly seventy pounds, including my
saddle — a heavy load for so long a journey with nothing but
grass for the horse. It took me two days to reach Lake
Sibley, and on the second I was riding along the Republican
River looking for a ford, when two Indians came down on the
opj)osite bank and began to prepare to cross. Now they
might be friendly, but this was not likely, and as there was no
way of ascertaining this, the only thing to be done was to keep
them where they were, so I waved them back with my hand,
and as they still came on, I pointed my rifle at them. They
made friendly signs, but of course this proved nothing, and I
continued making gestures to indicate that I should fire if they
entered the water. Instead of going away they sat down,
holding their horses by the bridle, and now and then making
signs to me, of which I took no notice. For several hours I
had to sit there behind a log till it was quite dark, when
instead of continuing my journey down the river, I struck out
into the prairie for some miles, and then turning rode for the
river again, much lower down ; and this ruse succeeded, as I
saw no more of the Indiana.

■■i tl

150

SWARM OF 0RASSH0PPER9.

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I reached Lake Si!)ley the following morning, having
camped for the night on the river, and found the settlers very
much depressed at the arrival of a swarm of grasshoppers,
.vhieh were destroying their cropa and against which they
could do nothing. Even while T was there, I saw a perceptible
diU'crence in a field of corn, which was simply swarming with
them, and some of the neighlwuring fields had lost every leaf.
All the men I spoke to had made up their minds to leave at
once, having no supplies for the winter^ meaning to work for
wages for some months and make a fresh start in the spring.

The people here had been so often attacked by Indians
during the summer, that my saying I had seen two on my way
in caused a considerable stir, as the people assured me that it
meant another raid on the settlement, the two Indians being
probably scouts, sent in front of a larger body.

I was three d.iys doing the distance between Sibley and
St. Joe, where I arrived safely, and found letters waiting for
me. The supplies I needed were soon procured, and it only
remained to sell my horse and buy another. I luckily soon
found a customer for mine, a gambler who bought him to race,
as I had said so much of his wonderful ])ottom ; but getting a
good pony for myself was difficult. A great number were
bnmgbt for me to look at, but most of them were stable raised
and of no use. At last I heard of one some miles from the
town, and on going to see him, as I liked his appearance, I
bought him.

Having executed all my commissions, I was ready to start on
the third day after my arrival, and on the morning of the day
on which I intended to take the steamer for Nebraska city, a
linc-loukiug man came to sec rac and wished me to engage him

i

INTEUVIKW WITH A DKTKCTIVR.

157

in any capacity I thought proper, telling mc that lie had got
into a scrape, the nature of which he would not explain. T
rei)licd that we had all the men we wanted, and after he had
tried very hard to induce me to change my mind, tolling mc
that he was an old plainsman and that I ought not to ride so
far alone, lie left mc, and I went down to the boat leading my
new pony, on which I had packed my small outfit. Tt took mc
till the boat had started to make the pony comfortable, and to
put my saddle, &c., in my state-room ; but on going on deck I
was much surprised to see the man who wished me to engage
him, on the boat.

I went up to him and asked him where he was going, and
whether he had found something to do, on which he told me
that he was going up the river to Omaha, where he had a friend
with whom he could stay, that place being about seventy miles
above Nebraska city.

I thought no more of him, and soon got to know a number
of my fellow passengers, who were very much interested in my
proposed ride, thinking that anyone going on the plains when
the Indians were so bad must certainly be killed. Amongst
others, there was an old American general going up to Fort
Benton with his wife and daughter, who did their best to induce
me to go on with them, the general promising me an escort
to camp from Benton ; but this would have involved a very
long ride, and I had no time for it.

On the morning of the day after we left, a stranger, whom I
bad not noticed, called mc on one side, and first giving mc his
card, from which I saw that he was a captain in the New York
detective police, said that he had something very important to
tell me. He then asked me if I was not an Englishman who

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PLAN TO UOJ) me:

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Imd conic into St. Joe for letters and money, and was now on
my way to rejoin my companions on the Platte River. I
replied that I was, wond(;ring what was coming. He then told
me that seeing one of the passengers whispering with a deck
hand late on the prcvions evening, he had crept forward anu
had listened to their conversation, which, it seems, was about
me. The passenger was the man of whom I have spoken, and
the two men were discussing a plan for following and robbing

me. Captain T oftt-red to help me in any way 1 thought

best, and it was decided between us that if the man got out at
Nebraska city after saying that lie was going on to Omaha, we
should hunt up the city marshal, and arrange to have him
detained till I was well on the road.

Captain T had come from New York on the track of a

murderer who had fled from that city, and was supposed to have
gone up the Missouri, which was a fortunate thing for me, for
luid he not been there to overhear the conversation, the man
might easily have joined me en route, and I could not have
sent him back, as he had as much right to travel on that road
as 1 had, when nothing Avould have been easier than for him to
have shot me in the back as we rode cdong.

"When we reached Nebraska city that evening. Captain T

and I went ashore, he having arranged with the captain of the
boat to detain it for two hours ; and instead of walking into the
town, we remained on the wharf for some time, when we saw
the man mIio m ished to g(i with me land and go into a whiskey-
saloon near the wharf, so Cajitain T went to find tlic city

marshal, and I remained to keep an eye; on the house On
the arrival of the marshal, we went into the saloon and had a
drink, liw'- lest the man might suspect something, J a**ked him

I fllUSTKATli IT.

15!)

to join us, which hu did. 1 then iii([uirud what inadu him
change his initid as to his destination, on which he said he had
a friend in Nibraska, whom he wished to sec. The nnirshjd
asivcd him the friend's name, and after hearinj^ it we went out,
a policeman in phiin clothes bcin^ k'ft to shadow the num.

When we were well away from the place, the marshal said
that he had never seen this man's face before, but he said " I
know his friend well and he is a great scamp, and has under-
gone one sentence, I know, for horse-stealing." We had a
long talk about it, and it was finally arranged that I should see
the man again and tell him that 1 was going to start in the
morning ; but in reality I was to be off that evening, so as to
reach Lincoln city, fifty miles away, by daybreak, leaving a
letter at the hotel at which I was supposed to be stoijping, to
say that 1 knew of his plan and would shoot him " on sight " if
he followed mc. In the evening I went to a billiard-saloon,
where I licard he was, and had a talk with him. lie asked me
when I was going to start, and I told him that 1 thought it
would be about ten o'clock the; next morning, and I also
mentioned where I was stopijing. It came out, in the course
of conversation, that he had been ciiampion prize-fighter of
Montana, and therefore a very awkward man to liavc met
even without weapons.

I was off about seven o'clock, and rode all nig' the road
being luckily a very plain one as it was the old st;i road, and
before morning 1 was in Lincoln city, and had to w- it some time
for the hotel to open. I had a note for the ,,, rslial here,
telling him to stop the man should he diacover my ruse and
succeed i»\ e\ading the police in Nebraska city; but I never
saw liim again.

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My ride from here was nil easy one, and I eould have
followed the road the whole way; hut as it turned north to
avoid a ron^^h hit of country 1 took a Mtrai{^ht line, hoping to
find game, and as it was more interesting than following a road
about sixty feet wide, which the stage road then was. I was
three days doing the eighty or ninety miles, and killed two
antelope on tlu; way, besides seeing many more, and a good
many ducks and grouse.

On reaching Martinis I found that F had arrived three

days before, and was enjoying the fare as much as I had done,
while the animals were getting all the corn and oats they eould
cat.

One evening we were sitting out in front of the ranchc,
when Mc saw a body of mounted men cross the end of the
valley in which the house stood, about two miles away. It was
dusk, aiul it was too far oil' to see what they were, so young

Mart'n and F rode down the valley to examine the tracks,

and came I jck before dark to tell us that it was a mixed party
of Indians and white men, which was easy to see from some of
the tracks being made by shod horses, though most of them
were unshod, and some days later we heard the explanation of
this.

A small party of Sioux, numbering about twenty, had made
a dasli at the Pawnee horses near the reservation, and had
succeeded in driving oft' a large band of them. About thirty
Pawnees had immediately mounted, and accompanied by three
white men who happened to be at the camp, liad followed the
Sioux. They came up with thcna not far from where we saw
them cross our valley, and managed to creep up to the Sioux
camp unperceived. The Sioux evidently did not know that

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Mils. MAKl'lN 8 RHMINISCKNCbS.

101

they wore purnnnl, and wnro sitting round thoir camp firo
sniokin};, wlion a volley wan fired into tlieni at close; (|uarti'i's
and several fell. They were pieked warriors, and instead of
he'uxii demoralized they took eover at once, and a fi:j;ht hej^an in
whieh th(! Pawnees and their whit{; allies were beaten, and
con)pelled to (ly on foot, losin;^ the horses they had been
riding.

These Pawnees were, at one time, a very warlike tribe, but,
as is the ease with the Navajoes^ no sooner were they partially
civilized than thev became cowardly, cxeeptin;r where thev had
been diseipliiunl like the six hundred at Fort Kearntiy.

Mrs. iMai'tin amused us very much with an a(!eoiuit of the
(loin;;s of her husband at the time of tlu; American civil war.
lie was a southern sympathizer, and had to ;^(;t all his supplies
from a fort garrisoned by northern troops, so that as everyone
knew his sentiments he had things said to s *. which, with his
love of fighting, he found it hard to bear. Wheii leaving the
post one evening with his wife, as they drove past a whiskey-
saloon, sohu; one called out to him and wanted to know when

that d tl little! Joljuny Hull was going to leave the country,

as it would sooji be made too hot to hold him. On which
Martin asked the speaker to step outside, ami lu^ at once did so,
proving to be a big settler from a rancheon the other sidi; of the
fort. ^Martin tf)ld him to take olf his coat, and then, although
he was himself a small man, he proce(;dcd to give; him a souiul
thrashing, taking only a few ininutes in doing it. One of the
bystander.^ saying something he did not like, Afartin very soon
treated him in the same way, oU'ering then to fight any man
in the crowd, on which a cheer was raised for the little
Englishman, ami he was never agaiu insulted by anyone at

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A CARNIVOTlors HORSK.

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the fort. Shortly before our nrriviil, ii Holdicr was roiitijiuully
coming to tlir rjuuhc courting oiu^ of Martin'H diiu^litcrs ; he
was told tli:it \w was not wnutcd, hut still caino whenever he
could i^vt uwny, so at Inst Martin lost patience, and tteixed him
hy the collar and threw him out of the door, when he took the
hint and had not been Nince.

We Irft the lanehe about the be};iniiing of An^just, and
Rtriiek up the l{(>publieaii River, but found nothing but old
Ijull'alo bidls, the Iiulians having driven all the cowm and calvcH
outh ; till) water of the river, too, was very bad, as it was
almost like li([uid mud ; there were some beautifiil iee-eold
springs about, but the Indians having caniped near them
so often, there was no grass left, and the only game was
turkeys, so our sporting experiences are not worth recording.

J)uring my abscMU'c, F had bought a liorse from some

professioiud hunters, which was the only one I ever saw which
would cat meat. His former owners had spent the last winter
in tra]i|)ing on the Kepublican, and had been burned out by the
Sioux, and all their horses died but this one, which had taken
to eating ;Miy scraps of meat he fouiul lyi;ig round camp and to
gnawing the bones. He would still eat a little if he caniv^ across
it, though it had by no means agreed with him, as his coat had
nearly all come oft' and never rcgrown, except in patches.

We remained till the beginning of September, and then
returned to St. Joe, liaving decided on wintering in Texas, then
a wonderful country for game. We sold oft' everything but
PoMy, as I intended to take her with me, and we bought a
mmibcr of dogs, eliiefly pointers and setters, as v>c hoped to
find a great deal of small game wlicre we were going. We
engaged an old AVelshman to look after these on the way down

BILLY UIIKKZK.

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the; river, whoso namo wiis Billy Hreuzr, and who hud (luito a,
hintory.

Mr hud, fn'Mt o! nil, hiHMi a politoinuii in TiOtuhtn, ))ut wuh
distiuHsed for dritikiii^; then hi; hud retunu'd to his imtivr
village and turned pouchcr, and hud been Nont out to Ainciicu
hy numna of a Hubneription raised iu tlu; niHghbourhood, where
lie was v(M'y popular in spite of his bud hul)its. On arriving in
Anieriea, ho had grudiiully drifted VVost, never working long
nnywhore, and hud settled ut St. Joe as a profes,sional hunter, at
whieh he had done well, as game was very abuiid.int and he
was a good shot. When the war broke ont, Hilly had j(»in(Ml
t\w noithern army and hud lought br;i^<'ly, Ixnng wounded
twice; the la.st time a bullet broke his leg and caused him to
limp ever after, so that hv was discharged and returned to
St. Joe, where he took up Ins old oallivig again, adding to it the
breakijig of dogs, at whieh he was very good. ]\vi\- we found
liim, and taking a fancy to him oiiigagcd him to go with us as
dog-keeper aiul general factotiun.

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VOYAOK DOWN TIIK MISSOUIir.

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nrAPTKU XITI.

Viiyn^i' (liwii tilt' >Fi-'"">iiri. — NVild-lowl Nliootiii^r.— '•'>.i<'cti'imlili' fn'od
MliiVf.x. — New ( Jrlt'iui-*. — My (*niii|iiiiiioii dii-s nf clKtltMii. 1 uN'» niii
attm-lo'd. I i't>pi)V»'r. — MiH't ioim* Coiiri'ilcriiti' irtiitTiilrt. — liuiiiltliiiK-
Kiiloon. — (}al\t>Hti)ii, — Si'viTiil »hoi)tiii^'-tri|»H. — An ('X|K'H'<i\t' iii;rlil'x
lixlf^in^. — A ytiiiii^r llinrliilmiaii jn'ms us. — A N»»\v Yorlior ami lii-*
HiipptT-jiiiity.— Till' liiiH' trri>. — UiHiculiifH with tlni waj^^-on. — Tin*
tnwii (if liii'limuiKl. W'l' art' fiiu'd. IJiit do not pay. -K lias an

accidi'Ml. ~A usi'liil d.M'tor. — ( ii'iit'ral Slicridaii's imrso, — lluy
Imrrto, — A Ftti't'ain in timid. — Uaciiig in Tuxus. — A racing mult-.

wild

'riiK voyaj^c down tlio ATissoiiri and Arissi.sslppi was somewhat
monotonous, csiuHMally as far ns St. Lo\iis, tlio banks bcin;; as

ji rule low, and tin' onlv tiTcs cotton-woods.

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lowcvcr. mat

IV incidents to cidivcn the vova^c. Wc often ran

on a sandbar, as the viver was vci'v low in the antnmn nH)nths,
ami wo Inid to be poled over it; this was done as ft)ilow8:
Two poles were stnek in the sand one on each side of the
boat's bow, which was then hoisted between them l)y ropes
fastened to the sides of tlu; deck and passinjj over the tops ol"
the |)oles, the ropes bciii};- Iianled npon by the engine. \VIicii
lite bow was snilicicntiv raised the engines were bcnt aliead

WIM)-K(>\M. SIIOOTINO.

105

full i|ur(l, and tiic lumt wua tlni^ tltiowii i'orwuiil Mrvrrul fi'ot,
tliii hriii^ rrpcated till tlu< Imr wan paHt. Wlicn tlu; water
Mtill proved too hIuiIIow, the veMxel had to be forced backwards
off the bar.

The chief aiiiiiHcuiciit of the paK<teii)(crs wan N\iM-fo\\l
Mhootiii;;. An ininuiiNe nuinbcr of all kiiuh of birds ({o down
tlu! river every autumn, on their way to the Konth for the
winter, and these would settle down for the ni|;ht on the
sandbars. W« used, thurefurc, to f^ct up a party anion); the
prtssengcr«, when the boat was moored for thc^ nij^ht (as tin*
river was ho shallow, it did not pay to run after dark), and
having borrowed the small boat which wan geucrally towed
astern, wc rowed to the nearest sandbar. Here we hid
our^'dvcM behind sna^s or lo^s which had beeonu* imbedded iu
the sand, and for about .in hour at siiT»«ot the firing; was often
incesHant, the erew retrieving the birds whieh fell into the
river, and becoming so excited that they did not hesitate to
plunge into the water to get tlun.i. In this way we often got
thirty or forty ducks in an evening, besides some geese, not to
speak of those which we shot during tlu; daytinu*, as our
captain was good-natured enough to allow us to take the l)oat
to recover any which fi;ll. This shooting from a moving
steamer required a good deal of practice, as it was necessary to
allow for the speed at which the boat was going, and at first we
missed a good many.

AVc passed Fort Leavenworth, which, when 1 first came to
America, was on the border of nie Indian country, but Mliich
had now been ^cft far bcliiiul by the settlements, and was used
only as a depot. At St. Louis we changed steamers and
remained one day, putting up at the Lindcll House, a very good

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23 WEST MAIN STREET

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hotel, which \va^s hiuncd down soon alter we left, Mith the loss
ol" many livis.

From tliis phico we Inul a spk'ndid steamer, (k)ing twenty
miU's an honr, as eomlortahh! and witli as good I'are as au
hotel : the ])aid\s of the river, too, became more interesting ;
towns were i'reqnent and, as we got near New Orleans, fine
plantations were very numert)iis. These we heard were nmeh
more prosperous-looking I'roni the boat than in reality, as
since the war so many of tlicm had been deserted, and none
were kept up as they had been in the slave times. Since the
emancipation, the negroes, or "gentlemen of colour" as they
called themselves, had become most objectionable, as I had
many opportunities of seeing, and as was to be expected from
suddenly freed slaves. They put on great airs and took every
opportunity of taunting and lording it over their late musters.
In some cases they remained on the plantations, but worked or
not as it pleased them, and could not be punished in any
way.

Wc were much taken w ith New Orleans ; it had a very
French look, and it was a relief to get away from towns where
the streets were always at right angles to one another. We
put up at the St, James^ Hotel, and caused quite a commotion
in the streets as we walked to it, leading more than a dozen
dogs and the mare.

The state fair was going on when we arrived, and I went
out to see it a day or two later with a very nice young fellow,
whose acquaintance I had made on the steamer. Ilis father
had been a rich planter before the war, and my friend had
been educated at Heidelberg ; but w hile he was there the war
broke out, and his father and he were ruined, losing nearly

loss

ATTACKED IJV (JIIOI^KIIA.

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six Imiidrcd slaves. Soon after his father died, and he sold the '
j)huit!iti()ii for less than half its value to a Nortluru niuu, and
now lived an idle life in New Orleans. On the way haek from the
fair, he eonii)lained of feeling n j^reat deal of pain, so I ealled a
eal) and took liini to the liotel, where 1 sat with him till ni-ar
midnight, f^oing to bed then as he said he IVit better ; so my
astonishment may be imagined when on lingiiig in the morning
to incjuire after hitn, I was told that he had died of eholera
about four o'eloek and was already buried, as is the law in sueh
cases. We had not heard of cholera being in the city, and now
I found that people were dying at the rate of two hundred a
day. Two days afterwards 1 felt the same symptoms myself,
and on sending for a doctor 1 found 1 was down with tlie
same complaint. In a few liours I was very bad, but the
doctor told nu*, on his leaving me at night, that if I was there
in tlie morning I should do ; and this I determined to be if
possible, -which I have found to be one half the battle. In the
morning I was much better, but I was very ill for three weeks,
and just when Billy Breeze would have been a great deal of
use to me, I found that he was in prison for fighting, leaving
the dogs to look after themselves.

While in the city I was introduced to a number of Con-
federate generals, including Beauregard, Jeff Thomson, and
Morgan, and one night was taken by tlicm to a fashionai)le
gambling-house, where everything was on a sumptuous scale ;
the servants all wearing elaborate liveries, the rooms beautifully
furnished, and a first-class supper being served every night at
twelve o'clock, free to all who chose to partake of it, when
every kind of wine was to be had for the asking. I would
not stay for this, as I was not going to play, but my

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conipnnioiis did. Tlic liost was iniicli nioiv likr an J']n«j;lish
country s(|uii'o than a f^andjliii^'-liousc keeper, and discussed
sport witli ine as if fond of it.

r and I remained in X( w Orleans for five weeks, cliiefly

on account of my illness, and tl'.ciu left for Galveston, the
capital of 'J'exas, in a miserable little steamer, with poor
accommodation, (lalvcston is a very prettily situated place,
hv\u'^ on a long island off the coast of Texas, with, on the
land side, the finest beach 1 ever saw. It is eight miles long
and at low tide hall' a mile wide. We put up at the Valmctto
House, ke])t l)y an Irish lady, a I\Irs. JNleDonnell — there was a
]\Ir. of that name, but he was a mere cipher in the estal)lisli-
ment. Here wc had to wait some time for letters from home,
so we made numerous excursions into the surrounding country
for quail, pintailed grouse, and ducks.

On one of our first trips to the mainland wc stopped at the
house of a num named Oallaglier, an Irishman, and happening
one day when shooting to come on the railway, we went into
a small store, which was also a railway-station, to buy some-
thing Avlnch -wc needed, and got into conversation with the
man wlio kept it, who introduced himself to us as Captain
Richardson, late of the Southern army. On our saying where
wc Mere staying, and that the fare was bad, he very hospitably
pressed us to come back and stay the night at his house, wliere
he said lie could give ns something better. lie so evidently
■wished us to come, that we consented, Billy Breeze being with
ns, and wr^kcd with him to a very pretty little wooden house,
covered with creepers and standing in a garden, wliere he
introduced us to his wife and daughter, who seemed very nice
also. Everything was beautifully clean, and our room was all

EXPENSIVE NIGHTS LODniNn.

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\vc could ui-^li. They giivc; us a capitiil diimcr, insistiiij; on
oponiiij; all kiiuls of canned tliiii«:;s, such as ix'aclics, apricots,
and pinc-applcs, besides a nund)er of bottles of Scoteli ale. In
the morning wc fared e(pnilly well, and wished him good-bye
with cHusion, ho|)ing wc might have the pleasure of seeing hini
again, when, to our horror, ho pres{>nted a bill nearly as long as
one's arm, in M'hich every tin and c^vcrv bottle was entered at
a fancy price, our board and lodging for oiu; night coming to
close on twenty-nine dollars, or six pounds, more; than double
what it would have b(;en at the Lindell House at St, Louis.
Of course wc had to pay, audi remember had to semi Billy
back for the money, as we had not brought enough with us.
I do not wish my readers to take Captain liichardson as a tyi)e
of a Texan, as he was not so by any means, he, and one other,
of whom more by-and-by, being the only two specimens of his
class that we met. Texaus arc generally very hospitable and
generous to a fault.

We found a great many quail almost everywhere, and also
grouse, the three of us often getting seventy odd brace of the
former in one day, and lialf that number of the latter. There
were in addition always deer to be found, and we often jumi)ed
them when after small game. No one seemed to shoot in
those days, and. deer they seemed to think were not worth
eating, and people did not even thank you for a present of
venison, living themselves almost entirely on pork.

As soon as our letters came we fitted out for our trip to
Denver, intending to go by way of San Antonio, Fort Mason,
and Fort Belknap, but meaning to take our time to San
Antonio, as we did not wish to get there till the spring grass
w as up. Our waggon and mules we decided to get at Houston,

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KNO\(iK A (11 KF.

but wc engaged most of the iiumi before we stai'tcd, the first
biiiij; a lujin named Hrowii, whom we found as a waiter at one
of th(! restaurants, takinj; him to drivt; the wujij;,fon, our ehief
troubh^ bein;; to find a eook.

One (hiy, however, as wc were walking alon^ the main street
ol' (ialveston, we saw a num cominj; towards ns, who, thouf^h
dicssed ehielly in ra;is, yet had put them on so that you hardly
notieed what they were, and was walking along with u jaunty
air, as if in tlu; best of spirits. \\v s[)okc to him, and lonnd
that h(! was a Frencfhman who had been in tin; Chasseurs
d'Ai'ri(|ue, and, later, had joinid the foree got tog(!ther by the
filibuster Walker, in Mexieo. On the death of iiis leader he
had drifted into Texas, where he had lived by his wits. There
was so much " go " in the man, in spite of the emptiness of
his pockets, that we engaged him as cook, as he said lu; was a
"Chef,^' and wc sent him out to the can)p which we iiad formed
between (Jalveston and Houston. On following him to camp,
we were asked by Billy, what had made us engage a " frog-
eating mounseer '' who thought of nothing but his appearance
and could not speak English ? Billy and Louis, as tlie cook
was called, were always falling out and having to be separated,
and gave us endless trouble, and later on wc were obliged to
send Louis away.

Meaning to complete our outfit in Houston we left for that
place early in December. A railway running for some way on
a liigh trestle viaduct connects Galveston with the mainland,
and a few hours took us to Houston, then a town of some ten
thousand inhabitants. Here we bought a waggon and a pair
of mules, harness, saddles, and supplies, besides seven horses —
I having four aud ¥ three. Here we added another to

I I

A NKW YOllKTU AND HIS Sri'Pr.n-PAIMY.

171

to

oiir party, u young Kii^li«lmi;iM xnIiohc iiiitnc was II , who

agreed to reinaiit with us till wv n-achcd Denver. We also
got two more men, " Bill " and " John," hoth of them tVom
the old country, and good IVllows they were, und our party was
now eoinplete.

While getting our outfit togetlier w(! made; the aeciuaintanee
of a New Yorker who hatl Imjcu sent to Texas for his sins, his
friends refusing to give him any more money unless lie went to
'J'exas, and into some business there ; so htirewc found him as a
saddler, not that he kiu'W anything about the trade, but he had
a numager who eondnet(!(l the business, und he passed his
time in going about in a velvet suit nuiking calls on his
ac(iuaintances. lie invited us to su[)[)er one evening, saying
that liis friends had just sent him a hamper of good things, and
when we went about eight o'clock at night we found that he had
forgotten to tell his housekeeper that he was expecting guests,
so that she had gone home for the night, and had locked up
cvci'ythiug; consequently the supper (;onsisted only of piite-de-
foic gras and champagne, and as 1 was the only one of the
party who could eat the former without bread I finished the
tin.

Our new friend II was a good shot at small game and

a good rider, but had never killed anything bigger than a hare,
or done any camping out ; but he soon took to it, and before
long was as good a man in camp as any of us, beating us all
in one particular, which was as a trencherman, where wc were
simply " not in it," as he would eat as much as any two of us.
Louis's cookery was anything but satisfactory, in spite of the
grand names which he gave his dishes, his bread, being
especially uneatable. I remember the first lot he gave us.

1 ?' ■*

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]72

Till", " I.ONK TIlllE.

Mliich npprnrrd in tin' (nirn of cnnnoii-biillM niid oC tlio saiuo
I'olour, Jiiid tli()ii;ih he called tlicin " Pctits pains ji hi
^Jlri^i{'nn(! " wc nono of us eouhl cat thcin ; wc therefore very
Hoon Hcnt liini back, and instuMcd .lohn, who had hccn firnt a
pastry-cook and then a pri/e-(l;;litcv, as cook, hut in)t heforj*
Millv and fiOiiis had had sonu' rounds, in the cuur^e of wliich
the hitter >\as knocked into the lire.

I'roin Houston wc, started nortli for a place called Kiehinond,
fretting into trouble on our seco ' ni^ht out. There was a
landmark j^oini; by tluMuinie of tl "lone tree" »tandin;^ out
on the prairie, away from all timber, which had served us a
(lircetin}X-post for aj;cs. It coi\sisted of u larj^e dead tree, aiul
it stood in what was in wet weather a swamp. On tlu; second
evenin;.j we found ourselves not far from this tree, with oiir
aniuuds tired and tin; wheels half buried in the swamp. We
nuinajjed to r(>!'.'h tin; tree, which was on a small dry mound,
but could };et no further, so wc had to camp, pickctiii}; our
aninuds out round the tree, and nuikiiif^ our fire up against it,
ami also using some of it to burn. There was not room for all
of us to sleep on the mound, so some slept in the waggon ;
but I was or.e of the fornu'r, and in the night we were awoke
by the heat, and found the tree on fire to the top, ami it was
all consumed when we left it in tlic morning.

On hitching up we found the waggon was firmly imbedded,
and our team couhl not move it an inch, so hearing the creaking
of wheels on tlie opposite side of a snudl rise, we rode there,
and found a negro driving four span of oxen to Houston, and
promised him five dollars if he would get us out of tlie swamp,
hut this he refused to do, telling us that he liad no time. As
another team might not pass all day, we Jbold him that we

St It,

\)r all
;()u ;

I woke
was

lung

iiore,

WK A hi; UNKI).

17.1

should take tlic oxcii| on which he hroii^^ht two span and took
UH out nt onco, oxcu hv'iw^ very nuudi iuttcr in mud than
rnuh'M. W(> pasNcd thron;<;h llichuiond, uhi(;h u.is then ii
niiscrahh' little [tlaro, and catnpi'd on :* (;r('c>k sonn> ('i;;ht or
tcMi miles on tlu; other side, choosing that spot as it was near a
eahin where we coidd hny hutter, milk, &(r.

AVhen riding through the town wi; met an Irishman named
Ciallagher (no nlatiou to our late host), who told us of a wotnler-
i'ul raec-nuirc he had, which was said to he the tastest aniund in

Texas, so a day or two after pitching our camp I' ami I

rod(! in to have a look at her, going most of the way at a
gallop. We s!iw the tnarc, with which we were disappointed,
and were returning to camp when a man eanu" up and told us
that the Justice wanted to sec us, »o wc aecomi)anicd him to
the court house. Here wc were informed by that ollicial that
we were fined one sovereign each for riding fast through the
town. Now llichnujud was a struggling i)lacc, and what they
called the [)rineii)al street had no houses for some distance,
and then only one now and again at lung intervals, the street
itself being a sandy track ; so we told him that we had seen no
regulation about riding fast, and had not even known we were
in the town, so wc should not pay, on which we walked out
and lode off at full speed. As we were leaving the town, we
came across a herd of cattle, which se[)arated to let u.s tlirougli,
and wc were almost past them when a yeailing calf, finding, I
suppose, that its nn)ther had gone in tlu' {)p[)osite direction,

crossed right in front of us, atul F , w ho was ahead, ran

into it, going at full speed, turning a complete smnmcrsanlt,
horse and all, aiul landed with a loud tlnul in a cloiid of dust,
sending the calf some ten yards in front of him. On pulling

^

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IIKF.AKR HIS COLLAR- HON R.

u)> and ^;i>iii^ Ixick to liiiii, I I'uiiikI tliiit IiIm colliir^hoiM wns
hrokcMi, Nf) I liclpcd liirii on to his )iors(> and took liiiii to ramp,
and I'ctitnicd iit once to Kicliiiioiid for a do<'tor, whom I hud
((I'cat dilliciilty in fitidiii;;, coming on him at hint in a whiskcV'
nnloon phiyiii;; canlM. \\v returned with me and hound up th(>

xhoiddt-r, hut just as he was (inishin;; II eame in from

shootinjf, and seeinj; how the haiuhif^es wvn' put on, told the
doctor he could not know his l)usiness, as they did no ^ood at
nil as they were, the hones not hein;; united, and that the arm
was not supported round the n<'ek. The doctor immediately
flared up, sayin;; that he knew his own husitu'ss hesf, and
denwmded twenty-five dollars (t.')) for what he had done, hut

as we could feel that it was as |[ said, we refused to jiay

him anything;. On this he ^^ot very ahusive, called us swindlers
and other names, wlu'u \vv told him that if in; did not lcav(; the
camp in five minutes we would put him in the ereek ; so he
rode oir in a furious ra^^e, sayinj; that he would come hack with
some fricmls and clear us out, hut h(! must have tlionj^ht better
of it as we never saw him aj;ain.

I have said nothinjjj as yet of our liorses, so T will do so here,

F had tlircc capital ponies, much better bred than

the common run of them, and just the ri^ht heip;lit for

linntin<^. II had two, but they were too lar^c;, bein<^

nearly sixteen hands higii. I had my mare Polly, a bay horse
I had bon;;ht in Galveston, and a black horse, which has been
immortalized in a poem, being the one ridden by (Umeral
Sheridan in his twenty-mile ride before the battle of
Lcxinjj;t()n, when he retrieved the fortunes of the day by
doing that distance in the hour. Tie had been sold as
going blind ; but this proved to be a mistake, and ho was one

•i

x'lnj^

lorsG
been

nUY A WII.IJ lloHMK.

175

of tlic Ix'st )i()i'N(>N I ever Nnt on, nritt wnn vrry liiiiiitMinne,
Ixiii^ n Idiick nl)out fil'tcrn IiuihIm mid u half lii^^li anil tlirris
(|imrt('rx l)r(><i. While in thin ('anip \v(* hiid an opiKUtiiiiity
of HcciiifiC how rapidly NtreaniH can ri<«(' ; wi' had Ixcn told
of a Hniali rivulet heconiin)^ u roarin)^ torrent in a Niii^h*
ni^ht, hut had not helieved it, and we were now to j*ee a proof
of this.

JSonjo nun ennie into our eainp one evenin;;, atid told
\\H that ni'ar wIhtc they lived a horse; had just hecn re.
eaptui'ed hy lassoinj; from a wild hand, which they thouj;lit
would suit \\n If we could tiune him. lie was, they said,
thorounh-hrcd and very handsome, hut owinj; to his havinj;
run wild for two y<'ars, he had not come to his |)ropcr ^'rowth,
bein}^ only fourteen and a half haiuls hi;,'h. This was the size

wc preferred, so tenipted by the description II and I

determined to f^o and set; him, and as they stayed the ni;,dit in
our camp we went w ith them the next morniii;;. A ride of
twelve miles brought us to a farm, where wv found the horse
tied in tlu^ middle of a field, and lu; was so wild that they had
])ut three lariats on him fastened to diiTiM'cnt posts. On poiu}^
up to him he trembled all over, and the sweat poured off him,
nor would he allow us to touch him, erouehiufij down wIkmi we
attempted to do so j but he was so handsome aiul so well made,
that I bo»ij;ht him, giviufi; two hundred dollars ( €10) for him.
lie was u bright chestnut with a skin like satin, showiufj; a
network of veins all over it ; lie had spl(>mli(l .shoulders, was
well ribbed up and very big under the knee, and wlieu we had
liad him sometime he filled out woiulerfuUy. The great trouble
was, how to take him to camp ; so I bought him on coiulition
that he was to be delivered safe at our tent.

...' i;

'i\

170

A NTKK. \M IS ri.OOl).

During tlio night a Ntorm cninc on, luNting tiiu grrntrr part
of tlu* next liny, no tlint wr liml to rrmnin two nii^litu nt tliu
t'unn, hut it cU'ttrcd up tnwiinU rvniiii^, luiil thu iolluwiiii;
inoriiinK >u< <«tartcil, two men K'lidiii'; thr hi)r<«', which I <*ulh'(l
" llcnrv," thiit h('iii(( tho name oi' hid Mirt? ; each of the mm
having a ra\v-hi(h< htriat roiitiil hit neck and I'aHtcncil to the
horn of the NaihlU'. 'rhct'(> wan nome (h'^pcratt* phin^iii(( at
tii'Ht, hut liu(hu;; he was powcrh-NH, he at h>M^th Nuhuiitted
and eamu tpiietly. On reaching; our creek, whicli we had hd't
nhout three ynrdn wi<h', and no nhaUow that we ot'ten went for
milk to the eal)in in our Mlippt!rM,we fiMind it wax now a torrent
lullv sixty yards with', and as there weru treuH on each n\i\v,
hetwcen which the? water was rushin-;:, erossiii;^ it would ho
very awkward, as you wouM ahnost certainly ht^ dashed a;;ainst
these. We therefore camped where we wore, and picketed
" Henry," scndin;; the men hack.

We had arrived ahont dusk, haying conu; very slowly, and
had heen very much sur|)rised at j^cttin;^ no answer from
camp, nor could we see the tent or wa;;^on, thou;;h wi; were
just opposite to where we had li'l't them; ho in tlu; mornin;^

we tired sonu* shots, on whiidi V up[)eare(l on a snuill hill

some way oil', ami came down to the other side of the torrent,
telling us that all was well, hut that they had had to shift camp

siuldenlv. II und I made up our minds to swim it on

horsehaek, taking; oil' most t)f our elothin^% and leavin;^ oui" rilles
and saddles hehind ; so \\v plunged in, and the horses did not
scum to mind it much; hut we at once found that wc could
not make any way at all, ns we were carried dow n the stream
and humped against the trees; so we juini)ed off and struck
out for the opposite shore, leaving the horses to shift for

* •(

RRKAKINO IN " liK.NKY.

177

ill liill

»n'iMit,

caiiiii

it on

I'ilU's

id not

(■(Mild

stream

stnifk

I ft lor

If hnviiit; inrrrly kiiottni up thn rr'iiN, niiil hy
•wimiiiin^ IVotii trr«» to triM», anil rcNtiii(( to n-t'ovor hrrutli,
wv lit liiHt ri'iulud till* Imiik livo or •w liiiiulri'il viinU lower

»

down tliun wUvrc wu utiirtcd from, tlui ItorNcn Kc>ttiii|{ over
hrforr wr diil.

F told \i% timt \\v Imd Ihmmi nsloop in tlifi tent, find wim

lyinjf on ii I'nitlur-licd — lent hint by tlu» wife ol' the owni'r ol'
the riiliin on aeeotint of \\'\n broken colliir-ltonc - when bcin^f
woko l)V the uwful ruin, lie Imd put out hit hand to feel if unv
wnter had eoine in, iind had found that there were about two
inehen in the tent, lie at oi>%'(> jumped up and etdled the tnen,
who were Hh>epiii{; in the wa;j:;{on, and they had hitched up
and moved to W\ii\\ ground, losin(( a numlirr of thin^n which
were not notieed in the dark, and which were of eourse washed
away by the Ntrcuni, which was now four feet deep where our
tent had ntood.

The water Nubnided as rapidly as it had risen, the creek beiuff
in it« iu)nnal condition on the second day after our return, and
even on the morning after th(> (lood it had beconu; low enoii;;h
for UH to ride over and water " Henry ;" but we left him on
the other ^ide till the Htream had (|uite subsided, us he refused
to cuter it. We very soon madi! him much (piieter, by feeding?
him with corn und staudin<^ by him whih; he ate it, and he
would now letus},'r()()m him, if we did not do atiythiii'; suddenly.
Trom the first Ik; did not mind a gun bein^ tired, and a
fortui;;ht made him like an old ho"se. It took seven of us to
luujic him, und sometimes we were ad on tiie j^i-ouiid toj^ether,
and would be dra^'f^'ed several yards, l rode him (Irst, puttiiij^
ou breeches and boots for the occas-iou, but bevoud runniu<r

N

4

it-'

1/

llOnSK-RACINO IN TKXAS.

nwjiy for u lew mik's lie did nothing, and was very (iniet after
that.

We made two more camps on this creek, as feed was ^ood
and fjfiinK! of all kijids close at hand ; and then we moved
north, sto|ii)ln}^ where we conld find game, diu'ks and f^eese
l)ein<,' in thonsands, as they had now all arrived from the
north. I used to do most of my grouse-shootinjij from the
saddle, when I rode Polly, who wonld always stop suddenly
when I raised my gun to fire, and wlio very often saw game
before I did.

Hearing that we had brought her with ns from the north,
everyone thought it mnst be for racing purposes, and many
liorses were brought to camp to run against her ; but we
refused to race, as it nearly always led to some unpleasantness,
and frequently to a fight with revolvers. All races in that
part of the country were very short, from three to six
hundred yards, and the horses started at the report of a
pistol.

While in Galveston I saw a heavy-looking, badly bred
animal, belonging to some gamblers, vvhieh required a whip
Avhen being ridden as a hack, but which when on a race-track
I did not recognize, being all fire and spirit ; it ran a quarter
of a mile in eighteen seconds, and beat a fine chestnut
thoroughbred, which had a great name as a mile horse.
This kind of racing is most unsatisfacto y and leads to a
great deal of trickery and cheating, so that we never went
in for it, after our first trial. Everything depends upon the
start when running so short a distance, and the gamblers, who
are nearly always the racehorse owners '^ out west,^' will take

! f

A RACING MULE.

171)

uiot after

was {^ood
'D moved
md ^eesc
from the
from tlio
suddenly

aw game

any advantajjjo tlioy can of you, backinpj one anotlier up if you
object. T saw in Tcxiis wliat I had never heard of Ijcfore,
which was a raciui^ mule ; and it was said to be as fast as any
horse for six huiuh'cd yards, and beinj? sueli an unlikely animal
to run, had taken a number of j)coi)le in.

J^M*

he north,
ind many
; but we
asantiicss,
;s in that
;e to six
)ort of a

idly bred
d a whip
acc-traek
a quarter

chestnut
le horse,
cads to a
vcr went
vipon the
)lers, who

will take

■ . :t
. ■ i

ISO

A UANK.IIUPT llAILWAY.

\ ) i

I'V?:' ; •*

CHAPTER XIV.

Miivi'toCloiir Jiiilvc. — A l)fiiiliruiit railway. — Abundanco of <ramo. — Stalking'
wild frccric. — liivitatidn lo a bcai-lumt. — A norther. Story of a norther.
— Lynch law. — IJcar-litintinj,' jioor f>i»()rt. — (Jreat abundance of snipe. —
(lood shootinp'. — Extortionate landlord. — Semi-wild hoo-s. — AVild bnll.'?.
Narrow escaiies from them. — Our dog IJooze. His iiiihtinp- cajjabilities.
— Invitation to a plantation. Melancholy appearance of it. — A good
afternoon at the ducks. — A Masonic tip. — A Texan ball. — Buying
mules. — Fishing in Texas.

Towards the end of November we moved on to Clear Lake, a
very pretty eamp, and only a mile and a half from a railway
station. This railway was a source of much amusement to us.
It was only forty miles long, running from Houston to
Allcyton, and it was in a bankrupt condition; there was
only one engine^ which made the journey to Allcyton one
day and returned the next, and was very uncertain as to its
time of arrival and dcpartnio. The engine was an old shunting
()n(! from New Orleans, with a leaky boiler, which after
running four or five miles, and sometimes less, had to stop to
get no steam. On one occasion I had started from camp on
horseback, carrying a deer on the front of the saddle, and a

ic, a

way

us.

to

was

one

0 its

itiug

id a

STALKINC. WILD CKKSE.

ISI

(|iiatitity of small }^amc Ix'iii;^ liunjif round it, iiitcndinj^ to ]«•
at the station when tlu; train arrived, and to send my game by
it to Oalvcston. As I came in si;;ht of the station, which w;i
then a mile distant, I saw the train jnst leaving it, and
anywhere else should have returned to camp ; hut I knew the
])cculiarities of that engine^ and that it was bound to stop near
a certain tree about four miles from the station, so I cantered
across and mot the train, asking the engine-driver to pull up
so that I might put my game on ; this, however, he refused to
do, so I continued alongside ami chafled him, telling him that
he would have to pull up soon, and might as well do it then, but
as he still refused to do so, I cantered on and stopped at the
tree and waited, when sure enough the train came to a standstill
near me.

We had splendid sport at Clear Lake, as all kinds of game
were in great abundance; snipe especially were very plentiful,
also ducks and grouse of two kinds — piutailed and pinnated ;
but what we enjoyed most was shooting geese, which were very
numerous, and could be found scattered all over the prairie
feeding on the grass. If you stood on any high point you
could see hundreds of flocks in every direction, and our way of
stalking them was as follows : — We would each take a quiet pony
with only a bridle on him, and describe a large circle on the
prairie, stooping so as to be concealed behind him from all
those inside this circle. Of course we put up a good many,
but this did not disturb the others, Avho merely ran together
towards the centre ; we gradually contracted this circle, getting
nearer and nearer to the middle, till within perhaps a hundred
yards, and the geese began to put up their heads and cackle,
when we jumped on the ponies and galloped in as hard as we could

ll

■ ii-. u

l.h

I

III

1S2

INVITATION TO A lUlAR-IlUNT.

m.:

go, and in this way oi'tcii got within forty yards hciore they

were well on tlic wing, firing over our pony's head and getting

three or lour with the t^vo harrels. Another way was to drive

an ox up to them, lying flat on a raw hide, whieh was attaehed

to the yoke by traces. }\y driving as if you were going to pass

then), you eould frequently get very near. Another way was

to stalk them with a pea rifle, when you got some very pretty

shooting. Jkside geese there were a good many sand-hill

eraiies, standing about four feet high, whieh eould he stalked

in the same way, requiring, however, much more eaution to be

used in oi'der to get near enough to them, as they are such

shy birds. When wounded you had to be careful how you

a])proached them, as when their legs were not broken they

would jump at your face -u a moment, and the beak being

about six inches long and very sharp, eould inflict a had wouiul.

