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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/22350-8.txt b/22350-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cd41c16 --- /dev/null +++ b/22350-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8634 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red-Blooded Heroes of the Frontier, by +Edgar Beecher Bronson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Red-Blooded Heroes of the Frontier + +Author: Edgar Beecher Bronson + +Release Date: August 17, 2007 [EBook #22350] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RED-BLOODED HEROES *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + + +THE RED-BLOODED + +HEROES OF THE FRONTIER + + +BY + +EDGAR BEECHER BRONSON + + +Author of "Reminiscences of a Ranchman" + + + + +HODDER AND STOUGHTON + +LONDON ---- NEW YORK ---- TORONTO + + + + +COPYRIGHT + +A. C. McCLURG & CO. + +1910 + + +Published September 10, 1910 + +Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, England + + + _The author acknowledges his indebtedness to the + editors of periodicals in which some of this material + has appeared, for permission to use the same in this + volume._ + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER I + LOVING'S BEND + +CHAPTER II + A COW-HUNTERS' COURT + +CHAPTER III + A SELF-CONSTITUTED EXECUTIONER + +CHAPTER IV + TRIGGERFINGERITIS + +CHAPTER V + A JUGGLER WITH DEATH + +CHAPTER VI + AM AERIAL BIVOUAC + +CHAPTER VII + THE EVOLUTION OF A TRAIN ROBBER + +CHAPTER VIII + CIRCUS DAY AT MANCOS + +CHAPTER IX + ACROSS THE BORDER + +CHAPTER X + THE THREE-LEGGED DOE AND THE BLIND BUCK + +CHAPTER XI + THE LEMON COUNTY HUNT + +CHAPTER XII + EL TIGRE + +CHAPTER XIII + BUNKERED + +CHAPTER XIV + THEY WHO MUST BE OBEYED + +CHAPTER XV + DJAMA AOUT'S HEROISM + +CHAPTER XVI + A MODERN COEUR-DE-LION + + + + +CHAPTER I + +LOVING'S BEND + +From San Antonio to Fort Griffin, Joe Loving's was a name to conjure +with in the middle sixties. His tragic story is still told and retold +around camp-fires on the Plains. + +One of the thriftiest of the pioneer cow-hunters, he was the first to +realize that if he would profit by the fruits of his labor he must push +out to the north in search of a market for his cattle. The Indian +agencies and mining camps of northern New Mexico and Colorado, and the +Mormon settlements of Utah, were the first markets to attract +attention. The problem of reaching them seemed almost hopeless of +solution. Immediately to the north of them the country was trackless +and practically unknown. The only thing certain about it was that it +swarmed with hostile Indians. What were the conditions as to water and +grass, two prime essentials to moving herds, no one knew. To be sure, +the old overland mail road to El Paso, Chihuahua, and Los Angeles led +out west from the head of the Concho to the Pecos; and once on the +Pecos, which they knew had its source indefinitely in the north, a +practicable route to market should be possible. + +But the trouble was to reach the Pecos across the ninety intervening +miles of waterless plateau called the _Llano Estacado_, or Staked +Plain. This plain was christened by the early Spanish explorers who, +looking out across its vast stretches, could note no landmark, and left +behind them driven stakes to guide their return. An elevated tableland +averaging about one hundred miles wide and extending four hundred miles +north and south, it presents, approaching anywhere from the east or the +west, an endless line of sharply escarped bluffs from one hundred to +two hundred feet high that with their buttresses and re-entrant angles +look at a distance like the walls of an enormous fortified town. And +indeed it possesses riches well worth fortifying. + +While without a single surface spring or stream from Devil's River in +the south to Yellow House Caņon in the north, this great mesa is +nevertheless the source of the entire stream system of central and +south Texas. Absorbing thirstily every drop of moisture that falls +upon its surface, from its deep bosom pours a vitalizing flood that +makes fertile and has enriched an empire,--a flood without which Texas, +now producing one-third of the cotton grown in the United States, would +be an arid waste. Bountiful to the south and east, it is niggardly +elsewhere, and only two small springs, Grierson and Mescalero, escape +from its western escarpment. + +A driven herd normally travels only twelve to seventeen miles a day, +and even less than this in the early Spring when herds usually are +started. It therefore seemed a desperate undertaking to enter upon the +ninety-mile "dry drive," from the head of the Concho to the Horsehead +Crossing of the Pecos, wherein two-thirds of one's cattle were likely +to perish for want of water. + +Joe Loving was the first man to venture it, and he succeeded. He +traversed the Plain, fought his way up the Pecos, reached a good +market, and returned home in the Autumn, bringing a load of gold and +stories of hungry markets in the north that meant fortunes for Texas +ranchmen. This was in 1866. It was the beginning of the great "Texas +trail drive," which during the next twenty years poured six million +cattle into the plains and mountains of the Northwest. Of this great +industrial movement, Joe Loving was the pioneer. + +At this time Fort Sumner, situated on the Pecos about four hundred +miles above Horsehead Crossing, was a large Government post, and the +agency of the Navajo Indians, or such of them as were not on the +war-path. Here, on his drive in the Summer of 1867, Loving made a +contract for the delivery at the post the ensuing season of two herds +of beeves. His partner in this contract was Charles Goodnight, later +for many years the proprietor of the Palo Duro ranch in the Pan Handle. + +Loving and Goodnight were young then; they had helped to repel many a +Comanche assault upon the settlements, had participated in many a +bloody raid of reprisal, had more than once from the slight shelter of +a buffalo-wallow successfully defended their lives, and so they entered +upon their work with little thought of disaster. + +Beginning their round-up early in March as soon as green grass began to +rise, selecting and cutting out cattle of fit age and condition, by the +end of the month they reached the head of the Concho with two herds, +each numbering about two thousand head. Loving was in charge of one +herd and Goodnight of the other. + +Each outfit was composed of eight picked cowboys, well drilled in the +rude school of the Plains, a "horse wrangler," and a cook. To each +rider was assigned a mount of five horses, and the loose horses were +driven with the herd by day and guarded by the "horse wrangler" by +night. The cook drove a team of six small Spanish mules hitched to a +mess wagon. In the wagon were carried provisions, consisting +principally of bacon and jerked beef, flour, beans, and coffee; the +men's blankets and "war sacks," and the simple cooking equipment. +Beneath the wagon was always swung a "rawhide"--a dried, untanned, +unscraped cow's hide, fastened by its four corners beneath the wagon +bed. This rawhide served a double purpose: first, as a carryall for +odds and ends; and second, as furnishing repair material for saddles +and wagons. In it were carried pots and kettles, extra horseshoes, +farriers' tools, and firewood; for often long journeys had to be made +across country which did not furnish enough fuel to boil a pot of +coffee. On the sides of the wagon, outside the wagon box, were +securely lashed the two great water barrels, each supplied with a +spigot, which are indispensable in trail driving. Where, as in this +instance, exceptionally long dry drives were to be made other water +kegs were carried in the wagons. + +Such wagons were rude affairs, great prairie schooners, hooded in +canvas to keep out the rain. Some of them were miracles of patchwork, +racked and strained and broken till scarcely a sound bit of iron or +wood remained, but, all splinted and bound with strips of the cowboy's +indispensable rawhide, they wabbled crazily along, with many a shriek +and groan, threatening every moment to collapse, but always holding +together until some extraordinary accident required the application of +new rawhide bandages. I have no doubt there are wagons of this sort in +use in Texas to-day that went over the trail in 1868. + +The men need little description, for the cowboy type has been made +familiar by Buffalo Bill's most truthful exhibitions of plains life. +Lean, wiry, bronzed men, their legs cased in leather chaparejos, with +small boots, high heels, and great spurs, they were, despite their +loose, slouchy seat, the best rough-riders in the world. + +Cowboy character is not well understood. Its most distinguishing trait +was absolute fidelity. As long as he liked you well enough to take +your pay and eat your grub, you could, except in very rare instances, +rely implicitly upon his faithfulness and honesty. To be sure, if he +got the least idea he was being misused he might begin throwing lead at +you out of the business end of a gun at any time; but so long as he +liked you, he was just as ready with his weapons in your defence, no +matter what the odds or who the enemy. Another characteristic trait +was his profound respect for womanhood. I never heard of a cowboy +insulting a woman, and I don't believe any real cowboy ever did. Men +whose nightly talk around the camp-fire is of home and "mammy" are apt +to be a pretty good sort. And yet another quality for which he was +remarkable was his patient, uncomplaining endurance of a life of +hardship and privation equalled only among seafarers. Drenched by rain +or bitten by snow, scorched by heat or stiffened by cold, he passed it +all off with a jest. Of a bitterly cold night he might casually remark +about the quilts that composed his bed: "These here durned huldys ain't +much thicker 'n hen skin!" Or of a hot night: "Reckon ole mammy must +'a stuffed a hull bale of cotton inter this yere ole huldy." Or in a +pouring rain: "'Pears like ole Mahster's got a durned fool idee we'uns +is web-footed." Or in a driving snow storm: "Ef ole Mahster had to +_git rid_ o' this yere damn cold stuff, he might 'a dumped it on +fellers what 's got more firewood handy." + +Vices? Well, such as the cowboy had, some one who loves him less will +have to describe. Perhaps he was a bit too frolicsome in town, and too +quick to settle a trifling dispute with weapons; but these things were +inevitable results of the life he led. + +In driving a herd over a known trail where water and grass are +abundant, an experienced trail boss conforms the movement of his herd +as near as possible to the habit of wild cattle on the range. At dawn +the herd rises from the bed ground and is "drifted" or grazed, without +pushing, in the desired direction. By nine or ten o'clock they have +eaten their fill, and then they are "strung out on the trail" to water. +They step out smartly, two men--one at either side--"pointing" the +leaders; and "swing" riders along the sides push in the flanks, until +the herd is strung out for a mile or more, a narrow, bright, +particolored ribbon of moving color winding over the dark green of hill +and plain. In this way they easily march off six to nine miles by +noon. When they reach water they are scattered along the stream, drink +their fill and lie down. Dinner is then eaten, and the boys not on +herd doze in the shade of the wagon, until, a little after two o'clock, +the herd rise of their own accord and move away, guided by the riders. +Rather less distance is made in the afternoon. At twilight the herd is +rounded up into a close circular compact mass and "bedded down" for the +night; the first relief of the night guard riding slowly round, singing +softly and turning back stragglers. If properly grazed, in less than a +half-hour the herd is quiet and at rest; and, barring an occasional +wild or hungry beast trying to steal away into the darkness, so they +lie till dawn unless stampeded by some untoward incident. + +Every two or three hours a new "relief" is called and the night guard +changed. Round and round all night ride the guards, jingling their +spurs and droning some low monotonous song, recounting through endless +stanzas the fearless deeds of some frontier hero, or humming some love +ditty rather too passionate for gentle ears. + +But when a ninety-mile drive across the Staked Plain is to be done, all +this easy system is changed. In order to make the journey at all the +pace must be forced to the utmost, and the cattle kept on their legs +and moving as long as they can stand. + +Therefore, when Loving and Goodnight reached the head of the Concho, +two full days' rest were taken to recuperate the "drags," or weaker +cattle. Then, late one afternoon, after the herd had been well grazed +and watered, the water barrels and kegs filled, the herd was thrown on +the trail and driven away into the west, without halt or rest, +throughout the night. Thus, driving in the cool of the night and of +the early morning and late evening, resting through the heat of midday +when travel would be most exhausting, the herd was pushed on westward +for three nights and four days. + +On these dry drives the horses suffer most, for every rider is forced, +in his necessary daily work, to cover many times the distance travelled +by the herd, and therefore the horses, doing the heaviest work, are +refreshed by an occasional sip of the precious contents of the water +barrels--as long as it lasts. By night of the second day of this drive +every drop of water is consumed, and thereafter, with tongues parched +and swollen by the clouds of dust raised by the moving multitude, thin, +drawn, and famished for water, men, horses, and cattle push madly ahead. + +Come at last within fifteen miles of the Pecos, even the leaders, the +strongest of the herd, are staggering along with dull eyes and drooping +heads, apparently ready to fall in their tracks. Suddenly the whole +appearance of the cattle changes; heads are eagerly raised, ears +pricked up, eyes brighten; the leaders step briskly forward and break +into a trot. Cow-hunters say they smell the water. Perhaps they do, +or perhaps it is the last desperate struggle for existence. Anyway, +the tide is resistless. Nothing can check them, and four men gallop in +the lead to control and handle them as much as possible when they reach +the stream. Behind, the weaker cattle follow at the best pace they +can. In this way over the last stage a single herd is strung out over +a length of four or five miles. + +Great care is needed when the stream is reached to turn them in at easy +waterings, for in their maddened state they would bowl over one another +down a bluff of any height; and they often do so, for men and horses +are almost equally wild to reach the water, and indifferent how they +get there. + +However, the Pecos was reached and the herds watered with comparatively +small losses, and both Loving's and Goodnight's outfits lay at rest for +three days to recuperate at Horsehead Crossing. Then the drive up the +wide, level valley of the Pecos was begun, through thickets of +_tornilla_ and _mesquite_, horses and cattle grazing belly-deep in the +tall, juicy _zacaton_. + +The perils of the _Llano Estacado_ were behind them, but they were now +in the domain of the Comanche and in hourly danger of ambush or open +attack. They found a great deal of Indian "sign," their trails and +camps; but the "sign" was ten days or two weeks old, which left ground +for hope that the war parties might be out on raids in the east or +south. After travelling four days up the Pecos without encountering +any fresh "sign," they concluded that the Indians were off on some +foray; therefore it was decided that Loving might with reasonable +safety proceed ahead of the herds to make arrangements at Fort Sumner +for their delivery, provided he travelled only by night, and lay in +concealment during the day. + +In Loving's outfit were two brothers, Jim and Bill Scott, who had +accompanied his two previous Pecos drives, and were his most +experienced and trusted men. He chose Jim Scott for his companion on +the dash through to Fort Sumner. When dark came, Loving mounted a +favourite mule, and Jim his best horse; then, each well armed with a +Henry rifle and two six-shooters, with a brief "So long, boys!" to +Goodnight and the men, they trotted off up the trail. Riding rapidly +all night, they hid themselves just before dawn in the rough hills +below Pope's Crossing, ate a snack, and then slept undisturbed till +nightfall. As soon as it was good dusk they slipped down a ravine to +the river, watered their mounts, and resumed the trail to the north. +This night also was uneventful, except that they rode into, and roused, +a great herd of sleeping buffalo, which ran thundering away over the +Plain. + +Dawn came upon them riding through a level country about fifteen miles +below the present town of Carlsbad, without cover of any sort to serve +for their concealment through the day. They therefore decided to push +on to the hills above the mouth of Dark Caņon. Here was their mistake. +Had they ridden a mile or two to the west of the trail and dismounted +before daylight, they probably would not have been discovered. It was +madness for two men to travel by day in that country, whether fresh +sign had been seen or not. But, anxious to reach a hiding place where +both might venture to sleep through the day, they pressed on up the +trail. And they paid dearly the penalty of their foolhardiness. + +Other riders were out that morning, riders with eyes keen as a hawk's, +eyes that never rested for a moment, eyes set in heads cunning as foxes +and cruel as wolves. A war party of Comanches was out and on the move +early, and, as is the crafty Indian custom, was riding out of sight in +the narrow valley below the well-rounded hills that lined the river. +But while hid themselves, their scouts were out far ahead, creeping +along just beneath the edge of the Plain, scanning keenly its broad +stretches, alert for quarry. And they soon found it. + +Loving and Jim hove in sight! + +To be sure they were only two specks in the distance, but the trained +eyes of these savage sleuths quickly made them out as horsemen, and +white men. + +Halting for the main war party to come up, they held a brief council of +war, which decided that the attack should be delivered two or three +miles farther up the river, where the trail swerved in to within a few +hundred yards of the stream. So the scouts mounted, and the war party +jogged leisurely northward and took stand opposite the bend in the +trail. + +On came Loving and Jim, unwarned and unsuspecting, their animals jaded +from the long night's ride. They reached the bend. And just as Jim, +pointing to a low round hill a quarter of a mile to the west of them, +remarked, "Thar'd be a blame good place to stan' off a bunch o' +Injuns," they were startled by the sound of thundering hoofs off on +their right to the east. Looking quickly round they saw a sight to +make the bravest tremble. + +Racing up out of the valley and out upon them, barely four hundred +yards away, came a band of forty or fifty Comanche warriors, crouching +low on their horses' withers, madly plying quirt and heel to urge their +mounts to their utmost speed. + +Their own animals worn out, escape by running was hopeless. Cover must +be sought where a stand could be made, so they whirled about and +spurred away for the hill Jim had noted. Their pace was slow at the +best. The Indians were gaining at every jump and had opened fire, and +before half the distance to the hill was covered a ball broke Loving's +thigh and killed his mule. As the mule pitched over dead, +providentially he fell on the bank of a buffalo-wallow--a circular +depression in the prairie two or three feet deep and eight or ten feet +in diameter, made by buffalo wallowing in a muddy pool during the rains. + +Instantly Jim sprang to the ground, gave his bridle to Loving, who lay +helpless under his horse, and turned and poured a stream of lead out of +his Henry rifle that bowled over two Comanches, knocked down one horse, +and stopped the charge. + +While the Indians temporarily drew back out of range, Jim pulled Loving +from beneath his fallen mule, and, using his neckerchief, applied a +tourniquet to the wounded leg which abated the hemorrhage, and then +placed him in as easy a position as possible within the shelter of the +wallow, and behind the fallen carcass of the mule. Then Jim led his +own horse to the opposite bank of the wallow, drew his bowie knife and +cut the poor beast's throat: they were in for a fight to the death, +and, outnumbered twenty to one, must have breastworks. As the horse +fell on the low bank and Jim dropped down behind him, Loving called out +cheerily: + +"Reckon we're all right now, Jim, and can down half o' them before they +get us. Hell! Here they come again!" + +A brief "Bet yer life, ole man. We'll make 'em settle now," was the +only reply. + +Stripped naked to their waist-cloths and moccasins, with faces painted +black and bronze, bodies striped with vermilion, with curling buffalo +horns and streaming eagle feathers for their war bonnets, no warriors +ever presented a more ferocious appearance than these charging +Comanches. Their horses, too, were naked except for the bridle and a +hair rope loosely knotted round the barrel over the withers. + +On they came at top speed until within range, when with that wonderful +dexterity no other race has quite equalled, each pushed his bent right +knee into the slack of the hair rope, seized bridle and horse's mane in +the left hand, curled his left heel tightly into the horse's flank, and +dropped down on the animal's right side, leaving only a hand and a foot +in view from the left. Then, breaking the line of their charge, the +whole band began to race round Loving's entrenchment in single file, +firing beneath their horses' necks and gradually drawing nearer as they +circled. + +Loving and Jim wasted no lead. Lying low behind their breastworks +until the enemy were well within range, they opened a fire that knocked +over six horses and wounded three Indians. Balls and arrows were +flying all about them, but, well sheltered, they remained untouched. +The fire was too hot for the Comanches and they again withdrew. + +Twice again during the day the Indians tried the same tactics with no +better result. Later they tried sharpshooting at long range, to which +Loving and Jim did not even reply. At last, late in the afternoon, +they resorted to the desperate measure of a direct charge, hoping to +ride over and shoot down the two white men. Up they came at a dead run +five or six abreast, the front rank firing as they ran. But, badly +exposed in their own persons, the fire from the buffalo-wallow made +such havoc in their front ranks that the savage column swerved, broke, +and retreated. + +Night shut down. Loving and Jim ate the few biscuits they had baked +and some raw bacon. Then they counselled with one another. Their +thirst was so great, it was agreed they must have water at any cost. +They knew the Indians were unlikely to attempt another attack until +dawn, and so they decided to attempt to reach the stream shortly after +midnight. Although it was scarcely more than fifteen hundred yards, +that was a terrible journey for Loving. Compelled to crawl noiselessly +to avoid alarming the enemy, Jim could give him little assistance. But +going slowly, dragging his shattered leg behind him without a murmur, +Loving followed Jim, and they reached the river safely and drank. + +It was now necessary to find new cover. For long distances the banks +of the Pecos are nearly perpendicular, and ten to twenty feet high. At +flood the swift current cuts deep holes and recesses in these banks. +Prowling along the margin of the stream, Jim found one of these +recesses wide enough to hold them both, and deep enough to afford good +defence against a fire from the opposite shore, Above them the bank +rose straight for twenty feet. Thus they could not be attacked by +firing, except from the other side of the river; and while the stream +was only thirty yards wide, the opposite bank afforded no shelter for +the enemy. + +In the gray dawn the Indians crept in on the first entrenchment and +sprang inside the breastworks with upraised weapons, only to find it +deserted. However, the trail of Loving's dragging leg was plain, and +they followed it down to the river, where, coming unexpectedly in range +of the new defences, two of their number were killed outright. + +Throughout the day they exhausted every device of their savage cunning +to dislodge Loving, but without avail. They soon found the opposite +bank too exposed and dangerous for attack from that direction. Burning +brush dropped from above failed to lodge before the recess, as they had +hoped it might. The position seemed impregnable, so they surrounded +the spot, resolved to starve the white men out. + +Loving and Jim had leisure to discuss their situation. Loving was +losing strength from his wound. They had no food but a little raw +bacon. Without relief they must inevitably be starved out. It was +therefore agreed that Jim should try to reach Goodnight and bring aid. +It was a forlorn hope, but the only one. The herds must be at least +sixty miles back down the trail. Jim was reluctant to leave, but +Loving urged it as the only chance. + +As soon as it was dark, Jim removed all but his under-clothing, hung +his boots round his neck, slid softly into the river, and floated and +swam down stream for more than a quarter of a mile. Then he crept out +on the bank. On the way he had lost his boots, which more than doubled +the difficulty and hardship of his journey. Still he struck bravely +out for the trail, through cactus and over stones. He travelled all +night, rested a few hours in the morning, resumed his tramp in the +afternoon, and continued it well-nigh through the second night. + +Near morning, famished and weak, with feet raw and bleeding, totally +unable to go farther, Jim lay down in a rocky recess two or three +hundred yards from the trail, and went to sleep. + +It chanced that the two outfits lay camped scarcely a mile farther down +the trail. At dawn they were again _en route_, and both passed Jim +without rousing or discovering him. Then a strange thing happened. +Three or four horses had strayed away from the "horse wrangler" during +the night, and Jim's brother Bill was left behind to hunt them. +Circling for their trail, he found and followed it, followed it until +it brought him almost upon the figure of a prostrate man, nearly naked, +bleeding, and apparently dead. Dismounting and turning the body over, +Bill was startled to find it to be his brother Jim. With great +difficulty Jim was roused; he was then helped to mount Bill's horse, +and hurried on to overtake the outfit. Coffee and a little food +revived him so that he could tell his story. + +Neither danger nor property was considered where help was needed, in +those days. Goodnight instantly ordered six men to shift saddles to +their strongest horses, left the outfits to get on as best they might, +and spurred away with his little band to his partner's relief. + +Loving had a close call the day after Jim left. The Comanches had +other plans to carry out, or perhaps they were grown impatient. In any +event, they crossed the river and raced up and down the bluff, firing +beneath their horses' necks. It was a miracle Loving was not hit; but, +lying low and watching his chance, he returned such a destructive fire +that the Comanches were forced to draw off. The afternoon passed +without alarm. As a matter of fact, the remaining Comanches had given +up the siege as too dear a bargain, and had struck off southwest toward +Guadalupe Peak. + +When night came, Loving grew alarmed over his situation. Jim might be +taken and killed. Then no chance would remain for him where he lay. +He must escape through the Indians and try to reach the trail at the +crossing in the big bend four miles north. Here his own outfits might +reach him in time. Therefore, he started early in the night, dragged +himself painfully up the bluff, and reached the plain. He might have +lain down by the trail near by; but supposing the Comanches still +about, he set himself the task of reaching the big bend. + +Starving, weak from loss of blood, his shattered thigh compelling him +to crawl, words cannot describe the horror of this journey. But he +succeeded. Love of life carried him through. And so, late the next +afternoon, the afternoon of the day Goodnight started to his relief, +Loving reached the crossing, lay down beneath a mesquite bush near the +trail, and fell into a swoon. Ever since, this spot has been known as +Loving's Bend. It is half a mile below the present town of Carlsbad. + +At dusk of the evening on which Loving reached the ford, a large party +of Mexican freighters, travelling south from Fort Sumner to Fort +Stockton, arrived and pitched their camp near where he lay But Loving +did not hear them. He was far into the dark valley and within the very +shadow of Death. Help must come to him; he could not go to it. +Luckily it came. + +While some were unharnessing the teams, others wert out to fetch +firewood. In the darkness one Mexican, thinking he saw a big mesquite +root, seized it and gave a tug. It was Loving's leg. Startled and +frightened, the Mexican yelled to his mates: + +"_Que vienen, hombres! Que vienen por el amor de Dios! Aqui esta un +muerto._" + +Others came quickly, but it was not a dead man they found, as their +mate had called. Dragged from under the mesquite and carried to the +fire, Loving was found still breathing. The spark of life was very +low, however, and the mescal given him as a stimulant did not serve to +rouse him from his stupor. But the next morning, rested somewhat from +his terrible hardships and strengthened by more mescal, he was able to +take some food and tell his story. The Mexicans bathed and dressed his +wound as well as they could, and promised to remain in camp until his +friends should come up. + +Before noon Goodnight and his six men galloped in. They had reached +his entrenchment that morning, guided by the Indian sign around about +it, and had discovered and followed his trail. Goodnight hired a party +of the Mexicans to take one of their _carretas_ and convey Loving +through to Fort Sumner. With the Fort still more than two hundred +miles away, there was small hope he could survive the journey, but it +must be tried. A rude hammock was improvised and slung beneath the +canvas cover of the carreta, and, placed within it, Loving was made as +comfortable as possible. After a nine days' forced march, made chiefly +by night, the Mexicans brought their crazy old carreta safely into the +post. + +While with rest and food Loving had been gaining in strength, the heat +and the lack of proper care were telling badly on his wound. Goodnight +had returned to the outfits, and, after staying with them a week, he +had brought them through as far as the Rio Penasco without further +mishap. Then placing the two herds in charge of the Scott brothers, he +himself made a forced ride that brought him into Sumner only one day +behind Loving. + +Goodnight found his partner's condition critical. Gangrene had +attacked the wound. It was apparent that nothing but amputation of the +wounded leg could save him. The medical officer of the post was out +with a scouting cavalry detail, and only a hospital steward was +available for the operation. To trust the case to this man's +inexperience seemed murder. Therefore, Goodnight decided to send a +rider through to Las Vegas, the nearest point where a surgeon could be +obtained. + +Here arose what seemed insuperable difficulties. From Fort Sumner to +Las Vegas the distance is one hundred and thirty miles. Much travelled +by freight teams carrying government supplies, the road was infested +throughout with hostile Navajos, for whom the freight trains were the +richest spoils they could have. Offer what he would, Goodnight could +find no one at the Fort bold enough to ride through alone and fetch a +surgeon. He finally raised his offer to a thousand dollars for any one +who would make the trip. It was a great prize, but the danger was +greater than the prize. No one responded. To go himself was +impossible; their contract must be fulfilled. + +At this juncture a hero appeared. His name was Scot Moore. Moore was +the contractor then furnishing wood and hay to the post. Coming in +from one of his camps and learning of the dilemma, himself a friend of +Loving, he instantly went to Goodnight. + +"Charlie," he said, "why in the world did you not send for me before? +Joe shall not die here like a dog if I can save him. I've got a young +Kentucky saddle mare here that's the fastest thing on the Pecos. I'll +be in Vegas by sun-up to-morrow morning, and I'll be back here sometime +to-morrow night with a doctor, if the Navajos don't get us. Pay? Pay +be damned. I'm doin' it for old Joe; he'd go for me in a minute. If +I'm not back by nine o'clock to-morrow night, Charlie, send another +messenger and just tell old Joe that Scot did his best." + +"It's mighty good of you, Scot," replied Goodnight, "I never will +forget it, nor will Joe. You know I'd go myself if I could." + +"That's all right, pardner," said Scot. "Just come over to my camp a +spell and look over some papers I want you to attend to if I don't show +up." + +And they strolled away. Officers and other bystanders shook their +heads sadly. + +"Devilish pity old Scot had to come in." + +"Might 'a known nobody could hold him from goin'." + +"He'll make Vegas all right in a night run if the mare don't give out, +but God help him when he starts back with a doctor in a wagon; ain't +one chance in a thousand he'll got through." + +"Well, if any man on earth can make it, bet your _alce_ Scot will." + +These were some of the comments. Scot Moore was known and loved from +Chihuahua to Fort Lyon. One of the biggest-hearted, most amiable and +generous of men, ha was known as the coolest and most utterly fearless +in a country where few men were cowards. + +At nightfall, the mare well fed and groomed and lightly saddled, Scot +mounted, bearing no arms but his two pistols, called a careless "_Hasta +luego, amigos_" to his friends, and trotted off up the road. For two +hours he jogged along easily over the sandy stretches beyond the Bosque +Redondo. Then getting out on firmer ground, the mare well warmed, he +gave her the rein and let her out into a long, low, easy lope that +scored the miles off famously. And so he swept on throughout the +night, with only brief halts to cool the mare and give her a mouthful +of water, through Puerta de Luna, past the Caņon Pintado, up the Rio +Gallinas, past sleeping freighters' camps and Mexican _placitas_. +Twice he was fired upon by alarmed campers who mistook him for a savage +marauder, but luckily the shots flew wild. + +The last ten miles the noble mare nearly gave out, but, a friend's life +the stake he was riding for, Scot's quirt and spurs lifted her through. + +Half an hour after sunrise, before many in the town were out of bed, +Scot rode into the plaza of Las Vegas and turned out the doctor, whom +he knew. + +Dr. D---- was no coward by any means, but it took all Scot's eloquence +and persuasiveness to induce him to consent to hazard a daylight +journey through to Sumner, for he well knew its dangers. Scarcely a +week passed without news of some fearful massacre or desperate defence. +But, stirred by Scot's own heroism or perhaps tempted by the heavy fee +to be earned, he consented. + +Having breakfasted and gotten the best team in town hitched to a light +buckboard, Scot and the doctor were rolling away into the south on the +Sumner trail before seven o'clock, over long stretches of level grassy +mesa and past tall black volcanic buttes. + +Driving on without interruption or incident, shortly after noon they +approached the head of the Arroyo de los Enteros, down which the trail +descended to the lower levels of the great Pecos Valley. Enteros Caņon +is about three miles long, rarely more than two hundred yards wide, its +sides rocky, precipitous, and heavily timbered, through which wound the +wagon trail, exposed at every point to a perfect ambuscade. It was the +most dreaded stretch of the Vegas-Sumner road, but Scot and the doctor +drew near it without a misgiving, for no sign of the savage enemy had +they seen. + +Just before reaching the head of the caņon, the road wound round a high +butte. Bowling rapidly along, Scot half dozing with fatigue, the +doctor, unused to the plains, alert and watchful, they suddenly turned +the hill and came out upon the immediate head of the caņon, when +suddenly the doctor cried, seizing Scot's arm: + +"Good God, Scott, look! For God's sake, look!" + +And it was time. There on either hand, to their right and to their +left, tied by their lariats to drooping _piņon_ bough, stood fifty or +sixty Navajo ponies. The ponies were bridled and saddled. Upon some +were tied lances and on others arms. All were dripping with sweat and +heaving of flank, their knife-marked ears drooping with fatigue; not +more than five minutes could have elapsed since their murderous riders +had left them. Apparently it was an ambush laid for them, and they +were already surrounded. Even the cool Scot shook himself in surprise +to find that he was still alive. + +Overcome with terror, the doctor cried: "Turn, Scot! Turn, for +Heaven's sake! It's our only chance to pull for Vegas." + +But Scot had been reflecting. With wits sharpened by a thousand perils +and trained in scores of desperate encounters, he answered: "Doc, +you're wrong; dead wrong. We're safe as if we were in Fort Union. If +they were laying for us we'd be dead now. No, they are after bigger +game. They have sighted a big freight outfit coming up from the Pecos, +and are laying for that in the caņon. We can slide through without +seeing a buck or hearing a shot. We'll go right on down Entoros, old +boy." + +"Scot, you're crazy," said the doctor. "I will not go a step. Let's +run for Vegas. Any instant we may be attacked. Why, damn your fool +soul, they've no doubt got a bead on us this minute." + +With a sharp stroke of his whip, Scot started the team into a smart +trot down into the caņon. Then he turned to the doctor and quietly +answered: "Doc, you seem to forget that Joe Loving is dying, and that I +_promised_ to fetch you. Reckon you'll have to go!" And down they +went into what seemed the very jaws of death. + +But Scot was right. It was a triumph of logic. The Navajos were +indeed lying for bigger game. + +And so it happened that, come safely through the caņon, out two miles +on the plain they met a train off eight freight teams travelling toward +Vegas. They stopped and gave the freighters warning, told what they +had seen, begged them to halt and corral their wagons. But it was no +use. The freighters thought themselves strong enough to repel any +attack, and drove on into the caņon. + +None of them came out. + +And to this day the traveller through Enteros may see pathetic evidence +of their foolhardiness in a scattered lot of weather-worn and rusted +wheel tires and hub bands. + +Before midnight Scot and the doctor reached Sumner, having changed +teams twice at Mexican _placitas_. Covering two hundred and sixty +miles in less than thirty hours, Scot Moore had kept his word! +Unhappily, however, Joe Loving had become so weak that he died under +the shock of the operation. + +Now Scot Moore himself is dead and gone, but the memory of his heroic +ride should live as long as noble deeds are sung. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A COW-HUNTERS' COURT + +The recent death of Shanghai Rhett, at Llano, Texas, makes another hole +in the rapidly thinning ranks of the pioneer Texas cow-hunters. +Cow-hunting in early days was the industry upon which many of the +greatest fortunes of the State were founded, and from it sprang the +great cattle-ranch industry that between the years 1866 and 1885 +converted into gold the rich wild grasses of the tenantless plains and +mountains of Texas, New Mexico, the Indian Territory, Kansas, Nebraska, +Colorado, Wyoming, Dakota, and Montana. + +The economic value of this great industrial movement in promoting the +settlement and development of that vast region of the West lying +between the ninety-eighth and one hundred and twentieth meridians, and +embracing half the total area of the United States, is comprehended by +few who were not personally familiar with the conditions of its rise +and progress. There can be no question that the ranch industry +hastened the occupation and settlement of the Plains by at least thirty +years. Farming in those wilds was then an impossibility. Remote from +railways, unmapped, and untrod by white men, it was under the sway of +hostile Indians, before whose attacks isolated farming settlements, +with houses widely scattered, would have been defenceless,--alike in +their position and in their inexperience in Indian warfare. Then, +moreover, there was neither a market nor means of transportation or the +farmer's product. All these conditions the Texas cow-hunters changed, +and they did it in little more than a decade. + +In Texas were bred the leaders and the rank and file of that great army +of cow-hunters whose destiny it was to become the pioneers of this vast +region. Pistol and knife were the treasured toys of their childhood; +they were inured to danger and to hardship; they were expert horsemen, +trained Indian-fighters, reckless of life but cool in its defence; and +thus they were an ideal class for the pacification of the Plains. + +Shanghai Rhett's death removed one of the comparatively few survivors +of this most interesting and eventful past. + +In Texas after the war, when Shang was young, a pony, a lariat, a +six-shooter, and a branding iron were sufficient instruments for the +acquisition of wealth. A trained eye and a practised hand were +necessary for the effective use of pistol and lariat; the running iron +anybody could wield; therefore, while a necessary feature of equipment, +the iron was a secondary affair. The pistol was useful in settling +annoying questions of title; the horse and the lariat, in taking +possession after title was settled; the iron, in marking the property +with a symbol of ownership. The property in question was always cattle. + +Before the war, cattle were abundant in Texas. Fences were few. +Therefore, the cattle roamed at will over hill and plain. To determine +ownership each owner adopted a distinctive "mark and brand." The +owner's mark and brand were put upon the young before they left their +mothers, and upon grown cattle when purchases were made. Thus the +broad sides and quarters of those that changed hands many times were +covered over with this barbarous record of their various transfers. + +The system of marking and branding had its origin among the Mexicans. +Marking consists in cutting the ears or some part of the animal's hide +in such a way as to leave a permanent distinguishing mark. One owner +would adopt the "swallow fork," a V-shaped piece cut out of the tip of +the ear; another, the "crop," the tip of the ear cut squarely off; +another, the "under-half crop," the under half of the tip of the ear +cut away; another, the "over-half crop," the reverse of the last; +another, the "under-bit," a round nick cut in the lower edge of the +ear; another, the "over-bit," the reverse of the last; another, the +"under-slope," the under half of the ear removed by cutting diagonally +upward; another, the "over-slope," the reverse of the last; another, +the "grub," the ear cut off close to the head; another, the "wattle," a +strip of the hide an inch wide and two or three inches long, either on +forehead, shoulder, or quarters, skinned and left hanging by one end, +where before healing it leaves a conspicuous lump; another, the +"dewlap," three or four inches of the loose skin under the throat +skinned down and left hanging. + +Branding consists in applying a red-hot iron to any part of the animal +for six or eight seconds, until the hide is seared. Properly done, +hair never again grows on the seared surface and the animal is "branded +for life." A small five-inch brand on a young calf becomes a great +twelve-to-eighteen-inch mark by the time the beast is fully grown. + +In Mexico the art of branding dates back to the time when few men were +lettered and most men used a _rubrica_ mark or flourish instead of a +written signature. Thus, in Mexico the brand is always a device, +whatever complex combination of lines and circles the whim of the owner +may conceive. In this country the brand was usually a combination of +letters or numerals, though sometimes shapes and forms are represented. +Branding and marking cattle and horses is certainly a most cruel +practice, but under the old conditions of the open range, where +individual ownerships numbered thousands of head, no other means +existed of contradistinguishing title. + +During the war these vast herds grew and increased unattended, +neglected by owners, who were in the field with the armies of the +Confederacy. So it happened that hundreds of thousands of cattle +ranged the plains of Texas after the war, unmarked and unbranded, wild +as the native game, to which no man could establish title. This +situation afforded an opportunity which the hard-riding and desperate +men who found themselves stranded on this far frontier after the wreck +of the Confederacy were quick to seize. Shang Rhett was one of them. +From chasing Federal soldiers they turned to chasing unbranded steers, +and found the latter occupation no less exciting and much more +profitable than the former. + +First, bands of free companions rode together and pooled their gains. +Then the thrift of some and the improvidence of others set in motion +the immutable laws of distribution. Soon a class of rich and powerful +individual owners was created, who employed great outfits of ten to +fifty men each, splendidly mounted and armed. These outfits were in +continually moving camps, and travelled light, without wagons or tents. +The climate being mild even in winter, seldom more than two blankets to +the man were carried for bedding. The cooking paraphernalia were +equally simple, at the most consisting of a coffee pot, a frying-pan, a +stew kettle, and a Dutch oven. Each man carried a tin cup tied to his +saddle. Plates, knives, and forks were considered unnecessary +luxuries, as every man wore a bowie knife at his belt, and was +dexterous in using his slice of bread as a plate to hold whatever +delicacy the frying-pan or kettle might contain. Sometimes even the +Dutch oven was dispensed with, and bread was baked by winding thin +rolls of dough round a stick and planting the stick in the ground, +inclined over a bed of live coals. Often the frying-pan was left +behind, and the meat roasted on a stick over the fire; and no meat in +the world was ever so delicious as a good fat side of ribs so roasted. + +The wild, unbranded cattle were everywhere--in the cross-timbers of the +Palo Pinto, in the hills and among the post oaks of the Concho and the +Llano, on the broad savannas of the Lower Guadalupe and the Brazos, in +the plains and mesquite thickets of the Nueces and the Frio. And +through these wild regions, on the outer fringe of settlement, ranged +the cow-hunters, as merry and happy a lot as ever courted adventure, +careless of their lives. + +Of adventure and hazard the cow-hunters had quite enough to keep the +blood tingling. They had to deal with wild men as well as wild cattle. +Comanches and Kiowas, the old lords of the manor, were bitterly +disputing every forward movement of the settler along the whole +frontier. No community, from Griffin to San Antonio, escaped their +attacks and depredations. Indeed, these incursions were regular +monthly visitations, made always "in the light of the moon." A war +party of naked bucks on naked horses, the lightest and most dexterous +cavalry in the world, would slip softly near some isolated ranch or +lonely camp by night. The cleverest and cunningest would dismount and +steal swiftly in upon their quarry. Slender, sinewy, bronze figures +creeping and crouching like panthers, crafty as foxes, fierce and +merciless as maddened bulls, their presence was rarely known until the +blow fell. Sometimes they were content to steal the settlers' horses, +and by daylight be many miles away to the west or north. Sometimes +they fired buildings and shot down the inmates as they ran out. +Sometimes they crept silently into camps, knifed or tomahawked one or +more of the sleepers, and stole away, all so noiselessly that others +sleeping near were undisturbed. Sometimes they lay in ambush about a +camp till dawn, and then with mad war-whoops charged among the sleepers +with their deadly arrows and tomahawks. + +Against these wily marauders the cow-hunters could never abate their +guard. And it was these same cow-hunters the Indians most dreaded, for +they were tireless on a trail and utterly reckless in attack. It was +not often the Indians got the best of them, and then only by ambush, or +overwhelming numbers. Better armed, of stouter hearts in a stand-up +fight, little bands of these cow-hunters often soundly thrashed war +parties out-numbering them ten to one. + +Then it not infrequently fell out that collisions occurred between +rival outfits of cow-hunters, disputes over territory or cattle, which +led to bitter feuds not settled till one side or the other was killed +off or run out of the country. Battles royal were fought more than +once in which a score or more of men were killed, wherein the _casus +belli_ was a difference as to the ownership of a brindle steer. + +These men were a law unto themselves. Courts were few and far between +on the line of the outer settlements. Powder and lead came cheaper +than attorneys' fees, and were, moreover, found to be more effective. +Thus the rifle and pistol were almost invariably the cow-hunters' court +of first and last resort for disputes of every nature. Except in rare +instances where there happened to be survivors among the families of +the original plaintiff and defendant, this form of litigation was never +prolonged or tiresome. When there were any survivors the case was sure +to be re-argued. + +Occasionally, of course, in the immediate settlements a case would be +brought to formal trial before a judge and jury. While, as a rule, the +procedure of these courts conformed to the statutes and was formal +enough, rather startling informalities sometimes characterized their +sessions. A case in point, of which Shang Rhett was the hero, occurred +at Llano. + +At that time the town of Llano could boast of only one building, a big +rough stone house, loop-holed for defence against the Indians. Under +this one roof the enterprising owner assembled a variety of industries +and performed a variety of functions that would dismay the most +versatile man of any older community. Here he kept a general store, +operated blacksmith and wheelwright shops, served as post-master, ran a +hotel, and sat as justice of the peace. Indeed, he got so much in the +habit of self-reliance in all emergencies, that in more than one +instance he subjected himself to some criticism by calmly sitting as +both judge and jury in cases wherein he had no jurisdiction. Getting a +jury at Llano was no easy task. Often the country for miles around +might be scoured without producing a full panel. + +Llano being the county seat, and this the only house in town, it +somewhat naturally from time to time enjoyed temporary distinction as a +court house, when at long intervals the Llano County court met. The +accommodations, however, were inconveniently limited--so limited in +fact that on one occasion at least they were responsible for a sad +miscarriage of justice. + +A murder trial was on. One of the earliest settlers, a man well known +and generally liked, had killed a newcomer. It was felt that he had +given his victim no chance for his life, else he probably would not +have been brought to trial at all. And even in spite of the prevailing +disapproval, there was an undercurrent of sympathy for him in the +community. + +However, court met and the case was called. Several settlers were +witnesses in the case. It was, therefore, considered a remarkable and +encouraging evidence of Llano County's growth in population when the +District Attorney succeeded in raking together enough men for a jury. +At noon of the second day of the trial the evidence was all in, +arguments of counsel finished, and the case given to the jury. The +prisoner's case seemed hopeless. A clearly premeditated murder had +been proved, against which scarcely any defence was produced. + +Judge, jury, prisoner, and witnesses all had dinner together in the +"court-room," which was always demeaned from its temporary dignity as a +hall of justice, to the humble rank of a dining-room as soon as court +adjourned. Directly after dinner the jury withdrew for deliberation, +in custody of two bailiffs. + +The house was large, to be sure, but its capacity was already so far +taxed that it could not provide a jury room. It was therefore the +custom of the bailiffs to use as a jury room an open, mossy glade +shaded by a great live oak tree on the farther bank of the Llano, and +distant two or three hundred yards from the court house. Here, +therefore, the jury were conducted, the bailiffs retired to some +distance, and discussion of a verdict was begun. In spite of the +weight of evidence against him, two or three were for acquittal. The +others said they were "damned sorry; Jim was a mighty good feller, but +it 'peared like they'd have to foller the evidence." So the discussion +pro and con ran on into the mid-afternoon without result. + +It was an intensely hot afternoon, the air close and heavy with +humidity, an hour when all Texans who can do so take a siesta. Judge +and counsel were snoozing peacefully on the gallery of the distant +court house, and the two bailiffs guarding the "jury room," overcome by +habit and the heat, were stretched at full length on the ground, +snoring in concert. This situation made the opportunity for a friend +at court. Shang Rhett was the friend awaiting this opportunity. +Stepping lightly out of the brush where he had been concealed, a few +paces brought him among the jurors. + +"Howdy! boys?" Shang drawled. "Pow'ful hot evenin', ain't it! +Moseyin' roun' sort o' lonesome like, I thought mebbe so you fellers 'd +be tired o' talkin' law, an' I'd jes' step over an' pass the time o' +day an' give you a rest." + +A rude diplomat, perhaps, Shang was nevertheless a cunning one. +Several jurors expressed their appreciation of his sympathy and one +answered: "Tired o' talkin'! Wall, I reckon so. I'm jes' tireder an' +dryer 'n if I'd been tailin' down beef steers all day. My ol' tongue's +been a-floppin' till thar ain't nary 'nother flop left in her 'nless I +could git to ile her up with a swaller o' red-eye, an--" +regretfully--"I reckon thar ain't no sort o' chanst o' that." + +"Thar ain't, hey?" replied Shang, producing a big jug from the brush +near by. "'Pears like, 'nless I disremember, thar's some red-eye in +this yere jug." + +Upon examination the jug was found to be nearly full; but, passed and +repassed around the "jury room," it was not long before the jug was +empty, and the jury full. + +Shrewdly seizing the proper moment before the jurors got drunk enough +to be obstinate and combative, Shang made his appeal. "Fellers," he +said, "I allows you all knows that Jim's my friend, an' I reckon you +cain't say but what he 's been a mighty good friend to more'n one o' +you. Course, I know he got terrible out o' luck when he had t' kill +this yer Arkinsaw feller. But then, boys, Arkinsawyers don't count fer +much nohow, do they? Pow'ful onery, no account lot, sca'cely fit to +practise shootin' at. We fellers ain't a-goin' to lay that up agin +Jim, air we? We ain't a-goin' to help this yer jack-leg prosecutin' +attorney send ol' Jim up. Why, fellers, we knows well enough that airy +one o' us might 'a done the same thing ef we'd been out o' luck, like +Jim was, in meetin' up with this yer Arkinsawyer afore we'd had our +mornin' coffee. What say, boys? Bein' as how any o' us might be in +Jim's boots mos' any day, reckon we'll have to turn him loose?" + +Shang's pathetic appeal for Jim's life clearly won outright more than +half the jury, but there were several who, while their sympathies were +with Jim, "'lowed they'd have to bring a verdic' accordin' to the +evidence." + +"Verdic'? Why, fellers," retorted Jim's advocate, "whar's the use of a +fool verdic'? 'Sposin' we fellers was goin' to be verdicked? This is +a time for us fellers to stan' together, shua'. I'll tell you what +le's do; le's all slip off inter th' brush, cotch our hosses an' pull +our freight fer home. This yer court ain't goin' to git airy jury but +us in Llano 'till a new one's growed, an' if we skip I reckon they'll +have to turn Jim loose." + +This alternative met all objections. In a moment the "jury room" was +empty. + +Shortly thereafter the two bailiffs, awakened by a clatter of hoofs +over the rocky hills behind them, were doubly shocked to find the only +tenant of the "jury room" an empty jug. + +One of the bailiffs sighted some of the escaping jurors and opened +fire; the other hastened to alarm the court. The latter, running +toward the house, met the judge and counsel who had been roused by the +firing, and yelled out: "Jedge, the hull jury's stampeded! Bill's +winged two o' them. Gi' me a fast hoss an' a lariat an' mebbe so I'll +cotch some more." + +Two or three jurors who were too much fuddled with drink to saddle and +mount were quickly captured. The rest escaped. Of course, the court +was outraged and indignant, but it was powerless. So Jim was released, +thanks to Shang's diplomacy and eloquence. And, by the way, in the +dark days that came to ranchmen in 1885, Jim, risen to be a well-known +and powerful banker in ------ City, furnished the ready money necessary +to save Shang's imperilled fortune; and when at length he heard that +Shang was at death's door, Jim found the time to leave his large +affairs and come all the way up from ------ to Llano to bid his old +friend farewell. + +For two or three years after the war the cow-hunters were busy +accumulating cattle. From Palo Pinto to San Diego great outfits were +working incessantly, scouring the wilds for unbranded cattle. + +Directly an animal was sighted, one or two of these riders would spur +in pursuit, rope him by horns or legs, and throw him to the ground. +Then dismounting and springing nimbly upon the prostrate beast, they +quickly fastened the beast's feet with a "hogtie" hitch so that he +could not rise, a fire was built, the short saddle iron heated, and the +beast branded. The feet were then unbound and the cow-hunter made a +flying leap into his saddle, and spurred away to escape the infuriated +charge sure to be delivered by his maddened victim. + +In this work horses were often fatally gored and not a few men lost +their lives. Notwithstanding the fact that it was such a downright +desperate task, the men became so expert that they did not even +hesitate to tackle, alone and single-handed, great bulls of twice the +weight of their small ponies; they roped, held, threw, and branded +them. The least accident or mistake, a slip of the foot, a stumble by +one's horse, a breaking cinch, a failure to maintain full tension on +the lariat, slowness in dismounting to tie an animal or in mounting +after it was untied--any one of these things happening meant death, +unless the cow-hunter could save himself with a quick and accurate +shot. Indeed the boys so loved this work and were so proud of their +skill, that when an unusually vicious old "mossback" was encountered, +each strove to be the first catch and master him. And God knows they +should have loved it, as must any man with real red blood coursing +through his veins, for it was not work; I libel it to call it work; it +was rather sport, and the most glorious sport in the world. Riding to +hounds over the stiffest country, or hunting grizzly in juniper +thickets, is tame beside cow-hunting in the old days. + +The happiest period of my life was my first five years on the range in +the early seventies. Indeed it was a period so happy that memory plays +me a shabby trick to recall its incidents and fire me with longings for +pleasures I may never again experience. Its scenes are all before me +now, vivid as if of yesterday. + +The night camp is made beside a singing stream or a bubbling spring; +the night horses are caught and staked; there is a roaring, merry fire +of fragrant cedar boughs; a side of fat ribs is roasting on a spit +before the fire, its sweet juices hissing as they drop into the flames, +and sending off odors to drive one ravenous; the rich amber contents of +the coffee pot is so full of life and strength that it is well-nigh +bursting the lid with joy over the vitality and stimulus it is to bring +you. Supper eaten, there follow pipe and cigarette, jest and bandinage +[Transcriber's note: badinage?] over the day's events; stories and +songs of love, of home, of mother; and rude impromptu epics relating +the story of victories over vicious horses, wild beasts, or savage +Indians. When the fire has burnt low and become a mass of glowing +coals, voices are hushed, the camp is still, and each, half hypnotized +by gazing into the weirdly shifting lights of the dying embers, is +wrapped in introspection. Then, rousing, you lie down, your canopy the +dark blue vault of the heavens, your mattress the soft, curling buffalo +grass. After a night of deep refreshing sleep you spring at dawn with +every faculty renewed and tense. Breakfast eaten, you catch a favorite +roping-horse, square and heavy of shoulder and quarter, short of back, +with wide nervous nostrils, flashing eyes, ears pointing to the +slightest sound, pasterns supple and strong as steel, and of a nerve +and temper always reminding you that you are his master only by +sufferance. Now begins the day's hunt. Riding softly through cedar +brake or mesquite thicket, slipping quickly from one live oak to +another, you come upon your quarry, some great tawny yellow monster +with sharp-pointed, wide-spreading horns, standing startled and rigid, +gazing at you with eyes wide with curiosity, uncertain whether to +attack or fly. Usually he at first turns and runs, and you dash after +him through timber or over plain, the great loop of your lariat +circling and hissing about your head, the noble horse between your +knees straining every muscle in pursuit, until, come to fit distance, +the loop is cast. It settles and tightens round the monster's horns, +and your horse stops and braces himself to the shock that may either +throw the quarry or cast horse and rider to the ground, helpless, at +his mercy. Once he is caught, woe to you if you cannot master and tie +him, for a struggle is on, a struggle of dexterity and intelligence +against brute strength and fierce temper, that cannot end till beast or +man is vanquished! + +Thus were the great herds accumulated in Texas after the war. But +cattle were so abundant that their local value was trifling. Markets +had to be sought. The only outlets were the mining camps and Indian +agencies of the Northwest, and the railway construction camps then +pushing west from the Missouri River. So the Texans gathered their +cattle into herds of two thousand to three thousand head each, and +struck north across the trackless Plains. Indeed this movement reached +such proportions that, excepting in a few narrow mining belts, there is +scarcely one of the greater cities and towns between the ninety-eighth +and one hundred and twentieth meridians which did not have its origin +as a supply point for these nomads. Figures will emphasize the +magnitude of the movement. The cattle-drive northward from Texas +between the years 1866 and 1885 was approximately as follows: + + + 1866 260,000 1877 201,000 + 1867 35,000 1878 265,649 + 1868 75,000 1879 257,927 + 1869 350,000 1880 394,784 + 1870 350,000 1881 250,000 + 1871 600,000 1882 250,000 + 1872 350,000 1883 265,000 + 1873 404,000 1884 416,000 + 1874 166,000 1885 350,000 + 1875 151,618 --------- + 1876 321,998 Total 5,713,976 + + +The range business on a large and profitable scale was long since +practically done and ended. In Texas there remain very few open ranges +capable of turning off fair grass beef. With the good lands farmed and +the poor lands exhausted, the ranges have become narrower every year; +and every year the cost of getting fat grass steers has been eating +deeper and deeper into the rangeman's pocket. Of course, there are +still isolated ranges where the rangemen still hang on, but they are +not many, and most of them must soon fall easy prey to the ploughshare. + +When the rangeman was forced to lease land in Texas, or buy water +fronts in the Territories and build fences, his fate was soon sealed. +With these conditions, he soon found that the sooner he reduced his +numbers, improved his breed, and went on tame feed, the better. A corn +shock is now a more profitable close herder than any cowpuncher who +ever wore spurs. This is a sad thing for an old rangeman to +contemplate, but it is nevertheless the simple truth. Soon the merry +crack of the six Footer will no more be heard in the land, its wild and +woolly manipulator being driven across the last divide, with faint show +of resistance, by an unassuming granger and his all-conquering hoe. + +The rangeman, like many another in the past, has served his purpose and +survived his usefulness. His work is practically done, and few realize +what a noble work it has been, or what its cost in hardship and danger. + +I refer, of course, not alone to the development of a great industry, +which in its time has added millions to the material wealth of the +country, but to its collateral results and influence. But for the +venturesome rangeman and his rifle, millions of acres, from the Gulf in +the South to Bow River in the far Canadian Northwest, now constituting +the peaceful, prosperous homes of hundreds of thousands of thrifty +farmers, would have remained for many years longer what it had been +from the beginning--a hunting and battle ground for Indians, and a safe +retreat for wild game. + +What was the hardship, and what the personal risk with which this great +pioneer work was accomplished, few know except those who had a hand in +it, and they as a rule, were modest men who thought little of what they +did, and now that it is done, say less. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A SELF-CONSTITUTED EXECUTIONER + +Some think it fair to give a man warnin' you intend to kill him on +sight, an' then get right down to business as soon as you meet. But +that ain't no equal chance for both. The man that sees his enemy first +has the advantage, for the other is sure to be more or less rattled. + +"Others consider it a square deal to stan' back to back with drawn +pistols, to walk five paces apart an' then swing and shoot. But even +this way is open to objections. While both may be equally brave an' +determined, one may be blamed nervous, like, an' excitable, while the +other is cool and deliberate; one may be a better shot than the other, +or one may have bad eyes. + +"I tell you, gentlemen, none o' these deals are fair; they are +murderous. If you want to kill a man in a neat an' gentlemanly way +that will give both a perfectly equal show for life, let both be put in +a narrow hole in the ground that they can't git out of, their left arms +securely tied together, their right hands holdin' bowie knives, an' let +them cut, an' cut an' cut till one is down." + +His heavy brow contracted into a fierce frown; his black eyes narrowed +and glittered balefully; his surging blood reddened the bronzed cheeks. + +"Let them cut, I say, cut to a finish. That's fightin', an' fightin' +dead fair. Ah!" and the hard lines of the scarred face softened into a +look of infinite longing and regret, "if only I could find another man +with nerve enough to fight me that way!" + +The speaker was Mr. Clay Allison, formerly of Cimarron, later domiciled +at Pope's Crossing. His listeners were cowboys. The scene was a +round-up camp on the banks of the Pecos River near the mouth of Rocky +Arroyo. Mr. Allison was not dilating upon a theory. On the contrary, +he was eminently a man of practice, especially in the matters of which +he was speaking. Indeed he was probably the most expert taker of human +life that ever heightened the prevailing dull colors of a frontier +community. Early in his career the impression became general that his +favorite tint was crimson. + +And yet Mr. Allison was in no sense an assassin. I never knew him to +kill a man whom the community could not very well spare. While engaged +as a ranchman in raising cattle, he found more agreeable occupation for +the greater part of his time in thinning out the social weeds that are +apt to grow quite too luxuriantly for the general good in new Western +settlements. His work was not done as an officer of the law either. +It was rather a self-imposed task, in which he performed, at least to +his own satisfaction, the double functions of judge and executioner. +And in the unwritten code governing his decisions all offences had a +common penalty--death. + +Mr. Allison was born with a passion for fighting, and he indulged the +passion until it became a mania. The louder the bullets whistled, the +redder the gleaming blades grew, the more he loved it. + +Yet no knight of old that rode with King Arthur was ever a more +chivalrous enemy. He hated a foul blow as much as many of his +contemporaries loved "to get the drop," which meant taking your +opponent unawares and at hopeless disadvantage. In fact in most cases +he actually carried a chivalry so far as to warn the doomed man, a week +or two in advance, of the precise day and hour when he might expect to +die. And as Mr. Allison was known to be most scrupulous in standing to +his word, and as the victim knew there was no chance of a reprieve, +this gave him plenty of time to settle up his affairs and to prepare to +cross the last divide. Thus the estates of gentlemen who happened to +incur Mr. Allison's disapproval were usually left in excellent +condition and gave little trouble to the probate courts. + +Of course the gentlemen receiving these warnings were under no +obligations to await Mr. Allison's pleasure. Some suddenly discovered +that they had imperative business in other and remote parts of the +country. Others were so anxious to save him unnecessary trouble that +they frequented trails he was known to travel, and lay sometimes for +hours and days awaiting him, making themselves as comfortable as +possible in the meantime behind some convenient boulder or tall nopal, +or in the shady recesses of a mesquite thicket. But they might as well +have saved all this bother, for the result was the same. Mr. Allison +could always spare the time to journey even from New Mexico to Montana +where it was necessary to the fulfilment of a promise to do so. + +To those who were impatient and sought him out in advance, he was ever +obliging and proved ready to meet them where and when and how they +pleased. It was all the same to him. To avoid annoying legal +complications, he was known to have more than once deliberately given +his opponent the first shot. + +In the early eighties a band of horse rustlers were playing great havoc +among the saddle stock in north-eastern New Mexico. It was chiefly +through Mr. Allison's industry and accurate marksmanship that their +numbers were reduced below a convenient working majority. The leader +vowed vengeance on Allison. One day they met unexpectedly in the stage +ranch at the crossing of the Cimarron. + +Mr. Allison invited the rustler to take a drink. The invitation was +accepted. It was remarked by the bystanders that while they were +drinking neither seemed to take any especial interest in the brazen +pictures that constituted a feature of the Cimarron bar and were the +pride of its proprietor. The next manoeuvre in the game was a +proposition by Mr. Allison that they retire to the dining-room and have +some oysters. Unable to plead any other engagement to dine, the +rustler accepted. As they sat down at table, both agreed that their +pistols felt heavy about their waists, and each drew his weapon from +the scabbard and laid it on his knees. + +While the Cimarron ranch was noted for the best cooking on the trail, +other gentlemen at dinner seemed oddly indifferent to its delicacies, +nervously gulped down a few mouthfuls and then slipped quietly out of +the room, leaving loaded plates. + +Presently Mr. Allison dropped a fork on the floor--perhaps by +accident--and bent as if to pick it up. An opening in his enemy's +guard the rustler could not resist: he grabbed the pistol lying in his +lap and raised it quickly, but in doing so he struck the muzzle beneath +the edge of the table, causing an instant's delay. It was, however, +enough; Allison had pitched sideways to the floor, and, firing beneath +the table, converted a bad rustler into a good one. + +Dodge City used to be one of the hottest places on the Texas trail. It +was full of thugs and desperadoes of the worst sort, come to prey upon +the hundreds of cowboys who were paid off there. This money had to be +kept in Dodge at any cost. Usually the boys were easy game. What +money the saloons failed to get was generally gambled off against brace +games of faro or monte. And those who would neither drink nor play +were waylaid, knocked down, and robbed. + +On one occasion when the Hunter and Evans "Jinglebob" outfits were in +town, they objected to some of these enforced levies as unreasonably +heavy. A pitched battle on the streets resulted. Many of the boys +were young and inexperienced, and they were getting quite the worst of +it, when Clay Allison happened along and took a hand. + +The fight did not last much longer. When it was over, it was +discovered that several of Dodge's most active citizens had been +removed from their field of usefulness. For the next day or two, "Boot +Hill" (the local graveyard) was a scene of unusual activity. + +From all this it fell out that a few days later when Clay Allison rode +alone out of Dodge returning home, he was ambushed a few miles from +town by three men and shot from his horse. Crippled too badly to +resist, he lay as if dead. Thinking their work well done, the three +men came out of hiding, kicked and cursed him, shot two or three more +holes in him, and rode back to town. But Allison, who had not even +lost consciousness, had recognized them. A few hours later the driver +of a passing wagon found him and hauled him into town. After lingering +many weeks between life and death, Allison recovered. As soon as they +heard that he was convalescing, the three who had attacked him wound up +their affairs and fled the town. + +When able to travel Allison sold his ranch. Questioned by his friends +as to his plans, he finally admitted that he felt it a duty to hunt +down the men who had ambushed him; remarked that he feared they might +bushwhack some one else if they were not removed. + +Number One of the three men he located in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Cheyenne +was then a law-abiding community, and Allison could not afford to take +any chances of court complications that would interfere with the +completion of his work. He therefore spent several days in covertly +watching the habits of his adversary. From the knowledge thus gained +he was able one morning suddenly to turn a street corner and confront +Number One. Without the least suspicion that Allison was in the +country, the man, knowing that his life hung by a thread, jerked his +pistol and fired on the instant. As Allison had shrewdly calculated, +his enemy was so nervous that his shot flew wild. Number One did not +get a second shot. At the inquest several witnesses of the affray +swore that Allison did not even draw until after the other had fired. + +Several weeks later Number Two was found in Tombstone, Arizona, a town +of the good old frontier sort that had little use for coroners and +juries, so the fighting was half fair. Half an hour after landing from +the stagecoach, Allison encountered his man in a gambling-house. +Number Two remained in Tombstone--permanently--while Mr. Allison +resumed his travels by the evening coach. + +The hunt for Number Three lasted several months. Allison followed him +relentlessly from place to place through half a dozen States and +Territories, until he was located on a ranch near Spearfish, Dakota. + +They met at last, one afternoon, within the shadow of the Devil's +Tower. In the duel that ensued, Allison's horse was killed under him. +This occasioned him no particular inconvenience, however, for he found +that Number Three's horse, after having a few hours' rest, was able to +carry him into Deadwood, where he caught the Sidney stage. + +With this task finished, Mr. Allison was able to return to commercial +pursuits. He settled at Pope's Crossing on the Pecos River, in New +Mexico, bought cattle, and stocked the adjacent range. Pecos City, the +nearest town, lay fifty miles to the south. + +Started as a "front camp" during the construction of the Texas Pacific +Railway in 1880, for five or six years Pecos contrived to rock along +without any of the elaborate municipal machinery deemed essential to +the government and safety of urban communities in the effete East. It +had neither council, mayor, nor peace officer. An early experiment in +government was discouraging. + +In 1883 the Texas Pacific station-agent was elected mayor. His name +was Ewing, a little man with fierce whiskers and mild blue eyes. Two +nights after the election a gang of boys from the "Hash Knife" outfit +were in town; fearing circumscription of some of their privileges, the +election did not have their approval. Gleaming out of the darkness +fifty yards away from the Lone Wolf Saloon, the light of Mayor Ewing's +office window offered a most tempting target. What followed was very +natural--in Pecos. + +The Mayor was sitting at his table receiving train orders, when +suddenly a bullet smashed the telegraph key beside his hand and other +balls whistled through the room bearing him a message he had no trouble +in reading. Rushing out into the darkness, he spent the night in the +brush, and toward morning boarded an east-bound freight train. Mayor +Ewing had abdicated. The railway company soon obtained another +station-agent, but it was some years before the town got another mayor. + +On Pecos carnival nights like this, when some of the cowboys were in +town, prudent people used to sleep on the floor of Van Slyke's store +with bags of grain piled round their blankets two tiers deep, for no +Pecos house walls were more than inch boards. + +At this early period of its history the few wandering advance agents of +the Gospel who occasionally visited Pecos were not well received. They +were not abused; they were simply ignored. When not otherwise +occupied, the average Pecosite had too much whittling on hand to find +time to "'tend meetin'"; of this every pine drygoods box in the town +bore mute evidence, its fair sides covered with innumerable rude +carvings cut by aimless hands. + +This prevailing indifference to religion shocked Mr. Allison. As +opportunity offered he tried to remedy it, and as far as his +evangelical work went it was successful. One Tuesday morning about ten +o'clock he walked into the Lone Wolf Saloon, laid two pistols on the +end of the bar next the front door, and remarked to Red Dick, the +bartender, that he intended to turn the saloon into a church for a +couple of hours and did not want any drinks sold or cards thrown during +the services. + +Taking his stand just within the doorway, pistol in hand, Mr. Allison +began to assemble his congregation. The first comer was Billy Jansen, +the leading merchant of the town. As he was passing the door Clay +remarked: + +"Good-mornin', Mr. Jansen, won't you please step inside? Religious +services will be held here shortly an' I reckon you'll be useful in the +choir." + +The only reply to Billy's protest of urgent business was a gesture that +made Billy think going to church would be the greatest pleasure he +could have that morning. + +Mr. Allison never played favorites at any game, and so all passers were +stopped: merchants, railway men, gamblers, thugs, cowboys, +freighters--all were stopped and made to enter the saloon. The least +furtive movement to draw a gun or to approach the back door received +prompt attention from the impromptu evangelist that quickly restored +order in the congregation. When fifty or sixty men had been brought +into this improvised fold, Mr. Allison closed the door and faced about. + +"Fellers," he said, "this meetin' bein' held on the Pecos, I reckon +we'll open her by singin' 'Shall We Gather at the River?' Of course +we're already gathered, but the song sort o' fits. No gammon now, +fellers; everybody sings that knows her." + +The result was discouraging. Few in the audience knew any hymn, much +less this one. Only three or four managed to hoarsely drawl through +two verses. + +The hymn finished--as far as anybody could sing it--Mr. Allison said: + +"Now, fellers, we'll pray. Everybody down!" + +Only a few knelt. Among the congregation were some who regarded the +affair as sacrilegious, and others of the independent frontier type +were unaccustomed to dictation. However, a slight narrowing of the +cold black eyes and a significant sweep of the six-shooter brought +every man of them to his knees, with heads bowed over faro lay-outs and +on monte tables. + +"O Lord!" began Allison, "this yere's a mighty bad neck o' woods, an' I +reckon You know it. Fellers don' think enough o' their souls to build +a church, an' when a pa'son comes here they don' treat him half white. +O Lord! make these fellers see that when they gits caught in the final +round-up an' drove over the last divide, they don' stan' no sort o' +show to git to stay on the heavenly ranch 'nless they believes an' +builds a house to pray an' preach in. Right here I subscribes a +hundred dollars to build a church, an' if airy one o' these yere +fellers don' tote up accordin' to his means, O Lord, make it Your +pers'n'l business to see that he wears the Devil's brand and ear mark +an' never gits another drop o' good spring water. + +"Of course, I allow You knows I don' sport no wings myself, but I want +to do what's right ef You'll sort o' give a shove the proper way. An' +one thing I want You to understan'; Clay Allison's got a fast horse an' +is tol'able handy with his rope, and he's goin' to run these fellers +into Your corral even if he has to rope an' drag 'em there. Amen. +Everybody git up!" + +While he prayed in the most reverent tone he could command, and while +his attitude was one of simple supplication, Mr. Allison never removed +his keen eyes from the congregation. + +"Reckon we'll sing again, boys, an' I want a little more of it. Le's +see what you-all knows." + +At length six or eight rather sheepishly owned knowing "Old Hundred," +and it was sung. + +Then the sermon was in order. + +"Fellers," he began, "my ole mammy used to tell me that the only show +to shake the devil off your trail was to believe everythin' the Bible +says. What yer mammy tells you 's bound to be right, dead right, so I +think I'll take the sentiment o' this yere round-up on believin'. O' +course, as a square man I'm boun' to admit the Bible tells some pow'ful +queer tales, onlike anythin' we-'uns strikes now days. Take that tale +about a fish swallerin' a feller named Jonah; why, a fish 't could +swaller a man 'od have to be as big in the barrel as the Pecos River is +wide an' have an openin' in his face bigger'n Phantom Lake Cave. +Nobody on the Pecos ever see such a fish. But I wish you fellers to +distinctly understan' it's a _fact_. I believes it. Does you? Every +feller that believes a fish swallered Jonah, hold up his right hand!" + +It is sad to have to admit that only two or three hands were raised. + +"Well, I'll be durned," the evangelist continued, "you _air_ tough +cases. That's what's the matter with you; you are shy on faith. You +fellers has got to be saved, an' to be saved you got to believe, an' +believe hard, an' I'm agoin' to make you. Now hear _me_, an' mind you +don' forget it's Clay Allison talkin' to you: I tells you that when +that thar fish had done swallerin' Jonah, he swum aroun' fer a hull +hour lookin' to see if thar was a show to pick up any o' Jonah's family +or friends. Now what I tells you I reckon you're all bound to believe. +Every feller that believes that Jonah was jes' only a sort of a snack +fer the fish, hold up his right hand; an' if any feller don' believe +it, this yere ol' gun o' mine will finish the argiment." + +Further exhortation was unnecessary; all hands went up. + +And so the sermon ran on for an hour, a crude homily full of rude +metaphor, with little of sentiment or pleading, severely didactic, +mandatory as if spoken in a dungeon of the Inquisition. When Red Dick +passed the hat among the congregation for a subscription to build a +church, the contribution was general and generous. Many who early in +the meeting were full of rage over the restraint, and vowing to +themselves to kill Allison the first good chance they got, finished by +thinking he meant all right and had taken about the only practicable +means "to git the boys to 'tend meetin'." + +In the town of Toyah, twenty miles west of Pecos, a gentleman named Jep +Clayton set the local spring styles in six-shooters and bowie knives, +and settled the hash of anybody who ventured to question them. A +reckless bully, he ruled the town as if he owned it. + +One day John McCullough, Allison's brother-in-law and ranch foreman, +had business in Toyah. Clayton had heard of Allison but knew little +about him. Drunk and quarrelsome, he hunted up McCullough, called him +every abusive name he could think of before a crowd, and then suggested +that if he did not like it he might send over his brother-in-law +Allison, who was said to be a gun fighter. A mild and peaceable man +himself, McCullough avoided a difficulty and returned to Pecos. + +Two days later a lone horseman rode into Toyah, stopped at Youngbloods' +store, tied his horse, and went in. Approaching the group of loafers +curled up on boxes at the rear of the store, he inquired: + +"Can any of you gentlemen tell me if a gentleman named Clayton, Jep +Clayton, is in town, an' where I can find him?" + +They replied that he had been in the store an hour before and was +probably near by. + +As the lone horseman walked out of the door, one the loungers remarked: + +"I believe that's Clay Allison, an' ef it is it's all up with Jep." + +He slipped out and gave Jep warning, told him Allison was in town, that +he had known him years before, and that Jep had better quit town or say +his prayers. Concluding, he said, "You done barked up the wrong tree +this time, sure." + +Allison went on from one saloon to another, at each making the same +polite inquiry for Mr. Clayton's whereabouts. At last, out on the +street Allison met a party of eight men, a crowd Clayton had gathered, +and repeated his inquiry. A man stepped out of the group and said: "My +name's Clayton, an' I reckon yours is Allison. Look here, Mr. Allison, +this is all a mistake. I----" + +"Why, what's a mistake? Didn't you meet Mr. McCullough the other day?" + +"Yes." + +"Didn't you abuse him shamefully?" + +"Well, yes, but----" + +"Didn't you send me an invite to come over here?" + +"Well, yes, I did, but it was a mistake, Mr. Allison; I was drunk. It +was whiskey talkin'; nothin' more. I'm terrible sorry. It was jes' +whiskey talk." + +"Whiskey talk, was it? Well, Mr. Clayton, le's step in the saloon here +and get some whiskey an' see if it won't set you goin' again. I +believe I'd enjoy hearin' jes' a few words o' your whiskey talk." + +They entered a saloon. For an hour Clayton was plied with whiskey, +taunted and jeered until those who had admired him slunk away in +disgust, and those who had feared him laughed in enjoyment of his +humiliation. But no amount of whiskey could rouse him that day. + +Allison's scarred, impassive face, low, quiet tones, and glittering +black eyes held him cowed. The terror of Toyah had found his master, +and knew it. + +At last, in utter disgust, Allison concluded: + +"Mr. Clayton, your invitation brought me twenty miles to meet a gun +fighter. I find you such a cur that if ever we meet again I'll lash +you into strips with a bull whip." + +A month later Mr. Clayton was killed by his own brother-in-law, Grant +Tinnin, one of the quiet good men of the country, who never failed to +score in any real emergency. + +"I wonder how it will all end!" Allison used often to remark while +lying idly staring into the camp-fire. "Of course I know I can't keep +up this sort o' thing; some one's sure to get me. An' I'd jes' give +anything in the world to know _how_ I'm goin to die--by pistol or +knife." + +It turned out that Fate had decreed other means for his removal. + +One day Allison and his brother-in-law John McCullough had a serious +quarrel. Allison left the ranch and rode into town to think it over. +In his later years killing had become such a mania with him that his +best friend could never feel entirely safe against his deadly temper; +the least difference might provoke a collision. McCullough was +therefore not greatly surprised to get a letter from Allison a few days +later, sent out by special messenger, telling him that Allison would +reach the ranch late in the afternoon of the next day and would kill +him on sight. + +Early in the morning of the appointed day Allison left town in a +covered hack. He had been drinking heavily and had whiskey with him. +About half-way between town and the ranch he overtook George Larramore, +a freighter, seated out in the sun on top of his heavy load. + +"Hello, George!" called Allison; "mighty hot up there, ain't it?" + +"Howd'y, Mr. Allison. I don' mind the heat; I'm used to it," answered +Larramore. + +"George," called Allison, after driving on a short distance, "'pears to +me the good things o' this world ain't equally divided. I don't see +why you should sit up there roasting in the sun an' me down here in the +shade o' the hack. We'll jes' even things a little right here. You +crawl down off that load an' jump into the hack an' I'll get up there +an' drive your team." + +"Pow'ful good o' you, Mr. Allison, but----" + +"Crawl down, I say, George, it's Clay tellin' you!" + +And the change was made without further delay. + +Five miles farther up the road John McCullough and two friends lay in +ambush all that day and far into the night, with ready Winchesters, +awaiting Allison. But he never came. + +Shortly after taking his seat on top of the high load in the broiling +sun, plodding slowly along in the dust and heat, Allison was nodding +drowsily, when suddenly a protruding mesquite root gave the wagon a +sharp jolt that plunged Clay headlong into the road, where, before he +could rise, the great wheels crunched across his neck. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +TRIGGERFINGERITIS[1] + +On the Plains thirty years ago there were two types of man-killers; and +these two types were subdivided into classes. + +The first type numbered all who took life in contravention of law. +This type was divided into three classes: A, Outlaws to whom +blood-letting had become a mania; B, Outlaws who killed in defence of +their spoils or liberty; C, Otherwise good men who had slain in the +heat of private quarrel, and either "gone on the scout" or "jumped the +country" rather than submit to arrest. + +The second type included all who slew in support of law and order. +This type included six classes: A, United States marshals; B, Sheriffs +and their deputies; C, Stage or railway express guards, called +"messengers"; D, Private citizens organized as Vigilance +Committees--these often none too discriminating, and not infrequently +the blind or willing instruments of individual grudge or greed; E, +Unorganized bands of ranchmen who took the trail of marauders on life +or property and never quit it; F, "Inspectors" (detectives) for Stock +Growers' Associations. + +Throughout the seventies and well into the eighties, in Wyoming, +Dakota, western Kansas and Nebraska, New Mexico, and west Texas, courts +were idle most of the time, and lawyers lived from hand to mouth. The +then state of local society was so rudimentary that it had not acquired +the habit of appeal to the law for settlement of its differences. And +while it may sound an anachronism, it is nevertheless the simple truth +that while life was far less secure through that period, average +personal honesty then ranked higher and depredations against property +were fewer than at any time since. + +As soon as society had advanced to a point where the victim could be +relied on to carry his wrongs to court, judges began working overtime +and lawyers fattening. But of the actual pioneers who took their lives +in their hands and recklessly staked them in their everyday goings and +comings (as, for instance, did all who ventured into the Sioux country +north of the Platte between 1875 and 1880) few long stayed--no matter +what their occupation--who were slow on the trigger: it was back to +Mother Earth or home for them. + +Of the supporters of the law in that period Boone May was one of the +finest examples any frontier community ever boasted. Early in 1876 he +came to Cheyenne with an elder brother and engaged in freighting thence +overland to the Black Hills. Quite half the length of the stage road +was then infested by hostile Sioux. This meant heavy risks and high +pay. The brothers prospered so handsomely that, toward the end of the +year, Boone withdrew from freighting, bought a few cattle and horses, +and built and occupied a ranch at the stage-road crossing of Lance +Creek, midway between the Platte and Deadwood, in the very heart of the +Sioux country. Boone was then well under thirty, graceful of figure, +dark-haired, wore a slender downy moustache that served only to +emphasize his youth, but possessed that reserve and repose of manner +most typical of the utterly fearless. + +The Sioux made his acquaintance early, to their grief. One night they +descended on his ranch and carried off all the stage horses and most of +Boone's. Although the "sign" showed there were fifteen or twenty in +the party, at daylight Boone took their trail, alone. The third day +thereafter he returned to the ranch with all the stolen stock, besides +a dozen split-eared Indian ponies, as compensation for his trouble, +taken at what cost of strategy or blood Boone never told. + +Learning of this exploit from his drivers, Al. Patrick, the +superintendent of the stage line, took the next coach to Lance Creek +and brought Boone back to Deadwood, enlisted in his corps of +"messengers"; he was too good timber to miss. + +At that time every coach south-bound from Deadwood to Cheyenne carried +thousands in its mail-pouches and express-boxes; and once a week a +treasure coach armored with boiler plate, carrying no passengers, and +guarded by six or eight "messengers" or "sawed-off shotgun men," +conveyed often as high as two hundred thousand dollars of hard-won +Black Hills gold bars. + +Thus it naturally followed that, throughout 1877 and 1878, it was the +exception for a coach to get through from the Chugwater to Jenny's +stockade without being held up by bandits at least once. + +Any that happened to escape Jack Wadkins in the south were likely to +fall prey to Dune Blackburn in the north--the two most desperate +bandit-leaders in the country. + +In February, 1878, I had occasion to follow some cattle thieves from +Fort Laramie to Deadwood. Returning south by coach one bitter evening +we pulled into Lance Creek, eight passengers inside, Boone May and +myself on the box with 'Gene Barnett the driver; Stocking, another +famous messenger, roosted behind us atop of the coach, fondling his +sawed-off shotgun. + +From Lance Creek southward lay the greatest danger zone. At that +point, therefore, Boone and Stocking shifted from the coach to the +saddle, and, as 'Gene popped his whip and the coach crunched away +through the snow, both dropped back perhaps thirty yards behind us. + +An hour later, just as the coach got well within a broad belt of plum +bushes that lined the north bank of Old Woman's Fork, out into the +middle of the road sprang a lithe figure that threw a snap shot over +'Gene's head and halted us. + +Instantly six others surrounded the coach and ordered us down. I +already had a foot on the nigh front wheel to descend, when a shot out +of the brush to the west, (Boone's, I later learned) dropped the man +ahead of the team. + +Then followed a quick interchange of shots for perhaps a minute, +certainly no more, and then I heard Boone's cool voice: + +"Drive on, 'Gene!" + +"Move an' I'll kill you!" came in a hoarse bandit's voice from the +thicket east of us. + +"Drive on, 'Gene, or _I'll kill_ you," came then from Boone, in a tone +of such chilling menace that 'Gene threw the bud into the leaders, and +away we flew at a pace materially improved by three or four shots the +bandits sent singing past our ears and over the team! The next down +coach brought to Cheyenne the comforting news that Boone and Stocking +had killed four of the bandits and stampeded the other three. + +Within six months after Boone was employed, both Dune Blackburn and +Jack Wadkins disappeared from the stage road, dropped out of sight as +if the earth had opened and swallowed them, as it probably had. Boone +had a way of absenting himself for days from his routine duties along +the stage road. He slipped off entirely alone after this new quarry +precisely as he had followed the Sioux horse-raiders and, while he +never admitted it, the belief was general that he had run down and +"planted" both. Indeed it is almost a certainty this is true, for +beasts of their type never change their stripes, and sure it is that +neither were ever seen or heard of after their disappearance from the +Deadwood trail. + +Late in the Autumn of the same year, 1878, and also at or near the +stage-crossing of Old Woman's Fork, Boone and one companion fought +eight bandits led by a man named Tolle, on whose head was a large +reward. This was earned by Boone at a hold-up of a U. P. express train +near Green River. + +This band was, in a way, more lucky, for five of the eight escaped; but +of the three otherwise engaged one furnished a head which Boone toted +in a gunny sack to Cheyenne and exchanged for five thousand dollars, if +my memory rightly serves. + +This incident was practically the last of the serious hold-ups on the +Cheyenne road. A few pikers followed and "stood up" a coach +occasionally, but the strong organized bands were extinct. + +Throughout 1879 Boone's activities were transferred to the +Sidney-Deadwood road, where for several months before Boone's coming, +Curly and Lame Johnny had held sway. Lame Johnny was shortly +thereafter captured, and hanged on the lone tree that gave the Big +Cottonwood Creek its name. A few months later, Curly was captured by +Boone and another, but was never jailed or tried: when nearing +Deadwood, he tried to escape from Boone, and failed. + +With the Sioux pushed back within the lines of their new reservation in +southern Dakota and semi-pacified, and with the Sidney road swept clean +of road-agents, life in Boone's old haunts became for him too tame. +Thus it happened that, while trapping was then no better within than +without the Sioux reservation, the Winter of 1879-80 found Boone and +four mates camped on the Cheyenne River below the mouth of Elk Creek, +well within the reserve, trapping the main stream and its tributaries. +For a month they were undisturbed, and a goodly store of fur was fast +accumulating. Then one fine morning, while breakfast was cooking, out +from the cover of an adjacent hill and down upon them charged a Sioux +war party, one hundred and fifty strong. + +Boone's four mates barely had time to take cover below the hard-by +river bank--under Boone's orders--before fire opened. Down straight +upon them the Sioux charged in solid mass, heels kicking and quirts +pounding their split-eared ponies, until, having come within a hundred +yards, the mass broke into single file and raced past the camp, each +warrior lying along the off side of his pony and firing beneath its +neck--the usual but utterly stupid and suicidal Sioux tactics, for +accurate fire under such conditions is of course impossible. + +Meantime Boone stood quietly by the camp-fire, entirely in the open, +coolly potting the enemy as regularly and surely as a master wing-shot +thinning a flight of ducks. Three times they so charged and Boone so +received them, pouring into them a steady, deadly fire out of his +Winchester and two pistols. And when, after the third charge, the war +party drew off for good, forty-odd ponies and twenty-odd warriors lay +upon the plain, stark evidence of Boone's wonderful nerve and +marksmanship. Shortly after the fight one of his mates told me that +while he and three others were doing their best, there was no doubt +that nearly all the dead fell before Boone's fire. + + +A type diametrically opposite to that of the debonair Boone May was +Captain Jim Smith, one of the best peaceofficers the frontier ever +knew. Of Captain Smith's early history nothing was known, except that +he had served with great credit as a captain of artillery in the Union +Army. He first appeared on the U. P. during construction days in the +late sixties. Serving in various capacities as railroad detective, +marshal, stock inspector, and the like, for eighteen years Captain +Smith wrote more red history with his pistol (barring May's work on the +Sioux) than any two men of his time. + +The last I knew of him he had enough dead outlaws to his +credit--thirty-odd--to start, if not a respectable, at least, a +fair-sized graveyard. Captain Jim's mere look was almost enough to +still the heart-beat and paralyze the pistol hand of any but the +wildest of them all. His great burning black eyes, glowering deadly +menace from cavernous sockets of extraordinary depth, were set in a +colossal grim face; his straight, thin-lipped mouth never showed teeth; +his heavy, tight-curling black moustache and stiff black imperial +always had the appearance of holding the under lip closely glued to the +upper. In years of intimacy, I never once saw on his lips the faintest +hint of a smile. He had tremendous breadth of shoulders and depth of +chest; he was big-boned, lean-loined, quick and furtive of movement as +a panther. In short, Captain Jim was altogether the most +fearsome-looking man I ever saw, the very incarnation of a relentless, +inexorable, indomitable, avenging Nemesis. + +Like most men lacking humor, Captain Jim was devoid of vices; like all +men lacking sentiment, he cultivated no intimacies. Throughout those +years loved nothing, animate or inanimate, but his guns--the full +length "45" that nestled in its breast scabbard next his heart, and the +short "45," sawed off two inches in front of the cylinder, that he +always carried in a deep side-pocket of his long sack coat. This was +often a much patched pocket, for Jim was a notable economist of time, +and usually fired from within the pocket. That he loved those guns I +know, for often have I seen him fondle them as tenderly as a mother her +first-born. + +In 1879 Sidney, Neb., was a hell-hole, filled with the most desperate +toughs come to prey upon overland travellers to and from the Black +Hills. Of these toughs McCarthy, proprietor of the biggest saloon and +gambling-house in town, was the leading spirit and boss. Nightly, men +who would not gamble were drugged or slugged or leaded. Town marshals +came and went--either feet first or on a keen run. + +So long as its property remained unmolested the U. P. management did +not mind. But one night the depot was robbed of sixty thousand dollars +in gold bullion. Of course, this was the work of the local gang. Then +the U. P. got busy. Pete Shelby summoned Captain Jim to Omaha and +committed the Sidney situation to his charge. Frequenting haunts where +he knew the news would be wired to Sidney, Jim casually mentioned that +he was going out there to clean out the town, and purposed killing +McCarthy on sight. This he rightly judged would stampede, or throw a +chill into, many of the pikers--and simplify his task. + +Arrived in Sidney, Jim found McCarthy absent, at North Platte, due to +return the next day. Coming to the station the next morning, Jim found +the express reported three hours late, and returned to his room in the +railway House, fifty yards north of the depot. He doffed his coat, +shoulder scabbard, and boots, and lay down, shortly falling into a doze +that nearly cost him his life. Most inconsiderately the train made up +nearly an hour of its lost time. Jim's awakening was sudden, but not +soon enough. Before he had time to rise at the sound of the softly +opening door, McCarthy was over him with a pistol at his head. + +Jim's left hand nearly touched the gun pocket of his coat, and his +right lay in reach of the other gun; but his slightest movement meant +instant death. + +"Heerd you come to hang my hide up an' skin the town, but you're under +a copper and my open play wins, Black Jim! See?" growled McCarthy. + +"Well, Mac," coolly answered Jim, "you're a bigger damn fool than I +allowed. Never heard of you before makin' a killin' there was nothin' +in. What's the matter with you and your gang? I'm after that bullion, +and I've got a straight tip: Lame Johnny's the bird that hooked onto +it. If you're standing in with him, you better lead me aplenty, for if +you don't I'll sure get him." + +"Honest? Is that right, Jim? Ain't lyin' none?" queried McCarthy, +relieved of the belief that his gang were suspected. + +"Sure, she's right, Mac." + +"But I heerd you done said you was comin' to do me," persisted McCarthy. + +"Think I'm fool enough to light in diggin' my own grave, by sendin' +love messages like that to a gun expert like you, Mac?" asked Captain +Jim. + +Whether it was the subtle flattery or Jim's argument, Mac lowered his +gun, and while backing out of the room, remarked: "Nothin' in mixin' it +with you, Jim, if you don't want me." + +But Mac was no more than out of the room when Jim slid off the bed +quick as a cat; softly as a cat, on his noiseless stockinged feet he +followed Mac down the hall; crafty as a cat, he crept down the creaking +stairs, tread for tread, a scant arm's length behind his prey--why, God +alone knows, unless for a savage joy in longer holding another thug's +life in his hands. So he hung, like a leech to the blood it loves, +across the corridor and to the middle of the trunk room that lay +between the hall and the hotel office. There Jim spoke: + +"Oh! Mr. McCarthy!" + +Mac whirled, drawing his gun, just in time to receive a bullet squarely +through the heart. + +During the day Jim got two more scalps. The rest of the McCarthy gang +got the impression that it was up to them to pull their freight out of +Sidney, and acted on it. + +In 1882 the smoke of the Lincoln County War still hung in the timber of +the Ruidoso and the Bonito, a feud in which nearly three hundred New +Mexicans lost their lives. Depredations on the Mescalero Reservation +were so frequent that the Indians were near open revolt. + +Needing a red-blooded agent, the Indian Bureau sought and got one in +Major W. H. H. Llewellyn, since Captain of Rough Riders, Troup H, then +a United States marshal with a distinguished record. The then Chief of +the Bureau offered the Major two troops of cavalry to preserve order +among the Mescaleros and keep marauders off the reservation, and was +astounded when Llewellyn declined and said he would prefer to handle +the situation with no other aid than that of one man he had in mind. + +Captain Jim Smith was the man. And pleased enough was he when told of +the turbulence of the country and the certainty of plenty doing in his +line. + +But by the time they reached the Mescalero Agency, the feud was ended; +the peace of exhaustion after years of open war and ambush had +descended upon Lincoln County, and the Mescaleros were glad enough +quietly to draw their rations of flour and coffee, and range the +Sacramentos and Guadalupes for game. For Jim and the band of Indian +police which he quickly organized there was nothing doing. + +Inaction soon cloyed Captain Jim. It got on his nerves. Presently he +conceived a resentment toward the agent for bringing him down there +under false pretences of daring deeds to be done, that never +materialized. One day Major Llewellyn imprudently countermanded an +order Jim had given his Chief of Police, under conditions which the +Captain took as a personal affront. The next thing the Major knew, he +was covered by Jim's gun listening to his death sentence. + +"Major," began Captain Jim, "right here is where you cash in. Played +me for a big fool long enough. Toted me off down here on the guarantee +of the best show of fightin' I've heard of since the war--here where +there ain't a man in the Territory with nerve enough left to tackle a +prairie dog, 's far 's I can see. Lied to me a plenty, didn't you? +Anything to say before you quit?" + +Since that time Major Llewellyn has become (and is now) a famous +pleader at the New Mexican bar, but I know he will agree that the most +eloquent plea he has t this day made was that in answer to Captain +Jim's arraignment. Luckily it won. + +A month later Jim called on me at El Paso. At the time I was President +of the West Texas Cattle Growers' Association, organized chiefly to +deal with marauding rustlers. + +"Howd'y, Ed," Jim began, "I've jumped the Mescalero Reservation, headed +north. Nothin' doin' down here now. But, say, Ed, I hear they're +crowdin' the rustlers a plenty up in the Indian Territory and the Pan +Handle, and she's a cinch they'll be down on you thick in a few months. +And, say, Ed, don't forget old Jim; when the rustlers come, send for +him. You know he's the cheapest proposition ever--never any lawyers' +fees or court costs, nothin' to pay but just Jim's wages." + +That was the last time we ever met, and lucky it will probably be for +me if we never meet again; for if Jim still lives and there is aught in +this story he sees occasion to take exception to, I am sure to be due +for a mix-up I can very well get on without. + +From 1878 to 1880 Billy Lykins was one of the most efficient inspectors +of the Wyoming Stock Growers' Association, a short man of heavy +muscular physique and a round, cherubic, pink and white face, in which +a pair of steel-blue glittering eyes looked strangely out of place. A +second glance, however, showed behind the smiling mouth a set of the +jaw that did not belie the fighting eyes. So far as I can now recall, +Billy never failed to get what he went after while he remained in our +employ. + +Probably the toughest customer Billy ever tackled was Doc Middleton. +As an outlaw, Doc was the victim of an error of judgment. When he +first came among us, hailing from Llano County, Texas, Doc was as fine +a puncher and jolly, good-tempered range-mate as any in the Territory. +Sober and industrious, he never drank or gambled. But he had his bit +of temper, had Doc, and his chunk of good old Llano nerve. Thus, when +a group of carousing soldiers, in a Sidney saloon, one night lit in to +beat Doc up with their six-shooters for refusing to drink with them, +the inevitable happened in a very few seconds; Doc killed three of +them, jumped his horse, and split the wind for the Platte. + +And therein lay his error. + +The killing was perfectly justifiable; surrendered and tried, he would +surely have been acquitted. But his breed never surrender, at least, +never before their last shell is emptied. Flight having made him an +outlaw, the Government offered a heavy reward for him, dead or alive. +For a time he was harbored among his friends on the different ranches; +indeed was a welcome guest of my Deadman Ranch for several days; but in +a few weeks the hue and cry got so hot that he had to jump for the Sand +Hills south of the Niobrara. + +Ever pursued, he found that honest wage-earning was impossible. +Presently he was confronted with want, not of much, indeed of very +little, but that want was vital--he wanted cartridges. At this time +the Sand Hills were full of deer and antelope; and therefore to him +cartridges meant more even than defence of his freedom, they meant +food. It was this want that drove him into his first actual crime, the +stealing of Sioux ponies, which he ran into the settlements and sold. + +The downward path of the criminal is like that of the limpid, +clean-faced brook, bred of a bubbling spring nestled in some shady nook +of the hills, where the air is sweet and pure, and pollution cometh +not. But there it may not stay; on and yet on it rushes, as helpless +as heedless, till one day it finds itself plunged into some foul +current carrying the off-scourings of half a continent. So on and down +plunged Doc; from stealing Indian ponies to lifting ranch horses was no +long leap in his new code. + +Then our stock Association got busy and Billy Lykins took his trail. +Oddly, in a few months