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diff --git a/old/56016-h/56016-h.htm b/old/56016-h/56016-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 87171c4..0000000 --- a/old/56016-h/56016-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5641 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title>Memories of Old Montana, by Con Price</title> - <link rel='coverpage' href='images/cover.jpg' /> - <style type="text/css"> - body { margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10% } - h1,h2 { text-align: center; clear: both } - p { text-align: justify; text-indent:1.5em; - margin-top:0.1em; margin-bottom:0.1em } - .d000 { margin-top:4em; page-break-before:always } - .d001 { font-size:1.5em; margin-top:4em; text-indent:0 } - .d002 { text-align:center; text-indent:0 } - .d003 { font-size:0.8em; text-align:center; - text-indent:0 } - .d004 { margin-bottom:0; margin-top:1em; - text-align:center; text-indent:0 } - .d005 { margin-bottom:0; text-align:center; - text-indent:0 } - .d006 { font-size:smaller; margin-top:0; - text-align:center; text-indent:0 } - .d007 { font-size:smaller; text-align:center; - text-indent:0 } - .d008 { margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; - text-align:center; text-indent:0 } - .d009 { page-break-before:always } - .d010 { font-weight:bold; margin-bottom:1em; - margin-top:3em; margin-top:4em; - text-align:center; text-indent:0 } - .d011 { text-align:center } - .d012 { display:inline-block; text-align:left } - .d013 { text-indent:0 } - .d014 { text-align:right } - .d015 { margin-bottom:1em; margin-top:1em } - .d016 { margin-top:4em; page-break-before:always; - page-break-inside:avoid; text-align:center } - .d017 { display:inline-block; width:90% } - .d018 { display:inline; width:100% } - .d019 { margin-left:20%; margin-right:20%; - text-align:center; text-indent:0 } - .d020 { font-size:large; margin-bottom:1em; - margin-top:4em } - .d021 { font-size:large; margin-bottom:1em; - margin-top:1em } - .d022 { margin-top:2em; page-break-inside:avoid; - text-align:center } - .d023 { display:inline-block; width:80% } - </style> -</head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Memories of Old Montana, by Con Price - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Memories of Old Montana - -Author: Con Price - -Release Date: November 20, 2017 [EBook #56016] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMORIES OF OLD MONTANA *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class='d000'> -<h1 class='d001'>MEMORIES OF OLD MONTANA</h1> -<p class='d002'>By</p> -<p class='d002'>Con Price</p> -<p class='d003'>(Masachele Opa Barusha)</p> -<p class='d004'>THE HIGHLAND PRESS</p> -<p class='d005'>Highland at Hawthorne</p> -<p class='d006'>HOLLYWOOD 28, CALIFORNIA</p> -</div> - -<div class='d000'> -<p class='d002'>Copyright, 1945</p> -<p class='d002'>By Con Price</p> -<p class='d002'>All Rights Reserved</p> -<p class='d002'>FIRST EDITION</p> -<p class='d007'>After Deluxe edition of 125 copies, numbered and signed by the author.</p> -</div> - -<div class='d000'> -<p class='d002'>DEDICATION</p> -<p class='d008'>To all the old-time cowboys and cowmen whose hearts were as big as the range they rode.</p> -</div> - - -<div class='d009'> - <p class='d010'>CONTENTS</p> - <div class='d011'> - <div class='d012'> - <p class='d013'> - <a href='#ch01'>I. Earliest Memories (1869 to 1878)</a><br /> - <a href='#ch02'>II. Black Hills of South Dakota (1878 to 1885)</a><br /> - <a href='#ch03'>III. I Start to Punch Cows</a><br /> - <a href='#ch04'>IV. With the RL Outfit</a><br /> - <a href='#ch05'>V. With the TL Outfit in the Bear Paws</a><br /> - <a href='#ch06'>VI. Line Riding With the Mounted Police</a><br /> - <a href='#ch07'>VII. In the Judith Basin Country of Montana</a><br /> - <a href='#ch08'>VIII. With the DHS Outfit</a><br /> - <a href='#ch09'>IX. Jim Spurgeon</a><br /> - <a href='#ch10'>X. Tom Daly</a><br /> - <a href='#ch11'>XI. Kid Curry</a><br /> - <a href='#ch12'>XII. Fred Reid</a><br /> - <a href='#ch13'>XIII. Indians</a><br /> - <a href='#ch14'>XIV. Open Range Days</a><br /> - <a href='#ch15'>XV. The Johnson County War</a><br /> - <a href='#ch16'>XVI. Broncos</a><br /> - <a href='#ch17'>XVII. My Marriage</a><br /> - <a href='#ch18'>XVIII. The Lazy KY</a><br /> - <a href='#ch19'>XIX. Memories of Charlie Russell</a><br /> - <a href='#ch20'>XX. Cowboy Philosophy</a> - </p> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='d009'> - -<p class='d010'>PREFACE</p> - -<p>Some years ago, through my interest in the life and -work of Charles M. Russell, I met Con Price. No one -could go far into the subject of Montana’s Cowboy Artist -without cutting Con Price’s trail.</p> - -<p>These two men were more than cowpuncher friends -and associates in a ranch partnership. Charlie regarded -Con as one of the greatest bronco riders of his time, and -Con considers Charlie the finest kind of friend a man -could have had.</p> - -<p>It was a long time before Con would talk much about -his close friendship with Charlie Russell—a friendship -that started on the range before either was married, and -lasted until Charlie crossed the Big Divide in 1926. After -some urging Con has, over a period of years, written -something of his early days in Old Montana, with a -few, too few, references to his friend Russell.</p> - -<p>My own knowledge of Russell has been immeasurably -enriched through knowing Con Price, but more important -is our own friendship, which I treasure even more.</p> - -<div class='d014'> - <div class='d012'> - <div class='d015'> - <div>H. E. BRITZMAN</div> - <div>July 23, 1945</div> - <div>Trail’s End, Michillinda,</div> - <div>Pasadena, California.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='d016'> - <div class='d017'> - <img class='d018' - alt='The Lazy KY' - src='images/illus-fpc.jpg' /> - </div> - <p class='d019'> - The Lazy KY - </p> -</div> - -<h2 id='ch01' class='d020'>CHAPTER I<br/>EARLIEST MEMORIES (1869 to 1878)</h2> - -<p>I was born in the year 1869 in Manchester, Iowa. My -father served in the Civil War and during that service -contracted consumption and was discharged from the -army and came home a very sick man, without any provisions -being made to take care of him—only through the -efforts of my mother, who didn’t have a dollar, only what -she made working for wages which was very small at -that time.</p> - -<p>There was four children—the oldest eight, the -youngest two. So with my father’s sickness and us hungry -kids to feed, she must have had hard going. I think my -father was home about a year when he died. How she -provided for the burial, I do not know, as there was no -charitable organizations or county help those days.</p> - -<p>I remember after the funeral my mother called in a -Catholic priest to consult him about what to do with us -kids. They finally decided that the priest would find -homes for us by having some wealthy families adopt -us, which he did.</p> - -<p>I was placed with a family by name of Calligan, near -a town named Manson, Iowa. As I remember the contract, -those people were to give me an education and -when I was twenty-one years old, they were to give me -a horse and saddle and $500.00.</p> - -<p>But after a few years my mother married again and -she and her husband decided they wanted us children -back. All the parties that had the other children gave -them up, but the people I was with contested my mother’s -rights, and they had a law suit about who would have -possession of me. My mother won out, which broke my -heart, as I was very much attached to my adopted -parents. And another thing, as I see the picture now, my -stepfather didn’t have intelligence enough to raise a pig, -let alone a child, and I didn’t like him.</p> - -<p>So there was a mutual dislike between him and me -right from the time they got me home. The first thing -he put me doing was herding cattle out on the prairie. -And almost every night I got a whipping or a scolding -and I was always thinking about my adopted home. I -think I was about nine years old at that time and he -gave me a pretty good horse to ride to herd those cattle. -So one day I conceived the idea of stealing this horse -and run away and go back to my other home, which was -about 100 miles. Of course, when I came up missing they -didn’t know what happened and they went to all the -neighbors looking for me before they got the idea that -I had run away, which gave me quite a start.</p> - -<p>It took me about three days to make the trip. I stayed -over night with ranchers and I remember they asked -me, what I thought at that time, some queer questions—where -I came from and where I was going, and so -forth. But I mixed up a story that I was going on a -visit, which I guess seemed strange to them—a boy -about nine years old going that far with a good horse but -no saddle. I was riding bareback. Anyway I made the -trip. But about three miles from my adopted home, I -turned the horse loose and walked—and as there was -no fences to stop him, in the course of a few days he -drifted back home.</p> - -<p>My adopted father and mother were tickled to death -to see me. They were an old couple and had become very -fond of me. So they cached me around in different places -for several days until they decided my stepfather was -not going to bother about me—and I thought I was -settled down in my old home again. And they used to -send me after the milk cows in the evening when I came -home from school.</p> - -<p>They gave me a little mare to ride. She must have -been a race horse, for she could sure run. I rode her -without a saddle and I was still on the look-out for -someone to come after me.</p> - -<p>Now my stepfather had a mare that was very fast, -but he sometimes worked her in harness. Well, one evening -I went after the cows—I think about two miles—and -had just started towards home, when I saw a team -and wagon coming pretty fast towards me right across -the country and not on a road. I soon recognized my -stepfather and my mother in the wagon. They were -between me and my home, and I had a rather narrow -place to go by them—(a fence on one side and a creek -on the other ... I think about fifty yards space) and it -looked like I was in a tough spot, as I had to go right -past them. I had to go about a quarter of a mile to be -opposite them. When I started towards them, my stepfather -sensed what I was going to do. He jumped out of -the wagon and started to unharness his fast horse. He was -pretty quick and about the time I got to where he was, -he had mounted and hollered at me to stop—but I was -in high and I fairly flew past him. I looked back at him -once and he was whipping that old horse and getting all -the speed he could. But he might as well be standing still -as far as his chances were of catching me. I had to go -through some timber before I got to the house, so he -couldn’t see which way I went.</p> - -<p>I give the alarm and the old lady told me to run into -the corn field and hide. My stepfather came to the house -and made all kinds of threats but he didn’t find me. My -folks went back home and everything seemed all right -again for about two weeks. I thought they were going to -let me stay where I was.</p> - -<p>But one morning I was taking the cattle out to graze -and had got off of my horse and was trying to drive a cow -out of the brush. When I looked around there were two -men close to me in a buggy. I didn’t wait a second but -started to run. One of them jumped out of the buggy. -I thought he was the largest man I ever saw—must -have weighed 250 pounds. He hollered at me to stop, -which only scared me worse and away I went and that -big fellow after me.</p> - -<p>The country around there was very brushy and -rough. I tore into that brush like a rabbit and run until -I fell down and I just laid still, hoping he wouldn’t find -me. I heard him go by me. I think he missed me about -three feet and went on by. He must have been gone about -an hour—I heard him coming back and he walked -right up to where I was lying. He said, “I am the sheriff. -Get up. I want you.” Boy, was I scared! He put one -handcuff on my wrist and led me back to the buggy. My -stepfather had sent him after me.</p> - -<p>I have never had any handcuffs on since but I sure -suffered agony that day. They had to drive about 15 miles -to the railroad to get a train to take me back home and -I begged the sheriff to take the handcuffs off, as the -thoughts of them scared me to death. The sheriff was a -kindly man and I know he felt sorry for me and was -going to take them off—but I heard the driver tell him, -“That kid is going to give you the slip if you turn him -loose and we never will catch him again, and he sure can -run like hell.” It was a livery stable team and driver that -the sheriff had hired to go after me, and I guess they -didn’t want to waste anymore time chasing me. But the -sheriff did take the cuffs off when we got to town and -took me to dinner and treated me fine, but told me if I -tried to run away he would put me in jail. That cooked -me ... I stayed close to him all day so he wouldn’t think -I was trying to get away.</p> - -<p>When I landed back home I had quite a score to -settle with my folks for running away. They kept me -under pretty close guard for awhile but finally put me -back to herding cattle—but they did not give me a -horse to ride anymore. I had to walk, as my stepfather -knew there was less chance of me running away if I -had to walk.</p> - -<p>My mother tried to make peace between the old man -and myself but never made much headway, as we both -hated each other. He was a comical-looking little -Irishman—I was quite a mimic and was always making fun -of him behind his back to the other kids. One day he -caught me at it and it sure made him mad and he gave -me a good beating, which didn’t help my feelings towards -him. So I used to job him every chance I got and I guess -I made life about as miserable for him as he did for me.</p> - -<h2 id='ch02' class='d021'>CHAPTER II<br/>BLACK HILLS OF SOUTH DAKOTA (1878 to 1885)</h2> - -<p>In 1879 my folks came across the plains from Fort -Pierre to the Black Hills and the first town we came to, -of any size, was Scooptown and from there to Deadwood -was mostly mountains and several toll gates. It cost a -dollar to go through those places—that meant the -people that kept those gates kept the road repaired so it -would be passable—but those roads were sure tough. -I remember when we drove our team up the street of -Deadwood the mud was about two feet deep and we -could hardly get through, as Deadwood was one street -about a mile long in a deep canyon. It was laid out in -three sections: first Elizabeth Town, Chinatown and then -Deadwood proper. We camped in Elizabeth Town for -several weeks—lived in a tent.</p> - -<p>It was a great sight at that time around the old Gem -Theatre, which was a big dance hall and gambling -house. There was no law prohibiting minors from going -into those places and I sure got an eyeful! The first -unusual sight I remember was seeing a woman with a -black and swollen eye. And in most of those dives there -were women dealing faro bank and poker—and I was -fascinated with the names they went by. There was Big -Gussie, who was Bed Rock Tom’s common-law wife. -She was considered a very capable gambler and would -take and pay all bets as cool and calm as a bank -teller—and just as accurate.</p> - -<p>I used to admire those old characters. There was -Colorado Johnny, Tom Allen, Deaf Jimmie and several -others ... I have forgotten their names. Those men were -all faro dealers—and wore long whiskers ... and the -barbers sure got well paid to keep those whiskers in -perfect style—and the fine clothes and jewelry they wore -must have cost a small fortune.</p> - -<p>As I remember there was 28 legitimate faro banks -in town about that time, besides several questionable ones. -Those games had a limit in the amount you could bet on -the turn of a card, which was usually $12.50 and $25.00, -but one or two houses had $125.00 and $250.00 -limit—that means you can only bet the low limit where there -is only one card left in the deck to act. You can bet it to -win or lose. Most everybody played faro them -days—but I believe the Chinaman was the greatest gambler -of them all. About 11 o’clock at night was their favorite -time to start out to gamble. They would put on their -best clothes—which was the very finest of goods them -days—white socks, silk top shoes, and they would leave -Chinatown for the white man’s game. I have seen 25 of -them, dressed this way, one behind the other heading -for the faro game—and they sounded like a bunch of -geese honking to each other in their talk. They liked to -all get around one gambling table and if one of them -seemed to be lucky, the rest of them would follow him -with their bets. In fact, it seemed to be a kind of a system -they had—and often they would win several thousand -dollars in a night.</p> - -<p>While we were living in Deadwood, there was an old -man kept a little grocery store close to where we were -camped, and an old Irish woman kept a boarding house -nearby. It was hard to get white sugar most of the time, -and the people had to use brown sugar, which came in -barrels, and when the weather was damp and rainy that -sugar seemed to draw moisture and got quite heavy. And -each time the old lady got sugar she accused the old man -of putting water in it to make it weigh more. One morning -he saw her coming. He got a bucket of water and -was standing by the barrel when she walked in. She ran -up to him and stuck her first in his face and said, “I -caught you at last—I always knew you were watering -that sugar!” She didn’t make much fuss about it afterwards. -She seemed pleased to know she had caught him -and that her suspicions had proved to be right.</p> - -<p>After a few months in Deadwood my folks moved to -the little town of Galena, where Colonel Davey owned -the Sitting Bull mine, and my folks started a store and -boarding house and I went to school for a short time. -There was two Irishmen run a store there by the name -of McQuillian and Finnegan. They also had a cow ranch -about 75 miles east of Galena. Finnegan run the ranch, -McQuillian run the store. Finnegan used to come to -Galena sometimes on horseback. His saddle, chaps and -outfit was something wonderful to me—and his stories -of the range made me feel I wanted to be a cowboy. I -asked him for a job and he laughed at me, told me I was -too young. Also my folks wanted me to go to school.</p> - -<p>But the spirit of the wild country had got in my blood -and one day I run away from school and started for the -Finnegan Ranch, caught a ride when I could and walked -part of the way, but finally got there, and told Finnegan -I was going to stay. So he gave me a job close herding -some cows for breeding purposes. The first thing he -learned me was to read his brand which was “F M.” -There was thousands of brands on the range those days, -and I was supposed to keep all other brands of cattle -out of his bunch.</p> - -<p>The old man had several cowboys working for him, -but he was chief cook, bottle washer and boss. He used -to tell me he was the best cowboy of them all. But the -fact of the matter was he couldn’t do much of anything -in the way of a cowboy, and the men used to make fun -of him behind his back. But I learned pretty quick that -he liked to be swelled about what he could do and I sure -poured it to him, and he liked me fine. He used to tell -me what a fine cook he was—his cooking was rotten -and consisted of bacon and beans and sourdough bread. -I remember he had an old knotty pine log in front of -the cabin, and I don’t think he ever started to cook a -meal that he didn’t grab the axe and hit that old knotty -pine log a few licks. He never got any wood off of it, but -would try it every time, then throw the axe away, and -hunt up some chips, or anything else he could find to -start a fire. When he made bread, he had flour from his -eyebrows to his toes.</p> - -<p>In 1879 the country was sure wild. Deer, antelope, -buffalo and bear were very plentiful; very few white -people, but lots of Indians and some of them were still -on the warpath in them days; also quite a sprinkling of -road agents. I remember one old road agent named -Laughing Sam. He was very polite in his holdups. He -held up a freighter one time and all he had that Sam -wanted was chewing tobacco. The freighter begged Sam -to not take all his tobacco, as he could not get any more -until he got to Sidney, Nebraska, which was about 200 -miles, but Sam said he was sorry on account of the law -he could not go to Sidney, so took all of the tobacco.</p> - -<p>In those days everything was freighted from Fort -Pierre, South Dakota, and Sidney, Nebraska, to the Black -Hills by ox teams and mule teams. I have seen 27 ten-yoke -teams of oxen all in one outfit. At the head of this -caravan rode the wagon boss. He was quite a dandy in -those days—fancy saddle, boots and pearl handle -six-shooter. It was a great sight to see an outfit like that -moving across the country; with those men shouting at -their teams, whips popping and wagons rattling. It -sounded like a young army in action.</p> - -<p>The town of Deadwood was the terminal of all freight -and stage outfits, and as there was very little law and -order those days, it was sure a wild town. There was -another town about 20 miles before you got to Deadwood. -It was called Scooptown those days, but afterwards was -changed to the more dignified name of Sturgis, which it -still has today. I have seen that town at night full of -bull whackers, mule skinners, cowboys and soldiers, and -the dance halls going full blast—when I think back -at it today, it seems like a dream.</p> - -<p>I knew an old-time bull whacker. He went by the -name of Baltimore Bill. He got into a gun fight one night -in one of those dance halls. He got three fingers shot off, -but killed the other fellow. He was arrested for murder -and laid in jail for about a year pending his trial. He -was finally acquitted on the grounds of self-defense. I -worked with Bill afterwards and was well acquainted -with him. He said he had a very narrow escape from -hanging. He said when the “prosecutin’” attorney got -through making his plea to the jury, he felt he (Bill) was -the lowest human alive and deserved hanging, “but, oh -boy, when my attorney got through with my defense, I -was a damn good man!”</p> - -<p>Fort Meade was located three miles from Scooptown -and was occupied by colored soldiers, and a very noted -nigger ran a dance hall and gambling house in -Scooptown.</p> - -<p>One night some of those negro soldiers were drinking -in this house and got into a row with the proprietor, -whose name was Abe Hill, and he hit one of them on -the head with a bottle. A few nights after this, these -soldiers stole some guns and ammunition out of the Fort -and came in to shoot Abe Hill’s place up. There were -about twenty of them, and they raided that old dance -hall and in fact nearly all the town. There was a cowboy -in Abe’s place that night. His name was Bob Bell and he -didn’t know what all the noise was about. He stepped -from the gambling part into the dance hall, thinking it -was a little celebration and was shot four or five times. -Poor Bob never knew what hit him.</p> - -<p>I was in town that night, and when the shooting -began I ran back off the main street, but bullets seemed -to be hitting all around me. The first thing I came to that -looked like protection was a wagon with a mule tied to it. -I ducked under the wagon—but between the bullets -hitting the wagon and that old mule bucking on the end -of the halter, I put in a quarter of an hour very -uncomfortable. But the mule and myself escaped unhurt.</p> - -<p>Part of that regiment of negro soldiers were afterwards -transferred to Wyoming to stop a war that broke -out between the stock men and cattle rustlers, and they -pulled off another job about like they did in Scooptown.</p> - -<p>There was a little town established at the end of the -Burlington Railroad on Powder River. It was named -Sugs. The town consisted mostly of saloons and the sporting -element. Those negro soldiers got into some difficulty -with some of the citizens of the town and decided to have -revenge. They were camped a little ways outside of Sugs -in tents. So one night they stole some ammunition and -guns like they had done before at Scooptown, and started -in to town to shoot it up.</p> - -<p>It was quite a dark night and the only lights the -town had was coal oil lamps. The town had about 500 -population and one street. Those soldiers lined up at -the end of the street and started shooting at every -building, tent, or any form they saw, and everybody that -could run for cover—in half finished cellars, out houses -or any hole they could get into.</p> - -<p>There was an old man there—(he was a Jew)—who -had started a little hardware store, and had a few -dish pans hung on the wall of his tent store, and about -the first bullet that hit anything of consequence was those -dish pans. They were hung one on top of another, and -the bullet went through all of them. And while everyone -was running for cover the Jew saw his pans wrecked. He -stopped right there and said, “Oh my God, look at what -they have done to my hardware.”</p> - -<p>Now there was two cattle rustlers came to town that -night, making their get-away, headed north, and had put -their horses away, and got a room in the only hotel in -town, which was at the opposite end from where the -soldiers entered. Those men had gone to bed and when -they heard the shooting they thought it was a posse after -them, and as they didn’t have time to get to their horses, -they decided to put up a fight. They both had Winchesters. -They put all their bullets in their hats, came out -of the hotel, and laid down in the middle of the street, -and when they saw this body of soldiers moving their way -shooting everywhere, they opened fire on them. I believe -they killed three of those negro soldiers and wounded -several more. It became so hot for the soldiers they broke -and run. Meantime the officer at the Post had heard of -the trouble, ordered out his whole force, and came riding -into town and demanded law and order. It was quite a -while before the officer could be made to understand his -own men had caused all the excitement, as he did not -know they had stolen away.</p> - -<h2 id='ch03' class='d021'>CHAPTER III<br/>I START TO PUNCH COWS</h2> - -<p>In the year of 1885 I got my first job as a real cowboy. -I went to work for the “7D” outfit on the Belle Fouche -River in the Black Hills night herding horses on the -roundup. There was twenty outfits working together and -there was about 300 riders—that was more cowboys -than I ever saw hi one bunch before, or since. Also there -was more grass and water that spring than I ever saw -since that time and the range was open for a thousand -miles in every direction and the country was just alive -with cattle and it was not unusual to work and handle -5,000 cattle in one day.</p> - -<p>Each outfit had from 150 to 200 saddle horses and -from 15 to 30 cowboys. Each outfit had a grub-wagon -and a bedwagon, four horses to each wagon. Each outfit -had a day horse wrangler and a night wrangler and a -cook. When we moved camp, the night wrangler drove -the bedwagon to haul the cowboys’ beds. We didn’t -have any stoves or tents those days. The cook’s outfit -consisted of Dutch ovens, iron pots and coffee pot and -boy, what a meal them old cooks could set up!</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1886 I helped to gather and take a -herd of cattle from the Black Hills to Miles City, Montana. -The cattle belonged to a Jew by the name of Strauss -and he owned the “54” Ranch on a creek named Mizpah—I -don’t know where that creek got its name, but it -must mean alkali, for the water there would take the skin -off your lips and was equal to any dose of Epsom salts -that anyone ever took.</p> - -<p>Mr. Strauss lived in Milwaukee and had been on the -ranch about a week when we arrived, and the weather -was very warm and he drank plenty of that water. So -one day about noon he told his foreman there was something -seriously wrong with him and he had to go to -Milwaukee at once. He had black whiskers and I think -that water was so bad it even had an effect on his -whiskers. He looked so bad he scared me.</p> - -<p>So I told the boss I would quit and went with them -to the railroad—they had to go to Miles City for the -Jew to get a train to Milwaukee. So I went with them, -which was about 50 miles. We made a night drive in -a buckboard.</p> - -<p>There was a road ranch about half way and the old -man kept telling the foreman when we got there he would -be O.K. as the lady who owned the place served nice -cold milk and that was what his stomach was craving. -We got there about midnight and woke the people up to -get some milk for the old man. The lady sent her boy -down cellar for the milk. There was a skunk in the cellar. -He killed the skunk and brought the milk up to the -dining room. When that old man took one swallow of -that milk he stopped and his eyes set in his head. I -thought he had a stroke.</p> - -<p>He said, “Lady, I believe the animal has been in -the milk.”</p> - -<p>We got to Miles City the next day and I never saw -the old man again but hope he found some milk that was -not tainted with the perfume of the skunk.</p> - -<p>I remember my first experience as a bullwhacker—that -was what they named a driver the days when they -hauled freight with cattle and mule teams.</p> - -<p>When I quit the “54” outfit and went to Miles City, -I proceeded to counteract that bad water on Mizpah -Creek with Miles City whiskey and the results were so -pleasant I stayed until I was broke and sold my saddle, -and when I could not get anymore of Miles City joy -juice I got in a box car one night on a train going West -and landed at Ouster Junction on the Yellowstone River -in Montana—that was where freight was unloaded and -hauled to Fort Custer and some parts in Wyoming.</p> - -<p>The first outfit I found was loading for Wyoming -and was owned by a man by the name of Bill Marsh. -He had two teams (10-yoke of Texas steers to the team) -and was loaded with whiskey—I have forgotten how -many barrels but they usually hauled 9,000 pounds to -the team. I asked Marsh if he wanted a man. He asked -me if I was a bullwhacker. I told him yes, and he -hired me.</p> - -<p>Now I never had put a yoke on a steer in my life, or -drove one, but I wanted a job, so he showed me the right-hand -leader, which is the first steer to be yoked. Now the -way to yoke a steer is to put the yoke on your shoulder -and walk up to him. The cattle were used to that way, -but I took the yoke in my arms, and walked up to the -steer. He took one look at me, jumped up in the air, -kicked me in the stomach, knocked me down with the -yoke on top of me and run off. The boss was looking at -the performance and said he better help me hitch up.</p> - -<p>We rolled about 10 miles that day and my team just -simply followed the boss’ team and done about as they -pleased. They certainly knew I was a tenderfoot as a -bullwhacker.