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Le  tit 


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The 
to  t 


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The 
pos 
oft 
film 


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beg 

the 

sion 

oth( 

first 

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The 
shal 
TIM 
whi( 

Map 
diffe 
entir 
begli 
right 
requ 
metl 


D 


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empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  ^^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symbolos  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
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Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  §tre 
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Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  6tre 
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de  Tangle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nicessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


1 

2 

3 

12  3 

4  5  6 


SPORT    AND    ADVENTURES 


AMONG    THK 


NORTH-AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


//i/. 


a* 
I 


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1 

a 

■*^ 

si 

4 

t 

o 
■a 

a 
I 

s, 


M'OUT  AND  ADVIINTUIIKS 


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AMoNd  Till': 


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111 

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no 

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■»-» 
to 

V 


NOUTI[-AxMi:i{ICAN    INDIANS. 


r 


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 


f 


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' 


i:'i 


1 


: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 


\l- 


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. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


130     "^~ 

^  m 


2.5 

12.2 

2.0 


U 


' 

1.25      1.4 

1.6 

^ 

6"     - 

► 

Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  H580 

(716)  872-4503 


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V> 


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i 

Of 


vV 


7;: 


ANEtiJOTK    Ol     A    HKAU. 


li' .' , 

w. 

1 

1' 

i 

h' 

1 

1 

;i 

1 

m 


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 


oi 

til 

Cil 

w 

sli 

(1 

Ul 


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 ; 


mil 


f! 


■* 


7I. 


(( 


KUHiunoo 


«t 


II; 


8     "i 


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 


IH^si 


L.V? 
^  (I 


',iu 


I 


;;i 


''I 


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 


'lit. 


■m 


*   '      4  ■     , 


v'ifl 


I'm 


7S 


WK  PUNISH  TOM   nnor 


U 


1 

'   1  i 
}       '   '  ' 

. '        .            [     ' 

V- 


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. 


i!t 


I 


!| 


¥i 


'x 


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 


'^ll 


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 

(.  ») 


1^ 


i  i^^ 


ill 


I  > 


l|  I 
il 

ji 

II' 

ii  ; 


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. 


! 


1 


;i  ■•    ' 

U   ! 

1  'J 

1     ; 

m 

mm. 

;rc   ready    to 


DKLAYKl)    IN    OUIl    STAUT    VWOM    I'OIIT    CARLTON. 


Fort,    US   the 

m.   L 

•rtiinity.  A 
tlu!  only  (lisli 
kvitli  ii  (liiucc, 
(!ii(l  of  tlu; 
ijsjir,"  wliieh 
an  actor  lor 
many  j)lays, 
1  liini  "  h  lii 
('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 


i'' 


hi 


u 


1 

i 
i 

^ii 

f 

!Htl' 

hBVi 

Ml! 

:   |l     1 

H^^ 

'     I 

Wgk- 

!i 

!' 

Ix'f..' 

t 

I        ^ 

«:-  J 

;l 

'M'  '< 

1   'i' 

1 

SO 


A    FOOLHARDY    INDIAN. 


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. 


i;^^ 


im 


f  i^ 


I 

r 


I       *M  MM! 


vl'-'ii  ■ 


I*  'v  I 


;*■■.  ♦ 


it.,  i 


M' 


li  1 


^n  ■:•  \ 


^ . :' 


1   ■'    i'^ 


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 


I 

o 

V) 


o 


o 


p 

P' 

n 


f,5- 


'm 


()(  H     EHCAI'E. 


i);j 


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 


M 


m 


I  '"■ii 


vr^'' 


0  1 


A    «Af;K    rOK    t.lKH. 


\'^  \ 


»  i 


h'     ' 


I 


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 


■^4 


M*^ 


iH\ 


AI{UI\>.    At    roKT    liAHIir. 


1l 


w 


lit  i 


,  1 


'  1 
•  1 

1 

t          ] 

..J 

i 

{  ! 

1 

! 

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 


nail 


f. 


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 

II 


I 

I 


•     ,1.      ♦• 


'If 


v- 


i  I  i 


f'<* 


!.: 


■■  \ 


:li 


B;,. 


OS 


MY    NKW    (iUIDH. 


^i-^ 


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. 


09 


>) 


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. 


II  'Z 


■  'l  I 


i  i'  i 


M 


i 


\, 


r^^^, 


m 


]()() 


OUR    JOURNEY. 


>l 


< 


It;   i  . 


% 


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 


m 


.1 


17 


I' 


li« 


\ 


IO- 


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 


M 


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 


0 


41 


m 


t 


104 


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. 


