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diff --git a/39674-8.txt b/39674-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..151c3d0 --- /dev/null +++ b/39674-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11958 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Buffalo Land, by W. E. Webb + +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/license + + +Title: Buffalo Land + Authentic Account of the Discoveries, Adventures, and + Mishaps of a Scientific and Sporting Party in the Wild West + +Author: W. E. Webb + +Release Date: May 12, 2012 [EBook #39674] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUFFALO LAND *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller, Julia Neufeld and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + +Transcriber's note: + + Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + + Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals. + + [=e] refers to the "long e" sound (example: K[=i]-o-te). + + + +[Illustration: + +_BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION BUFFALO NY_] + + BUFFALO LAND: + + AN + + AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT + + OF THE + + _Discoveries, Adventures, and Mishaps of a Scientific + and Sporting Party_ + + IN THE WILD WEST; + + WITH + + GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUNTRY; THE RED MAN, SAVAGE + AND CIVILIZED; HUNTING THE BUFFALO, ANTELOPE, + ELK, AND WILD TURKEY; ETC., ETC. + + REPLETE WITH INFORMATION, WIT, AND HUMOR. + + The Appendix Comprising a Complete Guide for Sportsmen and Emigrants. + + BY + + W. E. WEBB, + + OF TOPEKA, KANSAS. + + Profusely Illustrated + + FROM ACTUAL PHOTOGRAPHS, AND ORIGINAL DRAWINGS BY HENRY WORRALL. + + CINCINNATI AND CHICAGO: + + E HANNAFORD & COMPANY. + + SAN FRANCISCO: F. DEWING & CO. + + 1872. + + Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by + + E. HANNAFORD & CO., + + In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. + + STEREOTYPED AT THE FRANKLIN TYPE FOUNDRY, CINCINNATI. + + TO + + The Primeval Man, + + _The Original Westerner, and First Buffalo Hunter,_ + + This Work is Dedicated, + + WITH PROFOUND REGARD, + + _BY THE AUTHOR._ + + + + +BUFFALO LAND. + +BY OUR TAMMANY SACHEM. + + + There's a wonderful land far out in the West, + Well worthy a visit, my friend; + There, Puritans thought, as the sun went to rest, + Creation itself had an end. + 'T is a wild, weird spot on the continent's face, + A wound which is ghastly and red, + Where the savages write the deeds of their race + In blood that they constantly shed. + The graves of the dead the fair prairies deface, + And stamp it the kingdom of dread. + + The emigrant trail is a skeleton path; + You measure its miles by the bones; + There savages struck, in their merciless wrath, + And now, after sunset, the moans, + When tempests are out, fill the shuddering air, + And ghosts flit the wagons beside, + And point to the skulls lying grinning and bare + And beg of the teamsters a ride; + Sometimes 't is a father with snow on his hair, + Again, 't is a youth and his bride. + + What visions of horror each valley could tell, + If Providence gave it a tongue! + How often its Eden was changed to a hell, + In which a whole train had been flung; + How death cry and battle-shout frightened the birds, + And prayers were as thick as the leaves, + And no one to catch the poor dying one's words + But Death, as he gathered his sheaves: + You see the bones bleaching among the wild herds, + In shrouds that the field spider weaves. + + That era is passing--another one comes, + The era of steam and the plow, + With clangor of commerce and factory hums, + Where only the wigwam is now. + Like mist of the morning before the bright sun, + The cloud from the land disappears; + The Spirit of Murder his circle has run + And fled from the march of the years; + The click of machine drowns the click of the gun, + And day hides the night time of tears. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The purpose of this work is to make the reader better acquainted with +that wild land which he has known from childhood, as the home of the +Indian and the buffalo. The Rocky Mountain chain, distorted and rugged, +has been aptly called the colossal vertebræ of our continent's broad +back, and from thence, as a line, the plains, weird and wonderful, +stretch eastward through Colorado, and embrace the entire western half +of Kansas. + +Fortune, not long since, threw in my way an invitation, which I gladly +accepted, to join a semi-scientific party, since somewhat known to fame +through various articles in the newspaper press, in a sojourn of several +months on the great plains. At a meeting held with due solemnity on the +eve of starting, the Professor (to whom the reader will be introduced in +the proper connection) was chosen leader of the expedition, while to my +lot fell the office of editor of the future record, or rather Grand +Scribe of what we were pleased to call our "Log Book." The latter now +lies before me, in all its glory of shabby covers and dirty pages. Its +soiled face is as honorable as that of the laborer who comes from his +task in a well harvested field. Out of the sheaves gathered during our +journey, I shall try and take such portions as may best supply the +mental cravings of the countless thousands who hunger for the life and +the lore of the far West. + +I have given the mistakes as well as triumphs of our expedition, and the +members of the party will readily recognize their familiar camp names. +The disguise will probably be pleasant, as few like to see their +failures on public parade, preferring rather to leave these in barracks, +and let their successes only appear at review. + +The plains have a face, a people, and a brute creation, peculiarly their +own, and to these our party devoted earnest study. The expedition +presented a rare opportunity of becoming acquainted with the game of the +country; and, in writing the present volume, my aim has been to make it +so far a text-book for amateur hunters that they may become at once +conversant with the habits of the game, and the best manner of killing +it. The time is not far distant, when the plains and the Rocky +Mountains will be sought by thousands annually, as a favorite field for +sport and recreation. + +Another and still larger class, it is hoped, will find much of interest +and value in the following pages. From every state in the Union, people +are constantly passing westward. We found emigrant wagons on spots from +which the Indians had just removed their wigwams. Multitudes more are +now on the way, with the earnest purpose of founding homes and, if +possible, of finding fortunes. In order to aid this class, as well as +the sportsman, I have gathered in an appendix such additional +information as may be useful to both. + +The scientific details of our trip will probably be published in proper +form and time, by the savans interested. In regard to these, my object +has been simply to chronicle such matters as made an impression upon my +own mind, being content with what cream might be gathered by an +amateur's skimming, while the more bulky milk should be saved in +capacious scientific buckets. + +Professor Cope, the well known naturalist, of the Academy of Sciences, +Philadelphia, received for examination and classification the most +valuable fossils we obtained, and to him I am indebted for a large +amount of most interesting and valuable scientific matter, which will +be found embodied in chapters twenty-third and twenty-fourth. + +The illustrations of men and brutes in this work are studies from life. +Whenever it was possible, we had photographs taken. + +The plains, it must be said, are a tract with which Romance has had much +more to do than History. Red men, brave and chivalrous, and unnatural +buffalo, with the habits of lions, exist only in imagination. In these +pages, my earnest endeavor, when dealing with actualities, has been to +"hold the mirror up to Nature," and to describe men, manners, and things +as they are in real life upon the frontiers, and beyond, to-day. + + W. E. W. + + TOPEKA, KANSAS, _May_, 1872. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I. + + PAGES. + + THE OBJECT OF OUR EXPEDITION--A GLIMPSE OF ALASKA THROUGH CAPTAIN + WALRUS' GLASS--WE ARE TEMPTED BY OUR RECENT PURCHASE--ALASKAN + GAME OF "OLD SLEDGE"--THE EARLY STRUGGLES OF KANSAS--THE + SMOKY HILL TRAIL--INDIAN HIGH ART--THE "BORDER-RUFFIAN," + PAST AND PRESENT--TOPEKA--HOW IT RECEIVED ITS + NAME--WAUKARUSA AND ITS LEGEND, 25-35 + + + CHAPTER II. + + A CHAPTER OF INTRODUCTIONS--PROFESSOR PALEOZOIC--TAMMANY SACHEM--DOCTOR + PYTHAGORAS--GENUINE MUGGS--COLON AND SEMI-COLON--SHAMUS + DOBEEN--TENACIOUS GRIPE--BUGS AND PHILOSOPHY--HOW + GRIPE BECAME A REPUBLICAN, 36-54 + + + CHAPTER III. + + THE TOPEKA AUCTIONEER--MUGGS GETS A BARGAIN--CYNOCEPHALUS--INDIAN + SUMMER IN KANSAS--HUNTING PRAIRIE CHICKENS--OUR FIRST + DAY'S SPORT, 55-63 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + CHICKEN-SHOOTING CONTINUED--A SCIENTIFIC PARTY TAKE THE BIRDS ON + THE WING--EVILS OF FAST FIRING--AN OLD-FASHIONED "SLOW SHOT"--THE + HABITS OF THE PRAIRIE CHICKEN--ITS PROSPECTIVE EXTINCTION--MODE + OF HUNTING IT--THE GOPHER SCALP LAW, 64-74 + + + CHAPTER V. + + A TRIAL BY JUDGE LYNCH--HUNG FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT--QUAIL + SHOOTING--HABITS OF THE BIRDS, AND MODE OF KILLING THEM--A + RING OF QUAILS--THE EFFECTS OF A SEVERE WINTER--THE SNOW + GOOSE, 75-83 + + + CHAPTER VI. + + OFF FOR BUFFALO LAND--THE NAVIGATION OF THE KAW--FORT RILEY--THE + CENTER-POST OF THE UNITED STATES--OUR PURCHASE OF HORSES--"LO" + AS A SAVAGE AND AS A CITIZEN--GRIPE UNFOLDS THE INDIAN + QUESTION--A BALLAD BY SACHEM, PRESENTING ANOTHER VIEW, 84-98 + + + CHAPTER VII. + + GRIPE'S VIEWS OF INDIAN CHARACTER--THE DELAWARES, THE ISHMAELITES + OF THE PLAINS--THE TERRITORY OF THE "LONG HORNS"--TEXANS + AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS--MUSHROOM ROCK--A VALUABLE DISCOVERY-- + FOOTPRINTS IN THE ROCK--THE PRIMEVAL PAUL AND VIRGINIA, 99-111 + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + THE "GREAT AMERICAN DESERT"--ITS FOSSIL WEALTH--AN ILLUSION + DISPELLED--FIRES ACCORDING TO NOVELS AND ACCORDING TO FACT-- + SENSATIONAL HEROES AND HEROINES--PRAIRIE DOGS AND THEIR HABITS-- + HAWK AND DOG, AND HAWK AND CAT, 112-123 + + + CHAPTER IX. + + WE SEE BUFFALO--ARRIVAL AT HAYS--GENERAL SHERIDAN AT THE FORT--INDIAN + MURDERS--BLOOD-CHRISTENING OF THE PACIFIC RAILROAD--SURPRISED + BY A BUFFALO HERD--A BUFFALO BULL IN A QUANDARY--GENTLE + ZEPHYRS--HOW A CIRCUS WENT OFF--BOLOGNA TO LEAN ON--A + CALL UPON SHERIDAN, 124-141 + + + CHAPTER X. + + HAYS CITY BY LAMP-LIGHT--THE SANTA FE TRADE--BULL-WHACKERS-- + MEXICANS--SABBATH ON THE PLAINS--THE DARK AGES--WILD BILL + AND BUFFALO BILL--OFF FOR THE SALINE--DOBEEN'S GHOST-STORY--AN + ADVENTURE WITH INDIANS--MEXICAN CANNONADE--A RUNAWAY, 142-160 + + + CHAPTER XI. + + WHITE WOLF, THE CHEYENNE CHIEF--HUNGRY INDIANS--RETURN TO HAYS--A + CHEYENNE WAR PARTY--THE PIPE OF PEACE--THE COUNCIL + CHAMBER--WHITE WOLF'S SPEECH, AS RENDERED BY SACHEM--THE + WHITE MAN'S WIGWAM, 161-176 + + + CHAPTER XII. + + ARMS OF A WAR PARTY--A DONKEY PRESENT--EATING POWERS OF THE + NOMADS--SATANTA, HIS CRIMES AND PUNISHMENT--RUNNING OFF + WITH A GOVERNMENT HERD--DAUB, OUR ARTIST--ANTELOPE CHASE + BY A GREYHOUND, 177-191 + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + CHARACTER OF THE PLAINS--BUFFALO BILL AND HIS HORSE BRIGHAM--THE + GUIDE AND SCOUT OF ROMANCE--CAYOTE VERSUS JACKASS-RABBIT--A + LAWYER-LIKE RESCUE--OUR CAMP ON SILVER CREEK--UNCLE + SAM'S BUFFALO HERDS--TURKEY-SHOOTING--OUR FIRST MEAL ON THE + PLAINS--A GAME SUPPER, 192-208 + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + A CAMP-FIRE SCENE--VAGABONDIZING--THE BLACK PACER OF THE PLAINS--SOME + ADVICE FROM BUFFALO BILL ABOUT INDIAN FIGHTING--LO'S + ABHORRENCE OF LONG RANGE--HIS DREAD OF CANNON--AN IRISH + GOBLIN, 209-219 + + + CHAPTER XV. + + A FIRE SCENE--A GLIMPSE OF THE SOUTH--'COON HUNTING IN MISSISSIPPI-- + VOICES IN THE SOLITUDE--FRIENDS OR FOES--A STARTLING + SERENADE--PANIC IN CAMP--CAYOTES AND THEIR HABITS--WORRYING + A BUFFALO BULL--THE SECOND DAY--DAUB, OUR ARTIST--HE + MAKES HIS MARK, 220-235 + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + BISON MEAT--A STRANGE ARRIVAL--THE SYDNEY FAMILY--THE HOME + IN THE VALLEY--THE SOLOMON MASSACRE--THE MURDER OF THE + FATHER AND THE CHILD--THE SETTLERS' FLIGHT--INCIDENTS--OUR + QUEEN OF THE PLAINS--THE PROFESSOR INTERESTED--IRISH MARY--DOBEEN + HAPPY--THE HEROINE OF ROMANCE--SACHEM'S BATH BY + MOONLIGHT--THE BEAVER COLONY, 236-249 + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + PREPARATIONS FOR THE CHASE--THE VALLEY OF THE SALINE--QUEER + 'COONS--A BISON'S GAME OF BLUFF--IN PURSUIT--ALONGSIDE THE + GAME--FIRING FROM THE SADDLE--A CHARGE AND A PANIC--FALSE + HISTORY AGAIN--GOING FOR AMMUNITION--THE PROFESSOR'S LETTER-- + DISROBING THE VICTIM, 250-263 + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + STILL HUNTING--DARK OBJECTS AGAINST THE HORIZON--THE RED MAN + AGAIN--RETREAT TO CAMP--PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENSE--SHAKING + HANDS WITH DEATH--MR. COLON'S BUGS--THE EMBASSADORS--A NEW + ALARM--MORE INDIANS--TERRIFIC BATTLE BETWEEN PAWNEES AND + CHEYENNES--THEIR MODE OF FIGHTING--GOOD HORSEMANSHIP--A + SCIENTIFIC PARTY AS SEXTONS--DITTO AS SURGEONS--CAMPS OF THE + COMBATANTS--STEALING AWAY--AN APPARITION, 264-279 + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + STALKING THE BISON--BUFFALO AS OXEN--EXPENSIVE POWER--A BUFFALO + AT A LUNATIC ASYLUM--THE GATEWAY TO THE HERDS--INFERNAL + GRAPE-SHOT--NATURE'S BOMB-SHELLS--CRAWLING BEDOUINS--"THAR + THEY HUMP"--THE SLAUGHTER BEGUN--AN INEFFECTUAL + CHARGE--"KETCHING THE CRITTER"--RETURN TO CAMP--CALVES' + HEAD ON THE STOMACH--AN UNPLEASANT EPISODE--WOLF BAITING, + AND HOW IT IS DONE, 280-291 + + + CHAPTER XX. + + THE CAYOTES' STRYCHNINE FEAST--CAPTURING A TIMBER WOLF--A FEW + CORDS OF VICTIMS--WHAT THE LAW CONSIDERS "INDIAN TAN"--"FINISHING" + THE NEW YORK MARKET--A NEW YORK FARMER'S + OPINION OF OUR GRAY WOLF--WESTWARD AGAIN--EPISODES IN OUR + JOURNEY--THE WILD HUNTRESS OF THE PLAINS--WAS OUR GUIDE A + MURDERER?--THE READER JOINS US IN A BUFFALO CHASE--THE + DYING AGONIES, 292-305 + + + CHAPTER XXI. + + "CREASING" WILD HORSES--MUGGS DISAPPOINTED--A FEAT FOR FICTION-- + HORSE AND MONKEY--HOOF WISDOM FOR TURFMEN--PROSPECTIVE + CLIMATIC CHANGES ON THE PLAINS--THE QUESTION OF + SPONTANEOUS GENERATION--WANTON SLAUGHTER OF BUFFALO--AMOUNT + OF ROBES AND MEAT ANNUALLY WASTED--A STRANGE + HABIT OF THE BISON--NUMEROUS BILLS--THE "SNEAK THIEF" OF + THE PLAINS, 306-317 + + + CHAPTER XXII. + + A LIVE TOWN AND ITS GRAVE-YARD--HONEST ROMBEAUX IN TROUBLE--JUDGE + LYNCH HOLDS COURT--MARIE AND THE VINE-COVERED COTTAGE--THE + TERRIBLE FLOODS--DEATH IN CAMP AND IN THE DUGOUT--WAS + IT THE WATER WHICH DID IT?--DISCOVERY OF A HUGE + FOSSIL--THE MOSASAURUS OF THE CRETACEOUS SEA--A GLIMPSE + OF THE REPTILIAN AGE--REMINISCENCES OF ALLIGATOR-SHOOTING--THEY + SUGGEST A THEORY, 318-329 + + + CHAPTER XXIII. + + FROM SHERIDAN TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS--THE COLORADO PORTION OF + THE PLAINS--THE GIANT PINES--ATTEMPT TO PHOTOGRAPH A BUFFALO--THINGS + GET MIXED--THE LEVIATHAN AT HOME--A CHAT + WITH PROFESSOR COPE--TWENTY-SIX-INCH OYSTERS--REPTILES AND + FISHES OF THE CRETACEOUS SEA, 330-350 + + + CHAPTER XXIV. + + CONTINUED BY COPE--THE GIANTS OF THE SEAS--TAKING OUT FOSSILS + IN A GALE--INTERESTING DISCOVERIES--THE GEOLOGY OF THE + PLAINS, 351-365 + + + CHAPTER XXV. + + A SAVAGE OUTBREAK--THE BATTLE OF THE FORTY SCOUTS--THE SURPRISE-- + PACK-MULES STAMPEDED--DEATH ON THE ARICKEREE--THE + MEDICINE MAN--A DISMAL NIGHT--MESSENGERS SENT TO WALLACE--MORNING + ATTACK--WHOSE FUNERAL?--RELIEF AT LAST--THE OLD + SCOUT'S DEVOTION TO THE BLUE, 366-376 + + + CHAPTER XXVI. + + THE STAGE DRIVERS OF THE PLAINS--"OLD BOB"--JAMAICA AND GINGER--AN + OLD ACQUAINTANCE--BEADS OF THE PAST--ROBBING THE + DEAD--A LEAP FROM THE LOST HISTORY OF THE MOUND BUILDERS--INDIAN + TRADITIONS--SPECULATIONS--ADOBE HOUSES IN A RAIN--CHEAP + LIVING--WATCH TOWERS, 377-386 + + + CHAPTER XXVII. + + OUR PROGRAMME CONCLUDED--FROM SHERIDAN TO THE SOLOMON--FIERCE + WINDS--A TERRIFIC STORM--SHAMUS' BLOODY APPARITION AND + INDIAN WITCH--A RECONNOISSANCE--AN INDIAN BURIAL GROVE--A + CONTRACTOR'S DARING AND ITS PENALTY--MORE VAGABONDIZING--JOSE + AT THE LONG BOW--THE "WILD HUNTRESS'" COUNTERPART--SHAMUS + TREATS US TO "CHILE"--THE RESULT, 387-395 + + + CHAPTER XXVIII. + + THE BLOCK-HOUSE ON THE SOLOMON--HOW THE OLD MAN DIED--WACONDA + DA--LEGEND OF WA-BOG-AHA AND HEWGAW--SABBATH MORNING--SACHEM'S + POETICAL EPITAPH--AN ALARM--BATTLE BETWEEN AN + EMIGRANT AND THE INDIANS--WAS IT THE SYDNEYS?--TO THE + RESCUE--AN ELK HUNT--ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP--NOVEL MODE + OF HUNTING TURKEYS--IN CAMP ON THE SOLOMON--A WARM WELCOME, 396-415 + + + CHAPTER XXIX. + + OUR LAST NIGHT TOGETHER--THE REMARKABLE SHED-TAIL DOG--HE + RESCUES HIS MISTRESS, AND BREAKS UP A MEETING--A SKETCH OF + TERRITORIAL TIMES BY GRIPE--MONTGOMERY'S EXPEDITION FOR THE + RESCUE OF JOHN BROWN'S COMPANIONS--SCALPED, AND CARVING HIS + OWN EPITAPH--AN IRISH JACOB--"SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST"--SACHEM'S + POETICAL LETTER--POPPING THE QUESTION ON THE RUN--THE + PROFESSOR'S LETTER, 416-428 + + + + +CONTENTS OF APPENDIX. + + + PAGES. + + PRELIMINARY TO THE APPENDIX, 431, 432 + + + CHAPTER FIRST. + + COME TO THE GREAT WEST--SHOULD THERE NOT BE COMPULSORY + EMIGRATION--"GET A GOOD READY"--HOMESTEAD LAWS AND + REGULATIONS--THE STATE OF KANSAS--THE COST OF A FARM--A FEW + MORE PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS, 433-450 + + + CHAPTER SECOND. + + HUNTING THE BUFFALO--ANTELOPE HUNTING--ELK HUNTING--TURKEY + HUNTING--GENERAL REMARKS--WHAT TO DO IF LOST ON THE PLAINS--THE + NEW FIELD FOR SPORTSMEN, 451-463 + + + CHAPTER THIRD. + + "BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES"--THE GREAT WEST--FALL + OF THE RIVERS--THE PRINCIPAL RIVERS AND VALLEYS OF + BUFFALO LAND--THE VALLEY OF THE PLATTE--THE SOLOMON AND + SMOKY HILL RIVERS--THE ARKANSAS RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES--STOCK + RAISING IN THE GREAT WEST--THE CATTLE HIVE OF NORTH + AMERICA--THE CLIMATE OF THE PLAINS--CLIMATIC CHANGES ON THE + PLAINS--THE TREES AND FUTURE FORESTS OF THE PLAINS--THE + SUPPLY OF FUEL--DISTRICTS CONTIGUOUS TO THE PLAINS--THE VALLEYS + OF THE WHITE EARTH AND NIOBRARA--NEW MEXICO: ITS + SOIL, CLIMATE, RESOURCES, ETC.--THE DISAPPEARING BISON--THE + FISH WITH LEGS--THE MOUNTAIN SUPPLY OF LUMBER FOR THE + PLAINS, 465-503 + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + _From Original Drawings by Henry Worrall, and Actual Photographs._ + + _The Engraving by the Bureau of Illustration, Buffalo, N. Y._ + + + PAGE + + FRONTISPIECE, FACING TITLE PAGE + + ALASKAN LOVERS--SEALING THE CONTRACT, 27 + + ALASKAN GAME OF OLD SLEDGE, 27 + + "WAUKARUSA," 33 + + "TOASTS HIS MOCCASINED FEET BY THE FIRE," 33 + + THE PROFESSOR--A REMARKABLE STONE, 39 + + TAMMANY SACHEM--PROSPECTIVE AND RETROSPECTIVE, 39 + + COLON AND SEMI-COLON, 43 + + DAVID PYTHAGORAS, M. D., 43 + + ONE OF THE MUGGSES, 47 + + SHAMUS DOBEEN--HIS CARD, 53 + + HON. T. GRIPE (BEATIFIED), 53 + + "SPERIT, GENTLEMEN!" 57 + + OUR FIRST BIRD-SHOOTING, 67 + + JUDGE LYNCH--HIS COURT, 77 + + UNNATURALIZED, 91 + + NATURALIZED, 91 + + "YOU'VE RILED THAT BROOK"--AN OLD FABLE MODERNIZED, 96 + + DOG TOWN--THE HAPPY FAMILY, 96 + + INDIAN ROCK--FROM A PHOTOGRAPH, 105 + + MUSHROOM ROCK--FROM A PHOTOGRAPH, 105 + + FIRE ON THE PLAINS, ACCORDING TO NOVELS, 115 + + FIRE ON THE PLAINS, AS IT IS, 115 + + "AND ERIN'S SON CHRISTENS THOSE FAR-OFF POINTS OF THE PACIFIC + RAILROAD WITH HIS BLOOD," 127 + + GENTLE ZEPHYRS--GOING OFF WITHOUT A DRAWBACK, 133 + + "LOOKED LIKE THE END OF A TAIL," 137 + + THE RARE OLD PLAINSMAN OF THE NOVELS, 137 + + WILD BILL--FROM A PHOTOGRAPH, 147 + + BUFFALO BILL--FROM A PHOTOGRAPH, 147 + + OUR HORSES RUN AWAY WITH US, 157 + + THE PIPE OF PEACE--THE PROFESSOR'S DILEMMA, 167 + + _White Wolf at Home_, 172 + + THE WILD DENIZENS OF THE PLAINS, 197 + + SMASHING A CHEYENNE BLACK-KETTLE, 219 + + MIDNIGHT SERENADE ON THE PLAINS, 227 + + GOING AFTER AMMUNITION, 259 + + BATTLE BETWEEN CHEYENNES AND PAWNEES, 271 + + ONE OF OUR SPECIMENS--PHOTOGRAPHED BY J. LEE KNIGHT, TOPEKA, 301 + + + WANTON DESTRUCTION OF BUFFALO, EMBRACING: + + DAILY, FOR FUN, 315 + + 300 A DAY FOR PLEASURE, 315 + + FOR EXCITEMENT, 315 + + 100,000 FOR TONGUES, 315 + + 2,000,000 FOR ROBES, TO GET WHISKY, 315 + + DUG OUT, 329 + + TAKING AND BEING TAKEN, 335 + + DEVELOPING--ONE OF THE FIRST FAMILIES, 348 + + THE SEA WHICH ONCE COVERED THE PLAINS, 357 + + WACONDA DA--GREAT SPIRIT SALT SPRING, 399 + + + MORE OF OUR SPECIMENS (PHOTOGRAPHED BY J. LEE KNIGHT), EMBRACING: + + PRAIRIE CHICKENS, 413 + + HEAD OF AN ELK, 413 + + WILD TURKEY, 413 + + BEAVER, 413 + + + + +BUFFALO LAND. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + THE OBJECT OF OUR EXPEDITION--A GLIMPSE OF ALASKA THROUGH CAPTAIN + WALRUS' GLASS--WE ARE TEMPTED BY OUR RECENT PURCHASE--ALASKAN GAME + OF "OLD SLEDGE"--THE EARLY STRUGGLES OF KANSAS--THE SMOKY HILL + TRAIL--INDIAN HIGH ART--THE "BORDER-RUFFIAN," PAST AND + PRESENT--TOPEKA--HOW IT RECEIVED ITS NAME--WAUKARUSA AND ITS + LEGEND. + + +The great plains--the region of country in which our expedition +sojourned for so many months--is wilder, and by far more interesting, +than those solitudes over which the Egyptian Sphynx looks out. The +latter are barren and desolate, while the former teem with their savage +races and scarcely more savage beasts. The very soil which these tread +is written all over with a history of the past, even its surface giving +to science wonderful and countless fossils of those ages when the world +was young and man not yet born. + +At first, it was rather unsettled which way the steps of our party would +turn; between unexplored territory and that newly acquired, there were +several fields open which promised much of interest. Originally, our +company numbered a dozen; but Alaska tempted a portion of our savans, +and to the fishy and frigid maiden they yielded, drawn by a strange +predilection for train-oil and seal meat toward the land of furs. For +the remainder of our party, however, life under the Alaskan's tent-pole +had no charms. Our decision may have been influenced somewhat by the +seafaring man with whom our friends were to sail. The real name of this +son of Neptune was Samuels, but our party called him, as it savored more +of salt water, Captain Walrus, of the bark Harpoon. This worthy, +according to his own statement, had been born on a whaler, weaned among +the Esquimeaux, and, moreover, had frozen off eight toes "trying to +winter it at our recent purchase." He evidently disliked to have +scientific men aboard, intent on studying eclipses and seals. "A +heathenish and strange people are the Alaskans," Walrus was wont to say. +"What is not Indian is Russian, and a compound of the latter and +aboriginal is a mixture most villainous. One portion of the partnership +anatomy takes to brandy, while the other absorbs train-oil, and so a +half-breed Alaskan heathen is always prepared for spontaneous +combustion, and if rubbed the wrong way, flames up instantly. He is +always hot for murder, and if you throw cold water on his designs, his +oily nature sheds it." + +And many a yarn did the captain spin concerning their strange customs. +Sealing a marriage contract consisted in the warrior leaving a fat seal +at the hole of the hut, where his intended crawled in to her home +privileges of smoke and fish. Their favorite game was "old sledge," +played with prisoners to shorten their captivity. + +[Illustration: ALASKAN LOVERS--SEALING THE CONTRACT.] + +[Illustration: ALASKAN GAME OF OLD SLEDGE.] + +All this, and much more, probably equally true, we had picked up of +Alaskan history, and at one time our chests had been packed for a voyage +on the Harpoon; but at the final council the west carried it against +the north, and our steps were directed toward the setting sun, instead +of the polar star. + +The expedition afforded unexcelled facilities for seeing Buffalo Land. +It was composed of good material, and pursued its chosen path +successfully, though under difficulties which would have turned back a +less determined party. + +None of our company, I trust, will consider it an unwarrantable license +which recounts to others the personal peculiarities and mistakes about +which we joked so freely while in camp. It was generally understood, +before we parted, that the adventures should be common stock for our +children and children's children. Why should not the great public share +in it also? + + * * * * * + +Let the reader place before him a checker-board, and allow it to +represent Kansas, whose shape and outline it much resembles; the half +nearest him will stand for the eastern or settled portion of the State, +of which the other half is embraced in Buffalo Land proper. It is with +the latter that we have first to do, as with it we first became +acquainted. + +Our party entered the State at Kansas City, and took the cars for +Topeka, its capital. During our morning ride through the valley of the +Kaw, memory went backward to the years when "Bleeding Kansas" was the +signal-cry of emancipation. When gray old Time, a decade and a half ago, +was writing the history of those bright children of Freedom, the united +sisterhood, a virgin arm reached over his shoulder, and a fair young +hand, stained with its own life-blood, wrote on the page toward which +all the world was gazing, "I am Kansas, latest-born of America. I would +be free, yet they would make me a slave. Save me, my sisters!" The great +heart of our nation was sorely distressed. Conscience pointed to one +path--Policy, that rank hypocrite, to another. + +And so it was that the young queen, with her grand domain in the West, +struggled forward to lay her fealty at the feet of our great mother, +Liberty. She made a body-guard of her own sons, and their number was +quickly swelled by brave hearts from the north, east, and west. The new +territory, begging admission as a State, became a battle-ground. Slavery +had reached forth its hand to grasp the new State and fresh soil, but +the mutilated member was drawn back with wounds which soon reached, +corrupted and destroyed the body. In this land of the Far West a nation +of young giants had been suddenly developed, and Kansas was forever won +for freedom. + +But there was yet another enemy and another danger. Westward, toward +Colorado, the savage's tomahawk and knife glittered, and struck among +the affrighted settlements. _Ad Astra per Aspera_, "to the stars through +difficulties," the State exclaims on the seal, and to the stars, through +blood, its course has been. + +Those old pages of history are too bloody to be brought to light in the +bright present, and we purpose turning them only enough to gather what +will be now of practical use. Kansas suffered cruelly, and brooded over +her wrongs, but she has long since struck hands with her bitterer foe. +Most of the "Border Ruffians" ripened on gallows trees, or fell by the +sword, years ago. A few, however, are yet spared, to cheer their old age +by riding around in desolate woods at midnight, wrapped in damp +nightgowns, and masked in grinning death-heads. Although the mists of +shadow-land are chilling their hearts, yet those organs, at the cry of +blood, beat quick again, like regimental drums, for action. + +The Kaw or the Kansas River, the valley of which we were traversing, is +the principal stream of the State--in length to the mouth of the +Republican one hundred and fifty miles, and above that, under the name +of Smoky Hill, three hundred miles more. + +The "Smoky Hill trail" is a familiar name in many an American home. It +was the great California path, and many a time the demons of the plain +gloated over fair hair, yet fresh from a mother's touch and blessing. +And many a faint and thirsty traveler has flung himself with a burst of +gratitude on the sandy bed of the desolate river, and thanked the Great +Giver of all good for the concealed life found under the sand, and with +the strength thus sucked from the bosom of our much-abused mother, he +has pushed onward until at length the grand mountains and great parks of +Colorado burst upon his delighted vision. + +About noon we arrived at Topeka, the capital, well situated on the south +bank of the river, having a comfortable, well-to-do air, which suggests +the quiet satisfaction of an honest burgher after a morning of toil. The +slavery billow of agitation rolled even thus far from beyond the border +of the state. Armed men rode over the beautiful prairies, some east, +some west--one band to transplant slavery from the tainted soil of +Missouri, another to pluck it up. + +A small party of Free State men settled upon this beautiful prairie. +South flowed the Waukarusa, south and east the Shunganunga, and west and +north the Kaw or Kansas. Here thrived a bulbous root, much loved by the +red man, and here lazy Pottawatomies gathered in the fall to dig it. In +size and somewhat in shape, it resembled a goose egg, and had a hard, +reddish brown shell, and an interior like damaged dough. The Indian +gourmands ate it greedily and called it "Topeka." From the two or three +families of refugee Free State men the town grew up, and from the Indian +root it took its name. Its christening took place in the first cabin +erected, and it is reported that a now prominent banker of the town +stood sponsor, with his back against the door, refusing any egress until +the name of his choice was accepted. It is even affirmed that one +opposing city founder was pulled back by his coat-tail from an attempted +escape up the wide chimney. + +[Illustration: "WAUKARUSA."] + +[Illustration: "TOASTS HIS MOCCASINED FEET BY THE FIRE."] + +The old Indian love of commemorating events by significant names is well +illustrated in Kansas. One example may be given here. Waukarusa once +opposed its swollen tide to an exploring band of red men. Now, from time +beyond ken, the noble savage has been illustrious for the ingenuity with +which he lays all disagreeable duties upon the shoulders of the patient +squaw. He may ride to their death, in free wild sport, the bison +multitudes; but their skins must be converted into marketable robes, +and the flesh into jerked meat, by the ugly and over-worked partner of +his bosom. While she pins the raw hide to earth, and bends patiently +over, fleshing it with horn hatchet for weary hours, the stronger +vessel, his abdominal recesses wadded with buffalo meat, toasts his +moccasined feet by the fire, fills his lungs with smoke from villainous +killikinick, and muses soothingly of white scalps and happy hunting +grounds. + +Ox-like maiden, happy "big injun!" you both belong to an age and a +history well nigh past, and let us rejoice that it is so. + +But to return to the band long since gathered into aboriginal dust whom +we left pausing on the banks of the Waukarusa. "Deep water, bad bottom!" +grunted the braves, and, nothing doubting it, one loving warrior pushed +his wife and her pony over the bank to test the matter. From the middle +of the tide the squaw called back, "Waukarusa" (thigh deep), and soon +had gained the opposite bank in safety. Then and there the creek +received its name, "Waukarusa." + +We procured a remarkable sketch, in the well known Indian style of high +art, commemorative of this event. It has always struck us that the +savage order of drawing resembles very much that of the ancient +Egyptian--except in the matter of drawing at sight, with bow or rifle, +on the white man. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + A CHAPTER OF INTRODUCTIONS--PROFESSOR PALEOZOIC--TAMMANY + SACHEM--DOCTOR PYTHAGORAS--GENUINE MUGGS--COLON AND + SEMI-COLON--SHAMUS DOBEEN--TENACIOUS GRIPE--BUGS AND + PHILOSOPHY--HOW GRIPE BECAME A REPUBLICAN. + + +When permission was given me to draw upon the journal of our trip for +such material as I might desire, it was stipulated that the camp-names +should be adhered to. A company on the plains is no respecter of +persons, and titles which might have caused offense before starting were +received in good part, and worn gracefully thenceforward. + +Our leader, Professor Paleozoic, ordinarily existed in a sort of +transition state between the primary and tertiary formations. He could +tell cheese from chalk under the microscope, and show that one was full +of the fossil and the other of the living evidences of animal life. A +worthy man, vastly more troubled with rocks on the brain than "rocks" in +the pocket. + +Learning had once come near making him mad, but from this sad fate he +was happily saved by a somewhat Pickwickian blunder. While in Kansas, +some years since, he penetrated a remote portion of the wilderness, +where, as he was happy in believing, none but the native savage, or, +possibly, the primeval man, could ever have tarried long enough to leave +any sign behind. Imagine his astonishment and delight, therefore, when +from the tangled grass he drew an upright stone, with lines chiseled on +three sides and on the fourth a rude figure resembling more than any +thing else one of those odd fictions which geologists call restored +specimens. On a ledge near were huge depressions like foot-prints. They +were foot-prints of birds, no doubt, and quite as perfect as those found +in more favored localities, and from which whole skeletons had been +constructed by learned men. + +Both specimens were forwarded to, and at the expense of, noted savans of +the East. Our professor called the pillar from the tangled grass an +altar raised by early races to the winds. The short lines, he suggested, +designated the different points of the compass, while the rude figure +was intended for Boreas. Our scientists toward the rising sun met the +boxes at the depot, paid charges, and careful draymen bore them to the +expectant museum. + +One hour after, seven wise men might have been seen wending their way +sorrowfully homeward, with hands crossed meditatively under their +coat-tails, and pocket vacuums where lately were modern coins. +Government clearly had a case against our professor. Science decided +that he had removed a stone telling in surveyors' signs just what +section and township it was on. The figure which he had imagined a +heathen idea of Boreas was the fancy of some surveyor's idle moment--a +shocking sketch of an impossible buffalo. Whether the bird-tracks had a +common origin, or were hewn by the hatchets of the red man, is a point +still under discussion. + +A worthy man, as before remarked, was the professor, full of knowledge, +genial in camp, and, having rubbed his eye-tooth on a section stone, +geological authority of the highest order. When the professor said a +particular rock belonged to the cretaceous formation, one might safely +conclude that no modern influences had been at work either on that rock +or in that vicinity. That question was settled. + +Next came Tammany Sachem, our heavy weight and our mystery. Before +joining our party, he had been a New York alderman, noted for prowess in +annual aldermanic clam-bakes at Coney Island. He was wont to exhibit a +medal, the prize of such a tournament, on which several immense clams +were racing to the griddle, for the honor of being devoured by the city +fathers. + +A green-ribbed hunting coat traversed his rotundity, which had the +generous swell of a puncheon. His face was reddish, and his nose like a +beacon-light against a sunset sky. When you thought him awake, he was +half asleep; when you thought him asleep, he was wide awake. A look of +extreme happiness always beamed on his face when misfortunes impended. +Per contra, successes made him suspicious and morose. New York aldermen +have always been a puzzle to the nation at large. Perhaps our friend's +facial contradictions, put on originally as one of the tricks of the +trade, had become chronic from long usage. We have since learned that +the sachems of Tammany laugh the loudest and joke the most freely when +under affliction. + +[Illustration: THE PROFESSOR--A REMARKABLE STONE.] + +[Illustration: TAMMANY SACHEM--PROSPECTIVE AND RETROSPECTIVE.] + +When I was appointed editor, the Sachem volunteered as local +reporter. Many of the items he gathered are entered in our log-book in +rhyme, and to these pages some of them are transferred verbatim. In +wooing the muses, our alderman certainly acted out of character. The +ideal poet is thin instead of obese, and he is a reckless innovator who +lays claim to any measure of the divine afflatus without possessing +either a pale face, thin form, or a garret. + +As to what drove a New York alderman to the society of buffaloes, we had +but one explanation, and that was Sachem's own. We knew that he disliked +women in every form, Sorosis and Anti-Sorosis, bitter and sweet alike. +According to his statement, made to us in good faith, and which I +chronicle in the same, Cupid had once essayed to drive a dart into +Sachem's heart, but, in doing so, the barb also struck and wounded his +liver. As his love increased, his health failed. His liver became +affected in the same ratio as his heart. This was touching our alderman +in a tender spot. Imagine a New York city father without digestion; what +a subject of scorn he would become to his constituency! Our alderman +fled from Cupid, clams, and his beloved Gotham, and sought health and +buffalo on the plains of Kansas. As he remarked to us pathetically: "A +good liver makes a good husband. Indigestion frightens connubial bliss +out of the window. Pills, my boy, pills is the quietus of love. If you +wish Cupid to leave, give him a dose of 'em. The liver, instead of the +heart, is at the bottom of half the suicides." + +Doctor Pythagoras in years was fifty, and in stature short. His +favorite theory was "development," and this he carried to depths which +would have astonished Darwin himself. How humble he used to make us feel +by digging at the roots of the family tree until its uttermost fiber lay +between an oyster and a sponge! (Rumor charged him with waiting so long +for diseases to develop, that his patients developed into spirits.) +While he indorsed Darwin, however, he also admired Pythagoras. The +latter's doctrine of metempsychosis he Darwinized. In their +transmigration from one body to another, souls developed, taking a +higher order of being with each change, until finally fitted to enter +the land of spirits. The soul of a jack-of-all-trades was one which +developed slowly, and picked up a new craft with each new body. Like +Pythagoras, he remembered several previous bodies which his soul had +animated, among others that of the original Rarey, who existed in Egypt +some centuries before the modern usurper was born. If souls proved +entirely unworthy during the probationary or human period, they were +cast back into the brute creation to try it over again. To this class +belonged prize-fighters, Congressmen, and the like. With them the past +was a blank--an unsuccessful problem washed from the slate. The doctor +had a hobby that a vicious horse was only a vicious man entered into a +lower order of being. To demonstrate this he had traveled, and still +persisted in traveling, on eccentric horses, for the purpose of +reasoning with them. But his Egyptian lore had been lost in +transmission, and his falls, kicks, and bites became as many as the +moons which had passed over his head. + +[Illustration: COLON AND SEMI-COLON.] + +[Illustration: DAVID PYTHAGORAS, M. D.] + +Genuine Muggs was an Englishman. The antipodes of Tammany Sachem, who +would not believe any thing, Muggs swallowed every thing. He had already +absorbed so much in this way that he knew all about the United States +before visiting it. Given half a chance, he would undoubtedly have told +the savage more about the latter's habits than the aborigine himself +knew. It was positively impossible for him to learn any thing. His round +British body was so full of indisputable facts that another one would +have burst it. In the Presidential alphabet, from Alpha Washington to +Omega Grant, he knew all of our rulers' tricks and trades, and +understood better the crooked ways of the White House than our own +talented Jenkins. + +British phlegm incased his soul, and British leather his feet. From heel +to crown he was completely a Briton. His mutton-chop whiskers came just +so far, and the h's dropped in and out of his utterings in a perfectly +natural way. In the Briton's alphabet, Sachem used to remark, the _I_ is +so big that it is no wonder the _H_ is often crowded out. + +Muggs was a fair representative of the average Englishman who has +traveled somewhat. The eye-teeth of these persons are generally cut with +a slash, and they are forever after sore-mouthed. For a maiden effort +they never suck knowledge gently in, but attempt a gulp which strangles. +The consequence of this hasty acquiring is a bloated condition. The +partly-traveled Briton seems, at first acquaintance, full and swollen +with knowledge; but should the student of learning apply the prick, the +result obtained will generally prove to be--gas. + +Over our great country, some of the family of Muggs meet one at every +turn. Often they scurry along solitarily, but occasionally in groups. In +the former case they are unsocial to every body--in the latter to every +body except their own party. The bliss which comes from ignorance must +be of a thoroughly enjoyable nature, for the Muggses certainly do enjoy +themselves. They will pass through a country, remaining completely +uncommunicative and self-wrapped, and know less of it after six months' +traveling than an American in two. The professor says he has met them in +the lonely parks of the Rocky Mountains and in the fishing and hunting +solitudes of the Canadas. If they have been an unusually long time +without seeing a human being, they may possibly catch at an eye-glass +and fling themselves abruptly into a few remarks. But it is in a tone +which says, plainer than words, "No use in your going any further, man; +I have absorbed all the beauties and knowledge of this locality." + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION BUFFALO_ + +ONE OF THE MUGGSES.] + +It is a rare treat to see a coach delivered of Muggs at a country inn. +"Hi, porter, look hout for my luggage, you know. Tell the publican some +chops, rare, and lively now, and a mug of hale, and, if I can 'ave it, a +room to myself." If the latter request is granted, and you are +inquisitive enough to take a peep, you may see Muggs sturdily surveying +himself in the glass, and giving certain satisfied pats to his cravat +and waistcoat, as if to satisfy them that they covered a Briton. Could +the mirror which reflects his face also reflect his thoughts, they +would read about as follows: "Muggs, you are a Briton, and this hotel +must be made aware of the fact. Whatever you do, be guilty of no +un-English act while in this outlandish land. Your skin is now full of +knowledge, and let not other travelers, like so many mosquitoes, suck it +from you. Your forefathers blessed their eyes and dropped their h's, and +so must you." And perhaps by this time, if the chops have arrived, he +dines in seclusion and, by so doing, loses a fund of information which +his fellow-travelers have obtained by common exchange. + +Again on the way, Muggs nestles in a corner of the coach and acts +strictly on the defensive, indignantly withdrawing his square-toed, +thick-soled English shoes, should neighboring feet attempt to hobnob +with them. On a trip through Buffalo Land, however, it is difficult for +one of her Britannic Majesty's subjects to maintain the national +dignity. But this fact Genuine Muggs--our Muggs--evidently did not know. +Had he known it, he would never have gone with us in the world. + +Another of our party rejoiced in the appellation of "Colon." He obtained +this title because his eccentric specialities of character several times +came very near putting if not a full stop, at least the next thing to +it, upon the particular page of history which our party was making. +Longitudinally, Mr. Colon was all of five feet eleven; in circumference, +perhaps a score or so of inches. He possessed a fair share of oddities, +and what is better an equally fair one of dollars. The hemispheres of +his philanthropic brain seemed equally pre-empted by philosophy and +bugs. Engaging in some immense work for the amelioration of mankind, he +would pursue it with ardor, dwell upon it with unction, and then +suddenly leave it, half finished, to capture a rare spider. Philosophy +and Entomology had constant combat for Colon, and victory tarried with +neither long enough for the seat of war to be cultivated and blossom +with any luxuriance. At the time he joined our party one of his grandest +charitable projects had lately died in a very early period of infancy, +entirely supplanted in his affections for the time being by the prospect +of a chase after Brazilian insects. During our journey it was no +uncommon thing for us to see his thin form all covered with bugs and +reptiles, which had crawled out of the collecting boxes carried in his +pockets. If this meets our friend's eye, let him bear no malice, but +reflect, in the language of his own invariable answer to our +remonstrances, "It can't be helped." Should the public parade of his +faults be disagreeable, he can suffer no more from them now than we did +in the past, and may perhaps call them into closer quarters for the +future. + +Mr. Colon's son, of two years less than a score, we dubbed Semi-colon, +as being a smaller edition, or to be exact, precisely one-half of what +the senior Colon was. So perfect was the concord of the two that the +junior had fallen into a chronic and to us amusing habit of answering +"Ditto" to the senior's expressions of opinion. Divide the father's +conversation by two, add an assent to every thing, and the result, +socially considered, would be the son. It may readily be seen, +therefore, why the professor for short should call him, as he nearly +always did, "Semi." + +Shamus Dobeen, our cook and body-servant, according to his own account, +was the child of an impoverished but noble Irish family. Indeed, we +doubt if any Irishman was ever promoted from shovel laborer to +body-servant without suddenly remembering that he was "descinded" from a +line of kings. At the time Shamus was added to the population of +Ireland, the patrimonial estate had dwindled down to a peat bog. As this +soon "petered out," Shamus went from the exhausted moor into the cold +world. He had been by turns expelled patriot, dirt disturber on new +railroads, gunner on a Confederate cruiser, and high private in a Union +regiment. The position of gunner he lost by touching off a piece before +the muzzle had been run out, in consequence of which part of the +vessel's side went off suddenly with the gun. Captured, he readily +became a Union soldier, and could, without doubt, have transformed +himself into a Cheyenne, or a Patagonian, had occasion for either ever +required. + +While in Topeka, our party made the acquaintance of Tenacious Gripe, a +well-known Kansas politician, and who attached himself to us for the +trip. Every person in the State knew him, had known him in territorial +times, and would know him until either the State or he ceased to be. + +Flung headlong from somewhere into Kansas during the "border ruffian" +period, he would probably have passed as rapidly out of it had he been +allowed to do so peaceably. But as the slavery party endeavored to push +him, he concluded to stick. At that particular time, he was a moderate +Democrat or conservative Republican, and consequently had no particular +principles. But the slavery party supposed he had, and to them +accordingly he became an object of suspicion. They assumed the +aggressive, and he at once resolved into a staunch Republican. Had the +latter first struck him, he would have been as staunch a Democrat. And +Gripe has never known how near he came to being the latter. The +Republicans had just decided to order him out of the state as a border +ruffian spy, when the Democrats took action and did so for his not being +one. Those were troublous times. He went to the front at once in the +antislavery ranks, and has stayed there ever since. Sore-headed men are +apt to become famous. There were those in our late war who were kicked +by adversity into the very arms of Fame. + +Our friend had been in both the upper and lower houses of the State +Legislature, and had rolled Congressional logs, moreover, until he was +hardly happy without having his hands on one. + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION BUFFALO_ + +SHAMUS DOBEEN--HIS CARD.] + +[Illustration: HON. T. GRIPE (BEATIFIED).] + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + THE TOPEKA AUCTIONEER--MUGGS GETS A BARGAIN--CYNOCEPHALUS--INDIAN + SUMMER IN KANSAS--HUNTING PRAIRIE CHICKENS--OUR FIRST DAY'S SPORT. + + +We had three or four days to spend in Topeka, as it was there that we +were to purchase our outfit for the buffalo region. With the latter +purpose in view, we were wandering along Kansas Avenue the next morning, +when a horseman came furiously down the street, shouting, at the top of +his lungs, "Sell um as he wars har!" Semi hastily retreated behind Mr. +Colon, thinking it might be a Jayhawker, while the professor adjusted +his glasses. + +Muggs said the individual reminded him of the famous charge at +Balaklava. Muggs had never seen Balaklava, but other Englishmen had, +which answered the same purpose. + +The equestrian proved to be a well-known auctioneer of Topeka, who may +be discovered at almost any time tearing through the streets on some +spavined or bow-legged old cob, auctioneering it off as he goes. His +favorite expression is, "I'll sell um as he wars har." What particular +selling charm lies concealed in this announcement even Gripe could not +tell. Sachem thought that possibly he had been brought up at some +exposed frontier post, where, on account of Indian prejudices, wearing +hair is a rare luxury. To say there that a man was still able to comb +his own scalp-lock denoted an extraordinary state of physical +perfection. Expressions of praise for humans are often applied to +horses, and so, perhaps, the one in question. "I have heard," quoth our +alderman, in support of this assertion, "Fitz say of a belle, at a +charity ball, what a 'bootiful cweature;' and I have heard him, the day +after, in his stable, say the same thing of his horse." + +That horse-auction was a sight worth seeing. The crowd collected most +thickly on the corner of Kansas Avenue and Sixth Street, and before it +the cob came to a stand. And it was a stand--as stiff and painful as +that of a retired veteran put on dress parade. The limbs would have had +full duty to perform in supporting the carcass alone, which had +evidently been in light marching order for years past. The additional +weight of the auctioneer must certainly have proved altogether too much, +had not the horse heard, for the first time, of the wonderful qualities +with which he was still endowed. + +Seeing a whole corner, with gaping mouths, swallowing the statement that +he was only six years old, reduced by hard work, and could, after three +months grass, pull a ton of coal, he would have been a thankless horse +indeed, which could not strain a point, or all his points, for such a +rider. + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION_ + +"SPERIT, GENTLEMEN!"] + +And so, when the spurs suddenly rattled against his ribs, the old skin +full of bones gave a snort of pain, which the auctioneer called "Sperit, +gentle_men_!" and away up the broad avenue he rolled, at a speed which +threatened to break the rider's neck, and his own legs as well. His +tail having been cut short in youth, and retrimmed in old age, the +outfit made but a sorry figure going up the street. The Professor said +it suggested the idea of some fossil vertabra, with a paint brush +attached to its end, running away with a geological student. + +After the return and cries for more bids, Muggs must have winked at the +auctioneer--possibly, to slyly telegraph him the fact that in "Hengland" +they were up to such games. At least the auctioneer so declared, and +advancing the price one dollar in accordance therewith, finally knocked +the brute down to him. Then the British wrath bubbled and boiled. The +auctioneer was inexorable. Muggs _had_ winked, and that was an advanced +bid, according to commercial custom the land over. Articles were often +sold simply by the vibration of an eyelash, and not a word uttered. + +The Professor remarked that in law winks would doubtless be accepted as +evidence. It was a recognized principle of the statutes that he who +winked at a matter acquiesced in it, and indeed such signals were often +more expressive than words. Sachem sustained this point, and added +further that he had known many a man's head broken on account of an +injudicious wink. + +The crowd, with almost unanimous voice, pronounced the auctioneer right +and Muggs wrong. + +"Me take the brute!" exclaimed the indignant Briton; "why he can 'ardly +stand up long enough to be knocked down. Except in France, he could be +put to no earthly use whatever. 'Is knees knock together in an ague +quartette, and 'is tail--look at it! It's hincapable of knocking a fly +off; looks more like flying off hitself!" Muggs further declared the +sale was an attempt on the owner's part to evade the health officer, who +would have been around, in a couple of days, to have the carcass +removed. + +The auctioneer waxed belligerent, the crowd noisy, and Muggs, like a +true Englishman, secured peace at the price of British gold. The horse +was on his hands, having barely escaped being on the town, and an +enthusiastic crowd of urchins escorted the purchase to a livery stable. +Muggs christened the animal Cynocephalus, and soon afterward sold him to +Mr. Colon, who was of an economical turn, for the use of his son Semi. + +"I have heard," said the thoughtful father, "that the buffalo grass of +the plains is very nourishing. All that the poor steed needs is care and +fat pastures. Semi can give him the former, and over the latter our +future journey lies. I have also learned that what is especially needed +in a hunting horse is steadiness, and this quality the animal certainly +possesses." + +From some months' acquaintance with the purchase, we can say that +Cynocephalus was steady to a remarkable degree. We are firmly persuaded +that a heavy battery might have fired a salute over his back without +moving him, unless, possibly, the concussion knocked him down. + +Our first hunting morning, the second day preceding our hegira westward, +came to us with a clear sky, the sun shedding a mellow warmth, and the +air full of those exhilarating qualities which our lungs afterward +drank in so freely on the plains. Indian summer, delightful anywhere, is +especially so in Kansas. + +From the advance guard of the winter king not a single chilling zephyr +steals forward among the tarrying ones of summer. Soothing and gentle as +when laden with spicy fragrance south, they here shower the whole land +with sunbeams. Earth no longer seems a heavy, inert mass, but floats in +that smoky, fleecy atmosphere with which artists delight so much to wrap +their angels. It is as if the warmer, lighter clouds of sunny weather +were nestling close to earth, frightened from the skies, like a flock of +white swans, at the October howls of winter. But I never could agree +with those writers who call this season dreamy. If such it be, it is +surely a dream of motion. All nature appears quickened. The inhabitants +of the air have commenced their southern pilgrimage, and the oldest and +leading ganders may be heard croaking, day-time and night-time, to their +wedge-shaped flocks their narrative of summer experiences at the Arctic +circle, and their commands for the present journey. + +Sachem, I find, has recorded as a discovery in natural history that +geese form their flocks in wedge shape that they may easier "make a +split" for the south when Nature, with her north pole, stirs up their +feeding and breeding-grounds in November gales, and changes their fields +of operation into fields of ice. Sachem was sadly addicted to slang +phrases. + +All game, I may remark, is wilder at this season of the year than +earlier. If the earth is dreaming, its wild inhabitants certainly are +not. Men, too, have thrown off the summer lethargy, and shave their +neighbors as closely as ever. If any one thinks it a dreamy season of +the year, let him test the matter practically by being a day or two +behindhand with a payment. + +In reply to a question, the professor told us that the smoky condition +of the atmosphere was probably caused by the exhalation of phosphorus +from decaying vegetation. Sachem remarked that out of twenty different +objects which he had submitted for examination, and as many questions +that he had asked, nine-tenths of the results contained phosphorus in +some shape. It was becoming monotonous and dangerous. + +While the party thus mused and speculated, we had come out into the open +country, south-west of town, and were now approaching Webster's Mound, a +cone-shaped hill from which we afterward obtained some excellent views. +For the trip we had been supplied with two dogs, one a setter, belonging +to the private secretary of the Governor, and the other a pointer, the +property of a real estate dealer. The former was an ancient and +venerable animal. The rheumatism was seized of his backbone and held +high revel upon the juices which should have lubricated the joints. Even +his tail wagged with a jerk, inclining the body to whichever side it had +last swung. He was so full of rheumatism that whenever he scented a +chicken the pain evoked by the excitement caused him to howl with +anguish. The pointer, per contra, was hale and swift, but had lost one +eye; and a shot from the same charge which destroyed that organ, +rattled also on his left ear-drum, and that membrane no longer responded +to the shouts of the hunter. On one side he could see, and not hear--on +the other, hear, but not see. Nevertheless, with gestures for the left +view, and shouts on the right, fair work might still be obtained. Both +dogs rejoiced in the uncommon name of Rover, and both possessed that +most excellent of all points in such animals, a steady point. + +If any of my readers are fond of field-sports, and have not yet shot +prairie-chickens over a dog, let them take their guns and hie to the +West, and taste for themselves of this rare sport. With the wide prairie +around him, keeping the bird in full view during its passage through the +air, one can choose his distance for firing and witness the full effect +of his shot. I think the brief instant when the flight of the bird is +checked and it drops head-foremost to earth, is the sweetest moment of +all to the hunter. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + CHICKEN-SHOOTING CONTINUED--A SCIENTIFIC PARTY TAKE THE BIRDS ON + THE WING--EVILS OF FAST FIRING--AN OLD-FASHIONED "SLOW SHOT"--THE + HABITS OF THE PRAIRIE-CHICKEN--ITS PROSPECTIVE EXTINCTION--MODE OF + HUNTING IT--THE GOPHER SCALP LAW. + + +We had left the road and were now driving over the fine prairie skirting +Webster's Mound, the grass being about a foot high and affording +excellent cover. Taking advantage of its being matted so closely from +the early frosts, the old cocks hid under the thick tufts and called for +close work on the part of our dogs. + +Back and forth across our path these intelligent animals ranged, the one +fifty yards or so to our right, the other as many to our left, crossing +and re-crossing, with open mouths drinking in eagerly the tainted +breeze. This latter was in our favor, and both dogs suddenly joined +company and worked up into it, with outstretched noses pointing to game +that was evidently close ahead. + +The pointer crawled cautiously, like a tiger, his spotted belly sweeping +the earth, and his tail, which had been lashing rapidly an instant +before, gradually stiffening. He would open his mouth suddenly, drink in +a quick, deep draught of air, and, closing the jaws again, hold it until +obliged to take another respiration. He seemed as loath to let the +scent of the chicken pass from his nostrils as a hungry newsboy is to +quit the savory precincts of Delmonico's kitchen window. The setter's +old bones appeared to renew their youth under the excitement, and he was +as active as a retired war-horse suddenly plunged into battle. + +Both dogs came simultaneously to a point--tails curved up and rigid, +each body motionless as if cut in marble and one forepaw lifted. No +wonder so many men are wild with a passion for hunting. Kind Providence +smiles upon the legitimate sport from conception to close, and gives us +a _posé_ to start with fascinating to any lover of the beautiful, +whether hunter or not. But one must not pause to moralize while dogs are +on the point, or he will have more philosophy than chickens. + +All the party had got safely to ground and were behind the dogs, with +guns ready and eyes eagerly fastened on the thick grass which concealed +its treasure as completely as if it had been a thousand miles below its +roots, or on the opposite side of this mundane sphere in China. Not a +thing was visible within fifty yards of our noses save two dogs standing +motionless, with stiffened tails and eyes fixed on, and nozzles pointed +toward, a spot in the sea of brown, withered grass, not ten feet away. + +The Professor took out his lens, Mr. Colon let down the hammers of his +gun and cocked them again, to be sure all was right, while Sachem wore a +puzzled expression as if undecided whether the attitude of the dogs +indicated any thing particular or not. The grass nodded and rustled in +the light wind, but not a blade moved to indicate the presence of any +living thing beneath it, while the dogs remained as if petrified. + +The Professor said it was very remarkable, and wondered what had better +be done next. Mr. Colon thought that the dogs were tired, and we might +as well get into the wagon. Another suggested at random that we should +set the dogs on, and Muggs, who had probably heard the expression +somewhere, cried, "Hi, boys, on bloods!" At the words the dogs made a +few quick steps forward, and on the instant the grass seemed alive with +feathered forms, popping into air like bobs in shuttlecock. Such a +fluttering and flying I have never seen since, when a boy, I ventured +into a dove cote, and was knocked over by the rush of the alarmed +inmates. From under our very feet, almost brushing our faces, the +beautiful pinnated grouse of the prairies left their cover, and us also. + +Every gun had gone off on the instant, and we doubt if one was raised an +inch higher than it happened to be when the covey started. The Professor +afterward extracted some stray shot from the legs of his boots, and the +setter, which was next to Muggs, gave a cry of pain for which there was +evidently other cause than rheumatism, as was demonstrated by his +retirement to the rear, from which he refused to budge until we all got +into the wagon, and to which he invariably retreated whenever we got +out. + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION BUFFALO. N. Y._ + +OUR FIRST BIRD-SHOOTING.] + +From the midst of the birds which were soaring away, one was seen to +rise suddenly a few feet above his comrades, and then fall straight +as a plummet, and head first, to earth. It had caught some stray shot +from the bombardment--Muggs claimed from his gun, but this statement the +setter, could he have spoken, would certainly have disputed. + +Semi-Colon brought in the game, which proved to be a fine male, with +whiskers and full plumage, which must have made sad havoc among the +hearts of the hens, when the old fellow was on annual dress parade in +the spring. At that season of the year the cocks seek some knoll of the +prairie, where the grass has been burnt or cut off, and strut up and +down with ruffled feathers, uttering meanwhile a booming sound, which +can be heard in a clear morning for miles. The flabby pink skin that at +other seasons hangs in loose folds on his neck is then distended like a +bagpipe, and he is a very different bird from the same individual in his +Quaker gray and respectable summer and fall habits. + +Ensconced again in the wagon, our party moved forward, the dogs, as +before, examining the prairie. The professor was comparing the birds of +the present and the past ages, when Muggs suddenly blasted his eyes and +declared the beasts were at it again. And so they were, the setter +making a good stand at some game in the grass, and the other dog, a +short distance off, pointing his companion. During the remainder of the +day we found many large flocks of birds, and fired away until two or +three swelled noses testified how dirty our guns were. + +"Fast shooting," said the professor, as we were on our way home, "is as +bad as that too slow. Although I am no sportsman from practice, I love +and have studied the principles of it. In my father's day the rule was, +when a bird rose, for a hunter to take out his snuff-box, take snuff, +replace the box, aim, and fire. You may find the advice yet in some +works. The shot then has distance in which to spread. With close +shooting they are all together, and you might as well fire a bullet. +When you have given the bird time, act quickly. The first sight is the +best. Again, the first moment of flight, with most birds, is very +irregular, as it is upward, instead of from you." + +Dobeen begged leave to inform our "honors" that in Ireland, after a bird +rose, the rule was, instead of taking snuff, to take off the boots +before firing. The professor thought that such a habit related to +outrunning the gamekeeper, and was intended to procure distance for the +poacher rather than the bird. + +Sachem stated that he had known a slow hunter once. He was a +revolutionary veteran, used a revolutionary musket, and believed in +revolutionary powder. He refused to do any thing different from what his +fathers did, and abhorred double-barreled shotguns and percussion-caps +as inventions of the devil. It was constantly, "General Washington did +this," and "Our army did that," and his old head shook sadly at the +innovations Young America was making. His ghost, with the revolutionary +musket on its shoulder, had since been known to chase hunters, with +breech-loaders, who were caught on his favorite ground after dark. "Old +1776" was great on wing-shooting, and could be seen at almost any time +hobbling over the moor, firing away at snipe and water-fowl. He was one +of those slow, deliberate cases, always taking snuff after the bird +rose. There would be a glitter of fluttering wings as the game shot into +air. Down would come the long musket, out would come the snuff-box, and +the old soldier would go through the present, make ready, take snuff, +take aim, and fire, all as coolly as if on parade. The old musket often +hung fire from five to ten seconds, and the premonitory flash could be +seen as the shaky flint clattered down on the pan. The veteran always +patiently covered the bird until the charge got out. The recoil was +tremendous, and the old man often went down before the bird; but such +positions, he asserted, were taken voluntarily, as ones of rest. Some +said that the gun had been known to kick him again after he was down. + +Sachem's narration was here cut short by the dogs again pointing. This +was followed by the usual bombardment, which over, the bag showed the +magnificent aggregate of two chickens for the entire day's sport. + +The prairie-chicken is now extinct in many of the Western States where +it was once well known. Usually, during the first few years of +settlement, it increases rapidly, and is often a nuisance to pioneer +farmers. Perhaps, when the latter first settle in a country, a few +covies may be seen; under the favorable influences of wheat and +corn-fields, the dozens increase to thousands and cover the land. But +with denser settlement come more guns, and, what is a far more +destructive agent, trained dogs also. Under the first order of things, +the farmer, with his musket, might kill enough for the home table. With +double-barreled gun and keen-scented pointer, the sportsman and +pot-hunter think nothing of fifty or sixty birds for a day's work. It +seems almost impossible, under such a combination, for a covey to escape +total annihilation. + +We may suppose a couple of fair shots hunting over a dog in August, when +the chickens lie close, and the year's broods are in their most delicate +condition for the table. The pointer makes a stand before a fine covey +hidden in the thick grass before him. The ready guns ask no delay, and, +at the word, he flushes the chickens immediately under his nose. Each +hunter takes those which rise before him, or on his side, and if four or +less left cover at the first alarm, that number of gray-speckled forms +the next moment are down in the grass, not to leave it again. If more +rose, they are "marked," which means that their place of alighting is +carefully noted, and, as the chicken has but a short flight, this task +is easy. Meanwhile, the guns have been reloaded, the dog flushes others +of the hiding birds, and so the sport goes on. The birds that get away +are "marked down," and again found and flushed by the dog. Without this +useful animal the chickens would multiply, despite any number of +hunters. I have often seen covies go down in the grass but a few hundred +yards away, yet have tramped through the spot dozens of times without +raising a single bird. In twenty years this delicious game will probably +be as much a thing of the past as is the Dodo of the Isle de France. At +the period of our visit they were already gathering into their fall +flocks, which sometimes number a hundred or more. In these they remain +until St. Valentine recommends a separation. During the colder weather +of winter they seek the protection of the timber, and may be seen of +mornings on the trees and fences. They never roost there, however, but +pass the night hidden in the adjacent grass. + +The prairie-chicken's admirers are numerous, other animals beside man +being willing to dine on its plump breast. We had an illustration of +this in our first day's shooting. Sometimes when we fired, the report +would attract to our vicinity wandering hawks, and we found that either +instinct or previous experience teaches these fierce hunters of the air +that in the vicinity of their fellow-hunter, man, wounded birds may be +found. One wounded chicken, which fell near us, was seized by a hawk +immediately. + +As we passed one or two fields, indications of gophers appeared, their +small mounds of earth covering the ground. In some counties these +animals formerly destroyed crops to such an extent that the celebrated +"Gopher Act" was passed. This gave a bounty of two dollars for each +scalp, and under it many farms yielded more to the acre than ever before +or since. One of these animals which we secured resembled in size and +shape the Norway rat, and, in the softness and color of its coat, was +not unlike a mole. The oddest thing was its earth-pouches--two open +sacks, one on either side of its head, and capable of containing each a +tablespoonful or more. These the gopher employs, in his subterranean +researches, for the same purpose that his enemy, man, does a +wheelbarrow. Packing them with dirt, the little fellow trudges gayly to +the surface, and there cleverly dumps his load. + +We reached town again, well pleased with our day's ride, and over our +evening pipes discussed the results. Muggs thought our shot were too +small. Sachem thought the birds were. + +Colon was delighted with the new State, but believed that wing-shooting +was not his _forte_. He would be more apt to hit a bird on the wing if +he could only catch it roosting somewhere. + +Gripe, at the other end of the room, was piling Republican doctrines +upon a bearded Democratic heathen from the Western border. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + A TRIAL BY JUDGE LYNCH--HUNG FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT--QUAIL + SHOOTING--HABITS OF THE BIRDS, AND MODE OF KILLING THEM--A RING OF + QUAILS--THE EFFECTS OF A SEVERE WINTER--THE SNOW GOOSE. + + +A short time after supper, Tenacious Gripe appeared with the mayor of +the city, who wished to make the acquaintance of the Professor. The two +august personages bowed to each other. It was the happiest moment in +their respective lives, they declared. An invitation was extended us to +delay our departure another day and try quail shooting. The citizens +said the birds were unusually abundant, the previous winter having been +mild and the summer long enough for two separate broods to be hatched, +and the brush and river banks were swarming with them. As we were about +to abandon the birds of the West and seek an acquaintance with its +beasts, we decided, after a brief consultation, to accept the invitation +and remain another day. + +Among the persons present in the crowded office of the hotel, was a man +from the southwestern part of the state who had lately been interested +in a trial before the celebrated Judge Lynch. Sachem interviewed him, +and reports his statement of the occurrence in the log book, as +follows: + + A stranger played me fur a fool, + An' threw the high, low, jack, + An' sold me the wuss piece of mule + That ever humped a back. + + But that wer fair; I don't complain, + That I got beat in trade; + I don't sour on a fellow's gain, + When sich is honest made. + + But wust wer this, he stole the mule, + An' I were bilked complete; + Such thieves, we hossmen makes a rule + To lift 'em from their feet. + + We started arter that 'ere pup, + An' took the judge along, + For fear, with all our dander up, + We might do somethin' wrong. + + We caught him under twenty miles, + An tried him under trees; + The judge he passed around the "smiles," + As sort o' jury fees. + + "Pris'ner," says judge, "now say your say, + An' make it short an' sweet, + An', while yer at it, kneel and pray, + For Death yer can not cheat. + + No man shall hang, by this 'ere court, + Exceptin' on the square; + There's time fur speech, if so it's short, + But none to chew or swear." + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION. BUFFALO_ + +JUDGE LYNCH--HIS COURT. + +JUDGE AND JURY. SHERIFF. ATTORNEY. LOAFER. CLERK. DEPUTY SHERIFF.] + + An' then the thievin' rascal cursed, + An' threw his life away, + He said, "Just pony out your worst, + Your best would be foul play." + + Then judge he frowned an awful frown, + An' snapped this sentence short, + "Jones, twitch the rope, an' write this down, + Hung for contempt of court!" + +Sharp 8 next morning saw us on the road leading east of town, the two +dogs with us, and a young one additional, the property of a resident +sportsman. Our last acquisition joined us on the run, and kept on it all +day, going over the ground with the speed of a greyhound, his fine nose, +however, giving him better success than his reckless pace would have +indicated. + +Three miles from town, or half way between it and Tecumseh, our party +left the wagon, with direction for it to follow the road, while we +scouted along on a parallel, following the river bank. + +The Kaw stretched eastward, broad and shallow, with numerous sand bars, +and along its edges grew the scarlet sumach and some stunted bushes, and +between these and the corn a high, coarse bottom grass, with intervals +at every hundred yards or so apart of a shorter variety, like that on a +poor prairie. Among the bushes, there was no grass whatever, and yet the +birds seemed indifferently to frequent one spot equally with another. + +In less than ten minutes after leaving the wagon, all the dogs were +pointing on a barren looking spot, thinly sprinkled with scrubby bushes +not larger than jimson-weeds. They were several yards apart, so that +each animal was clearly acting on his own responsibility. + +If it puzzled us the day before to discover any signs of game under +their noses, it certainly did so now. There was apparently no place of +concealment for any object larger than a field-mouse. The bushes were +wide apart, and the soil between was a loose sand. Around the roots of +the scrubs, it is true, a few thin, wiry spears of grass struggled into +existence, but these covered a space not larger than a man's hand, and +it seemed preposterous to imagine that they could be capable of +affording cover. That three dogs were pointing straight at three bushes +was apparent, but we could see nothing in or about the latter calling +for such attention. + +Shamus, who had accompanied us, wished to know if the twigs were witch +hazels, because, if so, three invisible old beldames might be taking a +nap under them, after a midnight ride. "But, then," said Dobeen, "the +dog's hairs don't stand on end as they always do in Ireland when they +see ghosts and witches." We believe that our worthy cook was really +disappointed in not discovering any stray broomsticks lying around. +These, he afterward informed us, could not be made invisible, though +their owners should take on airy shapes unrecognizable by mortal eyes. + +Muggs had suggested urging the dogs in, but the party, wiser from +yesterday's experience, desired a ground shot, if it could be secured. +The Professor adjusted his lens, and decided to make a personal +inspection around the roots of the bush immediately in front of him. + +Carefully the sage bent over the suspicious spot, and almost fell +backward as, with a whiz and a dart, half a dozen quails flew out, +brushing his very nose. Instantly every bush sent forth its fugitives. A +flash of feathered balls, and they were all gone. Such whizzing and +whirring! it was as if those scraggy bushes were _mitrailleuses_, in +quick succession discharging their loads. + +Only one gun had gone off, but that so loudly that our ears rung for +several seconds. Mr. Colon had accidentally rammed at least two, perhaps +half a dozen, loads into one barrel, and the gun discharged with an aim +of its own, the butt very low down. Two birds fell dead. But alas for +our Nimrod! Colon stood with one hand on his stomach undecided whether +that organ remained or not. On this point, however, he was fully +re-assured at the supper-table that night, and in all our after +experience, we never knew that gun to have the least opportunity for +going off, except when at its owner's shoulder, and he perfectly ready +for it. + +The two birds were now submitted to the party for inspection. They were +fine specimens of the American quail, more properly called by those +versed in quailology, the Bob White. This bird is very plentiful +throughout Kansas, and just before the shooting season commences, in +September, will even frequent the gardens and alight on the houses of +Topeka. They "lay close" before a dog, take flight into air with a +quick, whirring dart, and their shooting deservedly ranks high. They are +very rapid in their movements upon the ground, often running fifty or +seventy-five yards before hiding. When this takes place, so closely do +they huddle that it is seldom more than the upper bird that can be seen. +"Green hunters" sometimes pause, trying to discover the rest of the +covey before firing, and experience a great and sudden disgust when the +single bird which they have disdained suddenly develops into a dozen +flying ones. + +We had an eventful days' sport, expending more ammunition than when +among the chickens, and with more satisfactory results, as we brought in +over two dozen birds. More than half of these were taken by Sachem at +one lucky discharge. He saw a covey in the grass, huddled together as +they generally are when not running. At these times they form a circle +about as large in diameter as the hoop of a nail keg, with tails to the +center and heads toward the outside. Fifteen quails would thus be a +circle of fifteen heads, and a pail, could it be dropped over the covey, +would cover them all. Not only is this an economy of warmth, there being +no outsiders half of whose bodies must get chilled, but there is no +blind side on which they can be approached, every portion of the circle +having its full quota of eyes. Let skunk or fox, or other roamer through +the grass, creep ever so stealthily, he will be seen and avoided by +flight. Sachem aiming at the midst of such a ring, broke it up as +effectually as Boutwell's discharge of bullion did that on Wall Street. + +We have since found the frozen bodies of whole covies, which had gone to +roost in a circle and been buried under such a heavy fall of snow that +the birds could not force their way upward. Their habit is to remain in +imprisonment, apparently waiting for the snow to melt before even making +an effort for deliverance. Oftentimes it is then too late, a crust +having formed above. A severe winter will sometimes completely +exterminate the birds in certain localities. + +During this first day of quail-shooting, we also saw for the first time +flocks of the snow-goose. The Professor counted fifty birds on one sand +bar. This variety, in its flight across the continent, apparently passes +through but a narrow belt of country, being found, to the best of my +knowledge, in but few of the states outside of Kansas. + +Our return to the hotel was without accident, and our supper such as +hungry hunters might well enjoy. After it was disposed of, we gathered +around the ample stove in the hotel office, and lived over again the +events of the day. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + OFF FOR BUFFALO LAND--THE NAVIGATION OF THE KAW--FORT RILEY--THE + CENTER-POST OF THE UNITED STATES--OUR PURCHASE OF HORSES--"LO" AS A + SAVAGE AND AS A CITIZEN--GRIPE UNFOLDS THE INDIAN QUESTION--A + BALLAD BY SACHEM, PRESENTING ANOTHER VIEW. + + +Next morning we said good-by to hospitable Topeka, and took up our +westward way over the Pacific Railroad. An ever-repeated succession of +valley and prairie stretched away on either hand. To the left the Kaw +came down with far swifter current than it has in its course below, from +its far-away source in Colorado. It might properly be called one of the +eaves or water-spouts of the great Rocky Mountain water-shed. With a +pitch of over five feet to the mile, its pace is here necessarily a +rapid one, and when at freshet height the stream is like a mill-race for +foam and fury. + +At the junction of the Big Blue we found the old yet pretty town of +Manhattan. To this point, in early times, water transit was once +attempted. A boat of exceedingly light draught, one of those built to +run on a heavy dew, being procured, freight was advertised for, and the +navigation of the Kaw commenced. The one hundred miles or more to +Manhattan was accomplished principally by means of the capstan, the boat +being "warped" over the numberless shallows. This proved easier, of +course--a trifle easier--than if she had made the trip on macadamized +roads. If her stern had a comfortable depth of water it was seldom +indeed, except when her bow was in the air in the process of pulling the +boat over a sand bar. The scared catfish were obliged to retreat up +stream, or hug close under the banks, to avoid obstructing navigation, +and it is even hinted that more than one patriarch of the finny tribe +had to be pried out of the way to make room for his new rival to pass. + +Once at Manhattan, the steamboat line was suspended for the season, its +captain and crew deciding they would rather walk back to the Missouri +River than drag the vessel there. Soon afterward, the steamer was burned +at her landing, and the Kaw has remained closed to commerce ever since. + +About the same time, an enterprising Yankee advocated in the papers the +straightening of the river, and providing it with a series of locks, +making it a canal. As he had no money of his own with which to develop +his ideas into results, and could command nobody's else for that +purpose, the project failed in its very inception. + +Fort Riley, four miles below Junction City, is claimed as the +geographical center of the United States, the exact spot being marked by +a post. What a rallying point that stick of wood will be for future +generations! When the corner-stone of the National Capitol shall there +be laid, the orator of the day can mount that post and exclaim, with +eloquent significance, elsewhere impossible, "No north, no south, no +east, no west!" and enthusiastic multitudes, there gathered from the +four quarters of the continent, will hail the words as the key-note of +the republic. + +That spot of ground and that post are valuable. I hope a national +subscription will be started to buy it. It is the only place on our +continent which can ever be entirely free from local jealousies. There +would be no possible argument for ever removing the capital. The Kaw +could be converted into a magnificent canal, winding among picturesque +hills past the base of the Capitol; and then, in case of war, should any +hostile fleet ever ascend the rapid Missouri, it would be but necessary +for our legislators to grasp the canal locks, and let the water out, to +insure their perfect safety. Imagine the humiliation of a foreign naval +hero arriving with his iron-clads opposite a muddy ditch, and finding it +the only means of access to our capital! + +A painful rumor has of late obtained circulation that a band of St. +Louis ku-klux, yclept capital movers, intend stealing the pole and +obliterating the hole. Let us hope, however, that it is without +foundation. + +Before leaving Topeka, the party had purchased horses for the trip, and +consigned the precious load to a car, sending a note to General +Anderson, superintendent, asking that they might be promptly and +carefully forwarded to Hays City, our present objective point upon the +plains. + +The professor, bringing previous experience into requisition, selected a +stout mustang--probably as tractable as those brutes ever become. He was +warranted by the seller never to tire, and he never did, keeping the +philosopher constantly on the alert to save neck and knees. It is the +simple truth that, in all our acquaintance with him, that mustang never +appeared in the least fatigued. After backing and shying all day, he +would spend the night in kicking and stealing from the other horses. + +Mr. Colon, by rare good fortune, obtained a beautiful animal, formerly +known in Leavenworth as Iron Billy--a dark bay, with head and hair fine +as a pointer's, limbs cut sharp, and joints of elastic. After carrying +Mr. C. bravely for months, never tripping or failing, he was sold on our +return to the then Secretary of State, who still owns him. More than +once did Billy make his rider's arm ache from pulling at the curb, when +the other horses were all knocked up by the rough day's riding. It was +interesting to see him in pursuit of buffalo. He would often smell them +when they were hidden in ravines, and we wholly unaware of their +vicinity. Head and ears were erect in an instant, and, with nostrils +expanded, forward he went, keeping eagerly in front at a peculiar +prancing step which we called tiptoeing. Once in sight of the game, and +the rider became a person of quite secondary importance. Billy said, as +plainly as a horse could say any thing, "_I_ am going to manage this +thing; _you_ stick on." And manage it he did. Not many moments, at the +most, before he was at the quarters of the fleeing monsters, and nipping +them mischievously with his teeth. I could always imagine him giving a +downright horse-laugh, his big bright eyes sparkled so when the +frightened bison, at the touch, gave a switch of his tail and a swerve +of alarm, and plunged more wildly forward. If the rider wished to +shoot, he could do so; if not, content himself, as Mr. Colon usually +did, with clinging to the saddle, and uttering numberless expostulatory +but fruitless "whoa's." + +Once on our trip Billy was loaned for the day to a gentleman who wished +to examine a prospective coal mine. When barely out of sight of camp, +Billy discovered a herd of buffalo, and, despite the vehement +remonstrances of his rider, straightway charged it. The mine-seeker was +no hunter, but a wise and thoroughly timid devotee of science in search +of coal measures. A few moments, and the poor, frightened gentleman +found himself in the midst of a surging mass of buffalo, his knees +brushing their hairy sides, and their black horns glittering close +around him, like an array of serried spears. He drew his knees into the +saddle, and there, clinging like a monkey, lost his hat, his map of the +mine, and his spectacles. He returned Billy as soon as he could get him +back to camp, with expressions of gratitude that he had been allowed to +escape with life, and never manifested the least desire to mount him +again. + +Sachem's purchase was a horse which had run unaccountably to legs. He +was sixteen hands high, a trifle knock-kneed, and with a way of flinging +the limbs out when put to his speed which, though it seemed awkward +enough, yet got over the ground remarkably well. With the shambling gait +of a camel, he had also the good qualities of one, and did his owner +honest service. + +Muggs bought a mule, partly because advised to do so by a plainsman, and +partly because the rest of us took horses. With true British obstinacy +he paid no attention to our expostulations, and the creature he obtained +was as obstinate as himself. Poor Muggs! A mule may be good property in +the hands of a plainsman, but was never intended to carry a Briton. + +Semi-Colon had the auction purchase, and Dobeen selected a Mexican +donkey, one of the toughest little animals that ever pulled a bit. He +could excel a trained mule in the feat of dislodging his rider, and had +a remarkable penchant for running over persons who by chance might be +looking the other way. It seemed to be his constant study to take +unexpected positions, or, as Sachem phrased it, to "strike an attitude." + +My mount was a stout-built old mare, recommended to me as a solid beast, +on the strength of which, and wishing to avoid experiments, I made +purchase at once. I found her solid indeed. When on the gallop her feet +came down with a shock which made my head vibrate, as if I had +accidentally taken two steps instead of one, in descending a staircase. + +Could the good people of Topeka have gotten us to ride out of their town +upon our several animals, it would have given them a fair idea of a +_mardi gras_ cavalcade in New Orleans. + +And so, our camp equipage and live stock following by freight, the +express rolled us forward toward the great plains. So far along our +route we had seen but few Indians, and those civilized specimens, such +as straggle occasionally through the streets of Topeka. The Indian +reservations in Kansas are at some distance apart, and their +inhabitants frequently exchange visits. The few whom we had seen +consisted of Osages, Kaws, Pottawatomies, and Sioux, all equally dirty, +but the last affecting clothes more than the others, and eschewing +paint. The members of this tribe, generally speaking, have good farms +and are worth a handsome average per head. At the time of our visit they +were expecting a half million dollars or so from Washington, and were +soon to become American citizens. One privilege of this citizenship +struck us as very peculiar. By the State law, as long as an Indian is +simply an Indian, he can buy no whisky, and is thus cruelly debarred +from the privilege of getting drunk, but once a voter, he can luxuriate +in corn-juice and the calaboose, as well as his white brother. What a +travesty upon American civilization and politics! + +Muggs was prejudiced against the Osages, having been induced by one of +them to invest in a bow and arrows, "for the Hinglish Museum, you know." +On pulling for a trial shot, one end of the bow went further than the +arrow, and the cord, warranted to be buffalo sinew, proved to be an +oiled string. + +Sachem declared that he had found Muggs returning the wreck to the +Indian with the following speech: "O-sage, little was your wisdom to +court thus the wrath of a Briton. Take with the two pieces this piece of +my mind. That your noble form may be removed soon to the 'appy 'unting +ground, where bow trades are not allowed, is the prayer of your patron, +Muggs." + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION. BUFFALO. N. Y._ + +UNNATURALIZED.] + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION. BUFFALO. N. Y._ + +NATURALIZED.] + +Mr. Colon asked Tenacious Gripe to explain the condition of the +Native Americans in Kansas. The orator kindly consented and thereupon +discoursed as follows: + +"The Indians of Kansas are divided into the wild and the tame. Both +alike cover their nakedness with bright handkerchiefs, old shirts, +military coats, and many-hued ribbons. The principal difference in point +of dress is in the method of procuring it. Among those tribes which are +at peace with the government, the white man robs the Indian; among the +wild tribes the conditions are reversed--the Indian robs the white man. +In the one case the contractors and agents carry off their half million +dollars or thereabouts; in the other the savage bears away a quantity of +old clothes and fresh scalps. As he finds it difficult to procure +sufficient of the white man's justice to satisfy the cravings of his +nature, he feeds it with what he can and whenever he can of revenge. +Wise men tell us, gentlemen, that revenge is sweet and justice a dry +morsel. All Indians beg when they get an opportunity. The tame ones, if +they find it fruitless, divert themselves by selling worthless pieces of +wood with strings attached, as bows. The wild ones, in a like +predicament, relieve their tedium by whacking away at our ribs with bows +that amount to something. The principles actuating both classes are +alike. It is simply the application which causes difficulty--in the one +case an appeal with bow and arrows to our pockets, in the other to our +bodies. + +"All our wars with these people, gentlemen, are a result of their +political economy. They believe that the Great Spirit provided buffalo +and other game for his red children. When the white man drives these +away, they understand that he takes their place as a means of +sustenance, and as they have lived upon the one, so they intend to do +upon the other. If the buffalo attempts to evade his duty in the +premises, they kill him and take his meat; if the white man, they kill +him and take his hair." + +Sachem produced a roll of dirty brown paper and said that he had studied +the Indian question and found two sides to it. One he could give us in a +nutshell, believing that the meat of the nut had often excited the +spirit of war. + + Where waters sung above the sand, + And torrent forced its way, + Stretched out, disgusted with the land, + A bearded miner lay, + Prepared to strike, with willing hand, + Whatever lead would pay. + + Echo of hoof on beaten ground + Rung on the desert air, + Ringing a tune of gladsome sound + To miner, watching there; + A paying lead, at last, he'd found-- + The vein a "man of hair." + + An instant more, and at the ford + A savage chief appeared; + The miner saw his goodly hoard, + And tore his own good beard. + (You'll always find an ox is gored + When sheep are to be sheared.) + +[Illustration: Dog Town--The Happy Family at Home.] + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION_ + +"You've riled that Brook"--An old Fable modernized.] + + And these the words the miner said: + "You've spoilt my drink, old fellow; + You've riled the brook, my brother red, + And, by your cheek so yellow, + To-night above your sandy bed + The prairie gale shall bellow. + + "No relatives of mine are dead, + At least by Injun cunnin', + But many other hearts have bled, + And many eyes are runnin'; + For blood and tears alike are shed, + When _you_ go out a gunnin'. + + "Some slumbrin' peaceful, first they knew, + They heard your horrid din-- + Women as well as men you slew, + You bloody son of sin; + I mourn 'em all, revenge 'em too, + Through Adam they were kin." + + This having said, the miner smart, + Drew bead upon the red man: + They're fond of beads--it touched his heart, + And Lo, behold, a dead man; + Upon Life's stage he'd played his part, + A gory sort of head man! + + Two packs of goods lay on the ground; + Quoth miner, "Lawful spoil! + My lucky star at last has found + As good as gold and oil; + I kinder felt that fate was bound + To bless my honest toil. + + "Such heathen have no lawful heirs-- + I'll be the Probate Judge, + For though they kinder go in pairs, + Their love is all a fudge; + I'll 'ministrate on what he wears, + And leave his squaw my grudge." + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + GRIPE'S VIEWS OF INDIAN CHARACTER--THE DELAWARES' THE ISHMAELITES + OF THE PLAINS--THE TERRITORY OF THE "LONG HORNS"--TEXANS AND THEIR + CHARACTERISTICS--MUSHROOM ROCK--A VALUABLE DISCOVERY--FOOTPRINTS IN + THE ROCK--THE PRIMEVAL PAUL AND VIRGINIA. + + +We noticed many fine rivers rolling from the northward into the Kaw, +which stream we found was known by that name only after receiving the +Republican, at Junction City. Above that point, under the name of the +Smoky Hill, it stretches far out across the plains, and into the eastern +portion of Colorado. Along its desolate banks we afterward saw the sun +rise and set upon many a weary and many a gorgeous day. + +All the large tributaries of the Kansas river, consisting of the Big +Blue, Republican, Solomon, and Saline, came in on our right. Upon our +left, toward the South, only small creeks joined waters with the Kaw, +the pitch of the great "divides" there being towards the Arkansas and +its feeders, the Cottonwood and Neosho. + +We had now fairly entered on the great Smoky Hill trail. Here Fremont +marked out his path towards the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific, and on +many of the high _buttes_ we discovered the pillars of stone which he +had set up as guides for emigrant trains, looking wonderfully like +sentinels standing guard over the valleys beneath. Indeed we did at +first take them for solitary herders, watching their cattle in some +choice pasture out of sight. + +Most of our party had expected to find Indians in promiscuous abundance +over the entire State, and we were therefore surprised to see the +country, after passing St. Mary's Mission, entirely free of them. Muggs +asked Gripe if the American Indian was hostile to all nationalities +alike, or simply to those who robbed him of his hunting-grounds. The +orator replied as follows: + +"Sir, the aborigine of the western plains cares not what color or flavor +the fruit possesses which hangs from his roof tree. The cue of the +Chinaman is equally as acceptable as hairs from the mane of the English +lion. A red lock is as welcome as a black one, and disputes as to +ownership usually result in a dead-lock. His abhorrence is a wig, which +he considers a contrivance of the devil to cheat honest Indian industry. +I would advise geologists on the plains to carry, along with their picks +for breaking stones, a bottle of patent hair restorative. It is handy to +have in one's pocket when his scalp is far on its way towards some +Cheyenne war-pole. The scalping process, gentlemen, is the way in which +savages levy and collect their poll-tax. Any person in search of +romantic wigwams can have his wig warmed very thoroughly on the Arkansas +or Texas borders. On the plains along the western border of Kansas, +however, geologists can find a rich and comparatively safe field for +exploration. It is doubtful if the savages ever wander there again. + +"Of the Indian warrior on the plains we may well say, _requiescat in +pace_, and may his pace be rapid towards either civilization or the +happy hunting ground. History shows that his reaching the first has +generally given him quick transit to the second. The white man's country +has proved a spirit-land to Lo, whose noble soul seems to sink when the +scalping-knife gathers any other rust than that of blood, and whose +prophetic spirit takes flight at the prospect of exchanging boiled +puppies and dirt for the white brother's pork and beans. Very often, +however, it must be said, Lo's soul is gathered to his fathers by reason +of its tabernacle being smitten too sorely by corn lightning." + +As Gripe paused, the Professor took up the subject in a somewhat +different strain: + +"We have here in this State," remarked he, "a tribe which may well be +called the Indian Ishmael. Its hand is and ever has been, since history +took record of it, against its brethren, and its brethren's against it. +I refer to the pitiful remnant of the once great Delawares. From the +shores of the Atlantic they have steadily retreated before civilization, +marking their path westward by constant conflicts with other races of +red men. The nation in its eastern forests once numbered thousands of +warriors. Now, three hundred miserable survivors are hastening to +extinction by way of their Kansas reservation. + +"A number of their best warriors have been employed as scouts by the +government, when administering well merited chastisement to other +murdering bands. The Delawares, I have often thought, are like +blood-hounds on the track of the savages of the plains. They take fierce +delight in scanning the ground for trails and the lines of the streams +for camps. There is something strangely unnatural in the wild eyes of +these Ishmaelites, as they lead the destroyers against their race, and +assist in blotting it from the face of the continent. Themselves so +nearly joined to the nations known only in history, it is like a +plague-stricken man pressing eagerly forward to carry the curse, before +he dies, to the remainder of his people." + +The valleys of the Saline, Solomon, and Smoky Hill, as we passed them in +rapid succession, seemed very rich and were already thickly dotted with +houses. This is one of the best cattle regions of the state, and vast +herds of the long-horned Texan breed covered the prairies. We were +informed that they often graze throughout the entire winter. As early in +the spring as the grass starts sufficiently along the trail from Texas +to Kansas, the stock dealers of the former State commence moving their +immense herds over it. The cattle are driven slowly forward, feeding as +they come, and reach the vicinity of the Kansas railroads when the grass +is in good condition for their summer fattening. As many as five hundred +thousand head of these long horns have been brought into the State in a +single season. Some are sold on arrival and others kept until fall, when +the choicest beeves are shipped East for packing purposes, or into +Illinois for corn feeding. The latter is the case when they are +destined eventually for consumption in Eastern markets, grass-fed beef +lacking the solid fatness of the corn-fed, and suffering more by long +transportation. + +This very important trade in cattle, when fully developed, will probably +be about equally divided between southern and central Kansas, each of +which possesses its peculiar advantages for the business. While the +valley of the Arkansas has longer grass, and more of it, the dealers in +the Kaw region claim that their "feed" is the most nutritious. My own +opinion, carefully formed, is that both sections are about equally good, +and that the whole of western Kansas, with Colorado, will yet become the +greatest stock-raising region of the world. The climate is peculiarly +favorable. Two seasons out of three, on an average, cattle and sheep can +graze during the winter, without any other cover than that of the +ravines and the timber along the creeks. + +The herders who manage these large bodies of cattle are a distinctive +and peculiar class. We saw numbers of them scurrying along over the +country on their wild, lean mustangs, in appearance a species of +centaur, half horse, half man, with immense rattling spurs, tanned skin, +and dare-devil, almost ferocious faces. After an extensive acquaintance +with the genus Texan, and with all due allowance for the better portion +of it, I must say, as my deliberate judgment, that it embraces a larger +number of murderers and desperadoes than can be found elsewhere in any +civilized nation. A majority of these herders would think no more of +snuffing out a life than of snuffing out a candle. Texas, in her rude +solitude, formerly stretched protecting arms to the evil doers from +other states, and to her these classes flocked. She offered them not a +city but a whole empire of refuge. + +Just beyond Brookville, two hundred miles from the eastern border of +Kansas, our road commenced ascending the Harker Bluffs, a series of +sandstone ridges bordering on the plains. + +On our left, Mushroom Rock was pointed out to us, a huge table of stone +poised on a solitary pillar, and strangely resembling the plant from +which it is named. As the professor informed us, we were on the eastern +shore of a once vast inland ocean, the bed of which now forms the +plains. Sachem thought the rock might be a petrified toad-stool, on a +scale with the gigantic toads which hopped around in the mud of that age +of monsters. The professor thought it was fashioned by the waters, in +their eddyings and washings. + +Subsequent examinations showed this entire region to be one of +remarkable interest to the geologist. A few miles east of Mushroom Rock, +near Bavaria, as we learned from the conductor, human foot-prints had +been discovered in the sandstone. The professor, who had long ascribed +to man an earlier existence upon earth than that given him by geology, +was greatly excited, and at his earnest request, when the down train was +met, we returned upon it to Bavaria. + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION_ + +MUSHROOM ROCK, + +On Alum Creek, near Kansas Pacific R. R.--From a Photograph.] + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION_ + +INDIAN ROCK, on Smoky Hill River, Kansas--From a Photograph.] + +That place we found to consist of two buildings, each serving the double +purpose of house and store, the track running between them. Two +sandstone blocks, each weighing several hundred pounds, lay in front of +one of the stores, and there, sure enough, impressed clearly and deeply +upon their surface were the tracks of human feet. They had been +discovered by a Mr. J. B. Hamilton on the adjacent bluffs. + +There was something weird and startling in this voice from those +long-forgotten ages--ages no less remote than when the ridge we were +standing upon was a portion of a lake shore. The man who trod those +sands, the professor informed us, perished from the face of the earth +countless ages before the oldest mummy was laid away in the caves of +Egypt; and yet people looked at the shriveled Egyptian, and thought that +they were holding converse with one who lived close upon the time of the +oldest inhabitant. They wrested secrets from his tomb, and called them +very ancient. And now this dweller beside the great lakes had lifted his +feet out of the sand to kick the mummy from his pedestal of honor in the +museum, as but a being of yesterday, in comparison with himself. + +This discovery was soon afterward extensively noticed in the newspapers, +and the specimens are now in the collection made by our party at Topeka. +It is but fair to say that a difference of opinion exists in regard to +these imprints. Many scientific men, among whom is Professor Cope, +affirm that they must be the work of Indians long ago, as the age of the +rock puts it beyond the era of man, while others attribute them to some +lower order of animal, with a foot resembling the human one. For my own +part, after careful examination, I accept our professor's theory, that +the imprints are those of human feet. The surface of the stone has been +decided by experts to be bent down, not chiseled out. Science not long +ago ridiculed the primitive man, which it now accepts. It is not +strange, therefore, that science should protest against its oldest +inhabitant stepping out from ages in which it had hitherto forbidden him +existence. + +We also found on the rocks fine impressions of leaves, resembling those +of the magnolia, and gathered a bushel of petrified walnuts and +butternuts. There were no other indications whatever of trees, the whole +country, as far as we could see, being a desolate prairie. + +"Gentlemen," said the professor, "as surely as you stand on the shore of +a great lake, which passed away in comparatively modern times, science +stands on the brink of important revelations. We have here the evidence +of the rocks that man existed on this earth when the vast level upon +which you are about to enter was covered by its mass of water. The waves +lapped against the Rocky Mountains on the west, and against the ridges +on which you are standing, upon the east. From previous explorations, I +can assure you that the buffalo now feed over a surface strewn with the +remains of those monsters which inhabited the waters of the primitive +world, and the grasses suck nutriment from the shells of centuries. +Geology has held that man did not exist during the time of the great +lakes. I assert that he did, gentlemen, and now an inhabitant of that +period steps forward to confirm my position. This man walked +barefooted, and yet the contour of one of the feet, so different in +shape from that of any wild people's of the present day, shows that it +had been confined by some stiff material, like our leather shoes. The +appearance of the big toe is especially confirmatory of this. I would +call your attention, gentlemen, to the block which contains companion +impressions of the right and left foot. The latter is deep, and well +defined, every toe being separate and perfect. The former is shallow, +and spread out, with bulged-up ridges of stone between each toe. These +are exactly the impressions your own feet would make, on such a shore +to-day, were the sand under the right one to be of such a yielding +nature that in moving you withdrew it quickly, and rested more heavily +on the other, the material under which was firmer. Your right track +would spread, the mud bulging up between the toes, and forcing them out +of position, and the material nearly regaining its level, with a +misshapen impression upon its surface. + +"You will also perceive that the sand was already hardening into rock +when our ancient friends walked over it. I use the plural because, if I +may venture an opinion from this hasty examination, I should say the two +tracks were those of a female, the single one that of a man. From the +position of the blocks they were probably walking near each other at +that precise time when the new rock was soft enough to receive an +impression and hard enough to retain it. You will perceive that the +surface of the stone is bent down into the cavities, as that of a loaf +of half-raised bread would be should you press your hand into it." + +Sachem thought that the couple might have been an ancient Paul and +Virginia telling their love on the shores of the old-time lake. + +The Professor continued: "You notice close beside the two imprints an +oval, rather deep hole in the rock, precisely like that a boy often +makes by whirling on one heel in the sand." + +Sachem again interrupted: "Perhaps the maiden went through the +fascinating evolution of revolving her body while her mind revolved the +'yes' or 'no' to her swain's question. It might be a refined way of +telling her lover that she was well 'heeled,' and asking if he was." + +The Professor very gravely replied: "In those days the world had not run +to slang. If one of Noah's children had dared to address him with the +modern salutation of 'governor,' the venerable patriarch would have +flung his child overboard from the ark. Taking your view of the case, +Mr. Sachem, the whirl in the sand, which gave the lover his answer, is +telling us to-day that same old story. And the coquette of that remote +period caused the tell-tale walk upon the sand, which has proved the +greatest geological discovery of modern times. I believe that it will be +followed up and sustained by others equally as important, all tending to +date man's birth thousands of years anterior to the time geology has +hitherto assigned him an existence upon earth." + +We spent many hours of the night in getting the rocks to the depot for +shipment to Topeka, the few inhabitants of Bavaria assisting us. Soon +after a westward train came along, and we were again in motion toward +the home of the buffalo. + +Before we slept the Professor gave us the following information: The +vast plateau lying east of the Rocky Mountains, and which we were now +approaching, was once covered by a series of great fresh-water lakes. At +an early period these must have been connected with the sea, their +waters then being quite salty, as is abundantly demonstrated by the +remains of marine shells. During the time of the continental elevation +these lakes were raised above the sea level, and their size very much +diminished. Over the new land thus created, and surrounding these +beautiful sheets of water, spread a vegetation at once so beautiful and +so rich in growth that earth has now absolutely nothing with which to +compare it. Amid these lovely pastures roved large herds of elephants, +with the mastodon, rhinoceros, horse, and elk, while the streams and +lakes abounded with fish. But the drainage toward the distant ocean +continued, the water area diminished, the hot winds of the dry land +drank up what remained of the lakes, and, in process of time, lo! the +great grass-covered plains that we wander over delightedly to-day. What +folly to suppose that such a land, so peculiarly fitted for man's +enjoyment, should remain, through a long period of time, tenanted simply +by brutes, and be given up to the human race only after its delightful +characteristics had been entirely removed. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + THE "GREAT AMERICAN DESERT"--ITS FOSSIL WEALTH--AN ILLUSION + DISPELLED--FIRES ACCORDING TO NOVELS AND ACCORDING TO + FACT--SENSATIONAL HEROES AND HEROINES--PRAIRIE DOGS AND THEIR + HABITS--HAWK AND DOG AND HAWK AND CAT. + + +Next morning, as the first gray darts of dawn fell against our windows, +Mr. Colon lifted up a sleepy head and gazed out. Then came that quick +jerk into an upright position which one assumes when startled suddenly +from a drowsy state to one of intense interest. The motion caused a +similar one on the part of each of us, as if a sort of jumping-jack set +of string nerves ran up our backs, and a man under the cars had pulled +them all simultaneously. + +We were on the great earth-ocean; upon either side, until striking +against the shores of the horizon, the billows of buffalo-grass rolled +away. It seemed as if the Mighty Ruler had looked upon these waters when +the world was young, and said to them, "Ye waves, teeming with life, be +ye earth, and remain in form as now, until the planet which bears you +dissolves!" And so, frozen into stillness at the instant, what were then +billows of water now stretch away billows of land into what seems to the +traveler infinite distance, with the same long roll lapping against and +upon distant _buttes_ that the Atlantic has to-day in lashing its +rock-ribbed coasts; and whenever man's busy industry cleaves asunder the +surface, the depths, like those of ocean, give back their monsters and +rare shells. Huge saurians, locked for a thousand centuries in their +vice-like prison, rise up, not as of old to bask lazily in the sun, but +to gape with huge jaws at the demons of lightning and steam rushing +past, and to crack the stiff backs of savans with their forty feet of +tail. + +To the south of us, and distant several miles, was the line, scarcely +visible, of the Smoky Hill, treeless and desolate; on the north, the +upper Saline, equally barren. As difficult to distinguish as two brown +threads dividing a brown carpet, they might have been easily overlooked, +had we not known the streams were there, and, with the aid of our +glasses, sought for their ill-defined banks. + +A curve in the road brought us suddenly and sharply face to face with +the sun, just rising in the far-away east, and flashing its ruddy light +over the vast plain around us. Its bright red rim first appeared, +followed almost immediately by its round face, for all the world like a +jolly old jack tar, with his broad brim coming above deck. It reminded +me on the instant of our brackish friend, Captain Walrus; and in +imagination I dreamily pictured, as coming after him, with the +broadening daylight, a troop of Alaskans, their sleds laden with +blubber. + +The air was singularly clear and bracing, producing an effect upon a +pair of healthy lungs like that felt on first reaching the sea-beach +from a residence inland. An illusion which had followed many of us from +boyhood was utterly dissipated by the early dawn in this strange land. +This was not the fact that the "great American desert" of our +school-days is not a desert at all, for this we had known for years; it +related to those floods of flame and stifling smoke with which +sensational writers of western novels are wont to sweep, as with a besom +of destruction, the whole of prairie-land once at least in every story. +Young America, wasting uncounted gallons of midnight oil in the perusal +of peppery tales of border life, little suspects how slight the +foundation upon which his favorite author has reared the whole vast +superstructure of thrilling adventure. + +The scene of these heart-rending narratives is usually laid in a +boundless plain covered with tall grass, and the _dramatis personæ_ are +an indefinite number of buffalo and Indians, a painfully definite one of +emigrants, two persons unhappy enough to possess a beautiful daughter, +and a lover still more unhappy in endeavoring to acquire title, a +rascally half-breed burning to prevent the latter feat, and a rare old +plainsman specially brought into existence to "sarcumvent" him. + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION. BUFFALO_ + +FIRE ON THE PLAINS, ACCORDING TO NOVELS.] + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION_ + +FIRE ON THE PLAINS, AS IT IS.] + +At the most critical juncture the "waving sea of grass" usually takes +fire, in an unaccountable manner--perhaps from the hot condition of the +combatants, or the quantities of burning love and revenge which are +recklessly scattered about. Multitudes of frightened buffalo and gay +gazelles make the ground shake in getting out of the way, and the flames +go to licking the clouds, while the emigrants go to licking the +Indians. Although the fire can not be put out, one or the other, or +possibly both, of the combatants are "put out" in short order. +Should the miserable parents succeed in getting their daughter safely +through this peril, it is only because she is reserved for a further +laceration of our feelings. The half-breed soon gets her, and the lover +and rare old plainsman get on his track immediately afterward. And so on +_ad libitum_. + +We beg pardon for condensing into our sunrise reflections the material +for a novel, such as has often run well through three hundred pages, and +furnished with competencies half as many bill-posters. It is unpleasant +to have one's traditionary heroes and heroines all knocked into pi +before breakfast. It makes one crusty. Possibly, it may be their proper +desert, but, if so, could be better digested after dinner. + +The whole story would fail if the fire did, as novelists never like to +have their heroines left out in the cold. But it is as impossible for +flames as it is for human beings to exist on air alone. It is scarcely +less so for them to feed, as they are supposed to do, on such scanty +grass. The truth is, that what the bison, with his close-cropping teeth, +is enabled to grow fat on, makes but poor material for a first-class +conflagration. + +The grass which covers the great plains of the Far West is more like +brown moss than what its name implies. Perhaps as good an idea of it as +is possible to any one who has never seen it, may be obtained by +imagining a great buffalo robe covering the ground. The hair would be +about the color and nearly the length of the grass, at the season in +question. In the spring the plains are fresh and green, but the grass +cures rapidly on the stalk, and before the end of July is brown and +ripe. It will then burn readily, but the fire is like that eating along +a carpet, and by no means terrifying to either man or brute. The only +occasion when it could possibly prove dangerous is when it reaches, as +it sometimes does, some of the narrow valleys where the tall grass of +the bottom grows; but even then, a run of a hundred yards will take one +to buffalo grass and safety. This latter fact we learned from actual +experience, later on our trip. + +What a wild land we were in! A few puffs of a locomotive had transferred +us from civilization to solitude itself. This was the "great American +desert" which so caught our boyish eyes, in the days of our school +geography and the long ago. A mysterious land with its wonderful record +of savages and scouts, battles and hunts. We had a vague idea then that +a sphynx and half a score of pyramids were located somewhere upon it, +the sand covering its whole surface, when not engaged in some sort of +simoon performance above. No trains of camels, with wonderful patience +and marvelous internal reservoirs of water, dragged their weary way +along, it was true; yet that animal's first cousin, the American mule, +was there in numbers, as hardy and as useful as the other. Many an +eastern mother, in the days of the gold fever, took down her boys +discarded atlas, and finding the space on the continent marked "Great +American Desert," followed with tearful eyes the course of the emigrant +trains, and tried to fix the spot where the dear bones of her first-born +lay bleaching. + +As a people, we are better acquainted with the wastes of Egypt than with +some parts of our own land. The plains have been considered the abode of +hunger, thirst, and violence, and most of our party expected to meet +these geniuses on the threshold of their domain, and, while Shamus +should fight the first two with his skillet and camp-kettles to war +against the third with rifle and hunting-knife. + +But in the scene around us there was nothing terrifying in the least +degree. The sun had risen with a clear highway before him, and no clouds +to entangle his chariot wheels. He was mellow at this early hour, and +scattered down his light and warmth liberally. Wherever the soil was +turned up by the track, we discovered it to be strong and deep, and +capable of producing abundant crops of resin weeds and sunflowers, which +with farmers is a written certificate, in the "language of flowers," of +good character. + +We thundered through many thriving cities of prairie dogs, the +inhabitants of which seemed all out of doors, and engaged in +tail-bearing from house to house. The principal occupations of this +animal appears to be two; first, barking like a squirrel, and second, +jerking the caudal appendage, which operations synchronize with +remarkable exactitude. One single cord seems to operate both extremities +of the little body at once. It could no more open its mouth without +twitching its tail, than a single-thread Jack could bow its head without +lifting its legs. Those nearest would look pertly at us for a moment, +and then dive head foremost into their holes. The tail would hardly +disappear before the head would take its place and, peering out, +scrutinize us with twinkling eyes, and chatter away in concert with its +neighbors, with an effect which reminded me of a forest of monkeys +suddenly disturbed. + +Sachem declared that they must all be females, for no sooner had one +been frightened into the house than it poked its head out again to see +what was the matter. "That sex would risk life at any time to know what +was up." + +The professor, with a more practical turn, told us some of the quaint +little animal's habits. "Why it is called a dog," said he, "I do not +know. Neither in bark, form, or life, is there any resemblance. It is +carnivorous, herbivorous, and abstemious from water, requiring no other +fluids than those obtained by eating roots. Its villages are often far +removed from water, and when tamed it never seems to desire the latter, +though it may acquire a taste for milk. It partakes of meats and +vegetables with apparently equal relish. It is easily captured by +pouring two or three buckets of water down the hole, when it emerges +looking somewhat like a half-drowned rat. The prairie dog is the head of +the original 'happy family.' It was formerly affirmed, even in works of +natural history, that a miniature evidence of the millennium existed in +the home of this little animal. There the rattlesnake, the owl, and the +dog were supposed to lie down together, and such is still the general +belief. It was known that the bird and the reptile lived in these +villages with the dog, and science set them down as honored guests, +instead of robbers and murderers, as they really are." + +On our trip we frequently killed snakes in these villages which were +distended with dogs recently swallowed. The owls feed on the younger +members of the household, and the old dogs, except when lingering for +love of their young, are not long in abandoning a habitation when snakes +and owls take possession of it. The latter having two votes, and the +owner but one (female suffrage not being acknowledged among the brutes), +it is a "happy family," on democratic principles of the strictest sort. + +We have also repeatedly noticed the dogs busily engaged in filling up a +hole quite to the mouth with dirt, and have been led to believe that in +this manner they occasionally revenge themselves upon their enemies, +perhaps when the latter are gorged with tender puppies, by burying them +alive. An old scout once told us that this filling up process occurred +whenever one of their community was dead in his house, but as the +statement was only conjectural, we prefer the other theory. + +While we were this day steaming through one village an incident occurred +showing that these animals have yet another active enemy. Startled by +the cars, the dogs were scampering in all directions, when a powerful +chicken-hawk shot down among them with such wonderful rapidity of flight +that his shadow, which fell like that from a flying fragment of cloud, +scarcely seemed to reach the earth before him. Some hundreds of the +little brown fellows were running for dear life, and plunging wildly +into their holes without any manifestations of their usual curiosity. +The hawk's shadow fell on one fat, burgher-like dog, perhaps the mayor +of the town, and in an instant the robber of the air was over him and +the talons fastened in his back. Then the bird of prey beat heavily with +its pinions, rising a few feet, but, finding the prize too heavy, came +down. He was evidently frightened at the noise of the cars and we hoped +the prisoner would escape. But the bird, clutching firmly for an instant +the animal in its talons, drew back his head to give force to the blow, +and down clashed the hooked beak into one of the victim's eyes. A sharp +pull, and the eyeball was plucked out. Back went the beak a second time, +and the remaining eye was torn from its socket, and the sightless body +was then left squirming on the ground, while the hawk flew hastily away +a short distance, evidently to return when we had passed on. It was +pitiful to see the dog raise up on its haunches and for an instant sit +facing us with its empty sockets, then make two or three short runs to +find a path, in its sudden darkness, to some hole of refuge, but +fruitlessly, of course. + +A few days afterward, at Hays City, we witnessed an affair in which the +air-pirate got worsted. While sitting before the office of the village +doctor, a powerful hawk pounced upon his favorite kitten, which lay +asleep on the grass, and started off with it. The two had reached an +elevation of fifty feet, when puss recovered from her surprise and went +to work for liberty. She had always been especially addicted to dining +on birds, and the sensation of being carried off by one excited the +feline mind to astonishment and wrath. Twisting herself like a weasel +her claws came uppermost, and to our straining gaze there was a sight +presented very much as if a feather-bed had been ripped open. The +surprised hawk had evidently received new light on the subject; it let +go on the instant, and went off with the appearance of a badly plucked +goose, while the cat came safely to earth and sought the nearest way +home. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + WE SEE BUFFALO--ARRIVAL AT HAYS--GENERAL SHERIDAN AT THE + FORT--INDIAN MURDERS--BLOOD-CHRISTENING OF THE PACIFIC + RAILROAD--SURPRISED BY A BUFFALO HERD--A BUFFALO BULL IN A + QUANDARY--GENTLE ZEPHYRS--HOW A CIRCUS WENT OFF--BOLOGNA TO LEAN + ON--A CALL UPON SHERIDAN. + + +As we passed out of the dog village, the engine gave several short, +sharp whistles, and numberless heads were at once thrust out to +ascertain the cause. "Buffalo!" was the cry, and with this there was a +rush to the windows for a view of the noblest of American game. Even +sleepy elderly gentlemen jostled rudely, and Sachem forgot his liver so +far as to crowd into a favorable position beside a young woman. + +"There they go!" "Oh, my, what monsters!" "What beards!" "What horns!" +"Beats a steeplechase!" "Uncanny beasts, lookin' and gangin' like Nick!" +"Sure, they're going home from a divil's wake!" and similar ejaculations +filled the car, as they do a race-stand when the horses are off. Two +huge bulls had crossed just ahead of the engine, and one of them, +apparently deeming escape impossible, was standing at bay close to the +track, head down for a charge. He was furious with terror, the hissing +steam and cow-catcher having been close at his heels for a hundred +yards. As we flew past he was immediately under our windows, and we were +obliged to look down to get a view of his immense body, with the back +curving up gradually from the tail into an uncouth hump over the fore +shoulders. + +These two solitary old fellows were the only buffalo we saw from the +train, the herds at large having not yet commenced their southern +journey. At certain seasons, however, they cover the plains on each side +of the road for fifty or sixty miles in countless multitudes. These wild +cattle of Uncle Samuel's, if called upon, could supply the whole Yankee +nation with meat for an indefinite period. + +About noon we arrived at Hays City, two hundred and eighty miles from +the eastern border of the State, and eighty miles out upon the plains. A +stream tolerably well timbered, known as Big Creek, runs along the +southern edge of the town, and just across it lies Fort Hays, town and +fort being less than a mile apart. + +The post possessed considerable military importance, being the base of +operations for the Indian country. We found Sheridan there, an officer +who won his fame gallantly and on the gallop. During the summer our red +brethren had been gathering a harvest of scalps, and, in return, our +army was now preparing to gather in the gentle savage. + +We had read accounts in the newspapers, some time before, of the capture +of Fort Wallace and of attacks on military posts. Such stories were not +only untrue, but exceedingly ridiculous as well. Lo is not sound on the +assault question. His chivalrous soul warms, however, when some forlorn +Fenian, with spade on shoulder and thoughts far off with Biddy in +Erin's Isle, crosses his vision. Being satisfied that Patrick has no +arms, his only defense being utter harmlessness, and well knowing that +the sight of a painted skin, rendered sleek by boiled dog's meat, will +make him frantic with terror, the soul of the noble savage expands. No +more shall the spade, held so jauntily, throw Kansas soil on the bed of +the Pacific Railroad; and the scalp, yet tingling with the boiling of +incipient Fenian revolutions underneath, on the pole of a distant wigwam +will soon gladden the eyes of the traditionally beautiful Indian bride, +as with dirty hands she throws tender puppies into the pot for her +warrior's feast. The savage hand, crimson since childhood, descends with +defiant ring upon the tawny breast, and, with a cry of, "Me big Indian, +ha, whoop!" down sweeps Lo upon the defenseless Hibernian. A startled +stare, a shriek of wild agony, a hurried prayer to "our Mary mother," +and Erin's son christens those far-off points of the Pacific Railroad +with his blood. A rapid circle of hunting-knife and the scalp is lifted, +a few twangs of the bow fills the body with arrows, there is a rapid +vault into the saddle, and a mutilated corpse, with feathered tips, like +pins in a cushion, dotting its surface, alone remains to tell the tale +of horror. + +[Illustration: "And Erin's son christens those far-off points of the +Pacific Railroad with his blood."] + +Blood had been every-where on the railroad, which reached across the +plains like a steel serpent spotted with red. There was now a cessation +of hostilities, and Indian agents were reported to be on the way from +Washington to pacify the tribes. As they had been a long time in coming, +the inference was irresistible that the popping of champagne corks was +a much more pleasant experience than that of Indian guns would have +been. The harvest of scalps had reached high noon some time before. Far +off, south of the Arkansas, the savages had their home, and from thence, +like baleful will-o'-the-wisps, they would suddenly flash out, and then +flash back when pursued, and be lost in those remote regions. Lately, +United States troops have been so placed that the Indian villages may be +struck, if necessary, and retaliation had; and this, together with the +pacificatory efforts of the Quaker agents, is doing much to bring about +a condition of things which promises permanent peace. + +Here our party was at Hays, the objective point of our journey, and our +base of operations against the treasures of the past and present, which +alike covered the country around. This little town is in the midst of +the great buffalo range. Away upon every side of it stretch those vast +plains where the short, crisp grass curls to the ridges, like an +African's kinky hair to his skull. Bison and wild horse, antelope and +wolf, for weeks were now to be our neighbors, appearing and vanishing +over the great expanse like large and small piratical crafts on an +ocean. We were kindly received at the Big Creek Land Company's office, +on the outskirts of the town, and there deposited our guns and baggage. +Our horses were expected on the morrow. + +Twilight found us, after a busy afternoon, sitting around the office +door, with that tired feeling which a traveler has when mind and body +are equally exhausted. Our very tongues were silent, those useful +members having wagged until even they were grateful for the rest. The +hour of dusk, of all others, is the time for musing, and almost +involuntarily our minds wandered back a twelve-month, when the plains +were a solitude. No railroad, no houses, no tokens of civilization save +only a few solitary posts, garrisoned with corporal's guards, and +surrounded by red fiends thirsty for blood. Such was the picture then; +now, the clangor of a city echoed through Big Creek Valley. + +While wondering at the change, away on the hills to our right there rose +a thundering tread, like the marching of a mighty multitude. Shamus, who +sat directly facing the hill, saw something which chilled the Dobeen +blood, and caused that noble Irishman to plunge behind us. Mr. Colon, +who had given a startled turn of the head over his right shoulder, +exclaimed, "Bless me, what's that?" The glance of Muggs froze that +Briton so completely that he failed to tell us of ever having seen a +more "hextraordinary thing in Hingland." I am in doubt whether even our +grave professor did not imagine for the moment that the mammalian age +was taking a tilt at us. + +Gathering twilight had magnified what in broad day would have been an +apparition sufficiently startling to any new arrival in Buffalo Land. A +long line of black, shaggy forms was standing on the crest and looking +down upon us. It had come forward like the rush of a hungry wave, and +now remained as one uplifted, dark and motionless. In bold relief +against the horizon stood an array of colossal figures, all bristling +with sharp points, which at first sight seemed lances, but at the +second resolved into horns. Then it dawned upon our minds that a herd of +the great American bison stood before us. What a grateful reduction of +lumps in more than one throat, and how the air ran riot in lately +congealed lungs! + +Dobeen declared he thought the professor's "ghosts of the centuries" had +been looking down upon us. + +One old fellow, evidently a leader in Buffalo Land, with long +patriarchial beard and shaggy forehead, remained in front, his head +upraised. His whole attitude bespoke intense astonishment. For years +this had been their favorite path between Arkansas and the Platte. Big +Creek's green valley had given succulent grasses to old and young of the +bison tribe from time immemorial. Every hollow had its traditions of +fierce wolf fights and Indian ambuscades, and many a stout bull could +remember the exact spot where his charge had rescued a mother and her +young from the hungry teeth of starving timber wolves. Every wallow, +tree, and sheltering ravine were sacred in the traditions of Buffalo +Land. The petrified bones of ancestors who fell to sleep there a +thousand years before testified to purity of bison blood and pedigree. + +Now all this was changed. Rushing toward their loved valley, they found +themselves in the suburbs of a town. Yells of red man and wolf were +never so horrible as that of the demon flashing along the valley's bed. +A great iron path lay at their feet, barring them back into the +wilderness. Slowly the shaggy monarch shook his head, as if in doubt +whether this were a vision or not; then whirling suddenly, perhaps +indignantly, he turned away and disappeared behind the ridge, and the +bison multitude followed. + +Our horses arrived the next morning all safe, excepting a few skin +bruises, the steed Cynocephalus, however, being a trifle stiffer than +usual, from the motion of the cars. When they were trotted out for +inspection, by some hostlers whom we had hired that morning for our +trip, the inhabitants must have considered the sight the next best thing +to a circus. + +Apropos of circuses, we learned that one had exhibited for the first and +only time on the plains a few months before. In that country, dear +reader, Æolus has a habit of loafing around with some of his sacks in +which young whirlwinds are put up ready for use. One of these is liable +to be shaken out at any moment, and the first intimation afforded you +that the spirit which feeds on trees and fences is loose, is when it +snatches your hat, and begins flinging dust and pebbles in your eyes. +But to return to our circus performance. For awhile all passed off +admirably. The big tent swallowed the multitude, and it in turn +swallowed the jokes of the clown, older, of course, than himself. In the +customary little tent the living skeleton embodied Sidney Smith's wish +and sat cooling in his bones, while the learned pig and monkey danced to +the melodious accompaniment of the hand-organ. + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION_ + +GENTLE ZEPHYRS--"GOING OFF WITHOUT A DRAWBACK.] + +Suddenly there was a clatter of poles, and two canvass clouds flew out +of sight like balloons. The living skeleton found himself on a distant +ridge, with the wind whistling among his ribs, while the monkey +performed somersaults which would have astonished the original +Cynocephalus. The pig meanwhile found refuge behind the organ, which the +hurricane, with a better ear for music than man, refused to turn. + +"Mademoiselle Zavenowski, the beautiful leading equestrienne of the +world," just preparing to jump through a hoop, went through her own with +a whirl, and stood upon the plains feeding the hungry storm with her +charms. The graceful young rider, lately perforating hearts with the +kisses she flung at them, in a trice had become a maiden of fifty, +noticeably the worse for wear. + +An eye-witness, in describing the scene to us, said the circus went off +without a single drawback. It was as if a ton of gunpowder had been +fired under the ring. Just as the clown was rubbing his leg, as the +result of calling the sensitive ring-master a fool (a sham suffering, +though for truth's sake), there was a sharp crack, and the establishment +dissolved. High in air went hats and bonnets, like fragments shot out of +a volcano. The spirits of zephyr-land carried off uncounted hundreds of +tiles, both military and civil, and we desire to place it upon record +that should a future missionary, in some remote northern tribe, find +traditions of a time when the sky rained hats, they may all be accounted +for on purely scientific grounds. + +Much property was lost, but no lives. The immediate results were a +bankrupt showman and a run on liniments and sticking-plaster. + +Our first hunt was to be on the Saline, which comes down from the west +about fifteen miles north of Hays City. + +Before starting, we carefully overhauled our entire outfit. For a long, +busy day nothing was thought of save the cleaning of guns, the oiling of +straps, and the examination of saddles, with sundry additions to +wardrobe and larder. Shamus became a mighty man among grocery-keepers, +and could scarcely have been more popular had he been an Indian supply +agent. The inventory which he gave us of his purchases comprised twelve +cans of condensed milk, with coffee, tea, and sugar, in proportion; +several pounds each of butter, bacon, and crackers; a few loaves of +bread, two sacks of flour, some pickles, and a sufficient number of +tin-plates, cups, and spoons. To these he subsequently added a +half-dozen hams and something like fifty yards of Bologna sausage, which +he told us were for use when we should tire of fresh meat. Sachem +entered protest, declaring that sausage and ham, in a country full of +game, reflected upon us. + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION BUFFALO NY_ + +"LOOKED LIKE THE END OF A TAIL."] + +[Illustration: THE RARE OLD PLAINSMAN OF THE NOVELS.] + +Of course, we found use for every item of the above, and especially for +the Bologna. If one can feel satisfied in his own mind as to what +portion of the brute creation is entering into him, a half-yard of +Bologna, tied to the saddle, stays the stomach wonderfully on an all +day's ride. It is so handy to reach it, while trotting along, and with +one's hunting-knife cut off a few inches for immediate consumption. +Semi-Colon, however, who was a youth of delicate stomach, sickened on +his ration one day, because he found something in it which, he said, +looked like the end of a tail. It is a debatable question, to my mind, +whether Satan, among his many ways of entering into man, does not +occasionally do so in the folds of Bologna sausage. Certain it is that, +after such repast, one often feels like Old Nick, and woe be to the man +at any time who is at all dyspeptic. All the forces of one's gastric +juices may then prove insufficient to wage successful battle with the +evil genius which rends him. + +Our outfit, as regards transportation, consisted of the animals +heretofore mentioned, and two teams which we hired at Hays, for the +baggage and commissary supplies. + +The evening before our departure we rode over to the fort and called +upon General Sheridan. "Little Phil" had pitched his camp on the bank of +Big Creek, a short distance below the fort, preferring a soldier's life +in the tent to the more comfortable officer's quarters. This we thought +eminently characteristic of the man. He is an accumulation of tremendous +energy in small compass, a sort of embodied nitro-glycerine, but +dangerous only to his enemies. Famous principally as a cavalry leader, +because Providence flung him into the saddle and started him off at a +gallop, had his destiny been infantry, he would have led it to victory +on the run. And now, officer after officer having got sadly tangled in +the Indian web, which was weaving its strong threads over so fair a +portion of our land, Sheridan was sent forward to cut his way through +it. + +The camp was a pretty picture with its line of white tents, the timber +along the creek for a background, and the solemn, apparently illimitable +plains stretching away to the horizon in front. Taken altogether, it +looked more like the comfortable nooning spot of a cavalry scout than +the quarters of a famous General. Our chieftain stood in front of the +center tent, with a few staff-officers lounging near by, his short, +thick-set figure and firm head giving us somehow the idea of a small, +sinewy lion. + +We found the General thoroughly conversant with the difficult task to +which he had been called. "Place the Indians on reservations," he said, +"under their own chiefs, with an honest white superintendency. Let the +civil law reign on the reservation, military law away from it, every +Indian found by the troops off from his proper limits to be treated as +an outlaw." It seemed to me that in a few brief sentences this mapped +out a successful Indian policy, part of which indeed has since been +adopted, and the remainder may yet be. + +When speaking of late savageries on the plains the eyes of "Little Phil" +glittered wickedly. In one case, on Spillman's Creek, a band of +Cheyennes had thrust a rusty sword into the body of a woman with child, +piercing alike mother and offspring, and, giving it a fiendish twist, +left the weapon in her body, the poor woman being found by our soldiers +yet living. + +"I believe it possible," said Sheridan, "at once and forever to stop +these terrible crimes." As he spoke, however, we saw what he apparently +did not, a long string of red tape, of which one end was pinned to his +official coat-tail, while the other remained in the hands of the +Department at Washington. Soon after, as Sheridan pushed forward, the +Washington end twitched vigorously. He managed, however, with his right +arm, Custer, to deal a sledge-hammer blow, which broke to fragments the +Cheyenne Black-kettle and his band. Whether or not that band had been +guilty of the recent murders, the property of the slain was found in +their possession, and the terrible punishment caused the residue of the +tribe to sue for peace. It was the first time for years that the war +spirit had placed any horrors at their doors, and that one terrible +lesson prepared the savage mind for the advent of peace commissioners. + +Our brief conference ended, the General bade us good day, and wished us +a pleasant experience. Scarcely had we got beyond his tents, however, +when we were overtaken by a decidedly unpleasant one. On their way to +water, a troop of mules stampeded, and passing us in a cloud of dust, +our brutes took bits in their teeth, and joined company. Happily, the +run was a short one to the creek, where those of us who had not fallen +off before managed to do so then. Poor Gripe was the only person +injured, suffering the fracture of a rib, which necessitated his return +to Topeka, so that we did not see him again until some months afterward, +when we met him on the Solomon. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + HAYS CITY BY LAMP-LIGHT--THE SANTA FE + TRADE--BULL-WHACKERS--MEXICANS--SABBATH ON THE PLAINS--THE DARK + AGES--WILD BILL AND BUFFALO BILL--OFF FOR THE SALINE--DOBEEN'S + GHOST-STORY--AN ADVENTURE WITH INDIANS--MEXICAN CANNONADE--A + RUNAWAY. + + +Hays City by lamp-light was remarkably lively and not very moral. The +streets blazed with the reflection from saloons, and a glance within +showed floors crowded with dancers, the gaily dressed women striving to +hide with ribbons and paint the terrible lines which that grim artist, +Dissipation, loves to draw upon such faces. With a heartless humor he +daubs the noses of the sterner sex a cherry red, but paints under the +once bright eyes of woman a shade dark as the night in the cave of +despair. To the music of violin and stamping of feet, the dance went on, +and we saw in the giddy maze old men who must have been pirouetting on +the very edge of their graves. + +Being then the depot for the great Santa Fe trade, the town was crowded +with Mexicans and speculators. Large warehouses along the track were +stored with wool awaiting shipment east, and with merchandise to be +taken back with the returning wagons. These latter are of immense size, +and, from this circumstance, are sometimes called "prairie schooners;" +and, in truth, when a train of them is winding its way over the plains, +the white covers flecking its surface like sails, the sight is not +unlike a fleet coming into port. Oxen and mules are both used. When the +former, the drivers rejoice in the title of "bull-whackers," and the +crack of their whips, as loud as the report of a rifle, is something +tremendous. + +On the day of our arrival at Hays City, one of these festive individuals +noticed Dobeen gazing, with open mouth, and back towards him, at some +object across the street, and took the opportunity to crack his lash +within an inch of the Irishman's spine. The effect was ludicrous; Shamus +came in on the run to have a ball extracted from his back! + +These Mexicans who come through with the ox-trains are a very degraded +race, dark, dirty, and dismal. In appearance, they much resemble +animated bundles of rags, walking off with heads of charcoal. Personal +bravery is not one of their striking characteristics; indeed, they often +run away when to stand still would seem to an American the only safe +course possible. We were desirous of sending back to Hays City some of +the proceeds of our excursion for shipment to friends at St. Louis and +Chicago, and therefore hired two of the Mexican teamsters to go as far +as the Saline, and return with the fruits of our prowess. For this +service, which would occupy about four days, they were to receive +twenty-five dollars each. + +The morrow was Sunday, and came to us, as nine-tenths of the mornings on +the plains did afterward, clear and bracing. Compared with the previous +evening, the little town was very quiet. There was no stir in the +streets, although later in the morning a few of the last night's +carousers came out of doors, rubbing their sleepy eyes, and slunk around +town for the remainder of the day. All nature was calm and beautiful; it +almost seemed as if we might hear the chime of Sabbath bells float to us +from somewhere in the depths around. + +One of our sea legends recites that ship wrecked bells, fallen from the +society of men to that of mermaids, are straightway hung on coral +steeples, where, when storms roar around the rocks above, they toll for +the deaths of the mariners. Was it impossible, we mused, that ancient +mariners, with whole cargoes of bells, went down on this inland sea +centuries before Rome howled? The earth around us might be as full of +musical tongues as of saurians, and only awaiting the savan's spade and +sympathetic touch to give their dumb eloquence voice. If the people of +those days were navigators, surely they might also have been men of +metal. In the far-away past existed numerous arts which baffle modern +ingenuity. Stones were lifted at sight of which our engineers stand +dismayed. Bodies were embalmed with a skill and perfection which our +medical faculty admire, but have scarcely even essayed to imitate. Is it +impossible that vessels plowed this ancient ocean with a speed which +would have left our Cunarders out of sight? If human spirits freed from +earth take cognizance of following generations, how those old captains +must have laughed when Fulton boarded his wheezing experiment to paddle +up the Hudson! And if our doctor's Darwinian-Pythagorean theory were +correct, Fulton's spirit might have brought the crude idea from some +ancient stoker. + +But while we were thus speculating and giving free reins to Fancy's most +erratic moods, the chaplain arrived from the fort, and mounting the +freight platform, read the Episcopal morning service. A crowd gathered +around, and a voice from the past whispering in their ears, a few bowed +their heads during prayer. A drunkard went brawling by, with a sidelong +glance and the leering look of eyes whose watery lids seemed making vain +efforts to quench the fiery balls. How it grated on one's feelings! In a +land so eloquent with voices of the mighty past, it seemed as if even +instinct would cause the knee to bow in homage before its Maker. + +Monday was our day of final preparation, and we commenced it by making +the acquaintance of those two celebrated characters, Wild Bill and +Buffalo Bill, or, more correctly, William Hickock and William Cody. The +former was acting as sheriff of the town, and the latter we engaged as +our guide to the Saline. + +Wild Bill made his _entree_ into one court of the temple of fame some +years since through Harper's Magazine. Since then his name has become a +household word to residents along the Kansas frontier. We found him very +quiet and gentlemanly, and not at all the reckless fellow we had +supposed. His form won our admiration--the shoulders of a Hercules with +the waist of a girl. Much has been written about Wild Bill that is pure +fiction. I do not believe, for example, that he could hit a nickel +across the street with a pistol-ball, any more than an Indian could do +so with an arrow. These feats belong to romance. Bill is wonderfully +handy with his pistols, however. He then carried two of them, and while +we were at Hays snuffed a man's life out with one; but this was done in +his capacity of officer. Two rowdies devoted their energies to brewing a +riot, and defied arrest until, at Bill's first shot, one fell dead, and +the other threw up his arms in token of submission. During his life time +Bill has probably killed his baker's dozen of men, but he has never, I +believe, been known as the aggressor. To the people of Hays he was a +valuable officer, making arrests when and where none other dare attempt +it. His power lies in the wonderful quickness with which he draws a +pistol and takes his aim. These first shots, however, can not always +last. "They that take the sword shall perish with the sword;" and living +as he does by the pistol, Bill will certainly die by it, unless he +abandons the frontier. + +[Illustration: BUFFALO BILL--FROM A PHOTOGRAPH.] + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION_ + +WILD BILL--FROM A PHOTOGRAPH.] + +Only a short time after we left Hays two soldiers attempted his life. +Attacked unexpectedly, Bill was knocked down and the muzzle of a musket +placed against his forehead, but before it could be discharged the ready +pistol was drawn and the two soldiers fell down, one dead, the other +badly wounded. Their companions clamored for revenge, and Bill changed +his base. He afterward became marshal of the town of Abilene, where he +signalized himself by carrying a refractory councilman on his shoulders +to the council-chamber. A few months later some drunken Texans +attempted a riot, and one of them, a noted gambler, commenced firing on +the marshal. The latter returned the fire, shooting not only the +gambler, but one of his own friends, who, in the gloom of the evening, +was hurrying to his aid. Bill paid the expenses of the latter's funeral, +which on the frontier is considered the proper and delicate way of +consoling the widow whenever such little accidents occur. + +The Professor took occasion, before parting with Wild William, to +administer some excellent advice, urging him especially, if he wished to +die in his bed, to abandon the pistol and seize upon the plow-share. His +reputation as Union scout, guide for the Indian country, and sheriff of +frontier towns, our leader said, was a sufficient competency of fame to +justify his retirement upon it. In this opinion the public will +certainly coincide. + +Buffalo Bill was to be our guide. He informed us that Wild Bill was his +cousin. Cody is spare and wiry in figure, admirably versed in plain +lore, and altogether the best guide I ever saw. The mysterious plain is +a book that he knows by heart. He crossed it twice as teamster, while a +mere boy, and has spent the greater part of his life on it since. He led +us over its surface on starless nights, when the shadow of the blackness +above hid our horses and the earth, and though many a time with no trail +to follow and on the very mid-ocean of the expanse, he never made a +failure. Buffalo Bill has since figured in one of Buntline's Indian +romances. We award him the credit of being a good scout and most +excellent guide; but the fact that he can slaughter buffalo is by no +means remarkable, since the American bison is dangerous game only to +amateurs. + +We were off early on Tuesday morning for the Saline, our course toward +which lay before us a little west of north, the citizens turning out to +see us start. We had just parted from Gripe, who went East on the first +train to get his ribs healed. "To think, gentlemen," said he, "that I +should have escaped rebel bullets and Indian atrocities, only to have my +ribs cracked at last by a stampede of mules!" Poor Gripe's farewell +reminded me strongly of the old saying about the ruling passion strong +in death. As he stood on the platform, with one hand against his aching +side, he could not refrain from waving a courtly adieu with the other, +and bowing himself from our presence, into the car, as if leaving the +stage after a political speech. + +We were sorry to lose our friend, and this, together with the thought of +the weeks of uncertainties and anxieties which lay before us, made our +exit from Hays rather a solemn affair. Even Tammany Sachem's face was +ironed out so completely that not a smile wrinkled it. Dobeen had loaded +one wagon with culinary weapons, and now sat among his pots and pans, +evidently ill at ease and wishing himself doing any thing else rather +than about to plunge further into the wilderness. + +When about to mount Cynocephalus, Semi's feelings were wounded by a +depraved urchin who suggested, "You'd better fust knock that fly off, +Boss. Both on ye 'll be too much for the hoss!" Fortunately, perhaps, +for our feelings, the remainder of the inhabitants were so civil that +further criticisms on our outfit, though they may have been ripe at +their tongues' end, were carefully repressed. + +Moving out over the divide above town the Professor noticed the general +depression of the party, and forthwith began philosophising. + +"My friends," said he, "had the feelings which explorers suffer, when +fairly launched, been allowed to be present during the days of +preparation, science and discovery would be in their infancy. Enthusiasm +bridges the first obstacles to an undertaking, but others roll on and +block the explorer's path, and the spirit which has got him into the +difficulty momentarily deserts him. If properly courted, however, she +returns, and meanwhile the traveler is afforded the opportunity of +looking, through matter-of-fact spectacles, along his future journey. +What he thought pebbles reveal themselves as hills, and what he had +marked on his chart as hills develop into mountains. These he must +recognize and examine with all the resolution he can summon, and he will +be the more able to climb them from expecting to do so. Right here is +the critical point in his journey. Numerous cross-roads branch off--some +right, others left, but all with a brighter prospect down them. Perhaps +on one, a wife and children stand at the door of their home, beckoning +him. The garden that his own hand planted blooms in a background of +flowers, while the path he has now chosen sparkles with winter snow. He +knows, however, that beyond these, perhaps amid sterile mountains, are +the precious diamonds he seeks. + +"It is wise that, where these roads branch off--some to castles of +indolence, others to comfortable homes and moderate exertion--the man +should be left alone for a time and allowed to survey the rough path +before him, with all the blinding glamour of enthusiasm subdued by the +light of truth, and with a full knowledge of all the stumbling blocks +which lie before him. If he then thumbs the edge of his hunting-knife, +examines his Henry rifle, and presses forward, the metal is there, and +from that time onward you may at any time learn of his whereabouts by +inquiring at the temple of fame." + +Sachem interrupted the Professor to remonstrate at the girding of loins +being left out. He had always been used to the girding in similar +discourses, and considered that loins were in much more general use than +Henry rifles. + +And now Shamus, from his perch on the pans, suddenly broke in: "Faith, +Professor, your enthusiasm once brought me sore trouble. It got me into +a haunted house, when the clock was strikin' midnight, and my legs were +sore put to it to get me out fast enough. Ye see, I bet a pig with my +next cousin that I would stay all night in an old house full of spirits. +The master and his house-keeper had been murdered in the tenantry riots, +and the boys that did the business, they swung for it soon afterward. +And now, there was a regular barricadin' and attackin' going on those +nights ever since. While I was lookin' at the old clock, and thinkin' of +the pig I'd drag home in the morning, I must have dramed a little. He +was as likely a pig as yez ever saw, and I was listenin' proudly to his +swate cries as I carried him from the sty, and feelin' full enough of +enthusiasm to stay there a hundred years. Just then there was a rustlin' +in front, and I opened my eyes wide, and there stood the old +house-keeper leanin' against the shaky clock, with her ear to its yellow +face, and lookin' straight behind me to where I could feel the master +was sittin'. There was an awful light in her eyes, and I thought I heard +her say--any way, I knew she was sayin' it--'Hark, Sir Donald, they're +comin', but the soldiers will be here, too, at twelve.' An' then there +was a sort of shudder in the old clock and it commenced a wheezin' an' +bangin' away, a tryin' to get through the strokes of twelve, as it did +twenty years before. But it hadn't got out half, when I heard the crowd +outside scrapin' against the window sill. An' then there come a report, +and the room was filled with smoke, an' somethin' hit the back of my +head. How I got out I don't know, but when I come to myself I was +running for dear life across the common. I have the scar of the ghost's +bullet ever since. See here, yez can see it for yourselves." And taking +off his cap, Shamus showed us a bald spot about the size of a silver +dollar on the back of his cranium. + +"And what became of the pig?" asked Mr. Colon quietly. + +"Faith, an' my cousin carried him home next morning," replied Shamus, +with a regretful sigh; "and lady Dobeen, bless her sowl, never forgot +to tell me of that to her dying day. We were needin' the bacon them +times." + +Sachem, who delighted to spoil our cook's stories, declared that, to +gain a pig, it was worth the cousin's while to fire an old musket +through the window over a drunken Irishman inside. Still that did not +excuse him for his carelessness; he should have seen that the wad flew +higher. + +What Dobeen's answer might have been will never be known; for, just at +that moment, the attention of the entire party was suddenly directed to +a dark mass of moving objects away off upon our right, a mile distant at +least, and to our untrained eyes entirely unrecognizable. The Mexicans, +however, pronounced them buffaloes. Whether thinking to vindicate his +reputation for personal courage, or whether simply from love of +excitement, is not exactly clear, but Dobeen eagerly requested +permission to pursue them, and as he would, _ex officio_, be debarred +the pleasure of future sport, consent was given. This was done the more +readily, because we knew that Shamus, while as inexperienced in the +chase as any of us, was also a wretched rider; for, although constantly +boasting of the tournaments he had been engaged in, we all indorsed +Sachem's opinion, that, if ever connected with such an affair at all, it +must have been in holding a horse, not riding one. + +It was worthy of note that every one of the party was as eager for the +chase as Shamus, and yet that personage was allowed to ride off alone. +Mr. Colon, it is true, essayed to join his company, but after going a +hundred yards or so, suddenly changed his mind and came back. Our +maiden efforts in buffalo hunting promised such modesty as to refuse a +public appearance, unless together. + +Our cook had been instructed by the guide to avail himself of the +ravines, and after getting as near the herd as possible, then spur +rapidly up to it. He went off at a gallop, his solid body flying clear +of the saddle whenever the donkey's feet struck ground, and soon +disappeared in a ravine which seemed to promise a winding way almost +into the very midst of the herd. We watched intently for his +reappearance. In such periods of suspense the minutes seem strangely +long, creeping as slowly toward their allotted three-score as they do +when one, at a sickbed vigil, listens for the funeral chimes of the +clock, telling when the minutes are buried in the hours. + +At length, in the far away distance, we descried Shamus, disdaining +further concealment, riding gallantly out of the ravine for a charge. A +few moments more and game and hunter were face to face, and we held our +breath, expecting to see the dark cloud dash away with our bloodthirsty +cook at its skirts. "As I am alive," suddenly ejaculated Muggs, +"Dobeen's coming this way, at a bloody good run, and the buffalo after +him!" We could scarcely believe our eyes, but, sure enough, it was a +clear case of pursuer and pursued, with the appropriate positions +entirely reversed. Shamus seemed imitating that famous hunter who +brought home his bear-meat alive, preceding it by only half a coat-tail. +But the game before us was changing in appearance most wonderfully. It +seemed bristling with unusually long horns, and as we looked the dark +cloud suddenly spread out into a fan-like shape, and we all cried, +simultaneously, "Indians!" + +There they were, a party of our red brethren bearing rapidly down upon +us in pursuit of Dobeen, whose arms and legs were playing like flails on +his donkey's sides, with an appeal for speed which had evidently called +into action all the reserves of that true conservative. + +Our party would have sold out their interest in the plains for a +bagatelle. Our whole outfit had whirled, like a weather-cock, and was +pointing back to Hays. The Mexicans were already dodging in and out +among their oxen, and firing their old muskets furiously, although the +foe was yet a fair cannon-shot away. Shamus could not well have been in +more danger from foes behind than he was from friends before; indeed, he +afterward said that asking deliverance from the latter made him almost +forget the former. + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION_ + +OUR HORSES RUN AWAY WITH US.] + +The horses of both Sachem and Muggs ran away, taking a straight line for +the distant town. This caused a general stampede on the part of all the +other horses, much to the regret of their riders, who were thus cruelly +prevented from a proper display of latent prowess in rendering +protection to the wagons and our cook. From the former came a steady +cannonade. Squirming like eels among their oxen, the Mexicans fired from +under the animals' bellies, astride the tongue, from anywhere, indeed, +that furnished a barricade between the distant Indians and themselves. + +It is one of the remarkable tactics of this remarkable people, in +military emergencies, that when they can not put distance between them +and the enemy, they must substitute _something_ else. A single trooper, +on an open plain, could send a small army of them scampering off, but +let them get behind a barricade, and they will continue banging away +with their old muskets until either the weapon bursts or ammunition +gives out. It is surprising how harmless their fusillades generally are. +If Mexican powder is used, it goes off like a mixture of lamp-black and +nitro-glycerine, with a premonitory fiz and then a fearful concussion, +leaving a smell of burnt oil in the air which overcomes for a moment the +natural aroma of the warriors themselves. + +But while we were still being run away with by our spirited animals, +another change occurred in the situation equally as unexpected as the +first. The Indians had stopped running about the time that we commenced, +and now stood in a dusky line something less than half a mile off, +making signs to us. Shamus evidently considered it a horrible +incantation for his scalp, and every time he looked backward plied with +renewed fervor at his donkey's ribs. Our guide, who had stayed with the +wagons and exerted himself to silence the Mexican batteries, motioned us +to return, which we were finally enabled to do by virtue of steady +pulling upon one rein and coming back in half circles. + +By the time our cook reached us, out of breath and perspiring terribly, +two savages had ridden out from their band, weaponless, and were now +gesturing a wish to communicate. The Professor and our guide rode to +meet them, apparently unarmed; but with characteristic exhibition of the +white man's subtlety, the tail-pocket of the philosopher's coat held a +pistol in reserve, and the guide, I have no doubt, was equally well +provided. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + WHITE WOLF, THE CHEYENNE CHIEF--HUNGRY INDIANS--RETURN TO HAYS--A + CHEYENNE WAR PARTY--THE PIPE OF PEACE--THE COUNCIL CHAMBER--WHITE + WOLF'S SPEECH, AS RENDERED BY SACHEM--THE WHITE MAN'S WIGWAM. + + +About midway between our party and the dusky group that stood watching +us the four embassadors met. The Indians proved to be a band of +Cheyennes, under White Wolf, or, as he is more frequently called, +Medicine Wolf, out on the war-path against the Pawnees. The Wolf was a +fine-looking man, six feet four in height, straight as an arrow, and +developed like a giant. Being a chief, he possessed the regalia and +warranty deed of one, consisting of a ragged military coat without any +tail, and a dirty letter from some Indian agent, with a lie in it over +which even a Cheyenne must have smiled, telling how White Wolf loved the +whites. Perhaps he did; his namesake loves spring lamb. + +Our guide was an indifferent interpreter, but had no difficulty in +understanding that the Indians were hungry and wished something to eat. +In all my experience from that day to this I have never found an Indian +who was not hungry, except once. The exception was an old fellow who, +although enough of an Indian to be habitually drunk, was so degenerate a +specimen in other respects as to be somewhat dyspeptic. His stomach had +repudiated, after receiving a deposit from a trader of one hundred +pickled oysters, and had temporarily closed its doors. His stock of +gastric juices seemed to have been well-nigh bankrupted by a fifty +years' discounting of jerked buffalo. The one hundred tons of this +compound which the noble warrior had dissolved would have exhausted the +liquid of a tannery. Let these savages of the plains meet a white man, +whenever or wherever they may, their first demand is always for meat and +drink, followed not unfrequently by another for his scalp. The victim +may have but a day's rations, and be a hundred miles from any station +where more can be obtained, but his all is taken as greedily and +remorselessly as if he commanded a commissary train. + +The Professor and our guide motioned White Wolf and his companion to +wait, and rode back to us for the purpose of casting up our account of +ways and means. The only chance of balancing it seemed to be by sight +draft on Shamus' wagon or an entry of war. We dare not refuse them and +go on; they would be sure to dog our steps, and at the first convenient +opportunity attack and probably murder us. Shamus, with recovered +courage, stoutly protested against a raid upon his department. "To +think," he expostulated, "of the swate sausage and ham bein' used to wad +such painted carcasses as them divils!" The guide suggested as the best +alternative that we should invite the Indians to return with us to Hays. +We caught at the idea and adopted it immediately; and while the guide +rode back as the bearer of our invitation, we "stood to arms," awaiting +the result with silent but ill-concealed solicitude. + +Should the Indians consider it an attempt to trap them, our bones might +have an opportunity to rest in some neighboring ravine until the ready +spades of some future geological expedition should disturb them, and we +be at once reconstructed into some rare species of ancient ape or +specimens of extinct salamanders. Or, if happily resurrected at a +somewhat earlier period, might not some enterprising Barnum of the +twentieth century place on our bones the seal of centuries, and lay them +with the mummies in his showcases? Our expedition was partly intended +for diving into the past, but not quite so deep or so permanent a dive +as that. What wonder that incipient ague-chills played up and down and +all about our spinal column, as we reflected how completely we were +dependent on the caprice of those Native Americans sitting out there, in +half-naked dignity, on their tough ponies? Or that we gazed anxiously at +the huge chief as he sat, silent and motionless, awaiting the approach +of our guide? + +Our ideas of the savage had been so thoroughly Cooperised during +boyhood, that when our guide approached the Wolf, and, with a gesture to +the south, invited him back to Hays, I was prepared to see the tall form +straighten in the saddle, and pictured to my imagination some such +specimen of untutored eloquence as this: + +"Pale-face, the blood of the Cheyenne burns quick. He meets you trailing +like a serpent across his war-path, seeking to steal treasures from the +red man's land. He asks food, and you tell him to come into your trap +and get it. Pale-faces, remove your hats; noble Cheyennes, remove their +scalps!" + +Nothing of this kind occurred, however. Our guide informed us that the +bold savage simply fastened one button of his tailless coat, grunted out +"Ugh!" in a satisfied way, and motioned his band to follow. This they +did, and we were soon retracing our steps to Hays; by the guide's +advice, making the savages keep a fair distance behind us. + +The roofs of Hays glistened across the plains, as they say those of +Damascus do in the East. We had formed a boy's romantic acquaintance +with that land, where the sun burns and the simooms frolic, and once +were quite enamored of its wild Bedouins of the desert. Our manhood was +now experiencing the sensation of seeing a tribe fiercer than their +eastern brethren, not exactly at our doors, because we had none, but +following very closely at our heels. + +As our strange cavalcade re-entered the town the people stopped to gaze +a moment, and then came out to meet us. News flew to the fort, and some +of the officers rode over. The Land Company's office was selected for a +council room, the Cheyennes tying their ponies to the stage corral near. +The Indians were a strange-looking crew. Sachem declared them all women, +and Dobeen affirmed that they looked more like a covey of witches than +warriors. With their long hair divided in the middle, and falling, +sometimes in braids and again loosely, over their shoulders, and their +blankets hanging around them, they did really look much like the +traditional squaw who so kindly assists one in cutting his eye-teeth at +Niagara Falls, with her sharp practice and cheap bead-work. Their faces +were as smooth as a woman's, without the least trace of either mustache +or whiskers; so that, altogether, when we essayed to pick out some +females, we got completely "mixed up," and were at length forced to the +conclusion that the majestic White Wolf was traveling over the plains +with a copper-colored harem. + +Cooper having told us that the Indian term of reproach is to be or to +look like a woman, we avoided offense and the "arrows of outrageous +fortune" which an Indian is so dexterous in using, and gained the +information desired by addressing a direct inquiry to White Wolf, +through the interpreter, whether he had any squaws along. He replied by +holding up two fingers and pointing out the couple thus designated. We +tried to find, first in their features and then in their clothing, some +distinguishing characteristic but found it impossible; so that when they +changed positions an instant afterward, I was entirely at a loss to +recognize them again. + +All had extremely uninviting countenances, any one of which would have +sufficed to hang three ordinary men, and a common villainy made them as +much alike as forty-six nutmegs. White Wolf alone differed in +appearance. He was stoutly built, as well as tall and straight, with +broad features, the bronze of his complexion merging almost into white, +and he smiled pleasantly and readily. The others were no more able to +smile than Satan himself, the expression which their faces assumed when +attempting it being simply diabolical. Dobeen was so startled by one +who tried that contortion on and asked for "tobac," that he retreated in +disorder from the council-chamber. + +White Wolf and the more important members of his band took the chairs +proffered them, and sat in a circle, the Professor, Sachem, and two +leading citizens of Hays being sandwiched in at proper intervals. The +object of the gathering was gravely announced to be that the Indians +might smoke the pipe of peace with the towns-people. As war was a +chronic passion with these wild horsemen of the plains, none of them had +ever been near the place in friendly mood before, and the novelty of the +occasion, therefore, brought the entire population around the building. +The postmaster of Hays, Mr. Hall, had once traded among the Cheyennes +and, understanding their sign-language, acted as interpreter. This +curious race has two distinct ways of conversing--one by mouth, in a +singularly unmusical dialect, and the other by motions or signs with the +hands. The latter is that most generally understood and employed by +scouts and traders. + +[Illustration: THE PIPE OF PEACE--THE PROFESSOR'S DILEMMA.] + +One of the Indians now took from a sack a red-clay pipe, with a +ridiculously long bowl and longer shank, and inserted into it a +three-foot stem, profusely ornamented with brass tacks and a tassel of +painted horse hair. This was handed to White Wolf, together with a small +bag of tobacco, in which the Killikinnick leaves had been previously +crumbled and mixed. These were a bright red, evidently used for their +fragrance, as they only weakened the tobacco without adding any +particular flavor. We were struck with the Indian mode of smoking. +The chief took a few quick whiffs, emitting the fumes with a hoarse +blowing like a miniature steam-engine. He then passed it, mouth-piece +down so that the saliva might escape, and it commenced a slow journey +around the circle. When it reached our worthy professor he found himself +in a sore dilemma. No smoke had ever curled along the roof of his mouth, +or made a chimney of his geological nose. For an instant the philosopher +hesitated; then, reflecting that passing the pipe would be worse than +choking over it, the excellent man put the stem to his mouth and gave a +pull which must have filled the remotest corner of his lungs with +Killikinnick. Gasping amid the stifling cloud, it poured from both mouth +and nose, and called on the way at his stomach, which gave unmistakable +symptoms of distress. We feared that he would be forced to forsake the +council, but, with an effort worthy of the occasion and himself, he kept +his seat, and opening wide his mouth, waited patiently until the fiend +of smoke had withdrawn from his interior its trailing garments. + +The council disappointed us. In White Wolf we had found as fine-looking +an Indian as ever murdered and stole upon his native continent. His +people were first in war, first to break peace, and the last to keep it, +their excuse being that the white man trespassed on their hunting +grounds. We had rather expected that burly form to rise from his seat, +and, with flashing eyes, utter then and there a flood of aboriginal +eloquence: "White man, your people live where the sun rises, ours where +it sets. When did you ever come to us hungry and be fed, or clothed and +go away so," and so on _ad infinitum_. Instead of all this there was a +tremendous smoking and grunting, more like a farmer's fumigation of hogs +than one of those pipe-of-peace councils which I had so often studied on +canvas and in books. I have often regretted since that our aborigines +can not read. If they could only learn from the white man's literature +what they ought to be, the contrast between it and what they really are +would be so violent that it might make an impression, even upon an +Indian. + +For a happy mingling of lies and truth our "big talk" could hardly be +excelled. A reporter could have taken down the proceedings somewhat as +follows: + +SCENE--Six Indians and as many white men in a ring. Postmaster Hall in +the center, acting as interpreter. + +_Indian_--"Cheyenne love white man much (lie). Forty-six warriors all +hungry (truth). Us good Indians" (lie). And so on, alternately. + +_Pale Brother_--"White man love Cheyenne. Got lots of food, but no +whisky" (the latter a lie which almost choked the speaker). + +It would not interest the reader to know all the repetitions or nonsense +uttered, and we spare him the infliction of even attempting to tell him. +The Indians had for their object food, and they got it. The whites had +for their object permanent peace, and did not get it. + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION BUFFALO_ + +WHITE WOLF AT HOME. + +"The red man is noble, big injun is me."] + +In due time the council broke up, and in an incredibly short time +thereafter many of the Indians were reeling drunk. That White Wolf +did not become equally so was owing altogether to his being a man of +iron constitution. Any thing but metal, it seemed to me, must have been +burnt out by the fiery draughts which we saw the noble chief take down. +A tin cupful of "whisk," such as would have made the cork in a bottle +tight, was tossed off without a wink. + +Sachem, who took notes, rendered White Wolf's speech at the council in +verse, as follows: + + White brother, have pity; the White Wolf is poor, + The skin of his belly is shrunk to his back; + A gallon of whisky is good for a cure, + If followed by plenty of "bacon and tack." + + The red man is noble, big Injun is me: + Like berries all crimson and ready to pick, + The scalps on my pole are a heap good to see-- + Good medicine they when poor Injun is sick. + + The red man is truth, and the white one is lies; + The first suffers wrong at hand of the other; + The way they skin us is good for sore eyes, + The way we skin them astonishing, rather. + + They rob us of guns and offer us plows, + And tell us to farm it, to go into corn; + We're good to raise hair, and good to raise rows, + And good to raise essence of corn--in a horn. + + Go back to your cities and leave us our home, + Or off with your scalp and that remnant of shirt; + Go, let the poor Injun in happiness roam, + And live on his buffalo, puppies, and dirt. + +Two or three of the Indians mounted their ponies and took a race through +the streets. The animals were thin, despondent brutes, but as wiry as if +their hides were stuffed, like patent mattresses, full of springs. The +Indians, as is their universal custom, mounted from the right side, +instead of the left as we do. At the lower end of the street they got as +nearly in line as their inebriated condition would permit, and when the +word was given set off toward us with frightful shouts, which made the +ponies scamper like so many frightened cats. + +The animal which came out ahead had no rider to claim the honors, that +blanketed jockey having fallen off midway. He was now sitting on his +hams, looking the wrong way down the track, and evidently adding up the +"book" which he had made for the race. As he soon arose, with a +dissatisfied grunt, we thought his figures probably read about as +follows: + +Given--A gallon of Hays whisky in the saddle, and a race-horse under it. +Endeavor to divide the latter by a rawhide whip, and the result is a +sore-headed Indian, who stands forfeit to his peers for "the drinks." + +As we wandered back to the council-chamber, the scene there had changed +somewhat. White Wolf had been transformed into a cavalry colonel, and +was strutting around with two gilt eagles on his broad shoulders, +looking fully as important as many a real colonel whom we have caught in +his pin feathers and, withal, much more of the hero. Our warrior had +seen some of the officers from the fort strolling around, and +straightway fell to coveting his neighbors' straps, which observing, +Sachem at once purchased from a store the emblems of power and pinned +them upon him. He whispered to us that when White Wolf took his first +step as a colonel, it had been accompanied by a snort of pain, the +unlucky slipping of a pin having evidently conveyed to the chief the +idea that one of the eagles had grasped his shoulder in its talons. + +The chief modestly requested similar honors for his "papoose," and that +individual was treated to the straps of a captain. A different +application of strap, it occurred to me, would have seemed more proper +upon the six feet of unpromising humanity which appeared above the +"papoose's" moccasins. + +It had been a matter of surprise to us how the Indians could make such +inferior looking stock as theirs capable of such speed and extraordinary +journeys; but it ceased to excite our wonder after an examination of +their whips. These ingenious instruments of torture have handles, which +in form and size resemble a policeman's club. To one end are attached +some thongs of thick leather, half a yard in length, and to the other a +loop of the same material, just large enough to go over the hand and +bind slightly on the wrist. Dangling from the latter, the handle can be +instantly grasped, and the body of thongs brought down on the pony's +skin, with a crack like a flail on the sheaves, and the result is what +Sachem called an astonishing "shelling out" of speed. + +We explained to White Wolf that Tammany Sachem was one of many great +chiefs who had a mighty wigwam in the big city of the pale-faces, far +away toward the rising sun; that they were all good men, and never lied +like the chiefs of the Cheyennes, or took any thing belonging to others; +and that their women, instead of carrying heavy burdens, spent all their +time in distributing the money and goods of the big wigwam to the needy. + +White Wolf signified, through the interpreter, that such a wigwam was +too good for earth, and ought to be pitched on the happy hunting grounds +as soon as possible. + +Sachem thought the savage meant to be sarcastic. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + ARMS OF A WAR PARTY--A DONKEY PRESENT--EATING POWERS OF THE + NOMADS--SATANTA, HIS CRIMES AND PUNISHMENT--RUNNING OFF WITH A + GOVERNMENT HERD--DAUB, OUR ARTIST--ANTELOPE CHASE BY A GREYHOUND. + + +At our request White Wolf and two of his braves gave us a display of +their skill--or rather, their strength--in the use of their bows, +shooting their arrows at a stake sixty yards off. The efforts were what +would be called good "line shots," although missing the slender stick. +We then essayed a trial with the chief's bow, which was an exceedingly +stout hickory wrapped in sinew, but we found that more practiced +strength than ours was required even to bend it. Some amusement was +created when the first of our party took up the bow, by the haste with +which a small and unusually ugly Indian retreated from the foreground as +if fearing that an arrow might be accidentally sent through his blanket. + +Among the stock which the savages had brought with them was a +long-eared, diminutive brute, scarcely higher than a table, and +apparently forming the connecting link between a jackass rabbit and a +donkey. This animal White Wolf seemed extremely anxious to present to +the Professor, but it was politely declined, by the advice of the +interpreter, who explained to us that a return gift of the donkey's +weight in sugar and coffee would be expected. Notwithstanding the +stringency of the law forbidding the sale of whisky and ammunitions to +the Indians, the savages found little difficulty in filling themselves +with fire-water, and also got a little powder. White Wolf went off with +his pocket full of cartridges in exchange for some Indian commodities, +but the cunning pale face rendered them of little value by selecting +ammunition a size too small for the gun. + +The eating powers of these nomads are marvelous. We saw the chief, +inside of two hours, devour three hearty dinners, one of which was +gotten up from our own larder and was both good and plentiful. As he did +full justice to every invitation to eat and drink, we concluded that he +would continue to accept during the whole afternoon, if the opportunity +were only offered him. What a capital minister to England was here +wasting his gastric juices on the desert air! If Great Britain should +continue her hesitation to digest our Alabama claims, the wolf at their +door would digest enough roast beef to bring them to terms or +starvation. Sugar, coffee, spices, pickles, sardines, ham, and many +another luxury of civilization, were alike welcome at the capacious +portal of the untutored savage. Dobeen discovered him eating a can of +our condensed milk under the impression that it was a sweet porridge. + +Their entertainment at the town being concluded, the Indians were +conducted over to the fort and some rations given them. They manifested +an especial fondness for sugar, but took any thing they could get, their +ponies proving capable of carrying an unlimited number of sacks. It +seemed as difficult to overload these animals as it is a Broadway +omnibus; and their riders, perhaps in order to avoid being top heavy, +took freight for the inside whenever opportunity offered. As they came +back through the town, we all turned out to see them off. The band +promised us peace, notwithstanding which it was no small satisfaction to +discover that they were poorly armed. Bows and arrows were the only +weapons which all possessed, and while a few had revolvers, the chief +alone sported a rifle, a rusty-looking old breech-loader. + +As our late cavalry escort rode off, their attitudes plainly bespoke +that they had been raiding upon more than the flesh-pots of Egypt. Sons +of the sandy-complexioned desert, we saw several of them kiss their +mother before they got out of sight. The most serious question with us +now was whether or not these red gormandizers had been uttering peace +notes not properly indorsed by their hearts. The trouble is that when +one discovers a circulation of this kind, his own ceases about the same +instant, and his bones become a fixed investment in the fertile soil of +the plains. + +One of the officers of the fort told us an amusing instance of the +impudent treachery of which the western Indians of to-day are sometimes +guilty. A year or two before, when Hancock commanded the Department and +was encamped near Fort Dodge, on the Arkansas, Satanta and his band of +Kiowas came in. This chief has always been known as very hostile to the +whites, usually being the first of his tribe to commence hostilities. He +was the very embodiment of treachery, ferocity, and bravado. +Phrenologically considered, his head must have been a cranial marvel, +and the bumps on it mapping out the kingdom of evil a sort of Rocky +Mountain chain towering over the more peaceful valleys around. Viewed +from the towering peaks of combativeness and acquisitiveness the +territory of his past would reveal to the phrenologist an untold number +of government mules, fenced in by sutler's stores, while bending over +the bloody trail leading back almost to his bark cradle, would be the +shades of many mothers and wives, searching among the wrecks of emigrant +trains for flesh of their flesh and bone of their bone. + +Satanta was long a name on the plains to hate and abhor. He was an +abject beggar in the pale faces' camp and a demon on their trail. On the +occasion in question he came to Gen. Hancock with protestations of +friendship, and, although these were not believed, he was treated +precisely as if they had been. To gratify his love of finery an old +military coat with general's stars, said to be one that Hancock himself +had cast off, was presented him. By some means he also acquired a bugle, +and the garrison were greatly amused for the remainder of the day by +seeing Satanta galloping back and forth before his band, blowing his +bugle and parading his coat, the warriors all cheering the old +cut-throat and proud as himself of the display. The way he handled that +bugle, however, before the next morning was by no means so amusing. + +Some time before dawn the sleepy garrison were aroused by the thunders +of a stock stampede, and out of the darkness came the clatter of hoofs, +as Satanta and his band departed for the south with a goodly herd of +government mules and horses. Pursuit was commenced at once, with the +hope of cutting them off before they could get the stock across the +Arkansas, then somewhat swollen. Just as the troops reached the bank of +that stream, a major-general's uniform was seen going out of the water +upon the other side. Notwithstanding its high rank fire was instantly +opened upon it, but ineffectually. The savage turned a moment, blew a +shrill, defiant blast upon his bugle, and galloped off in safety. Too +much promotion made him mad. As a simple chief, he might have stolen +some straggling teams; as a major-general, he appropriated a whole herd. + +During the next eighteen months, Satanta had several encounters with the +troops, generally wearing the major-general's coat and blowing his +bugle. His last exploit, which brought the long hesitating sword of +justice upon his head, is too fresh and too painful to be soon +forgotten. A few months ago the savage chief was living with his people +on a reserve in the Indian Territory and being fed by the government. +Gathering a few of his warriors he stole forth, and, crossing the Texas +border, surprised a wagon train, murdered the teamsters, and drove off +the mules. Fortunately, Gen. Sherman, in his examination of frontier +posts, happened to be near the scene of murder, and at once ordered +troops in pursuit. They were still trailing the marauders when Satanta +returned to the reservation at Fort Sill, and with bold effrontery +begotten of long immunity, actually boasted of the crime before the +Quaker agent. "I did it," said he, "and if any other chief says it was +him, tell him he lies. I am the man." Gen. Sherman had just arrived, and +when Satanta, with a number of minor chiefs who were with him on the +raid, came into the fort to trade and visit, they were seized and bound, +and started for Texas under a strong guard, to be tried by the +authorities there. On the way one of the Indians in some manner loosened +his bands, and seizing the musket of the guard nearest him, shot the +soldier in the shoulder, but before he could do further harm the other +guards fired, and the savage rolled from the wagon down upon the plain, +apparently dead. The body was afterward found close by the road-side in +a position which showed that after falling the savage had enough of +vitality left to enable him to crawl with bloody hands for several +yards. Finding the life-tide ebbing fast, he had then placed his body in +position toward the rising sun, composed his arms by his side and, with +Indian stoicism, yielded up his breath. The remainder of the party, +including Satanta, were brought safely to Texas, tried, and sentenced to +be hanged. + +Our adventure with White Wolf and his band obliged us, of course, to +pass another night in Hays. We spent a most pleasant hour during the +evening in the office of Dr. John Moore, an old resident of Plattsburg, +N. Y., who assisted us materially in selecting medical stores, and who +by his genial disposition endeared himself to our entire party, so that +when we heard of his sad fate soon afterward, it seemed as if death had +crouched by our own camp-fire. Should the Indians become troublesome, +there was some talk at the fort, he now informed us, of organizing a +company for operations against them, composed of buffalo hunters and +scouts under the lead of regular officers, and in this case it was his +purpose to accompany it in the capacity of a surgeon. As good guns were +difficult to obtain there, and we had some extra weapons, one of our +party loaned the doctor an improved Henry rifle and holster revolvers. +Before we again heard of him, he had crossed that shadowy line which +winds between the tombs and habitations of men, and his name was added +to the drearily long list which bears for its heading--"Killed by +Indians." + +Commencing with those first entries after the Mayflower introduced our +fathers to savage audience, and chiseling separately each name on a +marble milestone, the white witnesses would girdle the earth. + +Sunrise next morning saw us again moving northward, fully determined +that no body of Indians, unless comprising the whole Cheyenne nation, +should force us back again. We had met the red man on his native heath +and familiarity had bred contempt. All were in excellent spirits and +felt the braver, perhaps, because our late visitors had assured us that +their tribe was on the war-path against the Pawnees, and meant only +peace with the whites. + +Our party left Hays the second time with quite an acquisition. On the +eve of starting we had been approached by an artist, who begged +permission to accompany us. We assented on the instant. An artist was, +of all others, the thing we needed. How interesting it would be to have +the thrilling incidents of the coming months sketched by our artist on +the spot. "Daub" was a fine-looking fellow, with peaked hat, peaked +beard, and peaked mustache; in short, was of the genuine artist cut, of +the kind that are always sitting around on the stones in romantic places +and getting married to heiresses. + +During the day we saw many varieties of the cactus, some of them very +beautiful. As we had no regular botanist with our expedition, Mr. Colon +developed a taste in that direction, and secured and deposited several +fine specimens which were carefully laid away in Shamus' wagon. It was +not long before that excellent Irishman gave a prolonged howl, the cause +of which he did not vouchsafe to tell us, but as we saw him cautiously +rubbing his pantaloons we surmised that he had rolled or sat down upon a +choice variety. The remainder of the plants he must, with still greater +caution, have dropped overboard, as none could subsequently be found for +boxing. If the truth must be said, I was not at all sorry for it. I had +lent a hand in obtaining an unusually large cactus, but the loan was +returned in such damaged condition that I lost all interest at once. The +minute needles which nature has scattered over these plants will pierce +a glove readily, and burrow in the flesh like trichina. The cactus may +be set down as Dame Nature's pin-cushions. + +Endless prairie-dog villages covered the country, and occasionally +cayotes, about the size of setters, with brushy, fox-like tails, started +out of ravines and ran off with a hang-dog sort of look, stopping +occasionally to see if they were being pursued. Our guide ran one of +these down with his horse and it was almost with sympathy that we +watched the tired wolf, when he found running useless, dodging between +the horse's legs, rendering the rider's aim false. It was finally +dispatched by a greyhound. The latter deserved his name only from +courtesy of species, as his color was inky black. He belonged to one of +our hostlers, who got him from a Mexican train-master, and was a +wonderful fighter. I saw him afterward in combats with not only the +cayote, but the large timber wolf, and in every instance he came off the +victor. On one occasion, I remember, he whipped the combined curs of a +railroad tie camp, making every antagonist take to his heels. Very +nearly as high as a table, with powerful chest and immense spring, the +hound's movements were like flashes of light. He danced round and over +his foe, his fangs clicking like a steel trap, first on one side and now +on the other, and again, ere his enemy had closed its jaws on the shadow +in front, he was at the rear. I have seen a gray wolf bleeding and +helpless, and the hound untouched, after a half hour's combat. + +On the north fork of Big Creek we frightened a dozen antelopes out of +the brakes, and had a fine opportunity of witnessing a chase by the +hound which alone was worth a journey to the plains to see. I remember +having been very much interested, when a boy, in reading accounts of +gazelle hunting in the Orient, where hawks and dogs are both used. The +former pounce down from the air on the fleet-footed victim's head, +compelling it to stop every few moments to shake its unwelcome passenger +off, and the dogs are thus enabled to overtake it. This always seemed to +me a cowardly sort of sport. The harmless victim of the chase, who can +not touch the earth without its turning tell-tale to the keen-scented +pursuer, should not be robbed of his only refuge, speed, or the pursuit +becomes butchery. + +The American antelope upon our plains is what the gazelle is upon those +of Africa. Timid and fleet, it often detects and avoids danger to which +its powerful neighbor, the buffalo, falls a victim. The group which we +had frightened bounded away with an elasticity as if nature had +furnished them hoofs and joints of rubber. There was no apparent effort +in their motion, and we imagined larger powers in reserve than really +existed. As the greyhound slowly gained upon them, we noticed this, and +the Professor thereupon delivered what Sachem aptly styled a running +discourse. + +"Gentlemen, poetry of motion, perhaps by poetical license, gives +exaggerated ideas of force. A smooth-running engine, though taxed to its +utmost capacity, seems capable of accomplishing more, while its wheezing +neighbor, groaning and straining as if on the verge of dissolution, has +abundant powers in reserve. Some Hercules may lift a weight on which a +straw more would seem to him large enough to sustain the traditional +drowning man. The feat marks itself by a life-long backache, but, if he +has performed it gracefully, he bears with it a reputation for a +fabulous reserve of power, the exhibition seeming but the safety valve +to his supposed giant forces struggling for expression." + +Our learned friend seldom found us less attentive than then. All the +wagons were stopped, and from every elevation upon them we looked out +over the solitudes at the race going on before us. Pursuer and pursued +were pitting against each other the same quality--speed. There was no +lying in ambush or taking unawares. The fleetest-footed of game was +flying before the swiftest of dogs. There could be no trailing, as these +hounds run only by sight. What a straining of muscles! The low ridge +barely lifting the animals against the horizon, their legs, from +rapidity of motion, were invisible, and the bodies, for a short space, +seemed floating in air. It was one short, black line, running rapidly +into twelve gray ones, these latter resolving occasionally into as many +balls of white cotton, when the puffy, rabbit-like tails of the +antelopes were turned toward us. Two of the best mounted horsemen from +our party had started with the chase, but seemed scarcely moving, so +rapidly were they left behind. + +Twice we thought the hound had closed, but instantly succeeding views +showed daylight still between, although the narrow strip was being +blotted out with the same regular certainty with which the dark slide of +the magic lantern seizes the figures on the wall. Down into a ravine, +and out of sight they passed, and we were fearing the _finale_ would be +hidden, when they came into view on the opposite side and pressed up the +bank. The bounds of the hound were magnificent, and we all gave a cry of +admiration, as with a splendid effort he launched himself like a black +ball upon the herd. In an instant after we saw him hurled back and +taking a very unvictor-like roll down the hill. He quickly recovered, +however, and fastened on an antelope which seemed lagging behind. His +first selection, the leader of the herd, had proved an unfortunate one, +and he bore a bruise for some time where the buck had struck him with +his horns. + +The second seizure turned out to be a doe, and was quite dead when we +reached it. The victor was lying along side, looking very much as if one +antelope hunt a day was sufficient for even a greyhound. We noticed that +the hair was rubbed off from the doe's sides by its struggles, and on +passing our hands over the neck found that its coarse coat parted from +the skin at a slight touch. This peculiarity in the antelope is very +marked. In a subsequent hunt I once saw a wounded buck plunge forward, +roll along the ground for a few feet, and then run off with the bare +skin along his entire side showing just where he had struck the earth. + +One of our party produced a knife, and the animal was bled and the +entrails taken out. We seemed destined to have a mishap with every +adventure, and had already learned to expect such sequences, the only +question being whose turn should come next. This time it proved to be +Semi-Colon's. We were a mile from the wagons, and Semi's horse, being +considered the most thoroughly broken, was nominated to bear the game to +them. To this proceeding Cynocephalus seemed in nowise indisposed, +quietly submitting to the management of one of the hostlers and our +guide, as they lashed the antelope across his back, securing it to the +rear of the large Texas saddle with the powerful straps which always +hang there for purposes of this kind. This accomplished, Semi climbed +into the saddle, gave a click and a kick, and set his steed in motion. +That eccentric assemblage of bones made one spasmodic step forward, +which brought the bloody, hairy carcass with a swing against his loins. + +What a change that touch produced! Those wasted nostrils emitted a +terrific snort, the stiff stump-tail jerked upward like the lever of a +locomotive, and with a dart Cynocephalus was off across the plains. He +probably imagined that some beast of prey had coveted his spare-ribs, +and was whetting its teeth on the vantage-ground of his backbone. +Occasionally the frightened animal would slack up and indulge in a fit +of kicking, looking back meanwhile with terror at the object fastened +upon his hide, then plunge frantically forward again. The antelope stuck +to the saddle for some time, but not so Semi-Colon. The first of these +irregular proceedings caused that young man, as Sachem expressed it, "to +get off upon his head." Cynocephalus finally burst his saddle-girths, +and we were obliged to furnish other transportation for our game. + +Let me say, _en passant_, that I am trying to chronicle minutely the +events which befel our half-scientific, half-sporting, and somewhat +incongruous party on its trip through Buffalo Land; and, although my +readers may think us particularly unfortunate, we really suffered no +more than amateurs usually do. My object is to set up guide boards at +the dangerous places, that other travelers may avoid the pitfalls and +the perils into which we fell. And to every amateur hunter we beg to +offer this advice: Never tie dead game upon a strange horse unless you +owe the rider a grudge. + +"Young men," said the Doctor, from his saddle, "you have seen a +beautiful illustration in the theory of development. The hound and the +antelope may have been originally an oyster and a worm. From their first +slow motion, when one only opened its jaws to seize the other, they have +progressed until the speed of to-day results. Should the hound ever +become wild, and pursuit and flight change to an every-day matter +instead of a holiday-sport, development would still continue. A +giraffe-like antelope, with the speed of the wind, would fly before a +hound the size of a stag." The Doctor's "clinic," as Sachem called it, +was suddenly cut short at this point by a struggle for mastery between +himself and the human spirit concealed in his horse. + +"How much," exclaimed the Professor, when Pythagoras had at length come +off triumphant, and we again moved forward--"How much the race that we +have witnessed is like that we all run. Powerful and eager as the +greyhound, man sees flying before him, on the plain of life, an object +which he thirsts to grasp. Taxing every muscle in pursuit, panting after +it over the smooth country below the 40th mile-post, he crosses there +the ravine where rheumatism and straggling gray hairs lurk, and with +these clinging to him, starts up the hill of later life. Half-way to its +summit, on which the three-score stone marking the down-hill grade looks +uncomfortably like that over a tomb, he seizes the object of pursuit +only to be flung back by it bruised. If of the proper metal, he falls +but to rise again, and should the first wish be out of reach, fastens on +one of its companions. There is where blood tells. If the least taint of +cur is in it the first blow sends its recipient yelling to his kennel, +there to whine for the remainder of life over bruised ribs." + +Muggs thought a single toss was sufficient, and retreat then only +prudence. If the bones on one side were broken, he saw no reason to +expose the other. Dying successful was only procuring meat for others to +enjoy. + +The Professor was developing a remarkable talent for finding not only +the stones of the past written all over with a wonderful and +translatable history, but also the moral connected with each incident of +our journey. Had any of us broken our necks he would doubtless have +improved the occasion to draw a comparison and have made it the text of +a philosophic disquisition. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + CHARACTER OF THE PLAINS--BUFFALO BILL AND HIS HORSE BRIGHAM--THE + GUIDE AND SCOUT OF ROMANCE--CAYOTE VERSUS JACKASS-RABBIT--A + LAWYER-LIKE RESCUE--OUR CAMP ON SILVER CREEK--UNCLE SAM'S BUFFALO + HERDS--TURKEY SHOOTING--OUR FIRST MEAL ON THE PLAINS--A GAME + SUPPER. + + +Our trail was taking us west of north, and we expected to reach the +Saline about dusk and there encamp. The same strange evenness of country +surrounded us. Over its surface, smooth and firm as a race track, we +could drive a wagon or gallop a horse in any direction. Even the Bedouin +has no such field for cavalry practice--his footing being shifting sand, +while ours was the compact buffalo grass, so short that its existence at +all could scarcely have been detected a few yards away. Sachem said he +could think of no such cavalry field except that of his boyhood, when he +slipped into the parlor and pranced his rocking-horse over the soft +carpet; with which memory, he added, was coupled another, to the effect +that while thus skirmishing on dangerous ground, his cavalry was +attacked from the rear by heavy infantry and badly cut up. + +Numerous buffalo trails crossed our path, running invariably north and +south. This is caused by the animals feeding from one stream to another, +the water courses following the dip of the country's surface from west +to east. Wallows were also very numerous, and we noticed as a +peculiarity of these, as well as the paths, that the grass killed by +treading and rolling does not renew itself when the spots are abandoned. +More than once on the Grand Prairie of Illinois I have seen these +wallows, made before the knowledge of the white man, still remaining +destitute of grass. + +An old bull who has been rolling when the wallow is muddy, is an +interesting object. The clay plastered over and tangled in his shaggy +coat bakes in the sun very nearly white; and this it was, probably, that +gave rise to the early traditions of white buffalo. + +Wherever on our route the rock cropped out along creeks or in ravines, +it was the white magnesia limestone, and so soft as to be easily cut. +Further west alternate pink and white veins occur, giving the stone a +very beautiful appearance. We frequently found on the rocks and in the +ravines deposits of very perfect shells, apparently those of oysters. +Sachem suggested that they marked the location of pre-historic +restaurants--the Delmonicos of the olden time, say fifty thousand years +before the Pharaohs were born. He thought it possible that some future +quarry-man might blast out an oyster-knife and money pot of quaint +coins. + +Muggs thought this patch of our continent resembled Australia--"Not that +it is as rich, you know, but there's so much of it." He even became +enthusiastic enough to affirm that the land might be made profitable, +"if some Hinglish sheep and 'eifers were put on it, you see." + +The Professor assured us that the country around was equal to the plains +of Lombardy in point of fertility, and as the soil was of great depth, +and rich in the proper mineral properties, it would undoubtedly become +before 1890 the great wheat-producing region of the world. + +Our party fell into silence again, and, having nothing else to interest +me at the moment, I resumed my study, which this episode had +interrupted, of Buffalo Bill, our guide. Athletic and shrewd, he rode +ahead of us with sinews of iron and eye ever on the alert, clad in a +suit of buckskin. His mount was a tough roan pony which he had named +Brigham and of which he seemed very fond. Nevertheless, this fondness +did not prevent hard riding, and when I last saw Brigham, several months +afterward, he was a very sorry-looking animal, insomuch that I concluded +not to have his photograph taken as that of a model steed for Buffalo +Land, as I once contemplated doing. + +It was extremely fortunate for us that we had secured Cody as guide. The +whole western country bordering on the plains, as we afterward learned, +from sorry experience, is infested with numberless charlatans, blazing +with all sorts of hunting and fighting titles, and ready at the rustle +of greenbacks to act as guides through a land they know nothing about. +These reprobates delight in telling thrilling tales of their escapes +from Indians, and are constantly chilling the blood of their shivering +party by pointing out spots where imaginary murders took place. Without +compasses they would be as hopelessly lost as needleless mariners. I +have my doubts if one-third of these terribly named bullies could tell, +on a pinch, where the north star is. Unless they chanced to strike one +of the Pacific lines which stretch across the plains, a party, under +their guidance, wishing to go west would be equally liable to get among +the Northern Siouxs or the Ku-Klux of Arkansas. + +A thousand miles east Young America's cherished ideal of the frontier +scout and guide is an eagle-eyed giant, with a horse which obeys his +whistle, and breaks the neck of any Indian trying to steal him. In +addition to its wonderful master, the back of this model steed is +usually occupied by a rescued maiden. At risk of infringing on the +copyrights of thirty-six thousand of the latest Indian stories, we have +obtained from an artist on the spot an illustration of the last heroine +brought in and her rescuer, the rare old plainsman.[1] + + [1] See illustration on page 137. + +Cody had all the frontiersman's fondness for practical jokes, and +delighted in designating Mr. Colon as "Mr. Boston," as if accidentally +confounding the residence with the name. In one instance, with a cry of +"Come, Mr. Boston, here's a specimen!" he enticed the philanthropist +into the eager pursuit of a beautiful little animal through some rank +bottom grass, and brought the good man back in such a condition that we +unanimously insisted on his traveling to leeward for the rest of the +day. + +While we thus journeyed, and, in traditional traveler's style, mused and +pondered, Shamus came running back to say that we were wanted in front. +"Such a goin' on in the ravine beyant as bates a witch's dance all +holly!" We saw that the forward wagons had halted and the men were +peering cautiously over the edge of the highland into the valley of +Silver Creek, which stream wound along below, entirely out of sight +until one came directly upon it. In this lonely land, the pages of whose +history Time had so often turned with bloody fingers, an event slight as +even this was startling. That hollow in the plain before us seemed to +yawn, as if awaking in sleepy horrors, and we noticed a general +tightening of reins and rattling of spurs. This maneuver was executed to +prevent our horses running away again and thus rendering us incapable of +supporting our advanced guard. If savages were around, our provisions +must be protected, and we at once dismounted and scattered among the +teams in such a way as to offer the most successful defense. + +Our fears were groundless. In a few moments Cody came galloping back on +Brigham, and said briefly that we should lose a fine lesson in natural +history unless we hurried to the front. Truth compels me to say that we +did not hanker after a close acquaintance with Lo on the rampage; yet we +did earnestly desire to improve every opportunity of studying the other +inhabitants of the plains, and a few moments accordingly found our whole +party peering over the edge of the bluff into the valley below. + +[Illustration: THE WILD DENIZENS OF THE PLAINS.] + +There, on a patch of bottom grass, half a dozen elk were feeding; a +short distance away, a small herd of wild horses drank from the brook; +while in a ravine immediately in front of us, three cayotes were +attempting to capture a jackass-rabbit. What a wealth of animal life +this valley had opened to us. From our own level the table-lands +stretched away in all directions until striking its grassy waves +against the horizon, with not a shrub, tree, or beast to relieve the +clearly-cut outlines. Casting our eyes upward, the bright blue sky, +clear of every vestige of clouds, arched down until resting on our +prairie floor, and not even a bird soared in the air to charm the +profound space with the eloquence of life. Casting our eyes downward, +the earth was all astir with the activity of its brute creation. + +Before we could make any effort at capture, the elk and horses winded us +and fled away toward the opposite ridges, where stalking them would have +been exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. Leading the mustangs was +a large black stallion, which kept its position by pacing while the +others ran. Buffalo Bill said this was an escaped American horse which +had fled to solitude with the rider's blood upon his saddle. We noted +the statement as one for future elucidation at our camp-fire. The rabbit +chase in the ravine continued, and we watched it unseen for several +minutes. The wolves were endeavoring to surround their victim, and cut +in ahead of it whenever he attempted to get out of the ravine. Although +such odds were against him, the rabbit had thus far succeeded by +superior speed and quick dodging in evading his enemies; but escape was +hopeless, as he was hemmed in and becoming exhausted. These tireless +wolves, cowardly creatures though they are, might worry to death an +elephant. A few shots terminated this scene, driving off the wolves, but +killing the rabbit for whose protection they were fired. The Professor +remarked that this was like a lawyer's rescue. He sometimes frightens +away the persecutors, but the charges generally kill the client. + +For the benefit of those of my readers who have never seen a member of +that unfortunate rabbit family which has been christened by such a +humiliating given name, I would state that the species is remarkable for +its very long ears, and very long legs. If the reader, being a married +man, desires a pictorial representation of this animal, let him draw a +donkey a foot high on the wall, and if his wife does not interrupt by +drawing a broomstick, he may be satisfied that his work is well done, +and a life-size jackass-rabbit will stand out before him. + +A mile from the scene of this adventure Silver Creek joined the Saline, +and at the junction it was determined to make our camp. We descended +among heavy "brakes," staying our loaded wagons with ropes from behind. +Immense quarries of the soft, white limestone rose from the valley's bed +to the level of the plains above, and the rains of centuries had +fashioned out pillars and arches, giving them the appearance of ancient +ruins staring down upon us. Mr. Colon picked up a fine moss agate and +the Professor a Kansas diamond. Under the surface of the former were +several figures of bushes and trees, outlined as distinctly as the +images one sees blown into glass. The diamond was as large as a hazel +nut and as clear as a drop of pure water, so that, notwithstanding its +size, ordinary print could be easily read through it. Had it possessed a +hardness corresponding with its beauty, the Professor could have +enriched with it half a dozen scientific institutions. Such stones now +command a fair market value among travelers, and are generally mounted +in rich settings as souvenirs of their trips. + +A picturesque group of some half-dozen oaks offered a good camping spot, +and around it the wagons were placed for the night in a half-circle, the +ends of the crescent resting each side of us upon the creek. The rule of +the plains is, "In time of peace prepare for war." + +Northward from us, and distant perhaps fifty yards, rippled the clear +waters of the Saline, which was then at a low stage. High above it was +the table-land of the plains, and the edge of this, as far as we could +trace it, was dotted with the dark forms of countless buffalo. So +distant as to appear diminutive, their moving seemed like crawling, and +the back-ground of light grass gave them much the appearance of bees +upon a board. They were crowding up to the very edge of the valley of +the Saline, from whence, as we were told, they extended back to the +Solomon, thence to the Republican, and at intervals all the way +northward to the remote regions of the Upper Missouri. + +Could the venerable Uncle Samuel go up in a balloon and take a thousand +miles' view of his western stock region, he would perceive that his +goodly herds of bison, some millions in number, feeding between the +snows of the North and the flowers of the South, were waxing fat and +multiplying. This latter fact might somewhat surprise him, when he +discovered around his herd a steady line of fire and heard its continual +snapping. The unsophisticated old gentleman would see train after train +of railroad cars rustling over the plains, every window smoking with the +bombardment like the port-holes of a man-of-war. He would see Upper +Missouri steamers often paddling in a river black with the crossing +herds, and pouring wanton showers of bullets into their shaggy backs. To +the south Indians on horseback, to the north Indians on snow shoes, +would meet his astonished gaze, and around the outskirts of the vast +range his white children on a variety of conveyances, and all, savage +and civilized alike, thirsting for buffalo blood. That the buffalo, in +spite of all this, does apparently continue to increase, shows that the +old and rheumatic ones, the veteran bulls which in bands and singly +circle around the inner herds of cows and calves, are the ones that most +commonly fall the easy victims to the hunters. Their day has passed, and +powder and ball but give the wolves their bones to pick a little +earlier. + +Such were the thoughts that revolved in my mind while sitting upon one +of the wagons, and dividing my attention between the tent pitching going +on under the trees and the shaggy thousands which, feeding against the +horizon, seemed to grow larger as the sun went down behind them and they +stood out in deepening relief in the long autumn twilight. These +solitudes made me think of Du Chaillu on the African deserts when night +set in, and I wondered if the brute denizens there could be more +interesting than those which surrounded us. Had a lion roared, I doubt +whether it would have struck me as unnatural, although it might have +induced a speedy change of base. It begets a peculiar feeling in one's +mind, I thought, when the lower brutes surround him and his +fellow-creature alone is absent. Animal organizations are every-where, +blood throbbing and limbs moving, and yet the world is as solitary to +him as if the planet had been sent whirling into space and no living +being upon it except himself. A handkerchief, a hat, any thing which his +brother man may have worn, yields more of companionship than all the +life around him. + +And now, through the trees, we saw several of our men running with their +weapons in hand, and immediately afterward heard the rapid reports of +their revolvers and rifles from the creek just below, followed by the +fluttering, noisy exit of turkeys from among the trees. Some flew away, +but most of them were running, and, in their fright, passed directly +among the wagons. One old gobbler, with a fine glossy tuft hanging at +his breast, had a hard time of it in running the gauntlet of our +camp-followers, narrrowly escaping death by a frying pan hurled from the +vigorous grasp of Shamus. + +This class of our game birds is noted the continent over for its +wildness and cunning, these qualities furnishing old hunters with +material for numberless yarns, as they gather around the camp-fires and +weave their fancies into connected sequence. Thus it has become a matter +of veritable history that knowing gobblers sometimes examine the tracks +that hunters have left to see which way they are going. + +On Silver Creek the turkeys were very tame, and before it became too +dark for shooting our party had killed twelve. Muggs and Sachem had +combined their forces and devoted their joint attention to one of them +sitting stupidly on a limb, where it received a bombardment of five +minutes' duration before coming down. Our Briton explained that "the +bird was unable to fly away, you see, because I 'it 'im at my first +shot." To this statement Sachem stoutly demurred upon two grounds: +First, that Muggs' gun had gone off prematurely, the time in question, +and barely missed one of his English shoes; and, second, that the turkey +showed but one bullet mark, and that wound was necessarily fatal, as it +had carried away most of the head! A compromise was finally effected, +and we were much edified by seeing the two coming into camp with the +bird between them, sharing mutually its honors. + +Great numbers of turkeys seemed to inhabit the creek, all along which we +heard them, at dark, flying up to their roosts. This induced a number of +our party to visit a large oak scarcely a hundred yards from camp, which +one of our men had marked as a favorite resort. Proceeding with the +utmost caution, under the dim shadows of approaching night, we presently +stood beneath the roost. Clearly defined between us and the sky were the +limbs, and clustering thickly over them, like apples left in fall upon a +leafless tree, we could descry large black balls, indicating to our +hunger-stimulated imaginations as many prospective turkey roasts. For +this special occasion our only two shot guns had been brought forth from +the cases, the remainder of the party being furnished with Spencer and +Henry rifles. + +We had been instructed each to select our bird, and fire at the word to +be given by the guide. How loud and sharp the clicking of the locks +sounded, in the stillness of that jungle on the plains, as six barrels +pointed upward, but their aim made all unsteady by the thumping of as +many palpitating hearts. Then, in a low tone, came the words--and they +seemed hoarsely loud in the painful silence around us--"Ready! Take +careful aim!" "Hold!" cried the Professor, in a sudden outburst of +enthusiasm; "Gentlemen, you see above us thirty fine specimens of that +noblest of all American birds, the turkey. Wisely has it been said that, +instead of the eagle, the turkey should have been our National"--"Fire!" +cried the guide, in an agony, as the Professor, having dropped his gun, +was rising to his feet, and the turkeys, alarmed by his eloquence, were +preparing for flight. + +And fire we did. A half dozen tongues of flame shot upward, and the roar +of our unmasked battery reverberated over the solitude. The rustling and +fluttering among the tree tops was terrific, and showers of twigs and +bark rained down upon us. Every one of us knew that his shot had told, +yet for some reason, perhaps owing to the superior cunning of the birds, +none fell at our feet. Before regaining the wagon, however, we found +fluttering on our path a fine fat one with a shattered second joint. It +was claimed by Sachem, on the ground that in his aiming he had made legs +a speciality, not wishing to injure the breasts. + +Later in the season, when the birds had become much wilder, I often shot +them, both running and flying. They are very hard to kill, and a sorely +wounded one will often astonish the hunter by running long distances, or +hiding where it seems impossible. The fall through the air, or sudden +stop from full speed when running, are alike exciting spectacles. And +the big body, with red throat and dark plume, luscious even to look at, +is fit game to excite the pride of any sportsman. + +The modes of hunting the wild turkey are numerous.[2] Mounted on a swift +pony it is not difficult to run one down, as may be done in half an +hour, the birds, when pushed, seeking the open prairie and its ravines +at once. On foot, with a dog, they can easily be started from cover, and +generally rise with a tremendous commotion among the bushes, when they +may be brought down with coarse shot. Another method of turkey shooting, +and one that became quite a favorite of mine, was to steal out from camp +in the gray of early morning--so early that only the tops of the trees +were visible against the sky--provided with a rifle and shot gun both. +When the birds have once been hunted, extreme caution is necessary to +get within seventy yards of them. Upon a high bough, in the gloom, the +old gobbler appears twice his real size, looking as long as a rail. Try +the rifle first, and, two chances out of three, there is a miss. Then, +as the great wings spread suddenly, like dark sails against the sky, and +the big body, launched from the bough, shakes the tree top as if a wind +was passing through it, catch your shot gun, and fire. In the dim +light, and at long distance, it takes a quick and true eye to call from +the ground that welcome resound which tells of game fallen. + + [2] The amateur sportsman or other reader, will find them described at + length in the Appendix. + +Under the big oaks, meanwhile, our camp fire burned brightly, and Shamus +was developing the mysteries of his art. Roast turkey and broiled +antelope tempt the pampered appetites of dyspeptic city men, but here in +the wilderness, their fresh juices, hissing from beds of glowing coals, +filled the air with a fragrance that to us was sweeter than roses. Tired +enough, after an all day's ride, and hungry as bears from twelve hours +fasting, we sucked in the odors of the cooking meat, as a sort of aërial +soup, while the Dobeen stood an aproned king of grease and turkey, with +basting spoon for scepter, and with it kept motioning back the hungry +hordes that skirmished along his borders. + +Two mess chests had been placed a few feet apart, with the tail-boards +of our wagons connecting them, and over this was spread a linen table +cloth, white plates, clean napkins, and bright knives, with salt, +pepper, and butter. All were in their accustomed places. This our first +meal on the plains looked more like an aristocratic pic-nic than a +supper in the territory of the buffaloes. But the picture was too bright +to last, and ere many days neither napkins nor cloth could have been +made available as flags of truce. + +It is one of those threadbare truisms, adorning all hunting stories of +every age and clime, that hunger is the best seasoning. We had an excess +of it on hand just then, and would willingly have shared it with the +dyspeptic, baldheaded young men of Fifth Avenue. The turkey we found fat +and very rich in flavor, and the antelope steaks more delicate than +venison. Condensed milk supplied well the place of the usual lacteal, +and was an improvement on the city article, inasmuch as we knew exactly +what quantity and quality of water went into it. We were obliged to +economize, however, respecting this part of our supplies. The following +entry in our log-book, by Sachem, under date of the day preceding this, +will explain the reason: "Two cans of milk stolen, probably by the +Cheyennes. Consider the article more reliable for families than city +stump-tail, requiring neither milking or feeding, and never kicking the +bucket, or causing infants to do so. Had no idea that a taste of it +would develop such a talent for hooking." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + A CAMP-FIRE SCENE--VAGABONDIZING--THE BLACK PACER OF THE + PLAINS--SOME ADVICE FROM BUFFALO BILL ABOUT INDIAN FIGHTING--LO'S + ABHORRENCE OF LONG RANGE--HIS DREAD OF CANNON--AN IRISH + GOBLIN--SACHEM'S "SONG OF SHAMUS." + + +How vividly, when one is fairly embarked in any new enterprise, do the +events of the first night impress one's imagination, and how indelibly +do they fix themselves in the memory! Inside our tents all was clean and +cheery, but as none of us were disposed to seek them before a late hour, +we spent the evening around our camp-fires. Excitement, for the time, +had overmastered our sense of fatigue. The Professor's notes were out, +and, with his feet to the fire and a box for a desk, he looked more like +the Arkansas traveler writing home, than the learned savan committing to +paper the latest secrets wrung from nature. The remainder of our party +were scattered promiscuously around the fire, some seated on logs and +boxes, the others outstretched upon the grass. + +Tammany Sachem was the first to break the silence. "Fellow citizens," he +exclaimed, "let's vagabondize!" Now, with our alderman, vagabondizing +meant story telling, an accomplishment which we consider the especial +forte of vagabonds. + +We all hailed this proposition gladly, for Buffalo Bill, stretched there +before the fire, had much of plain lore stored in his active brain that +we wished to draw out, and we at once seized the opportunity to ask +about the black pacer we had seen during the afternoon, and his weird +story of the bloody saddle. + +From Bill's narrative we gathered the following: Something over a year +before the era of our expedition a train of government wagons left Fort +Hays destined for Fort Harker, and the Indians being troublesome, some +twenty soldiers were sent in the wagons, as a guard. A few hours later +there passed through Hays City a man from the mountains riding a +powerful black stallion, while his family, consisting of a young wife +and her brother, occupied a covered wagon which followed close behind. +The stranger determined to take advantage of the protection afforded by +the government train, and the little party pushed out after it over the +plains. The day was a sultry one in midsummer, the sun pouring down its +flood of heat on the desolate surface of the expanse that spread away on +all sides. The long train, a full mile from front to rear, dragged its +slow length sluggishly along, the mules sleepily following the trail, +while the teamsters and soldiers dozed in the covered wagons. A driver, +who happened to be awake, saw in the distance a beautiful mirage, and in +it, as he looked, strange objects, like mounted men, were bobbing up and +down. But then he had often seen weeds and other small objects similarly +transformed, by these wonderful illusions of the plains, and even he +forgot the bobbing shadows and dozed away again on his seat. + +But there was danger near. Stealthily out of the mirage, and bending low +in their saddles, rode a painted band of savages, hiding their advance +in a ravine. Their purpose was to strike and cut off the rear of the +train, the length of which promised unusual success to their +undertaking, as the white men were too much scattered to oppose any +resistance to a sudden onset. At length, nearly the entire train had +filed by, and the foremost of the last half dozen wagons approached the +ravine. At the signal, out from it burst the troop of red horsemen, and +crossed the road like a dash of dust from the hand of a hurricane, every +savage spreading his blanket and uttering the war whoop. The startled +teams fled in stampede over the plains, dragging the wagons after them. +Some of the drivers were thrown out and others jumped. Two or three were +killed, and by the time the other teams and the guards had taken the +alarm, and turned back for a rescue, the savages had cut the traces of +the frightened mules, and were on the return with them to their distant +villages. Instead of stopping the animals to release them from the +wagons, the Indians urged them to wilder speed, and leaning from their +saddles, cut the fastenings at full run. Among the booty taken, was a +valuable race horse and fifteen hundred dollars in greenbacks, belonging +to an officer who was on his way from New Mexico to the East. + +Meanwhile, our friend, the owner of the black pacer, with his outfit, +was moving quietly along two or three miles in the rear, entirely +unaware of affairs at the front. Some of the savages, while escaping +with the booty, espied him, and coveting the noble animal which he rode, +they made a detour and surprised him as he sat jogging along a hundred +yards or so ahead of the wagon containing his wife and brother-in-law. +Though mortally wounded at their first volley, with the desperate effort +of a dying man he clung to the saddle for a hundred yards or more, and +then rolled upon the prairie a lifeless corpse. Frantic with terror, the +horse dashed through the circle of Indians that surrounded him, and +fled. The savages, probably fearing longer delay, did not pursue, nor +even attack the wagon, and the black pacer was not seen again for some +months, when at length some hunters discovered him, freed from saddle +and bridle, the leader of the wild herd. + +Buffalo Bill gave us quite an insight into some of the mysteries of +plain craft. When you are alone, and a party of Indians are discovered, +never let them approach you. If in the saddle, and escape or concealment +is impossible, dismount, and motion them back with your gun. It shows +coolness, and these fellows never like to get within rifle range, when a +firm hand is at the trigger. If there is any water near, try and reach +it, for then, if worst comes to worst, you can stand a siege. The +savages of the plains are always anxious to get at close quarters before +developing hostility. Unless very greatly in the majority, and with some +unusual incentive to attack, they will not approach a rifle guard. Were +they as well supplied with breech-loading guns as with pistols, the case +would be different, of course. Bill was the hero of many Indian battles, +and had fought savages in all ways and at all hours, on horseback and on +foot, at night and in daytime alike. + +As an amusing illustration of the savage abhorrence of long-range guns, +I beg the reader's indulgence for introducing an anecdote which I +afterward heard narrated by an officer who participated in the affair. +Major A---- was sent out from Fort Hays with a company of men on an +Indian scout, and, when near a tributary of the south fork of the +Solomon, the savages appeared in force, and a fight commenced, which +continued until dark. Several soldiers were wounded and two killed. As +the Indians were evidently increasing in numbers, after nightfall a +squad was dispatched to the fort for ambulances and reinforcements. Only +six men could be spared, and these were sent off with a light +field-piece in charge. Soon after crossing the Saline, a strong band of +Indians was discovered half a mile off reconnoitering. A shell was sent +screaming toward them, but the aim was too high, and it burst a short +distance beyond them. Nevertheless, the effect was instantaneous; the +savages vanished, nor stood upon the order of their going. During the +next ten miles this scene was repeated three times, the stand-point on +each occasion being removed further and further away. The last shot was +a remarkably long one, and the shell burst directly in their faces. Not +only did they disappear for good, but the whole investing force, on +receiving their report, fled likewise. + +Talking thus about Indians, under the gloom of the trees, seemed in some +unaccountable way to suggest the idea of witches to the mind of +Pythagoras. Perhaps, in accordance with his pet theory of development, +he was cogitating whether, ages ago, the red man's family horse might +not have been a broomstick. At any rate, he suddenly gave a new turn to +the conversation by asking Shamus why, when the dogs pointed the +witch-hazel during our quail hunt at Topeka, he had affirmed that the +canine race could see spirits and witches which to mortal eyes were +invisible. Now, the Dobeen had been bred on an Irish moor, where the +whole air is woven, like a Gobelin tapestry, full of dreams of the +marvelous, and where whenever an unusual object is noticed by moonlight, +the frightened peasant, instead of stopping a moment to investigate the +cause, rushes shivering to his hut to tell of the fearful _phookas_ he +has seen. He was very superstitious, and we had often been amused at his +evasions, when, as sometimes happened, his faith conflicted with our +commands. The time might be near when such peculiarities would prove +troublesome instead of amusing, and it was well, therefore, that we +should get a peep at the foundations of our cook's faith, and perhaps +that portion of it which related to our friends, the dogs, would be +especially entertaining. Moreover, we had had so much of the red man +that we were glad to welcome an Irish witch to our first camp-fire. +Dobeen's narrative was substantially as follows, though I can not +attempt to clothe it in his exact language, and still less in the rich +brogue which yet clung to him after years of ups and downs in "Ameriky." + +"Dogs can study out many things better than men can," said Shamus, in +his most impressive manner. "Before I left old Ireland for America, I +had a dashing beast, with as much wit as any boy in the country. He +could poach a rabbit and steal a bird from under the gamekeeper's nose, +an' give the swatest howl of warnin' whenever a bailiff came into them +parts." + +Sachem suggested that these were rather remarkable habits for a dog +connected with the great house of Dobeen. + +"But yez must know he was only a pup when my fortunes went by," +responded Shamus, "and he learnt these tricks afterward. Ah, but he was +a smart chap! Couldn't he smell bailiffs afore ever they came near, an' +see all the witches and ghosts, too, by second sight! He wouldn't never +go near the O'Shea's house, that had a haunted room, though pretty Mary, +the house-girl, often coaxed at him with the nicest bits of meat." + +Sachem thought that perhaps the animal's second sight might have shown +him that stray shot from pretty Mary's master, aimed at a vagabond, +might perhaps hit the vagabond's dog. + +"I wasn't a vagabond them times," retorted Shamus, quickly, yet with +entire good humor, "and sorry for it I am that the name could ever +belong to me since. And please, Mr. Sachem, don't be after interruptin' +again. Some people wonder why the dogs bark at the new moon an' howl +under the windows afore a death. In the one matter, your honors, they +see the witches on a broomstick, ridin' roun' the sky, an' gatherin' +ripe moon-beams for their death-mixtures an' brain blights. Many a man +in our grandfathers' time--yes, an' now-a-days too--sleepin' under the +full moon, has had his brains addled by the unwholesome powder falling +from the witches' aprons. Wise men call it comet dust. And why shouldn't +a dog that has grown up to mind his duty of watchin' the family, howl +when he sees Death sittin' on the window sill, a starin' within, and +preparin' to snatch some darlint away? Ah, but their second sight is a +wonderful gift though! + +"The name of my dog, your honors, was Goblin, an' he came to us in a +queer sort of way, just like a goblin should. There was a hard storm +along the coast, an' the next mornin' a broken yawl drifted in, half +full of water, with a dead man washin' about in it, an' a half-drowned +pup squattin' on the back seat. Me an' my cousin buried the man, an' the +other beast I brought up. May be there was somethin' in this distress +that he got into so young that he couldn't outgrow. Even the priest used +to notice it, and say the poor creature had a sort of touch of the +melancholy; an' sure, he never was a joyful dog. Smart an' true he was, +but, faith, he wasn't never happy; yez might pat him to pieces, an' get +never a wag of the tail for it. He delighted in wakes and buryins, an' +when a neighborin' gamekeeper died, he howled for a whole day an' a +night, though the man had shot at him twenty times. Mighty few men, your +honors, with a dozen slugs in their skin, would have stood on the edge +of a man's grave that shot them, an' mourned when the earth rattled on +the box the way Goblin, poor beast, did then. Ah, nobody knows what dogs +can see with their wonderful second sight. That beast thought an' +studied out things better than half the men ye'll find; an' it's my +belief that dogs did so before, an' they have done it since, an' they +always will." + +"You are right, Dobeen," said the Professor. "Put a wise dog, and a +foolish, vicious master together. The brute exhibits more tenderness and +thoughtfulness than the man. In the latter, even the mantle of our +largest charity is insufficient to cover his multitude of sins, while +the skin of his faithful animal wraps nothing but honest virtue. The +dog, having once suffered from poison, avoids tempting pieces of meat +thenceforward, when proffered by strange hands, but the man steeps his +brain in poison again and again--or as often as he can lay hold of it. +While grasping the deadly thing, he sees, stretching out from the bar +room door, a down grade road, with open graves at the end, and +frightened madmen, chased by the blue devils and murder and misery, +rushing madly toward them. These swallow their victims, as the hatches +of a prison ship do the galley slave, and close upon them to give them +up only when the jailer, the angel of the resurrection, shall unlock the +tombs, and calls their occupants to judgment. Does the sight appall and +bring him to his senses? No, he crowds among the terrors, and takes to +his bosom the same venomous serpent that he has seen sting so many +thousands to death before him. And yet people give to the brute's wisdom +the name of instinct, and call man's madness wisdom." + +"But, your honors," interposed Dobeen, "I shall be after losing my dog +entirely, unless yez lave off interruptin' me, an' let me finish my +story." + +"Go on, Shamus, go on!" we all cried with one breath. + +"Well, then, when Goblin came to me in his infancy, he wore a silver +collar with his name all beautifully engraved on it. May be the dead +man in the boat had been bringing him from some strange land to the +childer at home, and thinking how the odd name would please them all, +when the shadows were darting around his hearth. And so Goblin howled +his way through the world, till one full moon eve, when every bog was +shinin' as if the peat was silver. Such times, any way in old Ireland, +your honors, the air is full of unwholesome spirits. This was good as a +wake for Goblin, and I can just hear him now the way he cried and howled +that night! He kept both eyes fixed on the moon, and no mortal man, +livin' or dead, will ever know what he saw, but when he howled out worse +nor common that night, it meant, may be, that some witch, uglier than +the rest, had just whisked across the shinin' sky. Just at midnight, I +was waked out of a swate sleep by the quietness without, the way a +miller is when his mill stops. I looked out of the window at the dog +where he sat, an', faith, the dog wasn't there at all! Just then I heard +a despairin' sort of howl, away up in the air above the trees, an' by +that token I knew the witches had Goblin. Next mornin', one of the lads +livin' convanient to us told me he had heard the same cry in the middle +of the night, the cry, your honors, of the poor beast as the witches +carried him off. Afore the week was out, Goblin's collar was found on +the gamekeeper's grave; that was all--not a hair else of him was ever +seen in old Ireland." + +As Shamus concluded his veracious narrative he looked around upon us +with an air of triumph, as if satisfied that even Sachem dare not now +dispute the second sight of the canine race. + +That worthy took occasion to declare on the instant, however, that the +nearest neighbor was fully justified in playing the witch. If any thing +could destroy the happiness of human beings, as well as of the +broom-riding beldams, it would be the howling of worthless curs at +night. He himself had often been in at the death of vagabond cats and +dogs engaged in moon-worship. The outbursts of Goblin had simply been +silenced in an outburst of popular indignation. + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION NY._ + +SMASHING A CHEYENNE BLACK KETTLE.] + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + A FIRE SCENE--A GLIMPSE OF THE SOUTH--'COON HUNTING IN + MISSISSIPPI--VOICES IN THE SOLITUDE--FRIENDS OR FOES--A STARTLING + SERENADE--PANIC IN CAMP--CAYOTES AND THEIR HABITS--WORRYING A + BUFFALO BULL--THE SECOND DAY--DAUB, OUR ARTIST--HE MAKES HIS MARK. + + +Our fire scene was evidently no novelty to the Mexicans, whose lives had +been spent in camping out, and who, with one cheap blanket each, for +mattress and covering, slept soundly under the wagons. Across their +dark, expressionless faces the flames threw fitful gleams of light, +which were as unheeded as the flashes with which the Nineteenth Century +endeavors to penetrate the gloom which shrouds them as a nation. While +the world moves on, the degenerate descendants of Montezuma sleep. + +In the valley bordering our little skirt of trees we could hear the +horses cropping the short, juicy buffalo grass, and trailing their +lariat ropes around a circle, of which the pin was the center. +Semi-Colon lay on the grass close to his father, who occupied a +cracker-box seat in this tableau, the amiable son at little intervals +raising his head to indorse, in his peculiar dissyllabic way, what the +positive parent said. Looking at the group around me, and thinking of +our evening turkey hunt, memory carried me back to the last time I had +been among the trees after dark, with gun in hand, which was at the +South, away down in Mississippi, just after the war. + +It was a lazy time, those November days. Large flocks of swans filled +the air above, with their flute-like notes, and thousands of sand-hill +cranes circled far up toward the sun, their bodies looking like distant +bees, as from dizzy heights they croaked their approbation of the rich +crops beneath them. Ducks passed like charges of grape shot, sending +back shrill whistles from their wings, as they dived down into the +standing corn. + +As night came on, the moon went up in a great rush of light, like the +reflector of a railroad train mounting the sky. Soon every shadow is +driven from the woods, and then the horns are tooted, the dogs howl, and +away go gangs of woolly heads, old and young, in pursuit of Messrs. +'Possum and 'Coon. In vain the sly tree-fox doubles around stumps, and +leaving tempting persimmon and oaks full of plumpest acorns, at the +warning noise, seeks refuge among huge cypresses. On go the hunters--big +dogs, little dogs, bear-teasers, and deer-hounds, sprinkled with +darkeys--crashing through cane and underbrush, the human portion of the +party laughing and yelling as if a tempest had stolen them ages ago from +Babel, and just discharged them in pursuit of that particular 'coon. + +The voice of the Professor suddenly called me back to the present, and I +found myself chilled by the wet grass, as if my body had been wandering +with the mind in that land of cotton, and was unprepared for the +northern air. + +"Gentlemen"--this was what the voice said--"we are now one thousand and +five hundred miles from Washington City, latitude 39, longitude 99. +Stick a pin there on the map, and you will find that we have got well +out on the spot that geographers have been pleased to call desert. Does +it look like one? Tell me, gentlemen, had you rather discount your +manhood among the stumps of New England than loan it at a premium to the +rich banks of these streams?" + +The Professor came to an abrupt pause, for borne to us on the still air +was that most unmistakable of all sounds, the human voice. The note of +one bird at a distance may be mistaken for another, and the cry of a +brute, when faintly heard, lose its distinguishing tones. But once let +man lift up his voice in the solitude, and all nature knows that the +lord of animal creation is abroad. There are many sounds which resemble +the human voice, just as there are many objects which, indistinctly +seen, the hunter's eye may misinterpret as birds. But when a flock of +birds does cross his vision, however far away, he never mistakes them +for any thing else. The first may have excited suspicion, the latter +resolves at once into certainty. + +We listened attentively and anxiously. It might very naturally be +supposed that, after leaving the abodes of his fellows, and going far +out into the solitary places of Nature, man would rejoice to catch the +sounds which told him that others of his race were near, but this, like +many other things, is modified by circumstances. On the plains the +first question asked is, "Are they friends or foes?" No one being able +to answer, the breeze and general probabilities are inquired of, and +until the eyes pass verdict the moments are laden with suspense. Even in +times of peace the hunter, if possible, avoids the savage bands which +flit back and forth across Buffalo Land; for, if he saves his life, he +is apt to lose an inconvenient amount of provisions, at least, at their +hands. + +Our guide speedily informed us that Indians never make any noise when in +camp, which was gratifying intelligence. All further suspense was +shortly relieved by the appearance down the valley of muskets glittering +in the moon-light. The bearers proved to be two soldiers, who stated +that some officers, with a small force of cavalry, were in camp a mile +below us, being out for the purpose of obtaining buffalo meat, and +having as guests two or three gentlemen from St. Louis, desirous of +seeing the sport. They had heard our late heavy firing, and sent to know +what was the matter. We gave the soldiers a late paper to carry back, +and with many regrets that our fatigue was too great to think of +accompanying them for a neighborly call, we bade them good-night, and +saw them disappear down the valley. + +At the Professor's suggestion, preparations were now made for retiring, +and we sought our tent and blankets. In a few brief moments, the others +of the party were blowing, in nasal trumpetings, the praises of +Morpheus. I could not sleep, however; for each bone had its own +individual ache, and was telling how tired it was. Pulling up a +tent-pin, I looked out under the canvas. + +On a log by the fire sat Shamus, his head between his hands, gazing at +the coals, and droning a low tune. Occasionally, he would make a dash at +some fire-brand, with a stick which he used as a poker, and break it +into fragments, or toss it nervously to one side. Whether this was +because it resolved itself into a fire-sprite winking at him, or some +unhappy memory glowed out of the coals, I tried to tempt sleep by +conjecturing. + +Off at a little distance, I could see one of our men standing guard near +the horses, and once or twice my excited fancy thought it detected +shadows creeping toward him. A little beyond, nervously stretching his +lariat rope, while walking in a circle around the pin, was Mr. Colon's +Iron Billy. His clean head erect, and fine nose taking the breeze, the +intelligent animal appeared restless, and I could not help thinking that +he saw or smelt something unusual, away in the darkness. What if the +bottom grass was full of creeping savages? + +The crescent moon, just rising over the divide, was scarred by many +cloud lines, and as yet gave no light. The sensation which had stolen +over me was becoming disagreeable, when far off, at some ford down the +creek, I heard animals splashing through water, and concluded that +Billy's nervousness was caused by crossing buffaloes. The horse had an +established reputation as a watch, his former owner having assured us +that neither Indian nor wild beast could approach camp without Billy +giving the alarm. + +Presently, Dobeen resumed his droning, which had been suspended for a +few moments, this time singing some snatches from an old Irish ballad. +The last words were just dying away, when I started to my feet in +horror. What an infernal chorus filled the air! Each point of the +compass was represented, and we were wrapped around with a discordant, +fiendish cordon of sound. Bursting upon us with a deep mocking cry, it +ended abruptly in a wild "Ha-ha!" It was such a chorus as pours through +Hades, when some poet opens, for an instant, the gate of the damned. Our +poor Irishman, at the first sound, had fallen from the log as if shot, +but had suddenly sprung to his feet, and was now performing a +terror-dance behind the fire with a club. For a moment, I, too, had +taken the outburst for the war-whoop of savages, but was saved from a +panic by seeing through the gloom the figure of the sentinel still at +his post, and the next instant the voice of the guide was lifted, with +the re-assuring intelligence--"Only cayotes, gentlemen, only cayotes!" + +Mr. Sachem and Mr. Muggs had been lying close behind me in their +blankets. The former had given a terrified snort, and then both lay +motionless. After the alarm, Sachem admitted that he was frightened. Had +always heard that people shot over instead of under the mark in battle. +Was resolved to lay low. Had no high views about such things. Muggs had +not thought it worth while to get up. Knew they were wolves. Had heard +more hextraordinary 'owls before he came to the blarsted country. + +But where was the doctor? Echo answered, "Where?" "Hallo, Doctor!" +cried the guide, and a voice from the woods, which was not echo, +answered, "Coming!" Again Buffalo Bill lifted his voice in the solitude, +and again came an answer, this time in a form of query, "Is it +developed, my boy? If so, classify it." And we answered that the birth +in the air had developed into wolves, and been classified as the _canis +latrans_, noisy and harmless. + +Finding that this new lesson in natural history had taken away all +desire for sleep, I finished the study by the fire, with our guide for a +tutor. + +The cayote (pronounced K[=i]-o-te), in its habits, is a villainous cross +between a jackal and a wolf, feasting on any kind of animal food +obtainable, even unearthing corpses negligently buried. With the large +gray wolf, the cayotes follow the herds of bison, generally skulking +along their outskirts, and feeding upon the wounded and outcasts. These +latter are the old bulls which, gaunt and stiff from age and spotted all +over with scars, are driven out of the herd by the stout and jealous +youngsters. Feeding alone, and weak with the burden of years upon his +immense shoulders, the old bull is surrounded by the hungry pack. But +they dare not attack. One blow of that ponderous head, with the weight +of that shaggy hump behind it, is still capable of knocking down a +horse. The veteran could fling his adversaries as nearly over the moon +as the cow ever jumped, if they only gave him a chance. Like a grim old +castle, he stands there more than a match for any direct assault of the +army around. + +[Illustration: MIDNIGHT SERENADE ON THE PLAINS.] + +With the tact of our modern generals, a line of investment is at once +formed, and a system of worrying adopted. No rest now for the old bull. +He can not lie down, or the beasts of prey will swarm upon him. Again +and again he charges the foe, each time clearing a passage readily, but +only to have it close again almost instantly. In these resultless +sorties the garrison is fast using up its material of war. The +ammunition is getting short which fires the old warrior, and sends the +black horns, like a battering-ram, right and left among his foes. As +long as he keeps his feet he lives, though hemmed in closely by the +snapping and snarling multitude. The tenacity of one of these patriarchs +is wonderful. For a whole life-time chief of the brutes on his native +plains, he has grown up surrounded by wolves. Not fearing them himself, +he has easily defended the cows and calves. An attempted siege would +once have been but sport to him, and it seems difficult for the brain in +the thick skull to understand that Time, like a vampire, has been +sucking the juices from his joints and the blood from his veins. + +Tired out at length, the old bull begins to totter, and his knees to +shake from sheer exhaustion. His shakiness is as fatal as that of a Wall +Street bull. As he lies down the wolves are upon him. They are clinging +to the shaggy form, like blood-hounds, before it has even sunk to the +sod, and the victim never rises again. + +The cayotes are very cowardly, and when carcasses are plenty, sleep +during the day in their holes, which are generally dug into the sides of +some ravine. If found during the hours of light, it is usually skulking +in the hollows near their burrows. They have a decidedly disagreeable +penchant for serenading travelers' camps at night, so that our late +experience, the guide assured me, was by no means uncommon. They will +steal in from all directions, and sit quietly down on their haunches in +a circle of investment. Not a sound or sign of their coming do they +make, and, if on guard, one may imagine that every foot of the country +immediately surrounding is visible, and utterly devoid of any animate +object. All at once, as if their tails were connected by a telegraphic +wire, and they had all been set going by electricity, the whole line +gives voice. The initial note is the only one agreed upon. After +striking that in concert, each particular cayote goes it on his own +account, and the effect is so diabolical that I could readily excuse +Shamus for thinking that the dismal pit had opened. + +At this point Dobeen approached and cut off my further gleaning of wolf +lore. The corners of his mouth seemed still inclined to twitch, showing +that the shock had not yet worn off. He was chilled by the night, he +said, and did not feel very well, and craved our honors' permission to +sleep at our feet in the tent. Consent was given, and as he left us he +turned to announce his belief that animals with such voices must have +big throats. + +It was not yet light, next morning, when our camp was all astir again. +Drowsiness has no abiding place with an expedition like ours upon the +plains. Should he be found lurking anywhere among the blankets, a bucket +of water, from some hand, routs him at once and for the whole trip. Even +Sachem, who usually hugged Morpheus so long and late, might that +morning have been seen among the earliest of us washing in the waters of +the creek. + +We were all in excellent spirits, and with appetites for breakfast that +would have done no discredit to a pack of hungry wolves. No sign of the +sun was yet visible, save a scarcely perceptible grayish tinge diffusing +itself slowly through the darkness, and the lifting of a light fog along +the creek upon which we were encamped. Although sufficiently novel to +most of our party, the scene was quite dreary, and we longed, amid the +gloom and chill, for the appearance of the sun, and breakfast. By the +way, I have noticed that with excursion parties, whether sporting or +scientific, enthusiasm rises and sets with the sun. The gray period +between darkness and dawn is an excellent time for holding council. The +mind, no less than the body, seems to find it the coolest hour of the +twenty-four, and shrinks back from uncertain advances. + +Added to the discomforts usually attendant upon camp-life were our stiff +joints. The first day upon horseback is twelve hours of pleasant +excitement, with a fair share of wonder that so delightful a recreation +is not indulged in more generally. The next twenty-four hours are spent +in wondering whether those limbs which furnish one the means of +locomotion are still connected with the stiffened body, or utterly riven +from it; and, if the whole truth must be told, the saddle has also left +its scars. + +As the edge of the plateau overlooking the river became visible in the +growing light, we saw, as on the evening previous, multitudes of buffalo +feeding there, and after breakfast a council of war was held. I am +somewhat ashamed to record that it voted no hunting that day. To find +the noblest of American game some of us had come half away across the +continent, and now, in sight of it, the tide of enthusiasm which had +swept us forward hitherto stood suddenly still. Not because it was about +to ebb, but simply in obedience to certain signals of distress flying +from the various barks, and which it was utterly impossible for any of +us to conceal. + +For mounting a horse was entirely out of the question for that day. Not +one of us could have swung himself into saddle for any less motive than +a race with death. Our steps were slow and painful, and we felt as if, +at this period of life's voyage, every timber of our several crafts had +been pounded separately upon some of the hidden rocks of ocean. It was +absolutely necessary to go into dock for repairs, and the valley +promised to be a pleasant harbor. + +It was a truly melancholy spectacle to behold Sachem and Muggs. The +liveliest and the gayest ones yesterday, but to-day the gravest of the +grave. That rotund form, which always doubted his own or other people's +emotions, was the walking embodiment of woe, and for once evidently +clear of all doubt upon one subject, at least. Muggs was even free to +confess that, for general results, yesterday's rough riding exceeded "a +'unt with the 'ounds." Our animals were also quite stiff, but the +hostlers attributed this not so much to their yesterday's service as to +their long ride in the cars. They had not yet got their "land legs" +fully on again. It was soothing to our pride, if not to our feelings, +to reflect that perhaps some of our soreness was the result of their +first day's stiffness. + +A beaver colony near us, and a great abundance of turkeys, offered +lessons in natural history of no small interest, and within reach of +lame students. The valley gave an entomological invitation to Mr. Colon, +and the great ledges, with their possibilities of valuable fossils, +attracted the Professor. + +Sitting on a wagon tongue, and applying liniment to an abraded shin, +might have been seen Pythagoras, M. D., whose daily life, since leaving +Topeka, had been a series of struggles with the brute he rode. His +belief in the transition of souls into horses was growing upon him. He +felt that he was combating the spirit of a deceased prize-fighter, which +used its hoofs as fists, landing blows right and left. Doctor David +called these "spiritual manifestations." A favorite habit of the animal +was what is known as brushing flies from the ear with the hind foot, and +often, as the owner was about to mount, this species of front kick would +upset him. The equine's disposition, it must be said, had not been +improved by the immense saddle-bags with which the Doctor had surmounted +him when on the march. Originally, these contained a small amount of +medicine, but this had all been ground to powder under the weight of +sundry stones and bones, gathered in the furtherance of the great theory +of development. + +As the sun got well up in the heavens, staying in camp became +monotonous, and we hobbled off in different directions, to examine the +surroundings. Our Mexicans climbed to the plains above, taking their +rusty muskets along to kill buffalo. Our guide went down to the hunting +camp below us, intending to return to Hays with the officers, home +duties requiring his attention. One of our hostlers, familiar with the +country, was to be our pilot in future. + +Back of our camp lay the castellated rocks which had attracted our +notice the previous evening, and over which Daub, our artist, now became +intensely enthusiastic. He wandered back and forth in front of them, his +soul in his eyes, and these upturned to the bluffs. And thus we left +him. + +"Genius is struggling hard for utterance there," said the Professor +impressively. "That young man will make his mark; see if he doesn't." +Alas, how little we thought he would do it so soon. + +An hour later, returning that way, we descried our artist high up on the +face of the rocks, perched on a jutting fragment, and clinging to a +stunted cedar with one hand, while with the other he plied his brush. +Fully forty feet intervened between him and the earth. + +"What devotion!" cried the Professor. + +"Beautiful spirit," said Mr. Colon, "how soon it commences to climb." + +"That young man will develop," said Dr. Pythagoras. + +A few feet more, and the artist and his work were fully revealed. He had +developed. A cry of agony came from the Professor's lips; for there in +large yellow lines, half blotting out a beautiful stone, our eyes beheld +the diabolical letters, S O Z. + +He never finished the word. The Professor seized a rifle, and brought it +to a level with the artist's paint pot. "Come down, you rascal!" he +cried. "How dare you deface one of nature's castles with a patent name?" +Would he have fired? I think he would. But the man of genius caught his +eye, and comprehending the situation, cried, with face whiter than the +chalk before him, "O, don't!" + +"Add the 'odont', you villain," screamed the Professor, "and I'll--I'll +fire!" + +With our first returning wagon, the artist went back to Hays, but his +work, alas! remains, and perhaps--who knows?--some future generation may +yet point to that wall and tell how SOZ, king of an extinct people, once +held dominion over the beautiful valley. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + BISON MEAT--A STRANGE ARRIVAL--THE SYDNEY FAMILY--THE HOME IN THE + VALLEY--THE SOLOMON MASSACRE--THE MURDER OF THE FATHER AND THE + CHILD--THE SETTLERS' FLIGHT--INCIDENTS--OUR QUEEN OF THE + PLAINS--THE PROFESSOR INTERESTED--IRISH MARY--DOBEEN HAPPY--THE + HEROINE OF ROMANCE--SACHEM'S BATH BY MOONLIGHT--THE BEAVER COLONY. + + +At noon we were all in camp again, fully prepared to do justice to the +ample dinner of buffalo, antelope, and turkey which we found awaiting +us. The Mexicans brought in the quarter of an old bull, and, according +to their own story, had committed terrible slaughter on the plain above; +but, as we had already learned to balance a Mexican account by a +deduction of nine-tenths for over-drafts, we felt that we saw before us +the result of their day's hunt. This our first taste of bison, gave us +highly exaggerated ideas of that animal's endurance. The entire flesh +was surprisingly elastic--indeed, a very clever imitation of India +rubber. It recoiled from our teeth with a spring, and just then I should +scarcely have been surprised had I seen those buffalo which were feeding +in the distance, go bounding off like immense foot-balls. My opinion in +regard to buffalo meat afterward underwent a great change, but not until +I had tasted the flesh of the cows and calves. Shamus, on this occasion, +had devoted his culinary energies especially to the turkeys, and they +were well worthy such attention. Their fat forms, nicely browned, would +have tempted the veriest dyspeptic. + +Just as we rose from dinner, a covered emigrant wagon was discovered +approaching us, coming down the valley right on our trail. From the fact +that we were off the route of overland travel, our first conjecture was +that it was from Hays, with a party of hunters, or possibly with +Tenacious Gripe, so far recovered as to be rejoining us. We assumed an +attitude of dignified interest, prepared to develop it into friendship, +or "don't want to know you" style, as occasion might require. A hale, +elderly man was the driver, now walking beside his oxen. The outfit +halted before our astonished camp, and as it did so two women, genuine +spirits of calico and long hair, lifted a corner of the wagon cover and +looked out. Both were apparently young, but one face was thin, and had +that peculiar expression of being old before its time which is far more +desolate than age. The other countenance was certainly good-looking and +interesting--quite different, indeed, from those usually seen peeping +out of emigrant wagons. Introductions are short and decisive on the +plains. We liked their looks, and invited them to stop; they liked ours, +and accepted. I think the Professor's dignified attitude and scholarly +bearing stood us in good stead as references. + +Another female developed as the wagon gave forth its load--this time a +bouncing Irish girl, rosy-cheeked and active, evidently the family +servant. At this latter apparition Shamus dropped one of our platters, +but quickly recovering himself, began to put forth wonderful exertions +to prepare a second dinner, the new comers having consented, after some +hesitation, to become our guests during the nooning hour. + +Before proceeding to give the reader the history of this interesting +family, I ought, perhaps, to say that I do so with their express +permission, the only disguise being that, at his request, the father +will here be designated by his Christian name, Sydney. + +These people, after an absence of about a year, were now returning from +Elizabeth City, a recently-started mining town in New Mexico, to their +former home, about forty miles east of our present camp, which they had +left the preceding season under circumstances that were sad, indeed. +About three years before, the family, then consisting of Mr. Sydney and +wife, and their two daughters, had moved from Ohio to Kansas and settled +on a tributary of the Solomon. Availing himself of the homestead law, +Mr. Sydney took a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, and commenced +improving it. One of the daughters soon married a young man to whom she +had been betrothed at the East, and who at once set earnestly to work to +make for himself and young wife a home in the new land. The houses of +the father and the child were but half a mile apart, and, no timber +intervening, each could be plainly seen from the other. For a time this +little colony of two families was very happy. Having had the first +choice, their farms were well situated, embracing both river and valley, +and their herds, provided with rich and unlimited range, increased +rapidly. Soon rumors came from below that a railroad, on its way to the +Rocky Mountains, would shortly wind its way up the Solomon Valley, +bringing civilization to that whole region, and daily mails within a few +miles of their doors. + +The second year of prosperity had nearly ended, when one morning a man +from the settlements above dashed rapidly past Mr. Sydney's house, +turning in his saddle to cry that the Cheyennes had been murdering +people up the river, and were now sweeping on close behind him. The +message of horror was scarcely ended when the dusky cloud appeared in +sight, rioting in its tempest of death down the valley. Midway between +home and the house of her daughter, Mrs. Sydney was overtaken by the +yelling demons. In vain the agonized husband pressed forward to the +rescue, firing rapidly with his carbine. She was killed before his eyes, +but not scalped, the Indians evidently considering delay dangerous. + +It is a fact that speaks volumes in illustration of the mingled ferocity +and cowardice that characterize the wild Indians of to-day that, in all +that terrible Solomon massacre, not a single armed man who used his +weapon was harmed, nor was one house attacked. The victims were composed +entirely of the surprised and the defenseless, overtaken at their work +and on the roads. + +Passing the dead body of the mother, the Cheyennes, on their wiry +ponies, swept onward, like demon centaurs, toward the home of the +daughter. Sitting by our fire at evening, with that dreary, fixed look +which one never forgets who has once seen it, the young woman told us +the story of her childless widowhood. Her face was one of those which, +smitten by sorrow, are stricken until death. Once evidently comely, the +smiles and warm flush had died out from it forever--just as in the lapse +of centuries the colors fade from a painting. Though scarcely +twenty-five, her youth was but an image of the past. She told her story +in that mechanical, absent sort of manner which showed that no morning +had followed the evening of that desolate day. She was still living with +her dead. + +"The Lord gave me then a cup so bitter," she said, "that its sting drove +a mother's joy from my heart forever. I have been at peace since, +because, among the dregs, I found that God had placed a diamond for me +to wear when I was wedded to him. Even then I did not rebel and reproach +my Maker, but I sunk down with one loud cry, and it went right along to +the great white throne up there, with the spirits of my husband and my +babe. I thought I could see them in the air, like two white doves +flitting upward, bearing with them, as part of our sacrifice, the cry +that I gave, when my heart-strings seemed to snap, and I knew that I was +a widow and childless. Perhaps I was crazed for a moment, or--I do not +know--perhaps my spirit really did go with them part of the way. The +neighbors found me there for dead, and I remained cold, till they +brought in my dear babe, my poor, mutilated babe, and placed him on my +breast. His warm blood must have woke me, and I sat up, and saw them +bringing John's body to lay it by me. And then the whole scene came +before me again, and it seemed so stamped into my very brain, that +shutting my eyes left me more alone with my murdered ones and the +murderers. And I just dragged myself where I could look at the setting +sun, and tried with its bright glare to burn the scene from off my +vision, so that, if I went mad, there wouldn't be any memory of it left. +For mad people have their memories and suffer from them, and they know +it, and the very fact that they know it keeps them mad. I went through +it all. + +"A person dreaming is not rational, and yet may suffer so, and feel it +too, as to shudder hours after waking up. There was John, running toward +the house with our baby boy, and the savages yelling and whipping their +ponies, trying to get between the open door and him. Alone, he could +have saved himself. And our baby thought John was running for play, and +was clapping his little hands and chirping at me as the savages closed +around my husband. I had only time to pray five words, 'O God, save my +husband!' and it did not seem an instant until I saw the poor body I +loved so well lying on the ground, and they standing over, shooting +their arrows into it. Baby was not killed, but thrown forward under one +of the horses, and I had just taken a step or so toward him, when an +Indian, who seemed to be the chief, lifted him by the dress to his +saddle. I think his first intention was to carry him with them, but, +seeing some of our neighbors hurrying toward us, they struck the baby +with a hatchet, and hurled him to the ground. At the instant they struck +him, he was looking back at me with his great blue eyes wide open and +staring with fright." + +And then the poor woman, having finished her story, began sobbing +piteously. + +The Solomon had numberless tales of these terrible massacres equally as +harrowing as this, and I could fill pages of this volume with chapters +of woe that terminated many a family's history. The result of these and +other Indian atrocities is probably yet remembered throughout the entire +country. Kansas well nigh rebelled against a government which left her +unprotected. The War Department authorized vigorous measures, and the +Governor of the State raised a regiment and at its head took the field. +Through blows from Custar and Carr, the savages found out, at last, that +the dogs of war which they let loose might return to bay at their own +doors. + +Two women from the Saline were carried into captivity by the Indians, +and taken as wives by two of their chiefs. One day Carr, at the head of +his troops, looked down into the valley upon the encampment of a band +especially noted for its hostility, now lying in fancied security below +him. The two white captives were in the wigwams. Suddenly, to the ears +of the savages, came a murmur from the hill-side like the first whisper +of a torrent. + +Instantly, almost, it increased to a roar, and, as they sprung to their +feet and rushed forth, the blue waves of vengeance dashed against the +village, and broke in showers of leaden spray upon them. Mercy put no +shield between them and that annihilating tempest. Every savage in the +number was a fiend, and, as a band, they had long been the scourge of +the border. Their hands were yet red with the blood of the massacres +upon the Saline and Solomon, and white women toiled in the wigwams of +their husbands' murderers. One of the captives, Mrs. Daley, was killed +by the savages, to prevent rescue; the other was saved, and restored to +her husband. + +Somewhat later, two women from the Solomon were taken captive, one of +them being a bride of but four months who had recently come out with her +young husband from the State of New York. Custar seized some chiefs and, +with noosed lariats dangling before their eyes, bade them send and have +those prisoners brought in, or suffer the penalties. Indians have an +unconquerable prejudice against being hung, as it prevents their spirits +entering the happy hunting grounds, and the captives were promptly sent +to Custar's camp. We afterward saw one of them, Mrs. Morgan, on the +Solomon. What an agony must have been hers, as she came in sight of her +old home, and the memory of her wrongs since leaving it, rose anew +before her! + +But to return to the history of our emigrants. After the murders, Mr. +Sydney and his daughters abandoned their farms, and with the same wagon +and oxen which two years before had brought the family out from Ohio, +they started for the recently discovered mines in New Mexico. The +journey was tedious, and, when at length arrived there, he found but +little gold, and even less relief from his mighty sorrow. The old home, +with its graves, beckoned him back, and thither he was now returning to +spend his remaining days, unless, as he laconically stated, some one had +"jumped the claim." Lest my readers toward the rising sun should not +clearly understand the old gentleman's meaning, I ought perhaps to +explain that, under existing laws, a "Homesteader" can not be absent +from his land over six months at any time, without forfeiting his title, +and rendering it liable to occupancy by other parties. It was already +two days over the allotted period, he said. But the oxen were thin, and +he finally decided to rest with us until the next morning, and then push +forward. + +Flora, the younger daughter, was a blooming Western girl of a thoroughly +practical turn, and a counselor on whose advice the father and sister +evidently relied greatly. The Professor assured me confidentially that +evening, and with much more than his wonted enthusiasm on such a +subject, that she preferred the language of the rocks to that of fashion +plates. She had even disputed one of his statements, he said, and +vanquished him by producing the proof from a well-worn scientific +work--one of a dozen books carefully wrapped up and stowed away with +other goods in the wagon. + +A novel accomplishment which the young lady possessed was that of being +an excellent rifle shot, and it afforded us all considerable merriment +when she challenged Muggs to a trial of skill, and, producing a target +rifle, utterly defeated him. Such a woman as that, the Professor said, +was safe on the frontier; she could fight her own way and clear her +vicinity of savages, whenever necessary, as well as any of us. + +We did not wish our emigrant maiden aught but what she was, and were +well pleased with the romance of her visit. For the nonce, she was our +queen; the rough ox-wagon was her throne, and the great plains her ample +domain. In sober truth, she might justly challenge our esteem and +admiration. Here was one of the gentler sex willing to make divorce of +happiness, that she might minister to a half-crazed father and mourning +sister, and who, for their sake, chose to wander through a country which +might at any moment become to them the valley of the shadow of death. In +the presence of such heroism, what right had we, though bruised and +tired, to complain? No wonder the Professor took early occasion to tell +us that she was a noble woman, an honor to her sex. + +This emigrant wagon, with its wee bit of domestic life, was a pleasant +object to all of us out there on the desert, with the single exception +of Alderman Sachem. That worthy member of our party avoided its +vicinity, as if a plague spot had there seized upon the valley. "I did +think," he exclaimed, dividing glances that were quite the reverse of +complimentary between the Professor and Shamus--"I did think that we had +got out of the latitude of spooning. We haven't had a digestible +mouthful since they came in sight. A love-struck Irishman can neither +eat, himself, or let others." + +But Shamus was too happy to heed the remark; for the first time since +starting, he seemed perfectly contented. An Irish girl, the like of +Mary, and devoted enough to follow her old master through such +adversity, seemed Dobeen's beau ideal of the lovely and lovable in the +sex. The valley became for him the brightest spot upon earth. He would +have been content there to court and cook, I think, during the remainder +of his natural life. Mary was shy, and Shamus was bold, but it was quite +apparent that both enjoyed the situation immensely. + +Although the little party stayed but a day, their departure seemed to +leave quite a void in the valley. The most noticeable results to us were +some errors in cooking and a slackness in the prosecution of scientific +investigations. + +Mr. Sydney gave us a hearty invitation to visit him upon the Solomon, if +our wanderings took us that way, and our prophetic souls, with a common +instinct, told all of us that the Professor would recognize a call of +science in that direction. By a look and a smile from a maiden, the +Philosopher, deeply sunken in the primary formation, had been drawn to +the surface of the modern, a result which fashionable society had more +than once striven in vain to bring about. Miss Flora certainly bid fair +to become a favorite pupil of his, were the opportunity only offered. + +This maiden of the plains was a new character. The beautiful heroine +mentioned in most Western novels as having penetrated the Indian +country, is either the daughter of "once wealthy parents," or the +heiress of a noble family and stolen by gypsies for reward or revenge. +It was the first appearance that I could recall of a farmer's girl in a +position where kidnapping Indians and a frantic lover could so easily +appear, and by opportune conjunction weave the plot of a soul-harrowing +romance. + +Another evening in camp was spent in writing and story-telling. The +fire was getting low, when Sachem rose to his feet and called to Shamus. +"Dobeen," said he, "your country folks are always handy with the sticks. +Let's go for wood, and have a fire that will warm up the witches on +their broomsticks and send them flying off to hug the clouds." We +watched the pair go out of sight. Knowing well the habits of Tammany, we +all felt sure that, though he might find the load, Irish shoulders would +have to bear it back to camp. + +Scarcely three minutes had elapsed, when out of the timber, with +garments as wet as water could make them and dripping fast, a fat form +came shivering to our fire. Our alderman had taken a night bath in the +creek--an adventure which he thus related in his own peculiar way: + +"Below us in the woods is a big beaver pond, I don't know how deep. I +seemed an hour going down, and didn't touch bottom then. I was fooled by +the moon. (To be expected, though, as she's a female!) A few of her +beams, thrown down through the trees, glittered on the water like drift +wood. That sort of beams make poor timber for bridges, but I didn't know +it then as well as I do now. One of them went from bank to bank, and I +took it for a log, and got a ducking. How frightened I was, though, when +my feet touched water and my body went, with a swash, right under it! I +opened my mouth to shout and the water rushed in, and I was like a +vessel sinking with open hatches. I took in so much, I was afraid I'd be +waterlogged and never come up. I did, though, and found that rascally +Irishman throwing sticks at my head, and telling me to hold on to them. +I told him to do that thing himself, and finally climbed ashore." + +We afterward sought out our newly-found neighbors, the beavers, finding +their pond a short distance below us on the creek, and a little lower +down the dam itself. Many more trees had been cut for the latter than +were used in its construction, several having been abandoned when almost +ready to fall. We noticed that the butts of the prostrated trees were +sharpened down gradually like the point of a lead-pencil, but both ways, +instead of one, so that a tree cut nearly through met from above and +below at the point of breaking, like the waist of an hour glass. This +dam was most interesting to all of us, since it seemed so much to +resemble the work of man. In this waste place of the earth, it really +seemed almost like company, and we felt a strong desire to have a +friendly conference with the builders. But these had formed this +reservoir for the express purpose that in its depths they might escape +intrusion, and now the whole regiment of engineers seemed asleep in +barracks. Still our men secured a few very fine ones by trapping. + +It appeared that the beavers were a vacillating set of architects, as +all the trees which stood near the water and leaned over it at all, were +gnawed more or less, and many of them left when almost ready to fall. +The position of the dam had evidently been determined by the tree which +fell first. From the reckless manner in which they had slashed around +with their teeth, it was pertinently suggested that this colony must +have obtained from the beaver congress a government subsidy. Having been +acquainted with the art of building before man mastered it, the beaver +race also probably understood how to do it at little personal expense. + +The beaver appears to be distributed in considerable numbers all over +the western half of Kansas, although the spring floods sweep away their +dams almost every season. Once afterward, when lost on the plains for a +day, I came across a beaver dam. Several hours of anxious suspense in +the solitude, fearing to meet man lest he should prove a savage, begot a +strange feeling of companionship when I came in sight of the rude +structure of logs. If not civilization, it was a close imitation of it, +and I laid down and fell into a refreshing sleep, soothed, in the +fantasies of Dreamland, with the whir of looms and hum of factory life. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + PREPARATIONS FOR THE CHASE--THE VALLEY OF THE SALINE--QUEER + 'COONS--A BISON'S GAME OF BLUFF--IN PURSUIT--ALONGSIDE THE + GAME--FIRING FROM THE SADDLE--A CHARGE AND A PANIC--FALSE HISTORY + AGAIN--GOING FOR AMMUNITION--THE PROFESSOR'S LETTER--DISROBING THE + VICTIM. + + +The early dawn of Wednesday morning saw us again astir. There was the +same creeping of mist out of the valley to join the darkness as it fled +from the plains above, and the same revealing of thousands of shaggy +forms silently feeding in the distance. This time our beasts and our +bodies were both in excellent condition for the chase. Joints gain and +lose stiffness quickly in such a life. One morning the hunter feels as +if the mill of life, though he turn its crank ever so slowly, had broken +every bone in his body; twenty-four hours later may find him elastic and +buoyant, as if youth had torn away from the embrace of the dead past and +was with him again in all its pristine vigor. In the present case, too, +that friend of early hours and foe of sleepy eyes, the coffee bean had +done its work for us grandly. + +Ten horsemen comprised the strength of the party which rode out of the +valley just as daylight was coming into it. One of the hostlers and a +Mexican were left in camp, the remainder of our force accompanying us, +with a couple of wagons to bring in the game. At his earnest +solicitation, Shamus was permitted to abandon his post of duty +temporarily, and go along also, with the understanding that he was to +select choice pieces from the first suitable game we might bring down, +and, returning to camp, be ready for our arrival with an ample dinner. + +As we rode down the valley of Silver Creek, gangs of wild turkeys +occasionally came out of the narrow skirt of timber, and, running along +before us for short distances, re-entered it, and were lost to view +again. Never having been hunted, they seemed destitute of the timidity +and cunning which are the usual characteristics of this bird. + +Twenty minutes' ride brought us to the Saline, the basin of which we +found to be half a mile or thereabouts in width, and presenting a scene +of great desolation. We were something like two hundred feet below the +table-lands which came down to the narrow valley in barren canyons and +masses of rock. The stream itself is narrow, with less than two feet of +water running swiftly over the sands, and along its banks, at intervals, +a few dwarfed cottonwood trees. Such was the Valley of the Saline at +this point; yet thirty miles below, our men told us, the valley opened +out into rich bottom lands, and was famous for its beauty. + +While in the act of crossing, we came suddenly upon four small animals +playing and fishing in the shallow water. With an exclamation of +astonishment, the Professor had his glasses out in a moment. The guide +informed us they were only 'coons, and such they were sure enough, with +the peculiar color and distinctive rings that made it impossible, on +second look, to mistake them for any thing else. Truly, Nature seemed +full of eccentricities in this remarkable region. The raccoons of +natural history have always affected trees, and been considered, _par +excellence_, creatures of the forest. I scarcely think the Professor +would have been surprised, at that moment, to know that hereabouts fish +were in the habit of climbing around in bushes, or stealing corn. + +When they heard us, the four little fellows scampered away a few steps, +and disappeared in some holes in the bank, in executing which maneuver +one of them swam a yard or two across a deep spot, making good progress. +We learned from our men that small colonies of these animals are +frequently found along treeless creeks on the plains, living in the +banks, and fishing for a living, by grasping the minnows and frogs, as +they pass over the shallow places. + +From the river we directed our course toward a deep canyon which, +opening toward us as if the bluff had been riven asunder by some great +convulsion of Nature, at its further end reached the level of the +plains, and offered us an easy ascent. Evidence of volcanic action +appeared along the canyon in the form of vitrified fragments and +occasional masses of lava resembling rock. + +The guide called our attention to an object in the ravine some distance +ahead, which was enveloped in a cloud of dust. It was a buffalo, he +said, indulging in a game of bluff. This statement not appearing very +clear to our non-gambling party, he explained that the old fellow was +"butting against the bank, as if he was going to break it all to pieces, +when in reality he had no show at all." + +As we could not approach nearer without frightening him, we stood still +for a few minutes and watched him. He would back fifteen or twenty yards +from the bluff, paw the ground for an instant, and then fling himself +headlong against the wall of earth with a tremendous force, as was +abundantly testified by the great clouds of dust that would rise in the +air. For a moment afterward he would continue violently hooking the +soil, as if the bowels of the earth were those of an adversary. We +afterward repeatedly saw bulls engaged in this exercise. It is to the +buffalo what the training school is to the prize-fighter, a developing +of brute force for future conflicts. + +The shock of such charges as we witnessed, if made by a domestic ox, +would have broken his neck. Even our bison friend finally overdid the +matter. Either because his foot tripped or the blow glanced, upon one of +his charges, he fell down on his fore legs, and then rolled completely +over. We thought this a good time to push forward, and accordingly did +so at a gallop. Whether thinking himself knocked down by a foe, or +because he heard the rattling of hoofs, we could not determine, but he +suddenly sprang to his feet, whirled his shaggy head into bearing upon +us, then turned and set away at full speed up the canyon, toward the +plains above. The order was given to ply spur and close in upon him, if +possible, or he would set the herds above in motion. + +It was a mad ride that we had for the next ten minutes--across beds of +gravel, among huge bowlders, and once or twice over great fissures in +the earth which chilled my blood as I took a sort of bird's-eye view of +their depths. In a lumbering run on ahead of us went the frightened +bull, his feet occasionally sending back dashes of pebbles, while behind +him rattled such a clattering of hoofs that the poor brute, if he could +think at all, must have imagined he had butted open the door of Hades, +and was now being pursued by its inmates. + +There were mishaps in this our first buffalo hunt, of course, and among +them, Muggs dropped a stirrup, and was obliged to support himself +afterward on one foot--an awkward matter, resulting from his +inconvenient English saddle, one of the kind which compels one, half the +time, to sustain the whole body by the stirrups alone. We gained upon +the game steadily, though no particular member of our party excelled as +leader, first one being ahead and then the other. Cynocephalus developed +wonderfully, and kept well up with his better conditioned neighbors. + +What a magnificent prize for the hunter rushed on before us, swinging +his ponderous head from side to side, for the purpose of getting better +rear views--such an ungainly and shaggy animal, a perfect marvel of +magnificent disproportions! It is well enough to go to Africa and hunt +lions, and describe their majestic, flowing manes; but this bison, in +mad flight ahead of us, could have furnished hair and mane enough to fit +out half a dozen lions. At close quarters, too, he was fully as +dangerous as the king of beasts. + +We were close at his heels when the level of the plain was reached, and +pursuer and pursued shot out upon it together. A large herd, feeding not +five hundred yards away, was speedily in full flight northward. "A stern +chase is a long chase," is no less true in buffalo hunting than in +nautical matters. After considerable experience in the sport, I would +recommend amateurs to get as near their game as possible before +starting, and then try their horses' full metal. Once by the side of the +game, he can keep there to the end. And so, after a terrible chase, when +at times we had almost despaired of overtaking the old fellow, we now +found it easy to keep alongside. + +Our bull was a huge one, even among his species, and in such moments of +excitement the imagination seems to have a trick of entering the +chambers of the eye, and sliding its mirrors into a sort of double focus +arrangement. With blood boiling until my heart seemed to bob up and down +on its surface, I found myself riding parallel with the brute, and had I +never seen him afterward, would have been almost willing to make oath +that his size could be represented only by throwing a covering of +buffalo robes over an elephant. + +Every one in the party was firing, some having dropped their reins to +use their carbines, and others yet guiding their horses with one hand, +while they fired their holster revolvers with the other. Shooting from +the saddle, with a horse going at full speed, needs practice to enable +one to hit any thing smaller than a mammoth. You point the weapon, but +at the instant your finger presses the trigger, the muzzle may be +directed toward the zenith or the earth. An experienced hunter steadies +his arm, not allowing it to take part in the motion of his body, no +matter how rough the latter may be. But we were not experienced hunters, +and so, although such exclamations as, "That told!" "Mine went through!" +and "Perfectly riddled!" were almost as numerous as the bullets, it was +easy to see that the flying monster remained unharmed. + +From the first, Mr. Colon had fired without taking any aim whatever, and +so it happened that his gun, in describing its half circle consequent +upon the rising and falling motion of the horse, at length went off at +the proper moment, and we heard the thud of the ball as it struck. +Dropping his head into position as if for a charge, the buffalo whirled +sharply to the right, and passing directly between our horses, made off +toward the main herd. But he soon slowed down to a walk, and as we again +came up with him, we could see the blood trickling from his nose, which +he held low like a sick ox. + +In the excitement of the chase, and perhaps from being well blown before +coming near the buffalo, our horses had hitherto shown no fear, but now, +as the old bull stood there in all his savage hugeness, and the smell of +blood tainted the air, they pushed, jostled, snorted, and pranced, so +that it required all our efforts to keep them from downright flight. +Even Dobeen's donkey kept his rider uncertain whether his destiny was to +seek the ground or abide in the saddle. + +The brute stood facing us, perhaps fifty yards off, his eyes rolling +wildly from pain and fury, and the blood flowing freely through his +nostrils. + +We were waiting patiently for him to die, when suddenly the head went +into position, like a Roman battering ram, and down he came upon us. We +were utterly routed. No spur was necessary to prompt the horses, and I +doubt if their former owners had ever known what latent speed their +hides concealed. The whole thing was so sudden there was no time for +thought, and all that I can remember is a confused sort of idea that +each animal was going off at a tremendous pace, with the rider devoting +his energies to sticking on. After the first few jumps, we were no +longer an organized company, each brute taking his own course, and +carrying us, like fragments of an explosion, in different directions. A +marked exception, however, was Muggs' mule, which for the only time in +his life, seemed unwilling to run away. After being the first to start, +and assisting the others to stampede, he stopped suddenly short, +depositing his rider something like ten yards ahead of him, in a manner +quite the reverse of gentle. + +We did not stop running as soon as we might have done. And I here enter +protest against the nonsense indulged in on one point by most of the +novelists who educate people in buffalo lore. When we halted, there +stood the bull not thirty yards from the spot where he had first +stopped, although we had located him, throughout more than half a mile's +ride but a few feet from our horses' tails, and at times had even +imagined we heard his deep panting. This mortifying record would have +been saved us had we known that a buffalo's charges never extend beyond +a short distance. Either his adversary or his attack is speedily +terminated. He does not pursue, in the "long, deep gallop" style at all. +Yet I scarcely remember a single instance mentioned in those old books +of western adventure, in which a buffalo's charge was for a less +distance than a mile. In one case that I now recall, the race was nip +and tuck between man and bison for over an hour, and the biped was +finally enabled to save his life only by leaving the saddle and swinging +into a tree! Such stories are simply balderdash. + +As soon as possible after checking our horses, we rode back toward the +wagon and the game, seeing in the former, the grinning faces of our men. +The buffalo was still on his feet, but while we looked he slowly sunk to +his knees, like an ox lying down to rest, and then quietly reposed on +his belly, in the same attitude one sees domestic cattle assume when +wishing a quiet chew of the cud. Had it not been for his bloody nose and +wild eyes, he would have looked as peaceful as any bovine that ever +breathed. + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION_ + +GOING AFTER AMMUNITION.] + +Wishing to put the poor brute out of misery, we approached closer, and +several of us dismounted, when a general fire was opened. Like a cat, +the old fellow was on his feet again almost instantly. By a singular +coincidence, our entire party just then discovered that we were out of +ammunition, and in a body started for the wagon, to get some. Muggs +afterward assured us that, at the time, he had just got his hand in, "so +that every shot told, you know," and I have the authority of all for +the deliberate statement that the bull would have been riddled before +moving a foot had not the cartridges suddenly given out. + +The effort of getting up had sent the mass of blood collected from +inward bleeding surging out of the buffalo's nose, and, as we looked +back, he was tottering feebly, and an instant afterward fell to the +ground. There was no doubt now of his death, and we swarmed upon and +around him. He was an immense old fellow, and his hide fairly covered +with the scars of past battles. Inasmuch as this was our first trophy, +it was determined to take his skin, and we forthwith seated the +Professor on his great shaggy neck, with the horns forming arms for an +impromptu hunter's throne. From thence he wrote upon leaves from his +note-book a letter to his class at the East, which he permitted me to +copy. I introduce it here, as showing that the blood of even a savan +pulsates warmly amid such circumstances as now surrounded us. + + + "ON A BUFFALO, IN THE } + YEAR OF MY HAPPINESS, ONE.} + + "_Dear Class_--I know the staid and quiet habits that characterize + all of you, and that you are not given to hard riding and buffalo + hunting. Yet this prairie air, with its rich fragrance and wild + freeness, would give a new circulation to the blood of each one of + you. Like a gale at sea, the breeze sweeps against one's cheeks, + and the great billows of land rise on every side, as mountains of + troubled ocean. Why not desert the city and lose yourself for + awhile in this great grand waste? Antelope are bounding and buffalo + running on every side of us, while villages of prairie dogs bark at + the flying herds. One grows in self-estimation after breathing this + air, and, feeling that safety and life depend on his own exertions, + learns to place reliance upon the powers which Nature has given + him, with manly independence of artificial laws and police. + + "While I am writing, the first victim of our prowess, a magnificent + specimen of the American bison, is being skinned by our suite, the + robe from which, when prepared, we intend sending you. The men say + it must be dressed by some of the civilized Indians on the + reserves, as the white man's tanning injures the value. + + * * * * * + + "The robe is now off, and half a ton of fat meat lies exposed. We + shall only take the hind quarters, a portion of the hump, and the + tongue. How glad the famishing wretches in the tenement houses of + the city would be for an opportunity to pick those long ribs which + we leave for the wolves! His horns are somewhat battered, but we + have cut them off, to supplant hooks on a future hat-rack. One of + the men has just taken a large musket ball from the animal's flank. + That shot must have been received years ago, as the ball is an old + fashioned one and is thickly encased in fat. + + "The geological formation of the country is very interesting. I + expect to examine the same more thoroughly after we have studied + the animals traversing its surface. Yesterday, we had in camp a + family from the Solomon, who were sufferers some months since from + the fearful Indian massacre there. Their story was an exceedingly + interesting one, though very sad. We shall visit them if duty calls + that way. I must close. The men have thrown the skin in the wagon, + flesh side up, and deposited the meat upon it, and all are now + ready for further conquests. + + "Your sincere friend and instructor, + + "H----." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + STILL HUNTING--DARK OBJECTS AGAINST THE HORIZON--THE RED MAN + AGAIN--RETREAT TO CAMP--PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENSE--SHAKING HANDS + WITH DEATH--MR. COLON'S BUGS--THE EMBASSADORS--A NEW ALARM--MORE + INDIANS--TERRIFIC BATTLE BETWEEN PAWNEES AND CHEYENNES--THEIR MODE + OF FIGHTING--GOOD HORSEMANSHIP--A SCIENTIFIC PARTY AS + SEXTONS--DITTO AS SURGEONS--CAMPS OF THE COMBATANTS--STEALING + AWAY--AN APPARITION. + + +Our further conquests for that day, it was decided, could best be +effected by still hunting. The guide had suggested that, if we desired +to fill our wagon with meat and get back to camp before night, we might +profitably adopt the practice of old hunters, who, when they pursue +bison, "mean business." The new tactics consisted of infantry +evolutions, and required a dismounting of the cavalry. We were to crawl +up to the herds, through ravines, and from those ambuscades open fire. + +A mile away buffalo were feeding in large numbers, and our men pointed +out several swales into which we could sink from the surface of the +plains, and, following the winding lines, find cover until emerging +among the herd. But while we were still gazing at the latter, sharp and +distinct against the northern horizon appeared other objects, evidently +mounted men, and men in that direction meant Indians. It is wonderful +how quickly one's ardor disappears, when, from being the hunter, he +becomes the hunted. Our only desire now was, in Sachem's language, "a +hankering arter camp," which we at once proceeded to gratify. + +Back again with the remainder of our party, we felt quite safe. Indians +of the plains seldom attack an armed body which is prepared for them; +and then there had been no recent demonstrations of hostility. On the +other hand, no massacre had yet occurred upon the frontier which was not +unexpected. The whole life of many of these nomads has been a catalogue +of surprises. It was Artemus Ward, I think, who knew mules that would be +good for weeks, for the sake of getting a better opportunity of kicking +a man. These savages will do the same for the sake of killing one. + +Many an armed man, fully capable of defending himself, has thus been +thrown off his guard, and sent suddenly into eternity. The cunning +savage, seeing his foe prepared, approaches with signs of friendship, +and cries of "How, how?"--Indian and short for "How are you?" Their +extended hands meet, and as the palms touch, the pale-face shakes hands +with death; for, while his fingers are held fast in that treacherous +clasp, some other savage brains him from behind, or sheaths a knife in +his heart, and the betrayed white, jerked forward with a fiendish laugh, +kisses the grass with bloody lips. We had been repeatedly warned by our +guides that, when in the minority, the only safe way to hold councils +with the Indians is at rifle range. Even if bound by treaty, a +knowledge that they can take your scalp without losing their own, is +like binding a thief with threads of gold: the very power which should +restrain, is in itself a temptation. + +Our little camp soon bristled all over with defiance, a sort of mammoth +porcupine presenting points at every angle for the enemy's +consideration. Our animals were put safely under cover among the trees, +where they could not be easily stampeded; the wagons were ranged in a +crescent, forming excellent defense for our exposed side; and pockets +were hurriedly filled with ammunition. As we were thus earnestly +preparing for war, an entomological accident occurred. Sachem, while +excitedly thrusting a handful of cartridges into Mr. Colon's pockets, +suddenly drew back his hand with an expression of alarm, bringing with +it a whole assortment of bugs. One of the pocket-cases of our +entomologist had opened, and the inmates, imprisoned but that morning, +were now swarming over our fat friend's fingers, and up his arm, which +he was shaking vigorously. There they were--rare bugs and plethoric +spiders, together with one lively young lizard--all clinging to the limb +which had brought them rescue from their cavernous cell with more +tenacity than if they had been stuck on with Spalding's glue. Poor +Sachem! While he danced and fumed, and gave his opinion of bug-men +generally, Mr. Colon cried--"O, my bugs, my beautiful bugs!" and grasped +eagerly at his vanishing treasures. Our alderman disengaged himself at +length from his noxious visitors, and meanwhile the other members of +the party, having provided themselves, poured into the other pocket of +the grieved naturalist a further supply of cartridges, thereby utterly +annihilating the remainder of his collection. + +Our preparations being concluded, and still no signs of the Indians, we +sat down to dinner. Shamus was terribly agitated, and the shades of +dyspepsia hovered over his cooking; but, although the coffee was muddy +and the meat burned, we were in no mood to take exceptions. There was +considerable determination visible on the faces of all our party. The +red man was getting to be as sore a trouble to us as the black man had +been to politicians, and having already lost a day on his account, we +were now fully resolved to hold our ground. We had seen the savage in +all the terrors of his war-paint, and felt a very comforting degree of +assurance that a dozen cool-headed hunters, mostly armed with +breech-loaders, possessed the odds. + +At length, along the edge of the breaks beyond the Saline, a dark object +appeared, followed by another and then another in rapid succession, +until forty unmistakable Indians came in sight, and were bearing +directly toward us, following the tracks of our wagons. Half a mile off +they halted, and then we saw one big fellow ride forward alone. His form +seemed a familiar one, and soon it revealed itself as that of our late +friend, White Wolf. Now we had, but a few days before, in the space of +four brief hours, concluded at least forty treaties of peace with this +chief and his drunken braves; yet, remembering past history, we should +have wanted at least as many more treaties, before taking the chances +of having one of them kept, and admitting the painted heathens before us +to full confidence and fellowship. + +As the leader of our party, it devolved upon the Professor to go forward +and meet the chief, which he promptly did, taking along our man who was +acting in Cody's place as guide, to assist him in comprehending the +savage's wishes. Midway between us the respective embassadors met. We +heard the chief's loud "How, how?" and saw their hand-shaking, and could +not help wondering what the Philosopher's class would say, could they +have beheld their honored tutor officiating as a frontispiece for such a +savage background. + +White Wolf stated that he had been out after Pawnees; he could not find +them, and so "Indian felt heap bad!" Just at this instant a loud, quick +cry came from his knot of warriors, who were now manifesting the wildest +excitement, lashing up their ponies, stringing their bows, and making +other preparations as if for a fight. Without a word, the chief turned +and ran for dear life toward his band, while the Professor and our guide +wheeled and ran for dear life toward us. Seldom has the man of science +made such progress as did the respected leader of our expedition then. +The guide called, "Cover us with your guns!"