the same type of accident in turn saved the life +of each. Their first encounter was single-handed. With the better +horse, Lykins was pressing Doc so close that Doc raced to the crest of +a low conical hill, jumped off his mount, dropped flat on the ground +and covered Lykins with a Springfield rifle, meantime yelling to him: + +"Duck, you little Dutch fool; I don't want to kill you"; for they knew +each other well, and in a way were friends. + +But Billy never knew when to stop. Deeper into his pony's flank sank +the rowels, and up the hill on Doc he charged, pistol in hand. At +thirty yards Doc pulled the trigger, when--wonder of wonders--the +faithful old Springfield missed fire. Before Doc could throw in +another shell or draw his pistol, Billy was over him and had him +covered. + +If my memory rightly serves, the Sidney jail held Doc almost a +fortnight. A few weeks later Doc had assembled a strong gang about +him, rendezvoused on the Piney, a tributary of the lower Niobrara. +There he was far east of Lykins's bailiwick, but a good many degrees +within Lykins's disposition to quit his trail. Accompanied by Major W. +H. H. Llewellyn and an Omaha detective (inappropriately named Hassard), +Lykins located Doc's camp, and the three lay near for several days +studying their quarry. + +One morning Llewellyn and Hassard started up the creek, mounted, on a +scout, leaving Lykins and his horse hidden in the brush near the trail. +At a sharp bend of the path the two ran plunk into Doc and five of his +men. Both being unknown to Doc's gang, and the position and odds +forbidding hostilities, they represented themselves as campers hunting +lost stock, and turned and rode back down the trail with the outlaws, +alert for any play their leader might make. + +Recognizing his man, Billy lay with his "45" and "70" Sharps +comfortably resting across a log; and when the band were come within +twenty yards of him, he drew a careful bead on Doc's head and pulled +the trigger. By strange coincidence his Sharps missed fire, precisely +as had Doc's Springfield a few weeks before. + +Hearing the snap of the rifle hammer, with a curse Doc jerked his gun +and whirled his horse toward the brush just as Billy sprang out into +the open and threw a pistol shot into Doc that broke his thigh. +Swaying in saddle, Doc cursed Hassard for leading him into a trap, and +shot him twice before himself pitching to the ground. Hassard stood +idly, stunned apparently by a sort of white-hot work he was not used +to, and received his death wound without any effort even to draw. +Meantime, the firm of Lykins and Llewellyn accounted for two more +before Doc's mates got out of range. Thus, like the brook, Doc had +drifted down the turbid current of crime till he found himself +impounded in the Lincoln penitentiary with the off-scourings of the +state. + +While it is true that back into such impounding most who once have been +there soon return, Doc turned out to be one of the rare exceptions +proving the rule; for the last I heard of him, he was the lame but +light-hearted and wholly honest proprietor of a respectable Rushville +saloon. + + +When in the early eighties the front camps of the Atchison, Topeka, and +Santa Fe and the Texas Pacific met at El Paso, then a village called +Franklin, within a few weeks the population jumped from a few hundred +to nearly three thousand. Speculators, prospectors for business +opportunities, mechanics, miners, and tourists poured in--a +chance-taking, high-living, free-spending lot that offered such rich +pickings for the predatory that it was not long before nearly every fat +pigeon had a hungry, merciless vulture hovering near, watching for a +chance to fasten its claws and gorge itself. + +The low one-story adobes, fronted by broad, arched portals, that then +lined the west side of El Paso Street for several blocks, was a long +solid row of variety theatres, dance halls, saloons, and +gambling-houses, never closed by day or by night. They were packed +with a roistering mob that drifted from one joint to another, dancing, +gambling, carousing, fighting. Naturally, at first the predatory +confined their attentions to the roisterers. + +Of course every lay-out was a brace game, from which no player arose +with any notable winning except occasionally when the "house" felt it a +good bit of advertising to graduate a handsome winner--and then it was +usually a "capper," whose gains were in a few minutes passed back into +the till. + +The faro boxes were full of springs as a watch; faro decks were +carefully cut "strippers." An average good dealer would shuffle and +arrange as he liked the favorite cards of known high-rollers. These +had been neatly split on either edge and a minute bit of bristle pasted +in, which no ordinary touch would feel, but which the sand-papered +finger tips of an expert dealer would catch and slip through on the +shuffle and place where they would do (the house) the most good. The +"tin horns" gave out few but false notes; the roulette balls were +kicked silly out of the boxes representing heavily played numbers. Not +content with the "Kitty's" rake-off, every stud poker table had one or +more "cappers" sitting in, to whom the dealers could occasionally throw +a stiff pot. The backs of poker decks were so cunningly marked that +while the wise ones could read their size and suit across the table, no +untaught eye could detect their guile. And wherever a notable roll was +once flashed, greedy eyes never left it until it was safe in the till +of some game, or its owner "rolled" and relieved of it by force. + +For months orgy ran riot and the predatory band grew bolder and cruder +in their methods. Killings were frequent. Few nights passed without +more or less street hold-ups--usually more. Respectable citizens took +the middle of the street, literally gun in hand, when forced to be out +of nights. The Mayor and City Council were powerless. City marshals +and deputies they hired in bunches, but all to no purpose. Each fresh +lot of appointees were short-lived, literally or officially--mostly +literally. Finally, a vigilance committee was formed, made up of good +citizens not a few of whom were gun experts with their own bit of red +record. But nothing came of it. The predatories openly flouted and +defied them. + +On one notable night when the committee were assembled in front of the +old Grand Central Hotel, a mob of two hundred toughs lined up before +the thirty-odd of the committee and dared them to open the ball; and it +was a miracle the little Plaza was not then and there turned into a +slaughter pen bloody as the Alamo. It really looked as if nothing +short of martial law and a strong body of troops could pacify the town. + +But one night, into the chamber of the City Council stalked a man, the +man of the hour, unheralded and unknown. He gave the name of Bill +Stoudenmayer. About all that was ever learned of him was that he +hailed from Fort Davis. His type was that of a course, brutal, +Germanic gladiator, devoid of strategy; a bluff, stubborn, +give-and-take fighter, who drove bull-headed at whatever opposed him. +But El Paso soon learned that he could handle his guns with as deadly +dexterity as did his forebears their nets and tridents. + +Asked his business with the Council, he said he had heard they had +failed to find a marshal who could hold the town down, and allowed he'd +like to try the job if the Council would make it worth his while. +Questioned as to his views, he explained that he was there to make some +good money for himself and save the city more; if they would pay him +five hundred dollars a month for two months, they could discharge all +their deputies and he would go it alone and agree to clear the town of +toughs or draw no pay. The Mayor and Council were paralyzed in a +double sense: by the wild audacity of this proposal, and by their +memory of recent threats of the thug-leaders that they would massacre +the Council to a man if any further attempts were made to circumscribe +their activities. Some were openly for declining the offer, but in the +end a majority gained heart of Stoudenmayer's own hardihood +sufficiently to hire him. + +The rest of the night Stoudenmayer employed in quietly familiarizing +himself with the personnel of the enemy. He lost no time. At daylight +the next morning, several notices, manually written in a rude hand and +each bearing the signature of the rude hand that wrote it, were found +conspicuously posted between Oregon Street and the Plaza. The +signature was, "Bill Stoudenmayer, City Marshal." + +The notice was brief but pointed: + +"Any of the hold-ups named below I find in town after three o'clock +to-day, I'm going to kill on sight." + +Then followed seventy names. The list was carefully chosen: all +"pikers" and "four-flushers" were omitted; none but the _élite_ of the +gun-twirling, black-jack swinging toughs was included. Hardly a single +man was named in the list lacking a more or less gory record. + +By the toughs Stoudenmayer was taken as a jest, by respectable citizens +as a lunatic. Heavy odds were offered that he would not last till +noon, with few takers. And yet throughout the morning Stoudenmayer +quietly walked the streets, unaccompanied save by his two guns and his +conspicuously displayed marshal's star. + +Nothing happened until about two o'clock, when two men sprang out from +ambush behind the big cottonwood tree that then stood on the northeast +corner of El Paso and San Antonio Streets, one armed with a shotgun and +the other with a pistol, and started to "throw down" on Stoudenmayer, +who was approaching from the other side of the street. But before +either got his artillery into action, the Marshal jerked his two +pistols and killed both, then quietly continued his stroll, over their +prostrate bodies, and past them, up the street. It was such an +obviously workmanlike job that it threw a chill into the hardiest of +the sixty-eight survivors,--so much of a chill that, though +Stoudenmayer paraded streets and threaded saloon and dance-hall throngs +all the rest of the afternoon, seeking his prey, not a single man of +them could he find; all stayed close in their dens. + +But that the thug-leaders were not idle Stoudenmayer was not long +learning. In the last moments of twilight, just before the pall of +night fell upon the town, the Marshal was standing on the east side of +El Paso Street, midway between Oregon and San Antonio Streets, no cover +within reach of him. Suddenly, without the slightest warning, a heavy +fusillade opened on him from the opposite side of the street, a +fusillade so heavy it would have decimated a company of infantry. At +least a hundred men fired at him at the word, and it was a miracle he +did not go down at the first volley. But he was not even scathed. +Drawing his pistols, Stoudenmayer marched upon the enemy, slowly but +steadily, advancing straight, it seemed, into the jaws of death, but +firing with such wonderful rapidity and accuracy that seven of his foes +were killed and two wounded in almost as many seconds, although all +kept close as possible behind the shelter of the _portal_ columns. And +every second he was so engaged, at least a hundred guns, aimed by cruel +trained eyes, that scarce ever before had missed whatever they sought +to draw a bead on, were pouring out upon him a hell of lead that must +have sounded to him like a flight of bees. + +But stand his iron nerve and fatal snap-shooting the thugs could not. +Before he was half way across the street, the hostile fire had ceased, +and his would-be assassins were flying for the nearest and best cover +they could find. Out of the town they slipped that night, singly and +in squads, boarding freight trains north and east, stages west and +south, stealing teams and saddle stock, some even hitting the trails +afoot, in stark terror of the man. The next morning El Paso found +herself evacuated of more than two hundred men who, while they had been +for a time her most conspicuous citizens, were such as she was glad +enough to spare. In twenty-four hours Bill Stoudenmayer had made his +word good and fairly earned his wages; indeed he had accomplished +single-handed what the most hopeful El Pasoites had despaired of seeing +done with less authority and force than two or three troops of regular +cavalry. + +Then El Paso settled down to the humdrum but profitable task of laying +the foundations for the great metropolis of the Farther Southwest. +Since then, an occasional sporadic case of _triggerfingeritis_ has +developed in El Paso, usually in an acute form; but never once since +the night Stoudenmayer turned the El Paso Street Portals into a +shambles has it threatened as an epidemic. + +Unluckily, Bill Stoudenmayer did not last long to enjoy the glory of +his deed. He was a marked man, merely from motives of revenge harbored +by friends of the departed (dead or live), but as a man with a +reputation so big as to hang up a rare prize in laurels for any with +the strategy and hardihood to down him. It was therefore matter of no +general surprise when, a few weeks after his resignation as City +Marshal, he fell the victim of a private quarrel. + + +A few years later, Hal Gosling was the U. S. Marshall for the Western +District of Texas. Early in Gosling's regime, Johnny Manning became +one of his most efficient and trusted deputies. The pair were wide +opposites: Gosling, a big, bluff, kindly, rollicking dare-devil afraid +of nothing, but a sort that would rather chaff than fight; Manning a +quiet, reserved, slender, handsome little man, not so very much bigger +than a full-grown "45," who actually sought no quarrels but would +rather fight than eat. Each in his own may [Transcriber's note: way?], +the pair made themselves a holy terror to such of the desperadoes as +ventured any liberties with Uncle Sam's belongings. + +One of their notable captures was a brace of road-agents who had +appropriated the Concho stage road and about everything of value that +travelled it. The two were tried in the Federal Court at Austin and +sentenced to hard labor at Huntsville. Gosling and Manning started to +escort them to their new field of activity. Handcuffed but not +otherwise shackled, the two prisoners were given a seat together near +the middle of a day coach. By permission of the Marshal, the wife of +one and the sister of the other sat immediately behind them--dear old +Hal Gosling never could resist any appeal to his sympathies. The seat +directly across the aisle from the two prisoners was occupied by +Gosling and Manning. With the car well filled with passengers and +their men ironed, the Marshal and his Deputy were off their guard. +When out of Austin barely an hour, the train at full speed, the two +women slipped pistols into the hands of the two convicted bandits, +unseen by the officers. But others saw the act, and a stir of alarm +among those near by caused Gosling to whirl in his seat next the aisle, +reaching for the pistol in his breast scabbard. But he was too late. +Before he was half risen to his feet or his gun out, the prisoners +fired and killed him. + +Then ensued a terrible duel, begun at little more than arm's length, +between Manning and the two prisoners, who presently began backing +toward the rear door. Quickly the car filled with smoke, and in it +pandemonium reigned, women screaming, men cursing, all who had not +dropped in a faint ducking beneath the car seats and trying their best +to burrow in the floor. When at length the two prisoners reached the +platform and sprang from the moving train, Johnny Manning, shot full of +holes as a sieve, lay unconscious across Hal Gosling's body; and the +sister of one of the bandits hung limp across the back of the seat the +prisoners had occupied, dead of a wild shot. + +But Johnny had well avenged Hal's death and his own injuries; one of +the prisoners was found dead within a few yards of the track, and the +other was captured, mortally wounded, a half-mile away. + +After many uncertain weeks, when Manning's system had successfully +recovered from the overdose of lead administered by the departed, he +quietly resumed his star and belt, and no one ever discovered that the +incident had made him in the least gun-shy. + + +Whenever the history of the Territory of New Mexico comes to be +written, the name of Colonel Albert J. Fountain deserves and should +have first place in it. Throughout the formative epoch of her +evolution from semi-savagery to civilization, an epoch spanning the +years from 1866 to 1896, Colonel Fountain was far and away her most +distinguished and most useful citizen. As soldier, scholar, dramatist, +lawyer, prosecutor, Indian fighter, and desperado-hunter, his was the +most picturesque personality I have ever known. Gentle and +kind-hearted as a woman, a lover of his books and his ease, he +nevertheless was always as quick to take up arms and undergo any hazard +and hardship in pursuit of murderous rustlers as he was in 1861 to join +the California Column (First California Volunteers) on its march across +the burning deserts of Arizona to meet and defeat Sibley at Val Verde. +A face fuller of the humanities and charities of life than his would be +hard to find; but, roused, the laughing eyes shone cold as a wintry +sky. He despised wrong, and hated the criminal, and spent his whole +life trying to right the one and suppress or exterminate the other. In +this work, and of it, ultimately, he lost his life. + +In the early eighties, while the New Mexican courts were well-nigh +idle, crime was rampant, especially in Lincoln, Dona Ana, and Grant +Counties. To the east of the Rio Grande the Lincoln County War was at +its height, while to the west the Jack Kinney gang took whatever they +wanted at the muzzle of their guns; and they wanted about everything in +sight. County peace officers were powerless. + +At this stage Fountain was appointed by the Governor "Colonel of State +Militia," and given a free hand to pacify the country. As an organized +military body, the militia existed only in name. And so Fountain left +it. Serious and effective as was his work, no man loved a grand-stand +play more than he. He liked to go it alone, to be the only thing in +the spot light. Thus most of his work as a desperado-hunter was done +single-handed. + +On only one occasion that I can recall did he ever have with him on his +raids more than one or two men, always Mexicans, temporarily deputized. +That was when he met and cleaned out the Kinney gang over on the +Miembres, and did it with half the number of the men he was after. +Among those who escaped was Kinney's lieutenant. A few weeks later +Colonel Fountain learned that this man was in hiding at Concordia, a +_placita_ two miles below El Paso. He was one of the most desperate +Mexican outlaws the border has ever known, a man who had boasted he +would never be taken alive, and that he would kill Fountain before he +was himself taken dead, a human tiger, whom the bravest peace officer +might be pardoned for wanting a great deal of help to take. Yet +Fountain merely took his armory's best and undertook it alone: and by +mid-afternoon of the very next day after the information reached him he +had his man safely manacled at the El Paso depot of the Santa Fe +Railway. + +While waiting for the train, Colonel George Baylor, the famous Captain +of Texas Rangers, chided Fountain for not wearing a cord to fasten his +pistol to his belt, as then did all the Rangers, to prevent its loss +from the scabbard in a running fight; and he finished by detaching his +own cord, and looping one end to Fountain's belt and the other to his +pistol. Then Fountain bade his old friend good-bye and boarded the +train with his prisoner, taking a seat near the centre of the rear car. + +When well north of Canutillo and near the site of old Fillmore, +Fountain rose and passed forward to speak to a friend who was sitting a +few seats in front of him, a safe enough proceeding, apparently, with +his prisoner handcuffed and the train doing thirty-five miles an hour. +But scarcely had he reached his friend's side, when a noise behind him +caused him turn--just in time to see his Mexican running for rear door. +Instantly Fountain sprang after him, before he got to the door the man +had leaped from platform. Without the slightest hesitation, Fountain +jumped after him, hitting the ground only a few seconds behind him but +thirty or forty yards away, rolling like a tumbleweed along the ground. +By the time Fountain had regained his feet, his prisoner was running at +top speed for the mesquite thickets lining the river, in whose shadows +he must soon disappear, for it was already dusk. Reaching for his +pistol and finding it gone--lost evidently in the tumble--and fearing +to lose his prisoner entirely if he stopped to hunt for it, Fountain +hit the best pace he could in pursuit. But almost at the first jump +something gave him a thump on the shin that nearly broke it, and, +looking down, there, dangling on Colonel Baylor's pistol-cord, he saw +his gun. + +Always a cunning strategist, Fountain dropped to the ground, sky-lined +his man on the crest of a little hillock he had to cross, and took a +careful two-handed aim which enabled Rio Grande ranchers thereafter to +sleep easier of nights. + + +And now, just as I am finishing this story, the wires bring the sad +news that dear old Pat Garrett, the dean and almost the last survivor +of the famous man-hunted of west Texas and New Mexico, has gone the way +of his kind--"died with his boots on." I cannot help believing that he +was the victim of a foul shot, for in his personal relations I never +knew him to court a quarrel or fail to get an adversary. Many a night +we have camped, eaten, and slept together. Barring Colonel Fountain, +Pat Garrett had stronger intellectuality and broader sympathies than +any of his kind I ever met. He could no more do enough for a friend +than he could do enough to an outlaw. In his private affairs so +easy-going that he began and ended a ne'er-do-well, in his official +duties as a peace officer he was so exacting and painstaking that he +ne'er did ill. His many intrepid deeds are too well known to need +recounting here. + +All his life an atheist, he was as stubbornly contentious for his +unbelief as any Scotch Covenanter for his best-loved tenets. + +Now, laid for his last rest in the little burying-ground of Las Cruces, +a tiny, white-paled square of sandy, hummocky bench land where the pink +of fragile nopal petals brightens the graves in Spring and the mesquite +showers them with its golden pods in Summer; where the sweet scent of +the _juajilla_ loads the air, and the sun ever shines down out of a +bright and cloudless sky; where a diminutive forest of crosses of wood +and stone symbolize the faith he in life refused to accept--now, +perhaps, Pat Garrett has learned how widely he was wrong. + +Peace to his ashes, and repose to his dauntless spirit! + + + +[1] _Triggerfingeritis_ is an acute irritation of the sensory nerves of +the index finger of habitual gun-packers; usually fatal--to some one. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +A JUGGLER WITH DEATH + +This is the story of a man, a virile, strong, resourceful man, all of +whose history from his youth to his untimely death thrills one at the +reading and points lessons worth learning. + +The most careful study and the most just comparison would doubtless +concede to Washington Harrison Donaldson the high rank--high, indeed, +in a double sense--of having been the greatest aeronaut the world has +ever known. + +While a few men have done some great deeds in aeronautics which he did +not accomplish, nevertheless Donaldson did more things never even +undertaken by any other aeronaut that any man who has ever lived. +Indeed, much of his work would be deemed by mankind at large downright +absurd, hair-brained, foolhardy, and reckless to the point of actual +madness; and yet no man ever possessed a saner mind than Donaldson; no +man was ever more fond of family, friends, and life in general, or +normally more reluctant to undertake what he regarded as a needlessly +hazardous task. His boldest and most seemingly reckless feats were to +him no more than the every-day work of a man of a strong mind, of a +stout heart, and of a perfectly trained body, who had so completely +mastered every detail of his profession as gymnast, acrobat, and +aeronaut, that he had come to have absolute faith in himself, downright +abiding certainty that within his sphere of work not only must he +succeed, but that, in the very nature of things it was quite impossible +for him to fail. + +Donaldson's story may well serve as an inspiration, as does that of +every man who, with a cool head and high courage, takes his life in his +hands for adventure into the world's untrodden fields. While he was +regarded by average onlookers as little better than a "Merry Andrew," a +public shocker, doing feats before the multitude to still the heart and +freeze the blood, those whose fortune it was to know him intimately +realized him to be a man of the most serious purpose, with a great +faith in the future of aerial navigation. He seemed to be possessed by +the conviction that it was one day to become wholly practicable and +generally useful; for he was keen to do all he could to popularize and +advance it, and to demonstrate its large measure of safety where +practised under reasonable conditions. + +To many still living his memory is dear--to all indeed who ever knew +him well, and it is to his memory and to the surviving friends who held +him dear I dedicate this little story. + +Washington Harrison Donaldson was the son of David Donaldson, an artist +of no mean ability of Philadelphia, where the boy was born October 10, +1840. The mother, of straight descent from a line of patriots active +during the Revolution, gave the boy the name of Washington; the father, +an ardent worker for General Harrison's candidacy for the presidency in +the "Tippecanoe-and-Tyler-too" campaign, added the name of Harrison. +It is not conceivable that this christening with two names so closely +linked with notable deeds of high emprise in the early history of this +country, had its influence upon the boy. + +As a mere youth he showed the most adventurous spirit and ardent +ambition to excel his mates, to do deeds of skill and dexterity that +others could not do. When still a child he was running up an +unsupported eight-foot ladder, and balancing himself upon the topmost +round in a way to startle the cleverest professional athletes. A +little later, getting hold of any old rope, stretching it in any old +way as a "slack-rope," he was busy perfecting himself as a slack-rope +walker. Naturally, school held him only a very few years, for his type +of mind obviously was not that of a student. + +While still in early youth, he got his father's consent to work in the +parental studio, and persevered long enough to acquire some ability in +sketching. Later he employed this art in illustrating some of his +aerial voyages. During these studio days he studied legerdemain and +ventriloquism, and became one of the most expert sleight-of-hand +wizards and ventriloquial entertainers of his time. + +Donaldson's first appearance before the public was at the old Long's +Varieties on South Third Street in Philadelphia. His feats as a +rope-walker have probably never been surpassed. In 1862 a rope twelve +hundred feet long was stretched across the Schuylkill River at +Philadelphia at a height of twelve hundred feet above the water. After +passing back and forth repeatedly over this rope, he finished his +exhibition by leaping from a rope into the river from a height of +approximately ninety feet. Two years later he successfully walked a +rope eighteen hundred feet long and two hundred feet high, stretched +across the Genesee Falls at Rochester, N. Y. Five years later he was +riding a velocipede on a tight-wire from stage to gallery of a +Philadelphia theatre, the first to do this performance. + +Thus his years were spent between 1857 and 1871; and great as were the +dangers and severe the tasks incident to this period of his career, to +him it was not work but the play he loved. While the work in itself +was not one to emulate--for there are perhaps few less useful tasks +than those that made up his occupation--nevertheless, he was training +himself for his career; and the absolute mastery over it which he +accomplished, the boldness with which he did it, the readiness, +certainty, and complete success with which he carried out everything he +undertook make a lesson worth studying. + +Donaldson's career as an aeronaut was brief. His first ascent was made +August 30, 1871; his last, July 15, 1875. The story of the first is +characteristic of the man. In his lexicon there was no such word as +"fail." His balloon was small, holding only eight thousand cubic feet +of gas. The gas was of poor quality, and when ready to rise he found +it impossible even to make a start until all ballast had been thrown +from the basket; and when at length the start was made, it was only to +alight in a few minutes on the roof of a neighboring house. Bent upon +winning and doing at all hazards what he had undertaken, Donaldson +quickly cast overboard all loose objects in the basket--ropes, anchors, +provisions, even down to his boots and coat. Thus relieved of weight, +he was able to make a voyage of about eighteen miles. + +There are two essentials to safe ballooning: first, the easy working of +the cord which controls the safety valve at the top of the netting, by +which descent may be effected when the balloon is going too high; and +surplus ballast, which may be thrown out to lighten the balloon when +approaching the ground, to avoid striking the earth at dangerously +rapid speed. Hence it followed that, his car having been stripped of +every bit of weight to obtain the ascent, Donaldson's descent was so +violent that he was not a little bruised before he got his balloon +safety [Transcriber's note: safely?] anchored again upon the earth. + +The difficulties and risks of this first trip, arising from the poor +appliances he had, were enough to discourage, if not deter, a heart +less bold than his, but to him a new difficulty only meant the letting +out of another reef in his resolution to conquer it. Thus it was that +immediately upon his return from this, his first trip, he not only +announced that he would make another ascent the ensuing week, but that +he would undertake something never previously undertaken in aerial +navigation, namely, that he would dispense with the basket or car swung +beneath the concentrating ring of every normal balloon, and in its +place would have nothing but a simple trapeze bar suspended beneath the +ring, upon which in mid-air, at high altitude, he proposed to perform +all feats done by then most highly trained gymnasts in trapeze +performances. + +His experience on this first trip, to quote his own phraseology, was +"so glorious that I decided to abandon the tight-rope forever." + +The second ascent was made in a light breeze. When approximately a +mile in height, to quote a chronicler: + + +"Suddenly the aeronaut threw himself backward and fell, catching with +his feet on the bar, thus sending a thrill through the crowd; but with +another spring he was upstanding on the bar, and then followed one feat +after another--hanging by one hand, one foot, by the back of his head, +etc., until the blood ceased to curdle in the veins of the awe-stricken +crowd, and they gave vent to their feelings in cheer after cheer. His +glittering dress sparkled in the sun long after his outline was lost to +the naked eye." + + +Intending no long journey, Donaldson climbed from the trapeze into the +concentrating ring, where he seized the cord operating the safety valve +and sought to open the valve. But the valve stuck and did not open +readily, thus when Donaldson gave a more violent tug at the cord in his +effort to open the valve, a great rent was torn in the top of the gas +bag, through which the gas poured, causing the balloon to fall with +appalling rapidity. Long afterwards Donaldson said that this was the +first time in his life that he had ever felt actually afraid. Luckily +he dropped into the top of a large tree, which broke his fall +sufficiently to enable him to land without any serious injury. + +Donaldson's sincerity and downright joy in his work, and the poetic +temperament, which in him was always struggling for utterance, are +pointed out by a chronicler in the words added by him to the +description Donaldson gave of his trip after his return to Norfolk in +1872: + + +"The people of Norfolk cannot form the remotest conception of the grand +appearance of Norfolk from a balloon. The city looks almost surrounded +by water, and the various tributaries to the Elizabeth River appear +magnificently beautiful, looking like streams of silver. Floating over +a field of foliage, the trees appear all blended together like blades +of grass." + + +The chronicler adds: + + +"Donaldson seemed to be perfectly enraptured by his subject, as was +evinced by the beaming expression of his countenance while relating his +experience. The motion of the balloon he describes as delightful, +particularly in ascent, as it appears to be perfectly motionless, and +any object within view beneath looks as if it were receding from you." + + +As a token of appreciation of this particular exploit, a handsome gold +medal was given to Donaldson by the citizens of Norfolk. + +A later ascent from Norfolk resulted in one of the most perilous +experiences ever endured by any aeronaut, and indeed developed +conditions from which none could possibly have hoped to escape with +life except a perfectly trained and fearless aeronaut. His experience +on this trip he told as follows: + + +"After cutting the basket loose, the balloon shot up very rapidly. I +pulled the valve cord and the gas escaped too freely. I was then +almost at the water's edge, and going at the rate of one mile a minute. +Quick work must be done, or a watery grave. I had either to cut a hole +in the balloon or go to sea, and as there were no boats in sight, I +chose the lesser evil. Seizing three of the cords, I swung out of the +ring, into the netting, the balloon careening on her side. I climbed +half way up the netting, opened my knife with my teeth, and cut a hole +about two feet long. The instant I cut the hole the gas rushed out so +fast that could scarcely get back to the ring. After reaching the ring +I lashed myself fast to it with a rope. While I was climbing up the +rigging to cut the hole in the side of the balloon, my cap fell off, +and so fast did I descend that before I got half way down I caught up +with and passed the cap. Continuing to descend, I struck the ground in +a large corn field, and was dragged nearly a thousand feet, the wind +blowing a perfect gale. Crashing against a rail fence, I was rendered +insensible. When I came to, I found myself hanging to one side of a +tree, and the balloon to the other side, ripped to shreds. This was +the _last tree_. I could have thrown a stone into the ocean from where +I landed. On this trip I travelled ten miles in seven minutes. + +"Many want to know if the wind blows hard up there. They do not stop +to think that I am carried by the wind, and whether I am in a dead calm +or sailing at the rate of one hundred miles an hour, I am perfectly +still; and when I went the ten miles in seven minutes I did not feel +the slightest breeze; and when I cannot see the earth it is impossible +to tell whether I am going or hanging still." + + +Just as Donaldson was a bit of an artist and left many sketches +illustrating his experiences, so also he was a bit of a poet and left +many pieces describing in lofty thought, but crude versification, the +sentiments inspired by his ascents. The following is one of them: + + + "There's pleasure in a lively trip when sailing through the air, + The word is given, 'Let her go!' To land I know not where. + The view is grand, 'tis like a dream, when many miles from home. + My castle in the air, I love above the clouds to roam." + + +In prose Donaldson was very much more at home than in verse; indeed +many of his descriptions equal in clearness and beauty anything ever +written of the impressions that come to fliers in cloudland. Take, for +example, the following: + + +"It's a pleasure to be up here, as I sit and look at the grand cloud +pictures, the most splendid effects of light, unknown to all that cling +to the surface of the earth. The ever-shifting scenes, the bright, +dazzling colors, the soft roseate and purple hues, the sudden light and +fiery sun . . . and on I go as if carried by spiritual wings, far above +the diminutive objects of a liliputian world. We rise in the midst of +splendor, where light and silence combine to make one wish he never +need return." + + +Donaldson was a many-sided man--among other things, in no small measure +a philosopher, as when he commented as follows: + +"I have noticed on different occasions a class of people who were only +half alive and who find fault with my exercise, which to them looks +frightful. They [Transcriber's note: Their?] nervous system is not +properly balanced. They have too much nerves for their system, which +is caused by want of a little moderate exercise up where the air is +pure, instead of which they spend hours in a place which they call +their office. They sit themselves in a dark corner, hidden from the +sun's rays, and in one position remain for hours, inhaling the +poisonous air with the room full of carbonic acid gas, which is as +poisonous to man as arsenic is to rats; and in addition to this, will +fill their lungs with tobacco smoke, and to steady their nerves require +a stimulation of perhaps eight or ten brandies a day. If I were as +helpless as this class of people, then my life would be swinging by a +thread, and I would wind up with a broken neck." + + +About as sound philosophy and scientific hygiene as could well be found. + +And yet another side to his character: the kindly nature, the +gentleness and generous thought for others, reluctance to cause +needless injury or pain, which is always the characteristic of any man +of real courage. This beautiful side of his nature he once hinted at +as follows: + +"I cannot look at a person cutting a chicken's head off, and as for +shooting a poor, innocent bird for sport, I think it is a great wrong +and should not be allowed. Did you ever think what a barbarous set we +were--worse than Indians or Fiji Islanders! There is nothing living +but what we torture and kill. As for fear . . . my candid opinion is +that the only time one is out of danger is when sailing through the air +in a balloon." + + +Early in 1873, after having made twenty-five or thirty ascents, and +well-nigh exhausted people's capacity for sensations and excitements +afforded by ballooning over _terra firma_, Donaldson began making plans +for a balloon of a capacity and equipment adequate, in his judgment, to +enable him to make a successful crossing of the Atlantic to England or +the Continent. So soon as his plans became publicly known, Professor +John Wise, who as early as 1843 had done his best to raise the funds +necessary for a transatlantic journey by balloon, joined forces with +Donaldson, and together they made application to the authorities of the +city of Boston for an adequate appropriation. This was voted by one +Board but vetoed by another. Thereupon, _The Daily Graphic_ took up +their proposition, and undertook the financing of the expedition under +a formal contract executed June 27, 1873. As a consequence of this +contract, Donaldson proceeded to build the largest balloon ever +constructed, of a gas capacity of 600,000 cubic feet, and a lifting +power of 14,000 pounds. The total weight of the balloon, including its +car, lifeboat, and equipment, was 7,100 pounds, thus leaving +approximately 6,000 pounds surplus lifting capacity for ballast, +passengers, etc. + +Of course, a liberal supply of provisions was to be carried, with +tools, guns, and fishing tackle, to be available for meeting any +emergency arising from a landing in a wild, unsettled region. +Moreover, a carefully selected set of scientific instruments was +embraced in the equipment for making observations and records of +changing conditions _en route_. + +The inflation of this aerial monster began in Brooklyn at the +Capitoline Grounds September 10, 1873. A high wind prevailed, and +after the bag had received 100,000 cubic feet of gas, she became so +nearly uncontrollable, notwithstanding 300 men and 100 sacks of +ballast, each sack weighing 200 pounds, were holding her down, that +Donaldson and his associates decided to empty her. + +On the twelfth of September inflation was again undertaken, although a +high wind again prevailed. When something more than half full, the bag +burst, and the aeronauts concluded that she was of a size impossible to +handle. The bag and rigging were thereupon taken in hand, and she was +reduced one-half; that is, to a capacity of 300,000 cubic feet of gas. + +The remodelling was finished early in October, and inflation of this +new balloon was begun at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 6, and by 10.30 p.m. +of that day the inflation was completed, the life-boat was attached, +and she was firmly secured for the night. + +At nine the next morning the crew took their places in the boat. +Donaldson as aeronaut; Alfred Ford as correspondent for the _Graphic_; +George Ashton Lunt, an experienced seaman, as navigator. Ascent was +made, without incident, the balloon drifting first to the north, and +then to the southward toward Long Island Sound. + +Unhappily this voyage was brief, and very nearly tragical in its +finish. About noon the balloon entered the field of a storm of wind +and rain of extraordinary violence, and before long the cordage, etc., +was so heavily loaded with moisture, that although practically all +available ballast was disposed of, the balloon descended in spite of +them. The speed of the balloon was so great that Donaldson did not +dare hazard a dash against some house, or into some forest or other +obstacle, but selected a piece of open ground, and advised his +companions to hang by their hands over the side of the boat and drop at +the word. The word at length given by Donaldson, both he and Ford +dropped--a distance of about thirty feet, happily without serious +injury other than a severe shaking up. Lunt, curious about the +distance and the effect of such a fall, as well as unfamiliar with the +action of a balloon when relieved of weight, hung watching the descent +of his companions--only to realise quickly that he was shooting up into +the air like a rocket. Then he clambered back into the boat. However, +it was not long before, again weighted and beaten down by the +continuing rain, the balloon descended upon a forest, where Lunt swung +himself into a tree-top, whence he dropped through its branches to the +earth, practically unhurt. + +Thus ended the transatlantic voyage of the _Graphic_ balloon, a voyage +that constitutes the only serious failure I can recall of anything in +the line of his profession as an aeronaut that Donaldson ever undertook +to do. This failure is not to be counted to his discredit, for +precisely as a good soldier does not surrender until his last round of +ammunition is spent, so Donaldson did not give in until his last pound +of ballast was exhausted. + +In all respects the most brilliant aerial voyage ever made by Donaldson +was his sixty-first ascension, on July 24, 1874, a voyage which +continued for twenty-six hours. This was the longest balloon voyage in +point of hours ever made up to that time, and indeed it remained a +world's record for endurance up in the air until 1900, and the +endurance record in the United States, until the recent St. Louis Cup +Race. + +The ascent was made from Barnum's "Great Roman Hippodrome," which for +some years occupied the site of what is now Madison Square Garden, in a +balloon built by Mr. Barnum to attempt to break the record for time and +distance of all previous balloon voyages. An account of this thrilling +trip is given in the following chapter of this book. + +The history of the ascent Donaldson made from Toronto, Canada, on June +23, 1875, is in itself a sufficient refutation of the charges made less +than a month later, that on his last trip he sacrificed his passenger, +Grimwood, to save his own life. On his Toronto trip he was accompanied +by Charles Pirie, of the _Globe_; Mr. Charles, of the _Leader_; and Mr. +Devine, of the _Advertiser_. On this occasion Donaldson accepted the +three passengers under the strongest protest, after having told them +plainly that the balloon was leaky, the wind blowing out upon the lake, +and that the ascent must necessarily be a peculiarly dangerous one. +Nevertheless, they decided to take the hazard. Later they regretted +their temerity. Husbanding his ballast as best he could, nevertheless, +the loss of gas through leakage was such that by midnight, when well +over the centre of Lake Ontario, the balloon descended into a rough, +tempestuous sea, and was saved from immediate destruction only by the +cutting away of both the anchor and the drag rope. This gave them a +temporary lease of life, but at one o'clock the car again struck the +waters and dragged at a frightful speed through the lake, compelling +the passengers to stand on the edge of the basket and cling to the +ropes, the cold so intense they were well-nigh benumbed. At length +they were rescued by a passing boat, but this was not until after three +o'clock in the morning. + +Of Donaldson's conduct in these hours of terrible tremity, a passenger +wrote: + + +"But for his judicious use of the ballast, his complete control of the +balloon as far as it could be controlled, his steady nerve, kindness, +and coolness in the hour of danger, the occupants would never have +reached land. . . . The party took no provisions with them excepting +two small pieces of bread two inches square, which Mr. Devine happened +to have in his pocket. At eleven at night, the Professor, having had +nothing but a noon lunch, was handed up the bread. . . . About three +o'clock in the morning, when the basket was wholly immersed in the +water, and the inmates clinging almost lifelessly to the ropes, the +Professor climbed down to them, and they were surprised to see in his +hand the two small pieces of bread they had given him the night before. +He had hoarded it up all night, and instead of eating it he said with +cheery voice, 'Well, boys, all is up. Divide this among you. It may +give you strength enough to swim.' There was not a man among them that +would touch it until the Professor first partook of it. It was only a +small morsel for each. . . . He said that he had but one +life-preserver on board, and suggested we should draw lots for the man +who should leave and lighten the balloon." + + +While this discussion was on, the boat approached that saved them. + +This simple story of Donaldson's true courage, cheerfulness, +self-denial, readiness to sacrifice himself for others, is no less than +an epic of the noblest heroism that stands an irrefutable answer to the +charge later made that Donaldson sacrificed Grimwood. + +Three weeks later--to be precise, on the fifteenth of July--Donaldson +and his beloved airship, the _P. T. Barnum_, made their last ascent, +from Chicago. The balloon was already old--more than a year old--the +canvas weakened and in many places rent and patched, the cordage frail. +In short, the balloon was in poor condition to stand any extraordinary +stress of weather. + +His companion on this trip was Mr. Newton S. Grimwood, of _The Chicago +Evening Journal_. Donaldson had expected to be able to take two men; +and Mr. Maitland, of the _Post & Mail_, was present with the other two +in the basket immediately before the hour of starting. At the last +moment Donaldson concluded that it was unwise to take more than one, +and required lots to be drawn. Maitland tossed a coin, called "Heads," +and won; but Mr. Thomas, the press agent, insisted that the usual +method of drawing written slips from a hat be followed, and on this +second lot-casting Maitland lost his place in the car, but won his life. + +The ascent was made about 5 p.m., the prevailing wind carrying them out +over Lake Michigan. About 7 p.m., a tug-boat sighted the balloon, then +about thirty miles off shore, trailing its basket along the surface of +the lake. The tug changed her course to intercept the balloon, but +before it was reached, probably through the cutting away of the drag +rope and anchor, the balloon bounded into the air, and soon +disappeared, and never again was aught of Donaldson or the balloon +_Barnum_ seen by human eye. A little later a storm of extraordinary +fury broke over the lake--a violent electric storm accompanied by heavy +rain. + +Weeks passed with no news of the voyagers or their ship. A month later +the body of Grimwood was found on the shores of Lake Michigan and fully +identified. + +The precise story of that terrible night will never be written, but +knowing the man and his trade, sequence of incident is as plain to me +as if told by one of the voyagers. Evidently the balloon sprung a leak +early. The last ballast must have been spent before the tug saw her +trailing in the lake. Then anchor and drag ropes were sacrificed. +This would inevitably give the balloon travelling power for a +considerable time,--time of course depending on the measure of the leak +of gas,--but ultimately she must again have descended upon the raging +waters of the lake, where Grimwood, of untrained strength, soon became +exhausted while trying to hold himself secure in the ring, and fell out +into the lake. Thus again relieved of weight, the balloon received a +new lease of life, and travelled on probably, to a fatal final descent +in some untrodden corner of the northern forest, where no one ever has +chanced to stumble across the wreck. For had the balloon made its +final descent into the lake, it would have been only after the basket +was utterly empty, all the loose cordage cut away, and a type of wreck +left that would float for weeks or months and would almost certainly +have been found. Indeed, for months afterwards the writer and many +others of Donaldson's friends held high hopes of hearing of him +returned in safety from some remote distance in the wilds. But this +was not to be. + +One more incident and I have done. + +Six or seven years ago I read in the columns of the _Sun_ an article +copied from a Chicago paper, evidently written by some close friend of +the unfortunate Grimwood, making a bitter attack upon Donaldson for +having sacrificed his passenger's life to save his own. The story +moved me so much that I wrote an open letter to the Sun over my own +signature, in which I sought to refute the charge by recounting the +story of Donaldson's noble conduct, and his constant readiness for +self-sacrifice in other situations quite as dire. + +A few days later, sitting in my office, I was frozen with astonishment +when a written card was handed in to me bearing the name "Washington H. +Donaldson"! As soon as I could recover myself, the bearer of the card +was asked in. He was a man within a year or two of my friend's age at +the time of his death, Wash Donaldson's very self in face and figure! +He had the same bright, piercing eye, that looked straight into mine; +the same lean, square jaws and resolute mouth; the same waving hair, +the same low, cool, steady voice--such a resemblance as to dull my +senses, and make me wonder and grope to understand how my friend could +thus come back to me, still young after so many years. + +It was Donaldson's son, a babe in arms at the time his father sailed +away to his death! + +In a few simple words he told me that he and his family lived in a +small village. With infinite grief they had read the article charging +his father with unmanly conduct--a grief that was the greater because +they possessed no means to refute the charge. Brokenly, with tears of +gratitude, he told of their joy in reading my statements in his +father's defence, and how he had been impelled to come and try in +person to express to me the gratitude he felt he could not write. + +Poor though this man may be in this world's goods, in the record of his +father's character and deeds he owns a legacy fit to give him place +among the Peers of Real Manhood. + +Through some mischance I have lost the address of Donaldson's son. +Should he happen to read these lines I hope he will communicate with me. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +AN AERIAL BIVOUAC + +In the history of contests since man first began striving against his +fellows, seldom has a record performance stood so long unbroken as that +of the good airship _Barnum_, made thirty-three years ago. Of her +captain and crew of five men, six all told, the writer remains the sole +survivor, the only one who may live to see that record broken in this +country. + +The _Barnum_ rose at 4 p.m. July 26, 1874, from New York and made her +last landing nine miles north of Saratoga at 6.07 p.m. of the +twenty-seventh, thus finishing a voyage of a total elapsed time of +twenty-six hours and seven minutes. In the interim she made four +landings, the first of no more than ten minutes; the second, twenty; +the third, ten; the fourth, thirty-five; and these descents cost an +expenditure of gas and ballast which shortened her endurance capacity +by at least two or three hours. + +Tracing on a map her actual route traversed, gives a total distance of +something over four hundred miles, which gave her the record of second +place in the history of long-distance ballooning in this country, a +record which she still holds. + +So far as my knowledge of the art goes, and I have tried to read all of +its history, the _Barnum's_ voyage of twenty-six hours, seven minutes +was then and remained the world's endurance record until 1900; and it +still remains, in point of hours up, the longest balloon voyage ever +made in the United States. + +The longest voyage in point of distance ever made in this country was +that of John Wise and La Mountain, in the fifties, from St. Louis, Mo., +to Jefferson County, N. Y., a distance credited under the old custom of +a little less than twelve hundred miles, while the actual distance +under the new rules is between eight hundred and nine hundred miles, +the time being nineteen hours. This voyage also remained, I believe, +the world's record for distance until 1900, and still remains the +American record--and lucky, indeed, will be the aeronaut who beats it. + +P. T. Barnum's "Great Roman Hippodrome," now for many years Madison +Square Garden, was never more densely crowded than on the afternoon of +July 26, 1874. Early in the Spring of that year Mr. Barnum had +announced the building of a balloon larger than any theretofore made in +this country. His purpose in building it was to attempt to break all +previous records for time and distance, and he invited each of five +daily city papers of that time to send representatives on the voyage. +So when the day set for the ascent arrived, not only was the old +Hippodrome packed to the doors, but adjacent streets and squares were +solid black with people, as on a _fęte_ day like the Dewey Parade. + +Happily the day was one of brilliant sunshine and clear sky, with +scarcely a cloud above the horizon. + +The captain of the _Barnum_ was Washington. H. Donaldson, by far the +most brilliant and daring professional aeronaut of his day, and a +clever athlete and gymnast. For several weeks prior to the ascent of +the _Barnum_, Donaldson had been making daily short ascents of an hour +or two from the Hippodrome in a small balloon--as a feature of the +performance. Sometimes he ascended in a basket, at other times with +naught but a trapeze swinging beneath the concentrating ring of his +balloon himself in tights perched easily upon the bar of the trapeze. +And when at a height to suit his fancy--of a thousand feet or +more--many a time have I seen him do every difficult feat of trapeze +work ever done above the security of a net. + +Such was Donaldson, a man utterly fearless, but reckless only when +alone, of a steadfast, cool courage and resource when responsible for +the safety of others that made him the man out of a million best worth +trusting in any emergency where a bold heart and ready wit may avert +disaster. + +Donaldson's days were never dull. + +The day preceding our ascent his balloon was released with insufficient +lifting power. As soon as he rose above neighboring roofs, a very high +southeast wind caught him, and, before he had time to throw out +ballast, drove his basket against the flagstaff on the Gilsey House +with such violence that the staff was broken, and the basket +momentarily upset, dumping two ballast bags to the Broadway sidewalk +where they narrowly missed several pedestrians. + +That he himself was not dashed to death was a miracle. But to him this +was no more than a bit unusual incident of the day's work. + +The reporters assigned as mates on this skylark in the _Barnum_ were +Alfred Ford, of the _Graphic_; Edmund Lyons, of the _Sun_; Samuel +MacKeever, of the _Herald_; W. W. Austin, of the _World_ (every one of +these good fellows now dead, alas!) and myself, representing the +_Tribune_. + +Lyons, MacKeever, and myself were novices in ballooning, but the two +others had scored their bit of aeronautic experience. Austin had made +an ascent a year or two before at San Francisco, was swept out over the +bay before he could make a landing, and, through some mishap, dropped +into the water midway of the bay and well out toward Golden Gate, where +he was rescued by a passing boat. Ford had made several balloon +voyages, the most notable in 1873, in the great _Graphic_ balloon. + +After the voyage of the _Barnum_ was first announced and it became +known that the _Tribune_ would have a pass, everybody on the staff +wanted to go. For weeks it was the talk of the office. Even grave +graybeards of the editorial rooms were paying court for the preference +to Mr. W. F. G. Shanks, that prince of an earlier generation of city +editors, who of course controlled the assignment of the pass. But when +at length the pass came, the enthusiasm and anxiety for the distinction +waned, and it became plain that the piece of paper "Good for One Aerial +Trip," etc., must go begging. + +At that time I was assistant night city editor, and a special detail to +interview the Man in the Moon was not precisely in the line of my +normal duties. I was therefore greatly surprised (to put it +conservatively) when, the morning before the ascent, Mr. Shanks, in +whose family I was then living, routed me out of bed to say: + +"See here, Ted, you know Barnum's balloon starts tomorrow on her trial +for the record, but what you don't know is that we are in a hole. +Before the ticket came every one wanted to go, from John R. G. Hassard +down to the office boy. Now no one will go--all have funked it, and I +suppose you will want to follow suit!" + +Thus diplomatically put, the hinted assignment was not to be refused +without too much personal chagrin. + +So it happened that about 3.30 p.m. the next day I arrived at the +Hippodrome, loaded down with wraps and a heavy basket nigh bursting +with good things to eat and drink, which dear Mrs. Shanks had insisted +on providing. + +The _Barnum_ was already filled with gas, tugging at her leash and +swaying restlessly as if eager for the start. And right here, at first +sight of the great sphere, I felt more nearly a downright fright than +at any stage of the actual voyage; the balloon appeared such a +hopelessly frail fabric to support even its own car and equipment. The +light cord net enclosing the great gas-bag looked, aloft, where it +towered above the roof, little more substantial than a film of lace; +and to ascend in that balloon appeared about as safe a proposition as +to enmesh a lion in a cobweb. + +Already my four mates for the voyage were assembled about the basket, +and Donaldson himself was busy with the last details of the equipment. +My weighty lunch basket had from my mates even a heartier reception +than I received, but their joy over the prospect of delving into its +generous depths was short-lived. The load as Donaldson had planned it +was all aboard, weight carefully adjusted to what he considered a +proper excess lifting power to carry us safely up above any chance of a +collision with another flagstaff, as on the day before above the Gilsey +House. Thus the basket and all its bounty (save only a small flask of +brandy I smuggled into a hip pocket) were given to a passing acrobat. + +At 4 p.m. the old Hippodrome rang with applause; a brilliant equestrian +act had just been finished. Suddenly the applause ceased and that +awful hush fell upon the vast audience which is rarely experienced +except in the presence of death or of some impending disaster! We had +been seen to enter the basket, and people held their breath. + +Released, the balloon bounded seven hundred feet the air, stood +stationary for a moment, and then drifted northwest before the +prevailing wind. + +In this prodigious leap there was naught of the disagreeable sensation +one experiences in a rapidly rising elevator. Instead it rather seemed +that we were standing motionless, stationary in space, and that the +earth itself had gotten loose and was dropping away beneath us to +depths unknown. Every cord and rope of the huge fabric was tensely +taut, the basket firm and solid beneath our feet. Indeed, the balloon, +with nothing more substantial in her construction than cloth and twine, +and hempen ropes and willow wands (the latter forming the basket), has +always, while floating in mid-air free of the drag rope's tricks, the +rigid homogeneity of a rock, a solidity that quickly inspires the most +timid with perfect confidence in her security. + +Ballast was thrown out by Donaldson,--a little. At Seventh Avenue and +Forty-second Street our altitude was 2,000 feet. The great city lay +beneath us like an unrolled scroll. White and dusty, the streets +looked like innumerable strips of Morse telegraph paper--the people the +dots, the vehicles the dashes. Central Park, with its winding waters, +was transformed into a superb mantle of dark green velvet splashed with +silver, worthy of a royal _fęte_. Behind us lay the sea, a vast field +of glittering silver. Before us lay a wide expanse of Jersey's hills +and dales that from our height appeared a plain, with many a +reddish-gray splash upon its verdant stretches that indicated a village +or a town. + +Above and about us lay an immeasurable space of which we were the only +tenants, and over which we began to feel a grand sense of dominion that +wrapped us as in royal ermine: if we were not lords of this aerial +manor, pray, then, who were? Beneath us, lay--home. Should we ever +see it again? This thought I am sure came to all of us. I know it +came to me. But the perfect steadiness of the balloon won our +confidence, and we soon gave ourselves up to the gratification of our +enviable position; and enviable indeed it was. For who has not envied +the eagle his power to skim the tree-tops, to hover above Niagara, to +circle mountain peaks, to poise himself aloft and survey creation, or +to mount into the zenith and gaze at the sun? + +Indeed our sense of confidence became such that, while sitting on the +edge of the basket to reach and pass Donaldson a rope he asked for, I +leaned so far over that the bottle of brandy resting in my hip pocket +slipped out and fell into the Hudson. + +Oddly, Ford, who was the most experienced balloonist of the party after +Donaldson himself, seemed most nervous and timid, but it was naught but +an expression of that constitutional trouble (dizziness) so many have +when looking down from even the minor height of a step-ladder. In all +the long hours he was with us, I do not recall his once standing erect +in the basket, and when others of us perched upon the basket's edge, he +would beg us to come down. But mind, there was no lack of stark +courage in Alfred Ford, sufficiently proved by the fact that he never +missed a chance for an ascent. + +But safe? Confident? Why, before we were up ten minutes, Lyons and +MacKeever were sitting on the edge of the basket, with one hand holding +to a stay, tossing out handfuls of small tissue paper circulars bearing +"News from the Clouds." Many-colored, these little circulars as they +fell beneath us looked like a flight of giant butter-flies, and we kept +on throwing out handfuls of them until our pilot warned us we were +wasting so much weight we should soon be out of easy view of the earth! +Indeed, the balance of the balloon is so extremely fine that when a +single handful of these little tissue circulars was thrown out, +increased ascent was shown on the dial of our aneroid barometer! + +At 4.30 p.m. we had drifted out over the Hudson at an altitude of 2,500 +feet. Here Donaldson descended from the airy perch which he had been +occupying since our start on the concentrating ring, when one of us +asked how long he expected the cruise to last. He replied that he +hoped to be able to sail the _Barnum_ at least three or four days. + +"But," he added, "I shall certainly be unable, to carry all of you for +so long a journey, and shall be compelled to drop you one by one. So +you had best draw lots to settle whom I shall drop first, and in what +order the rest shall follow." + +Sailing then 2,500 feet above the earth, Lyons voiced a thought racing +from my own brain for utterance when he blurted out: "What the deuce do +you mean by 'drop' us?" Indeed, the question must have been on three +other tongues as well, for Donaldson's reply, "Oh, descend to the earth +and let you step out then," was greeted by all five of us with a salvo +of deep, lusty sighs of relief. + +Then we drew lots for the order of our going, MacKeever drawing first, +Austin second, Lyons third, Ford fourth, and I fifth. + +Meantime, beneath us on the river vessels which from our height looked +like the toy craft on the lake in Central Park were whistling a shrill +salute that, toned down by the distance, was really not unmusical. + +Having crossed the Hudson and swept above Weehawken, we found ourselves +cruising northwest over the marshes of the Hackensack. + +As the heat of the declining sun lessened, our cooling gas contracted +and the balloon sank steadily until at 5.10 we were 250 feet above the +earth and 100 feet of our great drag rope was trailing on the ground. +Within hailing distance of people beneath us, a curious condition was +observed. We could hear distinctly all they said, though we could not +make them understand a word; our voices had to fill a sphere of air; +theirs, with the earth beneath them, only a hemisphere. Thus the +modern megaphone is especially useful to aeronauts. + +Hereabouts our fun began. Many countrymen thought the balloon running +away with us and tried to stop and save us--always by grasping the drag +rope, bracing themselves, and trying literally to hold us; when the +slack of the rope straightened, they performed somersaults such as our +pilot vowed no acrobat could equal. And yet the balance of the balloon +is so fine that even a child of ten can pull one down, if only it has +strength enough to withstand occasional momentary lifts off the ground. +Occasionally one more clever would run and take a quick turn of the +rope about a gate or fence--and then spend the rest of the evening +gathering the scattered fragments and repairing the damage. + +And when there was not fun enough below, Donaldson himself would take a +hand and put his steed through some of her fancy paces--as when, +approaching a large lake, he told us to hold tightly to the stays, let +out gas and dropped us, bang! upon the lake. Running at a speed of +twelve or fifteen miles an hour, we hit the water with a tremendous +shock, bounded thirty or forty feet into the air, descended again and +literally skipped in great leaps along the surface of the water, +precisely like a well-thrown "skipping stone." Then out went ballast +and up and on we went, no worse for the fun beyond a pretty thorough +wetting! + +At 6.20 p.m. we landed on the farm of Garrett Harper in Bergen County, +twenty-six miles from New York. After drinking our fill of milk at the +farmhouse, we rose again and drifted north over Ramapo until, at 7.30, +a dead calm came upon us and we made another descent. We then found +that we had landed near Bladentown on the farm of Miss Charlotte +Thompson, a charming actress of the day whose "Jane Eyre" and "Fanchon" +are still pleasant memories to old theatre-goers. Loading our balloon +with stones to anchor it, our party paid her a visit and were cordially +received. An invitation to join us hazarded by Donaldson, Miss +Thompson accepted with delight. I do not know if she is still living, +but it she is, she cannot have forgotten her half-hour's cruise in the +good airship _Barnum_, wafted silently by a gentle evening breeze, the +lovely panorama beneath her half hid, half seen through the purple haze +of twilight. + +After landing Miss Thompson at 8.18 we ascended for the night, for a +night's bivouac among the stars. The moon rose early. We were soon +sailing over the Highlands of the Hudson. Off in the east we could see +the river, a winding ribbon of silver. We were running low, barely +more than 200 feet high. Below us the great drag rope was hissing +through meadows, roaring over fences, crashing through tree-tops. And +all night long we were continually ascending and descending, sinking +into valleys and rising over hills, following closely the contours of +the local topography. + +During the more equable temperature of night the balloon's height is +governed by the drag rope. Leaving a range of hills and floating out +over a valley, the weight of the drag pulls the balloon down until the +same length of rope is trailing through the valley that had been +dragging on the hill. This habit of the balloon produces startling +effects. Drifting swiftly toward a rocky precipitous hillside against +which it seems inevitable you must dash to your death, suddenly the +trailing drag rope reaches the lower slopes and you soar like a bird +over the hill, often so low that the bottom of the basket swishes +through the tree-tops. + +But, while useful in conserving the balloon's energy, the drag rope is +a source of constant peril to aeronauts, of terror to people on the +earth, and of damage to property. It has a nasty clinging habit, +winding round trees or other objects, that may at any moment upset +basket and aeronauts. On this trip our drag rope tore sections out of +scores of fences, upset many haystacks, injured horses and cattle that +tried to run across it, whipped off many a chimney, broke telegraph +wires, and seemed to take malicious delight in working some havoc with +everything it touched. + +At ten o'clock we sighted Cozzen's Hotel, and shortly drifted across +the parade ground of West Point, its huge battlemented gray walls +making one fancy he was looking down into the inner court of some great +mediaeval castle. Then we drifted out over the Hudson toward Cold +Spring until, caught by a different current, we were swept along the +course of the river. + +As we sailed over mid-stream and two hundred feet above it, with the +tall cliffs and mysterious, dark recesses of the Highlands on either +hand, the waters turned to a livid gray under the feeble light of the +waning moon. No part of our voyage was more impressive, no scene more +awe-inspiring. It was a region of such weird lights and gruesome +shadows as no fancy could people with aught but gaunt goblins and dread +demons, come down to us through generations untold, an unspent legacy +of terror, from half-savage, superstitious ancestors. + +Suddenly Ford spoke in a low voice: "Boys, I was in nine or ten battles +of the Civil War, from Gaines's Mill to Gettysburg, but in none of them +was there a scene which impressed me as so terrible as this, no +situation that seemed to me so threatening of irresistible perils." + +Nearing Fishkill at eleven, a land breeze caught and whisked us off +eastward. At midnight we struck the town of Wappinger's Falls--and +struck it hard. Our visitation is doubtless remembered there yet. The +town was in darkness and asleep. We were running low before a stiff +breeze, half our drag rope on the ground. The rope began to roar +across roofs and upset chimneys with shrieks and crashes that set the +folk within believing the end of the world had come. Instantly the +streets were filled with flying white figures and the air with men's +curses and women's screams. Three shots were fired beneath us. Two of +our fellows said they heard the whistle of the balls, so Donaldson +thought it prudent to throw out ballast and rise out of range. + +Here the moon left us and we sailed on throughout the remainder of the +night in utter darkness and without any extraordinary incident, all but +the watch lying idly in the bottom of the basket viewing the stars and +wondering what new mischief the drag rope might be planning. + +The only duty of the watch was to lighten ship upon too near descent to +the earth, and for this purpose a handful of Hippodrome circulars +usually proved sufficient. Indeed, only eight pounds of ballast were +used from the time we left Miss Thompson till dawn, barring a half-sack +spent in getting out of range of the Wappinger's Falls sportsmen, who +seemed to want to bag us. + +Ford and Austin were assigned as the lookout from 12.00 to 2.00, Lyons +and myself from 2.00 to 3.00, and Donaldson and MacKeever from 3.00 to +4.00. + +From midnight till 3.00 a.m. Donaldson slept as peaceful as a baby, +curled up in the basket with a sandbag for a pillow. The rest of us +slept little through the night and talked less, each absorbed in the +reflections and speculations inspired by our novel experience. + +At the approach of dawn we had the most unique and extraordinary +experience ever given to man. The balloon was sailing low in a deep +valley. To the east of us the Berkshires rose steeply to summits +probably fifteen hundred feet above us. Beneath us a little village +lay, snuggled cosily between two small meeting brooks, all dim under +the mists of early morning and the shadows of the hills. No flush of +dawn yet lit the sky. Donaldson had been consulting his watch, +suddenly he rose and called, pointing eastward across the range: + +"Watch, boys! Look there!" + +He then quickly dumped overboard half the contents of a ballast bag. +Flying upward like an arrow, the balloon soon shot up above the +mountain-top, when, lo! a miracle. The phenomenon of sunrise was +reversed! We our very selves instead had risen on the sun! There he +stood, full and round, peeping at us through the trees crowning a +distant Berkshire hill, as if startled by our temerity. + +Shortly thereafter, when we had descended to our usual level and were +running swiftly before a stiff breeze over a rocky hillside, Donaldson +yelled: + +"Hang on, boys, for your lives!" + +The end of the drag rope had gotten a hitch about a large tree limb. +Luckily Donaldson had seen it in time to warn us, else we had there +finished our careers. We had barely time to seize the stays when the +rope tautened with a shock that nearly turned the basket upside down, +spilled out our water-bucket and some ballast, left MacKeever and +myself hanging in space by our hands, and the other four on the lower +side of the basket, scrambling to save themselves. Instantly, of +course, the basket righted and dropped back beneath us. + +And then began a terrible struggle. + +The pressure of the wind bore us down within a hundred feet of the +ragged rocks. Groaning under the strain, the rope seemed ready to +snap. Like a huge leviathan trapped in a net, the gas-bag writhed, +twisted, bulged, shrank, gathered into a ball and sprang fiercely out. +The loose folds of canvas sucked up until half the netting stood empty, +and then fold after fold darted out and back with all the angry menace +of a serpent's tongue and with the ominous crash of musketry. + +It seemed the canvas must inevitably burst and we be dashed to death. +But Donaldson was cool and smiling, and, taking the only precaution +possible, stood with a sheath-knife ready to cut away the drag rope and +relieve is of its weight in case our canvas burst. + +Happily the struggle was brief. The limb that held us snapped, and the +balloon sprang forward in mighty bounds that threw us off our feet and +tossed the great drag rope about like a whip-lash. But we were free, +safe, and our stout vessel soon settled down to the velocity of the +wind. + +By this time we all were beginning to feel hungry, for we had supped +the night before in mid-air from a lunch basket that held more +delicacies than substantials. So Donaldson proposed a descent and +began looking for a likely place. At last he chose a little village, +which upon near approach we learned lay in Columbia County of our own +good State. + +We called to two farmers to pull us down, no easy task in the rather +high wind then blowing. They grasped the rope and braced themselves as +had others the night before, and presently were flying through the air +in prodigious if ungraceful somersaults. Amazed but unhurt, they again +seized the rope and got a turn about a stout board fence, only to see a +section or two of the fence fly into the air as if in pursuit of us. + +Presently the heat of the rising sun expanded our gas and sent us up +again 2,000 feet, making breakfast farther off than ever. Thus, it +being clear that we must sacrifice either our stomachs or our gas, +Donaldson held open the safety valve until we were once more safely +landed on mother earth, but not until after we had received a pretty +severe pounding about, for such a high wind blew that the anchor was +slow in holding. + +This landing was made at 5.24 a.m. on the farm of John W. Coons near +the village of Greenport, four miles from Hudson City, and about one +hundred and thirty miles from New York. + +Here our pilot decided our vessel must be lightened of two men, and +thus the lot drawn the night before compelled us to part, regretfully, +with MacKeever of the _Herald_, and Austin of the _World_. Ford, +however, owing allegiance to an afternoon paper, the _Graphic_, and +always bursting with honest journalistic zeal for a "beat," saw an +opportunity to win satisfaction greater even than that of keeping on +with us. So he, too, left us here, with the result that the _Graphic_ +published a full story of the voyage up to this point, Saturday +afternoon, the twenty-fifth, the _Herald_ and the _World_ trailed along +for second place in their Sunday editions, while _Sun_ and _Tribune_ +readers had to wait till Monday morning for such "News from the Clouds" +as Lyons and I had to give them, for wires were not used as freely then +as now. + +Our departing mates brought us a rare good breakfast from Mr. Coons' +generous kitchen--a fourteen-quart tin pail well-nigh filled with good +things, among them two currant pies on yellow earthen plates, gigantic +in size, pale of crust, though anything but anaemic of contents. Lyons +finished nearly the half of one before our reascent, to his sorrow, for +scarcely were we off the earth before he developed a colic that seemed +to interest him more, right up to the finish of the trip, than the +scenery. + +Bidding our mates good-bye, we prepared to reascend. Many farmers had +been about us holding to our ropes and leaning on the basket, and later +we realized we had not taken in sufficient ballast to offset the weight +of the three men who had left us. + +Released, the balloon sprang upward at a pace that all but took our +breath away. Instantly the earth disappeared beneath us. We saw +Donaldson pull the safety valve wide open, draw his sheath knife ready +to cut the drag rope, standing rigid, with his eyes riveted upon the +aneroid barometer. The hand of the barometer was sweeping across the +dial at a terrific rate. I glanced at Donaldson and saw him smile. +Then I looked back the barometer and saw the hand had stopped--at +10,200 feet! How long we were ascending we did not know. Certain it +is that the impressions described were all there was time for, and that +when Donaldson turned and spoke we saw his lips move but could hear no +sound. Our speed had been such that the pressure of the air upon the +tympanum of the ear left us deaf for some minutes. We had made a dash +of two miles into cloudland and had accomplished it, we three firmly +believed, in little more than a minute. + +Presently Donaldson observed the anchor and grapnel had come up badly +clogged with sod, and a good heavy tug he and I had of it to pull them +in, for Lyons was still much too busy with his currant pie to help us. +Nor indeed were the currant pies yet done with us, for at the end of +our tug at the anchor rope, I found| had been kneeling very precisely +in the middle of pie No. 2, and had contrived to absorb most of it into +the knees of my trousers. Thus at the end of the day, come to Saratoga +after all shops were closed, I had to run the gauntlet of the porch and +office crowd of visitors at the United States Hotel in a condition that +only needed moccasins and a war bonnet to make me a tolerable imitation +of an Indian. + +We remained aloft at an altitude of one or two and one half miles for +three hours and a half, stayed there until the silence became +intolerable, until the buzz of a fly or the croak of a frog would have +been music to our ears. Here was _absolute silence_, the silence of +the grave and death, a silence never to be experienced by living man in +any terrestrial condition. + +Occasionally the misty clouds in which we hung enshrouded parted +beneath us and gave us glimpses of distant earth, opened and disclosed +landscapes of infinite beauty set in grey nebulous frames. Once we +passed above a thunderstorm, saw the lightning play beneath us, felt +our whole fabric tremble at its shock--and were glad enough when we had +left it well behind. Seen from a great height, the earth looked to be +a vast expanse of dark green velvet, sometimes shaded to a deeper hue +by cloudlets floating beneath the sun, splashed here with the silver +and there with the gold garniture reflected from rippling waters. + +Toward noon we descended beneath the region of clouds into the realm of +light and life, and found ourselves hovering above the Mountain House +of the Catskills. And thereabouts we drifted in cross-currents until +nearly 4.00 p.m., when a heavy southerly gale struck us and swept us +rapidly northward past Albany at a pace faster than I have ever +travelled on a railway. + +We still had ballast enough left to assure ten or twelve hours more +travel. But we did not like our course. The prospects were that we +would end our voyage in the wilderness two hundred or more miles north +of Ottawa. So we rose to 12,500 feet, seeking an easterly or westerly +current, but without avail. We could not escape the southerly gale. +Prudence, therefore, dictated a landing before nightfall. Landing in +the high gale was both difficult and dangerous, and was not +accomplished until we were all much bruised and scratched in the oak +thicket Donaldson chose for our descent. + +Thus the first voyage of the good airship _Barnum_ ended at 6.07 p.m. +on the farm of E. R. Young, nine miles north of Saratoga. + +A year later the _Barnum_ rose for the last time--from Chicago--and to +this day the fate of the stanch craft and her brave captain remains an +unsolved mystery. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE EVOLUTION OF A TRAIN ROBBER + +Life was never dull in Grant County, New Mexico, in the early eighties. +There was always something doing--usually something the average +law-abiding, peace-loving citizen would have been glad enough to dispense +with. To say that life then and there was insecure is to describe +altogether too feebly a state of society and an environment wherein +Death, in one violent form or another, was ever abroad, seldom long idle, +always alert for victims. + +When the San Carlos Apaches, under Victoria, Ju, or Geronimo, were not +out gunning for the whites, the whites were usually out gunning for one +another over some trivial difference. Everybody carried a gun and was +more or less handy with it. Indeed, it was a downright bad plan to carry +one unless you were handy. For with gunning--the game most played, if +not precisely the most popular--every one was supposed to be familiar +with the rules and to know how to play; and in a game where every hand is +sure to be "called," no one ever suspected another of being out on a +sheer "bluff." Thus the coroner invariably declared it a case of suicide +where one man drew a gun on another and failed to use it. + +This highly explosive state of society was not due to the fact that there +were few peaceable men in the country for there were many of them, men of +character and education, honest, and as law-abiding as their peculiar +environment would permit. Moreover, the percentage of professional "bad +men"--and this was a profession then--was comparatively small. It was +due rather to the fact that every one, no matter how peaceable his +inclinations, was compelled to carry arms habitually for self-defence, +for the Apaches were constantly raiding outside the towns, and white +outlaws inside. And with any class of men who constantly carry arms, it +always falls out that a weapon is the arbiter of even those minor +personal differences which in the older and more effete civilization of +the East are settled with fists or in a petty court. + +The prevailing local contempt for any man who was too timid to "put up a +gun fight" when the etiquette of a situation demanded it, was expressed +locally in the phrase that one "could take a corncob and a lightning bug +and make him run himself to death trying to get away." It is clearly +unnecessary to explain why the few men of this sort in the community did +not occupy positions of any particular prominence. Their opinions did +not seem to carry as much weight as those of other gentlemen who were +known to be notably quick to draw and shoot. + +I even recall many instances where the pistol entered into the pastimes +of the community. One instance will stand telling: + +A game of poker (rather a stiff one) had been going on for about a +fortnight in the Red Light Saloon. The same group of men, five or six +old friends, made up the game every day. All had varying success but +one, who lost every day. And, come to think of it, his luck varied too, +for some days he lost more than others. While he did not say much about +his losings, it was observed that temper was not improving. + +This sort of thing went on for thirteen days. The thirteenth day the +loser happened to come in a little late, after the game was started. It +also happened that on this particular day one of the players had brought +in a friend, a stranger in the town, to join the game, When the loser +came in, therefore, he was introduced to the stranger and sat down. A +hand was dealt him. He started to play it, stopped, rapped on the table +attention, and said: + +"Boys, I want to make a personal explanation to this yere stranger. +Stranger, this yere game is sure a tight wad for a smoothbore. I'm loser +in it, an' a heavy one, for exactly thirteen days, and these boys all +understand that the first son of a gun I find I can beat, I'm going to +take a six-shooter an' make him play with me a week. Now, if you has no +objections to my rules, you can draw cards." + +Luckily for the stranger, perhaps, the thirteenth was as bad for the +loser as its predecessors. + +Outside the towns there were only three occupations in Grant County in +those years, cattle ranching, mining and fighting Apaches, all of a sort +to attract and hold none but the sturdiest types of real manhood, men +inured to danger and reckless of it. In the early eighties no +faint-heart came to Grant County unless he blundered in--and any such +were soon burning the shortest trail out. These men were never better +described in a line than when, years ago, at a banquet of California +Forty-niners, Joaquin Miller, the poet of the Sierras, speaking of the +splendid types the men of forty-nine represented, said: + +"The cowards never started, and all the weak died on the road!" + +Within the towns, also, there were only three occupations: first, +supplying the cowmen and miners whatever they needed, merchandise wet and +dry, law mundane and spiritual, for although neither court nor churches +were working overtime, they were available for the few who had any use +for them; second, gambling, at monte, poker, or faro; and, third, +figuring how to slip through the next twenty-four hours without getting a +heavier load of lead in one's system than could be conveniently carried, +or how to stay happily half shot and yet avoid coming home on a shutter, +unhappily shot, or, having an active enemy on hand, how best to "get" him. + +Thus, while plainly the occupations of Grant County folk were somewhat +limited in variety, in the matter of interest and excitement their games +were wide open and the roof off. + +Nor did all the perils to life in Grant County lurk within the burnished +grooves of a gun barrel, according to certain local points of view, for +always it is the most unusual that most alarms, as when one of my cowboys +"allowed he'd go to town for a week," and was back on the ranch the +evening of the second day. Asked why he was back so soon, he replied: + +"Well, fellers, one o' them big depot water tanks burnt plumb up this +mawnin', an' reckonin' whar that'd happen a feller might ketch fire +anywhere in them little old town trails, I jes' nachally pulled my +freight for camp!" + +But a cowboy is the subject of this story--Kit Joy. His genus, and +striking types of the genus, have been cleverly described, especially by +Lewis and by Adams (some day I hope to meet Andy) that I need say little +of it here. Still, one of the cowboy's most notable and most admirable +traits has not been emphasized so much as it deserves: I mean his +downright reverence and respect for womanhood. No real cowboy ever +wilfully insulted any woman, or lost a chance to resent any insult +offered by another. Indeed, it was an article of the cowboy creed never +broken, and all well knew it. So it happened that when one day a cowboy, +in a crowded car of a train held up by bandits, was appealed to by an +Eastern lady in the next seat,-- + +"Heavens! I have four hundred dollars in my purse which I cannot afford +to lose; please, sir, tell me how I can hide it." + +Instantly came the answer: + +"Shucks! miss, stick it in yer sock; them fellers has nerve enough to +hold up a train an' kill any feller that puts up a fight, but nary one o' +them has nerve enough to go into a woman's sock after her bank roll!" + +Kit Joy was a cowboy working on the X ranch on the Gila. He was a +youngster little over twenty. It was said of him that he had left behind +him in Texas more or less history not best written in black ink, but +whether this was true or not I do not know. Certain it is that he was a +reckless dare-devil, always foremost in the little amenities cowboys +loved to indulge in when they came to town such as shooting out the +lights in saloons and generally "shelling up the settlement,"--which +meant taking a friendly shot at about everything that showed up on the +streets. Nevertheless, Kit in the main was thoroughly good-natured and +amiable. + +Early in his career in Silver City it was observed that perhaps his most +distinguishing trait was curiosity. Ultimately his curiosity got him +into trouble, as it does most people who indulge it. His first display +of curiosity in Silver was a very great surprise, even to those who knew +him best. It was also a disappointment. + +A tenderfoot, newly arrived, appeared on the streets one day in +knickerbockers and stockings. Kit was in town and was observed watching +the tenderfoot. To the average cowboy a silk top hat was like a red flag +to a bull, so much like it in fact that the hat was usually lucky to +escape with less than half a dozen holes through it. But here in these +knee-breeches and stockings was something much more bizarre and +exasperating than a top hat, from a cowboy's point of view. The effect +on Kit was therefore closely watched by the bystanders. + +No one fancied for a moment that Kit would do less than undertake to +teach the tenderfoot "the cowboy's hornpipe," not a particularly graceful +but a very quick step, which is danced most artistically when a bystander +is shooting at the dancer's toes. Indeed, the ball was expected to open +early. To every one's surprise and disappointment, it did not. Instead, +Kit dropped in behind the tenderfoot and began to follow him about +town--followed him for at least an hour. Every one thought he was +studying up some more unique penalty for the tenderfoot. But they were +wrong, all wrong. + +As a matter of fact. Kit was so far consumed with curiosity that he +forgot everything else, forgot even to be angry. At last, when he could +stand it no longer, he walked up to the tenderfoot, detained him gently +by the sleeve and asked in a tone of real sympathy and concern: "Say, +mistah! 'Fo' God, won't yo' mah let yo' wear long pants?" + +Naturally the tenderfoot's indignation was aroused and expressed, but +Kit's sympathies for a man condemned to such a juvenile costume were so +far stirred that he took no notice of it. + +Kit was a typical cowboy, industrious, faithful, uncomplaining, of the +good old Southern Texas breed. In the saddle from daylight till dark, +riding completely down to the last jump in them two or three horses a +day, it never occurred to him even to growl when a stormy night, with +thunder and lightning, prolonged his customary three-hour's turn at night +guard round the herd to an all-night's vigil. He took it as a matter of +course. And his rope and running iron were ever ready, and his weather +eye alert for a chance to catch and decorate with the X brand any stray +cattle that ventured within his range. This was a peculiar phase of +cowboy character. While not himself profiting a penny by these inroads +on neighboring herds, he was never quite so happy as when he had added +another maverick to the herd bearing his employer's brand, an increase +always obtained at the expense of some of the neighbors. + +One night on the Spring round-up, the day's work finished, supper eaten, +the night horses caught and saddled, the herd in hand driven into a close +circle and bedded down for the night in a little glade in the hills, Kit +was standing first relief. The day's drive had been a heavy one, the +herd was well grazed and watered in the late afternoon, the night was +fine; and so the twelve hundred or fifteen hundred cattle in the herd +were lying down quietly, giving no trouble to the night herders. Kit, +therefore, was jogging slowly round the herd, softly jingling his spurs +and humming some rude love song of the sultry sort cowboys never tire of +repeating. The stillness of the night superinduced reflection. With +naught to interrupt it, Kit's curiosity ran farther afield than usual. + +Recently down at Lordsburg, with the outfit shipping a train load of +beeves, he had seen the Overland Express empty its load of passengers for +supper, a crowd of well-dressed men and women, the latter brilliant with +the bright colors cowboys love and with glittering gems. To-night he got +to thinking about them. + +Wherever did they all come from? How ever did they get so much money? +Surely they must come from 'Frisco. No lesser place could possibly turn +out such magnificence. Then Kit let his fancy wander off into crude +cowboy visions of what 'Frisco might be like, for he had never seen a +city. + +"What a buster of a town 'Frisco must be!" Kit soliloquized. "Must have +more'n a hundred saloons an' more slick gals than the X brand has +heifers. What a lot o' fun a feller could have out thar! Only I reckon +them gals wouldn't look at him more'n about onct unless he was well fixed +for dough. Reckon they don't drink nothin' but wine out thar, nor eat +nothin' but oysters. An' wine an' oysters costs money, oodles o' money! +That's the worst of it! S'pose it'd take more'n a month's pay to git a +feller out thar on the kiars, an' then about three months' pay to git to +stay a week. Reckon that's jes' a little too rich for Kit's blood. But, +jiminy! Wouldn't I like to have a good, big, fat bank roll an' go thar!" + +Here was a crisis suddenly come in Kit's life, although he did not then +realize it. It is entirely improbable he had ever before felt the want +of money. His monthly pay of thirty-five dollars enabled him to sport a +pearl-handled six-shooter and silver-mounted bridle bit and spurs, kept +him well clothed, and gave him an occasional spree in town. What more +could any reasonable cowboy ask? + +But to-night the very elements and all nature were against him. Even a +light dash of rain to rouse the sleeping herd, or a hungry cow straying +out into the darkness, would have been sufficient to divert and probably +save him; but nothing happened. The night continued fine. The herd +slept on. And Kit was thus left an easy prey, since covetousness had +come to aid curiosity in compassing his ruin. + +"A bank roll! A big, fat, full-grown, long-horned, four-year-old roll! +_That's_ what a feller wants to do 'Frisco right. Nothin' less. But +whar's it comin' from, an' when? S'pose I brands a few mavericks an' +gits a start on my own? No use, Kit; that's too slow! Time you got a +proper roll you'd be so old the skeeters wouldn't even bite you, to say +nothin' of a gal a-kissin' of you. 'Pears like you ain't liable to git +thar very quick, Kit, 'less you rustles mighty peart somewhar. Talkin' +of rustlin', what's the matter with that anyway?" + +A cold glitter came in Kit's light blue eyes. The muscles of his lean, +square jaws worked nervously. His right hand dropped caressingly on the +handle of his pistol. + +"That's the proper caper, Kit. Why didn't you think of it before? +Rustle, damn you, an', ef you're any good, mebbe so you can git to +'Frisco afore frost comes, or anywhere else you likes. Rustle! By +jiminy, I've got it; I'll jes' stand up that thar Overland Express. Them +fellers what rides on it's got more'n they've got any sort o' use for. +What's the matter with makin' 'em whack up with a feller! 'Course +they'll kick, an' thar'll be a whole passle o' marshals an' sheriffs out +after you, but what o' that? Reckon Old Blue'll carry you out o' range. +He's the longest-winded chunk o' horse meat in these parts. Then you'll +have to stay out strictly on the scout fer a few weeks, till they gits +tired o' huntin' of you, so you can slip out o' this yere neck o' woods +'thout leavin' a trail. + +"An' Lord! but won't it be fun! 'Bout as much fun, I reckon, as doin' +'Frisco. Won't them tenderfeet beller when they hears the guns +a-crackin' an' the boys a-yellin'! Le' see; wonder who I'd better take +along?" + +Scruples? Kit had none. Bred and raised a merry freebooter on the +unbranded spoils of the cattle range, it was no long step from stealing a +maverick to holding up a train. + +With a man of perhaps any other class, a plan to engage in a new business +enterprise of so much greater magnitude than any of those he had been +accustomed to would have been made the subject of long consideration. +Not so with Kit. Cowboy life compels a man to think quickly, and often +to act quicker than he finds it convenient to think. The hand skilled to +catch the one possible instant when the wide, circling loop of the lariat +may be successfully thrown, and the eye and finger trained to accurate +snap-shooting, do not well go with a mind likely to be long in reaching a +resolution or slow to execute one. + +So Kit at once began to cast about for two or three of the right sort of +boys to join him. Three were quickly chosen out of his own and a +neighboring outfit. They were Mitch Lee and Taggart, two white cowboys +of his own type and temper, and George Cleveland, a negro, known as a +desperate fellow, game for anything. It needed no great argument to +secure the co-operation of these men. A mere tip of the lark and the +loot to be had was enough. + +The boys saw their respective bosses. They "allowed they'd lay off for a +few days and go to town." So they were paid off, slung their Winchesters +on their saddles, mounted their favorite horses, and rode away. They met +in Silver City, coming in singly. There they purchased a few provisions. +Then they separated and rode singly out of town, to rendezvous at a +certain point on the Miembres River. + +The point of attack chosen was the little station of Gage (tended by a +lone operator), on the Southern Pacific Railway west of Deming, a point +then reached by the west-bound express at twilight. The evening of the +second day after leaving the Gila, Kit and his three compadres rode into +Gage. One or two significant passes with a six-shooter hypnotized the +station agent into a docile tool. A dim red light glimmered away off in +the east. As the minutes passed, it grew and brightened fast. Then a +faint, confused murmur came singing over the rails to the ears of the +waiting bandits. The light brightened and grew until it looked like a +great dull red sun, and then the thunder of the train was heard. + +Time for action had come! + +The agent was made to signal the engineer to stop. With lever reversed +and air brakes on, the train was nearly stopped when the engine reached +the station. But seeing the agent surrounded by a group of armed men, +the engineer shut off the air and sought to throw his throttle open. His +purpose discovered, a quick snapshot from Mitch Lee laid him dead, and, +springing into the cab, Mitch soon persuaded the fireman to stop the +train. + +Instantly a fusillade of pistol shots and a mad chorus of shrill cowboy +yells broke out, that terrorized train crew and passengers into docility. + +Within fifteen minutes the express car was sacked, the postal car gutted, +the passengers were laid under unwilling contribution, and Kit and his +pals were riding northward into the night, heavily loaded with loot. +Riding at great speed due north, the party soon reached the main +travelled road up the Miembres, in whose loose drifting sands they knew +their trail could not be picked up. Still forcing the pace, they reached +the rough hill-country east of Silver early in the night, _cached_ their +plunder safely, and a little after midnight were carelessly bucking a +monte game in a Silver City saloon. The next afternoon they quietly rode +out of town and joined their respective outfits, to wait until the +excitement should blow over. + +Of course the telegraph soon started the hue and cry. Officers from +Silver, Deming, and Lordsburg were soon on the ground, led by Harvey +Whitehill, the famous old sheriff of Grant County. But of clue there was +none. Naturally the station agent had come safely out of his trance, but +with that absence of memory of what had happened characteristic of the +hypnotized. The trail disappeared in the sands of the Miembres road. +Shrewd old Harvey Whitehill was at his wits' end. + +Many days passed in fruitless search. At last, riding one day across the +plain at some distance from the line of flight north from Gage, Whitehill +found a fragment of a Kansas newspaper. As soon as he saw it he +remembered that a certain merchant of Silver came from the Kansas town +where this paper was published. Hurrying back to Silver, Whitehill saw +the merchant, who identified the paper and said that he undoubtedly was +its only subscriber in Silver. Asked if he had given a copy to any one, +he finally recalled that some time before, about the period of the +robbery, he had wrapped in a piece this newspaper some provisions he had +sold to a negro named Cleveland and a white man he did not know. + +Here was the clue, and Whitehill was quick to follow it. Meeting a negro +on the street, he pretended to want to hire a cook. The negro had a job. +Well, did he not know some one else? By the way, where was George +Cleveland? + +"Oh, boss, he done left de Gila dis week an' gone ober to Socorro," was +the answer. + +Two days later Whitehill found Cleveland in a Socorro restaurant, got the +"drop" on him, told him his pals were arrested and had confessed that +they were in the robbery, but that he, Cleveland, had killed Engineer +Webster. This brought the whole story. + +"'Foh God, boss, I nebber killed dat engineer. Mitch Lee done it, an' +him an' Taggart an' Kit Joy, dey done lied to you outrageous." + +Within a few days, caught singly, in ignorance of Cleveland's arrest, and +taken completely by surprise, Joy, Taggart, and Lee were captured on the +Gila and jailed, along with Cleveland, at Silver City, held to await the +action of the next grand jury. + +But strong walls did not a prison make adequate hold these men. Before +many weeks passed, an escape was planned and executed. Two other +prisoners, one a man wanted in Arizona, and the other a Mexican +horse-thief, were allowed to participate in the outbreak. + +Taken unawares, their guard was seized and bound with little difficulty. +Quickly arming themselves in the jail office, these six desperate men +dashed out of the jail and into a neighboring livery stable, seized +horses, mounted, and rode madly out of town, firing at every one in +sight. In Silver in those days no gentleman's trousers fitted +comfortably without a pistol stuck in the waistband. Therefore, the +flying desperadoes received as hot a fire as they sent. By this fire +Cleveland's horse was killed before they got out of town, but one of his +pals stopped and picked him up. + +Instantly the town was in an uproar of excitement. Every one knew that +the capture of these men meant a fight to the death. As usual in such +emergencies, there were more talkers than fighters. Nevertheless, six +men were in pursuit as soon as they could saddle and mount. The first to +start was the driver of an express wagon, a man named Jackson, who cut +his horse loose from the traces, mounted bareback, and flew out of town +only a few hundred yards behind the prisoners. Six others, led by +Charlie Shannon and La Fer, were not far behind Jackson. The men of this +party were greatly surprised to find that a Boston boy of twenty, a +tenderfoot lately come to town, who had scarcely ever ridden a horse or +fired a rifle, was among their number, well mounted and armed--a man with +a line of ancestry worth while, and himself a worthy survival of the best +of it. + +The chase was hot. Jackson was well in advance, engaging the fugitives +with his pistol, while the fugitives were returning the fire and throwing +up puffs of dust all about Jackson. Behind spurred Shannon and his party. + +At length the pursuit gained. Five miles out of Silver, in the Piņon +Hills to the northwest, too close pressed to run farther, the fugitives +sprang from their horses and ran into a low post oak thicket covering +about two acres, where, crouching, they could not be seen. The six +pursuers sent back a man to guide the sheriff's party and hasten +reinforcements, and began shelling the thicket and surrounding it. A few +minutes later Whitehill rode up with seven more men, and the thicket was +effectually surrounded. To the surprise of every one, a hot fire poured +into the thicket failed to bring a single answering shot. Whitehill was +no man to waste ammunition on such chance firing, so he ordered a charge. +His little command rode into and through the thicket at full speed, only +to find their quarry gone, gone all save one. The Mexican lay dead, shot +through the head! Kit's party had dashed through the thicket without +stopping, on to another, and their trail was shortly found leading up a +rugged caņon of the Pinos Altos Range. + +Whitehill divided his party. Three men followed up the bottom of the +caņon on foot, five mounted flankers were thrown out on either side. At +last, high up the caņon, Kit's party was found at bay, lying in some +thick underbrush. It was a desperate position to attack, but the +pursuers did not hesitate. Dismounting, they advanced on foot with +rifles cocked, but with all the caution of a hunter trailing a wounded +grizzly. The negro opened the ball at barely twenty yards' range with a +shot that drove a hole through the Boston boy's hat. Dropping at first +with surprise, for he had not seen the negro till the instant he rose to +fire, the Boston boy returned a quick shot that happened to hit the negro +just above the centre of the forehead and rolled him over dead. + +Approaching from another direction, Shannon was first to draw Taggart's +file. Taggart was lying hidden in the brush; Shannon standing out in the +open. Shot after shot they exchanged, until presently a ball struck the +earth in front of Taggart's face and filled his eyes full of gravel and +sand. Blinded for the time, he called for quarter, and came out of the +brush with his hands up and another man with him. Asked for his pistol, +Taggart replied: + +"Damn you, that's empty, or I'd be shooting yet." + +Meantime, Whitehill was engaging Mitch Lee. In a few minutes, shot +through and helpless, Lee surrendered. + +It was quick, hot work! + +All but Kit were now killed or captured. He had been separated from his +party, and La Fer was seen trailing him on a neighboring hillside. + +At this juncture the sheriff detailed Shannon to return to town and get a +wagon to bring in the dead and wounded, while he started to join La Fer +in pursuit of Kit. + +An hour later, as Shannon was leaving town with a wagon to return to the +scene of the fight, a mob of men, led by a shyster lawyer, joined him and +swore they proposed to lynch the prisoners. This was too much for +Shannon's sense of frontier proprieties. So, rising in his wagon, he +made a brief but effective speech. + +"Boys, none of our men are hurt, although it is no fault of our +prisoners. A dozen of us have gone out and risked our lives to capture +these men. You men have not seen fit, for what motives we will not +discuss, to help us. Now, I tell you right here that any who want can +come, but the first man to raise a hand against a prisoner I'll kill." + +Shannon's return escort was small. + +But once more back in the hills of the Pinos Altos, Shannon found a storm +raised he could not quell, even if his own sympathies had not drifted +with it when he learned its cause. His friend La Fer lay dead, filled +full of buckshot by Kit before Whitehill's reinforcements had reached +him, while Kit had slipped away through the underbrush, over rocks that +left no trail. + +La Fer's death maddened his friends. There was little discussion. Only +one opinion prevailed. Taggart and Lee must die. + +Nothing was known of the prisoner wanted in Arizona, so he was spared. + +Taggart and Lee were put in the wagon, the former tightly bound, the +latter helpless from his wound. Short rope halters barely five feet long +were stripped from the horses, knotted round the prisoners' necks, and +fastened to the limb of a juniper tree. Taggart climbed to the high +wagon seat, took a header and broke his neck. The wagon was then pulled +away and Lee strangled. + +With Cleveland, Lee, and Taggart dead, Engineer Webster and La Fer were +fairly well avenged. But Kit was still out, known as the leader and the +man who shot La Fer, and for days the hills were full of men hunting him. +Hiding in the rugged, thickly timbered hills of the Gila, taking needed +food at night, at the muzzle of his gun, from some isolated ranch, he was +hard to capture. + +Had Kit chosen to mount himself and ride out of the country, he might +have escaped for good. But this he would not do. Dominated still by the +fatal curiosity and covetousness that first possessed him, later mastered +him, and then drove him into crime, bound to repossess himself of his +hidden treasure and go out to see the world, Kit would not leave the +Gila. He was alone, unaided, with no man left his friend, with all men +on the alert to capture or to kill him, the unequal contest nevertheless +lasted for many weeks. + +There was only one man Kit at all trusted, a "nester" (small ranchman) +named Racketty Smith. One day, looking out from a leafy thicket in which +he lay hid, saw Racketty going along the road. A lonely outcast, craving +the sound of a human voice, believing Racketty at least neutral, Kit +hailed him and approached. As he drew near, Racketty covered him with +his rifle and ordered him to surrender. Surprised, taken entirely +unawares, Kit started to jump for cover, when Racketty fired, shattered +his right leg and brought him to earth. To spring upon and disarm Kit +was the work of an instant. + +Kit was sentenced to imprisonment at Santa Fe. A few years ago, having +gained three years by good behavior, Kit was released, after having +served fourteen years. + +However Kit may still hanker for "a big, fat, four-year-old, long-horned +bank roll," and whatever may be his curiosity to "do 'Frisco proper," it +is not likely he will make any more history as a train robber, for at +heart Kit was always a better "good man" than "bad man." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +CIRCUS DAY AT MANCOS + +Cowboys were seldom respecters of the feelings of their fellows. Few +topics were so sacred or incidents so grave they were not made the +subject of the rawest jests. Leading a life of such stirring adventure +that few days passed without some more or less serious mishap, reckless +of life, unheedful alike of time and eternity, they made the smallest +trifles and the biggest tragedies the subjects of chaff and badinage +till the next diverting occurrence. But to the Cross Caņon outfit Mat +Barlow's love for Netty Nevins was so obviously a downright worship, an +all-absorbing, dominating cult, that, in a way, and all unknown to her, +she became the nearest thing to a religion the Cross Caņonites ever had. + +Eight years before Mat had come among them a green tenderfoot from a +South Missouri village, picked up in Durango by Tom McTigh, the +foreman, on a glint of the eye and set of the jaw that suggested +workable material. Nor was McTigh mistaken. Mat took to range work +like a duck to water. Within a year he could rope and tie a mossback +with the best, and in scraps with Mancos Jim's Pah-Ute horse raiders +had proved himself as careless a dare-devil as the oldest and toughest +trigger-twitcher of the lot. + +But persuade and cajole as much as they liked, none of the outfit were +ever able to induce Mat to pursue his education as a cowboy beyond the +details incident to work and frolic on the open range. Old +past-masters in the classics of cowboy town deportment, expert light +shooters, monte players, dance-hall beaux, elbow-crookers, and red-eye +riot-starters labored faithfully with Mat, but, all to no purpose. To +town with them he went, but with them in their debauches he never +joined; indeed as a rule he even refused to discuss such incidents with +them academically. Thus he delicately but plainly made it known to the +outfit that he proposed to keep his mind as clean as his conduct. + +Such a curiosity as Mat was naturally closely studied. The combined +intelligence of the outfit was trained upon him, for some time without +result. He was the knottiest puzzle that ever hit Cross Caņon. At +first he was suspected of religious scruples and nicknamed "Circuit +Rider." But presently it became apparent that he owned ability and +will to curse a fighting outlaw bronco till the burning desert air felt +chill, and it became plain he feared God as little as man. Mat had +joined the outfit in the Autumn, when for several weeks it was on the +jump; first gathering and shipping beeves, then branding calves, lastly +moving the herd down to its Winter range on the San Juan. Throughout +this period Cross Caņon's puzzle remained hopeless; but the very first +evening after the outfit went into Winter quarters at the home ranch, +the puzzle was solved. + +Ranch mails were always small, no matter how infrequent their coming or +how large the outfit. The owner's business involved little +correspondence, the boys' sentiments inspired less. Few with close +home-ties exiled themselves on the range. Many were "on the scout" +from the scene of some remote shooting scrape and known by no other +than a nickname. For most of them such was the rarity of letters that +often have I seen a cowboy turning and studying an unopened envelope +for a half-day or more, wondering whoever it was from and guessing +whatever its contents could be. Thus it was one of the great +sensations of the season for McTigh and his red-sashers, when the ranch +cook produced five letters for Circuit Rider, all addressed in the same +neat feminine hand, all bearing the same post mark. And when, while +the rest were washing for supper, disposing of war sacks, or "making +down" blankets, Mat squatted in the chimney corner to read his letters, +Lee Skeats impressively whispered to Priest: + +"Ben, I jest nachally hope never to cock another gun ef that thar +little ol' Circuit hain't got a gal that's stuck to him tighter'n a +tick makin' a gotch ear, or that ain't got airy damn thing to do to hum +but write letters. Size o' them five he's got must 'a kept her settin' +up nights to make 'em ever since Circuit jumped the hum reservation. +Did you _ever_ hear of a feller gettin' five letters from a gal to +wonst?" + +"I shore never did," answered Ben; "Circuit must 'a been 'prentice to +some big Medicine Man back among his tribe and have a bagful o' hoodoos +hid out somewhere. He ain't so damn hijus to look at, but he shore +never knocked no gal plum loco that away with his p'rsn'l beauty. Must +be some sort o' Injun medicine he works." + +"Ca'n't be from his mother," cogitated Lee. "Writin' ain't trembly +none--looks like it was writ by a school-marm, an' a lally-cooler at +that. Circuit will have to git one o' them pianer-like writin' makers +and keep poundin' it on the back till it hollers, ef he allows to lope +close up in that gal's writin' class. + +"Lord! but won't thar be fun for us all Winter he'pin' him 'tend to his +correspondence! + +"Let's you an' me slip round and tip off the outfit to shet up till +after supper, an' then all be ready with a hot line o' useful hints +'bout his answerin' her." + +Ben joyously fell in with Lee's plan. The tips were quickly passed +round. But none of the hints were ever given, not a single one. A +facer lay ahead of them beside which the mere receipt of the five +letters was nothing. To be sure, the letters were the greatest +sensation the outfit had enjoyed since they stood off successfully two +troops of U. S. Cavalry, come to arrest them for killing twenty +maurauding Utes. But what soon followed filled them with an +astonishment that stilled their mischievous tongues, stirred sentiments +long dormant, and ultimately, in a measure, tuned their own +heart-strings into chord with the sweet melody ringing over Circuit's +own. + +Supper was called, and upon it the outfit fell--all but Circuit. They +attacked it wolf-fashion according to their habit, bolting the steaming +food in a silence absolute but for the crunching of jaws and the shrill +hiss of sipped coffee. The meal was half over before Circuit, the last +letter finished, tucked his five treasures inside his shirt, stepped +over the bench to a vacant place at the table, and hastily swallowed a +light meal; in fact he rose while the rest were still busy gorging +themselves. And before Lee or the others were ready to launch at +Circuit any shafts of their rude wit, his manoeuvres struck them dumb +with curiosity. + +Having hurried from the table direct to his bunk, Circuit was observed +delving in the depths of his war sack, out of which he produced a set +of clean under-clothing, complete from shirt to socks, and a razor. +Besides these he carefully laid out his best suit of store clothes, and +from beneath the "heading" of the bunk he pulled a new pair of boots. +All this was done with a rapidity and method that evinced some set +purpose which the outfit could not fathom, a purpose become the more +puzzling when, five minutes later, Circuit returned from the kitchen +bearing the cook's wash-tub and a pail of warm water. The tub he +deposited and filled in an obscure corner of the bunkroom, and shortly +thereafter was stripped to the buff, laboriously bathing himself. The +bath finished, Circuit carefully shaved, combed his hair, and dressed +himself in his cleanest and best. + +While he was dressing, Bill Ball caught breath enough to whisper to +Lee: "By cripes! I've got it. Circuit's got a hunch some feller's +tryin' to rope an' hobble his gal, an' he's goin' to ask Tom for his +time, fork a cayuse, an' hit a lope for a railroad that'll take him to +whatever little ol' humanyville his gal lives at." + +"Lope hell," answered Lee; "it's a run he's goin' to hit, with one spur +in the shoulder an' th' other in th' flank. Why, th' way he's throwin' +that whisker-cutter at his face, he's plumb shore to dewlap and wattle +his fool self till you could spot him in airy herd o' humans as fer as +you could see him." + +But Bill's guess proved wide of the mark. + +As soon as Circuit's dressing was finished and he had received +assurance from the angular fragment of mirror nailed above the +wash-basin that his hair was smoothly combed and a new neckerchief +neatly knotted, he produced paper and an envelope from his war sack, +seated himself at the end of the long dinner-table, farthest from the +fireplace, lighted a fresh candle, spread out his five treasures, +carefully sharpened a stub pencil, and duly set its lead end a-soak in +his mouth, preparatory to the composition of a letter. The surprise +was complete. Such painstaking preparation and elaborate costuming for +the mere writing of a letter none present--or absent, for that +matter--had ever heard of. But it was all so obviously eloquent of a +most tender respect for his correspondent that boisterous voices were +hushed, and for at least a quarter of an hour the Cross Caņonites sat +covertly watching the puckered brows, drawn mouth, and awkwardly +crawling pencil of the writer. + +Presently Lee gently nudged Ball and passed a wink to the rest; then +all rose and softly tiptoed their way to the kitchen. + +Comfortably squatted on his heels before the cook's fireplace, Lee +quietly observed: "Fellers, I allow it's up to us to hold a inquest on +th' remains o' my idee about stringin' Circuit over that thar gal o' +his'n. I moves that th' idee's done died a-bornin', an' that we bury +her. All that agrees, say so; any agin it, say so, 'n' then git their +guns an' come outside." + +There were no dissenting votes. Lee's motion was unanimously carried. + +"Lee's plumb right," whispered McTigh; "that kid's got it harder an' +worse than airy feller I ever heerd tell of, too hard for us to lite in +stringin' him 'bout it. Never had no gal myself; leastways, no good +one; been allus like a old buffalo bull whipped out o' th' herd, sorta +flockin' by my lonesome, an'--an'--" with a husky catch of the voice, +"an' that thar kid 'minds me I must a' been missin' a _hell_ of a lot +hit 'pears to me I wouldn't have no great trouble gittin' to like." + +Then for a time there was silence in the kitchen. + +Crouching over his pots, the black cook stared in surprised inquiry at +the semicircle of grim bronzed faces, now dimly lit by the flickering +embers and then for a moment sharply outlined by the flash of a +cigarette deeply inhaled by nervous lips. The situation was tense. In +each man emotions long dormant, or perhaps by some never before +experienced, were tumultuously surging; surging the more tumultuously +for their long dormancy or first recognition. Presently in a low, +hoarse voice that scarcely carried round the semicircle, Chillili Jim +spoke: + +"Fellers, Circuit shore 'minds me pow'ful strong o' my ol' mammy. She +was monstrous lovin' to we-uns; an' th' way she scrubbed an' fixed up +my ol' pa when he comes home from the break-up o' Terry's Rangers, with +his ol' carcass 'bout as full o' rents an' holes as his ragged gray war +clothes! Allus have tho't ef I could git to find a gal stuck on me +like mammy on pa, I'd drop my rope on her, throw her into th' home +ranch pasture, an' nail up th' gate fer keeps." + +"'Minds me o' goin' to meetin' when I was a six-year-old," mused Mancos +Mitch; "when Circuit's pencil got to smokin' over th' paper an' we-uns +got so dedburned still, 'peared to me like I was back in th' little ol' +meetin'-house in th' mosquito clearin', on th' banks o' th' Lee in ol' +Uvalde County. Th' air got that quar sort o' dead smell 'ligion allus +'pears to give to meetin'-houses, a' I could hear th' ol' pa'son +a-tellin' us how it's th' lovinest that allus gits th' longest end o' +th' rope o' life. Hits me now that ther ol' sky scout was 'bout right. +Feller cain't possibly keep busy _all_ th' love in his system, workin' +it off on nothing but a pet hoss or gun; thar's allus a hell of a lot +you didn't know you had comes oozin' out when a proper piece o' calico +lets you next." + +"Boys," cut in Bill Ball, the dean of the outfit's shooters-up of town +and shooters-out of dance-hall lights; "boys, I allow it 's up to me to +'pologize to Circuit. Ef I wasn't such a damned o'nery kiyote I'd o' +caught on befo'. But I hain't been runnin' with th' drags o' th' she +herd so long that I can't 'preciate th' feelin's o' a feller that's got +a good gal stuck on him, like Circuit. Ef I had one, you-all kin +gamble yer _alce_ all bets would be off with them painted dance-hall +beer jerkers, an' it would be out in th' brush fo' me while th' corks +was poppin', gals cussin', red-eye flowin', an' chips rattlin'. That +thar little ol' kid has my 'spects, an' ef airy o' th' Blue Mountain +outfit tries to string him 'bout not runnin' with them oreide +propositions, I'll hand 'em lead till my belt's empty." + +Ensued a long silence; at length, by common consent the inquest was +adjourned, and the members of the jury returned to the bunk-room, quiet +and solemn as men entering a death chamber. There at the table before +the guttering candle still sat Circuit, his hair now badly tousled, his +upper lip blackened with pencil lead, his brows more deeply puckered, +his entire underlip apparently swallowed, the table littered with +rudely scrawled sheets. + +Slipping softly to their respective bunks, the boys peeled and climbed +into their blankets. And there they all lay, wide-awake but silent, +for an hour or two, some watching Circuit curiously, some enviously, +others staring fixedly into the dying fire until from its dull-glowing +embers there rose for some visions of bare-footed, nut-brown, +fustian-clad maids, and for others the finer lines of silk and lace +draped figures, now long since passed forever out of their lives. +Those longest awake were privileged to witness Circuit's final offering +at the shrine of his love. + +His letter finished, enclosed, addressed, and stamped, he kissed it and +laid it aside, apparently all unconscious of the presence of his mates, +as he had been since beginning his letter. Then he drew from beneath +his shirt something none of them had seen before, a buckskin bag, out +of which he pulled a fat blank memorandum book, _into which he +proceeded to copy, in as small a hand as he could write, every line of +his sweetheart's letters_. Later they learned that this bag and its +contents never left Circuit's body, nestled always over his heart, +suspended by a buckskin thong! + +Out of the close intimacies cow-camp life promotes, it was not long +before the well-nigh overmastering curiosity of the outfit was +satisfied. They learned how the "little ol' blue-eyed sorrel top," as +Bill Ball had christened her, had vowed to wait faithfully till Circuit +could earn and save enough to make them a home, and how Circuit had +sworn to look into no woman's eyes till he could again look into hers. +Before many months had passed, Circuit's regular weekly letter to +Netty--regular when on the ranch--and the ceremonial purification and +personal decking that preceded it, had become for the Cross Caņon +outfit a public ceremony all studiously observed. None were ever too +tired, none too grumpy, to wash, shave, and "slick up" of letter +nights, scrupulously as Moslems bathe their feet before approaching the +shrine of Mahomet and still as Moslems before their shrine all sat +about the bunk-room while Circuit wrote his letter and copied Netty's +last. Indeed, more than one well-started wild town orgy was stopped +short by one of the boys remarking: "Cut it, you kiyotes! Netty +wouldn't like it!" + +And thus the months rolled on till they stacked up into years, but the +interchange of letters never ceased and the burden of Circuit's +buckskin bag grew heavier. + +Twice Circuit ventured a financial _coup_, and both times +lost--invested his savings in horses, losing one band to Arizona +rustlers, and the other to Mancos Jim's Pah-Utes. After the last +experience he took no further chances and settled down to the slow but +sure plan of hoarding his wages. + +Come the Fall of the eighth year of his exile from Netty, Circuit had +accumulated two thousand dollars, and it was unanimously voted by the +Cross Caņon outfit, gathered in solemn conclave at Circuit's request, +that he might venture to return to claim her. And before the conclave +was adjourned, Lee Skeats, the chairman, remarked: "Circuit, ef Netty +shows airy sign o' balkin' at th' size o' your bank roll, you kin jes' +tell her that thar 's a bunch out here in Cross Caņon that's been +lovin' her sort o' by proxy, that'll chip into your matrimonial play, +plumb double the size o' your stack, jest fo' th' hono' o' meetin' up +wi' her an' th' pleasure o' seein' their pardner hitched." + +The season's work done and the herd turned loose on its Winter range on +the San Juan, the outfit decided to escort Circuit into Mancos and +there celebrate his coming nuptials. For them the one hundred and +seventy intervening miles of alternating caņon and mesa, much of the +journey over trails deadly dangerous for any creature less sure-footed +than a goat, was no more than a pleasant _pasear_. Thus it was barely +high noon of the third day when the thirty Cross Caņonites reached +their destination. + +Deep down in a mighty gorge, nestled beside the stream that gave its +name alike to caņon and to town, Mancos stewed contentedly in a +temperature that would try the strength and temper of any unaccustomed +to the climate of southwestern Colorado. Framed in Franciscan-gray +sage brush, itself gray as the sage with the dust of pounding hoofs and +rushing whirlwinds, at a little distance Mancos looked like an +aggregation of dead ash heaps, save where, here and there, dabs of +faded paint lent a semblance of patches of dying embers. + +While raw, uninviting, and even melancholy in its every aspect, for the +scattered denizens of a vast region round about Mancos's principal +street was the local Great White Way that furnished all the fun and +frolic most of them ever knew. To it flocked miners from their dusky, +pine-clad gorges in the north, grangers from the then new farming +settlement in the Montezuma Valley, cowboys from Blue Mountain, the +Dolores, and the San Juan; Navajos from Chillili, Utes from their +reservation--a motley lot burning with untamed elemental passions that +called for pleasure "straight." + +Joyously descending upon the town at a breakneck lope before a +following high wind that completely shrouded them in clouds of dust, it +was not until they pulled up before their favorite feed corral that the +outfit learned that Mancos was revelling in quite the reddest +red-letter day of its existence, the day of its first visitation by a +circus--and also its last for many a year thereafter. + +In the eighties Mancos was forty miles from the nearest railway, but +news of the reckless extravagances of its visiting miners and cowboys +tempted Fells Brothers' "Greatest Aggregation on Earth of Ring Artists +and Monsters" to visit it. Dusted and costumed outside of town, down +the main street of Mancos the circus bravely paraded that morning, its +red enamelled paint and gilt, its many-tinted tights and spangles, +making a perfect riot of brilliant colors over the prevailing dull gray +of valley and town. + +Streets, stores, saloons, and dance halls were swarming with the +outpouring of the ranches and the mines, men who drank abundantly but +in the main a rollicking, good-natured lot. + +While the Cross Caņonites were liquoring at the Fashion Bar (Circuit +drinking sarsaparilla), Lame Johny, the barkeeper, remarked: "You-uns +missed it a lot, not seein' the pr'cesh. She were a ring-tailed tooter +for fair, with the damnedest biggest noise-makin' band you ever heard, +an' th' p'rformers wearin' more pr'tys than I ever allowed was made. +An' say, they've got a gal in th' bunch, rider I reckon, that's jest +that damned good to look at it _hurts_. Damned ef I kin git her outen +my eyes yet. Say, she's shore prittier than airy red wagon in th' show +built like a quarter horse, got eyes like a doe, and a sorrel mane she +could hide in. She 's sure a _chile con carne_ proposition, if I ever +see one." + +"Huh!" grunted Lee; "may be a good-looker, but I'll gamble she ain't in +it with our Sorrel-top; hey, boys? Here 's to _our_ Sorrel-top, +fellers, an' th' day Circuit prances into Mancos wi' her." + +Several who tried to drink and cheer at the same time lost much of +their liquor, but none of their enthusiasm. After dinner at +Charpiot's, a wretched counterfeit of the splendid old Denver +restaurant of that name, the Cross Caņonites joined the throng +streaming toward the circus. + +For his sobriety designated treasurer of the outfit for the day and +night, Circuit marched up to the ticket wagon, passed in a hundred +dollar bill and asked for thirty tickets. The tickets and change were +promptly handed him. On the first count the change appeared to be +correct, but on a recount Circuit found the ticket-seller had cunningly +folded one twenty double, so that it appeared as two bills instead of +one. Turning immediately to the ticket-seller, Circuit showed the +deception and demanded correction. + +"Change was right; you can't dope and roll me; gwan!" growled the +ticket-agent. + +"But it's plumb wrong, an' you can't rob me none, you kiyote," answered +Circuit; "hand out another twenty, and do it sudden!" + +"Chase yourself to hell, you bow-legged hold-up," threatened the +ticket-seller. + +When, a moment later, the ticket man plunged out of the door of his +wagon wildly yelling for his clan, it was with eyes flooding with blood +from a gash in his forehead due to a resentful tap from the barrel of +Circuit's gun. + +Almost in an instant pandemonium reigned and a massacre was imminent. +Stalwart canvasmen rushed to their chief's call till Circuit's bunch +were outnumbered three to one by tough trained battlers on many a +tented field, armed with hand weapons of all sorts. Victors these men +usually were over the town roughs it was customarily theirs to handle; +but here before them was a bunch not to be trifled with, a quiet group +of thirty bronzed faces, some grinning with the anticipated joy of the +combat they loved, some grim as death itself, each affectionately +twirling a gleaming gun. One overt act on the part of the circus men, +and down they would go like ninepins and they knew it--knew it so well +that, within two minutes after they had assembled, all dodged into and +lost themselves in the throng of onlookers like rabbits darting into +their warrens. + +"Mighty pore 'pology for real men, them elephant-busters," disgustedly +observed Bill Ball. "Come fellers, le's go in." + +"Nix for me," spoke up Circuit; "I'm that hot in the collar over him +tryin' to rob me I've got no use for their old show. You-all go in, +an' I'll go down to Chapps' and fix my traps to hit the trail for the +railroad in the mornin'." + +On the crest of a jutting bastion of the lofty escarpment that formed +the west wall of the caņon, the sun lingered for a good-night kiss of +the eastern cliffs which it loved to paint every evening with all the +brilliant colors of the spectrum; it lingered over loving memories of +ancient days when every niche of the Mancos cliffs held its little +bronze-hued line of primitive worshippers, old and young, devout, +prostrate, fearful of their Red God's nightly absences, suppliant of +his return and continued largess; over memories of ceremonials and +pastimes barbaric in their elemental violence, but none more +primitively savage than the new moon looked down upon an hour later. + +Supper over, on motion of Lee Skeats the Cross Caņonites had adjourned +to the feed corral and gone into executive session. + +Lee called the meeting to order. + +"Fellers," he said, "that dod-burned show makes my back tired. A few +geezers an' gals flipfloopin' in swings an' a bunch o' dead ones on ol' +broad-backed work hosses that calls theirselves riders! Shucks! thar +hain't one o' th' lot could sit a real twister long enough to git his +seat warm; about th' second jump would have 'em clawin' sand. + +"Only thing in their hull circus wo'th lookin' at is that red-maned +gal, an' she looks that sweet an' innercent she don't 'pear to rightly +belong in that thar bare-legged bunch o' she dido-cutters. They-all +must 'a mavericked her recent. Looks like a pr'ty ripe red apple among +a lot o' rotten ones. + +"Hated like hell to see her thar, specially with next to nothin' on, +fer somehow I couldn't help her 'mindin' me o' our Sorrel-top. Reckon +ef we busted up their damn show, that gal'd git to stay a while in a +decent woman's sort o' clothes. What say, shall we bust her!" + +"Fer one, I sits in an' draw cards in your play cheerful," promptly +responded Bill Ball; "kind o' hurt me too to see Reddy thar. An' then +them animiles hain't gittin' no squar' deal. Never did believe in +cagin' animiles more'n men. Ef they need it bad, kill 'em; ef they +don't, give 'em a run fo' their money, way ol' Mahster meant 'em to +have when He made 'em. Let's all saddle up, ride down thar, tie onto +their tents, an' pull 'em down, an' then bust open them cages an' give +every dod-blamed animile th' liberty I allows he loves same as humans! +An' then, jest to make sure she's a good job, le's whoop all their +hosses ove' to th' Dolores an' scatter 'em through th' piņons!" + +This motion was unanimously carried, even Circuit cheerfully +consenting, from memories of the outrage attempted upon him earlier in +the day. Ten minutes later the outfit charged down upon the circus at +top speed, arriving among the first comers for the evening performance. +Flaming oil torches lit the scene, making it bright almost as day. + +By united action, thirty lariats were quickly looped round guy ropes +and snubbed to saddle horns, and then, incited by simultaneous spur +digs and yells, thirty fractious broncos bounded away from the tent, +fetching it down in sheets and ribbons, ropes popping like pistols, the +rent canvas shrieking like a creature in pain, startled animals +threshing about their cages and crying their alarm. Cowboys were never +slow at anything they undertook. In three minutes more the side shows +were tentless, the dwarfs trying to swarm up the giant's sturdy legs to +safety or to hide among the adipose wrinkles of the fat lady, and the +outfit tackled the cages. + +In another three minutes the elephant, with a sociable shot through his +off ear to make sure he should not tarry, was thundering down Mancos's +main street, trumpeting at every jump, followed by the lion, the great +tuft of hair at the end of his tail converted, by a happy thought of +Lee Skeats, into a brightly blazing torch that, so long as the fuel +lasted, lighted the shortest cut to freedom for his escaping mates--for +the lion hit as close a bee-line as possible trying to outrun his own +tail. For the outfit, it was the lark of their lives. Crashing pistol +shots and ringing yells bore practical testimony to their joy. But +they were not to have it entirely their own way. + +Just as they were all balled up before the rhinoceros, staggered a bit +by his great bulk and threatening horn, out upon them charged a body of +canvasmen, all the manager could contrive to rally, for a desperate +effort to stop the damage and avenge the outrage. In their lead ran +the ticket seller, armed with a pistol and keen for evening up things +with the man who had hit him, dashing straight for Circuit. Circuit +did not see him, but Lee did; and thus in the very instant Circuit +staggered and dropped to the crack of his pistol, down beside Circuit +pitched the ticket man with a ball through his head. Then for two +minutes, perhaps, a hell of fierce hand-to-hand battle raged, cowboy +skulls crunching beneath fierce blows, circus men falling like autumn +leaves before the cowboys' fire. And so the fight might have lasted +till all were down but for a startling diversion. + +Suddenly, just as Circuit had struggled to his feet, out from among the +wrecked wagons sprang a dainty figure in tulle and tights, masses of +hair red as the blood of the battlers streaming in waves behind her, +and fired at the nearest of the common enemy, which happened to be poor +Circuit. Swaying for a moment with the shock of the wound, down to the +ground he settled like an empty sack, falling across the legs of the +ticket-seller. + +Startled and shocked, it seemed, by the consequences of her deed, the +woman approached and for a moment gazed down, horror-stricken, into +Circuit's face. Then suddenly, with a shriek of agony, she dropped +beside him, drew his head into her lap, wiped the gathering foam from +his lips, fondled and kissed him. Ripping his shirt open at the neck +to find his wound, she uncovered Circuit's buckskin bag and memorandum +book, showing through its centre the track of a bullet that had finally +spent itself in fracturing a rib over Circuit's heart, the +ticket-seller's shot, that would have killed him instantly but for the +shielding bulk Netty's treasured letters interposed. Moved, perhaps, +by some subtle instinctive suspicion of its contents, she glanced +within the book, started to remove it from Circuit's neck, and then +gently laid it back above the heart it so long had lain next and so +lately had shielded. + +Meantime about this little group gathered such of the Cross Caņonites +as were still upon their legs, while, glad of the diversion, their +enemies hurriedly withdrew; round about the outfit stood, their fingers +still clutching smoking guns, but pale and sobered. + +Circuit lay with eyes closed, feebly gasping for breath, and just as +the girl's nervous fingers further rent his shirt and exposed the +mortal wound through the right lung made by her own tiny pistol, +Circuit half rose on one elbow and whispered: "Boys, write--write Netty +I was tryin' to git to her." + +And then he fell back and lay still. + +For five minutes, perhaps, the girl crouched silent over the body, +gazing wide-eyed into the dead face, stunned, every faculty paralyzed. + +Presently Lee softly spoke: + +"Sis, if, as I allows, you're Netty, you shore did Mat a good turn +killin' him 'fore he saw you. Would 'a hurt him pow'ful to see you in +this bunch; hurts us 'bout enough, I reckon." + +Roused from contemplation of her deed, the girl rose to her knees, +still clinging to Circuit's stiffening fingers, and sobbingly murmured, +in a voice so low the awed group had to bend to hear her: + +"Yes, I'm Netty, and every day while I live I shall thank God Mat never +knew. This is my husband lying dead beneath Mat. They made me do +it--my family--nagged me to marry Tom, then a rich horse-breeder of our +county, till home was such a hell I couldn't stand it. It was four +long years ago, and never since have I had the heart to own to Mat the +truth. His letters were my greatest joy, and they breathed a love I +little have deserved. + +"Reckon that's dead right, Netty," broke in Bill Ball; "hain't a bit +shore myself airy critter that ever stood up in petticoats deserved a +love big as Circuit's. Excuse _us_, please." + +And at a sign from Bill, six bent and gently lifted the body and bore +it away into the town. + + +In the twilight of an Autumn day that happened to be the twenty-second +anniversary of Circuit's death, two grizzled old ranchmen, ambling +slowly out of Mancos along the Dolores trail, rode softly up to a +corner of the burying ground and stopped. There within, hard by, a +woman, bent and gnarled and gray as the sage-brush about her, was +tenderly decking a grave with piņon wreaths. + +"Hope to never cock another gun, Bill Ball, ef she ain't thar ag'in!" + +"She shore is, Lee," answered Bill; "provin' we-all mislaid no bets +reconsiderin', an' stakin' Sorrel-top to a little ranch and brand." + +Thus, happily, does time sweeten the bitterest memories. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +ACROSS THE BORDER + +Yes, there he was, just ahead of me on the platform of the Union Depot +in Kansas City, my partner, James Terry Gardiner, who had wired me to +meet him there a few weeks after I had closed the sale of our Deadman +Ranch, in November, 1882. While his back was turned to me, there was +no mistaking the lean but sturdy figure and alert step. + +From the vigorous slap of cordiality I gave him on his shoulder, he +winced and shrank, crying: "Oh, please don't, old man. Been sleeping +in Mexican northers for a fortnight, and it's got my shoulder muscles +tied in rheumatic knots. Don Nemecio Garcia started me off from +Lampadasos with the assurance that my ambulance was generously +provisioned and provided with his own camp-bed, but when night of the +first day's journey came, I found the food limited to _tortillas, +chorisos_, and coffee, and the bed a sheepskin--no more. Stupid of an +old campaigner not to investigate his equipment before starting, was it +not?" + +"Worse than that, I should say--sheer madness," I answered. "How did +it happen?" + +"Well, you see, Don Nemecio is the _Alcalde_, of his city, and he +showered me with such grandiloquent Spanish phrases of concern for my +comfort that I fancied he had outfitted me in extraordinary luxury. + +"But that's over now, thank goodness. And now to business. + +"In the north of the State of Coahuila, one hundred miles west of the +Rio Grande border, lies the little town called Villa de Musquiz. To +the north and west of it for two hundred miles stretches the great +plain the natives call _El Desierto_, known on the map as _Bolson de +Mapini_, the resort of none but bandits, smuggler Lipans, and +Mescaleros. Into it the natives never venture, and little of it is +known except the scant information brought back by the scouting cavalry +details. + +"Just south of the town lie the Cedral Coal Mines I have been +examining--but that is neither here nor there. What I want to know is, +are you game for a new ranch deal?" + +When I nodded an affirmative, he continued: + +"Well, immediately north of the town lies a tract of 250,000 acres in +the fork of the Rio Sabinas and the Rio Alamo, which is the greatest +ranch bargain I ever saw. Heavily grassed, abundantly watered by its +two boundary streams, the valleys thickly timbered with cottonwood, the +plains dotted with mesquite and live oak, in a perfect climate, it is +an ideal breeding range. And it can be bought, for what, do you think? +Fifty thousand Mexican dollars [29,000 gold] for a quarter of a million +acres! Go bag it, and together we'll stock it. + +"Of course you'll run some rather heavy risks--else the place would not +be going so cheap--but no more than you have been taking the last five +years in the Sioux country. A little bunch of Lipans are constantly on +the warpath, Mescalero raiding parties drop in occasionally, and the +bandits seem to need a good many _prestamos_; but all that you have +been up against. Better take a pretty strong party, for the +authorities thought it necessary to give me a cavalry escort from +Lampasos to Musquiz and back. And, by the way, pick up a boy named +George E. Thornton, Socorro, N. M., on your way south. While only a +youngster, he is one of the best all-round frontiersmen I ever saw, and +speaks Spanish tolerably. Had him with me in the Gallup country." + +Details were settled at breakfast, and there Gardiner resumed his +journey eastward, while I took the next train for Denver. A fortnight +later found me in Socorro, plodding through its sandy streets to an +adobe house in the suburbs where Thornton lodged. + +As I neared the door a big black dog sprang fiercely out at me to the +full length of his chain, and directly thereafter the door framed an +extraordinary figure. Then barely twenty-one, and downy still of lip, +Thornton's gray eyes were as cold and calculating, the lines of his +face as severe and even hard, his movements as deliberate and +expressive of perfect self-mastery as those of any veteran of half a +dozen wars. Six feet two in height, straight as a white pine, ideally +coupled for great strength without sacrifice of activity, he looked +altogether one of the most capable and safe men one could wish for in a +scrap; and so, later, he well proved himself. + +He greeted me in carefully correct English; and while quiet, reserved, +and cold of speech as of manner, the tones in which he assured me any +friend of Mr. Gardiner was welcome, conveyed faint traces of cordiality +that roused some hope that he might prove a more agreeable campmate +than his dour mien promised. We were not long coming to terms; indeed +the moment I outlined the trip contemplated, and its possible hazards, +it became plain he was keen to come on any terms. To my surprise, he +proposed bringing his dog, Curly. I objected that so heavy a dog would +be likely to play out on our forced marches, and, anyway, would be no +mortal use to us. His reply was characteristic: + +"Curly goes if I go, sir; but any time you can tell me you find him a +nuisance, I'll shoot him myself. I've had him four years, had him out +all through Victoria's raid of the Gila, and he's a safer night guard +than any ten men you can string around camp: nothing can approach he +won't nail or tell you of. With Curly, a night-camp surprise is +impossible." + +Whatever cross Curly represented was a mystery. Two-thirds the height +and weight of a mastiff, he had the broad narrow pointed muzzle of a +bear, and a shaggy reddish-black coat that further heightened his +resemblance to a cinnamon, with great gray eyes precisely the color of +his master's, and as fierce. Whichever character was formed on that of +the other I never learned--the man's on the dog's, or the dog's on the +man's. Certain it is that not even the luckiest chance could have +brought together man and beast so nearly identical in all their traits. +Both were honest, almost to a fault. Neither possessed any vice I ever +could discover. Each was wholly happy only when in battle, the more +desperate the encounter the happier they. Neither ever actually forced +a quarrel, or failed to get in the way of one when there was the least +color of an attempt to fasten one on them. And yet both were always +considerate of any weaker than themselves, and quick to go to their +defence. Many a time have I seen old Curly seize and throttle a big +dog he caught rending a little one--as I have seen George leap to the +aid of the defenceless. Each weighed carefully his kind, and found +most wanting in something requisite to the winning of his confidence; +and such as they did admit to familiar intimacy, man or beast, were the +salt of their kind. + +On the train, south-bound for San Antonio, I learned something of +Thornton's history. The son of a judge of Peoria, Ill., he had until +fifteen the advantage of the schools of his city. Then, possessed with +a longing for a life of adventure in the West, he ran away from home, +worked in various places at various tasks, until, at sixteen (in 1887) +he had made his way to Socorro. Arrived there, he attached himself to +a small party of prospectors going out into the Black Range, into a +region then wild and hostile as Boone found Kentucky. And there for +the last five years he had dwelt, ranging through the Datils and the +Mogallons, prospecting whenever the frequently raiding Apaches left him +and his mates time for work. Indeed, it was Thornton who discovered +and first opened the Gallup coal field, and he held it until Victoria +ran him out. During this time he was in eight desperate fights--the +only man to escape from one of them; but out of them he came unscathed, +and trained to a finish in every trick of Apache warfare. + +At San Antonio we were met by Sam Cress, who for the last four years +had been foreman of my Deadman Ranch. Cress was born on Powell River, +Virginia, but had come to Texas as a mere lad and joined a cow outfit. +He had really grown up in the Cross Timbers of the Palo Pinto, where, +in those years, any who survived were past masters not only of the +weird ways and long hours and outlaw broncos, but also of the cunning +strategy of the Kiowas and Comanches who in that time were raiding +ranches and settlements every "light of the moon." Cress was then +twenty-five--just my age--and one of the rare type of men who actually +hate and dread a fight, but where necessary, go into it with a jest and +come out of it with a laugh, as jolly a camp-mate and as steady a +stayer as I ever knew. Charlie Crawford, a half-breed Mexican, taken +on for his fluency in Spanish, completed our outfit. Two mornings +later the Mexican National Express dropped us at the Lampasos depot +about daylight, from which we made our way over a mile of dusty road +winding through mesquite thickets to the Hotel Diligencia, on the main +plaza. + +A norther was blowing that chilled us to the marrow, and of course, +according to usual Mexican custom, not a room in the hotel was heated. +The best the little Italian proprietor could do for us was a pan of +charcoal that warmed nothing beyond our finger tips. As soon as the +sun rose, we squatted along the east wall of the hotel and there +shivered until Providence or his own necessity brought past us a peon +driving a burro loaded with mesquite roots. We bought this wood and +dumped it in the central patio of the hotel and there lighted a +campfire that made us tolerably comfortable until breakfast. + +Ignorant then of Mexico and its customs, I had fancied that when a +proper hour arrived for a call on the _Alcalde_, Don Nemecio Garcia, I +should have a chance to warm myself properly and had charitably asked +my three mates to accompany me on the visit. But when at ten o'clock +Don Nemecio received us in his office, we found him tramping up and +down the room, wrapped in the warm folds of an ample cloak; his neck +and face swathed in mufflers to the eyes, arctics on his feet, and no +stove or fireplace in the room. As leading merchant of the town, he +soon supplied us with provisions and various articles, and with four +saddle and three pack horses for our journey. + +The next day, while my men were busy arranging our camp outfit, I took +train for Monterey to get a letter from General Treviņo, commanding the +Department of Coahuila, to the _comandante_ of the garrison at Musquiz. +On this short forenoon's journey I had my first taste of the disordered +state of the country. + +About ten o'clock our train stopped at the depot of Villaldama, where I +observed six _guardias aduaneras_ (customs guards) removing the packs +from a dozen mules, and transferring them to the baggage car. Just as +this work was nearing completion, a band of fourteen _contradistas_ +dashed up out of the surrounding chaparral, dropped off their horses, +and opened at thirty yards a deadly fire on the guards. With others in +the smoker, next behind the baggage car, I had a fine view of the +battle, but a part of the time we were directly in the line of fire, +for four of our car windows were smashed by bullets, and many bullets +were buried in the car body. Such encounters between guards and +smugglers in Mexico were always a fight to the death, for under the law +the guards received one-half the value of their captures, while of +course the smugglers stood to win or lose all. + +As soon as fire opened, the guards jumped for the best cover available, +and put up the best fight they could. But the odds were hopelessly +against them. In five minutes it was all over. Three of the guards +lay dead, one was crippled, and the other two were in flight. To be +sure two of the smugglers were bowled over, dead, and two badly +wounded, but the remaining ten were not long in repossessing themselves +of their goods; and when our train pulled out, the baggage car riddled +with bullets till it looked like a sieve, the ten were hurriedly +repacking their mules for flight west to the Sierras. Later I learned +that early that morning the guards had caught the _conducta_ with only +two men in charge, who had shrewdly skipped and scattered to gather the +party that arrived just in time to save their plunder. + +Mexican import duties in those days were so enormous that very many of +the best people then living along the border engaged regularly in +smuggling, as the most profitable enterprise offering. American hams, +I remember, were then sixty cents a pound, and everything else in +proportion. Even in the city of Monterey, stores that displayed on +their open shelves little but native products, had warehouses where you +could buy (at three times their value in the States) almost any +American or European goods you wanted. + +Well recommended to General Treviņo from kinsmen of his wife, who was a +daughter of General Ord of our army, he gave me a letter to Captain +Abran de la Garza, commanding at Musquiz, directing him to furnish me +any cavalry escort or supplies I might ask for, and the following day +we started north from Lampasos on our one-hundred-mile march to Musquiz. + +The first two days of the journey, for fully sixty miles, we travelled +across the lands of Don Patricio Milmo, who thirty years earlier had +arrived in Monterey, a bare-handed Irish lad, as Patrick Miles. +Through thrift, cunning trading, and a diplomatic marriage into one of +the most powerful families of the city, he had oreid his name and +gilded the prospects of his progeny, for he had become the richest +merchant of Monterey and the largest landholder of the state. + +On this march north Curly's value was well demonstrated. The first two +nights I divided our little party into four watches, so that one man +should always be awake, and on the _qui vive_. But it took us no more +than these two nights to discover that Curly was a better guard than +all of us put together. Throughout the noon and early evening camp he +slept, but as soon as we were in our blankets he was on the alert, and +nothing could move near the camp that he did not tell us of it in low +growls, delivered at the ear of one or another of the sleepers. +However, nothing happened on the journey up, save at the camp just +north of Progreso, where some of the villagers tried slip up on our +horses toward midnight, and Curly's growls kept them off. Their trails +about our camp were plain in the morning. The evening of the third day +we reached Musquiz, one of the oldest towns of the northern border, +nestled at the foot of a tall sierra amid wide fields of sugar cane, +irrigated by the clear, sweet waters of the Sabinas. + +At eight o'clock the next morning I called on Captain Abran de la +Garza, the _Comandante_, to present my letter from General Treviņo. + +Like the monarch of all he surveyed, he received me in his bed-chamber. +As soon as I entered, it became apparent the Captain was a sportsman as +well as a soldier. + +The room was perhaps thirty by twenty feet in size. Midway of the +north wall stood a rude writing table on which were a few official +papers. Ranged about the room were a dozen or more rawhide-seated +chairs, each standing stiffly at "attention" against the wall +scrupulously equidistant order. Glaring at me in crude lettering from +a broad rafter facing the door was the grimly patriotic sentiment, +"Libertad o Muerte." (Liberty or Death!) In the southwest corner of +the room stood a low and narrow cot, beneath whose thin serape covering +a tall, gaunt cadaverous frame was plainly outlined. From the headpost +of the cot dangled a sword and two pistols. _And to every bed, table, +stand, and chair was hobbled a gamecock_--a rarely high-bred lot by +their looks, that joined in saluting my entrance with a volley of +questioning crows! It was, I fancy, altogether the most startling +reception visitor ever had. + +In a momentary pause in the crowing, there issued from a throat riven +and deep-seamed from frequent floodings with fiery torrents of mescal, +and out of lungs perpetually surcharged with cigarette smoke, a hoarse +croaking, but friendly toned, "_Buenos dias, seņor. Sirvase tomar un +asiento. Aqui tiene vd su casa!_" and peering more closely into the +dusky corner, I beheld a great face, lean to emaciation, dominated by a +magnificent Roman nose with two great dark eyes sunk so deep on either +side of its base they must forever remain strangers to one another. +The nose supported a splendid breadth of high forehead, which was +crowned with a shock of coal-black hair, while the jaws were bearded to +the eyes. It was the face of an ascetic Crusader, sensualized in a +measure by years of isolated frontier service and its attendant vices +and degeneration, but still a face full of the noble melancholy of a +Quixote. + +Propping himself on a great bony knot of an elbow, the Captain made +polite inquiry respecting my journey, and then asked in what could he +serve me. But when I had explained that I wanted to meet the owner of +the Santa Rosa Ranch, and contemplated going out to see it, it was only +to learn, to my great disappointment, that it had been sold the week +previous to two Scotchmen. Fancy! in a country visited by foreigners, +as a rule, not so often as once a year. + +Nor was I consoled when, noting my obvious chagrin, the Captain sought +to lighten the blow by saying: "But, my dear sir, this is indeed +evidence God is guarding you. That ranch has been a legacy of +contention and feud for generations. Besides, what good could you get +of it? Its nearest line to the town is six miles distant, and no life +or property would be safe there a fortnight. Far the best cattle ranch +in this section, a fourth of it irrigable, and as fine sugar-cane land +as one could find, do you fancy it would be tenantless as when God +first made it if safe for occupancy? Why, my dear sir, within the last +six months Juan Gaian's Lipans have killed no less than seventy of our +townsmen, some in their fields, some in the very suburbs of the town, +while Mescaleros are raiding a little lower down the river, and Nicanor +Rascon is apt to sweep down any day with his _bandidos_ and plunder +strong boxes and stores. It is with shame I admit it, for I, Don +Abran, am responsible for the peace and safety of this district. But, +_mil demonios_! what can I do with one troop of cavalry against bandits +ruthless as savages, and savages cunning as bandits? + +"Oh! but if I only had horses! Those devils take remounts when they +like from the _remoudas_ of ranchers, but I, _carajo_! I am always +limited to my troop allotment. + +"Burn a hundred candles to the Virgin, _amigo mio_, as a thank offering +for your deliverance, and wait and see what happens to the Scotchmen; +and while waiting, it will be my great pleasure to show you some of the +grandest cock-fighting you ever saw. Look at them! Beauties, are they +not? Purest blood in all Mexico! Kept me poor four years getting them +together! But now! Ah! now, it will not be long till they win me +ranches and _remoudas_! + +"Ah! me. Time was not so very long ago when Abran de la Garza was +called the most dashing _jefe de tropa_ in the service, when seņoritas +fell to him as alamo leaves shower down to autumn winds; when pride +consumed him, and ambition for a Division was burning in his brain. +But now this demon of a frontier has scorched and driven him till +naught remains to him but the chance of an occasional fruitless +skirmish, his thirst for mescal, his greed for _aguilas_, and his cocks +to win them! But, seņor, bet no money against them, for it would +grieve me to win from a stranger introduced by my General." + +Then, with a grave nod of friendly warning, he turned an affectionate +gaze upon his pets. Meantime, as if conscious of his pride in them, +the cocks were boastfully crowing paeans to their own victories, past +and to come, in shrill and ill-timed but uninterrupted concert, bronze +wings flapping, crimson crests truculently tossing insolent challenge +for all comers. + +With the one plan of my trip completely smashed, I felt too much upset +to continue the interview, and excused myself. But after a forenoon +spent alone beside the broad and swift current the Sabinas was pouring +past me, gazing at the dim blue mountain-crests in the west that I had +learned marked its source, the irresistible call to penetrate the +unknown impressed and then possessed me so completely that, at our +midday breakfast, I announced to the Captain I had decided to follow +the river to its head, and pass thence into the desert for a +thirty-days' circle to the north and west. + +"But, _valga nu Dios_, man," he objected, "I have no force I can spare +for sufficient time to give you adequate escort for such a journey. It +would be madness to undertake it with less than fifty men. I am +responsible to my General for your safety, and cannot sanction it. +Beyond the Alamo Caņon the only waters are in isolated springs in the +plains and in natural rain-fall tanks along the mountain crests, known +to none except the Indians and Tomas Alvarez, an old half-breed +Kickapoo long attached to my command as scout, who ranged that country +years ago with his tribe, and who guides my troop on such short scouts +as we have been able to make beyond the Alamo, and--" + +"Pardon," I ventured to interrupt, "that will do nicely; give me +Alvarez and one good trustworthy soldier, and we'll make the circle +without trouble." + +"Six of you! Why, you'd never get twenty miles out of town in that +direction. I can't permit it." + +"Pardon again, Don Abran," I broke in, "but we have for years been +accustomed to move in small parties through country that held a hundred +times more hostiles than you have here, and you can trust us to take +care of ourselves. Go we shall in any event, without your men if you +withhold them." + +"Well, well, _hijo mio_," he responded, "if you are bound to go, we +will see. Only I shall write my General that I have sought to restrain +you." + +To us the prevailing local fears seemed absurd. Admittedly there were +only sixteen of the Lipans then left, men, women, and children, their +chief, Juan Galan, the son by a Lipan squaw, of the father of Garza +Galan, then the leading merchant of the town, and later a distinguished +Governor of his State. Originally a powerful tribe occupying both +banks of the lower Rio Grando to the south of the Comanches, in their +wars with Texans and Mexicans the Lipans had dwindled until only this +handful remained. Three years earlier the entire band had been +captured after a desperate fight, and removed by the Mexican +authorities to a small reservation five hundred miles southwest of +Musquiz. But at the end of two years, as soon as the guard over them +relaxed, indomitable as Dull Knife and his Cheyennes in their desperate +fight (in 1879) to regain their northern highland home, Juan Galan and +his pathetically small following jumped their reservation and dodged +and fought their way back to the Musquiz Mountains; and there for the +last ten months, constantly harassed and harassing, they had been +fighting for the right to die among the hills they loved. To the +natives they were blood-thirsty wolves, beasts to be exterminated; to +an impartial onlooker they were a heroic band courting death in a +splendid last fight for fatherland. Their bold deeds would fill a +book. Even in this town of fifteen hundred people guarded by a troop +of cavalry, no one ventured out at night except from the most pressing +necessity; and of the seventy killed by them since their return, nearly +a third were macheted in the streets of Musquiz during Juan Galan's +night raids on the town. + +The most effective work against them was done by a band of about a +hundred Seminole-negro half-breeds, to whom the Government had made a +grant of four square leagues twenty-five miles west of Musquiz, on the +Nacimiento. Come originally out of the Indian territory in the United +States, where the Seminoles had cross-bred with their negro slaves, +this same band a few years earlier had been most efficient scouts for +our own troops at Fort dark, and other border garrisons, and it was +this record that led the Mexican Government to seek and lodge them on +the Nacimiento, as a buffer against the Lipans. + +That night arrangements for our trip were concluded: the Captain +consented to furnish me old Tomas Alvarez and a young soldier named +Manuel, but only on condition that he himself should escort us, with +fifty men of his troop, one day's march up the river, which would carry +us beyond the recent range of the Lipans. So early the next morning we +marched out westward, passing the last house a half-mile outside the +centre of the town, along a dim, little-travelled trail that followed +the river to the Seminole village on the Nacimiento. The day's journey +was without incident, other than our amusement at what seemed to us the +Captain's overzealous caution in keeping scouts out ahead and to right +and left of the column, and in posting sentries about our night camp. + +The following morning, a Sunday, after much good advice, the kindly +Captain bade us a reluctant farewell, and led his troops down-river +toward home, while our little party of six headed westward up-river. +Near noon we sighted the Seminole village, and shortly entered it, a +close cluster of low jacals built of poles and mud. Odd it looked, as +we entered, a deserted village, no living thing in sight but a few +dogs. Thus our surprise was all the greater when, nearing the farther +edge of the village, our ears were greeted with the familiar strains of +"Jesus, Lover of My Soul," issuing from a large _jacal_ which we soon +learned was the Seminole church. Fancy it! the last thing one could +have dreamed of! An honest old Methodist hymn sung in English by +several score devout worshippers in the heart of Mexico, on the very +dead line between savagery and civilization, and at that, sung by a +people all savage on one side of their ancestry and semi-savage on the +other. + +Before the singing of the hymn was finished, startled by the barking of +their dogs, out of the low doorway sprang half a dozen men, strapping +big fellows,--one, the chief, bent half double with age,--all heavily +armed. The moment they saw we were Americans we were most cordially +received, and even urged to stop a few days with them, and give them +news of the Texas border. But for this we had no time; and after a +short visit--for which the congregation adjourned service--we filled +our canteens, let our horses drink their fill at the great Nacimiento +spring that burst forth a veritable young river from beneath a low +bluff beside the town, and struck out westward for Alamo Caņon. Our +afternoon march gave us little concern, for our route lay across +rolling, lightly timbered uplands that offered little opportunity for +ambush. That night we made a "dry camp" on the divide, preferring to +approach the Alamo in daylight. + +Having struck camp before dawn the next morning, by noon we saw ahead +of us a great gorge dividing the mountain we were approaching--great in +its height, but of a scant fifty yards in breadth, perpendicular of +sides, a narrow line of brush and timber creeping down along its +bottom, but stopping just short of the open plains. Scouting was +useless. If there were any Indians about, we certainly had been seen, +and they lay in ambush for us in a place of their own choosing. We +must have water, and to get it must enter the caņon. So straight into +the timber that filled the mouth of the gorge we rode at a run, riding +a few paces apart to avoid the possible potting of our little bunch, +and a hundred yards within the outer fringe of timber we reached the +water our animals so badly needed. + +And right there, all about the "sink" of the Alamo, where the last +drops of the stream sank into the thirsty sands, the bottom was covered +thick with fresh moccasin tracks, and in a little opening in the bush +near to the sink smouldered the embers of that morning's camp-fire of a +band of Lipans. Apparently we were in for it and seriously debated a +retreat. Our position could not be worse. Tomas told us that the +trail of the Lipans led straight up the valley, and for eight miles the +caņon was never more than three hundred yards wide, and often no more +than fifty, with almost perpendicular walls rising on either side two +hundred or more feet in height, so nearly perpendicular that we would +for the entire distance be in range from the bordering cliff crests, +while any enemy there ambushed would be so safely covered they could +follow our route and pick us off at their leisure. To be sure, the +brush along the stream afforded some shelter, but no real protection. +However, out now nearly fifty miles from Musquiz and well into the +country we had come to see, we pushed ahead. Cress, Thornton, and +Manuel prowling afoot through the brush a hundred yards in advance, +Crawford, Tomas and myself bringing up the rear with the horses. And +so we advanced for nearly half a mile when the Lipan trail turned east, +toward Musquiz, up a crevice in the cliff a goat would have no easy +time ascending. Thus we were led to argue that the Lipans had left +their camp before discovering our approach, and by this time were +probably miles away to the east. + +Mounting, therefore, we made the beat pace our pack animals could stand +up through the eight miles of the narrows, riding well apart from each +other, the only safeguard we could take, all craning our necks for view +of the cliff crests ahead of us. But no living thing showed save a few +deer and coyotes, and two mountain lions that, alarmed by our +clattering pace, slipped past us back down the gorge. When at last we +reached the end of the narrows and the caņon broadened to a width of +several hundred yards, all but fifty or seventy-five yards of the belt +of timber lining the stream along the south wall being comparatively +level grassy bunch land, nearly devoid of cover, we congratulated +ourselves that we had not been scared into a retreat. + +Keen to put as much distance as we could between us and the Lipans, we +travelled on up the caņon at a sharp trot, keeping well to its middle, +until about 5 p.m., when we reached a point where it widened into a +broad bay, nearly seven hundred yards from crest to crest, with a dense +thicket of mesquite trees near its centre that made fine shelter and an +excellent point of defence for a night camp. The stream hugged the +east wall of the caņon, where it had carved out a tortuous bed perhaps +one hundred and fifty yards wide, and so deep below the bench we +occupied that only the tops of tall cottonwoods were visible from the +thicket. + +While the rest of us were busy unsaddling and unpacking, Thornton slung +all our canteens over his shoulder, and started for the stream. But no +sooner had he disappeared below the edge of the bench, a scant two +hundred yards from our camp, before a rapid rifle fire opened which, +while we knew it must proceed from his direction, echoed back from one +cliff wall to the other until it appeared like an attack on our +position from all sides, while the echoes multiplied to the volume of +cannon fire at the sound of each shot. Indeed, never have I heard such +thunderous, crashing, ear-splitting gun-detonations except on one other +occasion, when aboard the British battle ship _Invincible_ and in her +six-inch gun battery while a salute was being fired. + +Frightened by the fire, one of our pack horses stampeded down the +caņon. Sending Manuel in pursuit, and leaving Tomas at the camp, +Crawford, Cress, and I ran for the break of benchland, to reach and aid +Thornton. Nearing it, all three dropped flat, and crawled to its edge, +just in time to see George make a neat snap shot at a Lipan midway of a +flying leap over a log, and drop him dead. Old George was standing +quietly on the lower slope of the bench just above the timber, while +the shots from eight or ten Lipan rifles were raining all about him! +The Lipans lay in the timber only one hundred to one hundred and fifty +yards away, and it was a miracle they did not get him. Instantly Cress +and Crawford slipped back out of range, made a detour that brought them +to the bench edge within fifty yards of the Lipans' position, and +opened on them a cross fire, while I lay above George and shelled away +at the smoke of their discharge, for not one showed a head after George +potted the jumper. Five minutes after Cress and Crawford opened on +them, the Lipan fire ceased entirely. For an hour we scouted along the +bank trying to locate them, but apparently they had withdrawn. + +Then, while the others covered us, George and I slipped through the +bush to investigate his kill, and found a great gaunt old warrior at +least sixty years old, wrinkled of face as if he might be a hundred, +but sound of teeth and coal-black of hair as a youth, his face and body +scarred in nearly a score of places from bullet and machete +wounds,--the sign manual writ indelibly on his war-worn frame by many a +doughty enemy. We carried him to the bench crest, Crawford fetched a +spade and we dug a grave and buried him with his weapons laid upon his +breast, as his own people would have buried him, and then we fired +across his grave the final salute he obviously so well had earned. + +More than he would have done for us? Yes, I dare say. But then our +points of view were different. Throughout his long life a terror to +all whites he doubtless had been; upon us he was stealthily slipping, +ruthless as a tiger; but then he and his tribesmen and lands had so +long been prey to the greed of white invaders of his domain that it is +hard to blame him for fighting, according to the traditions of his +race, to the death. + +Lying in camp within the thicket that night, naturally without a fire, +Thornton made it plain that his voluntary start for water was +providentially timed. He told us that, while descending the slope to +the timber, he saw the head of a little column of Indians, stealing up +the valley through the brush, saw them before they saw him; but just as +he saw them, he slipped on some pebbles and nearly fell, making a noise +that attracted their attention. Instantly they slid into cover, and +opened fire on him. + +Asked by me why he himself had not sought cover, George answered, "No +show to get one except by keeping out in the open on the high ground, +and I _wanted one_!" + +It was plain the Lipans had sighted us when too late to lay an ambush +for us in the narrows, had made a short cut through the hills and +dropped down into the stream bed with the plan to attack us at our +night camp. Evidently they had not expected us to camp so early, and +were jogging easily along through the brush, for once off their guard. +But for George's chance start for the stream, nothing but faithful old +Curly's perpetual watchfulness could have saved us from a bad mix-up +that night. Already it had been so well proved that we could safely +trust Curly to guard us against surprise, we slept soundly through the +night, without disturbance of any sort. + +The next forenoon's march to the head waters of the Alamo was an +anxious one, and was made with the utmost caution, for we were sure the +Lipans would be lying in wait for us; but no sign of them did we again +see for three weeks. + +Leaving the Alamo, we made a great circle through the desert, swinging +first north toward the Sierra Mojada, then south, and ultimately +eastward toward Monclova. The trip proved to be one of great hardship +and danger, but only from scarcity of water; for while at isolated +springs we found recent camps of one sort of desert prowler or another, +we neither met nor saw any. Finally, late one night of the fourth +week, we reached a little spring called Zacate, out in the open plain +only about thirty miles south of Musquiz. But between us and only five +miles south of the town stretched a tall range through which Tomas knew +of only two passes practicable for horsemen; one, to the west, via the +Alamo, the route we had come, would involve a journey of eighty miles, +while by the other, an old Indian and smugglers' trail crossing the +summit directly south of Musquiz, we could make the town in thirty-two +miles. The latter route Tomas strongly opposed as too dangerous. +Twelve miles from where we lay it entered the range, and for fifteen +miles followed terrible rough caņons wherein, every step of the way, we +should be right in the heart of the recent range of the Lipans, and +where every turn offered chance of a perfect ambush. But with our +horses exhausted, worn to more shadows from long marches through +country affording scant feed, with not one left that could much more +than raise a trot, we finally decided to chance the shorter route. +That night we supped on cold antelope meat and biscuits, to avoid +building a fire, and rolled up in our blankets, but not to rest long +undisturbed. + +Shortly after midnight Curly roused us with low growls. Though the +moon was full, the night was so clouded one could hardly see the length +of a gun-barrel. Curly's warnings continuing, George and Tomas rolled +out of their blankets and crawled out among and about the horses, and +lay near them an hour or more, till Curly's growls finally ceased. +Then we called them in and all lay down, and finished the night in +peace. Early the next morning, however, a short circle discovered the +trail of three Indians who had crept near to the horses and +reconnoitred our position. Their back trail led due northeast, the +direction we had to follow; and when we had ridden out half a mile from +the Ojo Zacate, we found where their trail joined that of the main +band. The "sign" showed they had been south toward Monclova on a +successful horse-stealing raid, for it was plain they had passed us in +the night with a bunch of at least twenty horses, heading toward a +point of the range only five or six miles west of where we should be +compelled to enter it. + +We were in about as bad a hole as could be conceived. Plainly the +Indians knew of our presence in the vicinity. It was equally certain +their scouts would be watching our every move throughout the day, and +there was not one chance in a thousand of our crossing the range +without attack from some ambush of such vantage as to leave small +ground for hope that we could survive it. All but Cress and Thornton +urged me to turn back, although we were all nearly afoot, and had no +food left except two or three pounds of flour, and a little meat. +After very short deliberation I decided to go ahead. The Lipans knew +precisely where we were, and if they wanted us they could (in the event +of a retreat) easily run us down and surround us and hold us off food +and water until we were starved out sufficiently to charge their +position and be shot down. Better far put up a bold bluff and take +chances of cutting through them. + +So on we plodded slowly toward the hills, all of us walking most of the +way to save our horses all we could. At 2 p.m. we cut the old trail +Tomas was heading us toward, and shortly thereafter entered the mouth +of a frightfully rough caņon, its bottom and slopes thickly covered +with nopal, sotol, and mesquite, and, later, higher up, with pines, +junipers, oaks, and spruces, with here and there groups of great +boulders that would easily conceal a regiment. Two or three miles in, +the gorge deepened until tall mountain slopes were rising steeply on +either side of us, and narrowed until we had to pick our way over the +rough boulders of the dry stream-bed. + +Our advance was slow, for it had to be made with the utmost caution. +Thornton, Cress, and Tomas scouted afoot, one in the bottom of the +gorge, and one half-way up each of its side walls, while Manuel and +Crawford followed two hundred yards behind them, also afoot, driving +the saddle and pack horses; and I trailed two hundred yards behind the +horses, watching for any sign of an attempted surprise from the rear. +Thus scattered, we gave them no chance to bowl over several of us at +the first fire from any ambush they might have arranged. + +From the windings of the caņon we were out of sight of each other much +of the time; personally, I recall that afternoon as one of the most +lonely and uncomfortable I ever passed. I slipped watchfully along, +stopping often to listen, eyes sweeping the hillsides and the gulch +below me, searching every tree and boulder, with no sound but the +soughing of the wind through the tree-tops, and an occasional soft +clatter of shingle beneath the slipping hoofs of my unshod horse. + +But throughout the afternoon the only sign of man or beast that I saw +was a lot of sotol plants recently uprooted, and their roots eaten by +bears. + +Shortly after dark we reached the only permanent water in the caņon, a +clear, cold, sweet spring, bursting out from beneath a rock, only to +sink immediately into the arid sands of the dry stream-bed. +Immediately below the spring and midway of the gorge bottom stood an +island-like uplift, twenty yards in length by ten in width, covered +with brush, leaving on either side a narrow, rocky channel, and from +either side of these two channels the caņon walls, heavily timbered, +rose very steeply. Just above these narrows, the gorge widened into +seven or eight acres of level, park-like, well-grassed benchland, and +into this little park we turned our horses loose for the night, for +they were too worn to stray. + +Having made eight or ten miles up the caņon during the afternoon march, +we were now within a mile of the summit, and no more than seven miles +from Musquiz. Indeed we should have tried to reach the town that night +had not Tomas told us the next three miles of the trail were so steep +and rough he could not undertake to fetch us over it unless we +abandoned our animals, saddles, and packs. + +We turned into our blankets early, after a cold supper, for we did not +care to chance a fire. Cress and I slept together in the channel to +the west of the island; Manuel and Tomas to the east of it quite out of +our sight; Thornton and Crawford ten paces north, in sight of both +ourselves and the Mexicans. A little moonlight filtered down through +the trees, but not enough to enable us to see any distance. + +Scarcely were we asleep, it seemed to me, before Curly awakened Cress +and myself, growling immediately at our heads. Rising in our blankets, +guns in hand, and listening intently, we could hear on the hillside +above us what sounded like the movements of a bear. Whatever it might +be, it was approaching. Not a word had been spoken, and Curly's growls +were so low we had no idea any of the others had been roused. So we +sat on the alert for perhaps fifteen minutes, when the sounds above us +began receding, and we lay down again. But just as we were passing +back into dreamland, Curly again startled us with a sharper, fiercer +note that meant trouble at hand. + +As we rose to a sitting posture, in the dim moonlight we could plainly +see a dark crouching figure twenty yards below, which advanced a step +or two, stopped as if to listen, and again advanced and stopped. What +it was we could not make out. At first I thought it must be a bear, +but presently I felt sure I caught the glimmer of a gun barrel, and +nudged Cress with my elbow. We were in the act of raising our rifles +to down it, whatever it might be, when Thornton sang out, "Hold on, +boys; that's old Tomas!" And, indeed, so it proved. All had been +awakened at the first alarm, and Thornton had seen Tomas roll from his +blankets into the bottom of the east channel, and crawl away on the +scout for the cause of Curly's uneasiness that so nearly had cost him +his life. He had been so intent for movement on the hillsides he had +not noticed us watching him. + +The next morning we were moving by dawn, Tomas, Cress, and myself in +the lead, the others trailing along one hundred or two hundred yards +behind us. For half a mile the gorge widened, as most mountain gorges +do near their heads, into beautiful grassy slopes rising steeply before +us, thickly timbered with post oak. Then, issuing from the timber, we +saw it was a blind caņon we were in, a _cul de sac_, with no pass +through the crest of the range. + +Before us rose a very nearly perpendicular wall for probably six +hundred feet, up which the old trail zigzagged, climbing from ledge to +ledge, so steep that when, later, we were fetching our horses up it, +one of the pack horses lost its balance and fell fifty feet, crippling +it so badly we had to kill it. The cliff face, about three hundred +yards in width, and flanked to right and left by the walls of the +caņon, was entirely bare of trees, but thickly strewn with boulders. +From an enemy on the top of the two flanking walls, climbers up the +cliff face could get no shelter whatever. Thus it was important that +our advance should reach the summit as quickly as possible. So, up the +three of us scrambled, about thirty yards apart, disregarding the trail. + +When we were nearly half-way up, and just as we had paused to catch our +breath, several rifle shots rang out in quick succession, which, from +some peculiar echo of the caņon, sounded as if they had been fired +beneath us. Upon turning, we could see nothing of our three mates or +the horses--they were hidden from our view by the timber. Fancying +they were attacked from the rear, I was about to call a return to their +relief, when I saw Thornton run to the near edge of the timber, drop on +one knee behind a tree, and open fire on the cliff-crest directly above +our heads. + +Whirling and looking up, I was just in time to see eight or ten men bob +up on the crest and take quick snap shots at the three of us in the +lead, and then duck to cover. We were so nearly straight under them, +however, that they overshot us, although they were barely one hundred +yards from us. Dropping behind boulders we peppered back at the +flashes of their rifles, which was all we three in the lead thereafter +saw of them; for after the first volley most of them lay close and +directed their fire at the men in the edge of the timber, but +occasionally a rifle was tipped over the edge of a boulder and fired at +random in our direction. And all the time they were yelling at us, +"_Que vienen, puercos! Que vienen!_" (Come on, pigs! Come on!) + +I was puzzled. Both Cress and I thought they were Mexicans, but Tomas +insisted they were Lipans. And sure enough it was the Lipans all spoke +Spanish and dressed like Mexican peons. Whoever they might be, we +could not stay where we were. By the firing and voices there were at +least a dozen of them, and obviously it was only a matter of moments +before they would occupy the two flanking walls and have us openly +exposed. + +It was a bad dilemma. Retreat was impossible, down a gorge commanded +at short range from both sides. If we took shelter in it, they could +starve us out; if we attempted to descend it, they could easily pick us +off; if any of us escaped back to the plain it would only be to incur +greater exposure if they pursued, or probably to perish of hunger +before we could reach any settlements. Thus the situation called for +no reflection--it was charge and dislodge them, or die. + +Yelling to the boys below to close up on us, we three settled down to +the maintenance of the hottest fire we could deliver at the rifle +flashes above us, to cover their advance. Luckily there were many +boulders scattered along the grassy treeless slope they had to advance +across to reach the foot of the cliff. Thus by darting from one +boulder to another they had tolerable cover and were able to reach us +with no worse casualties than a comparatively slight flesh wound +through Manuel's side and the shooting away of Thornton's belt buckle. + +Then we started the charge, led really by Thornton, who, active as a +goat, would have raced straight into the downpour of lead if I had not +continually restrained him. Three would scramble up fifteen or twenty +feet, and then drop behind boulders, while the other three kept up a +heavy fire on the summit; and then the rear rank would advance to a +line with their position, while they shelled the enemy. All the time a +rain of bullets was splashing on the rocks all about us, but luckily +for us they did not expose themselves enough to deliver an accurate +fire. + +After we had made five or six such rushes, and were about half-way up, +we could hear the voices of what sounded like the larger part of the +band receding. Supposing they were swinging for the two side walls to +flank us we doubled our speed and presently dropped beneath the shelter +of a wall of rock about four feet high, from behind which our enemy had +been firing. + +Two or three minutes earlier their fire had ceased, and what to make of +it we did not know. We found that an exposure of our hats on our +gun-muzzles drew no fire; yet, driven by sheer desperation, and +expecting that every man of us would get shot full of holes, we +simultaneously sprang over the rock, and dropped flat on the +summit--amid utter silence, about the most happily surprised lot of men +in all Mexico! The enemy had decamped. But where? And with what +purpose? And why had they not flanked us! + +Careful scouting soon showed they had retired in a body down the trail +we must follow to reach Musquiz, as for nearly three miles the descent +was as rough and difficult as the ascent had been. + +Leaving Cress, who was ill, and Manuel, who was weak from loss of +blood, to hold the summit, the rest of us descended to fetch up our +horses, and a hard hour's job we had of it, for we packed on our backs +the load of the dead pack horse and those of his mates the last half of +the ascent, rather than risk losing another animal. + +Upon our return we found Manuel gloating over three trophies--a hat +shot through the side by a ball that had evidently "creased" the +wearer's head, an old Spanish spur and a gun scabbard--which he seemed +to find salve for the burning wound in his side. + +Beneath us to the north lay Musquiz, in plain sight, a scant six miles +distance. In the clear dry air of the hills, it looked so near that a +good running jump might land one in the plaza, and yet none of us +expected we all should enter it again. The odds were against it, for +below us lay three miles of hill trail any step down which might land +us in a worse ambush than the last and we never imagined the enemy +would fail to engage us again. But the descent had to be made, and +down it we started, Cress and Manuel bringing up the rear with the +horses, the rest of us scouting ahead, dodging from rock to tree, +advancing slowly, expecting a volley, but receiving none. + +For a mile the band followed the trail, and we followed their fresh +tracks; then they left the trail and turned west through the timber. +However, we never abated our watchfulness until well out of the hills +and near the outskirts of the town, which we reached shortly after +noon. There, breakfasting generously if not comfortably with Don Abran +and his gamecocks, I got news that made me less regretful of my failure +to obtain the Santa Rosa Ranch: one of its two Scotch purchasers had +been killed two days before my return, in attempting to repel a raid on +his camp by Nicanor Rascon! + +With Cress too ill to travel, the next morning I left Crawford to care +for him, bade farewell to good old Don Abran, and started for Lampasos +with Thornton and Curly. + +We nooned at Santa Cruz, a big sheep ranch midway between Musquiz and +Progreso, leaving there about two o'clock. An hour later, we heard +behind us a clatter of racing hoofs, and presently were overtaken by a +hatless Mexican, riding bareback at top speed, who told us that shortly +after our departure the Lipans had raided Santa Cruz, and that of its +twelve inhabitants, men, women and children, he was the only survivor. +Thus were the Lipans still levying heavy toll for their wrongs! + +Toward evening we entered Progreso a village reputed among the natives +to be a nest of thieves and assassins. While Thornton was away buying +meat and I was rearranging our pack, six of the ugliest-looking +Mexicans I ever saw strolled across the plaza, evidently to size up our +outfit. Apparently it was to their liking, for when, twenty minutes +later, we were riding into the ford of the Rio Salado just south of the +town, the six, all heavily armed, loped past us, and when they emerged +from the ford openly and impudently divided, three taking to the brush +on one side of the road, and three on the other, riding forward and +flanking the trail we had to follow. From then till dark their hats +were almost constantly visible, two or three hundred yards ahead of us. +Our horses being so jaded, we were sure they were not the prize sought, +and it remained certain they were after our saddles and arms. + +Riding quietly on behind them until it was too dark to see our move or +follow the trail, we slipped off to the westward of the road, and +camped in a deep depression in the plain, where we thought we could +venture a small fire to cook our supper. But the fire proved a +blunder. Before the water was fairly boiling in the coffee pot, Curly +signalled trouble, and we jumped out of the fire-light and dropped flat +in the bush just as the six fired a volley into the camp, one of the +shots hitting the fire and filling our frying-pan with cinders and +ashes. For an hour or more they sneaked about the camp, constantly +firing into it, while we lay close without returning a single shot, +content they would not dare try to rush us while uncertain of our +position. And so it proved, for at length Curly's warnings ceased, and +we knew they had withdrawn. + +Waiting till midnight, we saddled and packed and made a wide detour to +the west, striking the road again perhaps four miles nearer Lampasos, +which we reached safely late in the next afternoon; our grand old +camp-guard, Curly, in better condition than either of us. + + +Curiously, seven months later, in August, 1883, while on another +ranch-hunting trip in Mexico, this time along the eastern slope of the +Sierra Madre in northern Chihuahua at least five hundred miles distant +from Musquiz, I learned the solution of our puzzle as to whether our +last fight in Coahuila was with Lipans or Mexicans. The manager of the +Corralitos Ranch, which I was then engaged in examining, was Adolph +Munzenberger. The previous Winter he had lived in Musquiz, as +Superintendent of the Cedral Coal Mines. While there, however, I had +not met him or his family. + +One evening at dinner, Mrs. Munzenberger asked me, "Have you ever, +perchance, been in Coahuila?" + +"Yes," I answered, "I spent several weeks in the State last Winter." + +"And how did you like it?" she asked. + +"Well, I must say I found rather too many thrills there for comfort," I +replied. And when I mentioned affair on the sierra south of Musquiz, +she broke in with: + +"Indeed! And you are the crazy gringo Don Abran tried to stop from +going into the desert! We heard of it; in fact, it was the talk of the +town, and no one expected you would ever get back. And by the way, it +was a contraband _conducta_ owned by friends of ours who attacked you +back of the town! Droll, is it not?" + +"Perhaps--now," I doubtfully answered. + +"Yes," Mrs. Munzenberger continued, "they were on their way to +Monclova. The night before the attack, the wife of the owner (one of +the leading merchants of the town) took me to their camp in the brush +near town to see their goods; and a lovely lot of American things they +had." + +"But why did they attack us?" I queried. + +"Well, you see, it was this way," she explained. "The smugglers broke +camp long before dawn, and started south over the same trail by which +you were approaching; they wanted to get over the summit before the +Lipans or guards were likely to be stirring, for it was a point at +which _conductas_ were often attacked. But shortly after sunrise, and +just as they advance guard reached the summit, they discovered your +party ascending, and, mistaking your uniformed soldiers for guardias, +the leader lined a dozen of his men along the ridge, and opened on you, +while his _mayordomo_ rushed the pack mules of the _conducta_ back down +the trail they had come. Early in the fight they discovered you wore a +party of _gringos_, and not guards, and decamped as soon as their +_conducta_ had time to reach a point where they could leave the rail. + +"Had their goods not been at stake, they would have wiped you out, if +they could, for the leader's brother got shot in the head of which he +died the same day. Indeed, when the two men you left behind started to +leave the country, he had planned to follow and kill them, but luckily +Don Abran heard of it, and restrained him." + +And this explained the mystery why they had not flanked us! + + +Brave to downright rashness, George Thornton lasted only about two +years longer. + +The Winter of 1883-84 he spent with me on my Pecos Ranch. Early in the +Spring he came to me and said: + +"Old man, if you want to do me a favor, get me an appointment as Deputy +United States Marshal in the Indian Territory. I'm going to quit you, +anyway. My guns are getting rusty. It's too slow for me here." + +"Why, George," I replied, "if you are bound to die why don't you blow +your brains out yourself?"--for at the time few new marshals in the +Indian Territory survived the first year of their appointment. + +"Never mind about me," he answered; "I'll take care of George. Anyway, +I'd rather get leaded there than rust here." + +So I got him the appointment. + +A few months later, when the Territory was thrown open to settlement, +Thornton homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land which early +became a town site, and now is the business centre of the city of +Guthrie. Had he lived and retained possession of his homestead, it +would have made him a millionaire. But greedy speculators soon started +a contest of his title. + +While this contest was at its height, one day Thornton learned some +Indians living a few miles from the town were selling whiskey, contrary +to Federal law. As he was mounting for the raid, having intended to go +alone, a man he scarcely knew offered to accompany him, and Thornton +finally deputized him. + +The story of his end was told by the Indians themselves, who later were +captured by a large force of marshals, and tried for his murder. They +said that just at dusk they saw two horsemen approaching. Presently +they recognized Marshal Thornton and at once opened fire on him, eight +of them, from behind the little grove of cottonwoods in which they were +camped. Immediately Thornton shifted his bridle to his teeth, and +charged them straight, firing with his two ".41" Colts. The moment he +charged, his companion dodged into a clump of timber, where they saw +him dismount. On came Thornton straight into their fire shooting with +deadly accuracy, killing two of their number, and wounding another +before he fell. + +Presently, at the flash of a rifle from the brush where his companion +had dismounted, Thornton pitched from his horse dead. They had done +their best to kill him, they frankly swore, but it was his own deputy's +shot that laid him low. + +All the collateral circumstantial evidence so fully corroborated this +that the Indians were acquitted. The shot that killed him hit him in +the back of the head and was of a calibre different from that of the +Indians' guns; and his deputy never returned to Guthrie. + +That it was a murder prearranged by some of the greedy contestants for +his land, was further proved by the fact that every scrap of his +private papers was found to have disappeared, and, through their loss, +his family lost the homestead. + +Curly's end is another story. Happily he was spared to me some years. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE THREE-LEGGED DOE AND THE BLIND BUCK + +We had just pulled the canoe out of the water and turned it over after a +wet day in the bush across Giant's Lake, and were drying ourselves before +the camp-fire, when Con taught a lesson and perpetrated a confidence. +His keen, shrewd eyes twinkling, and a broad smile shortening his long, +lean face till its great Roman nose and pointed chin were hobnobbing +sociably together, the best hunter and guide on the Gatineau sat pouring +boiling water through the barrel and into the innermost holy of holies of +the intricate lock mechanism of his .303 Winchester--_to dry it out and +prevent rusting_ from the wetting it had received in the bush. + +"Sure! youse never heerd of it before?" he asked in surprise. "Dryin' a +gun with hot water 's safest way to keep her from rustin'; carries out +all th' old water hangin' round her insides 'n' makes her so damned hot +Mr. Rust don't even have time to throw up a lean-to 'n' get to eatin' of +her 'fore the new water's all gone; 'n' Mr. Rust can't get to eat none +'thout water, no more'n a deer can stay out of a salt lick, or Erne Moore +can keep away from the _habitaw_ gals, or Tit Moody can get his own +consent to stop his tongue waggin' off tales 'bout how women winks down +t' Tupper Lake--when _he's_ rowin' 'em." + +"Shouldn't think such a little water as you have used would make the gun +hot enough to dry it out," I suggested. + +"Hot! Won't make her hot! Why, she's hotter now 'n' billy Buell got +last October when that loony _habitaw_ cook o' ourn made up all our +marmalade and currant jelly into pies that looked 'n' bit 'n' tasted like +wagon dope wropt in tough brown paper; hot! 's hot this minute 's Elise +Ličvre's woman got last Spring when she heerd o' him a-sittin' up t' a +Otter Lake squaw. Why, say! youse couldn't no more keep a gun from +rustin' in this wet bush 'thout hot water than Warry Hilliams can kill +anything goin' faster than three-legged deer. + +"Rust! Youse might 'a well try to catch a _habitaw_ goin' to a weddin' +'thout more ribbons on his bridle 'n' harness than his gal has on her +gown 's hunt for rust in a hot-watered gun!" + +Catching a hint of a yarn, I asked if there were many three-legged deer +in the bush. + +"W'an't but one ever, far 's I know," he replied. "'N' almighty lucky it +was for Warry that one come a-limpin' along his way, for it give him th' +only chance he'll probably ever have to say he got to shoot a deer. + +"Warry? Why he's jest the best ever happened--'t least the best ever +happened 'round this end o' the bush. Lives down to----; better not tell +you right where he lives, for I stirred up th' letters in his name, so 'f +any of his friends heerd you tell th' story they won't know it's on +_him_; fer he's jest that good I'd rather hurt anybody, 'cept my woman or +bird, than hurt him. + +"Warry! Why, with a rod 'n' line 'n' reel, whether it's with flies, +spoons, or minnows, castin' or trollin', or spearin' or nettin', Warry's +th' _ex_pertest fish-catcher that ever waded the rapids or paddled th' +lakes o' this old Province o' Quebec. But it's gettin' a _leetle_ hard +for Warry late years--fish 's come to know him so well that after he's +made a few casts 'n' hooked one or two that's got away, they know his +tricks so well they just passes the word 'round, 'n' it's 'pike' for th' +pike, 'beat it' for th' bass, 'trot' for th' trout, 'n' 'skip' for the +salmon, until now, after th' first day or two, 'bout all Warry can get in +reach of 's mud turtles. + +"'N'd that's what comes o' knowin' too much and gettin' too _damned_ +smart--nobody or nothin' left to play with! Warry? Why, say, if he'd +only knowed it thirty or forty years ago, Warry had th' chance to live 'n +die with th' _re_pute o' bein' th' greatest sport specialist that ever +busted through the Quebec bush--if he'd only jest kept to fishin'. But +the hell o' it is, Warry's always had a fool idee in his head he can +hunt, 'n' he can't, can't sort o' begin to hunt! 'N' darned if I could +ever quite figure out why, 'n' him so smart, 'nless because he goes +poundin' through the bush like a bunch o' shantymen to their choppin', +with his head stuck in his stummick, studyin' some new trick to play on a +trout, makin' so much noise th' deer must nigh laugh theirselves to death +at _him_ a-packin' o' a gun. + +"Hunt? Warry? Does he hunt? Sure, every year for th' last thirty years +to my knowledge--only that's all; he jest hunts, never kills nothin'. +Leastways he never did till three year ago, 'n' I ought t' know, for I +always guides for him. Why, I mind one time he was stayin' over on the +Kagama, he got so hungry for meat he up 'n' chunks 'n' kills 'n' cooks +'n' eats a porcupine, th' p'rmiscous shootin' o' which is forbid by +Quebec law, 'cause they're so slow a feller can run 'em down 'n' get 'em +with a stick or stone, 'n' don't need t' starve just 'cause he's got no +gun. + +"Three years ago he'd been up for the fly fishin' in late June 'n' +trollin' for gray trout in September, 'n then here he comes again th' +last week in October t' hunt. 'N' she was the same old story: nothing +doing! + +"I could set him on th' best runways, 'n' Erne 'n' me could dog th' bush +till our tongues hung out 'n' we could hardly open our mouths 'thout +barkin'; could run deer past him till it must 'a looked--if he'd had a +loose look about him--like a Gracefield _habitaw_ weddin' pr'cession, 'n' +thar he'd set with his eyes fast on th' end o' his gun, I guess, +a-waitin' for a sign of a _bite_ 'fore he'd jerk her up to try 'n' get +somethin'. 'N' the queerest part was, he seemed to enjoy it just 's much +'s if he'd brought down a three-hundred-pound buck to drag the wind out +o' Erne 'n' me at th' end o' a tump-line. Most fellers 'd got mad 'n' +cussed their luck. But not him--kindest, sweetest-tempered man I ever +knew. Guess he knowed we'd done our best 'n' had some kind o' secret +inside information that he hadn't. + +"O' course, sometimes Warry'd get his gun on, but by that time th' deer +had quit th' runway 'n' was in th' lake up to their bellies pullin' lily +pads, or curled up in th' long grass o' a swale fast asleep. + +"But all fellers has a day sometime, if they lives long enough--though +some o' them seems t' have t' get t' live a almighty long time t' get t' +see it. At last Warry's came. + +"Erne 'n' me been doggin' a swamp where th' deadfall tangle was so thick +we was so nigh stripped o' clothes we couldn't 'a gone t' camp if there'd +been any women about. Drivin' toward where a runway crossed a neck +'tween two lakes, a neck so narrow two pike could scarce pass each other +on it, there we'd sot Warry 't th' end o' th' neck. Jest 'fore we got t' +him we heard a shot, 'n' I remarked t' Erne, 'Guess th' old man thinks +he's got a _bite_.' 'N' then we broke through a thick bunch o' spruce; +'n' we both nigh fell dead to see old Warry sawin' at th' throat o' a +doe, tryin' to 'pear 's natural 's if he'd never done nothin' else but +kill 'n' dress deer. Mebbe Erne 'n' me wan't pleased none th' old man +had made a kill! + +"Erne was ahead; 'n' just as Warry rose up from th' throat-cuttin', Erne +dropped into th' weeds 'n' rolled 'n' 'round holdin' o' his stummick, +laughin' fit t' kill his fool self, till I thought he'd gone crazy. Then +my eye lit on th' fore quarters o' th' doe, 'n' I guess I throwed more +twists laughin' than Erne did--_for that there doe was shy a leg_, hadn't +but three legs; nigh fore leg gone midway 'tween knee and dewclaw, shot +off 'n' healed up Godo'mi'ty knows when. + +"Warry? He didn't seem t' care none, too darned glad t' get anythin' +shape o' a deer." + +That same evening one of us asked Con if he had ever run across any other +mutilated game, recovered of old wounds. + +"Sure!" he answered, "'specially once when I was almighty glad to git it, +'n' a whole lot gladder still that nobody was 'round t' see 'n' know 'n' +tell just what I got 'n' how I got it. She 's been a secret these five +year; stuck t' her tighter 'n' Erne Moore holds th' gals down t' +Pickanock dances, 'n' that 's closer 'n' a burl on a birch. Fact is, I +never told nobody 'fore now; 'n' I wouldn't be tellin' it t' youse now, +only just 'fore we come up here I got a letter from one o' th' two +brothers we blindfolded, sayin' his brother was dead an' he goin' t' +Californy t' live, 'n' wa'n't comin' into th' bush no more. + +"If that feller got hold o' her, my brother 'n' me 'd have t' go t' +Australia or th' Cape, for him that's still livin' 's just about 's mean +a feller 's Warry's a good one; an' any little _re_pute we've built up 's +guides 'n' hunters, he'd put in th' rest o' his life tryin' t' smash 's +flat 's that fool _habitaw_ cook got when Larry Adams sot on him for +cookin' pa'tridges as soup. He'd just par'lyze her till we couldn't even +get a job goin' t' hunt 'n' fetch th' cows out o' a ten acre pasture. +'N' th' worst o' 't is I don't know that I'd blame him so almighty much +for doin' it, for there was sure somethin' comin' t' us for foolin' them +I don't believe we got yet. + +"Th' two o' them came up from across th' line--ain't goin' t' tell you +what place they come from or even th' State--in late October, for th' two +weeks dog-runnin' season; youse know there is only two weeks th' Quebec +law lets us run hounds, 'thout a heavy fine. Never 'd seen either o' +them before, but friends o' theirs we'd been guidin' for gave brother 'n' +me a big recommend, 'n' they wrote up ahead 'n' hired us t' put up th' +teams t' haul them 'n' their traps in, 'n' then guide 'em. + +"Soon 's they showed up on th' depot platform at Gracefield, I knowed +brother 'n' me was up agin it hard. Train must 'a been a half-hour late +gettin' to Maniwaki for th' time she lost unloadin' them two fellers' +_necessities_ for a two-weeks' deer hunt: 'bout a dozen gun cases, 'n' +fishin' tackle 'nough for ten men, 'n' trunks 'n' boxes that took three +teams t' haul 'em out t' th' Bertrand farm. Fact is, them boxes held +enough ca'tridges t' lick out another Kiel rebellion 'n' leave over +'nough t' run all th' deer 'tween Thirty-one Mile Lake 'n' the Lievre +plumb north into James's Bay, for if there's anythin' your average +sportin' deer-hunters can be counted on for sure's death 'n' taxes, it's +t' begin throwin' lead, at th' rate o' about ten pound apiece a day, the +minute they gets into th' bush, at rocks 'n' trees 'n' loons 'n' +chipmucks--never killin' nothin' but their chance o' seein' a deer. + +"'N' these bloomin' beauties o' our'n was no exception. Th' lead they +wasted on th' two-mile portage from th' Government road t' th' lake would +equip all the Injuns on the Desert Reservation for a winter's hunt. + +"Why, when Tom 'n' me got hold o' th' box they'd been takin' ca'tridges +from t' heave her into the boat, she was so light, compared t' th' others +we'd been handlin', we landed her plumb over th' boat in th' water; 'n' +damned if she didn't nigh float. She was the only thing they had light +'nough t' even try t' float ('cept their own shootin,') which sure wasn't +heavy 'nough t' sink none, 'n' could 'a fell out o' a canoe 'n' been +picked up a week later bumpin' 'round with th' other worthless drift. + +"Took us a whole day to run their stuff over t' th' camp, 'n' it only a +mile across th' lake from th' landin'; 'n' when night come we was 's near +dead beat 's if we'd been portagin' a man's load apiece on a +tump-line--'n' that's a tub o' pork 'n' a sack 'o flour weighin' two +hundred and seventy five pounds--over every portage 'tween Pointe a +Gatineau 'n' th' Baskatong. + +"O' course th' gettin' them fellers over theirselves was a easy +diversion, they was that t' home 'bout a canoe! Youse may not believe +it, but after tryin' a half-hour 'n' findin' we couldn't even get them +into a canoe at th' landin' 'thout upsettin' or knockin' th' bottom outen +her, we had t' help them into a thirty-foot 'pointer' made t' carry a +crew o' eight shantymen 'n' their supplies on the spring drives, 'n' then +had t' pull our damnedest t' get them across th' lake 'fore they upset +her, jumpin' 'round 't shoot at somethin' they couldn't hit! + +"'N' eat! Well, they ate a few! We was only out for two weeks, 'n' when +we loaded th' teams 'peared t' me like we had 'nough feed for six months, +but after th' first meal 't looked t' me we'd be down t' eatin' what we +could kill inside o' a week. Looked like no human's stummick could hold +all they put in their faces, 'n' brother, he said he thought their legs +'n' arms must be holler. + +"'N' sleep! When 't come t' wakin' of 'em up th' next mornin' they was +like a pair o' bears that 'd holed up for th' winter, 'n' it nigh took +violence t' get 'em out at all. We started in runnin' th' hounds, 'n' +brother 'n' me had the best on th' Gatineau--Frank 'n' Loud, 'n' old +Blue, 'n' Spot--dogs that can scent a deer trail 's far 's Erne Moore can +smell supper cookin', 'n' that 's far from home 's Le Blanc farm his +father used to own, over Kagama way, 'bout eight miles from Pickanock, +where he lives. We run th' dogs for four days, 'n' it was discouragin', +most discouragin'. Country was full o' deer when we was last out, three +weeks before, 'n' th' dogs voiced 'n' seemed t' run plenty right down to +'n' past where we'd sot th' two on th' runways; but they swore they never +see nothin', said th' hounds been runnin' on old scent, sign made the +night before. + +"Then brother 'n' me took t' doggin' too, makin' six dogs, 'n' givin' us +a chance t' see anythin' that jumped up in th' bush. Still nothin' came +past 'em, they said, though we saw many a deer jump up out o' th' swamps +'n' go white flaggin' theirselves down th' runways toward the two +'hunters.' + +"We just couldn't understand it 'n' made up our minds t' try 'n' find out +why they never got t' see none. + +"So the sixth day I placed one o' them myself on a runway half as wide +'n' beat most 's hard 's th' Government road, full o' fresh sign, picked +a place where a big pine stump stood plumb in th' middle o' th' runway, +'n' sot him behind it where he had a open view thirty yards up th' runway +th' direction we'd be doggin' from. + +"Then I let on t' break through th' bush t' th' swamp we was goin' t' +dog, but 'stead o' that I only went a little piece 'n' left brother to +start th' hounds at a time we'd arranged ahead, while I lay quiet behind +a bunch o' balsam 'thin fifty yards o' my hunter. After 'bout twenty +minutes, the time I was supposed t' need t' get t' th' place t' start th' +hounds, I heard old Frank give tongue--must 'a struck a fresh trail th' +minute he was turned loose. Then it wa'n't long 'till th' other three +began t' sing, runnin' 'n' singin' a chorus that's jest th' sweetest +music on earth t' my ears. + +"Talk about your war 'n' patriotic songs, your 'Rule Britannias' 'n' +'Maple Leaves,' your church hymns 'n' love songs, 'n' fancy French op'ras +like they have down t' Ottawa that Warry Hilliams took me to wonst! Why, +say, do youse think any o' them is in it with a hound chorus, th' deep +bass o' th' old hounds 'n' th' shrill tenor o' th' young ones--risin' 'n' +swellin' 'n' ringin' through th' bush till every idle echo loafin' in th' +coves o' th' ridges wakes up 'n' joins in her best, 'n' you'd think all +th' hounds in this old Province was runnin' 'n' chorusin' 'tween the Bubs +'n' Mud Bay; 'n' then th' chorus dyin' down softer 'n' softer till she's +low 'n' sweet 'n' sorta holy-soundin', like your own woman's voice +chantin' t' your youngest--say, do youse think there's any music in th' +world 's good 's th' hounds make runnin'? + +"Well, I sot there behind th' balsams till th' dogs was drawin' near, 'n' +then I slips softly through th' bush t' where I'd left Mr. Hunter; 'n' +how do youse s'pose I found him, 'n' it no more'n half past seven in th' +mornin'? Youse never 'd guess in a thousand year. I'll jest tumpline +th' whole bunch o' youse 't one load from th' landin 't' th' Bertrand +farm if that feller wa'n't settin' with his back t' th' stump, facin' up +th' runway, his rifle 'tween his knees 'n' his fool head lopped over on +one shoulder, _dead asleep_! No wonder they never see nothin', was it? + +"First I thought I'd wake him. Then I heard a deer comin' jumpin' down +th' runway, 'n' knowin' 'for I could get him wide awake 'nough t' cock +'n' sight his gun th' deer 'd be on us, I slipped up behind th' stump 'n' +laid my rifle 'cross its top, th' muzzle not over a foot above his +noddin' head. I was no more'n ready 'fore here come--a buck? No, I +guess not, 'cause they was jest crazy for some good buck heads; no, jest +a doe, but a good big one. Here she come boundin' along, her head half +turned listening t' th' dogs, 'n' never seein' _him_, he sot so still. +When she got 'thin 'bout fifty feet I fired 'n' dropped her--'n' then +hell popped th' other side o' th' stump! Guess he thought he was jumped +by Injuns. Slung his gun one way 'n' split th' bush runnin' th' other, +leapin' deadfalls 'n' crashin' through tangles so fast I had t' run him +'bout fifty acres t' get t' cotch 'n' stop him. + +"That feller was with us jest about ten days longer, but he never got +time t' tell us jest what he thought was follerin' him or what was goin' +t' happen if he got cotched. Likely 's not he'd been runnin' yet if I +hadn't collared him. + +"O' course they was glad at last t' get some venison--leastways youse'd +think so t' see them stuffin' theirselves with it--but they never let up +a minute round camp roastin' brother 'n' me for not runnin' them a buck; +swore that we hadn't run 'em any was proved by my gettin' nothin' but th' +doe. + +"Finally, they up 'n' wants a still-hunt! Them still-hunt, that we could +scarce get along the broadest runway 'thout makin' noises a deer'd hear +half a mile! Still-hunt! Still-hunt, after we'd been runnin' the hounds +for a week and they'd shot off 'bout a thousand rounds o' ca'tridges +round camp 'n' comin' back from doggin', till there wa'n't a deer within +eight miles o' th' lake that wa'n't upon his hind legs listenin' where +th' next bunch o' trouble was comin' from. But still-hunt it was for +our'n, 'n' at it we went for th' next two days. Don't believe we'd even +'a started, though, if we hadn't known two days at th' most 'd cure them +o' still-huntin'. Gettin' out 'fore sun-up, with every log in th' +_brules_ frosted slippery 's ice 'n' every bunch o' brush a pitfall, +climbin' 'n' slidin' jumpin' 'n' balancin,' any 'n' every kind o' leg +motion 'cept plain honest walkin,' was several sizes too big a order for +them. So th' second mornin' out settled their still-huntin'. + +"Then they wanted brother 'n' me t' still-hunt--while they laid round +camp, I guess, 'n' boozed, th' way they smelled 'n' talked nights when we +got in. + +"'N' still-hunt we did, plumb faithful, 'n' hard 's ever in our lives +when we was in bad need o' th' meat, for several days; 'n' would youse +believe it? We never got a single shot. Sometimes we saw a white flag +for a second hangin' on top o' a bunch o' berry bushes--that was all; +most o' th' deer scared out o' th' country, 'n' th' rest wilder 'n' Erne +gets when another feller dances with his best gal. + +"Well, we just had t' give up 'n' own up beat. 'N' Goda'mi'ty! but +didn't them two cheap imitation hunters tell us what they thought o' us +pr'fessionals--said 'bout everything anybody could think of, 'cept cuss +us. 'N' there was no doubt in our minds they wanted to do that. If +they'd been plumb strangers, 'stead o' friends o' one o' our parties, +it's more'n likely brother 'n' me'd wore out a pair o' saplings over +their fool heads, 'n' paddled off 'n left them t' tump-line theirselves +out o' th' bush. But I told brother 't was only a day or two more, 'n' +we'd chew our own cheeks 'stead o' their ears. + +"The last day we had in camp they asked us t' make one more try with th' +hounds. We took th' two ridges north o' th' shanty deer-lick 'n' drove +west, with them on a runway sure to get a deer if there was any left t' +start runnin'. Scarcely ten minutes after we loosed th' hounds I heard +them stopped 'n' bayin', over on th' slope o' th' ridge brother was on, +bayin' in a way made me just dead sure they had a bear. + +"Now a bear-kill, right then t' go home 'n' lie about, tellin' how they +fit with it, would 'a suited our sham hunters better 'n' a whole passle +o' antlers; so I busted through th' bush fast as I could, fallin' 'n' +rippin' my clothes nigh off--only t' find our hounds snappin' 'n' bayin' +round a mighty big buck, that when I first sighted him, seemed to be jest +standin' still watchin' th' hounds. Never saw a deer act that way +before, 'n' him not wounded, 'n' nobody'd shot. Jest couldn't figure 't +out at all. But I was so keen t' get them fellers a bunch o' horns I +didn't stop t' study long what p'rsonal private reasons that buck had for +stoppin' 'n' facin' th' hounds. + +"I was in the act o' throwin' my .303 t' my face, when brother hollered +not t' shoot, 'n' t' come over t' him. 