V At I UNIVI H'.ll> I IHHAHY 3 9002 05350 4487 YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. Seventy Years on the Frontier ALEXANDER MAJORS' MEMOIRS OF x. Lifetime on the Border WITH A PREFACE BY "BUFFALO BILL" (GENERAL W. F. CODY) EDITED BY COLONEL PRENTISS INGRAHATvl DENVER The Western Miner and Financier publishers Copyright, 1893, by Rand, McNally & Co. Seventy Years on the Frontier DEDICATION. AS A TRIBUTE OF MY SINCERE REGARD FOR W. F. CODY as boy and man, my friend for two score years, i dedicate to him this book of border life. Alexander Majors. THE WESTERN MINER AND FINANCIER COOPER BUILDING, DENVER, COLORADO CONTENTS. PAGE. Preface, by Buffalo Bill 9 Note to Reader I3 CHAPTER. I. Reminiscences of Youth 15 II. Missouri in Its Wild and Uncultivated State 25 III. A Silver Expedition 32 IV. The Mormons 43 V. The Mormons' Mecca 63 VI. My First Venture 71 VII. Faithful Friends 78 VIII. Our War with Mexico 85 - IX. Doniphan's Expedition 90 X. The Pioneer of Frontier Telegraphy 99 XI. An Overland Outfit 102 XII. KitCarson 107 XIII. Adventures of a Trapper , 119 XIV. Trapping.. 125 XV. An Adventure with Indians.. 128 XVI. Crossing the Plains 137 XVII. " The Jayhawkers of 1849".. 150 XVIII. Mirages 157 XIX. The First Stage into Denver 164 XX. TheGoldFever 168 XXI. The Overland Mail 173 XXII. The Pony Express and Its Brave Riders. 182 (7) 8 CONTENTS. CHAPTER. PAGE. XXIII. The Battle of the Buffaloes 194 XXIV. TheBlackBear 201 XXV. TheBeaver 215 XXVI. A Boy's Trip Overland 221 XXVII. The Denver of Early Days 228 XXVIII. The Denver of To-day and Its Environs. 232 XXIX. Buffalo Bill from Boyhood to Fame 243 XXX. The Platte Valley... 247 XXXI. Kansas City before the War 253 XXXII. The Graves of Pioneers 258 XXXIII. Silver Mining." 267 PREFACE. As there is no man living who is more thoroughly com petent to write a book of the Wild West than my life-long friend and benefactor in my boyhood, Alexander Majors, there is no one to whose truthful words I would rather accept the honor of writing a preface. An introduction to a book of Mountain and Plain by Mr. Majors certainly need hardly be written, unless it be to refer to the author-in a way that his' extreme modesty will not permit him to speak of himself, for he is not given to sounding his own praise, being a man of action rather than words, and yet whose life has its recollections of seventy years upon the frontier, dating to a period that tried men's souls to the fullest extent, and when daring deeds and thrilling adventures were of every-day occurrence. Remem brance of seventy years of life in the Far West and amid the Rocky Mountains! What a world of thought this gives rise to, when we recall that a quarter of a century ago there was not a rail road west of the Missouri River, and every pound of freight, every emigrant, every letter, and every message had to be carried by wagon or on horseback, and at the risk of life and hardships untold. The man who could in the face of all dangers and obsta cles originate and carry to success a line of freighter wagons, a mail route from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and a Pony Express, flying at the utmost speed of a hare through the land, was no ordinary individual, as can be well (9) 10 PREFACE. understood. And such a man Alexander Majors was. He won success; and to-day, on the verge of four score years, lives over again in his book the thrilling scenes in his own life and in the lives of others. Family reverses after the killing of my father in the Kansas War, caused me to start out, though a mere boy, iri 1855 to seek to aid in the support of my mother and sis ters, and it was to Mr. Alexander Majors that I applied for a situation. He looked me over carefully in his kindly way, and after questioning me closely gave me the place of messenger boy, that was, one to ride with dispatches between the overland freighters — wagon trains going west ward into the almost unknown wild dump of prairie arid mountain. That was my first meeting with Alexander Majors, and up to the present time our friendship has never had a break in it, and, I may add, never will through act of mine. Having thus shown my claim to a thorough knowledge of my distinguished old friend, let me now state that his firm was known the country over as Majors, Russell & Woddell, but it was to Mr. Majors particularly that the heaviest duties of organizing and management fell, and he never shirked a duty or a danger, as I well remember. Severe in discipline, he was yet never profane or harsh, and a Christian and temperance man through all; he gov erned his men kindly, and was wont to say that he would have no one under his control who would not promptly obey an order' without it was emphasized with an oath. In fact, he had a contract with his men in which they pledged themselves not to use profanity, get drunk, gamble, or be cruel to animals under pain of dismissal, while good behavior was rewarded. Every man, from wagon-boss and teamster down to rustler and messenger-boy, seemed anx ious to gain the good will of Alexander Majors and to hold PREFACE. 11 it, and to-day he has fewer foes than any one I know, in spite of his position as chief of what were certainly a wild and desperate lot of men, where the revolver settled all difficulties. It was Mr. Majors' firm that originated and put in the Pony Express across the plains and made it the grand success it proved to be. It was his firm that so long and successfully carried on the business of overland freighting in the face of every obstacle, and also the Overland Stage Drive between the Missouri River and Pacific Ocean, and in his long life on the border he has become known to all classes and con ditions of men, so that In writing now his memoirs, no man knows better whereof he speaks than he does. In each instance where he has written to his old-time comrades for data, he has taken only that which he knew could be verified, and has thrown out material sufficient to double his book in size, where he felt the slightest doubt that it could not be relied upon to the fullest extent. His work, therefore, is a history of the Wild West, its pages authentic, and though many of its scenes are roman tic and thrilling, it is what has hitherto been an unwritten story of facts, figures, and reality; and now, that in his old age he finds his occupation gone, I feel and hope that his memoirs will find a ready sale. W. F. CODY, "Buffalo Bill." TO THE READER. In preparing the material of my book, I desire here to give justice where justice is due, and express myself as under obligations for valuable data and letters, which I fully appreciate; and publicly thank for their kindness in this direction those whose names follow: Col. W. F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill") of Nebraska. Col. John B. Colton, Kansas City, Mo. Mr. V. DeVinny, Denver, Colo. Mr. E. L. Gallatin, Denver, Colo. Judge Simonds, Denver, Colo. Mr. John T. Rennick, Oak Grove, Mo. Mr. Geo. W. Bryant, Kansas City, Mo. Mr. George E. Simpson, Kansas City, Mo. Mr. John Martin, Denver, Colo. Mr. David Street, Denver, Colo. Mrs. Nellie Carlisle, Berkeley, Cal. Mr. A. Carlisle, Berkeley, Cal. Mr. Green Majors, San Francisco, Cal. Mr. Ergo Alex. Majors, Alameda, Cal. Mr. Seth E. Ward, Westport, Mo. Robert Ford, Great Falls, Mont. Doctor Case, Kansas City, Mo. Benj. C. Majors, May Bell P. O., Colo. Prof. Robert Casey, Denver, Colo. John Burroughs, Colorado. Eugene Munn, Swift, Neb. Rev. Dr. John R. Shannon, Denver, Colo. - Thos. D. Truett, Leadville, Colo. Will C. Ferril. Yours with respect, ALEXANDER MAJORS. (18) B Seventy Years on the Frontier. CHAPTER I. reminiscences of youth. My father, Benjamin Majors, was a farmer, born in the State of North Carolina in 1794, and brought when a boy by my grandfather, Alexander Majors, after whom I am named, to Kentucky about the year 1800. My grandfather was also a farmer, and one might say a manufacturer, fof in those days nearly all the farmers in America were manu facturers, producing almost everything within their homes or with their own hands, tanning their own leather, making the shoes they wore, as well as clothing of all kinds. My mother's maiden name was Laurania Kelly; her father, Beil Kelly, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and was wounded at the battle of Brandywine. I was born in 1814, on the 4th day of October, near Franklin, Simpson County, Kentucky, being the eldest of the family, consisting of two boys and a girl. When I was about five years of age my father moved to Missouri, when that State was yet a Territory. I remember well many of the occurrences of the trip; one was that the horses ran away with the wagon in which my father, myself, and younger brothers were riding. My father threw us chil dren out and jumped out himself, though crippled in one foot at the time. One wheel of the wagon was broken to pieces, which caused us a delay of two days. (IB) 16 seventy years on the frontier. After crossing the Ohio River, in going through the then Territory of Illinois, the settlements were from ten to twenty miles apart, the squatters living in log cabins, and along one stretch of the road the log cabin settlements were forty miles apart. When we arrived at the Okaw River, in the Territory of Illinois, we found a squatter in his little log cabin whose occupation was ferrying passen gers across the river in a small flatboat which was pro pelled by a cable or large rope tied to a tree on each side of the river, it being a narrow but deep stream. The only thing attracting my special attention, as a boy, at that point was a pet bear chained to a stake just in front of the cabin where the family lived. He was constantly jumping over his chain, as is the habit of pet bears, especially when young. From this place to St. Louis, a distance of about thirty- five miles, there was not a single settlement of any kind. When we arrived on the east bank of the Mississippi River, opposite the now city of St. Louis, we saw a little French village on the other side. The only means of crossing the river was a small flatboat, manned by three Frenchmen, one on each side about midway of the craft, each with an oar with which to propel the boat. The third one stood in the end with a steering oar, for the purpose of giving it the proper direction when the others propelled it. This ferry would carry four horses or a four-horse wagon with its load at one trip. These men were not engaged half their time in ferrying across the river all the emigrants, with their horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs, who were moving from the East to the West and crossing at St. Louis. Of course the current would carry the boat a considerable distance down the river in spite of the efforts of the boatmen to the con trary. However, when they reached the opposite bank the two who worked the side oars would lay down their REMINISCENCES OF YOUTH. 17 oars, go to her bow, where a long rope was attached, take it up, put it over their shoulders, and let it uncoil until it gave them several rods in front of the boat. Then they would start off in a little foot-path made at the water's edge and pull the boat to the place prepared for taking on or unloading, as the case might be. There they loaded what they wanted to ferry to the other side, and the same process would be gone through with as before. Reaching the west bank of the river we found the village of St. Louis, with 4,000 inhabitants, a large portion of whom were French, whose business it was to trade with the numerous tribes of Indians and the few white people who then inhabited that region of country, for furs of various kinds, buffalo robes and tongues, as this was the only traffic out of which money could be made at that time. The furs bought of the Indians were carried from St. Louis to New Orleans in pirogues or flatboats, which were carried along solely by the current, for at that time steam power had never been applied to the waters of the Mississippi River. Sixty-seven years later, in 1886, I vis ited St. Louis and went down to the wharf or steamboat landing, and looking across to East St. Louis, which in 1818 was nothing but a wilderness, beheld the river spanned by one of the finest bridges in the world, over which from 100 to 150 locomotives with trains attached were daily passing. Three big steam ferryboats above and three below the bridge were constantly employed in transferring freight of one kind or another. What a change had taken place within the memory of one man! While looking in amazement at the great and mighty change, a nicely dressed and intelligent man passed by; I said to him: " Sir, I stood on the other bank of this river when a little boy, in the month of October, 1818, when there was no a ii- seventy years on the Frontier. improvement whatever over there" (pointing to the east shore). I also stated to him that a little flatboat, thahned by three Frenchmen, was the only means for crossing the river at that time. The gentleman took his pencil and a piece of paper and figured for a few mbmehtsj and theh turning tb me said: "Do you know, sir, those three Frenchmen, with their boat, who did all the work of ferry ing, and were not employed half this time, could ildt, with the facilities yoh speak of, in 100 years do what is now being done in one day with our present means of trans portation." Since that time, which was six years ago, another bridge has been built to meet the necessities of the increasing business of that city, which shows that progress and increase of wealth and development are still on the1 rapid march. The next thing of note, after passing St. Louis, Occurred one evening after we camped. My mother stepped on the Wagon-tongue to get the cooking utensils, when her foot slipped and she fell, Striking her side and receiving inju ries which resulted in her death eighteen months later. On that journey my father traveled westward, crossing the Missouri River at St. Chatles, Mo., following up the rivet from that point to where Glasgow is now situated, and there Crossed the river to the south side, and wintered ita the big bottoms. In the spring of 1819 he moved to what afterward became La Fayette County, and took up a location near the Big Snye Bear River. In February, the winter following, my dear mother died from the injur.es she received from the accident previously alluded to. The Rev. SirhOn Cockrell, a baptist preacher who at that time was over eighty years of agte, prfeathgd heir funeral sermon. He Was ihe hrst preacher I had ever seen stand up before a congregation with a book in his REMINISCENCES OF YOUTH. 19 hand. Although my mother died when I was little more than six years of age, my memory of her is apparently as fresh and endearing as though her death had occurred but a few days ago. Many acts I saw her do, and things I heard her say, impressed me with her courage and good ness, and their memory has been a help to me throughout the whole career of my long life. No mother ever gave birth to a son who loved her more, or whose tender recol lections have been more endearing or lasting than mine. I have never encountered any difficulty so great, no matter how threatening, that I have not been able to over come fearlessly when the recollection of my dear mother and the spirit by which she was animated came to me. Even to this day, and I am an old man in my eightieth year, I can not dwell long in conversation about her with out tears coming to my eyes. There are no words in the English language to express my estimate and appreciation of the dear mother who gave me birth and nourishment. I would that all men loved and held the memories of their mothers more sacred than I think many of them do. One of the greatest safeguards to man throughout the meander- ings of his life is the love of a father, mother brother and sister, children and friends; it is a great solace and anchor to right-thinking men when they may be hundreds and thousands of miles away. Love of family begets true patriotism in his bosom, for, in my opinion, there is no such thing as true patriotism without love of family. Returning to the events of 182 1, we had in the neighbor hood of the Snye Bear River a great Indian scare. This happened in the month Of August, when I was in my seventh year; after my father had built a log cabin for him self in that part of the country which afterward became Lafayette County* Mo. My mother had died ttyrHviiiter / 20 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. before, leaving myself, the eldest, a brother next, and a sister little more than two years old. Mrs. Ferrins, a settler who lived on the outskirts of the little settlement of pioneers, was alone, except for a baby a year old. She left the child and went to the spring for water. When she had filled her bucket and rose to the top of the bank, she imagined she saw Indians. She dropped her bucket, ran to the cabin, took the child in her arms, and fled with all her might to Thomas Hopper's, the nearest neighbor. As soon as she came near enough to be heard, she shouted " Indians " at the top of her voice. Polly Hop per, a young girl of seventeen, hearing Mrs. Ferrin shouting " Indians," seized a bridle and ran to a herd of horses that were near by in the shade of some trees, caught a flea- bitten gray bell mare, the leader of the herd, she being gentle and easier to catch than the others, mounted the animal without saddle, riding after the fashion of men, and started to alarm the settlement. My father was lying in bed taking a sweat to abate a bilious fever. A family living near by were caring for us children, and nursing my father in his sickness. My brother and I were playing a little distance from the cabin when we heard the screams of the woman, shouting " In dians " with every jump the horse made, her hair streaming out behind like a banner in the wind. We were on the very outside boundary of the settlement, and some signs of Indians had been discovered a few days previous by some neighbors who were out hunting for deer. This fact had been made known to the little settlement, and the day this scare took place had been selected for the men to meet at Henry Rennick's to discuss ways and means for building a stockade for the protection of their families in case the Indians should make an attempt of a hostile nature. So the first thoughts of the families at home were to start for REMINISCENCES OF YOUTH. 21 Rennick's, where the men were. This accounts for the young woman going by our house, as she had to pass our cabin to reach that place. My father, sick as he was, jumped out of bed when she passed giving the alarm, took a heavy gun from the rack, hung his shot pouch over his shoulder, took my little sister in his arms, and, like the rest, started for Rennick's, my little brother and I toddling along behind him. A family living near by, consisting of the mother, Mrs. Turner, two daughters, a son, and a little grandson, also started for Rennick's. They would run for a short dis tance, and then stop and hide in the high weeds until they could get their breath. The old lady had a small dog she called Ging. He was on hand, of course, and just as much excited as all the rest of the dogs in the neighborhood, and the people themselves. The screams of the girl Polly Hopper, and the ringing of the bell on the animal she was riding, aroused the dogs to the highest pitch of excitement. In those days dogs were a necessity to the frontiersman for his protection, and as much of a necessity on that account as any other animal he possessed, and consequently every settler owned from three to five dogs, and some more. They were the watch-guards against Indians and prowling beasts, both by night and day, and could not have been dispensed with in the settling of the frontier. To return to our trip to Rennick's: When the old lady and her flock would run into the weeds to hide and regain their breath, this little dog Ging could not be controlled, for bark he would. The old lady when angry would use "cuss words," and she used them on this dog, and would jump out of her hiding-place and start on the trail again. Of course when the dog barked he exposed her hiding- place. They would run a little farther, and when their breath would fail, they would make another hiding in the weeds, 22 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. but would scarcely get settled when the dog would begin his barking again. The old lady, with another string of " cuss words'," would jump out of the weeds and try the trail again a short distance. This was repeated until they reached Rennick's almost prostrate, as the distance was considerably over a mile, and the day an exceedingly hot one about noon. My father, though sick, was more fortu nate with his little group of children. When he felt about to faint, he would turn with us into the high weeds and sit there quietly, and, not having any dog with us to report our whereabouts, we were completely hidden by the high weeds, and had a hundred Indians passed they would not have discovered our hiding-place. In due time we arrived safe at Rennick's, and strange to say, my father was a well man, and did not go to bed again on account of the fever. When Polly Hopper reached Repnick's and ran into the crowd, she was in a fainting condition. The men took her off the horse, laid her on the ground, and administered cold water and other restoratives. She soon regained con sciousness and strength, and of course was regarded as a heroine in the neighborhood after that memorable day. One can well imagine the excitement among the men whose families were at home and exposed, as they thought, to the mercies of the savages. They scattered immedi ately toward their homes as rapidly as their horses would carry them, fearing they might find their families mur dered. For hours after we reached Rennick's there con tinued to be arrivals of women and children, many times in a fainting condition, and all exhausted from the fright, the heat, and the speed at which they had run. Mr. Rennick, who was one of the first pioneers, soon had more visitors than he knew what to do with, and more than his log cabin could shelter. These people remained in REMINISCENCES OF YOUTH. 23 and around the cabin for two days, and until the men rode the country over and found the alarm had been a false one and there were no Indians in the neighborhood. One of the first occurrences of note in the early settle ment of the West was the visitation of grasshoppers, in September, 1820, an occurrence which had never been known by the oldest inhabitants of the Mississippi Valley. They came in such numbers as to appear when in the heav ens as thin clouds of vapor, casting a faint shadow upon the earth. In twenty-four hours after their appearance every green thing, in the nature of farm product, that they could eat or devour was destroyed. It so happened, how ever, that they came so late in the season that the early corn had ripened, so they could not damage that, other wise a famine would have resulted. The next appearance of these pests was over forty. years later, in Western Mis souri, Nebraska, and Kansas, which all well remember, as there were two or three seasons in close proximity to each other in the sixties when Western farmers suffered to a great extent from their ravages. For five years, from 1821 to 1826, nothing worthy of note occurred, but everything moved along as calmly as a sunny day. In the month of April, 1826, a terrible cyclone passed through that section of the country, leaving nothing stand ing in its track. Fortunately the country was but sparsely settled, and no lives were lost. It passed from a south westerly direction to the northeast, tearing to pieces a belt of timber about half-a-mile wide, in that part of the coun try which became Jackson County, and near where Inde pendence was afterward located, passing a little to the west of that point. The next cyclone that visited that country was in 1847; this also passed from the southwest to the northeast, pass- 24 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. ing across the outskirts of Westport, which is now a suburb of Kansas City. The third and last cyclone that visited that section of the country, about eight years ago, blew down several houses in Kansas City, and killed a number of children who were attending the High School, the building being demolished by the storm. CHAPTER II. MISSOURI IN ITS WILD AND UNCULTIVATED STATE. There was about one-fourth of the entire territory of Missouri that was covered with timber, and three- fourths in prairie land, with an annual growth of sage-grass, as it was called, about one and one-half feet high, and as thick as it could well grow; in fact the prairie lands in the com mencement of its settlement were one vast meadow, where the farmer could cut good hay suitable for the wintering of his stock almost without regard to the selection of the spot; in other words, it was meadow everywhere outside of the timber lands. This condition of things would apply also to the States of Illinois, Iowa, and some of the other Western States, with the exception of Missouri, which had a greater proportion of timber than either of the others mentioned. The timber in all these States grew in belts along the rivers and their tributaries, the prairie covering the high rolling lands between the streams that made up the water channels of those States. Many of the streams in the first settling of these States were bold, clear running water, and many of them in Mis souri were sufficiently strong almost the year round to afford good water power for running machinery, and it was the prediction in the commencement of the settlement of these States by the best-informed people, that the water would increase, for the reason that the swampy portions in the bottom lands, and where there were small lakes, would, by the settlement of the country, become diverted, its force to run directly into and strengthen the larger streams for- (25) 26 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. all time to come. And to show how practical results over throw theories, the fact proved to be exactly the reverse of their predictions. There has been a continuous slow decline in the natural flow of water-supply from the first settlement of the country. Many places that I can now remember that were ponds or small lakes, or in other words little res ervoirs, which held the water for months while it would be slowly passing out and feeding the streams, have now become fields and plowed ground. Roads and ditches have been made that let the water off at once after a raipfajl. The result h^s been that streams that us,ec| to turn ma chinery have bepome not much more than outlets for thp heavy rainfalls that occur in the rainy season, and if twenty of those streams, each one of which had water enough to run machinery seventy years ago, were all put together npw jnto one stream, there would not be sufficient power to run a good plant of machinery. The numerous springs that could be found on every forty or eighty acres of land in the beginning, have very many of them entirely failed. The wells pf twenty or thirty feet in depth that used to afford any quaptity of water ior farnily uses, many of them in order to get water supplies have to be supk to a much greater depth. Little streams that used to afford apy quan tity of w^ter for the stock have dried UP> giving no water supply only in times of abundance of fain. All the first settlers in the State located alopg the timber belts, without an exception, apd cultivated the timber lands to produce their grain and; vegetables. It was many years after the forest l^nds were settled before prairie It^nds were cultivated to any extent, and it was found later that the prairie lands were more fertile than they gave them credit for fceipg before real tests in the way of farming were made with them. The sage grass had the tenacity to stand a great deal of grazing and tramping over, and still grow to considerable MISSOURI IN ITS WILD AND UNCULTIVATED STATE. 27 perfection. It required years of grazing upon the prairie before the wild grass, which was universal in the beginning, gave way, but in the timber portions the vegetation that was found in the first settling of the land gave way almost at once. In two years from the time a farmer moved upon a new spot and turned his stock loose upon it, the original wild herbs that were found there disappeared and other vegetation took its place. The land being exceedingly fer tile, never failed to produce a crop of vegetation, and when one variety did appear and cover the entire surface as thick as it could grow for a few years, it seemed to exhaust the quality of the soil that produced that kind, and that vari ety would give way and something new come up. The older the country has become, as a rule, the more obnoxious has been the vegetation that the soil has pro duced of its own accord. But there has been in my recol lection, which goes back more than seventy years, a great many changes in the crops of vegetation on those lands, showing to my satisfaction that there is an inherent potency in nature, in rich soil that will cover itself every year with a growth of some kind. If it is not cultivated and made to produce fruit, vegetables, and cereals, it will nevertheless produce a crop of some kind. The first settlers in the Mississippi Valley were as a rule poor people, who were industrious, economizing, and self- sustaining. From ninety-five to ninety-seven per cent of the entire population manufactured at home almost every thing necessary for good living. A great many of them when they were crossing the Ohio and Mississippi to their new homes would barely have money enough to pay their ferriage across the rivers, and one of the points in selling out whatever they had to spare when they made up their minds to emigrate was to be sure to have cash enough with them to pay their ferriage. They generally carried with 0 28 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. them a pair of chickens, ducks, geese, and if possible a pair of pigs, their cattle and horses. The- wife took her spin ning wheel, a bunch of cotton or flax, and was ready to go to spinning as. soon as she landed on the premises, often having her cards and wheel at work before her husband could build a log cabin. Going into a land, as it was then, that flowed with milk and honey they were enabled by the use of their own hands and brains to make an independent and good living. There was any quantity of game, bear, elk, deer, wild turkeys, and wild honey to be found in the woods, so that no man with a family, who had pluck and energy enough about him to stir around, ever need to be without a supply of food. At that time nature afforded the finest of pasture, both summer and winter, for his stock. While the people as a rule were not educated, many of them very illiterate as far as education was concerned, they were thoroughly self-sustaining when it came to the knowledge required to do things that brought about a plentiful supply of the necessities of life. In those times all were on an equality, for each man and his family had to produce what was required to live upon, and when one man was a little better dressed than another there could be no complaint from his neighbor, for each one had the same means in his hands to bring about like results, and he could not say his neighbor was better dressed than he was because he had cheated some other neighbor out of some thing, and bought the dress; for at that time the goods all had to come to them in the same way — by their own indus try. There was but little stealing or cheating among them. There was no money to steal, and if a man stole a piece of jeans or cloth of any kind he would be apprehended at once. Society at that time was homogeneous and simple, and opportunities for vice were very rare. There were MISSOURI IN ITS WILD AND UNCULTIVATED STATE. 20 very few old bachelors and old maids, for about the only thing a young man could do when he became twenty-one, and his mother quit making his clothes and doing his wash ing, was to marry one of his neighbor's daughters. The two would then work together, as was the universal custom, and soon produce with their own hands abundance of supplies to live upon. The country was new, and when ayoung man got married his father and brothers, and his wife's father and brothers, often would turn out and help him put up a log cabin, which work required only a few days, and he and his spouse would move into it at once. They would go to work in the same way as their fathers had done, and in a few years would be just as independent as the old people. The young ladies most invariably spun and wove, and made their bridal dresses. At that time there were millions of acres of land that a man could go and squat on, build his cabin, and sometimes live for years upon it before the land would come into market, and with the prosperity attending such undertakings, as a general thing would manage in some way, when the land did come into market, to pay $1.25 per acre for as much as he required for the mainte nance of his family. Men in those days who came to Missouri and looked at the land often declined to select a home in the State on account of their having no market for their products, as above stated, everybody producing all that was needed for home consumption and often a surplus, but were so far away from any of the large cities of the country, without transportation of either steamboats or railroads, for it was before the time of steamboats, much less railroads — for neither of them in my early recollections were in existence — to make them channels of business and trade. Men in the 30 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. early settlement often wondered if the rich land of the State would ever be worth $5 per acre. Missouri at that time was considered the western confines of civilization, and it was believed then that there never would be in the future any white settlements of civilized people existing between the western borders Of Missouri and the Pacific Coast, unless it might be the strip between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, which the people at that time knew but little oi* nothing about. In 1820 and 1830 there were a great many peaceable tribes of Indians, located by the Government all along the western boundary of Missouri, in what was then called the Indian Territory, and has sinfce then become the States of Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma Territory. I remember the names of many of the tribes who were our nearest neighbors across the line, ahd among them were the Shawnees, Delawares, WyandOttes, Kickapoos, Miamis, Sacs, Foxes, Osages, Peorias, and lowas, all Of whom were perfectly friendly and docile, and lived for a great many years in close proximity to the white settlers, even coming among them to trade without any outbreaks or trespassing upon the rights of the white people in any way or manner worth mentioning. There was a long period existing from 1825 to i860 of perfect harmony between these tribes and the white people, and in fact even to this day there is ho disturbance between these tribes and their neighbors, the whites. The Indian troubles have been among the Sioux, Arapahofes, Cheyehnes) Apaches, Utes, and some other minor tribes, all of Which, at the present time, seem to have submitted to their fate in whatever direction it may lie. There is one remark that I will venture here, and it is this, that while the white people were in the power of the Indians and Missouri in its wild and uncultivated state. 31 understood it, we got along with the Indian a great deal better than when the change to the white people took place. In the early days white men respected the Indian's rights thoroughly, and would not be the aggressors, and often they were at the mercy of the Indians, but as soon as they began to feel that they could do as they pleased, became more aggressive and had less regard for what the Indian considered his rights. Then in the early days Indians were paid their annuities in an honest way, and there was no feeling among them that they were mis treated by the agent whose duty it was to pay them this annuity. I was acquainted with one Indian agent by the name of Major Ciimmings, who for a long time was a citizen of Jackson County, and for a great many years agent for a number of the tribes living along the borders of Missouri. There never was a complaint or even a suspicion, to the best of my knowledge, that he or his clerks ever took one cent of the annuities that belonged to the Indians. The money was paid to them in silver, either in whole or half dollars, and the head of every family received every cent of his quota. Therefore we had a long period of quiet and peace with our red brethren. It is only since the late war that there has been so much complaint from the Indians with reference to the scanty allowances and poor food and blankets. CHAPTER III. a silver expedition. In the summer of 1827 my father, Benjamin Majors, with twenty-four other men, formed a party to go to the Rocky Mountains in search of a silver mine that had been discovered by James Cockrell,* while on a beaver-trapping expedition some four years previous. At that time, men attempting to cross the plains had no means of carrying food supplies to last more than a week, or ten days at the outside. When their scanty supply of provisions was exhausted, they depended solely upon the game they might chance to kill, invariably eating this with out salt. These twenty-five men elected James Cockrell their captain, as he was the only man of the party who had crossed the plains. Being the discoverer of what he claimed was a rich silver mine, they relied solely upon him to pilot them to the spot. The only facilities for transportation were one horse each. Their scant amount of bedding, with the rider, was all the horse could carry. Each man had to be armed with a good gun, and powder and ball enough to last him during the entire trip, for the territory through which they had to pass was inhabited by hostile Indians. No cooking vessels were taken with them, as they depended entirely upon roasting or broiling their meat upon the fire. When they could not find deer, antelope, elk, or buffalo they had to do without food, unless they were driven to kill and eat a wolf they might chance to get. When they reached the buffalo belt, however, 200 miles farther west, * An uncle of Senator Cockrell of Missouri. (33) A SILVER EXPEDITION. 33 there was no scarcity of meat. The country where they roamed was 400 miles across, reaching to the base of the Rocky Mountains, and extending from Texas more than 3,000 miles, very far north of the Canadian line. The buffalo were numbered by the millions. It often occurred in traveling through this district that there would be days together when one would never be out of sight of great herds of these animals. They stayed in the most open portion of the plains they could find, for the country was one vast plain, or level prairie. The grass called buffalo grass did not grow more than one and one-half to two inches high, but grew almost as thick in many places as the hair on a dog's back. Other grasses that were found in this locality grew much taller, but one would invariably find the buffalo grazing upon the short kind, especially so in the winter, as the high winds blew the snow away from where this grass grew. There were millions of acres of this grass. The buffalo's teeth and under jaw were so arranged by nature that he could bite this short grass to the earth; in fact no small animal, such as a sheep, goat, or antelope, could cut the grass more closely than the largest buffalo. Strange to say this short grass of the prairie is rapidly dis appearing, as the buffaloes have done. In crossing the plains with our oxen in later years we found it impossible for them to get a living by grazing on the portions of the plains where this grass grew. The party in question soon reached the Raton Mount ains not far from Trinidad, now on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa F6 Railroad. It is proper to state that after leav ing their homes in Jackson and Lafayette counties, Mo., they traveled across the prairie, bearing a little south of west, until they reached the Big Bend, or Great Bend, as it is lately called, of the Arkansas River. At this point they found innumerable herds of buffalo, and no trouble in find- 3 34 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. iug grass and Water in plenty, as well as meat. They fol lowed the margin of the river until they reached the foot' hills of the Rocky Mountains; then their captain told them he was in the region where he had discovered the mine. He found some difficulty in locating the spot, and after many days spent in searching, some of the party grew restless and distrustful, doubting as to whether he ever discovered silver ore, or if so, if he was willing to show them the loca tion, and became Very threatening in their attitude toward him. He finally found what he and they had supposed Was silver ore. This fact pacified the party and perhaps saved his life, as it was a long way for men to travel through peril and hardships only to be disappointed, or, as they expressed it, "to be fooled." They were disap pointed, however, when they found nothing but dirty-look ing rock, with now and then a bright speck of metal in it. Not one of them had ever seen silver ore, nor did they know anything about manipulating the rock in order to get the silver out of it. Many of them expected to find the silver in metallic form, and thought they could cut it out with their tomahawks and pack home a good portion of wealth upon their horses. They thought they could walk and lead their horses if they could get a load of precious metal to carry, as their captain had done a few years before, when he sold his beaver skins in St. Louis, took his pay in silver dollars, put them in a sack, bought a horse to carry it, and led him 300 miles to his home. It must be remembered that this was the first prospect ing party to look for silver that ever left the western bor ders of Missouri for the Rocky Mountains. After finding what they supposed was a silver mine, each one selected some of the best specimens and left for their homes. Everything moved along well with them until they arrived at about the point on the Arkansas River where Dodge City A SILVER EXPEDITION. 35 now stands. They camped one evening at the close of a day's travel, ate a hearty supper of buffalo meat, put their guard around their horses, and went to bed. Two men at a time guarded the horses, making a change every three hours during the night. This precaution was necessary to keep the Indians, who were in great numbers and hostile, from running off their horses. But on that fatal night the Indians succeeded in crawling on their bellies where the grass was tall enough to conceal them from the guard. It was only along the river bottoms and water courses that the grass grew tall.. When they got between the guard and the horses, they suddenly rose, firing their guns, shaking buffalo robes, and with war-whoops and yells succeeded in frightening the horses to an intense degree. Then the Indians who were in reserve, mounted on ponies, ran the horses off where their owners never heard of or saw them afterward. Part of the Indians, at the same time, turned their guns upon the men that were lying upon the bank of the river. They jumped out of their beds, over the bank and into the water knee-deep. The men, by stooping under the bank, which was four feet perpendicular, were protected from the arrows and bullets of the enemy. There they stood for the remainder of that cold October night. One of the party, a man named Mark Foster, when they jumped over the bank, did not stop, but ran as fast as he could go for the other side. The water was shallow, not being more than knee-deep anywhere, and in some places not half that depth. The bottom was sandy, and at that place the river was some 400 yards wide. In running in the dark of the night, with the uneven bottom of the river, Mr. Foster fell several times. Each time it drew a yell from the Indians, who thought they had killed him, for they were shooting at him as he ran. After being three times ducked, he reached the other side and dry land. 36 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. His clothes were thoroughly drenched, and his gun, which was a flint-lock and muzzle-loader, entirely useless. Just think of a man in that condition— his gun disabled, appar ently a thousand wolves howling around him in all direc tions, the darkness of the night, the yelling of the Indians on the other side, and 400 miles from home; the only liv ing white man, unless some of his comrades happened not to be killed. He remained there shivering wiLh the cold the rest of the night. When daylight appeared he started to cross the river to the camp to find out whether his com rades were dead or alive. He reached the middle of the river and halted, his object being to see, if possible, whether it was the Indians or his party that he could see through the slight fog that was rising and slowly moving west ward and up the river. His comrades, who fortunately were alive, could hear, in the still of the morning, every step he made in the water. After standing a short time he decided that the men he saw moving about were Indians, and he was confirmed in the belief that all his party were killed, so he ran back to where he had spent such a doleful part of the night and there remained until the fog entirely cleared away. He then could see that the men at the camp from where he fled were his comrades. He returned within about sixty yards from where they were, stopped and called to my father, who answered him, after some persuasion from the rest of the party, for they all felt ugly toward him, thinking he had acted the coward in doing as he did. When my father answered his call, he asked if they would allow him to join them. After holding a consultation it was agreed that he might come. He walked firmly up to them and remarked: " I have something to say to you, gentlemen. It is this: I know you think I have acted the d — d coward, and I do not blame you under the circumstances. When you all A SILVER EXPEDITION. 37 jumped over the bank I thought you were going to run to the other side, and I did not know any better until I had got so far out I was in greater danger to return than to go ahead. For, as you know, the Indians were sending vol leys of bullets and arrows after me, and really thought they had killed me every time I fell. Now, to end this question, there is one of two things you must do. The first is that you take your guns and kill me now, or if you do not com ply with this, that every one of you agree upon your sacred honor that you will never allude, in any way, or throw up to me the unfortunate occurrences of last night. Now, gentlemen, mark what I say. If you do not kill me, but allow me to travel with you to our homes, should one of you ever be so thoughtless or forgetful of the promise you must now make as to throw it up to me, I pledge myself before you all that I will take the life of the man who does it. Now, I have presented the situation fairly, and you must accept one or the other before you leave this spot." The party with one accord, after hearing his story, agreed never to allude to it in any way in his presence, and gave him a cordial welcome to their midst. They treated him as one of them from that time on, for he was a brave man after all. Think of the awful experience the poor fellow had during the night, and in the morning, to reach an amicable understanding with his party. One can readily see that he was a man of very great courage and physical endurance, or he could not have survived tbe pressure upon him. It was a sad time for those twenty-five brave men for more reasons than one. Knowing that they were 400 miles from home, late in the fall, without a road or path to follow, no stopping place of any kind between them and their homes on the borders of the Missouri, which was as far as civilizal ion hid reached westward. The thought that impressed them most deeply was in reference to one 38 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. of their comrades by the name of Clark Davis, whom they all loved and honored. He was a man weighing 300 pounds, but not of large frame, his weight consisting more of fat than bone. It was the universal verdict of the party that it would be impossible for him to walk home and carry his gun and ammunition as they all had to do. They would go aside in little groups, so he would not hear them, and deplore the situation. They thought they would have to leave him sitting in the prairie for the wolves to devour, or hazard the lives of all the rest of the party. Some actually wept over the thought of the loss of such a dear comrade and noble-hearted man. Should they chance to reach their own homes, for they were all men with families, the idea of telling his family that they were obliged to leave him was more than they felt their nerves could endure. In my opinion there never was a more brave and heroic group of men thrown together than were those twenty-five frontiersmen. All were fine specimens of man hood, physically speaking, between thirty and forty years of age, and with perfect health and daring to do whatever their convictions dictated. They went to work and burned their saddles, bridles, blankets, in fact everything they had in camp that they could not carry with them on their backs. This they did to prevent the Indians from getting any more "booty." After all their arrangements were made for leaving their unfortunate camping-place, they started once more for their homes. They traveled at the rate "of twenty to twenty-five miles per day. They could have gone farther, but for the fact that they had no trail to walk in. The grass in some places, and the drifting sand in others, made it exceedingly irksome for footmen. My father was frequently asked after his return: " Was there no road you could follow? " A SILVER EXPEDITION. 39 He would answer: "No, trom the fact that the drifting sand soon filled every track of a passing caravan and no trace was left of a trail a few hours afterward." A few years later on this shifting of sand discontinued, and grass and small shrubbery soon began to grow and cover many places that were then perfectly bare. One-half of the distance they had to walk was covered with herds of buffalo, the other half was through desolate prairie country, where game of any kind was seldom seen. It was on this part of their journey that they came near starvation. It only took them a few days after leaving the buffalo belt to consume what meat they had carried on their backs, as men become very hungry and consume a great deal of meat when they have long and tiresome walks to make. In the first week of their march their convictions in regard to Clark Davis were confirmed, as they thought, for his feet blistered in a terrible manner, his fat limbs became exceed ingly raw and sore, so he of necessity would lag. Then they would detail of a morning when they started, a guard of five or six men to remain with him for protection from the Indians. The rest of the party would walk on to some point they would designate for camping the next night, and he with his little guard would arrive some three or four hours later. This went on for seven or eight days in suc cession, each day they expecting the news from the guard that he had given up the hope of going any farther. But in time his feet began to improve, in fact his condition every way, and he would reach camp sooner each day after the arrival of the party. After they had passed the buf falo belt, where meat was abundant, and struck the starva tion belt in their travels, Mr. Davis* fat proved a blessing and of great service. When fatigue and want were to be endured at the same time, he began to take the lead instead 40 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. of the rear of the party. Several days before they reached home they would have perished, but for the fact that he alone had sufficient activity and strength to attempt to hunt for game, for they had seen none after leaving the buffalo. They had reached a place called Council Grove— now a city of that name — in the State of Kansas, about one hun dred and thirty miles from their homes. After so many weeks of hard marching they thought they could go no farther, and some dropped on the ground, thinking it use less to make the attempt. At this juncture Clark Davis said: "Boys, I will go and kill a deer.'' My father said the very word was tantalizing to a lot of men who were almost dying of hunger. They did not know there was a deer in the country, or anything else that could be eaten, not even a snake, for cold weather was so near even they had disappeared. Davis, however, deter mined on his hunt, left his comrades, and had traveled only a few hundred yards until he saw two fine deer standing near. Directly the men in the camp heard the report of his gun, and as soon as he could reload they heard a second report, and then a shout, " Come here, boys! there is meat in plenty." You may imagine it was not long until everyone joined him. They drank every drop of blood that was in the two deer, ate the livers without cooking, and saved every particle, even taking the marrow out of their legs. This meat tided them over until they were able to reach other food. Never before in the history of the past, nor- since that time, did 150 pounds of surplus fat — so considered until starvation overtook them — prove to be of such great value, and was worth more to them than all the gold and silver in the Rocky Mountains. When the test came, it was found to be one of nature's reservoirs that could be drawn upon A SILVER EXPEDITION. 