--a command which we +immediately proceeded to obey, evidently to the intense alarm of the +Professor, for so completely were they covered, that I doubt if either +would have escaped, had we been called upon to fire. + +Our first thought had been a suspicion of treachery, but we now saw +that the Cheyennes had faced toward the hills, and, following their +gaze, we beheld coming down their trail, and upon the tracks of our +wagon, another band of mounted Indians. It soon became clear to us that +the Pawnees, the Wolf's failure to find whom had made that noble red man +feel "heap bad," were coming to find him. We counted them riding along, +twenty-five in all--inferior in numbers, it was true, but superior to +the Cheyennes in respect to their arms, so that, upon the whole, the two +forces now about to come together were not unevenly matched. The Pawnees +live beyond the Platte, and for years have been friendly to the whites, +even serving in the wars against the other tribes on several occasions. + +What a stir there was in the late peaceful valley! The buffalo that were +lately feeding along the brow of the plateau had all fled, and here +right before us were sixty-five native Americans, bent upon killing each +other off, directly under the eyes of their traditional destroyer, the +white man. The Professor said it forcibly suggested to his mind some of +the fearful gladiatorial tragedies of antiquity. Sachem responded that +he wasn't much of a Roman himself, but he could say that in this show he +was very glad we occupied the box-seat, the safest place anywhere around +there; and we all decided that it must be a face-to-face fight, in which +neither party dare run, as that would be disorganization and +destruction. + +It was strange to see these wild Ishmaelites of the plains warring +against each other. Over the wide territory, broad enough for thousands +of such pitiful tribes, they had sought out each other for a bloody +duel, like two gangs of pirates in combat on mid-ocean; and, like them, +if either or both were killed, the world would be all the better for it. +It was clearly what would be called, on Wall street, a "brokers' war," +in which, when the operators are preying on each other, outsiders are +safe. + +While we were looking, a wild, disagreeable shout came up from the +twenty-five Pawnees, as they charged down into the valley, which was +promptly responded to by fierce yells from the forty Cheyennes. + +"Let it be our task to bury the dead," said the Professor, looking +toward the wagon in which rested his geological spade. "It is extremely +problematical whether any of these red men will go out of the valley +alive." + +And thus another wonderful change had come over the spirit of our dream. +From being a scientific and sporting expedition, we had been suddenly +metamorphosed into a gang of sextons, who, in a valley among the +buffaloes, were witnessing an Indian battle, and waiting to bury the +slain. + +As the Pawnees came down at full gallop, the Cheyennes lashed up their +ponies to meet them. Then came the crack of pistols, and a perfect storm +of arrows passed and crossed each other in mid-air. As the combatants +met, we could see them poking lances at each other's ribs for an +instant, and then each side retreated to its starting point. Charge +first was ended. We gazed over the battle-field to count the dead, but +to our surprise none appeared. + +[Illustration: BATTLE BETWEEN CHEYENNES AND PAWNEES.] + +A few minutes were spent by both parties in a general overhauling of +their equipments, and then another charge was made. They rode across +each other's fronts and around in circles, firing their arrows and +yelling like demons, and occasionally, when two combatants accidentally +got close together, prodding away with lances. The oddest part of the +whole terrible tragedy to us was that the charges looked, when closely +approaching each other, as if they were being made by two riderless +bands of wild ponies. + +The Indians would lie along that side of their horses which was turned +away from the enemy, and fire their pistols and shoot their arrows from +under the animals' necks, thus leaving exposed in the saddle only that +portion of the savage anatomy which was capable of receiving the largest +number of arrows with results the least possibly dangerous. I noticed +one fat old fellow whose pony carried him out of battle with two arrows +sticking in the portion thus unprotected, like pins in a cushion. He +still kept up his yelling, but it struck me that there was a touch of +anguish in the tone, and I felt confident that he would not sit down and +tell his children of the battle for some time to come. + +We saw one exhibition of horsemanship which especially excited our +admiration. An arrow struck a Cheyenne on the forehead, glancing off, +but stunning him so with its iron point, that, after swaying in the +saddle for an instant, he fell to the earth. Another of the tribe, who +was following at full speed, leaned toward the ground, and checking his +pony but slightly, seized the prostrate warrior by the waistband, and, +flinging him across his horse in front of the saddle, rode on out of the +battle. + +For several hours--indeed until the sun was low in the heavens and the +shadows crept into the valley--this terrible fray continued, the +charging, shouting, and firing being kept up until both combatants had +worked down the river so far that we could no longer see them. + +It was approaching the dusk of evening when White Wolf and his band rode +back. We counted them and found the original forty still alive. The +chief assured us they had killed "heap Pawnees," whereupon some of us +sallied forth to visit the battle-field. Three dead ponies lay there, +and with a disagreeable sensation we looked around, expecting to +discover the mangled riders near by. Not one was visible, however, nor +even the least sign of their blood. The grass was not sodden with gore, +nor did a single rigid arm or aboriginal toe stick up in the gathering +gloom. Neither the wolves or buzzards gathered over the field, and +slowly the conviction dawned upon us that Indian battles, like some +other things, are not always what they seem. + +As we turned again toward camp, the Professor, dragging his spade after +him, suggested that, in accordance with the reputed habits of these +savages, the Pawnees had perhaps carried off their dead. But at the +instant, only a short distance down the river, the camp-fire of that +miserable and all but annihilated band glimmered forth. It was decidedly +too bold and cheerful for the use of twenty-five ghosts, and we knew +then that White Wolf had lied. + +That valorous chieftain we found limping around outside our wagons, with +a lance-cut in one of his legs, while several of his warriors had +arrow-wounds, and one a pistol-shot, none of the injuries, however, +being dangerous. The Pawnees probably suffered with equal severity; and +this was the sum total of the day's frightful carnage--the entire result +of all the fierce display that we had witnessed. + +Not long afterward, in front of a Government fort, and in plain sight of +the garrison, a battle occurred between two large parties of rival +tribes, about equal in numbers. Back and forth, amid furious cries and +clouds of arrows, the hostile savages charged. Noon saw the affair +commenced, and sunset scarcely beheld its ending. The Government report +states, if my memory serves me correctly, that one Indian and two horses +were killed; and a shade of doubt still exists among the witnesses +whether that one unlucky warrior did not break his neck by the fall of +his pony! + +These savages fight on horseback, and are neither bold nor successful, +except when the attacking party is overwhelming in numbers, and then the +affair becomes a massacre. All this knowledge came to us afterward, but +our first introduction to it was a surprise. Kind-hearted man though he +was, I think the resultless ending of the battle disconcerted even the +Professor. Having nerved one's self to expect horrors, it is natural to +seek, on the gloomy mirror of fate, some rays of glimmering light which +can be turned to advantage. I think the Professor's rays, had the +contest proved as sanguinary as we first anticipated, would have found +their focus in some stout cask containing a nicely-pickled Pawnee or +Cheyenne _en route_ to a distant dissecting table. It would have been +rather a novel way, I have always thought, of sending the untutored +savage to college. + +We made a requisition upon our medicine-chest, and dressed the wounds of +the suffering warriors. White Wolf stripped to the waist, and, exposing +his broad, muscular form, exhibited thirty-six scars, where, in +different battles, lances and arrows had struck him. It struck us all as +a rather remarkable circumstance, though we prudently refrained from +commenting upon it just then, that nearly all these scars were on his +back. + +The chief expressed great friendship for us, and I really believe he +felt it. Sachem's stout form was especially the object of his +admiration. Between these two worthies a very cordial regard seemed to +be springing up, until White Wolf unluckily offered him an Indian bride +and a hundred buffalo robes, if he would go with the band to its wigwams +on the Arkansas--a proposition which disgusted our alderman beyond +measure. Savages, sooner or later, generally scalp white sons-in-law, +and it would be "heap good" for the Cheyenne to have such an opportunity +always handy. Sachem declined the honor with all the dignity he could +command, and carefully avoided "the match-making old heathen," as he +termed him, for the remainder of the evening. + +We kept early hours that night. Guard was doubled, to prevent any +possible treachery, and a sleepy party laid down to rest. The Cheyennes +went into camp a few hundred yards up the creek, a barely perceptible +light, looking from our tents like a fire-fly, marking the spot. + +When a "cold camp" is discovered on the plains, the experienced +frontiersman can always determine at once whether white men or Indians +made it, by the size of the ash-heap. The former, even when trying to +make their fire a small one, will consume in one evening as much fuel as +would last the red man a half-moon. The latter, putting together two or +three buffalo chips, or as many twigs, will huddle over them when +ignited, and extract warmth and heat enough for cooking from a flame +that could scarcely be seen twenty yards. + +The two opposing parties, which were now resting only a mile or so +apart, had each tested the other's metal, and, as the sequel proved, +found them foemen worthy of their _steal_. From the unconcealed fires in +their respective camps, we concluded that neither side had any intention +of attacking, or fear of being attacked. + +It was early in the dawn of the next morning when we were startled from +our slumbers by a terrific cry from Shamus, which brought all of us to +our tent-doors, with rifles in hand ready to do battle, in the shortest +possible time. Looking out, we beheld our cook standing near the first +preparations of breakfast, and gazing with astonished eyes toward the +darkness under the trees, among which we heard, or at least imagined we +heard, the stealthy steps of moccasined feet. In answer to our +interrogatories, Shamus stated that just as he was putting the meat in +the pan, he saw the light of the fire reflected, for an instant, on a +painted face peering out at him from behind a tree. "Faith, but I shaved +the lad's head wid the skillet!" said Dobeen, and sure enough we found +that article of culinary equipment lying at the foot of the suspected +cottonwood, badly bent from contact with something, but whether that +something was the bark or a painted skull is known only to that skulking +Cheyenne. + +We waited until broad daylight, but no further disturbance occurred, and +what was strangest of all, the valley both above and below us seemed +entirely destitute of either Pawnee or Cheyenne. A reconnoissance, which +was made by the Professor, Mr. Colon, and our guide, developed the fact +that not being able to steal any thing else, the savages had executed +the difficult military maneuver of stealing away. Just before daybreak, +the Pawnees had gone due north, and the Cheyennes, about the same time, +due south. As White Wolf had expressed a cold-blooded intention of +exterminating the remnant of his foes in the morning, the pitying stars +may have taken the matter in hand and misled him; and if so, how +disappointed that blood-thirsty band must have been when their path +brought them into their own village, instead of the Pawnee camp! In +confirmation of this astrological suggestion, I may say that while in +Topeka I saw "stars," on several occasions, leading Indians in the +opposite direction from that in which they wished to go. + +In due time our party sat down to another plentiful breakfast, which was +eaten with all the more relish because we had all that little world to +ourselves again. Discussing Dobeen's apparition, we finally came to the +unanimous conclusion that it was some Indian who, while his brothers +stole away, had straggled behind, to pick up a keepsake. I think that +hideous face among the trees never entirely ceased to haunt the chamber +of Dobeen's memory. He shied as badly as did Muggs' mule, when in +strange timber, and was ever afterward a warm advocate for pitching camp +on the open prairie. + +In justice to White Wolf, it should be stated that we afterward learned +that while charging in such a mistaken direction after Pawnees that +morning, he met two men from Hays City, out after buffalo meat. Finding +that they were from the village which had been kind to him, he loaded +their wagons with fat quarters, instead of filling their bodies with +arrows, as they had first expected, and sent them home rejoicing. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + STALKING THE BISON--BUFFALO AS OXEN--EXPENSIVE POWER--A BUFFALO AT + A LUNATIC ASYLUM--THE GATEWAY TO THE HERDS--INFERNAL + GRAPE-SHOT--NATURE'S BOMB-SHELLS--CRAWLING BEDOUINS--"THAR THEY + HUMP"--THE SLAUGHTER BEGUN--AN INEFFECTUAL CHARGE--"KETCHING THE + CRITTER"--RETURN TO CAMP--CALVES' HEAD ON THE STOMACH--AN + UNPLEASANT EPISODE--WOLF BAITING, AND HOW IT IS DONE. + + +Breakfast over, the day's work was planned out. We were desirous of +loading one of our wagons with game, and sending it back to Hays, from +whence the meat could be forwarded by express to distant friends, and +serve as tidings from camp, of "all's well." The other wagon we decided +to keep with us. Horseback hunting, although fine sport, evidently would +not, in our hands, prove sufficiently expeditious in procuring meat. Our +guide adduced another argument as follows: "Yer see, gents, if yer want +ter ship meat by rail, it won't do ter run it eight or ten miles, like a +fox, and git it all heated up. Ther jints must be cool, or they'll +spile." Stalking the bison was to be our day's sport, therefore, and we +were speedily off, taking only the two wagons, the riding animals being +all left in camp. Shamus prepared a lunch for us, as we did not expect +to return for dinner before dusk. + +Following the same route as the day before, we soon ascended the Saline +"breaks," and emerged on the plains above. Looking to us as if they had +not changed position for twenty-four hours, the buffalo herds still +covered the face of the country, busy as ever in their constant +occupation of feeding. For animals which perform no labor, they have an +egregious appetite, eating as if they were Nature's lawn-gardeners, and +were under contract with her to keep the grass shaved. + +What an immense aggregate of animal power was running to waste before +us. Those huge shoulders, to which the whole body seemed simply a base, +were just the things for neck-yokes. Others, indeed, had thought the +same before us, and tried to utilize these wild oxen. A gentleman at +Salina, Kansas, obtained two buffalo calves, and trained them carefully +to the yoke. They pulled admirably, but their very strength proved a +temptation to them. A pasture-fence was no obstacle in the way of their +sweet will. Not that they went over it, but they simply walked through +it, boards being crushed as readily as a willow thicket. In summer they +took the shortest road to water, regardless of intervening obstructions, +and they thought nothing of flinging themselves over a perpendicular +bank, wagon and all. After carefully calculating the result of his +experiment at the end of the first year, the owner decided that, +although he undoubtedly had a large amount of power on hand, he could +obtain a similar quantity, at less expense, by buying a couple of +steam-engines. + +A few months previous to our trip, a contractor on the Kansas Pacific +Railroad determined to domesticate a young bison bull, and accordingly +took it to his home at Cincinnati. Proving a cross customer, he +presented it to the Longview Lunatic Asylum, near that city, but there +was no inmate insane enough to occupy the yard simultaneously with +Taurus for any length of time. The first day he charged among the +lunatics in a reckless manner, eliciting surprising activity of crazy +legs. If exercise for their minds was what the poor creatures needed, +they certainly obtained it, by calculating when and where to dodge. + +Without loss of time, we set about finding a gateway into the herds. +Looking at the surface before us, it appeared a level, unbroken plain, +quite to the verge where it rolled up against the distant horizon. One +would have maintained that even a ditch, if there, might be traced in +its meanderings across the smooth brown floor. Yet deep ravines, miles +in length, wound in and out among the herds, though to us entirely +invisible. A short search discovered one of these, which promised to +answer our purpose, and to lead to a spot where a large number of cows +and calves were feeding. Fortunately the wind was north, so that we +could creep into its teeth without sending to the timid mothers any +tell-tale taint. + +The wagons were stopped, and we got out, and descending into the hollow, +moved forward. The walls on either side seemed disagreeably close. All +around us was animal life, a small portion of which would have been +sufficient, if so disposed, to make the concealed path which we were +traversing a veritable "last ditch" to us. As we entered the ravine, +some cayotes slunk out of it ahead of us, and one large gray wolf, with +long gallop, disappeared over the banks. The temptation to fire at them +was very strong, but prudence and the guide forbade. + +We picked up some very fine specimens of "infernal grape," in the form +of nearly round balls of iron pyrites. They lay upon the surface like +canister-shot upon a battle-field. It seemed as if during the early +period, when Mother Earth began to cool off a little, her fiery heart +still palpitated so violently under her thin bodice, that beads of the +molten life within, like drops of perspiration, had forced their way +through, and, in cooling, had retained their bubble-like form. We could +have picked up a half-bushel of them which would have made very fair +aliment for cannon. The dogs of war could have spit them out as +spitefully and fatally against human hearts as if the morsels had been +prepared by human hands. From such well-molded shot, of no mortal make, +Milton might have obtained his charges for those first cannon which the +traitor-angel invented and employed against the embattled hosts of +heaven. Shamus, when he afterward became acquainted with the specimens, +called them "a rattlin' shower of witches' pebbles." + +We also passed large surfaces of white rock, which were sprinkled all +over with dark, hollow balls, of a vitrified substance. Most of them +were imbedded midway in the rock, leaving a hemisphere exposed which, in +color and form, was an exact counterpart of a large bomb. If the reader +has ever seen a shell partly imbedded in the substance against which it +was fired, this description will be perfectly plain. There were +indications that a volcano had once existed in this vicinity, and it +seemed highly probable that the red-hot balls which it projected into +air had fallen and cooled in the soft formation adjacent, still +retaining their original shape. + +We should have lingered longer over these geological curiosities, had +not the premonitory symptoms of a scientific lecture from the Professor +alarmed our guide into the remonstrance, "You're burnin' daylight, +gents!" and thus warned, we pushed forward. + +A few hundred yards further brought us to the spot for commencing active +operations. Dropping upon hands and knees, we began crawling along the +side of the ravine in a line, pushing our guns before us. We knew that +the buffalo must be very close, for we could hear the measured cropping +of their teeth upon the grass. They seemed to be feeding toward us, as +we slowly drew up to the level. I found myself trembling all over, so +nervous that the cracking of a weed under our guns sounded to me as loud +as a pistol-shot. + +I looked around, and the stories which I had read in my youth of +adventures in oriental lands rose fresh to my memory. I almost imagined +our party a dozen wild Bedouins, creeping from ambush to fire upon a +caravan, the first note of alarm to which would be a storm of musketry. +Unshaven faces, soiled clothes, and rough hair, assisted us to the +personation, and if aught else was needed to carry out the fancy, it +soon came in a low "Hist!" from the guide, as he pointed to the level +above us. Following the direction of his finger, we saw some hairy +lumps, about the size of muffs, not fifty yards in front of us, bobbing +up and down just above the line which defined the prairie's edge against +the sky. For an instant, we supposed them to be small animals of some +sort, playing on the slope, but the low voice of the guide said, "Thar +they hump, gents!" and we caught the word at once, just as the whaler +does the welcome cry of "There she blows," from the look-out aloft. What +we saw, of course, were the humps of buffaloes moving slowly forward as +they fed. At a word from our guide, we halted for last preparations. + +"Fire at the nearest cows, gents," he said, "and if you get one down, +and keep hid, you'll have lots of shots at the bulls gatherin' round." + +Muggs was continually getting his gun crosswise, so that should it go +off ahead of time, as usual, it would shoot somebody on the left, and +kick some one on the right. Just ahead of us, a prairie dog sat on his +castle wall, and barked constantly. But, fortunately, neither his +signals nor our grumbled remonstrances to the Briton seemed to attract +the attention of the herd in the least degree. + +A few more feet of cautious crawling, and several buffaloes stood +revealed, a cow and calf among the number. The mother espied us, and +lifting her uncouth head, with its crooked, homely horns, regarded us +for an instant with a quiet sort of feminine curiosity, and then went to +feeding again. She probably considered us a parcel of sneaking wolves, +and being conscious of having hosts of protectors near her, was not at +all frightened. Almost simultaneously, the guns of the whole party were +at shoulder, and just as the cow lifted her head again, to watch the +movement, we fired. The fate of that bison was as effectually sealed as +that of the condemned army horse which was first used to tell Paris and +the world the terrors of the mitrailleuse. The poor creature gave a +quick whirl to the right, made two convulsive jumps, and then stood +still. She dropped her nose, a gush of blood following fast; her whole +frame shuddered, as the air from the lungs tried to force its way +through the clotted tide, and then she fell dead, almost crushing the +calf also. The smell of the blood seemed to excite the bulls more than +the report of the guns, which had only startled them for an instant. +Some stood stupidly snuffing about the prostrate victim, while others, +straightening out their tails, marched uneasily around. + +Lying on the ground, and our heads only visible, we kept up a constant +firing. It was almost impossible not to hit some of the old bulls. The +veterans were wounded rapidly, and in all portions of their bodies. One +old fellow, who had been standing with his rear to us, suddenly took it +into his head to run for dear life, and away he went accordingly, with +his hams looking very much like the end of a huge pepper-box. Two or +three others soon began to show signs of grogginess, being drunk with +the blood which was collecting internally from their many wounds. + +One bulky and distressed specimen suddenly caught a glimpse of the +Professor's hat. Forthwith the tail was straightened and raised stiffly +into the air, the head was lowered, and down he came upon us at full +charge. Such a proceeding, a few days before, would simply have resolved +itself into a question whether he could catch us or not. Now, however, +we stood our ground, or rather we lay upon it very firmly, while enough +of us took careful aim to batter his bones fast and sorely. Before +taking twenty steps, he was limping from a shattered foreleg, and in a +moment more came to a sullen halt, and shook his old head in impotent +rage. His eyes were fixed fiercely upon ours; he evidently desired +nothing in the world so much as to get forward for a closer +acquaintance, but his broken bones forbade. We fired rapidly, and fairly +loaded his body with lead before he allowed death to trip him from his +feet. He never took his eyes from off us, until the body rolled over, +and I thanked our breech-loaders which had prevented the poor beast from +having a fair chance. + +Three buffalo were down, as the result of our first "stalk." The herd +had fled, but the calf we had first seen remained standing stupidly by +his dead mother. "Let's ketch the critter," said our guide, and to catch +him we accordingly prepared. The first movement was to surround him, +which done, we began closing in upon him. He was hardly larger than a +good-sized goat, and we feared might succeed in dodging us, but as the +circle narrowed, our hopes of securing a live specimen increased. +Suddenly, the little fellow seemed aware of his danger, and, whirling +about, with head down, made a dart for the open space between Sachem and +the guide. As they closed to prevent his escape, our fat friend went +down with a butt in the stomach, which, although far from pleasant, was +nevertheless the occasion of sufficient delay on the part of the calf to +enable the guide and Semi-Colon to lay firm hold upon him. It was +wonderful what a warlike little fellow he proved, butting undauntedly at +our legs, and uttering, as he did so, a hissing noise. "But me no +butts," exclaimed the Professor, with a facetiousness which from him was +almost as amusing to the rest of us as the pugnacity of the calf, as he +sprang aside to avoid a blow on the knee, and suddenly recognized Duty's +call in another direction. It was not long, however, before the little +animal was securely bound, and laid in one of the wagons, which by this +time had come up. + +The work of skinning and cutting up our game now began, the robe of the +cow proving finer than that from either of the others. Our men told us +that from one position old hunters sometimes shoot down a dozen buffalo +before the herd takes flight. Success is much more probable if the first +victim is a female. + +Other herds invited our attention, and by three o'clock in the afternoon +we had twenty quarters secured, and were returning to camp. Only the +first three robes had been taken off, the skin being left on the rest of +the meat, the better to preserve it from soiling. + +Such hunting fatigues one, and we were glad enough to see the smoke of +our fire rising from the valley, and to anticipate the dinner which we +felt was waiting for us. The plains tired us, and so did conversation, +and all instinctively felt that any attempt at a joke, in our hungry, +worn out condition, would have caused an all but fiendish state of +feeling. Momus himself could not have made that party smile. Most of us +had taken part in cutting up the carcasses, and as we now rode home, +sitting on the skin-covered quarters, we looked like a party of butchers +returning from the slaughter-pens. + +As we drew close to camp, how goodly a sight did Shamus seem, in his +white apron, bidding us "Hurry to yer dinner!" while backing up his +invitation were the brown turkeys, the stews and roasts, the white bread +and yellow butter, and a clean table-cloth. On the spot, we could have +pardoned Shamus all his notions of witchcraft, and I think that Sachem's +charity just then would even have covered our cook's late weakness in +the line of "spooning." The Professor's science, Colon's philanthropy, +Sachem's wealth of worldly wisdom, and Muggs' British self-complacency, +all combined, offered no such consolation, in this hour of sober +realities, as the simple Irishman, with his basting-spoon. + +Water from the brook and towels from the chest soon removed blood and +dust, and dinner followed. Shamus had many a mark scored against Sachem +for attacks on himself and his ancestry, and ventured during dinner to +rub out one, by asking Tammany, in a very respectful manner, and as if +it was a matter of our _cuisine_, whether calves' heads agreed with his +stomach. + +What would have been called in Washington, "an unpleasant episode," was +discovered by Muggs in the center of a biscuit. Taking a hearty British +bite from it, various hairy lines followed the morsel into his mouth, +and caught among his teeth. Examination revealed one of Mr. Colon's +choicest spiders, which by some means had effected his escape and +crawled into the dough. It was hard to tell which was most incensed, the +Briton or the entomologist. Sachem remarked that the specimen was much +kneaded, and added it to our bill of fare as "game, breaded." + +As night approached, our Mexicans prepared for wolf-baiting. During the +day they had shot two or three old bulls, which wandered within half a +mile of camp, and now the swarthy fellows intended to turn an honest +penny. For these purposes professional hunters, and occasionally +teamsters on the plains, provide themselves with bottles of strychnine, +and a quantity of this was accordingly produced. We went with the men to +see the operation, as it clearly came within the province of our +studies. With their knives the Mexicans cut from the carcass lumps of +flesh about the size of one's fist, into which gashes were made, doses +of strychnine inserted, and the flesh then pressed together again. The +balls, thus charged, were scattered close around the carcass, and a few +laid upon it. Cuts were also made, and the poison introduced in various +parts of the hams. As many as fifty doses were thus prepared, and we +then returned to camp. + +No cayote serenade occurred that night, the musicians evidently being +busy drawing sweetness from the cords of the slain. A solemn hush lay +over the land, for the bisons are a quiet race, and, except in novels, +never take to roaring any more than they do to ten-mile charges. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + THE CAYOTES' STRYCHNINE FEAST--CAPTURING A TIMBER WOLF--A FEW CORDS + OF VICTIMS--WHAT THE LAW CONSIDERS "INDIAN TAN"--"FINISHING" THE + NEW YORK MARKET--A NEW YORK FARMER'S OPINION OF OUR GRAY + WOLF--WESTWARD AGAIN--EPISODES IN OUR JOURNEY--THE WILD HUNTRESS OF + THE PLAINS--WAS OUR GUIDE A MURDERER?--THE READER JOINS US IN A + BUFFALO CHASE--THE DYING AGONIES. + + +The next day's life began, as did the previous one, before sunrise, and +while breakfast was cooking, we followed the Mexicans down to examine +their baits. The ground around the carcasses was flecked with forms +which, in the early light, looked like sleeping sheep. A half-dozen or +more wolves, which were still feeding, scampered away at our approach. +From the number of animals lying around, we at first supposed most of +them simply gorged, but the rapid, satisfied jabbering of the Mexicans +quickly convinced us that the strychnine had been doing its work more +effectually than we had given it credit for. Twenty-three dead wolves +were found, and the even two dozen was made up by a large specimen of +the gray variety--or timber-wolf, as it is called in contradistinction +from the cayote--who was exceedingly sick, and went rolling about in +vain efforts to get out of the way. + +Before proceeding to skin the dead wolves, the Mexicans captured this +old fellow and haltered him, by carbine straps, to the horns of one of +the buffalo carcasses, near which he sat on his haunches, with eyes +yellow from rage and fright. Just to stir him up, we tossed him a piece +of bone; he caught it between his long fangs with a click that made our +nerves twitch. Man never appreciates the wonderful command that God gave +him over the other animals until away from his fellows, and surrounded +by the wild beasts of the solitudes, in all their native fierceness. +Here were a few mortals of us encompassed by wolves, in sufficient +numbers and power to annihilate our party, and yet one solitary man +walking toward them would have put the whole brute multitude to flight. + +Although we wondered, at the time, that so many wolves were gathered +from a single baiting, we soon learned that this success was by no means +unusual. At Grinnel Station, where a corporal's guard was stationed, we +afterward saw over forty dead wolves, and most of them of the gray +variety, stacked up, like cord-wood, as the result of one night's +poisoning by the soldiers. + +The remainder of this day was devoted to stalking, and resulted in our +obtaining a sufficiency of robes and meat to justify us in sending the +two Mexican wagons back with them to Hays. Our two captives, the buffalo +calf and wolf, went also. The history of that shipment merits brief +chronicling. + +The robes went to St. Louis, to a man who advertised a patent way of +curing such skins, "warranted as good as Indian tan." Some months +afterward they were returned to Topeka, duly finished, and I find in +the official note-book the following entry. "Robes received to-day. +Resolution, by the company, to learn what the law would consider 'Indian +tan,' in a suit for damages." They had been shaved so thin that the +roots of the hair stuck out on the inside, while the patent liquid in +which they had been soaked gave forth an odor which would have been +wonderful for its permanency, if it had not been still more wonderful +for its offensiveness. + +Of the meat, a portion went to our friends, and the balance to Fulton +Market, New York. In the first quarter, it carried dyspepsia and +disgust, and was so tough that the recipients, with the utmost effort, +could not find a tender regret for our danger in obtaining it; while our +New York consignee wrote that the first morning's steaks "finished the +market," and very nearly finished his customers. He found it impossible, +even by the Fulton Market method of subtraction, to get three hundred +dollars' worth of express charges out of half that amount of sales, and +suggested a discontinuance of shipments. The buffalo calf died on the +cars, which probably saved somebody's bones from being broken in +celebration of his maturity. The gray wolf got safely to the State of +New York, but escaping soon after, a county hunt became necessary, to +save the sheep from total extinction. One farmer, in his ire, even went +so far as to threaten us with a suit for violating the law, and +importing a pauper and disreputable character into the State. + +Our experience may be useful to future hunters, to all of whom we would +say, unless solely to find amusement, never kill old bulls. Cows and +calves are generally juicy and tender, but not so the veterans; they, +after death, butt around among one's digestive organs with a ferocity +which makes the liver ache. Being most easily obtained, bull beef is +generally all that is sent to market, and thus many a patriarchal bison, +dead, accomplishes more in retaliation for his sudden taking-off than +the Fates ever permitted him to do in lusty life. + + * * * * * + +A few days more were spent in our Silver Creek camp, and we then folded +our tents and took a westward course, with the purpose of examining, not +only the remoter regions of Kansas, but also the Colorado portion of the +plains. The new town of Sheridan, fourteen miles east of the State line, +and nine from Fort Wallace, was our objective point. + +"Gentlemen," said the Professor, as we packed and adjusted our things in +the wagons, "we are now to climb for a hundred miles directly up the +roof of the Rocky Mountain water-shed, its long rivers and rich valleys +forming the gutters, or spouts, to carry off the surplus water." + +Sachem, who dreaded these lectures almost as much as he did crinoline, +interposed with some of his usual badinage; but among irreverent classes +of Sophomores and Freshmen, the Professor had learnt to answer only such +questions as were relevant, and to pass all others by unheeded. For this +reason such interruptions never broke the thread of his discourse, and +but temporarily checked its unwinding. In a few minutes, however, the +wagons started, and our expedition began crawling up the slope of the +Professor's metaphorical roof, and thereupon our worthy leader's +discourse was brought to a graceful conclusion. + +For four days we continued our westward journey, the soft grass carpet +beneath us ever stretching away to the horizon in its tiresome sameness, +its figures of buffalo and antelope, big antlered elk and skulking +wolves woven more beautifully upon its brown ground than in the rug-work +of the looms. How I loved to sit upon such rugs, when a child, and gaze +at the strange figures, as they were lit up by the flashing fire-light! +Memory recalled one very impracticable reindeer, which used to lie just +in front of a maiden aunt's chair, representing a Brussels +manufacturer's idea of the animal. His horns were longer than his head, +body and tail combined, and the spring he was making, when transfixed by +the loom, brought his nose so close to the ground, that my older boyhood +calculated the immense antlers would certainly have tipped him over had +he not been held back by the threads. + +But to return to the plains. We examined highlands and lowlands for poor +soil, but found none. What we had once expected to see a bed of sand, if +ever we saw it at all, turned up under the spade a rich dark loam, in +depth and character fully equal to an Illinois prairie. Together with +those other legends, localized drought and grasshoppers, the American +desert, when revealed by the head-light of civilization, had taken to +itself the wings of a myth, and fled away. There was a great sameness in +the climate, as well as the scenery. Day followed day, with its +sunshine and its winds, the latter being decidedly the most disagreeable +feature of the entire trip. + +Various episodes marked our journey from Silver Creek to Sheridan. A few +only of the more noteworthy incidents can be transferred to these pages. +They will suffice, however, as specimens of our adventures, and help the +reader, I trust, to a better acquaintance with the free, wild life of +the West. + +The second day after leaving Silver Creek, we suddenly encountered +another specialty of the plains, the "Wild Huntress." So often has this +personage and her male counterpart danced, with big letters and a +bowie-knife, across yellow covers, that we met the "original Jacobs" of +the tribe gleefully. She came to us in a cloud of buffalo, with black +eyes glittering like a snake's, and coarse and uncombed hair that +tangled itself in the wind, and streamed and twisted behind her like +writhing vipers. A black riding habit flowed out in the strong breeze, +its train snapping like a loose sail, and a black mustang fled from her +Indian lash--the dark wild horse, a fit carrier for such somber outfit. + +She was introduced to us by the bison herd, which came thundering across +our front, with this strange figure pressing its flank and darting +hither and thither from one outskirt of the flying multitude to the +other. The reins lay loose on the neck of her mustang, which entered +into the fierce chase like a bloodhound, doubling and twisting on its +course with an agility that was wonderful. + +One hand of the huntress held out a holster revolver, which she fired +occasionally, but with uncertain aim, one of the bullets indeed +whistling our way. The chase constituted the excitement that she sought, +and the pistol was little more than a spur to urge it on. + +"That's Ann, poor P--'s wife," said our guide. "Crazy since the Indians +killed her husband. He was a contractor on the railroad; his camp used +to be just above Hays. She lives in the old 'dug-out' on the line yet, +and spends half her time chasing buffalo. She never kills none, but that +isn't what she is after. She wants to be moving, and just as wild as she +can; it sort o' relieves her mind." + +The huntress had seen our outfit, and rode toward us. The face was a +very plain one, with a vacant yet anxious expression, and the +tightly-drawn skin seeming scarcely to cover the jaw-bones. She halted +before us, and commenced conversation at once. + +"Good day, gentlemen." + +"Good day, madam." + +"She always tells her story to every body," muttered the guide in a low +voice. + +"Have you seen any Cheyennes hereabouts, gentlemen? I sighted a party +this morning, and you ought to have seen them run. Raven Dick, here, put +his best foot foremost, but they shook him out of sight in a ravine. +Haven't any thing better to do, friends, and so I'm riding down some +buffalo." + +We could easily understand why superstitious savages should run when a +maniac female of such dismal aspect flitted along their trail. + +"Out from Hays, sirs?" she continued, after a pause. "I left there +yesterday. Dick and I camped last night. We must be home when the men +come in from work this eve. Up, Rave!" and she struck the mustang a +cruel blow, from which he jumped with quivering muscles, only to be +violently curbed. For the first time she had just noticed our guide, and +sat for an instant with her wild eyes eating a way to his heart. Then +she turned again to us. + +"Sirs, you must aid me. Some say the Cheyennes killed my husband, and +others there be who think Abe there did it. More shame to me who has to +tell it, but the two had a fight about a woman, some months gone. It was +just after pay-day, and husband was drunk; otherwise he'd never have +bothered his head about any girl but the one he married. + +"There were blows and black eyes, and being a rough man's quarrel, it +ended with hand-shaking. My man came home, and we sat by the fire that +night, and I took no notice that he'd been wrong, but spoke of our old +home in Ohio, and asked him wouldn't he go back there when the contract +was finished. And he put his hand on mine, and says: 'Sis, if the cuts +and fills on the next mile work to profit, we'll go home.' Just then +there came a hiss from the door at our backs, and husband turned sharp +and quick. There was a knot-hole in the planks, and its round black +mouth, gaping from out in the night at us, had spit the sound into our +ears. Husband he rose and went to the door, and fell back dying, with an +arrow in his breast. Some said it was a Cheyenne, and others said Abe +did it. There were lots of Indian bows in camp, and Cheyennes don't +kill for the love of it, but only to steal. I'm going to ask them, if I +can catch them, did they do it, and if not, I know who did. I've a bow, +Abe, and an arrow too, and I hope his blood isn't on your hands." + +"I didn't do it, Ann. I don't shoot no man in the dark," replied our +hostler guide, with a sullen defiance, which among that class stands +equally well for innocence or guilt. We looked at the two, as they sat +for an instant facing each other. The picture was a weird one--a +wildcat, fronting the object of its chase, but undecided whether to +spring or not. We felt that the dark maniac had been hovering around us, +and that this meeting was not altogether accidental. Her disordered +brain was yet undecided in which direction vengeance lay, and, like a +tigress, she was watching and waiting. + +Our policy developed, on the instant, into a non-committal and a safe +one. As she wheeled her horse, and left us without a word, we remarked +to our guide that crazy folks were often suspicious of their best +friends. + +"That's so," he replied, and rode off to urge on the wagons. We shrank +from the idea of living with a murderer, and acquitted him of the crime +on the spot. + + * * * * * + +We are moving out over the grand, illimitable plain again. Reader, ride +with us awhile by the side of that big bison bull, which we have just +stirred up from his noonday dream. You see his broad nostrils, reddish +just under the dark skin at the end, and sensitive as the nose of a +pointer. They have caught the air which we tainted, while passing for a +moment across the breeze. + +[Illustration: ONE OF OUR SPECIMENS. + +_BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION. BUFFALO. N. Y._] + +He has seen nothing, and we are still invisible, but he does not stop to +look behind. "Escape for your life!" has been as plainly telegraphed +from nose to brain, as it could be by eyes or mouth. We were so far off +and well hidden then, that those active tell-tales, sound and sight, +could play no part in this alarm. But the sentinel nerves of smell fled +back from their post on the frontier, with the cry of "Man!" and the +beast of the wilderness thinks only of flight. Powerful for defense +against the rest of the animal creation, he is coward on the instant +before its king. + +Away he goes, right into the teeth of the wind, which he knows will tell +him of any other foes ahead. Lumber along, old fellow, in your ponderous +gallop,--the reader and I are on your path. Our saddle girths have been +tightly drawn, the holster pistols are nestled snug at hand, in their +cases on either side of the saddle-horn, while across its front lies the +light Henry carbine, with a shoulder-strap attaching it to our person, +should we drop the gun for the pistol. Thus we ride with twenty-four +shots before reloading, at the service of our trigger-finger; the +carbine carries twelve, the pistols each a half-dozen. + +How warm we have become. Our hearts are as high up as they can get, +bumping away at the throat-valves, as if they wished to get out and see +what it is that has called their reserves into action. + +There is a muskish taint in the air, from the game ahead. Put in your +spurs, comrade; don't spare. Get up beside him quickly as possible. Once +there, the horses will easily stick. A stern chase disheartens the +pursuer, encourages the pursued. Look out for that creek! See how the +buffalo takes its steep bank--a plunge headlong, which sends the dust up +in clouds. Now, as we check and turn into a ford, he is going up the +opposite side. + +Another hundred yards, and we are close beside him. The long tongue is +hung out, and his head lies low down, as he plunges steadily forward, +diverging ever so little as we press up opposite his fore-shoulders. +That was a bad shot, my friend, barely missing your horse's head. +Shooting at full gallop is like drawing straight lines while being +shaken. + +Some of our bullets are telling; you can hear them crack on his hide. +There is a red spot now, not bigger than the point of one's finger, +opposite a lung, and drops of blood trickle, with the saliva, from his +jaws. Half a score of balls have been pelted into his big body, and he +is bleeding internally. Now the blood comes thicker, and little clots of +it drop down. He slows up--there is danger; look well to your seat! + +That was a narrow escape, comrade. The bull suddenly whirled on his +forefeet for a pivot, and your horse's chest, which was brushing his +hind-quarters, grazed the black horns as they dipped for a plunge. The +pony's swerve barely saved you both. + +Now he stands sullen, glaring at us. The wounds look like little points +of red paint, put deftly on his shaggy hide. They bleed inwardly, just +crimsoning the brown hair at their mouths. The large eyes roll and swell +with pain and fury. He is measuring our distance. + +See him blow the blood from his nostrils. The drops scatter like +red-hot shot around him, seeming to hiss in globules of fury, as they +spatter upon the dry grass. Bladder-like bubbles sputter in ebb and +flow, from the red holes over his lungs. Tiny doors, for death's +messengers to have entered in at. + +What a marvel of size and ferocity he looks. Only our horse's legs stand +between us and disembowelment. Down drops the head into battery again, +and his rush would knock us over like nine-pins, did we stay to receive +it. But bison charges are short ones. Our animals spring away, and he +stops. Signs of grogginess are coming on him. How he hates to feel his +knees shake, straightening them out with a jerk, as we thought he was +just going down. + +But at last gradually and gracefully he sinks, doubling his legs under +him, and resting on his belly. There is still no flurry, or motion of +any kind denoting pain. Unconquerable to the death, he suddenly falls on +his side, the limbs stiffen, and he is dead. + +Twine your hands in the long beard, and in the mane. How he shames the +lion, for whom he could furnish coats half a dozen times over. What +switches of hair those black fetlocks would make. Was there ever another +so big a bison? + +Wondering over this, we lie down on the prostrate bulk, and wait for the +wagon. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + "CREASING" WILD HORSES--MUGGS DISAPPOINTED--A FEAT FOR + FICTION--HORSE AND MONKEY--HOOF WISDOM FOR TURFMEN--PROSPECTIVE + CLIMATIC CHANGES ON THE PLAINS--THE QUESTION OF SPONTANEOUS + GENERATION--WANTON SLAUGHTER OF BUFFALO--AMOUNT OF ROBES AND MEAT + ANNUALLY WASTED--A STRANGE HABIT OF THE BISON--NUMEROUS BILLS--THE + "SNEAK THIEF" OF THE PLAINS. + + +While we were at breakfast one morning, the guide ran in to say that the +herd of wild horses which we had seen on Silver Creek, were feeding +toward us, a mile away. I left the table to obtain a view of them, and +by Abe's advice carried my rifle, as he suggested that we might "crease" +one of them. This feat consists in hitting the upper edge of the bones +of the neck with a bullet, the blow striking so high up that it will +momentarily paralyze, without fracturing. We had read of it often in +tales of Western daring, where the hero mounted the prostrate steed, +and, upon its return to consciousness, escaped on its back from +numberless difficulties and hosts of Indians. + +A short distance out from camp, we turned and saw Muggs following us +with a saddle and bridle on his arm. He had suffered grievous wrong at +the heels of his mule, and was bent on possessing himself of one of our +creased horses. After creeping, with almost infinite caution, within +seventy-five yards, we succeeded in placing our bullets exactly where we +intended, thereby knocking down two victims, who at once became +insensible--and no wonder, for their bones were as effectually fractured +as if they had been struck with a sledge-hammer. Muggs' faith in the +theory of creasing, however, was unbounded. Up he ran and buckled on the +saddle, and got one foot in the stirrup, ready to swing himself into the +seat, when the animal rose. + +After waiting about ten minutes, our Briton concluded that a dead horse +was poor riding, and left us with a very emphatic statement that, in his +opinion, capturing a mount with a rifle was "another blarsted Hamerican +lie, you know!" + +I afterward conversed with several plainsmen about the merits of +"creasing," and found that their attempts had invariably ended in the +same way as ours had done. The feat may have been possible with +smooth-bore rifles, in the hands of those remarkable hunters of old, who +were able to shoot away the breath of a pigeon, and hit the eye of a +flying hawk; but with breech-loaders I unhesitatingly pronounce creasing +an utter impossibility. The achievement sounds well in theory, but, like +much else of popular Western lore is somewhat impracticable when fairly +tested. I have an idea that the principal market value of "creased" +horses in the future, as in the past, will be derived from furnishing +creatures of romance with fearful rides. For this purpose, a cracked +skeleton would be as apt as a sound one, to carry the rider into many +of the scenes with which these tales are wont to harrow our souls. + +While crawling up on the herd, we took its census very carefully. I was +a little surprised to find there were but twenty-five horses, all told. +They were apparently a little larger than the wild ones of Texas, and +had bushy manes and tails, and their step was remarkably firm and +elastic. They were exceedingly timid creatures, raising their heads +constantly, to gaze around. One very interesting circumstance connected +with the herd was that among these wild horses we noticed two strangers; +one, a feeble old buffalo bull, expelled from his tribe, and seeking +their aid against the wolves, and the other, the black pacing stallion. + +When we fired, the survivors were off on the instant, and the manner in +which their clean hoofs struck the earth, and spurned it, was truly +worth seeing. No heaves either, it was plain to see, had ever troubled +those full chests. We caught sight of the herd awhile after, on a ridge +four miles away, and they were still running at full speed. These were +the only wild horses we saw on our trip. In fact, but two or three small +droves are believed to exist on the plains, as the great mass of the +shaggy-maned thousands, children of those old Spanish castaways, swarm +nearer the Pacific. + +So timid and fleet are these horses that none of them have ever been +captured except during the early spring. They are then poor, and, by +hard spurring, can be ridden down. At other times their bottom, and the +advantage of having no weight to carry, insure their safety. It is +quite probable, however, that a systematic pursuit, of the kind +practiced in Texas, might prove successful at any season of the year. + +I gazed at our two victims with less satisfaction than at any thing I +had ever killed. Shooting horses, dear reader, is a good deal like +shooting monkeys. They are both too intimately associated with man to be +made food for his powder. One is a very true and faithful servant, and +the other, if we may believe Mr. Darwin, was once his ancestor. + +In examining the two handsome bodies lying there, I noticed one fact to +which I should have liked to draw the attention of the whole learned +fraternity of blacksmiths, who mutilate horses, the world over. The +hoofs were as solid and as sound as ivory, without a crack or wrong +growth of any sort. And why? Turning them up, the secret lay exposed; +for there, filling the cavity within--a sponge of life-giving oil--was +the frog entire, just as Nature made and kept it. Its business was to +feed and moisten the hoof, and this it had done perfectly. No blacksmith +had ever gouged it out with his knife, and robbed it anew at every +shoeing. + +It is noticeable that the equine race, in its wild state, has none of +the ills of the species domesticated. The sorrows of horse-flesh are the +fruits of civilization. By the study and imitation of Nature's methods, +we could greatly increase the usefulness of these valuable servants, and +remove temptation from the paths of many men who lead blameless lives, +except in the single matter of horse-trades. It may well be queried, +perhaps, whether even the patient man of Uz, had he been laid up by a +runaway colt instead of boils, could have resisted the temptation to +trade it off upon Bildad the Shuhite, when that individual came to +condole with him. + +As we journeyed onward, we found the soil ever the same, in depth and +strength equal to an Illinois prairie. The old cretaceous ocean, and the +great lakes, certainly left it rich in deposits. When its surface shall +have been broken by the plow, and the water-fall absorbed instead of +shed off, the plains will resemble, in appearance and products, any +other prairie country. The amount of moisture annually passing over +them, in storm-clouds that burst further east, is abundantly sufficient +to make the tract very fertile. It is a well established fact in +relation to climatic influences, that moisture attracts moisture; and in +this region the dry ground, with its few shallow streams, has now no +claim upon the summer clouds. The tough buffalo grass has put a lock-jaw +on the plain. It can drink nothing from the floods of the rainy season. +But pry open the hungry mouth with the plowshare, and the earth will +drink greedily. The moisture then absorbed, given up through the agency +of capillary attraction, will draw the showers of summer, as they are +passing over. Already a marked change has taken place over a portion of +the plains, and crops have been grown as far west as Fort Wallace. + +The subject of spontaneous generation, I may remark in this connection, +became a very interesting one to our party. Wherever the soil has been +disturbed, wild sun-flowers spring suddenly into existence. The +"grading camps" of the railroads were followed by belts of these +self-asserting annuals. The first garden-patch cultivated at Fort +Wallace had weeds and insects similar to those that infest gardens +elsewhere. In some cases hundreds of miles of barren plain intervened +between the spots where the seeds germinated, and the nearest points +where other plants of the same variety grew. Neither birds or wind could +have carried the seeds in such quantities. Is the theory true that germs +fall down to us from other planets? Or, do not the plains offer a strong +argument on behalf of spontaneous generation? + +Another matter on which the plains appealed to us strongly, pertained to +the wanton destruction of its wild cattle. During the year 1871, about +fifty thousand buffalo were killed on the plains of Kansas and Colorado +alone. Of this number, it will be correct to estimate that about +one-third were shot for their robes, as many more for meat, and sixteen +thousand or so for sport. Each buffalo could probably have furnished +five hundred pounds of meat and tallow, the quantity of the latter being +small. When killed for food, only the hind quarters and a small portion +of the loin are saved, in all perhaps two hundred pounds. The hides of +these are sacrificed, the skin being cut with the quarters, and left on +them for their protection. The profits of this great slaughter would, +therefore, be about 16,500 robes and 3,300,000 pounds of meat; the waste +over 33,000 robes, and probably not less than 20,000,000 pounds of +meat. In this computation, the vast herds which range further north are +not included. There, however, the waste is comparatively small, as the +red man is in the habit of saving the greater portion of the flesh and +robes. Of the above twenty million pounds of meat left to rot in the +sun, and taint the air of the plains, the greater proportion would +furnish sweeter and more nourishing food to the poor classes of our +cities than the beef which they are able to obtain. + +Let this slaughter continue for ten years, and the bison of the American +continent will become extinct. The number of valuable robes and pounds +of meat which would thus be lost to us and posterity, will run too far +into the millions to be easily calculated. All over the plains, lying in +disgusting masses of putrefaction along valley and hill, are strewn +immense carcasses of wantonly slain buffalo. They line the Kansas +Pacific Railroad for two hundred miles. + +Following ordinary sporting parties for an hour after they have +commenced smiting the borders of a herd, stop by a few of the monsters +that they leave behind, in pools of blood, upon the grass; draw your +hunting-knife across the fat hind-quarters, and see how the cuts reveal +depths of sweet, nourishing meat, sufficient to supply two hundred +starving wretches with an abundant dinner; then if your humanity does +not tempt to a shot at the worse than pot-hunters in front, God's +bounties have indeed been thrown away upon you. + +By law, as stringent in its provisions as possible, no man should be +suffered to pull trigger on a buffalo, unless he will make practical use +of the robe and the meat. What would be thought of a hunter, in any of +the Western States, who shot quails and chickens and left them where +they fell? Every citizen, whether sportsman or not, would join in outcry +against him. Another matter which the law should regulate relates to the +protection of the buffalo cows until after the season when they have +brought forth their young. The calf will thrive, though weaned by +necessity at a very early age, and the season for shooting cows, +although short, would be amply long enough to comport with the chances +of future increase. + +Probably the most cruel of all bison-shooting pastime, is that of firing +from the cars. During certain periods in the spring and fall, when the +large herds are crossing the Kansas Pacific Railroad, the trains run for +a hundred miles or more among countless thousands of the shaggy monarchs +of the plains. The bison has a strange and entirely unaccountable +instinct or habit which leads it to attempt crossing in front of any +moving object near it. It frequently happened, in the time of the old +stages, that the driver had to rein up his horses until the herd which +he had startled had crossed the road ahead of him. To accomplish this +feat, if the object of their fright was moving rapidly, the animals +would often run for miles. + +When the iron-horse comes rushing into their solitudes, and snorting out +his fierce alarms, the herds, though perhaps a mile away from his path, +will lift their heads and gaze intently for a few moments toward the +object thus approaching them with a roar which causes the earth to +tremble, and enveloped in a white cloud that streams further and higher +than the dust of the old stage-coach ever did; and then, having +determined its course, instead of fleeing back to the distant valleys, +away they go, charging across the ridge over which the iron rails lie, +apparently determined to cross in front of the locomotive at all +hazards. The rate per mile of passenger trains is slow upon the plains, +and hence it often happens that the cars and buffalo will be side by +side for a mile or two, the brutes abandoning the effort to cross only +when their foe has merged entirely ahead. During these races the +car-windows are opened, and numerous breech-loaders fling hundreds of +bullets among the densely crowded and flying masses. Many of the poor +animals fall, and more go off to die in the ravines. The train speeds +on, and the scene is repeated every few miles until Buffalo Land is +passed. + +Another method of wanton slaughter is the stalking of the herds by men +carrying needle-guns. These throw a ball double the weight of the +ordinary carbine, and the shot is effective at six hundred yards. +Concealed in ravines, the hunter causes terrible havoc with such weapons +before the herd takes flight. We were never guilty of ambushing after +those two days on the Saline, and of those occasions we were heartily +ashamed ever afterward. + +[Illustration: _BUREAU OF ILLUSTRATION BUFFALO_ + +One specialty of the plains that deserves mention, and quite as +remarkable as its brutes and plants, though of rather more modern +origin, is its numerous Bills. Of these, we became acquainted, before +our trip was ended, with the following distinct specimens: Wild Bill, +Buffalo Bill, California Bill, Rattlesnake Bill, and Tiger Bill, the +last named being, as one of our men who had played with him remarked, +the "dangererest on 'em all." We also heard of a Camanche Bill and an +Apache Bill, but these celebrities it was not our fortune to meet. + +Five pictures for the consideration of Uncle Samuel, suggestive of a +game law to protect his comb-horns, buttons, tallow, dried beef, +tongues, robes, ivory-black, bone-dust, hair, hides, etc.] + +I can not dismiss the peculiar characters of the plains without again +paying tribute to that unapproachable thief, the cayote. Let no party of +travelers leave any thing exposed in camp lighter than an anvil. We +lost, in one night, at the hands--or rather the jaws--of these slinking +sneak-thieves of the plains, a boot, a pair of leather breeches, and a +half-quarter of buffalo calf, besides some smaller articles. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + A LIVE TOWN AND ITS GRAVE-YARD--HONEST ROMBEAUX IN TROUBLE--JUDGE + LYNCH HOLDS COURT--MARIE AND THE VINE-COVERED COTTAGE--THE TERRIBLE + FLOODS--DEATH IN CAMP AND IN THE DUG-OUT--WAS IT THE WATER WHICH + DID IT?--DISCOVERY OF A HUGE FOSSIL--THE MOSASAURUS OF THE + CRETACEOUS SEA--A GLIMPSE OF THE REPTILIAN AGE--REMINISCENCES OF + ALLIGATOR-SHOOTING--THEY SUGGEST A THEORY. + + +Our fourth day's travel from Silver Creek brought us to Sheridan, our +secondary base of operations, so to speak, and only fourteen miles east +of the Colorado border. We found the town a very lively one, +notwithstanding that the grave-yard, beautifully located in a commanding +position overlooking the principal street, was patronized to a +remarkable extent. The place had built itself up as simply the temporary +terminus of the Pacific Railroad. Soon after our visit it moved +westward, and at last accounts but one house remained to mark its former +site. + +The shades of night had just settled over the town upon the evening of +our arrival, when Abe, our hostler-guide, came running to us with +information that "Honest Rombeaux," another of our hostlers, was being +hung by some of the citizens. The locality which had been selected for +this little diversion was a railroad trestle a short distance below the +town. We were already acquainted with the penchant our Sheridanites had +for hanging people. Thirty or more graves on the neighboring hill had +been pointed out before sundown, as those of persons who had fallen +under sentence from Judge Lynch. In the expressive language of the +citizen who volunteered the information, there had been "thirty +funerals, and not one nateral death." Now that Judge Lynch had opened +court at our own door, we proposed to raise the question of +jurisdiction. + +Armed, at once, we set off for a rescue, and, stumbling through the +darkness, had gone only a hundred yards or so, when we met the lynchers +returning. At their head, with a very dirty piece of rope around his +neck, walked our hostler, trembling all over, and chattering broken +English rapidly, in mingled fright and anger. The leader of the party +told us that the evidence not being quite sufficient for hanging, an +extra session of court had been called to be held immediately, and as +having some interest in the case, we were invited to seats on the jury. +The trial, we were further informed, was to be held in Rombeaux's own +house. This last was a new surprise, for reasons to be explained +presently. Rombeaux had been with us ever since leaving Hays, and had +gained his title of "Honest" from a particularly faithful discharge of +duty. + +To him had been intrusted the supplies for hired men and horses. Three +of the Mexicans he had severally thrashed for stealing. Once, in the +night, on Silver Creek, we had heard a rattling at the medicine-chest, +and trembling for our limited stock of spirits, stole forth to catch +the culprit. On his knees by the open box was Rombeaux, replacing the +brandy-bottle, and we feared that he, too, had become a thief. But just +then, on the still air, came words of thanks to the Virgin Mary, for +having enabled him to awake in time to frighten away the robber. Nor was +this all; in the fierceness of his indignation, we beheld him sally +forth immediately afterward, and kick a sleeping Mexican out of his +blankets, on suspicion. Thereupon, we went back to bed with implicit +faith in Rombeaux, which had followed us ever since. + +Had he not told us, moreover, of a vine-covered cottage in France, where +pretty Marie watched and waited until her lover could earn dowry +sufficient to match hers? It was the old story. A maiden fair tarried in +Europe, while a true knight ransacked foreign lands for fame and +fortune; and long since had all of us, save Sachem, exhausted our stock +of spare change to hasten the reunion. + +Passing some of the lowest and most flashy-looking saloons in the place, +we entered a ravine, and soon stopped before a "dug-out." So much was it +the work of excavation, that the dirt roof was level with the earth +above, and the door seemed to open directly into the bank. We knocked, +and were answered promptly by a fat, gayly dressed French woman. This +was Rombeaux's wife, and here was Rombeaux's house. What a Marie and +vine-clad cottage these! + +Without delay the trial commenced, the Frenchman and his wife occupying +places in the center, and the court seated on boxes, barrels, and the +bed. The evidence taken that night in the cabin was substantially the +following: + +Two years before Jules Pigget, a native of France, accompanied by his +young wife, appeared on the railroad below, and solicited work. They +both found ready employment, and lived below Hays, in a dug-out, happy +and prosperous. Within a year came another Frenchman, our present Honest +Rombeaux. Across the water, he and Jules had been rival suitors for +Marie's hand; yet strangely enough, the newcomer was welcomed by the +young couple, and took up his abode with them. Matters prospered with +all three, and soon Jules was to be appointed tank-tender on the road. +That year came the great rain-storm, when so many families in Western +Kansas and Texas were drowned. Hundreds of people were living in +dug-outs, rude excavations in the banks of streams, with the roof on a +level with the bank above, but the room itself entirely below high-water +mark--a style of dwelling which, as no great rise had occurred in years, +had become quite popular among new-comers. + +On the night of the great flood people went to bed as usual. The streams +had risen but little. At midnight the rain fell heavily; the firm +surface of the plains shed the waters like a roof; streams rose ten feet +in an hour, and the foaming currents, roaring like cataracts, came down +with the force of mighty tidal waves. Many dwellers in the dug-outs +sprang from their beds into water, to find egress by the doors +impossible, and were fortunate if they succeeded in escaping through +the chimneys or roofs. Whole families were drowned. Fort Hays, at the +fork of Big Creek, and supposed to be above high-water, was inundated, +six or eight soldiers being swept away, while the remainder were obliged +to seek safety on the roofs of the stone barracks. Large numbers of +mules, picketed on the adjacent bottoms, were drowned. Their picket-pins +fast in the earth, the animals were swept from their feet by the rising +waters, and towed under by the firmly-held lariats. Emigrants encamped +on the bottom heard the roar of the flood; with no time to harness, they +seized the tongues of their wagons themselves, but the rising tide +gained on them too rapidly, and they were glad to save life at the +expense of oxen and goods. The horrors of that night are indescribable, +and, to crown all, they took place amid a darkness that was total. +Above, was the roar of waters descending; below, the answering roar of +the floods, as they rolled madly onward, carrying in their strong arms +the wreck of farms, and corpses by the score. + +On that night Jules, the husband, perished. Honest Rombeaux and Marie, +however, were rescued from the roof of their dwelling at daylight; and +afterward, when the flood had subsided, the body of Jules was taken from +the wash in the fire-place. And now came suspicion, and pointed over the +shoulders of the throng gathered around; for there was an ugly wound +half hidden in the dead husband's hair, and his fingers were bruised. +Some men did not hesitate to say boldly that when Rombeaux escaped +through the chimney, Jules stayed behind to assist his wife out, and +that when he tried to follow, he was struck on the head by his quondam +rival, and, still clinging to the chimney's edge, his fingers were +pounded until their hold was loosed, and the victim sucked under the +roof, against which the waters were already beating. The man and woman, +however, claimed that it was the whirl of the waters against pegs and +logs which had disfigured the corpse. Three weeks afterward they were +married. + +"And now, gentlemen," said our foreman, rising from his barrel, when the +evidence was all in, "the question for the jury to decide is, Was it the +water that did it?" + +A doubt existing in the case, we gave the prisoner its benefit; but +there was murder in the air, and Rombeaux knew it. Before morning he had +departed--Marie said for La Belle France, but, as the citizens generally +believed, really for Texas. + +The next twenty-four hours constituted a regular field-day for the +Professor, being distinguished by an event which, from a scientific +stand-point, was among the most important of our entire expedition. This +was the discovery of a large fossil saurian, which we came upon while +exploring quite in sight of Sheridan, and not more than half a mile from +its eastern outskirts. + +Descending the side of a deep, desolate rift in the earth, we found +ourselves among unmistakable traces of violent volcanic action. The +ground was strewn with black sand, and with yellow pebble-like masses, +apparently impure sulphur. There were numerous round cones also, looking +like diminutive craters, with edges and surface composed of bubble-like +lava, the material having evidently hardened while still distended by +the struggling gases. The appearance, to use a homely comparison, was +somewhat that of several low pots, over the edges of which boiling +molasses had poured, and then burned by the heat of the fire. Some +scattered objects, which at first we took for stumps of huge trees, upon +examination we found to be pillars of mud and rock, upheavals, +apparently, from volcanic action, and not the work of the floods, which, +in those primeval times, we knew, must have poured down the valley. They +would have answered, without much difficulty, for druidical altars, had +we only been in the land once inhabited by those long-bearded, +blood-thirsty priests of old. + +Two or three poisoned cayotes and a dead raven were lying near some +bleached buffalo skulls, on which, as we presently discovered, daubs of +lard mixed with strychnine had been placed, and licked off by the +victims; and straightway, as genius of the scene, an unshaven, +woolen-shirted little man appeared in view, busily engaged in skinning a +wolf. We saluted him, and the response in French-English told us his +nationality at once. We found his name to be Louis, and his proper +occupation that of watchmaker. But as the pinchbeck time-pieces of the +frontier did not furnish enough repairing to take up his entire time, he +had many spare hours, and these he devoted to securing pelts. As buffalo +were not now in the vicinity, he larded their bones, with the success of +which we were eye-witnesses. + +Louis was a wiry little Gaul, very positive in his ideas about every +thing. An animated conversation sprang up at once between him and the +Professor, and it soon became amusingly evident that his geological +ideas did not entirely accord with those of the Philosopher. A sudden +turn in the colloquy developed a fact of keen interest to even the most +unscientific member of our party. + +Pointing to the other side of the valley, Louis told us that there lay +the bones of an immense snake, all turned to stone. This sudden voice +from the past ages sounded in the Professor's ears like the blare of a +trumpet to a warrior. He hurried us forward in the direction indicated, +and, locking arms with the bloody-shirted little Frenchman, strode on in +advance. I wish his class could have seen him thus traversing the +desolate bed where that old sunken volcano went to sleep. We were glad +that the latter was still asleep, and had never acquired the habit of +snorting into wakefulness, and pelting explorers with hot rocks. + +What mysteries, I have often thought, might we not discover, on looking +down the throat of a healthy volcano, if some wise alchemist could only +brew a dose sufficiently powerful to stop the fiery fellow's foaming at +the mouth! Or, better still, if it could reach the bowels of the earth, +and keep the whole system quiet, while we, puny mortals, like trichina +mites, swarmed down the interior, and bored scientifically back to the +crust again. Earth's veins run golden blood, and we might be gorged with +that, perhaps, ere making exit into the sunshine again. + +A shout from the further edge of the ravine cut short our speculations, +and called our attention to the Professor. He stood waving his slouched +hat for an instant, and then bent close over the ground, in earnest +scrutiny. + +A few moments later, and we all stood beside the huge fossil. It lay +exposed, upon a bed of slate, looking very much like a seventy-foot +serpent, carved in stone. Part of the remains had been taken up to the +town, and spread over the bench, in the shop of Louis. From what was +left, the jaws appeared to have been originally over six feet long, the +sharp hooked and cone-shaped teeth being still very perfect. A few broad +fragments of ribs showed that, in circumference, the animal's body had +been about the size of a puncheon. We felt confident that the specimen +was a very rare one, as Muggs had never seen any thing like it, even in +England. It now rests in the museum at Cambridge, Massachusetts. + +"This fossil, gentlemen," said the Professor, "is that of a +_Mosasaurus_, a huge reptile which existed in the cretaceous sea. This +appears to be one of the largest members of the family yet discovered, +its length, as you will perceive, being over fifty feet. The species to +which it belonged swarmed in immense numbers, but were surrounded by +monsters even more remarkable than they. The deep which they inhabited +must have been constantly lashed and torn with their fierce conflicts; +for it was an age of war, and the powers of offense and defense, which +the monsters of that period possessed, were terrible. Winged reptiles +filled the air, in appearance more hideous than any creation of the +imagination. Following close upon the Reptilian came the Mammalian age, +and I hold that with the largest of the mammals came man, rude in tastes +and uncouth in form, but even then ruling as king of the animal +creation. Wielded by a strength equal to that of a gorilla, his club +would dash in the skull of any beast which dare dispute dominion with +him." + +The text thus suggested him, the Professor then diverged into an +argument on his pet theory of man's early existence. + +A trivial circumstance connected with our discovery arrested my +attention, and, from a sportsman's stand-point, suggested a little +theory of my own. The head of the saurian rested on the basin's edge, +its jaws touching, with their stony tips, the prairie, while down into +the valley below stretched the body and tail. This little fact +dove-tailed itself into some incidents of the past, and gave rise to +quite a train of speculation. + +Some years ago I hunted alligators in Mississippi. Sitting on the bank +of a sluggish bayou, I would watch the surface of the water, close under +which were visible the noses of countless buffalo fish, floating as one +sees minnows do in glass jars. Under the hot sun all nature seemed +asleep. Soon, however, a black knot, an ugly dark wart, not larger than +one's two fists, would make its appearance, floating, like some charred +fragment, slowly along. + +To a stranger, the only suspicious circumstance would have been, that +where there was no current whatever, it still continued its motion, the +same as before. The experienced eye recognized this object as the nose +of an alligator, behind which, and just at the surface, as it got +opposite, the ugly eyes would become visible, looking out for hogs or +dogs, as they came to drink under the bank. + +I never had the patience to wait for the _finale_ of the scene; but had +I done so, I should have beheld the knot float closer in, and, just +after passing the victim, a tail would have come out of the water, and, +with a curving blow forward, knocked the prize out from shore, and in +front of the devourer's jaws. It was my good fortune, frequently, to +send a Ballard rifle-ball into the pirate's eyes. In such cases there +was usually a tremendous commotion in the water, accompanied by a strong +smell of musk, and the wounded reptile would then make straight for +shore, and run his head upon it. Under such circumstances, the creature +always sought at least that much of dry land to die upon, seeming as +anxious as man that its lamp of life should not be extinguished under +water. + +This monster whose remains we were now exhuming was allied to the +alligator, as one of the great family of lizards, and had died in the +same manner--his head on the shores of the basin, his tail in its +depths. Perhaps in the convulsion of Nature which opened a path for the +waters to the ocean, and drained this inland sea, the fissure in which +we stood had gaped, and exhaled poisonous gases through the whirlpool +its suction created. The saurian monster of that strange age felt the +hungry vortex swallowing him, which meanwhile enveloped him in deadly +secretions, killing before devouring. With a last lurch through the +cauldron's ebbing tide, the lizard threw himself upon its edge, and +died. + +Of the countless millions of saurians then existing, capricious Nature +had seized upon this one, to transmute it into an imperishable monument +of that extinct race. In those ages of roaring waters and hissing fires, +she had clothed the bones in stone, that they might withstand the +gnawing tooth of time, and thus handed them down to the wondering eyes +of the Nineteenth Century. Many of the pieces, it should be said, were +cracked and scarred, evidently by the action of fierce heat. + +Constantly the earth is giving up these marvelous creations of the past, +in comparison with which the animals of the present are tame enough. +While we doubt a modern sea-serpent as impossible, we dig up fossilized +marine monsters, which could easily have swallowed the biggest snake +that