1  ■  i 

1;!;  i 

;.  H  1  - 

i          .      ; 

'■:   '  ! 

if'^     !!  ! 

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- 


I' 


m 


H-j 


n: 


p 


M  I 


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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108 


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 ; 


a 

na 

an 

w 

hu 

a 

h 


MY    NKW    MAN    rOX. 


1(11) 


o 


•  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 


tifl 


<t^M.i 


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7^  J 


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II 


Ki 


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¥  I 


It' 


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 


J. 


m 


^  i 


.1 1 

■■     A] 


'4 


!  : 


il 


m 


m 


i    .^ 


112 


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- 


♦    S   Kii 


m 


^■n 


■a-> 


.-;* 
ij'» 


:}W 


']i-\'  1 


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- 

I  2 


\ts 


n^M 


ifr? 


'{■ 


!|!li 


i  .. 


tel 


I 


to 


1 ) 


I 


ih; 


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 


^1 

t  J 


r>;'3 


t 

I    ; 


^'-yi! 


! 

^ 

! 

ii 

lH 

3 

lis 


SHIFT    OUR    CAMP. 


li' 


^."i 


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 


iiii 


ANT-FinilTINn. 


11!) 


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 


tivhi 


'I '",. 


■m 


"K"; 

% 


-'fer 


1 


•5 

m 


■  1 


H 


B 

lit: 
If 


I:.  I 


!» 


Si 

♦  If' 

'      -ili 


1:20  ADVKNTi  iiK  wmi   A   nriiAi.o. 

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 


j  lilii 


biMCIlAlKii:    IIKOUN. 


KM 


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. 


■  1 


I'  ■■  m 


m 


.  !  i 


■1 S 


1l 


■i^^ 


;  '  1 

1 '  .1 

i  <>''■' 

■%■■ 

U-      '' 

'"■c  i: 

;:[? 

'i '." 

fa'-'  ' 

|-,i  ;i 

i!':i 

h '  pa 


10  0 


firiipniMF.r)  nr  indianb 


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 


}' 


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., 


\:'.\ 


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 


llf 


m 


;,r| 


'J 


I'V 


r[,  • 


il 


mi 

I:'-  : 


.'*' 

t*-' 


^■i  i 


!, 


•     '» 


/  i 


'tJI 


KM  OUR  IIIKiilllOCitlinoi)   (iKm   TOO    WARM. 

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.  ^ 


1; 


i] 

"ft 

It 

"i  'i 

ti- 
ki 


-J 


\'2() 


ANOTHER    EXPEDITION    TO    WHITE    ROCK. 


'1 


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 


m 

m 

m 


■  '^•?!,i 


Ill' 


12S 


FATR    OF     FOX. 


w 


1:*  i  . ; 


i  :;: 


i    •: 


r. 


4   I 


■ 

■  i 


f^y 


II 


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 

K 


4* 


Vi 


•i 


^'.i)i 


'•ill 

m 


IIU) 


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


1       ^ 


m 


I 


f. 


r 


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. 


l:U 


im. 


(  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 

k2 


■<vi 


.iS-a 


I-, 


I- 


'"'H 
:  i.-^ 


m 


If^ 


\i 


I 


m: 


it; 
Hi' 


HI 

1 


\l\'2 


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 


>} 


M 


Ul 


li  . 


1;; 


M 


PI 


1:^4 


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. 


1 

11 


-4  t 


II  > 


lao 


t>TA  RT    von    M  A  KT I N  8    It  A  N  C  li  K. 


H: 


Ifd 


',  * ' 


Sf! 


,;?: 


1^- 


CllAIM'KR  \I. 

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 


lyf 


L'H 


m 


ma 


:.iji 


f »'' 


m 


I , 


l:rs 


I  N((>MH)UTAIU.K    MK^.AKKANT-i'AKTY. 


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 


E 


2. 


I 


1. 

Si 

3 

•o 

-a 

5' 

f 

B 
I 

It 

B* 

►-• 

t 


o 
a 


er 
1 


3t 

3 


p. 


o 

si 

s 


■i 


't 


■J 


•rl 


1 1  ; 


tt 


a 

P 
e 

a 

tl 

1( 

o 

ii 

it 
}i 

tl 


'  !>.■ 


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 


Vi 


It . '  ■•• 


:H 


•'I 
■111!: 


m 


Kt 


'J  tf 


142 


MARTIN  S    HISTORY. 


II  ■    '•<: 


;l  i 


!     I| 


I 


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 


( •■  •  ■ 


Ki 


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. 