</p> - -<p>That night I was pretty badly discouraged when we -camped and I told the boss the truth that I had never -drove oxen before but I was broke and had to have work. -He said I need not tell him anything as he knew when I -tried to yoke that first steer that I was not a bullwhacker.</p> - -<p>It has always been a mystery to me about those steers—how -well they knew me—after about a week on the -trail they wouldn’t pull your hat off for me. I know the -boss would have fired me but we were crossing the Crow -Indian Reservation and we didn’t see a white man for -a hundred and fifty miles, so he had to put up with me. -At that I don’t think he suffered anymore than I did, -because my team done just about as they pleased most -of the time.</p> - -<p>I recall one day we were pulling what they called -the Lodge Grass Hill on the Little Horn River and it -was very steep and scarcely any road at all. The boss and -his team had pulled the hill and got over the top out of -sight of me. My team stopped on the hill and refused -to start. I will never forget my near wheeler—I was -whipping and hollering at the rest of the cattle trying to -start the load—I happened to look at him. He had the -yoke up on his horns and his eyes bulged out like he was -pulling his best, but the fact of the matter was he was -holding back. It looked like he was just fooling me. -Finally the boss came back to see what was the matter. -I told him I was stuck and the cattle couldn’t pull -the load.</p> - -<p>Now Bill was a real bullwhacker and those steers -knew it. He give one yell at those cattle and the three -wagons began to move; in fact they went so fast I could -hardly keep up with them and it looked like that old -steer that had been fooling me pulled half the load -himself.</p> - -<p>We used whips, with the lash about 20 feet long and -the handle about 5 feet. Those old bullwhackers could -pick a fly off any steer anywhere in the team, and when -they hit a steer it sounded like a six-shooter had went -off—that was something I never learned. They could hit -a steer with their whips and make a loud noise and not -cut him. Every time I hit one I cut his hide. The boss -used to give me hell about that but I would have used -an axe if I had one when I got stuck.</p> - -<p>When we had been on the road several days we lost -a work steer and it broke up my team.</p> - -<p>While the boss was out on the range looking for the -steer, a young buck Indian came into camp, riding a -pretty good-looking horse. He could talk a little English -and I could talk some Indian. I made him understand -we had lost a steer and asked him if he would go and -look for it. But he wanted money and I didn’t have -any ... but we had six wagon loads of whiskey and I knew -Indians liked whiskey. They called it fire water—Minnie -Kavea. The people we were hauling it for allowed us to -drink what we wanted, the only proviso was not to put -any water in the barrel after we drew the whiskey out, -so I asked the Indian if he would hunt for the steer if I -gave him a drink. His face immediately became all smiles -and he made signs if I would give him a big drink that -it would be a bargain.</p> - -<p>I went to the grub box, got a pint tin cup and filled -it for him. He drank it like water. He made signs that I -was his brother and he loved me and he would find the -steer right away.</p> - -<p>I think he was gone about half an hour when he came -back. His eyes were glassy and he was slobbering at the -mouth but very happy. He said. “Me no see cow.” He -made me understand the fire water was very fine and -wanted some more. I gave him another cupful.</p> - -<p>He started away singing, to hunt the steer again. He -was riding bareback and was leaning pretty much to one -side. He went about 50 yards and fell off. When he hit -the ground, he completely passed out.</p> - -<p>About that time the boss got into camp with the lost -steer. When he found out what I had done he said, “My -God, kid, you will have us both in the pen for giving -whiskey to Indians. Yoke up your cattle quick and we will -get out of here.” We left him lay where he was. I’ll bet -he was a sick Indian when he woke up.</p> - -<p>The boss sure was mad about it at the time, but had a -big laugh over it afterwards.</p> - -<p>We were six weeks making that trip, and I was a -fairly good freighter by that time, but it wasn’t a very -good job for a cowboy, as I had to walk too much.</p> - -<h2 id='ch04' class='d021'>CHAPTER IV<br/>WITH THE RL OUTFIT</h2> - -<p>In the spring of 1887 I went to work for the “RL” -outfit located on the Musselshell River in Montana. The -outfit belonged to the Ryan Brothers of Kansas City. -They run about 25,000 head of cattle, and run three -wagons and worked about 20 men to each wagon, and -had about 500 head of saddle horses.</p> - -<p>That year they had a contract with the government -to supply the Sioux Indians with 5,000 beef cattle. We -gathered the first herd of 2,500 and trailed them to -landing Rock Agency on the Missouri River in North -Dakota. We were about four months on the trail and I -don’t remember of seeing one wire fence or farming -ranch on the trip.</p> - -<p>We swam those cattle across the Yellowstone River -east of Miles City. We were four days trying to get those -cattle across. It was in the month of June and at the time -of high water—the river was bank full and at least a -quarter of a mile wide. We tried every way anybody had -ever heard of to get those cattle to take that water. We -would bring them to the river every day and fight them -all day, but it was no go. We would then drive them -back from the river and night herd them and try again -the next day. Finally we decided to hold them off water -for twenty-four hours, and then drove them all into the -river at once. It worked. It was sure some sight, the -2,500 head all swimming at once.</p> - -<p>We had a wonderful trip after that. We only -moved them about eight or ten miles a day and with -plenty grass and water they got very fat. It was the -custom them days to butcher a calf on anybody’s range, -so we had plenty good meat.</p> - -<p>When we arrived at the end of our journey, we had -to herd those cattle for about three months, as we only -delivered 250 head a week. We held them about twenty -miles from the Agency, and each week we cut out the -fattest ones and took them to the Agency. After we had -been there about a week all the cowboys quit and went -back to Montana, which only left the boss, the cook and -myself with 2,500 cattle to hold, and as there was no -white men in that part of the country, the boss had to -hire some Indians to help hold the cattle. Those Indians -could not understand one word of English and we -couldn’t talk much Indian, so we were in a pretty bad fix.</p> - -<p>Our horses didn’t like the smell of the Indian, and -they persisted in getting on on the right-hand side, and, -of course, our horses objected to that. They all wore -moccasins and they would put their foot so far through -the stirrup when a horse got scared when they were -getting on and they would fall down and their foot would -hang in the stirrup, so the boss and myself put in most -of our time catching loose horses.</p> - -<p>One day a steamboat came up the Missouri River -and it blowed the whistle. Now those cattle had never -heard a steamboat whistle before. They were scattered -over an area of about four miles feeding. It sure scared -them. They first run together all in one bunch, and we -might have checked them but those Indians got excited -and scared them worse than ever. One Indian was -running his horse pretty close to the lead of the cattle -and giving war whoops, and his horse fell down and -throwed him right in among the cattle. I sure thought he -was killed and hoped he was, but he never got a scratch. -After we got the cattle stopped, he made signs that he -enjoyed it very much, as it reminded him of hunting -buffalo.</p> - -<p>All cattlemen know that cattle do not get over a scare -like that very soon, and those were all longhorned Texas -steers and would scare of their own shadow, and when -one jumped they all went. So that night when we put -them on the bed-ground, the boss wouldn’t put the -Indians on night guard as he knew they would scare them -for sure. So he put me on first guard, and he brought his -bed and night horse out to the herd so he would be close -if anything happened. He staked his horse and went -to bed.</p> - -<p>I was riding around the herd and they all seemed to -be settled down fine, when all at once, quick as you could -snap your finger, they were all running. It was very dark -and it sounded like thunder when that herd stampeded. -I was badly scared and I tried to stay in the lead of them -as much as I could, but they would swing first one way -and then another. I think they run about three miles, -when something came out of the herd right longside of -me. I knew it wasn’t a steer. It made a different noise -from anything else that I had heard. I thought it was a -ghost, and I pretty near fainted. It was the boss’ horse -dragging the stake rope and the stirrups and saddle -a-popping that scared the cattle and me, too. The horse -had pulled his stake pin and stampeded the herd. After -this ghost had disappeared, I got the cattle stopped but -I still didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know where I -was or where camp was, so I tried to sing and talk to -the cattle and wait for help. Some of them began to bawl -and I knew that was a good sign, as cattle will not scare -so bad when some of them are bawling. In about an hour -I heard the boss whistling and coming my way. He had -walked to camp and got another horse, and come hunting -me. He stayed the rest of the night with me. Luckily -we had not lost any of them, as they all stayed together, -but there was a lot of broken horns and lame cattle, as -they had piled up several times in the run.</p> - -<p>For several days those cattle were very nervous and -we had considerable trouble watering them. A steer -would see a little rock or a piece of grass that didn’t look -just right—he would jump and away they would all go.</p> - -<p>After about a month the other herd came and we -had more cowboys. We were all right then as we had -plenty of help, and began delivering beef to the Indians.</p> - -<p>I remember one delivery we made, the boss sent me -with a pack outfit and my orders were to camp about -halfway of the twenty miles we had to go and make -coffee for the cowboys that were bringing the cattle. -It was raining that day, and as we were on the Indian -reservation there was very little wood to build a fire -with, so when I got to the place I was to camp everything -was wet and nothing to make a fire with. I saw a pine -box about two feet long in a cottonwood tree. I got it -down and broke it up and inside of it were a few dried -bones and a few pieces of red flannel. It was an Indian -papoose grave—that was the way they buried their -dead. I dumped the bones out and made a fire out of -the box.</p> - -<p>Old man Ryan, one of the owners of the cattle, was -with us that day, and came ahead of the cattle to get -some coffee. When he seen I had coffee made, he was -very pleased, and told me I was a great boy. But when -he went to pour out his coffee, he spied those bones. He -asked me what they were, and when I told him he nearly -fainted, and would not touch the coffee. But it didn’t -affect those hungry cowboys when they got there; they -told me I was wonderful, but the old gentleman said I -was simply terrible. The old man was a very devout -Catholic and said I would surely go to Hell when I died.</p> - -<p>We would put those cattle in the government corral -and an army officer would just look them over and accept -them. They didn’t weigh them, but bought them so -much a head.</p> - -<p>After the inspector passed on them, they would call -five or six Indians with their rifles. They would get up -on the corral fence and shoot every one of them before -they touched one. Then the army officer would take so -many Indian families to each steer and let them divide -it up. There was three tribes there, with a chief at the -head of each tribe. I don’t know how many Indians was in each -tribe but it looked like about 3,000 Indians—all Siouxs.</p> - -<p>In about two hours there wouldn’t even be a tail of -a steer left. Each family took their portion and went to -their different camp grounds.</p> - -<p>Those three chiefs’ names were Sitting Bull, Rain -in the Face, and Gall—the latter two looked like old -seasoned warriors, both had been wounded in battle -several times. Sitting Bull was a younger man and looked -like he had some white blood in his veins.</p> - -<p>The old time Indians claimed Sitting Bull was not -the great warrior that he got credit for and that he did -not plan the massacre of General Custer and that Rain -in the Face was the great man in that battle.</p> - -<p>Every time those steers were shot down in the corral, -before any beef was divided, Rain in the Face made a -speech—I don’t know what it was about, but the roar -of applause was terrific.</p> - -<p>That fall when we got the beef all delivered, we took -the saddle horses to Mandan, North Dakota, on the -Northern Pacific Railroad and shipped them back to -Montana.</p> - -<p>The cowboys went by passenger train. Those cowboys -had been on the Indian reservation all summer and could -not get any refreshments, and as they had all their wages -they made Mandan a lively town for a Hay and a night. -There was about twenty of them, and it was some job -getting them cowboys loaded on that train, and after we -got started it took the train crew all their time to keep -them straight.</p> - -<p>Them days they heated the chair cars with a coal -heating stove. One old cowboy got a raw steak out of -the diner, and before the conductor knew it he was -cooking it on top of the stove and the car was full of -smoke. The conductor took it away from him and -throwed it out of the car and gave the old man hell. The -old man was very mad and told the conductor he didn’t -know nothing, as that was the proper way to cook a steak.</p> - -<p>Another fellow bought a suit of clothes in Mandan -and decided to change clothes in the parlor car. He got -into quite a dispute with the train crew, but finally got -his new suit on. He said they were too damn particular -about riding on trains.</p> - -<p>We were all at the RL ranch one afternoon ready to -start on the spring roundup next morning. We saw a -rider coming very fast. When he rode in we all knew -him. His name was George Shepord. His horse was all -sweat and about winded.</p> - -<p>Someone said, “Hello, George. What is the matter?” -He set on his horse and didn’t say anything for about a -minute—then he said, “I killed John Matt about two -hours ago.”</p> - -<p>John run a saloon at what was known at that time as -Musselshell Crossing, a stage station.</p> - -<p>George’s story was that him and Matt were playing -poker single-handed that day and got into a dispute over -a pot. George said Matt tried to steal a twenty dollar -gold piece out of the pot. They got in an argument over -it. They both had guns (all cowboys wore guns those -days)—Matt reached for his gun but George beat him -to it and killed him right there at the poker table.</p> - -<p>George got on his horse and came to where we were -and the boss notified the Sheriff. The boss knew George -very well and liked him very much, so he took George -to a big patch of brush down the river and hid him out -until things got cleared up and the boss detailed one of -the cowboys to carry food to him.</p> - -<p>George was very desperate at first and would not -agree to give himself up—so the sign agreed on between -George and the other boy was that the cowboy was to -whistle When he came near the brush patch. This boy -told me afterwards he would begin whistling a mile -before he got to the brush patch, and when he got there -he would be so damn nervous he couldn’t whistle at all.</p> - -<p>Finally the boss got George to give himself up and -the fact that no one saw the shooting and George’s testimony -was all there was, he got clear on the grounds of -self-defense.</p> - -<p>It’s a strange coincidence, but I worked with another -fellow that killed a man the year before in Gold Butte, -Montana, and he and George worked together for the -RL outfit. His name was Frank McPartland—and they -were both the quietest and mild-mannered men in the -outfit. So as the old saying goes: “You can’t tell how far -the frog can jump by looking at him.”</p> - -<p>Frank and his partner were wintering in a cabin in -Gold Butte and got into a fight over a gallon of whiskey -they had—anyway that was what started the fight. Gold -Butte was about two days’ ride to Fort Benton, which was -the county seat and the nearest place to get in touch -with an officer.</p> - -<p>Frank stayed with the corpse and sent a neighbor -after the sheriff and coroner. When they arrived they had -to stay all night in the cabin and when it came time to -go to bed there were only two bunks. Frank gave one to -the sheriff and coroner. They asked him where he was -going to sleep. He said with his partner. He said, “I -slept with him when he was alive—I don’t see why I -shouldn’t now.”</p> - -<p>Frank was in jail for about a year and as Gold Butte -was at that time an Indian reservation, he had to be tried -in the Federal Court which was at Fort Keogh near -Miles City.</p> - -<p>He got free, too, from the fact nobody saw the killing -but him.</p> - -<p>When I worked for the RL outfit, we used to work -along the Yellowstone River. There was one place where -there was quite a little settlement of farmers. The place -was known as Pease Bottom. We always camped a couple -of days right on the edge of the Bottom.</p> - -<p>My memory of it is the whole female population of -the Bottom was two girls, a widow and a married lady.</p> - -<p>Always the day before we made this camp the cowboys -shined their spurs and bridles and put on clean shirts -(if they had one) as they knew all the lady folks would -be at the roundup and boy, what a show those forty or -fifty cowboys would put on for those four or five ladies. -If a cowboy’s horse didn’t buck, he would make him -buck. If no cattle broke out of the roundup, some fellow -would cut one out and take it around and around in front -of the ladies. Of course, the ladies applauded us all—and -we didn’t know who was the favorite but, of course, -each one thought in his own mind he was the best.</p> - -<p>Every year when we camped and worked the country -close to Pease Bottom it was understood by everybody -that we would have a dance at night in some one of the -farmers’ houses, as the people in this little valley really -enjoyed those events just as much as we did.</p> - -<p>Our cook played the banjo and a mouth harp, both -of which he always carried with him. He had a kind of -a frame fixed around his head so he could play them -both at once. He only played two or three tunes, such as -“Turkey-in-the-Straw,” “Hell Among the Yearlings” -(which was a cowboy title) and maybe a waltz or two, -but those pieces answered the purpose for all dances.</p> - -<p>We danced mostly quadrilles, I remember, and one -time some stranger happened to be at one of those dances -and he asked the cook to play some dance tune that he -never heard of and it came near to causing a riot, as -that was one thing the cook prided himself on—that he -knew and could play any tune that anyone asked for, -regardless of how difficult. So he played “Buffalo Girls,” -or some other old-timer. The fellow said that it was not -the tune he asked for and it started a hot argument right -now. We all said the cook was right and the stranger -didn’t know what he was talking about. Of course, we -didn’t know anything about music, but we did know we -had to stand by the cook, as he was the only musician -we had. He wouldn’t stand for any criticism of his music -and would quit playing and break up the dance.</p> - -<p>In those days the foreman of an outfit wore better -clothes and rode a better rig than the average cowboy -and really was in a class by himself, so when we went to -those dances he was usually more popular than the regular -cowboy, and was often shown favors among the girls. -In fact, we would have to take another fellow for a -partner instead of a girl sometimes—the ladies was so -scarce.</p> - -<p>I recall what seems to me to be very amusing now. -There was a school teacher at one of those Pease Bottom -dances and she was a great favorite with everybody and -every cowboy tried to pick her for a partner, if possible. -The floor manager had called a dance with “Ladies’ -Choice.” I heard that call and figured I was out for that -dance—and took a big chew of tobacco—when to my -surprise this little lady stepped up to me and asked me -for that dance. Now I had no chance to get rid of that -chew and rather than let this little queen know I chewed -tobacco or lose that dance, I swallowed the whole works, -tobacco juice and all.</p> - -<p>It is hard to imagine the high regard and respect -we had for those good women of that day, as we saw so -few of them—and as I know good women appreciate -those things, I believe they liked us and valued our -friendship. Why I have known some old hard-faced -cowpuncher that had a grouch about something and -when one of those women would give him some little -attention his face would soften up until you couldn’t tell -it from the face of the Virgin Mary.</p> - -<h2 id='ch05' class='d021'>CHAPTER V<br/>WITH THE TL OUTFIT IN THE BEAR PAWS</h2> - -<p>For a good many years there was a section of the -country along the Canadian border and the Milk River -that the cattlemen thought was no good for cattle—but -in the late eighties and early nineties they discovered -that it was a much better cattle country than the Missouri -and Yellowstone country as it produced a buffalo-grass -that I think had no equal for fattening cattle. It -was a short grass, but had plenty of fattening qualities, -especially in the Sweet Grass Hills area. I have seen -steers so fat we could hardly drive them into the -roundups.</p> - -<p>So nearly all the Judith Basin and Moccasin outfits -moved into that country. They had to swim all their -herds across the Missouri River and it was between a -quarter and a half mile wide and swimming water from -bank to bank.</p> - -<p>Most of the herds were crossed at a place called -Judith Landing, an old steamboat landing in the early -days. It was afterwards named Claggot.</p> - -<p>There was a man by the name of Bill Norris who had -a store and saloon there, and for a few years, while these -herds were crossing, he reaped a rich harvest off the -cowboys. Charlie Russell helped swim some of those -herds and he told me he believed Bill made his own -whiskey and must have made it especially for swimming -cattle, as when a cowboy got about three drinks of that -whiskey the Missouri River looked like a very small -creek. It made him plenty brave. There must have been -some truth in what Charlie said, as I cannot recall where -one cowboy was drowned.</p> - -<p>I went over to that country about the spring of 1890 -and went to work for the TL outfit, which belonged to -McNamar and Broadwater. They had a ranch in the -Bear Paw Mountains.</p> - -<p>When I went to the ranch and asked for work, the -boss said it was too early in the spring to hire any men -as the roundup wouldn’t start for a long time, but would -hire a bronc rider if he could get a good one. Now I -had rode broncs and rough strings (which is spoiled -horses) for several years and had no fear of any horse -and had a good opinion of myself. So I told him I was -sure a bronc rider. Now I had wintered pretty hard that -winter as I had lived in town and had sold everything -I had in the way of a good rig and looked pretty seedy. -They had four or five steady men on the ranch. I didn’t -know any of them, and as I didn’t have any boots, only -a cheap pair of shoes, one spur and an old rattle-trap -saddle, they didn’t think I looked like a bronc fighter. -Anyway the boss took a chance and hired me.</p> - -<p>The next day he had the men run in the saddle -bunch to pick out some horses to ride to gather those -colts I was to break that ranged down in the Badlands. -He looked the bunch over quite a while, as he said he -wanted to find a good strong horse for me. He finally -found him. I remember his name yet—it was “Humpy,” -a very pretty horse. He said, “This fellow might hump -up a little but that is all. He is a good horse.”</p> - -<p>I told him I didn’t mind that; in fact I was in hopes -he would do something, as I had an idea they didn’t -rate me very high. Anyway I mounted Humpy—and -about that time they turned the loose horses out of the -corral. Humpy wanted to go with them. I gave him a -pull and down went his head. I hit him with my hat -and took a rake at him with that one spur. The next -thing I knew I was on the ground about ten feet in front -of him, but I held to my hackamore rope. He didn’t -get away from me.</p> - -<p>When I got up and looked around everything was as -silent as a graveyard. Those men and the boss were -sitting on their horses looking at each other with a grin -on their faces, that I couldn’t tell whether it was pity or -disgust and, of course, I had no alibi. I got back on -Humpy and took another rake at him and he galloped -off as nice as you please.</p> - -<p>We had about two miles to ride to the house. Nobody -said anything, only the boss. He said he was afraid some -of them colts would buck harder than Humpy did. I -didn’t answer him.</p> - -<p>But before we got ready to gather those colts, somebody -brought a horse to the ranch that the outfit had -sold to a livery stable in Big Sandy for a buggy horse. -I found out afterwards that the reason was nobody could -ride him. He had a wide reputation and was known as -S.Y. (from his brand) all over the country. The weather -being bad when they sold him on trial to the livery stable -they didn’t hitch him up for about a month and had fed -him grain all that time. So when they did try him out -he kicked the buggy all to pieces and ran away. So they -sent him home, as they didn’t want him. He was a -beautiful horse, weighed about 1150 and built like a -greyhound, and I was itching to tie into S.Y., as I knew -my standing was bad, and I asked the boss to let me -try him out. He told me it would be useless, as one of the -best riders in the state had given that horse up as a bad -job. Then I kidded him and told him I didn’t think the -horse could buck at all, was just a plow horse. Anyway -I rode S.Y. and as I knew I had to make good, I -scratched him everywhere I could reach him and, of -course, I was made from then on. I never rode him -again and I know I was lucky that day, as that horse -had throwed better riders than I ever was.</p> - -<p>I broke about thirty head of colts for the outfit before -I quit the job.</p> - -<p>When I was young I never stayed anywhere very -long. If I didn’t get fired, I would quit and in the winter -time I liked to live in town, so when spring came and -time to go to work, I was always broke. No saddle, no -boots, no nothing. If possible I would hunt Charlie Russell -up for help. I used to think up a pretty good hard -luck tale to tell him. But before I got started he would -laugh and say, “What do you need now?” Charlie didn’t -always have money either, but had good credit and -could always get anything he wanted. Indians, cowboys, -gamblers, everybody borrowed off Charlie and I don’t -know if they all paid him back or not—if they didn’t -Charlie would never tell it to anyone.</p> - -<p>I have often wondered if horses go crazy like humans. -The reason I say this is that while I was breaking horses -for the TL outfit, they had a fine imported stallion—paid -three thousand dollars for him. They had an old -man taking care of him. His name was Cayouse George. -He knew stallions thoroughly, had done that kind of -work for several years. This horse had always been gentle -as a lamb. He had him in a box stall loose. He used to -go in there and feed and curry him and lead him to -water. One day two men were stacking hay outside the -barn, when they heard a terrible racket inside. They ran -in there and the horse had George by the side with his -teeth and was throwing him up and down, trying to -get him under his feet. One of the boys hit him on the -head with a club and they dragged George outside. -Meantime that horse roared like a lion.</p> - -<p>They sent George to town to be doctored.</p> - -<p>The next morning the boss told me to water the -stallion. He said, “Just take his bridle to the box stall. -Hold it up. He will take the bit and lead him to water.” -I did as he told me, but I had a forty-five Colt in my -bed. I went and got that first, filled it full of bullets and -cocked it. I held the bridle up for the stallion to take -with one hand and held the gun with the other, and -kept that position until he was watered and back in -the stall.</p> - -<p>A few mornings later the boss came out when I was -watering him. He looked me and the stud over and told -me I needn’t water him anymore, which pleased me -very much. I believe if he had even winked at me I -would have killed him, as I was deathly afraid of him. -They carried water to him for a while, then hitched him -in a four horse team and started to town. He died on -the way—being soft, they overworked him.</p> - -<h2 id='ch06' class='d021'>CHAPTER VI<br/>LINE RIDING WITH THE MOUNTED POLICE</h2> - -<p>A few years after the big outfits moved their herds to -the Milk River country, cattle got very thick along the -Canadian line and as there was no fences anywhere the -cattle would naturally drift into Canada and they could -go hundreds of miles without anything to stop them on -the finest kind of grass, which was fine for the Montana -cattlemen.</p> - -<p>But there were some Canadian cow ranches started -(mostly Americans) and a contention started about so -many American cattle coming into Canada without duty -being paid on them. So there was a kind of a gentleman’s -agreement made between the Montana cattlemen and -the police captain of the Alberta Division that the -cattlemen would put line riders at all the police camps, which -was twenty to forty miles apart, and keep all cattle out -of Canada which, of course, was just a joke, as I was one -of those line riders for two years.</p> - -<p>My orders were to kill all the good beef the Mounties -could eat and have them write a report that read something -like the following: “American cowboy rode 15 -miles in Western direction. No American cattle seen. -Policeman Smith rode 15 miles in Eastern direction. No -American cattle in sight.” Those reports went to Ottawa, -Canadian headquarters twice a week.</p> - -<p>I was always under the impression the Captain of -the Alberta Division was getting his right hand greased -by the cattlemen.</p> - -<p>I recall an amusing thing that happened. A report -leaked through to Ottawa that those reports were not -all true, so the Canadian government sent a special army -officer out there to investigate.