THIRTY.ONE YEARS ON THE 
 
 PLAINS MOUNTAINS 
 
 OR, THE 
 
 LAST VOICE FK( >M THE PLAINS. 
 
 4N AUTHENTIC RECORD OF A LIFE TIME OF HUNTING, 
 
 TRAPPING, SCOUTING AND INCJJAN FIGHTING 
 
 IN THE FAR WESf 
 
 BY 
 
 CAPT. WILLIAM F. DRANNAN, 
 
 WIO WBNT ON TO THE PLAINS WHEN mrfcKN VE\*I OLD. 
 
 COPIOUSLY ILLUSTRATED in H S DELAY. 
 And Many Reproductions frora Photograph*. 
 
 CHICAGO : 
 
 RHODES & MCCLURE PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
 1910 
 
atmdacoocdtefftoactof CooffM is UM i*r it* by iM 
 
 RHODE* * IfcCLUM Puauflniio Co*> 
 ID the Offic* of the Librarian of Cooffrw* Wabio|ioo. D C 
 
 All Rifkt* Rcstri 
 
7 / * I 
 
 /Bancroft 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 In writing this preface I do so with the full knowledge 
 that the preface of a book is rarely read, comparath 
 speaking, but I shall write this one just the same. 
 
 In writing this work the author has made no attempt 
 at romance, or a great literary production, but 1: 
 rated in his own plain, blunt way, the incidents of his 
 li'e as they actu < urred. 
 
 There have been so many honks put U] market, 
 
 purporting of noted h are 
 
 onh moved : ler to con- 
 
 '11 before c h. 
 
 The an- its out with the most notable events 
 
 of his boyhood days, among them his troubles with an 
 herein he gets his rev- throw- 
 
 ing a nr<t <>f lively hornets under her feet. Th 
 his flight anl a trip, to St. Louis, hundreds of miles 
 on foot, his accidental meeting with that most eminent 
 man of his ( -n, who takes the lad into his 
 
 care and treats him as a kind father would a son. H- 
 then proceeds to give a minute description of his first trip 
 on the plains, where he meets and associates with G 
 noted planismen as Gen. John Charles Fremont, James 
 Beckwith, Jim Bridger and others, and gives incidents of 
 his association wjth them in scouting, trapping, hunting 
 big game, Indian fighting, etc. 
 
 The author also gives brief sketches of the springing 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 into existence of many of the noted cities of the West, and 
 the incidents connected therewith that have never been 
 written before. There is also a faithful recital of his 
 many years of scouting for such famous Indian fighters 
 as Gen. Crook, Gen. Connor, Col. Elliott, Gen. Whea- 
 ron and others, all of which will be of more than passing 
 interest to those who can be entertained by the early his- 
 tory of the western part of our great republic. 
 
 This work also gives an insight into the lives of the 
 hardy pioneers of the far West, and the many trials and 
 hardships they had to undergo in blazing the trail and 
 hewing the way to one of the grandest and most health- 
 ful regions of the United States. W> F. D. 
 CHICAGO, August ist, 1899. 
 
Ou 
 05 
 
 u 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER i. A Boy Escapes a Tyrant and Pays a Debt 
 with a Hornet's Nest Meets Kit Carson and Becomes 
 the Owner of a Pony and a Gun 17-31 
 
 CHAPTER 2. Beginning of an Adventurous Life First 
 Wild Turkey First Buffalo First Feast as an Hon- 
 ored Guest of Indians Dog Meat 32-47 
 
 CHAPTER 3. Hunting and Trapping in South Park, 
 Where a Boy, Unaided, Kills and Scalps Two Indians 
 Meeting with Fremont, the "Path-finder". . . .47-73 
 
 CHAPTER 4. A Winter in North Park Running Fight 
 with a Band of Utes for More than a Hundred Miles, 
 Ending Hand to Hand Victory 73-82 
 
 CHAPTER 5. On the Cache-la-Poudre Visit from Gray 
 Eagle, Chief of the Arapahoes. A Bear-hunter is 
 Hunted by the Bear Phil, the Cannibal 83-96 
 
 CHAPTER 6. Two Boys Ride to the City of Mexico 
 Eleven Hundred Miles of Trial, Danger and Duty A 
 Gift Horse The Wind River Mountains 96-104 
 
 CHAPTER 7. A Three Days' Battle Between the 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Comanches and the Utes for the Possession of a 
 "Hunter's Paradise" An Unseasonable Bath . 105-1 19 
 
 CHAPTER 8. Kit Carson Kills a Hudson Bay Company's 
 Trapper, Who Was Spoiling for a Fight Social Good 
 Time with a Train of Emigrants 1 19-129 
 
 CHAPTER 9. Marriage of Kit Carson The W 7 edding 
 Feast Providing Buffalo Meat, in the Original Pack- 
 age, for the Boarding-house at Bent's Fort. . . 130-141 
 
 CHAPTER 10. Robber Gamblers of San Francisco En- 
 gaged by Col. Elliott as Indian Scout Kills and Scalps 
 Five Indians Promoted to Chief Scout 141-158 
 
 CHAPTER n. A Lively Battle with Pah-Utes Pinned 
 to Saddle with an Arrow Some Very Good Indians 
 Stuttering Captain Beckwith Opens His Pass. I i>9~i 75 
 
 CAAPTER 12 Col. Elliott Kills His First Deer, and Se- 
 cures a Fine Pair of Horns as Present for His Father 
 Beckwith's Tavern Society 175-185 
 
 CHAPTER 1 3 Something Worse than Fighting Indians 
 Dance at Col. Elliott's Conspicuous Suit of .Buckskin 
 I Manage to Get Back to Beckwith's 186-191 
 
 CHAPTER 14. Drilling the Detailed Scouts-* -We Get 
 Among the Utes Four Scouts Have Not Reported 
 Yet Another Lively Fight Beckwith Makes a 
 Raise 191-210 
 
CONTENTS. 1 1 
 
 CHAPTER 15. A Hunt on Petaluma Creek Elk Fever 
 Breaks Out The Expedition to Klamath Lake A 
 Lively Brush with Modoc Indians 21 1-222 
 
 CHAPTER 16. More Fish than I Had Ever Seen at One 
 Time We Surprise Some Indians, Who Also Surprise 
 Us The Camp yt Klamath Lake I Get Another 
 Wound and a Lr>, of Horses . .223-233 
 
 CHAPTER 17. Discovery of Indians with Stolen Horses 
 
 We Kill tL Indians and Return the Property to Its 
 
 Owners Meeting of Miners In Society Again. 233-245 
 
 CHAPTER i'6. Trapping on the Gila The Pimas Impart 
 a Secret Rescue of a White Girl A Young Indian 
 Age^V Visit to Taos Uncle Kit Fails to Recognize 
 Me 245-267 
 
 CHAPTER 19. A Warm Time in a Cold Country A 
 Band of Bannocks Chase Us Into a Storm that Saves 
 Us Kit Carson Slightly Wounded Beckwith Makes 
 a Century Run 267-283 
 
 CHAPTER 20. Carson Quits the Trail Buffalo Robes 
 
 for Ten Cents "Pike's Peak or Bust" The New City 
 
 of Denver -"Busted" How the News Started. 283-292 
 
 CHAPTER 21. A Fight With the Sioux Hasa, the 
 Mexican Boy, Killed Mixed Up With Emigrants 
 Some More Four New Graves Successful Trading 
 the Kiowas 292-308 
 
13 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER 22. A Trip to Fort Kearney The General 
 Endorses Us and We Pilot an Emigrant Train to Cal- 
 ifornia Woman Who Thought I Was " no ' Gentle- 
 man" A Camp Dance '. 308-332 
 
 CHAPTER 23. Bridger and West Give Christmas a High 
 Old Welcome in Sacramento California Gulch 
 Meeting with Buffalo Bill Thirty-three Scalps with 
 One Knife 333~35 1 
 
 CHAPTER 24. Face to Face with a Band of Apaches 
 The Death of Pinto The Closest Call I Ever Had 
 A Night Escape Back at Fort Douglas 351-360 
 
 CHARTER 25. Three Thousand Dead Indians A De- 
 tective from Chicago He Goes Home with an Old 
 Mormon's Youngest Wife and Gets into Trouble The 
 Flight 360-374 
 
 CHAPTER 26. Through to Bannock A Dance of Peace 
 Fright of the Negroes A Freight Train Snowed in 
 and a Trip on Snow-shoes Some Very Tough Road 
 Agents 374-387 
 
 CHAPTER 27. Organization of a Vigilance Committc 
 End of the Notorious Slade One Hundred Dollars for 
 a "Crow-bait" Horse Flour a Dollar a Pound. 388-395 
 
 CHATER 28. Twenty-two Thousand Dollars in Gold 
 Dust A Stage Robbery Another Trip to California 
 Meeting with Gen Crook Chief of Scouts . . . 396-404 
 
CONTENTS. 13 
 
 CHAPTER 39. Find Some Murdered Emigrants We 
 Bury the Dead and Follow and Scalp the Indians 
 Gen. Crook Is Pleased with the Outcome A Mojave 
 Blanket 404-42 1 
 
 CHAPTER 30. A Wicked Little Battle Capture of One 
 Hundred and Eighty-two Horses Discovery of Black 
 Canyon Fort Yuma and the Paymaster 422-434 
 
 CHAPTER 31. To California for Horses My Beautiful 
 Mare, Black Bess We Get Sixty-six Scalps and Sev- 
 enty-eight Horses A Clean Sweep 435-444 
 
 CHAPTER 32. Some Men Who Were Anxious for a Fight 
 and Got It Gen. Crook at Black Canyon^Bad Mis- 
 take of a Good Man The Victims 444-452 
 
 CHAPTER 33. The Massacre at Choke Cherry Canyon 
 Mike Maloney Gets Into a Muss Rescue of White 
 Girls Mike Gets Even with the Apaches.. . .452-466 
 
 CHAPTER 34. Massacre of the Davis Family A Hard 
 Ride and Swift Retribution A Pitiful Story Burial 
 of the Dead I am Sick of the Business 466-475 
 
 CHAPTER 35. Black Bess Becomes Popular in San 
 Francisco A Failure as Rancher Buying Horses in 
 Oregon The Klamath Marsh Captain Jack the 
 Modoc 475-583 
 
 CBAPTER 36, The Modoc War Gen. Wheaton Is Held 
 
14 CONTENTS. 
 
 Off by the Indians Gen. Canby Takes Command and 
 Gets It Worse Massacre of the Peace Commis- 
 sion , 484-503 
 
 CHAPTER 37 The Cry of a Babe Capture of a Bevj 
 of Squaws Treachery of Gen. Ross' Men in Killing 
 Prisoners Capture of the Modoc Chief 5O3-5 1 5 
 
 CHAPTER 38. Story of the Captured Braves Why 
 Captain Jack Deserte4 Loathsome Condition of the 
 Indian Stronghold End of the War Some Com- 
 ments 516-524 
 
 CHAPTER 39. An Interested Boy Execution of the Mo- 
 doc Leaders Newspaper Messengers A Very Sudden 
 Deputy Sheriff A Bad Man Wound Up 525-539 
 
 CHAPTER 40. In Society Some More A Very Tight 
 Place Ten Pairs of Yankee Ears Black Bess Shakes 
 Herself at the Right Time Solemn Compact. 539-552 
 
 CHAPTER 41. We Locate a Small Band of Red Butch- 
 ers and Send them to the Happy Hunting Grounds 
 Emigrants Mistake Us for Indians George Jones 
 Wounded 553-5"i 
 
 CHAPTER 42. ' 'We Are All Surrounded" A Bold Dash 
 and a Bad Wound Mrs. Davis Shows Her Gratitude 
 
 
 
 Most of My Work Now Done on Crutches. . . 562-567 
 CHAPTER 43. Poor Jones Makes His Last Fight He 
 
CONTENTS. X J 
 
 Died Among a Lot of the Devils He Had Slain End 
 of Thirty-one Years of Hunting, Trapping and Scout- 
 ing 567-572 
 
 CHAPTER 44. A Grizzley Hunts the Hunter Shooting 
 Seals in Alaskan Waters I Become a Seattle Hotel 
 Keeper and the Big Fire Closes Me Out Some 
 Rest The Old Scout's Lament 573-586 
 
When she turned her back I threw the nest under her feet. Page 21 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 A BOY ESCAPES A TYRANT AND PAYS A DEBT WITH A 
 
 HORNET'S NEST MEETS KIT CARSON AND BECOMES 
 THE OWNER OF A PONY AND A GUN. 
 
 The old saying that truth is stranger than fiction is 
 emphasized in the life of every man whose career has 
 been one of adventure and danger in the pursuit of a 
 livlihood. Knowing nothing of the art of fiction and but 
 little of any sort of literature; having been brought up in 
 the severe school of nature, which is all truth, and 
 having had as instructor in my calling a man who was 
 singularly and famously truthful, truth has been my 
 inheritance and in this book I bequeath it to my readers. 
 
 My name is William F. Drannan, and I was born on 
 the Atlantic ocean January 30, 1832, while my parents 
 were emigrating from France to the United States. 
 
 They settled in Tennessee, near Nashville, and lived 
 upon a farm until I was about four years old. An 
 epidemic of cholera prevailed in that region for some 
 months during that time and my parents died of the 
 dread disease, leaving myself and a little sister, seven 
 months old, orphan* 
 
 [Ml 
 
ll SHAMEFULLY ABUH6B. 
 
 I have never known what became of my sister, nor do 
 I know how I came to fall into the hands of a man named 
 Drake, having been too young at that time to remember 
 now the causes of happenings then. However, I re- 
 mained with this man, Drake, on his plantation neai 
 The Hermitage, the home of Gen. Andrew Jackson, 
 until I was fifteen. 
 
 Drake was a bachelor who owned a large number oj 
 negro slaves, and I was brought up to the age mentioned 
 among the negro children of the place, without school- 
 ing, but cuffed and knocked about more like a worthless 
 puppy than as if I were a human child. I never saw the 
 inside of a school-house, nor was I taught at home any- 
 thing of value. Drake never even undertook to teach 
 me the difference between good and evil, and my only 
 associates were the little* negro boys that belonged to 
 Drake, or the neighbors. The only person who offered 
 to control or correct me was an old negro woman, who 
 so far from being the revered and beloved "Black 
 Mammy," remembered with deep affection by many 
 southern men and women, was simply a hideous black 
 tyrant. She abused me shamefully, and I was punished 
 by her not only for my own performances that displeased 
 her, but for all the meanness done by the negro boys 
 under her jurisdiction. 
 
 Naturally these negro boys quickly learned that they 
 could escape punishment by falsely imputing to me all of 
 their mischief and I was their scape-goat. 
 
 Often Drake's negro boys went over to General 
 Jackson's plantation to play with the negro boy*s over 
 there and I frequently accompanied them. One day the 
 
NO BDUGATWir, I? 
 
 old General asked me why I did not go to school. But 
 I could not tell him. I did not know why. I have 
 known since that I was not told to go and anyone knows 
 that a boy just growing up loose, as I was, is not likely 
 to go to school of his own accord. 
 
 I do not propose to convey to the reader the idea that 
 I was naturally better than other boys, on the contran, 
 I frequently deserved the rod when I did not get it, but 
 more frequently received a cruel drubbing when I did not 
 deserve it, that, too, at the hands of the old negro crone 
 who was exceedingly violent as well as unjust. This, of 
 course, cultivated in me a hatred against the vile 
 creature which was little short of murderous. 
 
 However, I stayed on and bore up under my troubles 
 as there was nothing else to do, so far as I knew then, 
 but "grin and bear it." This until I was fifteen years 
 old. 
 
 At this time, however, ignorant, illiterate, wild as I 
 was, a faint idea of the need of education dawned upon 
 me. I saw other white boys going to school; I saw the 
 difference between them and myself that education was 
 rapidly making and I realized that I was growing up as 
 ignorant and uncultured as the slave boys who were my 
 only attainable companions. 
 
 Somehow I had heard of a great city called St. Louis, 
 and little by little the determination grew upon me to 
 reach that wonderful place in some way. 
 
 I got a few odd jobs of work, now and then, from the 
 neighbors and in a little while I had accumulated four 
 dollars, which seemed a great deal of money to me, and 
 I thought I would bay about half of St. I^ouis, if I could 
 
30 ESCAPES A TYRANT. 
 
 only get there. And yet I decided that it would be just 
 as well to have a few more dollars and would not leave 
 my present home, which, bad it was, was the only one I 
 had, until I had acquired a little more money. But 
 coming home from work one evening I found the old 
 negress in an unusually bad humor, even for her. She 
 gave me a cruel thrashing just to give vent to her feelings, 
 and that decided me to leave at once, without waiting to 
 further improve my financial condition. I was getting 
 to be too big a boy to be beaten around by that old 
 wretch, and having no ties of friendship, and no one 
 being at all interested in me, I was determined to get 
 away before my tormentor could get another chance 
 at me. 
 
 I would go to St. Louis, but I must get even with the 
 old hag before starting. I did not wish to leave in debt 
 to anyone in the neighborhood and so I cudgeled my 
 brain to devise a means for settling old scores with my 
 self-constituted governess. 
 
 Toward evening I wandered into a small pasture, 
 doing my best to think how I could best pay off the 
 black termagant with safety to myself, when with great 
 good luck I suddenly beheld a huge hornet's nest, hang- 
 ing in a bunch of shrubbery. My plan instantly and fully 
 developed. Quickly I returned to the house and hastily 
 gathered what little clothing I owned into a bundle, done 
 up in my one handkerchief, an imitation of bandanna, of 
 very loud pattern. This bundle I secreted in the barn 
 and then hied me to the hornet's nest. Approaching 
 the swinging home of the hornets very softly, so as not 
 to disturb the inm*t% I staffed the ntnuioe to the 
 
PAYS THE DEBT. f I 
 
 hornet castle with sassafras leaves, and taking the great 
 sphere in my arms I bore it to a back window of the 
 kitchen where the black beldame was vigorously at work 
 within and contentedly droning a negro hymn. 
 
 Dark was coming on and a drizzly rain was falling. 
 It was the spring of the year, the day had been warm 
 and the kitchen window was open. I stole up to the 
 open window. The woman's back was toward me. I 
 removed the plug of sassafras leaves and hurled the hor- 
 net's nest so that it landed under the hag's skirts. 
 
 I watched the proceedings for one short moment, and 
 then, as it was getting late, I concluded I had better be 
 off for St. Louis. So I went away from there at the best 
 gait I could command. 
 
 I could hear my arch-enemy screaming, and it was 
 music to my ears that even thrills me yet, sometimes. 
 It was a better supper than she would have given me. 
 
 I saw the negroes running from the quarters, and else- 
 where, toward the kitchen, and I must beg the reader to 
 endeavor to imagine the scene in that culinary depart- 
 ment, as I am unable to describe it, not having waited 
 to see it out. 
 
 But I slid for the barn, secured my bundle and 
 started for the ancient city far away. 
 
 All night, on foot and alone, I trudged the turnpike 
 that ran through Nashville. I arrived in that city about 
 daylight, tired and hungry, but was too timid to stop for 
 something to eat, notwithstanding I had my four dollars 
 safe in my pocket, and had not eaten since noon, the day 
 before. 
 
 I plodded along through the town and crowed the 
 
MEETS A FRIEND. 
 
 Cumberland river on a ferry-boat, and then pulled out in 
 a northerly direction for about an hour, when I came to 
 a farm-house. In the road in front of the house I met 
 the proprietor who was going from his garden, opposite 
 the house, to his breakfast. 
 
 He waited 
 until I came 
 up, and as I 
 was about to 
 pass on, he 
 said: 
 
 "Hello! 
 my boy. 
 where are you 
 going so early 
 this m or n- 
 ing?" 
 
 I told him 
 I was on my 
 way to St. 
 Louis. 
 
 "St. Lou- 
 is?" he said. 
 "I never 
 heard of that 
 place before. 
 
 'Hello! my boy. Where are you going?" 
 
 Where is it?" 
 
 I told him I thought it was in Missouri, but was not 
 certain. 
 
 "Are you going all the way on foot, and alone?* 
 
CONTINUES THfc JOURNEY. 
 
 I answered that I was, and that I had no other way 
 to go. With that I started on. 
 
 "Hold on," he said. "If you are going to walk that 
 long way you had better come in and have some break- 
 fast." 
 
 You may rest assured that I did not wait for a sec< 
 invitation, for about that time I was as hungry as I ha:. 
 ever been in my life. 
 
 While we were eating breakfast the farmer turned to 
 his oldest daughter and said: 
 
 "Martha, where is St. Louis?" 
 
 She told him it was in Missouri, and one of the larg- 
 est towns in the South or West. "Our geography tells 
 lots about it," she said. 
 
 I thought this was about the best meal I had ever 
 eaten in my life, and after it was over I offered to pay 
 for it, but the kind-hearted old man refused to take any- 
 thing, saying: "Keep your money, my boy. You may 
 need it before you get back. And on your return, stop 
 and stay with me all night, and tell us all about 
 St. Louis." 
 
 After thanking them, I took my little bundle, bade 
 them good-bye, and was on my journey again. I have 
 always regretted that I did not learn this good man's 
 name, but I was in something of a hurry just then, for I 
 feared that Mr. Drake might get on my trail and follow 
 me and take me back, and I had no pressing inclination 
 to meet old Hulda again. 
 
 I plodded along for many days, now and then look- 
 ing back for Mr. Drake, but not anxious to see him; 
 rather the reverse. 
 
24 ARRIVES IN ST. LOUIS. 
 
 1 1 is not necessary to lumber up this story with my 
 trip to St. louis. I was about six weeks on the road, 
 the greater part of the time in Kentucky, and I had no 
 use for my money. I could stay at almost any farm- 
 house all night, wherever I stopped, and have a good bed 
 and be well fed, but no one would take pay for these ac- 
 /commodations. When I got to Owensboro, Ky. , I became 
 acquainted by accident with the mate of a steamboat 
 that was going to St. Louis and he allowed me to go on 
 the boat and work my way. 
 
 The first person that I met in St Louis, that I dared 
 to speak with, was a boy somewhat younger than myself. 
 I asked him his name, and in broken English he replied 
 that his name was Henry Becket. 
 
 Seeing that he was French, I began to talk to him in 
 his own language, which was my mother tongue, and so 
 we were quickly friends. I told him that my parents 
 were both dead and that I had no home, and he being of 
 a kind-hearted, sympathetic nature, invited me to go 
 home with him, which invitation I immediately accepted. 
 
 Henry Becket's mother was a widow and they were 
 very poor, but they were lovingly kind to me. 
 
 I told Mrs. Becket of my troubles with Mr. Drake's 
 old negro woman; how much abuse I had suffered at her 
 hands and the widow sympathized with me deeply. She 
 also told me that I was welcome to stay with them until 
 such time as I was able to get emyloyment.. So I re* 
 mained with the Beckets three days, during all of which 
 time I tried hard to get work, but without success. 
 
 On the morning of the fourth day she asked me if I 
 had tried any of the hotels for work. I told her that I 
 
had not, so she advised me to go to some of them in my 
 rounds. 
 
 5t had not occurred 
 to me that a boy could 
 find anything to do 
 about a hotel, but I 
 took Mrs. Becket's ad- 
 vice, and that morning 
 called at the American 
 hotel, which was the 
 firsx o** * * me te 
 
 What kind of work do you think 
 jrouooulddo?" 
 
26 MORE DETERMINED. 
 
 Quite boldly, for a green boy, I approached the per- 
 son whom I was told was the proprietor and asked him 
 if he had any work for a boy, whereupon he looked at 
 me in what seemed a most scornful way and said very 
 tartly: 
 
 4 'What kind of work do you think you could do?" 
 . I told him I could do most anything in the way of 
 common labor. 
 
 He gave me another half-scornful smile and said: 
 
 "I think you had better go home to your parents and 
 go to school. That's the best place for you." 
 
 This was discouraging, but instead of explaining my 
 position, I turned to go, and in spite of all that I could 
 do the tears came to my eyes. Not that I cared so 
 much for being refused employment, but for the manner 
 in which the hotel man had spoken to me. I did not 
 propose to give up at that, but started away, more than 
 ever determined to find employment. I did not want to 
 impose on the Beckets, notwithstanding that they still 
 assured me of welcome, and moreover I wished to do 
 something to help them, even more than myself. 
 
 I had nearly reached the door when a man who had 
 been reading a newspaper, but was now observing me, 
 called out: 
 
 "My boy! come here." 
 
 I went over to the corner where he was sitting and I 
 was trying at the same time to dry away my tears. 
 
 This man asked my name, which I gave him. He 
 then asked where my parents lived, and I told him that 
 they died when I was four years old. 
 
 Other questions from him brought out the story of my 
 
I went over to the corner where he was sitting and I was trying at the 
 
 same time to dry away my tear* Page 26 
 
MEETS KIT CAEtON. 
 
 boy-life; Drake, Gen. Jackson, the negro boys and the 
 brutal negress; then my trip to St. Louis but I omitted 
 the hornet's-nest incident. I also told this kindly 
 stranger that I had started out to make a living for my- 
 self and intended to succeed. 
 
 Then he asked me where I was staying, and I told 
 aim of the Beckets. 
 
 Seeing that this man was taking quite an interest in 
 me, gave me courage to ask his name. He told me that 
 his name was Kit Carson, and that by calling he was a 
 hunter and trapper, and asked me how I would like to 
 (earn his trade. 
 
 I assured him that I was willing to do anything hon- 
 orable for a living and that I thought I would very much 
 like to be a hunter and trapper. He said he would take 
 me with him and I was entirely delighted. Often I had 
 wished to own a gun, but had never thought of shooting 
 anything larger than a squirrel or rabbit. I was ready to 
 start at once, and asked him when he would go. 
 
 Smilingly he told me not to be in a hurry, and asked 
 me where Mrs. Becket lived. I told him as nearly as 
 I could, and again asked when he thought we would leave 
 St. Louis. I was fearful that he would change his mind 
 about taking me with him. I didn't know him then so 
 well as afterward. I came to learn that his slightest 
 word was his bond. 
 
 Bat visions of Mr. Drake, an old negro woman and a 
 hornet's nest, still haunted me and made me overanxious. 
 I wanted to get as far out of their reach as possible and 
 
SOME GOOD ADVICE. 
 
 Mr. Carson laughed in a quiet and yet much amused 
 way and said: 
 
 "You must learn to not do anything until you are 
 good and ready, and there are heaps of things to do be- 
 fore we can start out. Now let's go and see Mrs. 
 becket. " 
 
 So I piloted him to the widow's home, which, as near 
 as I can remember, was about four blocks from the hotel. 
 Mr. Carson being able to speak French first-rate, had 
 a talk with Mrs. Becket concerning me. The story she 
 told him, corresponding with that which I had told him, 
 he concluded that I had given him nothing but truth, and 
 then he aked Mrs. Becket what my bill was. She re- 
 plied that she had just taken me in because I was a poor 
 boy, until such time as I could find employment, and 
 
 that her charges were 
 nothing. He then asked 
 her how long I had been 
 with her, and being told 
 that it was four days, 
 he begged her to take 
 five dollars, which she 
 finally accepted. 
 
 I took my little budget 
 of clothes and tearfully 
 bidding Mrs. Becket and 
 Henry good-bye, started 
 back to the hotel with 
 my new guardian, and 
 I was the happiest boy in the world, from that on, so 
 long as I was a boy - 
 
 I hardly realized that I was 
 Will Drannan. 
 
MY FIRST BOOTS. 
 
 On the way back to the hotel Mr. Carson stopped 
 with me at a store and he bought me a new suit of 
 clothes, a hat and a pair of boots, for I was barefooted 
 and almost bareheaded. Thus dressed I could hardly 
 realize that I was the Will Drannan of a few hours 
 before. 
 
 That was the first pair of boots I had ever owned. 
 Perhaps, dear reader, you do not know what that means 
 to a healthy boy of fifteen. 
 
 It means more than has ever been written, or ever 
 will be. 
 
 I was now very ready to start out hunting, and on our 
 way to the hotel I asked Mr. Carson if he did not think 
 we could get" away by morning, but he told me that to 
 hunt I would probably need a gun, and we must wait 
 until he could have one made for me, of proper size for 
 a boy. 
 
 The next day we went to a gun factory and Mr. Car- 
 son gave orders concerning the weapon, after which we 
 returned to the hotel. We remained in St. Louis about 
 three weeks and every day seemed like an age to me. At 
 our room in the hotel Mr. Carson would tell me stories 
 about hunting and trapping, and notwithstanding the in- 
 tense interest of the stories the days were longer, because 
 I so much wished to be among the scenes he talked of, 
 and my dreams at night were filled with all sorts of won- 
 derful animals, my fancy's creation from what Mr. Car- 
 son talked about. I had never fired a gun in my life and 
 I was unbearably impatient to get my hands on the one 
 that was being made for me. 
 
 During the wait at St. Louis Htnry Backet wo with 
 
MAKE PREPARATION. 
 
 me nearly all the time, and when we were not haunting 
 the gun factory, we were, as much as possible, in Mr. 
 Carson's room at the hotel, listening to stories of adven- 
 ture on the plains and among the mountains. 
 
 I became, at once, very much attached to Mr. Carson 
 and I thought there was not another man in the United 
 States equal to him and there never has been, in his 
 line. Besides, since the death of my mother he was the 
 only one who had taken the slightest interest in me, or 
 treated me like a human b^ing, barring, of course, the 
 Beckets and those persons who had helped me on my 
 long walk from Nashville to St. Louis. 
 
 Finally Mr. Carson whom I had now learned to ad- 
 dress as Uncle Kit said to me one morning, that as my 
 gun was about completed we would make preparations to 
 start West. So we went out to a farm, about two miles 
 from St. Louis, to get the horses from where Uncle Kit 
 had left them to be cared for during the winter. 
 
 We went on foot, taking a rope, or riatta, as it is 
 called by frontiersmen, and on the way to the farm I 
 could think or talk of nothing but my new rifle, and the 
 buffalo, deer, antelope and other game that I would kill 
 when I reached the plains. Uncle Kit remarked that he 
 had forgotten to get me a saddle, but that we would not 
 have to wait to get one made, as there were plenty of 
 saddles that would fit me already made, and that h* 
 would buy me one when he got back to town. 
 
 When we reached the farm where the horses were, 
 Uncle Kit pointed out a little bay pony th** b*4 J>o*k to* 
 ears cropped off at the tiS, and he saut- 
 
THE PACK-TRAIN. 
 
 "Now Willie, there is your pony. Catch him a 
 climb on,' at the same time handing me the riatta. 
 
 The pony 
 being gentle 
 I caught 
 and mount- 
 ed him at 
 once, and 
 by the time 
 we had got 
 back to 
 town money 
 could not 
 have bought 
 that little 
 crop-eared 
 horse from 
 me. As will 
 be see n, 
 
 later on, I kept that pony and he was a faithful friend 
 and servant until his tragic death, years afterward. 
 
 In two days we had a pack-train of twenty horses 
 rigged for the trip. The cargo was mostly tobacco, 
 blankets and beads, which Carson was taking out to trade 
 to the Indians for robes and furs. Of course all % this 
 was novel to me as I had never seen a pack-saddle 
 or anything associated with one 
 
 A man named Hughes, of whom you will see much 
 in this narrative, accompanied and assisted Uncle Kit on 
 this trip, as he had done the season before, for besides 
 his experience as a packer, he was a good trapper, and 
 Un<- .'e Kit employed him 
 
 I caught and mounted him at once. 
 
3* BIDS GOOD-BYE. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ^BEGINNING OF AN ADVENTUROUS LIFE.- FIRST WILC 
 TURKEY. FIRST BUFFALO. FlRST FEAST AS AN 
 HONORED GUEST OF INDIANS. DOG MEAT. 
 
 It was on the morning of May 3, 1847, that wts 
 rounded up the horses and Uncle Kit and Mi, Hughes 
 began packing them. 
 
 It being the first trip of the season some of the pack- 
 ponies were a little frisky and would try to lie down when 
 the packs were put on them. So it became my business 
 to look after them and keep them on their feet until all 
 were packed. 
 
 Everything being in readiness, I shook hands, good- 
 bye, with my much-esteemed friend, Henrv Becket, who 
 had been helping me with the pack-horses, and who also 
 coveted my crop-eared pony, very naturally for a boy 
 Then we were off for a country unknown to me v except 
 for what Uncle Kit had told me of it. 
 
 My happiness seemed to increase, if that were possi- 
 ble. I was unspeakably glad to get uway from St. Louis 
 before Mr. Drake had learned of my whereabouts, and 
 up to the time of this writing I have never been back to 
 St. Louis, or Tennessee, nor have I heard anything of 
 Mr. Drake or my ancient enemy, the angel of Erebus. 
 
 From St. Louis we struck out westward, heading for 
 F*. Scott, which place is now a thriving little city io 
 
CAMPING OUT. 33 
 
 southeastern Kansas, but then the extreme out-edge of 
 settlement. 
 
 The first day out we traveled until about 2 o'clock in 
 the afternoon, when we came to a fine camping place 
 with abundance of grass, wood and water. 
 
 Uncle Kit, thinking we had traveled far enough fon 
 the first day, said: 
 
 "I reckon the lad is gittin' tired, Hughes, 's well as 
 che horses, an' I think we'd better pull up for the day.' 
 
 I was glad to b>ear this, for I had done more riding 
 chat day than in any one day in my life, before. 
 
 Uncle Kit told me it would be my job, on the trip, 
 as soon as my horse was unsaddled, to gather wood and 
 start a fire, while he and Mr. Hughes unpacked the ani- 
 mals. So I unsaddled my horse, and by the time they 
 had the horses unpacked I had a good fire going and 
 plenty of water at hand for all purposes. Mr. Hughes, 
 meantime, got out the coffee-pot and frying-pan, and 
 soon we had a meal that I greatly enjoyed and which 
 was the first one for me by a camp-fire. 
 
 After we had eaten, and smoked and lounged for a 
 while, Uncle Kit asked me if I did not wish to try my 
 rifle. 
 
 Of course I did. 
 
 So taking a piece of wood and sharpening one end * 
 that it might be driven into the ground, he took a piece 
 of charcoal and made on the flat side of the wood a mark 
 for me to shoot at. 
 
 "Now Willie," said Uncle Kit, ' 'if you ever expect to 
 be a good hunter you must learn to be a good shot, and 
 you can't begin practicin' too soon." 
 
34 
 
 TRIES HIS GUK. 
 
 I had never fired a gun, but I had made up my mind 
 to be a mighty hunter and so started in for shooting prac- 
 tice with much zeal. Uncle Kit gave me few instruc-. 
 tions about how to hold the gun, and I raised the rifle to 
 my face and fired the first shot of my life. 
 
 I do not know how close my bullet came to that 
 
 mark, nor how 
 far it missed, for 
 the wood was un- 
 touched. But T 
 tried it again and 
 with much better 
 success, for this 
 time I struck the 
 stick about eight 
 inches below 7 the 
 mark. This was 
 great encourage- 
 ment and from 
 that on I could 
 scarcelytake time 
 to eat meals in 
 camp, in my anxi- 
 ety to practice, 
 and I was further 
 Kit Carson. encouraged b y 
 
 Uncle Kit's approval of my desire to practice. 
 
 One evening I overheard Uncle Kit say to Mr. 
 Huges, "That boy is going to make a dead 'shot after- 
 while. " 
 
 This gave me great faith in my future as a hunter 
 
TURKEY HUNTING. 35 
 
 and Uncle Kit and Mr. Hughes seemed to take great de- 
 light in teaching me all the tricks of rifle marksmanship. 
 
 After we had traveled about two days we came to a 
 belt of country where there were wild turkeys in great 
 numbers, and on the morning of the third day out, Uncle 
 Kit called me early, saying: 
 
 "Come Willie, jump up now, an' le's go an' see if we 
 can't git a wild turkey for breakfast." He had heard 
 the turkeys that morning and knew which direction to 
 go to find them. 
 
 I rolled out and was quickly dressed and ready. 
 
 When near the turkey haunt Uncle Kit took a quill 
 from his pocket and by a peculiar noise on the quill 
 called the turkeys up near to him, then took aim at one, 
 fired and killed it. 
 
 "Now Willie," he said, '-do you think you can do 
 that to-morrow morning?" 
 
 I told him that I thought if I could get close enougn. 
 and the turkeys would stand right still, I believe I could 
 fetch one. And I desired to know if it was certain that 
 there would be turkeys where we were to camp that 
 night. 
 
 "Oh, yes;" said he, "thar'll be plenty of 'em for some 
 days yit." 
 
 Early the next morning Uncle Kit called me as usmil, 
 and said, "Git up now, an' see what you can do f 
 turkey breakfast. " 
 
 Instantly I was on rny feet, Uncle Kit showed me 
 direction to go, loaned me his turkey-call quill, v\ i 
 by the way, he had been teaching me how to use ;, 
 rode the day before. 
 
KILLS A 
 
 I shouldered my rifle and had net gene far when 1 
 heard the turkeys, up the river. Then I took the quill 
 and started my turkey tune. Directly a big eld gobbler 
 came strutting towards me and I called him up as near 
 to me as he would come, for I wanted to make ?*ire of 
 
 him. 
 
 Uncle Kit had told me about the "buck-ague" and J 
 knew I had it when I tried to draw a bead on that big 
 gobbler. I had never shot at a living thing, and whep 1 
 leveled my rifle it was impossible to, control my nerves. 
 
 The turkey seemed to jump 
 up and down, and appeared 
 to me to be as big as a 
 pony, when* I looked at 
 him along the rifle. Two 
 or three times I tried to 
 hold the bead on him, but 
 could not. Now I wouldn't h^ve missed killing him for 
 
 Mr. Gobbler tumbled over, dead. 
 
Lone \Voit, 
 
BEYOND CIVILIZATION. 3? 
 
 anything, in reason, for I feared that Uncle Kit and Mr. 
 Hughes would laugh at me. 
 
 At last, however, the sights of my gun steadied long 
 enough for me. to pull the trigger, and to my great de 
 light and I may as well admit, surprise Mr. 
 tumbled over dead when I fired, and he was so he as 
 to be a good load for me to carry to camp. 
 
 Now I was filled with confidence in myself, and be- 
 came eager for a shot at bigger game; antelope, deer or 
 buffab. 
 
 In a few days we passed Ft. Scott and then we were 
 entirely beyond the bounds of civilization. 
 
 From that on, until we reached our destination, the 
 only living things we saw were jack-rabbits, prairie-dogs, 
 antelope, deer, buffalo, sage-hens and Indians, barring, 
 of course, insects, reptiles and the like, and the little 
 owls that live with the prairie-dogs and sit upo*; the 
 mounds of the dog villages, eyeing affairs with seeming 
 dignity and wisdom. 
 
 The owls seem to turn their heads while watching 
 you, their bodies remaining stationary, until, it has been 
 said, you may wring their- heads off by walking around 
 them a few times. J. would not have my young friends 
 believe, however, that this is true. It is only a very old 
 jok^ of the plains. 
 
 The first herd of buffalo we saw was along a stream 
 known as Cow Creek and which is a tributary to the Ark- 
 ansas river. We could see the herd feeding along the 
 hills in the distance. 
 
 Here was good camping ground and it was time to 
 halt for the night. So as soon as we had decided on tb 
 
SHOOTING BUFFALO. 
 
 spot to pitch camp, Uncle Kit directed me to go and kill 
 a buffalo, so that we might h^ve fresh meat for supper. 
 
 That suited me,' exactly, for I was eager to get a shot 
 at such big game. 
 
 Uncle Kit told me to follow up the ravine until oppo- 
 site the herd and then climb the hill, but to be careful 
 and not let the buffalo see me. 
 
 I followed his instructions to the dot, for I had come 
 to believe that what Kit Carson said was law and gospel, 
 and what he didn't know would not fill a hookas large as 
 Ayer's Almanac. I was right, too, so far as plainscraft 
 was concerned. 
 
 Uncle Kit had also directed me to select a small buf-. 
 
 I drew a bead on her and fired. 
 
 falo to shoot at, and to 
 surely kill it, for we were 
 ' -it of meat. 
 
 It so happened that when 
 I got to the top of the hill an^ in sight of the herd again 
 the first animal that seemed to present an advantageous 
 shot was a two-year-old heifer. 
 
 I dropped flat on the ground and crawled toward her, 
 like a snake. Once she raised her head, but the wind 
 
I 
 
 I? 
 o 
 
 K 
 
 B 
 
 
OFF AGAIN. 3V 
 
 being in my favor, she did not discern me, but put her 
 head down and went on feeding. I succeeded in crawl- 
 ing quite close enough to her, dxew a bead on her and 
 fired. At the crack of the rifle she came to the ground, 
 "as dead as a door-nail," much to the surprise of Uncle 
 Kit and Mr. Hughes, who were watching me from a dis- 
 tance. 
 
 When the animal fell, I threw my hat in the air and 
 gave a yell that would have done credit to an Apache 
 warrior. 
 
 Uncle Kit and I dressed the buffalo and carried the 
 meat into camp while Mr. Hughes gathered wood for the 
 night-fires. 
 
 I could scarcely sleep that night for thinking of m) 
 buffalo, and could I have seen Henry Becket that night 
 I would almost have stunned him with my stories o< 
 frontier life. 
 
 The novice is ever enthusiastic. 
 
 The following morning we woke up early, and ofi\ 
 still heading up the Arkansas river for Bent's Fort, and 
 from here on the buffalo were numerous, and we had that 
 sort of fresh meat until we got good and tired of it. 
 
 The second day out from Cow Creek, in the aftei 
 noon, we saw about twenty Indians coming towards us 
 At the word, "Indians," I could feel my hair raise on 
 end, and many an Indian has tried to raise it since. 
 
 This was my first sight of the red man. He looked 
 to me to be more of a black man. 
 
 Uncle Kit asked Mr. Hughes what Indians he thought 
 they were. The reply was that he thought them to bn 
 
4O MEETING INDIANS. 
 
 Kiowas, and on coming up to them the surmise proved 
 to be correct. 
 
 They were Black Buffalo, the chief of the Kiowas, 
 and his daughter, accompanied by twenty warriors. 
 
 Black Buffalo, and indeed all the Kiowa tribe, were 
 well acquainted with Uncle Kit and had great respect for 
 him. So a general hand-shaking and pow-wow followed. 
 
 Carson spoke their language as well as they could, 
 and consequently had no difficulty conversing with them. 
 
 In those days very few Indians knew a word of Eng- 
 lish, consequently all conversation with them had to be 
 carried on in the several tribal languages or dialects, 01 
 in the jargon. 
 
 This latter was a short language composed of Indian, 
 French and English words, and was called "Chinook." 
 It originated with the fur traders of Astoria, Ore. , and 
 its growth was assisted by missionaries, until it became 
 the means of communication between the whites and the 
 Indians of the coast and interior of the vast Northwest, 
 and even between Indians whose dialects were unknown 
 to each other. In short it was a sort of Indian 
 "Volapuk," and was very easily mastered. There has 
 been a dictionary of it printed, and I have known a 
 bright man to acquire the vocabulary in two or three 
 days. 
 
 Black Buffalo and his little band shortly turned about 
 and rode back to their village, which was only two miles 
 away. But they first invited us to visit them, which we 
 did, as not to have done so would have been a violent 
 breach of plains etiquette, that might cause a disruption 
 of friendship. 
 
While we were eating supper Uncle Kit asked me if I knew what kind 
 of meat I wa eating. Pag 41 
 
BATIN6 DOO MEAT. 41 
 
 In the Indian village, after our horses had beeu un- 
 packed and turned out to graze, Uncle Kit and Black 
 Buffalo strolled about among the lodges or wic.k-i-ups, of 
 which there were something like fifteen hundred. I fol- 
 lowed very closely for I was mortally afraid to get fifteen 
 feet away from Uncl? Kit, in that sort of company. 
 
 Black Buffalo dicl us the honor, that evening, to takfe 
 us to his own private wick-i-up for supper. It was a cus- 
 tom with this, r.nd many other tribes of Indians, that 
 conveyed grsp.t distinction to visitors, to kill and cook 
 for them a r.Ics fat dog. However, I was not then aware 
 that I wa? sc distinguished a guest, as indeed neither I 
 nor Mr. Hughes would have been had we not been in the 
 company of Kit Carson. With him we shone by re- 
 flected greatness. 
 
 \Vhile we were out on our walk about the village, 
 Black Buffalo's cook was preparing this distinguishing 
 feast for us. 
 
 I had kept unusually quiet all the time we were 
 among the Indians, not ev:n asking one question, which 
 was very remarkable in me. For I presume that on the 
 }ourney I had asked more questions to the lineal mile 
 \h?n any boy ever had before. 
 
 But I ate the dog in silence and liked it. Of course 
 I had no idea what the meat was. So, Uncle Kit observ- 
 ing the gusto with which I was devouring dog, asked me 
 if I knew what the meat was. I told him that I did not, 
 but supposed it to be antelope, or buffalo. He informed 
 me that it was neither, but good, healthy dog. 
 
 I thought he was joking, %nd simply replied that it 
 
43 HONORED GUEST. 
 
 was mighty good meat, even if it was dog, and gave the 
 matter no further reflection, at the time. 
 
 The next day, when Uncle Kit and Mr. Hughes as- 
 sured me that it was really dog meat, we had eaten the 
 night before, I felt very much like throwing up every- 
 thing I had eaten at the village, but it was too late then. 
 
 After supper, that night in the Indian village, we had 
 what was called a ' 'peace smoke." The Chief selected 
 about a dozen of his braves, and all being seated in a 
 circle, two of our party on one side of the Chief, and 
 Uncle Kit at his right, a pipe was lit and the Chief took 
 one whiff, 'the smoke of which he blew up into the air. 
 He then took another whiff, and turning to his chief 
 guest, handed him the pipe, who blew a whiff into the 
 air and the second one into the face of the host. This 
 performance having been gone through with for each 
 guest, the Chief then handed the pipe to the first Indian 
 on his right, and thus it went around the circle, each 
 Indian blowing a whiff into the air. 
 
 It was considered a great breach of etiquette to speak, 
 or even smile, during this ceremony. 
 
 This Indian village was situated at Pawnee Rock, on 
 the Arkansas river, in a beautiful valley, in what is now 
 the southwest corner of Benton Co., Kan. The wick-i- 
 ups were made of poles set on ends, gathered together at 
 the top, and covered with buffalo skins from which the 
 the hair had been removed. 
 
 The Kiowas were, at that time, the most numerous 
 tribe of Indians in the United States. 
 
 Early the next morning after our dog-feast and peace- 
 smoke, our party was ujp and off, and I was particularly 
 
COMANCHE VILLAGE. 4$ 
 
 w li. m* m* I.JIM* i.. .11 i 11 - " . . i- ..--.- . 
 
 glad to get away, feeling that I would rather camp out 
 and feed on buffalo, antelope, jack-rabbits and wild tur- 
 key than dwell in the lodges of Kiowas and be "hon- 
 ored" with banquets of the nicest dogs in all that region. 
 
 We took the Santa Fe trail and the buffalo were so 
 numerous along the way that we had to take some pains 
 to avoid them, as when they were traveling or on a stam- 
 pede, nothing could turn or stop them and we would be 
 in danger of being ground to atoms beneath their thou- 
 sands of hoofs. 
 
 In two days more of travel we reached another In- 
 dian village, on another beautiful plain, in what is now 
 Pawnee Co. , Kan. Here the country was so level that 
 one could see for miles in any direction, and the sun ris- 
 ing or setting, seemed to come up or go down, as a great 
 golden disk, out of or into the earth. We could see 
 many bands of wild horses feeding on the luxuriant 
 grasses, and little did I think, then, that I would live to 
 see the day when that broad and unfenced plain would 
 be converted into homes for hundreds of the pale-faced 
 race. 
 
 We were met on the outskirts of the village by White 
 Horse, Chief of the Comanches, who, being an intimate 
 friend of Uncle Kit, shook hands with us and conducted 
 us to his own wick-i-up. There we unpacked the animals 
 and piled up our goods, and White Horse detailed an In- 
 dian to guard the packs day and night. 
 
 After our horses had been picketed out to grass, the 
 Chief took us into his lodge to dine with him, and here 
 again we had boiled dog and the peace smoke. 
 
 White Horse insisted upon our being his guests until 
 
44 ESCORTED BY CHIEF, 
 
 morning, it being about noon when we arrived, and as 
 our horses were much jaded we decided to give them the 
 advantage of such a rest. 
 
 Xhe Comanche Chief was most exceedingly hospi- 
 table, in his way, and would not allow us to eat of our 
 own provisions, but insisted upon our eating with him, 
 and "trotted" out the best "grub" he had. 
 
 After breakfast the next morning our horses were 
 brought in by the Indians, who also helped us to pack, 
 and we struck the trail again, accompanied by White 
 Horse and his daughter, who traveled with us all that 
 day and camped with us at night. 
 
 That evening Uncle Kit killed a fine buffalo calf, and 
 I thought it the best meat I had ever eaten even better 
 than dog. 
 
 The following morning the Chief and his daughter re- 
 turned to the village, and we proceeded on our journey. 
 
 That day, riding along on my crop-eared pony, about 
 fifty yards behind my companions, I chanced to look be- 
 hind me and I saw what I thought to be a man, walking 
 on a hill towards us,' and he appeared to be at least 
 twenty feet high. As he got further down the hill he 
 appeared to grow shorter, until, I thought, he went down 
 a ravine and out of sight. - 
 
 I put spurs to Croppy and galloped up to Uncle Kit, 
 and told him I had seen the tallest man on earth, de- 
 claring that the man was at least twenty feet high. 
 
 "An"you saw a man that high?" said Uncle Kit 
 
 "Indeed I did," I replied. 
 
 4 'Sure you saw him?" he asked 
 
Lone Wolf's Son, Killed at Howells, Texas, 1873 
 
SEES A MIRAGE. 4$ 
 
 4 ' Yts ( sir; and if you will watch you will see him 
 coi/ie up out of the ravine, directly." 
 
 Uncje Kit, laughing, said: "It was not a man you 
 saw, my boy, but a mirage," and he explained to me the 
 phenomena, which I became familiar with in the years 
 that followed. 
 
 Sometimes the mirages present to the vision what ap- 
 pear to b% men, at other times bodies of water sur- 
 rounded by trees, and often houses and whole towns. 
 They appea/ before you on the dryest plains and then 
 disappear as if the earth opened anc swallowed them. 
 
 Early in June we reached Bent's Fort and met there 
 Col. Bent and his son, Mr. Roubidoux and his son, and 
 a man named James Bridger, of whom you will see a great 
 deal, later on in this narrative. These men were all 
 traders, buying furs and buffalo robes from Indians, 
 white hunters and trappers. 
 
 We remained at Bent's Fort six weeks, and often 
 during th'^t time some one of the many hunters, trappers 
 and traders, that made this place their headquarters, 
 would ask Unclv? Kit what he was going to do with that 
 boy meaning me. To all of which Carson woi'li reply 
 "I'm goin' to ma.ke a hunter and trapper of him, ' 
 
 During the six weeks at the fort I was out near! 
 every day with some of the men, and to me they gav c , <:h 
 name of "Young Kit." 
 
 By the time we were ready t^ leave Bent's Fort, 
 Young Kit became quite a rider, and Uncle Kit had been 
 training me in the dexterous use of the rifle, shooting 
 from my knee, lying on my pack, resting the gun on mv 
 
46 *tr CARSON S HOME. 
 
 toes, lying flat on my belly, resting the gun on my hat, 
 and in various other positions. 
 
 Having disposed of all our blankets, beads and all of 
 the tobacco, except what was reserved for home con- 
 sumption, we left Bent's Fort, crossed the Arkansas river 
 and followed up Apishapa creek three days, when we 
 came to the Rocky Mountains, among which we were 
 duriiig four days, passing Trinkara Peak then turning 
 south toward a little Mexican village called Taos, where 
 Uncle Kit made his home, he having a house of his own 
 in that village. 
 
 On the morning after our arrival at Taos, Uncle Kit 
 said to me at breakfast: 
 
 "Willie, there are a lot of Mexican boys here wh^ 
 would like to play with you." 
 
 Some of them were standing near in a group, gazing 
 at rne in much wonderment. 
 
 "But," continued Uncle Kit, "you will have to learn 
 to speak their language in order to have much fun. Go 
 with them if you wish, and tell me to-night how many 
 words you have learned. " 
 
 Then he spoke to the group of boys in their own 
 tongue and told them I wished to play with them but 
 couldn't speak their language, and wanted to learn. 
 
 We had a jolly time that day in many boyish games 
 that I had never seen, and when I came home Uncle 
 Kit asked me how many words I had learned. 
 
 "Three," I replied, 
 
 "Splendid!" he exclaimed. " 'Twont be long fo'you 
 . - a fus'-class Mexican." 
 
 evening, after we had been in Taos about two 
 

THE FANDANGO. 4? 
 
 weeks, Uncle Kit told me to put on my best suit and he 
 would take me to a fandango. I was not sure what a 
 fandango was but was willing to experience one, just the 
 same, and, togged out in our best, we went to the fan- 
 dango, which was simply a Mexican -dance. Sort of a 
 public ball. 
 
 I looked on that night with much interest, but de- 
 clined to participate further than that. I learned better 
 in a little while, and the fandango, with the tinkle of 
 guitars and mandolins, the clink of the cavalleros' spurs, 
 and the laugh and beauty of the Mexican senoritas, be- 
 came a great pleasure to me. 
 
 Thus began our life at the little^ Mexican town of 
 Taos, the home of that great hero of the West, Kit 
 Carson - 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 HUNTING AND TRAPPING IN SOUTH PARK, WHERE A 
 
 BOY, UNAIDED, KILLS AND SCALPS TWO INDIANS. 
 
 MEETING WITH FREMONT, THE * 'PATH-FINDER." 
 
 One evening in October as I was getting ready to re- 
 tire for the night, Uncle Kit said to me: 
 
 4 'Now Willie, to-morrow you must put in the day 
 
48 MOULEpNG BULLETS. 
 
 moulding bullets, for we must begin making preparations 
 *o go trapping." 
 
 This was pleasant news to me, for I had laid around 
 so long with nothing to do but skylark with those Mexi- 
 can boys, that life was getting to be monotonous. 
 
 The reader will understand that in those early days 
 we had only muzzle-loading guns, and for every one of 
 'hose we had to have a pair of bullet-moulds the size of 
 the rifle, and before starting out on an expedition it was 
 necessary to mould enough bullets to last several weeks, 
 if not the entire trip, and when you realize that almost 
 any time we were liable to get into a ''scrap" with the 
 Indians, you can understand that it required a great 
 number of these little leaden missiles to accommodate 
 the red brethren, as well as to meet other uses. 
 
 That evening after I had gone to bed, Mr Hughes 
 said: 
 
 "Kit, what are you going to do with that buy?" 
 
 "What boy?" asked Uncle Kit, as if he w;re aston- 
 ished. 
 
 ' 'Why, Willie. What are you going to da with him 
 while we are away trapping?" 
 
 "Why, take him along to help us, of course." 
 
 "Thunderation!" exclaimed Hughes; "he will only 
 be a bother to us in the mountains." 
 
 I had been with Kit Carson three montKi,, and this 
 was the first time I had seen him, apparently, out of 
 humor. But at Hughes' last remark, he said in a decid- 
 edly angry tone: 
 
 "Jim Hughes,, I want you to understand that wher- 
 ever I go that boy can go, too. if he likes. " 
 
TRAPPING EXPEDITION 49 
 
 Hughes seeing that Carson did not like what he had 
 said about "that boy," turned the matter off by saying 
 that he had only made the remark to tease the boy. 
 
 Next morning Uncle Kit started a Mexican lad out to 
 round up the horses, and the next two days were spent 
 in fixing up our pack-saddles preparatory for the trip. 
 
 Our horses were as fat as seals, as there was no end 
 to the range for them in this part of the country. 
 
 All being^ in readiness we pulled out from Taos, four 
 of us, Uncle Kit, Mr. Hughes, myself and a Mexican 
 boy named Juan. The latter went along to bring our 
 horses back home. 
 
 We crossed back over that spur of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains that we had came in through, and struck the Ark- 
 ansas river near where Pueblo, Colo. , now stands, and 
 from here we pnlled for the headwaters of that river, 
 carefully examining every stream we came to for bea- 
 ver sign. 
 
 We saw abundance of game on the trip, such as 
 antelope, deer and bnffalo. 
 
 When we had traveled up the river about two days, 
 Uncle Kit thought it was not best to take the horses 
 any further as the country was now too rough for them, 
 so we spent the next two days caching our cargo. 
 
 As some may not know what a cache is, I will ex- 
 plain. 
 
 Cache is French for "hide." A hole is dug in the 
 ground and the things to be hidden are put in there 
 and covered with brush, then with dirt, then more 
 brush and more dirt, and the whole is covered with 
 turf, to make the surface look as natural as possible, 
 
50 IN THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 so that it is not likely to be discovered by Indians at 
 a distance. 
 
 We having about a thousand pounds of stores to 
 cache, it was no small job. 
 
 On the morning of the third day in this camp, we 
 all started out to kill some game for June to take back 
 home. Mr. Hughes started out in one direction and 
 Uncle Kit and I in the opposite. We had gone but 
 a short distance, when, looking across a canyon, I saw 
 a herd of some kind of animals and asked Uncle Kit 
 what they were. He told me they were bison, and 
 complimented me on having such good eyes. 
 
 Bison, by the way, is the distinctive name in that 
 region for mountain buffalo, all buffalo belonging to the 
 bison family. 
 
 We then started on a round-about way to try and 
 get in gunshot of the herd, in which we were successful. 
 When we had got in gunshot of them and he had pointed 
 out the one for me to shoot at, he said: 
 
 "Now take-a rest on that big rock, and when I count 
 three, pull the trigger, and be sure that you break its 
 neck." 
 
 The guns went off so near together that I turned and 
 asked Uncle Kit why he didn't shoot, too, for I did not 
 think that he had fired; but as soon as the smoke from 
 our guns had cleared away, I saw two bison kicking their 
 last. 
 
 After dressing the animals we returned to camp and 
 learned that Mr. Hughes had killed two deer, which, with 
 the two bisons, were enough to load the pack-horses 
 
 We were now in the extreme south end of South 
 
CARRYING A PACK. $1 
 
 Park, which was mostly a prairie country, except along 
 ?he streams, and more or less pine trees were scattered 
 *ere and there along the hillsides. 
 
 Next morning we loaded the pack-horses with the 
 game and Juan started back home, alone, with the horses. 
 
 After we had seen him off, we rolled up our blankets 
 and taking enough provisions to last several days, we 
 "packed up our packs" and pulled out up the Arkansas 
 again. 
 
 This, to me, was like breaking a colt to the saddle, 
 only I didn't buck. 
 
 Notwithstanding I had a light pack, for I was a light 
 subject, it was hard work for me. Mr. Hughes had been 
 out the year before, and being a grown man, it did not 
 worry him as it did me. However, we traveled very 
 slowly, looking well all the time for beaver sign. 
 
 In the afternoon of the second day we came to where 
 there was plenty of beaver sign. In fact the trees they 
 had gnawed down were so thick that we could not travel 
 Mong the river, but had to take to the hillsides. 
 
 We camped that night at the mouth of a little stream 
 r hat empties into the Arkansas, and the following morn- 
 *ng, after looking over the trapping ground, the two men 
 Delected a place to build our winter quarters, and we 
 went to work. They worked at the cabin while I killed 
 the game for our meat and did the cooking, my outfit 
 being a frying-pan, a coffee-pot and a tin cup for each 
 of us. 
 
 They were about two weeks getting our cabin, or duf- 
 out, completed. It was made by first digging out a place 
 in the hillside, about twelve feet square, mad building up 
 
5? WINTER QUARTERS. 
 
 the front with logs, then bursh and pine boughs, and 
 then the whole with dirt. The door was made of 
 newed logs, fastened together with crossed pieces by 
 means of wooden pins, and it was hung on heavy 
 wooden hinges. 
 
 Our winter quarters being thus completed, Uncle Kit 
 and Mr. Hughes set out one morning for the cache, in- 
 tending to return that same evening, Before starting 
 they told me to go out some time during the day and 
 kill a small deer, that I would be able to carry to camp, 
 and have a good lot of it cooked for supper, as they 
 would be very hungry when they returned that night. 
 They started sometime before daylight, and I stayed 
 
 around t .h e 
 cabin, clear- 
 ing things 
 up and cut- 
 ting wood, 
 until about 
 ten o'clock, 
 then cleaned 
 up my rifle 
 and started 
 out to kill 
 the deer. It 
 was an easy 
 matter to 
 find one, for 
 they were as 
 thick in that 
 But, boy-like, I 
 
 About the right thing, 
 
 country as sheep on a mutton farm. 
 

 The other two dropped to their knees and looked all around Page * 
 
KILLS TWO INDIANS. 53 
 
 wandered off up the canyon about two miles be ens I 
 found a deer that just suited me, and I wanted to see 
 the country, anyway. 
 
 At last I found a little deer that I thought abo^t 
 the right thing and I killed and dressed it or rather ui - 
 dressed it threw it on my shoulder and pulled for camp. 
 
 Instead of going the way I had come, I climbed out, 
 on the ridge to avoid the down timber, that was so thick 
 in the creek bottom, When I was near the top of the 
 ridge, I looked off a short distance and saw three In- 
 dians, on foot, going down the ridge in the direction of 
 our dug-out. 
 
 I had often heard Uncle Kit tell how the Indians 
 robbed the campc. of trappers and that they invariably 
 burned the cabins. 
 
 As soon as I got s^ght cf the Indians, I dropped back 
 over the ridge, for, luckily, they had not got sight of me. 
 In a few seconds I did some powerful thinking, and I 
 ^ame to the conclusion that it would never do to let them 
 find our dug-out, for while it would hardly burn, they 
 might carry off our bedding, or destroy it. So I crawled 
 up to a log, took good aim at the leader and fired, strik- 
 ing him just under the arm, bringing him down. The 
 other two dropped to their knees, and Icoked all around, 
 and I suppose the only thing that saved me was the 
 wind was coming from them to me and blew the smoke 
 from my gun down the canyon, so that they jid not 
 see where the shot came from. 
 
 I heard Uncle Kit tell of lying on his back and toad- 
 ing his rifle, when in a close place, so I did likewise ami 
 crawled up to my log again. The remaining two In* 
 
54 TAKES THEIR SCALPS. 
 
 dians, having looked all around and seeing no one, had 
 got on their feet again, and were standing with bow and 
 arrow in hand, each having a quiver full of arrows on 
 his back, and if they had got sight of me that would have 
 been the last of Young Kit. But I took aim at one of 
 them and fired, with the same result as before. As my 
 second Indian fell, the third one started back up the 
 the ridge, in the direction from which they had come, 
 and if I ever saw an Indian do tall sprinting, that one 
 did. I watched him until he was out of sight, and then 
 loaded my gun, shouldered my deer and went to where 
 the two Indians were lying. They were both as dead as 
 dried herring. 
 
 I had never seen an Indian scalped, but had often 
 heard how it was done, so I pulled my hunting-knife and 
 took their top-nots, and again started for the dug-out, a 
 great hunter and Indian fighter, in my own estimation. 
 
 I hung the scalps up inside the dug-out, directly in 
 front of the door, so that Uncle Kit and Mr. Hughes 
 would see them the first thing on entering the cabin. 
 Then I set about getting supper, all the while thinking 
 what a mighty deed I had done in saving our cabin, 
 which was probably true. 
 
 The two men did not return until after dark and they 
 were very tired and hungry, having walked forty miles that 
 iay, carrying on the return trip a hundred pounds each. 
 That is a heavy load for a man to carry twenty miles, 
 but they did it, and it was no uncommon thing for the 
 hardy frontiersmen of that day to perfo Hke feats of 
 strength and endurance. 
 
THE TRAPPING GROUND. 55 
 
 When they pushed open the heavy log door, the 
 scalps were almost in their faces. 
 
 "Who did this?" said Uncle Kit, as he threw hi? 
 heavy pack on the dirt floor. 
 
 I told him and he was very much astonished. 
 
 "How was it, Willie?" he asked, and I told him the 
 whole story. 
 
 While I was telling him the story, as briefly as I 
 could, he showed more agitation than I had ever seen 
 him exhibit. 
 
 During all the time I had been with him, he had 
 never spoken a harsh word to me, up to this time. But 
 while we were at supper he said to me: 
 
 "My boy, don't let me ever hear of you taking such 
 chances again. {Jot that I care for you killin' the In- 
 juns, but you took great chances for losing your, own 
 hair, for had them redskins got sight of you, by the time 
 they had got through with you, your hide wouldn't have 
 held corn shucks. And it's a mystery to me that they 
 didn't see you." 
 
 The following morning after breakfast we all took a 
 trip up the canyon, where I had gone the morning be- 
 fore, and we took. with us twelve beaver traps that they 
 had brought up from the cache, and these we set at dif- 
 ferent places along the stream. 
 
 After they were set Uncle Kit asked me if I thought 
 1 could find all of them again, and I said I thought I 
 could. 
 
 "All right then, " he said. "It will be your job 
 tend these traps, until Jim and me get the balance ui i.u 
 
J6 CATCHING BEAVER. 
 
 tuff packed up from the cache. Now le's go and see 
 your Injuns." 
 
 I took them to where I had shot the two Indians, 
 and Uncle Kit, as soon as he saw them, said: 
 "They are Utes, aud the wust hoss-thieves on the 
 waters of the Colorado. Willie, I'm dog-goned glad you 
 killed 'em. I would a give the best hoss I've got to a 
 been here with you, for I think Old Black Leg would a 
 caught the other feller, afore he got to the top o' the 
 mountain. " 
 
 "Black Leg" was Uncle Kit's pet name for his rifle 
 
 That night, before going to bed, Uncle Kit said we 
 must be up early next morning, as he and Hughes would 
 have to make another trip to the cache, and that I must 
 tend to the traps and keep a sharp lookout for Indians. 
 "But whatever happens," he said, "don't ever be taken 
 prisoner. " 
 
 They started very early the next morning, and as 
 soon as it was light I struck out to examine the traps. 
 From the twelve I took nine beaver, skinned them, reset 
 the traps, returned to the dug-out and stretched the 
 skins. 
 
 The stretching is done by making a bow of a small 
 willow or other pliant wood, for each hide, and then pull- 
 ing the hide over it. The hides are thus left until they 
 are dry, when the bows are taken out and the hides are 
 packed in a frame made for that purpose, fifty in a bale, 
 
 All of this kind of work I had learned at Bent's Fort v 
 while there, from the many trappers there. Besides^ 
 Uncle Kit had given me other lessons in the work. 
 
 Uncle Kit and Mr. Hughes made a trip to the 
 
HUNTING ELK. $7 
 
 cache every other day until the stuff was all packed 
 up to our winter quarters. 
 
 I had my hands full attending to the traps, as the 
 men brought jnore of them on the second trip, aud they 
 set enough of them to make double work for me. One 
 dozen traps is called a "string," and it is considered one 
 man's work, ordinarily, to "tend a string." 
 
 The two men brought all the stnff up from the cache 
 in five trips. On the day the last trip was made, I went 
 out early, as usual, to attend to the traps, of which we had 
 thirty-six. That morning I took twenty-three beaver, 
 and seeing that it would be impossible for me to skin 
 them all, I set about to carry them to the dug-out. If 
 ever a boy worked, I did that day, and had just got 
 through carrying them in when Uncle Kit and Mr. 
 Hughes returned. 
 
 After we had got caught up with our work and rested 
 a few days, Uncle Kit said one morning that we must bo 
 out early next day and get our work done so that we 
 could go and kill some elk. "For," said he, "we have 
 got to have meat for the winter and we must have some 
 hides for beds." 
 
 In those days the trappers made their beds by first 
 constructing a frame or rough bedstand, over which they 
 stretched a green elk hide, securing that by thongs or 
 strings cut from a green deer skin. By lying on these at 
 once, oeiore they are dry, they get shaped to the body 
 uad they make a first-class bed for comfort. 
 
 We were out early to the traps next morning, and 
 the catch being somewhat smaller than usual, we got 
 
$8 PLENTY OF MEAT. 
 
 through by II o'clock, and after eating a "snack" a 
 lunch we started on the elk hunt. 
 
 After going about four miles we jumped up a band of 
 fifty elk, which was 'considered a small herd then. Bui 
 we didn't get close enough to shoot any of them. 
 
 "Let 'em go," said Uncle Kit; "no doubt they will go 
 to the quaking-asp grove, and we can git 'em to-mor- 
 row." So we returned to camp without any elk. But 
 the next morning we went to the quaking-asp thicket, 
 and there, sure enough, we found the same band of elk, 
 and succeeded in killing five of them. Thus we had 
 enough meat to last a year, if we had wanted that much, 
 and we had skins enough for our beds and moccasins for 
 the winter. 
 
 Now we were in no danger of starving, and fron: iow 
 on we could devote our whole attention to the tr^ps. 
 
 I had to work very hard that winter, but I was much 
 better contented than when I was with Drake ?.ud in the 
 grasp of that old " nigger wench." 
 
 Not until now did I tell Uncle Kit of the prank I 
 played on the black tyrant. I also told him why I was 
 so anxious to get away from St. Louis. Th^.t it was I 
 feared Drake would discover me and take me back to his 
 *arm and the society of his slaves. 
 
 Mr. Hughes here interrupted me to say: "Well 
 Willie, you are safe enough from Drake and the wench, 
 but I think by the time you get out o' he r e in the spring, 
 you would much rather be with thetki." 
 
 I assured him, however, that he was mistaken, 
 that I was bent or, being 6 hunter and tiapper 
 
 "And an Indur< fchterr'' he added. 
 
OFF FOR TAOS. 59 
 
 "Yes, and an Indian fighter, too, if you like;" I re- 
 plied. 
 
 Well, we remained at this camp all winter, not see- 
 ing a person untside of our own crowd, and to take it on 
 the whole, it was one of the most enjoyable winters of 
 my life. It being my first winter in the mountains, I 
 was learning something new every day, and whenever I 
 found the track of any wild animal that I was not ac- 
 quainted with, I would report to Uncle Kit, and he 
 would go miles with me to see the sign, and would 
 take great pains to tell me what sort of an animal it 
 was and all about its nature and habits. 
 
 This was one of the most successful winter's trap- 
 ping he had ever had, as we were on entirely new ground, 
 where trapping had not been done before, and, more- 
 over, the weather was particularly favorable. 
 
 Winter began to break up about a month earlier than 
 usual, it being toward the last days of March when the 
 snow commenced going off. We then took a pair of 
 blankets.each, and enough provisions to last us on our trip,., 
 and started for Taos, the only kind of provisions we had 
 left being dried elk and venison. It was an easy matter 
 to cure meat in this style in that country, for the air is so 
 light that meat stuck upon the top of a pole eight or ten 
 feet high, will quickly become dried, or "jerked." 
 Trappers seldom take enough flour and coffee to last all 
 winter, as it made too much bulk and weight to pack so 
 far. Sugar was almost unknown in a trapper camp. 
 
 The second day after leaving the dug-out we met 
 Juan, the Maxican boy. He was not bringing our 
 horses, but was carrying a letter for Uncle Kit, trom 
 
60 MEET COL. FREMONT. 
 
 Col. John C. Fremont, asking him to come to Taos, 
 as he wished to employ him as guide for his expedi- 
 tion to California. 
 
 That evening, after reading the letter, Uncle Kit 
 Said. "Willie, I have got to go to California in the 
 summer to pilot Col. Fremont through. Do you want 
 to go- along?" 
 
 I said I was perfectly willing to go anywhere that 
 he went. 
 
 He said: "We will pass through some might} 
 rough country, and also through the country of the 
 LJtes. If you go, you will, no doubt, have plenty of 
 chances to try your hand at shootin' Iniuns, for them 
 Utes are tough nuts." 
 
 That didn't scare me a bit, for I was now sixteen 
 years' old, had killed and scalped two Indians, and had 
 already begun to consider myself a hunter and Indian 
 fighter from away back. Besides, when the story o) 
 my killing the two Indians got out, I came to be gen- 
 erally called "the boy scalper." But Uncle Kit nevei 
 spoke of me in that way, for he always respected me as 
 a father would his own son. 
 
 Now Uncle Kit was anxious to reach Taos and meet 
 Col. Fremont, so we pushed OP. with all possible speed 
 until the third day from where we met Juan with the let- 
 ter, we met Col. Fremont at the crossing of the Ark- 
 ansas river. He had became over-anxious and had 
 started out to meet us. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon, so we went into camp and 
 had supper, which consisted of dried venison and water, 
 
ARRANGEMENTS MADE 6l 
 
 but for breakfast we had a change of diet, which was 
 dried elk and water. 
 
 We learned that Col. Fremont had been detailed the 
 summer before by the government to command an ex- 
 ploring expedition across the continent, and, if possible, 
 find a better route from the ''States" to California. 
 
 It leaked out that some of the trappers who did not 
 like to have him in the neighborhood of Bent's Fort, for 
 their own selfish motives, had misinformed him that first 
 summer out, as to -the lay of the country, hoping thereby 
 to mislead him and his company into the mountains, 
 where they would get snowed in and die of strvation. 
 
 Fremont and his party, consisting of twenty-eight 
 men, had started up the Black Canyon, and they did get 
 snowed in and had to stop for the winter. 
 
 They ran out of provisions and killed and ate some 
 of their horses, but the other horses died of starvation 
 and six of the men died of scurvy. 
 
 It being late when the Fremont party got into the 
 mountains, and the snow-fall 'being very deep, the game 
 went early to the lowlands and the men were forced to 
 live on salt bacon and horse-flesh. Even that became 
 scarce and the entire company came near perishing be- 
 fore spring. 
 
 % In the camp with Col. Fremont that evening Uncle 
 Kit and he made their bargain. Carson was to furnish 
 all the horses and was to have the right to take as many 
 extra men and horses as he liked, also the right to trade 
 for furs and send his men and their horses back whenever 
 he desired to do so. 
 
 After eating heartily of the dried venison and hearing 
 
63 TO PILOT HIM 
 
 ^ol. Fremont's story of the dreadful experiences o/f hi* 
 party in the Black Canyon, it was bedtime, and e.aeh 
 man rolled himself in his blankets and soon all were 
 eeping, as tired men can, out on the plains. 
 
 We had an early breakfast, each man's hunk of dried 
 meat being handy, so there was really no preparation to 
 be made, except to wash. No compulsion, however, as 
 to that. But having distinguished company, all hands 
 washed this morning before squatting- for breakfast. 
 
 While we were eating, Fremont asked whose boy I 
 was. Uncle Kit replied that I was his boy, and "a first- 
 class hunter and trapper, and he shoots Injuns purty 
 well, too." He then related the incident of my killing 
 the two Utes. 
 
 All arrangements having been made, Uncle Kit agree- 
 ing to meet Col. Fremont at Bent's Fort in three weeks, 
 they separated and we pushed on for Taos. On arriving 
 there Uucle Kit hired two Mexicans to go back with Mr. 
 Hughes to our beaver camp and get the furs, and he gave 
 instructions to take the furs to Santa Fe and dispose of 
 them. Uncle Kit then employed Juan and a Texan boy 
 named John West to assist us in fitting up for our Cali- 
 fornia trip. So at the end of three weeks we met Fre- 
 mont at Bent's Fort as per agreement. 
 
 Fremont's company consisted of twenty-two tner^ 
 and they were, beyond doubt, the worst looking set of 
 men I ever saw. Many of them were scarcely able to 
 walk from the effects of scurvy and they were generally 
 knocked out. 
 
 We had taken with us from Taos a pack-train loaded 
 with vegetables, such as potatoes, onions and the like, and 
 
TO CALIFORNIA. 63 
 
 after Freemont's men had associated with those vege- 
 tables for a few days, they came out fresh and smiling 
 and were able to travel. 
 
 It was about the Middle of May, 1848, that we left 
 Bent's Fort to hunt a new route to the golden shores of 
 California. 
 
 The first night out we camped at Fountain Qui Bou- 
 ill pronounced Koh-boo-yah and here a little incident 
 occured that created much fun for all the party except 
 one that was me, 
 
 As soon as we went into camp, Carson told Johnnie 
 West and me to let Juan take our horses and for us to go 
 
 out and kill 
 some meat. 
 
 We started 
 out in oppo- 
 site directions, 
 and I had not 
 gon e^ more 
 than a quarter 
 of a mile when 
 I saw a small 
 deer, which I 
 shot, threw on 
 my shoulder 
 and pulled for 
 camp. Only a 
 
 few rod son the 
 
 But a sudden change came over mr. 
 
 way I came to 
 
 a little mound of rock about three feet high, and from it 
 flowed a spring of the nicest looking, sparkling water I 
 
64 THE "PIZEN-SPRING." 
 
 thought I had ever seen. Being very thirsty, I made a 
 cup of my hat by pinching the rim together, dipped up 
 some of the water and gulped it down, not waiting to see 
 whether it was hot or cold, wet or dry. But a sudden 
 change came over me. I felt a forthwith swelling under 
 the waistband of my buckskin breeches, and I seemed to 
 have an internal and infernal hurricane of gas, which in a 
 second more came rushing through my mouth and nostrils 
 like an eruption from Cotopaxi or Popocatapel. To say 
 that I was frightened would be putting it mild. I rushed 
 down the hill like mad, and fairly flew to camp and up to 
 Uncle Kit, exclaiming as best I could, "I'm poisoned!" 
 
 "Pizened?" said Uncle Kit. 
 
 "Yes, poisoned;" and just then another ru* of gas 
 came through my nostrils. 
 
 When the men saw me running so fast they grabbed 
 their guns, thinking the Indians were after me, and 
 quickly surrounded me to hear what was the matter. 
 
 Uncle Kit asked me how I got poisoned, and I told 
 him of the spring water I had drank, and asked him ii 
 he could do anything to save my life, Then there wai 
 another eruption. 
 
 Uncle Kit laughed harder than I had ever seen him, 
 but he told me, as fast as he could, that I had drank 
 from a soda spring and that it would not hurt me. Ev- 
 erybody laughed and then all went to the spring to get- 
 some of the "poisoned water," which was very good 
 when taken in reasonable quantities and in a reasonable 
 way. 
 
 My gun, deer and hat were all lying near the spring. 
 
NEAR THE SNOW-LINE. 
 
 and I secured them, but it was many a day before I 
 
 heard the last of the "pizen-spring." 
 
 Johnnie West came in soon after, having missed all 
 
 the fun, and Juan and I went with him, taking each a 
 
 rrorse, and packed the game into camp. 
 
 I was anxious to get away from camp on that little 
 
 packing trip, hoping the crowd would forget all about the 
 before I returned, but I hoped in vain, for 
 ^^1 .-.-in- when I re- 
 turned they 
 laughed at and 
 joked me 
 more than 
 ever. 
 
 We traveled 
 up the Arkan- 
 sas river near- 
 ly a hundred 
 miles, and as 
 we neared the 
 snow-line the 
 deer and elk 
 were more 
 plentiful and 
 we never went 
 hungry f OJP 
 meat. 
 
 At Jimmie's 
 F o r k fr we 
 turned to the 
 
 left and followed that stream to its head, then crossed 
 
 Carson would climb to the top of the highest 
 hill to look for Indian camps. 
 
66 MEET APACHES. 
 
 over to the Blue river, which is a tributary of the Colo- 
 rado, Now we were in the Ute country, and had to keep 
 a sharp lookout for Indians. Every evening, after mak- 
 ing camp, Uncle Kit would climb to the top of the high- 
 est hill near us to look for Indian camps, as it was an 
 easy matter late in the evening to discover their camps 
 by the smoke from their fires. He used to take me 
 along with him, and he would point out different land- 
 marks in the country and would tell me to make close 
 observations, as I would have to return, without him, 
 over the same route and if I were not careful I might 
 lose my way. 
 
 On the third day after crossing the divide, we met 
 Tawson, chief of the Apache tribes. Tawson had never 
 met Carson but knew him by reputation; but a number 
 of the warriors were personally acquainted with him. 
 
 The Indians all turned about and rode back with us 
 to their village, which was only a short distance away. 
 
 Uncle Kit being able to speak Spanish, as were all 
 the Indians in that country, he had quite a talk with the 
 old chi.ef, and in the meantime he had bought all the 
 furs the Indians had to sell. 
 
 When we were ready to start from the village, Car- 
 son said in Spanish: 
 
 "Now, Tawson, I have a 1 ways been a friend to your 
 tribe and I will tell you what I'm going to do. In about 
 one moon I will start this boy back through your coun- 
 try, with the horses and two other boys referring to 
 Juan and West and if anything happens to them while 
 passing through your country I will hold you personally 
 responsible. " 
 
BHH 
 
 Grand Canon and Colorado River, Arizona. 
 
A SKIRMISH 6? 
 
 The chief having heard a great deal of Carson, knew 
 he meant just what he said. 
 
 The third day after leaving the Apache village we 
 reached the Colorado river, and we had a hard time find- 
 ing a suitable place to cross. Finally we decided to 
 build a raft of logs and ferry our stuff on that, and swim 
 the horses. This we did successfully, and also cached 
 the furs to keep them safe until my return. 
 
 As soon as we crossed the river we began to see signs 
 of the Ute Indians, and Uncle Kit told me to keep my 
 rifle in trim as I might need it soon. 
 
 The second day after crossing the river, about 4 
 o'clock in the afternoon, and just as we had gone into 
 camp, a band of about forty Indians made a dash for our 
 horses. This was the first time I had ever heard the 
 war-whoop, and it fairly made my hair stand on end. 
 Some of our crowd had seen the Indians while yet a dis- 
 tance off, and when the men yelled ' 'Indians! boys, "In- 
 dians!" I made a bee-line for Croppy, who had by this 
 time fed himself away about fifty yards from camp. 
 When Col. Fremont saw me start on the run, he asked 
 me where I was going. I told liim that I was going for 
 my pony as I didn't intend that the Utes should get him. 
 
 By the time I got to Croppy I could see the Indians 
 coming, full tilt, and some of the men had already fired 
 upon them. I got back to camp as fast as I could get 
 Croppy to go, and when in a few yards of the camp, I 
 took a rest off of his back and fired, but I missed my In- 
 dian. I reloaded as quickly as possible and laid my gun 
 on Croppy's back again, for another shot, and just then it 
 
68 
 
 WITH UTES. 
 
 struck me that the reason I missed the first time was 
 because I didn't take good aim. 
 
 Uncle Kit had always taught me that it was not the 
 
 fastest shooting in an '' r 
 Indian fight that did 'the 
 most execution, and 
 that it was better to fire 
 one shot with good aim 
 than four at random. 
 
 When I went to shoot 
 the second time, Uncle 
 Kit was near me, and he 
 said: 
 
 ' 'Take good aim, 
 Willie, before you fire." 
 
 I did take good aim.and had the satisfaction of seeing 
 the Indian tumble to the ground. But whether I killed 
 him or some one else did, I could not say, for an abso- 
 lute certainty, but I have always thought he belonged to 
 my list. 
 
 The Indians were no match for Col. Fremont's men, 
 being only armed with bows and arrows, and they beat a 
 hasty retreat, closely followed for a distance by the sol 
 diers, who, however, did not get any Indians on the run, 
 
 When the men returned to camp, and, as usual, aftet 
 
 I took a rest off of his back and fired. 
 
Hand Rock, Canon de Chelly. Arizona. 
 
GOSHOOT INDIANS. 69 
 
 a scrap with Indians, were telling how many red-skins 
 they had killed, Uncle Kit turned to me and asked how 
 many I had got. I said, "one." 
 
 "Are you sure?" he asked. 
 
 "Well," I said, "I took to rest off of Croppy's back; 
 with a good aim, at the crack of my rifle, the Indian 
 came down." 
 
 The crowd. went with me to where I had seen the In- 
 dian fall, and there he was, as useless for Indian work 
 as Powhattan is. 
 
 Col, Fremont than asked the soldiers where were their 
 dead Indians, and Uncle Kit said: 
 
 "I reckon Willie is the only one that got his man. 
 Didn't I tell you, Colonel, that he could shoot Injuns?" 
 
 However, after looking around awhile, he found five 
 more dead Indians, and doubtless, more were killed but 
 were carried away by their companions. 
 
 The only harm the Indians did our party was to 
 wound two of Fremont's men slightly. 
 
 This was the last trouble we had with the Utes on the 
 trip. 
 
 The second day from this little brush we struck a vil- 
 lage of Goshoot Indians, and there Uncle Kit bought 
 enough furs to make out his cargo. 
 
 We went into camp here for the night, but Uncle Kit 
 and I did not sleep much, as we were up very late, as 
 we did not expect to meet again until the next spring^ 
 and he had a great deal to tell me before we parted. 
 
 The following morning Johnnie West, Juan and I 
 loaded up and started for Santa Fe, and Uncle Kit went 
 on to Los Angeles with Col. Fremont, as guide. 
 
7O OFF FOR SANTA FE. 
 
 Before I left camp that morning, Col. Fremont, un 
 beknown to Uncle Kit, came to me and said: 
 
 4 'Willie, in about a year from now I will be on my 
 way back to St. Louis, and I will take you home with 
 me if you would like to go. I will send you to school 
 and make a man of you. You are too good a boy to 
 spend your life here, in this wild country." 
 
 But I told ^ him I was perfectly satisfied to remain 
 with Kit Carson. 
 
 Had l/ncle Kit known of that conversation I think he 
 would have been very much displeased, and it ni;gh\ 
 have caused serious trouble. Therefore I kept my own 
 counsel and did not mention the matter to Carson. 
 
 Us boys were four weeks making the return trip tc 
 Santa Fe, and we did not see a hostile Indian on the 
 way. I wondered much at that, but a year or two after- 
 ward Uncle Kit told me that the Apaches saw us every 
 day and were protecting us, for he had seen Tawson on 
 his return and the chief told him that we had gone 
 through safe. 
 
 We arrived at Santa Fe about the first of October, 
 and there I met Jim Hughes, who was waiting our ar- 
 rival, and I was very glad to see him. I gave him a let- 
 ter that Uncle Kit had sent him concerning our trapping 
 for the corning winter. 
 
 Mr. Hughes said that he was glad that we had got 
 back so early, for it was time we were getting in-to the 
 mountains for our winter work. 
 
 I asked him if we would trap in the same place as 
 the winter before, and he said we would not, as he had 
 brought all the traps out to Taos, and we would go the 
 
NEW TRAPPING GROUND. /I 
 
 next winter up to North Park, as he had just returned 
 from there and knew we could put in a good winter's 
 work, as it was new trapping ground that had not been 
 worked, and it was a fine country, too. 
 
 Soon as we had got rid of our furs, which Mt. 
 Hughes had sold before our arrival, we pulled out for 
 Taos and begun operations for going to North Park. 
 
 All being in readiness ip i few days thereafter, Mr. 
 Hughes, Johnnie Wes* ~nd started for the new trap- 
 ping ground, takiiig j^an along, again, to fetch our 
 horses home. We had to travel over some rough coun- 
 try on the way, but found the North Park a fine region, 
 wivrt scattering pine timber on the hills and quaking-asp 
 and willows along the streams. I have been told that 
 this park is now owned by sheep men, and it is -in excel- 
 lent region for their business. 
 
 After looking around over our trapping field Mr. 
 Hughes selected a suitable place ior our winter cabin, 
 and we fell to work building it. This time we built en- 
 tirely above ground with pine logs, an unusual thing for 
 trappers to do. 
 
 As soon as our cabin was built, Juan returned to 
 Taos with the horses and we set into our winter's en? 
 ployment. 
 
 In those days hunters never wore boots or shoes, but 
 moccasins from the tanned hides of elk. This winter we 
 made enough gloves and moccasins to last us for two 
 years, and each made himself a buckskin suit, out and 
 out. 
 
 Game was very plentiful in that country, such as 
 
72 A BIG UNDERTAKING. 
 
 moose, elk and deer, and early in the winter a few moun^ 
 cdin buffalo. 
 
 We were successful this winter, our beaver catch 
 bc'rr* nearly eight hundred. The winter was also an 
 unusually long one, lasting until far into April. 
 
 Alter the snow had gone off so that we could travel, 
 JIrr Hughes, who had been our foreman, in the absence 
 cf Carscn, asked me if ! thought I could find the way 
 bach to Taos, which I said I could. He said that one of 
 us would have to go and get our horses to pack the furs 
 in on. 
 
 It was now the spring of 1849 and I was seventeen 
 years old, but it looked to me to be a big undertaking 
 for a boy of my age, a trip of three hundred miles, afoot 
 and alone, with my rifle and blankets; but some one had 
 to go, and I agreed to tackle the trip. 
 
 This was on Saturday, and as we never worked ou 
 Sundays, except to tend the traps, Mr. Hughes and John- 
 nie West talked the matter over and decided that be- 
 fore I started away we had better cache the furs and 
 such traps as they would not use in riiy absence. This 
 was done, so that in the event of their b^ing killed by the 
 Indians, I could find the fars on ray return. It was a 
 wise conclusion, as will be seen later on. 
 
 it was the custom cf the Utes to cross over the moun- 
 tains in small sqiiadc e^ery spring and kill all the trap- 
 pers they could find and take their traps and furs. 
 
 On Monday morning we all set about to cache the furs 
 and traps that would not be used, and it took two 
 days hard work to accomplish the task. Then I mad* 
 preparation to start oiyny journey to Tao. 
 
74 mnntiNa FWHT 
 
 We made for the top of the hill, which was abou> 
 one hundred and fifty yards from the cabin, and stopped 
 The Indians were by this time at the cabin. Johnni* 
 , West counted them and said there were twenty-seven all 
 'told. 
 
 We each fired a shot among them, but could not tell 
 whether we killed any of 'them or not. We then started 
 on the run, loading our guns as we ran, the Indians in 
 hot pursuit of us. 
 
 After running about two miles, Jonnie West proposed 
 that we make a stand. We stopped on a little ridge, and 
 did not hav.e to wait long until the Indians were in gun- 
 shot of us. 
 
 "Now, Willie," said Mr. Hughes, "don't get excited 
 and shoot too quick, but take good aim and be sure that 
 you get your Indian." 
 
 As they came up, each of us selected our Indian, fired 
 and each got his man. In a moment the smoke from 
 our guns had cleared away, and the whole band being in 
 sight, Mr. Hughes said: 
 
 "Let's run for our lives. There are too many of 
 them for us." And run we did, loading as we flew. 
 
 We ran about five miles and made another stand, but 
 not with the same success as before, for we only got one 
 Indian. 
 
 We had a running fight all that day and made three 
 or four stands, but could not tell how many Indians we 
 killed, for we would fire at them and then load our gun? 
 on the run. They having nothing but loose arrows and 
 tomahawks, we could easily keep out of danger Bu* 
 they figured on running us down 
 
WITH BAND OF UTES 
 
 That evening near sundown, Mr. Hughes asked me, 
 as I was a little faster on foot than the rest, to drop back 
 far enough to count them, which I did, and found there 
 were eleven of them still in pursuit of us. 
 
 When they saw me behind the other two they started 
 the war-whoop and did their best to overtake me, n> 
 doubt thinking I was tired out and that the other two 
 ha(f left me. But they were disappointed when T ran on 
 and overtook my friends. 
 
 \Ye were now in sight of a large body of timber, and 
 Mr. Hughes thought that if we could reach that by 
 dark we might be able to dodge the Indians and get away 
 from them. 
 
 We reached the timber just at dark and tried very 
 hard to dodge our pursuers, but it seemed as though they 
 could scent us like blood-hounds, for we would no more 
 than get stopped and lie down to rest, when they would 
 'je upon us. 
 
 A number of times during the night we would build 
 ^> a fire and then go a hundred yards or so from it and 
 lie down to rest, but the redskinned devils kept close to 
 as, and, conseqently, we got but little rest during the 
 >ight. 
 
 The following morning we left the timber and took to 
 .he prairie. After running some four miles we looked 
 ^)ack and saw four Indians very near to us and gaining at 
 every step. Johnnie West proposed that we stop and 
 accommodate them, saying that he felt hungry and tired 
 enough to fight any two Indians in the band. So each 
 man selected his Indian and fired, and we succeeded in 
 killing two of them; the remaining two hid behind som* 
 
FOR MORE 1 
 
 big rocks until the others came up, aid afctv we wert 
 
 compelled to flee. 
 
 We ran for about two hours, wh^n wo stopped and 
 made another fight and killed two more Indians. This 
 was kept up until late in the afternoon, which made two 
 days and one night that we had been Chased by these 
 savages, with not a bite to eat during the whole time, 
 and we were getting so tired that we cor,ld scarcely raise 
 the trot. 
 
 We were now running down a long sl-rpe, when 1 
 looked at Mr. Hughes and could see a change in his 
 countenance. There was an expression different from 
 that which I had ever seen on his face before. Jusl 
 about a half mile ahead cf Ob down a little flat, was a 
 wash-out, and Mr. Hughes ^aid: 
 
 "Right down there bytliat little b'unch of willows, at 
 that wash-out, is where I intend to make my last fight, 
 Now you boys can do a^ you please, but I am exhausted 
 and can go no further." 
 
 Before we got to the wash-out, Johnnie West told 
 Mr. Hughes to run straight for the patch of willows, also 
 telling me to turn to the right, while he took to the left, 
 and as soon as we were in the wash-out for me to run td 
 where Mr. Hughes was. This was to be done to cause 
 the Indians to scatter so they would not all be on us al 
 once, there now being seven of them in the gang. 
 
 Johnnie West told me to take a bandy-shanked fel- 
 low on the left and he would take one who had two 
 feathers in his hair. 
 
 "All right/' said Mr. Hughes* "and I'll take th* 
 leader." 
 

 
 I threw up my left arm and received a severe cut in the w 
 
ONE HUNDRED MILES. 
 
 77 
 
 We all took good aim and each of us brought down 
 his Indian, but we did not have time to load before the 
 .jthiTs were upon us, and it ended in a hand-to-hand 
 *iglu, hi 'sides it got to where each man had to look out 
 (or himself. 
 
 One of the Indians came straight for me and dealt 
 Tie a desperate blow with his tomahawk, but I threw up 
 ny left hand and received a severe cut in my wrist the 
 
 They were trying to get a chance to deal him a blow. 
 
 mark of which I carry to ^his day at the same time I 
 truck him with my knife and almost cut him in two 
 
HAND-TO-HAND FIGHT. 
 
 As he was falling he threw his tomahawk at me witk a<f 
 the vengeance in him, but missed my head and struck a 
 rock just behind me. I sprang at once and picked it up. 
 
 Mr. Hughes was fighting one of the Indians; the 
 other two had attacked Johnnie West, who was on iris 
 back with his head against the bank of. the wash-out, 
 and they were trying to get a chance to c!eal him a blow, 
 but he was kicking at them with both feet and was strik- 
 ing so fast with his knife that they had not yet been 
 able to get a lick in on him. 
 
 They were so busily engaged with Johnnie that I 
 sprang at once, unseen by them, and buried the toma- 
 hawk so deep in the head of one of them that I was un- 
 able, for the moment, to recover it. As soon as my In- 
 dian was out of the way, Johnnie was on his feet, quick 
 as the twinkling of an eye, and stabbed the remaining 
 one through the heart with his hunting-knife. 
 
 In the meantime Mr. Hughes was having a hard fight 
 with his Indian. He succeeded in killing the red fiend 
 but got badly used up. He had a severe wound in the 
 shoulder, also one in the thigh. I received, a cut in 
 the wrist, and Johnnie West did not not get a severe 
 wound, in fact but little more than a scratch. 
 
 The fight and flight being now ended, we went a 
 few rods to a little clump of pine trees, where Mr. 
 Hughes dropped down and said: "Boys, there's no use 
 of talking, I can't go any further; I think I have done 
 my last trappin' and Injun fightin'. " 
 
 I gathered some limbs and chunks and s*arte^ a fife, 
 while Johum'e pulled Mr. Hughes' moccasins off a&4 
 
A MUCH-NEEDED MEAL. 79 
 
 bathed his feet and legs with cold water. They were 
 swollen almost to twice their usual size. 
 
 The fire being started, Johnnie proposed that we lie 
 down and take a nap and a rest before starting out to 
 hunt for meat, saying it was impossible for him to stand 
 on his feet any longer. "My legs," said he, "are swol- 
 len clear to my body." I was too hungry to sleep, so 1 
 proposed that Johnnie stay and care for Mr. Hughes and 
 I would take my gun and go out and kill some game, which 
 was plentiful in this part of the country. I had not gone 
 more than a quarter of a mile when I looked up the ridge 
 and saw a small deer coming down almost in the direc- 
 tion of where I stood, and never before in my life had I 
 cast my eyes on a living animal that pleased me so much 
 as did that one. I waited until he was in gunshot and 
 fired. It ran about one hr.ndred yards in the direction 
 of camp and fell dead. I dressed it, cut off its head and 
 carried it to camp, and it was all I could do to get along 
 with it in my half-famished condition. 
 
 I found Hughes and West both sound asleep by the 
 fire. It was not long before I had some of the venison 
 cooked, and I had it fashionably rare, at that. After I 
 had wakened my companions and we had broiled and 
 eaten venison for a time, Johnnie and I rolled some logs 
 together and gathered pine knots and made a good fire. 
 Then we broiled more venison and ate again, until we 
 got sleepy and fell over by the side of the fire, lost to 
 ourselves and Indians. Duri^ the night we all woke 
 up again, cooked and ate as long as we could keep ou 
 eyes open, and by sun-up next morning there was not 
 enough of that little deer left to feed a cat. 
 
8O ARRIVE AT TAPS. 
 
 W ^ found ourselves very sore and stiff from the ef- 
 fects oi our run, but Mr. Hughes thought we were about 
 one hundred miles nearer Taos than when we started, a? 
 we had been rnnning most of the time in that direction, 
 and this was some consolation. 
 
 We remained here and rested two days, and as game 
 was plentiful we did not have to go far from the camp t<? 
 get all the meat we wanted. 
 
 On the morning of the third day we started for Taos, 
 which was about two hundred miles away, but all being 
 so badly worn out and Mr. Hughes having such severe 
 wounds, we had to travel slowly, it taking us about two 
 weeks to make the trip. But we had no more trouble 
 with the Indians. 
 