41 to save the lives of twenty-five brave men when all else failed them. Mr. Davis, as well as the rest of the party, no doubt often wished it could be dispensed with, as after losing his horse he carried it with great suffering and fatigue, before they learned its use, and that it was to be the salvation of the party. We often hear it said that truth is stranger than fiction, and this certainly was one of the cases where it proved to be so. They finally reached home without losing one of their party; but they all gave the man whom they expected to leave to the wolves in the start the credit of saving their lives. When Mr. Davis reached his family the first thing his wife did was to set him a good meal. When he sat down to the table he said, " Jane, there is to be a new law for the future of our lives at our table." She said, "What is it, Clark?" He answered, " It is this. I never want to hear you or one of my children say bread again." "What then must we call it?" asked his wife. "Call it bready,'' said he, " for when I was starving on the plains it came to me that the word bread was too short and coarse a name to call such sweet, precious, and good a thing, and whoever eats it should use this pet name and be thankful to God who gives it, for I assure you, wife, the ordeal I have passed through will forever cause me to appreciate life and the good things that uphold it." The outcome of this trip was drawing the party together, like one family, and they could not be kept long apart. It is a fact that mutual suffering begets an endearment stronger than ties of blood. It was interesting to me as a boy to hear them relate their experiences in reference to their hard trials and forebodings that were undergone, with no beneficial results. Some of them sent their specimens to St. Louis to be tested for silver, but received discouraging accounts of its value. If a very rich mine had been found 42 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. at that time it would not have been of any practical value, for they were more than thirty years ahead of the time when silver-mining could be carried on, from an American stand point, with success. There was no one west of the Alle- ghanies with capital and skill enough to carry on such an enterprise, and there were no means whatever for trans porting machinery to the Rocky Mountains. CHAPTER IV. THE MORMONS. Nothing of very great note occurred in the county of Jackson, after the cyclone of 1826, until the year 1830, when five Mormon elders made their appearance in the county and commenced preaching, stating to their audi ences that they were chosen by the priesthood which had been organized by the prophet Joseph Smith, who had met an angel and received a revelation from God, who had also revealed to him and his adherents the whereabouts of a book written upon golden plates and deposited in the earth. This book was found in a hill called Cumorah, at Man chester, in the State of New York. They selected a place near Independence, Jackson County, Mo., in the early part of the year 1831, which they named Temple Lot, a beauti ful spot of ground on a high eminence. They there stuck down their Jacob's staff, as they called it, and said: "This spot is the center of the earth. This is the place where the Garden of Eden, in which Adam and Eve resided, was located, and we are sent here according to the directions of the angel that appeared to our prophet, Joseph Smith, and told him this is the spot of ground on which the New Jerusalem is to be built, and, when finished, Christ Jesus is to make his reappearance and dwell in this city of New Jeru salem with the saints for a thousand years, at the end of which time there will be a new deal with reference to the nations of the earth, and the final wind-up of the career of the human family." They claimed to have all the spiritual gifts and understanding of the works of the Almighty that («) 44 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. belonged to the Apostles who were chosen by Christ when on his mission to this earth. They claim the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues or languages spoken in an unknown tongue. In their silent meetings, the one who had received the gift of an unknown tongue knew nothing of its interpretation whatever, but after some silence some one in the audience would rise and claim to have the gift of interpretation, and would interpret what the brother or sister had previously spoken. They also claimed to have the gift of healing by anointing the sick with oil and lay ing on of hands, and some claimed that they could raise the dead; in fact, they laid claim to every gift that be longed to the Apostolic day or age. They established their headquarters at Independence, where some of their lead ing elders were located. There they set up a printing office, the first that was established within 150 miles of Independence, and commenced printing their church liter ature, which was very distasteful to the members and lead ers of other religious denominations, the community being composed of Methodists, Baptists of two different orders, Presbyterians of two different orders, and Catholics, and a denomination calling themselves Christians. In that day and age it was regarded as blasphemous or sacrilegious for any one to claim that they had met angels and received from them new revelations, and the religious portion of the community, especially, was very much incensed and aroused at the audacity of any person claiming such interviews from the invisible world. Of course the Mormon elders de nounced the elders and preachers of the other denomina tions above mentioned, and said they were the blind lead ing the blind, and that they would all go into the ditch together. An elder by the name of Rigdon preached in the court house one Sunday in 1832, in which he said that he had been to the third heaven, and had talked face to face THE MORMONS. 45 with God Almighty. The preachers in the community ihe next day went en masse to call upon him. He repeated what he had said the day before, telling them they had not the truth, and were the blind leading the blind. The conduct of the Mormons for the three years that they remained there was that of good citizens, beyond their tantalizing talks to outsiders. They, of course, were clannish, traded together, worked together, and carried with them a melancholy look that one acquainted with them could tell a Mormon when he met him by the look upon his face almost as well as if he had been of different color. They claimed that God had given them that locality, and whoever joined the Mormons, and helped prepare for the next coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, would be accepted and all right; but if they did not go into the fold of the Latter Day Saints, that it was only a matter of time when they would be crushed out, for that was the promised land and they had come to possess it. The Lord had sent them there and would protect them against any odds in the way of numbers. Finally the citizens, and particularly the religious portion of them, made up their minds that it was wrong to allow them to be printing their literature and preaching, as it might have a bad effect upon the rising generation; and on the 4th of July, 1833, there was quite a gathering of the citizens, and a mob was formed to tear down their printing office. While the mob was forming, many of the elders stood and looked on, predicting that the first man who touched the building would be paralyzed and fall dead upon the ground. The mob, however, paid no attention to their predictions and prayers for God to come and slay them, but with one accord seized hold of the imple ments necessary to destroy the house, and within the quickest time imaginable had it torn to the ground, and scattered their type and literature to the four winds. This, 46 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. of course, created an intense feeling of anger on the part of the Mormons against the citizens. At this time there were but a few hundred Mormons in the county against many times their number of other citizens. I presume there was not exceeding 600 Mormons in the county. Immediately after they tore down the printing office they sent to the store of Elder Partridge and Mr. Allen, who was also an elder in the church, and took them by force to the public square, stripped them to their waists, and poured on them a sufficient amount of tar to cover their bodies well, and then took feathers and rubbed them well into the tar, making the two elders look like a fright. One of their names being Partridge, many began to whistle like a cock partridge, in derision. Now, be it remembered that the people who were doing this were not what is termed " rab ble " of a community, but many among them were respect able citizens and law-abiding in every other respect, but who actually thought they were doing God's service to destroy, if possible, and obliterate Mormonism. In all my experience I never saw a more law-abiding people than those who lived where this occurred. There is nothing, however, that they could have done that would have proved more effect ual in building up and strengthening the faith of the peo ple so treated as this and similar performances proved to do. For if there is anything under the sun that will strengthen people in their beliefs or faith, no matter whether it is error or truth, if they have adopted it as true, it is to abuse and punish them for their avowed belief in whatever they espouse as religion or politics. A few months after the tearing down of the building, a dozen or two Mormons made their appearance one day on the county road west of the Big Blue and not far from the premises of Moses G. Wilson. Wilson's boy rode out to drive up the milk cows in the morning, and saw THE MORMONS. 47 this group of Mormons and had some conversation with them, and they used some very violent language to the boy. He went back and told his father, and it happened that there were several of the neighbors in at the time, as he kept a little county store; and in those days men generally carried their guns with them, in case they should have a chance to shoot a deer or turkey as they went from one neighbor's to another. It so happened that several of them had their guns with them; those who did not picked up a club of some kind, and they all followed the boy, who showed them where they were. When they got in close proximity to where the Mormons were grouped, seeing the men approaching with guns, the Mormons opened fire upon them, and the Gentiles, as they were called by the Mor mons, returned the fire. There was a lawyer on the Gen tile side by the name of Brazeel, who was shot dead; another man by the name of Lindsay was shot in the jaw and was thought to be fatally wounded, but recovered. Wilson's boy was also shot in the body, but not fatally. There were only one or two Mormons killed. Of course, after this occurrence, it aroused an intense feeling of hate and revenge in the citizens, and the Mormons would not have been so bold had it not been for their elders claiming that under all circumstances and at all times they would be sustained by the Almighty's power, and that a few of them would be able to put their enemies to flight. The available Mormon men then formed themselves into an organization for fighting the battles of the Lord, and started to Independence, about ten miles away, to take pos session of the town. On their way, and when they were within about a mile of Independence, they marched with all the faith and fervor imaginable for fanatics to possess, encour aging each other with the words, " God will be with us and deliver our enemies into our hands." At this point they 48 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. met a gentleman whom I well knew, by the name of Rube Collins, a citizen of the place, who was leaving the town in a gallop to go home and get more help to defend the town from the Mormon invasion. He shouted out as he passed .them, " You are a d — d set of fools to go there now; there are armed men enough there to exterminate you in a minute." They were acquainted with Collins, and supposed he had told them the truth; however, at that time they could have" taken the town had they pressed on, but his words intimi dated them somewhat, and they filed off from the big road and hid themselves in the brush until they could hold a council, and I presume pray for light to be guided by. During this time there were runners going in all directions, notifying the citizens that the Mormons were coming to the town to take it, and every citizen, as soon as he could ruir bullets and fill his powder horn with powder, gathered his gun and made for the town; and in a few hours men enough had gathered to exterminate them had they approached. In their council that they held they decided not to approach until they sent spies ahead to see whether Collins had told them the truth or not. They supposed he had, from the fact that they found the public square almost covered with men, and others arriving every minute. As quickly as the citizens had organized them selves into companies (my father, Benjamin Majors, being captain of one of them), they then sent a message by two or three citizens to the Mormons, where they were still secreted in the paw-paw brush, and told them that if they did not come and surrender immediately, the whole party that was waiting for them in the town would come out and exterminate them. This message sent terror to their hearts, with all their claims that God would go before them and fight their battles for them. After holding another council they decided the best thing they could do THE MORMONS. 49 wa^ tp go and surrender themselves to t^eif enemies, which they djd. I neyef saw a more pa,le-fa,ced,, terror-stricken set of Wen handed together than thesp seventy-five Mor mons, fpr it was all the officers cquld do to keep *"£ c'ti" zens from shooting them down, even when they were sur rendering. Jfowevef, they succeeded in jceeping the men quiet, ^nd nc> one was hurt. They stapked all their arms arqupd a big white-oak. stump that was perhaps four feet in dianieter, apd at that time was standing in the public square. Afterward the guns were -put in the jail house for safe keeping, apd were eaten up with ru§t, apt} never to my knowledge delivered tQ them. They then stipulated that every man, woman, and child should leaye tne county within three weeks. This was a tremendous hardship upon the Mormons, as it was late in the fal{, and there were no jgarkpts for their crops or anything else that they had- The quickest way to get put of the county was to cross the river jntp Clay, as the river was the. line between the two pounties. They had tp leave their homes, their crops, and in fact every visible thjng they bad to live upon. Many pf th^ir hpuses were burned, their fenpps thrown down, and the neighbors' stppk would go in and, eat and dpstroy the crop. It has bpen plaimed by people who were highly colored in their prejudice against the Mormons th.at they were bad pitizeps; that they stole whatever they pould get their h»jnds op and were pot law-abiding. This is not true with reference to their citizenship in Jackson County, where they got thpjr first kick, and as severe a one a,s they ever received, if iipt {he most seyerp. There was not an officer amnng thejp, a|l the offices of the county being in the ^ands pf thejr enemies, and if one had stqlen a chicken he cpuld and wpulc} haye been brought to grief for. doing so; but \t is my opinion there is nothing in the county records 4 50 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. to show where a Mormon was ever charged with any mis- demeanor in the way of violation of the laws for the pro tection of property. The cause of all this trouble was solely from the claim that they had a new revelation direct from the Almighty, making them the chosen instruments to go forward, let it please or displease whom it might, to build the New Jerusalem on the spot above referred to, Temple Lot. And, as above stated, whoever did not join in this must sooner or later give way to those who would. I met a Presbyterian preacher, Rev. Mr. McNice, in Salt Lake City a number of years ago at the dinner table of a mutual friend, Doctor Douglas. It was on the Sabbath after hearing him preach a very bitter sermon against the Mor mons, denouncing their doctrines and doings in a severe manner, and while we were at the dinner table, the subject of the Mormons came up, and I told him that I was thoroughly versed in their first troubles in Missouri, and he asked me what the trouble was. I told him frankly that it grew out of the fact that they claimed to have seen an angel, and to have received a new revelation from God which was not in accord with the religious denominations that existed in the community at that time. He hooted at the idea and told me he had read the history of their troub les there, and that they were bad citizens with reference to being outlaws, thieves, etc., who would pick up their neigh bors' property and the like. He insisted that he had read their history, and showed a disposition to discredit my statements. I then told him I was history, and knew as much about it as any living man could know, and that there were no charges of that kind against them; they were industrious, hard-working people, and worked for whatever they wanted to live upon, obtaining it by their industry, and not by stealing it from their neighbors. He then scouted at the idea that people would receive such treatment as THE MORMONS. 51 they did merely because they claimed to have seen angels and talked with God and claimed to have a new revelation. I then referred him to the fact that fifty or sixty years pre vious to that time the public mind in America lacked a great deal of being so tolerant as it was at the time of our conver sation; that not more than one hundred years ago some of the American people were so superstitious that they could burn witches at the stake and drag Quakers through the streets of Boston on their backs, with a jack hitched to their heels; that the Mormons to-day could go to Jackson County, Mo., and preach the same doctrines that they did then, and the result would be that they would be laughed at instead of mobbed as they were sixty years ago. I was sitting in a cabin with my father's miller, a Mr. Newman, a Mormon, at the time of this trouble. Mr. New man's mother-in-law, who lived with him, was named Bent- ley; she had a son in the company that surrendered at Independence, and who walked six miles that evening and came home. The young man walked in and looked as sad as death, and when asked what the news was he stood there and related what had taken place that day at the surrender. They all sat in breathless silence and listened to the story, and when he was through with his statement and said the Mormons had agreed to leave the county within three weeks, the old lady, who sat by the table sewing, raised her hand and brought it down upon the table with a tremen dous thud, and said: "So sure as this is a world there will be a New Jerusalem built." I relate this little incident to show that even after they had met with such a galling defeat how zealous even the old women were with reference to their future success. But it is my opinion that the more often a fanatic is kicked and abused, the stronger is his faith in his cause, for then 52 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. they wqujcl take up the Scriptures and read the sentences expressed hy Christ: "But before ail these they shall lay their hands on yoi} and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake." "But take heed to yourselves, for thpy shajl dpliyer you up tp councils, and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten; and ye shall be brought before rulers ^and kings for my sake fpr a testimony against them." From such passages they have always drawn the greatest cqnspla|ipn, ap4 one would ask one another, "Where are the pepple the blpssed Lord had reference to? " Another brother, with alj the sanctity and confidence imaginable for a fanatip to feel, would answpr, "Wpll, brother, if you do not find theip among the Latter Day. Saints you can not find them upon the f^ce of this green earth, for we have suffered all the abuses the blessed Lord refers to in the Scripture you have just quoted." I have said before that the Mormons all crossed the Mis souri into Clay County, where they wintered in tents and log cabins hastily thrown together, and Hyed op mast, corn, and meat that thpy wpuld procure from the citizens for whom they wqrked in clearing ground and splitting rails, and other work of a like character. In the spring they were determined to return to their hpmes, although they were so badly destroyed, and claimed again as before that God would vindicate them apd put tq flight their enemies. The people of Jackson County, however, watched for their return, and gathered, at the appointed rime, in a large body, on the opposite side of the river to where the Mormons were expected tp congregate and cross pack into the county. Their spies came tp the riyer, anpj seeing camps of the citizens, who had gathered tQ t^p number pf four or five hundred strong (I beijng one pf THE MORMONS. 53 the number) to prevent their crossing, then changed their piirpOse and sent some of their leading men to Ideate in some other part of the State, for the time being, with the full understanding, however, that at the Lord's appbinted time they would all be returned to Jacksori County, and complete their mission in building the city of the New Jerbsalem. The delegation they sent out selebted Davis and Cblwell comities as the portion of the State where they wOuld niake their temporary rally until they became strong enough for thfe Lord to restore them to their fbrmer location. Dhrihg that spring the citizens df Jackson County, feel ing that there had been, in many cases, great biiirkgeS per petrated Upon the Mormons, held d public meeting at Inde pendence and appointed five commissioners, whose ddty it was to meet some of the leading eldefs of the Mormdris at Liberty, the seat of Clay County; and make some repara tion for the damages that had been done to their property the fall before in Jackson County. They mei, but failed to agree; as the elders asked more and perhaps wanted to retain the titles they had to the lands, as they thought it Would be sacrilege to part with them, for that was the chosen spot for the New Jerusalem. D"liHng the iirhe that elapsed between the commissioners crossing the river in the morning and returning in the evening, the ferryman (Brad bury), whom I have often met, a man with a very large and finely developed physiqUfe, a grfeat swimmer, was stipposfed to be bribed by the Mormons to bore large augei:-hbles through the gunwales of his flatboat jtist at the water's edge. The boat having a floor in it some inches above the bottom, therb coUld be nb detebtion of the flow of the water until it was sufficiently deep to cover the ihner floor. The fcdm- itlissioners wbnt Upbil the boat with their horses, ahd had ntit proceeded very far frdrh the shore until they found the water coming up in the second floor and the boat rapidly 54 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. sinking. This, of course, produced great consternation, for the river was very high and turbulent. - Bradbury, the owner of the ferry, said to his two men: "Boys, we will jump off and swim back to the shore." x\s above stated, he was a great swimmer, and had been known to swim the Missouri upon his back several times not long before this occurred. When the water rose in the boat so that it was necessary for the commissioners to leave it, three of them caught hold of their horses' tails, after throwing off as much clothing as they could before the boat went down with them. The other two men who could swim attempted to swim alone, but the current was so tur bulent that they were overcome and were drowned. Those who hung on to the tails of their horses were brought safely to shore. One of the men drowned was a neigh bor of my father's and as fine a gentleman and good fellow as ever lived. His name was David Lynch. I remember well their names, and was well acquainted with two of the men who were pulled through by their horses, S. Noland and Sam C. Owens, the foremost mer chant of the county, a man who stood high in every sense, and of marked ability. This occurrence put the quietus on any further attempt to try to settle for the damages done the Mormons when driven from the county, for it caused in the whole popula tion the most intense feeling against them, and they never were remunerated. When Bradbury jumped off the boat he swam for the shore, but was afterward found dead, with one of his hands grasping the root of a cottonwood tree, so there was no opportunity for trying him for the crime, or finding out how it was brought about. It was supposed that he was bribed, as no one knew of any enmity he had against the commis sioners. THE MORMONS. 55 The town the Mormons started, which they selected for their home in Paris County, they called Far West. This was the first experience that the people of Western Mis souri had with the emigrants of the Eastern or New England States. Brigham Young, who afterward became the leader of the Mormons, was from Vermont, and many others com posing the early pioneers of the Mormon church were from the New England States; some, however, from Ohio and Illi nois, as well as some proselytes from Missouri. IJp to the time of their appearance in Western Missouri the entire population was from some one of the four States — Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, or Kentucky. It has been claimed by some that one of the causes of the dissatisfaction was that the Mormons were Abolitionists. This, however, played no part in the bitter feeling that grew up between them and their neighbors, for at the time of their coming to Jackson County there were but very few slaves, the people generally being poor farmers who lived from the labor of their own hands and that of their families. And then, when the Mormons were driven entirely from Missouri to Illinois, which was a free State, they soon got into difficulty with their neighbors there, as they had done in Missouri. It is claimed now, universally, by the people of this country that polygamy, or the plurality-wife system, is the only objection that good citizens can have to Mor- monism. This was not the cause of their difficulties or their trouble in Illinois and Missouri, as they had never, up to the time they left Nauvoo, 111., proclaimed polygamy as being a church institution. And as I have previously stated, it was their clannishness, as is natural for a church to do, more-or less, only they carried it to a greater degree than other denominations. Also the new doctrine they were pjeaching, stating that they were the only and chosen people of God, and that they had the key of St. Peter, 56 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. which Was lost during the dark ages aiid was revealed again to Joseph Smith, their prophet; that the Lord would stand by them and enable thbiii to prevail in their undertakings as against any array of opposition; ho matter how much greater the numbers might be than their own. They built Up the city of Far West, of several thousand people, and while there increased very rapidly, having missionaries in many parts oi the country preaching their doctrine. As quickly as ah individual would accept their faith, they would at once rally to the headquarters, and in the cohrse of a few years they had put a great deal of the prairie lands into cultivation and increased their numbers until they were so formidable that When they began to be odious to their neighbors by showing a hbstile attitude toward any power that might interfere with them', they got into trouble much in the same Way as they did in Jackson Cbunty. A party df Gentiles and Morrnons met at a point called Horn's Mill, and became involved in a quarrel, when there were sohie killed on both sides. This created such a feel ing in the community that bbth Mormons' arid Gentiles felt inseclire, living neighbors to each other as they were, and the trotibie went on until it culminated in the Governor, Lilbtirh W. Boggs, calling but a portion of the militia of the State arid ordering them tb Far West, the Mormon ceh- ter. The Mormons Were drilling continuously, and increas ing thetr facilities' for fighting, whefi the rnilitia reached the place designated, ahd organizing, placed themselves in battle array. The Mormons were also drawn up in long lines, and for a short time it looked as if a bloody battle Was Unavoidable, but before any engagement occurred the Mormons agaiii surrendered. They then agreed to leave the State of Missouri, and in April, 1839, the ias% of the band left Far West, moved across the Mississippi into Illi- THE MORMONS. 57 nois, where they afterward located and built the city of Nauvoo, but With no better results with the people in the free State than they experienced in Missouri. This shows that slavery had nothing to do with the hard feelings and prejudice they aroused in every community in which they lived. The Mormons' new village was named Nauvoo, which means Peaceful Rest. While there, having increased to fifteen thousand souls, they built a temple to the Lord, which was, perhaps, the finest building that had ever been erected in the State up to that time. During the year 1844, trouble arose between them and the Geritiies, to sup press which the militia was called out, and in June of that year a writ was sworn out for the arrest of the Mormon prophet, Jbseph Smith. His brother Hiram1 and Eider Tayior, who, after Brigham YoUng's death, became presi dent of the bhurch, accompanied him td Carthage, 111., where he went to give himself up. Arriving at Carlhagfe, all three were put in jail, where a mob succeeded in killing the twti brothers and seriously woUndirtg Tdylbr, who car ried some of the bullets ih his body during thb remainder of his life. On the tibath of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young was chosen by the church as its prophet, president, and leader. After three severe experiences in establishing settle ments iri Missouri ahd Illinois, they determined ih their councils to emigrate farther wbst and start a coidny which would be composed of Latter Day Saints; where they would be entirfeljr distinct and separate from any antagonizing elements. At that time Salt Lake Valley, being uhder Spinish dominion ahd a thbdsand miles from any white settlement, was ultimately chosen as the spot best suited for their pHrpdse. Aftfer ledvihg Nauvbo, 111., they went to Council BlUffs, 58 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. Iowa (called by them Kaneville), traveling through the State of Iowa, and undergoing the greatest hardships and sufferings any people were ever called upon to endure, being without money, some of them without the proper means of transportation, destitute of almost all the neces sities of life, and a great many sick on account of exposure to the elements. Arriving at the place above named, on the Missouri River, they went into winter quarters, and the next spring planted and raised crops in that vicinity, the greater number of the emigrants remaining there for the next two years. In the spring of 1847, at the time war was being carried on between the United States and Mexico, Brigham Young started west with a band of from seventy to seventy-five pioneers, having, I believe, an impression that in Salt Lake Valley might be found the Mecca of their hopes. They arrived in Salt Lake Valley on the 21st day of July of that year. Previous to this, in 1846, at the call of the President for troops for the Mexican War, Brigham Young raised a regiment of a thousand volunteers to go to Mexico, under a stipulation with the United States Government that, when the war was over, the survivors should receive their dis charges in California. This agreement was made in view of the fact that they had already resolved to go west into Spanish territory. The treaty of peace between the United States and Old Mexico, at the close of the war, resulted in the Government of Mexico giving up to the United States all the territory possessed by it lying north of the present boundary line between the two countries, so that, after all the exertions the Mormons had made to effect a settlement on Spanish territory, in less than a year they found themselves still in the United States, where they have ever since remained, having built cities and towns on the colonizing plan in THE MORMONS. 59 every available portion of the Territory of Utah, and hav ing quite a number of colonies in other Territories, with one at present established in Mexico, as I have lately been informed. I have met in later years and become familiarly acquainted with many of the leading spirits of the Mor mon church, and have had large business transactions with Brigham Young and many other prominent Mormons, among whom were Captain Hooper, General Eldridge, Ferrimore Little, William Jennings, John Sharp, Lew Hills, Gen. Daniel H. Wells, Wilford Woodruff (now president of the Mormon church), Joseph Smith, and George Q. Cannon, and a fairer, more upright set of gentlemen I never met. I have heard all the leading elders of the Mormon Church preach, including Brigham Young, Heber Kimball, George Q. Cannon, George A. Smith (the historian), John Taylor, Orson Pratt, and Elder Woodruff, who is now president of the church. Orson Pratt was the ablest expounder of the Scriptures, particularly of the prophecies, in the Mormon church. He was the man chosen by Brigham Young and his counselors to discuss the subject of polygamy, from a Bible standpoint, with the Rev. John P. Newman, who was at that time pastor of one of the Methodist churches in Washington, D. C. I, among many other Gentiles, was present and heard the discussion, which took place in the Mormon Tabernacle. President Young, as he was invariably called by his own "people, was the boldest, most outspoken man I ever saw in the pulpit. I remember hearing him one Sabbath day when he was preaching in the Tabernacle, which seats 13,000 people, and on that day was packed to its full capacity, there being probably one hundred and fifty or 60 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. more strangers present — excursionists from the East dn their way to Califbrhia, who had stopped over Sunday to visit the Mdrrrion church, and listen to the immense organ and singers, but whose greatest desire was to hear Brigham Young expound the Mormon doctrine. These strangers were given the most prominent seats by the Ushers, and this is the only church in which I remember strangers having precedent over the regular church members in being seated. When Brigham Young was Weil along in his dis cussion, it occurred to him that the strangbrS present Would want to know the size of his family, as that was a question often asked by visitors, so he ceased his discburse and said: " I suppose the strangers present would like to know how many wives and children I have," and then proceeded to say he had sixteeh wives and forty-five living children, having lost eight br ten children, I believe. He then pro ceeded to finish his discourse. I was present bh another occasion when he was preach ing to a very large congregation, and he said to them: " Brethren", We have tiiifeves, scoundrels, perjurers, and villains in our church, but the day will come when the tares will be separated froth the wheat and burned up with unquenchable fire; if this Were not So, however, we could not claim to be the church of Jesus Christ, for he said that the kingdom of God was like a great net, which, bbing cast into the sea, brought all manner of fishes to the shore." He was the only preacher I ever heard make such remarks to his own people, and recognize the church as being the true One bebause of the tares that grew amoiig the wheat. The Mbrmon church taUght regeneration through bap tism by immersion, tn thb commencement of their service a chapter from either the Old or New Testament wa's gen erally read, and during the discourse frequent reference was made to the Book of Mormon and to Joseph Smith, their prophet. 61 President Young was pne of the smartest men, if nqt the ablest man, jt was ever my fortune to mept. JIp was a man well posted on all subjects relating to the business interests of the couritry, apd especiajly to his pwn ppop}p. His bishops apd himsejf settled all manner of difficulties aris ing out of puginess or churph matters without the assist? ance of pqurts, and he always insisted that every difficulty should be §ettlefi by arbitration of the members of the community in which the disputants IivecJ. Ip the tpp years I lived in Salt Lake City, which was from 1869 to 1879, I npver heard apy talk among the Mor mons about the gift of speaking the unknown tongue, or the interpretation thereof, as they claimed to have in Mis souri. They, however, claimed to possess all the gifts of the Apostolic age and, as I have stated in another place, the keys of St. Peter. They believed in church authority, as do the Catholics, and in a personal God; they differ widely, however, from their Catholic brethren when they come to the marriage relation, the Mormons believing their bishops and elders should each have many wives, the Catholics, on the other hand, denying marriage to their priests. Mormon communities, like all others, are made up of those who are reliable and those who are not — in other words, the good and the bad. Polygamy, which was prac ticed among them for more than a quarter of a century, they claimed upon scriptural authority was practiced in the Apostolic days. Let that be as it may, perhaps there never was a time in the march of civilization when to adopt such a practice would have been in more direct oppo sition to the moral sense of the civilized world than the present one of the nineteenth century. In by-gone days, when the people depended upon their own and home productions for their living, the larger a 62 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. man's family, with every one a worker, the easier it was for him to get along. Not so now, however, but it is just the reverse. The Mormons believed that church and state should be one, and that the laws of God should be the laws of the land; therefore many of them persisted in practicing polyg amy after Congress passed laws prohibiting it, preferring, as they said, to practice the higher law in disobedience to the laws made by men, and many of them have gone, singing and dancing, to the penitentiary, consigned there by the courts for violating the statutes because of their belief. CHAPTER V. THE MORMONS' MECCA. The new Mormon temple marks the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from the day when Brigham Young and his few followers first set foot in the new promised land. It is a work commenced in the wilderness, and completed forty years afterward. The laying of the cap-stone of the temple recorded the culmination of a work the Mormon people have been eagerly anticipating for nearly two generations. It recalls, too, many chapters of history abounding in interest. It tells a tale of patience, industry, and unswerving devotion to an object and a religious principle. It is forty years ago since the corner-stones of this temple were laid, and although there have been occasional lapses of time when nothing was done, and often only a few men employed, the work has practically been going on continuously. Not more than a few days after the arrival of the Mor mon pioneers in the Great Salt Lake Basin, the prophet, Brigham Young, was strolling about in the vicinity of his camping-place in company with some of the apostles of his church. The days previous had been employed in explor ing the valley to the north and south. These explorations satisfied them that there was no more favorable location to commence the building of a new city in the wilderness than the one on which they had first pitched their tents. The night when Brigham took that stroll was at the end of a perfect day in July. Looking to the south the valley (63) 64 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. stretched aw;\y into magnificent distances and beautiful vistas as lovely as eye ever beheld. Over in the west was the Great Salt. Lake, with its huge islands rising from the mirrored surface of its waters, and hurying their mountain ous heads in the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky. In the east were the cold and rugged ranges of the Wasatch. Tq tfip north were the brqwp hills that guarder| the pity in that direction. It was a scene fo inspire t>eaufiftil apt} poptic thoughts, apd Brigham gazed about him, apparently flejighted w4tj^ the sublimity pf the glorious, prospect. Turning his pyes tp thp e^st he Sfrupk his cape infp thp parth and said, " jlere is where thp templp pf our God shall rise." Npt a w^rr} of dig^pnt was heard to his procla mation. There were no suggestions t^iit buffer sitgs. might be iiftd. Brighapi hacj issued his edict, and wfypn he had SRpken it was law tp hjs Pebple, so sqlpinn tl)at al) indorsed it. From that moment the Tfepjple Square was, Ipoked upon as sacred tp the purpose to which it had b,een dedicated. Rpmernbering with wh*t matchless courage this great Mormon leader had, conducted his insignificant army fjprpss the desert from the Missouri River, and through tlip mpuntain defilps into tl}is th?Q wilderness, jt js impossible tp sfil) the thought, " Dirl fii§ imagination's, eye peer through the mist of vears apd see the gra,y and splpmn pile which is npw the temple? " But that J ply night when Bngh^rn Young struck hig cane, on thp groppd was in 1847, apd nothing was done tpward building the temple until six years afterward. Still if if doubtfpl if fhe original intention had evpr bppn abandoned- At firs,t it was intended fp build if of adppg, but when a mountajp pf granite, fine in itis quality apd most tjpaiitifuj in cplor, w^s found some miles frqm the pity, tha_t mat^rif) THE MORMONS' MECCA. 65 was substituted. On a panel just above the second-story window of the east end of the temple is this inscription: HOLINESS TO THE LORD. THE HOUSE OF THE LORD BUILT BY THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS. COMMENCED APRIL 6, 1 853, COMPLETED Below the word " completed " there is a blank line where, when the last piece of stone has been chiseled and the fres- coer has applied the last touch of his brush, a date will be cut into the marble slab. That date may not be inscribed for two or three years yet, for there is still very much to do on the interior. April 6, 1853, was a bright day in the history of Zion. Not only was the semi-annual conference of the Mormon church in session, but the corner-stone of the great temple was to be laid with imposing ceremonies. The first com pany of Mormon pioneers to enter the Salt Lake Valley only numbered 143, but six years afterward the city had a population of nearly 6,000 people. It was a city, too, pe culiar and unique in its customs and the character of its resi dents. By that time Utah had many large settlements, and from the most remote of these the saints came to assemble at the center stake of Zion. They came wearing their brightest and best garments and their happiest faces. Pre sumably their souls were possessed of that sweet peace which passeth all understanding. A grand procession was formed in honor of the ceremony about to be celebrated. An old program of that parade, and the exercises of the day, is yet in existence, and it is notable that the church dig- 5 66 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. nitaries were the most conspicuous figures in the pageant. There were the presidents, apostles, and bishops, the high priests, the counselors, the elders, and all the lesser degrees of Mormon ecclesiastical authorities. Flags were flying, bands were playing — there were two bands in Utah, even then. Four corner-stones were laid, four dedicatory prayers offered, in which the Almighty was invoked to bless the building tben begun, and four orations were delivered. There are many conflicting stories in regard to the designer of the temple. A man by the name of Truman C. Angell was the first architect, and lie drew the plans, but it was in the fertile genius of Brigham Young that the ideas of form and arrangement were conceived. These be sub mitted to Angell, who elaborated them. Doubtless Brig ham had based; his conceptions on the descriptions he had -read of Solomon's temple, but however much of the plans he may have cribbed, to him belongs the credit. He claimed the design of the temple, even to the smallest detail, had been given him by a revelation from God. Angell devoted his life tc- this budlding. After him two or three others directed the constructio-m, but for the past four or five years Don Carlos Young, a son of Brigham's-, has been the architect. For many years the progress was exceedingly slow. The foundations were sunk sixteen feet below the surface, There was a great 3»awnirag hole to be filled with- rock, every one of which had" to be pulled by ox teams. Many people remember how slowly the build'ing rose. They say it was several years before the walls could be seen above ground"-. But there was no hurry and nothing was sligfeted, for the temple when completed was intended to be as enduring as the mountains from which the stone it was built of was quarried. THE MORMONS' MECCA. 67 No better illustration of the infinite patience, the cease less industry, and the religious zeal of the Mormon people could be given than they have manifested in this work. It was a stupendous undertaking. They possessed no modern mechanical appliances; everything had to be done by the crudest methods. Considering these difficulties, and the immense character of the work, it ¦ inspires wonder and admiration. The temple quarries are in a mountain-walfed cafion called Little Cottonwood, twenty-two miles from the city. For many years, or until 1872, every stone had to be hauled that distance by ox teams. The wagons were especially constructed for that purpose, and some of the stones were so large that four or five yoke were required to pull the load. How slow and expensive a building of this magni tude must have been, when such methods were employed, can readily be appreciated. But in 1872 a branch railroad was built from the Temple Square to the quarries; since then the construction has been more rapid and less expensive. Figures only give a suggestion of its gigantic propor tions. It is only when seen from a distance that its mas- siveness manifests itself. Then it towers above the other tall buildings of the city like a mountain above the level plain — it stands out solemn, grand, majestic, and alone. It is 99 feet wide and 200 feet long. The four corner towers are 188 feet high; to the top of the central western tower is 204 feet. The main, or eastern tower, is 2ri feet to the top of the great granite globe, and on that the statue of the angel Gabriel stands, the figure itself being 14 feet high. Above all these points are the supplementary spires, on which the electric lights will be fixed. The lights on these sky-piercing spires will be interesting, for they will be so powerful as to* penetrate the darkest corner of the valley, and will be like unto a beacon to a watching mari- 68 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. ner. That on the main, or eastern spire, will be placed below the statue of the angel, aud will be reflected upward, surrounding the figure with a brilliant halo. In the designing of the temple, no startling architectural innovations seem to have been attempted. The exterior has a poverty of ornamentation, yet perhaps that is the most attractive feature. But the interior is exceedingly interest ing. There are all manner of eccentricities and queer unex pected places. In the four corner towers are winding stone staircases reaching to the r°°f) each having 250 steps. These were all cut by hand at a cost of $100 apiece, and they are anchored in walls of solid masonry. The largest room is in the top story, and is 80x120 feet and 36 feet high. This is to be used as an assemby hall, and will have a capacity to seat 1,000 people. The other rooms are much' smaller. There is the fount-room, where baptisms are per formed, for the Mormons, like the Baptists, believe in immersion. They baptize for the remission of sins, and the living, acting as proxies, are baptized for the dead. As understood, if a person has some dear friend or rela tive who has passed into the beyond without having had; the saving rite of baptism administered, the living can attend to that little formality so as to insure the dead a peaceful sojourn in the agreeable climate of the hereafter^ The uninitiated do not understand the purposes of Mor mon temples. They are not intended to be used for public worship. Services of that character are never held in them. They are designed to be used for the meeting of the priest-' hood and for the performances of ordinances and cere monies of marriage, baptisms, etc., and forthe administer ing of ecclesiastical rites — the conferring of priestly degrees. Thousands of people have seen this great monument which has been built by this peculiar people to their more peculiar religion, and have described the impressions it; THE MORMONS' MECCA. 69 made on them. Some, in a too-pronounced enthusiasm, have declared it to be a wonder in architecture — a triumph in its way — as something grand, almost marvelous in its conception. It is not. There is little that is exceptionally remarkable about it. True, there is much to impress one, but it is rather its bigness and general appearance of solemnity than anything else. Then there is something in its historical associations, the great difficulties overcome, and the great zeal displayed in its construction that inspires admiration. Rudyard Kipling, who once saw it, in a vein of his keen est satire characterized it as "architecturally atrocious, ugly, villainously discordant, contemptuously correct, alto gether inartisric and unpoetical," and other adjectives equally as forcible and uncomplimentary. But he was probably more severe than just in his criticism. There is nothing about it to shock the artistic eye, and there are a few things to please. A word about the statue that is perched on the topmost pinnacle. Certainly that is pleasing to the artistic soul. It is the work of a finished sculptor, who is even now not wholly unknown to fame. He is C. E. Dallin, and was born in Salt Lake City not much over thirty years ago. But the statue: It is not of marble, but of hammered copper, covered with gold. To the eye it looks as if it were made entirely of that metal. It is a very fascinating piece of work, and on its high pedestal it glistens in the sunlight as if made of fire. One prominent Mormon has said the statue is not intended to represent Gabriel, but the angel Moroni proclaiming the gospel to all the world. It was the angel Moroni, it will be remembered, who showed the golden plates to Joseph Smith from which the Book of Mormon was written. From Dallin's boyhood he began to display the artistic 70 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. bent and temperament of his nature. Before he ever had any instruction, he modeled in clay with such success as to attract attention to his work. Then he went abroad to study, and at the Paris Salon of 1888 he received the medal of "Honorable Merit" for his "Peace Signal," that being a full-sized figure of an Indian brave on horseback holding his lance in such a manner as to be a signal to his fellow warriors at a distance that all was well. He has also done other meritorious work, and is at present engaged on a statue to be built on one of the corners of the Temple Square in honor of Brigham Young and the Mormon pioneers. There have been many extravagant statements made concerning the cost of this temple. Figures have been placed as high as $6,000,000, which is nearly double its actual cost. As it stands to-day, $3,000,000 have probably been expended, and not more than half a million will be required to complete it. The laying of this cap-stone practically completes the temple. There is not another stone to be laid, all that remains to be done being confined to the interior, and that is mostly in a decorative way. In its fulfillment there is great rejoicing in the hearts of the Mormon people. It has been a work requiring the toil of years, the manifestation of much self-denial, and the display of religious earnestness and sincerity almost without a parallel. CHAPTER VI. MY FIRST VENTURE. When I grew up and became a married man, with daughters who were to be clothed and educated, I found it impossible to make, with the labor of one man on a farm, sufficient money to meet my growing necessities. I was raised on a farm and had always been a farmer, but with increasing expenses I was compelled to go into business of some kind, where I could accumulate a sufficiency for such purposes. As I was brought up to handle animals, and had been employed more or less in the teaming business, after look ing the situation all over, it occurred to me there was nothing I was so well adapted for by my past experience as the freighting business that was then being conducted be tween Independence, Mo., and Santa Fd, New Mexico, a distance of 800 miles. At that time almost the entire distance lay through Indian Territory, where we were likely, on a greater portion of the trail, to meet hostile Indians any moment. Being a religious man and opposed to all kinds of pro fanity, and knowing the practice of teamsters, almost with out an exception, was to use profane and vulgar language, and to travel upon the Sabbath day, another difficulty pre sented itself to my mind which had to be overcome. After due reflection on this subject I resolved in my innermost nature, by the help of God, I would overcome all difficulties that presented themselves to my mind, let the hazard be whatever it might. This resolve I carried out, (71) 72 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. and it was the keynote to my great success in the manage ment of men and animals. Having reached this determination, and being ready to embark in my new business, I formulated a code of rules for the behavior of my employes, which read as follows: "While I am in the employ of A. Majors, I agree not to use profane language, not to get drunk, not to gamble, not to treat animals cruelly, and not to do anything else that is incompatible with the conduct of a gentleman. And I agree, if I violate any of the above conditions, to accept my discharge without any pay for my services." I do not remember a single instance of a man signing these "iron-clad rules," as they called them, being dis charged without his pay. My employes seemed to under stand in the beginning of their term of service that their good behavior was part of the recompense they gave me for the money I paid them. A few years later, when the Civil War had commenced, I bound my employes to pay true allegiance to the Govern ment of the United States, while in my employ, in addition to the above. I will say to my readers that, had I had the experience of a thousand years, I could not have formulated a better code of rules for the government of my business than those adopted, looking entirely from a moral standpoint. The result proved to be worth more to me in a money point of view than that resulting from any other course I could have pursued, for with the enforcement of these rules, which I had little trouble to do, a few years gave me con trol of the business of the plains and, of course, a wide spread reputation for conducting business on a humane plan. I can state with truthfulness that never in the history of freighting on the plains did such quiet, gentlemanly, fra- MY FIRST VENTURE. 