PH^ 
 
 MERRILL TILESTON 
 
CHIQUITA 
 
CHIQUITA 
 
 AN AMERICAN NOVEL 
 
 I The Romance of a Ute Chief s Daughter 
 
 BY 
 
 MERRILL TILESTON 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 THE MERRILL COMPANY 
 
 CHICAGO, U. S. A. 
 MCMII. 
 
Copyright 1902 by 
 
 H. M. Tileston 
 Chicago, U. S. A. 
 All rights reserved 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 i. 
 H. 
 
 in. 
 
 IV. 
 
 v. 
 
 VI. 
 VII. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 CHAPTER 
 CHAPTER 
 CHAPTER 
 CHAPTER 
 CHAPTER 
 CHAPTER 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 CHAPTER X. 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Page, 
 
 A Bozrah Bornin , ... 7 
 
 On the Firing Line of Civilization, 33 
 
 Cats, Traps and Indians, . 50 
 
 Old Joe Riggs, . 71 
 
 The Camp in the Willows, . 82 
 
 The Ranch on the Troublesome, no 
 
 Chiquita Wooed by Antelope, . 124 
 
 A Glimpse of Home, . . 134 
 
 Ute Big Warrior No Plow, . . 143 
 
 The Blazing Eye Mine, . . - 171 
 
 College Vacations, . . . 180 
 
 Jack Wedded, ... 192 
 
 Estes Park, .... 212 
 
 Chiquita Graduates, . . 256 
 
 A Hospital and A Boarding House, 263 
 
 Galling Yokes of Civilization, . 274 
 
 Whence Come My People? . . 293 
 
 M1203S 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 FRONTISPIECE, . . . . "Chiquita" 
 
 YAMANATZ, . . . * . 52 
 
 THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS, . . . 103 
 
 ANTELOPE THE WARRIOR, 1877, . . . 132 
 ANTELOPE THE CIVILIAN, 1902, .... 168 
 
 THE " KEYHOLE" LONG S PEAK, . . . 212 
 
 " SHE LAY TO REST ON HER BOULDER BED, . . 232 
 
 THE TEPEE ON THE" GRAND RIVER, . . . 303 
 
CHIQUITA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 A BOZRAH BORNIN . 
 
 A tallow candle shed its sickly and flickering light 
 in the front room of an ancient farm house, as Jack 
 Sheppard announced his arrival on earth at four 
 o clock on a Friday morning. He arrived in a snow 
 storm, and it was a very select gathering of some of 
 old Bozrah s prominent citizens who greeted his entry 
 into the world. There was old Doctor Pettingill, with 
 square-rimmed, blue-glass spectacles; Grandma Pais 
 ley, who didn t care for avoirdupois, just so it was a 
 boy ; Aunt Diantha, with portentous air and red mit 
 tens, while in the kitchen, dozing by the big fire 
 place, was Uncle Zebedee, who had driven over from 
 Pudden Hollow the evening before to learn the news 
 and " set up " all night in order to be of assistance in 
 case of necessity. 
 
 The whole Deerfield valley was interested, and it 
 made no difference if the snow did play tag up and 
 down the necks and on the faces of all Bozrah as 
 
8 CHIQUITA 
 
 they brought paregoric, feather pillows, goody-goodies 
 and all the useful uselessnesses that each and every 
 one had kept for years and years awaiting a possible 
 occasion. There was an old brass warming-pan that 
 Deacon Baxter used to warm the bed for Governor 
 Winthrop, and a hot water jug which Great-grandma 
 Lathrop averred warmed the feet of every one of her 
 seventeen " darters and grand-darters." There was 
 also a quilt made of silk patches, each patch taken from 
 a dress that some colonial dame had worn when she 
 danced the stately minuet at a great function in Bos 
 ton or Albany. 
 
 All these good people had a successful way of bring 
 ing up children in the paths of self-reliance, respect, 
 thrift, endurance and honesty which made stalwart, 
 orthodox patriots. 
 
 The Sheppards were an old English family who set 
 tled in New England late in the seventeenth century 
 three brothers, one of which, according to ye olden 
 tyme records, planted the elm trees in front of the 
 meetyngehouse on Dorchester hill; these trees, at the 
 age of sixty or seventy years, being cut down by the 
 British during the Revolutionary War. The descend 
 ants of the three brothers were thrifty men, large of 
 physique and of great executive ability, the women 
 the loveliest of the colonies families of sterling in 
 tegrity, wealth and esteem. 
 
A BOZRAH BORNIN 9 
 
 " Thad " Sheppard, Jack s father, was in some re 
 spects an exception, he being a man of the world, of 
 the wild, dangerous class, handsome and talented, but 
 lacking the balance wheel which magnetic tempera 
 ments usually require. He was admired by both men 
 and women to the point of the danger line, for his 
 schemes wrecked many a fortune and family, ulti 
 mately losing him the confidence of all. " Thad " loved 
 one of the beautiful daughters of the Deerfield valley, 
 and, despite the protestations of friends and relatives, 
 she married him, claiming she could do what none 
 thus far had been able to accomplish reform him. 
 " Thad s " habits had not been curbed. Life was too 
 gay for thoughts of the sombre hereafter, and the 
 sedate, sober counsel of the old men was scorned, 
 but their predictions were to be most cruelly fulfilled. 
 Yet there was that confiding love, that desire to ac 
 complish miracles, which swayed the fair young girl 
 of the Deerfield hills to sacrifice herself in the hope of 
 reform. Oh, what a waste of time for any woman! 
 What debauchery of intellect, what a prostitution of 
 a fair and beautiful life; utter folly, deliberate social 
 suicide, with its months and years of anguish and de 
 basement for the mere gratification of an impulse! 
 To be sure, there are some moments, comprising even 
 days or months, when happiness reigns, but do these 
 few hours, which grow farther apart, shorter and 
 
10 CHIQUITA 
 
 shorter, as time wears away, compensate for the mil 
 lions of silent, expectant moments during which the 
 uncomplaining w ife watches for that unerring expres 
 sion which never deceives her? Is there any excuse 
 a mother can give her daughter, budding into woman 
 hood, for bringing her into the world to face disgrace, 
 possibly crime? Does a son, born of such parents, 
 have that respect and confidence toward father and 
 mother that he should? 
 
 Sue Paisley lived on that beautiful farm where Jack 
 was born. She was on a visit while " Thad " attended 
 important business in the great cotton markets of the 
 South. She loved the brook that gurgled and splashed 
 along its course. Nodding bluebells coquetted with 
 the tiny wave crests, while the grass along the bank 
 waved little blades in defiance at the roar of its voice. 
 Each summer Sue sang its praises to the tinkle of the 
 whetstone as the farm hand sharpened his scythe, tink, 
 tink, tinkety tink. When she married, she left the 
 long rows of maple trees, the great red barn, the stuffy 
 parlor, the spare room with its high feather bed and 
 Dutch clock ; the big round dining table with tilting 
 top, blue and white chinaware, and the long well sweep, 
 to become hostess in the more pretentious surround 
 ings of a small city on the Connecticut, living long 
 enough to realize how futile were her efforts to stay 
 the temptations which beset " Thad " on every hand. 
 
A BOZRAH BORNIN 11 
 
 Misfortune overtook all his financial investments, and, 
 as one enterprise followed another in the maelstrom of 
 speculation, Sue s life ebbed away, leaving Jack and 
 his sisters to be cared for by a spinster aunt, who un 
 dertook the responsibility at the earnest solicitation of 
 " Thad." 
 
 The awakening from sin was that of genuine re 
 morse and sorrow. With the characteristic determi 
 nation of those rugged ancestors, " Thad " broke off 
 all his former boon companionships, started on en 
 tirely new lines of life and succeeded in living down 
 the awful past. In a few years he remarried, giving 
 Jack a mother who learned to love her stepson as her 
 own. Jack was not the ever industrious boy in school, 
 but he was quick to learn both kinds of knowledge, 
 useful and mischievous. That is the reason why the 
 old red school-house, at the top of the hill, held pleas 
 ant recollections for him in after life. Of course, 
 " J-A-C-K " was carved into the top of every desk at 
 which he sat and, as the first row of desks was the 
 "baby" or A, B, C row, the next one a little larger, and 
 so on, the four rows of " boxes " represented four 
 classes, and Jack managed to stay in each class long 
 enough to carve his name where future generations 
 would find it. 
 
 " He s the most trying pupil in the school," was 
 what the teacher told everybody in the little village. 
 
12 CHIQUITA 
 
 When the snow was deep, Jack took his dinner in a 
 little basket, just the same as the other scholars, and 
 at the noon recess he was always in the games in which 
 the girls liked to have a few of the nice boys to help 
 out. Two chairs, facing each other, with a little gap 
 between them, then a ring of boys and girls holding 
 hands to circle around between the chairs, while a boy 
 and a girl stood on the chairs, hands clasped across 
 the gap, all joining in singing the little couplet : 
 
 " The needle s eye that does supply 
 
 The thread that runs so true, 
 I ve caught many a smiling lass, 
 And now I have caught you." 
 
 It was the boy s turn to choose the girl he wanted for 
 a partner, and she had to submit to the penalty of a kiss 
 before she could mount the chair. The desks were ar 
 ranged in horseshoe form, and of course the favorite 
 seats were in the back row, farthest away from the 
 teacher, but Jack generally managed to be on a line with 
 the first nail hole in the horseshoe by the time the first 
 third of the term was reached. This, so the teacher 
 could better keep her eye on him. 
 
 It was near the end of the summer term that a lit 
 tle event occurred which made a lasting impression on 
 Jack. His seat-mate was an ungainly little urchin who 
 had the faculty of being cunning without being smart. 
 His name was " Ted " Smith, but he was better known 
 
A BOZRAH BORNIN 13 
 
 as " Ted Weaver," for he had a habit of rocking to and 
 fro from one hand to another while he studied. Jack 
 happened to be busy with lessons when some one shot 
 a paper wad at one of the scholars, which missed the 
 scholar but hit the teacher on the cheek. 
 
 Miss Freeman was spare and angular, with a 
 pointed rose-colored nose, hard, cold-gray eyes, and 
 long neck circled with a severe white linen collar, 
 which lay flat over the prominent collar bones. The 
 black waist of her dress was severely plain, with, 
 seemingly, a gross of buttons made of wooden molds 
 covered with the dress fabric. The skirt covered an 
 area of floor space that was in keeping with the period 
 before the Civil War, when hoop skirts ruled the 
 fashion, and, as the " tilter " tilted, it could be seen 
 the school ma am enumerated among her personal 
 belongings a pair of white hose and cloth gaiters. 
 A head of luxurious hair was parted exactly in the 
 middle and divided into three portions, two side and 
 back strands, the side strands twisted to the temples, 
 then the smooth flat surface gracefully looped over the 
 tops of the ears until the curve of the hair reached the 
 eyebrows; the ends of the strands were then formed 
 into a foundation, around which the back hair was 
 wound, after a sufficient quantity had been properly 
 separated for curls long ones for the side, or short 
 ones to dangle idly behind. 
 
14 CHIQUITA 
 
 When the paper wad struck Miss Freeman a rap 
 immediately brought the school to order. With a 
 searching gaze she tried to locate the evil doer, and 
 her well-trained eye rested on Jack, who innocently 
 looked up to see the cause of the unusual summons " to 
 order." Jack knew who shot the wad, for he had 
 noticed the culprit shoot others earlier in the day, a 
 performance which had escaped the teacher s notice 
 and cheek. 
 
 " Jack, did you throw that paper wad ? " she asked, 
 her voice as cold and hard as that of the second mate 
 of a three-masted brig. 
 
 " No, ma am." 
 
 " Do you know who did throw it ? " 
 
 Jack would not tell a lie about the wad, so he an 
 swered slowly, " Yes, ma am." 
 
 "Who did it?" 
 
 There was no reply. 
 
 "Who threw the wad?" 
 
 She had flushed to her hair at the commencement of 
 the inquisition, but now the color slowly receded and 
 the lines in her severe face became like those in stone. 
 
 " Unless you tell me who threw the wad I shall pun 
 ish you." 
 
 Jack remained silent. His little bosom filled with 
 wrath because the culprit would not speak up; but 
 his honor was so strong that he would not be " telltale." 
 
A BOZRAH BORNIN 15 
 
 The teacher reached for her switch and told Jack to 
 step forward. Like a little man he marched up to her 
 desk and stood, not defiant, but humble and submis 
 sive, awaiting his punishment. Miss Freeman stepped 
 down from the platform with switch in hand, and 
 again demanded the name of the guilty one. 
 
 " I ll never tell," said Jack in a whisper. 
 
 There was a swish in the air and a sharp cracking 
 noise as the rod smote Jack around the fleshy part of 
 his legs. 
 
 " Will you tell now ? " asked the teacher again. 
 
 Jack made no answer, but shook his head and stifled 
 a sob. He knew if he relaxed his firmly shut teeth he 
 would cry, so he gritted them and prepared to receive 
 the following blows without flinching. Thoroughly 
 maddened, the school ma am finally threw off all en 
 deavor of restraint and showered blow after blow upon 
 poor Jack s arms, legs and Dare feet, for it was summer 
 and Jack followed the custom of other boys. But, it 
 is needless to say, that was the last day he went bare 
 footed. The switch was broken, but not the spirit in 
 the boy. He had given way to tears, which gushed 
 forth because of bodily pain. He sought to protect his 
 feet and grabbed the infuriated school ma am s skirt, 
 and as the blows descended he swung under the pro 
 tecting expanse of hoops. This piece of strategy per 
 plexed the teacher, and as she had broken all her 
 
16 CHIQUITA 
 
 switches she had to suspend hostilities until a new sup 
 ply was gathered. Leaving Jack and the school room, 
 she hastened to the willows, which grew in abundance 
 just back of the building, and brought in a stick as big 
 as a cane, just in time to see Jack disappearing through 
 the window and his sturdy little legs, all striped with 
 red marks, making tracks for home. 
 
 Episodes of this character followed Jack all through 
 his school life. He had a stern father, who always 
 punished his children if they were punished at school, 
 no matter what the excuse, and on this occasion there 
 was no exception, only in place of another " birching" 
 the filial duty was limited to sending the boy to bed 
 without anything to eat, so he could reflect upon the 
 awful crime of disobedience to his teacher. 
 
 Nature has ever been prodigal in the distribution 
 of her favors and disfavors, limiting her generosity 
 in the picturesque to certain localities, and giving in 
 abundance to the arid regions, as well as to the fertile 
 valleys. But in her selfish allotments no upheavals in 
 the vast chaos of creation furnished man an abiding 
 place so compatible with his Puritanical doctrines as 
 the forbidding rock-walled coast of New England and 
 the everlasting hills extending back to the Hudson 
 River, with their beautiful slopes, sinuous streams and 
 forest-scented dales. And it was among these hills 
 that Jack found, even in his younger days, that pleas- 
 
A BOZRAH BORNIN 17 
 
 tire and freedom which afterward was intensified by 
 his associations with the forest-born red man. 
 
 Old Bozrah, where he first saw the light of day, 
 was the Mecca to which his longing gaze was ever 
 turned, even as he studied, worked or played, and no 
 greater treat was in store for him than the one looked 
 forward to when his father hitched up " Old Jerry " to 
 drive that long twenty miles, through villages and past 
 cross-road stores, to the old farm house. " Old Jerry " 
 was known even better than " Thad " Sheppard. 
 Every factory hand on Mill River from where it 
 emptied into the Connecticut to the great reservoirs in 
 the Goshen hills, and every farmer, merchant and 
 preacher knew " Thad " and " Old Jerry." 
 
 " Thad " was well aware of the danger that lurked 
 in the old reservoirs and knew the day would come 
 when the torrent would burst forth and sweep all the 
 industries away, and Jack wondered why everybody 
 looked so grave and serious when the spring freshets 
 made the brooks roily so he could not fish. In after 
 years when that animated devastating fortress of trees, 
 rocks and factory debris crushed its way down the val 
 ley, receiving its propulsive force from the waters 
 which broke forth from bondage, Jack remembered 
 those grave and serious faces. 
 
 But it was among the hills of the Deerfield valley 
 that Jack loved best to wander and to fish for trout, or 
 
18 CHIQUITA 
 
 to help Uncle Zebedee and Uncle John in planting or 
 haying or " salting " the cattle, or gathering apples 
 on hills so steep that the fruit rolled a rod sometimes 
 after falling from the trees. 
 
 In the old barn at milking time, when the cows were 
 yoked to their feed racks, Jack helped give them hay 
 nice new clover and then waited and watched Aunt 
 Sally strain the warm fluid into the bright pans, fear 
 ing the while she would forget the little cup, which 
 he kept moving from one place to another, and which 
 she seemed never to see until almost the last drop in 
 the pail was reached. Churning day was always wel 
 come to Jack. The old yellow churn, which stood 
 near the big water trough in the wash room, had to be 
 brought into the kitchen, and then he would turn the 
 paddle wheel round and round, listening to the patter 
 of the blades as they splashed into the cream, until 
 finally he knew by the sound that the butter had 
 " come." 
 
 Jack did not like Saturday night very well, for at 
 sundown on the last day of the week those good ortho 
 dox folks commenced their Sunday. Saturday after 
 noon was given to baking cake and other dainties and 
 getting the house in order for the Lord s Day. The 
 men folks were shaved clean and all the chores were 
 done and supper ended before sundown. Then the 
 old black leather Bible was taken from the shelf and 
 
A BOZRAH BORNIN 19 
 
 all gathered around for family prayers. These devo 
 tions were held every night about bedtime, but Sat 
 urday evening was the beginning of the Sabbath, and 
 services were held earlier and longer than on other 
 days of the week. The room, with its chintz-covered 
 lounge, rag carpet, Dutch clock, and chairs upholstered 
 in haircloth, seemed more sacred on Saturday. The 
 Bible was read, a lesson given from the shorter cate 
 chism, and several of Watts hymns repeated by all 
 together, or by volunteers, as the spirit moved ; a song 
 or two, then all would kneel devoutly, while Uncle 
 John, in deep stentorian voice, prayed long and ear 
 nestly for the divine grace, which sustains the righteous 
 through the snares and temptations of the wicked 
 world ; after which all retired. 
 
 On Sunday no work was done that could be avoided, 
 and at an early hour in solemn procession all filed 
 out to the vehicles which conveyed them to the vil 
 lage two and one-half miles away. The horses 
 knew it was Sunday and devoutly raised one leg 
 at a time in covering the distance. The minister 
 knew it was Sunday and exhorted his hearers, with 
 threats of dire hell and damnation, to mend their 
 ways. Sunday school immediately after the morning 
 service, then lunch at the wagons or on the steps of the 
 church or in the church, and again the minister un 
 rolled his sermons and renewed his valiant fight in 
 
20 CHIQUITA 
 
 redemption of sinners. The choir stood up, the leader 
 struck the key with his tuning fork, and when the 
 " pitch " was duly recognized the last hymn was sung, 
 followed by the doxology and benediction. All hearts 
 seemed to begin life anew when the final " Amen " 
 was pronounced, and although the long hill had to be 
 ascended, it took less time than it had to descend in 
 the morning. It was dinner time when the farm was 
 again reached and all were hungry. After the meal 
 the family gathered in the parlor, with its fragrant 
 odor of musty walls, varnished maps and stuffy 
 ancientness which pervaded everything. Here the 
 conversation dwelt upon the goodness of the Lord, 
 misfortunes of the sick in the neighborhood, news of 
 which had been learned at church, or other topics not 
 too worldly. As sundown approached the men folks 
 commenced to get ready for the week s work and 
 changed their clothes, while the women got out aprons 
 and put away their " Sunday duds." By sunset the 
 wash barrel was brought forth and the laundry work 
 for Monday commenced. 
 
 In the wagon-shed Uncle John had his scythe ready 
 to grind, and as Jack turned the stone he said to him 
 self, " Uncle John bears down harder on Sunday night 
 than he does any other night in the week." 
 
 These visits to the old farm were at frequent in 
 tervals, so Jack had ample opportunity to see real 
 
A BOZRAH BORNIN 21 
 
 country life under all the different aspects of maple- 
 sugar making, planting, haying, cutting wood for the 
 year, and building stone walls. Berrying was about 
 the greatest enjoyment, next to catching brook trout, 
 and such an abundance of blackberries in the pastures 
 and woods where portions of the timber had been cut 
 out ! But the visits came to an end, inasmuch as Jack s 
 father " moved west " to one of the great flour-milling 
 cities, which flourished at the close of the Civil War. 
 
 In the west Jack received his final education, at six 
 teen taking leave of Latin, algebra and rhetoric, with 
 one term in the high school. During the grammar 
 school incubation Jack learned the difference between 
 a village teacher and a city ward instructor ; also that 
 the western city ward boy had to fight occasionally, 
 while the good New England lad was in mortal dis 
 grace if he ever presumed to raise his hands against 
 a fellow schoolmate. Jack had been warned time and 
 again by his father not to fight, as it was wicked, and 
 severe punishment awaited all demonstrations of any 
 thing in the nature of a " scrap." 
 
 It was but natural that a boy who would not fight 
 should become the target for every pugnacious lad in 
 the school, and Jack went home regularly with a bloody 
 nose or scratched face, as a result of some misunder 
 standing. Not only would he get larruped by the big 
 ger boys, but little fellows half his size walloped him 
 
22 CHIQUITA 
 
 good and plenty. Then the teacher had to make an 
 example of him with the ruler, and finally his father 
 finished up the job in the barn or across his knee with 
 the hair brush. The hair brush was the handiest thing 
 Jack ever encountered in his "spare (not) the rod" 
 career. One day he went home with a frightful cut 
 in his lip where some " bully " of the school had kicked 
 him. His father lost all patience and Jack pleaded for 
 a hearing. 
 
 " Why do you tell me it is wicked to fight and pun 
 ish me for getting licked? I can lick any boy in the 
 school, but have never raised my hand yet, because 
 you told me not to, and they pick on me all the time." 
 
 It was a revelation to the parent and he wondered 
 at his own obtuseness. One instruction, one little les 
 son to be a man, he gave Jack : " Do not fight for the 
 sake of showing off, or to be a bully/ but defend 
 yourself always." 
 
 Jack was all excitement, and forgot his swollen lip. 
 His father continued : "And when you find you have 
 to defend yourself, strike straight from the shoulder 
 and hit between the eyes, downward, like that," and 
 the stern old man took a crack at the side of the barn 
 and ripped a board off, besides nearly breaking his 
 knuckle. Jack went to school that afternoon, and at 
 recess, when a big, red-headed bully, nicknamed 
 " Cross-eyed Whittaker," commenced to tease and 
 
A BOZRAH BORNIN 23 
 
 banter him, Jack edged away as usual, but with eyes 
 ablaze and fist clinched. He saw that the " bully " was 
 bent on showing off, and knew the time had come to 
 make the first stand for Jack. Whittaker was about 
 the same height, but much heavier in build than Jack. 
 Finally, as the big one got nearer and nearer and be 
 came more and more offensive, Jack stood his ground, 
 looking the " bully " over from head to foot, and sud 
 denly said : 
 
 " You miserable coward, you have picked on me long 
 enough. Now let me alone or take the licking that you 
 deserve." 
 
 The other boys, of course, jumped up and gathered 
 in a ring. " Fight ! Fight ! " was yelled by a hundred 
 throats, as all rushed to where the now angry combat 
 ants faced each other. Jack stood poised on one foot 
 ready for any emergency. All at once he spied the 
 crony of the " bully " sneaking through the crowd of 
 boys to get behind his chum. When the latter saw 
 his " pal " his courage increased wonderfully, but ere 
 he had time to put into execution the thoughts upper 
 most in his mind, Jack made a feint, a step back and 
 then a lunge ahead with a right-hand smash just as 
 he had seen his father hit the board, and the " bully " 
 lay at his feet writhing and kicking in defeat. 
 
 Whittaker took the licking very much to heart, and 
 he carried a scar on his lip, caused by Jack s blow, to 
 
24 CHIQUITA 
 
 his grave. Jack heard occasionally that the " bully " 
 had sworn to " get even/ but as time passed and their 
 pursuits carried them into opposing channels, Whit- 
 taker soon became a school-day reminiscence and later 
 was not even remembered by name. 
 
 Jack s school days came to an end and he went into 
 his father s mill to work, learning the various methods 
 of flour manufacture and manner of marketing the 
 product. The business did not seem to take his fancy. 
 " Something wrong in the industry," he would often 
 say to the boss miller. " Here you work this mill day 
 and night, turn out three hundred barrels of flour every 
 twenty-four hours, yet lose money on the product half 
 the time. Six months of the year is a loss, but none of 
 the mill owners can give the reason why." 
 
 " You re right, kid ; but that ain t nothin to me to 
 figger out. I ve been dressin mill stones an cuttin 
 them burrs ever since I was your age, an it s allus 
 been the same. Sometimes it s the wheat, sometimes 
 the weather, but in the end it s as you say. P raps it s 
 the farmer, who asks too big a price." 
 
 " No, it s not any one of those causes," said Jack, 
 meditatively. " It s that big engine down there eating 
 up coal and the carrying charge to get the flour to 
 market. That s what ails the business. Look, now; 
 see that farmer with a load of wheat on the scales. 
 There s father out there taking a handful out of one 
 
A BOZRAH BORNIN 25 
 
 sack and a cupful out of another. (Look out, dad, you 
 may strike a nest of screenings shot into the middle 
 of one of those sacks with a stove pipe.) He s bought 
 the load and now it s going into the hopper, where it 
 will in all probability be mixed with inferior grades. 
 Then people complain the flour is no good, and you 
 grind up a lot of corn meal and feed it back into the 
 flour, or regrind with some middlings, until one can t 
 tell whether it is flour or hog feed, and where are the 
 profits? Now, let me tell you. I was listening the 
 other day to that little alderman over in the second 
 ward. He was talking politics and business, and when 
 he was not roasting Bob Ingersoll or General Grant 
 he was making fun of Illinois River millers. He said 
 and you know what a big voice the little fellow has 
 he said this : There s a town up by St. Anthony s 
 Falls that will turn out more flour in a day than we 
 turn out in a week, and you know we are some pump 
 kins with our flour barrels, ain t we ? " 
 
 "Say, kid, you re sure of what you just said?" 
 asked the miller, interestedly. 
 