'N' by cripes! while I was +crossin' over t' brother, what in th' name o' all th' old hunters that +ever drawed a sight do youse think I noted about that buck? Darned if +that buck wa'n't _blind_--stone blind--blind 's a bat! + +"Poor old warrior! He'd stand with his head on one side listenin' t' th' +hounds till he had one located close up, 'n' then he'd rear 'n' plunge at +th' hound; 'n' if there happened t' be a tree or dead timber in his way, +he'd smash into it, sometimes knockin' himself a'most stiff. But when +all was clear th' hounds stood no show agin him, blind as he was. Old +Loud 'n' Frank, that naturally put up a better fight than th' young dogs, +he tore up with his front hoofs so bad they like t' died. + +"Run th' buck knowed he couldn't, 'n' there he stood at bay t' fight to a +finish 'n' sell out dear 's he could. If it hadn't been a real kindness +t' kill him, I'd never 'a shot that brave old buck, 'n' left our hunters +t' buy any horns they _had_ t' have down t' Ottawa. But he was already +pore 'n' thin 's deer come out in March, 'n' if we let him go 'd be sure +t' starve or be ate by th' wolves. So I put a .303 behind his shoulder, +'n' brother 'n' me ran up 'n' chunked th' dogs off. + +"'N' what do youse think we found had blinded that buck? Been lately in +a terrible fight with another buck. His head 'n' neck 'n' shoulders was +covered with half-healed wounds where he'd been gashed 'n' tore by th' +other's horns 'n' hoofs; 'n' somehow in the fight both his eyes 'd got +put out! Guess when he lost his eyes th' other buck must a' been 'bout +dead himself, or it 'd 'a killed him 'fore quittin'. + +"Then it hit brother 'n' me all of a heap that we'd be up agin it jest a +leetle bit too hard t' stand if we hauled a blind buck into camp; fellers +'d swear that t' get t' kill a buck at all brother 'n' me had t' range +th' bush till we struck a blind one; 'n' then they'd probably want us t' +go out 'n' see if we couldn't find some sick or crippled 'nough so we +could get to shoot 'em. + +"Brother was for leavin' him 'n' sayin' nothin'; but th' old feller had a +grand pair o' horns it seemed a pity t' lose, 'n' so I just drove a .303 +sideways through his eyes; 'n' when we got t' camp we 'counted for th' +two shots in him by tellin' them he was circlin' back past us 'n' we both +fired t' wonst. + +"'N' by cripes! t' this day nobody but youse knows that Con Teeples +dogged 'n' still-hunted th' bush for two weeks for horns 'thout killin' +nothin' but a blind buck." + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE LEMON COUNTY HUNT + +One crisp winter morning a party of us left New York to spend the week +end at the Lemon County Hunt Club. It was there I first met Sol, the +dean of Lemon County hunters and for eight seasons the winner, against +all comers, of the famous annual Lemon County Steeple Chase. At the +hurdles, whether in the great public set events or in private contests, +Sol was never beaten, while in the drag hunts it was seldom indeed he +was not close up on the hounds from "throw-in" to "worry." + +To the Club Mews he had come under the tragic name of Avenger, but such +was the marvellous equine wisdom he displayed that at the finish of his +third hunt in Lemon County, he was rechristened Solomon by his new +owner--soon shortened to Sol for tighter fit among sulphurous hunt +expletives. At that night's dinner Sol and his deeds were the chief +topic of conversation and also its principal toast. And why not, when +no hunting stable in the world holds a horse in all respects his equal? +Why not toast a horse now twenty-six years old who has missed no run of +the Lemon County hounds for the last eight years, never for a single +hunting-day off his feed or legs? Why not toast a horse that takes +ordinary timber in his stride and eats up the stiffest stone walls for +eight full hunting seasons without a single fall? Why not toast a +horse with the prescience and generalship of a Napoleon, a horse who +drives straight at all obstacles in a fair field, but who never +imperils his rider's head beneath over-hanging boughs; who foresees and +evades the "blind ditches" and other perils lurking behind hedges and +walls and who lands as steady and safe on ice as he takes off out of +muck? Why not toast this venerable but still indomitable King of +Hunters? + +The next morning it was my privilege to meet him. In midwinter, he of +course was not in condition. Descriptions of his weird physique, and +jests over his grotesquely large and ill-shaped head, made by half a +dozen voluble huntsmen over post-prandial bottles, I thought had +prepared me against surprise. Certainly they had described such a +horse as I had never seen. + +But having come to the door of his box, I was astounded to see +slouching lazily in a corner with eyes closed, the nigh hip dropped +low, a horse that at first glance appeared to be Don Quixote's +Rosinante reincarnate, a gigantic "crow-bait" with a head as long and +coarse as an eighteen-hand mule's, an under lip pendulous as a camel's +dropping ears nearly long enough to brush flies off his nostrils, with +such an ingrowing concavity of under jaw and convexity of face as would +have enabled his head to supply the third of a nine-foot circle, a face +curved as a scimitar and nearly as sharp. Both in shape and dimensions +it was the grossest possible caricature of a Roman-nosed equine head +the maddest fancy could conceive. + +Slapped lightly on the quarter, Sol was instantly transformed. + +Eyes out of which shone wisdom preternatural in a horse, opened and +looked down upon us with the calm questioning reproach one might expect +from a rude awakening of the Sphinx; then the tall ears straightened +and the great bulk rose to the full majesty of its seventeen hands; and +while slats, hip bones, and shoulder blades were distressingly +prominent, a glance got the full story of Sol's wonderful deeds and +matchless record for safe, sure work. + +With massive, low-sloping shoulders, tremendous quarters, +exceptionally short of cannon bone and long from hock to stifle as a +greyhound; with a breadth of chest and a depth of barrel beneath the +withers that indicated most unusual lung capacity, behind the +throat-latch Sol showed, in extraordinary perfection, all the best +points of a thoroughbred hunter that make for speed, jumping ability, +and endurance. + +And as he so stood, a flea-bitten, speckled white in color, he looked +like a section out of the main snowy range of the Rocky Mountains: the +two wide-set ears representing the Spanish Peaks; his sloping neck +their northern declivity; his high withers, sharply outlined vertebrae, +and towering quarters the serrated range crest; his banged tail a +glacier reaching down toward its moraine! + +Sol needed exercise, and that afternoon I was permitted the privilege +of riding him. Mounted from a chair and settled in the saddle, I felt +as if I must surely be bestriding St. Patrick's Cathedral. But at a +shake of the reins the parallel ceased. His pasterns were supple as an +Arab four-year-old's, his muscles steel springs. + +Myself quite as gray as Sol and, relatively, of about the same age, as +lives of men and horses go, we early fell into a mutual sympathy that +soon ripened into a fast friendship. At Christmas I returned to the +Club to spend holiday week, in fact sought the invitation to be with +Sol. Every day we went out together, Sol and I, morning and afternoon. +Bright, warm, open winter days, so soon as the spin he loved was +finished, I slid off him, slipped the bit from his mouth (leaving +head-stall hanging about his neck), and left him free to nibble the +juicy green grasses of some woodland glade and, between nibble times, +to spin me yarns of his experiences. For the subtle sympathy that +existed between us--sprung of our trust in one another and sublimated +in the heat of our mutual affection had sharpened our perceptions until +intellectual inter-communication became possible to us. I know Sol +understood all I told him, and I don't think I misunderstood much he +told me. So here is his tale, as nearly as I can recall it. + +"Ye know I'm Irish, and proud of it. It's there they knew best how to +make and condition an able hunter. No pamperin', softenin' idleness in +box stalls or fat pastures, or light road-joggin', goes in Ireland +between huntin' seasons. It's muscle and wind we need at our trade in +Ireland, and neither can be more than half diviloped in the few weeks' +light conditionin' work that all English and most American +cross-country riders give their hunters. Steady gruellin' work is what +it takes to toughen sinews and expand lungs, and it's the Irish +huntsman that knows it. So between seasons we drag the ploughs and +pull the wains, toil at the rudest farm tasks, and thus are kept in +condition on a day's notice to make the run or take the jump of our +lives. + +"Humiliatin'? Hardly, when we find it gives us strength and staying +power to lead the best the shires can send against us: they've neither +power nor stomach to take Irish stone and timber. + +"'It's a royal line of blood, his,' I've often heard Sir Patrick say; +'a clean strain of the best for a hundred years, by records of me own +family. His head? There was never a freak in the line till he came; +and where the divil and by what misbegotten luck he came by it is the +mystery of Roscommon. And it's by that same token we call him Avenger, +for no sneerin' stranger ever hunted with him that didn't get the +divil's own peltin' with clods off his handy Irish heels.' + +"And the head groom had it from the butler and passed it on to me that +the old Master of the Roscommon Hounds was ever swearin' over his third +bottle, of hunt nights, when I was no more than a five-year-old and the +youngsters would be fleerin' at Sir Pat over the shape of me head: + +"'Faith, an' it's Avenger's head ye don't like, lads, is it? By the +powers o' the holy Virgin but it's me pity ye have that none of ye can +show the likes in your stables. By the gray mare that broke King +Charlie's neck, it's the head of him holds brains enough to distinguish +ten average hunters, brains no ordinary brain pan could hold; an' it's +a brain-box shape of a shot sock makin' the disfigurin' hump below his +eyes. It's a four-legged gineral is Avenger, with the cunnin' +foresight of a Bonaparte and the cool judgment of a Wellington.' + +"Ah! but they were happy days on the old sod, buckin' timber, flyin' +over brooks, stretchin' over stone or lightin' light as bird atop of +walls too broad to carry and springin' on, with a good light-handed man +up that knew his work and left ye free to do yours! And a sad night it +was for me when Sir Pat, stripped by years of gambling of all he owned +but the clothes he stood in and me, staked and lost me to a hunt +visitor from Quebec! + +"I was a youngster then, only a nine-year-old, but I'll niver forget +the two weeks' run from Queenstown to Quebec whereon hunting tables +were reversed and I became the rider and the ship me mount, across +country the roughest hunter ever lived through: niver a moment of easy +flat goin', but an endless series of gigantic leaps that nigh jouted me +teeth loose, churned me insides till they wouldn't even hold dry feed, +and gave me more of a taste than I liked of what I had been givin' +Roscommon huntsmen over lane side wall jumps--a rise and a jolt, a rise +and a jolt, till it was wonderin' I was the ears were not shaken from +me head. + +"Humiliation? It was there at Quebec I got it! In old Roscommon +usually it was lords and ladies rode me of hunt days, men and women +bred to the game as I meself was. + +"But at Quebec, the best--and I had the best--were beefy members of +their dinkey colonial Government or fussy, timid barristers I had to +carry on me mouth. Seldom it was I carried a good pair of hands and a +cool head in me nine years' runnin' with the Quebec and Montreal +hounds. And lucky the same was for me, for it forced me to take the +bit in me teeth, rely on meself, and regard me rider no more than if he +were a sack of flour: I jist had it to do to save me own legs and me +rider's neck, for to run by their reinin' and pullin' would have +brought us a cropper at about two out of every three obstacles. Faith, +and I believe it's an honest leaper's luck I've always had with me, +anyway, for me Quebec work was jist what I needed to train me for an +honorable finish with the Lemon County Yankees. + +"One Autumn night years ago, when I was eighteen, a clever young Yankee +visitor from New York appeared at our club. For two days I watched his +work on other mounts, and liked it. He was good as any two-legged +product of the old sod itself, a handsome youngster a bit heavier than +Sir Pat, a reckless, deep drinkin', hard swearin', straight ridin' +sort, but with a head and hands ye knew in a minute ye could trust, by +name Jack Lounsend. The third hunt after his arrival, it was me +delight to carry him, and for the first time in years to allow me rider +his will of me. And you can bet your stud and gear, I gave him the +best I had, for the sheer love of him, and him so near the likes of me +dear Sir Pat. + +"Nor was me work to go unvalued, for, to me great delight, he bought me +and brought me to the States--straight away to Lemon County--along with +two of me huntmates he fancied. And a sweet country I found this same +Lemon County, with timber and stone nigh as stiff, and sod as sound as +old Roscommon's own. + +"But troubles lay ahead of me I'd not foreseen. Instead of goin' into +Jack's private string, as I'd hoped, the early record I made for close +finishes and safe, sure work made me wanted by the chief patron of the +hunt, a New York multi-railroad-aire with a well diviloped habit of +gettin' everything he goes after. So, while I venture to believe Jack +hated to part with me, the patron got me. + +"And a good man up the patron himself proved, one I'd always be proud +enough to carry; but, as Jack used to say, the hell of it was the Lemon +County Hunt numbered more bunglin' duffers than straight riders, the +sort a youngster or a hot-head would be sure to kill. + +"So when, as often happened, the patron was busy with faster runs and a +hotter 'worry' than our hunt afforded, it frequently fell to me lot to +carry the half-broke of all ages, seldom a one bridle wise to our game, +as sure to pull me at the take-off of a leap as to give me me head on a +run through heavy mud, the sort no horse could carry and finish +dacently with except by takin' the bit in his teeth and himself makin' +the runnin'. And even so, it was a tough task fightin' their rotten +heavy hands and loose seat! But, by the glory of old Roscommon, never +once have I been down in me eight years with the Lemons! + +"Once, to be sure, on me first run, by the way, I slashed into one of +your brutal wire fences, the first I'd ever seen--looked a filmy thing +you could smash right through--caught a shoe in it, and nigh wrenched a +shoulder blade in two. Sure, I never lost me feet, but it laid me up a +few days; and you can gamble any odds you like no wire has ever caught +me since; and, more, that I now hold record as the only horse in the +County that takes wire as readily as timber, where it's +necessary--though sure it is I'll dodge for timber every time where I +won't lose too much in place. + +"Down they come to Lemon County, a lot of those New York beauties, men +and women, togged out so properly you'd think they'd spent their whole +lives in the huntin' field; but at the first obstacle you'd see their +faces go white as their stocks, and then all over you they'd ride from +tail to ears, their arms sawin' at your mouth fit to rip your under jaw +off, like they thought it was a backin' contest they were entered for. +And sure back to the rear it soon was for them, back till the hounds +were mere glintin' specks flyin' across a distant hill-crest, the +riders' red coats noddin' poppies; back till only faint echoes reached +them of the swellin', quaverin' chorus of the madly racin' pack; back +for all but him or her whom old Sol had his will of,--for rider never +lived could hold me to the wrong jump or throw me from my stride, nor +was fence ever built I'd not find a place to leap without layin' a toe +on it. + +"Once the hounds give voice, it's the divil himself couldn't hold me, +whether it's the short, sharp war-cry of the Irish or the sweet, deep +bell-notes of these Yankee hounds that to me ever seem chantin' a +mournful dirge for the quarry. Sure, it's the faster Irish hounds that +make the grandest runnin', but it's the deep-throated mellow chorus of +a Yankee pack I love best to hear. + +"_Nouveaux riches_, whatever kind of bounders that spells, is what Bob +Berry calls the lot of mouth-sawers New York sends us; and whenever the +patron is out or Jack has his way, it's niver one of them I'm disgraced +with. + +"Sometimes it's me good old Jack up; sometimes hard swearin', straight +goin' Bob; sometimes little Raven, as true a pair of hands and light +and tight a seat as hunter ever had; sometimes Lory Ling, as reckless +as the old Roscommon sire of him I used to carry when I was a +five-year-old, with a ring in his swears, a stab in his heels, and a +cut in his crop that can lift a dead-beat one over as tall gates as the +best and freshest can take; sometimes it's Priest, that with the +language of him and the hell-at-a-split pace he'll hold a tired one to +but ill desarves the holy name he wears; and sometimes--my happiest +times--it's a daughter of the patron up, with hands like velvet and the +nerve and seat of a veteran. + +"Horse or human, it's blood that tells, every time, me word for that. +Be they old or young, you can niver mistake it. Can't stop anything +with good blood in it--gallops straight, takes timber in its stride, +and finishes smartly every time. Know it may not, but it balks at +nothing, sets its teeth and drives ahead till it learns. + +"And perhaps that wasn't driven well home on me last Fall!" + +"Out to us came a little woman, a scant ninety-pounder I should say, so +frail she wouldn't look safe in a drag, and a good bit away on the off +side of middle age; but the mouth of her had a set that showed she'd +never run off the bit in her life, and her eye--my eye! but she had an +eye, did that woman. And it was hell-bent to hunt she was, bound to +follow the bounds, though all she knew of a saddle came of +five-mile-an-hour jogs along town park bridle paths, and all her hands +looked fit for was holdin' a spaniel. + +"Well, it was Lory and Priest took her on, turn about, usually me that +carried her, and it was break her slender little neck I thought the +divils would in spite of me. Took her at everything and spared her +nowhere, bowled her along across meadow and furrow, over water, timber, +and walls, like she was a lusty five-year-old, and all the time a +guyin' her in a way to take the heart out of anything but a +thoroughbred. 'Don't mind the fence!' Lory would sing out, 'if you get +a fall, just throw your legs in the air and keep kickin' to show you're +not dead; we never want to stop for any but the dead on this hunt.' +And smash on my quarters would come her crop, and on we'd go! + +"Again, when we'd be nearin' a fence across which two were scramblin' +up from croppers, Lory would brace her with: 'Don't git scared at that +smoke across the fence; it's nothin' but the boys that couldn't get +over burnin' up their chance of salvation!' And into me slats her +little heel would sock the steel, and high over the timber I'd lift her +for sheer joy of the nerve of her! + +"But it was not always me that had her. One day I saw a cold-blood +give her a fall you'd think would smash the tiny little thing into +bran; landed so low on a ditch bank he couldn't gather, and up over his +head she flew and on till I thought she was for takin' the next wall by +her lonesome. And when finally she hit the ground it was to so near +bury herself among soft furrows that it looked for a second as if she'd +taken earth like any other wily old fox tired of the runnin'. + +"But tired? She? Not on your bran mash! Up she springs like a +yearlin' and asks Lory is her hat on straight--which it was, straight +up and down over her nigh ear. 'Oh, damn your hat,' answers Lory; +'give us your foot for a mount if you're not rattled. Why, next year +you'll be showin' your friends holes in the ground on this hunt course +you've dug with your own head!' And up it was for her and away again +on old cold-blood. Faith, but those cold-bloods make it a shame +they're ever called hunters. Fall the best must, one day or another; +but while the thoroughbred goes down fightin', strugglin' for his feet +and ginerally either winnin' out or givin' his rider time to fall free +if down he must go, the cold-blood falls loose and flabby as an empty +sack, and he and his rider hit the ground like the divil had kicked +them off Durham Terrace. Ah, but it was the heart of a true +thoroughbred had Mrs. Bruner, and whether up on cold or hot blood, +along she'd drive at anything those two hare-brained dare-devils would +point her at, spur diggin', crop splashin'! + +"Nor is all our fun of hunt days. Between times the lads are always +larkin' and puttin' up games on each other out of the stock of +divilment that won't keep till the next run, each never quite so happy +as when he can git the best of a mate on a trade or a wager. + +"One day little Raven and I galloped over to Lory's place. + +"'Whatever mischief are you and His Wisdom up to?' sings out Lory to +Raven, the minute we stopped at his porch. + +"'Nary a mischief,' answers Raven; 'want some help of you.' + +"'Give it a name,' says Lory. + +"'Easy,' says Raven; 'the master's got a new fad--crazy to mount the +hunt on white horses. I've old Sol here, and Jack has a pair of handy +white ones for the two whips, but where to get a white mount for Jack +stumps us. Jogged over to see if you could help us out.' + +"Lory was lollin' in an easy-chair, lookin' out west across his spring +lot. Directly I saw a twinkle in his eye, and followin' the line of +his glance, there slouchin' in a fence corner I saw Lory's old white +work-mare, Molly. Sometimes Molly pulled the buggy and the little +Lings, but usually it was a plough or a mower for hers. I'd heard Lory +say she was eighteen years old and that once she was gray, but now +she's white as a first snow-fall. + +"'How would old gray Molly do, Raven?' presently asks Lory. + +"'Do? Has she ever hunted?' asks Raven. + +"'Divil a hunt of anything but a chance for a rest,' says Lory; 'never +had a saddle on, as far as I know, but she has the quarters and low +sloping shoulders of a born jumper, and it's you must admit it. Let's +have a look at her.' + +"So out across the spring lot the three of us went, to the corner where +Molly was dozin'. And true for Lory it was, the old lady had fine +points; when lightly slapped with Raven's crop she showed spirit and a +good bit of action. + +"'She's sure got a good strain in her,' says Raven; 'where did you get +her, Lory?' + +"'Had her twelve years,' says Lory; 'brought her on from my Wyoming +ranch; she and a skullful of experience and a heartful of +disappointment made up about all two bad winters left of my ranch +investments. The freight on her made her look more like a back-set +than an asset, but she was a link of the old life I couldn't leave.' + +"'Well, give her a try out,' laughs Raven, 'and if she'll run a bit and +jump, we may have some fun passin' her up to Jack.' + +"So Lory takes her to the stable, has her saddled and mounts, and I +hope never to have another rub-down if she didn't gallop on like she'd +never done anything else--stiff in the pasterns and hittin' the ground +fit to bust herself wide open, but poundin' along a fair pace. Then we +went into a narrow lane and I gave her a lead over some low bars, and +here came game old Molly stretchin' over after me like fences and her +were old stable-mates. + +"'Well, I _will_ be damned,' says Raven; 'she's a hoary wonder. Give +her a week of handlin' and trim her up, and it'll be Jack for mother at +a stiff price; he's so bent on his fad, he'll take a chance on her age.' + +"And then it was clinkin' glasses and roarin' laughter in the house +with them, while I began tippin' Molly a few useful points at the game +as soon as the groom left us in adjoinin' stalls. + +"Four days later Lory brought Molly over to the hunt-club mews, and if +I'd not been on to their mischievous plot, I'll be fired if I'd known +her. It was a cunnin' one, was Lory, and he'd banged her tail, hogged +her mane, clipped her pasterns, polished her hoofs, groomed, fed up, +and conditioned her, and (I do believe) polished her yellow old fangs, +till she looked as fit a filly as you'd want to see. + +"And soon after, when Molly was unsaddled and stalled, into an empty +box alongside of me slips Lory with Tom, the best whip and seat of our +hunt, and says Lory: 'You never seem to mind riskin' your neck, Tom.' + +"'Thank ye kindly, sir,' says Tom; 'hall in the day's work.' + +"'Well, if you'll give the old gray mare a week's practice at wall and +timber, gettin' out early when none but the sun and the pair of you are +yet up, I'll give you the little rifle you lovin'ly handled at my place +the other day. But mind, it's your neck she may break at the first +wall, for I've niver taken her over anything much higher than a pig +sty.' + +"'Right-o, sir,' says Tom; 'an' there's any jump in the old girl, I'll +git it out of 'er.' + +"The next Saturday afternoon, the biggest meet of the season, up rides +that divil of a Lory on Molly, him in a brand-new suit of ridin' togs +and her heavy-curbed and martingaled like she was a wild four-year-old, +the pair lookin' so fine I scarce knew the man or Raven the mare. + +"'Hi, there, Lory!' says Raven; 'wherever did you get the corkin' white +un?' + +"'Sh-h-h! you damn fool,' says Lory. + +"'The hell you say!' whispers Raven, reins aside, chucklin' low to the +two of us, and with a knee-press which I knew meant, 'Sol, jist you +watch 'em!' + +"And we were no more than turned about when up rides the master, Jack, +both ears pointin' Molly, and says: + +"'Good-looker you have there, Lory. New purchase? + +"'No, indeed,' says Lory; 'old hunter I've had some years; brought her +on from the West; just up off grass and not quite prime yet; guess +she'll finish, though. + +"Think of it--the nerve of the divil--and him knowin' she was more +likely to finish at the first fence than ever to reach the check. For +the day's course was a full ten-mile run, and a check was laid half-way +for a blow or a change of mounts. + +"Presently the hounds opened at the 'throw-in,' an Irish pack it takes +near a steeplechase pace to stay with, and we were off on as stiff a +course as even Lemon County can show. And a holy miracle was Lory's +ridin' that day. For nigh four miles he held tight behind two duffers +who, while up on top-notchers, pulled their mounts so heavily that they +took a top rail off nearly every fence they rose to and swerved for low +wall-gaps, till he'd got Molly's nerves up a bit. Then, takin' a +chance on the last mile, Lory threw crop and spur into her and raced +straight ahead, liftin' her over wall and timber to try the best, until +close up on Jack. Just then Jack turned and watched them, just as they +were approachin' a heavy four-foot jump, a broad stone wall and ditch. +Sure, I thought it was all up with Lory, but at it he hurled her, and +I'll be curbed if she didn't take it as cleverly as I could. + +"Old Molly finished third at the check, but at the expense of a pair of +badly torn and bleedin' knees, got scrapin' over stone and wood, which +that rascal of a Lory hid by swervin' to a white clay bank and +plasterin' her wounds with the clay, and then she was led away by his +groom. + +"Joggin' back from the 'worry' that evenin', Jack lay tight in Lory's +flank till Lory had consented, apparently with great reluctance, to +sell him Molly for five hundred dollars. + +"The very next week, Jack, Raven, and the two whips turned out on white +hunters, Jack of course upon Molly and happy over the successful +workin' out of his fad. But good old Jack's happiness was short-lived, +for after the 'throw-in' he was not seen again of the hunt that day, +The first fence Molly negotiated in fine style, but at the second she +came a terrible cropper that badly jolted Jack and knocked every last +ounce of heart out of her, cowed her so completely that she'd be in +that same meadow yet if there'd not been a pair of bars to lead her +through, and divil a man was ever found could make her try another jump. + +"Great was the quiet fun of Lory and Raven, though Lory's lasted little +longer than Jack's joy of his white mount. Of course Jack was too game +to let on he knew he'd been done, but not too busy to sharpen a rowel +for Lory. + +"And the rankest wonder it was Lory niver saw it till Jack had him +raked from flank to shoulder--just stood and took it without a blink, +like a donkey takes a lash. + +"Within a week of Molly's downfall Lory was out on me one day, when up +rides Jack and says: + +"'There's a splendid hunter in me stable I want ye to have, Lory. Got +more than I can keep, and your stable must be a bit shy since you +parted with the white mare. He's the bay seventeen-hander in the Irish +lot. Stands me over a thousand, but you can have him at your own +price; don't want the hardest, straightest rider of the hunt shy of fit +meat and bone to carry him.' + +"Belikes it was the blarney caught him, but anyway Lory buried his +muzzle in Jack's pail till he could see nothin' but what Jack said it +held, and took the bay at six hundred dollars just on a casual lookover. + +"It was a good action, a grand jumpin' form, and rare pace the bay +showed on a short try-out that afternoon, so much so I overheard Lory +tellin' himself, when he was after dismounting just outside me box: +'Gad! but ain't old Jack easy money!' + +"But when Lory and the bay showed up at the next day's meet, I noticed +the bay's ears layin' back or workin' in a way to tell any but a blind +one it was dirty mischief he was plannin'. Nor was he long playin' it. +For about a third of the run the bay raced like a steeplechaser tight +on the heels of the hounds, leadin' even the master, for Lory could no +more hold him than his own glee at the grand way they were takin' gates +and walls. But suddenly that bay divil's-spawn swerves from the +course, dashes up and stops bang broadside against a barn; and there, +with ears laid back tight to his head and muzzle half upturned, for +four mortal hours the bay held Lory's off leg jammed so tight against +the barn that, rowel and crop-cut hard as he might, the only thing Lory +was able to free was such a flow of language, it was a holy wonder +Providence didn't fire the barn and burn up the pair of them. + +"And as Jack passed them I heard the divil sing not [Transcriber's +note: out?]: 'Ha! Ha! Lory! it was the gray mare wanted to jump but +couldn't, and it's the bay can jump but won't! It's an "oh hell!" for +you and a "ha! ha!" for me this time!' + +"Which, while they're still fast friends, was the last word ever passed +between them on the subject of the funker and the balker." + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +EL TIGRE + +"A cat may look at a king, but the son of a village lawyer may not +venture to bare his heart to the daughter of the Duque de la Torrevieja. +And yet a man of our blood was ennobled early in the wars with the Moors, +while the Duke's forebears were still simple men-at-arms, knighted under +a name that in itself carries the ring of the heroic deeds that earned +it." + +The speaker, Mauro de la Lucha-sangre (literally "Mauro of the Bloody +Battle"), stood one June morning of 1874 beneath the shade of a gnarled +olive-tree on the banks of the Guadaira River, rebelliously stamping a +heel into the soft turf. Son of the foremost lawyer of his native town +of Utrera, educated in Sevilla at the best university of his province, +already at twenty-four himself a fully accredited _licenciado_, Mauro's +future held actually brilliant prospects for a man of the station into +which he was born. And yet, most envied of his classmates though he was, +to Mauro himself the future loomed black, forbidding, cheerless. + +Mauro's father, by legacy from his father, was the attorney and +counsellor of the Duque de la Torrevieja; and so might Mauro have been +for the next Duke had there not cropped out in him the daring, the love +of adventure, the pride, and the confidence that had lifted the first +Lucha-sangre above his fellows. It was a case of breeding back--away +back over and past generations of fawning commoners to the times when +Lucha-sangre swords were splitting Moorish casques and winning guerdons. + +Nor in spirit alone was Mauro bred back. He was deep of chest, broad of +shoulder, lithe and graceful. His massive neck upbore a head of Augustan +beauty, lighted by eyes that alternately blazed with the pride and +resolution of a Cid and softened with the musings of a Manrique. Mauro +was a Lucha-sangre of the twelfth century, reincarnate. + +Little is it to be wondered at that, as the lad was often his father's +message-bearer to the Duke, he found favor in the eyes of the Duke's only +daughter, Sofia; and still less is it to be wondered at that he early +became her thrall. Of nights at the university he was ever dreaming of +her; up out of his text-books her lovely face was ever rising before him +in class. + +Of a rare type was Sofia in Andalusia, where nearly all are dark, for she +was a true _rubia_, blue of eye, fair of skin, and with hair of the +wondrously changing tints of a cooling iron ingot. + +And now here was Mauro, just back from Sevilla, almost within arms'-reach +of his divinity, and yet not free to seek her. And as the rippling +current of the Quadaira crimsoned and then reddened and darkened till it +seemed to him like a great ruddy tress of Sofia's waving hair, Mauro +sprang to his feet and fiercely whispered: "_Mil demonios!_ but she shall +at least know, and then I'll kiss the old _padre_, and his musty office +good-bye and go try my hand at some man's task!" + +Opportunity came earlier than he had dared hope. The very next morning +the elder Lucha-sangre sent Mauro to the castle with some papers for the +Duke's approval and signature. Still at breakfast, the Duke received him +in the great banquet-hall of the castle, the walls covered with portraits +of Torreviejas gone before, several of the earlier generations so dim and +gray with age they looked mere spectres of the limner's art. + +While the Duke was reading the papers, Mauro stood with eyes riveted to +the newest portrait of them all, that of Sofia's mother--Sofia's very +self matured--herself a native of a northern province wherein to this day +red hair and blue eyes are a frequent, almost a prevailing type, that +tell the story of early Gothic invasions. So absorbed in the picture, so +completely possessed by it was Mauro, that when the Duke turned and spoke +to him, he did not hear. + +And so he stood for some moments while the Duke sat contemplating the +fine lines of his face and the splendid pose of his figure; his eyes +lightened with admiration, his head nodding approval. + +Then gently touching Mauro's arm, the Duke queried: "And so you admire +the Duchess, young man?" + +With a start Mauro answered, after a dazed stare at the Duke: "A thousand +pardons, Excellency! But yes, sir; who in all the world could fail to +admire her?" + +"Yes, yes," replied the Duke; "God never made but one other quite her +equal, and her He made in her own very image--Sofia; _que Dios la +aguarda_!" + +Mauro gravely bowed, received the papers from the Duke, and withdrew. + +Turning to his secretary, the Duke sighed deeply and murmured: "_Dios +mio!_ if only I had a son of my own blood like that boy! What a pity he +should be tied down to paltry pettifoggery!" + +Meantime Mauro, striding disconsolate past an angle of the narrow garden +of the inner courtyard, was detained by a soft voice issuing from the +seclusion of a bench beneath the drooping boughs of an ancient fig tree: +"_Buenos dias, Don Mauro. Bueno es verte revuelto._" + +"Buenos dias, Condesa; and it is indeed good to me to be back, good to +hear thy voice--the first real happiness I have known since my ears last +welcomed its sweet tones. Good to be back! ah! Condesa Sofia, for me it +is to live again." + +"But, Don Mauro--" + +"A thousand pardons, Condesa, but thy duenna may join thee at any moment, +and my heart has long guarded a message for thee it can no longer hold +and stay whole,--a message thou mayest well resent for its gross +presumption, and yet a message I would here and now deliver if I knew I +must die for it the next minute. + +"From childhood hast thus possessed me. Never a night for the last ten +years have I lain down without a prayer to the Virgin for thy safety and +happiness; never a day but I have so lived that my conduct shall be +worthy of thee. Though I am the son of thy father's _licenciado_, thou +well knowest the blood of a long line of proud warriors burns in my +veins. Hope that thou mightst ever even deign to listen to me I have +never ventured to cherish--" + +"But Don Mauro--" + +"Again a thousand pardons, Condesa, but I must tell thee thou art the +light of my soul. Without thee all the world is a valley of bitterness; +with thee its most arid desert would be an Eden. The birds are ever +chanting to me thy name. Every pool reflects thy sweet face. Every +breeze wafts me the fragrance of thy dear presence. Every thunderous +roll of the Almighty's war-drums calls me to attempt some great heroic +deed in thine honor, some deed that shall prove to thee the lawyer's son, +in heart and soul if not in present station, is not unworthy to tell to +thee his love. And--" + +"But, Mauro, Mauro _m--mio_!" And with a sob she arose and actually fled +through the shrubbery. + +Two days later the betrothal of the Countess Sofia to the Count Leon, the +eldest son and heir to the Duke de Oviedo, was announced by her father. +And that, indeed, was what she had tried but lacked the heart to tell +him--that, wherever her heart might lie, her father had already promised +her hand! + +It was a bitter night for Mauro, that of the announcement, and a sad one +for his father. Their conference lasted till near morning. The son +pleaded he must have a life of action and hazard; his country at peace, +he would train for the bull ring. + +"Why not the opera, my son?" the thrifty father replied. "Thou hast a +grand tenor voice; indeed the Bishop has asked that thou wilt lead the +choir of the Cathedral. With such a voice thou wouldst have action, see +the world, gain riches, while all the time playing the parts, fighting +the battles of some great historic character." + +"But no, father," answered Mauro; "such be no more than sham fights. Not +only must I wear a sword as did the early Lucha-sangres, but I must hear +it ring and ring against that of a worthy foe, feel it steal within the +cover of his guard, see the good blade drip red in fair battle. True, +there be no Moors or French to fight, but what soldier on reddened field +ever took greater odds than a lone _espada_ takes every time he +challenges a fierce Utrera bull? And I swear to thee, _padre mio_, +whatever my calling, I shall ever be heedful of and cherish the motto +that Lucha-sangre swords have always borne: '_No me sacas sin razon; no +me metes sin honor._'" (Do not draw me without good cause; do not sheath +me without honor!) + +The less strong-minded of the two, the father yielded, and even furnished +funds sufficient for a year's private tutoring by Frascuelo, then the +greatest _matador_ in all Spain. + +Thus the first time Mauro ever appeared before a public assembly was a +chief espada of a cuadrilla of his own, at Valladolid. An apt pupil from +the start, bent upon reaching the highest rank, of extraordinary strength +and activity, utterly fearless but cool headed, a natural general, at the +close of his first _corrida_ he was acclaimed the certain successor of +the great Frascuelo himself, and at the same time christened _El Tigre_ +(the Tiger) for the feline swiftness of his movements and the ferocity of +his attacks. + +The next eight years were for _El Tigre_ fruitful of fame and riches but +utterly arid and barren of even the most casual feminine attachment. +Well educated, clever, with the manners of a courtier, and with physical +beauty and personal charm few men equalled, he was invited by the +nobility often, received as an equal by the men and literally courted by +the women. But the attentions of women were all to no purpose. For _El +Tigre_ only one woman existed--Sofia, now the Duchess de Oviedo--though +he had never again set eyes on her from the hour of their parting beneath +the fig tree. + +Owners of large Mexican sugar estates in the valley of Cuautla, the Duke +and Sofia divided their time between Paris and Mexico. Their marriage +was far from happy. Before their union, busy tongues had brought Count +Leon rumors of her admiration for Mauro, rousing suspicions that were not +long crystallizing into certainty that, while she was a faithful, honest +wife, he could never win of her the affection he gave and craved. +Obviously proud of her, always devoted and kind, he received from her +respect and consideration in return, which indeed was all she had to +give, for the loss of Mauro remained to her an ever-gnawing grief. + + +Oddly enough, fate decreed that the destiny of Mauro and Sofia should be +worked out far afield from their burning Utreran plains, high up on the +cool plateau of Central Mexico. + +For several years most generous offers had been made _El Tigre_ to bring +his _cuadrilla_ to Mexico, but, surfeited with fame and rolling in +riches, he had declined them. At last, however, in 188-, an offer was +made him which he felt forced to accept--six thousand dollars a +performance for ten _corridas_, to be given on successive Sundays in the +Plaza Bucareli in the City of Mexico, all expenses of himself and his +_cuadrilla_ to be paid by the management. And so, late in April of that +year _El Tigre_ arrived in Mexico with his _cuadrilla_ and (as stipulated +in his contract) sixty great Utreran bulls, for the bulls of Utrera are +famed in _toreador_ history and song as the fiercest, most desperate +fighters _espada_ ever confronted. + +At the first performance _El Tigre_ took the Mexican public by storm. No +such execution, daring, and grace had ever been seen in either Bucareli +or Colon. _El Tigre_ was the toast in every club and _cafe_ of the city. +Every shop window displayed his portrait. All the journals sung his +praises. Maids and matrons sighed for him. Youth and age envied him. +_El Tigre's_ coffers were well-nigh bursting and his cups of joy +overflowing, all but the one none but Sofia could fill. + +Where she was at the time _El Tigre_ had no idea. And yet, wholly +unsuspected by him, not only were she and the Duke in Mexico, but both +had attended all his performances at Bucareli, up to the last, +inconspicuous behind parties of friends they entertained in their box. + +Whether it was the Duke caught the pallor of Sofia's face in moments of +peril for Mauro, or the light of pride and admiration in her eyes during +his moments of triumph, sure it is the smouldering fires of the Duke's +jealousy were rekindled, and he was prompted to plan a test of her +bearing, when free of the restraint of his presence. On the morning of +the last performance he announced that he must spend the afternoon with +his attorneys, and must leave Sofia free to make her own arrangements for +attendance at the last _corrida_. + +And glad enough was she of the chance. The boxes were far too high +above, and distant from, the arena. For days she had coveted any of the +seats along the lower rows of open benches, close down to the six-foot +barrier between the ring and the auditorium, close down where she could +catch every shifting expression of Mauro's mobile face, and--where he +could scarcely fail to see and recognize her. The thought of seeking in +any way to meet or speak to him never entered her clean mind, but she had +been more nearly a saint than a woman if she had been able to deny +herself such an opportunity to convey to him, in one long burning glance, +a knowledge of the endurance of the love her frightened "Mauro _mio_" had +plainly confessed the night of their parting beneath the fig tree. So it +naturally followed that the Duke was barely out of the house before Sofia +rushed away a messenger to reserve a section of the lower benches +immediately beneath the box of the _Presidente_, directly in front of +which Mauro must come, at the head of his _cuadrilla_, to salute the +_Presidente_. + +The city was thronged with visitors come to see _El Tigre_. Hotels and +clubs were overflowing with them. And thousands of poor peons had for +months stinted themselves, often even gone hungry, to save enough +_tlacos_ to buy admission to the spectacle, to them the greatest and most +magnificent it could ever be their good fortune to witness. The day was +perfect, as indeed are most June days in Mexico. For two hours before +the performance the principal thoroughfares leading to the Plaza Bucareli +were packed solid with a moving throne all dressed _en fete_. + +In no country in the world may one see such great picturesqueness, +variety, and brilliancy of color in the costumes of the masses as then +still prevailed in Mexico. Largely of more or less pure Indian blood, +come of a race Cortez found habited in feather tunics and head-dresses +brilliant as the plumage of parrots, great lovers of flowers, three and a +half centuries of contact with civilization had not served to deprive +them of any of their fondness for bright colors. Thus with the horsemen +in the graceful _traje de chorro_--sombreros and tight fitting soft +leather jackets and trousers loaded with gold or silver ornaments, the +footmen swaggering in _serapes_ of every color of the rainbow, the women +wrapped in more delicately tinted rebosas and crowned with flowers, the +winding streets looked like strips of flower garden ambulant. + +Bucareli seated twenty thousand, and when all standing-room had been +filled and the gates closed, thousands of late comers were shut out. + +The level, sanded ring, the theatre of action, was surrounded by a +six-foot solid-planked barrier. Behind and above the barrier rose the +benches of the auditorium, the "bleachers" of the populace; they rose to +a height of perhaps forty or fifty feet, while above the uppermost line +of benches were the private boxes of the _elite_. Within the ring were +five heavily planked nooks of refuge, set close to the barrier, behind +which a hard pressed _toreador_ might find safety from a charging bull. +These refuges were little used, however, except by the underlings, the +_capadores_, or by capsized _picadores_; _espadas_ and _banderilleros_ +disdained them. On the west of the ring was the box of the _Presidente_ +of the _corrida _(in this instance, the Governor of the Federal +District); on the east the main gate of the ring through which the +_cuadrilla_ entered; on the north the gate of the bull pen. + +At a bugle call from the _Presidente's_ box, the main gate swung wide and +the _cuadrilla_ entered, a band of lithe, slender, clean-shaven men, in +slippers, white stockings, knee breeches, and jackets of silk ornamented +with silver, each wearing the little queue and black rosette attached +thereto that from time immemorial Andalusian _toreadores_ have sported. + +_El Tigre_ headed the squad, followed by two junior _matadores_, three +_banderilleros_, three _capadores_, and two mounted _picadores_, while at +the rear of the column came two teams of little, half-wild, prancing, +dancing Spanish mules, one team black, the other white, each composed of +three mules harnessed abreast as for a chariot race, but dragging behind +them nothing but a heavy double tree, to which the dead of the day's +fight might be attached and dragged out of the arena. + +Each of the footmen was wrapped in a large black cloak passed over the +left shoulder and beneath the right, the loose end of the cloak draped +gracefully over the left shoulder, the right arm swinging free. The +_picadores_ were mounted (as usual) on old crowbaits of horses, mere bags +of skin and bones, so poor and thin that neither could even raise a trot; +a broad leather blindfold fastened to their head-stalls. Each rider was +seated in a saddle high of cantle and ancient of form as those Knights +Templar jousted in. The breast of each horse was guarded by a great side +of sole leather falling nearly to the knees, while the right leg of each +rider was incased in such a stiff and heavy leather leg-guard as to +render him afoot almost helpless; and he was further guarded by still +another side of sole leather swung from the saddle horn and covering his +left leg and much of his horse's barrel. On the right stirrup of each +_picador_ rested the butt of his lance, a stout eight-foot shaft tipped +with a sharp steel prod, barely long enough to catch and hold in the +bull's hide. + +As the _cuadrilla_ entered, a regimental band played _El Hymno Nacional_, +the National Anthem, while the vast audience roared and shrieked a +welcome to the gladiators. + +Marching to the time of the music in long tragic strides, heads proudly +erect, right arms swinging and shoulders slightly swaying in the +challenging swagger which _toreadores affect_, the _cuadrilla_ crossed +the arena and halted, close to the barrier, in front of the +_Presidente's_ box, bared their heads, gracefully saluted the +_Presidente_, and received the key to the bull pen and his permission to +begin the fight. And as _El Tigre's_ eyes fell from the salute to the +_Presidente_ they rested upon Sofia, doubtless from some subtle +telepathic message, for it was a veritable hill of faces he confronted. +There she sat on the second bench-row above the top of the barrier, +matured and fuller of figure but radiant as at their Utreran parting; +there she sat, her gloved hands tightly clenched, her lips trembling, her +great blue eyes pouring into his messages of a love so deep and pure that +it needed all his self-command to keep from leaping the barrier and +falling at his feet. + +For a moment he stood transfixed, staggered, almost overcome with +surprise and delight again to see her, thrilled with the joy of her +message, blazing with revolt at the painful consciousness that she was +and must remain another's. His emotions well-nigh stopped the beating of +his heart. And so he stood gazing into Sofia's eyes until, +self-possession recovered, he gravely bowed, turned, and waved his men to +their posts. + +Instantly all was action, swift action. Cloaks were tossed to +attendants, each footman received a red cape, the two _picadores_ took +position one on either side of the bull pen gate, the band struck up a +tune, the gate was opened and a great Utreran bull bounded into the +arena, maddened with the pain of a short _banderilla_, with long +streaming ribbons, stuck in his neck as he entered, by an attendant +perched above the gate. + +His equal had never been seen in a Mexican bull ring. While typical of +his Utreran brothers, all princes of bovine fighting stock, this +coal-black monster was by the spectators voted their King. Relatively +light of quarters and shallow of flank and barrel, he was unusually high +and humped of withers, broad and deep of chest and heavy of +shoulders--indeed a well-nigh perfect four-legged type of a finely +trained two-legged athlete, with a pair of peculiarly straight-upstanding +horns that were long and almost as sharp as rapiers. Evidently by his +build, he was of a strong strain of East Indian Brahminic blood. For his +great weight, his activity was phenomenal--his leaps like a panther's, +his turns as quick. + +Dazed for an instant by the crash of the music and the brilliant banks of +color about him, he stood angrily lashing his tail and pawing up the sand +in clouds--"digging a grave," as Texas cowboys used to call it--his eyes +blazing and head tossing, but only for a moment. Then he charged the +nearest _picador_, literally leaped so high at him that head and cruel +horns crossed above the horse's neck, his own great chest striking the +horse just behind the shoulder with such force that man and mount hit the +ground stunned and helpless. + +Barely were they down when he was upon them and with a single twitch of +his mighty neck, had ripped open the horse's barrel and half amputated +one of the rider's legs. Then, diverted by the _capadores_, he whirled +upon the second _picador_ and in another ten seconds had left his horse +dead and the rider badly trampled. Next the _banderilleros_ tackled him, +but such was his speed and ferocity that all three funked the work, and +not one of them fastened his flag in the black shoulders. + +When the bull had entered the ring, _El Tigre_ left the arena--a most +unusual proceeding. Now he returned, clad in snow-white from head to +foot, a white cap covering head and hair, his face heavily powdered. He +slipped in behind and unseen by the bull to the centre of the arena, and +there stood erect, with arms folded, motionless as a graven image. + +Presently the bull turned, saw _El Tigre_, and charged him straight. _El +Tigre_ was not even facing him, for the bull was approaching from his +left. But there he stood without the twitch of a muscle or the flicker +of an eye lid, still as a figure of stone. + +A great sob arose from the audience, and all gave him up for lost, when, +at the last instant before the bull must have struck, it turned and +passed him. Once more the bull so charged and passed. Whether because +it mistook him for the ghost of a man or recognized in him a spirit +mightier than its own, only the bull knew. + +Before the audience had well caught its breath, _El Tigre_, wearing again +his usual costume, was striding again to the middle of the arena, +carrying a light chair, in which presently he seated himself, facing the +bull, a show _banderilla_, no more than six inches long, held in his +teeth. And so he awaited the charge until the bull was within actual +arm's-reach, when with a swift rise from the chair and a turn of his body +quick as that of a fencer's supple wrist, he bent and stuck the +teeth-held banderilla in the bull's shoulder as he swept past. + +Now was the time for the kill. + +El Tigre received his sword, _muleta_, and cape. The _muleta_ is a +straight two-foot stick over which the cape is draped, and, held in the +_matador's_ left hand, usually is extended well to the right of his body. +Thus in an ordinary fight the bull is actually charging the blood-red +cape, and not the _matador_. But, with Sofia an onlooker, determined to +make this the fight of his life, _El Tigre_ tossed aside the _muleta_, +wrapped the crimson cape about his body, and stood alone awaiting the +bull's charge, his malleable sword-blade bent slightly downward, +sufficiently to give a true thrust behind the shoulder, a down-curve into +heart or lungs. + +With a bull of such extraordinary activity the act was almost suicidal, +but _El Tigre_ smilingly took the chance. By toreador etiquette, the +_matador_ must receive and dodge the first two charges; not until the +third may he strike. On the first charge _El Tigre_ stood like a rock +until the bull had almost reached him, and then lightly leaped diagonally +across his lowered neck. The second charge, come an instant after the +first, before most men could even turn, he dodged. The third he swiftly +side-stepped, thrust true, and dropped the great Utreran midway of a leap +aimed at his elusive enemy. + +It was a deed magnificent, epic, and the plaza rung with plaudits while +hats, fans, and even purses and jewels showered into the arena--all of +which, by _toreador_ etiquette, were tossed back across the barrier to +their owners. + +Then the teams entered and quickly dragged the dead from the arena; the +ugly, dangerously slippery red patches were fresh sanded, and the second +bull was admitted. Thus, with more or less like incident, three more +bulls were fought and killed. + +The fifth and last, however, proved a disgrace to his race. Bluff he +did, but fight he would not; the noise and crowd unnerved him. At last, +frenzied with fear and seeking escape, he made a mighty leap to mount the +barrier directly in front of the box of the _Presidente_. And mount it +he did, and down it crashed beneath his weight, leaving the bull for a +moment half down and tangled in the wreckage, struggling to regain his +feet. + +Directly in front of the bull, not six feet beyond the sharp points of +his deadly horns, sat Sofia. Indeed none about her had risen; all sat as +if frozen in their places. And just as well they might have been, for +escape into or through the dense mass of spectators about them was +utterly impossible. Whatever horror came they must await, helpless. + +But at the bull's very start for the barrier, _El Tigre_, realized +Sofia's peril and instantly sprang empty-handed in pursuit; for it was +early in this the last _corrida_ and he did not have his sword, + +Leaping the wreckage, _El Tigre_ landed directly in front of the bull, +happily at the instant it regained its feet, where, with his right hand +seizing the bull by the nose--his thumb and two fore-fingers thrust well +within its nostrils--and with his left hand grabbing the right horn, with +a mighty heave he uplifted the bull's muzzle and bore down upon its horn +until he threw it with a crash upon its side that left it momentarily +helpless. + +But, himself slipping in the loose wreckage, down also _El Tigre_ fell, +the bull's sharp right horn impaling his left thigh and pinning him to +the ground. + +Before the bull could rise, the men of the _cuadrilla_ had it safely +bound and _El Tigre_ released. _El Tigre_, however, did not know it. +With the shock and pain of his wound he had fainted. + +When at length he regained consciousness, it was to find his head +pillowed in Sofia's lap, her soft fingers caressing his brow, her tearful +eyes looking into his, and to hear her whisper: "Mauro _mio_!" + +Just at this moment the Duke de Oviedo approached, no one knew whence. + +White with jealousy but steady and cool, he quietly remarked: + +"Madame, I ought to kill you both, but that my rank precludes. +Lucha-sangre, in yourself, as son of a notary and hired _toreador_ and +purveyor of spectacles, you are unworthy of my sword; nevertheless blood +once noble is in your veins. And so as noble it suits me now to count +you. As soon as you are recovered of your wound I will send you my +second." + +"Most happy, Duke," answered Mauro; "mine shall be ready to meet him." + + +One evening a week later, while the Duke de Oviedo and two Mexican army +officers were having drinks at the bar of the Cafe Concordia, General +Delmonte, a Cuban long resident in New York and a distinguished veteran +of three wars, entered with two American friends. Delmonte was +describing to his friends _El Tigre's_ last fight, lauding his prowess, +extolling his noble presence and high character. Infuriated by the +ardent praise of his enemy, the Duke grossly insulted General +Delmonte--and was very promptly slapped in the face. + +They fought at daylight the next morning, beneath an arch of the ancient +aqueduct, just outside the city. Encountering in Delmonte one of the +best swordsmen of his time, early in the combat the Duke received a +mortal wound. And as he there lay gasping out his life, he murmured a +phrase that, at the moment, greatly puzzled his seconds: + +_"Gana El Tigre._" (The Tiger Wins!) + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +BUNKERED + +It seems it must have been somewhere about the year 4000 B. C. that we +lost sight of the tall peaks of the architectural topography of +Manhattan Island, and yet the log of the _Black Prince_ makes it no +more than twenty days. Not that our day-to-day time has been dragging, +for it has done nothing of the sort. + +All my life long I have dreamed of indulging in the joy of a really +long voyage, and now at last I've got it. New York to Cape Town, South +Africa, 6,900 miles, thirty days' straight-away run, and thence another +twenty-four days' sail to Mombasa, on a 7,000-ton cargo boat, +deliberate and stately rather than fast of pace, but otherwise as trim, +well groomed, and well found as a liner, with an official mess that +numbers as fine a set of fellows as ever trod a bridge. The Captain, +when not busy hunting up a stray planet to check his latitude, puts in +his spare time hunting kindly things to do for his two passengers--for +there are only two of us, the Doctor and myself. The Doctor signed on +the ship's articles as surgeon, I as purser. + +Fancy it! Thirty days' clear respite from the daily papers, the +telephone, the subway crowds, and the constant wear and tear on one's +muscular system reaching for change, large and small! Thirty days free +of the daily struggle either for place on the ladder of ambition or for +the privilege to stay on earth and stand about and watch the others +mount, that saps metropolitan nerves and squeezes the humanities out of +metropolitan life until its hearts are arid and barren and cruel as +those of the cavemen! Thirty days' repose, practically alone amid one +of nature's greatest solitudes, awed by her silences, uplifted by the +majesty of her mighty forces, with naught to do but humble oneself +before the consciousness of his own littleness and unfitness, and study +how to right the wrongs he has done. + +Indeed a voyage like this makes it certain one will come actually to +know one's own self so intimately that, unless well convinced that he +will esteem and enjoy the acquaintance, he had best stay at home. Of +my personal experience in this particular I beg to be excused from +writing. + +Lonesome out here? Far from it. Behind, to be sure, are those so near +and dear, one would gladly give all the remaining years allotted him +for one blessed half-hour with them. Otherwise, time literally flies +aboard the _Black Prince_; the days slip by at puzzling speed. Roughly +speaking, I should say the meals consume about half one's waking hours, +for we are fed five times a day, and fed so well one cannot get his own +consent to dodge any of them. + +Indeed I've only one complaint to make of this ship; she is a +"water-wagon" in a double sense, which makes it awkward for a man who +never could drink comfortably alone. With every man of the mess a +teetotaler, one is now and then possessed with a consuming desire for +communion with some dear soul of thirsty memory who can be trusted to +take his "straight." Of course I don't mean to imply that this mess +cannot be trusted, for you can rely on it implicitly every time--to +take tea; you can trust it with any mortal or material thing, except +your pet brew of tea, if you have one, which, luckily, I haven't. +Indeed, for the thirsty man Nature herself in these latitudes is +discouraging, for the Big Dipper stays persistently upside down, +dry!--perhaps out of sympathy with the teetotal principles of this +ship. And most of the way down here there has been such a high sea +running that the only dry places I have noticed have been the upper +bridge and my throat. The fact is, about everything aboard this ship +is distressingly suggestive to a faithful knight of the tankard: he is +surrounded with "ports" that won't flow and giant "funnels" that might +easily carry spirits enough to wet the whistles of an army division +(but don't), until he is tempted in sheer desperation to take a pull at +the "main brace." + +All of which, assisted by the advent of a covey of flying fishes and a +(Sunday) "school" of porpoises, is responsible for the following, which +is adventured with profuse apologies to Mr. Kipling: + + ON THE ROAD TO MOMBASA + + Take me north of the Equator + Where'er gleams the polar star, + Where "The Dipper" ne'er is empty + And Orion is not far, + Where the eagle at them gazes + And up toward them thrusts the pine-- + _Anywhere_ strong men drink spirits + On the right side of "the line." + + On the road to Mombas-a, + Drawing nearer toward Cathay, + Where the north star now is under, + 'Neath the Southern Cross's ray. + + Take me off this water wagon + Where the Captain's ribbon's blue, + Where the Doctor, yclept Barthwaite, + And each man-jack of the crew + Never get a drop of poteen, + Never know the cheer of beer-- + _Anywhere_ a thirsty man may + Wet his whistle without fear. + + On the road to Mombas-a, + With the _Black Prince_, day by day + Rolling her tall taffrail under, + 'Neath a sky o'ercast and gray. + + Take me back to good old Proctor's + Where a man may quench his thirst, + Where a purser with a shilling + Needn't feel he is accursed + By an ironclad owners' ship rule + That her officers shouldn't drink-- + _Anywhere_ the ringing glasses + Merrily clink! clink! + + On the road to Mombas-a, + Where the only drink is "tay," + Where a thirst that is a wonder + Burns the throat from day to day. + + Take me somewhere close to Rector's + Where a man can get a crab, + Where the blondined waves are tossing + And every eye-glance is a stab, + Where there's _froufrou_ of the _jupon_ + And there's popping of the cork + _Anywhere_ the men and women + Snap their fingers at the stork. + + On the road to Mombas-a, + Where e'en mermaids never play, + Where to come would be a blunder + Hunting hot birds and Roger. + + +But lonesome out here? Never--with the sympathetic North Atlantic +winds ever ready to roar you a grim dirge in your moments of melancholy +contemplation of the inverted Dipper, with the gentle tropical breezes +softly singing through the rigging notes of soothing cadence, with the +lethal ocean billows ever leaping up the sides of the ship, foaming +with the joy of what they would do to you if they once got you in their +embrace! + +Lonesome? With the coming and the going of each day's sun gilding +cloud-crests, silvering waves, setting you matchless scenes in color +effect, some ravishing in their gorgeous splendor, some soft and tender +of tone as the light in the eyes of the woman you worship, scenes +beside which the most brilliant stage settings which metropolitans +flock like sheep to see are pathetically paltry counterfeits. + +Lonesome? With a mighty, joyously bounding charger like the _Black +Prince_ beneath your feet if not between your knees, gayly taking the +tallest billows in his stride, whose ever steady pulse-beat bespeaks a +soundness of wind and limb you can trust to land you well at the finish! + +Lonesome? Where privileged to descend into the very vitals of your +charger and sit throughout the midnight watch, an awed listener to the +throbs of the mighty heart that vitalizes his every function, while +each vigorously thrusting piston, each smug, palm-rubbing eccentric, +each somnolently nodding lever, drives deeper into your lay brain an +overwhelming sense of pride in such of your kind as have had the genius +to conceive, and such others as have had the skill and patience to +perfect, the conversion of inert masses of crude metal into the +magnificently powerful and obviously sentient entity that is bearing +you! + +Lonesome? Skirting the coastline of Africa, a country whose +potentates, from the Ptolemies to Tom Ryan, have never failed to make +world history worth thinking about! + +Lonesome? Bearing up toward that sea-made manacle of fallen majesty, +St. Helena, absorbed in memories of Bonaparte's magnificent dreams of +world-wide dominion, and of his pathetic end on one of its smallest and +most isolated patches! + +Lonesome? With a chum at your elbow so close a student of the manly +game of war that he can glibly reel off for you every important +manoeuvre of all the great battles of history, from those of Alexander +the Great down to Tommy Burns's latest! + +And now and then the elements themselves sit in and take a hand in our +game, sometimes a hand we could very well do without--as twice lately. + +The first instance happened early last week. Tuesday tropical weather +hit us and drove us into pajamas--a cloudless sky, blazing sun, high +humidity, while we ploughed our way across long, slow-rolling, +unrippled swells that looked so much like a vast, gently heaving sea of +petroleum that, had John D. Standardoil been with us he would have +suffered a probably fatal attack of heart disease if prevented from +stopping right there and planning a pipe line. + +Throughout the day close about the ship clouds of flying fish skimmed +the sea, and great schools of porpoises leaped from it and raced us, as +if, even to them, their native element had become hateful, or as if +they sensed something ominous and fearsome abroad from which they +sought shelter in our company. One slender little opal-hued +diaphanous-winged bird-fish came aboard, and before he was picked up +had the happy life grilled out of him on our scorching iron deck, hot +almost as boiler plates. Poor little chap! he found with us anything +but sanctuary; but perhaps he lived long enough to signal the fact to +his mates, for no others boarded us. And yet for one other opal-hued +winged wanderer we have been sanctuary; for when we were about one +hundred and fifty miles out of New York a highly bred carrier pigeon, +bearing on his leg a metal tag marked "32," hovered about us for a +time, finally alighted on our rail, and then fluttered to the deck when +offered a pan of water--and drank and drank until it seemed best to +stop him. By kindness and ingenuity of Chief Engineer Tucker he now +occupies a tin house with a wonderful mansard roof, from which he +issues every afternoon for an aerial constitutional, giving us a fright +occasionally with a flight over far a-sea, but always returning safely +enough to his new diggings. + +That Tuesday morning the sun rose fiery red out of the steaming Guinea +jungles to the east of us, across its lower half two narrow black bars +sinister. It looked as if it had blood in its eye, while the still, +heavy, brooding air felt to be ominous of evil, harboring devilment of +some sort. All the mess were cross-grained, silent, or irritable, +raw-edged for the first time, for a better lot of fellows one could not +ask to ship with. Nor throughout the day did weather conditions or +tempers improve. All day long the sky was heavily overcast with dense, +low-hanging, dark gray clouds, which, while wholly obscuring the sun, +seemed to focus its rays upon us like a vast burning-glass; wherefore +it was expedient for the two pajama-clad passengers to keep well within +the shelter of the bridge-deck awning. Toward sunset, a dense black +wall of cloud settled upon the western horizon, aft of us. But +suddenly, just at the moment the sun must have been descending below +the horizon to the south of it, the black wall of cloud slowly parted, +and the opening so made widened until it became an enormous oval, +reaching from horizon half-way to zenith, framing a scene of astounding +beauty and grandeur. Range after range of cloud crests that looked +like mountain folds rose one above another, with the appearance of vast +intervening space between, some of the ranges a most delicate blue or +pink, some opalescent, some gloriously gilded, while behind the +farthest and tallest range, at what seemed an inconceivably remote +distance, but in a perspective entirely harmonious with the foreground, +appeared the sky itself, a soft luminous straw-yellow in color, flecked +thickly over with tiny snow-white cloudlets. It was like a glimpse +into another and more beautiful world than ours--the actual celestial +world. + +But, whether or not ominous of our future, we were permitted no more +than a brief glimpse of it, for presently the pall of black cloud fell +like a vast drop curtain and shut it from our sight. Then night came +down upon us, black, starless, forbidding, although in the absence of +any fall of the barometer nothing more than a downpour of rain was +expected. + +But shortly after I had gone to sleep, at two o'clock suddenly +something in the nature of a tropical tornado flew up and struck us +hard. I was awakened by a tremendous crash on the bridge-deck above my +cabin, a heeling over of the ship that nearly dumped me out of my +berth, and what seemed like a solid spout of water pouring in through +my open weather porthole, with the wind howling a devil's death-song +through the rigging and an uninterrupted smash--bang! above my head. + +Throwing on a rain coat over my pajamas, I went outside and up the +ladder leading to the bridge-deck; and as head and shoulders rose above +the deck level, a wall of hot, wind-borne rain struck me--rain so hot +it felt almost scalding--that almost swept me off the ladder. If it +had I should probably have become food for the fishes. I got to the +upper deck just in time to see Captain Thomas get a crack on the head +from a fragment of flying spar of the wreckage from the upper +bridge--luckily a glancing blow that did no more damage than leave him +groggy for a moment. + +For the next fifteen minutes I was busy hugging a bridge stanchion, +dodging flying wreckage and trying to breathe; for, driven by the +violence of the wind, the rain came horizontally in such suffocatingly +hot dense masses as nearly to stifle one. + +It was the watch of Second Mate Isitt. Afterwards he told me that a +few minutes before the storm broke he saw a particularly dense black +cloud coming up upon us out of the southeast, where it had apparently +been lying in ambush for us behind the northernmost headland of the +Gulf of Guinea, an ambush so successful that even the barometer failed +to detect it, for when Mate Isitt ran to the chart-room he found that +the instrument showed no fall. But scarcely was he back on the bridge +before the approaching cloud flashed into a solid mass of sheet +lightning that covered the ship like a fiery canopy; and instantly +thereafter, a wall of wind and rain hit the ship, heeled her over to +the rail, swung her head at right angles to her course, ripped the +heavy canvas awning of the upper bridge to tatters, bent and tore loose +from their sockets the thick iron stanchions supporting it, made +kindling wood of its heavy spars, and strewed the bridge and forward +deck with a pounding tangle of wreckage. How the mate and helmsman, +who were directly beneath it, escaped injury, is a mystery. In twenty +minutes the riot of wind and water had swept past us out to sea in +search of easier game, leaving behind it a dead calm above but +mountainous seas beneath, that played ball with us the rest of the +night. Heaven help any wind-jammer it may have struck, for if caught +as completely unwarned as were we, with all sails set, she and all her +crew are likely to be still slowly settling through the dense darksome +depths of the twenty-five hundred fathoms the chart showed thereabouts, +and weeping wives and anxious underwriters will long be scanning the +news columns that report all sea goings and comings--except arrivals in +the port of sunken ships. + +The second fall the elements have essayed to take out of us remains yet +undecided. The fact is, I am now writing over a young volcano we are +all hoping will not grow much older. + +Two nights ago I was awakened half suffocated, to find my cabin full of +strong sulphurous fumes; but fancying them brought in through my open +portholes from the smoke-stack by a shift aft of the wind, I paid no +further attention to them. But when the next morning I as usual turned +out on deck to see the sun rise, a commotion aft of me attracted my +attention, Looking, I saw the first mate, chief engineer, and a party +of sailors, all so begrimed with sweat and coal dust one could scarcely +pick officers from seamen, rapidly ripping off the cover of one of the +midship hatches, while others were flying about connecting up the deck +fire hose. This didn't look a bit good to me, and when, an instant +later, off came the hatch and out poured thick volumes of smoke, I +failed to observe that it looked any better. + +When the hatch was removed, the men thrust the hose through it, and +began deluging the burning bunker with water; for, luckily, it is only +a bunker fire,--in a lower and comparatively small bunker. + +The fire had been discovered early the day previous, and for nearly +twenty-four hours officers and seamen had been fighting it from below, +without any mention to their two passengers of its existence, fighting +by tireless shovelling to reach his seat. And now they were on deck, +attacking it from above, only because the heat and fumes below had +become so overpowering they could no longer work there. But after an +hour's ventilation through the hatch and a continuous downpour of +water, the first mate again led his men below. + +And so, the usual watches being divided into two-hour relays, the fight +has gone on wearily but persistently, until now, the evening of the +fourth day, the men are wan and haggard from the killing heat and foul +air. In the engine-room in these latitudes the thermometer ranges from +rarely under 108 degrees up to 130, and one has to stay down there only +an hour, as I often have, until he is streaming with sweat as if he +were in the unholiest heat of a Turkish bath. And as the burning +bunker immediately adjoins the other end of the boiler room, to the +heat of its own smouldering mass is added that of the fire boxes, until +the temperature is probably close to 140 degrees. + +While the fire is confined to the bunker where it started, we are in no +particular danger; but if it reaches the bunker immediately above, it +will have a free run to the after hold, where several thousand packages +of case oil are stored. In the open waist above the oil are a score or +more big tanks of gasoline, and, on the poop immediately aft of that, a +quantity of dynamite and several thousand detonating caps. Thus if the +fire ever gets aft, things are apt to happen a trifle quicker than they +can be dodged. + +To denizens of _terra firma_, the mere thought of being aboard a ship +on fire in mid-sea--we are now five hundred miles from the little +British island of Ascension and one thousand and eighty off the Congo +(mainland) Coast--is nothing short of appalling. But here with us, in +actual experience, it is taken by the officers of the ship as such a +simple matter of course, in so far as they show or will admit, that we +are even denied the privilege of a mild thrill of excitement. + +In the meantime there is nothing for the Doctor and myself to do but +sit about and guess whether it is to be a boost from the explosives, a +simple grill, a descent to Davy Jones, an adventure while athirst and +hungering in an open boat on the tossing South Atlantic, a successful +run of the ship to the nearest land--or victory over the fire. I +wonder which it will be! + +If the worst comes to the worst, I intend to do for these pages what no +one these last three weeks has done for me--commit them to a bottle, if +I can find one aboard this ship, which is by no means certain. Indeed +it is so uncertain I think I had best start hunting one right now. + + +After nearly a twenty-four hours' search I've got it--a craft to bear +these sheets, wide of hatch, generously broad and deep of hull, but +destitute of aught of the stimulating aroma I had hoped might cheer +them on their voyage--more than I have been cheered on mine. For the +best I am able to procure for them is--a jam bottle! + +While the Doctor and I are not novices at golf, this is one "bunker" we +are making so little headway getting out of, that both now seem likely +to quit "down" to it. + +I wonder when the little derelict, tiny and inconspicuous as a +Portuguese man-of-war, may be picked up; I wonder when the sheets it +bears may reach my publisher to whom it is consigned. Perhaps not for +years--a score, two score; perhaps not until he himself, whom a few +weeks ago I left in the lusty vigor of early manhood, is gathered to +his fathers; perhaps not, therefore, until the writer has no publisher +left and is himself no longer remembered. + +The burning bunker is now a glowing furnace, the men worked down to +mere shadows. Plainly the fire is getting the best of them and, what +is even more discouraging, there is little more fight left in them. + +First Mate Watson, who, almost without rest, has led the fight below +since it started, says that another half-hour will-- + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THEY WHO MUST BE OBEYED + +Few mightier monarchs than Menelek II of Abyssinia ever swayed the +destinies of a people. Throughout the vast territory of the Abyssinian +highlands his individual will is law to some millions of subjects; law +also to hordes of savage Mohammedan and pagan tribesmen without the +confines of his kingdom. His court includes no councillors. Alone +throughout the long years of his reign Menelek has dealt with all +domestic and foreign affairs of state. + +But now this last splendid survival of the feudal absolutism exercised +and enjoyed by mediaeval rulers is about to disappear beneath +encroaching waves of civilization, that do not long spare the +picturesque. Cables from far-off Adis Ababa, Menelek's capital, bring +news that he has formed a cabinet and published the appointment of +Ministers of War, Finance, Justice, Foreign Affairs, and Commerce. And +this change has come, not from the pressure of any party or faction +within his kingdom, for such do not exist, but out of the fount of his +own wisdom. So sound is this wisdom as to prove him a most worthy +descendant of the sage Hebrew King whom Menelek claims as ancestor--if, +indeed, more proofs were necessary than the statesmanlike way in which +he has dealt with jealous diplomats, and the martial skill with which, +at Adowa in 1896, he defeated the flower of the Italian army and won +from Italy an honorable truce. + +No existing royal house owns lineage so ancient as that claimed by +Menelek II, Negus Negusti, "King of the Kings of Ethiopia, and +Conquering Lion of Judah." + +Old Abyssinian tradition has it that in the tenth century, B.C., early +in her reign, Makeda, Queen of Sheba, paid a ceremonial visit to the +Court of King Solomon, coming with her entire court and a magnificent +retinue bearing royal gifts of frankincense and balm, gold and ivory +and precious stones. Her gorgeous caravan was bright with the +many-colored plumes and silks of litters, blazing with the golden +ornaments of elephant and camel caparisons, glittering with the glint +of spears and bucklers. + +That the two greatest souls of their time, so met, should fuse and +blend is little to be wondered at. She of Sheba bore Solomon a son and +called him Menelek, so the legend runs. Later the boy was twitted by +playmates for that he had no father. In this annoyance the Queen sent +an embassy to Solomon asking some act that should establish their son's +royal paternity. Promptly Solomon returned the embassy bearing to +Sheba's court in far southwest Arabia a royal decree declaring Menelek +his son, and accompanied it by a son of each of the leaders of the +twelve tribes of Israel, enjoined to serve as a sort of juvenile royal +court to Menelek. + +Whether or not the claim of Menelek II be true, that he himself is +lineally descended from the son of Solomon and Sheba's Queen, certain +it is that in race type Abyssinians are plainly come of sons of Israel, +crossed and modified with Coptic, Hamite, and Ethiopian blood. To this +day they cling closely as the most orthodox Hebrew, to some of the +dearest Israelitish tenets, notably abstention from pork and from meat +not killed by bleeding, observance of the Sabbath, and the rite of +circumcision. Notwithstanding this the Abyssinians have been +Christians since the fourth century of this era, when, only eight years +after the great Constantine decreed the recognition of Christianity by +the State, a proselytising monk came among them with a faith so strong, +a heart so pure, and an eloquence so irresistible, that, singlehanded, +he accomplished the conversion of the Abyssinian race. + +Throughout the centuries the Abyssinians have held fast to their faith +as first it was taught them. The great wave of Mohammedanism that +swept up the Nile and across the Indian Ocean broke and parted the +moment it struck the Abyssinian plateau. It completely surrounded, but +never could mount the tableland. + +Thus cut off for centuries from all other Christian Churches, the +Abyssinian religion remains to-day but little changed. Could Paul or +John return to earth, of all the Christian sects throughout the world, +the forms and tenets of the Abyssinian Church would be the only ones +they would find nearly all their own; for the ritual is older than that +of either Rome or Moscow. + +And remembering the Abyssinian folklore tale of the twelve sons of the +chiefs of the twelve tribes of Israel sent by Solomon to Makeda as +attendants on Menelek I, it is most curious and interesting to know +that the heads of certain twelve Abyssinian families (none of whom are +longer notables, some even the rudest ignorant herdsmen), and their +forebears from time immemorial, have had and still possess inalienable +right of audience with their monarch at any time they may ask it, even +taking precedence over royalty itself. Indeed Mr. George Clerk, for +the last five years assistant to Sir John Harrington, British Minister +to the Court of Menelek, recently told me that he and other diplomats +accredited to Adis Ababa, were not infrequently subjected to the +annoyance of having an audience interrupted or delayed by the +unannounced coming for a hearing of one of these favored twelve. + +Many of Menelek's judgments are masterpieces. Recently two brothers +came before him, the younger with the plaint that the elder sought the +larger and better part of certain property they had to divide. +Promptly Menelek ordered the elder to describe fully the entire +property and state what part he wanted for himself. It was done. + +"And this," questioned Menelek, "you consider a just division of the +property into two parts of equal value?" + +"Yes, Negus," answered the elder. + +"Then," decreed Menelek, "give your brother first choice!" + +Over wide territory beyond the Abyssinian border, Menelek's power is as +much feared and his will as much respected as among his own subjects. +Of this there occurred recently a most dramatic proof. + +Bordering Abyssinia on the east is the Danakil country. It adjoins the +Province of Shoa, of which Menelek was Ras, or feudal King, before his +accession to the Abyssinian throne. The Danakils are a savage pagan +people of mixed Hamite (early Egyptian) and Ethiopian ancestry. They +are perhaps the most tirelessly warlike race in all Africa. Often +severely beaten by their Italian and Somali neighbors, they have never +been subdued. Indeed slaughter may, in a way, be said to be a part of +their religion, for it is the fetich every young warrior must provide +for the worship of the woman of his choice before he may hope to win +and have her. It is necessary that he should have killed royal +game--lion, rhinoceros, or elephant--but not enough. Singlehanded he +must kill a man and bring the maid a trophy of the slaughter before she +will even consider him, and Danakil maids of spirit often demand some +plurality of trophies. Thus the license for each Danakil mating is +written in the life blood of some neighboring tribesman; thus are the +few poltroons in Danakil-land condemned to stay celibate. + +Only Menelek's word do they heed; his might they dread. + +Through the Danakil country, between Errer Gotto and Oder, not long ago +travelled the caravan of William Northrup McMillan, conveying the +sections of several steel boats with which he purposed navigating and +exploring the Blue Nile from its source to Khartoom, a region that had +never been traversed by white men. In the party was M. +Dubois-Desaulle, a gay and reckless ex-officer of the French Foreign +Legion who had long served in Algiers against raiding Arab sheiks. He +harbored no fear of the unorganized wild tribesmen through whose +country they were travelling. McMillan knew them better, however; he +held his command under strict military discipline, marched in close +order with scouts out, forbade straying from the column, and +_zareba_-ed his night camps. For the march was a severe one and he had +neither the time nor sufficient force to search for or to succor +missing stragglers. + +Urged with the rest never to go unarmed and to stay close with the +caravan, Dubois-Desaulle's only reply was a laughing, "_Jamais! +Jamais. Je ne porte pas des armes pour ces babouins! Je les ferai +s'enfuir avec des batons! N'inquičtez pas de moi._" + +Interested in botany and entomology, holding the natives in utter +contempt, repeatedly he strayed from the column for hours without even +so much as a pistol by way of arms, until finally McMillan told him +that if he again so strayed he would be placed under guard for the +balance of march. But the very next day, riding a mule with the +advance guard led by H. Morgan Brown, Dubois-Desaulle slipped +unobserved into the bush, probably in pursuit of some winged wonder +that had crossed his path. + +Camp was made early in the afternoon on the banks of the Doha River, +and a strong party, with shikari trackers, led by Brown, was sent out +in search of the straggler. Night came on before they could pick up +his trail, and nothing further could be done except to build signal +fires on adjacent hills; but all without result. Anxiety for his +safety crystallized into chill fear for his life, when the dull glow of +the signal fires was suddenly extinguished by the next morning's sun; +for the desert knows neither twilight nor dawn--the sun bursts up +blood-red out of shrouding darkness like a rocket from its case, and at +once it is day. + +An hour later Brown's shikaris found the place where Dubois-Desaulle +had strayed from the column, followed his trail through the bush hither +and thither for two miles, to a point where he had found a native +warrior seated beneath a tree. They read, with their unerring skill at +"sign" lore, that there he had stood and talked for some time with the +native, and then pressed on, rider and footman travelling side by side, +till, within the shelter of especially dense surrounding bush, the +footman had dropped behind the rider--for what dastardly assassin's +purpose the next twenty steps revealed. There stark lay the body of +gay Dubois-Desaulle, dropped from his mule without a struggle by a +mortal spear-thrust in his back, the manner of his mutilation a +Danakil's sign manual! + +Immediately messengers were sent to the caravan bearing the news and +asking reinforcements. At this time the indomitable chief, McMillan, +was laid up with veldt sores on the legs, unable to walk or even to +ride except in a litter. Promptly, however, he despatched Lieutenant +Fairfax and William Marlow, with about thirty more men, to Brown's +support, with orders never to quit till he got the murderer. By a +forced march, Fairfax reached Brown at four in the afternoon. + +When journeying in desert places and amid deadly perils, it is always +an unusually terrible shock to lose one from among so few, and to be +forced to lay him in unconsecrated ground remote from home and friends. +So it was a sobbing, saddened trio that stood by while a grave was dug +to receive all that was mortal of their gallant comrade. And within it +they laid him, wrapped in the ample folds of an Abyssinian _tope_; +stones were heaped above the grave--at least the four-footed beasts +should not have a chance to rend him!--and three volleys were fired as +a last honor to Dubois-Desaulle, ex-legionary of the Army of Algiers. + +Tears dried, eyes hardened, jaws tightened, and away on the plain trail +of the murderer marched the little column. Turning at the edge of the +thick jungle for a last look back, the three noted an extraordinary +circumstance that touched them deeply and made them feel that even the +savage desert sympathized. A miniature whirlwind of the sort frequent +in the desert was slowly circling the grave; and even as they looked it +swung immediately over it and there stood for some moments, its tall +dust column rising up into the zenith like the smoke of a funeral pyre! +Then on they marched and there they left him, sure that by night lions +would be roaring him a requiem not unfitting his wild spirit. + +Just at dusk the party reached a large Danakil town into which the +murderer's trail led, and camped before it. + +Told that one of his men had killed their comrade and that they wanted +him, Ali Gorah, the chief, was surly and insolent. He refused to give +him up, said that he wished no war with them, but that if they wanted +any of his people they must fight for them. Then guards were set about +the camp and the little command lay down to sleep within a spear's +throw of thousands of Ali Gorah's wild Danakils. The night passed +without alarms, and then conference was resumed. Fairfax cajoled and +threatened, threatened summoning an army that would wipe Danakil's land +off the map; but all to no purpose. The chief remained obdurate. + +Early in the day a courier was sent to McMillan with the story of their +plight and a request for supplies and more men. These were instantly +sent, leaving McMillan himself well nigh helpless, fuming at his own +enforced inaction, alone with the Marlow, his personal attendant, a +handful of men, and a total of only two rifles, as the sole guard of +the caravan for ten more anxious days. + +Daily councils were held, always ending in mutual threats. Fairfax +could make no progress, but he would not leave. + +One day Ali Gorah lined up two thousand warriors in battle array before +Fairfax's small command and ordered him to move off, under pain of +instant attack. But there Fairfax stubbornly stayed, in the very face +of the certainty that his command could not last ten minutes if the +chief should actually order a charge. His dauntless courage won, and +the war party was withdrawn. + +In the meantime some of his Somalis had learned from the Danakils that +the murderer's name was Mirach, and that he was the greatest warrior of +the tribe, a man with trophies of all sorts of royal game and of no +less than forty men to his matrimonial credit. By the eleventh day +mutual irritation had nigh reached the fusing point. Fairfax had +carefully trained a gun crew to handle a Colt machine-gun that McMillan +was bringing as a present to Ras Makonnen, the victor of the field of +Adowa, and debated with his mates the question of risking an attack. + +Luckily, however, the previous day McMillan had bethought him of a +letter of Menelek's he carried, a letter ordering all his subjects to +lend the bearer any aid or succor he might need. This letter he sent +by his Abyssinian headman to Mantoock, the nearest Abyssinian Ras and a +sort of overlord of the Danakils, with request for his advice and aid. +Promptly came Mantoock, with only one attendant, heard the story, +begged McMillan to have no further care, and raced away for Ali Gorah's +village, where happily he arrived in mid afternoon of the eleventh day, +just as Fairfax was making dispositions for opening a finish fight. + +Mantoock's first act was to advise Fairfax to withdraw his command and +rejoin the caravan; and, assured that Mirach would be brought away a +prisoner, Fairfax assented and withdrew. Then Mantoock entered alone +the village of Ali Gorah and there spent the night. What passed that +night between the Christian and the pagan chiefs we do not know. +Probably little was said; nothing more was needed, indeed, than the +interpretation of the letter of the Negus and the exhibition of the +royal seal it bore. Full well Ali Gorah knew the heavy penalty of +disobedience. + +So it happened that near noon of the twelfth day Mantoock brought +Mirach into McMillan's camp, accompanied by thirty of his family and +the headmen of the tribe, Mirach marching in fully armed with spears +and shield, insolent and fearless. + +Asked why he had done the deed, Mirach replied: + +"I was resting in the shade. The Feringee approached and asked me to +guide him to the river. I told him to pass on and not to disturb me. +Then he stayed and talked and talked till I got tired and told him not +to tempt me further; for I had never yet had such a chance to kill a +white man. Still he annoyed me with his foolish talk until, weary of +it, I led him away into the thickets to his death and won trophies dear +to Danakil's maidens." + +Three camels, worth twenty dollars each, or a total of sixty dollars, +is usual blood-money in Abyssinia. When that is paid and received, +feuds among the tribesmen end, and murders are soon forgotten. But +Mirach was so highly valued as a warrior by his people that they +offered McMillan no less than three hundred camels for his life. They +were dumbfounded when their offer was refused. + +Disarmed and shackled, Mirach remained a sullen but defiant prisoner +with the caravan for the next two weeks' march, when the crossing of +the Hawash River brought them well into Abyssinian territory and made +it safe to rush him forward, in the charge of a small escort, to Adis +Ababa. + +There he was tried beneath the sombre shade of the famous Judgment +Tree, condemned, and two months later hanged in the market place: and +there for days his grinning face and shrivelling carcass swung, a +menacing proof to the wildest visiting tribesmen of them all of the +vast power of the Negus Negusti. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +DJAMA AOUT'S HEROISM + +"Throughout Somaliland, among a race famous for their fearlessness, the +name of Djama Aout is held a synonym for reckless courage. He did the +bravest deed I ever saw, a deed heroic in its purpose, ferociously sage +in its execution; the deed of a man bred of a race that knew no +longer-range weapon than an assegai, trained from youth to fight and +kill at arm's length or in hand grapple; a deed that, incidentally, +saved my life." + +The speaker was C. W. L. Bulpett, himself well qualified by personal +experience to sit in judgment, as Court of Last Resort, on any act of +courage; a man who, at forty, without training and on a heavy wager +that he could not walk a mile, run a mile, and ride a mile, all in +sixteen and a half minutes, finished the three miles in sixteen minutes +and seven seconds; a man who, midway of a dinner at Greenwich, bet that +he could swim the half-mile across the Thames and back in his evening +clothes before the coffee was served, and did it; and who has crossed +Africa from Khartoom to the Red Sea. + +If more were needed to prove Mr. Bulpett's past-mastership in +hardihood, it is perhaps sufficient to mention that he voluntarily got +himself in the fix that needed Djama Aout's aid, although in telling +the story he did not convey the impression that his own part in it was +more than secondary and inconsequential. + +"We were big-game hunting, lion and rhino preferred, along the border +of Somaliland," he continued. "Besides the pony and camel men, we had +four Somali _shikaris_, trained trackers, who knew the habits of beasts +and read their tracks and signs like a book; men of a breed whose women +will not give themselves as wives except to men who have scored kills +of both royal game and men. + +"_Sahib_ McMillan's personal _shikari_ was DJama Aout; mine, Abdi +Dereh. At the time of this incident the _Sahib_ had several lions to +his credit, while I yet had none. So the _Sahib_ kindly declared that, +however and by whomsoever jumped, the try at the next lion should be +mine. The section we were in was the usual 'lion country' of East +Africa, wide stretches of dry, level plain with occasional low rolling +hills, thinly timbered everywhere with the thorny mimosa, most of it +low bush, some grown to small trees twenty or thirty feet in height. + +"To cover a wider range of shooting, we one day decided to divide the +camp, and I moved off about four miles and pitched my tent on a low +hill, which left the old camp in clear view across the plain. Early +the next morning I went out after eland and had an excellent morning's +sport. Returned to camp shortly after noon, tired and dusty, I took a +bath, got into pajamas and slippers, had my luncheon, and was sitting +comfortably smoking within my tent, when one of my men hurried in to +say a messenger was coming on a pony at top speed. Presently he +arrived, with word from the _Sahib_ that he had a big male lion at bay +in a thicket bordering the river and urging me to hurry to him. + +"This my first chance at lion, I seized my rifle, mounted a pony, +without stopping to dress, and, followed by Abdi Dereh and another +_shikari_, dashed away behind the messenger at my pony's best pace. +Arrived, I found the _Sahib_ and about a dozen men, _shikaris_ and pony +men, surrounding a dense mimosa thicket no more than thirty or forty +yards in diameter. Nigh two-thirds of its circumference was bounded by +a bend of a deep stream the lion was not likely to try to cross, which +left a comparatively narrow front to guard against a charge. + +"'Here you are, Don Carlos!' called the _Sahib_, as I jumped off my +pony. 'Here's your lion in the bush. Up to you to get him out. Djama +Aout and the rest will stay to help you while I go back and move the +caravan to a new camp-site. No suggestion to make, except I scarcely +think I'd go in the bush after him; too thick to see ten feet ahead of +you,' and away he rode toward his camp. + +"The situation was simple, even to a novice at the game of +lion-shooting. With my line of shouting men forced to range themselves +across the narrow land front of the thicket and no chance of his exit +on the river front, only two lines of strategy remained: it was either +fire the bush and drive him out upon us or enter the bush on hands and +knees and creep about till I sighted him. The latter was well-nigh +suicidal, for it was absolutely sure he would scent, hear, and locate +me before I could see him, and thus would be almost complete master of +the situation. Naturally, therefore, I first had the bush fired, as +near to windward as the bend of the river permitted, and took a stand +covering his probable line of exit from the thicket. But it was a +failure--not enough dead wood to carry the fire through the bush and it +soon flickered and died out. Thus nothing remained but the last +alternative, and I took it. + +"Dropping on hands and knees, I began to creep into the thicket. Soon +my hands were bleeding from the dry mimosa thorns littering the ground, +my back from the thorny boughs arching low above me. For some distance +I could see no more than the length of my rifle before me or to right +or left. Presently, when near the centre of the brush patch, Abdi +Dereh next behind me, a second _shikari_ behind him, and Djama Aout +bringing up the rear, I caught a glimpse of the lion's hind quarters +and tail, scarcely six feet ahead of me. + +"I fired at once, most imprudently, for the exposure could not possibly +afford a fatal shot. Instantly after the shot, the lion circled the +dense clump immediately in front of me and charged me through a narrow +opening. As he came, I gave him my second barrel from the hip--no time +to aim--and in trying to spring aside out of his path, slipped in my +loose slippers and fell flat on my back. + +"Later we learned that my first shot had torn through his loins and my +second had struck between neck and shoulder and ranged the entire +length of his body. But even the terrible shock of two great .450 +cordite-driven balls did not serve to stop him, and the very moment I +hit the ground he lit diagonally across my body, his belly pressing +mine, his hot breath burning my cheek, his fierce eyes glaring into +mine. + +"Though it seemed an age, the rest was a matter of seconds. Abdi +Dereh, my rifle-bearer, was in the act of shoving the gun muzzle +against the lion's ribs for a shot through the heart, when a shot from +without the bush--we never learned by whom fired, probably by one of +the pony men--broke his arm and knocked him flat. Then the second +_shikari_ sprang forward and bent to pick up the gun, when one stroke +of the lion's great fore paw tore away most of the flesh from one side +of his head and face, and laid him senseless. + +"Freed for an instant from the attacks of my men, the lion turned to +the prey held helpless beneath him, and with a fierce roar, was in the +very act of advancing his cavernous mouth and gleaming fangs to seize +me by the head, when in jumped Djama Aout to my succor. His only +weapon was the _Sahib's_ .38 Smith & Wesson self-cocking six-shooter. +His was the quickest piece of sound thinking, shrewd acting, and +desperate valor conceivable. I was staring death in the face--he knew +it at a glance. Just within those enormous jaws, and all would be over +with me. The light charge of the pistol, however placed, would be +little more than a flea-bite on a monster already ripped laterally and +longitudinally through and through by two great .450 cordite shells. +Indeed the lion was not even gasping from his wounds; his great heart +was beating strong and steady against mine. Of what avail a little +pistol-ball, or six of them? + +"All this must have raced through Djama Aout's brain in a second, in +the very second _Shikari_ Number Two was falling under the lion's blow. +In another second he conceived a plan, absolutely the only one that +possibly could have saved me. + +"Just at the instant the lion turned and opened his jaws to seize and +crush my head, forward sprang Djama Aout; within the lion's jaws and +into his great yawning mouth Djama Aout thrust pistol, hand, and +forearm, and, though the hard-driven teeth crunched cruelly through +sinews and into bone, steadily pulled the trigger till the pistol's six +loads were discharged down the lion's very throat! + +"Shrinking from the shock of the shots, the lion released Djama Aout's +mangled arm and freed me of his weight. Unhurt, even unscratched by +the lion, I quickly swung myself up into the biggest mimosa near, a +poor four feet from the ground, within easy reach of our enemy if he +had not been too sick of his wounds to leap at me. + +"Having fallen from the pain and shock of his wounded arm, Djama Aout +rose, backed off a little distance, and stood at bay, the pistol +clubbed in his left hand. + +"While apparently sick unto death, the lion might muster strength for a +last attack, so I called to Marlow, who, under orders, had waited +without the thicket, bearing an elephant gun. Ignorant of whether or +not the lion was even wounded, in the brave boy came, crept in range +and fired a great eight-bore ball fair through the lion's heart. + +"It was only a few hours until, working with knife and tweezers, the +_Sahib_ had all the mimosa thorns dug out of my back and legs, but it +was many months before Djama Aout recovered partial use of his good +right arm, and it may very well be generations before the story of his +heroic deed ceases to be sung in Somali villages." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A MODERN COEUR-DE-LION + +To seek to come to death grips with the King of Beasts, a man must +himself be nothing short of lion-hearted. Such men there are, a few, +men with an inborn lust of battle, a love of staking their own lives +against the heaviest odds; men who, lacking a Crusader's cult or a +country's need to cut and thrust for, go out among the savage denizens +of the desert seeking opportunity to fight for their faith in their own +strong arms and steady nerves; men who shrink from a laurel but +treasure a trophy. William Northrup McMillan, a native of St. Louis, +who has spent the last eight years in exploration of the Blue Nile and +in travel through Abyssinia and British East Africa, is such a man. + +A friend of Mr. McMillan has told me the following story of one of his +hunting experiences. While I can only tell it in simple prose, the +deed described deserves perpetuity in the stately metre of a saga. + +The Jig-Jigga country, a province of Abyssinia lying near the border of +British Somaliland and governed by Abdullah Dowa, an Arab sheik owing +allegiance to King Menelek, is the best lion country in all Africa. +Jig-Jigga is an arid plateau averaging 5,000 feet above sea level, +poorly watered but generously grassed, sparsely timbered with the +thorny mimosa (full brother to the Texas _mesquite_), and swarming +everywhere with innumerable varieties of the wild game on which the +lion preys and fattens--eland, oryx, hartebeest, gazelle, and zebra. + +There are two ways of hunting lion. First, from the perfectly safe +shelter of a zareba, a tightly enclosed hut built of thorny mimosa +bows, with no opening but a narrow porthole for rifle fire. Within the +_zareba_ the hunter is shut in at nightfall by his _shikaris_, usually +having one _shikari_ with him, sometimes with a goat as a third +companion and a lure for lion. An occasional bite of the goat's ear by +sharp _shikari_ teeth inspires shrill bleats sure to bring any lion +lurking near in range of the hunter's rifle. At other times goat ears +are spared, and the loudest-braying donkey of the caravan is picketed +immediately in front of the _zareba's_ porthole, his normal vocal +activities stimulated by the occasional prod of a stick. Sometimes +several weary sleepless nights are spent without result, but sooner or +later, without the slightest sound hinting his approach, suddenly a +great yellow body flashes out of the darkness and upon the cringing +lure. For an instant there are the sinister sounds of savage snarls, +rending flesh, cracking bones and screams of pain and fear, and then a +dull red flash heralds the rifle's roar, and the tawny terror falls +gasping his life out across his prey. + +The second, and the only sportsmanlike way of lion-hunting, is by +tracking him in the open. The pony men circle till they find a trail, +follow it till close enough to the game to race ahead and bring it to +bay, circle about it while a messenger brings up the _Sahib_, who +dismounts and advances afoot to a combat wherein the echo of a +misplaced shot may sound his own death-knell. + +One morning while camped in the Jig-Jigga country, William Marlow, our +_Sahib's_ valet, was out with the pony men trailing a wounded oryx, +while the _Sahib_ himself was three miles away shooting eland. In mid +forenoon Marlow's men struck the fresh track of two great male lions, +plainly out on a hunting party of their own. + +Instantly Marlow rushed a messenger away to fetch the _Sahib_, and he +and the pony men then took the trail at a run. Within two hours the +pony men succeeded in circling the quarry and stopping it in a mimosa +thicket. Shortly thereafter, while they were circling and shouting +about the thicket to prevent a charge before the _Sahib's_ arrival, an +incident occurred which proves alike the utter fearlessness and the +marvellous knowledge of the game of the Somali. Suddenly out of the +shadows of the thicket sprang one of the lions and launched himself +like a thunderbolt upon one of the pony men, bearing horse and rider to +the ground. Losing his spear in the fall and held fast by one leg +beneath his horse, the rider was defenceless. However, he seized a +thorny stick and began beating the lion across the face, while the lion +tore at the pony's flank and quarters. Then down from his horse sprang +another pony man, and knowing he could not kill the lion with his spear +quickly enough to save his companion, approached and crouched directly +in front of the lion till his own face was scarcely two feet from the +lion's, and there made such frightful grimaces and let off such shrill +shrieks, that, frightened from his prey, the lion slunk snarling to the +edge of the thicket. + +Just at this moment the _Sahib_ raced upon the scene, accompanied by +his Secretary, H. Morgan Brown. In the run he had far outdistanced his +gun-bearers. Marlow was unarmed and Brown carried nothing but a +camera. Thus the _Sahib's_ single-shot .577 rifle was the only +effective weapon in the party, and for it he did not even have a single +spare cartridge. The one little cylinder of brass within the chamber +of his rifle, with the few grains of powder and nickeled lead it held, +was the only certain safeguard of the group against death or mangling. + +All this must have flashed across the _Sahib's_ mind as he leaped from +his pony and took stand in the open, sixty steps from where the lion +stood roaring and savagely lashing his tail. A little back of the +_Sahib_ and to his left stood Brown with his camera, beside him Marlow. + +Instantly, firm planted on his feet, the _Sahib_ threw the rifle to his +face for a steady standing shot. But quicker even than this act, +instinctively, the furious King of Beasts had marked the giant bulk of +the _Sahib_ as the one foeman of the half-score round him worthy of his +gleaming ivory weapons, and at him straight he charged the very instant +the gun was levelled, coming in great bounds that tossed clouds of dust +behind him, coming with hoarse roars at every bound, roars to shake +nerves not made of steel and still the beating of the stoutest heart. +On came the lion, and there stood the _Sahib_--on and yet on--till it +must have seemed to his companions that the _Sahib_ was frozen in his +tracks. + +But all the time a firm hand and a true eye held the bead of the rifle +sight to close pursuit of the lion's every move, so held it till only a +narrow sixteen yards separated man and beast. Then the _Sahib's_ rifle +cracked; and, with marvellous nerve, Brown snapped his camera a second +later and caught the picture of the kill. Hitting the beast squarely +in the forehead just at the take-on of a bound, the heavy .577 bullet +cleaned out the lion's brain pan and killed him instantly, his body +turning in mid-air and hitting the ground inert. A better rifle-shot +would be impossible, and as good a camera snapshot has certainly never +been made in the very face of instant, impending, deadly peril. + +A half-hour later Lion Number Two, slower of resolution than his mate, +fell to the _Sahib's_ first shot, with a broken neck, while lashing +himself into fit fury for a charge. This was more even than a royal +kill; each of the lions was, in size, a record among Jig-Jigga hunters, +the first measuring eleven feet one inch from tip of nose to tip of +tail, the second eleven feet. + +And then the party marched back to camp with the trophies, Djama Aout, +the head _shikari_, chanting paeans to his Sahib's prowess, while his +mates roared a hoarse Somali chorus, and all night long, by ancient law +of _shikari_, the camp feasted, chanted, and danced, one sable +saga-maker after another chanting his pride to serve so valiant a +_Sahib_. + + + + +THE END + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red-Blooded Heroes of the Frontier, by +Edgar Beecher Bronson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RED-BLOODED HEROES *** + +***** This file should be named 22350-8.txt or 22350-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/3/5/22350/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Red-Blooded Heroes of the Frontier + +Author: Edgar Beecher Bronson + +Release Date: August 17, 2007 [EBook #22350] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RED-BLOODED HEROES *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + + +THE RED-BLOODED + +HEROES OF THE FRONTIER + + +BY + +EDGAR BEECHER BRONSON + + +Author of "Reminiscences of a Ranchman" + + + + +HODDER AND STOUGHTON + +LONDON ---- NEW YORK ---- TORONTO + + + + +COPYRIGHT + +A. C. McCLURG & CO. + +1910 + + +Published September 10, 1910 + +Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, England + + + _The author acknowledges his indebtedness to the + editors of periodicals in which some of this material + has appeared, for permission to use the same in this + volume._ + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER I + LOVING'S BEND + +CHAPTER II + A COW-HUNTERS' COURT + +CHAPTER III + A SELF-CONSTITUTED EXECUTIONER + +CHAPTER IV + TRIGGERFINGERITIS + +CHAPTER V + A JUGGLER WITH DEATH + +CHAPTER VI + AM AERIAL BIVOUAC + +CHAPTER VII + THE EVOLUTION OF A TRAIN ROBBER + +CHAPTER VIII + CIRCUS DAY AT MANCOS + +CHAPTER IX + ACROSS THE BORDER + +CHAPTER X + THE THREE-LEGGED DOE AND THE BLIND BUCK + +CHAPTER XI + THE LEMON COUNTY HUNT + +CHAPTER XII + EL TIGRE + +CHAPTER XIII + BUNKERED + +CHAPTER XIV + THEY WHO MUST BE OBEYED + +CHAPTER XV + DJAMA AOUT'S HEROISM + +CHAPTER XVI + A MODERN COEUR-DE-LION + + + + +CHAPTER I + +LOVING'S BEND + +From San Antonio to Fort Griffin, Joe Loving's was a name to conjure +with in the middle sixties. His tragic story is still told and retold +around camp-fires on the Plains. + +One of the thriftiest of the pioneer cow-hunters, he was the first to +realize that if he would profit by the fruits of his labor he must push +out to the north in search of a market for his cattle. The Indian +agencies and mining camps of northern New Mexico and Colorado, and the +Mormon settlements of Utah, were the first markets to attract +attention. The problem of reaching them seemed almost hopeless of +solution. Immediately to the north of them the country was trackless +and practically unknown. The only thing certain about it was that it +swarmed with hostile Indians. What were the conditions as to water and +grass, two prime essentials to moving herds, no one knew. To be sure, +the old overland mail road to El Paso, Chihuahua, and Los Angeles led +out west from the head of the Concho to the Pecos; and once on the +Pecos, which they knew had its source indefinitely in the north, a +practicable route to market should be possible. + +But the trouble was to reach the Pecos across the ninety intervening +miles of waterless plateau called the _Llano Estacado_, or Staked +Plain. This plain was christened by the early Spanish explorers who, +looking out across its vast stretches, could note no landmark, and left +behind them driven stakes to guide their return. An elevated tableland +averaging about one hundred miles wide and extending four hundred miles +north and south, it presents, approaching anywhere from the east or the +west, an endless line of sharply escarped bluffs from one hundred to +two hundred feet high that with their buttresses and re-entrant angles +look at a distance like the walls of an enormous fortified town. And +indeed it possesses riches well worth fortifying. + +While without a single surface spring or stream from Devil's River in +the south to Yellow House Canon in the north, this great mesa is +nevertheless the source of the entire stream system of central and +south Texas. Absorbing thirstily every drop of moisture that falls +upon its surface, from its deep bosom pours a vitalizing flood that +makes fertile and has enriched an empire,--a flood without which Texas, +now producing one-third of the cotton grown in the United States, would +be an arid waste. Bountiful to the south and east, it is niggardly +elsewhere, and only two small springs, Grierson and Mescalero, escape +from its western escarpment. + +A driven herd normally travels only twelve to seventeen miles a day, +and even less than this in the early Spring when herds usually are +started. It therefore seemed a desperate undertaking to enter upon the +ninety-mile "dry drive," from the head of the Concho to the Horsehead +Crossing of the Pecos, wherein two-thirds of one's cattle were likely +to perish for want of water. + +Joe Loving was the first man to venture it, and he succeeded. He +traversed the Plain, fought his way up the Pecos, reached a good +market, and returned home in the Autumn, bringing a load of gold and +stories of hungry markets in the north that meant fortunes for Texas +ranchmen. This was in 1866. It was the beginning of the great "Texas +trail drive," which during the next twenty years poured six million +cattle into the plains and mountains of the Northwest. Of this great +industrial movement, Joe Loving was the pioneer. + +At this time Fort Sumner, situated on the Pecos about four hundred +miles above Horsehead Crossing, was a large Government post, and the +agency of the Navajo Indians, or such of them as were not on the +war-path. Here, on his drive in the Summer of 1867, Loving made a +contract for the delivery at the post the ensuing season of two herds +of beeves. His partner in this contract was Charles Goodnight, later +for many years the proprietor of the Palo Duro ranch in the Pan Handle. + +Loving and Goodnight were young then; they had helped to repel many a +Comanche assault upon the settlements, had participated in many a +bloody raid of reprisal, had more than once from the slight shelter of +a buffalo-wallow successfully defended their lives, and so they entered +upon their work with little thought of disaster. + +Beginning their round-up early in March as soon as green grass began to +rise, selecting and cutting out cattle of fit age and condition, by the +end of the month they reached the head of the Concho with two herds, +each numbering about two thousand head. Loving was in charge of one +herd and Goodnight of the other. + +Each outfit was composed of eight picked cowboys, well drilled in the +rude school of the Plains, a "horse wrangler," and a cook. To each +rider was assigned a mount of five horses, and the loose horses were +driven with the herd by day and guarded by the "horse wrangler" by +night. The cook drove a team of six small Spanish mules hitched to a +mess wagon. In the wagon were carried provisions, consisting +principally of bacon and jerked beef, flour, beans, and coffee; the +men's blankets and "war sacks," and the simple cooking equipment. +Beneath the wagon was always swung a "rawhide"--a dried, untanned, +unscraped cow's hide, fastened by its four corners beneath the wagon +bed. This rawhide served a double purpose: first, as a carryall for +odds and ends; and second, as furnishing repair material for saddles +and wagons. In it were carried pots and kettles, extra horseshoes, +farriers' tools, and firewood; for often long journeys had to be made +across country which did not furnish enough fuel to boil a pot of +coffee. On the sides of the wagon, outside the wagon box, were +securely lashed the two great water barrels, each supplied with a +spigot, which are indispensable in trail driving. Where, as in this +instance, exceptionally long dry drives were to be made other water +kegs were carried in the wagons. + +Such wagons were rude affairs, great prairie schooners, hooded in +canvas to keep out the rain. Some of them were miracles of patchwork, +racked and strained and broken till scarcely a sound bit of iron or +wood remained, but, all splinted and bound with strips of the cowboy's +indispensable rawhide, they wabbled crazily along, with many a shriek +and groan, threatening every moment to collapse, but always holding +together until some extraordinary accident required the application of +new rawhide bandages. I have no doubt there are wagons of this sort in +use in Texas to-day that went over the trail in 1868. + +The men need little description, for the cowboy type has been made +familiar by Buffalo Bill's most truthful exhibitions of plains life. +Lean, wiry, bronzed men, their legs cased in leather chaparejos, with +small boots, high heels, and great spurs, they were, despite their +loose, slouchy seat, the best rough-riders in the world. + +Cowboy character is not well understood. Its most distinguishing trait +was absolute fidelity. As long as he liked you well enough to take +your pay and eat your grub, you could, except in very rare instances, +rely implicitly upon his faithfulness and honesty. To be sure, if he +got the least idea he was being misused he might begin throwing lead at +you out of the business end of a gun at any time; but so long as he +liked you, he was just as ready with his weapons in your defence, no +matter what the odds or who the enemy. Another characteristic trait +was his profound respect for womanhood. I never heard of a cowboy +insulting a woman, and I don't believe any real cowboy ever did. Men +whose nightly talk around the camp-fire is of home and "mammy" are apt +to be a pretty good sort. And yet another quality for which he was +remarkable was his patient, uncomplaining endurance of a life of +hardship and privation equalled only among seafarers. Drenched by rain +or bitten by snow, scorched by heat or stiffened by cold, he passed it +all off with a jest. Of a bitterly cold night he might casually remark +about the quilts that composed his bed: "These here durned huldys ain't +much thicker 'n hen skin!" Or of a hot night: "Reckon ole mammy must +'a stuffed a hull bale of cotton inter this yere ole huldy." Or in a +pouring rain: "'Pears like ole Mahster's got a durned fool idee we'uns +is web-footed." Or in a driving snow storm: "Ef ole Mahster had to +_git rid_ o' this yere damn cold stuff, he might 'a dumped it on +fellers what 's got more firewood handy." + +Vices? Well, such as the cowboy had, some one who loves him less will +have to describe. Perhaps he was a bit too frolicsome in town, and too +quick to settle a trifling dispute with weapons; but these things were +inevitable results of the life he led. + +In driving a herd over a known trail where water and grass are +abundant, an experienced trail boss conforms the movement of his herd +as near as possible to the habit of wild cattle on the range. At dawn +the herd rises from the bed ground and is "drifted" or grazed, without +pushing, in the desired direction. By nine or ten o'clock they have +eaten their fill, and then they are "strung out on the trail" to water. +They step out smartly, two men--one at either side--"pointing" the +leaders; and "swing" riders along the sides push in the flanks, until +the herd is strung out for a mile or more, a narrow, bright, +particolored ribbon of moving color winding over the dark green of hill +and plain. In this way they easily march off six to nine miles by +noon. When they reach water they are scattered along the stream, drink +their fill and lie down. Dinner is then eaten, and the boys not on +herd doze in the shade of the wagon, until, a little after two o'clock, +the herd rise of their own accord and move away, guided by the riders. +Rather less distance is made in the afternoon. At twilight the herd is +rounded up into a close circular compact mass and "bedded down" for the +night; the first relief of the night guard riding slowly round, singing +softly and turning back stragglers. If properly grazed, in less than a +half-hour the herd is quiet and at rest; and, barring an occasional +wild or hungry beast trying to steal away into the darkness, so they +lie till dawn unless stampeded by some untoward incident. + +Every two or three hours a new "relief" is called and the night guard +changed. Round and round all night ride the guards, jingling their +spurs and droning some low monotonous song, recounting through endless +stanzas the fearless deeds of some frontier hero, or humming some love +ditty rather too passionate for gentle ears. + +But when a ninety-mile drive across the Staked Plain is to be done, all +this easy system is changed. In order to make the journey at all the +pace must be forced to the utmost, and the cattle kept on their legs +and moving as long as they can stand. + +Therefore, when Loving and Goodnight reached the head of the Concho, +two full days' rest were taken to recuperate the "drags," or weaker +cattle. Then, late one afternoon, after the herd had been well grazed +and watered, the water barrels and kegs filled, the herd was thrown on +the trail and driven away into the west, without halt or rest, +throughout the night. Thus, driving in the cool of the night and of +the early morning and late evening, resting through the heat of midday +when travel would be most exhausting, the herd was pushed on westward +for three nights and four days. + +On these dry drives the horses suffer most, for every rider is forced, +in his necessary daily work, to cover many times the distance travelled +by the herd, and therefore the horses, doing the heaviest work, are +refreshed by an occasional sip of the precious contents of the water +barrels--as long as it lasts. By night of the second day of this drive +every drop of water is consumed, and thereafter, with tongues parched +and swollen by the clouds of dust raised by the moving multitude, thin, +drawn, and famished for water, men, horses, and cattle push madly ahead. + +Come at last within fifteen miles of the Pecos, even the leaders, the +strongest of the herd, are staggering along with dull eyes and drooping +heads, apparently ready to fall in their tracks. Suddenly the whole +appearance of the cattle changes; heads are eagerly raised, ears +pricked up, eyes brighten; the leaders step briskly forward and break +into a trot. Cow-hunters say they smell the water. Perhaps they do, +or perhaps it is the last desperate struggle for existence. Anyway, +the tide is resistless. Nothing can check them, and four men gallop in +the lead to control and handle them as much as possible when they reach +the stream. Behind, the weaker cattle follow at the best pace they +can. In this way over the last stage a single herd is strung out over +a length of four or five miles. + +Great care is needed when the stream is reached to turn them in at easy +waterings, for in their maddened state they would bowl over one another +down a bluff of any height; and they often do so, for men and horses +are almost equally wild to reach the water, and indifferent how they +get there. + +However, the Pecos was reached and the herds watered with comparatively +small losses, and both Loving's and Goodnight's outfits lay at rest for +three days to recuperate at Horsehead Crossing. Then the drive up the +wide, level valley of the Pecos was begun, through thickets of +_tornilla_ and _mesquite_, horses and cattle grazing belly-deep in the +tall, juicy _zacaton_. + +The perils of the _Llano Estacado_ were behind them, but they were now +in the domain of the Comanche and in hourly danger of ambush or open +attack. They found a great deal of Indian "sign," their trails and +camps; but the "sign" was ten days or two weeks old, which left ground +for hope that the war parties might be out on raids in the east or +south. After travelling four days up the Pecos without encountering +any fresh "sign," they concluded that the Indians were off on some +foray; therefore it was decided that Loving might with reasonable +safety proceed ahead of the herds to make arrangements at Fort Sumner +for their delivery, provided he travelled only by night, and lay in +concealment during the day. + +In Loving's outfit were two brothers, Jim and Bill Scott, who had +accompanied his two previous Pecos drives, and were his most +experienced and trusted men. He chose Jim Scott for his companion on +the dash through to Fort Sumner. When dark came, Loving mounted a +favourite mule, and Jim his best horse; then, each well armed with a +Henry rifle and two six-shooters, with a brief "So long, boys!" to +Goodnight and the men, they trotted off up the trail. Riding rapidly +all night, they hid themselves just before dawn in the rough hills +below Pope's Crossing, ate a snack, and then slept undisturbed till +nightfall. As soon as it was good dusk they slipped down a ravine to +the river, watered their mounts, and resumed the trail to the north. +This night also was uneventful, except that they rode into, and roused, +a great herd of sleeping buffalo, which ran thundering away over the +Plain. + +Dawn came upon them riding through a level country about fifteen miles +below the present town of Carlsbad, without cover of any sort to serve +for their concealment through the day. They therefore decided to push +on to the hills above the mouth of Dark Canon. Here was their mistake. +Had they ridden a mile or two to the west of the trail and dismounted +before daylight, they probably would not have been discovered. It was +madness for two men to travel by day in that country, whether fresh +sign had been seen or not. But, anxious to reach a hiding place where +both might venture to sleep through the day, they pressed on up the +trail. And they paid dearly the penalty of their foolhardiness. + +Other riders were out that morning, riders with eyes keen as a hawk's, +eyes that never rested for a moment, eyes set in heads cunning as foxes +and cruel as wolves. A war party of Comanches was out and on the move +early, and, as is the crafty Indian custom, was riding out of sight in +the narrow valley below the well-rounded hills that lined the river. +But while hid themselves, their scouts were out far ahead, creeping +along just beneath the edge of the Plain, scanning keenly its broad +stretches, alert for quarry. And they soon found it. + +Loving and Jim hove in sight! + +To be sure they were only two specks in the distance, but the trained +eyes of these savage sleuths quickly made them out as horsemen, and +white men. + +Halting for the main war party to come up, they held a brief council of +war, which decided that the attack should be delivered two or three +miles farther up the river, where the trail swerved in to within a few +hundred yards of the stream. So the scouts mounted, and the war party +jogged leisurely northward and took stand opposite the bend in the +trail. + +On came Loving and Jim, unwarned and unsuspecting, their animals jaded +from the long night's ride. They reached the bend. And just as Jim, +pointing to a low round hill a quarter of a mile to the west of them, +remarked, "Thar'd be a blame good place to stan' off a bunch o' +Injuns," they were startled by the sound of thundering hoofs off on +their right to the east. Looking quickly round they saw a sight to +make the bravest tremble. + +Racing up out of the valley and out upon them, barely four hundred +yards away, came a band of forty or fifty Comanche warriors, crouching +low on their horses' withers, madly plying quirt and heel to urge their +mounts to their utmost speed. + +Their own animals worn out, escape by running was hopeless. Cover must +be sought where a stand could be made, so they whirled about and +spurred away for the hill Jim had noted. Their pace was slow at the +best. The Indians were gaining at every jump and had opened fire, and +before half the distance to the hill was covered a ball broke Loving's +thigh and killed his mule. As the mule pitched over dead, +providentially he fell on the bank of a buffalo-wallow--a circular +depression in the prairie two or three feet deep and eight or ten feet +in diameter, made by buffalo wallowing in a muddy pool during the rains. + +Instantly Jim sprang to the ground, gave his bridle to Loving, who lay +helpless under his horse, and turned and poured a stream of lead out of +his Henry rifle that bowled over two Comanches, knocked down one horse, +and stopped the charge. + +While the Indians temporarily drew back out of range, Jim pulled Loving +from beneath his fallen mule, and, using his neckerchief, applied a +tourniquet to the wounded leg which abated the hemorrhage, and then +placed him in as easy a position as possible within the shelter of the +wallow, and behind the fallen carcass of the mule. Then Jim led his +own horse to the opposite bank of the wallow, drew his bowie knife and +cut the poor beast's throat: they were in for a fight to the death, +and, outnumbered twenty to one, must have breastworks. As the horse +fell on the low bank and Jim dropped down behind him, Loving called out +cheerily: + +"Reckon we're all right now, Jim, and can down half o' them before they +get us. Hell! Here they come again!" + +A brief "Bet yer life, ole man. We'll make 'em settle now," was the +only reply. + +Stripped naked to their waist-cloths and moccasins, with faces painted +black and bronze, bodies striped with vermilion, with curling buffalo +horns and streaming eagle feathers for their war bonnets, no warriors +ever presented a more ferocious appearance than these charging +Comanches. Their horses, too, were naked except for the bridle and a +hair rope loosely knotted round the barrel over the withers. + +On they came at top speed until within range, when with that wonderful +dexterity no other race has quite equalled, each pushed his bent right +knee into the slack of the hair rope, seized bridle and horse's mane in +the left hand, curled his left heel tightly into the horse's flank, and +dropped down on the animal's right side, leaving only a hand and a foot +in view from the left. Then, breaking the line of their charge, the +whole band began to race round Loving's entrenchment in single file, +firing beneath their horses' necks and gradually drawing nearer as they +circled. + +Loving and Jim wasted no lead. Lying low behind their breastworks +until the enemy were well within range, they opened a fire that knocked +over six horses and wounded three Indians. Balls and arrows were +flying all about them, but, well sheltered, they remained untouched. +The fire was too hot for the Comanches and they again withdrew. + +Twice again during the day the Indians tried the same tactics with no +better result. Later they tried sharpshooting at long range, to which +Loving and Jim did not even reply. At last, late in the afternoon, +they resorted to the desperate measure of a direct charge, hoping to +ride over and shoot down the two white men. Up they came at a dead run +five or six abreast, the front rank firing as they ran. But, badly +exposed in their own persons, the fire from the buffalo-wallow made +such havoc in their front ranks that the savage column swerved, broke, +and retreated. + +Night shut down. Loving and Jim ate the few biscuits they had baked +and some raw bacon. Then they counselled with one another. Their +thirst was so great, it was agreed they must have water at any cost. +They knew the Indians were unlikely to attempt another attack until +dawn, and so they decided to attempt to reach the stream shortly after +midnight. Although it was scarcely more than fifteen hundred yards, +that was a terrible journey for Loving. Compelled to crawl noiselessly +to avoid alarming the enemy, Jim could give him little assistance. But +going slowly, dragging his shattered leg behind him without a murmur, +Loving followed Jim, and they reached the river safely and drank. + +It was now necessary to find new cover. For long distances the banks +of the Pecos are nearly perpendicular, and ten to twenty feet high. At +flood the swift current cuts deep holes and recesses in these banks. +Prowling along the margin of the stream, Jim found one of these +recesses wide enough to hold them both, and deep enough to afford good +defence against a fire from the opposite shore, Above them the bank +rose straight for twenty feet. Thus they could not be attacked by +firing, except from the other side of the river; and while the stream +was only thirty yards wide, the opposite bank afforded no shelter for +the enemy. + +In the gray dawn the Indians crept in on the first entrenchment and +sprang inside the breastworks with upraised weapons, only to find it +deserted. However, the trail of Loving's dragging leg was plain, and +they followed it down to the river, where, coming unexpectedly in range +of the new defences, two of their number were killed outright. + +Throughout the day they exhausted every device of their savage cunning +to dislodge Loving, but without avail. They soon found the opposite +bank too exposed and dangerous for attack from that direction. Burning +brush dropped from above failed to lodge before the recess, as they had +hoped it might. The position seemed impregnable, so they surrounded +the spot, resolved to starve the white men out. + +Loving and Jim had leisure to discuss their situation. Loving was +losing strength from his wound. They had no food but a little raw +bacon. Without relief they must inevitably be starved out. It was +therefore agreed that Jim should try to reach Goodnight and bring aid. +It was a forlorn hope, but the only one. The herds must be at least +sixty miles back down the trail. Jim was reluctant to leave, but +Loving urged it as the only chance. + +As soon as it was dark, Jim removed all but his under-clothing, hung +his boots round his neck, slid softly into the river, and floated and +swam down stream for more than a quarter of a mile. Then he crept out +on the bank. On the way he had lost his boots, which more than doubled +the difficulty and hardship of his journey. Still he struck bravely +out for the trail, through cactus and over stones. He travelled all +night, rested a few hours in the morning, resumed his tramp in the +afternoon, and continued it well-nigh through the second night. + +Near morning, famished and weak, with feet raw and bleeding, totally +unable to go farther, Jim lay down in a rocky recess two or three +hundred yards from the trail, and went to sleep. + +It chanced that the two outfits lay camped scarcely a mile farther down +the trail. At dawn they were again _en route_, and both passed Jim +without rousing or discovering him. Then a strange thing happened. +Three or four horses had strayed away from the "horse wrangler" during +the night, and Jim's brother Bill was left behind to hunt them. +Circling for their trail, he found and followed it, followed it until +it brought him almost upon the figure of a prostrate man, nearly naked, +bleeding, and apparently dead. Dismounting and turning the body over, +Bill was startled to find it to be his brother Jim. With great +difficulty Jim was roused; he was then helped to mount Bill's horse, +and hurried on to overtake the outfit. Coffee and a little food +revived him so that he could tell his story. + +Neither danger nor property was considered where help was needed, in +those days. Goodnight instantly ordered six men to shift saddles to +their strongest horses, left the outfits to get on as best they might, +and spurred away with his little band to his partner's relief. + +Loving had a close call the day after Jim left. The Comanches had +other plans to carry out, or perhaps they were grown impatient. In any +event, they crossed the river and raced up and down the bluff, firing +beneath their horses' necks. It was a miracle Loving was not hit; but, +lying low and watching his chance, he returned such a destructive fire +that the Comanches were forced to draw off. The afternoon passed +without alarm. As a matter of fact, the remaining Comanches had given +up the siege as too dear a bargain, and had struck off southwest toward +Guadalupe Peak. + +When night came, Loving grew alarmed over his situation. Jim might be +taken and killed. Then no chance would remain for him where he lay. +He must escape through the Indians and try to reach the trail at the +crossing in the big bend four miles north. Here his own outfits might +reach him in time. Therefore, he started early in the night, dragged +himself painfully up the bluff, and reached the plain. He might have +lain down by the trail near by; but supposing the Comanches still +about, he set himself the task of reaching the big bend. + +Starving, weak from loss of blood, his shattered thigh compelling him +to crawl, words cannot describe the horror of this journey. But he +succeeded. Love of life carried him through. And so, late the next +afternoon, the afternoon of the day Goodnight started to his relief, +Loving reached the crossing, lay down beneath a mesquite bush near the +trail, and fell into a swoon. Ever since, this spot has been known as +Loving's Bend. It is half a mile below the present town of Carlsbad. + +At dusk of the evening on which Loving reached the ford, a large party +of Mexican freighters, travelling south from Fort Sumner to Fort +Stockton, arrived and pitched their camp near where he lay But Loving +did not hear them. He was far into the dark valley and within the very +shadow of Death. Help must come to him; he could not go to it. +Luckily it came. + +While some were unharnessing the teams, others wert out to fetch +firewood. In the darkness one Mexican, thinking he saw a big mesquite +root, seized it and gave a tug. It was Loving's leg. Startled and +frightened, the Mexican yelled to his mates: + +"_Que vienen, hombres! Que vienen por el amor de Dios! Aqui esta un +muerto._" + +Others came quickly, but it was not a dead man they found, as their +mate had called. Dragged from under the mesquite and carried to the +fire, Loving was found still breathing. The spark of life was very +low, however, and the mescal given him as a stimulant did not serve to +rouse him from his stupor. But the next morning, rested somewhat from +his terrible hardships and strengthened by more mescal, he was able to +take some food and tell his story. The Mexicans bathed and dressed his +wound as well as they could, and promised to remain in camp until his +friends should come up. + +Before noon Goodnight and his six men galloped in. They had reached +his entrenchment that morning, guided by the Indian sign around about +it, and had discovered and followed his trail. Goodnight hired a party +of the Mexicans to take one of their _carretas_ and convey Loving +through to Fort Sumner. With the Fort still more than two hundred +miles away, there was small hope he could survive the journey, but it +must be tried. A rude hammock was improvised and slung beneath the +canvas cover of the carreta, and, placed within it, Loving was made as +comfortable as possible. After a nine days' forced march, made chiefly +by night, the Mexicans brought their crazy old carreta safely into the +post. + +While with rest and food Loving had been gaining in strength, the heat +and the lack of proper care were telling badly on his wound. Goodnight +had returned to the outfits, and, after staying with them a week, he +had brought them through as far as the Rio Penasco without further +mishap. Then placing the two herds in charge of the Scott brothers, he +himself made a forced ride that brought him into Sumner only one day +behind Loving. + +Goodnight found his partner's condition critical. Gangrene had +attacked the wound. It was apparent that nothing but amputation of the +wounded leg could save him. The medical officer of the post was out +with a scouting cavalry detail, and only a hospital steward was +available for the operation. To trust the case to this man's +inexperience seemed murder. Therefore, Goodnight decided to send a +rider through to Las Vegas, the nearest point where a surgeon could be +obtained. + +Here arose what seemed insuperable difficulties. From Fort Sumner to +Las Vegas the distance is one hundred and thirty miles. Much travelled +by freight teams carrying government supplies, the road was infested +throughout with hostile Navajos, for whom the freight trains were the +richest spoils they could have. Offer what he would, Goodnight could +find no one at the Fort bold enough to ride through alone and fetch a +surgeon. He finally raised his offer to a thousand dollars for any one +who would make the trip. It was a great prize, but the danger was +greater than the prize. No one responded. To go himself was +impossible; their contract must be fulfilled. + +At this juncture a hero appeared. His name was Scot Moore. Moore was +the contractor then furnishing wood and hay to the post. Coming in +from one of his camps and learning of the dilemma, himself a friend of +Loving, he instantly went to Goodnight. + +"Charlie," he said, "why in the world did you not send for me before? +Joe shall not die here like a dog if I can save him. I've got a young +Kentucky saddle mare here that's the fastest thing on the Pecos. I'll +be in Vegas by sun-up to-morrow morning, and I'll be back here sometime +to-morrow night with a doctor, if the Navajos don't get us. Pay? Pay +be damned. I'm doin' it for old Joe; he'd go for me in a minute. If +I'm not back by nine o'clock to-morrow night, Charlie, send another +messenger and just tell old Joe that Scot did his best." + +"It's mighty good of you, Scot," replied Goodnight, "I never will +forget it, nor will Joe. You know I'd go myself if I could." + +"That's all right, pardner," said Scot. "Just come over to my camp a +spell and look over some papers I want you to attend to if I don't show +up." + +And they strolled away. Officers and other bystanders shook their +heads sadly. + +"Devilish pity old Scot had to come in." + +"Might 'a known nobody could hold him from goin'." + +"He'll make Vegas all right in a night run if the mare don't give out, +but God help him when he starts back with a doctor in a wagon; ain't +one chance in a thousand he'll got through." + +"Well, if any man on earth can make it, bet your _alce_ Scot will." + +These were some of the comments. Scot Moore was known and loved from +Chihuahua to Fort Lyon. One of the biggest-hearted, most amiable and +generous of men, ha was known as the coolest and most utterly fearless +in a country where few men were cowards. + +At nightfall, the mare well fed and groomed and lightly saddled, Scot +mounted, bearing no arms but his two pistols, called a careless "_Hasta +luego, amigos_" to his friends, and trotted off up the road. For two +hours he jogged along easily over the sandy stretches beyond the Bosque +Redondo. Then getting out on firmer ground, the mare well warmed, he +gave her the rein and let her out into a long, low, easy lope that +scored the miles off famously. And so he swept on throughout the +night, with only brief halts to cool the mare and give her a mouthful +of water, through Puerta de Luna, past the Canon Pintado, up the Rio +Gallinas, past sleeping freighters' camps and Mexican _placitas_. +Twice he was fired upon by alarmed campers who mistook him for a savage +marauder, but luckily the shots flew wild. + +The last ten miles the noble mare nearly gave out, but, a friend's life +the stake he was riding for, Scot's quirt and spurs lifted her through. + +Half an hour after sunrise, before many in the town were out of bed, +Scot rode into the plaza of Las Vegas and turned out the doctor, whom +he knew. + +Dr. D---- was no coward by any means, but it took all Scot's eloquence +and persuasiveness to induce him to consent to hazard a daylight +journey through to Sumner, for he well knew its dangers. Scarcely a +week passed without news of some fearful massacre or desperate defence. +But, stirred by Scot's own heroism or perhaps tempted by the heavy fee +to be earned, he consented. + +Having breakfasted and gotten the best team in town hitched to a light +buckboard, Scot and the doctor were rolling away into the south on the +Sumner trail before seven o'clock, over long stretches of level grassy +mesa and past tall black volcanic buttes. + +Driving on without interruption or incident, shortly after noon they +approached the head of the Arroyo de los Enteros, down which the trail +descended to the lower levels of the great Pecos Valley. Enteros Canon +is about three miles long, rarely more than two hundred yards wide, its +sides rocky, precipitous, and heavily timbered, through which wound the +wagon trail, exposed at every point to a perfect ambuscade. It was the +most dreaded stretch of the Vegas-Sumner road, but Scot and the doctor +drew near it without a misgiving, for no sign of the savage enemy had +they seen. + +Just before reaching the head of the canon, the road wound round a high +butte. Bowling rapidly along, Scot half dozing with fatigue, the +doctor, unused to the plains, alert and watchful, they suddenly turned +the hill and came out upon the immediate head of the canon, when +suddenly the doctor cried, seizing Scot's arm: + +"Good God, Scott, look! For God's sake, look!" + +And it was time. There on either hand, to their right and to their +left, tied by their lariats to drooping _pinon_ bough, stood fifty or +sixty Navajo ponies. The ponies were bridled and saddled. Upon some +were tied lances and on others arms. All were dripping with sweat and +heaving of flank, their knife-marked ears drooping with fatigue; not +more than five minutes could have elapsed since their murderous riders +had left them. Apparently it was an ambush laid for them, and they +were already surrounded. Even the cool Scot shook himself in surprise +to find that he was still alive. + +Overcome with terror, the doctor cried: "Turn, Scot! Turn, for +Heaven's sake! It's our only chance to pull for Vegas." + +But Scot had been reflecting. With wits sharpened by a thousand perils +and trained in scores of desperate encounters, he answered: "Doc, +you're wrong; dead wrong. We're safe as if we were in Fort Union. If +they were laying for us we'd be dead now. No, they are after bigger +game. They have sighted a big freight outfit coming up from the Pecos, +and are laying for that in the canon. We can slide through without +seeing a buck or hearing a shot. We'll go right on down Entoros, old +boy." + +"Scot, you're crazy," said the doctor. "I will not go a step. Let's +run for Vegas. Any instant we may be attacked. Why, damn your fool +soul, they've no doubt got a bead on us this minute." + +With a sharp stroke of his whip, Scot started the team into a smart +trot down into the canon. Then he turned to the doctor and quietly +answered: "Doc, you seem to forget that Joe Loving is dying, and that I +_promised_ to fetch you. Reckon you'll have to go!" And down they +went into what seemed the very jaws of death. + +But Scot was right. It was a triumph of logic. The Navajos were +indeed lying for bigger game. + +And so it happened that, come safely through the canon, out two miles +on the plain they met a train off eight freight teams travelling toward +Vegas. They stopped and gave the freighters warning, told what they +had seen, begged them to halt and corral their wagons. But it was no +use. The freighters thought themselves strong enough to repel any +attack, and drove on into the canon. + +None of them came out. + +And to this day the traveller through Enteros may see pathetic evidence +of their foolhardiness in a scattered lot of weather-worn and rusted +wheel tires and hub bands. + +Before midnight Scot and the doctor reached Sumner, having changed +teams twice at Mexican _placitas_. Covering two hundred and sixty +miles in less than thirty hours, Scot Moore had kept his word! +Unhappily, however, Joe Loving had become so weak that he died under +the shock of the operation. + +Now Scot Moore himself is dead and gone, but the memory of his heroic +ride should live as long as noble deeds are sung. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A COW-HUNTERS' COURT + +The recent death of Shanghai Rhett, at Llano, Texas, makes another hole +in the rapidly thinning ranks of the pioneer Texas cow-hunters. +Cow-hunting in early days was the industry upon which many of the +greatest fortunes of the State were founded, and from it sprang the +great cattle-ranch industry that between the years 1866 and 1885 +converted into gold the rich wild grasses of the tenantless plains and +mountains of Texas, New Mexico, the Indian Territory, Kansas, Nebraska, +Colorado, Wyoming, Dakota, and Montana. + +The economic value of this great industrial movement in promoting the +settlement and development of that vast region of the West lying +between the ninety-eighth and one hundred and twentieth meridians, and +embracing half the total area of the United States, is comprehended by +few who were not personally familiar with the conditions of its rise +and progress. There can be no question that the ranch industry +hastened the occupation and settlement of the Plains by at least thirty +years. Farming in those wilds was then an impossibility. Remote from +railways, unmapped, and untrod by white men, it was under the sway of +hostile Indians, before whose attacks isolated farming settlements, +with houses widely scattered, would have been defenceless,--alike in +their position and in their inexperience in Indian warfare. Then, +moreover, there was neither a market nor means of transportation or the +farmer's product. All these conditions the Texas cow-hunters changed, +and they did it in little more than a decade. + +In Texas were bred the leaders and the rank and file of that great army +of cow-hunters whose destiny it was to become the pioneers of this vast +region. Pistol and knife were the treasured toys of their childhood; +they were inured to danger and to hardship; they were expert horsemen, +trained Indian-fighters, reckless of life but cool in its defence; and +thus they were an ideal class for the pacification of the Plains. + +Shanghai Rhett's death removed one of the comparatively few survivors +of this most interesting and eventful past. + +In Texas after the war, when Shang was young, a pony, a lariat, a +six-shooter, and a branding iron were sufficient instruments for the +acquisition of wealth. A trained eye and a practised hand were +necessary for the effective use of pistol and lariat; the running iron +anybody could wield; therefore, while a necessary feature of equipment, +the iron was a secondary affair. The pistol was useful in settling +annoying questions of title; the horse and the lariat, in taking +possession after title was settled; the iron, in marking the property +with a symbol of ownership. The property in question was always cattle. + +Before the war, cattle were abundant in Texas. Fences were few. +Therefore, the cattle roamed at will over hill and plain. To determine +ownership each owner adopted a distinctive "mark and brand." The +owner's mark and brand were put upon the young before they left their +mothers, and upon grown cattle when purchases were made. Thus the +broad sides and quarters of those that changed hands many times were +covered over with this barbarous record of their various transfers. + +The system of marking and branding had its origin among the Mexicans. +Marking consists in cutting the ears or some part of the animal's hide +in such a way as to leave a permanent distinguishing mark. One owner +would adopt the "swallow fork," a V-shaped piece cut out of the tip of +the ear; another, the "crop," the tip of the ear cut squarely off; +another, the "under-half crop," the under half of the tip of the ear +cut away; another, the "over-half crop," the reverse of the last; +another, the "under-bit," a round nick cut in the lower edge of the +ear; another, the "over-bit," the reverse of the last; another, the +"under-slope," the under half of the ear removed by cutting diagonally +upward; another, the "over-slope," the reverse of the last; another, +the "grub," the ear cut off close to the head; another, the "wattle," a +strip of the hide an inch wide and two or three inches long, either on +forehead, shoulder, or quarters, skinned and left hanging by one end, +where before healing it leaves a conspicuous lump; another, the +"dewlap," three or four inches of the loose skin under the throat +skinned down and left hanging. + +Branding consists in applying a red-hot iron to any part of the animal +for six or eight seconds, until the hide is seared. Properly done, +hair never again grows on the seared surface and the animal is "branded +for life." A small five-inch brand on a young calf becomes a great +twelve-to-eighteen-inch mark by the time the beast is fully grown. + +In Mexico the art of branding dates back to the time when few men were +lettered and most men used a _rubrica_ mark or flourish instead of a +written signature. Thus, in Mexico the brand is always a device, +whatever complex combination of lines and circles the whim of the owner +may conceive. In this country the brand was usually a combination of +letters or numerals, though sometimes shapes and forms are represented. +Branding and marking cattle and horses is certainly a most cruel +practice, but under the old conditions of the open range, where +individual ownerships numbered thousands of head, no other means +existed of contradistinguishing title. + +During the war these vast herds grew and increased unattended, +neglected by owners, who were in the field with the armies of the +Confederacy. So it happened that hundreds of thousands of cattle +ranged the plains of Texas after the war, unmarked and unbranded, wild +as the native game, to which no man could establish title. This +situation afforded an opportunity which the hard-riding and desperate +men who found themselves stranded on this far frontier after the wreck +of the Confederacy were quick to seize. Shang Rhett was one of them. +From chasing Federal soldiers they turned to chasing unbranded steers, +and found the latter occupation no less exciting and much more +profitable than the former. + +First, bands of free companions rode together and pooled their gains. +Then the thrift of some and the improvidence of others set in motion +the immutable laws of distribution. Soon a class of rich and powerful +individual owners was created, who employed great outfits of ten to +fifty men each, splendidly mounted and armed. These outfits were in +continually moving camps, and travelled light, without wagons or tents. +The climate being mild even in winter, seldom more than two blankets to +the man were carried for bedding. The cooking paraphernalia were +equally simple, at the most consisting of a coffee pot, a frying-pan, a +stew kettle, and a Dutch oven. Each man carried a tin cup tied to his +saddle. Plates, knives, and forks were considered unnecessary +luxuries, as every man wore a bowie knife at his belt, and was +dexterous in using his slice of bread as a plate to hold whatever +delicacy the frying-pan or kettle might contain. Sometimes even the +Dutch oven was dispensed with, and bread was baked by winding thin +rolls of dough round a stick and planting the stick in the ground, +inclined over a bed of live coals. Often the frying-pan was left +behind, and the meat roasted on a stick over the fire; and no meat in +the world was ever so delicious as a good fat side of ribs so roasted. + +The wild, unbranded cattle were everywhere--in the cross-timbers of the +Palo Pinto, in the hills and among the post oaks of the Concho and the +Llano, on the broad savannas of the Lower Guadalupe and the Brazos, in +the plains and mesquite thickets of the Nueces and the Frio. And +through these wild regions, on the outer fringe of settlement, ranged +the cow-hunters, as merry and happy a lot as ever courted adventure, +careless of their lives. + +Of adventure and hazard the cow-hunters had quite enough to keep the +blood tingling. They had to deal with wild men as well as wild cattle. +Comanches and Kiowas, the old lords of the manor, were bitterly +disputing every forward movement of the settler along the whole +frontier. No community, from Griffin to San Antonio, escaped their +attacks and depredations. Indeed, these incursions were regular +monthly visitations, made always "in the light of the moon." A war +party of naked bucks on naked horses, the lightest and most dexterous +cavalry in the world, would slip softly near some isolated ranch or +lonely camp by night. The cleverest and cunningest would dismount and +steal swiftly in upon their quarry. Slender, sinewy, bronze figures +creeping and crouching like panthers, crafty as foxes, fierce and +merciless as maddened bulls, their presence was rarely known until the +blow fell. Sometimes they were content to steal the settlers' horses, +and by daylight be many miles away to the west or north. Sometimes +they fired buildings and shot down the inmates as they ran out. +Sometimes they crept silently into camps, knifed or tomahawked one or +more of the sleepers, and stole away, all so noiselessly that others +sleeping near were undisturbed. Sometimes they lay in ambush about a +camp till dawn, and then with mad war-whoops charged among the sleepers +with their deadly arrows and tomahawks. + +Against these wily marauders the cow-hunters could never abate their +guard. And it was these same cow-hunters the Indians most dreaded, for +they were tireless on a trail and utterly reckless in attack. It was +not often the Indians got the best of them, and then only by ambush, or +overwhelming numbers. Better armed, of stouter hearts in a stand-up +fight, little bands of these cow-hunters often soundly thrashed war +parties out-numbering them ten to one. + +Then it not infrequently fell out that collisions occurred between +rival outfits of cow-hunters, disputes over territory or cattle, which +led to bitter feuds not settled till one side or the other was killed +off or run out of the country. Battles royal were fought more than +once in which a score or more of men were killed, wherein the _casus +belli_ was a difference as to the ownership of a brindle steer. + +These men were a law unto themselves. Courts were few and far between +on the line of the outer settlements. Powder and lead came cheaper +than attorneys' fees, and were, moreover, found to be more effective. +Thus the rifle and pistol were almost invariably the cow-hunters' court +of first and last resort for disputes of every nature. Except in rare +instances where there happened to be survivors among the families of +the original plaintiff and defendant, this form of litigation was never +prolonged or tiresome. When there were any survivors the case was sure +to be re-argued. + +Occasionally, of course, in the immediate settlements a case would be +brought to formal trial before a judge and jury. While, as a rule, the +procedure of these courts conformed to the statutes and was formal +enough, rather startling informalities sometimes characterized their +sessions. A case in point, of which Shang Rhett was the hero, occurred +at Llano. + +At that time the town of Llano could boast of only one building, a big +rough stone house, loop-holed for defence against the Indians. Under +this one roof the enterprising owner assembled a variety of industries +and performed a variety of functions that would dismay the most +versatile man of any older community. Here he kept a general store, +operated blacksmith and wheelwright shops, served as post-master, ran a +hotel, and sat as justice of the peace. Indeed, he got so much in the +habit of self-reliance in all emergencies, that in more than one +instance he subjected himself to some criticism by calmly sitting as +both judge and jury in cases wherein he had no jurisdiction. Getting a +jury at Llano was no easy task. Often the country for miles around +might be scoured without producing a full panel. + +Llano being the county seat, and this the only house in town, it +somewhat naturally from time to time enjoyed temporary distinction as a +court house, when at long intervals the Llano County court met. The +accommodations, however, were inconveniently limited--so limited in +fact that on one occasion at least they were responsible for a sad +miscarriage of justice. + +A murder trial was on. One of the earliest settlers, a man well known +and generally liked, had killed a newcomer. It was felt that he had +given his victim no chance for his life, else he probably would not +have been brought to trial at all. And even in spite of the prevailing +disapproval, there was an undercurrent of sympathy for him in the +community. + +However, court met and the case was called. Several settlers were +witnesses in the case. It was, therefore, considered a remarkable and +encouraging evidence of Llano County's growth in population when the +District Attorney succeeded in raking together enough men for a jury. +At noon of the second day of the trial the evidence was all in, +arguments of counsel finished, and the case given to the jury. The +prisoner's case seemed hopeless. A clearly premeditated murder had +been proved, against which scarcely any defence was produced. + +Judge, jury, prisoner, and witnesses all had dinner together in the +"court-room," which was always demeaned from its temporary dignity as a +hall of justice, to the humble rank of a dining-room as soon as court +adjourned. Directly after dinner the jury withdrew for deliberation, +in custody of two bailiffs. + +The house was large, to be sure, but its capacity was already so far +taxed that it could not provide a jury room. It was therefore the +custom of the bailiffs to use as a jury room an open, mossy glade +shaded by a great live oak tree on the farther bank of the Llano, and +distant two or three hundred yards from the court house. Here, +therefore, the jury were conducted, the bailiffs retired to some +distance, and discussion of a verdict was begun. In spite of the +weight of evidence against him, two or three were for acquittal. The +others said they were "damned sorry; Jim was a mighty good feller, but +it 'peared like they'd have to foller the evidence." So the discussion +pro and con ran on into the mid-afternoon without result. + +It was an intensely hot afternoon, the air close and heavy with +humidity, an hour when all Texans who can do so take a siesta. Judge +and counsel were snoozing peacefully on the gallery of the distant +court house, and the two bailiffs guarding the "jury room," overcome by +habit and the heat, were stretched at full length on the ground, +snoring in concert. This situation made the opportunity for a friend +at court. Shang Rhett was the friend awaiting this opportunity. +Stepping lightly out of the brush where he had been concealed, a few +paces brought him among the jurors. + +"Howdy! boys?" Shang drawled. "Pow'ful hot evenin', ain't it! +Moseyin' roun' sort o' lonesome like, I thought mebbe so you fellers 'd +be tired o' talkin' law, an' I'd jes' step over an' pass the time o' +day an' give you a rest." + +A rude diplomat, perhaps, Shang was nevertheless a cunning one. +Several jurors expressed their appreciation of his sympathy and one +answered: "Tired o' talkin'! Wall, I reckon so. I'm jes' tireder an' +dryer 'n if I'd been tailin' down beef steers all day. My ol' tongue's +been a-floppin' till thar ain't nary 'nother flop left in her 'nless I +could git to ile her up with a swaller o' red-eye, an--" +regretfully--"I reckon thar ain't no sort o' chanst o' that." + +"Thar ain't, hey?" replied Shang, producing a big jug from the brush +near by. "'Pears like, 'nless I disremember, thar's some red-eye in +this yere jug." + +Upon examination the jug was found to be nearly full; but, passed and +repassed around the "jury room," it was not long before the jug was +empty, and the jury full. + +Shrewdly seizing the proper moment before the jurors got drunk enough +to be obstinate and combative, Shang made his appeal. "Fellers," he +said, "I allows you all knows that Jim's my friend, an' I reckon you +cain't say but what he 's been a mighty good friend to more'n one o' +you. Course, I know he got terrible out o' luck when he had t' kill +this yer Arkinsaw feller. But then, boys, Arkinsawyers don't count fer +much nohow, do they? Pow'ful onery, no account lot, sca'cely fit to +practise shootin' at. We fellers ain't a-goin' to lay that up agin +Jim, air we? We ain't a-goin' to help this yer jack-leg prosecutin' +attorney send ol' Jim up. Why, fellers, we knows well enough that airy +one o' us might 'a done the same thing ef we'd been out o' luck, like +Jim was, in meetin' up with this yer Arkinsawyer afore we'd had our +mornin' coffee. What say, boys? Bein' as how any o' us might be in +Jim's boots mos' any day, reckon we'll have to turn him loose?" + +Shang's pathetic appeal for Jim's life clearly won outright more than +half the jury, but there were several who, while their sympathies were +with Jim, "'lowed they'd have to bring a verdic' accordin' to the +evidence." + +"Verdic'? Why, fellers," retorted Jim's advocate, "whar's the use of a +fool verdic'? 'Sposin' we fellers was goin' to be verdicked? This is +a time for us fellers to stan' together, shua'. I'll tell you what +le's do; le's all slip off inter th' brush, cotch our hosses an' pull +our freight fer home. This yer court ain't goin' to git airy jury but +us in Llano 'till a new one's growed, an' if we skip I reckon they'll +have to turn Jim loose." + +This alternative met all objections. In a moment the "jury room" was +empty. + +Shortly thereafter the two bailiffs, awakened by a clatter of hoofs +over the rocky hills behind them, were doubly shocked to find the only +tenant of the "jury room" an empty jug. + +One of the bailiffs sighted some of the escaping jurors and opened +fire; the other hastened to alarm the court. The latter, running +toward the house, met the judge and counsel who had been roused by the +firing, and yelled out: "Jedge, the hull jury's stampeded! Bill's +winged two o' them. Gi' me a fast hoss an' a lariat an' mebbe so I'll +cotch some more." + +Two or three jurors who were too much fuddled with drink to saddle and +mount were quickly captured. The rest escaped. Of course, the court +was outraged and indignant, but it was powerless. So Jim was released, +thanks to Shang's diplomacy and eloquence. And, by the way, in the +dark days that came to ranchmen in 1885, Jim, risen to be a well-known +and powerful banker in ------ City, furnished the ready money necessary +to save Shang's imperilled fortune; and when at length he heard that +Shang was at death's door, Jim found the time to leave his large +affairs and come all the way up from ------ to Llano to bid his old +friend farewell. + +For two or three years after the war the cow-hunters were busy +accumulating cattle. From Palo Pinto to San Diego great outfits were +working incessantly, scouring the wilds for unbranded cattle. + +Directly an animal was sighted, one or two of these riders would spur +in pursuit, rope him by horns or legs, and throw him to the ground. +Then dismounting and springing nimbly upon the prostrate beast, they +quickly fastened the beast's feet with a "hogtie" hitch so that he +could not rise, a fire was built, the short saddle iron heated, and the +beast branded. The feet were then unbound and the cow-hunter made a +flying leap into his saddle, and spurred away to escape the infuriated +charge sure to be delivered by his maddened victim. + +In this work horses were often fatally gored and not a few men lost +their lives. Notwithstanding the fact that it was such a downright +desperate task, the men became so expert that they did not even +hesitate to tackle, alone and single-handed, great bulls of twice the +weight of their small ponies; they roped, held, threw, and branded +them. The least accident or mistake, a slip of the foot, a stumble by +one's horse, a breaking cinch, a failure to maintain full tension on +the lariat, slowness in dismounting to tie an animal or in mounting +after it was untied--any one of these things happening meant death, +unless the cow-hunter could save himself with a quick and accurate +shot. Indeed the boys so loved this work and were so proud of their +skill, that when an unusually vicious old "mossback" was encountered, +each strove to be the first catch and master him. And God knows they +should have loved it, as must any man with real red blood coursing +through his veins, for it was not work; I libel it to call it work; it +was rather sport, and the most glorious sport in the world. Riding to +hounds over the stiffest country, or hunting grizzly in juniper +thickets, is tame beside cow-hunting in the old days. + +The happiest period of my life was my first five years on the range in +the early seventies. Indeed it was a period so happy that memory plays +me a shabby trick to recall its incidents and fire me with longings for +pleasures I may never again experience. Its scenes are all before me +now, vivid as if of yesterday. + +The night camp is made beside a singing stream or a bubbling spring; +the night horses are caught and staked; there is a roaring, merry fire +of fragrant cedar boughs; a side of fat ribs is roasting on a spit +before the fire, its sweet juices hissing as they drop into the flames, +and sending off odors to drive one ravenous; the rich amber contents of +the coffee pot is so full of life and strength that it is well-nigh +bursting the lid with joy over the vitality and stimulus it is to bring +you. Supper eaten, there follow pipe and cigarette, jest and bandinage +[Transcriber's note: badinage?] over the day's events; stories and +songs of love, of home, of mother; and rude impromptu epics relating +the story of victories over vicious horses, wild beasts, or savage +Indians. When the fire has burnt low and become a mass of glowing +coals, voices are hushed, the camp is still, and each, half hypnotized +by gazing into the weirdly shifting lights of the dying embers, is +wrapped in introspection. Then, rousing, you lie down, your canopy the +dark blue vault of the heavens, your mattress the soft, curling buffalo +grass. After a night of deep refreshing sleep you spring at dawn with +every faculty renewed and tense. Breakfast eaten, you catch a favorite +roping-horse, square and heavy of shoulder and quarter, short of back, +with wide nervous nostrils, flashing eyes, ears pointing to the +slightest sound, pasterns supple and strong as steel, and of a nerve +and temper always reminding you that you are his master only by +sufferance. Now begins the day's hunt. Riding softly through cedar +brake or mesquite thicket, slipping quickly from one live oak to +another, you come upon your quarry, some great tawny yellow monster +with sharp-pointed, wide-spreading horns, standing startled and rigid, +gazing at you with eyes wide with curiosity, uncertain whether to +attack or fly. Usually he at first turns and runs, and you dash after +him through timber or over plain, the great loop of your lariat +circling and hissing about your head, the noble horse between your +knees straining every muscle in pursuit, until, come to fit distance, +the loop is cast. It settles and tightens round the monster's horns, +and your horse stops and braces himself to the shock that may either +throw the quarry or cast horse and rider to the ground, helpless, at +his mercy. Once he is caught, woe to you if you cannot master and tie +him, for a struggle is on, a struggle of dexterity and intelligence +against brute strength and fierce temper, that cannot end till beast or +man is vanquished! + +Thus were the great herds accumulated in Texas after the war. But +cattle were so abundant that their local value was trifling. Markets +had to be sought. The only outlets were the mining camps and Indian +agencies of the Northwest, and the railway construction camps then +pushing west from the Missouri River. So the Texans gathered their +cattle into herds of two thousand to three thousand head each, and +struck north across the trackless Plains. Indeed this movement reached +such proportions that, excepting in a few narrow mining belts, there is +scarcely one of the greater cities and towns between the ninety-eighth +and one hundred and twentieth meridians which did not have its origin +as a supply point for these nomads. Figures will emphasize the +magnitude of the movement. The cattle-drive northward from Texas +between the years 1866 and 1885 was approximately as follows: + + + 1866 260,000 1877 201,000 + 1867 35,000 1878 265,649 + 1868 75,000 1879 257,927 + 1869 350,000 1880 394,784 + 1870 350,000 1881 250,000 + 1871 600,000 1882 250,000 + 1872 350,000 1883 265,000 + 1873 404,000 1884 416,000 + 1874 166,000 1885 350,000 + 1875 151,618 --------- + 1876 321,998 Total 5,713,976 + + +The range business on a large and profitable scale was long since +practically done and ended. In Texas there remain very few open ranges +capable of turning off fair grass beef. With the good lands farmed and +the poor lands exhausted, the ranges have become narrower every year; +and every year the cost of getting fat grass steers has been eating +deeper and deeper into the rangeman's pocket. Of course, there are +still isolated ranges where the rangemen still hang on, but they are +not many, and most of them must soon fall easy prey to the ploughshare. + +When the rangeman was forced to lease land in Texas, or buy water +fronts in the Territories and build fences, his fate was soon sealed. +With these conditions, he soon found that the sooner he reduced his +numbers, improved his breed, and went on tame feed, the better. A corn +shock is now a more profitable close herder than any cowpuncher who +ever wore spurs. This is a sad thing for an old rangeman to +contemplate, but it is nevertheless the simple truth. Soon the merry +crack of the six Footer will no more be heard in the land, its wild and +woolly manipulator being driven across the last divide, with faint show +of resistance, by an unassuming granger and his all-conquering hoe. + +The rangeman, like many another in the past, has served his purpose and +survived his usefulness. His work is practically done, and few realize +what a noble work it has been, or what its cost in hardship and danger. + +I refer, of course, not alone to the development of a great industry, +which in its time has added millions to the material wealth of the +country, but to its collateral results and influence. But for the +venturesome rangeman and his rifle, millions of acres, from the Gulf in +the South to Bow River in the far Canadian Northwest, now constituting +the peaceful, prosperous homes of hundreds of thousands of thrifty +farmers, would have remained for many years longer what it had been +from the beginning--a hunting and battle ground for Indians, and a safe +retreat for wild game. + +What was the hardship, and what the personal risk with which this great +pioneer work was accomplished, few know except those who had a hand in +it, and they as a rule, were modest men who thought little of what they +did, and now that it is done, say less. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A SELF-CONSTITUTED EXECUTIONER + +Some think it fair to give a man warnin' you intend to kill him on +sight, an' then get right down to business as soon as you meet. But +that ain't no equal chance for both. The man that sees his enemy first +has the advantage, for the other is sure to be more or less rattled. + +"Others consider it a square deal to stan' back to back with drawn +pistols, to walk five paces apart an' then swing and shoot. But even +this way is open to objections. While both may be equally brave an' +determined, one may be blamed nervous, like, an' excitable, while the +other is cool and deliberate; one may be a better shot than the other, +or one may have bad eyes. + +"I tell you, gentlemen, none o' these deals are fair; they are +murderous. If you want to kill a man in a neat an' gentlemanly way +that will give both a perfectly equal show for life, let both be put in +a narrow hole in the ground that they can't git out of, their left arms +securely tied together, their right hands holdin' bowie knives, an' let +them cut, an' cut an' cut till one is down." + +His heavy brow contracted into a fierce frown; his black eyes narrowed +and glittered balefully; his surging blood reddened the bronzed cheeks. + +"Let them cut, I say, cut to a finish. That's fightin', an' fightin' +dead fair. Ah!" and the hard lines of the scarred face softened into a +look of infinite longing and regret, "if only I could find another man +with nerve enough to fight me that way!" + +The speaker was Mr. Clay Allison, formerly of Cimarron, later domiciled +at Pope's Crossing. His listeners were cowboys. The scene was a +round-up camp on the banks of the Pecos River near the mouth of Rocky +Arroyo. Mr. Allison was not dilating upon a theory. On the contrary, +he was eminently a man of practice, especially in the matters of which +he was speaking. Indeed he was probably the most expert taker of human +life that ever heightened the prevailing dull colors of a frontier +community. Early in his career the impression became general that his +favorite tint was crimson. + +And yet Mr. Allison was in no sense an assassin. I never knew him to +kill a man whom the community could not very well spare. While engaged +as a ranchman in raising cattle, he found more agreeable occupation for +the greater part of his time in thinning out the social weeds that are +apt to grow quite too luxuriantly for the general good in new Western +settlements. His work was not done as an officer of the law either. +It was rather a self-imposed task, in which he performed, at least to +his own satisfaction, the double functions of judge and executioner. +And in the unwritten code governing his decisions all offences had a +common penalty--death. + +Mr. Allison was born with a passion for fighting, and he indulged the +passion until it became a mania. The louder the bullets whistled, the +redder the gleaming blades grew, the more he loved it. + +Yet no knight of old that rode with King Arthur was ever a more +chivalrous enemy. He hated a foul blow as much as many of his +contemporaries loved "to get the drop," which meant taking your +opponent unawares and at hopeless disadvantage. In fact in most cases +he actually carried a chivalry so far as to warn the doomed man, a week +or two in advance, of the precise day and hour when he might expect to +die. And as Mr. Allison was known to be most scrupulous in standing to +his word, and as the victim knew there was no chance of a reprieve, +this gave him plenty of time to settle up his affairs and to prepare to +cross the last divide. Thus the estates of gentlemen who happened to +incur Mr. Allison's disapproval were usually left in excellent +condition and gave little trouble to the probate courts. + +Of course the gentlemen receiving these warnings were under no +obligations to await Mr. Allison's pleasure. Some suddenly discovered +that they had imperative business in other and remote parts of the +country. Others were so anxious to save him unnecessary trouble that +they frequented trails he was known to travel, and lay sometimes for +hours and days awaiting him, making themselves as comfortable as +possible in the meantime behind some convenient boulder or tall nopal, +or in the shady recesses of a mesquite thicket. But they might as well +have saved all this bother, for the result was the same. Mr. Allison +could always spare the time to journey even from New Mexico to Montana +where it was necessary to the fulfilment of a promise to do so. + +To those who were impatient and sought him out in advance, he was ever +obliging and proved ready to meet them where and when and how they +pleased. It was all the same to him. To avoid annoying legal +complications, he was known to have more than once deliberately given +his opponent the first shot. + +In the early eighties a band of horse rustlers were playing great havoc +among the saddle stock in north-eastern New Mexico. It was chiefly +through Mr. Allison's industry and accurate marksmanship that their +numbers were reduced below a convenient working majority. The leader +vowed vengeance on Allison. One day they met unexpectedly in the stage +ranch at the crossing of the Cimarron. + +Mr. Allison invited the rustler to take a drink. The invitation was +accepted. It was remarked by the bystanders that while they were +drinking neither seemed to take any especial interest in the brazen +pictures that constituted a feature of the Cimarron bar and were the +pride of its proprietor. The next manoeuvre in the game was a +proposition by Mr. Allison that they retire to the dining-room and have +some oysters. Unable to plead any other engagement to dine, the +rustler accepted. As they sat down at table, both agreed that their +pistols felt heavy about their waists, and each drew his weapon from +the scabbard and laid it on his knees. + +While the Cimarron ranch was noted for the best cooking on the trail, +other gentlemen at dinner seemed oddly indifferent to its delicacies, +nervously gulped down a few mouthfuls and then slipped quietly out of +the room, leaving loaded plates. + +Presently Mr. Allison dropped a fork on the floor--perhaps by +accident--and bent as if to pick it up. An opening in his enemy's +guard the rustler could not resist: he grabbed the pistol lying in his +lap and raised it quickly, but in doing so he struck the muzzle beneath +the edge of the table, causing an instant's delay. It was, however, +enough; Allison had pitched sideways to the floor, and, firing beneath +the table, converted a bad rustler into a good one. + +Dodge City used to be one of the hottest places on the Texas trail. It +was full of thugs and desperadoes of the worst sort, come to prey upon +the hundreds of cowboys who were paid off there. This money had to be +kept in Dodge at any cost. Usually the boys were easy game. What +money the saloons failed to get was generally gambled off against brace +games of faro or monte. And those who would neither drink nor play +were waylaid, knocked down, and robbed. + +On one occasion when the Hunter and Evans "Jinglebob" outfits were in +town, they objected to some of these enforced levies as unreasonably +heavy. A pitched battle on the streets resulted. Many of the boys +were young and inexperienced, and they were getting quite the worst of +it, when Clay Allison happened along and took a hand. + +The fight did not last much longer. When it was over, it was +discovered that several of Dodge's most active citizens had been +removed from their field of usefulness. For the next day or two, "Boot +Hill" (the local graveyard) was a scene of unusual activity. + +From all this it fell out that a few days later when Clay Allison rode +alone out of Dodge returning home, he was ambushed a few miles from +town by three men and shot from his horse. Crippled too badly to +resist, he lay as if dead. Thinking their work well done, the three +men came out of hiding, kicked and cursed him, shot two or three more +holes in him, and rode back to town. But Allison, who had not even +lost consciousness, had recognized them. A few hours later the driver +of a passing wagon found him and hauled him into town. After lingering +many weeks between life and death, Allison recovered. As soon as they +heard that he was convalescing, the three who had attacked him wound up +their affairs and fled the town. + +When able to travel Allison sold his ranch. Questioned by his friends +as to his plans, he finally admitted that he felt it a duty to hunt +down the men who had ambushed him; remarked that he feared they might +bushwhack some one else if they were not removed. + +Number One of the three men he located in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Cheyenne +was then a law-abiding community, and Allison could not afford to take +any chances of court complications that would interfere with the +completion of his work. He therefore spent several days in covertly +watching the habits of his adversary. From the knowledge thus gained +he was able one morning suddenly to turn a street corner and confront +Number One. Without the least suspicion that Allison was in the +country, the man, knowing that his life hung by a thread, jerked his +pistol and fired on the instant. As Allison had shrewdly calculated, +his enemy was so nervous that his shot flew wild. Number One did not +get a second shot. At the inquest several witnesses of the affray +swore that Allison did not even draw until after the other had fired. + +Several weeks later Number Two was found in Tombstone, Arizona, a town +of the good old frontier sort that had little use for coroners and +juries, so the fighting was half fair. Half an hour after landing from +the stagecoach, Allison encountered his man in a gambling-house. +Number Two remained in Tombstone--permanently--while Mr. Allison +resumed his travels by the evening coach. + +The hunt for Number Three lasted several months. Allison followed him +relentlessly from place to place through half a dozen States and +Territories, until he was located on a ranch near Spearfish, Dakota. + +They met at last, one afternoon, within the shadow of the Devil's +Tower. In the duel that ensued, Allison's horse was killed under him. +This occasioned him no particular inconvenience, however, for he found +that Number Three's horse, after having a few hours' rest, was able to +carry him into Deadwood, where he caught the Sidney stage. + +With this task finished, Mr. Allison was able to return to commercial +pursuits. He settled at Pope's Crossing on the Pecos River, in New +Mexico, bought cattle, and stocked the adjacent range. Pecos City, the +nearest town, lay fifty miles to the south. + +Started as a "front camp" during the construction of the Texas Pacific +Railway in 1880, for five or six years Pecos contrived to rock along +without any of the elaborate municipal machinery deemed essential to +the government and safety of urban communities in the effete East. It +had neither council, mayor, nor peace officer. An early experiment in +government was discouraging. + +In 1883 the Texas Pacific station-agent was elected mayor. His name +was Ewing, a little man with fierce whiskers and mild blue eyes. Two +nights after the election a gang of boys from the "Hash Knife" outfit +were in town; fearing circumscription of some of their privileges, the +election did not have their approval. Gleaming out of the darkness +fifty yards away from the Lone Wolf Saloon, the light of Mayor Ewing's +office window offered a most tempting target. What followed was very +natural--in Pecos. + +The Mayor was sitting at his table receiving train orders, when +suddenly a bullet smashed the telegraph key beside his hand and other +balls whistled through the room bearing him a message he had no trouble +in reading. Rushing out into the darkness, he spent the night in the +brush, and toward morning boarded an east-bound freight train. Mayor +Ewing had abdicated. The railway company soon obtained another +station-agent, but it was some years before the town got another mayor. + +On Pecos carnival nights like this, when some of the cowboys were in +town, prudent people used to sleep on the floor of Van Slyke's store +with bags of grain piled round their blankets two tiers deep, for no +Pecos house walls were more than inch boards. + +At this early period of its history the few wandering advance agents of +the Gospel who occasionally visited Pecos were not well received. They +were not abused; they were simply ignored. When not otherwise +occupied, the average Pecosite had too much whittling on hand to find +time to "'tend meetin'"; of this every pine drygoods box in the town +bore mute evidence, its fair sides covered with innumerable rude +carvings cut by aimless hands. + +This prevailing indifference to religion shocked Mr. Allison. As +opportunity offered he tried to remedy it, and as far as his +evangelical work went it was successful. One Tuesday morning about ten +o'clock he walked into the Lone Wolf Saloon, laid two pistols on the +end of the bar next the front door, and remarked to Red Dick, the +bartender, that he intended to turn the saloon into a church for a +couple of hours and did not want any drinks sold or cards thrown during +the services. + +Taking his stand just within the doorway, pistol in hand, Mr. Allison +began to assemble his congregation. The first comer was Billy Jansen, +the leading merchant of the town. As he was passing the door Clay +remarked: + +"Good-mornin', Mr. Jansen, won't you please step inside? Religious +services will be held here shortly an' I reckon you'll be useful in the +choir." + +The only reply to Billy's protest of urgent business was a gesture that +made Billy think going to church would be the greatest pleasure he +could have that morning. + +Mr. Allison never played favorites at any game, and so all passers were +stopped: merchants, railway men, gamblers, thugs, cowboys, +freighters--all were stopped and made to enter the saloon. The least +furtive movement to draw a gun or to approach the back door received +prompt attention from the impromptu evangelist that quickly restored +order in the congregation. When fifty or sixty men had been brought +into this improvised fold, Mr. Allison closed the door and faced about. + +"Fellers," he said, "this meetin' bein' held on the Pecos, I reckon +we'll open her by singin' 'Shall We Gather at the River?' Of course +we're already gathered, but the song sort o' fits. No gammon now, +fellers; everybody sings that knows her." + +The result was discouraging. Few in the audience knew any hymn, much +less this one. Only three or four managed to hoarsely drawl through +two verses. + +The hymn finished--as far as anybody could sing it--Mr. Allison said: + +"Now, fellers, we'll pray. Everybody down!" + +Only a few knelt. Among the congregation were some who regarded the +affair as sacrilegious, and others of the independent frontier type +were unaccustomed to dictation. However, a slight narrowing of the +cold black eyes and a significant sweep of the six-shooter brought +every man of them to his knees, with heads bowed over faro lay-outs and +on monte tables. + +"O Lord!" began Allison, "this yere's a mighty bad neck o' woods, an' I +reckon You know it. Fellers don' think enough o' their souls to build +a church, an' when a pa'son comes here they don' treat him half white. +O Lord! make these fellers see that when they gits caught in the final +round-up an' drove over the last divide, they don' stan' no sort o' +show to git to stay on the heavenly ranch 'nless they believes an' +builds a house to pray an' preach in. Right here I subscribes a +hundred dollars to build a church, an' if airy one o' these yere +fellers don' tote up accordin' to his means, O Lord, make it Your +pers'n'l business to see that he wears the Devil's brand and ear mark +an' never gits another drop o' good spring water. + +"Of course, I allow You knows I don' sport no wings myself, but I want +to do what's right ef You'll sort o' give a shove the proper way. An' +one thing I want You to understan'; Clay Allison's got a fast horse an' +is tol'able handy with his rope, and he's goin' to run these fellers +into Your corral even if he has to rope an' drag 'em there. Amen. +Everybody git up!" + +While he prayed in the most reverent tone he could command, and while +his attitude was one of simple supplication, Mr. Allison never removed +his keen eyes from the congregation. + +"Reckon we'll sing again, boys, an' I want a little more of it. Le's +see what you-all knows." + +At length six or eight rather sheepishly owned knowing "Old Hundred," +and it was sung. + +Then the sermon was in order. + +"Fellers," he began, "my ole mammy used to tell me that the only show +to shake the devil off your trail was to believe everythin' the Bible +says. What yer mammy tells you 's bound to be right, dead right, so I +think I'll take the sentiment o' this yere round-up on believin'. O' +course, as a square man I'm boun' to admit the Bible tells some pow'ful +queer tales, onlike anythin' we-'uns strikes now days. Take that tale +about a fish swallerin' a feller named Jonah; why, a fish 't could +swaller a man 'od have to be as big in the barrel as the Pecos River is +wide an' have an openin' in his face bigger'n Phantom Lake Cave. +Nobody on the Pecos ever see such a fish. But I wish you fellers to +distinctly understan' it's a _fact_. I believes it. Does you? Every +feller that believes a fish swallered Jonah, hold up his right hand!" + +It is sad to have to admit that only two or three hands were raised. + +"Well, I'll be durned," the evangelist continued, "you _air_ tough +cases. That's what's the matter with you; you are shy on faith. You +fellers has got to be saved, an' to be saved you got to believe, an' +believe hard, an' I'm agoin' to make you. Now hear _me_, an' mind you +don' forget it's Clay Allison talkin' to you: I tells you that when +that thar fish had done swallerin' Jonah, he swum aroun' fer a hull +hour lookin' to see if thar was a show to pick up any o' Jonah's family +or friends. Now what I tells you I reckon you're all bound to believe. +Every feller that believes that Jonah was jes' only a sort of a snack +fer the fish, hold up his right hand; an' if any feller don' believe +it, this yere ol' gun o' mine will finish the argiment." + +Further exhortation was unnecessary; all hands went up. + +And so the sermon ran on for an hour, a crude homily full of rude +metaphor, with little of sentiment or pleading, severely didactic, +mandatory as if spoken in a dungeon of the Inquisition. When Red Dick +passed the hat among the congregation for a subscription to build a +church, the contribution was general and generous. Many who early in +the meeting were full of rage over the restraint, and vowing to +themselves to kill Allison the first good chance they got, finished by +thinking he meant all right and had taken about the only practicable +means "to git the boys to 'tend meetin'." + +In the town of Toyah, twenty miles west of Pecos, a gentleman named Jep +Clayton set the local spring styles in six-shooters and bowie knives, +and settled the hash of anybody who ventured to question them. A +reckless bully, he ruled the town as if he owned it. + +One day John McCullough, Allison's brother-in-law and ranch foreman, +had business in Toyah. Clayton had heard of Allison but knew little +about him. Drunk and quarrelsome, he hunted up McCullough, called him +every abusive name he could think of before a crowd, and then suggested +that if he did not like it he might send over his brother-in-law +Allison, who was said to be a gun fighter. A mild and peaceable man +himself, McCullough avoided a difficulty and returned to Pecos. + +Two days later a lone horseman rode into Toyah, stopped at Youngbloods' +store, tied his horse, and went in. Approaching the group of loafers +curled up on boxes at the rear of the store, he inquired: + +"Can any of you gentlemen tell me if a gentleman named Clayton, Jep +Clayton, is in town, an' where I can find him?" + +They replied that he had been in the store an hour before and was +probably near by. + +As the lone horseman walked out of the door, one the loungers remarked: + +"I believe that's Clay Allison, an' ef it is it's all up with Jep." + +He slipped out and gave Jep warning, told him Allison was in town, that +he had known him years before, and that Jep had better quit town or say +his prayers. Concluding, he said, "You done barked up the wrong tree +this time, sure." + +Allison went on from one saloon to another, at each making the same +polite inquiry for Mr. Clayton's whereabouts. At last, out on the +street Allison met a party of eight men, a crowd Clayton had gathered, +and repeated his inquiry. A man stepped out of the group and said: "My +name's Clayton, an' I reckon yours is Allison. Look here, Mr. Allison, +this is all a mistake. I----" + +"Why, what's a mistake? Didn't you meet Mr. McCullough the other day?" + +"Yes." + +"Didn't you abuse him shamefully?" + +"Well, yes, but----" + +"Didn't you send me an invite to come over here?" + +"Well, yes, I did, but it was a mistake, Mr. Allison; I was drunk. It +was whiskey talkin'; nothin' more. I'm terrible sorry. It was jes' +whiskey talk." + +"Whiskey talk, was it? Well, Mr. Clayton, le's step in the saloon here +and get some whiskey an' see if it won't set you goin' again. I +believe I'd enjoy hearin' jes' a few words o' your whiskey talk." + +They entered a saloon. For an hour Clayton was plied with whiskey, +taunted and jeered until those who had admired him slunk away in +disgust, and those who had feared him laughed in enjoyment of his +humiliation. But no amount of whiskey could rouse him that day. + +Allison's scarred, impassive face, low, quiet tones, and glittering +black eyes held him cowed. The terror of Toyah had found his master, +and knew it. + +At last, in utter disgust, Allison concluded: + +"Mr. Clayton, your invitation brought me twenty miles to meet a gun +fighter. I find you such a cur that if ever we meet again I'll lash +you into strips with a bull whip." + +A month later Mr. Clayton was killed by his own brother-in-law, Grant +Tinnin, one of the quiet good men of the country, who never failed to +score in any real emergency. + +"I wonder how it will all end!" Allison used often to remark while +lying idly staring into the camp-fire. "Of course I know I can't keep +up this sort o' thing; some one's sure to get me. An' I'd jes' give +anything in the world to know _how_ I'm goin to die--by pistol or +knife." + +It turned out that Fate had decreed other means for his removal. + +One day Allison and his brother-in-law John McCullough had a serious +quarrel. Allison left the ranch and rode into town to think it over. +In his later years killing had become such a mania with him that his +best friend could never feel entirely safe against his deadly temper; +the least difference might provoke a collision. McCullough was +therefore not greatly surprised to get a letter from Allison a few days +later, sent out by special messenger, telling him that Allison would +reach the ranch late in the afternoon of the next day and would kill +him on sight. + +Early in the morning of the appointed day Allison left town in a +covered hack. He had been drinking heavily and had whiskey with him. +About half-way between town and the ranch he overtook George Larramore, +a freighter, seated out in the sun on top of his heavy load. + +"Hello, George!" called Allison; "mighty hot up there, ain't it?" + +"Howd'y, Mr. Allison. I don' mind the heat; I'm used to it," answered +Larramore. + +"George," called Allison, after driving on a short distance, "'pears to +me the good things o' this world ain't equally divided. I don't see +why you should sit up there roasting in the sun an' me down here in the +shade o' the hack. We'll jes' even things a little right here. You +crawl down off that load an' jump into the hack an' I'll get up there +an' drive your team." + +"Pow'ful good o' you, Mr. Allison, but----" + +"Crawl down, I say, George, it's Clay tellin' you!" + +And the change was made without further delay. + +Five miles farther up the road John McCullough and two friends lay in +ambush all that day and far into the night, with ready Winchesters, +awaiting Allison. But he never came. + +Shortly after taking his seat on top of the high load in the broiling +sun, plodding slowly along in the dust and heat, Allison was nodding +drowsily, when suddenly a protruding mesquite root gave the wagon a +sharp jolt that plunged Clay headlong into the road, where, before he +could rise, the great wheels crunched across his neck. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +TRIGGERFINGERITIS[1] + +On the Plains thirty years ago there were two types of man-killers; and +these two types were subdivided into classes. + +The first type numbered all who took life in contravention of law. +This type was divided into three classes: A, Outlaws to whom +blood-letting had become a mania; B, Outlaws who killed in defence of +their spoils or liberty; C, Otherwise good men who had slain in the +heat of private quarrel, and either "gone on the scout" or "jumped the +country" rather than submit to arrest. + +The second type included all who slew in support of law and order. +This type included six classes: A, United States marshals; B, Sheriffs +and their deputies; C, Stage or railway express guards, called +"messengers"; D, Private citizens organized as Vigilance +Committees--these often none too discriminating, and not infrequently +the blind or willing instruments of individual grudge or greed; E, +Unorganized bands of ranchmen who took the trail of marauders on life +or property and never quit it; F, "Inspectors" (detectives) for Stock +Growers' Associations. + +Throughout the seventies and well into the eighties, in Wyoming, +Dakota, western Kansas and Nebraska, New Mexico, and west Texas, courts +were idle most of the time, and lawyers lived from hand to mouth. The +then state of local society was so rudimentary that it had not acquired +the habit of appeal to the law for settlement of its differences. And +while it may sound an anachronism, it is nevertheless the simple truth +that while life was far less secure through that period, average +personal honesty then ranked higher and depredations against property +were fewer than at any time since. + +As soon as society had advanced to a point where the victim could be +relied on to carry his wrongs to court, judges began working overtime +and lawyers fattening. But of the actual pioneers who took their lives +in their hands and recklessly staked them in their everyday goings and +comings (as, for instance, did all who ventured into the Sioux country +north of the Platte between 1875 and 1880) few long stayed--no matter +what their occupation--who were slow on the trigger: it was back to +Mother Earth or home for them. + +Of the supporters of the law in that period Boone May was one of the +finest examples any frontier community ever boasted. Early in 1876 he +came to Cheyenne with an elder brother and engaged in freighting thence +overland to the Black Hills. Quite half the length of the stage road +was then infested by hostile Sioux. This meant heavy risks and high +pay. The brothers prospered so handsomely that, toward the end of the +year, Boone withdrew from freighting, bought a few cattle and horses, +and built and occupied a ranch at the stage-road crossing of Lance +Creek, midway between the Platte and Deadwood, in the very heart of the +Sioux country. Boone was then well under thirty, graceful of figure, +dark-haired, wore a slender downy moustache that served only to +emphasize his youth, but possessed that reserve and repose of manner +most typical of the utterly fearless. + +The Sioux made his acquaintance early, to their grief. One night they +descended on his ranch and carried off all the stage horses and most of +Boone's. Although the "sign" showed there were fifteen or twenty in +the party, at daylight Boone took their trail, alone. The third day +thereafter he returned to the ranch with all the stolen stock, besides +a dozen split-eared Indian ponies, as compensation for his trouble, +taken at what cost of strategy or blood Boone never told. + +Learning of this exploit from his drivers, Al. Patrick, the +superintendent of the stage line, took the next coach to Lance Creek +and brought Boone back to Deadwood, enlisted in his corps of +"messengers"; he was too good timber to miss. + +At that time every coach south-bound from Deadwood to Cheyenne carried +thousands in its mail-pouches and express-boxes; and once a week a +treasure coach armored with boiler plate, carrying no passengers, and +guarded by six or eight "messengers" or "sawed-off shotgun men," +conveyed often as high as two hundred thousand dollars of hard-won +Black Hills gold bars. + +Thus it naturally followed that, throughout 1877 and 1878, it was the +exception for a coach to get through from the Chugwater to Jenny's +stockade without being held up by bandits at least once. + +Any that happened to escape Jack Wadkins in the south were likely to +fall prey to Dune Blackburn in the north--the two most desperate +bandit-leaders in the country. + +In February, 1878, I had occasion to follow some cattle thieves from +Fort Laramie to Deadwood. Returning south by coach one bitter evening +we pulled into Lance Creek, eight passengers inside, Boone May and +myself on the box with 'Gene Barnett the driver; Stocking, another +famous messenger, roosted behind us atop of the coach, fondling his +sawed-off shotgun. + +From Lance Creek southward lay the greatest danger zone. At that +point, therefore, Boone and Stocking shifted from the coach to the +saddle, and, as 'Gene popped his whip and the coach crunched away +through the snow, both dropped back perhaps thirty yards behind us. + +An hour later, just as the coach got well within a broad belt of plum +bushes that lined the north bank of Old Woman's Fork, out into the +middle of the road sprang a lithe figure that threw a snap shot over +'Gene's head and halted us. + +Instantly six others surrounded the coach and ordered us down. I +already had a foot on the nigh front wheel to descend, when a shot out +of the brush to the west, (Boone's, I later learned) dropped the man +ahead of the team. + +Then followed a quick interchange of shots for perhaps a minute, +certainly no more, and then I heard Boone's cool voice: + +"Drive on, 'Gene!" + +"Move an' I'll kill you!" came in a hoarse bandit's voice from the +thicket east of us. + +"Drive on, 'Gene, or _I'll kill_ you," came then from Boone, in a tone +of such chilling menace that 'Gene threw the bud into the leaders, and +away we flew at a pace materially improved by three or four shots the +bandits sent singing past our ears and over the team! The next down +coach brought to Cheyenne the comforting news that Boone and Stocking +had killed four of the bandits and stampeded the other three. + +Within six months after Boone was employed, both Dune Blackburn and +Jack Wadkins disappeared from the stage road, dropped out of sight as +if the earth had opened and swallowed them, as it probably had. Boone +had a way of absenting himself for days from his routine duties along +the stage road. He slipped off entirely alone after this new quarry +precisely as he had followed the Sioux horse-raiders and, while he +never admitted it, the belief was general that he had run down and +"planted" both. Indeed it is almost a certainty this is true, for +beasts of their type never change their stripes, and sure it is that +neither were ever seen or heard of after their disappearance from the +Deadwood trail. + +Late in the Autumn of the same year, 1878, and also at or near the +stage-crossing of Old Woman's Fork, Boone and one companion fought +eight bandits led by a man named Tolle, on whose head was a large +reward. This was earned by Boone at a hold-up of a U. P. express train +near Green River. + +This band was, in a way, more lucky, for five of the eight escaped; but +of the three otherwise engaged one furnished a head which Boone toted +in a gunny sack to Cheyenne and exchanged for five thousand dollars, if +my memory rightly serves. + +This incident was practically the last of the serious hold-ups on the +Cheyenne road. A few pikers followed and "stood up" a coach +occasionally, but the strong organized bands were extinct. + +Throughout 1879 Boone's activities were transferred to the +Sidney-Deadwood road, where for several months before Boone's coming, +Curly and Lame Johnny had held sway. Lame Johnny was shortly +thereafter captured, and hanged on the lone tree that gave the Big +Cottonwood Creek its name. A few months later, Curly was captured by +Boone and another, but was never jailed or tried: when nearing +Deadwood, he tried to escape from Boone, and failed. + +With the Sioux pushed back within the lines of their new reservation in +southern Dakota and semi-pacified, and with the Sidney road swept clean +of road-agents, life in Boone's old haunts became for him too tame. +Thus it happened that, while trapping was then no better within than +without the Sioux reservation, the Winter of 1879-80 found Boone and +four mates camped on the Cheyenne River below the mouth of Elk Creek, +well within the reserve, trapping the main stream and its tributaries. +For a month they were undisturbed, and a goodly store of fur was fast +accumulating. Then one fine morning, while breakfast was cooking, out +from the cover of an adjacent hill and down upon them charged a Sioux +war party, one hundred and fifty strong. + +Boone's four mates barely had time to take cover below the hard-by +river bank--under Boone's orders--before fire opened. Down straight +upon them the Sioux charged in solid mass, heels kicking and quirts +pounding their split-eared ponies, until, having come within a hundred +yards, the mass broke into single file and raced past the camp, each +warrior lying along the off side of his pony and firing beneath its +neck--the usual but utterly stupid and suicidal Sioux tactics, for +accurate fire under such conditions is of course impossible. + +Meantime Boone stood quietly by the camp-fire, entirely in the open, +coolly potting the enemy as regularly and surely as a master wing-shot +thinning a flight of ducks. Three times they so charged and Boone so +received them, pouring into them a steady, deadly fire out of his +Winchester and two pistols. And when, after the third charge, the war +party drew off for good, forty-odd ponies and twenty-odd warriors lay +upon the plain, stark evidence of Boone's wonderful nerve and +marksmanship. Shortly after the fight one of his mates told me that +while he and three others were doing their best, there was no doubt +that nearly all the dead fell before Boone's fire. + + +A type diametrically opposite to that of the debonair Boone May was +Captain Jim Smith, one of the best peaceofficers the frontier ever +knew. Of Captain Smith's early history nothing was known, except that +he had served with great credit as a captain of artillery in the Union +Army. He first appeared on the U. P. during construction days in the +late sixties. Serving in various capacities as railroad detective, +marshal, stock inspector, and the like, for eighteen years Captain +Smith wrote more red history with his pistol (barring May's work on the +Sioux) than any two men of his time. + +The last I knew of him he had enough dead outlaws to his +credit--thirty-odd--to start, if not a respectable, at least, a +fair-sized graveyard. Captain Jim's mere look was almost enough to +still the heart-beat and paralyze the pistol hand of any but the +wildest of them all. His great burning black eyes, glowering deadly +menace from cavernous sockets of extraordinary depth, were set in a +colossal grim face; his straight, thin-lipped mouth never showed teeth; +his heavy, tight-curling black moustache and stiff black imperial +always had the appearance of holding the under lip closely glued to the +upper. In years of intimacy, I never once saw on his lips the faintest +hint of a smile. He had tremendous breadth of shoulders and depth of +chest; he was big-boned, lean-loined, quick and furtive of movement as +a panther. In short, Captain Jim was altogether the most +fearsome-looking man I ever saw, the very incarnation of a relentless, +inexorable, indomitable, avenging Nemesis. + +Like most men lacking humor, Captain Jim was devoid of vices; like all +men lacking sentiment, he cultivated no intimacies. Throughout those +years loved nothing, animate or inanimate, but his guns--the full +length "45" that nestled in its breast scabbard next his heart, and the +short "45," sawed off two inches in front of the cylinder, that he +always carried in a deep side-pocket of his long sack coat. This was +often a much patched pocket, for Jim was a notable economist of time, +and usually fired from within the pocket. That he loved those guns I +know, for often have I seen him fondle them as tenderly as a mother her +first-born. + +In 1879 Sidney, Neb., was a hell-hole, filled with the most desperate +toughs come to prey upon overland travellers to and from the Black +Hills. Of these toughs McCarthy, proprietor of the biggest saloon and +gambling-house in town, was the leading spirit and boss. Nightly, men +who would not gamble were drugged or slugged or leaded. Town marshals +came and went--either feet first or on a keen run. + +So long as its property remained unmolested the U. P. management did +not mind. But one night the depot was robbed of sixty thousand dollars +in gold bullion. Of course, this was the work of the local gang. Then +the U. P. got busy. Pete Shelby summoned Captain Jim to Omaha and +committed the Sidney situation to his charge. Frequenting haunts where +he knew the news would be wired to Sidney, Jim casually mentioned that +he was going out there to clean out the town, and purposed killing +McCarthy on sight. This he rightly judged would stampede, or throw a +chill into, many of the pikers--and simplify his task. + +Arrived in Sidney, Jim found McCarthy absent, at North Platte, due to +return the next day. Coming to the station the next morning, Jim found +the express reported three hours late, and returned to his room in the +railway House, fifty yards north of the depot. He doffed his coat, +shoulder scabbard, and boots, and lay down, shortly falling into a doze +that nearly cost him his life. Most inconsiderately the train made up +nearly an hour of its lost time. Jim's awakening was sudden, but not +soon enough. Before he had time to rise at the sound of the softly +opening door, McCarthy was over him with a pistol at his head. + +Jim's left hand nearly touched the gun pocket of his coat, and his +right lay in reach of the other gun; but his slightest movement meant +instant death. + +"Heerd you come to hang my hide up an' skin the town, but you're under +a copper and my open play wins, Black Jim! See?" growled McCarthy. + +"Well, Mac," coolly answered Jim, "you're a bigger damn fool than I +allowed. Never heard of you before makin' a killin' there was nothin' +in. What's the matter with you and your gang? I'm after that bullion, +and I've got a straight tip: Lame Johnny's the bird that hooked onto +it. If you're standing in with him, you better lead me aplenty, for if +you don't I'll sure get him." + +"Honest? Is that right, Jim? Ain't lyin' none?" queried McCarthy, +relieved of the belief that his gang were suspected. + +"Sure, she's right, Mac." + +"But I heerd you done said you was comin' to do me," persisted McCarthy. + +"Think I'm fool enough to light in diggin' my own grave, by sendin' +love messages like that to a gun expert like you, Mac?" asked Captain +Jim. + +Whether it was the subtle flattery or Jim's argument, Mac lowered his +gun, and while backing out of the room, remarked: "Nothin' in mixin' it +with you, Jim, if you don't want me." + +But Mac was no more than out of the room when Jim slid off the bed +quick as a cat; softly as a cat, on his noiseless stockinged feet he +followed Mac down the hall; crafty as a cat, he crept down the creaking +stairs, tread for tread, a scant arm's length behind his prey--why, God +alone knows, unless for a savage joy in longer holding another thug's +life in his hands. So he hung, like a leech to the blood it loves, +across the corridor and to the middle of the trunk room that lay +between the hall and the hotel office. There Jim spoke: + +"Oh! Mr. McCarthy!" + +Mac whirled, drawing his gun, just in time to receive a bullet squarely +through the heart. + +During the day Jim got two more scalps. The rest of the McCarthy gang +got the impression that it was up to them to pull their freight out of +Sidney, and acted on it. + +In 1882 the smoke of the Lincoln County War still hung in the timber of +the Ruidoso and the Bonito, a feud in which nearly three hundred New +Mexicans lost their lives. Depredations on the Mescalero Reservation +were so frequent that the Indians were near open revolt. + +Needing a red-blooded agent, the Indian Bureau sought and got one in +Major W. H. H. Llewellyn, since Captain of Rough Riders, Troup H, then +a United States marshal with a distinguished record. The then Chief of +the Bureau offered the Major two troops of cavalry to preserve order +among the Mescaleros and keep marauders off the reservation, and was +astounded when Llewellyn declined and said he would prefer to handle +the situation with no other aid than that of one man he had in mind. + +Captain Jim Smith was the man. And pleased enough was he when told of +the turbulence of the country and the certainty of plenty doing in his +line. + +But by the time they reached the Mescalero Agency, the feud was ended; +the peace of exhaustion after years of open war and ambush had +descended upon Lincoln County, and the Mescaleros were glad enough +quietly to draw their rations of flour and coffee, and range the +Sacramentos and Guadalupes for game. For Jim and the band of Indian +police which he quickly organized there was nothing doing. + +Inaction soon cloyed Captain Jim. It got on his nerves. Presently he +conceived a resentment toward the agent for bringing him down there +under false pretences of daring deeds to be done, that never +materialized. One day Major Llewellyn imprudently countermanded an +order Jim had given his Chief of Police, under conditions which the +Captain took as a personal affront. The next thing the Major knew, he +was covered by Jim's gun listening to his death sentence. + +"Major," began Captain Jim, "right here is where you cash in. Played +me for a big fool long enough. Toted me off down here on the guarantee +of the best show of fightin' I've heard of since the war--here where +there ain't a man in the Territory with nerve enough left to tackle a +prairie dog, 's far 's I can see. Lied to me a plenty, didn't you? +Anything to say before you quit?" + +Since that time Major Llewellyn has become (and is now) a famous +pleader at the New Mexican bar, but I know he will agree that the most +eloquent plea he has t this day made was that in answer to Captain +Jim's arraignment. Luckily it won. + +A month later Jim called on me at El Paso. At the time I was President +of the West Texas Cattle Growers' Association, organized chiefly to +deal with marauding rustlers. + +"Howd'y, Ed," Jim began, "I've jumped the Mescalero Reservation, headed +north. Nothin' doin' down here now. But, say, Ed, I hear they're +crowdin' the rustlers a plenty up in the Indian Territory and the Pan +Handle, and she's a cinch they'll be down on you thick in a few months. +And, say, Ed, don't forget old Jim; when the rustlers come, send for +him. You know he's the cheapest proposition ever--never any lawyers' +fees or court costs, nothin' to pay but just Jim's wages." + +That was the last time we ever met, and lucky it will probably be for +me if we never meet again; for if Jim still lives and there is aught in +this story he sees occasion to take exception to, I am sure to be due +for a mix-up I can very well get on without. + +From 1878 to 1880 Billy Lykins was one of the most efficient inspectors +of the Wyoming Stock Growers' Association, a short man of heavy +muscular physique and a round, cherubic, pink and white face, in which +a pair of steel-blue glittering eyes looked strangely out of place. A +second glance, however, showed behind the smiling mouth a set of the +jaw that did not belie the fighting eyes. So far as I can now recall, +Billy never failed to get what he went after while he remained in our +employ. + +Probably the toughest customer Billy ever tackled was Doc Middleton. +As an outlaw, Doc was the victim of an error of judgment. When he +first came among us, hailing from Llano County, Texas, Doc was as fine +a puncher and jolly, good-tempered range-mate as any in the Territory. +Sober and industrious, he never drank or gambled. But he had his bit +of temper, had Doc, and his chunk of good old Llano nerve. Thus, when +a group of carousing soldiers, in a Sidney saloon, one night lit in to +beat Doc up with their six-shooters for refusing to drink with them, +the inevitable happened in a very few seconds; Doc killed three of +them, jumped his horse, and split the wind for the Platte. + +And therein lay his error. + +The killing was perfectly justifiable; surrendered and tried, he would +surely have been acquitted. But his breed never surrender, at least, +never before their last shell is emptied. Flight having made him an +outlaw, the Government offered a heavy reward for him, dead or alive. +For a time he was harbored among his friends on the different ranches; +indeed was a welcome guest of my Deadman Ranch for several days; but in +a few weeks the hue and cry got so hot that he had to jump for the Sand +Hills south of the Niobrara. + +Ever pursued, he found that honest wage-earning was impossible. +Presently he was confronted with want, not of much, indeed of very +little, but that want was vital--he wanted cartridges. At this time +the Sand Hills were full of deer and antelope; and therefore to him +cartridges meant more even than defence of his freedom, they meant +food. It was this want that drove him into his first actual crime, the +stealing of Sioux ponies, which he ran into the settlements and sold. + +The downward path of the criminal is like that of the limpid, +clean-faced brook, bred of a bubbling spring nestled in some shady nook +of the hills, where the air is sweet and pure, and pollution cometh +not. But there it may not stay; on and yet on it rushes, as helpless +as heedless, till one day it finds itself plunged into some foul +current carrying the off-scourings of half a continent. So on and down +plunged Doc; from stealing Indian ponies to lifting ranch horses was no +long leap in his new code. + +Then our stock Association got busy and Billy Lykins took his trail. +Oddly, in a few months the same type of accident in turn saved the life +of each. Their first encounter was single-handed. With the better +horse, Lykins was pressing Doc so close that Doc raced to the crest of +a low conical hill, jumped off his mount, dropped flat on