 At Taos we met Uncle Kit CarSon, who had been 
 waiting our arrival for two weeks. After resting up for 
 a few days, Uncle Kit, Johnnie West and myself started 
 for North Park to pack out the furs. Mr. Hughes stayed 
 at Taos, as he was too badly wounded to accompany us 
 on the trip. 
 
 On our arrival at North Park we found everything 
 just as we had left it, except that the traps, which we 
 had not cached with the furs, had been stolen. 
 
 On our return trip we camped one evening in a oeau- 
 tiful little valley where the grass was knee high, and 
 along the little stream were green quaking-asp, alder and 
 willows, with scattering pine trees here and there on the 
 hills and in the valley. About sundown that evening 
 the horses commenced to show signs of uneasiness and 
 occasionally they would raise their heads and look in the 
 direction of a little pine grove near by, and snort. 
 
FIGHT W^TH PANTHER. 
 
 Si 
 
 Johnnie West, being the first to notice it, said: ' 'Kit, 
 what is the matter with the horses? I believe there are 
 Indians around." 
 
 "I don't think so," said Carson, "for I havn't seen 
 
 any sign of Injuns to- 
 day." 
 
 Shortly after dark r 
 that night Uncle Kit V 
 went out about fifty .< 
 yards from camp in the Uncle Kit came in covered with blood 
 direction of the horses, 
 
 taking with him neither his gun or his pistol, which was 
 a rare thing for him to do. Just as he was passing around 
 
82 , DISPOSED OF FURS. 
 
 a pine tree a panther sprang at him from the tree. On 
 hearing the rustle in the limbs, Carson jumped back irom 
 the tree as far as he could and thus avoided the full force 
 of the blow from the panther. As he jumped back he 
 drew his knife and had a hand-to-hand fight with the 
 huge feline and succeeded in killing it. 
 
 Johnnie and I sat at the camp-fire, knowing nothing 
 of the affair until Uncle Kit came in, covered with blood 
 from head to foot, and his heavy buckskin shirt, which 
 had no doubt been the means of saving his life, was torn 
 almost into strings. When he told us he had been en- 
 gaged in a fight with some kind of a wild animal, John 
 nie asked why he did not call for help, and his reply was 
 that he did not have time to call as he had his hands full 
 with the ' 'varmint." 
 
 After we had dressed his wounds as best we could, 
 we took a torch and went to the foot of the pine tree, 
 and there lay the panther, dead. He had stabbed it to 
 the heart, 
 
 Uncle Kit had a very bad wound in one thigh, also in 
 one arm, so we did not move camp next day, but the 
 day after we proceeded on our journey, We took our 
 furs to Santa Fe, where we disposed of them at a good 
 price, furs being higher that season than usual. 
 
 Our furs being disposed of we returned to Taos and 
 rested for about two weeks. 
 

 
 Powder Face and Squaw, Arapahots. 
 
CACHE-LA- PouDRa;. 83 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ON THE CACHE-LA-POUDRE. VISIT FROM GRAY EAGLE, 
 CHIEF OF THE ARAPAHOES. A BEAR-HUNTER IS 
 HUNTED BY THE BEAR. PHIL, THE CANNIBAL. 
 
 Uncle Kit, having made quite a sum of money, con- 
 cluded that he would take a trip over to the headwaters 
 of the Cache-la- Poudre to look for a new field where he 
 could trap the coming winter on a large scale, and 
 wanted Johnnie and I to accompany him, which we did. 
 
 Each taking a saddle-horse and one pack animal, we 
 started on the trip, taking a new route to Uncle Kit, as 
 well as to Johnnie and myself. 
 
 Carson took the lead, for, like a deer, he could find 
 his way anywhere he wished to go. 
 
 We crossed the Arkansas river above Bent's Fort, and 
 from here we traveled along the foothills of the Rocky 
 Mountains, striking the Platte at the mouth of Cherry 
 creek, which id now the center of Denver City, Colo. 
 Hen we met Mountain Phil of whom you will hear 
 mom in this narrative, He was living in a wick-i-up and 
 had a squaw for a wife. Uncle Kit and I, being ac- 
 quainted with him, stopped and had a chat with him 
 while our horses were feeding. Uncle Kit asked him 
 what he intended to do the coming winder, and he re- 
 plied: 
 
 "I will trap for you if you like, but you will hart to 
 
84 MEET ARAPAHOSS, 
 
 , , i . r- "' I .III II H^, 
 
 furnish me with an outfit, for I have none of my own. n 
 
 "All right, Phil," said Carson, "I will give you a job, 
 but you will have to stop alone, for none of my men will 
 live with you. 
 
 "All right," said Phil, "me and Klooch will be 
 enough to stop in one cabin, anyway." 
 
 These things being understood we rode off, Mountain 
 Phil agreeing to meet us at Taos about two months from 
 that time. 
 
 After we rode away I asked Uncle Kit why no one 
 wotrid live with Mountain Phil. His reply was, "Phil is 
 a very bad man, and I yet have to hear the first man 
 speak a good word for him." 
 
 Late that afternoon we saw a little band of Indians- 
 ten in number corning toward us, and when near them 
 we saw that they were Arapahoes and Gray Eagle, the 
 chief, was with them. Uncle Kit being well acquainted* 
 all shook hands, and the chief insisted on our going 
 to their camp and staying all night with them. Uncle 
 Kit knowing the nature of the Indians, and knowing that 
 Gray Eagle would take it as an insult if we should refuse 
 to visit him, turned about and went home with him. 
 He sent two of his men ahead to the village, and we 
 were met by about five hundred warriors with all the 
 women and children of the village. Just at the outer 
 edge of the village we were honored with what they con- 
 sidered a great reception. 
 
 Gray Eagle took us to his own wick- i-up, his men 
 taking charge of our horses and packs. I had learned to 
 speak the Arapahoe language fairly well and could un- 
 derstand anything they said. When suppe* time carn 9 
 
MORE DOG MEAT. 
 
 Gray Eagle came to Uncle Kit and said: 'I have a great 
 feast for you; my men have killed a very fat dog; sup- 
 per is ready, come in and eat." 
 
 I remarked to Uncle Kit as we were going to supper, 
 th?t I was very glad we came home with Gray Eagle, 
 for it had been a long time since I had had a good meal 
 of log. 
 
 Supper being over, the chief got his pipe and selected 
 si> men from his tribe and we had a peace-smoke, and 
 he -md Uncle Kit smoked and talked nearly all night. 
 During their conversation that night he said that Moun- 
 tain Phil was a very bad man, and that he would often 
 steal their horses and sell them to the Comanches. 
 
 Next morning after breakfast our horses were brought 
 in, saddled up and we were off on our journey again to 
 Cache-la- Poudre. 
 
 It might be of interest to our readers to know how 
 this stream acquired its name. There was a Frenchman 
 by the name of Virees Roubidoux camped on the stream 
 spoken of, with a little squad of men; they were attacked 
 by a band of Indians, and the first word nttered by 
 Roubidoux was "Cache-la-poudre," which means in Eng- 
 lish, "hide the powder," and from that time on the 
 stream has been so called. 
 
 We arrived at our proposed trapping field, and after 
 looking over the country we found plenty of beaver sign 
 along the streams and game in abundance, and Uncle 
 Kit decided that there was room enough for four camps. 
 
 We returned by the way of Bent's Fort, as Uncle 
 Kit wished to employ the best men he could get to trap 
 for him the coming winter. On our way to the fort, 
 
86 INCREASING THE PARTY. 
 
 which was four hundred miles from the proposed trapping 
 ground, Uncle Kit told me that he would have to leave 
 me in charge the coming winter, as he was going to the 
 City of Mexico on business, but said that he would come 
 out and get the camps established and return to Taos 
 with the horses before going there. 
 
 We found plenty of men at Bent's Fort, and, as usual, 
 they were all broke, having squandered the money 
 earned the winter before for whiskey and card playing. 
 Uncle Kit experienced no trouble in getting all the men 
 he wanted, but had to furnish them with traps and pro- 
 visions which took considerable money he to have 
 half of the furs caught by each of them. Everything 
 being understood we returned to Taos, the men agreeing 
 to meet us there two weeks later. They were all on 
 hand at the appointed time, but there being a large party 
 to outfit it took some weeks to make preparations for 
 the trip, there being eleven in the crowd. It was about 
 the last of October when we arrived at the trapping- 
 ground ready to begin work. 
 
 There was a man in the crowd named Charlie Jones, 
 who was an old friend of Johnnie West, and they and I 
 lived in the same cabin that winter. One morning after 
 we had got fixed up comfortably in our winter quarters 
 and Uncle Kit had returned to Taos with the horses, 
 Charlie Jones waked us up very early, saying that there 
 was a light snow and he thought we would be able to get 
 a bear if we got out early. We rolled out, got breakfast 
 and were off as soon as it was light enough to see. 
 
 There were three small ridges, all pointing to our 
 cabin; Johnnie West took up the right-hand ridge, Cb&r- 
 
CHASED BY A BEAR. 87 
 
 lie Jones the left and I the middle one. The ridges were 
 open, with scattering pine trees here and there, but along 
 the creek was heavy timber and a 'dense growth of under- 
 brush. While walking along /up the ridge, keeping a 
 sharp lookout for bear, I came in sight of Johnnie West, 
 who beckoned me to cross over to where he was, saying 
 that in the thicket, which covered about an acre of 
 ground, there was a small bear. I proposed calling 
 Charlie Jones over before entering the thicket, but John- 
 nie said no, as it was such a small bear that Charlie 
 would get mad and would not speak to either of us for a 
 week if we should call him over for such a little bear, 
 "and if we cannot kill that bear," he continued, "we 
 had better quit the mountains." 
 
 We both cocked our guns and started into the brush 
 side by side. When near the center of the thicket I saw 
 the bear raise on its haunches. The snow was falling 
 from the bushes so thickly that it was almost impossible 
 to get a bead on him, but I fired, anyway, and hit too 
 low, thus failing to bring him down. 
 
 He made a rush for us, but Johnnie had saved his 
 charge in case I failed to kill, but the onow was falling 
 from the bushes so fast and thick that he could not get 
 a shot at the bear as he rushed for us, so we were both 
 compelled to flee for our lives, Johnnie to the hillside, 
 while I took down the canyon, jumping the small logs 
 and falling over the large ones and riding down the 
 brush, while I could almost feel the bear's breath on my 
 posterior at every jump, and had it not been that West 
 had saved his charge, you would now be reading some 
 
88 BADLY SCARED. 
 
 other book- certainly not this one, as it would never 
 have been written. 
 
 Just as we crossed a little opening, Johnnie fired, the 
 ball cutting Bear's jugular vein and also his wind- 
 pipe, but the bear still seemed to have a "hankering" 
 after me and kept coming for several yards. 
 
 After its windpipe was severed, the bear made a 
 louder noise than ever, but not knowing the cause, I 
 thought he was nearer me and I strained every nerve and 
 fibre of my body 4;o widen the distance between us, as I 
 almost imagined his teeth clashing down on me, while 
 Johnnie West was yelling: "Run, Willie; run for your 
 life!" 
 
 Well I rather think I was running some about that 
 time, for just then I came to a big log, and I jumped, 
 climbed and fell over it, in fact, I never knew exactly 
 how I did get over it; however, I fell on one side of the 
 log, utterly exhausted, and the bear, not being able to 
 get over, fell on the other side and died. 
 
 Of all the hunting and Indian fighting I have ever 
 done, I never had anything to scare me as did that little, 
 insignificant bear. 
 
 Charlie Jones, hearing the two shots and Johnnie yel- 
 ing for me to run, came to the scene and had no little 
 fun with me for running from so small a bear, saying: 
 "If a little bear like that were to come at me, I woul^ 
 take it by the tail and beat its brains out against a tree." 
 
 By the time the boys got the bear dressed, I had re- 
 covered sufficiently from my run and excitement to help 
 carry the meat to the cabin, which was only a few rods 
 away, as in our foot-race we had been running in the di" 
 
LEARNING TO 
 
 rection of the camp. The boys had a jk^t ,ical of sport 
 at my expense, and many times during 1 the winter I was 
 reminded of the bear hunt, in which the bear hunted me. 
 After we had got everything nicely fixed up in our 
 new quarters, Johnnie West one evening got down his: 
 sachel, took out a book and sat and read till bed time. 
 The following evening when he took the book up again. 
 I asked him what he was reading, and he said, "Robin 
 Crusoe. " I asked him why he did not read aloud so th^ 
 rest of us could hear, 
 and he did read aloud 
 until bed time. I told 
 him I would give any- 
 thing if I could read as 
 he did. So he said if 
 I would try to learn, 
 he would teach me to 
 read-that winter as good 
 as he could. I assured 
 him there would be 
 nothing lacking on my 
 part, so the next night 
 I took my first lesson. 
 At that time I did not 
 know all the letters, but I was determined to learn to 
 read. In a very short time I had learned all my letters, 
 and being possessed of a great memory, I learned very 
 fast, and Johnnie, seeing I was so determined in the mat- 
 ter, spared no pains in teaching me, and by the next 
 spring I could read Robinson Crusoe myself. Having a 
 start, I could learn of my own accord, and to Johnnit 
 
 Reading Robinson Crusoe. 
 
9O MOUNTAIN PHIL, 
 
 West I am greatly indebted for the limited education I 
 now possess; and were he now living I could not express 
 to him my gratitude for his labors as my tutor in that 
 lonely wilderness, hundreds of miles from any white 
 man's habitation. And, although my education is quite 
 limited, yet what little I do possess has been of great 
 value to me through life. 
 
 We had good success trapping this winter, until about 
 the first of January, when we had an unusual heavy fall, 
 of snow in the mountains which drove all the game to 
 the lowlands, nothing being left that was fit for meat ex- 
 cept a few mountain sheep, and the snow made it very 
 inconvenient getting around to attend to the traps. In 
 the latter part of February I asked Charlie Jones one day 
 to go down to Mountain Phil's carnp and see if there was 
 anything that lie wanted, as we had kept all the extra 
 supplies at our camp. Mountain Phil and his Klooch 
 that being the name he called his squaw, which is also 
 the Arapahoe name for wife were staying alone about 
 ten miles further down the country from where we were 
 located. 
 
 On Charlie Jones' return, he said: "It seems that 
 Mountain Phil has been faring better than any of us, for 
 he has been able to kill his meat at camp, thereby saving 
 him the trouble of having to get out and hunt for it." 
 
 Johnnie and I did not understand what he meant by 
 this. So. after hesitating a moment, Jones said: 
 "Boys, If I should tell you what I know about Mountain 
 Phil, you would not believe it, but as sure as you live he 
 has killed his squaw and eaten most of her, and he has 
 left bis camp s " 
 
THE AMERICAN CANNIBAL. 91 
 
 We insisted that he must be mistaken, but he de- 
 clared that he was not, saying he had seen the bones in 
 the cabin, aud further investigation had developed the 
 fact that he had beyond any doubt killed and eaten his 
 Indian wife. 
 
 From that time on, Mountain Phil went by the name 
 of the American Cannibal until his death, which was if 
 my memory serves me right in 1863 or '64, at Virginia 
 City, Mont. 
 
 After the snow had settled so that a person could 
 travel on top of it, I took my gun and stole out- one day 
 to see if I could not kill a mountain sheep. As I clam- 
 bered up the mountain I looked about one hundred yards 
 or so ahead of me on a cliff of rock, and saw a panther, 
 which I supposed was looking, out for the same kind of 
 game that I was. I fired and killed her the first shot 
 and started to skin her, when I heard the kittens, or 
 young panthers, crying up in the rocks near ^vhere I had 
 shot the old one. My first thought then was what a nice 
 pet I would have if I could only get hold of those young 
 panthers. I was afraid to crawl into the cave for fear 
 the other old panther might come in on me, so I cut a 
 forked stick and twisted in their fur and in that way man- 
 aged to pull them out, all the time keeping a sharp look- 
 out for the other old one. I took the two young panthers 
 to the cabin and made pets of them. They grew to be 
 very watchful; nothing could move without their know- 
 ing it. The female grew to be very tame, and a more 
 affectionate creature I never saw. But it was different 
 with the male. When he was six months old he got to 
 be very cross, and I had to keep him tied up. One day 
 
A TRAINED PANTHER. 
 
 I went out to feed them and he drew back and slapped 
 me, and I shot him on the spot with my pis f o!. The 
 
 female I kept 
 _ _ until 
 
 I heard the kitten* crying up in the rocks. 
 
 she was 
 c o a s i derably 
 over a year 
 old, when I 
 sold her for 
 one hundred 
 dollars to an 
 Engl i s h m a n 
 named Mace, 
 and had ! 
 only known it, 
 that panthei 
 was worth five 
 hundred dol- 
 lars. I had 
 taught her 
 many tricks. 
 
 She could count ten, by putting her paw on the ground 
 ten times, and would do various other tricks, but when 
 asked by any other person than her master to perform, 
 she would shake her head and would not allow any one 
 else to touch her. I always tied her up when going out 
 for a hunt, and when I would return she would cry and 
 scream so shrill that it would almost raise the hat on a 
 man's head until I would untie her. She never was con- 
 tented until she could get to lick my face, and I never 
 saw a dog more watchful than she. 
 
 It was in the month of April that Uncle Kit came in 
 
BREAKING CAMP. 
 
 a paek-tjain for the furs, the snowfall having been 
 so heavy that he could not get in earlier. Our catch had 
 been light, as we had more snow that winter than has 
 ever been known before. or since in the history of that 
 country. Uncle Kit 
 was, however, very 
 well satisfied with our 
 work, with the excep- 
 tion of Mountain Phil, 
 whom he had furnished 
 for the winter, and 
 who had not caught a | 
 beaver. We soon had 
 our traps and furs to- 
 gether, loaded up and 
 were on our wuy to 
 New Mexico. 
 
 The third day about 
 noon we reached the 
 Cache-) a-? o u d r e, 
 where we again ran on 
 to the Arrerican Can- 
 n i b a 1. We stopped 
 here to J2t our horses 
 feed and to partake of 
 some ref r e s h m e n t s 
 ourselves-. Uncle Kit, 
 after giving Mountain 
 Phi/ a lecture for his past conduct, said: 
 
 "Phil, if ever you and I are out togethei in the moun- 
 tains and run short of provisions, I will sheet you down 
 as I would a wolf, before you get hungry." 
 
 The American Cannibal. 
 
94 ON SAND CREEK. 
 
 Phil asked him why he would do so, and Carson re- 
 plied: "Because I wouldn't take the chances of being 
 killed and eaten up by a cannibal like you." 
 
 It might be well to give a brief description of this 
 cannibal. He was a large, raw-boned man, who would 
 weigh about two hundred and fifty poimds, though he 
 was not very fleshy. He always wore his hair long 
 and never combed it, also wore his beard long and never 
 sheared or combed that. His hair grew down on his 
 forehead almost to his eyes. In fact he looked more like 
 an animal than a human being. 
 
 Three days' travel brought us to South Platte, where 
 we crossed the river and made camp on a little stream 
 called Sand Creek. It was our custom to stake our sad- 
 dle horses out at night as near camp as good grass could 
 be found. The following morning Johnnie West and 
 myself had been out after the pack animals, and on our 
 return when within about a quarter of a mile from camp, 
 we heard a rumbling noise that sounded like a band of 
 buffalo in a stampede. We looked off to our right and 
 saw a large herd of horses, driven by seven Ute Indians, 
 who were pushing them at the greatest possible speed. 
 We urged our horses in the direction of camp as fast as 
 possible. As soon as we were in sight of camp, we gave 
 the alarm and every man sprang to his gun, mounted his 
 horse and was ready to receive them. The Indians did 
 not see us until they had run the herd of horses almost 
 into our carnp. Our saddle horses being fresh, we suc- 
 ceeded in killing the seven Indians before they got far 
 away, and captured the herd of horses, which proved to 
 be a herd they had stolaa from the Arapahoe Indians th 
 
A NEW PISTOL AND KNIFE. 
 
 95 
 
 night before, and in less than an hour, Gray Eagle, the 
 Arapahoe chief, came along in pursuit, accompanied by 
 fifty of his select warriors. When Uucle Kit showed 
 him the dead Utes, he walked up to one of them, gave 
 him a kick and said: "Lo-mis-mo-cay-o-te," which' 
 means, "All the same as capote." 
 
 Gray Eagle gave us each a horse, thanked us very 
 kindly and returned to 
 his village with his ani- 
 mals. 
 
 We proceeded on our 
 journey to Santa Fe, 
 which took us twelve 
 days. Here we met our 
 old friend, Joe Favor, 
 who we had sold our 
 furs to the year before, 
 and who bought them 
 again this season. 
 
 Furs being still higher 
 this year, notwithstand- 
 ing our small catch, 
 Uncle Kit did fairly 
 well out of his winter's 
 trapping. 
 
 After settling up with Uncle Kit, Mr. Favor called me 
 into the store and presented me with a single-shot, silver- 
 mounted pistol, also a knife that weighed two and one- 
 fourth pounds, that had been manufactured in St. Louis. 
 We stopped at Santa Fe and rested two days, 
 alter which time Uncle Kit, Johnnie West, myself and 
 
 "All same as cayote." 
 
96 THOUGHT MYSELF A MAN. 
 
 my pet panther returned home to Tros, which was a 
 distance of ninety miles from Santa Fe. 
 
 CHAPTER VI, 
 
 TWO BOYS RIDE TO THE ClTY OF MEXICO. ELEVEN 
 
 HUNDRED MILES OF TRIAL' DANGER AND DUTY A 
 [GIFT HORSE. THE WlND RlVER MOUNTAINS. 
 
 It was now the spring of 1850. I was eighteen years 
 old and beginning to think myself a man. Uncle Kit 
 asked me to go to the City of Mexico, saying that he 
 owed a man there two hundred and fifty dollars, and 
 wished to pay him. He also told me that he would have 
 Juan, the Mexican boy, accompany me on the journey, 
 but cautioned me not to let any one know that I had 
 money, "For, " said he, "them Mexican guerrillas would 
 kill you if they knew yon had money about you." 
 
 The reader can fancy two boys at the age of eighteen, 
 starting out on a trip of eleven hundred miles, over a 
 wild country, with no settlement except hostile Indians 
 and Mexicans, who are worse than Indians if they know 
 a person has money about him. At that time there 
 were no roads across the country in that direction; noth- 
 ing but a trail a part of the way not even that and he 
 

 Pyramid of Cholula, Mexico. 
 
 Entrance to the Alameda, Mexico. 
 
TWO BOYS TRAVEL 
 
 whole country full of Mexican guerrillas or, as we would 
 term them, Mexican robbers who made it a business to 
 murder people whom they suspected of having money, 
 and who would even masacre whole trains of emigrants, 
 take what money they might have, their provisions and 
 clothing, burn their wagons and drive their stock away. 
 The fact is that many of the depredations committed in 
 those days, for which the Indians were blamed, were 
 done by those fiendish Mexicans. 
 
 When the time arrived for starting and we were 
 mounted, Uncle Kit, Johnnie West and Mr. Hughes 
 came out to bid us good-bye. 
 
 Johnnie West said: "Well, I am afraid I shall never 
 see you again, for those Mexican guerrillas are worse than 
 Indians, especially when they think a traveler has money 
 about him." 
 
 All this helped to put me on my guard, and I didn't 
 even tell Juan that I had money with me. 
 
 We started on our journey with two saddled horses 
 and one pack-horse each. We met numerous little bands 
 of Navajoe Indians, but they being on good terms with 
 the whites, gave us no trouble, whatever. We also met 
 numerous little squads of Mexican guerrillas, but they not 
 suspecting two boys as young as we were with having 
 money, did not disturb us. Uncle Kit had sent the 
 shabbiest looking horses along that he had, in order to 
 deceive them. Every band of Mexicans that we met on 
 our trip would ask us where we were from, where we 
 were going and our business. I always told them that I 
 was from Taos, and was going to the City of Mexico to 
 ee a friend, and they would pais on. 
 
98 ELEVEN HUNDRE, 
 
 The first river we came to, Juan asked me if I could 
 wim. I told him that I did not know, as I had never 
 had a trial. We stripped down, tied our clothing about 
 our shoulders and mounted our horses again. 
 
 I wanted Juan to take the lead and let me drive the 
 h )rses after him, but he thought we had best ride side by 
 side and let the pack-animals follow, so in case of acci- 
 dent we could help each other. We made it across safe, 
 and from this time on we never hesitated at a stream. 
 
 We were thirty-one days making the trip to the City 
 of Mexico. 
 
 I found Mr. Reed at his residence and paid the two 
 hundred and fifty dollars to him. He was much aston- 
 ished at Uncle Kit sending two boys eleven hundred 
 miles to pay so small a debt , and said that he had not ex- 
 pected to get the money until such time as Carson might 
 be coming that way on other business, for 'it was so far 
 that he would not have gone after it a/id taken the 
 chances of crossing the country between the City of 
 Mexico and Taos, as we had done, for the two hundred 
 and fifty dollars. 
 
 But Uncle Kit owed this money and had agreed to 
 pay it at a certain time, and he, like many other fron- 
 tiersman, valued his word more than he did his gold. 
 
 We laid over two days at the City of Mexico in ordei 
 to let our horses rest. The day before we were to start, 
 Mr.' Reed, who had invited us to his residence to board 
 while in the City, went out to where our horses were, 
 and seeing that one of the horses ha4 a s<ore back, told 
 me that he would make me a present oi horse that, 
 
Ploughing with Mules, Mexico. 
 
 Ox Cart. Mexico 
 
TO CIT'Y OF MEXICO. 99 
 
 if I took good care of, would be able to carry me the 
 entire trip. 
 
 I named this horse Mexico, and as will be seen later, 
 IK: proved to be a noble saddle-horse, which I kept and 
 rode for seven years. 
 
 We made the trip home somewhat quicker than we 
 did on our way out, being better acquainted with the 
 country, and so could make better time. 
 
 \Ye were just two months making the round trip, ar- 
 riving at Taos two weeks sooner than Uncle Kit had ex- 
 pected us. Johnnie West and Mr. Hughes were glad to 
 see us return, for it was more than they expected. 
 
 By tli is time my panther had grown to be quite 
 largo, and was glad to see me. 
 
 On my return to Taos I learned that Uncle Kit and 
 Jim Bridger had formed a co-partnership, for the pur- 
 pose of trapping the coming winter in the Wind River 
 mountains, which were about seven hundred miles from 
 Taos, and had employed Johnnie West, Charlie Jones 
 and Jack Harrington to trap for them, and in a few da vs 
 after my return from the City of Mexico we made the 
 start with thirty-two pack-animals, besides our saddle- 
 horse?. 
 
 Nothing happened worthy of note on our way out, 
 we arrived at our proposed trapping ground, and found 
 plenty of beaver and plenty of fresh Indian sign as well, 
 but the Indians were not apt to give us any trouble at this 
 season of the sear, more than to run our horses off, as 
 they would prefer to let trappers alone until spring and 
 then kill them and take their furs. 
 
 We established our two camps about four miles apart, 
 
100 
 
 J5LACKFOOT INDIANS. 
 
 and kept our horses in the valley between the two camps; 
 there was an abundance of grass, plenty of game and no 
 end to the beaver. In fact, to take it on the whole, it 
 seemed that this was going to be the lovliest place to 
 spend the winter that we had ever struck, and the boys 
 were all highly elated over their new winter quarters. 
 We had only been in our trapping field about two weeks 
 when Uncle Kit went out one morning to kill a deer 
 and to look after the horses. He had not gone far when 
 he looked across the the little valley and saw an Indian 
 driving off our horses. Being in gunshot of the Indian, 
 he fired at him and brought him to the ground. ^~h^n 
 
 Uncle Kit returned to camp, 
 he said: 
 
 "Boys, I am afraid we 
 have made a mistake in 
 coming here to trap this 
 winter; we must be near the 
 Blackfoot Indians, for I just 
 Killed one that was driving our horses off, and I just hap- 
 pened to see him in time to catch him with old Blackleg." 
 At that time the Blackfoot Indians were considered 
 the worst tribe in the entire Northwest. 
 
 fired at him and brought 
 him to the ground. 
 
W.,ter carrier as seen in Mexico 
 
ATTACKED BY BLACKFOOTS. IOI 
 
 I went at once to the other camp to notify Jim 
 Bridger and his crowd that they might be on their guard. 
 Bridger said he had been expecting it, as he had seen 
 fresh Indian sign out on the ridges some days before, but 
 thought it was getting so late now that they would not 
 give us any more trouble this winter, but that we would 
 have to get out early the next spring. 
 
 We stayed here and trapped all winter, with splendid 
 success. Jim Bridger took twelve beaver from his string 
 of traps every twenty-four hours for seven successive 
 days, being the greatest catch I ever knew from one 
 string of traps. 
 
 About the last of March we commenced making 
 preparations to leave the mountains, for fear the Indians 
 might come and clean us out. 
 
 The day before we were to start there came a heavy 
 fall of snow, and we were not able to move until the first 
 of April, when we made another start for Santa Fe, 
 going via Sweetwater, and we had enough fnrs to load 
 our entire train. 
 
 The second day after leaving camp we were attacked, 
 about noon, by twenty Indians of the Blackfoot tribe, 
 who entertained us for about an hour. 
 
 We huddled our horses and used them for breast- 
 works, and killed seven Indians without one of our men 
 being wounded, but we lost two horses. 
 
 It might be well to describe the manner in which trap- 
 )ers traveled those days while passing through a coun- 
 try where there were hostile Indians. 
 
 Each man would take the number of horses he was to 
 lead and and string them out and fasten them together 
 
TO2 A HOT LITTLE FIGHT. 
 
 by tying each horse to the tail of the horse ahcc/ J r ni:*^ 
 and the head horse of the string he would th to the tai\ 
 of his saddle-horse. This had to be done Ic prevent a 
 stampede when attacked, and the hors^b, too, were a 
 great protection to the men, for when they were attacked 
 by Indians the men would ride to the center and use the 
 horses for breastworks in time of hjttle. 
 
 After the fight was over the boy.- all felt jubilant ovei 
 their victory. We had no more tr.n.ble with Indians for 
 four days., when we reached Rock Creek, a beautiful lit- 
 tle mountain stream that pays trib ate to the North Platte 
 river. Here was a nice place to camp; plenty of wood 
 and an abundance of grass, and the finest water in the 
 land. Here was a lovely valley, and just off to the 
 northwest was a little hill or ridge, only a short distance 
 from which we made our camp. Some of the men went 
 to getting wood and building a fire, while others were 
 unpacking, not thinking of Indians ( and just as the packs 
 were off we were aroused by the war-whoop of a little 
 squad of Indians who were co-ming over the ridge 
 spoken of. We had a hot little; fight, but it only lasted 
 a few minutes, when the Indians withdrew, and Uncle 
 Kit gave orders to follow their, which we did, and had a 
 running fight for about five miles. We captured five 
 'iorses from the redskins, and in the affair did not lose a 
 man, nor even a horse. 
 
 This ended our trouble w,.th the Indians for this trip. 
 
 On arriving at Santa Fe, Uncle Kit and Jim Bridger 
 sold their furs to Joe Favor and Mr. Roubidoux for 
 a good price. 
 
 Here we met an Englishman, who lived in London, 
 
TRADING WITH INDIANS. 103 
 
 England, and had come that spring from St. Louis, in 
 company with Mr. Roubidoux and Joe Favor. 
 
 I had my pet panther with me, and the Englishman 
 took a fancy to her and asked my price for her. I told 
 him that she was not for sale. He offered me a hundred 
 dollars for her. I hated to part with her, but a hundred 
 dollars was more money than I had ever had before at 
 one time, and looked like a big lot to me, so I accepted 
 his offer, and in less than twenty-four hours I was very 
 sorry, for during the time I stayed in Santa Fe, every 
 time that I would pass in sight of her she would cry as 
 pitifully as any child ever heard. Five hundred dollars 
 would not have bought her from Mr. Mace, as he had 
 purchased her with the intention of taking her to Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Mr. Roubidoux and Joe Favor employed Uncle Kit 
 to go out and trade for buffalo robes with the Cotnanche 
 and Kiowa Indians. I accompanied him on this trip, 
 and we were out two months, during which time we did 
 not see a white man. 
 
 This was the first shipment of buffalo robes that had 
 ever been made from this region, consequently we were 
 able to get them almost at our own price. 
 
 As soon as Uncle Kit got out there with his little 
 stock of goods that had been furnished him to trade on, 
 and which consisted of beads and rings and a very few 
 blankets, and the Indians had learned that he would 
 trade for robes, the squaws all fell to dressing them. 
 Among the Indians it was considered disgraceful for men 
 to do such work. 
 
 In a very short time there were plenty of dressed buf- 
 
104 PREPARING FOR SOUTH 
 
 falo robes, and some very nice ones, _,.o ; h*/ 
 Uncle Kit trade a string of beads a IOCK MV* a half long 
 for a first-class robe, and for a red blai^et he could get 
 almost as many robes as he had a mind to ask. 
 
 As fast as the robes were bod^ht they were baled, 
 and by the time Uncle Kit pretty well bough* up all that 
 were for sale, the wagon-traiM came and haulsd them 
 away. 
 
 There were twenty wagou loads of robe-* and the 
 goods Uncle Kit traded for Uiem would not ha'M cost *o 
 exceed seventy-five dollars. 
 
 Our work being done, we started for Taos, i'.T it was 
 now almost time to start out for the winter's i vppjn \. 
 On our arrival at Taos we found Johnnie West, **'\:o h' d 
 been loafing around for two months, and whow- dixio^s 
 to get at work again. , Uncle Kit hired him to fovdth us 
 to South Park to trap the coming winter, that bei^g & t 
 place he had decided upon for the season's work. 
 

 Battle betweeh Utes and Comanches. Se chapter 7 
 
A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT. IO$ 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BATTLING THREE DAYS' BAT.TLE BETWEEN THE COMAN- 
 CHES AND THE UTES FOR THE POSSESSION OF A 
 "HUNTER'S PARADISE." AN UNSEASONABLE BATH. 
 
 All being ready, Uncle Kit, Johnnie West and my- 
 self pulled out for South Park. We passed over a high 
 range of mountains, struck the Park on the east sidt 
 and a more beautiful sight I never saw than the region 
 was at that time. Coming in from the direction men- 
 tioned, one could overlook the entire park, which was 
 almost surrounded by snow-capped mountains, and the 
 valley, several miles below, which was about eighty 
 miles long and from ten to twenty miles wide, was as 
 green as a wheatfield in June. When we were near the 
 valley we could see elk in bands of a hundred or more, 
 with 3mall herds of bison scattered here and there in the 
 valley, and antelope by the hundred, 
 
 I had often heard of a hunter's paradise, and when I 
 got sight of this lovely valley, with its thousands of wild 
 animals of almost every description known to the conti- 
 nent, I made up my mind that if there ever was such a 
 place as a hunter's paradise, I had surely found it. The 
 high mountains with scattering pine trees on the sides; 
 the snowy white peaks above the timber line, and the 
 many little mountain streams and rills that paid tribute 
 to the main stream that coursed this beautiful valley, all 
 
106 AT SOUTH PARK. 
 
 combined to form a scene of magnificent grandeur. The 
 quaking-asp, balm and various other kinds of small tim 
 ber that grew along the streams all helped to add to the 
 beauty of the scene. 
 
 We crossed over to the west side to a cove that ran 
 back some twelve miles from the main valley; here, we 
 decided, was the best place to establish our winter quar- 
 ters. Every little mountain stream in the valley was 
 alive with beaver, and Uncle Kit thought it so late that 
 we would not be bothered by the Indians that fall, but, 
 tnat we would have to get out early the following spring. 
 Feeling perfectly safe, we built our cabin this winter en- 
 tirely on top of the ground, consequently we were not 
 long in getting our winter quarters completed and were 
 soon ready to start in trapping. We had excellent suc- 
 cess this winter;' very little snow to contend with, mak- 
 ing it much better getting around than usual and an 
 easier task to look after strings of traps. 
 
 In those cases each man had his string of traps, and 
 it was his business to go to each trap every day, take the 
 beaver out, skin them, set the traps, carry the skins 
 home and stretch them. Sometimes we would trap as 
 far as seven miles from camp, that being the outside 
 limit. After we had trapped here about three weeks 
 there came a light fall of snow which drove most of the 
 game to the valley, and we experienced no trouble in get- 
 ting all the meat we wanted close to camp, in fact we 
 could often kill deer and antelope from our cabin door. 
 
 The .second morning after the snowfall, Uncle Kit, 
 Johnnie West and myself all started down the valley to 
 look after our traps. We went about a mile together, 
 
They were within a few feet of me. Page 108 
 
CHASKD BY BISON. 
 
 I left the other two, my traps being the farthest 
 away, some three miles down the valley. After leaving 
 the other two I struck out down the valley on a turkey 
 trot, that being my usual gait when alone. I had IK i 
 gone far when I heard two gun shots. Thinking that 
 Uncle Kit and Johnnie had been attacked by the Indians, 
 I turned in the direction that I heard the shooting, and 
 ran back much faster than I had come, but had not 
 gone far when I saw ahead of me, up the narrow valley, 
 a band of about twenty bison coming direct for me. I 
 thought by shooting the leader it might check their 
 speed and perhaps cause them to change their course. 
 So I brought my gun to my face and dropped the leader, 
 but it neither caused the others to halt or change their 
 course, and they were making a bee line for me, and 
 there was not a tree in reach large enough for me tc 
 climb nor a place of any kind that I could hide. 
 
 Now I was not long in making up my mind that I 
 had a first -class foot-race on my hands as an Irishman 
 might say and after running some distance I looked 
 back and saw the bison were on me at every jump. Had 
 I only known the nature of bison, which I learned after- 
 ward were not so vicious as buffalo, I could have turned 
 to the right or left and they would have passed on; but 
 thinking that they were after me, I got out like a quar- 
 ter-horse, putting in my best licks to try to reach a wash- 
 out that I knew of ?head of me. Thinking that if I only 
 could reach that d;tch I might have some possible show 
 for my life, I lost no time in getting there, but got right 
 down to business and did the prettiest running I have 
 ever done x> lay life. Every time I looked back I saw 
 
108 
 
 AN UNSEASONABLE BATH. 
 
 that the rushing herd was closer upon me, until they 
 were within a few feet, and by the time I reached the 
 ditch I fancied that I could feel the breath from the 
 nostrils of a half dozen bison on the rear base of my 
 bucks:^> trousers. Then into the ditch I went, head- 
 long and into about four feet of water. It seemed to me 
 that those buffalo were half an hour crossing that ditch, 
 
 but I stood 
 perfectly 
 quiet in t h e 
 w at e r up to 
 my waist until 
 they had all 
 passed over. 
 The ditch 
 being deep 
 and the bank? 
 p e rp e ndicu- 
 lar, I had to 
 wade the 
 water for 
 some distance 
 up the ditch 
 before I could 
 find a place 
 where I could 
 climb out. I 
 "Rather cold weather to go bathing." had j U S t 
 
 scrambled up 
 
 the oanK and shaicen myself, when up came Uncle Kit 
 and Johnnie, who had heard the report of my gun and 
 
A PLEASANT WINTER. IO9 
 
 had come to see whether or not I had killed anything. 
 
 "Rather cold to go bathing," said Uncle Kit. 
 "When I go bathin' I allus pull off my buckskin suit." 
 
 But I told them I considered myself lucky to be able 
 to find a suitable place to go swimming just at that time, 
 and congratulated myself on being all there. 
 
 Aside from my race with the bison, I put in a very 
 pleasant winter, and Uncle Kit said he had never spent 
 as pleasant a time in the mountains as he did that winter 
 in South Park. "In fact," said he, "it was more likr - 
 pleasure trip than anything else." 
 
 Our camp at this time was near where the town of 
 Tarryall has since been built, and we ranged our horses 
 in the extreme south end of the park, where they had the 
 best kind of grazing the entire winter. 
 
 It was in the latter part of March this now being 
 the spring of 1852 when Uncle Kit made a trip to the 
 south end of the park to get our horses, thinking we had 
 stayed there about as long as it was safe. 
 
 Dnring his absence Johnnie West and I were busily 
 engaged in making preparations to start for Bent's Fort, 
 as soon as Carson should get back with the horses. On 
 his return he informed us that he would not leave the 
 park until about the first of May, which was a surprise 
 and disappointment to us both, as we had made all cal- 
 culations on getting started the following day. We asked 
 what was up that we were to be detained so long. 
 
 "On my trip for the horses, "said Carson, "I saw 
 some Injuns of the Comanche tribe, and they told me 
 that them and the Utes war goin' to have a battle as 
 soon as the Utes can cross the mountains, and the place 
 
for the battle decided on is in the south end of the park." 
 He also said that with all the Indian fighting he had been 
 .nixed up in he had never before had an opportunity to 
 see two tribes come together, and that he would not miss 
 seeing it for any consideration. 
 
 In those days each tribe of Indians had their own 
 scope of hunting arid trapping ground, and if one tribe 
 was caught intruding upon the the rights of another tribe 
 it was apt to cause trouble. 
 
 As I have said before, South Park was a hunter's 
 paradise in the winter, and added to this, in the summer 
 almost the entire valley was covered with wild strawber- 
 ries. Along the many little mountain streams were 
 abundance of wild gooseberries, blackberries and wild 
 currants, while on the hillsides were acres of wild rasp- 
 berries. In fact almost every variety of berries that ther 
 grew west of the Missouri river could be found in South 
 Park; while the streams were full of the finest quality of 
 mountain trout as well as many other kinds of fish. 
 
 The two tribes of Indians mentioned had been in 
 dispute for a number of years as to their boundary line, 
 each claiming South Park, and this battle had been ar- 
 ranged the fall before by the chiefs, also the place de- 
 cided upon for the battle, which was to be on a little 
 stream in the extreme south end of the park, that has 
 since gone by the name of Battle Creek. 
 
 Battle Creek he%.ds in the Pike':* Peak range of moun- 
 tains, and runs almost due west. The particular spot 
 selected for this batt 1 ? was on Lhis creek, about two 
 miles from where it emptie* itftO th v strer<n thM 
 through the park. 
 
BETWEEN COMANCHES III 
 
 No better place could have been selected for the fight. 
 There were scattering pines here and there, with not a 
 bush of any kind to interfere with their wild charges, and 
 a gentle slope from each side to the stream which we 
 might call the dead line. 
 
 The Comanches were to occupy the south side, 
 while the Utes were on the north. 
 
 As this battle was to settle for all time the long-dis- 
 puted right of these two powerful tribes, it was likely to 
 be no tame affair. 
 
 This was what might be called a civil war between 
 two tribes of Indians, They had quarreled so long over 
 this portion of the country that the two chiefs had met 
 and decided to have it settled for, and the conditions of 
 the battle were as follows: In the event of the Coman- 
 ches being victorious they were to have South Park; the 
 summit of the Rocky Mountains to be the boundary line. 
 And in the event of the Utes being victorious, the boun- 
 dary line was to be at the foot of the Rocky Mountains 
 on the eastern slope, the country in dispute comprising 
 all of the territory between the Arkansas river and Sou*h 
 Platte, including South Park. 
 
 About two weeks before the time set for the battle, 
 the Comanche warriors began to arrive. Some brought 
 their families while others did not. 
 
 Uncle Kit, being well acquainted with the Comanche 
 chief, as well as the most of -his warriors, loaded up all 
 his furs and we moved over near the Comanches' quar- 
 ters a few days before the battle was to take place. 
 
 As the Comanches came in they would pitch their 
 wick-i-ups back on the hill *ban* a quarter of a mile 
 
112 AND UTES FOR 
 
 south of the little stream, which was to be their line of 
 battle. They were all on hand before any of the Utes 
 came across the mountains. 
 
 About two days from the time the last of the Coman- 
 cb.es came to the ground, there was a little squad of 
 Utes came in and pitched their camp about the same 
 distance from the little stream as the Comanches, only 
 on the opposite side. 
 
 This little squad of Indians came on ahead to ascer- 
 tain whether they would be able to cross the mountains, 
 and if they did not return in so many days the others 
 would take it for granted that all was clear and would 
 follow, which they did, and a few days later the entire 
 Ute nation was there. 
 
 The battle did not begin for two or three days after 
 all the Utes were on the ground, thereby giving both 
 sides ample time to kill plenty of game to last them 
 through the war. 
 
 During the time they were preparing for battle, 
 neither tribe seemed to make any attempt to molest their 
 enemy in any way whatever, but apparently looked upon 
 it as a matter of business and proposed to fight it out on 
 the square. 
 
 During the time we were awaiting the battle, Kiwat- 
 chre, chief of the Comanches, who was a very intelligent 
 Indian in his way, arid could speak French fairly well, 
 and who was also an intimate friend of Kit Carson, came 
 to Uncle Kit and said: 
 
 "I know you are a great chief and I want to hire you 
 and your men to help me- whip the Utei, 
 

 Horse Back Comnnche Chief. 
 
THE POSSESSION OF 113 
 
 ' 'If y ou help me fight the Utes I will give you five 
 ponies .ach." 
 
 Kit parson declined by telling Kiwatchee that he did 
 not corr*e to fight, but as he had never witnessed a war 
 between two tribes of Indians, he had come merely to 
 look on, .and as the war was for the purpose of settling a 
 dispute between the two tribes, he did not think it would 
 be right tor him to interfere. Kiwatchee insisted on our 
 entering ;nto the battle and asked how many horses we 
 would takj to help him fight the Utes. But Uncle Kit 
 told him h\* would take no hand in the affair. 
 
 We were camped on the hill near the Comanches, 
 where we could overlook the entire battle-ground, as well 
 as the Ute camp. We dared not go near the Utes, for 
 they were not at all friendly toward the pale-faces, and 
 in case the Utes were victorious we would have to flee 
 with the Comanches. 
 
 The day before the battle was to take place, Kiwat- 
 chee came and said to us: 
 
 "To-morrow we will fight." 
 
 We asked him how long he thought the battle would 
 last. Kiwatchee said he thought he could whip the Utes 
 in one day. 
 
 The following morning about sunrise, just as we were 
 eating breakfast, the two chiefs commenced beating their 
 war-drums, which was a signal to call their men to- 
 gether. The war-drum, or what the Comanches call a 
 "turn-turn," was made of a piece of hollow log about 
 eight inches long, with a piece of untanned deerskin 
 stretched over one end. This the war chief would take 
 under one arm and beat on it with a stick. When 
 
A "HUNTER'S PARADISE/' 
 
 the turn-turns sounded the first morning there was great 
 commotion among the Indians. At the first tap the 
 war-whoop could be heard, and in a few moments both 
 tribes of Indians were down at 
 the little stream, each formed in 
 Hne on his own side. 
 
 On arriving at the stream the 
 t;um-tums ceased and were not 
 heard again till the Indians were 
 icrmed in line of battle and each 
 war-chief passed down in front 
 of his men, after which they 
 again commenced beating on the 
 turn-turns, and at that the ar- 
 rows began flying. 
 
 Now the fun had commenced 
 in earnest, and of all the war- 
 whoops I ever heard they were 
 there, " and the more noise the 
 Indians made the .harder they 
 would fight. 
 
 After they had fought for 
 about two hours they seemed to 
 
 get more cautious than at the start, and would look for 
 some advantage to take of the enemy. 
 
 They fought hard all day; sometimes the Coman- 
 ches would cross over to the same side with the Utes, 
 and I saw many hand-to-hand fights with tomahawks and 
 knives. At other times the Utes would cross over on 
 the Comanche side of the stream, but would soon re- 
 treat again, and each side would resume their old posi- 
 ^i 
 
 The turn-turn. 
 
DESPERATE FIGHTING. 
 
 tion for a time. About sunset both tribes withdrew, ap- 
 parently by mutual agreement, each side returning tc 
 camp for supper. 
 
 I did not learn how many Comanches were killed that 
 day, but there were some twenty odd wounded, and some 
 of them fatally. The night was made hideous by the 
 shrieks and cries of the squaws and children of the war- 
 riors who had been killed or wounded during the day. 
 
 Neither tribe put out picket guards during the night 
 
 The next morning about sunrise the war-chiefs were 
 out beating on the turn-turns. The warriors did not 
 hasten around so briskly as the morning before, however, 
 they were soon at the spot and ready for battle. 
 
 After going through the same manoeuvres as the 
 morning before, the war-woops ran out loud and shrill, 
 and again the arrows began to fly. The contestants 
 fought hard all day again, without ceasing. About the 
 middle of the afternoon the Comanches made a desperate 
 charge on the Utes, crossing the creek and righting them 
 at close quarters. Among the Comanches was one In- 
 dian in particular that I was acquainted with, that I saw 
 engaged in a number of hand-to-hand rights, and always 
 came out victorious, but he got badly used up during the 
 day. This Indian went by the name of White Bird, and 
 he was beyond doubt the worst disfigured piece of hu- 
 manity I ever saw, but he fought on, and he seemed to 
 say by his actions: 
 
 4 'I am slightly disfigured, but still in the ring." 
 
 About sundown the two armies again withdrew for 
 refreshments and repairs. 
 
 That evening after eating my supper I went over to 
 
Il6 FIGHTING CAUTIOUSLY. 
 
 White Bird's wick-i-up and found him sitting there, 
 bloody from head to foot, with a Hrge cut on one cheek, 
 another on one side of the head, and numerous other 
 wounds, making him the most horrible specimen of hu- 
 manity that I had ever seen living. He had not even 
 washed the blood from his face or hands, but was sitting 
 there telling his squaw and children how many Utes he 
 had killed during the day, apparently as cool and uncon- 
 cerned as though nothing had happened him. But he 
 was not able for duty the next day, and died about ten 
 o'clock. 
 
 We never learned T vhere the Indians buried their 
 dead, for they took them away during the night and dis- 
 posed of them in some manner. 
 
 There were more Indians killed and wounded the 
 second day than the first, and that night the Comanches 
 had a big war-dance over the scalps they had taken. 
 
 The morning of the third day each tribe marched 
 down at about the usual hour and resumed their positions 
 in the line of battle, and that morning they fought more 
 cautiously than before, until about ten o'clock, when the 
 Utes made their first big charge on the Comanches, and 
 they had a hard fight, which resulted in the death of 
 many Indians, and the Utes retreated with considerably 
 the worst of it. 
 
 In this charge we counted over forty Utes that were 
 killed and scalped. 
 
 After the Comanches had driven the Utes back, 
 Johnnie West and I went down within about fifty yards 
 and sat there until the war was ended. About the mid- 
 dle of the afternoon of the third day, the old war-chief 
 

 Horse Backs' Son, Comanche, 
 
COMANCHE VICTORY. 117 
 
 of the Comanches rushed up and commenced to shout, 
 "Co-chah! Co-chah!" which meant to go ahead, or, in 
 other words, to charge. Johnnie West, who understood 
 the language, turned to me' and said: 
 
 "The Comanches are going to make.another charge." 
 
 Sure enough, they did; crossing the creek and made 
 a desperate rush for the Utes, but the Utes could not 
 stand the pressure and retreated, the Comanches fol- 
 lowing them to the top of the hill where the Utes were 
 camped, it being understood between the two chiefs that, 
 when either army or tribe was driven back to the top of 
 the hill, they had lost the battle. 
 
 The Comanches now returned, singing and shouting 
 at the top of their voices, and in a short time a little 
 squad of Comanches came in with about one hundred 
 head of Ute horses. We never learned whether they had 
 captured the horses or whether they had won them in 
 the battle. 
 
 That night the Comanches had another big war-dance, 
 and while the unfortunate squaws and children were 
 weeping over the loss of their fathers and husbands, the 
 victorious warriors were dancing, singing and shouting, 
 and while dancing, each warrior would try to show as 
 near as he could the manner in which he killed and 
 scalped his enemy, and of all the silly manceuvers a white 
 man ever witnessed, it was there at that war-dance. 
 
 The next morning there was not a Ute to be seen, all 
 having left during the night. 
 
 The day following, the Comanches broke camp and 
 started back for their main village on the Arkansas river. 
 W broke camp and started out s^head of them, and in 
 
Il8 EMPLOYED BY COL. 
 
 four days reached Bent's Fort, where Uncle Kit sold his 
 furs to Colonel Bent and Mr. Roubidoux. 
 
 These two kept a boarding-house at the Fort, and 
 this being the general loafing place during the summer 
 season for most o the trappers in this part of the coun- 
 try, they also kept whiskey, and after the trappers had 
 sold their furs, many of them would stop around the 
 Fort and pay board for about three or four months dur- 
 ing each summer, and by the time they were ready to 
 start trapping again, Col. Bent and Mr. Roubidoux would 
 have all of their money back for grub and whiskey, and, 
 in fact, many of them would be in debt to them. 
 
 There being so much stock around the Fort the game 
 was driven back so far that it became necessary to go 
 considerable distance to get any. Col. Bent and Mr. 
 Roubidoux proposed to hire Johnnie West and I to hunt 
 for them for two months, saying that they had not had 
 fresh meat half of the time the past spring. We agreed 
 to work for them for two months, they being willing tc 
 pay us fifty dollars each per month, with the understand- 
 ing that in case we kept them in meat all summer the} 
 would pay us extra wages. They now having some thirty 
 odd boarders, it took a great deal of meat, and having 
 to go some distance for game we had to pack it on pack- 
 horses. We hunted for them two months, and at the 
 end of that time we had kept them in meat and had 
 enough ahead to last them one month longer. 
 
 It now being time to start out to look for trapping 
 ground for the coming winter, we went to Col. Bent for 
 a settlement, and after he had counted out our hundred 
 dollars each he asked us how rnuct extra wages we 
 
TO FURNISH MEAT. 119 
 
 thought we should have. I told him I was perfectly 
 willing to leave it to Mr. Roubidoux, and Johnnie being 
 willing *o do that also, Mr. Roubidoux told the Colonel 
 to pay us twenty dollars each, extra, all of which was 
 agreeable to us, and they engaged us tc hunt for them 
 the next summer at seventy-rive dollars per month. 
 
 We return*' i now to Taos to prepare for the winter's 
 tapping. 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 KIT CARSON KILLS A HUDSON BAY COMPANY'S TRAPFKR, 
 WHO WAS SPOILING FOR A FIGHT. SOCIAL GOOD 
 TIME WITH A TRAIN OF EMIGRANTS. 
 
 Arriving at Taos I learned that Uncle Kit had his 
 trapping company already organized for the coming win- 
 ter, consisting of himself, Jim Bridget, Jim Beckvvith, 
 Jake Harrington, Johnnie West and myself, six in all. 
 
 Early in the fall of 1852 we pulled out for the head 
 of Green river, which was a long and tedious journey, 
 being more than eight hundred miles from Taos and over 
 a rough country. We took the trnil along the foot of the 
 Rocky Mountains, running nrth until after crossing 
 North Platte. Here we struck across the Bad Lands, 
 
120 AT HELL'S HOLE. 
 
 and I thought that if there ever was a place rightly 
 named, it surely was this section of country. We were 
 three days crossing this God-forsaken country; and we 
 would often travel a half day without seeing a living 
 thing of any description. From there we struck across 
 the main divide of the Rocky Mountains, and were three 
 days crossing over to the headwaters of Green river, 
 and were somewhat disappointed when we learned that 
 Green river had been trapped over by the Hudson Bay 
 Company the year before. However, we were there, and 
 it was too late to look up another trapping-ground, so 
 we occupied some of the old cabins that had-been erected 
 by the Hudson Bay Company and went to trapping. 
 
 Notwithstanding the country had all been trapped 
 over, we had fair success, or, at least, much better than 
 we expected. We stayed there and trapped until some 
 time in February, when we pulled up and moved down 
 Green river nearly twenty miles and there we trapped for 
 two weeks, but not with as good success as we had had 
 at the old camp. 
 
 We again moved camp down to what was known as 
 Hell's Hole. There we found about forty French Can- 
 adians trapping for the Hudson Bay Company, who, by 
 the way, had plenty of bad whiskey. They were not 
 very friendly toward the new arrivals. 
 
 Among the party was a big fellow by the name of 
 Shewman, that seemed to think himself a very bad man; 
 he did not appear to have any love or respect for any 
 American trapper, which was the case with the general 
 run of those French Canadians who were in the employ 
 of the Hudson Bay Company. 
 
Kir CARSON KILLS A 121 
 
 This man Shewman seemed to have a great antipathy 
 toward Kit Carson. 
 
 If the reader will pardon me, I would like to say ju >t 
 here, that while Kit Carson was the last man to offer an 
 insult, yet, at the same time, if challenged, he would 
 light any man living rather than be called a coward, and 
 ^n those days the character of men concerning whom 
 this work is written quarreled but very little. If a man 
 insulted another, ten chances to one he would be chal- 
 lenged to fight a duel; and in such a case he would either 
 have to fight or be branded as a coward, and the sooner 
 he left the rvowd the better it would be for him, for he 
 could see no peace while remaining with them. 
 
 The third day we arrived at the place spoken of, this 
 man Shewman got pretty well ginned up and started out 
 to look for Uncle Kit, saying that he had heard a great 
 deal of Kit Carson and of his fighting proclivities, and 
 that he would lick him on sight. One of Shewman s 
 friends, knowing Kit Carson by reputation, tried to in- 
 duce him to let Kit alone and have nothing to do with 
 him, but the more they sdd to him the madder he got, 
 until finally he was raging wiih anger. 
 
 It happened that while he was in his rage, Uncle Kii, 
 Jake Harrington and I, knowing nothing of Shewman's 
 mad fit, started out to look aftei 1 our horses and had to 
 pass near their camp. Just as we were passing by their 
 cabin, Shewman said: 
 
 "There goes the d d white- faced American now. 
 Look at him, he looks just like a cowan'., and he is a 
 d d cowardly cur, just like all the rest zi the Amen- 
 
122 TRAPPER, WHO WAS 
 
 Uncle Kit stopped and addressed him in the follow- 
 ing manner: 
 
 <l l am an American and I feel proud of the name, 
 but I would have you understand that I am no coward. 
 I will fight you any way that you wish." 
 
 Shewman said: "If you want me to kill you, get 
 your horse and I will get mine, and we will get one hun- 
 dred yards apart and start at the word. After we start, 
 each fire when we please." 
 
 This Uncle Kit agreed to, saying: 'There is my 
 horse, I will be ready in three minutes. Get ready as 
 soon as you please; as you seem to want to fight, I will 
 accommodate you." 
 
 I had been with Uncle Kit now since 1847, an d this 
 was the first time I had ever seen him in any serious 
 trouble, and I was surprised at the cool and unexcited 
 manner in which he talked to Shewman. He was ap- 
 parently as cool as though he was just in the act of start- 
 ing out buffalo hunting, There was a smile on his coun- 
 tenance when he was talking to Shewman about the fight 
 that was to take place, in which one of them was to lose 
 his life. 
 
 I had been with Kit Carson long enough to know 
 better than to say anything to him, but Jake Harrington 
 followed him out to where his horse was, and' started in 
 to try to talk him out of the notion by telling him that 
 Shewman was drinking. He turned to Harrington and 
 said: "Jake, I thought you were an American, and 
 would fight for the name." Harrington, seeing that 
 Uncle Kit was determined in the matter, said no more. 
 
 Carson went out to where his saddle-horse was feed- 
 
rcie Ki* fired and Shewman -J.. 
 
 123 
 
SPOILING FOR A FIGHT. 123 
 
 ing, caught him and took a half-hitch around his nose 
 with the riatta, jumped on him without any saddle, and 
 by this time Shewman was on his horse also, with his 
 rifle in hand. 
 
 Up to this time I had not said a word to Uncle Kit, 
 but as I came up I asked him if hf was not going to get 
 his gun. . 
 
 "No," said he, "this is all the gun I want;" and he 
 took out his pistol and rode away r few rods, so that Jake 
 Harrington and I would not be \n range of the bullets 
 from Shewman's gun, and stopped to wait for Shewman 
 to give the word. A number of Shewman's friends tried 
 to persuade him not to start, but their talk only seemed 
 to add to his rage. After t.b^y had exhausted all their 
 persuasive powers, and seeing that he was so determined 
 in the matter, they let him go. 
 
 He cried out in French that he was ready, and at 
 that moment they both started their horses at full speed 
 toward each other. When within thirty yards, Shew- 
 man fired, and at the crack of his gun, Jake Harrington 
 clapped his hands ind shouted: "Good! good! Uncle 
 Kit is safe." 
 
 We could not see any sign of his being hit, and when 
 a few yards neir^r each other, Uncle Kit fired, ami Shew- 
 man fell to the ground mortally wounded, the bullet pas- 
 sing through his body just above the heart. 
 
 Shewman lived until Uncle Kit got to him, then he 
 acknowledged that it was all his own fault, ami that it 
 *vas good enough for him. 
 
 As soon as the fight was ended, Jake Harrington and 
 I ran into camp to notify the rest of our crowd, thinking 
 
124 
 
 THE FUNERAL. 
 
 that we would have to fight the entire Canadian outfit of 
 trappers, but we found it quite different, for after the fight 
 they were more friendly toward us than before. We 
 
 stayed two days 
 and helped to 
 bury Shewrnan. 
 This was the 
 first white man 
 that I had ever 
 seen buried in 
 the Rocky 
 Mountains. 
 
 We rolled 
 h i m up i n a 
 blanket, laid 
 "= him i n t h e 
 
 n 
 
 grave and cov- 
 ered him with 
 dirt. The fu- 
 neral beingover, 
 our party start- 
 ed for Bent's 
 Fort. 
 
 The third 
 day's travel 
 
 brought us to Sweetwater, where we came to the top of 
 a hill, from which we could overlook the entire valley, 
 which was covered with wagons and tents. This was a 
 large train of emigrants from various v portions of the 
 East who had started the year before and had wintered 
 on Platte river, the edge of settlement, and when spring 
 opened they had resumed their journey. 
 
 He acknowledged that it was all his own fault. 
 
WITH EMIGRANTS. 12$ 
 
 After supper that evening, Uncle Kit suggested that 
 we visit the emigrant camp and see the ladies, which 
 did not altogether meet with my approval, but rather 
 than be called bashful, I went along with the crowd. I 
 was now twenty-one years of age, and this was the first 
 time I had got sight of a white woman since I was fif- 
 teen, this-now being the year of 1853. 
 
 I had been out in the mountains a long time, and had 
 not had my hair cut during that time, but took excellent 
 care of it. I always kept it rolled up in a piece of buck- 
 skin, and when unrolled it would hang down to my waist. 
 
 There was a number of young ladies in the train, and 
 they were not long in learning that I was the most bash- 
 ful person in the crowd, and they commenced trying to 
 interest me in conversation. At that time I only owned 
 two horses, and would have given them both, as free as 
 the water that runs in the brook, if I could only have 
 been away from there at that moment. Seeing that I 
 had long hair, each of them wanted a lock. By this 
 time I had managed to muster courage enough to begin 
 to talk to them. 
 
 I told them that if they would sing a song, they might 
 have a lock of my hair. 
 
 A little, fat Missouri girl, spoke up and said: "Will 
 you let any one that sings have a lock of your hair?" 
 
 I assured her that I would. 
 
 "And each of us that sing?" interrupted another 
 young lady. 
 
 I said each one that would sing could have a lock, 
 provided there was enough to go around 
 
126 THE PRETTIEST SCNG 
 
 I now had the ice broken, and could begin to talk 
 to the ladies and crack a few jokes with tb^m. 
 
 The little, fat, chubby young lady, that f *t started the 
 conversation, sang a song entitled "T*i< Califor.nian's 
 Lament," which was as follows: 
 
 Now pay attention unto me, 
 
 All you that remain at home, 
 And think upon your friends 
 
 Who have to California gone; 
 Ajid while in meditation 
 
 It fills our hearts with pain, 
 That many so near and dear to U9 
 
 We ne'er shall see again. 
 
 While in this bad condition, 
 
 With sore and troubled minds, 
 Thinking of our many friends 
 
 And those we left behind; 
 With our hearts sunk low in trouble 
 
 Our feelings we cannot tell, 
 Although so far away from you, 
 
 Again we say, farewell. 
 
 With patience we submitted 
 
 Our trials to endure, 
 And on our weary journey 
 
 The mountains to explore. 
 But the fame of California 
 
 Has begun to lose its hue 
 When the soul and body is parting 
 
 What good can money do? 
 
 The fame of California 
 
 Has passed away and gone; 
 And many a poor miner 
 
 Will never see his home. 
 They are falling in the mountains high, 
 
 And in the valleys, too; 
 They are sinking in the briny deep, 
 
 No more to rise to view. 
 
I HAD EVEK HEARD. 
 
 127 
 
 This I thought the prettiest song I had ever heard in 
 my life. Environment so colors things. In other words, 
 "circumstances alter cases." 
 
 The lady at once demanded a lock of my hair as 
 compensation for services rendered, and I removed the 
 buckskin wrap and told her to take a lock, but cautioned 
 her not to take too large a bunch, for fear there mighi 
 not be enough to go around. The young lady, seeing 
 that I was very bashful, had considerable trouble in find- 
 a lock that suited her. A number of the young ladieu 
 sang together, after which several of them took the scis 
 
 She had trouble in finding a lock that suited her 
 
 sors and cut a lock of hair*from the head of the young 
 trapper. 
 
 I wondered at the time why it was that all the young 
 ladies had a pick at me, for there was Johnnie West, ? 
 
128 GIVEN THREE CHEERS. 
 
 fine looking young man, who was continually trying to 
 engage some of them in conversation, but they did not 
 want to talk to any one but me, and it amused Uncle 
 Kit not a little to see the sport the young ladies were 
 having at my expense. 
 
 Before leaving, I told the young lady who sang the 
 first song that I thought it was the prettiest song I had 
 ever heard, and requested her to sing it again. She re- 
 plied that she would if I wished, and she did. 
 
 The next day about ten o'clock as we rode along, 
 feeling drowsy from the warm sun, Jake Harrington 
 turned around in his saddle, yawned and said: '"Well, 
 Will, can't you sing the song for us that you learned 
 from those little Missouri gals last night?" 
 
 I told him I thought I could, and commenced clear- 
 ing up my throat, at which the entire crowd smiled above 
 a whisper; but I surprised the crowd by starting in and 
 singing the song just as I heard the young lady sing it the 
 evening before. Every man in the crowd took off his 
 hat, and they gave me three cheers. 
 
 On arriving at Bent's Fort we learned that furs were 
 high, and notwithstanding our catch was light, Uncle Kit 
 did fairly well. 
 
 He sold his furs again to Col. Bent and Mr. Roubi* 
 doux. 
 
 After Uncle Kit had settled up with all the other 
 boys, he called me into the tent and said: 
 
 "Willie, I have settled with all the men now but you; 
 how much am I owing you?" 
 
 Up to this time I had never received any wages from 
 Uncle Kit, nor had I txpected any, for I did not think 
 
MY FIRST WAGES. 129 
 
 that I had done enough for him to pay for my raising. 
 I had always felt under obligations to him for picking me 
 up when I was without a home and almost penniless, 
 and had, as I considered made a man of me. 
 
 Uncle Kit told me that I was old enough now to do a 
 man's work, and that I was able to fill a man's place in 
 every respect. He took his purse from his pocket, 
 counted me out one hundred and fifty dollars in gold; 
 and not until then had I known that he had ordered me 
 a fifty dollar suit of buckskin made at Taos, the fall be- 
 fore; and not until then had he told me that he was to 
 be married on the tenth of July, and wanted Johnnie 
 West and I to be there without fail. I asked him who 
 he was going to be married to. He said her name was 
 Rosita Cavirovious. She was a Mexican girl who lived 
 in Taos. I did not know the lady but was acquainted 
 with some of her brothers. I told Uncle Kit that I 
 would surely be there. 
 
 Uncle Kit and Jim Beckwith now started for Taos, 
 and Johnnie West and I began making preparations to 
 start in hunting for Col. Bent and Mr. Roubidoux, as per 
 contract nearly one year before. 
 
 Col. Bent said that he was very glad that we were 
 ready to start in hunting, as they had been out of fresh 
 meat at least half of the time that spring. 
 
 In that country bacon was high, being worth" from 
 twenty-five to thirty cents per pound, and early in the 
 spring higher even than that. 
 
 This spring, as usual, there were some thirty trappers 
 congregated at Bent's Fort, apparently to eat and drink 
 up what money they had earned during the winter. 
 
I3O ON THE PURGATOIRK 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MARRIAGE OF KIT CARSON. THE WEDDING FEAST. 
 PROVIDING BUFFALO MEAT, IN THE ORIGINAL PACK- 
 AGE, FOR THE BOARDING-HOUSE AT BENT'S FORT. 
 
 Johnnie West and I started with a saddle-horse each 
 and four pack-mules for a buffalo hunt; I still riding 
 Croppy, the pony Uncle Kit had given me at St. Louis, 
 .but he was getting old and somewhat stiffened up in his 
 shoulders. 
 
 We traveled up the Arkansas river to the mouth of the 
 Purgatoire pronounced in that country Picket Wire 
 which was about thirty miles from Bent's Fort. Seeing 
 a small band of buffalo some distance away, we took the 
 pack-saddles off of the mules and turned them out to 
 graze, mounted our saddle-horses and were off for the 
 herd; but the wily beasts got wind of us and started off 
 before we got within gunshot of them. After running 
 them about a mile we overhauled them, both fired and 
 each killed a yearling calf while on the run. I fastened 
 my rifle to the pommel of the saddle, drew my pistol, 
 and there being a very fine heifer that had dropped back 
 to the rear, I spurred up by the side of her and was just 
 in the act of firing, when old Croppy stepped into a prai- 
 rie-dog hole and fell with me. 
 
 Johnnie West had just fired his second shot and killed 
 a fins three-year-old heifer, when he looked and saw old 
 
DEATH OF CROPPY. 131 
 
 Croppy lying there, and J stretched out heside him, ap- 
 parently dead. The first thing I knew after the fall, 
 Johnnie West was sitting by my side slapping me in the 
 face with his hand. 
 
 I was badly braised but fto bones were broken, and as 
 soon as I recovered sufficiently to know for a certainty 
 that I was not dead, an examination of old Croppy devel- 
 oped the fact that his left shoulder was badly broken. I 
 being too chicken-hearted to shoot him, got Johnnie 
 \\Yst to put him out of his misery, and now I was left 
 afoot and thirty miles from home. Johnnie West went 
 back and got our pack-mules. We dressed our buffalo 
 and had plenty of meat to load all of our mules, and 
 some to leave there for the hungry cayotes. That night 
 while we were cooking some of the meat for supper, the 
 cayotes raised a howl and it seemed as though they 
 would take possession of our camp in spite of us; but by 
 firing a shot among them once in a while, we were 
 able to keep them at bay. 
 
 In those days hunters never took along anything to 
 eat, for a man that could not kill what he could eat was 
 considered worthless. 
 
 The following morning we loaded our meat on the 
 mules, lashed my saddle on top of one of the packs and 
 started for Bent's Fort. I being bruised and crippled up 
 from the effects of my fall, Johnnie let me ride his horse 
 and he walked almost the entire way home. 
 
 Mr. Roubidouxon learning that I had left old Croppy 
 dead on the prairie, said: "I have got the best buffalo 
 horse on the plains, and I will make vou a present of 
 
132 - KIT CARSON'S MARRIAGE. 
 
 him;" and turning to his herder, he said, "go ^\\d bring 
 Pinto in." 
 
 When the spotted horse was brought in, Mr. Roubi- 
 doux said: "Now, Will, I am going to make you a 
 present of ihis horse, and I want you to keep him to re- 
 member me by." 
 
 I thcught this the prettiest horse I had ever laid eyes 
 on, and he proved to be as good a buffalo horse as Mr. 
 Roubidoux had represented him to be. 
 
 On th~ third day of July, Johnnie West and I having 
 enough meat ahead to last several days, we pulled out 
 for Taos to attend the wedding of Kit Carson. Arriving 
 there, Uncle Kit took us to his house. 
 
 He brought rny new buckskin suit, and I know it was 
 the handsomest of the kind I had ever seen. On the 
 front of the trousers ;vas the finest of bead work, repre- 
 senting horses, Indians, buffalo, deer and various other 
 animals; and on the coat the same, except they were 
 worked with beads ana porcupine quills. 
 
 I was now twenty-ore years old, and had never at- 
 tended a wedding. The ladies present all being of Catho- 
 lic faith, Uncle Kit and his bride were married in the 
 Catholic church by the priest. 
 
 There were at that timo al^out five hundred inhabi- 
 tants in Taos, and every man, woman and child attended 
 the wedding of Kit Carson. 
 
 After the ceremony was over all n^arched down about 
 three blocks to where there had been a whole bullock 
 roasted, also three sheep. The tables used were m?-de 
 of rude boards split out with a froe. There were no 
 table-cloths, no tea or coffee, but plenty of wine and * 
 

 
 Cheyenne Camp, Indian Territory, 
 
THE WEDDING FEAST. 133 
 
 abundance of meat, that all might "eat, drink and be 
 merry." 
 
 While we were at the supper table Uncle Kit hap- 
 pened to get sight of Johnnie West and I, and, taking 
 each of us by the hand, he led us over and gave us an in- 
 troduction to his wife, and (his was the first time I had 
 ever been introduced to a lady. Uncle Kit introduced 
 me as his Willie. Mrs. Carson turned to me and said: 
 
 "Ge-lem-a mo cass-a la-mis-mo ta-casso tades 
 vases; meaning, " Willie, my house shall be your home 
 at any and all times." 
 
 As I do not write Spanish, I simply give the sound of 
 her words as she spoke them or as I would. 
 
 I was highly pleased with the manner in which Mrs.. 
 Carson addressed me, for no lady had ever spoken so 
 kindly to me before, and I had supposed that after 
 Uncle Kit was married I would have to hunt another 
 home. 
 
 Supper being over, all repaired to the dance hall and 
 enjoyed themselves dancing until sunrise the next morn- 
 ing, when they returned to the tables for breakfast. 
 This time they had coffee and tea, but during the entire 
 feast they did not have a bite of bread on the table. 
 
 Here I met Jim Beckwith, of whom there will be 
 much more said at intervals later on. 
 
 Jim wanted me to accompany him to California the 
 following spring, saying that he knew of a pass through 
 the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which, if we could manage 
 to get the tide of emigration turned that way, we could 
 establish a toll road and make a fortune out of it. I said 
 
134 WITH COL. BENT. 
 
 I would not promise him now, but would give him an 
 answer later on. 
 
 The wedding being over, Johnnie West and I, after bid- 
 ding Uncle Kit and his wife good-bye, started for Bent's 
 Fort. Col. Bent and Mr. Roubidoux wanted to employ 
 us to hunt for them the coming winter. Johnnie thought 
 he could do better trapping, but I hired to them to huut 
 until the following spring. 
 
 Col. Bent always had from six to twenty boarders, 
 having six men of his own, and I kept them in meat all 
 winter, alone. 
 
 About the first of April this being in 1854 I settled 
 up with the Colonel, and having written Jim Beckwith 
 the fall before that I would be on hand to go with him 
 to California, I now pulled out for Taos. 
 
 I visited with Uncle Kit and his wife while at Taos, 
 and found that what Mrs. Carson had said at the feast 
 was true, for I was- as welcome at their home as though 
 I was one of the family. 
 
 Jim Beckwith had everything in readiness for our trip 
 across the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 
 
 The day before starting, Uncle Kit asked us what 
 route we would take. Jim said that we would go around 
 by the headwaters of the Gila river, this being a tribu- 
 tary to the Colorado. On this trip we would cross that 
 part of the country which is now Arizona. Uncle Kit 
 said this was a good route, and that he had gone over it 
 twice in company with Col. Fremont. He drew a dia- 
 gram of the country, showing the route by streams, 
 mountains and valleys; telling us also what tribes of In- 
 dians inhabited each section of the country that we would 
 
OFF FOR CALIFORNIA. 135 
 
 pass through. Among the different tribes spoken of was 
 the Pimas, whom he said were friendly toward the whites, 
 and insisted on our calling O n that tribe, provided we 
 went that way. 
 
 He had been at their village in 1845, an ^ at that 
 time they had told him he was the third white man they 
 had ever seen. 
 
 The reader will understand that all the Indians in 
 that section of the country at that time could speak 
 Spanish, having learned it from the Aztecs, a tribe that 
 lived in Old Mexico and were of Montezuma's race. 
 Thev often came out into that country to trade with the 
 other Indians. 
 
 All being ready we bade Uncle Kit and his wife good- 
 bye, and were off for California. We crossed the Rocky 
 Mountains up the Arkansas river and took the trail made 
 by Col. Fremont in 1848 to the summit of the Rocky 
 Mountains. We then crossed over the mountains on to 
 the headwaters of the south fork of Grand river, and 
 from here we headed almost south, passing through a 
 country that had all been burned over. We could look 
 ahead for miles and see nothing but burnt hills. Game 
 was sc scarce that we could barely kill enough to supply 
 us with food, until we struck the north fork of Gila river. 
 Here we found plenty of game. We traveled down the 
 Gila three days, which brought us to the Pima < 
 was sometimes then called Peone village. This village- 
 was situated in a lovely valley about twenty miles long 
 and ten wide. The soil was very fertile. The surround- 
 ing mountains were very high and covered with fine tim- 
 ber, while the fo-.t lulls \v. ninnt in the finest 
 
136 AT PlMA VILLAGE. 
 
 quality of bunchgrass, and along the iittie mountain 
 streams were cottonwood and willows. 
 
 The Indians here were fairly weli civilized, a fact 
 worthy of note, as they had never had a missionary or 
 priest among them. They also had a different mode of 
 worship from the tribes of the Northwest. Their place 
 of worship was what might be called a large shed con- 
 structed by setting posts in the ground and cohered with 
 poles, brush and the leaves of the century plant, these 
 leaves being from three to five feet long and from six to 
 ten inches wide. Their houses were also covered with 
 these leaves. 
 
 I never saw but two of these plants in bloom. One 
 was about fifty miles north of Sacramento and the other 
 in Golden Gate Park, near San Francisco. It was said 
 they held their flowers four months. These flowers are 
 very beautiful, being four inches across and look as 
 though they were made of wax. 
 
 But to return to my story. These Indians had three 
 days of worship, also three days of feasting. On assem- 
 bling at their place of worship, the chief chose four men 
 from the audience, whom we would term preachers, 
 but which they called abblers. They never pray, but the 
 abblers stand up and talk to the audience, during which 
 time the Indians preserve the very best order. The ab- 
 blers tell them what they must do and what they must 
 not do. When ready to break up, all join in 'singing, 
 but never sing before preaching. Just how they learned 
 this mode of worship was a mystery to me, and is. yet, 
 for that matter. We attended service while in the village 
 

THEIR INDUSTRY. I 37 
 
 and after preaching was over many of them invited us 
 home with them. 
 
 There were about five hundred men in this tribe, all of 
 whom were apparently very industrious, raising corn, 
 melons, red pepper and other vegetables in abundance. 
 They raised some very large melons, which were not ex- 
 cellent in flavor, however. 
 
 The Pimas were very kind to us while we were with 
 them, often taking us out to their truck patches and pul- 
 ling nice, large melons for us. I Basked a very aged Indian 
 where they got their seed corn, but he did not know, 
 saying they had raised it ever since he could remember. 
 They did their plowing with wooden plows, which they 
 made themselves, being pulled by oxen that were hitched 
 to the plows by a strong stick in front of their horns. 
 For harrows they used brush, and they had shovels made 
 of wood to dig with. 
 
 Notwithstanding they were in one sense uncivilized, 
 they showed us more hospitality during the time we were 
 with them than most white people would have shown to 
 strangers. 
 
 These Indians keep their age by taking a piece of 
 horn, pressing it out flat and punching a hole in the cen- 
 ter. When a child is a certain age he has one of these tied 
 about his neck, and every year the child is supposed to 
 cut a notch in the. piece of horn. I did not learn how 
 old they had to be before they were supposed to keep 
 their own age. 
 
 We found the chief of the tribe to be very obliging. 
 He told us the Apaches were bad Indians, and that they 
 had killed many white people men, women and children. 
 
138 THE NAKED YUMAS. 
 
 When vve were ready to leave the village, the chief 
 came out and bade us good-bye, and gave us a cordial 
 invitation to call on him when passing through the 
 country. 
 
 We crossed the Gila river near where Colville now 
 stands. Here was a tribe of very indolent Indians, that 
 during this season of the year did not wear a stitch of 
 clothing of any kind whatever. They were known as the 
 Yumas. 
 
 We both emptied our rifles before crossing the river, 
 knowing that they would get wet in crossing. I fired at 
 a bird across the river and it fell to the ground. 
 
 At the crack of my rifle the Indians ran a few paces 
 from me, dropped down and Stuck their fingers in their 
 ears. They told us in Spanish that they had never seen 
 a wah-hootus before, meaning a gun with a loud report. 
 
 When Jim Beckwith went to fire his gun off, the 
 sqauws all ran away, but the bucks, being more brave, 
 stayed, but held their hands over their ears. This tribe 
 lived principally on fish. 
 
 The reader will remember that I had traveled over 
 this same country in the vear 1849 in company with Kit 
 Carson and Col. Fremont, A^hen on our trip to California. 
 
 After traveling about five miles we crossed a iittle 
 sage-brush valley that was almost covered with jack-rab- 
 bits, and they were dying by the thousand. We could 
 see twenty at one time lying dead in the sage-brush. 
 
 That night we camped on what has since been known 
 as Beaver creek, and here we had to strike across the 
 San Antonio desert, and having been across the desert I 
 knew it would be eighty miles to water. Having two 
 
THE GOSHOOTS 
 
 139 
 
 parafleshes with us for such emergences, we filled them 
 vith water to use in crossing this desert. 
 
 A paraflesh is made of rawhide expressly to carry 
 
 water in, and 
 
 !!!!! are frequent- 
 
 ly used to 
 peddle milk 
 by the Mexi- 
 cans. 
 
 The second 
 day from 
 Beaver creek 
 we reached a 
 little stream 
 near the Go- 
 shoot village, 
 this being the 
 place where 
 Uncle Kit fin- 
 ished buying 
 furs to load 
 tiis pack-train in 1848. 
 
 The next morning we reached the village. I had not 
 seen any of these Indians for five years. Then I was a 
 mere boy and now a grown man, but every one of the 
 Goshoots knew me and were glad to meet me. We 
 stopped that day and visited with them, and bought some 
 venison and frigoles, or beans. 
 
 The next morning we resumed our journey to Los 
 Angeles, crossing the extreme northeast part of Death 
 Valley. From here on the country was all new to me, 
 
 Crossing the desert. 
 
140 AT Los ANGELES. 
 
 and had it not been for the kindness of the Goshoot In 
 dians, we would have perished for the want of water. 
 
 When I told a good Indian in that village where we 
 were going, he sat down and with his finger marked a 
 diagram in the d\ist, showing the lay of the country that 
 we must pass ever, every little blind spring near the trail, 
 the different mountains and valleys, and made it so plain 
 that we could scarcely have made a mistake on the trip. 
 
 On arriving at Los Angeles we found only one white 
 man in the place, and he was the only person in the 
 whole town that could speak the English language. He 
 had arrived there some years before, married a Mexican 
 woman and had got to be very wealthy. He tried to in- 
 duce us to go farther up the coast, telling us if we started 
 for San Francisco the country was full of Mexicans, and 
 that they despised all Americans and would be sure to 
 murder us on our way; but as we had started for San 
 Francisco, we were determined to see that city if pos- 
 sible. After laying over one day with the old American 
 we resumed our journey. 
 
 The next place we struck was Monterey, where is 
 now the famous Hotel del Monte, about two hundred 
 miles from Los Angeles. Here we did not find a man 
 who could speak a word of English, and we found the 
 Mexicans still more selfish than in Los Angeles. 
 
 We began to think that the old white man had told 
 the truth, for we would not have been surprised at any 
 time to have been attacked by a band of Mexicans. 
 
 While here I saw two persons that I thought to be 
 curiosities. They were of Indian parentage, light com- 
 plexion and had eyes pf a pink color. One was a boy about 
 
TWO FREAKS. 
 
 twenty years old and the other a girl of sixteen, and were 
 brother and sister. It was claimed that they could see 
 well after night, but could not see their way on a bright, 
 sunny day. 
 
 These Indians were said to be of the Mojave tribe, 
 that inhabited a portion of the country some six hundred 
 miles east of Monterey, near the Mojave desert. I have 
 since learned that such freaks are called albinos. 
 
 The reader will no doubt wonder why we came this 
 round-about away to get to San Francisco. The reason 
 is that in coming a more direct course we would have 
 passed through a country that was infested with wild tribes 
 of Indians; that is, tribes hostile to the whites. There 
 being only two of us the chances were it would have 
 proved a very unhealthy trip for us at that time. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ROBBJ>tt GAMBLERS OF SAN FRANCISCO. ENGAGED BY 
 CCL. ELLIOTT AS INDIAN SCOUT. KILLS AND SCALPS 
 FIVE INDIANS. PROMOTED TO CHIEF SCOUT. 
 
 Arriving at San Francisco we found things very lively, 
 this being about the time of the greatest gold excitement 
 fa Cai iforniA. 
 
142 *'PLAYED OUT OF LUCK. S * 
 
 Here was the first city of note that I had been in 
 since leaving St. Louis; here also was the first time I had 
 seen gambling going on on a large scale. There were all 
 kinds of games and all kinds of traps to catch the honest 
 miner and rob him of his money that he had labored 
 hard to dig out of the ground. 
 
 That night Jim Beckwith and I took in the sights of 
 the city. We went to the different gambling houses and 
 had just finished our tour and were on our way back to 
 the What Cheer house that being the hotel at which 
 we put up the leading hotel in the city then. We were 
 just passing one of the gambling dens, when we saw two 
 men coming out of the door leading a man between them 
 who was crying like a child, and exclaiming: "I am 
 ruined! I am ruined!" 
 
 We learned from the two men that he had come to the 
 city that day with eight hundred dollars in gold, had 
 bought a ticket for New York, and it was his intention to 
 sail for that city the following morning. But he had 
 gone out that night to have a farewell spree with his 
 friends, got too much booze, started in gambling, think- 
 ing he might double his money by morning; but like 
 thousands of other miners in those days, he * 'played out 
 of luck," as they termed it, and had lost every cent hs 
 had. 
 
 We walked on down to the hotel, and in a few min- 
 utes the three came into the hotel also, the one still cry^ 
 ing like a baby. The proprietor only laughed and said 
 it was a common occurrence for men to come to the city 
 with even twenty thousand dollars, gamble it off in less 
 than a week and then return to the mines to make an- 
 
BECKWITH PASS. 143 
 
 other stake. But he said he had never seen a man be- 
 fore that took it as hard as this one did. 
 
 It was all new to me, and a little of it went a long 
 ways. 
 
 That night after Jim Beckwith and I had retired, I 
 told him that I nad seen all of San Francisco that I cared 
 to, and was ready to leave. However, we stayed two 
 days longer, after which we pulled out for the Sierra Ne- 
 vadas, by the way of Hangtown, a little mining camp 
 situated at the American Fork. Here we crossed over a 
 pass that Jim had told me of more than a year previous, 
 which led us to the headwaters of the Carson river. 
 
 I proposed we give it the name of Beckwith Pass; and 
 from that day to this it has been known by that name, 
 and since has been made a splendid stage road. 
 
 Aftei traveling down the Carson river some distance, 
 we met a party of miners who informed us that a few 
 days previous a band of Indians down on the Hurnboldt 
 had made an attack on an emigrant train, cut off a por- 
 tion of the train, stampeded the teams, killed all the 
 people of that part of the train and burned the wagons. 
 
 They also informed us that Col. Elliott was down on 
 what w,is known as Truckee Meadows with a company 
 of soldiers, but, so far, was having very poor success kill 
 ing Indians. 
 
 Col. Elliott had been sent out there with four compa- 
 nies of cavalry to protect the emigrants against the Pah- 
 Ute or Piute Indians, which were very numerous down 
 on the Humboldt, and around the sink of the Carson and 
 as far up the mountains as Lake Tahoe. 
 
 Jim being very well acqu.iiiitrij with Col. Elliott, pro- 
 
144 MEET COL. ELLIOTT. 
 
 posed we go around that way, thinking that the Colonel 
 vnight be able to assist materially in turning the tide of 
 tmigration through his pass, his object being to get as 
 Much travel that way this fall as possible, and the fol- 
 lowing spring he would establish a toll road through that 
 pass. 
 
 Col. Elliott was pleased at meeting Jim, and in the 
 conversation said: "Beckwith, I am very glad, indeed, 
 to see you. You are just the man I have been wanting 
 this long time, for I haven't a scout in my entire com- 
 mand that is worth a cent to scout for Indians. I don't 
 Relieve there is one of them that would dare to leave 
 headquarters fifteen miles alone, and I want to employ 
 you as chief of scouts." 
 
 Jim thanked the Colonel kindly for the honor, but 
 told him he could not accept the offer as he had another 
 matter he wished to attend to, and told him of the scheme 
 he had on hand. But, he said, he had a young man with 
 him that he could recommend highly for that position, 
 and he gave me a great send off as a scout. 
 
 The Colonel insisted on our going with h\m to his 
 private quarters for supper, which we did, and after hav- 
 ing a pleasant visit with him, we returned to our own 
 camp for the night. 
 
 When we were ready to take our departure foi the 
 evening, Col. Elliott said: "Mr. Drannan, can I see you 
 privately to-morrow morning at nine o'clock?" 
 
 I told him that I would call at his quarters at tha' 
 hour. 
 
 After Jim and I had reached our camp I asked hirr 
 why he had misrepresented me to Col. Elliott in the va; 
 
ENGAGED BY HIM 14$ 
 
 he had, when he knew I had never scouted a day in my 
 life, knew nothing of scouting and had done very little 
 Indian fighting. 
 
 Jim said: "You are a young man and have been 
 among the Indians long enough to be pretty well ac- 
 quainted with their habits. There is not a single fellow 
 in Elliott's outfit knows as much about scouting as my 
 black horse, and if you ever intend starting in, now is 
 your chance. That is the reason I gave you such a send 
 off to the Colonel." 
 
 After thinking the matter over, I concluded that Jim 
 was right in regard to it, and now was a good time to 
 make a start. 
 
 After breakfast the, next morning I met Col. Elliott 
 at his quartos at the time appointed. He invited me in 
 and set out a bcttle of whiskey and a glass. I thanked 
 him, but declined <fo drink. 
 
 "Where were yoa raised," said the Colonel, "that 
 you do not drink whisk&y? I thought you grew up in the 
 Rocky Mountains." 
 
 I told him that I did, ),nt was not raised to drink 
 whiskey. I also told him th* I had been brought up, 
 since a boy fifteen years old, by Kit Carson. 
 
 The Colonel asked me many questions about Indians, 
 their habits, my idea of fighting tbem and so on, attei 
 which he asked me if I would like a position as scout. I 
 told him I would, provided there was enough in it to 
 justify me. 
 
 The Colonel made me a propOviition of one lni 1 
 dollars a month and rations, I to tarnish :ny own ho 
 I could also turn my extra horses in with the Go* 
 
146 A3 IWDZAW WGG&T. 
 
 horses and it wouid cost nif, nothing to have them herded. 
 I accepted his proposition, agreeing to start in on the 
 following morning. I also had an agreement with him 
 that when I did not suit him, he was to pay me off and I 
 would quit. Also, when he did not suit me, I was to 
 have the privilege of quitting at any time, all of which 
 was satisfactory to him, and I started in on the following 
 morning as per agreement. 
 
 That evening about sunset three of Col. Elliott's 
 scouts came in, and he gave me an introduction to them, 
 telling them that I was going to -be a brother scout. 
 After supper I had a long talk with one of them, in which 
 he posted me somewhat as to the different watering 
 places, grass, etc. 
 
 From him I learned that they had not seen an Indian 
 for three days, but had seen any amount of sign every day, 
 which was evidence that there were plenty of Indians 
 in the country. 
 
 The following morning when I went for my orders I 
 was much surprised at the Colonel saying: "Oh, damn it! 
 I don't care. Go any way you please and as far as you 
 please. The other boys say there is not an Indian in 
 fifty miles of here, and if you find any you will do better 
 than any man I have sent out, so far." 
 
 When I went to order my lunch, and told '.he negro 
 cook to put up enough to last me until the next night, he 
 looked at me and said: "Whar you goin 1 , boss?" Jim 
 told him I was going out to get some cayote scalps. 
 
 I now mounted Mexico the horse that Mr. Reed had 
 fiven me at the City of Mexico ano started off on my 
 
SPIES THREE REDSKINS. 
 
 first scouting trip, taking an easterly direction until I had 
 struck the old emigrant road. 
 
 After I had loft camp the other scouts were talking 
 among themselves, and none of them thought I would 
 ever return. One of the scouts told Jim that I was the 
 biggest fool that he had ever seen, to start out scouting 
 in a strange re- 
 gion and not 
 ask anything 
 about the coun- 
 try, grass, 
 water, Indians, 
 or anything 
 else. 
 
 "Don't be 
 alarmed about 
 that boy," said 
 Jim, "hell take 
 care of himself 
 
 Looking up the ravine I saw three Indians. 
 
 in any man s 
 country." 
 
 I had been 
 
 taught by Uncle Kit that when I attempted to do a thing 
 to carry it out ?t all hazards, if it was in my power to 
 do so. 
 
 After I had ridden about twelve miles or so, and was 
 just entering the mouth of a little ravine, on looking up 
 the same ravine I saw three Indians who had just hove 
 in sight over the hill. I dropped back from their view as 
 quick as I could, which only took about two or three 
 jumps of my horse. 
 
A QUANDARY. 
 
 The Indians having their backs toward me, I was 
 confident they had not seen me. They were heading for 
 the emigrant trail, that being what we called the wagon" 
 road across the plains in those days. 
 
 I rode around the point of a hill and tied my horse 
 in a washout where he would be hid from view, climbed 
 up the top of the hill and saw five warriors, riding direct 
 for the trail. After watching them for a short time I 
 hurried back to my horse, mounted him and rode as fast 
 as Mexico could conveniently carry me over this sage- 
 brush country about a quarter of a mile in an opposite 
 direction to which the Indians were traveling. Riding 
 up to the head of a little ravine, where I could tie my 
 horse in a place where he would not be discovered by the 
 redskins, I dismounted, tied my horse and crawled up 
 through the sagebrush to the top of the hill, where J 
 could watch the movements of the Indians. 
 
 This was a rolling country, low hills covered with a 
 heavy growth of sagebrush, and not a tree of any descrip- 
 tion to be seen anywhere. 
 
 I had discovered my game, but how to capture it was 
 what puzzled me. 
 
 The reader can have a faint idea of the situation of 
 a young man in a strange country and a sandy, sage- 
 brush plain, who did not know where to find either water 
 or grass. If I returned to headquarters they would escape 
 me, and this being my first timeout in the scouting busi- 
 ness, I could not afford to let them get away. So, after 
 holding a private council with myself, I decided these In- 
 dians were' spies, who were scouting for a large party of 
 Indians that were somewh*^ in this part oi the country, 
 
CONFIDENCE IN MEXICO. 149 
 
 ind that they were looking for emigrants, and in case 
 they did not see any such that day, they would no doubt 
 go to water that night. 
 
 I laid there on the hill watching their movements and 
 trying to devise some plan by which I could capture them 
 then. 
 
 Could I only have had Jim with me, how easy it 
 would have been to follow them to their camp that night, 
 kill and scalp them and capture their horses. 
 
 In those days an independent scout was entitled to 
 all the stock captured of the enemy by him. 
 
 I watched the Indians until they got to the emi- 
 grant trail, where they stopped and held a council, ap- 
 parently in doubt as to which way they should go. After 
 parleying for some five minutes they struck out on the 
 trail. I watched them for about two miles, then they 
 passed over a, low range of hills and were out of sight. 
 
 I now mounted Mexico and rode as fast as I could, 
 not directly after them, but as near as I could to keep 
 out of their sight; and at the same time I felt confident 
 that should they discover me, that there was not an In- 
 dian pony in that whole country that could catch Mexico, 
 either in a short or long distance. 
 
 After riding some five miles or so, I dismounted and 
 tied my horse to a sagebrush, and climbed to the top of 
 the highest hill between me and where I supposed them 
 to be. I discovered them about a mile away, and they 
 were just leaving the trail, riding up a ravine that led to 
 the north. They dismounted and put their ponies out to 
 grass. There also appeared to be a little meadow where 
 they stopped, and I concluded there must be water there, 
 
DEVISING PLANS 
 
 too. I took in the situation at a glance and could see 
 that I would have to ride a long distance to get near 
 them. Just immediately beyond them was a little hill 
 that sloped off down to the meadow on which they were 
 camped, but in any other direction a person could not 
 ride without being discovered. 
 
 I went back to my horse, mounted and took a circuit 
 of about ten miles, having to travel that distance in order 
 to keep out of their sight. Coming in from the north, I 
 rode almost to the top of the hill; here I dismounted, 
 tied my horse, crawled to the top of the hill, and on look- 
 ing down could see them almost under me, the hill was 
 so small and steep. .They were busily engaged in skin- 
 ning a jack-rabbit, and about that time I felt as though 
 I could eat a hind quarter of it myself if it had been 
 cooked; for I had been too busily engaged that day to 
 stop and eat a lunch. 
 
 Here I lay in the sagebrush trying to devise some 
 plan by which I could do away with them and capture 
 their horses. 
 
 It was now about four o'clock in the afternoon, and 
 this being about twenty miles from headquarters, I would 
 not have time to ride there and return with soldiers be- 
 fore they wold break camp in the morning. 
 
 For me to attack them alone looked like a big under- 
 taking. 
 
 There being a little grass for their horses, I now con- 
 cluded they would remain until morning. So I crept 
 back to where my horse was tied, took out my lun^.h and 
 sat down and ate it, at the same time debating in my 
 mind the best course to pursue. 
 
FOR ATTACK. 
 
 } remembered what Col. Elliott had told Jim, that he 
 dot have a scout that dared go fifteen miles from 
 
 , and now 
 if I should re- 
 turn to r.amp 
 and report 
 what I h x d 
 seen, he wou*o. 
 start soldiers 
 out, and by the 
 time they 
 could reach 
 the ground the 
 Indians would 
 be gone, and 
 there would be 
 nothingaccom- 
 plished, conse- 
 quentlyl 
 
 would, no 
 
 doubt, be classed with the balance cf the scouts in the 
 opinion of the Colonel. While on the other hand, 
 should I be successful in laying a plan by which I could 
 do away with the Indians and take their scalps to head- 
 quarters as evidence of my work, it would give me a 
 reputation as a scout. 
 