 "..Sure as I live," replied Jack; "why?" 
 
 " Well, I m goin up to see that bit of water near St. 
 Paul." 
 
 " The nearest town is Minneapolis, a little suburb of 
 St. Paul," answered Jack, remembering his geography 
 lessons. 
 
26 CHIQUITA 
 
 Between oiling machinery, sacking bran, sewing 
 flour sacks, heading barrels, sweeping, and occasional 
 ly " learning his trade," as he called it, over in the 
 cooper shop, Jack got to be pretty well posted on the 
 manufacture of flour, but he did not like the business 
 and finally gave it up, deciding to take up the mercan 
 tile sphere and quit the field wherein the foundations 
 of the most gigantic fortunes were just ready for the 
 superstructure flour, oil, harvest machinery and pro 
 visions, to say nothing of the contributory railway 
 and telegraph business. He went to Boston, secured 
 a position in a large wholesale establishment, lived in 
 one of the beautiful suburban cities which surround 
 the " Hub " on three sides, and there learned the lessons 
 of prudence, sharp buying and economical, labor-saving 
 methods, which were in contrast with the wastefulness 
 and unsystematic methods prevalent in the great west. 
 Not long after Jack was well established his father 
 packed up the family belongings and moved where he 
 could be with his son. 
 
 In a little country village fifty miles from Boston, on 
 the Newburyport branch of the B. & M. R. R., lived 
 Hazel Hemmingway. When Jack Sheppard was a 
 pupil of Miss Freeman s in the old red school house 
 back in the hills of western Massachusetts, he divided 
 his apple with Hazel, dragged her white sled up hill 
 in winter, and in summer made for her peachstone 
 
A BOZRAH BORNIN 27 
 
 baskets, which he whittled out with his " Barlow " 
 knife. There was no girl in all the world to Jack that 
 compared with the brown-eyed, brown-faced Hazel, 
 and no boy in the school got so many cookies, bon-bons 
 and dainty notes slipped into arithmetic or grammar 
 as did Jack. 
 
 The parting when Jack s father moved to the west 
 was full of tender good-byes and promises to " write 
 real often " on the part of both promises which each 
 faithfully kept. As the years passed Mr. Hemming- 
 way became interested in a shoe factory in the eastern 
 part of the state and moved his family to the thriving 
 little manufacturing town. The correspondence con 
 tinued between the twain, and when Jack returned to 
 Boston a girl to womanhood grown knew that a sup 
 plementary reason caused the young man to select 
 Boston, and that she was the supplement. Of course 
 no one else ever dreamed the truth. 
 
 It was not long after Jack was established in the 
 " Hub " that he made the first visit to Hazel in her new 
 home, spending the Sabbath in the quaint old place 
 which was within the pale of influence spread by the 
 historic witchcraft of the ancients. The renewal of 
 that childhood acquaintance needed no flint and steel 
 to ignite the tiny spark of smouldering fire into a flame 
 of enduring love. Jack sat dignified and martyr-like 
 while the minister preached upon the evils which be- 
 
28 CHIQUITA 
 
 set the young and dangers to the worldly-minded. 
 " The vain glories of dress and fashion are an abomi 
 nation of the Lord," said the man of God. Jack moved 
 uncomfortably in his new suit of clothes, while Hazel 
 from her choir seat telegraphed her convictions that 
 the dominie was right, just to plague Jack. And when 
 the admonition came, " He that loveth pleasure shall 
 be a poor man," Jack said to himself, "A whip for a 
 horse, a bridle for an ass and a rod for a fool s back." 
 At last the " fourthly " came to an end and so did 
 the church service for the morning. Jack and Hazel 
 wended their way to her home, where dinner awaited 
 them, after which followed a walk under the far 
 spreading elms that arched the roadway, and as they 
 walked they talked of childhood pastimes, joking each 
 other of forgotten jealousies, or dwelling upon indeli 
 bly impressed, attaching episodes, the remembrance 
 of which were souvenirs, non-negotiable and inde 
 structible. They had left the little village behind and 
 reached a large pine grove where the Sunday-school 
 picnic was annually held. Seating themselves upon a 
 rustic bench, Jack told of his life in the far distant 
 west, as the states bordering upon the Mississippi 
 River were then called, finishing with his return to the 
 east and plans for the future. Hazel was an attentive 
 listener, interrupting occasionally to inquire what Ger 
 tie Whitcomb looked like, or if Eva Duncan was 
 
A BOZRAH BORNIN 29 
 
 freckled, or Nellie Courtney a good skater, as Jack in 
 cluded them in his biography of events. 
 
 " Not that it makes any difference, Jack, but I er 
 er just wanted to know," said Hazel, with the least bit 
 of suspicion in her manner. 
 
 As he told of fastening Nellie s skates for her and of 
 the lovely ice, the big crowds on the lake, and what a 
 pretty girl Nellie was, Hazel kept time with her dainty 
 foot kicking her broad-brimmed leghorn, which 
 dangled by the string from her hand, finishing by 
 poising the hat on her toe while she disinterestedly re 
 marked, " Those western girls have such large feet ; 
 I suppose they have no trouble standing up on the ice," 
 a remark which pleased the young man immensely, 
 although he essayed no response. 
 
 When Jack reached his plans for the future Hazel 
 became even more inclined to worry the historian by 
 a rapid fire of insinuations. 
 
 " I suppose you will have to go on the road and take 
 long trips out west to sell goods? Shall you have 
 the choice of territory when you get to be a sales 
 man ? " "Do those western stores carry as fine a line 
 of goods as our folks do in the east?" "The styles out 
 there are about two years behind ours ; don t the girls 
 look old fashioned?" To all of which Jack had one 
 answer, " Yes." 
 
 " You can stop saying yes all the time." 
 
30 CHIQUITA 
 
 " I will, Hazel dear, on one condition that you say 
 yes. " 
 
 " Yes," demurely answered Hazel. 
 
 Just then from a near-by hillside came the tattoo wel 
 come of a cock partridge " drumming " for his mate, 
 the measured, gradually increasing roar making the 
 woods resound as Mr. Grouse beat the hollow log upon 
 which he strutted up and down until his coquettish 
 spouse approached within sight of her liege lord. She 
 came, pecking negligently at snails and bugs, missing 
 them oftener than hitting them, but she didn t care. 
 She scratched at imaginary seeds, inattentively await 
 ing his pleasure. As soon as the cock perceived his 
 bride he spread his tail like a fan, clucked a welcome 
 and flew to her side. 
 
 " There, my dear," said Jack ; " that is the way you 
 must obey me when I am lord and master. Be very 
 meek and let me do the splurging." 
 
 "And don t I get a chance to say a teeny, weensy 
 word? Have I just got to listen, and watch the man 
 of the house dry the dishes, get the breakfast (if we 
 can t have a domestic) and " Hazel rolled her eyes 
 mockingly meek and with her hands " Now-I-lay-me- 
 down-to-sleep " fashion, continued, "match samples 
 for me at the store ?" Jack capitulated ; his grandeur 
 collapsed " all at once and nothing first, just as bub 
 bles do when they burst." Two merry peals of laugh 
 ter echoed through the pine-scented woods. 
 
A BOZRAH 3ORNIN 31 
 
 " Sh ! Jack, it is Sunday. I forgot all about it, and 
 we must go home. Papa will wonder where I am," 
 and a little red spot burned on each cheek as she sur 
 mized what " papa " would say when he found out that 
 the young man from Boston " proposed to splurge." 
 
 But Jack s splurging was all make-believe. In the 
 shadowy recesses of the great elms, as they retraced 
 their steps toward the Hemmingway mansion, a man 
 ly arm stole about the waist of the lithesome girl, 
 whose demure " yes " had to be sealed in order to make 
 it real. Mr. Hemmingway was in the library as they 
 entered the house. Jack nudged Hazel at the portent 
 ously contracted brows of papa and the stern look of 
 inquiry which followed. Hazel quickly stepped into 
 the hall, leaving Jack alone. 
 
 " Papa, Jack Mr. Sheppard wants to speak to 
 you a moment," then she flew past the meekest man 
 that ever tried to splurge. 
 
 " Mr. Hemmingway"- Jack got that far and it 
 seemed as though every whisker in that stern face be 
 came a bristling bayonet. "I think you must be able 
 to guess my mission." 
 
 " What ? No no. Jack, you why, you are but 
 a boy, and Hazel" A softer, kindlier expression 
 crept slowly into the face of the man whose only 
 daughter he suddenly realized had become a woman. 
 "Jack, I moved here to keep my child to get her away 
 
32 CHIQUITA 
 
 from the from the it is no use, though. I guess you 
 will be good to her. Let me see, you are the boy who 
 got such an awful whipping once because you would 
 not be a tell-tale, and a boy that has that kind of grit, 
 I guess, is the right stuff to be my son-in-law. 
 Hazel" 
 
 The stern old man went out upon the lawn as Hazel 
 re-entered the library. A noise as of some one vig 
 orously using a handkerchief broke the stillness, but 
 even then the old man chuckled as he saw two figures 
 silhouetted upon the curtain. " Celebrating my con 
 sent, I guess," he soliloquized. 
 
 " Hazel, you had better pull down the green shade." 
 Then to himself, "These children have no conception 
 of the propriety of things." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 ON THE " FIRING LINE " OF CIVILIZATION. 
 
 The summer vacation period found Jack among the 
 old hills of Bozrah, his first visit to the scenes of his 
 childhood since making Boston his home. Six years 
 business and social life in and about the " Hub " 
 launched Jack upon the world a polished gentleman, 
 refined, cultured, energetic, well qualified to step into a 
 position demanding more than ordinary ability. 
 
 The first panic in his experience had unsettled 
 values, trade was at a standstill, confidence was lack 
 ing, men hoarded their wealth and the wheels of many 
 mills ceased to turn, while mill hands idly walked the 
 streets or sought labor in distant parts of the globe. 
 The great electoral dispute of " eight to seven " still 
 rankled in the minds of many, while those who cared 
 not for that controversy found themselves unable to 
 entertain the problems of manufacture until the 
 changes anticipated in the tariff should be made by 
 congress. Realizing that the east gave little promise 
 or opportunity for a young man, Jack concluded, soon 
 after his vacation ended, to resign his position and cast 
 
34 CHIQUITA 
 
 his lot with the pioneer on the frontier, or, at least 
 that he would visit Denver and see what the chances 
 were there. 
 
 The breaking off of fast friendships was keenly 
 felt; business and social acquaintances admired his 
 " grit," as they called it, but were skeptical as to the 
 ultimate results. Hazel had become a frequent vis 
 itor at the Sheppard mansion and made it her " home- 
 in-law," as she called it, whenever fancy took her 
 cityward. She happened to be there when Jack de 
 clared himself. 
 
 " I ve resigned my job and am going to Colorado 
 within a month." 
 
 " Jack Sheppard ! What ? Going to Colorado ? 
 Going to leave Boston ? Indians ! You ll come home 
 without any scalp!" 
 
 Such was the chorus which greeted his simple an 
 nouncement. Hazel cried, his mother cried, his sisters 
 moped around, and his father patted him on the back. 
 " Go and see the world, broaden out, the experience 
 will be worth the cost, even if you don t stay/ he said, 
 with lots of emphasis on the experience. 
 
 Five days from Boston to Denver. Everything was 
 the old, old story of farms, villages and small cities 
 until th e train left Kansas City, then the arid plains 
 opened wider and wider, the towns grew farther and 
 farther apart, less and less in size until what was 
 
THE FIRING LINE OF CIVILIZATION 35 
 
 marked a station on the trip ticket given him by the 
 conductor proved on arrival to be a platform, a water 
 tank and a cowboy straddle of a " buckskin/ white- 
 eyed broncho. These scenes in truth were new and 
 Jack s experience had commenced. Occasionally the 
 water tank was supplemented by a saloon. Great 
 herds of cattle grazed along the unfenced right of way 
 of the railroad, and the treeless expanse of never end 
 ing brown, sun-burned, alkali-spotted plains wearied 
 the eye, the mind and soul in their wretched monot 
 ony. The slow-going " fire wagon," drawing its bur 
 den of weary humanity, puffed laboriously along the 
 hot iron pathway toward the setting sun at a speed 
 so slow that many a " cow puncher " tested the mettle 
 of his hardy, sure-footed pony to the discomfiture 
 of the iron horse and its attendant. 
 
 Antelope raced with the train and buffalo stood 
 defiantly in the wallows, their lop-ended bodies appear 
 ing strangely out of proportion for sustaining the 
 equilibrium necessary for feeding, fighting or flying. 
 Prairie dogs barked their squeaky warnings, and wise 
 looking little top-heavy owls flapped their wings lazily 
 in an attempt to rise, only to fall awkwardly into the 
 next dog village near by, as the train rumbled through 
 the sand-duned desert. But all things have an end. 
 So did the first journey to Denver. Within a week 
 Jack met a mountain guide who told of the deer, the 
 
36 CHIQUITA 
 
 bear, the trout in Middle Park. Within another week 
 he had purchased an Indian pony, saddle, and provi 
 sions to last two for seven months, agreeing to follow 
 the guide and trapper in his winter s occupation of se 
 curing pelts for market. 
 
 It took a month to reach the final spot selected for 
 a cabin on Rock Creek, during which time Jack met 
 many of the brave and weather-beaten, buckskin clad 
 frontiersmen living on the firing line of civilization at 
 the very threshold of savagedom. Men who drove 
 the rude stakes marking pioneer advancement into the 
 soil wrested from its occupants by purchase from a 
 broken down dynasty, claiming discovery, a nation 
 whose bigoted avariciousness blinded its foresight to 
 the end of bartering away its last foothold on the great 
 American continent. 
 
 The incidents from Denver to Rock Creek Jack 
 enumerated in an improvised journal, greasy from 
 continued usage in his endeavor to let nothing escape 
 the record. 
 
 " First night : Slept on the floor of a grocery store, 
 twenty miles from Denver, a buffalo robe between 
 me and the boards. 
 
 " Second night : Slept in the hay in a barn at 
 Georgetown. 
 
 "Third day: A. M. Homesick. The trapper not 
 ready to go into Middle Park; must wait four days. 
 
THE FIRING LINE OF CIVILIZATION 37 
 
 All my money left in Denver. Supposed we would 
 have no use for money, as all our worldly provisions 
 and needs would be on the wagon or pack animals, 
 but the provisions are coming by rail and we eat at a 
 restaurant in the mining town where the railway ter 
 minates. As my money is gone and no provisions 
 here, I am at a loss to satisfy hunger. 
 
 "Third day: P. M. Heard some dogs barking 
 away up on the side of the mountain; asked the 
 butcher if he would buy a wild goat if I killed one. 
 It was goats that made the dogs bark, goats that once 
 were civilized but had strayed away and became wild. 
 Shouldered my rifle and climbed that awful stretch 
 of snow-covered slide rock at the imminent peril of 
 starting an avalanche and destroying the whole town. 
 Killed a goat, a black one. Shot him in the shoulder 
 just where " Swiftfoot, the scout/ would have planted 
 a bullet, but the goat would not or did not die, so I 
 shot him again through the neck. Then I plunged 
 my steel into him and saw the life-blood gush all 
 over me and the snow, then I dragged the goat by 
 his horns down the mountain side. There were places 
 so steep that the goat went faster than I did, so it was 
 a case of goat dragging me. Finally landed at the 
 same time the goat did, at the bottom of the long 
 gulch ; tied the goat s legs together and hung him 
 across my back on my rifle barrel. Walked uncon- 
 
38 CHIQUITA 
 
 cernedly past the butcher shop to the restaurant, where 
 I deposited the goat on a box in the back yard. The 
 perilous adventure netted me my meals for four days, 
 three dollars in United States money and one Mex 
 ican dollar. I was not homesick again." 
 
 Another interesting item in his graphic description 
 of the country so new to him : 
 
 " We left Georgetown in early morning to cross the 
 range. From timber line on the eastern slope of the 
 great Atlantico-Pacifico water shed, winding around 
 Gray s Peak, serpentinely descending to the Frazier 
 River through Middle Park to our cabin site on Rock 
 Creek one hundred and fifty miles, is one unbroken 
 cheerless blanket of snow, covering irregular sage 
 brush grown mesas sloping to the river banks, along 
 whose sides grow stretches of heavy, coarse grass suit 
 able for wintering hardy, range-grown stock. Cultiva 
 tion of any of the land is still an unsolved problem. 
 The residents of this great unregistered section live 
 in log cabins. Neighbors are near who occupy 
 claims within ten miles of each other. The one county, 
 Grand, represents more territory than Massachusetts, 
 Connecticut and Rhode Island put together. No sec 
 tion lines mark the maps, no organized arrangement 
 of district or circuit courts interferes with the admin 
 istration of justice when disputes have to be 
 adjudicated. Generally the one quickest with a gun 
 
THE FIRING LINE OF CIVILIZATION 39 
 
 has the law on his side. The people are willing to share 
 beds and grub with each other and strangers; a feel 
 ing akin to insult being awakened if payment be ten 
 dered for hospitality even of several days duration, 
 excepting, of course, regularly established quarters 
 where stage coaches change horses and provision is 
 made for the accommodation of summer tourists. 
 Every man is a blacksmith, carpenter, tinker, tailor, 
 cook, chamberman, physician, nurse, even undertaker 
 and grave digger when occasion demands. The food 
 is the most primitive known in a civilized land bread, 
 venison or elk meat, occasionally antelope, bear, moun 
 tain sheep, always bacon and black coffee, and dried 
 prunes, peaches or apples furnish fruit if the ranch 
 man s ambition fires him sufficiently to stew sauce. 
 Occasionally a ranchman has milch cows, which add 
 butter and cream to the simple fare. Vegetables are 
 a scarce commodity, except for a case or two of canned 
 corn, tomatoes, succotash and baked beans, the latter 
 being a dish utterly impossible of being prepared in 
 high altitudes without the aid of baking soda to soften 
 the bean; even then unless great care is taken the 
 alkali spoils the flavor of this toothsome Boston cre 
 ation. Buckskin and heavy woolen underclothes form 
 the general run of garments, an outer protecting duck 
 coat and overalls being worn to a large extent. White 
 goods as wearing apparel, table or bed furnishings are 
 
40 CHIQUITA 
 
 seldom found, much less used. Time is reckoned by 
 sun ups/ * snows and the mail carrier. In event 
 of the latter being a day late or ahead, the fact is re 
 corded, or every one would eventually lose complete 
 track of dates, Sunday likely as not being observed in 
 name in the middle of the week." 
 
 Jack kept his record straight for a month and then 
 lost the combination entirely for eighteen days. There 
 were no churches, no schools, and but one voting pre 
 cinct in the whole of Grand County. Ward primaries 
 had not been established and politics centered in a jus 
 tice of the peace, sheriff, and county judge, none of 
 whom accummulated wealth from office emoluments. 
 
 On Thanksgiving Day Jack s last officially correct 
 entry in his log book noted the thermometer as 
 " frozen up," subsequent days for a long period re 
 cording " a little colder," " much colder," " terribly 
 cold." 
 
 The fifth day from Hot Sulphur Springs found the 
 trapper and his pupil on the west slope of the Gore 
 or Park range, encountering a terrific snowstorm, in 
 the midst of which they stumbled into a band of elk 
 which made Jack forget all his troubles of keeping the 
 trail, the difficulty of keeping the big wagon box on 
 runners from upsetting and himself from freezing. 
 As the big animals loomed up in the clouds of snow 
 flakes driven pitilessly into his face he suddenly re- 
 
THE FIRING LINE OF CIVILIZATION 41 
 
 called the oft-told stories of " buck fever," and for 
 fear this dread disease would shatter his nerves he 
 waited the arrival of the experienced trapper. The 
 band was moving slowly down the ravine, not seeming 
 to notice their enemy man. 
 
 " Shoot 7 em, why don t you shoot ? Careful now, 
 and get that big bull with his flank turned toward you. 
 There, give him another, quick ! Again ! before he 
 gets out of sight you ve got him!" And Jack saw 
 his first wapiti plunge to his knees, recover, bound side 
 ways and then again lunge with his nose plowing deep 
 into the snow, his hind legs straining at the earth for 
 a support, only to sink in a last effort, and the " mon 
 arch of the forest " was Jack s prize. It was but a few 
 moments work to knot a lariat to a hind leg and by 
 the aid of his Indian pony drag the carcass to a tree, 
 hang the body out of reach of wolves and coyotes, 
 then seek a suitable location for a camp, which in that 
 storm was no easy matter. For hours it had been un 
 load, dig the sled out of a deep bank of snow, load up 
 again and flounder a few rods, only to repeat the proc 
 ess. The diversion of killing an elk gave a rest of half 
 an hour, then another attempt was made to cross a 
 small park before night should envelop them in her 
 black mantle. About half way, however, the horses 
 floundered into a drift which accummulated over the 
 spongy surface of a willow-banked ravine, the sled 
 
42 CHIQUITA 
 
 pitched its nose down deep, the trapper swore, and 
 Jack wanted to. 
 
 " Guess we better cache our stuff and get over thar 
 in the timber and let the dod gasted blizzard play 
 itself out," said the man of many winters experience. 
 " You have done mighty well for a tenderfoot. An 
 old-timer couldn t have done better in tramping snow 
 and breaking trail than you have. This is about as 
 bad a storm as you will ever get into. When it snows 
 so you can t see the horses heads in front of you it 
 gets about the limit." 
 
 " Can we find the provisions if we leave them 
 here?" questioned Jack. 
 
 " Yes, you get that long dead sapling over there 
 and we will stick it up beside the pile, throw that 
 wagon sheet over the top, and then we ll drive some 
 tent pins to fasten the corners to. There now Hi ! 
 there, you !" The horses gave a pull and the almost 
 empty sled followed. In a few minutes the edge of 
 the timber was reached and Jack commenced to scrape 
 away the snow preparatory for a camp fire. The old 
 trapper decided it best to put coverings on the horses 
 and turn them loose. It was too stormy to picket 
 them, too cruel to tie them up short, and unless blank 
 ets were fastened on them they would make a bee line 
 back to Hot Sulphur. 
 
 When Jack had broken dry twigs from the ends of 
 
THE FIRING LINE OF CIVILIZATION 43 
 
 overhanging branches and found a " blazed " spot on 
 a pine tree which promised a good pitch-soaked kin- 
 dler, and gathered a lot of dead timber, he made 
 ready to light his fire. The wind drove the snow in 
 avalanches. No one could ever light a match in 
 that gale, and when he reached the time for lighting, 
 he found but one match. He had lost his tin match 
 box and the stock box was in the " cache," which 
 was by that time under two feet of snow. Carefully 
 making a little " lean to " out of a rubber blanket, he 
 first " warmed " the match against his flannel shirt 
 up in the armpit, to absorb any dampness in the sul 
 phur, then with trepidation and fear he carefully 
 drew the yellow end across the inside of his duck 
 coat, a crack, a choking cloud of sulphur, a sputter 
 of burning brimstone blue and feeble, then a stronger 
 yellow flame and the camp fire was assured. Throw 
 ing off the " lean to " the wind drove the flames 
 against the big pile of firewood and soon the cheerful 
 warmth melted a space in the snow big enough to 
 call a camp. It was no easy matter to cook supper, 
 and there was little comfort standing around after 
 wards, so both made ready for bed. The " lean to " 
 was again the resort for a shelter for the night, as a 
 tent could not be made secure in that storm in frozen 
 ground. 
 
 Carefully fastening one end of the canvas to the 
 
44 CHIQUITA 
 
 wagon, and pegging the other to the ground near the 
 fire, a bed was improvised with the rubber blanket 
 next to the snow, then the blankets, eleven in all, the 
 " lean to " tucked in all around and Jack went to 
 sleep with the wind driving its icy breath through the 
 thick pine forest or shrieking as it caught the naked, 
 ghostlike branches of a leafless aspen. The morning 
 found them almost buried under the snow, but none 
 the worse otherwise. 
 
 It was noon before the horses were found and 
 brought back by the trapper, and that evening the 
 camp was pitched only a mile from the other side of 
 the " cache." The storm went down with the sun and 
 the cold intensified until the biting blasts hurled 
 across the open gate to Egeria Park were to the unpro 
 tected face like knife slashes. 
 
 For two days melted snow had served for cooking, 
 drink for horses, and washing purposes. A good 
 square meal had been impossible to prepare, and a 
 hungry night was in prospect for both man and beast. 
 The trapper declared he would not turn the horses 
 loose that night, so picking out a sheltered place 
 among the pine trees he tied up all but " Ned," 
 Jack s Indian pony, halter lengths, covered them 
 with blankets and harnessed to keep the blank 
 ets on. The tent was pitched in a long deep 
 cut, dug into an immense snow bank, to all appear- 
 
THE FIRING LINE OF CIVILIZATION 45 
 
 ances a part of the big drift after it had been ar 
 ranged for the night. The intensity of the cold was 
 estimated at fifty degrees below zero and six pair of 
 double blankets weighing eight pounds per pair were 
 used as covering (Jack was actually tired when he 
 awoke, from the weight of the bedding). Single 
 thicknesses of blankets had to be drawn over the face 
 to keep it from freezing. But with all these hard 
 ships the young man from the " States " thrived and 
 grew hardy. No such thing as a cold or bodily ail 
 ment of any sort attacked either one. 
 