Soon after camping on Clear Lake we received an invitation

to a bear-luint on a large scale, which was to come off in the

IJrazos bottom (a strip of timber six miles wide lying along

the Brazos liiver) from an old settler named Estcs. He was

quite a character, living the life of a hunter in a house far

rcmovved from any neighbour, and cultivating only enough land

to supply himself with flour ami vegetables and his horses with

corn. He had served in the Southern Army during the wai-,

and when the South had to give in, he had taken an oath not

to cut his hair till she had had her revenge, so that it had not

been cut for more than three years and was like a rough mane.

When we reached his house we found a number of men

collected, and a great variety of dogs, most of them curs,

whieh, however, answer better for flat kind of hunting than

well-bred hounds.

was

A NORTH Ell. 183

In tlic course of the cvcniiij;, wlion we were sittin}; in the
vcniiidiih in our shirt sleeves, we had an opijortunity of seeinj;
a storm peculiar to Texas, called a ** Norther." It was very
warm, more like summer thiin November, and we were enjoyinj;
it, when Kstes, ha[)p(Miing to look towards the north, told
us to get our coats as we should need them very soon ; and
looking in the same direction we saw a long hhuik line, which
as wc watched it sccuumI to be coming nearer ; then we heard
a whispering among the leaves, which increased in loudmiss till
it became a roar, and the norther was on us. In this case it
consisted of only a very cold and strong wind, against which it
would have been very dillieult to ride or walk if on the open
prairie; but sometimes it is accompanied by a snow-storm of
terrible violence, and then if caught in the open it often means
death unless shelter can speedily be found. This storm lasted
about three hours, but they sometimes continue to blow for
three days.

A half-breed, whom I met in Daeotah, and who seemed to
have wonderful powers of standing cold, told me that once when
carrying despatches between Fort Wadsworth and Fort Abcr-
crombie, in comi)any with another lialf-brecd, they had been
overtaken by a blizzard, which much resembles a Texan
norther, excepting that it may come from any quarter, and
that as they happened to be near some timber they had ridden
liard and had time to off saddle and get under their blankets
before the worst of the storm reached them. Under tliese they
remained for three days, the storm being accompanied by
snow, which buried them and helped to keep them warm. At
the end of that time ray informant had come out from under
the snow and had found his companion dead and frozen stiif ;

"' It*!

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iind this lie said was owiii^? to liis hciiif; a dnuikiinl, wliilc In*
liimscir took no spirits ol' ui»y kind. Tlicy hud plenty of food
\\ith thcni, though thry had to cat the meat raw, so that it
couhl not have hern Htarvation uhich killed tho nnm.

Hnt to nturn to onr hcar-hnnt. Later in tho ev(Mnn}(,
MJien tlie iinrther had l)h)\vn itself out and wr, were a^'ain
sittinjj; on the verandah, u ycmnj; fellow rode up, whom most
oi those pres(;nt seemed to know; and on his joining; , some
(mc said to him — "Well, did you ^v.t him?" on whieh he
answered " Vcs, hut wc (lid not hrinj^ him in"; and then the
suhjeet was changed, as if everyone knew what this nu'ant. Now
men are imiuisitive scmictinu's, thou^^h of course very seldom,

and r and 1 (for II was not with us) were curious to

know what this meant, so we crossed to Mhere the younj?
fellow was sitting and asked him.

It secnu'd t!iat some weeks before, he had f.'^onc into
(jlalvcstou to buy his winter supplies, takin<; with him two
negroes, mIu) had been wit), his family all their lives, and who,
wheu all slaves were freed, had chosen to renuiin as servants,
getting w ages ; and that while in Galveston two women returning
from market had been set upon by negroes and robbed, besides
being badly beaten. For some reason one of his servants was
suspected, and was arrested and lodged in prison. On hearing
this he had gone to him to say that if he was innocent lie
would provide counsel to defend him, and as the negro assured
him that he was so, he saw a lawyer and arranged matters with
him. However, before the trial came off, this negro had
managed to escape, thereby ])roving himself guilty. Knowing
how stupid negroes are, and how they often when pursued go
to the very place where you would be sure to look for them,

! i

It

TIIK HKAU-IIUNT.

lsr>

he felt corliiiii timt. Iiis iiiiiu had ^oiu; stnii^^lit home; so he
wiMit by r.iil to witliin forty miles ol' t\w \)hirv, and then liin-d
ji liorne to r'u\v the n^st ol" tlu; way, tclliii-^ the pcoph; of tlu;
|)|jic(! \vlu!rc he f^ot the horses what hi; was p)iiij? lor. The;
mail had ooik; as lu: (;x|)(!('t(Ml ; ho he; H(;i/(;d him, put him
oil a horso, and was ht'iii;;in;; him in to the; railway, wIumi, n^
he cxprcsHcd it, "Tlu! hoys imit mi- and we put him np." I
asked what that meant, on which he leant forward, and
pointing to his h()rsc, whieh was "still staiidin;.'' saddled at tlio
leiKU!, he ask(!d ns if we could set; a raw-hide lariat on tlu;
saddle, and on our saying tiiat \\i) could, lu; said, " Well, that
is what we put him U|) with." They, it seems, had hiin^ him
to a tree. When we asked his reason for so (loin;;, he said
that since the war it had been almost impossihle to ^et a lu^gro
punished, the usmil plan being to send any wlio had eommitted
a crime to a black regiment, and that tlu.'refore in this case
tliev had taken the law into their own hands. ]lv. added that
when wc had been longer in the country we should often hear
of troublesome negroes liaving disappeared, and of having gone
on a visit to their friends in the north, which meant in reality
that they had gone underground.

The following morning wc started, about twenty men on
horseback, for the bear-hunt, Estes and two or three more
going in one direction while wc went in anoth(;r, the idea
being to beat up to us. One of the l)arty, who was an old
hand at this kind of thing, placed us, telling us to fire at
nothing but bears. For some time not a sound was heard, but
after waiting more than an hour I heard the dogs coming, and
then a shot, followed by another, and all was still. It seemed
an age before I heard them again, and when I did they seemed

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to he ('((iniii^ my way, uiul nmiik tliiiijf |m«.sc(r by my ri^jlit,
tli()ii};li till' I)uh1ics were too thick for iiic to nvvt what it was,
aiitl a t'l'W nccoikIs later my two nearest iiei^liljoiirs, shoiitiiifjj
that it was a l)('ar, Ut't their posts, and followed the do^'s, on
wliieh 1 (lid tlu; hixwh'. This kind of riding I soon round
retpiired a Ion;; a|)|)rentieeshi|), lor thon;;h the {^ronnd is as a
rulo fre(! from hnish, yot lon^ vines hanj; from the trees, and
()l)lijj;(! a man to lii; flat, and be very (piiek nhont it, as he
I)assc8 under them, or ho will he swept olf his liorsc.

The Texans arc fine horsemen, almost all of them l)ein;x able
to pick np a hat off tlu; jj;r()iind when passing; it at a ;;allop ;
and J have more than onee seen a man, when ;j;oin;; at a walk,
stoop and piek np his hat which a braneh had knocked oil'
without stop|)ing his horse.

1 soon found that I could not keep up, and arrived about five
minutes after the bear had been shot, and had fallen from tlie
tree in which he liad taken refuge. Sometinu's they get into
a cane brake, in which ease you nuist dismount, tie up your
horse, and cut your way through the dense eanes to the bear,
Avhieh is very iiard work, and necessitates the carrying of a
large knife nuule for the purpose. Two bears were killed on
this occasion, and were of the small black variety, and neither

1'' nor 1 got a shot at either; the only game of any kind

which came our way was one deer. We returned to camp tlie
next morning, not caring for any more bear-hunting of that
kind. The favourite way of killing deer aniong the Texans
was by driving them w ith dogs, and taking stands as in bear-
hunting, the deer being generally found near the edges of the
wood, while the bears are much further in. Tlie Brazos
bottom was a grand liunting-ground, consisting as it did of six

AHINDANCK OP BNIl'K

i>:

tiiilt's ut' t'urcMt on cucli nuIc of the rivi>r. The iiuinlxr (>t'siii|H!
here wum aNtoni.shiii};, niul I hoard of one iimii who killed iiiorc
than u huiidi'cd couplu tu IiIh own ^iiii in one (hiy. We never
cared to give np no ninch time to »ni|ie-Hhootiii<r, so did not ^ct
Hneh large bags, bnt forty or fifty conpU; in a morning was
common.

Oiu" day, jnst n» we were going to dinn«'r, a man lode np
and stojtpcd to «pt!ak to ns, so ue asked him to join nn. We
happened that day to have a speeially good hill of fare, and he
enjoyed his dinner thorongh.y, and remaiiu'd with ns for some
honrs disenssing 'l't;.\as and the ganu; to he fonml there. He
tohl us that he lived ahont twelve miles away, and that there
were thousands of snipe all round his house, and that if we
eared to shoot such small ganu', In; would i)c very glad to
put us up. AV(; at once accepted his invitation; and taking
JJilly J5re( ze with us, to look after the horses, we rode ovi'r to
his house a few davs afterwards. It proved to hi; a verv
dilapidated place, many of the (Ujors being gom; and most of
the glass broken in the windows. ^J'iiis he explained by saying
that he had l)een ruined by the war, and had never had the
heart to put things right since. After a meal consisting of
very bad salt pork, most of which was melted, and which he
and his wife dipped up Avitli corn bread, coffee without milk
and sweetened with syrup, we went otf to a large field
near the house, which was very undulating and contained a
numijcr of small nuir>lics ; and here we found the snii)e as
l)lcntiful as he said, every hollow containing twenty or tliirty,
and they were so tame that they would fly from one hollow to
the next and then back again, so that we soon liad a large bag,
and sent Billy back to get a lot of them ready for supper, not

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ciiiiii}; for any more of t lie lii|iii(l pork. TIiIm iiicnl mis a ^rcat
iiii|iroV(>iiu'iit on our cliiiiicr, and I think we ninst have tatcn
a (io/.cn Nuipo npircc, iii'tci' \vlii(*li we had a Ion;; discnMsion on
the war, and on the part onr host hud phiycd in it, where he
Neenied to have done wonih'rM lor un ungrateful country, and
then wr turned in — Nle('|iin^ in (Uir own hIanketH on tho (hxu*.

'Vhv next day was a repetition of the preceding one, the huijio
IxMU^ ecpuilly pU'iitifid ami etpndly tanu', aiul onr hai; was a
very lar^e one. We had another meal of snipe niid then
saddled our horses to return to eaiup, tellin;; Hilly to remain
behind, and see if he e(Mild, in a delicate way, and without
hurtin^^ his teelin<.,rs, induce our host to take s<Mnethin^ for the
corn our horses had eaten. We said ^ood-hye an»l rode off, hut
had not puu* far \> h(>n W(< heard Hilly calling alter us, and
i*aw him eoniin<; as fust us he could shuttle (for his wounds,
received during the war, prevented his running;), and on eomin;;
up, wc found that when he oU'ered to pay for the corn our
host presented a lonjf hill of which 1 forget the aiiu)uut, hut
I know that ten dollars (.t~) which we had ^iveu Hilly was
not nearly enough to settle it, so that our delieaev had been
wasted.

We were verv much annoyed by tlic semi-wild hoL's,
which then ranj;cd about the eouutry in ininunse numbiis,
us they Mould come into camp and eat up the {!orn nuant
for our horses, driving them away for it. To be even with
them we shot a fat one now and then ami put him through
the sausage-machine. Of course all these hogs belonged to
some one, but they were so numerous and worth so little,
that all trayellers acted as we dul ; indeed, most men passing
through the country seemed to think nothing of killing u

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wii.ii in t.i.M.

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" Ixrf " wlu'ii i]\vy wunU-il lurut, uu<l wIumi wr >v«'iit to u
HVttlur who ownril Ncvcrul tlioiiNtiiiil luvtil oT cut tie uiid tiNkctl
it' wc iiii;;lit kill iin old liull mow uiiil then tor our <lti^N, jiu
Muid wc were the tirnt lurii who hud vvvr ooinr t«) iiNk h'uvc,
(•vcryoiu; killin;{ whiit lie tliou;;lit proper. S(Mik> <»!' tlic hullt
arc very duti^crouH to a iiwiii ou loot at certain M'aHoiiM of
tiu> year, and nu Texan will go uniong them umIcmh iiu in
mounted.

V wan ntaikinp; Honie tine turkeys oiu* day, when he

iu<ard a noiNC hehiiid him, and found a hull working himself
up for a ehar;;e, pawing tht; ground and lashin;r his sides with
hin tail, and he had to shoot th(> Inill instead of the turkeys.
I waH (>nc(? charj^ed hy one — a white one, I rememher; In* eam(5
straight nt me when I was Hnipe-sh()otin;r, and I had to kill
him with snipe shot, tirinj; both barrels at once, and making,' a
liole in his forehead into which I eonhl have piit threes tinj^ers ;
he fell »o dose to me that he threw the nuul all oNcr me,
niul 1 had to jump back to avoid bein^ knock(>d down.

Having; wo many doj^s in camp, we could con^intic a <^reiit
deal of meat, ami very little was wasted. The cattle wvw
small, and one lasted us only about three days. The Tcx;m\8
kept a ^rcat mnnbcr of lar^e (lo|;s, of no particular brcdl,
usinj? them for hohlinjij their hojjs by the car while they wvrv.
either branded or killed, aiul these beinj; very fierce caused us
(I jjreat deal of trouble, tiyhtin}^ with our pointers and setteis
and laming them. To prevent this wc bo»i{;ht a larjic doj:^,
part bull, as a sort of guardian for the otiicis. lli- rejoiced
iu the name of " IJoozc," so christened by his late nuistcr
Hilly Ureeze, of whom we bought him. This dog was the best
tighter I ever saw, as he would face aiiv nuiuber of other

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tln^M, iiiid hrhuvnl in micli a «li(;iiitii>i| muv until li(« wm
iittucknl, that tliry ait u nili* left liiin atitiii* anit wrnt away>
Wlu'ii a luttiilirr of h'm tht^n ntolicil out at him from a hoi^e
wo hnpiNMurtl to Uv \)Mn\\nt, hu would itit down in tho middle

of th(* roud and look wtrai^ht hcforn him, allowin}( tht'in to
conu! np all rouml liiin, and never moving, and their piicc
would UHually K^'t per(*epti))ly Nliover ax they ;(ot nt*ar him,
and they were very often watintied with a look at iihout
three feet distance ; hut if they touched him there wan a
Mudden traii>4forrnation Ncene : tin; nearettt do|; was Nci/.ed
and Nhaken lik(* a rat, no re^anl bein^ paid to tho others,
who >vere pr(d):ihly hitinf( him hehitid meanwhilu ; thru
anotlu'r was treated in the sann* way, and then another, when
they f^enerally turiu'd tail and lied. However much hu waM
hurt hiniseir \w. never uttered a Honnd or McemtMl to can;
anything about it. Moo/u was u splendid do^^ for hoj^s,
holdint; the larj^i'st with ease, and by kcepiu}^ always close
alon^^side the ho^ i.e avoided his tusks. It was hu much
trouble to get hitn otl' when he onee had Imld, that we used to
bent him when he went after hogs, on which he became so
crafty that he would drive one into n Mtream or pond, wheie
we could not follow him, and there be would hold th(< hog's
head under water \intil he had drowned him. He would throw
the largest bull in a moment, catching him by the nose, and

an Irish water-spaniel, which K had brought from Knglaiid,

used to ussiist him by holding on to the tail, and this he would
do so firmly, that I have seen him dragged fifty or sixty yards
over the prairie before he would let go his hold.

While at Clear Creek we bad an invitation from a Captain
Duncan, who lived on Caiicy Creek, which runs into the

ic so
here
log's
I row
and
and,

lOtild
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)tain
the

PHrJUDK'K AOAINMT WILD l)U( Kt.

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Mrnxo«, to pny him n viiiit ; h(^ had hrrii wry rii h hcfori' tht*
WAr, hnviii;< owned homio four hundred «t|iiV('N, u rtieiuK-
rNtuhliHhnn'tit, iinti ii (Ine hoUMr in New ()ile!in<«. When hi*
neKfoe"* were freed uimI left him, he had no money to work hiit
jihtntation, and hud, lil<(* uiont Southern phuiterM, uIwuvh li\ed
hevond Win inemne, ho that now if u NiM'thern man hud not
taken part of hiw (;ronnd at a low runt, hu wouhl have Ntarvcd,
nt there wnN no unle for hi» land.

On the wav to hiit honN(\ wo enme to n enhin with a hike in
front of it, and thin wnn fnll ot wildfowl of nwmy kinds, uhieh,
nn th«>y were nwimmin^,' uhont a few yurdt from the hon«»e, we
»»np|>o«*rd hud heen ruined hy the Nettier ; hnt, on askin*; him if
thin was no, he told hh that they were wild, l)nt an tliey were
not fit to eat he never fired at them. Not n^reeiii^ with liim,
wo diMmounted and had a N{dcndid afternoon 'x uport ; the only
drawhuek was onr havin;,' to retricvo our own dnek«, as we had
not brought a dog with )W. We found the same prejudice every-
where; among the uiu'dueuted Texuns aguinst eating wild (hu'ks,
though of course they were as good there as anywhere cUo.
Wo took those we liad shot to C i)tain l)uneun'« and fo\ind
them eapitul. Ilin pluntution wus a !iK'liinelu)ly sight, the two
negro villages were lulling into ruins, as also were the racing-
stahles, and the Captai;'. and his son seemed to have loRt all
spirit, watulering ahout disoonsolately, and (h)ing nothing htit
cat jind sleep. Miss Dunean was eharnnng, utul had nil the
spirit left in the family, hut she could not induce her father
and brother to exert themselves, though she tried hard to
do so.

On returning to Clear Lake we determined to start for San
Antonio as soon as wc could find another team of mules, those

in

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w)-:

A TKXAN \\\\.\..

wc liiui IxMii^ too Niiiiill for our loiul. IF('arin<>; of some tliat
wvw to lu' sold lu'jir us wv nllcndcd tlir sale, and I should
have bought tluMU, it' the uci^^hhour of tlu; iiuin selling tlu-ni,
liiidiu}; that I was a uwisou, had not warned us — nu'rely
Kaviuj; " l)oi\'t ;" so we di<ln't. lie turiu'd out to he a ^ood
sort of fellow, auul invited us to a };ran»l dance, to l)e ^iven at
liis house in honour of his son's \>cddin}i", so we went. It
was an e\tra(>rdinarv allair in every wav, the daneiu": heiny:
(]uite unlike anvthin^ in (*ivili/ation, and every man had at
least one revolver huekletl round his waist under his coat or
in a pistol-poeket hehind. We li'l't early, hut we heard that
later in the evetiinj; there wvvc sevcM'al little troubles amon^
(he quests, whiskey heinj:; very plentiful, and partaken of hy
both the jjiMitleuuii and their fair partners.

As fiood nuiles w(>re very scarce, it was an'anj;'C() that I
slioidd jio to (lalveston and buy some, as we had seen a gi'cat
nuuiy };ood ones in the streets while there. Accordinj^ly I
took the railwav to Houston, and after 1 bad tried to find
s(>ine there and failed, I went on to (lalvcstou and i)nt up
once nu)re at the I'almctto House. As I found it very dillicult
to jjet any bere also, 1 at last, in despeiation, stopped every
dray in whieb 1 saw a j;ood mule, and so secured a tine team
of four. Tiicse T put into tbe train and took them to camp,
and very soon alter my return mc made a start for ISan
Autonio, travellin<;; slow ly so as to keep our aiiinuds in good
condition for tbeir lonjr iourncy.

1 have said nothing of tbe tisbing m Texas, tberc being none
wortb mentioning; tbe principal fisb is tbe "cat-fish/' a
miserable bony monster, only eatable when made into " lisb
ebow iler," a sort of stew componnded of fisb, -witb all tbe bones

FIHIIINti FN TKXAH.

1 1)3

nMiiovcil, |)(it!it()(\s, pc'ppcr, imd salt, which when one wuh him^'ry
and when (;at(Mi hot, on a cold day was not had. At (iaivcston
you ^ct hhu; lish, which iiw vi^ry j;o<mI, imd th(! finest prawns
I ever saw. 'I'hen; uro hesich's luirly }^ood and very chea[»
oysters in enormous shidls, cost1n<; one (h)llar a harn^l, \\iv.
harrel meant hein;; the one us(;d for Mour^ hohling two hun(h'(;d
pounds.

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101.

SAN ANTONIO IN 18G8.

I'

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CHAPTER XV.

Snn Antonio and Toxas in 1808. — Ilorse-stcnlinf?. Its punishment. —
Shocinj^ and broakiiijj wild i)oni('s. N(i<,'r()(}a tlin best breakers. —
Mexicans and their mode of life. — Part with Hilly liroeze. — Move to
l''rederick.sburj.r. — Too hot for the doj^s. Death of one. — Tryiii}^ the
men's courage. — Ilalliday, his history. — A real frontiersman. lie

declines to go -with us. — II has an adventure wliile on guard. — Fort

Mason.— Indians catch and torture a man. — 15ig-foot Wallace. Refuses
to go with us. — Leave Fort Mason. — Fight between horses. — A
refractory mule. His cure. — An ovor-confident major. — Start for Fort
IJelkiin]). — A plundered waggon. — I meet with Indians. 1 am pursued.
Shoot an Indian's horso and escape. — Difficult country.

San Antonio in 18G8 was a very interesting town, still very
Mexican in appearance, having two fine plazas, which on
market days were full of Mexicans in their picturesque dress.
At the stalls you could get a good dinner of " Chile con
carne," fiijolcs, and tortillas, cooked on a brazier, though you
could not always be sure what the meat you were eating was,
Mexicans not being very particular.

From the Gulf to this point Texas is very level, but from
here the country rises, and the scenery improves, till you pass

li

very

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con

you

was,

'rom
pass

rUNFSHMRNT FOR IIORSK-STRAUNO.

105

Fort Mason, one luiudnMl and twenty miles north of the town,

where the prairie hcj^ins. This was the gnnit plare for hnyinj;

ponies, many men ownin;^ hundreds of them, which ranged

over an immense extent of eountrv, and somc^times took weeks

to find. As it wouhl be very easy to steal any number of

these, it had been made a hanginfi; ofTence, and any man (■auj;,'ht

stealing a horse was lynched at once, the nsuiij way bcinj? to

make one of the animals lie had stolen tho execntioncir. The

horse-thief was put on one of the jjonies, with his hands tied

behind him, a rope was fastened round his neck and the other

end tied to the bough of a tree over his head, it l)(!ing then

merely a question of time as to when the pony would move olf

to feed and leave the man hanging. Since this became the

unwritten law of the land, horse-stealing has gone out of

fashion. We remained several weeks in San Antonio, getting

supi)lies, having our animals shod, and allowing them to

recruit before starting on our seven hundred miles journey to

Denver.

We h.nd here an opportunity of seeing how they managed to

shoe the wild ponies which were always bein^^ brought in.

This was done by pushing them into a strong frame, just wide

enough to liold them, where they had bands passed round them,

and were then lifted off their feet, rendering them quite

helpless. "Henry '' was shod in this way, the country ncn-th

of the town being too rocky to pass through with unshod

horses. We saw here, too, some wild-horse breaking, the best

riders being negroes. Sometimes the bucking would go on for

half an liour or more, the rider bleeding at the nose and mouth

when it was over ; and we were told that very few men can

break wild horses for more than two years, and th(;y then are

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wrc(;ks for life, and a good many arc killed or inainicd by horses
i'alling on tlinn.

Havii)f5 a good deal of time ou our hands, we went about
among the JMexietins observing their way of living, and found
that, though ojjposed to the use of watcu* for any |)ur|)ose, tlusy
were as polite as Spaniards, though it did not m(;an nnieh more
than it does in Spain, most of them being ready to knife you
for a very small sum.

Before leaving San Antonio we were very reluctantly
compelled to send Billy Breeze back to St. Joe. He found
that his wounds prevented his riding, and he could not possibly
do the seven hundred miles on foot. We were all of us very
sorry to sec him go, as, when anywhere away from vhiskcy, a
better man we never had. lie returned by stage to the
end of the railway at Richmond, and from there went back as
we had come.

Having driven round and collected our numerous purchases,
\vc left San Antonio about the end of March; three days
taking us to Fredericksburg, a German settlement forty-five
miles further north. This we found to be like most of their
settlements — very clean and well ordered. The houses were
large and comfortable and the land well cultivated and fenced.
The country we passed through was almost entirely covered
with low brush, in which were more quail than we had ever
seen before. We put them up continually on the sandy track
which did duty for a road, and if it had been the shooting
season we could have had splendid sport. The heat was
already so great that, combined with the dust; it was too much
for our dogs, who were utterly unable to travel, and w^e had
to give several of them away to save their lives. One of our grey-

was
nuch
liad
rey-

TIIYINCJ TIIK MKN8 COURAOK.

11)7

hounds name to a very sad end. One day, as he scicnuul to hi;
sudbring from the heat, we tied him under tlie wag;;on, as it was
a sliady phice, and soon after doing so we rode alifjad for some
purpose, supposing that the men wouhl keep an eye on him, as
there were three of them bcihind the waggon leading horses,
and when wc rejoined the party wc found the poor dog (Unid
and stiff, having evidently been dragged for some distance by
the ncek.

The next settlement wc reaehcd was a very small one on the
Jan Jaha River, where we were told that there was a first-
rate man to take as guide, as we had hitherto failed to find
one, everyone ol)jccting to go across the plains through the
Comanche Indian country with so small a party. This man was
away when wc arrived, hunting for strayed horses, so wc camped
there to wait for him.

While there F and I rode to a house some way up the

river, to try and buy some milk and butter, and on our way
back, hearing some of our men bathing in the river, we thought
we would try their courage, so we galloped through the bushes
giving the Comanche war-whoop. On emerging on the bank,
Ave could see five or six naked figures going for cover at a
great rate, and I cannot say that they exactly blessed us when
they saw who wc were. Hearing that John, the cook, was the
only man in camp, we went into that in the same way and
very nearly got shot, finding John under the waggon with a
repeating rifle in his hands, aiming in our direction, and only
just seeing who we were in time to avoid firing.

I have forgotten to mention that mc had picked up another
man in San Antonio, whose name was Halliday. He had been
a miner in Montana, where he had made about jt;2000 ; -with

'Mi.

«■'■ i

I!)8

A KKAL l'llONTIi;UHiMAN.

I ?.

M li^ V

ill

thiN li(! 1111(1 a coinpaiiioii litid fitted out a sluvcr Cor IIk; WcmI
C.'oiiKt of Alricii, where he had heeii seized by a Hritisli eruiser,
his vciHsel heiiij^ coiKUuuiied and he; and his eruw turned
a<hirt. lie had worked iiis way back to New Orleans, and
fioni there to !San Antonio, where we enj;aj,'(;d him to look
after the horses, lie was oiu; of those nuni who were; always
sa\ in}5 what they would do if we met any Indians, havin}r j^ot
used to them, as he said, in Montana. How he really behaved
will be seen later on.

On the morniu}; after our arrival wo came out of the tent to
find, leaning on his ritic! by the cam[) fire, whieh he had made
up, the best-looking speeimen of a frontiersnuin I had yet seen.
He stood over six feet high in his moccasins, and was dressed
iu a buekskiu suit and a fur cap. His face was handsome and
he hail a short beard. On seeing us he came forward, and
said that he had heard that we Avanted a guide, and knowing
the country as far as Denver, he had come to oft'er himself in
that ea[)acity. He seemed just the man we wanted, and had
lived most ol' his life on the froutier, and had fought the
Comanehes and Kiowas. He had lately returned from a hunt
after strayed horses, during which he had been driven into
cover by u small i)arty of Indians, having to remain there over
twenty-four hours, when he managed to crawl through them at
night. These Southern Indians will never dismount to pursue
a man, having been brought up to consider their horses as
part of themselves, and always running away when he is shot.
We had nearly concluded our bargain with this man, when he
suddenly asked where the rest of the party was, and on hearing
that it was composed of the seven whom he saw, be declined
at once to go, saying that no smaller party than fifty men

[il It

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II-

II A8 AN ADVENTURE.

l'.)l)

could hope to get througii. lie reinuiiicd with us all day, hut
would not he toin[)t(;dj so we made up our minds to go on
alone, though none of us knew one yard of the country, lie
told U8 that wc might expect to see Indians any day, as they
fre(|nently came as far south as this, atul that a party had
heen killed near Fort Mason a few days before, Thi: turned
out to be only partially true.

We left the Jan Jaba the next morning, travelling over a
horribly rocky country and only making about sixteen miles.
That night we arranged the guards, each of us taking two
hours, and being seven wc got two nights off in the week.
The first man went on at eight and the last came off at six, the
first and last having an easy time of it, as we often did not
turn in till nine and were up by five.

The second night H had an adventure during his guard.

He was going round to see whether all the horses were right,
when he suddenly fell on something which seemed to heave up,
11 being thrown up in the air and coming down with con-
siderable force ; he then found that he had walked on to one of
his horses when asleep, and it had suddenly jumped up, making
him think there had been an earthquake. We found that some-
times the last man would have what seemed an extraordinary
long two-hours* watch, it being so long before daylight appeared,
and the sun seemed to rise later every morning ; and tliis, we
discovered, was owing to one of the men having always put on
the hands of th/) watch, which he was given when going on
guard, to shorten his own two hours.

As we got near Fort Mason the character of the country
changed, the dense brush giving way to mesquit grass with
numbers of small thorny mesquit trees scattered about it. This

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p;ias.s indiy-lookiiij; stull" — very wliort and <'urly, \mi it is woiidcr-
I'ully ruttfiiiiij^ for cattle and liorncM ; and we noticed one very
ciirions thin{; >vitli rc^'ard io it, which wu.s that if any of onr
animals were picketed so as to he ahh; to reach the nandy road
wtMvert! travelling; on, they would adways feed on the dusty j^rasn
heside it and on the little rid^'cs between the tracks. Anothor
thill}; wo noticed wius that whereas u[) to this tiiiic we had
noticed no rattlesnakes, >vc now found a ^reat many of them,
lyiiiK as a ruh; under the mescjuit hushes. This was the only
wood we could get^ unless we came to some small river, where
there w(;re other varieties, and fortunately it would burn eciually
well whether };rcen or dry.

On reaching Fort Mason we camped close to the oHicers*
<liiurters, and went to call on Captain Thomson, who was in
command, and were very hosjiitably welcomed. We found
that the news we had heard of the ('omanchcs bein^ in the
neighbourhood was correct, some men having come iu a few
days before, who had reported that when about a day's
journey from the post, bringing two cart-loads of supplies for
the sutler, they had been set upon by Indians and one of their
number captured, the remainder of them having nuuuiged to
escape into some bushes which happened to be near, and that
while lying there they had heard the agonized shrieks of their
companion, whom they afterwards found had been almost
entirely flayed alive. This story Captain Thomson confirmed,
as he had lately reiurncd from the scene of the fight, where
he had found and buried the body of the man referred to.

We heard here of a celebrated guide called " Big-foot
Wallace,^' but on going to see him we found that he also
would not risk himself with so small a party. This man had

,',1 !

f-foot

also

11 hud

(lOHSK-l'ICHTINd. 201

liv(;(l on the iVoiiticr Ht'rvinn jw j;ui(l«; to \\\v. inH)\)n, tuid it was
Naid that ho coidd niiuII an hidiaii at a distaMrc: ui' Hcvcral
mih's, hut wc had no opportunity of proving this. ThciT w«w
uo j;uid(; to he had here, ho wo (h'tcnuiiu'd to j^o on witliout
one', trustiii;; to a very had nuip and our coujpasscH ; so w(! h;ft
I'oi't Mason on the third chiy, the country ^rachudly chan^^iuf;
to open prairie, with (;hiinp;4 of tre(;s and hrush here and
there — capital ground for hunting had the seasoii not hcen
over.

At one of our midday hahs wc had a fj^nod (hal of fun —

inatehiu},' 11 \ horse; calh-d the; " llig " to li;,dit the stallion

of a suuill hand of scMui-wild horses, which w(!re hranded, hut
were still so wild that they had to he lassoed when reciuired.
We diseovcnid them fecdin{; ahout half u mile from our camp,
and the " Rig " noticing tiicm also, galloped to the end of
his roj)e and pulled up the picket-pin, when he joined the hand
and hegan making friends. The stallion, resenting the intrusion
of a stranger, attacked liim at once, and ait it they went,
rearing up and seizing (nie another with their teeth, and then
whirling round and kicking at one another, and this went on
for fully twenty minutes, and they were so earnestly engaged
that we walked up close to them without the stallions taking

any notice of us. By the end of this time, II 's horse,

finding that he was getting the worst of it, as the other was
a much more powerful animal, returned to camp looking very
crestfallen, l)ut not otherwise nnieli the worse for the light, his
antagonist i uving no shoes on.

Not wishing to kill game we lived now almost entirely on
stray cattle, which had escaped from the large herds which were
driven every spring over our present route to California.

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202

A RiFUArToiiY mui.k:

m

m.

M')ni(r of tliciii hud Ixtii dcMcrtud un hciii); tcio lutiic to ){o utiy
lurtlicr, mid liuviiig led ii solitary lift* for hoiiic iiioiitltM iiiuiiy
of thcni wuro Oi wild uh liufTiilo uiid iiiucii mori; tiurcc. K^—
hud n V(>ry cIono hIiuvo from oiu; which char^^cd hitii t'liriotiNly
UH h(! waH ^oin^ through moiiic hiiNhcn, thoiif^h a doMU ol' niiuiII
hhot cooled \\\s ardour very iiiiich.

When htiyin^ our new team of iiiuIcn wc liad retained our
Mnall pair in cane of u hrciikdown, or of very had t^oin^?, when
\V(! could put theui in front ; and one of thcNi*, when he found
ho WQM bcin^ worked a^ain after a long rest, hit upon u plnii
for avoidin(( tluN. When anyoin* of uh went for hitn in the
niorninj;, and was puUin;; up the pieket-pin aiul wiping the
mud off it, he w:)ul(l walk up and look on, a^ if waiting to be
led to camp; hut as you coiled up tlu; ro[i(! he would suddenly
Htart off at a gallop, pulling tin; rope out of your haiuls, and it
was of no umc to hold on, i\» he would then drag you along the
ground, tcnrlng your hands and clothes. When this had

happened severul times, and F and 1 and the men had

HuH'ered n conseciucncc, 11 , after laughing at us for otir

clumsiness, said that he would show us how it should he done,
80 he started for the mule tlie following morning, all of us
going with him to sec the fun. He l)egan hy petting the
mule a good deal and giving him some sugar, it heiug, he
assured us, u great thing to give the animal eontidence in you ;
and he tlicn proceeded to lead him to the pin, which he pulled
lip, and was winding up the rope, when away went the mule,

and in a few seconds away went II also, bounding over the

ground, his braces ])reaking and most of his clothes coming or
being torn oft*. We told hira that we did not notice much
difference in the result of his system and ours, and his ret^uired

IIIH ( IIIF..

203

u iu!W Nuit uf clollu'M cuuli tiiiiv, wlitreat ourN diil not. I tin
only niiNwcr wan n rcquuHt for Icavu to hIicm)! tlir niuir, l)Ut \w wim
too tiNci'iil, NO lit liiNt wc hit upon ti |iiiiii wliicli nin<i liiin lit
oiu'u. Tyiii^ l>i>* ropi! to tlu; Ntcin of ii Ntron){ iii(>N<|iiit liimli,
uliicli \\v. cut down on piirpoNC, we prrtcndcd to drive in tlio
pin ail UNual, and in tliu morning, on icein); it pulled up, oil
went tlu! mule, the rope tlirowiuf; hiui over Imckwiirds with
aUnottt force enough to hreuk hiet neck ; indeed for muuic minutcH
wu thought it hnd, hut he eventuidly got up niul wnK cured of
that triek for good.

On;; niorning when F , II-—, niul T were riding aliciid

of th(! wa^'gon, wo cninu on a party of HoldierM out on a
Mcout, and the lieutenant in eoniniand naid that although he
did not know any of uh, he did know the liorHc I was riding,
it heitig tlu! Sheridan horse, and that Ik; had been one of
Sheridan'N four aiden-de-eanip who had had to follow him
those twenty miles, all four having been left far behind, lie
said that he wuh out seouting from a post called " Huifalo
Spring," ^hieh was then in course of erec^tion, and whieh was
commanded by a Major Davis, an JiUglishnum by birth, and
was now on his way back, su we joiiu'd him and reached the
[lost that afternoon. The major received us most hospitably,
letting his smith shoe our horses and repair the waggon, the
awful country we had come over having broken a g(jo(l many
bolts.

lie told us that as yet they had seen no Indians, and thought
that the reports they had heard of them had been very much
exaggerated. Wc told him of the man who had been skinned
near Fort Mason j but this did not convince liim that there was
much danger, as there were ahvays one or more small bands of

» . ,

204

A I'Ll/NUKUKU WAUUUN.

W

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liuliniiH in tlu* roiintry lioriti'-Htrnliii((. Ilc! miid tlint he uiwny*
hiul itiniuitcil tr(io|><irN rouiicl t\iv liontc Ixuul, anil yet nontc
inmitliN nttiruurili wo lit'iird tliiit t\w ConiunclicH liiid run oil'
tivvry hciul from tlir pout without loning u luuUj and not u
Nin^lc iininuil wan recovered.

From Hntl'ulo SpringN our eounte wuh ulnioNt due north, our
next rcHtinK-pliuT Ikmii^ l*'(>rt llrlknup, ii diMtnnro of about u
hundred und forty inileM. We ^ot all tlu; dirttctionH W(< coidd
from tlu; ^iiidcH uttaclud to the |K>it, not one uf them
thinking; we nIiouIiI y^rt through ; und tliry told un to look out
for wood roads, which, an Mel knap wan un old post and wood
was learce neur it, extended for thirty milcM or more round it.
Wo should, they unid, pniiM the deHi^rted poMtn — " Phantom
Hill " and "Canip Cooper" — which would serve to show uh
that we were in the rij;ht direction.

Nothing; of any conHC(|Ucnc(; hap|)cncd for .'tonic days ; the
country was alternately prairie and wooded, and };ann' was fairly
plentiful, ami we were obliged to kill a few deer for food, uh
we did not find any cattle. About the fifth day we came acrosM
a phmdcrcd wnfy^jon and broken boxes lying round it ; but there;
were no signs of a struggle having taker place, so we sup[)osed
that the mvn must have escaped. There ....d been rain lately,
eonse(HU'ntly all tracks had been washed out, so there was no
way of telling bow long ago it bad happened. In one of the
boxes we found soini! corn meal ami part of a jar of syrup,
which the Indians had probably left fearing poison, as it was a
common thing in those days to poison any food which bud to be
abandoned. We tried them, and as they seemed all right we
uj)[)r()priatcd them.

The same evening we reached an abandoned post, which,

puitNirri) nr isntAKi.

205

from itN poftitioti tiiulcr a U^U cUi\\ wv coiirliulcd wan I'lmntom
Hill, M it litul a »ory Klumtly ap|M*Arniioc, (>H|»t<(>inlly nt niKlit.
It wnN IX \\cn\\t\(\i\ mooiili(;)it tuuht, and cvi^rywlicro ('Uc it wnn
uliiiott UM li^lit UN iliiy, hilt iicrr the flill' threw n iltirk Hhii(l(i\r
over the |H>Mt, which, with itM empty door uiiii wiiidow-friimeM
niid itN iallcii-iit roof, hxtkrd hh if it iiii^ht well lie the uh<Hh> of
^hoNtH. A hriiit(*h of the Hru/.ns lliver run ehine to it, uiid hero
we euinped, thihkiiix that we were near eiiou}{h now to iK'giii
tho hunt for the wood rondu runninK into Helknnp nnd intnndinf^
to remain Nomn dnyw und do no.

On th«? morninj; ut't(«r onr urrivnl, P— ^, H— , nnd T rode
otr in difTerent direetiotm, I K<>>iiK north-euNt, roMowinff for
Rome tniUiH th(! Hiii/on Ilivi^r. For Neveral honnt [ nuw nothinji^
hnt Nome tiirkeyn and antehipe, and had (>uten my dinner and
Ntarted aji^ain, riding ahni;; a h)W hlnil', ahont two hundred
ynrdd from thf river, when I heard u nhont, and looking; into
the hottom I saw a party of seven Indianii, evidently ramped
for a meal on the hank, an their horscM were tied near them.
From the rush which they made to their horses I knew that they
wonid very soon hv. after nn*, and that I had no time to lose if
1 wished to save my hair. I was riding' a Vi^ry slow grey pony,
but I put the spurs into him and got him along at a pace
which he had never before equalled, 1 am sure, and was about
half a mile from the bluff, when I saw the Indians ride up on
to it. There was no cover of any kind to hide mc, so they
were after me at once, urging their horses along with yells and
blows. ■ The ground was very rough, and at any other time I
should hav(! hesitated to go over it at a trot, but I clattered
over it now at full speed, the stones flying in all directions j but
I 800U found that it was of no use trying to ride away from

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20(1

SllOOr AN IVDIAN S IIOUSK AND r,S(AI'i:.

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tlicrn — ilu:ir horses l)cin^ l'',nJ^<'i' ;i'i<l Ixitfcr tluiii mine, so on
rorniti;^ to u liir;^(! rock I jumped oil' und dropped heliiiid it,
on wliieli t.liey stoppcul, In^iti;^ now ;il)ont :i linndred Jind liCty
y.'inls fVoiri m(!. One of l.liem w.'is alie;id of IIk; others, ;in(|
stood fiieiti;^' me on a t;dl hay hoi'se, sf) I fired at his ehesf,
nsjnj^ a, tvvelve-hore jlonhh; rifle and a Metf'ord shelh I
suppose th(^ horse must ha.\(: raised his h(:a<l for, as I ascer-
tained aCtcTwards, I liit liim in the iic(;k, rnakin;^ a hM;^e hoh;
in if, on which he n^ared and fell sideways on his rider, and as
he fell I fired a;i;ain at !i, scieond man, hnt missed him, the
whole f)f them m.ikin;; oil' at once, not even stoppin;^ to hel|)
the man whose horse lay t)n him, and who was some moments
in <;\trieatinf^ himself. I (;onld v(!ry easily have shot him in
th(; hack as In; limped off, hnt it seemed to he so like; murder
that I could not do it, so let him {^o, merely shoutin;^ to hurry
him a little. I at once started for cam|), as tlK^re mi;^ht he
mor(; Indians in the nei;^hhourhood, and loiuid all sale on

my arri\al. I'' had come in, havin;^ found no road hnt

plenty of fresh Indian si^ti ; and If , ahout whom we he^aii

to he anxious, returrnid late — having lost his way, hut hap|)cninj^
to strike the river had followed it to camp.

As this cf)untry was too full of Indians wc started the next
morniri'^, the road consistinj^ of a mass of stones, and came to a
secf)nd deserted post, not more than two miles from the f)th(;r;
ami this wc supposed was Camp ('ooper, so that wc were ^oin;^
ri^lit so far. \V(; ou;:,ht to have; found })uffalo here, hut they
sc(!mcd to have; hccai all driven away, which was a had si^ni ;
dc'cr, too, were very scarce;, so that wc were short of trmat ami
had to kill (juail for food.

Wc eanic one (^vcninj^ to a, small miuldy stream, which wc

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DlFFICUI/l ('OUNTllY.

209

hesitated about erossiii}? as it was late and tlu; mules were fired,
so we camped on the near sicU'. Duriii-; the iii^lit a storm
eame up aiul the heavy rain hasted till moriiiu<^, by whieh time
the stream '-as impassable, keeping us tiiere for three days, and
<,Mvinf^ us a pfood lesson — always to cross a stream and camp on
the fnrtlicr side when arriving: on the banks oC one at ni<jfiit, as
the storms are so violent and sudden in the south, whic^h
cause the streams to swell very rapidly. From this |)oint we
had a vcny unpleasant tinu' M' it, there seeminj;- to be no end to
the streams, almost all haviu'j muddy bottoms and rccpiiring
bridges to ])e made over them; and in a distance of forty
miles ne must have made cpiite seventy of these, sometimes
not advancing a inile in twenty-four hours, and in one case
being four days in crossing one stream. This one had banks
about thirty feet high and a very bad crossing, and we liad to
cut down about sixty trees to make the bridge Avith. When
this was ready, and a road, though a very steep one, cut down to
it, wc unloaded the waggon, took oft' the leading nudes and
led them across so as to have them ready to pull it up the
opposite side ; then we tied ropes to the back of the waggon
and passed them ro- nd trees, two men. holding on to each,
chained both hind wheels, and then the driver went forward
riding the near mule. For some yards all went well, when
suddenly botii I'opes broke at the same moment, and away went
tlic wliole thing. We were afraid to look over and see what
liad happened, till a shout came from IjcIoav, when w^e found
that the driver, hearing the ropes snap, had at once ])ut in the
spurSj and had hmdcd his mules on the bridge; in two desperate
leaps, both of them coming down, but luckily there was no
damage done to either mules or waggon.