73 ternal feelings exist as among the men who were in my em ploy and governed by these rules. It was the prevalent opinion, previous to the time I started across the plains, that none but daring, rough men were fit to contend with the Indians and manage teamsters upon those trips. I soon proved to the entire contrary this was a great mistake, for it was soon observable that both men and animals working under this system were superior, and got along better in every way than those working under the old idea of ruffianism. It is my firm conviction that where men are born com manders or managers there is no need of the cruelty and punishment so often dealt out by so many in authority. With men who have the key of government in their natures there is little trouble in getting employes to conform strictly to their duty. I have seen, to my great regret and dislike, such cruelty practiced by army officers in command, and managers upon steamships on the seas and steamboats on the rivers, as well as other places where men were in charge of their fellow beings and had command over them, as should receive the most outspoken protest, and ought not to be tolerated in Christendom. If men in charge would first control themselves and carry out, in their management of others, the true principles of humanity and kindness, pursuing a firm and consistent course of conduct themselves, wearing at the same time an easy and becoming dignity, it would do away with all the cruelties that have so often shocked humanity and caused needless suffering to those who were compelled to endure them. I found that an ounce of dignity on the plains was worth more than a pound at home or in organized society. With all the thousands of men I had in my employ it was never necessary to do more than give a manly rebuke, 74 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. if any one committed any misdemeanor, to avoid a repetition of the offense. In all my vast business on the plains I adhered strictly as possible to keeping the Sabbath day, and avoided traveling or doing any unnecessary work. This fact enabled me to carry out perfectly the " iron-clad rules " with my employes. When they saw I was willing to pay them the same price as that paid for work including the Sabbath day, and let them rest on that day, it made them feel I was consistent in requiring them to conduct themselves as gentlemen. In later years, when my business had so increased and the firm of Majors & Russell was formed, I insisted on carrying my system of government and management into the business of the new firm, and the same course was pur sued by the firm of Russell, Majors & Waddel! as I have above narrated. Notwithstanding the disagreeable features mentioned,! selected this avocation, and on the ioth day of August, 1848, with my first little outfit of six wagons and teams, started in business. At that time it was considered hazardous to start on a trip of that kind so late in the season; but I made that trip with remarkable success, making the round run in ninety- two days, the quickest on record with ox teams, many of my oxen being in such good condition when I returned as to look as though they had not been on the road. This fact gave me quite a reputation among the freighters and merchants who were engaged in business between the two points above mentioned. I was by no means the first to engage in the trade between Mexico and the United States, for as early as 1822 Captain Rockwell started in the trade, carrying goods in packs on mules. MY FIRST VENTURE. 75 The next notable era in the line of this trade was the introduction of wagons in the year 1824. This, of course, was an experiment, as there were no beaten roads, and the sand on some portions of the route was so deep (the worst part being in the valley of the Gimarron) that it was doubted whether wagons could be used with success. But the experiment proved to be so much superior to packing that it did away entirely with the former mode; and wagon- makers at St. Louis and Independence, Mo., commenced to build wagons adapted solely to that trade. It was not long after the adoption of wagon trains on that route until there was a wide and well-beaten road the entire distance, the country over which it passed being level plains, requiring no bridges; but little work of any kind was necessary to keep the thoroughfare in good trav eling condition. On a large portion of the route there was an abundance of grass and water for the work animals. In those early days a belt of at least 400 miles was covered with herds of buffalo. This crossing with large and heavy trains so well estab lished the route that, by the year 1846, the people on the west border of Missouri were equipped and prepared in every way for transporting the supplies for Colonel Doni phan's army, when he was ordered to cross from Fort Leavenworth, Kan., to Santa F<5, N. M., at the commence ment of the war between the United States and Mexico. To return to my own operations in the freighting busi ness, it will be seen by the foregoing dates mentioned in this article that two years later I made my first start, and I met on my outward-bound trip many of the troops of Colonel Doniphan returning home, the war being over and peace having been made between the two countries. I continued in the freighting business continuously from 76 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. 1848 to- 1866, most of the time in the employ of the United States Government, carrying stores to different forts and stations in the Western Territories, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. . Having freighted on my own account for about seven years, in 1855 I went into partnership with Messrs. Russell & Waddell, residents of Lexington, Lafayette County, Mo., my home being still in Jackson County, Mo. We did business three years under the firm name of Majors & Russell. In 1858, when we obtained a contract from the Government for transporting supplies to Utah, the name of the firm was changed to Russell, Majors & Waddell. At this time freighting for the Government had increased enormously on account of General Johnston, with an army, having been sent to Utah. All of the supplies for the sol diers and much of the grain for the animals had to be transported in wagons from the Missouri River. However, one of the conditions of the contract the firm made with the Government, through the Quartermaster-General at Washington, was that they should have another starting- point other than Fort Leavenworth, the established depot for supplies going west. I made this proposition to General Jessup, knowing, from my long experience in handling that kind of busi ness, that it would be next to impossible to handle the sup plies from one depot, as there were not herding grounds within a reasonable distance to keep such a vast number of cattle as the business would require when conducted from one point. My partner, Mr. Russell, remarked to me that if he had to make a station higher up the river I would have to go and attend to it, for he could not. My answer was I would willingly do so, for I knew that loading hundreds of thou sands of pounds of supplies daily would create a confusion at one point as would retard the business. MY FIRST VENTURE. 77 It was then and there agreed between the quartermaster and ourselves that one-half the entire stores should be sent to another point to be selected by his clerk and myself. Immediately after the contract was signed I went to Fort Leavenworth, and with Lieutenant Dubarry of the Quar termaster's Department set out to locate another point. We traveled up the Missouri River as far as Plattsmouth, when we concluded Nebraska City, Neb., was the most available point upon the river for our business. I at once arranged with the citizens of that town to build warehouses, preparatory to receiving the large quantities of supplies the Government would soon begin to ship to that point. The supplies sent to Utah in the year 1858 were enor mous, being over sixteen million pounds, requiring over three thousand five hundred large wagons and teams to transport them. We found it was as much as we could do to meet the Government requirements with the two points in full operation. As agreed, I took charge of the new station and moved my family from my farm, nine miles south of Kansas City, Mo., to Nebraska City, where I bought a home for them and commenced to carry out my part of the agreement. The firm of Russell, Majors & Waddell conducted the business for two years, and in the spring of i860 I bought out my partners and continued the business in my own name that year. In Nebraska City I found a very intelligent, enterprising, and clever people, among whom were S. F. Knuckle, J. Sterling Morton, Robert Hawk Dillon, Colonel Tewksberry, McCann, Metcalf, Rhodes, O. P. Mason, Judge Kinney, Rinkers, Seigle, and a great many others of integrity and enterprise. I never did business more pleasantly than with the gentlemen whom I met during my residence of nine years there. CHAPTER VII. FAITHFUL FRIENDS. To one who has had to make friends of the brute crea tion, it is natural for him to claim companionship with those domestic animals with which he is constantly drawn by day and night, such as horses, oxen, mules, and dogs. The dog is most thoroughly the comrade of those who dwell upon the frontier, and a chapter regarding them will not, I feel, be uninteresting to the reader. I have always been a great admirer of a good d'og, but my knowledge of them is a general one, such as you and a great many other Western men have. I have never made him a scientific study, but I think he is the only domestic animal, and I don't know but the only animal that takes a joint ownership in all of his master's property so far as he can comprehend it, whether it be personal, portable, or realistic; in other words, the man owns the dog and his other property, and the dog seems to claim or own the man and all of his other effects, so far as he can comprehend them. I had a Shepherd dog that would not allow a stranger to take hold of me or my horse, saddle, bridle, rope, spurs, gun, or anything else that he thought belonged to us, with out making a fuss about it, and he seemed to think step ping upon a rope or blanket, or anything of that kind, was j'u-st the same as taking hold with the hands, and yet he was very good-natured with strangers otherwise. He was very fond of playing with other dogs, especially young ones on the pup order, but if they ever took any (78) FAITHFUL FRIENDS. 79 freedom with our joint property, there was sure to be trouble. He would not allow them to take hold of, or sleep on, or lay down in the shade of a horse, wagon, buggy, or do anything that he thought was taking too much liberty with his peculiar rights. He would go almost any distance to hunt anything that I would lose, and was very quick to pick up anything that I would drop, and give it to me with out mussing it, whether I was walking or on horseback. He was a good retriever, either on land or water, and would cross a river to get a goose or duck if it fell on the opposite side after being shot. He would also take hold of one hind leg of a deer or antelope and help me all he could to drag it home or to where I would leave my horse, but he was more help in driving and handling stock than in any other way. He would also go after a horse that would get away, with a bridle or rope on, and catch him by the rein or rope and bring him back if he could lead him, or if not, he would try and hold on until I would come up. He had a great many other minor tricks to make sport for the boys in campj such as speaking, jumping, waltzing, etc., and he worold also carry in wood to make fires with, and thus save the men trouble. I have also had experience with the Newfoundland and the Setter dogs,, and found them fully as easy to train and as faithfull as the Shepherd dbg I have written about. A Newfoundland that I brought down from Montana with me would do almost anything that it was porsible for a dog to do. When living in Salt Lake City I saw my daughter send him after an apple once when she was sitting in a room up stairs. He went down and found the doors all fastened, so he came back and went out at an upstairs win dow and onto a lower roof and from there down on a com- moa rung la-cider, to the ground and out into some one's orchard, got an apple, and returned the same way, and did 80 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. it quicker than any boy could possibly have performed the same thing. But of course he knew where the ladder was, and had climbed up and down it many times before that. I used to see the children in our neighborhood sending this dog over in the orchards after apples, while they remained at the fence outside, and he would keep going and returning with the apples until they were satisfied. The people never objected that owned the fruit, as they thought it so smart in the dog to steal for the children that which he did not eat himself. It came to my knowledge once of a dumb beast that showed the intelligence of a human being. He was only a dog> but a remarkably clever one. He belonged to the class known as Shepherd dogs, which are noted for their sagacity and fidelity. His master was a little Italian boy called Beppo, who earned his living by selling flowers on the street. Tony was very fond of Beppo, who had been his master ever since he was a puppy, and Beppo had never failed to share his crust with his good dog. Now, Tony had grown to be a large, strong dog, and took as much care of Beppo as Beppo took of him. Often while standing on the corner with his basket on his arm, waiting for a customer, Beppo would feel inclined to cry from very loneliness; but Tony seemed to know when the " blues " came, and would lick his master's hand, as much as to say: " You've got me for a friend. Cheer up! I'm better than nobody; I'll stand by you." But one day it happened that when the other boys who shared the dark cellar home with Beppo went out early in the morning as usual, Beppo was so ill that he could hardly lift his head from the straw on which he slept. He felt that he would be unable to sell flowers that day. What to do he did not know. Tony did his best to com- FAITHFUL FRIENDS. 81 fort him, but the tears would gather in his eyes, and it was with the greatest difficulty that he at last forced himself to get up and go to the florist, who lived near by, for the usual supply of buds. Having filled his basket, the boy went home again and tied it around Tony's neck; then he looked at the dog and said: "Now, Tony, you're the only fellow I've got to depend on. Go and sell my flowers for me, and bring the money home safe; don't let anyone steal anything." Then he kissed the dog and pointed to the door. Tony trotted out to the street to Beppo's usual corner, where he took his stand. Beppo's customers soon saw how matters stood, and chose their flowers, and put their money into the tin cup in the center of the basket. Now and then, when a rude boy would come along and try to snatch a flower from the basket, Tony would growl fiercely and drive him away. So that day went safely by, and at nightfall Tony went home to his master, who was waiting anxiously for him, and gave him a hearty welcome. Beppo untied the basket and looked in the cup, and I should not wonder if he found more money in it than ever before. This is how Tony sold the rosebuds, and he did it so well that Beppo never tired of telling me about it. A farmer's dog who had been found guilty of obtaining goods under false pretenses is worthy of mention. He was extremely fond of sausages, and had been taught by his owner to go after them for him, carrying a written order in his mouth. Day after day he appeared at the butcher-shop, bringing his master's order, and by and by the butcher became careless about reading the document. Finally, when settlement day came, the farmer complained that he was charged with more sausage than he had ordered. - The butcher was surprised, and the next time e 82 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. Lion came in with a slip of paper between his teeth he took the trouble to look at it. The paper was blank, and further investigation showed that whenever the dog felt a craving for sausage, he looked around for a piece of paper, and trotted off to the butcher's. The farmer is something out of pocket, but squares the account by boasting of the dog's intelligence, which enabled him to deliberately steal for him, and deceive the butcher to do so. While in Edinburgh, Scotland, where my wife and I remained for a year, our apartments were cared for by an English maid, who owned a very fine Scotch terrier. Whenever she would come to our rooms the dog accom panied her, and soon became very much attached to me, and would come into our apartments whenever an oppor tunity offered, to pay his respects to me. My wife had a great aversion to dogs of all kinds, and particularly objected to having one in the room with her, as she declared she could feel fleas immediately upon the appear ance of a canine, no matter how far away they were from her. One morning, while I was quietly reading, my wife being busy in another part of the room, the dog slipped in and succeeded in establishing himself under my chair, without either of us being aware of his presence; but before many minutes had passed my wife discovered him, and remon strated with me at once for allowing him to come in, when I knew so well how she detested him. I assured her of my ignorance as to his presence, but said nothing whatever to the dOg. He arose with a crest-fallen air, and with his tail tucked between his legs, walked slowly across the room, stopping in the doorway to look once at Mrs. Majors, with the most reproachful, abused expression I have ever seen on any creature's face. After that he always endeavored to make his calls upon FAITHFUL FRIENDS. 83 me when Mrs. Majors was absent, and would often come up and wait in one end of the hall until he would see her go into the adjoining room, when he would come to see me, but immediately upon hearing her opening the door of the other room, he would make a break for the door, mak ing his escape before she would reach the room; and this, too, when she had never been unkind to him except in what she said of him. One morning while the landlady and her servant were " doing up " our sleeping apartment, the dog as usual accompanying the servant, Mrs. Majors stepped into the room to speak to the landlady, and the servant, knowing the dog's fondness for me, said: " Prince, ask Mrs. Majors if you can't go in to see Mr. Majors." He turned around, went up to Mrs. Majors and commenced jumping up and down in front of her, asking as plain as dogs can speak for the coveted permission. My wife could not help laughing, and said, " Well, sir, you have won me over this time; you can go," whereupon he made a rush for the other room, leaped upon my lap, and seemed fairly wild with joy. I could not understand his unusual demonstrations until Mrs. Majors came in and explained. A friend who owned a very fine dog was one morning accosted by a neighbor, who accused the dog of having killed several of his sheep in the night. The owner said he thought it was a mistake, as he had never known the dog to be guilty of such tricks, and after some discussion it was decided to examine the dog's mouth, and if wool was found sticking in his teeth, they would believe him guilty, and the man who had lost the sheep could kill him. They called the dog up while talking about it, and the master opened his mouth, and to his grief, found the evi dence of his crime between his teeth. The neighbor knew the man's attachment for the dog, and not wishing to kill 84 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. him in his presence, said he would defer the execution until a more convenient time. The dog heard the conversation, appeared to understand the situation perfectly, and when the neighbor tried later to find him, he had disappeared, and neither the owner nor the neighbor ever heard of him again. He fled to parts unknown, thus showing his wis dom by putting himself out of harm's way. It is hardly possible to say enough in the praise of the dog family, especially regarding their services to the pioneers in the settlement of the Mississippi Valley and frontier. At that time, bears, panthers, wolves, and small animals of prey were so thick that without the aid of dogs the stock, such as pigs, lambs, poultry, and such small animals, would have been completely destroyed in one single night. The dogs were constantly on guard, night and day, storm or sunshine, and upon the approach of an enemy, would warn the pioneers, giving them a sense of security against danger. They knew by the smell, often before hearing or seeing an enemy, and would give out the warning long before the pioneers themselves could have known of the proximity of the wild beasts. As a rule those faithful friends and pro tectors of our race have not been appreciated, more espe cially, as above stated, in the settlement of the frontier, for without them it would have been impossible for the pioneers to have saved their stock and poultry from the ravages of the wild beasts. I could write a volume upon the sagacity, faithfulness, and intelligence of these remarkable animals, as during my life in the Wild West I learned to fully appre ciate them. CHAPTER VIII. OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. On the 18th of June, 1846, A. W. Doniphan was elected colonel of the regiment that he commanded in the Mexi can War. In his speech at Independence, Jackson County, Mo., on July 29, 1837, he declared he had not been a can didate for office for seven years, and did not expect to be for the next seventy years to come. The passage by the American Congress of the resolutions of annexation, by which the republic of Texas was incorporated into the Union as one of the States, having merged her sovereignty into that of our own Government, was the prime cause which led to the war with Mexico. However, the more immediate cause of the war may be traced to the occupa tion by the American army of the strip of disputed terri tory lying between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. Bigoted and insulting, Mexico was always prompt to manifest her hostility toward this Government, and sought the earliest plausible pretext for declaring war against the United States. This declaration of war by the Mexican government, which bore date in April, 1846, was quickly and spiritedly followed by a manifesto from our Congress at Washington, announcing that a state of war existed between Mexico and the United States. Soon after this counter declaration, the Mexicans crossed the Rio Grande in strong force, headed by the famous generals, Arista and Ampudia. This force, as is well known, was defeated at Palo Alto on the 18th, and at Resaca de la Palma on May 9, 1846, by the troops under command (85) G 86 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. of Major-General Taylor, and repulsed with great slaugh ter. The whole Union was in a state of intense excite ment. General Taylor's recent apd glorious victories were the constant theme of universal admiration. The war had actually begun; and that, too, in a manner which demanded immediate action. The United States Congress passed an act, about the middle of May, 1846, authorizing President Polk to call into the field 50,000 vol unteers designed to operate against Mexico at three distinct points, namely: The southern wing, or the "Army of Occu pation," commanded by Major-General Taylor, to penetrate directly into the heart of the country;- the column under Brigadier- General Wool, or the " Army of the Center," to operate against the city of Chihuahua; and the. expedi tion under the command of Colonel (afterward Brigadier- General) Kearney, known as the " Army of the West," to direct its march upon the city of Santa Fe\ This was the original plan of operations against Mexico, but subse quently the plan was changed. Major-General Scott, with a well-appointed army, was sent to Vera Cruz, General Wool effected a junction with General Taylor at Saltillo, and General Kearney divided his force into three separate commands; the first he led in person to the distant shores of the Pacific. A detachment of nearly eleven hundred Mis souri volunteers, under command of Col. A. W. Doniphan, was ordered to make a descent upon the State of Chihua hua, expecting to join General Wool's division at the capi tal, while the greater part was left as a garrison at Santa Fe, under command of Col. Sterling Price. The greatest eagerness was manifested by the citizens of the United States to engage in the war, to redress our wrongs, to repel an insulting foe, and to vindicate our national honor and the honor of our oft-insulted flag. The call of the President was promptly responded to, OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. 87 but of the 50,000 volunteers at first authorized to be raised, the service of about 17,000 only were required. The cruel an inhuman butchery of Colonel Fannin and his men, all Americans, the subsequent and indiscriminate murder of all Texans who unfortunately fell into Mexican hands; the repeated acts of cruelty and injustice perpetrated upon the persons and property of American citizens residing in the northern Mexican provinces; the imprisonment of Ameri can merchants without the semblance of a trial by jury, and the forcible seizure and confiscation of their goods; the robbing of American travelers and tourists in the Mexican country of their passports and other means of safety, whereby they were in certain instances deprived of their liberty for a time; the forcible detention of American citizens, sometimes in prison and other times in free custody; the recent blockade of the Mexican ports against the United States trade; the repeated insults offered our national flag; the contemptuous ill treatment of our minis ters, some of whom were spurned with their credentials; the supercilious and menacing air uniformly manifested toward the Government, which with characteristic forbear ance and courtesy had endeavored to maintain a friendly understanding; Mexico's hasty and unprovoked declara tion of war against the United States; the army's uncere monious passage of the Rio Grande in strong force and with hostile intentions; her refusal to pay indemnities, and a complication of lesser evils, all of which had been per petrated by the Mexican authorities, or by unauthorized Mexican citizens, in a manner which clearly evinced the determination on the part of Mexico to terminate the amicable relations hitherto existing between the two coun tries, were the causes which justified the war. On the 18th day of August, 1846, after a tiresome march of nearly 900 miles in less than fifty days, General Kearney 88 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. with his whole command entered Santa F6, the capital of the province of New Mexico, and took peaceable possession of the country, without the loss of a single man or shedding a drop of blood, in the name of the United States, and planted the American flag in the public square, where the stars and stripes and eagle streamed above the Palacio Grande, or stately residence of ex-Governor Armigo. On the 29th of July, 1847, Captain Ruff was dispatched by General Smith with a squadron composed of one com pany of the Second Dragoons under Lieutenant Hawes and his own company of mounted riflemen, in all eighty-six men, to attack the town of San Juan de los Lianos. In this engagement the Mexicans lost forty-three killed and fifty wounded. Only one American was wounded and none killed. At the battle of San Pascual, on the morning of the 6th of December, General Kearney commanding, with Cap tains Johnson, Moore, and Hammond as principal aids, drove the enemy from the field. Loss not known. Ameri can loss, seventeen killed and fourteen wounded. On the 5 th of November, 1846, a small detachment of forty-five volunteers, commanded by Captains Thompson and Bur rows, met and totally defeated 200 Californians on the plains of Salinas, near Monterey. American loss, four killed and two wounded. On the 8th of January Gen eral Kearney and Commodore Stockton, with 500 men, met the insurgents, 600 strong, to dispute the passage of the river San Gabriel. This action lasted one hour and a half. The next day the Mexicans were again repulsed. Their loss on both days estimated in killed and wounded not less than eighty-five; American, two killed and fifteen wounded. A battle commanded by Doniphan was fought on Christ mas day at Brazito, twenty-five miles from El Paso. Mex ican loss was seventy-one killed, five prisoners, and 150 wounded, among them their commanding general, Ponce OUR WAR WITH MEXICO. 89 de Leon. The Americans had none killed and eight wounded. On the 27th the city of El Paso was taken possession of without further opposition. On the 13th a battle with the Indians occurred. Americans lost none; Indians had seventeen killed and not less than twenty-five wounded. On the 19th of January, Governor Bent was murdered with his retinue. On the 24th Colonel Rice encountered the enemy. Our loss was two killed and seven wounded. The Mexicans acknowledged a loss of thirty-six killed and forty-five prisoners. On the 3d of February, met the enemy at Pueblo de Taos. The total loss of the Mexicans at the three engagements was 282 killed — wounded unknown. Our total was fifteen killed and forty- seven wounded. On the 24th, in an engagement at Las Vegas, the enemy had twenty-five killed, three wounded; our loss, one killed, three wounded. At Red River Canon we were vigorously attacked by a large body of Mexicans and Indians; Americans lost one killed and several wounded; Mexicans and Indians, seventeen killed, wounded not known. At Las Vegas Major Edmondson charged the town ; there were ten Mexicans slain and fifty prisoners taken. On the 9th of July a detachment of Captain Morin's company was attacked; five of our men killed and nine wounded. On the 26th of June Lieutenant Love was attacked and surrounded by Indians; they cut their way through with a loss of eleven; the Indians lost twenty-five. On the 27th of October Captain Mann's train was attacked; American loss, one killed, four wounded; Indian loss not known. CHAPTER IX. DONIPHAN'S EXPEDITION. On Sunday, the 28th of February, a bright and auspi cious day, the American army, under Colonel Doniphan, arrived in sight of the Mexican encampment at Sacra mento, which could be distinctly seen at the distance of four miles. His command consisted of the following corps and detachments of troops: The First Regiment, Colonel Doniphan, numbering about eight hundred men; Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell's escort, ninety-seven men; artillery battalion, Major Clark and Captain Weightman, 117 men, with light field battery of six pieces of cannon; and two companies of teamsters, under Captains Skillman and Glasgow, forming an extra battalion of about one hundred and fifty men, commanded by Major Owens of Independence, making an aggregate force of 1,164 men, all Missouri volunteers. The march of the day was conducted in the following order: The wagons, near four hundred in all, were thrown in four parallel files, with spaces of thirty feet beween each. In the center space marched the artillery battalion; in the space to the right the First Battalion, and in the space to the left the Second Battalion. Masking these, in front marched the three companies intending to act as cavalry — the Missouri Horse Guards, under Captain Reid, on the right; the Missouri Dragoons, under Captain Parsons, on the left; and the Chihuahua Rangers, under Captain Hudson, in the center. Thus arranged, they ap proached the scene of action. (90) Doniphan's expedition. 91 The enemy had occupied the brow of a rocky eminence rising upon a plateau between the river Sacramento and the Arroya Seca, and near the Sacramento Fort, eighteen miles from Chihuahua, and fortified its approaches by a line of field-works, consisting of twenty-eight strong redoubts and intrenchments. Here, in this apparently secure posi tion, the Mexicans had determined to make a bold stand, for the pass was the key to the capital. So certain of the victory were the Mexicans, that they had prepared strings and handcuffs in which they meant to drive us prisoners to the City of Mexico, as they did the Texans in 1841. Thus fortified and intrenched, the Mexican army, consisting, according to a consolidated report of the adjutant-general which came into Colonel Doniphan's possession after the battle, of 4,220 men, commanded by Major-General Jose A. Heredia, aided by Gen. Garcia Conde, former Minister of War in Mexico, as commander of cavalry; General Mau- ricia Ugarte, commander of infantry; General Justiniani, commander of artillery, and Gov. Angel Trias, brigadier- general, commanding the Chihuahua Volunteers, awaited the approach of the Americans. When Colonel Doniphan arrived within one mile and a half of the enemy's fortifications (a reconnaissance of his position having been made by Major Clark), leaving the main road, which passed within the range of his batteries, he suddenly deflected to the right, crossed the rocky Ar roya, expeditiously gained the plateau beyond, successfully deployed his men into line upon the highland, causing the enemy to change its first position, and made the assault from the west. This was the best point of attack that could possibly have been selected. The event of the day proves how well it was chosen. In passing the Arroya the caravan and baggage trains followed close upon the rear of the army. Nothing could 92 seventy years on the FRONTIER. exceed in point of solemnity and grandeur the rumbling of the artillery, the firm moving of the caravan, the dashing to and fro of horsemen, and the waving of banners and gay fluttering of guidons, as both armies advanced to the attack on the rocky plain; for at this crisis General Conde, with a select body of 1,200 cavalry, rushed down from the fortified heights to commence the engagement. When within 950 yards of our alignment, Major Clark's battery of six-pound ers and Weightman's section of howitzers opened upon them a well-directed and most destructive fire, producing fearful execution in their ranks. In some disorder they fell back a short distance, unmasking a battery of cannon, which immediately commenced its fire upon us. A brisk cannonading was now kept up on both sides for the space of fifty minutes, during which time the enemy suffered great loss, our battery discharging twenty-four rounds to the minute. The balls from the enemy's cannon whistled through our ranks in quick succession. Many horses and other animals were killed and the wagons much shattered. Sergeant A. Hughes of the Missouri Dragoons had both his legs broken by a cannon ball. In this action the enemy, who were drawn up in columns four deep, close order, lost about twenty-five killed, besides a great number of horses- The Americans, who stood dismounted in two ranks, open order, suffered but slight injury. General Conde, with considerable disorder, now fell back and rallied his men behind the intrenchments and redoubts. Colonel Doniphan immediately ordered the buglers to sound the advance. Thereupon the American army moved for ward in the following manner, to storm the enemy's breast works: The artillery battalion, Major Clark in the center, firing occasionally on the advance; the First Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonels Jackson and Mitchell, composing Doniphan's expedition. 93 the right wing; the two select companies of cavalry under Captains Reid and Parsons, and Captain Hudson's mounted company, immediately on the left of the artillery; and the Second Battalion on the extreme left, commanded by Major Gilpin. The caravan and baggage trains, under command of Major Owens, followed close in the rear. Colonel Don iphan and his aids, Captain Thompson, United States Army, Adjutant De Courcy, and Sergeant-Major Crenshaw acted between the battalions. At this crisis a body of 300 lancers and lazadors were discovered advancing upon our rear. These were ex clusive of Heredia's main force, and were said to be criminals turned loose from the Chihuahua prisons, that by some gallant exploit they might expurgate themselves of crime. To this end they were posted in the rear to cut off stragglers, prevent retreat, and capture and plunder the merchants' wagons. The battalion of teamsters kept these at bay. Besides this force there were a thousand specta tors — women, citizens, and rancheros — perched on the summits of adjacent hills and mountains, watching the event of the day. As we neared the enemy's redoubts, still inclining to the right, a heavy fire was opened upon us from his different batteries, consisting in all of sixteen pieces of cannon. But owing to the facility with which our movements were per formed, and to the fact that the Mexicans were compelled to fire plungingly upon our lines (their position being con siderably elevated above the plateau, and particularly the battery placed on the brow of the Sacramento Mountain with the design of enfilading our column), we sustained but little damage. When our column had approached within about 400 yards of the enemy's line of field-works, the three calvary companies, under Captains Reid, Parsons, and Hudson, and 94 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. Weightman's section of 4 howitzers, were ordered to carry the main center battery, which had considerably annoyed our lines, and which was protected by a strong bastion The charge was not made simultaneously, as intended by the colonel; for this troop having spurred forward a little way, was halted for a moment under a heavy cross fire from the enemy, by the adjutant's misapprehending the order. However, Captain Reid, either not hearing or disregarding the adjutant's order to halt, leading the way, waved his sword, and rising in his stirrups exclaimed: " Will my men follow me? " Hereupon Lieutenants Bar- nett; Hinton, and Moss, with about twenty-five men, bravely sprang forward, rose the hill with the captain, carried the battery, and for a moment silenced the guns, but were too weak to hold possession of it. By the overwhelming force of the enemy, we were beaten back, and many of us wounded. Here Maj. Samuel C. Owens, who had volun tarily charged upon the redoubt, received a cannon or mus ket shot, which instantly killed both him and his horse. Captain Reid's horse was shot under him, and a gallant young man of the same name immediately dismounted and generously offered the captain his. By this time the remainder of Captain Reid's company, under Lieutenant Hocklin, and the section of howitzers under Captain Weightman and Lieutenants Choteau and Evans, rose the hill, and supported Captain Reid. A deadly volley of grape and canister shot, mingled with yager balls, quickly cleared the intrenchments and redoubt. The battery was retaken and held. Almost at the same instant Captains Parsons and Hudson, with the two remain ing companies of cavalry, crossed the intrenchments to Reid's left and successfully engaged with the enemy. They resolutely drove him back and held, the ground. All the companies were now pressing forward, and pour- Doniphan's expedition. 95 ing over the intrenchments and into the redoubts, eagerly vying with each other in the noble struggle for victory. Each company, as well as each soldier, was ambitious to excel. Companies A, B, C, and a part of Company D, com posing the right wing, all dismounted, respectively under command of Captains Waldo, Walton, Moss, and Lieuten ant Miller, led on by Lieutenant-Colonels Jackson and Mitchell, stormed a formidable line of redoubts on the enemy's left, defended by several pieces of cannon and a great number of well-armed and resolute men. A part of this wing took possession of the strong battery on Sacra mento Hill, which had kept a continued cross-firing upon our right during the whole engagement. Colonels Jackson and Mitchell and their captains, lieutenants, non-commis sioned officers, and the men generally, behaved with com mendable gallantry. Many instances of individual prowess were exhibited. But it is invidious to distinguish between men, where all performed their duty so nobly. Meanwhile the left wing, also dismounted, commanded by Major Gilpin, a gallant and skillful officer, boldly scaled the heights, passed the intrenchments, cleared the redoubts, and, with considerable slaughter, forced the enemy to retreat from its position on the right. Company G, under Captain Hughes, and a part of Company F, under Lieutenant Gordon, stormed the battery of three -brass four-pounders strongly defended by embankments and ditches filled by resolute and well-armed Mexican infantry. Some of the artillerists were made prisoners while endeav oring to touch off the cannon. Companies H and E, under Captains Rodgers and Stephenson, and a part of Hudson's company, under Lieutenant Todd, on the extreme left, behaved nObly, and fought with great courage. They beat the Mexicans from their strong places, and chased them 96 seventy years on the frontier. like bloodhounds. Major Gilpin was not behind his men in bravery — he encouraged them to fight by example. Major Clark, with his six-pounders, and Captain Weight- man, with his howitzers, during the whole action rendered the most signal and essential service, and contributed much toward the success of the day. The gallant charge led by Captain Reid, and sustained by Captain Weightman, in point of daring and brilliancy of execution, has not been excelled by any similar exploit during the war. General Heredia made several unsuccessful attempts to rally his retreating forces, to infuse into their minds new courage, and to close up the breaches already made in his lines. General Conde, with his troop of horse, also vainly endeavored to check the advance of the Missourians. They were dislodged from their strong places, and forced from the hill in confusion. The rout of the Mexican army now became general, and the slaughter continued until night put an end to the chase. The battle lasted three hours and a half. The men returned to the battle-field after dark, completely worn out and exhausted with fatigue. The Mexicans lost 304 men killed on the field, and a large number wounded, perhaps not less than five hundred, and seventy prisoners, among whom was Brigadier-General Cuilta, together with a vast quantity of provisions, $6,000 in specie, 50,000 head of sheep, 1,500 head of cattle, 100 mules, twenty wagons, twenty-five or thirty caretas, 25,000 pounds of ammunition, ten pieces of cannon of different caliber, varying from four to nine pounders; six culverins, or wall pieces; 100 stand of small colors, seven fine carriages, the general's escritoire, and many other things of less note. Our loss was Major Samuel C. Owens, killed, and eleven wounded, three of whom have subsequently died. Thus was the army of Central Mexico totally defeated, Doniphan's expedition. 97 and completely disorganized, by a column of Missouri vol unteers. The Mexicans retreated precipitately to Durango, and dispersed among the ranchos and villages. Their leaders were never able to rally them. In this engagement Colonel Doniphan was personally much exposed, and by reason of his stature was a conspic uous mark for the fire of the enemy's guns. He was all the while at the proper place, whether to dispense his orders, encourage his men, or use his saber in thinning the enemy's ranks. His courage and gallant conduct were only equaled by his clear foresight and great judgment. His effective force actually engaged was about nine hun dred and fifty men, including a considerable number of amateur fighters, among whom James L. Collins, James Kirker, Messrs. Henderson and Anderson, interpreters, Major Campbell, and James Stewart, deserve to be favor ably mentioned. They fought bravely. It was impossible for Captains Skillman and Glasgow to bring their compa nies of teamsters into the action. They deserve great honor for their gallantry in defending the trains. The sol diers encamped on the battle-field, within the enemy's entrenchments, and feasted sumptuously upon his viands, wines, and pound-cake. There they rested. Colonel Doniphan, not like Hannibal loitering on the plains of Italy after the battle of Cannae when he might have entered Rome in triumph, immediately followed up his success and improved the advantage which his victory gave him. Early the next morning (March ist) he dis patched Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell, with 150 men under command of Captains Reid and Weightman, and a section of artillery, to take formal possession of the capital, and occupy it in the name of his Government. This detach ment, before arriving in the city, was met by several Ameri- 7 98 seventy years on the frontier. can gentlemen escaping from confinement, who represented that the Mexicans had left the place undefended, and fled with the utmost precipitation to Durango. The Spanish consul, also, came out with the flag of his country to salute and acknowledge the conqueror. This small body of troops entered and took military possession of Chihuahua without the slightest resistance, and the following night occupied the Cuartel, near Hidalgo's monument, which stands on the Alameda. Meanwhile Colonel Doniphan and his men collected the booty, tended the captured animals, refitted the trains, remounted those who had lost their steeds in the action, arranged the preliminaries of the procession, and having marched a few miles encamped for the night. On the morning of March 2d Colonel Doniphan, with all his mili tary trains, the merchant caravan, gay fluttering colors, and the whole spolia opima, triumphantly entered the city to the tunes of "Yankee Doodle." and "Hail Columbia," and fired in the public square a national salute of twenty-eight guns. This was a proud moment for the American troops. The battle of Sacramento gave them the capital, and now the stars and stripes and serpent eagle of the model republic were streaming victoriously over the stronghold of Central Mexico. CHAPTER X. THE PIONEER OF FRONTIER TELEGRAPHY. It is thirteen years since Edward Creighton, the pioneer of frontier telegraphy, died, and that he is so well and hon orably remembered in the Omaha of to-day — aye, his mem ory respected by the thousands who have gone there since he was no more — but illustrates how great was his service to the community, how broad and enduring a mark he made upon his time. No man did so much to sustain Omaha in its early and trying days as Edward Creighton. His career was a notable one in its humble beginning and splendid triumph in the flush of manhood. He was born in Belmont County, Ohio, August 31, 1820, of Irish parentage. His early days were passed upon a farm, but at the age of twenty he took the contract for building part of the national stage road from Wheeling, W. Va., to Springfield, Ohio. He continued in the contracting business, but it ,„was not until 1847 that he entered upon that branch of it in which he achieved his greatest success and laid the foun dation of his after fortunes. In that year he received the contract for and constructed a telegraph line between Springfield and Cincinnati. To this business he devoted his time and energies for five years, being successfully engaged in the construction of telegraph lines in all parts of the country, completing the line from Cleveland to Chi cago in 1852. In 1856, while engaged in telegraph con struction in Missouri, Mr. Creighton visited Omaha, and his brothers, John A., James, and Joseph, and his cousin James, locating there, he returned to Ohio, where he wedded (99) 100 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. Mary Lucretia Wareham of Dayton, and in 1857 he also went to Omaha and located. He continued in the tele graph construction business, completing, in i860, the first line which gave Omaha connection with the outer world via St. Louis. For years Mr. Creighton entertained a pet project — the building of a line to the Pacific Coast — and in the winter of i860, after many conferences with the wealthy stock holders of the Western Union Company, a preliminary sur vey was agreed upon. In those days the stage-poach was. the only means of overland travel, and that was beset with great danger from Indians and road agents. In the stage coach Mr. Creighton made his way to Salt Lake City, where he enlisted the interest and support of Brigham Young, the great head of the Mormon church, in his proj ect. It had been arranged to, associate the California State Telegraph Company in the enterprise, and on to Sac ramento, in midwinter, Mr. Creighton pressed on horse back. It was a terrible journey, but the man who made it was of stout heart, and he braved the rigors of the mount ains and accomplished his mission, and in the spring of 1 86 1 he returned to Omaha to begin his great work. Con gress, meanwhile, had granted a subsidy of $40,000 a year for ten years to the company which should build the line. Then a great race was inaugurated, for heavy wagers,, between Mr. Creighton's construction force and the Cali-. fornia contractors who were building eastward, to see which should reach Salt Lake City first. Mr. Creighton had r,ioo miles to .construct and the Californians only 450, but he reached Salt Lake City on the 17th of October, one week ahead of his competitors. On October 24th, but little more than six months after the enterprise was begun, Mr. Creighton had established telegraphic communication from ocean to ocean. He had THE PIONEER OF FRONTIER TELEGRAPHY. 101 taken $100,000 worth of the stock of the new enterprise at about eighteen cents on the dollar, and when the project was completed the company trebled its stock, Mr. Creigh ton's $100,000 becoming $300,600. The stock rose to 85 cents, and he sold out $100,000 worth for $850,000, still retaining $200,000 of the stock. He continued in the telegraphic construction business until 1867, when his great cattle interests, in which he had embarked in 1864, and his great plains freighting business, established before the building of the Union Pacific and continued even after its completion, to the mining regions of Montana and Idaho, exacted his attention. During all these years of great business success, Mr. Creighton was firm in his allegi ance to Omaha. He was the first president of the first national bank in the city, and was ever ready to aid, by his means, and counsel, and enterprise, the furthering of Omaha's interests. He commanded the confidence of all the people, his sterling integrity and unwavering fidelity combining with his generous and charitable nature to make him a very lovable man. No man has an unkind word to say of Edward Creighton, and his memory is revered to this day as an upright, just, and kind man, who, out of his own sterling qualities, had wrought a successful and hon orable career. He was stricken with paralysis and died November 5, 1874. To his memory Creighton College was erected and endowed by his widow, in response to his own wish, expressed during his lifetime, to found a free institu tion for the nort'sectarian education of youth — the insti tution to be under Catholic control CHAPTER XI. AN OVERLAND OUTFIT. The organization of a full-fledged train for crossing the plains consisted of from twenty-five to twenty-six large wagons that would carry from three to three and a half tons each, the merchandise or contents of each wagon being protected by three sheets of thin ducking, such as is used for army tents. The number of cattle necessary to draw each wagon was twelve, making six yokes or pairs, and a prudent freighter would always have from twenty to thirty head of extra oxen, in case of accident to or lameness of some of the animals. In camping or stopping to allow the cattle to graze, a corral or pen of oblong shape is formed by the wagons, the tongues being turned out, and a log chain extended from the hind wheel of each wagon to the fore wheel of the next behind, etc., thus making a solid pen except for a wide gap at each end, through which gaps the cattle are driven when they are to be yoked and made ready for travel, the gaps then being filled by the wagon- master, his assistant, and the extra men, to prevent the cattle from getting out. When the cattle are driven into this corral or pen, each driver yokes his oxen, drives them out to his wagon, and gets ready to start. The entire train of cattle, including extras, generally numbered from 320 to 330 head and usually from four to five mules for riding and herding. The force of men for each train consisted of a wagonmaster, his assistant, the teamsters, a man to look after the extra cattle, and two or three extra men as a reserve to take the places of any men who might be dis- (108) AN OVERLAND OUTFIT. 103 abled or sick, the latter case being a rare exception, for as a rule there was no sickness. I think perhaps there was never a set of laboring men in the world who enjoyed more uninterrupted good health than the teamsters upon the plains. They walked by the side of their teams, as it was impossible for them to ride and keep them moving with regularity. The average distance traveled with loaded wagons was from twelve to fifteen miles per day, although in some instances, when roads were fine and there was a necessity for rapid movement, I have known them to travel twenty miles. But this was faster traveling than they could keep up for any length of time. Returning with empty wagons they could average twenty miles a day without injury to the animals. Oxen proved to be the cheapest and most reliable teams for long trips, where they had to live upon the grass. This was invariably the case. They did good daily work, gathered their own living, and if properly driven would travel 2,000 miles in a season, or during the months from April to November; traveling from 1,000 to 1,200 miles with the loaded wagons, and with plenty of good grass and water, would make the return trip with the empty wagons in the same season. However, the distance traveled depended much upon the skill of the wagonmasters who had them in charge. For if the master was not skilled in handling the animals and men, they could not make any thing like good headway and success. To make every thing work expeditiously, thorough discipline was required, each man performing his duty and being in the place assigned him without confusion or delay. I remember once of timing my teamsters when they commenced to yoke their teams after the cattle had been driven into their corral and avowed to stand long enough to become quiet. I gave the word to the men to commence yoking, and held 104 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. my watch in my hand while they did so, and in sixteen minutes from the time they commenced, each man had yoked six pairs of oxen and had them hitched to their wagons ready to move. I state this that the reader may see how quickly the men who are thoroughly disciplined could be ready to " pop the whip " and move out, when unskilled men were often more than an hour doing the same work. The discipline and rules by which my trains Were governed were perfect, and as quick as the men learned each one his place and duty, it became a very pleasant and easy thing for him to do. Good moral conduct was required of them, and no offense from man to man was allowed, thus keeping them good-natured and working together harmoniously. They were formed into what they called "messes," there being from six to eight men in a mess, each mess selecting the man best fitted to serve as cook, and the others carrying the water, fuel, and standing guard, so that the cook's sole business when in Camp was to get his utensils ready and cook the meals. We never left the cattle day or night without a guard of two men, the teamsters taking turns, and arranging it so that each man was on guard two hours out of the twenty- four, and sometimes they were only obliged to go on guard two hours every other night. This matter they arranged among themselves and with the wagonmaster. The duty of the wagonmaster was about the same as that of a cap tain of a steamboat or ship, his commands being implicitly obeyed, for in the early stages of travel upon the plains the men were at all times liable to be attacked by the Indians; therefore the necessity for a perfect harmony of action throughout the entire band. The assistant wagonmaster's duty was to carry out the wagontnaster's instructions, and he would often be at one end of the train while the master was at the other, as the train was AN OVERLAND OUTFIT. 