 The next night found them camped in a protected 
 ravine near a stream from which water was obtained 
 and some pretensions to comfort prevailed. For the 
 first time elk meat formed a part of the evening meal, 
 and a feeling of good cheer followed a hearty repast. 
 The next morning as Jack climbed the side of the 
 long south slope, covered with stunted sage brush, to 
 get the horses that had found plenty of feed, he came 
 face to face with a tawny-skinned animal that came 
 up out of one ravine as Jack emerged from another, 
 about a hundred yards apart. No firearms, not even 
 a hunting knife, were at hand. To flee would be but 
 an invitation to tempt the mountain lion to possible 
 attack, so Jack sauntered along, carelessly as he could 
 under the circumstances, in the direction of the ponies. 
 The lion kept on his own course, crossing Jack s path 
 
46 CHIQUITA 
 
 and eventually disappearing in a deep arroya, or gulch, 
 all the while turning his head from side to side watch 
 ing but not attempting to molest either Jack or the 
 horses. 
 
 The next camping spot selected was on the bank of 
 Rock Creek, where a bend of the stream deflected by 
 high rocks left a well timbered, protected area, sur 
 rounded on three sides by precipitous slopes of the 
 adjacent " benches " covered with sage brush, these 
 " benches " or mesas extending to the high ridges 
 towering above, one facing the north, the other the 
 south, the former bleak and covered with deep snow, 
 the latter, warm and sun-kissed, furnishing feed for 
 horses. The building of a cabin occupied a few days, 
 which, when equipped with a fireplace, a bunk having 
 about eighteen inches of spruce boughs as a mat 
 tress, and other frontier conveniences, made a trap 
 per s home. 
 
 Deer were abundant. In an evening or in the early 
 morning hundreds of the great muleheaded species 
 could be seen winding their way to and from the feed 
 ing grounds, or wandering aimlessly about. Traps 
 were set out, bait doctored with " dead medicine " 
 or poison tacked to trees and stumps where foxes, 
 wolves and lions were likely to find it, and the regular 
 life of " catching fur " was commenced. 
 
 A band of Ute Indians that had left the White 
 
THE FIRING LINE OF CIVILIZATION 47 
 
 River Agency established their village two miles be 
 low the cabin at a point where Rock Creek joined an 
 other stream Toponas, or " Pony " and then flowed 
 on to its confluence with the Grand River. These In 
 dians became visitors to the cabin and among them 
 Jack found one, Yamanatz, a friendly and peaceable 
 savage. 
 
 The village was destitute of food and ammunition, 
 in fact, no means were at their command for obtain 
 ing game, therefore they heralded the trappers ar 
 rival with gladness, for they expected to be able to 
 obtain powder and bullets with which to obtain ven 
 ison. 
 
 The second visit Yamanatz made to the Rock Creek 
 camp, he was accompanied by his beautiful daughter 
 Chiquita, a girl of seventeen, richly attired in beaded 
 skirt, leggings and moccasins. She rode astride of 
 a magnificent chestnut brown, full-blooded Ute pony, 
 a large Navajo blanket drawn tightly about her, In 
 dian fashion. She carried a bow and from her back 
 hung a quiver of arrows. Her well molded face was 
 set in its frame of straight, black hair, braided in two 
 long strands into which were interwoven pieces of lion 
 skin, beaver fur and other bits of " medicine " charms 
 to drive away evil spirits. A string of elk teeth 
 adorned her neck and bands of heavy silver ornaments 
 bedecked her arms. 
 
48 CHIQUITA 
 
 Indians are similar to other folks in many respects. 
 A proper introduction generally puts them on a gra 
 cious footing. It did not take long for Jack and Chi- 
 quita to strike up a fast friendship, and the old adage 
 of " feed the brute " held good with both Indian buck 
 and maiden. 
 
 The cabin was but partly " chinked " when the old 
 trapper announced his intention of going to Hot Sul 
 phur Springs. 
 
 " I left the old woman without enough wood and 
 must go back to cut some for her. Then there are 
 some other matters to attend to which will take a week 
 or ten days, after which I will come back and bring 
 what mail is at the Springs for you," he explained. 
 
 Little did Jack realize, in fact, he did not suspect, 
 there might be other reasons for this sudden determi 
 nation on the part of the trapper. It did not occur to 
 him the seeming folly of a man leaving his wife un 
 provided with wood. The trip of a hundred miles or 
 more in the dead of winter over unbroken trails was 
 not so much of an obstacle for a man experienced in 
 mountain life; but he did not then know that the 
 Utes camp was made up of some of the worst char 
 acters from the White River Agency, nor that the 
 band was there against the wishes of Indian Agent 
 Meeker, who had requested their return more than 
 once, 
 
THE FIRING LINE OF CIVILIZATION 49 
 
 Jack took the matter as one of the peculiar inci 
 dents in a trapper s life, for he had learned that a 
 trapper has no conception of time, no thought for the 
 days ahead, no particular object in view beyond 
 existence, and no ambition beyond that of the prospec 
 tor who indulges his fancies of " striking it rich " 
 some day. 
 
 Jack knew there were plenty of provisions to last 
 until summer, that the trapper would leave two horses 
 and the sled, besides quite a valuable lot of traps, et 
 cetera, which would insure his return sooner or later, 
 so there were no misgivings when the mountaineer 
 mounted his horse and rode away. 
 
 He busied himself day after day and accummu- 
 lated furs and knowledge of frontier life. 
 
 These were the surroundings in which Jack found 
 himself three months after leaving Boston. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 CATS, TRAPS, AND INDIANS. 
 
 The steady life of a trapper had become regular 
 diet to Jack, as day after day he visited old traps, set 
 out new ones and explored territory farther away 
 from the cabin. The Indians were daily visitors 
 whether he was in camp or not, but they never mo 
 lested anything, no matter how curious or hungry. 
 They were seemingly good humored, even though there 
 appeared an undercurrent of dissatisfaction. The first 
 episode to put him on his guard was when one of the 
 Utes, Bennett, hid behind a tree near the camp fire 
 outside the cabin. Yamanatz was there in his custo 
 mary place, squatted upon the ground. A strange dog 
 ran in and out of the place and Jack inquired of the 
 old Ute how the dog happened to be there. Yamanatz, 
 unconcerned, replied, " Me dunno." This puzzled 
 Jack, but he went about his cooking, carefully watch 
 ing the trees and rocks. He felt for the first time a 
 species of alarm. Again he inquired, " Ute dog, 
 mebbe so?" 
 
 " Me dunno." 
 
CATS, TRAPS AND INDIANS 51 
 
 Jack knew no white man would go along that trail 
 at that time of year without stopping to say " How I" 
 In fact, there was no white man within forty miles, 
 except old Joe Riggs, and old Joe would be there with 
 the dog if the dog was Joe s. The suspense had a 
 sudden termination as the muzzle of a rifle " mirrored " 
 in the sunlight, just the tip of the muzzle being thus 
 accidentally disclosed. Quick as a flash Jack pulled 
 his six shooter, cocked it and held it level at the 
 tree where the bright steel was in full view. 
 Yamanatz made neither sign nor comment, but Jack 
 felt that the cunning old chief was fully aware of all 
 that was going on. Very soon the edge of a woolen 
 turban cap appeared opposite the rifle muzzle, then 
 an ear, then a little of the chin and finally the eye of 
 Bennett looked straight into Jack s six shooter. With 
 a bound the joker jumped from behind the tree and, 
 with a laugh which could have been heard a mile, and 
 in which Yamanatz joined, came forward, palms out 
 ward, signifying peace, exclaiming, " White man no 
 fraid; heap big joke, heap big joke." 
 
 But Jack began to feel that these jokes might end in 
 something serious, especially if he showed the white 
 feather in the least. 
 
 The next day he returned from the traps just as the 
 last streaks of sunlight were tipping the tops of the 
 canon where Rock Creek dashed by the cabin. Yama- 
 
52 CHIQUITA 
 
 natz sat by the cold camp fire in the same place and 
 same position in which Jack had left him after break 
 fast, six hours before. Of course, Jack was surprised 
 at this and wondered what it meant. As Jack swung 
 into the open space Yamanatz immediately arose with 
 hands outstretched, the palms well up towards the 
 comer, accompanying the action with this eager out 
 burst : 
 
 "Yamanatz heap glad to see white man Jack; Col- 
 orow come. White man gone. Colorow heap mad, 
 want to see white man. Me tell em white man gone, 
 Colorow follow white man ; byme by Antelope come 
 look for Colorow ; Antelope go back Indian village 
 by Pony Creek. Antelope tell Utes Colorow mean 
 mischief ; Colorow s boy come byme by look for Col 
 orow ; when Yamanatz tell Colorow s boy Colorow 
 follow white man, Colorow s boy heap fraid, say : 
 Mebbe so Colorow meet em white man Jack. Then 
 Colorow s boy go Indian village. Sun low Chiquita 
 come, no find white man, go back Indian village, 
 mebbe so white man see Colorow?" 
 
 Jack, of course, was nervous. Alone in a wild coun 
 try that was alive with wild game, ravenous wolves, 
 mountain lions, bears and hostile Indians, he realized 
 what a novice, a tenderfoot, a fool he was, or would 
 be, to put his ignorance of frontier life against the 
 cunning of the old chiefs, but he answered quickly, 
 
YAMANATZ. 
 
CATS, TRAPS AND INDIANS 53 
 
 " Me no see Colorow." Then taking courage by the 
 kindly look in Yamanatz s eyes, Jack said slowly, 
 taking Yamanatz s hands in his own. 
 
 "Mebbe so Colorow want to kill white man Jack?" 
 
 Yamanatz shrugged his shoulders but made no an 
 swer and Jack continued. 
 
 " If Colorow meet white man, Colorow got no bul 
 lets got knife suppose white man kill Colorow, will 
 Utes kill white man?" 
 
 Yamanatz evaded the question but made the reply : 
 " Colorow heap bad Indian, mebbe so make heap trou 
 ble. Utes fraid Colorow big chief fraid Colorow. 
 White man mebbe so kill Colorow, no tell what em 
 happen. Old Utes not much care. Antelope, Ben 
 nett, Douglas, Washington. Mebbe so heap mad, kill 
 all white men if white man Jack kill Colorow." 
 
 In this honest avowal Jack found little comfort, but 
 Yamanatz s next words gave him a hope that all might 
 be well. 
 
 " Utes got no lead, no powder, no deer meat. Meb 
 be so Colorow take many ponies, go Sulphur Springs, 
 get em bullets, bacon, flour, then be good Injun till 
 all gone." 
 
 In this logic of plenty to eat lay the safety of the 
 white trappers for that winter, so Jack prayed fer 
 vently for the early departure of the Indians for Sul 
 phur Springs to the end of his own personal safety. 
 
54 CHIQUITA 
 
 He knew now that certain sign language the Utes 
 had so often indulged in represented Agent Meeker in 
 his attempts to teach the Indians how to plow; that 
 bits of tragic, practical joking were tests of his own 
 bravery, and that the uneasy red devils but waited 
 opportunity and excuse for an uprising, after they 
 should obtain the necessary munitions of war, of 
 which they had none. 
 
 Chiquita grew more and more interested in the ways 
 of the pale face with each visit, and Jack found her 
 waiting for his return oftener, even following him 
 portions of the route in his attentions to the traps. 
 Her desire for knowledge seemed to him incompre 
 hensible and old Yamanatz was equally at a loss to 
 understand why his daughter should prefer to hear 
 about her white sisters habits and what they did, 
 rather than matters of more moment. When she 
 finally told Yamanatz her desire to do wonderful 
 things, such as building a big " medicine tepee " with 
 lots of Indian maidens in " medicine clothes" to care 
 for the sick, the aged and infirm, the old chief s face 
 gladdened and his actions spoke louder than words, 
 so that Jack knew it was safe to humor them both in 
 their dream. 
 
 Within a few days Yamanatz sprung a joke on Jack 
 that left Bennett s fun hanging high and dry on the 
 trees. Chiquita had arrayed herself in. more gorgeous 
 
CATS, TRAPS AND INDIANS 55 
 
 raiment than had been recorded of a society debutante 
 in Indian stories beaded cape, waist, shirt, leggings, 
 and moccasins; medals of gold, silver and pewter; 
 ornaments of brass, tin and iron ; necklaces of elk teeth 
 and grizzly claws ; hair decorations of lion skin, beaver 
 and otter fur, and in her hand a rawhide shield just 
 dazzling with highly polished brass knobs. Her bright 
 eyes fairly danced with joy as she posed before Jack 
 in her "Sunday best." Yamanatz watched her with 
 that same benevolent kindness which characterized 
 him above other Utes. After the usual salutations, 
 the old chief took a leather bag from the saddle and 
 opened it, turning its contents upon Jack s best dish 
 towel, which happened to be near. To say that Jack s 
 heart jumped is drawing it very mild. The contents 
 of the bag were gold nuggets from the size of a mus 
 tard seed to a navy bean and there was at least a quart. 
 
 Yamanatz saw the sparkle in Jack s eyes and lacon 
 ically remarked, " Sabe ?" 
 
 "Heap big gold mine somewhere?" asked Jack, 
 
 To which question Yamanatz made two replies 
 " Me dunno ; mebbe so." 
 
 Jack waited for him to continue, wondering what 
 reason the two Utes had for appearing as they did, 
 one in royal raiment, the other with a good sized ran 
 som, for Jack estimated that there was twenty pounds 
 of pure gold worth twenty dollars an ounce, or in all 
 nearly five thousand dollajs. 
 
56 CHIQUITA 
 
 " Does the white man sabe ?" again inquired Yama- 
 natz. 
 
 " Me no sabe, no sabe," Jack shook his head. 
 
 Chiquita now spoke up. " Does the white man sabe, 
 what you call em when white sister learn A, B, C?" 
 
 "School?" 
 
 Chiquita shook her head. 
 
 "College?" asked Jack. 
 
 This time she nodded her head and pointed to the 
 gold. "How much cost Chiquita in college?" 
 
 It dawned on him that Chiquita wanted to go to 
 college and that Yamanatz would furnish the neces 
 sary money to defray the expenses. Visions of a red 
 savage in full forest costume ascending the steps of 
 a great university or college was too much for Jack 
 and he had to laugh, much to the disgust of his friends, 
 but he quickly restored good faith. 
 
 Yamanatz put his finger to his tongue, indicating 
 that he did not lie. " Yamanatz s tongue not split, 
 no lie. Yamanatz show white man Jack heap big 
 pile gold, some for Jack, some for Chiquita. White 
 man take Chiquita, do as Chiquita say." 
 
 Jack was puzzled ; he thought they were bargain 
 ing in a matrimonial deal, and he saw a little brown- 
 eyed girl back East peering through the camp fire at 
 him. 
 
 Chiquita, however, came to his rescue. "Yama- 
 
CATS, TRAPS AND INDIANS 57 
 
 natz has said it. White man take Chiquita college. 
 Chiquita learn, heap study, make Chiquita like white 
 sister. Yamanatz show Jack heap big mine, lots gold, 
 some for Jack ; some for Chiquita." 
 
 As he at last comprehended this great undertaking 
 the stupendous task of educating a blanket Indian 
 girl in a modern college of refined Caucasians Jack 
 was dismayed, even more so than the matrimonial 
 possibility had suggested, for he could get out of that, 
 but here was a poser. Perhaps the colleges would 
 draw the line on Indians as some institutions did on 
 negroes. As he made no answer Chiquita continued. 
 
 " How many moons take Chiquita college ?" 
 
 Jack answered slowly, " Take Chiquita four snows 
 little A, B, C s, two snows big A, B, C s, four snows 
 college." 
 
 Both Yamanatz and Chiquita understood, and Chi 
 quita replied, " Ten snows Chiquita like white sister, 
 know heap?" 
 
 Jack nodded " Yes," but in his heart he did not be 
 lieve she would in a hundred years be any more than 
 a half-educated savage, under the .most rigid masters. 
 
 Yamanatz then spoke up. " How much gold Jack 
 want make Chiquita like white sister?" 
 
 Jack made a rough estimate and ventured at a thou 
 sand dollars a year, " Twelve thousand dollars." 
 
 Yamanatz could not understand so much money in 
 
58 CHIQUITA 
 
 American coin, so he talked with Chiquita, then 
 pointed at the pile of gold nuggets. 
 
 Jack held up three ringers, meaning three times as 
 much to make sure. Yamanatz looked scornfully at 
 the three ringers, then pointed at the big grain bag in 
 which Jack had his sugar, saying, " Yamanatz show 
 Jack where get a big bag full. Some for Jack and some 
 for Chiquita, if Jack promise Yamanatz take Chi 
 quita " but Chiquita had to supply the word " col- 
 lege." 
 
 Jack pondered a long time while the would-be col 
 lege girl and her father watched his ever varying 
 expression as he thought, " How can it be done? " He 
 finally agreed to make the attempt and replied : " Jack 
 will take Chiquita to the A, B, C school, then a little 
 bigger school, then college. He will see Chiquita be 
 come a great queen if Yamanatz so speaks." 
 
 " It shall be so. Yamanatz will show Jack a big 
 cave of gold where the sun goes down. Blazing-Eye- 
 By-The-Big- Water, heaps of gold, and Yamanatz will 
 give it half to Jack, half to Chiquita and Chiquita shall 
 be a big queen." Then they both smoked the pipe of 
 tobacco pledging each in their mission. 
 
 Afterwards the more detailed plan was arranged. 
 Yamanatz indicated that in the early spring they 
 would start for the cave of gold, which he explained 
 was in a great sun-burned valley where no life existed 
 
CATS, TRAPS AND INDIANS 59 
 
 except snakes and scorpions ; furthermore, that the 
 trip to the cave was one of deadly peril and hardships. 
 
 " The Great Manitou gave to the Utes this cave of 
 gold. Many big chief go to the land of the setting 
 sun and bring back plenty gold. Yamanatz the last 
 chief who can show Jack, and when Yamanatz go to 
 the Happy Hunting Ground the big cave is all for 
 Jack and Chiquita." 
 
 Solemnly he outlined all the details for the under 
 taking. As they finished, Yamanatz gathered up the 
 gold nuggets and handed the bag to Jack, saying, 
 " This is for white man Yamanatz has more." 
 
 Jack hid the gold in his war bag, after the chief and 
 his gorgeously arrayed daughter had gone, then he 
 pondered long over the unexpected mission upon 
 which he found himself launched and his dreams were 
 full of colleges, gold mines and savages being edu 
 cated. 
 
 It was nearing Christmas time and the snow was 
 deep on the mountain side. The warm sun penetrated 
 the canons but a few hours each day. Chiquita had 
 become a daily visitor to the camp fire, near which she 
 would sit and listen to Jack as he told of the wonders 
 of the civilized world. Chiquita knew many English 
 words of common usage and Jack knew as many Mex 
 ican, or rather a mixture of Spanish, Mexican and In 
 dian, which, with the sign language, did service in 
 
CO CHIQUITA 
 
 these conversations. " Tell Chiquita how many sleeps 
 Rock Creek to Denver City." 
 
 " Six sleeps," was the reply of Jack, meaning it was 
 a six days ride on horseback. 
 
 " Sabe usted the great white chief at Washington 
 City?" was the next query, meaning the President of 
 the United States. 
 
 " Me sabe." 
 
 " Tell Chiquita how many sleeps on the cars Wash 
 ington City from Denver City." 
 
 " Five sleeps on the cars Denver City to Washing 
 ton City." 
 
 Jack happened to have in his kit a railroad map of 
 the United States and with this spread before them on 
 a blanket, he would point out Rock Creek and then 
 explain the distances from one place to another, tell 
 ing of the great buildings, the industries, the immense 
 amount of fuel used in the big shops and the number 
 of men employed in making guns, wagons, saddles, 
 harness, boots, blankets and the like, articles that ap 
 peared in the camp and which were in everyday use 
 at the White River Agency. This was a very arduous 
 but pleasing task, in that it required all of Jack s in 
 genuity to portray the information intelligently, and 
 frequently Chiquita would be the instructor because 
 of her better ability, as a child of the forest, to convey 
 thought by means of signs and comparative objects. 
 
CATS, TRAPS AND INDIANS 61 
 
 He taught her the alphabet, also words of one and 
 two syllables, and she showed how wonderful is the 
 Indian mind in its retention of the slightest impression 
 when the will power to receive it is acquiescent. 
 
 " Tell Chiquita, does the white man s squaw carry 
 the wood for the fire so the warrior can cook his veni 
 son?" 
 
 " No/ said Jack, laughing, " the warrior of the 
 white man is the soldier at the fort." 
 
 Chiquita interrupted quickly, a deep scowl causing 
 her inky black eyebrows to meet over her flashing eyes, 
 and with her head thrown back, displaying the full, 
 rounded throat, her beautiful arm bared save for the 
 wide beaded bracelets and amulets, she pointed to the 
 sky, almost hissing through her marvelously white 
 teeth, " Chiquita comprehends, the warrior of the 
 white man is the hired pale face, sent by the Great 
 White Chief at Washington City to slay my people; 
 even now mebbe so the hired man rides to take Chi 
 quita back to the White River; but her people are 
 brave. Her people were as the stars above, as the 
 drops that make the big river, but they are gone to 
 the Great Spirit, where their ponies await their com 
 ing in the Happy Hunting Ground that the pale face 
 knows not of, and to where the spirit of Chiquita will 
 some day fly. Let the white man Jack beware. It is 
 well for him that Yamanatz is his friend, and Chiquita 
 
62 CHIQUITA 
 
 will see that no harm comes to the friend of Yama- 
 natz. Mebbe so Colorow is no friend of the white 
 man Jack, but Colorow has no bullets. The gun of 
 Colorow is empty, but the knife in the belt of Colorow 
 is pointed. It is sharp and the arm of Colorow is as 
 the young tree, and his step is as the step of the fawn 
 when the dew is on the grass. Let the white man 
 Jack beware. Colorow will come to tell the white 
 man to go to the land which was taken from Colorow s 
 people; that this is the Utes land and that the Utes 
 will no more let the white man hunt the deer and trap 
 the wolf, which run by the tepee of the red man. So 
 let the white man Jack be cunning and let not Colo- 
 row find the white man asleep under the big tree." 
 
 She was all excitement. The cords stood out upon 
 her graceful throat, while her rounded cheeks crim 
 soned as the frosted leaf in the autumn time. Jack 
 was spellbound as the words of that eloquent warning 
 fell upon his ears, but at the last subdued, almost be 
 seeching plea, he started as if the knife was already at 
 his throat, for it was but yesterday, in the warm sun 
 shine far beyond the snowy range, at noon time, he 
 had taken a short nap under a big pine tree, where a 
 bed of pine needles made an inviting spot, little dream 
 ing that a living being, much less an Indian, was 
 within five miles of him. Chiquita guessed his 
 thoughts, and in that musical tone found only among 
 
CATS, TRAPS AND INDIANS 63 
 
 the old blanket Indian tribes, told Jack how she fol 
 lowed him and Colorow from the camp on Rock Creek, 
 fearing all the while that that cunning war chief would 
 slay the young man. from the east and upset all plans 
 of Chiquita becoming a medicine tepee queen. 
 
 Chiquita knew that Colorow, of all the discontented 
 Utes on Rock Creek, desired especially to be rid of 
 Jack s presence. That the old warrior had a grudge 
 against the trapper was evident, and the trapper s de 
 parture, leaving Jack alone to attend to the traps, was 
 to her mind clear proof that Colorow had been instru 
 mental in causing the departure. 
 
 She had heard the leaders of the renegade band de 
 nounce all trappers who sought the region contiguous 
 to the White River reservation, and in particular the 
 trapper who had built the cabin on Rock Creek. She 
 knew that this trapper had the winter before wantonly 
 killed seventy-six elk, which he had stumbled upon in 
 a little willow grown park where the deep snow had 
 stalled them, and that he did not kill any more because 
 his ammunition had given out. She knew that the 
 Utes, as well as the white settlers, had in unmeasured 
 terms condemned this wanton slaying of so much 
 game, but she did not think this episode was the cause 
 of Colorow s animosity. There was but one reason 
 that sufficed in her opinion. She believed Colorow 
 had told the trapper to abandon the camp under pen- 
 
64 CHIQUITA 
 
 alty of death if he remained, and she reasoned that 
 the trapper went alone because he had been ashamed 
 to tell Jack the truth. Consequently Jack would be 
 the next to go, and as she already knew that Colorow 
 had openly declared his intention of driving the young 
 paleface away, she determined to watch that cunning 
 Ute every day and give him no opportunity for any 
 hostile movement against Jack. 
 
 The gray dawn of the day referred to in her im 
 passioned warning found Chiquita swiftly and si 
 lently making her way toward the Rock Creek cabin, 
 where she took up a position commanding a view of 
 the camp and the trails leading to it. 
 
 The first rays of the sun were just tipping the snow 
 on the high mountain peaks when Jack came from the 
 cabin and proceeded to get his breakfast over the 
 camp fire. As Chiquita watched him she was tempted 
 many times to make her presence known, for the sa 
 vory viands made her " heap hungry," but at last Jack 
 started up the gulch on his rounds to the traps. Chi 
 quita knew that Colorow would put in an early ap 
 pearance, expecting to find Jack at the cabin, so she 
 waited patiently. It was not long before she heard 
 the plaintive call of a camp bird mewing for some 
 thing to eat, and she mimicked it, saying to herself, 
 " camp bird and Colorow all same." She carefully 
 screened herself in the willows and saw Colorow sud- 
 
CATS, TRAPS AND INDIANS 65 
 
 denly dart from one big tree to another, then creep to 
 a big rock, wait a moment and glide along until he 
 was close to the cabin. He waited some time, evi 
 dently reading by the signs of the smoldering fire that 
 the object of his visit had made an early start. Seeing 
 this, he boldly walked out and picked up the coffee 
 pot. As it was empty he threw it spitefully down into 
 the ashes and looked for a piece of bread. Being dis 
 appointed in this also he made a big fuss of brandish 
 ing his knife, executing a few steps as though he had 
 discovered an enemy and in pantomime had slain and 
 scalped him. During this time he kept up a continual 
 jargon of curses and imprecations. 
 