 I was confident they had not seen me that day, and 
 knowing, too, the Pah-Utes had not been disturbed by 
 Col. Elliott's scouts, they would no doubt lie down when 
 night came, and I might steal a march on them and 
 amid their slumbers accomplish the desired deed 
 
 i sa t down and ate my lunch. 
 
I $2 CREEPING UPON THEM. 
 
 Having been brought up by one of the bravest fron- 
 tiersmen that traversed the plains at that time, and who 
 always taught me to respect a brave man and hate a cow- 
 ard, I made up my mind to make the attack alone, pro- 
 vided the Indians did not put out guards that night. 
 
 After I had finished my lunch I examined both my 
 single-shot pistols I still having the one presented to 
 me by my old friend Joe Favor, three years before at 
 Bent's Fort, also the knife, which the reader will remem- 
 ber weighed two and one-fourth pounds and creeping 
 back to the top of the hill I watched them cook and eat 
 the jack-rabbit. As it grew dark I drew nearer, and 
 when it was about as dark as it was likely to be that 
 night, I crept up to within a few yards of them. They 
 had a little fire made of sagebrush and did not lie down 
 until very late. 
 
 I was so near that I could hear them talking, but I 
 could not understand their language, as I had never been 
 among them, but I was confident they were Pah-Utes, 
 because I was in their country. 
 
 After they had smoked and talked matters over, which 
 I supposed was in regard to the next day's scouting, 
 they commenced to make preparations to sleep. In the 
 crowd, apparently, were three middle-aged warriors and 
 two young ones, not yet -grown. The three older ones 
 laid down together, while the two young ones made their 
 beds about fifteen feet away from the other three. 
 
 After they had become quiet 1 commenced'crawling 
 closer, as there was some fire yet and I wanted to get 
 their exact location before I made the attack. 
 
 I felt confident that I could kill one of them the first 
 
WERE SOUND ASLEEP. I) 
 
 blow with my knife, and then I could kill the other two 
 with rny pistols. But this would still leave two to one 
 and I with nothing but a knife; however, after going this 
 far I was determined to make the attack at all hazards. 
 
 When I had crawled up within a few feet of their bed, 
 one turned over and muttered something in his own 
 tongue, which I could not understand. I made sure I was 
 not detected, and after lying still for some time I con- 
 cluded they were all. asleep, and I soon made up my mind 
 that I had better make the attack at once and have the 
 matter settled one way or the other. After taking in the 
 entire situation I decided to make the attack with my 
 knife. I took the pistol from my right holster in my left 
 hand, thereby giving me a better chance after emptying 
 the one pistol to easily grasp the other one with my 
 left hand. 
 
 I knew that if I could get a fair lick at one of them 
 with my big knife, which I always kept as sharp as a 
 razor, that he would make little, if any, noise. My plan 
 ttf attack being completed, I crawled up near their heads, 
 and all appeared to be sound asleep. 
 
 I decided to take the one on my right first, so that in 
 case the other two should attempt to arise I would be in 
 a position to shoot the one on my left and at the same 
 time cut the other one down with my heavy knife. But 
 it was my intention to kill all three of them with my 
 knife, if possible, in order to save both pistols for the 
 two young ones, as I expected a hard fight with them, 
 for I felt sure they would be on to me by the time I got 
 through with the other three, at the very best I could do. 
 
 I now raised up on to my feet and aimed to strike th* 
 
154 THE ATTACK. 
 
 one on my right about the middle of the neck. I came 
 down with all my might and killed him almost instantly. 
 I served the second one the same way, but by this time 
 the third one had raised to a sitting position, and I struck 
 him in the shoulder and had to make a second lick to kill 
 him. By this time the other two had been aroused, and, 
 as near as I could tell in the darkness, one of them was 
 crawling in the opposite direction on his hands and- knees, 
 while the other one was coming at me on all fours. I 
 shot him with the pistol that I held in my left hand, and 
 I then thought I was almost safe. Just at that moment 
 the other young buck was on his feet, with bow in hand 
 but no arrows. He dealt me a blow on the side of the 
 head, which staggered me but did not knock me down, 
 and before I had time to recover, he dealt me a second 
 blow, but it did not stagger me so .much as the first, but 
 it brought the blood quite freely from my nose, at the 
 same time I made a side stroke at him, but struck too 
 low. I then drew my other pistol from the holster and 
 fired, shooting him through the chest, and though he fell 
 mortally wounded, he again raised to his feet and dealt 
 me another blow, which was a great surprise to me, but 
 just one stroke of my big knife severed his jugular and he 
 yielded up the ghost. 
 
 Now my task was done. At the risk of my life I had 
 accomplished the desired end, and my reputation as a 
 scout would be established. 
 
 I knew the other scouts were having some sport at my 
 expense while I was away, for I had overheard two of 
 them in a conversation that morning make some remarks 
 about Col. Elliott's tenderfoot scout. 
 
AT HEADQUARTERS. 155 
 
 I had said nothing to them, but this made me all the 
 more determined in the undertaking, and now I had 
 turned the joke on them, and, as the old saying goes, 
 "he who laughs last laughs best." 
 
 I could see by the light in the east that the moon 
 would be up in a short time, so I went and got my sad- 
 dle-horse from where I had tied him, and who, by this 
 time was very thirsty and hungry, as he had had nothing 
 to eat and no water since morning. I watered him, then 
 picketed him out for about two hours on the little 
 meadow, by which time the moon had risen. 
 
 I then scalped the five Indians and tied their scalps to 
 my belt. They would be good evidence of my day's work 
 when I should meet the Colonel at his quarters. This 
 being done, I tied the five Indian horses together and 
 started for headquarters, arriving there about noon the 
 next day. 
 
 Just as I had put the horses in the corral and before I 
 had time to dismount, Col. Elliott's orderly came on the 
 dead run, saying: "Col. Elliott wishes to see you at his 
 quarters at once,'- 
 
 I turned about and rode over to the Colonel's tent, 
 and when I had saluted him, he said: "Sir, whost 
 horses are those you just turned into that corral?" 
 
 I said: "Sir, those are my horses, as I understand 
 that any stock captured from the Indians by an inde- 
 pendent scout, he is entitled to." 
 
 "Mr. Drannan, do you tell me that you captured 
 fchote horses from an Indian?" 
 
 I laid: "Col. Elliott, yes, sir; and 
 
156 SCALPS FOR DINNXX. 
 
 thing more I captured with them." At that I threw 
 down the five scalps at his feet. 
 
 He looked amazed as he gazed at the scalps, but said 
 nothing for a few moments. 
 
 About this time the orderly announced Jim Beckwith 
 at the door. The Colonel said let him come in, and just 
 as he entered the door, Col. Elliott said: 
 
 "Beckwith, where do you suppose this scout got 
 those scalps?" 
 
 Jim picked up the scalps, examined them thoroughly, 
 and said: "I'll bet my black horse that he took them 
 from the heads of five Pah-Ute Indians." 
 
 The Colonel smiled and said: "Drannan, if you will 
 tell us all about the whole affair, I will treat." 
 
 I related the adventure in brief. Dinner being ready, 
 the Colonel set out the whiskey and cigars and told me 
 to call on him that afternoon, as he wished to have a 
 private conversation with me. 
 
 I picked up the five scalps and started to dinner, and 
 as I passed by the kitchen I threw them under the negro 
 cook's feet and told him to cook them for dinner for my 
 friend and me^ referring to Jim Beckwith. When he 
 saw the scalps he exclaimed: "Laws a massa, boss: 
 whar you git dem skelps? Marse Meyers said dey wasn't 
 an Injun in fifty miles o' hyar." 
 
 While we were eating dinner, Jim said to me: 
 ' 'Don't you know them fellers didn't think you'd ever 
 come back?" 
 
 I asked him what fellows, and he said: "Why, those 
 scouts. One of them told me you was the d est fool he 
 
REPUTATION MADE. 
 
 '57 
 
 ever saw in his life, to go out scouting alone in a strange 
 country, and that the Pah-Utes would get you, sure." 
 
 I said I did not think it worth while to ask those 
 scouts anything 
 about Indians or 
 anything else, 
 for I didn't think 
 they had been 
 far enough from 
 camp to learn 
 anything them- 
 selves. 
 
 That after- 
 noon when I was 
 announced at 
 the Colonel's 
 tent, I was met 
 in a somewhat 
 different manner 
 by him to what 
 I had been that 
 noon, for he 
 raised the front 
 of the tent and 
 said: "'Come 
 right in Drannan, why do you hesitate?" 
 
 After navmg a social chat with him and rehearsing to 
 some extent the fight which took place the night before 
 between myself and the five Pah-Utes, he proposed to 
 cnake me chief of his scouts. He said: "Now, Drannan, 
 I will tell you what I wished to see you about. I have 
 
 'Laws a massa, boss! whar you git dem skelps?" 
 
158 CHIEF OF SCOUTS. 
 
 five scouts besides you, and I am going to make you 
 chief of all my scouts, and you can handle them to suit 
 yourself." 
 
 I told the Colonel that I did not desire any promotion 
 whatever, for in the first place I would not be doing my- 
 self justice, and that it would not be doing justice to' the 
 other scouts, and I thought it would be of more benefit 
 to both him and his other scouts, to go alone, as I had 
 started out. 
 
 He asked me why I would prefer going alone. My 
 reply was that a person in that business could not be too 
 cautious, and I did not know what kind of men he had, 
 and just one careless move would spoil the plans of the 
 best scout in the world. 
 
 The Colonel admitted that I was right, but insisted 
 on selecting one man from his five scouts to assist me, 
 saying: "If he don't suit you, after trying him two or 
 three days, report to me, and you may select any one 
 from my scouts that you like." And to this I consented. 
 I told him that I would be ready to start out the follow- 
 ing morning, and if he had any orders to give me to give 
 them now, as I would start very early. He said that he 
 had no orders to give, but that he had selected Charlie 
 Meyers to accompany me; and he proved to bt a good 
 man and a good scout. 
 
A DRY CAMP. 159 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 A LIVELY BATTLE WITH PAH-UTES. PlNNED'TO SADDLE 
 
 WITH AN ARROW. SOME VERY GOOD INDIANS. A 
 
 STUTTERING CAPTAIN. BECKWITH OPENS HIS PASS. 
 
 The next morning I ordered three days' rations for 
 two men, and Charlie Meyers desired to know if I was 
 going to Salt Lake City or New York. I told him I was 
 going out hunting, and if I struck fresh signs of game I 
 proposed tracking it to wherever it went. 
 
 That day we took the divide between Carson and 
 Humboldt, south of the emigrant trail, making a ride of 
 forty miles that day, and then a dry camp a camp with- 
 out water. The following morning we rode about five 
 miles, -and came on to a big Indian trail that had been 
 made the evening before. We pushed on as fast as we 
 could, all the time keeping a sharp lookout, for we were 
 now in the heart of the Pah-Ute country, and could not 
 be too careful. About half past three o'clock we came 
 to where the Indians had camped the night before, on a 
 tributary of the Humboldt. At this camp three antelope 
 had been devoured, so we knew that there had been a 
 large band of the redskins at that feast. It was also 
 evident that they were not very far ahead of us, as their 
 fires had not entirely died out. 
 
 Continuing the pursuit we were now getting close to 
 the emigrant trail, and it was plain that the Indians had 
 
i6o 
 
 8EA OF SAGEBRUSH. 
 
 headed west, which convinced me that they were looking 
 for emigrants, and if so they would not go far before they 
 would either go into camp or leave the trail. li proved 
 that after following the emigrant tmin a short distance 
 they had taken to the hills" 
 
 The country was a sea of sagebrush, and frequently 
 we would start a jack-rabbit or antelope that we would 
 have been pleased to roast for supper, but dared not 
 shoot. 
 
 When near the top of a hill I would dismount, and 
 leaving my horse with Meyers, would crawl to the sum- 
 mit of the hill and peep over in order to discover whether 
 or not the Indians were in sight, and then return, mount 
 
 
 I peeped over to get a sight of them. 
 
 my horse and ride at a rapid gait until near the top of 
 another hill, when the same manceuver would be repeated. 
 
A BAND OF PAH-UTEB. 161 
 
 At last we came to a sharp ridge and I dismounted. 
 f remarked that if we did not find those Indians soon we 
 <vould have to make another dry camp that ni^ht. I 
 was now nearly sunset, and on crawling to the top of the 
 ridge and looking down on a nice little valley not more than 
 a half-mile distant, I saw that they had just gone into 
 camp and had not yet got all their ponies unpacked. 
 
 I had a good chance to make a rough estimate of 
 their number, which I thought to be about two hundred 
 warriors. 
 
 I rushed back to Meyers and told him that I had lo- 
 cated them, and that one of us would have to ride back 
 to headquarters that night and report, and asked him 
 whether he would rather go or stay and watch the .In- 
 dians. 
 
 "Why not both go," he asked. 
 
 I told him that by the time the cavalry could get there 
 the Indians might be gone, and one of us must stay and 
 see where they went to. 
 
 We were now, as near as we could tell, about thirty- 
 five miles from camp, as that afternoon we had beer. 
 traveling west, in the direction of headquarters. 
 
 After thinking the matter over, Meyers concluded 
 that he would rather make the ride than stay. I told 
 him to be off at once, but before starting, he said to me- 
 "Suppose the Indians should discover you while I an: 
 away?" 
 
 I replied that I would like very much to have them 
 discover me, when I knew the soldiers were in sight O T 
 within ten miles, for I would like to run them into such 
 
162 
 
 MADE GOOD TIME. 
 
 a trap, and that I was not afraid of any horse in their 
 band catching Mexico in any distance. 
 
 I i n s t ructed 
 Meyers not to 
 spare horseflesh 
 on the way, and 
 to tell Col. El- 
 liott to start two 
 companies of 
 cavalry as soon 
 as possible. 
 
 We shook 
 hands and lie 
 started, and that 
 was once that he 
 made good time. 
 It being after 
 seven o'clock 
 He made good ti-^. . when he started, 
 
 he reached camp 
 at fifteen minutes after eleven that night. 
 
 When he had gone I started in to lay my plans for 
 the night. 
 
 It was yet so light that I could get a good view of the 
 surrounding country, and about three miles from the In- 
 dians' camp I could see the highest hill anywhere around. 
 I decided at once that if I were on that high hill I could 
 jee every move of the Indians, besides I could look up 
 the Humboldt and see the soldiers, or at least the dust 
 raised by them, while the.y warfe yet a long way off. 
 
RE-ENFORCEMENTS. 163 
 
 This peak lay north of the trail, and the trail ran east 
 and west. 
 
 As soon as it was dark I mounted my horse and rode 
 to the peak and tied him to a sagebrush in a sinkhole, 
 that looked as though it might have been put there on 
 purpose, for my horse was hidden from every direction. 
 
 I now went to the top of the hill, and there being a 
 dense growth of sagebrush, 1 was perfectly safe from dis- 
 covery when daylight should come. 
 
 I did not have to wait long after daylight, for just as 
 the sun was creeping up over the hill and shedding its 
 rays on the little valley where the two hundred braves 
 had had such a pleasant night's rest, dreaming, perhaps, 
 of emigrants, horses, provisions and other stuff that they 
 would probably capture the following day, I looked up 
 the Humboldt and saw the two companies of cavalry 
 coming. 
 
 The Indians seemed in no hurry to leave, and were 
 perhaps waiting for the five scouts to return and report, 
 never thinking that they had been killed and scalped, 
 and that the same paleface who did the deed was then 
 watching their every movement and laying plans for their 
 destruction. 
 
 I got my horse in about a minute, mounted and rode 
 across the country to meet the cavalry, taking a route so 
 that I would not be seen by the Indians. 
 
 I met the soldiers who were commanded by Capt. 
 Mills and Lieut. Harding about four miles from the In- 
 dian camp, and they came to a halt. 
 
 I told them abont the number I thought there were in 
 the Indian band and the lay of the country, as nearly as 
 
164 A CONSULTATION 
 
 I could. The Captain and Lieutenant stepped to one 
 side and held a council, and after talking the matter over 
 they called me and said they had about decided to attack 
 the enemy from both above and below at the same time, 
 and, as I had seen the ground, they asked my opinion in 
 the matter. I told them I thought it an excellent plan, 
 and then Capt. Mills turned to Lieut. Harding and said: 
 "Which do you prefer, to make the upper or lower at- 
 tack? Take your choice." 
 
 He then asked me if they'could get to the head of the 
 ravine that the Indians were camped on and not be seen 
 by them. I told him that I could show them a ravine 
 that led from the emigrant trail to the head of the valley 
 on which they were camped, and marked out a plat of 
 the country in the dust, showing the course each company 
 would have to take, telling them that the company mak- 
 ing the upper attack would have to travel about a mile 
 farther than the one making the attack from below. He 
 then asked me if the companies could see each other be- 
 fore the Indians could see them. I informed him that 
 they could not, but that I could show him a hill where 
 he could station a man and he would be able to see both 
 companies, but the Indians could not see him, and when 
 the company from above should reach the top of Ihe hill 
 that man could signal to the other company to charge. 
 
 At that time Lieut. Harding turned to Capt. Mills and 
 said: "If the boy scout will go with me I will make the 
 upper attack, as he has been over the country and knows 
 ;he lay of the ground." 
 
 Of course I consented, and we marched to the moutH 
 }f the ravine jnst mentioned. 
 
TAKEN UNAWARES. 165 
 
 I pointed out the hill referred to, and the Lieutenant 
 placed a man on top of it, and we proceeded. 
 
 Just before we reached the top of the other hill, 
 Lieut. Harding halted and formed his men in line, plac- 
 ing them about ten feet apart, saying: "I have only a 
 hundred soldiers, but I want it to appear that I have a 
 thousand." 
 
 When we first came in sight of the Indians, some 
 were lying stretched out in the sun, some were sitting 
 down, while a few were out looking after their horses, 
 everything indicating that they had just had their break- 
 fast and were lounging around, not having the slightest 
 idea of an enemy in twenty miles of them, and we 
 took them wholly unawares. 
 
 When the Lieutenant formed his men in line he- 
 fore raising the top of the hill, he asked me to take 
 charge of his left wing and he wouid take charge of 
 his right. As soon as we came in sight of the Indians, 
 he gave the order to charge. 
 
 This was the first thing of the kind I had ever wit- 
 nessed, and when I cast my eyes down the line of sol- 
 diers I thought it the grandest sight I had ever seen. 
 This was also the first engagement for either of the 
 companies. 
 
 In all the scrimmages I had been in with the redskins, 
 the one that made the most noise was the best Indian 
 fighter; so when the Lieutenant gave the order to charge, 
 I raised a yell, as I thought this to be one of the essen- 
 tial points of a charge, and wondered why the rest of the 
 boys did not do the same. However, after hearing a few 
 of my whoops they picked it up, and each began yelling 
 
1 66 IN CLOSE QUARTERS. 
 
 at the top of his voice, and by this time we were among 
 
 the Indians. 
 
 The two companies had about the same distance to 
 run after sounding the charge, but Lieut. Harding was at 
 the scene of conflict a few moments ahead of Capt. 
 Mills, thereby giving the Indians time to scatter. This 
 was attributed to the fact that Capt. Mills had to charge 
 up grade while Lieut. Harding had down grade, which 
 they had not thought of before ma-king the arrangement, 
 and the ground being mostly sand made a great differ- 
 ence in the speed ot the horses. 
 
 Meyers and I made a rush for the Indians' horses, but 
 the soldiers all stuck together, and seeing that a number 
 of Indians were at their horses already and mounted, we 
 abandoned the idea at once. Had one platoon made a 
 dash for the horses and stampeded them, we would no 
 doubt have got more Indians. 
 
 After emptying both of my single-shot pistols I drew 
 my knife, and just at that moment an Indian shot Mey- 
 ers through the arm with an arrow and he sang out to 
 me that he was wounded. Another Indian then made a 
 dash at Meyers with his bow and arrow in hand, so I 
 charged after him and made a slash at him with my 
 knife, but he saw me in time to slide off on the opposite 
 side of his horse. I could not stop the blow so I struck 
 his horse in the back and brought him to the ground, 
 and the Indian ran for dear life. 
 
 About this time a soldier came riding along, and I 
 knew from his actions that his pistol was empty (the sol- 
 diers had no firearms in this engagement except pistols). 
 
made a trtflwjif him with ?ny knife. Paf 
 
PINNED TO THE SADDLE. 167 
 
 and I asked him why he did not draw his sabre and cut 
 them down. He said he had no orders to do so. 
 
 To that I did not reply, but I thought this a queer 
 way of fighting Indians, when a soldier had to stop in 
 the midst of a battle, fold his arms and stand there to be 
 shot down while waiting orders to draw his sabre. A 
 moment later they received orders to use their sabres, 
 and they went to hewing the Indians down. 
 
 I saw an Indian with two or three feathers in his 
 hair, and I took him to be the war chief. He was com- 
 ing direct for me with bow and arrow in hand, and 1 
 made a desperate rush for him and made a strike at him 
 with my knife, but he threw up his arm and knocked off 
 my lick, at the same time a measly redskin shot me 
 through the calf of my leg, pinning me to the mochila of 
 my saddle. 
 
 The mochila is a large covering 5or a saddle made of 
 very heavy leather and comes low on the horse's side, 
 thereby affording great protection to horses in cases like 
 this. This shield is of Spanish origin, but they were used 
 by all mountaineers as well as Mexicans. 
 
 I was leaning over when the arrow struck me and 
 pinned me to the saddle; so that I could not straighten 
 up, for I was almost on the side of the horse when I re- 
 ceived the arrow. 
 
 Capt. Mills, seeing the predicament I was in, came 
 to my rescue and cut the war chief down with his sabre, 
 just in time to save me from getting another arrow. 
 
 The Captain pulled the arrow out of my leg, which 
 had a very large spear made of hoop iron, and it tore a 
 bad hole in my leg when he pulled it out. By tbii timf 
 
1 68 THE BATTLE OVER. 
 
 the redskins were scattering in all directions, some on 
 foot and some on horseback. 
 
 As soon as I was free I saw a band of about fifty 
 horses not far away, and asked the Captain to detail 
 some of his men to assist me in running them off. The 
 Captain dashed off to his orderly who he told to take a pla- 
 toon of men and go with the boy scout to take charge of 
 those horses. 
 
 In this charge we got fifty-two horses and killed four 
 Indians. We drove the horses out on the hill where they 
 would be out of the way and where the Indians would 
 not get them, and the Sergeant left his men to guard 
 them until further orders. 
 
 As I rode back to the scene of battle I looked u^ the 
 road and saw four wagons coming. I asked the Sergeant 
 where those wagons were going, and he said they were 
 ambulances, coming to haul the wounded to headquar- 
 ters, saying they had started at the same time the cav- 
 alry did but could not keep up, consequently they did not 
 arrive until after the battle was over. 
 
 About the time I returned to the battlefield the bugle 
 sounded calling the soldiers in from the chase, and on 
 looking over the ground, . jur dead soldiers and twenty- 
 seven wounded were discovered. There were sixty-three 
 dead Indians in sight, and more, no doubt, were scattered 
 around in the sagebrush. 
 
 The battle being over we had our breakfast. I Uso 
 had my horse put out to grass, as he was very hungry, 
 not having had anything to eat since noon the day be- 
 fore, and not much then. 
 
 After breakfast was over the soldiers buried tfteir four 
 
PROMOTION. 
 
 dead comrades and oaded the wounded into the ambu- 
 lances and started ^r headquarters, arriving there about 
 nine o'clock that night. Charlie Meyers had a wound in 
 his arm that laid him up all summer, and I was not able 
 to ride for two weeks, although I had the best of care. 
 
 From that time on I was known as the boy scout, 
 and the next day after our return, Col. Elliott appointed 
 me chief of scouts with rank and pay of captain, which was 
 one hundred and twenty-five dollars per month. He also 
 provided me with private quarters, my tent being pitched 
 near his own, and notwithstanding that I was only a 
 mere boy the other scouts all came to me for orders and 
 counsel, and I often wondered why men who knew noth- 
 ing of scouting nor the nature of Indians would stick 
 themselves up as scouts. 
 
 Two weeks from the time I got wounded the Colonel 
 asked me if I thcught I was able to ride, saying that the 
 news had just come to him that the Indians had attacked 
 a train of emigrants, killed some of them and driven off 
 their stock. This depredation he said had been com- 
 mitted in the Goose Creek mountain country about one 
 hundred and twenty miles east of us. Col. Elliott said 
 that he was going to send out a company of soldiers 
 there, and if I felt able I might accompany them, which 
 I did. 
 
 All being in readiness, I selected two scouts to assist 
 me, and we pulled out, taking with us a pack-train with 
 one month's provisions. 
 
 We had a rough and tedious trip, as not one of the 
 entire crowd had been over the country and did not know 
 a tingle watering place, so we hf d to go it blind, hit of 
 
miss. I had not gone far when I found that I had made 
 a sad mistake, as notwithstanding my leg appeared quite 
 well when I started out, yet, after one or two days' rid- 
 ing, it got quite sore and pained me severely, and the 
 longer I rode the worse it got. 
 
 Five days' ride and we were at the place where the 
 emigrants were camped. Another small train had pulled 
 in with them as they were afraid to cross the desert alone. 
 
 That night Capt. Mills called the men of the train 
 together to ascertain whether or not they wished to look 
 after their stock, but they did not seem to know them- 
 selves what to do. They were quite sure that the In- 
 dians had driven the stock south, as they had tracked 
 them some distance in thai direction. Capt. Mills asked 
 me what I thought of finding the stock, and I told him 
 that if it was driven south, of which the emigrants 
 seemed quite sure, it was more than likely that the In- 
 dians and stock were several hundred miles away, and 
 that it would be next to impossible to get any trace of 
 them, and in my opinion it would be like trying to find 
 a needle in a haystack. 
 
 After considering the matter the emigrants concluded 
 that I was right. 
 
 Those of them who had lost all their stock were a 
 pitiful sight indeed, women and children were weeping, 
 and particularly those who had lost their husbands and 
 fathers in the fight with the Indians. 
 
 There were no women and children killed, as the 
 Indians did not attack the train, being apparently only 
 bent on capturing tb horses and cattle. They had 
 
EMIGRANTS. 
 
 killed the guards and also the men that ran out to pro- 
 tect the stock. 
 
 One who has never witnessed a like affair can scarcely 
 comprehend the situation of a widow left out there with 
 three or four children in this desolate region, utterly des- 
 titute. It was a gloomy situation, indeed, and a sight 
 that would cause the hardest-hearted man to shed tears. 
 
 Those who had lost their stock made some kind of 
 arrangements to ride with those that had come later. 
 
 The day before starting the emigrants rolled all their 
 wagons together that they did not have teams to haul, 
 also the harness, and in fact everything they could not 
 haul, and burned them, so that the Indians would not 
 derive any benefit from them. 
 
 I merely note a few of these facts to give the reader 
 a faint idea of the trials, troubles and hardships that the 
 early settlers of the "wild West" had to pass through, 
 not only in crossing the plains, but, as will be shown 
 later in this book, in many instances after settling in dif- 
 ferent parts of this western country. 
 
 The day before starting, Capt. Mills suggested that as 
 my wound was giving me so much trouble, I should re- 
 turn to headquarters in company with the train of emi- 
 grants, and asked how many men I wanted to guard 
 them through. I told him that I would not feel safe 
 with less than twenty men. The Captain thought that 
 twenty would not be sufficient, so he made a detail of 
 twenty-five men and issued rations to last us eight days. 
 
 Capt. Mills and the men he had reserved remained 
 in this section of country to guard emigrants that might 
 be traveling westward, as the Indians were now working 
 
SLOW TRAVELING. 
 
 in this part of the country since our battle with them on 
 the Humboldt. 
 
 Having completed all arrangements we pulled out 
 with one hundred and twenty-five wagons, all told, in the 
 train, but as some of the oxen were very tender footed 
 we had to travel very slowly. I divided my men into 
 squads of twelve each, and changed guards at morning, 
 noon, evening and midnight. 
 
 I also started six guards ahead every morning, with 
 instructions to keep from one to three miles from the 
 train on either side, according to the lay of the country. 
 
 The second day one of the scouts returned from the 
 south and reported having seen six Indians southwest of 
 the train; this was about ten o'clock in the forenoon. I 
 turned and rode off with the scout, saying nothing to 
 anyone in the train. He piloted me to where he had 
 seen . the Indians, and sure enough there were the 
 tracks of their ponies in the sand. The scout returned 
 to the train and I followed the trail of the Indians all 
 day, but never got sight of an Indian. "When dark 
 came I turned about and rode to camp, pi-riving there 
 .t twelve o'clock that night. 
 
 The people in the train were very much pleased t 
 see me return, for they had felt much uneasiness as 
 to my safety, fearing that I might have fallen into the 
 hands of the Pah-Utes. This ride, however, laid me up 
 for two weeks, and I had to go the balance of the 
 way in an emigrant wagon. 
 
 The captain of this train had a jaw breaking name 
 chat I never heard before or since. It was Sam 
 Molujean, and I know he was the mosk excitable 
 
AN EXCITED CAPTAIN. 
 
 that I ever saw. When Capt. Molujean got excited 
 he could not talk at all for stuttering, so one day the 
 guards concluded to have a little sport at the expense of 
 the Captain. We were now nearly opposite where about 
 a month previous a battle with the Pah-Utes had b< n 
 fought, and the advance guards were riding back to the 
 train it now being time to corrall for dinner. They 
 met Capt. Molujean, who asked if they had seen any In- 
 dians. 
 
 One of the guards informed him that there were sixty- 
 odd up the r,avine. This set the Captain wild. He 
 wheeled around and rode back to where I was in the 
 wagon and started in to tell me what the guard had 
 said, but he could not utter a word. 
 
 After listening to him a minute or so I told him if 
 he would get some one to tell what he wanted I would 
 answer his question. I suppose I was somewhat im- 
 patient, as I was suffering from my wound. At this 
 one of the guard* rode up with a smile on his face, 
 and I asked nim if he could tell me what Capt. 
 Molujean was trying to say to me, He related to me 
 what they had told him in regard to the sixty-odd 
 Indians up the ravine, referring to the Indians that had 
 been killed in battle between the soldiers and Pah-Utes. 
 
 We had a good laugh at the Captain's expense, 
 after which I told him the Indians the guard had ref- 
 erence to were all good Indians. 
 
 "Oh! is that so?" he exclaimed, and these were the 
 first words he had been able to utter. "But," he con- 
 tinued, "I did not know there were any good Indians 
 in this country; I thought all of them were savage " I 
 
(74 BECKWITH s INVITATION, 
 
 cold the Captain that those Indians were dead, and that 
 all dead Indians were good ones. This was a stunner for 
 the Captain, and I do not think that the joke has ever 
 penetrated his massive skull. 
 
 We did not see any more Indians or any sign of them 
 on the trip. 
 
 On reaching headquarters we found Jim Beckwith 
 awaiting our arrival. He had been out with three other 
 men whom he had hired to help him blaze a road across 
 the mountains through his new pass. He had finished 
 his work on the road and returned to Col. Elliott's camp, 
 knowing that if he could get one train to go his way it 
 would be a great help toward getting the tide of immigra- 
 tion turned in that direction the following season. 
 
 Here Beckwith took charge of the train, Col. Elliott 
 recommending him very highly, and telling the emigrants 
 that if they would only obey his orders he would pilot, 
 them through in safety. 
 
 Before starting, Jim asked me to come over and spend 
 the winter with him, saying that he was going to build a 
 cabin on the other side of the mountains, lay in a big 
 supply of provisions, and as after that he was going to do 
 nothing, he wanted me to help him. 
 
 I promised to go and winter with him if it was pos- 
 sible for rne to do so, as at this time I did not know but 
 what I might have to go to San Francisco to have my leg 
 treated the coming winter. 
 
 From here the emigrants were to pay Jim to pilot 
 them across the mountains to a little mining camp called 
 Hangtovvn, which was about one hundred and twenty 
 miles east of Sacramento. They made the trip without 
 
Deer by Moonlight, 
 
MORE EMIGRANTS. 175 
 
 any trouble. I saw one of the emigrants the next spring 
 and they spoke in very 'ligb terms of Jim Beckwith. 
 
 CHATTER XIL 
 
 COL. ELLIOTT KILLS HIS FIRST DEER, AND SECURES A 
 
 FINE PAIR OF HORNS AS A PRESENT FOR HIS FATHER. 
 
 BECKWITH'S TAVERN. SOCIETY. 
 
 Two weeks after the incidents related in the previous 
 chapter, Capt. Mills came in with another train of emi- 
 grants, not having seen an Indian on the trip, and from 
 this time on there was no danger of such trains going 
 from that region through Beckwith Pass, and as the road 
 was now broken by the other train, these emigrants could 
 cross the Sierra Nevadas without a guide. 
 
 About this time four men with pack animals came 
 along who claimed to be from Salt Lake. They reported 
 that they had seen Indians one day traveling east of 
 headquarters. I took two men and started out and was 
 gone about a week, but did not see an Indian, or a track 
 or sign of one, and when we returned the Colonel con- 
 cluded that he had been misled by the packers. 
 
 Col. Elliott now ordered me to take fifty men, with 
 two weeks' provisions, and go as far as we could with 
 
176 OFF FQK SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 that amount of rations, or until we should meet some 
 emigrants. We were gone about three weeks, but did 
 not set either Indians or emigrants. The fact is, that 
 it was getting so late in the fall that the Indians had all 
 gon? south, and the emigrants were not moving on the 
 desert at that season. 
 
 On our return the Colonel had everything ready and 
 we pulled out for San Francisco. We camped the first 
 night at Steamboat Springs, a place that has since grown 
 to be a famous health resort. On the second day we 
 passed over the country where now stands Carson City, 
 the capital of Nevada. At that time, this region, like all 
 of that country then, was a wild, unsettled, sagebrush 
 desert, or mountain wilderness. 
 
 The morning we left Eagle Valley the Colonel lode 
 in advance of the column with me, and I saw there was 
 lomething on bis mind. In a little while he said he 
 would like to kill a deer with big horns, so that he could 
 send it the horns to his father in New York, who had 
 never seen a deer, and he added that notwithstanding he 
 the Colonel had be^.n on the Pacific coast two years, 
 he had never killed a deer in his life. I told him 
 that I would fix it for him to get ont the very next day, 
 and he was as pleased ai a child. 
 
 That night we camped by a big spring at the mouth 
 of a great canyon, and about the spring stood a number 
 of large pine trees. Many persons who had passed that 
 way had carved their names in the bark of tht trees, and 
 among the names were two that w$r quite familiar to 
 me. One of these was the nane of C*pt. Molujean I 
 wondered how he had done it without stuttering and 
 
COL. ELLIOTT'S FIRST DEER. 177 
 
 the other was the name of James Beckwith. On the 
 same tree was written with lead pencil: "Sixty miles to 
 Beckwith's Hotel." 
 
 On my favorite horse, Pinto, I rode out with the 
 Colonel for a deer hunt. While riding along the canyon 
 
 The Colonel fired and brought the big buck to the ground. 
 
 about two miles from where the command had camped, 
 1 saw a large doe crossing the canyon and coming down 
 the hill toward us. I signaled the Colonel to halt and 
 1 shot the doe, breaking her neck, while sitting on my 
 horse I then told the Colonel to secrete himself behind 
 
[78 A PROUE COLONEL. 
 
 i tree and he would soon fee the male deer, and he 
 would stand a good show to get a fine pair of horns. In 
 a few moments two deer came "Bracking the one I had 
 shot. 
 
 "Be ready, now," said I, <( and when he stops let 
 him have it." So when the deei were within about 
 nfty yards I gave a keen whistle and they stopped, stock 
 still. The Colonel fired and brought the. big buck to the 
 ground. The other, which was a small one, started to 
 v'un, but I sent a bullet after it that made more venison. 
 
 We now had plenty of meat, and the Colonel was as 
 proud over killing that deer as I was over my ftrr f . pair of 
 boots. 
 
 We stopped here until the command came up, dressed 
 the venison and went on our way rejoicing. 
 
 Soon we were ascending the Sierra Nevada Moun- 
 tains, and about three o'clock we struck the snow-line. 
 
 To one who has never gone from comparative summe* 
 in a few hours' ride, to the depths of winter and a con- 
 siderable depth of snow, the sensation is a strange one. 
 Of course, I had often done that before. But having 
 more leisure to think of it now, and having more to do 
 with the snow, I thought of its strangeness, and I am re- 
 minded of a little girl whom I have become acquainted 
 with long since those days, and the effect that the first 
 sight of snow had upon her. She was born in San Fran- 
 cisco, and had not seen any snow up to the time when 
 she was three years old. Her parents were corning east 
 with her on a railroad train, which runs over about the 
 same ground that we were on at the time I was there 
 with Col. Elliott. Awakening in the morning in a sleep- 
 
J 
 
HOTELIHO SNOW. 
 
 lag-car on top of the Sierras, the little one looked out 
 and seeing the vast fields of whiteness, she exclaimed 
 "Do look, mamma; the world is covered with sugar." 
 
 As we ascended the mountains the snow became sc 
 deep in a little while that we were forced to camp. The 
 next morning the herders were directed to take the stoclr 
 ahead in order to tramp down the snow to make a trail 
 but in four miles it -became so deep that it was impos 
 sible to proceed further in that manner, and then th* 
 Colonel detailed fifty men to shovel snow, but having 
 Dnly a few shovels, wooden ones were made that answered 
 the purpose, and while we were shoveling, the horsei 
 were also frequently driven back and forth over the trail 
 and in three days we had a passable road for the wagonk 
 
 At the end of the three days we reached the edge OJ 
 the snow on the opposite side of the mountains, and 
 there being a beautiful camping ground and the first nigb* 
 out of the snow for some time, the luxury of it was fully 
 appreciated by all hands. 
 
 On a pine tree here I again saw signs of my old friend 
 Jim Beckwith, for there was written: "Twenty miles tv 
 Beckwith's Hotel. " So you see that even in that fat 
 away country, and at that early day, even the pionee 
 had learned the uses of. out -door advertising. 
 
 The next morning we took an early start and travelet 
 hard all day, anticipating with much pleasure that a* 
 night we should enjoy all the luxuries of the season a; 
 Beckwith's Hotel. And we did, to the extent that thi> 
 yegion and t^ "!<<** of San Francisco could afford. 
 
 W* reaci ce about sunset that evening, am* 
 
 tb* command *r$nc into camp and I went tp Jim's n* 
 
1 8C A PRESENT ATI OH 
 
 log house. He had built one and had started in to build 
 the second, having two carpenters at work finishing 
 them up. 
 
 After supper Col. Elliott and all his officers, both 
 commissioned and non-commissioned, came to Jim's 
 house, where, after a social chat and having cracked a 
 few jokes, which latter was really a part of the business 
 connected with this life, Col. Elliott pulled off his over- 
 coat, laid it and his hat on a bed, stepped up near the 
 table and said: 
 
 ' Mr. Beckwith, I wish to say a few words to your 
 friend, Mr. Drannan, in behalf of myself and the other 
 officers present. " Jim told him to go ahead, which he 
 did, telling how faithful I had been and what valuable 
 services I had rendered both to him and the emigrants. 
 He went on and made quite a lengthy speech, in conclu- 
 sion of which he said: "Mr. Drannan, as a slight token 
 of our appreciation of your services while with us, I now 
 present to you this pair of glasses," whereupon he handed 
 me a fine pair of field glasses which he took from his 
 overcoat pocket, "and here are two navy revolvers that 
 Capt. Mills and Lieut. Harding wish to present to you as 
 a token of their friendship. " 
 
 This took me wholly by surprise, as I had not ex- 
 pected anything of the kind, and I was so dumbfounded 
 that all I could say was to thank them for the presents, 
 the thought never having entered my head that my ser- 
 vices had been so highly appreciated by the officers, of 
 those four companie' 1 
 
 Col. Elliott said && he should go out on the 
 
 plains the following summer, which in all probability he 
 
TIPPING GLASSES. ill 
 
 would ; he wanted me to go with him without tail. I 
 promised him that I would, provided I was in the coun- 
 try when he startecf out. 
 
 After Col. Elliott had closed his remarks and taker- 
 his seat, Jim Beckwith arose and made quite a speech in 
 his plain, rude language, addressing his remarks princi- 
 pally to Col. Elliott, in which he said: "Colonel, I 
 would not have recommended this boy to you so highly 
 if I had not been with him long enough to know that 
 when he starts in to do a thing he goes at it for all there 
 is in him, and, as I told you, he has been with Kit Car- 
 son ever since he was a boy, and I knowed that if he didn't 
 have the everlas^ng grit in him, Kit Carson wouldn't 
 have kept him around so long, I am very glad indeed, 
 Colonel, that he has filled the bill, and now the I^iun 
 fightin' is all over for this season and 'twill be some time 
 before we all meet again, if we ever do. I have nothing 
 of value to present to you, but such as I have is as free 
 as the water in the brook." 
 
 At this he produced a gallon jug of whiskey, set it on 
 the table, gave us some glasses and told us all to help 
 ourselves. This wound up the evening's exercises, and 
 after each had tipped the glass about three times we 
 broke up the lodge and each went on his way rejoicing. 
 
 Before the Colonel left that night he told me that we 
 would divide the captured horses the next morning. I 
 told him that all I wanted was the five horses that I had 
 captured from the five Indian scouts when I "* -" k ~1 
 in to scout for him, but the next morning I i 
 
 tit when tfca horses were brought in and m*cl* in* a> 
 
1 82 A LIVELY TOWN. 
 
 vision, Ther* war s^cty-throe *f thsm, a&d ba left fif- 
 teen t9 my share. 
 
 I stayed at Jim Beckwith's for about two weeks, and 
 his carpenters having the houses completed, we saddled 
 up four horses and took them to Hangtown. It was 
 a distance of twenty miles to Hangtown, which at that 
 time was one of the loveliest mining towns in California. 
 There were between four and five thousand inhabitants 
 in and around the place. During the day it appeared 
 dead, as there was scarcely a person to be seen on the 
 streets; but at night it would be full of miners, who, 
 it seemed, came to town for no other purpose than to 
 spend the money they had earned during the day. 
 
 This winter passed off, apparently, very slowly, being 
 the most lonesome winter I had put in since I itruck 
 the mountains. 
 
 Along about the middle of February our groceries 
 were running short and Jim went to Hangtown for 
 supplies. On his return he brought me a letter from 
 Col. Elliott, asking me to come to San Francisco at 
 once. 
 
 I asked him what he thought of it, and he told me 
 by all means to go. 
 
 I told him I would have to stop in San Francisco 
 and buy me a suit of clothes before going out to the 
 fort to see Col. Elliott. He thought this was useless, 
 saying: "Your buckskin suit that Kit Carson gave you 
 is just what you want for a trip like that." 
 
 It'".*' t if I wore such 'a suit in civilization 
 the PL^.O ,,o. 1 make light of me, and I hated the 
 idea of being the laughing stock for other people. 
 
BECKWITH'S HOTBL. 
 
 183 
 
 Jim said: "It is Col. Elliott you are going to see, 
 and he would rather havt you com that way than any 
 other." 
 
 I took my suit down and 
 looked at it, and it was a 
 fine one of the kind. I had 
 never* worn it since Uncle 
 Kit's wedding, so it was 
 
 prr.ctically new. 1 decided to wear 
 it, and the next morning I started 
 
 for San . _ firn accompanying me to 1 
 
 to take A he hoibes back '/> his ranche. 
 
1 84 A ROUGH RIDE. 
 
 At Hangtown I took the stage for Sacramento, which, 
 by the way, was the first time I had ever ridden in a 
 stage-coach. 
 
 We started from Hangtown at five o'clock in the 
 morning and at twelve o'clock that night tha driver drew 
 rein at the American Exchange Hotel in Sacramento. 
 The coach was loaded down to its utmost capacity, there 
 being nine passengers aboard. The roads were very 
 rough at this season of the year being the latter part of 
 February and I would rather have ridden on the hurri- 
 cane deck of the worst bucking mustang in California 
 than in that coach. 
 
 This hotel was kept at that time by a man named 
 Lamb. 
 
 That night when the proprietor assigned the passen- 
 gers to their respective rooms he asked us if we wished 
 to take the boat for San Francisco the next morning. I 
 told him that I did, whereupon he asked me if I wanted 
 my breakfast. I told him that I did, saying that I didn't 
 want to go from there to San Francisco without anything 
 to eat. This caused quite a laugh among the bystanders; 
 but I did not see the point, for at that time I did not 
 know that one could get a meal on a steamboat, for I 
 had never been near one. 
 
 Just as I stepped on the boat next morning, a man 
 rushed up to me with a "Hello there! how are you?" as 
 he grasped me by the hand. Seeing that I did not recog- 
 nize him, he said: "I don't believe you know me." I 
 told him that he had one the best of me. He said: 
 * 'You are the boy scout that was with Cu.pi. Mill 
 summer, and you rode in my wagon." Then I recog- 
 
AT THE FORT. 
 
 I8 5 
 
 nized him. His name was Hoalry, and at the time was 
 fanning a restaurant in San Francisco, and he insisted on 
 my going to his 
 place when I got 
 to the c i t y, 
 which i n v i t a- 
 tion I accepted. 
 H i s establish- 
 ment was known 
 as the Miners' 
 Restaurant. 
 
 Mrs. Healey 
 and her little 
 daughter, eleven 
 years old, knew ..j don>t believe you know me 
 
 me as soon as I 
 
 entered the door, and were apparently as glad to see me 
 as though I had been a relative of the family. 
 
 The next morning when I offered to settle my bill 
 they would not take a cent, but requested me while in 
 the city to make my home with them. 
 
 That day I went out to the Fort, which was three 
 miles from the city, and on arriving there the first man I 
 met was Lieut. Harding, who at once conducted me to 
 Col. Elliott's quarters. 
 
 That afternoon we made the rounds of the Fort, and 
 Col. Elliott, when introducing me, would say: "This is 
 the 'boy scout,' who was out with us last summer, and 
 whom you have heard me speak of so often." 
 
 I made my home with Col. Elliott and his wife during 
 my stay at the Fort, which was two weeks. 
 
I 86 SOMETHING NEW. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SOMETHING WORSE THAN FIGHTING INDIANS. DANCE Al 
 COL. ELLIOTT'S. CONSPICUOUS SUIT OF BUCKSKIN. 
 
 I MANAGE TO GET BACK TO BECKWITH'S. 
 
 That night Mrs. Elliott had every lady that belonged 
 around the Fort at her house, and she took the "boy 
 scout" along the line and introduced him to every one of 
 the ladies. This was something new to me, for it was 
 the first time in my life that I had struck society, and I 
 would have given all of my 'previous summer's wages to 
 have been away from there. I did not know how to con- 
 duct myself, and every time I made a blunder which 
 seemed to me every time I made a move I would at- 
 tempt to smooth it over, and always made a bad matter 
 worse . 
 
 Next morning at the breakfast table I told the Colo- 
 nel and his wife that I was going back into the moun- 
 tains as fast as I could get there. I knew I could track 
 Indians, and fight them if necessary, but I did not know 
 1 ;,w to entertain ladies, especially when my best clothes 
 were only Indian-tailored buckskin. 
 
 Mrs. Elliott assured me that she w r ould not have had 
 me come there dressed differently, had it been in her 
 power to prevent it. "Dressed otherwise than you are," 
 she said, "you would not be the same 'boy scout' that 
 my husband has told us so much concerning." 
 
struck society. 
 
AN OUTLANDISH FIGURE. 
 
 Of course this was encouraging, and I concluded that 
 I might not have been so painfully ridiculous as I had 
 supposed. For, be it known, I had been scarcely able 
 to sleep the night before for thinking of what an outland- 
 ish figure I had cut that night before all those high-toned 
 ladies, and of the sport my presence among them rmut 
 have created. 
 
 However, I felt much better after the pleasant way in 
 which Mrs. Elliott declared she looked at it, and with 
 renewed self-complacence proceeded to discuss with the 
 Colonel his plans for the next summer's campaign. 
 
 He informed me that he intended to go out with four 
 companies of soldiers, and would locate a short distance 
 east of last year's quarters, at a place where the town 
 of Wadsworth has since been built. Plenty of good 
 water and an 'V / 
 
 abundance of 
 
 were 
 
 r ;i e r e, and 
 ,vith two com- 
 panics he 
 would make 
 his headquar- 
 ters there, 
 "the other two 
 companies he 
 would send 
 a b o u t o n e Thft Co)onel and : talk matters over 
 
 hundred miles 
 
 further east, to the vicinity of Steen's Mountain, and it 
 was his wish thit I should take charge of the sconts 
 and operate be'.ween the two camps. 
 
1 88 AT THE DANCE. 
 
 Notwithstanding I had a good home with Col. Elliott 
 and his wife as long as I wished to'remain, it seemed to 
 me that this was the longest and lonesomest week I had 
 ever experienced. Everything being so different from 
 my customary way of living, I could not content myself. 
 
 The day before I was to stajrt back home it was ar- 
 ranged that I should return to Jim Beckwith's ranche and 
 keep the Colonel posted by letter in regard to the snow 
 in the mountains, and when he would be able to cross. 
 Then I was to join him at Beckwith's. 
 
 The following evening Mrs. Elliott gave a party, 
 which was attended by all the ladies and gentlemen of 
 the garrison. There was to be a general good time, per- 
 haps the last party of the season, as it was approaching 
 the time for preparations for the next campaign against 
 the Indians. 
 
 When all the guests had arrived and the spacious 
 house was a blaze of light and happiness fair women 
 smiling and their musical voices fairly making a delight- 
 ful hub-bub of light conversation, and the gentlemen, 
 superb in their gold-trimmed uniforms, or impressive in 
 full evening dress the manager of the dance sang out 
 for all to take partners for some sort of a bowing and 
 scraping drill that is a mystery to me to this day. I had 
 seen the fandango in Taos, and elsewhere in the Mexican 
 parts of the southwest, but this was the first time I had 
 seen Americans dance, and it was all appallingly ne*y to 
 me. 
 
 I sat in a corner like a homely girl at a kissing-bee 
 and bad nothing to say. 
 
 After the crowd had danced about two hours, the 
 
SWELL PEOPLE. 189 
 
 *oor manager sang out, "Ladies' choice!" or something 
 hat meant the same thing, and to my surprise and ter- 
 or, Mrs. Elliott made a bee-line for me and asked me to 
 tssist her in dancing a quadrille. I had no more idea of 
 ft quadrille than I had of something that was invented 
 yesterday, and I begged her to excuse me, telling her 
 that I knew nothing whatever of dancing. She declared, 
 however, that I had looked on long enough to learn and 
 that I would go through all right. I hung back like a 
 balky horse at the foot of a slippery hill, but between 
 Mrs. Elliott and the prompter I was almost dragged out 
 on the floor. 
 
 The reader may be able to conceive a faint idea of 
 my situation. I was now twenty-three years old, and 
 this was the first time I had been in civilization since I 
 had left St. Louis, a boy of fifteen. Here I was, among 
 those swell people, gorgeous in "purple and fine linen," 
 so to speak; ladies in silks, ruffles and quirlymacues, 
 gentlemen in broadcloth, gold lace and importance, and 
 I in only buckskin from head to foot. I would have 
 freely given everything I possessed to have been out of 
 that, but my excuses failed utterly, and finally I went 
 into it as I would an Indian fight, put on a bold front and 
 worked for dear life. 
 
 I found it quite different to what I had expected. 
 Instead of making light of me, as I feared they would, 
 each lady in the set tried to assist me all she could. 
 
 Wh^n on the floor it seemed to me that fivery man, 
 woman and child were looking at me, as indeed they 
 were, or rather at my suit of buckskin, that, worked full 
 of beads and porcupine quils, was the moat beautiful suit 
 
I9O THE DOUBLE-SHUFFLP 
 
 of its kind I have ever seen. But it was so different from 
 the dress of the others that it made me decidedly con- 
 spicuous. When on the floor and straightened up I felt 
 as if I were about nine feet high, and that my feet were 
 about twenty inches long and weighed near fifty pounds 
 each. 
 
 The prompter called out, ' 'Balance alM" and I forgot 
 to dance until all the others were most through balanc.' 
 ing, then I turned loose on the double-shuffle, this bein^ 
 the only step I knew, and I hadn't practiced Miat very 
 much. About the time I would get started in on this 
 step the prompter would call something else, and tnus 
 being caught between two hurries I would have to rvn to 
 catch up with the other dancers. However, with the 
 assistance of Mrs. Elliott, the other good ladies, the 
 prompter, and anybody else in reach, I managed to gel 
 through, but I had never gone into an Indian fight with 
 half the dread that I went into that dance, and never es- 
 caped from one with more thankfulness. 
 
 The following morning, after bidding Col, Elliott. 
 his wife ind all the other of my new-found friends good- 
 bye, I started on my return to Beckwith's ranche, per- 
 fectly willing to resign my high-life surroundings to go 
 back to the open and congenial fields of nature and an 
 iidescribable freedom. 
 
 I found Beckwith suffering severely from an old arrow 
 wound that he had received in a fight with the Utes 
 Fort Hall in 1848. 
 
FiCRING SCOUTS. 49* 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 DRILLING THE DETAILED SCOUTS. WE GET AMONG THE 
 UTES. FOI/R SCOUT? ^AVE NOT REPORTED YET. 
 ANOTHER LIVELY FIGHT. BECK WITH MAKES A RAISE. 
 
 It was late spring when the snow began to melt, but 
 't went away very fast when it once started. About the 
 jirst of June I wrote to Col. Elliott that by the tenth of 
 the month he could cross the mountains. He did not 
 arrive until the 2Oth of June, then I joined him and we 
 started across the mountains. 
 
 By direction of the Colonel each of the captains de- 
 tailed four men from their respective companies to be my 
 assistants, arid at my suggestion young men were chosen, 
 such as myse'f, who could ride forty-eight hours, if nec- 
 essary, without stopping, and I asked for men wh* wr 
 not afraid to gc alone, not afraid to fight, and, above ai., 
 men that would never allow themselves to be takeu 
 prisoner. 
 
 The command having been drawn up for dress parade, 
 the orderly sergeants called thdr rolls, and whenever a 
 man's name was called whom the captains wished to de- 
 tail, he was directed to stand aside. Up to this time the 
 men did not know and were wondering what was up. 
 Col. Elliott informed them alter the drill was over, and 
 said to them: 
 
 M Soldiers, this man, Capt. Orannan, is now your 
 
192 ON THE HUNT. 
 
 chief, and you will act according to his orders ^ &/y 
 all times. He will instruct you when to meet aim at his 
 private quarters." 
 
 The next three days were spent in drillin^ the scouts 
 to mount and dismount quickly, to shoot at *ome object 
 when on the dead run, to lie on the side of the horse and 
 shoot at an object on the opposite side winle running at 
 frill speed, and a great deal of other work of that kind. 
 
 Three days later we started east, X apt. Mills* and 
 Lieut. Harding with their companies, expecting to go 
 about one hundred miles before locating permanently for 
 the summer. I started out in advance of the command 
 with my entire force of scouts. We traveled *bout fif- 
 teen miles together, when we separated, four making the 
 north side of the emigrant trail, with instructions to keep 
 fron? four to five miles from it; four keepug the trail 
 and four, with myself, south of the trail. I gave the 
 men north instructions in case they should find an Indian 
 trail to follow it until they were sure the Indians were 
 making for the emigrant trail, and then dispatch one 
 man to notify the men on the trail, the uther three fol- 
 low the Indians, and at the end of three 'ays all were to 
 meet at a certain point on the trail whe.kwe expected to 
 meet the soldiers. 
 
 The second day out we struck <, . Indian trail south 
 of the road, but it being an old one ve did not follow it 
 but made a note of the number we thought there were iv 
 the band, an that night we pulled for the emigrant trail, 
 expecting to meet the soldiers there. 
 
 We did not meet the soldiers, but rneV th^ four 
 who had traveled on the emigrant 
 
NO PROVISIONS. 
 
 We got no word that night from the men north, but 
 
 according to agreement we went to a hill near by and 
 
 bnik two fires of sagebrush, that they might know where 
 
 <ve were, and if in need of assistance they could dispatch, 
 
 >ut did not see nor hear anything of them. 
 
 The next morning I kept the emigrant trail myself, 
 -ending the other squad of men south, with instructions 
 to meet me at Humboldt Wells, telling them about the 
 distance it was from where we were then camped, and 
 describing the place to to them. There we would wait 
 until the command came up, as we were now running 
 bhort of rations. That day the party south struck the 
 same trail that we had seen the day before; two of them 
 followed it and the other two came to camp to report. 
 The party that had started out north of the trail got into 
 camp just at dusk, tired and hungry, and the following 
 morning at daylight the other two from the south came 
 into camp. From what I could learn from them the band 
 of Indians they had been following were traveling along 
 almost parallel with the emigrant trail, looking for emi- 
 grants, as it was now getting time that the emigrants 
 were beginning to string along across the plains en-route 
 for the gold fields of California. 
 
 Our provisions had run out, so we sat up late that 
 night awaiting the arrival of the command, but we looked 
 in vain. 
 
 The following morning, just as I could begin to see 
 that it was getting a little light in the east, myself and 
 one assistant scout crawled out quietly, without disturb- 
 ing the other boys, to kill some game. We had not gone 
 far from camp when we aw nine antelope; w both fired 
 
194 NEW RECRUITS. 
 
 and both shot the same antelope. We dressed the game 
 and took it to camp, arriving there just as the other two 
 scouts came in from the south. The boys were all 
 up in camp, and considerable excitement prevailed 
 among them, they having heard two shots, and thought 
 the Indians had attacked us. They were all hungry as 
 wolves, so we broiled and ate antelope almost as long a^ 
 there was any to eat. 
 
 Almost the entire scout force were from New York, 
 and were new recruits who had never known what it 
 was to lough it, and the}' said this was the first meal 
 they had ever made on meat alone. After breakfast was 
 over, it now being understood that we would lie over 
 until the supply train should come up, my first assistant 
 scout and two others took a trip to a mountain some two 
 miles from camp, which was the highest mountain near 
 us, taking my glasses along to look for the supply train. 
 In about two hours one of the scouts returned to camp 
 in great haste and somewhat excited, saying that about 
 fifteen or twenty miles distant they hrd seen a band of 
 Indians who were traveling in the direction of camp. 
 We all saddled our horses, left a note at camp informing 
 Capt. Mills where we ha. gone and for what purpose. 
 We started for what has ever since been known as Look- 
 out Mountain of course not the famous Lookoat Moun- 
 tain of Tenneesse and there joined the othe;* three 
 scou-ts. From the top of this mountain we could get a 
 good view of the Indians through the field glasses. We 
 watched them until about one o'clock, when they went in f o 
 camp in the head of a little ravine some five miles distant 
 This convinced us that there was water and that they 
 
A BAND OF UTES. 19$ 
 
 had stopped for the night. We located them as well as 
 we could, and the entire scout force, being thirteen all 
 told, started across the country for their camp. 
 
 Seven of this number of scouts had never seen a wild 
 Indian and were over anxious to have a little sport 
 with the redskins. The Indians, being in a little ravine, 
 we were able to get within a half a mile of them be- 
 fore they could see us. After advancing as far as we 
 thought piudent, one of the scouts and myself dismounted 
 and crept through the sagebrush within three hundred 
 yards of them. Their fire was yet burning and the In- 
 dians wee lounging around, everything indicating that 
 they haiA just cooked and eaten their dinner. I counted 
 them aod made out twenty-one, my assistant scout made 
 twenty -three, and instead of being Pah-Utes, as we ex- 
 pected, they were Utes. The boys all being anxious to 
 try their hand, I decided to make the attack at once. 
 Returning to where I had left the other scouts, I told 
 them my plan of attack, telling them to bear in mind 
 that one shot well calculated was worth three or four at 
 random. I also told them as soon as I gave the war- 
 whoop for each of -them to make all the noise he could. 
 
 Now we all mounted, and by riding up a little ravine 
 we were able to get within fifty rods of them before they 
 could see us. 
 
 Before making the charge I told the boys to draw 
 their pistols, and when the pistols were emptied to draw 
 sabres and cut the savages down before they could get to 
 their horses. We rode slowly and cautiously until almost 
 in sight of the Indians, when I gave the word "Charge!" 
 and all pat spurs to their horses, raised the yell, and one 
 
196 THE BATTLE. 
 
 minute later we were in their midst, arrows arid bullets 
 flying in all directions. I received an arrow wcund in 
 the calf of my right leg, the man immediately on my 
 right got shot through the left or bridle arm, and one of 
 the raw recruits got his horse shot from under him. 
 
 He did not wait for orders, but drew his sabre and 
 went to work cutting them down as he came to them. 
 When we first made the charge some of the Indians 
 made a desperate attempt to get their horses, but the 
 scouts shot and cut them down, not allowing one of them 
 to mount. The Indians, much to my surprise, fought as 
 long as .there was one of them left standing. The battle 
 lasted about fifteen minutes, and when it was over we 
 counted the dead Indians and found the number to be 
 nineteen, but there were twenty-one horses, so we were 
 confident that two Indians either escaped or fell in the 
 sagebrush where we could not find them. 
 
 We gathered up the horses and ropes that belonged 
 to the Indians. The man that had his horse killed in 
 the battle, caught the best horse in the band, threw the 
 saddle on him and started for camp, considering we had 
 done a good day's work. As we rode down the ravine in 
 the directiorrof the emigrant trail some of the boys looked 
 in that direction and saw the smoke curling up from a 
 camp-fire. 
 
 "The command has arrived!" shouted one of the 
 boys. 
 
 I proposed that we give the Captain a surprise. We 
 all dismounted, and each fastened a scalp to the brow- 
 band of his bridle, and when the Captain saw us coming 
 and saw that each had it scalp, he said: "Boys, left 
 
I 
 
 i 
 
STKBN'S MOUNTAIN. 197 
 
 them three cheers. " At that the valley rang out 
 with the yells. 
 
 This pleased the new recruits that had been engaged 
 in the battle, and I can truthfully say that I never saw 
 the same number of green men equal them in the first 
 engagement, for every one of them fought like heroes. 
 
 We dismounted, turned our horses over to the herdel 
 and called for supper. This was the first square meal 
 that it had been our pleasure to sit down to for four 
 days, and this was where none of us shrunk from duty, 
 In the least. 
 
 By this time the wound in my leg was beginning to 
 pain me, and gave me more trouble than I anticipated. 
 The next morning it was badly swollen, and I was not 
 able to ride horseback for several days. 
 
 That morning we pulled for Steen's Mountain, which 
 we supposed to be about forty miles from where we were 
 camped. 
 
 Not being able to ride horseback, I rode in one of 
 the ambulances. 
 
 From here we kept guards out on each side of the 
 trail, with orders to keep from five to six miles from the 
 train, and if any Indians were seen to report at once. 
 
 The second day in the afternoon Capt. Mills estab- 
 lished his headquarters about one mile from the trail, in 
 a beautiful spot; plenty of water, an abundance of IMHH! 
 grass, and a few pine trees scattered here and there, 
 making 1 it an unusually pleasant place for quarters that 
 summer. 
 
 Nut being able to ride, I stayed in camp, but Miit all 
 the other scouts out. The second clay my first as-istant 
 
198 FOUR SCOUTS LOST. 
 
 returned and reported having found the trail, as he 
 thought, of about fifty Indians, traveling west, and about 
 paralled with the emigrant trail. 
 
 The next morning I started my assistant and three 
 scouts after the Indians, with orders to report as soon as 
 they had the redskins located. 
 
 They were gone four days and no word came from 
 them. I began to be very uneasy, as well asCapt. Mills, 
 thinking something must have happened them or they 
 would have returned, as they only took three days' ra- 
 tions with them. I took four other scouts and went on 
 their trail. 
 
 The reader will understand that in this country the 
 soil is somewhat sandy, and a horse is easily tracked. 
 Our horses being shod, it was easy to distinguish their 
 tracks from that of the Indians, horses. My would give 
 me much trouble, but we followed the trail of the other 
 scouts for some distance after striking the trail of the 
 Indians and their horses being shod, we could easily 
 track them, but finally they became so obliterated that 
 we could see no more trace of the shod horses. We 
 sought in vain to get some sign of them, and came to 
 the conclusion that while the scouts were trailing the In- 
 dians another band had stolen up behind them and eithre 
 killed or taken them all prisoners, for we could get no 
 trace of them, nor have they ever been heard of since. 
 As soon as I returned to quarters, by the consent of 
 Captr Mills, I detailed two men of my scout force to 
 carry a dispatch to Col. Elliott. As the Indians were 
 now too far west for Capt. Mills to attempt to follow 
 them, I sent the two best men I had to bearthe message 
 
ANOTHER BAND. 199 
 
 to the Colonel. They made the trip in two nights, rid- 
 ing at eight and lying over in the daytime. The next 
 day alter the Colonel received the dispatch his scouts 
 discovered the same band of Indians, and Col. Elliott 
 sent one company of soldiers out at once after them. 
 The soldiers overhauled them at Clover Valley, which 
 was about forty miles south of the emigrant trail, and 
 attacked the redskins, but they were too much for the 
 soldiers. In the engagement the loss to the command 
 was sixteen men killed, and I never knew just how many 
 were wounded or how many Indians were killed. The 
 soldiers had to retreat. All I ever learned from this 
 battle I learned from the dispatch bearers, as they 
 stayed at Col. Elliott's quarters until after the soldiers 
 had returned from the engagement 
 
 From this on I kept scouts out south of the trail con- 
 tinually. 
 
 One evening one of the scouts came in and reported 
 having seen a little band of Indians some twelve or fif- 
 teen miles south of the trail. The other three scouts that 
 were oui; with him remained to watch the Indians while 
 he came to report. The scout was not able to tell just 
 the number, as they were some distance away. The 
 other three scouts secreted their horses, crawled to the 
 top of the highest hill near by and lay there in the sage- 
 brush and with glasses watched the Indians, who were 
 traveling almost in the direction where the scouts lay, 
 bearing a little south, so that the scouts did not have to 
 -hange their hiding place. I mounted my horse for the 
 6tst time since I had been laid up, and in company with 
 
2OO REINFORCEMENTS. 
 
 five other scouts, including the one who had brought the 
 message to me, started to investigate the mab ./. 
 
 We rode to where the other three scouts had been 
 left, and they were awaiting our arrival. They had lain 
 on the hill and watched the Indians go into camp and 
 then returned to where the dispatch bearer had left them. 
 
 After holding a council for about five minutes we all 
 mounted and rode as near the Indians as we considered 
 safe, and dismounted. Taking another scout who had 
 been watching them, I crawled as near as we dared to 
 their camp to try to ascertain their number. We decided 
 that there were about fifty. It was perilous to get very 
 close for the reason that the Indians had a number of 
 dogs, and when we would get too near the dogs would 
 begin to bark, and three or four Indians would raise up 
 and look about and every Indian in the band would 
 listen. When we returned to where we had left the other 
 scouts they were all prepared for an attack, but I told 
 them there were too many for us to tackle alone. Be- 
 sides, they were Utes, the worst Indians in the whole 
 country to fight. 
 
 We were now about fifteen miles from headquarters, 
 30 I dispatched two men at once to Capt. Mills in all 
 haste, requesting him to be there by daybreak, if it were 
 within the bounds of possibility. This being a sandy, 
 sagebrush conntry, one could not ride.at full speed, but 
 the scouts made good time, nevertheless, and Capt. Mills 
 and his command were with us before daylight. We met 
 him about a mile from where the Indians were camped, 
 and I tnl<| him how the ground lay and the general sur- 
 roundings us best I could, and I suggested that as on ac 
 
THE CHARGE. 3OI 
 
 count of the dogs I had not been able to locate the horses 
 of the Indians, it would be advisable to wait until day- 
 light to make the attack. 
 
 We waited about an hour, when the Captain said h<; 
 thought it was light enough to kill Indians. He gave 
 orders to mount, drew his men up in line and rode back 
 and forth, up and down the line, instructing them how to 
 proceed, saying: 
 
 "When I give the word, 'charge!' every man draw 
 his pistol, and when within fifty yards, begin to fire. 
 Don't fire at random, but take good aim, and when your 
 pistols are empty draw your sabres and cut them down. 
 Don't let one escape. Don't wait for further orders; you 
 have them, now carry them out." 
 
 Capt. Mills rode to the left wing and asked me to 
 take the right. I told him I thought it best that myself 
 and the scout force should make a dash for the Indian 
 horses as soon as he made the charge, for if we could 
 succeed in getting the horses we need not let one Indian 
 escape. 
 
 It wa;- now so light that we could see their ponies on 
 the hill just beyond their camp. All being ready, and I 
 having instructed my assistants, the Captain ordered 
 them to charge. I made a dash to the right with my en- 
 tire scout force. This was a great surprise to the red- 
 skins. They were nearly all abed yet, except a few of 
 the earliest risers. Those who were up made a desperate 
 rush for their horses, but unavailingly. We got there first 
 and stampeded the herd. Some of the horses were pick- 
 eted, but we cut the ropes as fast as we came to them, 
 
4 PRETTY RACE. 
 
 and before any of the Indians could get to their horses 
 
 we had them on the dead run. 
 
 Taking a circuitous route we drove the horses around 
 
 between the 
 scene of bat- 
 tle and head- 
 quarters. 
 When about 
 a mile distant 
 my first as- 
 sistant and 
 myself re- 
 turned to the 
 battle ground 
 leaving the 
 other scouts 
 to guard the 
 horses. We 
 
 arrived at the 
 
 Two young bucks started to run. scene just in 
 
 time to see 
 
 the last Indian fall. When it was good light the Indians 
 could be seen lying around in every direction. The or- 
 derly sergeant and two privates were looking around in 
 the sagebrush, thinking there might be some of them 
 hiding there, and all of a sudden two young bucks 
 started up and began to run, and for about three hun- 
 dred yards they had what I thought to be the prettiest 
 race I had ever witnessed. The two Indians on foot and 
 the soldiers on horseback, running through the sage- 
 brush and every man in^ the crowd, from the Captain 
 
A DAY S REST. 2O3 
 
 down, yelling at the top of his voice. Here I did the 
 poorest shooting that I had ever done in my life, empty- 
 ing one of my revolvers and not touching an Indian. 
 But the soldiers finally got them. 
 
 We counted the dead braves and found them to be 
 rty-eight in number. 
 
 In this engagement Capt. Mills did not lose a man, 
 And only one was wounded. This was the result of making 
 the attack so early in the morning. Had it been later, 
 after the Indians were all up, they would have made a 
 harder fight. 
 
 The battle being over we all started for headquarters, 
 feeling jubilant over the victory. 
 
 We reached headquarters at ten o'clock in the morn- 
 ing,, after which Capt. Mills told us we had done enough 
 for one day, and that all could take it easy for the 
 rest ot the day. The next morning I struck out east 
 on trie emigrant trail, sending one man north and one 
 south of the trail, each taking three days' rations, our 
 object being to meet emigrants, if there were any, and 
 guard them through to Capt. Mills' quarters, as it was 
 now time for the emigrants to come stringing along; a 
 time that heretofore among the Indians had been con- 
 sidered a harvest in this section of the country. 
 
 The first day in the afternoon I rode to a high hill, 
 took my glasses, and looking east I saw a train of 
 emigrants swinging along. This was the first train of 
 the season. The s^out from the north and also the 
 one from the south li-i i got sight of them, and were 
 pulling for the trail. \V- pushed on and met the train 
 just as it was pulling into camp I called for the captain 
 
204 
 
 A LARGE TRAIN. 
 
 and he came forth. I told him we were scouts for Capt. 
 Mills, and were out for the purpose of protecting emi- 
 grants. The" 
 captain, as 
 well as the 
 people in the 
 train, were 
 very much 
 pleased to 
 know that 
 they were 
 going to have 
 protect ion 
 after that 
 through the 
 hostile coun- 
 I rode to a high hill-top. try. They 
 
 had been 
 
 troubled more or less by Indians all the way through 
 Utah, having -a. great deal of stock, both horses and cat- 
 tle, stolen by the Indians, as they supposed, but among 
 men who were better informed it was. the supposition that 
 they were stolen by white men, for in those days there 
 was a set of white men in Utah much worse than In- 
 dians. 
 
 On learning that I had been in California they had 
 many questions to ask about the gold fields of that noted 
 country. They were expecting to find gold by the bushel 
 when once there. 
 
 This was a large train, there being one hundred and 
 twenty wagons all told. The next morning I sent out 
 
A* BEAUTIFUL VALLEY. 2O$ 
 
 one of my scouts north of the train, the other one ahead, 
 with instructions to keep from one to two miles in front, 
 and I went south of the trail that day. This was done 
 so that if the scouts should see a large band of .Indians 
 they could notify the emigrants and give them a chance 
 to prepare for the battle, but we experienced no trouble 
 on this trip. 
 
 We were two days traveling from where we met the 
 train to Capt. Mills' quarters, and from here the Captain 
 sent a sergeant and twenty men to guide the emigrants 
 through to Col. Elliott's headquarters. 
 
 This kind of work was kept up for about a month, 
 every week, and sometimes two or three trains of emi- 
 grants would pass by, but we experienced no serious 
 trouble the remainder of the season with Indians. 
 
 During this summer the officers in looking through 
 their glasses from different high points around, discov- 
 ered a beautiful valley, which we afterwards learned was 
 named Thousand Springs Valley. Capt. Mills came to 
 the conclusion that this valley at this time cf the year 
 was headquarters for the Utes, and not thinking the dis- 
 tant was so great sent another scout and myself to in- 
 vestigate. 
 
 It may be well to mention the fact here, that in these 
 regions the air is so rarified and clear that distances are 
 very deceptive, objects appearing to be much closer than 
 *hey really are. 
 
 We started with three days' rations, and on the third 
 'lay in the afternoon we struck the valley, just at its 
 mouth on the dtrserl, but the water was warm, and we 
 traveled some distance up the valley, finding the springs 
 
1O6 BREAK CAMP. 
 
 numerous, but all warm. We also found an abundance 
 of grass and plenty of Indian sign, but not fresh. It ap- 
 peared that a large number of Indians had wintered 
 there. After looking the valley over we returned to camp, 
 but by a different route from the one we came. We saw 
 no Indians or fresh sign of them until the second day oJ 
 the return trip, but about two o'clock we came in sight 
 of four Indians traveling eastward. We tried to attack 
 them, but our horses being much jaded, the Indians out* 
 rode us, so we had to give up the chase. We were of the 
 opinion that the four Indians were scouts for a big band 
 making its way to winter quarters. 
 
 A short distance north we secreted our horses in a 
 ravine, and watched for the Indians from the top of a 
 high hill until noon the next day, but all in vain, for we 
 did not see an Indian. We returned to camp, our horses 
 worn out and half starved. The part of country we 
 passed over on this trip is now the most northeastern 
 portion of Nevada, and just what it is good for I have 
 never been able to learn. 
 
 After lying around here watching for emigrants about 
 two weeks longer, and making two different trips east on 
 the emigrant trail, Capt. Mills now concluded that there 
 would be no more emigrants that fall, so we pulled up 
 and moved to Col. Elliott's quarters. We kept scouts 
 out on the trip, but did not see an Indian or even a fresh 
 trail on the trip. On arriving at Col. Elliott's quarters 
 I could see that he was not pleased with the way things 
 had gone with his command during the summer. His 
 men had had two engagements during the season, and 
 bad got the worst of it both times. 
 
A GENERAL LPREE. 2O; 
 
 He had lost twenty-six men, and not a scalp to show 
 for them. 
 
 Capt. Mills felt quite jubilant. He had over sixty 
 Indian horses that he had captured, over sixty scalps, 
 and had not lost a man, with the exception of the four 
 scouts. Col. Elliott did not have much to say, but th 
 Lieutenant declared that the Colonel was very jealous 01 
 Capt. Mills over the past summer's work. 
 
 After remaining at headquarters about a week we 
 pulled out across the Sierra Nevada Mountains, along 
 the same route that we had taken the fall before, some- 
 what earlier, and winter not having yet set in, we ex- 
 perienced no trouble in crossing. The first night we 
 camped at the head of Eagle Valley, and from there to 
 Jim Beckwith's ranche it was sixty miles. 
 
 I being over-anxious to see Jim, saddled up my Pinto 
 horse the next morning and started for his place, making 
 the ride in one day. On my arrival I found Jim doing a 
 rushing business in the hotel line, but was just in the act 
 of selling out his hotel to a man from Sacramento. 
 Beckwith had sold all my horses during the summer at 
 what I thought a good figure, having got fifty dollars per 
 head all around. 
 
 The command came on two days later, pitched their 
 tents and stayed two days, having a red hot time. The 
 men had plenty of money, and Jim Beckwith, who was 
 now running a saloon in connection with his hotel, had 
 plenty of bad whiskey. The Colonel put very little re- 
 striction on his men while they remained there, allowing 
 them to have a general spree, for they had been where 
 
3O8 GEYSERS. 
 
 there was no chance to spend their money, and the little 
 they had was burning their pockets. 
 
 Jim Beckwith made a handsome little clean-up during 
 the two days they were camped there. 
 
 When the Colonel was ready to pull out for San 
 Francisco he came to me and invited me to come to the 
 Fort and spend a few months during the winter. I told 
 him I did not know where I would winter, but preferred 
 to seek quarters where I could hunt for a livelihood. I 
 told him I did not wish to put in another winter lounging 
 around as I did the last one. The Colonel made me a 
 proposition to come to the Fort after I had visited my 
 friend, Jim Beckwith, saying that he would organize a 
 hunting party among the officers and take a trip north of 
 San Francisco on the Russian river. 
 
 The country to which we wished to go is now So- 
 noma County, Cal., of which Santa Rosa is the county 
 seat. In fact the region is now called Santa Rosa Val- 
 ley, and it is well named, for it is a great garden of roses 
 and other beautiful flowers that grow indigenously and 
 in luxurious profusion. At the head of the valley are the 
 famous geysers of California. 
 
 The Colonel, after dividing the horses with me, 
 started for the Fort, I agreeing to join him there in a fev^ 
 weeks for the hunt. 
 
 After remaining at Jim Beckwith's for a few days, he 
 and a gentleman from Sacramento came to a trade, Jim 
 selling out "slick and clean." 
 
 Jim had too much money to stay in the mountains. 
 I saw $12, ocx) weighed out to him in ^old-dust, and I 
 
"GOING TO THE BAY. 
 
 2O9 
 
 don> know how much coin he had, but there were several 
 thousand dollars of it. 
 
 "Now we will go to San Francisco for the winter," 
 said he, ' -and will have a good time. You stay with me 
 this winter, and it shan't cost you a cent." 
 
 We topK our horses and started for Sacramento, 
 making the trip in four days. Here we boarded a boat 
 
 for the bay. 
 
 In those days persons 
 speaking of going to San 
 Francisco, always spoke of it 
 as "going to the bay." 
 
 The second morning after 
 our arrival, I found at the 
 feed-yard, where my horses 
 were, a gentleman awaiting 
 
 my arrival, who wanted to Wanted to buy my horses. 
 
 buy my stock. 
 
 I sold all of the horses to him except Mexico and 
 Pinto they were riot for sale at any figure. 
 
J1O FREPARATIOMJ KUM TRIP. 
 
 I stayed around the city for tv/o weeks, until it be- 
 came monotonous. Jim Beckwith had lots of money, 
 and it looked to me as though he wanted to get rid 
 of it as soon as possible. He would get just so full 
 every day, and when he was full of whiskey his tongue 
 appeared to be loose at both ends. It now being the 
 first of December, I saddled my horse and rode out to 
 the Fort, and on arriving there I found all anxious for 
 the hunt. Col. Elliott had been talking the matter 
 up among them. It took about three days to prepare 
 for the trip, and I kept hurrying them up, all that was 
 in my power, for I did not want to fool around there 
 until, the good ladies took it in their heads to have 
 another dance, as it was not a dance th?t I was hunt- 
 ing. I had had enough of that ov m/ other visit to 
 satisfy me for some time to come. 
 
PETALUMA CREEK. 211 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A HUNT ON PETALUMA CREEK. ELK FEVER BREAKS 
 
 OUT. THE EXPEDITION TO KLAMATH LAKE. A 
 
 LIVELY BRUSH WITH MODOC INDIANS. 
 
 The hunting party made up at the Fort was ready 
 early in December, and we pulled out, promising to be 
 home by New Year's day, at the latest. 
 
 At this time there were no steamers running across 
 the bay in the direction we wished to go, so we hired a 
 tug to take us over to the mouth of Petaluma creek, near 
 which we proposed to pitch our hunting camp. Here 
 was live-oak timber, with now and then a redwood, and 
 in places the chapparal was thick, and there was no end 
 to deer sign. 
 
 We had plenty of shelter in case of storm, having two 
 good-sized tents in the outfit and only six men, not 
 counting the darkey cook, who, however, always does 
 count in an expedition like that. In the party I was the 
 only one who had ever hunted any. Three of the others 
 had never fired a shot at larger game than a jack-rabbit. 
 Col. Elliott had once killed a deer, of which I made men- 
 tion in a preceding chapter. 
 
 The following morning after breakfast I told them to 
 select their course for the day's hunting, and I would go 
 in an opposite direction. 
 
 "Why do you wish to go in an opposite direction?" 
 
212 THE CAMP-FIRE. 
 
 Lieut. Harding asked; "Why not all go together?" I 
 replied that after we got out in the woods I did not think 
 they could tell a man from a deer, and I did not want 
 to be shot by a white man out here in- this country. 
 
 Capt. Mills proposed that three go at a time, two of- 
 ficers and myself; by so doing there would be no danger. 
 This being satisfactory, Lieut. Harding, Capt. Mills 
 and myself took the first turn. Neither of them had ever 
 hunted any, and both were as ignorant in that line as I 
 was when I started out from St. Louis in company with 
 Uncle Kit Carson, which, by the way, J had told them 
 something about the night before, while sitting around 
 
 the c a m p- 
 fire. 
 
 When we 
 were all 
 ready for the 
 hunt and 
 had started 
 to walk 
 away from 
 the tent, 
 Capt. Mills 
 re q u e s t e d 
 the Colonel 
 to have the 
 Sitting around the camp-fire. h O r S e S in 
 
 readiness to 
 
 pack the deer in. We had not gone far until I asked 
 them if they could not walk without making so much 
 
SHOOTING DEER. 213 
 
 noise. Lieut, ll.mlmj; s.-ii<l he did not see what differ- 
 ence it mad*: h\v a person walked, and I had to stop 
 and explain matters by telling them that a deer depended 
 as much on his cars as he did on his eyes, and if we did 
 not walk easier the deer would hear us before we could 
 get sight of them, and it seemed to me that they had 
 stepped on every stick along our way and had rubbed 
 against every brush that we passed near. Having been 
 trained to hunt since a boy of fifteen years old, it became 
 second nature for me to slide along without making a par- 
 ticle of noise. 
 
 After traveling a short distance we saw four deer com- 
 ing to'ward us, and I pointed out an opening and said: 
 "When they get to that place I will stop them; be ready, 
 and when I count three, fire." When the deer were all 
 on the selected spot I gave a keen whistle, which caused 
 them to stop and throw up their heads. I counted three 
 and fired, but did not hear the report of the other guns. 
 Just as I turned to see what was the trouble, Capt. Mills 
 fired, but Lieut. Harding stood and held his gun at a 
 * 'ready" and did not fire at all. He said the sight was 
 so pretty that he did not think of his gun. I killed my 
 deer, and the Captain wounded his by breaking one fore 
 leg. The other deer gave a few jumps and stopped, and 
 I took the Lieutenant's gun and shot it dead. We now 
 had two deer and were only about a mile from camp. I 
 left the two officers to dress the venison and I went back 
 to camp after a horse to pack it in. While I was away, 
 and before they ha'i got the fallen game dressed, two 
 other deer came along within gunshot of them. The two 
 officers fired at them and killed one deer, both claiming 
 
214 ELK SHOOTING, 
 
 the honor of the fatal shot. Now we had plenty of meat 
 for a stajt, and would, no doubt, get more before we con* 
 lurry^ that. 
 
 Aiter arriving at camp with the deer I directed Jake, 
 the negro cook, to get an early dinner, as I wanted to 
 take a big hunt that afternoon. 
 
 While at the dinner table I suggested that as they 
 could find deer anywhere around there, for they were 
 as thick as sheep and not very wild, that they might 
 kill that kind of game, while I would mount Pinto and 
 prospect for larger, for I thought there were elk in that 
 country, and if that was true we wanted some of them. 
 
 After dinner I mounted my horse and was off for 
 an elk hunt. After riding up the river about three 
 miles I could see any amount of sign. Dismounting 
 and tying my horse, I took an elk trail where a band 
 had just crossed the trail on which I was riding, and 
 I did not follow it very far until I came in sight of 
 the elk. There were eight in this band, and I had to 
 take a roundabout course to get in gunshot of them, 
 but when I finally did get a shot at them I killed an elk 
 that carried the largest pair of horns I have ever seen, 
 with one exception. I unjointed his neck about a foot 
 from his head and dressed him, but left his hide on. 
 The head and horns were all I could lift as high as the 
 horse's back. 
 
 When I rode up to camp and the negro cook saw 
 that head of horns he exclaimed: "Hello, Marstah; 
 what you got dar? You must hab killed de de bi' dis 
 time, suah." 
 
 From the negro I learned that the officers had all 
 
EUC FEVER. JI5 
 
 been out, and had seen more or less deer and had done 
 more or less shooting, but had only killed one small doe. 
 
 That night the elk fever raged high in camp, as that 
 pair of horns had set them all wild to go elk hunting the 
 next day. That night we ordered an early breakfast, so 
 as to get an early start to our hunting ground. 
 
 After riding up the river the next morning, to where 
 I had killed the elk the day before, we all dismounted 
 and tied our horses. I asked them which they preferred, 
 to go single or two together, and they thought it the best 
 plan to go in couples. 
 
 Being somewhat acquainted with this kind of game, 
 and knowing where to find them at this time of day, I 
 fc old them what ridges to take to lead them to the main 
 divide, also what our signals would be to come together. 
 
 Capt. Mills and I took up the center ridge, the two 
 other couples going on ridges each side of us, but not in 
 sight. After going about a mile or so we heard two gun- 
 shots to our left, and in a few moments we could hear elk 
 running. The underbrush was so thick that it was diffi- 
 cult to get a shot at them on the run, so, seeing an open- 
 ing that they were sure to cross, provided that they did 
 not change their course, I had the Captain to stand by 
 the side of a big tree and level his gun at the opening, 
 and when an elk darkened the sight to fire, which he did, 
 and got a fine elk. I fired also, but did not get my elk 
 He was as proud over killing that elk as I was over killling 
 my first buffalo. 
 
 We hunted until about four o'clock that afternoon, 
 and several shots were fired, but the Captain wa* the 
 only one who got an elk that day. So we loaded tha* 
 
2l6 PULLED CAMP. 
 
 one, and the one I had killed the day previous, on to our 
 horses and returned to camp with about all the meat the 
 horses were able to carry. 
 
 The next morning I told the other men that as they 
 now knew the elk range and how to hunt them, and 
 could get along without me as well as not, that I would 
 hunt for a grizzly bear, and if I could only kill a grizzly 
 I would be ready to go home. I spent the next three 
 days bear hunting, and saw any amount of sign, but only 
 saw one bear and did not get a shot at it. 
 
 After being out about two weeks, and all having 
 enough of hunting, they thought, to last them a year as 
 they had killed more or less deer, and one of them had 
 killed an elk and time being about up for the tug to 
 come after us, we pulled up camp and started for the 
 bay, arriving there on the iQth. The tug arrived on the 
 2Oth, about noon. 
 
 We reached San Francisco that evening, about dark, 
 unloaded our baggage and meat, hired a man to watch it 
 that night and we saddled up and rode out to the Fort. 
 
 The following morning I returned to the city, hired a 
 team and took our baggage, as well as the meat we had 
 killed, back to the Fort. 
 
 I was hailed several times while passing through the 
 city by parties who wished to buy my mammoth elk 
 horns, but I would not sell them, having already given 
 them to Col. Elliott. 
 
 I stayed around the city until the middle of February, 
 not knowing what to do to kill time, and loafing is the 
 hardest work I ever did. 
 
 About this time Col. Elliott received orders to gC cut 
 
AN EXPEDITION 21 f 
 
 into southeastern Oregon, as soon as the weather would 
 permit, and establish a fort at K'r.mdth Lake. As soon as 
 ha received these orders he came to the city and hunted 
 me up, and wanted me to go with him, at the same time 
 insisting strongly on my joining his commarid; saying: 
 "If you will enlist I am sure I can bring enough influence 
 to bear to procure a Lieutenant's commission for you." 
 
 I told him emphatically that I would not enlist, as I 
 intended to be a free man all the days of my life, "And 
 when I scout for you," I said, "if I fail to do rny duty, or 
 shirk in the least, all you have to do is to say so, and I 
 will quit then and there, and at the same time if you ask 
 anything that I consider unreasonable, I will quit you 
 cold." 
 
 The Colonel, however, accepted me as an independ- 
 ent scout. 
 
 I requested him to procure some one that was familiar 
 with that country to go along as guide, but he tola me 
 that I would be around the city, and would have a better 
 chance to find a suitable person than he would, and re- 
 quested me to find a man and he would be satisfied with 
 the selection. 
 
 During my stay in the city I saw a great many men 
 who claimed to know all about that country, and who 
 were anxious for the trip, but when I would question 
 them they did not know any more about the country than 
 I did, and I had never been in that region. 
 
 Finally the time was set to start, which was the first 
 of June. 
 
 Before starting this time I had an und^r-tandin;; with 
 Col Klliott regarding the stock that mi^ht be captured -by 
 
an 8 TO OREGON. 
 
 the scouts; he agreeing to let the scouts take the stock 
 captured by them and divide it equally among themselves. 
 
 After having started, the Colonel was undecided as to 
 where he would cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains. At 
 that time there was no map of the country between Cali- 
 fornia, Oregon and Nevada, but finally he decided to 
 cross over the Beckwith Pass. After we had crossed the 
 mountains we turned north, crossing the Truckee river 
 where Reno now stands. From here we traveled across 
 the sagebrush plain to Honey Lake. 
 
 So far we had no trouble with Indians, and the com- 
 mand stopped to let the horses rest a tew days. 
 
 While lying there Col. Elliott requested me to take four 
 other scouts and go north four days to prospect for water 
 and grass, for this was now a strange country to all of us. 
 
 My companions were John Reilly, Fred Miller, John 
 Boyd and George Jones, of whom there will be more said 
 later on, and who were my companions the rest of the 
 summer, or, as long as I was able to scout. Alto- 
 gether there were twelve scouts in my company. 
 
 In the evening of the second day of our trip we 
 camped at a nice little spring. We got into camp just at 
 sundown, and having seen considerable Indian sign during 
 the day, I had the boys stake their horses near the camp, 
 and I took a look around on the ridges to see if there 
 were any camp-fires in that part of the country. I was 
 gone for about three hours, and the boys got quite uneasy 
 while I was away. I only saw one Indian camp, which 
 was northeast of our camp, and not having discovered it 
 until after dark I was unable to tell just how far it was 
 away. On rny return I told the boys that we would have 
 
CHASED BY INDIANS. 319 
 
 to stand guard that night, each one taking a turn of two 
 hours, and as soon as supper was over we put the fire 
 out so as not to give the redskins any advantage in that 
 way. The next morning we got breakfast, and as soon 
 as it was light George Jones and I went to the nearest 
 ridge to look for Indians. I saw them just breaking 
 camp, and they were about two miles away. That day 
 we had to travel very cautiously, being in an entirely 
 new country and knowing it to be full of hostile Indians. 
 
 That night we camped on a small stream which after- 
 wards we found to be a tributary of McCloud's river. 
 From what we had seen, there appeared to be plenty of 
 water and grass, and from the Indian sign we had seen, 
 they appeared to be in large bands, so we concluded to 
 return to the command. The first day on our return 
 trip, just about noon, as we were looking for a place to 
 stop for lunch, we were discovered by about twenty In- 
 dians. The red devils made for us, and their war- 
 whoops sounded as though they were bloodthirsty. 
 They came pell-mell over the hills and hollows in hot 
 pursuit of us, and I tell you things looked a little blue; 
 only five of us and at least twenty Indians, and no telling 
 how many there would be in a short time. 
 
 I told the boys that we would give them around, any- 
 way; and I had four men that were not afraid to face an 
 Indian even in a hand-to-hand fight, if necessary; and 
 then one feels more brave when he knows that he has 
 got companions who will stay with him till the last dog 
 is hung. 
 
 We rode to the top of the ridge, stopped and drew 
 :mr revolvers, and when they were close enough we fired 
 
22O *& A KUKR3. 
 
 two shots apiece in succession and then piu spurs to our 
 horses and ran nearly a mile, when, on looking back, 
 we saw that we were outriding them. We rode a rale 
 further to the next iidge, just dropped over out of sight, 
 and stopped and reloaded the empty chambers of our re- 
 volvers. 
 
 We knew no^ that we had the best horses, and the 
 boys were all anxious to give them another round; so we 
 waited until they were in pistol shot as we felt more 
 bold, knowing that if we could not whip them we could 
 outrun them -and taking good aim this time we fired 
 three shots each, making fifteen shots in all. 
 
 We saw a number of Indians fall to the ground, but 
 did not stay to count them as we were just then in 
 somewhat of a harry. 
 
 We rode on again, they continuing to follow us. 
 When we were far enough ahead again and in a suitable 
 place, we stopped, reloaded and waited for them to come 
 up, but they seemed to have changed their minds and 
 didn't appear as anxious to ride in our company as they 
 had on the start, for now they kept but of pistol shot. 
 One of the boys dismounted and said: "I believe I can 
 reach them from here." and taking a rest over his horse's 
 back, fired and killed a horse. This caused a scattering 
 among them, and if our horses had been fresh we would 
 have tried to kill the whole oatfit. 
 
 George Jones remarked that he guessed the red devils 
 had enough of it already, and we rode on. They made 
 two circles around us, keeping out of gunshot, and then 
 rode away. 
 
 We pushed on with all haste possible, expecting thai 
 
AGREEABLY SURPRISED. 
 
 they had gone away to get reinforcements and follow u? 
 up, but that was the last we saw of them. 
 
 That night we made a dry camp, and did not build 
 any fire for fear that they might be on our trail, and the 
 next morning we were off very early. We rode until 
 about ten o'clock, when we struck plenty of grass and 
 water. Here we stopped, and one man stood guard on 
 the hill while the others ate breakfast, and we were 
 agreeably surprised at not seeing any more Indians on 
 the trip. 
 
 We got back to the command the evening of the sixth 
 day, and informed Col. Elliott that there was plenty of 
 water as far as we went, and abundance of grass, also no 
 end of Indian sign. 
 
 The command made preparations to move on again, 
 and two days after our return we started, but moved 
 slowly and cautiously, making onl-y from ten to fifteen 
 miles a day. Now we had twelve scouts in all, and it 
 was our business to guard the command while traveling, 
 and, in fact, at all times when there was a possibility of 
 an attack, and we had to watch out north, south, east and 
 west, lest a large band of Indians should make an attack 
 unawares and gel the better of the expedition. 
 
 We traveled in this manner until reaching the little 
 stream spok<:.n of, where the scouting party had turned 
 back, not living met any trouble. 
 
 The Colonel thought it best for me to take a part oi 
 m} Grouts and go ahead again and prospect the countiy 
 for water and grass. 
 
 After giving my other scouts particular orders to 1. 
 I sharp lookout for Indians, and to scout the cm 
 
222 A HARD FIGHT 
 
 thoroughly for eight or ten miles in every direction daily, 
 I took my same four men that were out the trip previous, 
 four days' rations, and started out again. 
 
 All mytajking did not prevent a surprise, for the sec- 
 ond day after our departure the Indians made an attack 
 on the herders, captured twenty-two horses in broad day- 
 light and killed one of the herders. The same evening 
 about sundown they made an attack on the command, 
 and after a hard fight for an hour or more, the Indians 
 retreated, leaving sixty dead Indians on the battlefield, 
 there being eleven soldiers killed and twenty wounded. 
 
 On my return Col. Elliott told me not to leave the 
 camp so far anymore, for, said he, "I am satisfied if 
 you had been here we would not have had the surprise." 
 
 I told the Colonel what kind of country we would 
 have for the next seventy-five miles; plenty of water and 
 grass, abundance of game and the country full of hostile 
 Indians. 
 
 The reader will understand that this was the year 
 1856. The Klamath Indians and the tribe afterwards 
 known as the Modocs, of whom mention will be made 
 later on in this work, were one and the same tribe; and 
 up to this time they did not know what it was to be 
 whipped. Besides there had been but little travel 
 through this part of the country without experiencing a 
 great deal of trouble with those Indians. 
 
So-lo-so, Son of Sa-tan-to. 
 
DRIED FISH. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 MORE FISH THAN I HAD EVER SEEN AT ONE TIME. 
 WE SURPRISE SOME INDIANS, WHO ALSO SURPRISE 
 
 us. THE CAMP AT KLAMATH.LAKE. I GET ANOTHER 
 
 WOUND AND A LOT OF HORSES. 
 
 When we pulled out for Klamath Lake we traveled 
 from five to ten miles a day and kept scouts out in all 
 directions. While riding along one day with my four 
 assistants, a few miles in advance of the command, we 
 came to a beautiful body of water which is now known 
 as Clear Lake, which is the head of Lost river. Here 
 we dismounted, and on looking into a brush shanty that 
 stood on the lake shore, I saw more fish than I had ever 
 seen before at one time. The little shanty was filled to 
 its utmost capacity with fish, hanging there to dry for 
 winter use. Further on we found numerous other similar 
 shanties, all containing like quantities of drying fish. 
 These were the Indians' dry-houses. They had caught 
 the fish and hung them there to dry in the hot summer's 
 sun. Such was their food in winter when the land game 
 was scarce. 
 
 After our fill of admiring the beautiful lake and rest- 
 ing our horses, we mounted and c tarted back to the com- 
 mand. We had gone only a short distance, when, all of 
 a sadden, on reaching the top of a little hill, we were 
 
224 A SKIRMISH 
 
 met by twelve Indians, who had not seen us, nor as 
 them, until within a hundred yards of each other. 
 