105 moving. It was arranged, when possible, that no two trains should ever camp together, as there was not grass and water sufficient for the animals of both, and thus all confusion was avoided. The average salary paid the men was $i a day and ex penses. Most of the traveling in the early days of freight ing was done upon what was called the Santa ~F4s road, starting from Independence, Mo., and unloading at Santa Ft5, N. M. The rattlesnakes on that road, in the beginning of the travel, were a great annoyance, often biting the mules and oxen when they were grazing. At first, mules were used altogether for traveling, but they would either die or become useless from the bite of a rattlesnake, and the men would sometimes be sent ahead of the caravan with whips to frighten the snakes out of the pathway, but later on, the ox-teamsters, with their large whips, de stroyed them so fast that they ceased to trouble them to any great extent. It has been claimed by men that the snakes and prairie-dogs, who were also found in great numbers upon the plains, lived in the same houses, the dog digging the hole and allowing the snake to inhabit it with him; but I do not think this is correct. Men came to this conclu sion from seeing the snakes when frightened run into the dog-holes, but I think they did it to get out of the way of danger, and they lived, too, in the houses that had been abandoned by the dogs. It is a fact that the prairie dogs would only live in one hole for about a year, when they would abandon it and dig a new one, leaving the old ones to be taken possession of by the rattlesnakes and prairie owls. As far as I have been able to find out, there is no creature on earth that will live with a rattlesnake. They are hated and feared by all living animals. The following are the names of the men who were em ployed on our trains, in one capacity and another, and a number of them are still alive: 106 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. Dr. J. Hobbs, Jim Lobb, Alex Lobb, Aquila Lobb, Joel Dunn, Mitchell Wilson, Hank Bassett, George W. Marion N. H. Fitzwater, George Bryant, Tom A. Brawley, Peter Bean, James L. Davis, William Hickman, A. W. Street, Joel Hedgespeth, Charles Byers, Nathan Simpson, R. D. Simpson, Ben Tunley, Hiram Cummings, John Ewing, Rev. Ben Baxter, A. and P. Byram, Frank McKinney, John T. Renick, John D. Clayton, William Wier, Frank Hoberg, Gillis of Pennsylvania, David Street, Joel Lyal, Albert Bangs, Elijah Majors, Aquila Davis, Samuel Poteete, William Hayes, George A. Baker, James Brown, William Dodd, Mr. Badger, Green Davis, John Scudder, Jackson Cooper, Samuel Foster, Robert Foster, Chat. Renick, John Renick, Mr. Levisy, Dick Lipscomb, James Aiken, Johnson Aiken, Stephen De Wolfe, Linville Hayes, Sam McKinny, Ben Rice, Ferd Smith, Henry Carlisle, Alexander Carlisle, Robert Ford, Joseph Erwin, Daniel D. White, Johnny Fry, Alexander Benham, Luke Benham, Benjamin Ficklin, John Kerr. CHAPTER XII. KIT CARSON. Kit Carson, as he was familiarly known and called, was born in Madison County, Ky., on the 24th of December, 1809. During the early days of Carson's childhood his father moved from Kentucky to Missouri, which State was then called Upper Louisiana, where Kit Carson passed a number of years, early becoming accustomed to the stirring dangers with which his whole life was so familiar. At the age of fifteen years he was apprenticed to a Mr. Workman, a saddler. At the end of two years, when his apprenticeship was ended,' young Carson voluntarily aban doned the further pursuit of a trade which had no attrac tions for him, and from that time on pursued the life of a trapper, hunter, and Indian fighter, distinguishing himself in many ways and rendering invaluable service to the Gov ernment of the United States, in whose employ he spent a large part of his life, in which service he had risen to the rank of colonel and was breveted brigadier-general before his death, which occurred at Fort Lyon, Colo., on the 23d of May, 1868, from the effects of the rupture of an artery, or probably an aneurism of an artery in the neck. Carson as a trapper, hunter, and guide had no superior, and as a soldier was the peer of any man. The following from the life of Kit Carson will be found most interesting reading regarding this great scout: "With fresh animals and men well fed and rested, McCoy and Carson and all their party soon started from Fort Hall (107) 108 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. for the rendezvous again, upon Green River, where they were detained some weeks for the arrival of other parties, enjoy ing as they best might the occasion, and preparing for future operations. " A party of a hundred was here organized, with Mr. Fontenelle and Carson for their leaders, to trap upon the Yellowstone and the headwaters of the Missouri. It was known that they would probably meet the Blackfeet, in whose grounds they were going, and it was therefore arranged, that while fifty were to trap and furnish the food for the party, the remainder should be assigned to guard the camp and cook. There was no disinclination on the part of any to another meeting with the Blackfeet, so often had they troubled them, especially Carson, who, while he could be magnanimous toward an enemy, would not turn aside from his course if able to cope with him; and now that "he was in a company which justly felt itself strong enough to punish the 'thieving Blackfeet,' as they spoke of them, he was anxious to pay off some old scores. " They saw nothing, however, of these Indians; but after ward learned that the smallpox had raged terribly among them, and that they had kept themselves retired in mount ain valleys, oppressed with fear and severe disease. "The winter's encampment was made in this region, and a party of Crow Indians which was with them camped at a little distance on the same stream. Here they secured an abundance of meat, and passed the severe weather with a variety of amusements, in which the Indiaus joined them in their lodges, made of buffalo hides. These lodges, very good substitutes for houses, were made in the form of a cone, spread by means of poles spreading from a common center, where there was a hole at the top for the passage of smoke. These were often twenty feet in height and as many feet in diameter, where they were pinned to the KIT CARSON. 109 ground with stakes. In a large village the Indians often had one lodge large enough to hold fifty persons, and within were performed their war dances around a fire made in the center. During the palmy days of the British Fur Company, in a lodge like this, only made instead of birch bark, Irving says the Indians of the North held their ' prim itive fairs ' outside the city of Montreal, where they dis posed of their furs. "There was one drawback upon conviviality for this party, in the extreme difficulty of getting food for their animals; for the food and fuel so abundant for themselves did not suffice for their horses. Snow covered the ground, and the trappers were obliged to gather willow twigs, and strip the bark from cottonwood trees, in order to keep them alive. The inner bark of the cottonwood is eaten by the Indians when reduced to extreme want. Besides, the cold brought the buffalo down upon them in great herds, to share the nourishment they had provided for their horses. " Spring at length opened, and gladly they again com menced trapping; first on the Yellowstone and soon on the headwaters of the Missouri, where they learned that the Blackfeet were recovered from the sickness of last year, which had not been so severe as it was reported, and that they were still anxious and in condition for a fight, and were encamped not far from their present trapping grounds. "Cargon and five men went forward in advance 'to recon- noiter,' and found the village preparing to remove, having learned of the presence of the trappers. Hurrying back, a party of forty-three was selected from the whole, and they unanimously selected Carson to lead them, and leav ing the rest to move on with the baggage, and aid them if it should be necessary when they should come up with the Indians, they started forward eager for a battle. 110 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. "Carson and his command were not long in overtaking the Indians; and dashing among them, at the first fire killed ten of their braves; but the Indians rallied and retreated in good order. The white men were in good spirits, and followed up their first attack with deadly results for three full hours, the Indians making scarce any resist ance. Now their firing became less animated, as their ammunition was getting low, and they had to use it with extreme caution. The Indians, suspecting this from the slackness of their fire, rallied, and with a tremendous whoop turned upon their enemies. " Now Carson and his company could use their small arms, which produced a terrible effect, and which enabled them to again drive back the Indians. They rallied yet again, and charged with so much power and in such numbers, they forced the trappers to retreat. " During this engagement the horse of one of the mount aineers was killed, and fell with his whole weight upon his rider. Carson saw the condition of the man, with six warriors rushing to take his scalp, and reached the spot in time to save his friend. Leaping from the saddle he placed himself before his fallen companion, shouting at the same time for his men to rally around him, and with deadly aim from his rifle, shot down the foremost warrior. "The trappers now rallied around Carson and the remain ing five warriors retired, without the scalp of their fallen foe. Only two of them reached a place of safety, for the well-aimed fire of the trappers leveled them with the earth. " Carson's horse was loose, and as his comrade was safe, he mounted behind one of his men and rode back to the ranks, while by general impulse the firing on both sides ceased. His horse was captured and restored to him, but each party, now thoroughly exhausted, seemed to wait for the other to renew the attack. 'KIT CARSON. Ill " While resting in this attitude, the other division of the trappers came in sight, but the Indians, showing no fear, posted themselves among the rocks at some distance from the scene of the last skirmish, and coolly waited for their adversaries. Exhausted ammunition had been the cause of the retreat of Carson and his force, but now, with a renewed supply, and an addition of fresh men to the force, they advanced on foot to drive the Indians from their hiding places. The contest was desperate and severe, but powder and ball eventually conquered, and the Indians, once dis lodged, scattered in every direction. The trappers consid ered this a complete victory over the Blackfeet, for a large number of their warriors were killed, and many more were wounded, while they had but three men killed and a few severely wounded. "Fontenelle and his party now camped at the scene of the engagement, to recruit their men and here bury their dead. Afterward they trapped through the whole Black feet country, and with great success, going where they pleased without fear or molestation. The Indians kept off their route, evidently having acquaintance with Carson and his company enough to last them their lifetime. "With the smallpox and the white man's rifles the war riors were much reduced, and the tribe, which had formerly numbered 30,000, was already decimated, and a few more blows like the one dealt by this dauntless band would suffice to break its spirit and destroy its power for future and evil. "During the battle with the trappers the women and children of the Blackfeet village were sent on in advance, and when the engagement was over and the braves returned to them so much reduced in numbers, and without a single scalp, the big lodge that had been erected for the war dance was given up for the wounded, and in hundreds of Indian hearts grew a bitter hatred for the white man. 112 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. " An express, dispatched for the purpose, announced the place of the rendezvous to Fontenelle and Carson, who were now on Green River, and with their whole party and a large stock of furs, they at once set out for the place upon Mud River, to find the sales commenced before their arrival, so that in twenty days they were ready to break up camp. " Carson now organized a party of seven and proceeded to a trading post called Brown's Hole, where he joined a company of traders to go to the Navajo Indians. He found this tribe more assimilated to the white man than any Indians he had yet seen, having many fine horses and large flocks of sheep and cattle. They also possessed the art of weaving, and their blankets were in great demand through Mexico, bringing high prices on account of their great beauty, being woven in flowers with much taste. They were evidently a remnant of the Aztec race. " They traded here for a large drove of fine mules, which, taken to the fort on the South Platte, realized good prices, when Carson went again to Brown's Hole, a narrow but pretty valley, about sixteen miles long, upon the Colorado River. " After many offers for his services from other parties, Carson at length engaged himself for the winter to hunt for the men at this fort, and, as the game was abundant in this beautiful valley, and in the canon country farther down the Colorado, in its deer, elk, and antelope remind ing him of his hunts upon the Sacramento, the task was a delightful one to him. " In the spring Carson trapped with Bridger and Owens, with passable suocess, and went to tbe rendezvous upon Wind River, at the bead of the Yellowstone, and from thence, with a large party of the trappers at the rendezvous, to the Yellowstone, where they camped in the vicinity for the winter without seeing their old enemy, the Blackfeet KIT CARSON. 113 Indians, until midwinter, when they discovered they were near their stronghold. " A party of forty was selected to give them battle, with Carsori, of course^ for their captain. They found the Indians already in the field to the number of several hun dred, who made a brave resistance until night and darkness admonished both, parties to retire. In. the morning, when Carson and his rnpp went to tl|e spot whither the Indians had retired, thpy were not to be found. They had given them a 'wide berth,' taking their all away with them, pyen their dead. "Carson and his command returned to camp, where a council of war decided thaf> as the Indians would report at the principal pncampment the terrible loss they had sus tained, and others would be sent to renew the fight, it was wise to prepare to act op the defensive, and use every pre caution immediately; and accordingly a sentinel was sta tioned on a lofty hill near by, who soon reported that fhe Indians were upon the move. " Their plaps matured, they at once thrpw up a breast work, under Carson's directions, and waited the approach of the Indians, who came in slowly, the first parties waiting for those behind. After three days a full thousand had reached the camp about half a mile from the breastwork of the trappers. Ih their war paint, stripes of red ^pross phe forehead and down either cheek, with their bows and arrows, tomahawks and janpes, this army of Indians pre sented a fprrnidable appearance to the small body pf trap pers who were opposecf to them. "The war dance was pnacf;ed in sight and hearing of }he trappers, and at early dawn the Indians advanced^' haying made every preparation ^or the attack. .Capon commanded his men to reserve their fire till the Indians were near enough to have eyery shot tell; t>ut, seeing the strength of 114 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. the white men's position, after a few ineffectual shots, the Indians retired, camped a mile from them, and finally sep arated into two parties, and went away, leaving the trappers to breathe more freely, for, at the best, the encounter must have been of a desperate character. " They evidently recognized the leader who had before dealt so severely with them, in the skill with which the de fense was arranged, and if the name of Kit Carson was on their lips, they knew him for both bravery and magnanimity, and had not the courage to offer him battle. "Another winter gone, with saddlery, moccasin-making, lodge-building, to complete the repairs of the summer's wars and the winter's fight all completed, Carson, with fifteen men, went past Fort Hall again to the Salmon River, and trapped part of the season there, and upon Big Snake and Goose creeks, and selling his furs at Fort Hall, again joined Bridger in another trapping excursion into the Black feet country. " The Blackfeet had molested the traps of another party who had arrived there before them, and had driven them away. The Indian assailants were still near, and Carson led bis party against them, taking care to station himself and men in the edge of a thicket, where they kept the savages at bay all day, taking a man from their number with nearly every shot of their well-directed rifles. In vain the Indians now attempted to fire the thicket; it would not burn, and suddenly they retired, forced again to acknowl edge defeat at the hands of Kit Carson, the ' Monarch of the Prairies.' "Carson's party now joined with the others, but con cluding that they could not trap successfully with the annoyance the Indians were likely to give them, as their force was too small to hope to conquer, they left this part of the country for the north fork of the Missouri. KIT CARSON. 115 " Now they were with the friendly Flatheads, one of whose chiefs joined them in the hunt, and went into camp near them with a party of his braves. This tribe of Indians, like several other tribes which extend along this latitude of the Pacific, have the custom which gives them their name, thus described by Irving, in speaking of the Indians upon the Lower Columbia, about its mouth: "'A most singular custom,' he says, 'prevails not only among the Chinooks, but among most of the tribes about this part of the coast, which is the flattening of the fore head. The process by which this deformity is effected commences immediately after birth. The infant is laid in a wooden trough by way of cradle; the end on which the head reposes is higher- than the rest. A padding is placed on the forehead of the infant, with a piece of bark above it, and is pressed down by cords which pass through holes upon the. sides of the trough. As the tightening of the padding and the pressure of the head to the board is gradual, the process is said not to be attended with pain. The appearance of the infant, however, while in this state of compression, is whimsically hideous, and its little black eyes, we are told, being forced out by the tightness of the bandages, resemble those of a mouse choked in a trap. " ' About a year's pressure is sufficient to produce the desired effect, at the end of which time the child emerges from its bandages a complete flathead, and continues so through life. It must be noted, however, that this flatten ing of the head has something in it of aristocratic signifi cance, like the crippling of the feet among the Chinese ladies of quality. At any rate it is the sign of freedom. No slave is permitted to bestow this deformity upon the head of his children. All the slaves, therefore, are round heads.' " In December, 1846, after a severe battle with the Mexi- 1 116 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. cans and the copdiripn pf Geperal Kearney and his rnen had becpnie desperate, a cpunpil of war was cajlecj. After fliscussipg a varipty of measures, Carson shpw.e.d himself " the rigjit man in the right place." He said, " Our case is a desperate one, but there is yet hope. If wp stay here we are all (lead rnen;' pur animals can not last long, and the sol: diers and marines at San Diegp do riot know pf pur coming, but if thpy recejve infprrnation pf our condition, they will liasten tp pur rescue. I will attempt to go through the Mexican lines, thpn to San Diegp, and send relief from Gominodpre Stockton." Lieiitenant Beale of the Upifed Sfatps Navy at pncp seconded Carson, and volunteered to accompany hjm. prpneral Kearney jmmpdiately accepted the proposal as his only h.PRP, and they sfartpd at once, as soon as the cover of darkness hung around them- Tne'F W?§'9n W&$ to be one pf success or of death tp themselves and the whole force. Carson was familiar with the customs of the Mexicans, as well as the Indians, of putting their ears to the ground tp detect any sound, and therefore knew the necessity of avpiding the slightest noise. As it was impos sible to avoid makipg some noise wearing their shoes, they removed them, and putting thpm under their belts crept over bushes and rocks with the greatest caution and sijenpe. They discovered that the Mexicans had three rows pf sen tinels, whose beats extended past each other, embracing the hill where Kearney and his men were held jn siege. They were doubtless satisfied these could not be eluded, but they crept pn, often so near a sentinpl as to see his figure and equipment in the darkness, and pnce, when within a few yards of them, discovered ope of thp sentinels, whp had dismounted and lighted his cigarette with his flint and steel. Discovering this sentinel, Kit Carson, as he lay fiat on the f rpurjd, puf; his foot back and touched Lieutenant klT CARSON. 117 Beale, as a signal foir him' to be still, as he wks doing. The mihiites the Mexlcah was occupied in this way sefemed hbiirs to our herbfes, who momentarily feared they would be discovered. Carson asserted they were so still he could hear Lieutenant Beale's heart beat, arid, in the agoriy of the tiirie, he lived '&. year. But the Mexican finally mounted his horse and rode off ih a contrary direction, as if guided by ProvidePce tb give safety to these courageous advent urers. For fuii two rimes Kit Carson artd Lieutenant Beale thUs worked their way aiong upon their hands and knees, turn ing their eyes in every direction to detect anything which inight le^d to their discovery; and, having passed the last sentlHel arid ieft the lines sufficiently far behind, they felt an immeasurable relief in o'rifce more gaining their feet. But tHeir shoes were gone. Ih the excitemerit of this perilous jourfley neither had thdUght of his' snoes' since he first put them in his belt, but they cddld speak again arid cdrigratu- itite theihselves kiid each other that the great danger was passed, and thank heaven that they had been aided thus far. Blit there were still many diffichltieS in their path, which wks rdUgh with biiiihei, from the necessity of having to avoid the well-trodden trail, lest they be discovered. -The prickly peat covered the gtourid, it! thorns penetrated their ffeet at every step, arid their rokd wks lengthened fciy going dut of the direct pkth, thoUgh1 the iktter would have shortened their journey many a wekty tiiile. All the day following they pursued their journey onward without cessation, and into the night following, for they could not stop until they were assured relief was to be fur nished their anxious and perilous conditioned fellow soldiers. Carson pursued so straight a course and aimed so cor rectly for his mark that they entered the town by the 118 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. most direct route, and answering " friends " to the chal lenge of the sentinel, it was known from whence they came, and they were at once conducted to Commodore Stockton, to whom they related their errand, and the further particu lars we have already narrated. Commodore Stockton immediately detailed a force of nearly two hundred men, and, with his usual promptness, ordered them to go to the relief of their besieged country men by forced marches. They took with them a piece of ordnance, which the men were obliged themselves to draw, as there were no animals to be had for this work. Carson's feet were in a terrible condition, and he did not return with the soldiers; he needed rest and the best of care or he might lose his feet; but he described the posi tion of General Kearney so accurately that the party sent to his relief could find him without difficulty, and yet had the commodore expressed the wish, Carson would have under taken to guide the relief party upon its march. Lieutenant Beale was partially deranged for several days from the effects of the severe service, and was sent on board a frigate lying in port for medical attendance, and he did not fully recover his former health for more than two years. The relief party from Commodore Stockton reached General Kearney without encountering any Mexicans, and very soon all marched to San Diego, where the wounded soldiers received medical assistance. CHAPTER XIII. ADVENTURES OF A TRAPPER. Fifty years ago, when Kansas City consisted of a ware house and there was not a single private residence of civilized man between the Missouri River and San Fran cisco, S. E. Ward, a trapper, landed from a steamer at Independence. He was a penniless youth of eighteen years, direct from the parental home in Virginia, filled with eager desire to gain a fortune in the far West. Now, at sixty-eight years of age, Mr. Ward is almost twice a millionaire and one of the most respected citizens of Western Missouri. He is one of the pioneers that are left to speak of the struggles and triumphs of early Western life. The family home is a spacious two-story brick house, 2\ miles south of Westport, on the old Santa F& trail. The house stands upon a farm of 500 acres at the edge of the great prairie which stretches away through Kansas to the base of the Rocky Mountains. On this very spot where he now lives Mr. Ward camped more than once on his return from trading expeditions, years ago, in the Southwest. He has had experiences that do not fall to the ordinary lot of man. Thrown by circumstances into a new country in his earlier life, he has traveled thousands of miles alone through the mountains and across the prairies, and often spent weeks without meeting a single human being. Exposed to snow, sleet, and rain, with no shelter but a buffalo robe, and at times with starvation staring him in the face, the chances seemed slight indeed of ever com- (119) 120 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. ing out alive. During his experience in the West he met Fremont in his expedition through the mountains, saw Brigham Young on the Platte River as he was on his way to found a Mormon empire, passed through the stormy period of the Mexican War; the California gold excitement, the Civil War, and witnessed the opening of the Pacific Rkilrdad; arid the Mighty Influx bi . pHpthtxtidn oil the plains of tHe gredt West. The first seven years of his life on the frontier were passed largely ih intercourse with thdiari tribes, extending frbih the Red River on the; sdiitii to tiie Upfier waters of the Coiutribik kHd YellowStotie ofl the north. Hunting, trapping, arid trading were the only occupatioris open to white Men west of the Missouri Rivet id those dkys. Ih little bknds of from two to twelve the hunters arid trappers rdkrfled thr'dugti the Vast region with but Uttle fear of the redskins. The Itidiktis had not cdritrkcted the vices of civilization, ahd were a otiffererit race 8f people from what thfey are to-day. The5 cruelties we read of as practiced by theM iri later yekfs were' UPkridwP. I rievfef knew of a p'risorier being burned at the Stake, knd Ordinarily the hiihter fklt ks silfe iri ah Indlkn coutitry as in his own settlement. Tfig iridikris were arMed with bows and krirows, tidt mote than dne iri fifty beirig tH£ possessor dt a gun. When an Indian did use a gun it was usually a light shotgun that p'rbved ineffective at any grekt distance. An experienced frontiersMan corisidered himself safe kgaihst any Smaii hrimber bf Indians. By means of tHe sigh iaiiguage we were able id talk with the Indians' Upon kll subjects; and as they were very great talkers and inveterate story-tellers, many is' thfe hour I Have passed seated tiy the ckmp-fire hearing their advfe'flturfes bir the legerids of their natidns. I have often wondered why the sign language, as recognized and perfected by the ADVENTURES OF A TRAPPER. 121 Itidiatis, wtis hot adopted among civilized people instead of the deaf and dumb alphabet. The Indian's method of cotrim'uhicating His ideas is much more impressive and tikturai. The Cheyehries and Airapahdes were especially ndied tbir their skill in sign language. iri some respects the Indians were superior to the whites ks ritmterS. They knew nothing of trapping beaver until taught by ti\e whites, but they could give valuable points oP bkgging the iairge game on the plains. Forty or fifty yikrs ago the plains were swarming with buffalo. * I have often Seen droves so large that rib eye could compass them. Theif numbers were countless. The Indiari hunter riding bare-backed would guide his horse headlong irito the midst 8f the herd, singling out the fattest and in an instant send ing the deadly arrow cieari through his victim. In a single day's hunt they sometimes kilied 3,000 to 4,000 buffaio. Trie dead bodies wbuid lie scattered over ihe prairie for rhiles. It required the greatest diligence to save the skins kind dry the Meat foir use iri winter. They made wholesale slaughter of antelope by forming a " surround." This required the presence of several hundred Indians to make a coinpiete success. Early in the morning the Men and boys wdiild form a biircie Miies in diaMeter, riding round arid round, Making the circle smaller at every revolution arid growing closer together. Ail the gaMe within the ranks was gradually collected irito a body which was driven to ah ihcldsiiire formed by weeds piled high up at the sides, behind which weire the women and olcl men. As the game passed the reserve force these bobbed up and set up unearthly shrieks and yells that ckused the frightened ahimais to piiirige forward over a precipice to which the inciosure conducted. The slaughter was terrible. Indians stationed b'elow gave the qiiietus to such gaMe as made the descent witti Biit slight injury. At the close of thfe day a 122 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. great feast was held, and nobody enjoys a feast more than an Indian. I have been asked if marriage was a success among the aborigines. I never heard it hinted that it was otherwise. The Indian had the privilege of taking as many wives as he was able to support, and if he married the oldest sister in a family, all the remaining sisters were considered his property as they became of age. Under favorable circum stances, in some tribes, a warrior took a new wife every two or three years. A separate lodge was provided for each wife, as the women would fall out and scratch each other if kept together. A peculiarity in the Indian family rela tions was that as soon as a wife found herself to be with child her person was considered sacred, and she lived apart from all the rest of the household until the child had been born and had weaned itself of its own accord. This exclusion extended even to the master of the house, and was never violated. The children were fairly idolized among the more advanced tribes. The parents seemed to live for their children, more particularly when the children were boys. An Indian's wealth was known by the number of his horses. There were both rich and poor Indians, but the latter were never allowed to want when there was anything to be had. After a great hunt the poor man was granted the privilege of taking the first carcasses nearest the camp. Some Indians kept their lodges nicely painted and be yond criticism as to cleanliness. The lodges were renewed every year, as frequent moving and exposure to weather made the skins leaky. The Indians' range extended any where that game and food for their animals could be found. It was a rare occurrence for them to remain a month in a single vicinity. The monotony of hunting and moving was varied byoccasional forays upon an unfriendly ADVENTURES OF A TRAPPER. 123 tribe, stealing their horses, and carrying off scalps and prisoners. Unless these captives were children they were put to death. The children were usually adopted and treated with the greatest kindness. The older prisoners, both men and women, were dispatched with little cere mony. The killing was usually deferred for several days after the prisoners were brought into camp. A young Pawnee Indian who was killed by a party of Comanches was taken into the open air, his hands were tied to his legs, and he was shot through the heart. He uttered not a word or groan. After the killing, a warrior stepped for ward and raised the dead Pawnee's scalp, then the war dance was held. A Crow Indian was dispatched even more expeditiously. Trapper Ward called on the captain in the lodge where he was confined, and they talked together by signs. He "said he knew he must die, but felt perfectly resigned to his fate, as he would inflict the same penalty on his enemies if he had the chance. While they were talking, a warrior appeared at the door and made a motion. The Crow stepped forward and was shot within a few feet of the spot he had occupied the moment before. After the scalping and war dance he was tied up in a standing posi tion, with his hands stretched as far apart over his head as possible, making a ghastly spectacle, and left as a warn ing to all the enemies of his executioners. The winter of 1838 and 1839, Mr. Ward says, was viv idly impressed upon his mind, being his first experience as a trapper. After a journey of 600 miles from Independ ence, he arrived at Fort Bent, and early in the fall the dif ferent hunting and trapping parties started out for a long sojourn in the mountains. He was fortunate in being one of a party of twelve, of which Kit Carson was a member. They made headquarters in Brown's Hole, on the Colorado River, where it enters the mountains. Trapping proved 124 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. hard work, but He never enjoyed life more, and kriew ho such thing as sickness. Their clothes were made (by their. own hands) of buckskin. Their food was nothing but meat booked oh a stick or on the coals, as they had rib cooking uterisiis. Anteiope, dear, elk, bear, beaver, and, iri case of necessity, even the woif, furnished a variety that was always acceptable to eat. At night they gathered round a roaring fire, iri comfortable qUarters, to listen to the stories which such Men as Kit Carson could tell. At the close df three months a successful trapper was often able to show a pack of 1 20 beaver skiris, weighing about 100 pounds. As he made two trapping expeditions during the year, in the spririg arid fall, he would show 200 pounds, worth $6 per pound, as his year's work. Iri addi: tibri to this, tiie Musk-stbnes of the beaver were worth as much as the skins, so that soMe of them Made !$3,oo'o per year as trappers. It was a poor trapper that did not earn half as Much. But few of tlieM ever saved any money. The traders from the States charged theM enormously foir sup plies, and Western Men wefe inveterate gamblers. Sugar was $1.50 per pound, coffee the same, tobacco $5 per pound, and a cbMirion shirt could hot be bought foir less than $5, while whisky sold for over .$30 a gailori. With flour at $1 per pburid, arid iuxuries iri prbpbrtiori, it was a ques tion of but a few days at the rendezvous before tiie labor of months was used up. The traders were often caiied upon to fit out the Meri upbri credit, after a prosperous season. PHAPTER XIV. TRAPPING. Tp be a successful trapper required great caution, as well as a perfect knowledge of the habits of the apimals. Thp residence of the beaver was often discovered by seeing bits of green wopd and gnawed branches of the bassw°od, slippery elrn, and sycaippre, their favorite food, floating on the watpr or }odged on the shores of the stream below, as wpll as by their tracks pr foot-marks. These indiparipps were tephnically called "beaver signs.'' They were also sometimes discovered by their dams thrown across crpeks and small, sluggish streams, forming a pond in which were erected their habitations. The huntpr, as he proceeded to set his traps, generally approached by water, in his canoe. He selected a steep, abriipt spot in the bank pf the creek, in which he excavated a hple with his paddle, as he sat in the canoe, sufficiently large to hold thp trap, and so deep as to be about three ipphes below the surface of the water, when the jaws of the trap were expanded. About two feet above the trap, a stick, three or four inches in length, was stuck in the bank. In the upper end of this stick the trapper cut a small hole with his knife, into which he dropped a small quantity of the essence of perfume, which was used to attract the beaver to the spot. This stick was fastened by a stripg of horse-hair to the trap, and with it was pulled into the water hy the beaver. The reason for this was that it might not rpmain after the trap was sprung, and attract other beavers to the spot, apd thus prevent their seeking other traps ready fpr them. 126 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. This scent, or essence, was made by mingling the fresh castor of the beaver with an extract of the bark of the roots of the spice-bush, and then kept in a bottle for use. The making of this essence was kept a profound secret, and often sold for a considerable sum to the younger trap pers by the older proficients in the mysteries of beaver- hunting. Where trappers had no proper bait, they some times made use of the fresh roots of the sassafras or spice-. bush, of both of which the beaver was very fond. It is said by old trappers that the beaver will smell the well-prepared essence the distance of a mile, their sense of smell being very acute, or they would not so readily detect the vicinity of man by the scent of his trail. The aroma of the essence, having attracted the beaver to the vicinity of the trap, iri his attempt to reach it he has to climb up on the bank where it is sticking. This effort leads him directly over the trap, and he is usually caught by one of his fore legs. The trap was connected by an iron chain, six feet in length, to a stout line made of the bark of the leather wood, twisted into a neat cord fifteen or twenty feet in length. These cords were usually prepared by the trap pers at home, or at their camps, for cords of hemp or flax were scarce in the days of beaver-hunting. The endof the line was secured to a stake driven into the bed of the creek under water, and in the beaver's struggles to escape he was usually drowned before the arrival of the trapper. Some times, however, he freed himself by gnawing off his own leg, though this rarely happened. When setting the trap, if it was raining, or there was a prospect of rain, a leaf, generally of sycamore, was placed over the essence stick to protect it from the rain. The beaver was a very sagacious and cautious animal, and it required great care in the trapper in his approach to TRAPPING. 1^7 his haunts to set his traps, that no scent of his hands or feet should be left on the earth or bushes that he touched. For this reason the trapper generally approached in a canoe. If he had no canoe it was necessary to enter the stream thirty or forty yards below where he wished to set his trap, and walk up the stream to the place, taking care to return in the same manner, lest the beaver should take alarm and not come near the bait, as his fear of the vicinity of man was greater than his appetite for the essence. Caution was also required in kindling a fire near the haunts of the beaver, as the smell of smoke alarmed them. The firing of a gun, also, often marred the sport of the trapper. Thus it will be seen that, to make a successful beaver hunter, required more qualities or natural gifts than fall to the share of most men. CHAPTER XV. AN ADVENTURE WITH INDIANS. In the earjy part of June, 1850, I loaded my train, pon- sisting pf ten wagons drawn by j^q pxen, at ICansas City, Mo., with rnerchapdise destjped fpr §apta Fg, N- ty., a distance pf abput eight hpndred mries frpm Kapsas City, and started for th^t point. After being put spme eight Qr tpn days and traveling through wliat wa§ t_hpp called Indian Territory, but was not organized until four years later, and was then styled Kansas. Arriving pne pvening at a stream called Qne Hundred and Tpn, I camped fpr tjrip night. | unyoked my oxen and turned them upon the grass. Find ing the grass so good and the animals weary with the day's work, I thought they would not stroll away, and therefore did not put any guard, as was my custom. At early dawn on the following morning I arose, saddled my horse, which, by the way, was a good one, and told my assistant to arouse the teamsters, so they could be ready to yoke their teams as soon as I drove them into the corral, which was formed by the wagons. I rode around what I supposed to be all the herd, but in rounding them up before reaching the wagons, I discovered that there were a number of them missing. I then made a circle, leaving the ones I had herded together. I had not traveled very far when I struck the trail of the missing oxen; it being very plain, I could ride my horse on a gallop and keep track of it. I had not traveled more than a mile when I discovered the tracks of Indian ponies. I then knew the Indians had driven off my oxen. I thought of the fact that I was un- (128) AN ADVENTURE WITH INDIANS. 129 armed, not thinking it necessary to take my gun when I left the wagons, as I only expected to go a few hundred yards. We had not yet reached the portion of the territory where we would expect to meet hostile Indians, so I went ahead on the trail, thinking it was some half-friendly ones that had driven my oxen away, as they sometimes did, in order to get a fee for finding and bringing them back again. I expected to overtake them at any moment, for the trail looked very fresh, as though they were only a short dis tance ahead of me. So on and on I went, galloping my horse most of the time, until I had gone about twelve miles from my camp. I passed through a skirt of timber that divided one portion of the open prairie from the other, and there overtook thirty-four head of my oxen resting from their travel. About sixty yards to the east of the cattle were six painted Indian braves, who had dismounted from their horses, each one leaning against his horse, with his right hand resting upon his saddle, their guns being in their left. I came upon them suddenly, the timber preventing them from seeing me until I was within a few rods of them. I threw up my hand, went in a lope around my oxen, giving some hideous yells, and told the cattle they could go back to the wagons on the trail they had come. They at once heeded me and started. I never saw six meaner or more surprised looking men than those six braves were, for I think they thought I had an armed party just behind me, or I would not have acted so courageously as I did. So I followed my cattle, who were ready to take their way back, and left the six savages standing in dismay. The oxen and myself were soon out of sight in the forest, and that is the last I saw of the six braves who had been sent out by their chief the night before to steal the oxen. 9 iiJO SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. Very soon after I got through the timber and into the prairie again I met, from time to time, one or two Indians trotting along on their ponies, following the trail that the cattle made when their comrades drove them off. When within a short distaPce of the herd they would leaVe the trail and leave plenty of space to the cattle, fall in behind me, and trot on toward the six braves I had left. I will say here that I began to feel very much elated over my suc cess ih capturing my cattle from six armed savages, and being given the right-of-way by Other parties also armed. But I did not havb to travel Very far under the pleasant reflection that I was a hero; when I was about half-way back td the wagons I looked ahead about half-a-riiile and saw a large body of Indians, coMpriSing some twenty-five warriors, who proved to be under the command of their chief, armed and coming toward me. I then began to feel a little smaller than I had a few minutes previous, for I was entirely Unarmed, and eVen had I been armed what could I have dOrie with twenty-five armed savages? My fears were Very soon realized, for when they arrived within a few hundred yards of me and the chief saw me returning with the cattle he had sent his braves to drive off, he commanded his men to make a descent upori me, and he Undertook the job Of leading them. They raised a hideous yell and started toward me at the top of their horses' speed. If my oxeri had not been driven so far and become to some extent tired, I Would have had a rbyal stampede. The ani mals only ran a few hundred yards until I succeeded in holding them up. By this tiMe the Indians had reached me and my cattle. The braves surrounded the Pattle, and the chief came at the top of his horse's speed directly toward me, with his grin drawn Up in striking attitude. Of coarse 1 did riot allow him to get iri reaching distance. I turned my horse and put spurs to him; he was a splendid animal and AN ADVENTURE WITH INDIANS. 131 it was a comparatively easy matter for me to keep out of the reach of the vicious chief, who did not want to kill me, but desired to scare me, or cause me to run away and leave my herd, or disable me so I could not follow him and his band if they attempted to take the cattle. This chasing me off for some distance was repeated three times, I returning in close proximity to where his braves sUrroUnded the cattle on every side, some on foot holding their ponies, others on horseback. Those who had alighted were dancing and yelling at the tops of their voices. The third time I returned to where the chief and one of his braves, armed with bow and arrows, were sitting oh their horses, some distance from the cattle and in line between me and the group of braves. When I got within thirty or forty yards of him he beckoned me to come to him, for all the communication we had was carried on by means of signs; I did not speak their language nor they mirie. I rode cautiously up side by side, a short distarice from the chief, with our horses' heads iri the same direction. When 1 had fairly stopped to see what he was going to do, his brave who was on the opposite side from me slid off his horse, ran under the neck of the chief's, and made a lunge to catfch the bridle of my horse. His sudden appearance caused the animal to jump so quick and far that he had just missed getting hold of the rein. Had he succeeded in the attempt they would have taken my horse and oxen and cleared out, leaving me standing on the prairie. When he found he had failed in his attempt, he returned to his horse, mounted, and he and the chief rode slowly toward me, for I had reined up my horse when I found I was but of reach. I sat still to see what their next maneuver would be. The brave changed from the left of the chief to the right as they came slowly toward me. When they got within a few feet Of me, with the heads of our horses in the same diirec- 132 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. tion, they reined up their ponies and the brave suddenly drew his bow at full bend, with a sharp-pointed steel in the end of the arrow. He aimed at my heart with the most murderous, vindictive, and devilish look on his face and "from his eyes that I ever saw portrayed on any living face before or since. Of course there was no time for doing anything but to keep my eye steadfast on his. To show the influence of the mind over the body, while he was point ing the arrow at me I felt a place as large as the palm of my hand cramping where the arrow would have struck me had he shot. While in this position he pronounced the word " say " with all the force he could summon. I did not at that time understand what he meant. The chief relieved my suspense by holding up his ten fingers and pointing to the oxen. I then understood that if I gave him ten of my animals he would not put the dart through me. I felt that I could not spare that number and move on with my train to its destination, and in a country where I had not the opportunity of obtaining others, so I refused. He then threw up five fingers and motioned to the cattle. Again I shook my head. He then motioned me to say how many I would give, and I held up one finger. The moment I did so he gave the word of command to his braves, who were still dancing and screaming round the cattle, and they, whirling into line, selected one of the animals so quickly that one had hardly time to think, and left thirty- three of the oxen and myself standing in the prairie. I had held them there so long, refusing to let them go without following them, I think they were afraid some of my party would overtake me. There was no danger of that had they only known it, for on my return I found all my men at the wagons wondering what had become of me. I had left the camp at daylight and it was after noon when I returned. In conclusion, I will say that never at any time in my AN ADVENTURE WITH INDIANS. 133 life, and I have encountered a great many dangers, have I felt so small and helpless as upon this occasion, being sur rounded by twenty-five or thirty armed savages and with whom I could communicate only by signs. To surrender the animals to them was financial ruin, and to stay with them was hazarding my life and receiving the grossest abuse and insults. The effect of passing through this ordeal, on my mind, was that I became so reduced in stat ure, I felt as if I was no larger than my thumb, a humming bird or a mouse; all three passed through my mind, and I actually looked at myself to see if it was possible I was so small. No one can tell, until he has been overpowered by hos tile savages, how small he will become in his own estima tion. However, when they left me, I at once came back to my natural size and felt as if a great weight had been lifted from me. Although the Indians were nothing more nor less than specimens of nature's sons, without any education what ever of a literary nature, they were very shrewd and quick to see and take up an insult. They were remarkable for reading faces, and although they were not able to under stand one word of English, they could tell when looking at a white man and his comrades when in conversation about them, almost precisely what they were saying by the shadows that would pass over their faces, and by the nod ding of heads and movement of hands or shoulders, for the reason that they talked with each other and the different tribes that they would meet by signs, and it was done gen erally by the movement of the hands. They had but few vices, in fact might say almost none outside of their religious teachings, which allowed them to steal horses and fur skins, and sometimes take the lives of enemies or opposing tribes. Persons who were not thor- 134. SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. oughly acquainted with Indian character and life might wonder why there were so many different tribes — or bands, as they were sometimes called — and if it could be there were so many nationalities among them. This is accounted for solely and truly upon the fact that when a tribe grew to a certain number it became a necessity in nature for them to divide, which would form two bands or tribes and at that point of time and condition it became necessary for the one leaving the main tribe to have a name to designate themselves from the family that they had of necessity parted from, for as soon as a tribe reached such a propor tion in numbers that it was inconvenient for them to ren dezvous at some given point easy of access, their necessi ties in such cases demanded a new deal or different arrangements; hence the different names by which tribes were called. These tribes differed in their methods of living according to the conditions with which they were surrounded. Indians who lived along the Atlantic Coast and made their living from fishing, as well as from hunting, were very different from the Indians of the plains and Rocky Mountain regions, who live almost solely upon buffalo and other varieties of game that they were able to secure. The Indians from the Atlantic and Mississippi valleys were more dangerous, as a rule, when they came into a com bat with white spldiers, than were the Indians of the plains. and Rockies. The Shawnee and Delaware Indian braves a hundred years ago, when my grandfather was an Indian fighter in Kentucky, were considered equal to any white soldiers and proved themselves in battle to he so. Their mode of warfare, however, was not on horseback, as was the made of warfare with the Indians of the plains. They were "still" hunters, as they might be called, and when they met with white men in battle array, would get. behind AN ADVENTURE V.'iTII INDIANS. 