 Finally he drew back the blanket which constituted 
 the " door " of the cabin and peered in. Satisfied with 
 his observations, he carefully scanned the trail leading 
 up the gulch, and seeing the fresh made tracks, set 
 out rapidly after Jack. 
 
 Chiquita followed, darting along from one side of 
 the trail to the other or diverging obliquely across por 
 tions of the territory which she knew Jack had to trav 
 erse in order to examine the traps, knowing Colorow 
 would ultimately appear. 
 
 The sun had reached the meridian when she noted 
 the Indian standing under a big tree watching in 
 tently something not far distant from him. Pretty 
 soon she saw a thin spiral of white smoke gradually 
 
66 CHIQUITA 
 
 becoming more dense as if from burning damp wood, 
 and occasionally she could hear the crackle of the 
 flames. She knew Jack was busy getting a little 
 lunch. She scented the bacon as he toasted it before 
 the fire and again she felt that ravenous gnawing 
 which now was doubly aggravating. 
 
 The cooking evidently made Colorow furious, for 
 he vanished into some brush and made noises as of 
 a wolf growling with hunger just as he prepares to 
 tear at a bone. Then the Indian disappeared down 
 the ever handy gulch to watch Jack in his effort to 
 find the wolf. 
 
 Jack proceeded to investigate, and, with gun ready, 
 he entered the brush, but there were so many signs of 
 wolf tracks, fresh ones, too, that he was at a loss to 
 understand where they could so suddenly have disap 
 peared. 
 
 As he slowly returned to his lunch camp a spot 
 free from snow in a little pine grove where the sun 
 shone bright and warm he passed very near where 
 Chiquita was hiding, and then discovered a mocca 
 sin track, which he examined critically. He knew the 
 track had been made since sunrise, but could not tell 
 whether before or after he started to make his little 
 camp fire. He carefully set his big boot alongside the 
 footprint, making a deep impression in the earth. He 
 also deposited the end of one of his rifle bullets in 
 
CATS, TRAPS AND INDIANS 67 
 
 the moccasin track, feeling sure that the owner of the 
 moccasin was sure to discover the significance thereof. 
 Colorow saw the action from his hiding place, but well 
 knew that a hunting knife was of little avail against 
 a fearless man protected by a rifle, six-shooter and belt 
 full of ammunition. 
 
 Jack looked at the sun, then at Rock Creek a long 
 way off, and sat down to smoke a pipeful of tobacco. 
 The pleasing, soothing narcotic made him drowsy and 
 he fell asleep. 
 
 Colorow made a circle around the camp and in do 
 ing so discovered the trail which Jack had made on 
 previous trips from the little grove. This led toward 
 a big gulch which was divided at the lower portion by 
 a steep ridge. Colorow took the one showing the most 
 usage and ambushed himself in a thicket close to Pony 
 Creek, at a point convenient to a spot where Jack 
 would be obliged to pass within leap of the hidden foe. 
 Here he waited. 
 
 Chiquita watched Colorow disappear down the 
 gulch and divined his purpose, then returned to see 
 Jack as he awakened and witness his surprise at hav 
 ing so forgotten his prudence. 
 
 Picking up his rifle and skins Jack started swiftly 
 down the gulch, intending to follow the one selected 
 by Colorow, as he had some venison protected by two 
 big traps and was certain to get at least a bobcat there. 
 
68 CHIQUITA 
 
 But at the last moment he changed his mind or 
 neglected to watch the trail and entered the left-hand 
 gulch. 
 
 It was getting late when he discovered his error, 
 but decided not to retrace his steps, and the ridge was 
 too precipitous to climb at that point. 
 
 Chiquita followed Jack to Pony Creek and on down 
 to where it joined Rock Creek. Then Jack went to 
 his cabin and Chiquita to the Indian village, where 
 she later saw Colorow come in, baffled in his mission, 
 at least for the time being. 
 
 Jack now thoroughly realized the dangerous posi 
 tion in which he was placed and made up his mind 
 to protect himself very carefully against any mishap. 
 He knew that Colorow would not dare to attack him 
 openly, and that safety depended on constantly guard 
 ing against all chance of surprise. 
 
 " Jack is heap glad to hear Chiquita tell of how she 
 watches for the white man s safety. Does Chiquita 
 sabe?" said Jack in a half apologetic manner, speak 
 ing -abstractedly and not knowing what was best to 
 say under the circumstances. His mind was taken 
 up with the uncertainties of " good Indians." He 
 wanted to trust Yamanatz and Chiquita, but did not 
 know how far either one would dare to go in their 
 evident desire to protect him. His recent talk with 
 Yamanatz, of less than a week before, was pictured 
 
CATS, TRAPS AND INDIANS 69 
 
 vividly in Chiquita s story of her long day s tramp 
 and vigil over him, and he knew that if Colorow made 
 any attempt at his life in the presence of either Chi- 
 quita or Yamanatz, they might resist, but even their 
 resistance would possibly be unavailing. 
 
 Making an early start on the day following to go 
 the reversed route of the trip during which he had 
 taken the nap Chiquita had so graphically described, 
 Jack found himself in the gulch where the venison 
 lay and a couple of bobcats in the traps near the car 
 casses. Killing and skinning these took some time, 
 and with the heavy pelts added to a haunch of deer 
 meat, Jack found it no easy task to climb to the top 
 of the snowy ridge, down which he must go in order 
 to reach camp. The frozen, well-worn trail he must 
 reach before darkness set in, but despite his most 
 desperate exertion it was some time after daylight 
 had departed that he reached the long stretch of white 
 covered slope. Not a trail could he find not a wel 
 come footprint to guide him over the deep ravines 
 filled with snow, or away from precipitous rocks where 
 a misstep would land him far below. There was but 
 one course to take straight down the mountain side. 
 Throwing away caution, he started on a swift swing 
 ing trot, each foot breaking the crust of snow be 
 neath him. Arriving at the edge of a ravine, which ap 
 peared only smooth snow, he went into it up to his 
 
70 CHIQUITA 
 
 waist; then, thoroughly alarmed, he struggled deeper 
 into the ravine until the snow was up to his armpits. 
 His revolver was lost and wolves were already giving 
 tongue to dismal howls as the air carried to their nos 
 trils the scent of the venison to which Jack clung. 
 
 His unequal combat with the yielding snow grad 
 ually exhausted his strength and, growing each mo 
 ment weaker, tired nature finally succumbed, and he 
 fell unconscious. But the cold air quickly revived 
 him. Nearer and nearer came those dreadful deep- 
 mouthed tongue signals, augmented by additional 
 ones from new directions and made still more heart 
 breaking by the yippy-yappy of a bunch of coyotes 
 which also joined the big timber wolves. The six- 
 shooter was found first, then Jack used a little reason. 
 Taking off his coat and placing the furs and coat as 
 a support on the snow, he rolled over and over until 
 his foot struck solid earth. Then gathering his furs 
 and leg of venison, he more carefully descended, his 
 enemies keeping at a safe distance, for in America 
 wild animals of any sort rarely attack man when not 
 molested, even in the dead of winter. 
 
 Slipping and sliding, he at last reached camp, only 
 to find both feet badly frozen at the heels and toes. As 
 he cut his boots off and plunged his extremities into 
 the cold water a whole lot of adventure went out of 
 his heart with the frost. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OLD JOE RIGGS. 
 
 It was Sunday, the eighth day after Jack had taken 
 that memorable trip so near unto death. In the warm 
 sunshine at Rock Creek camp the major part of the 
 day had been passed by the young hunter in writing 
 up his journal, carefully jotting down all the incidents 
 of latest development, even to the extra spread given 
 in his honor to himself and three imaginary guests. 
 He, being present, had a good meal, but the " invited " 
 guests had to feast by proxy. The menu started with 
 a hambone soup, and a nice broiled mountain trout, 
 captured in a big hole where Pony and Rock Creek 
 join forces. Winter trout being so great a luxury, 
 Jack forgot his table etiquette and asked for a second 
 portion, and being refused, he made a fierce onslaught 
 upon the piece de resistance, no more and no less than 
 a blue grouse roasted before the fire, as they roasted 
 turkeys in the days of the Pilgrim Fathers. Jack used 
 one of the metal joints of the cleaning rod belonging 
 to his rifle as a spit, and as he turned the bird slowly 
 
72 CHIQUITA 
 
 and basted it with venison fat he wondered, if his 
 guests could really drop in for a moment, what they 
 would say about his culinary efforts. The bird was 
 stuffed with real sage dressing; not quite so good as 
 mother used to make, as the mountain sage is a trifle 
 stronger. When finished the grouse was garnished 
 with juniper berries and spruce buds, these being the 
 winter food of the grouse. There was a distinct flavor 
 of the juniper in the meat. Then came an entree of 
 young elk brains and another of Big Horn kidney 
 stew. Jack was shy on vegetables of any kind, except 
 Rock Creek baked beans, cooked all night in a Dutch 
 oven sunk in the hot ashes of the camp fire ; two kinds 
 of bread, baking powder and sour dough, the first be 
 ing hot biscuit, the latter nice big slices of cold white 
 bread, never free from the name it bears. Stewed 
 prunes and baked apple dumpling constituted the pas 
 try, while black coffee in a tin cup and sparkling Rock 
 Creek water served for liquids. 
 
 Jack had finished the " dishes," the last rattle of tin 
 plates, pans, cup and skillets had re-echoed from the 
 depths of the " china " closet, and he had settled him 
 self for a chat with his pipe, when Chiquita bounded 
 into camp all excitement and panting for breath. 
 
 " Colorow gone Sulphur Springs. Take em many 
 ponies " (counting forty with her fingers). " All Utes 
 except old men and Yamanatz go too. Mebbe so come 
 
OLD JOE RIGGS 73 
 
 back with bullets, powder, bacon, flour," and she 
 stopped to breathe. 
 
 Jack contemplated, and while he did so Chiquita cast 
 wistful eyes at the remains of the midday banquet. 
 The longing expression was not a new one to Jack. 
 He knew from experience that Chiquita was a good 
 eater, in fact all Indians had that failing, so he mo 
 tioned the belle of the village to a seat on the end of a 
 log near by and proceeded to dish her up a square 
 meal. He knew that Yamanatz would be coming 
 along soon, so he reserved some odds and ends for 
 him. When Chiquita had advanced far enough so she 
 could have time between mouthfuls not bites to 
 answer, Jack gave utterance to his thoughts. 
 
 " Colorow s ponies make pretty big track in snow 
 make heap big trail. Mebbe so good for two sleeps on 
 high mountain where wind blow." 
 
 Chiquita understood and stopped her struggles, with 
 a rib of venison in one hand and a grouse wing in the 
 other, long enough to articulate : 
 
 " Chiquita comprehends. White man follow Utes ; 
 white man leave Chiquita and Yamanatz to go Sulphur 
 Springs, mebbe so Denver City." 
 
 Her smiles were gone, but not her appetite, as she 
 renewed her attacks on the remnant counter. Jack re 
 plied : 
 
 " Mebbe so Jack be gone four moons. Come back 
 
74 CHIQUITA 
 
 when honeysuckle on mountainside and cactus on 
 plain in bloom. Will Chiquita and Yamanatz go then 
 with Jack to Blazing-Eye-by-Big-Water? " 
 
 Jack decided to get out of the Ute country while the 
 scalp was yet on his head and not dangling at the belt 
 of any warrior, or braided into the make-up of any 
 tepee pole. Just then the clatter of two ponies down 
 the trail caused him to look around. In a moment or 
 two the willows parted and Yamanatz, accompanied 
 by a white man, whom Jack recognized as old Joe 
 Riggs, entered the camp. To Jack s greeting of 
 " How ? " the newcomers both made response. Joe in 
 quired as to the condition of Jack s feet, and upon be 
 ing assured that those necessary adjuncts to a man s 
 safety on Rock Creek were in fairly good order, the 
 cattleman suggested the opportunity presented for 
 Jack to make an attempt to connect with civilization. 
 
 Old Joe Riggs was known from the Cache le Poudre 
 to the Rio Grande ; to cowman, miner, prospector and 
 goods store folks. Old Joe was a part and parcel of 
 the main range. Forty-niners had bunked with him 
 and fifty-niners had divided buffalo steaks with him, 
 while sixty-niners from Missouri allowed old Joe 
 could rock a cradle or shovel tailings from the sluice 
 boxes, and seventy-niners found him as ready to take 
 his turn at the drill or windlass as the best of them. 
 In appearance old Joe was a weird, uncanny being that 
 
OLD JOE RIGGS 75 
 
 made the creeps run up and down one s crupper bone. 
 Seated upon a chair in a room full of average-sized 
 people, Joe appeared a dwarf. His anatomy seemed 
 to rest on the ends of his shoulder blades, while his 
 knees formed the hypothenuse of an inverted right- 
 angle triangle. When standing he overtopped every 
 man in a regiment of six-footers. His arms swung 
 listlessly to his knees from the shoulder socket, as if 
 lacking in elbow joints, terminating in hands fashioned 
 more after the talons of an eagle than those of a human 
 being. His nose was also like the beak of that fierce 
 bird, while his chin retreated from his underlip in a 
 direct line to the "Adam s apple." High cheek bones 
 and protruding forehead caused the deep sunken 
 orbital spaces to appear sightless, except for the ner 
 vous batting of his eyelids. His shoulders were broad, 
 but being thin chested, he was short on lung capacity, 
 which caused a most extraordinary mixture of gut 
 tural whispers and shrill wheezes every time he tried 
 to talk. His strength was prodigious, and on more 
 than one occasion he had won his drink by taking hold 
 of the chines of a full barrel of liquor, raising it from 
 the ground to his lips and drinking his fill from the 
 bunghole. The most startling of all, though, was his 
 wardrobe, and it was an open secret that Joe had his 
 surname thrust upon him by reason of the various rigs 
 in which he was clad. As the winter season ap- 
 
76 CHIQUITA 
 
 preached and Joe got cold, he would apprppriate any 
 and all old garments he couki find lying around loose ; 
 old pants, overalls, shirts, vests and socks which others 
 had cast away as useless. These he would patch and 
 sew together where necessity demanded, lengthening 
 or widening, and pull one garment on over another. 
 In this semi-annual outfitting he would appear one 
 day with overalls reaching just below the knees, the 
 pair under them revealing their " frazzled " orna 
 mentations for a foot or more. The next day, as like 
 as not, he would find an old pair of red drawers, and 
 these would go on right over the last pair of overalls. 
 When the spring came and warm weather got the best 
 of his clothes, Joe proceeded to divest himself of a lot 
 of useless and uncomfortable rags, for by that time 
 they could not be called garments. 
 
 Joe at the present time was conducting a vest- 
 pocket ranch on the sunny slopes of the cedar-treed 
 hills rising from the Grand River tributaries and in 
 what were termed " warm holes," being little areas 
 of sage-brush covered mesas found upon the banks of 
 the streams. These miniature parks were quite fertile 
 in bunch and even buffalo grass, and varied from five 
 acres to a whole section in extent. His herd of cattle 
 consisted of two heifers, six old cows and ten three- 
 year-old steers. This constituted the nucleus of an 
 expectant million-dollar stock farm. It represented 
 
OLD JOE RIGGS 77 
 
 more than the average fortune accumulated by con 
 stant and attentive prospecting for forty years. 
 
 Joe s hint at the opportunity of connecting with 
 God s country struck Jack as a coincidence upon which 
 there might turn a contingency, so he reasoned with 
 himself: "Why does Joe think I might want to get 
 away from the Indians? Does he think I will desert 
 my camp outfit and provisions? Besides, what is the 
 old trapper to do when he returns ? " 
 
 These questions were immediately answered by the 
 cattleman just the same as though Jack had asked the 
 information point blank, a proceeding which added to 
 the weirdness of Joe s presence, and the most uncanny 
 feature of it was the total inability of the hearer to lo 
 cate whence came the sound that emanated from that 
 sepulchral living cadaver. No lips moved in unison 
 with a voice, nor even did the gleaming teeth, just 
 visible through the parted mouth, open or close as if 
 responsive to any oral exertions. The sound came from 
 everywhere. Joe was a heaven-born ventriloquist. 
 
 " Yer needn t be slow about gittin away from Rock 
 Creek ef yer want ter go. Taint nothin ter me. That 
 ther trapper ain t comin back til ther beaver gets to 
 usin thar cutters on the trees a-buildin dams, an then 
 he won t cum back ef thar s goin to be trubble. He 
 tol j me that ther day afore he struck out, savvey? " 
 
 Jack did not need to have the cabin fall on .him nor 
 
78 CHIQUITA 
 
 an upheaval of the earth to realize that the trapper 
 had " cut loose " from the Rock Creek possibilities. 
 There was an ominous silence for a couple of minutes. 
 One thing was certain in the minds of the two white 
 men, alone, as they were, far from aid of any sort in 
 the event of an uprising, and the thought uppermost in 
 both their minds was as patent to each other as if 
 branded in letters of fire the trapper had deserted 
 the tenderfoot. 
 
 As soon as this thought had coursed through Jack s 
 brain other thoughts surged one upon another in quick 
 succession. Was it a frontier conspiracy in which 
 both white and red men were equally interested ? Was 
 it a put-up job between the trapper and Joe and the 
 Indians merely a coincidence in the commission of 
 the trade? Perhaps the trapper had sold the camp 
 outfit and Joe had come to take possession. This last 
 thought made his heart sick, for he knew only too well 
 that he could make no resistance except that which 
 would end in a tragedy. Again the supernatural mind- 
 reading Joe proclaimed himself in a few disjointed 
 sentences, but to Jack they were most welcome in their 
 honesty of purpose and implication of the trapper as 
 a coward. 
 
 " I reckon yer might be calkerlatin on what yer 
 would do with this yere plunder," said Joe, as he 
 pointed at the camp outfit, the provisions and the furs 
 
OLD JOE RIGGS 79 
 
 hanging on the side of the cabin. Continuing in that 
 monotonous sing-song of gutturals and whispers, he 
 allowed the plunder belonged to Jack, for the trapper 
 had acknowledged as much. 
 
 " That trapper got skeered of Colorow and lit 
 out. Mebbe yer don t know it, but the Utes don t like 
 him any too much, and when Colorow said Vamoose 
 yer pardner left yer to yer own cogitashuns. He tol* me 
 that nothin in the camp belonged to him ; thet twas all 
 your n except the traps and harness. Taint likely he ll 
 come back til next March, so ef yer don t want ter 
 stay til then yer ll have to git a move on yerself . Thet 
 trail won t stay open an hour on the high divide, but 
 yer can rastle a couple Ute cayuses through ten feet 
 of snow like a hot bullet goin through a piece of ham 
 fat, and onct on the other side of the divide it will be 
 an easy trail to Kremling s, at the mouth of the Big 
 Muddy. Yer don t need ter take much along. Yer 
 will be out but one night, and mebbe yer will git ter 
 the old hunter s cabin about forty mile from here fore 
 that. Ef yer don t ther is a good campin ground on 
 the crik in a big pocket five miles this side." 
 
 It did not take long to make a trade. Jack reserved 
 his six-shooters, blankets and three or four fine cat 
 and fox skins. Joe gave him a good Indian pony, a 
 silver watch, and the balance in money for the pro 
 visions, rifle, ammunition and other paraphernalia, ex- 
 
80 CHIQUITA 
 
 cept the remaining furs, traps and cooking utensils, 
 which were the legitimate belongings of the trapper. 
 But the awful perils of a trip over an unknown trail 
 in midwinter rose up as a barrier between Jack and 
 civilization. The night had come on and Yamanatz, 
 with Chiquita, as silent witnesses to the exchange of 
 chattels, sat beside the camp fire. Grotesque shadows 
 wavered and wandered back and forth in and out of 
 the gloom as Jack replenished the disappearing em 
 bers with new fuel preparatory to a pow-wow in 
 which the final arrangements were to be completed 
 concerning his escape from Rock Creek, his return 
 later when the winter passed, when Yamanatz should 
 conduct him to the great gold deposit. It was a mat 
 ter of a hundred miles to the nearest ranch in Middle 
 Park, before reaching which was a " divide," the top 
 of which soared far above the surrounding hills, and 
 then came the Gore, or Park range, split by the Grand 
 River into an impassable canon, along whose steep 
 side ran the old Ute trail, up, up, until it crossed the 
 snow-covered summit beyond timber line, and thence 
 descended by serpentine and circuitous windings to 
 the southern entrance of the Park. From there to the 
 ranch on the Troublesome was open level country, 
 across which was comparatively easy traveling. The 
 other pass over the Gore range, which was used by 
 the trapper and Jack when they made their incoming 
 
OLD JOE RIGGS 81 
 
 trip to Rock Creek, was already closed by snow as 
 far as travel by horses was concerned, and for that 
 matter the Ute trail was closed, except for being 
 opened by the band of Indians and thirty or forty 
 ponies bucking their way through to Sulphur 
 Springs. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS. 
 
 The most difficult portions of the journey would be 
 encountered the first day over the numerous ridges of 
 barren waste intervening between Rock Creek and the 
 high divide. Old Joe shook his head in uncertain 
 manner when Jack asserted his confidence in being 
 able to follow after Colorow. Yamanatz nodded in 
 assent at the dangers confronted by the dilemma of 
 Jack s unfamiliarity with the trail, and then in that 
 portentous monosyllabic manner of Indians in brief 
 words conveying whole paragraphs of information 
 but adding to the dismal forebodings, said: 
 
 " White man all right. Plenty sign when trail in 
 big woods. Heap sign on big trees. Come big open, 
 no trees, no sign ; one look, two look, three look, all 
 same. All snow, no trail, no tree. Get lost ; sundown, 
 no fire, no camp. White man cold. Pretty soon sleep ; 
 fall off pony; sleep long time." 
 
 Then Jack knew that " three looks " would carry 
 him from the top of one high hill to the top of another, 
 as far as the eye could reach to the horizon, into a 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS 83 
 
 country absolutely treeless, and where even an Indian 
 would be lost if he had never been shown the trail. 
 To attempt the trip alone would be sheer madness and 
 only result in that subtle overpowering sleep into 
 eternity death by freezing. 
 
 Yamanatz stopped speaking for a moment to give 
 his hearers ample time to fully understand him, then 
 continued : " White man sabe ? Colorow gone one 
 sleep, mebbe so not make em Gore range. White 
 man catch em pony tomorrow. Two sleeps before 
 can take em trail to follow Colorow, sabe? Colorow 
 mebbe so come back meet em white man. Colorow 
 then heap mad, no get em flour, bacon. Colorow, 
 Antelope, Bennett all heap hungry. White man no 
 got em big gun ; little gun not much good, mebbe 
 so ? " and Yamanatz lapsed into silence. 
 
 There was no need to ask anything more. The cun 
 ning old warrior knew only too well the fate that 
 awaited Jack if Colorow and his ugly renegade In 
 dians should fail to get through to Sulphur Springs 
 and had to return empty handed to Rock Creek. Old 
 Joe knew, too, that his own safety would be prob 
 lematical, even with his years of familiarity with the 
 whole Ute tribe. The gloom that settled over them 
 was full of foreboding. Each one was striving to 
 hatch out a plan that would dispel the dangers now 
 besetting Jack s safety. 
 
84 CHIQUITA 
 
 It was useless to think of old Joe attempting the 
 trip with Jack, and Yamanatz made no sign of being 
 willing to assume the role of guide. At last as Jack 
 was about to abandon all hope, Chiquita arose and, 
 crossing over to where Jack was, bid him to be of good 
 cheer. 
 
 Pointing to the stars, she said : " What Yamanatz 
 has said is in the sky. The Great Spirit who watches 
 over the Indian maiden has told Chiquita to lead the 
 white man that he may go to meet his white brothers. 
 Chiquita knows the trail. Chiquita is not afraid. It 
 is but one moon since Chiquita s pony did paw the 
 deep snow and carry Chiquita on the big divide to meet 
 the Ute braves coming from the Grand River. One 
 sleep, and the white man Jack must get his ponies, 
 and two sleeps before the sun shall show on top of the 
 high mountain. Chiquita will be ready at the tepee of 
 Yamanatz to lead the white man over big divide, where 
 make em one camp for Chiquita and one camp for 
 white man Jack. One sleep and Chiquita say adios to 
 white man, then come back Indian village on same 
 day. White man go to his white brothers on Trouble 
 some, then go long way Denver City." 
 
 Here was a dilemma that confronted Jack, even 
 more embarrassing than anything yet thrown in his 
 path the would-be leader of the select four hundred 
 at White River acting as guide over a wild country, to 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS ^ 
 
 say nothing of a one-night camp among the willows 
 at the edge of some little creek. It must have amused 
 him to a great degree, for, serious as it was, a smile 
 lurked around the corners of his mouth, causing Chi- 
 quita to become a little disdainful, as an Indian is 
 very sensitive to ridicule, but Jack quickly relinquished 
 the comical side of the question and his features again 
 became as grave as those of old Yamanatz. Old Joe 
 was the first to speak : 
 
 " The Injun gal is made of the right stuff and will 
 pilot yer to ther right place, an she can take care of 
 herself goin an comin . I ve seen her throw that 
 knife in her belt twenty feet as straight as yer can 
 shoot a bullet outen that six-shooter of your n." 
 
 Then the old Ute spoke : 
 
 " Chiquita all same Yamanatz show em trail to 
 white man. White man sabe?" 
 
 Jack could do nothing but take Chiquita s hands in 
 his own and bow his humblest thanks. It occurred to 
 him he had an old sealskin cap in his war bag and that 
 it might please the dusky maiden. He soon produced 
 it and, with another friendly greeting, presented it to 
 her. It was lined with bright red silk, and she pro 
 ceeded to put it on with the silk on the outside, to 
 which Jack made no remonstrance. Although it made 
 him bite his tongue, he did not " crack a smile." 
 