</p> - -<p>I was at Police Camp named Writing on Stone the -evening he arrived with an escort on horseback. They -had rode the trail from the railroad station and it being -a cool evening and the cattle out grazing, he saw -thousands of American cattle on his way.</p> - -<p>The next day the old boy got all his regimental -regalia with his escort and a tally man together and -started out to make a tally and a report on those cattle. -Now it turned out to be a very hot day and when he -got on the ground, there wasn’t a cow to be seen, as the -cattle had all drifted back into the big bend of the Milk -River to water and as the Captain would be lost if he -got a mile off the trail (and those cattle had went about -10 miles) he was stuck. On his way back to the railroad, -he met my partner who was staying at another police -camp. He said, “I say, Cowboy, where are all those cattle -I saw last evening on this trail?” This fellow was a Texan -and had quite a sense of humor. He said, “Damned if -I know, Captain. I think they saw your hole card and -all went back to Montana.” Of course the Captain didn’t -understand that kind of language. But we didn’t hear -anymore from him. I don’t know what report he made—but -the cattle continued to graze on Canadian soil -for several years afterwards.</p> - -<p>It was pretty soft for those cattlemen of those days. -Every year two or three big outfits would pool together -and take thirty or forty men, a big band of saddle horses, -chuck and bed wagons, and go to the Port of Entry on -the Canadian line. There they would report that they -were going into Canada to gather and take all American -cattle out of Canada which, of course, sounded good to -the Canadian government.</p> - -<p>Now, what they would do was go into Canada and -work for several weeks and roundup all the American -cattle they could find and bring them out to Montana -and report the same just like they did when they went -in. They would take them about three or four miles -across the line into Montana—several thousand head—then -they would brand the calves, cut out the beef -cattle that was fit to ship—and then turn the main -herd loose right there and, of course, in a couple of days -those cattle would all be back in Canada, and nothing -to bother about for another year.</p> - -<p>Of course, it didn’t do any harm to anyone as the -grass was going to waste and somebody should get benefit -out of it. The amusing part about it was that my job was -to keep all American cattle from crossing the line and to -have all or as many as possible to drift across. But the -Mounted Police and I got along fine. I butchered the -finest beef I could find and that was all they wanted or -cared about and didn’t question how many American -cattle came into Canada.</p> - -<p>I sure had a lot of fun with those policemen. A great -many of them came right out of the city of London, -England, and knew nothing about the West or -Western ways.</p> - -<p>While I was there the Mounted Police force bought -a bunch of horses from a big horse outfit for the police -to ride to patrol the line. Those horses had been broke -by cowboys that rode and handled horses much different -from the regimental way and the policemen had a great -deal of trouble with some of those horses. There was -one horse brought to a police station on Milk River that -they could not ride and in order to get rid of him there -had to be made a very lengthy report. I read that report -and it covered a whole sheet of paper. It went into -details as to his disposition, how he had bucked off several -policemen, giving the name of each man, and pictured -the horse as a regular man-eater. At any rate it took -about a month to get this horse condemned. Then they -detailed an army officer and a policeman to go and -bring this horse to army headquarters, which was 100 -miles. They stayed over night at Writing on Stone where -I was at that time. I tried to get the officer to give me -five dollars to ride the horse. He said he could not do -that but would like very much to see him rode. So I -rode him. He was a very nice horse and as far as bucking, -he didn’t jump two feet off the ground. A lady could -have rode him.</p> - -<p>I joked the officer about the horse and he said the -main objection was no one could mount him in regimental way. -My description of the regimental way of -getting on would be to fall on, instead of getting on and, -of course, the horse didn’t savvy that. I tried to buy the -horse, but they couldn’t sell him until he had went -through the form of being condemned, which was surely -some red tape.</p> - -<p>Charlie Russell spent one summer in Canada and -told me a funny experience he had. There was an old -retired army captain up in northern Canada who went -into the cattle business and had occasion to swim a bunch -of cattle across quite a large river. He tried for several -days and in different ways to make those cattle cross the -stream but couldn’t make it work.</p> - -<p>So he built some blinds made out of green rawhide -stretched on frames and put them on the river bank where -the cattle were to cross and put a man behind each blind. -So when the cowboys drove the cattle to the edge of the -river and the captain got his position he gave the command, -“Men behind rawhide—charge!” which they -did. Now one can imagine those wild cattle when a lot -of men charged in among them on foot. They stampeded -and went to the hills and the captain had a hard time -gathering them and getting them back to the river, and -he immediately removed the blinds, as the cattle would -not work the regimental way.</p> - -<p>That is something I never found out about cattle—you -may try for days to get cattle to take swimming -water and use every means that you can think of and -they will not go. Then some other day they will walk -right into the water without any trouble.</p> - -<p>Another thing in the old days a cowman weaned his -calves. The range cow would wean it herself and when -I was ranching in a small way I would wean the calves -and keep them away from the cows for months, and some -of them would go back to the mothers and when the -cow would have a calf the next year she would leave the -young calf and take up with the yearling. I have had -cows that would nurse a steer sometimes until he was -three years old and bigger than she was. My guess is -that nobody knows these secrets but the cows themselves.</p> - -<p>I believe cows has different ideas just like cowboys -have. I worked for an outfit one time and the boss sent -two of us out together to hunt some saddle horses we had -lost on the roundup. We had a pack horse, bedding -and grub.</p> - -<p>I noticed the first day out this fellow was eating some -little pills and he wouldn’t tell me what they were, and -thinking of his disposition and the way he acted, I know -now it was morphine.</p> - -<p>Those horses we were hunting were supposed to be -ranging on a big flat down on the Missouri River and -we had to take one certain ridge to get in there. The -ridge was about 15 miles long and if at any time we -found out we were on the wrong ridge we had to come -back and take another one. Now we were both uncertain -about this ridge and I tried every way I knew to get his -opinion on which ridge to take, as he was in a very bad -mood just at that time. It was getting late in the evening. -I was anxious to get to the river and make camp before -dark. Anyway I had to choose the ridge, which proved -to be the wrong one and we had to make camp in a very -disagreeable place—no shelter—and we were pretty -cold before morning. While we were making camp, I -made the remark it was tough luck that we got on the -wrong ridge. He said he knew damn well we were taking -the wrong ridge, but it was none of his business, and he -wasn’t going to say anything about it, so one can see -he had a very lovable disposition.</p> - -<p>We didn’t hold much conversation while we were -getting supper and soon after I saw he was dividing the -bedding, which was a very small amount, so I decided -he did not want to sleep with me. So I took my cut and -went to bed. He set by the fire. We had coffee enough -to last about a week, but he made coffee and drank it -all night, so when I got up we didn’t have any coffee -for breakfast. I think those little pills gave out on him and -he used the coffee as a substitute. Anyway he must have -got kindhearted in the night sometime, as when I woke -up in the morning he had throwed his blankets on me.</p> - -<p>In a few days we found the horses we were looking -for, and as our horses were tired, we decided to catch -fresh horses out of the bunch we found to ride. We drove -them up against a cut bank and roped two of them. One -was a nice looking little fellow—the other one was a -big, sleepy-looking guy. So I offered him his choice of -the two horses. He thought the little horse looked kind -of wild, so took the big fellow. However, when he went -to saddle him he found him pretty bravo.</p> - -<p>Anyway he got on him and the show started. This -fellow had the longest nose I ever saw on a man. Some -way in the bucking and mix-up, the saddle horn hit him -on that big nose, but he rode him. I went to stop our -loose horses and waited for him to catch up. When he -came to where I was, the first thing I saw of him was -that big nose—all blood and swelled up twice as big -as it was before. I pretended not to see it and looked the -other way, and asked him how he liked his horse.</p> - -<p>He said, “How do I like him? Look at my nose!” -and, of course, I had to look. Well, I nearly fell off my -horse laughing, which I was ashamed of, but I couldn’t -help it, as he was sure a funny sight and he being such -a grouch made it more comical.</p> - -<p>I nicknamed him “Curlew,” which is a bird with -a long bill.</p> - -<p>When we got back to the ranch the other boys all -took up the name and called him Curlew. This lasted -about a week and he was getting pretty sore. So one day -he called us all together and said, “The next man that -calls me ‘Curlew’ can shed his coat and get ready for -battle. I am not going to stand for this name any longer.”</p> - -<p>Now this fellow could sure fight and we all knew it, -so he got nothing but silence—but we still called him -Curlew behind his back.</p> - -<p>One day there was a bunch of us riding—most of -us was behind him. I whistled like a curlew. He stopped -and turned around and looked us over. He didn’t know -who had whistled, but he looked at me pretty vicious, so -I was careful where I whistled after that.</p> - -<p>When I lived with the Northwest Mounted Police, -working for the Montana cattlemen, I kept three horses -furnished me by the cow outfits. I had very little to do. -My horses were fed plenty of grain by the police and -the sergeant detailed a policeman every two weeks on -cook duty. Most of those boys had been raised in the -city. Some of them were highly educated and were -remittance men who had come from very wealthy families -in England and were given a small allowance from -their families. So they knew nothing about the West or -camp life. The result was we got some very poor cooking, -but they were perfect gentlemen and had the highest -sense of honor I have ever known.</p> - -<p>They had never known mosquitoes before (and we -had plenty of them on Milk River in summertime). They -called them “blooming American flies” and said “they not -only bite one through to the pores of the skin but would -bloody well bite through your trousers.”</p> - -<p>In the wintertime we were quite isolated, as the snow -usually got very deep and there wasn’t much travel. We -played whist (which I believe is an old English game) -those long winter evenings for 25 cents a game and would -have some hot arguments as to the rules of the game, -so that we all went to bed mad every night—but everybody -would be ready for play again the next night. If -someone from the outside had heard us, it would have -been like the man shipwrecked on an island who thought -he was in a country of nothing but wild animals. He -finally saw campfire smoke. He crawled up close to listen -and find out what it was, when he heard someone say, -“What the hell did you play that ace for?” He thought -for a moment and said, “Thank God, I am in -civilization.”</p> - -<h2 id='ch07' class='d021'>CHAPTER VII<br/>IN THE JUDITH BASIN COUNTRY OF MONTANA</h2> - -<p>When I was a kid, an old Indian told me a story about -the badger and coyote and said they hunted together as -partners. I had a very good chance to test that story when -I was living on Milk River, as the badger and coyote -were very plentiful. I have watched them travel together -all right—but came to the conclusion the coyote forced -his company on the badger. I think the coyote is the -smartest animal that stands on four legs and a natural -thief. I have watched them travel together for miles. -The coyote would be about 50 or 60 yards behind. Now -the badger is a natural digger and when he comes to a -squirrel hole or prairie dog hole, he digs him out. I have -seen a coyote watching him while he was digging and as -the badger would always bring his game out of the -hole to eat it, the coyote would grab it and run, and the -badger being slow on foot and the coyote very fast, he -would always get away with the spoils. I am sure there -is no affection between them—and the coyote would -kill and eat the badger if he could.</p> - -<p>I have seen a coyote watch a band of sheep for hours -and shift his position every few minutes—always watching -behind, too, so that nothing would slip up on him. -Then when he thought the time was right, he would dash -through the sheep and pick up a lamb right in sight of -the sheepherder and his dogs.</p> - -<p>The wolf is a better killer than the coyote but not -near so smart.</p> - -<p>One morning on a roundup, we left camp just at -daylight and we had gone about four miles and was -riding at a gallop when we came over a little hill. We -rode right into a bunch of wolves. They had killed a -big fat cow and was eating on her. They evidently had -been eating for some time, as there wasn’t much of her -left. They were so full of meat they couldn’t hardly run -at all. There were about thirty of us and not many had -guns that morning—but everybody had ropes and we -sure went to making loops. Of course, they scattered -every direction and every cowboy was trying to catch -a wolf, as the bounty that time was $5.00 a head. It was -sure an exciting morning. Some of those cowboys’ horses -wouldn’t go near a wolf and when they got a smell of -them would snort and run the other way. Sometimes -when a cowboy did catch one and took his wraps on the -saddle horn, the horse would stampede, wolf and all. -Sometimes when they would throw at one, he would -snap at the loop and if he hit it, would cut it in two like -a razor would.</p> - -<p>It was a strange thing to me—but I was riding a -young horse that morning that had not been broke long, -but he cocked his ears forward and took right after them -wolves. I believe he thought he was chasing a colt. I got -two wolves and choked and dragged them until they -were dead. One had been shot through the shoulder by -the boss, so he was easy to catch. I met the boss coming -over a little hill. He was sure smoking this one up with -his six-shooter, and as I had killed mine, he hollered, -“Get this one, Con. I saw a black one back here. I want -to get him.” (The others were all gray wolves.) He had -lost his hat and he had been chasing those wolves so -hard his pants legs was up to his knees and he sure -looked wild. He didn’t get back to camp until night—but -he didn’t get the black wolf.</p> - -<p>We got nine wolves out of the bunch—I don’t know -how many got away—but we didn’t have any roundup -or gather any cattle that day, as the cowboys kept stringing -in all day, one and two at a time.</p> - -<p>I have tried several times since that time to rope a -wolf but always found them too fast for me when they -were empty. Those wolves were a great menace to the -stockmen. One couldn’t poison them, as when they got -hungry they killed whatever animal they wanted, and -they were sure plentiful.</p> - -<p>I have seen places on Milk River when it had froze -up and fresh snow had fell on the ice, it looked like a -bunch of school boys had been playing where there had -been a bunch of wolves.</p> - -<p>They weighed about one hundred pounds and measured -almost seven to eight feet long. Their first move to -make a kill was to ham-string the animal by grabbing -the animal by the fleshy part of the hind leg. That -usually brought the animal to the ground and then, of -course, they made short work of the job.</p> - -<p>I broke a bunch of horses one time for a man by the -name of Gordon near Ubet in the Judith Basin. He told -me when I started he would give me sixty dollars for one -month’s work—that was all he would pay out on them. -He didn’t want them roped, but must catch them in a -chute. Above anything else, he didn’t want them to buck, -and as there was twelve head of them, it was impossible -to do much of a job on them in that length of time.</p> - -<p>I got along fairly well with them for awhile. I think -I had rode about five head. I was out on the range riding -one of them one day and saw a big wolf. This colt was -pretty fast. So I thought I would give the wolf a little -run. When I got close to him, I seen he was crippled, -evidently had been in a fight with another wolf, so I -roped him. Now when I started dragging that wolf, the -horse went plumb crazy. He whistled, snorted, kicked -and bucked and run away, but I still had the wolf and -dragged him to the ranch. Of course, the wolf was dead. -When I got there—well, that horse never got over that -scare. He jumped in the manger, kicked the side out of -the barn, and whistled and snorted like a lion and got -worse from day to day.</p> - -<p>The old man wasn’t there the day I brought the -wolf in, but did come out in a few days to see how I was -getting along with the horses. When he went in the barn, -this horse started kicking and snorting, bumped his head -against the walls and run the old man out of the barn—and -to make matters worse, he was his favorite colt. He -asked me what was the matter with him. I told him I -didn’t know—but I didn’t tell him about the wolf. -Then another day he saw one buck with me—that did -settle it. He said I was spoiling his horses instead of -breaking them. Anyway, I stayed the month out and I -think him and I were both glad when it was over and I -was on my way.</p> - -<p>I went from there to the Horse Shoe Bar Ranch on -Warm Spring Creek in the Judith Basin. It was owned -at that time by T. C. Powers, who was a pioneer of the -state and quite a politician of his day.</p> - -<p>I remember a rather amusing thing happened to him. -He was running for Senator one year and was having a -pretty hard race and it was known he was spending -plenty money to get votes. There was a precinct about -fifty miles from the railroad on the Teton River where -there was about fifty votes—mostly half breed Indians. -There was a half breed lived there and claimed he had -great influence among his people. So he looked up T. C. -Powers and told him for one hundred dollars he could -swing every vote in his precinct. Powers gave him the -hundred. When the votes were counted in that precinct, -Powers had not got one vote. Some time after he met -this big politician. Powers said, “What was the matter -in that precinct of yours? I didn’t get a vote out there.” -The breed said, “I just couldn’t get them to vote for you, -Mr. Powers.” He said, “Why?” and the names he called -him wouldn’t look good in print, “You didn’t vote for me -yourself!” He said, “I dassent, Mr. Powers, they would -have kill me out there if I do.” Evidently Powers wasn’t -very popular in that precinct.</p> - -<p>When I got to this ranch I found a man there alone -in bed and very sick. The outfit had left a few days before -on the fall roundup, and as he was not feeling well at -the time he figured to stay at the ranch a few days and -when he got better would follow up, but he got worse. -I stayed with him a couple of days and still he got worse. -At night the only way he could rest was to prop him up -in bed, then I would put my back against his and my -feet against the wall, and move to any angle that suited -him. I would have to change his position every few minutes -and his back was becoming hot, as he had a high -fever and wanted water very often. So he finally wore -me out and I decided to go for a doctor, who was twenty -miles away. At this time it was about nine o’clock at -night. There was a good-looking horse in the barn, so I -saddled him and started. It was very dark and for the -first few miles he bucked several times (if anyone reads -this that has rode a bucking horse in the dark he will -know what the sensation is). I didn’t know where I was -half the time—whether I was in the air or in the saddle. -But after I got him going, I didn’t give him any time -to buck anymore until I got to the doctor.</p> - -<p>Well, when I found the doctor he would not come -to the ranch that night, as he had been up with a sick -woman for a day and a night and was very tired. After -describing the symptoms of my patient, he gave me a -bottle of quinine and a bottle of morphine with directions. -I went back to the ranch.</p> - -<p>This fellow was suffering terrible when I got there. -I gave him a shot of quinine first, which I believe was in -powder form and very bitter. Then shortly after I tried -to give him some more quinine but he refused to take it, -so I gave him some more morphine, but didn’t seem to -relieve him. Now I was very tired and he was cussing -me all the time, so when he would get very bad and in -pain I would give him some more morphine. Along about -morning he went to sleep and wouldn’t wake up, which -was all right with me as I was getting some sleep myself.</p> - -<p>About noon the doctor came. He tried to wake him -up, but he couldn’t. Then he took his pulse. While doing -so, he picked up the morphine bottle and said to me, -“Where is the rest of that morphine?” I was sure scared -then, I knew I had given him too much. I told the doctor -I had spilled some of it. He said, “I guess you did!” He -told me to heat a tub of water at once. We put that -fellow into it—and I don’t know what the doctor done -but we finally brought him to—and was I glad! I know -now I gave him an overdose, but I believe I saved his -life at that, as he was suffering terrible. The doctor said -he had a bad case of pneumonia and made arrangements -to take him to a hospital and I took his place on the -beef roundup.</p> - -<p>The boss put two of us night herding the cattle. We -moved camp every day and they put new cattle in the -herd every day that they gathered and the nights were -long and cold—so we sure had a hard job.</p> - -<p>We had a good cook that year—but like most good -cooks he was sure cranky. He couldn’t drive four horses, -so the boss told me to drive the mess wagon from one -camp to the other, and we didn’t get along well at all. -We called him “Big Nose George” and he was so mean -I think he hated himself. I have seen him drop something -out of his hands when he was cooking and would jump -on it and stamp it in the ground.</p> - -<p>After we had night herded about a month we had -about a thousand head in the bunch—and the nights -got long. We used to get hungry during the night. One -day I asked George for a lunch to take with us. My -partner spoke up and said, “How about a pie, George?” -He looked at us like a grizzly bear and said, “Yes, I will -give you fellows pie.”</p> - -<p>That night when we started for the herd, he handed -us what looked like a nice pie. On the way to the herd -we talked about it and decided George wasn’t such a -bad fellow after all. That was a tough night and the -cattle drifted about three miles. We couldn’t carry the -pie very handy, so set it down by a cut bank where we -thought we could find it if the cattle settled down, but -we didn’t get back to where we left it, which proved to -be a good thing for us.</p> - -<p>When the day-herders came out at daylight, they -began kidding us about the pie. They thought we had -tried to eat it. George had told them the joke he had -played on us. So we went back and hunted up the pie -to see what the joke was. We found it was made out of -potato skins, onion peelings and clay, and other filth -around the camp, with a cover on it in a pie tin and -nicely baked.</p> - -<p>So we held a council of war to decide what to do -about it. My partner wanted to take it to camp and hit -him on the head with it. I suggested we make him eat it. -He said that was a fine idea. Now I told him, “He is a -big guy. Let’s double up on him.” So we planned our -attack right there, and George not expecting it, we had -him at a disadvantage. We unsaddled—walked into the -cook tent.</p> - -<p>He said, “How did you like your pie, boys?” We said, -“Fine—but brought part of it to camp so you could -enjoy it with us.” I had the pie in my hand and he knew -what was coming. He said, “The hell with you,” and -started for a butcher knife—but my partner met him -head on and they clinched. I nailed him from behind -and we brought him to the ground with both of us on -top of him. I got the pie to his mouth but he wouldn’t -open, so I used the pie tin for an opener (not very -gently) and got his teeth apart. I don’t think he swallowed -any of it but he at least got a good taste of it—and -any other dirty thing I could reach. When the -pie-eating contest was over and had worked out to the -messwagon tongue, and when we let George up, the first -thing his hand found was the neck-yoke which was about -four feet long, and a bad weapon just at that time, and -George was sure going to clean up on us. But my partner -had a forty-five Colts stuck in his chaps that George -didn’t see and before he could get the neck-yoke into -action, the gun was right against his stomach—full cock. -He throwed the neck-yoke over his head and both hands -in the air and said, “Don’t kill me.” Then we gave him -some not too kind advice what his actions should be -towards us in the future, and I will say George was a -pretty good dog from that time on.</p> - -<p>That is the only time I ever double-teamed on anyone -but felt justified that time under the circumstances.</p> - -<p>When the men came in off that day’s ride, George -took his troubles to the boss, told him how we had -doubled up on him and abused him. All he got was a -hearty laugh from the boss (he was a Texas man). He -said, “Did they sho ’nuff really make you eat the pie, -George?”</p> - -<p>When we got to the railroad with that herd, there -was two other big outfits shipping beef and we had to -wait several days to get cars for our cattle. Big Sandy -was the shipping point. The town had two saloons, one -hotel, one store, stockyards and livery stable, and a jail. -We had plenty of help and we took shifts holding the -cattle. Those that wasn’t on shift spent most of their -time in town, and it was sure lively during shipping -time—and looked as good as Chicago to some of them -cowboys.</p> - -<p>There was also a lot of half breed Indians gathering -buffalo bones and brought them there to ship. Most of -them drank plenty whiskey and with their families had -dances every night. The musician would be some half -breed with moccasins on, and he kept time with both -feet while he played.</p> - -<p>The town had a constable to keep order, and he was -quite lame. One night he arrested two half breeds and -was taking them to jail. One got away from him. He -let the other one loose to catch him and he ran away, -and he didn’t catch the first one, so he lost them both. -Them breeds with moccasins on could sure run.</p> - -<p>One night a fist fight started between the cowboys -and the breeds. There was several fights going on at the -same time. An old buffalo hunter was in among them, -with his hands in his pockets, looking on. It was dark -and some cowboy thought he was a breed. He took a -run at him and hit him on the side of his head with all -his strength and he went down. About that time he discovered -his mistake and went to help him up. He said, -“Fred, I am sure sorry. I didn’t know that was you.” -Fred said, “I guess you are sorry all right—but that -don’t help my ear any.”</p> - -<p>There was several commission men in town that night, -trying to get cattle consigned to their different houses in -Chicago. One of them had never been West before. There -were some of them playing a social game of cards in one -of the saloons. Every little while some cowboy would -shoot his six-shooter off right in the saloon. This fellow -was very nervous and could not get his attention on the -game. Finally he went to light his cigar. About that time -somebody shot a gun off and his match went out. He -jumped up right quick and said, “Quit playing cards. -This is getting too damn close for me!” That tickled -Charlie Russell and he told the fellow he saw the bullet -go right by his nose. He said he knew it did.</p> - -<p>Somebody stole my saddle that night off my horse -which was tied to a hitch rack. So next morning I was -in a pretty bad way. We hunted and searched all the -breed camps but didn’t find the saddle. Everybody had -given up when Charlie Russell came in and had found -the saddle and the way he found that saddle shows what -a close observer he was. He was following a dusty trail, -looking for tracks, when he saw the print of a cinch-ring -in the dust. He said he knew nothing else would make a -mark like that. He looked around and saw a little box-elder -tree about a mile away. He went to that tree and -there was the saddle. That cost me a good many drinks -but it was sure worth it. We joked Charlie and told him -it took one Indian to trail another one.</p> - -<p>There was a man by the name of Marsh kept the -hotel in Big Sandy and was a great friend of the cowboys, -as when they were broke they could always eat and sleep -at his hotel until they got a job. I had known Marsh -for some years.</p> - -<p>One day we had got through loading cattle and I -was in the hotel and he told me he had just bought two -fine dogs, Canadian stag hounds, and he was anxious -to try them out and see how fast they were, and asked -me to borrow one of the cowboys’ horses for him to ride -and we would take a ride with the dogs and maybe jump -a coyote out on the range. Well, we got the dogs lined -up and started.</p> - -<p>He also had a bull dog and a fox terrier. They -couldn’t run but just trailed along.</p> - -<p>We hadn’t went very far until we jumped a jack -rabbit and away went the hounds, the bull dog and the -terrier bringing up the rear—all dogs barking, Marsh -hollering and laughing at the bull and terrier. The hounds -were making a pretty run and Marsh was trying to keep -in sight of them and his horse was running his best, when -he stepped in a badger hole ... and down they went. -This was an unusually big saddle horse and Marsh was -a very big man, and when they piled up it looked like -a box car had jumped the track. Marsh must have fell -on his head, as he had lost $80.00, his watch, pocket knife, -and everything—it was all scattered around the wreck. -He was not hurt bad any one place, but was jarred all -over. While I was picking up his stuff I was so full of -laugh I could hardly hold myself. In the meantime, the -bull dog and the terrier had caught up and was licking -his face and he was cussing them. Then I exploded and -laughed ’til I cried—I don’t think he ever quite forgive -me for that but I couldn’t help laughing at the pile-up.