credible sea-captain ever ran foul of. + +[Illustration: DUG-OUT.] + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + + FROM SHERIDAN TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS--THE COLORADO PORTION OF THE + PLAINS--THE GIANT PINES--ATTEMPT TO PHOTOGRAPH A BUFFALO--THINGS + GET MIXED--THE LEVIATHAN AT HOME--A CHAT WITH PROFESSOR + COPE--TWENTY-SIX INCH OYSTERS--REPTILES AND FISHES OF THE + CRETACEOUS SEA. + + +At Sheridan, we were very near the Colorado portion of the plain, which +stretched on for some hundreds of miles further westward, its further +line lapping the base of the Rocky Mountains. Into this territory we +passed, and spent a considerable period of time in its examination, but +while our experience was to us full of interest, any thing more extended +than a brief summary would occupy too much space here. + +For the first one hundred miles, the soil deteriorated in quality, and +the sage-bush made its appearance, as did also the "Adam's needle" or +"Spanish bayonet." The latter makes an excellent substitute for soup, +but a wretched cushion to alight upon when thrown from your horse. (I +make the latter statement on the authority of Doctor Pythagoras.) +Brackish water was found at intervals, and white saline crystallizations +were seen along some of the streams. Although the soil was more sandy +than further east, the buffalo grass was abundant and nutritious, so +that at no time had we any difficulty in finding grazing for our cattle, +and the antelope that we killed were invariably in good condition. This +belt of eastern Colorado proved particularly rich in fossil wealth, to +the description of which we shall devote most of this chapter, and the +whole of that following. In the vicinity of the Big Sandy, we found +numerous lakes of clear water, surrounded by rich pasturage. + +About one hundred miles west of the Kansas line, the country began +gradually improving, and continued to do so until we reached the +mountains. The Bijou basin, through which we passed, afforded excellent +range, and contained good streams. The country swarmed with antelopes, +and once we saw a herd running rapidly, which was four minutes in +crossing the road. + +We had fine views of Pike's Peak, at a distance of one hundred and fifty +miles, the atmosphere there being remarkably pure and transparent. +Emigrants have often been deceived when, as their wagons crawled over +the crest which we named First View, the fine old Peak burst upon their +sight, and in their enthusiasm resolved to get an early start next day +and reach it before another night-fall. Our guide told us that when he +first crossed the plains, by the Platte route, his party camped for the +night near Monument Rock. After supper, two of the men and a woman set +out to cut their names in the stone, supposing it to be only a mile or +so distant, but when an hour's traveling brought the rock apparently no +nearer, they became discouraged and returned. Next day Monument Rock was +found to be twelve miles distant from their camping-place. + +When within a day's journey of the mountains, we came in sight of +several tall objects standing out in bold relief upon the plain. These +proved to be giant pines, thrown out, like sentinels, from the forests +still far beyond and invisible. We could not resist the impulse to give +the first one we came to a hearty hug; for, after so many weeks upon the +treeless plain, these suggestions of mighty forests, with their mingled +sheen and shadow, were indeed welcome. The mountains of Colorado, with +their beautiful parks and wonderful young cities, have been so often +described that our notes would prove a useless addition to a somewhat +worn history, and hence we forbear taxing the reader's patience by +transcribing them here. + +After studying the principles of mining and irrigation, we spent in the +neighborhood of one calendar month in getting views of sunrise and +sunset, from all the known peaks, to the end that no future tourist +might feel called upon to extend to us his kind commiseration for having +lost some particular outlook, where he had been, and which he considered +the best of all. To accomplish this thoroughly, we hewed paths up +hitherto inaccessible mountains, and at the end of the month made a +close calculation, and decided that we were a match for all such +tourists for at least five years to come. We then retraced our steps to +Buffalo Land, again entering the fossil belt near Fort Wallace. + +One incident of our trip into Colorado deserves especial mention from +having been the first, as it will probably prove the last, attempt to +photograph the buffalo in his native wildness, at close quarters. The +idea was suggested in a letter which the Professor received from his +Eastern friends, who thought that actual photographs of the animals +inhabiting the plains would be a valuable addition to the ordinary +facilities for the study of natural history. As good fortune would have +it, there happened to be at Sheridan an artist, just arrived from Hays, +then prospecting for a location, and him we promptly engaged. The second +day out, two old buffaloes, near our road, were selected as good +subjects for first views. One of these was soon killed, the other making +his escape up a ravine near by. Although we had good reason to suspect +that the latter had been wounded, we did not pursue him, since it was +now near noon, and our artist, moreover, being of a somewhat timid +disposition, had expressly stipulated that we should keep near him, not +so much, he repeatedly assured us, as a body-guard for himself, as for +the protection of his new camera and outfit. + +The dead bull we propped into position with our guns and other supports, +and while the artist carefully adjusted his instrument, Shamus began to +make preparations for lunch, and Mr. Colon and Semi set out for a few +minutes' pastime in catching bugs. They had been gone a full half hour, +and we were just remarking their prolonged absence somewhat impatiently, +when a loud cry from the nearer bank of the ravine fell on our ears, and +looking around we beheld Colon senior, and ditto junior, making toward +us at a tremendous rate of speed. + +"Buffalo!" was all that we could catch of Semi's wild shouts, as he led +the chase directly toward us, his father having lost several seconds in +securing one of his specimen-cases, and on the instant the old bull that +we had wounded an hour before hove in sight, in full charge upon the +flying entomologists. As buffalo charges are short ones, he would have +stopped, no doubt, in a moment or so, had not Muggs and I, the only +members of our party who happened to have their guns at hand, opened +fire on him, and planted another bullet between his ribs. The effect was +to infuriate the old fellow tenfold, and down he came careering toward +us, with what I then thought the most vicious expression of countenance +I had ever seen on a buffalo's physiognomy. + +The attack was so sudden, and the surprise so complete, that we were +most ingloriously stampeded, and fell back in hot haste upon our +reserves, the guide and teamsters, who, we knew, would be provided with +weapons and in good shape to cover our retreat. The sitting for which we +had made such elaborate preparations was abruptly terminated in the +manner shown in the accompanying engraving. + +Fortunately for the artist, the blow originally intended for him was +delivered upon the legs of the instrument. His assailant being at length +dispatched, the poor fellow proceeded to pick out of the ruins of his +property what remained that might again be useful. He stated that his +stock, as well as the subject of buffalo photographing, was "rather +mixed," and that, if we would pay him for the damage done, he would +return. Next morning he left us, and thus it was that science lost the +projected series of valuable photographic views. + +[Illustration: TAKING AND BEING TAKEN.] + +Exploration gives us a past history of the plains which is interesting +in the extreme. Our party spent some weeks in exploring for fossils +beyond Sheridan, and were richly rewarded. In the great ocean which once +covered the land, the wonderful reptiles of the cretaceous age swarmed +in prodigious numbers, and their fierce struggles upon and under its +surface made "the deep to boil like a pot." The mysterious Leviathan, +described in the forty-first chapter of Job, had its prototype in more +than one of the monsters of that period: + +"Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about. + +"Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. + +"Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron. + +"His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth. + +"The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in +themselves; they can not be moved. + +"He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. + +"He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be +hoary." + +The fossil remains of these reptiles are numerous, constituting a rich +mine of scientific wealth, which has been but very lightly worked. +Enough fossils can be obtained by future exploration to fill to +overflowing all the museums of the land. + +We have no means of computing how long the cretaceous sea existed, but +we know that it passed away and was replaced by large fresh-water +lakes, those of the plains being bounded on the west by the Rocky +Mountains. Then succeeded an age of which we can catch but occasional +glimpses, and our longing becomes intense that we could know more. We +see a land fertile as the garden of Eden, surrounding beautiful lakes. +The climate is delightful, and earth, air, and water, are full of life. +Grand forests and flower-covered prairies nod and blossom under the kind +caresses of Nature. Water fowls numberless plunge under and skim over +the surface, and the songsters of the air warble forth their hymns of +praise. Over the pastures and through the forests roam an animal +multitude of which we can have but faint conception, but among the +number we recognize the lion with his royal mane, and the tiger with his +spots; and there also are the elephant, the mastodon, the rhinoceros, +the wild horse, and the great elk. + +After our return, the eminent naturalist, Prof. Edward D. Cope, A. M., +visited the plains, and spent some time in careful exploration there. As +he had previously received several fossils from us for examination, I +communicated with him not long since, asking a record of his trip. This +he very kindly consented to furnish, and, did space permit, I would +gladly publish entire the matter which he has placed at my disposal. No +apology can be necessary, however, for yielding to the temptation of +devoting two or three chapters to a chat by Prof. Cope with my readers. + +The manuscript, as it lies before me, is entitled: "On the Geology and +Vertebrate Palæontology of the Cretaceous Strata of Kansas." Let us +begin with "Part I--A General Sketch of the Ancient Life." + + * * * * * + +That vast level tract of our territory lying between Missouri and the +Rocky Mountains represents a condition of the earth's surface which has +preceded, in most instances, the mountainous or hilly type so prevalent +elsewhere, and may be called, in so far, incompletely developed. It does +not present the variety of conditions, either of surface for the support +of a very varied life, or of opportunities for access to its interior +treasures, so beneficial to a high civilization. + +It is, in fact, the old bed of seas and lakes, which has been so +gradually elevated as to have suffered little disturbance. Consistently +with its level surface, its soils have not been carried away by rain and +flood, but rather cover it with a deep and widespread mantle. This is +the great source of its wealth in Nature's creations of vegetable and +animal life, and from it will be drawn the wealth of its future +inhabitants. On this account its products have a character of +uniformity; but viewed from the stand-point of the political +philosopher, so long as peace and steam bind the natural sections of our +country together, so long will the plains be an important element in a +varied economy of continental extent. + +But they are not entirely uninterrupted. The natural drainage has worn +channels, and the streams flow below the general level. The ancient sea +and lake deposits have neither been pressed into very hard rock beneath +piles of later sediment, nor have they been roasted and crystallized by +internal heat. Although limestone rock, they easily yield to the action +of water, and so the side drainage into the creeks and rivers has +removed their high banks to from many rods to many miles from their +original positions. In many cases these banks or bluffs have retained +their original steepness, and have increased in elevation as the +breaking-down of the rock encroached on higher land. In other cases the +rain-channels have cut in without removing the intervening rocks at +once, and formed deep gorges or canyons, which sometimes extend to great +distances. They frequently communicate in every direction, forming +curious labyrinths, and when the intervening masses are cut away at +various levels, or left standing like monuments, we have the +characteristic peculiarities of "bad lands" or _mauvaises terres_. + +In portions of Kansas tracts of this kind are scattered over the country +along the margins of the river and creek valleys and ravines. The upper +stratum of the rock is a yellow chalk; the lower, bluish, and the +brilliancy of the color increases the picturesque effect. From elevated +points the plains appear to be dotted with ruined villages and towns, +whose avenues are lined with painted walls of fortifications, churches, +and towers, while side alleys pass beneath natural bridges or expand +into small pockets and caverns, smoothed by the action of the wind, +carrying hard mineral particles. + +But this is the least interesting of the peculiarities presented by +these rocks. On the level surfaces, denuded of soil, lie huge +oyster-shells, some opened and others with both valves together, like +remnants of a half-finished meal of some titanic race, who had been +frightened from the board, never to return. These shells are not +thickened like most of those of past periods, but contained an animal +which would have served as a meal for a large party of men. One of them +measured twenty-six inches across. + +If the explorer searches the bottoms of the rain-washes and ravines, he +will doubtless come upon the fragment of a tooth or jaw, and will +generally find a line of such pieces leading to an elevated position on +the bank or bluff, where lies the skeleton of some monster of the +ancient sea. He may find the vertebral column running far into the +limestone that locks him in his last prison; or a paddle extended on the +slope, as though entreating aid; or a pair of jaws lined with horrid +teeth which grin despair on enemies they are helpless to resist. Or he +may find a conic mound, on whose apex glisten in the sun the bleached +bones of one whose last office has been to preserve from destruction the +friendly soil on which he reposed. Sometimes a pile of huge remains will +be discovered, which the dissolution of the rock has deposited on the +lower level, the force of rain and wash having been insufficient to +carry them away. + +But the reader inquires, What is the nature of these creatures thus left +stranded a thousand miles from either ocean? How came they in the +limestones of Kansas, and were they denizens of land or sea? It may be +replied that our knowledge of this chapter of ancient history is only +about five years old, and has been brought to light by geological +explorations set on foot by Dr. Turner, Prof. Mudge, Prof. Marsh, W. E. +Webb, and the writer. Careful examinations of the remains discovered +show that they are all to be referred to the reptiles and fishes. We +find that they lived in the period called Cretaceous, at the time when +the chalk of England and the green sand marl of New Jersey were being +deposited, and when many other huge reptiles and fishes peopled both sea +and land in those quarters of the globe. The twenty-six species of +reptiles found in Kansas, up to the present time, varied from ten to +eighty feet in length, and represented six orders, the same that occur +in the other regions mentioned. Two only of the number were terrestrial +in their habits, and three were flyers; the remainder were inhabitants +of the salt ocean. When they swam over what are now the plains, the +coast-line extended from Arkansas to near Fort Riley, on the Kansas +River, and, passing a little eastward, traversed Minnesota to the +British Possessions, near the head of Lake Superior. The extent of sea +to the westward was vast, and geology has not yet laid down its +boundary; it was probably a shore now submerged beneath the waters of +the North Pacific Ocean. + +Far out on its expanse might have been seen in those ancient days, a +huge snake-like form which rose above the surface and stood erect, with +tapering throat and arrow-shaped head; or swayed about, describing a +circle of twenty feet radius above the water. Then it would dive into +the depths, and naught would be visible but the foam caused by the +disappearing mass of life. Should several have appeared together, we +can easily imagine tall twining forms, rising to the height of the masts +of a fishing fleet, or like snakes twisting and knotting themselves +together. This extraordinary neck, for such it was, rose from a body of +elephantine proportions; and a tail of the serpent pattern balanced it +behind. The limbs were probably two pairs of paddles, like those of +_Plesiosaurus_, from which this diver chiefly differed in the +arrangement of the bones of the breast. In the best known species, +twenty-two feet represent the neck, in a total length of fifty feet. + +This is the _Elasmosaurus platyurus_ (Cope), a carnivorous sea reptile, +no doubt adapted for deeper waters than many of the others. Like the +snake-bird of Florida, it probably often swam many feet below the +surface, raising the head to the distant air for a breath, then +withdrawing it and exploring the depths forty feet below, without +altering the position of its body. From the localities in which the +bones have been found in Kansas, it must have wandered far from land, +and that many kinds of fishes formed its food, is shown by the teeth and +scales found in the position of its stomach. + +A second species, of somewhat similar character and habits, differed +very much in some points of structure. The neck was drawn out to a +wonderful degree of attenuation, while the tail was relatively very +stout, more so, indeed, than in the _Elasmosaurus_, as though to balance +the anterior regions while occupied in various actions, _e. g._, while +capturing its food. This was a powerful swimmer, its paddles measuring +four feet in length, with an expanse, therefore, of about eleven feet. +It is known as _Polycotylus latipinnis_ (Cope). + +The two species just described formed a small representation, in our +great interior sea, of an order which swarmed at the same time, or near +it, over the gulfs and bays of old Europe. There they abounded twenty to +one. Perhaps one reason for this was the almost entire absence of the +real rulers of the waters of Ancient America, viz: the _Pythonomorphs_. +These sea-serpents, for such they were, embrace more than half the +species found in the limestone rocks in Kansas, and abound in those of +New Jersey and Alabama. Only four have been seen as yet in Europe. + +Researches into their structure have shown that they were of wonderful +elongation of form, especially of tail; that their heads were large, +flat, and conic, with eyes directed partly upwards; that they were +furnished with two pairs of paddles like the flippers of a whale, but +with short or no portion representing the arm. With these flippers and +the eel-like strokes of their flattened tail they swam--some with less, +others with greater speed. They were furnished, like snakes, with four +rows of formidable teeth on the roof of the mouth. Though these were not +designed for mastication, and without paws for grasping could have been +little used for cutting, as weapons for seizing their prey they were +very formidable. And here we have to consider a peculiarity of these +creatures in which they are unique among animals. Swallowing their prey +entire, like snakes, they were without that wonderful expansibility of +throat, due in the latter to an arrangement of levers supporting the +lower jaw. Instead of this each half of that jaw was articulated or +jointed at a point nearly midway between the ear and the chin. This was +of the ball and socket type, and enabled the jaw to make an angle +outward, and so widen, by much, the space inclosed between it and its +fellow. The arrangement may be easily imitated by directing the arms +forward, with the elbows turned outward and the hands placed near +together. The ends of these bones were in the Pythonomorphs as +independent as in the serpents, being only bound by flexible ligaments. +By turning the elbows outward, and bending them, the space between the +arms becomes diamond-shaped, and represents exactly the expansion seen +in these reptiles, to permit the passage of a large fish or other body. +The arms, too, will represent the size of jaws attained by some of the +smaller species. The outward movement of the basal half of the jaw +necessarily twists in the same direction the column-like bone to which +it is suspended. The peculiar shape of the joint by which the last bone +is attached to the skull, depends on the degree of twist to be +permitted, and, therefore, to the degree of expansion of which the jaws +were capable. As this differs much in the different species, they are +readily distinguished by the column or "quadrate" bone when found. There +are some curious consequences of this structure, and they are here +explained as an instance of the mode of reconstruction of extinct +animals from slight materials. The habit of swallowing large bodies +between the branches of the under-jaw necessitates the prolongation +forward of the mouth of the gullet; hence the throat in the +Pythonomorphs must have been loose and almost as baggy as a pelican's. +Next, the same habit must have compelled the forward position of the +glottis or opening of the windpipe, which is always in front of the +gullet. Hence these creatures must have uttered no other sound than a +hiss, as do animals of the present day which have a similar structure, +as for instance, the snakes. Thirdly, the tongue must have been long and +forked and for this reason: its position was still anterior to the +glottis, so that there was no space for it except it were inclosed in a +sheath beneath the windpipe when at rest, or thrown out beyond the jaws +when in motion. Such is the arrangement in the nearest living forms, and +it is always, in these cases, cylindric and forked. + +The flying saurians of the cretaceous sea of Kansas, though not numerous +in species, were of remarkable size. Though their remains are generally +flattened by the pressure of the overlying rocks, two species have left +a complete record of their form and dimensions. One of them +(_Ornithochirus Tarpyia_) spread eighteen feet between the tips of the +wings, while the _O. umbrosus_ covered nearly twenty-five feet with his +expanse. These strange creatures flapped their leathery wings over the +waves, and, often plunging, drew many a fish from its companions of the +shoal; or, soaring at a safe distance, viewed the sports and combats of +the more powerful saurians of the sea; or, trooping to the shore at +nightfall, suspended themselves to the cliffs by the claw-bearing +fingers of their wing-limbs. + +[Illustration: DEVELOPING--ONE OF THE FIRST FAMILIES.] + +In connection with the subject of the old lakes and their fertile +shores, where human beings, it might reasonably be expected, once lived +so comfortably, the editor of this volume begs to lay before the reader +(in a sort of parenthesis, for which Professor Cope is in no way +responsible) an effort of Sachem's. He dedicated it to Darwin, and was +pleased to call it, notwithstanding it smells more of the fossil-bone +caves than the fields, + +THE PRIMEVAL MAN'S PASTORAL. + + My grandfather Jock was an ape, + His grandfather Twist was a worm; + Each age has developed in shape, + And ours has got rid of the squirm; + If the law of selection will work in our case, + We'll develop, in time, to a wonderful race. + + My sweetheart has claws, and her face + Is covered with bristles and hair; + She's feline in nature and grace, + She's apt to get out on a tear, + She's cursed with a passion to sing after night; + But these she'll evolve, and develop all right. + + One race has evolved in the sea, + And partly got rid of their scales; + Though cousin by faces to me, + They're cousin to fishes by tails; + But they'll ever remain simply mer-men and women, + For selection won't work, in the world that they swim in. + + 'T is said that Gorilla the Great, + Who rules as the chief of our clan, + Has found in the annals of fate, + We're soon to evolve into man; + Furthermore, that our children will doubt whence they came, + Till a fellow named Darwin shall put them to shame. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + + CONTINUED BY COPE--THE GIANTS OF THE SEAS--TAKING OUT FOSSILS IN A + GALE--INTERESTING DISCOVERIES--THE GEOLOGY OF THE PLAINS. + + +The giants of the Pythonomorphs of Kansas have been called _Liodon +proriger_ (Cope) and _Liodon dyspelor_ (Cope). The first must have been +abundant, and its length could not have been far from sixty feet, +certainly not less. Its physiognomy was rendered peculiar by a long +projecting muzzle, reminding one of that of the blunt-nosed sturgeon of +our coast, but the resemblance was destroyed by the correspondingly +massive end of the branches of the lower jaw. Though clumsy in +appearance, such an arrangement must have been effective as a ram, and +dangerous to his enemies in case of collision. The writer once found the +wreck of an individual of this species strewn around a sunny knoll +beside a bluff, and his conic snout, pointing to the heavens, formed a +fitting monument, as at once his favorite weapon, and the mark +distinguishing all his race. + +Very different was the _Liodon dyspelor_, a still larger animal than the +last, with a formidable armature. It was indeed the longest of known +reptiles, and probably equal to the great finner whale of modern oceans. +The circumstances attending the discovery of one of these, will always +be a pleasant recollection to the writer. A part of the face, with +teeth, was observed projecting from the side of a bluff by a companion +in exploration, (Lieut. Jas. H. Whitten, U. S. A.), and we at once +proceeded to follow up the indication with knives and picks. Soon the +lower jaws were uncovered, with their glistening teeth, and then the +vertebræ and ribs. Our delight was at its height when the bones of the +pelvis and part of the hind limb were laid bare, for they had never been +seen before in the species and scarcely in the order. While lying on the +bottom of the cretaceous sea, the carcass had been dragged hither and +thither by the sharks and other rapacious animals, and the parts of the +skeleton were displaced and gathered into a small area. The massive tail +stretched away into the bluff, and after much laborious excavation we +left a portion of it to more persevering explorers. The species of +_Clidastes_ did not reach such a size as some of the _Liodons_, and were +of elegant and flexible build. To prevent their habits of coiling from +dislocating the vertebral column, these had an additional pair of +articulations at each end, while their muscular strength is attested by +the elegant striæ and other sculptures which appear on all their bones. +Three species of this genus occur in the Kansas strata, the largest +(_Clidastes cineriarum_, Cope) reaching forty feet in length. The +discovery of a related species (_Holcodus coryphæus_, Cope) was made by +the writer under circumstances of difficulty peculiar to the plains. +After examining the bluffs for half a day without result, a few bone +fragments were found in a wash above their base. Others led the way to +a ledge forty or fifty feet from both summit and foot, where, stretched +along in the yellow chalk, lay the projecting portions of the whole +monster. A considerable number of vertebræ were found preserved by the +protective embrace of the roots of a small bush, and, when they were +secured, the pick and knife were brought into requisition to remove the +remainder. About this time one of the gales, so common in that region, +sprang up, and, striking the bluff fairly, reflected itself upwards. So +soon as the pick pulverized the rock, the limestone dust was carried +into eyes, nose, and every available opening in the clothing. I was +speedily blinded, and my aid disappeared into the canyon, and was seen +no more while the work lasted. Only the enthusiasm of the student could +have endured the discomfort, but to him it appeared a most unnecessary +"conversion of force" that a geologist should be driven from the field +by his own dust. A handkerchief tied over the face, and pierced by +minute holes opposite the eyes, kept me from total blindness, though +dirt in abundance penetrated the mask. But a fine relic of creative +genius was extricated from its ancient bed, and one that leads its genus +in size and explains its structure. + +On another occasion, riding along a spur of a yellow chalk bluff, some +vertebræ lying at its foot met my eye. An examination showed that the +series entered the rock, and, on passing round to the opposite side the +jaws and muzzle were seen projecting from it, as though laid bare for +the convenience of the geologist. The spur was small and of soft +material, and we speedily removed it in blocks, to the level of the +reptile, and took out the remains, as they laid across the base from +side to side. A genus related to the last is _Edestosaurus_. A species +of thirty feet in length, and of elegant proportions has been called _E. +tortor_ (Cope.) Its slenderness of body was remarkable, and the large +head was long and lance-shaped. Its flippers tapered elegantly, and the +whole animal was more of a serpent than any other of its tribe. Its +lithe movements brought many a fish to its knife-shaped teeth, which are +more efficient and numerous than in any of its relatives. It was found +coiled up beneath a ledge of rock, with its skull lying undisturbed in +the center. A species distinguished for its small size and elegance is +_Clidastes pumilus_ (Marsh). This little fellow was only twelve feet in +length, and was probably unable to avoid occasionally furnishing a meal +for some of the rapacious fishes which abounded in the same ocean. + +Tortoises were the boatmen of the cretaceous waters of the eastern +coast, but none had been known from the deposits of Kansas until very +recently. One species now on record (_Protostega gigas_, Cope), is of +large size, and strange enough to excite the attention of naturalists. +It is well known that the house or boat of the tortoise or turtle is +formed by the expansion of the usual bones of the skeleton till they +meet and unite, and thus become continuous. Thus the lower shell is +formed of united ribs of the breast and breast-bone, with bone deposited +in the skin. In the same way the roof is formed by the union of the +ribs with bone deposited in the skin. In the very young tortoise the +ribs are separate as in other animals; as they grow older they begin to +expand at the upper side of the upper end, and, with increased age, the +expansion extends throughout the length. The ribs first come in contact +where the process commences, and in the land-tortoise they are united to +the end. In the sea-turtle, the union ceases a little above the ends. +The fragments of the _Protostega_ were seen by one of the men projecting +from a ledge of a low bluff. Their thinness and the distance to which +they were traced excited my curiosity, and I straightway attacked the +bank with the pick. After several square feet of rock had been removed, +we cleared up one floor, and found ourselves well repaid. Many long +slender pieces, of two inches in width, lay upon the ledge. They were +evidently ribs, with the usual heads, but behind each head was a plate +like the flattened bowl of a huge spoon placed crosswise. Beneath these +stretched two broad plates two feet in width, and no thicker than +binders' board. The edges were fingered, and the surface hard and +smooth. All this was quite new among fully grown animals, and we at once +determined that more ground must be explored, for further light. After +picking away the bank and carving the soft rock, new masses of strange +bones were disclosed. Some bones of a large paddle were recognized, and +a leg bone. The shoulder-blade of a huge tortoise came next, and further +examination showed that we had stumbled on the burial-place of one of +the largest species of sea-turtle yet known. The single bones of the +paddle were eight inches long, giving the spread of the expanded +flippers as considerably over twenty feet. But the ribs were those of an +ordinary turtle just born, and the great plates represented the bony +deposit in the skin, which, commencing independently in modern turtles, +united with the expanded ribs below, at an early day. But it was +incredible that the largest of known turtles should be but just hatched, +and for this and other reasons it has been concluded that this "ancient +mariner" is one of those forms not uncommon in old days, whose +incompleteness in some respects points to the truth of the belief, that +animals have assumed their modern perfection, by a process of growth +from more simple beginnings. + +The cretaceous ocean of the West was no less remarkable for its fishes +than for its reptiles. Sharks do not seem to have been so common as in +the old Atlantic, but it swarmed with large predaceous forms related to +the salmon and saury. + +[Illustration: THE SEA WHICH ONCE COVERED THE PLAINS. + + Elasmosaurus platyurus. + 2. Liodon proriger. + 3, 4, 5. Ornithochirus umbrosus. + 6. Ornithochirus harpyia. + 7. Protostega. + 8. Polycotylus latipinnis.] + +Vertebræ and other fragments of these species project from the worn +limestone in many places. I will call attention to, perhaps, the most +formidable, as well as the most abundant of these. It is the one whose +bones most frequently crowned knobs of shale, which had been left +standing amid surrounding destruction. The density and hardness of the +bones shed the rain off on either side, so that the radiating gutters +and ravines finally isolated the rock mass from that surrounding. The +head was some inches longer than that of a fully grown grizzly bear, and +the jaws were deeper in proportion to their length. The muzzle was shorter +and deeper than that of a bull-dog. The teeth were all sharp cylindric +fangs, smooth and glistening, and of irregular size. At certain distances +in each jaw they projected three inches above the gum, and were sunk one +inch into the bony support, being thus as long as the fangs of a tiger, +but more slender. Two such fangs crossed each other on each side of the +middle of the front. This fish is known as _Portheus molossus_ (Cope). +Besides the smaller fishes, the reptiles no doubt supplied the demands +of his appetite. + +The ocean in which flourished this abundant and vigorous life, was at +last completely inclosed on the west, by elevation of sea-bottom, so +that it only communicated with the Atlantic and Pacific at the Gulf of +Mexico and the Arctic Sea. The continued elevation of both eastern and +western shores contracted its area, and when ridges of the sea-bottom +reached the surface, forming long low bars, parts of the water area were +inclosed and connection with salt water prevented. Thus were the living +beings imprisoned and subjected to many new risks to life. The stronger +could more readily capture the weaker, while the fishes would gradually +perish through the constant freshening of the water. With the death of +any considerable class the balance of food supply would be lost, and +many larger species would disappear from the scene. The most omnivorous +and enduring would longest resist the approach of starvation, but would +finally yield to inexorable fate; the last one caught by the rising +bottom among shallow pools from which his exhausted energies could not +extricate him. + + +PART II--GEOLOGY. + +The geology of this region has been very partially explored, but appears +to be quite simple. The following description of the section along the +line of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, will probably apply to similar +sections north and south of it. The formations referable to the +cretaceous period on this line, are those called by Messrs. Meek and +Hayden the Dakota, Benton, and Niobrara groups, as Nos. 1, 2 and 3. +According to Leconte,[3] at Salina, one hundred and eighty-five miles +west of the State line of Missouri, the rocks of the Dakota group +constitute the bluffs, and continue to do so as far as Fort Harker, +thirty-three miles farther west. They are a "coarse brown sand-stone, +containing irregular concretions of oxide of iron," and numerous +molluscs of marine origin. Near Fort Harker, certain strata contain +large quantities of the remains (leaves chiefly) of dicotyledonous and +other forms of land vegetation. Near this point, according to the same +authority, the sand-stone beds are covered with clay and limestone. +These he does not identify, but portions of it from Bunker Hill, +thirty-four miles west, have been identified by Dr. Hayden, as belonging +to the Benton or second group. The specimen consisted of a block of +dark, bluish-gray clay rock, which bore the remains of the fish +_Apsopelix sauriformis_ (Cope). That the eastern boundary of this bed is +very sinuous is rendered probable by its occurrence at Brookville, +eighteen miles to the eastward of Fort Harker, on the railroad. In +sinking a well at this point, the same soft, bluish clay rock was +traversed, and at a depth of about thirty feet a skeleton of a saurian +of the crocodilian order was encountered, the _Hyposaurus vebbii_ +(Cope). + + [3] Notes on the geology of the survey for the extension of the Union + Pacific Road E. D. from the Smoky Hill to the Rio Grande, by John L. + Leconte, M. D. Philadelphia, 1868. + +The boundary line, or first appearance of the beds of the Niobrara +division, has not been pointed out, but at Fort Hays, seventy miles west +of Fort Harker, its rocks form the bluffs and outcrops every-where. From +Fort Hays to Fort Wallace, near the western boundary of the state, one +hundred and thirty-four miles beyond, the strata present a tolerably +uniform appearance. They consist of two portions; a lower, of +dark-bluish calcareo-argillaceous character, often thin-bedded; and a +superior, of yellow and whitish chalk, much more heavily bedded. Near +Fort Hays the best section may be seen, at a point eighteen miles north, +on the Saline river. Here the bluffs rise to a height of two hundred +feet, the yellow strata constituting the upper half. No fossils were +observed in the blue bed, but some moderate-sized _Ostreæ_, frequently +broken, were not rare in the yellow. Half-way between this point and the +Fort, my friend, N. Daniels, of Hays, guided me to a denuded tract, +covered with the remains of huge oysters, some of which measured +twenty-seven inches in diameter. They exhibited concentric obtuse ridges +on the interior side, and a large basin-shaped area behind the hinge. +Fragments of fish vertebræ of _Anogmius_ type were also found here by +Dr. Janeway. These were exposed in the yellow bed. Several miles east of +the post, Dr. J. H. Janeway, Post Surgeon, pointed out to me an immense +accumulation of _Inoceramus problematicus_ in the blue stratum. This +species also occurred in abundance in the bluffs west of the Fort, which +were composed of the blue bed, capped by a thinner layer of the yellow. +Large globular or compound globular argillaceous concretions, coated +with gypsum, were abundant at this point. + +Along the Smoky Hill River, thirty miles east of Fort Wallace, the south +bank descends gradually, while the north bank is bluffy. This, with +other indications, points to a gentle dip of the strata to the +north-west. The yellow bed is thin or wanting on the north bank of the +Smoky, and is not observable on the north fork of that river for twenty +miles northward or to beyond Sheridan Station, on the Kansas Pacific +Railroad. Two isolated hills, "The Twin Buttes," at the latter point are +composed of the blue bed, here very shaly to their summits. This is the +general character of the rock along and north of the railroad between +this point and Fort Wallace. + +South of the river the yellow strata are more distinctly developed. +Butte Creek Valley, fifteen to eighteen miles to the south, is margined +by bluffs of from twenty to one hundred and fifty feet in height on its +southern side, while the northern rises gradually into the prairie. +These bluffs are of yellow chalk, except from ten to forty feet of blue +rock at the base, although many of the canyons are excavated in the +yellow rock exclusively. The bluffs of the upper portion of Butte Creek, +Fox, and Fossil Spring (five miles south) canyons, are of yellow chalk, +and reports of several persons stated that those of Beaver Creek, eight +miles south of Fossil Spring, are exclusively of this material. Those +near the mouth of Beaver Creek, on the Smoky, are of considerable +height, and appear at a distance to be of the same yellow chalk. + +I found these two strata to be about equally fossilliferous, and I am +unable to establish any palæontological difference between them. They +pass into each other by gradations in some places, and occasionally +present slight laminar alternations at their line of junction. I have +specimens of _Cimolichthys semianceps_ (Cope), from both the blue and +yellow beds, and vertebrae of the _Liodon glandiferus_ (Cope) were found +in both. The large fossil of _Liodon dyspelor_ (Cope) was found at the +junction of the bed, and the caudal portion was excavated from the blue +stratum exclusively. Portions of it were brought East in blocks of this +material, and these have become yellow and yellowish on many of the +exposed surfaces. The matrix adherent to all the bones has become +yellow. A second incomplete specimen, undistinguishable from this +species, was taken from the yellow bed. + +As to mineral contents, the yellow stratum is remarkably uniform in its +character. The blue shale, on the contrary, frequently contains numerous +concretions, and great abundance of thin layers of gypsum and crystals +of the same. Near Sheridan concretions and septaria are abundant. In +some places the latter are of great size and, being embedded in the +stratum, have suffered denudation of their contents, and, the septa +standing out, form a huge honey-comb. This region and the neighborhood +of Eagle Tail, Colorado, are noted for the beauty of their +gypsum-crystals, the first abundantly found in the cretaceous formation. +These are hexagonal-radiate, each division being a pinnate or +feather-shaped lamina of twin rows of crystals. The clearness of the +mineral, and the regular leaf and feather forms of the crystals give +them much beauty. The bones of vertebrate fossils preserved in this bed +are often much injured by the gypsum formation which covers their +surface and often penetrates them in every direction. + +The yellow bed of the Niobrara group disappears to the south-west, west, +and north-west of Fort Wallace, beneath a sandy conglomerate of +uncertain age. Its color is light, sometimes white, and the component +pebbles are small and mostly of white quartz. The rock wears irregularly +into holes and fissures, and the soil covering it generally thin and +poor. It is readily detached in large masses, which roll down the +bluffs. No traces of life were observed in it, but it is probably the +eastern margin of the southern extension of the White River Miocene +Tertiary stratum. This is at least indicated by Dr. Hayden, in his +geological preface to Leidy's extinct mammals of Dakota and Nebraska. + +Commercially, the beds of the Niobrara formation possess little value, +except when burned for manure. The yellow chalk is too soft in many +places for buildings of large size, but will answer well for those of +moderate size. It is rather harder at Fort Hays, as I had occasion to +observe at their quarry. That quarried at Fort Wallace does not appear +to harden by exposure; the walls of the hospital, noted by Leconte on +his visit, remained in 1871 as soft as they were in 1867. A few +worthless beds of bituminous shale were observed in Eastern Colorado. + +The only traces of Glacial Action in the line explored were seen near +Topeka. South of the town are several large, erratic masses of pink and +bloody quartz, whose surfaces are so polished as to appear as though +vitrified. They were transported, perhaps, from the Azoic area near Lake +Superior. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + + A SAVAGE OUTBREAK--THE BATTLE OF THE FORTY SCOUTS--THE + SURPRISE--PACK-MULES STAMPEDED--DEATH ON THE ARICKEREE--THE + MEDICINE MAN--A DISMAL NIGHT--MESSENGERS SENT TO WALLACE--MORNING + ATTACK--WHOSE FUNERAL?--RELIEF AT LAST--THE OLD SCOUTS' DEVOTION TO + THE BLUE. + + +On our return to Sheridan we were deeply pained to hear of the sad death +of Doctor Moore and Lieutenant Beecher, whose acquaintance we had formed +at Fort Hays, and the former of whom we had learned to esteem most +highly as a personal friend. A scouting party, not long before, had left +the post just named, under the command of General Forsythe, of +Sheridan's staff, and composed principally of those citizens who had +seen frontier service. Dr. Moore accompanied it as surgeon, and Lieut. +Beecher--a nephew of Henry Ward Beecher, and an officer of the regular +army--held the position of chief of scouts, which he had filled for some +time previously with much credit. The savages of the plains being again +upon the war-path, that brave and well-organized little party of fifty +were dispatched to pursue a band of Indians, which had appeared before +Sheridan and run off a lot of stock. + +Some of the scouts were now in the town, and from one of them we +obtained an account of the expedition. Fresh from the mouth of that +sandy hell in the river's head, which had sucked out the life-blood of +so many of his companions, I wish my readers could have heard the story +told with the rude eloquence in which he clothed it. As it is, how +nearly they will come to doing so, must perforce depend on how nearly I +can remember his language. + +"You see, captain," he began (it is considered impolite among this class +ever to address one without using some title), "we had the nicest little +forty lot o' scouts that ever followed the plains fur a living, and +trails fur an Injun. Thar wur ingineers, doctors, counter-jumpers, and a +few deadbeats, but every one of 'em had lots of fight, and not the least +bit of scare. Ther talents run ter fightin', an' ther bodies never run +away from it. + +"It wur kinder curious, though, to see the chaps that wur not bred ter +ther business git along. They wur the profession folks. Some had a +little compass, not much bigger 'n a button, that they carried on the +sly. Good scouts don't need no such fixin's. These uns 'ud reach inter +ther pockets, as if they was going ter take a chaw o' terbaccer, and +gettin' a sly wink at ther needle, would cry out ter ther neighbors, 'I +say, hoss, we 're goin' a little too much east of north!' or, 'I tell +yer what, fel, we 're at least two p'ints off our course.' And all ther +time they couldn't have told south from west, without them needles. But +ther warn't a coward in the whole pack. Every one had a back as stiff +fur a fight as a cat. + +"We struck a large Injun trail the fourth day out, and kept it till +evenin', but no other sign showed itself over ther wide reach that would +have told a livin' bein' had ever bin thar before us. Next mornin', +early, ther was a sudden fuss among our horses, and a cry from the +guard, and, afore we knew it, eight pack-mules had been stampeded, and +driven off. It wur a narrow call fur ther whole herd. + +"The fellers had come down a ravine until they got close enough, and, +then suddenly rushin' along in the grayness, set the mules inter a crazy +run, and gathered 'em up, out of gun-shot. You may lick a pack-mule +along all day, and be afraid he 'll drop down dead, and yet give him a +fair chance to stampede, and he 'll outrun an elk, and grow fat on it. + +"Stock and Injuns was both out of sight in a jiffy, and the order was +given to saddle, and recapture. We were just raisin' inter ther +stirrups, when some of the boys called out, and we saw the whole valley +ahead of us filled with Injuns comin' down. Ther warn't no mules lost +just then, and we kinder fell back onto a sort of high-water island in +the Arickeree. That, yer know, is the dry fork of the Republican. Bein' +low water then, as it is most of the time thar, nothin' but a dry bed of +sand was on each side. + +"It seemed as if the whole Injun nation was coming down on us. Such a +crowd o' lank ponies, and painted heathen astride, yer never see. I +expected seein' of 'em would prevent _my_ ever seein' of my family agin. +'Jim,' says I to my chum, and 'Bill,' says he to me, and then we didn't +say nothin' more, but as the heathen come a chargin', we both put a hand +in our pockets, just as if the brains had been in one head, and then +both of us took a chaw o' terbaccer. + +"For the next few hours ther wur an awful scrimmage, and a shootin', and +a hollerin', and a whizzin' of bullets, which made that the hottest +little island ever stranded on sand. The boys had all dug out, with +their hands, sort o' little rifle-pits, and fit behind 'em. We had good +Spencers, with a few Henrys, and the way those patents spit lead at the +devils' hearts wur a caution. The first charge, they cum close up to us, +and for a hull minnit, that stretched out awfully, we were afraid they'd +ride us down. It was reg'lar coffee-mill work then, grindin' away at the +levers, and we flung bullets among 'em astonishin'. As fast as one Injun +keeled, another'd pick him up, and nary dead was left on the field. + +"They follered up the charge game by a siege one, and peppered away at +us from the neighborin' ravines and hills. Ther number wur about eight +hundred, and some had carbines, and others old rifles and pistols. A few +would sneak along in the bottom grass, and get behind trees, and then +thur would be a flash, and a crack, and the ball would come tearin' in +among us, sometimes burrowin' in a human skull, or elsewise knockin' +down a horse. And all around, on the ridges, the squaws were a dancin' +and shoutin', and the braves, whenever any of 'em got tired of shootin', +would join their ugly she's, and help 'em in kickin' up a hullabaloo. + +"I reckon, arter they'd killed the last hoss, they must ha' had a +separate scalp-dance fur each one on us. Plain sailin' then, ther red +fellows thought--less than fifty white men down in the sand, and most a +thousan' Injuns roun' 'em, and more 'n a hundred miles to the nearest +fort; the weaker party bein' afoot, too, and the other mounted. + +"But we soon made 'em pitch another tune, beside ther juberlatin' one. +We had took notice of a big Injun, with lots o' fixins on him, cavortin' +all round ther island, and a spurrin' up the braves. We made certain it +wur the medicine man, and found out arterward that he'd been tellin' on +'em ther pale-faces' bullets would melt before reachin' an Injun. Six on +us got our rifles together, and as ther old copper-colored Pillgarlic +cum dancin' round, we let fly. If Injun carcasses go along with ther +spirits, I reckon ther bullets we put into the old sinner, got melted, +sure enough. And what a howlin' thur was, as his pony scampered in among +the squaws, empty saddled! + +"It wur an awful sight to look roun' among our little sand-works--twenty +killed and wounded men, covered with blood and grit. Our leader, Col. +Forsythe, was shot in both legs, a ball passin' through the thigh part +of one, and a second breakin' the bones of the other below the knee. He +wur a knowin' and cool officer. + +"Lieut. Beecher, a nephew of the big preacher, was shot through the +small o' the back, and lay thar beggin' us to kill him. He too wur a +brave man, and didn't flinch, never, from duty nor danger. They say that +his two sisters were drowned from a sailboat on the Hudson, two years +ago, and that the old parents are left now all alone. Doc. Moore was +shot through the head, and sat thar noddin', and not knowin' no one. I +spoke to him once, and he kinder started back, as if he see the Injun +which shot him, still thar. He wur a good surgeon, and all the boys +liked him. I hev got his gun down at my tent, all full o' sand, whar it +got tramped arter he fell.[4] + + [4] I obtained the weapon that I had loaned our friend, and have + carefully kept it since, as a memento. + +"Culver lay dead on one side of our little island, shot by an Injun that +crawled up in the grass. Lots o' others was wounded, and our chances +looked as dark as ther night which wur coming down on us. But we was +glad ter see daylight burn out, as it kinder gin us a chance to rest and +think. + +"That night was awful dismal. The little spot o' sand, down thar in the +river's bed, seemed ther only piece o' earth friendly to us, and we were +clingin' to it like sailors ter a raft at sea. The darkness all around +was a gapin' ter swaller us, and a hidin' its blood-hounds, to set 'em +on with ther sun. Night, without any thin' in it more 'n grave-stones, +is terrifyin' to most people, but just you fill it full of pantin's for +blood in front, and Death sittin' behind, among the corpses, and +watchin' the wounded, and a feller's blood falls right down to January. +It kinder thickens, like water freezin' round the edges, and your hands +and feet get powerful cold, and you feel as if you wouldn't ever be +thawed out, this side of the very place you don't want ter go to. + +"Toward midnight, Stillwell and Trudell crawled out o' camp, to go for +relief. They were to creep and sneak through the Injun lines, and get +beyond 'em by daylight. Then they would lay by, and push on ag'in, when +dark cum, toward Wallace. That little spot of barracks, a hundred and +twenty-five miles off, kept up our hope mightily. It was our +light-house, like. We were shipwrecked among savages, and had sent a +couple of yawls off, to tell the keeper thar of danger. We knew if the +news reached, blue coats would flash out to us, like spots of light, and +our foes go before 'em as mist. + +"But footin' it nights, and layin' by days, fur over a hundred miles, +through Injun country, is slow work, and we didn't, most on us, expect +much; and our hearts follered the little black spots, showin' us our two +companions a creepin' off into darkness, like a couple of wolves. It +took good men, too, from our little party, and fur awhile I was +faint-hearted. In our shipwreck, it seemed like takin' bottles which +might ha' helped to hold out, and flingin' 'em into ther waves, with +messages tellin' how and whar we went down. + +"About two o'clock Lieut. Beecher died, havin' for some time begged the +men to end his sufferin's by shootin' of him. + +"We all kept perfect quiet that night--no fire, nor wur ther a sound +heard, from our little island, by the heathen on the bluffs. An just +that quietness gave 'em the worst foolin' they ever had. It seems the +road down river had been left open by 'em, hopin' we would steal out and +run for it durin' the night. We bein' all on foot, they could overtake +us in the mornin', and worry on us out easy. Durin' the dark we waited +quiet, and watched, and passed water to our wounded, and sprinkled it +over some of 'em who couldn't drink. + +"It wer just kinder palin' like way up in the sky, and we could see that +off down East, somewhar, ther mornin' was commencin' ter climb, when Jim +nudged me, and says, 'Chum, what's that?' We both stuck our ears right +up, like two jackass-rabbits, and listened. It wur all dark near the +ground, but we could hear a steady, gallopin' sound, comin' in toward us +from up the ravines, and over the hills. It wur like a beatin' of ther +earth with flails by threshers you couldn't see. + +"The sound came a creepin' along the sod so quick we soon knew it wur +the Injuns, on ther ponies, comin' down ter pick up the trail. And now +we could see 'em a bobbin' along toward us in ther gloom, the rows er +ugly heads goin' up and down, like jumpin'-jacks. It just seemed as ther +side er ther night had been painted all full o' gapin' red devils, and +ther sun wur jest revealin' on 'em. 'Lay still!' wer the word, and each +man hugged his sand bank, just a skinnin' one eye, like a lizard over a +log. They 'd no idee we were thar, not bein' able to understand the grit +of that little forty, and they cum gallopin' along, careless-like, happy +as so many ghosts goin' ter a fun'ral. But it warn't _our_ fun'ral just +then. When they 'd got so close we could smell 'em, colonel guv the word +ter fire, and we let 'em have it. Stranger, you ain't no idee what a +gettin' up bluffs, and general absentin' of 'emselves ther wur. Arter +the fust crack, yer couldn't see an Injun at all, but jest a lot er +ponies, diggin' it on ther back track, and you knowed painted cusses +wer glued ter ther opposite side on 'em. + +"We had fightin' until night ag'in, but no men were killed arter the +fust day. The savages were cautious-like, and took long range fur it. We +now commenced cuttin' off the hind quarters of our dead hosses, and +boilin' small pieces in a empty pickle-jar belongin' ter ther colonel. +Burke, he 'd dug a shallow well, too, which gave us plenty of water. +Hoss meat isn't relishin' at fust. One kin eat it, but, as ther feller +said about crow, he don't hanker arter it. Ther gases had got all +through ther carcasses, and we had ter sprinkle lots o' gunpowder inter +the pot, to kill the taste. + +"The fust hoss cut up was my old sorrel. He didn't go well while livin', +and couldn't be expected to when dead. Instead of takin' a straight +course, and givin' some satisfaction, he jumped across all the turns +inside o' me, and brought up bump agin my hide, as if he wer comin' +through. He had that same trick o' cuttin' corners when livin', and I +perceded ter give him up as a uncontrollable piece of hoss flesh. + +"When night come on agin, Pliley and Whitney attempted ter get through +ther Injun lines and make fur Wallace, but were driven back. Fur ther +next few days we kept eatin' hoss flesh, and fightin' occasionally. The +third night Pliley and Donovan succeeded in gettin' away. + +"On the fourth day, Doctor Moore died. After the fifth, no Injuns was +visible, and we gathered prickly pears and eat 'em, boilin' some down +inter syrup. Our mouths were all full of ther little needles, and it +wer mighty hard keepin' a stiff upper lip. We were eatin' away on our +forty-eight horses, and watchin' and hopin'. We couldn't move, and leave +our wounded, or the Injuns would be on 'em right off. The poor fellows +had no surgeon, and were sufferin' terrible as 't was. + +"Ther mornin' of ther ninth day broke with a cry of 'Injuns!' Now, human +natur' can't stand fitin' allers. To carry out my shipwreck idee, +fellers on a raft kin cling an' swaller water fur awhile, but they can't +fight a hull grist o' hurricanes. Hoss meat an' prickly pears ain't jest +ther thing, either, to slap grit inter a man. Ther were a big crowd +comin', sure enough, way off on ther hills. We were kinder beginnin' ter +despond, when a familiar sort o' motion on the fur dark line spelt in +air the word, 'Friend!' It wer the advanced guard o' relief, approachin' +on ther jump. Why, boy"--and the old scout seized hold of Semi, and +shook him in excitement--"talk of Lucknow and ther camels a comin', they +warn't nowhar. The blessed old blue cloth! If yer want ter love a color, +jest get saved by it once. When I get holed in ther earth, I 'll take +back ter dust on a blue blanket, an' if I get married afore, gal an' +I'll wear blue, an' the preacher'll hev ter swar a blue streak in jinin' +us!" + +We afterward met others of the scouts--intelligent, clear-headed +fellows, with much more of cultivation than our rough friend +possessed--and they corroborated his story in every particular. I have +let him tell it in his own way, not only because vastly more graphic +than any words of mine could be, but also to the end that the reader +might become acquainted with a genuine frontiersman--one of that class +which is wheeling into line with the immense multitudes of Indians and +buffalo that time and civilization are bearing swiftly onward to hide +among the memories of the past. + +That the savages suffered very severely in their several attacks upon +that little band of heroes on the Arickeree, was evident from the number +of bodies found by the relief, as it hastened forward from Fort Wallace. +The corpses were resting on hastily-constructed scaffolds, and some had +evidently been placed there while dying, as the ground underneath was +yet wet with blood. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + + THE STAGE DRIVERS OF THE PLAINS--OLD BOB--"JAMAICA AND GINGER"--AN + OLD ACQUAINTANCE--BEADS OF THE PAST--ROBBING THE DEAD--A LEAF FROM + THE LOST HISTORY OF THE MOUND BUILDERS--INDIAN + TRADITIONS--SPECULATIONS--ADOBE HOUSES IN A RAIN--CHEAP + LIVING--WATCH TOWERS. + + +The stage drivers of the plains are rapidly becoming another inheritance +of the past, pushed out of existence by the locomotive, whose +cow-catcher is continually tossing them from their high seats into the +arms of History. What a rare set they are, though! No two that I ever +saw were nearly alike, and they resemble not one distinctive class, but +a number. The Jehus who crack their whips over the buffalo grass region, +and turn their leaders artistically around sharp corners in rude towns, +are made up on a variety of patterns. Some are loquacious and others +silent, and while a portion are given to profanity, another though +smaller number are men of very proper grammar. Some with whom I have +ridden would discount truth for the mere love of the exercise, while +others I have found so particular that they could not be induced to lie, +except when it was for their interest to do so. + +In a village on the shores of Lake Champlain, in the frozen regions of +northern New York, where mercury becomes solid in November, and remains +so until May, I got on intimate terms, when a boy, with a stage driver. +During the long winters the coaches were placed on sleds, and well do I +remember the style in which "Old Bob," as he was universally called, +would come dashing into the town on frosty mornings, winding uncertain +tunes out of a brass horn, given him years before by a General Somebody, +of the State Militia. In front of the long-porched tavern, the leaders +would push out to the left, in order to give due magnificence to the +right hand circle, which deposited the coach at the bar room door. +Bearish in fur, and sour in face, Bob would then roll from the seat, +rush up to the bar, and for the first time open his mouth, to ejaculate, +"Jamaica and ginger!" The fiery draught would thaw out his tongue, as +hot water does a pump, and after that it was easy work to pump him dry +of any and all news on the line above. + +That was many years ago, and in a spot half a continent away. One +morning, while at Sheridan, I heard the blast of a horn up the street, +whose notes awakened echoes which had long lain dead and buried in +boyhood's memory. A moment more, and out from an avenue of saloons the +overland stage rattled, and on its box sat the friend of my childhood, +"Old Bob." He had the identical horn, and it was the identical tune, +which I had so often heard in the by-gone years, the only difference +being that both were cracked, and the lungs behind the mouth-piece, +touched by the winters of sixty-odd, wheezed a little. As the coach came +to the door, I jumped up by the "boot," and grasping the old fellow's +hand, introduced myself. Old Bob rubbed his eyes, which were weak and +watery, and scanned me closely. + +"Well, well, lad," he said, "your face takes me now, sure enough. I mind +your father and mother well, and you're the little rascal that stole my +whip once, when I was thawing out with Jamaica and ginger. Did you tell +me by the old tune? You did, eh? Well, truth is, lad, the horn won't +blow any other. It's got to running in that groove, and when I try to +coax any thing new out, it sets off so that it frightens the horses." + +The coach was now ready for starting, and, as he gathered up the reins, +my friend of auld lang syne called out to me, "When you get back to York +State, if you see any Rouse's Point people that ask for Old Bob, tell +them he doesn't take any Jamaica and ginger now. Tell them he's out on +the plains, tryin' to get back some of the life the cussed stuff burnt +out of him." And away the stage coach rattled, and soon was out of +hearing. + +Next day's down stage brought intelligence that Bob's coach had been +attacked by Indians, but the old fellow had handled his lines right +skillfully, and brought mails and passengers through in safety. + +Our last day at Sheridan, for the Professor, was marked by two important +events, namely: a communication from the living present, and another +from the dead past. The first came, as the postmark showed, by way of +Lindsey, on the Solomon river. The Professor said it was simply an +answer to some scientific inquiries, but, to our intense amusement, he +blushed like a school-girl when Sachem bluntly remarked that the +handwriting was feminine, and that the scientific information in +question must certainly be contraband, as it was not offered for our +benefit at all. + +A geologist in love is a phenomenon. The dusty museum is no place for +Cupid. In his flights, the mischievous boy is apt to hit his head +against fossil lizards, and his darts are intercepted by skulls which +were petrified before he ever wandered through Paradise and tried his +first barb on poor Adam. The atmosphere which inwraps the geologist +comes from an unlovable age, in which monstrosities existed only by +virtue of their expertness in devouring other monstrosities. No stray +spark of love-light flickered, even for an instant, over that waste of +waters and gigantic ferns. + +It was apparent that science would suffer, unless the Solomon river was +included in our homeward route. We had examined the heart of Buffalo +Land, having traversed its center from east to west, and our party was +disposed to oblige the Professor by returning along the northern border. +Southward two hundred miles was the Arkansas, flowing near the southern +limit of the buffalo region. While there were some reasons why we +desired to visit it, and though it was, perhaps, equally rich in game, +it promised nothing of greater interest, upon the whole, than the +district we now proposed traversing. But of this more in the next +chapter. + +Toward evening came our introduction to what we were pleased to imagine +was a beauty of the past, which happened thus: As we were wandering +among the Mexican teamsters loafing around the depot, an urchin, with +half a shirt and very crooked legs, ran up to us, and exclaimed, over a +half masticated morsel of cheese, "Mister, there's a bufferler!" His +crumby fingers pointed in a direction midway between the horizon and a +Mexican donkey, which its owner was trying to drag across the valley, +and there, true enough, on the side of a brown ridge, not a mile off, we +saw the game, feeding as usual. + +Here was a chance for horseback hunting again, which we had not +attempted for several days. And what a splendid opportunity of showing +the natives how well we could do the thing! Our wagons had groaned under +the burden of pelts and meats with which we had loaded them, and we were +suffering just then from that dangerous confidence which first success +is so apt to inspire. + +Half the pleasure of hunting, if sportsmen would but confess it, +consists in showing one's trophies to others. It was not at all +surprising, therefore, that the send-off found two-thirds of our force +in the field. The day was warm, and, though the hunters ran far and +fast, the bison went still further and faster, and escaped. He led us, +however, to greater spoil than his own tough carcass; for underneath the +sod which his hoofs spurned, lay a treasure which glittered as +temptingly to geological eyes as gold to the miner, when first struck by +his prospecting pick. + +The Professor trotted out of town with becoming dignity, following the +hunters merely to avail himself of their protection, while examining +the ridges around. A mile out, the heat and his rough-paced nag proved +too much for him, and he threw himself upon the ground for a rest. Lying +there, watching idly the little insects wandering about, his attention +was attracted to a colony of burrowing ants, who, with a hole in the +earth half an inch in diameter, were continually coming up, rolling +before them small grains of sand and pebbles, the latter obtained far +below, and a small mound of them already showing the extent of their +patient labors. The Professor began to mark more closely the tiny +builders, imagining that he could distinguish one of the citizens going +down, and recognize him again as he came up again with his burden from +below. + +Occasionally, it seemed to the observant savan, something blue was +brought out, which glittered more than sand. Looking closer, he +discovered that the shining particles were beads of some bright +substance, and resembling exactly those worn by the Indians of to-day. +It thrilled him, as if he had been brought face to face with the far-off +ages, when the world was young. Beneath, evidently, lay the dead of some +forgotten tribe, and horse and man were resting upon a place of +sepulcher. There was no mound to mark the spot, and if any ever existed, +the seasons of ages had obliterated it. The savage races which now roam +the plains never bury their dead, but lay the bodies on scaffolds, or +hang them in trees. And so these little ants, robbing the graves far +beneath us, were bringing to our gaze, on a bright summer day in the +Nineteenth Century, the mysteries of ages already hoary with antiquity +when Columbus first saw our shores. + +We found ourselves wondering to what race the hidden dead belonged, and +whether the unpictured maidens of those days were pleasant to look upon, +or true ancestors of the hideous and unromantic creatures who, with +their savage lords, now roam the plains. Thinking of the tribes of the +past brought those of the present to mind, and, not wishing to have our +hair presented as tribute to some maiden wooed by treacherous Cheyenne, +we turned our horses' heads homeward, bringing the beads with us, safely +deposited in one of our entomologist's pocket-cases. They remain among +the trophies of our expedition, and Mr. Colon has lately written me that +he will have an excavation made, during the present year, at the spot +where they were found. + +These beads, I can not but think, form one link in a chain connecting an +ancient people, perhaps the mound-builders, with the savage tribes of +the present. There is a tradition among some of the Western Indians +that, centuries ago, a people, different in language and form from the +red men, came from over the seas to trade beads for ponies. The +buffaloes were then larger, and the climate warmer, than now. +Dissensions finally arose, in which the strangers were killed. Is there +not reason to believe that this tradition gives us a glimpse of the time +when some of the large mammals still existed on the plains, and the +genial sun looked down upon pastures clothed in rich vegetation--a time +and region, probably, of perennial summer? + +Once, during our stay in Kansas, we were directed by a hunter to a spot +where he had seen portions of an immense skeleton, and there found one +vertebra only remaining of a mastodon. It afterward transpired that, +shortly before our trip, some Indians had passed Fort Dodge with the +large bones lashed on their ponies, taking them to a medicine-lodge on +the Arkansas, to be ground up into good medicine. They stated that the +bones belonged to one of the big buffaloes which roamed over the plains +during the times of their fathers. At that period, the Happy Hunting +Ground was on earth, but was afterward removed beyond the clouds by the +Great Spirit, to punish his children for bad conduct. + +Many reasons, besides dim traditions, exist for the belief that those +mysterious nations whose paths we have been able to trace from the +Atlantic west, and from the Pacific east, pushed inward until they met +in the middle of the continent. The numerous mounds in the Western +States, with the curious weapons and vessels which they contain, show +that the nations then existing, and migrating toward the interior, were +not only powerful but essentially unlike our modern Indians. To instance +but one illustration of this, there are near Titusville, Pa., ancient +oil wells, which bear unmistakable evidences of having been dug and +worked by the mound-builders. Thus they speculated in oil, which of +itself is a token of high civilization. + +Coming east from the Pacific coast, we find existing on the very edge of +the desolate interior extensive ruins of ancient cities, of whose +builders even tradition gives no account. By these and other remains +which the gnawing tooth of Time has still spared to us, the people of +those days tell us that they were full of commercial energy; and who +knows but they may have been as determined as our nation has ever been, +to push trade across from ocean to ocean? It is highly probable also +that the Indians of the interior were then far superior to the present +tribes, as seems very fairly determined by many of the traditions and +customs which obtain among the latter. + +In view of the foregoing considerations, it is not remarkable that the +beads, denoting, as they did, a place and manner of burial unlike that +of the savages of the plains, interested us so much. It was a leaf, we +could not but think, from the lost history of the mound-builders. + +A noticeable feature of life on the plains is the sod-house, there +called an adobe, from some resemblance to the Mexican structures of +sun-dried brick. The walls of these primitive habitations are composed +of squares of buffalo-grass sod, laid tier upon tier, roots uppermost. A +few poles give support for a roof, and on these some hay or small brush +is laid. Then comes a foot of earth, and the covering is complete. When +well-constructed, these houses are water-proof, very warm in winter, and +cool in summer; but when the eaves have been made too short to protect +the walls, the latter are liable to dissolve under a heavy shower. +During a sudden rain at Sheridan, being obliged to turn out early one +morning to protect some goods, we discovered that the neighboring +habitation had resolved itself into a mound of dirt, resembling somewhat +a tropical ant-hill. We were still gazing at the ruins, when the owner, +clad in the brief garment of night-wear, came spluttering through the +roof, like a very dirty gnome discharged by a mud-volcano. While he +stood there in the rain, letting the falling flood cleanse him off, he +remarked, in a manner that for such an occasion was certainly rather +dry--"Lucky that houses are dirt-cheap here, stranger, for I reckon this +one 's sort o' washed!" + +A person of small capital, as may readily be inferred, can live very +comfortably on the plains. His house may be built without nail or board, +and his meat may be obtained at no other expense than the trouble of +shooting it. + +We saw many wooden buildings at the different stage stations, which had +subterranean communications with little sod watch-towers, rising a +couple of feet above the ground, at a distance of forty or fifty yards +from the main building. Loop-holes through their walls afforded +opportunities for firing, and if the wooden stations were burned, the +occupants could find a secure retreat. We heard of but one occasion in +which the tower was ever used, but then it was most effectively, the +savages, gathered close around the main building, being surprised and +put to sudden flight, by the murderous fire which seemed to spring out +of the ground at their rear. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + + OUR PROGRAMME CONCLUDED--FROM SHERIDAN TO THE SOLOMON--FIERCE + WINDS--A TERRIFIC STORM--SHAMUS' BLOODY APPARITION AND INDIAN + WITCH--A RECONNOISSANCE--AN INDIAN BURIAL GROVE--A CONTRACTOR'S + DARING AND ITS PENALTY--MORE VAGABONDIZING--JOSE AT THE LONG + BOW--THE "WILD HUNTRESS'" COUNTERPART--SHAMUS TREATS US TO + "CHILE"--THE RESULT. + + +"Gentlemen," said the Professor, next morning, at breakfast, "We have +well-nigh exhausted Buffalo Land. North of us some twenty miles, the +upper waters of the Solomon may be reached. I believe that district to +be rich in fossils; it is also interesting as the path over which the +red men have so often swept on their missions of murder. The valley +winds eastward and southward during its course, and will discharge us at +Solomon City, a point well back on our homeward journey. There our +expedition may fitly disband. Should it be considered desirable, during +the coming year, to explore the wild territories of the north-west, we +can meet at such place as may be designated. What say you?" + +Our response was a unanimous vote in favor of accepting the programme +thus sketched out. Some of us desired the trip, and all knew that the +Professor would go at any rate. + +Our path lay over the same undulating plain that we had been traversing +for many weeks, the wind blowing fiercely in our teeth. The violent +movement of the air over this vast surface is often unpleasant, and +during a severe winter is more dangerous than the intense cold of the +far north, as it penetrates through the thickest clothing. The winter of +1871-2, when numbers of hunters and herders were frozen to death, +illustrated this to a painful degree. The months of December and January +are usually mild, and no precautions were taken. On the morning of the +most fatal day, it was raining; in the afternoon, the wind veered and +blew cold from the north, the rain changing to sleet, and this, in turn, +to snow so blinding that objects became invisible at the distance of a +few feet. + +After the storm, near Hays City, five men belonging to a wood-train were +found frozen to death. They had unloaded a portion of their wood, and +endeavored to keep up a fire, but the fierce wind blew the flames out, +snatching the coals from the logs, and flinging them into darkness. The +men seized their stores of bacon and piled them upon fresh kindling, but +even the inflammable fat was quenched almost instantly. One of another +party, who finally escaped the same sad fate, by finding a deserted +dugout, said it seemed as if invisible spirits seized the tongues of +flame and carried them, like torches, out into the awful blackness. +Thousands of Texas cattle perished during that storm. One herder, in +order to save his life, cut open a dying ox, and, after removing the +entrails, took his place inside the warm carcass. + +We noted a curious incident, relative to the wind's fantastic freaks on +the plains, while at Sheridan. One day, during the prevalence of a north +wind, we observed all the old papers, cards, and other light rubbish +which ornament a frontier town, moving off to the south like flocks of +birds. Two days afterward, the wind changed, and the refuse all came +flying back again, and passed on to the northward. + +On the first evening of our homeward journey from Sheridan, we encamped +on what appeared to be a small tributary of the upper Solomon. While the +tents were being pitched, and the necessary provisions unloaded, Shamus +strolled toward a clump of trees half a mile off, in hopes of securing a +wild turkey to add to his stores. He soon came running back in a great +fright, to tell us that, as he was passing among the trees, the black +pacer of the plains, with its bloody master in the saddle, had started +out of a bottom meadow just beyond, and fled away into the gloom. This +was a sufficiently ghostly tale in itself, but it was not all; Shamus +further averred that as he turned to fly, he saw a hideous Indian witch +swinging to and fro in a tree directly before him. The spot was +unwholesome, he assured us, and he urged instant removal. + +It seemed evident that our cook had some foundation for his fears, as +his terror was too great and his account too circumstantial for the +matter to be simply one of an excited imagination. If there were Indians +close by, it was necessary that we should know it at once, and avoid the +danger of an attack at dawn. We organized a reconnoissance immediately, +and, six men strong, moved toward the timber. Scattering as much as +possible, that concealed savages might not have the advantage of a +bunch-shot, we cautiously reached the border of the trees, and entered +their shadows. We breathed more freely; if tree-fighting was to be +indulged in, we now had an equal chance. It is a trying experience, +reader, to advance within range of a supposed ambuscade, and the moment +when one reaches the cover unharmed is a blessed one. The logs and +stumps which seemed so hideous, when death was thought to be crouching +behind, suddenly glow with friendship, and one is glad to know that he +can hug such friends, should danger glare out from the bushes ahead. + +As we walked forward, Shamus' witch suddenly appeared before us. It was +the body of a papoose, fastened in a tree. + +The spot was evidently an Indian burying-ground. The corpse had been +loosened by the wind, and now rocked back and forth, staring at us. It +was dried by the air into a shriveled deformity, rendered doubly +grotesque by the beads and other articles with which it had been decked +when laid away. We had neither time nor inclination to explore the grove +for other bodies, preferring our supper and our blankets. As Shamus +stoutly held to the story of the phantom pacer, we were forced to +conclude that some stray Indian, from motives of either curiosity or +reverence, had been visiting the grove when frightened out of it by our +cook. In the gathering gloom, a red shirt or blanket would have +answered very well for bloody garments. + +These burial spots are held in high reverence by the Indians, and their +hatred of the white man receives fresh fuel whenever the latter chops +down the sacred trees for cord-wood. On one occasion, a contractor +destroyed a burial grove, a few miles above Fort Wallace, to supply the +post with fuel. The first blow of the axe had scarcely fallen upon the +tree, when some Indians who chanced to be in the neighborhood sent word +that the desecrator would be killed unless he desisted. Messages from +the wild tribes, coming in out of the waste, telling that they were +watching, ought to have been warning sufficient. But he was reckless +enough to disregard them, and continued his work. The trees were felled +and cut up, and the wood delivered. The contractor went to the post for +his pay, and as he took it, spoke in a jocose vein of the threat which +had come to naught. + +Soon afterward, he set out for camp. Midway there, he heard the rush of +trampling hoofs, and looking up, his horrified gaze beheld a band of +painted savages sweeping down upon him from out the west. Five minutes +later, he lay upon the plain a mutilated corpse, and every pocket +rifled. The Indians had fulfilled their threats. The trees which to them +answered the same purpose that the marble monuments which we erect over +our dead do among us, had been broken up by a stranger, and sold. They +acted very much as white men would have done under similar +circumstances, except that the purloined greenbacks were probably +scattered on the ground, or fastened, for the sake of the pictures, on +wigwam walls, instead of being put out at interest. + +Our little adventure gave rise to another evening of "vagabondizing." +Each one of our men, including the Mexicans, had some Indian tale of +thrilling interest to relate, in which he had been the hero. José, a +cross-eyed child of our sister Republic, spun the principal yarns of the +occasion. He had commenced outwitting Death while yet an infant, being +content to remain quiet under a baker's dozen of murdered relations, +that he might be rescued after the paternal hacienda had taken fire, by +somebody who survived. + +After a careful analysis of several thousand remarkable stories which +were told to us first and last during our journey, I have deemed it wise +to repeat only those which we were able to corroborate afterward. Among +the latter is a narrative that was given us by the guide on this +occasion, having for its text a side remark to the effect that crazy +Ann, the wild huntress whom we met above Hays, was not the first lunatic +who had been seen wandering upon the plains. About the close of 1867, a +small body of Kiowas appeared in the vicinity of Wilson's Station, a few +miles above Ellsworth, being first discovered by a young man from +Salina, who was herding cattle there. They rushed suddenly upon him, and +he fled on his pony toward the station, a mile away. The chief's horse +alone gained on him, and the savage was just poising his spear to strike +him down, when the young man turned quickly in his saddle, and +discharged a pistol full at his pursuer's breast, killing him instantly. +Meanwhile, the half-dozen negro soldiers at the station had been +alarmed, and now ran out and commenced firing. The Indians fled in +dismay, without stopping to secure their dead chieftain, who was at once +scalped by the station men, and left where he fell. + +Next morning the soldiers revisited the place, and found that the band +had returned in the night, and removed the corpse. The negroes followed +the trail for a mile or more, in order to discover the place of burial, +and shortly found the chief's body lying exposed on the bank of the +Smoky. It had apparently been abandoned immediately upon the discovery +that the scalp had been taken, from the belief, probably, which all +Indians entertain, that a warrior thus mutilated can not enter the Happy +Hunting Ground. Now for the apparition in question. As the soldiers +approached the spot, a white woman, in a wretched blanket, fled away. In +vain they called out to her that they were friends; she neither ceased +her running, nor gave them any answer. The men pursued, but the fugitive +eluded them among the trees, and disappeared. A few days after, she was +again seen, but once more succeeding in escaping. + +It afterward transpired that, a year or so before, a white girl had been +stolen from Texas, and passed into possession of one of the tribes. She +lost her reason before long, and, like all the unfortunate creatures of +this class among the Indians, became an object of superstition at once. +One morning she was missed by her captors, and a few days later a +Mexican teamster reported having seen a strange woman, near his camp, +who fled when he approached her. His description left no doubt of her +identity with the missing captive. I have since conversed with some of +the soldiers, then stationed at Wilson, and they assured me that the +white girl was plainly visible to them on both occasions. As she was +never afterward seen in the vicinity of civilization, the poor creature +is believed to have perished from exposure. Possibly she was making her +way to the settlements, when frightened back by the negroes, who may +have resembled her late tormentors too closely to be recognized as +friends. + +After one has been for months passing over a country stained every-where +by savage outrage, it is easy to understand how the man whose wife or +sister has met the terrible fate of an Indian captive, can spend his +life upon their trail, committing murder. For murder it is, when +revenge, not justice, prompts the blow, and the innocent must suffer +alike with the guilty. + +While breakfast was preparing next morning, some fiend suggested to one +of our Mexican teamsters that the Americans might like a taste of +Mexico's standard dish, "chile," of which, the fellow said, he had a +good supply in his wagon-chest. Shamus was consulted, and assented at +once, seeming delighted with the prospects of astonishing our palates +with a new sensation. Know, O reader, of an inquiring mind, that chile +consists of red pepper, served as a boiling hot sauce, or stew. It is +believed to have been invented by the Evil One, and immediately adopted +in Mexico. + +Shamus succeeded admirably in his design of concocting a sensation for +us. Our alderman was _ex-officio_ the epicure of the party, half of his +duties as a New York city father having been to study carefully all +known flavors. He always tasted new dishes, and on our behalf accepted +or rejected them. When, therefore, the savory stew came before us, he +experimented with a mouthful. Immediately thereafter a commotion arose +in camp, and Shamus fled before the righteous wrath of Sachem. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + + THE BLOCK-HOUSE ON THE SOLOMON--HOW THE OLD MAN DIED--WACONDA + DA--LEGEND OF WA-BOG-AHA AND HEWGAW--SABBATH MORNING--SACHEM'S + POETICAL EPITAPH--AN ALARM--BATTLE BETWEEN AN EMIGRANT AND THE + INDIANS--WAS IT THE SYDNEYS?--TO THE RESCUE--AN ELK HUNT--ROCKY + MOUNTAIN SHEEP--NOVEL MODE OF HUNTING TURKEYS--IN CAMP ON THE + SOLOMON--A WARM WELCOME. + + +On the second day we reached the Solomon, and directed our course down +its valley. Shamus' face was as bright as if he was about to blow up an +English prison, which, for so pronounced a Fenian, indicated a happiness +of the very highest degree. It was evident that Irish Mary had hold of +the other end of our cook's heart-strings, and was twitching them +merrily. Cupid had indeed found us in the solitude, and, as Sachem +expressed it, was "whanging away" at two of our number, at least, most +remorselessly. + +Two days' ride brought us to the forks of the river, where a block-house +had been built a year or two before, and in which we expected to find a +resident. Since its abandonment by the troops, it had been occupied by +an elderly man, known as Doctor Rose, who, solitary and alone, was +holding this frontier post, that, when civilization came, he might +possess it as a farm. We were disappointed. The barricade was deserted, +and every thing about it as silent as the grave. No curling smoke uprose +among the trees, and the everlasting hills and dusky prairies stretched +away on all sides in weird, wild desolation. We shook the door, and +called, but found no answer. It was fastened upon the inside, and as we +had no right to force it, we passed on, and encamped by the "Waconda +Da," or Great Spirit Salt Spring, a few miles below. + +We did not suppose that the old man we had sought was so near us. Up on +a high ridge only a short distance off, his body was lying, another +victim of Indian murder. Savages had been raiding through the +settlements below, and thinking himself exposed, he had contrived to +fasten the door of the block-house from the outside, and attempted to +escape in the night. No one but the red murderers saw the old man die, +and how and when they met him will never be known; but his body was +found near the roadside, where the path wound over a high ridge, and +within sight of the Waconda, and there it was afterward laid in its +lonely sepulcher by his sorrowing family. + +Down on a creek below, the savages, on the previous evening, had been +sweeping off the thin line of settlements, as a broom sweeps spiders' +houses from the wall. Perhaps some dark demon eye, glancing up from the +crimson trail, saw the old man, bending under the weight of years, +feebly trying to save the few remaining days left him, and turned +pitilessly aside to hurl him into that grave which, at best, could not +be far off. No struggle was visible where he fell, and it is probable +that they approached him with a treacherous "How, how?" and a +hand-shake, and, as he gave the grasp of friendship, struck him down, +and launched him into eternity. + +Waconda Da, Great Spirit Salt Spring, is among the most remarkable +natural curiosities of the West, and is held in great reverence by the +native tribes. It presents the appearance of a large conical mass of +rock, about forty feet high, shaped like an inverted bowl, and smooth as +mason-work. In the center of its upper surface, is the spring, shallow +at the rim, and in the middle having a well-like opening, about twenty +feet in depth. Into this pool the Indians cast their offerings, ranging +from old blankets to stolen watches, thereby to appease the Great +Spirit. (From his location, Sachem thought the latter must be an old +salt.) + +We fished with a hooked stick for some time, and were rewarded by +bringing up a ragged blanket and a shattered gunstock. All around the +rim of the opening were incrustations of salt, and the brackish water +trickled over, and ran in little rivulets down the huge sides. At the +base of the rock, a dead buffalo was fast in the mud, having died where +he mired, while licking the Great Spirit's brackish altar. + +[Illustration: WACONDA DA--GREAT SPIRIT SALT SPRING.] + +As no remarkable spot in Indian land should ever be brought before the +public without an accompanying legend, I shall present one, selected out +of several such, which has attached itself to this. To make tourists +fully appreciate a high bluff or picturesquely dangerous spot, it is +absolutely essential that some fond lovers should have jumped down +it, hand-in-hand, in sight of the cruel parents, who struggle up the +incline, only to be rewarded by the heart-rending _finale_. This, then, +is + + +THE LEGEND OF WACONDA. + +Many moons ago--no orthodox Indian story ever commenced without this +expression--a red maiden, named Hewgaw, fell in love. (And I may here be +permitted to quote a theory of Alderman Sachem's, to the effect that +Eve's daughters generally fall into every thing, including hysterics, +mistakes, and the fashions.) Hewgaw was a chief's daughter, and +encouraged a savage to sue for her hand who, having scalped but a dozen +women and children, was only high private or "big soldier." Chief and +lover were quickly by the ears, and the fiat went forth that Wa-bog-aha +must bring four more scalps, before aspiring to the position of +son-in-law. This seemed as impossible as Jason's task of old. War had +existed for some time, and, as there was no chance for surprises, +scalp-gathering was a harvest of danger. + +There seemed no alternative but to run for it, and so, gathering her +bundle, Hewgaw sallied out from the first and only story of the paternal +abode, as modern young ladies, in similar emergencies, do from the third +or fourth. Through the tangled masses of the forest, the red lovers +departed, and just at dawn were passing by the Waconda Spring, into +whose waters all good Indians throw an offering. Wa-bog-aha either +forgot or did not wish to do so. Instantly the spring commenced +bubbling wrathfully. So far, the Great Spirit had guided the lovers; +now, he frowned. An immense column of salt water shot out of Waconda +high into air, and its brackish spray dashed furiously into the faces of +Wa-bog-aha and Hewgaw, and drove them back. + +The saltish torrent deluged the surrounding plains--putting every thing +into a pretty pickle, as may well be imagined. The ground was so soaked +that the salt marshes of Western Kansas still remain to tell of it, and, +a portion of the flood draining off, formed the famous "salt plains." +Along the Arkansas and in the Indian Territory, the incrustations are +yet found, covering thousands of acres. The Kansas River, for hours, was +as brackish as the ocean, its strangely seasoned waters pouring into the +Missouri, and from thence into the Mississippi. It was this, according +to tradition, which caused such a violent retching by the Father of +Waters, in 1811. The current flowed backward, and vessels were rocked +violently--phenomena then ascribed by the materialistic white man to an +earthquake. + +Too late the luckless pair saw their mistake, and started for the summit +of Waconda, just as the angry father put in his very unwelcome +appearance. Had they avoided looking toward the spring, all, perchance, +might yet have been well. Without exception, the medicine men had +written it in their annals that no eye but their own must ever gaze back +at Waconda, after once passing it. Tradition explains that this was to +avoid semblance of regret for gifts there offered the Great Spirit. +Sachem, however, is of the opinion that in giving these orders the +medicine men had the gifts in their eye, and simply wished time to put +them in their pockets. Hewgaw could not resist the temptation to peep. +Immediately around the rock all was quiet, while without the narrow +circle the descending torrents were dashed fiercely by the winds. The +beasts of the plains, in countless numbers, came rushing in toward the +Waconda, their forms white with coatings of salt, and probably +representing the largest amount of corned meat ever gathered in one +place. + +All the brute eyes--knightly elk, kingly bison, and currish wolves--were +turned toward the top where Wa-bog-aha and Hewgaw stood, casting their +valuables, as appeasing morsels, into the hissing spring. It refused to +be quieted. Suddenly, the lovers were nowhere visible, and the salt +storm ceased. Nothing could be found by the afflicted father, except a +tress of his daughter's hair--perhaps her chignon. + +The old chief declared that, just as the end was approaching, the clouds +were full of beautiful colors, and the air glittered with diamonds. The +white man's science, however, coldly assumes that these appearances were +only the rainbows and their reflections, playing amidst the crystal salt +shower. + + * * * * * + +Sabbath morning dawned upon our camp, and according to our usual custom, +we lay by for the day. At ten o'clock, the Professor read the morning +service. It must have been a strange scene that we presented, while +uncouth teamsters and all--our family-pew the wide valley, with its +seats of stones, and logs--sat listening to the beautiful language that +told how the faith of which Christianity was born was cradled in a land +as primitive and desolate as that which we were traversing. There, the +wild Arab hordes hovered over the deserts; here, America's savage tribes +do the same over the plains. + +Our priest stood near one of Nature's grandest altar pieces, "Waconda +Da." Reverence from the most irreverent is secured among such scenes and +solitudes. Away from his fellows, man's soul instinctively looks upward, +and yearns for some power mightier than himself to which to cling. The +brittle straw of Atheism snaps when called upon for support under these +circumstances, and the blasphemy which was bold and loud among the +haunts of men, here is hushed into silence, or even awed into +reverential fear. + +The Professor improved the opportunity to deliver an excellent discourse +upon the wonderful evidences of God's power which geology is daily +revealing. His peroration was quite flowery, and in a strain very much +as follows: + +"Science is yet in its infancy, and many things which seem dark to us +will be clear to our descendants. Future generations will doubtless +wonder at our boiler explosions, and our railroad accidents. Lightning +expresses will be used only for freight, while machines navigating the +air, at one hundred miles an hour, will carry the passengers. Steam, +electricity, and the magnetic needle have all been open to man's +appropriative genius ever since the world offered him a home, and yet +he has only just now comprehended them. The future will see instruments +boring thousands of feet into the earth in a day, and developing +measures and mysteries which the world is not now ripe for +understanding. Perhaps, the telescopes of another century may bring our +descendants face to face with the life of the heavenly bodies, and give +us glimpses of the inhabitants at their daily avocations. Who knows but +that the beings who people other worlds in the infinite ocean of space +around us, compared with which worlds our little planet is insignificant +indeed, are able, by the use of more powerful instruments than any with +which we are acquainted, to hold us in constant review? Our battles they +may look upon as we would the conflicts of ants, and they wonder, +perchance, why so quarrelsome a world is permitted to exist at all." + +Next morning Sachem was up at daybreak, examining the spot where Hewgaw +and Wa-bog-aha met their fate, and underwent their iridescent +annihilation. His offering to their memory we found after breakfast, +tacked up in a prominent position beside the spring. The inscription, +evidently intended as a sort of epitaph, was written on the cover of a +cracker-box, and struck me as so peculiar that I was at the pains of +transcribing it among our notes. I give it to the reader for the +purpose, principally, of showing the unconquerable antipathies of an +alderman. + + +IN MEMORIAM. + + Lot's wife, you remember, looked back, + (What woman could ever refrain?) + And instantly stood in her track + A pillar of salt on the plain. + + If all were thus cursed for the fault, + Who peep when forbidden to look, + The feminine pillars of salt + Could never be written in book. + + Hewgaw was an Indian belle + Which no one could ring--she was fickle; + Some scores of her lovers there fell + (Where she did at last) in a pickle. + + Thus salt is the only thing known + Entirely certain of keeping + Flesh of our flesh, bone of our bone, + Out of the habit of peeping. + + Unless the tradition has lied, + Our maiden may claim, with good reason, + That she is a well-preserved bride, + And certainly bride of a season. + + Wa-bog-aha big was a brave-- + The Great Spirit salted him down: + Braves seldom get corned in the grave, + They 're oftener corned in the town. + + My rhyming, you find, is saline, + Quite brackish its toning and end; + The moral--far better to pine + Than wed and get "salted," my friend. + +Soon after sunrise we took our way down the river, intending to reach +the Sydney farm on the following day, and there spend the necessary time +in preparing our specimens for immediate shipment when we should arrive +at Solomon City. The Professor made desperate efforts to appear entirely +wrapped up in science, and his devotion to geology was something +wonderful. Hitherto he had been inclined to urge us forward, but now he +made a show of holding us back. Did he do so with a knowledge that our +necessities for food and forage would be sufficient spur, and was he +simply shielding his weak side from Sachem's attacks? + +We had proceeded but a few miles on our journey, when the guide rode +back, and reported fresh pony tracks across the road ahead of us. This +was an unquestionable Indian sign, but as the trail seemed to be leading +north, we took no precaution; our route was over a high divide, where +ambushing was impossible. + +Approaching Limestone Creek, the road wound down the face of a +precipitous bluff, into the valley below. We had just commenced the +descent, when the now familiar cry of "Injuns!" came back from the men +in front, and following closely on the cry we heard the echoing report +of firearms. We looked in the direction of the sound, and saw close to +the trees an emigrant wagon, while beyond it, but at fully one hundred +yards' distance, four or five Indians were riding back and forth in +semi-circles, and firing pistols. The emigrant stood beside his oxen, +with rifle in readiness, but apparently reserving his fire. + +"That man knows his biz!" exclaimed our guide, as he urged the teams +forward, that we might afford rescue. "Injuns never bump up agin a +loaded gun." + +A gleam of calico was visible in the wagon, and another rifle barrel, +held by female hands, seemed peering out in front. The general aspect of +the assailed outfit reminded us strongly of the Sydney family, and +suspicion was strengthened by a very unscientific yell from the +Professor, as he started off at break-neck speed down the bluff for a +rescue, with no other weapon whatever in his hand than a small hammer he +had just been using for breaking stones. Mr. Colon seemed equally +demented, following close upon Paleozoic's heels with a bug-net. Shamus, +at the moment, happened to be astride his donkey, and giving an Irish +war-whoop which reached even to the scene of combat, straightway charged +over the limestone ledges in a cloud of white dust. Our appearance upon +the scene was a surprise to Lo. The Indians stood not upon the order of +their going, but "lit out on the double-quick," as our guide expressed +it, and were soon out of sight. + +We found that the emigrants were named Burns, the family comprising the +parents and their two children. The man stated that he had no fear of +the savages. He had been twice across the plains, and made it a rule +never to throw a shot away. "If they can draw your fire," said he, "the +fellows will charge. But they don't want to look into a loaded gun." +Mrs. Burns had come to her husband's rescue with an expedient worthy the +wife of a frontiersman. Having no gun, she pointed from under the +canvass the handle of a broom. This, being woman's favorite weapon, was +handled so skillfully that the savages imagined it another rifle. In our +log-book she was chronicled at once as fully the equal of that +revolutionary hero, who one evening made prisoner of a British officer, +by crooking an American sausage into the semblance of a pistol, and +presenting it at the Englishman's breast. + +There were two of our party who did not rejoice as they should have +done, after rendering such timely aid to the Burns family. How romantic +had the rescued party only proved to be the one which was at first +suspected! + +Where this little scene occurred, there are homesteads now, which will +soon develop into thrifty farms. The blessing of a railroad can not be +long deferred. A year, a month, even a week sometimes, makes wonderful +changes in Buffalo Land, when the tide of immigration is rolling forward +upon it. Before the present year is ended, the beautiful valley of +Limestone Creek will be teeming with civilized life, and the savage red +man, there is good reason to believe, has departed from it forever. + +After bidding the Burns family good-bye, we traveled without further +adventure until near noon, when the guide rode back, and directed our +attention to some elk, which he pointed out, some distance ahead. The +bodies of the herd were hidden by a ridge, but above its brown line we +could plainly see their great antlers, looking like the branches of +trees, moving slowly along. There was but one method of getting near the +game, and that was immediately adopted. Up the side of the sloping +ridge we carefully crawled, and, reaching the summit, peeped over. Half +a dozen big antlered fellows, and as many does, were feeding along the +slope below. Only one of them, a splendid male, was within shooting +distance at all, and even for it the range was long. The guide and Muggs +fired together, breaking the poor creature's shoulder. + +What a startled stare the noble animals flashed back at the crack of the +rifles, and how quickly they disappeared. Their trot was perfectly +grand--great, firm strokes which seemed to fairly fling the bodies +onward. We had hardly time to realize having fired, when their tails +bade us distant adieu. It is said that no horse can keep up with the +trot of the elk. If charged upon suddenly, however, from close quarters, +he is frightened into an awkward gallop, and may then be overtaken +easily. + +Our wounded game looked formidable, and we approached cautiously. He +made several efforts to run, but each time fell forward, in plunging +slides, on his nose and side, rubbing the hair from the latter, and +daubing the ground with blood from his nostrils. Muggs felt free to +confess that even the pampered stags of England, when perilously roused +from their well-kept glens, by over-fed hunters in killing coats and +boots, never presented such a picture of wild beauty and agony, colored +just the least bit with danger. At this "kill" we lost our black hound. +Tempted to incaution by the sight of the noble elk standing wounded and +at bay, or else excited by its blood, the dog sprang forward. A chance +blow of the massive horns knocked him over, and in an instant more the +beast had stamped him to death. + +We finished the elk by a united volley, and added him to our trophies. +The horns, resting upon their tips, gave space for one of our Mexicans, +five feet two in stature, to pass beneath them erect. Elk hairs are +remarkably elastic. Single ones obtained from this specimen stretched by +trial with the fingers, and detached from the skin so easily that the +latter seemed worthless. + +During the day we found and secured the remains of two saurians--one +about eight and the other ten feet in length, and also the tooth of a +fossil horse, quite a number of curious bubble-shaped pieces of iron +pyrites, and some fine petrifactions, in the way of butternuts and +fragments of trees. The soft, white limestone, mentioned more than once +before in this record of our expedition, appeared along our paths in +fine outcrops, and contained very perfect fossil shells. + +Abe, our guide, told us that a year or two previous, during a winter of +unusual severity, he had found a flock of Rocky Mountain sheep feeding +near the Solomon. This was the only instance which came to our knowledge +of that animal having been seen upon the plains. + +We had an amusing experience, before night, with turkeys, hunting them +in novel style. The birds were wild from recent pursuit, and, the +instant they saw us, would leave the narrow fringe of timber, and run +off into the ravines. Then would commence a ludicrous chase, each rider +plying spurs, and pursuing. There went Sachem, on his long-legged +purchase, the beast staggering and stumbling through ravines; and Semi +also, upon Cynocephalus, whose abbreviated tail was hoisted straight in +air, while at the other extremity his nose stretched well out and took +in air under asthmatic protests. Rearward was the Mexican donkey, +arguing the point with Dobeen whether or not to enter the race. Ahead of +all went the wild turkeys, running like ostriches. The bird is a heavy +one, and its short flights and runs, therefore, though rapid, can not be +long continued. Seeing the pursuit gaining, it would turn to the woods +again for protection. Other riders would there head it off, and soon, +completely exhausted and only able to stagger along, it was easily +taken. In this manner, we obtained over twenty turkeys while passing +along the river. + +[Illustration: MORE OF OUR SPECIMENS--PHOTOGRAPHED BY J. LEE KNIGHT, +TOPEKA, KANS. + +PRAIRIE CHICKENS. + +HEAD OF AN ELK. WILD TURKEY. + +BEAVER.] + +That evening we reached the little settlement on the Solomon, which was +the Canaan of all our wanderings to certain members of our party, and +went into camp among the Sydneys and their neighbors. Our welcome was a +warm one, and it took Shamus but a few moments to find our friend's +kitchen, where he at once installed himself in the dual capacity of +lover and assistant cook, discharging the duties of each position to the +entire satisfaction of all concerned. Our supper with the Sydney family +seemed like civilization again, notwithstanding that we were still on +the uttermost bounds of civilized manners and customs. The Professor, +sitting next to Miss Flora, was the very picture of happiness, and "all +went merry as a marriage bell." Even Sachem ceased to sulk before the +meal was ended. + +At dusk, as we were assuring ourselves by personal inspection that the +camp was in proper order, a familiar form came stalking toward us in the +gathering gloom. "Tenacious Gripe!" cried the Professor; and so it was. +Our friend's ribs had been repaired, and he was now on a mission along +the Solomon river, holding railroad meetings in the different counties. +The progressive westerner, when he has nothing else to do, is in the +habit of starting out on a tour for the purpose of inducing the dear +people to vote county bonds for a new railroad, and such a westerner was +Gripe. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + + OUR LAST NIGHT TOGETHER--THE REMARKABLE SHED-TAIL DOG--HE RESCUES + HIS MISTRESS, AND BREAKS UP A MEETING--A SKETCH OF TERRITORIAL + TIMES BY GRIPE--MONTGOMERY'S EXPEDITION FOR THE RESCUE OF JOHN + BROWN'S COMPANIONS--SCALPED, AND CARVING HIS OWN EPITAPH--AN IRISH + JACOB--"SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST"--SACHEM'S POETICAL LETTER--POPPING + THE QUESTION ON THE RUN--THE PROFESSOR'S LETTER. + + +Supper over, we made an engagement with our hospitable friends for their +presence at a sort of "state dinner" we proposed giving the next day, +and then returned to our own camp. A number of the settlers soon came +strolling in, and among them one bringing a most remarkable dog, of the +"shed-tail" variety. The animal was well known to fame in that section, +for having attacked some Indians who had taken his mistress captive and +were endeavoring to place her upon one of their ponies, and so delaying +them that the neighbors were able to arrive and give rescue. It was +claimed that thirty shots were fired at him without effect, which, if +true, proved that either those Indians were exceedingly bad marksmen, or +that the small fraction of caudal appendage which the beast possessed +acted as a protective talisman. + +We had often seen dogs without tails, but previous to this had always +supposed that a depraved human taste, not nature, was at the root of it. +Tail-wagging we had considered as much the born prerogative of a dog as +a laugh is that of man. It is true some men do not laugh, but the child +did. A dog's tail embodies his laughing faculty, or rather one might +call it a canine thermometer. It rises and falls with his feelings, in +moments of depression going down to zero between his legs, and again +rising when the canine temperature becomes more even. + +"That thar dorg, stranger, is of the shed-tail variety," said its owner, +when we solicited information. "Whole litter had nothin' but stumps. +Killed most on 'em off, 'cause, havin' nothin' to wag, visitin' people +couldn't tell whether they was goin' to bite, or be pleased. Some time +ago, a travelin' school-teacher giv' him a plaguy Latin name, but we +call him Shed, for short. He knows, just as well as you and I, that he +'s in the wrong, latterly, and as soon as you look at him, or touch +where the tail ought ter be, he hides and howls. He 's sensitive as a +human." + +Saying this, our new acquaintance leaned over the dog, which was lying +asleep, and gave the animal what he called a "latterly touch." Although +it was but the gentle contact of a finger tip, the poor creature jumped +up, uttered a dismal howl, and fled off among the wagons. + +"That dorg," continued the owner, "would be one of the best critters +out, if it wasn't for his short cut. He 'll fight Injuns, or wild cats, +and take any amount of blows on his head, if they 'll only avoid his +misfortin.'" + +We remarked that he seemed to have been shot in the side, some time. + +"Yes, got a whole charge of quail shot slapped inter him. You see the +way it was, wer this. Most every section has one or two scraggy, +rattle-brained fellers, allers loungin' round, takin' free drinks, and +starvin' ther families. Whar we come from was one of this sort, never of +no account to no one. We had a temperance meetin' one day, and this Hib, +as they called him, wer opposed to it. He was afraid they 'd shut up Old +Bung's whisky shed. Well, we was all a gathered, listenin' to the +serpent and its poisoned sting, and that sort o' thing, and had about +concluded to go for Old Bung, when that contrairy, ornery Hib broke us +up. He goes and gets a fresh coon skin, and sneaks all round the +school-house, draggin' it arter him, and makin' a sort o' scented +circle. Then he goes and gets Shed Tail there, who was powerful on +coons, and sets him on that thar track. Shed give just one sniff, and +opened right out. The way he shied round that school-house wer a sin. In +five minutes, all the dogs of the village were at his heels, and goin' +round that circle like the spokes in a wheel. + +"It was just a round ring of the loudest yelling you ever heard. Every +dog thought the one just ahead of him had the coon. All the meetin' +folks come a pourin' out, with sticks and chairs, and what with beatin' +and coaxin' they got all off the trail but old Shed. Half the people +went to chasin' that dorg, while the balance held onto the others. But +Shed just stuck to that coon track, like all possessed, dodgin' atween +our legs, or sheerin' off, and catchin' ther trail agin just beyond. He +finally upset Old Squire Bundy's wife, and the Squire got mad, and +slapped some No. 7 into his ribs." + +The shed-tail's owner, waxing more and more eloquent with his subject, +had just commenced the narrative of another Indian battle in which his +favorite had figured, when we became interested in a wordy political +combat between Tenacious Gripe and a genuine specimen of the +"reconstructed," the first and only one of that genus that we saw in +Kansas. His clothes had the famous butternut dye, and his shirt bosom +was mapped into numerous creeks and rivers by the brown stains of +tobacco overflows. The dispute waxed warm, and grew more and more +prolific of eloquence. At length, the reconstructed beat a retreat, and +our orator was left in triumphant possession of the field. + +Drawing fresh inspiration from his success, Gripe devoted another hour +to an account of the early struggles in Kansas against these "mean +whites." He gave us many vivid descriptions of the time when men died +that their children might live. Among other relations was that of the +expedition under Montgomery, to rescue the two companions of old John +Brown from the prison at Charlestown, Virginia, a short time after the +stern hero himself had there been hung. + +The dozen of brave Kansas men interested in the enterprise reached +Harrisburg, with their rifles taken apart and packed in a chest, and +sent scouts into Virginia and Maryland. It was the middle of winter, and +deep snow covered the ground. They intended, when passing among the +mountains, to bear the character of a hunting party. Every member of +that little band was willing to push on to Charlestown, notwithstanding +the whole State of Virginia was on the alert, and pickets were thrown +out as far even as Hagerstown, Maryland. The plan was, by a bold dash to +capture the jail, and then, with the rescued men, make rapidly for the +seaboard. Although the expedition failed, it gave the world a glimpse of +that heroic western spirit which was not only willing to do battle upon +its own soil, but content to turn back and meet Death half-way when +comrades were in danger. + +Gripe did not accompany the expedition. Yet he grew so eloquent over the +deep snow that stretched drearily before the little band, the gloomy +mountains which frowned down defiance, and the people, far more +inhospitable than either, who stood behind the natural barriers, filled +to fanaticism with suspicion, fear, and hate, that we were sorry he had +not been of the party. A man of such congressional qualifications as +were his, might have been able to steal even the prisoners. + +On other matters of Kansas history, Gripe could speak from personal +experience. He had twice entered the territory during the period when +the Free State and pro-slavery forces were doing battle for it. In one +instance, the journey had been overland through Missouri, and in the +other, up the Missouri River. On the first occasion, he had suffered +numberless indignities at the hands of border ruffians, and would have +been killed, had there been any thing in the least degree stronger than +suspicion for them to act upon. On the other trip, the steamboat was +stopped at Lexington, and a pro-slavery mob boarded the vessel, and +searched for arms. The whole fabric of Kansas material which Gripe wove +for us that evening was figured all over with battles, and murders, and +tar-and-feather diversions. Had we been writing a history of the State, +we might have accumulated a fair share of the material then and there. + +Another subject this evening discussed around our camp-fire was the +future of the vast plains which we had been traversing. Two or three of +the settlers were ranchemen, who had lived in this region for many +years. They were very enthusiastic about the section of their adoption, +and affirmed stoutly that within fifteen years the whole tract would be +under cultivation. + +I can answer for our whole party that, beyond a doubt, the climate is +healthy and the soil rich. For the first one hundred miles, after +reaching the eastern boundary of the plains, springs and pure streams +abound. Further west, the water supply is not so plentiful. On only one +occasion, however, did we suffer any inconvenience from this, and that +was upon the very headwaters of the Saline. Going into camp late, coffee +was hastily prepared, and the quality of the water not noticed. It +proved to be quite salty, and as we drank liberally of the coffee, and +were unable afterward to find a spring, our sufferings before morning +amounted to positive torture. Each one of the party found that his lungs +were benefited by our sojourn on the plains. I believe that a +consumptive could find decidedly more relief in Buffalo Land than among +the mountains further west. + +During the evening, we added considerably to our already very full notes +concerning the wild tribes of the western plains. So many are the "true +tales of the border" which one can hear in a few months of such +journeyings as ours, that the recital of even a tithe of the number +would become tiresome. The red-bearded owner of "Shed-tail" added to our +store, by relating an adventure which he claimed had occurred to himself +and Buffalo Bill, when they were teamsters together in an overland +train. It was to the effect that while riding ahead of the wagons, to +find a crossing over the Sandy, they discovered the skeleton of a man +lying at the foot of a cottonwood tree. As they dismounted for the +purpose of finding some means, if possible, of identifying the remains, +their attention was caught by letters cut in the bark. These they +deciphered sufficiently to see that it had been an attempt by some weak +hand to carve a name. A broken knife, lying near the bones, told plainly +enough who the worker at the epitaph had been, and other signs revealed +to the frontiersmen the whole death history. The man had been assailed +by savages, scalped, and left as dead. The work of the knife showed that +he must have recovered sufficiently to crawl to the tree, and there +make a faint effort to leave some record of his name and fate. The +straggling gashes indicated that he had continued the task even while +death was blinding his eyes. A few more drops of blood, and perhaps the +mystery of years, now shrouding the history of some family hearth-stone, +would have been cleared away. + +We had no opportunity of verifying this story of red beard's, but as no +occasion existed for telling a lie, and the neighbors of the narrator +there present seemed much interested in the account, we accepted it as +truth. It was apparently no attempt to impose upon the strangers. But I +would here state, as a specimen feature of the frontier experience of +all travelers, that whenever, at any of our camps, surrounding ranchemen +or hunters discovered any member of our party taking notes, there were +straightway spun out the toughest yarns which ever hung a tale and +throttled truth. + +Of one fact our journey thoroughly convinced us. Lo's forte has no +connection with the fort of the pale-faces. An unguarded hunter, or a +defenseless emigrant wagon, or unarmed railroad laborer, gratifies +sufficiently his most warlike ambition. The savages of the plains, in +their attacks upon the whites, have been like bees, stinging whenever +opportunity offers, and immediately disappearing in space. Their excuses +for the murders they commit have been as various as their moods. At one +time it is a broken treaty, at another the killing of their buffalo, and +trespassing upon the hunting-grounds, and again it is some other +grievance. It may be some gratification for them to know that it is +estimated that, until within the last three years, a white man's scalp +atoned for each buffalo killed by his race. + +In our various wars with the Indians, it is worthy of remark the bison +have been like supply posts at convenient distances, to the hostile +bands. Traveling without any supplies whatever, and therefore rapidly, a +few moments suffice to kill a buffalo near the camping spot, and roast +his flesh over the chips. The pony, meanwhile, makes a hearty meal on +the grass. On the other hand, our troops, in pursuit of these bands, +have had to encumber themselves with baggage wagons, or pack-mules, +bearing food and forage. + +Among our notes, I find recorded many incidents illustrative of the +aptitude which the savage mind possesses for dissimulation. For +instance, in our council at Hays City, White Wolf could apparently +understand only our sign language; yet when the interpreter advised the +Professor, in good English, not to accept the little Mexican _burro_, +unless content to return its weight in something much more valuable than +jackass meat, the chief could not refrain from smiling. As Indians are +not given to facial revelations, the colloquy must have struck him as +very apropos and very amusing. We concluded then and there, that it was +unsafe to talk Indian sign with the savages for effect, and meanwhile +express our real sentiments to each other in English; and upon this +opinion we habitually acted thereafter. + +This was our last night together as a party. The Professor had signified +his intention of remaining a few days longer upon the Solomon, for the +purpose of studying the surrounding country. Shamus had asked a +discharge, in order to engage as farm hand for Mr. Sydney--an Irish +Jacob taking to agriculture as a means of obtaining his Rachel. We +received numerous invitations to divide our party for the night among +the settlers, and, glad to enjoy again the luxury of a roof, Sachem and +I gratefully accepted the hospitabilities of a neighboring log-cabin +among the trees. + +The next day was busily occupied in separating from our loads such +things as the Professor and Shamus required for their further sojourn in +the Solomon valley. The morning following, we bade them both good-bye, +and have seen neither leader or servant since. With but one mishap, the +remainder of our party reached safely the more familiar haunts of +civilization. Doctor Pythagoras was the victim of our exceptional +misfortune. While attempting to mount his transformed prize-fighter, the +metamorphosed bully struck out from the shoulder, and the doctor was +floored. We found it necessary to carry him upon a rude stretcher to +Solomon City, and provide him with a section on a sleeping car for +transit to the East. As we shook his hand at parting, and bade him a +last good-bye, he exclaimed, "My young friends, I can not die yet. I +shall recover and outlive you all. I believe in the theory of the +'survival of the fittest.'" + +Ever since our return, the tide of emigration, pouring onward from the +Atlantic, has lapped further and further out upon the surface of the +plains; and still, as truly now as when good old Bishop Berkeley first +wrote the line, "the Star of Empire westward takes its way." + + * * * * * + +While I was preparing these notes for the press, I received the +following characteristic letter from Sachem, dated at his haunt in New +York. It was at first a puzzle, but I found the key in a note inclosed +by him, which he had lately received from the Professor. + +SACHEM'S LETTER. + + To crack a head and break a heart, + Are known as Paddy's forte; + In kitchen, jail, or low-back cart-- + No matter where--he 'll court. + + To don a rig, and dance a jig, + Attend a wake or wedding, + He 'll sell his own or neighbor's pig + And only rag of bedding. + + He lives a happy, careless life, + Hand to mouth, and heart in hand; + Ready for either love or strife, + Building castles on the sand. + + With peck of trouble ever full, + Good measure, running over, + He deals in stock--the Irish bull, + And with it, lives in clover. + + Love's labor is the only taste + That Paddy's mind inherits: + He thinks, where maidens run to waste, + The harem has its merits. + + And so Dobeen, upon his course, + Love's gallop quick began; + The gal up on the other horse, + He courted, as they ran. + + The bows around the maid were more + Than suited to her mind; + Cupid and Shamus rode before, + The savage rode behind. + + They each pursued the maiden coy, + Two wooed her _a la_ bow; + The arrow tips of one were joy, + The other's tips were woe. + + 'T is said that Shamus won the race, + And saved his hair and bacon: + If Mary loved his wooing pace, + His heart may stop its achin'. + +And this was the Professor's letter, which had evidently set the +aldermanic machine to grinding doggerel again: + + "ON THE SOLOMON, } + LINDSEY, OTTAWA COUNTY, KANSAS. } + + ... "I have run down here after my mail. Am progressing finely with + my studies. Shamus had an adventure yesterday. Mary and he rode + over on horseback to a neighbor's, a mile away, and on the return + were pursued by an Indian. Hard riding brought them in safely. Mary + tells her mistress that, during the terrors of the chase, Shamus + would not refrain from courting. He lashed her horse, and spurred + his, and popped the question, alternately. + + "I shall probably remain here a month or so longer, as I am much + interested in the _Flora_ of the Solomon Valley." + +The italicized word in the last sentence is underscored, and its initial +letter bears evidence of having been maliciously transformed into a +capital by Sachem. + + + THE END. + + + + +APPENDIX. + + + + +PRELIMINARY TO THE APPENDIX. + + +The officials of the new States and Territories are constantly +overwhelmed with letters of inquiry from all parts of our own country +and the Canadas, and even from Europe. Some of the writers wish +particulars concerning the opportunities that exist for obtaining homes; +others seek information as to the best points for hunting; while what to +bring with them, in the way of household goods, and farming implements, +or guns, dogs, etc., is the common question of nearly all. + +While engaged in preparing "Buffalo Land" for the press, I published in +a newspaper at Topeka a brief summary of the information then at my +command upon the subjects above named. The result was the receipt of a +large number of letters, asking for all sorts of details, many of which +I found it impossible to answer through the mail. This fact, added to +the requests of various public officers, whom I take pleasure in thus +obliging, has induced me to attach an appendix to the present volume, +containing a condensed statement of such matters (not elsewhere +described in this work) as will assist parties westward bound, whether +emigrants, sportsmen, or tourists. + +The Appendix which follows is divided into three chapters. The first of +these embodies information of especial interest to the immense army of +home-seekers who, from every quarter, are turning their eyes eagerly and +hopefully toward the free and boundless West. The second chapter is +designed for the use of the sportsman, and the third furnishes very +valuable and instructive details concerning the topography, resources, +climate, etc., of the plains, and, more particularly, a description of +the larger streams, with their contiguous valleys, which drain the vast +area included within the limits of Buffalo Land. + + W. E. W. + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +CHAPTER FIRST. + +FURTHER INFORMATION FOR THE HOME-SEEKER. + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +CONTENTS OF CHAPTER FIRST. + + + PAGE + + COME TO THE GREAT WEST, 435 + + SHOULD THERE NOT BE COMPULSORY EMIGRATION, 436 + + "GET A GOOD READY," 437 + + HOMESTEAD LAWS AND REGULATIONS, 438 + + THE STATE OF KANSAS, 447 + + THE COST OF A FARM, 448 + + A FEW MORE PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS, 449 + + + + +APPENDIX. + + + + +CHAPTER FIRST. + +_FURTHER INFORMATION FOR THE HOME-SEEKER._ + +COME TO THE GREAT WEST! + + +The Western States and Territories afford unexampled inducements to the +surplus energy and capital of the East and Europe; and the field which +they spread out so invitingly to the emigrant's choice is as wide as it +is magnificent. Hundreds of millions of acres of rich land--embracing +bottom and prairie, timber and running water--are open for settlement. +Counties are to be populated, and towns built, all over the new States +and Territories. Each of these latter is an empire in itself. Great +Britain could be set down within the borders of any one of them, and yet +leave room for some of the German principalities. The records of the +Agricultural Bureau at Washington show that, wherever the new soil has +been cultivated, both the yield per acre and the quality of the crops +produced are better than in the older States. The balance of power is +moving westward, and the capital of the nation, it can scarcely be +doubted, must eventually come also. + +There is no reason why people should starve in the great cities of this +broad and heaven-favored land of ours. Business men, so often besieged +and worried with applications for positions in their stores and +counting-rooms, might with advantage tack up a copy of the Homestead Law +by their desk, and keep a further supply on hand for distribution. Every +few months some poet sings of the ill-paid seamstress in the crowded +town, or some hideous murder brings to light the heroine of the +garret-stitched shirt. Yet, meanwhile, at Denver City, house-girls have +been getting from six to ten dollars per week, and thousands could find +comfortable homes throughout Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado, with +remunerative wages. Abroad, men toil, and women work in the fields, and +in one year pay out from the scanty earnings which they wring from a +stingy soil more than enough to purchase one hundred and sixty acres of +good land in the great and growing West. + + +SHOULD THERE NOT BE COMPULSORY EMIGRATION? + +Except in the case of the very decrepit, or totally disabled, there can +be no excuse for begging, in a country which offers every pauper a +quarter-section of as rich land as the sun shines upon. I suppose the +millennium will commence when laws compel the cities to drive from them +the idle and vicious, and make them tillers of the soil in the wilds. +Instead of brooding in the dark alleys, and breeding vice to be flung +out at regular intervals upon the civilized thoroughfares, these +germinators of disease and crime would be dragged forth from their +purlieus and hiding-places, and disinfected in the pure atmosphere of +the large prairies and grand forests. Granting that it might be a heavy +burden upon their shoulders at the outset, the present generation of +reformers would have the satisfaction of knowing that the sores were +cleansed, and that moral and physical disease was not being propagated +to suffocate their children; and even although some of the present +multitude of evil-doers might not be reclaimed, most of their children +certainly would be. It is more profitable to raise farmers than +convicts. Instead of building jails to hold men in life-long mildew, our +artisans might be building steamers and cars, to carry their products to +the seaboard. + + +"GET A GOOD READY." + +Of the immense and almost boundless tracts of Western land that invite +the emigrant's choice, the larger part can be homesteaded and +pre-empted, and the remainder purchased on favorable terms from the +different railroads. The competition among the latter for immigration +has induced low prices and superior facilities for examination. + +Where a number of families are coming together, the best way, as a rule, +is to select commissioners from the number, to go in advance, and spy +out the land, which can be done at comparatively trifling expense. On +giving satisfactory proof of their mission, such representatives are +nearly always able to secure low rates of fare and freight. In this way, +two or three reliable agents can select a district in which a colony may +settle, and make all the necessary arrangements for its transportation, +and each family save a number of dollars, which will give back compound +interest in the new home. + +"Get a good ready" before starting, and have your route plainly mapped +out; otherwise, you will buy experience at the sacrifice of many a +useful dollar. And pray that your flight be not in the winter. Come at +such season as will enable you to provide at least some shelter and +supplies before the inclement months come on. + +Furniture and provisions can be purchased at very reasonable rates at +the West, and no necessity exists, therefore, for bringing one or two +car loads of broken chairs, and partially filled flour barrels. Good +stock will repay transportation, but common breeds are abundant and +cheap on the ground. Texas yearlings can be purchased for about six +dollars per head in Kansas. + + +HOMESTEAD LAWS AND REGULATIONS. + +The following is an epitome, by a former Register of a United States +Land Office, of such laws and regulations as pertain to the securing of +Government land: + +The Pre-emption Act of September 4, 1841, provides, that "every person, +being the head of the family, or widow, or single man over the age of +twenty-one years, and being a citizen of the United States, or having +filed a declaration of intention to become a citizen, as required by the +naturalization laws," is authorized to enter at the Land Office one +hundred and sixty acres of unappropriated Government land by complying +with the requirements of said act. + +It has been decided that an unmarried or single woman over the age of +twenty-one years, not the head of the family, but able to meet all the +requirements of the pre-emption law, has the right to claim its +benefits. + +Where the tract is "offered," the party must file his declaratory +statements within thirty days from the date of his settlement, and +within one year from the date of said settlement, must appear before +the Register and Receiver, and make proof of his actual residence and +cultivation of the tract, and pay for the same with cash or Military +Land Warrants. When the tract has been surveyed but not offered at +public sale, the claimant must file within three months from the date of +settlement, and make proof and payment before the day designated in the +President's Proclamation offering the land at public sale. + +Should the settler, in either of the above class of cases, die before +establishing his claim within the period limited by law, the title may +be perfected by the executor or administrator, by making the requisite +proof of settlement and cultivation, and paying the Government price; +the entry to be made in the name of "the heirs" of the deceased settler. + +When a person has filed his declaratory statements for one tract of +land, it is not lawful for the same individual to file a second +declaratory statement for another tract of land, unless the first filing +was invalid in consequence of the land applied for, not being open to +pre-emption, or by determination of the land against him, in case of +contest, or from any other similar cause which would have prevented him +from consummating a pre-emption under his declaratory statements. + +Each qualified pre-empter is permitted to enter one hundred and sixty +acres of either minimum or double minimum lands, subject to pre-emption, +by paying the Government price, $1.25 per acre for the former class of +lands, and $2.50 for the latter class. + +Where a person has filed his declaratory statement for land which at the +time was rated at $2.50 per acre, and the price has subsequently been +reduced to $1.25 per acre, before he proves up and makes payment, he +will be allowed to enter the land embraced in his declaratory statement +at the last-named price, viz.: $1.25 per acre. + +Final proof and payment can not be made until the party has actually +resided upon the land for a period of at least six months, and made the +necessary cultivation and improvements to show his good faith as an +actual settler. This proof can be made by one witness. + +The party who makes the first settlement in person upon a tract of +public land is entitled to the right of pre-emption, provided he +subsequently complies with all the requirements of the law--his right to +the land commences from the date he performed the first work on the +land. + +When a person has filed his declaratory statement for a tract of land, +and afterward relinquishes it to the Government, he forfeits his right +to file again for another tract of land. + +The assignment of a pre-emption right is null and void. Title to public +land is not perfected until the issuance of the patent from the General +Land Office, and all sales and transfers prior to the date of the +patents are in violation of law. + +The Act of March 27, 1854, protects the right of settlers on sections +along the lines of railroads, when settlement was made prior to the +withdrawal of the lands, and in such case allows the lands to be +pre-empted and paid for at $1.25 per acre, by furnishing proof of +inhabitancy and cultivation, as required under the Act of September 4, +1841. + +The Homestead Act of May 20, 1862, provides "that any person who is the +head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and +is a citizen of the United States, or who shall have filed his +declaration of intention to become such, as required by the +naturalization laws of the United States, and who has never borne arms +against the United States Government, or given aid or comfort to its +enemies, shall be entitled to enter one quarter section or less quantity +of unappropriated public land." + +Under this act, one hundred and sixty acres of land subject to +pre-emption at $1.25 per acre, or eighty acres at $2.50 per acre, can be +entered upon application, by making affidavit "that he or she is the +head of a family, or is twenty-one years of age, or shall have performed +service in the army and navy of the United States, and that such +application is made for his or her exclusive use or benefit, and that +said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, +and not, either directly or indirectly, for the use and benefit of any +other person or persons whomsoever." On filing said affidavit, and +payment of fees and commissions, the entry will be permitted. + +Soldiers and sailors who have served ninety days can, however, take one +hundred and sixty acres of the $2.50, or double minimum lands. In all +other respects they are subject to the usual Homestead laws and +regulations. + +No certificate will be given, or patent issued, until the expiration of +five years from the date of said entry; and if, at the expiration of +such time, or at any time within two years thereafter, the person making +such entry--or if he be dead, his widow; or in case of her death, his +heirs or devisee; or in case of a widow making such entry, her heirs or +devisee, in case of her death--shall prove by two credible witnesses +that he or she has resided upon and cultivated the same for the term of +five years immediately succeeding the date of filing the above +affidavit, and shall make affidavit that no part of said land has been +alienated, and that he has borne true allegiance to the Government of +the United States; then he or she, if at that time a citizen of the +United States, shall be entitled to a patent. In case of the death of +both father and mother, leaving an infant child or children under +twenty-one years of age, the right and fee shall inure to the benefit of +said infant or children; and the executor, administrator, or guardian +may, at any time after the death of the surviving parent, and in +accordance with the law of the State in which such children for the time +being have their domicil, sell said land for the benefit of said +infants, but for no other purpose; and the purchaser shall acquire the +absolute title from the Government and be entitled to a patent. + +When a homestead settler has failed to commence his residence upon land +so as to enable him to make a continuous residence of five years within +the time (seven years) limited by law, he will be permitted, upon filing +an affidavit showing a sufficient reason for his neglect to date his +residence at the time he commenced such inhabitancy, and will be +required to live upon the land for five years from said date, provided +no adverse claim has attached to said land, and the affidavit of a +settler is supported by the testimony of disinterested witnesses. + +In the second section of the act of May 20, 1862, it is stipulated in +regard to settlers, that in the case of the death of both father and +mother, leaving an infant child, or children, under twenty-one years of +age, the right and fee shall inure to the benefit of the infant child or +children; and that the executor, administrator, or guardian, may sell +the land for the benefit of the infant heirs, at any time within two +years after the death of the surviving parent, in accordance with the +law of the State. The Commissioner rules that instead of selling the +land as above provided, their heirs may, if they so select, continue +residence and cultivation on the land for the period required by law, +and at the expiration of the time provided, a patent will be issued in +their names. + +In the case of the death of a homestead settler who leaves a widow and +children, should the widow again marry and continue her residence and +cultivation upon the land entered in the name of her first husband for +the period required by law, she will be permitted to make final proof as +the widow of the deceased settler, and the patent will be issued in the +name of "his heirs." + +When a widow, or single woman, has made a homestead entry, and +thereafter marries a person who has also made a similar entry on a +tract, it is ruled that the parties may select which tract they will +retain for permanent residence, and will be allowed to enter the +remaining tract under the eighth section of the act of May 20, 1862, on +proof of inhabitance and cultivation up to date of marriage. + +In the case of the death of a homestead settler, his heirs will be +allowed to enter the land under the eighth section of the Homestead Act, +by making proof of inhabitancy and cultivation in the same manner as +provided by the second section of the act of March 3, 1853, in regard to +deceased pre-emptors. + +When at the date of application the land is $2.50 per acre, and the +settler is limited to an entry of eighty acres, should the price +subsequently be reduced to $1.25 per acre, the settler will not be +allowed to take additional land to make up the deficiency. + +The sale of a homestead claim by the settler to another is not +recognized, and vests no titles or equities in the purchaser, and would +be _prima facie_ evidence of abandonment, and sufficient cause for +cancellation of the entry. + +The law allows but one homestead privilege. A settler who relinquished +or abandoned his claim can not hereafter make a second entry. + +When a party has made a settlement on a surveyed tract of land, and +filed his pre-emption declaration thereof, he may change his filing into +a homestead. + +If a homestead settler does not wish to remain five years on his tract, +the law permits him to pay for it with cash or military warrants, upon +making proof of residence and cultivation as required in pre-emption +cases. The proof is made by the affidavit of the party and the testimony +of _two_ credible witnesses. + +There is another class of homesteads, designated as "Adjoining Farm +Homesteads." In these cases, the law allows an applicant _owning_ and +_residing_ on an original farm, to enter other land contiguous thereto, +which shall not, with such farm, exceed in the aggregate 160 acres. For +example, a party owning or occupying 80 acres, may enter 80 additional +of $1.25, or 40 acres of $2.50 land. Or, if the applicant owns 40 acres, +he may enter 120 at $1.25, or 60 at $2.50 per acre, if both classes of +land should be found contiguous to his original farm. In entries of +"Adjoining Farms," the settler must describe in his affidavit the tract +he owns and lives upon, as his original farm. Actual residence on the +tract entered as an "adjoining farm" is not required, but _bona fide_ +improvement and cultivation of it must be shown for five years. + +The right to a tract of land under the Homestead Act, commences from the +date of entry in the Land Office, and not from date of personal +settlement, as in case of the pre-emption. + +When a party makes an entry under the Homestead Act, and thereafter, +before the expiration of five years, makes satisfactory proof of +habitancy and cultivation, and pays for the tract under the 8th section +of said act, it is held to be a consummation of his homestead right as +the act allows, and not a pre-emption, and will be no bar to the same +party acquiring a pre-emption right, provided he can legally show his +right in virtue of actual settlement and cultivation on another tract, +at a period subsequent to his proof and payment under the 8th section of +the Homestead Act. + +The 2d section of the act of May 20, 1862, declares that after making +proof of settlement, cultivation, etc., "then, if the party is at that +time a citizen of the United States, he shall be entitled to a patent." +This, then, requires that all settlers shall be "citizens of the United +States" at the time of making final proof, and they must file in the +Land Office the proper evidence of that fact before a final certificate +will be issued. + +A party who has proved up and paid for a tract of land under the +Pre-emption Act, can subsequently enter another tract of land under the +Homestead Act. Or, a party who has consummated his right to a tract of +land under the Homestead Act will afterward be permitted to pre-empt +another tract. + +A settler who desires to "relinquish his homestead must surrender his +duplicate receipt, his relinquishment to the United States" being +endorsed thereon; if he has lost his receipt, that fact must be stated +in his relinquishment, to be signed by the settler, attested by two +witnesses, and acknowledged before the register or receiver, or clerk or +notary public using a seal. + +When a homestead entry is contested and application is made for +cancellation, the party so applying must file an affidavit setting forth +the facts on which his allegations are grounded, describing the tract +and giving the name of the settler. A day will then be set for hearing +the evidence, giving all parties due notice of the time and place of +trial. It requires the testimony of two witnesses to establish the +abandonment of a homestead entry. + +The notice to a settler that his claim is contested must be served by a +disinterested party, and in all cases when practicable, personal service +must be made upon the settler. + +Another entry of the land will not be made in case of relinquishment or +contest, until the cancellation is ordered by the Commissioner of the +General Land Office. + +When a party has made a mistake in the description of the land he +desires to enter as a homestead, and desires to amend his application, +he will be permitted to do so upon furnishing the testimony of two +witnesses to the facts, and proving that he has made no improvements on +the land described in his application, but has made valuable +improvements on the land he first intended and now applies to enter. + +It is important to settlers to bear in mind that it requires two +witnesses to make final proof under the Homestead Act, who can testify +that the settler has resided upon and cultivated the tract for five +years from the date of his entry. + +Patents are not issued for lands until from one to two years after date +of location in the District Office. No patent will be delivered until +the surrender of the duplicate receipt, unless such receipt should be +lost, in which case an affidavit of the fact must be filed in the +Register's Office, showing how said loss occurred, also that said +certificate has never been assigned, and that the holder is the _bona +fide_ owner of the land, and entitled to said patent. + +By a careful examination of the foregoing requirements, settlers will +be enabled to learn without a visit to the Land Office the manner in +which they can secure and perfect title to public lands under the +Pre-emption Act of September 5, 1841, and Homestead Act of May 20, 1862. + + +THE STATE OF KANSAS. + +Our sojourn on the plains impressed our party with a strong belief that +Kansas, at no distant day, will be one of the richest garden spots on +the continent. I have more particularly described the central portion of +the State, but both Northern and Southern Kansas are equally as fertile +and desirable. + +The United States Land Offices in Kansas are located at the following +places: Topeka, Humboldt, Augusta, Salina, and Concordia. The rapidity +with which Kansas is being settled may readily be inferred from the fact +that 2,000,000 acres of its land were sold during one year, 1870. + +In our note-book, I find the outline of a speech delivered by the +Professor in Topeka, and I quote a single paragraph as fitly expressing +the common sentiment of our entire number: + +"Gentlemen, great as your State now is in extent of territory and +natural resources, she will soon have a corresponding greatness in the +means of development, and in a self-supporting population. 1870 holds in +her lap and fondles the infant; 1880 will shake hands with the giant. +The whole surface of your land, gentlemen, is one wild sea of beauty, +ready to toss into the lap of every venturer upon it, a farm. The genius +which rewards honest industry stands on the threshold of your State, +with countless herds and golden sheaves, smiling ready welcome to all +new-comers, of whatever creed or clime." + + +WHAT A FARM WILL COST. + +The emigrant has already been told what it will cost him to obtain +government land. If this adjoins railroad tracts, he can secure what is +desired of the latter at from two to ten dollars per acre. + +The expense of fencing material might be fairly estimated at from twenty +to thirty dollars per thousand feet for boards, and ten to fifteen +dollars per hundred for posts. This is supposing that all the material +is purchased. If fortunate enough to have timber on his claim, the +emigrant, of course, can inclose the farm at the cost of his own labor. + +I have seen many new-comers protect their fields by simply digging +around them a narrow, deep trench, and throwing the earth on the inside +line so as to raise an embankment along that side two feet in height. +One single wire stretched along this, and secured at proper intervals by +small stakes, appears to answer quite well as a cattle guard. + +Osage orange grows rapidly, and is cheap, and a permanent fence can be +made with it, at small expense, in the course of three or four years. + +The usual cost of breaking prairie is from two to four dollars per acre. +With a yoke or two of good oxen, however, this item can also be saved. + +The second year the farmer can set out with safety his trees and vines, +and the third or fourth year he may be considered fairly on the road to +prosperity. + +Laborers' wages are from twenty to thirty dollars per month and board. + +I estimate that a fair statement of the prices for stock would be about +as follows: Work oxen, seventy-five to one hundred dollars per yoke; +cows, twenty to fifty dollars each; horses, seventy-five to one hundred +and fifty dollars. + + +A FEW MORE PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS. + +I would say to the emigrant, Do not be influenced to select any one +particular State or locality until you have more authority for the step +than a single publication. Examine carefully, make up your mind +deliberately, and then move with determination. It will require no very +great exertion to secure a half dozen glowing advertisements from as +many new Western States and Territories. It will need but little more +effort to obtain from five to fifty "rosy" circulars from as many +different districts in each of the separate "garden spots." After +examining these until ready to sing,-- + + "How happy could I be with either + Were t' other dear charmer away," + +take down your map, and let the railroads and streams assist your +choice. You have then secured yourself against one danger of the +journey--that of having these same circulars flung into your lap _en +route_, and being diverted by them into dubious ways and needless +expenditures. But be careful, reader, that you select not as accurate +beyond the possibility of a mistake the maps accompanying the circulars; +otherwise, you may find yourself unable to choose between several +thousand railroad centers from which broad gauges radiate like the +spokes in a wheel, and your ignorance of modern geography may be brought +painfully home by discovering navigable rivers where you had supposed +only creeks existed. In these matters, as in every thing else connected +with your "new departure," consult _all_ the various sources of +information within your reach. + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +CHAPTER SECOND. + +FURTHER INFORMATION FOR THE SPORTSMAN. + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +CONTENTS OF CHAPTER SECOND. + + + PAGE + + HUNTING THE BUFFALO, 453 + + ANTELOPE HUNTING, 458 + + ELK HUNTING, 459 + + TURKEY HUNTING, 459 + + GENERAL REMARKS, 460 + + WHAT TO DO IF LOST ON THE PLAINS, 461 + + THE NEW FIELD FOR SPORTSMEN, 462 + + + + +CHAPTER SECOND. + +_FURTHER INFORMATION FOR THE SPORTSMAN._ + + +HUNTING THE BUFFALO. + +The first matter to be determined, in planning any sporting trip, is the +best point at which to seek for game. If the object of pursuit be +buffalo, I should say, Deposit yourself as soon as possible on the +plains of Western Kansas.