^,  as 

luiiii 
lulc 
'or 

mall 
cni. 
and 
had 

ost ; 
[till, 
!oru 


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 


■  i  ■'  I 


i  "i 


y.^i 


V. 


'I  I 


-rtf 


1  10 


LOSK    MY    HORSE. 


t 


Ml 


I 


"  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 


i  1  1 


»'y 


the 
ow 


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- 

l2 


''If 


i 


"3 


I-  1 


li-^ 


US 


A    I'M'.AHANT    SUHI'insK. 


''  1 

N 


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. 


the 

lad 

I 

icy 


111?: 


mg 


ict 


I— < 


3| 

III 


f 

s 


o 

c 

p 

r» 

rt 

C 
v 
p 

r 


^1^ 


^ 


I' 


,1  ' 


Pi  I 


I 


1 


i\ 


I 


SI 

ii 
I) 

H( 

ll 

T 
w 
w 
w 
s< 
^\ 

j' 
'l 

a 

I' 
c 

o 

t' 

a 


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 


t'H 


I  rtl 

.  r  I 

I I 


''4 


.ft  ._ 

m 


i 


IS  4 


152 


RKACII    CAMP. 


i! 


,  ( 


lilt 


.!i 


i 


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. 


TIIU1«I>KH-IIT(IKM», 


IM 


•I. 


.!,! 


ciiArTi:ii  xii. 

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 


'i 

1  -a 


f-    '{ 


154 


HAD    WATKll-SUi»l»LY. 


f 


i  ■  ■  ^ 

<  '    i 

»  'f 
I 


tl 


I  II 


■•   t 


II 


ti 


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. 


"    I 

15 


'I  N 


t'? 


i^i 


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 


m 


\i  I 


lid 


I  'If 


4 


3        ;>'•"■ 


'■ftH 


r.) 


158 


PLAN    TO    UOJ)    me: 


lit 


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. 


i 

.1*1 


J' 


'■'  \i 


€ 


m 


■M 


•f;; 


..■^im 


^m 


-•t:!  -Ml 


HI 


■\t^ 


loo 


ANOTHtU    VISIT    TO    MARTIN  S. 


H : 


w 


:|! 


SVf- 

.'■■« 


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 


i  i 


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 


♦"  - 


i.n 


■*: 


■n 


■i:». 


102 


A    CARNIVOTlors    HORSK. 


lb  'i.'i 


II 


f 


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. 


l«.'j 


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. 


si! 
I" 


\ 


m 


m2 


'Ml 


104 


VOYAOK    DOWN    TIIK    MISSOUIir. 


.  / 


I  ; 


1> 


11 


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. 


Tl 


icic    wri'c. 


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 


f  t^' 


,1  ♦! 


<"*! 


'A 

■  '4 


^ 

^^.^a^ 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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1.0 


I.I 


^  1^    12.2 

■S  Hi  IIIM 


J& 


1.25      1.4 

J4 

.^ 6"     - 

► 

V] 


« 


/ 


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o 


/ 


^, 


Hiotographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


l<?. 


"is 


\ 


O 


y 


% 


m 


he 


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I 


.1 


s3i4 


100 


NKW    OKLKANS. 


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. 


ig; 


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 


1! 

■u;; 

■'■:  -ii 
.'  .1, 

I, .  .,' 


■"•,,»     I 


u 


-I 


.<  ■ 


'r  i 


■■f 


1 


...  -     ^   '  i 
11' 'If 


m^ 


I 


lOS 


A    KIND    INVITATION. 


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. 


1(1!) 


ing 


\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, 


■'    (\ 


,i  I 


-.J 


~  >1 


i 


.  'i 


:  t' 


.;<'/' 


170 


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  ?'  ■* 


■/'•^: 


MA 


I 

■•iiii 


■ 

! 

I' 

1 

i 

mi    ; 

'irji 

::'.;]  : 

1 

II J 

( 

hii 

r ' 

1 

3H> 

'  it 

II 

IP 

1 

(1 

]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 


^ 

m 

^  T 

",«',l 


ill 


■':  :i 


I 


i*l 


■It 


I   l< 


mi'- 

m 


\7[ 


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*! 

I      I 


ly. 


■,l-  «;, 


i 


T-'t  h 


:.-.i 


IRt  A    NKdKO    LYNCH  I'D. 

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 


i 


tu   I'.V 


■■} 


I 


.:'.» 


i.»    t  , 


I 

.1 


■i 


f  K  i 


il 


t* 


'1       V 


ISO 


A     POOK    l)A\  8    Ml'OKT. 