135 trees, if possible, as a protection, and remain and fight to the bitter end. When these tribes became overpowered, it was easy, compared with the Indians of the plains, to bring them under some of the conditions of civilization; therefore the Cherokees, Seminoles, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Shawnees, Delawares, Wyandottes, Kickapoos, Sacs, Foxes, the Creeks, and many others whose names I cannot now recall, have become somewhat civilized, and many of them semi- civilized tribes, but the Indians of the plains and Rocky Mountain regions have been very slow to accept what we term civilization. They seem somewhat like the buffalo and other wild animals that we have never been able to domesticate. It looks to one like myself that has known them for so many years, that before they are civilized they will become almost exterminated ; that is to say that civil ized life does not agree with them, and they die from causes and conditions that such life compels them to exist under, and in my opinion the day will come when there will be few, if any, in the near future, left of the tribes that were known to belong to the territory west of the Missis sippi River and extending to the Pacific Coast. There was often among the wildest tribes of America many good traits. If they found you hungry and alone and in distress, as a rule they would take care of you, giving you the very best they had, and never with a view of charging you for their kindness. If they had a grudge against the white race for some misdemeanor some white man may have com mitted, they might kill you in retaliation. For this reason white men always felt, when they were among them, that their safety depended largely upon how the tribe had been treated by some other white man, or party of white men. As far as I know, throughout the entire savage tribes retal iation is one of the laws by which they are governed. The women, as a rule, were very generous and kind-hearted, 136 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. and I know of one case where a friend of mine, Judge Brown of Pettis County, Mo., had his life saved and his property restored to him through the instrumentality of an Indian woman. The Indians were at that time quite hos tile toward the whites, and had held council and determined to kill him, as they had him a prisoner and at their mercy. This woman seemed to be one of great influence in the tribe, and when the braves held their council and decided to take his life and property, she rose to her feet and plead for the life of my friend. Of course he could not understand a word she said, but he saw in her face a benevolence and kindness that gave him heart, for he had about despaired of ever living another hour. From the way in which she looked, talked, and gestured, he felt cer tain that she was assuming his cause, and he in relating the circumstances to me and others said he never saw a greater heroine in the appearance and conduct of any woman in his life. Of course this he had to judge largely of from appearances, as the Indians judge of the white people that I before alluded to. CHAPTER XVI. CROSSING THE PLAINS. Everything worked along smoothly on my westward way, after my adventure with the Indians, until I reached Walnut Creek, at the Big Bend of the Arkansas River. At that point the buffalo, running past my herd of oxen in the night, scattered them, part running with the buffalo and crossing the river where it was very high, it being the sea son of the year when the channel was full of water, from the melting of the snow in the mountains from which it received its waters. The next morning, as before, at the One Hundred and Ten, I found a portion of my herd missing, but not so many this time as to prevent me from traveling. I had the teams hitched up, some of them being a yoke of oxen minus, but sufficient remained to move the wagons, and I started my assistant, Mr. Samuel Poteet, one of the most faithful of my men, on the road with the teams, and I took my extra man to hunt for the missing oxen. We crossed the river where it was almost at swim ming point and at the place where the buffalo had crossed the night before, for we had followed their trail for several miles. After losing the trail, for they had so scattered we could not tell which trail to take, we wandered around for a time in the open prairie, expecting Indians to appear at any moment; but in that we were happily disappointed. I finally found my cattle all standing in a huddle near a pond. We soon surrounded them and started driving them to the river, crossed them and reached the road, following the train, until we overtook it a little before sundown that (137) 138 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. evening. From that point there was nothing to trouble or disturb our movements until we reached the Wagon Mounds, beyond the borders of New Mexico, now a station upon the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. There we came upon the ruins of a stage-coach which had been burned; the bones and skeletons of some of the horses that drew it, as well as the bones of the party of ten men who were murdered outright by the Indians. Not one escaped to tell the story, and they were, I think, a party pf ten as brave mep as could be found anywhere. Whether there were any Indians killed while they were massacring thjs party is not known, for it was some few days before the news pf the affair was known, as there was little travel over the road at that season of the year. This party had passed me on the road some weeks before, apd bping able to travel three times as far per day as I could, had reaphed the point of'thpir fate several weeks before, so we could see nothing but the bones thp wolves had scratched put of the ground where they had been buried. In fact there was nothing to bury when we found them. The wolves would not even let thein lie at rest. It seepripd there was no flesh the wolyes cpuld get hold pf they were sp fond of as the flesh of an Ameripan or white man, and, strange to say, they would not eat a Mpxican at all. It frequently happened that when the Indians killed a party on the Santa Fe Road there were both Mexicans and Americans left dead uppn the same spot. When found the bpdies pf the Americans wopld invariably be eaten, and the bodies of the Mexicans lying jntapt without any inter ference at all. There were various speculations with travelers along that road as to why this was so. Soipe thought if was because the Mexipans were so saturatpd with rpd pepper, they mak ing that a part of their diet, Others thought it was CROSSING THE PLAINS. 139 because they were such inveterate smokers and were always smoking cigarettes. I have no suggestions to make on the subject any further than to say such was a fact, and there are many American boys to-day who would not be eaten by wolves, so impregnated are they with nicotine. After passing this gloomy spot at the Wagon Mounds, which almost struck terror to our hearts to see the bones of our fellow-men who had been swept away by the hand of the savages, without a moment's warning, we pursued our way to Santa Ft4, N. M., and delivered my freight to the merchants. * They paid me the cash, $13,000 in silver — Mexican dollars — for freighting their goods to that point, a distance of 800 miles from the place of loading at Kansas City, Mo. I returned home without any further drawbacks or molestations on that trip. On arriving home I found that Maj. E. A. Ogden of Fort Leavenworth desired to send a l°ad of Government freight to Fort Mann, 400 miles west on the same road I had just traveled over, at ahout the point on the Arkansas River where Fort Dodge now stands. I agreed with him on terms at once, and loaded my wagons for that point. Lieutenant Heath of the United States Army was in command of the litttle post at Fort Mann. I arrived in good time, with everything in good order, and when the Government freights were unloaded he expressed a desire that I should take my entire train and go south about twenty-five miles, where there was some large timber growing near a stream called Cottonwood, fpr the purpose of bringing him a lot of saw-Jogs to make lumber for the building of his post. A more gentlemanly or clever man I never met in the United States Army or out of it — thoroughly correct in his dealings, and kind and courteous as could be. I made the trip and brought him a fine lot of cottonwood and walnut saw-logs, for these were the only kinds of timber that grew along the 140 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. stream, unloaded them at his camp and returned home without losing any men or animals. The men were all in fine health and good spirits, as men generally are when everything moves successfully in their business, and partic ularly a business which hangs upon so many contingencies as our trips across the plains did. In the year 1851 I again crossed the plains with a full outfit of twenty-five wagons and teams. This trip was a complete success; we met with no molestations, and returned home without the loss of any animals, but, owing to the cholera prevailing to some extent among the men who were on the plains, I lost two men by that disease. Sev eral would have died, perhaps, but for the fact thai I had provided myself with the proper remedies before leaving Kansas City. In 1852 I corraled my wagons, sold my oxen to California emigrants, and did no more work upon the plains that year. In 1853 I bought a new- supply of work-cattle and again loaded my wagons at Kansas City for Santa Fe, N. M., as I had previously been doing. I was very successful in my operations that year, meeting with no loss of men and no animals worth mentioning. I also made a second trip that year from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Union, in New Mexico, returning to my home near Westport, Mo., late in November. During the year 1854 I also went upon the plains as a freighter, changing my business from freighting for the merchants in New Mexico to carrying United States Government freights. At this time I added to my transportation, making 100 wagons and teams for that year, divided into four trains. Everything moved along this year in a most prosperous way, without loss of life among my men, but I lost a great many of my work- cattle on account of the Texas fever. The loss was not so great, however, as to impede my traveling. The Govern ment officers with whom I came in contact at either end of CROSSING THE PLAINS. 141 the route were well pleased with my way of doing business as a freighter, for everything was done in the most prompt and business-like manner. In 1855 W. H. Russell of Lexington, Mo., and I formed a partnership under the name and style of Majors & Rus sell. That year we carried all the Government freight that had to be sent from Fort Leavenworth to the different posts or forts. The cholera prevailed among our men that year. Not more than two or three died, however, but quite a delay and additional expense were caused on account of this dire disease among our teamsters, with a train load of freight for Fort Riley. This was in June, and the train was almost deserted. Another train was entirely deserted, the sick men being taken to some of the farmers in the neighborhood, the well ones leaving for their homes, our oxen scattering and going toward almost every point of the compass. It was not long, however, until we got straightened again, and the train started for its desti nation. Not long after this Maj. A. E. Ogden, the United States quartermaster at Fort Leavenworth, was taken with the cholera, and died at Fort Riley. A more honest, straight forward, and Christian gentleman could not be found in any army, or out of it. He had more excellent qualities than are generally allotted to man, and his death was much mourned by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. He left a very estimable wife and several children to mourn his death. After the cholera disappeared that year, the freighting business moved along nicely and resulted in a prosperous year's work, after all the drawbacks in the early part of the season. We also did a large business in freighting in 1856. I think that year we had about three hundred to three hun- 142 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. dred and fifty wagons and teams at work, and out profits for 1855 and 1856 footed up about three hundred thousand dollars. This sum included our wagons, oxen, ahd otheir freighting and transportation outfits, valuing them at what we thought they would bring the beginning of the freight ing season the next year. In 1857 the Government extended the contract to Majors & Russell for one year longer, Mid it was during this year the United States Government determined to send an army to Utah to curtail the power that Brigham Ybung was extending over the destiny of that country; many com plaints having reached Washington through the Govern ment officials who had been serit to the Territory to prfeside as judges in the United States Courts. This resulted hi a very great increase Of transportation that year, and great difficulties were encountered, to begin with, which required quite an increase in the facilities for transportation, which' had to be very hurriedly brought together. Before all the Government freight reached Fort Leavenworth, it became too late for trains to reach the headquarters of the army before cbld Weather set in, in the high altitude of Fort Bridger and that portion of the country where the army was in winter quarters; therefore many of the animals perished on account of having to be kept, Under army orders, where grass and water were sometimes scarce, and they suffered more or less from severe cold weather. The result was great loss of the work-animals ahd an entire loss of the previous two years' profits. A party of MotmOns, under command Of Col. Lott Smith, had been sent out by the Mormon authorities in the rear of JoHnslon's army to Put off his supplies. They capliirfed and burned three of our trains, two on the Sandy, just east of Green River, and one on the west bank of Greeri River. They gdVe the captain of each train the privilege of taking crossing The plains 143 one of his best wagons and teams and loadihg it with sup plies, tO return home or back to the starting point. They committed no outrage whatever toward the men, and, as soon as the captaih of each train told them he had all the food necessary to supply him to get back to the starting point, they told him to abandon the train, and they were set on fire and everything burned that was consumable. The cap tains of the trains, with their teamsters, returned to the States in safety. The cattle were driven off by the Mor mons, and those that were not used for beef by the hungry men Were returned in the summer to the company after peace had been made between the Mormons and the Gov ernment, The loss to the army was about five hundred thousand pounds of Government supplies. This loss put the army upon short rations for that winter and spring, until they could be reached with supplies in the spring of 1858. That spring, our firm, under the name of Russell, Majors & Waddell, obtained a new contract from the United States Government to carry Government freight to Utah for the years 1858-59. That year the Government ordered an immense lot of freight, aggregating 16,000,000 pounds, most of which had to be taken to Utah. We had to increase the transportation from three or four hundred Wagons and teams We had previously owned to 3,500 wagons and teams, and it required more thah forty thousand oxen to draw the supplies; we also employed over four thousand men and about orte thousand mules. Out greatest drawback that year was occasioned by floods and heavy rains upon the plains, which made our trains move tardily in the Outset. We succeeded admirably, how ever, cohsiderihg the vast amount of material we had to get together and organize, which We could not haVe done had we riot had so many years' experience, previous tO this 144 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. great event, in the freighting enterprise; and especially was this so with me, for I had had, previous to this, a great many years' experience in handling men and teams, even before I crossed the plains ten years before. We succeeded this year in carrying everything to the army in Utah, fifty miles south of Salt Lake City, to Camp Floyd, the head quarters of Sidney Johnston's command, a distance of 1,250 miles. After unloading the wagons at Camp Floyd, they were taken to Salt Lake City and placed as near as they could stand to each other in the suburbs of the city, and covered many acres of ground, where they remained for one year or- more, when our agent sold them to the Mormon author ities for $10 apiece, they having cost us at the manufacturers' $150 to $175 apiece. The Mormons used the iron about them for the manufacture of nails. The oxen we sent to Skull Valley and other valleys near Camp Floyd, known to be good winter quarters for cattle and mules. During the year 1859, while our teams were at Camp Floyd we selected 3,500 head as suitable to drive to California and put on the market, and they were driven to Ruby Valley, in Nevada, where it was intended they should remain, that being con sidered a favorable winter locality; and in the spring of i860 they were to be driven to California, the intention being to let them graze on the wild oats and clover in the valleys of the Sacramento, and convert them into beef- cattle when fully ready for the market. A very few days after the herders reached the valley with them, which was late in November, a snow-storm set in and continued more or less severe, at intervals, until it covered the ground to such a depth that it was impossible for the cattle to get a particle of subsistence, and in less than forty days after the animals were turned out in the valley they were lying in great heaps frozen and starved to death. Only 200 CROSSING THE PLAINS. 145 out of the 3,500 survived the storm. They were worth at the time they were turned into the valley about $150,000, as they were a very superior and select lot of oxen. This was the largest disaster we met with during the years 1858 and 1859. In 1857 the Indians attacked the herders who had charge of about one thousand head on the Platte River, west of Fort Kearney, which is now called Kearney City, in Nebraska, killing one of the herders and scattering the cattle to the four winds. These were also a complete loss. We had very little trouble with the Indians in 1857, 1858, and 1859 in any way, owing to the fact that Johnston's army, consisting of about five thousand regulars, besides the team sters, making in all about seven thousand well-armed men, had passed through the country in 1857, and they had seen sucfi a vast army, with their artillery, that they were com pletely intimidated, and stayed at a very respectful distance from the road on which this vast number of wagons and teams traveled. Each one of our wagons was drawn by six yoke, or twelve oxen, and contained from five to six thousand pounds of freight, and there was but one wagon to each team. The time had not yet come when, what was afterward adopted, trail wagons were in use. This means two or three wagons lashed together and drawn by one team. Twenty-five of our wagons and teams formed what was called a train, and these trains were scattered along the road at intervals of anywhere from two to three miles, and sometimes eight to ten miles, aEd even greater distances, so as to keep out of the way of each other. The road, until we reached the South Pass, was over the finest line of level country for traveling by wagons, with plenty of water and grass at almost every step of the way. Crossing the South Platte at what was then called Jules- bu*g, and going across the divide to North Platte, at Ash 10 .... „ 146 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. Hollow, we continued in the valley of the North Platte to the mouth of the Sweetwater, and up that stream until we passed through the South Pass. After passing that point it was somewhat more difficult to find grass and water, but we were fortunate enough all along the road to get sufficient subsistence out of nature for the sustenance of our animals, and were not obliged to feed our oxen.. They did the work allotted to them, and gathered their own living at nights and noon-times. In the fall of 1857 a report was sent by the engineers who were with General Johnston's army at Fort Bridger, and who had crossed the plains that year, to the Quartermaster's Department at Washington, stating it was impossible to find subsistence along the road for the number of animals it would require to transport the freight necessary for the support of the army. General Jessup, who was then Quar termaster of the United States Army at Washington, and as fine a gentleman as I ever met, gave me this informa tion, and asked me if it would dptpr me from undertaking the transportation. I told him it would not, and that I would be willing to give him my head for a foot-ball to have kicked in Pennsylvania Avenue if I did not supply the army with every pound that was necessary for its sub sistence, provided the Government would pay me to do it. We satisfied him after the first year's work had been done that we could do even more than I assured him could be done. There is no other road in the United States, nor in my opinion elsewhere, of the same length, where such numbers of men and animals could travel during the summer season as could over the thoroughfare from the Missouri River up the Platte and its tributaries to the Rocky Mountains. In fact, had it been necessary to go east from the Missouri River, instead of west, it wOuld have been impossible in CROSSING THE PLAINS. 147 the nature of things to have done so, owing to the uneven surface of the country, the water being in little, deep ravines and, as a rule, in small quantities, often muddy creeks to cross, at other times underbrush and timber that the ani mals could have roamed into and disappeared, all of which would have prevented progress had we started with such an enterprise east instead of west. But the country west of the Missouri River for hundreds of miles, so far as making roads for travel of large numbers of animals is concerned, is as different from the east as it is possible for two landscapes to be. The whole country from the west border of the Missouri, Iowa, and Arkansas was thoroughly practical, before inhabited by farmers, for carrying the very largest herds and organizations of people on what one might term perfectly natural ground, often being able to travel hun dreds of miles toward the, sunset without a man having to do one hour's work in order to prepare the road for the heaviest wagons and teams. The road from Missouri to Santa Fe, N. M., up the Arkansas River, a distance of 800 miles, was very much like the one up the Platte River, and over which millions of pounds of merchandise were carried, and where oxen almost invariably, but sometimes mules, did the work and subsisted without a bite of any other food than that ob tained from the grasses that grew by the roadside. The roads all running west from the Missouri River came up the valleys of the Platte, Kansas, or Arkansas rivers, running directly from the mountains to the Missouri River. These rivers had wide channels, low banks, and sandy bot toms, into which a thousand animals could go at one time, if necessary, for drink, and spread over the surface, so as not to be in each other's way, and whatever disturbance. they made in tbe water, in the way of offal or anything of that kind, was soon overcome by the filtering of the water 148 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. through the sand, which kept it pure, and thousands of men and animals could find purer water on account of these conditions. Then again the first expedient in the way of fuel was what was called buffalo chips, which was the offal from the buffalo after lying and being dried by the sun; and, strange to say, the economy of nature was such, in this particular, that the large number of work -animals left at every camp ing-place fuel sufficient, after being dried by the sun, to supply the necessities of the next caravan or party that traveled along. In this way the fuel supply was inexhaust ible while animals traveled and fed upon the grasses. This, however, did not apply to travel east of the Mis souri River, as the offal from the animals there soon became decomposed and was entirely worthless for fuel purposes. This was altogether owing to the difference in the grasses that grew west of the Missouri River on the plains and in the Rocky Mountains and that which grew in the States east of the Missouri. Thus the fuel supply was sufficient for the largest organizations of people who, in those days, were traveling on the plains. Armies, small and great, that found it necessary to cross the plains, found sufficient supply of this fuel, and it seemed to be a necessity supplied by nature on the vast open and untimbered plains lying between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains, far beyond the Canadian line to the north, without which it would have been practically impossible to have crossed the plains with any degree of comfort, and in cold weather would have been absolutely impossible. The small groups of timber growing along the streams would soon have been exhausted if used for fuel, and there would have been nothing to supply those who came later. History records no other instance of like nature, where an immense area of country had the same necessity and CROSSING THE PLAINS. 149 where that necessity was supplied in such a manner as on the vast plains west of the Missouri River. These chips would lay for several years in perfect condition for fuel. CHAPTER XVII. "the jayhawkers of 1849." In this year a number of gentlemen made up a party and started for the far West. During that fearful journey they were lost for three months in the " Great American Desert," the region marked on the map as the " unexplored region." General Fremont, with all the patronage of the Government at his command, tried to cross this desert at several points, but failed in every attempt. This desert is bounded by the Rocky Mountains and Wasatch range on the east and the Sierra Nevada on the west. From either side running streams sink near the base of the mountains, and no water exists except alkali and the hot springs impreg nated with nitre. The party arrived at Salt Lake late in the season of '49. It was thought by the older members of the company to be too late to cross the Sierra Nevada by the northern routes. No wagon had ever made the trip to the Pacific Coast by way of the Spanish Trail from Santa F4> to the Pacific, but it was determined to .undertake this perilous journey. Captain Hunt, commander of the Mormon Bat talion in the Mexican War, agreed to pilot the train through to Pueblo de los Angeles for the sum of $1,200. The weather south being too warm for comfortable travel, the party remained in Salt Lake City two months, leaving that place October 3, 1849. Upon their arrival at Little Salt Lake, a few restless comrades, angry that the party did not go through by the northern route, formed a band and determined to cross the desert at all hazards, and thus save (159) "the jayhawkers of 1849." 151 hundreds of miles' travel via Los Angeles route. The suf ferings they endured can not be described. The survivors have since been scattered through the country, and have never come together since they sepa rated at Santa Barbara, on the Pacific, February 4, 1850, until the twenty-third anniversary of their arrival was cele brated at the residence of Col. John B. Colton. The fol lowing letter will explain: Galesburg, III., January 12, 1872. Dear Sir: You are invited to attend a reunion of the " Jayhawkers of '49," on the 5th day of February next at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, at my house, to talk over old times and compare notes, after the lapse of twenty-three years from the time when the " Jayhawkers " crossed the "Great American Desert." In the event that you can not be present, will you write a letter immediately on receipt of this, to be read on that occasion, giving all the news and reminiscences that will be of interest to the old crowd? Yours fraternally, John B. Colton. A short sketch of the party's wanderings may not be amiss. On the 5th of April, 1849, a large party of men, with oxen and wagons, started from Galesburg, 111., and vicinity for the then newly discovered gold-fields of Cal ifornia. To distinguish their party from other parties who went the same year, they jestingly took the name of " Jay hawkers," and that name has clung to them through all the years that have come and gone. They encountered no trouble until after leaving Little Salt Lake, when taking the directions given them by Indian Walker and Ward— old mountaineers, who gave them a diagram and told them they could save 560 miles to the mines in California by taking the route directed — the Jay hawkers braftPhed off from the main body. They found 152 seventy years on the frontier. nothing as represented, and became lost en the desert, wandering for months, traversing the whole length of the Great American Desert, which Fremont, with all the aid of the Government at his call, could not cross the shortest way, and laid it down on the map as the " unexplored region." They cut up their wagons on Silver Mountain and made of them pack-saddles for their cattle. Here thirteen of their number branched off, on New Year's day, taking what jerked beef they could carry, and started due west over the mountains, which the main party could not do on account of their cattle, but when they came to a mountain they took a southerly course around it. Of these thirteen, but two lived to get through, and they were found by ranch Indians in a helpless condition, and brought in and cared for. They had cast lots and lived on each other until but two remained. When questioned afterward in regard to their trip, they burst into tears and could not talk of it. The main body of Jayhawkers kept their cattle, for they were their only hope; on these they lived, and the cattle lived on the bitter sage-brush and grease-wood, except when they occasionally found an oasis with water and a little grass upon it. The feet of the cattle were worn down until the blood marked their every step. Then the boys wrapped their feet in raw hides, as they did their own. Many died from exposure, hunger, and thirst, and were buried in the drifting sands where they fell, while those who were left moved on, weak and tottering, not knowing whose turn would be next. But for their cattle, not a man could have lived through that awful journey. They ate the hide, the blood, the refuse, and picked the bones in camp, making jerked beef of the balance to take along with them. People who are well fed, who have an abundance of the "THE JAYHAWKERS OF 1849." 153 good things of life, say: "I would not eat this; I would not eat that; I'd starve first." They are not in a position to judge. Hunger swallows up every other feeling, and man in a starving condition is as savage as a wild beast. After many desert wanderings and untold suffering, they at last struck a low pass in the Sierra Nevada Mount ains, and emerged suddenly into the Santa Clara Valley, which was covered with grass and wild oats and flowers, with thousands of fat cattle feeding, a perfect paradise to those famished skeletons of men. There were thirty-four of the party who lived to reach that valley, and every one shed tears of joy at the sight of the glorious vision spread before them and the suddenness of their deliverance. The boys shot five head of the cattle, and were eating the raw flesh and fat when the ranch Indians, hearing the firing, came down with all the shooting irons they could muster, but seeing the helpless condition of the party, they rode back to headquarters and reported to Francisco, the Spaniard who owned the ranch and cattle. He came down and invited them to camp in a grove near his home, bade them welcome, and furnished the party with meat, milk, grain, and everything they needed, and kept them until they were recruited and able to go on their way. Verily, he was a good Samaritan. They were strangers, and he took them in; hungry, and he fed them; thirsty, and he gave them drink. In the grand summing up of all things, may the noble Francisco be rewarded a thousand fold. They reached the Santa Clara Valley the 4th of Febru ary, 1850, and on that day each year they celebrate their deliverance by a reunion, where in pleasant companionship and around the festive board they recount reminiscences of the past, and live over again those scenes, when young and hopeful, they lived and suffered together. 154 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. There are but eleven of the survivors of that party alive to-day, and these are widely scattered east of the Rocky Mountains and on the Pacific Slope. Some are old men, too feeble to travel, and can only be present in spirit and by letter at the annual reunions. Gladly would every Jay- hawker welcome one and all of that band, bound together by ties of suffering in a bond of brotherhood which naught but death can sever. The names and residences of the original party are as follows: John B. Colton, Kansas City, Mo. Alonzo C. Clay, Galesburg, 111. Capt. Asa Haines, Delong, Knox County, 111., died March 29, 1889. Luther A. Richards, Beaver City, Neb. Charles B. Mecum, Perry, Greene County, Iowa. John W. Plummer, Toulon, 111., died June 22, 1892. Sidney P. Edgerton, Blair, Neb., died January 31, 1880. Edward F. Bartholomew, Pueblo, Colo., died February 13, 1891. Urban P. Davidson, Derby P. O., Fremont County, Wyo. John Groscup, Cahto, Mendocino County, Cal. Thomas McGrew, died in 1866, in Willamette Valley, Ore. John Cole, died in Sonora, Cal., in 1852. John L. West, Coloma, Cal., Since died. William B. Rude, drowned in the Colorado River, New Mexico, in 1862. L. Dow Stevens, San Jost5, Cal. William Robinson, Maquon, 111., died in the desert. ¦ Harrison, unknown. Alexander Palmer, Knoxville, 111., died at Slate Creek, Sierra County, Cal., in 1853. Aaron Larkin, KnOxville, 111., died at Humboldt, Cal., in 1853- "THE JAYHAWKERS OF 1 849." 155 Marshall G. Edgerton, Galesburg, 111., died in Montana Territory in 1855. William Isham, Rochester, N. Y., died in the desert. Fish, Oscaloosa, Iowa, died- in the desert. Carter, Wisconsin, unknown. Harrison Frans, Baker City, Baker County, Ore. Capt. Edwin Doty, Naples, Santa Barbara County, Cal., died June 14, 1891. Bruin Byram, Knoxville, 111., died in 1863. Thomas Shannon, Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, Cal. Rev. J. W. Brier, wife, and three small children, Lodi City, San Joaquin County, Cal. George Allen, Chico, Cal., died in 1876. Leander Woolsey, Oakland, Cal., died in 1884. Man from Oscaloosa, Iowa, name not remembered, died in California. Charles Clark, Henderson, 111., died in 1863. Gretzinger, Oscaloosa, Iowa, unknown. A Frenchman, name unknown, became insane from starvation, wandered from camp near the Sierra Nevada Mountains, captured by the Digger Indians, and was rescued by a United States surveying party fifteen years after. The following are to-day the sole survivors of the Jay- hawk party of 1849: John B. Colton, Kansas City, Mo. Alonzo G. Clay, Galesburg, 111. Luther A. Richards, Beaver City, Neb. Charles B. Mecum, Perry, Iowa. Urban P. Davidson, Derby, Wyo. John Groscup, Cahto, Cal. L. Dow Stevens, San Jose, Cal. Rev. J. W. Brier and Mrs. J. W. Brier, Lodi City, Cal. Harrison Frans, Baker City, Ore. 156 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. Thomas Shannon, Los Gatos, Cal. The last reunion of the Jayhawkers was held at the home of Col. John B. Colton of Kansas City, Mo., just forty-four years after the arrival of the party upon the Pacific Slope. Of the eleven survivors there were but four able to be present, but the^absent ones responded to their invitations with their photographs and letters of good will. Among the invited guests to meet these old heroes were Col. W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill), Col. Frank Hatton of the Washington Post, General Van Vliet, Capt. E. D. Millet (an old ranger), and the writer, who wishes the remnant of the little hero band may yet live to enjoy a score more of such delightful meetings. CHAPTER XVIII. MIRAGES. About September i, 1848, on my way from Independence, Mo., to Santa F6, N. M., I met some of the soldiers of General Donaldson's regiment returning from the Mexi can War on the Hornather or dry route, lying between the crossing of the Arkansas and Cimarron. It was about noon when we met. I saw them a considerable distance away. They were on horseback, and when they first appeared, the horses' legs looked to be from fifteen to eighteen feet long, and the body of the horses and the riders upon them pre sented a remarkable picture, apparently extending into the air, rider and horse, forty-five to sixty feet high. This was my first experience with mirage, and it was a marvel to me. At the same time I could see beautiful clear lakes of water, apparently not more than a mile away, with all the surroundings in the way of bulrushes and other water vege tation common to the margin of lakes. I would have been willing, at that time, to have staked almost anything upon the fact that I was looking upon lakes of pure water. This was my last experience of the kind until I was returning later on in the season, when one forenoon, as my train was on the march, I beheld just ahead the largest buffalo bull that I ever saw. I stopped the train to keep from fright ening the animal away, took the gun out of my wagon, which was in front, and started off to get a shot at the im mense fellow, but when I had walked about eighty yards in his direction, I discovered that it was nothing more nor (157) L 158 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. less than a little coyote, which would not have weighed more than thirty pounds upon the scales. The person who imagines for a minute that there is noth ing in the great desert wastes of the Southwest but sand, cacti, and villainous reptiles is deluded. It is one of the most common fallacies to write down these barren places as devoid of beauty and usefulness. The rhymester who made Robinson Crusoe exclaim,"Oh, solitude, where are the charms that sages have seen in thy face*?" never stood on a sand-dune or a pile of volcanic rock in this Southwestern country just at the break of day or as the sun went down, else the rhyme would never have been made to jingle. To one who has never seen the famous mirages which Dame Nature paints with a lavish hand upon the horizon that bounds an Arizona desert, it is difficult to convey an intelligent portrait of these magnificent phenomena. And one who has looked upon these incomparable transforma tion scenes, the Titanic paintings formed by nature's curi ous slight-of-hand, can never forget them. They form the memories of a lifetime. Arizona is rich in mirage phenomena, which, owing to the peculiar dryness of the atmosphere, are more vivid and of longer duration than in other parts. The variety of subjects which from time to time have been presented like wise gives them an unusual interest. Almost every one who has lived in the Territory any length of time, and one who has merely passed through, especially on the Southern Pacific Route, is familiar with the common water mirage which appears at divers places along the railroad. The most common section in which this phenomenon may be seen is between Tucson and Red Rock, and through the entire stretch of the Salton Basin from Ogilby to Indio. Here in the early morning or in the late afternoon, if the atmospheric conditions be right, lakes, river, and MIRAGES. 159 lagoons of water can be seen from the train windows. Ofttimes the shimmering surface is dotted with tiny islands, and thp shadows of umbrageous foliage are plainly seen re flected in the supposed water; yet an investigation shows nothing but long rods of sand-drifts or saline deposits. Animals as well as men are deceived by these freaks of the atmosphere. Many instances are recorded where whole bands of cattle have rushed from the grazing grounds across the hot parched plains in pursuit of the constantly retreating water phantom, until they perish from exhaus tion, still in sight of running brooks and surging springs. Prior to the advent of the railroad through this region, when overland passengers passed by on the old Yuma road to San Diego, scores of adventurous spirits perished in chasing this illusive phantom. It is said that one entire company of soldiers was thus inveigled from the highway and perished to a man. One of the most interesting sights of this class is to be seen almost any time of the year in Mohave County, down in the region of the Big Sandy. Here for leagues upon leagues the ground is strewn with volcanic matter and basalt. It is one of the hottest portions of the continent, and except in the winter months it is almost unendurable by man or beast At a point were the main road from the settlements on the Colorado to Kingman turns toward the east, there are a number of volcanic buttes. At these buttes just before sunrise the famous cantilever bridge which spans the Col orado River near the Needles, seventy miles distant, is plainly visible, together with the moving trains and crew. The train has the appearance of being perhaps an eighth of a mile distant, and every motion on board, the smoke, the escaping steam, are as natural and vivid as though not a hundred yards away. 160 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. At this same point huge mountains are seen to lift them selves up bodily and squat down again in the highway. Near these buttes, which are known as the Evil Ones, away back in the sixties a small force of cavalry was mak ing its way from Fort Yuma to Fort Whipple. Owing to the extreme heat during the day, and as a further precau tion against the hostile Indians, they were obliged to march at night, finding shelter in some mountain canon during the day. Shortly after daybreak, as they were preparing to go into- camp, a whole legion of painted devils appeared on their front and hardly a quarter of a mile distant. The troops were thrown into confusion, and an order was immediately given to break ranks, and every man concealed himself behind the rocks, awaiting the attack which all felt must necessarily end in massacre. For some minutes the Indians were seen to parley and gesticulate with each other, but they gave no signs of hav ing noticed their hereditary foe. The unhappy troopers, however, were not kept in suspense long. As the great red disk of the day began to mount slowly up over the adjoin ing mountains, the redskins vanished as noiselessly and as suddenly as they had appeared. Used as they were to treachery, and fearing some uncanny trick, the soldiers maintained their position throughout the long hot day, nor did they attempt to move until late in the night. Some weeks later it was learned from captives that on that very morning a band of nearly one thousand Chinhuevas and Wallapais were lying in wait for this same command but ninety miles up the river, expecting the soldiers by that route. The most remarkable of all the mirages which have been witnessed in Arizona, at least by white man's eyes, was seen some years ago by an entire train-lOad of passengers MIRAGES. 161 on the Southern Pacific Railroad, near the small eating station of Maricopa, thirty-five miles below Phoenix. The train was due at the eating station at 6.30 a. m. At 6.15 o'clock it stopped at a small water-tank a few miles east. During this stop the trainmen and such of the passengers as were awake were amazed to see spring out of the ground on the sky a magnificent city. The build ings were of the old Spanish and Morisco architecture, and were mostly adobe. Spacious court-yards lay before the astonished lookers-on, filled with all varieties of tropical fruits and vegetation. Men and women clothed in the picturesque garbs of Old Spain were seen hurrying along the narrow, irregular streets to the principal edifice, which had the appearance of a church. Had the astonished spectators been picked up bodily and landed in one of the provincial towns of Seville or Andalusia, they would not have seen a more dazzling array of stately senoras and laughing black-eyed muchachas of the land of forever manana. But the vision lasted much less time than it takes to write of the strange occurrence. It vanished as mysteri ously as it came. Of course all of the hysterical women fainted. That is one of woman's prerogatives, in lieu of an explanation. This phenomenon remained unsolved for two or three years. About that time, after the mirage was seen, a young civil engineer who was among the witnesses was engaged on the Gulf coast survey from the headwaters below Yuma to Guaymas. In the course of his labors he found himself at the old Mexican pueblo of Altar, and there he saw the original of the picture in the sky seen three years before near Maricopa Station. The distance, as a buzzard flies, from Maricopa to Altar is more than a hundred miles. The native tribes are very superstitious concerning the 11 103 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. mirage, and when one is once observed, that locality receives a wide berth in the future. In the secluded Jim- Jam Valley of the San Bernardino Mountains there are the most marvelous mirages known to the world. The wonderful mirages of the Mojave Desert have been talked about a great deal, and they are entitled to all the prominence they have had. But those of the Jim-Jam Valley are far more wonderful than these. It is called Jim-Jam Valley because of the strange things seen there, and I defy any man, however sound of mind he may be, to go in there and not think he has " got 'em " before he gets out. This valley is about twenty-five miles long by fifteen miles wide. It is uninhabited. It is bordered by the main San Bernardino range on the east, and by a spur of the Sierra Magdalenas on the west. There is no well-defined trail through the heart of it. The valley is a desert. The surrounding mountains are terribly serrated and cut up. The peaks are jagged. Altogether the surroundings are weird and forbidding. Leaving Fisk's ranch on the trail at the foot of the Sierra Magdalenas, you climb an easy grade to Dead Man's Pass, the entrance to the valley. Go in, and pretty soon you see lakes, and running rivers, and green borders, and flying water-fowl. Willows spring up here and there, and in the distance you see water- lilies. What you behold contrasts finely with the rugged mount ains, and you are charmed with it, and go on thinking you have struck an earthly paradise. Indian camps appear in view, and little oarsmen propel fantastic crafts upon the waters. Advancing still farther, dimly outlined forms may be seen, «nd the pantomime reminds you of a strange hob goblin dance. MIRAGES. 163 Sometimes a storm brews in the valley, and then the scene is all the more terrible. Forked lightning blazes about, and strange, uncouth animals, differing from any you have ever read about, are to be seen there. These phenomena are seen for a stretch of about fifteen miles, up and down the middle of the valley principally, and they have been viewed by a great many people. They can not understand why the forms of the mirage, if such it may be called, are so much more strange there than on the Mojave Desert. Everybody is in awe of the valley, and there are mighty few men, however nervy they may be ordinarily, who care to go there a second time. CHAPTER XIX. THE FIRST STAGE INTO DENVER. In the Winter of 1858, while my partner, Mr. W. H. ] sell, John S. Jones, a citizen of Pettis County, Mo., myself were all in Washington, D. C, which was about time that the Pike's Peak excitement was at its hig pitch, Messrs. Jones and Russell conceived the idea (1 not know from which one it emanated), and conclude put a line of daily coaches in operation between the ! souri River and Denver City, when Denver was but a months old. They came to me with the propositioi take hold of the enterprise with them. I told them I could not consent to do so, for it woul impossible to make such a venture, at such an early pe of development of this country, a paying institution, urgently advised them to let the enterprise alone, for above stated reasons. They, however, paid no attentic my protest, and went forward with their plans, boi 1,000 fine Kentucky mules and a sufficient number of ( cord coaches to supply a daily coach each way betweer Missouri River and Denver. At that time Leavenw was the starting point on the Missouri. A few mo later, however, they made Atchison the eastern termini the line and Denver the western. They bought their mules and coaches on credit, gi their notes, payable in ninety days; sent men out to es lish a station every ten to fifteen' miles from Leavenw due west, going up the Smoky Hill fork of the Ka River, through the Territory of Kansas, and direct to ] (164) THE FIRST STAGE INTO DENVER. 165 ver. The line was organized, stations built and put in run ning shape in remarkably quick time. They made their daily trips in six days, traveling about one hundred miles every twenty-four hours. The first stage ran into Denver on May 17, 1859. It was looked upon as a great success, so far as putting the enterprise in good shape was concerned, but when the ninety days expired and the notes fell due they were unable to meet them. And in spite of my protests in the commencement of the organization as against having anything to do with it, it became necessary for Russell, Majors & Waddell to meet the obligation that Jones & Russell had entered into in organizing and putting the stock on the line. To save our partner we had to pay the debts of the concern and take the mules and coaches, or, in other words, all the parapher nalia of the line, to secure trs for the money we had advanced. The institution then having become the property of Rus sell, Majors & Waddell, we continued to run it daily. A few months after that, we bought out the semi-monthly line of Hockaday & Liggett, that was running from St. Joseph, Mo., to Salt Lake City, thinking that by blending the two lines we might bring the business up to where it would pay expenses, if nothing more. This we failed in, for the lines, even after being blended, did not nearly meet expenses. Messrs. Hockaday & Lig gett had a few stages, light, cheap vehicles, and but a few mules, and no stations along the route. They traveled the same team for several hundreds of miles before changing, stopping every few hours and turning them loose to graze, and then hitching them up again and going along. I made a trip in the fall of 1858 from St. Joseph, Mo., to Salt Lake City in their coaches. It was twenty-one days from the time I left St. Joseph until I reached Salt Lake, 166 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. traveling at short intervals day and night. As soon as we bought them out we built good stations and stables every ten to fifteen miles all the way from Missouri to Salt Lake, and supplied them with hay and grain for the horses and provisions for the men, so they would only have to drive a team from one station to the next, changing at every station. Instead of our schedule time being twenty-two days, as it was with Hockaday & Liggett, and running two per month, we ran a stage each way every day and made the schedule time ten days, a distance of 1,200 miles. We continued running this line from the summer of 1859 until March, 1862, when it fell into the hands of Ben Holliday. From the summer of 1859 to 1862 the line was run from Atchison to Fort Kearney and from Fort Kearney to Fort Laramie, up the Sweet Water route and South Pass, and on to Salt Lake City. This is the route also run by the Pony Express, each pony starting from St. Joseph instead of Atchison, Kan., from which the stages started. We had on this line about one thousand Kentucky mules and 300 smaller-sized mules to run on through the mountain portion of the line, and a large number of Concord coaches. It was as fine a line, considering the mules, coaches, drivers, and general outfit ting, perhaps, as was ever organized in this or any other country, from the beginning. And it was very fortunate for the Government and the people that such a line was organized and in perfect run ning condition on the middle route when the late war com menced, as it would have been impossible to carry mails on the route previously patronized by the Government, which ran from San Francisco via Los Angeles, El Paso, Fort Smith, and St. Louis, for the Southern people would have THE FIRST STAGE INTO DENVER. 167 interfered with it, and would not have allowed it to run through that portion of the country during the war. It turned out that Senator Gwin's original idea with reference to running a pony express from the Missouri River to Sacramento to prove the practicability of that route at all seasons of the year was well taken, and the stage line as well as the pony proved to be of vital impor tance in carrying the mails and Government dispatches. It so transpired that the firm of Russell, Majors & Wad dell had to pay the fiddler, or the entire expense of organ izing both the stage line and the pony express, at a loss, as it turned out, of hundreds of thousands of dollars. After the United States mail was given to this line it became a paying institution, but it went into the hands of Holliday just before the first quarterly payment of $100,000 was made. The Government paid $800,000 a year for carrying the mails from San Francisco to Missouri, made in quar terly payments. The part of the line that Russell, Majors & Waddell handled received $400,000, and Butterfield & Co. received $400,000 for carrying the mails from Salt Lake to Cali fornia. Durii,g the war there was a vast amount of busi ness, both in express and passenger traveling, and it was the only available practicable line of communication between California and the States east of the Rocky Mountains. CHAPTER XX. THE GOLD FEVER. During the winter of 1858-59 the public generally, throughout the United States, began to give publicity to a great gold discovery reported to have been made in the Pike's Peak region of the Rocky Mountains. From week to week, as time passed, more extended accounts were given, until the reports became fabulous. The discovery was reported to have been made in Cherry Creek, at or near its junction with the South Platte River, and one of the newspapers at the time, published in Cleve land, Ohio, came out, giving a cut which was claimed to be a map of the country. Pike's Peak was given as the cen tral figure. The South Fork of the Platte River was repre sented as flowing out from the mountain near its base, apd Cherry Creek as coming out of a gorge in the mount ain's side, and forming a junction with the Platte in the low lands, at which point Denver was designated. Reports went so far as to state that gold was visible in the sands of the creek-bed, and that the banks would pay from grass roots to bed rock. People became wild with excitement, and a stampede to Pike's Peak appeared inevitable. The great question with the excited people was as to the shortest, cheapest, and quickest way to get to the country, with little thought of personal safety or comfort, or as to how they should get back in the event of failure. But the problem was soon believed to have been solved to the satisfaction of all concerned. (168) THE GOLD FEVER. 