 Yamanatz and Chiquita immediately started on the 
 
86 CHIQUITA 
 
 trail for the Indian village. It was ten o clock. After 
 a chat with Joe they both turned into the bunk, Jack 
 to dream of home, sheets and pillowcases, barber 
 shops, chinaware and a real live dining-room table. 
 It took all next day and far into the night to get his 
 Ute ponies in readiness for Tuesday s long journey, 
 but at last the packs were made up. Three days sup 
 ply for two, of bread, bacon, tea and coffee, were made 
 into a convenient bundle, to be rolled into the blank 
 ets, which would in turn be strapped behind Jack s sad 
 dle. All the other paraphernalia Indian moccasins, 
 buckskin shirts, beaded tobacco bags and a real Ute 
 war bonnet, with lots of pipes, elk teeth, bears claws, 
 arrow heads and Jack s clothing were packed in rub 
 ber blankets, canvas covers and grain bags, ready for 
 the pack-saddle on the other pony. 
 
 It was just daybreak when Jack bid the old Rock 
 Creek camp farewell, leaving it to be put in shape by 
 old Joe, who had helped the young man from the far 
 east in his preparations. Old Joe did not waste words 
 in his good-bye speech, but there was at least a per 
 ceptible tremor in his voice and a decided reluctance 
 in withdrawing his hand after the adios shake. The 
 Indian village was reached at exactly sunrise, and as a 
 chorus of yelping dogs greeted the arrival of the 
 ponies, a few squaws poked their heads out of the 
 tepees, nodding a salute of recognition to Jack. Chi- 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS 87 
 
 quita was ready to mount her pony as soon as Jack 
 gave her the word. He had tightened the diamond 
 hitch on the pack pony and his own saddle girth pre 
 paratory for a long lope over the sage-brush flat that 
 extended from the Indian village across the small 
 mesa at the foot of the first hills, which form the steps 
 of the high divide. Chiquita, dressed in her buck 
 skin shirt, skirt, leggings and moccasins heavily 
 trimmed with beads, quickly sprang into her saddle and 
 pulled the blanket up around her shoulders Indian 
 fashion. Her hair hung in heavy braids at either side 
 of her cheeks, while the sealskin cap with showy red 
 silk lining crowned her head. Into the peak of the cap 
 she had thrust an immense eagle feather. The chorus 
 of yelping dogs again took part in the ceremony at 
 tending their departure. As they ascended the first 
 bench several blacktail deer ran directly across their 
 path beautiful animals that cleared the sage brush in 
 graceful, easy bounds, looking first to the right and 
 then to the left, as much as to say, " Come on, I m 
 ready." 
 
 It was noon when the last long snow-covered ridge 
 lay behind them. For two hours it had been a battle 
 with snowdrift after snowdrift. The trail cut by the 
 Colorow Indian ponies had been filled by the wind 
 with drifting snow until not a sign was left. Parapets 
 of snow ten feet high were encountered, which had to 
 
88 CHIQUITA 
 
 be cut and the trail again located by Chiquita. First 
 one pony would take the lead and, reared on his hind 
 feet, paw the snow down beneath him, while the next 
 in line trampled it a second time, until a cut was 
 formed at a low point in that endless chain of banks 
 stretching for miles in either direction. Towering 
 forty feet in the air were mountains of the same daz 
 zling white, which had to be circled, sometimes leav 
 ing the trail to the right or left for a mile. At times 
 these detours were made only to be retraced because 
 of the impassable blockades rising in sheer precipices, 
 and once the trail opened by these detours was found 
 to be refilled within an hour, so fierce was that icy 
 blast, blowing its wanton breath in seeming malice 
 against the weary beasts and their equally weary 
 riders. 
 
 Jack had tramped snow for the ponies on many oc 
 casions when they refused to move. Chiquita had lent 
 her encouragement time and again as Jack seemed 
 ready to abandon the trip, but at last behind them tow 
 ered the top of the big divide, on whose crest ran a 
 snow bank higher than any before encountered. Giv 
 ing a few moments rest to the panting ponies, Jack 
 took the lead, for now the trail was easily discernible 
 and followed without a break, down, down, over and 
 through a few more banks of that mealy substance, 
 affording neither footing nor shelter for man or 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS 89 
 
 beast, until the warm forests of pine once more pro 
 tected them from the frightful cold. 
 
 At the first convenient spot Jack cleared away the 
 snow from a huge rock and soon had a cheerful fire 
 roaring, which furnished warmth to their numbed 
 bodies ; then from his tin cup in which snow was 
 melted he brewed a refreshing draught of tea, which, 
 with a bite of frozen bread thawed out on the hot rock, 
 appeased their hunger for the time being. By the aid 
 of a pocket thermometer Jack ascertained the tempera 
 ture to be 36 degrees below zero. The sky was clear, 
 but even at the edge of the timber a thousand feet 
 below that terrible snow-turreted ridge the wind 
 screamed in its fury and pierced the heavy garments 
 and blankets within which Chiquita and Jack were 
 encased. The ponies humped their backs at the lee 
 side of the fire and seemed grateful for a few mouths- 
 ful of smoke in lieu of a wisp of dry buffalo grass. 
 Conversation was almost impossible, as words were 
 not audible three feet distant. Both were too numb to 
 talk, and it was difficult even to eat. The half hour at 
 an end, Jack struck into the trail, leading his pony. 
 Chiquita had not dismounted since leaving the Indian 
 village, and was getting pretty stiff with cold. At the 
 end of another half hour she managed to make Jack 
 hear her, and after considerable trouble he found a 
 log by the side of the trail, where she could stand and 
 
90 CHIOUITA 
 
 swing first one leg and then the other to restore cir 
 culation. After ten minutes vigorous exercise she re 
 mounted, and the little procession again started 
 through the down timber. 
 
 They had reached a portion of heavy forest that 
 had been ravaged by timber fires. Miles and miles of 
 immense trees lay in chaotic confusion. Tall spires 
 of limbless bark-burned pines stretched eighty, one 
 hundred and even a hundred and fifty feet skyward, 
 the weather-beaten trunks white with the storm- 
 scouring of years. Through this desolate stretch of 
 ghostyard (a veritable birthplace for spooks and gob 
 lins, the terror of that docile animal known as the 
 Rocky Mountain canary, but usually called a jackass) 
 the party moved in silent Indian trot, each step taking 
 them nearer and nearer the warmer region of cedar, 
 piiion and sage brush, through groves of quaking 
 asps, whose leaves in the summer time never cease their 
 eternal and restless quiver and upon whose smooth 
 trunks were Indian signs galore. On the larger and 
 older trees could be found those subtle knifecuts, 
 conveying intelligence through representations of 
 chickens, horses, snakes, hatchets, knives, guns, arrows 
 and other characters which in the past had warned of 
 the approaching enemy or told of the chase, of the suc 
 cess or the defeat not only of Utes, but of Sioux, 
 Apaches, Arapahoes and Kiowas. Many an hour had 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS 91 
 
 Jack spent in studying these trees which are scattered 
 over the Rocky Mountain region, bearing whole his 
 tories, trees generally found within an altitude of 6,000 
 to 8,000 feet above sea level. 
 
 It was not long after passing through this belt that 
 they came to the south hillsides, whose slopes were 
 free from snow and where the runways for deer, elk 
 and mountain sheep became more and more numerous. 
 Stocky little cedar trees stretched forth their long 
 arms over the trail, sending forth fragrance of lead- 
 pencils and giving a slap on the face if the rider 
 neglected to duck in season to avoid the branch. En 
 tering a sage-brush covered mesa, immense jack- 
 rabbits bounded hither and thither, sage hens flew up 
 with a whir of their wings and the shrill scream of 
 an eagle greeted their ears as if to warn them against 
 entering his domain. As the trail led them nearer 
 and nearer to the banks of a good sized creek the 
 ponies became restive, and finally the pack animal re 
 sorted to that well-known method of suggesting that 
 it was time to make camp by " bucking " not a stop 
 in the bucking process until blankets, bags and bun 
 dles were scattered for a mile over the sage-brush flat. 
 It was an hour s work for both Jack and Chiquita to 
 get the plunder together and again pack it on the re 
 fractory cayuse, and it was all the more aggravating, 
 as it was only a couple of miles from the spot selected 
 for camp. 
 
92 CHIQUITA 
 
 Arriving at a bend in the creek rather it was a 
 fair sized river they proceeded to make the best of 
 everything at their command. There was a space 
 along the edge of the river about two hundred feet 
 wide, covered here and there with wild rye, at the 
 roots of which was dried buffalo grass. This strip 
 of land ran back to a canon wall, a precipice some 
 forty feet high, sheer and without foothold for even a 
 wildcat. Thick willows grew along the base of this 
 wall, and it was but a few minutes after the ponies 
 were relieved of their saddles ere Jack had selected 
 two favorable spots which would afford reasonably 
 good beds, one for Chiquita and one for himself. Cut 
 ting away the willows up to the wall in a narrow 
 space just big enough for one to lie down, and form 
 ing a mattress of others occupied but a little time. 
 Meanwhile, Chiquita had brought driftwood and dry 
 sticks until an immense pile of fuel was in readiness 
 for the long night. The ponies were picketed, one 
 on each side of the camp and the third one close to 
 the edge of the stream, forming a guard past which 
 no wild animal would attempt to go. It was now dark 
 and the ponies were foraging for buffalo grass, while 
 Jack toasted some bacon on a stick, made coffee in an 
 old baked-bean can, which he had thoughtfully tied to 
 the pack-saddle, and toasted the frozen bread on a hot 
 rock. During the early dusk the mew of a plaintive 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS 93 
 
 camp bird gave notice that that mountain sentinel was 
 at hand, and the handsome gray-coated camp follower 
 would spread his black-tipped wings and fly down to 
 the edge of the fire, looking for crumbs and refuse of 
 the " kitchen." Chiquita gave him a few morsels, but 
 there was little to spare from the stock at hand. 
 
 After they had satisfied their hunger Jack and Chi 
 quita settled themselves for a long talk. It was the 
 first opportunity that had been presented since old Joe 
 and Yamanatz interrupted them the Sunday before 
 after the six-course banquet Jack had given his east 
 ern friends by proxy. 
 
 The ponies tugged at their picket ropes, wandering 
 around in search of overlooked patches of grass. Oc 
 casionally a wolf howl mournfully awakened the still 
 ness of the gathering darkness, to be answered by 
 others of the same species, each animal in the com 
 mon quest of something to eat, and all probably at 
 tracted by the camp fire and its attendant odors. 
 
 A first-quarter moon shed its cold, silvery light on 
 the drama at the base of the precipitous rock. The air 
 was crisp and still. Thje splashing stream dashing its 
 burden along the confines of its narrow channel to the 
 Pacific Ocean was the orchestra, keeping in touch with 
 the scene, staged by no artificial hand and curtained 
 by the star-spangled canopy of night. The camp fire 
 sent showers of sparks far aloft and its warmth un- 
 
94 CHIQUITA 
 
 loosened the tense-drawn muscles, every one of which 
 had been called upon to its utmost capacity in the bat 
 tles that the weary travelers had encountered with 
 the snowdrifts. Jack lay stretched upon the sand by 
 the fire, while Chiquita stood beside him. They had 
 recounted the perils of the day and had outlined their 
 respective trips for the morrow she to face again the 
 dangers of the divide and go back to the uneducated, 
 primitive life of the forest man, degraded by the de 
 ceits and intrigues of the avaricious, land-grabbing 
 representatives of schools, colleges and institutions, 
 proclaiming the law to be justice, he to face the vicis 
 situdes of an unknown trail, the possibility of meeting 
 a murderous band of these forest men while on his 
 way back to that realm of advanced civilization, edu 
 cated to the highest degree of refinement of " doing " 
 others legally. 
 
 Both had remained silent for a long time after the 
 exchanges of the day s experiences. Jack wanted to 
 express his gratitude to Chiquita for her bravery and 
 self-imposed task in conducting him over the trail, 
 for he now fully realized the certain death that awaited 
 him had he undertaken the trip alone. But he was 
 not master of words that the Indian maiden would 
 understand in their fullest import, nor did he hope to 
 be able to convey by signs that which was uppermost 
 in his mind. 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS 95 
 
 It may be Chiquita read his thoughts, but was equal 
 ly at loss to find adequate words to impart any assist 
 ance. Finally, after many misgivings as to what she 
 might consider an ample word reward, he started in 
 at random : 
 
 " Chiquita sabe that she has been good to Jack ? " 
 
 " Me no sabe, Sefior." 
 
 Jack was nonplussed. In her he found the same 
 ability to dissemble that predominated in the well- 
 known character of the first lady in the Garden of 
 Eden. He tried to recall some Spanish words that 
 she might understand, but none of the few which he 
 essayed to use met with any better reception. 
 
 " Chiquita heap brave," said Jack, to which she 
 made no reply. 
 
 " Chiquita save Jack ; make em glad Jack s heart. 
 What Jack do to< make Chiquita s heart glad ? " 
 
 He at last had struck the right chord, as her face 
 beamed with a glad response, but it brought questions 
 causing a train of thought which made him smile even 
 at the risk of incurring her displeasure. To express 
 gratitude to an Indian requires much more diplomacy 
 and skill than is required under like circumstances in 
 civilized communities. 
 
 " Would the fair-faced sister of the white man save 
 Jack all same Chiquita? Would the pale-face maiden 
 bring firewood and sleep in willow bed to save white 
 man s life?" 
 
96 CHIQUITA 
 
 Her eyes blazed in the consciousness of knowing 
 that in the present age on the American Continent no 
 white woman had ever been put to a like test. Whether 
 she felt this intuitively or whether she had learned it 
 from the squaws who had visited the big cities as they 
 recounted the adoration extended by the male to the 
 weaker sex as a part and parcel of civilization, it mat 
 ters not. 
 
 Jack knew that he was at as great a disadvantage in 
 her presence as if at the mercy of the divinest coquette 
 in all of God s country. He essayed to answer, but 
 something restrained him. It was not fear; it was 
 not because he had his own misgivings on the sub 
 ject, nor was it because he had no ready reply. Never 
 theless, he waited and in his mind he tried to picture 
 one of the belles of society bucking snow to save some 
 football graduate from death, or one sleeping in the 
 open air, without a chaperon, and a man in the same 
 canon. What would Mrs. Grundy say? Of course 
 he thought of the story by an eminent author where 
 there was a scuttled ship laden with gold, a clergyman 
 and a rich man s daughter cast upon an unknown 
 island, and Jack acknowledged he had never heard of 
 Mrs. Grundy making unkind remarks about that tale. 
 But that was the result of accident, and mortuary 
 tables classify accidental risks in a category by them 
 selves. 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS 97 
 
 Chiquita had suggested the society belle who would 
 voluntarily give up half her estate for a real live, acci 
 dental romance that did not incur too much danger. 
 Would she leave her maid and steam radiator and in 
 the midst of a western blizzard sally forth to carry coal 
 up three flights of stairs to a poor, benighted student, 
 and then sleep on the doormat, for any reward there 
 might be in store for her, either from a consciousness 
 of having performed a creditable act or because she 
 loved him? 
 
 Of course, Jack knew there was no occasion ever 
 presented where a loving young thing, just out of the 
 sixth grade, had been called upon to carry anything 
 any more formidable than a bunch of roses to a sick 
 friend, and the modern equipages splashed only a lit 
 tle dirty water over roads well kept from snowdrifts 
 by indulgent taxpayers. Still, the question had been 
 asked, and he manfully determined to stand up for the 
 fair ones across the range. 
 
 " Si, Sefiorita Chiquita, the Indian maiden has said 
 it. The pale-faced sisters of Jack would save their 
 white brothers even their red brothers and their 
 black brothers. The fair sisters of the white man 
 brave death in many ways for their white brothers. 
 See, Chiquita, the medicine tepee of the white man is 
 great as the high rock. It has many beds, more than 
 the number of all Yamanatz s ponies. The young man 
 
98 CHIQUITA 
 
 who makes the gun, the maiden who makes the pretty 
 cap mebbe so breaks the leg. Mebbe so the big steam 
 cars come together all in big smash kill many, heap 
 hurt all. Then taken em to white man s medicine 
 tepee. Medicine man tie up head, arms, legs, and 
 white maiden in medicine clothes, all clean dress, 
 white cap, red cross on the arm, give sick man medi 
 cine, wash sick man s hands, feet; give little some 
 thing to eat, sit beside em, feel of hot head; stay all 
 day, stay all night; watch em little blood knocks on 
 the wrist, count all same on little watch. Mebbe so 
 one get well, go way, good-bye. Mebbe so some die, 
 go way too. Some more come bad hurt. Mebbe so like 
 mountain fever ; mebbe so heap sick inside. Big 
 medicine man takes little knife, cut em all open, so. 
 Cut out big chunk, mebbe so little chunk, all same; 
 sew em up again, so, sabe? White maiden stand by, 
 help big medicine man. Mother medicine man stand 
 by give em heap strong stuff on cloth, sabe? Sick 
 man all same breathe em in, byme by go sleep ; no 
 feel em knife. Big medicine man heap cut. Sick man 
 no feel all same. Byme by wake up. Heap sick now 
 long time ; mebbe get all well ; mebbe so one moon, 
 mebbe so two moons; mebbe so die. All same pale 
 face maiden heap brave; save many white man like 
 Jack." 
 
 Chiquita never took her eyes from Jack s counte- 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS 99 
 
 nance. That she fully understood every phase of the 
 hospital life as portrayed by him was evident from 
 the dilated nostril, the wide-open eyes and the tumultu 
 ous heaving of the bosom through the heavy folds of 
 her buckskin. She waited a full two minutes after 
 Jack had finished, and then in a voice just above a 
 whisper asked : " Will the white man Jack take Chi- 
 quita to see the medicine tepee of the white people 
 that she may see the fair white sister in her medicine 
 clothes?" 
 
 Jack little realized that he had touched the one chord 
 in Chiquita s character that she yearned to follow. 
 The imaginings of her young life had met with no 
 sympathetic response. She revolted at the cruelty 
 often displayed by the warriors in the Indian village, 
 and the atrocities committed on captives while she was 
 but a child were hideous recollections. 
 
 Jack quickly replied : " When Jack comes back to 
 go with Yamanatz to Blazing-Eye-by-Big- Water then 
 Chiquita will see big medicine tepee in Denver City 
 and the fair sister in her medicine clothes." 
 
 " Will Jack come back Rock Creek when beaver cut 
 em big tree ? " asked the Indian girl. 
 
 Jack figured that April would be early enough, and 
 even that would require him to use snowshoes a great 
 part of the distance. The Berthoud pass would not be 
 open until June, and he doubted if the snow would be 
 
100 CHIQUITA 
 
 passable for ponies on the high divide they had just 
 crossed, but the Gore range could be crossed farther 
 north and obviate the high ridge and its deep snow. 
 
 " Jack will come back the first new moon after 
 beaver begin cut. Will Chiquita be in tepee near Pony 
 Creek or White River? " He both answered one ques 
 tion and asked another. 
 
 " Me no sabe where Chiquita then," she replied, in 
 a rather sorrowful tone, continuing : " Mebbe so all 
 go to agency, mebbe so stay on Pony Creek. White 
 man no find Chiquita on Pony Creek, go all same 
 agency find em Yamanatz. Where Yamanatz there 
 Chiquita wait for white man Jack." 
 
 That being settled, Jack took the blankets and dis 
 tributed them on the willow beds. He then replenished 
 the fire with some half -green logs pulled from a pile 
 of drift wood, examined the picket ropes of the ponies 
 and lit his pipe for another smoke. Chiquita wrapped 
 herself in her blanket, tucked herself into a big wild 
 cat-skin bag, which made a part of her bed on the 
 willow branches, and was soon asleep. 
 
 Through the rings of smoke which curled from his 
 pipe Jack sensed the future, as a spiritualist would 
 say, and, realizing that this would in all probability 
 be his last night of outdoor life for some time to come, 
 he was loath to close his eyes in sleep, shutting out 
 the grand retrospect of independence which a few 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS 101 
 
 months experience on the frontier had taught him 
 a life absolutely free from conventionalities, police in 
 terference and taxes. 
 
 " No wonder," he soliloquized, " that the red man 
 prefers the avenues of the forest, the virgin plains 
 of grass, the rugged canons running with sparkling 
 water, the smoke of his tepee fire and a starry dome for 
 his homestead, to the cobblestones, the plowed ground, 
 the artificial goose ponds, the greasy-surfaced rivers, 
 the steam-heated, foul-smelling hothoused monu 
 ments of man s industry and civilization." 
 
 The ponies snorted as though an intruder was lurk 
 ing on the outskirts of the camp. Jack kicked one of 
 the smoldering logs and a shower of sparks were 
 borne upward into the dark night air. A few moments 
 later and the prowler s deep, dismal howl wafted along 
 the river course, supplemented by the short, snappy 
 yelps of half a dozen coyotes. The interruption was 
 ended and the man of the house again lapsed into 
 speculation. 
 
 " Who would believe that Jack Sheppard would be 
 here alone with that Indian girl in the middle of Janu 
 ary, over a thousand miles from his home, where are 
 velvet carpets and feather beds for old folks, eider 
 down quilts for his sisters and probably a good hair 
 mattress and blankets for the butler ? " 
 
 Knocking the ashes from his pipe and placing that 
 
102 CHIQUITA 
 
 article of luxury safely in an Indian-beaded buckskin 
 tobacco pouch, he drew one foot up and clasped his 
 hands over the greasy overalled knee, resting his back 
 against one of the log " divans " which go to make up 
 every camp, even be they temporary ones. He had 
 divested himself of his outer coat and relied upon the 
 heavy buckskin shirt and the camp fire for protection 
 from the cold. Long strings, demanded by frontier 
 fashion, dangled idly from the sleeves and -yoke of 
 the garment. As he silently contemplated his ward 
 robe he gave an additional sigh and wondered, almost 
 aloud : 
 
 " I suppose these will have to give way to a biled 
 shirt, tailor-made clothes and white collar, to say noth 
 ing of getting a haircut regularly." 
 
 This last " think " made Jack unclasp his hands 
 rather hastily, but having assured himself that his 
 hair was still intact, he gave vent to more soliloquy. 
 
 " If I were to walk into that Sunday-school class of 
 mine, of ten-year-olds, in this rig, I wonder if the 
 shorter catechism would stand any show ? " 
 
 \Yith a smile he proceeded to throw on a couple 
 more logs, refresh himself with a drink of water and, 
 having divested himself of his boots, using a saddle 
 and coat for a pillow, he pulled the blankets around 
 himself and was soon fast asleep. 
 
 He was awakened by snorts of all three ponies. The 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS. 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS 103 
 
 fire had burned out with the exception of a bed of 
 coals glowing in the deep black night. The " watch 
 dogs" of the camp had crowded up to the lengths of 
 their picket ropes, getting as near each other as they 
 could. Jack slowly raised himself to a sitting posi 
 tion and listened attentively. Peering out through the 
 willows he could see, by the restive tugging of the 
 ponies at their fastenings with the pricking of their 
 ears toward the high precipice, that the cause for 
 alarm did not come from inside the canon. Cautiously 
 putting on a pair of moccasins, which he always had 
 near him at night, he picked up his .44 and was 
 on the point of stepping into the open by the fire, 
 when from above came a screech, a long cat-like growl 
 of defiance, yet defeat, that made the canon echo and 
 re-echo with maniacal vocal debauchery. Jack s heart, 
 it is needless to say, quit doing business peremptorily 
 for at least thirty seconds. His eyes followed the ear- 
 vanes on the ponies heads, and just at the edge of that 
 breastwork of rock could be seen two golden discs as 
 big as car wheels, Jack thought. A greenish glare 
 as of a halo surrounded the yellow spots, and occa 
 sionally the bright spots suddenly disappeared only to 
 shine forth again appallingly bright. It was a moun 
 tain lion taking snap shots while it speculated on its 
 appetite. Jack stepped out and gave the end of a 
 burned log a kick into the hot coals. Millions of 
 
104 CHIQUITA 
 
 sparks flew up. The big lemon-colored orbs slunk 
 back out of sight and ten minutes later the faint repeti 
 tion of the first number proclaimed the concert ended. 
 
 The " big dipper " pointed to 3 o clock. Throwing 
 on some more fuel the fire blazed high. Chiquita thrust 
 her head out of the environments of the fur bag and 
 sat up in the willow retreat. " Me want em drink ; 
 mouth heap dry," was the laconic remark she made to 
 Jack as he acknowledged her wakefulness. Giving her 
 a cup of water, he referred to the visitor just departed, 
 to which she scornfully replied : 
 
 " Heap big coward, big cat with long tail. Little 
 cat with short tail all same like this bag, no coward. 
 Big cat all same you call em lion, no catch em 
 ponies, Indian or white man, all time afraid. Big cat 
 catch em rabbit, lame deer. Mebbe so heap hungry 
 tackle em big elk; drop from big tree on elk back. 
 Big cat, little cat, wolf, bear, no come near camp fire. 
 Look at camp fire long way off. Chiquita no fraid 
 when all lone." 
 
 With this piece of information, with which Jack 
 was already acquainted, they both resumed their in 
 terest in the land of Nod. 
 
 The bright winter sun had not mounted far enough 
 in the heavens to shed any warm rays into the camp 
 when Jack pulled on his boots and poked the fire pre 
 paratory to an early breakfast. The ponies did not 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS 105 
 
 look as if dyspepsia troubled them, nor did Jack feel 
 overburdened with belly worship. The little larder 
 was a hollow mockery to the knockings of a ravenous 
 appetite. Jack concluded that a well-fed discretion 
 was better than hungry haste, so he meandered down 
 the river in search of a rabbit, while Chiquita at 
 tended to her morning ablutions. About the time that 
 the average city girl would have consumed with curl 
 ing tongs, cashmere bouquet and in getting her hat on 
 straight, Jack returned with a nice fat " jack " of the 
 lepus cunicnlus family, all ready for the coals. It did 
 not take long to cook the choice cuts from the delecta 
 ble portions of " Bunny." The seasoning was rather, 
 crude, consisting of powder taken from a misfire cart 
 ridge, which Jack happened to have in his belt. But 
 " saltpeter in gunpowder is better than no salt at all " 
 is an old axiom among hunters. This addition to the 
 " hollow mockery " larder sent their spirits up to the 
 top of the goodfellowship thermometer. 
 