'0

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;>10

MOSQUITO KS.

Tho in()S(|uit()rH won; u "^rciit miisfuico wliilc we were ron-
struct,iii<j,- tli('s(! l)ii(l;;;('s, jis tlicy wvn) in millions, nii;kiii^ life; a
l)iir<l('ii, iiiid driving:; our ]ior.s(>s and nudes nearly mad. We often
said we would never return to Texas ; ami yet wo luul no sooner
left it than we wanted to '^o back, as there was so much to
make up lor the lew drawbacks. ^M'ter this the eonntry beeame
more o|)en ami the str{>ams fewer, water beinj^ sonuitimcs liard
to find; but (juite by (ilianec* we hit on a wood road whieli took
IIS into Fort IJelknap,

I'OllT UliliKNAl'.

211

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CIIAFI'HR XVI.

Kurt Hi'lKiifi]). — hiifTiili) (luncc l)y 'roiiKiiway^. — .\-s;i-Iiii-l)i\ We ii<rri't' to
liis CDiuiiifr with ih. His suspicioin (■(Piuliict. lie Iciivfs us l)_v iii;,'lit. —
Wn turn bade. — Appctiraiicc of ludiiuis. — .\-hii-1iii-1m' coiiu's ti> prii|Mtst«
tt-riiH. 'I'lit'v iiiv rrji'(!tt'il. -'rii(( (IiiiiiiiiiclH's uttiicK- IIS.- W'l. still move
on. — We kill iiiul sculp nil Iiidiiiii. .\ rt'inroiciMiiiiil of liidiaus. — Dowii-
fiill of .\-.'<a-lia-l)('. Arrival of tlin-t' ('adilo Indian scowls. We st.'nd
one of Ihtiui fill' help. Ill) i.i ]Hii'sii(jd, Init escapes. — Oiir casinilties. —
llalliday s coiiiaiio. — .\nival of troops, — Wo reach Kort Arbiiekle.

At Fort IJclkiiap avo fbiiiid Ibiir companies of cavalry, uuder
the eonimand of (jrcneral Sturgess ; and here we remained
several days, and were allowed to rei)lenish our stores from
the commissariat. At the Post were a number of Tonkaway
Indians, sonu; of them heing employed as scouts j they were
the remnant of a tribe whicdi had been very much thinned by
sm.all-pox, and the day alter our arrival they sent us an invi-
tation to a buffalo dance, Avhich is a ceremony to insure success
in hunting. On going to their camp we found about sixty
Indians collected, besides twice that number of women and
children, and the festivities commenced with a talk, in which

they said they had heard that we came from the land of the

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.■21:2 lUi'iAi.o DANCt: nv tonkaways.

" Great ^Vllitc Qucon/' nnd that wo were very weleomc to tlicir
eoiiiitry, all in it bciiij,' at our service, and then liintiii<; that
unythiiij; coining,' From uh woiihl he very iniieh valued : on
wliieli we said a few words throuj,Hi an iutcM'preter of the
pleasure it ^iwv. us to se(! a trihe of which \\v. had Iieard so
nnu'h ; that we thaidvcd them for their welcome, and hoped
they would necejjt some tobacco and heads, which we handed
round.

After this the dance began — two old Indians playing- on
the " torn toni/' and chanting; a very hideous aceompaninuuit.
The men and wonu-n dani'ed together — a thing I had ne\er
se( n before among Indians — forming a circle, and going
thi'ough souw. shnllling steps, re])eating .i prayer to the (ireat
Spirit for success in their next liunt, and for protection against
tlicir enemies the Comanches. This was kept up for about
an hour, some sitting down and others taking their places,
(!ven the elder ehihh'cn joining in. We were asked to take
\)art in the dance, but the partners were not sulHcicntly tempt-
ing, so we contented ourselves witli looking on. One ohl
fellow whom 1 sat near had a r.ccklace made of the fingcr-
and toe-joints of a Comanche he had killed some years before j
and he was evidently very proud of it, refusing to sell it to
me, though 1 ollcrcd what to liim was a long price. Killing
a Comanche seemed a very rare event, for they had divided
the man amongst them — one having the scalp, another the
ears, which he had dried and hung round his neck.

These Indians never trust themselves far from a fort, except
Avlicn acting as scouts, dreading the Comanches and being-
despised by them. We tried to get one of them to act as our
guide, but no oiler would tempt them when they heard that wc

to tlirir
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I" of the
heard so
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to take

y tcnipt-

One old

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ell it to

Killing

divided

tlicr the

t, except

id being

ct as our

that we

m

.-'!Vi;

A-SA-IIA-I»K.

'2)l\

were only seven in nund)(«r. One of the soldiers told us that
there was a Conumchc ('hi(>r ;it the I'ost who lui'dit "o with
lis. lie had, it seemed, (piarrellcd with his brother " (liu'cn-
a-ha-be," the; war chief ol" the (Jonumches, and had to le.ive
the trib(^ in eonscMiuenee. We sent lor him, and found him
to be an immense nuin, standing six feet four and broad in
proportion, with a very ill-tempered and treaeherous face, the
hair growing elose down to tlu- eyebrows, lie seemed very
willing to go, saying that he knew the eouuLry well nearly to
Denver, and should we meet any of his tribe he '' ought that
he could protect us from them, and that he would fight for
us if necessary. It was at last agreed that we should take
him, and he was to receive on our getting through safely two
horses, a ritle and ammunition for it, a rcvoher, and twenty-
five dollars in money. At first he wished payment in advance ;
but this we positively refused, giving him a \mv of blankets
and some ammunition only. We left 13elkna[) on the eightli
day, and our next point was old Fort Col)b — a deserted post,
about a hundred and forty miles further on.

As wc had now one more man it made the guards at night
much easier, each of us getting three clear nights in bed. It
took some time to make A-sa-ha-be understand how long he
was to remain on guard ; but he soon got into it, and used to
measure his two hours j)retty correctly. We had been out
about six days when one of the men told us that he had gone
out of the tent deling A-sa-ha-be^s guard, and had found him
rbsent, so we spoke to him about it, when he replied that
having seen some sus])icious sign that day, he had gone during
his guard to see what it meant. Now this was highly impro-
bable; for as the nights were very ilark just then, he could

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THK.ACIII'.llors milAVIOlMl OF A-SA-II A-HK

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not possibly follow u tmil, nor wotild ho Imvc had tiim; to };o
very fur duriii;,' his two-hour watch. So wo told him that wo
allo\v(>d no one; to leave th(» eainp during tlic; nif^ht, and that
ho must do his seoutiii*^ in tlu; daytime, whe>i oiu; of us would
ff() \\\i]\ him.

Wo had mistrjisted liim from the first, and now were almost
Hurc that ho meant to l)(;tray us ; hut it was nearly impossihlo
to fi;et proof, or wo would have shot him at onco. As lie only
know a fow words of l']n«^lish, it was diHieult to (jxplain any-
thiuf^ to him, the only other means heinj^ by signs, which jjo
was wonderfully (j.iu^k at und(;r.-ttandin;^.

Thiufifs went smoothly for two days, wIumi one ni^^lit K ,

who was on f^uard, wok(^ nu; to say that A-sa-ha-ho had
just left the wa^j^on, imkUu' which he slept, and had {^onc
towards his horse.

(lettinfjj my rifU;, F and I followed him very cautiously,

keeping uiuler the shelter of some bushes whieli grew roimd
camp, and we saw him go to his hf)rsc, put on tin; saddle, and
prepare to mount. \\v, then ran forwaid aiul called to him to
stop, on which he sp'-uig on the lu)i\s(; and rode oil" at full
speed. Heing convinced th(>n that he meant treachery, we botii
fired at him ; but the night M^as dark, and avo missed him. Tlu;
shots roused tlic men, and we held a consultation as to the
best thing to do. To turn back was wliat \vc tliought wisest;
but this neither of ns proposed, lioping that some otlier plan
might be devised. If. we had been travelling with pack-animals
we eonld liave ]^i;shcd on qnickly, having ])robal)ly a good
many liours' start ; bnt with a Avaggon this was of no use — four
miles an hour being as much as wc could manage. In any
case wc had to move at once to a better positi« n, as our present

it'

• 4 !

AI'PKAIIANCK 01' INIMANH.

5.m:i

Th

111 to

full
both

10

[) the
s(!st ;
plan
Dials
good
four
1 any
cscnt

cntnp wuH on a flat [naiti covered with liUMhes, (itVurilin;; ('a[iital
cover to IiuliunN creeping; up to fire ut um ; mo uc hitched up at
once and moved on to a ridge, ahoiit a mile liirther on, wliert;
we remained till morning, carrying np water in (!very vessel
that would hold it, in caMC the IndianH should eonu; sooner
than wo expected.

Morning eamc, and no sign of tlu; Indians; so wo had
another talk, and all the men licing tor an immediato return
to Fort Arhuckic, wo were at last compelled to agree to it ; so
wo put the mules in and started about eight o'clock. Wd cal-
culated that wo wore about soventy-five miles IVoiii the Post,
and that, unless liindcnd by tin; Comanches, we could do it in
two days and a half, throwing away some; of our load if neces-
sary. About ton o'clock F , who was acting r(>ar-guard,

called to ns that they were coming ; and on looking back we
saw about forty Indiana on some high ground to our right.
\Vc kept on as fast as wo could go, pulling up when on a bare
hill a short distance further on, as it was a good place lor a
light if wo wore to liave one. We had nine Winchester repeat-
ing-rirtcs with us and three thousand rounds of aiiininnition
for thom, having bought five hundred rounds jier man in case
wo had any fighting ; the!i we had four double rifles and
several hundred rounds of ammunition for them ; and, lastly,
wc had a double eight-bore duck-gun, Mhich loaded with about
two ounces of buckshot i»i each barrel would be ^rand at close
quarters.

The Indians gallojied up to within two hinidred yar^.s of us,
when we waved them back, A-sa-ha-be advancing alone, witli
a branch in Ids hand as a flag of truce. On his arrival at the
waggon he dismounted and calmly seated himrself, made signs

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A-H\-IIA-I»K IMUIPOMKH TKUMH.

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that \vr nIkimIiI do the huimc i|UiI( v>\t\\ llic air oC a Niiprrior
addrcHxinj; his interiors. Wr, howtM'i*, «<at d«)>vii, A-sa-ha-hr
l)r^iimiii^ thr talk Ity saying that he had luM hcliau'd ir , Iml
that tiiidiiii; ^i'^iiN of a party of his tribe hiMii;; near us, \\v had
ri(hh'ii away in the iii;;ht tn find out their iiitcittioiis and to ih)
the lie»t he enidd lor uh, and this he was still willing to do, in
spite ol' our having' tired at hiui. Me said that he iiad I'onnd
about forty of his tribe eauipeil a few miles away, and that he
had made the l»»"sl possible terms for us, which were as j'ol-
hiws : — That \\v should ^iive up our wajj;;<)U and ontlit, all
hordes but one apiece, and that then we should be ^'iveii a ritle
to kill ;;auu' with, and he allowed to return to I'ot't Arbuckle,
or j;o in any direction we wished. Now there was not the;
smallest doubt that if we did as he wished we should all be
(had nu-n within the hour, as Indians never spare auyoiu* who
is in their power, as they thought we wi're ; so we ri'plied at
once that we should ^i\c up nolhiuji', but that as the country
we wcri' in bchnijicd to bis tiibc, we were willing to purchaso
permission to pass throujib it at a moderate price. A-sa-hu-be
answered that the terms he had nuutioned were the only ones
wliieli woidd be accei)tc<l, and put on a very insolent air us he
said it ; so ue told him \\v woidd jjive Inm two minutes to leave
our camp, i.nd that if he was not }^onc by that tinu; wc would
shoot him, and would not miss him a second tinu>, and that if
his tribe wanted our outfit, tluy must come and take it, but
that so lonj; as wi' had a cartridge left they should have
nothinj;. lie jumped up in a furious rage, waited till wc had
fimshcd s])eaking, and then mounted and rode oil", shaking his
fist at us ; and avc could sec that on rejoining his comj)anions
he was making the most of Avhat wc had said, to rouse them,

iiftnl

TIIK COMANriirs NTTNrK IJM.

217

UN olli('i'wiH(> Inrty liuliatis ini^lit licHitutc to iittuck itix well*
aniu'd white nicii. I am M|i(<akin;( of twriity yvurn u^^o, ulirii
it rillf was very »rl(lntii hitii in an liMliaii's liaiiiU, uiwl wlirn
the li'w tlu'y had were of a very ol«l |iatt<rn, atul thr supply of*
aiiiiiniiiitioii lot* tlioN(> wuh Mcuntv.

III tlic iMcaiitiinc we startnl ti^'aiii, throwiii;; out oC tlio
ua^Tf^oM Ncvcrul Macks of lloiir to li;;ht('M the loud, the liidiaiiN
I'cinaiitiii^ whi;iv they wore lor nearly an hour, two niciu
Nrii(i;erH liein;; sent away nt rnll speed, we feared lor reinf'orcr-
nuMits. Ahoiit one o'eloek, when s\v. wvrv thinking ol lialliii<;
to rest the animals, the Indians appeared a;;ain, eonun); at u
)i;all()p and, passing ns at a distance of ahont font hundred
yunU, tired as they passed, and several liuiis eaine unpleasantly
near, oiu; of tliein p'in^ throu<;h tin; side ol' the wa^^<ni. On
this Nve ^avc thiin three or four \olleys from the Winchesters,
the result l)ein<; tin; wounding ol' a horse, whi(;h bolted, and
was only stopped after f^oinjj: ahout a mile, when the ridc.'r dis-
mounted and ;;'ot up hehiiid one of his eompanions. This
seemed to show them tin; riin*^c ot" our rifles and the rapidity
with whieli tluiy could la* fired (a Winchester rille firing its
fourteen eartridj^es in l(;ss than as many seconds if in {food
haiuls), and for some hours they continitcd themselves with
keeping' us in sij^ht. W(.' drov(! on till nei"'ly dark, lillinj;
buckets and kettles at a ])on(l we passed and watcrinji' all the
animals, so that we mi^ht camp in the middle ol' a [jrairie,
where there was no cover of an' kind to hidi' a crawlinj^ man.
Here we had supper, and arranj^ed that one half should keep
guard while the other half slept.

The Indians let us know that they were near by firing now
and then, the bullets going far overhead, but they did not try

\-

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18

\VK nvXhV AN INDUN.

Ill

11

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to nttuck iiM, nnil nt «lavliK)iti nftcr » vrry lin»«ty IticakruMt, wn
wrro ofT a^fiiin. \Vi> liittl a iiiiiiil>i>r of crrt'kit to (tohh that
finy, mill alwayM roilo (ilicail to tiiiil out wlictluT tliry wrrr
lyiii^ in wait for iih, hut itaw tiothiii;; of thu CotiiaiichrH,
rxcc'pt in the (llNtaiico, till we vnuw to u Nlrcaiii having very
limvy timhor nnd hu»hc'H on hoth hniikn, whni F— ^, 11^—,
nn<l r rr)()n ulon^;, ahoiit ii hiiiKJi'cil yanU from thr titnher,
p>iii^ at fiijl Mprcii, and lyin^f, Iiiclian t'liHJiiiiM, on the mIiIc of
our liorscM, liaviti^ unc dhow in u iioo<«(> I'lniiul tho Iioi'mc'h
neck and one foot on tho naddlc, and W(^ had not ^;(HI(! ntoro
than a few hnndrcd vanls wImmi five i»r nIx idiotN wen; lircd at
UN, all of till in iiniuir wide. \\v iinnirdiatcly tiiriicd and r^n\l)
in For the; crrck, licariii;; thr IndiuiiH niakiii<; thrirway thr(iii<;h
tiiu hiiNliCH hilt N(>c'ing nonu of tluni ; till our, tliinkin;; lir wa.s
ronccalrd, canir out on tho opposito Nidc and ran alon^ in the
oprii, liiadiii^ as he went. Wo all jiiniprd oil' and waited till
\w. pasNi'd lui open spacir, when we lired tuj^rther, and over lie
went, sreniin;; lo die at oneo.

We now hei'koned to tlie wa<r;jun and j^ot it arross, not far
from Avliere the Indian lay, and on goin;; to hoo how lie had
heen killril, wv found that a hiillct had paNsed thr()u<;li the
shouldrr and a no. l.'i Metford shell had hurst low down in
his hack, niakiiij;- a hole almost as laryi; as tlu; crown of
a hat, and nearly enttin;; him in two. We had all said that
if wo shot an Indian and could •ivt at tin; hody we would
8eal|) him and think nothing' of it; hiit when th(> time came
to do it, each one triv'il to j;et out of it, till the driver of our
Avagf^on came up and, asking why we made such a fuss ahout
such a tride, took it off at once, removing meiely the scalp-
h)ck and the skin under it, about the size of, and in the same
position as, the tonsure of a [)riest.

TIIK INDIANN KKINFOKi Kl). 210

Wlu'ii hiilituu |i»v(« jiliiity of tiiii(>, iUvy like to tiikc llio
>viH»lu Nkiii of tlu* lirnii, hi>i{iiiiiiii(( hrliiiiil, tikiiiiiiii(; the licml
ntid tlir w)ioli> (aw, iiicluiliii^ tlin mm; ami tlir <«ral|» wlicii
fliiiH tiikni iirctciitH n j;liu<«tly ii|i|iiMiniii<'(> when Mtrctclicd.
Soon ril'trr nc \v\\ the? Hfrr.uii wo ciMild lunir tlir liMliunn
lio\vliii(( over th(* Ixuly of tlir iimii wv liiiil ii('ul|ic(l, mid tlicy
canii' l)y n few iiiiiiiitcM later, ycllitij; their war-uli(io|i, and
plaein)( tlieir etoted (IntH n^^aitiMt tlieir l'or(>ltuadN and then
oponiii^ and Nhuttiii)^ them, Nvhieh iiieatis " war to the kiiifu."
\n they passed \\v fln-d a ^ood many nhotst, and tlin'c; hornci*
went down, their riders );ettin^ had lalls, thon;;h it was iinp*m«
nihle to tell uhetlur any of them wvvv hit, an uhen a man \\m
fallen and seems hnrt, two of them will at once ^ndlop hy
him, onu on ritlirr side, reaching down and eatehin^ a limb,
when they swin;; him on to the saddle in front uf oiiu of them
and ride oil'.

TIk! scalping of their companion had cNidently nuuh; them
franti", as it is tin ir Ix lief that a sealped warrior has to act an
servant to the others in the happy huntin;i;-;;ronnds ; and they,
in eonsecpienee, came mneli nearer, several times <;atherin;; an
if for a rush, and then };ivin({ up the; idea on our firing a volley
at them. Towards evcninj^ a lar^(! party of Indians su(ld(!nly
appeared and joiniul the others, making their numher Uf) to
about two hundred. Thev all met and had a sloU considta-
tion, w(! in the nuantinu; eampinj;, as we were in a eapital
l)laee to receive them — a clump of tind)er stanilin;;; on a riso
about two hundred yards from a stream, ami there was no
other cover near but a few small bushes, which we at onco
cut down. We drove the wajij^on in ainoii}; the trees, and all
set to work to cut down some of the smallest of these to make
a breastwork.

w

220

DOWNFAM, OF A-S A-FI A-Hi:.

if .

II . I

Our .stopping sccniod to disconcert them, us tlicy did not
cMvc to attack a fortified position; so tlipy he^jjan to taunt us,
and made insulting' {gestures, and fired a number of sliots, one
of Avliidi killed one of the mules, the poor l)rute bcin;:; hit
tlir()u;;h tl>c stomach, so we had to shoot him. Wc had a very
([uict ni}ilit, and weiv off l)y daybreak, keepinj,^ as much as
possible in open j^rcmnd, even when wc had to make a detour
to do so. AVe calculated that we must have {U)ne nearly half
the distance, and as yet no one was hurt, our loss bcinj? one
nude; and as we put a horse in his place, this did nc nuich
matter.

That day the Indians Mere bol(l(>r than ever, comin}>- within
two hundred yards, and losinji' live horses during' the day,
besides one man, whom we were sure of, as wc shot uim a,s he
ran away when his horse was killed. We had oll'crcd a reward
of fifty dollars to our men if they could shoot A-sa-ha-bc ; but
he would not come within range, galloping by on a fine black
stallion at a distance of five or six hundred yards. That day,
however, he suddenly turned his horse, and lying over so that
■wc could see only one elbow and a Fool, he passed within two
hundred yards, firing as he did so. Wc all ran forward as he
came near, and, kneeling down, gave him a volley, the black
horse being killed almost instantly, and turning a sunnncr-
sault, giving h's rider so rough a tumble that he lay
•where he fell, and we made a rush for the bod3\ The Indians,
however, scing their chief in such danger, closed in from all
sides ; and as we dared not risk a hand-to-hand fight we had
to retreat, but avc did so firing as we went, and four more
horses fell, causing great confusion, some of the men whose
horses were shot crawling aAvay, as they did not dare to rise

Aiiiiiv\ri OF TiiiiKK c.vnno scouts.

0.>1

fm *v X.

ami run. The Indians drew oft', and wo were left in peace for
some lionrs, when abont three in tlie afternoon wc saw them
all galloping to one point, apparently in chase of something ;
and in a few minntes later wc made ont, with the glasses, three
men making straight for us at full speed, closely followed by
the Comanehes, On their reaching us, we found them to be
three Caddo Indians, speaking English very fairly, and they
told us that, being on a hunt from Fort Arbuekle and hearing
the firing, they had (somu to see what it meant, and finding
that it was their enemies the Comanehes, and knowing from
our waggon that wo must be whites, they had ridden through
to see if they could help us in any way. We camped at once
and held a consultation, and it was at length decided that one
of them should take '' Polly,'' and try to get through the
Coraanchos and bring us help from Arhuckle.

The distance was, they thought, eleven miles, and the only
(picstion was, could the mare do it ? The Caddos were all of
them small men and very light, but some of the Comanehes
seemed well mounted, though A-sa-ha-be's stallion — the animal
we most feared — was now dead. Wc promised a very large
reward should help arrive in tinu', and all three of the Caddos
were willing to go, so we fihose the one who seemed the
lightest.

lie prepared himself by taking oil' everything but a shirt, a
breech-clout, and moccasins; and, provided with a raw-hide
whip and holding a green branch in his right hand, he started,
riding slowly, so as to give the Comanehes time to collect at
one point. This wc saw them doing, thinking, no doubt, that
he was commissioned to treat for peace. On getting to what
seemed to us to be about a hundred yards, he threw away the

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WK SKNI) FOR HKLV.

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l)Ou^^li and struck o(T to tlin left, and \V(.' (;oiil(l set; tliat lio Iiad
passed tluMii; hut so luiar, that (svery inomoiit \v(; {!X|i('ct('(l to
SCO th(! marc fall, struck hy oiu; of th(! hullcts which were hciii^-
fired at her. A few seconds after this, the (^)niaMchcs shut
him out from us, and an anxious tinu5 hcjjjan. \Vouhl he
succeed in distaneiuj;' tlu'in, and could the marc hold out, thin
as she was, and havinj;' liad nothinj'* hut <i;rass for so lon^?

We hitched up and went on again, all the Indians Ijcing out
of si<^ht, and must have made tlireo miles, when \\c saw sonu?
of them cominj;- hack, the slow pace at which they eame making-
us ft!el sure that our messenger had got thnjugh, ami very soon
they were all ccdlected together, apparently consulting, ahont
half a mile from us. AVc; kncM' that they would now do their
hest to get us, as they could pretty mcII calculate how long it
would he hel'ore the arrival of the troops; so we made all
preparations for a rush, loading every weapon we had and
laying ammunitiou handy.

The country here was alteiiiatt^ly wood and small prairies
the former l)eing o])cii and not alTording much cover, and
we were jjassing round one of these small Moods when the
Comanehes made a rusli at us, coming on in a douhle line
aud yelling their war-whoop. Our men were excited and (ircd
wildly, not a man dropping, till they were within ahout a
hundred yards of us, when the horses fell fast and the ]mlians
wavered. Our magazines were empty, hut just at this moment
the cook gave them six ounces of huekshot, which, as thev
were pretty close togetlicr, told well on the horses, many
becoming (juite unmanageable, and the Avhole party turned
and galloped off into the timber, leaving seven horses and two
men on the ground. As they o|)ened f' upon us from cover.

»

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wc turned and drove for some thick bushes on our left, losinj^
another mule and two horses h(;foro reacliinf^ them, one of the
hitter being my bay horse. He was wounded in the sulv:, and
breaking the rope with whieh he was fastened to the waggon, he
gaHoped olf, falling after going a few hundred yards.

Our casualties were as follows : — One of the Caddos hud a
groove cut in liis left arm by a bullet, and the oth(>r was hit
in the left arm below the elbow, but the arm was not broken.
One of tlie men was very slightly wounded in the calf of tlie
leg ; anotlier (Brown) got a bullet through the side, six inches
above the hip, and altliough we did all we could for him, and
laid him in the waggon, lie died jusi as we got into Arbuckle,
and everything in the waggon was saturated with blood.

F got an arrow in the back, but not making a serioui

wound ; and I got a bullet in the right shoulder, which Y

that, evening cut out with a razor, and an arrow under ihe
knee.

But to return : we soon got out of shot of where the Indians
had posted themselves, and they seemed to liaA'c had a lesson

and left us alone. We now put one of F 's ponies and the

Sheridan horse in harness, and got on slowly, the going being
very bad. The country, too, began to be more heavily wooded,
so that it was ditlicult to keep a straight course. Our two
Caddos had behaved bravely in the fight, standing well out in
front, and using their Spencer carbines with great effect, and
they were now very useful in showing us the road to the fort.
AVhen within about four miles of it they left, riding to meet
the soldiers, to show them where we were ; and shortly after-
wards we decided to camp, so we drove in among some scat-
tered trees and began to make a barricade, when it suddenly

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IIAIJ.IDAY H (;0IIIIA(!K.

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occurred to lis tliiit \vc were ii iiiiiii short, Hulliday Imvinjij «lis-
appcvired. It seemed iin|)ossil)lo tliiit lie could have hiioii U'.t't
Ix'hind without our knowing it, and \V(^ were oii tlie ;ioit.t of
tryiui;" to rich* back to the spot where the riisli liad been uKuh',
when the cook, who was standing at the back ol' the wajjjj^on,
beckoned to mo, and on ^oiiig up and h)okiu<; into the waggon
I saw a pair of boots, with the soK;s towards uie, standing upon
their toes — an iin|)ossibU' position For boots whieli had not
feet in them; and the same thought occurring to each ot" us,
we siuhh'idy caught hold of a foot each, and pulled llalliday —
all covered with Hour — from under some sacks, bedding, &c.,
jerking him over tlu^ tail-board of the waggon and letting
him fall on tlie ground. lie at once shaUimed ill, calling us
inhuman w retches for treating a sick man in that way ; but
a look at him was enough to let us know what his illness was
— the man was simply shaking with fear. It came out now
that he must bavc^ been there some time, no one having seen
him mIicu the rush took place, and the other men said that he
had been of no use all through, giving out that he felt very
unwell. AVe made him work at the barricade, and it was
Mondcrful how soon his illness ])asscd off.

About six o'clock p.m. two companies of cavalry rode up,
the Indians still remaining within sight, as they knew that the
cavalry horses could not catch them; for these large eastern
horses wlien sent west and living on grass and lialf rations
of corn, beside being constantly on scout duty, where they
luirdly get any, soon fall away to nothing and can hardly
carrv themselves. About two hours' travelling took us into
the Post, where we arrived nearly worn out, having been
fighting for three days, with very little food and less sleep.

Ill

VVK IIKACII lOKT AUHICKLE.

■•U'l

Tlin yotiiij^ C^uldo ntiinicd with tlu; troopH, l)iit U'ft tlu* iiiiiic
lit till" I'ost, as sIk! well dcMcrvcd u nst. tSlu; liud hiliuvcd
splcnditlly, Imviiig run away i'l'oni the ('oinuiicht's in the
fiiNt two or thrt'O iiiilcs ; so that most of thi-m hud tiinied
hiuik, and only thivc or lour hud lollowcd nearly to the
fort.

i

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»at he

very

was

c up,
at the
astern
fations
they
lardly
s into
heen
sleep.

tllK CADDO INDIANS.

I' ']

^■■1

:.* .

CILU-rKR XVII.

Tho Ciitldo riulianM.— Story of tliiiir chii-l" tiiul lln> ('onmncln's.--^An iiisnliMil
MiK'lismilli. His |iuiiisliiii('iit. — Our ciiiii]) lirnl into. — hiscnvrrv oi' tins
ciilpi'its, 'I'iii'ir piinisliMiciit. — Lrivvf l'"i'rt Arl)iici\l<>. Clnist! of u wolf
Ity a poiiittT. — nilliciilty of froHsiiifr tlio Kod ItiviT. — 1 rctmii lor
provisions. — Dilliciilly of cnrryiiiir I'^jys on inirsflmck. — An Indian
rcsiTvation.— Incivility of iin Indinn. Wo bucoiuo buttor friends. —
'riiirsty oxen. — Our jtarty breaivs up.

On aniviuj^- jit the fort wc called oii the commaiidiiifi; olliccr,
and I'oiind that he was away on leave, but the ollleer acting
i'or him kindly gave us an order to liave our hor^ses ^^hod by
the cavalry smith. The garrison consisted of one company
of wliitc infantry, and two of wliite and one of negro cavalry.

We next rewa.dcd the Caddo who had ridden to fetch us
liclp, and had a talk with him about his ride. lie said he had
never ridden so good an animal as my marc, and that after the
first two miles she had run awav from tlie Comanches without

ft'

any need of a whip. TTo then tried to buy her of me, but of
course I would not sell her. We found that there were
forty Caddos in the service of the Government licrc as scouts,
who were paid, armed, and mounted as soldiers; and most

:';(,i:i

ANECDOTK OP TIIEIIl CiriKI'.

i^ i^ il

' I

rxcpllnnt HcotitH tlicy were, niul iM'hmjjfcd to a tribe wliicli
boasted tbiit tbcy bad never killed u wbite nuiii. 'riicir ebief
bad j,'()Me into tbe Soutbern army at tbe be^^'innin;; of tbe war,
and bad risen to tbe rank of ea()tain and gained a name
for l)ravery.

I beard berc a story of bini wbicb will sbow tbe kiml of
num be was. It seems tbat some timi; in tbe snmmer of tbe
previons year, be and seventy of bis men were ont on a
bunt, in tlie course of wbieb tbey eame across tlie Comanelu?
ebief (^ueen-a-ba-be and about tbree bnndred warriors oi bis
tribe. Now tbon^b tbcr Comauelu^s were at war wifb tin?
wbites, tlu^y were; not so witb tbe Caddos, so tbey frat(;rni/ed
and camped to^etlier.

One day as tlie (.^addo eliief was walkinj; about tbe Comanclui
eam[), be came nj)on a borse witb tlie I .S. brand, sbowin^^ be
beloni^ed to tbe (lovcrnment, and on askin<^ bow Ik; canu; to
be tberc, lie was told tliat sbortly before nii'cting tbe ('addos,
and after tbe latter liad left Tort Arbuekb!, tbe Comanebes
bad made a raid on it, and bad carried oil' some ten or twelve
soldiers' boraes. On bearing tliis tbe Caddo cbi(;f went to
Uueeu-a-ba-be and asked if wbat be bad beard was true, wluni
Quecn-a-ha-bc said tbat it was an allair between tbe Ihuted
States Government and himself, and witb which be bad nothing
to do. The Caddo cliicf replieil, that as head of tbe scouts he
was answerable for the safety of the fort and all its horses, and
that those which had hcen stolen must be given up to him
that he might take them back. Queen-a-ba-be llatly refused
to do this, on which the Caddo chief said that if they were not
given up to him by the next morning he should come and take
them, tiueen-a-ha-he laughed at the idea, saying that be had

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'2'M) AN INHOI.KNT IU,\('KSMrril.

tllTM Imiidrcd warriorn to tin* Ctulilo'tt nrvonty, ntiil timt It
would he ffdiv ill liini to uttciniit it. Titc CikMoh iinnu'diiitrlv
Ictt the ('otnaiiclu! (Miiiip, mid ton>u'd i Nrpiiiuto oiu* on ti Niiiall
Iiiil ill the ii(>i};lil)()iii'}i<)<)d, mid in tlu* nioniiii^ Mciit ii nitiiicr to
iisk uliiit the CoiimiiclicH liiul decided to do, mid on licariii;;
tlmt tliey mcunt to keep the horMen tlie ■eveiity CuddoN
nttackrd their e.inip, and after n dpsjH'rfttc fijrht, hiMtiiij( Nomo
hours, utterly rontcd tliciii, killin;; Heveiiteeu and captiiriii};
moRt of their horses as we I as tlios(? stolen from tin; fo "t.
They then wnit oaek to Arhnekle and returned tlu; stolen
horses, K'vin^ a pony to everyone who had temporarily heen
deprived of his horse. This attack on iht; ConianeheH meant a
Kreat deal to the; Caddos, for from this time they could no
longer go hunting to g"t hiiHalo-robes and deer-skins, which
are to Tiulians what money is to white men — being exchanged
for everything they re(piiro.

Having got leave to have our liorses shod, we sent tlicm in
charge of one of our men to the forj^e, from which they
returned in the cveniii;;;, nothing having heen done to them.
This happened again next the day, so on the third day 1 rode up
to tlie forge and saw tlu; smith, a brawny negro, who ^aid in a
very insoler*; manner that he had enough to do without
slioeing the horses of cvervone who came along. The smithy
was a liigli one and the door large, so I rode in to remonstrate
with him, telling him that whereas the order entitled us to have
our horses shod for nothing, we meant to pay him what we
should have ])ai(l an ordinary smith. This had no ell'cct on him,
and he ended by ordering mc out of the smithy, enforcing his
words with an iron bar with wliich he advanced on me, but the
muzzle of a revolver made liim think bettc r of it, and he con-

01)111 (;\MI» FIUK.I» INTO.

2:i!

^m 111
tlioy

tlinn.

Ic up
in a

tliout
lithy

stnitc
hiivo

at wo

him,

;• his

t the

coii-

trtit(*(niiiii*t('lf with hail hiii;;;iui;;ir. I utoiici- rf)'h oil' to throll'iccr
wh'i hati );iveu iih thi* onUr and i'C|iiii'tr(l what had ncciirnd,
uii which thr niatt(>r wan iii(|uitV(l into uiid tlu; iir^rn wan
(U)iuU'Uuu.'d to work lor u inoiilh with a hull clialitcd to IiIn U>^,

[ h'l't thut day lor the Cadtlo village to vinit li , who

liad ridden then* two days hcl'oro and had \>vv\\ taken HI and
had hccn nnahio to return. Wlieit I ^ot hack on the lollowing

dav, I tonnd thnt K and the men had heen very mnch

startled diiriii;; tiui ni;;ht hy a volley which had heen fired at
the tent, hut l'ortnnat«ly had ^onv. hij;h. Th', y had lurned
out and romaiiUMl on the watch for some time, hearing hu((le!(
hlowinff at the Post and the troops mustering in haste.
Shortly al'terwards the Caddo scout arrived at our camp,
havin<; been all round the fort and lound no signs of
(JomancluH, and asked our party whether they could cxi)laiu
tlic firing. The thing remaintd a mystery until the morning,
wluMi on(> ol" the negro troopers went to the commanding
officer and confessed that he and seven or eight of his eoniiades
had cre[)t out in the night, their men being on guard, and
had fired at the tent in revcngi; for the punishnunt of the
smith, of which we had been the cause. There were not enough
officers at the fort for a court-martial, so the men conccrncil
w(!rc imprisoned till the commandant returned, when they
were tiied and most of them w(!re sent to the Dry Tortngas,
islands oft' the coast of I'lorida, and answering to our Botany
liav as it used to be.

We had now recovered from our fatigu'.:, and our remaining
animals were in good coiuiition, having been fed on corn since
our arrival at the Post, so Ave determined to start for Fort
Smith iu Arkansas, sell olf our horses and mules there, and

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23i

I.KAVP. PORT AltnUCKI.K.

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tlini itu ilowii to NTctiipliiH, on the MiNNiitMippi, wlicrn our party
would hrriik up. We had ntill lour uiidcN, tliou(;li we luul lo^t
two of our hi'nt, aud four home* — fortuuutily neither my nwiro
U(M' the; Shcriduu hornu hud bi:iu hurt — Nf> that wu Htill hud
('nou;;li for (uir pr(>«(Mit jonrncy. Wt; hft tho fort about tliu
nii(hlh' of July, and travelled nlowly through a very pretty
country, killin^^ a deer now aud then for food, im there wero
tlum no cattle in thonc parts. Our dogs had dwindled to two,
our cnnip do^' aiul a pointer, and the latter eaiiNed um u ^'ood
laugh Hoon after h'avin;? the Post. We jumped u wolf from
Ronio hushes, on uliieh the pointer ^'avc; chase, the wolf doing
Ins bent till lie was on the other itide of a Nuudl vaUey aud
out of shot, when lu) turned round and waited for his
pursuer, uho on coming up and finding the wolf waiting for
him, seeing, too, that he had sonm very foniiidahle teeth and
waH altogether a dill'ercut animal from what he aj)[)eared to
he when running away, he now stopped, ami then the two sat
down face to face, putting out their nosc« to Hmell one
another, one of them nuiking u Mtep forward when the other
would take one hack ; and this continued for some minutes,
Avlicn they got up and separated, the dog returning to na
with a very sheepish air. All this time we had been trying
to set lloozc on the wolf's track, but without success, and
we found soon afterwards that the great heat during our
journey had made a coward, ut all events temporarily, of one
of the pluckiest dogs 1 ever met with.

In a few days we passed the first ranche, and from this
point we came across a good many, getting milk and butter
now and then — great treats when you have been without them
for months. We reached the Red River without any incident

mORHINO TIIK nVA) niVKR.

2.1!)

worth rcltititi^ and toiind tliu wutor low, ao, iiotwith«tuii(liii((
it al)ouiuU wttii (luickmiiuU, wu lK*gan to croNi At oiico. It wiu
lirro olmiit n liiiiiiirni yuniM uido wltti n Nuiidy Ixtttum ami
yvry iiiiid ly water, mid N(K)n ai'trr (>iit('riii}( it tlu* iiiuIcm Ntiitk
ill u (|ui('kNUiid, uiid ui'tcr Ntrii{{;{liii^ for n t'fw in irii'Mitfi quietly
lay down and refused to pull any iiiori!. \Vc iinliurMeNHed
tluin with u ((rent deal of troui)le, mudt; them i'i<to and (;ot
tlieiii otit of the liver, and then tried to draw the wa(;;;oii out
backwards, hut it had Munk till tho bottom of it rcMted on tho
Hand, and it would not move; tho niuleN, too, were demoralised

and would n(»t do their bent. So V rode to a ranehe,

which wo had passed nouic three hours previounly, and
returned brinj^ing the owner and three span of i^ood oxen,
i'ortuuately it waw still only midday, so that we had plenty of

time before uh. While V was away we all stripped, and

with nothing but our hats on unloaded the waggon, carry-
ing everything over on oiir heads; and if one of my readers
will take a sack of flour ^^ei•;hing a hundred pounds, or a
portmanteau of about the same W(M;2;ht, on his head, and will
wade a river a hundred yards wide under a broiling sun, and
keep this up for two liours, he will know whether we had a

|)leasant task or not ; but by the time F returned, all our

things, inehiding a heavy stove, wen; piled on the oj)posito
bank. We first had our dinner aiul then, following the advieo
of the owner of the oxen, we dug away the sand as mueh as
j)()ssiblc from round the wheels of the waggon — and the
digging under water was very hard work ; then we fastened a
rope to the liind axle and brought the end of it on to tlic
bank, the waggon being about twenty yards from the edge of
the water. The oxen were fastened to this rope and the whip

• ♦ ,

:tef.i

:M'

ii

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284

CARIIYINO E(JflS ON HORSEBACK.

!i ;

npplicd, and out the waggon came. We then put the mules ir.
again, took ofl' all our clothing once more, and by keeping .sticks
going and rnnn'ng alongside, shouting like madmen, not
allowing the mules to rest for a moment, we got the Avaggon
across.

It was arranged that the rest should go on and camp at the
first grass, while I should rctnrn with the settler and l)ring
back some milk and eggs, taking a gallon keg for the former
and a liandkcrchicf for the latter. The only mistake 1 made
was in choosing the liorse I did for this ride, taking the wild
liorse we h;id broken ourselves. He had turned out a fine horse
foi' hunting, letting you fire off his back; but he had one
peculiarity, for though used to a gun, if you pulled ont your
liandcrchicF suddenly, he would jump violently and try to bolt;
even if you took off your hat quickly he would do tlie same. We
reached the settler's house about fonr o'clock in the afternoon,
filled my keg witli milk and put four dozen eggs into the
liandkcrchicf: then I mounted and was lianded the keg, which
1 hung round my neck with a strap, taking the handkerchief
in my liand, the settler sliowing hot'., to the horse before
lianding them to me. For some miles all went well, as I kept
the eggs in a straight line behind his head, holding them high
so as to avoid liitting the pommel of the saddle. This was very
tiring to do for any length of time, and I presently felt the
eggs go bump and kncAV that at least one was broken. Then
the same thing happeiu'd again, so I tried holdiiig them on one
side, and had no sooner done so than the horse sprang five or
six feet sideways, bringing the eggs with a tremendous bang
against my knee, and I had hard work to save any of them and
quiet the horse. Each time, too, that he jumped the keg would

^ t>-

AN INDIAN RKSKRVATION
oomc back iiKain

235

swing outwards and oomc back against me witli a tluimp ; tliis
liapiKMU'd 80 often that I was tiiankful wiicn I rcaclud the
river. Now, however, came the worst part of it, as 1 iiad to
ride across as fast as possible to avoid the quicksands, so that
by the time 1 hatl reached the otlier side my eggs were a soi't
mass and the contents of the handkerchief streaming (h)wn the
horse's shoulder and on to my boots. The waggon liad becni
taken some distance, and as it was by tliis time dark, 1 do not
know how I shouhl have found it had they not iiung a hintern
in a tree to guide me, the trail being indistinct even by day.
On reaching camp the eggs were examined and only four sound
ones were found among them ; we, however, cooked the yolks
which remained in the handkerchief, nudving them into an
omelet, of which a large portion was broken egg-shell.

We were now in the Indian reservation, and met a good
many of the semi-civilized ones, and very bad they looked in
white men's dress. An Indian will not cut his hair short
before lie puts on a wideawake, and his long black hair
lianging down, in many cases far over liis coat collar, (piite
spoils him. And, again, their copper-coloured faces are not
suited to our dress, and an Indian who is grand-looking in his
own costume is a scarecrow in ours, and though in some of the
larger towns, where they liave become doctors, lawyers, Hzc,
they have almost transformed themselves into wliite men, their
hair is " shingled,'^ as American barbers call it, and some of
them have become great dandies. Those we came across were
as a rule rough specimens, and at many of the houses they
refused to sell us anything ; in some cases not even answering
our questions.

It had been pouring all one day and the country was little

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AN UNCIVIL INDIAN.

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better than a swamp, when towards evening we reached a good-
sized ranclie, and wc determined to stay there instead of jmtting
up our tent in the water. On riding up to it wc found an
Indian sitting in the verandali, so wc asked him whether wc
could remain the niglit if we paid for all we had. lie answi cd
very roughly that wc could not do so, and nothing more could
wc get out of him. It was such awful weather that wc made
up our minds wc would stop, and told him so, on ^\hiell he got
up and went away. We drove the waggon up close to the
verandah and got out our food and cooking-things, no one
coming near us. Wc then went into the house, where wc
found two women who would not speak to us, so wc made up a
fire in the stove and boiled some coffee and cooked some meat,
retiring then to the verandah and sat down and ate it. Later
in the evening our host returned bringing some other Indians
M'itli him ; but he seemed to have calmed down and talked to
us about where we had come from and our object in travelling
till bed-time, being especially interested in our fight with tbe
Comanches, and he became quite friendly when he heard that
we had killed and scalped one of them. In the morning the
M'omen of the house did our cooking for us, and our bill on
leaving, including corn and fodder for our horses, was
reasonable.