 There was only one thing to do and that was to fight, 
 .for they were directly between us and the command, and 
 I the braver we were ! thought the better; so I gave orders to 
 charge, but the Indians did net c tand fire. We got three 
 of them th2 first round and in another hundred yards 
 we got three more, but their horses being fresh and 
 ours somewhat jaded, they outran us and got away. 
 
 These were the first Klamath Indians I had got close 
 enough to, to see how their moccasins were made, and 
 for a person engaged in the business that I was then in, it 
 was quite essential to be able to tell the tribe an Indian 
 belonged to by his track. And here I will state that not 
 any two tribes cut and make their moccasins alike, and 
 at that time I could tell an Indian by his track, if he be- 
 longed to any tribe that I was familiar with. 
 
 Here we laid over three days to let our horses rest up 
 a little. While here we had all the fish that we wanted 
 to eat, for the lake was literally full of the finest in the 
 land. 
 
 In a southwesterly direction we could see, by looking 
 through our field glasses, a large valley, which Col. El- 
 liott thought to be the country which he was ordered to 
 go to. 
 
 The second day after leaving Clear Lake we struck an- 
 other lake. We did not name it, but it has since been 
 known as Tule Lake, and is the outlet of Lost river, but 
 has no visible outlet itselt. Here we laid over two days, 
 after which we pulled out up the valley. Two days more 
 and we were at Klamath Lake, and here Col. Elliott es- 
 
ANOTHER BAND. 
 
 tablUhed his headquarters and started in to fortify him- 
 self against the Indians, which were very numerous in 
 this country at that time. 
 
 J^hn Rilsy, Fred Miller, John Boyd, George Jones and 
 myself took four days' rations and started out to investi- 
 gate the surrounding country north of headquarters. 
 
 The next afternoon about three o'clock we saw- a band 
 
 Tule Lake. 
 
 of Indians some distance away as they were passing over 
 a somewhat uneven country. We were not just able to 
 tell the number in the band, but thought there must be 
 about twenty, and they were driving some loose horses. 
 
 We stopped to consider the matter as to what was 
 best to be done. George Jones said: "Boys, we have 
 been out all summer and have not got a single horse to 
 pay for our trouble, and I think I could fight like the 
 
226 PLANNING THE ATTACE. 
 
 devil if there was a good band of horses at stake." The 
 balance of the crowd seemed to think likewise, so we 
 concluded to follow up the Indians and give them a round. 
 We started at once, but before overtaking them they had 
 pitched camp on the shore of Lake Klamath. 
 
 After it was quite dark, George Jones and I crawled 
 around near the camp and counted twenty Indians. 
 
 Our intention had been to stampede the horses in 
 stead of making an attack on the Indians, as we thought 
 the number too great to tackle, but an investigation de 
 veloped the fact that they had turned their horses into a 
 little peninsula that ran out into the lake, and had pitched 
 their tents so as to hold their horses in there. Riley said 
 there was only one of two things to do, and that was to 
 make the attack or crawfish. We were all well armed, 
 the other four having each a six-shooter and a sabre, and 
 I had my big knife, which was almost as good as a sabre, 
 and two six-shooters. 
 
 We laid and watched their movements until all turned 
 in for the night. 
 
 They were badly scattered, making it worse for us 
 than if they had been in a bunch. We waited until about 
 eleven o'clock, when we thought they were all asleep, and 
 having laid our plans of attack, we all crawled up abreast 
 > within a rod or so of where some of them were lying, 
 .aid each drew his pistol and sabre. 
 
 Taking our pistols in our left hands and sabres in the 
 right, we made a rush for them, intending to cut the first 
 ones down with our sabres, and if we got into close quar- 
 ters we could use both at the same time. 
 
 in ucb case* it in quite essential that a acout should 
 
A DESPERATE BATTLE. 
 
 be able to use his pistol in his left hand, which had been 
 part of their drill duties before starting out scouting 
 
 As soon as the attack was made some of the Indians 
 arose on their feet, and we tried to cut them down as fast 
 as they arose, but it was so dark that it was difficult to 
 distinguish our own men from the Indians. 
 
 The Indians fought us with their tomahawks, and it 
 was not long until we were all mixed up together, and a 
 person had to look close before striking, for fear of mak- 
 ing a mistake. After fighting some time I had two hand- 
 to-hand encounters, but was victorious in both of them. 
 Just as I had finished the second one I got a tremendous 
 blow from behind that caught me on the shoulder, and it 
 knocked me as blind as a bat. When I tried to rise I 
 would stagger and fall like a drunken man. After mak- 
 ing the third attempt to get on my feet, and seeing it was 
 nc use and being afraid my own men might mistake me 
 for an Indian, I laid down as still as I could until the 
 fight was ended. 
 
 About this time my shoulder commenced to pain me 
 fearfully, and it was a hard matter for me to lie still. I 
 could then see a very little, but to me everything was 
 still. Just then I heard George Jones' voice. He was 
 asking where Will was. I did not hear any reply, and 
 a moment later he hallooed at the top of his voice. 
 It sounded to me as though he was a long ways off, but 
 at the s.iine time he was within four rods of me. I made 
 out that time to answer so he could hear me, and in a 
 moment they were all by my side. Some one raiseJ me 
 up, while another ran to the lake and got his hat full of 
 water. They removed my clothing sufficiently to exam 
 
228 SEVERELY WOUNDED. 
 
 ine my wound, and found that my shoulder blade was 
 broken in two places. When I was able to talk, the 
 boys asked what they had better do, saying they had the 
 last Indian killed. I said if you are sure you have them 
 all killed, build a fire and put out guards until morning, 
 and we will return to headquarters with the stock. 
 
 George Jones, feeling much concerned about me on ac- 
 count of my wound, proposed to ride to headquarters that 
 night for the surgeon, but I told him it was not necessary, 
 that I would be able to ride to headquarters the next day. 
 
 I took a sup of brandy, which we were never without 
 on a trip like this, and drank a cup of coffee, after which 
 I felt much better, but could not move my left hand or 
 shoulder without much pain. 
 
 The next morning as soon as it was light enough to 
 see to scalp an Indian, the boys took twenty-one scalps, 
 and we had fifty-two horses, some of which were extra- 
 ordinary good ones of that class. That was ten horses 
 each and two over. After having counted them, George 
 Jones said: "I think Will ought to have the two extra 
 horses, for he is the only one that got wounded in the 
 
 fight. 
 
 The boys were jubilant over their victory and the band 
 of horses, but were very sorry to have one of their com- 
 rades so badly used up. After they had breakfast over, 
 the saddle horses were brought in, my horse was saddled 
 for me and they assisted me in getting on him, or rather 
 put me on, for I was almost as helpless as a child. 
 
 My shoulder they had tied up- as best they could with 
 two handkerchiefs, and one of the boys leading my horse, 
 we started for headquarters. We were about twenty 
 
ANXIOUS TO LEAVE. 22Q 
 
 miles from the command, but I never rode fifty miles 
 that seemed as far as that twenty miles did. When we 
 arrived at camp my shoulder was badly swollen, and it 
 took the surgeon a long time to get it set just to his no- 
 tion, or, at least it seemed so to me, and when he did 
 finally get it set he gave me something to put me to sleep. 
 
 However, I was not able to ride any more that sum- 
 mer. All that I was able to do was to sit in camp, hear 
 the reports of scouts as they came in and give orders. 
 
 It had been six weeks since I was hurt, and it was 
 getting late in the fall and the weather looking some- 
 what blustery, I told the Colonel I thought I would go 
 back to San Francisco and winter there. 
 
 Up to this time the surgeon had not allowed me to 
 ride on horseback, but I had come to the conclusion 
 that I could now stand it to ride without any serious 
 difficulty, and I was anxious to get back before win- 
 ter set in. 
 
 When I told the Colonel my intentions, he said: 
 "How in the name of God will you get to San Fran- 
 cisco? If you were well and able to ride I could not 
 spare an escort sufficient to guard you through." 
 
 "It don't matter about the escort, I said, "when I 
 get ready I will go if I have to go alone." 
 
 M Young man," said he, "you must be insane to even 
 think of such a thing." 
 
 "Colonel," I said, "you may call it what you please, 
 but I mean just what I say; and I suppose that as you 
 ! '<ivc been out all summer, having no chance to either 
 
 ..1 or receive any mail, that <ou would like to send out 
 after that." 
 
23O MAKE PREPARATION 
 
 Said he, "I have no one to send, that could make the 
 trip without asking a larger escort than I could spare," 
 
 I told the Colonel that I could select two meii from 
 his command, either of whom I could take and make the 
 trip safely, or the two would make it alone with perfect 
 safety. 
 
 4 'The Colonel replied, "If I could only thiiik so I 
 certainly would ask them to go;" and he asked who the 
 parties were to whom I had reference. I told him they 
 were Messrs. Jones and Riely, who had been my assist- 
 ant scouts the past summer. 
 
 The Colonel asked when they would be it? camp. I 
 told him they had just returned a few minutes previous. 
 He said: "Tell them I will see them at your quarters 
 at seven o'clock this evening." I assured him that they 
 would be there, but up to this time I had not mentioned 
 or even hinted at snch a thing to them, but being desir- 
 ous of seeing them before the Colonel had a talk with 
 them, I set about to find them. I found them in their 
 quarters and told them of the proposed meeting and the 
 object, and asked them what they thought of it. 
 
 Geurge Jones said: "As far -as I am concerned, I 
 think I can make the trip alone, for I can see an Indian 
 just as far as he can see me, and just as quick, and I am 
 perfectly willing to take the chances." 
 
 "And how with you, Riley?" I asked. He replied: 
 "I will go if I can get permission." 
 
 At seven o'clock, sharp, all hands met at my tent, 
 The Colonel opened the conversation by saying: "Gen- 
 tlemen , our chief scout, Mr. Drannan, has concluded to 
 leave us aiui go to San Francisco to spend -the winter, 
 
TO START FOR J3I 
 
 and tinder the circumstances I don't want to see him go 
 alone. Do you men feel like accompanying him and 
 bringing our mail back on your return?" 
 
 George Jones said: "I can only speak for myself. I 
 will accompany him alone and bring the mail back if no 
 one else feels like going." At this Riley said he was wil- 
 ling to accompany George on the trip if necessary. 
 
 Col. Elliott straightened up and said: "Boys, I don't 
 believe you realize the danger you will necessarily have 
 to encounter in making this trip. Think the matter over 
 thoroughly until to-morrow evening, by which. time you 
 will be able to give me a decided answer;" and then the 
 Colonel departed, requesting us all to meet him in his 
 quarters the following evening at seven o'clock, sharp. 
 After he had gone George Jones asked me how long I 
 thought it would take us to go to Sacramento. About 
 fifteen days \vas my estimate, and I was of the opinion 
 that we would best go an entirely different route to what 
 we came. Before leaving my tent they had made up 
 their minds to tackle the trip anyway, let it go as it 
 might, and the time set to start was ten days from that. 
 
 The following evening we all went to the Colonel's 
 tent at the hour agreed upon. He asked the boys as 
 soon as they entered if they had made up their minds to 
 tackle the trip, and they both told him they had. He 
 then asked me when I would be ready to start, and I told 
 him in ten days. 
 
 George Jones then asked the Colonel what length of 
 time he would give him and Riley to make the trip in. 
 "I will give you a month and a half," was the reply. 
 
 Five of us had fifty- two horses that we had captured 
 
232 SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 from the Indians. I called the other four together and told 
 them if they would let me pick six horses from the band 
 they might have the remainder. This being agreeable, 
 the day following the horses were driven into the corral 
 and I selected my six. Jones and Riley put in a good 
 portion of the day in saddling and riding them to see 
 whether they were broke or not, and we found them all 
 to be fairly well broken to ride. 
 
 The next day I told the Colonel that I was ready to 
 resign my position as chief of scouts, for you will have to 
 appoint another man, and you had just as well do it first 
 as last. 
 
 "No, " said the Colonel, "when you are ready to start, 
 I will give you a voucher for your pay up to that time, 
 and when you get to San Francisco you can get your 
 money." 
 
 We commenced making preparations to start, but did 
 not let it be generally known until the day before start- 
 ing, and then everybody wanted to write a letter to send 
 out, and by the time we were ready to start we had a 
 pack-horse loaded with mail. 
 
 The Colonel sent a long letter to his wife, and told 
 me a lot of stuff to tell the other officers, of which I did 
 not remember one-fourth. 
 
 Finally we were rigged up and ready to start, but we 
 had a hard time to get away, for Dick Jones wanted me 
 to tell Jim Johnson so and so. Another had some word 
 to send to a friend, whose name I had never heard be- 
 fore, and never thought of after I was out of sight. 
 
 After shaking hands all around, and Col. Elliott tell- 
 ing me a lot of stuff to tell his wife and numerous other 
 
\Vhit Horse, Kiowa. Chief, 
 
A GRAND SIGHT. 233 
 
 la. ies, *'hic.h he knew I would not repeat the half of, for 
 he knew that there was not another man in San Fran- 
 cisco that hated to try to talk to ladies as much as I did. 
 If \ve had not jarred loose and rode off I suppose we 
 would have been there all day, and we would have had 
 encftigh word to carry in our heads, that had it been 
 written, would have made a book that Webster's Un- 
 abridged Dictionary would be small compared with it, 
 and again shaking hands we waved our hats at the many 
 soldiers standing around and rode away. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 DISCOVERY OF INDIANS WITH STOLEN HORSES. WE KILL 
 THE INDIANS AND RETURN THE PROPERTY TO ITS 
 OWNERS. MEETING OF MINERS. IN SOCIETY AGAIN. 
 
 On our return trip we took the divide between the 
 Klamath River and Yule Lake. I had told Col. Elliott 
 before starting that I intended to pass west of the snowy 
 butte instead of east of it, as we did coming in. 
 
 This butte has sines been called Shasta Mountain, and 
 it is one of the grandest sights that ever the eye of man 
 beheld. It flouts the skies T/>to its peaks of everlasting 
 *now 5 gleaming like a v a?t '/pal under the sunshine, or 
 
334 DISCOVER INDIANS 
 
 peeping out in rainbow-tinted glints, from among the 
 rifts of the clouds that rake along its sides. Often long 
 streams of glittering white stretch from its peaks, far out 
 into space, and these are called "snow-banners." 
 
 My object in passing west of Shasta was to strike 
 the headwaters of the Sacramento and follow that river 
 to the city of Sacramento. Late in the evening of 
 the fifth day we struck a beautiful region, since known 
 as the Shasta Valley. 
 
 While we were looking ahead through our field 
 glasses and laying out our route for the next day, we 
 discovered a great cloud of dust, which seemed to be 
 not more than five or six miles away, and just beyond 
 a low range of hills that we could overlook. We se- 
 creted our horses and watched the dust, but we had 
 not watched long before about sixty horses came in 
 sight, driven by five Indians. We could note that there 
 were a number of mules in the band, and that two of the 
 redskins carried rifles. 
 
 We were not long in making up our minds that this 
 was stolen property, and that they had done murder and 
 had taken the stock and were getting away as fast as they 
 could. Otherwise they would not have those rifles. 
 
 In those days Indians knew very little about using 
 guns, and the mules we knew did not belong to them, for 
 they did not have any mules, only as they could steal 
 them from the emigrants. 
 
 We watched them until they came to a nice little 
 stream, where they stopped, staked their saddle-horses 
 out, and as it was almost night, we were confident fiom 
 their movements that they were going into camp. Be'ng 
 
WITH STOLEN HORSES. 
 
 more than three miles from where we were, we staked 
 out horses on the grass, ate a cold lunch, and it now 
 beiivg dark we started afoot for the Indian camp. 
 
 W>J did not get in sight of the Indians any more until 
 within * quarter of a mile of their camp. 
 
 They had a little fire of sagebrush and had not lain 
 down yet^ but were watching the horses very closely. 
 
 They stayed up until about eleven o'clock, and every 
 few minutes some of them would go out to where the 
 borses were feeding and look all around. 
 
 The moon 
 being full, it 
 was a very 
 bright night, 
 and we could 
 see well. 
 
 Finally the 
 horses all got 
 quiet, and th 
 Indians, after 
 building up a 
 little more 
 fire, all laid 
 down by it for 
 a nap. 
 
 After they 
 had lain there 
 some little 
 time, I told 
 
 the boys now was our time, for as soon as one of them 
 woke up he would go out to the horses again. 
 
 Would go out where the horses were feeding 
 and look around 
 
2 36 KILL THE INDIANS, 
 
 George Jones requested me not to take any hand in 
 the fight for fear I might get my shoulder hurt over again, 
 as it was not well by any means. I told him I would not 
 unless I thought it really necessary; but if it was I would 
 give them a shot anyway, just for luck. I gave George 
 Jones one of my revolvers, so he took a revolver in each 
 hand, and Riley had a revolver in his left and his sabre 
 in his right hand. We now started to crawl up to where 
 the Indians were no doubt fast asleep. 
 
 I crawled up with the balance, in case the boys got 
 in close quarters, thinking that a shot might help them, 
 but George Jones assured me that by taking one of my 
 revolvers they would get three the first shot and then 
 they would have three more shots for the other two, so 
 that before any of them got to their feet we would have 
 them all. 
 
 It being an unusually bright, moonlight night, we 
 were able when near them, by the aid also of the little 
 fire which was yet burning, to get their exact position, 
 which was a great help in making an attack. 
 
 When within ten feet of the Indians, Jones and Riley 
 both rose to their feet and fired three shots, Jones firing 
 both pistols at once, and they killed two Indians as they 
 lay and killed the third one as he raised to his feet. 
 
 The other two ran, not offering to fight at all, but 
 Jones and Riley got them before they had gone further 
 than a few steps. 
 
 This fight occurred about sixteen miles east of Yreka, 
 near Little Shasta. 
 
 We rebuilt the fire by throwing some sagebrush on, 
 and in their outfit we found two scalps taken from white 
 
CAPTURED HORSES. 237 
 
 men, and which looked to have been taken in the last 
 twenty-four hours; two rifles, but. no amunition, and I 
 don't think they would have known how to use them if 
 they had had amunition. They were armed with bows 
 and arrows, and some had knives. 
 
 I stayed and looked after the captured horses tf'hile 
 the other boys went back after our own horses. On their 
 return I laid down and slept awhile, but the other boys 
 
 They killed the third one as he arose. 
 
 did not lie down at all that night, for there was not much 
 night left by the time they got in with our horses. 
 
 The following morning, as- soon as it was light enough 
 to see, we counted the horses and found there were fifty- 
 five of them. 
 
 After getting our breakfast we started back on the 
 trail the Indians had come, that being the course wr 
 wished to go. We traveled hard all day, and just at 
 
A RESTLESS NIGHT. 
 
 night we came to a little stream running across the val- 
 ley, that we had looked at through the glasses ths even- 
 ing before. Here we went into camp for the night, and 
 on looking across the valley on the opposite side of the 
 river we could see through the field glasses a number of 
 little wreaths of smoke curling up into the air, and they 
 were scattered along the foothills here and there for sev- 
 eral miles. 
 
 I knew at once they were not from Indian fires, for I 
 could not see a lodge, and they were too badly scattered 
 to be an Indian village. 
 
 Just what it was we could not make out, but we 
 stopped on the little stream that night, which is now 
 called Shasta river. I slept but very little, as my broken 
 shoulder was commencing to bother me again from rid- 
 ing. I wns \jp and down all night long, and was around 
 Among the ftorses <Jiany times. 
 
 The next morning we were up and had our breakfast 
 and started very early. We had not gone more than two 
 miles, when, on looking ahead, we saw twelve men com- 
 ing on horseback. Through my glasses I saw they were 
 white men, and told the boys so. George Jones could 
 not believe they were white men until he looked through 
 the glass, when he said: "Well, I'll be d d if they 
 ain't white men. " 
 
 We altered our course so .as to meet them, and less 
 than a half hour's ride brought us face to face. 
 
 There was a man by the name of Wm. McConnell 
 riding in the lead, and on meeting us the first word ut- 
 tered by any of the party was by McConnell. He said: 
 "Where in the name of God did you get those horses?" 
 
RETURN PROPERTY. 339 
 
 While I was telling him where and how we came in pos- 
 session of them, George Jones took the five Indian scalps 
 from the pack and said: 
 
 "And there is something else we got at the same time 
 we got the horses." 
 
 Then he took the two white men's scalps from the 
 pacK, also the two rifles, and they were also satisfied 
 that the scalps were the scalps of the two white men 
 who had beea herding this same band of horses and 
 mules, for the kair was similar in color to that of the 
 two herders. One of them had dark brown hair and 
 the other one had lather light hair. 
 
 From this company of men we learned that near 
 us there was a mining ^amp, the stock belonged to the 
 miners, and that the two men killed had been herding 
 the horses and mules aboat three miles away from 
 camp. This was a new carnp called Greenhorn Gulch. 
 
 The herders always brought the horses to camp 
 every night, but the last two nights they had failed to 
 bring the stock in, and this man McConnell had raised 
 the crowd to hunt the stock, being satisfied that the 
 two herders were killed and the stock driven away by 
 the Indians. 
 
 After giving them a brief outline of our little fight 
 with the Indians, our business there, etc., McConnell 
 asked us how much the miners would have to pay us for 
 our trouble. I told him that we did not make any rli 
 but that if the miners felt that it was worth anything to 
 them to have their horses brought back, they muM pay 
 us just what they felt like giving. MrConiK-ll saiO ir us 
 to ride back to camp with them and he would call a 
 
140 MINERS' MEETING. 
 
 miners' meeting that afternoon and state the case to the 
 miners, and he was satisfied they would do what was 
 right. 
 
 We drove the stock to where they were accustomed 
 to being corralled at night and corralled them, and made 
 camp for the night, for I was needing rest, very much, on 
 account of my shoulder. 
 
 This man McConnell was erecting a store building 
 about half way between Greenhorn Gulch and a new dis- 
 covery that had recently been made, some two or three 
 miles off. 
 
 About two o'clock Mr. McConnell came to our camp 
 and told us to come along with him to a certain miner's 
 cabin, and that the miners would all be there and we 
 would see what could be done. When we got to the 
 cabin, sure enough every miner was there. 
 
 Mr. McConnell called the' house to order, stated the 
 object of the meeting and made quite a little speech. 
 He told the miners that we had brought the stock home, 
 told where and how we cams in possession of it, and 
 that he, as well as eleven other men that were present, 
 had seen the five Indian scalps, also two scalps of white 
 men that he was confident were the scalps of the two 
 herders, and had also seen their two rifles. 
 
 After Mr. McConnell had addressed the crowd in a 
 very genteel manner he set a hat on the newly con- 
 structed miners' table and said: "Now, gentlemen, how 
 much will each of you give? I will give twenty dollars." 
 At the same nine he threw twenty dollars in for a starter. 
 The other miners followed suit, all contributing liberally, 
 
AT SAN FRANCISCO. 241 
 
 and the amount raised reached three hundred and fifty 
 dollars. 
 
 After the money was counted they asked us if we were 
 satisfied with that amount. 
 
 We told them that we were, and that if they had not 
 given us anything it would have been all right, for we only 
 considered that we had done pur duty, which we would 
 expect any man to do for us under like circumstances. 
 
 The morning following, before starting out again, we 
 obtained information from Mr. McConnell concerning our 
 trip down to Sacramento that was of great value to us. 
 He directed us by way of Scott's Valley, and told us we 
 need not have any fear of trouble with the Indians, which 
 was a great relief to us at that time. 
 
 We found it a splendid trail, and made the trip from 
 the mining camp to Sac'ramento in nine days. Mr. Mc- 
 Connell thought it would take us twelve days, but having 
 plenty of horses along we could change when we liked, 
 and by doing so could make good time. 
 
 The next day after arriving at Sacramento we got our 
 horses on pasture, and the following morning took the 
 boat for San Francisco. 
 
 The nextinorning after arriving at San Francisco we 
 went to the Miners' Restaurant to see my old friend, 
 Healey, and they were all very glad to see us. 
 
 After breakfast we hired a team and started to the 
 Fort with our baggage. 
 
 They were all greatly astonished when we told them 
 that we had made the trip alone. 
 
 As soon as I arrived at the Fort I went to see the sur- 
 geon, and he told me thai mv shoulder was in a dan- 
 
242 A GREAY COMMOTION. 
 
 gerous condition, and that T would have to stay around 
 _the Fort s. that he could see me at least every other day 
 for several weeks. 
 
 There was a great commotion at the Fort \\hen the 
 
 news spread abroad that we had arrived from Fort Kla- 
 
 -nath, fov every one that had a friend away with Col. 
 
 Elliott's command expected a letter, anc! we had to hava 
 
 a postmaster appointed to distribute the \ v ,th. 
 
 During my stay at the Fort I made my h9T>e at Mrs. 
 Elliott's. 
 
 While I was away with Col. Elliott, Jim Beckwith 
 had been at the Fort a number of times, and each fine 
 had left a letter for me requesting me to come to see 
 him as soon as I got back. 
 
 After resting a few days I started to the city tc 
 look Jim up, and found hirn without any trouble. Hie 
 money was about all gone, and he was anxious fcr me 
 to go to the mountains with him on a trapping expe- 
 dition the coming winter, saying he was tired of laying 
 around doing nothing but drink whiskey. 
 
 We made arrangements to start in two or three 
 weeks from that time, provided rny shoulder would per- 
 mit. Jim agreed to go to Sacramento when we were 
 ready to start and get my horses, and I returned to the 
 F 3rt to have my broken shoulder taken care of. 
 
 Now, as I have said before, I don't think there wa.s 
 ever a young man that suffered from bashfulness as I did 
 during what time I was in the company of ladies. 
 
 At that time I thought Mrs. Elliott was doing all she 
 could to tease me, but since I have grown older and 
 learned a little more about civilization, I am convinced 
 
fN SOCIETY. 
 
 chat it was for my own good, thinking that I might over- 
 come my timidity to a certain extent by having me go in 
 society. Nearly every day while at the Fort she would 
 either ask me in the afternoon to go in company with 
 her to visit some lady friend, or would want me to stay 
 at her house to receive some lady company, and fn- 
 quently I have accompanied her to a neighbor's house 
 where there were young ladies, and I would have given 
 every horse that I owned to have been away. But Mrs. 
 Elliott had been almost like a mother to me, and I could 
 not refuse to go with her when she requested me to do sc. 
 After I had been at the Fort about two weeks Mrs 
 Elliott said she was going to give another party, but 1 
 told her I had a lawful excuse this time for not dancing, 
 as the surgeon would not allow me to dance on account 
 of my shoulder. Among the balance of Mrs. Elliott's 
 lady friends was Lieut. Jackson's wife, who, by the way, 
 was one of the loveliest 
 and best women I have 
 ever met. Her husband 
 had been ordered the 
 past summer out to 
 Arizona, and was at 
 that time establishing 
 a new fort, which was 
 known afterward" as 
 Fort Yuma. 
 
 Mrs. Jackson vms ex- 
 pecting to go Kin to *" WM ** * *" 800lber I"*- 
 join her husb'iv.d at Fort Yuma, and as I was going on 
 to the v/;u',rc ?( the Gila, trapping, she insisted en rny 
 
244 ANOTHER PARTY. 
 
 waiting and going in company with them. Finally, after 
 stopping around the Fort three weeks, the surgeon told 
 rne by a certain time, which was nearly a week, I might 
 start out, and if I was careful I would be perfectly safe. 
 
 I went down to the city, and Jim Beckwith and J 
 agreed on the time to start, after which I returned to the 
 Fort. 
 
 The evening before I was to start, every army officer 
 at the Fort, there being twenty-eight in number, and 
 every lady, married and single, came to Mrs. Elliott's 
 house. When I asked her what all this meant, she said: 
 ; 'I suppose they have come to bid you good-bye. * But 
 't was not long until I knew the object of the meeting, 
 for some one in the crowd sang out: "Choose partners 
 for a quadrille!" and in a jiffy there was a double set on 
 the floor, and the floor manager said: "All ready." 
 
 The musicians took their seats, and the same 
 prompter stood there that prompted for them the time I 
 attended that other party of Mrs Elliott's. 
 
 The music started up, and I commenced to realize 
 that I was attending a party, or the party was attending 
 me, one of the two. They danced nearly all night, and 
 had what they called a nice time, while I sat back in one 
 Corner scared half to death for fear they would call "la- 
 dies' choice;" and I knew Mrs. Elliott orsome other lady 
 was sure to come for me, and as my shoulder was getting 
 most well, I was afraid that I could not get clear on the 
 plea of being a cripple. 
 
 When the party broke up, Mrs. Jackson insisted on 
 my oavingr them a visit at Fort Yuma. as it would not be 
 
Nawasa, Piraa tribe. 
 
 Page 246 
 
OFF TRAPPING. 745 
 
 a great ways from where I was going to trap the coming 
 winter. 
 
 The next morning when I rode off, and different ones 
 were waving me adieu, Mrs. Elliott told me to be sure 
 and pay them a visit when I came to the city. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 TRAPPING ON THE GILA. THE PIMAS IMPART A SEC- 
 RET. RESCUE ^F A WHITE GIRL. A YOUNG INDIAN 
 
 .\GENT. VISIT TO TAGS. UNCLE KIT FAILS TO 
 
 RECOGNIZE ME. 
 
 The same da}' -that I left the Fort, Jim Beckwith 
 mine down *,o the boat bringing my horses, twelve in 
 number, and after buying our outfit for camping, provis- 
 ions, and so on, we bought quite a lot of beads, blank- 
 ets, cheap rings and such goods as we could trade to the 
 Indians for furs. 
 
 Tin: following day we pulled for the trapping region, 
 
 by way of the old San Jose mission, and from there to 
 
 !d mission of San Grbriel, theiu -jave 
 
 it. From there we struck out for the mouth of the 
 
 Gila river, and crossed just wheie it empties into the 
 
 ( >rado. We then traveled up what is known as 
 
246 WITH PlMAS. 
 
 river, some distance from where we crossed the Gila. 
 This was early in January, and we found plenty of beaver 
 that were easy to catch. 
 
 No trapping had been done in that region for several 
 years. Besides, we thought at the time, and it so proved, 
 that we were entirely out of the way of hostile Indians. 
 
 Here we put in two months trapping, with splendid 
 success. Then, as it was getting too late in the season 
 to trap, Jim proposed that we take our little stock of 
 goods, or a portion of it, and visit the Pima tribe of In- 
 dians, which we found to be not as great a distance away 
 as we had supposed, it being only about forty miles to 
 their village. 
 
 They all knew us and were glad to see us. The chief 
 and some other of the head men were out on their an- 
 nual hunt, and we did not get to see them, as we only 
 stayed two days, during which time they treated us the 
 very best they knew how. They had plenty of vegetables 
 such as turnips, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. 
 
 While on this visit a certain young Indian got to be a 
 great friend to me, but I am sorry to say that I have for- 
 gotten his name. He had a sister whose name was 
 Nawasa, who also got to be a warm friend of mine, and 
 I must say, that, although an Indian, she was a lady in 
 her way, and I thought, really, that she was the best 
 looking Indian I had ever seen. 
 
 The evening that we were to start back to our camp, 
 Nawasa came to me and told me in Spanish that her 
 brother wanted to" see me, and that he had something to 
 tell me. I started off with her, and after we had gone a 
 
THEY IMPART 
 
 short distance I asked her where her brother was, and 
 she pointed to a bunch of bushes, saying he was there. 
 
 On my arrival at the spot I asked him what he wished 
 to say to me. I knew he had something private and im- 
 portant to say, otherwise he would not have called me to 
 an out-of-the-way place like that. 
 
 He raised to his feet and looked around tc see if 
 there was any one in sight, and said in Spanish: "Sit 
 down here, me and my sister have something to tell 
 yon." 
 
 He started in by saying that the Apaches were very 
 bad Indians, and that they had killed many of my 
 friends; which showed <hat he considered all white 
 people my friends. 
 
 "Six or seven years ago," he continued, "they killed 
 a man, his wife, and two boys, and took two girls priso- 
 ners. A long time ago the smallest girl died and the 
 big girl buried he/." 
 
 At this, Nawasa spoke and said: "Many times I 
 have gone with Lev to the village and heard her sing 
 a pretty song, but I could not understand a word of it." 
 
 I asked if this girl was living yet. 
 
 Nawasa sai'J: "Yes, I see her every few days." 
 
 I asked her what size the girl was, and from what 
 I could leuin she was almost grown. 
 
 I asked her if the girl was satisfied, and she thought 
 she was not, saying she was held a prisoner and had 
 to do the work for the Indian families, or lodges, as she 
 termed fhem. She said the work consisted of getting the 
 wood and water, and whatever Kttle cooking was to be 
 dona. 
 
A SECRET. 
 
 The reader will understand that while \'c,.t Apachea 
 were hostile toward the whites, and the Pi mas were not, 
 yet the two tribes were always on peacable terms. But 
 I could see at a glance that those two Indians felt a deep 
 interest in that white girl. I asked Nawasa how far it 
 was to where the white girl was. After studying awhile> 
 she said it was about six hours, meaning six hours' ride. 
 
 I asked her when she would seethe girl again, and 
 she made me understand that if it would please me, or b 
 of any benefit to the girl, she could see her most any day, 
 saying that she went near the village to gather huckle- 
 berries, this being the time of year the red huckleberries 
 are ripe in this country. 
 
 I told them that I would come bsvk in four days, and 
 then I would go with them to that place to gather huck- 
 leberries. 
 
 I wanted to look over the ground before laying my 
 plans for taking the girl, provided she wished to leave 
 the Indiaas. 
 
 This ended the conversation, so we went back to 
 camp, where I found Jim Beckwith and a crowd of In- 
 dians joking, smoking and having a good time generally, 
 for, as I have said before, this was the most sociable 
 tribe of Indians that I ever saw. 
 
 On our arrival at camp, Jim asked me in Spanish 
 where I had been, and when he saw the Indian girl, said: 
 "Oh, I see; you have been off courting;" and then he and 
 the Indians had a laugh at my expense. 
 
 I did not say anything to Jim about what I had heard 
 until the next day. 
 
 W tarta ~*rly in order to m*k the trip in on* 
 
PLAN TO RESCUE 249 
 
 day. I told him the story just as I had it trom the two 
 Indians, and told him that I was going to try to get the 
 girl away from the Apaches if she wanted to leave them. 
 
 I rode along some distance, apparently in a deep 
 study, and he finally turned to me and said: 
 
 "I think you had better let that gal alone, for then 
 Apaches is the wust Injuns in the hull country. If you 
 make the attempt and they ever git on your track, they'll 
 run you down in spite o' you." 
 
 To the readers of this book I will say I never was 
 more astonished in my life, than I was to hear Jim Beck- 
 with talk as he did. In all the time that I had been with 
 him, this was the first time I had ever seen the slightest 
 indication of his showing the white feather, as we termed 
 ;t. It seemed to me he had lost all his nerve. 
 
 I said: "Jim, my mind is made up; if that white girl 
 is dissatisfied and wants to leave the Indians, I am going 
 to make the attempt, and trust to luck for the balance." 
 
 From that time until the day I was to go back to the 
 village, he tried in every way he could think of to per- 
 suade me not to make the attempt, but I told him there 
 was no use talking, that I looked upon it as being my 
 duty, knowing that the girl was a slave to those Indians. 
 
 On the day appointed I saddled Mexico and started 
 for the Pima village. I met the two young Indians about 
 two miles from the village, where they had come to meet 
 me, and they were both riding one horse, Nawasa riding 
 behind her brother. When I met them she jumped off 
 from behind her brother and said she wanted to try my 
 horse to see how he rode, and sb* got on Mexico behind 
 me and rod to camp. 
 
25O CAPTIVE WHITE GIRL 
 
 I stayed at the village that night, and the next morn- 
 ing the three of us started out to gather huckleberries. 
 
 After we were on the ground and were busying our- 
 selves gathering berries, Navvasa said: 
 
 "If you will go on that little hill" pointing to a hill 
 near by "at noon to-morrow, I will bring the white girl 
 here to this tree, and you can see her for yourself." 
 
 She made me promise her not to go any nearer the 
 Apache camp at this time, for, said she, "If they suspect 
 anything wrong, the white girl will be traded off to the 
 Indians in Mexico for a slave." 
 
 After making arrangements to meet the next day, 
 Nawasa rode off toward the Apache town, and her brother 
 and I rode back to the Pima village. 
 
 The following day I rode back in company with my 
 young Indian friend to within two or three miles of the 
 berry-patch, where we separated, and I rode out to the 
 ridge that Nawasa had pointed out to me the day pre- 
 vious. 
 
 I saw them standing by the tree, as she had said. I 
 put my glass to my eyes and saw sure enough that it was 
 a white girl with Nawasa, and that she looked very sad. 
 
 I then rode back to the Pima village. That same 
 night the two young Indians both came home, but they 
 /ould not say a word while at camp. It seemed that they 
 would not under any consideration have let any of the 
 other Indians know what they were up to, so the next 
 morning when I started home they took their horses and 
 rode with me about two miles. 
 
 After we had got away from the village sot le distance, 
 I asked Nawasa if the white erirl still wanted to leave *h* 
 
FROM APACHES. 
 
 251 
 
 Apaches, and *he said, "Yes, she would like very much 
 to leave them, but was afraid; as the Apaches had told 
 lu r that if she 
 ever tried to get 
 away and was 
 c a u g h t , she 
 would 1>< sold 
 to the Mexican 
 Indians as a 
 slave, viiid there 
 she would have 
 to work in the 
 fields which 
 would be much 
 harder work 
 than she has to 
 do vvheresheis. " 
 I told Na- 
 wasa that if she 
 would bring the 
 white girl out on 
 the same ridge 
 that I had rode 
 on, I would give 
 her five strings 
 of beads, and I 
 would give her 
 
 one string to give to the white girl. She promised that 
 she would try, and that she would do her best. 
 
 I agreed to be back in eight days and see what ar- 
 rangements had been made, and to let her know when f 
 would be ready to take the girL 
 
 I saw them standing by the tree. 
 
DISCOURAGEMENT 
 
 When I got back, Jim asked me what I would do with 
 the girl if I was successful in getting her away from the 
 Indians. I told him I would take her to Fort Yuma. 
 
 ' 'And what in the name of God will you do with her 
 when you get to Fort Yuma?" said Jim. 
 
 I told him that if Mrs. Jackson was there, which i 
 was confident she was, that I would leave the girl witt 
 her, and that I had no fears but that the girl would be 
 taken care of in the very best manner that Mrs. Jackson 
 could provide for her. 
 
 Jim said: "If the girl is satisfied with the Injuns, 
 why don't you let her alone? She don't know anything 
 but Injun ways, and she never will." 
 
 I told him that my mind was thoroughly made up 
 and I would rescue that girl from the Indians or lose rm 
 scalp in the attempt. And now don't say anymore about 
 it, for it will do no good. 
 
 He said: "Go ahead and do as you please, as yon 
 have always got to have your own way about things, any 
 how. " 
 
 I said: "Yes, Jim; when I know I am right, I pro- 
 pose to have my own way." 
 
 This ended the conversation, for the time being; -* 
 least, for Jim saw that I was determined in the matte 
 and he said no more about it. 
 
 On the day appointed I took my two favorite saddle- 
 horses and rode over to the Pima village. 
 
 I started very early and arrived at the village about 
 four o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 Alter knocking about the village for a little while, my 
 two Indian friends proposed that we take rid*. 
 
CLEVER SCHEMING 253 
 
 Of course I knew the horseback ride was only a ruse 
 to get a chance to tell me the plans laid by herself and 
 the white girl for her escape, although she said that she 
 just wanted to try my Pinto horse to see how he -vould 
 ride. 
 
 And here I will say that I don't believe there was an- 
 other Indian in that village who had any idea of the 
 scheme that was being worked up between myself and 
 those two Indians, for they would never say a word to 
 me while within earshot of any of the tribe. 
 
 The other Indians thought I was courting Nawasa, 
 and it was always the custom among those Indians for a 
 young couple never to ride out alone. 
 
 It has always been a mystery to me why those young 
 Pimas took such a deep interest in the white girl, for they 
 were merely untutored Indians, having only a few years 
 since seen the first white ma.n, and had not seen many 
 since then. 
 
 But those two young Indians seemed to be as kind- 
 hearted persons as I ever met, and were the most intel- 
 ligent Indians I ever saw, who were not educated, and I 
 often regretted that I did not take them to some school 
 and have them educated, for it would have been a great 
 benefit to the people on the plains at that time. 
 
 But to go on with my story. We took our ride, and 
 as soon as we were well away from the village Nawasa 
 t jld me that she had seen the white girl and completed 
 plans for her escape. She said that after making ar- 
 rangements *vith the girl, she Nawasa had not gone to 
 the Apkche village, but had met the girl at the huckle- 
 berry ya^tch ciost every day. 
 
254 BY TWO YOUNG 
 
 She said: ''The girl will come to the berry-patch 
 every day until we go there for her, provided the Indians 
 with whom she 1'ved would let her go; that she might be 
 there to-morrow, and she might not come till the next 
 day. The girl is willing to go with you, and we will go 
 to the berry-patch to-morrow and wait till she comes.'' 
 The next morning the three of us started out osten- 
 sibly to pick berries. 
 
 After we were out of sight of the village the young 
 Indian man took my Pinto horse and started in the di- 
 rection of Fort Yuma, it being understood that he was tc 
 stop about half way between Fort Yuma and the place 
 where we would meet the girl. He was to wait there 
 until the middle of the afternoon, and if we were not 
 there by that time he was to return to camp. 
 
 Nawasa and I went on to the berry-patch, but the 
 white girl was not there. We had not waited long, how- 
 ever, until Nawasa looked up and said in Spanish, 
 ' 'There she comes now." 
 
 I looked and saw the girl running. She did not dis- 
 cover us until she was within about fifty yards of us, and 
 when she saw us she stopped very suddenly and hung her 
 head. 
 
 I did not know at the time whether she was ashamed 
 or whether she had been with the Indians so long that 
 she was really afraid of a white person; but Nawasa was 
 not long in getting to her, and the girl would look at me 
 and then look back, as though she had a notion tc go 
 back to the Apache village. 
 
 When I rode up to where she was, she dropped he* 
 head and would not look up for some little time. 
 
r 
 
 jr-s 
 
 ml m 
 
 She droppod her 
 
 anil would not look up for some little time 
 
 Pag 
 
PIMA INDIANS. 255 
 
 I saw that her face was badly tattooed, but her body 
 was not, and as she stood there, apparently undecided 
 what to do, she was to me an object of pity, and her de- 
 jected countenance would, I think, have appealed 
 strongly to even Jim Bridger's heart. 
 
 I told Nawasa to help her on' behind me, for we 
 must be off quick. Nawasa said: "She don't want to 
 go." I then spoke to the white girl in Spanish, and 
 said: "My dear girl, why do you hesitate? Get up 
 behind me and I will take you to your own people. 
 Why do you want to stay here and be a slave for those 
 Indians?" 
 
 I wish I could give in detail the persuasive lan- 
 guage used by that untutored but kind-hearted Indian 
 girl, to get her to leave the Apaches. She would tell 
 her that if she would only go with me that I would 
 take her to her own people, and would tell hr how 
 happy she would be with them. 
 
 After a great deal of persuasion, as I sat on my horse 
 I reached down and took her by one arm and told the 
 Indian girl to help her up behind me. She took her by 
 the foct and helped her on my horse, and mounting her 
 own horse we flew out of that section about as fast as our 
 horses were able to carry us. 
 
 I was riding Mexico, and he was one of the swiftest 
 horses in that country, and he had great endurance, also. 
 
 We rode some distance before I said anything to the 
 girl, though Nawasa had kept along at our side, talking 
 *o her ail the time to keep her spirits up. Finally I 
 spoke to her in the English language, but it was some 
 
2 5 6 
 
 ESCAPE. 
 
 time before I could get her to utter a word; I don't know 
 whether it was through fear or bashfulness. 
 
 Four miles' ride brought us out of the timber into an 
 open prairie, with low hills covered with bunch-grass, arid 
 here and there a bunch of prickly pears, so rank that one 
 dared not attempt to ride through them. There were 
 little mountain streams running through the country, with 
 
 We flew as fast as our horses could carry us. 
 
 no kind of timber b-ut willows, strewn here and there 
 along the banks. 
 
 On we went, over the hills and across the valleys, 
 putting our horses down to what they could stand and at 
 the same time keeping a sharp lookout behind to see if 
 the Indians were trailing us 
 
CHANGE SADDLE. 2 57 
 
 Our course for the first twenty miles, to where we met 
 the young Indian, was a little north of west, and from 
 there almost due west. 
 
 About two o'clock we arrived at the point where we 
 vvere to meet the young Indian, and found him there, 
 waiting. 
 
 We dismounted, and I was not long in changing my 
 saddle from Mexico to my Pinto horse. This horse would 
 weigh nrarly eleven hundred pounds, and had good life 
 and splendid bottom. 
 
 By this time the white girl was beginning to talk some. 
 
 After having my saddle changed and on my horse, the 
 Indian girl told her she would go no farther with us. 
 She told Nawasa that she was afraid to go with me, as 
 she was afraid that I would take her to Mexico and sell 
 her for a slave, where she would have to work in the 
 fields. But Nawasa assured her there was no danger, 
 saying: ' 4 Esta umbra rnooly ah-me-go," meaning, "This 
 man is a great friend of mine;" and she again told her 
 not to be afraid, for I would take her to* her own people. 
 
 This seemed to give her some encouragement. 
 
 After the young Indian had shown me the direction 
 to Fort Yuma, by landmarks, etc., I asked him how far 
 it was. 
 
 He stepped out by the side of my horse, and after 
 taking a good look at him, said in Spanish: "About 
 three hours, or perhaps three and a half." I then told 
 Nawasa to help the girl up again, and she did so. 
 
 When we were about to start, the two Indians came 
 up to us and said: "Adios anlyose," which means 
 
258 A CLOUDED MEMORY. 
 
 "Good-bye, my friend;" at the same time shaking hands 
 with us both. 
 
 After riding a short distance I commenced talking to 
 her in our own language. 
 
 It seemed that she had almost forgotten English, and 
 when she would try to talk it she could not join the wordi 
 together so as to make much sense of it. It was hard to 
 understand her, but between English and Spanish to- 
 gether she could manage to talk so that I was able to un- 
 derstand her. However, her English seemed to improve 
 by degrees, and I asked her if she would not be glad to 
 get back to her own people, so they could dress her up 
 and make a lady of her. 
 
 I do not believe that the poor girl had really thought 
 of or realized her nude condition. 
 
 She said: "No, I can never be a white girl," and at 
 the same time commenced crying, and said in broken 
 Enghish, "Now I remember seeing my mother dressed all 
 nice, and plenty more women all dressed nice." It 
 seemed after talking to her in her own language a short 
 time she could call back to memory things that she had 
 forgotten altogether. 
 
 I asked her how long since she was taken by th<* 
 Indians. She had to study some time before she could 
 answer, but finally in broken English, intermingled with 
 Spanish, she said she thought seven years. 
 
 I asked if she was taken alone. She said, no, she had 
 a little sister taken at the same time she was. I asked 
 her where the little sister was, and she replied that she 
 had died, and she thought she had been dead about three 
 years. 
 
Navajo Church, near Fort Wingate, New Mexico. 
 
ARRIVE AT FORT. 2 59 
 
 I asked her if the' Indians had killed her father and 
 nother. She said: "Yes, and my little brother, too; 
 and burned our wagon and all that was in it." 
 
 Then I said to her: "I don't see how you can love 
 those Indians who had killed your father, mother and 
 brother." She replied that she had no one else to love. 
 
 I then said to her, "You will soon be among friends, 
 for I am taking you to a woman that will be as good to 
 you as your own mother was, " and at that moment we hove 
 in sight of the Fort. I pointed to the Fort, and told her 
 there was where the woman lived that I was taking her to. 
 
 We were now safe from an attack from the Apaches, 
 and only a few minutes later I drew rein at Fort Yuma. 
 
 I first rode up to the guard, whose beat was in front 
 jf the Commander's tent, and asked where Lieut. Jack- 
 Foil's quarters were. He pointed to a tent not far from 
 where w^e then were, saying: "That is his tent, and his 
 wife is there, too." 
 
 As I rode to the Lieutenant's quarters, all eyes were 
 turned in our direction. Mrs. Jackson came to the door 
 jf the tent and recognized me at once, and her first words 
 \vere: "Chief, in the name of common sense, where are 
 ,ou from, and who is this you have with you?" 
 
 I said: "Mrs. J-ickson, this is a girl I rescued from 
 ihe Indians. She has no parents and no relatives, that 
 she knows of, ami I have brought her to you, thinking 
 you woui'l bo a friend to her." 
 
 The reply of that noble woman was, "I will, with all 
 my lie-art," and at that she- assisted the girl in getting off 
 the 1 ! lr<l her into her own tent. 
 
 By this time Lieut. Jackson an) all the officers of the 
 
260 
 
 INTRODUCTIONS. 
 
 Kon were there, and it seemed to me that the Lieutenant 
 
 would never quit shaking my hand, and when he went to 
 
 introduce me to 
 the other offi- 
 cers who were 
 present, laugh- 
 ingly said. 
 
 "What shall 
 I call you? I 
 have known you 
 as the 'Boy 
 Scout,' also as 
 the 'Chief of 
 Scouts.' Iha/e 
 known you 
 when you were 
 giving lessons 
 in hunting, and 
 
 now you have come in from a hostile Indian country with 
 
 a white girl riding behind you. What shall I call you?' 
 I said: "Lieutenant, call me Will Drannan, the 
 
 trapper, for I am now engaged in that business." 
 
 "Yes, I see you are;" responded the Lieutenant with 
 
 a hearty laugh, ( 'and I see you have had splendid success 
 
 in your new enterprise." He then asked me if I had 
 
 trapped the girl. 
 
 I told him that I did not trap her, but that I got her 
 
 away just the same. 
 
 The Lieutenant then introduced me to the officerc, 
 
 ami had the orderly take charge of my horses. I was 
 kept more busy in my life answering questions than 
 
 "Who is this you have with youi 
 
OLIVB OATMAN. 261 
 
 I was for the next two hours, relative to the girl and my 
 plan of rescuing her. 
 
 Among the officers was a captain by the name of Asa 
 Moore, who had heard all about this massacre only a short 
 time after it occurred, and he said he thought there were 
 some of the relatives living somewhere in California, but 
 he did not know just what part of the state. 
 
 I had forgotten to say that on our way to the Fort I 
 asked her name. It seemed at first that she had forgotten 
 it, but after studying some little time she tried to speak 
 the name, which at that time I understood to be Otus, but 
 I have learned since that her name was Olive Oatman. 
 She did not seem to remember her given name. The 
 Indians bad a name for her, but I have forgotten what it 
 was. 
 
 Lieu*. Jackson invited us into his tent, but when we 
 got to t'r* door it was barred. 
 
 Mrs. ^nckson asked us to wait a few minutes until she 
 got some clothes on Will's girl. 
 
 A few minutes later, when we were called into sup- 
 per, Mrs. Jackson had washed the girl and had her dressed 
 in calico. 
 
 Mrs. Jackson told us that after she got her dressed, 
 the girl sat down and wept bitterly and said she did noi 
 know how to wear such clothing. 
 
 I remained at the Fort two days, and I must say that 
 this girl improved both in talking and in manners during 
 the time I was there far beyond our expectations. 
 
 When she would appear down-hearted or discouraged 
 Mrs. Jackson would talk to her in such a kind and motb- 
 
262 A RECOMMENDATION. 
 
 Cily manner that the girl would cheer up at once and 
 would be anxious to try to make something of herself. 
 
 After spending two days at the Fort, and knowing 
 that Jim Beckwith would be uneasy about me, I com- 
 menced making preparations to return. 
 
 Mrs. Jackson promised me that she would give the 
 ^irl the very best care possible while she remained with 
 her, and if she could hear of any of her relatives she would 
 see that she got to them safely. 
 
 With this understanding I left the girl with Mrs. 
 Jackson, but before I was ready to start the Lieutenant 
 came to me and asked if I did not want a job of scouting. 
 I told him that I did not at present, that I was going to 
 Santa Fe and did not know when I would return again. 
 
 He then handed me a letter of recommendation, say- 
 ing, "If you ever happen to want a position scouting, 
 just show this letter and it will be of some benefit to 
 you," and he assured me that if at any time he could 
 assist me in any manner he would cheerfully do so. 
 
 When I was ready to start, Miss Oatman asked Mrs. 
 Jackson what she should say to me. Mrs. Jackson told 
 her to tell me good-bye, and tell me that she was very 
 thankful to me for all I had done for her. Bat the poor 
 girl could not remember it all. She could only remem- 
 ber the words ''Good-bye, I thank you," at the same time 
 shaking hands with me. 
 
 This was the last I ever saw of the girl, but have 
 heard various reports concerning her since. I have been 
 told that Mrs. Jackson raised money at the Fort to send 
 her to San Francisco to have the tattoo marks removed 
 from her face by the celebrated Dr. Fuller of that city. 
 
BACK WITH PlMAS. 263 
 
 but they having baen formed with vegetable matter, he 
 was unable to remove them. I was also informed that 
 she was afterwards sent to New York for the same pur- 
 pose, but with no better success. 
 
 Only a short time ago, since coming to Idaho, I heard 
 that she had really found some of her relatives some- 
 where in the state of Oregon, where she remained and 
 raised a family; while a still later report is that she is 
 married to a rich merchant and is living somewhere in 
 the state of New York. 
 
 I have often thought of this poor girl since, and it has 
 always been a question in my mind whether I did right 
 in taking her away from the Indians after she had been 
 with them so long; but if I did do right, and she or any 
 of her relatives should by chance see this work and 
 glance over its pages, I wish to say that to that kind- 
 hearted Indian girl of the Pima tribe, Nawasa by name, 
 and her brother belong the the praise of rescuing Olive 
 Oatman from the Apache Indians. 
 
 In the first place, had it not been for her and her 
 brother, I would never have known of the girl, and even 
 after I knew she was there, I could not have done any- 
 thing without Nawasa's assistance, for she could not have 
 worked more faithfully and earnestly if there had been a. 
 thousand dollars in the operation for her. 
 
 On my return trip I rode the first day to the Pima 
 village and remained there that night. 
 
 I hired my young Indian friend to go among the 
 Apaches and trade beads for furs, and he went home with 
 me. 
 
 Nawasa was very anxious to know how I got through 
 
264 ARRIVE AT C\MP. 
 
 with the girl, but did not dare say anything while in 
 camp; so the next morning when her brother and I wer* 
 leaving she caught a horse and rode with us some dis- 
 tance. As soon as we were out of hearing of the other 
 Indians, she and her brother commenced asking all sorts 
 of questions concerning the girl; whether I thought she 
 would be happy with her own people or not. 
 
 Those Indians had learned in some way that some- 
 where, a long distance away, the white people had great 
 villages, and "Nawasa asked if I thought the white girl 
 would be taken to the large cities. 
 
 The young Indian and I arrived at our camp about 
 four o'clock that afternoon and found Jim Beckwith in a 
 splendid humor, for he was glad to see me. He had 
 given up all hope of ever seeing me again, for he thought 
 the Apaches had followed me up and killed me. I told 
 him what I had brought the young Indian for, and he was 
 well pleased with the arrangement. 
 
 We fitted him out with beads that cost us twenty dol- 
 lars, and tin pans and blankets, agreeing to come to his 
 village in two weeks for our furs. 
 
 When the two weeks were up we took our pack-horses 
 and went to the village, and to our surprise he had traded 
 off the beads and blankets to a much better advantage 
 than we could have done ourselves. 
 
 For this favor we gave him in compensation two pairs 
 of blankets, four brass finger rings and four strings of 
 beads; and the young fellow thought he had been well 
 treated for his trouble. 
 
 It was now getting late in the season, &nd after buy- 
 ing all the furs the Pima tribe had we commenced making 
 
AT KIT CARSON'S HOME. 265 
 
 preparations to pull out for Taos, as we had about all the 
 furs we could pack on our horses to advantage, having 
 burteen pack-horses in all. 
 
 Ws packed up and started, and made the trip without 
 anything of consequence happening on the way. We 
 did not see any hostile Indians and had very good suc- 
 cess, only losing one pack and horse while crossing a 
 little stream, the name of which I have forgotten; and 
 arrived at Taos in the latter part of June. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon when we rode up to 
 Uncle Kit Carson's home. He and his wife and little 
 child were out on the porch, and as soon as we rode 
 up, both recognized Jim Beckwith, but neither of them 
 knew me, for when they had seen me last I was al- 
 most a beardless boy, and now I had quite a crop of 
 beard and was a Aian of twenty-five years of age. 
 
 "H^llo, Jim!" were Uncle Kit's first words, and he 
 and his wife cam out to the gate to shake hands with 
 him, 
 
 "Well^ how are you, anyhow; and how have you been 
 since you reft, and who is this you have with you?" 
 said Uncle K<t, the last in a low tone of voice. 
 
 I had dismounted some yards distant, and on the op- 
 posite side of the pack-horse from them. Jim told Uncle 
 Kit that I was a discouraged miner that he had picked up 
 in California, saying: "He don't amount to very much, 
 but I needed some one for company and to help me 
 through with the pack-train, BO I brought him along." 
 
 By this tim I had made my way through the bunch 
 of pack-horses and walked up to Uncle Kit and spoke to 
 him, and I think I got the worst shaking up that I had 
 
z66 AT BENT'S FORT. 
 
 /iad for a long time, and 1 don't think there ever was a 
 father more pleased to see his son return than Uncle Kit 
 was to see me 
 
 Our horses were turned over to the hired man, wLc 
 took care of them, and the next two days were spent in 
 visiting Uncle Kit and his wife. Of course I had to teL 
 them of the hardships I had undergone during my ab- 
 sence from home; my adventures, narrow escapes, etc. 
 
 I learned that Mr. Hughes had died during my ab- 
 sence; I also learned that Johnnie West was at Bent's 
 Fort. 
 
 After resting two days we packed up again and started 
 for Bent's Fort. Uncle Kit went along with us to assist 
 in making a good sale of our furs, and we arrived there 
 just in time, as the last train was going out for the sea- 
 son, and we sold them for a good price. 
 
 Here I met Jim Bridger, Johnnie West and a number 
 of other acquaintances and friends who supposed I had 
 been killed and scalped by the Indians. I was sorry to 
 learn that Johnnie West, like the majority of the old 
 frontiersmen, had fallen into the habit of drinking up 
 every dollar that he earned. 
 
 While we were here, Uncle Kit made a proposition 
 .hat himself, Jim Beckwith, Jim Bridger and myself take 
 a % trip to the head of the Missouri river and put in the 
 winter trapping. 
 
 He said he wanted to make this trip and then quit 
 the business, saying: "I have business enough at home 
 to attend to, but I have always had an anxiety to take a 
 trip to the headwaters of the Missouri river." 
 
 The four of us returned to Taos, arriving there just iu 
 
THE FANDANGO. 267 
 
 time to celebr?te '.he Fourth of July, arriving on the sec- 
 ond, and now I v/as home again in my fine buckskin suit. 
 The night of the fourth we all attended a big fan- 
 dingo, and had ?. huge time. I was somewhat over my 
 bishfulness by '.his time, and by the assistance of Mrs. 
 Carson and two or three other ladies present, I was en- 
 abled to get through in pretty good shape. After that 
 night'*, dancing, I felt that if I were back at the Fort, 
 where I Hed to dance my first set, I would show them 
 how dancing first began. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 WARM TIME IN A COLD COUNTRY. A BAND OF BAN- 
 NOCKS CHASE US INTO A STORM THAT SAVES US. 
 
 KIT CARSON SLIGHTLY WOUNDED. BECKWITH MAKES 
 
 A CENTURY RUN. 
 
 We remained at Taos until August first, then, all 
 being ready for our northern trip, each man taking his 
 own saddle-horse and five pack horses, we made the start 
 for the headwaters of the Missouri river. We crossed 
 the Platte where it leaves the mountains, and the next 
 day we met a band of Arapahoes, who informed us that 
 the Sioux were on the war-path, and that Gen. Harney 
 
268 Gfii -. S CAMiP. 
 
 was stationed on North Platte with a considerable body 
 of soldiers. The day following, after having crossed the 
 Cache-la-Poudre, we reached Gen. Harney'scamp. The 
 General, being a good friend of Uncle Kit and Jim 
 Bridger, insisted on our being his guests, so we took sup- 
 per with him and camped there for the night. 
 
 While at the supper table, Jim Beckwith told the 
 General who I was and what I had been doing the last 
 three years, following which I took Lieut. Jackson's let- 
 ter from my pocket and handed it to the General. I had 
 never seen the inside of the letter myself. The General 
 read the letter the second time, and looking up at me, 
 he said: 
 
 "Yes, I'll give you a job; you can start in tomorrow 
 if you like." 
 
 Before I had time to answer him, Uncle Kit. spoke up 
 saying: "General, I have employed him for tl'e next si? 
 months and I cannot get along without him/' 
 
 At this the General said: "Mr. Carson, your hazi- 
 ness is not urgent and mine is, and I insist en the youiif; 
 man taking a position with me for the ren/ainder of the 
 summer." 
 
 I said: "General, I did not show you that lettei 
 with the intention of asking you for employment, but 
 simply to show you the standing I have with the people 
 where I have been." 
 
 ''Young man, " he replied, "I don't wish to flatter 
 you, but there is not a man in my service that I could 
 conscientiously give such a letter." 
 
 When he saw that we were determined to proceed, 
 ne tried to persuade us that we could ij'or make t 
 
03 
 
 I 
 
A SKIRMISH. 269 
 
 'hrough, "For," said he, "the whole country is full of 
 hostile Indians between here and there, and they are kil- 
 ling emigrants every day." Which was true. 
 
 The following morning we pulled out again, aiming to 
 push through and get into the bad lands as quickly as 
 possible, knowing that when once in there we would not 
 be attacked by a large band of Indians, there being no 
 game in that region for them to live on. 
 
 The second day out from Gen. Kearney^s quarters, 
 about the middle of the afternoon, we were looking for 
 a place to camp for the night, when we saw eleven In- 
 dians coming for us full tilt. Jim Bridger was riding in 
 the lead, I being the hindmost one. Jim being the first 
 to see them, he turned as quick as a wink and we all rode 
 to the center. Each man having a saddle-horse and five 
 pack-horses, they made good breastworks for us, so we 
 all dismounted and awaited the impolite arrival. I drew 
 my rifle down across the back of one of the horses when 
 the Indians were two hundred yards away, and Uncle 
 Kit said: "Don't fire yet. All wait until they get near 
 us, and I will give the word for all to fire at once. Each 
 man take good aim, and make sure of his Indian; use 
 your rifles first and then draw your pistols." 
 
 He did not give the word until they were within about 
 one hundred yards of us, and when he did, we all fired. 
 I saw my Indian fall to the ground. We then drew our 
 revolvers, and I got in two more shots before the Indians 
 could turn their ponies so as to get away. 
 
 At the first shot with my revolver I did not see the 
 Indian fall, but at the second shot I got my man. 
 
 We killed seven from the little band, only leaving 
 
2/0 
 
 CROW INDIANS. 
 
 four. They seemed to realize at once that they had bit 
 off more than they could chew, and in about three min- 
 utes they were out of sight, and that was the last we saw 
 of them. 
 
 We did not get a man wounded, and only one horse 
 hurt, and that very slightly 
 
 This was our last trouble with Indians until we \vt-re 
 across the' Yellowstone. 
 
 The next* day after crossing that river we saw on our 
 right, about a quarter of a mile away, twenty Crow In- 
 
 dians coming 
 for us. They 
 gave us chase 
 for five or six 
 miles, until we 
 struck suitable 
 ground. As 
 soon as that was 
 
 O b t a i n e d we I saw two Indian wick-i-ups. 
 
 stopped to make 
 
 a stand, and as soon as they were in sight around r he 
 
 hill they were within gunshot, and we all fired I *Jbunk 
 

 
UNFRIENDLY TRAPPERS. 
 
 I wounded my Indian in the leg, and killed his horse. 
 Jim Beckwith said he saw three Indians fall to the 
 ground. This, however, was the last trouble we had 
 with the Crow Indians on that trip. 
 
 The next day we arrived at Fort Benton, on the Mis- 
 souri river. There we met a number of trappers in the 
 employ of the Hudson Bay Company, and not an inde- 
 pendent trapper in the outfit. Strange, but true, the 
 trappers in the employ of that Company always hated the 
 8 ight of an independent trapper. 
 
 Here we stayed over two days, trying to gather some 
 information as to our route, and, strange as it may seem, 
 we could not find a man who would give us any informa- 
 tion as to the route we wished to go, which was only 
 about two hundred miles from there. 
 
 Trapping had never been done in that region, and 
 these men knew that this was because of hostile Indians 
 there. They were not men of sufficient principle to even 
 intimate to us that the Indians were dangerous in that sec- 
 tion, but let us go on to find it out for ourselves, hoping, 
 no doubt, that the Indians would kill us and that there 
 would be so many independent trappers out of the way. 
 From here we took the divide between the Missouri river 
 and the Yellowstone, aiming to keep on high land in 
 order to steer clear, as much as possible, of hostile In- 
 dians. 
 
 Uncle Kit said he was satisfied that there was a large 
 basin somewhere in that country, but did not know just 
 where or how to find it. 
 
 It was in the evening of the fifth day when we came 
 upon a high ridge, and almost_due west of us and far 
 
272 BRIDGER'S PASS. 
 
 below we could see a great valley, since known, as Galla- 
 tin Valley, where Bozeman, Mont., now stands. 
 
 When we came in sight of this beautiful region, 
 Uncle Kit said: "Boys, this is the country I have been 
 looking for, and I'll assure you if we can get in there 
 and are not molested, we can catch beaver by the 
 hundred." 
 
 We had not been bothered by Indians, nor had we 
 seen any sign of them since we left Fort Benton. 
 
 We had been on high ground all of the way, and 
 we thought now when once in this valley we would be 
 entirely out of the way of the Crows, and the Ban- 
 nocks and Blackfoot Indians would be the only tribes 
 to contend with. 
 
 From where we first saw true valley, we started tc 
 go down the mountain. The next day, as we got lower, 
 we could see plenty of Indian sign. Striking a canyon, 
 that we thought would lead us down to the valley, we 
 gave it the name of Bridger's Pass, which name it has 
 to-day. As we neared the valley we saw more Indian 
 sign, and from the amount of it, it seemed that the coun- 
 try must be alive with them. When within about five or 
 six miles of the valley, we saw a band of Indians to our 
 right, on the ridge. 
 
 Jim Bridger said: "Boys, they are Crows, and we 
 are in for it. " 
 
 They did not come in reach of us, but kept along the 
 ridge above us. We could see. by looking ahead that 
 near the rnouth of this canyon there was a high cliff of 
 rocks. 
 
 We expected to be attacked from those rocks, and w? 
 
GUARD DUTY. 
 
 had to be very cautious in passing this point. But to our 
 surprise they did not make the attack. Here we began 
 to see beaver sign in abundance. I don't think that I 
 ever in my life saw as much of it on the same space of 
 ground as I saw there, for every little stream that emptied 
 into that valley was full of beaver dams. 
 
 The Indians kept in sight of us until we struck the 
 valley, which was just at sunset. We traveled until 
 dark, when we stopped and built up a big fire. As soon 
 as our fire was burning good we mounted our horses and 
 rode about one mile on to open ground. Dismounting, 
 we loosened all our saddles, both pack and riding-sad- 
 dles, and picketed all our horses as close together as we 
 could. 
 
 We made our bed in the center, keeping a guard out 
 all night. Jim Beckwith was the first man on duty, and 
 my turn came second. By the time I went to relieve 
 Jim the moon was up, and he told me to keep a keen 
 lookout in the direction of the creek, "For," said he, "I 
 am almost sure I saw an Indian in that direction about 
 half an hour ago." 
 
 Of course this put me on my guard, and I kept my 
 eye peeled in great shape. About my second trip around 
 the horses I looked in the direction of the creek and 
 thought I saw an Indian coming on all fours. 
 
 He would only come a few steps and then stop. Be- 
 ing below me, I could not get ^ him between me and the 
 moo.), so I concluded I would meet him half way. I got 
 down on all fours and watched him, and when he would 
 I would move ahead, keeping my eye on him, and 
 whei he would stop I would stop also. 
 
A MISTAKE. 
 
 fhis I did so that to move at the same time he did, 
 he could not hear the noise made by me. When I was 
 close enough I laid flat on the ground, shut my left hand, 
 and placing it on the ground, resting my gun on my fist, 
 look good aim and I got him. 
 
 At the crack of my gun the whole crowd were on 
 their feet, and a moment later were at the scene of war. 
 We went to the place where it lay, and beheld a very 
 large white wolf lying there, ''dead as a door nail." 
 
 This was the first time I had ever made such a mis- 
 take, and it was some time 
 before I heard the last of it. 
 
 The next morning when we 
 got up, instead of being one 
 band of Indians in sight, there 
 were two. We made up our 
 minds that we had discov- 
 ered the finest trapping ground 
 in America, and had a poor 
 show to get away from it, but 
 we went ahead and got our 
 breakfast, just as though there 
 were no Indians in sight of us, 
 but we concluded we had better 
 leave this part of the country, 
 so we pulled out southwest 
 across the valley, having no 
 trouble until we struck the West 
 Gallatin river. 
 Here the beaver dams were so thick that it was diffi- 
 ult to find a place to cross. After prospecting some little 
 
 Wllllilll 
 A "ery large white wolf. 
 
A WARM TIME IK 2/5 
 
 time, we struck on a buffalo trail crossing the river, and 
 we concluded to cross on that trail. I was in the lead, 
 but did not proceed far until we saw the mud was so deep 
 that we had to retrace our steps. When we faced about 
 to come back, of course I was thrown into the rear, and 
 just as we had turned the Indians made an attack on us 
 from the brush. I fired four shots at them at short range 
 with my revolver, the others firing at the same time. 
 Just as we were out of the brush, my favorite horse, 
 Mexico, which was the hindmost horse in my string, was 
 shot down, having five or six arrows in his body. I 
 sprang from my saddle and the other boys halted until I 
 cut my dying horse loose from the others, which was only 
 a second's work, and we made a rush for the open ground, 
 which was reached in a few jumps. The Indians did not 
 show themselves on the open ground, but kept hid in the 
 brush. We rode up and down the stream for an hour 
 and a half, but could not find a place that we could cross 
 for Indians and mud. Every place we would attempt to 
 cross, the Indians would attack us from the brush. 
 
 This, however, was all an open country, excepting 
 immediately along the stream, where was an immense 
 growth of underbrush. After making several attempts to 
 cross and being driven back, Jim Beckwith proposed that 
 we put spurs to our horses and ride as fast as they could 
 carry us lor three or four miles up the river, that we 
 might be able to cross before the Indians would be able 
 to get there, "For," said he, "this brush seems to be full 
 of redskins." 
 
 This being agreed to, we all started at full speed up 
 the river, and after running; some distance we saw a large 
 
276 A COLD COUNTRY. 
 
 hnffala trail: leading -across the..riyer, -Jim Bridger being 
 in the .lead, said: "Here is. :a. big. buffalo trail,, let's try 
 crossing, on it." We were about one-fourth of a mile 
 from the river, and Uncle Kit, who from some cause had 
 dropped behind, sang out: "All right, let's hurry and 
 get across and out of the brush on the other side before 
 them redskins get here." 
 
 At this we all made a rush for the river, and just as 
 we were going out on the other side the Indians attacked 
 us from the brush. They shot Uncle Kit's hindmost horse 
 down before he was out of the mud and water, and he 
 had to get off in two feet of mud and water to cut his 
 dying horse loose from the string of horses. We killed 
 two Indians here. Uncle Kit, while he was down cutting 
 his horse loose, shot one who was just in the act of strik- 
 ing him with a tomahawk. We made our way to open 
 ground as quick as possible, rode about a half a mile and 
 then stopped and loaded our pistols. 
 
 Uncle Kit said: "Boys, how in the world are we to 
 get out of this? The whole country is alive with Indians." 
 
 Jim Bridger said: "Kit, you are the man that got us 
 in here, and we will look for you to get us out." 
 
 "All right," said Kit, "mount your horses and let's 
 be off." And he gave orders to ride abreast when the 
 Around would permit. 
 
 By riding in this manner we could corral quicker. 
 What is. meant by corralling is that each man has his 
 string of horses as we have before stated, and when at- 
 tacked each man rides to the center, and the horses are 
 a great protectio" " the rr :n in time of battle. W 
 
-' ID 
 
 f I 
 
 "- IB 
 
A OOMTB8TKD STREAM. 
 
 trmveled some four or five miles without seeing an Indian, 
 but all this time we were on open ground. 
 
 Fnally we came to a little stream, a tributary to the 
 Madison river, and when crossing this we were again at- 
 tacked by the Indians, who were secreted in the brush. 
 
 This was a surprise, for we had not seen an IIK' 
 since we left the West Gallatin. Here we had a 
 that lasted full twenty minutes. We were about the 
 middle of the stream when they opened fire on us. 
 
 Uncle Kit said: "Come ahead, boys;" at the same 
 we commenced firing at the Indians, and every foot of 
 that stream had to be contested, from the middle, where 
 they first opened fire on us, to the shore. I saw two dead 
 Indians in the water, and there might have been more, 
 but I did not have time to stop and look for Indians, 
 either dead or alive. I had seen the time that I was 
 hunting for Indians, but at this particular time I didn't 
 feel as though I had lost any. 
 
 Uncle Kit was now in the lead and I was bringing up 
 the rear. Just as we were out of the water and he was 
 removing the saddle from his horse, he got two arrows 
 through his buckskin hunting shirt, and was very slightly 
 hurt. 
 
 We managed to stand them off until he removed the 
 saddle from the dying horse to another, after which \v\ 
 pulled for open ground, all escaping unhurt, excepting 
 the slight scratch Uncle Kit received from the arrow. 
 
 The redskins did not follow us away from the creek. 
 
 As soon as we were on open ground we stopped and 
 built a fire and dried our clothing, for we were as wet as 
 drowned rats. To build a tire Y*e had to pull small sag* 
 
278 CHASED BY BANNOCKS 
 
 brush that grew here and there in the open prairie in that 
 country. While we were drying our clothing and eating 
 a lunch, we had our horses feeding near us, but did not 
 dare let them scatter for fear of an attack, which we were 
 liable to experience at any moment. After we had our 
 clothing pretty well dried out and having had a little 
 something in the way of refreshments, on looking off to 
 the northeast about two miles distant, we saw a big band 
 of buffalo and a lot of Indians after them. 
 
 We concluded that we had remained here long 
 enough, so we mounted and pulled out again. 
 
 The balance of the day we kept on open ground, and 
 saw numerous little bands of Indians, but were not mo- 
 lested by them until late in the afternoon. 
 
 About sundown, while traveling down a little narrow 
 valley, all of a sudden about fifteen Indians, all well 
 mounted, made a charge on us. We corralled at once. 
 By this time our horses had learned to corral pretty quick, 
 and when they were in gunshot we opened fire on them. 
 I fired at one with my rifle and got him, for I saw him 
 fall to the ground, and I got another with my pistol. I 
 do not know how many were killed, but they went away 
 a much less number than they came. We all escaped 
 unhurt, but Lncle Kit lost another horse, making in al) 
 four horses that day. 
 
 We moved on again and traveled about five miles and 
 made another camp, but did not build a fire. Our horses 
 were picketed near camp, and that night we stood guard 
 the same as the night before, but I did not see any In- 
 dians crawling up on all fours. The morning following 
 we were off very early, and traveled some four miles 
 
Grand Caooo of the Yellowstone. \ eUowstone Park, Wyoming, 
 
INTO A STORM 2/9 
 
 before we came to water. Coming to a niee little brook, 
 we stopped and took our breakfast. Here we hac a 
 chance to have killed an antelope, but did not dare shoot. 
 
 After taking something for the inner man, we pro- 
 ceeded on our way. We did not have any more trouble 
 with Indians, not even seeing any until we got to what is 
 known as Stinking Water or Alder'creek, near where Vir- 
 ginia City, Mont., now stands. In traveling down this 
 stream, which is quite crooked, and just as we were 
 rounding one of those points of the hill running down 
 to the creek, riding in the lead I saw two Indian wick- 
 i-ups about half a mile ahead, just in the edge of the 
 brush. I at once gave the signal to turn back, and 
 we got out of sight without being discovered by the 
 Indians. 
 
 We turned our course, somewhat, making a circuit- 
 ous route, and when we were just opposite the wick-i- 
 ups, Jim Bridger and Uncle Kit climbed to the top of 
 the hill, taking my glasses with them, and took in the 
 situation. When they returned to where we were they 
 were feeling much more encouraged, saying: "Thank 
 God we are rid of the Blackfoots and Crows; those are 
 the Bannocks. We are now in their country, and they 
 are not so numerous nor so hostile as the Crows and 
 Blackfoots." That night we camped on Stinking Water, 
 near Lone Butte, picketed our horses close around camp 
 and stood guard the same as the two nights previous. 
 
 The next morning we were up early and off again, 
 aiming to cross the main divide and go over to Fort Hall. 
 expecting to find there a great many trappers and raise a 
 
28O THAT SAVES US. 
 
 crowd sufficient to come back and trap on the Gallatin 
 river this winter. 
 
 At that time Fort Hall "was a great rendezvous for 
 trappers. 
 
 Now we were beginning to feel more encouraged and 
 to think our chances were pretty good, but that evening, 
 while traveling up Beaver Canyon, which, I think the 
 railroad runs up now, from Pocatello, Idaho, to Butte 
 City, Mont., the Bannocks attacked us about fifty strong. 
 
 They held us there for about an hour, and had it not 
 ^een for a thunder storm that came up, I don't think one 
 of us would have got out of that canyon, for they had us 
 completely surrounded. They killed two horses from Jim 
 Bridger's string and wounded Uncle Kit in one shoulder 
 severely. 
 
 When the thunder storm came up the Indians were 
 gradually closing in on us, and it commenced to thunder 
 and lightning, and it actually rained so hard that one 
 person could not see another two rods before him. 
 
 While it was raining so hard, we mounted and rode 
 out of the canyon. 
 
 I never saw it rain harder in my life than it did for a 
 half hour. When we were on open ground and it had 
 quit raining, we stopped, and Uncle Kit said: ' 'Now who 
 says the Almighty didn't save us this time by sending 
 that shower of rain just at the right time?" 
 
 That night we camped near the summit of the Rocky 
 Mountains, dividing the waters that run into the Pacific 
 and Atlantic oceans. Uncle Kit suffered all that night 
 from his arrow wound, the arrow going under his shoul- 
 der blade, and when we examined the wound we found 
 
AT FORT HALL. J8i 
 
 it much deeper than we had any idea of. This was the 
 last trouble with Indians on that trip. 
 
 The next morning we started very early, and were 
 thrtt days making Fort Hall, having no trouble whatever 
 on the way. On arriving at the Fort we were very much 
 disappointed in regard to raising our crowd to go to the 
 nead of the Missouri river to trap the coming winter. 
 There were only about twenty trappers at Fort Hall at 
 that time, and they appeared to have no particular ob- 
 jections to living a little while longer. Those of them 
 who had never interviewed the Blackfoot and Crow In- 
 dians personally were pretty well acquainted with them 
 by reputation, and they said they did not care to risk 
 their lives in that country. We remained here two 
 weeks, after which time Uncle Kit's wound getting con- 
 sderable better Jim Bridger, Uncle Kit and myself con- 
 cluded to go on to the waterg of Green river and trap the 
 coming winter. 
 
 While here, Jim Beckwith fell in with a man by the 
 name of Reese, who said he had trapped on the head- 
 waters of Snake river the winter previous, and that trap- 
 ping was good there. He induced Beckwith to goto that 
 section of the country, saying it was only one hundred 
 miles from Fort Hall. This trapping ground was imme- 
 diately across the divide of the Rockies and south of the 
 Gallatin, where the Blackfoot and Crow Indians were so 
 bad, but Reece thought they could get out the next spring 
 before the Indians could jet across the mountains. 
 
 So he and Beckwith stansd, and at the same time we 
 pulled out for the head ut Green nvtr. They went to the 
 head of Snake river, and I afterwards learned that they 
 
283 A CENTURY RUN. 
 
 trapped there all winter with splendid success^ but trap- 
 ping being so good they stayed too late in the spring. 
 One morning about the last days of April, fter they had 
 just eaten their breakfas.t and were making, preparations 
 to go to look after the'r traps, they were Attacked by 
 about one hundred Blackfoot Indians. Rees> was killed 
 'ihe first shot, and Jim then saw that his only show was 
 to run, which he did. It was about sunrise when they 
 made the attack. Jim Beckwith fled, with the Indians in 
 hot pursuit. It was claimed to be one hundred miles 
 from there to Fort Hall, and that same evening, before 
 dark, he was in Fort Hall, and he went all the way on 
 foot. 
 
 In this run Beckwith burst the veins in his legs in 
 numerous places, making him a cripple for life. The last 
 time I saw him was at his own home, near Denver, Colo. , 
 in 1863. At that time he was so badly crippled that he 
 had to walk with two canes, and after telling me the 
 condition he was in, he showed me a number of running 
 sores that were caused by the bursted veins. For Jim 
 Beckwith, now dead and gone, I will say, he was a hero 
 in his day. For bravery he was far above the average, 
 n nd at the same time he was honorable and upright. He 
 was a man whose word was as good as gold, and one who 
 < ? as possessed of great strength and had a constitution 
 equal to that of a mustang. The worst thing that could 
 be said of Jim Beckwith was that he was his own 
 worst enemy, for he would spend his money for whiskey 
 as fast as he earned it. 
 
 Uncle Kit, Jim Bridger and myself wintered on the 
 waters of th' < wsen river and trapped, but had very poor 
 
Pike's Peak Railway, Colorado. 
 
 Burro and Load Colorado 
 
AT BENT'S FORT. 283 
 
 success, this country having been trapped over so much 
 that the beaver were scarce and hard to catch, and Uncle 
 Kit's wound bothered him all winter, and in fact as lorrg 
 as he lived. 
 
 After winter had broken up we started for New Mex- 
 ico, via North Park. Our idea in taking that route wns 
 to avoid the hostile Sioux. 
 
 We were successful in getting through without having 
 any trouble with Indians, whatever, arriving at Bent's 
 Fort about the first of June. We sold our furs again 
 to Col. Bent and Mr. Roubidoux. Joe Favor having 
 gone out of business, I engaged with Col. Bent and 
 Mr. Roubidoux to go among the Arapahoe Indians to 
 trade for furs and buffalo robes. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CARSON QUITS THE TRAIL. BUFFALO ROBRS- FOR TEN 
 CENTS. "PIKE'S PEAK OR BUST. "THE 'NEW CITY 
 OF DENVER. "BUSTED." How THE NEWS GOT 
 
 STARTED. 
 
 Uncle Kit Carson pulled out for home and when he 
 was starting he said he had done his last trapping and he 
 
284 UARSOM QUITS 
 
 was going home to his sheep ranch and take things easy. 
 "For," said he, "I had the wust luck last winter that 1 
 eVer had in my life, when I had 'lowed to have the best. 
 I'm gittin old enough to quit." 
 
 Before he left he told me that whenever I felt like it 
 he wanted me to come to his place and make my home 
 as long as I pleased. 
 
 Col. Bent fitted me out with twenty-five pack animals 
 and two Mexican boys to assist me, and I started for the 
 Arrapahoe country, one hundred and twenty-five miles 
 distant. I was supplied with beads, blankets and rings 
 to trade to the Indians for furs and buffalo robes. 
 
 On my arrival at the Arrapahoe village I learned that 
 there were not many furs on hand, as the Sioux had been 
 so hostile the past fall and winter that the Arraphoes had 
 not been able to trap or hunt much, consequently we 
 had to visit all the little hunting parties belonging to that 
 tribe, in order to get furs arid robes enough to load our 
 pack train. 
 
 After remainiug about two weeks I got a fair load 
 and started on my return, making the round trip in little 
 over one month, having had no trouble whatever with 
 Indians or otherwise. On my return to Bent's Fort I 
 found John West, who had been trapping in the Wind- 
 river mountains in company with two other men I did 
 not know. They had been successful the past winter 
 and had sold their furs for a good price, and now Johnnie 
 had plenty of money and was having what he termed a 
 glorious good time, spending from ten to forty dollars 
 a day. 
 
 After I had settled up with Col. Bent and Mr. Rou- 
 
Flock of Deer. 
 
 Taos, North Town, Pueblo, New Mexico. 
 
ARRIVAL AT TAGS. 285 
 
 >idoux I went 10 Taos with the determination that* I 
 ^ould take it easy the balance of this season. 
 
 Col. Bent offered to bet me a horse that I would not 
 y in Taos one month. He told me that if I would go 
 
 Taos and rest up a month and return to the fort and 
 mt for them the balance of the season he would make 
 m a present of a better horse than the other one he gave 
 me, but I told him that he was mistaken, and that he 
 rever owned a better horse than Pinto. I knew that 
 Pinto was getting old and had had many a hard day's 
 ride, but I could get on him to-morrow morning after 
 breakfast, and be in Taos before sundown, which was a 
 distance of eighty miles. I made a bargain with them 
 to return to the fort in a month from that time and hunt 
 for them until something else turned up. 
 
 On my arrival at Taos I found Jim Bridger stopping 
 with Uncle Kit, and he made me a proposition that we 
 go and stop with the Kiowa tribe that winter and buy 
 fun and and buffalo robes. I agreed to that provided 
 that Col. Bent and Mr. Roubidoux would agree to buy 
 the furs and robes of us. They were the only traders in 
 that country since Joe Favor had retired from business. 
 
 In one month I returned to the fort as per contract 
 ind started in hunting. 
 
 There was so much stock around the fort that I had 
 to go from ten to twenty miles to find deer, and some- 
 times further to find buffalo. 
 
 After I had hunted about three weeks Jim Bridger 
 came over to try to make a bargain with the company in 
 regard to buying furs and buffalo robes. 
 
 Up to th time the K*V. ^ > ! not traded any at 
 
286 THE NEW CHIEF, 
 
 this fort. In fact, there had been but little trading done 
 among them, yet they were in the heart of the buffalo 
 country in the fall of the year, being located on the 
 Arkansas river, one hundred miles west from the Bi[> 
 Bend. We made a bargain to work for Bent and Rou- 
 bidoux by the month, they to furnish us. 
 
 They thought the best plan would be to buy a loac 1 
 of robes and return with it, and then go back again, foj 
 by so doing we would not have to run chances of beinp, 
 robbed by other tribes as we would by waiting unti' 
 spring to pack over to the fort. 
 
 We started about the first of November for the Kiowi 
 village, with thirty-two pack-horses and a Mexican boy 
 to help us. This was just the time of year that the buf- 
 falo were moving south for the winter, and they travel 
 much slower and are much harder to frighten than in the 
 spring when they are traveling the other way. I 
 attributed this to their being so much fatter in the fall of 
 the year, for in the fall one would never see a poor buf- 
 falo except it was either an old male or one that had been 
 crippled; and their hides are much more valuable than 
 those taken off in the spring. 
 
 On arriving at the village we found that the Indians 
 had a new chief, whom neither of us were acquainted 
 with. His name was Blackbird. The old chief. Black 
 Buffalo, who fed us on dog meat when we were on our 
 way from St. Louis to Taos, ten years before, having 
 died, Blackbird was appointed in his place, and we found 
 him to be a very intelligent Indian. He said his people 
 were glad to have us come among them and that they 
 would be pleased to trade with us. 
 
Lone Star Geyser in Action, Yellowstone Park Wyoming. 
 
TRADING WITH INDIANS. 
 
 We stayed there about two weeks before offering to 
 buy a hide or fur of them, but would show our goods 
 quite frequently in order to make them anxious, and by 
 doing so we would be able to make a better bargain with 
 them. 
 
 After staying there about two weeks we told the chief 
 that on a certain day we would be ready to trade with 
 his people, putting the date off about one week. 
 
 When the day arrived the Indians came in from all 
 quarters to trade furs and robes, bringing from one 
 to one dozen robes to the family. The squaws brought 
 the robes, and the bucks came along to do the trading, 
 and we got many a first-class robe for one string of 
 beads, which in St. Louis would cost abont ten cents. 
 We traded for enough furs in one day to load our entire 
 pack-train of thirty-two horses. 
 
 The next morning we loaded up our furs and pulled 
 out, telling the chief that we would be back in one moon 
 meaning in their language, one month which would 
 keep us busy, it being about four hundred miles to Bent's 
 Fort, and as we were heavily loaded we would have to 
 travel slow. The Mexican boy would ride ahead and 
 the pack horses would follow him, while Jim and I 
 brought up the rear. We experienced no trouble in get- 
 ting all the buffalo meat we wante* 4 , for those beasts were 
 quite tame at this season of the year, and they would 
 often come near our camp. So near, in fact, that we 
 could sit in camp and kill our meat. 
 
 Upon our arrival at the fort Col. Bent and Mr. Rou 
 bidoux were well pleased with the success of the trip. 
 and we at once started back after the second load. We 
 
88 PIKE'S PEAK. 
 
 lound more furs and robes there awaiting our arrival than 
 ve could load on our horses. In all we made four trips 
 "hat winter, and Col. Bent told me some time afterward 
 hat they cleared a thousand dollars on each cargo. 
 
 When spring came Jim Bridger and I went to Taos 
 \nd visited Uncle Kit for about a month. 
 
 This was now the spring of 1859 and the excitement 
 over the gold mines around Pike's Peak was running high 
 We all knew where Pike's Peak was, for any day when it 
 vas clear we could see it very plainly from Bent's Fort 
 ^r Taos, but we did not know just where the mines were. 
 Jir\ proposed that we take a trip out there,- and see about 
 the mines. So we talked the matter over until I was 
 finally attacked with that disease which was thei: known 
 as "thr gold fever." 
 
 Abou 4 - the first of June we :nade a break for the jld 
 fields. W* crossed the Arkansas river near Fountain 
 ca-booyah x 'or something like that) (Fountain qui 
 Bouille, Boilinj Fountain) and did not go far from there 
 until we struck wagon road, which showed there had 
 been much travel, ^nd we could see that it h^d not beew 
 long since a wagon passed. 
 
 We were very mud 11 surprised at a 'wagon road in this 
 portion of country, but ti.ert it -fc'as just the same. We 
 did not travel on this road v *ry far until we overtook a 
 large train of emigrants, amf on making inquiry we 
 learned that they were on their wa^ to Pike's Peak. 
 
 Jim Bridger laughingly remarked. "If you are not 
 careful you will pass Pike's Peak before yoj n there, for 
 there is the mountain," pointing to the Peak, th^ foot oi 
 which we were just then passing. At this ancihe* -nrs 
 
DENVER. 
 
 said: 4t We are going to Cherry creek to the mines. Do 
 you know how far it is?" 
 
 I told him it was twenty miles to the head of Cherry 
 creek. He then asked me how far it was to Denver. I 
 told him I had never heard of any creek or river by that 
 name in this country. "But," he said, "I mean Denver 
 City." But Jim and I had never heard of the place. He 
 said Denver City was on Cherry creek in the gold mines. 
 
 We passed on, crossing the main divide between the 
 Arkansas and the Platte rivers, striking the head of 
 Cherry creek, then traveled down Cherry creek to the 
 mouth, on a now well-beaten wagon road, the dust in 
 places being six inches deep or more. 
 
 When we were within a mile of the mouth of Cherry 
 creek I looked ahead, and for the first time I saw Den- 
 ver, there being then as I supposed about fifty tents and 
 campers' houses in the place. We stopped to take a look 
 around and saw people coming in, every hour of the day, 
 over the Platte and Arkansas river routes, and could see 
 all kind of conveyances from a hand cart to a six-horse 
 team. While there I saw a number of carts come in 
 drawn by men alone, all the way, from two to eight men 
 to the cart. 
 
 After stopping around Denver two days and taking in 
 the sights, we pulled o'it for the mountains to a place 
 called Gregory, about forty miles from Denver, where i; 
 was reported they were mining. 
 
 The mines were located on North Clear creek and 
 there were only two claims being worked. 
 
 Gregory, the man that this little camp was* named 
 (or, WHS working a claim and said he was taking out 
 
290 GOLD MINING. 
 
 some gold, and a man by the name of Greene Russsell 
 was working another claim. 
 
 They were both old Georgia miners. 
 
 This man Russell told me how the excitement got 
 started. He said that himself, Gregory and Dr. Russell, 
 a brother of his, and three other men had come out there 
 the fall before, and early that season had discovered gold 
 on Cherry creek, and also a little on the mountain stream 
 where they were then at work. Dr. Russell being a man 
 of family, concluded to return to his home that fall. He 
 and the rest of the crowd cautioned him to say nothing 
 about what they had struck, for they did not consider 
 they had found anything to warrant an excitement and a 
 stampede, as it was termed in mining parlance. The 
 Doctor promised he would not mention it even to his 
 most intimate friends. But it seems he did not keep his 
 word, but commenced to spread the news as soon as he 
 struck the settlements, telling wonderful stories of the 
 gold around Pike's Peak, which set the people wild. 
 They seemed to think there had been another California 
 struck which caused a repetition of the stampede ten 
 years before. During the winter the news spread aU 
 over the State and they came from every quarter. 
 
 Russell continued: "Now you can see the effect of it. 
 If I had known my brother would have told such out- 
 rageous stories I would not have allowed him to go 
 home." He said he thought there were a few claims out- 
 side of the ones they were working that would pay, but 
 beyond that he did not think it would amount to any- 
 thing. 
 
 Alter re n uning here one week we concluded we had 
 
wff~START BACK. 29 1 
 
 gold mining enough to last us some time, so we started 
 back for the foot of the mountains, and the first night we 
 camped at the place where Golden now stands, the place 
 where South Clear creek flows from the mountains. 
 
 At this time there were at least five hundred wagons' 
 to be seen at one sight, camped on this creek. We 
 camped near the crossing of Clear creek, and there was 
 almost a constant stream of people coming in. 
 
 Late that evening four men came into camp with four 
 yoke of oxen, a wagon, and an outfit for mining and with 
 a good suppy of grub enough to last them a whole sea- 
 son. They camped that night a few yards from us. On 
 finding that we had just returned from the mines they 
 came over to learn what news we had. We told them 
 what we had seen and what Mr. Russell told us. 
 
 After they had heard our story, one of them said. 
 "Well, boys, I'm a goin' back to Missouri. What are 
 the balance of you goiri' to do?" 
 
 They talked the matter over for some time and finally 
 all concluded that old Missouri was a pretty good country 
 and they would all start back in the morning. 
 
 One of the crowd said: "What will we do with our 
 provisions? We can't haul it back for our cattle are so 
 tender footed now that they can hardly travel." Another 
 said: "What we do not want ourselves we will give to 
 those hand-cart men over there." But another one in 
 the crowd who perhaps was more like the dog in the 
 manger that could not eat the hay himself nor would not 
 let the cows eat it, spoke up and said: "No, we will not 
 do any such thing! What we do not want to take along 
 to eat on our way back we will throw in the creek." 
 
292 BACK TO BENTS PORT. 
 
 The next morning after they had eaten breakfast twc 
 of them got up into the wagon and selected what pro- 
 visions they wanted to take along with them, after which 
 they threw the remainder out on the ground and the 
 other two carried it and threw it into the creek. It con- 
 sisted of flour, dried fruit, bacon, sugar, and I noticed 
 one ten gallon keg of molasses. 
 
 I was told that this was an everyday occurrence. As 
 we had seen the elephant and had about all the mining we 
 wanted, for awhile, ?\t least, we saddled up our horse? 
 and started for Taos, by the way of Bent's Fort. 
 
 Three days' ride took as to Bent's Fort, and we had a 
 thousand and one questions to answer, for this was the 
 first news they had got from th* mines arouoH *> !<*.'*& 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 A FI6JIT WITH THE SlOUX. H.ASA, THE 
 
 KILLED. MlXED UP WITH EMIGRANTS SOME MOVE. 
 FOUR NEW GRAVES. SUCCESSFUL TRADING WlfH 
 THE K 10 WAS. 
 
 While at Fort Bent we bargained again te gi> and 
 
 trade with the Kiowas, on the same terms that we were 
 
Woman's Heart, Kiowa Chief. 
 
WE GO TRADING. 293 
 
 employed upon the preceding winter, and we could com- 
 mence at any time we pleased. 
 
 We then started for Taos, and when we got there found 
 Uncle Kit suffering very much with his last arrow wound. 
 The doctor had told him that it had never healed inside 
 and that it might be the death of him. 
 
 We remained at Taos until time to go to the fort, 
 doing nothing in particular, but hunting a little and 
 occasionally attending a fandango. During this time, 
 however, unbeknown to us and the people at the fort, 
 the Comanches and Sioux had been fighting among them- 
 selves, having been so bold as to come on to the Arkansas 
 river and murder a number of white people. Had we 
 known this we should not have made the attempt to go 
 over that country. Or had Bent and Roubidoux known 
 it they would not have asked us to go. But, somehow, it 
 seemed always my luck not to see trouble until I was 
 right in it. 
 
 On our arrival at the fort they were anxious to get us 
 fitted out and started as soon as possible. Mr. Roubi- 
 doux said: "Last winter you made fonr trips for us; 
 now every extra trip you make this winter we will give 
 you fifty dollars extra, apiece," which we thought a great 
 layout. 
 
 We started out with thirty-two pack animals and the 
 same Mexican boy as assistant that we had the previous 
 winter. 
 
 While passing through the Comanche country we me 
 a young man of that tribe with whom I was on good 
 terms, having done him a favor during the war between 
 his tribe and the Utes, for which he felt very grateful to 
 
294 STRUCK A TRAIL. 
 
 me. After learning where we were going, he said; "Look 
 out for the Sioux, for they have killed lots of white peo- 
 ple this fall near Pawnee Rock." But he did not tell us 
 that his tribe and the Sioux were at war. 
 