</p> - -<div class='d022'> - <div class='d023'> - <img class='d018' - alt='Con and Claudia Price at the time of their Marriage, December 26, 1899' - src='images/illus-065a.jpg' /> - </div> - <p class='d008'> - Con and Claudia Price at the time of their Marriage, December 26, 1899 - </p> -</div> - -<div class='d022'> - <div class='d023'> - <img class='d018' - alt='Roundup Camp—Fall of 1896—DHS and CK Outfits On the Big Dry near Oswego, Montana' - src='images/illus-065b.jpg' /> - </div> - <p class='d008'> - Roundup Camp—Fall of 1896—DHS and CK Outfits On the Big Dry near Oswego, Montana - </p> -</div> - -<h2 id='ch08' class='d021'>CHAPTER VIII<br/>WITH THE DHS OUTFIT</h2> - -<p>In 1892 I went to Wyoming and broke horses there -for a couple of years. Then I heard of the Cripple Creek -gold stampede in Colorado. I sold my rig and went to -Cripple Creek and it looked like everybody in the world -went there. There was two railroads in there and every -passenger coach would be loaded with people. The roads -were lined with people of every description—some -walking, some riding donkeys and some with wagons.</p> - -<p>About every other house there was a saloon and -gambling house. Of course, there wasn’t work for everybody -and lots of them were broke when they landed -there—that was in the month of November and shortly -after the weather turned bitter cold. I have seen men lay -down on the floor to sleep in those saloons which kept -open day and night, and when the house man started to -clean up in the morning he would find dead men under -the tables and on benches. The altitude was very high. -Those people had no place to sleep—and nearly all of -them contracted mountain fever and that went into -pneumonia and they would sometimes die in a few hours -after taking sick.</p> - -<p>New Year’s night in 1894 was sure a wild night in -Cripple Creek. Every man that filed on a mining claim -prior to that time had to have one hundred dollars’ worth -of work done in order to hold it by law and, of course, -there was the usual contention when people are crazy -for gold, some claiming the required amount of work was -not done—and others claiming they had fulfilled the -requirements of the law. The results were that every man -owning a claim was on his ground at midnight with a -gun to protect what he thought was his property.</p> - -<p>I was in a good spot that night to get a view of the -Big Mountain around Cripple Creek, and the lanterns -moving around from claim to claim looked like a bunch -of stars. There was reported nine men killed that night -over claims and I didn’t hear of one arrest.</p> - -<p>I had a little money when I landed in Cripple Creek -but soon lost it all gambling and then took down with -mountain fever. An old prospector took me into his cabin -and he took sick, too. We were both broke and had -nothing to eat but a half sack of potatoes, but had plenty -of wood and kept warm. We took turns, when one was a -little better than the other, going out and gathering -mountain sage and making tea out of it—and I am sure -it saved our lives, as it broke the fever. When I got a -little better I made a little money to buy food, gathering -that sage and selling it to sick people.</p> - -<p>When I got a little stronger I got twenty dollars for -digging an assessment hole on a fellow’s claim, so I got -in a poker game with that and won about a hundred -dollars. I will never forget that night. People were being -help up every night—sometimes hit on the head—sometimes -killed, and the amount of money didn’t mean -anything, as some of them birds would hold you up for -five dollars.</p> - -<p>This night when I had won that money quite a crowd -gathered around me in the gambling house. I didn’t know -any of them but bought a drink for everybody and -thought I would slip away. There was one big tough-looking -guy persisted in shaking hands with me and gave -me some kind of a sign that I did not understand, so I -was rather nervous when I got out of there.</p> - -<p>I had to walk about a mile to my cabin following an -old mining ditch. I had got about half way home when -I saw a man’s head raise up out of the ditch just in front -of me. That sure scared me. I turned the other way, -back towards town. The farther I went the more scared -I was ... and the faster I ran. I think even if a jack -rabbit had seen me he would have admired my speed, -and I didn’t stop until I got into town where there was -light. I could not get a room in town, so sat in a chair all -night in one of the gambling houses. I kept my hand on -that hundred dollars and sweat with fear.</p> - -<p>A few nights afterwards I was going home late. I had -to go by a lot of wagons—a freighting outfit. Just as I -got opposite the wagons I saw a man in the dark coming -towards me. I had a gun that night so I got it in my hand -and backed up against one of the wagons. This fellow -came up about twenty feet from me and stopped—neither -of us spoke for several minutes (but seemed to me -to be an hour)—finally he said, “Hey, there.” I said, -“Hello.” He said, “What are you doing here?” I thought -quick and said, “I am working for the man that owns -this outfit,” and said to him also, “Who are you?” He -said, “I am the night marshal.” I believe I would have -kissed him if he had been close to me because I sure had -him sized up as a hold-up.</p> - -<p>I stayed around there a few days longer and hung -onto the hundred dollars, but decided it was no place for -a moneyed man, so took the train for Denver and lived -quite respectable for awhile until I was pretty near broke -and started for Montana. I rode box cars the most of the -way and saved my little money to eat on.</p> - -<p>When I got to Helena I heard Charlie Russell was -in Cascade and as I was badly in need of money, I headed -for there and found him batching in a cabin with plenty -grub—and he sure looked good to me.</p> - -<p>After my experience in Cripple Creek I decided that -I belonged back on the range among the cows, and -wrote to the foreman of the DHS outfit at Shelby, Montana, -for a job. I had known him several years before -and he told me to come on, he would give me work. So -after being outfitted by Charlie, which meant everything -a cowboy needed, including some money, I went -to Shelby.</p> - -<p>I worked for the DHS outfit the first time in 1889 -for only one season. They were one of the pioneer cow -outfits of Montana and was owned by Granville Stuart -and Reese Anderson, and were located near Fort Maginnis -and ranged on Flat Willow country in the year of -1887. They moved all their cattle north of the Missouri -River on what was known as the Little Rocky Range. -They swam this big herd across the Missouri River at an -old steamboat landing called Rocky Point.</p> - -<p>The cowboys had a dance while I was in Shelby that -I believe there is a record of in the files of some of the -old newspapers of that day.</p> - -<p>There was an opera troupe on their way to Spokane, -Washington. For some reason they were sidetracked at -Shelby and as they were from New York, some of the -ladies had never seen a cowboy, so they said (I guess -they thought cowboys eat grass and were only half -human). Anyway, some of them left the train and went -to the hotel where the dance was going on and mingled -with the crowd and as those cowboys were very easy for -a lady to get acquainted with and as there was considerable -liquor consumed, the dance was a great success -and the ladies found the boys much nicer than they had -anticipated and invited some of them over to their train.</p> - -<p>Now the male population of the troupe did not take -to the cowboys too well and finally ordered them out of -the car which, of course, insulted the boys and a fight -started. But some of these fellows in the troupe were good -boxers and the cowboys didn’t have a chance in a fist -fight, so they brought their guns into the play. They -didn’t shoot anyone but made the car very smoky, and -the troupe quit the car and most of them scattered out -in the sagebrush, Shelby being a little cow town on the -Great Northern Railroad.</p> - -<p>It seems that the worst thing that happened was one -of the cowboys shot a lantern out of a brakeman’s hand. -So in a few days there was railroad officials around there, -thick as flies, but they couldn’t get any information and -there wasn’t a cowboy in fifty miles of Shelby. The railroad -sent several detectives there at different times but -the population of the town was all in sympathy with the -cowboys and nobody knew any cowboy’s name that -attended the dance. So they could not get any evidence -and didn’t know where to find anyone to arrest, and had -to drop the matter.</p> - -<p>My old boss was one of the leaders in that mix-up -and he, of course, made a couple of days ride away from -Shelby. It happened he stayed a few days in a locality -where there was considerable stock rustling going on and -he didn’t go to that part of the country very often, so -his presence there created quite a commotion and fear -among those fellows living there, as they thought he was -after them. But the old man was simply dodging the -railroad officials and was more frightened than they were.</p> - -<p>At that time the DHS ran two outfits—one at Shelby -and one at Malta on Milk River about two hundred miles -apart. Those big outfits in the course of a few years all -accumulated quite a few spoiled horses for different -reasons, sometimes from bad breaking and sometimes -on account of putting strange riders on them so often, -sometimes from getting away when they were half broke, -and maybe not finding them for a year. They would then -be harder to handle than a green bronc and would buck -a few riders off. They would get pretty tough and the -average cowboy could not ride them. So the boss would -hire a bronc fighter to ride the rough string. A strange -thing about it was that most of those kind of horses were -the best ones in the bunch when they were thoroughly -broke.</p> - -<p>The DHS had accumulated about twenty head of -those kind of horses. So the boss sent me to Malta to ride -some of those horses. They also hired another fellow to -help me. The only name I ever knew for him was “Red -Neck Davis” and he was a good bronc fighter.</p> - -<p>The outfit was getting ready to go on the spring -roundup and we went to their horse ranch on Milk River -and gathered all the saddle horses—maybe two hundred -head—and there was quite a lot of those horses needed -touching up before we went to work on the roundup. The -first day Red Neck and I caught two of the worst horses -in the outfit. The boss had put two men to help us and -herd for us (they are called pick-up men nowadays).</p> - -<p>One of the cowboys had put his bedding out to air -that day and had a nice woolen blanket laid on a pile of -poles on the ground. When I mounted my first horse, he -went up in the air and landed right in the middle of that -blanket, and the poles being hard all four of his feet -went through it. I believe the blanket belonged to the -fellow that was herding for me, so I laid the blame -on him.</p> - -<p>Shortly after Red Neck mounted his horse, a big -buckskin. He had quite an old man herding for him and -rather cranky. He caught the best horse in his string that -morning, one he was sure was gentle so he could pick up -Red’s horse if he stampeded. As soon as Red hit the -saddle the buckskin went in the air and let a roar out of -him like a lion, which scared the old man’s horse and -he stampeded. We were only about fifty feet from Milk -River and it was time of high water, and into it he went -and swam across. The old man was sure wet and mad, -and cussed the whole outfit—horses and men—and -said he wouldn’t have any more to do with such a damn -wild west outfit.</p> - -<p>That year—I believe it was 1896—our outfit was -cleaning up their Malta Range on Milk River with the -view of closing out their holdings in that part of the -country. A fellow named Tom Daly and I worked with -all the different outfits owning cattle in that part of the -country. We were representing the DHS brand and all -cattle we gathered we shipped to Chicago. We had -orders to clean the range of our cattle the best we could, -as they had missed several steers from year to year. We -found steers 12 to 13 years old and some of them were -sure wild and hard to gather and bring to the railroad -for shipment.</p> - -<p>It was quite comical and interesting to outsmart some -of these old renegades. We usually found them in the -roughest country. They would try to hide when they saw -you, and when you got too close to them they would fight -and as most of them had bad horns if you crowded one -of them in a rough place he could easily kill your horse.</p> - -<p>The outfit had a big old steer that had made his home -in the Missouri River Badlands for several years, which -was pretty rough and when the cowboys would find him -with other cattle and he got a glimpse of the riders he -would quit the bunch. As he was plenty fast, he would -get somewhere and hide, and as the outfits only worked -this part of the country about once a year on account of -not many cattle ranged there, this old steer had gotten -by for several years without being brought out and -shipped.</p> - -<p>I was repping with a wagon that worked that part of -the country this time that I write about and we knew the -day that we would camp and ride the locality that he was -ranging in and several of the boys knew this steer, as he -had gotten away from them at different times before. -They were joking me about him several days before we -got to this place and called him “Con’s steer,” and made -me a small bet I wouldn’t get him.</p> - -<p>We camped the chuck and bed wagon on a nice -level spot of about 200 acres, just on the edge of the -Badlands, and rode from there to the river, which was -about 20 miles. Coming back we found him in a long -canyon that led out to the camp and the rodeo ground. -We put riders on both sides of the canyon on top of the -ridges and some stayed behind. We had about 200 head -of cattle, so we just drifted the band along slow. I told -everyone to keep as far away from this old steer as -possible so he wouldn’t break or get on the fight. When -we got out to the roundup ground, some of the other -boys had gotten in off their ride and had found quite a -lot of cattle. We had about a thousand head in all. We -bunched all the cattle together as easy as we could so -as not to give this old fellow any excuse to break.</p> - -<p>Now we had to cut out the cows and calves (to brand -the calves) and also cut out the beef steers to ship, and -turn the rest loose, and we knew as soon as anyone went -to riding among those cattle this steer would break for -the Badlands and we would lose him. He was going -through the bunch ringing his tail and hooking everything -that came in his way, as he was getting suspicious -that everything wasn’t just right.</p> - -<p>So we left about ten men to hold the cattle. The rest -of us went to camp to catch fresh horses to work the -cattle and cut out what we wanted.</p> - -<p>I had a little Spanish horse in my string, didn’t weigh -over 900 pounds, built kind of squatty and close to the -ground, about 15 years old, but he knew more about -working cattle than lots of men. I caught him. We went -back to the roundup and started to work. I stayed on the -outside of the bunch with my eye on this old bird. The -boys had gotten out about 50 head when someone got -too close to this old steer, and here he comes as fast as -he could run, headed for the Badlands! I had a big -grass rope about 40 feet long and had one end tied hard -and fast to the saddle horn and when he came out of the -bunch my little horse was watching him and went right -along with him. I run him about 50 yards. He was going -down a hill. I dropped my loop over his pretty horns and -let him jump over the slack with his front feet, and turned -my horse the other way as fast as he could run. When -that rope tightened that steer went about 10 feet high -and hit the ground with his head doubled under his body. -One of his pretty horns was broken off right close to his -head and he was bleeding badly, and he was bawling -like a calf—where otherwise he would only snort when -you got in his way.</p> - -<p>I didn’t know it at the time, but the boys that I had -made the bet with had framed on me—and it was -understood among them that nobody was to help me—just -to have a joke on me if the steer got away.</p> - -<p>So after a few minutes, when nobody came to help -me, I let him up with the rope still on him. The fall had -taken most of the sap out of him. He made a kind of a -weak attempt to get to my horse, so I busted him again. -The next time he got up I led him back to the roundup -and into the bunch where I wanted him, throwed him -down, took the rope off, and he never made a break to -get away. We took him to the railroad and shipped him -to Chicago. He was a rather funny looking old fellow -with one of his long pretty horns gone and blood dried -all over his face. I don’t think he made very good eating -but I tallied him: “One beef steer shipped to Chicago.”</p> - -<p>In the year of 1897 the Circle Diamond outfit turned -loose 5,000 head of Arizona yearlings on their range on -Milk River in Montana and instead of settling down -and locating there they kept on going north until the -outfit heard of some of them 200 miles up in Canada.</p> - -<p>So they sent an outfit of about 20 men with horses -and bed and chuckwagon to bring them back and try to -locate them on their own range.</p> - -<p>The DHS outfit sent me with them, thinking some of -their cattle had drifted with the Arizona’s.</p> - -<p>The country was all open—north, south, east and -west—for miles (I don’t know how far) and no ranches -after we crossed the Canadian border. We didn’t know -any particular place to go to find those cattle, so we just -wandered around for days, first one direction, then -another. After we got as far north as Moose Jaw, which -is well north in Canada, we began to see some signs of -cattle, and would pick up a few each day. And those -cattle hadn’t seen anybody for four or five months and -were plenty wild and, of course, we had to nightherd -those cattle every night. And badger holes were so thick -in that country you could almost compare them to a -saltcellar—and the grass was thick and tall so a horse -or man couldn’t see the holes. Somebody would get a -fall every day and night.</p> - -<p>One morning we were making a circle, looking for -cattle, and we saw two animals standing on a butte. We -got close to them—could tell they were two head of -cattle—and away they went like a couple of antelope. -We finally got ahead of them and got them stopped. -They ran around in a circle for awhile, just like they -might be tied together. One wouldn’t get no distance -away from the other. When we got them to the roundup -and could get a good look at the brands, we found they -both belonged to the DHS outfit, and we knew from the -Arizona brand on them and the year the outfit bought -them as yearlings that they were 13 years old. They -were pals and had ranged in that part of the country -for several years alone, as we did not find any sign of -cattle anywhere within several miles of them.</p> - -<p>It was quite a problem to get those two old fellows -to the railroad. They were easy to hold in the daytime -but at night it took all of one man’s time to watch them -two. We would bed the herd down at night and those two -would lay down in about the middle of the bunch—and -sometimes they would lay ten minutes when they would -come slipping through the herd, heading back the way -they came from. They wouldn’t make any noise and -reminded one of two big cats trying to steal away. When -they got to the edge of the herd, the man watching them -would holler at them—they would shake their heads -and go right back into the herd and lay down for a short -time and then try again, and would keep that up all -night. We finally got them to the railroad and shipped -them to Chicago.</p> - -<p>The man that had charge of that Circle Diamond -wagon, or that part of the outfit that year was Win -Cooper. He came from Jack County, Texas, and was -a wonderful cowboy. He used to carry a 45 Colts six-shooter -and had the trigger filed so it wouldn’t stand -cocked, but fanned the hammer with his thumb. He told -me the reason he had his gun fixed that way was for -quick action. He could fill the chamber with bullets and -start a tomato can rolling and keep it going until his -gun was empty. He used to tell me about the gun fights -they had in Texas a long time ago ... and I think he -sometimes got lonesome for those old feuds and would -like to go back and have a little excitement.</p> - -<p>As I remember, Tom Green County, Texas, and Jack -County were enemies and had a lasting grudge at each -other. Win said the reason for that was Jack County -had the better men and always beat the Tom Green -County men in a fight.</p> - -<p>Win didn’t have any education and couldn’t read or -write—and when he paid a man his wages he had to -send him to the superintendent and tell him how long -the man worked.</p> - -<p>This year I am writing about was election year in -Valley County, Montana, and the Circle Diamond ranch -was supporting a man by the name of Kyle for sheriff. -They had put up a black flag with white letters which -read: “VOTE FOR KYLE FOR SHERIFF.” Now Win -had been up in Canada with his outfit for about six weeks -looking for those cattle that had drifted north and hadn’t -had any news as to the happenings around home. So -when he had got the cattle back on their range and -turned them loose, he started for the home ranch with -his outfit, but he started several hours ahead of the men, -horses and chuckwagon—they were to follow. But when -Win got close to the ranch and saw that black flag (and -he couldn’t read) he got scared and turned back and -stopped the outfit and said it wasn’t safe to take the -outfit home, as he thought that some sort of an epidemic -had broke out and the ranch was under quarantine. So -he sent a man to town to find out what was the matter.</p> - -<p>I worked with several of those old-time gunfighters -from Texas and some that had left Wyoming during the -Johnson County war between cattlemen and rustlers, and -found most of them pretty decent fellows. Some of them -were under assumed names and it seemed to bother -them to have to carry that load—and usually when they -did talk and tell me about their trouble most of them -were victims of circumstances.</p> - -<h2 id='ch09' class='d021'>CHAPTER IX<br/>JIM SPURGEON</h2> - -<p>The old man that run the DHS that I worked several -years for was the finest old-tune cow boss I ever knew. -Jim Spurgeon was his name. He always looked tough -and hard and was about as good-looking as a bank robber, -but he sure had a kind heart and would never let you -know he sympathized with you.</p> - -<p>I never knew him to fire but one cowboy. That fellow -was supposed to stand second guard on night herd, but -when the first guard went to call him, he was not in -camp—had went to town and had not come back. The -boy that came to call him woke Jim up and told him -what had happened. Jim got up and stood the guard -himself.</p> - -<p>About the time Jim came off guard, the boy got back -to camp. He had a bottle of whiskey and asked Jim to -have a drink. Jim refused, which the boy knew was -unusual for Jim. So he was suspicious things wasn’t just -right and didn’t want to get fired. So he came into the -bed tent about twelve o’clock at night, woke Jim up -and said, “I believe I will quit.” Jim said, “Go to bed. -You have been fired for three hours.”</p> - -<p>Old Jim looked at him very pitifully next morning -and I believe if the truth was known it hurt him worse -to fire him that it did the cowboy. But he seldom ever -talked much and few knew how tenderhearted he was.</p> - -<p>One time we had lost about forty head of saddle -horses on the roundup and Jim sent a man to look for -them. He was gone a few days and came back without -any horses.</p> - -<p>Now Shelby was the great cowboy town of that time, -and whenever a cowboy had any chance he went to -Shelby. There was usually a dance or some other doings -that a cowboy enjoyed—and maybe he had a -sweetheart there.</p> - -<p>So the night this boy got back from hunting the -horses, we all gathered in the sleeping tent to get the -news of Shelby from this boy, and it was quite interesting -to the rest of us. I can see old Jim yet, sitting there -smoking a big pipe, saying nothing, but listening to -everything.</p> - -<p>So he sent another man out on the range next day -to look for the horses. He was gone a few days and came -back without any horses ... but plenty news about -Shelby.</p> - -<p>The next morning he told me to catch a saddle horse -and go and see if I could find those horses. I said, “Where -will I go?” He said, “Damned if I know where to tell -you to go, only there is one place there is no use going -and that is Shelby. I have sent two men to hunt those -horses and they both went to town and didn’t find -the horses. So I know they are not in Shelby!” You -could have heard a pin drop among those boys. They -didn’t know the old man had been listening.</p> - -<p>I remember one time the old man hired a stranger -from Oregon to ride a rough string. Nobody knew the -boy but he claimed to be a bronc fighter. The first horse -he rode very near throwed him off. When someone caught -the horse he was in a bad way, had lost both stirrups -and his bridle reins. Someone made the remark he -thought that fellow would ride that horse and whip -him. The old man said he could if he had another hand, -as he had to use the two he had to hang onto the -saddle horn.</p> - -<p>In those days the way we caught our saddle horses, -when we made camp we pulled the bedwagon up behind -the chuckwagon and tied a long rope to the front wheel -of the chuckwagon and one to the hind wheel of the -bedwagon. Then a man held up each end of those ropes -and the horse wrangler took care of the gap. In that -way we could corral quite a large bunch of saddle -horses. But there was always some broncs in the bunch -and the boys had to be careful in catching their horses -that they didn’t scare them and cause them to break -through the ropes.</p> - -<p>So the old man gave orders for one man at a time -to catch his horse—but Jim had hired a new man that -was very fond of roping and he didn’t always obey -orders, and he used a loop half as big as the corral. So -naturally, when he throwed his big loop in among those -horses he caught something. Sometimes two or three -head of horses at once. Sometimes he caught one around -the body and would cause the horses to stampede. The -old man had told him several times in a nice way to be -careful of that big loop.</p> - -<p>This morning Jim was in the corral trying to catch -his horse. It wasn’t quite daylight yet and the fellow -didn’t see him. So he throwed that big loop in there and -caught two broncs, the brake on the bedwagon and the -old man—all in one loop. And believe me there was -some commotion—the broncs jumping and the old man -a-hollering. Charlie Russell helped Jim get out of the -mix-up and he said Jim bucked worse than the broncs. -He lost his hat and his big pipe and hurt his foot.</p> - -<p>When he got straightened out, he went hunting this -fellow. He said, “Where is that big loop S.B.?” and when -he found him he told him plenty. He said, “I don’t think -you are a cowboy at all. I think you are a damn sailor -the way you handle a rope. If I ever see you throw -another rope in that corral, I will shoot you. Somebody -else will catch your horse from now on.” But he didn’t -fire him, and the fellow was pretty tame afterwards.</p> - -<p>There was a great friendship existed among those -old cowboys of those days. They would quarrel among -themselves and sometimes one would think they were -bitter enemies, but if one of them got sick or hurt, even -with their small wages they would soon raise a few -hundred dollars for him, and as there was no compensation -law those days it meant a great deal to them.</p> - -<p>Old Bill Bullard, the fellow that used to put bacon -in everything he cooked to give it tone, had a partner -that he thought a great deal of, but when they were -together they were always quarreling and when they -were separated they would be lonesome. I believe they -enjoyed their quarrels.</p> - -<p>One time they made a trip together up in Canada. -On their way back they had to make a long ride without -water, and the weather was very warm. So the morning -of their long ride, Bill told his partner to not put much -salt in their food, as they wouldn’t get any water that -day. But the old boy was out of sorts that morning and -said he wanted plenty of salt—water or no water. All -their breakfast was in one frying pan. So Bill got a knife -and run a line through the breakfast and told his partner -to not salt only half the grub. That made the old fellow -very mad and he put plenty salt on his side of the frying -pan. Bill said his partner nearly choked for water that -day and it was dark when they reached Milk River and -instead of stooping down to get water he walked right -into the river so he could drink standing up.</p> - -<h2 id='ch10' class='d021'>CHAPTER X<br/>TOM DALY</h2> - -<p>Tom Daly and I worked together for several years -and I liked him very much.</p> - -<p>One time we went from the DHS ranch at Rocky -Ridge close to the main range of the Rocky Mountains -to the ranch the outfit owned at Malta, which was in -the eastern part of Montana. We had two strings of -horses, which was about twenty head. We had our beds -packed on two horses on that trip. One day Tom’s pack -slipped and got down on the horse’s side. We roped him -and fixed the pack, but while we were doing so we -turned our saddle horses loose with the bridle reins on -the ground (which is the way Montana horses were -broke to stand). Mosquitoes were very bad that day -and was worrying the horses, and when we turned the -horse loose that we had been fixing the pack, we turned -around to get on our saddle horses—they both run off -and into the loose bunch, which got scared and away -they all went, leaving us both afoot and I think it was -at least 20 miles to any ranch and the day very hot. I -never saw Tom excited before as he was very easy-going, -but when I looked at him and asked him, “What are we -going to do now?” his lips trembled and he said, -“Damned if I know.”