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 


.Iff 


■*•,' 


'    rll 


:i  i:i 


1 


il 


I8S 


DKI.U  A< :\    .Mlsi'I,A<  l,l>. 


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 


SI 

i 

Hi 
(M 

in 


our 
but 
was 


)Uji;li 


wii.ii  in  t.i.M. 


18!) 


"  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 


>  f~. 


»n 


t^ 


VH 


'  >  'I 
*■  *  ! 
i 


m 


is.' 


m 


h 


I 


i 


hi 

r 


100 


OUR  not)  nnoxr. 


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 
ards 

)tain 
the 


PHrJUDK'K    AOAINMT    WILD    l)U(  Kt. 


\\)\ 


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 


Ill 


'  '•  y. 


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. 


i 


It;'  vEi 

iL.    if.M 


m 


W'^i'i- 


r  *  ■ 


a 

lish 
luues 


o 


.,     !:;-.:.!;.:i 


'\7  '■•';■:! 


i 


I  If 


101. 


SAN    ANTONIO    IN     18G8. 


I' 


(M 


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 

on 

iress. 

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 

c2 


,  P 


% 


II 


t1 


%'■  -r 


I  \m 


niLliY    HREKZE    LEAVES    US. 


:» J         I 


■1 


«Jtii 


iii! 


i  i 


m 


m.'i 


■ft  '. 


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 


he 


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 


If  I 


u 

v':,, 
■,■'■•■'1 


m 


7i 


■*-.\> 


■     i 


"'■  -'if 


•if 


'2(m 


INDIANS    TOIITUUK    A    MAN. 


if&' 


i 


h: 


fr': 


^' 


i 


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. 


!  r 


i^:-!' 


h  :j 


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 


) 


>\\ 


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 


i't 


.1       !• 

H 

I)  . 


»    •  , 


i 


20(1 


SllOOr    AN     IVDIAN  S    IIOUSK    AND     r,S(AI'i:. 


J.i'' 


";r^ 


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 


Ijf'^aii 


>S    ..,,'**'••' 


.  ,; 


*.''ft. 


'4>- 


J  \ 


f    "   '-^ll 


II 


J\,f;r  'inc.— r  find  !if  lii-t  o.h<-^t 


I'' 


'i 


«i 


I 


\m 


I 


fe! 


MV' 


1 11^ 


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 


?*,■■;• 


.*. 


'■:■« 


;:'<■, 


.  •! 


;>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 


::i:  'a 


^^•^1 

^■''"..M 


m 


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 

r2 


-        t 


'I 

-?1 


! 

:  ■• " 


■m 


i' 


' » 

■¥tf 


!U   l! 


i  Si 


, 


.■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 
iii^  that 
i(!(l :  on 
I"  of  the 
heard  so 
(I  liopcd 
'■  handed 

yuVfT  on 

animcnt. 

id   iie\er 

d    ;^oing 

he  (ireat 

I  against 

ov  about 

r  places, 

to  take 

y  tcnipt- 

One  old 

i  fingcr- 

>  before ; 

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 


■  m 


■  ii 


,i'  i. 


I'll 


::i  I 


THK.ACIII'.llors    milAVIOlMl    OF    A-SA-II A-HK 


i 


im 


i^ 


:i|!(i 


III 


I  iiil 


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 


ft 


h '  ' 


•,'  I  (5 


A-H\-IIA-I»K    IMUIPOMKH    TKUMH. 


m 


mi 

■    ;il 
llllli 


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 


\- 


■  *j ,'    •<! 


18 


\VK    nvXhV    AN    INDUN. 


Ill 


11 


m 


\i 
w 


i'' 


1' 

1       : 

(■I   i< 

1   P 

1 

t 

1 

' 

i 

ii 

il 

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 


■A 


,;li 


1",-i;J'; 


l*" 

^y 

k 

i 

1 

'  im 

ii 

i>.) 


WK    SKNI)    FOR    HKLV. 


; ' ' 


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. 


» 

p. 

1 

P 


e 


t 


1 1 
11 


^h' 


ouu  cAsuAi/rrKs. 


0  0  -, 


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 

Q 


t- 


m 


,.L.i 


m 


IIAIJ.IDAY  H    (;0IIIIA(!K. 


I  ^  ' 


\i  i  n 


:; 


i  ( 


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 


1^! 


»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 


'-     \\ 


•r:':;l 


.-:!; 


. 

^ 

V 

'. "  T 

't ' 

i 

1 

1 

•  .<  u 


il'i 


I 


!  < 


'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 


;i'  • 


■♦I 


■■'  V 


* 


1  1. 