the ground +and covered Lykins with a Springfield rifle, meantime yelling to him: + +"Duck, you little Dutch fool; I don't want to kill you"; for they knew +each other well, and in a way were friends. + +But Billy never knew when to stop. Deeper into his pony's flank sank +the rowels, and up the hill on Doc he charged, pistol in hand. At +thirty yards Doc pulled the trigger, when--wonder of wonders--the +faithful old Springfield missed fire. Before Doc could throw in +another shell or draw his pistol, Billy was over him and had him +covered. + +If my memory rightly serves, the Sidney jail held Doc almost a +fortnight. A few weeks later Doc had assembled a strong gang about +him, rendezvoused on the Piney, a tributary of the lower Niobrara. +There he was far east of Lykins's bailiwick, but a good many degrees +within Lykins's disposition to quit his trail. Accompanied by Major W. +H. H. Llewellyn and an Omaha detective (inappropriately named Hassard), +Lykins located Doc's camp, and the three lay near for several days +studying their quarry. + +One morning Llewellyn and Hassard started up the creek, mounted, on a +scout, leaving Lykins and his horse hidden in the brush near the trail. +At a sharp bend of the path the two ran plunk into Doc and five of his +men. Both being unknown to Doc's gang, and the position and odds +forbidding hostilities, they represented themselves as campers hunting +lost stock, and turned and rode back down the trail with the outlaws, +alert for any play their leader might make. + +Recognizing his man, Billy lay with his "45" and "70" Sharps +comfortably resting across a log; and when the band were come within +twenty yards of him, he drew a careful bead on Doc's head and pulled +the trigger. By strange coincidence his Sharps missed fire, precisely +as had Doc's Springfield a few weeks before. + +Hearing the snap of the rifle hammer, with a curse Doc jerked his gun +and whirled his horse toward the brush just as Billy sprang out into +the open and threw a pistol shot into Doc that broke his thigh. +Swaying in saddle, Doc cursed Hassard for leading him into a trap, and +shot him twice before himself pitching to the ground. Hassard stood +idly, stunned apparently by a sort of white-hot work he was not used +to, and received his death wound without any effort even to draw. +Meantime, the firm of Lykins and Llewellyn accounted for two more +before Doc's mates got out of range. Thus, like the brook, Doc had +drifted down the turbid current of crime till he found himself +impounded in the Lincoln penitentiary with the off-scourings of the +state. + +While it is true that back into such impounding most who once have been +there soon return, Doc turned out to be one of the rare exceptions +proving the rule; for the last I heard of him, he was the lame but +light-hearted and wholly honest proprietor of a respectable Rushville +saloon. + + +When in the early eighties the front camps of the Atchison, Topeka, and +Santa Fe and the Texas Pacific met at El Paso, then a village called +Franklin, within a few weeks the population jumped from a few hundred +to nearly three thousand. Speculators, prospectors for business +opportunities, mechanics, miners, and tourists poured in--a +chance-taking, high-living, free-spending lot that offered such rich +pickings for the predatory that it was not long before nearly every fat +pigeon had a hungry, merciless vulture hovering near, watching for a +chance to fasten its claws and gorge itself. + +The low one-story adobes, fronted by broad, arched portals, that then +lined the west side of El Paso Street for several blocks, was a long +solid row of variety theatres, dance halls, saloons, and +gambling-houses, never closed by day or by night. They were packed +with a roistering mob that drifted from one joint to another, dancing, +gambling, carousing, fighting. Naturally, at first the predatory +confined their attentions to the roisterers. + +Of course every lay-out was a brace game, from which no player arose +with any notable winning except occasionally when the "house" felt it a +good bit of advertising to graduate a handsome winner--and then it was +usually a "capper," whose gains were in a few minutes passed back into +the till. + +The faro boxes were full of springs as a watch; faro decks were +carefully cut "strippers." An average good dealer would shuffle and +arrange as he liked the favorite cards of known high-rollers. These +had been neatly split on either edge and a minute bit of bristle pasted +in, which no ordinary touch would feel, but which the sand-papered +finger tips of an expert dealer would catch and slip through on the +shuffle and place where they would do (the house) the most good. The +"tin horns" gave out few but false notes; the roulette balls were +kicked silly out of the boxes representing heavily played numbers. Not +content with the "Kitty's" rake-off, every stud poker table had one or +more "cappers" sitting in, to whom the dealers could occasionally throw +a stiff pot. The backs of poker decks were so cunningly marked that +while the wise ones could read their size and suit across the table, no +untaught eye could detect their guile. And wherever a notable roll was +once flashed, greedy eyes never left it until it was safe in the till +of some game, or its owner "rolled" and relieved of it by force. + +For months orgy ran riot and the predatory band grew bolder and cruder +in their methods. Killings were frequent. Few nights passed without +more or less street hold-ups--usually more. Respectable citizens took +the middle of the street, literally gun in hand, when forced to be out +of nights. The Mayor and City Council were powerless. City marshals +and deputies they hired in bunches, but all to no purpose. Each fresh +lot of appointees were short-lived, literally or officially--mostly +literally. Finally, a vigilance committee was formed, made up of good +citizens not a few of whom were gun experts with their own bit of red +record. But nothing came of it. The predatories openly flouted and +defied them. + +On one notable night when the committee were assembled in front of the +old Grand Central Hotel, a mob of two hundred toughs lined up before +the thirty-odd of the committee and dared them to open the ball; and it +was a miracle the little Plaza was not then and there turned into a +slaughter pen bloody as the Alamo. It really looked as if nothing +short of martial law and a strong body of troops could pacify the town. + +But one night, into the chamber of the City Council stalked a man, the +man of the hour, unheralded and unknown. He gave the name of Bill +Stoudenmayer. About all that was ever learned of him was that he +hailed from Fort Davis. His type was that of a course, brutal, +Germanic gladiator, devoid of strategy; a bluff, stubborn, +give-and-take fighter, who drove bull-headed at whatever opposed him. +But El Paso soon learned that he could handle his guns with as deadly +dexterity as did his forebears their nets and tridents. + +Asked his business with the Council, he said he had heard they had +failed to find a marshal who could hold the town down, and allowed he'd +like to try the job if the Council would make it worth his while. +Questioned as to his views, he explained that he was there to make some +good money for himself and save the city more; if they would pay him +five hundred dollars a month for two months, they could discharge all +their deputies and he would go it alone and agree to clear the town of +toughs or draw no pay. The Mayor and Council were paralyzed in a +double sense: by the wild audacity of this proposal, and by their +memory of recent threats of the thug-leaders that they would massacre +the Council to a man if any further attempts were made to circumscribe +their activities. Some were openly for declining the offer, but in the +end a majority gained heart of Stoudenmayer's own hardihood +sufficiently to hire him. + +The rest of the night Stoudenmayer employed in quietly familiarizing +himself with the personnel of the enemy. He lost no time. At daylight +the next morning, several notices, manually written in a rude hand and +each bearing the signature of the rude hand that wrote it, were found +conspicuously posted between Oregon Street and the Plaza. The +signature was, "Bill Stoudenmayer, City Marshal." + +The notice was brief but pointed: + +"Any of the hold-ups named below I find in town after three o'clock +to-day, I'm going to kill on sight." + +Then followed seventy names. The list was carefully chosen: all +"pikers" and "four-flushers" were omitted; none but the _elite_ of the +gun-twirling, black-jack swinging toughs was included. Hardly a single +man was named in the list lacking a more or less gory record. + +By the toughs Stoudenmayer was taken as a jest, by respectable citizens +as a lunatic. Heavy odds were offered that he would not last till +noon, with few takers. And yet throughout the morning Stoudenmayer +quietly walked the streets, unaccompanied save by his two guns and his +conspicuously displayed marshal's star. + +Nothing happened until about two o'clock, when two men sprang out from +ambush behind the big cottonwood tree that then stood on the northeast +corner of El Paso and San Antonio Streets, one armed with a shotgun and +the other with a pistol, and started to "throw down" on Stoudenmayer, +who was approaching from the other side of the street. But before +either got his artillery into action, the Marshal jerked his two +pistols and killed both, then quietly continued his stroll, over their +prostrate bodies, and past them, up the street. It was such an +obviously workmanlike job that it threw a chill into the hardiest of +the sixty-eight survivors,--so much of a chill that, though +Stoudenmayer paraded streets and threaded saloon and dance-hall throngs +all the rest of the afternoon, seeking his prey, not a single man of +them could he find; all stayed close in their dens. + +But that the thug-leaders were not idle Stoudenmayer was not long +learning. In the last moments of twilight, just before the pall of +night fell upon the town, the Marshal was standing on the east side of +El Paso Street, midway between Oregon and San Antonio Streets, no cover +within reach of him. Suddenly, without the slightest warning, a heavy +fusillade opened on him from the opposite side of the street, a +fusillade so heavy it would have decimated a company of infantry. At +least a hundred men fired at him at the word, and it was a miracle he +did not go down at the first volley. But he was not even scathed. +Drawing his pistols, Stoudenmayer marched upon the enemy, slowly but +steadily, advancing straight, it seemed, into the jaws of death, but +firing with such wonderful rapidity and accuracy that seven of his foes +were killed and two wounded in almost as many seconds, although all +kept close as possible behind the shelter of the _portal_ columns. And +every second he was so engaged, at least a hundred guns, aimed by cruel +trained eyes, that scarce ever before had missed whatever they sought +to draw a bead on, were pouring out upon him a hell of lead that must +have sounded to him like a flight of bees. + +But stand his iron nerve and fatal snap-shooting the thugs could not. +Before he was half way across the street, the hostile fire had ceased, +and his would-be assassins were flying for the nearest and best cover +they could find. Out of the town they slipped that night, singly and +in squads, boarding freight trains north and east, stages west and +south, stealing teams and saddle stock, some even hitting the trails +afoot, in stark terror of the man. The next morning El Paso found +herself evacuated of more than two hundred men who, while they had been +for a time her most conspicuous citizens, were such as she was glad +enough to spare. In twenty-four hours Bill Stoudenmayer had made his +word good and fairly earned his wages; indeed he had accomplished +single-handed what the most hopeful El Pasoites had despaired of seeing +done with less authority and force than two or three troops of regular +cavalry. + +Then El Paso settled down to the humdrum but profitable task of laying +the foundations for the great metropolis of the Farther Southwest. +Since then, an occasional sporadic case of _triggerfingeritis_ has +developed in El Paso, usually in an acute form; but never once since +the night Stoudenmayer turned the El Paso Street Portals into a +shambles has it threatened as an epidemic. + +Unluckily, Bill Stoudenmayer did not last long to enjoy the glory of +his deed. He was a marked man, merely from motives of revenge harbored +by friends of the departed (dead or live), but as a man with a +reputation so big as to hang up a rare prize in laurels for any with +the strategy and hardihood to down him. It was therefore matter of no +general surprise when, a few weeks after his resignation as City +Marshal, he fell the victim of a private quarrel. + + +A few years later, Hal Gosling was the U. S. Marshall for the Western +District of Texas. Early in Gosling's regime, Johnny Manning became +one of his most efficient and trusted deputies. The pair were wide +opposites: Gosling, a big, bluff, kindly, rollicking dare-devil afraid +of nothing, but a sort that would rather chaff than fight; Manning a +quiet, reserved, slender, handsome little man, not so very much bigger +than a full-grown "45," who actually sought no quarrels but would +rather fight than eat. Each in his own may [Transcriber's note: way?], +the pair made themselves a holy terror to such of the desperadoes as +ventured any liberties with Uncle Sam's belongings. + +One of their notable captures was a brace of road-agents who had +appropriated the Concho stage road and about everything of value that +travelled it. The two were tried in the Federal Court at Austin and +sentenced to hard labor at Huntsville. Gosling and Manning started to +escort them to their new field of activity. Handcuffed but not +otherwise shackled, the two prisoners were given a seat together near +the middle of a day coach. By permission of the Marshal, the wife of +one and the sister of the other sat immediately behind them--dear old +Hal Gosling never could resist any appeal to his sympathies. The seat +directly across the aisle from the two prisoners was occupied by +Gosling and Manning. With the car well filled with passengers and +their men ironed, the Marshal and his Deputy were off their guard. +When out of Austin barely an hour, the train at full speed, the two +women slipped pistols into the hands of the two convicted bandits, +unseen by the officers. But others saw the act, and a stir of alarm +among those near by caused Gosling to whirl in his seat next the aisle, +reaching for the pistol in his breast scabbard. But he was too late. +Before he was half risen to his feet or his gun out, the prisoners +fired and killed him. + +Then ensued a terrible duel, begun at little more than arm's length, +between Manning and the two prisoners, who presently began backing +toward the rear door. Quickly the car filled with smoke, and in it +pandemonium reigned, women screaming, men cursing, all who had not +dropped in a faint ducking beneath the car seats and trying their best +to burrow in the floor. When at length the two prisoners reached the +platform and sprang from the moving train, Johnny Manning, shot full of +holes as a sieve, lay unconscious across Hal Gosling's body; and the +sister of one of the bandits hung limp across the back of the seat the +prisoners had occupied, dead of a wild shot. + +But Johnny had well avenged Hal's death and his own injuries; one of +the prisoners was found dead within a few yards of the track, and the +other was captured, mortally wounded, a half-mile away. + +After many uncertain weeks, when Manning's system had successfully +recovered from the overdose of lead administered by the departed, he +quietly resumed his star and belt, and no one ever discovered that the +incident had made him in the least gun-shy. + + +Whenever the history of the Territory of New Mexico comes to be +written, the name of Colonel Albert J. Fountain deserves and should +have first place in it. Throughout the formative epoch of her +evolution from semi-savagery to civilization, an epoch spanning the +years from 1866 to 1896, Colonel Fountain was far and away her most +distinguished and most useful citizen. As soldier, scholar, dramatist, +lawyer, prosecutor, Indian fighter, and desperado-hunter, his was the +most picturesque personality I have ever known. Gentle and +kind-hearted as a woman, a lover of his books and his ease, he +nevertheless was always as quick to take up arms and undergo any hazard +and hardship in pursuit of murderous rustlers as he was in 1861 to join +the California Column (First California Volunteers) on its march across +the burning deserts of Arizona to meet and defeat Sibley at Val Verde. +A face fuller of the humanities and charities of life than his would be +hard to find; but, roused, the laughing eyes shone cold as a wintry +sky. He despised wrong, and hated the criminal, and spent his whole +life trying to right the one and suppress or exterminate the other. In +this work, and of it, ultimately, he lost his life. + +In the early eighties, while the New Mexican courts were well-nigh +idle, crime was rampant, especially in Lincoln, Dona Ana, and Grant +Counties. To the east of the Rio Grande the Lincoln County War was at +its height, while to the west the Jack Kinney gang took whatever they +wanted at the muzzle of their guns; and they wanted about everything in +sight. County peace officers were powerless. + +At this stage Fountain was appointed by the Governor "Colonel of State +Militia," and given a free hand to pacify the country. As an organized +military body, the militia existed only in name. And so Fountain left +it. Serious and effective as was his work, no man loved a grand-stand +play more than he. He liked to go it alone, to be the only thing in +the spot light. Thus most of his work as a desperado-hunter was done +single-handed. + +On only one occasion that I can recall did he ever have with him on his +raids more than one or two men, always Mexicans, temporarily deputized. +That was when he met and cleaned out the Kinney gang over on the +Miembres, and did it with half the number of the men he was after. +Among those who escaped was Kinney's lieutenant. A few weeks later +Colonel Fountain learned that this man was in hiding at Concordia, a +_placita_ two miles below El Paso. He was one of the most desperate +Mexican outlaws the border has ever known, a man who had boasted he +would never be taken alive, and that he would kill Fountain before he +was himself taken dead, a human tiger, whom the bravest peace officer +might be pardoned for wanting a great deal of help to take. Yet +Fountain merely took his armory's best and undertook it alone: and by +mid-afternoon of the very next day after the information reached him he +had his man safely manacled at the El Paso depot of the Santa Fe +Railway. + +While waiting for the train, Colonel George Baylor, the famous Captain +of Texas Rangers, chided Fountain for not wearing a cord to fasten his +pistol to his belt, as then did all the Rangers, to prevent its loss +from the scabbard in a running fight; and he finished by detaching his +own cord, and looping one end to Fountain's belt and the other to his +pistol. Then Fountain bade his old friend good-bye and boarded the +train with his prisoner, taking a seat near the centre of the rear car. + +When well north of Canutillo and near the site of old Fillmore, +Fountain rose and passed forward to speak to a friend who was sitting a +few seats in front of him, a safe enough proceeding, apparently, with +his prisoner handcuffed and the train doing thirty-five miles an hour. +But scarcely had he reached his friend's side, when a noise behind him +caused him turn--just in time to see his Mexican running for rear door. +Instantly Fountain sprang after him, before he got to the door the man +had leaped from platform. Without the slightest hesitation, Fountain +jumped after him, hitting the ground only a few seconds behind him but +thirty or forty yards away, rolling like a tumbleweed along the ground. +By the time Fountain had regained his feet, his prisoner was running at +top speed for the mesquite thickets lining the river, in whose shadows +he must soon disappear, for it was already dusk. Reaching for his +pistol and finding it gone--lost evidently in the tumble--and fearing +to lose his prisoner entirely if he stopped to hunt for it, Fountain +hit the best pace he could in pursuit. But almost at the first jump +something gave him a thump on the shin that nearly broke it, and, +looking down, there, dangling on Colonel Baylor's pistol-cord, he saw +his gun. + +Always a cunning strategist, Fountain dropped to the ground, sky-lined +his man on the crest of a little hillock he had to cross, and took a +careful two-handed aim which enabled Rio Grande ranchers thereafter to +sleep easier of nights. + + +And now, just as I am finishing this story, the wires bring the sad +news that dear old Pat Garrett, the dean and almost the last survivor +of the famous man-hunted of west Texas and New Mexico, has gone the way +of his kind--"died with his boots on." I cannot help believing that he +was the victim of a foul shot, for in his personal relations I never +knew him to court a quarrel or fail to get an adversary. Many a night +we have camped, eaten, and slept together. Barring Colonel Fountain, +Pat Garrett had stronger intellectuality and broader sympathies than +any of his kind I ever met. He could no more do enough for a friend +than he could do enough to an outlaw. In his private affairs so +easy-going that he began and ended a ne'er-do-well, in his official +duties as a peace officer he was so exacting and painstaking that he +ne'er did ill. His many intrepid deeds are too well known to need +recounting here. + +All his life an atheist, he was as stubbornly contentious for his +unbelief as any Scotch Covenanter for his best-loved tenets. + +Now, laid for his last rest in the little burying-ground of Las Cruces, +a tiny, white-paled square of sandy, hummocky bench land where the pink +of fragile nopal petals brightens the graves in Spring and the mesquite +showers them with its golden pods in Summer; where the sweet scent of +the _juajilla_ loads the air, and the sun ever shines down out of a +bright and cloudless sky; where a diminutive forest of crosses of wood +and stone symbolize the faith he in life refused to accept--now, +perhaps, Pat Garrett has learned how widely he was wrong. + +Peace to his ashes, and repose to his dauntless spirit! + + + +[1] _Triggerfingeritis_ is an acute irritation of the sensory nerves of +the index finger of habitual gun-packers; usually fatal--to some one. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +A JUGGLER WITH DEATH + +This is the story of a man, a virile, strong, resourceful man, all of +whose history from his youth to his untimely death thrills one at the +reading and points lessons worth learning. + +The most careful study and the most just comparison would doubtless +concede to Washington Harrison Donaldson the high rank--high, indeed, +in a double sense--of having been the greatest aeronaut the world has +ever known. + +While a few men have done some great deeds in aeronautics which he did +not accomplish, nevertheless Donaldson did more things never even +undertaken by any other aeronaut that any man who has ever lived. +Indeed, much of his work would be deemed by mankind at large downright +absurd, hair-brained, foolhardy, and reckless to the point of actual +madness; and yet no man ever possessed a saner mind than Donaldson; no +man was ever more fond of family, friends, and life in general, or +normally more reluctant to undertake what he regarded as a needlessly +hazardous task. His boldest and most seemingly reckless feats were to +him no more than the every-day work of a man of a strong mind, of a +stout heart, and of a perfectly trained body, who had so completely +mastered every detail of his profession as gymnast, acrobat, and +aeronaut, that he had come to have absolute faith in himself, downright +abiding certainty that within his sphere of work not only must he +succeed, but that, in the very nature of things it was quite impossible +for him to fail. + +Donaldson's story may well serve as an inspiration, as does that of +every man who, with a cool head and high courage, takes his life in his +hands for adventure into the world's untrodden fields. While he was +regarded by average onlookers as little better than a "Merry Andrew," a +public shocker, doing feats before the multitude to still the heart and +freeze the blood, those whose fortune it was to know him intimately +realized him to be a man of the most serious purpose, with a great +faith in the future of aerial navigation. He seemed to be possessed by +the conviction that it was one day to become wholly practicable and +generally useful; for he was keen to do all he could to popularize and +advance it, and to demonstrate its large measure of safety where +practised under reasonable conditions. + +To many still living his memory is dear--to all indeed who ever knew +him well, and it is to his memory and to the surviving friends who held +him dear I dedicate this little story. + +Washington Harrison Donaldson was the son of David Donaldson, an artist +of no mean ability of Philadelphia, where the boy was born October 10, +1840. The mother, of straight descent from a line of patriots active +during the Revolution, gave the boy the name of Washington; the father, +an ardent worker for General Harrison's candidacy for the presidency in +the "Tippecanoe-and-Tyler-too" campaign, added the name of Harrison. +It is not conceivable that this christening with two names so closely +linked with notable deeds of high emprise in the early history of this +country, had its influence upon the boy. + +As a mere youth he showed the most adventurous spirit and ardent +ambition to excel his mates, to do deeds of skill and dexterity that +others could not do. When still a child he was running up an +unsupported eight-foot ladder, and balancing himself upon the topmost +round in a way to startle the cleverest professional athletes. A +little later, getting hold of any old rope, stretching it in any old +way as a "slack-rope," he was busy perfecting himself as a slack-rope +walker. Naturally, school held him only a very few years, for his type +of mind obviously was not that of a student. + +While still in early youth, he got his father's consent to work in the +parental studio, and persevered long enough to acquire some ability in +sketching. Later he employed this art in illustrating some of his +aerial voyages. During these studio days he studied legerdemain and +ventriloquism, and became one of the most expert sleight-of-hand +wizards and ventriloquial entertainers of his time. + +Donaldson's first appearance before the public was at the old Long's +Varieties on South Third Street in Philadelphia. His feats as a +rope-walker have probably never been surpassed. In 1862 a rope twelve +hundred feet long was stretched across the Schuylkill River at +Philadelphia at a height of twelve hundred feet above the water. After +passing back and forth repeatedly over this rope, he finished his +exhibition by leaping from a rope into the river from a height of +approximately ninety feet. Two years later he successfully walked a +rope eighteen hundred feet long and two hundred feet high, stretched +across the Genesee Falls at Rochester, N. Y. Five years later he was +riding a velocipede on a tight-wire from stage to gallery of a +Philadelphia theatre, the first to do this performance. + +Thus his years were spent between 1857 and 1871; and great as were the +dangers and severe the tasks incident to this period of his career, to +him it was not work but the play he loved. While the work in itself +was not one to emulate--for there are perhaps few less useful tasks +than those that made up his occupation--nevertheless, he was training +himself for his career; and the absolute mastery over it which he +accomplished, the boldness with which he did it, the readiness, +certainty, and complete success with which he carried out everything he +undertook make a lesson worth studying. + +Donaldson's career as an aeronaut was brief. His first ascent was made +August 30, 1871; his last, July 15, 1875. The story of the first is +characteristic of the man. In his lexicon there was no such word as +"fail." His balloon was small, holding only eight thousand cubic feet +of gas. The gas was of poor quality, and when ready to rise he found +it impossible even to make a start until all ballast had been thrown +from the basket; and when at length the start was made, it was only to +alight in a few minutes on the roof of a neighboring house. Bent upon +winning and doing at all hazards what he had undertaken, Donaldson +quickly cast overboard all loose objects in the basket--ropes, anchors, +provisions, even down to his boots and coat. Thus relieved of weight, +he was able to make a voyage of about eighteen miles. + +There are two essentials to safe ballooning: first, the easy working of +the cord which controls the safety valve at the top of the netting, by +which descent may be effected when the balloon is going too high; and +surplus ballast, which may be thrown out to lighten the balloon when +approaching the ground, to avoid striking the earth at dangerously +rapid speed. Hence it followed that, his car having been stripped of +every bit of weight to obtain the ascent, Donaldson's descent was so +violent that he was not a little bruised before he got his balloon +safety [Transcriber's note: safely?] anchored again upon the earth. + +The difficulties and risks of this first trip, arising from the poor +appliances he had, were enough to discourage, if not deter, a heart +less bold than his, but to him a new difficulty only meant the letting +out of another reef in his resolution to conquer it. Thus it was that +immediately upon his return from this, his first trip, he not only +announced that he would make another ascent the ensuing week, but that +he would undertake something never previously undertaken in aerial +navigation, namely, that he would dispense with the basket or car swung +beneath the concentrating ring of every normal balloon, and in its +place would have nothing but a simple trapeze bar suspended beneath the +ring, upon which in mid-air, at high altitude, he proposed to perform +all feats done by then most highly trained gymnasts in trapeze +performances. + +His experience on this first trip, to quote his own phraseology, was +"so glorious that I decided to abandon the tight-rope forever." + +The second ascent was made in a light breeze. When approximately a +mile in height, to quote a chronicler: + + +"Suddenly the aeronaut threw himself backward and fell, catching with +his feet on the bar, thus sending a thrill through the crowd; but with +another spring he was upstanding on the bar, and then followed one feat +after another--hanging by one hand, one foot, by the back of his head, +etc., until the blood ceased to curdle in the veins of the awe-stricken +crowd, and they gave vent to their feelings in cheer after cheer. His +glittering dress sparkled in the sun long after his outline was lost to +the naked eye." + + +Intending no long journey, Donaldson climbed from the trapeze into the +concentrating ring, where he seized the cord operating the safety valve +and sought to open the valve. But the valve stuck and did not open +readily, thus when Donaldson gave a more violent tug at the cord in his +effort to open the valve, a great rent was torn in the top of the gas +bag, through which the gas poured, causing the balloon to fall with +appalling rapidity. Long afterwards Donaldson said that this was the +first time in his life that he had ever felt actually afraid. Luckily +he dropped into the top of a large tree, which broke his fall +sufficiently to enable him to land without any serious injury. + +Donaldson's sincerity and downright joy in his work, and the poetic +temperament, which in him was always struggling for utterance, are +pointed out by a chronicler in the words added by him to the +description Donaldson gave of his trip after his return to Norfolk in +1872: + + +"The people of Norfolk cannot form the remotest conception of the grand +appearance of Norfolk from a balloon. The city looks almost surrounded +by water, and the various tributaries to the Elizabeth River appear +magnificently beautiful, looking like streams of silver. Floating over +a field of foliage, the trees appear all blended together like blades +of grass." + + +The chronicler adds: + + +"Donaldson seemed to be perfectly enraptured by his subject, as was +evinced by the beaming expression of his countenance while relating his +experience. The motion of the balloon he describes as delightful, +particularly in ascent, as it appears to be perfectly motionless, and +any object within view beneath looks as if it were receding from you." + + +As a token of appreciation of this particular exploit, a handsome gold +medal was given to Donaldson by the citizens of Norfolk. + +A later ascent from Norfolk resulted in one of the most perilous +experiences ever endured by any aeronaut, and indeed developed +conditions from which none could possibly have hoped to escape with +life except a perfectly trained and fearless aeronaut. His experience +on this trip he told as follows: + + +"After cutting the basket loose, the balloon shot up very rapidly. I +pulled the valve cord and the gas escaped too freely. I was then +almost at the water's edge, and going at the rate of one mile a minute. +Quick work must be done, or a watery grave. I had either to cut a hole +in the balloon or go to sea, and as there were no boats in sight, I +chose the lesser evil. Seizing three of the cords, I swung out of the +ring, into the netting, the balloon careening on her side. I climbed +half way up the netting, opened my knife with my teeth, and cut a hole +about two feet long. The instant I cut the hole the gas rushed out so +fast that could scarcely get back to the ring. After reaching the ring +I lashed myself fast to it with a rope. While I was climbing up the +rigging to cut the hole in the side of the balloon, my cap fell off, +and so fast did I descend that before I got half way down I caught up +with and passed the cap. Continuing to descend, I struck the ground in +a large corn field, and was dragged nearly a thousand feet, the wind +blowing a perfect gale. Crashing against a rail fence, I was rendered +insensible. When I came to, I found myself hanging to one side of a +tree, and the balloon to the other side, ripped to shreds. This was +the _last tree_. I could have thrown a stone into the ocean from where +I landed. On this trip I travelled ten miles in seven minutes. + +"Many want to know if the wind blows hard up there. They do not stop +to think that I am carried by the wind, and whether I am in a dead calm +or sailing at the rate of one hundred miles an hour, I am perfectly +still; and when I went the ten miles in seven minutes I did not feel +the slightest breeze; and when I cannot see the earth it is impossible +to tell whether I am going or hanging still." + + +Just as Donaldson was a bit of an artist and left many sketches +illustrating his experiences, so also he was a bit of a poet and left +many pieces describing in lofty thought, but crude versification, the +sentiments inspired by his ascents. The following is one of them: + + + "There's pleasure in a lively trip when sailing through the air, + The word is given, 'Let her go!' To land I know not where. + The view is grand, 'tis like a dream, when many miles from home. + My castle in the air, I love above the clouds to roam." + + +In prose Donaldson was very much more at home than in verse; indeed +many of his descriptions equal in clearness and beauty anything ever +written of the impressions that come to fliers in cloudland. Take, for +example, the following: + + +"It's a pleasure to be up here, as I sit and look at the grand cloud +pictures, the most splendid effects of light, unknown to all that cling +to the surface of the earth. The ever-shifting scenes, the bright, +dazzling colors, the soft roseate and purple hues, the sudden light and +fiery sun . . . and on I go as if carried by spiritual wings, far above +the diminutive objects of a liliputian world. We rise in the midst of +splendor, where light and silence combine to make one wish he never +need return." + + +Donaldson was a many-sided man--among other things, in no small measure +a philosopher, as when he commented as follows: + +"I have noticed on different occasions a class of people who were only +half alive and who find fault with my exercise, which to them looks +frightful. They [Transcriber's note: Their?] nervous system is not +properly balanced. They have too much nerves for their system, which +is caused by want of a little moderate exercise up where the air is +pure, instead of which they spend hours in a place which they call +their office. They sit themselves in a dark corner, hidden from the +sun's rays, and in one position remain for hours, inhaling the +poisonous air with the room full of carbonic acid gas, which is as +poisonous to man as arsenic is to rats; and in addition to this, will +fill their lungs with tobacco smoke, and to steady their nerves require +a stimulation of perhaps eight or ten brandies a day. If I were as +helpless as this class of people, then my life would be swinging by a +thread, and I would wind up with a broken neck." + + +About as sound philosophy and scientific hygiene as could well be found. + +And yet another side to his character: the kindly nature, the +gentleness and generous thought for others, reluctance to cause +needless injury or pain, which is always the characteristic of any man +of real courage. This beautiful side of his nature he once hinted at +as follows: + +"I cannot look at a person cutting a chicken's head off, and as for +shooting a poor, innocent bird for sport, I think it is a great wrong +and should not be allowed. Did you ever think what a barbarous set we +were--worse than Indians or Fiji Islanders! There is nothing living +but what we torture and kill. As for fear . . . my candid opinion is +that the only time one is out of danger is when sailing through the air +in a balloon." + + +Early in 1873, after having made twenty-five or thirty ascents, and +well-nigh exhausted people's capacity for sensations and excitements +afforded by ballooning over _terra firma_, Donaldson began making plans +for a balloon of a capacity and equipment adequate, in his judgment, to +enable him to make a successful crossing of the Atlantic to England or +the Continent. So soon as his plans became publicly known, Professor +John Wise, who as early as 1843 had done his best to raise the funds +necessary for a transatlantic journey by balloon, joined forces with +Donaldson, and together they made application to the authorities of the +city of Boston for an adequate appropriation. This was voted by one +Board but vetoed by another. Thereupon, _The Daily Graphic_ took up +their proposition, and undertook the financing of the expedition under +a formal contract executed June 27, 1873. As a consequence of this +contract, Donaldson proceeded to build the largest balloon ever +constructed, of a gas capacity of 600,000 cubic feet, and a lifting +power of 14,000 pounds. The total weight of the balloon, including its +car, lifeboat, and equipment, was 7,100 pounds, thus leaving +approximately 6,000 pounds surplus lifting capacity for ballast, +passengers, etc. + +Of course, a liberal supply of provisions was to be carried, with +tools, guns, and fishing tackle, to be available for meeting any +emergency arising from a landing in a wild, unsettled region. +Moreover, a carefully selected set of scientific instruments was +embraced in the equipment for making observations and records of +changing conditions _en route_. + +The inflation of this aerial monster began in Brooklyn at the +Capitoline Grounds September 10, 1873. A high wind prevailed, and +after the bag had received 100,000 cubic feet of gas, she became so +nearly uncontrollable, notwithstanding 300 men and 100 sacks of +ballast, each sack weighing 200 pounds, were holding her down, that +Donaldson and his associates decided to empty her. + +On the twelfth of September inflation was again undertaken, although a +high wind again prevailed. When something more than half full, the bag +burst, and the aeronauts concluded that she was of a size impossible to +handle. The bag and rigging were thereupon taken in hand, and she was +reduced one-half; that is, to a capacity of 300,000 cubic feet of gas. + +The remodelling was finished early in October, and inflation of this +new balloon was begun at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 6, and by 10.30 p.m. +of that day the inflation was completed, the life-boat was attached, +and she was firmly secured for the night. + +At nine the next morning the crew took their places in the boat. +Donaldson as aeronaut; Alfred Ford as correspondent for the _Graphic_; +George Ashton Lunt, an experienced seaman, as navigator. Ascent was +made, without incident, the balloon drifting first to the north, and +then to the southward toward Long Island Sound. + +Unhappily this voyage was brief, and very nearly tragical in its +finish. About noon the balloon entered the field of a storm of wind +and rain of extraordinary violence, and before long the cordage, etc., +was so heavily loaded with moisture, that although practically all +available ballast was disposed of, the balloon descended in spite of +them. The speed of the balloon was so great that Donaldson did not +dare hazard a dash against some house, or into some forest or other +obstacle, but selected a piece of open ground, and advised his +companions to hang by their hands over the side of the boat and drop at +the word. The word at length given by Donaldson, both he and Ford +dropped--a distance of about thirty feet, happily without serious +injury other than a severe shaking up. Lunt, curious about the +distance and the effect of such a fall, as well as unfamiliar with the +action of a balloon when relieved of weight, hung watching the descent +of his companions--only to realise quickly that he was shooting up into +the air like a rocket. Then he clambered back into the boat. However, +it was not long before, again weighted and beaten down by the +continuing rain, the balloon descended upon a forest, where Lunt swung +himself into a tree-top, whence he dropped through its branches to the +earth, practically unhurt. + +Thus ended the transatlantic voyage of the _Graphic_ balloon, a voyage +that constitutes the only serious failure I can recall of anything in +the line of his profession as an aeronaut that Donaldson ever undertook +to do. This failure is not to be counted to his discredit, for +precisely as a good soldier does not surrender until his last round of +ammunition is spent, so Donaldson did not give in until his last pound +of ballast was exhausted. + +In all respects the most brilliant aerial voyage ever made by Donaldson +was his sixty-first ascension, on July 24, 1874, a voyage which +continued for twenty-six hours. This was the longest balloon voyage in +point of hours ever made up to that time, and indeed it remained a +world's record for endurance up in the air until 1900, and the +endurance record in the United States, until the recent St. Louis Cup +Race. + +The ascent was made from Barnum's "Great Roman Hippodrome," which for +some years occupied the site of what is now Madison Square Garden, in a +balloon built by Mr. Barnum to attempt to break the record for time and +distance of all previous balloon voyages. An account of this thrilling +trip is given in the following chapter of this book. + +The history of the ascent Donaldson made from Toronto, Canada, on June +23, 1875, is in itself a sufficient refutation of the charges made less +than a month later, that on his last trip he sacrificed his passenger, +Grimwood, to save his own life. On his Toronto trip he was accompanied +by Charles Pirie, of the _Globe_; Mr. Charles, of the _Leader_; and Mr. +Devine, of the _Advertiser_. On this occasion Donaldson accepted the +three passengers under the strongest protest, after having told them +plainly that the balloon was leaky, the wind blowing out upon the lake, +and that the ascent must necessarily be a peculiarly dangerous one. +Nevertheless, they decided to take the hazard. Later they regretted +their temerity. Husbanding his ballast as best he could, nevertheless, +the loss of gas through leakage was such that by midnight, when well +over the centre of Lake Ontario, the balloon descended into a rough, +tempestuous sea, and was saved from immediate destruction only by the +cutting away of both the anchor and the drag rope. This gave them a +temporary lease of life, but at one o'clock the car again struck the +waters and dragged at a frightful speed through the lake, compelling +the passengers to stand on the edge of the basket and cling to the +ropes, the cold so intense they were well-nigh benumbed. At length +they were rescued by a passing boat, but this was not until after three +o'clock in the morning. + +Of Donaldson's conduct in these hours of terrible tremity, a passenger +wrote: + + +"But for his judicious use of the ballast, his complete control of the +balloon as far as it could be controlled, his steady nerve, kindness, +and coolness in the hour of danger, the occupants would never have +reached land. . . . The party took no provisions with them excepting +two small pieces of bread two inches square, which Mr. Devine happened +to have in his pocket. At eleven at night, the Professor, having had +nothing but a noon lunch, was handed up the bread. . . . About three +o'clock in the morning, when the basket was wholly immersed in the +water, and the inmates clinging almost lifelessly to the ropes, the +Professor climbed down to them, and they were surprised to see in his +hand the two small pieces of bread they had given him the night before. +He had hoarded it up all night, and instead of eating it he said with +cheery voice, 'Well, boys, all is up. Divide this among you. It may +give you strength enough to swim.' There was not a man among them that +would touch it until the Professor first partook of it. It was only a +small morsel for each. . . . He said that he had but one +life-preserver on board, and suggested we should draw lots for the man +who should leave and lighten the balloon." + + +While this discussion was on, the boat approached that saved them. + +This simple story of Donaldson's true courage, cheerfulness, +self-denial, readiness to sacrifice himself for others, is no less than +an epic of the noblest heroism that stands an irrefutable answer to the +charge later made that Donaldson sacrificed Grimwood. + +Three weeks later--to be precise, on the fifteenth of July--Donaldson +and his beloved airship, the _P. T. Barnum_, made their last ascent, +from Chicago. The balloon was already old--more than a year old--the +canvas weakened and in many places rent and patched, the cordage frail. +In short, the balloon was in poor condition to stand any extraordinary +stress of weather. + +His companion on this trip was Mr. Newton S. Grimwood, of _The Chicago +Evening Journal_. Donaldson had expected to be able to take two men; +and Mr. Maitland, of the _Post & Mail_, was present with the other two +in the basket immediately before the hour of starting. At the last +moment Donaldson concluded that it was unwise to take more than one, +and required lots to be drawn. Maitland tossed a coin, called "Heads," +and won; but Mr. Thomas, the press agent, insisted that the usual +method of drawing written slips from a hat be followed, and on this +second lot-casting Maitland lost his place in the car, but won his life. + +The ascent was made about 5 p.m., the prevailing wind carrying them out +over Lake Michigan. About 7 p.m., a tug-boat sighted the balloon, then +about thirty miles off shore, trailing its basket along the surface of +the lake. The tug changed her course to intercept the balloon, but +before it was reached, probably through the cutting away of the drag +rope and anchor, the balloon bounded into the air, and soon +disappeared, and never again was aught of Donaldson or the balloon +_Barnum_ seen by human eye. A little later a storm of extraordinary +fury broke over the lake--a violent electric storm accompanied by heavy +rain. + +Weeks passed with no news of the voyagers or their ship. A month later +the body of Grimwood was found on the shores of Lake Michigan and fully +identified. + +The precise story of that terrible night will never be written, but +knowing the man and his trade, sequence of incident is as plain to me +as if told by one of the voyagers. Evidently the balloon sprung a leak +early. The last ballast must have been spent before the tug saw her +trailing in the lake. Then anchor and drag ropes were sacrificed. +This would inevitably give the balloon travelling power for a +considerable time,--time of course depending on the measure of the leak +of gas,--but ultimately she must again have descended upon the raging +waters of the lake, where Grimwood, of untrained strength, soon became +exhausted while trying to hold himself secure in the ring, and fell out +into the lake. Thus again relieved of weight, the balloon received a +new lease of life, and travelled on probably, to a fatal final descent +in some untrodden corner of the northern forest, where no one ever has +chanced to stumble across the wreck. For had the balloon made its +final descent into the lake, it would have been only after the basket +was utterly empty, all the loose cordage cut away, and a type of wreck +left that would float for weeks or months and would almost certainly +have been found. Indeed, for months afterwards the writer and many +others of Donaldson's friends held high hopes of hearing of him +returned in safety from some remote distance in the wilds. But this +was not to be. + +One more incident and I have done. + +Six or seven years ago I read in the columns of the _Sun_ an article +copied from a Chicago paper, evidently written by some close friend of +the unfortunate Grimwood, making a bitter attack upon Donaldson for +having sacrificed his passenger's life to save his own. The story +moved me so much that I wrote an open letter to the Sun over my own +signature, in which I sought to refute the charge by recounting the +story of Donaldson's noble conduct, and his constant readiness for +self-sacrifice in other situations quite as dire. + +A few days later, sitting in my office, I was frozen with astonishment +when a written card was handed in to me bearing the name "Washington H. +Donaldson"! As soon as I could recover myself, the bearer of the card +was asked in. He was a man within a year or two of my friend's age at +the time of his death, Wash Donaldson's very self in face and figure! +He had the same bright, piercing eye, that looked straight into mine; +the same lean, square jaws and resolute mouth; the same waving hair, +the same low, cool, steady voice--such a resemblance as to dull my +senses, and make me wonder and grope to understand how my friend could +thus come back to me, still young after so many years. + +It was Donaldson's son, a babe in arms at the time his father sailed +away to his death! + +In a few simple words he told me that he and his family lived in a +small village. With infinite grief they had read the article charging +his father with unmanly conduct--a grief that was the greater because +they possessed no means to refute the charge. Brokenly, with tears of +gratitude, he told of their joy in reading my statements in his +father's defence, and how he had been impelled to come and try in +person to express to me the gratitude he felt he could not write. + +Poor though this man may be in this world's goods, in the record of his +father's character and deeds he owns a legacy fit to give him place +among the Peers of Real Manhood. + +Through some mischance I have lost the address of Donaldson's son. +Should he happen to read these lines I hope he will communicate with me. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +AN AERIAL BIVOUAC + +In the history of contests since man first began striving against his +fellows, seldom has a record performance stood so long unbroken as that +of the good airship _Barnum_, made thirty-three years ago. Of her +captain and crew of five men, six all told, the writer remains the sole +survivor, the only one who may live to see that record broken in this +country. + +The _Barnum_ rose at 4 p.m. July 26, 1874, from New York and made her +last landing nine miles north of Saratoga at 6.07 p.m. of the +twenty-seventh, thus finishing a voyage of a total elapsed time of +twenty-six hours and seven minutes. In the interim she made four +landings, the first of no more than ten minutes; the second, twenty; +the third, ten; the fourth, thirty-five; and these descents cost an +expenditure of gas and ballast which shortened her endurance capacity +by at least two or three hours. + +Tracing on a map her actual route traversed, gives a total distance of +something over four hundred miles, which gave her the record of second +place in the history of long-distance ballooning in this country, a +record which she still holds. + +So far as my knowledge of the art goes, and I have tried to read all of +its history, the _Barnum's_ voyage of twenty-six hours, seven minutes +was then and remained the world's endurance record until 1900; and it +still remains, in point of hours up, the longest balloon voyage ever +made in the United States. + +The longest voyage in point of distance ever made in this country was +that of John Wise and La Mountain, in the fifties, from St. Louis, Mo., +to Jefferson County, N. Y., a distance credited under the old custom of +a little less than twelve hundred miles, while the actual distance +under the new rules is between eight hundred and nine hundred miles, +the time being nineteen hours. This voyage also remained, I believe, +the world's record for distance until 1900, and still remains the +American record--and lucky, indeed, will be the aeronaut who beats it. + +P. T. Barnum's "Great Roman Hippodrome," now for many years Madison +Square Garden, was never more densely crowded than on the afternoon of +July 26, 1874. Early in the Spring of that year Mr. Barnum had +announced the building of a balloon larger than any theretofore made in +this country. His purpose in building it was to attempt to break all +previous records for time and distance, and he invited each of five +daily city papers of that time to send representatives on the voyage. +So when the day set for the ascent arrived, not only was the old +Hippodrome packed to the doors, but adjacent streets and squares were +solid black with people, as on a _fete_ day like the Dewey Parade. + +Happily the day was one of brilliant sunshine and clear sky, with +scarcely a cloud above the horizon. + +The captain of the _Barnum_ was Washington. H. Donaldson, by far the +most brilliant and daring professional aeronaut of his day, and a +clever athlete and gymnast. For several weeks prior to the ascent of +the _Barnum_, Donaldson had been making daily short ascents of an hour +or two from the Hippodrome in a small balloon--as a feature of the +performance. Sometimes he ascended in a basket, at other times with +naught but a trapeze swinging beneath the concentrating ring of his +balloon himself in tights perched easily upon the bar of the trapeze. +And when at a height to suit his fancy--of a thousand feet or +more--many a time have I seen him do every difficult feat of trapeze +work ever done above the security of a net. + +Such was Donaldson, a man utterly fearless, but reckless only when +alone, of a steadfast, cool courage and resource when responsible for +the safety of others that made him the man out of a million best worth +trusting in any emergency where a bold heart and ready wit may avert +disaster. + +Donaldson's days were never dull. + +The day preceding our ascent his balloon was released with insufficient +lifting power. As soon as he rose above neighboring roofs, a very high +southeast wind caught him, and, before he had time to throw out +ballast, drove his basket against the flagstaff on the Gilsey House +with such violence that the staff was broken, and the basket +momentarily upset, dumping two ballast bags to the Broadway sidewalk +where they narrowly missed several pedestrians. + +That he himself was not dashed to death was a miracle. But to him this +was no more than a bit unusual incident of the day's work. + +The reporters assigned as mates on this skylark in the _Barnum_ were +Alfred Ford, of the _Graphic_; Edmund Lyons, of the _Sun_; Samuel +MacKeever, of the _Herald_; W. W. Austin, of the _World_ (every one of +these good fellows now dead, alas!) and myself, representing the +_Tribune_. + +Lyons, MacKeever, and myself were novices in ballooning, but the two +others had scored their bit of aeronautic experience. Austin had made +an ascent a year or two before at San Francisco, was swept out over the +bay before he could make a landing, and, through some mishap, dropped +into the water midway of the bay and well out toward Golden Gate, where +he was rescued by a passing boat. Ford had made several balloon +voyages, the most notable in 1873, in the great _Graphic_ balloon. + +After the voyage of the _Barnum_ was first announced and it became +known that the _Tribune_ would have a pass, everybody on the staff +wanted to go. For weeks it was the talk of the office. Even grave +graybeards of the editorial rooms were paying court for the preference +to Mr. W. F. G. Shanks, that prince of an earlier generation of city +editors, who of course controlled the assignment of the pass. But when +at length the pass came, the enthusiasm and anxiety for the distinction +waned, and it became plain that the piece of paper "Good for One Aerial +Trip," etc., must go begging. + +At that time I was assistant night city editor, and a special detail to +interview the Man in the Moon was not precisely in the line of my +normal duties. I was therefore greatly surprised (to put it +conservatively) when, the morning before the ascent, Mr. Shanks, in +whose family I was then living, routed me out of bed to say: + +"See here, Ted, you know Barnum's balloon starts tomorrow on her trial +for the record, but what you don't know is that we are in a hole. +Before the ticket came every one wanted to go, from John R. G. Hassard +down to the office boy. Now no one will go--all have funked it, and I +suppose you will want to follow suit!" + +Thus diplomatically put, the hinted assignment was not to be refused +without too much personal chagrin. + +So it happened that about 3.30 p.m. the next day I arrived at the +Hippodrome, loaded down with wraps and a heavy basket nigh bursting +with good things to eat and drink, which dear Mrs. Shanks had insisted +on providing. + +The _Barnum_ was already filled with gas, tugging at her leash and +swaying restlessly as if eager for the start. And right here, at first +sight of the great sphere, I felt more nearly a downright fright than +at any stage of the actual voyage; the balloon appeared such a +hopelessly frail fabric to support even its own car and equipment. The +light cord net enclosing the great gas-bag looked, aloft, where it +towered above the roof, little more substantial than a film of lace; +and to ascend in that balloon appeared about as safe a proposition as +to enmesh a lion in a cobweb. + +Already my four mates for the voyage were assembled about the basket, +and Donaldson himself was busy with the last details of the equipment. +My weighty lunch basket had from my mates even a heartier reception +than I received, but their joy over the prospect of delving into its +generous depths was short-lived. The load as Donaldson had planned it +was all aboard, weight carefully adjusted to what he considered a +proper excess lifting power to carry us safely up above any chance of a +collision with another flagstaff, as on the day before above the Gilsey +House. Thus the basket and all its bounty (save only a small flask of +brandy I smuggled into a hip pocket) were given to a passing acrobat. + +At 4 p.m. the old Hippodrome rang with applause; a brilliant equestrian +act had just been finished. Suddenly the applause ceased and that +awful hush fell upon the vast audience which is rarely experienced +except in the presence of death or of some impending disaster! We had +been seen to enter the basket, and people held their breath. + +Released, the balloon bounded seven hundred feet the air, stood +stationary for a moment, and then drifted northwest before the +prevailing wind. + +In this prodigious leap there was naught of the disagreeable sensation +one experiences in a rapidly rising elevator. Instead it rather seemed +that we were standing motionless, stationary in space, and that the +earth itself had gotten loose and was dropping away beneath us to +depths unknown. Every cord and rope of the huge fabric was tensely +taut, the basket firm and solid beneath our feet. Indeed, the balloon, +with nothing more substantial in her construction than cloth and twine, +and hempen ropes and willow wands (the latter forming the basket), has +always, while floating in mid-air free of the drag rope's tricks, the +rigid homogeneity of a rock, a solidity that quickly inspires the most +timid with perfect confidence in her security. + +Ballast was thrown out by Donaldson,--a little. At Seventh Avenue and +Forty-second Street our altitude was 2,000 feet. The great city lay +beneath us like an unrolled scroll. White and dusty, the streets +looked like innumerable strips of Morse telegraph paper--the people the +dots, the vehicles the dashes. Central Park, with its winding waters, +was transformed into a superb mantle of dark green velvet splashed with +silver, worthy of a royal _fete_. Behind us lay the sea, a vast field +of glittering silver. Before us lay a wide expanse of Jersey's hills +and dales that from our height appeared a plain, with many a +reddish-gray splash upon its verdant stretches that indicated a village +or a town. + +Above and about us lay an immeasurable space of which we were the only +tenants, and over which we began to feel a grand sense of dominion that +wrapped us as in royal ermine: if we were not lords of this aerial +manor, pray, then, who were? Beneath us, lay--home. Should we ever +see it again? This thought I am sure came to all of us. I know it +came to me. But the perfect steadiness of the balloon won our +confidence, and we soon gave ourselves up to the gratification of our +enviable position; and enviable indeed it was. For who has not envied +the eagle his power to skim the tree-tops, to hover above Niagara, to +circle mountain peaks, to poise himself aloft and survey creation, or +to mount into the zenith and gaze at the sun? + +Indeed our sense of confidence became such that, while sitting on the +edge of the basket to reach and pass Donaldson a rope he asked for, I +leaned so far over that the bottle of brandy resting in my hip pocket +slipped out and fell into the Hudson. + +Oddly, Ford, who was the most experienced balloonist of the party after +Donaldson himself, seemed most nervous and timid, but it was naught but +an expression of that constitutional trouble (dizziness) so many have +when looking down from even the minor height of a step-ladder. In all +the long hours he was with us, I do not recall his once standing erect +in the basket, and when others of us perched upon the basket's edge, he +would beg us to come down. But mind, there was no lack of stark +courage in Alfred Ford, sufficiently proved by the fact that he never +missed a chance for an ascent. + +But safe? Confident? Why, before we were up ten minutes, Lyons and +MacKeever were sitting on the edge of the basket, with one hand holding +to a stay, tossing out handfuls of small tissue paper circulars bearing +"News from the Clouds." Many-colored, these little circulars as they +fell beneath us looked like a flight of giant butter-flies, and we kept +on throwing out handfuls of them until our pilot warned us we were +wasting so much weight we should soon be out of easy view of the earth! +Indeed, the balance of the balloon is so extremely fine that when a +single handful of these little tissue circulars was thrown out, +increased ascent was shown on the dial of our aneroid barometer! + +At 4.30 p.m. we had drifted out over the Hudson at an altitude of 2,500 +feet. Here Donaldson descended from the airy perch which he had been +occupying since our start on the concentrating ring, when one of us +asked how long he expected the cruise to last. He replied that he +hoped to be able to sail the _Barnum_ at least three or four days. + +"But," he added, "I shall certainly be unable, to carry all of you for +so long a journey, and shall be compelled to drop you one by one. So +you had best draw lots to settle whom I shall drop first, and in what +order the rest shall follow." + +Sailing then 2,500 feet above the earth, Lyons voiced a thought racing +from my own brain for utterance when he blurted out: "What the deuce do +you mean by 'drop' us?" Indeed, the question must have been on three +other tongues as well, for Donaldson's reply, "Oh, descend to the earth +and let you step out then," was greeted by all five of us with a salvo +of deep, lusty sighs of relief. + +Then we drew lots for the order of our going, MacKeever drawing first, +Austin second, Lyons third, Ford fourth, and I fifth. + +Meantime, beneath us on the river vessels which from our height looked +like the toy craft on the lake in Central Park were whistling a shrill +salute that, toned down by the distance, was really not unmusical. + +Having crossed the Hudson and swept above Weehawken, we found ourselves +cruising northwest over the marshes of the Hackensack. + +As the heat of the declining sun lessened, our cooling gas contracted +and the balloon sank steadily until at 5.10 we were 250 feet above the +earth and 100 feet of our great drag rope was trailing on the ground. +Within hailing distance of people beneath us, a curious condition was +observed. We could hear distinctly all they said, though we could not +make them understand a word; our voices had to fill a sphere of air; +theirs, with the earth beneath them, only a hemisphere. Thus the +modern megaphone is especially useful to aeronauts. + +Hereabouts our fun began. Many countrymen thought the balloon running +away with us and tried to stop and save us--always by grasping the drag +rope, bracing themselves, and trying literally to hold us; when the +slack of the rope straightened, they performed somersaults such as our +pilot vowed no acrobat could equal. And yet the balance of the balloon +is so fine that even a child of ten can pull one down, if only it has +strength enough to withstand occasional momentary lifts off the ground. +Occasionally one more clever would run and take a quick turn of the +rope about a gate or fence--and then spend the rest of the evening +gathering the scattered fragments and repairing the damage. + +And when there was not fun enough below, Donaldson himself would take a +hand and put his steed through some of her fancy paces--as when, +approaching a large lake, he told us to hold tightly to the stays, let +out gas and dropped us, bang! upon the lake. Running at a speed of +twelve or fifteen miles an hour, we hit the water with a tremendous +shock, bounded thirty or forty feet into the air, descended again and +literally skipped in great leaps along the surface of the water, +precisely like a well-thrown "skipping stone." Then out went ballast +and up and on we went, no worse for the fun beyond a pretty thorough +wetting! + +At 6.20 p.m. we landed on the farm of Garrett Harper in Bergen County, +twenty-six miles from New York. After drinking our fill of milk at the +farmhouse, we rose again and drifted north over Ramapo until, at 7.30, +a dead calm came upon us and we made another descent. We then found +that we had landed near Bladentown on the farm of Miss Charlotte +Thompson, a charming actress of the day whose "Jane Eyre" and "Fanchon" +are still pleasant memories to old theatre-goers. Loading our balloon +with stones to anchor it, our party paid her a visit and were cordially +received. An invitation to join us hazarded by Donaldson, Miss +Thompson accepted with delight. I do not know if she is still living, +but it she is, she cannot have forgotten her half-hour's cruise in the +good airship _Barnum_, wafted silently by a gentle evening breeze, the +lovely panorama beneath her half hid, half seen through the purple haze +of twilight. + +After landing Miss Thompson at 8.18 we ascended for the night, for a +night's bivouac among the stars. The moon rose early. We were soon +sailing over the Highlands of the Hudson. Off in the east we could see +the river, a winding ribbon of silver. We were running low, barely +more than 200 feet high. Below us the great drag rope was hissing +through meadows, roaring over fences, crashing through tree-tops. And +all night long we were continually ascending and descending, sinking +into valleys and rising over hills, following closely the contours of +the local topography. + +During the more equable temperature of night the balloon's height is +governed by the drag rope. Leaving a range of hills and floating out +over a valley, the weight of the drag pulls the balloon down until the +same length of rope is trailing through the valley that had been +dragging on the hill. This habit of the balloon produces startling +effects. Drifting swiftly toward a rocky precipitous hillside against +which it seems inevitable you must dash to your death, suddenly the +trailing drag rope reaches the lower slopes and you soar like a bird +over the hill, often so low that the bottom of the basket swishes +through the tree-tops. + +But, while useful in conserving the balloon's energy, the drag rope is +a source of constant peril to aeronauts, of terror to people on the +earth, and of damage to property. It has a nasty clinging habit, +winding round trees or other objects, that may at any moment upset +basket and aeronauts. On this trip our drag rope tore sections out of +scores of fences, upset many haystacks, injured horses and cattle that +tried to run across it, whipped off many a chimney, broke telegraph +wires, and seemed to take malicious delight in working some havoc with +everything it touched. + +At ten o'clock we sighted Cozzen's Hotel, and shortly drifted across +the parade ground of West Point, its huge battlemented gray walls +making one fancy he was looking down into the inner court of some great +mediaeval castle. Then we drifted out over the Hudson toward Cold +Spring until, caught by a different current, we were swept along the +course of the river. + +As we sailed over mid-stream and two hundred feet above it, with the +tall cliffs and mysterious, dark recesses of the Highlands on either +hand, the waters turned to a livid gray under the feeble light of the +waning moon. No part of our voyage was more impressive, no scene more +awe-inspiring. It was a region of such weird lights and gruesome +shadows as no fancy could people with aught but gaunt goblins and dread +demons, come down to us through generations untold, an unspent legacy +of terror, from half-savage, superstitious ancestors. + +Suddenly Ford spoke in a low voice: "Boys, I was in nine or ten battles +of the Civil War, from Gaines's Mill to Gettysburg, but in none of them +was there a scene which impressed me as so terrible as this, no +situation that seemed to me so threatening of irresistible perils." + +Nearing Fishkill at eleven, a land breeze caught and whisked us off +eastward. At midnight we struck the town of Wappinger's Falls--and +struck it hard. Our visitation is doubtless remembered there yet. The +town was in darkness and asleep. We were running low before a stiff +breeze, half our drag rope on the ground. The rope began to roar +across roofs and upset chimneys with shrieks and crashes that set the +folk within believing the end of the world had come. Instantly the +streets were filled with flying white figures and the air with men's +curses and women's screams. Three shots were fired beneath us. Two of +our fellows said they heard the whistle of the balls, so Donaldson +thought it prudent to throw out ballast and rise out of range. + +Here the moon left us and we sailed on throughout the remainder of the +night in utter darkness and without any extraordinary incident, all but +the watch lying idly in the bottom of the basket viewing the stars and +wondering what new mischief the drag rope might be planning. + +The only duty of the watch was to lighten ship upon too near descent to +the earth, and for this purpose a handful of Hippodrome circulars +usually proved sufficient. Indeed, only eight pounds of ballast were +used from the time we left Miss Thompson till dawn, barring a half-sack +spent in getting out of range of the Wappinger's Falls sportsmen, who +seemed to want to bag us. + +Ford and Austin were assigned as the lookout from 12.00 to 2.00, Lyons +and myself from 2.00 to 3.00, and Donaldson and MacKeever from 3.00 to +4.00. + +From midnight till 3.00 a.m. Donaldson slept as peaceful as a baby, +curled up in the basket with a sandbag for a pillow. The rest of us +slept little through the night and talked less, each absorbed in the +reflections and speculations inspired by our novel experience. + +At the approach of dawn we had the most unique and extraordinary +experience ever given to man. The balloon was sailing low in a deep +valley. To the east of us the Berkshires rose steeply to summits +probably fifteen hundred feet above us. Beneath us a little village +lay, snuggled cosily between two small meeting brooks, all dim under +the mists of early morning and the shadows of the hills. No flush of +dawn yet lit the sky. Donaldson had been consulting his watch, +suddenly he rose and called, pointing eastward across the range: + +"Watch, boys! Look there!" + +He then quickly dumped overboard half the contents of a ballast bag. +Flying upward like an arrow, the balloon soon shot up above the +mountain-top, when, lo! a miracle. The phenomenon of sunrise was +reversed! We our very selves instead had risen on the sun! There he +stood, full and round, peeping at us through the trees crowning a +distant Berkshire hill, as if startled by our temerity. + +Shortly thereafter, when we had descended to our usual level and were +running swiftly before a stiff breeze over a rocky hillside, Donaldson +yelled: + +"Hang on, boys, for your lives!" + +The end of the drag rope had gotten a hitch about a large tree limb. +Luckily Donaldson had seen it in time to warn us, else we had there +finished our careers. We had barely time to seize the stays when the +rope tautened with a shock that nearly turned the basket upside down, +spilled out our water-bucket and some ballast, left MacKeever and +myself hanging in space by our hands, and the other four on the lower +side of the basket, scrambling to save themselves. Instantly, of +course, the basket righted and dropped back beneath us. + +And then began a terrible struggle. + +The pressure of the wind bore us down within a hundred feet of the +ragged rocks. Groaning under the strain, the rope seemed ready to +snap. Like a huge leviathan trapped in a net, the gas-bag writhed, +twisted, bulged, shrank, gathered into a ball and sprang fiercely out. +The loose folds of canvas sucked up until half the netting stood empty, +and then fold after fold darted out and back with all the angry menace +of a serpent's tongue and with the ominous crash of musketry. + +It seemed the canvas must inevitably burst and we be dashed to death. +But Donaldson was cool and smiling, and, taking the only precaution +possible, stood with a sheath-knife ready to cut away the drag rope and +relieve is of its weight in case our canvas burst. + +Happily the struggle was brief. The limb that held us snapped, and the +balloon sprang forward in mighty bounds that threw us off our feet and +tossed the great drag rope about like a whip-lash. But we were free, +safe, and our stout vessel soon settled down to the velocity of the +wind. + +By this time we all were beginning to feel hungry, for we had supped +the night before in mid-air from a lunch basket that held more +delicacies than substantials. So Donaldson proposed a descent and +began looking for a likely place. At last he chose a little village, +which upon near approach we learned lay in Columbia County of our own +good State. + +We called to two farmers to pull us down, no easy task in the rather +high wind then blowing. They grasped the rope and braced themselves as +had others the night before, and presently were flying through the air +in prodigious if ungraceful somersaults. Amazed but unhurt, they again +seized the rope and got a turn about a stout board fence, only to see a +section or two of the fence fly into the air as if in pursuit of us. + +Presently the heat of the rising sun expanded our gas and sent us up +again 2,000 feet, making breakfast farther off than ever. Thus, it +being clear that we must sacrifice either our stomachs or our gas, +Donaldson held open the safety valve until we were once more safely +landed on mother earth, but not until after we had received a pretty +severe pounding about, for such a high wind blew that the anchor was +slow in holding. + +This landing was made at 5.24 a.m. on the farm of John W. Coons near +the village of Greenport, four miles from Hudson City, and about one +hundred and thirty miles from New York. + +Here our pilot decided our vessel must be lightened of two men, and +thus the lot drawn the night before compelled us to part, regretfully, +with MacKeever of the _Herald_, and Austin of the _World_. Ford, +however, owing allegiance to an afternoon paper, the _Graphic_, and +always bursting with honest journalistic zeal for a "beat," saw an +opportunity to win satisfaction greater even than that of keeping on +with us. So he, too, left us here, with the result that the _Graphic_ +published a full story of the voyage up to this point, Saturday +afternoon, the twenty-fifth, the _Herald_ and the _World_ trailed along +for second place in their Sunday editions, while _Sun_ and _Tribune_ +readers had to wait till Monday morning for such "News from the Clouds" +as Lyons and I had to give them, for wires were not used as freely then +as now. + +Our departing mates brought us a rare good breakfast from Mr. Coons' +generous kitchen--a fourteen-quart tin pail well-nigh filled with good +things, among them two currant pies on yellow earthen plates, gigantic +in size, pale of crust, though anything but anaemic of contents. Lyons +finished nearly the half of one before our reascent, to his sorrow, for +scarcely were we off the earth before he developed a colic that seemed +to interest him more, right up to the finish of the trip, than the +scenery. + +Bidding our mates good-bye, we prepared to reascend. Many farmers had +been about us holding to our ropes and leaning on the basket, and later +we realized we had not taken in sufficient ballast to offset the weight +of the three men who had left us. + +Released, the balloon sprang upward at a pace that all but took our +breath away. Instantly the earth disappeared beneath us. We saw +Donaldson pull the safety valve wide open, draw his sheath knife ready +to cut the drag rope, standing rigid, with his eyes riveted upon the +aneroid barometer. The hand of the barometer was sweeping across the +dial at a terrific rate. I glanced at Donaldson and saw him smile. +Then I looked back the barometer and saw the hand had stopped--at +10,200 feet! How long we were ascending we did not know. Certain it +is that the impressions described were all there was time for, and that +when Donaldson turned and spoke we saw his lips move but could hear no +sound. Our speed had been such that the pressure of the air upon the +tympanum of the ear left us deaf for some minutes. We had made a dash +of two miles into cloudland and had accomplished it, we three firmly +believed, in little more than a minute. + +Presently Donaldson observed the anchor and grapnel had come up badly +clogged with sod, and a good heavy tug he and I had of it to pull them +in, for Lyons was still much too busy with his currant pie to help us. +Nor indeed were the currant pies yet done with us, for at the end of +our tug at the anchor rope, I found| had been kneeling very precisely +in the middle of pie No. 2, and had contrived to absorb most of it into +the knees of my trousers. Thus at the end of the day, come to Saratoga +after all shops were closed, I had to run the gauntlet of the porch and +office crowd of visitors at the United States Hotel in a condition that +only needed moccasins and a war bonnet to make me a tolerable imitation +of an Indian. + +We remained aloft at an altitude of one or two and one half miles for +three hours and a half, stayed there until the silence became +intolerable, until the buzz of a fly or the croak of a frog would have +been music to our ears. Here was _absolute silence_, the silence of +the grave and death, a silence never to be experienced by living man in +any terrestrial condition. + +Occasionally the misty clouds in which we hung enshrouded parted +beneath us and gave us glimpses of distant earth, opened and disclosed +landscapes of infinite beauty set in grey nebulous frames. Once we +passed above a thunderstorm, saw the lightning play beneath us, felt +our whole fabric tremble at its shock--and were glad enough when we had +left it well behind. Seen from a great height, the earth looked to be +a vast expanse of dark green velvet, sometimes shaded to a deeper hue +by cloudlets floating beneath the sun, splashed here with the silver +and there with the gold garniture reflected from rippling waters. + +Toward noon we descended beneath the region of clouds into the realm of +light and life, and found ourselves hovering above the Mountain House +of the Catskills. And thereabouts we drifted in cross-currents until +nearly 4.00 p.m., when a heavy southerly gale struck us and swept us +rapidly northward past Albany at a pace faster than I have ever +travelled on a railway. + +We still had ballast enough left to assure ten or twelve hours more +travel. But we did not like our course. The prospects were that we +would end our voyage in the wilderness two hundred or more miles north +of Ottawa. So we rose to 12,500 feet, seeking an easterly or westerly +current, but without avail. We could not escape the southerly gale. +Prudence, therefore, dictated a landing before nightfall. Landing in +the high gale was both difficult and dangerous, and was not +accomplished until we were all much bruised and scratched in the oak +thicket Donaldson chose for our descent. + +Thus the first voyage of the good airship _Barnum_ ended at 6.07 p.m. +on the farm of E. R. Young, nine miles north of Saratoga. + +A year later the _Barnum_ rose for the last time--from Chicago--and to +this day the fate of the stanch craft and her brave captain remains an +unsolved mystery. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE EVOLUTION OF A TRAIN ROBBER + +Life was never dull in Grant County, New Mexico, in the early eighties. +There was always something doing--usually something the average +law-abiding, peace-loving citizen would have been glad enough to dispense +with. To say that life then and there was insecure is to describe +altogether too feebly a state of society and an environment wherein +Death, in one violent form or another, was ever abroad, seldom long idle, +always alert for victims. + +When the San Carlos Apaches, under Victoria, Ju, or Geronimo, were not +out gunning for the whites, the whites were usually out gunning for one +another over some trivial difference. Everybody carried a gun and was +more or less handy with it. Indeed, it was a downright bad plan to carry +one unless you were handy. For with gunning--the game most played, if +not precisely the most popular--every one was supposed to be familiar +with the rules and to know how to play; and in a game where every hand is +sure to be "called," no one ever suspected another of being out on a +sheer "bluff." Thus the coroner invariably declared it a case of suicide +where one man drew a gun on another and failed to use it. + +This highly explosive state of society was not due to the fact that there +were few peaceable men in the country for there were many of them, men of +character and education, honest, and as law-abiding as their peculiar +environment would permit. Moreover, the percentage of professional "bad +men"--and this was a profession then--was comparatively small. It was +due rather to the fact that every one, no matter how peaceable his +inclinations, was compelled to carry arms habitually for self-defence, +for the Apaches were constantly raiding outside the towns, and white +outlaws inside. And with any class of men who constantly carry arms, it +always falls out that a weapon is the arbiter of even those minor +personal differences which in the older and more effete civilization of +the East are settled with fists or in a petty court. + +The prevailing local contempt for any man who was too timid to "put up a +gun fight" when the etiquette of a situation demanded it, was expressed +locally in the phrase that one "could take a corncob and a lightning bug +and make him run himself to death trying to get away." It is clearly +unnecessary to explain why the few men of this sort in the community did +not occupy positions of any particular prominence. Their opinions did +not seem to carry as much weight as those of other gentlemen who were +known to be notably quick to draw and shoot. + +I even recall many instances where the pistol entered into the pastimes +of the community. One instance will stand telling: + +A game of poker (rather a stiff one) had been going on for about a +fortnight in the Red Light Saloon. The same group of men, five or six +old friends, made up the game every day. All had varying success but +one, who lost every day. And, come to think of it, his luck varied too, +for some days he lost more than others. While he did not say much about +his losings, it was observed that temper was not improving. + +This sort of thing went on for thirteen days. The thirteenth day the +loser happened to come in a little late, after the game was started. It +also happened that on this particular day one of the players had brought +in a friend, a stranger in the town, to join the game, When the loser +came in, therefore, he was introduced to the stranger and sat down. A +hand was dealt him. He started to play it, stopped, rapped on the table +attention, and said: + +"Boys, I want to make a personal explanation to this yere stranger. +Stranger, this yere game is sure a tight wad for a smoothbore. I'm loser +in it, an' a heavy one, for exactly thirteen days, and these boys all +understand that the first son of a gun I find I can beat, I'm going to +take a six-shooter an' make him play with me a week. Now, if you has no +objections to my rules, you can draw cards." + +Luckily for the stranger, perhaps, the thirteenth was as bad for the +loser as its predecessors. + +Outside the towns there were only three occupations in Grant County in +those years, cattle ranching, mining and fighting Apaches, all of a sort +to attract and hold none but the sturdiest types of real manhood, men +inured to danger and reckless of it. In the early eighties no +faint-heart came to Grant County unless he blundered in--and any such +were soon burning the shortest trail out. These men were never better +described in a line than when, years ago, at a banquet of California +Forty-niners, Joaquin Miller, the poet of the Sierras, speaking of the +splendid types the men of forty-nine represented, said: + +"The cowards never started, and all the weak died on the road!" + +Within the towns, also, there were only three occupations: first, +supplying the cowmen and miners whatever they needed, merchandise wet and +dry, law mundane and spiritual, for although neither court nor churches +were working overtime, they were available for the few who had any use +for them; second, gambling, at monte, poker, or faro; and, third, +figuring how to slip through the next twenty-four hours without getting a +heavier load of lead in one's system than could be conveniently carried, +or how to stay happily half shot and yet avoid coming home on a shutter, +unhappily shot, or, having an active enemy on hand, how best to "get" him. + +Thus, while plainly the occupations of Grant County folk were somewhat +limited in variety, in the matter of interest and excitement their games +were wide open and the roof off. + +Nor did all the perils to life in Grant County lurk within the burnished +grooves of a gun barrel, according to certain local points of view, for +always it is the most unusual that most alarms, as when one of my cowboys +"allowed he'd go to town for a week," and was back on the ranch the +evening of the second day. Asked why he was back so soon, he replied: + +"Well, fellers, one o' them big depot water tanks burnt plumb up this +mawnin', an' reckonin' whar that'd happen a feller might ketch fire +anywhere in them little old town trails, I jes' nachally pulled my +freight for camp!" + +But a cowboy is the subject of this story--Kit Joy. His genus, and +striking types of the genus, have been cleverly described, especially by +Lewis and by Adams (some day I hope to meet Andy) that I need say little +of it here. Still, one of the cowboy's most notable and most admirable +traits has not been emphasized so much as it deserves: I mean his +downright reverence and respect for womanhood. No real cowboy ever +wilfully insulted any woman, or lost a chance to resent any insult +offered by another. Indeed, it was an article of the cowboy creed never +broken, and all well knew it. So it happened that when one day a cowboy, +in a crowded car of a train held up by bandits, was appealed to by an +Eastern lady in the next seat,-- + +"Heavens! I have four hundred dollars in my purse which I cannot afford +to lose; please, sir, tell me how I can hide it." + +Instantly came the answer: + +"Shucks! miss, stick it in yer sock; them fellers has nerve enough to +hold up a train an' kill any feller that puts up a fight, but nary one o' +them has nerve enough to go into a woman's sock after her bank roll!" + +Kit Joy was a cowboy working on the X ranch on the Gila. He was a +youngster little over twenty. It was said of him that he had left behind +him in Texas more or less history not best written in black ink, but +whether this was true or not I do not know. Certain it is that he was a +reckless dare-devil, always foremost in the little amenities cowboys +loved to indulge in when they came to town such as shooting out the +lights in saloons and generally "shelling up the settlement,"--which +meant taking a friendly shot at about everything that showed up on the +streets. Nevertheless, Kit in the main was thoroughly good-natured and +amiable. + +Early in his career in Silver City it was observed that perhaps his most +distinguishing trait was curiosity. Ultimately his curiosity got him +into trouble, as it does most people who indulge it. His first display +of curiosity in Silver was a very great surprise, even to those who knew +him best. It was also a disappointment. + +A tenderfoot, newly arrived, appeared on the streets one day in +knickerbockers and stockings. Kit was in town and was observed watching +the tenderfoot. To the average cowboy a silk top hat was like a red flag +to a bull, so much like it in fact that the hat was usually lucky to +escape with less than half a dozen holes through it. But here in these +knee-breeches and stockings was something much more bizarre and +exasperating than a top hat, from a cowboy's point of view. The effect +on Kit was therefore closely watched by the bystanders. + +No one fancied for a moment that Kit would do less than undertake to +teach the tenderfoot "the cowboy's hornpipe," not a particularly graceful +but a very quick step, which is danced most artistically when a bystander +is shooting at the dancer's toes. Indeed, the ball was expected to open +early. To every one's surprise and disappointment, it did not. Instead, +Kit dropped in behind the tenderfoot and began to follow him about +town--followed him for at least an hour. Every one thought he was +studying up some more unique penalty for the tenderfoot. But they were +wrong, all wrong. + +As a matter of fact. Kit was so far consumed with curiosity that he +forgot everything else, forgot even to be angry. At last, when he could +stand it no longer, he walked up to the tenderfoot, detained him gently +by the sleeve and asked in a tone of real sympathy and concern: "Say, +mistah! 'Fo' God, won't yo' mah let yo' wear long pants?" + +Naturally the tenderfoot's indignation was aroused and expressed, but +Kit's sympathies for a man condemned to such a juvenile costume were so +far stirred that he took no notice of it. + +Kit was a typical cowboy, industrious, faithful, uncomplaining, of the +good old Southern Texas breed. In the saddle from daylight till dark, +riding completely down to the last jump in them two or three horses a +day, it never occurred to him even to growl when a stormy night, with +thunder and lightning, prolonged his customary three-hour's turn at night +guard round the herd to an all-night's vigil. He took it as a matter of +course. And his rope and running iron were ever ready, and his weather +eye alert for a chance to catch and decorate with the X brand any stray +cattle that ventured within his range. This was a peculiar phase of +cowboy character. While not himself profiting a penny by these inroads +on neighboring herds, he was never quite so happy as when he had added +another maverick to the herd bearing his employer's brand, an increase +always obtained at the expense of some of the neighbors. + +One night on the Spring round-up, the day's work finished, supper eaten, +the night horses caught and saddled, the herd in hand driven into a close +circle and bedded down for the night in a little glade in the hills, Kit +was standing first relief. The day's drive had been a heavy one, the +herd was well grazed and watered in the late afternoon, the night was +fine; and so the twelve hundred or fifteen hundred cattle in the herd +were lying down quietly, giving no trouble to the night herders. Kit, +therefore, was jogging slowly round the herd, softly jingling his spurs +and humming some rude love song of the sultry sort cowboys never tire of +repeating. The stillness of the night superinduced reflection. With +naught to interrupt it, Kit's curiosity ran farther afield than usual. + +Recently down at Lordsburg, with the outfit shipping a train load of +beeves, he had seen the Overland Express empty its load of passengers for +supper, a crowd of well-dressed men and women, the latter brilliant with +the bright colors cowboys love and with glittering gems. To-night he got +to thinking about them. + +Wherever did they all come from? How ever did they get so much money? +Surely they must come from 'Frisco. No lesser place could possibly turn +out such magnificence. Then Kit let his fancy wander off into crude +cowboy visions of what 'Frisco might be like, for he had never seen a +city. + +"What a buster of a town 'Frisco must be!" Kit soliloquized. "Must have +more'n a hundred saloons an' more slick gals than the X brand has +heifers. What a lot o' fun a feller could have out thar! Only I reckon +them gals wouldn't look at him more'n about onct unless he was well fixed +for dough. Reckon they don't drink nothin' but wine out thar, nor eat +nothin' but oysters. An' wine an' oysters costs money, oodles o' money! +That's the worst of it! S'pose it'd take more'n a month's pay to git a +feller out thar on the kiars, an' then about three months' pay to git to +stay a week. Reckon that's jes' a little too rich for Kit's blood. But, +jiminy! Wouldn't I like to have a good, big, fat bank roll an' go thar!" + +Here was a crisis suddenly come in Kit's life, although he did not then +realize it. It is entirely improbable he had ever before felt the want +of money. His monthly pay of thirty-five dollars enabled him to sport a +pearl-handled six-shooter and silver-mounted bridle bit and spurs, kept +him well clothed, and gave him an occasional spree in town. What more +could any reasonable cowboy ask? + +But to-night the very elements and all nature were against him. Even a +light dash of rain to rouse the sleeping herd, or a hungry cow straying +out into the darkness, would have been sufficient to divert and probably +save him; but nothing happened. The night continued fine. The herd +slept on. And Kit was thus left an easy prey, since covetousness had +come to aid curiosity in compassing his ruin. + +"A bank roll! A big, fat, full-grown, long-horned, four-year-old roll! +_That's_ what a feller wants to do 'Frisco right. Nothin' less. But +whar's it comin' from, an' when? S'pose I brands a few mavericks an' +gits a start on my own? No use, Kit; that's too slow! Time you got a +proper roll you'd be so old the skeeters wouldn't even bite you, to say +nothin' of a gal a-kissin' of you. 'Pears like you ain't liable to git +thar very quick, Kit, 'less you rustles mighty peart somewhar. Talkin' +of rustlin', what's the matter with that anyway?" + +A cold glitter came in Kit's light blue eyes. The muscles of his lean, +square jaws worked nervously. His right hand dropped caressingly on the +handle of his pistol. + +"That's the proper caper, Kit. Why didn't you think of it before? +Rustle, damn you, an', ef you're any good, mebbe so you can git to +'Frisco afore frost comes, or anywhere else you likes. Rustle! By +jiminy, I've got it; I'll jes' stand up that thar Overland Express. Them +fellers what rides on it's got more'n they've got any sort o' use for. +What's the matter with makin' 'em whack up with a feller! 'Course +they'll kick, an' thar'll be a whole passle o' marshals an' sheriffs out +after you, but what o' that? Reckon Old Blue'll carry you out o' range. +He's the longest-winded chunk o' horse meat in these parts. Then you'll +have to stay out strictly on the scout fer a few weeks, till they gits +tired o' huntin' of you, so you can slip out o' this yere neck o' woods +'thout leavin' a trail. + +"An' Lord! but won't it be fun! 'Bout as much fun, I reckon, as doin' +'Frisco. Won't them tenderfeet beller when they hears the guns +a-crackin' an' the boys a-yellin'! Le' see; wonder who I'd better take +along?" + +Scruples? Kit had none. Bred and raised a merry freebooter on the +unbranded spoils of the cattle range, it was no long step from stealing a +maverick to holding up a train. + +With a man of perhaps any other class, a plan to engage in a new business +enterprise of so much greater magnitude than any of those he had been +accustomed to would have been made the subject of long consideration. +Not so with Kit. Cowboy life compels a man to think quickly, and often +to act quicker than he finds it convenient to think. The hand skilled to +catch the one possible instant when the wide, circling loop of the lariat +may be successfully thrown, and the eye and finger trained to accurate +snap-shooting, do not well go with a mind likely to be long in reaching a +resolution or slow to execute one. + +So Kit at once began to cast about for two or three of the right sort of +boys to join him. Three were quickly chosen out of his own and a +neighboring outfit. They were Mitch Lee and Taggart, two white cowboys +of his own type and temper, and George Cleveland, a negro, known as a +desperate fellow, game for anything. It needed no great argument to +secure the co-operation of these men. A mere tip of the lark and the +loot to be had was enough. + +The boys saw their respective bosses. They "allowed they'd lay off for a +few days and go to town." So they were paid off, slung their Winchesters +on their saddles, mounted their favorite horses, and rode away. They met +in Silver City, coming in singly. There they purchased a few provisions. +Then they separated and rode singly out of town, to rendezvous at a +certain point on the Miembres River. + +The point of attack chosen was the little station of Gage (tended by a +lone operator), on the Southern Pacific Railway west of Deming, a point +then reached by the west-bound express at twilight. The evening of the +second day after leaving the Gila, Kit and his three compadres rode into +Gage. One or two significant passes with a six-shooter hypnotized the +station agent into a docile tool. A dim red light glimmered away off in +the east. As the minutes passed, it grew and brightened fast. Then a +faint, confused murmur came singing over the rails to the ears of the +waiting bandits. The light brightened and grew until it looked like a +great dull red sun, and then the thunder of the train was heard. + +Time for action had come! + +The agent was made to signal the engineer to stop. With lever reversed +and air brakes on, the train was nearly stopped when the engine reached +the station. But seeing the agent surrounded by a group of armed men, +the engineer shut off the air and sought to throw his throttle open. His +purpose discovered, a quick snapshot from Mitch Lee laid him dead, and, +springing into the cab, Mitch soon persuaded the fireman to stop the +train. + +Instantly a fusillade of pistol shots and a mad chorus of shrill cowboy +yells broke out, that terrorized train crew and passengers into docility. + +Within fifteen minutes the express car was sacked, the postal car gutted, +the passengers were laid under unwilling contribution, and Kit and his +pals were riding northward into the night, heavily loaded with loot. +Riding at great speed due north, the party soon reached the main +travelled road up the Miembres, in whose loose drifting sands they knew +their trail could not be picked up. Still forcing the pace, they reached +the rough hill-country east of Silver early in the night, _cached_ their +plunder safely, and a little after midnight were carelessly bucking a +monte game in a Silver City saloon. The next afternoon they quietly rode +out of town and joined their respective outfits, to wait until the +excitement should blow over. + +Of course the telegraph soon started the hue and cry. Officers from +Silver, Deming, and Lordsburg were soon on the ground, led by Harvey +Whitehill, the famous old sheriff of Grant County. But of clue there was +none. Naturally the station agent had come safely out of his trance, but +with that absence of memory of what had happened characteristic of the +hypnotized. The trail disappeared in the sands of the Miembres road. +Shrewd old Harvey Whitehill was at his wits' end. + +Many days passed in fruitless search. At last, riding one day across the +plain at some distance from the line of flight north from Gage, Whitehill +found a fragment of a Kansas newspaper. As soon as he saw it he +remembered that a certain merchant of Silver came from the Kansas town +where this paper was published. Hurrying back to Silver, Whitehill saw +the merchant, who identified the paper and said that he undoubtedly was +its only subscriber in Silver. Asked if he had given a copy to any one, +he finally recalled that some time before, about the period of the +robbery, he had wrapped in a piece this newspaper some provisions he had +sold to a negro named Cleveland and a white man he did not know. + +Here was the clue, and Whitehill was quick to follow it. Meeting a negro +on the street, he pretended to want to hire a cook. The negro had a job. +Well, did he not know some one else? By the way, where was George +Cleveland? + +"Oh, boss, he done left de Gila dis week an' gone ober to Socorro," was +the answer. + +Two days later Whitehill found Cleveland in a Socorro restaurant, got the +"drop" on him, told him his pals were arrested and had confessed that +they were in the robbery, but that he, Cleveland, had killed Engineer +Webster. This brought the whole story. + +"'Foh God, boss, I nebber killed dat engineer. Mitch Lee done it, an' +him an' Taggart an' Kit Joy, dey done lied to you outrageous." + +Within a few days, caught singly, in ignorance of Cleveland's arrest, and +taken completely by surprise, Joy, Taggart, and Lee were captured on the +Gila and jailed, along with Cleveland, at Silver City, held to await the +action of the next grand jury. + +But strong walls did not a prison make adequate hold these men. Before +many weeks passed, an escape was planned and executed. Two other +prisoners, one a man wanted in Arizona, and the other a Mexican +horse-thief, were allowed to participate in the outbreak. + +Taken unawares, their guard was seized and bound with little difficulty. +Quickly arming themselves in the jail office, these six desperate men +dashed out of the jail and into a neighboring livery stable, seized +horses, mounted, and rode madly out of town, firing at every one in +sight. In Silver in those days no gentleman's trousers fitted +comfortably without a pistol stuck in the waistband. Therefore, the +flying desperadoes received as hot a fire as they sent. By this fire +Cleveland's horse was killed before they got out of town, but one of his +pals stopped and picked him up. + +Instantly the town was in an uproar of excitement. Every one knew that +the capture of these men meant a fight to the death. As usual in such +emergencies, there were more talkers than fighters. Nevertheless, six +men were in pursuit as soon as they could saddle and mount. The first to +start was the driver of an express wagon, a man named Jackson, who cut +his horse loose from the traces, mounted bareback, and flew out of town +only a few hundred yards behind the prisoners. Six others, led by +Charlie Shannon and La Fer, were not far behind Jackson. The men of this +party were greatly surprised to find that a Boston boy of twenty, a +tenderfoot lately come to town, who had scarcely ever ridden a horse or +fired a rifle, was among their number, well mounted and armed--a man with +a line of ancestry worth while, and himself a worthy survival of the best +of it. + +The chase was hot. Jackson was well in advance, engaging the fugitives +with his pistol, while the fugitives were returning the fire and throwing +up puffs of dust all about Jackson. Behind spurred Shannon and his party. + +At length the pursuit gained. Five miles out of Silver, in the Pinon +Hills to the northwest, too close pressed to run farther, the fugitives +sprang from their horses and ran into a low post oak thicket covering +about two acres, where, crouching, they could not be seen. The six +pursuers sent back a man to guide the sheriff's party and hasten +reinforcements, and began shelling the thicket and surrounding it. A few +minutes later Whitehill rode up with seven more men, and the thicket was +effectually surrounded. To the surprise of every one, a hot fire poured +into the thicket failed to bring a single answering shot. Whitehill was +no man to waste ammunition on such chance firing, so he ordered a charge. +His little command rode into and through the thicket at full speed, only +to find their quarry gone, gone all save one. The Mexican lay dead, shot +through the head! Kit's party had dashed through the thicket without +stopping, on to another, and their trail was shortly found leading up a +rugged canon of the Pinos Altos Range. + +Whitehill divided his party. Three men followed up the bottom of the +canon on foot, five mounted flankers were thrown out on either side. At +last, high up the canon, Kit's party was found at bay, lying in some +thick underbrush. It was a desperate position to attack, but the +pursuers did not hesitate. Dismounting, they advanced on foot with +rifles cocked, but with all the caution of a hunter trailing a wounded +grizzly. The negro opened the ball at barely twenty yards' range with a +shot that drove a hole through the Boston boy's hat. Dropping at first +with surprise, for he had not seen the negro till the instant he rose to +fire, the Boston boy returned a quick shot that happened to hit the negro +just above the centre of the forehead and rolled him over dead. + +Approaching from another direction, Shannon was first to draw Taggart's +file. Taggart was lying hidden in the brush; Shannon standing out in the +open. Shot after shot they exchanged, until presently a ball struck the +earth in front of Taggart's face and filled his eyes full of gravel and +sand. Blinded for the time, he called for quarter, and came out of the +brush with his hands up and another man with him. Asked for his pistol, +Taggart replied: + +"Damn you, that's empty, or I'd be shooting yet." + +Meantime, Whitehill was engaging Mitch Lee. In a few minutes, shot +through and helpless, Lee surrendered. + +It was quick, hot work! + +All but Kit were now killed or captured. He had been separated from his +party, and La Fer was seen trailing him on a neighboring hillside. + +At this juncture the sheriff detailed Shannon to return to town and get a +wagon to bring in the dead and wounded, while he started to join La Fer +in pursuit of Kit. + +An hour later, as Shannon was leaving town with a wagon to return to the +scene of the fight, a mob of men, led by a shyster lawyer, joined him and +swore they proposed to lynch the prisoners. This was too much for +Shannon's sense of frontier proprieties. So, rising in his wagon, he +made a brief but effective speech. + +"Boys, none of our men are hurt, although it is no fault of our +prisoners. A dozen of us have gone out and risked our lives to capture +these men. You men have not seen fit, for what motives we will not +discuss, to help us. Now, I tell you right here that any who want can +come, but the first man to raise a hand against a prisoner I'll kill." + +Shannon's return escort was small. + +But once more back in the hills of the Pinos Altos, Shannon found a storm +raised he could not quell, even if his own sympathies had not drifted +with it when he learned its cause. His friend La Fer lay dead, filled +full of buckshot by Kit before Whitehill's reinforcements had reached +him, while Kit had slipped away through the underbrush, over rocks that +left no trail. + +La Fer's death maddened his friends. There was little discussion. Only +one opinion prevailed. Taggart and Lee must die. + +Nothing was known of the prisoner wanted in Arizona, so he was spared. + +Taggart and Lee were put in the wagon, the former tightly bound, the +latter helpless from his wound. Short rope halters barely five feet long +were stripped from the horses, knotted round the prisoners' necks, and +fastened to the limb of a juniper tree. Taggart climbed to the high +wagon seat, took a header and broke his neck. The wagon was then pulled +away and Lee strangled. + +With Cleveland, Lee, and Taggart dead, Engineer Webster and La Fer were +fairly well avenged. But Kit was still out, known as the leader and the +man who shot La Fer, and for days the hills were full of men hunting him. +Hiding in the rugged, thickly timbered hills of the Gila, taking needed +food at night, at the muzzle of his gun, from some isolated ranch, he was +hard to capture. + +Had Kit chosen to mount himself and ride out of the country, he might +have escaped for good. But this he would not do. Dominated still by the +fatal curiosity and covetousness that first possessed him, later mastered +him, and then drove him into crime, bound to repossess himself of his +hidden treasure and go out to see the world, Kit would not leave the +Gila. He was alone, unaided, with no man left his friend, with all men +on the alert to capture or to kill him, the unequal contest nevertheless +lasted for many weeks. + +There was only one man Kit at all trusted, a "nester" (small ranchman) +named Racketty Smith. One day, looking out from a leafy thicket in which +he lay hid, saw Racketty going along the road. A lonely outcast, craving +the sound of a human voice, believing Racketty at least neutral, Kit +hailed him and approached. As he drew near, Racketty covered him with +his rifle and ordered him to surrender. Surprised, taken entirely +unawares, Kit started to jump for cover, when Racketty fired, shattered +his right leg and brought him to earth. To spring upon and disarm Kit +was the work of an instant. + +Kit was sentenced to imprisonment at Santa Fe. A few years ago, having +gained three years by good behavior, Kit was released, after having +served fourteen years. + +However Kit may still hanker for "a big, fat, four-year-old, long-horned +bank roll," and whatever may be his curiosity to "do 'Frisco proper," it +is not likely he will make any more history as a train robber, for at +heart Kit was always a better "good man" than "bad man." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +CIRCUS DAY AT MANCOS + +Cowboys were seldom respecters of the feelings of their fellows. Few +topics were so sacred or incidents so grave they were not made the +subject of the rawest jests. Leading a life of such stirring adventure +that few days passed without some more or less serious mishap, reckless +of life, unheedful alike of time and eternity, they made the smallest +trifles and the biggest tragedies the subjects of chaff and badinage +till the next diverting occurrence. But to the Cross Canon outfit Mat +Barlow's love for Netty Nevins was so obviously a downright worship, an +all-absorbing, dominating cult, that, in a way, and all unknown to her, +she became the nearest thing to a religion the Cross Canonites ever had. + +Eight years before Mat had come among them a green tenderfoot from a +South Missouri village, picked up in Durango by Tom McTigh, the +foreman, on a glint of the eye and set of the jaw that suggested +workable material. Nor was McTigh mistaken. Mat took to range work +like a duck to water. Within a year he could rope and tie a mossback +with the best, and in scraps with Mancos Jim's Pah-Ute horse raiders +had proved himself as careless a dare-devil as the oldest and toughest +trigger-twitcher of the lot. + +But persuade and cajole as much as they liked, none of the outfit were +ever able to induce Mat to pursue his education as a cowboy beyond the +details incident to work and frolic on the open range. Old +past-masters in the classics of cowboy town deportment, expert light +shooters, monte players, dance-hall beaux, elbow-crookers, and red-eye +riot-starters labored faithfully with Mat, but, all to no purpose. To +town with them he went, but with them in their debauches he never +joined; indeed as a rule he even refused to discuss such incidents with +them academically. Thus he delicately but plainly made it known to the +outfit that he proposed to keep his mind as clean as his conduct. + +Such a curiosity as Mat was naturally closely studied. The combined +intelligence of the outfit was trained upon him, for some time without +result. He was the knottiest puzzle that ever hit Cross Canon. At +first he was suspected of religious scruples and nicknamed "Circuit +Rider." But presently it became apparent that he owned ability and +will to curse a fighting outlaw bronco till the burning desert air felt +chill, and it became plain he feared God as little as man. Mat had +joined the outfit in the Autumn, when for several weeks it was on the +jump; first gathering and shipping beeves, then branding calves, lastly +moving the herd down to its Winter range on the San Juan. Throughout +this period Cross Canon's puzzle remained hopeless; but the very first +evening after the outfit went into Winter quarters at the home ranch, +the puzzle was solved. + +Ranch mails were always small, no matter how infrequent their coming or +how large the outfit. The owner's business involved little +correspondence, the boys' sentiments inspired less. Few with close +home-ties exiled themselves on the range. Many were "on the scout" +from the scene of some remote shooting scrape and known by no other +than a nickname. For most of them such was the rarity of letters that +often have I seen a cowboy turning and studying an unopened envelope +for a half-day or more, wondering whoever it was from and guessing +whatever its contents could be. Thus it was one of the great +sensations of the season for McTigh and his red-sashers, when the ranch +cook produced five letters for Circuit Rider, all addressed in the same +neat feminine hand, all bearing the same post mark. And when, while +the rest were washing for supper, disposing of war sacks, or "making +down" blankets, Mat squatted in the chimney corner to read his letters, +Lee Skeats impressively whispered to Priest: + +"Ben, I jest nachally hope never to cock another gun ef that thar +little ol' Circuit hain't got a gal that's stuck to him tighter'n a +tick makin' a gotch ear, or that ain't got airy damn thing to do to hum +but write letters. Size o' them five he's got must 'a kept her settin' +up nights to make 'em ever since Circuit jumped the hum reservation. +Did you _ever_ hear of a feller gettin' five letters from a gal to +wonst?" + +"I shore never did," answered Ben; "Circuit must 'a been 'prentice to +some big Medicine Man back among his tribe and have a bagful o' hoodoos +hid out somewhere. He ain't so damn hijus to look at, but he shore +never knocked no gal plum loco that away with his p'rsn'l beauty. Must +be some sort o' Injun medicine he works." + +"Ca'n't be from his mother," cogitated Lee. "Writin' ain't trembly +none--looks like it was writ by a school-marm, an' a lally-cooler at +that. Circuit will have to git one o' them pianer-like writin' makers +and keep poundin' it on the back till it hollers, ef he allows to lope +close up in that gal's writin' class. + +"Lord! but won't thar be fun for us all Winter he'pin' him 'tend to his +correspondence! + +"Let's you an' me slip round and tip off the outfit to shet up till +after supper, an' then all be ready with a hot line o' useful hints +'bout his answerin' her." + +Ben joyously fell in with Lee's plan. The tips were quickly passed +round. But none of the hints were ever given, not a single one. A +facer lay ahead of them beside which the mere receipt of the five +letters was nothing. To be sure, the letters were the greatest +sensation the outfit had enjoyed since they stood off successfully two +troops of U. S. Cavalry, come to arrest them for killing twenty +maurauding Utes. But what soon followed filled them with an +astonishment that stilled their mischievous tongues, stirred sentiments +long dormant, and ultimately, in a measure, tuned their own +heart-strings into chord with the sweet melody ringing over Circuit's +own. + +Supper was called, and upon it the outfit fell--all but Circuit. They +attacked it wolf-fashion according to their habit, bolting the steaming +food in a silence absolute but for the crunching of jaws and the shrill +hiss of sipped coffee. The meal was half over before Circuit, the last +letter finished, tucked his five treasures inside his shirt, stepped +over the bench to a vacant place at the table, and hastily swallowed a +light meal; in fact he rose while the rest were still busy gorging +themselves. And before Lee or the others were ready to launch at +Circuit any shafts of their rude wit, his manoeuvres struck them dumb +with curiosity. + +Having hurried from the table direct to his bunk, Circuit was observed +delving in the depths of his war sack, out of which he produced a set +of clean under-clothing, complete from shirt to socks, and a razor. +Besides these he carefully laid out his best suit of store clothes, and +from beneath the "heading" of the bunk he pulled a new pair of boots. +All this was done with a rapidity and method that evinced some set +purpose which the outfit could not fathom, a purpose become the more +puzzling when, five minutes later, Circuit returned from the kitchen +bearing the cook's wash-tub and a pail of warm water. The tub he +deposited and filled in an obscure corner of the bunkroom, and shortly +thereafter was stripped to the buff, laboriously bathing himself. The +bath finished, Circuit carefully shaved, combed his hair, and dressed +himself in his cleanest and best. + +While he was dressing, Bill Ball caught breath enough to whisper to +Lee: "By cripes! I've got it. Circuit's got a hunch some feller's +tryin' to rope an' hobble his gal, an' he's goin' to ask Tom for his +time, fork a cayuse, an' hit a lope for a railroad that'll take him to +whatever little ol' humanyville his gal lives at." + +"Lope hell," answered Lee; "it's a run he's goin' to hit, with one spur +in the shoulder an' th' other in th' flank. Why, th' way he's throwin' +that whisker-cutter at his face, he's plumb shore to dewlap and wattle +his fool self till you could spot him in airy herd o' humans as fer as +you could see him." + +But Bill's guess proved wide of the mark. + +As soon as Circuit's dressing was finished and he had received +assurance from the angular fragment of mirror nailed above the +wash-basin that his hair was smoothly combed and a new neckerchief +neatly knotted, he produced paper and an envelope from his war sack, +seated himself at the end of the long dinner-table, farthest from the +fireplace, lighted a fresh candle, spread out his five treasures, +carefully sharpened a stub pencil, and duly set its lead end a-soak in +his mouth, preparatory to the composition of a letter. The surprise +was complete. Such painstaking preparation and elaborate costuming for +the mere writing of a letter none present--or absent, for that +matter--had ever heard of. But it was all so obviously eloquent of a +most tender respect for his correspondent that boisterous voices were +hushed, and for at least a quarter of an hour the Cross Canonites sat +covertly watching the puckered brows, drawn mouth, and awkwardly +crawling pencil of the writer. + +Presently Lee gently nudged Ball and passed a wink to the rest; then +all rose and softly tiptoed their way to the kitchen. + +Comfortably squatted on his heels before the cook's fireplace, Lee +quietly observed: "Fellers, I allow it's up to us to hold a inquest on +th' remains o' my idee about stringin' Circuit over that thar gal o' +his'n. I moves that th' idee's done died a-bornin', an' that we bury +her. All that agrees, say so; any agin it, say so, 'n' then git their +guns an' come outside." + +There were no dissenting votes. Lee's motion was unanimously carried. + +"Lee's plumb right," whispered McTigh; "that kid's got it harder an' +worse than airy feller I ever heerd tell of, too hard for us to lite in +stringin' him 'bout it. Never had no gal myself; leastways, no good +one; been allus like a old buffalo bull whipped out o' th' herd, sorta +flockin' by my lonesome, an'--an'--" with a husky catch of the voice, +"an' that thar kid 'minds me I must a' been missin' a _hell_ of a lot +hit 'pears to me I wouldn't have no great trouble gittin' to like." + +Then for a time there was silence in the kitchen. + +Crouching over his pots, the black cook stared in surprised inquiry at +the semicircle of grim bronzed faces, now dimly lit by the flickering +embers and then for a moment sharply outlined by the flash of a +cigarette deeply inhaled by nervous lips. The situation was tense. In +each man emotions long dormant, or perhaps by some never before +experienced, were tumultuously surging; surging the more tumultuously +for their long dormancy or first recognition. Presently in a low, +hoarse voice that scarcely carried round the semicircle, Chillili Jim +spoke: + +"Fellers, Circuit shore 'minds me pow'ful strong o' my ol' mammy. She +was monstrous lovin' to we-uns; an' th' way she scrubbed an' fixed up +my ol' pa when he comes home from the break-up o' Terry's Rangers, with +his ol' carcass 'bout as full o' rents an' holes as his ragged gray war +clothes! Allus have tho't ef I could git to find a gal stuck on me +like mammy on pa, I'd drop my rope on her, throw her into th' home +ranch pasture, an' nail up th' gate fer keeps." + +"'Minds me o' goin' to meetin' when I was a six-year-old," mused Mancos +Mitch; "when Circuit's pencil got to smokin' over th' paper an' we-uns +got so dedburned still, 'peared to me like I was back in th' little ol' +meetin'-house in th' mosquito clearin', on th' banks o' th' Lee in ol' +Uvalde County. Th' air got that quar sort o' dead smell 'ligion allus +'pears to give to meetin'-houses, a' I could hear th' ol' pa'son +a-tellin' us how it's th' lovinest that allus gits th' longest end o' +th' rope o' life. Hits me now that ther ol' sky scout was 'bout right. +Feller cain't possibly keep busy _all_ th' love in his system, workin' +it off on nothing but a pet hoss or gun; thar's allus a hell of a lot +you didn't know you had comes oozin' out when a proper piece o' calico +lets you next." + +"Boys," cut in Bill Ball, the dean of the outfit's shooters-up of town +and shooters-out of dance-hall lights; "boys, I allow it 's up to me to +'pologize to Circuit. Ef I wasn't such a damned o'nery kiyote I'd o' +caught on befo'. But I hain't been runnin' with th' drags o' th' she +herd so long that I can't 'preciate th' feelin's o' a feller that's got +a good gal stuck on him, like Circuit. Ef I had one, you-all kin +gamble yer _alce_ all bets would be off with them painted dance-hall +beer jerkers, an' it would be out in th' brush fo' me while th' corks +was poppin', gals cussin', red-eye flowin', an' chips rattlin'. That +thar little ol' kid has my 'spects, an' ef airy o' th' Blue Mountain +outfit tries to string him 'bout not runnin' with them oreide +propositions, I'll hand 'em lead till my belt's empty." + +Ensued a long silence; at length, by common consent the inquest was +adjourned, and the members of the jury returned to the bunk-room, quiet +and solemn as men entering a death chamber. There at the table before +the guttering candle still sat Circuit, his hair now badly tousled, his +upper lip blackened with pencil lead, his brows more deeply puckered, +his entire underlip apparently swallowed, the table littered with +rudely scrawled sheets. + +Slipping softly to their respective bunks, the boys peeled and climbed +into their blankets. And there they all lay, wide-awake but silent, +for an hour or two, some watching Circuit curiously, some enviously, +others staring fixedly into the dying fire until from its dull-glowing +embers there rose for some visions of bare-footed, nut-brown, +fustian-clad maids, and for others the finer lines of silk and lace +draped figures, now long since passed forever out of their lives. +Those longest awake were privileged to witness Circuit's final offering +at the shrine of his love. + +His letter finished, enclosed, addressed, and stamped, he kissed it and +laid it aside, apparently all unconscious of the presence of his mates, +as he had been since beginning his letter. Then he drew from beneath +his shirt something none of them had seen before, a buckskin bag, out +of which he pulled a fat blank memorandum book, _into which he +proceeded to copy, in as small a hand as he could write, every line of +his sweetheart's letters_. Later they learned that this bag and its +contents never left Circuit's body, nestled always over his heart, +suspended by a buckskin thong! + +Out of the close intimacies cow-camp life promotes, it was not long +before the well-nigh overmastering curiosity of the outfit was +satisfied. They learned how the "little ol' blue-eyed sorrel top," as +Bill Ball had christened her, had vowed to wait faithfully till Circuit +could earn and save enough to make them a home, and how Circuit had +sworn to look into no woman's eyes till he could again look into hers. +Before many months had passed, Circuit's regular weekly letter to +Netty--regular when on the ranch--and the ceremonial purification and +personal decking that preceded it, had become for the Cross Canon +outfit a public ceremony all studiously observed. None were ever too +tired, none too grumpy, to wash, shave, and "slick up" of letter +nights, scrupulously as Moslems bathe their feet before approaching the +shrine of Mahomet and still as Moslems before their shrine all sat +about the bunk-room while Circuit wrote his letter and copied Netty's +last. Indeed, more than one well-started wild town orgy was stopped +short by one of the boys remarking: "Cut it, you kiyotes! Netty +wouldn't like it!" + +And thus the months rolled on till they stacked up into years, but the +interchange of letters never ceased and the burden of Circuit's +buckskin bag grew heavier. + +Twice Circuit ventured a financial _coup_, and both times +lost--invested his savings in horses, losing one band to Arizona +rustlers, and the other to Mancos Jim's Pah-Utes. After the last +experience he took no further chances and settled down to the slow but +sure plan of hoarding his wages. + +Come the Fall of the eighth year of his exile from Netty, Circuit had +accumulated two thousand dollars, and it was unanimously voted by the +Cross Canon outfit, gathered in solemn conclave at Circuit's request, +that he might venture to return to claim her. And before the conclave +was adjourned, Lee Skeats, the chairman, remarked: "Circuit, ef Netty +shows airy sign o' balkin' at th' size o' your bank roll, you kin jes' +tell her that thar 's a bunch out here in Cross Canon that's been +lovin' her sort o' by proxy, that'll chip into your matrimonial play, +plumb double the size o' your stack, jest fo' th' hono' o' meetin' up +wi' her an' th' pleasure o' seein' their pardner hitched." + +The season's work done and the herd turned loose on its Winter range on +the San Juan, the outfit decided to escort Circuit into Mancos and +there celebrate his coming nuptials. For them the one hundred and +seventy intervening miles of alternating canon and mesa, much of the +journey over trails deadly dangerous for any creature less sure-footed +than a goat, was no more than a pleasant _pasear_. Thus it was barely +high noon of the third day when the thirty Cross Canonites reached +their destination. + +Deep down in a mighty gorge, nestled beside the stream that gave its +name alike to canon and to town, Mancos stewed contentedly in a +temperature that would try the strength and temper of any unaccustomed +to the climate of southwestern Colorado. Framed in Franciscan-gray +sage brush, itself gray as the sage with the dust of pounding hoofs and +rushing whirlwinds, at a little distance Mancos looked like an +aggregation of dead ash heaps, save where, here and there, dabs of +faded paint lent a semblance of patches of dying embers. + +While raw, uninviting, and even melancholy in its every aspect, for the +scattered denizens of a vast region round about Mancos's principal +street was the local Great White Way that furnished all the fun and +frolic most of them ever knew. To it flocked miners from their dusky, +pine-clad gorges in the north, grangers from the then new farming +settlement in the Montezuma Valley, cowboys from Blue Mountain, the +Dolores, and the San Juan; Navajos from Chillili, Utes from their +reservation--a motley lot burning with untamed elemental passions that +called for pleasure "straight." + +Joyously descending upon the town at a breakneck lope before a +following high wind that completely shrouded them in clouds of dust, it +was not until they pulled up before their favorite feed corral that the +outfit learned that Mancos was revelling in quite the reddest +red-letter day of its existence, the day of its first visitation by a +circus--and also its last for many a year thereafter. + +In the eighties Mancos was forty miles from the nearest railway, but +news of the reckless extravagances of its visiting miners and cowboys +tempted Fells Brothers' "Greatest Aggregation on Earth of Ring Artists +and Monsters" to visit it. Dusted and costumed outside of town, down +the main street of Mancos the circus bravely paraded that morning, its +red enamelled paint and gilt, its many-tinted tights and spangles, +making a perfect riot of brilliant colors over the prevailing dull gray +of valley and town. + +Streets, stores, saloons, and dance halls were swarming with the +outpouring of the ranches and the mines, men who drank abundantly but +in the main a rollicking, good-natured lot. + +While the Cross Canonites were liquoring at the Fashion Bar (Circuit +drinking sarsaparilla), Lame Johny, the barkeeper, remarked: "You-uns +missed it a lot, not seein' the pr'cesh. She were a ring-tailed tooter +for fair, with the damnedest biggest noise-makin' band you ever heard, +an' th' p'rformers wearin' more pr'tys than I ever allowed was made. +An' say, they've got a gal in th' bunch, rider I reckon, that's jest +that damned good to look at it _hurts_. Damned ef I kin git her outen +my eyes yet. Say, she's shore prittier than airy red wagon in th' show +built like a quarter horse, got eyes like a doe, and a sorrel mane she +could hide in. She 's sure a _chile con carne_ proposition, if I ever +see one." + +"Huh!" grunted Lee; "may be a good-looker, but I'll gamble she ain't in +it with our Sorrel-top; hey, boys? Here 's to _our_ Sorrel-top, +fellers, an' th' day Circuit prances into Mancos wi' her." + +Several who tried to drink and cheer at the same time lost much of +their liquor, but none of their enthusiasm. After dinner at +Charpiot's, a wretched counterfeit of the splendid old Denver +restaurant of that name, the Cross Canonites joined the throng +streaming toward the circus. + +For his sobriety designated treasurer of the outfit for the day and +night, Circuit marched up to the ticket wagon, passed in a hundred +dollar bill and asked for thirty tickets. The tickets and change were +promptly handed him. On the first count the change appeared to be +correct, but on a recount Circuit found the ticket-seller had cunningly +folded one twenty double, so that it appeared as two bills instead of +one. Turning immediately to the ticket-seller, Circuit showed the +deception and demanded correction. + +"Change was right; you can't dope and roll me; gwan!" growled the +ticket-agent. + +"But it's plumb wrong, an' you can't rob me none, you kiyote," answered +Circuit; "hand out another twenty, and do it sudden!" + +"Chase yourself to hell, you bow-legged hold-up," threatened the +ticket-seller. + +When, a moment later, the ticket man plunged out of the door of his +wagon wildly yelling for his clan, it was with eyes flooding with blood +from a gash in his forehead due to a resentful tap from the barrel of +Circuit's gun. + +Almost in an instant pandemonium reigned and a massacre was imminent. +Stalwart canvasmen rushed to their chief's call till Circuit's bunch +were outnumbered three to one by tough trained battlers on many a +tented field, armed with hand weapons of all sorts. Victors these men +usually were over the town roughs it was customarily theirs to handle; +but here before them was a bunch not to be trifled with, a quiet group +of thirty bronzed faces, some grinning with the anticipated joy of the +combat they loved, some grim as death itself, each affectionately +twirling a gleaming gun. One overt act on the part of the circus men, +and down they would go like ninepins and they knew it--knew it so well +that, within two minutes after they had assembled, all dodged into and +lost themselves in the throng of onlookers like rabbits darting into +their warrens. + +"Mighty pore 'pology for real men, them elephant-busters," disgustedly +observed Bill Ball. "Come fellers, le's go in." + +"Nix for me," spoke up Circuit; "I'm that hot in the collar over him +tryin' to rob me I've got no use for their old show. You-all go in, +an' I'll go down to Chapps' and fix my traps to hit the trail for the +railroad in the mornin'." + +On the crest of a jutting bastion of the lofty escarpment that formed +the west wall of the canon, the sun lingered for a good-night kiss of +the eastern cliffs which it loved to paint every evening with all the +brilliant colors of the spectrum; it lingered over loving memories of +ancient days when every niche of the Mancos cliffs held its little +bronze-hued line of primitive worshippers, old and young, devout, +prostrate, fearful of their Red God's nightly absences, suppliant of +his return and continued largess; over memories of ceremonials and +pastimes barbaric in their elemental violence, but none more +primitively savage than the new moon looked down upon an hour later. + +Supper over, on motion of Lee Skeats the Cross Canonites had adjourned +to the feed corral and gone into executive session. + +Lee called the meeting to order. + +"Fellers," he said, "that dod-burned show makes my back tired. A few +geezers an' gals flipfloopin' in swings an' a bunch o' dead ones on ol' +broad-backed work hosses that calls theirselves riders! Shucks! thar +hain't one o' th' lot could sit a real twister long enough to git his +seat warm; about th' second jump would have 'em clawin' sand. + +"Only thing in their hull circus wo'th lookin' at is that red-maned +gal, an' she looks that sweet an' innercent she don't 'pear to rightly +belong in that thar bare-legged bunch o' she dido-cutters. They-all +must 'a mavericked her recent. Looks like a pr'ty ripe red apple among +a lot o' rotten ones. + +"Hated like hell to see her thar, specially with next to nothin' on, +fer somehow I couldn't help her 'mindin' me o' our Sorrel-top. Reckon +ef we busted up their damn show, that gal'd git to stay a while in a +decent woman's sort o' clothes. What say, shall we bust her!" + +"Fer one, I sits in an' draw cards in your play cheerful," promptly +responded Bill Ball; "kind o' hurt me too to see Reddy thar. An' then +them animiles hain't gittin' no squar' deal. Never did believe in +cagin' animiles more'n men. Ef they need it bad, kill 'em; ef they +don't, give 'em a run fo' their money, way ol' Mahster meant 'em to +have when He made 'em. Let's all saddle up, ride down thar, tie onto +their tents, an' pull 'em down, an' then bust open them cages an' give +every dod-blamed animile th' liberty I allows he loves same as humans! +An' then, jest to make sure she's a good job, le's whoop all their +hosses ove' to th' Dolores an' scatter 'em through th' pinons!" + +This motion was unanimously carried, even Circuit cheerfully +consenting, from memories of the outrage attempted upon him earlier in +the day. Ten minutes later the outfit charged down upon the circus at +top speed, arriving among the first comers for the evening performance. +Flaming oil torches lit the scene, making it bright almost as day. + +By united action, thirty lariats were quickly looped round guy ropes +and snubbed to saddle horns, and then, incited by simultaneous spur +digs and yells, thirty fractious broncos bounded away from the tent, +fetching it down in sheets and ribbons, ropes popping like pistols, the +rent canvas shrieking like a creature in pain, startled animals +threshing about their cages and crying their alarm. Cowboys were never +slow at anything they undertook. In three minutes more the side shows +were tentless, the dwarfs trying to swarm up the giant's sturdy legs to +safety or to hide among the adipose wrinkles of the fat lady, and the +outfit tackled the cages. + +In another three minutes the elephant, with a sociable shot through his +off ear to make sure he should not tarry, was thundering down Mancos's +main street, trumpeting at every jump, followed by the lion, the great +tuft of hair at the end of his tail converted, by a happy thought of +Lee Skeats, into a brightly blazing torch that, so long as the fuel +lasted, lighted the shortest cut to freedom for his escaping mates--for +the lion hit as close a bee-line as possible trying to outrun his own +tail. For the outfit, it was the lark of their lives. Crashing pistol +shots and ringing yells bore practical testimony to their joy. But +they were not to have it entirely their own way. + +Just as they were all balled up before the rhinoceros, staggered a bit +by his great bulk and threatening horn, out upon them charged a body of +canvasmen, all the manager could contrive to rally, for a desperate +effort to stop the damage and avenge the outrage. In their lead ran +the ticket seller, armed with a pistol and keen for evening up things +with the man who had hit him, dashing straight for Circuit. Circuit +did not see him, but Lee did; and thus in the very instant Circuit +staggered and dropped to the crack of his pistol, down beside Circuit +pitched the ticket man with a ball through his head. Then for two +minutes, perhaps, a hell of fierce hand-to-hand battle raged, cowboy +skulls crunching beneath fierce blows, circus men falling like autumn +leaves before the cowboys' fire. And so the fight might have lasted +till all were down but for a startling diversion. + +Suddenly, just as Circuit had struggled to his feet, out from among the +wrecked wagons sprang a dainty figure in tulle and tights, masses of +hair red as the blood of the battlers streaming in waves behind her, +and fired at the nearest of the common enemy, which happened to be poor +Circuit. Swaying for a moment with the shock of the wound, down to the +ground he settled like an empty sack, falling across the legs of the +ticket-seller. + +Startled and shocked, it seemed, by the consequences of her deed, the +woman approached and for a moment gazed down, horror-stricken, into +Circuit's face. Then suddenly, with a shriek of agony, she dropped +beside him, drew his head into her lap, wiped the gathering foam from +his lips, fondled and kissed him. Ripping his shirt open at the neck +to find his wound, she uncovered Circuit's buckskin bag and memorandum +book, showing through its centre the track of a bullet that had finally +spent itself in fracturing a rib over Circuit's heart, the +ticket-seller's shot, that would have killed him instantly but for the +shielding bulk Netty's treasured letters interposed. Moved, perhaps, +by some subtle instinctive suspicion of its contents, she glanced +within the book, started to remove it from Circuit's neck, and then +gently laid it back above the heart it so long had lain next and so +lately had shielded. + +Meantime about this little group gathered such of the Cross Canonites +as were still upon their legs, while, glad of the diversion, their +enemies hurriedly withdrew; round about the outfit stood, their fingers +still clutching smoking guns, but pale and sobered. + +Circuit lay with eyes closed, feebly gasping for breath, and just as +the girl's nervous fingers further rent his shirt and exposed the +mortal wound through the right lung made by her own tiny pistol, +Circuit half rose on one elbow and whispered: "Boys, write--write Netty +I was tryin' to git to her." + +And then he fell back and lay still. + +For five minutes, perhaps, the girl crouched silent over the body, +gazing wide-eyed into the dead face, stunned, every faculty paralyzed. + +Presently Lee softly spoke: + +"Sis, if, as I allows, you're Netty, you shore did Mat a good turn +killin' him 'fore he saw you. Would 'a hurt him pow'ful to see you in +this bunch; hurts us 'bout enough, I reckon." + +Roused from contemplation of her deed, the girl rose to her knees, +still clinging to Circuit's stiffening fingers, and sobbingly murmured, +in a voice so low the awed group had to bend to hear her: + +"Yes, I'm Netty, and every day while I live I shall thank God Mat never +knew. This is my husband lying dead beneath Mat. They made me do +it--my family--nagged me to marry Tom, then a rich horse-breeder of our +county, till home was such a hell I couldn't stand it. It was four +long years ago, and never since have I had the heart to own to Mat the +truth. His letters were my greatest joy, and they breathed a love I +little have deserved. + +"Reckon that's dead right, Netty," broke in Bill Ball; "hain't a bit +shore myself airy critter that ever stood up in petticoats deserved a +love big as Circuit's. Excuse _us_, please." + +And at a sign from Bill, six bent and gently lifted the body and bore +it away into the town. + + +In the twilight of an Autumn day that happened to be the twenty-second +anniversary of Circuit's death, two grizzled old ranchmen, ambling +slowly out of Mancos along the Dolores trail, rode softly up to a +corner of the burying ground and stopped. There within, hard by, a +woman, bent and gnarled and gray as the sage-brush about her, was +tenderly decking a grave with pinon wreaths. + +"Hope to never cock another gun, Bill Ball, ef she ain't thar ag'in!" + +"She shore is, Lee," answered Bill; "provin' we-all mislaid no bets +reconsiderin', an' stakin' Sorrel-top to a little ranch and brand." + +Thus, happily, does time sweeten the bitterest memories. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +ACROSS THE BORDER + +Yes, there he was, just ahead of me on the platform of the Union Depot +in Kansas City, my partner, James Terry Gardiner, who had wired me to +meet him there a few weeks after I had closed the sale of our Deadman +Ranch, in November, 1882. While his back was turned to me, there was +no mistaking the lean but sturdy figure and alert step. + +From the vigorous slap of cordiality I gave him on his shoulder, he +winced and shrank, crying: "Oh, please don't, old man. Been sleeping +in Mexican northers for a fortnight, and it's got my shoulder muscles +tied in rheumatic knots. Don Nemecio Garcia started me off from +Lampadasos with the assurance that my ambulance was generously +provisioned and provided with his own camp-bed, but when night of the +first day's journey came, I found the food limited to _tortillas, +chorisos_, and coffee, and the bed a sheepskin--no more. Stupid of an +old campaigner not to investigate his equipment before starting, was it +not?" + +"Worse than that, I should say--sheer madness," I answered. "How did +it happen?" + +"Well, you see, Don Nemecio is the _Alcalde_, of his city, and he +showered me with such grandiloquent Spanish phrases of concern for my +comfort that I fancied he had outfitted me in extraordinary luxury. + +"But that's over now, thank goodness. And now to business. + +"In the north of the State of Coahuila, one hundred miles west of the +Rio Grande border, lies the little town called Villa de Musquiz. To +the north and west of it for two hundred miles stretches the great +plain the natives call _El Desierto_, known on the map as _Bolson de +Mapini_, the resort of none but bandits, smuggler Lipans, and +Mescaleros. Into it the natives never venture, and little of it is +known except the scant information brought back by the scouting cavalry +details. + +"Just south of the town lie the Cedral Coal Mines I have been +examining--but that is neither here nor there. What I want to know is, +are you game for a new ranch deal?" + +When I nodded an affirmative, he continued: + +"Well, immediately north of the town lies a tract of 250,000 acres in +the fork of the Rio Sabinas and the Rio Alamo, which is the greatest +ranch bargain I ever saw. Heavily grassed, abundantly watered by its +two boundary streams, the valleys thickly timbered with cottonwood, the +plains dotted with mesquite and live oak, in a perfect climate, it is +an ideal breeding range. And it can be bought, for what, do you think? +Fifty thousand Mexican dollars [29,000 gold] for a quarter of a million +acres! Go bag it, and together we'll stock it. + +"Of course you'll run some rather heavy risks--else the place would not +be going so cheap--but no more than you have been taking the last five +years in the Sioux country. A little bunch of Lipans are constantly on +the warpath, Mescalero raiding parties drop in occasionally, and the +bandits seem to need a good many _prestamos_; but all that you have +been up against. Better take a pretty strong party, for the +authorities thought it necessary to give me a cavalry escort from +Lampasos to Musquiz and back. And, by the way, pick up a boy named +George E. Thornton, Socorro, N. M., on your way south. While only a +youngster, he is one of the best all-round frontiersmen I ever saw, and +speaks Spanish tolerably. Had him with me in the Gallup country." + +Details were settled at breakfast, and there Gardiner resumed his +journey eastward, while I took the next train for Denver. A fortnight +later found me in Socorro, plodding through its sandy streets to an +adobe house in the suburbs where Thornton lodged. + +As I neared the door a big black dog sprang fiercely out at me to the +full length of his chain, and directly thereafter the door framed an +extraordinary figure. Then barely twenty-one, and downy still of lip, +Thornton's gray eyes were as cold and calculating, the lines of his +face as severe and even hard, his movements as deliberate and +expressive of perfect self-mastery as those of any veteran of half a +dozen wars. Six feet two in height, straight as a white pine, ideally +coupled for great strength without sacrifice of activity, he looked +altogether one of the most capable and safe men one could wish for in a +scrap; and so, later, he well proved himself. + +He greeted me in carefully correct English; and while quiet, reserved, +and cold of speech as of manner, the tones in which he assured me any +friend of Mr. Gardiner was welcome, conveyed faint traces of cordiality +that roused some hope that he might prove a more agreeable campmate +than his dour mien promised. We were not long coming to terms; indeed +the moment I outlined the trip contemplated, and its possible hazards, +it became plain he was keen to come on any terms. To my surprise, he +proposed bringing his dog, Curly. I objected that so heavy a dog would +be likely to play out on our forced marches, and, anyway, would be no +mortal use to us. His reply was characteristic: + +"Curly goes if I go, sir; but any time you can tell me you find him a +nuisance, I'll shoot him myself. I've had him four years, had him out +all through Victoria's raid of the Gila, and he's a safer night guard +than any ten men you can string around camp: nothing can approach he +won't nail or tell you of. With Curly, a night-camp surprise is +impossible." + +Whatever cross Curly represented was a mystery. Two-thirds the height +and weight of a mastiff, he had the broad narrow pointed muzzle of a +bear, and a shaggy reddish-black coat that further heightened his +resemblance to a cinnamon, with great gray eyes precisely the color of +his master's, and as fierce. Whichever character was formed on that of +the other I never learned--the man's on the dog's, or the dog's on the +man's. Certain it is that not even the luckiest chance could have +brought together man and beast so nearly identical in all their traits. +Both were honest, almost to a fault. Neither possessed any vice I ever +could discover. Each was wholly happy only when in battle, the more +desperate the encounter the happier they. Neither ever actually forced +a quarrel, or failed to get in the way of one when there was the least +color of an attempt to fasten one on them. And yet both were always +considerate of any weaker than themselves, and quick to go to their +defence. Many a time have I seen old Curly seize and throttle a big +dog he caught rending a little one--as I have seen George leap to the +aid of the defenceless. Each weighed carefully his kind, and found +most wanting in something requisite to the winning of his confidence; +and such as they did admit to familiar intimacy, man or beast, were the +salt of their kind. + +On the train, south-bound for San Antonio, I learned something of +Thornton's history. The son of a judge of Peoria, Ill., he had until +fifteen the advantage of the schools of his city. Then, possessed with +a longing for a life of adventure in the West, he ran away from home, +worked in various places at various tasks, until, at sixteen (in 1887) +he had made his way to Socorro. Arrived there, he attached himself to +a small party of prospectors going out into the Black Range, into a +region then wild and hostile as Boone found Kentucky. And there for +the last five years he had dwelt, ranging through the Datils and the +Mogallons, prospecting whenever the frequently raiding Apaches left him +and his mates time for work. Indeed, it was Thornton who discovered +and first opened the Gallup coal field, and he held it until Victoria +ran him out. During this time he was in eight desperate fights--the +only man to escape from one of them; but out of them he came unscathed, +and trained to a finish in every trick of Apache warfare. + +At San Antonio we were met by Sam Cress, who for the last four years +had been foreman of my Deadman Ranch. Cress was born on Powell River, +Virginia, but had come to Texas as a mere lad and joined a cow outfit. +He had really grown up in the Cross Timbers of the Palo Pinto, where, +in those years, any who survived were past masters not only of the +weird ways and long hours and outlaw broncos, but also of the cunning +strategy of the Kiowas and Comanches who in that time were raiding +ranches and settlements every "light of the moon." Cress was then +twenty-five--just my age--and one of the rare type of men who actually +hate and dread a fight, but where necessary, go into it with a jest and +come out of it with a laugh, as jolly a camp-mate and as steady a +stayer as I ever knew. Charlie Crawford, a half-breed Mexican, taken +on for his fluency in Spanish, completed our outfit. Two mornings +later the Mexican National Express dropped us at the Lampasos depot +about daylight, from which we made our way over a mile of dusty road +winding through mesquite thickets to the Hotel Diligencia, on the main +plaza. + +A norther was blowing that chilled us to the marrow, and of course, +according to usual Mexican custom, not a room in the hotel was heated. +The best the little Italian proprietor could do for us was a pan of +charcoal that warmed nothing beyond our finger tips. As soon as the +sun rose, we squatted along the east wall of the hotel and there +shivered until Providence or his own necessity brought past us a peon +driving a burro loaded with mesquite roots. We bought this wood and +dumped it in the central patio of the hotel and there lighted a +campfire that made us tolerably comfortable until breakfast. + +Ignorant then of Mexico and its customs, I had fancied that when a +proper hour arrived for a call on the _Alcalde_, Don Nemecio Garcia, I +should have a chance to warm myself properly and had charitably asked +my three mates to accompany me on the visit. But when at ten o'clock +Don Nemecio received us in his office, we found him tramping up and +down the room, wrapped in the warm folds of an ample cloak; his neck +and face swathed in mufflers to the eyes, arctics on his feet, and no +stove or fireplace in the room. As leading merchant of the town, he +soon supplied us with provisions and various articles, and with four +saddle and three pack horses for our journey. + +The next day, while my men were busy arranging our camp outfit, I took +train for Monterey to get a letter from General Trevino, commanding the +Department of Coahuila, to the _comandante_ of the garrison at Musquiz. +On this short forenoon's journey I had my first taste of the disordered +state of the country. + +About ten o'clock our train stopped at the depot of Villaldama, where I +observed six _guardias aduaneras_ (customs guards) removing the packs +from a dozen mules, and transferring them to the baggage car. Just as +this work was nearing completion, a band of fourteen _contradistas_ +dashed up out of the surrounding chaparral, dropped off their horses, +and opened at thirty yards a deadly fire on the guards. With others in +the smoker, next behind the baggage car, I had a fine view of the +battle, but a part of the time we were directly in the line of fire, +for four of our car windows were smashed by bullets, and many bullets +were buried in the car body. Such encounters between guards and +smugglers in Mexico were always a fight to the death, for under the law +the guards received one-half the value of their captures, while of +course the smugglers stood to win or lose all. + +As soon as fire opened, the guards jumped for the best cover available, +and put up the best fight they could. But the odds were hopelessly +against them. In five minutes it was all over. Three of the guards +lay dead, one was crippled, and the other two were in flight. To be +sure two of the smugglers were bowled over, dead, and two badly +wounded, but the remaining ten were not long in repossessing themselves +of their goods; and when our train pulled out, the baggage car riddled +with bullets till it looked like a sieve, the ten were hurriedly +repacking their mules for flight west to the Sierras. Later I learned +that early that morning the guards had caught the _conducta_ with only +two men in charge, who had shrewdly skipped and scattered to gather the +party that arrived just in time to save their plunder. + +Mexican import duties in those days were so enormous that very many of +the best people then living along the border engaged regularly in +smuggling, as the most profitable enterprise offering. American hams, +I remember, were then sixty cents a pound, and everything else in +proportion. Even in the city of Monterey, stores that displayed on +their open shelves little but native products, had warehouses where you +could buy (at three times their value in the States) almost any +American or European goods you wanted. + +Well recommended to General Trevino from kinsmen of his wife, who was a +daughter of General Ord of our army, he gave me a letter to Captain +Abran de la Garza, commanding at Musquiz, directing him to furnish me +any cavalry escort or supplies I might ask for, and the following day +we started north from Lampasos on our one-hundred-mile march to Musquiz. + +The first two days of the journey, for fully sixty miles, we travelled +across the lands of Don Patricio Milmo, who thirty years earlier had +arrived in Monterey, a bare-handed Irish lad, as Patrick Miles. +Through thrift, cunning trading, and a diplomatic marriage into one of +the most powerful families of the city, he had oreid his name and +gilded the prospects of his progeny, for he had become the richest +merchant of Monterey and the largest landholder of the state. + +On this march north Curly's value was well demonstrated. The first two +nights I divided our little party into four watches, so that one man +should always be awake, and on the _qui vive_. But it took us no more +than these two nights to discover that Curly was a better guard than +all of us put together. Throughout the noon and early evening camp he +slept, but as soon as we were in our blankets he was on the alert, and +nothing could move near the camp that he did not tell us of it in low +growls, delivered at the ear of one or another of the sleepers. +However, nothing happened on the journey up, save at the camp just +north of Progreso, where some of the villagers tried slip up on our +horses toward midnight, and Curly's growls kept them off. Their trails +about our camp were plain in the morning. The evening of the third day +we reached Musquiz, one of the oldest towns of the northern border, +nestled at the foot of a tall sierra amid wide fields of sugar cane, +irrigated by the clear, sweet waters of the Sabinas. + +At eight o'clock the next morning I called on Captain Abran de la +Garza, the _Comandante_, to present my letter from General Trevino. + +Like the monarch of all he surveyed, he received me in his bed-chamber. +As soon as I entered, it became apparent the Captain was a sportsman as +well as a soldier. + +The room was perhaps thirty by twenty feet in size. Midway of the +north wall stood a rude writing table on which were a few official +papers. Ranged about the room were a dozen or more rawhide-seated +chairs, each standing stiffly at "attention" against the wall +scrupulously equidistant order. Glaring at me in crude lettering from +a broad rafter facing the door was the grimly patriotic sentiment, +"Libertad o Muerte." (Liberty or Death!) In the southwest corner of +the room stood a low and narrow cot, beneath whose thin serape covering +a tall, gaunt cadaverous frame was plainly outlined. From the headpost +of the cot dangled a sword and two pistols. _And to every bed, table, +stand, and chair was hobbled a gamecock_--a rarely high-bred lot by +their looks, that joined in saluting my entrance with a volley of +questioning crows! It was, I fancy, altogether the most startling +reception visitor ever had. + +In a momentary pause in the crowing, there issued from a throat riven +and deep-seamed from frequent floodings with fiery torrents of mescal, +and out of lungs perpetually surcharged with cigarette smoke, a hoarse +croaking, but friendly toned, "_Buenos dias, senor. Sirvase tomar un +asiento. Aqui tiene vd su casa!_" and peering more closely into the +dusky corner, I beheld a great face, lean to emaciation, dominated by a +magnificent Roman nose with two great dark eyes sunk so deep on either +side of its base they must forever remain strangers to one another. +The nose supported a splendid breadth of high forehead, which was +crowned with a shock of coal-black hair, while the jaws were bearded to +the eyes. It was the face of an ascetic Crusader, sensualized in a +measure by years of isolated frontier service and its attendant vices +and degeneration, but still a face full of the noble melancholy of a +Quixote. + +Propping himself on a great bony knot of an elbow, the Captain made +polite inquiry respecting my journey, and then asked in what could he +serve me. But when I had explained that I wanted to meet the owner of +the Santa Rosa Ranch, and contemplated going out to see it, it was only +to learn, to my great disappointment, that it had been sold the week +previous to two Scotchmen. Fancy! in a country visited by foreigners, +as a rule, not so often as once a year. + +Nor was I consoled when, noting my obvious chagrin, the Captain sought +to lighten the blow by saying: "But, my dear sir, this is indeed +evidence God is guarding you. That ranch has been a legacy of +contention and feud for generations. Besides, what good could you get +of it? Its nearest line to the town is six miles distant, and no life +or property would be safe there a fortnight. Far the best cattle ranch +in this section, a fourth of it irrigable, and as fine sugar-cane land +as one could find, do you fancy it would be tenantless as when God +first made it if safe for occupancy? Why, my dear sir, within the last +six months Juan Gaian's Lipans have killed no less than seventy of our +townsmen, some in their fields, some in the very suburbs of the town, +while Mescaleros are raiding a little lower down the river, and Nicanor +Rascon is apt to sweep down any day with his _bandidos_ and plunder +strong boxes and stores. It is with shame I admit it, for I, Don +Abran, am responsible for the peace and safety of this district. But, +_mil demonios_! what can I do with one troop of cavalry against bandits +ruthless as savages, and savages cunning as bandits? + +"Oh! but if I only had horses! Those devils take remounts when they +like from the _remoudas_ of ranchers, but I, _carajo_! I am always +limited to my troop allotment. + +"Burn a hundred candles to the Virgin, _amigo mio_, as a thank offering +for your deliverance, and wait and see what happens to the Scotchmen; +and while waiting, it will be my great pleasure to show you some of the +grandest cock-fighting you ever saw. Look at them! Beauties, are they +not? Purest blood in all Mexico! Kept me poor four years getting them +together! But now! Ah! now, it will not be long till they win me +ranches and _remoudas_! + +"Ah! me. Time was not so very long ago when Abran de la Garza was +called the most dashing _jefe de tropa_ in the service, when senoritas +fell to him as alamo leaves shower down to autumn winds; when pride +consumed him, and ambition for a Division was burning in his brain. +But now this demon of a frontier has scorched and driven him till +naught remains to him but the chance of an occasional fruitless +skirmish, his thirst for mescal, his greed for _aguilas_, and his cocks +to win them! But, senor, bet no money against them, for it would +grieve me to win from a stranger introduced by my General." + +Then, with a grave nod of friendly warning, he turned an affectionate +gaze upon his pets. Meantime, as if conscious of his pride in them, +the cocks were boastfully crowing paeans to their own victories, past +and to come, in shrill and ill-timed but uninterrupted concert, bronze +wings flapping, crimson crests truculently tossing insolent challenge +for all comers. + +With the one plan of my trip completely smashed, I felt too much upset +to continue the interview, and excused myself. But after a forenoon +spent alone beside the broad and swift current the Sabinas was pouring +past me, gazing at the dim blue mountain-crests in the west that I had +learned marked its source, the irresistible call to penetrate the +unknown impressed and then possessed me so completely that, at our +midday breakfast, I announced to the Captain I had decided to follow +the river to its head, and pass thence into the desert for a +thirty-days' circle to the north and west. + +"But, _valga nu Dios_, man," he objected, "I have no force I can spare +for sufficient time to give you adequate escort for such a journey. It +would be madness to undertake it with less than fifty men. I am +responsible to my General for your safety, and cannot sanction it. +Beyond the Alamo Canon the only waters are in isolated springs in the +plains and in natural rain-fall tanks along the mountain crests, known +to none except the Indians and Tomas Alvarez, an old half-breed +Kickapoo long attached to my command as scout, who ranged that country +years ago with his tribe, and who guides my troop on such short scouts +as we have been able to make beyond the Alamo, and--" + +"Pardon," I ventured to interrupt, "that will do nicely; give me +Alvarez and one good trustworthy soldier, and we'll make the circle +without trouble." + +"Six of you! Why, you'd never get twenty miles out of town in that +direction. I can't permit it." + +"Pardon again, Don Abran," I broke in, "but we have for years been +accustomed to move in small parties through country that held a hundred +times more hostiles than you have here, and you can trust us to take +care of ourselves. Go we shall in any event, without your men if you +withhold them." + +"Well, well, _hijo mio_," he responded, "if you are bound to go, we +will see. Only I shall write my General that I have sought to restrain +you." + +To us the prevailing local fears seemed absurd. Admittedly there were +only sixteen of the Lipans then left, men, women, and children, their +chief, Juan Galan, the son by a Lipan squaw, of the father of Garza +Galan, then the leading merchant of the town, and later a distinguished +Governor of his State. Originally a powerful tribe occupying both +banks of the lower Rio Grando to the south of the Comanches, in their +wars with Texans and Mexicans the Lipans had dwindled until only this +handful remained. Three years earlier the entire band had been +captured after a desperate fight, and removed by the Mexican +authorities to a small reservation five hundred miles southwest of +Musquiz. But at the end of two years, as soon as the guard over them +relaxed, indomitable as Dull Knife and his Cheyennes in their desperate +fight (in 1879) to regain their northern highland home, Juan Galan and +his pathetically small following jumped their reservation and dodged +and fought their way back to the Musquiz Mountains; and there for the +last ten months, constantly harassed and harassing, they had been +fighting for the right to die among the hills they loved. To the +natives they were blood-thirsty wolves, beasts to be exterminated; to +an impartial onlooker they were a heroic band courting death in a +splendid last fight for fatherland. Their bold deeds would fill a +book. Even in this town of fifteen hundred people guarded by a troop +of cavalry, no one ventured out at night except from the most pressing +necessity; and of the seventy killed by them since their return, nearly +a third were macheted in the streets of Musquiz during Juan Galan's +night raids on the town. + +The most effective work against them was done by a band of about a +hundred Seminole-negro half-breeds, to whom the Government had made a +grant of four square leagues twenty-five miles west of Musquiz, on the +Nacimiento. Come originally out of the Indian territory in the United +States, where the Seminoles had cross-bred with their negro slaves, +this same band a few years earlier had been most efficient scouts for +our own troops at Fort dark, and other border garrisons, and it was +this record that led the Mexican Government to seek and lodge them on +the Nacimiento, as a buffer against the Lipans. + +That night arrangements for our trip were concluded: the Captain +consented to furnish me old Tomas Alvarez and a young soldier named +Manuel, but only on condition that he himself should escort us, with +fifty men of his troop, one day's march up the river, which would carry +us beyond the recent range of the Lipans. So early the next morning we +marched out westward, passing the last house a half-mile outside the +centre of the town, along a dim, little-travelled trail that followed +the river to the Seminole village on the Nacimiento. The day's journey +was without incident, other than our amusement at what seemed to us the +Captain's overzealous caution in keeping scouts out ahead and to right +and left of the column, and in posting sentries about our night camp. + +The following morning, a Sunday, after much good advice, the kindly +Captain bade us a reluctant farewell, and led his troops down-river +toward home, while our little party of six headed westward up-river. +Near noon we sighted the Seminole village, and shortly entered it, a +close cluster of low jacals built of poles and mud. Odd it looked, as +we entered, a deserted village, no living thing in sight but a few +dogs. Thus our surprise was all the greater when, nearing the farther +edge of the village, our ears were greeted with the familiar strains of +"Jesus, Lover of My Soul," issuing from a large _jacal_ which we soon +learned was the Seminole church. Fancy it! the last thing one could +have dreamed of! An honest old Methodist hymn sung in English by +several score devout worshippers in the heart of Mexico, on the very +dead line between savagery and civilization, and at that, sung by a +people all savage on one side of their ancestry and semi-savage on the +other. + +Before the singing of the hymn was finished, startled by the barking of +their dogs, out of the low doorway sprang half a dozen men, strapping +big fellows,--one, the chief, bent half double with age,--all heavily +armed. The moment they saw we were Americans we were most cordially +received, and even urged to stop a few days with them, and give them +news of the Texas border. But for this we had no time; and after a +short visit--for which the congregation adjourned service--we filled +our canteens, let our horses drink their fill at the great Nacimiento +spring that burst forth a veritable young river from beneath a low +bluff beside the town, and struck out westward for Alamo Canon. Our +afternoon march gave us little concern, for our route lay across +rolling, lightly timbered uplands that offered little opportunity for +ambush. That night we made a "dry camp" on the divide, preferring to +approach the Alamo in daylight. + +Having struck camp before dawn the next morning, by noon we saw ahead +of us a great gorge dividing the mountain we were approaching--great in +its height, but of a scant fifty yards in breadth, perpendicular of +sides, a narrow line of brush and timber creeping down along its +bottom, but stopping just short of the open plains. Scouting was +useless. If there were any Indians about, we certainly had been seen, +and they lay in ambush for us in a place of their own choosing. We +must have water, and to get it must enter the canon. So straight into +the timber that filled the mouth of the gorge we rode at a run, riding +a few paces apart to avoid the possible potting of our little bunch, +and a hundred yards within the outer fringe of timber we reached the +water our animals so badly needed. + +And right there, all about the "sink" of the Alamo, where the last +drops of the stream sank into the thirsty sands, the bottom was covered +thick with fresh moccasin tracks, and in a little opening in the bush +near to the sink smouldered the embers of that morning's camp-fire of a +band of Lipans. Apparently we were in for it and seriously debated a +retreat. Our position could not be worse. Tomas told us that the +trail of the Lipans led straight up the valley, and for eight miles the +canon was never more than three hundred yards wide, and often no more +than fifty, with almost perpendicular walls rising on either side two +hundred or more feet in height, so nearly perpendicular that we would +for the entire distance be in range from the bordering cliff crests, +while any enemy there ambushed would be so safely covered they could +follow our route and pick us off at their leisure. To be sure, the +brush along the stream afforded some shelter, but no real protection. +However, out now nearly fifty miles from Musquiz and well into the +country we had come to see, we pushed ahead. Cress, Thornton, and +Manuel prowling afoot through the brush a hundred yards in advance, +Crawford, Tomas and myself bringing up the rear with the horses. And +so we advanced for nearly half a mile when the Lipan trail turned east, +toward Musquiz, up a crevice in the cliff a goat would have no easy +time ascending. Thus we were led to argue that the Lipans had left +their camp before discovering our approach, and by this time were +probably miles away to the east. + +Mounting, therefore, we made the beat pace our pack animals could stand +up through the eight miles of the narrows, riding well apart from each +other, the only safeguard we could take, all craning our necks for view +of the cliff crests ahead of us. But no living thing showed save a few +deer and coyotes, and two mountain lions that, alarmed by our +clattering pace, slipped past us back down the gorge. When at last we +reached the end of the narrows and the canon broadened to a width of +several hundred yards, all but fifty or seventy-five yards of the belt +of timber lining the stream along the south wall being comparatively +level grassy bunch land, nearly devoid of cover, we congratulated +ourselves that we had not been scared into a retreat. + +Keen to put as much distance as we could between us and the Lipans, we +travelled on up the canon at a sharp trot, keeping well to its middle, +until about 5 p.m., when we reached a point where it widened into a +broad bay, nearly seven hundred yards from crest to crest, with a dense +thicket of mesquite trees near its centre that made fine shelter and an +excellent point of defence for a night camp. The stream hugged the +east wall of the canon, where it had carved out a tortuous bed perhaps +one hundred and fifty yards wide, and so deep below the bench we +occupied that only the tops of tall cottonwoods were visible from the +thicket. + +While the rest of us were busy unsaddling and unpacking, Thornton slung +all our canteens over his shoulder, and started for the stream. But no +sooner had he disappeared below the edge of the bench, a scant two +hundred yards from our camp, before a rapid rifle fire opened which, +while we knew it must proceed from his direction, echoed back from one +cliff wall to the other until it appeared like an attack on our +position from all sides, while the echoes multiplied to the volume of +cannon fire at the sound of each shot. Indeed, never have I heard such +thunderous, crashing, ear-splitting gun-detonations except on one other +occasion, when aboard the British battle ship _Invincible_ and in her +six-inch gun battery while a salute was being fired. + +Frightened by the fire, one of our pack horses stampeded down the +canon. Sending Manuel in pursuit, and leaving Tomas at the camp, +Crawford, Cress, and I ran for the break of benchland, to reach and aid +Thornton. Nearing it, all three dropped flat, and crawled to its edge, +just in time to see George make a neat snap shot at a Lipan midway of a +flying leap over a log, and drop him dead. Old George was standing +quietly on the lower slope of the bench just above the timber, while +the shots from eight or ten Lipan rifles were raining all about him! +The Lipans lay in the timber only one hundred to one hundred and fifty +yards away, and it was a miracle they did not get him. Instantly Cress +and Crawford slipped back out of range, made a detour that brought them +to the bench edge within fifty yards of the Lipans' position, and +opened on them a cross fire, while I lay above George and shelled away +at the smoke of their discharge, for not one showed a head after George +potted the jumper. Five minutes after Cress and Crawford opened on +them, the Lipan fire ceased entirely. For an hour we scouted along the +bank trying to locate them, but apparently they had withdrawn. + +Then, while the others covered us, George and I slipped through the +bush to investigate his kill, and found a great gaunt old warrior at +least sixty years old, wrinkled of face as if he might be a hundred, +but sound of teeth and coal-black of hair as a youth, his face and body +scarred in nearly a score of places from bullet and machete +wounds,--the sign manual writ indelibly on his war-worn frame by many a +doughty enemy. We carried him to the bench crest, Crawford fetched a +spade and we dug a grave and buried him with his weapons laid upon his +breast, as his own people would have buried him, and then we fired +across his grave the final salute he obviously so well had earned. + +More than he would have done for us? Yes, I dare say. But then our +points of view were different. Throughout his long life a terror to +all whites he doubtless had been; upon us he was stealthily slipping, +ruthless as a tiger; but then he and his tribesmen and lands had so +long been prey to the greed of white invaders of his domain that it is +hard to blame him for fighting, according to the traditions of his +race, to the death. + +Lying in camp within the thicket that night, naturally without a fire, +Thornton made it plain that his voluntary start for water was +providentially timed. He told us that, while descending the slope to +the timber, he saw the head of a little column of Indians, stealing up +the valley through the brush, saw them before they saw him; but just as +he saw them, he slipped on some pebbles and nearly fell, making a noise +that attracted their attention. Instantly they slid into cover, and +opened fire on him. + +Asked by me why he himself had not sought cover, George answered, "No +show to get one except by keeping out in the open on the high ground, +and I _wanted one_!" + +It was plain the Lipans had sighted us when too late to lay an ambush +for us in the narrows, had made a short cut through the hills and +dropped down into the stream bed with the plan to attack us at our +night camp. Evidently they had not expected us to camp so early, and +were jogging easily along through the brush, for once off their guard. +But for George's chance start for the stream, nothing but faithful old +Curly's perpetual watchfulness could have saved us from a bad mix-up +that night. Already it had been so well proved that we could safely +trust Curly to guard us against surprise, we slept soundly through the +night, without disturbance of any sort. + +The next forenoon's march to the head waters of the Alamo was an +anxious one, and was made with the utmost caution, for we were sure the +Lipans would be lying in wait for us; but no sign of them did we again +see for three weeks. + +Leaving the Alamo, we made a great circle through the desert, swinging +first north toward the Sierra Mojada, then south, and ultimately +eastward toward Monclova. The trip proved to be one of great hardship +and danger, but only from scarcity of water; for while at isolated +springs we found recent camps of one sort of desert prowler or another, +we neither met nor saw any. Finally, late one night of the fourth +week, we reached a little spring called Zacate, out in the open plain +only about thirty miles south of Musquiz. But between us and only five +miles south of the town stretched a tall range through which Tomas knew +of only two passes practicable for horsemen; one, to the west, via the +Alamo, the route we had come, would involve a journey of eighty miles, +while by the other, an old Indian and smugglers' trail crossing the +summit directly south of Musquiz, we could make the town in thirty-two +miles. The latter route Tomas strongly opposed as too dangerous. +Twelve miles from where we lay it entered the range, and for fifteen +miles followed terrible rough canons wherein, every step of the way, we +should be right in the heart of the recent range of the Lipans, and +where every turn offered chance of a perfect ambush. But with our +horses exhausted, worn to more shadows from long marches through +country affording scant feed, with not one left that could much more +than raise a trot, we finally decided to chance the shorter route. +That night we supped on cold antelope meat and biscuits, to avoid +building a fire, and rolled up in our blankets, but not to rest long +undisturbed. + +Shortly after midnight Curly roused us with low growls. Though the +moon was full, the night was so clouded one could hardly see the length +of a gun-barrel. Curly's warnings continuing, George and Tomas rolled +out of their blankets and crawled out among and about the horses, and +lay near them an hour or more, till Curly's growls finally ceased. +Then we called them in and all lay down, and finished the night in +peace. Early the next morning, however, a short circle discovered the +trail of three Indians who had crept near to the horses and +reconnoitred our position. Their back trail led due northeast, the +direction we had to follow; and when we had ridden out half a mile from +the Ojo Zacate, we found where their trail joined that of the main +band. The "sign" showed they had been south toward Monclova on a +successful horse-stealing raid, for it was plain they had passed us in +the night with a bunch of at least twenty horses, heading toward a +point of the range only five or six miles west of where we should be +compelled to enter it. + +We were in about as bad a hole as could be conceived. Plainly the +Indians knew of our presence in the vicinity. It was equally certain +their scouts would be watching our every move throughout the day, and +there was not one chance in a thousand of our crossing the range +without attack from some ambush of such vantage as to leave small +ground for hope that we could survive it. All but Cress and Thornton +urged me to turn back, although we were all nearly afoot, and had no +food left except two or three pounds of flour, and a little meat. +After very short deliberation I decided to go ahead. The Lipans knew +precisely where we were, and if they wanted us they could (in the event +of a retreat) easily run us down and surround us and hold us off food +and water until we were starved out sufficiently to charge their +position and be shot down. Better far put up a bold bluff and take +chances of cutting through them. + +So on we plodded slowly toward the hills, all of us walking most of the +way to save our horses all we could. At 2 p.m. we cut the old trail +Tomas was heading us toward, and shortly thereafter entered the mouth +of a frightfully rough canon, its bottom and slopes thickly covered +with nopal, sotol, and mesquite, and, later, higher up, with pines, +junipers, oaks, and spruces, with here and there groups of great +boulders that would easily conceal a regiment. Two or three miles in, +the gorge deepened until tall mountain slopes were rising steeply on +either side of us, and narrowed until we had to pick our way over the +rough boulders of the dry stream-bed. + +Our advance was slow, for it had to be made with the utmost caution. +Thornton, Cress, and Tomas scouted afoot, one in the bottom of the +gorge, and one half-way up each of its side walls, while Manuel and +Crawford followed two hundred yards behind them, also afoot, driving +the saddle and pack horses; and I trailed two hundred yards behind the +horses, watching for any sign of an attempted surprise from the rear. +Thus scattered, we gave them no chance to bowl over several of us at +the first fire from any ambush they might have arranged. + +From the windings of the canon we were out of sight of each other much +of the time; personally, I recall that afternoon as one of the most +lonely and uncomfortable I ever passed. I slipped watchfully along, +stopping often to listen, eyes sweeping the hillsides and the gulch +below me, searching every tree and boulder, with no sound but the +soughing of the wind through the tree-tops, and an occasional soft +clatter of shingle beneath the slipping hoofs of my unshod horse. + +But throughout the afternoon the only sign of man or beast that I saw +was a lot of sotol plants recently uprooted, and their roots eaten by +bears. + +Shortly after dark we reached the only permanent water in the canon, a +clear, cold, sweet spring, bursting out from beneath a rock, only to +sink immediately into the arid sands of the dry stream-bed. +Immediately below the spring and midway of the gorge bottom stood an +island-like uplift, twenty yards in length by ten in width, covered +with brush, leaving on either side a narrow, rocky channel, and from +either side of these two channels the canon walls, heavily timbered, +rose very steeply. Just above these narrows, the gorge widened into +seven or eight acres of level, park-like, well-grassed benchland, and +into this little park we turned our horses loose for the night, for +they were too worn to stray. + +Having made eight or ten miles up the canon during the afternoon march, +we were now within a mile of the summit, and no more than seven miles +from Musquiz. Indeed we should have tried to reach the town that night +had not Tomas told us the next three miles of the trail were so steep +and rough he could not undertake to fetch us over it unless we +abandoned our animals, saddles, and packs. + +We turned into our blankets early, after a cold supper, for we did not +care to chance a fire. Cress and I slept together in the channel to +the west of the island; Manuel and Tomas to the east of it quite out of +our sight; Thornton and Crawford ten paces north, in sight of both +ourselves and the Mexicans. A little moonlight filtered down through +the trees, but not enough to enable us to see any distance. + +Scarcely were we asleep, it seemed to me, before Curly awakened Cress +and myself, growling immediately at our heads. Rising in our blankets, +guns in hand, and listening intently, we could hear on the hillside +above us what sounded like the movements of a bear. Whatever it might +be, it was approaching. Not a word had been spoken, and Curly's growls +were so low we had no idea any of the others had been roused. So we +sat on the alert for perhaps fifteen minutes, when the sounds above us +began receding, and we lay down again. But just as we were passing +back into dreamland, Curly again startled us with a sharper, fiercer +note that meant trouble at hand. + +As we rose to a sitting posture, in the dim moonlight we could plainly +see a dark crouching figure twenty yards below, which advanced a step +or two, stopped as if to listen, and again advanced and stopped. What +it was we could not make out. At first I thought it must be a bear, +but presently I felt sure I caught the glimmer of a gun barrel, and +nudged Cress with my elbow. We were in the act of raising our rifles +to down it, whatever it might be, when Thornton sang out, "Hold on, +boys; that's old Tomas!" And, indeed, so it proved. All had been +awakened at the first alarm, and Thornton had seen Tomas roll from his +blankets into the bottom of the east channel, and crawl away on the +scout for the cause of Curly's uneasiness that so nearly had cost him +his life. He had been so intent for movement on the hillsides he had +not noticed us watching him. + +The next morning we were moving by dawn, Tomas, Cress, and myself in +the lead, the others trailing along one hundred or two hundred yards +behind us. For half a mile the gorge widened, as most mountain gorges +do near their heads, into beautiful grassy slopes rising steeply before +us, thickly timbered with post oak. Then, issuing from the timber, we +saw it was a blind canon we were in, a _cul de sac_, with no pass +through the crest of the range. + +Before us rose a very nearly perpendicular wall for probably six +hundred feet, up which the old trail zigzagged, climbing from ledge to +ledge, so steep that when, later, we were fetching our horses up it, +one of the pack horses lost its balance and fell fifty feet, crippling +it so badly we had to kill it. The cliff face, about three hundred +yards in width, and flanked to right and left by the walls of the +canon, was entirely bare of trees, but thickly strewn with boulders. +From an enemy on the top of the two flanking walls, climbers up the +cliff face could get no shelter whatever. Thus it was important that +our advance should reach the summit as quickly as possible. So, up the +three of us scrambled, about thirty yards apart, disregarding the trail. + +When we were nearly half-way up, and just as we had paused to catch our +breath, several rifle shots rang out in quick succession, which, from +some peculiar echo of the canon, sounded as if they had been fired +beneath us. Upon turning, we could see nothing of our three mates or +the horses--they were hidden from our view by the timber. Fancying +they were attacked from the rear, I was about to call a return to their +relief, when I saw Thornton run to the near edge of the timber, drop on +one knee behind a tree, and open fire on the cliff-crest directly above +our heads. + +Whirling and looking up, I was just in time to see eight or ten men bob +up on the crest and take quick snap shots at the three of us in the +lead, and then duck to cover. We were so nearly straight under them, +however, that they overshot us, although they were barely one hundred +yards from us. Dropping behind boulders we peppered back at the +flashes of their rifles, which was all we three in the lead thereafter +saw of them; for after the first volley most of them lay close and +directed their fire at the men in the edge of the timber, but +occasionally a rifle was tipped over the edge of a boulder and fired at +random in our direction. And all the time they were yelling at us, +"_Que vienen, puercos! Que vienen!_" (Come on, pigs! Come on!) + +I was puzzled. Both Cress and I thought they were Mexicans, but Tomas +insisted they were Lipans. And sure enough it was the Lipans all spoke +Spanish and dressed like Mexican peons. Whoever they might be, we +could not stay where we were. By the firing and voices there were at +least a dozen of them, and obviously it was only a matter of moments +before they would occupy the two flanking walls and have us openly +exposed. + +It was a bad dilemma. Retreat was impossible, down a gorge commanded +at short range from both sides. If we took shelter in it, they could +starve us out; if we attempted to descend it, they could easily pick us +off; if any of us escaped back to the plain it would only be to incur +greater exposure if they pursued, or probably to perish of hunger +before we could reach any settlements. Thus the situation called for +no reflection--it was charge and dislodge them, or die. + +Yelling to the boys below to close up on us, we three settled down to +the maintenance of the hottest fire we could deliver at the rifle +flashes above us, to cover their advance. Luckily there were many +boulders scattered along the grassy treeless slope they had to advance +across to reach the foot of the cliff. Thus by darting from one +boulder to another they had tolerable cover and were able to reach us +with no worse casualties than a comparatively slight flesh wound +through Manuel's side and the shooting away of Thornton's belt buckle. + +Then we started the charge, led really by Thornton, who, active as a +goat, would have raced straight into the downpour of lead if I had not +continually restrained him. Three would scramble up fifteen or twenty +feet, and then drop behind boulders, while the other three kept up a +heavy fire on the summit; and then the rear rank would advance to a +line with their position, while they shelled the enemy. All the time a +rain of bullets was splashing on the rocks all about us, but luckily +for us they did not expose themselves enough to deliver an accurate +fire. + +After we had made five or six such rushes, and were about half-way up, +we could hear the voices of what sounded like the larger part of the +band receding. Supposing they were swinging for the two side walls to +flank us we doubled our speed and presently dropped beneath the shelter +of a wall of rock about four feet high, from behind which our enemy had +been firing. + +Two or three minutes earlier their fire had ceased, and what to make of +it we did not know. We found that an exposure of our hats on our +gun-muzzles drew no fire; yet, driven by sheer desperation, and +expecting that every man of us would get shot full of holes, we +simultaneously sprang over the rock, and dropped flat on the +summit--amid utter silence, about the most happily surprised lot of men +in all Mexico! The enemy had decamped. But where? And with what +purpose? And why had they not flanked us! + +Careful scouting soon showed they had retired in a body down the trail +we must follow to reach Musquiz, as for nearly three miles the descent +was as rough and difficult as the ascent had been. + +Leaving Cress, who was ill, and Manuel, who was weak from loss of +blood, to hold the summit, the rest of us descended to fetch up our +horses, and a hard hour's job we had of it, for we packed on our backs +the load of the dead pack horse and those of his mates the last half of +the ascent, rather than risk losing another animal. + +Upon our return we found Manuel gloating over three trophies--a hat +shot through the side by a ball that had evidently "creased" the +wearer's head, an old Spanish spur and a gun scabbard--which he seemed +to find salve for the burning wound in his side. + +Beneath us to the north lay Musquiz, in plain sight, a scant six miles +distance. In the clear dry air of the hills, it looked so near that a +good running jump might land one in the plaza, and yet none of us +expected we all should enter it again. The odds were against it, for +below us lay three miles of hill trail any step down which might land +us in a worse ambush than the last and we never imagined the enemy +would fail to engage us again. But the descent had to be made, and +down it we started, Cress and Manuel bringing up the rear with the +horses, the rest of us scouting ahead, dodging from rock to tree, +advancing slowly, expecting a volley, but receiving none. + +For a mile the band followed the trail, and we followed their fresh +tracks; then they left the trail and turned west through the timber. +However, we never abated our watchfulness until well out of the hills +and near the outskirts of the town, which we reached shortly after +noon. There, breakfasting generously if not comfortably with Don Abran +and his gamecocks, I got news that made me less regretful of my failure +to obtain the Santa Rosa Ranch: one of its two Scotch purchasers had +been killed two days before my return, in attempting to repel a raid on +his camp by Nicanor Rascon! + +With Cress too ill to travel, the next morning I left Crawford to care +for him, bade farewell to good old Don Abran, and started for Lampasos +with Thornton and Curly. + +We nooned at Santa Cruz, a big sheep ranch midway between Musquiz and +Progreso, leaving there about two o'clock. An hour later, we heard +behind us a clatter of racing hoofs, and presently were overtaken by a +hatless Mexican, riding bareback at top speed, who told us that shortly +after our departure the Lipans had raided Santa Cruz, and that of its +twelve inhabitants, men, women and children, he was the only survivor. +Thus were the Lipans still levying heavy toll for their wrongs! + +Toward evening we entered Progreso a village reputed among the natives +to be a nest of thieves and assassins. While Thornton was away buying +meat and I was rearranging our pack, six of the ugliest-looking +Mexicans I ever saw strolled across the plaza, evidently to size up our +outfit. Apparently it was to their liking, for when, twenty minutes +later, we were riding into the ford of the Rio Salado just south of the +town, the six, all heavily armed, loped past us, and when they emerged +from the ford openly and impudently divided, three taking to the brush +on one side of the road, and three on the other, riding forward and +flanking the trail we had to follow. From then till dark their hats +were almost constantly visible, two or three hundred yards ahead of us. +Our horses being so jaded, we were sure they were not the prize sought, +and it remained certain they were after our saddles and arms. + +Riding quietly on behind them until it was too dark to see our move or +follow the trail, we slipped off to the westward of the road, and +camped in a deep depression in the plain, where we thought we could +venture a small fire to cook our supper. But the fire proved a +blunder. Before the water was fairly boiling in the coffee pot, Curly +signalled trouble, and we jumped out of the fire-light and dropped flat +in the bush just as the six fired a volley into the camp, one of the +shots hitting the fire and filling our frying-pan with cinders and +ashes. For an hour or more they sneaked about the camp, constantly +firing into it, while we lay close without returning a single shot, +content they would not dare try to rush us while uncertain of our +position. And so it proved, for at length Curly's warnings ceased, and +we knew they had withdrawn. + +Waiting till midnight, we saddled and packed and made a wide detour to +the west, striking the road again perhaps four miles nearer Lampasos, +which we reached safely late in the next afternoon; our grand old +camp-guard, Curly, in better condition than either of us. + + +Curiously, seven months later, in August, 1883, while on another +ranch-hunting trip in Mexico, this time along the eastern slope of the +Sierra Madre in northern Chihuahua at least five hundred miles distant +from Musquiz, I learned the solution of our puzzle as to whether our +last fight in Coahuila was with Lipans or Mexicans. The manager of the +Corralitos Ranch, which I was then engaged in examining, was Adolph +Munzenberger. The previous Winter he had lived in Musquiz, as +Superintendent of the Cedral Coal Mines. While there, however, I had +not met him or his family. + +One evening at dinner, Mrs. Munzenberger asked me, "Have you ever, +perchance, been in Coahuila?" + +"Yes," I answered, "I spent several weeks in the State last Winter." + +"And how did you like it?" she asked. + +"Well, I must say I found rather too many thrills there for comfort," I +replied. And when I mentioned affair on the sierra south of Musquiz, +she broke in with: + +"Indeed! And you are the crazy gringo Don Abran tried to stop from +going into the desert! We heard of it; in fact, it was the talk of the +town, and no one expected you would ever get back. And by the way, it +was a contraband _conducta_ owned by friends of ours who attacked you +back of the town! Droll, is it not?" + +"Perhaps--now," I doubtfully answered. + +"Yes," Mrs. Munzenberger continued, "they were on their way to +Monclova. The night before the attack, the wife of the owner (one of +the leading merchants of the town) took me to their camp in the brush +near town to see their goods; and a lovely lot of American things they +had." + +"But why did they attack us?" I queried. + +"Well, you see, it was this way," she explained. "The smugglers broke +camp long before dawn, and started south over the same trail by which +you were approaching; they wanted to get over the summit before the +Lipans or guards were likely to be stirring, for it was a point at +which _conductas_ were often attacked. But shortly after sunrise, and +just as they advance guard reached the summit, they discovered your +party ascending, and, mistaking your uniformed soldiers for guardias, +the leader lined a dozen of his men along the ridge, and opened on you, +while his _mayordomo_ rushed the pack mules of the _conducta_ back down +the trail they had come. Early in the fight they discovered you wore a +party of _gringos_, and not guards, and decamped as soon as their +_conducta_ had time to reach a point where they could leave the rail. + +"Had their goods not been at stake, they would have wiped you out, if +they could, for the leader's brother got shot in the head of which he +died the same day. Indeed, when the two men you left behind started to +leave the country, he had planned to follow and kill them, but luckily +Don Abran heard of it, and restrained him." + +And this explained the mystery why they had not flanked us! + + +Brave to downright rashness, George Thornton lasted only about two +years longer. + +The Winter of 1883-84 he spent with me on my Pecos Ranch. Early in the +Spring he came to me and said: + +"Old man, if you want to do me a favor, get me an appointment as Deputy +United States Marshal in the Indian Territory. I'm going to quit you, +anyway. My guns are getting rusty. It's too slow for me here." + +"Why, George," I replied, "if you are bound to die why don't you blow +your brains out yourself?"--for at the time few new marshals in the +Indian Territory survived the first year of their appointment. + +"Never mind about me," he answered; "I'll take care of George. Anyway, +I'd rather get leaded there than rust here." + +So I got him the appointment. + +A few months later, when the Territory was thrown open to settlement, +Thornton homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land which early +became a town site, and now is the business centre of the city of +Guthrie. Had he lived and retained possession of his homestead, it +would have made him a millionaire. But greedy speculators soon started +a contest of his title. + +While this contest was at its height, one day Thornton learned some +Indians living a few miles from the town were selling whiskey, contrary +to Federal law. As he was mounting for the raid, having intended to go +alone, a man he scarcely knew offered to accompany him, and Thornton +finally deputized him. + +The story of his end was told by the Indians themselves, who later were +captured by a large force of marshals, and tried for his murder. They +said that just at dusk they saw two horsemen approaching. Presently +they recognized Marshal Thornton and at once opened fire on him, eight +of them, from behind the little grove of cottonwoods in which they were +camped. Immediately Thornton shifted his bridle to his teeth, and +charged them straight, firing with his two ".41" Colts. The moment he +charged, his companion dodged into a clump of timber, where they saw +him dismount. On came Thornton straight into their fire shooting with +deadly accuracy, killing two of their number, and wounding another +before he fell. + +Presently, at the flash of a rifle from the brush where his companion +had dismounted, Thornton pitched from his horse dead. They had done +their best to kill him, they frankly swore, but it was his own deputy's +shot that laid him low. + +All the collateral circumstantial evidence so fully corroborated this +that the Indians were acquitted. The shot that killed him hit him in +the back of the head and was of a calibre different from that of the +Indians' guns; and his deputy never returned to Guthrie. + +That it was a murder prearranged by some of the greedy contestants for +his land, was further proved by the fact that every scrap of his +private papers was found to have disappeared, and, through their loss, +his family lost the homestead. + +Curly's end is another story. Happily he was spared to me some years. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE THREE-LEGGED DOE AND THE BLIND BUCK + +We had just pulled the canoe out of the water and turned it over after a +wet day in the bush across Giant's Lake, and were drying ourselves before +the camp-fire, when Con taught a lesson and perpetrated a confidence. +His keen, shrewd eyes twinkling, and a broad smile shortening his long, +lean face till its great Roman nose and pointed chin were hobnobbing +sociably together, the best hunter and guide on the Gatineau sat pouring +boiling water through the barrel and into the innermost holy of holies of +the intricate lock mechanism of his .303 Winchester--_to dry it out and +prevent rusting_ from the wetting it had received in the bush. + +"Sure! youse never heerd of it before?" he asked in surprise. "Dryin' a +gun with hot water 's safest way to keep her from rustin'; carries out +all th' old water hangin' round her insides 'n' makes her so damned hot +Mr. Rust don't even have time to throw up a lean-to 'n' get to eatin' of +her 'fore the new water's all gone; 'n' Mr. Rust can't get to eat none +'thout water, no more'n a deer can stay out of a salt lick, or Erne Moore +can keep away from the _habitaw_ gals, or Tit Moody can get his own +consent to stop his tongue waggin' off tales 'bout how women winks down +t' Tupper Lake--when _he's_ rowin' 'em." + +"Shouldn't think such a little water as you have used would make the gun +hot enough to dry it out," I suggested. + +"Hot! Won't make her hot! Why, she's hotter now 'n' billy Buell got +last October when that loony _habitaw_ cook o' ourn made up all our +marmalade and currant jelly into pies that looked 'n' bit 'n' tasted like +wagon dope wropt in tough brown paper; hot! 's hot this minute 's Elise +Lievre's woman got last Spring when she heerd o' him a-sittin' up t' a +Otter Lake squaw. Why, say! youse couldn't no more keep a gun from +rustin' in this wet bush 'thout hot water than Warry Hilliams can kill +anything goin' faster than three-legged deer. + +"Rust! Youse might 'a well try to catch a _habitaw_ goin' to a weddin' +'thout more ribbons on his bridle 'n' harness than his gal has on her +gown 's hunt for rust in a hot-watered gun!" + +Catching a hint of a yarn, I asked if there were many three-legged deer +in the bush. + +"W'an't but one ever, far 's I know," he replied. "'N' almighty lucky it +was for Warry that one come a-limpin' along his way, for it give him th' +only chance he'll probably ever have to say he got to shoot a deer. + +"Warry? Why he's jest the best ever happened--'t least the best ever +happened 'round this end o' the bush. Lives down to----; better not tell +you right where he lives, for I stirred up th' letters in his name, so 'f +any of his friends heerd you tell th' story they won't know it's on +_him_; fer he's jest that good I'd rather hurt anybody, 'cept my woman or +bird, than hurt him. + +"Warry! Why, with a rod 'n' line 'n' reel, whether it's with flies, +spoons, or minnows, castin' or trollin', or spearin' or nettin', Warry's +th' _ex_pertest fish-catcher that ever waded the rapids or paddled th' +lakes o' this old Province o' Quebec. But it's gettin' a _leetle_ hard +for Warry late years--fish 's come to know him so well that after he's +made a few casts 'n' hooked one or two that's got away, they know his +tricks so well they just passes the word 'round, 'n' it's 'pike' for th' +pike, 'beat it' for th' bass, 'trot' for th' trout, 'n' 'skip' for the +salmon, until now, after th' first day or two, 'bout all Warry can get in +reach of 's mud turtles. + +"'N'd that's what comes o' knowin' too much and gettin' too _damned_ +smart--nobody or nothin' left to play with! Warry? Why, say, if he'd +only knowed it thirty or forty years ago, Warry had th' chance to live 'n +die with th' _re_pute o' bein' th' greatest sport specialist that ever +busted through the Quebec bush--if he'd only jest kept to fishin'. But +the hell o' it is, Warry's always had a fool idee in his head he can +hunt, 'n' he can't, can't sort o' begin to hunt! 'N' darned if I could +ever quite figure out why, 'n' him so smart, 'nless because he goes +poundin' through the bush like a bunch o' shantymen to their choppin', +with his head stuck in his stummick, studyin' some new trick to play on a +trout, makin' so much noise th' deer must nigh laugh theirselves to death +at _him_ a-packin' o' a gun. + +"Hunt? Warry? Does he hunt? Sure, every year for th' last thirty years +to my knowledge--only that's all; he jest hunts, never kills nothin'. +Leastways he never did till three year ago, 'n' I ought t' know, for I +always guides for him. Why, I mind one time he was stayin' over on the +Kagama, he got so hungry for meat he up 'n' chunks 'n' kills 'n' cooks +'n' eats a porcupine, th' p'rmiscous shootin' o' which is forbid by +Quebec law, 'cause they're so slow a feller can run 'em down 'n' get 'em +with a stick or stone, 'n' don't need t' starve just 'cause he's got no +gun. + +"Three years ago he'd been up for the fly fishin' in late June 'n' +trollin' for gray trout in September, 'n then here he comes again th' +last week in October t' hunt. 'N' she was the same old story: nothing +doing! + +"I could set him on th' best runways, 'n' Erne 'n' me could dog th' bush +till our tongues hung out 'n' we could hardly open our mouths 'thout +barkin'; could run deer past him till it must 'a looked--if he'd had a +loose look about him--like a Gracefield _habitaw_ weddin' pr'cession, 'n' +thar he'd set with his eyes fast on th' end o' his gun, I guess, +a-waitin' for a sign of a _bite_ 'fore he'd jerk her up to try 'n' get +somethin'. 'N' the queerest part was, he seemed to enjoy it just 's much +'s if he'd brought down a three-hundred-pound buck to drag the wind out +o' Erne 'n' me at th' end o' a tump-line. Most fellers 'd got mad 'n' +cussed their luck. But not him--kindest, sweetest-tempered man I ever +knew. Guess he knowed we'd done our best 'n' had some kind o' secret +inside information that he hadn't. + +"O' course, sometimes Warry'd get his gun on, but by that time th' deer +had quit th' runway 'n' was in th' lake up to their bellies pullin' lily +pads, or curled up in th' long grass o' a swale fast asleep. + +"But all fellers has a day sometime, if they lives long enough--though +some o' them seems t' have t' get t' live a almighty long time t' get t' +see it. At last Warry's came. + +"Erne 'n' me been doggin' a swamp where th' deadfall tangle was so thick +we was so nigh stripped o' clothes we couldn't 'a gone t' camp if there'd +been any women about. Drivin' toward where a runway crossed a neck +'tween two lakes, a neck so narrow two pike could scarce pass each other +on it, there we'd sot Warry 't th' end o' th' neck. Jest 'fore we got t' +him we heard a shot, 'n' I remarked t' Erne, 'Guess th' old man thinks +he's got a _bite_.' 'N' then we broke through a thick bunch o' spruce; +'n' we both nigh fell dead to see old Warry sawin' at th' throat o' a +doe, tryin' to 'pear 's natural 's if he'd never done nothin' else but +kill 'n' dress deer. Mebbe Erne 'n' me wan't pleased none th' old man +had made a kill! + +"Erne was ahead; 'n' just as Warry rose up from th' throat-cuttin', Erne +dropped into th' weeds 'n' rolled 'n' 'round holdin' o' his stummick, +laughin' fit t' kill his fool self, till I thought he'd gone crazy. Then +my eye lit on th' fore quarters o' th' doe, 'n' I guess I throwed more +twists laughin' than Erne did--_for that there doe was shy a leg_, hadn't +but three legs; nigh fore leg gone midway 'tween knee and dewclaw, shot +off 'n' healed up Godo'mi'ty knows when. + +"Warry? He didn't seem t' care none, too darned glad t' get anythin' +shape o' a deer." + +That same evening one of us asked Con if he had ever run across any other +mutilated game, recovered of old wounds. + +"Sure!" he answered, "'specially once when I was almighty glad to git it, +'n' a whole lot gladder still that nobody was 'round t' see 'n' know 'n' +tell just what I got 'n' how I got it. She 's been a secret these five +year; stuck t' her tighter 'n' Erne Moore holds th' gals down t' +Pickanock dances, 'n' that 's closer 'n' a burl on a birch. Fact is, I +never told nobody 'fore now; 'n' I wouldn't be tellin' it t' youse now, +only just 'fore we come up here I got a letter from one o' th' two +brothers we blindfolded, sayin' his brother was dead an' he goin' t' +Californy t' live, 'n' wa'n't comin' into th' bush no more. + +"If that feller got hold o' her, my brother 'n' me 'd have t' go t' +Australia or th' Cape, for him that's still livin' 's just about 's mean +a feller 's Warry's a good one; an' any little _re_pute we've built up 's +guides 'n' hunters, he'd put in th' rest o' his life tryin' t' smash 's +flat 's that fool _habitaw_ cook got when Larry Adams sot on him for +cookin' pa'tridges as soup. He'd just par'lyze her till we couldn't even +get a job goin' t' hunt 'n' fetch th' cows out o' a ten acre pasture. +'N' th' worst o' 't is I don't know that I'd blame him so almighty much +for doin' it, for there was sure somethin' comin' t' us for foolin' them +I don't believe we got yet. + +"Th' two o' them came up from across th' line--ain't goin' t' tell you +what place they come from or even th' State--in late October, for th' two +weeks dog-runnin' season; youse know there is only two weeks th' Quebec +law lets us run hounds, 'thout a heavy fine. Never 'd seen either o' +them before, but friends o' theirs we'd been guidin' for gave brother 'n' +me a big recommend, 'n' they wrote up ahead 'n' hired us t' put up th' +teams t' haul them 'n' their traps in, 'n' then guide 'em. + +"Soon 's they showed up on th' depot platform at Gracefield, I knowed +brother 'n' me was up agin it hard. Train must 'a been a half-hour late +gettin' to Maniwaki for th' time she lost unloadin' them two fellers' +_necessities_ for a two-weeks' deer hunt: 'bout a dozen gun cases, 'n' +fishin' tackle 'nough for ten men, 'n' trunks 'n' boxes that took three +teams t' haul 'em out t' th' Bertrand farm. Fact is, them boxes held +enough ca'tridges t' lick out another Kiel rebellion 'n' leave over +'nough t' run all th' deer 'tween Thirty-one Mile Lake 'n' the Lievre +plumb north into James's Bay, for if there's anythin' your average +sportin' deer-hunters can be counted on for sure's death 'n' taxes, it's +t' begin throwin' lead, at th' rate o' about ten pound apiece a day, the +minute they gets into th' bush, at rocks 'n' trees 'n' loons 'n' +chipmucks--never killin' nothin' but their chance o' seein' a deer. + +"'N' these bloomin' beauties o' our'n was no exception. Th' lead they +wasted on th' two-mile portage from th' Government road t' th' lake would +equip all the Injuns on the Desert Reservation for a winter's hunt. + +"Why, when Tom 'n' me got hold o' th' box they'd been takin' ca'tridges +from t' heave her into the boat, she was so light, compared t' th' others +we'd been handlin', we landed her plumb over th' boat in th' water; 'n' +damned if she didn't nigh float. She was the only thing they had light +'nough t' even try t' float ('cept their own shootin,') which sure wasn't +heavy 'nough t' sink none, 'n' could 'a fell out o' a canoe 'n' been +picked up a week later bumpin' 'round with th' other worthless drift. + +"Took us a whole day to run their stuff over t' th' camp, 'n' it only a +mile across th' lake from th' landin'; 'n' when night come we was 's near +dead beat 's if we'd been portagin' a man's load apiece on a +tump-line--'n' that's a tub o' pork 'n' a sack 'o flour weighin' two +hundred and seventy five pounds--over every portage 'tween Pointe a +Gatineau 'n' th' Baskatong. + +"O' course th' gettin' them fellers over theirselves was a easy +diversion, they was that t' home 'bout a canoe! Youse may not believe +it, but after tryin' a half-hour 'n' findin' we couldn't even get them +into a canoe at th' landin' 'thout upsettin' or knockin' th' bottom outen +her, we had t' help them into a thirty-foot 'pointer' made t' carry a +crew o' eight shantymen 'n' their supplies on the spring drives, 'n' then +had t' pull our damnedest t' get them across th' lake 'fore they upset +her, jumpin' 'round 't shoot at somethin' they couldn't hit! + +"'N' eat! Well, they ate a few! We was only out for two weeks, 'n' when +we loaded th' teams 'peared t' me like we had 'nough feed for six months, +but after th' first meal 't looked t' me we'd be down t' eatin' what we +could kill inside o' a week. Looked like no human's stummick could hold +all they put in their faces, 'n' brother, he said he thought their legs +'n' arms must be holler. + +"'N' sleep! When 't come t' wakin' of 'em up th' next mornin' they was +like a pair o' bears that 'd holed up for th' winter, 'n' it nigh took +violence t' get 'em out at all. We started in runnin' th' hounds, 'n' +brother 'n' me had the best on th' Gatineau--Frank 'n' Loud, 'n' old +Blue, 'n' Spot--dogs that can scent a deer trail 's far 's Erne Moore can +smell supper cookin', 'n' that 's far from home 's Le Blanc farm his +father used to own, over Kagama way, 'bout eight miles from Pickanock, +where he lives. We run th' dogs for four days, 'n' it was discouragin', +most discouragin'. Country was full o' deer when we was last out, three +weeks before, 'n' th' dogs voiced 'n' seemed t' run plenty right down to +'n' past where we'd sot th' two on th' runways; but they swore they never +see nothin', said th' hounds been runnin' on old scent, sign made the +night before. + +"Then brother 'n' me took t' doggin' too, makin' six dogs, 'n' givin' us +a chance t' see anythin' that jumped up in th' bush. Still nothin' came +past 'em, they said, though we saw many a deer jump up out o' th' swamps +'n' go white flaggin' theirselves down th' runways toward the two +'hunters.' + +"We just couldn't understand it 'n' made up our minds t' try 'n' find out +why they never got t' see none. + +"So the sixth day I placed one o' them myself on a runway half as wide +'n' beat most 's hard 's th' Government road, full o' fresh sign, picked +a place where a big pine stump stood plumb in th' middle o' th' runway, +'n' sot him behind it where he had a open view thirty yards up th' runway +th' direction we'd be doggin' from. + +"Then I let on t' break through th' bush t' th' swamp we was goin' t' +dog, but 'stead o' that I only went a little piece 'n' left brother to +start th' hounds at a time we'd arranged ahead, while I lay quiet behind +a bunch o' balsam 'thin fifty yards o' my hunter. After 'bout twenty +minutes, the time I was supposed t' need t' get t' th' place t' start th' +hounds, I heard old Frank give tongue--must 'a struck a fresh trail th' +minute he was turned loose. Then it wa'n't long 'till th' other three +began t' sing, runnin' 'n' singin' a chorus that's jest th' sweetest +music on earth t' my ears. + +"Talk about your war 'n' patriotic songs, your 'Rule Britannias' 'n' +'Maple Leaves,' your church hymns 'n' love songs, 'n' fancy French op'ras +like they have down t' Ottawa that Warry Hilliams took me to wonst! Why, +say, do youse think any o' them is in it with a hound chorus, th' deep +bass o' th' old hounds 'n' th' shrill tenor o' th' young ones--risin' 'n' +swellin' 'n' ringin' through th' bush till every idle echo loafin' in th' +coves o' th' ridges wakes up 'n' joins in her best, 'n' you'd think all +th' hounds in this old Province was runnin' 'n' chorusin' 'tween the Bubs +'n' Mud Bay; 'n' then th' chorus dyin' down softer 'n' softer till she's +low 'n' sweet 'n' sorta holy-soundin', like your own woman's voice +chantin' t' your youngest--say, do youse think there's any music in th' +world 's good 's th' hounds make runnin'? + +"Well, I sot there behind th' balsams till th' dogs was drawin' near, 'n' +then I slips softly through th' bush t' where I'd left Mr. Hunter; 'n' +how do youse s'pose I found him, 'n' it no more'n half past seven in th' +mornin'? Youse never 'd guess in a thousand year. I'll jest tumpline +th' whole bunch o' youse 't one load from th' landin 't' th' Bertrand +farm if that feller wa'n't settin' with his back t' th' stump, facin' up +th' runway, his rifle 'tween his knees 'n' his fool head lopped over on +one shoulder, _dead asleep_! No wonder they never see nothin', was it? + +"First I thought I'd wake him. Then I heard a deer comin' jumpin' down +th' runway, 'n' knowin' 'for I could get him wide awake 'nough t' cock +'n' sight his gun th' deer 'd be on us, I slipped up behind th' stump 'n' +laid my rifle 'cross its top, th' muzzle not over a foot above his +noddin' head. I was no more'n ready 'fore here come--a buck? No, I +guess not, 'cause they was jest crazy for some good buck heads; no, jest +a doe, but a good big one. Here she come boundin' along, her head half +turned listening t' th' dogs, 'n' never seein' _him_, he sot so still. +When she got 'thin 'bout fifty feet I fired 'n' dropped her--'n' then +hell popped th' other side o' th' stump! Guess he thought he was jumped +by Injuns. Slung his gun one way 'n' split th' bush runnin' th' other, +leapin' deadfalls 'n' crashin' through tangles so fast I had t' run him +'bout fifty acres t' get t' cotch 'n' stop him. + +"That feller was with us jest about ten days longer, but he never got +time t' tell us jest what he thought was follerin' him or what was goin' +t' happen if he got cotched. Likely 's not he'd been runnin' yet if I +hadn't collared him. + +"O' course they was glad at last t' get some venison--leastways youse'd +think so t' see them stuffin' theirselves with it--but they never let up +a minute round camp roastin' brother 'n' me for not runnin' them a buck; +swore that we hadn't run 'em any was proved by my gettin' nothin' but th' +doe. + +"Finally, they up 'n' wants a still-hunt! Them still-hunt, that we could +scarce get along the broadest runway 'thout makin' noises a deer'd hear +half a mile! Still-hunt! Still-hunt, after we'd been runnin' the hounds +for a week and they'd shot off 'bout a thousand rounds o' ca'tridges +round camp 'n' comin' back from doggin', till there wa'n't a deer within +eight miles o' th' lake that wa'n't upon his hind legs listenin' where +th' next bunch o' trouble was comin' from. But still-hunt it was for +our'n, 'n' at it we went for th' next two days. Don't believe we'd even +'a started, though, if we hadn't known two days at th' most 'd cure them +o' still-huntin'. Gettin' out 'fore sun-up, with every log in th' +_brules_ frosted slippery 's ice 'n' every bunch o' brush a pitfall, +climbin' 'n' slidin' jumpin' 'n' balancin,' any 'n' every kind o' leg +motion 'cept plain honest walkin,' was several sizes too big a order for +them. So th' second mornin' out settled their still-huntin'. + +"Then they wanted brother 'n' me t' still-hunt--while they laid round +camp, I guess, 'n' boozed, th' way they smelled 'n' talked nights when we +got in. + +"'N' still-hunt we did, plumb faithful, 'n' hard 's ever in our lives +when we was in bad need o' th' meat, for several days; 'n' would youse +believe it? We never got a single shot. Sometimes we saw a white flag +for a second hangin' on top o' a bunch o' berry bushes--that was all; +most o' th' deer scared out o' th' country, 'n' th' rest wilder 'n' Erne +gets when another feller dances with his best gal. + +"Well, we just had t' give up 'n' own up beat. 'N' Goda'mi'ty! but +didn't them two cheap imitation hunters tell us what they thought o' us +pr'fessionals--said 'bout everything anybody could think of, 'cept cuss +us. 'N' there was no doubt in our minds they wanted to do that. If +they'd been plumb strangers, 'stead o' friends o' one o' our parties, +it's more'n likely brother 'n' me'd wore out a pair o' saplings over +their fool heads, 'n' paddled off 'n left them t' tump-line theirselves +out o' th' bush. But I told brother 't was only a day or two more, 'n' +we'd chew our own cheeks 'stead o' their ears. + +"The last day we had in camp they asked us t' make one more try with th' +hounds. We took th' two ridges north o' th' shanty deer-lick 'n' drove +west, with them on a runway sure to get a deer if there was any left t' +start runnin'. Scarcely ten minutes after we loosed th' hounds I heard +them stopped 'n' bayin', over on th' slope o' th' ridge brother was on, +bayin' in a way made me just dead sure they had a bear. + +"Now a bear-kill, right then t' go home 'n' lie about, tellin' how they +fit with it, would 'a suited our sham hunters better 'n' a whole passle +o' antlers; so I busted through th' bush fast as I could, fallin' 'n' +rippin' my clothes nigh off--only t' find our hounds snappin' 'n' bayin' +round a mighty big buck, that when I first sighted him, seemed to be jest +standin' still watchin' th' hounds. Never saw a deer act that way +before, 'n' him not wounded, 'n' nobody'd shot. Jest couldn't figure 't +out at all. But I was so keen t' get them fellers a bunch o' horns I +didn't stop t' study long what p'rsonal private reasons that buck had for +stoppin' 'n' facin' th' hounds. + +"I was in the act o' throwin' my .303 t' my face, when brother hollered +not t' shoot, 'n' t' come over t' him. 