</p> - -<p>Well, a lucky thing I had my rope that we had caught -the pack horse with. So I picked it up and we started -after the horses on foot. They run about a mile and -stopped and went to feeding—but when we caught up -with them, one of our saddle horses would drag his -bridle reins around some of the horses’ legs and scare -them—and away they would go again. Finally we got -the bunch in between us and one of the pack horses had -his head down feeding—I made a run at him and when -he put his head up to run I throwed my rope and caught -him. We unpacked him and I got on him bareback, with -a rope around his nose, and rounded up the bunch and -brought them back to where Tom was. He had made a -loop in the pack rope and caught his saddle horse. And -after a good many trials of roping, we caught my horse.</p> - -<p>When we got our horse packed again and on our way, -we were sure a couple of happy boys. Tom told me I -sure made a lucky throw when I caught that pack horse.</p> - -<p>In my younger days as a cowboy I had a hobby on -saddles. I always wanted a light saddle with as little -leather on it as possible. I used to use a Clarence Nelson -saddle, made in Visalia, California, which was about the -smallest and lightest stock saddle made in those days. -Then after I had got it, I would trim and cut off all -the leather I possibly could get along without. Tom Daly -always rode a double rig saddle and wanted it quite -heavy. He was always making fun of my saddle and -said I might as well ride bareback.</p> - -<p>One time a big prairie fire broke out and the best -thing we used to have to fight those fires was a “green” -or fresh cowhide. We could tie a couple of ropes to it -and with our saddle horses drag it along the fire line. -If the blaze wasn’t too big, it would smother the fire out -completely. This fire broke out close to our roundup, -and we had a big jaw steer in our roundup and he wasn’t -any value as a beef steer. So the boss told the boys to -catch him and kill and skin him and use his hide for a -drag to put the fire out.</p> - -<p>Everybody got their ropes down in a hurry. Tom -roped the steer by the head and I caught him by one -hind leg. He weighed about 1,500 pounds and Tom was -riding a big strong horse, and when he saw I had the -steer by the hind leg he never looked back but was -spurring his horse and pulling on the steer to try to -throw him down so we could cut his throat, as nobody -had a gun. My horse wasn’t too well broke to roping, -but I got my rope fast to the saddle horn and Tom was -pulling so fast and so hard, it must of hurt my horse -and he went to bucking. I couldn’t get my rope loose -from the saddle horn and I hollered at Tom—but he -kept right on going and pulled me—saddle and all—off -the horse. The boys joshed me plenty about my little -saddle. I asked Tom why he didn’t stop when I hollered. -He said he didn’t know I was riding bareback or -he would.</p> - -<p>Another time Tom and I were gathering saddle -horses for the spring roundup. When we left our camp -in the morning we went different directions and I got -back to camp quite a while before Tom did. I had -loosened my cinch and tied my horse to a post and went -in the cabin to cook dinner. I heard someone holler and -looked out and saw Tom coming with a bunch of horses. -Those horses were sometimes very hard to corral. So I -run out and got on my horse but forgot to tighten my -cinch. Those horses came by me pretty fast and I run -my horse in ahead of them to try to turn them. They -dodged by me and when I turned my horse to head them -off my saddle turned and, of course, I hit the ground and -my horse got away and went with the wild bunch.</p> - -<p>I got Tom’s horse and followed them. After a little -distance he quit the bunch and took off across the country -by himself. I followed him about ten miles and finally -run him into an old roundup corral and caught him. The -saddle was under his belly and there wasn’t a thing left -of it—only the saddle tree and the cinch—he had -kicked it all to pieces.</p> - -<p>When I led him back to camp I felt like crying and -called Tom out to show it to him. In place of sympathizing -with me, he smiled and said he didn’t see any -difference in it than it was before.</p> - -<p>I had to ride 40 miles to town to order another -saddle. I tied a rope on each side of the saddle tree to -use for stirrups and rode that distance. Tom went with -me—I think he had the time of his life that day -laughing at my rig.</p> - -<p>We worked together on the roundup that year and -slept together. We worked pretty late that fall and the -nights got very cold. We were holding quite a bunch -of cattle and, of course, that meant we had to guard the -cattle at night. Each man guarded three hours and then -woke up another cowboy. One night was very cold. When -I came off guard my feet felt like chunks of ice and I had -noticed Tom’s underwear was wore out where he had been -sitting in the saddle. I pulled off my boots and went out -in the frost—then slipped into bed with Tom. He was -asleep and didn’t hear me. I got into bed easy and found -that bare place on his body and planted both feet right -on it. He hollered and went clear out of the tent. He said -afterwards he thought somebody had burned him with -a hot iron. I think I got even with him for making fun -of my saddle!</p> - -<h2 id='ch11' class='d021'>CHAPTER XI<br/>KID CURRY</h2> - -<p>Most of the big Montana cow outfits moved their -herds north of the Missouri River between 1888 and -1894. The point of crossing on the Missouri was an old -steamboat landing called Rocky Point where Jim Norris -had a saloon.</p> - -<p>When I crossed the river there in 1889, there was -no one living there but the little old man. He had an -old hand ferry boat that he took people across the river -with. The night I stayed with him, he told me he had -some fine gin and gave me a drink, which I found out -was straight alcohol and the one drink nearly strangled -me, but old Uncle Jim, as he was called, drank it like -water and seemed to do quite well on it. Every little -while he would go to the bank of the river and holler -at the top of his voice, “Do you want to bring your wagon -over?” There would not be anybody in sight, but he -seemed to get a great kick out of make-believe.</p> - -<p>I worked with Kid Curry that summer on the -roundup. He worked for the Diamond outfit and I -worked for the DHS. Both outfits worked the range -together. Kid was a fine fellow at that time and a good -cowboy—that was before he became an outlaw. I have -read where some writers told what a cold-blooded killer -he was and where he had held up banks and so forth, -and I know from some of the dates given that he was -blamed for a great many things he did not do.</p> - -<p>I am not trying to make a hero out of the Kid or -say that I approve of some things he done, but the public -at large does not know all the circumstances leading up -to where he first got into trouble.</p> - -<p>Charlie Russell knew Kid Curry and has given me -his analysis of his character (and he seldom made a -mistake in the reading of human nature). Charlie figured -any normal man might have went the route the Kid did.</p> - -<p>I am going to set down some of the facts regarding -the Kid’s becoming an outlaw. His name was Harvey -Curry. He had an older brother, Henry Curry. They -had a little ranch in the Badlands of the Missouri River -and ran a few cattle and horses. Both the brothers were -fine boys at that time and would give anyone the shirt -off their back if they were in need.</p> - -<p>Now there was a little mining town sprung up in the -Little Rockies not far from the Curry Ranch. The outstanding -character in that town was a man by the name -of Pike Landusky, a prospector who had found some -fairly rich prospects, and as there was some excitement -about the find quite a lot of people went to the mining -camp and Pike being about the first one on the ground, -the town was named Landusky.</p> - -<p>The town was about fifty miles from the railroad and -farther from the Sheriff’s office, so Pike was appointed -a Deputy Sheriff. Now Pike was not a bad sort of a -fellow as a rule, but had a reputation as somewhat of a -gun-fighter and was rather proud of it—he didn’t have -much education and very little intelligence—but was -proud of his authority as a Deputy Sheriff.</p> - -<p>The Kid was in town one night with some friends, -having a few drinks and celebrating in the ways of the -early West, when Pike decided Harvey had violated some -law and arrested him, and not having any jail in the -camp, handcuffed him for safekeeping. During the time -he was handcuffed, the Kid said Pike abused him shamefully -and cast reflections even on his mother, who was -dead and whom Pike had never known or seen, which -burned very deeply into the Kid. During the abuse the -Kid told Pike, “I won’t always be handcuffed, Pike, and -when I get out of this trouble, you are going to get a -licking you will remember.” Pike said, “I will be ready.”</p> - -<p>Some time after this incident Pike and the Kid met -in the saloon in Landusky and had a fist fight. Of course -the Kid started it and Pike got a bad licking. When the -fight started both men had guns on. Neither one knew -the other had a gun. Pike’s gun was in a holster under -his arm. Kid’s gun was fastened to his pants. In the -fight, the Kid’s gun fell on the floor. A friend of the -Kid’s picked it up and when the fight was over handed -it to him. Both Pike’s eyes were pretty well closed, but -he raised up on his knees and was trying to get a bead -on the Kid—so he shot Pike and killed him.</p> - -<p>Of course this was a very serious offense as he had -killed an officer of the law, and the sentiment of the -people was divided—and the Kid did not know whether -to give himself up or not. Anyway, he and a few of his -friends went to the ranch and talked the matter over -and decided it would be best for the Kid to cache himself -in the Badlands for a while. And his friends would bring -him food—and, of course, the longer he stayed a fugitive, -the less chance he had of getting acquitted if he did -give himself up. So after dodging around for a while and -having lost his older brother, Hank, as he was known, -who had died and was always the leader and adviser, -the Kid and a couple of his friends held up the Great -Northern Railroad train which had a shipment of currency—they -got away with it all right and got the -money, but it was new money and had not been officially -signed, so of course it was not much good to them. However, -they did pass some of it. The Kid had two half -brothers who come to Montana from Missouri. Their -names was Lannie and Johnny Logan, and they tried to -pass some of the money without much success. Lannie -was caught in Kansas City and killed with $10,000 of it -on his person. Johnny was killed in the Little Rocky -country in a gun fight with another cowboy.</p> - -<p>The Kid was caught in Tennessee after several years -and sent to the Knoxville pen—I believe for life. However, -he didn’t stay there very long. The papers said he -roped a guard and tied him up and got away. My -personal opinion is he got help in some other way. I was -told by a very reliable party that he went to the Argentine -country. Anyway he has never been heard of since. If -he is alive now, he would be about 70 years old.</p> - -<h2 id='ch12' class='d021'>CHAPTER XII<br/>FRED REID</h2> - -<p>Fred Reid was one of the old time deer and elk -hunters in the early days of Montana. He told me the -first bear he ever killed when he was a young boy, that he -was so scared he didn’t go near it after he shot it until -he saw some flies flying around its mouth. He said, he -knew then it was dead.</p> - -<p>Fred hunted for the market and said he often followed -elk all day on foot until they got tired, then he would -make the kill.</p> - -<p>After his hunting days were over, Fred went to work -as a cowboy and took charge of quite a big outfit. The -man wanted a new range and sent Fred out to locate one. -Fred found what he wanted and moved the outfit to the -Judith Basin. Then he located his headquarters down in -the Badlands of the Missouri River. It was surely a -tough country, to get in and out of—had to pack in -everything on pack horses.</p> - -<p>I asked Fred one time why he picked out such an -ungodly country. He said he wanted to be alone where -nobody would bother him and he sure found the ideal -place for that.</p> - -<p>During the winter of 1891 he hired me to go there -and ride what he said was some half-broke horses—about -twenty head. He wanted them for the Spring -roundup so he could use them to work cattle. Those -horses were like Fred—plenty tough. I don’t know how -he got so many mean ones in one bunch.</p> - -<p>I never saw so many mean horses—they would buck, -strike, kick, bite, or run away. Shortly after I went to -work for Fred, very cold weather set in and I sure had a -tough time with those horses. There was snow and ice -everywhere and it was hard enough for a gentle horse -to stand up. These broncs didn’t care whether they stood -up or not when they made up their minds to buck or run -away. The camp was on a ridge with very rough gulches -and canyons on both sides. The ridge averaged about a -mile wide and a good many miles long, and when I would -get one of them lined out on this ridge I would sure -speed him up and didn’t give him any time to think of -his tricks. I had to dress pretty heavy in that cold weather -and a lot of clothes on don’t go very good with riding -broncs. But the worst trouble of all was, I would get two -or three of them going fairly good and the weather would -turn so cold I couldn’t ride at all, sometimes for a week -and those horses would get bronco again and I would -have all my work to do over again. I rode most of them -with draw reins and I could always double or pile them -up in a snow bank before they would get to a cut bank -or a gulch, but one day I was out riding one without -draw reins and the horse stampeded heading for a cut -bank. If one went over it he would land in the Missouri -River. I couldn’t stop him and that bank looked to be -a million feet straight up and down, so when I saw I -couldn’t stop him I quit him and that’s a hard thing to -do when a horse is running away. I just let all holts go -and fell off but he didn’t go over the bank as soon as I -quit him. He turned and went to camp which was about -four miles that I had to walk.</p> - -<p>One morning one of those horses bucked pretty hard. -Fred was there and saw it. He said, “I saw a lot of daylight -between you and that saddle. Looked to me like -you was about gone.” I told him, “Oh no, that’s the way -I ride, kind of loose.” I don’t know if he believed it or -not but the fact was I was just about thrown off.</p> - -<p>The headquarters consisted of a dugout for a home, -no floor in it and a couple of bunks made out of -cottonwood poles, and a corral. We melted snow to make coffee -and cook with as the water hole was frozen and about -all we had to eat was sour dough bread and black coffee. -Of course, Fred being a great hunter, we had plenty of -deer meat. Soon after I came there the sugar was all -gone so we didn’t have any sweetening the rest of the -winter. As soon as the weather broke so I could get out -I quit Fred and left that part of the country.</p> - -<p>Some time afterwards I was back in that locality and -went to his camp. There was nobody home. It looked like -nobody had been there for some time. I looked around -and found some grub. It was a very warm day in the -summer so I picketed my horse and laid down on Fred’s -bed in the dugout to take a rest before getting something -to eat. While I was lying there I saw a snake’s head -appear out of a hole in the dugout. It looked as big as -my hand and when he got his whole body out he was a -monster. He was about four feet from me and saw me. -He stuck his tongue out at me a few times and crawled -across the dugout to where there was a grub box and -got about half of his body in it and stopped. I raised up -on my elbow to see what he was doing. He had his head -in the sugar sack. I was twenty-five miles from where I -could get anything to eat. I saddled up and beat it out -of there. That was a bull snake (Gopher Snake) but he -sure didn’t look good to me and he took all of my -appetite, eating out of the grub box. I saw Fred some time -afterwards and told him of my visit and of my leaving -without eating. He seemed very much surprised that -that should bother me any. He said the big fellow had -been with him a long time and that they were great -friends. He also said the big fellow didn’t allow no rats -or mice to come near the camp.</p> - -<p>I had quite an experience with another couple of old -timers—two brothers that had a ranch and quite a large -bunch of cattle. They had this ranch for some forty years, -did their own cooking and washed their clothes, in fact, -lived in real pioneer style. Their names were Frank and -George. I was working for an outfit several miles from -where those old timers lived. They sent my boss word -that we had some cattle strayed on to their range and he -sent me over there to help them gather the cattle and -bring them home, and while working with them I took -a very bad cold. One night when we got home I was -quite sick and went into the room where they slept and -laid down on one of the bunks. Later George and Frank -came in and started getting supper. Now, they had a -kind of an old box fastened on the wall of the cabin. They -called it their medicine chest and in there was every kind -of a bottle and little pill boxes imaginable and they were -so old and dusty that the description and contents of each -bottle was unreadable. While I was lying down I heard -George say to Frank, “Con is pretty sick,” Frank said, -“Why don’t you give him some bromo quinine?” George -said, “Where is it?” “Why, it’s in that thar medicine -box.” So George went looking for it. Pretty soon I heard -him say, “I think this is it.” Frank said, “Yes, I think it -is.” George started in where I was, but Frank stopped -him and said, “Wait a minute, let me look at that again.” -There was a little pause and I heard Frank say, “Hell no, -this is coyote poison, don’t give him that.” “All right,” -George said, “I’ll go back to the medicine box and look -again.” Soon he came into the room with several different -kinds of packages but I told him I didn’t think I needed -anything now. In fact, I felt much better.</p> - -<p>He was very much disappointed that I wouldn’t try -some of the medicine. But, oh boy, he couldn’t have -gotten any of that stuff down me with a ten foot pole.</p> - -<h2 id='ch13' class='d021'>CHAPTER XIII<br/>INDIANS</h2> - -<p>In the year of 1886 Chief Sitting Bull of the Sioux -tribe got permission from the agent at Standing Rock -Agency in North Dakota to make a visit to the Crow -Agency in Montana to visit the Crow Indians.</p> - -<p>So he collected about fifty Sioux warriors and made -the trip, and went to the battle ground where General -Custer and his army was massacred in the year 1876, -which was a short distance from the Crow Agency. He -asked the Crow agent for permission to have a war dance -on the battle ground. He said he wanted to recall old -times. The agent refused.</p> - -<p>So sitting Bull collected a bunch of Crow warriors and -had a party on the Little Horn River adjoining the battle -ground. The party progressed very nicely until Sitting -Bull got on his feet and declared he was the greatest -warrior that ever lived, stating the fact that he had -killed more white men and stolen more horses than any -other chief living. That statement insulted the Crow -chief and the party turned into a fight. Crazy Head, the -Crow chief, pulled his knife, grabbed Sitting Bull by his -long hair and throwed him down and made him smell -his feet, which was the greatest insult one chief could -offer another, as in the language of the Indian it made -Sitting Bull a dog, which is the worst name an Indian -can call anyone.</p> - -<p>The party broke up, and the next night Sitting Bull, -to get even, stole a bunch of Crow horses, and with his -fifty warriors started back for the Sioux reservation.</p> - -<p>But there was an old squaw man living with the -Crows that was plenty smart in the line of stealing horses -and he collected a bunch of Crows and followed Sitting -Bull and overtook his party on the Little Horn River, -and took the horses away from them and killed two Sioux -bucks and scalped them. Sitting Bull and the rest of his -party got away and beat it back to their reservation.</p> - -<p>Now the Crows got very uneasy over this affair and -were afraid the Sioux would go on the warpath and steal -away from their reservation and come back and clean -up on them. So the Crow chief, Crazy Head, called all -the Crows together, which at that time was about 2,800, -and made a blockade by putting all their lodges and -tepees on a big fiat on the Little Horn River covering -about 20 acres, and at night they put all their horses -inside this enclosure, and put guards all around it at -night. Also inside this enclosure about two hundred of -these warriors had tom-toms and they beat them all -night and sang war songs. I want to say here that all -the noise they made was to keep their spirits up, as they -were deathly afraid of the Siouxs.</p> - -<p>The old squaw man was in this big gathering, all -dressed up like the Indians with britch cloth and -head-dress with all kinds of feathers in his bonnet. I recall a -rather amusing incident about him. A few years prior to -the time I am writing of, the railroad ended at Miles -City, and the administration at Washington, D.C., had -notified the Crow Indian agent to send several chiefs to -Washington to try to make a peace treaty and give them -certain portions of land if they would become civilized. -The agent called this squaw man to the Agency to send -him with the chiefs as an interpreter. Now the old man -had never seen a train or railroad and thought he had -to ride horseback all the way to Washington. He told the -agent he thought he could make the trip all right, but -would have to have a new saddle. When he returned -from Washington, the Indians were very anxious to -know what he had seen and some of them still thought -they could beat the white men at war. So they asked the -old man how many whites he saw. He picked up both -hands full of sand and throwed it in the air. Said he, “The -whites are just like that wherever I went.” It was said -that this demonstration by the old man made it seem -useless to most of the braves to carry the fight any farther.</p> - -<p>They also had the scalps of those two Indians they -had killed hung on a tripod and some of the young -braves sure put on a real war dance around the scalps.</p> - -<p>Another man and myself went there one night. It -sure was some sight. We put blankets around us like the -Indians wore. This man I was with could talk Indian -and they told him they knew we were white men even -in the dark from the way we walked. This man’s name -was Herb Dana, and he lived on Tongue River in -Wyoming. If he is alive yet he can verify what I have told -about this incident.</p> - -<p>That winter a man by the name of Ed Town and -myself started across the reservation with a freighting -outfit, which he owned. He lived at the foot of the Big -Horn Mountains. We had forty head of work cattle -(which was Texas steers) and six wagons (which was -two teams, three wagons hooked together—ten yoke of -cattle made a team). It was in the month of January -and the weather turned bitter cold.</p> - -<p>We were near froze to death one night. We made -camp and unyoked the steers, turned them loose without -any feed except a few willows that grew on the creek. We -finally got the tent up and I was kicking around in snow -up to my knees, trying to find wood enough to build a -fire, but there wasn’t any to be found. About the time I -had given up, an old Indian came up to me and made -signs he had a good lodge and no grub and that we had -plenty food and no fire, and invited us to bring our food -to his tepee. We were sure glad to make the trade.</p> - -<p>His lodge was about 200 yards from our camp. We -took all the bacon and flour the three of us could carry -and went with the Indian. That was as cold a night as I -ever saw and am sure we would both lost our lives if it -wasn’t for that Indian.</p> - -<p>I don’t think they had ate for a long time, as the -squaws made bread and fried bacon all night. There was -ten Indians in the camp and did they eat!</p> - -<p>The lodge was round with a hole at the top. The fire -was in the middle of the lodge. They cooked the bread -in a frying pan.</p> - -<p>We stayed there three days during the blizzard and -outside of a little smoke we were fairly comfortable, but -I think when we left there we were two of the lousiest -men ever walked. I traded an Indian a $12.00 Stetson -for a muskrat cap—I could brush lice and nits off it -in swarms.</p> - -<p>When the storm broke we found enough steers to pull -one wagon to the ranch. As far as I know the rest of -them died.</p> - -<p>The winter of 1886 and 1887 was the toughest winter -of my life and I believe it will be verified by all cattle -men of that period. There was men in Montana and -Wyoming that had 5,000 cattle that didn’t roundup -100 head the next spring.</p> - -<p>My boss paid me off when we got to the ranch. I met -up with another kid about my age. We had about $20.00 -between us and no place to go. So we made a dugout out -of cottonwood poles and dirt. We had no stove, so built a -fireplace to cook on—and on the coldest days it always -smoked the worst. In the spring we smelled and looked -like Indians. We rustled a quarter of beef, a few beans, -a little sugar and coffee and lived on that until spring. -We got a little tapioca somewhere for dessert. We cooked -that with water but we couldn’t spare much sugar—there -was no place to get any more (that was on the line -of Montana and Wyoming and was 100 miles from -the railroad).</p> - -<p>That winter the Indians suffered terrible from hunger -and after we set up housekeeping squaws and papooses -would come to stay until we cooked our meal with the -hopes of getting something to eat. We fed them for awhile -but we were getting low on food and had to quit, but they -would come every day and stay all day and we wouldn’t -eat while they were there.</p> - -<p>One day my partner said he wanted to eat, but didn’t -know what to do with those damn Indians. They were all -huddled around the fireplace. I told him to make a lane -through them as if he wanted to put some wood on the -fire. I had a 45 six-shooter under my head on our bunk. -When he made the opening I opened fire on the fireplace -and took a fit. I hollered and bucked like a bronc. I -throwed ashes all over the Indians and they nearly tore -the door down getting out. Then we cooked and eat, and -wasn’t bothered with Indians for a long time.</p> - -<p>About a week after a buck Indian came by there -looking for horses. It was very cold and my partner asked -him in to get warm. He looked at me for a while and -shook his head and made signs I was crazy. I guess the -squaws had told him about me. We had put out some -poisoned meat for coyotes and the Indians found it and -was going to eat it but was suspicious and tried it on -a dog and it killed him, which didn’t raise us much in -their estimation.</p> - -<p>I will always think those Indians got even with me. -That following spring I wanted to leave that part of the -country, and I didn’t have a horse. So I got to talking -to some Indians. They said they had a fine horse running -in their bunch. It was a stray—nobody claimed it and -I could have him. I made a date with them when they -would corral their horses. I was there with my saddle. -They showed me a beautiful big sorrel and told me to -catch him, which I did. He trotted right up to me when -I roped him and seemed very nice to saddle. I was -wondering all the time why those Indians were so kind to me, -but oh boy, when I mounted him I found out. After the -first jump I never saw anything but a little piece of -sorrel mane in front of the saddle. I have been bucked -off a good many times and often thought I could have -rode most of the horses if I had got a break, but there -never was any doubt about that Indian gift horse—I -never had a Chinaman’s chance.</p> - -<p>I saw several of those Indians in years afterwards. -They would think awhile before they would remember -me—they would laugh and make signs with their hands -how the horse bucked me off.</p> - -<p>The Crow Indians’ name for me was the White Man -Chews Tobacco—Masachele Opa Barusha.</p> - -<p>One time an old Crow Indian told me quite a story -about the Tribe that I don’t believe many people know -(and I have seen some evidence of the truth of his story).</p> - -<p>I was riding line for a cow outfit on the Crow Reservation -and an old Crow Chief came riding into my camp -one morning about daylight, and asked me for something -to eat, as he said he was making a long ride on some -important business. I knew him—he was the same Chief -that pulled a knife on Chief Sitting Bull, grabbed him by -the hair and made him smell of his feet. This old Chief’s -white-man’s name was Crazy Head—his Indian name -was Ah Shumoch Noch, which means “Curly Head.” -His hair was curly (which is unusual for an Indian) and -he had very thick lips, which made me think of the -story the old Indian had told me. He said a great many -snows ago, a Negro showed up among the Crows. Nobody -knew where he came from or how he got there, but he -lived with them for many years. The Crow name for a -Negro is Masachele Sha Pit Cot (which means White -Black Man). While this old Chief was enjoying his -breakfast (and he was plenty hungry) I asked him in -Indian if he didn’t have some Nigger blood in him, and -it sure made him mad. I believe if he hadn’t been eating -in my camp he would have done something to me, but -he said “Barrett” in a very loud voice, which means NO, -but I insisted that he must have a little Negro blood. Still -his answer was NO, with an oath, but I kept on teasing -him about his curly hair and thick lips. He finally stuck -out the end of his little finger with his thumb on the -other hand to measure with—ecosh cota, which meant -about the size of a pin head. He sure hated a nigger.</p> - -<p>There was another old Indian visited our camp sometimes, -that was quite a character. But he could peddle -the bull as good as any white man I ever knew. Sometimes -when he came to our camp—we wouldn’t have -much food cooked and wouldn’t give him anything to -eat, and he would silently sit on the ground watching us -until we got through eating. When we put our cooking -outfit away, he would get up on his feet, hitch his blanket -over his shoulders and go out of the tent and call us all -the mean dirty names he could think of, such as dogs, -skunks and snakes. Well, maybe the next time he came -we would feed him and it was sure wonderful to see the -change in him. He loved bacon and coffee. Sometimes -we would give him a big plate of bacon and sour dough -bread. He would sit on the ground, cross his legs and -boy, how he would eat! He would get his hands all bacon -grease and rub them through his hair, and get a few -shots of that strong coffee into him—it seemed to stimulate -him like a shot of hop. Then he would open up -with his “bull.” He would talk part Indian and part -English. His favorite line was how much he loved the -white man, such as, “Me no steal em White Man horse—White -Man he my brother—My heart very good for -him” (and I know he would steal the coppers off of a -dead white man’s eyes). He said the Piegan Indian and -the Sioux was very bad and all the time steal white man’s -horse, but he was always watching out for the white man -and wouldn’t let other Indians steal white man horse.