 When we had passed nearly through the Comanche 
 country we thought they were all west of us, for we saw 
 where a large band of Indians had crossed the road going 
 South. This we did not exactly understand, for we well 
 knew that neither the Comanches nor Kiowas had hunt- 
 parties out this time of year, as the buffalo were moving 
 South, and the Indians could kill all they wanted neat 
 the villages. 
 
 It was about noon when we crossed the Indian trail 
 and that was the general topic of conversation the bal- 
 ance of the day. If they had been on foot we could 
 easily have told what tribe they belonged to by their moc- 
 casin tracks, but they all being on horseback left us to 
 guess. 
 
 We made an early camp so that if it became neces- 
 sary we could move that evening, but we built no fire. 
 
 As soon as we had decided on our camping place and 
 while Jim and Hasa, the Mexican boy, were unpacking 
 and -arranging the camp, I rode about two miles from 
 camp to high ground to look for Indians. When I was 
 rn the highest point I could find, I saw a little band of 
 Indians coming from the South, and making their way 
 for the river below us. They were about ten miles away 
 and I could not tell by looking through my glasses just 
 the exact number, but I could see them plain enough to 
 tell they were not Comanches. 
 
 On my return to camp I told Jim Bridger what I had 
 
DISCOVER SlOUX. 
 
 295 
 
 seen and he at once declared that they were Sioux, and 
 said we were sure to have trouble with them before Jong, 
 
 \Ve decid- 
 ed to remain 
 then: that 
 night, and I 
 agreed that I 
 would stand 
 guard while 
 Jim and Hasa 
 slept. I stood 
 guard until 
 the morning 1 
 star rose, and 
 I turned in, 
 
 telling Jim to get an early 
 breakfast and call me, which 
 he did. The boy brought in 
 our horses, saddled them and 
 tied them near camp. The 
 pack animals were also feed- 
 ing near camp. 
 
 Just as we had finished, our breakfast and it was get- 
 ting good daylight, I cast my eyes in the direction of our 
 horses and saw that a number of them had raised theit 
 heads and were looking off down the river as though they 
 had seen something. I sprang to my feet and saw nine 
 Indians coining up the river in the direction of our camp, 
 but they were apparently sneaking along slowly. I could 
 see at once by their movements that they did not think 
 they were discovered yet. I. said to Jim: "The Sioux 
 
 I stood guard. 
 
THE FIGHT. 
 
 are on us," and he sprang to his feet, sc/mg, "Let us 
 mount our horses and meet them before chey get among 
 our pack horses," which we did, at the same time telling 
 Hasa to keep the horses together. 
 
 We started to meet them on te dead run, and 1 wish 
 to say here now, that Jim Brid^r, though a very brave 
 man, was very exciteable when in an Indian fight, and 
 as we started I said to hnj: "Now Jim, for God's 
 sake keep cool this time ancf make every shot count." 
 
 When within about a hundred yards of the Indians, 
 and our horses doing their best, I raised my rifle ar.d 
 fired, killing the leader dead I then drew my pistol au'l 
 raised the yell. About that lime, from some cause, Jim'= 
 horse shied off to the right, so when we met the Indians 
 he and I were about thirty or forty yards apart. Jim 
 claimed that his horse scared at something in the sage 
 brush. 
 
 Two of the Indians that seemed to be the best 
 mounted made a break for our horses, which I discovered 
 after I had fired two shots from my pistol. I wheeled 
 my horse and made a rush for them, leaving Jim to take 
 care of the other three that we had not yet killed. But 
 the redskins had got too far the start of me, and being 
 on good animals they beat to the pack horses, and before 
 I got in gunshot of them they had killed both the boy 
 and his horse. Had the poor boy kept his presence of 
 mind he might have saved himself, but I think he got 
 excited and did not try to get away. 
 
 I got one of them, but the other having the fastest 
 horse, outran me and made his escape. I think he had 
 the fastest horse I ever saw under an Indian in my life. 
 
Kiowa Squaws. 
 
DEATH OF HASA. 
 
 Jim Bridget killed one of the remaining three, and the 
 others got away. Three out of nine escaped, and had it 
 not been for Jim's horse getting scared I don't think they 
 would have killed our Mexican boy. 
 
 We dug a grave and buried the poor fellow as best 
 we could under the circumstances, scalped the Indians, 
 packed up and pulled out, leaving the poor unfortunate 
 lad to rest on the lonely banks of the Arkansas river. 
 The Indians we left a prey to the many wild animals that 
 roamed the hills and valleys. 
 
 We traveled on with heavy hearts, expecting at any 
 time to be attacked again by another band of these 
 "noble red men," fearing that we might not be so suc- 
 cessful the next time. 
 
 In the afternoon we came to where the Indians had 
 had another fight with what we supposed, and which 
 afterwards proved to have been 
 emigrants, returning from Pike's 
 Peak. Here we saw four fresh 
 graves, and from the general ap- 
 pearance of 
 things we 
 c o n c 1 u ded 
 that the fight 
 had been in 
 the morning, 
 which also 
 
 proved to be Four fresh graves 
 
 the case. 
 
 We were now satisfied that the big trail we had 
 th'- day before was made by Siuiix, and that thrv had 
 
MEET WITH EMIGRANTS. 
 
 split up into small bands to catch small trains of emi- 
 grants. 
 
 Being satisfied that these emigrants were not far 
 ahead of us, we made up our minds to push on and try 
 to overhaul them, as much for our own protection as 
 anything else. 
 
 Jim Bridger told me to take the lead and ride as fast 
 as I wished, and he would make the pack animals keep 
 up; also telling me when on high ground to take my 
 glasses and look for Indians, 
 
 After traveling about two hours, putting in our best 
 licks, we came in sight of the train. We then pushed 
 on with new courage and overtook the emigrants just as 
 they were going into camp for the night. I rode up and 
 asked if they had any objections to pur camping with 
 them. "Certainly not," replied one of their crowd, 
 "and if you can fight Indians we will be pleased to have 
 you camp and travel with us also." 
 
 We dismounted, unpacked and turned our pack ani- 
 mals loose with the emigrants' stock, but picketed our 
 saddle animals near camp. Those people told us of their 
 fight that morning with the Indians. Just as they were 
 hitched up and were in the act of pulling out, the Indians 
 attacked them, about forty strong. They only had 
 twenty-four men and the Indians killed four of their 
 number, and theirs were the graves we had seen that 
 morning. 
 
 They didn't have an Indian scalp, nor did they know 
 whether or not they had killed an Indian. 
 
 Jim then told them about our fight with the nine 
 Sioux and of losing our Mexican boy. "But," said he, 
 
\ow* Squcw ua Uiti^ 4- 
 
HORSE-SHOE BEND. 299 
 
 "to show that we got revenge look as this collection of 
 hair," and he produced the six Indian scalps we had 
 taken. 
 
 Jim added that if his horse had not got scared upon 
 making the charge, we would have got them all before 
 they could have reached the boy. 
 
 They offered to furnish two men to look after our 
 pack-train if we would scout for their train and travel 
 with them as far as we were to go their route, which was 
 about one hundred and fifty miles. 
 
 There were eight wagons in the train, composed of 
 two and four horse teams. 
 
 When we were ready to start Jim told me to go 
 ahead, saying: "You have a pair of glasses and your 
 eyes are better than mine, and I will bring up the rear, 
 so there will be no danger of a surprise party." 
 
 This being agreed to, I started ahead of the train and 
 rode about five miles in advance all the time, keeping 
 my eyes peeled for Indians. In the forenoon I saw a 
 small band of the savages, but they were a long way off 
 and were traveling in the same direction we were. I was 
 sure they could not see us, for I could only see them 
 faintly through my glasses. 
 
 That evening we made an early camp at a p\ace we 
 named Horse-shoe Bend, and I am told that the place is 
 mentioned yet by that name. It is a big bend in the 
 Arkansas river almost encircling two or three hundred 
 acres, and where we camped it was not more than a 
 hundred yards across from one turn of the river to the 
 other. 
 
 That night we drove all our horses into the bend and 
 
300 PAWNEE ROCK. 
 
 did not have to guard them or keep out a carnp guard. 
 I remained out in the hills, about three miles from camp, 
 until dark, selecting a high point and with my glasses 
 watching all over the country for Indians. The boys 
 were all well pleased when I returned and told them 
 there were no red-skins anywhere near, and that they all 
 could lie down and sleep that night. They turned in 
 early. 
 
 The next morning we broke camp early, and about 
 eleven o'clock came on to four emigrant wagons return- 
 ing from Pike's Peak. The Indians had stolen the horses. 
 
 There were s'xteen men in the party and they had 
 been there three days and had not been two miles away 
 from camp. They made some kind of arrangement with 
 the train we were with to haul their things to St. Joe, 
 Missouri, and left their four wagons standing by the road- 
 side. 
 
 We had no more uouble while with this train, and 
 everything moved along nicely. 
 
 When we were near Pawnee Rock, where we were to 
 leave the train, and some twenty miles from the Kiowa 
 village, I met about thirty Kiowa Indians going out to 
 run the buffalo near there. Of course they all knew me, 
 and after shaking hands we stopped to await the arrivaj 
 cf the train. When it came in sight and the men saw 
 tiie Indians all around me they thought I had been taken 
 prisoner. They at once corralled their wagons for 
 fight, and all the talking Jirn Bridger could do would not 
 make them believe otherwise, until he rode out to where 
 ve were. When he told me this I thought to have a 
 little sport with the boys before leaving the train, and I 
 
AMONG FRIENDS. 30 1 
 
 proposed to Jim that we start to the wagons with the Li- 
 dians riding on either side of us, so as to make it appear 
 the}' had taken both of us prisoner. But Jim thought it 
 would not do, as they were so excited they would shoot 
 at our Indians before we were near the wagons. So we 
 rode to the train and told the emigrants that these In- 
 dians would not molest them, and that they were my 
 friends. 
 
 When I told the Indians the cause of their corraling 
 their wagons, they all had a hearty laugh and called the 
 men squaws. The Kiowas said that their people wou 1 ' 
 be glad to see us at their village, and that they had 
 plenty of robes to trade for beads, rings and blankets. 
 So here we bade the emigrants good-bye, they keeping 
 the Sante Fe trail east, while we turned due south, and 
 in company with the thirty Kiowas, rode that evening to 
 their own village. Chief Blackbird met us at the outer 
 edge of the village and invited us to his wick-i-up. We 
 told him that we had come to trade with his people, and 
 that in four days we would be ready for business. 
 
 Jim Bridger and I had talked the matter over con- 
 cerning this tribe and the Sioux, for we well knew that 
 if they and the Sioux were on friendly terms we would 
 get home safe, if not, we would have a hard time of it. 
 
 I proposed to Jim that we make Blackbird a presen- 
 of something, and while he was in the best of humor 1 
 would ask him the question. Jim thought it a capital 
 idea, and before supper I went to our cargo and got three 
 rings and three strings of beads. After supper I gave 
 one string of beads and one ring to Blackbird, one to his 
 wife and one to his eldest daughter, who was about 
 
302 
 
 A FRIENDLY CHAT. 
 
 grown. We then sat down and had a social smoke and 
 
 a friendly chat. By this time Blackbird was beginning 
 
 to think I 
 
 was a pretty 
 
 good fellow, 
 
 so I asked 
 
 him if the 
 
 Sioux were 
 
 good I n- 
 
 dians. H e 
 
 said: "Yes, 
 
 the Sioux 
 
 are my 
 
 friends. " 
 
 That was 
 all I wanted 
 to know, and 
 I did not 
 ask him any 
 more ques- 
 tions, nor 
 did I tell 
 
 him of our trouble with the nine Sioux. I told him we 
 wanted to hire four young men from his tribe to go to 
 the fort with us. He said: "All right, I'll see to 
 morrow. " 
 
 Our idea in wanting the young Kipwas along, after 
 finding they were on good terms with the Sioux, was 
 that we knew when we were in company with the Kiowas 
 the Sioux would not give us any trouble. 
 
 The day following, in the afternoon, Blackbird came 
 
 We had a social smoke. 
 
AN AUCTION SALE. 30* 
 
 to us and told us that there were four young men who 
 wanted to go with us and asked how long we would be 
 gone. We told him we might be gone one moon, perhaps 
 not so long. He wanted to know what Indian country \ve 
 would pass through. I told him none but the Comanchrs, 
 for they were terribly afraid of Navajoes. We assure I 
 him that we would not pass through their country. 
 
 On the clay appointed for the sale of our goods, the 
 robes came in by the hundreds. I never saw anything' 
 equal it. 
 
 We conducted our sale something like an auction. I 
 would hold up a string of beads and show them to the 
 crowd; an Indian would step forward and offer a robe 
 for two strings of beads. Another would offer a robe for 
 one string. This was our idea for appointing a certain 
 day for trading with them, for the more Indians present 
 the better prices we were able to get for our goods. 
 
 \ye went there this time with about the amount of 
 goods we had always taken before to trade for a train 
 load of robes, and we sold our entire stock the first day. 
 We could have traded ten times that amount. More- 
 over, we got about one-half more than we could pack at 
 one trip. 
 
 We knew before we started in to sell that there was 
 a greater number of robes in the village than at any time 
 we had visited it before, as we had been pretty well over 
 the village, and I had never seen the like of robes amj 
 dry buffalo meat before, nor have I since. Every wick- 
 i-upwas hanging full. The. Indians said it had been the 
 best season for buffalo they had seen for years. 
 
 1 never saw peop l <? flci'..':e busy than the squaws were. 
 
304 WE HAD AN ESCORT. 
 
 All were dressing buffalo hides, and every family had 
 from three co one dozen robes, and this was the best 
 day's sale we ever had, as it seemed that the Indians 
 were crazy for the rings and beads. 
 
 I just mention these facts to show the reader how 
 the people took advantage of those Indians, for at that 
 time they did not know the value of money and had no 
 use for it except as ornaments. They would pay a bi? 
 price for a half dollar, but every one they got hold o, 
 they would hammer out flat, punch two holes through it 
 and put it on a string; then the chief or some of his fam 
 ily would wear them on their backs or fasten them to 
 their hair and let them hang down their backs. I have 
 "seen strings of flattened out half dollars two feet long 
 worn by the chief or some member of his family. 
 
 When we went to pack up we could, only get two. 
 thirds of our robes on the animals so we left the remain- 
 der in charge of Blackbird, and he agreed to look after 
 them until we returned. I told him if he would take 
 good care of them I, would bring hiip. a. big butcher knife 
 when I came back. 
 
 So we started for Bent's Fort accompanied by four 
 young Kiowas. We had loaded our horses unusually 
 heavy this trip, each animal packing thirty ro^es. 
 
 Two of the Indians rode in front of the pack-train 
 with me and the other two behind with Jim. Our idea 
 in traveling that way was that in case we shouM meet a 
 band of Sioux, these young Indians would tell them we 
 were their friends, and no matter how bitter Ihsy felt 
 toward us they would pass on. 
 
 We traveled three days before we saw any Soux. It 
 
MEET MORE SlOUX. 305 
 
 was our custom to always stop and unpack and let our 
 horses rest and feed about an hour. 
 
 That day we had just unpacked and turned our horses 
 loose to feed and were ready to eat a cold lunch, when 
 we looked up the ridge and saw twenty Sioux Indians 
 coming down the ridge in the direction of our camp. J 
 told one of the Indians that we had better go and meet 
 them. He said he would go and for me to stay in camp. 
 I told him to tell them to come down to camp and get 
 something to eat. So he started off in a trot to meet 
 them, and when he came up to them he stood and talked 
 with them for some time, after which they turned and 
 rode off in another direction. When the Indian boy re- 
 turned I asked him why they did not come down to camp 
 and have some dinner. He said they had plenty to eat 
 and were in a hurry. 
 
 Jim Bridger said to me in our own language: "If we 
 had not had those young Kiowas with us by this time we 
 would have been in a hurry, too." These were the last 
 Sioux we saw on the whole trip. > 
 
 When we returned to the fort and reported our trou- 
 bles to Col. Bent and Mr. Roubidoux, they felt very bad 
 over the loss of the Mexican boy, Hasa, but they com- 
 plimented us on the way we had managed. They asked 
 me what [ had agreed to pay the Indians. I told them 
 I had not made any bargain whatever, and that we had 
 not agreed to pay them anything, nor had they asked it. 
 But we thought that under the circumstances we did not 
 consider it safe to attempt to make another trip that fall 
 or winter without an escort of that kind, and we couldn't 
 expect rnose Indians to make the trips free of ch.irge. 
 
306 WE HIRE INDIANS. 
 
 Col. Bent toid me to make my own bargain with them, 
 and he would pay the bill whatever it might be. 
 
 This was the first time these young Indians had ever 
 been in civilization, so I took them around the place and 
 took particular pains to show them everything. When 
 we had been all around and I had showed them every- 
 thing out doors, I took them into the kitchen of the 
 hotel. When they saw the cook getting supper on the 
 stove they said it was no good, for they could not see 
 the fire and they did not understand how cooking could 
 he done without it. 
 
 After they had seen all there was to be seen I took 
 them in where the two proprietors were, and after telling 
 them that they would hire them all winter, providing 
 they did not ask too much, I asked them what they were 
 going to charge us for the trip they had already made. 
 
 The most intelligent one spoke up and said: "Give 
 me one string of beads and one butcher knife for the trip 
 already made, and give me one butcher knife for the next 
 trip." < I then asked the others if they were satisfied with 
 that, and they said they were; so I paid them off by 
 giving them a butcher knife that cost about fifty cents in 
 St. Louis and one string of beads that would perhaps 
 cost ten cents. They thought they had been well paid 
 for their trouble, and I could see that they had not ex- 
 pected so much. This was no doubt their first experience 
 in hiring out. 
 
 The next morning Col. Bent and Mr. Roubidoux said 
 to Jim and I: ' k Now boys, we will make you a present," 
 telling us that their horses were in the corrall, and for us 
 to go and pick out a saddle horse apiece. They told us 
 
MY NEW HORSE. 307 
 
 that all the horses in the corrall were theiM. ;iml we 
 might take our choice, and that we could turn our other 
 horses into the herd for as long as we liked. 
 
 I selected a black horse and saddled him, and he 
 seemed to be quiet and gentle. 
 
 There were some trappers at the fort who were going 
 to South Park to trap the following winter. When I led 
 the horse out to get on him they asked if it was mine. 
 "Yes," I said. They asked what price I had set on him, 
 and I said one hundred dollars. They said they would 
 give me that for him if I would wait for my money until 
 spring when they returned from South Park. I asked 
 them if they were going to trap for Col. Bent and Mr. 
 Roubidoux, and they said they were. We t nen walked 
 into the store and I asked Co). Bent and Mr. Roubidoux 
 if they would go these men's security for one hundred 
 dollars. They said they would, and I told the trappers 
 the horse was theirs. Mr. Roubidonx asked me if it was 
 the horse he had given me. I told him it was and he 
 said: "You did well, for I bought that horse of an emi- 
 grant last summer and have iiever been able to get any 
 money out of him. I think you will have to take a lot 
 of my horses to sell on compression, for I see right now 
 you can beat me selling hos?s ail hollow." 
 
 We remained ac the Fore three days this time, after 
 which we riggea up aiu' started for the Kiowa nation 
 again with more goods to trade for buffalo robes. We 
 ma(ie thf *.r ; p ir *k\ T en days, being the quickest we had 
 yet inn !e ever (he road. 
 
 "We f <v.;;<j the chief n an excellent burner "^ b 
 
3O8 BACK AT KlOWA VILLAGE. 
 
 was as well pleased over his new butcher knife as a boy 
 would be over his first pair of red topped boots. 
 
 We found the Indians anxious to trade robes for our 
 trinkets and we had no trouble in getting a load and 
 more than we could pack again. We made f.ve trips 
 that fall and winter with the very best succe**, 
 those same four Indians with us all winter 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 A TRir TO FORT KEARNEY THE GENERAL ENDORSES 
 
 US AND WE PILOT AN EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CALIFOR- 
 NIA. WOMAN WHO THOUGHT I WAS "NO GENTLE* 
 
 MAN." A CAMP DANCE. 
 
 Jim Bridger proposed that he and I make a trip to 
 Fort Kearney together, and remain there until the emi- 
 grants began to come along, thinking that perhaps the 
 Sioux would be so bad on the plains again that summer that 
 we might get a layout scouting for trains going to Cali- 
 fornia. Both of us were well acquainted with a greater 
 part of the country to be traveled over, and there were 
 few other roen as well oosted as to where the Indian* 
 
FORT KEARNEY. 309 
 
 were likely to make attacks, which was one of the most 
 essential requirements in scouting with a train. 
 
 About the first of April we started, by the way of 
 Denver City, for Fort Kearney, and as it had been nearly 
 a year since we had seen the first named place we found 
 quite a change there. Instead of a tented town, of 
 shreds and patches, we saw a thriving village that had 
 some quite comfortable wooden houses and an air of dis- 
 tinct civilization. To-day Denver is probably the best 
 built city of its size in the world, but there was a time 
 after this present visit of mine and Bridger's when the 
 place became almost deserted. That was when the 
 Union Pacific railroad was being constructed to Chey- 
 enne, leaving Denver one hundred and eight miles due 
 south. Then, all the people in Denver who could raise 
 any sort of a team, took their household goods and gods, 
 and in some cases the houses, and struck out for Chey- 
 enne. Many who were too poor to get away became 
 enormously rich, afterward, from that very fact, for they 
 became possessed of the ground, and when the Kansas 
 Pacific railroad was projected, and afterward constructed, 
 Denver took on such a boom that real estate nearly went 
 out of sight in value. The poor ones became wealthy, 
 and nearly all of the Cheyenne stampeders returned. 
 Following this, some years afterward, the discovery of 
 silver carbonates in California Gulch, where Leadville 
 now stands, gave Denver another boom that made the 
 place the Queen city of the Plains, for good and all. 
 
 We reached Fort Kearney before the emigrants had 
 got that far out, and found Gen. Kearney in command. 
 He was glad to see us, and told us that if we needed any 
 
5 io VISIT GEN. KEARNEY: 
 
 references to send the parties to him and he would give 
 us a send-off that would be likely to fix us all right, and 
 we knew that it would. 
 
 \ "I predict more trouble," said he, "on the plains this 
 j summer than there ever has been in any season previous 
 ; to this, from the fact that the northern Sioux are, even 
 at this early date, breaking up into little bands, and no 
 doubt for the express purpose of capturing small bands 
 of emigrants crossing the plains the coming summer." 
 
 The first train that came along was from Illinois and 
 Missouri. It was on the way to California and was com- 
 posed of sixty-four wagons. The company was made up 
 of men, women and children, nearly all of the men hav- 
 ing families. They camped about a mile from the fort, 
 and at near sundown Gen. Kearney proposed that we go 
 over and see the ladies. So we rode over the General, 
 Jim Bridger and I. 
 
 Arriving at the camp we were astonished at seeing 
 that the emigrants had no system whatever in forming 
 their camp or corralling their wagons and stock, all being 
 scattered here and there, hodge-podge. 
 
 I remarked to Gen. Kearney that they had certainly 
 not met with any trouble from Indians so far, else they 
 would have been more careful. The General replied that 
 they would learn before they got much further. 
 
 When we arrived at their camp quite a crowd gath- 
 ered around us, and among the balance was one man 
 apparently forty years old, who walked up to Gen. Kear- 
 ney and said: "How are you, John?" that being the 
 General's first name. 
 
 Gen. Kearney looked at him for & moment the*? 
 
COMPLIMENTED. 311 
 
 shook hands with him and said: "You seem to know 
 me, but you have the best of me. If I ever saw you be- 
 fore I don't remember when or where." 
 
 The gentleman then said: "When we used to go to 
 school together you were the only boy in my class that I 
 could not throw down, but I believe that I could to-day." 
 
 They had been schoolmates in Ohio and this was the 
 first time they had met since they quit school. "O' 
 course," said Gen. Kearney, "you had the advantage c . 
 me, for you knew I was out here, while I never dreamed 
 of you being in this country." 
 
 We soon learned that the emigrants had heard abou . 
 the hostility of the Sioux Indians, and were dreading 
 them very much. 
 
 After the General and his old schoolmate talked over 
 by-gone days for awhile they commenced asking him all 
 sorts of questions relative to the Indians on ahead. 
 
 The General gave his views regarding the outlook for 
 the coming summer, and after having "said his say" 
 about the noble red men, a number of the emigrants 
 thought they would turn back the next morning. 
 
 Gen. Kearney said to them: "Here are two as good 
 mountainers as may 6e found west of the Missouri river 
 and I believe that you could hire them to go the entire 
 trip with you at a reasonable figure, and I feel sure they 
 will be able to render you valuable service, while passing 
 through the Indian country, they being well posted as to 
 where the Indians would be most likely to make an 
 attack. They are also well informed as to water, wood 
 and grass, and the different drives to be made betwen 
 camping placet, &c.* 
 
312 EAT WITH EMIGRANTS. 
 
 When we were just ready to mount our horses to re- 
 curn to the Fort for supper, a number of the men came to 
 Jim and me and asked how much per month or per day 
 we would take to go with them as scouts through the 
 Indian country. We told them to get th?.ir supper over 
 and call their men together, and we would go hack to the 
 Fort and get our supper, after which we would come 
 down to their camp again and talk matters over 2nd see 
 if we could make a bargain. By this time a number of 
 ladies had gathered around, and among them was an old 
 lady who said: "You two gentlemen with buckskin 
 coats on can come and take supper with us in our tent." 
 
 Gen. Kearney said*: '"You had better accept the 
 lady's hospitaltty, for you have a great deal to talk 
 about." 
 
 We thought this a capital idea and took supper with 
 the emigrants, and the General returned to his quarters, 
 But before going he gave all, both ladies and gentlemen, 
 a cordial invitation to come to the Fort the next day and 
 pay him a friendly visit. 
 
 After all were through eating supper, Jim Bridger 
 asked how many men they had in their train, but no one 
 was able to tell. When he asked who their captain was 
 a man replied that they did not know they had to have a 
 captain. Jim with an oath said: "What in the name 
 of God do you think those soldiers over there would do 
 N^ithout a captain, or at least an officer of some kind?' 
 
 Then he told them they had better form in line and 
 see how many men they had,, and elect five men to trans- 
 act business with us. They formed in line and counted 
 and there were one hundred and forty men in the train. 
 
ENGAGED AS SCOUTS. 
 
 and not one of them had ever been on the plains before, 
 and, of course, not one of them had ever seen a hostile 
 Indian. 
 
 They then proceeded to elect the five men to transact 
 the business with us, after which Jim turned to me and 
 said: "Now make your proposition." I suggested that 
 as he was the oldest, he should go ahead and make the 
 bargain, whereupon he said: "All right. Gentlemen, 
 I will make you an offer; if you see fit to accept it all 
 right, and if not there is no harm done. We will scout 
 for you for six dollars per day from here to the 
 foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and you board us 
 and herd our horses with yours. We must have charge 
 of the entire train, and we want at least two or three 
 days in which to organize and drill before leaving this 
 camp, and after the lapse of five days if this community 
 is not satisfied with our work, we will quit, and not charge 
 you a cent for what we shall have done at that time, and 
 if our work is satisfactory we will expect our money 
 every Saturday night, for it is the money we are after and 
 not the glory. Now, gentlemen, take the matter under 
 consideration and give us an answer to-morrow morning 
 after breakfast." 
 
 On the following morning one of the men from the 
 train came to the Fort very early to inform us that they 
 hnd decided to accept our proposition. 
 
 We told him to go back to camp 'and have all the 
 teams hitched up and v/c would be down after breakfast 
 and put in a few hours drilling the teamsters. 
 
 We numbered the wagons by putting the figures on 
 the end-gates of the wagons, telling each teamster to 
 
314 FORMING A CORRALL. 
 
 remember his number, and when forming a corrall, no 
 matter what the occasion might be, for the even num- 
 bers to turn to the right and the odd numbers to the left, 
 forming a circle with the teams inside of the corrall or 
 circle of wagons. 
 
 For the benefit of the reader who has not had the for- 
 mne or misfortune, whichever he deems it to have 
 traveled in an Indian country where the corrals are neces- 
 sary in order to protect the traveler from the Indians, I 
 will give a more detailed description of how they are 
 formed: 
 
 By having each wagon numbered every man knew 
 his place in the train, and when it was necessary to cor- 
 rell, one-half of the tea'ms would turn to the right and 
 the other half to the left. Each would swing out a little 
 distance from the road and the two front teams num- 
 bers one and two would drive up facing each other. All 
 the rest of the wagons would drive up forming a circle, 
 with the teams on the inside ot the corrall, and the back 
 or hind ends of the wr agons pointing outwards. The two 
 hindmost teams would now swing together as in the 
 front, closing the 'ear gap in the circle. This also served 
 the purpose of a jen in which to run the stock in the 
 event of an attack, thus preventing the possibility of a 
 stampede. 
 
 Our obj^j/ hi drilling the teamsters was to teach them 
 now to for n a corrall quickly in case of an attack while 
 under w^y. 
 
 AfKr drilling a while we told fhe committee to select 
 eight nen from their train to assist in scouting, we pre- 
 ferring young men with horses of their own or such as 
 
ORGANIZED. 3*$ 
 
 could get horses, and those men to be exempt from guard 
 duty except in cases of emergency. They proceeded at 
 once to select the eight men for assistant scouts, after 
 which we told them to appoint a sergeant, or whatever 
 they chose to call him, to command, respectively, every 
 platoon of twenty men, the hundred and forty being 
 organized in such squads. 
 
 This was the hardest task, apparently, for the com- 
 mittee, as no one wanted to serve in that capacity, each 
 one having some excuse or other, but they finally com- 
 pleted the appointments and then Jim said to me: 
 
 Now, Will, you take entire charge of the scouts, and 
 I will take charge of the balance of the men," telling me 
 that in the day time on the move he would assist me in 
 scouting all he could, but after the train was corralled to 
 handle the scouts to suit myself. 
 
 I told the newly appointed scouts to saddle their 
 horses and we would have a little exercise. I took a 
 piece of pine board box cover, sharpened it and stuck it 
 into a prairie dog hole. This board was about twelve 
 inches wide and two or two and a half feet long. I drew 
 a mark about thirty feet from the board, telling them to 
 fire when they reached this mark. I had them all mount 
 and start about a hundred yards from the board, and 
 when at this mark to fire at the board while at full speed, 
 each taking his turn. 
 
 Out of eight shots only one hit the board, and that 
 was made by the last one that fired. 
 
 I told them that such shooting would never do at all 
 if they expected to fight Indians, so I mounted my horse 
 asked them which hand I should use my pistol in. 
 
316 
 
 DRILLING THE SCOUTS, 
 
 All cried out: "Use your left hand!" I said: All right, 
 I will shoot across my bridle reins." I had one of the 
 
 I put two bullets through the board while passing. 
 
 boys get on his horse and whip mine down to a dead run, 
 and with my pistol in my left hand I put two bullet holes 
 through the board while passing it. 
 
 This was a surprise to all of them as they had never 
 seen shooting done that way before, but they were all 
 eager to learn. 
 
 After practicing this feat awhile I started in to teach 
 them to mount quick. This was the hardest thing for 
 them to learn, and all of their horses were trained to 
 stand perfectly still until they straightened ii^> ; ,n the 
 saddle. 
 
 And here I will say that in scouting fr &VV*? * v \Atial 
 to have a horse that is quick to start. 
 
LEARNING TO MOUNT. 
 
 317 
 
 The way we used to train our horses to start was by 
 having some one stand behind them with a whip and 
 strike them just as we jumped into the saddle. This 
 taught both horse and rider to be very agile, as we would 
 have to get on our horses almost on the dead run when 
 in close quarters with the Indians. 
 
 That evening near sunset another train drove up from 
 Missouri. There were twenty wagons and they were de- 
 sirous of joining our train. The committee came to us 
 to see what they thought of letting them in. We told 
 the committee that we were willing to take them in by 
 their paying one dollar a day. This being agreeable to 
 
 *K& 
 
 
 ,he committee and 
 newcomers agreeing 
 to pay the per diem 
 we took them in. 
 
 The morning of 
 }he third day, after 
 
 jr&anizing we pulled out, Jim Bridger staying with the 
 <v**in all day. I dropped four of my men behind the 
 
 Another train drove up from Missouri 
 
WE START. 
 
 train, telling them to keep about half a mile from it and 
 at the first sight of Indians to get to the train as quick as 
 possible and report to Jim Bridger, who would signal me 
 at once by firing two shots in quick succession, otherwise 
 there was to be no shooting in the train during the time 
 we were in a hostile country. 
 
 All went smoothly until the fifth day. We were then 
 on the north side of the South Platte and my new assist- 
 ant scouts were beginning by this time or at least some 
 of them were to be anxious for a little sport with the 
 Indians. 
 
 I had told them the day before that they might expect 
 to see Indians at any time now, as we were then in the 
 Sioux country. 
 
 The morning of the fifth day I started two scouts 
 ahead of the train, telling them to keep about two miles 
 ahead of the wagons, two to drop behind the train and 
 two south, and to keep en the highest ground they could 
 find. Taking the other two with me I struck out north 
 of the road, this being where I most expected to find In- 
 dians. After riding five or six miles we came up on to a 
 high point where I took out my glasses and made a sur- 
 vey of the surrounding country. I saw a large band of 
 Indians traveling almost parallel with the wagon road 
 and moving in the same direction the train was going. 
 I should judge them to have been about ten miles away. 
 Anyway, they were so far that I could not teil their num- 
 ber, but I thought there were in the neighborhood of one 
 hundred and fifty in the band. 
 
 I showed them to my associates by allowing them to 
 look through my glasses. I then showed them a ro-ife 
 
DISCOVERED INDIANS. 
 
 to take and designated a certain point for them to go to 
 and remain, until I should come to them, and I started 
 alone after the Indians to try to get closer to them and 
 also get their general course of travel so as to come U 
 some conclusion as to what their intentions were. I sue 
 ceeded in getting within about four miles of them and c. 
 getting a good view of them as they were passing .over a 
 little ridge. I saw that they had no squaws with them, 
 and I knew then they were on the war-path. 
 
 After taking a good look at the redskins I got back to 
 my two scouts as quickly as possible. Shortly after 
 joining them I saw nine Indians coming toward the road, 
 about three or four miles away from us, we being be- 
 tween them and the road, making them about eight miles 
 from the road. 
 
 I started one of rny men to the train on a double 
 quick to inform Jim Brid^er of what we had seen and 
 also to bring at least four or five good men and horses 
 back with him, telling him where to meet us on his 
 return. 
 
 I was thoroughly convinced that these nine Indians 
 we had seen were scouts for the large band ahead of us, 
 and my object was to capture them and not let one ol 
 them get back to the big band of warriors that we had 
 seen. 
 
 The other scout and I secreted our horses and watched 
 the nine Indians on the sly, until the other man returned 
 bringing three men with him from the train. By this? 
 time the Indians were within two miles of the train, and 
 we had swung around so as to come in behind them and 
 were only about a half mile from them. We followed 
 
330 A SCRIMMAGR. 
 
 them leisurely until they were passing over a little ridge 
 near the train, when we put spurs to our horses and rode 
 at a lively gait. I fold my men to save their ammuni' 
 tion until they were near them and take good aim so -thLt 
 every man would get his Indian the first shot, and to not 
 get excited or scared, for if all would keep cool we would 
 be able to get all of them without much trouble. 
 
 It so happened that just as we came on to the i ; dge 
 that the Indians had passed over a few minutes before, 
 they came in sight of the train, which was then not more 
 than half a mile away. They stopped and were looking 
 at the train. 
 
 Jim Bridger's quick eye had caught sight of them, and 
 not knowing but it was the big band coming, he had the 
 wagons corralled to prepare for an attack. 
 
 When we came to the top of the ridge mentioned we 
 were not more than three hundred yards away from them 
 and I immediately ordered a charge. 
 
 I was on Pinto, and he knowing what was up, was 
 ready for a chase. In fact, I could not have held hin* 
 had I been so disposed. 
 
 The warriors were so engrossed looking at the train, 
 no doubt thinking what a picnic* they would have with 
 them, that they did not see us until I was almost ready 
 to fire. I was somewhat in advance of the rest, my 
 horse being the fleeter, and when within about a hun- 
 dred yards I raised in my stirrups, brought my rifle to 
 my shoulder and fired, killing one Indian, and the boys 
 claimed that I killed a horse from under another one at 
 the same time. They were sure the same bullet killed 
 both, for both fell at the crack of my rifle, 
 
KILLED NXNI INDIANS. 
 
 As soon as I had fired I drew my pistol and told them 
 to do likewise, also telling them to be sure and make 
 every shot count. 
 
 If ever I saw a horse that enjoyed that kind of sport 
 if I might call it such it was old Pinto. 
 
 The Indians made an effort to turn to the north, but 
 I was on the left of my men and my horse was fleet 
 enough to head them off. I crowded them so close that 
 they headed straight for the train; in fact, I think they 
 were so scared that they did not know where they were 
 going. 
 
 At the first fire with our pistols three of the Indians 
 fell, leaving four yet mounted and one on foot the one 
 whose horse I had shot at the first fire. I saw the In- 
 dian on foot making for some sage brush near by and 
 sang out to a man named Saunders, who was on a fine 
 grey horse, to run that Indian down, which he did, kill- 
 ing him the second shot, so he said afterwards. 
 
 About this time I saw Jim coming, with six or eight 
 men following him closely. Then we all commenced 
 yelling at the top of our voices, which excited the In- 
 dians still more, Whether they saw our men coming or 
 not I do not know, but two of them ran almost right up 
 to them and were shot down at a distance of thirty or 
 forty yards. 
 
 We succeeded in getting the other two, not letting 
 one escape to tell the tale; thereby accomplishing just 
 what I started to do when I first got sight of them. 
 
 After the last Indian had fallen, I rode to where Jim 
 was and told him of the big band of Indians I had seen 
 that day, and suggested that we had better go to Barrel 
 
323 TOOK THEIR SCALPS. 
 
 Springs that night, which was about four miles further 
 on, as I thought that the best place to be in camp in 
 case we were attacked by the Indians. In this he agreed 
 with me. 
 
 By this time my men were all on the battle-field, and 
 most of the men from the train, also a number of the 
 women who had come out to see the dead Indians. I 
 asked one of the boys to go with me to scalp the Indians, 
 after which I would go to the train as I wanted to change 
 horses, but none of them knew how to scalp an Indian, 
 so Jim and I had to teach them how. 
 
 One old man, who was looking on, said: "I would 
 not mind shooting an Indian, but I would not like to 
 scalp one of them." 
 
 After scalping the nine Indians we rode to the train 
 and showed the scalps to the women. One young lady 
 said to me: 
 
 "I always took you to be a gentleman until now." 
 
 I said: "Miss, I claim to be only a plain plains gen- 
 tleman, but that at any and all times." 
 
 She said: "I don't think a gentleman could be so 
 barbarous as you are." 
 
 "My dear lady," I replied, "the taking of these scalps 
 may be the means of saving the train," and then I ex- 
 plained why we always scalped the Indians when we 
 killed them. I told her that the Indians did not fear 
 death, but hated the idea of being scalped. 
 
 About this time Jim Bridger came up and gave a more 
 thorough explanation cf the scalping business, and I did 
 not hear anything more of it at that time. But Jim often 
 teased the young lady spoken of, who had a lovely head 
 
BARREL SPRINGS. 323 
 
 of hair, by remarking what a fine scalp it would make 
 for the Indians. 
 
 I changed saddle horses and then myself and two 
 assistants rode out north to watch the movements of the 
 main band of Indians. 
 
 Before starting out Jim gave us the password of the 
 pickets, which was "Buffalo." 
 
 We rode until near sunset before we got sight of the 
 big band of Indians again, they having gone into camp 
 about four miles west of Barrel Springs, where our train 
 was camped, and only about a half mile from the trail or 
 wagon road. 
 
 I crawled up as near their camp as I dared to go, 
 and watched them until about nine o'clock that night, at 
 which tims a number of them had turned in, apparently 
 for the night, and a number were around their horses all 
 the time, giving us no opportunity whatever, to stam- 
 pede them, which was my intention, provided they gave 
 us the least show. I told my assistants there would be 
 no danger whatever, until daybreak the next morning, 
 and we would return to camp and sleep until near day- 
 light. 
 
 When we got to tLe train Jim had not gone to bed 
 yet. I told him where we had located the main band, 
 and as near as I could the number of the Indians about 
 one hundred and fifty but that I did not anticipate any 
 trouble during the night. 
 
 Jim said he would sit up until four o'clock the next 
 morning. "At which time," said he, "I will call you 
 and you can take as many scouts with you as you like 
 and watch every move made? by the Indians, and if they 
 
324 READY FOR AN ATTACK, 
 
 start this way telegraph me at once and I will have every- 
 thing in readiness to receive them, and I think we will 
 be able to give them quite an interesting entertainment." 
 
 What we meant by the term telegraphing was send- 
 ing a messenger as fast as he could ride, as there were 
 no other means of transmitting messages quickly. 
 
 The next morning at four, sharp, Jim woke us up. 
 He had our horses there, ready to saddle. 
 
 I sent three scouts north of the trail, three south and 
 took the other two with me to look after the Indians. 
 
 We arrived at the place where we had been secreted 
 the evening before, just as the Indians were breaking 
 camp. They started toward the road, and I watched 
 them till they struck the road and headed toward the 
 train. 
 
 I then dispatched one of my assistants to the train, 
 which was nearly four miles distant, telling him to spare 
 no horseflesh, but make the trip, as quick as his horse 
 was able to carry him and notify Jim of the Indians' 
 movements. The other scout and I stayed to watch the 
 Indians. They traveled along the road at their leisure 
 until they got in sight of the train, but Jim had all in 
 readiness for them. He had raised the tongues of the 
 two lead wagons which in forming a corrall always stood 
 face to face about six feet high and had the nine scalps 
 we had taken the day before, strung on a line and swung 
 under the wagon tongues so as to be readily seen by the 
 Indians. As soon as the Indians came in sight of the 
 train he had all the men forrn in single line on the out- 
 side of the corrall, while all the women and children 
 all the stock were on the inside. 
 
SCARED OFF. 335 
 
 They circled around the entire train, taking in the 
 situation but keeping out of gunshot, Seeing that the 
 emigrants, much to their surprise, were ready to receive 
 them, and seeing no chance to stampede their stock, they 
 rode off on the hillside about half a mile away and held 
 a council for about half an hour, after which they all 
 mounted and rode away. They were not disposed to 
 tackle a greater number than they had, especially when 
 their antagonists were armed with guns, while they had 
 only bows, and' arrows, and tomahawks. 
 
 Our men were well armed with such hand-guns as 
 were then in existence. Some had squirrel rifles, others 
 yager's, shotguns and pistols. In fact, about all makes 
 of firearms were represented in that emigrant train. 
 
 This was the first big band of hostile Indians that any 
 of the people had ever seen, and Jim said there was the 
 "wust" hubbub inside that corrall he had ever heard, not- 
 withstanding he had cautioned them to be quiet. 
 
 The most nervous of the women, at sight of the In- 
 dians, commenced crying and screaming, while those 
 more brave tried to reconcile those that were half fren- 
 zied from fright, and keep them quiet. Some were afraid 
 to have their husbands stand outside the corrall for fear 
 they would be killed by the redskins; but had it not been 
 for that line of men standing on the outside of the 
 wagons, and those scalps dangling from the wagon 
 tongues all of which led the Indians to believe that the 
 pale-faces were anxious to entertain them for awhile at 
 least, they undoubtedly would have attacked that train 
 that morning. 
 
 lly assistant* and I watched thm all that day, and 
 
A BUFFALO HUNT. 
 
 the train, after the Indians had gone, moved on. The In- 
 dians went back and took the trail of the nine scouts that 
 they had sent out the morning before, tracked them to 
 where their dead bodies lay, and taking four of the bodies 
 with them, moved on eastward. We selected a high 
 point and watched them until they had gone about ten 
 miles, and then we turned and followed up the train, 
 which camped that night at the head of Rock Creek. 
 When we arrived and reported that the Indians had left 
 the county they were the happiest lot of people I ever 
 saw. It seemed that they thought this was the only band 
 of Indians in the country. 
 
 The next day being Sunday Jim proposed that we lay 
 over and rest, saying that he was about worn out him- 
 self and that he was satisfied that the scouts were in the 
 same condition. This was satisfactory to all, so we did 
 not move camp that day. . 
 
 Up to this time we had not killed any game, although 
 we had seen plenty, there being considerable buffalo in 
 this part of the country yet, but it had been contrary to 
 orders to shoot while traveling, and I want to say right 
 here that the people of this train were always obedient 
 to our orders during our travels with them. 
 
 I told them I would go out and kill a buffalo that day 
 provided I could find one not too far from camp. A 
 number of men in the train wanted to go with me for a 
 buffalo hunt. "The more the merrier," I said, so we 
 saddled and started, six of us together. 
 
 About two miles from camp we saw a band of fifteen 
 buifalo that had not yet seen us. We at once dropped 
 back over the bill, and taking a circuitous route, we rodt 
 
WB KILLED POUR. 337 
 
 on the opposite side of them from camp, and cautiously 
 to within about a hundred and fifty yards, when they 
 raised their heads, took a good look at us and started off 
 toward the train. I told Saunders as he was on a fast 
 horse to take one side and I would take the other and 
 let the other boys bring up the rear, as by so doing we 
 could drive them near camp and save packing the meat 
 so far. When we were in the valley just below camp I 
 told each man to select his buffalo and fire, which they 
 did, when within a quarter of a mile from camp. We 
 then all commenced yelling like Indians, and Jim Bridger 
 said that he never saw a crowd of men get to their guns 
 as quick as the men in the train did, for they actually 
 thought we were Indians. 
 
 We succeeded in killing four buffalo out of the band, 
 the last one being within a hundred yards of camp. We 
 dressed them and all hands volunteered to carry the meat 
 to camp where it was turned over to the committee to 
 be distributed among the people of the entire train, 
 
 This was a great treat to them, for they had been 
 living on bacon for a long time, having no fresh meat 
 whatever. 
 
 It was twenty-five miles from here to the next place 
 where we could find water and a suitable camping place 
 where we would also have a good chance to protect our- 
 selves from Indians. So we pulled out early, I distribut- 
 ing my scouts as usual, only that I went alone and had a 
 hard ride for nothing. 
 
 After I had gone quite a distance I saw what I sup- 
 posed to be Indians; but they were a long way off. The 
 thought struck me that it was the same band we bad 
 
328 HEAR OF MOKE INDIANS. 
 
 seen before and that they were sneaking around intend- 
 ing to steal a march on us and attack the train while 
 traveling and stampede the stock, which was often done 
 when no scouts were kept out for their protection. I 
 started to follow them up and did not find out my mis- 
 take until I struck the trail of my supposed band of In- 
 dians which to my surprise proved to be a buffalo trail 
 and instead of Indians I had been following a band of 
 buffalo all day. 
 
 That night I laid out and the people in camp were 
 very uneasy about me, thinking I never would return, as 
 they thought I must have been killed by Indians. Jim 
 told them not to be alarmed as I would turn up all right 
 the next day. 
 
 On a trip of this kind I usually took a lunch along 
 with me; but not expecting to be out long this time I did 
 not take anything to eat, so I had to starve it out until I 
 got back *c che train, which was the next day at noon. 
 
 I did not see any fresh Indian sign on the entire trip; 
 neither did the other scouts see any sign of them, and 
 we concluded that if we did not have any trouble for 
 three days, we would be out of danger of the Sioux, for 
 by that time we would be out in the Bitter Creek coun- 
 try and there was no fear of Indians there. 
 
 All went along smoothly and we did not see or hear 
 of any more Indians until we got to Fort Bridger. Here 
 I met one of Gen. Connor's men who told me 'that the 
 Utes were very bad in the vicinity of Fort Douglas neat 
 Salt Lake, that being the place where Gen. Connor was 
 stationed at that time. He said that they had not beer 
 
DISCOVER INDIANS. 329 
 
 able to get a fight out of the Indians yet, although they 
 had followed them around a great deal. 
 
 We decided to take Sublet's Cutoff, leaving Salt Lake 
 City about one hundred miles south, as Jim said he would 
 rather fight Indians than Mormons. 
 
 Six days after leaving Fort Bridger I met two of Gen. 
 Connor's scouts in Cash valley, and they told us the Utes 
 were very bad farther West, and advised us to take the 
 Goose Creek route to avoid the Indians. We took their 
 advice. 
 
 Here was a scope of country that neither Jim nor I 
 had ever been over, it being a new road just made the 
 year previous. 
 
 After traveling four days on this road, late in the 
 evening of the fourth, I discovered a little band of In- 
 dians about six or eight miles from the road on a stream 
 that I have since heard called Raft river, which is a trib- 
 utary of the Snake. 
 
 We watched the band until dark and then rode as 
 near as we thought safe. I then left my horse with rov 
 two assistants and crawled up near the Indian camp and 
 tried to get a count on them. When I got near them I 
 found that they were Bannocks and were not warriors, 
 but apparently a hunting and fishing party, and were an 
 old men and women. I went away without molesting or 
 even allowing them to know that I had been there. 
 
 Four days' travel from here brought us into a section 
 of country where I had done my first scouting, on the 
 waters of the Humboldt. The first day after striking the 
 Humboldt, three of my men and I late in the afternoon, 
 ran on to a small band of Utes, eleven in number. I 
 
330 KILLED TWO INDIANS. 
 
 thought we had discovered them and got away without 
 being noticed, so I told the boys that by making a circu-il 
 of about one and a half miles we would have the advan- 
 tage of the ground and would be on to them before they 
 knew it. 
 
 On arriv'ng at the place where I expected to make 
 the charge I was disappointed to find that they were 
 mounted and on the move, they having no doubt gotten 
 sight of us when we first saw them. We gave chase but 
 they had too far the start- of us, and after running about 
 two miles we ended the pursuit. 
 
 There was no more trouble until we got to where 
 Wadsworth 'now stands. Here, one morning about sun- 
 rise, as the herders were bringing in the stock, five In- 
 dians rushed in and tried to stampede the animals, but 
 the herders happened to see them in time to give the 
 alarm. Jim and I having our horses tied near the camp, 
 were out after them quicker than I can tell it. We got 
 two of them, and I think the other three must have 
 thought themselves extremely lucky that they got away 
 with their scalps. 
 
 The only damage done by them was that they scared 
 the herders out of a year's growth, and just where those 
 Indians came from I never have been able to tell, for I 
 made it a rule to circle the camp every evening and look 
 for Indians and Indian signs. 
 
 This was the only time on the trip that I had an In- 
 dian steal a march on me, and this was the last trouble 
 ve had with Indians on this trip. Ten days travel 
 brought us to the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains at 
 the head of Eagle Valley. 
 
FAREWELL DANCE. 3JI 
 
 Jim knowing that they wanted to lay over the next 
 day, it being Sunday, he selected a lovely camping 
 ground in a pleasant pine grove and went into camp 
 about the middle of the afternoon. 
 
 As soon as we had got into camp, Jim and I went to 
 the committee and void them they did not need our ser 
 vices -any longer as there would be no danger whatever 
 from here on of Indians, they being now out of the hos- 
 tile country entirely. 
 
 When the women folks learned that we were going 
 to leave they proposed giving a farewell party that night. 
 Having musicians in the train, they selected a nice level 
 spot, and all who desired to participate congregated there 
 and had an enjoyable time. I think they enjoyed that 
 dance out in that lovely forest as much as though they 
 had been dancing in the finest hall in San Francisco; and 
 I think even the old people who were religious were so 
 overjoyed to know that they were once more safe from 
 the much dreaded and barbarous red men of the plains, 
 that they almost felt like dancing themselves. 
 
 Although I had been with this train just two and one 
 half months I had been in company with the ladies but 
 very little, for I had never been in in daylight only just long 
 enough to eat my meals and change horses, consequently 
 I was but slightly acquainted with any of them. This 
 was the first dance on the trip, and it was surprising to 
 me to see how sociable the ladies were with me, and had 
 it not been that I was so bashful, I might have had a 
 pleasant time. 
 
 When the dance was over, about ten o'clock that 
 night, one of the committee got up and made us quite a. 
 
332 WE SAY GOOD-BYE. 
 
 speech in behalf of the people, in the train, telling us how 
 much they appreciated the interest we had taken in 
 guarding their train through safely, and after he was 
 through talking he gave each of us a letter of recommen- 
 dation, which had been drawn up that evening while the 
 dance was going on. I think those letters were signed 
 by every man in the train, and a great many of the ladies 
 had signed them {oo. The speaker concluded his re- 
 marks by asking us to remain with the train as long as 
 we desired, and our provisions should not cost us a cent, 
 nor for having our horses herded with theirs. It being 
 too late in the fall to return to Fort Kearney, we ac- 
 cepted their kind and liberal offer and concluded to travel 
 with them a few days. 
 
 We remained with them until near Sacramento, and 
 here I met my old friend Johnnie West. He was begin- 
 ning to look very old, considering his age. He told me 
 he had quit drinking and was going to lead a different 
 life from this on; that he had taken up a ranch five mile? 
 from Sacramento on the river and invited us home with 
 him. 
 
 We accepted the invitation, and bidding the people 
 that \v had been traveling with nearly three months, 
 good-bye, we left them and went with Johnnie to his 
 ranch. 
 
 When we were ready to leave, I th<nk every per- 
 son in the train shook hands with us. 
 
JOHNNIE WEFT'S RANCH. 333 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 BRIDGER AND WEST GIVE CHRISTMAS A HIGH OLD WEL- 
 COME IN SACRAMENTO. -- CALIFORNIA GULCH. - 
 MEETING WITH BUFFALO BILL. THIRTY-THREE 
 SCALPS WITH ONE KNIFE. 
 
 On our arrival at Johnnie West's ranch we found that 
 he had quite a comfortable house, considering that it had 
 been built by an old trapper. He had five acres under 
 cultivation, and had raised a promiscuous lot of very de- 
 sirable produce, especially in the way of vegetable truck. 
 
 We remained with West two months, putting in our 
 time hunting, fishing and loafing. It being near Christ- 
 mas now, the question arose as to what we would do to 
 celebrate that festive season. Jim was for going to San 
 Francisco and Johnnie wanted to go to Sacramento. I 
 told them it was immaterial to me where I went. But 
 all this time I was afraid that if John West got to town 
 in company with Jim Bridger that West would break his 
 oft-repeated resolutions and there would be a big run on 
 the reddest kind of paint. I told Jim my fears and pro- 
 posed that we remain at home and take our Christmas 
 there. But Jim couldn't see it in that light, and said 
 one little spree wouldn't hurt Johnnie, so the day before 
 Christmas we pulled out for Sacramento. That same 
 
334 CHIRSTMAS AT .SACRAMENTO, 
 
 evening Jim and Johnnie both got loads that they ought 
 to have gone after about nine times, if they just had to 
 pack them, and the result was that it was my busy day 
 keeping them out of the calaboose. I promised the 
 police I would put them to bed and make them stay 
 there until morning. 
 
 Next morning, the first thing after we had dressed, 
 Jim said: ''Well boys, let's go and have a Christinas 
 drink." I said: "Boys, I will take one drink with you 
 and then quit. Now if you fellows want to make brutes 
 of yourselves and get into the lock-up, just go ahead, but 
 I <im going to go home as soon as I get my breakfast." 
 So we went down the street and into the first saloon we 
 came to and called for egg-nogg. I remained with them 
 until they were drinking their fifth drink. I could not 
 do anything with them, so I told them I was going to 
 breakfast, and they could do as they pleased. This was 
 the first time in my life that I had ever been placed in a 
 position where I was actually ashamed of my associates. 
 I was so disgusted when I left them that morning to go 
 to my breakfast that I thought I would go home and 
 leave them. But after eating my breakfast, being, per- 
 haps, in a better humor, I started out to hunt for them. 
 I clo not wish to try for a moment to lead the reader to 
 bolive that I do not like the taste of liquor, for I am con- 
 fluent at that time I really liked it better than either of 
 my associates, but I always dispise the effect, and that 
 seemed to be what they, like thousands of other, drink 
 it for. It always seemed to me that when a man is 
 drunk he is more disposed to show the brute that is in 
 him than to act a gentleman. 
 
JOHNNIE LOCKED UP 
 
 335 
 
 After looking around some little time I found Jim 
 Bridger in a saloon so drunk that he could scarcely walk. 
 
 The police had taken him to the station-house. 
 
 I asked him where Johnny West was, and the bar-keeper 
 told me that the police had taken him to the station-house. 
 I asked what for, and he said for trying to shoot some 
 one. 
 
 I watched for an opportunity and took both of Jim's 
 pistols and knife away from him and gave them to the 
 clerk at the hotel. Afterwards I walked to the station- 
 house to see what the charge was against Johnny West, 
 
336 Los ANGELES. 
 
 The man told me the charge was drunk and disorderly 
 and shooting a pistol inside of a house. I asked him if 
 he would let Johnny out if I would pay the fine. He 
 said: "Yes. As soon as he is sober to-morrow morn- 
 ing, you can come around. The charges will be twenty 
 dollars." 
 
 If the reader ever had any experiece with a drunken 
 man, which to me is the most disgusting thing on earth, 
 he can realize something of the time I had with those 
 two men, for it took me all the next day to get Johnny 
 West home and get him reconciled. 
 
 He was determined to return to Sacramento, and it 
 took me two more days hard work and coaxing to get 
 Jim Bridger home. I have it by good authority that this 
 was the last drunken spree that Johnnie West ever took. 
 He remained on his ranch some six years longer and hav- 
 ing accumulated considerable wealth, sold out for a good 
 price and returned home to his relations in Texas, and 
 there died a short time afterwards; 
 
 Jim Bridger and myself stayed at Johnny's until about 
 the middle of January. This now being 1861, we started 
 for New Mexico, via Los Angeles, with the intention of 
 laying over in Los Angeles until we could cross the 
 Rocky Mountains. There was a good wagon road from 
 Sacramento to San Jose, and (rom San Jose to Los An- 
 geles. 
 
 At this time the Indians were all peaceable through 
 California, the only trouble with them was their begging. 
 At that I think, beyond any doubt, that they could beat 
 any class of people it has ever been my misfortune to 
 meet. 
 
START FOR NEW MEXICO. 337 
 
 We arrived at Los Angeles on the fifth of February. 
 It being one of the Spanish feast days, they were having 
 a great time. The Spanish population of this place hav- 
 ing now become reconciled, we were treated with due 
 respect while we remained here, being about one week, 
 during which time we lived on fruit. Fov here were 
 fruits and flowers, world without end. Beyond any doubt, 
 this is the greatest place for flowers th^t I have ever 
 seen. 
 
 Soon we pulled out for New Mexico, keeping on the 
 north side oi the Colorado river until abo ye the head of 
 the Grand Canyon, this being pretty *well up in the 
 Rocky Mountains, and here near the h^ad of the Grand 
 Canyon we began to see more or less Indian sign, but we 
 were undecided as to what trib of Indians they be- 
 longed. 
 
 The second day after crossing the Colorado river we 
 fan on to a band of Indians, bnt to our satisfaction they 
 were of the Pima tribe, and the same young Indian whose 
 sister had assisted me ir rescuing the white girl Olive 
 Oatrnan, wis with them. 
 
 As soon as he saw m^, he ran to meet me and shouted 
 *'Kain, igo," me&ning "Hello, friend," and shook 
 hands with me. 
 
 The Pimas wert smi on their annual hunt for that 
 season, and we had to remain with them two days. Be- 
 ing acquainted with them all, and as I have said before, 
 when one is out in a hostile Indian country, sometimes 
 the company of friendly Indians is quite acceptable. 
 
 After leaving here we would be compelled to pass 
 * ftnukli portion of the Ute country, and game being 
 
,138 
 
 FRIENDLY INDIANS. 
 
 plentiful at this time, we feared they might be out on a 
 hunt, and just at present we were not hankering after 
 sport of the Indian righting kind. So I preposed to Jim 
 Bridger that .we hire four of these young Pimas to ac- 
 company us through the Ute country, knowing that the 
 Pimas were on good terms with all their neighboring 
 tribes. Jim said that we had nothing to give them, hav- 
 ing neither jewelry or beads with us. 
 
 I told him that I would spare them a horse if we could 
 get them to go, I had four horses with me, while Jim 
 
 Sitting around the camp fire, smoking and cracking jokes. 
 
 only had three. He told me to go ahead and make any 
 kind of a bargain with th~^ * Uked and he would stand 
 bis portion. ^L 
 
WE HIRE ESCORTS. 339 
 
 That night after supper while we were sitting around 
 the camp fire, smoking and cracking jokes for an In- 
 dian enjoys a joke as well as any one I got up and told 
 them that we would, after leaving their country, have tc 
 travel over a small portion of the Ute conntry, and they 
 being hostile towards the white people, we did not feel 
 safe to try to cross their country alone, I told them we 
 were very poor, having no beads nor blankets to spare, 
 but if four of their men would accompany us for three 
 days, I would give them a good horse. 
 
 The young Indian said: "You have been a good 
 friend to me, and me and my friend will go with you 
 across the Ute country. We don't want your horse, but 
 when you come back you can bring us some beads." 
 
 This we agreed to do, and the next morning we 
 started early, accompanied by four young Pima Indians. 
 
 During the first two days' travel from the Pima camp 
 we saw not less, than two hundred Indians of the Ute 
 tribe, camping the second night within a quarter of a 
 mile of a large village of them, but having those Pimas 
 with us they did not offer to molest us. 
 
 When we were approaching a village two of the Pimas 
 would ride ahead and tell the Utes that we were their 
 friends. They traveled with us four days, when we con- 
 cluded we were safe and they returned to their crowd of 
 hunters, and we proceeded on our journey, crossing the 
 main divide of the Rocky Mountains at the head of the 
 Blue river, striking the head of the Arkansas river as soon 
 as we were across the main divide. 
 
 The day we crossed the divide we went into camp as 
 soon as we were out of the snow on the east side. That 
 
34 CALIFORNIA GULCH. 
 
 night when it was dark we could see dcwt? the Arkansas 
 river a great number of camp fires, and what this all 
 meant was a mystery to us. We knew that we were 
 then in the Comanche country, but we could not think 
 that they were up in that region so early in the season. 
 We were both somewhat restless that night, sleeping but 
 very little, fearing that these were camp-fires of the Utes, 
 and if so we were sure to have trouble with them before 
 we could get out of this part of the country. 
 
 We were not in much of a hurry to start next morn- 
 ing, but I took my glasses and selecting a high poiai for 
 a general look, was agreeably surprised to see that the 
 camp was one of wagons anj tents. That made us feel 
 considerably better. We packed up at once and went 
 down to see what it all meant. 
 
 On arriving we found a company of miners. The 
 gold in California Gulch had just recently been discov- 
 ered, and that was attracting them. As soon as we 
 learned the cause of the excitement, we struck camp and 
 walked up the canyon to where they were at work. They 
 were taking out gold in great quantities, but we only re- 
 mained until next morning, when we packed up and 
 started for Taos, going via the the place where Colorado 
 City now stands a deserted village near the present city 
 of Colorado Springs. We were now in a country where 
 we were perfectly safe, so far as Indians were concerned, 
 and we could travel at our ease. 
 
 On our first day's travel, after leaving the mining 
 we passed through the country where I did my first trap' 
 ping in company with Uncle Kit Carson and Mr. Hughes, 
 and as we were riding along I pointed out to Jim the 
 
WORKING FOR UNCLE KlT. 341 
 
 place where I took my first Indian scalp. This was the 
 first time I had ever mentioned it to him and he said 
 that Uncle Kit had told him all about it a long time ago. 
 
 On our arrival at Taos we found Uncle Kit suffering 
 severely from the effects of the arrow wound that has 
 twice before been mentioned in this history. He and 
 his wife were glad to see us, and Uncle Kit insisted on 
 my remaining with him and taking charge of his stock. 
 He now had several bands of sheep and some four hun- 
 dred head of cattle, and not being able to ride and look 
 after the camps, he wanted me to ride from one camp to 
 to the other and look after the business in general, for 
 which he offered to pay me well. I agreed to work for 
 him at least two or three months and perhaps longer, 
 provided I liked the business. 
 
 After I had been one month at work a wholesale 
 butcher came over from Denver to buy cattle and sheep. 
 I went out and showed him Uncle Kit's, after which we 
 returned to Taos and he closed a trade with Uncle Kit, 
 agreeing to take one hundred head of cattle and one 
 thousand head of sheep. The price to be paid for them 
 I never knew, but he paid a certain portion down and! 
 the balance was to be paid the coming October, in Den- 
 ver City. 
 
 I remained with Uncle Kit until the first of October, 
 looking after things in general, when he asked me to ac- 
 company him to Denver City, which was one hundred 
 and eighty miles from Taos. 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon of the sixth day 
 we roue into Denver, from the southwest. When near 
 where Cherry creek runs through the city we saw aa ii- 
 
34* DENVER CITY. 
 
 mense crowd of people in the streets, so we pushed on 
 te see what the excitement was. 
 
 When near the crowd we met three or four men 
 on horseback riding up the street. We asked what was 
 causing the excitement. One of them replied: "Oh. 
 nothing, only they are going to hang a man down there 
 in a few minutes." 
 
 This being the first opportunity I had ever had to see 
 a man hung, we stayed and saw it through. We rode 
 up to the edge of the crowd, which was about forty yards 
 from the scaffold where the hanging was to take place, 
 and had been there but a few moments when we saw the 
 sheriff coming with the prisoner, having a very strong 
 guard of some two hundred men all well armed. As soon 
 as the prisoner stepped on to the platform some one 
 handed him a chair to sit down in. 
 
 The sheriff turned to the prisoner and said: "Mr. 
 Gordon if you have anything to say, now you have the 
 opportunity. I will give you all the time necessary tc 
 say what you wish." 
 
 The prisoner rose to his feet and brushed his hair 
 back, apparently cool, but the moment he commenced 
 to talk I could see the tears begin to trickle down his 
 cheeks. 
 
 I thought it a most pitful sight. He did not talk 
 long, but briefly thanked his friends for their kindness to- 
 wards him during his confinement, and said: "Gentle- 
 men, I think you did very wrong in holding out the idea 
 to me that I would come clear, when you knew very well 
 that there was no show whatever for me," and took his 
 IMt 
 
WITNESS A HANGING. 345 
 
 A gospel minister then stepped upon the platform and 
 engaged in prayer. When he rose from praying the 
 piisoner was weeping bitterly. The sheriff then stepped 
 up to him and said: "Come, Mr. Gordon, your time is 
 up," and he took. him by one arm and another man by 
 the other, and when he raised to his feet they tied his 
 hands behind him, tied a cloth over his face, led him on 
 to the trap and the sheriff placed the rope around his 
 neck and started down the steps to spring the trap, when 
 the prisoner sang out: "Come back, Meadows, come 
 back!" 
 
 The sheriff turned and walked up to where the pris- 
 oner was, and he said: 
 
 "Meadows, fix the rope good so it will break my neck, 
 for I want to die quick." 
 
 After the sheriff had fixed the rope he stepped down,- 
 and sprung the trap, and from where I was I could no*. 
 see that Gordon made the least struggle after he dropped. 
 
 Just as we were ready to leave here who should step 
 up but our old friend Mr. Joe Favor, whom we had no,, 
 seen for a long time. He insisted on us going to his 
 store, telling us where to put our horses. So, after put 
 ting our horses up, we went around with him. 
 
 On arriving at Favor's place we found that he had *, 
 number of his St. Louis friends with him, who had oniv 
 arrived a few days previous to this. After introducing 
 us all around, he said: "I want you two men to "com* 
 over and take supper with me. I have just ordered sup- 
 per at the Jefferson House." 
 
 Uncle Kit tried to excuse himself on the grounds to** 
 
344 THIRTY-THREE SCALHi. 
 
 we were not dressed well enough 1o go into company, we 
 having on our buckskin suits. I5u,t his answer was: 
 
 "I would not-have you dressed otherwise if I could, 
 so be sure and come with your side arms on,*' having 
 reference to our revolvers and kr>ives. He then addressed 
 his conversation to me for a few moments by asking what 
 F would take to tell him the hontrjt truth as to how many 
 Indians I had scalped with th-2 knife that he gave me, 
 seeing that I. still carried it. 
 
 I said: "Mr. Favor, I cou.d tell you just the num- 
 ber, but it would be out of place for me to do so." He 
 asked why, and L said: "Mr. Favor, up to this time I 
 don't think I have ever given you any reason to doubt 
 my word, but if I should tell you the honest truth as to 
 the number of Indians I have scalped with that knife I 
 fear you would doubt me." 
 
 By this time a number of his St. Louis friends had 
 flocked around tne, and it seemed as if they would look 
 through me. Mr. Favor assured me that he would not 
 doubt my word for a moment, but I told him his friends 
 would. They assured me that they would not, saying 
 from what *hey had heard of me from Mr. Favor before 
 seeing me they felt satisfied that I would tell them the 
 truth. 
 
 I said: "GorrLlemen, if I had gotten one more scalp 
 I would just ha.ve even thirty-four, but as it is I have 
 just Jaken thirty-three scalps with this knife. I mean 
 from Indians that I killed myself. I have taken a num- 
 ber that were killed by others, but I did not count them/' 
 
 The crowd then turned their attention to Uncle Kit 
 Carson, and while at the supper table those S',. Louit 
 
KIT CARSON s LIKE. 345 
 
 parties asked him what he would take to sit down and give 
 them a true history of his life and let them write it up 
 and have it published. To this he woul i not hear. They 
 then came at him. in a different manner by asking what 
 per cent, of the net proceeds he would take. To this he 
 said: ' 'Gentlemen, if there is anything on earth that J 
 do dislike it surely is this thing called notoriety," and he 
 continued by raying, "There is a part of my life that I 
 hate to think of myself, and a book written without the 
 whole of my life would not amount to anything." 
 
 After supper we returned to the store and those men 
 talked with Uncle Kit until near midnight about this mat- 
 ter. By this time he had become impatient and said: 
 "Gentlemen, there is no use talking, for I will not sub- 
 mit to a thing of this kind, and you will oblige me very 
 much by not mentioning it any more." So that ended 
 the conversation concerning the matter, for the time be- 
 ing, and Uncle Kit and I retired for the night. 
 
 The morning following I walked down to the store 
 and Mr. Favor told me there had been some parties look- 
 ing for me, and left word for me to meet them at the 
 store at ten o'clock. 
 
 I sat down and waited until they came at the hour 
 appointed. A gentleman in the crowd named Green 
 Campbell seemed to be their spokesman. And, by the 
 way, tliis same Mr. Campbell has since grcvvn to be very 
 wealthy and now resides in Salt Lake City, and a few 
 years ago was nominated on the Gentile ticket for Gov- 
 ernor, but was defeated. 
 
 Mr. Campbell said to me: "There are five of us that 
 have been mining here this summer and have done very 
 
346 TO GO TO GILA RIVER. 
 
 well, but we are not satisfied. We want to go on to the 
 waters of the Gila river and prospect this winter, and 
 have been trying for several days to find some one that 
 could guide us to that country, and Mr. Favor having 
 recommended you to us very highly, we wish to make 
 some kind of a bargain with you if we can, to guide us to 
 that part of the country. Is it safe for a small party 
 to go in there? " 
 
 I said: "Mr. Campbell, it depends altogether in 
 what part of the country you want to go. I could take 
 you on the waters of the Gila river where you would be 
 perfectly safe, but whether it would be where you want 
 to go or not is tl.e question." I drew a diagram of that 
 part of the country as best I could, showing the different 
 tributaries to the river, pointing out the region where 
 they would be safe and also that which they would not 
 dare enter on account of the hostile Apache Indians. 
 
 Mr. Campbell asked me if I would remain with them 
 until spring. I told him I would, and they made me a 
 proposition, which I accepted. They were to furnish all 
 the pack animals necessary for the outfit and to board 
 me, I to furnish rny own saddle-horses. I advised them 
 to go to Taos with a wagon and team, and buy their pack 
 animals there as they would be able to get them much 
 cheaper than in Denver. They proposed that I go to 
 Taos and buy the pack animals and have everything 
 ready by the time they would arrive, as they had busi- 
 ness which would necessarily detain them for at least 
 two weeks. This I agreed to do. 
 
 That afternoon I was walking down the street near 
 the Planters House when I met a policeman in great 
 
LIVELY ROW. 
 
 347 
 
 haste, making his way for the hotel mentioned. As he 
 approached me he said: "I deputize you to assist me 
 in making the ar- 
 rest of those stage 
 drivers in the 
 Planters' House." 
 This was a crowd 
 of men who were 
 driving stage at 
 that time for the 
 notorious Slade, 
 of whom i:ore will 
 be said lat^/ on. 
 I' had left IT.V 
 
 side arms at Mr. Favor's store, 
 not thinking I would have any 
 occasion to use them, but at the re- 
 quest of the policeman, I entered the 
 hotel and found a general row pro- 
 ceeding. As soon as we entered the 
 door two or three of the crowd made 
 for me, I backed off and defended myself the best that 
 I could, until I had backed to the end of the hall. The 
 door at the end of the hall being shut, I could back no 
 .farther. Here I sparred with them for some time, when 
 one of them struck at me with all vengeance and just 
 grazed the side of my face. As I threw my head and 
 shoulders back to dodge tho blow I knocked the whole 
 upper portion of the glass doer out. Just at that instant 
 Wm. F. Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, seeing the 
 predicament I was in, and &seik^g that I was unarmed. 
 
 ' 'I deputise you to 
 assist me." 
 
348 WE ARRESTED SIX. 
 
 caught me by the shoulders and jerked me through that 
 window much quicker than I could tell it. He handed 
 me one of his pistols and said: "Come on pard, and we 
 will take them fellows or know the reason why. " 
 
 When we entered the door they had the policeman 
 and bar-keeper both cornered behind the bar, but seeing 
 that we were prepared for them, strange to say, not one 
 of them drew his pistol, but all surrendered at once, and 
 the entire crowd, six in number, were escorted to the 
 cooler. 
 
 The name of this policeman was William Deecy, and 
 he is now living in Boulder, Montana. I saw him less 
 than one year ago, and we enjoyed a good laugh as we 
 rehearsed the affair of the Planters' House. 
 
 That afternoon after having his business attended to, 
 Uncle Kit went to Mr. Favor and ~aid: "Joe, I want 
 you and your friends from St. Louis to come and take 
 supper with me this evening at the same hotel where w~i 
 had supper last evening." 
 
 When Uncle Kit spoke in this manner Mr. Favor felt 
 sure that he had changed his mind in regard to having 
 his life written up, and before going to supper, in the 
 absence of Uncle Kit, Mr. Favor asked me about it. I told 
 him he had not. Whereupon he proposed betting me a 
 new hat that those parties would write up his, Kit Car- 
 son's, life. I said; * 'Not by his consent." "Yes," saiV 
 he, "by his own consent." 
 
 This bet I - accepted, and that night Mr. Favor and 
 all of his St. Louis friends accompanied us from the store 
 down to the hotel for supper. There was one gentleman 
 in the crowd who was a splendid talker, and apparently 
 
BUFFALO BILL. 
 
 34* 
 
 an intelligent man, and when at the supper table Vnat 
 night, he mentioned the matter to Uncle Kit again of 
 having his life published. On turning his eyes to the re- 
 fined gentleman, he said: "I would have you under- 
 stand that when I say anything I mean it. I told you 
 in plain English last evening that 1 would not submit to 
 anything of that kind, and now don't compel me to talk 
 too harsh, but please drop tfre subject at once." 
 
 Mr. Favor, who had been watching very close all this 
 time, could see at once there was no use in talking any 
 more about the subject and turned the conversation as 
 quickly as possible and there was no more said about it. 
 
 That night while 
 in a conversation 
 with Buffalo Bill he 
 told Uncle Kit and 
 I that he would be 
 going out to Bent's 
 Fort in a few days 
 and proposed that 
 we join him there 
 and have a buffalo 
 hunt before I went 
 away. We prom- 
 ised that we would 
 meet him. 
 
 The next morn- 
 ing Uncle Kit and I 
 mounted our horses 
 
 to start on our return trip to Taos, and when we rode up 
 in front of the store, Mr. Favor told me to come in and 
 
 Col. W. F. Cody. "Buffalo Bill. 1 
 
3O A BUFFALO HUNT. 
 
 get my hat. I told him no, that I would not take v: 
 now, but let it go until next spring when I returned. He- 
 said to call and get it any time, saying: ' 'Yoi3 won ii 
 fair." 
 
 After we had ridden but a short distance I told Uncle 
 Kit how I came to wfti the hat, and he said: ' 'I think 
 them St. Louis men are gentlemen, but I don't propose 
 to have any one write up my life. I have got plenty to 
 keep me as long as I live and I do not like notoriety." 
 And just here I would say, that to a man that roaghed 
 it out on the plains in those days as we old frontiersmen 
 had to do, they did not feel that a history of their lives 
 would be fit to go before the public, for as Uncle Kit 
 said: "A man on the frontier had to undergo many 
 hardships, that if written up true, just as they occurred, 
 people in the civilized countries would not believe them 
 when they read it." 
 
 On my arrival at Taos I bought ten Mexican jacks or 
 burros to use for pack animals on the trip that we were 
 about to start upon. After that we started for Bent's 
 Fort where we joined Buffalo Bill and Col. Bent and 
 struck out for the ' 'Picket Wire" Purgatoire on a buf- 
 falo hunt. 
 
 Here we found buffalo plenty and enjoyed two days 
 successful hunting, and I must say that a more joJiy 
 crowd I was never out with than those three men were 
 on a trip of this kind. Buffalo Bill, who was as good- 
 natured a man as a person would wish to meet, was able 
 to furnish amusement for the entire crowd. Col. Bent 
 himself was no mean Nimrod, and Uncle Kit did not take 
 a back seat on such occasions 
 
Black Hawk, Apache Chief. 
 
RETURN TO TAGS. 35 1 
 
 This was the last hunting expedition that it was ever 
 my pleasure to go upon in company with Mr. Cody, and 
 it was not my pleasure to meet him again for a number 
 of years afterwards. 
 
 From here Uncle Kit and I returned to Tabs, and I 
 commenced making preparations for the trip to the 
 waters of the Gila. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 FACE TO FACE WITH A BAND OF APACHES. THE DEATH 
 
 OF PINTO. THE CLOSEST CALL I EVER HAD. A 
 
 NIGHT ESCAPE. BACK AT FORT DOUGLAS. 
 
 On the arrival of Mr. Campbell and party we packed 
 up and were off to the waters of the Gila. Our crowd 
 consisted of Green Campbell, of Missouri; Thomas Free- 
 man and David Roberts, of Illinois, and Marlow Pease, 
 of Massachusetts. 
 
 I took three saddle horses with me and they each took 
 a saddle horse and three extra horses belonging to the 
 company. We did not lose any time getting across the 
 main divide. Being late in the fall we had great fear of 
 becoming snow-bound on the trip. We left the head of 
 
PROSPECTING. 
 
 the Arkansas river some fifty miles to the north so as to 
 be able to cross the river without having the snow to en- 
 counter. After we were across the main divide I told 
 them there would be no danger of being snowed in now, 
 So they would stop occasionally from half a day to three 
 days in a place to prospect what they called the most 
 favorable looking places for the yellow metal and most 
 generally finding a little gold, but not as they considered 
 in paying quantities, and while they were prospecting it 
 was my business to scout all around the camp to prevent 
 a surprise party by the reds and to kill game to live on. 
 
 We arrived at the Gila, striking the middle fork a 
 little more southwest than I had ever been before. I told 
 them we were now in the Apache country and that those 
 were the worst Indians we had to contend with. We 
 found a nice place for a camp and Mr. Campbell pro- 
 posed to build a log cabin in order to protect ourselves 
 against the Indians, but I told them I thought they had 
 better prospect a week or ten days first, and if they 
 found it to pay them we could build a cabin, and in the 
 mean time I would try and locate the Indians and watch 
 their movements. 
 
 The first four or five days I didn't go very far away, 
 but made an entire circuit of the camp every day. After 
 being here five or six days, I struck out in a south- 
 westerly direction, intending to go about ten or fifteen 
 miles from camp. 
 
 Up to this time I had not seen any fresh Indian sign 
 whatever, and had about concluded that we would not 
 have any trouble this winter with them. After riding 
 ?,bout ten miles or so I rame to a nice little brook, and 
 
APACMH INDIAN* 
 
 sss 
 
 there being fine grass, I stopped and let my horse feed 
 for an hour or more. I was riding my old Pinto that day 
 and h e was 
 also feeling 
 fine. 
 
 About one 
 o'clock I 
 mounted Pin- 
 to and started 
 south, striking 
 for a high 
 mountain, 
 from which if 
 I could once 
 reach the top, 
 I could, with 
 the aid of my 
 glasses, see all 
 over the en- 
 tire country. 
 While climb- 
 ing this moun- 
 tain I ran on to a bear cub. Seeing that he was very 
 fat, I shot him and lashed him behind my saddle, and 
 was soon climbing the mountain again, which was,, in 
 places, steep and very rocky, with scattering pine trees 
 here and there. After going about a half a mile and just 
 as I came to the top of a steep little pitch, I came face 
 to face with a band of Apache Indians. I did not take 
 time to count them, but thought there were about eigh- 
 teen or twenty of them. I fired four shots in quick sue 
 
 I stopped and let ray horse feed. 
 
354 
 
 A LIVELY CHASE. 
 
 cession The first two shots I killed two Indians, but 
 the other two I could not tell whether I got my men or 
 not, as I was just in the act of turning my horse when I 
 fired. They fired a perfect shower of arrows at me. To 
 run back down the mountain the way I came was a mat- 
 ter of impossibility, as it was both steep and rocky, so I 
 took around the side of the mountain, thinking that I 
 
 I had to ride all over my horse. 
 
 would be able in a few moments' run to reach the top of 
 the mountain, where I could have a better show to de- 
 fend myself. 
 
 I had to ride all over my horse to avoid the arrows, 
 first on one side, hanging by one foot and one hand, then 
 on the other side. 
 
 I had not run more than one hundred yards until 1 
 
PINTO KILLED. 355 
 
 knew there was something wrong with my horse, for he 
 had always before seemed to know when I was in a tight 
 place and seemed eager to carry me out of danger. I 
 gave him the spurs three or four times but he did not in- 
 crease his speed in the least, and then I knew well that 
 he had been shot, and it always seemed a miracle to me 
 that I went through all that and did not get shot also 
 
 It is quite useless for me to say I thought my timo 
 had come. On looking ahead some fifty yards I saw a 
 pile of rocks about four or five feet high, which I made 
 a bee line for. Getting to the rock pile I dismounted 
 and ran between two large rocks where poor old Pinto 
 tried to follow me, but he received two more arrows in 
 his hip and one in his flank. He fell to the ground, and 
 after falling raised his head, and looking toward me, 
 whinnied. 
 
 The poor faithful old fellow lay there and would 
 whinny for me at intervals as long as he lived, which was 
 perhaps half an hour. The reader can fancy my condi- 
 tion just at this time. Here I was almost surrounded by 
 hostile Indians and the only friend that I had with me 
 dead. I did not expect to ever get away from there, for 
 expected that while a part of the Indians guarded me 
 .he bafance would go off and rally reinforcements. 
 
 I had made up my mind to fight them to the last'and 
 kill as many as I could before they got me. They made 
 three desperate charges for me before dark, but as luck 
 would have it I was always loaded for them. I piled up 
 rocks as I could get them loose in a manner to gi-ve me 
 protection from every quarter, but expected they would 
 reinforce and attempt to starve me out. 
 
356 
 
 A PERILOUS POSITION. 
 
 Just as it was getting dark, two of the Indians crawled 
 up to within thirty feet of my rock pen. I was watch- 
 ing them, and just as they rose up to fire I fired and 
 brought one of them to the ground, thereby making an- 
 other good Apache. The other one ran away, and it 
 being somewhat dark, I did not get him. 
 
 This made the fifth Indian I had killed since I had 
 been in my little rock pen and I had fired eleven shots. 
 After it was good and dark I made up my mind that I 
 would get out of there sometime during the night, for f-o 
 remain there till the morrow only meant death, and I 
 might as well 
 lose my life 
 in trying to 
 get away that 
 night as to 
 remain there 
 and be killed 
 the next day. 
 I felt sure 
 they had a 
 guard around 
 me, but I 
 made up my 
 mind to make 
 a desperate 
 effort to get 
 away. I 
 crawled to 
 
 where my dead horse was laying, which was only a few 
 feet from my rock house, cut the latigo, rtmovtd my 
 
 I was always loaded and ready for them. 
 
AN AWFUL NIGHT. 357 
 
 saddle from the dead horse, lashed it to my back, taking 
 the mochilar or covering for a saddle, which I have de- 
 scribed heretofore, I took my knife and cut a hole in the 
 front portion of the mochila where the pommel of the: 
 saddle protrudes, so that I was able to stick my head 
 through. The mochila was good as a shield, for an 
 arrow would not go through it except at very short range. 
 I cut the reins off of the bridle, and as the bit was a very 
 heavy one, I thought it would answer pretty well as a 
 sling shot in close quarters. 
 
 I had no idea of getting out without a desperate fight 
 with ninety-nine Chances against me to one in my favor. 
 After I had my rig complete 1 started to crawl away flat 
 on the ground like a snake, I would crawl for a short 
 distance, then stop and listen. It was very dark, there 
 being no moon in the fore part of the night. I was ex- 
 pecting every minute to feel an arrow or a tomahawk in 
 my head. After working my way down the hill some 
 hundred yards or so, I came to a tree and raised up by 
 the side of it. I stood and listened for some time, but 
 could not hear anything of the Indians, so I struck out 
 in the direction of camp, walking very cautiously for 
 some little distance. 
 
 After traveling about six miles I felt comparatively 
 safe, knowing they could not do anything toward track- 
 ing me until morning and did not think they would even 
 be able to track me then. 
 
 I passed over a great deal of rocky country where 
 there was but little vegetation. Finally I laid down to 
 wait until morning, and I must say that I never had been 
 out in all my life when I actually longed for daylight to 
 
358 BACK AT CAMP. 
 
 come as I did that long and lonely night, and I believe 
 that I would freely have given five hundred dollars to 
 have had a man there with me that night; not that I was 
 afraid of Indians, for I considered that I had given them 
 the slip, and did not believe they would be able to over- 
 take me before I would reach camp even though they 
 should be able to track me the next morning. 
 
 I thought of my dying horse who had been such a 
 faithful servant and carried me out of so many tight 
 places, and when I would think of him I could fancy that 
 I could see him raise his head and whinny at me as he 
 had done that evening in his dying moments, seemingly 
 asking me for help, and I could not keep the tears from 
 my eyes. As soon as it was light I started for camp, 
 arriving there about ten o'clock that morning. The men 
 in camp had given me up and did not expect to ever see 
 me any more, thinking that the Apaches had got me. I 
 told the men that we would have to leave this part of the 
 country now, and that too, just as soon as I could get a 
 bite to eat and get my saddle repaired. While the boys 
 pulled up and started to move camp I saddled up another 
 horse and took my back track, traveling very cautiously, 
 thinking they would try to follow me out, and I wanted 
 to watch their movements and see whether they had re- 
 inforced or not. I told the boys to move northeast and 
 where to camp, the place being ten miles from where we 
 were then, and not to build any fire that night, also that 
 I would be in camp some time before morning this time, 
 I was very cautious not to be surprised the second time. 
 I rode back within a mile of where my dead horse lay, 
 out could not see any Indians, so I finally concluded that 
 
A NEW CAMP. 359 
 
 it had been a small hunting party, and seeing that they 
 could not scare me out of my rock pen by their ferocious 
 charges, accompanied by a war-whoop that would make 
 the hair stand on the bravest mountaineer's head, they 
 had abandoned the idea altogether and had no doubt left 
 the ground before I started to crawl away from my rock 
 pen, which had been the means of saving me from falling 
 their victim. 
 
 I returned to camp, arriving shortly after dark. We 
 moved north, the men prospecting the country as we went 
 and I scouting, keeping a sharp lookout to prevent a sur- 
 prise party, but we did not see any more Indians during 
 the entire winter. We struck the Colorado river at the 
 mouth of the Green river. 
 
 Mr. Campbell concluded that he would go to south- 
 ern Nevada; taking a southwesterly course from Green 
 river, I piloted them about one hundred miles and they 
 now being in a country where they were perfectly safe as 
 tar as hostile Indians were concerned, I left the party, 
 and the most of them it has never been my pleasure to 
 tTieet since. I met one of the party by the name of Free- 
 man in Seattle in the year of 1889. At that time he was 
 settled down in his old neighborhood in Illinois and had 
 a wife and five children. I can truthfully say that I 
 never met five better and more agreeable men to travel 
 with in all my career than those men were. While with 
 them I never saw one of them apparently out of humor 
 with his companions or heard one use any kind of lan- 
 guage than that of a gentleman, Leaving the party I 
 struck for Salt Lake City. I had no trouble in finding 
 
360 MEET GEN. CONNOR. 
 
 the way, or otherwise, and arrived at Fort Douglas about 
 the first of March. 
 
 On arriving here I found General Connor just making 
 preparations to move with almost his entire force against 
 the Ute Indians, who at this time were concentrating 
 their forces in Cash Valley, and committing a great many 
 depredations in that part of the country. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THREE THOUSAND DEAD INDIANS. A DETECTIVE FROM 
 CHICAGO. HE GOES HOME WITH AN OLD MORMON'S 
 YOUNGEST WIFE AND GETS INTO TROUBLE. THE 
 
 FLIGHT. 
 
 Gen. Connor offered me a position as scout, which I 
 accepted, and on the sixth day after my arrival at Fort 
 Douglas, in company with two other scouts, I struck out 
 in advance of the command. In the forenoon of the 
 eighth day from the tort we found the Indians on a tribu- 
 tary of Cash Valley in a deep canyon and fortified. They 
 had cut logs and rolled them down the hill, piling them 
 on each side of the canyon, several feet high and had in- 
 termingled them with brush. This was the first 
 cation I had ever seen built by Indians. 
 
INDIAN FORTIFICATIONS. 361 
 
 We returned and met the command that night, and 
 when we were making our reporf to the General he asked 
 me what the fortifications looked like. I told him that 
 I could not think of anything to compare them to, but 
 that I thought they could be swept very easily by a How- 
 itzer from above and below. He asked me if I would 
 accompany one of his commissioned officers that night to 
 see the fortifications, and I told him I would. After 
 supper that evening a Captain came to me, whose name 
 I am sorry to say I have forgotten, and asked me if I 
 was the man that was to accompany him to the Indian 
 fortifications. I told him that I was, and he asked what 
 time we had better start. I told him we had better start 
 at once as there would be a moon in the fore part of the 
 night, but that the after part would be very dark. S( 
 we mounted our horses and were off. 
 
 We rode to within about three-quarters of a mile of 
 the fortifications and there we remained until it was light 
 enough to see, and then the Captain took out his glasses 
 and scanned the whole country as well as the fortifica- 
 tions. After looking about half an hour the Captain 
 a?ked me what I thought of it, and what would be my 
 plan of attack. I told him that I had no idea, as I had 
 it ver seen Indians fortified before. He said it would be 
 d bloody fight, I said yes, but I thought the blood would 
 a!l be on one side. "Yes," replied the Captain, "we 
 ou#ht to clean them out without losing ten men." 
 
 We went to our horses, mounted, > and rode back to 
 Ihe command as quick as we could, meeting it about four 
 miles from the fortifications, piloted by the two scouts 
 that had been out with me the day before. 
 
362 THREE THOUSAND 
 
 The Captain and Gen. Connor had a long conversa- 
 tion as we moved alongt When within a mile of the 
 mouth of this canyon Gen. Connor formed his men in 
 line, one half to go on each side of the canyon in which 
 the Indians were fortified, and the cannon were placed 
 at the mouth of the canyon. 
 
 I did not see any Indians of any account until the 
 command to fire was given. When the soldiers com- 
 menced to fire there being .about twelve hundred it 
 frightened the Indians so that they came running out 
 from under those logs and brush like jack rabbits and 
 were shot down like sheep. In all my experience in the 
 Western wilds I never saw such a slaughtering as there. 
 
 The Indians had been taught by the Mormons that ii 
 they would fortify themselves in that way the white? 
 could not harm them, teaching them also that the Lord 
 would protect them, which was a great thing for the 
 white people, for it came so near cleaning the Utes up 
 that there was only a little remnant left, and they never 
 gave the white people any more trouble. Thus white 
 people were enabled to pass through that country unmo- 
 lested. Heretofore it had been one of the most danger- 
 ous parts of the country. For all this I have ever since 
 believed that the Mormons, unintentionally, did the 
 Gentiles a great favor. 
 
 After the battle was over, and as scouts are at liberty 
 to go where they please, I rode over the battle-field in 
 company with the other scouts and I never in all my life 
 saw such a mangled up mass as was there. Men, 
 women and children were actually lying in heaps, and I 
 
DEAD INDIANS. 
 
 a few that hid among *he 
 
 think ail jbat got away were 
 logs and brush. 
 
 I n this 
 battle the 
 Captain told 
 me they did 
 not lose a 
 man, and 
 had only 
 four wound- 
 ed, while he 
 counted 
 over three 
 thousand 
 dead I n- 
 -dians. 
 
 When I 
 returned to 
 Salt Lake 
 City I was 
 astonished 
 to see the 
 
 manner in Men, vvoraeo ard children were lying in heaps. 
 
 which the 
 
 Salt Lake paper? abused Gen. Connor for slaughtering 
 the Indians in the manner he had, when they (the Mor- 
 mons) had planned the slaughter, altnoagh not meaning 
 for it to be a slaughter of Indians. 
 
 Gen. Connor said that the Mormons had thought that 
 the Indians would fortify themselves, and when attacked 
 by the soldiers, they would wjjpe them (the soldiers) ofl 
 
THE MORMONS. 
 
 the face of the earth. The idea had been so thoroughly 
 instilled into the minds of the Indians by the Mormons 
 that the Lord would protect them if only fortified in this 
 manner that they depended most altogether on the Lord 
 to protect them. 
 
 The third day on our return trip we came to a li'tle 
 place called Ogden. Here the General made preparations 
 to leave the command and go aheaJ, accompanied by one 
 company of cavalry. When they were ready I was directed 
 to accompany him, which I did. He and I rode in the rear 
 of the company. After riding some little distance Gen. 
 Connor said: "Drannan, I think I can put .you on the 
 track of a good thing if it would suit you." . I asked him 
 in what way. He asked me if I had not heard of the 
 Mountain Meadow massacre in Utah. I said: ''Cer- 
 tainly, many times." He said: "Now be honest with 
 me and tell me who you think did that horrible work." 
 I told him the Mormons, and the Mormons alone. 
 
 He then told me there was a man at the fort from 
 Chicago trying to work up the case and if possible to 
 find out just by whose authority the Mormous had mas- 
 sacred those emigrants, and he said: "From what I 
 have seen of you, I think you would be just the man to 
 help him work up the case." 
 
 I said: "General, I think you are- mistaken. I never 
 did any detective Work among the white people, and I 
 fear I am not good enough a talker to obtain the desired 
 information." The General said: "All right, we'll see." 
 
 We reached the Fort that night at dark, having ridds*Q 
 forty miles that day. That evening the General told oc 
 
3ck Rio Viein, Utah. 
 
TURN DETECTIVE. 
 
 to come to his quarters the following day at ten o'clock 
 and he would introduce me to the gentleman referred to. 
 I went to the-General's quarters and the gentleman 
 was present. . His name was Howard. By whose author- 
 ity he was working up this case I never learned, but, 
 however, after questioning me for some time as to what 
 I knew of the Mormons, he asked me what I would 
 charge him 'per month to go along with him, play the 
 hypocrite, and try to help work up the case. I told him 
 it was all new work to me; that I knew nothing of de- 
 tective work whatever. I said that if it were a case of 
 Indians it would be quite different, but I did not think I 
 would be of much service to ' him working among the 
 Mormons. 
 
 He proposed that he would furnish me a suit of 
 clothes suitable for the part I was to play, furnish money 
 to pay my expenses, such as hotel bills, whiskey bills, 
 ball-room bills, and pay me fifty dollars per month, I to 
 do as he told me, or as near as I could. "And, at the 
 end of one month," said he, "if your work does not suit 
 me, or if I don't suit you, I can pay you off and you can 
 go your way; or if you stay and we work up this case as 
 I anticipate, as soon as the work is completed I will pay 
 you one hundred dollars per month instead of fifty." 
 
 Under these conditions I (vent to work for him, and 
 the next two days werp t>pnt in drilling me on Mormon 
 phrases, their customs And so on, he having been there 
 some three months, had got pretty well posted on the 
 Mormon doctrine. 
 
 When I got my new suit of clothes on and he got my 
 
366 WE GO TO CHURCH. 
 
 hair fixed up just to suit him I looked in the mirror, and 
 I could hardly believe that it was Will Drannan. 
 
 The third day we mounted our horses and started 
 across the country to a little town called Provo, which is 
 about forty miles from Salt Lake, if I have not forgotten. 
 
 Here we are both Mormons, are brothers, and our 
 business buying cattle; looking around to see who has 
 cattle to sell. We arrived at Provo on Sunday evening 
 and made the acquaintance of two young men who were 
 Mormons: They asked us to go to church with them. 
 "All right." said Mr. Howard, "but where will my 
 brother and I stay to-night?" The eldest of the two 
 young men said: "One of you can stay with me and the 
 other can stay with Jim," referring to his chum. So it 
 fell to my lot to go with Jim after church. 
 
 On our way to church, naturally enough the boys 
 asked our names, and Howard spoke up and said: "My 
 name is George Howard, and this is my brother Frank. '" 
 And I will tell you now with all candor I did not feel 
 right over this, for it was the first time in my life that I 
 had ever lived under an assumed name, but I had agreed 
 to do what I could, and although I would have given the 
 best horse I had to have been out of the scrape, yet I 
 was into it and I was determined to go through with it if 
 possible. That evening when we came out of church 
 Jim gave me an introduction to his two sisters and they 
 asked me to walk home with them from church, and I 
 did so. 
 
 After conversing with them for some time and getting 
 a little acquainted with them, I asked the girl on my left 
 how old she was, and she said she was seventeen. I 
 
MOUNTAIN MEADOW MASSACRE. 367 
 
 asked her how long she had lived in this country. She 
 aaid: iviy father was one of the first settlers in this 
 country. He came here among the first emigrants and 
 I was raised here in this country." 
 