 "A burned hare is worth two in the bush," said Jack, 
 as he irreverently twisted a trite quotation and rabbit 
 leg. But Chiquita kept right on in her argument with 
 a section of the vertebra just roasted on a forked stick. 
 
 After the first pangs of hunger had been somewhat 
 appeased the Indian girl said to Jack, " What you call 
 em little things use all same knife when eat off tin 
 plate?" 
 
106 CHIQUITA 
 
 Jack recalled the fact of some cheap silver-plated 
 forks that made up the camp kit. 
 
 " Forks," he replied, adding, as Chiquita seemed to 
 want further information, " The fair sisters of Jack 
 no eat em venison with fingers, all same Chiquita. 
 Think em Chiquita wild girl. When Jack come back 
 bring em forks and spoons for Chiquita." 
 
 To this she seemed satisfied, but remarked : " Mebbe 
 so fingers pale face girl good play em tom-tom, make 
 em beadwork, wash em tin plates. No good catch 
 em pony, cut em firewood, make em buckskin." 
 
 With this she scornfully turned her lip up in a man 
 ner that made Jack laugh outright, a proceeding that 
 always made Chiquita s eyes snap with dangerous fire. 
 He quieted her by pointing at the sun as an indication 
 that it was time to say adios. The ponies were brought 
 up and quickly saddled, Jack s belongings packed in 
 the most approved fashion to stand another hard climb 
 over the Gore range, and Chiquita s restive " Bonito " 
 carefully cinched for the return trip to the Indian vil 
 lage. The last point of the " diamond hitch " had been 
 made and the rope drawn taut ; the last knot had been 
 tied over the roll of blankets behind Jack s saddle, and 
 the last of the morning s banquet had been divided be 
 tween the wayfarers, whose journeys would in a few 
 moments lead in opposite directions. As Chiquita ar 
 ranged herself on the back of " Bonito " she looked 
 wistfully at the sky and surrounding peaks. 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS 107 
 
 " Me make em Yamanatz tepee sun here," pointing 
 halfway down the horizon to the west. 
 
 Jack signified his expectations by remarking, rather 
 dubiously, " Me mebbe so get to Troublesome heap 
 dark." 
 
 Following the direction of Chiquita s finger as she 
 pointed to the high divide where the previous day 
 they had battled long in the deep snow, Jack felt some 
 misgivings as to the Indian girl being able to ride the 
 big drift down. But the confidence she enjoyed in her 
 own ability to stand hardship and the additional re 
 liance she placed in the thoroughbred Ute pony was 
 summed up in her one decisive comment, uttered al 
 most imperiously, at least scornfully : 
 
 " Bonito take Chiquita through deep snow like big 
 fish go through foaming water. Wind all gone up 
 there now." 
 
 Jack threw himself into his saddle and reined up 
 beside the future medicine queen of the White River 
 LTtes. She drew from her bosom a beaded buckskin 
 bag, from which she took a pair of beaver s jaws, the 
 short teeth bound with otter and a long strip of moun 
 tain-lion fur bound firmly around a braid of her own 
 hair. She handed them to Jack, saying in a low, 
 almost beseeching tone : " Will the white man Jack 
 bring em back Chiquita s medicine teeth when the 
 beaver cuts the trees ? " 
 
108 CHIQUITA 
 
 It was a great sacrifice to part with the " medicine," 
 to which all Indians pin their faith. Otter and moun 
 tain-lion fur especially is woven into -the long straight 
 braids of both buck and squaw to drive away evil 
 spirits, and Chiquita evidently had been to a good 
 deal of trouble to obtain the prescription from the head 
 medicine man for her own use. The beaver teeth were 
 symbolic of the time when Chiquita expected Jack to 
 keep faith with her. His reply was made while the 
 palms of both hands were stretched toward her, the 
 fingers pointing up. 
 
 " Jack will come," then pressing his knees against 
 the sides of his pony, he leaned over and, after a quick 
 hand grasp, bid adios to the smiling daughter of 
 Yamanatz. 
 
 An hour later he had reached the end of his first 
 " look." Scanning the side of the high divide he could 
 see " Bonito " lunging forward into the deep drifts 
 skirting the top of the divide. Presently the pony 
 stopped and turned broadside toward him. Looking 
 intently he saw Chiquita wave a farewell response by 
 means of a small silk flag handkerchief which he had 
 given her upon the first visit to Rock Creek. Sig 
 naling a return salute by means of his sombrero, he 
 waited until " Bonito " disappeared into that fortress 
 of snow, knowing that once over the crest ten minutes 
 would be sufficient time to make the crossing in safety. 
 
THE CAMP IN THE WILLOWS 109 
 
 As she did not reappear, Jack struck boldly into the 
 trail, which now led him by easy stages up toward 
 timber line, the dark rushing waters of the Grand 
 River hissing and seething far below him. At the en 
 trance to the canon, where the warmer current of air 
 met the colder wave from the snow-covered mountain 
 side, huge bristling bayonets of frosted rye grass 
 waved their menacing blades at intruders. Lattice- 
 worked ramparts of ice and snow were veiled with 
 filmy curtains bespangled with millions of scintillat 
 ing diamonds, the congealed breathings from that 
 steaming throat, through which ceaselessly poured the 
 mountain torrent in its strenuous effort to join the 
 ocean. 
 
 Jack looked wistfully at the scene and sighed that 
 a spectacle of such rare beauty could not be shared 
 by his eastern friends. 
 
 The tortuous trail often led to the edge of a 
 precipice, where the slightest misstep of his pony 
 would have hurled both beast and rider into a fright 
 ful abyss. At other times the narrow pathway 
 meandered serpentine fashion between pine trees so 
 thickly interspersed that the pack would wedge first 
 on one side and then the other, to the imminent de 
 struction of Jack s belongings. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE RANCH ON THE TROUBLESOME. 
 
 It was pitch dark when Jack rode into the corral 
 at the ranch on the Troublesome. After unpacking 
 and storing his trappings he went over to the ranch 
 house. Several Ute ponies were in the corral. Their 
 presence puzzled him, and as he entered the log 
 house what was his surprise to find himself in the 
 presence of Colorow, Bennett and Antelope. Old 
 Tracy, the owner of the ranch, greeted the new 
 comer with a merry "How how well, beat my 
 brains out with a straw ef I tho t of a-seeing you afore 
 spring." 
 
 Bill, the fiery red-whiskered, red-haired, red-faced, 
 stuttering Irishman, ejaculated, after a good deal of 
 effort, " D d d durn my p p p pictures ! 
 " G g g glad t t t to see yer." The obese, 
 low-browed renegade Colorow looked inquiringly. 
 So did the other Indians as Jack replied to both ranch 
 men : 
 
 " I left Rock Creek yesterday morning and crossed 
 
THE RANCH ON THE TROUBLESOME 111 
 
 the Gore range today. The snow was pretty deep in 
 spots." 
 
 Colorow s eyes glittered as it dawned on him that 
 the white man Jack of Rock Creek and this man were 
 one and the same. Jack did not know any of the trio 
 except Bennett, neither of the others having openly 
 visited the camp below. As Bennett rose up from the 
 floor with a greeting he turned and waved his hand : 
 
 " This Antelope, this Colorow." 
 
 Jack involuntarily stepped back a pace, halfway 
 starting his hand as if to grasp his six-shooter. 
 Colorow saw the motion as well as the swift, penetrat 
 ing flash that shot from Jack s gray eyes into the very 
 soul of the old red devil. But the warrior never made 
 a hostile movement. The least perceptible smile crept 
 into his face as he interpreted the telegraphic glance. 
 He realized that Jack guessed for a certainty what 
 Bennett and Antelope might guess, for Colorow had 
 never told any of the Utes that he actually followed 
 Jack, nor that he waited in vain at the mouth of the 
 long gulch for that worthy young man to walk to his 
 death. It was with mock cordiality that the two men 
 acknowledged each other s presence, but not so with 
 Antelope, who rose and grasped Jack s outstretched 
 hand. Antelope and Bennett did guess right. The 
 ranchmen had seen the little exchange of " symptoms " 
 and were at loss to understand the purport thereof, 
 
112 CHIQUITA 
 
 Nevertheless, they had in an instant, yet seemingly in 
 a careless manner, lessened the distance between the 
 right hand and the butt end of their respective six- 
 shooters, for the frontiersman is keen to scent danger. 
 Colorow remained in his chair and thus addressed 
 Jack : 
 
 " Sabe white man Rock Creek trail ? " 
 
 Jack nodded in reply. 
 
 " Sabe camp where Utes sleep?" 
 
 Jack nodded again, holding up two fingers, signify 
 ing he had seen both camping places, as the Utes had 
 not made as rapid progress as he. 
 
 " Colorow lose twelve ponies," counting them by 
 holding up both hands, then two additional fingers. 
 " Mebbe so white man see em ponies? " 
 
 Jack shook liis head. The ponies had become hun 
 gry, broken away and probably were hunting buffalo 
 grass in the lower hills when he was crossing the 
 higher slopes of the Gore range. A few questions as 
 to the camp on Rock Creek, what disposition he had 
 made of the camp property and furs, and then the In 
 dians drew their blankets about themselves and silent 
 ly filed away to the corral, where they mounted their 
 ponies and set out for their own camp in the willows, 
 some half mile distant. After they had departed Tracy 
 said with a quizzical look : 
 
 " That old devil is up to mischief," meaning Col- 
 
THE RANCH ON THE TROUBLESOME 113 
 
 orow. He turned to Jack, continuing, " Tho t mebbe 
 so yer were goin to plunk him fer a minnit thar." 
 
 Bill chimed in : "I seen the f f f fire in yer eyes 
 and says to myself, it s all over with Cu cu col 
 col Colorow at last, b b b but why in h h 
 h hellen d d d didn t yer shoot?" 
 
 " Well," said Jack, just the least regretting he had 
 not, " I didn t know how much of a stink it would 
 raise. The Utes are getting pretty bad, and the whole 
 parcel of them might take a notion to come up here and 
 clean out the Park before the soldiers could stop 
 them." 
 
 " What d yer mean ? " anxiously asked both his lis 
 teners, with a perceptible blanching of their bronzed 
 faces. 
 
 " Old Yamanatz tells me things aren t going just 
 right at the agency. Colorow and Douglas band of 
 renegade Utes were camped outside the reservation, 
 two miles from the cabin where the trapper and I put 
 up. Didn t the trapper tell you anything?" suddenly 
 asked Jack. 
 
 The ranchmen looked curiously at one another, and 
 Tracy evasively remarked, " Well, he didn t say much ; 
 just said he got lonesome and had left the old woman 
 without any wood an allowed he d cut some for her, 
 then he d go back byme-by." 
 
 " Yes, byme-by," scornfully broke in Jack, adding, 
 
114 CHIQUITA 
 
 with some feeling, " Between me and the corral that 
 trapper is afraid of the Utes and left me in the lurch." 
 
 Tracy and Bill exchanged glances, as much as to 
 say, " The tenderfoot has got his eye-teeth cut all 
 right." Bill spoke up as if a sudden impulse had made 
 him forget the dangers that lurked in the Ute ques 
 tion. 
 
 " How about that redskin g g gal ? Tho t meb- 
 be so y y yer hed jined in holy wedlock into the 
 Ute family," at which both the ranchmen slapped their 
 hands together and laughed uproariously. Jack joined 
 in with them, for he appreciated the gossip of ranch 
 life, and no sewing bee ever furnished better " stamp 
 ing ground " for wagging tongues than the frontier 
 masculine brand. 
 
 Bill set about getting something to eat, and Jack had 
 a double-barreled appetite stowed away under his belt. 
 The table, with its marble oilcloth, real stone china 
 plates, cups, saucers, glass vinegar cruets and a 
 molasses jug, was soon loaded with a big platter of 
 venison, a plate of hot biscuits, a pot of coffee, a 
 pitcher of rich cream and a crock of yellow butter. It 
 was nearly three months since Jack had put his legs 
 under any kind of a table or seen anything the color of 
 butter or cream, and it was a treat that could not have 
 been equaled in Delmonico s to draw up to that feast 
 with those truly honest brothers of wild civilization, 
 
THE RANCH ON THE TROUBLESOME 115 
 
 partake of their hospitality and listen to their straight 
 forward talk, rich in its omission of studied rhetoric 
 or ponderous grammatical phrases ; no fear of using 
 the wrong spoon or creating a social riot by helping 
 one s self to a little venison gravy, even sopping the 
 bread in the platter. Etiquette, frills and napkins had 
 to give way to blunt speech, solid, wholesome food and 
 a red bandanna. Back of it all, too, was his famous 
 digestion and ravenous appetite, essential elements 
 that have no co-existence with spike-tailed coats, 
 trained gowns, " eye-openers " and " night caps." 
 Jack had been busy, but he slowed down long enough 
 to let out his belt one hole. Bill had entertained in 
 the conversation direction. 
 
 " Say, yer know when yer shot the antelope and 
 Irish Mike got sore at it because he missed the whole 
 bunch? Well, old man Snyder come in with his team 
 last October after a load of fish, and we got up the old 
 raft and dropped the net into the bend of the river 
 right there and dragged out over a thousand fine suck 
 ers at one haul. We threw back all under two pounds 
 and a half." 
 
 Jack broke in with the remark, " Those red-finned 
 suckers are most as good as trout." 
 
 " Yer bet yer life they are," chimed in Tracy. 
 
 " Well," continued Bill, " the old man and his boy 
 was a watchin us from the other bank, so we hed to 
 
116 CHIQUITA 
 
 be sort o careful as we picked them fish over, but 
 there was five as pretty red-throated trout clum up 
 my coat sleeve as ever yer laid eyes on ; two of em 
 tipped the scales at five pounds apiece. We had trout 
 to eat fer a week. Gosh all humlock, but it was cold 
 work gettin them suckers ready. We worked til most 
 midnight. They cleaned up about six hundred dollars 
 on the load. Sold em in Georgetown, Central City, 
 Idaho Springs yes, sir, clean down to Golden. 
 The first of em brought forty cents a pound in the big 
 camps, but the last end of em went fer a nickel apiece. 
 Down at McQueery s they got another load for some 
 other chaps a month after; pulled in over seventeen 
 hundred fish at one clip, but them fellers didn t know 
 how to peddle them out and lost money by shippin 
 em to Denver." 
 
 " How s the stock, Tracy? " inquired Jack. 
 
 " Doin tiptop ; we ve got about one hundred and 
 twenty head of horses winterin now. Mike brought 
 in a lot of forty soon after you went down trappin . 
 I keep a good watch on them haystacks this year to see 
 that the snowflakes don t strike fire again. They 
 burned up a couple years ago when I hed thirty ton 
 of as fine hay as they ever get in this yere Park. I had 
 all the stock that was bein wintered, and some of the 
 other fellows up the river had hay but no stock. The 
 range had closed, so they had no chans t to get any 
 
THE RANCH ON THE TROUBLESOME 117 
 
 stock. Well, my hay ketched fire and, of course, I 
 wouldn t see them horses starve, so I had to buy them 
 fellers hay. A good ba r trap would have ketched 
 something besides ba r that winter if I had set a few 
 out. While I m tendin to the corral Bill will tell you 
 about that hole in the door frame," pointing to a 
 badly mangled orifice about as big as an orange. 
 
 " Shotgun ? " queried Jack. 
 
 " Yes," said Bill ; " shotgun kingdom cum," and 
 he had to straighten out his vocal impediments and tell 
 it slowly, although it was a hard task for him, and his 
 red whiskers and hair would rise up in their wrath, 
 seemingly, as he stuttered along: 
 
 " Yer see, Dick Bradner came along one day over 
 from Rattlesnake, and said he wanted a good jack- 
 rabbit shoot. The snow was just right and he was 
 gone all afternoon. He got half a wagonload, I guess. 
 Along about dark he steps in on the way to the corral 
 and sets his gun up aside the fireplace with the other 
 guns. I was just beginning to get grub and had a 
 pan of flour mixin up some sour-dough bread, the 
 lamp standin in front of the pan and me at the other 
 end of the table from the door frame. I was puttin 
 in some good licks on that bread, for sour dough needs 
 a lot of punchin , and guess I had my head leanin out 
 pretty well toward the door. I heard some one step 
 in from the outside, but didn t look up to see who it 
 
118 CHIQUITA 
 
 was, when there came a flash, and kingdom cum, I 
 thought my head had caved in. The splinters flew 
 into the bread and the powder smoke choked me clean 
 up. All I could see was that crazy fool Irish Mike, 
 his face as white as it will be when he s gone over the 
 range, standin there with Dick s gun pintin to the 
 roof. That idjit never sees a new gun standin round 
 but he must pull it up and aim it at somethin . You 
 know how he shoots. Dick must have left the gun at 
 full cock, as he allus does. It was lucky it went off 
 before he got the barrel on a level with the lamp, or 
 we d all been in kingdom cum." 
 
 " You got some of the powder in your face," re 
 marked Jack, noticing the blue pits sprinkled here 
 and there in Bill s forehead. 
 
 " Yes," said Bill, energetically, with several pow 
 der-burned adjectives; " he leaves his mark every 
 where he goes. Pity the foolkiller don t git him." 
 
 Tracy had joined the party again just in time to 
 hear Bill s bouquet of choice epithets. 
 
 " Tain t so much coz he means to do anything 
 harmin , but the big brute is so allfired strong and 
 clumsy that when he sets out to do anything he busts 
 everything he teches. Why, he went to pitchin hay 
 off the far stack and must have thought the fork handle 
 would hold up the whole five ton, fer he Snapped it like 
 a ginger cake just outen the oven. Then he was 
 
THE RANCH ON THE TROUBLESOME 119 
 
 helpin put up logs on the barn. We had the top logs 
 most up on the skids when she fetched up again 
 the cross log that the skid was leanin again . He 
 reaches the ax up and sets the blade under the log 
 and pulls on the handle, and away went my dollar- 
 and-a-half handle. He broke it square off. Took me 
 nigh onto a week to dress another out. But he s a good 
 worker. All he needs is a sledge and a big enough 
 drill so he won t miss the head on t and he can pound 
 that til jedgment day if the feller turnin the drill 
 keeps a good lookout for his hand from bein hit when 
 the Irishman misses the drill." 
 
 " I see he left his rifle," remarked Jack. 
 
 " Yes ; said he didn t want it at the mines, an he 
 allows he ll come back afore the range opens to pick 
 out a hundred and sixty acres somewhere in the Park. 
 Likely as not he ll see you in Georgetown, but yer got 
 some snow climbin to do. Thar ain t many goin out 
 now, and I heerd Bill Redmon say he d have to use 
 skis pretty soon and drag the mail on a sled. When 
 yer goin out ? " 
 
 Jack thought a minute or two and then replied : 
 
 " I guess I can make it day after tomorrow. That 
 will be the I7th of January, and I guess Red will 
 bring the pony back and you can feed both of them for 
 me. By the way, I guess I ll have to snowshoe it in 
 about beaver-trappin time. I ve got a little business 
 myself down near the agency." 
 
120 CH1QU1 r.\ 
 
 Tracy and Bill eyed each other qui/./u-ally and tried 
 to guess the mission, but Jack gave them no sat is far 
 tion. 
 
 " I ll be back here by the middle of April, if not bo- 
 fore. Beaver begin to chew the trees down in early 
 March, don t they?" 
 
 " Yes," said Tracy ; " but it gets lonesome as all 
 git out before Aprile. If yer comin in that soon, \\hv 
 in Christmas don t yer stay now? We ve got j;rnb 
 enough and we can go back in the timber, mebbe so, 
 and ketch a grizzly or cinnamon about six weeks from 
 now." 
 
 " No ; can t do it. Got to go back to the States and 
 attend to some business, sure. You can have all the 
 grizzlies that are loose. By the way, you got that sil 
 ver tip since I left." 
 
 Jack was admiring a fine skin that was nailed up 
 on the inside of the cabin, taking up the greater por 
 tion of a wall ten feet long and eight feet high. 
 
 " We got that out on the Blue about four weeks 
 ago. I shot him eleven times afore he quit bein 
 sassy," said Tracy, with little or no concern, as if 
 killing a grizzly was on a par with breaking a broncho. 
 " I ll get twenty-five dollars for that pelt in the sum 
 mer if I take it to Denver." 
 
 With the dishes cleared away and everything in 
 readiness for the night, Jack, Tracv and Hill sat 
 
THE RANCH ON THE TROUBLESOME 121 
 
 around the liivplare smoking their pipes. The pine 
 knots sputtered and glistened with deep, red-inflamed 
 eyes as Jack told of the Rock Creek pow-wows. 
 
 " You see, old man Meeker has been trying to teach 
 the Utes how to plow, how to subtract and divide and 
 to carry wood, while the squaws crochet, hemstitch 
 and make sofa pillows." 
 
 " Yes, I see them redskin devils tote firewood," 
 broke in Tracy. " If there s anything an Indian de 
 spises it s work. They won t even walk when the snow 
 is belly deep. I ve seen six of em on one little cayuse 
 wallcrin through big drifts at timber line. Why, 
 durn their pictures, a Ute won t cook if he can beg a 
 bite anywhere, let alone plow, and he ll freeze to death 
 afore gcttin wood for a fire if thar s a squaw within a 
 mile to git it fur him. The trapper told us you would 
 git yer fill of Injuns." 
 
 Hill crossed his legs and then uncrossed them again, 
 knocked the ashes out of his pipe, and his neck began 
 to swell. He wanted to say something right bad. 
 Pulling a string off his buckskin pants leg, he com 
 menced tying it into knots, nervously lingering the 
 ends. 
 
 Them gol durned skule teachers is all right back 
 in the old red skule-house in in Missouri," he said, 
 " but kingdom cum, when they try to make them 
 blanket Injuns plow it s time fur white folks in Mid- 
 
122 CHIQUITA 
 
 die Park to put up a stockade and lay in lots of 45~9o s 
 for Sharp s old reliable, and a dozen or two Colts 
 frontier sixes. Them s my sentiments, and don t yer 
 ferget it." 
 
 " Bill hit the nail on the head," echoed Tracy. 
 
 Jack was studying the red, gleaming eyes of the 
 pine knots, and the moccasin prints in the snow on 
 the high divide seemed to gather again in the ashes. 
 He started suddenly, as if an inspiration struck him. 
 
 " Boys, it will come to it. That bunch down in the 
 willows have been off the reservation a long time. 
 Meeker can t get them back without a regiment of sol 
 diers, and he hasn t got along that far yet. Susan is the 
 woman in the case, and she s putting the young 
 bucks into a trance about encroaching white folks, 
 while the old fighters, like Colorow and Douglas, 
 sneak up behind and pat her on the back. Ignacio, 
 Yamanatz not even old Ouray can stop them if they 
 once get a supply of powder and lead. Wait until 
 the next annuities are paid in and Uncle Sam will have 
 to send a burying squad over there. They will not do 
 anything for some time ; they haven t any meat, no 
 bullets to kill deer with, not even salt." Jack stopped 
 for a breath and Tracy took up the conversation. 
 
 " I seen yer was good and strong agin Colorow 
 when yer found out he was here, but I didn t know 
 it was that bad. Peers to me yer must have had 
 a grudge agin him wuss n yer hev let on." 
 
THE RANCH ON THE TROUBLESOME 123 
 
 " Yes," echoed Bill, " s s sumthin must a s 
 s set yer afire down below." 
 
 "Well, Bill and Tracy, that old scalp-lifter fol 
 lowed me like a shadow for two days, ready at any 
 moment, if chance presented, to plant the steel in a 
 spot where it would take, as they say when you are 
 vaccinated." 
 
 The frontiersmen both jumped to their feet with one 
 impulse to get hold of their " Sharps," as if to use 
 them at once. Thus does habit breed in that rugged 
 life. Then they sat down and listened to the rest of 
 the story wherein Jack told of Yamanatz s warnings, 
 of young Colorow s early mission to see if white man 
 Jack was in his camp. But he left the most interesting 
 story until the last, then mentioned no names, "And 
 who do you suppose followed Colorow to see that no 
 harm came to me ? " 
 
 Bill and Tracy guessed every Ute in the White 
 River Reservation. Finally Jack said : 
 
 " The only one that Susan fears." 
 
 " Chiquita ! " exclaimed Bill and Tracy, in one 
 voice. 
 
 " The same," said Jack. 
 
 " Holy smoke ! Kingdum cum ! " 
 
 Yes, the fairest Indian girl that ever drew 
 breath." 
 
 " Or ever strung a bow," chimed Bill. 
 
 " Or beaded a moccasin," said Tracy. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CHIQUITA WOOED BY ANTELOPE. 
 
 Dozens of tepee fires flickered against the dark night 
 pall as Chiquita made her way toward the Ute vil 
 lage. The tongues of dozens of Indian dogs snarled 
 their yippi-yappy language at each other, at imaginary 
 evils and at the resounding clatter of hoofs as her pony 
 loped along through the sage-covered mesa which 
 skirted the river bank. Old bucks, warriors with neck 
 laces of cruel-looking claws and beaded breast plates 
 decorated with strands of human hair woven into 
 pendants, stood in the shadow of the tepee fires. Shrill 
 cries of hungry papooses rent the air; guttural jargon 
 of young bucks in animated conversation rasped 
 ominously against the sensitive ear with words which 
 only an Indian can pronounce, made up as they are 
 from Mexican, Spanish and Indian dialect. 
 