</p> - -<p>I recall another Indian I knew several years later, -his name was Christmas. I always thought that he had -stolen my saddle. One time at Big Sandy, Montana, we -had shipped a train load of cattle out of Malta, and as -usual after the cattle were all loaded out, we proceeded -to celebrate before we went back on the range to gather -some more. I think there were about twenty of us when -we started the night celebration, but sometime in the -night I must have took a nap, anyway I came to about -two o’clock in the morning and as it was late in the -month of October it was quite cold, in fact I thought I -would freeze to death, everybody was gone to camp, my -horse was tied to the hitch rack, the saloons were all -closed, and not a light anywhere. I was working my way -around trying to find my horse. When this Indian showed -up where my horse was tied, he evidently had been drunk -too and seemed very glad to find someone to talk to or -steal something. He came up to where I was and said, -“By golly Con Price I sure glad to see you, you my -brother.” I guess I must have got some bad whiskey -and felt pretty mean for while Christmas was talking to -me I thought it would be a good joke to swing on him. -His hands were both hanging down by his sides, so I -was not taking any chances. I braced myself and gave -him all I had, right on the point of the chin. It turned -him half way around and he fell on his stomach. He -weighed about two hundred and twenty-five, he had on -a pair of heavy cowhide boots, that must have weighed -five pounds each. He had no sooner fell down than he -was up again and running like hell, he didn’t look back -or say a word, but with those big boots and his weight, it -sounded like a bunch of horses running away. I saw him -about a month afterward, he didn’t say anything, but -smiled. I guess he thought it was a good joke too.</p> - -<p>After Christmas left I got on my horse, and started -for camp, of course there were no roads so I started out -across the prairie, and it was very dark and I got lost. I -finally landed in some heavy sage brush, I got off my -horse and tied him to some brush, by that time I had -got awful thirsty and couldn’t find any water. I felt -something in my chaps pocket, and found it was a bottle -of tomato catsup (where or how I got it I never knew). -I couldn’t get the cork out so I broke the head off of it -with a rock, and drank nearly all of it. I layed down and -went to sleep but woke up in a short time with a terrible -pain in my stomach, the first thing I thought was that I -had swallowed some of the glass from that ketchup -bottle and I was sure scared. It was getting daylight about -that time and I knew where I was, and I got on my horse -and started for the old DHS horse ranch. There was no -one home as the boys were all on the roundup. I heated -a tub of water and got into it and had a big sweat, after -that I felt much better, I cooked something to eat and -went to bed and stayed there until the next morning. -As I knew about where the roundup would be, I found -camp that day, nobody said much to me about my -absence, as it was a legitimate excuse those days for a -cowboy getting drunk to be late on the job.</p> - -<h2 id='ch14' class='d021'>CHAPTER XIV<br/>OPEN RANGE DAYS</h2> - -<p>In the days of open range, everybody had great -freedom. A cowboy could change countries every spring -if he wanted to and they were always drifting from one -range to another—not only to different ranges but to -different states. For instance, maybe he would be in New -Mexico one year and on the Canadian border the next.</p> - -<p>Every cowboy had a private horse of his own, pack -horse and his own bed, which consisted of a tarpaulin -and some blankets. And according to the custom of them -days he could stop at any cow camp or ranch and was -not under obligations to anyone, and if he wanted to stay -a week and rest his horses that was O.K. too. If there -was no one home, he always found grub and helped -himself, so he was quite independent—and it did not -take much money to travel. Nature provided him with -new scenery every day, such as unclaimed land, rivers -and creeks, and in my day plenty of wild game of all -kinds. I don’t believe the tourist of today with his -automobile has anything compared to what we had.</p> - -<p>I am going to make a statement here that almost -sounds fishy, but I can prove it. I worked for a cow outfit -that run twenty-five thousand cattle and three or four -hundred saddle horses to handle the cattle with, and they -didn’t own one foot of deeded land. The land was -unsurveyed and belonged to the government. They -usually built a big log house, some corrals and a kind -of stable, and called it their ranch, and no one disputed -their title—even a sheepman must not get too close -with his woolies. They paid no taxes on this land and as -it would be impossible for the assessor to count the cattle -in an area of two or three hundred miles, I would say a -good honest cattle man might give in one-third of his -number. An outfit the size I speak of, would hire about -twenty-five cowboys during the summer months and keep -four or five during the winter. That was the only expense -they had, outside of buying saddle horses to mount their -cowboys—which was ten or twelve to the man.</p> - -<p>I have been asked quite often what a “Rep” was by -people that was hatched at a later day. Well, for illustration, -Tom Jones has a ranch at San Francisco—Bill -Smith has a ranch at Los Angeles. Both run several -thousand cattle. There are no fences between those two -places, so, naturally, in the course of a year quite a -number of both men’s cattle would drift out of their -range where they worked their main range and it -wouldn’t pay to send a whole outfit so far for what -cattle had drifted—so they picked out a very reliable -cowboy that knew their brands. He cut out his string -of horses, packed his bed and started for one of those -ranges to represent the outfit he was working for. There -might be six or seven reps with each different outfit.</p> - -<p>Now, when one of those outfits started to work their -range, they started what they called a “Day Herd”—that -was for the purpose of holding all cattle that the -reps, or the home outfit wanted to hold—sometimes -beef cattle, sometimes some outfit changing hands—those -cattle were held by home range men and driven -from one roundup to another and each day, and each -roundup; anybody that found any cattle they wanted to -hold or take home, they were cut out and put in that -day herd.</p> - -<p>This herd sometimes got pretty big before the -roundup was over and was bunched up at night and held -on what they called the bed-ground. Those cattle were -night herded by all cowboys that worked during the day, -by shifts of two or three hours each, the hours depending -on the length of the nights—spring or fall—sometimes -two men on shift, or more, depending on the size of the -herd or how hard they were to hold.</p> - -<p>The rep never done any day-herding as he was supposed -to see all cattle rounded up so as to pick out the -cattle he represented, as other cowboys didn’t know his -irons as well as he did. There was also a little cowboy -etiquette extended to the rep—he didn’t have to stand -night guard unless it was absolutely necessary.</p> - -<p>When this roundup was over and the range all -worked, lasting from a month to six weeks, the big herd -was worked and every cowboy that had any cattle in the -herd cut them out in a bunch by themselves, or some other -fellow that had cattle going home the same direction as -he was, then they throwed in together. If a cowboy -didn’t have help enough to move his cattle to their home -range, the outfit he gathered them with sent some men -to help him. This custom was practiced in all the outfits. -Another fine practice in the early days by honest -cowmen was if a cow was found in a roundup with a -calf belonging to her and nobody claimed her, the captain -of that roundup branded the calf with the same iron that -was on the mother and turned her loose where she was. -This was done with what was known as a running iron, -which was a small bar and a small half circle—one can -make any brand on an animal with those two irons. Now -if that was a steer calf and nobody claimed him until it -was grown and fit for beef, that same captain or any -captain of any roundup had a right to load and ship that -steer to any market with his cattle, say Chicago, Omaha -or Kansas City, which were the principal shipping points -in those days. There the stock inspector got a record of -what state the steer came from and when he was sold. -It was his duty to see that the money was sent to the -stock association of that state, they having a record of -the brand and the address of the owner. A check was -immediately forwarded to the party.</p> - -<p>For instance, Charlie Russell and myself got a check -for a steer I had not seen for six years and had been -loaded on the train four hundred miles from where I -turned him loose. He was shipped to Chicago, sold and -the money sent to Helena, Montana, where we had our -brand recorded.</p> - -<h2 id='ch15' class='d021'>CHAPTER XV<br/>THE JOHNSON COUNTY WAR</h2> - -<p>This incident I write about was known as the Johnson -County War in Wyoming in the years of 1893 and 1894, -and I presume some of the old-timers of today remember -those days when those things happened.</p> - -<p>The way it first started, some of the cowboys working -for the big outfits bought a few cattle of their own and -branded them and turned them loose on the range. The -cattle barons objected to this, and passed a resolution -that any cowboy owning a branding iron could not work -for them—for the reason, them days there were a great -many mavericks on the range and the cattlemen divided -them up among themselves. This caused considerable -bitterness, as the cowboy claimed any animal without a -brand belonged to the first one that found it. There may -have been some justification on both sides; at any rate -it developed into quite a feud. I heard one old cattleman -remark that he knew cowboys that even their grandfathers -never owned a cow, had more cattle than he did.</p> - -<p>This feeling between stockmen and cowboys got to -be very serious, as each side took the law in their own -hands to a great extent, and there was quite a few people -killed. The rustlers got so bold they took a contract with -one of the construction contractors to supply them with -beef. They would go out on the range, and butcher any -animal they found, regardless of what brand was on the -animal.</p> - -<p>The stockmen appointed a stock detective. His -name was Chris Groce, who was very capable and absolutely -fearless, and for a while held the rustlers somewhat -in check, but as time went on the sympathy of all the -little ranchers and cowboys were with the cattle rustlers.</p> - -<p>I remember two boys that the cattlemen wanted put -out of the way but could not catch up with them, so they -formed a posse and went out after them. They finally -run those boys into an old cabin out on the range and -tried to get them to surrender without any success. They -finally backed a wagonload of hay up against the cabin -and set it on fire. When the cabin caught fire, the rustlers -made a break to get away, and the posse killed both -of them.</p> - -<p>There was another ex-cowboy I knew that decided -to go into business for himself. He would go out on the -range, shoot a steer, butcher it, bring it to town and sell -it. He went by the name of Spokane. He got along pretty -well for a while, but one day the Sheriff was trailing some -horse thieves across the country and run on to Spokane -with a steer shot down and was butchering it. The Sheriff -told him to throw up his hands, but instead Spokane -crouched down behind his steer and opened fire on the -Sheriff with his six-shooter and made it hard for the -Sheriff to get him, but the Sheriff had a Winchester and -could reach him at long range. He finally shot him in the -arm and Spokane came up and surrendered. The Sheriff -told me afterwards he sure hated to shoot him, as he -was plenty game. I was in the hotel the night they -brought Spokane in and the doctor dressed his arm without -any anesthetic. He lay on the couch and smoked -cigarettes just as unconcerned as if everything was all -right and in no pain. They sent Spokane to the Pen for -three years and when he got out he straightened up and -made a very good citizen.</p> - -<p>These conditions seemed to go from bad to worse -until things got so bad the cattlemen took it on themselves -to hire a bunch of Texas Rangers to come to Wyoming -to protect their interests. That fact created more bitter -feeling and anybody taking sides with either group was -sure in danger of their lives at all times. I remember a -bunch of rustlers and cowboys, went to an old deserted -ranch and built a kind of temporary stockade. The Rangers -followed them there and tried to arrest them on their -own authority. One of the boys in the stockade told me -afterwards that siege lasted several days, and they had -to go to a spring for water, and every time they did so -there would be considerable shooting from both sides.</p> - -<p>Finally conditions got so bad that it got out of control -of the local authorities and the militia was called out to -settle the trouble. They arrested everybody—cattlemen, -cowboys, rustlers and Rangers, and took them all to -Cheyenne. That broke up the feud and nobody gained -anything. Most of the cowmen lived in the East and they -were sick of the whole affair. Some of them sold out and -never did come back to Wyoming. The cowboys and -rustlers drifted to parts unknown, and things in Johnson -County got on a more legitimate basis. I met several of -those cowboys afterwards in Montana. Most of them -were under assumed names, and some of them had very -good jobs, such as stock inspectors and foremen of big -outfits. They generally made pretty good men, as they -had had plenty of experience.</p> - -<p>At the time those conditions existed, I was breaking -colts for the PK Cow outfit on Soldier Creek, close to -Sheridan, Wyoming, and Buffalo Bill Cody sent notice to -Sheridan that he would be there on a certain day and -wanted to buy a carload of wild horses to ship to Boston -for his show, also he wanted to hire some Wild West -riders to take back to Boston. That is a long time ago -and there wasn’t the bronc riders there is today. Some -rode with tied stirrups, some with buck straps. There -was a quite a number of riders but only one boy -qualified—his name was Scotty. I tried for that job, but Bill -hurt my pride very much, as he told me I might make -a rider but wouldn’t do at that time. The only consolation -I had was to say to myself that Bill didn’t know a good -rider when he saw one.</p> - -<h2 id='ch16' class='d021'>CHAPTER XVI<br/>BRONCOS</h2> - -<p>Several people not familiar with horses have asked -me what a bronco-buster means, and they seem to think -all cowboys are bronco riders, which is not so. I sometimes -talk to an old-timer that once rode broncs and -broke horses, and like most all old-timers in every line -of work they claim the younger generation cannot compete -with them the way they did it in their day. But the -old boys are only kidding themselves when they think -those young fellows can’t ride a bucking horse. They -have made a profession of it and keep in practice. -Another thing, the old-tuners never flanked a horse like -they do in contest today—that’s putting a strap around -his kidneys and cinching it up to make him buck—and -it does make him buck harder than without it. He gets -in a twist when he is up off the ground. That the horses -of the old days never did. I have been judge at several -bucking contests and shows and I would venture to say -that no old-timer could ever have rode those horses with -that rigging on him without first getting used to it.</p> - -<p>Another thing, in the old days of the range the good -riders tried to keep their horse from bucking, whereas -today they train and teach them to buck for the shows. -So naturally the horse and rider have more practice.</p> - -<p>There is a great difference between a bronc-rider and -a horse-breaker, or a regular cowboy—and still they -are classed as the same by a great many people. Not -saying anything against the modern bronc-rider, but all -he knows about a horse is to ride him while he bucks. I -have seen some the best riders that didn’t have any idea -what a horse should do after he quit bucking, from the -fact he saddles him in a chute and gets on him in -there—then he is let out and the skill he uses is to stay on -that horse a few seconds until the whistle is blown by the -time-keeper and the horse is caught by the pick-up man—and -many a time that whistle has saved many a boy -when he was all in. But the poor bronc-fighter has a hard -time at best. He has plenty of competition and they can’t -all win and most of them, if they follow it long enough, -wind up broken physically and financially. So the old -saying still goes ... “all it takes to make a good -bronc-buster is a strong back and a weak mind” ... as all it -requires is plenty courage and practice.</p> - -<p>But a good horse-breaker really does something. He -uses intelligence and studies the disposition of his horse, -as every one is different and requires different methods—and -I wouldn’t attempt to say which is the best. Some -cowboys are natural horsemen and seemingly without -taking very much pains get wonderful results, while the -other fellow will try ever so hard and never get nowhere.</p> - -<p>Nearly every state has a different way of starting a -young horse. In Montana the first thing we did with a -wild horse was to catch him by the front feet and throw -him down, and take one hind leg away from him by -tying it up so he can’t touch the ground with it (that -way he can’t hurt you or himself). He stands on three -legs and if he tries to kick or fight he usually falls down. -After a few falls he will stand and let you rub him all -over his body and legs, and you can saddle and unsaddle -him until he finds he can’t get away from you and that -you aren’t going to hurt him. That was the system I used -and I thought I got very good results.</p> - -<p>However, I have seen cowboys use a blindfold on a -horse that worked very well, too—using a soft piece of -leather or a piece of cloth to put over the horse’s eyes -and in that way learned him to stand while they saddled -him and got on and off until he gets used to it. But I -always preferred the way of letting the horse see what -was going on from the first lesson.</p> - -<p>But that is just a small part of breaking a horse. In -the first place he may have a notion of bucking no matter -how careful you have been in handling him, as there -is no doubt some horses inherit those different bad habits -from their ancestors just like humans do, and if bucking -happens to be the favorite way of your horse’s showing -his meanness, the cowboy must be able to ride him, as -every time a horse bucks his man off he is getting that -much nearer to being an outlaw. Then another thing—seldom -ever any two horses buck the same. One will have -some different twist from the other one. I have seen good -riders get on a horse that didn’t seem to buck so hard and -would get throwed off. When I used to ride, the hardest -for me was one that bucked and whirled around and -around.</p> - -<p>But the bucking is usually the small part of breaking -a horse or at least to make him valuable as a cow horse. -Most horse-breakers first start the horse with a hackamore -and sometimes never put a bridle on him for a -couple of years and then sometimes he is not finished, -depending both on what kind of a horse and man -they are.</p> - -<p>I think in the early days in Wyoming and Montana -they got much quicker results with a horse, as they started -working cattle with a young horse as soon as a man could -pull him around at all, and there is no doubt but that is -what makes a good horse. They are like people. One can -read forever about learning to do something and will -never learn much until they actually do the work -themselves.</p> - -<p>There is no doubt California turns out some of the -best broke horses in the world, but the breaking sometimes -costs the owner as much as two hundred dollars. -So it can be readily seen that a big cow outfit like they -had a few years back, that had a couple of hundred -saddle horses and worked 25 or 30 men, couldn’t put in -two years breaking a horse or pay two hundred dollars -to break him. Even at that I have seen just as good, if -not better, practical cow horses that never had that much -time or money spent on them—but they worked cattle -every day during the six months of the season—and I -contend that’s what makes cow horses and cowboys.</p> - -<p>Another difference in the professional bronc-rider is -he has his horse in a chute to handle and saddle him, -with plenty of help. The old-timer had to rope his horse -out of a bunch of horses and saddle him alone and get -on him without any help. Then maybe he would stampede, -run over a cut bank or fall down—and he had -to be able to take care of himself.</p> - -<h2 id='ch17' class='d021'>CHAPTER XVII<br/>MY MARRIAGE</h2> - -<p>In the days that I write of there were very few -women folks in the country and a less number of girls, -but there was one family who had one girl of about -seventeen years and I thought she was very attractive. -I worked about twenty miles from where she lived and -used to go to see her quite often, but she had two brothers -about eight and ten years old and they were wild as -Indians and their main sport and pastime was riding wild -calves and yearlings. The girl was about as wild as them -and usually joined in those bucking contests, so when I -went courting her she wanted me to join in on the fun. As -my every-day work was riding and handling cattle, this -kind of sport didn’t interest me. I was serious and -wanted to make love, so those boys were a great worry -to me, as when I wanted to court the girl the boys wanted -to ride calves. One time when I was particularly interested -in talking to the girl they wanted me to go out to -the corral and ride calves, and of course I wouldn’t go, so -one of them suggested I act as a horse and he would ride -me. To get rid of him I consented. He was to get up on -my shoulders, put his legs around my neck and hold on -to my shirt collar with his hands. Then I was to start -bucking, which I did. When I got to bucking my best I -bent over forward and threw him off pretty hard and -hurt him some. He got up crying and the girl was laughing -at him for being bucked off. He said, “Well, I would -have rode the S.B. if he hadn’t throwed his head down.” -Anyway, I got rid of him for that day and had a chance -to court the girl.</p> - -<p>As most any story is not complete without some love -and courtship in it, I am going to write my experience -in that matter.</p> - -<p>I was married to Claudia Toole in the year 1899. -She was a daughter of Bruce Toole, who was a brother -to Joseph K. Toole, Governor of Montana at that time. -Now Bruce Toole was a very fine aristocratic Southern -gentleman and knowing that a cowboy didn’t usually -climb very high on the ladder of culture he didn’t think -I was desirable company for his daughter. So, we had to -carry on our courtship secretly from the old gent, and as -about the only amusement of those days was country -dancing and as we all went to them on horseback (which -usually was 15 or 20 miles) we would ride to a dance. -As I could not go to my girl’s home to get her, we would -designate a certain rock or creek out on the range to -meet at and would go from there to the dance. That is -where I would leave her the next morning after the -dance. Her father thought she went to those parties -with her brother, who was in on our secret, so in all our -courtship it was unknown to him and it was the shock -of his life when we slipped away and got married.</p> - -<p>My wife had a pinto horse of her own that her father -had got from the Indians and given to her and he must -have had some fine breeding back in his ancestry somewhere -as he could run like a blue streak. I usually rode -the same horse every time we went out together and the -two horses became very attached to each other. One time -I had taken my wife to a dance and ventured a little -closer to her home than usual. I unsaddled her horse and -turned him loose in the pasture and rode away. Her horse -ran along the fence and put up a terrible fuss about being -separated from my horse. My wife’s father saw him -acting up and wondered what in the world was the -matter with him, but he hadn’t seen me. That was one -time we nearly got caught in our secret courtship.</p> - -<p>I was working for a large cattle company and we had -a great many saddle horses. They used to stray away -from the ranch quite often and I used to ride the range -hunting them. There was an old German who had quite -a large ranch about ten miles from us, and a good many -cattle and horses. He used to try to keep in contact with -me as much as possible to find out if I had seen any of -his stock and to tell him where they were. So, he used -to tell me whenever I was anywhere near his ranch to -come there and eat and feed my horse.</p> - -<p>About three miles from this old man’s ranch was an -enormous big rock that one could hide a couple of horses -behind very easily and my wife could get up on the -top of the rock and see the whole surrounding country. -That was one of our meeting places and we had a date -one day to meet at this rock at a certain hour. I could -always see her and her pinto horse coming for several -miles, so I was at the rock this day waiting for my girl -and the old German was out riding this day looking after -his stock and saw me quite a distance away and came -to where I was. He spoke very broken English and of -course was glad to see me and inquire about his stock. -He said, “Veil, Con—vot you look for?” I told him I -had lost a horse and was hunting for him. He wanted -a description of the horse, so if he found him he could -hold him for me. Of course I had to give him an imaginary -description and I wanted to get rid of him as I -expected my girl along at any minute, but he insisted -that I should go to his ranch with him and have dinner -and feed my horse. I used every excuse I could think of—told -him I was in a hurry to find the horse—thought -he might be sick and would die if I didn’t find him right -away—but he said, “Come on with me and have dinner -and I vill go mit you and hunt the horse.” Of course, -that was just what I didn’t want. I had a hard time, -but finally got rid of him and went and found my girl.</p> - -<p>Some months afterwards, my girl and I were at -another rancher’s place and quite a crowd of people had -gathered there that day. The old German came and in -the general conversation he said, “Con, didth you findth -that hos you vos looking fo’ and vos he sick?” I told him -I had found the horse and he was fine. My girl was -listening to the conversation and her face turned as red as -a firecracker—of course I had told her about the -meeting with the old man at the rock.</p> - -<p>I think everybody has more or less trouble in their -courting days, but it seemed to my wife and I that we -had more than our share. As I said before, my wife’s -parents didn’t know we were keeping company at all—in -fact, didn’t hardly know me. There was a very noted -dance coming off about 20 miles from her home that we -had planned to attend, when, lo and behold, a few days -before the dance a very wealthy and refined gentleman -(and an old friend of her father’s) with a fine team and -top buggy (which was very rare in those days) came to -her father’s ranch to ask her parents to take her to the -dance. They at once gladly said yes and she in order not -to tip her hand had to consent, and mind you, we were -engaged to be married at this time. Of course, with me -not knowing anything about this transaction it placed -her in a very precarious position, and she had a terrible -time getting in touch with me to explain to me what -had happened. It didn’t set too well with me, but in -order to keep everything under control we agreed that -she would go to the dance with this man and I would -go alone. I guess the fellow must have had some suspicion -of the way things stood, as he told her the next day when -he was taking her home that he noticed she and I seemed -to feel very much better when we had our first dance -together. He tried to question her about me and told her -I didn’t even own a cabin. She acted very innocent and -unconcerned about the matter, but he must have figured -he was out of the race, because he never came to call -on her again.