 "Is that so?" I asked. "Then you were here in this 
 part of the country at ihe time of the Mountain Meadow 
 massacre?" "Yes. " said she, "but you know we must 
 not talk about that." "Well," said I, "you know they 
 were all Gentiles that were killed and what's the differ- 
 ence?" ' "Well," she said, "I think it was all wrong any 
 
 I asked her if her father was in that fight and she 
 said; "Let's don't talk about that, please don't ask me 
 ?ny more questions about it." 
 
 By this time we had reached the gate, and the con- 
 versation stopped for that time. The next day I tried to 
 get a chance to talk to her, but my efforts were all in 
 vam. That afternoon I met Howard and told him of 
 the conversation I had with the young lady, and he in- 
 sisted on my working on her father if I could get a chance 
 to have a private conversation with her. 
 
 On Wednesday night there was to be a big dance at 
 the church, and it being free to all, we attended it. In 
 the mean time I had engaged the company of those two 
 ycung ladies for the dance. I paid all due respect to the 
 young lady, but did not mention the affair of which I was 
 desirous of obtaining information until we were returning 
 from supper to the church, when I again made mention 
 of the affair in such a manner that I did not think she 
 wmld suspect anything wrong. But she gave me to un- 
 
3*8 
 
 GETTING CLUEB. 
 
 derstand in plain language that she would not converse 
 on that subject under any circumstances. 
 
 I saw there was no use to waste any more time with 
 her and did not mention the subject again. 
 
 We remained in this place ten days, during which 
 time I formed the acquaintence of an old man by tho 
 name of Snyder, who had five wives, three of them liv 
 ing at his res- 
 idence in the 
 town and the 
 other twb on 
 his farm in 
 the country. 
 Beingabroth- 
 e r Mormon, 
 M r . Snyder 
 one day dur- 
 ing my stay 
 there invited 
 with him for dinner, and 
 on entering the dining 
 room he introduced me 
 to his three wives, the 
 youngest of the three be- 
 ing about twenty year? 
 old, while Snyder was 
 sixty-one years old. 
 
 That afternoon How- 
 ard and myself were tak- 
 ing a walk, and by chance met this young Mrs. Snyder, 
 whom I introduced to my brother. He asked to 
 
 me 
 
 He walked on home with her. 
 
AT SALT LAKE CITY. 369 
 
 pany her on her walk, to which proposition she unhesi- 
 tatingly assented, and he walked on home with him. 
 
 Her husband was not at home, but before Howard 
 left the gate he heard one of Snyder's other wives say to 
 her: 'Til tell on you, and you will not get to go out 
 again." 
 
 This convinced him that there was a great deal of 
 jealousy existing between Mr. Snyder's wives. He said 
 she was well posted in everything pertaining to the Mor- 
 mon doctrine, and at the same time bitterly opposed to 
 their proceedings. 
 
 The afternoon following George Howard and I took 
 a stroll down to Salt Lake City, which was a distance of 
 three miles. 
 
 We had been in the city but a short time and were 
 walking up Main street, when on casting my eyes across 
 the street I saw old man Snyder standing talking to Por- 
 ter Rockwell and Bill Hickman. They were just across 
 Main street immediately opposite us, and George had not 
 yet got sight of them. Those two men were supposed to 
 be Brigham Young's "destroying angels," and their busi- 
 ness was to put any one out of the way who had fallen 
 under the ban of the Mormon Church. 
 
 These two men had been pointed out to me before, 
 and ?.s soon as I got sight of them I said in a low tone: 
 * 'There are the leaders of the Danites." 
 
 When he looked across at them old man Snyder was 
 pointing his finger direct at us, and Rockwell and Hick- 
 man seemed to be very eager lo get a good look at us. 
 
 4 'George said: "This is no place for us. Let's get 
 br> to the Fort." And all the talking I could do I 
 
if* ftACSS AT FORT 
 
 could not make him believe that we were perfectly safe 
 there in the city in broad daylight. His very countenance 
 showed uneasiness to extremity. He had been ther* 
 long enough t,o be thoroughly posted in all their laws, 
 customs, etc., and didn't seem to think it would be 
 healthy for us there from that time on. However, I can 
 truthfully say that we made the trip to the Fort in much 
 less time than we did from the Fort to town, notwith- 
 standing it was all up grade. 
 
 On our arrival at the Fort we went to Gen. Connor's 
 quarters and told him the whole story just as it occurred. 
 The General said: "The thing is up with you now How- 
 ard, you might as well quit and go home. You can do 
 no more good here now. You are perfectly safe here in 
 the Fort, but the moment you are out of sight of it you 
 are in danger of your life. But you will have one com- 
 pany of cavalry to protect you when you go to leave the 
 Fort. 
 
 It was really laughable to see the way Howard would 
 tremble and shake while Gen. Connor was talking to 
 him, and he was anxious to get out of the country and 
 wanted me to go with him, it being the wrong time oi 
 year to catch a train going East. He thought if he could 
 get to Fort Bridger, which was one hundred miles east of 
 Fort Douglas, he would be safe from the Mormon,, and 
 would stand equally as good a show to strike a train 
 going eastward as he would at Salt Lake. 
 
 Before we were ready to start for Fort Bridger there 
 came a man to Fort Douglas who had been wagon boss 
 for Maj. Russell the year before. He had just received 
 a Utter from his former ^mployer requesting him to come 
 
w START EAST. 371 
 
 at oru e to Fort Kearney. He was anxious to find some 
 one to travel with, as it was not safe for one to travel 
 alone in that country, and it was a long and tedious trip 
 tnis time of year. 
 
 The Pony Express was then running, but outside of 
 that we were not likely to see any one on the trip. 
 
 They insisted on me accompanying them, and being 
 anxious to cross over on the other side of the mountains, 
 I agreed to join them. Having two saddle horses myself 
 I told them three horses between them would be enough, 
 for in case of emergency I would use one of my horses 
 for a pack animal. The next two days were spent in 
 getting ready for the trip, Mr. Damson, the wagon boss, 
 having procured three horses for himself and Howard, 
 Mr. Howard thinking it might not be conducive to his 
 health to leave the Fort to look for.horses. 
 
 Getting everything in readiness, we made the start 
 Just at dark, going the Emigrant canyon route, striking 
 Echo canyon fifty miles from Salt Lake City, making the 
 trip that far without stopping to let our horses feed or 
 even to eat anything ourselves. We did this because we 
 wished to get beyond the Mormon settlements without 
 being discovered by them. We reached Fort Bridger 
 the third day and there took in two more companions, 
 John Scudder and John Korigo, who had been at work at 
 the Fort all 'winter hauling wood for the Government. 
 They had earned a little money and were returning to 
 their respective homes, one living in Missouri and the 
 other in Pennsylvania. We were -now five in number 
 calculated to make Fort Kearney in fifteen days. 
 
373 ARRIVE AT FORT KEARNEY. 
 
 which, if I remember rightly, is called six hundred miles 
 from Fort Bridger. 
 
 We crossed Green river and took the Bitter creek 
 route, thinking that would be the safest from hostile In 
 dians; but when we got to the head of Bitter creek the 
 Pony Express rider informed us that the Indians were 
 very bad on the North Platte river, having killed two ex- 
 press riders the week before. 
 
 This frightened the boys badly, for not one of them 
 had ever been engaged in an Indian fight, and all were 
 free to admit that they were not hankering after expe- 
 rience of that kind. 
 
 After we struck North Platte we saw considerable In- 
 dian sign every day, but it was evident that the reds were 
 in little bands. 
 
 From now on we made a dry camp every night, 
 always stopping in the* middle of the afternoon to let our 
 horses graze while we did our cooking to avoid building 
 our fire after dark. Then we would mount and ride until 
 after dark and make a dry camp. This was done in 
 order to avoid an attack while in camp, but we made the 
 entire trip without seeing an Indian. 
 
 On my arrival at Fort Kearney I. met my old friend 
 Jim Bridger, who was waiting there for a man by the 
 name of Jim Boseman, who was on his way with a large 
 train of emigrants to the eastern part* of Montana, the 
 same country that Bridger, Kit Carson, Beckwith and I 
 passed through in 1856 when the Indians were so bad. 
 
 Jim Bridger had met Boseman the fall before and had 
 promised to pilot him through to that part of Montana, 
 for which he was to receive five hundred dollars, it also 
 
JIM BRIDGE*. 373 
 
 being understood Thai there would be at least fifty men 
 in the train and ?.ll w^)l armed. 
 
 Bridger was just in receipt of a letter from Boseman 
 stating that he wouM be there on or about a certain date 
 with two hundred /r^n, most all of whom had families. 
 
 Jim was very anxious to have me join him, offering 
 to divide the spoils. 
 
 I told him it would be folly for me to accompany him, 
 as he would bi 'able to handle the train alone and would 
 then have the five hundred dollars himself, and further- 
 more, I did not care for work of that kind that summer, 
 as I wou!d rather return toTaos and buy a band of sheep 
 and settle down, for I thought I had enough money, if 
 properly handled, to make me a good living. 
 
 At this Jim laughed heartily and said: "Yes, you'll 
 settle down with a band of sheep when you are too old 
 to straddle a horse and your eyes too dim to take in an 
 Indian. I have often thought of the same thing," he 
 continued. "I have a place picked out now about fif- 
 teen miles east of Fort Bridger on Black's Fork, near the 
 lone tree. There is where I am going to settle down 
 after I make this trip. I can then sit in my door and 
 with a good glass I can see Fort Bridger that was named 
 for me and which I feel proud of to-day." 
 
 Jim Bridger made this trip north with Boseman's 
 train into the valley where the town of Boseman now 
 stands, without the loss of a man or beast on the entire 
 trip, and returning to South Platte, married an Indian 
 woman of the Arappahoe tribe, went to Black's Fork and 
 took up a ranch within five miles of the lone pine tre. 
 Here he lived with his Indian wife for about five yean 
 
374 JIM'S CHILDREN. 
 
 when she died, leaving two children, a girl and a boy, 
 which I have been told he sent to school, gave them a 
 good education, and they now live, I think, in the state 
 of Missouri. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THROUGH TO BANNOCK. A DANCE OF PEACE. FRIGHT 
 
 OF THE NEGROES. A FREIGHT TRAIN SNOWED IN 
 AND A TRIP ON SNOW-SHOES. SOME VERY TOUGH 
 ROAD AGENTS. 
 
 While I was at Fort Kearney another long train of 
 emigrants came along, en-route for Bannock, Montana. 
 They did not know just where Bannock was, and through 
 the influence of Jim Bridger and Gen. Kearney, I was 
 offered employment in guiding them at seventy-five dol- 
 lars per month, with provisions. 
 
 I told them I did not know where Bannock was, but 
 that I could take them to any portion of Montana they 
 asked to go. I was not long, making the bargain and 
 making preparations to get started. We went back over 
 the same road as far as Fort Bridger that I had come 
 only a short time before. There was not a person in the 
 entire train that had ever seen a hostile Indian, and vary 
 
START FOR BANNOCK, MONTANA. 375 
 
 few of them had ever traveled outside of their own state. 
 The most of them were from Indiana, and most of the 
 men had families, and I presume they were fleeing from 
 the draft; that being the time of the late war. 
 
 I experienced a great deal of trouble in getting those 
 people organized and trained in a manner to enable us to 
 protect ourselves against the hostile Indians. 
 
 In this train there were two'negros, whose names 
 were Joe and Bab. Joe was driving a team for his grub 
 and Bab was cooking for two families for his grub. The 
 people of the train fell into the habit of calling me Cap- 
 tain, and every time I would ride along where this Joe 
 or Bab were, they .would invariably salute me by lifting 
 their hats or by taking them off entirely and then they 
 would say: "Marse Capting, de ye see any Injuns?" 
 
 One day my scouts came in from the south and re- 
 ported seeing a band of Indians, about ten or fifteen in 
 number, two miles away and coming direct for the train. 
 I struck out alone at full speed in that direction to ascer- 
 tain what kind of Indians they were, there being another 
 man whose business it was to take charge of the train at 
 any time I was away, and in case of an attack or danger 
 of such, it was his business to corral the train and pre- 
 pare for battle. 
 
 I had only gone a half mile when I met the Indians, 
 and they proved to be Arapahoes. I was personally 
 acquainted with all of them and asked them to go to the 
 train with me, telling them it was just over the ridge. 
 This they agreed to do, saying: "We will go to the 
 train and then all will go out and kill some buffalo this 
 evening." 
 
376 EMIGRANTS SCARED. 
 
 We rode leisurely along until in sight of the train, and 
 the moment the people saw me riding with the Indians 
 on each side of me, they felt sure that I had been taken 
 prisoner, and all the hustling and bustling around to get 
 those wagons corralled, beat anything I had ever seen, 
 and they were all so badly excited that it was no use lo 
 try to hello at them. 
 
 They were afraid to shoot at the Indians for fear tbev 
 might shoot me, or if they did not shoot me, they weie 
 afraid that if they should shoot the Indians they wou 1/4 
 retaliate by shooting me down. 
 
 The wagons being corralled, we rode around the en- 
 tire train. I left the Indians and rode- inside of the cor- 
 ral and told the people that these were peaceable Indians 
 and were all friends of mine, and that I wanted every 
 man, woman and child to come out andshaLr, hands with 
 them. Quite a number hesitated, believing that I had 
 been taken prisoner by the Indians and Viad been com- 
 pelled to do this in order to save my own life, and be- 
 lieving that those Indians wanted tc murder the entire 
 train. 
 
 But after reasoning with them fov a while I succeeded 
 l n convincing them that the In.^?ns were peaceable. 
 Then they all went out and shock hands except the two 
 darkies, who were not to be found any where about the 
 train at that time. I then t Af the man whose duty it 
 was to look after the train L-j ny absence, to drive about 
 three miles and camp, des,oi-ibing the place, and that I 
 would go with the Indian* and kill some buffalo, so that we 
 might have fresh meat, tilling him to have each family 
 cook a little bread exr.a for the Indians, and that they 
 
THE NEGROES MISSING. 377 
 
 would furnish meat enough to do to-night and to-morrow, 
 and was off for the buffalo hunt. 
 
 The Indians told me 
 there was a band of buf- 
 falo about two or three 
 miles ahead of us near 
 the road. 
 
 We pushed on, on 
 the main road, and sure 
 enough right in the little 
 valley where I had told 
 the captain to camp, we 
 saw a band of buffalo 
 feeding. We all made a 
 dash for them, and suc- 
 ceeded in killing five H a claimed that he had been asleep, 
 fat buffalo, ?.nd on the 
 ground, enough fcr the entire train. 
 
 As soon as the train was corralled and the stock turned 
 5oose, we appointed four men, who claimed to know 
 something of butchering, to cut up and distribute the 
 meat among the people of the train. Up to this time 
 the darkey cook had not been seen since I came over the 
 hill in company with those Indians. Ascertain lady in 
 the train said she thought that when he saw the Indians 
 coming he had run off and hid in the sage brush, but after 
 the fires were started he crawled out of one of the wagons 
 where he had been hid, and claimed that he had been 
 asleep all this time and did not know anything about 
 any "Injuns," but it was a difficult matter to make the 
 in the train believe this yarn. I had the Indians 
 
3/8 A PEACE DANCE. 
 
 build their fire outside of the corral, and while they were 
 preparing their meat I went around and collected bread 
 enough of different ones in the train for them, also a bowl 
 of molasses. After all had their supper over I proposed 
 to the Indians that we have a dance. 
 
 This dance is what they call a dance of peace, and is 
 carried on in a manner like this: They or all that wish 
 to participate in the dance form in a circle around the 
 camp-fire, singing, or rather humming, a certain tune. 
 I went to the people of the train and told them that the 
 Indians and myself were going to have a peace dance, 
 and all that wished to see it could come to the camp-fire 
 and look on. I think every man, woman and child came 
 out to see the dance* which lasted about two hours. 
 After the dance was over one of the young Indians in the 
 crowd came to me and said if I would interpret for him 
 he would be pleased to make a speech for my friends, 
 providing they were willing for him to do so. When he 
 told the other Indians he was going to make a speech 
 they all sat down in a circle around the camp-fire, seven- 
 teen in number, and were perfectly silent. I tcld them 
 that this young Indian wanted to know if they would care 
 to hear him make a speech. All were anxicus to hear 
 him, which would be something new to them. I told 
 them that he would make the speech in his own language 
 and I would interpret it word for word as near as I knew 
 how. 
 
 When I told him they would be pleased to hear from 
 him he walked up to me, laid his hand on my shoulder, 
 and said: 
 
 "I have known this friend of mine a great many years, 
 
The Peace Dance. 
 
 Page 3/8 
 
STHKCM. 
 
 A long time ago when he use to come to our village, we 
 always killed a dog, and after we would have a feast on 
 dog meat, we always smoked the pipe of peace, and ail 
 of the Arapahoes are his friends." 
 
 He continued this manner of speaking about fifteen 
 minutes, to the amusement of the entire train, and when 
 he took his scathe wanted some one else to speak, but no 
 one would attempt to respond to him, thus winding up 
 the amusements for the evening. 
 
 In a conversation that evening with the Indians, they 
 told me their business out there, which was to keep the 
 Sioux Indians off of their hunting ground. 
 
 The Sioux and they were on friendly terms, but some- 
 times the Sioux would steal over on their hunting ground. 
 They proposed to accompany us through the dangerous 
 part of the country. 
 
 The morning following I tolcJ the men in the train of 
 the generous proposition which the Indians had made 
 me, and told them if they would furnish the Indians with 
 bread they would keep them in meat. *I also told them 
 that we were now in the most dangerous part of the 
 Sioux country, and that as long as those Indians were 
 with us we, were in no danger whatever from the fact 
 that when the Sioux saw those Indians with us we were 
 supposed to be their iriends, and they dare not trouble 
 us in the least. 
 
 This, however, was more than agreeable to the entire 
 train, relieving the struts of their duty, also the night 
 guards. I made Arrangements with the Indians to travel 
 three days, and w2 then pulled out. Just when we were 
 almost rcs^y "o start, one young lady in the crowd sa;V 
 
380 FRIENDLY ARAPAHOES. 
 
 to me; ''Captain, I want to ask you one question, And 
 will you tell me the truth?" I said:. <4 Most assuredly I 
 will." She said: "I want to know whether it was true 
 that when you visited those Indians they always killed a 
 dog a.id ate the meat?" 
 
 I told her it was true as gospel, and said we always 
 considered dog meat the finest in the land, and only the 
 chief and his most intimate friends were able to afford 
 dog meat. She said she was astonished to hear me talk 
 in such a manner. She said: "The most laughable 
 part of the proceedings the evening before was the action 
 of the darkey cook, Bab, who stood away back in the 
 outer edge of the crowd when you and those Indians were 
 dancing. You could have knocked his eyes off with a 
 frying-pan and not have touched his face." 
 
 All went well. The Indians traveled with us three 
 days as they had agreed to, which brought us to the head 
 of Bitter creek. We killed a few buffalo all along the 
 way, and when the Indians were ready to leave us they 
 had killed all the meat that the train could take care of. 
 
 This being as far as they had agreed to accompany 
 us, they were to- start back the following morning and 
 that night we had another peace dance. The Indians 
 invited all in the train to participate in the dance, but 
 none would take a part; so they and myself had the 
 dancing to ourselves again The next -morning when 
 they were ready to leave us I told the people in the train 
 to all come outside of the corral, both old and young, 
 and form in line so those Indians could shake hands with 
 all of them, telling them rliat they had done us a great 
 *avor in escorting us thn _gh the dangerous part of the 
 
TAKING LEAVE. 381 
 
 country, and that this shaking hands they considered a 
 great token of friendship. 
 
 This request was complied with, and the Indians all 
 passed down the line of people, shaking hands with each 
 one. After they were done shaking hands with all the 
 train they all came and shook hands with me, mounted 
 their ponies, and rode away as fast as their horses could 
 run. 
 
 We pulled on for Fort Bridger, all going smoothly, 
 for we were in the Bitter creek country and had no fear 
 of Indians in that section. The day we arrived at Fort 
 Bridger we sent four men on ahead to ascertain, if pos- 
 sible, where Bannock was. Here they met, by chance, 
 some men from what was then called East Bannock and 
 from them we learned just where Bannock was located, 
 it being on a west tributary of the Missouri river. We 
 also learned from these parties that there was a great ex- 
 citement at this time over mines that had been struck 
 some eighty miles east of Bannock, on what was known 
 as Alder Gulch, or Stinking Water, but they were not 
 able to advise us as to whether or not we could get there 
 with wagons. 
 
 Now I knew just where we wanted to go, and we tool'' 
 what was known as the Landers cut-off, and pulled for 
 Fort Hall, reaching the fort without encountering any 
 trouble with the Indians or otherwise. The second day 
 after passing Fort Hall, while we were crossing Snake 
 river, we met a crowd of miners just from Alder Gulch, 
 on their way to Denver, Colorado, for their families. 
 From them we learned where Alder Gulch was, and those 
 miners spoke in such high terms of the richness of that 
 
382 ALDER GULCH. 
 
 place that a great many in the train wanted to go there 
 instead of going to Bannock, while others wanted to go 
 to Bannock, that being where they had started. 
 
 That night they took a vote to decide a!s to which 
 place they should go,- which resulted in favor of Alder 
 Gulch, so we pulled for Alder Gulch instead of Bannock. 
 
 We were now in the Bannock country. I did not 
 hear of any depredations being committed by the Indians, 
 but I used all precautions possible in order to prevent a 
 surprise by the redskins. 
 
 Every few days we would meet a little squad of min- 
 ers,, all telling exciting stories about the richness ol Alder 
 Gulch. They were going home to their families with the 
 expectation of moving them out there the following 
 spring; most of their families being in Denver, Colorado. 
 This all helped to create an anxiety among the people to 
 push on and get through as quick as possible. 
 
 They moved somewhat faster now than before, reach- 
 ing Virginia City, Montana, about the last of September, 
 this being the trading point for Alder Gulch. Here we 
 stopped and the train paid- me off. 
 
 I stayed around there about three weeks. One day 
 while I was at Virginia City two men, Boon and Bivian, 
 who owned the only store of any note in Virginia City at 
 that time, came to me and said that they had a train of 
 twenty-two wagons some where on the road, but just 
 where they did not know, and they wished to employ me 
 to go and pilot it in, as their men with the train were all 
 inexperienced in that line of business, and not acquainted 
 with the road, not having been over any part of it before, 
 
PROVISION TRAIN 383 
 
 and they were afraid that through carelessness they might 
 fall into the hands of Indians. 
 
 The train was loaded, principally, with flour, bacon, 
 sugar, coffee and tobacco. Flour was then worth twen 
 ty-five dollars per hundred, bacon forty cents a pound, 
 and other things in proportion. On the twentieth of 
 September I took two horses and started off to meet the 
 freight train. 
 
 Three days from the time I left Virginia City I crossed 
 the summit of ihe Rocky Mountains and it was snowing 
 hard. 1 thought it doubtful whether or not they would 
 be able to cross the mountains this winter, but I went 
 on, and met them between Fort Hall and Soda Springs. 
 I gave the wagon-boss a letter which Boon and Bivian 
 had sent him, and after reading the letter he asked me 
 if I thought they could cross the range this fall. I told 
 him that it was about one hundred and eighty miles from 
 there to the summit, and if he could make that distance 
 in ten days he would be able to get through, but if not, he 
 could not cross the mountains this fall. He said it would 
 be impossible to make it in that length of time, as the 
 cattle were all getting very poor and weak and the teams 
 very heavily loaded. The next morning I struck out, 
 taking another man with me, to try and find if possible, 
 another ford on Snake river some thirty or forty miles 
 above the old crossing, knowing if I could do that it 
 would save us two or three days' travel, and might be 
 the means of our getting across the mountains that fall. 
 I told the wagnn-boss that I would meet him at Fort 
 Hall, so in cnmpany with one other man, I struck straight 
 across the country for Snake river. The second clay 
 
384 SNOWBOUND. 
 
 about noon we reached the river, and that Afternoon we 
 succeeded in finding a good ford, which we called the 
 Island ford, there being a little island just above. 
 
 We camped on Snake river bottom that night, and 
 the next morning about daybreak we were on our journey 
 for Fort Hall, reaching the fort one day ahead of the 
 train. Here we waited until the train arrived. From 
 Fort Hall we struck out for Snake river. This was all 
 an open country, with the exception of sagebrush. The 
 first night after leaving the fort snow fell four inches deep 
 on the valley, and I felt satisfied then that we would not 
 be able to cross the mountains that winter. The next 
 day the sncw all melted in the valley, but hung low at 
 the foot of the mountains. 
 
 The third day after leaving Fort HaU we reached 
 Snake river, and were successful in getting; across with- 
 out any mishap whatever. This new ford is near whore 
 Pocatello, Idaho, , now stands. The first night after 
 crossing the river we camped on a little stream, which I 
 gave the name of Rock creek, and I am tsld that it is 
 still known by that name. That night the snow fell one 
 foot deep. I told the wagon-boss the next morning that 
 he was at his journey's end for the present fall. We un- 
 loaded one wagon and he took one wagon to haul his 
 camping outfit and provisions for the winter, and returned 
 to the river bottom for the purpose of wintering his stock 
 there. Another man and myself went to work to make 
 two pairs of snow shoes, for which we had to use the 
 side-boards of a wagon, there being no timber suitable in 
 reach for that purpose. We were three days preparing 
 for this trip, by which time the snow had settled. 
 
CROSSING THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 385 
 
 All being in readiness the morning of the fourth day 
 in this camp I, accompanied by two other men started 
 on horseback, one man goirtg along to bring the horses 
 back, and the other to accompany me across the moun- 
 tains. We rode to within ten miles of the summit of the 
 mountains. Here the snow was nearly two and a half 
 inches deep. Our horses were unable to get anything to 
 eat except the branches of quaking asp trees that we cut 
 and carried to them. The next morning we saddled our 
 horses, one 
 of my com- 
 p a n i o n s 
 started back 
 again, and 
 we mounted 
 our snow 
 shoes and 
 started t o 
 climb t ry^ 
 mountain, 
 this being 
 my second 
 attempt to 
 travel o n 
 snow shoes. 
 I was some- 
 what awk- 
 ward at this 
 new under- 
 taking, and you can rest assured that I was tired when I 
 reached the summit of the mountains, which took the 
 
 
 On snow shoes. 
 
3 86 
 
 MEET ANOTHER TRAIN, 
 
 greater part of the day. Each had a pair of blankets and 
 enough provisions strapped on his back for the trip. 
 
 After reach- 
 ing the sum- 
 mit of the 
 mountain and 
 starting dowiv 
 on the other 
 side we found 
 it much easier 
 traveling. We 
 worked hard 
 all day and 
 made what we 
 thought to be 
 twelve miles, 
 camping that 
 night in the 
 fifrtimber. It 
 was a cold, 
 d i s agreeable 
 I raised on my stirrups and fired. night, with 
 
 our one pair of blankets each, we consoled ourselves 
 that it was much pleasanter than to have been here 
 afoot and alone, and no blankets at alL The second 
 day's travel after crossing the summit of this mountain 
 we met a freight train on its return to Salt Lake City. 
 This train was owned by a man named Goddard. It had 
 been across the mountains with a load of freight and was 
 returning, like our train on the opposite side and wag un- 
 able to proceed farther, having to return to the low 
 
"ROAD AGENTS." 387 
 
 lands for the purpose of wintering the stock. We aban- 
 doned our snow shoes and procured conveyance to Vir- 
 ginia City. Messrs. Boon and Bivian were glad to know 
 that their train was safe from the hands of the hostiles, 
 but they said they would lose ten thousand dollars by 
 not getting it across the mountains that fall. These 
 men having a room at the rear of their store where they 
 slept and did their cooking, kindly proposed that I should 
 stop and winter with them, which hospitable offer I 
 accepted. 
 
 At this time a stage ran from here to Bannock and 
 from Bannock to Boise and from Boise to Salt Lake 
 City, and the news was coming in every day of both 
 stage and train robberies along this line, and it actually 
 got so bad that it was not at all safe for a man to step 
 outside of his own door after dark, if it was known that 
 he had any money. These robbers were known in those 
 days as "road agents." 
 
388 VIGILANCE COMMITTEE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 ORGANIZATION OF A VIGILANCE COMMITTEE. END OF THE 
 NOTORIOUS SLADE. ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A 
 "CROW-BAIT" HORSE. FLOUR A DOLLAR A POUND. 
 
 About this time what was known as a vigilance com- 
 mittee was organized at Virginia City, and other points 
 along the stage line, for protection against desperadoes. 
 During the winter I was not out much, and all the ne*vs 
 I could get was from persons who came to the store to 
 trade. 
 
 One morning in the latter part of January I went out 
 after a bucket of water at daylight, and happening to 
 cast my eyes up a hillside I could see sentinels walk- 
 ing to and fro. I could not understand it. On return- 
 ing to the house I mentioned the matter to Messrs. Boon 
 and Bivian. They smiled and said: "We understand 
 all that," and they explained the whole thing to me. One 
 of them said: "There will be some fun to-day," and 
 the other replied: "Yes, a little hemp-pulling." 
 
 "Yes," responded the other, "that is what I meant." 
 And then in our western vernacular I 'tumbled to the 
 racket." 
 
 By the time we had breakfast over people were be- 
 ginning to come in to trade, and happening to look down 
 the street I saw forty or fifty men all well armed come 
 
MAKING ARRESTS. 
 
 389 
 
 marching up the street in the direction of the store. 
 They marched up to a large gambling house, called the 
 Shades. There they halted while some of them went in 
 and returned, bringing with them a man by the name of 
 Jack Gallagher. 
 
 There was a log cabin immediately across the street 
 with a fireplace in it, and to this house they marched 
 Gallagher and put him inside. 
 
 Leaving a strong guard around the cabin, the balance 
 of them start- 
 ed out as if 
 hunting some 
 one else. In 
 a short time 
 they came 
 marching an- 
 other man to 
 the cabin by 
 the name of 
 Boone Helm, 
 who had one 
 hand tied up. 
 
 comfort Gallagher to know 
 that he was going to have 
 company on the long trip by 
 the short route, and ' 'mis- 
 ery likes company." 
 
 The third man was I could see sentinels walking 
 
 . to and fro. 
 
 brought in a few minutes 
 
 later whose name was Hank Parrish, the fourth and last 
 that day being Clubfoot George. 
 
 It seemed to 
 
FOUR HANGED. 
 
 They were all placed in the log cabin under a strong 
 guard. 
 
 About the middle of the afternoon the crowd reas- 
 sembled at the cabin jail, took the prisoners out, and 
 marched them up the street. Mr. Boone and I walked 
 down the street by the side of the crowd, and after they 
 had gone one block, for some reason they came to a halt, 
 when Boone Helm sang out in the most profane language 
 he could have uttered, saying: "Hang me if you intend 
 to, or I will have to go and warm my sore hand." 
 
 They marched on up the street to where there was a 
 new log house that had been recently built and not yet 
 covered. That had been prepared for this neck-tie party 
 by placing four dry goods boxes in a row in the house- 
 The four men were led in and placed on the boxes and a 
 rope placed around each of their necks thrown over a 
 joist above and made fast to a sleeper below. 
 
 While they were tying the rope around Jack Galla- 
 gher's neck his hands already having been tied behind 
 him a perfect stream of oaths was pouring from his lips, 
 and about the last words he uttered were: "I hope to 
 meet you all in the bottomest pits of hell. " These words 
 were uttered not more than a minute before the box was 
 kicked from under him. 
 
 After this little hanging-bee everything was quiet 
 until near spring, when there came to town a man by the 
 name of Slade, who was full of noisy whiskey, and started 
 in to paint the town red. This man was the same Glade 
 that used to be stage agent on the Overland road. He 
 was also the same man that in the year l&$2 cut an old 
 man's cars off while he was tied to a snubbing post in z 
 
SLADE ARRESTED. 391 
 
 horse corrall, where he had been taken by the cowardly 
 curs that were .it that tinu- in the employ of Slade sim- 
 ply because he, Jule, would not vacate the ranch where 
 Julesburg was afterward established. After severing both 
 ears from his head they shot him down like a dog while 
 he was tied and helpless. 
 
 While in Virginia City this time Slade made threats 
 jtgainst several people, and during his spree did some- 
 thing, I never knew just what, and a warrant was sworn 
 out and placed in the hands of a marshal for his arrest. 
 The marshal found him in a gambling house, and in some 
 way managed to get him into the court-room before he 
 suspected anything, not reading the warrant to him until 
 ihey were : ^n the court-room. 
 
 When informed that he w?.s under arrest, Slade did 
 lot wait to hear the warrant vead, but jerked it from the 
 hands of the officer, tore it in two, wadded it up in his 
 hands and threw it on the floor and stamped on it with 
 his foot. Then he turned and walked out, and was in 
 no wise backward in telling the officer, as well as the 
 judge of the court, what his opinion was of such pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
 About the wddle of that afternoon the Vigilantes, 
 some twenty \n number, came to where Slade was stand- 
 ing, took him in charge, and marched him off up the 
 street. I happened to be standing near when they took 
 him in tow and followed close in the rear while they were 
 marching him off to the place of execution. I don't 
 think that he drew three breaths during that time but 
 vhat he was pleading for his life. 
 
 He told them after he was on the dry goods box that 
 
392 THE LAST OF 
 
 if they would release him he would ),ea^e the United 
 
 
 
 States just as soon as he could get away. I have seen 
 men die in various ways, but I never saw a man die as 
 cowardly as this man Slade. When he found they were 
 determined he begged and plead for them to let him live 
 until he could see his wife; he said it was for a business 
 affair. They did not wait for anything, but as soon as 
 they were ready they kicked the box from under him, 
 thus ending the life of another of the worst men that 
 ever lived. 
 
 The awful life of this man is another story that would 
 be too long to give here. 
 
 It seemed as though as soon as the arrest was made 
 some of Slade's friends had started to inform his wife, 
 from the fact that just as they were carrying the body 
 from the gallows to the hotel she was seen coming across 
 the hill as fast as her horse could carry her. ' I was told 
 afterward that had she only got there before the hanging 
 took place he never would have hanged, for parties that 
 knew her said that before she would have seen him 
 hanged she would have shot him herself. I was stand- 
 ing in the hotel where the body lay when she came in. 
 She stood silently looking at the corpse for a few min- 
 utes, and then turning to the crowd that was standing 
 around, said: "Will some one tell me who did this?" 
 No one answering her, she repeated the question, and 
 finally the third time she repeated the question at the 
 top of her voice. At this I turned and walked but, and 
 that was the last time I ever saw her. This was the last 
 hanging we had that winter and spring. 
 
LOST NO HORSES. 
 
 In the latter days of April Messrs. Boone and Bi^ian 
 employed me to cross the mountains and take lettei* to 
 the wagon-master, and also to assist him in crossing the 
 Rockies, so taking one pair of blankets, ten days pro- 
 visions and a pair of snow shoes on- my back I started 
 afoot and alone across the mountains. The fourth day 
 after leaving Virginia City I came to the foot of the main 
 divide, and up to this time I did not have to us~. my 
 snow shoes, Where I camped that night the snow was 
 two feet deep, and the next morning there was ? crust 
 on it strong enough to bear me up until I went six or 
 seven miles farther on, when I commenced to ^reak 
 through. 
 
 Then I put on my snow-shoes, and in a short time I 
 was at the summit of the mountain. After reaching the 
 top, the country being open and all down hill, I hart fine 
 traveling while the snow lasted, making a distance of 
 about forty miles that day. Then I abandoned my snow- 
 shoes, and in two days more I was in camp on the ~iver 
 bottom where the stock had been wintered. 
 
 The wagon-master informed me that he had lost 
 about one-third of the oxen, which had stampeded \nd 
 ran off in a storm; also my two saddle horses, and his 
 one and only saddle horse had gone with the cattle. He 
 said they had been gone about six weeks, so I struck out 
 to Fort H*vll to try. and buy a horse to ride to hun* ^p 
 the lost *tock. 
 
 I succeeded in buying a very poor excuse of a horse 
 for a hundred dollars, that under any other circumstance 
 I would .iot have accepted as a gracious gift. Bu> 1 
 
394 
 
 i FIND THE STOCK, 
 
 was "Hopkins' choice," that or none. Mounting my 
 crow-bait, I struck out in a westerly direction to look for 
 the stock. 
 
 Three days' 
 
 t'ide from the ^^?^>, , 
 (ort I struck 
 plenty of cat- 
 lie sign. They 
 were apparent- 
 ly heading for 
 Wood river, 
 and after fol- 
 lowing their 
 \rail about two 
 miles, I discov- 
 ered two horse 
 tracks, which 
 convinced me 
 it was the stock 
 1 was looking 
 lor. The next 
 morning I found them and the cattle were all there with 
 .he exception of three. One of my horses was there, 
 out the other one was missing; the wagon-master's 
 r.orse was also there. I succeeded in catchingmy horse 
 and turned loose the one I had bought and left him 
 xhere for wolf-bait, provided they would eat him, mounted 
 iny saddle horse, and turned the stock in the direction 
 of camp. It took me five days to drive them to our 
 camp on the river, making ten days in all since I had 
 started out. We stayed there three weeks longer, and 
 
 d scovered two horse tracks. 
 
THE TRAIN ARRIVES. 395 
 
 the grass being good, by that time the stock was look- 
 ing well. 
 
 All this time we were expecting a Mormon train on 
 the other side would cross over and break the road as 
 they were not loaded, but not seeing any sign of them, 
 the wagon-boss got tired of waiting, and hitching up, 
 pulled about twenty miles to the edge of the snow. 
 
 We were two days making this twenty miles. Here 
 we stopped, but the wagon-master and I started next 
 morning on foot for the summit. While we were on the 
 mountain we could hear the other train coming so we 
 walked on to meet it and see if we could assist them in 
 any way. They were taking a very wise plan for it; two 
 men riding ahead on horseback, others were driving 
 about forty head of loose stock behind them, all followed 
 by the wagons. 
 
 They got to our camp that night about dark. This 
 Lain broke the road in good shape for us, and the fol- 
 lowing morning the boss put all of the oxen to half the 
 wagons and pulled across. It took us nearly all day to 
 get out of the snow on the other side, thereby taking us 
 three days to cross the mountains. 
 
 I traveled with the train three days after crossing the 
 mountains, and then I left and rode on to Virginia City, 
 knowing that Boone and Bi v ian would be anxious for 
 information. 
 
 This was the first train of the season, and when it 
 arrived flour was worth one dollar per pound, bacon 6fty 
 cents, and everything else in proportion. 
 
START FOR SALT LAKE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 TWENTY- TWO THOUSAND 'DOLLARS IN GOLD DUST. A 
 STAGE ROBBERY. ANOTHER TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 
 MEETING WITH GEN. CROOK. CHIEF OF SCOUTS 
 AGAIN. 
 
 After the goods were unloaded and the stock rested 
 up for a few days, the train was started back to Salt 
 Lake City to load with flour and bacon. After it had 
 been gone five days Mr. Boone and I started to follow it, 
 expecting to get to the Mormon city ahead of the train 
 and have the cargo purchased by the time it would 
 arrive. 
 
 Mr. Boone took with him on this trip twenty-two 
 thousand dollars in gold dust, on pack-horses. But in 
 order to get away from Virginia City with it and not be 
 suspected, we packed up three horses one night, behind 
 the store, and I started that night with a pick and shovel 
 tied to each pack, as if I were going prospecting. I went 
 to where I thought would make a good day's ride for 
 Boone, and camped. He overtook me the next night, 
 and he said he would not have had it known how much 
 dust he had with him for three times that amount. 
 
 We made the trip to Salt Lake all right, however, 
 but in a few days after we learned that the stage-coach 
 that left Virginia City at the same time we did was 
 
STAGE ROBBERY. 397 
 
 robbed and every passenger killed. These passengers 
 were seven successful miners that had made all the money 
 they wanted, or rather what they considered a handsome 
 little stake, there being eighty thousand dollars in the 
 crowd, and they were on their way home somewhere in 
 the East. 
 
 The driver was the only one that escaped, he claim- 
 ing to have jumped off from the stage. I saw the stage 
 when it came into Salt Lake City, and it was -riddled 
 with bullets and blood spattered all over the inside of 
 the coach. 
 
 There was a man by the name of Brown driving the 
 stag* 3 at that time, and many people believed, in fact it 
 was the general impression at the time, that the driver 
 was in with the robbers. This robbery and massacre 
 occurred in what is known as Beaver canyon. 
 
 During my stay at Salt Lake there came in from Vir- 
 ginia City a young man by the name of Richard Hyde, 
 to buy cattle. Mr. Boone recommended him to me as 
 being a fine young man and very shrewd for his age. After 
 having some little acquaintance with him and he had 
 told me his business, also what profit there was in it, he 
 and I formed a co-partnership for the purpose of buying 
 cattle and driving them to Virginia City. We bought 
 one hundred and ninety-two head of all sizes, and by the 
 help of two other men, we drove them through, losing 
 only five head, which was considered excellent luck. 
 
 We stopped about ten miles below town, and after 
 setting a price on our cattle, I remained with them while 
 Mr. Hyde went to look for buyers. He was gone nearly 
 a week, and when he returned he had sold nearly all the 
 
TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 cattle. We were well pleased with the result of ouf 
 venture, and I am told Mr. Hyde kept the business up 
 for several years until he made an independent fortune, 
 and I am told, at this writing 1899 that he is some- 
 where in Iowa doing a large banking business. 
 
 As soon as the cattle were all delivered and we had 
 settled up, Mr, Hyde and I struck back for Salt Lake 
 City, he to buy more cattle, and I on my way to Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 Near Ogden I fell in with an emigrant train of twen- 
 ty-two wagons bound for California. As soon as the} 
 learned who I was, having heard of me back at Fort 
 Kearney, they insisted on my traveling in company with 
 them, and there being some fine looking young ladies in 
 the train, I accepted the invitation and joined them. 
 
 These families were from Illinois and Ohio, and I can 
 truthfully say that I never traveled with or saw a finer 
 crowd of people than these were, and I never was in a 
 company that I regretted leaving as I did those people, 
 for they all seemed more like brothers and sisters to me 
 than strangers. 
 
 The majority of them bought small farms in Solano 
 county, California, and settled down.. I remained with 
 them until after the holidays, then left and struck out 
 for San Francisco. This was the beginning of the 
 year 1865. 
 
 After remaining in the city a few days I concluded 
 one day to take a ride out to the fort and see if any of 
 my acquaintances were there. I only found one person 
 that I had been acquainted with before, and that was 
 Capt. Miller. He showed me a number of letters froa 
 
MEET GEORGE JONES. 399 
 
 his brother officers out in Arizona, all saying they were 
 having a great deal of trouble with the Indians in that 
 country. I returned to the city, bought two more horses 
 and commenced making preparations to go to Fort Yuma 
 by way of Los Angeles. 
 
 The day before I was to start I was walking down 
 Sampson street near the American Exchange Hotel, 
 where I was stopping while in the city, when I heard a 
 voice across the street that sounded familiar, say, "Hello 
 chief." I looked around and who should I see but George 
 Jones, who was then corning on a run to me; and you 
 can rest assured that I was glad to see him, as it had 
 been nine years since I had met him. He told me of his 
 trip back to Fort Klamath the time that he accompanied 
 me \o San Francisco a; id returned with the mail; of the 
 hardships that he underv.ent on his way back, and also 
 his various speculations after leaving the service and said 
 that it seemed that everything he turned his hand to 
 went against him. 
 
 I told him my intention was to go to Arizona and secure 
 a position as scout, and he at once made up his mind to 
 go with me, and it is useless to say that I was well 
 pleased with his decision from the fact that when he was 
 with me I always knew just what to depend on. 
 
 It was in the fore part of February when we started 
 on this long and tedious trip, and we made up our minds 
 to take our time to it. From here we went to Los An- 
 geles, and there we stayed four days to let our horses 
 rest, and while there we lived principally on fruit. 
 
 From Los Angeles to Fort Yuma it is called five hun- 
 dred and fifty miles, and the greater part of the way it is 
 
460 FORT YUMA. 
 
 over a desert country. From Los Angeles we struck 
 across the Mojave desert, crossing the extreme south end 
 of Death Valley to avoid the sand desert, and made our 
 .way to the Colorado river without any mishap, but some- 
 times having to ride as much as forty miles without water 
 for our horses. 
 
 When we struck the river we traveled down on the 
 north side until just below the mouth of the Gila we 
 crossed the Colorado, where Jim Beckwith and I had 
 crossed a number of years before. We had not gone far 
 after crossing the Colorado when we came to the Yuma 
 Indians, spoken of before as not wearing any clothing. 
 Here George Jones declared that he had gone far enough, 
 saying he had found a place that he had been looking for 
 for a long time where people did not have to wear cloth- 
 ing nor till the soil for a living. And he added: "This 
 is good enough for me." 
 
 The next day at noon after crossing the river we 
 reached Fort Yuma. We rode up to the guard and asked 
 if Lieut. Jackson was stationed at this fort. The guard 
 replied that he was, and directed me to his quarters. I 
 walked up to his door and rapped. He came to the door, 
 but did not recognize me as my hair had grown out long 
 and my beard was all over my face, but in his usual 
 kindly way he asked what he could do for us. I asked 
 him if my friend and I could get our dinner. 
 
 By this time his wife had recognized my voice and 
 came to the door, and as she was approaching him he 
 asked if she could let those two gentlemen have their 
 dinner. 
 
 ' 'Why, Lieutenant, don't you knw who that is you 
 
MEET GEN. CROOK. 401 
 
 ire talking to?" she said. "I do not," he replied. "Why," 
 said she, "that is the boy scout." 
 
 It is useless to say that we were taken in to dinner 
 and our horses taken care of, and. while at the dinner 
 table I told the Lieutenant our business there. I told 
 him that I had come there with the intention of get- 
 ting a position as chief of scouts, and that I would not 
 accept a position unless my friend Mr. Jones could get a 
 place with me. He told me that he had no doubt but 
 that we would both be able to get a position, as they had 
 lost five scouts inside of the last month. 
 
 After dinner Lieut. Jackson excused himself, and tell- 
 ing us to remain at his quarters until he returned, he 
 took a walk to the General's quarters. He returned in 
 about an hour, saying Gen. Crook wished to see us both 
 at once at his quarters, and we, in company with the 
 Lieutenant, walked over to the General's tent, and to my 
 astonishment, I was introduced as Capt. Drannan. 
 
 The General's orderly and the officer of the day were 
 both in his room and ho told them he wished to speak 
 to us on private business, and they at once withdrew. 
 Then the General commenced to question me in regard 
 to fighting Indians, and I did nothing for the next two 
 hours but answer questions. 
 
 Like all other successful officers, he did not want any 
 dead-heads around him, and I presume that is why Gen. 
 Crook was such a successful Indian fighter. 
 
 He requested us to call at his quarters at nine o'clock 
 the next morning, after which he called his orderly and 
 told him to show us quarters for the night and also to 
 care for our horses. That evening while George was 
 
402 
 
 LOOKING FOR JOBS. 
 
 away looking after our horses I was taking a stroll 
 around the fort, when by chance I met Gen. Crook tak- 
 ing his evening walk, and he asked me what I knew 
 about this friend of mine. I told how I had seen him 
 tried on various' occasions and that I had never seen any 
 signs of his weakening yet. I also told him that if I ac- 
 cepted a position as scout, I wanted George Jones with 
 
 me, for I knew 
 that I could 
 depend on him 
 under any and 
 all circum- 
 stances. The 
 General told 
 me that he 
 had been hav- 
 ing very hard 
 luck this sum- 
 m e r, having 
 lost all his best 
 scouts by their 
 falling in the 
 hands of the 
 Apaches. He 
 also told me 
 that he had 
 one scout that 
 fell into their 
 h a n ds and 
 
 was burned at the stake, The next morning at nine 
 o'clock Jones and I were on hand at the General's quar- 
 
 
 I met Gen. Crook taking his evening walk. 
 
ENGAGED AS SCOUTS. 403 
 
 ters. The first question he asked me was on what con- 
 ditions I wished to go to work and what I expected per 
 month. I told him that heretofore what scouting I had 
 done I had gone as an independent scout, and that I 
 would go to work under no other conditions. 
 
 He asked me what I meant by an independent scout. 
 I said I meant so much per month, rations for myself 
 and horse, and all horses I captured from the Indians to 
 t/e my own. If I don't suit you, you can tell me so and 
 I will quit, and when you don't suit me I will call for my 
 money and quit at once. 
 
 He sail that was fair enough, but I told him that I 
 would not go to work under any consideration unless my 
 friend Mr. Jones could have employment too. 
 
 I hired to Geu. Crook for one hundred and twenty- 
 five dollars per month, to go to work the following morn- 
 ing. After the bargain was made the General said to 
 me: "You must bear in mind that you are in a different 
 country now to what you have been accustomed to work- 
 ing in, and altogether a different climate as well." He 
 proposed sending a man with vne that he said was thor- 
 oughly posted in the country, knowing every watering 
 plnre, as well as the different runways of the Indians in 
 the whole, country, and he added that he would not ex- 
 pect any benefit from us for at least ten days, as it would 
 take this man that length of time to show us over the 
 country. 
 
 At this I withdrew from the General'* quarters, and 
 he and George soon made a bargain. George was to 
 receive seventy-five dollars per month. The balance 
 
404 READY TO- START. 
 
 .of the day was spent in making preparations for our 
 prospecting tour, as we termed it. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 FIND SOME MURDERED EMIGRANTS. WE BURY THE 
 DEAD ANQ FOLLOW AND SCALP THE INDIANS. GEN. 
 CROOK IS PLEASED WITH THE OUTCOME. A MOHAVE 
 BLANKET. 
 
 The following morning I ordered ten days' rations for 
 three of us. When we were ready to start Gen. Crook 
 called me aside and told me the nature of the man who 
 was to accompany us, saying that there was not a water- 
 ing place nor an Indian trail in the whole territory that 
 he did not know, and said he: "If you don't see any 
 Indians or fresh sign of Indians he will show you all over 
 the country. But he is the scarriest man of Indians you 
 ever saw in your life." 
 
 This man's name was Freeman. When we were 
 ready to start Freeman asked me what course I wished 
 to take. I told him that I would like to go in the direc- 
 tion that we would be the most likely to find Apaches. 
 I pointed in the directing of a range of mountains, toll- 
 
TROUBLED BY APACHES. 
 
 405 
 
 ing him that by ascending them he would be able to 
 show me where the different watering places were in the 
 valley by land 
 marks, and we 
 struck out south- 
 east fiom the fort 
 in the direction of 
 the middle fork of 
 the G i 1 a river. 
 The first nigh we 
 camped on what 
 was then called 
 the Butterfield 
 route, some thir- 
 ty-five o r forty 
 miles from the 
 fort. This season 
 there were a great 
 many emigrants 
 passing over this roate from Texas and Arkansas to Cal- 
 ifornia, and Gen. Crook said the Apaches were giving 
 them much trouble on this part of the road, and if they 
 continued to be so bad he would have to send one or two 
 companies of soldiers out there for the protection of the 
 emigrants. The second morning out we passed a ranch 
 owned by a man named Davis, who had lived there two 
 years. He told me that the Apaches had never given 
 him any trouble from the fact that he had gotten the 
 good will of the chief when he first went there by giving 
 him numerous little presents of different kinds. 
 
 He told me that although isolated from the world, he 
 
 Gen. George Crook. 
 
406 FIND THREE DEAD BODIES. 
 
 was doing well, from the fact that most all of the people 
 passing there patronized him. This family was from In- 
 diana. After I had told him who I was and what would 
 be my business, he insisted on my staying over night 
 with him when convenient, saying that it would not cost 
 ,me a cent. Thanking him for his hospitable offer, we 
 rode on, keeping the Butterfield route. Late that after- 
 noon we met a train of sixteen wagons on the way to Cal- 
 ifornia. The people told us that the day before they 
 had seen where five wagons had just been burned. I 
 asked how far it was, and they thought it was twenty-five 
 miles from where we met them. When we heard of this 
 we pushed on, thinking there might be some dead bodies 
 there and 'that we could bury them. On arriving at the 
 scejie, sure enough we found three dead bodies two hun- 
 dred and fifty yards from the burned wagons; one of 
 them being that of an old man, and the others, two boys 
 twelve and fourteen years of age. The Indians had not 
 stripped the bodies nor mutilated them, only they were 
 all filled with arrows. The dead bodies were all dressed 
 in home-made jeans. We found a few pieces of wagon 
 boxes that had not been burned and dug as good a grave 
 as we could in the sand, giving them as good a burial as 
 we could under the circumstances. This being done, we 
 took the trail of the Indians, which led off in a south- 
 westerly, direction. I felt confident that it had been at 
 least three days since this depredation had been com- 
 mitted. My object in following them up was to see if 
 we could get any evidence of white prisoners in their 
 camp. For the first ten or fifteen miles they kept on the 
 roughest, rockiest ground they could find, all of which 
 
FOLLOWING THE TRAIL. 
 
 407 
 
 i.'J me to believe they had expected to be followed. The 
 ; xt morning we came to where they had made their 
 first camp. All the evidence we could see of white pris- 
 oners in their charge was a few pieces of calico torn up 
 and scattered around their camp-ground. 
 
 We followed 
 the trail until 
 we came to 
 where they had/^i-* 
 made their 
 ond camp, and 
 here we found 
 
 of two 
 w o m c n's 
 dresses, one 
 beingsome- 
 what larger 
 
 One of the bodies being that of an old man. than the 
 
 other. The 
 
 two dress waists we took along with us. Here the In- 
 dians had changed their course somewhat, and our guide 
 
408 SAW six INDIANS. 
 
 said in the direction of their main village, but I did not 
 consider myself well enough posted to go too near their 
 main village. I told the guard to lead us off south of 
 west from Fort Yuma, which he did, and late that after- 
 noon we saw six Indians traveling east, and I told the 
 boys that they were scouts for the main band and that 
 they were going out to look for emigrants. When we 
 first got sight of them they were traveling up an open 
 valley. I told the boys that we would keep a close 
 watch of them, and if they should camp alone we would 
 have their scalps before morning; but just one look from 
 Freeman and I was convinced that he did not approve of 
 this scheme. George said to him: "You can take care 
 of the horses can't you, and if everything is favorable, 
 Cap and I can take care of the Indians." Late in the 
 afternoon I told them what course to travel, and taking 
 advantage of the ground, I pushed on to see the Indians 
 go into camp. When I started the guide told me there 
 was water about a mile above where the Indians were, 
 and tjiat they were pulling for it. He said there was a 
 fine spring of water in a little bunch of timber, and that 
 the Indians always camped there when they were going 
 to and from their hunting ground. Sure enough, when 
 they came to this little grove they all dismounted and 
 turned their horses loose entirely, then commenced to 
 roast their antelope meat for supper. I hurried back to 
 meet my companions, and we succeeded in getting within 
 a quarter of a mile of the Indians. By this time it was 
 getting dark. 
 
 We picketed our horses and sat down to eat our cold 
 lunch, after which we started down to the camp, but 
 
STOLE UP ON THEM. 409 
 
 were very cautious how we traveled. When in sight of 
 the camp-fire we could see them all plainly sitting around 
 it. We lay silent and watched them and their move- 
 ments. In a few minutes two of them got up and went 
 out to where their horses were and drove them all up 
 together to less than one hundred yards of where we lay. 
 It was so dark we could not see them, but could hear 
 them talking very distinctly. After having rounded their 
 horses up together they returned to the fire. Thinking 
 they would lie down in a short time, for they did not 
 seam to suspect any trouble that night, we started to 
 crawl down to their camp, all abreast. After our guide, 
 Freeman, found that I was determined to attack them 
 he seemed to muster up courage and come right to the 
 front like a man. My object in crawling near their camp 
 so soon was to see in just what position they lay before 
 the fire went out, and when the last one laid down we 
 were within fifty yards of them. I told the boys we had 
 a soft thing of it, for each of us had two revolvers and a 
 good knife, and the Indians were all lying close together 
 with their feet towards the fire. I told them we would 
 wait two hours as near as we could guess the time and 
 then they would be asleep; that then we would crawl up 
 and send them to their happy hunting-ground. After 
 waiting until we thought they were asleep we crawled 
 down to their camp, again all three abreast, George on 
 my right and Freeman on my left; and so we drew near, 
 their fire had not gone entirely out, and a little breeze 
 now and then would cause it to blaze up just enough so 
 that we were able to get their exact positions. I told the 
 boys to watch me and when I raised to my feet for both 
 
4IO KILLED SIX. 
 
 to raise and draw both revolvers as we would then be 
 right at their heads, and for each man to stick the muz- 
 zle of each of his pistols to an Indian's head and fire; 
 George to take the two on my right and Freeman the two 
 on my left, and I to take the two in the middle, and after 
 firing each man was to jump b&.ck two jumps, so in case 
 one of us should miss one of his men that we would be 
 out of their reich, thereby enabling us to get all of them 
 without taking any chancc-s ourselves. 
 
 George said that at the first click of his pistol one of 
 his men raised up in a sitting position, and he only, got 
 one the first shot. Freeman and I each got our two In- 
 dians the first shot; but George having both his eyes on 
 one, the other rose to his feet. George and I took two 
 shots each at this other Indian before we could get him 
 down. It was mostly guess work, for it was so dark 
 that we could scarcely see him. 
 
 As soon as we were satisfied that we had all of them 
 we started out to look for their horses, but it was so 
 dark that we could not find them, so we found our way 
 back to where our own horses were. Freeman and I laid 
 down to rest, while George got on a horse and kept cir- 
 cling the camp so as not to let any of the horses get away 
 during the night. He kept this up until the morning 
 star arose, and seeing that all the horses were there, laid 
 down to rest. As soon as it was beginning to get light 
 Freeman and I arose, started a fire, and sat around until 
 after sun-up, when we got breakfast, made some coffee 
 and then called George, and all enjoyed a good square 
 once more. 
 
 After breakfast we scalped our Indians and found that 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 411 
 
 we had eight good half-breed horses and a number of 
 good horse-hair robes. I asked our guide how far we 
 were from Fort Yum a 
 and he said straight 
 through it was 
 one hundred and 
 twenty miles, but the 
 way that we would 
 have to go it would 
 be at least one hun- 
 dred and fifty miles. 
 I concluded we had 
 better pull out for the 
 fort so Freeman and 
 myself rode ahead 
 and George followed 
 up the rear, driving 
 the loose horses. We 
 
 
 Getting breakfast. 
 
412 BACK TO THE FORT. 
 
 did not see any more Indian sign that day. Late in t 
 evening I was riding along when I ran on to a young an- 
 telope. I shot him and we had fresh meat for supper 
 for the first ti Tie since we left the fort. The next day 
 we crossed a )ig Indian trail going east. The trail looked 
 to be about tu r o days old, but as our rations were begin- 
 ning to run st ort we did not attempt to .follow them, but 
 pushed on to he fort, making as good time as possible, 
 returning on the eleventh day trom the time we started 
 out. 
 
 I reported our success to the General. He was well 
 pleased with the result of the trip, and when I reported 
 the burying of the dead bodies, he thought we had better 
 return to the spot, taking with us some good coffins, and 
 give them a more decent burial, but on consulting the 
 doctor, concluded in that extraordinarily hot climate it 
 would be utterly impossible to bury them after so long a 
 time, and the idea was abandoned. 
 
 I showed the two dress waists that I had found at the 
 Apache camp to the General, also to Mrs. Jackson, but 
 we never got any information of any white prisoners be- 
 ing taken there at that time. 
 
 The General was pleased to see the Indian scalps, as 
 he said they were the first scalps that had been brought 
 l n for two months. 
 
 Gen. Crook now made up his mind at once to send 
 Lieut. Jackson out on the road with two companies of 
 cavalry, and George Jones and myself were to accom- 
 pany them as scouts. 
 
 When we were ready to start Lieut. Jaeksen asked 
 
ON THE MARCH. 
 
 4IS 
 
 me if I didn't want more scouts, but I told him that I 
 thought we could get along this trip with what we had. 
 
 We took the Butterfield route 
 and followed that road until we 
 were in the St. Louis moun- 
 tains. This seemed to be 
 
 at that 
 time, a 
 f a vorite 
 part of 
 the coun- 
 try for 
 the Apa- 
 ches t o 
 c o m m it 
 their 
 depreda- 
 tions up- 
 
 on emi - 
 BB grants. 
 
 BBBK We trav ~ 
 
 eled very 
 
 slowly as 
 
 we had to pack our entire outfit on burros, and our 
 saddle horses having to live altogether on grass, con- 
 sequently we could not hurry. Early in the morn- 
 ing of the sixth day of that trip George and I started 
 out in advance of the command, one to theright and 
 the other to the left of the road, and if neither of us 
 should see any signs of Indianr we were to meet at 
 
 Our pack train. 
 
4*4 DISCOVER INDIANS. 
 
 the crossing of a certain stream only a few miles ahead 
 of the command; and in the event of either of us arriving 
 at the stream and waiting half an hour and the other did 
 not make his appearance, he was to return at once with 
 his force of scouts to the command. On arriving at the 
 appointed spot and finding that George and his assist- 
 ants were not there, we waited until we were convinced 
 he was not coming and at once returned to the command. 
 
 On our return we learned that shortly after starting 
 out that morning George had run on to a big Indian trail. 
 Supposing it to be the same band of Indians whose trail 
 we had crossed when returning from our other trip, he 
 had reported to the command at once, and the trail be- 
 ing fresh, he, taking four other men, had started in pur- 
 suit, leaving word with Lieut. Jackson for me not to be 
 uneasy about him nor attempt to follow him, but to re- 
 main with the command until I heard from him again. 
 
 While Lieut. Jackson was yet talking relative to the 
 matter, I received a message from George saying that he 
 had the Indians located some five miles from the road 
 and wanted me to come and look the ground over before 
 the command should start. 
 
 I at once mounted, and piloted by the man who had 
 brought the message to me, rode to where George was. 
 On arriving there I found the Indians so situated that it 
 was impossible to ascertain the number from the fact 
 that in this extraordinarily warm climate the Indians do 
 riot use any wick-i-ups or lodges, so that the only method 
 by which we could make an estimate of their number 
 was by counting the number of fires they had end calcu- 
 
GETTING READY. 415 
 
 late each fire to represent a certain number of Indians, 
 this being our method of estimating them when in wick- 
 i-ups, we reckoned their number to be one hundred and 
 fifty. 
 
 Where thse Indians were camped it would be utterly 
 impossible to make an attack without being discovered 
 long before reaching them, they being in a large valley. 
 
 After a thorough examination of the camp and sur- 
 surroundings by looking through a glass, we concluded 
 that the best plan would be to return to the command 
 and have it move up to within two miles of the Indians 
 and remain there until after dark, then leave it to the 
 Lieutenant whether he should make the attack on foot 
 or horseback. 
 
 I remained to watch the movements of the Indians 
 and see whether they were reinforced during the day and 
 to report at dark, George returning to the command. 
 The soldiers moved up that evening to within two miles 
 of the Indian camp. I remained at my post until it was 
 so dark that I could not see through my glasses any 
 longer, when I mounted my horse and rode to the com- 
 mand, having made no new discoveries. After explain- 
 ing the situation as nearly as I could, the Lieutenant 
 uoncluded to make the attack on foot some time between 
 midnight and daylight the next morning, and to attack 
 them from two sides at the same time. 
 
 The Lieutenant taking half the men and making the 
 long march, which would be about one and a half miles 
 farther than the others would have to march, leaving his 
 orderly sergeant in charge of the other half of the com- 
 
41 f THE SLAUGHTER. 
 
 mand. I piloted the Lieutenant and George piloted (he 
 orderly. Here Lieut. Jackson invented some new sAyle 
 of signal to what I had seen before, by taking a tea cup 
 and pouring powder in it and when he was ready to make 
 the charge he was to set the powder on fire, which would 
 make a flash, and in case the orderly was r&ady, he was 
 to signal the Lieutenant in the same manner. 
 
 We made the circuit and marched up to within one 
 hundred yards of the Indians, but could not make the 
 attack until near daylight, the Lieutenant thinking it 
 was so dark that the soldiers were in danger of killing 
 each other, which was all perfectly true. 
 
 When the time arrived for the attack, which was just 
 at daybreak, the Lieutenant gave his signal, which was 
 answered at once by the orderly, and the Lieutenant led 
 the way by going in advance of the force, and I think it 
 was the quickest fight I ever saw. I did not count the 
 Indians that were killed myself, but was told that there 
 were between 190 and 200 found dead on the battlefield. 
 They seemed to raise up as fast as the soldiers would cut 
 them down, and I think there were two cut down with 
 the sabres where one was shot. As soon as the battle 
 was over, or when we could not find any more Indians to 
 kill, George and I got our horses as quick as we could 
 and went out after our horses, but they had taken fright 
 at the firing and were scattered all over the country. 
 That evening the Lieutenant moved back to the road at 
 the head of a nice little valley where there were plenty 
 of fine grass and good water, saying that he would make 
 this his headquarters as long as he was out on this road. 
 
 The Lieutenant having five men wounded in this en- 
 
BEE ELEVEN INDIANS. 41 7 
 
 gagement, he wanted some one to carry a dispatch to 
 headquarters requesting the General to forward an am- 
 bulance, and George Jones being a light man who could 
 stand the ride better than any one in the crowd, the 
 Lieutenant chose him to make the ride. It took us five 
 days to come from Fort Yuma, and George took three 
 horses and made the round trip in seven and one-half 
 days. We remained here in this camp something like 
 three months, but did not have another fight of any con- 
 sequence with the Indians during our stay in this place. 
 The Apaches quit their work in this portion of the coun- 
 try, thus enabling the emigrants to pass unmolested. In 
 about one week after George Jones had returned from 
 his trip to headquarters, Lieut. Jackson, George and my- 
 self went out around the foot of the mountain on a 
 scouting tour. We were riding in sight of each other, 
 when the Lieutenant signalled us to come to where he 
 was. On arriving there he cold us to keep our eyes on a 
 certain ridge and we would see a little band of Indians 
 rise over the top of the hill in a few minutes, saying he 
 had just got sight of them while crossing the ridge beyond 
 but could not tell just how mapy there were. 
 
 We secreted ourselves in a little thicket of timber 
 where we would be concealed from their view, and in a 
 few minutes they hove in Fight. We counted them and 
 found that there were eVren of them. Lieut. Jackson 
 said to me: "Cap, p-nil we try them a whirl or not?" 
 I said: ' 4 Lieuten*c?t, I will leave that with you. If you 
 feel like it we w/ll give them a round." The Lieutenant 
 said: "Ail '^ght. I want to try my mare anyway and 
 see if the 19 any good or not." 
 
THE ATTACK. 
 
 He was riding a mare of fine breeding, as black as a 
 coal and as fleet an animal as there was in the whole 
 command. By this time the Indians had crossed over 
 the ridge and were then traveling up a little ravine, and 
 by keeping ourselves secreted they would cross the ridge 
 near us. Just as they turned over the ridge referred to, ' 
 we were to make the charge. I was riding a roan. horse 
 that I had bought in San Francisco that could run like a 
 deer, for when in this bnsiness I would not ride a horse 
 that was not swift, but I never had him in an engage- 
 ment of this kind. Being very hard-mouthed, I thought 
 
 he was liable to 
 run away with 
 me, and I did not 
 know whether he 
 would run in the 
 opposite direction 
 or after the In- 
 dians. The Lieu- 
 tenant and Geo. 
 Jones said that if 
 he would only run 
 after the Indians 
 they would follow 
 me up closely. 
 
 As soon as the 
 last Indian had 
 The Lieutenant was riding a mare of fine breeding, passed over the 
 
 ridge out of sight 
 
 we made a charge, and that black mare went like she was 
 shot out of a cannon. The Indians were all armed with 
 
ELEVEN KILLED. 4*9 
 
 bow and arrows, but they did not attempt to use them. 
 They did not suspect anything wrong until they heard 
 the clatter of our horses' feet within a few yards of them 
 and when they turned to look back we all had our revol- 
 vers ready and turned loose to firing and yelling, and for 
 the next half mile we had a lively race. I had thought 
 up to that time that there wasn't a man on the plains or 
 in the Rocky Mountains that could beat me shooting with 
 a pistol while on the run, but I must confess that Lieut. 
 Jackson on his black mare could shoot more Indians in 
 the same length of time than any person I was ever out 
 with, and it seemed that as fast as the Lieutenant would 
 shoot one Indian down his mare would turn and take 
 after the next nearest. The Lieutenant fired six shots 
 and killed five Indians and wounded the sixth one, while 
 riding at full speed, and in this country in places the sage 
 brush is waist high to a man. In this engagement I got 
 four Indians, having to shoot one Indian three times be- 
 I got him down, and George Jones killed three. Not 
 one of them escaped. Lieat. Jackson said he could not 
 see why it was that they did not offer to defend them- 
 selves, when they had four to one to start with, for the 
 Apaches have always been considered the bravest tribe 
 of Indians in the engird West, and thev had been known 
 at different times '<? ftght soldiers man to man. The last 
 Indian I killed was beyond doubt the best horseman I 
 had ever seen among the Indians, for he was first on one 
 side of his horse and chen on the other. It seemed as 
 though he could almost turn under the horses belly white 
 on tho dead run, and he would swing himself around 
 \inder bi's breast, rendering it almost impossible to deal 
 
42O NAVA jo INDIANS. 
 
 him a fatal shot, for he frisked around so fast that a per- 
 son could not get a bead on him. 
 
 We arrived at camp that evening just at dark. Dur- 
 ing our absence a train of emigrants consisting of twenty- 
 one wagons had camped near our quarters. They wanted 
 an escort of twenty or twenty-five men to accompany 
 them to Fort Yuma, which they were willing to board 
 free of charge while on the trip. % 
 
 Those emigrants were from Dallas, Texas, and ap- 
 parently well-to-do people. On learning that the Lieu- 
 tenant was out on a scouting tour, they prepared a nice 
 supper for the three of us. The following morning the 
 Lieutenant detailed twenty men in charge of a sergeant, 
 to escort the emigrants to Fort Yuma. George Jones 
 went along as a scout and I remained with the command. 
 They were ten days making the trip, as the emigrants 
 having ox teams, traveled slowly. On the return of the 
 escort the Lieutenant concluded to move some fifty miles 
 south on this road, where we made our headquarters 
 while we remained in this section of country, being on a 
 tributary of the Grand river, which runs down- through 
 the western part of New Mexico. 
 
 One day while I was out on a scouting tour I ran on 
 to a little band of Navajo Indians on their way to the 
 St. Louis Mountains for a hunt. They had some blankets 
 with them of their own manufacture, and being confident 
 that the Lieutenant had never seen a blanket of that 
 kind, I induced them to go with me to our quarters to 
 show their blankets to the Lieutenant and others as well. 
 I told the Lieutenant that he could carry water in one of 
 those all day and it would not leak through. We took 
 
BACK AT THE FORT. 4*1 
 
 one of them, he taking two corners and I two, and the 
 third man poured a bucket of water in the center of it, 
 and we carried it twenty rods and the water did not leak 
 through it. The Lieutenant asked how long it took to 
 make one of them, and the Indian said it took about six 
 months. He bought a blanket for five dollars, being 
 about all the silver dollars in the command. The blanket 
 had a horse worked in each corner, of various colors, 
 also a man in the center with a spear in his hand. How 
 this could be done was a mystery to all of us, as it con- 
 tained many colors and showed identically the same on 
 both sides. 
 
 By this time our three months' supply was running 
 short, and Lieut. Jackson commenced making prepara- 
 tions to return to headquarters with his entire command. 
 We pulled out for the fort, and did not see an Indian or 
 even a fresh track on our way. 
 
 When we arrived at the fort and Lieut. Jackson made 
 his report Gen. Crook was more than pleased with the 
 success we had met, and I succeeded in getting George's 
 wages raised from seventy-five to one hundred dollars per 
 month, unbeknown to him. 
 
 It was now in the fall of the year, and the General 
 decided to send us back again with two companies of 
 cavalry and one company of infantry, calculated more 
 for camp and guard duty than for actual service. 
 
 After we had rested up a month or such a matter the 
 General had six or eight mule teams rigged up, also fifty 
 burros for pack animals, and started Lieut. Jackson back 
 again with three hundred soldiers. 
 
4*3 WE START AGAIN. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 'A WICKED LITTLE BATTLE. CAPTURE OF ONE HUNDRED 
 AND EIGHTY-TWO HORSES. DISCOVERY OF BLACK 
 
 CANYON. FORT YUMA AND THE PAY MASTER. 
 
 We traveled very slowly and cautiously, and at the 
 foot of the mountains, one hundred and fifty miles from 
 Fort Yuma, we met a freight train from Santa Fe loaded 
 with flour and bacon, principally, bound for Tombstone, 
 Arizona. This train was owned by a man named 
 Pritchett; but he was generally known as "Nick in the 
 Woods." His party had had a fight with the Indians in 
 the mountains the third day before we met him, and he 
 had lost several mules killed and two of his teamsters were 
 wounded. He informed us that the mountains were 
 swarming with Indians, so the Lieutenant sent one com- 
 pany ahead of the command, George Jones and I going 
 as scouts. 
 
 The advance company was under command of an 
 orderly sergeant, who was instructed that if we met no 
 Indians before reaching our old quarters we were to stay 
 there until the command came up. On the third even- 
 ing, just as our company was going into camp, and Jones 
 and I were taking a survey from the hill near by, we saw 
 a band of Indians coming leisurely along and evidently 
 bound lor tho same camp ground that the soldiers were. 
 
A WICKED FIGHT. 433 
 
 Jones hurried down to inform the sergeant of the situa- 
 tion, I tarrying long enough to become positively con- 
 vinced that the reds might get their camp fixings mixed 
 with ours. So I put spurs to my horse and rode down to 
 camp as quickly as I could. During this time the ser- 
 geant was flying^around like a chicken with his head cut 
 off to have his company ready to meet the Indians, and 
 he barely had time to get his men all mounted when the 
 reds came in sight, not forty rods away. George and I 
 had ridden our horses very hard all day, consequently 
 took no hand in this engagement, but rode to the top of 
 a little hill close by where we could see the whole affair. 
 
 In this fight the Apaches showed their blood by stand- 
 ing their ground better than any Indians I have ever 
 seen in a battle. They did not offer to retreat until 
 the soldiers were right up among them, there being some 
 sixty Indians and one hundred soldiers. 
 
 This was beyond doubt the wickedest little battle I 
 had ever witnessed, but it did not last long. In the en- 
 gagement three soldiers were killed and five wounded, 
 and nine horses killed and nine wounded. There were 
 twenty-seven good Indians left on the battle-field, and 
 none of the Indian horses were captured. Those that 
 the Indians did not drive away took fight and ran after 
 them. 
 
 The soldiers followed until after dark, but did not 
 find any more dead Indians. We remained in this camp 
 until the Lieutenant came up with his command. He 
 regretted that he did not come on himself ahead of the 
 command, thinking that had he been there the result 
 would have been quite different. 
 
INDIANS. 
 
 On his arrival he made a detail of eight men to assist 
 in scouting, informing them that they were relieved of 
 \V guard duties while serving in that capacity, which i3 
 a great relief to a soldier, especially when in an Indian 
 xmntry. I was appointed captain or chief of scouts and 
 George my first assistant 1 he Lieutenant selected what 
 he th*. ught to be the best men he had in his command 
 and th c .y afterwards proved themselves to be jusc what 
 he had expected. On starting out I did not rrake any 
 reserve of scouts, but sent four with George and took the 
 ether four with me. 
 
 The fourth day after starting, about noon, I saw a 
 baid of India. is in camp ten miles from the Lieutenant's 
 quarters. I kn^w this to be a new camp, as I had been 
 over the same ground only two days previous. The In- 
 dians w~re camped in a valley nearly a mile wide that 
 had not a stick of Tmber on it, except the few small wil- 
 lows that grew along the little rill that ran through the 
 valley, consequently I could not get close enough to 
 ascertain the number o* the Indians until after dark. In 
 the meantime I telegraph ^d the Lieutenant to hold his 
 men in readiness or +c mov? on at once as he thought 
 best. 
 
 As soon as he received my message he mounted two 
 Companies of cavalry and pushed on to the place where I 
 bad told the messenger to meei rr?e on his return- 
 While the messenger went to headquarters, in com- 
 pany with one of my scouts I wen 1 ;; down near the Indian 
 camp to try to ascertain if possible their number, leaving 
 the other two scouts in charge of the horses. The only 
 way we could get at the number was to count thfc 
 
COMMAND ARRIVES 
 
 and make an estimate in that way. The Indians Denied 
 to be nervous and much disturbed that night from some 
 cause; con- 
 tinually lit- 
 tle squads 
 of them 
 would walk 
 from one 
 fire to an- 
 other. Af- 
 ter we had 
 crawled 
 a r o u n d 
 so mething 
 like two 
 hours and 
 made our 
 esti m ate, 
 we return- 
 ed to our 
 
 I sat down and explained the lay of the ground. 
 
 horses and comrades, and I never was more surprised in 
 my life than when I got back and met Lieut. Jackson 
 there with his command, for I did not think sufficient 
 time had passed for him to come that distance. I sat 
 down and explained the lay of the ground as best I could, 
 nothing being in the way except the little creek that 
 carried the water across the valley, and I told him that 
 about one hundred and fifty yards below the Indian camp 
 the horses would be able to jump it. I also told them 
 that I estimated their number at two hundred. 
 
 The Lieutenant said: "I think I will attack them at 
 
426 ANOTHER BATTLE. 
 
 once," and asked me if I had their horses located. I 
 told him I had. He then gave orders for all of the men 
 to muffle their spurs, and he asked me to lake my four 
 men and as soon as the charge was made to make a 
 dash for the horses, cut them off and stampede them. 
 So we made the start, my scouts and I on the extreme 
 right of their entire command. The Lieutenant had ex- 
 plained to the command that he would give the word in 
 an undertone, each corporal to take it up, and they also 
 had orders to hold their sabres up in a way that they 
 could not make any noise. Being good starlight that 
 night, one could see fairly well. We rode within less 
 than one hundred yards of the Indian camp before the 
 word was given to charge. When we were in sight of 
 the horses we raised the yell and they all started, and we 
 did not let them stop until at headquarters the next 
 morning at daybreak. At this haul we got one hundred 
 and eighty-two horses. 
 
 The Lieutenant returned with his command at ten 
 o'clock the same morning, and he told me that he didn't 
 think a dozen Indians escaped. 
 
 In this engagement he did not lose a man, and only 
 a few were wounded, but five horses were hurt, and 
 those he had killed after returning to headquarters, claim- 
 ing that in this warm climate, where the flies were so 
 bad, it took too much attention to cure them. 
 
 The two days following were days of rest with us, 
 very little being done in the way of scouting. On the 
 morning of the third day after the battle, George and his 
 force went out to make a tour around the camp, and 
 Lieut. Jackson, myself and four scouts went out to try to 
 
AFACME STRONGHOLD. 427 
 
 kill some deer, as we were getting very hungry for fresh 
 meat, having been so long on bacon that we were all 
 sick and tired of it. That day we killed four deer, and 
 that night we camped six miles from our quarters. The 
 next morning the Lieutenant sent to headquarters for ten 
 pack animals, and we remained to hunt. In two days 
 we killed all the game we could pack to camp on the ten 
 animals. On our return the Lieutenant said to me: 
 "This part we will have to keep to ourselves, for if we 
 tell the General that we v were out hunting and spent 
 three days on the trip he would swear until everything 
 around would turn blue." 
 
 After this we made two and three day scouting trips. 
 While out on one of these, I found where the Apache 
 stronghold was; down in a deep canyon, which since 
 then has been known as Black canyon. From all ap- 
 pearance the greater part of the tribe was there. This 
 canyon was tributary to the Colorado, and the hardest 
 place to get into I have ever seen in the Rocky Moun- 
 tains. 
 
 After making as good an investigation as the sur- 
 roundings would permit, I returned with my scouts to 
 the command to report. In making my report I said: 
 "Lieutenant, I cannot half describe that canyon to you, 
 for it is beyond any doubt the blackest looking place I 
 have ever seen in all my travels." I told the Lieutenant 
 that I would like to have him go with me and view the 
 place before he moved his command. The canyon was 
 fifty miles from our quarters. That same night George 
 Jones returned with his four scouts, and the morning fol- 
 lowing we started out with the entire scout force, taking 
 
BLACK CANYON. 
 
 four days' rations with us. On the morning of the sec- 
 ond day we came in sight of the canyon. The Lieuten- 
 ant took a good look at it through his glasses, aftel 
 which he said: * 'Captain, I think you named it well 
 when you called it a Black canyon, for it looks as if it 
 would be impossible to enter it on horseback." That 
 day and the next was spent in trying to find where the 
 Indians entered the canyon, and we at last discovered 
 that they entered it from the east and west with horses, 
 by descending a very abrupt mountain, and they were 
 strung up and down the canyon for five miles. After thr 
 Lieutenant had made examinations of the location we 
 started back to headquarters. 
 
 The Lieutenant and I fell back to the rear in order to 
 have a private conversation relative to the situation. He 
 said: "To be honest with you, I dcn't think it safe to 
 go in there with less than two thousand soldiers, espec- 
 ially at this time of the year. If the Indians are as 
 strong as they look to be, and have the advantage of the 
 ground that they seem to have, it would only be sport 
 for them to lie behind those rocks and shoot the soldiers 
 down as fast as they could enter the canyon. This is 
 the first time I ever went out hunting Indians, found 
 them, and had to go away and let them alone. To tell 
 the truth, I don't know what to do, for if I report to the 
 General he will come at once with all his forces and ac- 
 complish nothing when here." 
 
 The Black canyon is in the northwest corner of Ari- 
 zona, where it joins on to California and Nevada. Since 
 that time there have been more soldiers killed in tht 
 place than in all the balance of Arizona territory. 
 
OUR NEW CAMP. 429 
 
 After he had thought the matter over for a day or so 
 Ae decided to move the command up necxr Black canyon, 
 catch small parties out from there, and try in that man- 
 ner to weaken them, or he might succeed in drawing 
 them out, and in that way be able to get a fight out of 
 them on something like fair ground. But in this the 
 Lieutenant was very much disappointed, for they were 
 too smart to come out. 
 
 George Jones and myself, each with our company of 
 scouts, started out to locate some place suitable for head- 
 quarters, with instructions that anywhere within twenty 
 miles would be satisfactory. I was out six days but did 
 not find what I considered a suitable location. Jones 
 was more successful. Within about ten miles of the can- 
 yon he found what he thought to be a suitable location, 
 but said it would be impossible to get to the place with 
 wagons. So the wagcns were corralled and left at our 
 present location vu charge of a sergeant, with thirty in- 
 fantrymen. 
 
 Loading the e'j'iire pack train, we started for How- 
 ard's Point, that being the name George had given the 
 new camp. 
 
 Upon arrivr.i at our new camp the Lieutenant put 
 out pickets all Around camp one mile away, keeping them 
 there day and night while we remained. The scouts for 
 the next six 'veeks were almost worked to death, without 
 accomplishing much of anything, from the fact that we 
 were too rtase io the maiu body of Indians to catch them 
 ;n small /j.ivJ^, for in going out to hunt they would not 
 go into ' Mii^> until twenty or thirty miles from their head- 
 qu*i.r*a'.r, <md our plan was to catch them in camp and 
 
4 JO TWO SCOOTS KILLED. 
 
 attack them either in the night or just at daybreak in 
 the morning. 
 
 One morning after being here ten days, the whole 
 scout force started in two squads, with the understand- 
 ing that we keep in about one mile of each other, so that 
 if one squad should encounter a band of Indians the 
 other could come to the relief. 
 
 After traveling about ten miles we heard shots in the 
 dierction where I knew George was with his four assist- 
 ants, and turning in that direction, we put our horses 
 down to their best speed, and were soon at the scene of 
 action, but owing to the roughness of the ground we 
 could not make as good time as we desired. When in 
 sight of the contestants I saw that George was on foot, 
 a comrade on each side of him, and they were firing as 
 fast as they could load and shoot. He had run into those 
 Indians, about twenty in number, hid in the rocks, and 
 they had opened fire on the scouts, killing two of his 
 men the first shot, and shooting George's horse from 
 under him, leaving him afoot. When we arrived I 
 ordered my men to dismount and take to the rocks, leav- 
 ing the horses to take care of thems'elves, as the Indians 
 were on foot and we could make better time in that im- 
 mediate vicinity than we could on our horses. We had 
 a hot little fight, but succeeded in driving the savages 
 back. After the battle was over we tied our dead com- 
 rades on one horse and packed them to camp, changing 
 off with George and the scout whose horse the dead 
 bodies were tied on, letting them ride our horses part of 
 the time. That night we dug graves and gave the two 
 comrades as decent a burial as circumstances would per- 
 
MORE SCOUTS. 
 
 431 
 
 mit. George felt very sorry over losing the two scouts 
 because they were in his charge, but he was not to blame 
 in the least. 
 
 fn this little battle we got six Indians, and they killed 
 two of our men and three horses. Lieut. Jackson thought 
 it would now be advisable to increase the number of 
 scouts and have a sufficient force together to be able to 
 protect ourselves, for we were to remain here a month 
 longer, and if 
 in that time we 
 were not able 
 in some way to 
 get at the In- 
 dians we would 
 return to the 
 fort and wait 
 until spring. 
 
 Two weeks 
 later I was out 
 on a scouting 
 tour when I saw 
 a small band of 
 Indians coming 
 out of Black 
 canyon and 
 making their 
 way westward. 
 When they 
 were within 
 
 Shooting from behind the rocks. 
 
 ten miles of our headquarters I got to count them, find- 
 ing there were forty in the band, all on foot. I decided 
 
432 A HUNTING PARTY. 
 
 that they had started on a hunt and I would keep my eye 
 on them to see where they would camp for the night, 
 By this time I had all the water in this region located, 
 and when I would see a band of Indians late in the Even- 
 ing I could tell about where they would camp. 
 
 As soon as I had decided where those would camp I 
 telegraphed to Lieut. Jackson the situation. Where 
 these Indians camped was within six miles of our quar- 
 ters, but a miserable place to enter with horses, but I 
 thought we could ride within a mile of the place en 
 horseback. , 
 
 The Lieutenant, however, was well acquainted with 
 the ground, and as soon as he read my message he 
 mounted his cavalrymen and started, and met me within 
 a mile of the Indian camp. Dismounting, he snd his 
 men started on foot to the camp, and he told the sol- 
 diers to walk lightly, and when in sight of the carnp to 
 get down and crawl, but to be very careful not to break 
 a limb or twig. I was very much disappointed in not 
 getting to see this fight, for after I had sent my message 
 to headquarters my horse fell with me and dislocated my 
 right knee. 
 
 Lieut. Jackson said that he hiid never seen Indians 
 fight harder in the dark than they did. He had three to 
 their one, and said if it had been daylight he thought 
 they would have held the soldiers in check for some little 
 time. He did not think that he got all of them. In 
 this action he lost two men killed and seven wounded, 
 two of whom died afterwards from their wounds. 
 
 I was laid up for a month with my knee, having to 
 go on crutches most of the time, and it has given me 
 
BACK AT FORT YUMA. 435 
 
 /nore or less trouble since, even up to the present time. 
 After we had arrived at our headquarters the Lieutenant 
 concluded that as it was getting late, we had better move 
 in the direction of the fort, and we started, making ten 
 miles a day, and keeping out a strong force of scouts, 
 thinking they might be able while in the mountains to 
 capture small bands of hunting Apaches, but no more 
 Indians were seen. 
 
 When we were out of the mountains we doubled our 
 distance, making about twenty miles a day. Having no 
 other way to travel than on horseback, my knee swelled 
 badly, and when we got to Mr. Davis' ranch, which was 
 forty miles from Fort Yuma, I had to stop and rest a few 
 days. This was, however, a very desirable pl:ice for an 
 unmarried man to stop, for Mr* Davis had some young 
 daughters who were very attractive. I remained there a 
 week, until I got the swelling reduced in my leg, and 
 Mr. Davis hauled me to the -fort in a wagon, taking at 
 the same time a load of watermelons and tomatoes, 
 which grew abundantly in that country. When I arrived 
 at Fort Yuijia Gen. Crook told me to take good care of 
 myself, also saying he was highly pleased witrf the suc- 
 cess of the past season, and he said: "If I live until 
 spring I am going to see that Black canyon* of yours that 
 Lieut. Jackson has told me so much about." 
 
 During this winter we got a weekly mail established 
 from Fort Yuma to Los Angeles. I had been here over 
 eight months and had not seen a newspaper since I came, 
 and when this mail line was established nearly every 
 man subscribed for a paper of some kind, and the fort for 
 the first time was blessed with plenty of reading matter, 
 
434 THH PAYMASTER. 
 
 and we were able to gain a little knowledge as to what 
 ^as going on in the civilized parts of the United States. 
 
 In the fore part of the month of December the officers 
 put the men to work cleaning and staightening things up 
 in general about the fort. We were all confident there 
 was something up, but just what was not known. After 
 everything was in proper shape it was whispered around 
 that the paymaster would be in in a few days. On hear- 
 ing this I asked Lieut. Jackson if it was true, and he 
 said it was, and he also informed me that from this on 
 we would have a regular pay day; and this was not all 
 either, but that we were to have two more companies 
 of cavalry and one of infantry, and said he: "The Gen- 
 eral is talking of sending you and me to California to buy 
 horses, but that will not be decided upon until the pay- 
 master comes." 
 
 It was the twentieth of December when the paymas 
 ter came, and also the three companies of recruits spokeii 
 of by the Lieutenant. This was the first pay day the 
 soldiers had had for over a year, and the boys all had 
 plenty of money, but a poor show to spend it, as there 
 were no saloons or gambling houses there, so they 
 amused themselves by gambling among themselves, and 
 one could go all around the fort and see all kinds of 
 games running, and there was money flying in the air. 
 
Seal Rock, Faranlone Islands, California. 
 
 Mfesion House, Santa Barbara, Calitftnfia, 
 
TO CALIFORNIA. 435 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 To CALIFORNIA FOR HORSES. MY BEAUTIFUL MARE, 
 BLACK BESS. WE GET SIXTY-SIX SCALPS AND SEV- 
 ENTY-EIGHT HORSES. A CLEAN SWEEP. 
 
 It was about the first of January when Gen. Crook 
 ordered Lieut. Jackson and I to go to California to buy 
 fifty head of cavalry horses. With an escort of twelve 
 men we headed for Los Angeles, expecting to be able to 
 procure the horses there, which we did, and were back at 
 Yuma in a little more than a month preparing to give 
 Apaches more of our warm social attention. In this 
 campaign Lieut. Jackson was to take the lead with two 
 companies of cavalry and one of infantry, and take the 
 same route as the season before. Gen. Crook was to 
 follow in a month, taking no wagons, but a pack-train of 
 one hundred animals. Only Mexicans were employed 
 this time as packers, and the captain of our train was 
 named Angel, but he didn't look it. 
 
 It was arranged between Gen. Crook and I thax 1 was 
 to have twelve scouts and select them myself. The 
 General sent a sergeant with me to take the names of 
 the men I wished to secure, and then he gave me per- 
 mission to go into the corrall and select two horses for 
 each of my men, taking anything that did not belong to 
 a commissioned officer. In the afternoon of the same 
 day Lieut. Jackson came to me and said: "Captain, I 
 
436 
 
 BLACK BESS. 
 
 have a present for you jf you will accept it. I want to 
 give you Black Bess." 
 
 This was the beautiful mare that he rode the year be- 
 fore and of which I spoke previously. 
 
 It was a very acceptable present indeed, and I was 
 surprised to learn that he would part with her, but he 
 walked down to the stable and turned her over to me. 
 He had never ridden her when going into a fight except 
 
 She would paw until I woke. 
 
 the time of which I made mention when out on the 
 scouting tour. He said to me: "She is too fine an ani- 
 mal for me, and if you will train her a little she will be a 
 perfect companion to you." 
 
 This black mare proved to be the most intelligent 
 animal that I "had ever owned in my life, and there was 
 nothing she seemed to dislike so much as the sight or 
 even the scent of an Indian. Often when out scouting I 
 
STRUCK A TRAIL. 437 
 
 have got off of her and let her feed at the end of a picket 
 rope while I would lie down and sleep, and the moment 
 she would see or scent anything strange she would come 
 to where I was lying and paw until I would raise up and 
 look in the direction of whatever object she had seen or 
 heard, and in less than three months she was the pet of 
 the entire command. She would follow me like a dog 
 anywhere I would go. 
 
 We pulled out for the mountains, and went some- 
 thing like one hundred and fifty miles from Fort Yuma 
 before making a halt for a permanent camp this being 
 .11 the fore part of February, 1866 and as soon as we 
 were fairly settled we began active work. 
 
 We had only been there a few days when George 
 Jones came in and reported having seen the trail of a 
 band of Indians coming from the direction of Black can- 
 yon. George, myself and four other scouts started out 
 immediately to take the trail, which was ten miles south 
 of our quarters. We camped on their trail that night on 
 account of the country being too rough to travel after 
 night, but the next morning we were off early and fol- 
 lowed the trail all day. Just before sundown we halted 
 on a high ridge, when I took a look through my glasses 
 over the country. About twelve miles away I saw an 
 Apache camp. The course they had traveled that day 
 brought them about as near our quarters as where we had 
 struck their trail, and from this I came to the conclusion 
 that they were either looking for the command or were 
 expecting an attack. 
 
 Now the country between us and the Indians was 
 
438 INDIANS IN CAMP. 
 
 very rough, but I told the boys that wt inust get 
 that night, and as quickly as possible. 
 
 I could see the country between the Indians and head- 
 quarters, and they were not more than fifteen miles from 
 there, although we were about twelve miles away, and 
 about the same distance from the Indians. 
 
 Knowing that Lieut. Jackson would be anxious to 
 hear from me, I sent one man back to camp to report to 
 him, with instructions as -to' the course to move, also for 
 him to throw up a rocket every mile or so, that I might 
 know where to send my next messenger to meet him. 
 Myself and the other four scouts started for the Indian 
 camp, and it took two hours and a half the best we 
 
 could do to reach it. 
 
 i 
 
 When we were within a quarter of a mile of them, 
 that being as near as we thought it safe to ride, we dis- 
 mounted, and leaving two men in charge of our horses, 
 the other three of us started to crawl down to their camp, 
 at least near enough to find out about their number. 
 
 They had not lain down for the night nor had they 
 any guards out with their horses, but were sitting around 
 the camp-fire smoking and apparently enjoying them- 
 selves. 
 
 No doubt if we could have understood their language 
 they were then laying plans to capture the first emigrant 
 train that might come that way. The moon was shin- 
 ing brightly, and we had a splendid chance to have stam- 
 peded their stock, but I did not think it best from the 
 fact that it would put them on their guard, which would 
 be to the detriment of the cavalry when they should ar- 
 rive. We decided not to disturb them until the cavalry 
 
COMMAND ARRIVES. 439 
 
 .. ne up, knowing that the command would lose no time 
 l,i getting there, and that it would be before daylight if 
 it was possible. 
 
 \Ye counted the horses of the Indians as best we 
 could by moonlight, and made out eighty head of them. 
 \\V could not make out just the number of Indians, but 
 estimated them at seventy-five, After ascertaining as 
 near as \ve could the lay of the ground and the general 
 situation, we returned to our horses, and all started in 
 tlie direction that we expected the command "to come 
 from. After we had ridden about a half mile I stopped, 
 and George Jones started on with the other scouts to 
 inert the command. After riding five miles they met 
 Lieut. Jackson coining with two companies of cavalry 
 and the entire scout force; and long before I expected 
 them Black Bess told rne by her actions that they were 
 coming. 
 
 The Lieutenant formed his men in a triangle en the 
 ridge. 1 , his object being to pocket the Indians; in other 
 words, to bunch them up or prevent them from scatter- 
 ing. While he was forming his men and giving instruc- 
 tions, I told my men where the horses were and that we 
 must get to them about the time the cavalry made the 
 attack on the Indians. I told them that no doubt the 
 horses would have ropes on them and the first one that I 
 come to I would take him and lead the way. "And 
 when you hear the first shot, all raise the yell, for by do- 
 ing that we will be able to make the stampede, and if 
 nothing goes wrong we will keep the stock going until 
 we reach headquarters. " When I got to the horses about 
 the first one I stumbled onto was a white one, with a 
 
440 A SUCCESSFUL ATTACK. 
 
 long hair rope on; I caught him and led the way, and he 
 made a good leader for the others to follow. 
 
 We got to the horses a few moments before the sol- 
 diers got to the Indian camp, and at the first shot we all 
 raised the yell, and as I led the white pony away all fol- 
 lowed, and we did not halt until we were five or six 
 miles off. Here we came to a small stream that mean- 
 dered through a little valley. Ther,e we stopped awhile 
 to let our horses drink and rest, and while there we 
 counted our horses and found that we had seventy-eight. 
 
 We reached camp about six o'clock the next morn- 
 ing, but the soldiers did not get in until noon. When 
 the fight was over the Lieutenant put out a strong picket 
 guard and remained there until morning in order to catch 
 the Apaches that might be secreted in the sage-brush. 
 
 When daylight came he succeed in jumping up eleven, 
 which he considered ample pay for staying there a few 
 hours. In this fight sixty-six Indians were killed, besides 
 we got all their horses, blankets, ropes and such other 
 articles as they had. 
 
 We did but little in the way of scouting for the next 
 few days. Lieut. Jackson said that we had made a good 
 beginning and we did not want to do much before Gen. 
 Crook came. ''For," said he, we will have all the fight- 
 ing we want when the General gets here." 
 
 The morning of the third day after the fight W6 
 started out with the entire scout force in squads of four, 
 there being three squads, with the understanding that we 
 were to keep in from one to three miles of each other, 
 and all to camp together at night. 
 
 We took along with us four days' rations, but a scout 
 
ANOTHER BAND. 44! 
 
 is expected to live on four days' rations for eight days if 
 it becomes necessary, for when he starts he never knows 
 just where lie is going or when he will return. 
 