 Old squaws tottered into camp, loaded with bundles 
 of fagots gathered from the fallen timber, and as 
 these old witches with thrice-wrinkled faces peered 
 into the gloom and discerned Chiquita astride 
 " Bonito " they spitefully threw an armful of new 
 
CHIQUITA WOOED BY ANTELOPE 125 
 
 wood into the fire, raising a cloud of tiny sparks, and 
 mutterings, half welcome and half imprecation, 
 greeted her ; all cringed before that dauntless maiden, 
 yet all would have been glad to see her the victim of 
 some tragedy. Her word was law, and that law a 
 restraining influence which had thus far protected the 
 settlers, the hunters, the trappers and the white men 
 and women who composed the agent s family on the 
 reservation, so far from the habitation of white men 
 and so far from the protecting arm of the United 
 States military. 
 
 Old Hutch-a-ma-Chuck was bedecked with a gro 
 tesque war bonnet of eagles feathers, from the tips 
 of which hung Arapahoe scalp locks; a necklace of 
 grizzly claws surrounded his wrinkled neck, and in 
 his arms he carried a worn-out army carbine, which 
 had not been loaded in ten years. Uncas, wrapped in 
 a military coat made from a United .States blanket, 
 stood with a big frontier six-shooter hanging listlessly 
 from his arm, but his eyes snapped viciously as he 
 smiled a welcome to Chiquita, the smile retreating into 
 an ambuscade of wrinkles which seemed to say, "Wait 
 until I get a good chance." Broken Nose, with head 
 encircled half a dozen times with the skins of rattle 
 snakes, needed no placard to warn the stranger against 
 encroaching on this Indian s domain. Bowlegs, the 
 dandy of the camp, was regal in a red-lined vest which 
 
126 CHIQUITA 
 
 he wore lining outside, and an old plug hat picked up 
 at the Agency or at. some frontier town, ornamented 
 with shipping tags and express labels, was jauntily 
 tipped on one side of his head, while a gaudy plaid 
 shirt flapped literally in the breezes, for an Indian 
 knows not of decrees of fashion regarding shirtology 
 and could not be induced to confine the biggest part 
 of that splendid garment from view. 
 
 Nearly every Indian had some cast-off garment 
 which had served its mission for a white man. Hunt 
 ers, freighters, army men, etc., contributed old socks, 
 trousers, coats, gloves, hats, caps, and even women 
 helped bedeck these children of the forest in the glory 
 clothes, but the " medicine " each and every one pos 
 sessed was of the same general character otter, 
 beaver and mountain lion skins woven into the hair, 
 constituting a charm to scare away evil spirits. 
 
 Yamanatz was by the camp fire of his tepee as Chi- 
 quita threw herself from the back of " Bonito." There 
 were no impulsive greetings, merely a question or 
 two, and Chiquita disappeared in the gloom of the 
 night to her lodge, to dream of other scenes and to 
 allow her imagination to carry her to the abode of the 
 white man s medicine houses, where nurses comforted 
 the maimed and sick. 
 
 In a couple of weeks the absent Utes returned, 
 bringing provisions to last for some time, but these 
 
CHIQUITA WOOED BY ANTELOPE 127 
 
 did not abate the surly looks or conduct of the older 
 ones, who chafed at the escape of Jack, nor assuage 
 the enmity which the younger bucks bore him when 
 they learned that Chiquita piloted him safely 
 over the divide. They dared not openly deride her as 
 they gathered in council to plan the breaking up of 
 reforms which the government anticipated at the 
 hands of the agent at White River. 
 
 They rebelled against cultivating the ground. They 
 ridiculed the proposition of a Ute warrior at the plow, 
 and muttered imprecations on the heads of the In 
 dian Department. 
 
 About a month after Jack had left his camp at Rock 
 Creek, Susan arrived at the village accompanied by 
 her father, big chief Red Plume and a dozen young 
 bucks, all eager to drive the whites over the range 
 and out of Middle Park. But of these, half of them 
 were desirous of annihilating the pale faces, simply 
 to gain Susan s favor. The other half were striving 
 to win Chiquita, and Susan was jealous of Chiquita 
 to a marked degree, while Chiquita cared naught for 
 Susan nor any of Susan s admirers. Susan, of course, 
 had learned of the perilous trip of Chiquita, and every 
 Indian youth had a deep admiration for Chiquita that 
 Susan never received. 
 
 Red Plume had left the Agency to personally visit 
 Colorow s village, and endeavor to obtain that surly 
 
128 CHIQUITA 
 
 old monster s consent to move the village back to 
 White River, as agent Meeker had requested. Upon 
 one pretext and another Colorow delayed the matter 
 day after day. In the meantime Susan was taunting 
 Chiquita and Chiquita s admirers, while spurring her 
 own suitors to acts of violence. This was not done 
 openly, as Indian maidens do not take part in matters 
 of love or war, in person, unless the circumstances are 
 very pronounced. Susan felt that it was equal to the 
 crime of elopement for Chiquita to escort the white 
 man over the divide, and could she have had her way 
 Chiquita would have been burned at the stake the 
 morning following her return to the village, for this 
 is the penalty inflicted when the maiden eloping is the 
 daughter of a chief. Susan was particularly partial 
 to Antelope and never tired of singing his praises, 
 but Antelope had no eyes or ears for any one except 
 Chiquita. Many a haunch of venison had this hand 
 some young savage laid at the lodge door of Chiqui 
 ta s mother, and handsome lion skins, eagle plumes 
 and strings of elk teeth had he presented to Yama- 
 natz in his effort to win Chiquita. 
 
 As the moon rode high in the heavens, throwing 
 long shafts of silvery light through the pine boughs, 
 and casting deep shadows across the rushing waters 
 of Toponas creek, Chiquita was wont to wend her 
 way along the needle carpeted bank, her red lips 
 
CHIQUITA WOOED BY ANTELOPE 129 
 
 firmly compressed, while her eyes appealed to the 
 heavens above for the return of spring and Jack. As 
 she wandered here Antelope watched her from the 
 sheltering shadow of some great rock, and chanted 
 love songs in hopes of obtaining the least little recog 
 nition from her, for the Indian must win his bride by 
 feats of strength, conquest or purchase, and not by 
 personal servitude, as does his white brother, and his 
 wooing must be indirect unless the maiden vouch 
 safes him the pleasure of a meeting in some glen or 
 dell, where a few words may be spoken; but she re 
 serves the right of making first advances or indicating 
 by some sign that her suitor may address her, and if 
 especially desired by her she will leave a token in the 
 shape of a flower, spruce branch, or rabbit s foot 
 where the lover may see it and heed the invitation. 
 
 Chiquita knew that the young warriors would even 
 tually precipitate a clash, which might occur when 
 Jack was coming or going from the reservation. 
 She grew sick at heart when she reviewed the actions 
 of Colorow, and how certain it was that Jack s life 
 had been in peril, and always would be whenever he 
 visited the Ute camps. She determined to stop the 
 agitation which Susan was fomenting, or at least get 
 assurance in some way that no overt act would be 
 committed until after she and Yamanatz should be 
 far away towards the " Blazing-Eye-by-the-Big 
 Water." 
 
130 CHIQUITA 
 
 The new grass was beginning to show itself 
 along the creek. Mountain crocuses bloomed in the 
 edge of the fast melting snow, as the white blanket 
 gradually receded towards the tops of the high peaks 
 under the heat of the early spring sun. Chiquita 
 watched the beaver dams as the inhabitants industri 
 ously fashioned new homes for the next winter, cut 
 ting down the big trees and laying in a supply of 
 willows for food and comfort. She looked toward 
 the sun as he peered down into the deep canons and 
 besought the sun god to hurry Jack upon his way. 
 
 It was near midday, and Chiquita sat in a little 
 grove of piiions, watching the splashing waters and 
 gleaming flash of a trout darting hither and thither 
 for a morsel as it swept along in the vicious, turbulent 
 stream. She had hung a branch of spruce buds, en 
 twined with a vine of Kilikinnick, upon a convenient 
 tree, and she knew that it would bring Antelope to 
 her. She knew the symbol by him would be inter 
 preted, " hope in peace," but she intended that his 
 hope must result in peace. As she listened she heard 
 a voice close beside her. She had felt for some time 
 the forest intuition that some one was approaching, 
 but so silently had those footsteps glided along that 
 no sound gave any warning. 
 
 " The daughter of Yamanatz is fair as the morning 
 dove, and it pleases Antelope to do her bidding, for is 
 
CHIQUITA WOOED BY ANTELOPE 131 
 
 not Antelope a suitor for the hand of Chiquita, and 
 has not Antelope done many things that make him 
 worthy of the great chief s daughter?" 
 
 " The son of Big Buffalo stands erect. He speaks 
 with the tongue of one who is a master, one day to be 
 chief. Antelope is brave and his prowess great 
 enough to entitle him to the daughter of any chief." 
 
 " The daughter of Yamanatz is as good as she is 
 fair in that she speaks of Antelope in this wise, and it 
 is a pleasure that the eyes of Antelope go thirsty and 
 his heart hungry for the return of the love which Chi 
 quita can give. It would be for Chiquita that Antelope 
 would build the signal fires, that the Utes may put on 
 their war paint and sharpen their hatchets to take 
 the land where were the great buffalo before the pale 
 face drove them into the deep sea where the sun goes 
 down, and when the paleface has been driven away, 
 then Antelope will claim Chiquita that she may sing 
 him songs of love by his camp fire. And when An 
 telope is big chief then Chiquita will be the mother 
 of many tribes, and our people will again hunt the 
 buffalo which shall be as the needles in the pine forest, 
 and no more shall the white man drive the noble Ute 
 away from the paradise the Great Spirit has made for 
 them. Hear me, daughter whose breath is as the per 
 fume of the trailing arbutus and whose voice is like 
 the voice of the lark. It is Antelope who speaks." 
 
132 CHIQUITA 
 
 " The son of Big Buffalo is as brave as the wild 
 horse who leads his herd to drink of the waters of the 
 deep cavern, but know this, that in the sky Chiquita 
 reads of deeds done by her white sisters who teach 
 the little paleface to say Our Father, and she hears 
 the song of spirits from another land, as they sing 
 peace on earth, good will to man/ The great Ante 
 lope is not a hen to cackle and run away at the sight 
 of danger. He is brave but sees not that Chiquita 
 thinks not of deeds of battle, nor the mighty buffalo, 
 which the great Antelope says will return. It grieves 
 Chiquita that the hand of the white man on the throt 
 tle of the great iron horse is driving our people back, 
 back into the deep sea where have plunged the buffalo, 
 and in their trail are the cities where the white chil 
 dren are taught that the red faced Ute is a dog, a coy 
 ote that snarls and bites and like the owl that goes 
 hoo! oo-oo-oo-hoo ! The paleface has widened the 
 trail from the great ocean by the rising sun to the 
 mountain, to the big water where the sun again 
 quenches his thirst. The paleface has spread out 
 as the wings of an eagle until the lands are gone. The 
 smoke rises from the tall stacks and long ago have we 
 been forgotten by the old Ute warriors who have 
 passed into the great Happy Hunting Ground, there 
 to live on pots of savory flesh while we slave in the 
 sage brush or eat army rations and wear army blank- 
 
ANTELOPE, THE WARRIOR, 1877, 
 
CHIQUITA WOOED BY ANTELOPE 133 
 
 ets, which are brought to us on the cars. This is 
 civilization and it is so that Chiquita is to learn what 
 her white sister does in civilization, and Antelope is 
 asked to be patient and wait for Chiquita while she 
 may see the fair sister unto the end. Then if Chiquita 
 cares not for the civilized life, she will sit by the camp 
 fire and sing to Antelope and Antelope may caress 
 Chiquita and she will be his wife." 
 
 " Chiquita has spoken, Antelope will wait, but the 
 heart of Antelope is sad, for it will be many snows 
 ere Chiquita will make glad the lodge of Antelope 
 and he will then be an old man," replied the Indian 
 buck. 
 
 " It may not be so long. Antelope must not make 
 war upon the white man. Antelope must stay the 
 hands of the warlike Utes who seek the lives of Chi- 
 quita s friend and his brothers. The warriors of 
 the Utes must not molest these people and it is Ante 
 lope who must obey Chiquita in this. Hear not what 
 Susan says and all will be well." 
 
 " Antelope hears the words of Chiquita. Antelope 
 will see that no harm comes to the friends of Chi 
 quita, nor to the white man s brethren. Antelope 
 cares not for Susan. Antelope hears not her words, 
 which are cunning, but hears only Chiquita, the flower 
 of the Utes." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A GLIMPSE OF HOME. 
 
 Jack hastened his departure from the ranch on the 
 Troublesome, stopping at Hot Sulphur Springs one 
 night, crossing the Berthoud pass, early in the 
 day, again righting snow drifts as big as houses, 
 as he skirted around and over the great continental 
 divide but a little distance from the summit of cheer 
 less Gray s Peak buried in her white mantle. Leav 
 ing his pony at Georgetown for the mail carrier to 
 lead back, he continued his journey by rail to Denver 
 and from there eastward to his home. Jack dearly 
 loved his New England home and, as the old scenes 
 again appeared before him, he saw new beauties to 
 enchant and impress him. His mother, sister and 
 sweetheart were all on the veranda of the grand man 
 sion, and, as he jumped from the carriage, he found 
 himself attacked by a center rush such as no college 
 boy ever before struck. At least five touch downs 
 were scored before they broke away. 
 
 " Did you bring any Indian things ?" all demanded 
 in a chorus. 
 
A GLIMPSE OF HOME 135 
 
 " I say Jack," said Hazel, " where is the pony you 
 promised me?" 
 
 "I want those eagle plumes for my hat," said one 
 of his sisters. Even his mother could not resist the 
 avalanche of wants and, during an opportune lull, 
 archly asked if there was any danger of her having 
 to give up the " spare room " to an Indian daughter- 
 in-law, which of course produced a laugh at the ex 
 pense of Hazel. 
 
 With the first greetings over, Jack at last got his 
 mother and father alone, and plunged into the subject 
 uppermost in his mind. 
 
 " My son," his mother commented, " be cautious re 
 garding your actions with this heathen daughter of 
 the wilderness. You can not tell what kind of an am 
 bush she may lead you into. Fancy Hazel trotting 
 about educating one of the young warriors !" 
 
 This was logic with a vengeance. Even Jack could 
 not gainsay it. It was the same old proposition 
 of woman s prerogative to outdo a man. Jack pon 
 dered over the trip from the Ute village across the di 
 vide and the night camp in the willows. He looked 
 a little sheepish and waited in discreet silence. 
 
 " Is it necessary, Jack," asked his father, " that you 
 should go to this unheard-of mine with the old In 
 dian ? Why not let him go and return with the treas 
 ure alone as he has done before?" 
 
136 CHIQUITA 
 
 " He is too old to attempt the journey and it is his 
 desire that Chiquita be one of the party, as he will 
 give the mine to her and myself equally," answered 
 Jack, not at all assured that the reply would make 
 matters any better. 
 
 " Have you such an unbounded faith in a crafty 
 Indian as to believe that he knows of any such fabu 
 lous treasure that even a nation might send an army 
 to snatch away from its rightful owners, and that he 
 will lead you to this mine simply to reward you for 
 standing as press agent for his equally crafty daugh 
 ter?" 
 
 Jack saw that his father was beginning to tread 
 upon dangerous ground, that it would take but little 
 to cause an unpleasant scene unless he could over 
 come the prejudice now gaining ground with his 
 parents. He keenly felt the implied lack of confidence 
 which both displayed, and for a moment he was in 
 clined to become a trifle skeptical himself, but he 
 quickly reasoned, "If I show any weakening they 
 will hammer all the harder." 
 
 " Father," he slowly began, " and mother, you are 
 both ripe in the experience of this world, with the civ 
 ilized method of taking from the untutored forest 
 man his hunting ground, his home, by the simple pro 
 cess of a representation from each state of a govern 
 ment ; a proposition is voted upon to drive this native 
 
A GLIMPSE OF HOME 137 
 
 farther and farther toward the setting sun, farther 
 and farther back, until now he lives in a barren coun 
 try, his larder empty and his proud mien broken. The 
 remnant of former greatness drooped to a low ebb 
 of cunning, outmatched only by the cunning of the 
 frontier statesman, backed by the grasping political 
 land-grabber and office-holding despot bidding for 
 votes these jackals whose blighting breath corrupt 
 juries, legislatures and even the church into a belief 
 that it is justice to waylay the child of nature in the 
 onward march of civilization, to wrest from him the 
 land which God gave as an heritage. Yes, father, I 
 have unbounded faith in Yamanatz that he can and 
 will show me the greatest mass of gold in one mine 
 ever uncovered by the hand of man. I will forestall 
 you as to finance. See, in this pouch is some twenty 
 pounds of gold dust, which the great chief gave me 
 for pin money, and in the strong box of the express 
 company is one hundred pounds of the same kind of 
 dust. This is earnest money. This deposit, made of 
 his own accord, warrants my belief in his ability to 
 produce the property. Coupled with this was the 
 watchfulness over me by both Yamanatz and Chi- 
 quita, and but for their care and warning I should 
 not be here now." 
 
 As Jack unrolled the buckskin pouch of nuggets 
 and grains of dull, rich gold, the look on his father s 
 
138 CHIQUITA 
 
 face changed from one of intense scorn to deference, 
 from sarcasm to a fawning smile. The avarice in his 
 nature manifested itself in so apparent a manner that 
 Jack was tempted to make one little fling, but re 
 strained himself. 
 
 " My son, what you have uttered about the Indian 
 being deprived of his land is the old story. Every 
 once in a while it comes out in a little different cover, 
 but are we to blame for the actions of our ancestors? 
 They came here to live, to escape the tyranny of rulers 
 whom they renounced, and in the seeking of a new 
 world were obliged to treat with these pagans. Is it 
 not far better to have this country populated with a 
 race of God-fearing, civilized, labor-giving people, 
 a people who by their master minds and master hands 
 today provide the world with food, with clothing, 
 with machinery that other nations may become en 
 lightened and as progressive as we are?" 
 
 ;( Yes," interrupted Jack, " and with our own ma 
 chinery send back goods and experienced laborers to 
 compete with the skilled labor we have educated up to 
 the necessary standard. You would add also, that this 
 class of citizens, with its Saturday night carousals 
 and Monday s line of police court criminals, is su 
 perior to the noble red man, who knew not fire water 
 nor knavery until these civilized, God-fearing peo 
 ple taught it to them." 
 
A GLIMPSE OF HOME 139 
 
 " Well, Jack, are you going to head a tribe of Utes 
 to drive us back across the big sea?" 
 
 " No, father, I guess I shall have all the work of 
 philanthropy I need in piloting this young heathen 
 through the hell gate of learning into the whirling 
 vortex of society and accomplishments," laughingly 
 answered Jack. 
 
 " When will you start on this quest?" timidly asked 
 his mother. 
 
 " Not later than the first of March, for I must be 
 at Rock Creek soon after that time, and part of the 
 trip is via the snow shoe route." 
 
 Just then Hazel and Jack s sisters knocked imper 
 atively for admission. 
 
 " Oh ee, Jack, is that real gold dust in that nasty 
 looking bag?" said Miss Hazel, as she sniffed at the 
 pouch suspiciously. 
 
 " Yes, Miss Tenderfoot, that is the real stuff." 
 
 " What is that you call me, tenderfeet ? Why, my 
 feet are not tender." 
 
 " Oh, that is the mountain name for what sailors 
 call landlubbers/ and say, when I get a couple of 
 wagon loads of that you will tack my name onto your 
 own with a little hyphen, won t you, dear?" 
 
 " I say, Jack," broke in one of his sisters, " did you 
 run across any good looking white men, with lots of 
 money, that want some one nice, to cook for two ? " 
 
140 CHIQUITA 
 
 And the dear little apron-bedecked bit of sunshine 
 pirouetted on her toes in gleeful anticipation of Jack s 
 reply. 
 
 " Sure I did. Bill commissioned me to get him a 
 cook, dishwasher, milkmaid and wood chopper," 
 
 " Hold on, Mr. Jack, I draw the line on milking. 
 Ugh ! I tried it once down at Uncle John s and I 
 squirted my eyes full of milk. You need not laugh 
 so. Uncle John just laughed fit to kill himself. That 
 wasn t half so bad as Hazel, though. She tried to 
 put blankets over the little pigs so they would keep 
 warm, and when the old pig chased her" 
 
 " You stop, stop, stop ! Fire ! Water !" screamed 
 Hazel and no one ever found out what happened 
 during the chase. 
 
 Then sister Katherine wanted something. 
 
 " Jack, you know what you promised to get me 
 once, and you said when you had enough money you 
 would buy me a nice canary and brass cage, and now 
 that you have got it such lots of it won t you keep 
 your word?" 
 
 " They raise larger and louder voiced birds in the 
 west than they do in the Hartz mountains. The 
 Rocky mountain canary is the greatest warbler on 
 earth. I have my mind on one that is a daisy and 
 when I come back you shall surely have it." 
 
 " Oh, Jack, you are so good," murmured she. 
 
A GLIMPSE OF HOME 141 
 
 Jack s eyes twinkled as he thought of the joke he 
 would have on Katherine, but he never said a word. 
 Turning to Hazel he said : " Well, Lady Jack, what 
 do you think of my chaperoning a dusky maiden for 
 several years in her search for a continuous perform 
 ance of good deeds, hospitals, nurses and the study of 
 political and social economy? Do you think her thirst 
 will find a quencher?" 
 
 " Oh, Jack, go by all means, only don t attempt to 
 get her into any clubs or societies and expect me to 
 help you out. I recommended Daisy Deane for initia 
 tion in our B. A. F. club, you know Bachelors Are 
 Forbidden, and she got one black ball. Daisy is a 
 stenographer, you know, and her employer is Mr. 
 Doolittle and Mrs. Doolittle is our High Priestess." 
 
 " Yes," said Jack curtly, " and she does not belie 
 her name, I guess." 
 
 " That isn t all, Jack. Mrs. Doolittle has got her 
 ax sharpened for me, I understand, at next election. 
 I was going to run for corresponding secretary, but 
 I guess I will give it up!" 
 
 The short visit made to his home was devoted 
 mainly to making arrangements with tutors and de 
 ciding on the best lines to follow in fitting Chiquita 
 for the work she had chosen. 
 
 Hazel and his sisters made quite a bit of sport of 
 the undertaking, but Jack took it all good naturedly, 
 
142 CHIQUITA 
 
 holding his own against the combined forces in 
 repartee. 
 
 After these details were disposed of he joined Hazel 
 at her home for a few days, then started for the fron 
 tier. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 UTE, BIG WARRIOR NO PLOW. 
 
 The diuturnal petticoat of snow which clothed the 
 mountain was getting shorter and shorter as the diur 
 nal sun crept farther and farther north on his summer 
 ascension. The beavers were busy, tooth and tail, 
 building new dams and repairing old ones. The Ute 
 ponies were getting fat on new buffalo and bunch 
 grass, and the tender-eyed does were seeking higher 
 altitudes when Jack again reached the old trail lead 
 ing to the Indian village on Rock Creek. 
 
 Chiquita spied the lone horseman long before he was 
 aware of his proximity to the old camping ground. 
 
 " Chiquita heap glad to see Jack." She made her 
 welcome, palms to the front, raised high in the air. 
 
 " How ! How !" replied Jack and he looked askance 
 at Chiquita in wonderment that she should be so far 
 from the village. " Jack no sabe," he continued, and 
 looked from one point of the compass to another for 
 a familiar landmark. 
 
 " Chiquita know, see Jack, old trail behind big 
 peak, new trail this way, when Jack go where sun 
 
144 CHIQUITA 
 
 rise, ground covered with heap big snow no see this 
 trail." 
 
 " Me sabe. Where Yamanatz, Colorow, Ante 
 lope?" 
 
 Chiquita smiled at the first, became grave at the 
 second and a flash shot from her eyes at the word 
 Antelope, then her face saddened as she looked into 
 Jack s very soul. " Yamanatz well, Colorow gone to 
 Agency, Antelope ready for big pony race Susan 
 want Antelope, Antelope no like Susan, like mebbe 
 so Jack knows," she said with an arch look. " Ante 
 lope get up big race when white man come from Hot 
 Sulphur Springs with heap fast pony to race Ute 
 ponies mebbe so Ute win ponies white man walk 
 back, Antelope heap smart. Plan big race, big dance 
 and big games among the braves. Susan she put 
 Antelope up to it, beat all Indians and white men, 
 win Susan for his wife, carry her off to his tepee 
 where she sing songs in twilight. But Antelope tell 
 Chiquita he no race just make believe. Antelope 
 wait for Chiquita, but" and she stopped abruptly 
 with the frightened look of a startled deer as she 
 gazed again into Jack s face. 
 
 " When race?" he asked. 
 
 " Three moons." 
 
 " About August," said Jack to himself. Then 
 aloud, as a bright thought came to him, " Does Chi 
 quita sabe name of white man s ponies?" 
 
UTE, BIG WARRIOR NO PLOW 145 
 
 " Me sabe one," she replied. 
 
 " Jack sabe one heap fast pony in Middle Park. 
 Brown Dick/ run like the forked lightning out of 
 the clouds." 
 
 Chiquita looked surprised and interrogatively an 
 swered, " Mebbe so Brown Dick beat em Ute 
 ponies, white man ride back?" 
 
 At which Jack laughed heartily. Chiquita con 
 tinued : " That is the pony Antelope think no run 
 much, heap fast, but Ute beat him. Antelope bet 
 money, beads, buckskin, two ponies and other Utes 
 bet heap lot." 
 
 " Has Yamanatz bet anything yet ?" asked Jack. 
 
 " Yamanatz don t know wait Jack come Jack 
 tell Yamanatz what to do." 
 