</p> - -<p>When we got married we had to steal away like we -did when we were courting. I borrowed a team and -spring wagon and we had to drive forty miles and the -snow was about belly deep on the horses. Then we had -to wait over in Shelby until the next day to go to Great -Falls. The job of getting her away from the ranch was -the hard part of it. My wife’s room was upstairs in her -home and we agreed that she would throw her stuff out -the window about eight o’clock at night and I would pick -it up and carry it to the wagon I had parked about 100 -yards from the house. I didn’t have any idea how much -stuff she had until she began throwing it out—clothes, -suitcases, shoes and everything else that a woman ever -wore, and besides, she used to play the piano and she had -great bales of sheet music and every time one of those -bales of music hit that frozen ground it sounded like -someone had shot a high powered rifle and the stuff fell -right in front of a window down stairs and the window -curtains were up. Her father sat reading about ten feet -from where I was picking it up. I would take all I could -carry on my back to the wagon and came back for -another load, and as she was still throwing stuff out while -I was gone there would be a bigger pile than ever when -I got back. I believe she would have thrown the piano out -too if the window had been big enough, and the worst -part of it was her father had two bloodhounds and they -bellowed and howled every time she threw out a fresh -cargo. It was a very cold night and I wore a big fur -overcoat and every time I bent over to pick up a package -they would howl louder than ever. They thought I was -some kind of animal. I tried whispering to them to get -out and keep still and that would bring a bigger howl -than ever. I was watching her father pretty close through -the window and every once in a while he would cock his -head sideways to listen and acted like he was going to -get up and come out, then would settle down and go to -reading again. During those intervals, my heart was sure -pounding and I was all sweaty with fear. I have often -heard of people being very nervous when they placed -the bride’s ring on her finger, but I know that is nothing -compared to the ordeal I went through. I forgot, and left -a lot of things around where I loaded the wagon and it -snowed a lot after that. Every time my wife missed -something of hers, we would go to that spot and shovel snow. -Neither one of us had any idea of what it took to set -up housekeeping and it is amazing what we bought. One -thing we both agreed on was a carpet, as we intended -to move into an old cabin that had big cracks in the -floor. When we got home and checked our Outfit, it -seemed to be mostly carpet. Then I think every friend -we ever had gave us a lamp for a wedding present, so we -had a whole wagonload of carpets and lamps. We had -hanging lamps, floor lamps and lamps to throw away, -but hardly anything else in the way of housekeeping. -When we arrived back in Shelby there were about 25 -cowboys in town that had come to celebrate Christmas -(it being Christmas week we were married) and they -were all at the train to meet us. Most of them had a -good sized Xmas jag on and the different congratulations -I got from that bunch would sure sound funny today if -I could remember them all. They were all old time -cowboys that I had worked with for years. We all went -to a saloon to celebrate the event. Each one would take -me aside to pour out his feelings and congratulations, and -give me hell for stealing away to get married without -telling them. Some of the names they called me wouldn’t -look good in print but that was their way of showing their -true friendship. One old bowlegged fellow that I had -known from the time I was a kid had a little more joy -juice aboard than the others. He didn’t have much to -say, but stood at the end of the bar and drank regularly -while the celebration was going on. He had one cock eye -and kept watching me all the time until he got an opportunity -to attract my attention. He nodded to me to come -over to where he was. I went over to him and he looked -at me silently for a moment and said, “Well, you’re -married, are you?” I said yes, and he asked, “Did you -marry a white woman?” I answered yes, and he said -“You done damn well, but I feel sorry for the girl.” In -the meantime, while we were away getting married, my -wife’s father wrote her a letter to Shelby where we had -our team and wagon and told her all was forgiven and to -come home, which we did.</p> - -<p>I went to work for him and as he owned plenty of -cattle and horses I seemed to be just the kind of a -son-in-law he needed, but we sure had a supply of carpet -and lamps that we didn’t know what to do with.</p> - -<div class='d022'> - <div class='d023'> - <img class='d018' - alt='Con Price and Charlie Russell At Great Falls, Montana (1903)' - src='images/illus-123a.jpg' /> - </div> - <p class='d008'> - Con Price and Charlie Russell At Great Falls, Montana (1903) - </p> -</div> - -<div class='d022'> - <div class='d023'> - <img class='d018' - alt='Charlie Russell with Sandy and Dave At the Lazy KY (1907)' - src='images/illus-123b.jpg' /> - </div> - <p class='d008'> - Charlie Russell with Sandy and Dave At the Lazy KY (1907) - </p> -</div> - -<h2 id='ch18' class='d021'>CHAPTER XVIII<br/>THE LAZY KY</h2> - -<p>A few years after my marriage we settled on a squatter’s -right on the head of Kicking Horse Creek in the -Sweet Grass Hills in Montana. The land was unsurveyed -at that time and one did not know where his boundary -lines were. So one staked off what one thought was about -right and it was respected by most stockmen.</p> - -<p>I lived seven years on that squatter’s right and when -it was surveyed I proved up on it at once. The government -allowed me from the time I established my -residence. I also had fenced in about three thousand acres -of government land, which I had the use of for ten years -without any cost.</p> - -<p>It was quite easy to borrow money those days. So I -soon was in the cattle business for myself.</p> - -<p>After some years Charlie Russell came to see me and -in our conversation he asked me if I would like a partner. -That suited me fine, as that would give me some money to -work on. So I told Charlie I would gather the cattle and -horses, and he would come to the ranch and we would -count the stock and appraise the outfit.</p> - -<p>He said, “You know what there is. You count the -stock and appraise what other stuff you got, and send -me a bill, and I will send you a check.” And when we -dissolved partnership and sold out, we settled the same -way. He had great faith in mankind.</p> - -<p>Charlie and I built up a very nice little ranch. He -and Nancy both filed on some land adjoining my old -place and we run about three hundred cattle and about -sixty head of horses.</p> - -<p>Our cattle brand was known as the Lazy KY. Our -horse brand was the letter “T.” It was very hard to get -a desirable brand at that time, as the recorder of brands -would not give you a brand you asked for, but would -pick out a brand for you, and if what he sent you didn’t -suit, you sent two dollars more until you got the kind of -iron you wanted.</p> - -<p>We had a great deal of trouble getting a horse brand -until we got the letter “T.” Governor Joseph Toole -owned this brand in the days when Montana was a -territory, and he had not used it for many years. A great -many people tried to buy it from him, but he would not -sell it, but through his brother, Bruce Toole, who was a -cattleman, he agreed to let us have the iron, and as he -admired Charlie’s work would not accept any pay for it. -Also the recorder of brands, in courtesy to the governor, -transferred the brand without cost. So we owned one of -the oldest brands in the state, and as we never transferred -the iron to anyone I believe it still stands on record in -our names.</p> - -<p>But Charlie and I started in the cattle business too -late to get the full benefit of the open range. The cattlemen -were like the Indians. At one time they had everything -they wanted—free range and free water—but the -sheepmen soon began to squat on the watering places -and it wasn’t many years until they had outnumbered -the cattlemen.</p> - -<p>There was a general hatred between them, as the -cattle wouldn’t graze or water where there were sheep -and the sheep would go everywhere. That was bad—but -was nothing compared to when the farmers came from -the East and homesteaded the land. I seen that country -change in two years from where there was open range -everywhere to where there wasn’t a foot of government -land left, either in Montana or across the Canadian line, -and in 1910 we had a very dry year and had to gather -our cattle and bring them home. So decided to sell out. -The farmers filed on every water hole in the country and -they all had dogs, so the cattle didn’t have a chance. -Some of the old-timers hung on for awhile and reminded -me again of the Indians, as they said the farmer couldn’t -last and would starve out and the country would all go -back to open range. But when I seen those farmers raise -fifty bushels of wheat to the acre on that virgin soil I -could see the handwriting on the wall.</p> - -<p>Course that land soon wore out for raising grain and -most of those settlers sure had a hard time to get by -but they are still there. It never will be a good farming -country, but they have ruined it for the cattleman. They -have even drove the sheep out.</p> - -<p>One time when the sheep and cattlemen were at war, -I knew two cattlemen that was very hard put by the -sheep. They had monopolized all the free range and -water, and as it has always been commonly understood -that saltpeter would kill sheep, they decided to work on -the sheepmen. So they sent away and got one hundred -pounds of saltpeter and as it was a very serious crime to -poison the range, they were very careful. They took the -saltpeter in front of a band of sheep that was grazing -on their range. One of them rode next to the sheepherder -so he couldn’t see the sack the other one had on his horse. -Then they cut a hole in the sack and rode slowly in front -of the sheep and distributed the one hundred pounds. -One of those fellows was quite a large cattleman and -after the job was completed he got scared and left that -part of the country for about a week so that in case of -an investigation he would have an alibi that he was not -at home at the time of the poisoning.</p> - -<p>When he came back he hunted up his partner in -crime to know what luck they had had. He told him the -sheep had eat all the saltpeter and hadn’t killed one of -them. He said, “I’ll be damned! I give up. Those sheep -are too much for me.”</p> - -<p>The range war got to be very bitter in that locality -and I was very glad to get out. Whenever anyone lost a -cow or horse, he blamed someone for killing it and the -feeling got so bitter that it looked like it was leading up -to where someone would get killed, and they did.</p> - -<p>Charlie and I sold out to a man by name of Peter -Wagner, and we had a neighbor by name of Al Pratt. -He was very quarrelsome with everybody. Wagner was -quite an old man. Pratt was a young man. He had chased -the old man on horseback several times and once had -beat him over the head with a wet frozen rope, another -time had knocked him off his horse and run over him.</p> - -<p>The surveyed road to town went between our house -and barn, and in wintertime the snow drifted so deep it -was impassable, and I had left about an acre of ground -open where people went around the snowdrift.</p> - -<p>About six months after Charlie and I had sold out -to Wagner, one morning Pratt started to town on this -road with a team and buckboard. When he came to this -spot, the old man was there on horseback, standing on -the detour. Pratt started to drive on Wagner’s land and -he told him to follow the county road. Pratt said the -road was impassable and tried to force his team past the -old man, but he grabbed one of the bridles of the team. -Pratt struck Wagner in the face with his buggy whip. -Wagner jerked out his gun and shot Pratt once in the -neck, once in the back and three shots hit the buckboard. -Pratt fell out dead.</p> - -<p>At the trial I was called as a character witness. The -prosecuting attorney asked Wagner how many shots he -fired. Wagner said, “One, to save my own life.” When -he asked him to account for the other four shots, he said -he was riding a hardmouth horse and he tried to run -away at the first shot, and in pulling on his bridle reins -with his left hand he forgot what his right hand was -doing, and thought he must have kept pulling the trigger -on his gun. It was an automatic and, of course, as long -as he kept pulling the trigger it kept shooting, but he -couldn’t explain how the gun kept pointing towards -Pratt’s body.</p> - -<p>The corpse laid there in the snow for twenty-four -hours before the sheriff and coroner arrived and there -was a gun found by the body. Wagner claimed self-defense. -I testified that Pratt had pulled a Winchester -on me once and threatened to kill me—which I think -helped some.</p> - -<p>Wagner was quite wealthy when this happened. He -got free but he was flat broke when he got out.</p> - -<p>He had told me several times prior to this incident -that he was deathly afraid of Pratt, which I believe -makes a very dangerous man when he is afraid of -another man.</p> - -<p>One thing about our neighborhood I never could -understand was as long as the people were very poor they -were peaceable and neighborly but when they got a little -prosperous some of them were in court the year around.</p> - -<p>We had a justice of the peace nearby and he sure -had plenty business. I listened to one case that seems -very amusing to me now. The judge liked to play poker -and when he wasn’t busy with court duties he was usually -in a poker game. This case was between two ranchers -over the cutting of a wire fence. The trial was held in a -little store. Each one acted as his own attorney, also -testified in his own behalf. While one of them was testifying, -the other one was sitting on the store counter, -swinging his legs and listening, and when the other fellow -made a statement he didn’t approve of he said, “That’s -a damn lie.” The judge jumped to his feet and said, -“Damn you, you can’t talk that way in this court.”</p> - -<p>After the trial the judge took the case under advisement -for a few hours.</p> - -<p>Late that night I met the judge and asked him how -the trial came out and when he told me I expressed some -surprise. He said, “Hell, that other fellow couldn’t win -in this court with four aces!”</p> - -<p>Charlie used to come to the ranch quite often and -enjoyed riding horseback, but I always had a hard time -to convince him the horses were gentle. We kept about -ten head and as I was the only one who rode them, they -were always fat and rarin’ to go, and as when he and I -worked together in the past, I was nearly always riding -colts. He said he didn’t believe I ever owned a -gentle horse.</p> - -<p>So one time he came to the ranch to file on some -land and we had to ride about fifteen miles. He told me -to be sure to give him a gentle horse and I thought I did. -I saddled his horse next morning and gave him the bridle -reins and turned around to get on my horse, when I heard -a terrible noise. I looked around and Charlie was down -on his back with his foot fast in the stirrup, and the horse -jumping and striking at him. I ran and caught his horse -and got him loose. He had lost his hat and his clothes -were dirty. He said, “This is another one of them damn -gentle horses you have been telling me about. Now I -have got to ride him fifteen miles with a hump in his -back. I will feel good all day.” I don’t think I tried to get -him to gallop but he said every time he tried to hurry -that horse he would hump up like he was going to buck -until he would pull him down to a walk.</p> - -<p>He wrote me a letter when he went home and painted -a picture of himself down on his back with his foot fast -in the stirrup. He said it reminded him of a friend of his -in Great Falls that sold a man a horse and told the fellow -it was a regular lady’s horse, but had killed two men in -Butte afterwards.</p> - -<p>For thirty years, Charlie Russell owned a pinto named -Monte that could almost talk. I don’t believe Monte was -ever in a stable until he was twenty years old. When -Charlie quit riding the range and went to living in town, -he built Monte a stable but Monte didn’t like civilization -and would not stay in the stable unless he was tied up, -then he would be very nervous and would never lay down. -But after some time Charlie found out there was only -one way Monte would compromise and that was to leave -the stable door open and Monte would lay down with his -head out the door—he took no chances on being shut in.</p> - -<p>Charlie and I had about fifty head of mares at the -ranch. That was of the Mustang Stock. We raised some -good tough saddle horses but in general they weren’t -much to look at—pintos, buckskins, all kinds and colors.</p> - -<p>So I began looking for a better grade of a stallion to -improve our herd. I finally contacted a fellow by the -name of Jake Dehart and he told me he had a fine stallion -to sell, so I went to look at the horse. He was a terrible -looking sight. He had been neglected, was sick and badly -run down. His legs were swelled up almost as big as his -body. He hadn’t shed his winter coat of hair and looked -like anything but a horse. Dehart showed me the registered -papers of the horse and they were O.K., in fact, he -was an imported horse and of fine breeding. I didn’t -know whether I could save the horse or not. Looked like -he might die any time, so I told Dehart I would trade -him a bunch of horses for the stud. We set a date when -he would come to the ranch to look at the horses that I -was to trade him. I told Dehart I thought I could give -him about 20 head of horses for his stallion. Our horses -run on the open range and it took several days to -gather them.</p> - -<p>When I got them all gathered and in the corral, they -were sure a tough-looking bunch but when I would think -about Dehart’s stud the Mustangs looked the best of -the two so I began culling out the worst ones for Dehart, -but he didn’t come on the day agreed on and looking the -culls over I figured there was some too good to give him. -Dehart didn’t come for several days and when he did -arrive they were sure a sorry looking bunch of horses. -Some of them crippled, some of them had been cut in -barbed wire, some blind in one eye, some with their hips -knocked down and some locoed. When Dehart did come -he walked up to the corral and looked over the fence at -the horses. He said, “My God, I thought you had better -horses than those things. Where are the rest of your -horses?” I told him that was all I had. Of course, I had -got the rest of them out of sight.</p> - -<p>Poor Dehart was in a bad spot. He had a lot of money -in the stud and he was afraid he was going to die and it -was either take this bunch of junk or nothing, so we -traded. Shortly after I had made the trade Charlie came -up from Great Falls to the ranch to see how things were -getting along and didn’t know I had made the trade. -There was nobody home the day he came. I was out on -the range riding after cattle. This big terrible looking -animal was standing in the corral. When I got home -Charlie asked me where I got that mountain of “beauty.” -I told him about the trade. “Well,” said Charlie, “he is -sure a good sleeper. I watched him for an hour in the -corral; he never moved an ear.” Charlie said Dehart -must have got me drunk when I made that trade. I told -him if he saw what I had traded for him he would think -Dehart was the one that was drunk.</p> - -<p>I doctored that horse and brought him out of his -sickness and he produced the best colts in that country -at that time and I later sold him for $500.00. In another -way the trade proved to be very profitable. I wanted to -vent the brand on the horses when Dehart took them -but Dehart said no, he was going to ship those horses -out of the country and didn’t want any more brands on -them as it would hurt the sale of the horses. Instead of -doing that, he sold them all at the railroad station where -he had intended to ship them from. It was about 20 miles -from our ranch and in about the middle of our range -where our horses run and where I turned loose the rest -of our horses, after the trade was made and the people -that bought the horses from Dehart turned them loose -on the range without either branding them or venting -them. Consequently those horses in a few days were back -on their range mixed up with our bunch without any way -to identify them and all branded with our iron. I told -those people about the matter and tried to get them to -get their horses but they didn’t give it any attention so -in a few months I sold all our horses on the range with -the iron. When I sold the horses with the brand they -sure put up a howl. They threatened me with court -action, said they would have me arrested, but they -couldn’t do anything about it as it was their own fault -so I figured I got the stallion for nothing.</p> - -<p>One time when Charlie Russell and I were in partnership -in the cow business, I lost some yearling colts and -as the country was all open in those days and no fences, -our stock would sometimes stray two or three hundred -miles away from home. So, after about three years after -I had lost those colts I heard of some horses up in Canada -which had my brand on them. I had a neighbor who had -lost some colts about the same time as I had, so we -decided to go up in that country and try to find them. -We each took a couple of good saddle horses and started -out. That country was very thinly settled those days, just -a little stock ranch here and there, sometimes twenty-five -or thirty miles apart. As it was late in the fall and the -weather was getting quite cold, we had to make some of -those ranches to camp overnight, on account of horse feed -and a place to sleep.</p> - -<p>One evening we rode into a ranch that a couple of -Irish brothers owned and asked them to stay overnight. -They said, “Sure, you’re welcome as the flowers in May.” -Neither of them had ever been married and did their own -housekeeping and cooking. The evening we got there they -had just butchered a beef. We helped them hang it up in -the barn and went to the house to cook supper. It was -sure a dirty looking joint and the brother that cooked -supper had his hands all stained with blood and dirt -from butchering the beef. He had to make bread for -supper and didn’t wash his hands, but mixed up the -bread with his hands—blood, dirt and all. But we -hadn’t had anything to eat all day and were plenty -hungry, so we ate it and thought it was fine. We hunted -horses all next day and along in the evening came to -what looked like an old deserted ranch where nobody -was home. After making a lot of noise and shouting, a -man came out of the cabin. He was a Mormon and was -living alone on this old ranch. Said he was sick and had -been in bed three days and that there was no food on the -place and that he couldn’t keep us overnight.</p> - -<p>It looked like a bad storm coming up and we didn’t -know any place to go. We told the man we were going to -stay anyway, and as we both had six-shooters he didn’t -argue too much with us. We put our horses in the old -barn and went to the house. The Mormon went back to -bed. We went to the kitchen to see if we could find anything -to eat. It was the dirtiest looking outfit I ever saw -in my life. The frying pans and kettles didn’t look like -they had been washed for six months. We got a fire -started and cleaned up things a little and looked through -all the old boxes and found some beans, dried apples and -flour. By ten o’clock that night we had what we thought -was a pretty good meal. I went to the Mormon’s bedroom -and asked him if he wanted anything to eat. He didn’t -answer me, but began getting out of his dirty blankets. -He hadn’t even taken his clothes off. We got him to sit -down at the table and he ate more than both of us. After -we got him filled up on food he got to talking quite -friendly. He said he had been a Mormon missionary in -some jungle country and had spent several years converting -natives into the Mormon religion. In listening to -his experience as a missionary I couldn’t help wondering -what kind of a job he did, because if there is anything in -the old saying that cleanliness is next to holiness he -was sure a flop.</p> - -<p>The next morning was very cold and stormy, but we -were anxious to find our horses and our quarters were -none too comfortable, so we bade our Mormon friend -goodbye and rode away. He was about 40 miles from -any town and we didn’t see any means of transportation -around there, so we often wondered what ever became -of him.</p> - -<p>Well, we headed for a big lake about twenty miles -from this Mormon’s place. We heard there was a lot of -horses ranging in that part of the country and there -found our horses, so we drove the whole bunch to an old -roundup corral that we had located that day. I had three -horses in the bunch and my partner had one. Those -horses were three years old and were not halter broke. -In fact, they had not had a rope on them since they -were yearlings and then were only caught by the front -feet and thrown down to brand them. So, we had to -catch them that way now. We necked them to the extra -saddle horses we had with us and turned them out of -the corral and headed them towards Montana. Just -before dark we spotted a ranch and some corrals so we -headed for there. We found a man there who had come -from Michigan and taken up a homestead out on the -Canadian Prairie. He evidently was a man of some wealth -as he had spent considerable money fixing the place up. -He wasn’t very keen about letting us stay overnight. He -kept sizing us up and I guess he had heard a good deal -about cowboys and rustlers and thought we were a couple -of horse thieves. We explained our condition to him and -told him the circumstances and that we were a long way -from home, so he finally decided to let us stay.</p> - -<p>While this fellow looked like he had considerable -wealth, he didn’t have very much to eat. As he didn’t -make any excuses about it, I think we had his regular -bill of fare. He didn’t have any meat, no butter or sugar -or coffee. My partner was a coffee fiend, and this fellow -gave us cold milk for breakfast. My partner was very -blue all that day and said he felt very queer, like the -world was coming to an end or something terrible was -going to happen. But that was because he missed his -coffee.</p> - -<p>This man charged us ten dollars for very little to -eat and a very poor bed, and as it was not the custom -to charge anyone those days for food it made my partner -very mad. When we got our horses saddled and ready to -go next morning, my partner went to the barn and as he -was gone quite a while I asked him what he was looking -for. He said he was looking for something he could steal, -to get even with that old guy, but he said this fellow was -so stingy he didn’t have anything worth taking.</p> - -<p>Well, we finally got going back towards home. If the -weather had been good it would have been about two -day’s ride, but about ten o’clock a bad storm came up -and by noon it was a real blizzard and out there on the -plains you couldn’t see a thing or know what direction -you were going in, but after wandering around for some -time we came to a coulee that we recognized (Verta -Grease Coulee). It was about 25 miles long and we knew -it put into Milk River which was the direction we wanted -to go, also we knew there was a ranch on Milk River at -the mouth of this coulee. We followed this ravine all day -and about night came to the ranch. They welcomed us -in and gave us a good supper and a feather bed to sleep -in. It was a terrible blizzard and I think we would have -lost our lives if we hadn’t found this ranch.</p> - -<p>My partner was rather a spooky fellow and had some -kind of a phobia. He was always worrying about a cancer -or some other dreaded disease, so while we were lying in -that good warm bed and talking how lucky we were to -find this ranch a funny thought came to me to give my -partner a scare. He had his head covered up and was -about to go to sleep. I nudged him and said, “Bill, I -forgot to tell you that this place was quarantined for -Smallpox a short time ago,” and he made one jump and -landed out in the middle of the room and said, “My God, -I would rather go right out into the blizzard than stay -here!” Then I had a hard time to convince him I was -joking and I don’t think he rested very well the rest of -the night. He told me afterwards I gave him the worst -scare he had ever had in his life.</p> - -<p>We got home the next night and it was a very profitable -trip, as I had found three head of horses I didn’t -know I owned.</p> - -<p>Somewhere on the trip I had got lousy and I believe -I had more lice on me than any man that ever walked -in public, and big ones too. My wife threatened to make -me sleep with the dog, but finally took pity on me and -let me sleep in the house, providing I would sleep in a -room by myself. I don’t know if all Canadian Greybacks -are as big as those were, but I had to boil all my clothes -about three times to get rid of those big tough babies.</p> - -<h2 id='ch19' class='d021'>CHAPTER XIX<br/>MEMORIES OF CHARLIE RUSSELL</h2> - -<p>I first met Charlie Russell in the fall of the year 1888. -He was night herding beef cattle on the Judith Basin and -Moccasin Range roundup. Charlie was very modest and -never claimed to be a great cowboy, but I noticed the -bosses always gave him a very responsible job, as the -cowmen of those days were very particular how the beef -cattle were handled.</p> - -<p>We usually started the fall roundup about the first -of September and the gathering and driving to the railroad -sometimes took until the 15th of November. Now -from the first day we worked the range, we cut out some -steers fat enough for beef, and those cattle were under -constant herd night and day, and the men were supposed -to handle those cattle so they would gain in flesh while -we were holding them—and any cowboy caught running -or roping those steers was fired at once—and great care -was taken to keep the cattle from stampeding. When we -got all through we would have 2,000 or 2,500 head of -cattle in the herd.</p> - -<p>I remember a rather amusing story Charlie told me -in years after we had quit working on the range. We were -talking about people we liked and disliked. I said to -Charlie, “I always thought you liked everybody.” He -laughed and said, “No. There was one roundup cook I -have never forgiven for what he done to me.” He said, -“I was night herding cattle. One dark night the cattle -were very nervous and kept trying to stampede. Just -before daylight my horse stepped in a badger hole and -fell—right in a nice patch of cactus and prickly pears!” -Charlie said he didn’t miss any of those cactus. When he -got up his body felt like a small cactus field. His partner -caught his horse and stayed with the cattle, and Charlie -headed for camp. The cactus was distributed in his body -so he couldn’t sit on the saddle, so he walked and led -his horse.</p> - -<p>When he got to camp, the cook was starting breakfast. -(I knew this old cook and he was plenty brave.) None of -the cowboys were up yet. Charlie went in the cook tent -where there was a lantern and took off his clothes to -doctor himself and pull out some of those cactus. This -old cook never spoke to anyone if he could help it, and -as nobody had any right to come in that cook tent unless -the cook called them to eat, Charlie was taking a privilege -contrary to custom. Anyway the cook evidently did -not notice him until he had all his clothes off and was -disgracing his cook tent by undressing in it. He walked -over to where Charlie was, said, “What the hell you -think this is ... a hospital?” He had a big butcher knife -in his hand. He throwed Charlies’ clothes outside and -told Charlie to get the hell out of there too.</p> - -<p>Charlie told me whenever he met a new acquaintance -and he said he was a roundup cook by profession, he -looked on him with some doubt as to his being human.</p> - -<p>I was associated with Charlie for a good many years -and I think I knew him as well as anybody could, and I -think as a man and a friend he had very few equals. He -was a fine Western artist, but Will Rogers said Charlie -would have been a great man if he couldn’t have painted -a fence post. I thing that told the whole story.