'N' by cripes! while I was +crossin' over t' brother, what in th' name o' all th' old hunters that +ever drawed a sight do youse think I noted about that buck? Darned if +that buck wa'n't _blind_--stone blind--blind 's a bat! + +"Poor old warrior! He'd stand with his head on one side listenin' t' th' +hounds till he had one located close up, 'n' then he'd rear 'n' plunge at +th' hound; 'n' if there happened t' be a tree or dead timber in his way, +he'd smash into it, sometimes knockin' himself a'most stiff. But when +all was clear th' hounds stood no show agin him, blind as he was. Old +Loud 'n' Frank, that naturally put up a better fight than th' young dogs, +he tore up with his front hoofs so bad they like t' died. + +"Run th' buck knowed he couldn't, 'n' there he stood at bay t' fight to a +finish 'n' sell out dear 's he could. If it hadn't been a real kindness +t' kill him, I'd never 'a shot that brave old buck, 'n' left our hunters +t' buy any horns they _had_ t' have down t' Ottawa. But he was already +pore 'n' thin 's deer come out in March, 'n' if we let him go 'd be sure +t' starve or be ate by th' wolves. So I put a .303 behind his shoulder, +'n' brother 'n' me ran up 'n' chunked th' dogs off. + +"'N' what do youse think we found had blinded that buck? Been lately in +a terrible fight with another buck. His head 'n' neck 'n' shoulders was +covered with half-healed wounds where he'd been gashed 'n' tore by th' +other's horns 'n' hoofs; 'n' somehow in the fight both his eyes 'd got +put out! Guess when he lost his eyes th' other buck must a' been 'bout +dead himself, or it 'd 'a killed him 'fore quittin'. + +"Then it hit brother 'n' me all of a heap that we'd be up agin it jest a +leetle bit too hard t' stand if we hauled a blind buck into camp; fellers +'d swear that t' get t' kill a buck at all brother 'n' me had t' range +th' bush till we struck a blind one; 'n' then they'd probably want us t' +go out 'n' see if we couldn't find some sick or crippled 'nough so we +could get to shoot 'em. + +"Brother was for leavin' him 'n' sayin' nothin'; but th' old feller had a +grand pair o' horns it seemed a pity t' lose, 'n' so I just drove a .303 +sideways through his eyes; 'n' when we got t' camp we 'counted for th' +two shots in him by tellin' them he was circlin' back past us 'n' we both +fired t' wonst. + +"'N' by cripes! t' this day nobody but youse knows that Con Teeples +dogged 'n' still-hunted th' bush for two weeks for horns 'thout killin' +nothin' but a blind buck." + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE LEMON COUNTY HUNT + +One crisp winter morning a party of us left New York to spend the week +end at the Lemon County Hunt Club. It was there I first met Sol, the +dean of Lemon County hunters and for eight seasons the winner, against +all comers, of the famous annual Lemon County Steeple Chase. At the +hurdles, whether in the great public set events or in private contests, +Sol was never beaten, while in the drag hunts it was seldom indeed he +was not close up on the hounds from "throw-in" to "worry." + +To the Club Mews he had come under the tragic name of Avenger, but such +was the marvellous equine wisdom he displayed that at the finish of his +third hunt in Lemon County, he was rechristened Solomon by his new +owner--soon shortened to Sol for tighter fit among sulphurous hunt +expletives. At that night's dinner Sol and his deeds were the chief +topic of conversation and also its principal toast. And why not, when +no hunting stable in the world holds a horse in all respects his equal? +Why not toast a horse now twenty-six years old who has missed no run of +the Lemon County hounds for the last eight years, never for a single +hunting-day off his feed or legs? Why not toast a horse that takes +ordinary timber in his stride and eats up the stiffest stone walls for +eight full hunting seasons without a single fall? Why not toast a +horse with the prescience and generalship of a Napoleon, a horse who +drives straight at all obstacles in a fair field, but who never +imperils his rider's head beneath over-hanging boughs; who foresees and +evades the "blind ditches" and other perils lurking behind hedges and +walls and who lands as steady and safe on ice as he takes off out of +muck? Why not toast this venerable but still indomitable King of +Hunters? + +The next morning it was my privilege to meet him. In midwinter, he of +course was not in condition. Descriptions of his weird physique, and +jests over his grotesquely large and ill-shaped head, made by half a +dozen voluble huntsmen over post-prandial bottles, I thought had +prepared me against surprise. Certainly they had described such a +horse as I had never seen. + +But having come to the door of his box, I was astounded to see +slouching lazily in a corner with eyes closed, the nigh hip dropped +low, a horse that at first glance appeared to be Don Quixote's +Rosinante reincarnate, a gigantic "crow-bait" with a head as long and +coarse as an eighteen-hand mule's, an under lip pendulous as a camel's +dropping ears nearly long enough to brush flies off his nostrils, with +such an ingrowing concavity of under jaw and convexity of face as would +have enabled his head to supply the third of a nine-foot circle, a face +curved as a scimitar and nearly as sharp. Both in shape and dimensions +it was the grossest possible caricature of a Roman-nosed equine head +the maddest fancy could conceive. + +Slapped lightly on the quarter, Sol was instantly transformed. + +Eyes out of which shone wisdom preternatural in a horse, opened and +looked down upon us with the calm questioning reproach one might expect +from a rude awakening of the Sphinx; then the tall ears straightened +and the great bulk rose to the full majesty of its seventeen hands; and +while slats, hip bones, and shoulder blades were distressingly +prominent, a glance got the full story of Sol's wonderful deeds and +matchless record for safe, sure work. + +With massive, low-sloping shoulders, tremendous quarters, +exceptionally short of cannon bone and long from hock to stifle as a +greyhound; with a breadth of chest and a depth of barrel beneath the +withers that indicated most unusual lung capacity, behind the +throat-latch Sol showed, in extraordinary perfection, all the best +points of a thoroughbred hunter that make for speed, jumping ability, +and endurance. + +And as he so stood, a flea-bitten, speckled white in color, he looked +like a section out of the main snowy range of the Rocky Mountains: the +two wide-set ears representing the Spanish Peaks; his sloping neck +their northern declivity; his high withers, sharply outlined vertebrae, +and towering quarters the serrated range crest; his banged tail a +glacier reaching down toward its moraine! + +Sol needed exercise, and that afternoon I was permitted the privilege +of riding him. Mounted from a chair and settled in the saddle, I felt +as if I must surely be bestriding St. Patrick's Cathedral. But at a +shake of the reins the parallel ceased. His pasterns were supple as an +Arab four-year-old's, his muscles steel springs. + +Myself quite as gray as Sol and, relatively, of about the same age, as +lives of men and horses go, we early fell into a mutual sympathy that +soon ripened into a fast friendship. At Christmas I returned to the +Club to spend holiday week, in fact sought the invitation to be with +Sol. Every day we went out together, Sol and I, morning and afternoon. +Bright, warm, open winter days, so soon as the spin he loved was +finished, I slid off him, slipped the bit from his mouth (leaving +head-stall hanging about his neck), and left him free to nibble the +juicy green grasses of some woodland glade and, between nibble times, +to spin me yarns of his experiences. For the subtle sympathy that +existed between us--sprung of our trust in one another and sublimated +in the heat of our mutual affection had sharpened our perceptions until +intellectual inter-communication became possible to us. I know Sol +understood all I told him, and I don't think I misunderstood much he +told me. So here is his tale, as nearly as I can recall it. + +"Ye know I'm Irish, and proud of it. It's there they knew best how to +make and condition an able hunter. No pamperin', softenin' idleness in +box stalls or fat pastures, or light road-joggin', goes in Ireland +between huntin' seasons. It's muscle and wind we need at our trade in +Ireland, and neither can be more than half diviloped in the few weeks' +light conditionin' work that all English and most American +cross-country riders give their hunters. Steady gruellin' work is what +it takes to toughen sinews and expand lungs, and it's the Irish +huntsman that knows it. So between seasons we drag the ploughs and +pull the wains, toil at the rudest farm tasks, and thus are kept in +condition on a day's notice to make the run or take the jump of our +lives. + +"Humiliatin'? Hardly, when we find it gives us strength and staying +power to lead the best the shires can send against us: they've neither +power nor stomach to take Irish stone and timber. + +"'It's a royal line of blood, his,' I've often heard Sir Patrick say; +'a clean strain of the best for a hundred years, by records of me own +family. His head? There was never a freak in the line till he came; +and where the divil and by what misbegotten luck he came by it is the +mystery of Roscommon. And it's by that same token we call him Avenger, +for no sneerin' stranger ever hunted with him that didn't get the +divil's own peltin' with clods off his handy Irish heels.' + +"And the head groom had it from the butler and passed it on to me that +the old Master of the Roscommon Hounds was ever swearin' over his third +bottle, of hunt nights, when I was no more than a five-year-old and the +youngsters would be fleerin' at Sir Pat over the shape of me head: + +"'Faith, an' it's Avenger's head ye don't like, lads, is it? By the +powers o' the holy Virgin but it's me pity ye have that none of ye can +show the likes in your stables. By the gray mare that broke King +Charlie's neck, it's the head of him holds brains enough to distinguish +ten average hunters, brains no ordinary brain pan could hold; an' it's +a brain-box shape of a shot sock makin' the disfigurin' hump below his +eyes. It's a four-legged gineral is Avenger, with the cunnin' +foresight of a Bonaparte and the cool judgment of a Wellington.' + +"Ah! but they were happy days on the old sod, buckin' timber, flyin' +over brooks, stretchin' over stone or lightin' light as bird atop of +walls too broad to carry and springin' on, with a good light-handed man +up that knew his work and left ye free to do yours! And a sad night it +was for me when Sir Pat, stripped by years of gambling of all he owned +but the clothes he stood in and me, staked and lost me to a hunt +visitor from Quebec! + +"I was a youngster then, only a nine-year-old, but I'll niver forget +the two weeks' run from Queenstown to Quebec whereon hunting tables +were reversed and I became the rider and the ship me mount, across +country the roughest hunter ever lived through: niver a moment of easy +flat goin', but an endless series of gigantic leaps that nigh jouted me +teeth loose, churned me insides till they wouldn't even hold dry feed, +and gave me more of a taste than I liked of what I had been givin' +Roscommon huntsmen over lane side wall jumps--a rise and a jolt, a rise +and a jolt, till it was wonderin' I was the ears were not shaken from +me head. + +"Humiliation? It was there at Quebec I got it! In old Roscommon +usually it was lords and ladies rode me of hunt days, men and women +bred to the game as I meself was. + +"But at Quebec, the best--and I had the best--were beefy members of +their dinkey colonial Government or fussy, timid barristers I had to +carry on me mouth. Seldom it was I carried a good pair of hands and a +cool head in me nine years' runnin' with the Quebec and Montreal +hounds. And lucky the same was for me, for it forced me to take the +bit in me teeth, rely on meself, and regard me rider no more than if he +were a sack of flour: I jist had it to do to save me own legs and me +rider's neck, for to run by their reinin' and pullin' would have +brought us a cropper at about two out of every three obstacles. Faith, +and I believe it's an honest leaper's luck I've always had with me, +anyway, for me Quebec work was jist what I needed to train me for an +honorable finish with the Lemon County Yankees. + +"One Autumn night years ago, when I was eighteen, a clever young Yankee +visitor from New York appeared at our club. For two days I watched his +work on other mounts, and liked it. He was good as any two-legged +product of the old sod itself, a handsome youngster a bit heavier than +Sir Pat, a reckless, deep drinkin', hard swearin', straight ridin' +sort, but with a head and hands ye knew in a minute ye could trust, by +name Jack Lounsend. The third hunt after his arrival, it was me +delight to carry him, and for the first time in years to allow me rider +his will of me. And you can bet your stud and gear, I gave him the +best I had, for the sheer love of him, and him so near the likes of me +dear Sir Pat. + +"Nor was me work to go unvalued, for, to me great delight, he bought me +and brought me to the States--straight away to Lemon County--along with +two of me huntmates he fancied. And a sweet country I found this same +Lemon County, with timber and stone nigh as stiff, and sod as sound as +old Roscommon's own. + +"But troubles lay ahead of me I'd not foreseen. Instead of goin' into +Jack's private string, as I'd hoped, the early record I made for close +finishes and safe, sure work made me wanted by the chief patron of the +hunt, a New York multi-railroad-aire with a well diviloped habit of +gettin' everything he goes after. So, while I venture to believe Jack +hated to part with me, the patron got me. + +"And a good man up the patron himself proved, one I'd always be proud +enough to carry; but, as Jack used to say, the hell of it was the Lemon +County Hunt numbered more bunglin' duffers than straight riders, the +sort a youngster or a hot-head would be sure to kill. + +"So when, as often happened, the patron was busy with faster runs and a +hotter 'worry' than our hunt afforded, it frequently fell to me lot to +carry the half-broke of all ages, seldom a one bridle wise to our game, +as sure to pull me at the take-off of a leap as to give me me head on a +run through heavy mud, the sort no horse could carry and finish +dacently with except by takin' the bit in his teeth and himself makin' +the runnin'. And even so, it was a tough task fightin' their rotten +heavy hands and loose seat! But, by the glory of old Roscommon, never +once have I been down in me eight years with the Lemons! + +"Once, to be sure, on me first run, by the way, I slashed into one of +your brutal wire fences, the first I'd ever seen--looked a filmy thing +you could smash right through--caught a shoe in it, and nigh wrenched a +shoulder blade in two. Sure, I never lost me feet, but it laid me up a +few days; and you can gamble any odds you like no wire has ever caught +me since; and, more, that I now hold record as the only horse in the +County that takes wire as readily as timber, where it's +necessary--though sure it is I'll dodge for timber every time where I +won't lose too much in place. + +"Down they come to Lemon County, a lot of those New York beauties, men +and women, togged out so properly you'd think they'd spent their whole +lives in the huntin' field; but at the first obstacle you'd see their +faces go white as their stocks, and then all over you they'd ride from +tail to ears, their arms sawin' at your mouth fit to rip your under jaw +off, like they thought it was a backin' contest they were entered for. +And sure back to the rear it soon was for them, back till the hounds +were mere glintin' specks flyin' across a distant hill-crest, the +riders' red coats noddin' poppies; back till only faint echoes reached +them of the swellin', quaverin' chorus of the madly racin' pack; back +for all but him or her whom old Sol had his will of,--for rider never +lived could hold me to the wrong jump or throw me from my stride, nor +was fence ever built I'd not find a place to leap without layin' a toe +on it. + +"Once the hounds give voice, it's the divil himself couldn't hold me, +whether it's the short, sharp war-cry of the Irish or the sweet, deep +bell-notes of these Yankee hounds that to me ever seem chantin' a +mournful dirge for the quarry. Sure, it's the faster Irish hounds that +make the grandest runnin', but it's the deep-throated mellow chorus of +a Yankee pack I love best to hear. + +"_Nouveaux riches_, whatever kind of bounders that spells, is what Bob +Berry calls the lot of mouth-sawers New York sends us; and whenever the +patron is out or Jack has his way, it's niver one of them I'm disgraced +with. + +"Sometimes it's me good old Jack up; sometimes hard swearin', straight +goin' Bob; sometimes little Raven, as true a pair of hands and light +and tight a seat as hunter ever had; sometimes Lory Ling, as reckless +as the old Roscommon sire of him I used to carry when I was a +five-year-old, with a ring in his swears, a stab in his heels, and a +cut in his crop that can lift a dead-beat one over as tall gates as the +best and freshest can take; sometimes it's Priest, that with the +language of him and the hell-at-a-split pace he'll hold a tired one to +but ill desarves the holy name he wears; and sometimes--my happiest +times--it's a daughter of the patron up, with hands like velvet and the +nerve and seat of a veteran. + +"Horse or human, it's blood that tells, every time, me word for that. +Be they old or young, you can niver mistake it. Can't stop anything +with good blood in it--gallops straight, takes timber in its stride, +and finishes smartly every time. Know it may not, but it balks at +nothing, sets its teeth and drives ahead till it learns. + +"And perhaps that wasn't driven well home on me last Fall!" + +"Out to us came a little woman, a scant ninety-pounder I should say, so +frail she wouldn't look safe in a drag, and a good bit away on the off +side of middle age; but the mouth of her had a set that showed she'd +never run off the bit in her life, and her eye--my eye! but she had an +eye, did that woman. And it was hell-bent to hunt she was, bound to +follow the bounds, though all she knew of a saddle came of +five-mile-an-hour jogs along town park bridle paths, and all her hands +looked fit for was holdin' a spaniel. + +"Well, it was Lory and Priest took her on, turn about, usually me that +carried her, and it was break her slender little neck I thought the +divils would in spite of me. Took her at everything and spared her +nowhere, bowled her along across meadow and furrow, over water, timber, +and walls, like she was a lusty five-year-old, and all the time a +guyin' her in a way to take the heart out of anything but a +thoroughbred. 'Don't mind the fence!' Lory would sing out, 'if you get +a fall, just throw your legs in the air and keep kickin' to show you're +not dead; we never want to stop for any but the dead on this hunt.' +And smash on my quarters would come her crop, and on we'd go! + +"Again, when we'd be nearin' a fence across which two were scramblin' +up from croppers, Lory would brace her with: 'Don't git scared at that +smoke across the fence; it's nothin' but the boys that couldn't get +over burnin' up their chance of salvation!' And into me slats her +little heel would sock the steel, and high over the timber I'd lift her +for sheer joy of the nerve of her! + +"But it was not always me that had her. One day I saw a cold-blood +give her a fall you'd think would smash the tiny little thing into +bran; landed so low on a ditch bank he couldn't gather, and up over his +head she flew and on till I thought she was for takin' the next wall by +her lonesome. And when finally she hit the ground it was to so near +bury herself among soft furrows that it looked for a second as if she'd +taken earth like any other wily old fox tired of the runnin'. + +"But tired? She? Not on your bran mash! Up she springs like a +yearlin' and asks Lory is her hat on straight--which it was, straight +up and down over her nigh ear. 'Oh, damn your hat,' answers Lory; +'give us your foot for a mount if you're not rattled. Why, next year +you'll be showin' your friends holes in the ground on this hunt course +you've dug with your own head!' And up it was for her and away again +on old cold-blood. Faith, but those cold-bloods make it a shame +they're ever called hunters. Fall the best must, one day or another; +but while the thoroughbred goes down fightin', strugglin' for his feet +and ginerally either winnin' out or givin' his rider time to fall free +if down he must go, the cold-blood falls loose and flabby as an empty +sack, and he and his rider hit the ground like the divil had kicked +them off Durham Terrace. Ah, but it was the heart of a true +thoroughbred had Mrs. Bruner, and whether up on cold or hot blood, +along she'd drive at anything those two hare-brained dare-devils would +point her at, spur diggin', crop splashin'! + +"Nor is all our fun of hunt days. Between times the lads are always +larkin' and puttin' up games on each other out of the stock of +divilment that won't keep till the next run, each never quite so happy +as when he can git the best of a mate on a trade or a wager. + +"One day little Raven and I galloped over to Lory's place. + +"'Whatever mischief are you and His Wisdom up to?' sings out Lory to +Raven, the minute we stopped at his porch. + +"'Nary a mischief,' answers Raven; 'want some help of you.' + +"'Give it a name,' says Lory. + +"'Easy,' says Raven; 'the master's got a new fad--crazy to mount the +hunt on white horses. I've old Sol here, and Jack has a pair of handy +white ones for the two whips, but where to get a white mount for Jack +stumps us. Jogged over to see if you could help us out.' + +"Lory was lollin' in an easy-chair, lookin' out west across his spring +lot. Directly I saw a twinkle in his eye, and followin' the line of +his glance, there slouchin' in a fence corner I saw Lory's old white +work-mare, Molly. Sometimes Molly pulled the buggy and the little +Lings, but usually it was a plough or a mower for hers. I'd heard Lory +say she was eighteen years old and that once she was gray, but now +she's white as a first snow-fall. + +"'How would old gray Molly do, Raven?' presently asks Lory. + +"'Do? Has she ever hunted?' asks Raven. + +"'Divil a hunt of anything but a chance for a rest,' says Lory; 'never +had a saddle on, as far as I know, but she has the quarters and low +sloping shoulders of a born jumper, and it's you must admit it. Let's +have a look at her.' + +"So out across the spring lot the three of us went, to the corner where +Molly was dozin'. And true for Lory it was, the old lady had fine +points; when lightly slapped with Raven's crop she showed spirit and a +good bit of action. + +"'She's sure got a good strain in her,' says Raven; 'where did you get +her, Lory?' + +"'Had her twelve years,' says Lory; 'brought her on from my Wyoming +ranch; she and a skullful of experience and a heartful of +disappointment made up about all two bad winters left of my ranch +investments. The freight on her made her look more like a back-set +than an asset, but she was a link of the old life I couldn't leave.' + +"'Well, give her a try out,' laughs Raven, 'and if she'll run a bit and +jump, we may have some fun passin' her up to Jack.' + +"So Lory takes her to the stable, has her saddled and mounts, and I +hope never to have another rub-down if she didn't gallop on like she'd +never done anything else--stiff in the pasterns and hittin' the ground +fit to bust herself wide open, but poundin' along a fair pace. Then we +went into a narrow lane and I gave her a lead over some low bars, and +here came game old Molly stretchin' over after me like fences and her +were old stable-mates. + +"'Well, I _will_ be damned,' says Raven; 'she's a hoary wonder. Give +her a week of handlin' and trim her up, and it'll be Jack for mother at +a stiff price; he's so bent on his fad, he'll take a chance on her age.' + +"And then it was clinkin' glasses and roarin' laughter in the house +with them, while I began tippin' Molly a few useful points at the game +as soon as the groom left us in adjoinin' stalls. + +"Four days later Lory brought Molly over to the hunt-club mews, and if +I'd not been on to their mischievous plot, I'll be fired if I'd known +her. It was a cunnin' one, was Lory, and he'd banged her tail, hogged +her mane, clipped her pasterns, polished her hoofs, groomed, fed up, +and conditioned her, and (I do believe) polished her yellow old fangs, +till she looked as fit a filly as you'd want to see. + +"And soon after, when Molly was unsaddled and stalled, into an empty +box alongside of me slips Lory with Tom, the best whip and seat of our +hunt, and says Lory: 'You never seem to mind riskin' your neck, Tom.' + +"'Thank ye kindly, sir,' says Tom; 'hall in the day's work.' + +"'Well, if you'll give the old gray mare a week's practice at wall and +timber, gettin' out early when none but the sun and the pair of you are +yet up, I'll give you the little rifle you lovin'ly handled at my place +the other day. But mind, it's your neck she may break at the first +wall, for I've niver taken her over anything much higher than a pig +sty.' + +"'Right-o, sir,' says Tom; 'an' there's any jump in the old girl, I'll +git it out of 'er.' + +"The next Saturday afternoon, the biggest meet of the season, up rides +that divil of a Lory on Molly, him in a brand-new suit of ridin' togs +and her heavy-curbed and martingaled like she was a wild four-year-old, +the pair lookin' so fine I scarce knew the man or Raven the mare. + +"'Hi, there, Lory!' says Raven; 'wherever did you get the corkin' white +un?' + +"'Sh-h-h! you damn fool,' says Lory. + +"'The hell you say!' whispers Raven, reins aside, chucklin' low to the +two of us, and with a knee-press which I knew meant, 'Sol, jist you +watch 'em!' + +"And we were no more than turned about when up rides the master, Jack, +both ears pointin' Molly, and says: + +"'Good-looker you have there, Lory. New purchase? + +"'No, indeed,' says Lory; 'old hunter I've had some years; brought her +on from the West; just up off grass and not quite prime yet; guess +she'll finish, though. + +"Think of it--the nerve of the divil--and him knowin' she was more +likely to finish at the first fence than ever to reach the check. For +the day's course was a full ten-mile run, and a check was laid half-way +for a blow or a change of mounts. + +"Presently the hounds opened at the 'throw-in,' an Irish pack it takes +near a steeplechase pace to stay with, and we were off on as stiff a +course as even Lemon County can show. And a holy miracle was Lory's +ridin' that day. For nigh four miles he held tight behind two duffers +who, while up on top-notchers, pulled their mounts so heavily that they +took a top rail off nearly every fence they rose to and swerved for low +wall-gaps, till he'd got Molly's nerves up a bit. Then, takin' a +chance on the last mile, Lory threw crop and spur into her and raced +straight ahead, liftin' her over wall and timber to try the best, until +close up on Jack. Just then Jack turned and watched them, just as they +were approachin' a heavy four-foot jump, a broad stone wall and ditch. +Sure, I thought it was all up with Lory, but at it he hurled her, and +I'll be curbed if she didn't take it as cleverly as I could. + +"Old Molly finished third at the check, but at the expense of a pair of +badly torn and bleedin' knees, got scrapin' over stone and wood, which +that rascal of a Lory hid by swervin' to a white clay bank and +plasterin' her wounds with the clay, and then she was led away by his +groom. + +"Joggin' back from the 'worry' that evenin', Jack lay tight in Lory's +flank till Lory had consented, apparently with great reluctance, to +sell him Molly for five hundred dollars. + +"The very next week, Jack, Raven, and the two whips turned out on white +hunters, Jack of course upon Molly and happy over the successful +workin' out of his fad. But good old Jack's happiness was short-lived, +for after the 'throw-in' he was not seen again of the hunt that day, +The first fence Molly negotiated in fine style, but at the second she +came a terrible cropper that badly jolted Jack and knocked every last +ounce of heart out of her, cowed her so completely that she'd be in +that same meadow yet if there'd not been a pair of bars to lead her +through, and divil a man was ever found could make her try another jump. + +"Great was the quiet fun of Lory and Raven, though Lory's lasted little +longer than Jack's joy of his white mount. Of course Jack was too game +to let on he knew he'd been done, but not too busy to sharpen a rowel +for Lory. + +"And the rankest wonder it was Lory niver saw it till Jack had him +raked from flank to shoulder--just stood and took it without a blink, +like a donkey takes a lash. + +"Within a week of Molly's downfall Lory was out on me one day, when up +rides Jack and says: + +"'There's a splendid hunter in me stable I want ye to have, Lory. Got +more than I can keep, and your stable must be a bit shy since you +parted with the white mare. He's the bay seventeen-hander in the Irish +lot. Stands me over a thousand, but you can have him at your own +price; don't want the hardest, straightest rider of the hunt shy of fit +meat and bone to carry him.' + +"Belikes it was the blarney caught him, but anyway Lory buried his +muzzle in Jack's pail till he could see nothin' but what Jack said it +held, and took the bay at six hundred dollars just on a casual lookover. + +"It was a good action, a grand jumpin' form, and rare pace the bay +showed on a short try-out that afternoon, so much so I overheard Lory +tellin' himself, when he was after dismounting just outside me box: +'Gad! but ain't old Jack easy money!' + +"But when Lory and the bay showed up at the next day's meet, I noticed +the bay's ears layin' back or workin' in a way to tell any but a blind +one it was dirty mischief he was plannin'. Nor was he long playin' it. +For about a third of the run the bay raced like a steeplechaser tight +on the heels of the hounds, leadin' even the master, for Lory could no +more hold him than his own glee at the grand way they were takin' gates +and walls. But suddenly that bay divil's-spawn swerves from the +course, dashes up and stops bang broadside against a barn; and there, +with ears laid back tight to his head and muzzle half upturned, for +four mortal hours the bay held Lory's off leg jammed so tight against +the barn that, rowel and crop-cut hard as he might, the only thing Lory +was able to free was such a flow of language, it was a holy wonder +Providence didn't fire the barn and burn up the pair of them. + +"And as Jack passed them I heard the divil sing not [Transcriber's +note: out?]: 'Ha! Ha! Lory! it was the gray mare wanted to jump but +couldn't, and it's the bay can jump but won't! It's an "oh hell!" for +you and a "ha! ha!" for me this time!' + +"Which, while they're still fast friends, was the last word ever passed +between them on the subject of the funker and the balker." + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +EL TIGRE + +"A cat may look at a king, but the son of a village lawyer may not +venture to bare his heart to the daughter of the Duque de la Torrevieja. +And yet a man of our blood was ennobled early in the wars with the Moors, +while the Duke's forebears were still simple men-at-arms, knighted under +a name that in itself carries the ring of the heroic deeds that earned +it." + +The speaker, Mauro de la Lucha-sangre (literally "Mauro of the Bloody +Battle"), stood one June morning of 1874 beneath the shade of a gnarled +olive-tree on the banks of the Guadaira River, rebelliously stamping a +heel into the soft turf. Son of the foremost lawyer of his native town +of Utrera, educated in Sevilla at the best university of his province, +already at twenty-four himself a fully accredited _licenciado_, Mauro's +future held actually brilliant prospects for a man of the station into +which he was born. And yet, most envied of his classmates though he was, +to Mauro himself the future loomed black, forbidding, cheerless. + +Mauro's father, by legacy from his father, was the attorney and +counsellor of the Duque de la Torrevieja; and so might Mauro have been +for the next Duke had there not cropped out in him the daring, the love +of adventure, the pride, and the confidence that had lifted the first +Lucha-sangre above his fellows. It was a case of breeding back--away +back over and past generations of fawning commoners to the times when +Lucha-sangre swords were splitting Moorish casques and winning guerdons. + +Nor in spirit alone was Mauro bred back. He was deep of chest, broad of +shoulder, lithe and graceful. His massive neck upbore a head of Augustan +beauty, lighted by eyes that alternately blazed with the pride and +resolution of a Cid and softened with the musings of a Manrique. Mauro +was a Lucha-sangre of the twelfth century, reincarnate. + +Little is it to be wondered at that, as the lad was often his father's +message-bearer to the Duke, he found favor in the eyes of the Duke's only +daughter, Sofia; and still less is it to be wondered at that he early +became her thrall. Of nights at the university he was ever dreaming of +her; up out of his text-books her lovely face was ever rising before him +in class. + +Of a rare type was Sofia in Andalusia, where nearly all are dark, for she +was a true _rubia_, blue of eye, fair of skin, and with hair of the +wondrously changing tints of a cooling iron ingot. + +And now here was Mauro, just back from Sevilla, almost within arms'-reach +of his divinity, and yet not free to seek her. And as the rippling +current of the Quadaira crimsoned and then reddened and darkened till it +seemed to him like a great ruddy tress of Sofia's waving hair, Mauro +sprang to his feet and fiercely whispered: "_Mil demonios!_ but she shall +at least know, and then I'll kiss the old _padre_, and his musty office +good-bye and go try my hand at some man's task!" + +Opportunity came earlier than he had dared hope. The very next morning +the elder Lucha-sangre sent Mauro to the castle with some papers for the +Duke's approval and signature. Still at breakfast, the Duke received him +in the great banquet-hall of the castle, the walls covered with portraits +of Torreviejas gone before, several of the earlier generations so dim and +gray with age they looked mere spectres of the limner's art. + +While the Duke was reading the papers, Mauro stood with eyes riveted to +the newest portrait of them all, that of Sofia's mother--Sofia's very +self matured--herself a native of a northern province wherein to this day +red hair and blue eyes are a frequent, almost a prevailing type, that +tell the story of early Gothic invasions. So absorbed in the picture, so +completely possessed by it was Mauro, that when the Duke turned and spoke +to him, he did not hear. + +And so he stood for some moments while the Duke sat contemplating the +fine lines of his face and the splendid pose of his figure; his eyes +lightened with admiration, his head nodding approval. + +Then gently touching Mauro's arm, the Duke queried: "And so you admire +the Duchess, young man?" + +With a start Mauro answered, after a dazed stare at the Duke: "A thousand +pardons, Excellency! But yes, sir; who in all the world could fail to +admire her?" + +"Yes, yes," replied the Duke; "God never made but one other quite her +equal, and her He made in her own very image--Sofia; _que Dios la +aguarda_!" + +Mauro gravely bowed, received the papers from the Duke, and withdrew. + +Turning to his secretary, the Duke sighed deeply and murmured: "_Dios +mio!_ if only I had a son of my own blood like that boy! What a pity he +should be tied down to paltry pettifoggery!" + +Meantime Mauro, striding disconsolate past an angle of the narrow garden +of the inner courtyard, was detained by a soft voice issuing from the +seclusion of a bench beneath the drooping boughs of an ancient fig tree: +"_Buenos dias, Don Mauro. Bueno es verte revuelto._" + +"Buenos dias, Condesa; and it is indeed good to me to be back, good to +hear thy voice--the first real happiness I have known since my ears last +welcomed its sweet tones. Good to be back! ah! Condesa Sofia, for me it +is to live again." + +"But, Don Mauro--" + +"A thousand pardons, Condesa, but thy duenna may join thee at any moment, +and my heart has long guarded a message for thee it can no longer hold +and stay whole,--a message thou mayest well resent for its gross +presumption, and yet a message I would here and now deliver if I knew I +must die for it the next minute. + +"From childhood hast thus possessed me. Never a night for the last ten +years have I lain down without a prayer to the Virgin for thy safety and +happiness; never a day but I have so lived that my conduct shall be +worthy of thee. Though I am the son of thy father's _licenciado_, thou +well knowest the blood of a long line of proud warriors burns in my +veins. Hope that thou mightst ever even deign to listen to me I have +never ventured to cherish--" + +"But Don Mauro--" + +"Again a thousand pardons, Condesa, but I must tell thee thou art the +light of my soul. Without thee all the world is a valley of bitterness; +with thee its most arid desert would be an Eden. The birds are ever +chanting to me thy name. Every pool reflects thy sweet face. Every +breeze wafts me the fragrance of thy dear presence. Every thunderous +roll of the Almighty's war-drums calls me to attempt some great heroic +deed in thine honor, some deed that shall prove to thee the lawyer's son, +in heart and soul if not in present station, is not unworthy to tell to +thee his love. And--" + +"But, Mauro, Mauro _m--mio_!" And with a sob she arose and actually fled +through the shrubbery. + +Two days later the betrothal of the Countess Sofia to the Count Leon, the +eldest son and heir to the Duke de Oviedo, was announced by her father. +And that, indeed, was what she had tried but lacked the heart to tell +him--that, wherever her heart might lie, her father had already promised +her hand! + +It was a bitter night for Mauro, that of the announcement, and a sad one +for his father. Their conference lasted till near morning. The son +pleaded he must have a life of action and hazard; his country at peace, +he would train for the bull ring. + +"Why not the opera, my son?" the thrifty father replied. "Thou hast a +grand tenor voice; indeed the Bishop has asked that thou wilt lead the +choir of the Cathedral. With such a voice thou wouldst have action, see +the world, gain riches, while all the time playing the parts, fighting +the battles of some great historic character." + +"But no, father," answered Mauro; "such be no more than sham fights. Not +only must I wear a sword as did the early Lucha-sangres, but I must hear +it ring and ring against that of a worthy foe, feel it steal within the +cover of his guard, see the good blade drip red in fair battle. True, +there be no Moors or French to fight, but what soldier on reddened field +ever took greater odds than a lone _espada_ takes every time he +challenges a fierce Utrera bull? And I swear to thee, _padre mio_, +whatever my calling, I shall ever be heedful of and cherish the motto +that Lucha-sangre swords have always borne: '_No me sacas sin razon; no +me metes sin honor._'" (Do not draw me without good cause; do not sheath +me without honor!) + +The less strong-minded of the two, the father yielded, and even furnished +funds sufficient for a year's private tutoring by Frascuelo, then the +greatest _matador_ in all Spain. + +Thus the first time Mauro ever appeared before a public assembly was a +chief espada of a cuadrilla of his own, at Valladolid. An apt pupil from +the start, bent upon reaching the highest rank, of extraordinary strength +and activity, utterly fearless but cool headed, a natural general, at the +close of his first _corrida_ he was acclaimed the certain successor of +the great Frascuelo himself, and at the same time christened _El Tigre_ +(the Tiger) for the feline swiftness of his movements and the ferocity of +his attacks. + +The next eight years were for _El Tigre_ fruitful of fame and riches but +utterly arid and barren of even the most casual feminine attachment. +Well educated, clever, with the manners of a courtier, and with physical +beauty and personal charm few men equalled, he was invited by the +nobility often, received as an equal by the men and literally courted by +the women. But the attentions of women were all to no purpose. For _El +Tigre_ only one woman existed--Sofia, now the Duchess de Oviedo--though +he had never again set eyes on her from the hour of their parting beneath +the fig tree. + +Owners of large Mexican sugar estates in the valley of Cuautla, the Duke +and Sofia divided their time between Paris and Mexico. Their marriage +was far from happy. Before their union, busy tongues had brought Count +Leon rumors of her admiration for Mauro, rousing suspicions that were not +long crystallizing into certainty that, while she was a faithful, honest +wife, he could never win of her the affection he gave and craved. +Obviously proud of her, always devoted and kind, he received from her +respect and consideration in return, which indeed was all she had to +give, for the loss of Mauro remained to her an ever-gnawing grief. + + +Oddly enough, fate decreed that the destiny of Mauro and Sofia should be +worked out far afield from their burning Utreran plains, high up on the +cool plateau of Central Mexico. + +For several years most generous offers had been made _El Tigre_ to bring +his _cuadrilla_ to Mexico, but, surfeited with fame and rolling in +riches, he had declined them. At last, however, in 188-, an offer was +made him which he felt forced to accept--six thousand dollars a +performance for ten _corridas_, to be given on successive Sundays in the +Plaza Bucareli in the City of Mexico, all expenses of himself and his +_cuadrilla_ to be paid by the management. And so, late in April of that +year _El Tigre_ arrived in Mexico with his _cuadrilla_ and (as stipulated +in his contract) sixty great Utreran bulls, for the bulls of Utrera are +famed in _toreador_ history and song as the fiercest, most desperate +fighters _espada_ ever confronted. + +At the first performance _El Tigre_ took the Mexican public by storm. No +such execution, daring, and grace had ever been seen in either Bucareli +or Colon. _El Tigre_ was the toast in every club and _cafe_ of the city. +Every shop window displayed his portrait. All the journals sung his +praises. Maids and matrons sighed for him. Youth and age envied him. +_El Tigre's_ coffers were well-nigh bursting and his cups of joy +overflowing, all but the one none but Sofia could fill. + +Where she was at the time _El Tigre_ had no idea. And yet, wholly +unsuspected by him, not only were she and the Duke in Mexico, but both +had attended all his performances at Bucareli, up to the last, +inconspicuous behind parties of friends they entertained in their box. + +Whether it was the Duke caught the pallor of Sofia's face in moments of +peril for Mauro, or the light of pride and admiration in her eyes during +his moments of triumph, sure it is the smouldering fires of the Duke's +jealousy were rekindled, and he was prompted to plan a test of her +bearing, when free of the restraint of his presence. On the morning of +the last performance he announced that he must spend the afternoon with +his attorneys, and must leave Sofia free to make her own arrangements for +attendance at the last _corrida_. + +And glad enough was she of the chance. The boxes were far too high +above, and distant from, the arena. For days she had coveted any of the +seats along the lower rows of open benches, close down to the six-foot +barrier between the ring and the auditorium, close down where she could +catch every shifting expression of Mauro's mobile face, and--where he +could scarcely fail to see and recognize her. The thought of seeking in +any way to meet or speak to him never entered her clean mind, but she had +been more nearly a saint than a woman if she had been able to deny +herself such an opportunity to convey to him, in one long burning glance, +a knowledge of the endurance of the love her frightened "Mauro _mio_" had +plainly confessed the night of their parting beneath the fig tree. So it +naturally followed that the Duke was barely out of the house before Sofia +rushed away a messenger to reserve a section of the lower benches +immediately beneath the box of the _Presidente_, directly in front of +which Mauro must come, at the head of his _cuadrilla_, to salute the +_Presidente_. + +The city was thronged with visitors come to see _El Tigre_. Hotels and +clubs were overflowing with them. And thousands of poor peons had for +months stinted themselves, often even gone hungry, to save enough +_tlacos_ to buy admission to the spectacle, to them the greatest and most +magnificent it could ever be their good fortune to witness. The day was +perfect, as indeed are most June days in Mexico. For two hours before +the performance the principal thoroughfares leading to the Plaza Bucareli +were packed solid with a moving throne all dressed _en fete_. + +In no country in the world may one see such great picturesqueness, +variety, and brilliancy of color in the costumes of the masses as then +still prevailed in Mexico. Largely of more or less pure Indian blood, +come of a race Cortez found habited in feather tunics and head-dresses +brilliant as the plumage of parrots, great lovers of flowers, three and a +half centuries of contact with civilization had not served to deprive +them of any of their fondness for bright colors. Thus with the horsemen +in the graceful _traje de chorro_--sombreros and tight fitting soft +leather jackets and trousers loaded with gold or silver ornaments, the +footmen swaggering in _serapes_ of every color of the rainbow, the women +wrapped in more delicately tinted rebosas and crowned with flowers, the +winding streets looked like strips of flower garden ambulant. + +Bucareli seated twenty thousand, and when all standing-room had been +filled and the gates closed, thousands of late comers were shut out. + +The level, sanded ring, the theatre of action, was surrounded by a +six-foot solid-planked barrier. Behind and above the barrier rose the +benches of the auditorium, the "bleachers" of the populace; they rose to +a height of perhaps forty or fifty feet, while above the uppermost line +of benches were the private boxes of the _elite_. Within the ring were +five heavily planked nooks of refuge, set close to the barrier, behind +which a hard pressed _toreador_ might find safety from a charging bull. +These refuges were little used, however, except by the underlings, the +_capadores_, or by capsized _picadores_; _espadas_ and _banderilleros_ +disdained them. On the west of the ring was the box of the _Presidente_ +of the _corrida _(in this instance, the Governor of the Federal +District); on the east the main gate of the ring through which the +_cuadrilla_ entered; on the north the gate of the bull pen. + +At a bugle call from the _Presidente's_ box, the main gate swung wide and +the _cuadrilla_ entered, a band of lithe, slender, clean-shaven men, in +slippers, white stockings, knee breeches, and jackets of silk ornamented +with silver, each wearing the little queue and black rosette attached +thereto that from time immemorial Andalusian _toreadores_ have sported. + +_El Tigre_ headed the squad, followed by two junior _matadores_, three +_banderilleros_, three _capadores_, and two mounted _picadores_, while at +the rear of the column came two teams of little, half-wild, prancing, +dancing Spanish mules, one team black, the other white, each composed of +three mules harnessed abreast as for a chariot race, but dragging behind +them nothing but a heavy double tree, to which the dead of the day's +fight might be attached and dragged out of the arena. + +Each of the footmen was wrapped in a large black cloak passed over the +left shoulder and beneath the right, the loose end of the cloak draped +gracefully over the left shoulder, the right arm swinging free. The +_picadores_ were mounted (as usual) on old crowbaits of horses, mere bags +of skin and bones, so poor and thin that neither could even raise a trot; +a broad leather blindfold fastened to their head-stalls. Each rider was +seated in a saddle high of cantle and ancient of form as those Knights +Templar jousted in. The breast of each horse was guarded by a great side +of sole leather falling nearly to the knees, while the right leg of each +rider was incased in such a stiff and heavy leather leg-guard as to +render him afoot almost helpless; and he was further guarded by still +another side of sole leather swung from the saddle horn and covering his +left leg and much of his horse's barrel. On the right stirrup of each +_picador_ rested the butt of his lance, a stout eight-foot shaft tipped +with a sharp steel prod, barely long enough to catch and hold in the +bull's hide. + +As the _cuadrilla_ entered, a regimental band played _El Hymno Nacional_, +the National Anthem, while the vast audience roared and shrieked a +welcome to the gladiators. + +Marching to the time of the music in long tragic strides, heads proudly +erect, right arms swinging and shoulders slightly swaying in the +challenging swagger which _toreadores affect_, the _cuadrilla_ crossed +the arena and halted, close to the barrier, in front of the +_Presidente's_ box, bared their heads, gracefully saluted the +_Presidente_, and received the key to the bull pen and his permission to +begin the fight. And as _El Tigre's_ eyes fell from the salute to the +_Presidente_ they rested upon Sofia, doubtless from some subtle +telepathic message, for it was a veritable hill of faces he confronted. +There she sat on the second bench-row above the top of the barrier, +matured and fuller of figure but radiant as at their Utreran parting; +there she sat, her gloved hands tightly clenched, her lips trembling, her +great blue eyes pouring into his messages of a love so deep and pure that +it needed all his self-command to keep from leaping the barrier and +falling at his feet. + +For a moment he stood transfixed, staggered, almost overcome with +surprise and delight again to see her, thrilled with the joy of her +message, blazing with revolt at the painful consciousness that she was +and must remain another's. His emotions well-nigh stopped the beating of +his heart. And so he stood gazing into Sofia's eyes until, +self-possession recovered, he gravely bowed, turned, and waved his men to +their posts. + +Instantly all was action, swift action. Cloaks were tossed to +attendants, each footman received a red cape, the two _picadores_ took +position one on either side of the bull pen gate, the band struck up a +tune, the gate was opened and a great Utreran bull bounded into the +arena, maddened with the pain of a short _banderilla_, with long +streaming ribbons, stuck in his neck as he entered, by an attendant +perched above the gate. + +His equal had never been seen in a Mexican bull ring. While typical of +his Utreran brothers, all princes of bovine fighting stock, this +coal-black monster was by the spectators voted their King. Relatively +light of quarters and shallow of flank and barrel, he was unusually high +and humped of withers, broad and deep of chest and heavy of +shoulders--indeed a well-nigh perfect four-legged type of a finely +trained two-legged athlete, with a pair of peculiarly straight-upstanding +horns that were long and almost as sharp as rapiers. Evidently by his +build, he was of a strong strain of East Indian Brahminic blood. For his +great weight, his activity was phenomenal--his leaps like a panther's, +his turns as quick. + +Dazed for an instant by the crash of the music and the brilliant banks of +color about him, he stood angrily lashing his tail and pawing up the sand +in clouds--"digging a grave," as Texas cowboys used to call it--his eyes +blazing and head tossing, but only for a moment. Then he charged the +nearest _picador_, literally leaped so high at him that head and cruel +horns crossed above the horse's neck, his own great chest striking the +horse just behind the shoulder with such force that man and mount hit the +ground stunned and helpless. + +Barely were they down when he was upon them and with a single twitch of +his mighty neck, had ripped open the horse's barrel and half amputated +one of the rider's legs. Then, diverted by the _capadores_, he whirled +upon the second _picador_ and in another ten seconds had left his horse +dead and the rider badly trampled. Next the _banderilleros_ tackled him, +but such was his speed and ferocity that all three funked the work, and +not one of them fastened his flag in the black shoulders. + +When the bull had entered the ring, _El Tigre_ left the arena--a most +unusual proceeding. Now he returned, clad in snow-white from head to +foot, a white cap covering head and hair, his face heavily powdered. He +slipped in behind and unseen by the bull to the centre of the arena, and +there stood erect, with arms folded, motionless as a graven image. + +Presently the bull turned, saw _El Tigre_, and charged him straight. _El +Tigre_ was not even facing him, for the bull was approaching from his +left. But there he stood without the twitch of a muscle or the flicker +of an eye lid, still as a figure of stone. + +A great sob arose from the audience, and all gave him up for lost, when, +at the last instant before the bull must have struck, it turned and +passed him. Once more the bull so charged and passed. Whether because +it mistook him for the ghost of a man or recognized in him a spirit +mightier than its own, only the bull knew. + +Before the audience had well caught its breath, _El Tigre_, wearing again +his usual costume, was striding again to the middle of the arena, +carrying a light chair, in which presently he seated himself, facing the +bull, a show _banderilla_, no more than six inches long, held in his +teeth. And so he awaited the charge until the bull was within actual +arm's-reach, when with a swift rise from the chair and a turn of his body +quick as that of a fencer's supple wrist, he bent and stuck the +teeth-held banderilla in the bull's shoulder as he swept past. + +Now was the time for the kill. + +El Tigre received his sword, _muleta_, and cape. The _muleta_ is a +straight two-foot stick over which the cape is draped, and, held in the +_matador's_ left hand, usually is extended well to the right of his body. +Thus in an ordinary fight the bull is actually charging the blood-red +cape, and not the _matador_. But, with Sofia an onlooker, determined to +make this the fight of his life, _El Tigre_ tossed aside the _muleta_, +wrapped the crimson cape about his body, and stood alone awaiting the +bull's charge, his malleable sword-blade bent slightly downward, +sufficiently to give a true thrust behind the shoulder, a down-curve into +heart or lungs. + +With a bull of such extraordinary activity the act was almost suicidal, +but _El Tigre_ smilingly took the chance. By toreador etiquette, the +_matador_ must receive and dodge the first two charges; not until the +third may he strike. On the first charge _El Tigre_ stood like a rock +until the bull had almost reached him, and then lightly leaped diagonally +across his lowered neck. The second charge, come an instant after the +first, before most men could even turn, he dodged. The third he swiftly +side-stepped, thrust true, and dropped the great Utreran midway of a leap +aimed at his elusive enemy. + +It was a deed magnificent, epic, and the plaza rung with plaudits while +hats, fans, and even purses and jewels showered into the arena--all of +which, by _toreador_ etiquette, were tossed back across the barrier to +their owners. + +Then the teams entered and quickly dragged the dead from the arena; the +ugly, dangerously slippery red patches were fresh sanded, and the second +bull was admitted. Thus, with more or less like incident, three more +bulls were fought and killed. + +The fifth and last, however, proved a disgrace to his race. Bluff he +did, but fight he would not; the noise and crowd unnerved him. At last, +frenzied with fear and seeking escape, he made a mighty leap to mount the +barrier directly in front of the box of the _Presidente_. And mount it +he did, and down it crashed beneath his weight, leaving the bull for a +moment half down and tangled in the wreckage, struggling to regain his +feet. + +Directly in front of the bull, not six feet beyond the sharp points of +his deadly horns, sat Sofia. Indeed none about her had risen; all sat as +if frozen in their places. And just as well they might have been, for +escape into or through the dense mass of spectators about them was +utterly impossible. Whatever horror came they must await, helpless. + +But at the bull's very start for the barrier, _El Tigre_, realized +Sofia's peril and instantly sprang empty-handed in pursuit; for it was +early in this the last _corrida_ and he did not have his sword, + +Leaping the wreckage, _El Tigre_ landed directly in front of the bull, +happily at the instant it regained its feet, where, with his right hand +seizing the bull by the nose--his thumb and two fore-fingers thrust well +within its nostrils--and with his left hand grabbing the right horn, with +a mighty heave he uplifted the bull's muzzle and bore down upon its horn +until he threw it with a crash upon its side that left it momentarily +helpless. + +But, himself slipping in the loose wreckage, down also _El Tigre_ fell, +the bull's sharp right horn impaling his left thigh and pinning him to +the ground. + +Before the bull could rise, the men of the _cuadrilla_ had it safely +bound and _El Tigre_ released. _El Tigre_, however, did not know it. +With the shock and pain of his wound he had fainted. + +When at length he regained consciousness, it was to find his head +pillowed in Sofia's lap, her soft fingers caressing his brow, her tearful +eyes looking into his, and to hear her whisper: "Mauro _mio_!" + +Just at this moment the Duke de Oviedo approached, no one knew whence. + +White with jealousy but steady and cool, he quietly remarked: + +"Madame, I ought to kill you both, but that my rank precludes. +Lucha-sangre, in yourself, as son of a notary and hired _toreador_ and +purveyor of spectacles, you are unworthy of my sword; nevertheless blood +once noble is in your veins. And so as noble it suits me now to count +you. As soon as you are recovered of your wound I will send you my +second." + +"Most happy, Duke," answered Mauro; "mine shall be ready to meet him." + + +One evening a week later, while the Duke de Oviedo and two Mexican army +officers were having drinks at the bar of the Cafe Concordia, General +Delmonte, a Cuban long resident in New York and a distinguished veteran +of three wars, entered with two American friends. Delmonte was +describing to his friends _El Tigre's_ last fight, lauding his prowess, +extolling his noble presence and high character. Infuriated by the +ardent praise of his enemy, the Duke grossly insulted General +Delmonte--and was very promptly slapped in the face. + +They fought at daylight the next morning, beneath an arch of the ancient +aqueduct, just outside the city. Encountering in Delmonte one of the +best swordsmen of his time, early in the combat the Duke received a +mortal wound. And as he there lay gasping out his life, he murmured a +phrase that, at the moment, greatly puzzled his seconds: + +_"Gana El Tigre._" (The Tiger Wins!) + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +BUNKERED + +It seems it must have been somewhere about the year 4000 B. C. that we +lost sight of the tall peaks of the architectural topography of +Manhattan Island, and yet the log of the _Black Prince_ makes it no +more than twenty days. Not that our day-to-day time has been dragging, +for it has done nothing of the sort. + +All my life long I have dreamed of indulging in the joy of a really +long voyage, and now at last I've got it. New York to Cape Town, South +Africa, 6,900 miles, thirty days' straight-away run, and thence another +twenty-four days' sail to Mombasa, on a 7,000-ton cargo boat, +deliberate and stately rather than fast of pace, but otherwise as trim, +well groomed, and well found as a liner, with an official mess that +numbers as fine a set of fellows as ever trod a bridge. The Captain, +when not busy hunting up a stray planet to check his latitude, puts in +his spare time hunting kindly things to do for his two passengers--for +there are only two of us, the Doctor and myself. The Doctor signed on +the ship's articles as surgeon, I as purser. + +Fancy it! Thirty days' clear respite from the daily papers, the +telephone, the subway crowds, and the constant wear and tear on one's +muscular system reaching for change, large and small! Thirty days free +of the daily struggle either for place on the ladder of ambition or for +the privilege to stay on earth and stand about and watch the others +mount, that saps metropolitan nerves and squeezes the humanities out of +metropolitan life until its hearts are arid and barren and cruel as +those of the cavemen! Thirty days' repose, practically alone amid one +of nature's greatest solitudes, awed by her silences, uplifted by the +majesty of her mighty forces, with naught to do but humble oneself +before the consciousness of his own littleness and unfitness, and study +how to right the wrongs he has done. + +Indeed a voyage like this makes it certain one will come actually to +know one's own self so intimately that, unless well convinced that he +will esteem and enjoy the acquaintance, he had best stay at home. Of +my personal experience in this particular I beg to be excused from +writing. + +Lonesome out here? Far from it. Behind, to be sure, are those so near +and dear, one would gladly give all the remaining years allotted him +for one blessed half-hour with them. Otherwise, time literally flies +aboard the _Black Prince_; the days slip by at puzzling speed. Roughly +speaking, I should say the meals consume about half one's waking hours, +for we are fed five times a day, and fed so well one cannot get his own +consent to dodge any of them. + +Indeed I've only one complaint to make of this ship; she is a +"water-wagon" in a double sense, which makes it awkward for a man who +never could drink comfortably alone. With every man of the mess a +teetotaler, one is now and then possessed with a consuming desire for +communion with some dear soul of thirsty memory who can be trusted to +take his "straight." Of course I don't mean to imply that this mess +cannot be trusted, for you can rely on it implicitly every time--to +take tea; you can trust it with any mortal or material thing, except +your pet brew of tea, if you have one, which, luckily, I haven't. +Indeed, for the thirsty man Nature herself in these latitudes is +discouraging, for the Big Dipper stays persistently upside down, +dry!--perhaps out of sympathy with the teetotal principles of this +ship. And most of the way down here there has been such a high sea +running that the only dry places I have noticed have been the upper +bridge and my throat. The fact is, about everything aboard this ship +is distressingly suggestive to a faithful knight of the tankard: he is +surrounded with "ports" that won't flow and giant "funnels" that might +easily carry spirits enough to wet the whistles of an army division +(but don't), until he is tempted in sheer desperation to take a pull at +the "main brace." + +All of which, assisted by the advent of a covey of flying fishes and a +(Sunday) "school" of porpoises, is responsible for the following, which +is adventured with profuse apologies to Mr. Kipling: + + ON THE ROAD TO MOMBASA + + Take me north of the Equator + Where'er gleams the polar star, + Where "The Dipper" ne'er is empty + And Orion is not far, + Where the eagle at them gazes + And up toward them thrusts the pine-- + _Anywhere_ strong men drink spirits + On the right side of "the line." + + On the road to Mombas-a, + Drawing nearer toward Cathay, + Where the north star now is under, + 'Neath the Southern Cross's ray. + + Take me off this water wagon + Where the Captain's ribbon's blue, + Where the Doctor, yclept Barthwaite, + And each man-jack of the crew + Never get a drop of poteen, + Never know the cheer of beer-- + _Anywhere_ a thirsty man may + Wet his whistle without fear. + + On the road to Mombas-a, + With the _Black Prince_, day by day + Rolling her tall taffrail under, + 'Neath a sky o'ercast and gray. + + Take me back to good old Proctor's + Where a man may quench his thirst, + Where a purser with a shilling + Needn't feel he is accursed + By an ironclad owners' ship rule + That her officers shouldn't drink-- + _Anywhere_ the ringing glasses + Merrily clink! clink! + + On the road to Mombas-a, + Where the only drink is "tay," + Where a thirst that is a wonder + Burns the throat from day to day. + + Take me somewhere close to Rector's + Where a man can get a crab, + Where the blondined waves are tossing + And every eye-glance is a stab, + Where there's _froufrou_ of the _jupon_ + And there's popping of the cork + _Anywhere_ the men and women + Snap their fingers at the stork. + + On the road to Mombas-a, + Where e'en mermaids never play, + Where to come would be a blunder + Hunting hot birds and Roger. + + +But lonesome out here? Never--with the sympathetic North Atlantic +winds ever ready to roar you a grim dirge in your moments of melancholy +contemplation of the inverted Dipper, with the gentle tropical breezes +softly singing through the rigging notes of soothing cadence, with the +lethal ocean billows ever leaping up the sides of the ship, foaming +with the joy of what they would do to you if they once got you in their +embrace! + +Lonesome? With the coming and the going of each day's sun gilding +cloud-crests, silvering waves, setting you matchless scenes in color +effect, some ravishing in their gorgeous splendor, some soft and tender +of tone as the light in the eyes of the woman you worship, scenes +beside which the most brilliant stage settings which metropolitans +flock like sheep to see are pathetically paltry counterfeits. + +Lonesome? With a mighty, joyously bounding charger like the _Black +Prince_ beneath your feet if not between your knees, gayly taking the +tallest billows in his stride, whose ever steady pulse-beat bespeaks a +soundness of wind and limb you can trust to land you well at the finish! + +Lonesome? Where privileged to descend into the very vitals of your +charger and sit throughout the midnight watch, an awed listener to the +throbs of the mighty heart that vitalizes his every function, while +each vigorously thrusting piston, each smug, palm-rubbing eccentric, +each somnolently nodding lever, drives deeper into your lay brain an +overwhelming sense of pride in such of your kind as have had the genius +to conceive, and such others as have had the skill and patience to +perfect, the conversion of inert masses of crude metal into the +magnificently powerful and obviously sentient entity that is bearing +you! + +Lonesome? Skirting the coastline of Africa, a country whose +potentates, from the Ptolemies to Tom Ryan, have never failed to make +world history worth thinking about! + +Lonesome? Bearing up toward that sea-made manacle of fallen majesty, +St. Helena, absorbed in memories of Bonaparte's magnificent dreams of +world-wide dominion, and of his pathetic end on one of its smallest and +most isolated patches! + +Lonesome? With a chum at your elbow so close a student of the manly +game of war that he can glibly reel off for you every important +manoeuvre of all the great battles of history, from those of Alexander +the Great down to Tommy Burns's latest! + +And now and then the elements themselves sit in and take a hand in our +game, sometimes a hand we could very well do without--as twice lately. + +The first instance happened early last week. Tuesday tropical weather +hit us and drove us into pajamas--a cloudless sky, blazing sun, high +humidity, while we ploughed our way across long, slow-rolling, +unrippled swells that looked so much like a vast, gently heaving sea of +petroleum that, had John D. Standardoil been with us he would have +suffered a probably fatal attack of heart disease if prevented from +stopping right there and planning a pipe line. + +Throughout the day close about the ship clouds of flying fish skimmed +the sea, and great schools of porpoises leaped from it and raced us, as +if, even to them, their native element had become hateful, or as if +they sensed something ominous and fearsome abroad from which they +sought shelter in our company. One slender little opal-hued +diaphanous-winged bird-fish came aboard, and before he was picked up +had the happy life grilled out of him on our scorching iron deck, hot +almost as boiler plates. Poor little chap! he found with us anything +but sanctuary; but perhaps he lived long enough to signal the fact to +his mates, for no others boarded us. And yet for one other opal-hued +winged wanderer we have been sanctuary; for when we were about one +hundred and fifty miles out of New York a highly bred carrier pigeon, +bearing on his leg a metal tag marked "32," hovered about us for a +time, finally alighted on our rail, and then fluttered to the deck when +offered a pan of water--and drank and drank until it seemed best to +stop him. By kindness and ingenuity of Chief Engineer Tucker he now +occupies a tin house with a wonderful mansard roof, from which he +issues every afternoon for an aerial constitutional, giving us a fright +occasionally with a flight over far a-sea, but always returning safely +enough to his new diggings. + +That Tuesday morning the sun rose fiery red out of the steaming Guinea +jungles to the east of us, across its lower half two narrow black bars +sinister. It looked as if it had blood in its eye, while the still, +heavy, brooding air felt to be ominous of evil, harboring devilment of +some sort. All the mess were cross-grained, silent, or irritable, +raw-edged for the first time, for a better lot of fellows one could not +ask to ship with. Nor throughout the day did weather conditions or +tempers improve. All day long the sky was heavily overcast with dense, +low-hanging, dark gray clouds, which, while wholly obscuring the sun, +seemed to focus its rays upon us like a vast burning-glass; wherefore +it was expedient for the two pajama-clad passengers to keep well within +the shelter of the bridge-deck awning. Toward sunset, a dense black +wall of cloud settled upon the western horizon, aft of us. But +suddenly, just at the moment the sun must have been descending below +the horizon to the south of it, the black wall of cloud slowly parted, +and the opening so made widened until it became an enormous oval, +reaching from horizon half-way to zenith, framing a scene of astounding +beauty and grandeur. Range after range of cloud crests that looked +like mountain folds rose one above another, with the appearance of vast +intervening space between, some of the ranges a most delicate blue or +pink, some opalescent, some gloriously gilded, while behind the +farthest and tallest range, at what seemed an inconceivably remote +distance, but in a perspective entirely harmonious with the foreground, +appeared the sky itself, a soft luminous straw-yellow in color, flecked +thickly over with tiny snow-white cloudlets. It was like a glimpse +into another and more beautiful world than ours--the actual celestial +world. + +But, whether or not ominous of our future, we were permitted no more +than a brief glimpse of it, for presently the pall of black cloud fell +like a vast drop curtain and shut it from our sight. Then night came +down upon us, black, starless, forbidding, although in the absence of +any fall of the barometer nothing more than a downpour of rain was +expected. + +But shortly after I had gone to sleep, at two o'clock suddenly +something in the nature of a tropical tornado flew up and struck us +hard. I was awakened by a tremendous crash on the bridge-deck above my +cabin, a heeling over of the ship that nearly dumped me out of my +berth, and what seemed like a solid spout of water pouring in through +my open weather porthole, with the wind howling a devil's death-song +through the rigging and an uninterrupted smash--bang! above my head. + +Throwing on a rain coat over my pajamas, I went outside and up the +ladder leading to the bridge-deck; and as head and shoulders rose above +the deck level, a wall of hot, wind-borne rain struck me--rain so hot +it felt almost scalding--that almost swept me off the ladder. If it +had I should probably have become food for the fishes. I got to the +upper deck just in time to see Captain Thomas get a crack on the head +from a fragment of flying spar of the wreckage from the upper +bridge--luckily a glancing blow that did no more damage than leave him +groggy for a moment. + +For the next fifteen minutes I was busy hugging a bridge stanchion, +dodging flying wreckage and trying to breathe; for, driven by the +violence of the wind, the rain came horizontally in such suffocatingly +hot dense masses as nearly to stifle one. + +It was the watch of Second Mate Isitt. Afterwards he told me that a +few minutes before the storm broke he saw a particularly dense black +cloud coming up upon us out of the southeast, where it had apparently +been lying in ambush for us behind the northernmost headland of the +Gulf of Guinea, an ambush so successful that even the barometer failed +to detect it, for when Mate Isitt ran to the chart-room he found that +the instrument showed no fall. But scarcely was he back on the bridge +before the approaching cloud flashed into a solid mass of sheet +lightning that covered the ship like a fiery canopy; and instantly +thereafter, a wall of wind and rain hit the ship, heeled her over to +the rail, swung her head at right angles to her course, ripped the +heavy canvas awning of the upper bridge to tatters, bent and tore loose +from their sockets the thick iron stanchions supporting it, made +kindling wood of its heavy spars, and strewed the bridge and forward +deck with a pounding tangle of wreckage. How the mate and helmsman, +who were directly beneath it, escaped injury, is a mystery. In twenty +minutes the riot of wind and water had swept past us out to sea in +search of easier game, leaving behind it a dead calm above but +mountainous seas beneath, that played ball with us the rest of the +night. Heaven help any wind-jammer it may have struck, for if caught +as completely unwarned as were we, with all sails set, she and all her +crew are likely to be still slowly settling through the dense darksome +depths of the twenty-five hundred fathoms the chart showed thereabouts, +and weeping wives and anxious underwriters will long be scanning the +news columns that report all sea goings and comings--except arrivals in +the port of sunken ships. + +The second fall the elements have essayed to take out of us remains yet +undecided. The fact is, I am now writing over a young volcano we are +all hoping will not grow much older. + +Two nights ago I was awakened half suffocated, to find my cabin full of +strong sulphurous fumes; but fancying them brought in through my open +portholes from the smoke-stack by a shift aft of the wind, I paid no +further attention to them. But when the next morning I as usual turned +out on deck to see the sun rise, a commotion aft of me attracted my +attention, Looking, I saw the first mate, chief engineer, and a party +of sailors, all so begrimed with sweat and coal dust one could scarcely +pick officers from seamen, rapidly ripping off the cover of one of the +midship hatches, while others were flying about connecting up the deck +fire hose. This didn't look a bit good to me, and when, an instant +later, off came the hatch and out poured thick volumes of smoke, I +failed to observe that it looked any better. + +When the hatch was removed, the men thrust the hose through it, and +began deluging the burning bunker with water; for, luckily, it is only +a bunker fire,--in a lower and comparatively small bunker. + +The fire had been discovered early the day previous, and for nearly +twenty-four hours officers and seamen had been fighting it from below, +without any mention to their two passengers of its existence, fighting +by tireless shovelling to reach his seat. And now they were on deck, +attacking it from above, only because the heat and fumes below had +become so overpowering they could no longer work there. But after an +hour's ventilation through the hatch and a continuous downpour of +water, the first mate again led his men below. + +And so, the usual watches being divided into two-hour relays, the fight +has gone on wearily but persistently, until now, the evening of the +fourth day, the men are wan and haggard from the killing heat and foul +air. In the engine-room in these latitudes the thermometer ranges from +rarely under 108 degrees up to 130, and one has to stay down there only +an hour, as I often have, until he is streaming with sweat as if he +were in the unholiest heat of a Turkish bath. And as the burning +bunker immediately adjoins the other end of the boiler room, to the +heat of its own smouldering mass is added that of the fire boxes, until +the temperature is probably close to 140 degrees. + +While the fire is confined to the bunker where it started, we are in no +particular danger; but if it reaches the bunker immediately above, it +will have a free run to the after hold, where several thousand packages +of case oil are stored. In the open waist above the oil are a score or +more big tanks of gasoline, and, on the poop immediately aft of that, a +quantity of dynamite and several thousand detonating caps. Thus if the +fire ever gets aft, things are apt to happen a trifle quicker than they +can be dodged. + +To denizens of _terra firma_, the mere thought of being aboard a ship +on fire in mid-sea--we are now five hundred miles from the little +British island of Ascension and one thousand and eighty off the Congo +(mainland) Coast--is nothing short of appalling. But here with us, in +actual experience, it is taken by the officers of the ship as such a +simple matter of course, in so far as they show or will admit, that we +are even denied the privilege of a mild thrill of excitement. + +In the meantime there is nothing for the Doctor and myself to do but +sit about and guess whether it is to be a boost from the explosives, a +simple grill, a descent to Davy Jones, an adventure while athirst and +hungering in an open boat on the tossing South Atlantic, a successful +run of the ship to the nearest land--or victory over the fire. I +wonder which it will be! + +If the worst comes to the worst, I intend to do for these pages what no +one these last three weeks has done for me--commit them to a bottle, if +I can find one aboard this ship, which is by no means certain. Indeed +it is so uncertain I think I had best start hunting one right now. + + +After nearly a twenty-four hours' search I've got it--a craft to bear +these sheets, wide of hatch, generously broad and deep of hull, but +destitute of aught of the stimulating aroma I had hoped might cheer +them on their voyage--more than I have been cheered on mine. For the +best I am able to procure for them is--a jam bottle! + +While the Doctor and I are not novices at golf, this is one "bunker" we +are making so little headway getting out of, that both now seem likely +to quit "down" to it. + +I wonder when the little derelict, tiny and inconspicuous as a +Portuguese man-of-war, may be picked up; I wonder when the sheets it +bears may reach my publisher to whom it is consigned. Perhaps not for +years--a score, two score; perhaps not until he himself, whom a few +weeks ago I left in the lusty vigor of early manhood, is gathered to +his fathers; perhaps not, therefore, until the writer has no publisher +left and is himself no longer remembered. + +The burning bunker is now a glowing furnace, the men worked down to +mere shadows. Plainly the fire is getting the best of them and, what +is even more discouraging, there is little more fight left in them. + +First Mate Watson, who, almost without rest, has led the fight below +since it started, says that another half-hour will-- + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THEY WHO MUST BE OBEYED + +Few mightier monarchs than Menelek II of Abyssinia ever swayed the +destinies of a people. Throughout the vast territory of the Abyssinian +highlands his individual will is law to some millions of subjects; law +also to hordes of savage Mohammedan and pagan tribesmen without the +confines of his kingdom. His court includes no councillors. Alone +throughout the long years of his reign Menelek has dealt with all +domestic and foreign affairs of state. + +But now this last splendid survival of the feudal absolutism exercised +and enjoyed by mediaeval rulers is about to disappear beneath +encroaching waves of civilization, that do not long spare the +picturesque. Cables from far-off Adis Ababa, Menelek's capital, bring +news that he has formed a cabinet and published the appointment of +Ministers of War, Finance, Justice, Foreign Affairs, and Commerce. And +this change has come, not from the pressure of any party or faction +within his kingdom, for such do not exist, but out of the fount of his +own wisdom. So sound is this wisdom as to prove him a most worthy +descendant of the sage Hebrew King whom Menelek claims as ancestor--if, +indeed, more proofs were necessary than the statesmanlike way in which +he has dealt with jealous diplomats, and the martial skill with which, +at Adowa in 1896, he defeated the flower of the Italian army and won +from Italy an honorable truce. + +No existing royal house owns lineage so ancient as that claimed by +Menelek II, Negus Negusti, "King of the Kings of Ethiopia, and +Conquering Lion of Judah." + +Old Abyssinian tradition has it that in the tenth century, B.C., early +in her reign, Makeda, Queen of Sheba, paid a ceremonial visit to the +Court of King Solomon, coming with her entire court and a magnificent +retinue bearing royal gifts of frankincense and balm, gold and ivory +and precious stones. Her gorgeous caravan was bright with the +many-colored plumes and silks of litters, blazing with the golden +ornaments of elephant and camel caparisons, glittering with the glint +of spears and bucklers. + +That the two greatest souls of their time, so met, should fuse and +blend is little to be wondered at. She of Sheba bore Solomon a son and +called him Menelek, so the legend runs. Later the boy was twitted by +playmates for that he had no father. In this annoyance the Queen sent +an embassy to Solomon asking some act that should establish their son's +royal paternity. Promptly Solomon returned the embassy bearing to +Sheba's court in far southwest Arabia a royal decree declaring Menelek +his son, and accompanied it by a son of each of the leaders of the +twelve tribes of Israel, enjoined to serve as a sort of juvenile royal +court to Menelek. + +Whether or not the claim of Menelek II be true, that he himself is +lineally descended from the son of Solomon and Sheba's Queen, certain +it is that in race type Abyssinians are plainly come of sons of Israel, +crossed and modified with Coptic, Hamite, and Ethiopian blood. To this +day they cling closely as the most orthodox Hebrew, to some of the +dearest Israelitish tenets, notably abstention from pork and from meat +not killed by bleeding, observance of the Sabbath, and the rite of +circumcision. Notwithstanding this the Abyssinians have been +Christians since the fourth century of this era, when, only eight years +after the great Constantine decreed the recognition of Christianity by +the State, a proselytising monk came among them with a faith so strong, +a heart so pure, and an eloquence so irresistible, that, singlehanded, +he accomplished the conversion of the Abyssinian race. + +Throughout the centuries the Abyssinians have held fast to their faith +as first it was taught them. The great wave of Mohammedanism that +swept up the Nile and across the Indian Ocean broke and parted the +moment it struck the Abyssinian plateau. It completely surrounded, but +never could mount the tableland. + +Thus cut off for centuries from all other Christian Churches, the +Abyssinian religion remains to-day but little changed. Could Paul or +John return to earth, of all the Christian sects throughout the world, +the forms and tenets of the Abyssinian Church would be the only ones +they would find nearly all their own; for the ritual is older than that +of either Rome or Moscow. + +And remembering the Abyssinian folklore tale of the twelve sons of the +chiefs of the twelve tribes of Israel sent by Solomon to Makeda as +attendants on Menelek I, it is most curious and interesting to know +that the heads of certain twelve Abyssinian families (none of whom are +longer notables, some even the rudest ignorant herdsmen), and their +forebears from time immemorial, have had and still possess inalienable +right of audience with their monarch at any time they may ask it, even +taking precedence over royalty itself. Indeed Mr. George Clerk, for +the last five years assistant to Sir John Harrington, British Minister +to the Court of Menelek, recently told me that he and other diplomats +accredited to Adis Ababa, were not infrequently subjected to the +annoyance of having an audience interrupted or delayed by the +unannounced coming for a hearing of one of these favored twelve. + +Many of Menelek's judgments are masterpieces. Recently two brothers +came before him, the younger with the plaint that the elder sought the +larger and better part of certain property they had to divide. +Promptly Menelek ordered the elder to describe fully the entire +property and state what part he wanted for himself. It was done. + +"And this," questioned Menelek, "you consider a just division of the +property into two parts of equal value?" + +"Yes, Negus," answered the elder. + +"Then," decreed Menelek, "give your brother first choice!" + +Over wide territory beyond the Abyssinian border, Menelek's power is as +much feared and his will as much respected as among his own subjects. +Of this there occurred recently a most dramatic proof. + +Bordering Abyssinia on the east is the Danakil country. It adjoins the +Province of Shoa, of which Menelek was Ras, or feudal King, before his +accession to the Abyssinian throne. The Danakils are a savage pagan +people of mixed Hamite (early Egyptian) and Ethiopian ancestry. They +are perhaps the most tirelessly warlike race in all Africa. Often +severely beaten by their Italian and Somali neighbors, they have never +been subdued. Indeed slaughter may, in a way, be said to be a part of +their religion, for it is the fetich every young warrior must provide +for the worship of the woman of his choice before he may hope to win +and have her. It is necessary that he should have killed royal +game--lion, rhinoceros, or elephant--but not enough. Singlehanded he +must kill a man and bring the maid a trophy of the slaughter before she +will even consider him, and Danakil maids of spirit often demand some +plurality of trophies. Thus the license for each Danakil mating is +written in the life blood of some neighboring tribesman; thus are the +few poltroons in Danakil-land condemned to stay celibate. + +Only Menelek's word do they heed; his might they dread. + +Through the Danakil country, between Errer Gotto and Oder, not long ago +travelled the caravan of William Northrup McMillan, conveying the +sections of several steel boats with which he purposed navigating and +exploring the Blue Nile from its source to Khartoom, a region that had +never been traversed by white men. In the party was M. +Dubois-Desaulle, a gay and reckless ex-officer of the French Foreign +Legion who had long served in Algiers against raiding Arab sheiks. He +harbored no fear of the unorganized wild tribesmen through whose +country they were travelling. McMillan knew them better, however; he +held his command under strict military discipline, marched in close +order with scouts out, forbade straying from the column, and +_zareba_-ed his night camps. For the march was a severe one and he had +neither the time nor sufficient force to search for or to succor +missing stragglers. + +Urged with the rest never to go unarmed and to stay close with the +caravan, Dubois-Desaulle's only reply was a laughing, "_Jamais! +Jamais. Je ne porte pas des armes pour ces babouins! Je les ferai +s'enfuir avec des batons! N'inquietez pas de moi._" + +Interested in botany and entomology, holding the natives in utter +contempt, repeatedly he strayed from the column for hours without even +so much as a pistol by way of arms, until finally McMillan told him +that if he again so strayed he would be placed under guard for the +balance of march. But the very next day, riding a mule with the +advance guard led by H. Morgan Brown, Dubois-Desaulle slipped +unobserved into the bush, probably in pursuit of some winged wonder +that had crossed his path. + +Camp was made early in the afternoon on the banks of the Doha River, +and a strong party, with shikari trackers, led by Brown, was sent out +in search of the straggler. Night came on before they could pick up +his trail, and nothing further could be done except to build signal +fires on adjacent hills; but all without result. Anxiety for his +safety crystallized into chill fear for his life, when the dull glow of +the signal fires was suddenly extinguished by the next morning's sun; +for the desert knows neither twilight nor dawn--the sun bursts up +blood-red out of shrouding darkness like a rocket from its case, and at +once it is day. + +An hour later Brown's shikaris found the place where Dubois-Desaulle +had strayed from the column, followed his trail through the bush hither +and thither for two miles, to a point where he had found a native +warrior seated beneath a tree. They read, with their unerring skill at +"sign" lore, that there he had stood and talked for some time with the +native, and then pressed on, rider and footman travelling side by side, +till, within the shelter of especially dense surrounding bush, the +footman had dropped behind the rider--for what dastardly assassin's +purpose the next twenty steps revealed. There stark lay the body of +gay Dubois-Desaulle, dropped from his mule without a struggle by a +mortal spear-thrust in his back, the manner of his mutilation a +Danakil's sign manual! + +Immediately messengers were sent to the caravan bearing the news and +asking reinforcements. At this time the indomitable chief, McMillan, +was laid up with veldt sores on the legs, unable to walk or even to +ride except in a litter. Promptly, however, he despatched Lieutenant +Fairfax and William Marlow, with about thirty more men, to Brown's +support, with orders never to quit till he got the murderer. By a +forced march, Fairfax reached Brown at four in the afternoon. + +When journeying in desert places and amid deadly perils, it is always +an unusually terrible shock to lose one from among so few, and to be +forced to lay him in unconsecrated ground remote from home and friends. +So it was a sobbing, saddened trio that stood by while a grave was dug +to receive all that was mortal of their gallant comrade. And within it +they laid him, wrapped in the ample folds of an Abyssinian _tope_; +stones were heaped above the grave--at least the four-footed beasts +should not have a chance to rend him!--and three volleys were fired as +a last honor to Dubois-Desaulle, ex-legionary of the Army of Algiers. + +Tears dried, eyes hardened, jaws tightened, and away on the plain trail +of the murderer marched the little column. Turning at the edge of the +thick jungle for a last look back, the three noted an extraordinary +circumstance that touched them deeply and made them feel that even the +savage desert sympathized. A miniature whirlwind of the sort frequent +in the desert was slowly circling the grave; and even as they looked it +swung immediately over it and there stood for some moments, its tall +dust column rising up into the zenith like the smoke of a funeral pyre! +Then on they marched and there they left him, sure that by night lions +would be roaring him a requiem not unfitting his wild spirit. + +Just at dusk the party reached a large Danakil town into which the +murderer's trail led, and camped before it. + +Told that one of his men had killed their comrade and that they wanted +him, Ali Gorah, the chief, was surly and insolent. He refused to give +him up, said that he wished no war with them, but that if they wanted +any of his people they must fight for them. Then guards were set about +the camp and the little command lay down to sleep within a spear's +throw of thousands of Ali Gorah's wild Danakils. The night passed +without alarms, and then conference was resumed. Fairfax cajoled and +threatened, threatened summoning an army that would wipe Danakil's land +off the map; but all to no purpose. The chief remained obdurate. + +Early in the day a courier was sent to McMillan with the story of their +plight and a request for supplies and more men. These were instantly +sent, leaving McMillan himself well nigh helpless, fuming at his own +enforced inaction, alone with the Marlow, his personal attendant, a +handful of men, and a total of only two rifles, as the sole guard of +the caravan for ten more anxious days. + +Daily councils were held, always ending in mutual threats. Fairfax +could make no progress, but he would not leave. + +One day Ali Gorah lined up two thousand warriors in battle array before +Fairfax's small command and ordered him to move off, under pain of +instant attack. But there Fairfax stubbornly stayed, in the very face +of the certainty that his command could not last ten minutes if the +chief should actually order a charge. His dauntless courage won, and +the war party was withdrawn. + +In the meantime some of his Somalis had learned from the Danakils that +the murderer's name was Mirach, and that he was the greatest warrior of +the tribe, a man with trophies of all sorts of royal game and of no +less than forty men to his matrimonial credit. By the eleventh day +mutual irritation had nigh reached the fusing point. Fairfax had +carefully trained a gun crew to handle a Colt machine-gun that McMillan +was bringing as a present to Ras Makonnen, the victor of the field of +Adowa, and debated with his mates the question of risking an attack. + +Luckily, however, the previous day McMillan had bethought him of a +letter of Menelek's he carried, a letter ordering all his subjects to +lend the bearer any aid or succor he might need. This letter he sent +by his Abyssinian headman to Mantoock, the nearest Abyssinian Ras and a +sort of overlord of the Danakils, with request for his advice and aid. +Promptly came Mantoock, with only one attendant, heard the story, +begged McMillan to have no further care, and raced away for Ali Gorah's +village, where happily he arrived in mid afternoon of the eleventh day, +just as Fairfax was making dispositions for opening a finish fight. + +Mantoock's first act was to advise Fairfax to withdraw his command and +rejoin the caravan; and, assured that Mirach would be brought away a +prisoner, Fairfax assented and withdrew. Then Mantoock entered alone +the village of Ali Gorah and there spent the night. What passed that +night between the Christian and the pagan chiefs we do not know. +Probably little was said; nothing more was needed, indeed, than the +interpretation of the letter of the Negus and the exhibition of the +royal seal it bore. Full well Ali Gorah knew the heavy penalty of +disobedience. + +So it happened that near noon of the twelfth day Mantoock brought +Mirach into McMillan's camp, accompanied by thirty of his family and +the headmen of the tribe, Mirach marching in fully armed with spears +and shield, insolent and fearless. + +Asked why he had done the deed, Mirach replied: + +"I was resting in the shade. The Feringee approached and asked me to +guide him to the river. I told him to pass on and not to disturb me. +Then he stayed and talked and talked till I got tired and told him not +to tempt me further; for I had never yet had such a chance to kill a +white man. Still he annoyed me with his foolish talk until, weary of +it, I led him away into the thickets to his death and won trophies dear +to Danakil's maidens." + +Three camels, worth twenty dollars each, or a total of sixty dollars, +is usual blood-money in Abyssinia. When that is paid and received, +feuds among the tribesmen end, and murders are soon forgotten. But +Mirach was so highly valued as a warrior by his people that they +offered McMillan no less than three hundred camels for his life. They +were dumbfounded when their offer was refused. + +Disarmed and shackled, Mirach remained a sullen but defiant prisoner +with the caravan for the next two weeks' march, when the crossing of +the Hawash River brought them well into Abyssinian territory and made +it safe to rush him forward, in the charge of a small escort, to Adis +Ababa. + +There he was tried beneath the sombre shade of the famous Judgment +Tree, condemned, and two months later hanged in the market place: and +there for days his grinning face and shrivelling carcass swung, a +menacing proof to the wildest visiting tribesmen of them all of the +vast power of the Negus Negusti. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +DJAMA AOUT'S HEROISM + +"Throughout Somaliland, among a race famous for their fearlessness, the +name of Djama Aout is held a synonym for reckless courage. He did the +bravest deed I ever saw, a deed heroic in its purpose, ferociously sage +in its execution; the deed of a man bred of a race that knew no +longer-range weapon than an assegai, trained from youth to fight and +kill at arm's length or in hand grapple; a deed that, incidentally, +saved my life." + +The speaker was C. W. L. Bulpett, himself well qualified by personal +experience to sit in judgment, as Court of Last Resort, on any act of +courage; a man who, at forty, without training and on a heavy wager +that he could not walk a mile, run a mile, and ride a mile, all in +sixteen and a half minutes, finished the three miles in sixteen minutes +and seven seconds; a man who, midway of a dinner at Greenwich, bet that +he could swim the half-mile across the Thames and back in his evening +clothes before the coffee was served, and did it; and who has crossed +Africa from Khartoom to the Red Sea. + +If more were needed to prove Mr. Bulpett's past-mastership in +hardihood, it is perhaps sufficient to mention that he voluntarily got +himself in the fix that needed Djama Aout's aid, although in telling +the story he did not convey the impression that his own part in it was +more than secondary and inconsequential. + +"We were big-game hunting, lion and rhino preferred, along the border +of Somaliland," he continued. "Besides the pony and camel men, we had +four Somali _shikaris_, trained trackers, who knew the habits of beasts +and read their tracks and signs like a book; men of a breed whose women +will not give themselves as wives except to men who have scored kills +of both royal game and men. + +"_Sahib_ McMillan's personal _shikari_ was DJama Aout; mine, Abdi +Dereh. At the time of this incident the _Sahib_ had several lions to +his credit, while I yet had none. So the _Sahib_ kindly declared that, +however and by whomsoever jumped, the try at the next lion should be +mine. The section we were in was the usual 'lion country' of East +Africa, wide stretches of dry, level plain with occasional low rolling +hills, thinly timbered everywhere with the thorny mimosa, most of it +low bush, some grown to small trees twenty or thirty feet in height. + +"To cover a wider range of shooting, we one day decided to divide the +camp, and I moved off about four miles and pitched my tent on a low +hill, which left the old camp in clear view across the plain. Early +the next morning I went out after eland and had an excellent morning's +sport. Returned to camp shortly after noon, tired and dusty, I took a +bath, got into pajamas and slippers, had my luncheon, and was sitting +comfortably smoking within my tent, when one of my men hurried in to +say a messenger was coming on a pony at top speed. Presently he +arrived, with word from the _Sahib_ that he had a big male lion at bay +in a thicket bordering the river and urging me to hurry to him. + +"This my first chance at lion, I seized my rifle, mounted a pony, +without stopping to dress, and, followed by Abdi Dereh and another +_shikari_, dashed away behind the messenger at my pony's best pace. +Arrived, I found the _Sahib_ and about a dozen men, _shikaris_ and pony +men, surrounding a dense mimosa thicket no more than thirty or forty +yards in diameter. Nigh two-thirds of its circumference was bounded by +a bend of a deep stream the lion was not likely to try to cross, which +left a comparatively narrow front to guard against a charge. + +"'Here you are, Don Carlos!' called the _Sahib_, as I jumped off my +pony. 'Here's your lion in the bush. Up to you to get him out. Djama +Aout and the rest will stay to help you while I go back and move the +caravan to a new camp-site. No suggestion to make, except I scarcely +think I'd go in the bush after him; too thick to see ten feet ahead of +you,' and away he rode toward his camp. + +"The situation was simple, even to a novice at the game of +lion-shooting. With my line of shouting men forced to range themselves +across the narrow land front of the thicket and no chance of his exit +on the river front, only two lines of strategy remained: it was either +fire the bush and drive him out upon us or enter the bush on hands and +knees and creep about till I sighted him. The latter was well-nigh +suicidal, for it was absolutely sure he would scent, hear, and locate +me before I could see him, and thus would be almost complete master of +the situation. Naturally, therefore, I first had the bush fired, as +near to windward as the bend of the river permitted, and took a stand +covering his probable line of exit from the thicket. But it was a +failure--not enough dead wood to carry the fire through the bush and it +soon flickered and died out. Thus nothing remained but the last +alternative, and I took it. + +"Dropping on hands and knees, I began to creep into the thicket. Soon +my hands were bleeding from the dry mimosa thorns littering the ground, +my back from the thorny boughs arching low above me. For some distance +I could see no more than the length of my rifle before me or to right +or left. Presently, when near the centre of the brush patch, Abdi +Dereh next behind me, a second _shikari_ behind him, and Djama Aout +bringing up the rear, I caught a glimpse of the lion's hind quarters +and tail, scarcely six feet ahead of me. + +"I fired at once, most imprudently, for the exposure could not possibly +afford a fatal shot. Instantly after the shot, the lion circled the +dense clump immediately in front of me and charged me through a narrow +opening. As he came, I gave him my second barrel from the hip--no time +to aim--and in trying to spring aside out of his path, slipped in my +loose slippers and fell flat on my back. + +"Later we learned that my first shot had torn through his loins and my +second had struck between neck and shoulder and ranged the entire +length of his body. But even the terrible shock of two great .450 +cordite-driven balls did not serve to stop him, and the very moment I +hit the ground he lit diagonally across my body, his belly pressing +mine, his hot breath burning my cheek, his fierce eyes glaring into +mine. + +"Though it seemed an age, the rest was a matter of seconds. Abdi +Dereh, my rifle-bearer, was in the act of shoving the gun muzzle +against the lion's ribs for a shot through the heart, when a shot from +without the bush--we never learned by whom fired, probably by one of +the pony men--broke his arm and knocked him flat. Then the second +_shikari_ sprang forward and bent to pick up the gun, when one stroke +of the lion's great fore paw tore away most of the flesh from one side +of his head and face, and laid him senseless. + +"Freed for an instant from the attacks of my men, the lion turned to +the prey held helpless beneath him, and with a fierce roar, was in the +very act of advancing his cavernous mouth and gleaming fangs to seize +me by the head, when in jumped Djama Aout to my succor. His only +weapon was the _Sahib's_ .38 Smith & Wesson self-cocking six-shooter. +His was the quickest piece of sound thinking, shrewd acting, and +desperate valor conceivable. I was staring death in the face--he knew +it at a glance. Just within those enormous jaws, and all would be over +with me. The light charge of the pistol, however placed, would be +little more than a flea-bite on a monster already ripped laterally and +longitudinally through and through by two great .450 cordite shells. +Indeed the lion was not even gasping from his wounds; his great heart +was beating strong and steady against mine. Of what avail a little +pistol-ball, or six of them? + +"All this must have raced through Djama Aout's brain in a second, in +the very second _Shikari_ Number Two was falling under the lion's blow. +In another second he conceived a plan, absolutely the only one that +possibly could have saved me. + +"Just at the instant the lion turned and opened his jaws to seize and +crush my head, forward sprang Djama Aout; within the lion's jaws and +into his great yawning mouth Djama Aout thrust pistol, hand, and +forearm, and, though the hard-driven teeth crunched cruelly through +sinews and into bone, steadily pulled the trigger till the pistol's six +loads were discharged down the lion's very throat! + +"Shrinking from the shock of the shots, the lion released Djama Aout's +mangled arm and freed me of his weight. Unhurt, even unscratched by +the lion, I quickly swung myself up into the biggest mimosa near, a +poor four feet from the ground, within easy reach of our enemy if he +had not been too sick of his wounds to leap at me. + +"Having fallen from the pain and shock of his wounded arm, Djama Aout +rose, backed off a little distance, and stood at bay, the pistol +clubbed in his left hand. + +"While apparently sick unto death, the lion might muster strength for a +last attack, so I called to Marlow, who, under orders, had waited +without the thicket, bearing an elephant gun. Ignorant of whether or +not the lion was even wounded, in the brave boy came, crept in range +and fired a great eight-bore ball fair through the lion's heart. + +"It was only a few hours until, working with knife and tweezers, the +_Sahib_ had all the mimosa thorns dug out of my back and legs, but it +was many months before Djama Aout recovered partial use of his good +right arm, and it may very well be generations before the story of his +heroic deed ceases to be sung in Somali villages." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A MODERN COEUR-DE-LION + +To seek to come to death grips with the King of Beasts, a man must +himself be nothing short of lion-hearted. Such men there are, a few, +men with an inborn lust of battle, a love of staking their own lives +against the heaviest odds; men who, lacking a Crusader's cult or a +country's need to cut and thrust for, go out among the savage denizens +of the desert seeking opportunity to fight for their faith in their own +strong arms and steady nerves; men who shrink from a laurel but +treasure a trophy. William Northrup McMillan, a native of St. Louis, +who has spent the last eight years in exploration of the Blue Nile and +in travel through Abyssinia and British East Africa, is such a man. + +A friend of Mr. McMillan has told me the following story of one of his +hunting experiences. While I can only tell it in simple prose, the +deed described deserves perpetuity in the stately metre of a saga. + +The Jig-Jigga country, a province of Abyssinia lying near the border of +British Somaliland and governed by Abdullah Dowa, an Arab sheik owing +allegiance to King Menelek, is the best lion country in all Africa. +Jig-Jigga is an arid plateau averaging 5,000 feet above sea level, +poorly watered but generously grassed, sparsely timbered with the +thorny mimosa (full brother to the Texas _mesquite_), and swarming +everywhere with innumerable varieties of the wild game on which the +lion preys and fattens--eland, oryx, hartebeest, gazelle, and zebra. + +There are two ways of hunting lion. First, from the perfectly safe +shelter of a zareba, a tightly enclosed hut built of thorny mimosa +bows, with no opening but a narrow porthole for rifle fire. Within the +_zareba_ the hunter is shut in at nightfall by his _shikaris_, usually +having one _shikari_ with him, sometimes with a goat as a third +companion and a lure for lion. An occasional bite of the goat's ear by +sharp _shikari_ teeth inspires shrill bleats sure to bring any lion +lurking near in range of the hunter's rifle. At other times goat ears +are spared, and the loudest-braying donkey of the caravan is picketed +immediately in front of the _zareba's_ porthole, his normal vocal +activities stimulated by the occasional prod of a stick. Sometimes +several weary sleepless nights are spent without result, but sooner or +later, without the slightest sound hinting his approach, suddenly a +great yellow body flashes out of the darkness and upon the cringing +lure. For an instant there are the sinister sounds of savage snarls, +rending flesh, cracking bones and screams of pain and fear, and then a +dull red flash heralds the rifle's roar, and the tawny terror falls +gasping his life out across his prey. + +The second, and the only sportsmanlike way of lion-hunting, is by +tracking him in the open. The pony men circle till they find a trail, +follow it till close enough to the game to race ahead and bring it to +bay, circle about it while a messenger brings up the _Sahib_, who +dismounts and advances afoot to a combat wherein the echo of a +misplaced shot may sound his own death-knell. + +One morning while camped in the Jig-Jigga country, William Marlow, our +_Sahib's_ valet, was out with the pony men trailing a wounded oryx, +while the _Sahib_ himself was three miles away shooting eland. In mid +forenoon Marlow's men struck the fresh track of two great male lions, +plainly out on a hunting party of their own. + +Instantly Marlow rushed a messenger away to fetch the _Sahib_, and he +and the pony men then took the trail at a run. Within two hours the +pony men succeeded in circling the quarry and stopping it in a mimosa +thicket. Shortly thereafter, while they were circling and shouting +about the thicket to prevent a charge before the _Sahib's_ arrival, an +incident occurred which proves alike the utter fearlessness and the +marvellous knowledge of the game of the Somali. Suddenly out of the +shadows of the thicket sprang one of the lions and launched himself +like a thunderbolt upon one of the pony men, bearing horse and rider to +the ground. Losing his spear in the fall and held fast by one leg +beneath his horse, the rider was defenceless. However, he seized a +thorny stick and began beating the lion across the face, while the lion +tore at the pony's flank and quarters. Then down from his horse sprang +another pony man, and knowing he could not kill the lion with his spear +quickly enough to save his companion, approached and crouched directly +in front of the lion till his own face was scarcely two feet from the +lion's, and there made such frightful grimaces and let off such shrill +shrieks, that, frightened from his prey, the lion slunk snarling to the +edge of the thicket. + +Just at this moment the _Sahib_ raced upon the scene, accompanied by +his Secretary, H. Morgan Brown. In the run he had far outdistanced his +gun-bearers. Marlow was unarmed and Brown carried nothing but a +camera. Thus the _Sahib's_ single-shot .577 rifle was the only +effective weapon in the party, and for it he did not even have a single +spare cartridge. The one little cylinder of brass within the chamber +of his rifle, with the few grains of powder and nickeled lead it held, +was the only certain safeguard of the group against death or mangling. + +All this must have flashed across the _Sahib's_ mind as he leaped from +his pony and took stand in the open, sixty steps from where the lion +stood roaring and savagely lashing his tail. A little back of the +_Sahib_ and to his left stood Brown with his camera, beside him Marlow. + +Instantly, firm planted on his feet, the _Sahib_ threw the rifle to his +face for a steady standing shot. But quicker even than this act, +instinctively, the furious King of Beasts had marked the giant bulk of +the _Sahib_ as the one foeman of the half-score round him worthy of his +gleaming ivory weapons, and at him straight he charged the very instant +the gun was levelled, coming in great bounds that tossed clouds of dust +behind him, coming with hoarse roars at every bound, roars to shake +nerves not made of steel and still the beating of the stoutest heart. +On came the lion, and there stood the _Sahib_--on and yet on--till it +must have seemed to his companions that the _Sahib_ was frozen in his +tracks. + +But all the time a firm hand and a true eye held the bead of the rifle +sight to close pursuit of the lion's every move, so held it till only a +narrow sixteen yards separated man and beast. Then the _Sahib's_ rifle +cracked; and, with marvellous nerve, Brown snapped his camera a second +later and caught the picture of the kill. Hitting the beast squarely +in the forehead just at the take-on of a bound, the heavy .577 bullet +cleaned out the lion's brain pan and killed him instantly, his body +turning in mid-air and hitting the ground inert. A better rifle-shot +would be impossible, and as good a camera snapshot has certainly never +been made in the very face of instant, impending, deadly peril. + +A half-hour later Lion Number Two, slower of resolution than his mate, +fell to the _Sahib's_ first shot, with a broken neck, while lashing +himself into fit fury for a charge. This was more even than a royal +kill; each of the lions was, in size, a record among Jig-Jigga hunters, +the first measuring eleven feet one inch from tip of nose to tip of +tail, the second eleven feet. + +And then the party marched back to camp with the trophies, Djama Aout, +the head _shikari_, chanting paeans to his Sahib's prowess, while his +mates roared a hoarse Somali chorus, and all night long, by ancient law +of _shikari_, the camp feasted, chanted, and danced, one sable +saga-maker after another chanting his pride to serve so valiant a +_Sahib_. + + + + +THE END + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Red-Blooded Heroes of the Frontier, by +Edgar Beecher Bronson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RED-BLOODED HEROES *** + +***** This file should be named 22350.txt or 22350.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/2/3/5/22350/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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