The road was now very heavy, and as wc intended to sell our
animals at Fort Smith, and did not, tlicrefore, wish them to
arrive looking thin, we hired a span of oxen to take our
waggon there, coming down from three or four miles an hour
to barely two. I know of nothing more tedious than having
to keep with a waggon and being obliged to cheek your horse
continually, for his slowest walk is much too fast for them.

OUR PARTY IMIEAKS UP.

237

I) • :",' I'
11.

Til dry weather, when they have j^one for some hours without
water, they arc the most ohstitiate animals in the worhl, muhjs
bein<5 nowhere when eompanul with them. On one oceasion
as we neared Fort Smith, we had gone from morning until late
in the afternoon, finding no water and passing no house where
wc could have got it from a well, so that the oxen were very
thirsty and their tongues were hanging out, when suddenly wc
came on a large pond having a bank on our side of it, and in
one minute, in spite of all wc could do, they were over the
bank and into the water, which came almost over their backs,
the bed of the waggon being submerged and most of our things
wet through. It was impossible to go back, so they had to bo
forced through the pond, which fortunately became no deeper.

AVhen about seven or eight miles from Fort Smith wc
camped in a very pretty spot to allow our horses to recover
from thei. fatigue, and after a stay of some days wc had them
taken into the place where sales were always held, which was
a large open space in the middle of the town. A large crowd
collected seemingly to decry our animals, and everything sold
very badly ; but wc were obliged to let things go, as we wanted
to get away and had a long journey before us, and wished to
reach the mountains before the winter set in. I retained the
stallion and mare, meaning to take them with me.

From Fort Smith we went by rail to White River, and down

that to Memphis, where our party broke up. H remained

there. F and I went north, and the men were paid off

and left behind. I w^as very much surprised to hear years
afterwards that one of them had gone into a lawyer's ofKcc
and that he is now a lawyer in St. Louis and doing very well,
and another had set up as a butcher in Chicago.

m

t.

238

.MJI.KSUKIUI.

1. !

CHAPTER XVIII.

Account of Jiilosboix. A apuelmoii of tho luannors ot" Jiilosbori^. Our
lodgings. Soi'ing tho town. Its inhabitants. — (laiubliiig-sidonns. —
Wo start lor Shoycnno. — Doscriptinn of hotrl acconnnodation, — A
citi/on shot by an ollicor. — Start for lOIk Mountain, — Kcach Willow
Springs. — All Houston. — Uamp at Willow Springs. — Woodtdioppers,
bad charnctors. — Story about Houston. — Obliged to hunt singly. — We
go together to hunt. — A deserted hut and grave of occui)ant.~ A visitor.
— I'olly's behaviour. — F starts for Sl\eyenne. — Snowed in. — Vil-
lainous-looking \ isitors. They are indueed t(j go. — rrocautions.— F '»

return. — I return to Sheyenne. — F goes to Virginia Dale.

From Memphis F and I took the steamer for Omaha, l)y

way of St. Louis — a long journey of nearly sixteen hundred
miles— "nd thcnec we Mcut by the Central Paeific Railway to
Jules) which was then the temporary terminus of the rail-

way. •' lesbcrg was a most extraordinary place. In a few
months it had grown out of nothing, and on a bare prairie, to
be a town of three thousand inhabitants, most of whom were
the oftseourings of the western cities. Two houses out of
every three Avere either saloons and gambling-dens or daiicc-
houscs, while the remainder were shops. There was no hotel
at the time I am speaking of, and when wc got out of the

if

OUR LODdlNOS.

231)

-Vil-

train and made inquiries for a plaoo to stop at, wc wore told
that there was an eatinj^-hoiise, where they had a lean-to on
each si(h', diviik'd into [mmis, some seven feet square, and that
we mij^ht with hiek j^e* one of these.

While walkinj; ah)n}5 the street we had soon an opportunity
oF 8(H!in}5 wliat kind of a i)h'U'e we W(!re in. A man more than
half drunk rushed out of a saloon on the ojjposite side of the;
street, followed by another in the same state, with a pistol in
his hand, which, on his catching the first man, he pu*^ to his
liead and tried to shoot him, hut was too drunk to do it ; and
when we were going to run across and interfere, a bystander
told us not to be fools, but to remain where we were, as the
more of such men there were shot the better.

The streets were composed of small one-storey wooden
houses of all shapes, and placed anyhow, some projecting
many feet further into the street than others — no two being
alike — and the intervals between them were filled with empty
tins, broken crockery, old boots, broken kettles, bottles, and
all kinds of rubbish. Some men had put a short piece of
board sidewalk in front of their liouses, and some had not,
which made the walking at night very awkward, especially as
tliere were no street lam})s, and the only light came from the
lanterns hung in front of saloons to light up some transpar-
ency. On arriving at the eating-house we found that we could
have one of the pens between us, every bed here being meant
for two, and we were to get our meals in the centre room, our
bedroom being just big enough for a bed, chair, and a very
small wash-stand, with barely room to staml when dressing,
making it necessary for one of us to dress while sitting
on the bed. The people who came for mculs were a very

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miMcelluncous collection — gamblers in black rrock-conts, dia-
inond ])rcast-))inH, aiui rings, sitting next to ox-drivers and
railu'f.v ial)()urers, clerks in the diUcrent stores, and ex-[)ri/,(N
lighters, who were now kc(»ping saloons ; and these; last were
(|nite the " nppcr crust/* no men being more thought oP in
the West, and there were also a lew women. The food [)ut
before us was such as you might expect in su(!h a place — halt'
cold, and all tasting alike, and served up in tiny oval dishes,
which were placed in a semicircle round your plate, and every-
thing was brought at once. The charge was one dollar, and
paid on the spot, as no one was trusted.

The first night we were there it began to rain, and almost

immediately ¥ and I felt water })ouring on us; so we lit

the candle, and then found that the roof was only composed of
boards laid side by side, the chinks not being stopped in any
way, and that consequently there was nothing to keep the rain
from coming through. Having a mackintosh sheet with us,
we put it over the bed, but it was not quite large enough, and,
besides, the water collected on it so rapidly that there was
soon a small lake in :he middle, and in shooting it oil' from
time to time we at last shot one lot into t4ie middle of the
bed. This settled it ; so we hastily put on a few clothes, and
gathering up our belongings and such bedding as had escaped
the deluge, wc went into the eating-room, where we found a
number of people, of all ages and both sexes, in similar dress,
or rather undress, looking very miserable, and as there was
nowhere else for us to go, we turned in under and on the
tables.

The next day we went round to see the town, as it was very
unsafe to do so at night, jid by dinner-time wc quite agreed

(JAMBLIN(i-SALOONS.

2U

with u man who nt suppor the night hof'oro hud said that
** this phu;c was only removed by the thickness of a sheet of
writing-paper from a certain hot phuie," whieli shall he name-
less. The swells were tlu; gainhUirs, who seemed always to
have plenty of money, with which th(;y were continually treat-
ing their friends, and they generally drove a fine pair of
trotting-horses and liad some good dogs. We had met nnmy
of them in St. Joe when fitting out for our various trips, and
liad always found them very civil, giving us many invitations
to " drop in and sec them some evening," for w hicli wc
thanked them, hut did not take advantage of. As there were
some four thousand men working on the railway and getting
good wages, never less than eight shillings a day, and as,
being the terminus of the railway, all miners from the moun-
tains wlien on their way home for the winter were obliged to
come there to take the train, there was a great deal of money
to be made by these gentry, many miners bringing in several
thousands of dollars, and losing them all in one night, working
at anything they could get till spring, and then beginning
again. Nearly all the saloons had some attraction to tempt
people to go in — long-distance walking-matches against time
being the craze when we were there, most of the saloons having
some such notice as the following, in a transparency : — " Walk
in, gentlemen, and see John Smith, the champion long-distance
walker of the world, who is doing one thousand miles in one
thousand hours., and is now fresher than when he began last
week. — N.B. Don't be taken in by the shams at tlie other
bouses.'^ The said John Smith when you went in to see him,
paying one shilling for doing so, looked wonderfully fresh,

which was not surprising, as he went comfortably to bed on

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the huuMC being closed, and resumed opcratiouH wlien it opened
at eight the next niuruiug. AlmoHt every nigitt there wore
fights in these saloons ; a good many men were shot, and no
iiotiee was taken of it, as there were only three policcinon in
the place, who took particularly good earc; to get out of the
way as soon as a row began.

Two days in such a place satisfied us, so we went to a livery
stable and bought a waggon and two ponies aiul a small out-
fit, and startct' "or P' /enje — a place to which Julesberg was
beginning to m ;• «'u f', as the railway was finished to within
a few miles of th Lowii, It was about ninety miles further
west, and we Avcre three dayi in reaching it, and on arrival
found it to be just such another place as Julesberg, but rather
luore substantially built, and possessing two wooden hotels,
to one of which we went, putting our ponies in a livery stable
together with "Polly" and "Henry," the daily bill for the
four being eight dollars (32 shillings). The excuse for such
an outrageous charge was, that nothing was grown in the
country, and everything had to be brought from such a dis-
tauce. I forget the name of our hotel, but it was kept by a
Mr. Gilderslceve, and it contained only one room for men, in
which there were twenty-seven beds, each meant for two.
You never knew who you were going to hav(! as companion —
very Ircciucntly a half-drunken waggon-driver, who before
he got into bed deposited a loaded revolver under the j)illow,
which you found yourself lying on in the course of the niglit.
As we were two we were sj)ared this, t'lough having a number
of such men in the room with you was quite bad enough. I
have said there was only one room for men ; but divided from
this by rough unplaued boards, merely put up side by side.

A riVIMAN MIIOT HY AN OFKICKH.

213

wrro two f»nmll rooms for Indies or iimrricd men, tliou^^h tho
nuiiihcr ot tli(! I'orincr (.'oiiiiii;; to Slicyt'iiiic was cxtrcmoly
limifj'd. We fomul this to l)o <niitc us roii^fli u place as Jiilcs-
bci'^, and of the same size, aitd tlie d('scri[)ti(>it of one will do
for the other.

There was a f^ood deal of excitement when we went there
about a yonn<; otlicer havin;^ shot a eivilian nnd(M' tiu; follow*
inj? eireumstaiices : — He happened to he oHicer of the day at
Fort William Rnss(dl, three mil(;s from Sheyeiine, when in
^oi'ij,' his ronnds, accompanied by an armed soldier, he heard
a (piarrel ^oin^ on in a small house, in which lived an old
conple, the husband beinji; a muhvdriver to the • ... *hou^h
not a soldier. The num who was with the ollieer "id * i that
tlie old man aiA his wife wer(! always (piarrell'' \ ■ 'it ihat it
never amounted to anythinj^ more than words, ^u i . ( ue took
any notice (jE it. The otKeer, however, openr Hi- door and
called to the old fellow to be quiet, but ;i()t a rouj^h answer,
on w liieh be went in and abused the cou])le, the old nmn jj;ivinj5
him as <jjoo(l in r(!turn ; whereupon the ollieer «;ot in a nv^c
and told the soldier to shoot him, and as he refused ic
took the rifle from him and shot the old man dead. He u,
arrested and tried by court-martial, but was ac(|uitte(l, ijecause
he pleaded that the nuin put his hand behind him to [)ull out
a revolver, and that he had shot him in self-delence. Tiiis
verdict did ,iot satisfy the people of .Sheyeniu', and they sent
to demand another trial, the chief reason for their animosity
bein}^' that the same otKccr had shot another man under some-
what similar circumstances about a year befcnc, when he had
also been acquitted. On receiving the demand the connnan-

dant of the post sent the ofHcer cast to be tried, and I saw

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HTAUT rOK KI<K MOUNTAIN.

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Iiini come into Slicyunno iiikUt a Ntroii); cHcort, without wliicli
1 am sure he vvouhl have i)C(!ii lynched. The Mohlicrt had very
hard work to navo him aM it waM — a hu>^<* crowd xurromidiii;;
them from the t'litraiicc to the town to the Ntatioii, who were
only kc;pt off hy the llxcd bayonets which the Mohlier?* u^vd
freely.

We onlv remained a day or two to eomph'tc our outfit, and
tlien set of!" alonj< th(! proposed line of railway towards " KIk

Mountain." V drove the wajjj^on, w hilc T rode one horwe

and led the other, as wc had not eared to eiij^aj^c any nian we
had seen in Shevenne. Wv had a small tent: but as then-
was no wood from tlu; town to the mountains, and as we had
no poks, we did not put it up, but slept in the wag^'on, which
was very "isky, as the Sheyennes and Sioux wer(> often in the
uei{4;libourlio()(l, and had run a man into a town a few days
before.

We liad boufjjht a lo{^ of cedar as firewood, about six feet
long and six inches square, for which wc gave three shillinj^s,
and which we made last us for four or five days ; as our nu'at
was cooked, aiul wc had only to boil coflee, using crackers for
bread. At the end of that time wc reached a small settlement
called Willow Springs, which had sprung up to supi)ly the
woodchoppers — who had gone into the mountains to cut cord-
wood for tlic railway — M'ith whiskey and provisions. As
engines in the west always u^^ed Avood in those days, an
immense supply was needed, and these men made it pay well,
cutting three cords a day, and getting ten shillings a cord.
The only drawback was the high price of provisions, every-
thing being seven or eight times its price ou the Missouri
River

AI.I, IIOUfiTON,

2i:i

Hugs,

Ihi'c NX' tiict (i inun nmnrd "All iloii'stoii," oiu> of tliu hcNt
hunter* and bent HhotH nt ^nme with n rifle tliiit I rvrr rniiii<
noroNH. He v.ns only twciity-ncvrn or <'i;;lit, Imt Itad Im'cu all
liiM life ill tlic inoinitiiiiis, iiiid had ii(<V(>i' doiu; iiiiytliiii^; hut
hunt, il(> hud, too, u potiy with iilniost as grrat a reputation
as hinisfir. She wuh about the si/.e of Pollv, uiid ho last that

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he had run down elk over rough (ground \\iili her. We tried
to engage him to go with us, and pass the winter soiuewhero
in the numn ains ; but this he refused to do, as he nuule all the
money he wanted by killing antelope and elk and Nelling tho
meat at the stage stations. TIiIm was a stage that ran lu'tween
California and Sheyeniu\ He gave uh a good report of game,
cspeeially antelope, wliieh then swarmed all along the stage
line. There were always some in sigiit ; and Houston would
at any time baek himself to kill an average of five u day, and
would often get more. He agreed to go on a hunt lor a few
days with us, riding his i)ony, and being armed willi an
" over and under " rith; weij^hing eighteen pouiids, whieh
earricd a ball sixty to the poiind; and we got oil' the following
morning, taking it in turns to drive the waggon. Houston
knew every foot of the eountry and aeted as guide, and as he
was a very ([uiet young fellow and free from brag, he made a
very pleasant eompauion.

Wilhnv Springs lay at the foot of tlu; first range of the
Rockies — a long line of glaciers being visible from it, and tho
wooded hills which intervened formed a lovelv country to hunt

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in, as they were full of little prairies, surrounded by timber,
and with small streams running through tluMu, wlio.e at that
time you could find game. You very seldom came across a
hunter, as most of them were too much afraid of the Indians

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CAMP AT WII.I.OW RnilNrtB.

to vi'tittirc fur into tin? luotintain^ tlioiigli there wnn irally
very littiu (IniiK^^r, n% tlicic alwnji went »uutii wiieii i)w fold
Hcnther net in. Wv cumpcd in a narrow vnllcy hy o Ntnull
Htrc.iui, with u ^hicicr filling; np the end of it, nnd un enorntoUN
r(»('k iornii (I a caiiital shcltrr lor thc> ('aMi|>. The (irNt (hiy we
all went out to^^rtlur, and hit the tent a"il horse** to look alter
theniNciveN, tlu; only danger hein^ from tin; nuiny ontlawn
ainon^ the uoodchoiiperM, nn n ^;reat number of men who had
eucuped from justice took refuse liere, un it wan u perfectly
Hafe aKyluni.

For Nom(> time we naw no K'tnie, till Muddenly \\v heard a
rattling arnon^ the Htone.s, and on looking up saw M(!ven or
ei<;ht deer (whitetails) <;all<)pin;; alon^ the side of the nionntain
throii};h some tir-trees, and about a hundred yards above um.
IIoUMton wuH olf in a moment, and tin* ei^^hteen-pounder raised
and fired, the buck he ainu'd at bein^ evidently hit, when
Malting till he passed an open Hpot about fifteen feet wide
Iloudtou fired again, and down he rolled into the track we were

on. Later in the djiy I"' killed a second buck, seeing several

more, as ganu; was very plentiful, and we saw elk-tracks in all

directions. The ne\t day V and Houston went out, and

I remaiiu'd to take care of camp, and when they returned,

bringing one whitctail, V told mc that the only chance

Houston had during the day was at this deer, >vhich stood
behind u large; tree so that only the head and a small portion
of the shoulder Avas visible, and though the distance was more
than two hundred yards, he killed it at the first shot, l^efore
Houston left cam]) we tried to get him to run his mare against
mine; but he refused to do so, as he said hu slumld feci so
badly if she were beaten.

A lllNTINfJ-MVTdl.

Ilr Irft UN mi the tliiril tliiv, and we

\s

217

rn* vi'ry worry to »vo

him Ko. Humv. niontli«t uftrrwiiriU nil otlUTr, wlio liiid licni
movrd fn)m Fort Williuni KiiMmll to I'ort Lnrnmir, lm|i|>ni((|
to Hny one iluy tliiit tlu; lM'»*t liimtrr in tlir west livrd at Willow
SpriiijfH ill ('(i|(inid<». Now as tlirrc wa* n ct»h'l»riit«(l Iiuliaii
liiiiitrr, wlio siipiilii (I fiuraiiiic with j^ruiic, the «»llic«rM 'icro
oM'rrcd t(» hark hitn apiinst lloimtoii, if lu' would <'oiiMnit to
hunt on the hulian's ground, lie wan Hvut tor, and on hcariii;(
thr tj'rniH »»{' the wa^^cr agrcid to do hin Ix'st, if given a fort*
night to learn thr ground. Thu ternm were arranged, and
they tlicn net out on a hunt, the agrccnuMit being that whieh-
evcr brought in nioHt gann* at th(> end of a fortniglit wun to be
eonxidcrcd the winner, and whm to get hall' tlu' hct ; and at
tlu> expiration of the tinu- Houston had beaten the Iiidian
badly. This was probably done by good shooting, as 1 liuvo
never vet Heen an liulian who eould shoot w(>ll.

Ah the valley in which our eanip was pitched seemed very
ecntral for hunting and the keep waN good, we det(Tinined to
]nit up a eabin; so wv began eutting logs, and had got together
a good many, when a passing hunter told \is of a inueh l)etttr
place, so we abandoned the idea, inei ning to reinani some
Mceks longer where we were, and to move to the place ho
reeoinnuMided later in the autumn. As it was unwise to
leave eam[) without anyone to look after it now that the
vvoodehoppers knew of our being in the nu)untaius, we nad
to hunt singly, aiul found a good many deer, a light fall of

snow nuik ig it easy to track them. I'' had a very long

ehasc after an elk which be had wounded, following it for
eight hours lar into tlie mountains, and he told mc on his
return that, to judge by the sign lie had come acror-i, elk

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AN KXCUUSION.

must 1)0 nuicli more plentiful there than where we were, and
advised our going there hiter. It seemed to have been the
great Indian hunting-ground during the summer; for Ik; had
seen several small camps, where, from the nundjcr of bones
lying about, they must have had great sport. He Inul seen no
])ear-t racks, so they had evidently holed up, and we oidy caiuo
aeross one during our stay, when tlie bear had [)r()bably eouie
out for a tinu', as they often do in the winter when there is
a spell of open weather.

One dav we determined to let the tent take care of itself and
have a hunt together; so wc hid most of our valuables on the
top of the J'oek against which the tent was pitched, and rode
i'ar into the mountains. Wlien crossing some of the stony
ri(lg( s we had sonu; desperate scrambling, and frequently we
had to leait our hoj«es over places which were only fit for
goats. For this kind of work we always found horses better
than mules. They no doubt fall more at first ; but when
used to mountain work they are much quicker aud plcasanter
to ride than the latter ; for tliough a mule very seldom falls,
lie is continually catching liis toe as if about to do so. We
had ridden some miles Avhen we came into a beautiful little
valley about a mile long — wooded hills and picturesque rocks
surrounding it, while the grass was first-rate, making it aud
the snudl valleys which ran out of it an ideal hunting-ground.

On our way \i\) the valley wc passed an enormous rock,
which had at some distant period fallen from above, and
Avhich was now covered with a dense growth of small fir-trees.
It lay close to the side of a wooded mountain; but some-
tliing nuule me ride round to see Avhethcr there was room to
pass behind it, when I found that there was a circular hollow

A HUNTER S GKAVK.

241)

between it and the mountain, in wliidi stood a cabin, having a
grave in front of it, with a piece of wood, on which was cut a
cross phiced upright at one end. The grave tohl its own tah; very
plainly. Some liunter had put u[) this cabin to pass the winter
in, but had been murdered by tiie Indians, and someone finding
the l)ody had buried it and erected tbis rough tombstone.
We bad dinner here, and soon after leaving it saw two e!k

going over a ridge on our left ; so V set oft to stalk them,

and I remained holding the horses. At the end of half an
hour I heard a shot j so I mounted and rode after him, and
found him in the next valley standing over a fine young bull.
Having now plenty of meat, the fancy took us to remain tlic
night in the bunter's cabin ; so we cut up the elk, and loading
both horses led them back to it, picketing them out, and
setting to work to repair the roof, most of which had fallen in,
as it was only constructed of fir-boughs. This we soon made
water-tight; then we cleaned out the inside, putting down a
carpet of pine-branches ; made a saddle-blanket into a door,
and bad everything snug by sunset. We had only venison
and water as food and drink, and one saddle-blanket as cover-
ing ; but as the end of the hut was solid rock, and as we had
made tbe fire against this, the inside was almost to(j warm : so
we passed a very [)leasant night, sitting up late to discuss
Indian figbts and hunting. There was sonu>thing very romantic
in the situation of the place, and we very nearly made u[) our
minds to winter here, the scarcity of water causing us to give
np the idea. Now that that country is settled, and the Indians
have been driven out of it and pla(;ed on a reservation, 1 can
fancy that valley making a beautiful farm, and I hope that
some day I may revisit it and stay with the owner.

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POLLY S aAGACITY.

On the socoiul day after our return to camp wc had a visitor.
It was about diuncr-tinic, and both of us were at home, wlieu
a big, rouj^li-looking woodclioi)per walked iuto camp, and after
saying " IFow d'ye? " sat down ])y the fire. It seemed that he
luul heard from Houston of our being Itere, and of our having
some medicines with usj so he had come to know whether we
liad anything which wouhl do good to a very bad toothache
which he liiid now had for some (hiys, and which had made his

face as big as two. It was a hollow tooth, and ¥ was

able to relieve tlic man before he left, ending by giving hira
a glass of Santa Cruz rum aiul water — a most insinuating
beverage, and one wliich he seemed to appreciate thoroughly.
lie was most grateful, and as he was not allowed to pay for
tlic nu'dicine, he v,anted to know what he; could do for us, but
Mc could think of nothing; so, after having dinner, he left,
warning us that there were some very bad characters in the
mountains, and that we ought to keep an eye on our horses.
We were certainly living in a veiy careless way, keeping no
guard ; and our only reliance was on " Polly,^' who, if any-
thing strange came near the camp at )iight, galloped to the
tent and n(Mghed. "\V(; had made a great pet of her, never
tying her up, as she would always stand to be caught, and if
we wen; lute in the morning she would put her head in and
pull our blankets gently, as a hint that she wanted her sugar.
AVhen we sat by the camp fire, too, at night, she would come
and stand by, taking the greatest care not to tread on anyone,
and every now and then rubbing her head against us.

Soon after this it got very cold, and as we had brought no

great-coats it was arranged that F should ride to

Shcycunc and buy some soldiers* overcoats, returning as fast

hi

SEVERE SNOW-STOHM.

251

ji'iy

as he could. \Vc killed game eiiouf^h to last a week, so that
I should not have to leave camp, and he then started, nicaniiij^
to try to do it in six days — the distance being about a hundred
and twenty mile; . The morning after he left I got up, think-
ing it seemed very much colder than the day before, and on
trying to ojjcn the door of the tent 1 found it was held down
by a mass of snow, as it was banked up against the canvas to
the height of four feet. This was a pleasant prospect for a
man left quite alone in the mountains, forty miles from any-
where. However, I had to have breakfast ; so I waded out,
and after feeling about with my feet fur some time I found the
shovel, Avith which I cleared away the snow for a fire, and
found the cooking-things and axe, which of course had been
buried. Fortunately there was any amount of pitch-pine- a
grand wood in a cold country, as it is full of resin — and I soon
had a large fire and some steaks on it, when I began to feel
comfortable once more. Having fmishcd my breakfast and
warmed myself with about three pints of hot coffee, I hunted
up the horscri, Avhich I found looking very miserable ; but
Polly had oumted to come for her sugar, and had got into the
middle of a thicket. The picketed horses had turned their
tails to the storm, and had stood so still that they had a
sharp ridge of snow several inches high all along their bucks.
I brought them to the fire, and threw on a great quantity
of wood, making a grand blaze, which they appreciated as
much as I did ; and I then turned them loose, as they could
find some feed among the trees, and would be sheltered at the
same time.

I was sitting near the fire doing some mendhig, having a
goodly collection of stockings lying by me, when I heard the

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VILLA INOUS-LOOKINCI VISITORS.

Iiorscs ncif^hinf^ down flu* viilloy, and a few niinutos later Polly
appeared and galloped up to mc; no I took a double twcdve-hore
rifle, which T kept loaded, and walked down towards tlu* stream
where the horses were, when I met two villainous-looking half-
breeds, mounted on small ponies, and carrying rifles and
revolvers. They had (ividently from the tracks been examin-
ing our stock, and were now on their way to see how many wc
were. They asked uw, where the cam[) was aiul what wc; were
doing there ; also of how many the party consisted ; and as I
did not like tlu ir looks T said that there; were several, but that
my companions were away hunting, though I expected them
back at any minuti'. They accompanied nu' to the tent, and
telling me that they had eaten very little breakfast, they cut
some steaks oH' oiu; of the deer which T had hanging up, and I
gave them some eofl'ee. They then lit their pipes and made
themselves comfortable round the fire, asking me all kimls of
questions — as to when; T came from ; what our object was in
hunting; evidently not believing me when I said we were out
for pleasure, but thinking we nnist hv looking up land claims,
as it Avas incomprehensibh; to men of their kind that anyone
should find pleasure out of a town. AVhen they had sat a
short time they said that they would go into the tent and take
a sleep; so, as there were many things in it which would have
tempted them very much, and which if they did not take at
once they might come back for that night, I told tliem that it
was so small that our beds entirely filled it, and that wc did
not allov.' anyone in it. On this they said that I did not seem
to be Acry hospitable, and that they would come again when
my companion^, wen; at home. I replied that they were
\>'el :i)':;ic at any time to all they could eat, and I warned them

DKTEIIMINE TO llETURN TO SHEVENNE.

not to oornc at night, as uitli so many l)a(l characters ahout
MO always fired first and asked who it was afterwards. Fortu-
natcdy thi^y did not see " I'olly," and the other two horses were
h)oking so niiscrabh; and were so tliin — every hair standing on
end I'roni the cohl — that they did not seem to think thcui
worth the risk of being sliot for. After thoy were gone I
brouglit up tlie horses and picketed them where I could sec
them from the tent, and before dark fastened them to the

waggon, and kept this u[) till F returned. I could cut no

grass, as tlic snow w as nearly two feet deep ; but when animals
have been feeding all day, they do not eat much at uight. 1
also kept a gun loaded with buckshot handy, as it was a much
bettor weapon at night than a rifle; but 1 saw no uujre of the
lialf-brecds.

F returned on the evening of the sixth day with the

coats, aiul very poor things we found them. Soldiers line theirs
with blanket, Avhen they arc fairly warm. Our " toothache
friend " paid us another visit before we left this camp, evi-
dently coming in hopes of getting some nu)re Santa Cruz rum,
for he led the conversation round to it at once. 1 told him of
my late visitois, whom he said he did not know, though he
told us that some of the worst meu in the mountains were
half-breeds, lie alho said that if 1 had owned to being alouc
I shouhl have had trouble most probably. In si of the
cold weather I had been very much troubled with ;ue ; so 1
made up my mind to go into Sheycune for a few weeks and

try to shake it oft, and as F did not care to camp out alone,

he decided to go into a small place called '' \ ir^: i' Dale," and
make excursions into the mountains from there with a pack-
horse, and to wait at N'irgiaia Dale till 1 rejoined him.

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MEKT MV OM) DUIVEU.

CILVrTER XIX.

Movo to Virjriniii Ihilc. — Moot my ulcl drivor. — Sttif^o drivors. — Abiiiidanco
of iiiitolojio. — Uracil Slioyciiiio. — Vii.'iliinco ('oiinnittot!. — I'lloctinii for
mayor. — An unploasant lu'i-.'hbuur. I'lay a practical joke on liiin. —
Life in Shoyouno. — Action of tlu! Vigilance coiumittoo. — Stories of
variouM dc.siioradocs. — .loo Kiley tlio prizo-lightor. — Ilaciiig at
Shcyonno. — A railway quickly made. — Loavo for England and soli
" Tolly."

F iniTEHMiNEi) to move to Virginia Dale before I left, as

the roau was so bad that it reciuired two to be with the
waggon ; so Tfc started at once, doing it in one day. We
found it to be a snuvll plaee, consisting of three houses, where
the overland stage changed horses and the ])asscngers had a
meal ; and while I was there the stage arrived, wlien I was
very much astoni&lied by tlie driver's jumping down and
shaking jne by both hands. He was ^o wrapped up in furs that
for some seconds I did not recognize him, but on his removing
his cap I saw that it was IJcmi my old driver, who went witli
me on my first tri[) to tiic Uepub'.ican River. lie was very
glad to see me, ami otlcred to leave the stage company and go
with mc^ but 1 was on my way t(i Sheyenne and had no us.;
for him, so we had a drink together and parted.

stacm; dim Mils.

ThcHC Htugc (lrivci'8 liad a very liard lii'e, tli()iip;lt tli(;y wvva
well paid, grttiii*^ from twelve to fii'teeti |ioiinds a iiioiitli.
They had to drive in all weathers, and were given iii many
cases unl)rok('ii horses, wliieh tliey had to keep straight over
roads whieh would Irighteii a Muropeaii eoaehnian — full of
holes and stumps, and in wet weather halfway to the axle in
mud ; while the bridges were merely trees laid aeross the
streams with poles placed side by side aeross them, only one in
ten or twelve being pegged at the end, and with no rail of any
kind, the poles jumping about as the eoaeh passed over
them, and looking as if the whole thing was going to pieees.
It was very trying to the nerves to sit on the box-seat of one
of these stages and turn a eorner at a gallop to find a ehasm
before you bridged as I have deseril)ed, everything depending
on the eoaehman's keeping his wild team in the middle. Also
many of the stage routes were through a part of the eountry
M'here there was always a ehance of attack by Imlians, the
driver and conductor having rifles beside tin ti .nd revolvers
in their belts, as it was by no means uncommon for every soul
ou the stage to be murdered and scalped, Many ol" these
drivers were very good fellows, mIio if they took a fancy would
keep you amused the \vhole journey by stories of the diU'erent
oddities they had carried and the adventures they had gone
through, Mhile if they got hold of a "'tenderfoot^' the amount
of information they would give him must have very much
astonished his friends on his return home. There were very
few accidents considering there was a eoach every day, as the
men were splendid whips, though their way of holding their
reins would astonish a member of the " Four-in-llaiul Club."
l''rom A'irgiuia Dale F started off into the mountains,

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AHLNUANCP, OF ANTKr.OI'K

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i-i(liii|j; my inure and packing; u uii^^i^oii-liorMc;^ and I left for
Slit^ycnni! the satnc tliiy, ridinj; " I Iciiry " and piittin}; my l)nndlo
on the second horse of onr team. I wuh three days goin;^ in,
having stopped oeeaHionully to htulk sonu; antelopes. I never

lly

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il bands bei

eontinuu

in sight ; they s(!enied very tame, letting you ride up to
uithin a hunih'ed and fifty yards of tliem. I got two in one
stalk, having erawled to within seventy yards of them, and
later the same day I tried " Henry's" spiMul after them as tlio
plain was \v.\c\ for miles. I tied up tlu; paek-horse to u l)usli,
and Dy riding down a hollow I managed to get near a single
buck, running him for fully three miles, and being as far
behind tiien as wlien I started. Jlenry was very game, as he
was thorough-bred, but his action was far too high to be fast,
and " Polly" could have run away from him easily.

On my way I overtook some miners from the mountains,

about eighty miles north of where F and I had been.

They had done well, but liad had a good deal of trouble from
Indians during the summer, having had all tluir horses run off,
so that they were obliged to send in to Sheyenne to buy ponies
before they c'nild leave. None of this present party had ever
seen that place, so I was able to give them a few hiiits, for it
was necessary to be eiueful as they had several thousand
l)()unds with them iu du.st. They were on tlieir way to Iowa,
where they had left their fauiilies, and said tlu^y would take
the train at once and only nukain one night to sell their
auimals. Many a train has been stojjped by " road agents "
for a less sum than they had w ith them ; and 1 kuow of a case
where three of them had emptied the pockets of everyone iu a
long train and not a shot was fired at them, so much terror

•Ill

RKAlll SIIF.YI'.NNK.

257

cnu three drMpcnitc men inHpirc ; I li!iv(\ too, nrpn ii noted
(leHperiulo overawe; ii whole room (till of men who looked as hud
as himself, daring anyone* anion*; them to May u word, when no
one opened his lips.

On reaching' Shevenne I pnt " llenrv ' in a liviTV stai)le,
sellin<; the other horse at once, as he wonid have eaten more
thiiii his value at eii^ht shillin;;s a day, and I went myself to
Afr. (iildersleeve's oiu'c more, nnuni;;in}^ to j;et a hed to uiystdl
by saying that I had a lever, which thon-^h not very dau;{eroUH
mi;;lit he troublesome to anyono who ean;;lit it. 11' I had not
made some sueh exense I should huv(; been aeeused of pnttinj^
on airs, and there would havi; been troul)le.

The town had ^rown very mueh dnrin;; the last ilireu months,
and now contaiiu*d about five thousand inhaUiCants ; but itH
nioral character had iM)t improved, and a vijrilance i-ommittcc
had just been Formed. This was u lu'cessity iii ^ueh places,
and at first did a j^reat ileal of good, the n-^idar [)olice lu'ing a
iarcc; but gradually abuses crept in, many joining theeonnnittec
in order that they might denounce souw mian against whom they
had a grudge, and thcTC i» no doubt that a number of innocent
juen were hung in this way, as very little proof of guilt was
necessary, the trial •sometimes not lasting more than ten minutes,
the supposition being that a man was guilty unless he could
prove liimsclf to l)e innocent.

I found the elections for mayor and town council going
on, and was urged by some men at the hotel to vote, as
I possessed the only necessary (lualifieatiou — that is, having
l)cen three months in the territory. Our landlord was
the respectable candidate, the popular one being a Colonel
Johnson, an cx-prize-fightcr and owner of one of the largest

ill.

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2.')^ ELKCTiON lull MAYOR.

«alo()iiH. The |K)1I wtis to 1)0 open only one <lny, and I IoiiikI
that every ileeeiit inaii who went there to vote for our e.indi-
(hite returned without haviu;; heeii ahh; t<» do «o uu«l more or
U'ns liiittered. Th<' ;;;uuhh'rH were nuiua;;iu;j: everythiuj;, heiri^
to II mail .lohuHouiaus, so 1 ;;ot a ticket I'or l)oth, oue of
them heiuj; hhu- and the <tther yellow, the hlue heiu;; lor
our uuiii ; s(» [mttiiij; thin in ujy pocket ami llourishiu;,' the
V<'lh>w oue in mv ri^ht hand I went down to where the p(dl
wan hein;; held. Here amou;; the ;;aud)lers 1 louml Hcveral of
mv " oi<l friemU " from St. .loe, who immediately >liook hands
eorilially and anked if they eoiild do anything; for me, on which
I Maid I wanted to vote, allowin;? them to Hce my yellow ticket,
hut that I wan alraid one wan liable t(j meet with nnv^U trcat-
uu'iit in doing so. They as>ured nn*, however, that with them
ther(! was notion;; to fear, and they passj-d mv v ith the ;,'reatcst
ease throti^h a very rouj^h moh to the entraiu'e to a narrow
passa^'c lu'twcen two rails, at tin; end of which was n small
window where the tickets had to he handed in, and on
reachinj? this I j)asseil in ujy hlue ticket and at ouce left lor
the hotel, not waitin;; to see "my friends" aj^ain. I wjis
e()n|j;ratnlate(l on heiaj; one of the very few supporters of ojir
lu)Ht who had returned in a sound state. As it turned out, all
luv stratcj'v was wasted, as Colonel .Icdnison was returned hv
a lar^e nuijority, and 1 had the pleasure of seeing; him driving;
round the town that evening; in a carriage drawn hy six horses,
with a barrel of whiskey on the fioni seat, from whiili he
dispensed freely to all comers.

^Iv ayrtie was no better in Sheveuue than it had been iu
ramp, returning every morning about ten o'clock and making
me so weak that I was (it Tor nothing, and this induced an

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AN I NI'LKASANT Nh'.Ifill IIOl'K.

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Iri*«liiiwtti, mIh)h(> uimw. wuh Fox and who occiipicil tlu Mcxt l»<>il
to mine, to :«I)iihi; Kii;^li«»liiu»ii In vvvvy \)nss\\i\c way. 'Wuh niiin
had hciii a ntiiicr in Montana, bnt bad done Monicthin;; there
which had euuned him to he hunted ont <d' th(! eonntrv. What
it wan I never heard, bnt it must have been nonnthin^ very
had, for it wa>i always >4aid that "a nwm who was not lit I'tn*
IV[ontaiMi eonhl only ^o to one otlicr place," whieli I need not
niention.

Now I had heard Fox say that there was nothin;; of which
he had so ;;reat a horror as of fiiulin;; any animal in his bed,
(leelarin;; that if he ioimd a sknnk there, as a eonirade of his
}iad once done, \w thon^dit lu! shonid ^o mad. Owin;; him a
(rrnd^e as ! did, I determin(<d that he shonld have the ehanec.
I had inail(< mysch a ..'olt'-skin cap when in the monntains,
with tla; t.'il han^.'-ini; down behind, which had always been too
liot to wear jul was of no nsi; to me, so ;;oin^ to !)C(l early
one ni}.cht 1 pnt the cai) in I'ox's bed, knowing; that as the honse
was not iidl at the time he wonid have one to himsrlf. I also
lantcned u strin*^ to tin; lower conu-r of his bed-clothes,
brinj^in;;" it down thron<;h a snnill staph- which I had driven
into the floor in sneh a way as to nmke it appear that the bed-
clothes had been drawn oil' I'rom the opi)osite end of the room.
lie canjc up very late that iii}j;ht, more than twenty men beinj^
in bed and asleep before he arrived, it oidy took him aboni
thre(! minntcs to nndress, when he ])nt out his candle and
jnmpcd into bed. An awfel yill followed by another
immediately resonnded through the room, and tli{)u;,^h he had
a f^ame le^ and was lame in eonsccpicncc, he was ojit oT bed
with on(! leap, pulling out two revolvers which were under his
l)illow (for in that room everyone had at least one with him)

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Hiotographic

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23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

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A I'UACTICAL JOKE.

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niul declared tliiit there was some wild aiiiiual in liis bed and
that he meant to fire at it. On i liis the men in the other part ol"
the room, wlio liad been awakened by the yells, said that if he
did they woidd fire at him, as it wonld probably bring up the
vigilance committee. One of them then jumped out and drew
d()W)i the be(l-eh)tlies exposing the cap. Ko\'s rage was
awful, and he swore that if he eould find out the man who
liad put it there he would shoot him " on sight." I naturally
did not inform him who it was, and no one else knew, so lie
got into bed again using awful language. 1 let him lie about
ludf an hour, when I pulled the string and olT came his ])ed-
clothes, the string coming away in my liands as I intended it
sliould. lie sat up and gasped for brcatli, speechless with rage,
but when he found his voice my pen cannot do justice to his
language. I of course pretended to sleep through it all, and was
not suspected even Avhen I asked him if he had not had ratlicr
a disturbed night, as I fancied I heard some sounds coming
from the direction of his l)cd during the night. He glared at
me for a moment, but as I kept my countenance he walked off
with an oath.

While I was in the town two Englishmen arrived, on their
way to California, and as they were quiet well-behaved men
Ave got to be very friendly, the occupants of the other beds
being such a rough lot, so wc used to lie awake talking till far
into the night. One of these two men had been a prize-
fighter who had made money and now meant to go into
business in San Francisco. They proposed one evening tliat
we should go round and sec the sights, promising to stand by
me should there be any need for it. So we first of all visited
one of the gambling-dens, which we found so full of smoke that

! ') •

LIFK IN SIIEYKNNE.

2GI

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\vc could liiu'dly sec uuytliiii^. 'riicrc woix! about seventy oi'
eif^lity iiuMi ill it, about halt' of whom were playin;;, chiefly at
faro, rouj^e et iioir, and roulette, the stakes bein;;- principally
silver with a spriidclin<^ of j^old pieces. It was early in the
cvcninj;', ..o that there was no one drunk and not much noise,
but a man to wlioin we spoke told us to return al)out
eleven o'clock if wc wished to sec the fun. In the back room
was a young girl doing five hundred miles in five hundred hours
and looking wonderfully fresh, though she was su[)[)osed to have
done more than half that distance — the truth being that it was
tliC! public who were; being done and not the distance^, as in the
instance I have before mentioned. We then visited a danc.'c-
liouse, where there wen; three I'enudes, two of whom were
smokitig cigars, and yon had to pay half a dollar to dance
round the room with one of them, standing drinks afterwards.
The room, which Avas a very long one, Avas full, a small space
being reserved at one eiul for tlie dancing, the music for which
Avas a street organ.

I Avas tokl a story of one of these places soon after Sheyennc
Avas started, Avhich my informant declared he had Avitnessed,
but for the truth of Avhich I Avill not vouch. He said that he
Avas standing near the bar in a dance-house talking to a chance
acquaintance, Avhen a drunken man got on the bar and
began shouting ami brandishing a revolver, sAvearing that he
Avould shoot the first man Avho refused to drink Avith him, on
which the man to Avhom my informant was si)eaking stopped
in the middle of a sentence, drew a revolver and shot the
man dead, merely saying " that he might have hurt some one,"
and then finished his sentence.

Certainly human life Avas thought very little of in such

or,o

TIIK M(iI[,ANCE rOMMITTKK.

places as .Tulcsburj^ and SlicycniiOj and often wlicn I liavc heard
sliots in tlic street as wc sat round the stove; in the; evenin}^,
and I hiivc; ;;()t up to {^o and see what was j^oinj; on, some one
•Nvouhl say "It's only sonu; poor devil j^one nuch-r; sit still
ludess you wish to i'ollow him." On several occasions the;
vijiilanec! coniniittee turned out and went hy the hotel iu a
(lonl)le line, fillinj; the street and arrestin;^' all they nu't, each
mau wearinj^ a l)lack liall'-niask and carrying a revolver iu his
ri^^ht hand, and it was woiulcrful how soou the streets cleared
in front of tluMU, even drunkeu uicn seeming to become s()])i,'r
at ouce. One uiorniug I was awakened l)y lieariug a good
deal of talking downstairs, aiul on going to sen; what it was I
found that everyone was looking at the bodies of four men
which were hanging from telegraph-poles within sight of the
house, having been tried, coudcnined, aiul executed by the
vigilance committee during the night. While I was there they
l)ut a man against a telegraph-pole telling him they were going
to shoot him, firing really only blank cartridge, but he was
found to be dead from fright.