 It was in the afternoon of the third day that I ran on 
 to an Indian trail that appeared from the number of 
 horse-tracks to.be about twenty in the band. We could 
 tell that they had passed there that day, so we followed 
 the trail; and it was not long until the other two pulled 
 in towards me, and we were soon near enough that I 
 could signal to them, or they to me, and shortly we all 
 met on the trail. 
 
 We had not followed long before we came in sight of 
 the Indians riding leisurely along, and we then set it 
 down that they were a band of Apaches on their way to 
 the Oscuro Mountains for a hunt. They went into camp 
 early that night on account of water, and after supper 
 they amused themselves by running foot-races. I was 
 tempted several times before dark to make a charge on 
 them, but knowing that we could accomplish our end 
 better by waiting until after dark, we held back until 
 they had all turned in for the night. They did not lie 
 down until about nine o'clock, and by this time the boys 
 were all getting anxious for a fight. We waited about 
 an hour after they had all lain down and then we started 
 to crawl down to their camp. We agreed to use our 
 knives and sabres, George Jones and I each having a big 
 knife, all the rest having sabres. 
 
 Our idea for this was to prevent any of our own party 
 from being shot accidently; but each man had his pistol 
 in his left had with instructions not to use it except 
 in case of emergency. We crawled into the camp un- 
 
442 CRAWLED INTO CAMP. 
 
 discovered as the Indians had no dogs along to give the 
 alarm. 
 
 Previous to this I had told the boys that I could 
 crawl all over an Indian and not wake him up, and I 
 came near demonstrating it that night. They were ap- 
 parently asleep and badly scattered, two in a place. 
 
 I had told the boys not to strike until they saw that 
 I was just in the act of striking; that when they saw me 
 rtiisr- up for each man to spring to his feet and get his 
 Indian the first lick if possible, and not to let up as long 
 as they could see one kick. 
 
 It being bright moonlight we could see each other 
 very plainly, and we crawled right in among them, there 
 being no order whatever in their camp. When I came 
 to where there were two lying with their backs together, 
 I made up my mind that that was too good a chance for 
 me to let pass; so I looked around to see if the boys had 
 their men selected, and seeing that they had, and that 
 they were all watching me and the Indians also, I raised 
 to my feet, and placing my right foot between the two 
 Indians, I aimed to sever the first one's head from his 
 body, which I came near doing, for he only just quivered 
 after I struck him. At that they all began the work of 
 blood and death. 
 
 The second one I attacked I had to deal the second 
 blow, as I also did the third one. Up to this time I had 
 not heard a word from any one of my companions, but 
 there had been a continual ringing of sabres all around 
 me. Just as I had done up my last Indian George 
 sprang to my side and said: "Cap, we have got every 
 one of them." We counted them and found that we 
 
TWENTY-TWO DEAD. 443 
 
 had killed twenty-two, and after examining their blankets 
 and other ' 'traps," we knew that we had got them all. 
 
 They had killed a fine buck deer during the day and 
 had only cooked enough of it for their supper, so we h;ul 
 plenty of fresh meat, for a while, at least; so while 
 George and some of the other scouts went for our horses, 
 which were about a quarter of a mile from camp, the re- 
 mainder of us built a fire and began roasting venison. 
 This was the first fresh meat we had on the trip. 
 
 The morning following we gathered up the horses 
 and lound we had twenty-two, and we started two of the 
 men to headquarters with them, and also sent a message 
 to Lieut. Jackson to the effect that we were going in east 
 of Black canyon to see what kind of a country it' was. 
 We were out seven days longer, making ten days in all, 
 but we did not make any new discovery. 
 
 When we returned to headquarters I learned that 
 Lieut. Jackson had received a dispatch from Gen. Crook, 
 to the effect that he would soon be on with more supplies 
 and men. 
 
 The Lieutenant advised me to work close to quarters, 
 as the General was likely to be on any day, and said it 
 was hard to tell what he would want to do when there 
 
444 GEN. CROOK ARRIVES. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 SOME MEN WHO WERE ANXIOUS FOR A FIGHT AND GOT 
 IT. GEN. CROOK AT BLACK CANYON. BAD MISTAKE 
 OF A GOOD MAN. THE VICTIMS. 
 
 After the events of the last chapter I remained in 
 camp most of the time, and sent my assistants out in 
 different directions, with orders to return the same day. 
 
 In ten days Gen. Crook made his appearance, with 
 two companies of cavalry and one of infantry. 
 
 The next day after his arrival after having talked the 
 matter over relative to Black canyon and the country 
 surrounding it, he asked me how far it was to the noted 
 place. I told him it was what we called fifty miles. The 
 General said: "There is where I want to go. Those 
 men I brought out with me are anxious for a fight. I 
 brought them out here to fight, and I will see that they 
 get it." He told me that the day following he wished 
 me to accompany him to that country, saying: "You 
 can take as many of your scouts along as you like, and I 
 will make a detail of twenty men to do camp duty." 
 
 We started out the following morning for Black can- 
 yon, taking along my entire scout force. In the after- 
 noon of the second day I piloted Gen. Crook to a high 
 ridge, Where, with his glasses, he could overlook the 
 whole country. He could see Black canyon and the per- 
 
LOOKING FOR INDIANS. 
 
 445 
 
 pendicular wall of rock on the opposite side for miles and 
 miles, in fact, as far as he could see with his glasses. 
 After he had looked the country all over he asked me 
 where we could get into the canyon. In answer to this 
 question I said: "General it is easy enough to get into 
 it, but the question is where to get out." 
 
 He said: "We surely can get out where we go in if 
 we only have sense enough to keep our eyes open." So 
 
 I piloted Gen. Crook to a high ridge. 
 
 I told him that I would show him the next morning. We 
 returned to camp and I started out on foot to find some 
 fresh meat, and had gone but a short distance when I 
 ran on to a band of wild turkeys, and killed two fat gob- 
 blers. Turkeys seemed to keep fat in that country the 
 year around, as those that I killed were very fat. Dur- 
 ing the time I was out hunting George Jones had taken 
 two other scouts and had made an entire circle of our 
 
446 AT BLACK CANYON. 
 
 camp, and not seeing any Indians or fresh sign we felt 
 safe from any attack that night. 
 
 The next morning we did not move camp, but leav- 
 ing the twenty men detailed for camp duty in charge, of 
 the camp and stock, I took my entire scout force to 
 escort Gen. Crook to Black canyon. When we came to 
 where the trail started down the bluff, he asked me how 
 far I had been down. I told him about a mile, but did 
 not let him know that Lieut. Jackson was with' me at the 
 time, knowing that the General wanted the glory of be- 
 ing the first officer to investigate and take in the situa- 
 tiyn of Black canyon. He asked me if it was safe for us 
 to go down that far. I told him it was not at this time 
 of day as we could not go that far and back without be- 
 ing seen by hundreds of Indians. 
 
 He decided not to look any further, but we returned 
 to our camp and made preparations to start back to 
 headquarters the next morning. He did not say anything 
 to me as to what he thought of Black canyon that even- 
 ing, but next day on our way back to headquarters he 
 asked me if I thought there would be grass enough where 
 we camped the night before for three or four hundred 
 head of stock for three or four days. This led me to be- 
 lieve that he intended moving a part of his command to 
 that place. 
 
 As soon as we were back at headquarters he told me 
 that if any of the horses belonging to the scouts had 
 shoes that needed resetting to have it attended to at 
 once, and also told me to have the scouts pick out the 
 very best horses for the trip. 
 
 During the time that these preparations were in pro- 
 
MAKING PREPARATIONS. 447 
 
 gress, Lieut. Jackson in a private conversation told me 
 that Gen. Crook was going to move up with a portion of 
 the command near Black canyon and try to get mto it. 
 I told him that he could get in there easy enough, but 
 had my doubts whether or not he would be able to get 
 out with half the men he took in. 
 
 After having completed our preparations we pulled 
 out for the Camp on the Mountain, this being the name 
 given the camp by some of our men when we were out 
 before, and I am told that the springs where we camped 
 still go by that name. We started with two companies 
 of cavalry and one of infantry, taking a pack-train to 
 xarry the supplies. 
 
 The first night at Camp on the Mountain Gen. Crook 
 threw out a strong picket guard, and the next morning 
 he told me to place my men both above and below the 
 trail that they were to travel in descending the mountain 
 into the canyon. I had examined this part of the coun- 
 try and was thoroughly posted in all the ways and by- 
 ways of the Black canyon, which I knew the General 
 was not, and I told him that there was no danger from 
 ibove, from the fact that it was at least six miles to the 
 next place where the Indians could climb the bluff, but 
 this didn't seem to satisfy him, so I placed my scouts 
 according to his directions. This, he said, was to pro- 
 tect his rear. 
 
 I took my stand farthest down the hill from any of 
 the scouts, being about half way down, and had my men 
 scattered along on the mountain side, both above and 
 below. This I did so that in case any of my men ibouid 
 
448 ENTER BLACK CANYON 
 
 see danger from above they would report to me at once 
 and I would report to Gen. Crook. 
 
 After I had my men all placed and was at my stand 
 I saw two companies of cavalry coming down the bluff 
 supported by one company of infantry. When they got 
 to where I was stationed, it being what we termed a 
 bench on the mountain, they halted, and Crook and 
 Jackson held a council in which Lieut. Jackson advised 
 Gen. Crook to send the infantry ahead as ' 'feelers," but 
 the General thought just the reverse, saying: "I will 
 feel my way with the cavalry." So they started down 
 the mountain single file. 
 
 After they had been gone about two hours, or it 
 seemed that long to me at least, I heard the firing com- 
 mence; but I could tell from the direction that they were 
 not yet down to the foot of the mountain. The firing 
 continued about an hour, but I could not get to see any 
 of the battle, for I dared not leave my post for fear that 
 some of the scouts might come to report to me, and in 
 case I was away he would not know what to do. 
 
 At last I saw the cavalry coming back up the moun - 
 tain, some on foot, some leading their horses, and a very 
 few riding. The Indians were being held in check by 
 the infantry in order to give the cavalry a chance to get 
 out of the canyon with their horses. 
 
 As well as I can remember, in this fight Gen. Crook 
 lost forty-two men killed, twenty-one wounded, and 
 sixty horses killed. 
 
 That night I heard one sergeant ask another in the 
 presence of Gen. Crook when the dead would be buried, 
 but the question was not answered. The next morning 
 
 " 
 
WITH HEAVY LOSS. 449 
 
 the General told me to take as many men as I wanted 
 and see if I could recover the dead bodies. I said. "Gen. 
 eral, if you will wait until night I will take my men and 
 if there are any dead bodies left on the battlefield I will 
 try and get them, but I do not propose to take my men 
 and stick them up for a target to be shot at by the In- 
 dians when they have no show whatever, for I will not 
 ask my men to go where I will not go myself." 
 
 He said: "Suit yourself about it," and turned and 
 walked away. 
 
 That night I took my entire scout force, besides 
 twenty soldiers that volunteered to go along, and de- 
 scended the mountain, We worked hard all night, and 
 all that we could find was twenty-one bodies, and that 
 day they were buried, after which we commenced mak- 
 ing preparations to return to headquarters. 
 
 Up to that time I had not had a chance to talk to 
 Lieut. Jackson concerning the battle in Black canyon, as 
 we had both been busy ever since. When on a march it 
 was my custom to ride ahead of the army, so the morn- 
 ing thai we were ready to start back I had given my 
 orders to the scouts, had mounted, and was just ready to 
 start, when Lieut. Jackson said: "Wait a minute, Cap- 
 tain, and I will ride with you." 
 
 The reader will understand that by this time the 
 Lieutenant and I were as intimate friends as though we 
 were brothers, and when he told me anything I could 
 rely upon it, and I had always made it a rule to be punc- 
 tual with him. If ha would ask me a question I would 
 always answer it the best I could, and if I asked him for 
 any information, if he knew he would tell me. And her* 
 
450 
 
 ON THE MARCH. 
 
 I would like to say that while Gen. Crook bore the name 
 of being a great Indian fighter, I know for a fact that 
 Lieut. Jackson planned more victories iwo to one than 
 Gen. Crook did himself, and had it been in the Lieuten- 
 ant's power to have kept those soldiers out of Black can- 
 yon, they never would have entered it. 
 
 That morning after we had ridden a short distance 
 he mentioned the fight and said: "Cap, that was a hor- 
 rible affair." I said: "Lieutenant it was not half as 
 bad as I thought it would be, for when I saw you go 
 down there I did not expect to see half of the boys come 
 back." He said: "Had it not been for the infantry 
 coming to our rescue just when it did not a horse would 
 
 have corne 
 out of the 
 canyon, 
 and but 
 very few 
 soldiers." 
 
 I asked 
 hypi -where 
 the next 
 move 
 would b e 
 and he said 
 that Gen. 
 Crook was 
 going t o 
 return t o 
 
 the fort and we would go farther out on the road to pro- 
 tect the emigrants, who would soon begin to move to* 
 
 He mentioned the fight. 
 
A NEW CAMP. 451 
 
 ward California. For the next two or three days every- 
 thing was undergoing a change around camp; rigging up 
 packs and fitting up in general. 
 
 The soldiers who had their horses killed were mounted 
 on the choice horses that we had captured from the In- 
 dians, which made very fair cavalry horses. 
 
 As soon as we had completed our arrangements Gen. 
 Crook started back for Fort Yuma, much wiser than he 
 came, while we pushed farther out on the Butterfield 
 route, with two companies cf cavalry and fifty infantry- 
 men. 
 
 We traveled four days from our old camp before 
 making a general halt. The evening of the fourth day 
 just a short time before we were ready to go into camp 
 the scouts came in and reported having seen a small band 
 of Indians only a short distance west of us, and they said 
 they had watched them go into camp. 
 
 I reported to the Lieutenant and he started with one 
 company of cavalry after them, leaving orders for the 
 command to go into camp at the next water, which was 
 about a mile ahead of us. This proved to be a small 
 hunting party, and they in some way discovered us be- 
 fore we got to their camp. When we came in sight of 
 them we were about a quarter of a mile away from their 
 camp and they had their hcrses all packed and were be- 
 ginning to mount. We gave chase, but they had the 
 start of us so that we only got two out of the band, but 
 we crowded them so close that they had to leave their 
 pack-horses, and we got all of them, there being twenty. 
 
 I captured a fine American horse that showed good 
 breeding. He was a sorrel, with white hind feet and & 
 
452 A FAST t. _.3E. 
 
 white strip o on his face and branded C on the left shoul- 
 der. I m.vie the Lieutenant a present of this horse, and 
 he afterwards proved to be a very fast animal, as the 
 Lieutenant told me several years after, that during the 
 winter months he kept the soldiers nearly all broke with 
 that horse. He told me that he proved to be the fastest 
 half n_ile horse he ever saw* 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 THE MASSACRE AT CHOKE CHERRY CANYON. MlKE MA 
 
 LONEY GETS INTO A MUSS. RESCUE OE WHITE 
 
 GIRLS. MlKE GETS EVEN WITH THE A? ACHES. 
 
 The emigrants now begun to come along and we were 
 kept busy night and day looking after the small bands of 
 Indians that were continually making murderous forays 
 in spite of all we could do to prevent. 
 
 With only three hundred soldiers and twelve scouts, 
 and a country over one hundred miles in extent to guard, 
 the service was exacting, and our lot was not altogether 
 a happy one. 
 
 One day in July, in company with George Jones and 
 John Riley, I started out in th* direction of Black c*n- 
 
CHOKE CHERRY CANYON. 453 
 
 yon to see if I could locate any small band of Apaches 
 that might be prowling around. We traveled all day, 
 and not seeing any Indians or sign of them, concluded to 
 return to camp and get some much needed rest, and di.l 
 so. It now seemed that there were no Apaches near us 
 so I went to Lieut. Jackson's tent to report to him, in- 
 tending to then lie down and rest for the day at least 
 He had just rolled out of bed, but he looked worn and 
 haggard as if he had had a bad night of it. He asked 
 me what news I had and I said good news, as we had 
 seen no Indians or any fresh sign, but that I was worn 
 out, having been almost constantly in the saddle for 
 twenty-four hours. I asked him if he had any news and 
 he said he had, and bad news too. The Indians had at- 
 tacked a train in Choke Cherry canyon, burned all the 
 wagons, but how many persons they had murdered or 
 how many had escaped he could not toll i/ie, as there 
 were no scouts in camp at the time. 
 
 He wished so know if I could spare some men to go 
 and bury the dead and locate the Indians. I replied 
 that George Jones and John Riley were there, but that 
 like myself, they were very much fangm-d. He said he 
 wanted them for another purpose. Then I offered two 
 men, good and fresh, Jim Davis and Mike Maloney. But 
 I had some uneasiness as co Mike. Not that there was 
 any doubt about his bravery but he was so utterly incau- 
 tious. However, I decided to go with them n.yself, as 
 tired as I was. So as soon as I could get a bite to eat 
 and a fresh horse saddled, we were off and on the way 
 to Choke Cherry canyon. 
 
 Lieut. Jackson asked me when he could expect to 
 
454 
 
 MIKE MALONEY. 
 
 hear from me. I told him that if I succeeded in locating 
 the Indians in a body I would report to him at once, but 
 '<" not he might not hear from me until my return. . S<? 
 we shook hands and he retired to his tent 
 
 I directed Mike to go straight to the canyon and to 
 keep on the east side until he came to the trail leading 
 o Agua Caliente, and then take that trail direct f or Sand 
 Point; and when near the point to signal me by barking 
 like a cayote, and that I would answer him by gobbling 
 like a turkey; that he must meet me at Sand Point ?t 
 three o'clock sharp, and if he was not there at that time 
 I would know that something was wrong. I also told 
 him to be careful and not run into an ambuscade, bui 
 above all not to be taken prisoner. Then I asked him 
 if he could bark like a cayote. His answer was: "Sure, 
 Captain, it's mesilf that can make a bloody cayote 
 
 ashamed o'f himself bairk- 
 ing, and I belave ye's is 
 afraid for me, but O'ill tell 
 ye now there's no bloody 
 Apache in all Arizony 
 that's goin' to take this 
 Irishman prisoner. I'm 
 sure they don't want me 
 schalp anyway, for me 
 hair is too short. " 
 
 I told Jim Davis to go 
 to Wild Plum Ridge and 
 then follow the trail to 
 Sand Point, for him to signal me the same manner as 
 Mike and I would answer him in the same manner. 
 
 C 
 
SCALP 
 
 455 
 
 Everything being understood between us we separ- 
 ated, each taking his appointed route, and I striking 
 direct for the late emi- 
 grant camp. Before I 
 got there, however, I ran 
 
 onto the trail of appar- 
 ently three Indians and 
 concluded to -follow them 
 up. I had not gone a 
 great distance away until 
 I espied them in a little 
 ravine a short distance 
 away and they were hav- 
 ing a scalp dance. I tied 
 my horse secure from ob- 
 servation and then com- 
 menced to crawl upon 
 them. They were cir- 
 cling two scalps that they 
 had hung upon sticks 
 stuck in the ground, every 
 now and then drawing their bows as if going to shoot at 
 them. I crept along cautiously, expecting that the In- 
 dians would be so absorbed in their scalp dance that 1 
 would get in close pistol shot before they discovered me; 
 but in this I was mistaken, for when yet a long rifle shot 
 away they espied me, and the moment I saw 1 was dis- 
 covered I opened fire with both pistols, which caused 
 them to flee in hot haste, leaving the two scalps liai: 
 on the sticks. I went up to where they were and found 
 
 One scalp was that of a woman. 
 
SAND POINT. 
 
 that one scalp was that of a woman and the other that 
 of a man. 
 
 I was now certain that there had been some emi- 
 grants murdered, and I soon made up my mind that 
 about the first thing to do was to locate the bodies and 
 bury them; but on consulting my watch I saw that I 
 must hurry if I made Sand Point by three o'clock. Just 
 as I had turned and started back to my horse, who 
 should come up but Jim Davis. He had been trailing 
 the Indians, which brought him over in my direction, 
 and when he heard the shots he had come with all haste 
 thinking that I was in trouble. We both turned and 
 rode on to Sand Point, arriving there about half past 
 three, but no Maloney was in sight, so after giving the 
 signal agreed upon and receiving no answer, we made up 
 our minds that he was in trouble, and we struck out to 
 find his trail. 
 
 While we were on our way to hunt Maloney's trail 
 Davis said: "Captain, I believe those Indians had two 
 prisoners with them, and I think they are both women, 
 judging from their tracks and other indications; see here 
 what I found while I was trailing them." And he showed 
 me two pieces of calico of different color. He thought 
 that they had been dropped by the prisoners in the hope 
 that some white person might find them and follow. He 
 also said that there were small twigs broken off along the 
 trail, which would indicate that they expected a .search 
 for them. 
 
 When Maloney left us he made direct for Sand 
 Point, but before he reached there as he was riding 
 alum- he discovered a small shoe track, he dismounted 
 
MIKE IN TROUBLE. 
 
 457 
 
 and tried to follow it, but it seemed that the tracks ex- 
 tended no farther. This confused him greatly, and he 
 said to himself: "Be the loife of me it was only just 
 there that I saw the thrack, and it's sure I am that she 
 could not have flew away. Oh! here it is again, and 
 begorra I belave it's the thrack of a white woman, for 
 sure I am that 
 no dhurty spal- 
 peen of an [njun 
 could iver make 
 such a dainty 
 thrack as that. 
 Sure and I'll look 
 in that bunch of 
 brush, perhaps 
 /t's there she is, 
 the poor cray- 
 ther." 
 
 Kt inade his 
 way up to the 
 brush captiously 
 with a pistol in 
 ach hand, and 
 just as he peered 
 m two Indians 
 sprang upon him 
 and grabbed his 
 a / m s, W h i ch 
 paused his pistols 
 both to be dischiv^td up in the oir. They quickly bore 
 poor Maloney to ths groond and soon had him bound 
 
 They quickly bore poor Mike to the ground. 
 
TIED TO A STAKE. 
 
 hand and foot. They then drove a stake into the ground 
 and tied Mike to it, and began to gather brush for the 
 fire. This did not suit him a bit, but all he could do was 
 to hurl an avalanche of words at them, which, of course, 
 they did not understand and to which they paid no heed. 
 
 "Ah, ye dhurty divils, " said Mike. "Ye's have took 
 ~ne pistols both away from me. Ye's know I can't hurt 
 ye's without me guns, so what's the use in ye's tyin' me 
 like a hog, ye dhurty blackguards. Let me loose and 
 Oi'll be afther lavin' ye's. Oi'll do it be the boots that 
 hung on Chatham's Hill. I do belave they are goin* to 
 me alive. O, ye bloody haythens; let me loose 
 Oi'll fight the pair of ye's if ye's have got me pistols." 
 
 The Indians by this time had the fire started, but 
 Mike still retained his nerve, cussing the red fiends by 
 all the powers in the Irish vocabulary. 
 
 Davis and I were pushing on with all possible speed 
 in the direction of the place we expected to find Ma- 
 loney's trail, when we heard two pistol shots in quick 
 succession further up the canyon, so we put our horses 
 down to their utmost in the direction from whence the 
 sound of the shots came. 
 
 After running about two miles we came in sight of a 
 small fire a short distance away that seemed to be but 
 just kindled. We dashed up at full speed and found 
 Mike tied to a stake and two Apaches piling brush on 
 the fire. We fired at the Indians through the gathering 
 darkness, but only killed one, and the other one made 
 off about as fast as you ever saw an Indian go. Jim 
 kicked the fire away from Mike and cut his bonds before 
 he was burned to speak of. 1 asked him how he came 
 
MIKE RESCUED. 459 
 
 to be taken prisoner by just two Apachat, and hit story 
 ran like this: 
 
 1 'Oi'll tell ye, Captain, it was on that sage-brujh hill 
 there while I was ridin' along I saw a thrack in the sand 
 and sure I was that it was not the thrack of an Injun for 
 it was a dainty little thing and the hollow of the foot 
 didn't make a hole in the ground like an Apache's and 
 Apaches niver wear shoes, aither. Well, I got off me 
 horse and stharted to follow the thrack, and whin I got 
 to that bunch of brush the dhurty rid diyils sprang out 
 on me like a pair of hounds, tied me hands and fate, and 
 was tryin' to burn me aloive whin ye's came up." 
 
 "Well, Mike," said I, holding up the scalp of the In- 
 dian we had killed, "here is one Indian that will not 
 bother you again, but be more careful next time." 
 
 We were all of the opinion that there was a woman 
 alone somewhere in those hills that had escaped from 
 the Indians when they burned the emigrant train, and we 
 decided to keep up the search until morning; so we 
 agreed on the following search: To separate about a 
 quarter of a mile apart, and to commence circling a large 
 hill or knob close by covered by a dense growth of sage- 
 brush that in some places was as high as a man's head 
 when 'he was on a horse, and every few rods to hallow, 
 that in case she was secreted around there in hearing of 
 us she would answer, and in case any one found her he 
 was to fire two shots in quick succession, when the other 
 two would go to him immediately. 
 
 We made almost the entire circuit of the hill, hallow- 
 ing every little while, when I finally thought I heard a 
 faint answer. I called again and then listened intently, 
 
4 6o 
 
 ALONE IN A 
 
 and I was sure I heard an answer, after which I turned 
 and rode in the direction from which the answer came. 
 After riding a few rods I called again, when I heard the 
 faint answer quite near, and I soon found a young girl of 
 about eighteen years. She was overjoyed at seeing me, 
 but was too weak to rise. I asked how she came there, 
 and she said that the train in which her family was trav- 
 
 She was overjoyed to see me. 
 
 eling had been attacked by the Indians. The people, or 
 a part of them, had been murdered and the wagons 
 burned, she and her younger sister had been taken pris- 
 oners, and when night came they were tied hand and 
 foot and staked to the ground, ?nd all laid down for the 
 night 
 
 "After we thought that the. T ndians were all asleep," 
 
DESOLATE COUNTRY. 461 
 
 she said, "I made a desperate effort and freed onr, of my 
 hands, although it cost me a great deal of pain. After 
 I was free I soon released my sister and we then ran for 
 our lives. We had got but a short distance when the 
 Indians discovered our absence, and raising the yell, 
 started after us. My sister outran me and I soon hid in 
 a little thicket and they missed me, but I fear they have 
 overtaken her. 
 
 I asked her what her name was and she said it was 
 Mary Gordon, and her father's name was Henry Gordon. 
 He was sheriff of their county in Illinois for two years 
 before starting west. I now fired the two shots to call 
 Jim and Mike, and they were not long in getting there. 
 
 As soon as Mike came up he said: "Sure, Captain, 
 and wasn 1 1 after tellin's ye's that it was no bloody spal- 
 peen of an Apache's thrack that I be follerin' lasht 
 avenin'?" 
 
 Miss Gordon now seemed just to have realized that 
 she was alone in a wUd country,- for she wrung her hands 
 and said: "Oh! what shall I do in this desolate country 
 without a relative or a friend; it would have been better 
 if I had been killed when my poor father and mother 
 were. O, kind sir, what will I do?" and she. sobbed as 
 if her heart would break. 
 
 I told her not to grieve, that we would protect her 
 and see that she got safely to civilization, and that we 
 would also try to find her sister. I asked her if she was 
 not very hungry and she said she was, as she had eaten 
 nothing for almost thirty-six hours. At that Mike said: 
 ''Sure, Captain, it's meself that has a pairt of me rations 
 lift, and Oi'll go and get it for the poor crayther, and 
 
462 MIKE FINDS 
 
 Oi'll bring the horses at the same toime," and he started 
 off muttering to himself, "Ah, them Apaches, the dhirty 
 divils; I'd like to kill ivery wan o' thirn." 
 
 He soon returned with the horses, and handing me 
 his rations, he said: "Sure, Captain, it's mesilf that 
 thinks I'd better be afther takin' a look around here- 
 abouts, as thim durty haythens might be afther playin' 
 us the same game as they did me last evenin'." I told 
 him it was a good scheme, that we might go up to the 
 top of the hill and take a look as it was then most day, 
 and if there were any Indians around they would be astir 
 and that he had better let Jim Davis go with him, but he 
 said no, for Jim to stay with me and the young lady and 
 see that no "bloody blackguard of an Apache got her 
 again," so I cautioned him to keep his ears and eyes 
 open, and he struck out. 
 
 When Mike had gone Miss Gordon turned to me and 
 asked my name. I told her my name was William F. 
 Drannan, but I was better known on the plains as the 
 Boy Scout. 
 
 "Oh, kind sir," she said, "are you the Boy Scout?" 
 F have often heard my father speak of you, and he said 
 you were liable to put in an appearance when one least 
 expected it. I thought of you a thousand times yester- 
 day and to-night, but I had. no idea that you were in a 
 thousand miles of here." 
 
 I told her that I was at present scouting for Gen. 
 Crook, who was at Fort Yuma, but that Lieut. Jackson,, 
 with three companies of soldiers, was stationed but a few 
 miles west of us. 
 
 We had been waiting for Mike Maloney's return about 
 
ANOTHER GIRL. 463 
 
 two hours and were beginning to get uneasy about his 
 delay and speculating as to what caused his absence so 
 long, when we heard two pistol shots. This was always 
 our signal to call a companion; so telling Jim to look 
 after the young lady, I swung myself into the saddle and 
 \viis off like the wind in the direction from whence the 
 call, as I supposed it to be, came. It was now getting 
 daylight, and when I got to the top of the hill I looked 
 down to the south and I could see a fire. I did not hes- 
 itate, but went down that slope through the heavy sage- 
 brush like smoke through the woods. As soon as I was 
 near enough to distinguish objects around the fire I saw 
 Mike bending over some object, and when I rode up to 
 him, to my great surprise and delight, I saw it was a 
 young girl. Mike was beside himself with excitement. 
 
 It appeared from his story that upon reaching the 
 top of the hill after he had left us he came in sight of the 
 fire and concluded to investigate; so riding down as near 
 as he thought safe he tied his horse and commenced 
 crawling. He soon saw that there were but two Indians 
 and to his horror he saw that they had a white girl tied 
 to a stake and were preparing to burn her. He crept up 
 to within about twenty yards of them and fired, killing 
 one of the Apaches, and as the other one turned to see 
 what was up he fired again, killing- the other one; then 
 brandishing his pistol over his head he dashed up to the 
 fire, exclaiming: "O, ye rnurtherin bastes, I'm avin wid 
 ye's now; Oi'll loa'rn ye's how to stake a poor divil down 
 to the ground and thin try to burn him." Then he went 
 up to the girl, cut her loose from the stake, and she 
 raised up in a sitting posture. "Would ye's moind let- 
 
464 THE TWO SISTERS 
 
 tin' me help ye to yer fate, Miss?" said Mike. 'O, J'm 
 50 tired and weak I can't stand, " said the girl. ' 'They 
 have almost killed me dragging me over the cactus." 
 
 Just as I came in sight Mike fired two shots as a sig- 
 nal for us to come to him, but I was there almost before 
 the echoes died away in the mountains. When * rode 
 up Mike was most beside himself with glee; his t )..gue 
 ran like a phonograph, and within five minui : i he 
 iiad given me the history of the whole transaction and 
 had invoked a curse on the whole Apache tribe fn n all 
 the saints in the calender. 
 
 I told Mike that we had best get the girl on c te of 
 our horses at once and be off to where Jim and the other 
 girl were, and from there on to headquarters, for there 
 was no telling how many more of the red devils there 
 might be lurking around. "Faith, Captain, ai.d it's 
 right ye are this toime, too," said Mike, "and i;'s me 
 own horse she can ride, the poor damsel." So faying 
 he led his horse up and we assisted the young lady to 
 mount. 
 
 As soon as we were fairly started I asked the girl her 
 name and she said it was Maggie Gordon. She also 
 spoke of her sister having been taken prisoner along with 
 her, and when I told her that Mary was safe, her joy 
 knew no bounds. This news so revived her spirits that 
 she talked quite freely with us on the way over to where 
 Jim Davis and the other girl were. When we got to 
 near where they were Mary looked up* and saw us and 
 exclaimed, "Oh! there's Maggie!" and when they met 
 there was the most pathetic scene of greeting I ever wit- 
 nessed. 
 
AGAIN UNITED. 
 
 As soon as they had a good cry in each others arms 
 we gave Maggie something to eat, after which we put 
 the girls, one on Jim Davis' horse and one on mine, ?nd 
 headed for camp, arriving there in the afternoon. 
 
 We did not go to the late emigrant camp, as we 
 
 Oh! there's Maggie. 
 
 could do nothing toward burying the dead, burdened as 
 we were by the two young women, so Lieut. Jackson 
 sent a platoon of soldiers out to do that last act of 
 charity. 
 
 There were four families besides the Gordon family 
 murdered, and those two young ladies were the only 
 ones that escaped, so far as we knew. When the nex* 
 
466 ESCORTING EMIGRANTS. 
 
 emigrant train came along we sent the Misses Gordon on 
 to Fort Yuma, and from there they drifted on into Cali- 
 fornia, and I never heard of them again. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 MASSACRE OF THE DAVIS FAMILY. A HARD RIDE AND 
 
 SWIFT RETRIBUTION. A PITIFUL STORY. BURIAL OF 
 THE DEAD. I AM SICK OF THE BUSINESS. 
 
 We remained here for some weeks yet, piloting and 
 escorting emigrants through the mountains, but having 
 very few scraps with the Indians. When the emigrants 
 quit coming and our provisions had run very low, we 
 made preparations to return to Fort Yuma. Bqt to 
 make sure that no more of the crawling trains would be 
 winding along that way this season, myself and another 
 scout, with two days' rations, started on a little scurry 
 eastward. But a tour of four days developed no further 
 sign of emigrants or Indians, so the scout and I returned 
 to find the command all ready to start. We were just 
 about taking up the line of march for Yuma when a 
 teamster on hii way to Phoenix with a load of freight, 
 
THE DAVIS MASSACRE. 467 
 
 drifted into camp and informed us to our horror, that 
 the Indians had attacked the Davis ranch, killed the old 
 man and his two sons, treated the old mother and the 
 two daughters shamefully, and then pillaged the place 
 and drove off all the stock. 
 
 I had no sooner ridden into camp that night than an 
 orderly came and took my horse and said: "Lieut. Jack- 
 son wishes to see you at his tent immediately." I knew 
 that there was something very unusual the matter or he 
 would not have called me to his quarters until I had had 
 my supper. On approaching his tent I saw that he was 
 much excited. He told me what was up, and said it 
 was strange the Indians would come down there that 
 season of the year and commit such depredations as that. 
 After he had laid the whole matter before me just as he 
 had it from the teamster, he said: "Send the very best 
 men you have Dn their trail." I told him I would go 
 myself and takt George and two other men with me. 
 
 I was convinced before finishing my talk with him 
 that it was wot the Indians that had committed the dep- 
 redation, but that I kept to myself. 
 
 Just as I walked out of the Lieutenant's tent I met 
 George and told him that we had a long night's ride be- 
 fore us, to pick out two of the best men we had, also to 
 take the best horses we had, and to change my saddle to 
 Black Bess from the horse that I had been riding that 
 day. I also gave orders to have everything in readiness 
 by the time I was through supper, which did not take 
 long, although I was very hungry. The boys were nil 
 on hanJ by the time I was through eating, and we 
 mounted and rode away for the Davis ranch. The way 
 
468 A PITIFUL SIGHT. 
 
 we had to go to reach the ranch was about twenty miles 
 down grade and inclined to be sandy all the way. We 
 were all well mounted and we scarcely broke a gallop 
 until we reached the Davis place. 
 
 A pitiful sight was there. The old lady and her three 
 daughters had carried the old gentleman and two boys 
 into the house and laid them out on benches in the best 
 manner possible, and to say that it was a heart-rending 
 scene does not begin to express it. 
 
 When I stepped into the house Mrs. Davis pointed to 
 the dead bodies and said: "Captain, if you will avenge 
 their death I will be a friend to you as long as I live." 
 I told her that I would do all I could, that I was in a 
 great hurry to get on the trail of the perpetrators, and I 
 would like her to ^:ve me all the information she could 
 relative to the matter. 
 
 She then led the way into a private room and related 
 the whole circumstance, telling me how the Indians had 
 come there, decoyed her husband and two sons to the 
 barn and there shot them down, then rushed to the 
 house, and before the inmate had time to shut and bar 
 the door, came into the house, ca.ight and tied her to the 
 bed post, and then disgraced her three daughters in her 
 presence. Then they gathered up all the horses and 
 cattle about the ranch and drove them across the desert. 
 
 In the direction she said they had started it was 
 eighty-four miles to water, but I did not believe for a 
 moment that they would attempt to cross the desert in 
 that direction. 
 
 After I had gained all the information I could, I said: 
 "Mrs. Davis, those were riot Indians, but Greasers or 
 
Captain, if you will avenge their deaths I will be a friend to you 
 
 as long as you live." 1'age -t( 
 
ON THE TRAIL. 469 
 
 Mexicans, and I will capture them before twenty-four 
 hours if I live." 
 
 I started one m;ui back to ramp to tell Lieut. Jack- 
 son to take the trail direct tor Aw-wa-col-i-enthy, which 
 in English means hot water, (Agua Caliente). 
 
 Lieut. Jackson had become over anxious as soon as 
 we left and had started after us with one company of 
 cavalry. My messenger met him five miles from the 
 Davis ranch, and there he turned in the direction of 
 Agua Caliente. 
 
 In starting out from the ranch I took the trail of the 
 stock, and after we had gone quite a distance I called 
 George to my side and told him it was not Indians we 
 were following, but a crowd of cut- throat Greasers, and 
 we didn't want to have a fight with them until the sol- 
 diers arrived if we could help it, but that we would fight 
 them before we would allow them to escape. 
 
 I had never told George until now what all they had 
 done, and when I related to him the whole affair he said: 
 "We will not allow one of them to escape." We could 
 see that they were turning in the direction of Agua Ca- 
 liente and had made this circuit rr erely to throw any one 
 off that might attempt to follow. 
 
 This was what I thought when I dispatched the Lieu- 
 tenant to come to Hot Springs. 
 
 It was twenty-seven miles straight through on the 
 road from the Davis ranch to Agua Caliente, but the 
 way we went that night we supposed it was about forty 
 miles, making sixty miles that we had to ride that night, 
 while the soldiers if they started direct from camp would 
 only have to travel thirty-five miles. 
 
470 FIND THEIR CAMP. 
 
 Finally the trail made a direct turn for Agua Caliente 
 and I again ''telegraphed" the Lieutenant to hurry up 
 with all possible speed and try to reach the place before 
 daylight, my object being to catch them in camp, as our 
 horses would be too tired to run them down after they 
 were mounted on fresh horses. 
 
 My second messenger did not see the Lieutenant at 
 all on the road,, for unbeknown to me he had started 
 from headquarters soon after we did, and after having 
 met my first courier, had pushed on with all possible 
 haste. 
 
 When George and I were within a mile and a half of 
 Agua Caliente we met some of the stock feeding leisure- 
 ly along the direction of their old range. We examined 
 them closely and found that they were the Davis stock. 
 
 We had not gone much farther until Black Bess 
 raised her head, stuck her ears forward and commenced 
 sniffing the air. I told George to watch her, and he 
 said: "We must be near them." So we dismounted, 
 took off our spurs, picketed our horses, and started cau- 
 tiously towards their camp. 
 
 When we were within three hundred yards we could 
 see the glimmer of their fires that had not entirely gone 
 out, evidence that they had not gone to bed till late. 
 We crawled so near that we could see the outlines of the 
 fiends lying around the few coals that were yet smolder- 
 ing. Now and then a chunk would blaze up as if to 
 show the exact positions of the murderers. 
 
 After satisfying ourselves that this was the party we 
 were in pursuit of, we returned to our horses. 
 
 I told Jones to mount his horse and not spare him 
 
THE SOLDIEKS ARRIVE. 4/1 
 
 until he met the soldiers; and to hurry them up so we 
 could catch the Greasers in bed; and I said to him .'is he 
 was mounting: "If you do not return with the soldier 
 before daylight I will take chances of holding them here 
 with Black Bess until you do return." But he had no: 
 gone more than two miles and a half when he met the 
 soldiers coming in a stiff gallop. 
 
 George reported that we had the outlaws located, 
 and the Lieutenant gave orders for the soldiers to muffle 
 their spurs and sabres and to be quick about it. 
 
 I did not have to wait long until Black Bess told me 
 they were coming, for when they got near me I could not 
 keep her still. 
 
 Upon the arrival of the soldiers I told Lieut. Jackson 
 the particulars of the murder as given to me by Mrs. 
 Davis, and also where the murderers were. He divided 
 his men, sending fifty around on the opposite side of the 
 camp, giving them half and hour to make the circuit, 
 George piloting them, and I the other fifty. When the 
 time was up we rode down, both squads arriving almost 
 at the same time. Just one word from the Lieutenant 
 and the Greasers were surrounded, and us with our pis 
 tols drawn. 
 
 The outlaws seemed to be sound asleep, but when 
 we commenced to close in on them they woke, and the 
 first one that jumped to his feet had his pistol in hi? 
 hand, but when he looked around and saw the situation 
 he dropped his pistol before the Lieutenant had time to 
 *H1 him to drop" it. 
 
 It was not yet daylight, but their being a very bright 
 moon, one could see first rate. All tfee Mexicans wen 
 
47* 
 
 GREASERS CAPTURED. 
 
 their feet and begging for their lives. Lieut. Jackson 
 being able to speak Mexican asked if any one in their 
 crowd could speak English, but they said they could not 
 speak a word in that language. He then asked them in 
 Spanish who their Captain was, and a big, rough, greasy 
 looking fellow said he was the Captain. 
 
 The Lieutenant then told him to form his mm in 
 line out on the road, saying: "I will give you five min- 
 utes to prepare to die." He then turned to his oiderly 
 and told him to relieve them of their arms, and they 
 gave them up without a word of protest. He then told 
 them all to stand in a line and when the five minutes 
 were up they must die. During ail this time their Cap- 
 tain was pleading for 
 their lives and mak- 
 ing all kinds of prom- 
 ises, but the Lieuten- 
 ant turned a deal 
 e cj r to them, not 
 even answering them. 
 When the five min- 
 utes ware up the or- 
 der was given, "Pla- 
 toon No. I, front 
 face. Make ready, 
 Take- kirn. Fire." 
 And ^J of the seoun- 
 Captain of the Greasers. drels fell fa.t the firsl 
 
 round, aUhcugh some 
 
 , them had to be shot the second time to get Jten du# 
 i their misery. 
 
THE DAVIS* FUNERAL 
 
 This being .done they were taken about a hundred 
 yards away and buried in the sand 
 
 By that time it was daylight and Lieut. Jackson made 
 a detail of twenty-four men to assist George and I in 
 driving the stock back to the Davis ranch. The re: ; t <.f 
 the company returned to headquarters, but went by way 
 of the Davis ranch to assist in burying the bodies of the 
 old gentleman and the two sons. Lieut. Jackson told 
 me that when he arrived at the ranch and saw the dead 
 bodies and heard the sad story of the wife and mother 
 and of her daughters, he said it was more than he could 
 stand. He made a detail of six men to dig the graves 
 and he returned to headquarters and moved the entire 
 command down there and they all attended the funeral. 
 
 After the funeral war over Mrs. Davis called me to 
 one side and said: "There is one more favor I wi^h to 
 ask of you before you leave." I asked her what it was. 
 She said as she was keeping a boarding-house she would 
 have to keep travelers, and that she would like tc have 
 us leave a man to look after the stock until such ti~ne as 
 she could get some one to w,ork for her. I told her that 
 if the Lieutenant did not object I would leave ? man 
 with her that would take as much interest in the "stock 
 as if they were his own, and that she would find } im a 
 perfect gentleman at all times. 
 
 I called Lieut. Jackson aside and mentioned the mat- 
 ter to him. He told me to leave a man and th'it he 
 would also detail a man to stay, which he did ther imd 
 there. I asked George Jones to stay, which he war will- 
 ing to do. 
 
 Mrs. Davis asked us to send her a j^cod, ttusf nan 
 
474 QUIT SCOUTING. 
 
 and she would pay him good wages, and she said she 
 would write to her brother, who, when he came out, 
 would close up her business there as quickly as possible, 
 and they would return to the East. 
 
 Arriving at the fort and finding no idle men, Lieut. 
 Jackson wrote to San Francisco for a man, and in about 
 three weeks he came, and he proved to be a good one, 
 as Mrs Davis told me several years afterwards. 
 
 It was nearly a month after we arrived at the fort be- 
 fore George Jones came. The next day after he arrived 
 he told me that he had just received a letter from his 
 father, who was then living somewhere in the state of 
 Illinois, and had written him to come home as he wanted 
 to emigrate to Oregon the following spring, and wanted 
 George tp pilot the train across^the plains and over the 
 mountains to the country where big red apples and pretty 
 girls were said to grow in such abundance. 
 
 George had made up his mind to accede to the wishes 
 of his father, and as we had been there twenty-two 
 months and both were tired of the business, and having 
 made up my mind to quit the scouting field, I talked the 
 matter over with George for two days and concluded to 
 accompany him to San Francisco; so we went to Gen. 
 Crook and told him we were going to quit and go away. 
 
 He asked what was the matter, if anything had gone 
 wrong. We told him there was nothing wrong at all, 
 but we were tired of the business and had made up our 
 minds to quit. He said he was very sorry to have us 
 r eave, but if we had made up our minds to that effect 
 there was no use saying any more. He asked me how 
 many head of horses George and I had. I told him that 
 
OFF FOR SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 there had been over one hundred head of horses cap- 
 tured, and that many of them had been used by the sol- 
 diers all summer, but if he would let George and I select 
 thirty-five head from the band of captured horses he 
 could have the rest of them. This he agreed to, so 
 there was no falling out over that. 
 
 Having settled up with Gen. Crook and everything 
 arranged, in a few days we were ready to start. 
 
 The day before our departure for San Francisco we 
 went around and visited with all the boys in blue, telling 
 them we were going to leave, and that for good. They 
 expressed their regrets, but bade us bon-voyage and good 
 luck for the future. 
 
 CHAPTER X\XV. 
 
 BLACK BESS BECOMES POPULAR IN SAN FRANCISCO. A 
 
 FAILURE AS RANCHER. BUYING HORSES IN OREGON. 
 
 TPK KLAMATH MARSH. CAPTAIN JACK THE Monoc. 
 
 George Jones and I pulkd out for San Francisco, via. 
 Los Angeles, this being the regular mail line at this time, 
 and we made the trip to the City of the Golden Gute in- 
 side of a month. 
 
476 GEORGE JONES LEAVES. 
 
 As soon as we arrived at San Francisco we commencd 
 selling our horses at private sale. We put up at what 
 was known as the Fashion Stable, which was kept by a 
 man by the name of Kinnear, whom we found to be a 
 perfect gentleman, and who rendered us almost invalu- 
 able assistance in disposing of our horses. This was the 
 first stable that was built on Market street. As soon as 
 our horses were sold Jones boarded the steamer for New 
 York. When we separated here, having been so inti- 
 mately acquainted for so long, the separation was almost 
 Mke that of two brothers, and we had not the least idea 
 that we would ever meet again in this world. 
 
 I remained in the city three months, not knowing 
 what to do or where to go. During this time I spent 
 much of it in training Black Bess, as I found her to be a 
 very intelligent animal, and she would follow me like a 
 dog wherever I would go when she had the saddle on, 
 and during that winter I taught her to perform many 
 tricks, such as to lie down, kneel down, count ten, and 
 tell her age. I could throw my gloves or handkerchief 
 down and leave her for hours without tying her and she 
 would stand there until I would return, and no one could 
 come near them or take them away, nor would she allow 
 a stranger to put his hand on her. One day I came tc 
 the barn and Mr. Kinnear asked what I would take to 
 saddle Black Bess up and let her follow me to Wells, 
 Fargo & Co.'s express office and back to the stable again 
 without touching her on the way. 
 
 I said: "Mr. Kinnear, if it will be any accommoda- 
 tion to you I will have her follow me up there and back 
 and it will not cost you anything. " 
 
BLACK BESS. 
 
 477 
 
 "All right," he said, "about one o'clock come to the 
 stable, for I have made a bet of fifty dollars with a man 
 from the country, 
 that you could 
 make her follow 
 you from the stable 
 to Wells, Fargo & 
 Co.'s express office 
 and back to the 
 stable and not 
 touch her." 
 
 Wells, Fargo & 
 Co.'s express office 
 was a distance of 
 eight blocks from 
 the stable, and on 
 my return I found 
 quite a crowd there 
 waiting to see the 
 performance. I 
 threw the saddle on 
 the mare, put the 
 bridle on her just as 
 though I was going 
 to ride, took my 
 whip in my hand, 
 and started down 
 the sidewalk and 
 the mare walked 
 down the street. Montgomery street was always full of 
 teams at this time of the dav. and also the 
 
 I started down the sidewalk and the mare 
 walked down the street. 
 
478 
 
 WINS THE BET. 
 
 crowded with people, but I walked near the outer edge. 
 She would pick her way along the street among those 
 teams as well, apparently as though I was on her back 
 and at the same time would keep her eyes on me all the 
 time. On arriving at the place mentioned, I took my 
 handkerchief from my pocket and threw it down at the 
 edge of the sidewalk, walked into the office and remained 
 five minutes or more, and when I came out she was still 
 standing with her head over the handkerchief as 
 though she was tied. I picked the handkerchief up, 
 
 started 
 backdown 
 the side- 
 walk, and 
 she took 
 the street, 
 k e e p i ng 
 her eyes 
 on me all 
 the time 
 until w e 
 re ached 
 the stable. 
 The farm- 
 e r was 
 somewhat 
 wiser, but 
 
 I made her bow to the people. about fifty 
 
 dollars 
 short in actual cash, but vowed he would not bet again 
 
 on a man s r >wr- 
 
BOUGHT A RANCH. 479 
 
 On my return several different men asked me what I 
 would take for her, but I informed them money would not 
 buy her from me. Before putting her in the stable I 
 had her perform several tricks, and then bow to the 
 crowd, which by this time had grown to more than a 
 hundred people. 
 
 I had now lain around so long that I had become 
 restless, as it never did suit me to loaf about a town, so 
 I concluded that I would try ranching. I had enough 
 money to buy a good ranch and stock it, not thinking 
 that it required any great amount of skill. So I- started 
 up the Sacramento river to look for one. After I was 
 out most a month, this now being the last of February, 
 1867, I found stock looking well and found a man that 
 wanted to sell out his stock and ranch. He had three 
 hundred and twenty acres of land and one hundred and 
 fifty head of cattle, some chickens, a few hogs, and a 
 very few farming implements. After I had ridden around 
 over the ranch several days and looked at his stock, and 
 finding the range good, I asked his price. He wanted 
 nine thousand dollars. I believed that this would be a 
 nice quiet life, and although I did not know anything 
 about raising stock, yet I thought I would soon catch on 
 as the saying goes, so I made him an offer of eight thou- 
 sand dollars, which offer he accepted. He was to leave 
 everything on the ranch but his bed and clothing and a 
 few little keep-sakes that he had about the house. 
 
 Now I started in to be an honest rancher, believing 
 that all I would have to do was to ride around over the 
 range occasionly. and look ^ f *rr ^v stock, take things 
 
480 SOLD MY RANCH. 
 
 easy, and let my stock grow into money, as I had heard 
 it said that stock would while one was asleep. 
 
 I stayed on this place until the spring of 1872, ranch- 
 ing with very pour success, by which time I had learned 
 to a certainty that this was not rny line. 
 
 When a man came along and wanted a cow I always 
 sold him one. I would take his note for the price and, 
 as a rule, that was all I ever got. 
 
 In the spring of 1875 a man named Glen came into 
 that country from Jefferson county, Missouri, and to him 
 I sold my entire possessions. I got out of that scrape 
 by losing my time and one thousand dollars in money, 
 but I had five years of almost invaluable experience in 
 ranching and stock-raising. 
 
 In those days this was what we called a Mexican stand- 
 off. I lost my time and money, but had my life left 
 Nothing occurred during this five years of my life more 
 than the routine of business that naturally belongs with 
 this kind of life, so I will pass over it. I had such poor 
 success ranching that I don't like to think of it myself, 
 much less having it told in history. 
 
 Leaving here I went to Virginia City, Nevada. This 
 was in the palmy days of the Comstock, and everything 
 was high. After looking around for a few days and see- 
 ing that horses were valuable, I started for Jacksonville, 
 Oregon, to buy horses for the Virginia City market. On 
 my arrival at Jacksonville I met a man by the name of 
 John T. Miller, who was a thorough horseman, and was 
 said to be a great salesman, which I knew I was not my- 
 self. I could buy, but I could not sell to advantage like 
 Some Other _en. 
 
SELLING HORSES. 481 
 
 I formed a partnership with Miller, and we were net 
 long in gathering up eighty-five head of horses in Jack- 
 son county and starting to market with them. 
 
 I was back to Virginia City in a few days over two 
 months from the time I had left there, and Mr. Miller 
 proving to be a thorough salesman, we soon disposed of 
 our entire band at a good figure, and in less than one 
 month from the time we arrived at Virginia City we were 
 on our way back to Oregon. 
 
 After we returned to Jacksonville we settled -up and 
 had cleared eleven hundred dollars each on the trip. 
 That beat ranching all hollow. Now Mr. Miller proposed 
 to me that we go into horse raising. He said he knew 
 where there was a large tract of swamp-land near Kla- 
 math Lake. Swamp and overflown land belonged to the 
 state, and this swamp-land could be bought for a dollar 
 an acre by paying twenty cents an acre down and twenty 
 per cent yearly thereafter until it was paid. 
 
 Miller being a thorough horseman, I thought I might 
 succeed better in the horse business than in cattle. So 
 in company with him, I started over to look at the land, 
 and being well pleased with the tract, I made applica- 
 tion for it at once. This land was located just on the 
 outer edge of the Modoc Indian reservatiou. Miller be- 
 ing acquainted with all the Modocs, he and I, after I had 
 concluded to settle, rode down to Captain Jack's wick-i- 
 up, which was a distance of two miles from where I pro- 
 posed settling. Captain Jack was the chief of the Modoc 
 tribe, and I found him to be a very intelligent Indian, 
 and he made a very good stagger towards talking the 
 English language. 
 
CAPTAIN JACK. 
 
 When Mr. Miller introduced me to Chief Jack or 
 Captain Jack as he was called and told him that I was 
 going to be a neighbor to him, he said, "All right, that's 
 good, and we be friends, too." I told him yqs, and if 
 the white men did not treat him well to let me know and 
 T would attend to it. Jack then asked Mr. Miller where 
 Mr. Applegate was, he being agent for the Modoc tribe, 
 and lived in the neighborhood of Jacksonville, Oregon. 
 Miller told him that he did not know. Jack said: "My 
 people heap hungry and Applegate no give us anything 
 to eat, no let us leave reservation to hunt; I don't know 
 what I do." 
 
 Mr. Miller told Jack that he would see Applegate 
 and tell him of their condition. The next morning 
 Miller started back to Jacksonville and I remained on the 
 land selected to be my future home 
 
 Every few days Jack would come to my place to ask 
 'my advice as to what he should do, saying: "We no 
 got anything to eat for three moons (three months). He 
 tell me he come bring beef. He no come, no send beef." 
 Finally Jack came to my camp one day and said: "I 
 don't know what I do, no meat, no flour, wocus nearly 
 all gone." 
 
 I told Jack that I would go home with him and see 
 for myself, not knowing but that his complaints might be 
 without foundation. I mounted my horse, and riding 
 over with Captain Jack, my investigation proved to a 
 certainty that he had been telling me the truth all this 
 time, for they were almost destitute of anything to eat, 
 there being nothing in the entire village in the line of 
 provisions but a little wocus, or wild rice. 
 
MODOC INDIANS. 483 
 
 Jack said: "Agent no come next week and bring 
 something to eat, I take all Injuns, go Tule Lake and 
 catch fish. What you think?" 
 
 I said: "Jack, I do not know what to say, but you 
 come home with me and I will give you one sack of flour 
 and I have a deer there, I will give you half of that, and 
 by the time you eat that up perhaps the agent may come 
 with provisions. A few days later Jack came to my 
 house and said: "Agent no come to-morrow, I go Tule 
 Lake; take all Injuns. Plenty fish Tule Lake, easy catch 
 them." To this I did not reply. I dare not advise him 
 to leave the reservation, and at the same time I knew 
 they were almost in a starving condition and were com- 
 pelled to do something or sit there and starve; and here 
 I would say that in this case Captain Jack was not to 
 blame for leaving the reservation. I just state these few 
 facts merely to show that while the Indians are as a gen- 
 eral rule treacherous and barbarous, at the same time, 
 in many cases no doubt similar to this one, they have 
 been blamed more than was due them. 
 
 As the old adage goes, I believe in giving the devil 
 his just dues, and I do not believe that Jack would have 
 left the reservation at that time had he been supplied 
 with provisions sufficient to live on. 
 
 I do not pretend to say whose fault this was, but 
 merely state the facts as I know them. 
 
484 THE MODOCS GO 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 THE MODOC WAR. GEN. WHEATON is HELD OFF BY THE 
 INDIANS. GEN. CANBY TAKES COMMAND AND GETS 
 IT WORSE. MASSACRE OF THE PEACE COMMISSION. 
 
 Two weeks later I went out to Linkville to buy some 
 groceries. This place was fifteen miles from where I had 
 settled, and the nearest trading post or settlement to me, 
 telling my two hired men that I would be at home the 
 next day or the day after at the outside. 
 
 The store was kept by a man named Nurse. He told 
 me he had a band of mares that he would sell cheap, and 
 insisted on my staying over night with him, saying that 
 he would have them brought in the day following, which 
 I agreed to do, and the next morning he started his men 
 out to look for the mares. They did not get them gath- 
 ered up until the afternoon, and Mr. Nurse and I were 
 in the corral looking at them, when a man rode up at 
 full speed, his horse foaming all over, and said in a very 
 excited tone that the Modoc Indians had gone on the 
 war-path and had murdered most all the settlers on Lost 
 River and Tule Lake, the latter being only twenty miles 
 south from Linkville. The courier that brought the news 
 to Linkville said that the soldiers had come down to 
 Tule Lake and fired on Captain Jack without any warn* 
 ing whatever, which we learned later to be all too trn. 
 
ON THE WAR-PATH. 
 
 485 
 
 The Indians had scattered all over the country, and 
 had killed every white person they ran across for two 
 
 The Modocs are on the war-path. 
 
486 RIDE TO JACKSONVILLE. 
 
 days and then fled to the lava beds. This put an end to 
 the horse trading. Mr. Nurse said that some one would 
 have to go to Jacksonville and report at once, for they 
 were not strong enough there to protect themselves 
 against the Modocs, but no one seemed willing to tackle 
 the trip, and I told them that if no one else would go, I 
 would go myself. It was now near sundown, and it was 
 called one hundred miles to Jacksonville from there. I 
 started at once, going part of the way over the wagon 
 road and the remainder of the way on the trail. 
 
 I arrived at Jacksonville the next morning before sun- 
 up. The first man I met was the sheriff of the county, 
 who was just coming out to feed his horses. I related 
 my story to him in as few words as I could, and told him 
 to raise all the men he could. I had my horse taken 
 care of and went to bed", for I was very tired, with direc- 
 tions to wake me up in time to eat a bite before start- 
 ing. At four o'clock that afternoon they woke me, they 
 having sixty men then ready to start and one hundred 
 ready to follow the next morning. 
 
 Among the balance who were ready to start was Mr. 
 Miller. When I led my horse out he asked if that was 
 the horse I had ridden over from Linkville. I told him 
 I had nothing else to ride. He went to the stable and 
 got another horse and insisted on my changing my sad- 
 dle, but I told him I would ride my horse to the foot of 
 the mountains and then change, which I did. 
 
 We reached Linkville the next morning at nine 
 o'clock, and Mr. Nurse gave us breakfast. That after- 
 noon we went down to Tule Lake and buried three dead 
 bodies, being of the Brotherton family, the father and 
 
GEN. WHEATON. 487 
 
 two sons, and the next day we buried four more, after 
 which I left this squad and returned to my ranch to get 
 ^my two hired men away, which took me three days. By 
 the time I had got back to Linkville the news had spread 
 all over the country of the outbreak of Captain Jack and 
 the Modoc tribe, and Gen. Wheaton had moved his en- 
 tire force down to the lava beds, where Captain Jack had 
 his forces concentrated. 
 
 Gen. Ross and Col. Miller had moved in, but I do 
 not know just the exact number of men they had in their 
 command. After this scare I could not get any men to 
 work on the ranch, so I abandoned it for the time being 
 and stayed around Linkville about a week, when I re- 
 ceived a message from Gen. Wheaton to come to his 
 quarters immediately. This message was carried by one 
 of his orderlies. I complied, the orderly returning with 
 me. I was not acquainted with Gen. Wheaton, nor had 
 I ever seen him before. When I was introduced to him 
 he asked me if I knew Captain Jack, chief of the Modoc 
 tribe. I told him that I was well acquainted with him 
 and all of his men. '"Now," said he, "I'll tell you what 
 I wish to see you about. Col. Miller recommends you 
 very highly as a scout, and how would it suit you to take 
 charge of the entire scouting force, and organize them to 
 suit yourself and start in at once?" 
 
 "I said: "General, I have tried hard to quit that 
 business. In the first start I went at it for the glory in 
 it, but having failed to find that part of it, I have be- 
 come tired. I will not answer you now, but to-morrow 
 morning at nine o'clock I will come to your quarters,. 
 at which time I will have my mind thoroughly made 
 
48S MBKT GBORGE JONM. 
 
 up." I left his quarters and went over to Col. Miller's. 
 I told the Colonel that the General had sent for me. He 
 nrged me in the strongest terms to take hold of it, say- 
 ing that there was not a practical scout in the entire 
 command. Finally I promised him that I would again 
 enter the scouting field. 
 
 The next morning I was up early and had breakfast 
 with Col. Miller. After obtaining the pass-word I sad- 
 dled Black Bess, and at nine o'clock was at Gen. Whea- 
 ton's quarters. 
 
 I left Black Bess standing about twenty paces .from 
 the General's tent, took one of my gloves and stuck it 
 on a bush, and went in to see Gen. Wheaton. I told 
 him that I had decided to start in scouting for him, and 
 I suppose I was in his tent about half an hour talking 
 matters over about the scouting business. All being un- 
 derstood, I started out to get my mare, and saw quite a 
 crowd had gathered around her, and one man in particu- 
 lar was trying to make up with her. Just as I stepped 
 out of the door I heard him say, "This must surely be 
 Black Bess. I wonder who owns her now." And until 
 he called the mare's name I had not recognized him, and 
 it struck me that it must be George Jones, but not being 
 sure, I said: "Is that you, George?" He said: ''Yes, 
 and that's my old friend Capt. Drannan." This was a 
 surprise to us both. It was the first time that we had 
 met since we separated at San Francisco in the fall of 
 1866, at which time we had both decided to quit fight- 
 ing Indians, but here we both were again in the field. 
 After a good square shake and giving a hasty synopsis of 
 ur experiences during the time we had been separated. 
 
o 
 pr 
 
 n B- 
 f S 1 
 
CHIEF OF SCOUTS. 489 
 
 George asked if I was going into the scouting field again. 
 I told him that I had just accepted a position as chief of 
 scouts with Gen. Wheaton. I then asked him what he 
 was doing for a livelihood. He said that he had joined 
 the Oregon Volunteers, and asked me if I did not think I 
 could get him relieved. "For," said he, "I would rather 
 work with you than any one else. We have been to- 
 gether so much we understand each other." 
 
 He told me his Captain's name and that he belonged 
 to Col. Miller's regiment. I did not lose any time in 
 seeing Col. Miller and telling him that I would like very 
 much to have him relieve George Jones from his com- 
 mand, as I must have him for my first assistant. 
 
 This was the first time that Col. Miller had heard of 
 George Jones being a scout, and he wrote out the release 
 at once and went out and had Gen. Ross sign it and gave 
 it to me. 
 
 George and I went to work at once to organize our 
 scouting company, drawing our men mostly from the vol- 
 unteers. About the time that we were thoroughly organ- 
 ized it was reported that the Pah-Utes and the Klamaths 
 were all coming to join Captain Jack. This lava bed 
 where Captain Jack was fortified, was sixty miles from 
 the Klamath reservation, but the Pah-Utes were one 
 hundred and fifty miles away, and it both surprised and 
 amused me when those old officers would tell me that 
 they expected the Pah-Utes any time. Being afraid of 
 an attack from the rear, we had to scout a strip of coun- 
 try about forty miles long every day, and all the argu- 
 ments that I could produce were of no avail. After going 
 through this routine for about a month Gen. Wheatou 
 
490 THE ATTACK ON 
 
 concluded to take Captain Jack by storm. Captain Jack 
 was there, and had been all the time, in what was called 
 his stronghold in the lava bed, being nothing more or 
 less than a cave in the rocks, sixty yards long, and from 
 ten to thirty feet wide, there being one place in the east 
 side where a man could ride a horse into it, and numer- 
 ous places where a man could enter with ease. Down 
 on the east and south sides are numerous holes in the 
 rock just large enough to shoot through. Captain Jack 
 had his entire force in there, had killed all of his horses 
 and taken them in there for meat, and through the Kla- 
 math Indians had got a good supply of ammunition. 
 
 After Gen. Wheaton had made up his mind to take 
 the stronghold by storm, he asked if I could give a dij- 
 cription of the place. Up to this time there had not 
 been a shot fired at the soldiers by the Indians, and 7 
 had a number of times passed in gunshot of the main en 
 trance, and I know that the Indians had recognized me. 
 but because I had befriended them they would not sh^ot 
 at me. 
 
 I drew a diagram of the cave in the best style that I 
 could, showing the main entrance and the natural port 
 holes, and when I submitted it to the General, I said: 
 "General, you can never take Captain Jack as long as 
 his ammunition lasts, for he has the same kind of guns 
 that you have, and the majority of his men have pistols 
 also, and all that he will have to do is to stand there and 
 shoot your men down as fast as they can come." 
 
 But the General thought different. The day was set 
 for the attack, and on Wednesday morning the storm 
 was to commence. The army had its camp one mile 
 
JACK'S STRONGHOLD. 491 
 
 from Jack's stronghold, so the soldiers did not have far 
 to march. About sunrise the whole command marched 
 down and turned loose on Jack, and were soon bombard- 
 ing him in great shape. This was kept up for three days 
 and nights, when Gen. Wheaton withdrew, having lost 
 sixty men and something over twenty wounded, as I was 
 told by Col. Miller afterwards, but Jack did not come 
 out. 
 
 A short time after this Gen. Canby came over and 
 took the entire command. He brought with him a min- 
 ister by the name of Col. Thomas. 
 
 The second day after Gen. Canby arrived he asked 
 Gen. Wheaton, in the presence of quite a number of 
 officers, how many men Captain Jack had with him. 
 
 Gen. Wheaton said: "My chief scout could tell just 
 the number that he has, but I think some sixty-three or 
 sixty-four warriors." 
 
 "And you had fifteen hundred men in that three days' 
 fight?" 
 
 Gen. Wheator, said he had. 
 
 "And you go*, whipped? There was bad manage- 
 ment somewhf;"^," said Canby; and he concluded 
 he would tak" Captain Jack by storm, but post- 
 poned it for a month, this bringing it into the foggy 
 weather in thai country, and in that time of the year it 
 is the foggiPf,t country I ever saw. I have seen it for a 
 week at a ^me in the lava bed that I could not tell an 
 Indian fr:>/n a rock when twenty paces away. And this 
 was the kind of weather Gen. Canby was waiting for. 
 Ke inarched down to the lava bed and placed his how- 
 ttwr DD the bill about a quarter of a mile from Jack'i 
 
492 ANOTHER ATTACK. 
 
 stronghold and commenced playing the shell. This was 
 done in order to give the infantry a chance to march 
 down to the main entrance of the cave and there shoot 
 the Indians down as fast as they came out. 
 
 Three days and nights this was kept up, but not an 
 Indian came out, and Gen. Canby drew off, losing over 
 one hundred men killed, but I never knew the exact 
 number wounded. 
 
 When Gen. Canby found he could not take the Mo- 
 docs by storm, he sent to Yreka, Cal., for a man named 
 Berry, who was a particular friend of Jack's, or rather 
 Jack was a particular friend to him. On Mr. Berry's 
 arrival at headquarters Gen. Canby asked him if he 
 thought he dare go to Captain Jack's stronghold. Mr. 
 Berry replied that he would provided that he went alone. 
 I never knew just what Mr. Berry's instructions were, 
 but, however, I accompanied him to within two hundred 
 paces of the main entrance to the cave, in order to direct 
 him to the proper place, and he chose his time to go 
 after dark. 
 
 I remained there until after he returned, which was 
 before midnight. A few days later I learned that there 
 was to be a council meeting between Gen. Canby, Rev. 
 Col. Thomas and Captain Jack, and in a conversation 
 with Col. Miller he asked me my opinion in regard to 
 the matter. I told him that I did not understand all the 
 particulars, as I had heard but little about it. 
 
 He then told me that Gen. Canby and Col. Thomas, 
 with George Meeks as interpreter for them, and Meek's 
 squaw as interpreter for Captain Jack, were to meet Jack 
 next Sunday morning for the 'purpose of effecting a treaty 
 
A CONFERENCE. 493 
 
 with the Modoc tribe, they to meet Jack at a certain 
 place, without escort or side arms. After the Colonel 
 had told me of the council and manner in which they were 
 to meet Captain Jack, I said: ' 'Colonel, do you really 
 believe they will go?" 
 
 "Go," he replied. "Gen. Canby will go if he lives 
 till the time appointed for the meeting." 
 
 I could not think that' Canby would do such a thing, 
 and I told Col. Miller that there was one thing he could 
 depend upon, if they went in that manner they would 
 never return alive. I also told him I did not consider 
 Mr, Berry showed good judgement in letting Captain 
 Jack choose his own ground for the council and agreeing 
 to meet him without escort or side arms. 
 
 That afternoon Gen. Wheaton sent for me, and I re- 
 sponded to the call at once. When I arrived at the 
 General's camp he opened the conversation by saying: 
 "Captain, have you heard of the meeting that is to take 
 place between Gen. Canby and Captain Jack?" 
 
 I said: "No, General, I had heard nothing of it." 
 This being a little white lie, for it had been told me in 
 confidence by Col. Miller. I asked what the object of 
 the meeting was, and when and where it was to be. 
 
 He said it was for the purpose of effecting a treaty 
 with Captain Jack, and was to be held in a little glade 
 or opening on the other side of Dry Lake canyon, this 
 being about one mile south of headquarters, and within 
 a quarter of a mile of Captain Jack's stronghold. Said 
 he: "Gen. Canby and Rev. Col. Thomas, accompanied 
 by George Meeks and his squaw as interpreters, are to 
 
494 
 
 GIVE ADVICE. 
 
 meet Captain Jack there without escort or even side arms. 
 Now, Captain, tell me seriously, what you think of this 
 affair." 
 
 I said: "General, they may go, but they will never 
 return." 
 
 The General then asked me if I would have a talk 
 
 . He opened the conversation. 
 
 with Gen. Canby. I told him that if Gen. Canby asked 
 for my opinion in the matter I would give it just as 
 frankly as I would to you, otherwise I had nothing to 
 say, for Gen. Canby was a man that seemed to feel too 
 much elevated to speak to a scout, except just to girt 
 orders. Gen. Wheaton told mt that he would see G*n. 
 
INDIAN UP A TREE. 495 
 
 Canby himself and have a talk with him. This was on 
 Friday previous to the Sunday on which they were to 
 meet in council. 
 
 In the afternoon of the same day it was reported that 
 there had been Indians seen along Tule Lake. I mounted 
 my horse and started with a platoon of soldiers and a 
 sergeant, and when we had advanced about twelve miles 
 I was riding about two hundred yards in advance 
 I saw something dodge into a bunch of sarvis brush. 
 Beckoning to the sergeant, he dashed up to my side and 
 said: "What's up, Captain?" 
 
 "I got a glimpse of something just as it ran into that 
 patch of brush, and I think it was an Indian." 
 
 He had his men surround the brush and I went to 
 scare the Indian out. I searched that patch of brush 
 thoroughly, but could find no Indian or anything else, 
 and the boys all enjoyed a hearty laugh at my expense. 
 
 The sergeant proposed that we all have a smoke, so 
 we turned our horses loose to graze. The sergeant lit 
 his pipe, threw off his overcoat and laid down to rest. 
 As he cast his eyes heavenward in the direction of the 
 top of the only pine tree that stood in that patch of 
 brush, he exclaimed: 4 'Captain, I have found your In- 
 dian." Of course we all commenced looking for the 
 Indian, and I asked where he was, whereupon he told 
 me to look up in the pine tree, and on looking I beheld 
 an Indian with whom I was well acquainted, as he had 
 been to my ranch several times in company with Captain 
 Jack. 
 
 I asked him to come down, telling him that I would 
 protect him if he would, but he would not utter a word, 
 
ANXIOUS TO SEE. 
 
 nor would he come down. I tried for at least a haL 
 hour to induce him to come down until I had exhausted 
 all the persuasive powers I possessed, but to no avail. 
 
 I told the sergeant that I had treed his Indian, and 
 now he could do as he pleased with him, and the ser- 
 geant ordered him shot down, after which we returned 
 to headquarters, this being the only Indian seen on the 
 trip. 
 
 The next morning Gen. Wheaton sent for me to come 
 to his quarters, which I did, and in a conversation with 
 him he asked me if I was still of the same opinion con- 
 cerning the council meeting as whery I talked with him 
 before. I told him that I was, that I had not seen or 
 heard anything to change my mind in the least. He 
 then said: "I had a conversation with Gen. Canby and 
 Rev. Col. Thomas, and Col. Thomas scoffs at the idea 
 you advance, claiming that they were going in a good 
 cause, and that the Lord would protect them." I told 
 the General that George Jones and I were going to see 
 that meeting. He said that would not do, for it was 
 strictly forbidden. I assured the General that I would 
 not break any rules, but that I would see the meeting. I 
 had given my scouts their orders until ten o'clock the 
 next day, and when dark came Jones and I were going 
 to the bluff on this side of the canyon and there secrete 
 ourselves, where, with a glass, we could see the whole 
 proceeding and not be discovered by the Indians. 
 
 The reader will understand that a scout is, in a cer- 
 tain measure, a privileged character. 
 
 As soon as it was dark Saturday evening George and 
 I went to the place mentioned and remained there until 
 
THE MEETING. 
 
 497 
 
 the time arrived for the meeting. About nine o'clock 
 that morning the fog raised and the sun shone brightly, 
 
 making it one 
 of the most 
 pleasant morn- 
 ings we had ex- 
 perienced for 
 some time, 
 thereby giving 
 us a good view 
 of the grounds 
 of the proposed 
 meeting, and we 
 could see Cap- 
 tain Jack and 
 another Indian 
 there waiting. I 
 could recognize 
 Jack's features 
 through the 
 glass, but the 
 other Indian I 
 could not. In 
 a short time we 
 saw Gen, Canby, Col. Thomas, George Meeks and his 
 squaw coming. When they reached the lower end of the 
 little opening one hundred and fifty yards from where 
 Captain Jack was standing, they dismounted, tied their 
 horses and walked slowly in the direction where Captain 
 Jack was standing, and every few steps Gen. Canby 
 would look back, apparantly to see if any one was fol- 
 
 They shook hands with Captain Jack. 
 
49& PEACE COMMISSION MURDERED. 
 
 lowing them. On arriving at the spot they shook hands 
 with Captain Jack and the other Indian, and probably 
 fifteen minutes elapsed when Captain Jack dropped his 
 blanket from his shoulders to the ground and suddenly 
 turned and picked it up. This, I believe, was a signal 
 for an attack, for the next moment I saw smoke from a 
 number of guns from the rocks and could hear the reports 
 also. Col. Thomas, Meeks and his squaw started on the 
 run, but Gen. Canby fell in his tracks, a victim at the 
 hands of Captain Jack and his followers. Col. Thomas 
 only ran about ten steps, when he fell. Meeks ran nearly 
 one hundred yards, when he fell, and the squaw escaped 
 unhurt, but badly scared, I presume. 
 
 As soon as Gen. Canby had fallen George Jones 
 asked if he had better go to headquarters and give the 
 alarm. I told him to go with all possible speed. George 
 reached camp twenty minutes ahead of me. The other 
 officers could not believe that he was telling the truth, 
 but when I arrived and told them that the entire crowd 
 had been killed, with the exception of the squaw, they 
 were thunderstruck, and by the time I was through tell- 
 ing them the squaw was there, 
 
 I do not know just how many soldiers were sent to 
 recover the dead bodies, but that day there was a gen* 
 eral attack made on Captain Jack, which was kept up 
 from day to day almost as long as the war lasted. 
 
 When it was foggy, as it was nearly all the time, the 
 Indians almost invariably got the best of the soldiers, 
 from the fact that they would come out without any 
 clothing on their bodies with a bunch of sage-brush tied 
 on their heads, and their skins being so similar in color 
 
SOLDIERS ATTACKED. 499 
 
 to that of the lava rocks, that when the fog was thick, 
 at a distance of thirty or forty yards, it was impossible 
 to distinguish an Indian from a rock. There were more 
 or less soldiers killed and wounded every day until the 
 end of the war. 
 
 One day only a short time after the assasination of 
 Gen. Canby and Col. Thomas, the soldiers were attacked 
 in Dry Lake canyon by the Modocs and were getting 
 badly butchered up. 
 
 As I rode along Gen. Wheaton dashed up by my side 
 and said: "Where can those Indians be and what kind 
 of guns have they? I have been losing men all day and 
 there has not been an Indian seen." I told the General 
 I would try and locate them and let him know just where 
 they were. Taking George Jones and another man by 
 the name of Owens with me, I rode around on the op- 
 posite ridge, dismounted, and leaving my horse with the 
 other boys, I crawled down among the rocks. I had on 
 a buckskin suit and could not be seen much easier than 
 a Modoc when in the lava beds. They kept up a con- 
 tinual firing, and now and then I could hear a bullet whiz 
 near me. After I had crawled about sixty yards as cau- 
 tiously as I could I raised on one knee and foot and my 
 gun was resting across my leg while I was peering 
 through the fog to see if I could get sight of any Indians, 
 and listening to see if I could hear an Indian's voice. I 
 had remained in this position about five minutes when a 
 ball struck me on the shin-bone, just below the boot top. 
 It appeared to me that I could have heard it crack at a 
 hundred yards. Never before in my life had I expe 
 rienced such a miserable feeling as at that time. I 
 
500 
 
 AM WOUNDED. 
 
 thought that my leg was broken into atoms. I started to 
 crawl back up the hill, taking the same route that I had 
 come down, and when I had ascended the hill near 
 enough to the boys so they could see me, George 
 Jones saw that I was hurt. 
 
 He dropped his gun and ran to me at once and said: 
 ''Captain, are you badly hurt?" But before I had time 
 to answer him he had picked me up bodily and was run- 
 ning up the hill with me. 
 
 When he got to where our horses were he said: 
 "Where are you 
 shot?" I said: 
 "George, my left 
 leg is shot off." 
 "What shall we 
 do?" said George. 
 I told him to put 
 me o n Johnny, 
 that being the 
 name of my horse, 
 and I would go to 
 headquarters. He .. 
 said: "Let me- 
 pull your boot __' 
 off," at the same 
 time taking hold * 
 of my boot. I 
 caught my leg 
 with both hands 
 
 to hold the bones together while the boot was being re- 
 moved from the leg, thinking that the bone was shattered 
 
LOST A SCOUT. $01 
 
 into small pieces. As soon as George had succeded in 
 removing my boot from my foot, he turned the top of 
 the boot downward to let the blood run out of it. 
 "Why," said he, "your leg is not bleeding at all." I 
 then commenced feeling my leg, but could not feel or 
 hear any bones work, so by the assistance of George I 
 got my breeches-leg up and there the ball stuck just be- 
 tween the skin and the bone of my leg, and the boys had 
 a good laugh at my expense. 
 
 When I had learned that my leg was not broken, 
 George and I crawled down together into the canyon, 
 and located the Indians. We got so near that we could 
 see the flash from their guns through the fog. We then 
 ascended the hill, mounted our horses^ rode back and re- 
 ported to Gen. Wheaton. But the Indians had the ad- 
 vantage over the soldiers from the fact that the soldiers' 
 clould be easily distinguished from the rocks. 
 
 About one week later, George Jones, a young man 
 named Savage, and myself, went on just such another 
 trip. It was our custom when going into the canyon to 
 leave one man in charge of our horses until we returned, 
 and in this case we left Savage with three saddle horses 
 and instructions to remain there until we returned. On 
 our return we found poor Savage mortally wounded, and 
 he only lived a few minutes. He had two balls through 
 his body. It seemed that he had tied the horses and 
 come to the top of the hill to look for us or to warn us 
 of danger, and while there had been shot down by the 
 Indians. 
 
 This was the first scout I had lost since I had en- 
 tered the scouting field at this place. By the assistance 
 
502 THE SUPPLY TRAIN. 
 
 of Jones I got the body on my horse in front of me and 
 carried it to headquarters and repoited to Gen. Ross, 
 who was acquainted with Savage's family, and he sent 
 the body to Jacksonville for interment. A few days 
 later, George, myself and four assistants started out to 
 meet a pack-train that was coming in from Yreka, Cal., 
 with supplies. We met the train twelve miles from 
 headquarters and told the man in charge that he would 
 either have to cross the lava beds or go around forty miles. 
 He decided to take chances in crossing the lava beds in 
 preference to going so far around. We told him that he 
 would be running a great risk, for we were satisfied that 
 Jack was running short of provisions and that he had 
 men out all the time foraging, and we knew that if the 
 Indians happened to discover this train they would make 
 a desperate effort to capture it, or at least a part of it. 
 There were fifty animals in the train and only three men. 
 When we started across the lava beds I took the lead, 
 and George and our other men in the rear. In case of 
 an attack on either, he was to fire two shots in quick 
 succession as a signal for assistance, for the fog was 
 almost thick enough that day to cut in slices with a 
 knife. The man in charge of the train started a young 
 man ahead with me to lead the bell-horse, placing an- 
 other young man about the center of the train. 
 
 It was a miserably rough country across these lava 
 beds, and we had to travel very slowly. 
 
 The man in charge dropped back in the rear of the 
 train, thinking that if we were attacked it would be at 
 the rear. 
 
ex 
 
 
 ct 
 
 U 
 
THE PROVISION TRAIN. 5<>3 
 
 1 he reader will understand that in crossing this hell- 
 hearth it was necessary for the pack-animals to string 
 out single 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 THE CRY OF A BABE. CAPTURE OF A BEVY OF SQUAWS. 
 
 TREACHERY OF GEN. Ross' MEN IN KILLING PRISON- 
 ERS. CAPTURE OF THE MODOC CHIEF. 
 
 When we were across the lava beds, or ' 'Devil's Gar- 
 den," as the place was commonly called, I told the man 
 who was leading the belJ >horse to stop and wait until the 
 other animals had come up in order to see whether we 
 had lost any. This was within a mile of headquarters. 
 The man in charge, also Jones and the other scouts, 
 came up, but the young man who had been riding in the 
 middle, also four mules and their packs, as the saying is, 
 "came up missing." 
 
 The train went on to headquarters, but Jones and I 
 returned along the trail to see if we could find the miss- 
 ing man. One of us, however, had to leave the trail and 
 scout along on foot. 
 
504 rroNED TO DEATH. 
 
 After following the back-track two miles I found 
 where the four mules had left it. It was now late in the 
 evening, and we were within less than a mile and a half 
 of Captain Jack's stronghold. We tied our horses there 
 and started out, caring but little about the mules and 
 their packs; it was the man that we were looking after. 
 We had not gone more than fifty yards from the trail 
 when we found the body. 
 
 The poor fellow had been stoned to death, his head 
 being beaten out of shape. This the Indians had done 
 to prevent an alarm. They had evidently been hidden 
 in the lava rocks and had managed to turn those four 
 mules from the trail, and the fog being so thick that a 
 person could not see any distance, the man did not notice 
 that he was off of the trail until too late; and when once 
 off the trail a few paces it was impossible for him to get 
 back again. The mules and packs were never seen 
 again. The Indians, no doubt, took them to the cave, 
 used the provisions, killed and ate the mules and saddle 
 horse which the man was riding. We took the body to 
 headquarters, and the next day it was started to Yreka, 
 Cal. I do not remember the name of this young man, 
 but he lived near Yreka. 
 
 Gen. Wheaton was now fighting the Indians every 
 day, and at night kept a strong picket guard around the 
 cave. About this time it was reported that Gen. Whea- 
 ton had received orders to take Captain Jack if he had to 
 exterminate the entire tribe. 
 
 The feeling was getting to be very strong against 
 Captain Jack in regard to the assassination of Gen. 
 Canby, Col. Thomas and George Meeks, the interpreter- 
 
STARVING THEM OUT. 
 
 One evening in a conversation with Gen. Wheaton he 
 asked me how long I thought it would take to starve 
 them out. I said: "General, if they took all their horses 
 in the cave, which I believe they did, and we know for a 
 fact that they got some cattle from the Klamath river, I 
 think it will be May or June before you will be able to 
 starve them out." 
 
 He said that every Indian that came out of the cave 
 single-handed or otherwise would not live to get through 
 the picket line, saying that he had a double picket line 
 now around the entire cave, both day and night. 
 
 The next morning after this conversation with the 
 General, one of my scouts came in from Rattlesnake 
 Point and reported having seen the tracks of twenty In- 
 dians, where they had crossed the road on the east side 
 of the lake, and they were all small tracks. 
 
 I reported this to the General, telling him that Jack 
 was a pretty smart Indian, for he was sending his women 
 and children away so as to make his provisions last as 
 long as possible. 
 
 George Jones and I started out, accompanied by two 
 platoons of soldiers, to capture the Indians. We had no 
 trouble in finding their trail, and in running them down. 
 
 It so happened that our escort that day were all Gen. 
 Ross' men and were all friends to young Savage, who 
 had recently been killed by the Modocs. After following 
 the trail about ten miles we came in sight of the Indians 
 on Lost river. We did not see them until we were near 
 them and had no trouble in capturing the whole outfit. 
 There were twenty-two, all squaws and little girls. I 
 was personally acquainted with all of thost Indians, and 
 
CAPTURE THE SQUAWS. 
 
 knowing so well the cause of all this trouble, and just 
 what brought it about, I could not help sympathizing 
 with the women and children. In. fact, I had felt from 
 the very start that this trouble was all uncalled for. 
 Among the crowd was one young squaw who spoke pretty 
 fair English for an Indian in those days. I was well 
 acquainted with her, and told her that we would have to 
 take them all, but that they would be treated as prison- 
 ers. She did not seem to understand the meaning of 
 4 'prisoners. " 
 
 I explained to her, and she in her own tongue ex- 
 plained it to the rest of the crowd. I told her that we 
 would have to take them back to headquarters. 
 
 She said: "We heap hungry, long time no eat much. 
 Maby white man no give us anything to eat. 'Spose no 
 eat purty soon all die." I assured her that they would 
 have plenty to eat as long as they behaved themselves 
 and gave the soldiers no trouble. 
 
 They all seemed to be perfectly willing to surrender 
 and go back to headquarters, so we started back via Tule 
 Lake. When we reached the mouth of Lost river I 
 turned the prisoners over to the two sergeants who 
 had charge of the two platoons of soldiers. George and 
 I wanted to make a circuit around in the direction of 
 Clear Lake, thinking, of course, that the prisoners 
 would be perfectly safe in charge of the soldiers, especi- 
 ally those little girls. George and I did not get to head- 
 quarters that night until ten o'clock, and the first thing 
 I heard when I got into camp was that the Indians had 
 tried to run off into the tules while coming down Tul 
 Lake, and they had all en shot down by the 
 
PRISONERS SHOT. 507 
 
 I went at once to see Gen. Ross relative to the matter, 
 for I could not believe it. The General confirmed the re- 
 port by saying every one of them had been shot. I said: 
 "General, that is the most cowardly piece of work I ever 
 heard white men accused of in my life. Will you please 
 tell the men who did that cowardly piece of work, thiit 
 they had better never be caught out with me when I have 
 the best of it, for I would much prefer shooting such men 
 down, to shooting helpless women and children." 
 
 This conversation caused a great deal of talk of a 
 court-martial, but it all blew over, I suppose, on account 
 of Captain Jack murdering Gen. Canby. The next con- 
 versation I had with Gen. Wheaton, I asked why the 
 picket guard let those Indians pass through the picket 
 line, and speaking as though I thought they had passed 
 boldly out through the line; he said: 
 
 "I cannot see into it myself." 
 
 I said: "General, that is the way the Indians will 
 all get out of there, and at the final surrender you will 
 not have six warriors in the cave. From this on you 
 will find that they will gradually desert "Jack, for the 
 squaws told me that they were getting very hungry." 
 
 It was reported around that Captain Jack and three 
 other Indians would be hung if caught alive, this being 
 the orders from headquarters. The other three were 
 Schonchin, Scarfaced Charlie and Shacknasty Jim, these 
 being Jack's council or under chiefs. 
 
 When this report came, Gen. Wheaton told me that 
 if it was necessary he would make another detail of 
 scouts, for he would not under any consideration have 
 the Indians escape. I told the General to give himself 
 
508 THE SCOUTS BUSY. 
 
 no uneasiness in regard to that part of it, for we would 
 run down all the Indians that crossed the picket line, but 
 I must know what I should promise a prisoner when J 
 captured him. I asked if I should promise them protec- 
 tion or not, for if there was no protection, I would not 
 bring them in. He assured me that all prisoners caught 
 after this would be protected as prisoners of war until 
 tried and proven guilty. 
 
 What the General meant by that was those who 
 might be proven guilty of being directly interested in the 
 murder of Gen. Canby and Col. Thomas. 
 
 I now put George Jones on the night shift. He hac 
 the entire charge of night scouting, and he and his assist- 
 ants rode all night long. In the morning I started out 
 with my assistants and rode all day; so it was impossible 
 for the Indians to get out and away without our getting 
 track of them, and if they left a track we were sure to 
 capture them. 
 
 We kept this up for about three weeks, when I made 
 a change; George and I doing the night scouting alone, 
 and leaving the day scouting for the other scouts. 
 
 One night we were out near Dry Lake, about five 
 miles from headquarters, and there came up a cold fog. 
 We built a little fire to warm by, and shortly after we 
 had started it we heard what an inexperienced man would 
 have called two cayotes, but we knew they were Indians 
 and were in different directions and this was their signal 
 for meeting. 
 
 We mounted our horses and rode in the opposite 
 direction, but before we left we gave a yelp in a laugh- 
 ing sort of manner to make the Indians believe that we 
 
SHOT TWO MODOCS. 509 
 
 thought it was cayotes. We rode quietly away about 
 three hundred yards from the fire, dismounted, tied our 
 horses nnd crawled back near the fire. All this time the 
 Indians had kept up their cayote barking and were draw- 
 ing near the fire. It was some little time before they 
 dared approach, but after they had looked carefully 
 around, I suppose they thought it had been campers who 
 had stopped, built a fire and then pulled out, for it was 
 not the custom of scouts to build a fire, which the In- 
 dians well knew, they finally ventured up to the fire and 
 were warming themselves. Seeing that they were both 
 armed with rifles, and 'the chances were they both had 
 pistols, we made up our minds not to take any chances, 
 so I proposed to George that we should shoot them down, 
 just as they would have done us if we had not under- 
 stood their signal. 
 
 Of course if it had been daylight it would have been 
 quite different, but three jumps away from the fire and 
 they would have been safe from us. We were sitting 
 side by side not more than forty yards from them. I 
 told George to take the one on the right and I would 
 take the one on the left, and when he gave the word I 
 would fire with him. We raised our guns, and when 
 he gave the word we both fired, and the two Indians fell 
 to the ground. We waited about five minutes to see 
 whether they would rise or not, and believing we had 
 killed them both, we approached them. One of them 
 was dead and the other was just about dead, so we took 
 their guns and pistols and reported to Gen. Wheaton. 
 
 The next morning he said it was a mystery how thj 
 
510 THE CRY OF A BABE. 
 
 Indians would get out and the men on picket would not 
 see them. He said: "I cannot see through it." 
 
 About a week or ten days later George and I were 
 coming in just before daylight, when we heard a baby 
 cry on the hillside only a short distance from us. We 
 stopped and listed until we had located it. George dis- 
 mounted, and I held his horse while he crawled up to see 
 where it was, and found that there was quite a number 
 of squaws and children there. I told him that it would 
 be a matter of impossibility for them to get away from 
 us and the grass so high, for we could track them easily, 
 -j I left him there to keep watch and see which way they 
 moved so that we would know how to start after them, 
 and I would ride to headquarters, about two miles away, 
 for assistance to help capture them when it was daylight. 
 I rode slow until so far away that I knew they could not 
 hear the clatter of my horse's feet, and then I put spurs 
 to my horse and rode with all speed to headquarters. 
 When I passed the camp guard he challenged me and 1 
 gave my name. I could hear it carried down the line 
 from one to another, "There comes the Captain of the 
 Scouts, there is something up." Rather than wake up a 
 commissioned officer, I woke up my entire scout force, 
 and was back to where George Jones was just at day- 
 light. He said that the squaws had moved in the direc- 
 tion of Clear Lake. There was a heavy dew and we had 
 no trouble in finding their trail and following it; in fact, 
 at times we could ride almost at full speed and follow 
 without difficulty. We had only gone about four miles 
 when we came in sight of them, six squaws, a little boy, 
 a little girl and a baby. When they saw me coming they 
 
THE FIRST PRISONERS. 
 
 all stopped. I rode up and asked them where they were 
 going. They could all speak a little English. 
 
 There was one in the crowd named Mary, with whom 
 I was well acquainted, who said: "We heap hungry, too 
 much hungry, we go Clear Lake catch fish." I told her 
 that we would have to take them prisoners and take them 
 all back to headquarters and keep them there until we 
 got all the Modoc Indians and then they would have to 
 go on to the reservation. "No, too much hungry, you 
 all time fight Captain Jack, Injun no catch fish. All 
 time eatem hoss. No more hoss now; Injun eatem all 
 up, eatem some cow too. No more hoss, no more cow. 
 Injun all heap hungry." 
 
 It was some time before I could make them believe 
 that they would be fed when at headque ters, but they 
 being acquainted with me and knowing th I had been 
 a friend to them in time of peace. I finally ucceeded in 
 getting them to turn and go to headquarters. These 
 were the first prisoners that had been taken to the Gen- 
 eral's quarters during the Modoc war. 
 
 Gen. Wheaton was away from his quarters, so I left 
 the prisoners in charge of George Jones and the other 
 scouts, with instructions to let no one interfere with them 
 while I went to hunt the General. 
 
 I soon found him and with him returned to where the 
 Indians were. The General asked me to question the 
 one of them that talked the best English and had done 
 the most talking, concerning the number of men that 
 Captain Jack had in his stronghold. When I asked her 
 she said: ' 'Some days twenty men, some days thirty men, 
 no more, some go away. No more come back, some 
 
$ I* SAW TtffcEE TRACKS. 
 
 shoot, by and by he die. Two days now me not eat. 
 Injun man, he no eat much." 
 
 From this we inferred that they only had a little pro- 
 visions left, and the men that did the fighting did the eat- 
 ing also. They were given something to eat at once, 
 and I don't think I ever saw more hungry mortals. I 
 told the General that it would not be long until they 
 would all come out, but that I did not .think they would 
 come in a body, but would slip out two or three at a 
 time. The General thought it so strange that they were 
 stealing out through the picket lines and the guards not 
 seeing any of them. 
 
 Some three weeks later than this, it being about the 
 first of June, 1873, George and I had been out all night 
 and were coming into quarters, being a little later this 
 morning tha common, and when we were within about 
 one and a b jf miles from quarters we crossed the trail 
 of three Indians. I got down and examined the tracks 
 closely; there was one track quite large and long, an- 
 other not quite so large and the third was quite small. I 
 told George I was not afraid to bet twenty dollars that 
 they were the tracks of Captain Jack, his wife and little 
 girl. We pushed on to headquarters with all possible 
 speed and reported to Gen. Wheaton, He asked my 
 reason for thinking that it was Captain Jack. I told him 
 from the fact that it suited for his family. I was well 
 acquainted with both him and his squaw, and I told tha 
 General that Jack himself had an unusually long foot. 
 He asked how much of an escort I wanted and if I would 
 go at once. I told him I would, and I wanted two pla- 
 toons. He directed his orderlies to report as soon as 
 
ON THE TRAIL $13 
 
 possible with two platoons of cavalry, and I gave my 
 horse to George, telling him to change our saddles to 
 fresh horses at once. As soon as it was noised around 
 that we had got track of Captain Jack, the scouts all 
 wanted to accompany me, but I told them that their ser- 
 vices could not be dispensed with at camp for one hour, 
 for it was getting now where the the thing must be 
 watched very closely. George rode up on a fresh horse 
 and was leading Black Bess with my saddle on her. I 
 mounted and we were off again in pursuit of Captain 
 Jack, but as we rode away Gen. Wheaton expressed him- 
 self as being doubtful as to its being Captain Jack. 
 
 When we struck the trail of the three Indians, I had 
 one platoon to ride on each side of the trail, keeping 
 about fifty yards away from it, and in case we should 
 miss it or get off, we would have a chance to go back 
 and pick it up again before it would become obliterated. 
 
 This was one of the prettiest mornings that we could 
 have had for the occasion. The fog disappeared with 
 the rising of the sun, and in many places we could look 
 ahead and see the trail in the grass for fifty yards. 
 In those places we put our horses down to their utmost. 
 George and I were both very hungry, having had nothing 
 to eat since the evening before, and we had been in the 
 saddle all night, but an old scout forgets all this when he 
 gets on a fresh Indian trail and becomes somewhat ex- 
 cited. After ;ve had gone about six miles we came to a 
 gravel country for a mile and a half, and it was slow and 
 tedious tracking across this, for many times we had noth- 
 ing to go by only as they might turn a little pebble over 
 with their feet or step on a little spear of grass and mash 
 
$14 
 
 CAPTAIN JACK CAPTURED. 
 
 it down, and this was very thin and scattering on the 
 ridge. However, as soon as we were across the gravelly 
 ridge, we again struck grass and we let our horses out 
 almost at full speed, knowing very well that as soon as 
 the dew dried off it would be slow and tedious tracking. 
 After we had ridden about twelve miles, and just as we 
 
 "Long time no see you." 
 
 raised the top of the hill, on looking across on the next 
 ridge we saw the three Indians, and sure enough, it was 
 Captain Jack, his squaw and little girl. About this time 
 he turned and saw us coming. He stood and looked at 
 us for a moment or so and the three all turned and 
 started back to meet us. We both pulled our pistols and 
 dashed .up to him at full speed. 
 