[5] Take the Kansas Pacific Railway at the +State line, and you can readily find out from the conductors at what +point the buffalo chance then to be most numerous. There are a dozen +stations after passing Ellsworth equally good. One month, the bison may +be numerous along the eastern portion of the plains; a month later, the +herds will be found perhaps sixty or eighty miles further west. As one +has at least a day's ride, after entering Kansas, before penetrating +into the solitude of Buffalo Land, there is ample time to decide upon a +stopping place. Russell as an eastern, and Buffalo Station as a western +point, will be found good basis for operations. In the former, some +hotel accommodations exist; in the latter, there are several dug-outs, +and hunters who can be obtained for guides. + + [5] During the present year, the A. T. & Santa Fe R. R. will probably be + finished to the big bend of the Arkansas, which will place the sportsman + in one of the finest game regions of the continent. + +Those who can spend a week or more on the grounds, and wish to enjoy the +sport in its only legitimate way, namely, horseback hunting, should +stop at the point where they may best procure mounts, even if it +necessitate a journey in the saddle of twenty miles. Ellsworth, Russell, +and Hays City are the places where such outfits may generally be +obtained. + +For shooting bison, the hunter should come prepared with some other +weapon than a squirrel rifle or double barreled shot gun. I have known +several instances in which persons appeared on the ground armed with +ancient smooth-bores or fowling-pieces; and in one of these cases the +object of attack, after receiving a bombardment of several minutes' +duration, tossed the squirrel hunter and injured him severely. A +breech-loading rifle, with a magazine holding several cartridges, is by +far the best weapon. In my own experience I became very fond of a +carbine combining the Henry and King patents. It weighed but seven and +one-half pounds, and could be fired rapidly twelve times without +replenishing the magazine. Hung by a strap to the shoulder, this weapon +can be dropped across the saddle in front, and held there very firmly by +a slight pressure of the body. The rider may then draw his holster +revolvers in succession, and after using them, have left a carbine +reserve for any emergency. Twenty-four shots can thus be exhausted +before reloading, and, with a little practice, the magazine of the gun +may be refilled without checking the horse. So light is this Henry and +King weapon that I have often held it out with one hand like a pistol, +and fired. + +When a herd of buffalo is discovered, the direction of the wind should +be carefully ascertained. The taint of the hunter is detected at a long +distance, and the bison accepts the evidence of his nose more readily +than even that of his eyes. This delicacy of smell, however, is becoming +either more blunted or less heeded than formerly, owing probably to the +passage over the plains of the crowded passenger cars, which keep the +air constantly impregnated for long distances. + +Having satisfied himself in regard to the wind, the sportsman should +take advantage of the ravines and slight depressions, which every-where +abound on the plains, and approach as near the herd as possible. If +mounted, let him gain every obtainable inch before making the charge. It +is an egregious blunder to go dashing over the prairie for half a mile +or so, in full view of the game, and thus give it the advantage of a +long start. When this is done, unless your animal is a superior one, he +will be winded and left behind. + +In most cases, careful planning will place one within a couple of +hundred yards of the bison. Be sure that every weapon is ready for the +hand, and then charge. Put your horse to full speed as soon as +practicable. Place him beside the buffalo, and he can easily keep there; +whereas, if you nurse his pace at the first, and make it a stern chase, +both your animal and yourself, should you have the rare luck of catching +up at all, will be jaded completely before doing so. In shooting from +the saddle, be very careful between shots, and keep the muzzle of the +weapon in some other direction than your horse or your feet. A sudden +jolt, or a nervous finger, often causes a premature discharge. In taking +aim, draw your bead well forward on the buffalo--if possible, a little +behind the fore-shoulder. The vital organs being situated there, a +ranging shot will hit some of them, on one side or the other. Back of +the ribs, the buffalo will receive a dozen balls without being checked. +A discharge of bullets into the hind-quarters, is worse than useless. + +While trying in the most enjoyable and practical manner to kill the +game, it is very necessary to escape, if possible, any injury to +yourself or horse. The Frenchman's remark on tiger hunting is very +apropos. "Ven ze Frenchman hunt ze tiger, it fine sport; but ven ze +tiger hunt ze Frenchman, it is not so." Care should be taken to have the +horse perfectly under control, when the bison stands at bay. Unless +experienced in bull fighting, he does not appreciate the danger, and a +sudden charge has often resulted in disembowelment. + +Never dismount to approach the buffalo, unless certain that he is +crippled so as to prevent rising. One that is apparently wounded unto +death will often get upon his feet nimbly, and prove an ugly customer. I +knew a soldier killed at Hays City in this manner--thrown several feet +into the air, and fearfully torn. Recently near Cayote Station, on the +Kansas Pacific Railway, a buffalo was shot from the train, and the cars +were stopped to secure the meat, and gratify the passengers. One of the +latter, a stout Englishman, ran ahead of his fellows, and shook his fist +in the face of the prostrate bison. The American bull did not brook such +an insult from the English one, and Johnny received a terrible blow +while attempting to escape. He was badly injured, and, when I saw him +some time afterward, could only move on crutches. + +Should the hunter on foot ever have to stand a charge, let him fire at +what is visible of the back, above the lowered head, or, should he be +able to catch a glimpse of the fore-shoulder, let him direct his bullet +there. The bone seems to be broken readily by a ball. Against the +frontal bone of the bison's skull, the lead falls harmless. To test this +fully, with California Bill as a companion, I once approached a buffalo +which stood wounded in a ravine. We took position upon the hill-side, +knowing that he could not readily charge up it, at a distance of only +fifteen yards. I fired three shots from the Henry weapon full against +the forehead, causing no other result than some angry head-shaking. I +then took Bill's Spencer carbine, and fired twice with it. At each shot +the bull sank partly to his knees, but immediately recovered again. I +afterward examined the skull, and could detect no fracture. + +A person dismounted by accident or imprudence, and charged upon, can +avoid the blow by waiting until the horns are within a few feet of him, +and then jumping quickly on one side. After the buffalo has passed, let +the brief period of time before he has checked his rush, be employed in +traversing as much prairie, on the back track, as possible, and the +chances are that no pursuit will be made. Should a foot trip, or a fall +from the horse give no time for such tactics, then let the hunter hug +Mother Earth as tight as may be. The probabilities are that the bull can +not pick the body up with his horns. I have known a hunter to escape by +throwing himself in the slight hollow of a trail, and thus baffling all +attempts to hook him. + +Accidents are rare in bison hunting, however, and the reader should not +be deterred from noble sport by the mere possibility of mishaps. I have +given the above advice, feeling that I shall be well repaid if it saves +the life or limbs of one man out of the thousands who may be exposed. A +glimpse of surgeon's instruments should not make the soldier a coward. +Comparatively few people are killed by electricity, and yet +lightning-rods are very popular. + +The hunter who has no love for the saddle, and prefers stalking, should +provide himself with some breech-loading rifle or carbine, carrying a +heavy ball--the heavier the better. The most effective weapon is the +needle-gun used in the army, having a bore the size of the old +Springfield musket, and a ball to correspond. A bullet from this weapon +usually proves fatal. But there is little genuine sport in such +practice. Stalking holds the same relation to horseback hunting that +"hand line" fishing does to that with the rod and reel, the fly and the +spoon, or that killing birds on the ground does to wing-shooting. + +In selecting from the herd a single individual for attack, the hunter +should do so with some reference to the intended use of the game. For +furnishing trophies of the chase, such as horns and robe, the bull will +do well; but if the meat is for use, it will be advisable to sacrifice +some sport, and obtain a cow or calf. I have known many an ancient +bison, with scarcely enough meat on his bones to hold the bullets, +killed by amateurs, and the leather-like quarters shipped to eastern +friends as rare delicacies! + + +ANTELOPE HUNTING. + +Antelope hunting is a sport requiring more strategy and caution than the +one we have described. The creature is timid and swift, and inclined to +feed on ridges or level lands, where stalking is difficult. Its eyes and +ears are wonderfully quick in detecting danger, and the animal at once +seeks points which command the surroundings. If unable to keep in view +the object of alarm, immediate flight results. + +The modes of hunting this game are two. If no possibility of stalking +exists, a red flag may be attached to a small stick, and planted in +front of the ravine or other place of concealment. The antelope at once +becomes curious, and begins circling toward it, each moment approaching +a little nearer, until finally within shooting distance. The other +method is by careful stalking. If the animal is on a high ridge, the +sides of which round upward a little, the hunter may crawl on his hands +and knees until he sees, just visible above the grass, the tips of the +horns or ears. Then let him rise on one knee, with gun to shoulder, and +take quick aim well forward, as the body comes into view. The approach +can not be too cautious, as the antelope stops feeding every minute or +so, to lift its head high, and gaze around. Thus the incautious hunter +may be brought, on the instant, into full relief, and the quick bound +which follows discovery, rob him of the fruit of long crawling. + +Rare enjoyment might be obtained by any one who would take with him, to +the plains, a good greyhound. Mounted on a reliable horse, the sportsman +could follow the dog in its pursuit of antelope, and be in at the death. + + +ELK HUNTING. + +Elk must be hunted by stalking, as he speedily distances any horse. The +animal is found in abundance along the upper waters of the Republican, +Solomon, and Saline. I prefer its meat to that of either the buffalo or +antelope. The horns of a fine male form a pleasing trophy to look at, +when the hunter's joints have been stiffened by rheumatism or age. + + +TURKEY HUNTING. + +Wild turkeys exist in great numbers along the creeks, over the whole +western half of Kansas, and, where they have never been hunted, are so +tame as to afford but little sport. Cunning is their natural instinct, +however, and at once comes to the rescue, when needed. After a few have +been shot, the remainder will leave the narrow skirt of creek timber +instantly, and escape among the ravines by fast running, defying any +pursuit except in the saddle. Even then if they can get out of sight for +a moment, they will often escape. While the rider is pressing forward in +the direction a tired turkey was last seen, the bird will hide and let +him pass; or, turning the instant it is hidden by the brow of the +ravine, it will take a backward course, passing, if necessary, close to +the horse. As another illustration of the wily habits of the turkey, let +the hunter select a creek along which there has been no previous +shooting done, and kill turkeys at early morning on roosts, and the next +night the gangs will remain out among the "breaks." + +For this shooting, a shot-gun is, of course, the best, although I have +had fine sport among the birds with the rifle. When using shot at one on +the wing, the hunter must not conclude his aim was bad, if no immediate +effect is observed. The flying turkey will not shrink, as the +prairie-chicken does, when receiving and carrying off lead. I have +frequently heard shot rattle upon a gobbler's stout feathers without any +apparent effect, and found him afterward, fluttering helpless, a mile +away. + + +GENERAL REMARKS. + +The western field open to sportsmen is a grand one. Kansas, Colorado, +Nebraska, Dakota, and Wyoming, are all overflowing with game. The +climate of each is very healthy, and especially favorable for those +affected with pulmonary complaints. A year or two passed in their pure +air, with the excitement of exploration or adventure superadded, would +put more fresh blood into feeble bodies than all the watering-places in +existence. Let the dyspeptic seek his hunting camp at evening, and, my +word for it, he will find the sweet savor of his boyhood's appetite +resting over all the dishes. After the meal, with his feet to the fire, +he can have diversion in the way of either comedy or tragedy, or both, +by listening to frontier tales. When bed-time comes, he will barely have +time to roll under the blankets, before sweet sleep closes his eyes, and +the twinkling stars look down upon a being over whom the angel of health +is again hovering. + +No extensive preparation for a western sporting trip is needed, as an +outfit can be obtained at any of the larger towns, in either Kansas, +Nebraska, or Colorado. + +Of the three districts just named, I decidedly prefer the former for the +pursuit of such game as I have endeavored to describe in Buffalo Land. +The eastern half of Kansas furnishes chicken and quail shooting. The +birds have increased rapidly during late years, and at any point fifty +miles west of the eastern line, the sportsman will find plenty of work +for a dog and gun. The ground lies well for good shooting, being a +gently rolling prairie, with plenty of watering-places. The cover is +excellent, and with a good dog there is little trouble, between August +and November, in flushing the chickens singly, and getting an excellent +record out of any covey. + +Wild fowl shooting is poor, there being no lakes or feeding-grounds. The +best sport of that kind I ever had was in Wisconsin and Minnesota. + + +WHAT TO DO, IF LOST ON THE PLAINS. + +There have been several instances in which gentlemen, led away from +their party in the excitement of the chase, when wishing to return, +suddenly found themselves lost. Judge Corwin, of Urbana, Ohio, +separated in this manner from his party, wandered for two days on the +plains south of Hays City, subsisting on a little corn which had been +dropped by some passing wagon. He was found, utterly exhausted, by +California Bill, just as a severe snow-storm had set in. Persons thus +lost should remember that buffalo trails run north and south, and the +Pacific Railroads east and west. It will be easy to call to mind on +which side it was that the party left the road in starting out, and it +then becomes a simple matter to regain the rails, and follow them to the +first station. + + +THE NEW FIELD FOR SPORTSMEN. + +South of Kansas is the Indian Territory, which probably has within it a +larger amount of game than any spot of similar size on our continent. It +fairly swarms with wild beasts and birds. At sunset one may see hundreds +of turkeys gathering to their roosts. Buffalo, elk, antelope, and deer +of several varieties, may be found and hunted to the heart's content. +Within the next two years this territory will be the paradise of all +sportsmen. It can now be reached by wagoning fifty miles or so beyond +the terminus of the A. T. & Santa Fe Railroad. But the savage, hostile +and treacherous, stands at the entrance of this fair land and forbids +further advance. While there is good hunting, there is also a +disagreeable probability of being hunted. Many of the tribes which +formerly roamed all over the plains are now gathered in the Indian +Territory. Jealous of their rights, they are apt to repay intrusion upon +them with death. + +The white kills for sport alone the game which is the entire support of +the savage. I have often stood among the rotting carcasses of hundreds +of buffaloes, and seen the beautiful skins decaying, and tons of richest +meat feeding flies and maggots; and, standing there, I have felt but +little surprise that the savage should consider such wanton destruction +worthy of death. In the States, game is protected at least during the +breeding season; but no period of the year is sacred from the spirit of +slaughter which holds high revel in Buffalo Land. + +It is manifest, however, that over the Indian Territory history will +soon repeat itself. Railroads are pushing steadily forward; 1872 is +already seeing the beginning of the end. The savage must flee still +further westward, and the valleys and prairies which he is now jealously +protecting will be invaded first by the sportsman, and then by the +farmer. Perhaps, before that time, Congress may have taken the matter in +hand, and passed laws which will have saved the noblest of our game from +at least immediate extinction. + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +CHAPTER THIRD. + +ADDITIONAL FACTS CONCERNING THE NATURAL FEATURES, RESOURCES, ETC., OF +THE GREAT PLAINS AND CONTIGUOUS TERRITORY. + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +CONTENTS OF CHAPTER THIRD. + + + PAGE + + "BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES," 467 + + THE GREAT WEST, 469 + + FALL OF THE RIVERS, 470 + + THE PRINCIPAL RIVERS AND VALLEYS OF BUFFALO LAND, 470 + + THE VALLEY OF THE PLATTE, 470 + + THE SOLOMON AND SMOKY HILL RIVERS, 471 + + THE ARKANSAS RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES, 472 + + STOCK RAISING IN THE GREAT WEST, 474 + + THE CATTLE HIVE OF NORTH AMERICA, 477 + + THE CLIMATE OF THE PLAINS, 479 + + CLIMATIC CHANGES ON THE PLAINS, 482 + + THE TREES AND FUTURE FORESTS OF THE PLAINS, 484 + + THE SUPPLY OF FUEL, 486 + + DISTRICTS CONTIGUOUS TO THE PLAINS, 487 + + THE VALLEYS OF THE WHITE EARTH AND NIOBRARA, 492 + + NEW MEXICO--ITS SOIL, CLIMATE, RESOURCES, ETC., 494 + + THE DISAPPEARING BISON, 500 + + THE FISH WITH LEGS, 501 + + THE MOUNTAIN SUPPLY OF LUMBER FOR THE PLAINS, 502 + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + _ADDITIONAL FACTS CONCERNING THE NATURAL FEATURES OF THE GREAT + PLAINS; THEIR PRINCIPAL RIVERS AND VALLEYS; THEIR CLIMATE, ETC., + ETC._ + + +"BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES." + +In my endeavors to place Buffalo Land before the public in its true +light, I have felt a desire, as earnest as it is natural, that my +readers should feel that the subject has been justly treated. The +opinions of any one individual are liable to be formed too hastily, and +the country which before one traveler stretches away bright and +beautiful, may appear full of gloomy features to another, who views it +under different circumstances. A late dinner and a sour stomach, before +now, have had more to do with an unfavorable opinion concerning a new +town or country than any actual demerits. No two pairs of spectacles +have precisely the same power, and defects ofttimes exist in the glass, +rather than the vision. + +These considerations have been brought to my mind with especial force +when, after giving an account of our own expedition, I have searched +through the records of others. A portion of the descriptions which I +have been able to find are the mature productions of travelers who, +perched upon the top of a stage-coach, or snugly nestled inside, have +undertaken to write a history of the country while rattling through it +at the best rate of speed ever attained by the "Overland Mail." What the +writers of this class lack in proper acquaintance with their subject +they usually make up by an air of profoundness, and positiveness in +expression, and the result has more than once been the foisting upon the +public of a species of exaggeration and absurdity which Baron Munchausen +himself could scarcely excel. + +As a rather curious illustration of the numerous absurdities which have +obtained currency concerning the plains, may be mentioned the statement +published more than once during the winter of 1871-2, to the effect that +the snow of that region is different in character from that which falls +elsewhere. In support of this assumption, the fact is adduced that +snow-plows sometimes have but little effect upon it, on account of its +peculiar hardness, being pushed upon it, instead of through it. A little +more careful examination, however, would have discovered that the snow +itself is essentially similar to that which descends elsewhere, but that +the wind which drives it into the "cuts" and ravines also carries with +it a large amount of sand and surface dirt; and this, packing with the +snow, causes the firmness in question. + +The valuable surveys being made from time to time under the auspices of +the Government, in charge of persons of experience and sagacity, are +doing much to replace this superficial knowledge with a more correct +comprehension of what the plains really are; and, altogether, we may +well hope that the time is not far distant when this whole wonderful +region will be as well understood as any portion of the national +domain. + +As the object of this work is to place before its readers all the +essential information now obtainable concerning the great plains, no +apology will be necessary for adding some of the observations and +opinions of other competent writers upon the same subject. By far the +most valuable source which I have found to draw from in this connection, +is the comprehensive report published by Government, and bearing the +title of "United States Geological Survey of Wyoming and Contiguous +Territory, 1870. Hayden." + + +THE GREAT WEST. + +Prof. Thomas informs us, in his report (embodied in Hayden's survey), +that, lying east of the divide, "the broad belt of country situated +between the 99th and 104th meridians, and reaching from the Big Horn +Mountains on the north to the Llano Estacado on the south, contains one +hundred and fifty thousand square miles. If but one-fifth of it could be +brought under culture and made productive, this alone, when fully +improved, would add $400,000,000 to the aggregate value of the lands of +the nation. And, taking the lowest estimate of the cash value of the +crops of 1869 per acre, it would give an addition of more than +$200,000,000 per annum to the aggregate value of our products. + +"One single view from a slightly elevated point often embraces a +territory equal to one of the smaller States, taking in at one sweep +millions of acres. Eastern Colorado and Eastern Wyoming each contains as +much land sufficiently level for cultivation as the entire cultivated +area of Egypt." + + +FALL OF THE RIVERS. + +The fall of the principal rivers traversing the region above named is +about as follows: Arkansas, to the 99th meridian, eleven to fifteen feet +to the mile; the Canadian, the same; the South Platte, from Denver to +North Platte, ten feet to the mile; the North Platte, to Fort Fetterman, +seven feet to the mile. The descent of the country from Denver Junction +to Fort Hays is nine feet to the mile. Thus it will be seen that +abundant fall is obtainable to irrigate all the lands adjacent. + + +THE PRINCIPAL RIVERS AND VALLEYS OF BUFFALO LAND. + +The Platte (or Nebraska), the Solomon, the Smoky Hill, and the Arkansas, +are the four largest rivers of Buffalo Land proper, and form natural +avenues to the eastward from the mountains which shut it in upon the +west. + + +THE VALLEY OF THE PLATTE. + +Describing this, Hayden says: "West of the mouth of the Elk Horn River, +the valley of the Platte expands widely. The hills on either side are +quite low, rounded, and clothed with a thick carpet of grass. But we +shall look in vain for any large natural groves of forest trees, there +being only a very narrow fringe of willows or cottonwoods along the +little streams. The Elk Horn rises far to the north-west in the prairie +near the Niobrara, and flows for a distance of nearly two hundred miles +through some of the most fertile and beautiful lands in Nebraska. Each +of its more important branches, as Maple, Pebble, and Logan Creeks, has +carved out for itself broad, finely-rounded valleys, so that every acre +may be brought under the highest state of cultivation. + +"The great need here will be timber for fuel and other economical +purposes, and also rock material for building. Still the resources of +this region are so vast that the enterprising settler will devise plans +to remedy all these deficiencies. He will plant trees, and thus raise +his own forests and improve his lands in accordance with his wants and +necessities. + +"These valleys have always been the favorite places of abode for +numerous tribes of Indians from time immemorial, and the sites of their +old villages are still to be seen in many localities. The buffalo, deer, +elk, antelope, and other kinds of wild game, swarmed here in the +greatest numbers, and, as they recede farther to the westward into the +more arid and barren plains beyond the reach of civilization, the wild +nomadic Indian is obliged to follow. One may travel for days in this +region and not find a stone large enough to toss at a bird, and very +seldom a bush sufficient in size to furnish a cane." + + +THE SOLOMON AND SMOKY HILL RIVERS. + +The Solomon and Smoky Hill Rivers, while possessing some of the general +characteristics of the Platte, have more timber, and the entire +surrounding country is uniformly rolling. The Smoky Hill is a visible +stream only after reaching the vicinity of Pond Creek, near Fort +Wallace. Above that point a desolate bed of sand hides the water flowing +beneath. We have spoken fully of these sections elsewhere. + + +THE ARKANSAS RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. + +The Arkansas, passing through the southern portion of the plains, has +wide, rich bottoms, with a more sandy soil than is found on the streams +north. Its small tributaries have considerable timber. All these valleys +are being settled rapidly. + +Again consulting Prof. Thomas' report, we find that "the Arkansas River, +rising a little north-west of South Park, runs south-east to Poncho +Pass, where, turning a little more toward the east, it passes through a +canyon for about forty miles, emerging upon the open country at Canyon +City. From this point to the Eastern boundary of the Territory it runs +almost directly east. + +"The mountain valley has an elevation of between seven and eight +thousand feet above the sea, while that of the plain country lying east +of the range varies from six thousand near the base of the mountains to +about three thousand five hundred feet at the eastern boundary of the +Territory. From Denver to Fort Hays, a distance of three hundred and +forty-seven miles, the fall is three thousand two hundred and seven +feet, or a little over nine feet to the mile. + +"The Arkansas River, from the mouth of the Apishpa to the mouth of the +Pawnee, a distance of two hundred and six miles, has the remarkable fall +of two thousand four hundred and eight feet, or more than eleven feet to +the mile. + +"The headwaters of the Arkansas are in an oval park, situated directly +west of the South Park. The altitude of this basin is probably between +eight and nine thousand feet above the level of the sea; the length is +about fifty miles from north to south, and twenty or thirty miles in +width at the middle or widest point. At the lower or southern end an +attempt has been made to cultivate the soil, which bids fair to prove a +success. Around the Twin Lakes, at the extreme point, oats, wheat, +barley, potatoes, and turnips have been raised, yielding very fair +crops. Below this basin the river, for twenty miles, passes through a +narrow canyon, along which, with considerable difficulty, a road has +been made. Emerging from this, it enters the 'Upper Arkansas Valley' +proper, which is a widening of the bottom lands from two to six or eight +miles. This valley is some forty or fifty miles in length, and very +fertile. + +"The principal tributaries of the Arkansas that flow in from the south, +east of the mountains, are Hardscrabble and Greenhorn Creeks (the St. +Charles is a branch of the latter), Huerbano River, which has a large +tributary named Cuchara; Apishpa River, Timpas Creek, and Purgatory +River. On the north side, Fountain Gui Bouille River and Squirrel Creek +are the principal streams affording water. + +"This entire district affords broad and extensive grazing fields for +cattle and sheep, and quite a number of herders and stock-raisers are +beginning already to spread out their flocks and herds over these broad +areas of rich and nutritious grasses. One of the finest meadows, of +moderate extent, that I saw in the Territory, was on the divide near the +head of Monument Creek, and near by was a large pond of cool, clear +water. The temperature of this section is somewhat similar to that of +Northern Missouri, and all the products grown there can be raised here, +some with a heavier yield and of a finer quality, as wheat, oats, etc., +while others, as corn, yield less, and are inferior in quality." + +As we descend the Arkansas, the valley becomes broader, and it is often +difficult to tell where the bottom ceases and the prairie commences. + +This stream attracted such a large portion of the immigration of 1871 +that it is already settled upon for some distance above Fort Zarah. The +soil is very rich, the climate pleasant and healthy, and good success +attends both stock and crop-raising. + + +STOCK-RAISING IN THE GREAT WEST. + +Mr. W. N. Byers, who has lived for many years in Colorado, lately +contributed the following valuable article to the _Rocky Mountain News_, +treating more particularly of the western half of the plains: + +"After the mining interest, which must always take rank as the first +productive industry in the mountain territories of the West, +stock-raising will doubtless continue next in importance. The +peculiarities of climate and soil adapt the grass-covered country west +of the ninety-eighth degree of longitude especially to the growth and +highest perfection of horses, cattle, and sheep. The earliest civilized +explorers found the plains densely populated with buffalo, elk, deer, +and antelope, their numbers exceeding computation. Great nations of +Indians subsisted almost entirely by the fruits of the chase, but, with +the rude weapons used, were incapable of diminishing their numbers. With +the advent of the white man and the introduction of fire-arms, and to +supply the demands of commerce, these wild cattle have been slaughtered +by the million, until their range, once six hundred miles wide from east +to west, and extending more than two thousand miles north and south, +over which they moved in solid columns, darkening the plains, has been +diminished to an irregular belt, a hundred and fifty miles wide, in +which only scattering herds can be found, and they seldom numbering ten +thousand animals. + +"There is no reason why domestic cattle may not take their place. The +climate, soil, and vegetation are as well adapted to the tame as to the +wild. The latter lived and thrived the year round all the way up to +latitude fifty degrees north. Twenty years' experience proves that the +former do equally well upon the same range, and with the same lack of +care. Time, the settlement of the country, the growing wants of +agriculture, the encroachment of tilled fields, will gradually narrow +the range, as did semi-civilization that of the buffalo--first from the +Mississippi Valley westward, where that process is already seen, and +then from the Rocky Mountains toward the east; but as yet the range is +practically unlimited, and for many years to come there will be room to +fatten beeves to feed the world. + +"This great pasture land covers Western Texas, Indian Territory, Kansas, +Nebraska, and Dakota, Eastern New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and +Montana, and extends far into British America. The southerly and +south-easterly portions produce the largest growth of grass, but it +lacks the nutritious qualities of that covering the higher and drier +lands farther north and west. Rank-growing and bottom-land grasses +contain mostly water: they remain green until killed by frost, when +their substance flows back to the root, or is destroyed by the action of +the elements. The dwarf grass of the higher plains makes but a small +growth, but makes that very quickly in the early spring, and then, as +the rains diminish and the summer heat increases, it dies and cures into +hay where it stands; the seed even, in which it is very prolific, +remains upon the stalk, and, though very minute, is exceedingly +nutritious. + +"In so far as the relative advantages of different portions of this wide +region may be thought by many to preponderate over one another, we do +not appreciate them at all, but would as soon risk a herd in the valley +of the Upper Missouri, the Yellowstone, or the Saskachewan, as along the +Arkansas, the Canadian, or Red River. If any difference, the grass is +better north than south. One year the winter may be more severe in the +extreme north; the next it may be equally so in the south; and the third +it may be most inclement midway between the two extremes; or, what is +more common, the severe storms and heavy snows may follow irregular +streaks across the country at various points. There are local causes and +effects to be considered, such as permanently affect certain localities +favorably or the contrary. For instance, nearer the western border of +the plains there is less high wind, because the lofty mountain ranges +form a shelter or wind breaker. Of local advantages, detached ranges of +mountains, hills, or broken land, timber, brush, and deep ravines or +stream-beds are the most important in furnishing shelter, and, as a +general thing, better and always more varied pasture ground. + +"There is never rain upon the middle and northern plains during the +winter months. When snow comes it is always dry, and never freezes to +stock. The reverse is the case in the Northern and Middle States, where +winter storms often begin with rain, which is followed by snow, and +conclude with piercing wind and exceeding cold. Stock men can readily +appreciate the effect of such weather upon stock exposed to its +influence. + +"The soil of the plains is very much the same every-where. To a casual +observer it looks sterile and unpromising, but, when turned by the plow +or spade, is found very fertile. Near the mountains it is filled with +coarse rock particles, and under the action of the elements these become +disproportionately prominent on the surface. Receding from the +mountains, it becomes gradually finer, until gravel and bits of broken +stone are no longer seen. Being made up from the wash and wearing away +of the mountains, alkaline earths enter largely into its composition, +supplying inexhaustible quantities of those properties which the eastern +farmer can secure only by the application of plaster, lime, and like +manures. These make the rich, nutritious grasses upon which cattle +thrive so remarkably, and to the constant wonder of new-comers, who can +not reconcile the idea of such comparatively bare and barren-looking +plains with the fat cattle that roam over them. + +"Besides the plains, there is a vast extent of pasture-lands in the +mountains. Wherever there is soil enough to support vegetation, grass is +found in abundance, to a line far above the limit of timber growth, and +almost to the crest of the snowy range. These high pastures, however, +are suitable only for summer and autumn range; but in portions of the +great parks and large valleys, most parts of which lie below eight +thousand feet altitude above the sea, cattle, horses, and sheep live and +thrive the year round. The cost of raising a steer to the age of five +years, when he is at a prime age for market, is believed to be about +seven dollars and a half, or one dollar and a half per year. A number of +estimates given us by stock men, running through several years, place +the average at about that figure. That contemplates a herd of four +hundred or more. Smaller lots of cattle will generally cost relatively +more. The items of expense are herding, branding, and salt--nothing for +feed." + + +THE CATTLE-HIVE OF NORTH AMERICA. + +In this connection we may very properly quote from the same writer the +following paragraph in regard to the source from whence all the cattle +are now brought--that great natural breeding ground, the prairie land of +Texas. + +"Texas is truly the cattle-hive of North America. While New York, with +her 4,000,000 inhabitants, and her settlements two and a half centuries +old, has 748,000 oxen and stock cattle; while Pennsylvania, with more +than 3,000,000 people, has 721,000 cattle; while Ohio, with 3,000,000 +people, has 749,000 cattle; while Illinois, with 2,800,000 people, has +867,000 cattle; and while Iowa, with 1,200,000 people, has 686,000 +cattle; Texas, forty years of age, and with her 500,000 people, had +2,000,000 head of oxen and other cattle, exclusive of cows, in 1867, as +shown by the returns of the county assessors. + +"In 1870, allowing for the difference between the actual number of +cattle owned and the number returned for taxation, there must be fully +3,000,000 head of beeves and stock cattle. This is exclusive of cows, +which, at the same time, are reported at 600,000 head. In 1870 they must +number 800,000--making a grand total of 3,800,000 head of cattle in +Texas. One-fourth of these are beeves, one-fourth are cows, and the +other two-fourths are yearlings and two-year olds. + +"There would, therefore, be 950,000 beeves, 950,000 cows, and 1,900,000 +young cattle. There are annually raised and branded 750,000 calves. +These cattle are raised on the great plains of Texas, which contain +152,000,000 acres. In the vast regions watered by the Rio Grande, +Nueces, Guadalupe, San Antonio, Colorado, Leon, Brazos, Trinity, Sabine, +and Red Rivers, these millions of cattle graze upon almost tropical +growths of vegetation. They are owned by the ranchmen, who own from +1,000 to 75,000 head each." + +As specimen ranches, may be named the following: Santa Catrutos Ranch +belongs to Richard King. Amount of land, 84,132 acres. The stock +consists of 65,000 cattle, 10,000 horses, 7,000 sheep, 8,000 goats. +Three hundred Mexicans are employed, and 1,000 saddle horses, on the +place. O'Connor's ranch, near Goliad, is an estate possessing about +50,000 cattle. The Robideaux ranch, on the Gulf, belonging to Mr. +Kennedy, contains 142,840 acres of land, and has 30,000 beef cattle in +addition to other stock. + + +THE CLIMATE OF THE PLAINS. + +Mr. R. S. Elliott, who has studied this matter carefully, says: "The +plains have been so often described as a rainless region that great +misconception in regard to the climate has prevailed. The absolute +precipitation is much greater than has been in past years supposed, and +is due to other causes. Meteorologists who have described the rain-fall +of the plains as derived only or principally from the remaining moisture +of winds from the Pacific, after the passage of the Nevada and Rocky +Mountain ranges, have been greatly in error, and the better conclusion +now is, with all authorities who have given any special attention to the +subject, that the moisture which fertilizes the Mississippi Valley, +including the broad, grassy plains, is derived from the Gulf of Mexico. + +"At Fort Riley about sixty-nine per cent, of the annual precipitation is +in spring and summer; at Fort Kearney, eighty-one; and at Fort Laramie, +seventy-two per cent. From observations at Forts Harker, Hays, and +Wallace, on the line of this road, the same rule seems to hold good. +Records have not been long enough continued at these three posts to give +a long average, but the mean appears to be between seventeen and +nineteen inches at Hays and Wallace, and possibly rather more at Harker. +The actual average for 1868 and 1869 at Hays is 18.76 inches, and for +the first six months of 1870 the record is 10.68 inches. At Wallace the +record for 1869 was over seventeen inches, and in 1870, up to October 1, +about the same amount had fallen. + +"Without records there can be only conjecture; and I can only remark +that there does not seem to be much diminution in the annual rain-fall +until we get as far west as the one hundred and third meridian. Thence +to the base of the mountains (except perhaps in the timbered portions of +the great divide south of the line of this railway) the annual average +may be possibly two or three inches less than in the midst of the +plains--a peculiarity explained, hypothetically, by the fact that the +region 'lies to the westward of the general course of the moisture +currents of air flowing northward from the Gulf of Mexico, and is so +near the mountains as to lose much of the precipitation that localities +in the plains east and north-east are favored with. The mountains seem +to exercise an influence--electrical and magnetical--in attracting +moisture, which is condensed in the cooler regions of their summits, +while the plains at their feet may be parched and heated to excess.' +This explanation may be fanciful, but the fact remains that near the +mountains the rains seem to decrease north of the great divide; +fortunately, however, this occurs in a region where irrigation may be +applied extensively and where there is sufficient moisture to nourish +bountiful crops of grass. + +"The vegetation of the plains along wagon tracks and rail road +embankments shows a capability of production scarcely suggested by the +surface where undisturbed: wherever the earth is broken up, the wild +sunflower (_Helianthus_), and others of the taller-growing plants, +though previously unknown in the vicinity, at once spring up. + +"I have been on the plains all the time since early in May till this +date (22d of September). There has been much dry weather, but I have not +seen one cloudless day--no day on which the sun would rise clear and +roll along a canopy of brass to the west. There has always been humidity +enough to form clouds at the proper height; and on many days they would +be seen defining, by their flat bottoms, the exact line where +condensation became sufficient to render the vapor visible. I conclude, +from all this, that abundant moisture has floated over the plains to +have given us a great deal more rain than would be desirable if it had +been precipitated. + +"Sometimes a storm would be seen to gather near the horizon, and we +could see the rain pending from the clouds like a fringe, hanging +apparently in mid-air, unable to reach the expectant earth. The rain +stage of condensation had been reached above, but the descending shower +was re-vaporized apparently, and thus arrested. + +"These hot winds are not, so far as I have observed, apt to be constant +in one place for any considerable length of time; they strike your face +suddenly, and perhaps in a minute are gone. They seem to run along in +streaks or _ovenfulls_ with the winds of ordinary (but rather high) +temperature. They do not begin, I believe, till in July, as a general +rule, and are over by September 1, or perhaps by August 15. Their origin +I take to be, of course, in heated regions south or southwest of us; but +their peculiar occurrence, so capricious and often so brief, I can not +explain to myself satisfactorily. + +"I may remark that this season, since about the 15th of July, in these +distant plains, has given us rain enough to make beautifully verdant the +spots in the prairie burnt off during the 'heated' term in July. From +Kit Carson eastward, the rains have been, I think, exceptionally +abundant. All through the summer we have had _dew_ occasionally, and it +has been remarked that buffalo meat has been more difficult of +preservation than heretofore--facts indicative of humidity in the +atmosphere, even where but little rain-fall was witnessed. Turnips sown +in August would have made a crop in this vicinity--four hundred and +twenty-two miles west of the state line of Missouri," + + +CLIMATIC CHANGES ON THE PLAINS. + +"Facts such as these," continues the same writer, "seem to sustain the +popular persuasion that a _climatic change_ is taking place, promoted by +the spread of settlements westwardly, breaking up portions of the +prairie soil, covering the earth with plants that shade the ground more +than the short grasses; thus checking or modifying the reflection of +heat from the earth's surface, etc. The fact is also noted that even +where the prairie soil is not disturbed, the short buffalo grass +disappears as the 'frontier' extends westward, and its place is taken +by grasses and other herbage of taller growth. That this change of the +clothing of the plains, if sufficiently extensive, might have a +modifying influence on the climate, I do not doubt; but whether the +change has been already spread over a large enough area, and whether our +apparently or really wetter seasons may not be part of a cycle, are +unsettled questions. + +"The civil engineers of the railways believe that the rains and humidity +of the plains have increased during the extension of railroads and +telegraphs across them. If this is the case, it may be that the +mysterious electrical influence in which they seem to have faith, but do +not profess to explain, has exercised a beneficial influence. What +effect, if any, the digging and grading, the iron rails, the tension of +steam in locomotives, the friction of metallic surfaces, the poles and +wires, the action of batteries, etc., could possibly or probably have on +the electrical conditions, as connected with the phenomena of +precipitation, I do not, of course, undertake to say. It may be that wet +seasons have merely happened to coincide with railroads and telegraphs. +It is to be observed that the poles of the telegraph are quite +frequently destroyed by lightning; and it is probable that the lightning +thus strikes in many places where before the erection of the telegraph +it was not apt to strike, and perhaps would not reach the earth at all. + +"It is certain that rains have increased; this increase has coincided +with the extension of settlements, railroads, and telegraphs. If +influenced by these, the change of climate will go on; if by extra +mundane influences, the change may be permanent, progressive, or +retrograde. I think there are good grounds to believe it will be +progressive. Within the last fifteen years, in Western Missouri and +Iowa, and in Eastern Kansas and Nebraska, a very large aggregate +surface has been broken up, and holds more of the rains than formerly. +During the same period modifying influences have been put in motion in +Montana, Utah, and Colorado. Very small areas of timbered land west of +the Missouri have been cleared--not equal, perhaps, to the area of +forest, orchard, and vineyards planted. Hence it may be said that all +the acts of man in this vast region have tended to produce conditions on +the earth's surface ameliorative of the climate. With extended +settlements on the Arkansas, Canadian, and Red River of the south, as +well as on the Arkansas, on the river system of the Kaw Valley, and on +the Platte, the ameliorating conditions will be extended in like degree; +and it partakes more of sober reason than wild fancy to suppose that a +permanent and beneficial change of climate may be experienced. The +appalling deterioration of large portions of the earth's surface, +through the acts of man in destroying the forests, justifies the trust +that the culture of taller herbage and trees in a region heretofore +covered mainly by short grasses may have a converse effect. Indeed, in +Central Kansas nature seems to almost precede settlements by the taller +grasses and herbage." + + +THE TREES AND FUTURE FORESTS OF THE PLAINS. + +Mr. Elliott continues his article as follows: "The principal native +trees on the plains west of ninety-seventh meridian are: Cottonwood, +walnut, elm, ash, box-elder, hackberry, plum, red cedar. To these may be +added willow and grape-vines, and also the locust and wild cherry +mentioned by Abert as occurring on the Purgatory. The black walnut +extends to the one-hundredth meridian. The elm and ash are of similar, +perhaps greater range. Hackberry has been observed west of one hundred +and first meridian. Cottonwood, elder, red cedar, plum, and willow are +persistent to the base of the mountains. The extensive pine forest on +the 'great divide' south of Denver, although stretching seventy to +eighty miles east from the mountains, is not taken into view as +belonging to the plains proper. Its existence, however, suggests the use +of its seeds in artificial plantations in that region. The fossil wood +imbedded in the cretaceous strata in many parts of the plains is left +out of consideration, as belonging to a previous, though recent, +geological age; but the single specimens of trees found growing at wide +intervals are silent witnesses to the _possibility_ of extended forest +growth. + +"Were it possible to break up the surface to a depth of two feet, from +the ninety-seventh meridian to the mountains, and from the thirty-fifth +to the forty-fifth parallel, we should have in a single season a growth +of taller herbage over the entire area, less reflection of the sun's +heat, more humidity in the atmosphere, more constancy in springs, pools, +and streams, more frequent showers, fewer violent storms, and less +caprice and fury in the winds. A single year would witness a changed +vegetation and a new climate. In three years (fires kept out) there +would be young trees in numerous places, and in twenty years there would +be fair young forests. The description of the 'broad, grassy plains,' +given in the foregoing pages, attests their capacity to sustain animal +life. For cattle, sheep, horses, and mules, they are a natural pasture +in summer, with (in many parts) hay cured standing for winter. The famed +Pampas, with their great extremes of wet and drought, can not bear +comparison with our western plains. For grazing purposes, the habitable +character of our vast traditional 'desert' is generally conceded, and +hence it need not be enlarged on here." + + +THE SUPPLY OF FUEL. + +Of the question of fuel for the future dwellers upon the face of Buffalo +Land, Hayden, in his report, speaks as follows: + +"The question often arises in the minds of visitors to this region, how +the law of compensation supplies the want of fuel in the absence of +trees for that use. Many persons have taken the position that the +Creator never made such a vast country, with a soil of such wonderful +fertility, and rendered it so suitable for the abode of man, without +storing in the earth beds of carbon for his needs. If this idea could be +shown to be true in any case, we would ask why are the immense beds of +coal stored away in the mountains of Pennsylvania and Virginia, while at +the same time the surface is covered with dense forests of timber. We +now know that this law does not apply to the natural world; and, if it +did, this western country would be a remarkable exception. The State of +Nebraska seems to be located on the western rim of the great coal basin +of the West, and only thin seams of poor coal will probably ever be +found; but in the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains, in Wyoming, and +Colorado, coal in immense quantities has been hidden away for ages, and +the Union Pacific Railroad has now brought it near the door of every +man's dwelling. + +"These Rocky Mountain coal-beds will one day supply an abundance of fuel +for more than one hundred thousand square miles along the Missouri +River of the most fertile agricultural land in the world." + +Of this coal area, Persifor Frazier, Jr., says: "Those beds which occur +on the east flank of the Rocky Mountains have been followed for five +hundred miles and more, north and south; and if it be true that these +are 'fragments of one great basin, interrupted here and there by the +upheaval of mountain chains, or concealed by the deposition of newer +formations,' then their extension east and west, or from the eastern +range of the Rocky Mountains or Black Hills to Weber Canyon, where an +excellent coal is mined, will fall but little short of five hundred +miles. Throughout this extent these beds of coal are found between the +upper cretaceous and lower tertiary (or in the transition beds of +Hayden), wherever these transition beds occur, whether on the extreme +flanks or in the valleys and parks between the numerous mountain ranges. +Assuming that the eroding agencies together have cut off one-half of the +coal from this area, and taking one-half of the remainder as their +average longitudinal extent, we have over fifty thousand square miles of +coal lands, accounting the latitudinal extent as only five hundred +miles; whereas we have no reason to believe that it terminates within +these bounds, but, on the contrary, good reason for supposing that it +extends northward far into Canada, and southward with the Cordilleras. +All this territory has been omitted in the estimate of the extent of our +coal fields." + + +DISTRICTS CONTIGUOUS TO THE PLAINS. + +The reader has now had the salient features of the great plains placed +before him in succession. The more interesting districts immediately +adjoining will well repay the reader for a brief consideration. + + +THE NORTH PLATTE DISTRICT. + +A late writer, who has studied the country of which he speaks very +closely,[6] thus describes the North Platte District: + + [6] Dr. H. Latham, under date June 5th, 1870, in the Omaha Daily Herald. + +"The distance from the mouth of the North Platte, where it joins the +South Platte on the Union Pacific Railroad, to its sources in the great +Sierra Madre, whose lofty sides form the North Park, in which this +stream takes its rise, is more than eight hundred miles. Its extreme +southern tributaries head in the gorges of the mountains one hundred +miles south of the railroad, and receive their water from the melting +snows of these snow-capped ranges. Its extreme western tributaries rise +in the Wahsatch and Wind River ranges, sharing the honor of conveying +the crystal snow waters from the continental divide with the Columbia +and Colorado of the Pacific. Its northern tributaries start oceanward +from the Big Horn Mountains, three hundred miles north of the +starting-point of its southern sources. + +"It drains a country larger than all New England and New York together. +East of the Alleghany Mountains there is no river comparable to this +clear, swift mountain stream in its length or in the extent of country +it drains. + +"The main valley of the North Platte, two hundred miles from its mouth +to where it debouches through the Black Hills out on to the great +plains, is an average of ten miles wide. Nearly all this area--two +thousand square miles--is covered with a dense growth of grass, +yielding thousands of tons of hay. The bluffs bordering these intervals +are rounded and grass-grown, gradually smoothing out into great grassy +plains, extending north and south as far as the eye can see. + +"Of the country, Alexander Majors says, in a letter to the writer of +this article: 'The favorite wintering ground of my herders for the past +twenty years has been from the Caché a la Poudre on the south to Fort +Fetterman on the north, embracing all the country along the eastern base +of the Black Hills.' It was of this country that Mr. Seth E. Ward spoke, +when he says: 'I am satisfied that no country in the same latitude, or +even far south of it, is comparable to it as a grazing and stock-raising +country. Cattle and stock generally are healthy, and require no feeding +the year round, the rich 'bunch' and 'gramma' grasses of the plains and +mountains keeping them, ordinarily, fat enough for beef during the +entire winter,' + +"All this region east of the Black Hills is at an elevation less than +five thousand feet. The climate, as reported from Fort Laramie for a +period of twenty years, is 50° Fahrenheit. The mean temperature for the +spring months is 47°, for the summer months 72°, for autumn 60°, for +winter 31°. The annual rain-fall is about eighteen inches--distributed +as follows: Spring, 8.69 inches; summer, 5.70 inches; autumn, 3.69 +inches. The snow fall is eighteen inches. + +"There is in the North Platte Basin, east of the Black Hills divide, at +least eight million acres of pasturage, with the finest and most lasting +streams, and good shelter in the bluffs and canyons. As I have said +before, we can only judge of the extent and resources of such a single +region by comparison. Ohio has six million sheep, yielding eighteen +million pounds of wool, bringing herd farmers an aggregate of four and +one-half million dollars. This eight million acres of pasture would at +least feed eight million sheep, yielding twenty-four million pounds of +wool, and, at the same price as Ohio wool, six million dollars. Now, +this money, instead of going to build up ranches, stock-farms, +store-houses, woolen mills, and all the components of a great and +thrifty settlement, is sent by our wool-growers and woollen +manufacturers to Buenos Ayres, to Africa, and Australia, to enrich other +people and other lands, while our wool-growing resources remain +undeveloped. + +"As you follow the North Platte up through the Black Hill Canyon, you +come out upon the great Laramie plains, which lie between the Black +Hills on the east and the snowy range on the west. These plains are +ninety miles north and south, and sixty miles east and west. They are +watered by the Big and Little Laramie Rivers, Deer Creek, Rock Creek, +Medicine Bow River, Cooper Creek, and other tributaries of the North +Platte. It is on the extreme northern portion of these plains, in the +valley of Deer Creek, that General Reynolds wintered during the winter +of 1860, and of which he remarks, on pages seventy-four and seventy-five +of his 'Explorations of the Yellowstone," as follows: + +"Throughout the whole season's march the subsistence of our animals had +been obtained by grazing after we had reached our camp in the afternoon, +and for an hour or two between the dawn of day and our time of starting. +The consequence was that, when we reached our winter quarters there were +but few animals in the train that were in a condition to have continued +the march without a generous grain diet. Poorer and more broken-down +creatures it would be difficult to find. In the spring they were in as +fine condition for commencing another season's work as could be desired. +A greater change in their appearance could not have been produced even +if they had been grain-fed and stable-housed all winter. Only one was +lost, the furious storm of December coming on before it had gained +sufficient strength to endure it. The fact that seventy exhausted +animals, turned out to winter on the plains the first of November, came +out in the spring in the best condition, and with the loss of but one of +their number, is the most forcible commentary I can make on the quality +of the grass and the character of the winter.' + +"These plains have been favorite herding grounds of the buffalo away +back in the pre-historic age of this country. Their bones lie bleaching +in all directions, and their paths, deeply worn, cover the whole plain +like a net-work. Their 'wallows,' where these shaggy lords of animal +creation tore deep pits into the surface of the ground, are still to be +seen. Elk, antelope, and deer still feed here, and the mountain sheep +are found on the mountain sides and in the more secluded valleys of the +Sierra Madre range--all proving conclusively that this has afforded +winter pasturage from time immemorial. Since 1849 many herds of +work-oxen, belonging to emigrants, freighters, and ranchmen, have grazed +here each winter. + +"South of the Laramie plains is the North Park, one of three great parks +of the Rocky Mountains, so fully described by Richardson, Bross, and +Bowles. This North Park is formed by the great Snowy Range. It is a +valley from six to eight thousand feet high, ninety miles long, and +forty miles wide, surrounded by snowy mountains from thirteen to fifteen +thousand feet high. These mountain tops and sides are completely covered +with dense growths of forests; the lower hill-sides and this great +valley are covered with grasses. The forests and mountains afford ample +shelter from sweeping winds. Here, as well as on the Laramie plains, +the buffalo grazed in great herds; and here the Ute hunters, from some +hidden canyons, dashed down among them on their trained and fleet +ponies, shooting their arrows with unerring aim on all sides, and having +such glorious sport as kings might court and envy. The Indians are now +gone from this valley, and the buffalo nearly so. On the two million +acres in this valley not twenty head of cattle graze. + +"This great park, splendidly watered by the three forks of the Platte, +and by a hundred small streams that drain these lofty mountains of their +snows and rains--rich in all kinds of nutritious grasses, plentifully +supplied with timber; on the tertiary coal fields, with iron, copper, +lead, and gold--has not one real settler. There are a few miners, but +where there should be flocks and herds of sheep and cattle without +number, there is only the wild game--the elk, antelope, and deer." + + +THE VALLEYS OF THE WHITE EARTH AND NIOBRARA. + +These streams are branches of the Missouri--the one mainly in Dakota +Territory, and the other in Nebraska. The following graphic paragraphs +concerning them are from Hayden again: + +"I have spent many days exploring this region (the White Earth Valley) +when the thermometer was 112° in the shade, and there was no water +suitable for drinking purposes within fifteen miles. But it is only to +the geologist that this place can have any permanent attraction. He can +wind his way through the wonderful canyons among some of the grandest +ruins in the world. Indeed, it resembles a gigantic city fallen to +decay. Domes, towers, minarets and spires may be seen on every side, +which assume a great variety of shapes when viewed in the distance. Not +unfrequently the rising or the setting sun will light up these grand old +ruins with a wild, strange beauty, reminding one of a city illuminated +in the night, when seen from some high point. The harder layers project +from the sides of the valley or canyon with such regularity that they +appear like seats, one above the other, of some vast amphitheater. + +"It is at the foot of these apparent architectural remains that the +curious fossil treasures are found. In the oldest beds we find the teeth +and jaws of a Hyopotamus, a river-horse much like the hippopotamus, +which must have sported in his pride in the marshes that bordered this +lake. So, too, the Titanotherum, a gigantic pachyderm, was associated +with a species of hornless rhinoceros. These huge rhinoceroid animals +appear at first to have monopolized this entire region, and the plastic, +sticky clay of the lowest bed of this basin, in which the remains were +found, seems to have formed a suitable bottom of the lake in which these +thick-skinned monsters could wallow at pleasure." + +Of the _fauna_ of the Niobrara and Loup Fork Valleys, he speaks as +follows: "In the later fauna were the remains of a number of species of +extinct camels, one of which was of the size of the Arabian camel, a +second about two-thirds as large. Not less interesting are the remains +of a great variety of forms of the horse family, one of which was about +as large as the ordinary domestic animal, and the smallest not more than +two or two and a half feet in height, with every intermediate grade in +size." + + +NEW MEXICO--ITS SOIL, CLIMATE, RESOURCES, ETC. + +Bordering on what might be called the south-western corner of the +plains, or perhaps more properly forming, over its eastern half, part of +them, lies New Mexico. I find the following valuable description of the +soil, climate, and productions of this section in the report of Prof. +Cyrus Thomas: + +"The best estimate I can make of the arable area of the Territory is +about as follows: In the Rio Grande district, one twentieth, or about +two thousand eight hundred square miles; in the strip along the western +border, one-fiftieth, or about six hundred square miles; in the +north-eastern triangle, watered by the Canadian River, one-fifteenth, or +about one thousand four hundred square miles. This calculation excludes +the 'Staked Plains,' and amounts in the aggregate to four thousand eight +hundred square miles, or nearly two million nine hundred thousand acres. +This, I am aware, is larger than any previous estimate that I have seen; +but when the country is penetrated by one or two railroads, and a more +enterprising agricultural population is introduced, the fact will soon +be developed that many portions now considered beyond the reach of +irrigation will be reclaimed. I do not found this estimate wholly upon +the observations made in the small portions I have visited, but, in +addition thereto, I have carefully examined the various reports made +upon special sections, and have obtained all the information I could +from intelligent persons who have resided in the Territory for a number +of years. + +"As the Territory includes in its bounds some portions of the Rocky +Mountain range on which snow remains for a great part of the year, and +also a semi-tropical region along its southern boundary, there is, of +necessity, a wide difference in the extremes of temperature. But, with +the exception of the cold seasons of the higher lands at the north, it +is temperate and regular. The summer days in the lower valleys are quite +warm, but, as the dry atmosphere rapidly absorbs the perspiration of the +body, it prevents the debilitating effect experienced where the air is +heavier and more saturated with moisture. The nights are cool and +refreshing. The winters, except in the mountainous portions at the +north, are moderate, but the difference between the northern and +southern sections during this season is greater than during the summer. +The amount of snow that falls is light, and seldom remains on the ground +longer than a few hours. The rains principally fall during the months of +July, August, and September, but the annual amount is small, seldom +exceeding a few inches. When there are heavy snows in the mountains +during the winter, there will be good crops the following summer, the +supply of water being more abundant, and the quantity of sediment +carried down greater, than when the snows are light. Good crops appear +to come in cycles--three or four following in succession; then one or +two inferior ones. + +"During the autumn months the wind is disagreeable in some places, +especially near the openings between high ridges, and at the termini of +or passes through mountain ranges. There is, perhaps, no healthier +section of country to be found in the United States than that embraced +in the boundaries of Colorado and New Mexico; in fact, I think I am +justified in saying that this area includes the healthiest portion of +the Union. Perhaps it is not improper for me to say that I have no +personal ends to serve in making this statement, not having one dollar +invested in either of these Territories in any way whatever; I make it +simply because I believe it to be true. Nor would I wish to be +understood as contrasting with other sections of the Rocky Mountain +region, only so far as these Territories have the advantage in +temperature. It is possible Arizona should be included, but, as I have +not visited it, I can not speak of it. + +"There is no better place of resort for those suffering with pulmonary +complaints than here. It is time for the health-seekers of our country +to learn and appreciate the fact that within our own bounds are to be +found all the elements of health that can possibly be obtained by a tour +to the eastern continent, or any other part of the world; and that, in +addition to the invigorating air, is scenery as wild, grand, and varied +as any found amid the Alpine heights of Switzerland. And here, too, from +Middle Park to Los Vegas, is a succession of mineral and hot springs of +almost every character. + +"The productions of New Mexico, as might be inferred from the variety of +its climate, are varied, but the staples will evidently be cattle, +sheep, wool, and wine, for which it seems to be peculiarly adapted. The +table-lands and mountain valleys are covered throughout with the +nutritious gramma and other grasses, which, on account of the dryness of +the soil, cure upon the ground, and afford an inexhaustible supply of +food for flocks and herds both summer and winter. The ease and +comparatively small cost with which they can be kept, the rapidity with +which they increase, and exemption from epidemic diseases, added to the +fact that winter-feeding is not required, must make the raising of stock +and wool-growing a prominent business of the country--the only serious +drawback at present being the fear of the hostile Indian tribes. But, as +these remarks apply equally well to all these districts, I will speak +farther in regard to this matter when I take up the subject of grazing +in this division. + +"The cattle and sheep of this Territory are small, because no care seems +to be taken to improve the breed. San Miguel County appears to be the +great pasturing ground for sheep, large numbers being driven here from +other counties to graze. Don Romaldo Baca estimates that between five +hundred thousand and eight hundred thousand are annually pastured +here--about two-thirds of which are driven in from other sections. His +own flocks number between thirty thousand and forty thousand head; those +of his nephew twenty-five thousand to thirty thousand; Mr. Mariano +Trissarry, of Bernalillo County, owns about fifty-five thousand; and Mr. +Gallegos, of Santa Fé, nearly seventy thousand head. + +"Don Romaldo Baca stated to me that his flocks yielded him an annual +average of about one and a half pounds of washed wool to the sheep; that +the average price of sheep was not more than two dollars per head; that +the wool paid all expenses, and left the increase, which is from fifty +to seventy-five per cent. per annum, as his profit. From these figures +some estimate may be formed of what improved sheep would yield. + +"Wheat and oats grow throughout the Territory, but the former does not +yield as heavily in the southern as in the northern part. If any method +of watering the higher plateau is ever discovered, I think that it will +produce heavier crops of wheat than the Valley of the Rio Grande. + +"Corn is raised from the Vermijo, on the east of the mountains, around +to the Culebra, on the inside; in fact, it is the principal crop of San +Miguel County, but the quality and yield is inferior to that which can +be produced in the Rio Grande Valley and along the Rio Bonito. The +southern portion of the Rio Pecos Valley and the Canadian bottoms are +probably the best portions of the Territory for this cereal. + +"Apples will grow from the Taos Valley south, but peaches can not be +raised to any advantage north of Bernalillo, in the central section; but +it is likely they would do well along some of the tributaries and main +valley of the Canadian River. They also appear to grow well and produce +fruit without irrigation in the Zuņi country; and the valley of the +Mimbres is also adapted to their culture. Apricots and plums grow +wherever apples or peaches can be raised. I neglected to obtain any +information in regard to pears, but, judging from the similarity of soil +and climate here to that of Utah and California, where this fruit grows +to perfection, I suppose that in the central and southern portions it +would do well. + +"The grape will probably be the chief, or at least the most profitable, +product of the soil. The soil and climate appear to be peculiarly +adapted for its growth, and the probability is that, as a grape-growing +and wine-producing section, it will be second only to California. From +Col. McClure I learned that the amount of wine made in 1867 was about +forty thousand gallons, and that the crop of 1869 would probably reach +one hundred thousand gallons. I have not been informed since whether his +estimate was verified or not. A good many vineyards were planted in +1869--at least double the number of 1868. Several Americans, +anticipating the building of a railroad through that section, have +engaged in this branch of agriculture. The wine that is made here is +said to be of an excellent quality. + +"Beets here, as in Colorado, grow to an enormous size, and it is quite +likely that the sugar beet would not only yield heavy crops, but also +contain a large per cent. of saccharine matter. I am rather inclined to +believe that soil which is impregnated with alkaline matter will favor +the production of the saccharine principle. I base this opinion wholly +on observations made in Utah in regard to its effect on fruit; therefore +experiments may prove that I am wholly mistaken. It is possible the +experiment has been tried; if so, I am not aware of it. + +"The Irish potatoes are inferior to those raised further north. Cabbages +grow large and fine. Onions from the Raton Mountains south have the +finest flavor of any I ever tasted, and therefore I am not surprised +that Lieut. Emory found the dishes at Bernalillo 'all dressed with the +everlasting onion.' But, as to the 'Chili,' or pepper, which is so +extensively raised and used in New Mexico, I beg to be excused, unless I +can have my throat lined with something less sensitive than nature's +coating. Sweet potatoes have been successfully tried in the vicinity of +Fort Sumner and along the head-waters of the Rio Bonito. Melons, +pumpkins, frijoles, etc., are raised in profusion in the lower valleys; +and I understand cotton was formerly grown in limited quantities. + +"As a general thing, the mountains afford an abundance of pine for the +supply of lumber and fuel to those sufficiently near to them. Some of +the valleys have a limited amount of cottonwood growing along them. In +addition to pine, spruce and cottonwood, the stunted cedar and mesquit, +which is found over a large area, may be used for fuel. The best +timbered portion of the Rio Grande Valley is between Socorro and Doņa +Aņa. The east side of the Guadalupe range has an abundant supply of pine +of large size. Around the head-waters of the Pecos is some excellent +timber. Walnut and oak are found in a few spots south, but in limited +quantities, and of too small a size to be of much value." + + +THE DISAPPEARING BISON. + +In connection with this general review of Buffalo Land, it is +interesting to note that while civilization, advancing from the east, +pushes our bison west, another tide of human beings, creeping out from +the mountains eastward, presses the buffalo back before it. The brute +multitude is thus between two advancing lines, which will soon crush it. +In confirmation of this, I find the following in Hayden's notes of the +country along the base of the Laramie Mountains: + +"These broad, grassy plains are not yet entirely destitute of their +former inhabitants; flocks of antelope still feed on the rich, +nutritious grasses; but the buffalo, which once roamed here by +thousands, have disappeared forever. No trace of them is now left but +the old trails, which pass across the country in every direction, and +the bleached skulls which are scattered here and there over the ground. +These traces are fast passing away. The skulls are decaying rapidly, and +this once peculiar feature of the landscape in the West will be lost. +Two years ago I collected a large quantity of these bleached skulls and +distributed them to several of our museums, in order to insure their +preservation. + +"There is also a singular ethnological fact connected with these skulls. +We shall observe that the greater part of them have the forehead broken +in for a space of three or four inches in diameter. Whenever an Indian +kills a buffalo, he fractures the skull with his tomahawk and extracts +the brains, which he devours in a raw state. + +"Indians or old trappers traveling through the enemy's country always +fear to build a fire, lest the smoke attract the notice of the foe. The +consequence is that they have contracted the habit of eating certain +parts of an animal in an uncooked condition. I have estimated that six +men may make a full meal from a buffalo without lighting a fire. The +ribs on one side are taken out with a knife, and the concavity serves as +a dish. The brains are taken out of the skull, and the marrow from the +leg-bones, and the two are chopped together in the rib-dish. The liver +and lungs are eaten with a keen relish; also certain portions of the +intestines; and the blood supplies an excellent and nutritious drink. + +"Both Indian and buffalo have probably disappeared forever from these +plains. Elk, black-tailed deer, red deer, mountain sheep, wolves, and +the smaller animals, are still quite abundant, especially in the valleys +of the small streams, where they flow down through the mountains. Elk +Mountain and Sheephead Mountain have always been noted localities for +these animals." + + +THE FISH WITH LEGS. + +But while the buffalo has become extinct in that locality, an inhabitant +of the water may be preparing (query: in support of the theory of +development?) to take its place. I quote again from Hayden: + +"There are other attractions here, of which the traveler will be +informed long before he reaches the locality. The 'fish with legs' are +the only inhabitants of the lake, and numbers of persons make it a +business to catch and sell them to travelers. During the summer season +they congregate in great numbers in the shallow water among the weeds +and grass near the shore, and can be easily caught; but in cold weather +they retire to the deeper portions of the lake, and are not seen again +until spring. These little animals are possessed of gills, and, were it +not for the legs, would most nearly resemble a miniature cat-fish. But +when warm weather comes, a form closely resembling them, but entirely +destitute of gills, may be seen in the water swimming, or creeping +clumsily about on land. Sometimes they travel long distances, and are +found in towns, near springs or wet places, usually one at a time, while +those with gills are never seen except in the alkaline lakes which are +so common all over the West." + + +THE MOUNTAIN SUPPLY OF LUMBER FOR THE PLAINS. + +In connection with this (the western) border of the plains, it is +interesting to note what the same writer says, of a future supply of +lumber: + +"Not only in the more lofty ranges, but also in the lower mountains, are +large forests of pine timber, which will eventually become of great +value to this country. Vast quantities of this pine, in the form of +railroad ties, are floated down the various streams to the Union Pacific +Railroad. One gentleman alone contracted for five hundred and fifty +thousand ties, all of which he floated down the stream from the +mountains along the southern side of the Laramie Plains. The Big and +Little Laramie, Rock Creek, and Medicine Bow River, with their branches, +were here literally filled with ties at one time; and I was informed +that, in the season of high water, they can be taken to the railroad +from the mountains, after being cut and placed in the water, at the rate +of from one to three cents each. These are important facts, inasmuch as +they show the ease with which these vast bodies of timber may be +brought to the plains below and converted into lumber, should future +settlement of the country demand it." + + * * * * * + +"On the summits of these lofty mountains are some most beautiful, open +spots, without a tree, and covered with grass and flowers. After passing +through dense pine forests for nearly ten miles, we suddenly emerged +into one of these park-like areas. Just in the edge of the forest which +skirted it were banks of snow six feet deep, compact like a glacier, and +within a few feet were multitudes of flowers--and even the common +strawberry seemed to flourish. These mountains are full of little +streams of the purest water, and for six months of the year good +pasturage for stock could be found." + + + THE END. + + +Transcriber's note: + +Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been retained. Obvious +printer errors have been silently corrected. + +Page 341: "What is the nature of these creatures thus left stranded..." +The word "is" was supplied by the transcriber. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Buffalo Land, by W. E. 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