Among the men hung in Shcyenne was a noted desperado
named Hughes, who was supposed to luive murdered five
or six men, and Avhose wife was as bad as himself; so after
hanging him they gave her twenty-four hours' notice to leave
the town, telling her that she woidd be hung if found there
after that time. I heard of this, and also that she was
going l)y the next train, so I Avent down to sec her off.
A great crowd had assembled for the same purpose, and
when she appeared she was mobbed, most of the men seem-
ing to admire her pluck. She was driven to the station in
a carriage (as the line was now open to Shej'cnne and was

JOi; lUI.KY

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mo«t t'liibonitcly i^ot up and wore a j;rcat. deal of jewelry.
The men crowded round to slialvc liands, and hlie joked and

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luni'licd with theui as if she* was iroinir t

^oiii}; to a Da

Alt

er

j;ettin;;: into tlie train slu; alternately cursed the vi;;ilanec
conunitteo and sanj^ snatches of comic sonj;s, and was kissin;^
her hand us tlie train disappeared round a curve ; and yet
tliis wonum had acted as a deeov lor her husband and had
been the cause of, if slic had not actually witnessed, several
murders.

One of the (piietest men in the liotel was a prize-lij^hter
nanuid "Joe Riley," who was training to flight for the
championship of ]\[ontana. He was an Irishman l)ut not a
Fenian, ami had seen better days, his peoi)]e having been
well off. After tryin*^- many tilings and failin*^ he had ))e(!omc
what he was, and had Avon several iij;;hts. He and T used often
to sit up and talk by the stove "when everyone had j;()ne to bed;
and we were there one iii.uht when some; one knocked violently
at the door, wliieli stood at the top of three Avooden snudl steps.
liilcA^ asked who it Avas, on Avhich a voice answered that it was
some fellows avIio wanted Avhiskey, though it was evident that
they had had too much already. Riley told them that the bar
was closed and that no more could be bad that night, but as the
knocking still continued he opened the door, Avhen three men,
all more or less drunk, attempted to come in ; lliley, hoAvever,
prevented tlicir doing so, saying that tliey must go aAvay, and.
on tlieir asking avIio Avould make them do so, he replied that
he Avould. One of them then made a rush at him, but Avas met
by a rigbt-liander in the face, knocking him into the road, tlie
second going doAvn on the top of him, on Avliich they made off,
not daring to use tlieir pistols, as it Avas only a day or tAvo

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A UAH-WAV aUlCKT-Y MADF,

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after tlio four iiicii luul Ijlcu liiiiig, wliich quieted the town
woiKhMfiilly for u tinu".

A\ liilc I Mas id Slicyciiiu; atcu-niile nice was gut up hi tweeu
a prairic-hrcd mare and a tlioiougldjivd, as ]\v. was ealled,
l)(!l()nging to sonu! gainl)lers, and I went to see it. Tlic

d)l

ganiDier H iiorsc wa

IS eertainlv not tlioron":lil)red, tlioui;'!! a

good-looking animal, and the nmre was a nice pony somewliat
higgcr than " I'olly. "

Tl

\cvv, was

a ureat deal ol" bettina', a crowd of gambh-rs

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backing tlieir companion's horse, and a good deal of (piarrellinji
as to Mciuhts, the uauiblers having yot a l)ov from the east

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hilc the owner ol" the mare, who was a big man, rode her
himself. Tii spite of this the mare led nearly all the way, being
only beaten in the last mile. There were many attenii»ts made
to induce me to run my stallion ; but even if he had been last
enough, which he was not, I should not have had fair phiy, as
they Avould have thought nothing of giving liim a dose before
tlie race.

I had an opportunity of seeing how quickly railways arc
raad(! in Western America before I left. A branch line
"was want(>d from Sheyenne to Fort William llussell, so they
ofiered the men who were working on the main line extra pay
if tliey would work on a Sunday. The distance was three miles,
and they began it on Sunday morning and liad some freight
cars at the fort by nightfall ; the ties in most cases were
laid on the grass, a few shovelfuls of earth being put under
them "hen necessary. It was in this way that the Central
Pacific llailway was made at first, to get the subsidy from the
government, and of course when the storms came most of them
gave way and had to be remade.

LKAVi: Fon i:noi,ani). '2i)')

Just jirtcr ("liriHtinuH I received lettern wliieli made it
uecessiiry for me to <fo east, so I had to ^ivc up my intention

of joining; V in the mountains, wliere he renmined till

early in the spiini^-, killing;- as nnmy deer as he wanted and a
fair nuinbcr of elk, and then he returned south and I went
back to Mn^land. 1 sold " I'olly " to him ; i)ut it "grieved mo
very much to part with her, as 1 i'elt 1 was partinj; with an
old friend.

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CJIlOUHi;-SII()()TIN(J.

ciiaiti:r XX.

I intcnil 1(1 ^'o up tlif W'icliitii imd Ii'ril Kivcrs.- ( iroiisc-^lidoiiii;.'.— ( 'ri'ii-iiiig
11 Immsi', — I'uor .xcttlt-'r.i. —A iiioufy-IciKlinj;' piirsoii. - Diiiij.-'fr ol' Mfaciin
(•(loliH.— Ilt'iiru'ttii ill li^74, — A iiovtluT. — ll()ii).''li CdwhoyN. — hoso my
horse. — III I urn tit\viir<l>» llturicttii. — Indians about. — A .siispicidiisliorsi!.
man. — Itiacli Henrietta. Tlio HOttloiiUMit raided by Mlack Kt'ttle. The
settlers cowed. — A pntaciier. The preacher and I put up in the .same
room. The lir.^t ni^dit lie.^cures ; the second I do. Life of acowhoy. A
new class of cowboy. A ■.'ontlenia;, cowboy. — A ^-'oodshontini^'-^Tonnd.
hoot u puma, — A lucky sportsman.

IIi;ARiNfi ri'oni my friend F , wlio was then living in

Texas, that the game had very much increased since I was
there last, I started for Denison in 1871 for a trip on the
AViehita ;ind Ued Rivers, intending to remain' out until
Christmas. On the way there, going by St. Louis, Sedalia,
and Slierman, I st()i)ped at Parsons and liad two days' capital
grouse-shooting, they at all events ])eing much more numerous
than I liad ever seen them in those parts. It is very curious
witli reference to these birds, that you can very seldom find
tliem in uncultivated portions of the West, but as soon as
settlers come and plant crops the grouse appear at once and
get more and more plentiful. I liavc found a few, when after

< IlKASlNCi A l|()U8F,.

'2i\7

hi{f (i^unir, iti wild parts of Mdiitaiui and Idaho, l)ut not ciioiij^li
to make it woitlt uliilc to take a nliot ^iin ; and a<« in those
imrtu they live; dnrin;; the shoot iiij^-Ncason on n)s( hiids, they
tast(! very strongly of th( in and arc not worth killin;;. I ^^ot
more than si\tv brace to niv own urun at Parsons in u (hi ' and
ti hair, bi'sidcs a lew Nni|)c and dncks. Half a day's travelling
i'roni there landed me at Dcnison, which I I'onnd to he; a very
dull little wooden t(jwn, with a wri^tehed inn, when; tlu; arrival

of a strangci" was an event. F was waitiii}^ for inc, and

>ve at once set about buying our outfit. \Vc j^ot a two-horse
Maj,'^on, a tent, two work-horses, jiiul the necessary provisions,
})esid(; engaj^in;; a Mexican as cook, leaving the buying of
riding-horses till we got fui'ther into the country, as they were

much eheai)er tlicre than near the railway, l' was already

provided with a good hunting-jjuny, and ^oon after li-aving
Denisoii 1 bought a horse with a liistoiy. He had been ridden
by a scout in u light with the Conianches, where his master
had been killed, aiul he had been " creased," as it is called,
the ball striking the upper edge of the shoulder — a wound
Avhich temporarily paralyses a horse. It was in this way that
a great numy wild horses were ca[)ture(l before tin; country
was settled, and the shot rccjuired a lirst-ratc; uiarksnuui, as if
half an inch too low the aninud was killed or ruined for life.
About forty miles from Denisou we came to a snuill place
called Whitesboro', Avhere I bought a mare out of a waggon,
which proved to be an excellent animal in every way.

The settlers in this part of the country struck nie as being
the poorest and most miserable of any we had comi; across ;
no one seemed to have any money, and nearly all of them
were very much in debt^ having borrowed in many cases at

^

II

i

lii:;

'2i\b

MKMIAN 10OK8.

nlxty per rriit. T met a |i:h>»m» I'idiii;;- aloiif; the rojul one ilay,
and ({('ttiit^ into ('onvci'HMl ion \\'\\\\ Inin, I li:i|i|i(ii((l to say liow
•nrry I wixn for the poor tucn ulin li:i<l to do tlii^, and ulnit
liorriltir nsnicrs I tli(Mi;4:lit tin nc luiii wimt who had asked siich
exorbitant interest, uhcn he tmiieil to nn- i|nile licrcely and
Raid that h(* eindd not see it, that a nnoi had a ri^ht to nniku
all he ('(Mild 1)1 his ni(>ne\ ; it was optioind \Mth the borrower
whetinM* he look it (n' not, a(l(lin<; that he had lent sonn; money
hiinseir at that rate.

From Whiteshoro' we <lrovc tliion;;!! a |>relty eonntry to

(

lainsMlle, a very nn'(> httletoun hnilt on the .Mexican plan

>!:

ronml a plaza, as it was a (piiet plaee. There was ([iiite a stir
ahont tli(> time we aiiiveil over a shootin;; alVrav which had
just taken plaee. A man who went hy the name of " Calit'ornia
Joe " had shot a man in hioad dayli;;;ht in the pla/a and had
ridden oil', no (tne tryinjj; to stop him, as he had the <'liaraeter
of heiii};' a reckless (h-speiado.

\Vc wire oi)li<;ed to send onr ^Mexican cook hack from hert',
roi)iacinj;- him hy an American. lie was very dirty, like
most of his count I'ymcn, ami objected to washing;' our dishes
more than once a day, considering- a scrajjc yjood ;MH)ngh for
the other twi) meals. There was a sta^e from (iainsvillc to
Dcnison, and hy this he returned, telling the people there on
his arrival tliat he had lelt us because we put on too nuuiy
airs. AVe had heard on our way of

an

lotlu-r liuntin},^-party,
cousistiu": of five Tcxaus, who had also eni-aued a ^Fexiean as

o"©"^

couk, and as thcv were verv nuich dissatisfii'd with him, tl

icy

had at first found fault with and afterwards struck him. The
man did uothing at the time, but one day two of the party
wont sliootiu": l)v themselves, aiul found on their return that

IIINIlir.TIA IN 1S7L

20!)

their three n)in|i;ttiions hud heeit tiiiii 'ircd with uit axo !t.' tho
!Sr('xi«'uii, who h'li u writtt-ii stiiteiiKMit of \\\h rniHoiiH for «h)inK

did,

it. Wi! Iiad h<MM \\\m' in ;,'etliiij; rid of our rook when we «
lor the MexieuiiM are a reveii;;erul and treaehi-roiin race, and if
any oF us had strnek him we nii;;hl hav(> met with iUr »ame fate,
h'rom (iainnville we -^vt out for Henrietta, a very ismall
Hetth'nient not far from when; Knrt IIm(1';iIu N|n'in;;H nued to he,
on the liiftle W ieliila llivi'r. On the way my rilh- IVII out of
the wa(;;;on and remained nearly a day on the road ; how-
(!ver, fortnnately no om> <'ame ahm;; the road, and w(; found
it when we went hack to hxdv for it. Ilenrii;tta was then a
phtce of a <hi/en Hinall eahins, plaei d in two lines faein;; one
am>ther, on th(! hari; prairie, and al)out two hundred yards from
the river. The |)rinei|ial nnin, who was always spoken of as

i)udu;e .loli

I'^v .lohnson (I am sure I do not Uuow why, U)V lie was tlu;
pustinastiM' and had never heen a lawyer), had a Ion;;' talk to
lis ahout our trii), and tiied to persuade; us to ;;iv(! it up hy
telling us that tin; Indians, I'hielly Sheyeniu's and Arrapahoes,
were very had just then, and that they i'ully expi^cted that the
Netth'ment would he; attacked hefore lon^. A party who hud
hiHMi out " skin huntiii"' " had lately eomc in with scjveral of
the men wounded and their w a^-;;()U richllcd with hullets. We
luid heard this kind of tiling- so often before that we did not
take much notice; of it, generally linding any Indian news to
])e very much exag^eratc<l, if not entirely untrue.

Our first day out from Ihmrietta wo camped on tlu; haidv of
a small stream away from any bushes, partly as bein^ a better
position, in ease Indians should take it into their heads to
attack us, aud partly as low ground means ague in Texas, ami we
had both of us had cnouuh of that. During the ni^ht a norther

i

270

KOI (ill (OWIIOYH.

1 »'

i I

lH'p;nii, .tint if \V(« Iiiul not ^iatw out nt oiicc riiiil liclil tlic two
rorncrM of tlir tent on tlic mIiIc from uliirli it (aiiic, it woiilil
liiivr hcni lilnwii to picrcM. \\v vivrt* in Ijcd ulirii it Im'^^iiii,
mill liiiil only time to jnnip into onr tntw^crN, no tliiit in tlir<«p
uimI h llannci itliirt wi; liud to »\t tor Ihmiin lioldinu; on witli till
our Htrcn^^th, nnd \\v were (|uitr worn onf nnd nearly frown hy
morning.

Tlir iollowint; <lny we paxncd n cattl(>o'aiu')n>, one of tlic llr>t
wliicli luul been Ntartcd in Ttxtts, tlic cattle liaviii;^' l)ccn iillowtrd
up to tliJM time to ran<;c aiivMlicir, with no cnuhoys to keep
tinni within certain honiKU. TIichc liixt (nwlioys were very
run^h Icllows, hcin;; in many ca^cs men who had to di>4up[iear
for a time, yet they were kind-hearted ami hospitaldc, and
would f^ivt! a pansinj; stranjicr anytliin;; he wanted, or shoot
liim, tdionid a (|naircl arise, with c<|nal pleasure. Tlien^ wcro
four men at this raiiche, which consisted of a scpiarc liuust; of
lo^H nnd u corral lor cattle, with no attempt at a }^^'lrdell or
field. Thev told lis that tli(>v had nccu some Indians in tin;
distance! a lew days hefore, and that they wci'c nut ;;oinj5 to'
venture far from the raiiehe lor some time, — Ulaek Kettle*, ti
noted Sheyenne chief, heiu*;- in that part of the country with
II liuiulred warriors.

At our ii(?xt (!amp we found a j^ood (l(>al of <(ame — deer and

turk

ined

Keys, — vso wc remained some days, wlien my " (

•reased liorsc

)f

hv.'iwii; missing-, I horrowed a pony from a eow-ram'he, a short
distance from our camp, and rode towards Henrietta, suiiposiu;^

• Tlii.-i was not tho ci'lchrati'd •' Mliick Kt'ttlc,'" cliicf dl" tlic SlioytMint.'S,
nnd who WHS liilh'il byCienernl (lister's troops at tlic biiltlr on the F.ittlo
Wicliitii KivtT in iHli-t, but was aiiotliiT clilol", who prohahly look tho
dfcuuscil chief's iiaint' at'tur his drath.

A KURPinOVM IIOKNF.MAN.

rti

and

tlint ill all lu'oliuhility my Iiuim' liad ^oiir Ixtrk tlirrr. Tlic
pony I hitil bori'iiwril uun I'onnilri'itl IVtMu too liuni \\ork unit
(;i)ul<l only rai^c i nUiw {-tintrr, u^titm iin it' IiIn Wp^n wvn*
wtMxlrii and hud no joiiitM. An 1 |m»Mfd tlu; tlmt raiitlic uc
lind cumu to, I found all tlir cowlioyN in it and tiuri liorMrt in
tliu t'ornil. Tiny told inc that tlui t'vcniii^ iHiorc tliry had hccn
out nnindin^ up ^t(Mn(! cuttle, whtii they wom run in liy uhout
i'oi'ty Indiana, and had ^ot in only jUHt in tiiiic. Kortunatily
tlu'Hc Houthcrn indiauH mrvi'i* dinniount to tight, ^o that they
>V(*r(! Mufc when once insidi'. It wuh not |irolial)lc tliut tin;
ludiaUH would liun^ uhoul in the nci^hbonthood, uh thi^y
Mr)uld know thut the cowhoyn would not Icuvu the ranclic, so I
drtctinincd to ^o on, and Naw nothing hut hoiuc antelope, till
uhout live o'clock, when it was {{ettinp; dark, and then 1
discovered a man riding aloii^ the top ol* a parallel rid^i; to the
oiu' I was on. It was too dark to ^ce whether he wasau Indian
or a white uuui, ho 1 hailed him several tinus hut got im>
answer, ami as I e.\[>ectcd to hav(! to camp out, Henrietta heing
htill some miles away, I lired two shots at him, aiming very
high, my double rifle heing only sighted for two hundred
yards, and the distance appeared to he far mon; than that.
lie at once disappeared, riding, I presunu!, down the other side
of tlu! ridge, 'i'liis madc! me feel rather unconifortahh; about
eam[)ing out, so I determined to reach ll(>nri(!tta that night if
possible, and I blundered (ui, my [)uny nearly coming down
over every inequality in the ground, till long after dark, when
finding that I was lost 1 camped in some; brushy without any
water, made a miserable sui)per of some crackers, and terned in,
having nothing but an old Ha(l(llc-blaid<et for covering and not
daring to light a fire. Mefore daylight I was off again and

r

1

,

I

.)70

A PRKACllEU.

luckily struck the Wicliitii u few miles l)elo\v Ilcurictta, and

»v

ff

;hc(l that 1)1:

bout tc

th

a. Here I t'ouiul

mor:

evcrytliin<5 in coul'usiou : IMuck Kettle and his warriors had
])asscd throuf^h the place, liooting and yelling, two nights
before, and liad carried oil' every head of stock of all kinds,
and even all the poultry, no one daring to fire at them. When
we were there before, we had met a much-got-up individual,
who was loud aljout what he would do if the Indians came
there, giving us a great deal of advice al)Out how wc should act
if attacked, and yet this man was one of the first to advise
no shots bcinu; fired at these Indians when thev did come for
fear of provoking them. One of the settlers borrowed my
pony to follow the trail a little way, io sec if he could pick up
any strayed aniuuds, but he could not have gone far as he was
back in an hour.

A preacher had arrived on the day of the Indian raid, and
a meeting was held that afternoon. I attemlcd, of course, and
listened to his sermon for more than an hour, Avhcn, not being
able to stand it any longer, I went out, as the man made me
laugh by using long words the meaning of which he was quite
ignorant of, and putting them in the wrong places. When the
service was over he gave me a long lecture for having gone
away, and it was a little difficult explaining why I had done so,
without hurting his feelings. He told me his pony had bcj-n
carried ofi:' with the rest, and that he was getting up a
subscription to buy another, and he hoped I would give
liberally. I replied that I meant to give a sum to Judge
Johnson for the poorest of the settlers, many of whom were
utterly ruined by the loss of their stock, and that I thought
that as he had a salary of twelve hundred dollars (£210) he

HE SCORES A POINT.

ns

•tta, iiiul

I round
iors liiul
) nights

II kinds,
When

dividual,
us ciiino
lould uct
o advise
L'ome for
iwed my
pick up
i he wna

raid, and
irsCj and
ot being
ladc mc
as quite
^heu the
ng gone
done so,
ad been
g up a
Id give
) Judge
)ra Mere
thought
!240) he

could afl'ord to buy himself another pony, on whieli he left mc
in a rage.

Finding: that mv horse had not come into the settlcuicnt, and
thinking that the Iiulians had probably got him, I determined
to wait for the mail, which was expected the next day, and
thp!i go back to can) p. When night came, Judge Johnson
told u\c that he had been obliged to put me with the parson
in a lean-to (which he, ])y the way, called a room). This was
at the; back of his cabin, and had ajx-rtures for doors and
wiiulows; the bed was made of four forked sticks, over which
were laid a number of small ones and some grass, and two single
blankets were spread on the top of this. I had inspected it,
and not being very favourably impressed with its comfort, I sat
talking to the Judge till long after his family had gone to bed;
ami when I did go to my quarters I found the preacher already
asleep and with about two thirds of both blankets round him,
leaving me so little that, though I lay as close to him as
I could, my back was all uncovered. Finding it very cold, I
asked him if he had not more than his share, on which he
replied that he had barely enough and wished me " good-
night,'' an impossibility under the circumstances. I managed
to get through it somehow by continually turning and warming
one side and then the other against him, and was thankful when
the morning came.

The mail did not arrive the next day, so I passed my time in
going round among the cabins listening to the very curious
experiences of their owners. Some of the occupants had known
a great many ups and downs, the latter predominating. ^Nlost
of them, coming from the east, had had no experience of
Indians, and were thinking of moving back towards the

u'^

p

1^'

'#.•■■

i.

274

I UETALIATE.

iT'l

Mississippi once inorc, as tlicy were mucli fVi;;]it(Mi((l hy Bljick
Kettle's raid. They told me that he had Home two hundred
men with him, and that they eamc; elose to the ealiins, in some
eases hi-eaking the glass in tin; windows with their f,nins and
tirin}^ into the houses; and that one man, having put U[) a
small lowl-housc, in Mhieli all his ehickens were shut np at
night, had had it robhed hy one ol' the Indians, who had taken
tlic fowls and hud tied them to his saddle. 1 think the number
of Indians nmst have been exaggerated, as J51aek Kettle, I
heard later, Inul only one hundred warriors with him. lu the
confusion of a night attaek it was easy to see double.

I went to bed early that night, the preaelier not having yet
come liome; but about an hour afterwards he arrived, and was
much put out at finding me already in bed. lie made up
the fire, though this did very little good in a plaee with three
big holes in it, and not yet chinked, and then lie turned in,
merely taking off his coat and boots. He soon found, as I had
done the night before, that the blankets were too narrow, as I
had taken u liberal allowance and put it well under me ; so he
pulled, but could get no more ; he then asked if I thought he
could sleep under so little, when I reminded him that I had
said much the same thing the night before. He was quiet for
a time and then began again, asking me if I thought it right
to make a preacher pass the night in such a manner, on which
I said that I had always thought that a pastor should help his
flock, but had discovered my mistake the night before. He
then got up and sat by the fire on a three-legged stool, and
there he remained until the morning, Avhen he would not speak
to me.

The mail came iu early the next day, bringing some letters

■li'ii

A OKNTLEMAN COWHOY.

17.")

limi(li'('(l
ill soiiio
iins and
)ut up :i
it up ut
;ul taken
: nuuil)L>r
ivcttlc, I
In the

iving yet

ami was
made U[)
ith three
irned in,

as I had
row, as I
c ; so he
►ought ho
at I had

quiet for
it it right

on whieh
[1 help his
tore. He
stool, and
not speak

me letters

for us, and I left for camp al)()ut mid-day and reached tin; first
ranclie hy evening. I found tluit they liad se(>n no more;
Indians, 1)nt tliev had remained in most of the; time. Thev
were ineliiu.'d to think tliat the man I liad seen was an
Indian out hunting hy liimself, and tliat 1 might have hit him,
but the distance was so great that I do not think I did.

The eowbovs led a verv hard Hfe in those days, their food
being only meat, bread, and eolfee, whereas now they have
tinned vegetables, fruits, jams, and all kinds of hixnries. Thi;
class of man, too, has changed, as there are now many
gentlenuMi among them ot' good families, learning the business
before si'tting u[) for themselves. J remember once in Daeotali,
when out after deer, meeting a rough-looking cowl)oy, to
whom I spoke a few words, and then, as we wen; hoth going
in the same direction, we rode side by side for some time
without speaking. It was a very hot day, and he suddenly
said, '•' Would not some iced cham[)agne-cup 1)e nice now?"
and on my looking hard at him, he said, " You seem to think
that I have never tasted it, but, indeed, I have very often. I
lived in South Kensington once, and went about in a stove-
pipe hat and a frock coat." Vet here he was looking as rough
as any of his companions.

I left the ranche early and was in camp by nightfall, where

I found my horse ; he had strayed off and wound u[) his rope in

a thicket, wdiere the men had discovered him. The next day

we moved to Bufl'alo Creek, and had a great deal of troulile

in getting there on account of streams with high banks

having to be crossed. We found this place the best we were

ever in for deer and turkevs. F and I in less than two

hours shot nineteen turkeys, and the cook actually shot one

T U

I

i

270

SHOOT A PUMA :

'.

'i1

while Hittiiiix by tho camp-fire. Of course we should not
have killed so many, hut each oi' us thouj^ht he was havinf? all
the sport to himself.

I was out oik; day, some miles up the stream, when I came
on u fine buck feeding; I managed to dismount and tie up
M ithout his seeing me, and keeinng in the tind)er as far as I
could, I then began to crawl, getting to within about three
hundred yards of him, when something startled him and he
eantcved round a point of timber. As he did not seem mueh
frightened I followed as fast as I was able, and crawling round
the point I could not sec the deer, but noticed a small head
with pointed ears above some long grass, watching me. I
thought it must be a avoIF, so, determined to have something
for my trouble, 1 fired, aiming under it, and I he head sank and
a long tail lashed backwards and forwards as I walked up, and
on getting close I saw that I had killed a medium-sized puma,
the first that I had ever seen. It is curious, considering that
there are a good many of them about, how scklora you see
them, though you often find their tracks, and where they have
been at the carcass of a deer you may have killed.

I heard of a shopkeeper from Antonio, in Texas, who came
out to a large hay camp, about forty miles north of that place,
and who borrowed a soldier's rifle thinking that he might get a
shot at a deer, having never killed anything larger than a goose
in his life. He was away some hours and returned in a great
state of excitement, saying that he had killed two big animals
as large as calves, and when some of the men went with him
to see Avhat these Avere, they found that he had shot two
pumas — such a chance as might not occur to a professional
hunter once in his Avliole life.

GETTING HIM IK) Ml',.

277

uUl not
iving all

I came
I tie up
far as I
ut three

uiul ho
m mueh
i{5 round
all head

mc. I
mcthing
sank and

up, and
id puma,
ing that
you see
ley have

ho came
it place,
;ht get a
. a goose
a great
animals
rvith him
hot two
tfessional

As I nii^^lit never kill another, I Avas very anxious to get this
one to camp and skin him there ; so I tried to hoist him on to
the mare, l)ut the thing was like a big cat — so limp tliat when
r got it up on one side it fijll ofl' the other. The skin was so
loose that it was very diflieult to get a good hold of it, so I
had to thiidv of sonu^ other way. I could have hauled it to
camp tied to my horse's tail, as I had often done with deer,
but that would utterly ruin the skin, so I first of all hoisted it
up with my lariat to a bough about ten feet above me, and then
riding under the bougli I gradually lowered the body on to the
back of the marc, sitting with my face to the tail, and after
l)indiu"r it firmly to the saddle I tied the fore and hind feet to
the stirrups, and by keei)ing my legs very stiff and my feet
much further out than is usual, I managed to get it to camp. I
supposed it weighed about two hundred pounds, and the skin
measured ten feet from the nose to the tip of the tail when
stretched nearly square. I saw a much finer one than this
when in British Columbia, which had been killed by an Indian,
but it had been very badly skinned and stretched. Mine was
a light fawn-colour, whereas his was nearly black, shading off
to fawn. Pumas have a most unpleasant cry, which very much,
resembles that of some one in agony ; and there are stories of
these animals springing on passers by from a tree, but I could
not get one of them well authenticated, and do not believe
them.

i

278

AWFUL TIIUNDER-HTOHMS.

t I J !

f.fi

CllArTER XXI.

Cump on Mull'ali) Crt'ok. — Awful lliiiiKlt'r-storins. — Two cowLoys visit our
cniiip. Wi! I'oturii tlio visit. — Di'Siniptiou of a "wliaclt." — Storios of
iittac'ks by Iiidians.— A Ijuck-juiupor. — A curious nliot, — A refractory
mart'. — Loss of n li(»rse. — A licrd of wild horses. Old |{rid},'('r'.s opinion
of tliciii. — (.'amp nearly destroyed by lire. — Poisoning'' wild animals.
— .V ^'liost .«t(iry.

I DO not think tlmt wc ever lived l)ettcr in any camp than tliat
on UulTalo Creek. Turkeys were so plentiful that we only ate
the ehoicc parts, feedinj^ our dogs with the remainder. Wc
had as much venison as wc wanted, besides ducks and grouse —
oui' only trouble being to dispose of all the game wc got, as we
never let any spoil if we could help it.

One night we had a succession of the most awful thunder-
stoiius ] (;vcr saw. Our horses were used to living in the open
air, and yet on this occasion they were so frightened that if avc
had not gone out and held them, tliey would have broken
loose and have been lost. It would have been an amusing
sight for a spectator if he could have seen us, in the light
eostnnu* of a hat and a pair of boots, holding on to the horses
in a pelting rain, and being dragged in all directions by them,

■ ■■ ;:!

COWBOYS I'AV L'S A VIHIT.

'27\)

mul frc(|Uontly taken olT our foot, uliilo, from not Ixinj; ablo
to SCO, wc Avcrc very mnch knoeked uljout by their knees.
The storms (;anie up one after another, l)arely jfivin;; ns time
to get into Ixil and warm our.Hidvcs before anotlier began, uiul
out W(' had to ;^n) again.

When we had l)cen in this eamp about three we(>ks two cow-
boys arrived from u small ranehe twcdve mik's down the ereck ;
nnd very rough speeimens they were, as water with them was
hioked upon as a siijjerlluous bixury, and their clothes were
polished with grease and blood. They told ns that about a
month 1)efore one of their companions liad been out alter
strayed cattle, when some Iiulians cluiscul liim. II(! seemed to
lose his licad, forgetting that h(^ had a rifle and revolver, and
only tried to get away. They went out from the ranehe when
they saw him coming, but were too late to help him, as almost
imnjcdiately the Indians overtook him and s[)(!ared him in the
back, throwing him Irom his horse, when they scalped and

mutilated him. One of these men had seen ¥ ■ from a

distance one day, and not knowing of our being in the country
had gone back to report having seen an Indian, after which
they kept to the ranehe for several days. They had, however,
come across our waggon-trail, and had then known that wc
must be white men, so they had come out to visit us. They
remained for a meal, and were astonished at the cooking,
everything they ate being boiled in a camp-kettle, and all
tasting alike. A day or two later we returned the visit, taking
our blankets, as we meant to remain out a day or two and try
the other end of the creek for game. A ride of two hours
brought us to the "shack," as that kind of house is called,
the plan being as follows : —

I'.'' 1

280

HUILl)IN(i A "SHACK

((

A

i
] I

i i

Vou lii'Nt liiul 21 sloping bank, out ut' wliicli yuu cut tiu ohloug

h

hIi th

iidu of the II

to I)

lOUSC

open in Trout, Iuin .sloping; MidcM, iiud the buck i.n Homc t(!U t'cct
lii;;li. \ «Mi tlicu l)iiil(l the Irout of loj^s, lujikinj^ it two feet
lower than IIk; backj and fill in tlic cuds cither with U)'^s or
earth. The door aud wiudow« are tlieu cut out, ami a roof of
polcH, grass, arul luud is put ou, aud your shack is couiplctc,
ouly requiriug the Moor to l)c stauipcd duwu to be ready for
use. Souuitiiucs a chiiuucv is uwide : but iu niaiiv iu which I
have stayed the lire was li^'htcd iu oiu' coruer, aud tlie suu)k.c
fouud its way out l)y a hoh> iu the roof. The spaces betwiru
the logs are daubed with chiy to keep out the cold; aud with
a good fire these shacks arc very coiufortable, whcu your eyes
get used to the smoke.

This shack was a small aud very dirty oue, aud coutaiued a
"boss," or mauager, aud four boys. The food was chiefly
boiled beef cut up iu lumjjs, as they hud not much time for
hunting, aud 1 id driven most of the game away by (iriug at
everything they saw. They were a very rough set, and their
conversation uas dreadfully monotonous, being almost entirely
about beef, its price iu the market, and the best way to get it
there — the whole being seasoned with very strong language.
There were some stories, too, of Indian atrocities, several cow-
boys having been killed lately, though no ranche had been
attacked. The Sioux will sometimes dismount to crawl up to
a house at night and fire into it ; but none of them have been
known to do so in the daytime ; and I hcurd here of a ranehe-
nian's wife having kept oft' nearly twenty Indians by using her
husband's re[)eutcr through the M'iudows of the cabin, though
they knew her to be alone.

A HD(;K-.llIMri.U.

281

cow-
bccii

up to
been

uclic-
lier

1') very cowboy rode witb ii Winchester curbiiie in ii >*Iie;ith on
tlu; oil' side of the sa(Mle, where it eoitld b(! grasped in :i

moment, tind all of tl

luid

Til

noment, and an oi tiiem naa one or more revolvers, ine
luun who liad l)een npeured \vu.<t armed in this way ; but they
suid tliat lie was a new luind, and only lately from the eutit,
and con8('(|nently lost his head. We remained the ni^'ht, and
in the morning the " boss " told us that we should witness sonu5
fun w ith one of the worst bnek-jumpers he had ever eomi" across ;
8o wc went out to sec him mounted. The; horse was a snnill
chestnut, about fourtcu-n haiuls hi;;h, with u jry wicked eye;
but he came up (piietly to have the saddle put on, and we were
afraid that there would be no fun that morning; but we were
mistaken; for, almost before his rider was in the saddle, ho
began putting his head between his fore legs, arching his back,
and junii)ing stilf-lcgged, going up with his head one way and
coming down with it the other, turning half round in the air.
The cowboy used his spurs well and forced him u[) the bank
out of which the shack was cut; but lie came d(jwn again,
bucking all the Avay, turning round even when coming down
tlie steep slope. His rider sat splendidly, not seeming to mind
it at all, sending him up twice only to return immediately ;
but the third time, with all the boys shouting and using their
whips, he went up with a rush and galloped oil".

Wc tried the country round the ranche, but saw very little
game, what there was being very wild ; so wc returned to camp
that night, and found that our cook had shot a fine buck while
sitting by the cam])-fire.

One day, when F and I were out together, F made

a curious shot. He had stalked a young buck and had fired
at him at about two huudr

1,"

ill

}'■

get

2S;>

A UKII(A(T()HY MAUR.

I

J'

i 1

U

Ill

I

if

ill

MCfircr. The buck wrui HtiiMdiii;;; altno^t dircotly facing Iiiiii, a

little on one huIc, and Ncnncd, when I'*

fired, to f(o oir nn

if hit. \V(' liad a doj; with uh that day — a yoiiiij; retriever

vhieh V had i)rouj;ht, thinking he nii;;ht lu; useful after

wounded deer ; no wo put him on the huek's trail^ whieh he
took up at ouec, K^inK <''^ "^ '^ ^reat pace; aiul noou leavin;; uh
far In hind, as we had gone out on foot. W'c followed ait fuit
as w(> could run, ami after f^oinj; half a mile heard the deer
bleatin;^, and found it lyin<; on the ground with tin; do{^ on
tiie top of it, he seemin;; to think that lu; must not uho his
teeth. Now tin; eurioUM part of it w:is that the hall had hrokeu
the near front lej; off above the kmn; and the oil" hind lej; above
tlie hoek, and yet this deer had goiu> all that distance almost
as fast as if |)erfeetly sound. This retriever would have nuule
a j^ood (leer-dog with a little more training, and was the ueeond
1 had seen used for that purpose. The owner of the other
one refused twenty pouiuls for hiin, whieh is a large price for

(h

the west.

a (log m the

As wc liad found a good numy (lu(;ks at some lakes near
camp, wc thought we would have a day's duck-shooting for a
change ; so 1 w(!nt to fetch the marc to ride; to them, and was
bringing her in when something startled her, and she bolted,
dragging the rope out of my hands. As she had sixty feet of
rope on her T thought I should have no trouble in catching her,

and told F to ride on and that I would ovc^rtakc him ; but

she always knew when I was close to the end of the rope,
trotting a few yards just as I Mas going to jump on the end of

it ; so that when F returned, three hours later, there was

I still chasing the mare, and I only got her at last by driving
her into some Ioav brush, where she could not jiulgc distance so

will) IIOltHKM.

5>Ha

liim, n

t» oir an
ctriijvcr
III iittoi-
liicli he
vin;; uh

I IIH t'uHt

liu dvA'.r
(lo^ oil

I lirokcii
"^ iibove
r ulnioHt
vc iiKulu
(! Hccund
he other
price lor

CCS near
u>^ for a
uiul was
e bolted,
;y feet of
ling her,
im ; but
he rope,
10 cud of
hero was
y driving
stance so

tu'cinutuly, and hcri! I iiiuna^'cd to tic her up and ){ivc her u
IcNNoii. ()ii(! of my hoiNCH met \vitli ii Nud fate at thin camp.
We found oiu! morning that he had puUed up hiM picket-pin

?i

ind had

)ir.

d the lib

>f li

•track I

and Had goiu; oil, and the place Dcinx a masn ot liorNC-tracKii
we could not trail him up. There was a j^rcat deal of ln'avy
timber and thick undcrgiowth round camp, and W(> hunted thifi
cai'clully, but could (ind no trace of him ; and it was not until
Home months later that we heard from a cattle-man that one of
his eowboy.H, huntin*; for strayed cattle, had lound him tied up
in souu* biisht's below our camp and nearly dead from Mtarva-
tiou. He had given him food and water; but it was too late,
uiid \w died.

Trom IJuHalo (.'reek wo moved about twenty miles to Heaver
Creek, arriving there late at uight, and for some; time could
not find any grass or water, as thr country had been burnt,

and tlu! only water in the (h'eek was in muddy |)()ols. F

and I wen; riding ahead ami had just centered a small grove
of trees, when out dashed a held of horses. We at once
thought we had come across an Indian camp and had stam-
peded their horses ; so we galloptnl out into the op(!n, getting
our rifles ready as we went ; but hearing nothing, and seeing
that the horses were led by a large roan stallion, we knew that
they must be a wild band. These were the only wild horses
1 had ever seen during eleven years' wanderings in the west.
There were a few in Western Texas in IHOH, but they were
not worth catching, and were killed for their skins. 1 had a
talk with old Bridger some years before on the subject of
wild horses, he having lived in the west nearly sixty years;
and he told me that it generally ruined a good horse to catch
u wild one, and that when broken most of them lost their

O

I

'* 'I

I 'I

i

I

i i'

284

A riKK. IN TIIK CAMP.

Npirit unci wcro worth iiMtliin^;. A few \svrv cnptiirci) hy
orciiNint; ; but nearly all of tlicie wrrr of no ii«c aftcrwanlo,
the woitMil in tlir Mpinu Mrniing to have tukrn ull lifu out
of tlicm.

\V(< found Huavcr Crick hy no nu-uuN no goiul u plucu fi)r
gnriiu lu tliu onu \vc had ht'f. TIm' FchhI, too, \sm very had
and the water half nmd ; no we drove on to the Ued lliver,
and were HurpriHed to lind this larj^e Mtreani utterly undrink-
able, the water h(*in^' lull of ;rypHUiu and eausin;; violtMit (rolie,
thoii{;li, eiiriounly eiioiijih, the horses seemed vt rv \\n\\\ of it
and ejiuld hardly j;et en<)it;;h, standing; in it till you wt-re tiri'd
of waiting for tluni, and looUin;; afterwurdN as if they would
burst.

While on the Jlcd Kiver wc were very nearly h).sinf? our
tent and all in it by tire. When niakin<; a eanip-lire we usually
burned a space all round it, the sparks flyiii;; in all directions
and H(!ttin;; (ire to the ^'rnss ; but as \ had cain|)ed late, and
it was very e(dd, we ne;;lc(tcd to take this precaution :
as the bottom was covered with lon^ grass this caught, and tli<*
flames spread so rapidly that by the time we got branehcs to
beat them out with thov were beyond our control ; so we
rushed to the horses and let them loose, and then, by throwing
blankets on the fire, which was bv this time close to the
tent, and stami)ing on them, wc managed to save it, the
llamcs pa^sing us and burning out the \\holc bottom below
us, where we meant to have hunted. It was a grand sight —
tlie night being dark — watehing the flames, which were fifteen
and twenty feet high, rushing down the valley, the long
grass being very dry and burning like timler; but it might
very easily have brought the Indians on us, and it put

n

rouuMNo woi.vKM. 2h5

ta tnd to our iiuiit ill that diriMtioii, uml ohtigtd u« tt)
ri'lnu'«5 our xtrp'*.

'I'lic next iiKU'hiii); wt' iiuivcd hiirk to Houvcr Creek iiiiii tlicru
iiu't with u very heavy Niiow-Htonii, uiid the wind wm ho coUl
tlittt wi! couhl not truvvl ; no we reiiiaiiiud thcro two day*,
killin(( one whitistaih'd ch>er. Soon ut'ter h<avin(( Heaver
Creek W(! aiiw a liuj^e wolt' wulkiii)( very ttlowly ahea<l of tit,
hiiviii^; u|)|iairiitly no MtniiKth to );et uway, and on Hhootin)^
him W'c found that he had heun |»oi<4onetl and wuh K'>ii>i< away
to die. Winn I tiiHt went to America I took Ntrychtiine for
poi^onin;; wolvoH ; hut after Heein}( one dying from it)t elfe(;ts
I never used it again. The agony inu<«t he awful, the animal
being in the form of a half eiivle uhen deud, hiit hauk urched,
wliile liiM eoat MtaiuU on end, and the lipx are drawn haek,
iihowing th(! teeth. The fur of a trapped animal in worth much
more than that of a poisoned oin*, and the lIuiUon'H Hay Com-
pany refuse any whieli have heen killed in that way, as the liuir
\h Maid to eomc out after th(* skin is dressed.

On reaching Hull'alo Creek wc stopped a few miles ahove our
old camp, and once more had capital nport, cHpeciiUty with the
turkeys. We remained a few days here and then went on to
])enis()n, which wo reached in nine days, and sold all our out-
fit. When goin^ round to say good-hyi; to the friends we had
made we heard a very strange story, which I will give here.

When wc were fitting out at this place in September, we
luul bought some things at a store kept by two men (a (icrman
and an Irishman) ; but finding them very rough, every third
Mord being an oath, and both of them generally the worse for
liquor, we had got the remainder of our outfit elsewhere.
About two months after we left the (Jcrman died, and when

r ■

28G

A (illOST SiOllV

|; "('

f:-'" 5-

,i't

on his (lcJith-l)C(l lu; and liis partner had a conversation as to
whether there was a I'ntnre state or not, when the German
said — "If there is one, liill, I will eonie hack and tell you."
The man was hnried, and the Irishman kept the sliop hy him-
self, no change hein;;- noticed in him, till what 1 am goinj^ to
relate happened. The store was a lonj,^ narrow wooden bnildinj:,
the front portion of which was the shop, behind which was a
railing, and the back [)ortion was used as a bedroom, there
being a bed in each eorncj, and a large stove stood just behind
the middle of the railing, which had tale slides, so as to give
-•light as well as heat. The Irishman slept in one of the beds
the other being empty, when one night, having been asleep for
sonic time, he woke, and looking towards the stove saw what
looked like a man sitting between himself and it. Knowin"
that he had locked the front door, and wondering how anyone
could have got in, he sat up in bed, wh(;n, as he did so, the
figure turned round, and he saw that it was liis friend the
German, Avho looking stcndily at him said, " There is a future
state, Bill ! " and then seemed to fade away. The Irishman
got out of bed and went to the stove, but found nothing, and
the doors were both locked and. the windows fastened. Our
informant added that snice that night the Irishman had been
a different man, that he had given up drinking and swearing,
and. conducted himself in every way as a good citizen. So
ended one of the pleasantcst short trips I ever made. The
country wc hunted, over is now, I hear, thickly settled and all
the game killed off; and there are very few places in America
now where a man can get such sport as we then had.

f !

TRAVKli WITH COT-ONKIi CLKNDENIX.

287

on as to
(Jrnnan
11 vou."
by liitn-
goiii},' to
)uil(linjr,
:li was a
m, tlicro
t behind
i to give
he beds,
sleep for
aw what

vnownig

' anyone
i so, the
end the
a future
rishman
ing, and
d. Our
lad been
^vearing,
en. So
le. The
I and all
America

criAPTi:R XXII.