</p> - -<p>Charlie enjoyed telling jokes on himself, which very -few people do. He told me about one time the Captain of -the Judith Basin Roundup sent another cowboy and -himself to the Moccasin Roundup to rep (that was to -gather any cattle that had drifted from their home -range). The other man took a violin which he played a -little, and Charlie took some paint and some brushes. The -next year the boss of the Basin Range met the boss of the -Moccasin Range and said, “What was the matter last -year? I had a lot of cattle over on your range. I sent two -men over there and didn’t get hardly any cattle.”</p> - -<p>The other boss said, “What the Hell could you -expect? You sent a fiddler and a painter over there to -act as cowboys.”</p> - -<p>All during Charlie Russell’s life as a cowboy he drew -pictures for pastime—sometimes with a lead pencil and -sometimes with a paint brush and even in his earliest and -rough work, one could always recognize the man or horse -that he had used for the picture. We used to wonder at -those pictures but he (or us) never dreamed that he was -the making of the greatest Western artist of his day, -which I believe has been conceded by art critics.</p> - -<p>The last riding for wages that Charlie did was for the -Bear Paw Pool at Chinook on Milk River. They were a -combination of the Judith Basin Pool that he had worked -for several years, but had moved their cattle across the -Missouri River into the Bear Paw country. Charlie told -me the reason he quit punching cows. The last winter he -stayed in Chinook him and some other boys had a cabin -that they wintered in and it was so cold they put on -German socks and lined mittens to cook and eat breakfast, -and nearly froze at that. I think it was in the year -1892 he bid goodbye to the range and saddled and -packed his horses and headed for Great Falls to try his -luck at painting. He told me he had tough going for quite -awhile as he did not know the price to ask for a picture.</p> - -<p>I have seen some of Charlie’s pictures that he sold for -ten dollars at that time, that afterwards he sold one to -the Prince of Wales for ten thousand dollars that I -couldn’t see a great deal of difference. I think this money -difference was due to his business manager—his wife, -Nancy C. Russell, who certainly deserves great credit for -making Charlie’s name famous. She is in very poor health -at this time (1939) and has suffered for a long time but -she has a great fighting heart and has never said “Whoa” -in a bad place.</p> - -<p>As a cowboy Charlie Russell was sure strong for cowboy -decorations. As I look back on him now, I can see -him, seldom with his shirt buttoned in the right button -hole, and maybe dirty with part of one sleeve torn off, -but his hat, boots, handkerchief and spurs and bridle were -the heights of cowboy fashion. Of course those were the -days when we didn’t get to town only two or three times -a year, but when we did go to town we dressed like -millionaires as long as our money lasted.</p> - -<p>When Charlie quit riding and started painting for a -living, some of his friends advised him to change his way -of dress and get some city togs. That he would not do. -He never liked suspenders or shoes and never wore them. -He disliked fashion and said it was just an imitation of -someone else. He always wore a good Stetson hat, a nice -sash, and a good pair of boots—even after he had quit -the range.</p> - -<p>It reminds me of two city men I knew had come to -a cow ranch on business and had an old-time cowboy -taking them around. One day they were discussing the -beauties of nature and when each one decided what he -thought was the most beautiful thing he ever saw one -of them asked the cowboy his idea of beauty. He -promptly answered, “The prettiest thing I ever saw was -a four year old fat steer,” and he may have been right, -as nature had given the steer everything it had to make it -beautiful in its class, and he knew he was a steer and was -satisfied with his lot and didn’t pretend to be anything -but what he was.</p> - -<p>That was the way I knew Charlie. He loved nature -and the West and was Western from the soles of his feet -to the top of his head and had the finest principle and -the greatest philosophy I ever knew in anybody.</p> - -<p>Charlie told me one of the worst troubles he had was -some fellow would rush up to him and say, “Hello, -Charlie, I am sure glad to see you.” Charlie would say, -“I am glad to see you, too,” and to save his life he couldn’t -place him. He would talk to him about everything he -could think of, hoping the fellow would say something -that would refresh his memory but usually without any -success, and he said he had to be very careful to not say -“No” or “Yes” in the wrong place and give himself away.</p> - -<p>I remember, when I went back to Montana from -Cripple Creek, Colorado, in 1894, I came into town (Cascade, -Montana—where Charlie was living) in a box -car, but didn’t tell Charlie how I arrived. In the few -years I was away from Montana, Charlie heard I had -been killed by a horse. I didn’t know anything about that -report. So when I walked into his cabin we shook hands -and had quite a talk—and, of course I thought he knew -who I was. He was sitting by the stove frying bacon and -I caught him looking at me in a sort of a puzzled way -and I knew at once he didn’t know who I was. So I said -to him, “You don’t know me.” He said, “Yes, I do.” -“Well, who am I then?” He said, “If I didn’t know Con -Price was dead, I would say you was him.”</p> - -<p>While I was with Charlie that time, just in fun he had -me pose for him in a stage hold-up. I had a sawed-off -shot-gun, big hat and my pants legs inside my boots. We -found an old Prince Albert coat somewhere that I wore -and a big handkerchief around my neck. I surely looked -tough. He sure got a kick out of that model.</p> - -<p>Well, he painted that picture in a rough way and -didn’t give it much attention and never gave it any -consideration as to value. It was more of a joke than -anything else. I think about two years after he was married, -he went to New York, and in some way this picture had -got mixed up with the rest of his stuff, so it landed in -New York with him.</p> - -<p>He said New York was sure tough then for an artist -breaking into the game. He said there was only two -classes of people there: paupers and millionaires, and he -had a hard time to keep out of the pauper class.</p> - -<p>But some artist friend loaned him the use of his studio -and Charlie was trying to do a little work and took this -old picture there.</p> - -<p>One morning a foreign nobleman came in and was -looking the studio over—mostly the other artist’s -work—and he came to this old picture. After examining it for -some time, he said, “How much is this picture worth?” -Charlie said he needed money pretty bad just at that -time and wanted to ask him one hundred and fifty dollars, -but didn’t know whether the old boy would go for that -much or not. While he was hesitating Nancy, his wife, -stepped over to where the old fellow was and said, “This -one would be eight hundred dollars,” and the man said, -“Very well, I’ll take it.” Charlie said he nearly fell off his -stool with joy.</p> - -<p>After the fellow left he told Nancy, “I’ll do the work -from now on—you will do the selling,” and I believe -that bargain held good until the day of Charlie’s death.</p> - -<p>Charlie didn’t like the new set-up. He was a child of -the open West before wire fences and railroads spanned -it. Civilization choked him even in the year 1889 when -the Judith country was getting settled up with ranchers -and sheep had taken the cattle range. He hated the -change, and followed cattle north to the Milk River -Country trying to stay in an open range country. He said, -“I expect I will have to ride the rest of my life but I -would much rather be a poor cowboy than a poor artist.” -He didn’t know he was graduating from nature’s school -and the education frontier life had given him.</p> - -<p>In the fall of 1891 he got a letter from a man in -Great Falls who said if he could come there he could -make seventy-five dollars a month painting, his grub -included.</p> - -<p>It looked good to Charlie, as he was only making -forty a month riding, so he saddled the old gray and -packed old Monty, the pinto, and hit the trail for -Great Falls.</p> - -<p>When he arrived in Great Falls he was introduced to -a guy who pulled out a contract as long as a lariat for -him to sign. Charlie wouldn’t sign it until he had tried the -proposition out. This fellow gave Charlie ten dollars on -account, saying he would see him later.</p> - -<p>After a few days he met Charlie and wanted to know -why he hadn’t started on the work. Charlie told him he -had to find a place to live and get his supplies.</p> - -<p>The contract read that everything Charlie painted -or modeled for one year was to be the property of this -man and he wanted him to work from early morning until -night. Charlie argued with him that there was some -difference between painting and sawing wood and told -him the deal was off.</p> - -<p>He hunted up a fellow he knew and borrowed ten -dollars and paid this fellow that had advanced the money -to him. Charlie said he wouldn’t work under pressure so -they split up and Charlie started out for himself.</p> - -<p>He put in with a bunch of cowboys (I was one of -them), a roundup cook, and a broken-down prize fighter. -We rented a shack on the south side of town. Our bill of -fare was very short at times as Charlie was the only one -that made any money and that was very little. We -christened the shack and gave it the name of Red Onion. -We had some queer characters as guests. Broken gamblers, -cowboys, horse thieves, cattle rustlers, in fact, everybody -that hit town broke seemed to find the Red Onion -to get something to eat. Among them all it was hard to -get anyone to cook or wash the dishes but at meal time -we always had a full house. Along about spring time I -got a job in a cow outfit and I told Charlie. So he said -if I was going away he had an announcement to make to -the gang—and in effect it was that the Red Onion would -be closed and go out of business.</p> - -<p>I believe it was the Spring of 1889 we met at Philbrook -in the Judith Basin for the Spring roundup and a -lot of the boys were celebrating at the Post Office and -store. The postmaster told us someone had sent him a -piece of limburger cheese through the mail. He didn’t -know what to do with it as he didn’t know anyone civilized -enough to eat it, so he gave it to the cowboys who -put in a lot of their time rubbing it on door knobs, the -inside of hat bands and drinking cups. They had the -whole town well perfumed. When someone noticed an old -timer that had come to town to tank up on joy juice and -had got so overloaded he went to sleep in the saloon, his -heavy drooping moustache gave one of the boys an idea. -A council was held and it was agreed that he should have -his share of the limburger rubbed into his moustache -under his nose. Being unconscious, old Bill slept like a -baby in a cradle while the work was done.</p> - -<p>Next day Charlie Russell saw him out back of the -saloon, sitting on a box and looking very tough. He would -put his hands over his mouth, breath into them, drop -them and look at them and shake his head. Of course, -Charlie knew what was the trouble as he had helped to -fix him up the night before. Charlie went over to him -and asked, “How are you stacking up today?” Old Bill -looked at him in a kind of a daze and shook his head. -“Me? I’m not so good.” Charlie asked, “What’s the -matter, are you sick?” “No-o-o not more than usual, I’ve -felt as bad as this a thousand times. But—oh God—” -then he covered his face again with his hands. After a few -seconds he slowly lowered them, shaking his head and -groaning, “Oh, it’s something awful, I don’t savvy.”</p> - -<p>Charlie very much in sympathy with him said, “What -seems to be the matter, Bill?” “Damned if I know, but -I’ve got the awfullest breath on me. ’Pears like I am plum -spoiled inside. You can tell the boys my stay here on earth -is damn short. Nobody could live long with the kind of -breath I’ve got on me. Oh, oh!” Then he would breathe -into his hands again, saying, “Oh God!”</p> - -<p>I believe he would have died if they hadn’t told him -what was the matter.</p> - -<p>All the years I knew Charlie, I never knew him to go -to church (although I know he was a real Christian at -heart) but there was an old time preacher, a Methodist -by name Van Orsdell. He preached in cow camps, school -houses or anywhere that he could get even a few people.</p> - -<p>Brother Van told me when he graduated from the -ministry he came up the Missouri River on a steam boat -to Fort Benton. He had a very good voice. He said he -sang hymns to pay his fare. That must have been in the -early 1870’s. When I knew him first, he used to ride -horseback through the country and hold services, and he -was sure loved by everybody. I listened to one of his -sermons in the cow country and there was quite a sprinkling -of cattle rustlers in that locality and I remember in -his talk he told us if we would do as God wanted us to -do we wouldn’t need a fast horse and a long rope.</p> - -<p>He told us he overtook a bull whacker (a freighter) -pulling a big hill out of Fort Benton one time. Brother -Van was riding a horse and he followed along behind this -fellow and the language he used for those cattle was sure -strong. He said the fellow called each steer by some -religious name with an oath after it, such as Methodist, -Baptist, Presbyterian, and so forth.</p> - -<p>When the bull whacker got to the top of the hill, -Brother Van asked him what was the idea of giving those -cattle such religious names. The man said, “It’s appropriate. -For instance, there is old Methodist—when I -unyoke him he walks out a little distance and paws on -the ground, gets down on his knees and balls and bellers -just like a Methodist preacher. Then there is that old -steer I call Baptist. If there’s a water hole anywhere, he -will find it and get into it and throw water all over -himself—and old Bishop there, he leads all the other steers.” -He had a religious name appropriate for each steer. -Brother Van got a kick out of that.</p> - -<p>Brother Van was a very devout Methodist and one -time he and Charlie were discussing religion, Charlie -said he didn’t believe in so many branches of religion and -said he thought the people should have a general roundup -and make them all one. Brother Van said, “That’s a fine -idea, Charlie, and make it Methodist.”</p> - -<p>One time at Malta, Montana, when we were shipping -cattle, a cowboy got killed. He was riding a young horse -and the train came by and this horse got scared and run -away with this boy. It ran into a wire fence and hit the -wires just high enough on his legs to cause him to turn -a somersault and land squarely on top of the boy and -broke his neck. Brother Van preached a sermon over -that boy’s body. When I look back at it now, it seems to -me the boy’s body was laid out in an old store and I think -there were about twenty cowboys with their chaps and -spurs on and the old time cowboy was a rather queer -kind of a mixture of human nature. Sometimes he drank -whiskey to celebrate and have a good time; other times -he drank when he was blue. I guess to try to raise his -spirits. Anyway, this morning quite a number of them -had taken on quite a load of the old joy juice. When the -sermon started, Brother Van preached a very forceful -sermon and the tears rolled down his old cheeks like rain -drops and in looking around after that sermon was over -there were very few dry faces among that tough old -bunch of waddies and they were all as sober as if they -never had a drink.</p> - -<p>Speaking of batching, some people of this day may not -know what it means. But for us cowboys it meant this: -four or five of us would get together in the fall of the -year and get a cabin in some little town, buy some groceries -and go into winter quarters, and everybody cooked -according to his liking and if anybody didn’t like the way -one fellow cooked he could cook to suit himself.</p> - -<p>I remember one winter a bunch of us batched together -and there was a great variety of tastes. One fellow loved -maple syrup and lived mostly on that and a little -bread ... but mostly syrup. Another old-timer wanted to put -bacon in everything he cooked. He said it gave the -cooking “tone” (he meant flavor). He spoiled most of his -cooking for the rest of us. I believe if he would try to -make a cake he would have put bacon in it. I liked -hard-boiled potatoes; nobody else did, so that was my specialty. -Charlie Russell was the coffee and hot cake man. -We all agreed he had no equal in those two things.</p> - -<p>One time we had a Christmas dinner and in some -way got a chicken (I don’t want to remember how we -got it) and we held council as to how it would be cooked -and, of course, the old-timer came forward at once with -his bacon idea. But we told him the chicken was old and -tough and we would have to boil it. That didn’t make any -difference to him, as he said any way a chicken was -cooked it had to have bacon in it to be good and to give -it tone. Anyway he won out and the bacon was put in. -Really I think there was more bacon than chicken.</p> - -<p>Charlie Russell volunteered to make some dumplings, -which sounded good to everybody, but for some reason -unknown to all of us, the dumplings turned to gravy and -we had to eat them like soup with a spoon. Charlie -himself didn’t boast about those dumplings but his alibi -was Bill’s bacon ruined the whole mixture. I don’t know -as to the truth of that statement as I never knew Charlie -to make dumplings again.</p> - -<p>One time I was in Great Falls, Charlie was circulating -a petition to get an old-time cowboy out of the -penitentiary. He had been sent up for rustling cattle and had -served about four years. Charlie asked me to go with him -on his rounds, and I did.</p> - -<p>We called on people for several days and there was -not a man or woman turned us down, until we met one -of the wealthiest men in Great Falls. He read the petition -and handed it back and said, “He can rot in the pen as -far as I am concerned.” Then he began to criticize -Charlie for circulating the petition. There was where he -made a mistake and the things he told him must have cut -pretty deep into his feelings.</p> - -<p>Charlie said, “If you don’t want to sign the petition, -that’s your business, but don’t you roast me. I knew this -man. He was once my friend. I don’t approve of what he -done, but he has a wife and two children praying for his -release and he has been punished enough already.” Then -he looked him in the eye and said, “You know, Jim, if we -all got our just dues, there would be a big bunch of us -in the pen with Bill.” I thought I could see the old boy’s -whiskers tremble because he knew what Charlie meant.</p> - -<p>I have never forgotten what Charlie said when we left -this fellow. He said justice was the hardest, cruel word -that ever was written. He said if all the people that were -crying for real justice got it, they would think they were -terribly abused and would not want it and would find -out they wanted a little mercy instead.</p> - -<p>While Charlie and I were partners, he got an attack -of appendicitis and someone told him to stand on his head -and walk on his hands and knees and it would cure him. -He said he tried that cure until his head and knees were -so sore he couldn’t perform anymore.</p> - -<p>So he finally made an appointment with the doctor -for an operation.</p> - -<p>The morning he went to the hospital his wife, Nancy, -was with him. When they dressed him for the operating -table (he called it putting a set of harness on him) Nancy -was very much frightened and looked like she might -break down under the strain. So to quiet her, he began -to tell her how simple the operation was and that he -didn’t mind it at all and started to roll a cigarette, but -his hands got to shaking so bad the tobacco all fell out of -the paper and, of course, Nancy noticed that and it really -made matters worse than if he had said nothing.</p> - -<p>After he had gotten over the operation, he had some -very severe pains. One day when the doctor came to see -him Charlie asked him if he had lost any of his tools. -When the doctor asked why he thought so, he said he was -sure he had some of them sewed up inside of him.</p> - -<p>There was an old doctor in Great Falls told Charlie -and me a rather amusing experience he had about -that time.</p> - -<p>There was a fellow came through the country and -camped in several places around Great Falls and one day -he murdered a whole family and throwed them in the -river. The officers finally arrested him and had him in -jail awaiting trial. During that time he killed himself -and he was buried in the paupers’ graveyard.</p> - -<p>This doctor told us he had a great curiosity to know -what a human brain and head was like that would kill -those people without any known motive. For some reason, -Doc could not get the body and as he didn’t like the idea -of prowling around the graveyard at night, he chose -one cold, rainy morning to go out and dig this fellow up. -It took him quite awhile to get him out of the ground, -and as he had just a small buggy to carry him in, he had -to break the coffin open and put him in a gunny sack.</p> - -<p>Doc said while he was working on the corpse the sun -came out and the weather cleared and he thought -everybody in Great Falls went for a ride or walk. There was -people all around him and looking at him rather queer, -and he was afraid he would be arrested for a grave -robber, but he finally got to town without anybody seeing -what he had.</p> - -<p>Doc’s entrance to his office was on Main Street, and -no other way to get in. So he drove into an alley back of -his place. There was a Jew running a pawn shop there -facing onto a side street. So Doc took his sack with the -corpse and went in the back way of the Jew’s store and -dropped it in his woodshed, and went into the front -where the proprietor was standing behind his counter.</p> - -<p>Doc slipped up to the counter and whispered, “Sol, -I left a stiff in your shed back there. I will get him when -it gets dark.” He said the Jew’s eyes began to grow large -and said, “Vat’s a stiff?” Doc said, “A dead man.” The -Jew began to scream and was attracting people on the -street. He said, “My God, my God, take him out of here! -I will be arrested for murder!” Doc whispered to him to -hush, but he hollered still louder, so Doc picked up his -sack, put it on his shoulder and walked up the main -street into his office. He told us he was sure relieved when -he got that corpse in his back room.</p> - -<p>He had the skull on his desk when he told us the -story and said whenever he looked at it, it reminded him -of one of the most strenuous days of his life.</p> - -<p>While I was working for the DHS outfit, I think it -was in 1896, I got a letter from Charlie Russell telling -me he was married. He said the gospel wrangler had -caught him and necked him. The word “necking” didn’t -mean then what it does now. We would sometimes have -a wild horse that we couldn’t hold in the bunch and every -chance he got he would run away and we would lose him. -So it was the horse wrangler’s job to catch this horse and -with a short piece of rope tie him to a gentle horse, and -the old horse would lead him wherever he went. He had -to eat and sleep and go where the gentle horse went.</p> - -<p>So Charlie said he was necked and didn’t think he -would get away for awhile, and gave me a pressing -invitation to come and see him, and I wrote him the day I -would be there and the train I would be on.</p> - -<p>But something happened and I was a day late. Charlie -met me at the train. After we had visited for a little while -several other boys joined us and we were enjoying our -general talk. Charlie turned to me and said, “What -happened you didn’t come yesterday?” He said, “When -the train arrived I was at the depot and looked on the -blind baggage car, on top of the train and down under -the cars and the brake rods.” The conductor knew -Charlie and said, “What are you looking for, Russ?” -Charlie said, “I told him I had a letter from a friend of -mine that he would be on this train and I come to -meet him.”</p> - -<p>That was the first time I knew he knew I had got -out of that box car several years before in Cascade.</p> - -<p>I recall one time I was breaking horses close to the -town of Cascade, Montana. I would ride a colt into -town nearly every day.</p> - -<p>A blacksmith and a barber got heckling each other -about riding broncs. The blacksmith bet the barber four -dollars he would ride the first horse that I rode to town. -Charlie Russell was stake holder.</p> - -<p>I didn’t know anything about this bet until I had -come to town and both parties tried to find out the -merits of the horse—whether he would buck or not, and -as I knew the stake money was going to be spent for -drinks, I told each one a different story—the blacksmith -he wouldn’t buck, the barber he would, so as to be sure -to have the bet go as the blacksmith was a little scared, -but he was a big, powerful young man and the horse was -rather small, he took a chance.</p> - -<p>The bet was he had to ride the horse to the livery -stable and back, which was about two blocks.</p> - -<p>He got on. With a death-grip, with the reins in one -hand and the other on the saddle horn, he started and -was getting along fine—going slow—when a stock man -by name H. H. Nelson started by him going home. He -had a big canvas overcoat on and could not resist the -temptation to shake his coat as he rode by the bronc—and -down went the bronc’s head. I think the first jump -the saddle horn hit the blacksmith in the eye, and the -next jump he was on the ground. Somebody caught the -horse and helped the blacksmith up.</p> - -<p>He said, “That is all right. I have lost this bet, but I -will make another one—I will whip Nelson the first -time he comes to town.”</p> - -<p>We sure had a great time spending that eight dollars -and I think everybody else spent all they had besides.</p> - -<p>We named that “A quiet day in Cascade,” and -Charlie drew a picture of it, with chickens and dogs and -everything running in all directions and some old man -with a cane trying to get out of the way.</p> - -<p>I remember a very amusing incident on a roundup. -We had been out on the range for about three months, -and nobody had shaved. We came into a little town (a -shipping point) and when we had got the cattle all loaded -on the train, we found out there was a barber shop in -town, so we all patronized it, but there was one stingy -old fellow in the outfit that wouldn’t spend a quarter to -get shaved, so when we got started back on the range, he -felt out of place, as we were all shaved and slicked up. -He asked if there was anyone in the outfit that could -shave him. I told him I could. Now I had never shaved -a man in my life, the cook had an old razor in the Mess -box, and God knows when it had been sharpened, (we -had no safety razors those days). I started in on him, of -course his beard was full of sand and dust, and I used -cold water and lye soap to make the lather. When I got -to working on him, the blood followed the razor wherever -I touched him. We didn’t have any mirror so he -couldn’t see himself bleed. The boys would ask him -occasionally how he was getting along, he said the razor -pulled a little but Con was doing fine. Charlie Russell -was laying on his belly looking at the performance, and -he laughed till the tears rolled down his cheeks. When I -got through with him he looked like he had broke out -with the small pox. He picked scabs off his face for -several days, he didn’t complain, but he never asked me -to shave him again. Nobody felt sorry for him because he -never was known to buy a drink, and he had three -thousand dollars in the bank, which was a big fortune -to a cowboy.</p> - -<h2 id='ch20' class='d021'>CHAPTER XX<br/>COWBOY PHILOSOPHY</h2> - -<p>As I grow older there are rather strange thoughts -come to my mind about cowboys and cow people. I have -mingled with most all classes of the human race and I -have some very true and sincere friends among all classes—but -I don’t believe there is any other people in the -world that was as intimate and friendly on short -acquaintance as the old time cowboy and cowman.</p> - -<p>They would fight among themselves and some of them -would steal from each other but let one of them get in a -tough spot and his clan would come to his rescue when -everybody else had throwed him down, I was on a -roundup on the Moccasin range in Montana in the year -1888 and a small rancher lost a milk cow. He had come -to the round up to ride with us for a few days to try to -find his cow. The next morning we left camp about daylight -and hadn’t went a mile from camp when his horse -fell and broke the man’s leg above the knee. We got the -bedwagon and fixed some blankets in it the best we could -and drove him 20 miles to a doctor. The boys raised -three hundred dollars for that fellow ... and none of them -had ever seen him before that day he came to camp.</p> - -<p>There was an old-time cowboy and cowman—lived at -Gilroy, California, that I knew for twenty years. His -name was Ed Willson. He is dead now—but when I -recall the many kindnesses he extended to me in those -years I knew him, it has burned a brand on my memory -that time cannot blot out. He was as rough and tough as -a grizzly bear, and to know him on the surface meant you -didn’t know him at all. My wife and I had eaten Christmas -dinner with him and his family for several years and -he had planned for it again the year he died. He had -been quite sick for a long time but came to see me on the -sand of December with an invitation to come again to -the Christmas dinner. I was sick in bed and told him we -would come if I was able, but I got worse and on -Christmas day could not get up. He was also in bed on -that day—but when noontime came and we didn’t -show up he had his wife, Pal, fix up a tray of turkey -dinner and bring it in and show it to him. He smiled and -said, “that ought to cure the old son-of-a-gun.” He had -it sent three miles to my home. He died a few days after. -I never saw him after he came to give me the invitation. -That is just one of the many kind considerations that -the old-time cowboy had for the other fellow—and I -believe if they were organized they would be the greatest -fraternity on earth.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Memories of Old Montana, by Con Price - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMORIES OF OLD MONTANA *** - -***** This file should be named 56016-h.htm or 56016-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/6/0/1/56016/ - -Produced by Roger Frank - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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