169 A brilliant idea took possession of the fertile brain of an energetic Buckeye citizen, and a plan was conceived and to an extent put in execution. A canal-boat which had been converted into a steam tug was secured, not only for the purpose of transporting the multitudes from Cleveland to Denver, but to transport the millions of treasures back to civilization, or, as it was then put, "to God's country." Passengers were advertised for at $100 per head; the route given as follows: From Cleveland, Ohio, via the lake to Chicago, thence via Illinois Canal and River to the Missis sippi River, then to the mouth of the Missouri River and up the Missouri to the mouth of the Platte River, and, thence up the Platte to Denver, and it was with pride that this boat was advertised as the first to form a line of steamers to regularly navigate the last named stream. Of course this trip was never made, for in fact, at certain seasons of the year, it would be difficult to float a two-inch plank down the river from Denver to the Missouri, and yet this is but illustrative of the hundreds of visionary, crude and novel plans conceived and adopted by the thousands of so-called Pike's Peakers who swarmed the plains between Denver and the border during the early part of 1859. Having caught the fever, and there being no remedy for the disease equal to the gold hunter's experience, horses and wagon were secured and, with traveling companions, the trip was made by land. Many novel experiences to the participants occurred during that trip. At Leavenworth one of my companions concluded to economize, which he did by piloting six yoke of oxen -across the plains for me. He drove into Denver in the morning and drove out of it in the evening of the same day, fully convinced (as he himself stated) that all reports of the country were either humbugs or greatly exagger ated, and that he had seen and knew all that was worth 170 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. seeing and knowing of that land. I suggested the advisa bility of further investigation before moving on, but not being favorable to delay, and suiting himself to his means, he secured an ox and cart that had been brought in from the Red River of the North, and loading it with all nec essary supplies headed for Denver, with a determination so aptly and forcibly expressed in the usual motto, " Pike's Peak or bust." All went well until he reached the Little Blue River in Kansas, when he "busted," or at least the cart did, and the result was the location of a ranch on that stream and an end to his westward career. Thus Kansas is largely indebted for her early and rapid settlement to the discovery of gold in Colorado, and to the- misfortunes of many of the Pike's Peakers who, for some cause, failed to reach the end desired, and who were thus compelled to stop and become settlers of that now great State. Shortly before the time of which I write, June, 1859, Hor ace Greeley passed through Leavenworth en route for Den ver, and thousands of people were to be found in every prin cipal town and city, from St. Louis to Council Bluffs (there was no Omaha at that time), who were awaiting his report, which was daily expected, and for once, at least, the New York Tribune was in demand on the borders. I may say here that Horace Greeley was dead-headed through to Cali fornia. In the early part of July came a favorable report in the Tribune, and at that time a shipment of gold was made from Denver and put on exhibition in one of the banks at Leavenworth. Thus new life was given to the immigration movement, and soon the towns along the border were largely relieved of their floating population, and the'plains at once became alive with a moving, struggling mass of humanity, moving THE GOLD FEVER. 171 westward in the mad rush for the gold-fields of Pike's Peak. Among my friends an association was formed and the following party organized, viz.: Alfred H. Miles and his wife, their son George T., and two daughters, Fannie D. and Emma C. Miles, with William McLelland and P. A. Simmons. They outfitted with two wagons, four yoke of oxen, two saddle-mules, one cow, and all supplies presumed to be sufficient for at least one year. On the first day of August, 1859, they moved out from Leavenworth, happy and full of "great expectations " for the future. Forty-nine days were spent in making the drive, and then they landed in Denver on the eighteenth day of the following month. And here let me say, that I believe this party of seven proved an exception to the rule, in this, that every member of it be came a permanent settler, and for the last thirty-three years they have been actively connected with, and identi fied in, the various departments of life and business, both public and private. All are yet living and residents of the State, except Mrs. Miles, who recently passed to a higher life, respected and loved by all who knew her; and I here venture the opinion that no other party of emigrants in this country, of equal number, can show a better record. Many novel events occurred on this trip also, but to mention all the new and novel experiences incident to an expedition of that kind would require more than the allotted space for a chapter. I will, therefore, confine the account to one incident alone which will make manifest the radical changes that are sometimes wrought in the individ ual lives of people, in a sometimes radically short space of time. Two of the ladies of the party before mentioned arrived in Leavenworth about one month previous to their 172 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. departure on this trip. They were just graduated from a three years' course of study in a female seminary, and in thirty days from that time they were transported from their boarding-school surroundings to the wilds of the Great American Desert, and after passing into the timberless portion of the great desert, the great query with them was as to how and where they were to secure fuel necessary for culinary purposes; and when informed that it would be necessary to gather and use buffalo chips for that purpose, their incredulity became manifest, and their curiosity was rather increased than satisfied. When called upon to go, gunny-sack in hand, out from the line of travel to gather the necessary fuel, it was difficult to persuade them they were not being made the victims of a joke; but when finally led into the field of " chips," and the discovery made of their character, the expression upon the face of each would have been a delight to an artist and amusing to the beholder; and to say that the distance between the chip- field and the camp was covered by them in the time rarely, if ever,, covered by the native antelope, is to speak without exaggeration. As before stated, all of the seven members of this party, on their arrival in Denver, became residents and actively identified in the various departments of life and business, and to each and every one there is no spot on the face of this globe that is quite so good, so grand, and so dear as the Centennial State, of which Denver is the center of their love. CHAPTER XXI. THE OVERLAND MAIL. Over thirty-two years ago, when a bachelor occupied the President's mansion at Washington, and there was no Pacific Railroad and no transcontinental telegraph line in opera tion over the Great American Desert of the old school- books, and the wild Indian was lord of the manor — a true native American sovereign — St. Joseph, Mo., was the west ern terminus of railway transportation. Beyond that point the traveler bound for the regions of the Occident had his choice of a stage-coach, an ox-team, a pack-mule, or some equally stirring method of reaching San Francisco. Just at that interesting period in our history — when the gold and silver excitement, and other local advantages of the Pacific Coast, had concentrated an enterprising popula tion and business at San Francisco and the adjacent dis tricts — the difficulty of communication with the East was greatly deplored, and the rapid overland mail service became an object of general solicitude. In the year 1859 several magnates in Wall Street formed a formidable lobby at Washington in the interests of an overland mail route to California, and asked Congress for a subsidy for carrying the mails overland for one year between New York and San Francisco. The distance was 1,950 miles. Mr. Russell proposed to cover this distance with a mail line between St. Joseph, Mo., and San Francisco, that would deliver letters at either end of the route within ten days. Five hundred of the fleetest horses to be procured were (173) M 174 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. immediately purchased, and the services of over two hun dred competent men were secured. Eighty of these men were selected for express riders. Light-weights were deemed the most eligible for the purpose; the lighter the man the better for the horse, as some portions of the route had to be traversed at a speed of twenty miles an hour. Relays were established at stations, the distance between which was, in each instance, determined by the character of the country. These stations dotted a wild, uninhabited expanse of country 2,000 miles wide, infested with road-agents and warlike Indians, who roamed in formidable hunting parties, ready to sacrifice human life with as little unconcern as they would slaughter a buffalo. The Pony Express, there fore, was not only an important, but a daring and romantic enterprise. At each station a sufficient number of horses were kept, and at every third station the thin, wiry, and hardy pony-riders held themselves in readiness to press for ward with the mails. These were filled with important* business letters and press dispatches from Eastern cities 1 and San Francisco, printed upon tissue paper, and thus ) especially adapted by their weight for this mode of trans portation. The schedule time for the trip was fixed at ten days. > In this manner they supplied the place of the electric tele graph and the lightning express train of the gigantic rail way enterprise that subsequently superseded it. , The men were faithful, daring fellows, and their service ^was full of novelty and adventure. The facility and energy with which they journeyed was a marvel. The news of Abraham Lincoln's election was carried through from St. Joseph to Denver, Colo., 665 miles, in two days and twenty- one hours, the last ten miles having been covered in thirty- one minutes. The last route on the occasion was traversed THE OVERLAND MAIL. 175 by Robert H. Haslam, better known as " Pony Bob," who carried the news 120 miles in eight hours and ten minutes, riding from Smith's Creek to Fort Churchill, on the Carson River, Nevada, the first telegraph station on the Pacific Coast. On another occasion, it is recorded, one of these riders journeyed a single stretch of 300 miles — the other men who should have relieved him being either disabled or indisposed — and reached the terminal- station on schedule time. The distance between relay riders' stations varied from sixty-five to one hundred miles, and often more. The weight to be carried by each was fixed at ten pounds or under, and the charge for transportation was $5 in. gold for each half of an ounce. The entire distance between New York City and San Francisco occupied but fourteen days. The riders received from $120 to $125 per month for their arduous services. The pony express enterprise continued for about two years, at the end of which time telegraph service between the Atlantic and Pacific, oceans was estab lished. Few men remember those days of excitement and interest. The danger surrounding the riders can not be told. Not only were they remarkable for lightness of weight and energy, but their service required continual vig ilance, bravery, and agility. Among their number were skillful guides, scouts, and couriers, accustomed to advent ures and hardships on the plains — men of strong wills and wonderful powers of endurance. The horses were mostly half-breed California mustangs, as alert and energetic as their riders, and their part in the service — sure-footed and fleet — was invaluable. Only two minutes were allowed at stations for changing mails and horses. Everybody was on the qui vive. The adventures with which the service was rife are numerous and exciting. 176 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. The day of the first start, the 3d of April, i860, at noon, Harry Roff, mounted on a spirited half-breed broncho, started from Sacramento on his perilous ride, and covered the first twenty miles, including one change, in fifty-nine minutes. On reaching Folson, he changed again and started for Placerville, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountain, fifty-five miles distant. There he connected with " Boston," who took the route to Friday's Station, crossing the eastern summit of the Sierra Nevada. Sam Hamilton next fell into line, and pursued his way to Genoa, Carson City, Dayton, Reed's Station, and Fort Churchill — seventy- five miles. The entire run, 185 miles, was made in fifteen hours and twenty minutes, and included the crossing of the western summits of the Sierras, through thirty feet of snow. This seems almost impossible, and would have been, had not pack trains of mules and horses kept the trail open. Here "Pony Bob" — Robert H. Haslam — took the road from Fort Churchill to Smith's Creek, 120 miles dis tant, through a hostile Indian country. From this point Jay G. Kelley rode from Smith's Creek to Ruby Valley, Utah, 116 miles; from Ruby Valley to Deep Creek, H. Richardson, 105 miles; from Deep Creek to Rush Valley, old Camp Floyd, eighty miles; from Camp Floyd to Salt Lake City, fifty miles; George Thacher the last end. This ended the Western Division, under the management of Bolivar Roberts, now in Salt Lake City. Among the most noted and daring riders of the Pony Express was Hon. William F. Cody, better known as Buf falo Bill, whose reputation is now established the world over. While engaged in the express service, his route lay between Red Buttes and Three Crossings, a distance of 116 miles. It was a most dangerous, long, and lonely trail, including the perilous crossing of the North Platte River, one-half mile wide, and though generally shallow, in some- THE OVERLAND MAIL. 177 places twelve feet deep, often much swollen and turbulent. An average of fifteen miles an hour had to be made, including changes of horses, detours for safety, and time for meals. Once, upon reaching Three Crossings, he found that the rider on the next division, who had a route of seventy-six miles, had been killed during the night before, and he was called on to make the extra trip until another rider could be employed. This was a request the compli ance with which would involve the most taxing labors and an endurance few persons are capable of; nevertheless, young Cody was promptly on hand for the additional jour ney, and reached Rocky Ridge, the limit of the second route, on time. This round trip of 384 miles was made without a stop, except for meals and to change horses, and every station on the route was entered on time. This is one of the longest and best ridden pony express journeys ever made. Pony Bob also had a series of stirring adventures while performing his great equestrian feat, which he thus describes: " About eight months after the Pony Express commenced operations, the Piute war began in Nevada, and as no reg ular troops were then at hand, a volunteer corps, raised in California, with Col. Jack Hayes and Henry Meredith — the latter being killed in the first battle at Plymouth Lake — in command, came over the mountains to defend the whites. Virginia City, Nev., then the principal point of interest, and hourly expecting an attack from the hostile Indians, was only in its infancy. A stone hotel on C Street was in course of erection, and had reached an elevation of two stories. This was hastily transformed into a fort for the protection of the women and children. " From the city the signal fires of the Indians could be seen on every mountain peak, and all available men and 12 178 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. horses were pressed into service to repel the impending assault of the savages. When I reached Reed's Station, on the Carson River, I found no change of horses, as all those at the station had been seized by the whites to take part in the approaching battle. I fed the animal that I rode, and started for the next station, called Buckland's, afterward known as Fort Churchill, fifteen miles farther down the river. This point was to have been the termination of my journey (as I had been changed from my old route_to this PONY BOB." one, in which I had had many narrow escapes and been twice wounded by Indians), as I had ridden seventy-five miles, but to my great astonishment, the other rider refused to go on. The superintendent, W. C. Marley, was at the station, but all his persuasion could not prevail on the rider, John nie Richardson, to take the road. Turning then to me, Marley said: '"Bob, I will give you $50 if you make this ride.' "I replied: '"I will go you once.' THE OVERLAND MAIL. 179 "Within ten minutes, when I had adjusted my Spencer rifle — a seven-shooter — and my Colt's revolver, with two cylinders ready for use in case of an emergency, I started. From the station onward was a lonely and dangerous ride of thirty-five miles, without a change, to the Sink of the Carson. I arrived there all right, however, and pushed on to Sand's Spring, through an alkali bottom and sand-hills, thirty miles farther, without a drop of water all along the route. At Sand's Springs I changed horses, and continued on to Cold Springs, a distance of thirty-seven miles. Another change, and a ride of thirty miles more, brought me to SMith's Creek. Here I was relieved by J. G. Kelley. I had ridden 185 miles, stopping only to eat and change horses. "After remaining at Smith's Creek about nine hours, I started to retrace my journey with the return express. When I arrived at Cold Springs, to my horror I found that the station had been attacked by Indians, and the keeper killed and all the horses taken away. What course to pur sue I decided in a moment — I would go on. I watered my horse — having ridden him thirty miles on time, he was pretty tired — and started for Sand Springs, thirty-seven miles away. It was growing dark, and my road lay through heavy sage-brush, high enough in some places to conceal a horse. I kept a bright lookout, and closely watched every motion of my poor horse's ears, which is a signal for danger in an Indian country. I was prepared for a fight, but the stillness of the night and the howling of the wolves and coyotes made cold chills run through me at times, but I reached Sand Springs in safety and reported what had happened. Before leaving I advised the station-keeper to come with me to the Sink of the Carson, for I was sure the Indians would be upon him" the next day. He took my advice, and so. probably saved his life, for the following 180 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. morning Smith's Creek was attacked. The whites, however, were well protected in the shelter of a stone house, from which they fought the Indians for four days. At the end of that time they were relieved by the appearance of about fifty volunteers from Cold Springs. These men reported that they had buried John Williams, the brave station- keeper of that station, but not before he had been nearly devoured by wolves. " When I arrived at the Sink of the Carson, I found the station men badly frightened, for they had seen some fifty warriors, decked out in their war-paint and reconnoitering the station. There were fifteen white men here, well armed and ready for a fight. The station was bUilt of adobe, and was large enough for the men and ten or fifteen horses, with a fine spring of water within ten feet of it. I rested here an hour, and after dark started for Buckland's, where I arrived without a mishap and only three and a half hours behind theschedule time. I found Mr. Marley at Buckland's, and when I related to him the story of the Cold Springs trag edy apd my success, he raised his previous offer of $50 for my ride to $100. I was rather tired, but the excitement of the trip had braced me up to withstand the fatigue of the journey. After the rest of one and one-half hours, I pro ceeded over my own route, from Buckland's to Friday's Station, grossing the western summit of the Sierra Nevada. I had traveled 380 miles within a few hours of schedule time, and surrounded by perils on every hand." After the " Overland Pony Express " was discontinued, " Pony Bob " was employed by Wells, Fargo & Co., as a pony express rider, in the prosecution of their transporta tion business. His route was between Virginia City, Nev., and Friday's Station, and return, about one hundred miles, every twenty-four hours, schedule time ten hours. This engagement continued for more than a year; but as the THE OVERLAND MAIL. 181 Union Pacific Railway gradually extended its line and operations, the pony express business as gradually dimin ished. Finally the track was completed to Reno, Nev., twenty-three miles from Virginia City, and over this route "Pony Bob" rode for over six months, making the run every day, with fifteen horses, inside of one hour. When the telegraph line was completed, the pony express over this route was withdrawn, and " Pony Bob " was sent to Idaho, to ride the company's express route of ioo miles, with one horse, from Queen's River to the Owhyee River. He was at the former station when Major McDermott was killed, at the breaking out of the Modoc war. On one of his rides he passed the remains of ninety Chinamen who had been killed by the Indians, only one escaping to tell the tale, and whose bodies lay bleaching in the sun for a distance of more than ten miles from the mouth of Ive's Canon to Crooked Creek. This was "Pony Bob's" last experience as a pony express rider. His successor, Sye Macaulas, was killed the first trip he tried to make. Bob bought a Flathead Indian pony at Boise City, Idaho, and started for Salt Lake City, 400 miles away, where his brother-in-law, Joshua Hosmer, was United States Marshal. Fere " Pony Bob " was appointed a deputy, but not liking the business, was again employed by Theodore Tracy — Wells-Fargo's agent— as first messenger from that city to Denver after Ben Holliday had sold out to Wells, Fargo & Co. — a distance of 720 miles by stage — which position Bob filled a long time. " Pony Bob " is now a resident of Chicago, where he is engaged in business. CHAPTER XXII. THE PONY EXPRESS AND ITS BRAVE RIDERS. During the winter of 1859, Mr. W. H. Russell, of our firm, while in Washington, D. C, met and became acquainted with Senator Gwin of California. The Senator was very anxious to establish a line of communication between California and the States east of the Rocky Mount ains, which would be more direct than that known as the Butterfield route, running at that time from San Francisco via Los Angeles, Cal.; thence across the Colorado River and up the valley of the Gila; thence via El Paso and through Texas, crossing the Arkansas River at Fort Gib son, and thence to St. Louis, Mo. This route, the Senator claimed, was entirely too long; that the requirements of California demanded a more direct route, which would make quicker passage than could be made on such a circuitous route as the Butterfield line. Knowing that Russell, Majors & Waddell were running a daily stage between the Missouri River and Salt Lake City, and that they were also heavily engaged in the trans portation of Government stores on the same line, he asked Mr. Russell if his company could not be induced to start a pony express, to run over its stage line to Salt Lake City, and from thence to Sacramento; his object being to test the practicability of crossing the Sierra Nevadas, as well as the Rocky Mountains, with a daily line of communica tion. After various consultations between these gentlemen, from time to time, the Senator urging the great necessity (182) THE PONY EXPRESS AND ITS BRAVE RIDERS. 183 of such an experiment, Mr. Russell consented to take hold of the enterprise, provided he could get his partners, Mr. Waddell and myself, to join him. With this understanding, he left Washington and came west to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., to consult us. After he explained the object of the enterprise, and we had well considered it, we both decided that it could not be made to pay expenses. This decision threw quite a damper upon the ardor of Mr. Russell, and he strenuously insisted we should stand by him, as he had committed himself to Sena tor Gwin before leaving Washington, assuring him he could get his partners to join him, and that he might rely on the project being carried through, and saying it would be very humiliating to his pride to return to Washington and be compelled to say the scheme had fallen through from lack of his partners' confidence. He urged us to reconsider, stating the importance attached to such an undertaking, and relating the facts Senator Gwin had laid before him, which were that all his attempts to get a direct thoroughfare opened between the State of California and the Eastern States had proved abortive, for the reason that when the question of estab lishing a permanent central route came up, his colleagues, ' or fellow senators, raised the question of the impassability of the mountains on such a route during the winter months; that tbe members from the Northern States were opposed to giving the whole prestige of such a thorough fare to the extreme southern route; that this being the case, it had actually become a necessity to demonstrate, if it were possible to do so, that a central or middle route could be made practicable during the winter as well as summer months. ( That as soon as we demonstrated the feasibility of such a scheme he (Senator Gwin) would use all his influence with Congress to get- a subsidy to help pay 184 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. the expenses of such a line on the thirty-ninth to forty-first parallel of latitude, which would be central between the extreme north and south; that he could not ask for the subsidy at the start with any hope of success, as the public mind had already accepted the idea that such a route open at all seasons of the year was an impossibility; that as soon as we proved to the contrary, he would come to our aid with a subsidy. After listening to all Mr. Russell had to say upon the subject, we concluded to sustain him in the undertaking, and immediately went to work to organize what has since been known as " The Pony Express." As above stated, we were already running a daily stage between the Missouri River and Salt Lake City, and along this line stations were located every ten or twelve miles, which we utilized for the Pony Express, but were obliged to build stations between Salt Lake City and Sacramento, Cal. Within sixty days or thereabouts from the time we agreed to undertake the enterprise, we were ready to start ponies, one from St. Joseph, Mo., and the other from Sac ramento, Cal., on the same day. At that time there was telegraphic communication between the East and St, Joseph, Mo., and between San Francisco and Sacra mento, Cal. The quickest time that had ever been made with any message between San Francisco and New YOrk, over the Butterfield line, which was the southern route, was twenty- one days. Our Pony Express shortened the time to ten days, which was our schedule time, without a single failure, being a difference of eleven days. To do the work of the Pony Express required between four hundred and five hundred horses, about one hundred and ninety stations, two hundred men for station-keepers, THE PONY EXPRESS AND ITS BRAVE RIDERS. 185 and eighty riders; riders made an average ride of thirty- three and one-third miles. In doing this each man rode three ponies on his part of the route; some of the riders, how ever, rode much greater distances in times of emergency. The Pony Express carried messages written on tissue paper, weighing one-half ounce, a charge of $5 being made for each dispatch carried. As anticipated, the amount of business transacted over this line was not sufficient to pay one-tenth of the expenses, to say nothing about the- amount of capital invested. In this, however, we were not disappointed, for we knew, as stated in the outset, that it could not be made a paying institution, and was undertaken solely to prove that the x. route over which it ran could be made a permanent thoroughfare for travel at all seasons of the year, proving, as far as the paramount object was concerned, a complete success. Two important events transpired during the term of the Pony's existence; one was the carrying of President Bu chanan's last message to Congress, in December, i860, from the Missouri River to Sacramento, a distance of two thousand miles, in eight days and some hours. The other was the carrying of President Lincoln's inaugural address of March 4, 1861, over the same route in seven days and, I think, seventeen hours, being the quickest time, taking the distance into consideration, on record in this or any other country, as far as I know. One of the most remarkable feats ever accomplished was made by F. X. Aubery, who traveled the distance of 800 miles, between Santa F6, N. M., and Independence, Mo., in five days and thirteen hours. This ride, in my opinion, in one respect was the most remarkable one ever made by any man. The entire distance was ridden with out stopping to rest, and having a change of horses only 186 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. once in every one hundred or two hundred miles. He kept a lead horse by his side most of the time, so that when the one he was riding gave out entirely, he changed the saddle to the extra horse, left the horse he had been riding and went on again at full speed. At the time he made this ride, in much of the territory he passed through he was liable to meet hostile Indians, so that his adventure was daring in more ways than one. In the first place, the man who attempted to ride 800 miles in the time he did took his life in his hands. There is perhaps not one man in a million who could have lived to finish such a journey. Mr. Aubery was a Canadian Frenchman, of low stature, short limbs, built, to use a homely simile, like a jack-screw, and was in the very zenith of his manhood, full of pluck and daring. It was said he made this ride upon a bet of $1,000 that he could cover the distance in eight days. One year previous to this, in 1852, he made a bet he could do the same distance in ten days. The result was he traveled it in a little over eight days, hence his bet he could make the ride in 1853 in eight days, the result of that trip showing he consumed little more than half that time. I was well acquainted with and did considerable business with Aubery during his years of freighting. I met him when he was making his famous ride, at a point on the Santa Fe" Road called Rabbit Ear. He passed my train at a full gallop without asking a single question as to the danger of Indians ahead of him. After his business between St. Louis and Santa F6 ceased, his love for adventure and his daring enterprise prompted him to make a trip from New Mexico to Califor nia with sheep, which he disposed of at good prices, and returned to New Mexico. THE PONY EXPRESS AND ITS BRAVE RIDERS. 187 Immediately upon his return he met a friend, a Major Weightman of the United States Army, who was a great admirer of his pluck and daring". Weightman was at that time editor of a small paper called the Santa F6 Herald. At their meeting, as was the custom of the time, they called for drinks. Their glasses were filled and they were ready to drink, when ACibery asked Weightman why he had published a damned lie about his trip to California. Instead of tak ing his drink, Weightman tossed the contents of his glass in Aubery's face. Aubery made a motion to draw his pis tol and shoot, when Weightman, knowing the danger, drew his knife and stabbed Aubery through the heart, from which blow he dropped dead upon the floor. The whole affair was enacted in one or two seconds. From the time they started to take a friendly drink till Aubery was lying dead on the floor less time elapsed than it takes to tell the story. This tragedy was the result of rash words hastily spoken, and proves that friends, as well as enemies, should be care ful and considerate in the language they use toward others. In Ihe spring of i860 Bolivar Roberts, superintendent of the Western Division of the Pony Express, came to Car son City, Nev., which was then in St. Mary's County, Utah, to engage riders and station men for a pony express route about to be established across the great plains by Russell, Majors & Waddell. In a few days fifty or sixty men were engaged, and started out across the Great Amer ican Desert to establish stations, etc. Among that num ber the writer can recall to memory the following: Bob Haslam ("Pony Bob"), Jay G. Kelley, Sam Gilson, Jim Gi-lson, Jim McNaughton, Bill McNaughton, Jose Zowgaltz, Mike Kelley, Jimmy Buckton, and "Irish Tom." At present "Pony Bob" is living on "the fat of the land" in Chicago. Sam and Jim Gilson are mining in Utah, and all the old N 188 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. "Pony" boys will rejoice to know they are now millionaires. The new mineral, gilsonite, was discovered by Sam Gilson. Mike Kelley is mining in Austin, Nev.; Jimmy Bucklin, "Black Sam," and the McNaughton boys are dead. Will iam Carr was hanged in Carson City, for the murder of Ber nard Cherry, his unfortunate death being the culmination of a quarrel begun months before, at Smith Creek Station. His was the first legal hanging in the Territory, the sen tence being passed by Judge Cradlebaugh. | J. G. Kelley has had a varied experience, and is now fifty-four years of age, an eminent mining engineer and mineralogist, residing in Denver, Colo. In recalling many reminiscences of the plains in the early days, I will let him tell the story in his own language: ' "Yes," he said, "I was a pony express rider in i860, and went out with Bol Roberts (one of the best men that ever lived), and I tell you it was no picnic. No amount of money could tempt me to repeat my experience of those days. To begin with, we had to build willow roads (corduroy fash ion) across many places along the Carson River, carrying bundles of willows two and three hundred yards in our arms, while the mosquitoes were so thick it was difficult to discern whether the man was white or black, so thickly were they piled on his neck, face, and hands. " Arriving at the Sink of the Carson River, we began the erection of a fort to protect us from the Indians. As there were no rocks or logs in that vicinity, the fort was built of adobes, made from the mud on the shores of the lake. To mix this mud and get it the proper consistency to mold into adobes (dried brick), we tramped around all day in it in our bare feet. This we did for a week or more, and the mud being strongly impregnated with alkali (carbonate Of soda), you can imagine the condition of our feet. They were much swollen, and resembled hams. Before that time THE PONY EXPRESS AND ITS BRAVE RIDERS. 180 I wore No. 6 boots, but ever since then No. 9s fit me snugly, "This may, in a measure, account for Bob Haslam's selection of a residence in Chicago, as he helped us make the adobes, and the size of his feet would thereafter be less noticeable there than elsewhere. " We next built a fort of stone at Sand Springs, twenty- five miles from Carson Lake, and another at Cold Springs, thirty-seven miles east of Sand Springs. "At the latter station I was assigned to duty as assist ant station-keeper, under Jim McNaughton. The war against the Piute Indians was then at its height, and we were in the middle of the Piute country, which made it necessary for us to keep a standing guard night and day. The Indians were often seen skulking around, but none of them ever came near enough for us to get a shot at them, till one dark night, when I was on guard, I noticed one of our horses prick up his ears and stare. I looked in the direction indicated and saw an Indian's head projecting above the wall. " My instructions were to shoot if I saw an Indian within shooting distance, as that would wake the boys quicker than anything else; so I fired and missed my man. "Later on we saw the Indian camp-fires on the mountain, and in the morning saw many tracks. They evidently intended to stampede our horses, and if necessary kill us. The next day one of our riders, a Mexican, rode into camp with a bullet hole through him from the left to the right side, having been shot by Indians while coming down Edwards Creek, in the Quakenasp bottom. This he told us as we assisted him off his horse. He was tenderly cared for, but died before surgical aid could reach him. " As I was the lightest man at the station, I was ordered to take the Mexican's place on the route. My weight was 190 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. then ioo pounds, while now I weigh 230. Two days after taking the route, on my return trip, I had to ride through the forest of quakenasp trees where the Mexican had been shot. A trail had been cut through these little trees, just wide enough to allow horse and rider to pass. As the road was crooked and the branches came together from either side, just above my head when mounted, it was impossible to see ahead more than ten or fifteen yards, and it was two miles through the forest. "I expected to have trouble, and prepared for it by dropping my bridle reins on the neck of the horse, put my Sharp's rifle at full cock, kept both spurs into the flanks, and he went through that forest like a ' streak of greased lightning.' " At the top of the hill I dismounted to rest my horse, and looking back, saw the bushes moving in several places. As there were no cattle or game in that vicinity, I knew the movements must be caused by Indians, and was more positive of it when, after firing several shots at the spot where I saw the bushes moving, all agitation ceased. Several days after that, two United States soldiers, who were on their way to their command, were shot and killed from the ambush of those bushes, and stripped of their clothing, by the red devils. " One of my rides was the longest on the route. I refer to the road between Cold Springs and Sand Springs, thirty- seven miles, and not a drop of water. It was on this ride that I made a trip which possibly gave to our company the contract for carrying the mail by stage-coach across the plains, a contract that was largely subsidized by Congress. " One day I trotted into Sand Springs covered with dust and perspiration. Before reaching the station I saw a num ber of men running toward me, all carrying rifles, and as I supposed they took me for an Indian, I stopped and THE PONY EXPRESS AND ITS BRAVE RIDERS. 191 threw up my hands. It seemed they had a spy-glass in camp, and recognizing me had come to the conclusion I was being run in by Piutes and were coming to my rescue. " Bob Haslam was at the station, and in less than one minute relieved me of my mail-pouch and was flying west ward over the plains. Some of the boys had several fights with Indians, but they did not trouble us as much as we expected; personally I only met them once face to face. I was rounding a bend in the mountains, and before I knew it, was in a camp of Piute Indians. Buffalo Jim, the chief, came toward me alone. He spoke good English, and when within ten yards of me I told him to stop, which he did, and told me he wanted ' tobac ' (tobacco). I gave him half I had, but the old fellow wanted it all, and I finally refused to give him any more; he then made another step toward me, saying that he wanted to look at my gun. I pulled the gun out of the saddle-hock and again told him to stop. He evidently saw that I meant business, for, with a wave of his hand, he said: ' All right-you pooty good boy; you go.' I did not need a second order, and quickly as possible rode out of their presence, looking back, however, as long as they were in sight, and keeping my rifle handy. "As I look back on those times I often wonder that we were not all killed. A short time before, Major Ormsby of Carson City, in command of seventy-five or eighty men, went to Pyramid Lake to give battle to the Piutes, who had been killing emigrants and prospectors by the wholesale. Nearly all the command were killed in a running fight of sixteen miles. In the fight Major Ormsby and the lamented Harry Meredith were killed. Another regiment of about seven hundred men, under the command of Col. Daniel E. Hungerford and Jack Hayes, the noted Texas ranger, was raised. Hungerford was the beau ideal of a soldier, the hero of three wars, and one of the best tacticians of his time. This 192 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. command drove the Indians pell-mell for three miles to Mud Lake, killing and wounding them at every jump. Col onel Hungerford and Jack Hayes received, and were entitled to, great praise, for at the close of the war terms were made which have kept the Indians peaceable ever since. Jack Hayes died several years since in Alameda, Cal. Colonel Hungerford, at the ripe age of seventy years, is hale and hearty, enjoying life and resting on his laurels in Italy, where he resides with his granddaughter, the Princess Colona. " As previously stated, it is marvelous that the pony boys were not all killed. There were only four men at each sta tion, and the Indians, who were then hostile, roamed all over the country in bands of 30 to 100. "What I consider my most narrow escape from death was being shot at one night by a lot of fool emigrants, who, when I took them to task about it on my return trip, excused themselves by saying, 'We thought you was an Indian.' " I want to say one good word for our bosses, Messrs. Russell, Majors & Waddell. The boys had the greatest veneration for them because of their general good treat ment at their hands. They were different in many respects from all other freighters on the plains, who, as a class, were boisterous, blasphemous, and good patrons of the bottle, while Russell, Majors & Waddell were God-fearing, religious, and temperate themselves, and were careful to engage none in their employ who did not come up to their standard of morality. " Calf-bound Bibles were distributed by them to every employe. The one given to me was kept till 1881, and was then presented to Ionic Lodge No. 35, A. F. & A. M., at Leadville, Colo. THE PONY EXPRESS AND ITS BRAVE RIDERS. 193 " The Pony Express was a great undertaking at the time, and was the foundation of the mail-coach and railroad that quickly followed." During the war J. G. Kelley was commissioned by Gov. James W. Nye as captain of Company C, Nevada Infantry, and served till the end of the war, after which he resumed his old business of mining, and is still engaged in it. 18 CHAPTER XXIII. THE BATTLE OF THE BUFFALOES. It was the afternoon of a day in early summer, along in 1859, when we found ourselves drifting in a boat down the Missouri. The morning broke with a drizzling rain, out of a night that had been tempestuous, with a fierce gale, heavy thunder, and unusually terrific lightning. Gradually the rain stopped, and we had gone but a short distance when the clouds broke away, the sun shone forth, and the earth appeared glistening with a new beauty. Ahead of us appeared, high up on the bluffs, a clump of trees and bushes. As we drew near, a sudden caprice seized us, and shoot ing our boat up on the shelving bank, we secured it, and then climbed the steep embankment. We intended to knock around in the brush a little while, and then resume our trip. A fine specimen of an eagle caught our eye, perched high up on the dead bough of a tree. Moving around to get a good position to pick him off with my rifle, so that his body would not be torn, I caught sight through an opening of the trees of an immense herd of buffaloes, browsing and moving slowly in our direction. We moved forward a little to get a better view of the herd, when the eagle, unaware to us, spread his pinions, and when we looked again for him he was soaring at a safe distance from our rifles. We were on the leeward side of the herd, and so safe from discovery, if we took ordinary precaution, among the trees. It was a fine spectacle which they presented, and, (194) THE BATTLE OF THE BUFFALOES. 195 what was more, we were in just the mood to watch them. The land undulated, but was covered for many acres with minute undulations of dark-brown shoulders slowly drift ing toward us. We could hear the rasping sound which innumerable mouths made chopping the crisp grass. As we looked, our ears caught a low, faint, rhythmical sound, borne to us from afar. We listened intently. The sound grew more distinct, until we could recognize the tread of another herd of buffaloes coming from an opposite direction. We skulked low through the undergrowth, and came to the edge of the wooded patch just in time to see the van of this new herd surmounting a hill. The herd was evidently spending its force, having already run for miles. It came with a lessening speed, until it settled down to a comfort able walk. About the same time the two herds discovered each other. Our herd was at first a little startled, but after a brief inspection of the approaching mass, the work of clipping the grass of the prairies was resumed. The fresh arrivals came to a standstill, and gazed at the thousands of their fellows, who evidently had preempted their grazing grounds. Apparently they reached fhe conclusion that that region was common property, for they soon lowered their heads and began to shave the face of the earth of its green growths. The space separating the herds slowly lessened. The outermost fringes touched but a short distance from our point of observation, It was not like the fringes of a lady's dress coming in contact with the lace drapery of a window, I can assure you. Nothing so soft and sibilant as that. It was more like the fringes of freight engines com ing in contact with each other when they approach with some momentum on the same track. 196 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. The powerful bulls had unwittingly found themselves in close proximity to each other, coming from either herd. Suddenly shooting up from the sides of the one whose herd was on the ground first, flumes of dirt made graceful curves in the air. They were the signals for hostilities to com mence. The hoofs of the powerful beast were assisted by his small horns, which dug the sod and tossed bunches that settled out of the air in his shaggy mane. These belligerent demonstrations were responded to in quite as defiant a fashion by the late arrival. He, too, was an enormous affair. We noticed his unusual proportions of head. But his shoulders, with their great manes, were worth displaying to excite admiration and awe at their possibilities, if they could do nothing more. Unquestionably the two fellows regarded themselves as representative of their different herds, the one first on the ground viewing the other as an interloper, and he in his turn looking upon the former as reigning, because no one had the spirit to contest his supremacy and show him where he belonged. They sidled up near each other, their heads all the while kept low to the ground, and their eyes red with anger and rolling in fiery fury. This display of the preliminaries of battle drew the attention of an increasing number from either herd. At first they would look up, then recommence their eating, and then direct their attention more intensely as the combatants began to measure their strength more closely. And when the fight was on they became quite absorbed in the varying fortunes of the struggle. At last the two huge fellows, after a good deal of cir cumlocution, made the grand rush. I reckon it would be your everlasting fortune if one of you college fellows who play football had the force to make the great rush which either one of these animals presented. The collision was THE BATTLE OF THE BUFFALOES. 197 straight and square. A crash of horns, a heavy, dull thud of heads. We thought surely the skull of one or the other, or possibly both, was crushed in. But evidently they were not even hurt. Didn't they push then? Well, I guess they did. The force would have shoved an old-fashioned barn from its foundations. The muscles swelled up on the thighs, the hoofs sank into the earth, but they were evenly matched. For a moment there was a mutual cessation of hostilities to get breath. Then they came together with a more resounding crash than before. Instantly we perceived that the meeting of the heads was not square. The new cham pion had the best position. Like a flash he recognized it and redoubled his efforts to take its full advantage. The other appeared to quadruple his efforts to maintain himself in position, and his muscles bulged out, but his antagonist made a sudden move which wrenched his head still farther off the line, when he went down on his knees. That settled the contest, for his enemy was upon him before he could recover. He was thrown aside and his flank raked by several ugly upward thrusts of his foe, which left him torn and bruised, all in a heap. As quick as he could get on his feet he limped, crestfallen, away. The victorious fellow lashed his small tail, tossed his head, and moved in all the pride of his contest up and down through the ranks of his adversary's herd. How exultant he was! We took it to be rank impudence, and though he had exhibited some heroic qualities of strength and daring, it displeased us to see him take on so many airs on account of his victory. But his conquest of the field was not yet entirely com plete. As he strode proudly along his progress was stopped by a loud snort, and, looking aside, he saw a fresh challenge. There, standing out in full view, was another bull, a mon- 198 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. ster of a fellow belonging to his late enemy's herd. He pawed the earth with great strokes and sent rockets of turf curving high in air, some of which sifted its fine soil down upon the nose of the victor. As we looked at this new challenger and took in his immense form, we chuckled with the assurance that the haughty fellow would now have some decent humility imposed upon him. The conqueror himself must have been impressed with the formidableness of his new antag onist, for there was a change in his demeanor at once. Of course, according to a well-established buffalo code, he could do nothing but accept the challenge. Space was cleared as the two monsters went through their gyrations, their tossings of earth, their lashings of tail, their snorts and their low bellows. This appeared to them a more serious contest than the former, if we could judge from the length of the introductory part. They took more time before they settled down to business. We were of the opinion that the delay was caused by the champion, who resorted to small arts to prolong the preliminaries. We watched it all with the most excited interest. It had all the thrilling features of a Spanish bull-fight without the latter's degradation of man. Here was the level of nature. Here the true buffalo instincts with their native temper were exhibiting themselves in the most emphatic and vig orous fashion. It was the buffalo's trial of nerve, strength, and skill. Numberless as must have been these tourna ments, in which the champions of different herds met to decide Which was superior, in the long ages during which the buffalo kingdom reigned supreme over the vast western prairies of the United States, yet few had ever been wit nessed by man. We were looking upon a spectacle rare to human eyes, and I confess that I was never more excited than when this last trial reached its climax. It was a THE BATTLE OF THE BUFFALOES. 199 question now whether the champion should still hold his position. It stimulates one more when he thinks of losing what he has seized than when he thinks of failing to grasp that which he has never possessed. Undoubtedly both of these animals had this same feeling, for as we looked at this latest arrival, we about concluded that he was the real leader, and not the other that limped away vanquished. While these and other thoughts were passing through our minds, the two mighty contestants squared and made a tremendous plunge for each other. What a shock was that! What a report rolled on the air! The earth fairly shook with the terrific concussion of buffalo brains, and both burly fellows went down on their knees. Both, too, were on their feet the same instant, and locked horns with the same swiftness and skill, and each bore down on the other with all the power he could sum mon. The cords stood out like great ropes on their necks; the muscles on thighs and hips rose like huge welts. We were quite near these fellows and could see the roll of their blood-red fiery eyes. They braced and shoved with per fectly terrible force. The froth began to drip in long strings from their mouths. The erstwhile victor slipped with one hind foot slightly. His antagonist felt it and instantly swung a couple of inches forward, which raised the unfortunate buffalo's back, and we expected every instant that he would go down. But he had a firm hold and he swung his antagonist back to his former position, where they were both held panting, their tongues lolling out. There was a slight relaxation for breath, then the con test was renewed. Deep into the new sod their hoofs sunk, neither getting the advantage of the other. Like a crack of a tree broken asunder came a report on the air, and one of the legs of the first fighter sank into the earth.