Resolve to <^o to i\w Jiulith IJasiii. — OoIoul-I V iii^ivt's to iici-ompaiiy

mo. — Start for CniToll. — Dolivy at lii.suiarclc, — Ilavu .some slinotitij;. —
Journey by atennicr uj) the Missouri. — [jaiid to hunt every clay. — (Jomo
upon an old hunter. I lis history anu end. — 'V\\v renniiniiii,'' IndiauM
concerned in tlic .Minnesota massacre. — Arrival at llidurd. — Frealv of
a lieutenant. — Symonds joins mo. — Start with .Miijor lieed for Juditli

Basin. — The -ways of Indian agents described. — Join CVdond I* in

camp. — fJood news of game. — Adventun- with a bear. — Description of
the Judith I Jasin. — Hunting niountain-sheop. — llei'd and l?owh>s at
home. — Visit tlif Crows' camp. (!o with them to meet the JJannocks,
— ]Juy a horse from the ]iaunocks.

When returning from a duek-sliooting trip in Dacotah in the
winter of 1877, I travelled with a Colonel Clendenin, who had
spent tlie summer and autumn at Fort JJenton, on the Upper
[Missouri, and was now on bis way to Washington for the
winter. Tbc conversation turned on sport, and he spoke
cntliusiastically of the beautiful scenery and the great quantity
of game in a portion of ^Montana called the Judith IJasin,
lying near the jSIussel-sliell lliver, which runs into the
Yellowstone. I bad bunted years before to the north of this
place, and I retained very pleasant recollections of my trip, so

' "^

:):

288

ARHANC.K WITH COLONEL 1'-

T (Irtormiiicd to return the J'ollowinf? year and spend the
iiiitiinm in jind about that country.

Colonel Clendenin told me that lie hud the management of
the steamers on the Upper Missouri, and that if I Avished he
would get my outfit for me — horses, waggon, and men — and
send it down from Benton hy river, to meet me at a place called
Carroll, which he said Avas about the best starting-point, thus
saving me a great deal of time, trouble, and money, besides
giving nu' the l)enefit of his experience in choosing the men,
and of course 1 accepted his kind offer.

The following spring 1 was trying to find a companion, Avhen
I saAV a very good article in the * Forest and Stream,' from a
gentleman who said he had spent the last season in the country
to which T wished to go, and that he meant to return again
that summer. I wrote to the address given, and got a letter

from a Colonel V , saying that he thought of starting soon

and should like a comi)anion ; and it Avas finally arranged that
he should share my outfit, and that Ave should meet at Carroll
late in August. When the time came I Avas delayed l)y having
to go to New York to meet some guns, &e., coming from
England, so I Avrote to the Colonel asking him to go on to our
starting-point, take out the outfit and leave a horse for me, on
which I could join him. This he did, and I started for Carroll
about a week late, going by rail to Bismarck, then the terminus
of the Central Pacific railway, and by steamer to Carroll, this
place being about a hundred and fifty miles above Fort
Buford, at the mouth of the YelloAvstone River. At Bismarck
I had to Avait a full Avcek for a steamer from beloAv ; so
hearing that there Averc a good many black- and white-tailed
deer on Big-heart River, I hired a horse and made an excursion

» i

1 !

Sl'ORT ON HKl-IIKART RIVER.

28i)

Mul the

mcnt of
shed h(;
en — and
;e culled
lit, thus
besides
he men,

lu, "Nvhen
' from a
country
11 again
a letter
iiig soon
;red that

Carroll
J having
ig from
n to our

me, on

Carroll
erminus

ollj this
'e Fort
ismarck
low ; so

e-tailed
Kcursion

U[) it, though there was a report that some Sioux Indians had
been seen there lately. Before starting I went across the

^1

d

th

d Ii

at Fort Abrah

issouri and saw iiie [irincniui Indian scout
Lincoln, jis to the probability of this rc})ort being tru(\ He
told me that one of his men had seen two strange liulians in
the distance when some miles uji the river several months
before, and this was all the foundation there was for the rumours
1 had heard. I had bought a tent, not unlike the French,
soldier's tent d'abri, weighing only three pounds, and a very
small outfit, and this I rolled in my blankets and fastened
behind the saddle and then started, going up the valley of the
]iig-heart lliver.

The first day I only saw one buck in the distance, and as I

(lid not mean to hunt so near the F'ort, where the country was

always being disturbed, I did not follow him, camping that

niglit under a large rock, with the beautifully clear river

running within six feet of my tent door. One solitary wolf

came and serenaded me for hours during the night, asking mc

probably to kill him something to cat, hunters liaving been

very scarce lately ; and in the morning I was off early and rode

all day, making I should think thirty miles, and got into a

very pretty hunting-country — small wooded hills, separated by

narrow winding valleys, where I found plenty of deer sign. On

my way I had jumped three deer, and going out on the

evening of my arrival I shot a fine buck, getting a grand

chance at him as he crossed a small prairie not a hundred

yards from mc. He ran about fifty yards before he fell, and

on going after him into some bushes I put up what 1 think

M'as a puma, but 1 only got a glimpse, and the light was too

bad to make certain.

u

i

%

i I

I

Kill

52UO

JOURNEY TO msMAllCK.

TIk; next day I liuntcd on foot, followiiif? tho bluffs above
tli(! I'ivcr, and jumped a {^ood numy deer, shootiii}; one fine
l)la(k-tail only, as 1 bad tben as niucli as I could carry back to
cani)). 'I'liiit night I Mas awoke by what sounded like an
Indian's yell, which brought me out on my hands and knees,
as I made certain 1 was in lor a fight; but I heard nothing
lurthcr, and it might have been a puma, though, as a measure
of precaution, 1 took my blankets and 8k'[)t in the bushes,
where 1 could sec the tent. We have often left a light in our
tint ^vhcn in a dangerous country, and then gone and slept in
the bushes round it, as it gave us a capital chance of sliooting
any Indians uho came between us and it. I was not disturbed
again, and the next morning, after trying for pumas near where
I had jum[)ed one the day before, and seeing nothing but two
deer, T packed my two bucks on my pony, and finding that
he objected to carry mc as well, 1 started on the back trail
leading him. Now I found the folly of coming on even so
short a hunt as this without a pack animal, as I was about
fifty miles from liismarck, and had three days to do it in,
leading a pony who needed to be dragged along. I tramped
down the river, nudiing about three miles an hour, and aid
about twenty miles that day, reacliing my first camp-out about
luncb-time on the second day, and Bismarck about midday
on tlie third. I saw only a small bear and some deer on the
M ay. The bear got in among some huge rocks where I could
not follow him, and having so little time I had to leave him
there. On getting in I found that I need not have hurried,
as the steamer would not be up the river till late the next
dav.

Going up the Missouri from Bismarck was even in 1878 a

! i'

JOUIINKY Ur TIIK MISSOUIII.

•JDI

< above
)ii{; fiiin
back to
like ail
I knees,
nothing
nieasnrc
bushes,
it ill our
slept in
sliooting
listurbcd
tir where
but two
in<r that
(ick trail
even so
18 about
lo it in,
tramped
and aid
ut about

midday
r on the

I could
eave him

hurried,
the next

1 18/8 a

pleasant experience, though tiu; game had l)ecome nineh

seaieer since I

d(

It

came

You couhl, however, still find some all along tlu
d there was just suHunent chance

canoe eleven ycuirs bel'ore

river

bott(

)nis,

of meetin;; Indians to make

and tner

the hunting exciting.

There was a man on board who was taking u[) two capital
ponies to Henton, and I used to hire one of them and go ashore
with it before the boat startetl in the morning (as we never
ran at night), taking with me some bread and meat for my
midday meal, in case I should get no game. 1 would then
follow the course of the river, cutting across the bends, and
frequently got a deer and some grouse by evening when I
rejoined the boat, being always able to find it by its smoke
from any high point. I had in this way very good sport, and
avoided the monotony of the journey, and saw some very pretty
country which Mas not visible from the boat.

One day when making my way through a dense thicket on

the river's bank, into which I had driven some grouse, 1 came

upon a hunter's cabin, made of brush, and so placed that if 1

had not gone in as I did I should never had suspected its

existence. The occupant was a curiosity, and w{is dressed in

an old leather shirt and trowscrs, almost black with age and

dirt, his hair hanging down fully six inches below his coiJai',

and his face one mass of wrinkles and very like old brown

parchment. This old fellow had led a solitary life on the river

for years, only going into a town twice a year to buy

ammunition and sell his pelts. lie told me that he had

originally come from the Missouri near St. Louis, which,

he said, was then a small town and the rendezvous for trappers,

and that when only sixteen he had there joined a party under

u2

I

HI

•'#■

'iV't

0()0

AN OLD IIUNTKR.

[

Hrid^'cr, Jiiid had spout many winters in the mountains. TTc
had \m'.n wonndcul twice, and more than once had escaped
with the lo«M of everything. When he was twenty he married
a Hannock Npiaw, and he assured nie tiiat an Indian wife was
worth several whit(! ones, as tlicy would do more work, and
you could always beat them when they did not obey you, and
send tluitn back to their people when you were tired of them.
He seemed, liowever, to have been very fond of his sijuaw, for
when she was killed in a fi}j;ht with the Sioux he left his
companions and had lived as a solitary trapper ever since. He
was, he said, known to so many Indians that none of them
would injure him, and he ollercd to take nu; to the hostile
Siou.v camp, which was then he said about forty miles south
of where lie was then living, and he assured me that they
would not touch a friend of his ; this kind otter I, however,
declined, neither having time to do so nor caring to risk it. lie
gave me a dinner of beaver tail, of which he liad a great store,
but I fear I did not appreciate it, though it is considered a great
delicacy, as it was almost solid fat ; and I bade him good-bye,
lioping 1 might see him on my way home in the winter; but,
poor old fellow ! he was dead before then, being found by a pass-
ing steamer lying dead near his hut about a month after 1 saw
him. It Avas thought that he had been killed by a man who
had been trapping near him on the river, as they were known
to liave quarrelled, but there was no way of proving it.
Appearances, however, were so against this man, that if
he had not left that part of the country he would have
been lynched.

Seven days after leaving Bismarck we reached liuford, the
steamer having been \cry much delayed by the low state of the

If ^

FRKAK OF A TJF.UTRNANT.

2!);i

Ito

(I liavc

riv(!r, us she was roiitiiuially run, "ngoii tosiuulbars. IIimt I saw
Nomo old women Ijclonj^iii;; to tlio Name tribe which had '/i\m
me so mueli trouble in Minnesota in 1H(>.''. Tt H(»cma that after
the thirty-three Tiidians had hiuMi hmij; at Mankato for havin^if
shared in tlie Minnesota nuissaere, a nnniher of the Sionx
j?av{! themselves np; and the (Jlovernment not knowiiifj; what
to (h) with them, they were sent n|) to Kort Herthohl, on th(^
Missouri south of Huford, where within two years they were
all killed off by the Sheyenncs and lUaekl'eet, the one tribe
liuntin}; to the north and the otlier to the south of that
Kort, and now only these few women remained of a party
numbering; from seven to ei<^ht liundred.

Two days from Huford took us to Carroll, a very small plaee
on the south bank of the river, eonsisting of three whiskey-
saloons, about five small dwelling-houses, and a big store-
house belonging to the Steamboat Company. ILre I found
Colonel Clcndenin waiting for me, and a pony had been left

in his charge on which I could follow Colonel P , who had

started two days before.

I arrived at night, and made up my bed on the floor of the
storehouse, where Colonel Clcndenin also slept. In the course
of the night we were woke by some loud yells followed by a
shot, and in the morning heard that a lieutenant of cavalry
and six men Avere here, who had been sent to a large IJannoek
Indian camp, where they were to remain and see that none of
the hostile portion of that tribe came into the camp, but
finding that slow work, the lieutenant had brought his men
to Carroll, where they were having what they called ''a good
time" — playing cards and drinking whiskey; and during the
previous night, the lieutenant being drunk had fired at one of

t-, '

ill'

11

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L'i) I

TAKflN FOR AN rNDIAN.

I

n

I

■'

lis

: t

tlio nuMi, who ho Niiid hud cheated him, but rortunately lie
missed and oidy made a hoh* in the tent.

1 fonnd that 1 eouhl not earry till I had hi'oii<^ht with n\v to
(■am[) on my pony, mo I waited at Carroll a (hiy, uh I heard tiiat
a Major Reed, an ex-Indian a^ent, was going out to a trading-
Mtore whieh he had in the Judith HuHin, and as he woidd paHs
n( ill" our camp lie kindly offered to earry my things. 1 went
(tut grouse-shooting to pusH the time, and met two prospectors
from the IMack Hills in Wyoming, who were; on their way to
llic Judith Basin, where they had a mining claim, hut who had
lost their way. As 1 had on a Icathi'r suit, they took \nv. for
an Indian, and ran away as fast as they could go, leaving their
piick-donkey, and 1 had some trouble in catching them to show
Ihcm their error.

In the evening a young fellow came up and shook hands
with me, saying that he had met me in Hismarek the year
previous, when he said that he was a elerk in a bank there. I
did not remember him, but as he was a Canadian and seemed
in great trouble, 1 took him to my " bedroom" and we had a
long talk. He had got into money difficulties in Bismarck, and
had come up here in the spring, living by choiiping wood and
any odd jobs he could get, having j)rcviously been a great
dandy, never having done any manual labour in his life.
When I met him he had on the remains of a very smart suit
— frock coat, light vest, and grey trowsers, with patent leather
boots' — but it was somewhat ditUeult to discover what the
nuitcrial was. Ilia shoes hud once buttoned, but they were
now tied together with tape, and the kid uppers were sewn on
to the patent leather with buckskin thongs. He was a good-
looking young fclk)w, and had evidently been well educated.

itcly lie

h iiic to
iird tluit

tnidiiiK"
iild pasH

1 went
ispci'tors

way to

who had

a. iiK! lor

ng their

to show

U hands
the year
here. 1
1 seemed
wc had a
irck, and
ood and

a great
his life,
nart ^tiiit
t leather
k-hat the
icy were
sewn on

a good-
dueated,

INDIAN A(ii:NT»5. >{)')

nnd what ho now wanted wa«t, that I shnnhl allow hini to f^n
with me tdl a chance occurred (if sending him fo Mntte City,
where hv said ho had Criends. One mor(; or less in r iiii|i
could nnike no dilTcreniH", ho I bought him u pony and saddle
and hridic, and we started together on the second day, Major
Uced going with us, driving his waggon and taking my things.
My companion had nothing to carry hut a niackintosh sheet and
what ho stood up in. I should have; mentioned that ids name
was Svmomls.

We had alumt forty miles to do, expecting to find ('(doiud

V camped at tlie entram-e to the .Imlith Hasin. The liist

day out wc saw no game larger than grouse, the c(nmtry hcing
rolling prairie with wooded hilts awry few nnles, and wv. had
to camp early as there was no water for sonu- distamie ahead ;
and after supper Major Heed gave us his experiences, which were
very varied, as he luul begun life as a shop-hoy, then enlisted
and fought tiirough the war, and at the eiul of it, when he was
A lieutenant, lie had been made an Indian agent, and lunee the
brevet rank of major, this being what agents are always
called. lie certainly opened my eyes to the way in which
Indians were treated, telling us that though an agent's pay was
oidy three liuudred a year, yet he must be a Tool (or an honest
man, Avhich terms iie ( nsidered synonymous) if Uc did not
make twenty thousr mkIs during the live years for which

he held his appoi ..•.:". ,le told us that he had (jl'ten landed
one halt' of a steaihooat load of flour on the bank of the river,
bringing on the other half and giving it to the Indians as all
that had been sent, and then had returned and fetched the second
half, and sold it as his own, always selling as well half of the
coats, blankets, socks, &c., which were foiwarded Tor thcni.

t

i

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Ni:

(

21)0

CIIAHK TWO HKAIIB.

I ?

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T liftil born wnrncd before Htiirtiiii; that Heed wnn nn nwCiil
(Iniiikard anil a (laii^eroiiM man wlieii lie had had ton iiiik h,
who wonhl Ntick at nothing;, and then* were numy ntories ni'
the men \\v. had nhot ; and yet I fonnd him an nnnHnally nieo
nmn, of fair edneation and very fond of Sir Walter Seott'N
noveU, eHpecMally the luntry, whirh he always luid with hinii
and of which he knew a (,'reat deal by heart. For the time !iu
luid " Nworn off," and wa<s diinkin^ (tNNcnei; of ^in^i^er in \^ater,
m he Naid that Ik; mnst have Nomethin^ hot. Me warned me
to bewar(! of his partner Howies, who, according to Iun aeeonnt,
was ecpial to any raseality^ but who had in houw \>ay got u
hold ov(!r Heed.

On i\\v. niornin^j; of the Neeoiul day we had situw nun, and
thinking that wc Mhonhl see no gume 1 put my ritle in the
wu^^on, which jogged on, the* road being good, whih! SyrnondH
and I rode slowly chatting, and we had in this way dro()p(>(!
about half a mile behind, when w(! saw a large grizzly biuir and
a eiil) lenvc a ravii.c; on our left and make across the open
country for some hills about a mile away. As we had no
weapon of any kind, 1 arrangcul with Symonds that he should
follow tlic bears, not going near enough to hurry them, »vhile
I galloped after tlic waggon, and got my rifle and retuiiuMl as
(juickly as I could. I went at full speed nnd was not away
more than ten minutes, but wlicn I got bacik I found Symonds
at the first small stream which lu; had come across, and over
wliich he said he conld not get his pony to go, and the bears
were out of sight. 1 galloped in the direction in whi(;h they
had been going, but could sec nothing of them, as I came
across a good many small ravines full of bninehcs, into any
one of which tlicy might have gone, the prairie being too hard

JOIN j'oi.ONr.i. i»-

'2\)7

for triukinff, no I liail very rrliii'tiintly to n'wc tliiMii up uml ^o
liai'k. 'riiJA Nrcincd to )iiiv(> Ihtii u very lurf^i* IxMir utid would
litivr niadi! ii f(ood coiiiiiiciicriiu'iit for tho trip. On i'i'joiiiiii){
SyinondH mid diMciisMlii); tin* iimttcr, I wuh (*oii\iti(*(>d timt iio
liiid Mot l)(i II anxious to keep tlii' licur iu Hi;;lit, as it wun i\n)
fiixt lie had cvci* hccii, and In* liad a very cxu^^rrafcd id(<n of
tlic dau;!;('i' of liuntin^ tlxui.

\Vc did not ovcitaki! Ucid till Iu; had rcMU'licd our cauip, and

it wan II very curiouH tliiuK that tin; Coliuicl P , wluuu I

(Mily knew throu;;h the letter iu tlu' ' Korcut aiul Stream,'
turned out to he a p;entl(*inan uilh uliotn 1 had shot (^iouhi*
tour yearM hetore iu Minnesota, tli()u;;h 1 had not learne<l IiIh
nuino. I hrought the tents uith nie, findin;; all the party
Iivinj5 utuler a waf^j^on -cover, and we had to pitch them at oiu'o
a* tlic rain had changed to snow.

The report of ;;anie was very iiromisinj;^ as then- seemed to
l)(; a ^reat many deer, souk; elk, and any amount of l)ear-si;;n,
whieh were what we had come for. The (\ilonel had two old
buH'alo killed for halts, at two dill'erent points, and with the
fresh-fullcu snow the traekinj^ would he very easy. Iteed left
us in the niornin^^ invitiu<; us to visit him at his ranehe,
luuir which he said we should (iiid plenty of hears, as no one
hunted tliem.

The three men seenu'd good fellows, especially the guide,
who was a very (piiet man and spoke very little, hut seemed to
know the country well, and was willing to do anything you
asked him, which is not the case Mith all guides, some of those
I have had standing on their dignity and refusing to cut wood
or to help with the horses.

1 had lioped to have; fouiul souk; more hlaidvcts in camp.

1 t,

Il

i

H

e!)8

AnvRMTVIt WITH A \w.\n.

( •

but tiicy liail livoii (ori/^oiU'W, ho 1 had to Nhurc iiiiiir with

(U. which

hnril,

ith

thn

I

inniiilM, witirn wnit linril, with miow on tlin (^nMiiui, t\n
hiul only onn pair uiiti u ((rrntcoiit, whih* SyinoiiilN hud my
Mccoiid pair and hiNHnmlt iiiaikiiitoHh Hhcrt. I have t'ori^ottrii to
Huy that SyiiKiiidN had n greyhound when 1 met hitii at
Carroll, and aM it Ncciiicd a (food way of ((ivin^f him a little*
money without hurting; Ion tcrliii((M, I houj^ht it of him for
twenty dollarN {L\), although it could he ol' no use to uh,
ImU hu nHNured nu* tluit it wan very plucky, and woi:ld ^'o in at
tiuythiii{{ in u monuMit.

After Heed's departure, the Colonel, Kinhcl (the j^Miidc), and
I Htartcd olf to vi^it the haitN, SymomU preferring a hook hy
the lire — hearH in print hcing mori; in Ihn line than hunting
them. Soon after leaviii}; camp we came aeroHN two fresh
hear-tracks, (^oin^; in (iiU'erent dircctioiiM, mo tin; (.'olonel
followed one of them while we took U|) the trail uf the other,
and had gone about a mile when we came tu a large Hwamp,
lhrou;;h which the trail went. We were oblige*! to go round,
which we did, oiu; on each side of the cover. On the opposite
bank was a thick <lnmp of willows, about fifty yardH scpuire,
and it did not look large; enough to hold so big an aninui! and
wv. had just entered this at opposite corners, when tho bear
rose just in front of nu.', looking as larg(Mis an elephant. lie
remained a moment (Ui his hind legs ami then charged me,
uttering a loud grunt. I shouted to Fishel that he was coming,
and my pony spun round so (piickly that I had no time to lire,
HO I rushed across a small bottom about a hundred yards wide,
crashing through a lot of fallen wood, with which it was
covered. Luckily it was almost all rotten, or it would have
tlirown us down. On hearing my shout, I'ishcl had started,

n

line uitli

11(1, U4 I

had my
'((ottcii to
', liim at
III II littlo

him for
iw» to IM,
I ^o in lit

il(lc), ami
I hook liy
I hiiiitiii((
two Uvsh
Cohiiicl
he other,
;e suump,
H) rouiiil,
I! opposite
H M(|imi'(>,
mil! . and
th<; htar
mit. lie
ir;j;('(l mo,
IK coming,
ic to liiv,
aids \\'h\v,
•h it was
ouid have
d started,

•-I

^

3

§

%

e.

Tl

ADVKNTIIIIK WITH A IlKAK.

.101

uiul was now doing his best across the bottom, presenting such
a comic spcctach) that T almost tumbh'd off tlic pony froMi
hinghing. 1 1 is hat had come oft' and his h)iig liair was bh)wing
out behind, whiU; liis thin legs were flying aljout round the
pony's sides, and his c([ually long arms were flourishing his rifle,
with which he was beating the pony ; at the same time he was
yelling at the animal, and seemed to be trying to climb on to
its neck. On the opposite side of the bottom was a steep ri.«(!
of ten or twelve feet, up which we went, and the bear stopped
at the bottom and then trotted back to the willows. I jumped
off and maiuigcd to hit it behind as it entered them, my pony
backing quickly and preventing my taking any aim. Fishcl
in the meantime had galloped on till he had reached the top
of a ridge about four hundred yards away, and here he remained
and opened fire upon the thicket, being much more likely to
hit me than the bear.

Just as I remounted, the Colonel appeared on the opposite
side of the swamp. He had lost his bear in a thicket, and
hearing our shots had come to see what we were doing. On
being told the state of afi'airs, he at once rode iiito the bushes,
when the bear charged him, and was so close to his pony's
tail when he came out that I thought for a moment he had
caught him. On reaching the open the bear gave up the chase
and returned to the bushes. I, however, got another ball into
him, which hit him in the chest, but too much on one side, as
it only lamed him. I then drew him out ijy throwing in
stones, when the Colonel hit him again behind, after which he
refused to come out again any more. Meanwhile it had
begun snowing again, and as the bushes were becoming
weighed down by the snow — neither of us liked to go in on

Iff

i

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11!-!!'

fi

I

1;

■

r
II

'M)'2

TIIK .H'DITII HAMN.

foot, as it would have been very dilHcult to .sec on account of
tli(! showers of snow — so we aj^rced to return to (;ainj) atul
eonic back in the morning, bringing the; grijyhound, which
Avouhl h)t us know whether the bear was dead or not.

In the morning, the Colonel, Synionds, and I started for the
willows, taking the dog, and on reaching them sent him in.
He went in bravely enough, but did not remain om; minute,
coming out again with bis tail between his legs, and making
for camp at his best speed, and taking no notice whatever of
his master's shouts. On tliis the Colonel and I tossed u}) 'o
see which of us should go in, and 1 lost the toss ; so he took
both horses and kept his riHe ready, wliilc I cautiously
entered, shaking off th-j snow in front of me as I went. It
was difficult to sec anything when once inside, but I h.'td not
gone far, when I came on a big mound of snow, which 1 nnide
out to be the dead bear, lying with his head on his paws as if
asleep, lie was a fine fellow and had a good skin, but the
body was already very much swollen and olTensive though
covered with snow, and we found it necessary alter this to
open any animal at once, even when coming back to skin him
within an hour or two.

This snow onl} lasted a few days, and then began that most
beautifi 1 of all seasons — the Indian sununer, which generally
lasts si> weeks, and is simply perfection, being neither too hot
nor too cold, when a beautiful haze covers all the mountains,
such as one sees in Italy. The Judith Basin was one of the
most perfect hunting-grounds that 1 was ever in. It is a valley
about fifty miles long by twenty wide, and has seven small
ranges of mountains round it, all of them wooded, and at that
time full of game of all kinds, including butialo, antelope,

iiouiit of
iirnp and
I, wliicli

I for tlic
liiiu ill.
minute,
niakiiijr

itcver of
(I up 'o
lio took
utiously
cut. It
li.'id not

I I made
,ws as if
, but the

though

this to

kin liiin

1 at most
euerally

too hot
iintains,

2 of the
a valley
n small

at that
utclope,

t 'A

(AMI' IN TIIH; JUDITH MOUNTAINS.

tm]

white- ami black-tailed deer, elk, moimtain-sheep, bears of
tlirec kinds, wolves and foxes, not to mention grouse and
dueks. The ranges average about 8000 feet, and have no snow
on them in summer. The valley had grass as high as one's
knees, and was intersected by a number of small clear trout-
streams whieli, althougli only a few yards wide, held trout ui)
to three and four pounds in weight, while in the willows along
the banks you could always jui^p deer.

Uowles and Reed's ranciie was the only ouilding in the
valley, and neither of these men ever did any hunting, so that
the game was very tame, the only hunters being Indians, who
did not trouble deer much when bi'*Palo were so plentiful.

We moved camp into the Judith mountains, but found deer
scarce, barely getting enough to supply us with food, though
we were only about ten miles from where they had been so
numerous. It is very curious how the game in this basin
moves from range to range, being in one of them one year
and in the next one the year after, though there is no apparent
reason for the change. We went from this camp into the
middle of the range, going up high and leaving our waggon at
the bottom, and we put up our tent by a fine spring, which
seemed a favourite drinking-place for bears, as their tracks
were very numerous. This was a lovely spot, surrounded by
peaks Avliich were now covered with snow, and there was just
room to picket out the two horses we had with us, the rest of
them having been sent on to Reed's ranche in charge of one of
the men. Here game was more plentiful than below, and we
soon found a band of mountain-sheep and killed two of them.
The meat was delicious, tasting like mutton with a wild
flavour.

, >

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0'

'f^Vi

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1

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ffif^^Oi

1

f

;j() I

nV.VA) AM) IJOWLKS AT IIO.MK.

\VIiiI(' alter tlicst! slicoi) ^^'" I'Ji'iic across a prosjicctorH'
('am|), ill wliicli were; three I'^ri'iieh Canadians. 'J'wo of tliciii
were those I met at Carroll, who had mistaken me I'or an
Indian. They were doin^^ hadly liere ami wished themselves
hack in the lUack Mills, and very soon after set oil' to retnrn
there.

Major Ueed havinfj; told us that he M'as cxpcetinj^ the liaunoek
Indians on a visit to the IJasin in about a I'ortnij^ht's tinu",
the Colonel and I determined to pay the ranehc a visit ami
sec them arrive;. On our way we camped for diniuir by a
stream, which disappeared underground every few humlred
yards, ami vet was full of fine trout wherever it was visible.
1 had never seen a similar case, though our guide said they
were common throughout tlu; country, the soil being very
sandy. In sununer this stream was several feet dcej), and is
above ground its whole length, only sinking in the rmmner
mentioned when the water gets low in the autumn. AVc
reached the ranehe in the evening and found lieed and
Howies at home, the latter being a big rough man, who had
nuirried a Blackt'oot squaw, who kejjt house for them. The
ranehe consisted of a square stockade with large entrance
gates, inside which were four or five small log cabins, one of
wliieh was the trading-store, another was for Bowles and liis
wife and Heed to live in, while the others Mcre for strangers
and for eating-rooms. The wdu)le place was very untidy and
dirty, a squaw having no idea of cleanliness. We were shown
into the one meant for passing travellers, where there was
a bed and two home-made chairs with raw-hide scats. The
fioor w"i :~urth and the fire was made on it, the smoke going

r;

i:t t

ASTONISH TIIR INDIANS.

liOf)

out tlirouf^h a hole in tlie roof, most of it, however, reniaiiiiii^
ill the room, so that you had to sit on thi; Moor to breathe.

Th(! Haniux'ks were e.'impcd about three miles away and
wouhl l)e ill to-morrow, so that we had eoiiu! just in time, the
cliief havinj; b(M'n already to the rnu-he to make arranj^cments.
Near the stoekachi were the tents of about twenty Crow
Indians, who were very busy jjettinj^ themselves up to me(*t
th(^ Hannoeks, puttinj; on all their finery, and giving their
faecs another eoat of paint. We went in tin; ev(Miin^ into
some of their lodj^es and had a talk with tliem, Howh^s doin^
inter|)reter. They seemed very nervous al)out the approaehin*;
meetiiif^ with tin; Hannoeks, the two tribes bavin;,' very recently
hcen at war with each other, and ])e:iee had only been made
that summer. They fi'aivd lest the Ibinnoeks sliouh' take this
opportunity of getting a few scalps, Indian ideas on the
subject of 'he sacredness of a treaty being very vagiu;, particu-
larly when, as in this case, tlierc were nine hundred Bannocks
to the Crows' twenty.

I remained in one of the lodges id'ter the others had left
and lit one of those little pellets called Pliaroah's serpents, out
of which came something resembling a long white worm,
causing a regular stampede — men, women, and children
tumbling over one another in their hurry to get out of the
lodge. In a few minutes a number of heads appearcid, locdving
cautiously in at the door, and seeing that I was unhurt they
gradually returned, and made me do it again and again, till I
refused to light any more, wishing to kec]) a few for the
liannocks. On this the women surrounded me, and tried to
get them from me by force, and I had ({uite a struggle to gc^t

X

i 5*

itii

J 'I

fm

iCM

I ■" !

30C

HUY A ttW, ORKV 110I18K.

nway, bcliiji; imraucd to the {?ato of the stookado, while all the
men stood round and lau^'licd.

In the inoniing wc rode out with tlu; Crows, forniiu}; a line
when we came in sij^ht of the Ihmuoeks, who also did the
same. Then the Crow chief and ourselves rode forward to
meet the J3unnoek ehief, whose name Avas Tendoi, and we all
shook hands in a very friendly luiumer. This ehief, of whom
I saw a good deal later on, was ji fine-looking Indian, with a
good face, though his appearance was much spoiled by his
wcarin^r a battered high silk hat, of which he was very proud,
and in the front of which he had put a red cockade. The
Bannocks Avere, as a rule, finer men than the Crows, the latter
were small and wiry, however, and as active as cats. After we
had all shaken hands, Tcndci joined us, and we rode to a
place about half a mile from the ranchc, where lie planted a
small flag, and this meant that his wives, of whom he had
three, should put up his lodge on that spot, the rest of the
tribe erecting theirs so as to form a large circle, the spaces
between the lodges being filled with brushwood. Into this
the horses are brought at night, three or four of the younger
Indians taking it in turn to act as horse-guard. Having seen
the lodges put up we returned to the ranche, leaving word
in camp that I wished to buy a good horse. I heard from
Reed that more than half the tribe had gone on the war-
path, taking most of the horses, so that there were not
many for sale ; but a big grey was brought for me to look at
later in the day, which was much larger than the average
Indian pony and very good-looking, which I bought for a
Winchester rifle and fifty dollars (.£10). I thought it

RETURN TO CAMP.

307

; for u

odd that so many Indians came with the horse, and
crowded round as I mounted, and I fancied, too, that
as I rode off they looked disappointed; hut the horse went
80 quietly that I thought no more of it, and rode him to camp
that evening.

m

spaces
to this

Hi
III

li

x2

3UH

A NICK-TKMl'KKKI) HOIISK,

CHAPTER XXIII.

A incc-lcinporcd liorso. — A liirfTf l)iuul of ell'' -Piittinp out baits for bpftrc.
TIk! first a failure. Tlit> second a .siicfc.'.-t. — 15uy a now pony. — A fjood
iKirfrain. — Fislid px's for lt'ttor.>*. Antclope-stnlkin','. — A ustilcss dog. —
Fislic] linrt liis ponies stolen, lie and I pay ii visit to the Crow Indians. —
A l)ufTalo-run with the (^rows. — The Indian game of" Hand.'' — A visit
to tho ranche. — Tendoi, tho chief of Iho Uannodfs. Stories of him. —
Unpleasant quarters. — llow nowle.s got his wife.

On our return we moved camp to the end of the Juditli range,
hearing from Bowles that he had seen a good many hcar-tracks
there wlicn nutting wood for tlie ranche about three weeks
before.

Wc had brought our horses and man back with us and were
soon comfortably established, and we made a capital dining-
tent of an old waggon-cover which wc had bought at the
ranche.

The next morning the Colonel and I went hunting together,
meaning to separate when we got into the mountains. It had
been raining and I hdd put my rifle in its ease, when seeing
some very fresh deer-sign I pulled it out, and was holding it
at arm's length, with the cover in the other hand, when the

A T-Anr.R HAND OK KI,K.

'M)\)

jijrry j^uvo n trcinciidoiis buck, nud Ixin^ ovrrluilaiiccd by the
ri(l(! I ciiiiu! of!', oil wliicli \w. turned dcliluTatcly rotmd and
hiHlii'd out twice ut me, nuMsiiij; my head by a f<'w inchcH only,
and cndinp; by Roing off to ramp us fast as be could. Tbr
Colonel followed and brou;?bt bim bark, wbeii I proceeded to
jfivo bini a lesson witli a youu}; .sapling, in tbe course of wbieb
tlier(! was sonu' j^rand buekiuf; done. I bejjan to hcc now wby
tlic IiuliaiiH bad been willin<^ to part witb no good-looking a
borse, and wby tbey bud been disappointed wbeu be went oil"
(juietly.

Soon after tins we separated, and I tied up my borse and
bc;^un to climb tbe bill. I bad brougbt a glass witb me, as I
wanted to see if I could find any sbeep. It was a very rougb
climb aH tbere was so mueb fallen timber in all tbese ranges,
but about tbree bours' walking took mc to tbe top, wberc tbe
view was splendid. Tbe Basin lay at my feet, looking nnieb
smaller tban it really was, and 1 could see all tbe otber six
ranges ([uite plainly ; but altbougb 1 remained tliere about
two bours aiul looked about carefully I saw no game, so I
began to descend, coming down a different way, and was about
balfway down, wben on mounting a small rocky ridge 1
found myself among a large band of elk, wbieli seemed to
jump up all round me. I fired at one witb a good bead,
and was tbeu sorry I bad been so b;»:ity, as a grand bull
galloped up out of a snudl liollow wbere be bad been lying
and passed me witbin tbirty yards. It was borribly tempting,
but I bad already more meat tban we could eat, so I let bim
go. Tbe one 1 bad killed bad a very pretty bead, tbe boms
being perfect, but only about 17 iucbes long. I took as mueb
meat as I could carjy, fetcbing my borse from wbere I bad

i

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310 PUTTINO OITT BAITS FOR HKARS.

left liiin, (iiid I round that he luul IiIm {^ood itoitits, nM lie would
carry aiiytliiiij; that was put on hiui, even aUowiuj; nu* to takii
hoiiu> the head ncroNN the Haihllc, and I do not know anytliin^
mon? awkward to carry.

Thr (>oh)nrl ramo in hitc brinjjfinj? ono deer, and ho told mo
tliat he had kilh'd three more For hear-haits, a uselesH wa.nte of
meat, as u l)ear always carries away a deer, and you src no
more of him. 'Ihc I'emaiiiH of the elk would make a eajtital
bait, l)('in<; too larj;e to carry far, and would last for several
days. 1 returned to it on the second day, and found that a
hear had heen there, and after eatinj; what it wanted, had
covered the body iii) most carefully, the skin, which I hud
taken partly oil', was put back ajijain, and the edj^es were
fasteiu'd to the ^Tonnd with nuul, plastered smoothly down,
the Icfi^s beiufj^ entirely covered with mud also. It looked
almost as if someon(; had done it with a trowel, Jiiid one could
not fancy the clumsy paw of a bear doinj^ it so neatly.

The next nijjht the Colonel and I watched by the bait, },'oing
about an hour before the moon rose, as \v{! always found that
their favourite time for coming was within half an hour of its
risinj; ; aiul we had not been there much more than fifteen
minutes when we heard some animal comiu}^ through the
bushes behind us, but unfortunately down v ind, so that almost
iiuinediately th(>re was a sound something like a sneeze, and
the animal made oft' again faster tban it had eoine. It was of
no use waiting any longer, so we returned to camp. When we
went to the place in tlic morning, we found that a large bear
had con\e within twenty yards of us and had then winded us and
made off. I examined the place and found a high rock which
overlooked the bait, so I went early the following night and lay

L. 1% I

BUY A NKW I'ONY.

:ni

down i n tlu; top of the rock, tukiiiK u Itlaiikct with me iim tlio
iii({litH wcro very cold. This tiiiic the hear wan hitr, and tliil not
arrive till the niomi was ho hi^h that I reared hr woidd mv u\v, hut
he canit* from the o|i|)o<«ite Hide, and tiu; l)U.<di('!t \vi*ri! wry thick
ri^ht u() tu the Imit. lie seemed to Mtaiid on tlic vd^e of thcMo
for Mmio time, dnrin(( . hieh I tiattenrd niyM>lt'on the topot'the
rock as much uh I possihly (HMild, and then out came his head,
his body t'i)llo\vin<^ wry Hlouly. I waited until he stood well in
the W'r^hi, about thirty yards from me, \\\\n\ I fired at his head
under the (!ar, and he sank at the shot and hardly moved a{{ain.
This was a very line bear w ith a splendid (umt, the hair on the
crcHt was lully six inches lonj; aiul very thick, and the colour
black, tipped with grey. i only opened him that ni^^ht,
returinii}; in the morning with I'ishel to skin him, when wc
found that lu; measured seven feet eleven inches before he wa»
skinned, and we estimated his weight at niiu^ hundred pounds,
as he was not very fat.

One day while we were at breakfast in camp we iieard a
loud hail, and saw a man, whose face seemed all hair, holding
a pony by the bridle; and calling to us from the top of a
ridge, apparently not earijig to come down till he knew that he
would be welcome. He proved to \n) a French ('anadian, who
had arrived at the prospectors' camp at the lilaek hills after
they had left it, so he had come to us for information as to
their whereabouts. We told him that they had done nothing
and bad returned, so that he must have pass> d them as he
came to us. He decided to go on to some mines near Fort
JJentou, and left us after having a meal. Before he left I ex-
changed one of my ponies for his, giving him some money as well,
and it turned out one of the best and toughest little aTiimals I

!l

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:)12 vitaith uuKH ruu lkttkkn.

<>v(>r Nut on, tlioiijli it hiid nlnu)<<t nn iniirli linir on it nii it*
lulc iiiuNtcr, I liiix! uii M'vinil ocaiHioiiM returned to cmiip
with one deer in front uf the Ntuhlle and another hehind, Nittin^^
MiyHetr in the niithlh', and he jof^Ki'd ahing lor niile^ witii thiN
luud, u|i|>urently making nothing; of it,

Wu imd reeeived no letterN Mince leaving Curruil, »o we vent
Fi^het to a phiee culled MurtitiMlale ahoitt eighty niilcM otX,
where there was a poMt-olliee kept hy a hrother of (.'olonel
Clendenin'H, to which wv liai* directed our lettcrn to In; Kent.
FiHhel th(>u;;ht that he couhl do it in t»o days, returning in
thre(!, and la; took two ^'ood ponies of hiN own um wc needed
a few MtorcN at the Hunu; time.

During hiin al)Mence we went in a '^mnl deal lor lishin^j;, and
caught Honie trout over three pounds in weight, and we threw
in all under a pound, (iaine wa.s ho phuitiful that we could
only hunt twice a week, aiul used to explore the mountains or
finh on the other days. One day we thon^^ht we would vary
our sport hy havin;; a day's anteloiie-stalking, Symonds
following us in the distance with his dog, in east; we wounded
ony. We had some miles to ride as they very seldom came
near the tiuiher^ and i\* last saw u small hand I'eeding on u very
hure portion of the valley; the only way to get near them was
to wade up a stream which ran within ahout two huiulred yards
of them. We left our ponies in charge of Symonds and entered
the stream, the hanks (d' which were only about three I'eet high
and the water very cold. Walking against u strong stream in

leasant

3arly

i-y pi

especially

when you had to double yoursilf up to keep below the bank ;
and my companion soon gave it up, so I kept on by myself,
getting at last within about three hundred yards, too far for a

IIAN lilM I'UMKM HTOI.KN,

n I :J

liollow ))ull('t from an cxpicNH lillc, ho I

wui

tnl. I

lOplll^

timt

tlicy nii^lit (V((l ii little iicttri r. l''iiMliii;{ my i'i>(<t hccoiiiinK
iiunihctl >vitli tli(! cold, I (Irtrnitiiicd to rink u ttliot, no iiiukiiijf
n niHt ol' tiiy Mot't hut iiixl |iutliii^ u|i the tuo liuitilidt vanh
Night, I uiiiitd hii{h uiiil litvil ut u tint' buck, Ntuiuliiig iifurly
hroiuUidt* on. II(! wan evidently hit with the tiiNt Imricl, and
the M'eoiid hullet pa -^id jiiMt over Ium haek, hut he went oil'
well, ^oiti^ NO UM to puHH near >\her(! we hud left thu hoineM and
dog; i ran an lunt an I eoidd, Nhonlin^' to Syniondn to let tlu;
do^ go, hnt on our leaving' him he had tain down and p;oni! to
•lecp, leaving; the horses, which wen; fortunately tied to;;i;ther,
to look utter themsclve:^, aiul it was only when I was close by
that he woke, and Nceined to take in tlu; state of uflairH when
it was too lute. I mounted, and calling tin; do^ (fulloped in
the direction which tlu; antelope had * ikiMi, si^htin^ him at
last half a milo away, and maiuined to j^et tl. • do^ to sec him
also, when away In; went, 1 kee[)in^ as near as 1 could on my
hairy pony. The start j(ivcn to the antelope; was too long a
oiu", but the (log went up lust, as the buck was evidently
crippled, and very soon he was alongside, barking but not
dariiig to catch hold. I gained slowly, and when within two
hundred yards 1 jumped oil" and tired twice, but missed, and
had a very long gallo|) before 1 got near again, hitting him,
however, this time with a bullet in the hind (puirters, which tore;
onc! ham nearly to pieces. It inul been a galloi) of alxuit four

ilc^

had

gone well, being by no means

miles, and my new purciiase
fast but lasting splendidly.

Fishel rciurned on the sixth dav, but astonished us vorv
much by arriving on a miserable rat of an Jndiiin pony leading
another, both of his having been stolen by Indians on the night

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314

VISIT TO THE CROW CAMP.

of his arrival. This was very bad hick as they were hoth of
tlicrn good shootiug-ponirs, well trained to stand fire and to
remain ^vhcrc they were left. "When getting off to stalk any
animal, the usual way to ensure your pony^s heing there when
you return, sup[)osing him to be used to hunting, is to throw
your reins on the ground, when he will gf) on feeding till he
treads on them, and he will then remain on that spot for
hours.