TAKEN TO HEADQUARTERS. 
 
 When we were close enough, I could see that he had 
 a smile on his face, and I knew that he had recognized 
 me. \Yhen we rode up to him he said: "Good mornin. 
 Long time no see you," and at the same time presented 
 tin* gun with the breech foremost. 
 
 As I took the gun, I said to him: "Jack, where are 
 you going?" 
 
 He replied: "O, heap hungry, guess go Clear Lake 
 catch fish." 
 
 I said: "No, Jack; you are my prisoner. I will 
 have to take you back to Gen. Wheaton." 
 
 He replied: "No, me no want to go back, no more 
 fight, too much all time hungry, little girl nearly starve, 
 no catch fish soon he die." But when he saw that he 
 had to go, he said: 
 
 All right, me go." 
 
 So I took the little girl up behind me, and George 
 took the squaw up behind him and Jack walked. 
 
 It was in the afternoon when we returned to head- 
 quarters with the prisoners, and there was no little re- 
 joicing among the soldiers when they learned for a cer- 
 tainty that I had taken Captain Jack prisoner. 
 
 That afternoon a runner was started to Yreka with 
 a dispatch to headquarters to the effect that Gen. 
 Wheaton had takeu the notorious Captain Jack pris- 
 oner. As a matter of fact, an old scout is never known 
 in such cases. They, as a genera) rule, do the work, 
 but the officers always get the praise. Although Gen. 
 Wheaton had the praise of capturing Captain Jack, he 
 had but little more to do with it than the President 
 of the United States. 
 
5l6 STORY OF THE CAPTURE 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 STORY OF THE CAPTURED BRAVES. WHY CRPTAIN JAC. 
 
 DESERTED. LOATHSOME CONDITION OF THE INDIAN 
 
 STRONGHOLD END OF THE WAR. SOME COMMENTS. 
 
 That evening I had a long conversation with Captain 
 Jack, and from him I learned the exact number of 
 Indians in the cave. He said there were twenty 
 women, and maybe thirty children and twenty-two war- 
 riors, He said they would not stay there long for they 
 had nothing to eat and there ammunition was nearly 
 gone. 
 
 I must admit that when I learned Jack's story of the 
 way that he had been both driven and pulled into this 
 war, which I knew to be a fact myself, I was sorry for 
 him. He said that after the Indian agent would not send 
 them anything to eat he was forced to go away from the 
 reservation to catch fish to keep his people from starv- 
 ing, for which purpose he was at the mouth of Lost river 
 when the soldiers came there. One morning before the 
 soldiers fired on him without even telling him to return 
 to the reservation or giving him any warning whatever. 
 He said that he did not give orders for his men to kill 
 any white men that morning, but they all got very angry 
 at the soldiers for shooting at them. "That day," said 
 
CEASED .FIRING. 5 If 
 
 he, "I go to lava bed, my men scout all over country, 
 kill all white men they see." 
 
 After I was through talking with Jack, Gen, Whea- 
 ton sent for me to come to his quarters, as he was anx- 
 ious to learn what information I had obtained. When I 
 told him the number of Indians yet in the cave and that 
 they had nothing to eat, he asked me what would be my 
 plan for capturing the remainder. I told him that if I 
 was doing it, I would capture the entire outfit without 
 losing a single man, but that it would take a little time; 
 that I would not fire on them at all, but would double 
 the picket line, and it would not be many days until they 
 would surrender, and in case some of them did slip by 
 the guards, we would pick them up before they got 
 twenty miles away. 
 
 The following morning a council was held in camp, 
 and all the commissioned officers were present. Now 
 Captain Jack had been captured, and according to re- 
 ports, the other Indians were nearly starved out, so that 
 morning they did not open out on them at all. 
 
 The third day from this it was reported by a citizen 
 who had passed over the country that day, that he saw 
 Indians up on Tule IL-ake. It being late in the afternoon, 
 nearly dark in fact, when I heard the report and it not 
 being from a scout, I questioned closely the man who was 
 said to have seen them, but did not get much satifaction 
 from him, so naturally discredited the report. But for 
 fear there might be some truth in it, the next morn- 
 ing by daybreak George Jones and I were scouring the 
 country in the vicinity of Tule Lake, After having ridden 
 ome little distance we ran upon the trail of six Indians, 
 
3l8 CAPTURE SIX MORE. 
 
 who as we supposed had passed the evening before, and 
 were evidently plodding along in the direction of Lost 
 river. This was without doubt the trail of four bucks 
 and two squaws. After we had followed this trail a few 
 miles we found where they had stopped, built a fire, 
 caughi;, cooked and ate some fish. We knew they were 
 not many miles ahead of us, in fact, the fire had not en- 
 tirely gone out. From here on we had plain sailing, and 
 the nearer an old scout gets when on the trail of an In- 
 dian the more anxious he gets, so we sped along up the 
 lake four miles further, and were on them before they 
 knew it; they were all on the banks of the river fishing. 
 
 In this outfit there were Scarfaced Charley and Black 
 Jim, their squaws, and two other Indians. The moment 
 we saw them we both drew our pistols, but concealed 
 them from their view by hiding them under our coats. 
 When we approached them they all said, "Good morn- 
 ing." 
 
 I did not see any guns near them nor did either of 
 them have pistols. Scarfaced Charley said: "We like 
 go reservation; too much hungry, my squaw nearly dead, 
 ketchem some fish her, purty soon go." 
 
 After I had informed him that I would have to take 
 them all back to Gen. Wheaton's quarters, Charley said: 
 "What for?" I said: "Charley, I will take you all back 
 to headquarters, give you all plenty to eat, and when we 
 get all the Modoc Indians they will be taken to the 
 reservation." "All right, me go now," said Charley, as 
 he started, eager to be off on the journey for head- 
 quarters. 
 
 I asked them where their guns and pistols were, and 
 
ON BAD TERMS. 519 
 
 they said: "O, me hide them in lava bed, too much 
 heavy, no like carry." So George Jones took the lead, 
 the Indians followed him, and I brought up the rear. I 
 could see that they were very weak from hunger, but they 
 plodded along, encouraged by the thought of gett : ng 
 something to eat at Gen. Wheaton's quarters. 
 
 We arrived there at noon, and when I turned them 
 over to the General and told him their names, he saidt 
 1 'It is with the greatest of pleasure that I receive them. 
 Now if I only had just one more I would be satisfied. 
 That one is Schonchin. I would then have all the ring 
 leaders." 
 
 Up to this time I had not learned what would be the 
 fate of those Indians directly interested in the assassi- 
 nation of Gen. Canby and Col. Thomas, and I must ad 
 mit that I was terribly surprised when Gen. Wheaton in 
 formed me that they would all be hanged. From those 
 Indians I learned that Captain Jack and his council were 
 not on good terms, having had a falling out while in the 
 cave, and they would not speak to each other while at 
 Gen. Wheaton's headquarters. The cause of the trouble 
 grew out of a proposition by Captain Jack to surrender, 
 and he had been talking surrender for two weeks past, 
 but the rest of them were in favor of fighting to the 
 last. Mary, the squaw, told me that they at one time 
 came near putting Jack to death for cowardice, and that 
 was the reason he had deserted them, knowing that his 
 life was in danger in the cave. 
 
 From this on we captured one or two Modocs every 
 day. The fourth day after the last band referred to was 
 captured, one of my scouts reported having seen Indian 
 
520 
 
 CATCHING FISH. 
 
 tracks at the head of Tule Lake, but could not make out 
 the exact number. I had just lain down to take a nap, 
 it being early in the morning, and I had been riding all 
 night, but George and I saddled our horses and were off 
 for the head of Tule Lake, Gen. Wheaton promising to 
 send a company of soldiers after us at once. 
 
 We struck the Indian trail about twelve miles from 
 
 Fishing for a living. 
 
 headquarters, this being the first band that had escaped 
 from the west side of the cave. 
 
 As soon as we discovered their trail we put spurs to 
 our horses and sped along up the river, for the trail was 
 plain and we experienced no trouble in following it, and 
 
SOME COMMENTS. J2I 
 
 just above the Natural Bridge on Lost river, we came on 
 to them. Some were fishing, some were cooking the fish 
 they had caught, and others were eating fieh. It seemed 
 that each one of them caught, cooked and ate their own 
 fish. Seeing no arms we rode up to them. There were 
 twelve of them, and among them was Sconchin, the 
 other councilman who the General was so anxious to get 
 hold of. Sconchin said: "Go Fort Klamath, all Injun 
 heap hungry, now ketchem fish, eat plenty, by and by go 
 to fort." 
 
 I had George Jones turn and ride back to hurry the 
 soldiers up, for I did not deem it a safe plan for two of us 
 to try to take the whole crowd prisoners, for even though 
 they had no arms they might scatter all over the country 
 and then we could not get them only by killing them, 
 and that I did not want to do. While I am in no wise 
 a friend to a hostile; I believe in giving even an Indian 
 that which is justly due him, and I must admit that all 
 through this Modoc war I could not help, in a measure, 
 feeling sorry for the Modocs, particularly Captain Jack, 
 for I knew that through the negligence of one agent 
 and the outrageous attack upon Jack by the squad of 
 soldiers on Lost river, while there catching fish to keep 
 his people from starving, he had been driven and dragged 
 into this war, and I do not believe to-day, nor never did 
 believe, that Captain Jack ought to have been hanged. 
 
 I have often been asked, since, whatl thought of the 
 arrangements Mr. Berry made for the meeting of Gen. 
 Canby, Col. Thomas and Captain Jack, but I have always 
 refrained from answering that question any farther than 
 that it seemtd to me that a school boy ten years of age 
 
522 MORE PRISONERS. 
 
 should have known better than to have made such a bar- 
 gain as he did, knowing the nature of Indians as well as 
 he claimed to. 
 
 But to my story I stayed there and engaged the In- 
 dians in conversation while George was making tracks 
 back over the same road that we had just come to hurry 
 the cavalry up. I learned from them that there were no 
 more able-bodied men left in the cave, and there were 
 some twenty or thirty squaws and children, besides 
 several warriors that were wounded. In about an hour 
 from the time George started back, the soldiers made 
 their appearance. 
 
 I told the Indians that we would have to take them 
 prisoners and take them back to headquarters. This, 
 however, was not pleasant news to them. They objected 
 to return with us until I had informed them- that they 
 would be fed and protected until such time as we could 
 get them all, and they having been acquainted with me 
 before, we were successful in persuading them to return 
 peacefully to the General's quarters. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon when we returned, and I 
 at once reported to the General the number of Indians, 
 also that Schonchin was in the gang, and that I had 
 learned that there were no more able-bodied men in the 
 cave. I told him that from what I could learn, I thought 
 it perfectly safe for three or four men to enter the cave 
 and secure the few remaining Indians. The General 
 said: "I will think the matter over until morning." 
 
 That evening the officers held a council and it was 
 decided that in case the following morning was fair, Col. 
 Miller and the Colonel from California whose name I do 
 
ENTERED THE CAVE. 
 
 523 
 
 i\ot remember, myself, and two soldiers would make the 
 attempt to enter the cave, I going as a guide more than 
 anything else. 
 
 Next morning about ten o'clock when the fog had 
 raised and the sun came out most beautifully, we made 
 the start for the cave. Although I had never been inside 
 of the cave, I had no serious trouble in finding the main 
 entrance to it, but we found it so dark inside that we had 
 
 In the cave. 
 
 to use lanterns. We had not proceeded far until we 
 could see the fire. I proposed to the others that as I was 
 acquainted with the Indians to let me advance alone, 
 and I can truthfully say that just such another sight I 
 never saw before nor since. There was a number of 
 wounded Indians lying around; here were the bones of 
 their horses that they had killed and eaten, and a smell 
 
524 THE WAR ENDED. 
 
 so offensive that it was really a hard task for me to stay 
 there long enough to tell them what we wanted of them. 
 As soon as I commenced talking to them the squaws and 
 children began making their appearance from every 
 direction. 
 
 I told them my business, and if they would go with 
 me they would be fed. They were not only willing, but 
 pnxious to go. 
 
 By this time the other men were there, and when 
 they were all gathered up Col. Miller sent two men back 
 to camp for stretchers to carry the wounded Indiaps to 
 headquarters. They were all taken out that day. I do 
 not remember the number of wounded bucks that were 
 in the cave, but there were thirty-two squaws and forty 
 children. 
 
 Now the bloody little Modoc war that had lasted so 
 long at the cost of many lives, was brought to an end. 
 This was glorious news to the surviving ones among 
 the volunteers, and the next day they were making 
 preparations to return to their respective homes, 01 
 rather Jacksonville, where they would be discharged, 
 and they again could say their lives were their cwn. 
 This being the last days of June and my services ic 
 needed any more, I asked the General when the han* 
 ing would take place. He said that it would be abo* 
 the twentieth of July. 
 
TAKING A REST. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 AN INTERESTED BOY. THE EXECUTION OF THE MODOC 
 
 LEADERS. NEWSPAPER MESSENGERS. A VERY SUD- 
 DEN DEPUTY SHERIFF. A BAD MAN WOUND UP. 
 
 I went from there to Yreka to rest up a while. Dur- 
 ing my stay there, one morning while I was waiting for 
 my breakfast, I was glancing over the. morning paper, 
 when a bright-eyed little boy about nine years old, en- 
 tered the restaurant, walked up in front of me and said: 
 "Is this Capt. Drannan, the scout?" I said: "Yes, my 
 little man. What can I do for you?" He said: "I am 
 going to schoo! and I have to write a composition to read 
 in school, and my mother told me to see you and you 
 might be able to assist me in getting up a piece on the 
 Modoc war." I asked the bright little fellow his name. 
 He said his name was Johnny Whitney. ''Where is 
 your father and what does he follow for a living?" "My 
 father is dead, and my mother takes in washing to sup- 
 port herself and children." 
 
 That afternoon I spent in assisting the little fellow to 
 prepare his composition. I remained there at Yreka 
 about ten days, during which time I received a letter 
 from George Jones, who was then at Jacksonville, re- 
 questing me to meet him at Fort Klamath about four or 
 five days before the hanging was to take place, and also 
 
526 
 
 AT FORT KLAMATH. 
 
 requesting me to bring all my saddle horses. I succeeded 
 in getting up quite a party of business rnen and citizens 
 
 of Yreka and 
 w e started 
 out across 
 the Siskiyou 
 M o u ntains. 
 After the 
 first day's 
 travel we 
 found game 
 plentiful and 
 we had a 
 pleasant 
 trip. We 
 had all the 
 game and 
 fish we want- 
 ed, which 
 a ff o r d e d 
 
 plenty of amusement for the pleasure-seekers of the 
 crowd, which was the main object of this trip with a 
 majority of them. We arrived at Fort Klamath five 
 days before the hanging was to take place. The next 
 day after we arrived a crowd came in from Jacksonville, 
 and among them were Gen. Ross, George Jones, J. N. T. 
 Miller and three newspaper reporters, one of whom rep- 
 resented the San Francisco Chronicle, one the San Fran- 
 cisco Examiner, and one the Chicago Inter-Ocean. Col. 
 Miller came to me and asked if I would like a job of 
 carrying dispatches from there, either to Jacksonville or 
 
 "Is this Capt. Drannan, the scout?" 
 
GETTING READY. $2? 
 
 to Ashland, saying: "The Chronicle man has not found 
 a man yet that he could trust the dispatches with." 
 
 The reporter had told Mr. Miller that he would pay 
 one hundred dollars for carrying the dispatch, and in 
 case he was first to the office, he would also pay one 
 hundred dollars more in addition to that. From there 
 to Jacksonville it was one hundred miles and a wagon 
 road all the way, while to Ashland it was bi^' ighty 
 miles, of which sixty miles was only, a trail. This i had 
 passed once in company with J. N. T. Miller. I was 
 introduced to the reporter by Col. Miller, with whom I 
 soon made arrangements to carry his dispatches. He 
 asked me how long it would take me to ride to Ash- 
 land. I told him I thought it would take about eight 
 hours with my thre horses. He said if I went to Ash- 
 land I would have no competition on the trail as the 
 other riders were both going to Jacksonville. 
 
 The day before the hanging was to take place I hired 
 a young man to take two of my horses and go out on the 
 trail, instructing him to leave one of them picketed out 
 at Cold Springs, and the other one to take to Bald 
 Mountain, which was thirty miles from Ashland. At 
 this place I wanted Black Bess, and he was to stay there 
 with her until I came and to return, get my other horse, 
 and meet me at Jacksonville. 
 
 When the time arrived for the hanging and the pris- 
 oners were led to the scaffold, each dispatch carrier was 
 mounted and standing on the outer edge of the crowd, 
 ready at the moment he received the dispatch to be off 
 at once. When the four Indians were led upon the 
 scaffold to meet their doom, each of them were asked, 
 
528 
 
 THE HANGING. 
 
 through an interpreter, whether or not he wished to say 
 anything before being hung, but they all shook their 
 heads with the exception of Captain Jack, who informed 
 them that he had something to say. 
 
 He said: "I would like for my brother to take my 
 * 'ace and let me live so I can take care of my wife and 
 
 legirl." 
 
 The carrier for the Inter-Ocean was the first to get 
 sis dispatch, the Examiner the second, I receiving mine 
 just as the last Indian was hung, and now for the race to 
 see who gets there first. It was eleven o'clock when we 
 
 started. We all 
 
 traveled together 
 
 for the first twenty 
 
 miles, where I left - - ^-..-^-..r^ ^ 
 
 ..?e wagon road and On the outer edge of the crowd, ready to be off. 
 
 3ok the trail for 
 
 :-kshland. Now I had sixty miles to ride over a trail 
 and they had eighty miles over a wagon road. At this 
 
RIDE TO ASHLAND. 
 
 junction where the trail left the wagon road I bade the 
 other couriers good-day, telling them that in case they 
 beat me they must treat to the oysters when we met at 
 Jacksonville, and I sped away and lost no time in get- 
 ting from there to Cold Springs, where I found my other 
 horse picketed out as I had ordered. I dismounted, 
 threw my saddle on the other horse, which was appar- 
 ently feeling fine, mounted him and was off again, leav- 
 ing the other horse picketed at the same place, so my 
 man could get him on his return. My horse took a long 
 sweeping gallop and kept it up for about twelve miles, 
 by which time he was beginning to sweat quite freely, 
 and I commenced to urge him and put him down to all 
 I thought he would stand. When I came in sight of 
 Black Bess she raised her head and whinnied to me. 
 The young man was lying asleep and holding her rope, 
 while she was grazing near him. Again I changed my 
 saddle from my other horse to Black Bess, and gave the 
 young man instructions to start at once and lead my 
 horse slowly so as to prevent hifn from cooling off too 
 fast. I mounted Black Bess and now I was on the 
 homestretch. I did not urge her any for the first few 
 miles until she commenced sweating freely, after which I 
 commenced to increase her speed, and fifteen minutes 
 after six I rode up to the telegraph office and handed my 
 dispatch to the operator, who started it on the wire at 
 once. I led my mare up and down the streets to prevent 
 her from cooling off too quick, and when it was kno\vn 
 where I was from, everybody in town had about forty 
 questions to ask relative to the hanging of the four 
 braves. 
 
530 
 
 A QUICK TRIP. 
 
 On leaving the telegraph office I asked the operator 
 to let me know when the first dispatch started from 
 Jacksonville, and while at supper he came in and told 
 
 'W-- 
 
 I handed my dispatch to the operator. 
 
 me that the Examiner had just started their dispatch 
 over the wire, which was just one and three-quarter 
 houis behind me in getting to the office. The next day 
 
TAKEN TO FLORIDA. 531 
 
 I rode to Jacksonville, and the day following the bal- 
 ance of the crowd came in from the fort. Among them 
 were the three reporters, all well pleased with the time 
 their bearers had made in carrying their dispatches, and 
 that night we all had what in those days we used to 
 term "a-way-up time." 
 
 The balance of the Indians who were taken prisoners 
 in this Modoc war were afterwards taken to Florida and 
 placed on a small reservation, which, I presume, was 
 done on account of the bitter feeling that existed among 
 the people of that section of the country toward this 
 tribe on account of the assassination of Gen. Canby, Col. 
 Thomas and George Meeks, the interpreter, as well as 
 the many other people that were murdered on Lost river 
 and Tule Lake. 
 
 While at Jacksonville a man came to me named 
 Martin, who was a merchant and resided in Oakland, 
 Cal., who wanted to hire me to go out in the mountains 
 some twenty miles from Jacksonville and look after a man 
 named McMahon, saying: "There must be something 
 wrong with McMahon, for he is the most punctual man 
 I ever dealt with; he promised to be here three weeks 
 ago to pay a certain party fifty dollars, but has not been 
 seen nor heard from since." 
 
 McMahon owned a band of sheep and was ranging 
 them out in the mountains. Mr. Martin gave me direc- 
 tions, and the next morning I started out for the sheep 
 ranch. I had n'o trouble in finding the place, but the 
 cabin and surroundings showed that no one lived there. 
 I spent the balance of this day and the next in riding 
 
532 LOOKING FOR McMAHOH. 
 
 over the sheep range, but could see no one, and only 
 about twenty head of sheep. 
 
 On my return to Jacksonville I went by way of 
 Bybee's ferry, on Rogue river, and learned that about 
 three weeks previous to that time a band of two thousand 
 head of sheep had crossed over the ferry, driven by two 
 men. Now it was almost a foregone conclusion that 
 some one had murdered McMahon and driven his band 
 of sheep away, and when I returned to Jacksonville there 
 was no little excitement about the city in regard to Mc- 
 Mahon. Some of the business men and citizens with 
 whom I was well acquainted, prevailed upon me to ac- 
 cept an appointment as deputy sheriff, and start out and 
 track the band of sheep up if possible and capture the 
 thieves and murderers, the sheriff himself being very busy 
 just at that time, it being near time for court to sit in 
 that county. After receiving my appointment and tak- 
 ing the oath of office, I struck directly for Bybee's ferry, 
 and for the first twenty miles beyond the ferry I expe- 
 rienced no trouble whatever in keeping track of the 
 sheep, finding a number of people who had seen them, 
 and all gave the same description of the two men who 
 were driving them. 
 
 Leaving the settlement, I went into the mountains, 
 spent five days tracking sheep here and there in every 
 direction between Rogue river and Umpqua. Finally 
 they struck off on to the breaks of the Umpqua and were 
 soon in the settlement again, and I washable to get the 
 description of the two men, which coincided with the 
 description given by others. 
 
 s I found the sheep within about twelve miles of Can- 
 
FOUND THE SHEEP. $33 
 
 yonville, and a young man was herding them \vho I soon 
 learned to be what might be called a half idiot. He told 
 me that his name was Buckky. I had quite a pleasant 
 chat with him and spent about two hours with him, 
 lounging around, talking about his sheep. I asked if he 
 had raised his sheep, aud where his winter range was. 
 
 He said he had not owned the sheep but a short time. 
 I asked him if he had bought them here in this country. 
 He said he had not, but got them on the other side of 
 the mountain in the Rogue river country. I asked him 
 if he owned them alone, whereupon he informed me that 
 he had a partner in the sheep business. I asked him 
 what his partner's name was, and he told me it was John 
 B^ton. I asked where his partner lived, and he said 
 that he lived down on the Umpqua river and was run- 
 ning a fciry. 
 
 Now I was satisfied that I had found the sheep and 
 cne of the men and-as good as got the other one where 
 I could put rny hand on him at any time. I rode down 
 to Canyonville and telegraphed Mr. Manning, the sheriff, 
 that I had found the sheep and one of the men and had 
 the other one located He answered me by saying that 
 I would have help the following day from Roseburg, that 
 being the county seat of Douglas county, which is six- 
 teen miles from Canyonville, where I then was and which 
 was in the same county. I waited patiently the next 
 day for assistance, but it did not come. Late that even- 
 ing I went to the constable of that precinct and asked 
 him to go with me and assist in making the arrest, but 
 he refused, saying: "That man Barton is a hard case. 
 I don't want to have anything to do with him." I did 
 
534 BARTON'S FERRY. 
 
 not tell him the particulars of the case, and I must admit 
 that I did not know enough of civil law to know that it 
 was necessary for me to be armed with a warrant to go 
 and make the arrest. On the refusal of the constable to 
 accompany me, I at once walked down to the stable and 
 ordered my horse saddled, and inquired the way to John 
 Barton's place. The proprietor of the stable told me 
 how to go. 
 
 So concluding to tackle him alone, I mounted my 
 horse just after dark and started for Barton's Ferry. I 
 found the place without difficulty, and although I rode 
 very slowly, I got to the river some time before daylight. 
 I tied my horse in the brush and walked the road until 
 daylight. As soon as it was daylight I saw the house on 
 the other side of the river, and kept my eye on it until 
 just before sunrisej. when I saw the smoke commence to 
 curl up from the chimney, and in about fifteen minutes I 
 saw a man come out in his shirt sleeves and bare-headed. 
 I at once mounted my horse and rode down to the river 
 and halloed for him to bring the boat over as I wished 
 to cross the river. He answered by saying: "I'll be 
 there in a minute as soon as I get my hat and coat." He 
 stepped into the house, got his hat and coat and came 
 across. When he landed I walked on to the boat aijd 
 asked if he was Mr. Barton. He said that was his name, 
 and in a second he was looking down the muzzle of my 
 pistol, and I informed him that he was my prisoner. He 
 asked me what for. I said for the murdering of Mc- 
 Mahon. 
 
 "Have they found the body?" were the first words 
 that fell from his lips, which he doubtless would not 
 
BARTON ARRESTED. 
 
 535 
 
 have uttered had I not caught him off his guard. I told 
 him they had, which was false. 
 
 I informed him that he was my prisoner. 
 
 "You want to take me away with you and not let me 
 my wife and bid her good-bye?" 
 
53 6 BARTON ARRESTED. 
 
 I informed him that I would, telling him that she 
 could come to see him if she liked. He offered all man- 
 ner of excuses to get back to his house. After I had 
 listened awhile I gave him two minutes to get off the 
 boat and take the road, which he did at once. I did not 
 try to put the handcuffs on him alone, not wishing to 
 give him any drop on me whatever. 
 
 I made him take the road ahead of me, and we 
 started on our way for Jacksonville. After we had gone 
 some two miles in the direction of Canyonville an old 
 gentleman and his son overhauled us with a wagon, and 
 I had the old man put the handcuffs on him, after which 
 I allowed him to get into the wagon with the other two 
 men and ride to Canyonville. When I put him in the 
 little lock-up which they had there for such occasions and 
 went and hunted up the constable and asked him to look 
 after Barton until I would return. I could get no satis- 
 faction from him, so I went to a merchant in town and 
 related the whole circumstance to him and asked him to 
 keep a watch or tell me of some one whom I could hire 
 to look after him that I could rely upon. He assured 
 me that he would look after a man, put him there to 
 watch and then we would be sure that he would be safe. 
 I then mounted my horse and was off for Buckley, whc 
 I found without difficulty, arrested him, and started OP 
 my way back to Canyonville. 
 
 He came so near admitting the crime that I was sur& 
 i had the two guilty men. I got back with my prisoner 
 j-ust in time to take the stage for Jacksonville. Leaving 
 my horse at the livery stable, I instructed the liveryman 
 to send him at once to Jacksonville and I would pay all 
 
TAKEN TO JAIL. 537 
 
 charges. I handcuffed both prisoners and had them 
 shackled together, put them in the stage and started to 
 Jacksonville with them. I wired the sheriff that I had 
 both of the guilty parties and would be at Jacksonville 
 on the stage, which was due about six o'clock the next 
 morning. 
 
 The sheriff and his deputies met us that morning at 
 the edge of town. It had been noised around that I 
 would be in and they were somewhat afraid of a mob, 
 but we succeeded in getting to the jail all safe, and not 
 until then had I the faintest idea that I had stepped be- 
 yond my official duty in arresting those men without a 
 warrant and bringing them into another county. 
 
 These were the first white prisoners that I had ever 
 had any experience with. I had taken so many Indian 
 prisoners that never required any red tape, I naturally 
 supposed that the same rule would be applicable in this 
 case, but I got away with it just the same. That after- 
 noon we took the young man off to himself, and when he 
 was questioned by the district attorney and a certain 
 doctor, whose name has slipped my memory, he ad- 
 mitted the whole affair, and told us just where to go to 
 find McMahon's body. When he told us this the doctor 
 drew a. diagram of the ground. Buckley said we would 
 find a tree a certain distance from the cabin that had 
 been blown out by the roots, and in that hole we would 
 find the body covered up with brush and chips thrown on 
 top of the brush. After giving this valuable information 
 we at once started out to hunt for the body. 
 
 It was now late in August and a little snow had fallen 
 oo the mountains in the fore part of the night. 
 
538 FOUND THE DEAD BODY. 
 
 By the aid of the diagram we went to the ground after 
 night, built up a fire and waited till morning. As soon 
 as it was light enough to see, the doctor took the dia- 
 gram out of his pocket, looked at it and said: ' 'It should 
 be near here." He then turned, and seeing a tre that 
 had been blown over, said: "There is a tree that 
 answers to the description." We walked to the tree and 
 at once saw the toe of one of the dead man's boots pro- 
 truding through the brush. The doctor when gathering 
 wood the night before to build a fire, had walked almost 
 over the body and had picked up two or three chips of 
 wood from the brush which covered the body. We 
 waited some time before the crowd came with the wagon. 
 After they arrived the body was uncovered, loaded into 
 the wagon and hauled to Jacksonville, arriving in time 
 for the coroner to hold the inqu.est that afternoon, and 
 the following day the body was buried. 
 
 The time having been set for the preliminary exami- 
 nation, Barton's wife and her father arrived in Jackson- 
 ville the day before the time set for the trial, and his 
 father-in-law employed an attorney to conduct the case 
 in court in his behalf. When Barton was brought into 
 court he waived examination, but it was quite different 
 with Buckley. When he was brought in for trial the 
 judge asked him if he had counsel. He said he did not, 
 nor did he want any, but the judge appointed a lawyer 
 to take his case. 
 
 The lawyer took the prisoner off into a room in com- 
 pany with the deputy sheriff and they were gone about 
 twenty minutes. When they returned the lawyer stated 
 that the prisoner wished to nlead guilty and receive his 
 
STARVED HIMSELF. 539 
 
 sentence so he could start in at once to work it out. 
 Barton never had a trial, for he starved himself to death 
 and died in jail. The jailor told me that for seventeen 
 days he did not ^AC or drink but one sp-jonful of soup. 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 SOCIETY SOME MORE. A VERY TIGHT PLACE. TEN 
 
 PAIRS OF YANKEE EARS. BLACK BESS SHAKES HER- 
 SELF AT THE RIGHT TIME. A SOLEMN COMPACT. 
 
 I remained in Jacksonville until about the first of De- 
 cember, 1874, when I received a letter from Lieut. Jack- 
 son, who was yet at Fort Yuma, Ari/ , stating that there 
 was an opening for me there, and asking me if I knew 
 where George Jones was at th^t time, and telling me if 
 possible to have him accompany me, as he would insure 
 us both employment in the scouting field upon our 
 arrival. 
 
 George was now living twelve miles from Jackson- 
 ville. Beifig sick and tired of idling away my time 
 around town, I rode out to pay George and his parents a 
 friendly visit before taking my leave for Arizona. I found 
 
54 WE ARRIVE IN 
 
 them in rather good circumstances on a small farm on 
 Bear creek, near Phoenix, and a pleasant visit I had 
 with them at their beautiful little home, during which 
 time I showed the letter to George that I had received 
 from Lieut. Jackson. He expressed a desire to accom- 
 pany me on the trip, but as his parents were now get- 
 ting old and childish, he did not like to leave without 
 their consent, he being their only son. 
 
 Two days later George informed me that he had the 
 consent of his father and mother to go to Arizona, to be 
 gone one year, after which time he was going to quit the 
 business for all time. But we have quit the business be- 
 fore, and then I related the conversation I had with Jim 
 Bridger some years previous at the time I first made up 
 my mind to quit the scouting field. 
 
 The -time being set for the start, I returned to Jack- 
 sonville for my other two horses, clothing, bedding and 
 other traps such as belong to an old scout. All being in 
 readiness, we bade Mr. and Mrs. Jones good-bye and 
 started on our way for Arizona and aimed to reach San 
 Francisco by Christmas. We had five horses in our 
 outfit, I having three and George two. We arrived in 
 San Francisco on the twenty-first of December. 
 
 The next morning we were walking up Kearney street 
 near the Lick House when we met the reporter for the 
 Chronicle who I had ridden for at the time of the hang- 
 ing of Captain Jack and associates at Fort Klamath. 
 The reporter expressed himself as being very glad to 
 meet us, and insisted on our taking a stroll over to the 
 CkrenicU office and meet the proprietors of the paper, 
 
SAN FRANCISCO. 541 
 
 whose names were De Young, their being three brothers 
 of them. 
 
 As we had not changed our clothing, having our tmv- 
 eling suits on I insisted on deferring the. matter until the 
 next day, but this he would not hear to. As that would 
 not work I tried another plan by telling him that we had 
 not yet had our breakfast, but he told us that he had nni 
 yet been to breakfast, and proposed that the three of us 
 take breakfast together, or rather invited George and I 
 to take breakfast with him, which we did, seeing that 
 there was no chance to evade him. 
 
 After breakfast we accompanied him to the Chronicle 
 office, whice at that time was located on the corner of 
 Kearney and Pine .streets, and here we met all three of 
 the DeYoung brothers.. After being introduced to them 
 and spending some two hours with them, Charles De- 
 Young, the eldest of the three brothers, gave us a cor- 
 dial invitation to take dinner with him at his own resi- 
 dence, saying that dinner would be ready at six o'clock. 
 This, I think, was the first time in my life that I had 
 ever heard a six o'clock meal called dinner. Thanking 
 him for the kind offer I excused myself as 1 was in my 
 traveling suit, and the very thought of entering the pri- 
 vate residence of one of the popular men of the city 
 almost paralized me. But my excuses were all fruitless. 
 He would not even consider "No" as answer, and some 
 of them were with us until time for dinner, as he termed 
 it, but what I would have called supper. 
 
 With as bold a front as possible we accompanied Mr. 
 DeYoung to his residence, which we found to be a fin-' 
 mansion on California street. On arriving at his res' 
 
54 2 AKRIVE AT FORT YUMA. 
 
 dence we met there some ten or eweve other guests, both 
 ladies and gentlemen. Now the reader can have a faint, 
 idea of the embarrassing position in which we were both 
 placed at that- moment, and I can truthfully say that at 
 the moment I entered that mansion I would have given 
 three months' wages to have been away from there. 
 George Jones had on buckskin breeches and I had on a 
 buckskin suit, while the guests were dressed in style. I 
 tried to offer some apology, but at every attempt it 
 seemed that I only niade a bad matter worse. 
 
 We were treated with the greatest respect while at 
 this place, and were asked many questions by the other 
 guests relative to the Modoc war, the capturing of Cap- 
 tain Jack, etc., and the following morning quite an arti- 
 cle came out in the Chronicle concerning George Jones 
 and myself relative to the position we held in the Modoc 
 war. 
 
 We remained there until the last day of December, 
 on which day we started again on our journey for Ari- 
 zona, via Salinas, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. Here 
 we lay over and let our horses rest four days, after which 
 we proceeded on our journey via San Diego, which at 
 that time was a very -small place. From there we struck 
 for the Colorado river and followed down the river to 
 Fort Yuma. 
 
 This route we took in order to avoid crossing any of 
 those sand deserts. We were about five weeks making 
 the trip, and reached Fort Yuma without any accident 
 or mishap whatever, and learned that the Indians were 
 Vvorse in Arizona than when we left them several years 
 
CHIEF OF SCOUTS. $43 
 
 before, as they were most all armed with rifles, instead 
 of bows and arraws, and many of them had pistols. 
 
 Lieut. Jackson told me he had lost more men the last 
 year out than in any other two seasons since he had been 
 in Arizona. He had received orders to take four hundred 
 cavalrymen and one hundred infantrymen and go into 
 the mountains and follow the Indians from place to place 
 the coming season. The Lieutenant told me that there 
 had been a settlement started the last year about ninety 
 miles from the line of Arizona and Senora, Mexico, and 
 they were not only troubled with the Indians, but the 
 Mexicans also came in there and stole their stock and run 
 it across the line. 
 
 Gen. Crook was still in charge of the command, and 
 wanted me to accompany Lieut. Jackson, saying: "I 
 do not expect you to do any hard service yourself, but 
 want you to take charge of the scout force and handle it 
 to suit yourself." - 
 
 If my memory serves me right, it was in the latter 
 part of March, 1875, w hen we made the start for the 
 mountains. For the first hundred miles our supplies 
 were hauled on wagons, but the balance of the way they 
 had to be packed on animals. 
 
 On our way out we passed, near Salt River Valley, 
 that being settled up now with Americans. I started to 
 ride out to the settlement to ascertain something of the 
 nature of the depredations committed there lately. 1 
 dressed in teamster's clothing and tied a pair of blankets 
 behind my saddle before starting to the settlement. It 
 was late in the evening, just about sunset, and I was rid- 
 ing leisurely along, being within six or seven miles of the 
 
544 
 
 MEET MEXICANS. 
 
 secuement, whan suddenly I came upon three Mexicans, 
 just cooking supper. They saw me as quick as I saw 
 
 them, and I 
 thought I was 
 'in for it. I 
 was too near 
 them to at- 
 tempt to get 
 away, so all 
 that I could 
 do was to 
 make the 
 best I could 
 of it, take my 
 chances and 
 trust to luck. 
 When I rode 
 up I spoke to 
 them in my 
 own language 
 and one big 
 burley look- 
 
 I came opon three Mexicans cooking supper. *ng Mexicarv 
 
 said: "No in- 
 
 detenda English," meaning I don't understand English. 
 They then asked me in their tongue if I spoke Spanish, 
 which I understood as well as they did, but I shook my 
 head as if I could not understand a word they said. 
 
 I dismounted, untied the blankets from behind my 
 saddle, threw them down near the fire on which thay 
 were cooking supper, but did not unsaddle my mare. \ 
 
TEN PAIRS OF EARS. 545 
 
 was riding Black Bess, and one of them got up and 
 walked around her and examined her closely, and when 
 he returned to the fire he said: "Esta ismo muya wano 
 cavia," meaning that is a good horse. Another one in 
 the crowd said he had in his pocket just ten pairs of 
 ears that he had taken from the heads of Yankees, and 
 this would make the eleventh pair. Now I thought my 
 time had come; but I had been in tight places before and 
 had always managed in some way to get out. 
 
 While it looked very blue, still 1 made up my mind 
 that when it came to the worst I would get at least one 
 or two of them while they were doing me up. I did not 
 pretend to pay any attention to their conversation, yet at 
 the same time I could understand all that was uttered by 
 them. I learned that there were ten in the gang, and 
 the other seven had gone that night to the settlement for 
 the purpose of stealing horses, and were liable to return 
 at any time, While I was lying there on my blankets 
 I heard them lay their plans to kill me in case I went to 
 sleep, or if I got up and started to my horse they were 
 to shoot me before I got away. Now the reader can rest 
 assured that this was getting to be a serious affair with 
 me, for I knew that these Mexicans could handle a pistol 
 with good success, while they are as a rule experts with 
 a knife, the latter being a Mexican stand-by. This was 
 a little the closest place that I had ever been in. If I 
 attempted to leave they would kill me as sure as I made 
 the start; if I stayed there until the other seven re- 
 turned, then I would not have a ghost of a show for my 
 life. 
 
 I la'd there by the fire as though I was worn out en- 
 
BLACK BESS SHAKES HERSELF. 
 
 tirely, listening to their talk, and more than once heard 
 the big rough-looking Mexican boast of a pair of Yankee 
 ears that he would take from my head. 
 
 Their supper being ready, they sat down to eat, but 
 did not invite me to sup with them. They all three ate 
 out of the same frying pan and poured their coffee out in 
 tin cups. Two of them had their backs turned toward 
 me, while the other one sat on the opposite side of the 
 frying pan that they were eating out of and facing me, 
 but they were paying but little attention to me. Black 
 Bess was feeding close by and on the opposite side of 
 them from where I lay. Now I made up my mind that 
 I would make a desperate effort to extricate myself from 
 this trap, for to stay there I knew meant death and I 
 would rather take my chances with those three than with 
 the entire gang. They were all sitting flat on the ground, 
 each had a pistol on him and- their guns all lay within a 
 few feet of them. My only show for escape was to kill 
 two of them at the first shot and then I would have an 
 equal show with the other one, but now was the particu- 
 lar part of the work. Just one false move and the jig 
 was up with me, but it was getting time that I should be 
 at work for the other seven were likely to be there at 
 any moment. I carefully reached around under my coat 
 tail and got hold of both of my pistols, and just as I did 
 so, as good luck would have it, Black Bess shook herself 
 very hard and caused them to turn their eyes toward her, 
 and it could not have happened in a better time. I was 
 on my knees in an instant, and leveling a pistol at each 
 of the two with their backs towards me, I fired, and be- 
 ing almost near enough to have touched either of them 
 
A LUCKY ESCAPE. $47 
 
 with the point of the pistol, it was a sure thing that I 
 would not miss them. After firing the first two shots I 
 wus on my feet in an instant, by which tune the third 
 nrin had taken a tumble to himself and was on his knees 
 ;n?d had liis pistol about half out when I ftred both pis- 
 tols at him and he fell back dead. By this time one of 
 the others had staggered to his feet and had his pistol 
 ov.t, but, fortunately, he seemed to be blind, for he fired 
 his pistol in the opposite direction from where I stood. 
 I turned and dealt him his fatal dose. 
 
 I tried to catch their pack horses but missed one of 
 them, and as time was precious, for I did not know what 
 i:ioment the seven would come, I took their rifles, broke 
 the stocks off of them, took their pistols along with me, 
 mounted Black Bess, rounded up their horses and started 
 for the train, and I lost no time in getting there, and as 
 I sped across the country on Black Bess after the nine 
 captured animals I felt that I could congratulate myself 
 on getting out of the tightest place I had ever been in, 
 without even a scratch. 
 
 When I arrived at camp and reported to the Lieuten- 
 ant he at once started two companies of cavalry out to 
 try and cut the .other seven off, instructing them to watch 
 every trail and every watering place within fifty miles, 
 closely. 
 
 I changed horses and started with George Jones and 
 six other scouts, and the last words that Lieut. Jackson 
 said to me as I was ready to ride away was: "Don't 
 spare horse flesh, but run them down Cap, if it is possi- 
 ble, and let us -break up this thieving band. I would 
 rather kill one Mexican any time than two Apaches." 
 
WE GAVE CHASE. 
 
 Across the country we rode at a rapid rate, but were 
 not able to reach the spot until after daylight. The Mex- 
 icans had been there ahead of us and removed every- 
 thing but their dead comrades, those they aid not at- 
 tempt to remove or even bury, leaving therri for thts 
 wolves that roved the country in search cf food. 
 
 We were soon on their trs.il, which was easily fol- 
 lowed, as they were driving a. Urge band of stock. About 
 the middle of the afternoou v;e came in sight of them. 
 When they first saw us \v<j vere so near them that they 
 deserted their band of stock and rs.n for their h'ves. We 
 gave chase, but could not get any nearer. We followed 
 them until dark, our horses being badly jaded, and I haci 
 now been in the saddle for two days and one night in 
 succession, so we made camp for the night. The next 
 morning a detail of six men was made to drive the stolen 
 stock back to the settlement where it belonged, there be- 
 ing some forty head of horses and mules. The balance 
 of us returned to the trail, lay over and rested one day. 
 This put a stop to the Mexicans troubling the settlement 
 for some time. 
 
 Pulling on for the mountains, the second day we saw 
 the ruins of two wagons that had been b arned, but could 
 ^et no trace of the teamsters. The supposition prevailed 
 :hat they were taken prisoners by the Apaches. The 
 Lieutenant established his headquarters fifty miles from 
 where he had his quarters when we were out before, and 
 now active work commenced, for there was plenty of it 
 to be done. 
 
 We had only been there *& few days when two of my 
 scouts came in one evening and reported having seen 
 
DISCOVER INDIANS. 549 
 
 about twenty Indians ten miles from camp and traveling 
 west. The scouts all being in, George Jones and I and 
 /our other scouts and one company of cavalry started in 
 pursuit. We had no trouble in striking their trail, and 
 there being a good starlight that night and the country 
 somewhat sandy, we were able to track them easily. We 
 had not followed the trail more than two miles when we 
 passed over a rulge, and I looked down the valley ahead 
 of us and could see the glimmer of their fire. Here the 
 soldiers stopped, awd I and my scouts went on in the 
 direction of the fires, which we supposed to be about 
 half a mile away but which proved to be nearer two 
 miles. When we, were near the camp we dismounted 
 and crawled up. We locAted the horses, which were 
 mostly standing still at the time and two or three hun- 
 dred yards from camp. I ' 'telegraphed" the soldiers to 
 come at once. 
 
 Taking the balance of the scouts we rode slowly and 
 carefully around, getting immediately between the In- 
 dian camp and their horses, I telling George Jones that 
 as soon as the soldiers started to make their charge to 
 follow me with the horses. But this time the Indians 
 were awake before the soldiers were on them and opened 
 fire on them, killing three horses and wounding two the 
 first round, but only one soldier was wounded, and the 
 sergeant in charge told me afterwards that he got eigh- 
 teen Apaches out of the crowd, and we got twenty-seven 
 horses. We got back to headquarters about noon the 
 next day and learned that Lieut. Jackson had gone in a 
 different direction after another band of Apaches, which 
 be overhauled and got twelve scalps from their numbtr. 
 
550 
 
 A SURPRISE PARTY. 
 
 Now we started for a trip on the east side of Black 
 canyon, six scouts and one company of cavalry, with 
 twenty-two pack animals, calculating to be gone about 
 ten days. On the fifth day of our trip George Jones, 
 myself and two other scouts were riding leisurely along 
 about one mile in advance of the command when just as 
 we raised to the top of a little rocky ridge we came face 
 to face with a band of Indians, making a surprise to both 
 parties. I could not tell which party fired first, but we 
 gave them one round and seeing that there were too 
 many of them for us, we wheeled and started back down 
 
 the hill. As we 
 did so George 
 sang out: "My 
 horse- i s shot," 
 and just at that 
 time the horse 
 fell. George 
 threw himself 
 clear of the horse 
 and when he 
 struck the ground 
 he lit running, 
 and at his best 
 licks, too. The 
 rest of us dropped 
 behind George to 
 protect him until 
 we were off the 
 
 rocky ground. The Indians held their distance all the 
 way down the hill, not stopping to reload their guns. 
 
 Gen, G., A. Custer. 
 
INDIANS ROUTED. 551 
 
 When we were at the foot of the hill the three of us that 
 were mounted, in order to give George Jones a chance to 
 ascend the hill, turned and gave them another volley. 
 Here I- fired three shots and got two Indians and then 
 spurred up by the side of George and gave him a chance 
 to jump on behind me, which he did. Just a.s we raised 
 to the top of the hill we met the comm^-jid, who had 
 hrard our firing and came to our relief, am-*, they met the 
 Indians face to face. At this the Indi?ns changed their 
 minds very suddenly, and it is useless to say that they 
 were on the back track much quickei 2han I could tell it. 
 The soldiers went in hot pursuit of '.hem and gQt nine of 
 their number. From there we struck off in a south- 
 westerly direction, thinking tMt when we struck the 
 main road we might run on 2o ?ome emigrants en-route 
 for California. 
 
 We struck th* m^in road fifty miles south of the 
 Lieutenant's quarters Here we laid over two days, 
 thinking that there might be an emigrant train come 
 along that we could escort through to headquarters, this 
 part of the road being in the heart of the Apache coun* 
 try, and the most dangerous for emigrants from the fact 
 that it is all a timber country and over mountains which, 
 in places, are very rocky, thereby gi>ing the Indians all 
 advantage over the emigrants. 
 
 The evening of the second ^ay, just as we were sit- 
 ting down to supper, I received a message from Lieut 
 Jackson for George Jones a^d myself to come to head- 
 quarters at once, but he did not state why he required 
 our presence there. As soon as supper was over we 
 started. The dispatch bearer thought it was at least 
 
552 A SOLEMN COMPACT. 
 
 sixty miles, but we had supposed it was not more than 
 fifty, each of us having two saddle horses. 
 
 At one place on the road the cayotes turned loose, 
 and it sounded as if there must have been a hundred, all 
 barking at once, and George Jones remarked: "Above 
 all things that I have dreaded while in this business is 
 being shot down and left on the plains for my bones to 
 be picked up by those sneaking wolves, and now Cap, I 
 will make this agreement with you; in case that either of 
 us happen to be killed, which is liable to happen any 
 day, the surviving one is to see that the other is buried 
 if in the bounds of possibility." 
 
 I said: "George, we will shake hands on that," 
 which we did, and I added: "You can also rest assured 
 that if ever you are shot down while in company with 
 me, no Indian will ever scalp you as long as I have the 
 strength to stand over your body, nor shall the cayotes 
 ever pick your bones if I live long enough to see that 
 you are buried," and the reader will see later on that 
 I kept my promise. 
 
ATTACKED THE SETTLEMENT. 553 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 LOCATE A SMALL BAND OF RED BUTCHERS AND SEND 
 THEM TO THE HAPPY HUNTING GROUNDS. EMIGRANTS 
 MISTAKE US FOR INDIANS. GEORGE JONES WOUNDED, 
 
 Just at sunrise we made our appearance at the Lieu- 
 tenant's quarters, and he informed us that the Indians 
 had made an attack on the settlement on the east side 
 of the San Antonio desert; had killed two families, taken 
 two little girls prisoner and captured a lot of stock from 
 the settlers. 
 
 This report had first reached Gen. Crook at Fort 
 Yuma, and he had dispatched the news to Lieut. Jack- 
 son. This being a strange country to the Lieutenant, 
 having never been over it and knowing that I had been 
 through it twice, once with Uncle Kit Carson and an- 
 other time in company with Jim Beckwith, he insisted on 
 my going out in that section to investigate the matter 
 and see whether or not the report was true. 
 
 The day following George and I started with four 
 assistants for the settlement. Each of us took two sad- 
 dle horses and one pack animal for each two men, with 
 ten days' rations. From there to the settlement was 
 about seventy-five miles. 
 
 Knowing jut where the majority of the Apache force 
 concentrated, we took rather a circuitous route in- 
 
554 AW A SMALL BANB. 
 
 stead of going direct to the settlement in order to ascer- 
 tain whether the depredations were committed by 
 Apaches or Pimas. 
 
 The fifth day out we struck the settlement, but did 
 not cross the Indian trail, which led me to think that the 
 work was done by Pimas and not Apaches. 
 
 When we arrived there no one could tell us how 
 many Indians there were nor what they looked like, but 
 when I came to find out the truth of the matter there 
 had been no families massacred, nor had the two girls 
 been taken prisoners, but there had been two boys filled 
 that were herding stock. 
 
 We remained there one day in order to learn what we 
 could in regard to the trouble and then struck the trail 
 of the Indians and followed it two days, but it was so 
 old that we gave it up, as it was then twelve days since 
 the depredations were committed and we knew that the 
 Indians were a long ways off by that time. We took a 
 different route on our return, and the second day we saw 
 a small band of Indians traveling toward the settlemen*, 
 which we had left four days previous. We started in 
 pursuit of them and struck their trail before it was dark. 
 I was confident that they would camp at the first water 
 they came to, which was about seven or eight miles from 
 ^here, so we staked our horses out on good grass, sat 
 down and .ate our lunch while we waited for the clear 
 moon to make its appearaece and light us across the 
 country where we might find the noble red men of the 
 plains and entertain them for a while at least. We 
 thought that it would take us about all night to track 
 
SURPRISED IN CAMP. 555 
 
 .hem up by the light of the moon, find their camp and 
 play them just one little tune of "How came you so?" 
 
 Abut ten o'clock the moon arose, but we waited until 
 it was two hours high, giving our horses a chance to fill 
 up, after which we mounted and took the trail of the 
 Pimas, which we had not great trouble in finding. 
 
 After we had followed the trail about seven miles wet 
 ame to their horses, but could see no signs of any camp, 
 c nd we at once made up our minds that the Indians were 
 n )t far away, but that they had either built no fire or the 
 fii 5 had gone entirely out, for we could see no signs of 
 ar y. 
 
 Dismounting, George took one man with him and I 
 too \ one with me, leaving the other two with the horses, 
 and started out in different directions to look for their 
 cam y. After wandering around about an hour I found 
 wher.v i\iey were camped, and they were sound asleep and 
 lying \\\ 3. row but each one separate. We then returned 
 to our Jvjvses and in a short time George came in. It 
 was now &eUing high time that we were at work, for it 
 was beginning to get daybreak, so after I had explained 
 how they laid, five of us started for them, leaving one 
 man with the horses. They were lying about two hun- 
 dred and fifty yards from where we had stopped with our 
 horses. We crawled up abreast until within ten feet of 
 the Indians, and each scout drew both his revolvers, 
 sprang to his feet, and I need not say that we made 
 quick work of those redskins. Only one got to his feet, 
 and he did not stand a second until there were three or 
 four bullets in his body, but not one of us got a scratch 
 in this fight. 
 
5 $6 TO PROTECT EMIGRANTS. 
 
 Now the fun was over and we were not afraid to 
 speak out, so we called out for the man that we left in 
 charge of our horses to bring them over, and we gathered 
 some wood and built a fire. 
 
 It had been several days since we had had fresh meat, 
 but the Pimas had been kind enough to kill an antelope 
 that day, and as they had only eaten of it once, we had 
 a feast that morning, which we enjoyed very much. 
 
 We gathered up the guns and ammunition that be- 
 longed to the Indians, which, by the way, was the best 
 armed lot of Indians I had ever seen. Each one of them 
 had a good rifle and a Colt revolver, and one of them 
 had the handsomest knife I ever saw. Had we not run 
 on to them no doubt they would have done some devil- 
 ment in the white settlement the following day. We 
 reached headquarters in three days. 
 
 It was now time for the emigrants to begin to travel 
 over the Butterfield route, and Lieut. Jackson started 
 one company of cavalry across to the opposite side 
 of the mountain some sixty miles away to protect the 
 emigrants, and George Jones and I both accompanied 
 them. We established our quarters about a half mile 
 from the road at the foot of the mountains on the south 
 side.- 
 
 The next day after we struck this place George and I 
 started out to scout over the country to see whether or 
 not there were ariy Indians in the country and also ride 
 out on the road and look for emigrants. 
 
 The second day out we climbed to the top of a high 
 ridge, and by looking through the glass we could ec a 
 large emigrant train coming, which we thought to be 
 
MISTAKEN FOR INDIANS 557 
 
 about twenty miles distant. We knew very well where 
 it would camp, and by riding briskly we would be able to 
 meet it by dark; so we rode on and reached the emi- 
 grants about sunset. They were just corralling their 
 wagons for the night, and when they saw us coming they 
 took us for Indians and every man went for his gun. As 
 soon as we saw them start for their guns we both took 
 off our hats and waved them over our heads, when they 
 saw that they were needlessly alarmed. This train was 
 from Texas, and the name of the captain was Sours, and 
 it was beyond doubt the best organized train I ever saw 
 on the plains; everything seemed to move like clock 
 work. 
 
 When I told Capt. Sours who we were and what our 
 business was and that as soon as they got to our quarters 
 they would have an escort, he said: "I am indeed very 
 glad to know that there is some protection out here for 
 emigrants, but as for ourselves we do not need it much, 
 for every man in my train has seven shots, and some of 
 them three times that number." 
 
 We stayed with them that night and the next morn- 
 ing pulled out for our quarters. We remained there for 
 a month, but did not see any Indians during that time. 
 
 At the end of the month there came along a large 
 tiain from Arkansas and Texas. We escorted it across 
 the mountains expecting that this would wind up the 
 emigrant travel across there for the season. When we 
 arrived at Lieut. Jackson's quarters he started George 
 and I and two other scouts out towards the Salt river 
 valley settlement, telling me that he would move down 
 near Mrs. Davis' ranch and there he would wait until he 
 
558 
 
 A CLOSE CALL. 
 
 should hear from me. The third day out we made camp 
 early on account of water, and after deciding on the spot 
 
 where we 
 should pitch 
 our camp for 
 the night 
 George rode 
 off to a high 
 ridge near by 
 to take a look 
 t h e 
 
 Riding into camp at full speed. 
 
 over 
 
 country. He 
 was not gone 
 long before he 
 made his ap- 
 pearance rid- 
 ing at full 
 speed, and an- 
 nouced that 
 there was a 
 
 large band of Indians coming direct for our camp, and 
 
 would be on to us before we could saddle up and get away. 
 "Get your horses boys," were his first words, and 
 
 every man made a rush for his horse, but before we 
 
 could get saddled the Indians hove in sight, and not over 
 
 half a mile away. 
 
 "There they are," said George as he jumped on to 
 
 his horse again, "and there must be at least sixty ol 
 
 them." 
 
 I was not long in making up my mind what to do. 
 
 We all got our horses saddled and were mounted just in 
 
GEORGE JONES WOUNDED. 559 
 
 .Ae nick of time to get away for we were not twenty 
 yards from camp when they were close on to us. 
 
 Down the ravine we went with the Apaches in hot 
 pursuit of us. I yelled out to the boys to turn to the 
 left across the ridge and when we were over the turn we 
 stopped and gave them a volley, and picked off the 
 leaders as they came in sight. I saw a number of them 
 fall, but it did not appear to check them in the least. 
 They were coming too thick and we wheeled and were 
 off again with some of them within at least thirty yards 
 of us, but we gained on them gradually. Finally George 
 Jones sang out: "I am shot through the arm." I reined 
 my horse up by his side and asked if his arm was broken. 
 He said it was, and I could see it was hanging down and 
 the blood almost streaming off his fingers. I asked if he 
 felt sick, and he said he did not. 
 
 Of erurse all the time this conversation was going on 
 we were putting our ho. ses down to their utmost. George 
 said: "I am all right if I don't get another shot," so I 
 told him to tak9 the lead and not to spare his horse. I 
 also told the other boys to fall back to the rear so we 
 could protect him, as he was badly wounded and the In- 
 dians were holding their own pretty well. 
 
 On looking ahead I saw another little ridge and I 
 told the boys that when we were over that to all turn 
 and give them two shots each, and for each to be sure to 
 get his Indian. This order was carried into effect and 
 they were so near us that I think each shot did its work. 
 This brought them to a halt and they did not crowd us 
 any more; it was soon dark and we escaped without any 
 further mishap. 
 
560 WS GAVE CHASE. 
 
 After we could hear no more of them we rode to the 
 top of a ridge where we would have a chance to protect 
 ourselves in case of another attack, and dismounted to 
 ascertain the extent of George's wound, and as the ex- 
 citement died down he commenced feeling sick at his 
 stomach. I gave him a drink of whiskey from a bottle 
 that I had carried in my canteen at all seasons, and this 
 was the second time the cork had been drawn from the 
 flask. When we got his coat off and examined his 
 wound we found that the arm was broken just below the 
 elbow. Using our handkerchiefs for bandages, we 
 dressed the hurt as best we could, corded his arm to stop 
 the flow of blood and then pulled out for headquarters, 
 arriving there just at daybreak. 
 
 I took George to the surgeon, who set the bone and 
 dressed the arm up ''ship shape," after which he gave 
 mm something to make him sleep. 
 
 After seeing George in bed I at once repaired to the 
 Lieutenant's quarters and found him just arising. He 
 asked me if I was too tired to make another chase, and I 
 told him I would be ready as soon as I could eat my 
 breakfast. He said in one hour's time he would have 
 two companies of cavalry ready to start. 
 
 After breakfast I changed horses, and taking four 
 other scouts, started out to pilot the cavalry to where 
 we could take the trail of the Indians. On this trip each 
 scout took four days' rations, and about one o'clock that 
 afternoon we struck a plain trail that we followed at a 
 lively gait until nearly dark; the scout force riding from 
 one to two miles ahead so in case we should get in sight 
 of the reds we could telegraph back to the command, or 
 
THIRTEEN FRESH GRAVE*. $6l 
 
 should the Indians attempt to give us another chase we 
 might be able to run them up against the soldiers, where 
 they would find amusement for a while. 
 
 We followed them for two days but never got sight 
 of them. They had turned and made their way back in 
 the direction of Black canyon and we gave up the chase, 
 but we were sure that in the running fight we had with 
 them that evening we had killed at least thirteen, as we 
 found that many newly made graves when we went back 
 to take their trail. 
 
 We returned to headquarters and I found George do- 
 ing splendidly, and the next day we all pulled out for 
 Fort Yuma. The first day's travel took us to Mrs. 
 Davis' This was the first time I had seen her or any of 
 her family since the next day after the funeral of her 
 husband and two sons in the fall of 1866. 
 
 Mrs. Davis insisted on George staying there with them 
 until his arm was well, which kind and hospitable offer 
 he accepted, remaining two months. We put in our 
 time that winter as usual when wintering at the fort, 
 doing nothing. 
 
562 ST. Louis VALLEY. 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 "WE ARE ALL SURROUNDED." A BOLD DASH AND A BAD 
 WOUND. MRS. DAVIS SHOWS HER GRATITUDE. THE 
 MOST OF MY WORK NOW DONE ON CRUTCHES. 
 
 It was the last of February or first of March, 1876, 
 that we started for St. Louis Valley. I had visited this 
 valley twice, but had come in both times from the oppo- 
 site direction to which we would have to enter the valley 
 in going from camp, consequently I was at a loss to 
 know just which direction to go from camp to strike the 
 valley where we wanted to enter it; but we struck out 
 southeast, taking twenty days' provisions with us. The 
 ninth day out we came in sight of the valley from the 
 west side. It being about noon, water being handy and 
 no end to the grass, we stopped there for dinner and to 
 let our horses graze. After I had taken a squint through 
 my glasses, I called the Lieutenant to me and handed 
 them to him. 
 
 He sat and looked for a long time, and when he took 
 the glasses from his eyes he said: "That is beyond any 
 doubt the prettiest sight I ever saw in my life." There 
 were small bands of bison scattered here, and there all 
 over the valley, elk by the hundreds and deer too num- 
 erous to mention, but not an Indian nor even a sign of 
 one could be seen in this lovely valley. 
 
LITTLE RAVEN ARAGADOE CHIEF 
 
A USELESS TRIP. 
 
 563 
 
 4 'I have made this trip unnecessarily," said he, "for 
 I had expected to find many little bands of Indians in 
 
 'Some bands of bison scattered here and there. 
 
 this valley hunting, but in that I am disappointed." We 
 then turned back for headquarters as quick as possible, 
 making the entire trip without seeing an Indian or even 
 a sign of one. 
 
 Some time in June the Lieutenant started out in com- 
 mand of two companies of cavalry to cross the mountains 
 to protect the emigrants, George Jones and I ahead with 
 four assistants. 
 
 The Lieutent having told us where he would camp 
 that night, it was the duty of the scouts to make a cir- 
 cuit of the camp before dark. On arriving at the ap- 
 pointed place, George and I started to make a tour of 
 the camp, leaving the other scouts at the camping place- 
 
 It was about sunset when we saw a band of Indians 
 as we supposed about four miles from where we were to 
 camp that night, and about one mile and a half from 
 where we then were. We put spurs to our horses and 
 headed for the Indian camp, as we were desirous of ascer- 
 
DISCOVER INDIANS. 
 
 taining about their number and getting the location of the 
 ground before it was too dark. When we 'were within 
 
 about a quarter 
 of a mile, it being 
 nearly dark, we 
 were just in th( 
 act of tying our 
 horses, intending 
 
 to crawl up near 
 
 their camp, we 
 
 ^ - 
 
 3S' 
 
 :f 4^ lV ^^ - 
 
 - < -* 
 
 ^V> 
 
 heard a rumbling 
 noise back in the 
 direction from 
 which we had just 
 come. I crawled 
 quickly around 
 the hill and saw 
 another band of 
 , Indians coming 
 directly toward 
 u s, who were 
 making their way 
 as we supposed 
 to where the 
 other Indians 
 were camped. I 
 got back to my 
 horse in less time than it took me to crawl away from 
 him, then we mounted and got away as we supposed, un 
 discovered, and rode up a ravine and in a direction that 
 we would not be seen by the Indians. Not thinking our- 
 
 Another band of Indians coming toward us. 
 
A BOLD DASH AND A BAD WOUND. 565 
 
 selves in any immediate danger, we did not hurry. After 
 riding up the ravine only a short distance, just as we 
 rounded a curve, we were brought face to face with an- 
 other band of Indians. This was, I think, a small band 
 that had left the main band to hunt for game and were 
 just getting into camp, but we did not make any in- 
 quiries as to what success they had in hunting, nor did 
 we ask whether they had been hunting at all. 
 
 The moment we saw them we drew our pistols and 
 commenced firing, and they returned the fire. We were 
 almost entirely surrounded by Indians, and I saw that it 
 was no place for me, so I sang out to George: "Let's 
 breakthrough their ranks." "All right," said he, and 
 we drove the spurs into our horses with all. vengeance, 
 riding about fifteen feet apart and succeeding in getting 
 through unhurt, and away we rode for quarters, closely 
 followed by the redskins. Now we thought we were safe, 
 and each in his own mind was congratulating himself, 
 when a ball struck me in the left hip which paralyzed my 
 whole side and wrecked my whole nervous system. I 
 sang out to George to drop behind and whip my horse, 
 for now I had no use whatever of my left leg, and it took 
 all the strength in my right leg to hang on to the horse. 
 No quicker said than he was behind my horse and doing 
 all in his power to urge him, and telling me for God's 
 sake to hang on a little longer. 
 
 The soldiers had just rode into camp and were dis- 
 mounting when they heard our firing, and remounted and 
 started in that direction, but as it was getting dark and 
 the country strange to them they could not make very 
 good time. They met us abou^half way between the 
 
AROUND ON CRUTCHES. 
 
 camp and the Indians, the reds still in hot pursuit of us. 
 The Lieutenant ordered a charge, and he had his men so 
 trained that when he said charge they did not stop shoot- 
 ing as long as there was an Indian to shoot at. 
 
 By this time I was so sick that George had to help 
 me off my horse, and leaving two men with me, he went 
 on after, and overhauled the command before they got 
 to the Indian camp, where they found the Indians ready 
 for battle, and here I think the Lieutenant got the worst 
 of the fight, for when he made the attack the Indians at- 
 tacked him in the rear. The men had to carry me in 
 their arms to camp, as they had no stretchers in the out- 
 fit, and there I lay four weeks before an ambulance 
 came. I was then removed to Fort Yuma. George 
 Jones took charge of the scout force after I was wounded. 
 
 I told George then that if I should be fortunate 
 enough to get over my wound I would quit the business 
 for all time. After remaining in the hospital at the fort 
 about two months I was able to get around on crutches. 
 Mrs. Davis having heard of my misfortune, came over in 
 company with her brother to see how I was getting 
 along, and insisted on my going home with them and re- 
 maining until such time as I could ride on horseback, 
 which kind offer I accepted, with the consent of the doc- 
 tor, he giving me a supply of medicine sufficient to last 
 me several weeks. 
 
 I remained there until after Christmas, when George 
 came after me, and by this time I was able to walk with 
 a cane. I then returned to Fort Yuma, having made up 
 my mind to draw my pay and quit the business. 
 
 George also being tired of this kind of life, had 
 
v. 
 
A NEW CONTRACT. 567 
 
 eluded to return to his home in Oregon. When I made 
 our intentions known to Gen. Crook he asked me how I 
 would ever be able to get to civilization, for the mail was 
 yet carried on horseback and I was not able to ride in 
 that way. He insisted on my remaining with him the 
 coming season, and if I should not be able to ride I 
 could stay in camp and give orders to the other scouts. 
 I asked George what he thought of the matter, and he 
 said: "I will leave the matter with* you, if you stay an- 
 other season I will, or if you say leave I will quit also." 
 However, we decided after talking matters over to stay 
 there one more season, and that would end our scouting 
 career, both vowing that we would quit after that, and 
 in our contract this time with the General we ageed to 
 stay until the coming January, and George and I were to 
 have two-thirds of all the property captured during this 
 campaign. 
 
 CHAPTER XLIII. 
 
 POOR JONES MAKES HIS LAST FIGHT. HE DIED AMONG 
 A LOT OF THE DEVILS HE HAD SLAIN. END OF THIRTY- 
 ONE YEARS OF HUNTING, TRAPPING AND SCOUTING. 
 
 About the first day in March, 1877, we started out on 
 our Bummer's campaign. I was now able to mount a 
 
568 FIND INDIANS. 
 
 horse by being assisted, but had to be very careful and 
 onl^ ride a short distance, and very slow at that. The 
 third day on our trip from the fort George reported hav- 
 ing seen the trail of quite a large band of Indians travel- 
 ing westward almost parallel with the road, but said they 
 had passed about two days before. I asked the Lieu- 
 tenant to give me his camping places that night and the 
 next one, which he did. I then told George to select 
 four men from the sc&ut force, take two days' rations and 
 see if he could run down the Indians and to telegraph 
 me when they changed their course or when he had them 
 located. 
 
 George was on their trail before noon and before sun- 
 set he had them located, only a short distance from the 
 place where I had been wounded the year before. I got 
 a dispatch from him just as I was ready to turn in for 
 the night, and by one o'clock I recived another dispatch 
 stating that there were about eighty in the band, and 
 well armed, and among them about twenty squaws and 
 their children. This was something we had never seen 
 among the Apaches before. Lieut. Jackson asked my 
 opinion of their having their families with them. I told 
 him I thought they must be on their way to Sonora to 
 trade, as at that time the Apaches had never traded but 
 very little with the whites. 
 
 They might be out for a hunt, but it was not custo- 
 mary when on such a trip to have their families with 
 them. Upon the receipt of the second dispatch from 
 George, Lieut. Jackson started out with three companies 
 of cavalry, and arrived at the spot near daybreak. I was 
 told afterwards that George had been crawling around 
 
DEATH OF GEORGE JONES. 569 
 
 all night getting the location of the Indians, the general 
 lay of the ground and to ascertain the best plan of at- 
 tack, knowing it would be so late by the time the Lieu- 
 tenant would arrive that he himself would have no time 
 to spare, and he had a diagram drawn on a piece of en- 
 velope of the camp and surroundings, also had their 
 horses located. When the Lieutenant was ready to 
 make the attack George took four of the scouts and 
 started to cut the horses off and prevent the Indians 
 from getting to them, but it seemed as though when the 
 cavalry started to make the charge, the Indians' dogs 
 had given the alarm and a part of th? Indians had made 
 for their horses. At any rate when daylight came George 
 was found some two hundred yarch from the Indian en- 
 campment, with both legs broker and a bullet through 
 his neck, which had broken it and four Indians lying 
 near him dead, whi'jh he no doubt had killed, and his 
 hor*e lay dead about a rod fro'.n where he lay. No one 
 had seen him fall nor had heard a word from him after 
 he gi> v e the order to charge !or the horses. About the 
 middle of that afternoon they returned to camp with 
 George's body and seven Jthers that were killed, and 
 nineteen wvunded soldiers They had killed thirty-seven 
 Indians and had taken all the squaws and children pris- 
 oners. After I had Vjoked at the body of that once 
 noble and bia/x form, but now a lifeless corpse, I told 
 the Lieuten?rt that I was ready to leave the field, for 
 there was rot a ir.?,n in the entire army that rouM till 
 his place, and without at least one reliable man in the 
 field it would be impossible to accomplish anything. 
 
 The d^.ad wore buried about two hundred yards IK nth 
 
570 
 
 THE GRAVE. 
 
 of the spring where we had camped, and I saw that 
 George Jones was put away in the best and most respect- 
 able manner possible considering the 
 circumstances by which we were 
 governed at that time. We buried 
 him entirely alone, near a yellow 
 pine tree, and at his head we placed 
 a rude pine beard, dressed in as 
 good a shape as could be done with 
 such tools as were accessible to our 
 use. On this board rr's name was 
 engraved, also his age and the man- 
 ner in which he came to his death, 
 and the same is also to be seen on 
 the yellow pine tree that stand* 
 
 Geroge tones' grave. near the graye of thig Qnce nob j> 
 
 friend and hero of the plains. 
 
 My brave and noble comrade, 
 You have served your country true, 
 
 Your trials and troubles are ended 
 And you have bade this world adieu. 
 
 You have been a noble companion, 
 
 Once so trusty, true and brave; 
 But now your cold and lifeless form 
 
 Lies silent in the grave. 
 
 While your form remains here with us 
 
 In this wicked dismal land, 
 Your soul has crossed the river 
 
 And joined the angel band. 
 
 The prisoners that were taken here Lieut Jackson 
 sent to Fort Yuma and placed under guard, as Gen. 
 Crook had made up his mind to capture all th? Apaches 
 
A LONESOME SUMMER. 
 
 he could and try in that way to civilize them, but he 
 made a total failure in regard to this particular triba of 
 Indians. 
 
 I informed George's father and mother of his death 
 as soon as I could get a letter to them, telling them as 
 soon as I returned to the fort I would draw his pay and 
 send it it to them, which I did. When I talked to Lieut. 
 Jackson ot quitting he said he could not spare me until 
 the summer's campaign was over, so I remained with 
 him. 
 
 We moved on and established our quarters at the 
 same place as the year before, and a more lonesome 
 summer I never put in anywhere than there. I was not 
 able to do anything more than stay in camp and give 
 orders until late in the season. Lieut. Jackson had two 
 more engagements that season, but I was not able to be 
 in either of them. 
 
 The first one the soldiers killed nine Indians, and the 
 other time the Indians made an attack on him while h, 
 with twenty of his men, were escorting an emigrant train 
 across the mountains. In this engagement the Lieuten- 
 ant did not lose a man, and only three horses, and killed 
 twenty-three Indians and gave them a chase of about 
 ten miles. 
 
 It was now getting late in the fall and Lieut. Jackson 
 pulled out for the fort, and by that time I was just able 
 to climb on my horse without assistance. We arrived 
 
 at Fort Yuma about the first of November, and there I 
 
 
 
 remained till the first of June, 1878. 
 
 Before I left I made Mrs. Davis and her family a 
 farewell visit. Two of her daughters were then married 
 
572 QUIT SCOUTING. 
 
 and lived near their mother, and all seemed to be in a 
 prosperous condition. After a pleasant visit with the 
 Davis folks I returned to the fort and commenced mak- 
 ing preparations to leave, but was delayed in starting at 
 least a month on account of some soldiers who had 
 served their time out and were going to return with me. 
 I told my old friend Lieut. Jackson the day before start- 
 ing that I did not think that there was another white 
 man in the United States that had seen less of civiliza- 
 tion or more of Indian warfare than I had, it now being 
 just thirty-one years since I started out with Uncle Kit 
 Carson onto the plains and into the mountains. 
 
 When I left the fort this time it was with the deter- 
 mination that I would not go into the scouting field 
 again, and I have kept my word so far, and think I shall 
 thus continue. I started out from the fort with twenty- 
 three head of horses, and I packed the' baggage of the 
 four discharged soldiers in order to get them to help me 
 with my loose horses. 
 
A BEAR HUNT. $73 
 
 CHAPTER XLIV. 
 
 A o'RIZZLEY HUNTS THE HUNTER. SHOOTING SEALS IN 
 
 ALASKAN WATERS. I BECOME A SEATTLE HOTEL 
 
 KEEPER AND THE BIG FIRE CLOSES ME OUT. SOME 
 REST. 
 
 On my arrival at San Francisco the first thing was to 
 get rid of my surplus horses. During the time I was 
 selling them I made the acquaintance of a man named 
 Walter Fiske, who was engaged in raising Angora goats, 
 about one hundred and twenty miles north from San 
 Francisco, and who was something of a hunter also. 
 Mr. Fiske invited me to go home with him and have a 
 bear hrnt. 
 
 Being tired of the city, I accompanied Mr. Fiske to 
 his ranch. He said he knew where there was a patch of 
 wild clover on which the grizzlies fed, so we were off for 
 a bear hunt. We soon found where they fed and watered. 
 They had a plain trail from their feeding place to the 
 water. Mr. Fiske being hard of hearing proposed that 
 I stop on the feeding ground and he would take his stand 
 down on the trail, and in case I should get into trouble 
 I could run down the trail, and if he were to get into a 
 tight place he would run up the trail to where I was. I 
 took my stand and had not been there long until I saw, 
 just behind, in about twenty feet of me, a huge grizzly 
 
574 
 
 A LIVELY CHASE. 
 
 bear coming for me on his hind feet. I did not see a 
 tree that I could get behind or climb, so I took out along 
 the trail as fast as I could, the grizzly after me. For 
 
 the first fifty yards I had to 
 run up grade and then I 
 turned down hill, When I 
 reached the top of the hill I 
 commenced to hallo at the 
 top of my voice, "Lookout 
 Walter, 'we are coming!" 
 Walter was sitting only a 
 few steps from the trail and 
 the moment I passed him I 
 heard the report of his gun. 
 I jumped to cne side and 
 gave the bear a shot. I got 
 
 'Look out Walter, we are coming!" 
 
 in two shots and Fiske four. After receiving this amount 
 of lead the bear ran but ^ short distance and dropped 
 
BOUGHT A RANCH. 575 
 
 dead. All of the shots were near the bear's heart. \Ve 
 dressed him and started home and we had bear meat 
 enough to last for some time to come. In the mean 
 time Mr. Fiske had told me about a man four miles fron. 
 hib place who had a ranch for sale, consisting of three 
 hundred and twenty acres of deeded land, one hundred 
 acres in cultivation, eighty bearing fruit trees and two 
 acres of a vineyard. He said the place could be bought 
 cheap, and he also told me that there was a vacant quar- 
 ter section adjoining this land that I could take up and 
 I would have the finest goat ranch in the country. Mr. 
 Fiske and I took a trip down and found the owner very 
 anxious to sell. After looking the ranch over and get- 
 ting his figures, I made him an offer of four thousand 
 dollars for everything, which offer he accepted, he re- 
 serving nothing but one span of horses, his bed and 
 clothing. We then went to Santa Rosa, the county seat, 
 to get an abstract of title and a deed to the property, 
 and now I am once more an honest rancher. While in 
 Santa Rosa I hired a man and his wife by the name of 
 Benson, by the year. Mr. Benson proved to be a good 
 man and his wife a splendid housekeeper. All went well 
 for about five months, and having filed on the quarter of 
 vacant land adjoining me, of course I had to move over 
 there. I had noticed a change in Benson's appearance, 
 but had not thought much about it till one Saturday I 
 sent him to haul some pickets over to my pre-emption 
 claim. That night, having company, I did not go to 
 the cabin on the claim, but stayed on the other place. 
 Benson was not at supper that evening, but I paid nc 
 attention to it nor thought it strange, supposing he wai 
 
576 BENSON INSANE. 
 
 just a little late getting home. The next morning I no- 
 ticed that he was not at the breakfast table, and I asked 
 Mrs. Benson why Mr. Bensen didn't come to his break' 
 fast. She asked if I had not told him to stay on the 
 pre-emption claim that night. I told hei that I had not 
 and that I had the key and he could not get into the 
 house, and besides there was no feed there for the mules. 
 She commenced to feel uneasy then. So as soon a? 
 breakfast was over I took one of my hired men and 
 started out to hunt for him. We struck the wagon trail 
 and tracked him around for some time. He had trav- 
 eled in a terribly round about way. We finally came to 
 him where he had run his team against a tree, and when 
 we came upon him he was down in front of the mules 
 whipping them around the fore legs trying to make them 
 get down and pray. He did not notice us until I spoke to 
 him and told him to quit whipping the mules. When he 
 looked at me I could see that he was perfectly wild. It 
 took us both three hours to get him back to the house. 
 I sent for the constable, who took him to Santa Rosa 
 and from there he was taken to the insane asylum. His 
 wife went East to her folks, and I was told afterwards 
 that he got all right. 
 
 I next tried a Chinese housekeeper, but John China- 
 man had too many relations in the country. There 
 would be two or three Chinamen there almost every week 
 to see my cook and would stay one or two nights. It 
 was not what they ate that I cared for, but what they 
 carried off. 
 
 I tried ranching there for three years and during that 
 time I had three different men with their wives, but 
 
QUIT RANCHING. 
 
 577 
 
 there was always something wrong, too far from church 
 or too far from neighbors, so^I came to the conclusion 
 that a man had no use with a ranch unless he had a wife. 
 In the mean time I had proved up on my pre-emption, 
 
 The Chinee housekeeper. 
 
 and had all my land fenced jn with a picket fence made 
 of red wood pickets. I had also got sick and tired of 
 ranching, not but 7irha I had done fairly well, but it was 
 too iTiucli fro+her /or * man that had been raited at I had. 
 
A HUNTING PARTY. 
 
 I went to San Francisco and placed my land in the hands 
 of a real estate agent for sale, and it was but a short 
 time when he sent two men out to look at it. This was 
 the fall of the year when my fruit was just beautiful and 
 the grapes ripe in the vineyard, and we were not long in 
 making a trade. 
 
 In less than one month I was without a house or home, 
 so I placed my money in the bank and arranged to get 
 my interest semi-annually, and made up my mind to take 
 things easy the balance of my days. 
 
 About one year from that time I succeeded in getting 
 up a hunting party, and we went up into the mountains 
 in Mendocino county, where we found game in abun- 
 dance, deer, elk and bear. I stayed out in the moun- 
 tains nearly three months, during which time I killed the 
 largest grizzly bear I have ever seen, weighing net, eight 
 hundred and sixty pounds. This bear I killed at one 
 shot, and it is the only grizzly that I ever killed at one 
 shot in all my hunting. We. also killed ten large elk. 
 One man in the party killed an elk that the horns meas- 
 ured from tip to tip, five feet and four inches, and those 
 horns can be seen at the Lick House in San Francisco. 
 He sold them for fifty dollars. 
 
 I remained in San Francisco until in the spring of 
 1886, when there was a party fitting up a schooner to go 
 sealing on the coast of Alaska, and I was offered a job 
 as shooter. I agreed to go with them and they were to 
 pay me two dollars for each seal that I killed. The first 
 of April we parted, and were twenty-two days getting to 
 where there was seal. 
 
 Now this was a new business to me, and my first seal 
 
HOOTING SEALS. 
 
 57* 
 
 Shooting Seal. 
 
 hunting was near the mouth of the Yukon river. The 
 captain anchored about twenty miles from land. There 
 
 were six sealing 
 boats with the 
 schooner, the 
 shooter had 
 charge of his 
 boat, and there 
 were two or 
 three other men 
 
 \ to accompany him. One of my 
 boatmen was a Frenchman and 
 the other a German; they were 
 both stout and willing to work. 
 While I received two dollars 
 a piece for all the seals killed, they only got one dollar 
 each, making in all four dollars each that the seals cost 
 the company. 
 
 In the morning the captain gives each man his course 
 and instructions to return at once when the signal can- 
 non is fired. The first morning that we started out we 
 went about four miles before we saw any seal, when we 
 ran on to a school sleeping on the water. The two boat- 
 men pulled up among them and I turned loose to shoot- 
 ing them and got six out of the outfit before they got 
 away from us. Shooting seal out of a boat reminded me 
 very much of shooting Indians when on a bucking cay- 
 use, as the boat is always in motion, and it is all that a 
 person can do to stand up in it when the sea is any ways 
 rough. That day I killed nine seal and we were called 
 in at two o'clock, as there was fog coming up, and w* 
 
5 8o 
 
 LOST IN THE FOG. 
 
 just got in ahead of it. We had lair success sealing until 
 the last of August, when my crew ventured a little too 
 far and the wind changed so that we did not hear the 
 cannon and the fog caught us. Each crew when starting 
 out in the morning always took supplies along sufficient 
 to last twenty-four hours. This time when we got caught 
 in the fog the wind had changed on us, so we tried to 
 remain as near the same place as possible, but this time 
 we had to guess at it as we could not always tell just 
 which way the tide was going. This was beyond any 
 doubt the worst trip that I ever experienced v the fog was 
 very cold and our clothing wet. We were out three days 
 and nights and then were picked up by another schooner. 
 
 The captain 
 of the schoon- 
 er that picked 
 us up heard 
 the firing of 
 our cannon 
 that morning 
 and we were 
 picked up 
 about noon. 
 He at once 
 set sail for 
 our schooner, 
 firing the sig- 
 nal cannon 
 every half 
 
 hour, reaching our schooner jnst as it was growing dark, 
 and the captain and crew had given us up for lost W* 
 
 The schooner in the /fog. 
 
KEEPING HOTEL. 
 
 stayed aut until the last of September, when we sailed 
 for San Francisco, and this wound up my seal hunting. 
 
 Thei j was only one other man in the crew that killed 
 more seal than I did during the season, but I made the 
 largest day's killing of any one in the crew, that being 
 twenty seven. But one season was enough for me in 
 that line of business. I concluded that I would much 
 rather take my chances on dry land. 
 
 In the spring of 1887 I took a trip to the Puget Sound 
 country and found Seattle a very lively place; in fact, as 
 much so as any place I had ever seen in my life. After 
 remaining in Seattle about two months I concluded that 
 I would try my hand at the hotel business, as that was 
 something I had not tried, so I bought out a man named 
 Smith, who owned a Vig hotel on the corner of South 
 second and Washington streets, just opposite John 
 Court's Theatre BuilJing, paying Mr. Smith sixteen 
 thousand dollars for the property, and besides this I 
 spent one thousand two hundred dollars in repairing and 
 fitting it up in shape. I gave it the name of "Riverside 
 House." Here I built up a good business in the hotel 
 line. In fact, inside of six months from the time I 
 opened up I had all that I could accommodate all tht 
 time, and this was the first time in my life that I had 
 been perfectly satisfied. 
 
 I had all the business I cc>old attend to, and was 
 making money, and as fast as I could accumulate a little 
 money I invested it in different paits of the city in good 
 property. 
 
 In tht month of May, 1889, two brothers narneJ 
 Clark, from Chicago, came to my hotel for the purpose of 
 
582 
 
 BURNED OUT. 
 
 buying me out, but I told them my property was not for 
 sale, as I was satisfied and liked the business and did not 
 
 think I could 
 find a place 
 that would 
 suit me better; 
 but about the 
 first of June 
 they returned 
 and made me 
 a n offer o f 
 twenty thou- 
 sand dollars. 
 I told them 
 that I would 
 not sell at any 
 price, as I was 
 satisfied and 
 intended tore- 
 main there as long as I lived On the morning of the 
 sixth of June, 1889, my clerk came to my room and woke 
 me up, saying that there was a fire in the northern part 
 of town and that the wind was blowing strong from that 
 direction. I dressed ai: once, and when I got out on the 
 street 1 could see the fire about a half mile from rriy 
 property, but had not the faintest idea that it would ever 
 reach me, -dthou^h the excitement was running high on 
 the street. I returned to the hotel, washed, and was 
 just eating my breakfast when one of the waiters came 
 and told me that he could see the fire from the door. I 
 told he must be mistaken, but he went and looked again 
 
 Mv clerk woke me u^, ayiag there was a fire. 
 
A HEAVY LOSS. 583 
 
 and came back and told me that the fire was getting very 
 close. I ran to the door and saw that it was then within 
 one block of my hotel. Now I saw that my property 
 was sure to be burnt, so I sent my clerk up stairs to see 
 whether or not there were^ny lodgers in the rooms, and 
 I made a rush for the safe and only just had time to get 
 it unlocked and the contents out when the fire was 
 on us. 
 
 That fire wiped me out slick and clean as I did not 
 have a dollar's worth of insurance on the property. Any 
 business man would have known enough at least to have 
 a few thousand dollars of insurance on that amount of 
 property, but I had never seen a fire before in a city and 
 thought it folly to insure, and did not find out my mis- 
 take until it was too late. During the next six months 
 I had a number of offers of money to build a brick hotel 
 on my lots, but I could not think for a moment of bor- 
 rowing the money for that purpose. 
 
 . I remained in Seattle for nine months, during which 
 time there was a great decrease in the value of property, 
 and I sold my lots where my hotel had stood at a very 
 reduced price. I tried various speculations on a small 
 scale during this time, but with very poor success. 
 
 By this time I had spent and lost in speculation about 
 all the money that I had realized for my property, and 
 the outside property that I owned I could not sell at any 
 price. Since that time I have wandered around from 
 pillar to post, catching a little job here and there, and at 
 this writing I am temporarily located at Moscow, M.iliu, 
 which is .situated in the heart of the famous Pa 
 
84 CONCLUSION, 
 
 country, one of the greatest countries on the globe fat 
 the growing of wheat, oats, barky, rye, flax and vege- 
 tables of all kinds. 
 
 And now kind reader, begging your pardon, I would 
 say that I have been two years making up my mind to 
 allow my life to go down in history to be read by the public, 
 as notoriety is something I never cared for. One reason, 
 perhaps, is that I was brought up by noble and generous- 
 hearted Kit Carson, who very much disliked notoriety, 
 and I do not believe that there ever was a son who 
 thought more of his father than I did of that high-minded 
 and excellent man. 
 
 I have had many opportunities to have the history of 
 my life written up, but would never consent to anything 
 of the kind. Finally, however, I decided to write it my- 
 self, and while it is written in very rude and unpolished 
 language, by an old frontiersman who never went to 
 school a day in his life, all he knows he picked up him- 
 self, yet it is the true history of the most striking events, 
 trials, troubles, tribulations, hardships, pleasures and 
 satisfactions of a long life of strange adventure among 
 wild scenes and wilder people, and in telling the story I 
 hope I have interested the reader. 
 
 It is not strange that in the wilderness, where all 
 nature sings, from the fairy tinkle of the falling snow to 
 the boom of a storm-swept canyon; and from the warb- 
 ling of the birds to the roaring growl of mad grizzlies; 
 and from the whispers of lost breezes to thunder of thou- 
 sands of stampeding hoofs it is not strange that among 
 all that, even a worn and illiterate old hunter should try 
 
THE OLD SCOUTS LAMENT. 585 
 
 to sing, if nothing more than the same sort of a song that 
 the dying sachem sings. So I beg you bear with 
 
 THE OLD SCOUT'S LAMENT. 
 
 Come all of you, my brother scouts, 
 
 And join me in my song; 
 Come, let us sing together, 
 
 Though the shadows fall so long. 
 
 Of all the old frontiersmen, 
 That used to scour the plain, 
 
 There are but very few of them 
 That with us yet remain. 
 
 Dav after day, they're dropping off; 
 
 They are going, one by one; 
 Our clan is fast decreasing; 
 
 Our race is almost run. 
 
 There were many of our number 
 
 That never wore the blue, 
 But, faithfully, they did their part, 
 
 As brave men, tried and true. 
 
 They never ioined the army, 
 
 But had other work to do 
 In piloting the coming folks, 
 
 To help them safely through. 
 
 But brothers, we are failing; 
 
 Our race is almost run; 
 The Jays of elk and buffalo, 
 
 And beaver traps, are gon. 
 
 Ob! the days of elk and buffalo, 
 
 It fills my heart with pain 
 To know those days are passed and gone, 
 
 To never come again. 
 
 We fought the red-skin rascals 
 
586 THE OLD SCOUT'S LAMENT. 
 
 Over valley, hill and plain; 
 We fought him tn the mountain top, 
 And fought him down again. 
 
 Those fighting days are over; 
 
 The Indian yell resounds 
 No more along the border; 
 
 Peace sends far sweeter sounds. 
 
 But we found great joy, old comrades, 
 To hear and make it die, 
 
 We won bright homes for gentle ones. 
 And now, our West, good-bye. 
 
Rhodes' Audiphone 
 
 Enabling the Deaf to hear 
 through tht medium qf the Tttth. 
 
FOB THE DEAF 
 THE AUDIPHONE 
 
 An Instrument that Enables Deaf Persons to 
 Hear Ordinary Conversation Readily through 
 the Medium of the Teeth, and Many of those 
 Born Deaf and Dumb to Hear and Learn to 
 Speak. 
 
 INVENTED BY RICHARD S. RHODES CHICAGO. 
 
 MEDAL AWARDED AT THE WORLD S COL. 
 
 UMBIA EXPOSITION, CHICAGO. 
 
 The Audiphone is a new instrument made of a peculiar composition 
 possessing the property of gathering the faintest sounds (somewhat similar 
 to a telephone diaphragm), and conveying them to the auditory nerve 
 through the medium of the teeth. The external ear has nothing what 
 n i er to do in hearing with this wonderful instrument, 
 
 Thousands are in use by those who would not do without them for 
 any consideration. It has enabled doctors and lawyers to resume practice 
 teachers to resume teaching, mothers to hear the voices of their children 
 thousands to hear their minister, attend concerts and theatres and engage 
 in general conversation. Music is heard perfectly with it where without 
 it not a nots could be distinguished. It is convenient to carry and to use. 
 Ordinary conversation can be heard with ease. In most cases deafness 
 is not detected. 
 
 Full instructions will be sent with each instrument. The Audiphone 
 is patented throughout the civilized world, 
 
 PRICE 
 
 Conversational, small size, .... . . $3.00 
 
 Conversational, medium size, 3.00 
 
 Concert size, .... .... . . . \ . . 5 . oo 
 
 Trial instruments, good and serviceable i. 50 
 
 The Audiphone will be sent to any address, 
 
 on receipt of price, by 
 RHODES & M'CLURE PUB. CO 
 
 AGENTS FOR THE WORLD, 
 
 CHICAGO, ILL 
 
PUBLISHED BY 
 
 RHODES & McCLURB PUBLISHING CO* 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 All handsomely bound in the b^st English and American cloths, with full Sil 
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 Price $i oo each. Sent post paid. 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S STORIES AND SPEECHES; 
 in one volume complete. New(i897) edition handsomelj 
 illustrated; containing the many witty, pointed and un- 
 equaled stories as told by Mr. Lincoln, including Early life 
 stories, Professional life stories, White House and War 
 stories; also presenting the full text of the popular Speech- 
 
 at Gettsyburg, etc. .etc.; and including his two great In- 
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 and valuable book; 477 pages. 
 
 MOODY'S ANECDOTES; 210 pages, exclusive 
 of engravings. Containing several hundred in- 
 teresting stories, told by the great evangelist, 
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 which have thrilled hundreds of thousands." 
 Pittsburg Banner. 
 
 MOODY'S GOSPEL SERMONS. As delivered by the great 
 Evangelist, Dwight Lyman Moody, in his revival work in 
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 Moody and his co-laborer, Ira David Sankey. Including, also, a 
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 a handsome, full-page engraving from Gustave Dore. The book 
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 Way." A handsome and attractive volume of 443 pages. 
 
 MOODY'S LATEST SERMONS. As delivered by the great 
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 with 24 full-page engravings from Gustave .Dore. 835 pages. 
 
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 SAM JONES' GOSPEL SERMONS 346 pages exclusive 
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 SAM JONES LATEST SERMONS. The favor with which Sam 
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 illustrated with a full-page illustration from Gustave Dore's Bible 
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 strike in all directions and always impart good moral lessons that can 
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 MISTAKES OF INGERSOLL, and his Ans. 
 wers complete; newly revised popular (1897) 
 edition; illustrated, 482 pages Containing the 
 full replies of Prof. Swing, Judge Black, 
 Munro^Gibson. D. D, Chaplain McCall, Bishop Cheney, Dr. 
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 Ingersoll's Lectures on the "Mistakes of Moses," Skulls." "What 
 Shall We Do to be Saved?" and "Thomas Paine," to which are ap- 
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 GREAT SPEECHES OF COL. R. G. INGERSOLL, complete, 
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 WIT, WISDOM AND ELOQUENCE OF COL. R. G. INGER- 
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 THE FIRST MORTGAGE; 310 pages. A truthful, instructive, 
 
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 EVILS OF THE CITIES: By T. DeWitt Talmage, D. D.; 530 
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 contains a full and graphic description of what he saw and the lessons 
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 are popularized from his standpoint in this volume. Handsomely 
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 TALMAGE IN THE HOLY LAND: 322 pages, The 
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 of Sacred Places, Vivid Delineations of Gospel Truths j 
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 SIN: A series of popular discourses delivered by T. DeWitt Talmage, 
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 McNEILL'S POPULAR SERMONS: 373 pages. Delivered in 
 
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 EDISON AND HIS INVENTIONS; 278 pages. Containing full 
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 TEN YEARS A cow BOY> A futl arid 
 
 description of frontier life, including romance 
 -j* * adventure and all the varied experiences in 
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 WILD LIFE INTHE FAR WEST By C. H, Simpson, a resident 
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 lustrated with 51 full page engravings 
 selected especially for this work from the 
 great art galleries of the world. A volume 
 of rare value and interest to all lovers of 
 good literature Reading matter 523 pages 
 
A TEN DOLLAR 
 DICTIONARY FOR $2.45 
 
 The Original Webster's Unabridged Dictionary 
 Thoroughly Revised and Greatly Enlarged and Improved 
 
 By CHAUNCEY A. GOODRICH, D. D., a<sd NOAH PCRTER, D. D..L. D. 
 
 3jjjfITH an Appendix of 
 **^ useful tab)es and a 
 supplement of more than 
 5,000 words, including tha 
 newest inventions, as: 
 "wireless telegraphy, "etc. 
 
 Classified selection of 
 pictorial illustrations; popu- 
 lation statistics; ancient 
 
 alphabets. 
 
 Over 1,750 pages; weight 
 nine pounds. 
 
 3,000 illustrations. 
 
 Handsomely bound in 
 sheep; marble edge; thumb 
 index; printed on good 
 paper in clear type. 
 
 The Very Best and Up-to-Date on the Market 
 for the Money 
 
 ALSO, ALL KINDS OF POCKET DICTIONARIES 
 
 Sold by RHODES & McCLURE PUBL. CO. 
 
 106 SO. JEFFERSON ST., CHICAGO, ILL.