- The 200 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. other buffalo thought he saw his chance, and made a furious lunge toward his opponent. The earth trembled beneath us. The monsters there fighting began to reel. We beheld an awful rent in the sod. For an instant the ground swayed, then nearly an acre dropped out of sight. We started back with horror, then becoming reassured, we slowly approached the brink of the new precipice and looked over. This battle of the buffaloes had been fought near the edge of this high bluff. Their great weight — each one was over a ton — and their tremendous struggles had loosened the fibers which kept the upper part of the bluff together, and the foundations having been undermined by the current, all were precipitated far below. As we gazed downward we detected two moving masses quite a distance apart, and soon the shaggy fronts of these buffaloes were seen. One got into the current of the river and was swept down stream. The other soon was caught by the tides and swept onward toward his foe. Probably they resumed the contest when, after gaining a good foot ing farther down the banks of the Missouri, they were fully rested. But more probably, if they were sensible animals, and in some respects buffaloes have good sense, they concluded after such a providential interference in their terrific fight that they should live together in fraternal amity. , So, no doubt, on the lower waters of the Missouri two splendid buffaloes have been seen by later hunters paying each other mutual respect, and standing on a perfect equality as chief leaders of a great herd. CHAPTER XXIV. THE BLACK BEAR. My father, being one of the very first pioneers of Jack son County, Missouri, abundant opportunity was afforded me to become acquainted with the habits of wild animals of every description which at that time roamed in that unsettled portion of the country, such as elk, deer, bear, and panther. Among these animals the most peculiar was the black bear, which was found in considerable numbers. Bears, in many respects, differ from all other animals; they are very small when born, and when grown the females, in their best state of fatness, will weigh from two hundred and fifty to three hundred and fifty pounds. The male bears weigh at their best much more; from four hundred to five hun dred pounds. They are remarkably intelligent animals, and are very wild, wanting but little to do with civilization, for as soon as white people made their appearance in the regions of country inhabited by them, it was not long before they migrated to other portions of the country. To the early settlers of the new country bear meat proved of great value, being very fat, and on account of this great fatness particularly useful to them in the seasoning of. leaner meats, such as wild turkey, venison, etc., which con stituted much of the living of the early settlers or pioneers of the Mississippi and Missouri valleys. The bear's life each year is divided into three distinct periods. From the first of April to the middle of Septem ber they live upon vegetables, such as they can find in the (201) 202 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. wild woods, fruits of every description, and meats of every kind, from the insect to the largest animal that lives; peri winkles, frogs, and fish of all kinds; all living things in the water as well as on the land. From the middle of September they cease to eat of the various things they have lived on during the summer, and take entirely to eating mast, that is, acorns, beech-nuts, pecans, chestnuts, and chihcapins. . On commencing to eat mast, they begin to fatten very rapidly. I should have remarked that during the summer months, the season in which they live on insects and meats of every variety, they lose every particle of the fat they had accumulated while eating mast. On account of his abstemious habits the prohibitionists should value the bear as emblematical of their order. Coming out of their long sleep the first of April, or when the vegetation has grown sufficient for them to feed upon, they commence to eat herbs, meats, and fruits of every kind. They are remarkably fond of swine at this period, and unlike the wolf, who seeks to catch the young pigs, the bear picks up the mother and walks off with her. She affords him a splendid opportunity for so doing, it being a trait of the mother hog, as it is of the mother bear, to fight ferociously for her young. The strength of the bear is phenomenal. They can take up in their mouths and carry off with per fect ease an ordinary sized hog, calf, or sheep. During this season they frequent corn fields, devouring the corn when it comes to the size of roasting ears. Indeed there is little to be found that is edible by man or beast that the bear at some period of his life does not eat. When they commence eating mast, which is about the middle of Sep tember or the first of October, as stated, they eat nothing else until about the 15th to the 20th of December, by which time most of them become exceedingly fat; so muGh so, indeed, that in some cases it is difficult for them to run THE BLACK BEAR. 203 very fast, not half as fast as they could before becoming so fat. All of the very fat ones, about the middle of Decem ber, cease to eat or drink anything, make themselves beds and lie down in them, preparatory to going into their caves or dens for their long sleep. They lie in these beds, which may be several miles from the caves in which they intend to take their winter sleep, several days, or sometimes a week, and by this temporary stay in the open air, nature is given time to dispose of every particle of water and food in the body. After this time has elapsed, they leave these temporary beds and go as straight as the crow flies to their intended quarters, which are generally caves in the rocks, if such can be found in the regions they inhabit. This sleep is taken when the animals are the very fattest. None but the very fat ones go through the period of hi bernating. They do not lose one pound's weight during this sleep, unless it be in respiration, which is a very small quantity compared with the entire mass, for no excretions are made during that period. Entering the caves they remain there from three to four months, this being their dormant or hibernating period, and for this reason they are known among hunters as one of the family of seven sleepers. Each makes his bed in the bottom of the cave by scratching out a large, round, basin-shaped place in the dirt; these beds after being once made remain intact, as the caves are invariably dry, and are used by the same bear year after year if he is not disturbed; and after his demise will be adopted by another of his kind. Some of these caves have been perhaps for ages during the winter time the abode of a number of these " seven sleepers." In my opinion there is no animal in the world that is so healthy, and the meat of which is more beneficial to man kind, than is the meat of the black bear. The doctors invariably recommend it for patients who are troubled with o 204 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. indigestion or chest diseases. Bear's oil (for that is what it really is) is considered a better curative and much pref erable on account of its pleasant taste, to cod-liver oil, which is very disagreeable. In settling the Mississippi Valley, when bear's meat was such a factor in the way of food, each of the frontiersmen kept a pack of dogs — all the way from three to half-a- dozen — partly for bear hunting, which was a very exciting sport, in fact the most of any other game hunting. I have been long and well acquainted with the courage shown by dogs in hunting and fighting game, and there is nothing I ever saw a dog undertake that arouses his courage so much as a contest with a bear. The dog seems to think a fight with a bear the climax of his existence. One familiar with, and accustomed to, bear hunting can tell at long distances whether the dogs are having a combat with a bear or some other animal, by the energy they put into their yelping. When fighting a bear the dogs continually snap and bite at his hind legs, as this is the only way they have of exasper ating and irritating him, as they dare not approach him in front. The full-grown bear is able to stand off any number of dogs that can get around him. So strong are they that if they can get hold of a dog in their fore arms or mouth, he is very likely to be killed. The large she-bear can take an ordinary sized dog in her fore paws and crush him to death, and they can strike with such force as to send the sharp nails of their paws fairly through the dog. On account of the adeptness with which bears use their fore paws, the dogs try constantly to be in their rear, and the bears are always trying to confront them. The bear in moving his paws to strike never draws them back, but invariably makes a for ward movement, which is a surprise to the dogs, as it gives THE BLACK BEAR. 205 them no warning, hence the aim of the former to confront the enemy, and of the latter not to be confronted. I have stood several times, when a boy, upon the door step of my father's log-cabin and watched the men and dogs in their chase after a bear, only a few hundred yards away. This was, of course, only a few months after the first settlers came into the country, for it was the habit of these bears to leave as soon as they knew the white people had come to stay. Bears roam in the very thickest woods and roughest por tions of the country, and it is difficult to find one so far away from the rough woods that he can not reach such locality in a very few moments after he is attacked ; and unlike other game that was found on the frontier, instead of trying to get into the open prairie, where they can run, they make at once after being disturbed for the cliffs of the rivers and creeks and the canebrakes; in fact into the very roughest places they can find, and take the shortest cut to get to them. Bears do not depend on the senses of sight and hearing for their protection as much as upon the sense of smell, by which they can distinguish perfectly their friends or enemies. The scent of man would strike terror to their hearts as much as the sight of him, and they scent him much farther than they can see him, especially when they are in the thick woods or canebrakes, where they often feed. Frequently instead of fighting dogs on the ground, when tired, the bear climbs a tree, sometimes going up fifty feet, and there rests, lodged in a fork or upon a limb, surveying with complacency the howling pack of dogs, and they in turn, becoming more bold as the distance between their victim and themselves increases, defiantly extend their necks toward their black antagonist in the tree. Notwith- 206 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. standing the bear's dread of the howling pack of dogs in waiting for their prey, if he sees a man he loses his hold and drops, falling among the dogs, sometimes falling on one or more and killing them. I have known the hunter to be so cautious in showing himself that before he came near enough to shoot he would select the trunks of large trees, hiding behind them as he approached, until being near enough, and con cealed from the bear by one of these trunks, he moved his head a little to one side to take aim; the moment he moved his head sufficient to do so, if the bear chanced to be look ing that way, he would let go his hold and drop, showing that, after all, he knew where the real danger was. It is very desirable in bear hunting that the bear should climb a tree and give his pursuer an opportunity to fire at him there, for while he is in the fight with the dogs it would be almost impossible for the hunter to shoot the bear without taking the chance of injuring or killing one or more of the dogs. The dogs are also in great danger when a bear weighing from three to five hundred pounds falls a distance of forty or fifty feet, be the bear dead or alive. No other animal that I know of could fall such a distance and not be more or less hurt, but bears are not injured in the least, being protected by their immense covering of fat, which forms a complete shield, or cushion, around the body. The bear can stand on his hind legs just as easily as a man can stand on his feet, and in their fights with dogs they shield themselves by standing up against large trees, cliffs, or rocks, so that the dogs have no chance at them except in front. In this position they can stand off any number of dogs, and the dogs well know the danger of approaching from the front. No body of drilled men could act their part better than the dogs do, without any THE BLACK BEAR. 207 training whatever, which is a great proof of their intel ligence. The moment a bear shows that he is about to climb a tree in order to get out of the ground scuffle with his opponents, the dogs, and attempts to do so, the dogs with one accord pitch at him, until there are so many hanging to his hind legs that often he can not climb, and falls on his back to rid himself of and to fight them. He can fight when on his back as well as in any other position, for he embraces them in his arms, by no means gently. He may try climbing a tree three or four times before he can sufficiently rid himself of the dogs; even then, perhaps, he may have one or two hanging to his legs, which he carries with him maybe ten or twelve feet up the tree, and the dogs, under the greatest excitement, keep perfect consciousness of the distance, and they are able to fall without being injured. Let us now turn our attention to the mothers, or she- bears. They become mothers during the period of their hibernation, going into the caves at the time already mentioned when the other fat bears hibernate, and lie dormant until the time their cubs are born, which is about the middle of February. These require a great deal of the mother's attention, and she is faithful and follows her motherly instincts to her own death, if need be. After the cubs are born she goes once every day for water, which, with her accumulated fat, produces milk for the sustenance of her young, she having selected her cave near a stream of running or living water. She does not eat a particle of any food from the first of December to the middle of April. By the time she leaves her bed, where she has been for four months in solitude, the eubs are sufficiently large to follow the mother, and should any danger threaten them, to climb a tree, which 208 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. they are very quick to do, and if they do not do so at the bidding of the mother at once, she catches them up in her fore paws and throws them up against the tree, giving them to understand they must climb for their protection. The male bear is the greatest enemy the mother and the cubs have to look out for; for unless protected by the mother, he will seize and eat the cubs, during the season of the year when bears eat meat, but he is not disposed to hurt the mother bear, unless in a scuffle in trying to get' hold of the young; therefore it is necessary for her to have her little ones with her every moment after they come out of the cave where they are born, and where they stay for more than two months before they are brought out into the sunlight. Should danger threaten, and there is a small tree near, she will invariably make her cubs climb it, where they are safe, because the large male bear can not climb very small trees. If she is compelled to send her cubs up a large tree, she stands ready and willing to sacrifice her life for the protection of her young, and not in the annals of natural history can there be found a mother which shows such desperation in the protection of her young as does the mother bear. Nothing daunts her when her cubs are imperiled, and neither man nor dogs in any number will avail in driving her from them. I have seen mother bears stand at the roots of trees up which their cubs had climbed, cracking their teeth and striking their paws, which sounded like the knocking of two hammers together, as warning' to their enemies they would fight till they dropped dead, or killed their antagonist. They all fast during the entire period of hibernation. Bears bring forth their young but once in two years, and nature has wisely designed it so. In order to protect THE BLACK BEAR. 209 the cubs from the male bear, and other enemies, the mother's constant presence and care are necessary until they are old and large enough to protect themselves. On this account she keeps them with her until they are over a year old, and they generally hibernate the first year with her, after which they leave her, to roam where they will. As my knowledge of the bear was obtained by being brought up and living in the portion of the State of Mis souri they inhabited, it was natural when I grew up that I became a bear-hunter. I have killed them at all times of the year; when in their caves, shortly after they have come out in the spring, and while in their beds, before going to their caves. I have traced them by their tracks in the snow from their temporary beds to their winter caves. On account of my own experience, and my association with the best and oldest bear-hunters, I have had good op portunities to learn the nature and habits of black bear. Although I have seen a great many bears of the Rocky Mountains, and have had some little experience with the cinnamon, the brown, and the silver-gray bear, I am not as familiar with their modes of life as I am with those of the black bear that were found in such numbers in the Mississippi Valley when the white people first emigrated to that country. Bears of the Rocky Mountains, and espe cially grizzly bears, are very much larger than black bears, and, as far as I have been able to learn from those who have hunted them, their meat, as food, does not compare with that of the black bear. One of my personal experiences in bear hunting oc curred about the 15th of December, 1839, in Taney County, Missouri, where I then lived. After a deep snow had fallen, I had provided myself with some bread, a piece of fat bear meat, and a little salt, and some corn for my horse, and unaccompanied, except by my horse and four dogs, I 14 210 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. started out to try and kill a bear. On reaching that part of the mountains where I expected to find them, I came across a number of trails, and soon found one which I knew must have been by a very fat bear. Hunters know by the trail whether the bear is fat, for if fat he makes two rows of tracks about a foot apart, while a lean bear makes only one row of tracks, similar to that of a dog. I spent part of one day in tracking this animal, which I was sure would be well worth my pains. While on this trail I was led to the deserted bed of one of the largest bears I ever saw, for I afterward had ample opportunity of judg ing of its size and weight. He had lain in his temporary bed during the falling of the snow, after which he had gone in a bee-line to the cave for his intended hibernation. Feeling sure he was such a large animal, I followed the trail four or five miles, going as straight as if I had fol lowed the bearings of a compass. On a very high peak at the mouth of one of those caves, of which there are so many in that country, his trail disappeared. The openings of many of these caves are so small that it is often with great difficulty a large bear effects an entrance. However, though the openings are so small, the caves are broad and spacious. In these caves bears hibernate. This particu lar cave had a very small and irregular opening, so that I could not enter it with my gun; but, as is the custom with bear-hunters, I cut a pole ten or twelve feet long, sharpened one end, and to this tied a piece of fat bear meat, set fire to it, and made another attempt to enter the cave. Find ing I could not do this, on account of the opening being so irregular, I abandoned the idea of shooting him in his cave, and proceeded to kindle a fire at the mouth, and put ting a pole across the opening, hung my saddle-blanket and a green buckskin that I procured the day before} when getting meat for my dogs, upon it. This covering drove THE BLACK BEAR. 211 the smoke from the fire into the cave, which soon dis turbed the animal, so that he came and put the fire out by striking it with his paws. Instead of coming out of- the cave as I supposed he would, after putting out the fire, he went back to his bed. He had gotten such draughts of the suffocating smoke that he made no other attempts to get to the mouth of the cave, where my four dogs were stand ing, ready, nervous, and trembling, watching for him, and I was standing on one side of the mouth of the cave, prepared to put a whole charge into him if he made his appearance. I waited a few moments after I heard him box the fire for him to return, but as he did not, I took the covering from the mouth of the cave and found the fire was entirely out. I then rekindled it and replaced the coverings, and it was not long after until I heard him groaning, like some strong-chested old man in pain. I listened eagerly for his moanings to cease, knowing that he must die of suffocation. It was not, however, very long until all was still. I then uncovered the mouth of the cave to let the smoke out. It was some time before I could venture in; before I did so I relit my light, and going in I found my victim not twenty feet from the mouth of the cave, lying on his back, dead; and, as before Stated, he was the largest animal of the kind I ever saw or killed. It took me seven or eight hours to slaughter him and carry the meat out of the cave, as I could not carry more than fifty pounds at a time and crawl out and in. When I opened the chest of this big bear, I found two bullets. These were entirely disconnected with any solid matter. They had been shot into him by some hunter who knew precisely the location of a bear's heart, which is different from what it is in other animals. His heart lies much farther back in his body, being precisely in the center of the same, while the heart of all other quadrupeds, and 212 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. I think I have known all those of North America, lies just back of their shoulders; in other words, in the front part of the chest. These bullets, from the necessity of the case, must have been shot into the animal when he was the very fattest, and when he was ready for hibernation, because they were not lodged in the flesh, but entirely loose in the chest, each one covered with a white film, and tied with a little ligament, about the size of a rye straw, to the sack that contained the heart. When the bear lay down, these bullets could not have been more than half or three-quarters of an inch from each other, for each one was covered separately, and had a separate ligament attaching it to the sack above alluded to; and the two ligaments, where they had grown to the sack, were not more than a quarter of an inch apart. I cut out the piece containing both the bullets, and taking it in my fingers reminded me of two large cherries with the stems almost touching at the point where they were broken from the limb. What I have just described would indeed have been an interesting study to the medical fraternity, as perhaps there has never been anything like it. It could not have occurred in this particular way, except where the bear had gone through the preparation peculiar to him before hibernating, and after leaving his temporary bed he could lie dormant and give nature ample opportunity to restore the injury to the system which the bullet had caused. The above facts proved that it was just at the season of the year when the bear was ready to hibernate. In this- article at the outset, I mentioned the fact that the bear is a peculiar animal. Indeed he is the most pecul iar of any quadruped with which I am familiar. He has many marked characteristics. He assumes in twelve months three different modes of life, each one thoroughly distinct from the other. He hibernates, during which time THE BLACK BEAR. 213 he abstains entirely from food and water. On coming out of this dormant condition he commences to eat food of every kind, peculiar to that season of the year. After living for months on anything and everything he can get, he ceases to eat any of these various things, and begins a totally different kind of diet, eating only mast — acorns and nuts of every kind. Another of their peculiarities is the cubs are not permitted to see the light for sixty days after being born, as they are in the dark solitude of a cave in the ground. Still another characteristic is the mother bear takes care of her young until they are fourteen months old, they hibernating with her the second winter of their lives. The bear differs from other quadrupeds in being able to stand or walk on his two hind feet as well as on all-fours, and in this position he can make telling efforts at protect ing himself. He climbs trees, and thus gets the mast by breaking the branches and picking off the acorns. He is also so constituted that he can fall great distances, even from the top of a tree, without injuring himself in the least. The mother bear has, as far as I know, generally two, never more than three, cubs at a time; when young these cubs can be easily tamed, and become in time very devoted to their owner. They are very intelligent, so that with proper training they will learn the tricks any animal has been known to learn. When small they are great playmates for boys, and will wrestle with them and enter into sports with great intelligence. They are never dangerous until grown, and not then unless crossed or abused. Wild bears are not considered dangerous unless they are attacked and are unable to make their escape. Under no circumstances, as already stated, does the mother bear forsake her young when they are in clanger. In teaching bears tricks, one lesson is sufficient, as they seem never to forget. A friend 214 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. of mine owned a pet bear which became so familiar about the place and so attached to all, that he could be turned loose with a chain several feet long dragging after him. He conceived the idea of scratching a hole beside the wall, where he could go and hide himself to take his naps. One day his owner wanted to show him to some one while he was asleep in his hole, and took hold of the chain, which was lying extended for some distance, and pulled the little bear out. This gentleman stated to me that this never occurred but once. After this, whenever the bear went to take his nap, the first thing he did after getting into the hole was to pull the chain in after him. His owner had a post set in the yard fifteen or twenty feet high, with a broad board nailed on the top. The bear would climb this post and lie down on the board. The first thing he did after lying down was to pull that chain up and put it in a coil at his side. His owner told me that one lesson sufficed to teach him anything. I have repeated many of these facts in order to bring them more clearly and forcibly to the mind of the reader. CHAPTER XXV. THE BEAVER. In the settlement of the Western States and Territories one of the sources of income, and the only industry which commanded cash for the efforts involved, was that of beaver trapping, the skin of the beaver selling as high as fifteen or twenty dollars. The weight of the beaver is from thirty to sixty pounds, and it is an animal possessed of great intelligence, as the amount and kind of work accomplished by it shows. It is a natural-born engineer, as connected with water; it can build dams across small streams that defy the freshets, and that hold the water equal, if not superior, to the very best dams that can be constructed by skilled engineers. In making their dams the sticks and poles which they use in the construction of the same are cut with their teeth, of which they have fpur, two in the upper part of the mouth apd two in the lower. These poles they place across each other in all directions. They build their dams during the fall usually, and should they need repair, the work is done before the very cold weather commences, working only at night if danger is near. In the month of October they generally collect their food, which consists largely of the cottonwood; this is cut in lengths of from two to six feet, the diameter being some times sjx inches, and carry it into their ponds made by the dams, and sunk in the deepest portion of the same. I should have stated that the higher up the stream they go, their (816) 216 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. dams are built correspondingly higher; hence a dam built at an altitude of 1,000 feet would not be built as high as one built at an altitude of 3,000 feet, in order to overcome the deeper freezing at that point, for in con structing these dams they must be of sufficient height to give plenty of room to get at their food in the water under the ice. The beaver does not eat a particle of meat of any kind. The popular idea is that as they are animals that live in and about the water, that they live upon fish, but this is not so; for, as above stated, their principal food is the bark and the tender wood of the cottonwood, and they also eat of other barks. They are one of the most cleanly animals that lives. They live in the purest water that can be found, generally selecting streams that take their rise in the mountains, and where they can have an abundance of water the year round to live in. They dam up the streams in order to make ponds of sufficient depth to swim in under the ice to obtain their food, for the bottom of this pond is their store-room during the winter months. Beavers are exceedingly wild, seldom showing them selves, and from the bottom of their pond they make a tun nel leading to the house where they sleep, so that they can pass to the same unobserved by man or beast. When they make their ponds where the banks are low, they make their house upon the top of the ground, sometimes a rod or more from the edge of the pond, cutting timber of the size of a finger to two or three inches in diameter, placing the sticks in very much the same way as they do in build ing their dams, crossing and recrossing them so that it is quite a job to tear one of their houses to pieces; in fact no one but a man would undertake the task, and one that has never had any experience would find it very difficult to accomplish. If one does it in the hope of catching the THE BEAVER. 217 animal, he toils in vain, for he is soon scented, and the beaver takes refuge in the pond, passing through the underground tunnel. Where they find high banks, they start a tunnel several feet below the surface of the water and run it ascending, so as to reach a point in the bank six or eight or may be ten feet above the surface of the water underground, stopping before reaching the top of the ground, and at which point they take out dirt until they have a place sufficiently large for their bed. This kind of a house they much prefer to one made with sticks on the surface of the ground, as they are completely hidden from observation or the possibility of interruption from any one. The beaver's feet are webbed for the purpose of swim ming, and there are nails on his feet, so that he can scratch the earth almost equal to a badger. He has a paddle- formed tail, which on a large full-grown beaver is from ten to twelve inches long and from six to seven inches broad, and without any hair on it. These are tough and sinewy, and when cooked they make a very fine food, the flavor reminding one of pig's feet or calf's head. They make .considerable use of their tail in performing their work as well as in swimming. The beaver reproduces itself each year. The offspring are generally two in number, and these can be easily tamed. The trappers in trapping for the beaver have to use great precaution in approaching the place where they intend to set the traps, often getting into the stream above or below and wading for some distance. If they walked upon the bank the beaver would scent them from the footprints. Beavers, like all other wild animals, dread the sight or scent of man more than anything else. In setting the traps the trappers invariably choose as deep water as they can find, so that when a beaver is caught he will drown himself in p 218 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. his struggles to get free from the trap; for if this does not occur, he has often been known to cut off, with the sharp chisel used in cutting timber, the foot that is caught in the trap, so that it is not infrequent when the trapper comes in the morning to find a foot of the beaver instead of the beaver himself, and often he catches a beaver with only three feet. The beaver, considered as an engineer, is a remarkable animal. He can run a tunnel as direct as the best engineer could do with his instruments to guide him. I have seen where they have built a dam across a stream, and not hav ing a sufficient head of water to keep their pond full, they would cross to a stream higher up the side of the mountain, ' and cut a ditch from the upper stream and connect it with the pond of the lower, and do it as neatly as an engineer with his tools could possibly do it. I have often said that the buck beaver in the Rocky Mountains had more engi neering skill than the entire corps of engineers who were connected with General Grant's army when he besieged Vicksburg on the banks of the Mississippi. The beaver would never have attempted to turn the Mississippi into a canal to change its channel without first making a dam across the channel below the point of starting the canal. The beaver, as I have said, rivals and sometimes even excels the ingenuity of man. Another of the peculiarities of the beaver is the great sharpness of its teeth, remaining for many years as sharp as the best edged tool. The mechanic with the finest steel can not make a tool that will not in a short time become so blunt and so dulled as to require renewed sharpening, and this, with the beaver, would have to be repeated hundreds of times in order to do service with it during the whole of its lifetime, which is from ten to fifteen years if it is per mitted to live the allotted years of a beaver. 219 In one of my trips on a steamer of the Upper Missouri, one day while the boat's crew were getting their supply of wood, I took my gun and started along the river-bank in the hope of seeing an elk or deer that I might shoot. I came to a place on the river where the banks were very high, and I observed that a lot of cottonwood saplings from six to eight inches in diameter had been felled and cut into sections. I saw that it had been recently done, and I at first supposed that it had been done by some one with an ax, but when I reached the spot, I saw that it was the work of the beavers and that some of the wood had been dragged away. I fol lowed the trail for a few steps, when I came to the mouth of a tunnel, and discovered that the timber had been dragged through it. The tunnel had an incline of about thirty-five degrees, and was as straight as if it had been made with an auger. This was in the month of October, at the time when it was their custom to stow away their food for the winter. They had no dam at this point, as the water was deep, and they were drawing the timbers down through the tunnel and sinking them in the deep water, so that they could have access to it during the period when the river would be frozen over. The reason for the tunnel, of which I have spoken, was that the river-bank for some distance was high and almost perpendicular, and the beaver, being a very clumsy animal with short legs, his only alternative was to make a tunnel in order to get his winter food. They have a way of sinking the cottonwood and keeping it down in their pond or simply in the deep water when they do not make dams. This family of beavers evidently had their house far under the surface of the ground, for the place was admirably adapted for them to make such a home, the banks being so high above the water. One could see no trace whatever of the beaver, or have a knowledge of where he was, more than the opening of the tunnel and where the 220 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. timber had been cut; indeed, one might pass hundreds of times and not be conscious that beavers were living right under one's feet. I picked up one of the chips which the beaver had cut, measuring about seven inches in length, and carried it home with me as a curiosity. CHAPTER XXVI. A BOY'S TRIP OVERLAND. Remembering my own love of adventure as a boy, I can not refrain from giving here a chapter contributed by my son, Green Majors, which will be found both instructive and interesting. He says: " At the inexperienced age of twelve years I was seized with a strong desire to go overland to Montana. For a number of years I had lived at Nebraska City, on the Missouri River, a starting point in those days for west-bound freight and emigrant wagon trains; and having so long seen the stage-coaches go bounding over the hills and rolling prairies, headed for the golden West, it was with a feeling of great satisfaction that on the morn ing of April 26, 1866, I was seated on top of one of those same coaches, as a fellow passenger with my father, Alex ander Majors, bound for the Rocky Mountains, and Helena, Mont, in particular. To my boyish fancy the never- ceasing rocking to and fro of the overland coach of early days was a constant delight. Denver we reached in six days and nights of incessant travel. Rain nor shine, floods nor deserts, stopped us. If a passenger became too sleepy or exhausted to hold on and sleep at the same time on the outside, he could get inside by submitting to the ' sardin- ing' process. But inside, the clouds of dust and the cramped position necessary to assume made one at times feel like the coach were spinning round like a top in the dark. At Denver we laid in a big supply of luncheon mate rial, for the next continuous ride, without a town, was for 600 miles, to Salt Lake City. However, before we reached (831) 222 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. Zion, our troubles were many, one of which was being caught in a violent snow-storm one dark night while bowl ing along over Laramie Plains. Our driver and his mules both lost the road. He so notified us, and we got out to wade through the innumerable drifts to see if we could feel the hard-beaten trail with our feet. But it was of no use. So for fear we might wander away from the emigrant road too far, or that he might drive over some precipice or into some hole or other in the blinding storm, we unhitched his four mules and tied each one with its head to a wheel, so there could be no runaway, and then all hands got back into the coach, tucked our wraps about us as best we could, and there we sat, like Patience on a monument, smiling at grief, with the wind whistling in all its many sad cadences through the flapping wings of that desolate coach, until the longest night I ever saw went by. Next morning we found two and a half feet of ' the beautiful ' on the ievel, and the struggle to gain another station began. We tramped snow and broke trails for that coach to get through the drifts for about ten or fifteen miles, before we got to a lower altitude, out of the path of the storm, for all of which distance we of course paid the stage company 25 cents a mile fare, with no baggage allowance to speak of. " Not a great ways farther oh, we struck the famous Bitter Creek country, a section that was the terror of travelers, be cause of poor grass, water that was foul and bitter, and alkali plains that were terrific on man and beast. At orte place along Bitter Creek its water was as red as blood, at another as yellow as an orange; but generally its color was a dark muddy drab, and highly impregnated With vegetable and earthy matter. I suppose Bitter Creek is the only place oil earth where highwaymen had the cold-blooded nerve to charge travelers $1.50 for nothing but fat bacon, poorly cooked, and an inferior quality of mustard, as a meal's vlct- A boy's trip overland. 223 uals, but the stage station-keepers had it there. By the time we finished our Bitter Creek experience we were proof against peril, so that subsequent floods in the canons from melting snows in the mountains, sitting bolt upright with three on a seat to sleep over the rough mountain roads at night, and passing over long stretches of country with no water fit to drink, were trivial circumstances. "After a thirty-day siege of this sort of experience, we alighted on the gravelly streets of Helena, Mont., then a town of canvas houses and tents, and log huts. Helena at that time was the liveliest town I have ever seen in my life, either in America or Europe, over the whole of both of which I have since traveled. At that time her business houses were largely propped up on stilts, while underneath the red-shirted placer miner was washing the blue gravel soil for gold-dust. Her streets, in many places, were bridged over, to allow of the same thing. Sunday was the liveliest day in the week for business. The plainest meal at a restaurant cost $1.50, and bakery pies, with brown paper used for a crust, cost 75 cents each. Everybody had money, and nobody appeared to want to keep what he had. Gold- dust was the money of the country, no greenbacks nor coin being used. A pennyweight of the yellow dust passed for a dollar, but expert cashiers, at the gaming places and stores, were said to know how to weigh the article so deftly that $100 of it in value would only go $50 in distance. However, wages were very high, and so was everything else, so that if a man were robbed pretty badly, he could soon recuperate his lost fortunes. There were no churches in Helena then, if, indeed, there were any in the Territory. The first Sunday after arriving there, I remem ber attending divine service in a muslin building, but the blacksmith's hammer next door and the lusty auctioneer's Voice in the street made so much noise the congregation 224 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. could not understand the divine's injunctions, so that church-going there, at that time, was attended with con siderable annoyance. Everything was crude and primitive, everybody was cordial, generous, and open-hearted, and anything or anybody justly appealing to those roughly appareled yeomanry for aid or sympathy invariably opened the floodgates of their plenty and fired the great, deep, warm heart-throbs of their noble natures. " But they were as prompt in meting out retributive justice to the wrong-doer as in loosing their purse-strings to a worthy applicant, and many were the wayward souls jerked into eternity through the deadly and inexorable noose of the ubiquitous, vigilante, whose will was law, and the objects of whose adverse edicts were soon plainly told to recite their last prayers in the body. " Cattle-raising on the rich, nutritious bunch-grass of the broad valleys of the Territory also soon grew to be a very lucrative business, to supply the numerous placer-mining towns of Montana, a number of which were quite important and thrifty camps at that time. Farming was also followed to a limited extent. Inasmuch as potatoes, cabbage, and other vegetables were largely imported from Salt Lake, about five hundred miles, all sorts of soil products yielded handsome returns. " Montana has had her periods of depression as well as of prosperity. For after her then-discovered and easily acces sible placer ground became washed out, which took several years, times there grew very dull, but not until something like $200,000,000 worth of gold had been washed from her auriferous gulches and hillsides. Quartz mining was rare in those days, because freight and everything else was so high that few had the means to engage in that kind of mining. From a State of such prosperous activity in the sixties, with a large and well-to-do population, in 1874-75 A BOY'S TRIP OVERLAND. 225 it grew so dull and so many had left the Territory that those remaining wished they could get away too. In the Centennial year of 1876, however, Montana's true era of prosperity dawned, when rich silver quartz was discovered at the now famous city of Butte, styled ' the greatest mining camp on earth.' The Territory's business in every avenue soon rose from its low ebb to an affluent flopd, all kinds apd lines almost immediately feeling its vitalizing, stimu lating influence. From an isolated mountain fastness it forthwith again became the theater of activity and thrift, and the stream of precious metals that it again poured into the world's commercial channels not long after required the capacity of a line of railroad to handje its vast volume. Chicago, New York, Boston, and other Eastern centers rec ognized Montana merchants as among their heaviest and best-paying customers, again demonstrating that mining forthe precious metals is the great vanguard, of a rapid and substantial civilization. The Utah & Northern was the pioneer railroad into her confines, but its business soon grew to such enormous proportions that the Northern Pacific followed in three or four years, and then Jim Hill swooped in with his Great Northern Road. So that that apparently isolated section has three transcontinental now running east and west through her entire length, wifh the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy on her eastern border, impatient to share her immense traffic, and the Butte, Boise & San Fran cisco soon to give her a direct outlet to San Francisco Bay. " But to return to the early days of Montana, certainly one of the grandest and richest sections of the Union. It is in this State that thp muddy Missouri River has its source, although in the mountainous part of its course jts -water is as plear as crystal. Here, alsp, the broad and majestic Columbia has its inception, the heads of these two noble 16 226 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. streams bubbling up out of her lofty mountains quite close together. And it is a striking coincidence that the same section that sends these two noble streams down through fertile fields to the sea, bearing on their mighty bosoms the wealth and water supply of empires, should also possess the largest and richest deposits of the precious metals that the world has ever known. But such is the case. Speaking of precious metals recalls some of the ' stampedes ' to newly discovered mining camps in early days. A 'stampede' is a panic reversed, usually instigated by the wild and rainbow- colored statements of over-enthusiastic persons, and often those statements had utterly no foundation in fact. Men would rise from their beds in the middle of the night, if thought necessary, and with insufficient food, clothing, or implements, afoot or horseback, climb dark mountains or canons, swim floods, traMp over alkali plains, or submit to any and all kinds of hardships, all for the sake of being among the first on the ground of newly discovered ' diggins.' ' First come, first served,' was the rule, and each man was determined, as nearly as possible, to be first served. In the famous Sun River stampede, in the winter of 1866-67, wl[h the mercury coquetting with the 30-degree-below-zero point, it was said men actually started out in their shirt sleeves to make a hundred-mile journey through the deep snow to the reputed new camp without food supplies to carry them through. And as it often proved in other cases, there wasn't a particle of truth in the reputed rich fields. Dame Rumor, that ever versatile and fertile-brained jade, had had an inning, and she batted hard, firing her hot balls of decep tion to all quarters of the field. In those days buffalo were plentiful on the plains of Eastern Montana. I think I have seen from twenty to fifty thousand in a single herd there. They blackened the hills and plains with their shaggy coats, they swarmed the rivers in their peregrinations, and A BOY'S TRIP OVERLAND. 227 raised clouds of dust like a simoon in their journeys across the country. I have seen hundreds of them in a group mired down in the quicksands along the Upper Missouri River. Hunters walked on their backs and shot the fattest of them as trophies of the chase, and the ever ubiquitous, keen-scented wolves came and gnawed their vitals while they were yet alive, but helpless, in their inextricable posi tions. At that time bands of stately elk also abounded there. Deer were plentiful, and the fleet-footed antelope bounded over every plain. Mountain sheep, whose tender meat was fat and juicy, climbed the terraced rocky cliffs in great numbers, while ducks, geese, pheasants, fool hens, and many other table fowl were to be had for a little effort on the part of the hunter. A fool hen is a species of bird weighing about two pounds, that is so foolish as to allow the gunner to lay aside his fire-arms and kill the whole flock with sticks and stones, so closely can it be approached without taking flight. Its meat is delicious. " Many volumes could be written on Montana's early rem iniscences, her vast resources, her brilliant past, and her glorious prospective future. But the brief space allotted me precludes the possibility of detailed mention of people, places, or things, and I reluctantly stop sharpening my pen cil. Montana has been great in the past, but her future will be much grander and greater still." CHAPTER XXVII. THE DENVER OF EARLY DAYS. Henry Allen was the first postmaster of Denver, so called, and charged 50 cents for bringing a letter from Fort Laramie. The first Leavenworth and Pike's express coach arrived there on May 17, 1859, having made the trip in nineteen days. This company reduced the postage rates on letters to 25 cents. The first postmaster of this concern was Mr. Fields, who was succeeded by Judge Amos Steck in the fall of 1^59. On, June 6, 1866, Horace Greeley, of the New York Tribune, arrived in Denver by express poach en route to California, and addressed the citizens that same Monday evening. The next day he straddled a mule for the Greg ory mines in company with A. D. Richardson, then a Western correspondent of the Tribune. On the nth, they returned from Gilpin County mines, and published under Greeley's signature in a News extra his views concerning the extent and richness of the gold diggings which he had just witnessed with his own eyes. The circulation of this extra along the routes to the State§ soon caused another immense immigration to return there that fall. On October 3d the first election for county officers was held under provisional government. B. D. Williams was then elected to represent the new Territory of Jefferson in Congress. The first marriage took place in Aurora (West Denver) October 16, 1859, Miss Lydia R. Allen to Mr. John B. Atkins, Rev. G. W. Fisher officiating. The first school" («8) THE DENVER OF EARLY DAYS. 229 ever started in Denver was by O. J. Goldrick, October 3, 1859, in a little cabin with a mud roof, minus windows and doors; and the first Sunday-school was organized October 6, 1859, by Messrs. Tappen, Collier, Adrian, Fisher, and Goldrick, in the preacher's cabin on the west bank of Cherry Creek. The first theater, called Apollo, Was Opened in Denver Oetober 3, 1859, by D. R. Thorn's troupe from Leaven worth, with Sam D. Hunter for leading man and Miss Rose Wakely for leading lady. Old-timfers will remember her well. She was considered the most beautiful lady that had graced Denver City in the first years of its existence. The first election for territorial officers and legislative assembly occurred October 24, 1859, when R. W. Steeife, a miner, was made first governor. Over 2,600 votes were cast in thetwenty-seven precincts of the Territory at that election. The first legislature assembled in Denver November 7, 1859, comprising eight councilinen dnd nineteen representa tives. On New Year's, i860, Denver had about 200 houses and Aurora (now West Denver) nearly 400, with a total combined city census of over 1,000 people, representing all classes, creeds, and nationalities; hence its cosmopolitan style from that day to this. Many brick and fraMe build ings, Stores, hotels, shops, and dwellings were put up in both towns during i860. One was the banking house of Streeter & Hobbs, corner of Eleventh and Laramie streets. The rate of interest charged by them at that time was from 10 to 25 percent per month, according to the collateral security, and from 10 to 25 cents per hundred poUnds was the rate from the Missouri River for freight by ox Or mUle train. On the 8th of December, the day of the adjournment of the first legislature, an election was held by thoSe in favor of remaining under the Kansas regime, and Capt. Richard Sopris was sent as representative in the Kansas legislature. 230 SEVEliTV VSAjevS 01-4 x'xii. r is-uin j. ir.K. John C. Moore was elected the first mayor of Dehv^, December 19, 1859, under a city charter granted by tne first provisional legislature. In the fall of '59 there irere no particular politics there. The great question of the day was: " Are you a Denver man or an Aurorian? " Rivalry ran high between the two towns until the consolidation of Denver, Aurora, and Highlands, April 3, i860. The first officers of the Aurora town company were W. A. McFadding, president, and Dr. L. J. Russell, secretary. Those of the Denver town company were E. P. Stout, president, and H. P. A. Smith, secretary. Strange to say, not a single one of these property holders is now living there, or is now the owner of a single lot in this large city. I must not forget an event that happened in Denver then. A family arrived there from the East, consisting of father, mother, two daughters, and a son. One of tbe young Denverites took a fancy to one of the young ladies, but parents and son were opposed to the young man; yet he was not to be got rid of. One evening he took advan tage of the absence of the parents and married the girl, and on the return of the parents in the evening the mother and son started to look for them, and threatened to kill the young man if they could find him. They found them at the Platte House, on Blake Street. The mother of the girl went to break in the door, but finally concluded not to do so, and left for her home. The parties are still living in Denver, and are well off and greatly respected. On November 10, 1859, a lager-beer brewery was estab lished by Solomon, Tascher & Co. It was said that the beer was drinkable. It was as innocent of malt and hops as our early whisky was of wheat or rye. Thirty-three years ago next July the patriotic pioneers celebrated the Fourth of July in this city. It took place in a grove near the mouth of Cherry Creek. One Doctor Fox THE DENVER OF EARLY DAYS. 231 read the Declaration, and James K. Shaffer delivered an oration. There was music by the Council Bluffs band. July 12, i860, a series of murders and violence began there by desperadoes who had infested Denver during the summer. They tried to muzzle the mouth of the press, which bravely condemned their dastardly outrages, and as a consequence they raided the Rocky Mountain News and tried to kill its proprietor. The first regular United States mail arrived there on August 10, i860; P. W. McClure, postmaster. The first Odd Fellows lodge was instituted there on Christmas Eve, i860. The close of the year i860 saw 60,000 people in the Territory, 4,000 of whom were in and around Denver. At this juncture of time Denver was tolerably well favored with the three great engines of civilization, to-wit, schools, churches, and newspapers. There were three day schools, two or three newspapers, and the following church denominations, each with a place for holding services: Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal South, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and Protestant Episcopal. The latter denomination was well and truly cared for by the Rev. J. H. Kehler, who established St. John's Church in the wilderness', as he then called it. Therefore, to the praise of our pioneers let it be recorded that though then remiss in many of the modern enterprises, their liberality encouraged religion, morality, and popular education. They claimed that Whittier's apostrophe to Massachusetts might and should apply equally to Colorado in these regards: The riches of our commonwealth Are free, strong minds and hearts of health; And more to her than gold or grain The cunning hand and cultured brain. Nor heeds the sceptic's puny hands, While near the school the church-spire stands; Nor fears the blinded bigot's rule, While near the church-spire stands the school. Q CHAPTER XXVIII. THE DENVER OF TO-DAY AND ITS ENVIRONS. The Denver of to-day, the capital of Colorado, has a population of 160,000, and it stands at an elevation of 5,196 feet. In 1858 the Pike's Peak gold excitement caused a rush from the East to Colorado, and a camp was pitched at the junction of Cherry Creek and the Platte. From this small beginning sprang Denver, the " Queen City of the Plains." Beautiful in situation, with the great range of the Rocky Mountains towering in the west, and the illimitable plains stretching 600 miles to the Missouri River on the east, Denver is worthy of the attention and admiration of all who behold it. It is one of the greatest railroad points in the West, twelve railroads centering here and radiating to all parts of the United States, thus giving Denver almost unsurpassed facilities for transcontinental traffic. The foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains are only fourteen miles distant, and Long's Peak, James' Peak, Gray's Peak, and Pike's Peak are in plain view, connected by the gleaming serrated line of the Snowy Range. Parks, boulevards, opera houses, and costly and elegant public buildings and private residences are a few of the most obvious signs of wealth, cultivation, and luxury which are to be found in Colorado's capital. Among the principal places of inter est may be mentioned the Tabor Grand Opera House, erected at a cost of $850,000, and which is the finest build ing of its kind in America, having but one rival in the' world, the Grand Opera -House in Paris; the United States (&2) the tJenver of to-day and Its environs. 