Fishel said thf t the thieves were supposed to be Crows on
their way to tl;c large Crow camp, about fifty miles from us,
so he and I determined to ride 'here and try and recover
them, as the Crows were friendly. We started the following
morning, the Colonel saying that he would move camp in our
absence to the foot of the Little Snowies, a range lying next to
the Judiths. We weie a day and a half doing the fifty miles,
as the ground was rough and a good many streams had to be
crossed. I rode my grey and I'ishel the hairy pony, which I
christened " Brownie," and we took my third pony to pack.
Early on the second day am- overtook about twenty Indians
going our way, and thought that perhaps they might be the
thieves, but on coming up Avith them, we found that they were
a party of Bannocks going to the Crow camp to buy horses,
and having seen me with their chief they were very friendly.
On reaching the Crow camp, where there were about twelve
hundred warriors, we were given a lodge, and a quantity of
buftalo-meat was sent to it for our use. We went to see the
chief, whose name was " Spotted Bear,^' in the evening and
told him why we had come, and he promised to ride with us to
the horse-band in the morning, as the grass being all eaten

A nUFFALO-RUN WITH THE CROWS.

315

near the camp, they were several miles away under the charge
of a guard.

He said that the ])ii Haloes wore very plentiful near the
camp, and oft')icd us horses if we cared to have a run, which
offer I accepted, Fishcl preferring to go to the horse-camp,
which he could do just as well alone. In the morning I found
a wild-looking animal waiting for me outside the lodge in
charge of an urchin about five years old, aud almost as wild
as the horse. These little fellows, chough their legs stick out
straight and they can get no grip, will ride any horse in camp,
and arc frequently sent out to bring in a band of them, turning
their own rapidly in any direction to head a horse off Avhich
tries to escape. I found that about a hundred Indians were
going with me, and that we were under the orders of a sub-
chief, with whom I rode. We were some hours finding cows
and calves, passing a good many old bulls, but at last came
upon a large band, and Avhcn tliey began to run, the Avord was
given, and with a wild yell away went all the Indians, I doing
my best to keep a good place. I liad a pair of sharp spurs or
I should have been nowhere, as an Indian pony will not go for
a white man without them, and even then I found that I must
content myself with a " back seat " as they had given me a
slow one, so I waited till the band Avas separated, and then
took after two cows and a calf which had gone off at right
angles to the others, all the Indians having left me. I
followed the buffaloes into a narrow side valley and gradually
crept up to them till I Avas almost alongside, Avhen round they
both came and charged, defending the calf. I fired and hit
one of them in the neck as she came on but did not stop her,
and had to gallop some Avay to get rid of her, giving her

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31G

ik

THE INDIAN GAME OF "HAND.

another shot behind the fore leg, about a foot above the
brisket, wlien she fell. I then turned my attention to the
others, wliich were by this time a quarter of a mile ahead, and
a gallop of a mile put me once more alongside, when I shot
the calf, letting the second cow go as my pony was nearly
done.

After taking the two tongues, I rode back tlie way I had
come, meeting some of the Crows coming to look for me,
thinking 1 was a " tenderfoot " and should lose myself. I
told them where my two buffaloes were, and they said that the
women would come out the next day and take the meat to
camp. On our return I found Fisliel in the lodge, having
just come back from the horsc-eamp, where he had not found
his ponies, though he said that he was sure that they had been
tlicrc when we arrived, from some words spoken by the Indians
on their way to the horse-camp that morning, which he had
understood. An Indian's morality on the subject of stealing
generally, and especially stealing horses, is very lax, one of the
best Indians I ever knew telling me " that him no wrong to
steal, him only wrong to be found out.'' When you catch
them in the act they will only laugh, as if it were a good joke,
and are not in the least ashamed of themselves. There was
nothing to be done but to make the best of it, though we felt
inclined to try and run off a iew of their ponies when we left.

That evening we went to an Indian's lodge to isec them
play their favourite game of " Ilaud." The game consists in
holding a shell in one hand, then placing both hands under a
buffalo-robe, which is lying in front of all the players, who
kneel in a circle, moving the hands about rapid!' changing
the shell from one to the other and then holding them both up

TNDIAN OAMULERS.

:U7

il>§

clopetl, your adversary having to say in which of them tlio
shell is, losinp: a peg if he is wrong. A row of pegs stands in
front of each man, who cither takes one from or gives one to
his opponent according to his lo's or gain. These pegs
represent so mn(;li, and everything an Indian possesses is
valued at so many pegs — a wife so many, a horse so many, and
so on. An Indian will frequently lose all he has in one evening
— wife, children, horses, and lodge — and will leave with nothing
but what he stands up in, when his friends will lend him a gun
and some amnnniition, with which he will in time get skins
enough to fit himself out again. Many of those present lost
heavily on this occasion, but tluy all took it very quietly, and
you could not tell from their faces whether they were winning
or losing. I was told that when a man lost his wife and
children they generally went to the lodge of the winner
without showing any feeling at all.

In the morning the chief got up some horse-racing, of
which all Indians are passionately fond, and many white men
make a small fortune by going among them with a fast horse,
winning any number of ponies, buffalo-robes, deer-skins, &c.
The Indians, however, are very good judges of a race pony,
and will refuse to run any which they think too fast for
theirs.

We only remained two days in the camp, and then set out to
return, getting as far as the foot of the Judiths by nightfall,
and as we travelled fast we reached our last camp by the
middle of the next day, and by following the waggon-trail we
found the fresh camp — pitched at the head of Great Spring Creek,
the largest stream in the Basin, which rises in the Snowies.
We found the Colonel just on the point of moving again, as

I!

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318

ANECDOTES OE TEN DO k.

[•! !'

he had discovered ii pl.-uu; hi^h up in the mountains where
game of all kind seemed very plentiful, bear-sign especially
being very thick. Tliere were, he said, large thickets of wild
raspberries and blueberries, of which the bears are very fond,
and round some of these the ground was trampled by them
like a sheep-pen.

As Fishel had directed any letters coming to Martinsdalc to
be forwarded to Reed's ranche, I determined to leave the
others to move camp while I rode to the ranche and got our
letters. On getting in I found two very rough men staying
on their way from Carroll to IJozeman. They were Indian
traders, and had brought a ([uantity of the vile stuff which is
sold by them as whiskey, and this they had all been drinking
for some days, and were more than half drunk when I arrived.
My letters had not come, so that I had to wait for them, and
I passed most of my time with Tendoi in the Bannock camp,
a good Indian being a preferable companion to such men as
there were at the ranche. The chief and I got to be such
friends that he lent me his war-horse, a fine roan of about
fifteen hands, to ride, which was a great favour.

I heard a story of Tendoi which shows what kind of man he
was. When the tribe some months before had held a council as
to whether they should go on the war-path or not, and more
than half had decided to do so, Tendoi and his son had gone in
the night and had warned all the neighbouring settlers, who
in their turn had warned others, so that when the hostiles had
visited their ranches the owners had fled, and the intended
massacre did not take place. They risked a great deal in doing
this, for had it become known they would probably have been

ANECDOTES 01' TKNDOI.

319

k Hod, fully three ([uarters of the tribe haviii;jf joined Peggee,
the war-(;hief, against Teiidoi's orders.

I slept in his lodge one night and he lent nic some bullalo-
rohes, and I am sorry to say that it took nic several days to
get rid of what he supplied mo with. I tried to induec him to
give up Avearing the high hat, but could not succeed in doing
so ; it had been smashed several times, and I took it off his
head and sat on it, t(!lling him that he was a fine Indian
without it, and a scarecrow with it on. This last word,
however, he did not unh rstand, but replied : "■ Me like um,
mc ; a good white man give um, and me wear um;" and he did
not mind my liaving sat on it in the least.

Bowles toUl mc another story of him, showing how unlike
most Indians he was. On a former visit to the Judith IJasin,
one of his men had hidden himself in the stockade one night
before the gates were closed, and waiting until everyone was
asleep he cut out the parchment, which formed the window of
the trading-store, and began to get in. iiowles happened to be
sleeping there that night, and the noise waking him he fired,
killing the Indian so instantly that he remained half in and
lialf out of the window. Knowing that the man's relations
would make a blood-feud of it, and • that unless something
could be done at once to prevent it he was as good as dead,
he went to Tendoi and related what had happened. The chief
told him to bury the man and that he would put the matter
straight ; so early in the morning he summoned all the Indians
in camp to a council, and when they were all assembled he
stood up and told them that a member of the tribe had
disgiaced it by trying to rob a friend of their chief's, that he
was dead, and that from that time his name must be forgotten

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>\'2{) UNI'M'.ASANT liUAKTrUS.

jumI no rrv(Mif;o tuketi for his death, lie then tncMitioiicd tho
muii's naino, (iiid said that il' anyone disobeyed him he wonhl
kill that man ; and nothinj; more was heard of the; matter.

As I (lid not eare to remain a Keeond ni^dit in eamp I
retnrned to thi; raneho, and I'onnd everyone there (h'liidv us
nsual and verv noisv. The e;ihin in which we had to sit was
not more than sixteen feet by twelve, and lonr drnnken nu-n
nearly (iUed it, so when bed-time came I asked l^nvh's where
I eouhl sh-ep, and was tohl to hiy niy blankets in a eorner
or take the bed, whielun'er I preferred. Now there Avas no sij^^n
tliat the (hinkinj^ was at an end, and it -was more than likely
to finish np with a fi^ht, so I deelined to oeenpy either of the
places oU'ered nie, and said that 1 shonld sleep in the trailin^'-
8tore, tlie (h)()r of which opened ont of the room we were in;
on wliicli IJowles replied that he allowed no one to sleep there.
I saw that unless T was firm I must pass the u\<i;\\t where; I
was, so I told him that of course 1 was not j^oin^ to remain
with them in their present state, and tluit I must have the key
of the store at once, on wliicli he gave it to me and I went in
and locked the door after me, telling them that 1 hoped they
would not try to come in during the night as I always fired
through the door in a case of that kind. I knew the whiskey
was in there and thought they might come in for a fresh supply,
but though there was a great noise in the next room till far into
the night, and some quarrelling, I was not disturbed.

In the store I found a large pile of buffalo-robi's which
made me a capital bed, though the flavour was a little too
pronounced perhaps, as a good many of them were not dressed.
In the morning I had a look round the store to see what it
Vi'as that Eowlcs guarded so jealously, but found nothing but

DlU'd tlu!

(' would
tcr.

canip I
riiiik as

sit was

vCM IllCII

•s wlicro

a corner

s no s'v^n

u\ likely

•r of the

tradiiii;'-

ivere in;

ep there.

wluM'e I

I rcnuiiu

; the key

went in

)(•([ they

ays fired

whiskey

1 supply,

far into

s whieh

ittle too

dressed.

what it

HOW DOWI.KH GOT HIS WIKI',.

821

trumpery eoinmon heads and knives, hrass wire, slnini jewelry,
jiaekets of vermilion and hlue paint in powder, a d pots and
puns, everything heing of the eotnmonest kind.

The men in the outer room were uU asleep when 1 went in
there, so J adjounu'd to the well, and was i^cttin^- a fair
Huhstitnte for a bath in a stahle-hueket, when I found that
IJowles's s(|uaw was watching me, and I had to bolt, nnich to
her amnsenu^nt. This woman had come to the rancilu; with
Iier husband, a lilackfoot warrior, who had thret; tine horses
with him whieh he had stolen in the settlements. Jiowh-s
tried to buy the»" ' liim, and failing in this got up a (piarrel
and shot him over the counter of the trading-store, taking his
horses and his scpuiw, the latter being very well pleased with
her change of masters. Heed told me this story, and took me
outside to show me the Indian's grave, seeming to think
nothing of it, no one in that (,'ountry looking on an Indian as a
human being, but as something little better than a wolf.

The food at the ranchc was very badly cooked and very
dirty, so I broiled myself some buffalo-steaks for dinner and
8U])per, which helped to pass the time. I had to pass two
more days there, as the Government courier was delayed and
the mail nearly a week later than usual ; and we found when
he arrived that this was because his horses \ad been stolen
■when one day's journey from Martinsdalc, so that he had to
walk into that place, carrying the mails on his back, to get more
horses to continue his journey.

* I

m

I

4

■i

king but

•I.).)

KKKI) SHOOTS A IJEAIl !

CIIAPTEIl XXIV.

Ueed shoots it irrh/Ay hour I — A 8|il(Muli(l liiiiitiii^jf-^i-ouiid. — Wlmlfsalt!
iua>'Hiu'i'o of (leer. — The (Vdoiicl shootf* a ffri/./ly. I gut «)ro tlie n«xt
nijrlit. — Another bear. — Tciidni pay-* us a visit. Ills apprcciatioii of
run'y.--tSui^piiioii.s tracks. — ilorsotliiovi's. Kxiioclition to destroy
them. — Horses staiiipedod. Tiie cause.- -Fishel and I jjfo to see the
Oow war-dauco.— Crow sham light. — Foolisli freak <if an I^iigiishnuin.
— The war-dance. Unpleasant n (lections tliereat.

As soon as 1 got our letters I started lor eamp, very tliaukful
to get away from such a ])lace. liced had been ill most of the
time, so that 1 had seen very little of hira. lie had taken to
drinking again, the ginger not satisfying him for long,
lie told me, during a sober interval, that he had been
into Martinsdale since I saw him last, and that, on his way
back, he had had to camp out one night without a tent, and
that during the night, happening to awake, he had looked up
and seen what he took to be an immense bear standing on
the opposite side of the fire ; so he snatched up his rifle and
fired at it, and it fell, and when he went to see what it was, he
found he had shot his favourite horse, lie was always on the

V^liolffiali'
ilie iitixt
iatioii of
) di'stroy
» St'C tlio
^rlishmaii.

iiuikl'ul
t of the
liken to
long.
(I been
lis way
nt, and
ikod up
ling on
ifle and
was, he
on the

A sPM'Nnrn iiuNTiNo-nnou

horse

D. a:>3

for II hear wan

verj^c of 1). T., so that his mistaking

not to \h* woinU'rcd at.

T HJcpt at our old catiip ou Spring ('reck that night, and

roaelicil tlu; Jicw one hv the afternoon of the next (lav, and

roinul tlu; (Joloni-l had jtiHt come in from a hunt, and very

cntliusiaMtic ahoiit the amount <»f game in this phioc which ho

had diN(;<>V(Med. Ifc had seen two bands of elk that morning

ajul no end of deer; Ix-ar-sign, too, was everywhere. The

men said that they had Iniard elk elose to the tent xn the night,

so that things looked very j>romising. The eamp had been

pitched on a beautiful spot, a small plateau at the; foot of

the Snowy llaiige about six thousand feet aljove, and with

11 view over the greater portion of tlu; .hidith Masin. The

mountains b(;hin(l us were a long line of jaggtnl peaks, rising

out of dense pine-forests. The ('()h)nel took me to a point

elose by and showed me a l)and of elk feeding, before I

had been ten minutes in eamp; aiul on my way to where they

were we jumped three small bands of bhicktails. T got one of

the elk after a very easy stalk, and three deer on my way baek,

taking all the meat into eamp, as I had asked Tendoi to come

and see us, and knew that he would be glad of it. T never

saw so many deer as there were here; we often jumped them

when going to picket the horses, within a quarter of a mile of

the tent, and found fresh tracks in the snow almost every

morning, where they had been even nearer than that. One

day, when out with Fishcl, we passed a tumble-down cabin,

l^'ishel remarking that this was where the " greenhorns "

wintered, and when I asked him what he meant, he told me

that two years before, deer-skins being then worth more than

y:2

ni

i I

< ii

3:21

THK COLONI'.L HIIOOTS A <iUI/,/LY.

UHUnl, lie uiid n partner liud wiiitcrcMl in tliiso niountiiiim,
fikiii-)iMniiii(;, and had ^ood luck, K''^^>"K 'ti^Tc tlin.i tliittceii
Iiuiidrcd d(*(>r; and tliat, licariii}^ ol tliis, two other men rixnw
and put up n cil)in near them, hut had nuuh* a I'adure of it,
only killing nhout (our huiulred cU'cr and liardly i)a}inj( tlieir
cxpeiiHeH. So that t\\v lour nu'U had actually killed more than
seventeen hundred hluek- and nhite-tuiled deer lor tlioir Mkins
alone, heside all those they wounded and did not get. Since
then deer->*kins had heeonu' of so litMe value as to Ix) not
worth taking <»ir, fifteenpenec! heing the outside price, aiul the
deer were ax pleutil'ul as (!ver.

We put a hear-hait ai)out lour hundred yards IVoni eani[), in
a srjiall ravine; .vith precipitous sides, iustouing three deer to u
strong rope and staking tluiu down just uiulcr ,i large roek,
which made a grand phice to shoot ironj, ])eing ahout tM'euty
feet ahove the hait. Hears do iu)t (;are for meat until it is
high, so that for several days uoiu' eanu; ; hul at last we found
that one Ijij.^ one had supped there, so we tossed up for first
chance, and the Colonel won, vo he and ImsIicI went t'bout half
an hour before the moon rose and took up a position on the
rock. AVe sat round tlu; tin; and waited, and about half an
hour after they left we lieard the Colonel's rifle and tlicn two
loud reports, made by my ten-bore shot-gnu, which Fis'.iel had
t»kcn loaded with buckshot. Half an hour later they riturned,
having killed a fine grizzly, which, on skine.ing it the next
nun-ning, had, we found, a ball between the shoulders, passing
close to the heart, and seven buckshot in the head, about
enough for any bear, 1 fancy.

The next night the waggon-driver and 1 went out, and had
an hour to wait, when, although we heard nothing come, we

TENUUI 1>AYM UH A VIHIT. 325

•AW ■omrtliiiiK y;rcy moviii;^ on tlir- halt, no wo both firrti
to^ctlicr, iiiid tluMT wan a ^rcat cotuiiiotioii, (>artli and MtoiicH
flying in all (lircctiotiM for u few nitiniciitM, after which all .van
Htill, and on dcMcciidiii;; we I'onnd that we had ^ot a fair-Mi/.tul
btMir, with a hcaiitirul NUin, oni; hall havin); takini him in the
hind ([uartci'M and unu ia'uuking tho spine in tlio middle of the
baek. This firiiij; from above Ih very deadly, and we never Tailed
to get a bear hit in this way. The Colonel went the I'ollowiii;;
ni;,'ht, and <;()t a third bear, after whi<h they got MJiy, and
did not eonie to the bait a;;aiii while we renuiined there.

We were goinj? to dinner one day when Tendoi and on(« of
his men, who ueted as a kind of nii/c-ftc-r/nnjt, rode into eutnp,
and were very nuu!li astonished to sec fonr large bear-skins
pe;r^'ed ont round the tent, as the killina; of a f,'rizzly entitled
an Indian to call hiniself a warrior and ranked with the taking
of a sealp. Of course tbcy stayed lor diiuu'r, for which wc
lia[)pened to hav(! nuule a largo curry, a thing which neither
of them had ever tasted before, and uith which Tctuloi was
dcliglitcd, taking eleven helpiui^s, though his companion did
not like it. Tendoi told me that he had never eaten anything
80 good in his life, and after he had finished he sat against the
waggon-whcx'l patting himself and saying, " Me feel heap a
good, mc!" and then he called me and, patting me on the baek,
beld up two fingers, and told me that they represented liimsidf
and myself who were two brothers, adding that if anyone hurt
me he would kill him, or, as he put it, " ]\Ie kill um, ml ! "
Before leaving us Tendoi told us that the Crows were coming
to his camp to dance tlic war-dance, and tliat he hoped wo
would come and stay witli him and sec it, which 1 promised to
do, the Colonel [)retcrring to rcnuiin in camp, liaving a great

ll k

•'J*0 flOltMF.TIIIKVRi.

ilriail of ill! Indian h»\iiv, iUv. Hnnilirr occupaiitH of it liavinn n
|itit'ticului* likin)( f'ui* liini, anti irCuNinK to Icnvt; wlini uncu tlivy
liud imitl him a vi»it. I liiiv(> Huid wry littlt* of Syinoiidii, an ho
uvvcv n('coni|mni(<(i nn on onr I'VcnrNJonM, |iaNNin}{ hin time
lirtliin^ or reading;, and wondtrin); how \\v roidd find any
idcaMunr in ('anip-lilc.

Soin<' (htVN luiorc Tcndoi'H arrival \vc had i'ound Nonu* t'rcNit
moccasin (rails in a hnuill valley rnnnin^' at ri^dit auKh'* to thu
one in which vvi; were, so wv anki'd liini wlictlur they wcrtJ
iiiadu by any of his men, and hi* aNHurcd nn that thuy could nol
have been made by any of the friendly portion of the tribe, an
none of tlieni had, at tliut time, been out hunting, but that
Indians were aluay.s )j;oiii^ between his eani[> and the hostiles,
and tiiat some of these ini^ht have passed iu>ar un ; and he
assured us that when it was known that we W(!re his friends,
wc weed not fear lur ourselves or horses. We heard after-
wards from Howies that the traekM we had found were nuide by
some of a party of horsc-tluevcs — white men and liulians —
who were camped in the big Snowies^ the next range to the
one we were in. These men had been stealing horses from
both whites and Indians for Home months, and, shortly after
wc had left the Ihisin, a mixed party was sent against them,
Tendoi and sonu' of his men joining it. The horse-thieves
were bur'>rised, but i'oi -rht well, most of them being killed, and
a number of horses were recovered ; however, Fislicl's two
were not among them. Wc heard nothing of such un expedi-
tion before wc left, or we should have remained longer and
joined it. From this time we always brought the horses in at
night, picketing them near the waggon, this being always the
diflieulty when remaining long in one camj), as each horse has

IIOKHKH HTAMI'KHKM.

827

any

■ixty fort of ro\w, niul nil tlic ^rnHN itnir riin)|i \n mooii ratni otf,
coii<ir«|u<'iitly iiotiu> of our itontcH hud to Ix* pickcttMi ti (|uart4'r
uf a iiiili> awnv.

Ouv ni^ht^nftcr \\v liail tiiriuul iii, hc licanl liorHCH ^nllo|iin^,
mill lliiMi a iiiiinbor of tlirm went hy tti<> triit at full Kprrd. I
jiiiii|inl out of li(<(l, (■aii;;lit up my rillc, and wiin invny alter
titctn ill a niouiint, for^cttin^ that I had nothing; lui liut a
MJiirt, anil Mhoiitrd to tho men to follow wr I ran nonu* way
down the valley, erourliin); ii(»w and thru, hut could ««(*e
nothiiijf as it w',\s v<'i'y <lark ; mo, after ;(oinj; about a ((iiartcr of
II mile, I turned hack, meetinj{ the men on the wiiv. Wo

talk

ed the ma

tier over and decided that thev had hce

Ktampeileil hy some animal, as, had it hccii ituliauN, \\v should
havo heanl them, and in any case nothin<; could l)e done till
mornin;;, ho we returned to tin* tents, my l"<'et hein;; a };ood
deal cut hv the louyrh ;'round and mv ley;s hv the thorns. On
l^oin;; into the tent I found the Colonel in hed, his idea hcin^
that, an they were <;ono, it was too late to do anvthin;?. In thu
morning wc found that all had gone hut the Colonel's pony,
wliich he had happened to picket away from the others in a
snuill side valley, \Vc trailed up the others, and found them
all tied in the hriish about four miliis from camp. They had
galloped sonu! miles, and had then hej^un to feed, soon tyin;;
the sixty feet of rope, which each had fastened to his headstall,
round the hushes.

We hud. a f(;w davs later, an

o

ppor

tuiiitv of seeini; how it

originated, and found that it was all owin^ to my grey horse,
wliieh had evidently been hrou;iht u|) in a bad school. lie
would walk up to his pieket-i)in, shake the rope M'hich was
round his neck as low as possible, and then, putting down his

32S

rnKi'AiirN(j for the war-dance.

[I

If \

mi

11 ii
It I .}•

!i

1

III
It

K.tt

i!

i)

a

.1

f'

head, ho would go oil' at full speed, not seeming to mind being
thrown down when lie came to the end of his rope, for he
M'ould try it again till he had pulled the picket-pin out, when
he woiikl go olf to the nearest horse and galloj) round him,
w inding him up in the rope, and throwing him, the rcsnlt being
that he would get up and rush off, tearing uj) his pin, the grey
going on to one after another until be had them all loose. I
tried tying his rope to a halter, but he would still manage it,
so I made a fetlock-strap and tied it to that when I had him,
and he never got away afterwards.

It was now timo to go to Teudoi's camp for the dance, so
Fishcl and I started, meaning to remain away five or six days.
We got to the camp the same night, and Tendoi seemed glad
to see us, and set apart a portion of his lodge for our use ; and
this time we had brought our own blankets, and had the lodge
well swept out and fresh pine-boughs put down before making
our beds.

The war-dance was coming off the next day, so we passed
the interval in going round among the lodges, raakii.^, the
acquaintance of the principal Indians, and had to cat some-
thing in each tcpc and smoke in most of them. The Crows
hiul erected their lodges close to those of the Bannocks, and
wc went to see them also, finding them very busy painting one
another for the dance, the toilet taking a full day. One of
tlicm had Avhitc rings round his eyes, and a white line following
each rib, while another had red and black stripes running side
by side the whole length, of his body, no two Indians being
alike. The squaws seemed as proud as their husbands in this
dress, or rather undress, as a lady in civilization might be to see
hers in a goueral's uniform. The Ibllowing day the Crows got

FOOLISH I'llEAK OF AN ENGLISHMAN.

329

up a sham fij^ht in our honour, forming sides and using
"Winchester riHes and knives. The fighting-ground was in the
centre of the Bannock camp, a circle about a lumdrcd and fifty
yards in diameter; and here the fight was so furious and they
got so excited that one might very easily have fancied it real.
They charged one another, yelling their war-whoop, firing in
the air as they came on, and tiien closed and wrestled on
horseback, showing us some very fine riding ; and the horses
seemed to enter into the spirit of the thing quite as much as
their riders. jNIost of them rode bare-backed and yet clung as
if glued on, one of them being every now and then taken from
his horse and carried off, when he was supposed to be scalped
and out of the fight. It lasted about an hour, and no one
seemed a bit the worse for it, though there were some bad falls
and some very hard knocks given.

I went to the ranche and found Bowles and liced at home,
aiul for a wonder sober, so I stayed and iiad a long talk, and
lleed told me of a very foolish thing which had been done by
an Englishnuiu the previous year on this spot. It seems that
early in the spring the groat chiel! of the Crows, ^' White
Ilorse,'' had died, and, according to the custom of the tribe,
he had been doubled up and put in a box, which had been
placed on a stage close to the stockade, the only departure from
the usual custom being in this case the use of a box, the bodies
usually being merely wrapped in blankets. An Englishman
passed through the valley during the autumn, and tvied to buy
tiie head of the chief as a curiosity ; but of course the Indians
were horrified at the idea, and refused at once, putting a guard
on the grave. In some way the Englishman managed to elude
the guard and steal the head, going off at once to Benton,

t

I l*fl

k

330 THE WAU-DANCK.

whence he took the head to lOnghiiul. Wlicii it was Ibuiul out
that the head was gone, the indignation and horror of th(!
Crows may l)e imagined, as, according to their belief, tlicir late
chief eouUl never go to the " hapi))' hunting-grounds," vau\ it
very nearly led to a rising of the tribe against the whites, and
this was only averted by their agent saying that he would get
the head restored ; and sonu' months afterwards he produced a
head which he said was the same, and it was rci)laec(l in the
box, and the Crows quieted down : the truth, however, being
that the head came from another agency where the Indians
buried their dead, and where this head had been dug up.

In the evening the dance came off. Fishcl and I went rather
late, so that by the time we got to a large tcpc in which it was
being held there was an immense crowd of Bannocks — men,
women, and children — round the door. Tendoi had refused to
attend, as he said that numy of the hostiles would be present,
and as they had disobeyed him ho did not care to meet them.
We pushed our way towards the door, and had just reached
it, Avhen an Indian took me by the w rist and, pulling me out of
the crowd, said something to me in Bannock, which I of course
did not understand, so I told him I was Tendoi's brother,
having learned that much of their language on purpose, and
this seemed to satisfy him and he let rac go. I had my hand
on my revolver, and could easily have shot him had he tried to
injure me. On reaching the door again I found that Fishel
had got us two places against the side of the tepe, the inside of
which presented a curious spectacle. Round against the sides
were squatted three rows of Indians, one in front of the other,
as close as they could be made to go, while the Crows were
dancing round a large fire in the centre, swinging their

UNPLEASANT UEFLKCTIONS.

331

tomahawks in their right hands and holding knives in their
left. Each man was given a chance ol' telling his exphjits, the
others joining in now and then with u lond note of praise,
when any more than usually daring deed was recounted, and at
the end of each man's recital all of them sang a sort of war-
chant, striking with their tomahawks and using their knives
as if scalping an enemy, dancing furiously in the meanwhile;
and this went on till every man had made the most of his
warlike deeds, when some whiskey which had been got from
the ranche was handed round, and we then left, though wc
could hear them singing and shouting most of the night.

It gave one a very curious feeling to think that many of
those present were declared enemies of the whites, ami had
probably been committing atrocities within the last few days,
and that if they met us anywhere else they would attack us at
once. I mentioned to Tendoi on our return what had ha])-
pened to me, on which he said, " You safcy ; you my white
brother ! " and 1 really think that he would have killed the man
who tried to kill me.

332

RYMONDS T.KAVKS US.

m

hi

\n

.■■t

'■/.

U-s

CHAPTER XXV.

SyiiKiiuls Itfivos us. — 1 I'.xpldie tho l^ittlo Snowies. — Follow the trnil of a
<,'i'izzly. — Try to got buck to cainp. — A dillicult road. — A line viuw. —
Plenty ol'y;anu'. -I enjoy ii sit'stn. — Au aliiiiuinj,'' awaki'uiujf. — Peculiar
vocks. - Mountain-slu'oj). — I ]m<x a j^iizzly. — (Jood .sport. — Meet a party
of white iiicii. Tilt' (Ueenhoiii. — Attempt to lasso the jrrey. — Indian
attack defeated by Cireenhuru. — Stories of <,'rizzli».s. — Shecp-raiiche.s.

While 1 was in Tcndui's camp, a lot of t'lviglit- waggons stopped
at tljc ranchc, on their way to Huttc city, and it struck me
tliat this would be a good opportunity for Symonds, who wished
to go there ; so I persuaded the " Boss " to wait a day or two,
while I returned to camp and brought him back with me. I
found Symonds very ready to go ; camp-life; was intolerably
dull to one who had no >te for sport of any kind, and who
was continually longing i a town. We parted good friends,
although we had not fr i nized nuich. I arranged for him to
sleep in one of the Avaggons, and paid for his food as far as
Butte, and we induced him to take the greyhound with him,
as it had only been in our way, requiring to be tied up when
we Avent out hunting, and often howling in the night, Avhich
might have brought the Indians on us.

A few days after getting back to camp 1 made up my mind

I EXl'LOUK TlIK LITTI.K SNOWIES.

333

to explore the Little Snowies, muking a tour of the range, and
going up uny likely-looking valleys which I might come across.
I got the cook to nuikc me enough Ciini[) hrcad for a week, and
taking two blankets, a coat, and a few camp necessaries, I
started due east, keeping well in the range and crossing
numerous ridges and ravines. I do not tlunk any kind of hunt-
ing comes u[) to the pleasure and excitement of these solitary
rambles, where in many cases you carry your life in your haiul,
and rely for your daily food on your rifle, and never know from
minute to minute what rnay turn up.

1 passed yome beautiful places for camps, and jumped a great
many deer the first day, and came across one small bear, but it
saw me first and made ofi' up the mountain, and I let it go, as
the ground was almost impassable. My first camp was in a
pretty ravine at a spring, where I put up a rough shelter and
made a fire, as the weather was very cold and there were
several inches of snow on the ground. I was so far up in the
mountains that no wolves came to serenade mc, which was a great
relief, for their howling is a very melancholy sound when you
have no one to talk to. I rode JJrownie, and a good companion
he proved, coming and standing by mc at the camp-fire, now
and then rubbing his head against nie. 1 never tied him up
after the first night, and he was always somewhere near in the
morning. I had trained hira to stand very still when I fired
ofi' him, and to remain wherever I left him, and lie was so
intelligent that he learnt very (juickly. On the morning of the
second day 1 came on the trail of a large bear and cub, and as
there was a great deal of fallen timber, I dismounted, and
having removed the saddle and bridle, I left the pony loose
with a short rope on him, taking the bearings of the place very

ui

I'!

i

iifi

■:i

Ii

'VM uoi!(jn (iiioiiNi).

iiircriilly — ii most im|uirt;mt tiling to lo in :i m<»u itiiinouH
ii'gioii, ulit'i'c the comitry is all so imicli alike. Tlic trail led
IMC over two liijjli lidf^cs strai;;Iit lor the t«-|» of the laii^^c, and
I caiiic tlic-.i upon a M'ly d('(*|> laviiu*, with almost prccipitons
sides, on the oilier side of wliieli was the main i'anj;e. I was
hy this time somewhat weary, foi' tlu^ ground was not only
covered with fallen trees, hut these were partially hidden under
the snow, so that 1 was continually trippinj; and falling, so
I sat down and ate some of mv hi'cad, and rested until I was
too cold to remain any longer, when 1 hegan to desecml, and
found even this very dillicult, as the ground was loose shall',
which gave way continually, so that I slid down most of the
way. The hottom of the ravine was one mass of fallen rocks
and trees, and 1 nnu'.e sure that 1 should find the hear in her lair
under these, as the opposite clilf was almost peri)endicnlar and
looked impassable; hut when I reached the hottom I found that
she had gone straight u|), and as it was shale and much steeper
than the other side, I gave it up and tried to clind) the side I
had come down. This I found I could 'lot do, as after getting
up some yards, the shale would slip from under me in a mass,
carrying the snow with it, and down 1 went. Kindi <g I could
not nninage it, 1 made my way along the bottom, aiui the going
•was simply aAvful, for the rocks were piled up to a lieight of
from ten to thirty feet. 1 tried several times to get up the side
lower down, but always fell back again, and it ended by my
having to scramble along that horrible ravine for more than
three hours, feeling sometimes so utterly done that nothing
but the certainty of being frozen to death if I remained where
1 was kept me going. At last I got to wl' -re the ravine rau
out iuto the plain^ and as it was now long after sunset, I had

I'l.r.NTV Ol* CAMK.

MM J

tu walk :il)()iii waiting (or IIk; inooii to rise, lu lore I could make
my way to wlicrc I had left the pony. Foi'tiiiiatcly I liml
iiuirkcd tluH so \v(;ll, tliat I loiiiid it cvcii l)v luoonlitrlit. After
this I never went without iiiatehes in my pocket, instead of in
my saddle-ha^, wIkuh! they wei'c on this ^(•easion. Mad I had
them I should have camped For the ni;;ht in the ravine, where
there was any amount of wood. As it was I did iu)t reach the
pony till nearly ten o'clock, and I camped within a few yards
of when; I had left him, and ate an enormous supper, luivinjr
oidy had a small piece ol" hread since the inornin;^. lirownie
seemed to In; <piit(! ;;la(l to s(!e me, neinhin;;; wh(Mi he first heard
me and coming a short distaju'c to uw.vt me.

The next day I reaehed the end of the ranj^c, aiul had a fiiu;
view of the country away towards the .Mussel-shell river, a dis-
tance of ahout twenty miles. There were several small hands
of hulTalo in sijijht, and one; old I'ellow was just at the edge of
the timher helow me, but 1 nnist have wasted all the meat, so
I would not kill him. 1'hcre were not so many traciks of bears
here as near our camj), as the l)errics were scarce, owing to tlio
country having been recently burnt. That morning I sliot a
young black-tailed deer for meat and also a wild cat, using a
solid ball. Deer were very plciitilnl, and so tame that one lot
of five would not go away thoiigh T was within seventy yards
of them, and I had to shout and throw up my liat to startle them.

I was now on the opposite side of the 'angc to that on which
our camp lay, and where the scenery was not nearly so beautiful,
as the mountains came down very abruptly on ray side, and
there was much less broken ground at their base, aud I had to
ride along in the open. It was very hot in the sun in spite of
the snow, so after my mid-day meal 1 thought I would take a

33(1

A SIDDKN KIlKillT.

l»

• M

'a\

I u

h4

Hicsta, and (Indin^ a very hw^v fullcii tree, which lay at a coti-
vciiiciit an;;l(', I hiy (h)\vii on it, and stood iiiy lilh; ay;ainst tho
tree (dose; to nw ; but it was not comrortahU; wlierc I was, so I
moved to the othi r end of the h)}(, ahont forty feet away, for-
^^;ttin^ lo take my rlMc uith me, and soon fell asleep with
my hhmket ow.v me. I mnst liave shpt for some time,
when I was au. ke hy a noise, and, h)o'dn«^ n[), saw a row of
shinin" eoppir-cohtnred faei on ine, some of them Ix'injj
within two feet of mine. I di f<>i t,!i'"k 1 was (jver so startled
in my life; hnt an instant's refit ' ^on ?•• 'vcd me that I mnst
pretend to he cool, so I raised myself on one elhow and held
ont my ri;:;ht hand, and all of them camc^ forward ami shook it.
Then 1 <>()t np slowly and strolled towards my rille, feelinjf
more ('omfoi'tal)le when I had it in my hands. I feared that
they mi^ht \)v one of the hostile hands of Bannocks, who were
ont under I'eg^ce, hut they turned out to be Crows from tho
larj^e camp, and some of them knew me, from having seen mc
wlien there with Fishel, when looking for his stolen horses.
They had jjlenty of meat with them, and I had to sit down and
cat some of it, although I had already dined, or they would have
been offended : so that it was nearlv four o'clock in the after-
noon before I got off, and I camped that night on the prairie,
•where there was a beautiful spring and good food for tlie pony.
The change had done him good, and, in spite of the weight he
had to carry, he was much fatter than when I started; tho
grass Avas brown, but it is a peculiarity of jNIontana that the
hay cures without being cut, and will fatten a horse quickly
long after it has lost its colour.

The next day I reached the other end of the Range, and
turned the corner towards our camp, having a rather curious

t a noti-
kinst tlu!

VaH, MO J

kvay, for-
M'l) with
no time,

L row ol'

startled
I muMt
111(1 held
hook it.
, feel inu-
red that
ho were
i'oni the
iccn me
horses.
wii and
lid have
c after-
prairie,
e pony,
light he
id ; the
hat the
quickly

I

ge, and
curious

M'J

I'F.curjAK norKB.

;j;j9

'. 1 .1

cxprrionco. I wnn riding lato in tlic aftrrnoon, nnd luul jimt
luiNNed ti Ninull biiiid of <>lk, Vtlicii 1 cuino to what looked liko
t}\v. rninaiiiM of uii cnoriiioiiM j^atcwiiy. It was iUo. ciitraiu't) to
a Ntiiall valley, niiiiiiii^ up towards tlir main rUh^r, and tlic
rockn on eaeli ^^id*' were ho perpeiidienlar hh to ho exaetly liko
tho rotnains of a work done by tlx^ liandn of man ; I tliou^dil. I
would Hee wliertr the valley wont to, so, jotting o(T my pony, I
led him up a narrow door-pith, through pinCM and brushwood,
and after going a hundred yards, I eamc out into a nmall oval
prairie, haviii}; in tlu* middh! wluit at first resembled tho re-
mains of a very hi^h ehureh-tower, aiul I be;;an to think I had
^ot among sonu; gigantic; ruins, which had not yet been dis-
coverod by anyone else, A Hocond look, however, showed
breaks in tho outline, but it was still an extraordiiuiry rock,
standing as it did nearly in the michlle of the prairie. It must
luivc been two hundred feet high and about four feet wide,
retaining this width to the top. About halfway up was n
lioUow in the surface of the fro!it, which might have been tho
hole where a clock had once been. There was splendid grass
here, so I camped on one side of this rock, whicli, by tlie way,
lost all resemblance to a tower when seen from the side.

My usual camp on that trip was a mackintosh sheet put up as
u lean-to, in front of which I lit a fire, atul when T took the
trouble to put about six inches of small pine-boughs under the
sheet, it was a first-rate bed and shelter. An equally good and
much lighter one can be made of a large sheet of common
cotton-drill, and if stretched properly it is nearly as waterproof.
I remained in this camp two nights, and found lots of game,
and I think I could have killed twenty or thirty deer a day

had I wished to do so. On the second day I climbed the main

z2

810

MOIJNTAIN-HHKFP.

ri<lKr on foot, Jitftrtiiif? curly, atul had Imrrly rt'mlu'd tlic top
wht'ii I Nuw iUrvc iiiouiitaiii-ilicv|». Tlicy wcro on u lower
riclf^r on the other n'uU\ niiil n lon^ way off, but the wind wan
ri^ht, and I dctcrniincd to try for one of them. I had a very
Htirp dcMccnt of I'mir hnndred feet, and iMmH? rocky raviiicH to
croHN, then came a elimh, whcrc^ I hud to wv my handn an well,
after which it wan all rniwlin^% iiiid I mana^'cd to get within a
hnndred and twenty yards of them, when I Maw they were two
Bhee[) and a yoiuifi; ram, with well formed but nhort hornn. I
had piiHhcd the Nafety-boltH of my rifle forward, and now, aH I
thoiifjht, drew them back; bnt when I tried to full cock the
hammers, I {(mnd that I coidd not do so, and I took my knife-
handle to push the bolts further, when ofl' went the ri^ht barrel,
and ihv Nheep did the sanu>, and I had my lon^ scramble for
nothinj;. On my way back I shot a (leer, (ihoosing one which
T Htarted close to the valley, so that I couhl cume again for
more of the meat.

On the morniii}^ of the next day 1 was off again, being now,
I calculated, oidy one day's journey from camp, and I was
riding down a ravine when I saw an immense bear <*(miing up it.
I jumped olT at once and got behind my pony, hoping that the
bear had not seen me, but he had done so, and turned up a side
ravini!. Leaving my pony I crossed two snuill ridges which lay
between me and the ravine he was in, and arrived just in time
to see him go into a thick patch of dead thorn bushes. These,
as I luive said before, are very common in that part of the
Montana; (ire at some time lias killed them, and the bark has
come oft' and the wood l)ccome very hard, but the thorns
remain as sharp as ever, creepers grow over them, and they arc a
very favourite lair for bears. This patch was about sixty yards

I RA(i A <iKi//^LV.

au

hmK f>y tilH>ttt liaif uh wide, {iiut by Mtftmliri{( on the hill uIioyo
i cduld ('imily hvv. if luiytliiit^ It'l't it. ItiTc I ittntioiicd inyHcIf,
and tli(* f^roiitid hciuK utony, I Ix'^^uu to throw in nil thr hm
(nwH I (>outd tiiid, now mid then h(*urin)( u ^nint and Ncirin^ the
huMhcM move, which ihowcd thiit I hud j^oiu; near him. Thi«
went on for nomu time, und 1 wu> nearly out of bi)( NtoneN, when
the bear broke eover on the opposite Nidc and I i^uvc him a tihot
from Ixhitid, when lu; rolli'd ovcsr barkwards u\ln the cover a^iiin.
Almost nil the Ikuh'm I have nhot havif don(! this when hit, and
nntil you know hcttcr you think you have made; a splendid shot ;
the truth is, that they bit(* at the wound, and in doin^ ho roll over,
but are up af^^aiu and oil' in an instant, nnlesM the wound in really
mortal. The bear now sulked, and stones wen; (;vidcntly of no
UHe, HO 1 had to make up my mind to go in and tuekic him in
his den. 'I'hls waM all the more awkward, um I had disabled one
barrel of my rifle, the base of a brass cartridge having? come olT,
leavinj; the remaiiuler in the barrel. Had there becju any spee-
tatorM luokin;^ at me I think tin; task would hav(? been easy, but
i walked rouiul the place and did not like tlu; look of it at all.
It was very thick, and to j^o in one would have to crawl, and
be in a very awkward position lor shooting um the beur charged.
I fear I was a long time before I made up my mind to do it, and
I then found the largest hole 1 eould and began to creep in,
pushing my rifle in front of me. I had got in perhaps twcilvo
feet when 1 saw sometlh i? moving ui)aiul down, and on looking
closely, for the light was ij.id itiside, I saw that it was the bear's
jaw. lie was evidently hit iji the stomach, and was lying with
his head on liis paws breathing liard. 1 brought up my rifle,
and aiming at the centre of his forehead fired, just as he was
rising to charge me. The smoke hung so that I could sec

•r

342

THE COLONKL HAS GOOD SPORT.

■]»

m

nothing, nntl thinking that pcrliaps I couhl sec hotter outside,
1 retired in sueli haste that I left some skin and part of my
clothing on the thorns. On getting outside and finding that
the bear had not followed me, I allowed time for the smoke to
clear away, and then went in again, ami saw him lying in much
the same position, and (evidently dead. 1 had desperately hard
work turning him over and opening hini, as he was the largest
hear 1 had yet killed ; the thorns too were very dense, and it
was almost impossible to cut them with a common butcher's
knife; however 1 managed it at last, and having carefully taken
the bearings of the i)lace, aiul l)lazcd several trees leading to
it, I rode oft' towards camp, but did not get in till the next
morning, as the bear-fight occupied some time.