'^1 


M 


H 


''  ( 


*  HI 


.. :» 


23i 


I.KAVP.   PORT   AltnUCKI.K. 


II    w 


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 


■  h'ii 


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 


Si 


.'.W.'- 


■!\  M'^ 


"m 
iffiP 


•    in.  "ill 


V.  \ 


■Ml 


i 


;!3G 


AN    UNCIVIL    INDIAN. 


,1 


1    ;■ 


■:     t. 


%,'s,} 


•} 


I    if  \" 


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 


1)1 

/  7'  ■ 


■'.■■;  II; 

&'■ 

■'■.,'■  I 

"J  (■"'  .1,1 

V  ,       ill 


f-i.^ 

fct  •      f 

•  )i 

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■''A' 

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f-  •! 

. :  i; 

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l^? 


Ui) 


A    DAMP    II I, I). 


■ 

ii 

■I  ■ 

'  ifli 

'  1 

1    ;  ' 

f  >.|| 

f      ■ 

f  J 

'  "M ' 

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 

u 


li'h^ 


'  I 


SSi;  :•  ■- 


; 


>  • 


if 


I  !\ 


.a 


SIIKYKNNE. 


I 


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 

r2 


Jt  i!  il 


m 


1. 

! 

■■: 

*i  .' 

.  4' 

'l 
1   l) 

■   t\l 

214 


HTAUT    rOK    KI<K    MOUNTAIN. 


Bi   r 


11 


!  *8 


1: 

^1    tx 

ii 

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 

ft    ' 

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 

ft  ft 

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 


ri 


>!  < 

"n 

r! 


.     1 
,   1 


I 


M 


y 


I    S 


2tfl 


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 


'  V'li 


i!   ^  i 


i' 


*>-.  • 


ii 


Hi' 


t 


!•' 


I'll 


n 


m 


)\- 


24  s 


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. 


nil 


W^  -'V 


.ill  ■ 


-  f 


J 


h 


«!h 


I 


:| 


^  ' 


:fe  ^ « 


I'P 


1   ^ 

.^       !    - 

■Ji     i4 

2r)() 


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 


la 


^i 


-p  ■ 

m 


Mm 


¥:. 


Tr2 


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. 


m 

i 


I 

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VI, 


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1 

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254 


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, 


f 


■>^-; 


1  M  ifl 


;   -'I 


m 


250 


AHLNUANCP,    OF    ANTKr.OI'K 


i' 


I  < 


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 


th 


(K 


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. 


iiii 


Tt 


I 


I 


4 

II 


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 


■ 


AN    I  NI'LKASANT    Nh'.Ifill  IIOl'K. 


.>-,») 

«  •!•' 


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 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


^>A''^ 


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A    I'UACTICAL    JOKE. 


iTv 


fir 


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 


.,!■■;  ^r 


\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 


!(;;i 


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 


.•>    •   ! 


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 


.  i 

■ 


204 


A    UAH-WAV    aUlCKT-Y    MADF, 


!'-! 


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 


^<> 


backing  tlieir  companion's  horse,  and  a  good  deal  of  (piarrellinji 
as  to  Mciuhts,  the  uauiblers   having  yot  a  l)ov  from  the  east 


ft  fc' 


M 


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. 


'«■ 


)    .    il 


.,•1.  f. 


■'  ! 


I 


!• 


U 


l: 


I 


* 


,1.*' 


ii 


if  I 


1 


I  i  f! 


\IM 


i;  I 


I 


2r)0 


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 


.'    i 


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 


ii  i 


Ni: 


( 


21)0 


CIIAHK   TWO   HKAIIB. 


I         ? 


» 


I 


'i.  I 


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 


i  I 


I 


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. 


,  > 


*l!l 


0' 


'f^Vi 


•  f.      i 


I 


1 

*  . 

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 


I 


illll 


M 


Jl 

IR 

1l 

I' 

If 

1  . 

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 


til 


li 


\\\ 


:)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 


'f  I' 


I 


i 


Ml 


!  !i 


n 


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 


I 


i 


it 


'M^ 


■'  1^. 
:  it 


1 


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! 


4 
II 


;;  iil 


1h]: 


jl' 


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 


i''   V 


m 


i 
\ 


p.    ?  t'l 

'^  ! 

1«:   'i 


i 


f 

i 

ft 

J' 

V 

-  ^ 

1 

>\'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 


<v   A 


o. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


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PhotDgiBphic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


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jrii 


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.