233 Mint; the CoUnty Court House, a most elegant and costly structure occlipying an entire block with the buildings ahd grounds; the City Hall, University Of Denver, St. Mary's Academy, Wolfe Hall, Trinity M. E, Church, St. John's Cathedral, College of the Sacred Heart, Jarvis Hail, Bap tist Female College, Brown's Palace Hotel, and hotels arid business blocks, any of which would do credit to any of the metropolitan cities of the East. The city has extensive systems of street cars, motor lines and cables, is lighted by gas and electricity, has excellent waterworks, a well-disci plined and effective paid fire department, good police force, and telephone communication in the city and with suburban towns to the distance of 120 miles. The dis covery that artesian wells can be sunk successfully has added much to the attractiveness of the city. The water is almost chemically pure, and is forced td a great height by hydrostatic pressure. Deriver is the objective point for a large tourist travel, and it is estimated that the arrivals during the year will average 1,000 daily. The ciimate is heathful and invigorating, and invalids find this an excellent place to regain their health. There is always some pleasing attraction to divert the mind. The theaters are open the year round, and the best companies and stars from the East appear upon their boards. The churches are presided over by clergymen of talent and culture. The newspapers are metropolitan in Size and management. In a word, Denver is one of the most pleasant residence cities ih the world. Rapid as has been the growth of this won derful eity, It is evident that it is but oh the threshold of its prosperity, arid that the future holds for it much more ahd greater success thah has been vouchsafed it in the past. Thirty-three Miles Sotith of Denver, on the Denver & Rib Grande Railroad, is Castle Rock. It is a picturesque little village, and derives its name from a bold and remark- 234 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. able promontory which springs directly from the plain and under whose shadow the village stands. This promontory always attracts the attention of tourists, and is therefore worthy of special mention. Perry Park is situated within half an hour's drive of Larkspur Station, and in natural attractions has few if any superiors in the State. Bountifully supplied with pure and sparkling water, and protected on the west by the Front Range of mountains, it forms a quiet and romantic resting- place for those who wish a pleasant summer's outing free from the annoyances of business. The park is filled with many remarkable rock formations equal in unique grandeur to those of the better known but not more attractive Garden of the Gods. Palmer Lake is situated on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, about midway between Denver and Pueblo, the two principal towns of Colorado. It was formerly called " Divide," a very significant and appropriate title, as on the crest of this summit the waters divide, flowing northward into the Platte, which empties into the Missouri, and south ward into the Arkansas as it wends its way to the Mississippi. The traveler will enjoy a most delightful variety of scenery. On either side are rolling plains dotted with numerous herds of sheep and cattle, agricultural settle ments with cultivated ranches, giving evidence of enter prise and thrift. Now and then we catch a glimpse of the river threading its way amid valleys and glens, while stretch ing away in the distance the cliffs and towering peaks of the Snowy Range, in their dazzling whiteness, appear like fleecy clouds upon the horizon, and form a striking contrast with the blue-tinted foot-hills, which, as we near them, appear covered with oak shrubbery, bright flowers, castled rocks, scattered pines, and quaking aspen glimmering in the THE DENVER OF TO-DAY AND ITS ENVIRONS. 235 sunshine. Gradually ascending the mountain pathway we reach the summit (2,000 feet higher than either Denver or Pueblo), and entering a gap in the mountains, before us lies Palmer Lake. Nestled here in this mountain scenery, sparkling like a diamond in its emerald setting, this lake is a delightful surprise to the tourist — a rare and unlooked- for feature in the landscape. Glen Park, the Colorado Chautauqua, is within half a mile of Palmer Lake, in a charming park-like expanse between two mountain streamlets, and at the mouth of a beautiful cafion, fifty-three miles from Denver. One hundred and fifty acres are comprised in the town site. The park is at the foot of the Rocky Mountain range, and is sheltered at the rear by a towering cliff, 2,000 feet high, and on two sides by small spurs of the range. A noble growth of large pines is scattered over the park. A skillful landscape engineer has taken advantage of every natural beauty, and studied the best topographical effect in laying out the streets, parks, reservoirs, drives, walks, trails, and lookout points. It is a spot that must be seen to be appreciated, and every visitor whose opinion has been learned has come away captivated. There are building sites for all tastes. Some have a grand outlook, taking in a sweep of the val ley for a distance of fifty miles. Colorado Springs is the county seat of El Paso County, has a population of 12,000, and stands at an elevation of 5,982 feet. This delightful little city is essentially one of homes, where the families of many of the most influential business men of the State reside. It is a temperance town, with charming society, and an elegant opera house, built as a place of enjoyment rather than as an investment, by some of the most successful citizens. There are many points of scenic interest within an hour's ride of the city. Among fiem may be mentioned Cheyenne Canons, Austin's Glen, 236 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. Blair Athol, Queen'is Cafibh, Mid Gleh Eyrie. No More delightful places cah be found ih which to enjoy the beaU- tiful in nature and to breathe the health-giving and exhil arating Mt than these mountains ahd Pike's Peak. There are a riuMbeir of smaller hotels arid a good supply of com fortable and home-like boarding hbuses, ih different parts of the town; also fine livery stables, where riding arid driv ing horseS ahd carriages of the best are furnished at rea sonable rates. Colorado City, the first Territorial capital of Colorado, and at present a thriving railrdad town, is situated on the Denver & Rib Grande Railroad, Midway between Colorado Springs and MahitoU Springs, severity-eight miles from Denver. Mahitbu Springs. Of all nature's idvely spots few fequiil, and riohfe Surpass, in beauty of Ideation, grandeur df stir- rdUridihgS, arid sublimity of scenery this veritable " GeM bf the Rockies." As A pleasure resOrt it presents id the tour ist More objects of scenic interest than any resort of "a like character in the Old or New World; while its wonderful effervescent and Mineral Springs) soda arid iroii, Make it the favorite reSting-place for invalids. The great superiority Of Mahitdu's ciimate is foUnd in its dryness and the even temperature the year round. Iri slimmer the codl breezes from the mduhtairis temper the heat, the nights always being cddl enough to allbw that refreshing sleep so grateful to all and most needed by the invalid. There are more points df interest near MaiiitbU than any other watering place iri the world. The following is a par tial iiSt, with the distances in Uniies frdril town attached: MILES. Ruxttiri Creek to Iron Springs and Hotel i Ute Pass to Rainbow Falls ahd Grand Cavern. i£ Red Cafion •__ 3 THE DENVER OF TO-DAY AND ITS ENVIRONS. 237 MILES. Crystal Park _ 3 Garden of the Gods 3 Glen Eyrie 5 Monument Park by trail 7^ Monument Park by carriage 9 Seven Lakes by horse trail 9 Seven Lakes by carriage road 12 North Cheyenne Cafion 8£ South Cheyenne Cafion 9 Summit of Pike's Peak 12 Jn addition to these well-known localities there are scores of canons, caves, waterfalls, and charming nooks which the sojourner fpr health or pleasure can seek out for himself. The Garden of the Gods has been described and pho tographed more than any other place of scenic interest in Colorado, but words or pictures fail to give even the faintest idea of its wealth of gorgeous color, or of the noble view which its gateway frames. The portals of the gateway spring from the level plain to a height of 330 feet, an^ glow with the most brilliant coloring of red. There is an outer parapet of pure white, and there are inner cplumns of varied hues, the whole suggesting the ruins of a yast temple, once the receptacle of the sacred shrine of the long-buried gods. Within the garden the rocks assume strange mimptip forms, and the imagination of the spectator is kept busy discovering resemblances to beasts qr birds, of men and women, and of strange freaks in architecture. Qlen Eyrie is situated at the entrance to Queen's Canon, and is a wild and romantic retreat, in which is built the summer residence of a gentleman of wealth, whpse permanent home- is now M the East. Within the glen, whicft is made sylvan by thickly growing naUve 238 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. shrubbery, covered with wild clematis, are a great confu sion of enormous pillars of exquisite tinted pink sand stone. Cathedral Rock and the Major Domo, which have gained a world-wide fame through pictures and descrip tions, are to be found in Glen Eyrie, as are also " The Sisters," " Vulcan's Anvil," and " Melrose Abbey." These are all grand and impressive shapes of stone glowing with the most brilliant hues of red and pink, and cream and white, and umber. Blair Athol is about a mile north of Glen Eyrie, and resem bles the latter, with the exception of shrubbery and water. No residence has been erected here, as the difficulty of ob taining water has been too great to be successfully over come. The quaint forms of rock and their brilliant color, together with the frequent shade of evergreen trees, make this an interesting and attractive spot. Bear Creek Cafion is reached by taking the road to Colorado Springs and turning to the right just before reaching Colorado City. This is a beautiful drive of five miles, at the end of which the Government trail to Pike's Peak carries the horseman and footman to the summit. The canon is a picturesque wooded glen, with a dashing torrent and abounding in wild flowers. Bears are still frequently seen here, but they shrink modestly from forc ing their attention upon strangers, and retire precipitately when made aware of the vicinity of callers. The Cheyenne Canons are favorite resorts for picnic and pleasure parties. Both these cafions give one a good idea of the gorges which abound in the fastnesses of the Rocky Mountains. They are deep gashes in the heart of Cheyenne Mountain, and display grand faces of magnifi cent red granite hundreds of feet in height. The Doug las spruce, the Rocky Mountain pine, the white spruce, and THE DENVER OF TO-DAY AND ITS ENVIRONS. 239 that most lovely tree of all, the Picea grandis, grow in great numbers in both cafions, while the Virginia creeper, two species of clematis (mauve and white), and other climbers add grace and charm to the scene. A stairway at the Seven Falls in South Cafion leads to the last resting place of "H. H." (Helen Hunt Jackson), who selected this spot for her grave. The stream in North Cheyenne Canon is larger than that in the southern gorge, but the latter forms a magnificent cascade, descending 500 feet in seven leaps. Seven Falls is the name given to the cascade referred to above, and it is well worthy the admiration its beauty always excites. The Cheyenne Mountain toll-road is well worth seeing. It ascends the mountains about one-half mile south of the entrance to South Cheyenne Cafion, winding, with easy grades, through very fine scenery, and at times affording glimpses down in the canon below. The Seven Lakes are reached by means of the last de scribed road. The lakes are picturesque, and such sheets of water usually are among the mountains, and there is a hotel for the accommodation of visitors. "My Garden" is a very favorite resort, discovered by "H. H.," the authoress and poet. Take the Cheyenne road one and one-half miles from Colorado Springs, then follow due south past Broad Moor Dairy Farm half a mile, then through a gate across the " Big Hollow," and " My Garden " is reached, a lovely pine grove crowning the plateau, with an exquisite view of the range behind it. Monument Park, Edgerton Station, sixty-seven miles south from Denver and eight miles northward from Colo rado Springs and Manitou, is a pleasant day's excursion. " The Pines " is a comfortable hotel, situated in the cen ter of the park, one-half mile from the depot, commanding 240 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. a fine view of Pike's Peak and Cheyennp Mountain Range; is open at all times for the accommodation of guests, and can furnish saddle-horses and carriages on premises. This park is chiefly remarkable for its yery fantastic forms., in which time and the action of air and water have worn the cream-colored sandstone rocks which the valleys have ex posed, forming grotesque groups of figures, some of them resembling human beings, viz.: Dutch Wedding, Quaker Meeting, Lone Sentinel, Dutph Parliament, Vulcan's An vil and Workshop, Romeo and Juliet, Necropolis, or Silent City, The Duchess, Mother Judy, and Colpnnade. All of these, and many others too numerpus to mention, are within easy walking distance of " The Pines.", A very pleasant drive can be taken tq Templetpn's Gap, which is situated just nprth of Austin's Bluffs, and js a sharp depression in the surrounding hills, characterized by quaint monumental forrns of rock. Ute Pass leads westward frpm Manitou over the range into South Park. It is now a wagon road cut in many places from the face of the cliff, the rpcks towering thou- sands of feet above it on one sicle and on the pther present ing a sheer descent of nearly as many feet down to where the fountain brawls along over its rugged channel. The pass was formerly used as a ppny trail hy the Ute Indians in their descent to the plains and in their visits to fhe " Big Medicine " of the healing springs — the name given Mani tou by the aborigines. No pleasanter ride or drive can be taken than up Ute Pass. The scenery is grand and the view one of great loveliness. Rainbow Falls are only a mile and a half from Manitou up the Pass, and are well worthy of a visit. They are the most accessible and the most beautiful on the easterp slope of the Rocky Mountains, and are yisitpd by thousands of tourists every season. THE DENVER OF TO-DAY AND ITS ENVIRONS. 241 The Great Manitou Caverns have added an attractive feature to the diversified wonders of nature surrounding Manitou Springs. The caverns are located one and a half miles from Manitou Springs. They were discovered by their present owner, Mr. George W. Snider, in the year 1881, but were only opened to the public in 1885. The cog-wheel railroad to the summit of Pike's Peak, which was completed and put in operation in July, 1891, is the most novel railway in the world. When it reaches its objective point above the clouds, at a height of 14,147 feet above sea-level, it renders almost insignificant by compari son the famous cog-way up Mount Washington and the incline railway up the Rhigi in Switzerland. From its station in Manitou, just above the Iron Springs, to the station, on the summit of Pike's Peak, the Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway is just eight and three-quarters miles in length. The cost of construction of the road was a half million dollars. While it could have been built for many thousands of dollars less by putting in wooden bridges and trestles, light ties and light rails, those in charge of the building of the road would not consent to the use of any flimsy material for the sake of saving any sum of money — a substantial road that would insure absolute safety being economical, as well as a guarantee for putting the road from the start on a paying basis. The road-bed is solid and from fifteen to twenty feet wide, leaving fully five feet on each side of the cars. The culverts are solid masonry; the four short bridges are of iron girders resting on first- class masonry. There are an extra number of ties, which are extra heavy and extra long. The rails are standard " T " rails, with a double cog rail in the center. This cog rail weighs no tons to the mile, which is, unusually heavy. The rail is built in sections, each being put into a lathe and the teeth cut. The contract requires that each tooth 16 242 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. shall be within the fifteenth part of an inch of the size specified. At intervals of every 200 feet the track is anchored to solid masonry to prevent any possibility of the track slipping from its bed. The cars are designed to hang lpw, within eighteen inches of the rails. Each engine built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works has three cog and pinion appliances, which can be worked together or independently. In each cog appliance is a double set of pinion brakes that work in the cog, either one of which when used can stop the engine in ten inches, going either way, on any grade and at the maximum speed, eight miles an hour. The cars are not tilted, but the seats are arranged so as to give the passenger a level sitting. The engine pushes the cars instead of drawing them, which is of great advantage. And such is Denver to-day, and its attractive surroundings, changed from a border wilderness to civil ization and grandeur within thirty years. CHAPTER XXIX. BUFFALO BILL FROM BOYHOOD TO FAME. It may not be amiss just here, while writing of this " Land of the Setting Sun," its changes from savagery to civilization, to refer to one who has done so much to aid those who followed the Star of Empire toward the Rocky Mountains. I refer to Col. W. F. Cody, known in almost every hamlet of the world as Buffalo Bill, one upon whom the seal of manhood has been set as upon few others, who has risen by the force of his own gigantic will, his undaunted cour age, ambition, and genius, to be honored among the rulers of kingdoms, as well as by his own people. Nearly forty years ago, in Kansas, a handsome, wiry little lad came to me, accompanied by his good mother, and said that he had her permission to take a position under me as a messenger boy. I gave him the place, though it was one of peril, carry ing dispatches between our wagon-trains upon the march across the plains, and little did I then suspect that I was just starting out in life one who was destined to win fame and fortune. Then it was simply " Little Billy Cody," the messenger, and from his first year in my service he began to make his mark, and lay the foundation of his future greatness. Next it became " Wild Will," the pony express rider of the overland, and as such he faced many dangers, and over came many obstacles which would have crushed a less strong nature and brave heart. (848) 244 Seventy years on The frontier. Then it became "Bill Cody, the Wagonmaster," then overland stage driver, and from that to guide across the plains, until he drifted into his natural calling as a Govern ment scout. "Buffalo Bill, the Scout and Indian Fighter," was known from north to south, from east to west, for his skill, energy, and daring as a ranger of mountain and plain. With the inborn gift of a perfect borderman, Buffalo Bill led armies across trackless mountains and plains, through deserts of death, and to the farthest retreats of the cruel redskins who were making war upon the settlers. Buffalo Bill has never sought the reputation of being a "man killer." He has shunned difficulties of a personal nature, yet never backed down in the face of death in the discharge of duty. Brought face to face with the worst elements of the frontier, he never sought the title of hero at the expense of other lives and suffering. An Indian fighter, he was yet the friend of the redskin in many ways, and to-day there is not a man more respected among all the fighting tribes than Buffalo Bill, though he is feared as well. In his delineation of Wild West life before the vast audiences he has appeared to in this country and Europe, he has been instrumental in educating the Indians to feel that it would be madness for them to continue the struggle against the innumerable whites, and to teach them that peace and happiness could come to them if they would give up the war-path and the barbarism of the past, and seek for themselves homes amid civilized scenes and associations. Buffalo Bill is therefore a great teacher among his red friends, and he has done more gopd than any man I know who has lived among them. BUFFALO BILL FROM BOYHOOD TO FAME. 245 Courtly by nature, generous to a fault, big-hearted and brainy, full of gratitude to those whom he feels indebted to, he has won his way in the world and stands to-day as truly orie of Nature's noblemen. dne of the strongest characteristics of Buffalo Bill, to my Mind, was his love for his mother — a mother most worthy the devotion of such a son. His iove and devotion to his sisters has also been marked throughout his lifetime. When he first came to me he had to sign the pay-roll each month by making the sign of a cross, his mark. He drew a man's pay, and earned every dollar of it. He always had his mother come to get his pay, and when one day he was told by the paymaster to come and " make his mark and get his money," his face flushed as he saw tears come into his mother's eyes and heard her low uttered words: "Oh, Willie! if you would only learn to write, how happy I would be.'' Educational advantages in those early days were crude in the extreme, and Little Billy's chances to acquire knowl edge were few, but from that day, when he saw the tears in his mother's eyes at his inability to write his name, he began to study hard and to learn to write; in fact his acquiring the art of penmanship got him into heaps of trouble, as " Will Cody," " Little Billy," " Billy the Boy Messenger," and "William Frederic Cody" were written with the burnt end of a stick upon tents, wagon-covers, and all tempting places, while he carved upon wagon-body, ox-yoke, and where he could find suitable wood for his pen-knife to cut into, the name he would one day make famous. With such energy as this on his part, Billy Cody was not very long in learning to write his name upon the pay-roll instead of making his mark, though ever since, I may add, he has made his mark in the pages of history. 246 SEVENTY V1KARS ON THF. S-ROKT533. All through his life he was ever the devoted son and brother, and true as steel to his friends, for he has not been spoiled by the fame he has won, while to-day his firmest friends are the officers of the army with whom he has served through dangers and hardships untold, as proof of which he was freely given the indorsements of such men as Sherman, Sheridan, Gen. Nelson A. Miles, Generals Carr, Merritt, Royal, and a host of others. CHAPTER XXX. THE PLATTE VALLEY. From the dawn of history to the present time, civiliza tion has followed the valleys. From the Garden of Eden which was in the valley of the Euphrates to modern times the water courses have been the highways of civilization, and made the Tiber and the Thames, the Rhine and the Rhone famous in the annals of the world's progress. In our own country this fact has been especially illustrated. The valley of the Rio Grande del Norte was the pathway of the Spaniard in his march to the northward, and it is one of the curious facts of history that, before the Pilgrims had landed on Plymouth Rock, the adventurous .cavaliers of Spain had penetrated the center of the continent and discovered the sources of the great river in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Colorado. It was along the Connecticut and the Hudson, the Dela ware and the Susquehanna, the Ohio and the Mississippi, that the pioneers of the republic pushed their way west ward and planted the civilization which has enjoyed so substantial and prosperous a growth. And when the pio neer resumed his westward march to the Rocky Mountains, his trains lay along the Missouri, the Arkansas, and the Platte, thus giving to the valley of the Platte an historic place in the records of the nation's advancement. The Louisiana Purchase, within whose boundaries lay the great valley of the Platte and its tributaries, was com pleted in 1804, by President Thomas Jefferson. It was an act of statesmanship worthy of the man who had drafted (S47, E 248 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. the Declaration of Independence, and assured the young republic a future little dreamed of by the men of that day, but which we have lived to realize. Two years later, in 1806, Lieut. Zebulon Pike received an order to explore the newly acquired national possessions, and to find the head waters of the Platte River. In pursuance of the order, Lieutenant Pike Marched iip the Arkansas to the FoUnt- aine Qui Bbiiiile, discovered dirid asbehded the great peak Which bears his riMne, entering the Sbhth Park from tHfe present site of Cdfion City by the Current Creek rbute. Aside frbM his discovery of the headwaters bf the Platte, Lieutenant Pike's expeditiBh was Mdtfe largely devoted ib the Arkansas and thb Rid Grande than tti this valley. The setohd exjrjeditiori tip the Platte Vailey was Ordered iri 1 819 by johri C. Calhoun, SecretM^ of Wat for Presi dent Jam&s Moriirbe, Mid SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. one of the principal thoroughfares of fhe city not far from the depot. However, before he got as far west as St. Louis, he had learned the manners and tricks of such gen try, and did not go to " Carson City." By some accidental circumstance his attention was called particularly to the geographical location of Kansas City, and he at once deter mined to give it a look anyhow, There being np railroad nearer than Jefferson City at that tiirie, he took the steamer Minnehaha at St. Louis, along with some other 299 fellows who were going " out west to grow up with the country," and four days afterward landed at Kansas City, May 1, 1857, almpst thirty-five years ago. The first view of Kansas City was by no means prepos sessing, as it consisted principally of a line of shabby Ipok- ing brick and frame warehouses, dry-goods stores, grocer ies, saloons, restaurants, etc., strung along the levee from Wyandotte Street to a little east of Walnut Street, the whole backed up and surmounted by a rugged and pre cipitous bluff, from. 100 to 150 feet high, covered with old dead trees, brush, dog fennel and jimson weeds, with an occasional frame or log hous,e scattered between and ampng them, and a few women and children, principally darkies, looking down at the boats. To a young man, however, the levee, with its, three pr four steamers, huge piles of Mexican freight, prairie schoon- ers^ mujes, greasers, Indiaps, negroes, mud clerks, roust abouts, Frenchmen, consignees,, emigrants, pld settjers, ten- derfeet, hptel drummers, brass bands, omnibuses, etp., pre sented attractions not easily resisted. Notwithstanding all the tooting for hotels, thefe were really but two in the place, one on the levee, then known as the American Hotel, now remembered more familiarly as the " Gillis House," and the other the " Farmers' Hotel," on Grand Avenue> between Sixteenth and Seventeenth streets. The first was KANSAS CITY BEFORE THE WAR. 2511 technically known as the " Free State Hotel," having been built by the New England Aid Emigrant Society, and the other as the "Pro-Slavery," or " Border Ruffian House," as it was or had been the headquarters of the pro-slavery party in the border war of 1854 and 1856 between the free state and pro-slavery contestants for the possession of political control of the Territory of Kansas. All travelers, however, who knew the ropes dodged both these hotels and took the omnibus for Westport, where two really good hotels were kept. To show the amount of travel toward Kansas at that time I may say that at the American Hotel alone there were 27,000 arrivals in the year 1856-57. Such was Kansas City in early days and the experience there of a tenderfoot, but now an honored citizen of what is really to-day a great city. it CHAPTER XXXII. THE GRAVES OF PIONEERS. Many an Eastern city has more dead people than living. Instead of the West being young, the East is growing old. The antiquities of the Eastern cemetery are often more in teresting to the Westerner than the life and energy of the living city. How the old names of Concurrence, Patience, Charity, Eunice, Virtue, Experience, Prudence, Jerusha, Electra, Thankful, Narcissa, Mercy, Wealthy, Joanna, Me- hitable, on the tombstones of the old Puritan grandmoth ers have been supplanted by the new names of these modern times! And the old-time grandfathers — well, their names suggest a scriptural chapter on genealogy. These old-time names, with quaint and queer epitaphs, on less pre tentious monuments than the costly ones now erected, make an interesting study, for the ancient dates and names show that the cemetery has a history from the earliest settlement. The ancestral bones from the Mayflower down to the present have been saved. It is true that the great Western cities now have costly, beautiful, and often mag nificent monuments for the dead, for the modern cemetery is becoming aristocratic. But for the reason it might be considered almost a sacri lege, the model of a typical New England, graveyard, with its odd names and quaint epitaphs, would be an interest ing- historical study at the World's Fair. In fact it would be as much of a curiosity to millions of people in the West as Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show was in the East. In all the cities of the West there are more live people (358) , THE GRAVES OF PIONEERS. 259 than dead ones, which is not always true of the East, where the cemetery population is often larger. With the exception of some of the old Spanish mission cemeteries, those of the West are all new, unless one would wish to explore the ancient homes of the mound-builders and cliff- dwellers. A white man's graveyard is a new thing for the West. There are many thousands among the 17,000,- 000 people west of the Mississippi River who can tell of the days when Kansas City, Omaha, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Denver, Salt Lake, Galveston, Dallas, Helena, San Fran cisco, Portland, and Seattle hardly had a cemetery. Even St. Louis and New Orleans have been American cities less than a century. But during all this time many millions have been added to the silent cities of the dead in the East, and the older the cemetery the more there is to it that is new to a West ern tourist. One born in the West, on making his first trip to the East, finds almost as much of interest in a New En gland burial-ground, and often views it with as little rever ence as does the Bostonian in gazing upon the mummies and antiquities of Egypt. It is interesting to contrast the frontier funeral and burial- ground in the West with that of the East. The cemetery, the necessary but last adjunct to the organization of a civilized community, follows in the wake of immigration and empire. No monuments mark the last resting-place of those buried in the first five great cemeteries in the far West. They are in the region of nameless and unknown graves. Those five historic cemeteries, where thousands from the East and South died and fill unknown graves, are the Mis souri River, and the Santa Fe, Oregon, California, and Pike's Peak trails. The trans-Alleghany, and later the trans-Mississippi pioneers, followed, in the main, the water courses. There was no prairie-farming, and hence the s 260 SEVENTY YEARS ON TfiK FKUKfi lliK. term, "backwoodsman." It was a kind of a Yankee trick in the West, in later years, to leave the forests and begin plow ing the prairies, and save the time that had been hitherto used in log-rolling and clearing the river-bottoms for agri culture. The early trappers, hunters, and fur dealers fol lowed up the Missouri River and its tributaries. Only with great difficulty could a corpse be concealed from wolves and coyotes, the latter animal always having been known as the hyena of the plains country. Hence many an old hunter, when far from the borderland of civilization, has buried his "pard " in the Missouri River! Landsmen and plains men with a seaman's burial — a watery grave! The body wrapped in a blanket — when the blanket could be spared — and tied to rocks and boulders, was lowered from the drift ing canoe into the " Big Muddy," as that river is com monly known in the West. Many an old hunter and trap per has been buried in the mighty rushing waters of the great Western river, even as the faithful followers of De Soto lowered his remains into the bosom of the Missis sippi. When it was necessary or convenient to bury the dead on land, the greatest precaution was taken to protect the body frbm wolves and coyotes, which were especially dangerous and ravenous when off of the trail of the buffalo. Rocks and large pieces of timber were placed on the newly made grave, but often these hyenas of the plains could be seen scratching and growling at this debris be fore the comrades of the dead man were out of sight. With these facts so well known, it is not strange that many in those early days preferred a burial in the rivers to that Of the land. It seems almost paradoxical to thus find in the old trapper some of the instincts and traditions of the sailor. Far out on the plains cactus was often put in the grave, just oyer the corpse, as a protection against the wolves and coyotes. THE GRAVES OF PIONEERS. 261 Theearlier expeditions starting from St. Louis went up the Mississippi a few miles, to the mouth of the Missouri River, and then followed the latter stream. For some time the old Boone's Lick country, now known as Howard County, Mo., and Old Franklin, was the frontier commercial head. The town of Old Franklin, where was the original terminus of the old Santa F6 trail, when Kit Carson was only an apprentice to a saddler and harness-maker, is now the bottom of the Missouri River, for there a current of seven miles an hour has cut away the old town site. But the pioneers became bolder. Instead of following the river they began to venture out from St. Louis overland, about the time of the old Boone's Lick settlement. It was considered a brave and hazardous journey to start from St. Louis overland in those days, for it was a village town, and all of the country to the west was a wilderness. It was about the year 1808 that the Workman and Spencer party started from St. Louis, and far out on the plains, before reaching the Rocky Mountains, one of the party sickened and died. The Indians rendered what assistance they could in bringing herbs and such crude medicines as they used for fevers. The poor fellow died, and they dug for him a grave, which was among the first, if not the first, burial of a white man on the great plains of the West. It was a novel sight for the Indians to see the hunters and trappers wrap up their dead comrade in a blanket, and put the body into a deep hole they had dug. They piled up brush and what heavy things they could find, and placed on the grave, carved his name in rude letters, and went on their way. But they had hardly resumed their journey before the wolves began to dig at the grave. Were it not foreign to the purpose of this article, it would be interesting to relate at some length the fate of this expedition. The most of the party were slain in battles 262 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. with the Indians, and Workman and Spencer are reported to have gone through the grand canons of the Colorado River to California in 1809, but that remarkable feat is discredited by some, leaving honors easier with Major Powell, whose expedition through these cafions was in more modern times. This lonely and desolate grave dug by the Workman and Spencer party is supposed to have been somewhere in what is now Kansas or Nebraska. It was the beginning of making graves on the plains and in the mountains, but time, wind, rain, and sand made them unknown. Many thousands perished on the old-time trails to Santa F6, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Coast. Expos ure, sickness, thirst, starvation, and massacre were the dangers the immigrants had to face. Many of their graves were marked with slabs, but the inscription was soon effaced. These graves are as unknown in the great ocean of plain, prairie, and mountain as though the pioneer dead had been buried at sea. The most fatal days was when the cholera raged on the Western trails. Sometimes an entire train would be stricken and the captain would be compelled to corral the wagons until aid could be obtained from other caravans on the desert, then so called, or the teamsters recovered to con tinue the journey. Women sometimes helped to dig the graves and assisted in burying the dead, and have then taken the dead teamster's place at the wagon, driving the oxen until men could be employed. With the opening of the Western trails for wagons, a larger number were buried in boxes made from rude pieces of lumber, or sometimes a part of the sideboard of the wagon was utilized for that purpose. The earlier expedi tions were on horseback, and hence at that time the best that could be done would be to roll the body in a blanket. Only those in the East who have seen a burial at sea, THE GRAVES OF PIONEERS. 263 although they may never have been on the plains, can realize the sadness and desolation of those who left their friends in the narneless graves of the old-time American desert. Many of the babies lived that were born on the California and Oregon trails, but the saddest of all was when the pioneer mother and babe were added to the thousands of nameless graves. The death-couch was a pile of straw and a few blankets in an old freight wagon. If the angels ever hover over the dying, there never would have been a more appropriate place for their ministrations. Nameless graves! Unknown! Only the drifting sands and the ceaseless flow of the mighty Western rivers know the place of their nameless dead. These are the famous cemeteries of the far West. There are no granite shafts or beautiful emblems carved in marble. Heroic men and women! They died unknown to fame and honor, but they gave their lives that a new civilization and a new empire might be born in the far West. The brave men, North and South, who fell in battle, have their graves marked " unknown " when they could not be identified, but no one knows where sleep the thousands who died on these trails. Even a slab to the " unknown " could not be placed, for who knows the grave? Farm-houses, fertile fields, cities and towns, and the rushing railway car now mark the spot. The path of civilization and the rapid building of empire in the West is their only living monument. During the cholera days there was a heavy loss of life on the Western steamboats. On the Missouri River some of the old boats had a burial crew. At night-time, when the passengers were hardly aware of what was going on, the boat would stop near a sand-bar. The bodies of those who had died during the day were taken to the sand-bar, whete they were quickly buried. What would have been the use of putting up even a pine board, for the rising waters would soon have washed it away? 264 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. But this is not simply Western history. It is a part of the history of the North and the South, for those who came never to return were from those sections. In many an Eastern and Southern home it is as unknown to them as to the people of the West where sleep their dead on those old trails of the Western empire. The emigrants and gold-seekers were population in transit. Their burial-places were as fleeting. With the building Of new towns and cities were established ceme teries, but there still continued to be the thousands of unknown graves. A father, brother, husband, or son dies away from home. His name may not have been known, or if it was, the pencil-marks on the pine board soon lost their tracing in the weather-beaten changes that time brings. How often in my own experience in the mining camps I have seen men die far away from the tender and loving care of mother, wife, and sister. How terrible then is the struggle with death! The desire to live and to see the old home-faces again becomes a passion. In their delirium the passion becomes a reality. In their feverish dreams I have seen the dying miner in his cabin fancy he was home again. He talks to his wife, and with words of endearment tells her that he has found a fortune in the mines. I never knew of a miner who, in the delirium of death, when he was talking of the mines, but what he was rich. He had struck the precious metal. He tells his people at home about it, and many a poor fellow has seem ingly died content, founded on the fancy that he had a mine and that his wife and family would always have plenty. Out of many instances I will relate but one. A young man from Galena, 111., eleven years ago, was taken sick and soon the fever was upon him. He grew rapidly worse, but bravely fought the pale reaper, for he wanted to see home again. But courage was not equal to THE GRAVES OF PIONEERS. 265 the task. The poor fellow had to die, and when the fever was at its height, he imagined that he was with his wife and baby. How tenderly he spoke to his young wife. He thought he had a rich mine, and told her where it was located. Then he imagined that his pillow was his baby, and that he was running his fingers through the child's curly hair, and would fondle the child up to his bosom. As I gazed on the bronze and weather-beaten faces of those present in the cabin, I saw tears come into the eyes of some when the dying man was murmuring child-love talk to the baby. At the time of the great Leadville rush, many came who never returned. Unknown, many of them sleep in their last resting place — in the gulches, on the mountain sides, and under the shadows of the pine trees and granite peaks. Exposure and not being prepared to guard against the sudden changes of climate caused many to die of pneu monia and fevers. The writer went through a hard attack of typhoid pneumonia in one of the mining camps. After the worst was over and I was conscious again, one of the boys said to me, " Hello, pard, when you were in the fever you thought you had found enough gold mines to have bought out the Astors and Vanderbilts." The greatest number of deaths for a while seemed to come from what was known as the " sawdust gang." In the wild excitement of a new mining camp boom, people rush in by the hundreds and thousands. Many have only enough money to get there, and are compelled to sleep on the sawdust floor of the saloons. Thus they caught cold, which turning into pneumonia often proved fatal. And the cowboys — how often on the long Texas-Montana drives they have dug a hasty grave and with the lassos lowered their dead pard into it. The sporting and theatrical element always have a swell 266 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. funeral in the booming mining camps. The musicians from the dance-halls turn out, play dirges, and with due pomp and ceremony the funeral is conducted. The band returns from the new cemetery usually playing some lively air. The deceased has had a fine funeral and a good send- off, and now to business. The dance-halls are crowded again, the music goes on, and men and women gamble, dance, and drink, unmindful of what has occurred. Those were days of death, hell, and the grave. But what will not men undergo and dare for gold ? They have braved anything for it in the past, and will in the future. Friendships and home ties are broken, and in the wild, mad rush for fortune, thousands of gold hunters have lost their lives, and fill nameless and unknown graves in the far West. There is something of romance in the death of a humble prospector searching for wealth on the mountain side. Whether rich or poor the old gold hunter often sees wealth ahead in his last hours. And, perchance, through the fading light on the mountain peaks, may he not see a trail leading to a city where the streets are golden? Who knows? In 1849 and 1850, all along the trail of the overland freighters' route, were scattered unknown graves, clear into California, my dear father being one of the pioneers who died and filled an unknown grave. In the fall of 1850, on the east bank of the San Joaquin River, he died of cholera, and was buried, and his grave is unknown. Another instance that I recall was of the death of one of the women of the party. She was buried at the South Pass, and they built a pen of cottonwood poles over the grave, placing her rocking chair to mark the spot, and which had her name carved on it. CHAPTER XXXIII. SILVER mining. My son Benjamin and I worked as contractors almost a year in 1868, upon the building of the Union Pacific Rail road, and we were present at the Promontory when the Union and Central Pacific roads met, and saw the gold and silver spikes driven into the California mahogany tie. It was regarded at that time as the greatest feat in railroad enterprise that had ever been accomplished in this or any other country, and it was a day that will be remembered during the lifetime of all that were present to witness this great iron link between the two oceans, Atlantic and Pacific. My calling as a freighter and overland stager having been deposed by the building of telegraph lines and the completion of a continental railway, I was compelled to look after a new industry, and as the silver mining at that time was just beginning to develop in Utah, I chose that as my next occupation, and my first experience in pros pecting for silver mines was in Black Pine District north of Kelton some twenty-five miles, and I believe in the northwest corner of Utah. The district proved to be a failure, but leaving it, I met with Mr. R. C. Chambers, who, upon acquaintance, I found to be a very pleasant gentle man. I left the camp and went to Salt Lake City, and wrote Mr. Chambers that I thought mines in the mount ains were a better show for prospectors than the Black Pine District, and in a few days he came to Salt Lake City, and we then engaged in prospecting in the American Fork and Cottonwood districts, which lay in the Wasatch Mount- (867) 268 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. ains, twenty-five or thirty miles southeast of Salt Lake City. We had some success, but were not able to find any thing in the way of bonanzas. We were connected with each other more or less until 1872, when a gentleman came to me one day in July of that year and told me that he had a bond upon McHenry mine, in Park District, and that the mine was a remarkably rich one. He desired me to tele graph to Mr. George Hearst of San Francisco to come to Salt Lake City and go and see the mine. He said that he wanted me to send the message because he knew Mr. Hearst, with whom I had become acquainted through Mr. Chambers, would come for my telegram, when he would perhaps pay no attention to his. I sent the message, and received a reply forthwith that he would start at once for Salt Lake City. He arrived in due time, and we together went to the McHenry mine. Upon arrival we found it was not what was represented. We were thoroughly dis appointed in our expectations. But while sitting, resting on a large boulder, a man by the name of Harmon Budden (who a day or two before had discovered and located the Ontario mine) approached us and spoke to Mr. Hearst. Mr. H. said he did not remember him, but Mr. Budden said he had previouslymet him in some mining camp in Nevada, and remarked that he had a prospect that he would like us to look at, only a short distance away. We went with him to the location. His shaft was then only about three feet deep, and when Mr. Hearst jumped down into the hole that he had dug, the surface of the ground was about as high as his waist, and he could jump in and out by putting his hands on the earth. I saw that he was very much interested in the appearance of the ore, which at that depth and at that time did not show more than a streak of eight or ten inches of mineral. I was at that rime what they called a " tenderfoot," and had not been in the mining business long SILVER MINING.. 269 enough to be an expert, and to my inexperienced eye there was nothing unusual in the appearance of the ore, but Mr. Hearst did see something, and he determined then and there to purchase tbe Ontario prospect, and arranged when we returned to Salt Lake City with Mr. Chambers to keep a watch over its development, and purchase it when he saw an opportunity to do so. Mr. Budden and his associates asked $5,000 for the prospect when we were there, but Mr. Hearst thought it might be bought for less, as it was noth ing but a prospect. But as the development of the mine progressed they raised their price for it $5,000 every time they were asked the terms, until at last it was up to $30,000, when Mr. Chambers purchased it for Mr. Hearst and his as sociates in San Francisco, Messrs. Tebis and Haggln. Mr. R. C. Chambers was made superintendent of the mine, and has remained its manager from that period until the present, he being one of the stockholders, as well as the superintend ent. The mine has grown and developed until it is one of the great mines of the Rocky Mountain region, and under Mr. Chamber's supervision has been extremely successful and profitable to its owners. Its output, up to 1892, has been over $26,000,000, over $12,000,000 of which has been paid in dividends to the stockholders. This showed that Mr. Hearst was an expert, for he was really one of the best judges of minerals I ever met. Utah has furnished the mining industry with some very remarkably rich silver mines, among them the Eureka, in Tintick District; the Eureka Centennial; the Chrisman Mammoth, a large gold and silver mine, and the Beck and Hornsilver, in the Frisco District; the Crescent; the Daly, in Park City District; and Ontario, as well as a great many smaller mines in the various parts of Utah. In Montana we have one of the greatest copper mines in America, called the Anaconda. It is the leading mine in Butte City, 270 SEVENTY YEARS ON THE FRONTIER. though they have many other remarkable mines in that district. Then there is the Granite Mountain, the Drum- lummen, in Marysville District, also in Montana. But the greatest output from any mine yet discovered was the Corn- stock, in Virginia City, Nev. It has produced more mill ions of dollars than any other silver mine in the United States, its output being about one-third gold. The mining industry of the Rocky Mountain States and Territories is only in a fair way for development. The State of Colo rado furnishes some very rich mining camps; also New Mexico and Arizona. In Colorado there is the Central City and Black Hawk, and the adjacent mining district, from which there has been millions of dollars in gold extracted; also the Lead- ville, which has produced its millions in silver and lead; the Aspen District, with its Molly Gibson and other immensely rich mines. Then there is the Crede District, with its Amethyst and others, now producing large amounts of silver and some gold; the Silverton, where there are a great many rich mines being opened; the Ouray District and Cripple Creek, a newly discovered gold camp, with various others in that State too numerous to mention. Nearly all of the entire mining camps of the State produce both gold and silver in greater or less proportions, and with more or less galena or lead contained in the ores with the precious metals, and this great mining industry, when it is allowed to go on as it did before the demonetization of silver, will prove to be among the greatest and best paying industries in the whole Rocky Mountain region. The Black Hills mining district of South Dakota is a very large mining camp, where millions and millions of dollars in gold and silver have been taken out, and where, no doubt, hundreds of millions more will be produced. Idaho has also proven to be a very rich State in mineral SILVER MINING. 271 wealth, both gold and silver, with many places where gold is washed out of the sands and gravel of the valleys. Silver City, in New Mexico, has produced a great many millions in gold and silver, and at present seems to be a mining camp of great merit. The mining industry of the mountains has, of course, been the means of influencing the building of numerous railroads through and into some of the most difficult mountain ranges; in fact wherever there has been. a flour ishing mining district the railway people have found a way, with capital behind them, to build a road to it, and it has now become apparent that a rich mining camp will have a > railway connection sooner or later, no matter how difficult of access it may be. I think the men and the companies who have had the building of roads through and into the Rocky Mountains, and the interests of the country at heart, are deserving of great praise. No doubt, as many camps are discovered, it will be necessary to build many more roads than are now in existence, without which the mining indus try could not be conducted with profit. I may, in concluding this chapter on mining, speak of the great future there is for both Washington and Oregon as mineral States.