I found that the Colonel had killed three bears, though none
of them were as large as my last, and he had also had good
sport with deer and elk. There were certainly more bears near
our camp than anywhere in that range, and many more elk,
and I liavc often noticed, as a very curious thing, that two
parties of hunters will hunt the same range, some miles apart,
and while one will have no sport at all, the other will have as
much as they want.

One of the Colonel's bears had been killed in an unusual
manner. He had seen the bear out in an open place, and by
keeping behind him and walking very cautiously had got
within thirty or forty yards, killing him at the first shot. At
the beginning of the trip the Colonel used solid balls in a single
Sharp's riflu, but seeing my express balls and the execution
they did, he sent into Helena, the capital of Montana, and had
an express mould made, and from that time used express balls
Avith excellent results ; his rific was a "45, with a charge of a

■ 11^

SHOOT MORE HEARS.

343

hundred grains of powder, the accuracy being ([uitc as good as
M'ith the proper bullet, which was u long conical one.

Wc remained in this camp another fortnight, getting threes
raorc bears, of which I shot two, and one of thcni was nearly
as large as the oui; I have spoken of, the weight of which W(!
calculated to bo about elev(!n hundred pouiuls. The secrond
large one 1 got when out on foot. I saw him enter some
bushes, and having grown bold from seeing how many stones
it took to dislodge the other, I walked very conlidently to
within four yards of the bushes and then threw in a large;
l)icce of rock. I suijposc it must have gone very near the bear,
if it did not actually hit him, for out he came at once; I had
no time to raise the ride, so 1 fired from the hip, both barrels
at once, and then having business at the top of the hill which
would admit of no delay, I made '' capital time " for about a
hundred yards, turning when near tlu; top, and when my rillc;
was loaded, to fnid that the hear had not stirred, but was lying
where I had fired at him, and yet I could have declared that he
was smelling at the calves of my legs all the way up the hill.
Both bullets had taken him in the top of the head, and he had
died almost innnediately.

A few days after this wc left tliisciamp for ^rartinsdalc, going
out of the mountains by a new way, and had very hard work
to get the waggon across the numerous Avatercourses we met
with, as our team was a weak one. The day we left wc saw a
grizzly bear feeding on the ridge on our right, so having halted
the -waggon, the Colonel and I tied up our horses and climbed
the ridge, and on looking over the top wc saw the bear feeding
not more than fifty yards from us, with his head down in the
long grass rooting. Wc fired together and he rolled over,

344

ATTEMPT TO LASSO THE GREY.

t

iH

dying ill a few minutes, and we found that he was small, but
had the best coat of any we had killed.

Wc .stopped abi/ut three miles from the ranehe, and found a
party of men camped near us, who had been into Carroll for
their winter supplies. One of them, who was a baker, was the
butt of the party, aiul they were telling him of all the Indian
atrocities that they could remember or invent, as he was a
grecniiorn and had only just come from the cast. They moved
their carnj) close to ours, and wc remained a few days there, as
the feed was good.

One day T was bringing in my grey horse, intending to ride
him, when he managed to slip the rope over his head and gallop
off. I got another horse and chased him, several of the men
joining me, btit he was so crafty that wc could not catch him.
He had evidently been lassoed before, and knew how to avoid
the rope. When you thought you must have him, and had
thrown the noose so that it fell just where his head should l)e,
he immediately lowered it, and the rope slipped along his back,
when he would raise his head again. Bowles hapixMied to come
into camp just as we were thinking of giving up the chase, and
as he prided himself on his roping, he laughed at us, anrl asked
us to let him do it, and of course we were only too glad. He
started very conlidcntly, and ran his horse down, trying to get
his rope over, but without succeeding, and had to give it up at
last, and wc were obliged to drive the horse to the ranehe, in
the yard of Avliich we roped him.

As our horses looked somewhat better we all started together,
camping in the pass between the Little and Big Snowies the
first niglit, an.d as we were to separate here, the other party
tried to persuade us to pass another night, but being in a hurry

INTRODL'CKD TC MH. fLENDENIN.

345

to get our letters we k I't the next morning?, a fortunate thing,
as we hennl afterwards, as on our arrival at Martinsdale we
heard that tlie party we had just left had been attacked by the
Indians that night, wlio had fired at the tent to frighten tlieni,
and had then tried to stampede their horses. JJut the green-
horn had frustrated the attempt ])y rushing out and firing
rapidly at them uith a rej)eating rifle, all the other men re-
maining in the tent. Had we been there we should probably
have lost all our stock, as our liorses were only picketed, while
theirs were also ho])l)led. The Indians had cut the picket-ropes,
but in the darkness had not noticed the hobbles, which pre-
vented the horses from going oil'.

At Martinsdale ue introduced ourselves to Mr. Clendenin,
a brother of Colonel Clendenin, who owned one of the two
houses of Avhieh the place was composed, and were hospitably
entertained by him. Happening to speak of bears, he told us
that he had just returned ^Vom a timber camp which lie had
in the mountains, and that while there a large bear had come
into the camp one night, and opening the mess chest had eaten
all the bread, sugar, and butter it contained, not attempting to
touch anyone. lie told us, too, that when his brother was on
his way the year before between Benton and Berthold on
horseback, two laige grizzlies had come down close to his camp,
where he and his companions were sitting by the fire, and had
evidently wished to carry off a deer which was hanging up.
They had only one small-bore rifie with them, which would only
have irritated the bears without doing them much harm, so
they did not fire, managing at last to drive them away with
firebrands. This was in the Aviuter, when the snow was deep and
the bears savage from hunger. I heard of one which came into

t ■

I'

346

Slir.KP-llANCllES.

a cowslu'd. close aj^ainst tlic hack of a ranclic, in broad daylight
and carried od' a calf. Thcisc, however, arc exceptional cases,
and althou};jli I hav{! killed seventy-four grizzlies, most of thcni
by myself, but some in company with other men, I have only
had two of them charge me nnjjrovoked, and one of tlicse I all
but rode over. They always seem to be in a great hurry to
get away, though they will turn and fight if Avounded and you
arc near them at the time.

We remained two days at Martinsdale, the wliolc talk being
of sliccp, which were then beginning to be introduced into that
part of the country. When I visited the Judith Basin in 1881-
I found the whole of it a mass of sheep-ranches, and not at all
improved by the change, a shee])-ranche being a very unpleasant
place to stop at, the immense luimbcr of sheep tainting the
whole air. Soon after I left, on that occasion, began what was
almost a war i)etwcen tin; cattle and the sheep men, the one
industry interfering with the oth(;r, as cattle will not graze on
ground where she(>[) have been. I believe there is now peace
once more, the district having been divided ; but even yet the
" cow man " has not a good word to say for the " idicep man,"
and 1 have often been warned by the former never to stop at a
sheep-ranche, as they would feed me badly and charge hotel
j)rices. Having received great kindness from both, I need
hardly say that this is all prejudice.

The day is fast coming when these large ranches must dis-
appear, as from the cattle and sheep remaining on tlic same
ground all the year round th'^ grass is giving out, and already
very lar^^e di«tvie^s in Wyoming, Montana, and Dacotiih have
had to be abandoned.

When I '.vr,;s ir iln last-mentioned State four years ago there

CATTLK DISArPKAllING.

347

wcro many thousands of cattlu on the Little Missouri, an<l now
nearly all of these have disappeared and have been replaced by
small bands of horses, which stand the cold better, and, being
of course not so numerous as cattle, allow the grass a chance of
recovering itself. The large ranches will eventually be succeculcd
by farms, where a certain number of cattle, sheep, and horses
will be raised, and where, being fattened on corn, they will
fetch belter prices.

us

CRAZY WOMAN MOUNTAINS.

CHAPTER XXVI.

Visit Crazy Woman Mountiiiiis.— Dilliciilt raviiit". — I'lirk-liko country. —
Narrow osoiipe from a jrriz/.ly. — We iiiako for tlio trndo-road. — Tho end
of my ;,'ri'y lior.sc. — Somu bruyjiinfj hunters. — I ))art company from

Colone' V and the men. — The stajje wn^r^-'on. — Dnnjjors of .'<ta|j:e-

drivors. — A comjiniiiDn join-s iis. (j>ueer story about him. I ride i)art
of the way ^\ith him. — Arrival at Miles City. — I am ollered quarters.
Which I decline. — Call on Cieneral Milen. — Stories of Cieneral Mile.H. —
I leave Fort K(!o;fh with the General. — liough journey. — Yellowstone
Kelly. — Arrival at Fon Abraham Lincoln.— Kindness ^:. American
(iHicers. — lload a;rent9. — Mort anecdol(>s of (Jeneral Miles. — Arrival at
ChicafTo. — Tile present state of my old huntinjj^-j^rounds. — Conclusion.

From Martiusdak' wc travelled towards tlie Crazy Woman
Mountains, which are said to hie been s'^ called because the
Indians lound a white woman wandcrinjj^ in them, who was
crazy from hunger and exposure. Our way lay through a
beautifully hilly country, well wooded and having numerous
small streams running through it. Wishing to explore as
much of it as possible, I took a line of ray own, about two
miles further south than the one taken by the waggon. It was,
in those days, entirely uninha])ited, Indians and now and then
a stray prospector being the only peo])le you were likely to
meet, and these last were very scarce then, as the danger from
Indians was so great.

DIFFICULT RAVINE.

8M)

While riding across ii Hiuall prairie lying at the foot of the

stftj;o-

lb

)f elk-li

f^hieh h

mountain8, I fonnd a great ii
evidently been shed, sonic of them being very old, and sonic
only shed the year before, and among these I picked a beantiful
little pair of horns of a deer which is now almost extinct —
the fantail. They were very much liia; the horns of the black-
tailed deer, but about a (piarttir the size ; from the state then
were in, I should say that they luid been there about two
years.

I rejoined the waggon at night and heard that the Colonel
had killed three blacktails during the day; 1 had sn-n several,
but as we had plenty of meat I had not fired at them. On the
second day we reached the Crazies, and found ourselves on
the edge of an immense ravine about thiee hundred feet deep,
and filled with a dense mass of trees and underbrush, and there
was no way by which the waggon could cross. It was tc* Ute
to go any further that night, so we cami)ed, and had to carry
water for ourselves and animals through tiic dense brush and up
a bank at an angle of 15°, doing most of our labour in the
dark. We had been told that we should come across a hunter's
cabin on reaching the mountains, but wc must have wandered
out of our proper course, as we could find no traces of it. It
was most unfortunate, as the owner of the cabin had lived in it
for many years and knew the whole country, so that we could
have got valuable information from him.

The next morning the Colonel and I rode along the edge of
the ravine to find a crossing, and a': last came to one which
might be made to do, needing, however, a good deal of digging
and brush cutting ; so we went back and 'orouglit the waggon
to the top of it; and then all of us set to work, and by evening

ill
It'

it

'I

in

350

NARROW KSCAPE FROM A flRIZZLY.

wc had u fair road down, and it took us till the middh; of tlio
next day to make one up on the other Hide, and ev(;n then W(;
iiad to eliain botli hind whcclH goin^ down, and unload the
waf^j^on and earry every thin}; up to enu!/h; the team to take the
wa^^on over, and our want of pr()|)er tools made the work
tniu'h harder, as we had only one shovel and piek.

The eountry on the other side was worth all the trouble we
had taken to reaeh it. It was very mueh like a tine Knylish
park — open j^l.ules atul elunips of fine tre(!s, with patehes of
brush scattered about, where we eould always jump deer.
Hear-sigTi was, however, very scarec, and what we found was
old, showing that they had left this part of the eountry, and
wc only saw one small one in the eight days wc remained here.
"Wo wore a little tired of deer-shooting, so we determined to
move on again, which we did, going about fourteen miles to
where the Crazies ended, as there were some fine valleys run-
ning into the range from there. The day after we reached our
new camp the Colonel had rather a close shave with a grizzly.
He was out hunting o.> liorscback, aiul dismounted to stalk an
elk, when he came on a large I)ear drinking at a stream. lie
managed to crawl up to within about sixty yards when he fired,
striking the bear far back, as there were a good many bushes in
the way and it was difKeult to sec him. The bear immediately
charged, and the Colonel, having some trouble in getting a
Fresh cartridge in, scrambled up a steep bank which was behind
him ; the bear sprang twice at it, but each time fell back, the
wound Lf.ving crippled his hind quarters ; and it was trying a
third time, when the Colonel managed to get the cartridge in
and fire, killing the bear. This was a very powerful animal,
though not so large as some of the others we had shot, but the

MOUNTAIN-SUKKl*.

M.-)!

nui8clc8 uf the i'urearm were hu iiuicli (Icvclopod tliut the; hum
nlwnys spoko of it afterwards um !hc prizefighter.

One day the CoU)ii('l and I .starfnl for a Umy; ride; into tlu;
mountains to explore some very likely-looking ground for t!lk
and bears, passing through sonu; lovely eountry, hut seeing
nothing r)ut black- and white-tailed deer till we reaehed a higii
point, when we got our glasses and soon niadu out some
mountaiu-sheep above us, and sonu- of them seeujed to have
Rne heads. It necessitated a long elimb, so the Colonel agreed
to hold the horses while I went after the sheep. I had to
des(!end some way, us there was no eover above us, and <iake
a long det(>ur, aseeiuling aguiti when I was round the end of
the nu)untain, fallen timber nuiking the walking very slow and
tiring. I had got up higher than where the shee[> were, when
I saw two Indians going along the mountain-side above me on
foot, and as there was no way of telling to what tribe they
belonged, I lay down in the bnish for fully an hour to let them
get well away, when 1 continued my stalk, and on turning the
point of the mountain again I saw that the sheep had moved
and were coming my way, so 1 got behind a large tree and
waited about twenty minutes^, by which time they wcrt; only
about a hundred and twenty yards from me. All 1 could sec
were sheep or young rams, so 1 let them cuter u thicket, where
they lay down, and my patience was nearly exhausted when
two fine rams came up ut full speed, giving me a snap shot,
when I hit the hiudc ■ one, and had a run of ahout two miles
over awful rocks before I could get in a second shot and finish
him. The horns were a very perfect pair, but not so large as
T had fancied, being only thirty-five inches long and eleven
inches round the thickest part.

355J

T-AROF, HANI) OP KT.K.

fi

I fotiiul that tlie Colonel, tired of waitiii;; anil tliinkin^ I had
gone after Noincthing else, hiiii moved and shown hiniHell', and
hin doing no had Nturtvd the rains. Wu Mei)arute<l now,
arranging wliere wo were to meet. 1 was to take tlie high
groniid whili! tin; eolonel Hkirted the hase of tht; mountains,
and Hoon alter leaving hint I naw a largo hand of elk fiuiling
on the opposite side of a vjdicy which lay helow me. I let
them feed over tho ridge and then led my pony down and
pieket('(| him in the valley, elimhing the hi!! k, \ foot. It was
necos8ury to ho careful now, as I was going in the samo
direction that tho Indians had taken, and they might havo
heard my Hhots at the ram and mij^dit bo lying in wait Homc-
whero near. I had nearly gained tho rnlgo over wliieh the elk
had gone when 1 saw two young hulls watehing nu", so I lay
still, h()i)ing they would go away ; hut this they did not sooiu
incdinod to do, for they would pretend to light and butt at ono
another, and then eomo a little nearer to havo a look at me.
Getting tired of this, I waved my handkerchief to and fro,
when tlioy trotted ofF, and I olimbod to the top of tho ridgo
and found myself within forty yards of a largo band of elk :
most of them wore lying down ; but 1 could see no fine heads,
so I thought I wouUl risk it and jumjjed up suddenly, when
there was an extraordinary eomniotion, the elk going in all
directions, some of them running against others in their con-
fusion ; but OS I did not want meat, and did not see a single
fine head, I did not fire, though they wore so stupid that I
could easily have killed two or three. The bulls nmst have fed
on ahead, as I did not see a single large one as they went off.
I rejoined the Colonel towards evening and found thai he had
killed a good ram, M'ith finer horns than the one I had got, the

liOHK ouiiHr.r.vrs.

:r.i

I lay

lioniH l)(iii<{ iH'uily two inrlicH l()n;;(>i' .and i)iu' anil a liall'
thicker; he luul seen u ;,'r('at nuiiiy deer, hut no sl;;n of a h<'fir.
Ah it was now hitc \vv rode uh fast ns wt; conid for (ramp,
hnt were so hinch'rcd hy the ronghncss oC the }?»■"""•' ^''"^ ^^'''
foniul \v(! eould not (h) it, not knowiiijj; the eonntry well
enon;;h to travel throiij^h it in the dark; we therefore sele<'te<l
R small sheltered hollow and put up a hou<;h shelter, nuide a
l)i^ lire in spite of Indians, nsin«; very dry wood so that the
xmoke should be less dense, aiul w(?re soon very eond'ortahle,
consuming a ^jood snj)per of mountain mutton and writer, after
which we turned in. Our only eoverinj; was one saddle-
bli»nk( t, hut hy lyiu}^ elns<; to each other we j;ot thr()u;j;h the
nij^ht |)retty well, havin;;- now aiul then to make up tin- lire ;
and in the morniii}:,, after a hreakfast oC more mutton-steak!!i,
wc reached camp hy midday.

Fislud and I madi; another round throujjjh the mountains on
the followin}^ day, and maiui^^a'd to lose ourselves, as this part
of the country was new to both of ua ; hut ..anie at last to
an old road. Tt was rainini^ hard and very dark, so we got oil
to feel the road for tracks, as wc had [lassed over one like this
in coming to our present camp ; and after groping about for
some minutes we found souu? tracks which we followed, and
soon saw an immense lire which they had lighted in camp to
guide us. We got in just as supper was ready anil diil ample
justice to it.

As bears seemed to have left this part of the country, and
wc did not care for any more deer-shooting, we decided to make
for the !5<agc-road between Ikzcnuin and Fort Keogh, 1 intend-
ing to take the stage for the latter place, while the Colonel
meant to drive to Bozcmau and sell the outfit, going on to

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23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

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354 SELL MY GREY HORSE.

HeloTKi for the winter. During tlu; day we passed a small
river, and on stopijin-; to let the horses drink, the Colonel's
pony lay down, rolling liim ofl" into the >streani, whieh was very
cold, so we camped on the hank and lit a fire to dry him. The
whole thing was so comieal that I could not help laughing; and
very shortly after I was punished for doing so, as the grey
bucked as I was sitting sideways talking to the Colonel, and so
bucked me off for the secotul tinu;, though he did not lasli out
at me as he had done before. Some men passed us late in the
afternoon, and 1 sold him to them for rather more than I gave
for him, and was very glad to get rid of him. I heard after-
wards that he got loose when on the prairie, near the large
Crow camp, and joined a band of buffalo, so that no doiil)t
the Indians got him again.

These men told us that during the previous winter they
drove a band of elk into a small valley in the Crazies, from
which there was no exit, closing the mouth of it with trees
and brush, and had then killed the whole band, taking nothing
but their skins and tongues ; happening to visit the valley some
weeks later, they found that most of the bodies had been
eaten by bears, which had been there in such numbers that
the whole place was trampled by them, some of the tracks
being very large.

We struck the stage-road on the follf)wing day and drove
down to the place whei'c the stage changed horses, and found
an old man and his wife in charge, who seemed to think
nothing of the danger they ran from Indians. They told us
that the stage was due in the morning, so we camped by the
house, and while at breakfast two long-haired, very-mueh-
fringcd individuals drove up and dismounted, and after the

a small
]!oloncrs
kvas very
n. The
ng; and
he grey
I, and so
lash out
c in the
I I gave
•d after-
lic large
0 (loul)t

cr they
es, from
th trees
nothing
ey some
id been
3rs that
traeks

cl drove
d found
> think
told us
by the
-much-
'ter the

BRAr.r.INT. IIUNTKIIS.

•1 " f

usual (pujstions as to who we wore, where we were going to,
&(;., they bcgati to pull about our eolleetion of hornsj asking
why we took homo such poor things, one of thcin saying to the
other, " VVhy, Hill, they arc not much more thou half the size
of those we got last week!" On our askijig him how big those
were, he said that he had held the head up, with the points of
the horns on the ground, and that his coniijanion, who was over
six feet, had walked under the head without stooping. I had
heard those stories so often that I thought I would test this one,
so I took out fifty dollars and offered it for the head if thoy
would bring it in. Seeing him hesitate, I took out another fifty
dollars and oflered them both for it, when the first speaker said
that perhaps after all it might be hard to find the plaee where
tliey had thrown them, aiul that they had not time to go there,
after which they mounted and rode off.

The stage came about eleven o'clock and proved to be an
ordinary farm waggon, with short springs under the seat. The
driver was a rough-looking follow, but turned out to be better
than ho looked. There was no cover of any kind, so I spread
my mackintosh sheet over my things, as we now had snow or
rain every day. There were five large mail-sacks in the back
of the waggon already, wliicl\, with my bedding and horns,
quite filled it. Now came the good-byes, which are the most
unpleasant part of all trips, four or five months in camp
making men better friends than years in civilization, after
which we parted.

I found that the driver had been at this kind of life for

many years, and was a pleasant companion. lie had on several

occasions been attacked by Indians, and had more than once

to desert his mails, and to ride off on one of his team ; but for

2 a2

850

DANOEIIS OF STA(!E-l)inVKHS.

the lust two yt'iirs lie liail liad no troubli!, tli()u;j;li lu; still
carried a rcpcatiii};' rilli; and a bi'acc of revolvers in cus(! of
necessity. He told me that lie Feared white desperadoes more
than Indians, as tliey could so easy pretend to bo friendly and
shoot him unawares. Onee, when he Avas known to be carrying
a good deal of money, oue of them had met him on the road,
and bad ridden alongside of tlu; waggon for some time, asking
questions as to th(> country, and then, di'op[)ing behind, had
fired twice at him M'ith a revolver, missing liim but hitting one
of the hur>««cs, lie had at once thrown himself down in front
of the scat, and, his team bolting, bad given him time to get at
his rifle, with which he had lired at the man, driving him away,
though hv. had not hit him, as he was unable to take any aim
on account ol' the roughness of the road.

I found that \\c liad about three hundred miles to do, and
should l)c live days doing it, as our team was only two small
ponies which were to be changed twice each day. The day's
journeys were of very unequal Icngtlis; the first and secoiul
■were about sixty miles each, aiul tlicn came one of ninctv-six,
while on each of the last two days we were to do forty miles.

On the second day a young man, riding a cast cavalry liorse
and leading a second, joined ns, whom my driver knew, askin<>-
him as lie came up, " how it had gone,'' the answer being that
it was all right ; and most of what followed was about mutual
friends, after which the man left us and rode on. I asked who
he was and what he meant by its " being all right/' and was
told that the man kept a saloon at Miles City — a place which
was springing up near Fort Kcogh — and that some months
before he had been joined by a partner from the East who had
brought a good deal of money with him for investment. The

MY COMPANION MOSS.

357

two men had ocnipicd oiio room over the saloon, uiul one
morning the partner had been found Avith his throat cut, wlnle
liis money had disappeared. This man said that he found him
(h\'id on awaking' in the mcn-nin^', and that the win(h)w of tlic
njom was open. He; uas arrested and taken to Hozcnnan,
wliere he was tried for murder and had just b(!en ae([uitted,
though my driver seemed to tliiidi liim guilty.

When M'c sto|)pcd for the night I had a hnig talk with tliis
man, whose name was Moss, and at tlie end of it he tohl mc
that my n(;xt day's drive was ninety-six miles, and that
although we were supposed to get in that evening, we should
really be going all the next day, as the team was only ehanged
once, so he oll'ered me the use of his second horse if I would
ride with liim, in which ease wc shotdd be in bv seven and be
in time for supper. I accepted the offer, and then took the
driver aside to ask him what he thought of it. He advised my
going, as I sljould avoid a very tedious drive, and he thought
that Moss had now had a good lesson and would hardly risk
hanging, wliieh would be a certainty were he tried again on
the same charge. To make sure I borrowed one of his
revolvers, not having one with me.

We were off before daylight, and breakfasted under a very
curious rock, covered with Indian carvings, about twenty miles
from the stage station, having done this in sometliing over two
hours and a half. Wc rested an hour, turning our horses out
to feed, and started again about eight o'clock, making forty
miles by dinner time, having dinner at a stage station Avhere
the waggon was expected to arrive in about three hours. The
remaining distance we managed easily by half-past six, without
the horses having suft'ered at all. We had gone at a hand-

358

CAM, ON (iKNKIlAL MILES.

!

canter nearly nil day, Moss Icadin;;, and I luid I'onnd him a
very pleasant eonipaidon, as he had lived u long time; in the
West and had a great eoUeetion of stories connected with it.
Of course I said nothing of what I had heard, nor did Ijo
allude to it. ih; left us tlie next morning, intending to be in
Miles Oity hy night, ollering to tak(! me with him ; l)ut I
j)r( i'erred arriving with my things, as I wished to make myself
presenta!)le before calling on (icneral Miles, to whom I had u,
letti'r of introduction. As there was no hotel, Moss offered me
a bed at his saloon ; but this I declined with thanks, as I
sliould hardly have i'elt comfortable there, so T ])romise(l to
look him up if 1 came to Miles City, which he said was about
two miles from Fort Kcogb, on the o[)posite side of the Ycllow-
Btonc lliver. The two following days T rode on th(^ stage,
through a very uninteresting country, reaching Fort Keogli
early in the afternoon of the second. Here I went to call on
General Miles, wlio was in command; but my appearance, I
fear, was anything but prepossessing, as I liad a four months'
beard, long hair, and was very much tanned ; my clothes, too,
were not in first-rate condition, and my boots had not been
blacked since I left Bismarck.

The General received me very kindly, and said that he would
put me up as long as he remained at the post ; but he was on
the point of going East on leave, after which he would be
transferred to another command, so that he was selling oft"
everything and did not know how much furniture I should (ind
in my room, nor how long what there was would remain there.
I was soon comfortably established, finding a good bed,
wash-stand, some chairs, and a carpet; and it was a great
source of amusement during my stay, as we inquired each

ANFX'DOTES CONCl'.RNINO IIIM.

351)

moriiiii;; what jirticio* Imd (li^^!l[)I)('Ill•L'(l since tlu; day Ix'Torc.
Tlu! first thin;? to j^o was tho hod and hcMhlinj?, when I came to
a mattress on the Moor ; then this went, and I put my bnHah)-
robc in a corner and slept on that ; then all the rest of the
tilings except the l)usln went, and that I emptied out of
tiie window and hid every day und(>r my robe, the (Jeneral
faring in the same way. One of the ofUcers drove me to Miles
City ; but I found it was a miserable little place, containing
about a hundred iidiubitants, most of them keeping saloons,
the soldiers i)eing their customers ; and yet, when I heard of this
place four years aft(>rwards, it was from a ycning lady who had
just been by rail to a ball there, and it was then a fine and
rapidly-growing place of several thousuiuls, with stone houses,
a town-hall, and a Afayor and Councilmen.

While at the Post I heard several stories of my host, who
was said to he the best Indian lighter in the American army ;
and this was because he imitated their tactics, travelling with
very little baggage, and starting at once on hearing news of
Indians. It was not at all uncommon for the bugle to blow in
the middle of the night, and when the officers and men were
mustered the General would tell them that his scouts had
brought him word that a war-party was near the Post, on their
way to attack some settlement, and that a hundred men, with
mules in proportion, must be at his quarters ready for a four
or five days' scout in thirty minutes. The mule-master was in
despair, assuring me that it was impossible for him to keep his
mules in good condition, as they were nearly always away on
these expeditions, and would come back mere bags of skin and.
bone, and in many cases not come back at all, having been

MCiO

(JKNKUAL MM.KS ATTACKS TMK INDIANS.

left oil t'lo wm\, u» tlicy could not keep tip, wlicii the IiidiuiiN
{{ot tluMii.

Oil Olio occiisioii tlu! (iciK'nil liiid stiirtcd with a p'U'ty of
ImlicM to the VeHuwHtoiK' i'atk, thrci; or tour otiiccrs and an
escort jj;oiu;; witli them, and wliih? on their way some oF his
Indidti scoiitM met hiiu, and tohl him that a war-party of Sioux
iin(U;r u noted chief was only ahoiit a day's ridi' from wlien^ they
then were, retiirnin;^ iVom a raid. A coiiJ^ultation uas held,
and the Oeneral deeii 1 lo send the ladies lo j-ort lOllis in
(diarj^e of a coi'iioral ai ' two men, and to go himself with the
remaiiid(M' u\' the escort in pursuit of the war-party, sending for
help from lOllis. The distance to tin; fort was sixty miles, and
the ladies were in despair, doing all they could to alter liis
deeisioii, hut to no purpose, as they W(!re at oiu'e sent otf, the
(icneral and liis party, consisting of thirty-seven men all told,
goi'ig in the ojniosite direction. 'V\\c scouts represented the
" liostiles " as being about one liundred and thirty warriors,
tlioiigh tlicy were not at all sure of this, and recommended
waiting for reinforcements from l']|lisj but this the (leiicral
Avould not hear of, so they pushed on, and were close to the
camp by night. The phm of attack w as that a (.'aptain IJennctt
should take one half of the men round to the ojjposite side, and
that at tlie report of a pistol they should all close in, no pri-
soners Ijcing taken. Tliis was carried out and a furious figlit
ensued, the Indians, though surprised, fighting well, and it
ended in most of the Sioux being killed, a few escaping in the
dark. On the side of the troops, tliough several men were
Avounded, there was only one man killed, the first shot fired by
the Indians hitting Captain Bennett in the forehead, killing him
so instantaneously, that the cigar he was smoking lay close to

TIM, (5KNKHAI, S >*( 0UT8.

'M\[

his inotitli when Uv, w:ih I'oiind. A iiiiiiiIilt of Hciilim wvvv lotiiiil,
iiiaiiy oi' tliciii tlioNc of woiiu'ti and children, jiiHtifyin^ wliat
had been <h)n(>. (iciiend MiUvs had the best MCoiitM in Amrricn.

Ill

h(!at('

and {{ot thcin iti a vciy unUNnul niannur. llavinj; ncatcn u
hu'f^o party of ShoviMincs, uhoiit thrt'c years before I nu't hini,
he ofrcred tlie Murvivors liberty on condition that they wonid
come to Kort Kcoi^h as scouts, when lus promised to get them
implements and seeds, and to build them houses, selling some
of their ponies to raise the money. They eame and mado a
|ieinnuient camp, gcitting their wives and ehildn n from their
honu's, and, when 1 was at Keogh, were doing so well that
they supplied the fort with most of the grain, vegetables, tkc,
that it needed, besides making the best seouts that the (ienernl
had ever had. They had orders to disturb him at any hour,
day or night, and did iu)t hesitate to do so, an, I always spoke
of him as their white; chief.

As th(! time drew lusar for the (leneral to start, he very kiiully
oll'ered to take me with him, which of course 1 uecepted with
much pleasuie, as otherwise i should have had more than four
Inuulred miles in the waggon in which I had arrived. When
it was known that T was going with the General, 1 was condoled
with l)y my friends at the Fort, and was told that I should
have to do the four hundred and twenty miles without getting
a single night's rest, truvelling incessantly, as relays of mulec
would be sent on under escort from Kcogli lialfway to Fort
Lincoln, others being scut from there for the other half. Wo
were given a grand " send off" supjjcr by one of the olHccrs,
arrangements having been made to start at twelve o'clock that
night, but a very heavy snow-storm coming on while we were
at supper, our departure was postp<jncd to the same hour the

302

ROUnn JOIIRNKY.

next iiiKl'tf ulicit wc were ((ivcii aixitlicr niipixT hy the doctor
of th(! |)ONt, and thJH time we reully did ^ct oil'. \Vr wrm n
party of ci^lit in two iiinbulaiicrN, cnch drawn hy lour iiiuIcn,
and had two men on the l)o\ of eneh, hcnidcH an CMCort of a
corporal and nix men, as ther(> was a |ios!4i))ility of hein)( ntopped
citlier hy Indians or " road aKeiits." Our ha};ga;?e wan carried
in a li^lit wa^^on hehind. \\v made fifty miU's hy morning,
chani;in;< niuUs nncv,, and ht'fore (h)injj; ho had to cross a
river, on the otlicr si(h' of which waHaeam|), where wc were
to find fresh mule» and our ^'uide, a celebrated scout, wlio
went by the name of " V(dlowstone Kelly." We drove into
the river, which at the ford was not more than two feet deep,
but ns it M'a.H very dark we crossed a little too hi|^h up, aiul the
ambtdaiuM! gettiu}; into a (|ui('ksand bej^un to j(o down. The
mules, after stru}if^lin^ for a few minutes, lay down and refused
to try any more, as they always do when frij^htened. It was
very dark and wc could see nothing?, but could feel the water
cominj5 into the bottom of tlu; ambulance. The (ieneral
shouted to the escort, who came alongside and took us out one
by one, seated behind them on their horses* backs.

On landing I found myself in a small camp, and as all the
men had to turn out and \\v\[), I took possession of some blan-
kets and was soon fast asleep. It took them nearly three hours
to get out the ambulance and put everything straight, and I
pitied the soldiers as they had to work up to their waists in ice-
cold water. We ate a hasty breakfast and started again, and
by twelve o'clock had done ninety miles, halting for dinner in
the middle of a prairie, where there was water but no wood,
the (jcncral telling us that he gave us an hour in which to cook
and eat our dinner. Wc had brought plenty of steaks with us.

YK,l,r.O\V8TONK KKI.I.T.

30:t

but tluy

wen?

rnw,

anil tli« ro

wiiH no ujkmI

or Mubitituto

for it

within milcN.

Our Kuido Nliowcd un huuw

buMboH which

wcro

jlINt \W\\

(Ic on

tlu!

udm'of the

prnirio, tibnut two inilcn awnv, and

•

Hoiur ol the escort were Nfiit olT at full xpct'd to fetch Monie of
them. \V (> hud htirely tiuu* tu cook hidf tlu> Mtetiks and holt
them, when the order wuh i;ivcn to Nturt a(i;uin. We got one
ni^'ht's rcHt uft<'r rll on the way down, «)ne relay of mules heing
behind time, tiiul the (ieneral and I turned in on the seatn of
the aml)uhin(re, wliieh were nuuh* to fold down to form a l)e(l,
and as wo were both of us pretty big nu)n, it was an uneoni-
nionly tight lit, one being obliged to turn wlwn the other did.

And now a few words as to our guid*', Yellowstone Kelly,
about whom enough stories have been told to (ill a do/.un
" penny dreadfuls." He was said to have killed dozens of
Indians, and to have had hair-breadth escapes without number.
1 had several talks with him, and foimd him to be a very (|ui(t,
unassuming man, who had very little to say about himsell". I
asked him if he had ever killed seven Indians in one fight when
quite ah)ne, as I had been told ; he replied that he had never
killed more than two, and that only onee. He had been ric'ing
with despatches from one Northern I'ost to anotlier, when he
was waylaid by two Indians, who fired at but missed him.
Not knowing how many there were, lie threw liimselF from his
horse and lay as if dead, when the two liulians walked up to
him, and as they got near him he shot one and killed the other
with liis ehibbcd rifle. lie said that be had been in a good many
Indian fights, but had only once been wounded, a bullet having
taken oft' a portion of one of his ears. His chief exploit was
watching Sitting Uull^s camp for six weeks without being dis-
covered, though there were nine hundred Indians in it at the

'MM

AHIIIVK AT FORT AHRMIAM LINCOLN.

tiiiii', unit (liMCDVcry incitiit il(>iitli. Iliw itiity \va» to hiiii;; uord
to ({(Micrrtl Terry nt Fort Hcntoii of iiiiy rtiiitniiiilud il niiil
ovrr the Aimricuii Iruiitier, an Sitting Hull wan then iti
Hritiitli trrritory.

Nothing ol' niiy roriM'(|ii(Mi<'0 oociirrod iintit wi» roiiolMMl thu
Hig licart |{ivi>r, uliicli wiim fro/en ovrr, Init wliich the gitiilt*
tli<)ii;;lit would not Ix'iii' tlic auihuluncc Tlic (iciicrul, lio\v«
ever, ii)l(l tlic (Irivrr to "go aln'ml," and ur dr«»vf on to the;
icj', wliicli gave way under uh, and we went down «uddeidy al)out
two feet, the inulen reuuiining on the lee; they struggled dem-
pcrutely to get us out again, but iuNtcad of doing mo went in
tiuMUNctvcH, and all was iiow eonfuHion — the imuIim turnhling
over one another, the driver heating tluMii, and the (ieneral

Nhouting t
d h

o

go u

I)

head

and our dillieidtieH were niiu'li in-

creaned by its being a very dark night. Hie whip was kept
going on the team, and hy breaking the icu nil the way a(;roHH
we reached the bank at last, and had to halt to repair dunuigeM,
UH Noinr; of the hariiesH wan broken.

Shortly after getting under weigh again, when erosNing a deep
and narrow watereouivse, tlu; pole of our and)ulaiu'(' was run int(j
till! opjiosite bank and broken olT at the base, but the mules
managed to take us safely out of it. Here tlu; (Jeneral showi'd
w hat he was, as lie took oil' his coat and split;ed the jiole him-
self, making a very good job of it. A few iiours after this we
drove into Fort Al)iiiliani Lincoln. 1 found in eommand hero
the (ieneral Sturgiss who had been so kind to me at Fort
liclkuap in Northern Texas in \H7H, and who now pressed me
to stop with him; but I eould not aeeept liiskiiid invitation, as
I wished to return to the cast for Christmas.

Nothing can exceed the kindness of American ollleers to

ROAi» AUKN'IM.

:)((:>

ttiiyoiir Koin(; to one of t\\v WcHtrrn I cmtn. Ilr rrcoivv* mo
inaiiy Dfl'irit of lio"|iitality, that lit* in at a Iohm wliicli to accept.
I oiii'c Htaynl for two iiioiitli<« at I'oit \\ udHWortli, in Dacotuli,
and hail tlui ii'oc of "ii anihiilaiii'i' and of any of the liorHCH
l)i't<Mi}{in(( to tlic INmt ut any ttnit', imviiig tni'ivly to nay witut
1 wanted and wIilmi.

Oeneial Mile^ wax aUo in a linrry to f^o euNt, nnd I wi>«lied
to travel with him, no we eroM»ed to MisniareU and took tiit
train lor St. PauI'M, the (ieneral and hin ^nide liein;; the (d)Mcrved
of all ol)NerverN, itiul I innNt Iiiinc been asked liftv tinn><« to
introdnee men to the former. Dnriii;; the jonrney I wan Mir-
priNcd to find Kelly readinu; Pope's llom(*r's Iliad, and when I
expre^M'd aHtoninhment, he told nu'thut he had not heen l)r(Mi;;lit
lip to lie u seont, hnt had hern made ')ni' Ity eireniiHtanees.

On naehiiiK Ht. I'aul'8, tho (tt'n(>ral not a tt>le;;ram tellin;;
liini that two aml)nlane(<H I'mII of ollieiis, wlui had Icl't Keo^^h
oidy oiu; day alter iih with an eseort (d' hi\ men, had heen
"held np," as it is called, whieh nu'uns stopped hy "road
ap-nts," wliosc! cry is always " Indd np yonr hands, ' when they
proceed to examine yonr i)oekets, some of the party keepin;;
their rilles aimed at yon. It Mccms that the escort nas nearly
a mile alicad, and that the amhnlanccs were travelling,' slowly,
when I'onr men with i'e[)eating rilles spiaii^- into the road
shontin;; to the escort to hold np their hands, whieh they did
at once as their carbines weri' fastened to tht^ir saddles. They
were scaiehed and their weapons taken from them, and they
were; then conducted into a ravine, where out" man was left to
{^nard them. The other three then returned and stop[)ed the
ambulances, and went throuj^h the parly, getting a thousand
dollars ( CJiOO) from one ofliccr, who had in conscipicncc to give

3(10

THE OENERAL S INDIAN EXTLOITS.

up his leave and rctiini to the Post. They took all the j^uiis
and annnunition, and eutting the traces and the soldiers' saddle-
girths, they rode oil", and so far as I eould hear were nv.vov
ca[)tur2d, though parties ol' soldiers scoured the country in all
directions. These men might very easily have done the same
thing to us, as our escort always rode with their carbines in
slings beside the saddle, and we were so tightly wedged in the
aral)ulances that though the corners bristled with weapons, as
I knew to my cost when I nodded, we could never have got
them out in time ; the only man ol' our party who was ready
was Kelly, who curried his rifle across the front of his
saddle.

At St. Paul's we were given a grand dinner, and from Bis-
marck to Chicago we were not allowed to pay for our railway
tickets, everyone vv'ishing to honour the General on account of
his Indian exploits. I heard one of these which may interest
my re iders. He had been pursuing AVhite Cloud, the great
Sioux chief, for some days, and at last found him camped in a
deep ravine, where he evidently meant to make a stand. A
scout was sent to sunmion the chief and his warriors to sur-
render, when the answer was, that if the white men wanted
them they must come and take them. The General had some
mountain howitzers Avith him, and with these he shelled the
Indians' position, they returnii ;• the fire as well as they could.
This went on for two days, Avhen the chief sent to say that he
would surrender, as the white men were too strong for him.
White Cloud and his warriors then came out of the ravine,
bringing their wounded with them, and marched slowly to
where the General v\as. They shook hands and sat down for
a talk, and the enicf asked to be allowed to go away for eight

MY OLD HUNTING-GROUNDS.

307

ho {i;mis

i' Silddlo-

vc never
ry ill all
he same
bines in
I in the
4)()ns^ as
uivc got
lis ready
of his

oin ]Jis-

raihvay
soiint of

interest
he great
[)cd in a
and. A
1 to sur-

wantcd
ad some
!lled the
sy could.

that he
for him.
! ravine,
lowly to
[own for
or eight

days, that he might take his wounded to tlicir liome and make
some necessary arrangements with his tribe, promising that he
and his warriors would return at the end of that tinu; and give
themselves up. IMost of the ofrioers present were opposed to
this, saying that if he were allowed to go he would not come
back; but the (icneral granted liis re(|ucst at once, and the
Indians left, returning on the appointed day and surrendering
themselves as prisoners. It turned out at their trial that the
tribe had been more sinned against than sinning, and they were
only sent back to their Jleservation.

At Chicago I said good-bye to the Cjcncral, as our respective
routes diverged here, and so ended one of the pleasantest trips
I ever made.

I have now come to the end of what, I fear, is a rambling
account of my experiences in the (ireat North West, and
their only interest, if interest they have, is in their depicting
a kind of life which has now become a memory, and a very
dear one to those who have once enjoyed it. I have paid
several visits to ray old hunting-grounds since 1878, and in
many cases did not recognize them, so much had ranches and
enclosures changed the face of the country. The whole of the
Judith Basin is now a mass of sheep-ranches, and with the
exception of a stray antelope or deer all big game has dis-
appeared, though on my last visit I saw, even in these matter-
of-fact days, something which reminded me of old times. Five
Sioux Indians had made a horse-stealing raid on the Bannock
camp and had run off some ponies ; they had been closely 2)ur-
sued, and had taken refugr; in a cattle corral, where they had
all been killed. This happened in July, and I saw the bodies
in November, and I thought it a most convincing proof of the

30S

UETllOSl'KCT.

beauty of the elimate ol" Moiitanii tliat these bodies were not
in the Uuist unpleasant, hut had sini|)ly shrivcUed up.

The whole country was covered with cattle and cowboys, very
j)oor sid)stitutes, in my eyes, for hullaloes and Indians; and I
could not help regretting tlie days when T had ridden over that
beautiful country, my riHe across the front of my saddle,
depending on it for my daily food, and never knowing how
soon I might have to nse it in self-defence. Texas, too, Avas
changed even more: towns have sprung up all over the prairies,
wretched little Henrietta being now quite an important place,
and Granville a city, while the scene of the Custer light is now
enclosed as fields.

While writing the foregoing ehai)ters I liave lived again in
the past, remembering none of its drawbacks; and if I have
given my readers a portion of the pleasure Avhich I have felt
myself, my task has not been in vain.

THE END.

PRINTED BY TAYLOK AM) FRANCIS, RED I. ION COURT, FLEET STREET,

^7

I were not

^hoys, very
Liis ; and I
1 over tluit
ny saddle,
owing how
8, too, Avas
lie prairicis,
;aiit place,
gilt is now

I again in

if I have

[ have felt

T STREET.