 Jack knew the horse well and all the people inter 
 ested in the races and decided to stay and see the 
 sport. Even had Yamanatz desired to go to the big 
 mine, they would go later. On reference to his calen 
 dar he found a total eclipse of the sun would take 
 place in August and he desired to see the Indians 
 under this phenomenon as well as in their sports, and 
 witness the struggles for the hand of Susan. 
 
 Upon arrival at the Indian village Yamanatz 
 greeted Jack in the customary fashion. It was not 
 long before they arranged to wait for the August fes 
 tivities, then start for the desert mine from the 
 
146 CHIQUITA 
 
 Agency, to which point the Rock Creek village moved 
 a short time after Jack s arrival. 
 
 During the three months Jack spent his time pros 
 pecting, hunting, and studying Indian character. Chi- 
 quita made rapid strides in her studies under his tu 
 torship and by the time set for the races she could con 
 verse very well in English and read ordinary words. 
 Jack watched the ponies and the athletic braves as 
 preparation was made for the great event. 
 
 For days the frontiersmen along the reservation 
 border had been wending their way to the Agency. 
 Gamblers and confidence men from the nearest min 
 ing camps ran over to gather in a few dollars which 
 would be " easy money." The Government s long 
 delayed annuities and rations were to be distributed 
 the week before the contest, so every Indian had 
 money to bet or to buy plunder with. Groups of In 
 dians, squatting on their haunches or kneeling be 
 side a big blanket spread upon the ground as a table, 
 gambled or traded their wares in common with the 
 visitors. 
 
 On a big Navajo blanket sat Chiquita, making 
 beaded moccasins, while near by on another blanket 
 rested Susan, engaged in beading a buckskin shirt. 
 Off at the side with bridle reins dragging, four ponies 
 fed on the stubby grass as their owners, two Indians 
 and two cowmen, played Spanish monte. The cow- 
 
UTE, BIG WARRIOR NO PLOW 147 
 
 men wore heavily fringed buckskin shirts and broad- 
 brimmed hats, each hat having a leather band and 
 leather string which passed back of the ears and under 
 the back of the head to keep the hat from blowing 
 off. Their feet were clad in high-topped boots, from 
 which clanked the cruel Mexican spurs with tinkling 
 bells. Each and, in fact, every man on the reserva 
 tion, had six-shooters some four, and nearly all 
 carried some make of rifle, not that they feared any 
 evil, but it was second nature to be prepared for 
 game of any kind. Another mark of civilization was 
 the red bandanna handkerchief tied loosely around 
 nearly every man s throat. 
 
 Oaths of the most curdling nature bellowed their 
 way incessantly into the ears of the onlooker. A 
 brightly painted Indian with eagle feathered bonnet 
 and a string of grizzly claws around his neck, won a 
 mule skinner s money. The latter turned loose a wild 
 yell and a string of hair-raising adjectives, accom 
 panied by the pistol-like crack of his fifteen-foot whip, 
 and stalked off to his mules, swearing " agin the 
 Gov n ment, the redskin and hisself" chiefly in the 
 end " agin hisself." Jack hailed him. 
 
 " Pard, I ve seen you before." 
 
 " Mebbe so, stranger ; I ve lived in these hills many 
 snows," answered the freighter. 
 
 " Didn t you lose some blankets about a year ago in 
 
148 CHIQUITA 
 
 the Wet Mountain valley, near Buena Vista?" asked 
 Jack without mincing matters. 
 
 " That s what I did, but I got em back and well" 
 and he stopped as Jack commenced to smile. " What 
 pleases you, stranger?" 
 
 " I was picturing in my mind what that fellow s 
 wife, if he had one, and she could have seen him, 
 would have said after you fellows got through heaving 
 him into that dirty pond instead of hanging him." 
 
 The man of mules and wagons broke into a long 
 guffaw that echoed back from the woods, and circled 
 his long whip about his head, allowing the big broad 
 cracker to settle lightly the length of the lash from 
 him as daintily as an expert caster lets his flies settle 
 into a riffle where the big trout hide, then with a fierce 
 backward motion and overhand shoot to the front the 
 long sinuous black snake straightened out with a vi 
 cious snap that made Jack wince, for it told the rest of 
 the tale of what happened to the blanket thief before 
 " court " adjourned. Then the freighter finished his 
 remark. 
 
 " Well, that onery cuss that stole my blanket has 
 got my mark on his hide, made like that." 
 
 " Yes, I think he must have about fifteen of them 
 the way the whips cracked as he ran the gauntlet be 
 tween about thirty of you. Did he live?" 
 
 " Oh, yes. That is he was alive when we left him 
 on the prairie, headed for the Missouri River." 
 
UTE, BIG WARRIOR NO PLOW 149 
 
 " I was on my way to Leadville. Buena Vista was 
 the end of the railroad and in looking after some 
 freight at the depot I saw the preliminaries of opening 
 court and execution of judgment against the pris 
 oner," explained Jack. To which the grizzled teamster 
 replied : 
 
 " It looks cruel to one not familiar with frontier life. 
 It seems a crime, the justice which overtakes horse 
 thieves and camp prowlers, while those who commit 
 greater crimes go free. But there are no two things so 
 essential to life on the border as blankets and horses. 
 We have to sleep and travel. Hotels don t pop up 
 for the asking, with warm beds on a winter s night, 
 nor do horses grow out of a pine bough when a man 
 is miles away from any habitation. If men be too 
 onery and sassy and get to be too handy in their gun 
 play with each other we make no fuss if both t go over 
 the range with their boots on a-killing of them fellers 
 does not necessitate an honest man s freezing to death. 
 We never hang a man, nor shoot him, if he steals our 
 grub or watch, or even gets our gun, but blankets 
 and horses are sacred property. . But what be you 
 doin in here?" 
 
 " Came over to see the Ute races and study In 
 dians," replied Jack. 
 
 " So did I, but to make it more binding I brought 
 in a train of government plunder for the Agency, 
 
150 CHIQUITA 
 
 some plows and mowin machines and school house 
 desks. Say, but I d like to see some of these red 
 skins trying to cut a furrer down that sage brush flat 
 or sittin at one of them desks doin sums in rithmetic. 
 More n likely they ll be makin pictures of Parson 
 Meeker crossing the divide on a sulky plow under 
 escort of Uncle Sam s cavalry," at which the freighter 
 turned his gigantic laugh loose again. 
 
 Just then two men in " store clothes " picked their 
 way around the various groups of horses and Indians, 
 stopping a short distance from Jack and the freighter, 
 whose sobriquet was " Cal." As the new comers faced 
 square about Cal eyed them a moment and then said 
 to Jack: 
 
 " You see that red-faced, black mustached feller 
 standin there? Well, that s Sam Tupper, the grave 
 yard starter of the Animas and Wet Mountain valleys. 
 I seen him make the first corpse in Silver Cliff. Won 
 der what he s doin up here. Sure as gun s made of 
 iron he s up here for mischief. It was October and the 
 first blizzard of the season caught us all with short 
 wood and no pitch hot. Every prospector around the 
 cliff made for Nigger Barber s place afterward it 
 got a regular name, the slaughter house, kase Nig 
 ger, he was half Indian, half Mexican and balance 
 coyote had two great big stoves to keep us warm. 
 Four fellers rode into the Cliff about 10 o clock, cold 
 
UTE, BIG WARRIOR NO PLOW 151 
 
 and hungry, and expected to find a tavern started, 
 but they were a little early, for the camp was right 
 young, so they got permission to use some feller s tent 
 near by one of the four was Charley Rogers " 
 
 " Owner of Brown Dick, " interrupted Jack, in 
 surprise. 
 
 " Yes ; and Frank Mitchell, Les McAvoy and Paddy 
 Dinslow. Les was a bad man, no mistake. His daddy 
 was a judge in one of the northern counties and when 
 Les was a kid the old man would take the youngster 
 to some of the faro banks, hold him on his knee and 
 seem to think it cute if the little gambler picked up a 
 sleeper and sold it to the barkeep for lumps of 
 sugar or a bottle of pop. Well, Les got pretty tough. 
 Worked some, but liked his licker and was allus 
 waitin to pick a fuss. He was nervy and could fight 
 with fists, stove pokers, toad stabbers or six-shooters, 
 it was all the same to him. Sam and Nigger both 
 knew him of old in Trinidad and Silverton. The first 
 night after the boys got into the Cliff they dropped 
 into Nigger s and got into a game of faro. Les piled 
 his stack of reds above the limit and Sam there, who 
 was lookout, told Les to take em down. Les lost on 
 the turn, but before the dealer could rake in the chips 
 Les snatched the extra ones off the top of the pile. If 
 he won, the dealer only paid the limit, and then Les 
 would talk bad.- All of em were scared of Les and 
 
152 CHIQUITA 
 
 no one wanted to make a beginning, so they humored 
 him, but the next night they laid for him. I met 
 Frank and Charley durin the day and they said Les 
 had been run out of Silverton, and he remarked as 
 he came into the Cliff, Boys, mebbe it s my time to 
 die with my boots on in this very camp, but I m game. 
 " It was almost 8 o clock and Nigger s was 
 jammed. There was a big crowd at the table near the 
 end of the bar. I sat at a table parallel to it, the big 
 red hot stove making the apex of a triangle about the 
 same distance as the tables were apart. The deal 
 which old Colonel Crumpy was making came to an 
 end. I was winner and thumbing my chips, when 
 bang went a gun at the other table. Say, but did you 
 ever see two hundred and fifty crazy, desperate men 
 push and crowd out of gun play range? Well, there 
 was lots of tender feet in that gang. They jumped 
 onto the mustang table and then to the hazard table 
 and into the crowd, pell-mell, out of windows. One 
 feller was so scar t he never stopped to open it, but 
 went kersmash through glass and all. Durin this I 
 backed away keerful like to the wall between two win 
 dows. I knew if any of em started to run it would be 
 in the middle of the room and I didn t feel like risking 
 my back to that crowd. My gun hung handy in case 
 of a free get-away, or die a doin it. As I felt the cold 
 green boards rub my spine I seen the rest of the show. 
 
UTE, BIG WARRIOR NO PLOW 153 
 
 It don t take a man a lifetime to move when guns are 
 speakin . 
 
 " It seems a kid, with sickly taller-like face and 
 pinched cheeks, a young feller from the States lookin 
 for a gold mine, who got broke and nothing to do but 
 clean spit-kits in Nigger s and tend bar, had been 
 exercised a little with the cards, dealing faro, and they 
 put him on watch with a big Colt s old-fashioned navy 
 on his lap, all cocked and ready for business, with in 
 structions that if Les did any more funny work to 
 plug him. Les had bet his stack as high as he could 
 pile em and lost, grabbed the extra chips, and to the 
 dealer s You put them chips back, Les slid up the 
 back of his chair. He was keepin cases and had his 
 back to me, reachin fer his gun. He had on a pair of 
 blue overalls, and the hammer of that six-shooter got 
 caught in the corner of his pocket. I seen him tuggin 
 to get it out, and the dealer, whose name was Bert Lil- 
 lis, had lifted the big cannon, the muzzle half way 
 across the table, and with both hands pulled the trig 
 ger, got scared, dropped the gun and was trying to 
 skin under the table. He turned his head sideways to 
 keep from scratching his nose, and just then Les got 
 into action. He leaned on his left hand over the mid 
 dle of the faro layout, put the muzzle of his gun against 
 the eye of the dealer as he was sliding down and fired. 
 As Les was doin this Sam Tupper was busy, but Les 
 
154 CHIQUITA 
 
 had his eye on the lookout, who dared not move his 
 hand for fear Les would git him first. As quick as 
 Les made his play at the dealer, Sam reached for a 
 drawer about six inches from his hand and grabbed 
 a pearl-handled, silver-plated gun. As Les turned with 
 uplifted arm, cocking his weapon, Sam stepped to the 
 edge of the drygoods box on which the lookout s chair 
 was placed, his weapon pointing straight at Les s heart. 
 Before Les could fire there was a flash a report. The 
 smoke from the pearl-handled gun wreathed around 
 Les s head as he turned convulsively, frantically trying 
 to get the muzzle of his pistol on a line with Sam, who 
 stood with the least perceptible smile waiting for the 
 eye of his opponent to catch his own, but as Les s body 
 slowly swayed and pivoted the gambler knew that in 
 a moment more all would be over. The fingers which 
 tightly gripped the murderous firearm now slackened, 
 gripped again, then the pistol dropped to the floor ; a 
 body straightened up its full height, the head thrown 
 back in defiance and with eyes rolling upward, Les 
 McAvoy fell prone to the floor backwards. As he fell 
 that man standing there stepped off the box with the 
 pearl-handled gun cocked for a second shot, and hissed 
 between those white teeth of his, You got it that 
 time. The jury heard no evidence of any shots but 
 Lillis and the one Les fired no bullet was found 
 from a Colt s navy, round ball. A conical ball rested 
 
UTE, BIG WARRIOR NO PLOW 155 
 
 just beneath the skin in the small of the back. The 
 jury said, Justifiable homicide at the hands of Bert 
 Lillis/ and I heard that Lillis died the next day." 
 
 "And that is the man who did the deed ? " asked 
 Jack, as he gazed at a real bad man ; " one of those 
 who make the history of every country black with their 
 infamous deeds, which they plan and then inveigle in 
 nocent people to execute." 
 
 " Yes," said Cal, " and these redskins are not much 
 to blame for goin on the warpath the way they are 
 bamboozled about. The trouble is, them cusses in 
 Washington, who never see an Injun and who don t 
 know what a real live one is, pass laws and send com 
 missioners and army officers and agents out here to 
 investigate. Some are preachers, some cunning law 
 yers and some statesmen they call em so. The in 
 vestigation drags along while the poor devils go 
 hungry. Rations are held back, blankets rot 
 for want of transportation, and somebody back 
 in the woodpile is getting rich all the time. Then the 
 Injun takes it out of a party of prospectors or some 
 poor rancher, or like as not holds up a train of mules 
 and the mule-skinners bite the dust after defending 
 their own property. But I suppose in the end it is all 
 for the benefit of what they call civilization. Let s go 
 and see them ponies over there." 
 
 " Look," said Jack ; " must have been a bunch of 
 
156 CHIQUITA 
 
 folks come in last night," pointing to a regular settle 
 ment of new tents and camping outfits. 
 
 " Well, durn my pictures," ejaculated Cal. " Throw 
 a rope on that blaze-faced, lop-eared son of Israel with 
 a pack on his back and let s see his brand. Guess you 
 find them everywhere except in Jerusalem. Hello, 
 Isaac ; where s Abraham ? " 
 
 " Who d you mean, my brodder or my f adder? My 
 name is Cohen, and I gome to make a locashun for a 
 cloding store. Dis will be a fine blace for a town, und 
 Cohen will be der bioneer merchant, ain t it? " 
 
 " Git out, you hook-nosed Jew; this is Injun reser 
 vation, and yer Uncle Sam don t allow no store 
 keepers here, except his own pets ! " 
 
 " What iss dot ? I got no Ungel Sam ; I got un 
 Ungel Moses und Ungel Solomon, but no Ungel Sam. 
 Ain d dis a new town? Don the shentlemans wand a 
 negdie or hangerchief ? I haf a " but Jack and Cal 
 had turned a deaf ear to the would-be " bioneer." 
 
 As Jack stepped around the trunk of a big pine the 
 noose of a lariat circled around and settled over his 
 head and arms; a short jerk and he was brought up 
 standing. Cal looked on wonderingly, for at the other 
 end of the rope sat a buckskin-clad cow-puncher 
 mounted on a thoroughbred cow-pony. 
 
 " Now will you be good ? " The bronzed face of 
 " Happy Jack " broke into wreaths of smiles and happy 
 laughter. 
 
UTE, BIG WARRIOR NO PLOW 157 
 
 " Hello, Jack ! " 
 
 " Hello yourself." 
 
 " Shake, old man put her thar, Jack. Glad ter see 
 yer. Never thought to see yer over here among the 
 Utes." 
 
 " When did you leave Roaring Forks ? " 
 
 "About a week ago ; been looking for some horses 
 that are missing." 
 
 " Jack, shake hands with Cal Wagner. No, not the 
 minstrel man, but his equal just the same." 
 
 " Cal, this is Happy Jack of the Bar E Ranch over 
 in the Grand River country." 
 
 Both men, thus introduced, shook hands, and after 
 a few exchanges of the day " Happy Jack " coiled up 
 his lariat and, lifting his bridle reins, said, " I must 
 look around this camp a while afore the races. May 
 find some signs, but I ll see yer both again adios." 
 
 The spurs jingled and his pony loped off toward the 
 valley. Cal looked at the disappearing cow-puncher 
 and turned to Jack, who said: 
 
 " He s as good one as ever straddled a broncho. He 
 sure is a character and his name is well earned. One 
 of the happiest men I ever met. I ll tell you about him 
 as we take a smoke and watch the Indians. Down on 
 Roaring Forks of the Grand River a young fellow from 
 the east by the name of Eads took up a ranch. He 
 was staked by some rich relative, and after buying a 
 
158 CHIQUITA 
 
 bunch of steers and some American-bred horses, drove 
 them over the Tennessee pass to the Bar E ranch, five 
 miles above the big Hot Springs* where the Forks 
 empties into the Grand. He hired Happy Jack as 
 boss of the outfit, and with two or three other cow- 
 punchers he started in and built a log house, and when 
 I was there seemed to be doing well. I was on a hunt 
 ing trip from Middle Park and heard about the Bar E 
 ranch and the Springs, so our party made the place our 
 camping ground for a week. The grass was fine and 
 all the stock rolling fat. His horses were in two 
 bands one used on one side of the Forks and the 
 other band grazed on the opposite side. They rounded 
 up the horses once a week at least, and the range riders 
 never let the stock get away very far. 
 
 " One evening just after grub one of the boys came 
 down to the cabin from the corral and said, Old 
 Martha has pulled her picket pin and vamoosed/ 
 Martha was stake mare. Jack said, I guess not/ and 
 bolted up the bank to the open bench which run for 
 half a mile back to the cedars and pinons, where the 
 branding pens and corrals were. He walked out to 
 where he had picketed the mare and pulled up the pin 
 with about ten feet of rope left where it had been cut. 
 It was just before sundown, and a bunch of horses 
 which had been run into the corral when the stake 
 
 * " Hot Springs " now Glenwood Springs. EDITOR. 
 
UTE, BIG WARRIOR NO PLOW 159 
 
 horse was changed had not gotten far away. Jack 
 yelled Thief ! and for the boys to hustle and see if 
 some of the bunch could be gotten back into the cor 
 ral a feat, you know, next to impossible when no one 
 is mounted. As luck would have it, four went in 
 when the rest broke, but we managed to get the bars up 
 before they turned. It was but a few seconds work to 
 rope a saddle-wise one and cinch him up. Jack had 
 taken off his belt and it lay on the ground with his 
 six-shooters back at the cabin. He pointed at mine and 
 said, Give me that gun. Throwing himself into the 
 saddle, he was off like a streak of lightning. The 
 mare s hoofprints were plainly visible in the trail lead 
 ing toward the Grand River. About 9 130 o clock we 
 heard a yell and went up to the corral. Jack had the 
 mare. Not a word was uttered, except She was in 
 the middle of the ford just above where the Forks go 
 into the Grand. Both horses were covered with ridges 
 of dry sweat and looked jaded, as though every inch of 
 ten miles had been run in a death-race struggle. On 
 the off side of Martha a dirty red streak mingled 
 with the sweat. As we went slowly back to the cabin, 
 after picketing both horses, Jack handed me my belt 
 and gun a Colt s .41 double action. Two empty cart 
 ridge shells told the story of a tragedy. A week later 
 one of our party found the body of a man on the bank 
 of the Grand five miles below the Forks with two bul 
 let holes in his back. 
 
160 CHIQUITA 
 
 " Jack had one habit that city boys think belong to 
 themselves" 
 
 " Midnight lunches ? " asked Cal. 
 
 " Yes ; but Jack generally had his hungry spell 
 about 2 a. m. Every night that our party was at the 
 Bar E ranch Jack would wake us up and every one had 
 to break bread with him only it was flapjacks in 
 stead of bread. Jack would do all the work, and 1 he 
 was an artist with the frying pan. He would turn 
 those big cakes by tossing them out of the pan in the 
 air, you know, and catch them after the flop. After 
 our lunch a smoke, and while we smoked a few deals 
 of Spanish monte and a story or two, then back to 
 bunks. Yes, Happy Jack is a character." 
 
 As Jack finished his story of " Happy Jack " a shout 
 announced the beginning of the trials of strength, 
 endurance and courage, which would probably pro 
 claim the victor for the hand of Susan. Standing 
 erect with arms folded over his breast, Red Plume 
 watched with seeming indifference the trials. Susan, 
 seated upon her blanket, appeared even more so; in 
 fact when it became apparent that Antelope was not 
 to be one of the contestants she shook her head and 
 disconsolately continued her beadwork. 
 
 The braves vied with each other in feats of running, 
 wrestling, jumping, swinging from one tree to another, 
 riding in all manner of positions on bareback, bridle- 
 
UTE, BIG WARRIOR NO PLOW 161 
 
 less ponies; throwing knives at each other s heads, 
 arms and necks in endeavors to pinion the victim to a 
 tree without doing him any bodily harm; torturing 
 themselves with cruel whips; gashing and lacerating 
 the flesh ; being suspended from a pole or bar by means 
 of thongs thrust under the muscles of the shoulders, 
 and other blood-curdling deeds original with the 
 savage. 
 
 Old chiefs watched the young bucks, and as the 
 games proceeded these old ones shook their heads or 
 nodded in assent as success or failure rewarded the 
 contestants. 
 
 All were in gala dress. War bonnets of elaborate 
 manufacture bedecked some, while single feathers 
 adorned others. Small hoops fastened to long sticks 
 were held aloft displaying portions of a human scalp, 
 the hair floating naturally from one side while the 
 other side of the scalp was painted a bright red. Every 
 Indian lovingly carried his pipe, the red slender bowl 
 made from pipestone mined from quarries hundreds 
 of miles away and guarded carefully from reckless 
 souvenir and market hunters. 
 
 As a successful contestant received his reward and 
 led his bride away, the onlookers rent the air with 
 piercing yells ; rattle-boxes split the ear with their 
 characteristic din, and tom-toms bellowed their dull in 
 tonations with a certain amount of regularity which 
 
162 CHIQUITA 
 
 produced that same agonizing monotony of sound 
 found in a healthy foghorn. 
 
 In a group not far from the racing strip was 
 Yamanatz, and thither Jack and Cal bent their way. 
 Charley Rogers and his companions were making bets 
 with anyone who would risk ammunition, money, 
 clothes, ponies, blankets, guns, pistols or knives; and 
 even war bonnets were staked. Yamanatz was about 
 the only Ute who did not bet against " Brown Dick." 
 Few of the white gamblers, who had come to fleece 
 the Indians with their special style of confidence 
 games, cared to risk their coin against Indian ponies 
 or wampum. They wanted cash, and as the Indians 
 had plenty to do to meet all the demands of Jack and 
 his friends and Charley Rogers and his following, the 
 gamblers saw little prospect of a coup. 
 
 The level, well - beaten, straight - away course 
 stretched along between rows of tents, tepees and 
 lodges out into the plain beyond. Indian races are not 
 upon oval tracks and are not confined entirely to one 
 dash over the course, but include a certain distance and 
 back over the same ground, the finish being at the 
 starting point. Other races are run where the con 
 testant must lean from the pony s back and pick up 
 a quirt or hat as the animal dashes past. 
 
 But the time for the great race on which the bets 
 are made has arrived, and the restless, anxious ani- 
 
UTE, BIG WARRIOR NO PLOW 163 
 
 mals have to be guided to the starting place by their 
 riders and arranged in line with heads opposite the di 
 rection in which the race is to be run. Bare-skinned 
 warriors on bridleless, saddleless ponies, a small, finely- 
 braided lariat attached to the horse s jaw, sit like 
 graven images upon their favorite steeds. " Brown 
 Dick," whose rider is his owner, steps along jauntily, 
 champing in eager fashion the silver-ringed bit sup 
 ported by a silver ornamented Mexican braided- 
 leather bridle, the loose reins held almost listlessly 
 by the man in blue shirt and buckskin trousers seated 
 on an English racing saddle. A little moisture around 
 the roots of the delicately pointed ears shows that 
 " Brown Dick " has been exercised. The muscles of 
 the forelegs play beneath the skin as step by step he 
 approaches the line; the veins in his arched neck 
 stand out like small ropes, and the dilated nostrils re 
 veal the pink membranes as each deep breath is in 
 haled. Charley has maneuvered for position, timing 
 his arrival to such a nicety that the last slow step of 
 his well-trained racer falls exactly as the pistol belches 
 forth the signal to start. Simultaneously he utters a 
 shrill " Go " and presses his knees violently into his 
 horse s sides, leaning far out in the saddle and throw 
 ing his weight against the reins on the faithful horse s 
 neck, who rears aloft, pivots in beautiful fashion and 
 leaps in one bound clear of the line of frantic ponies, 
 
164 CHIQUITA 
 
 and amid the warwhoops of Indians, the yells of the 
 frenzied and the fear of defeat piercing his ears he 
 dashes on to victory. The struggle is not long, and 
 the spoils won from the vanquished nearly bankrupt 
 the entire tribe until the next annuities replace their 
 losses. 
 
 There are no imprecations nor villainous mutter- 
 ings. An Indian is a good loser and bears defeat in a 
 philosophical, stoical manner. Immediately after the 
 exciting races come the feasts given to the successful 
 competitors, and the following day finds the erstwhile 
 holiday-arrayed village desolate and uninteresting. 
 
 Yamanatz, Jack and Chiquita began preparations 
 for the trip to " Blazing-Eye-by-the-Big- Water," and 
 soon followed the crowd of visitors making their way 
 to the nearest railroad. 
 
 The last one to bid Chiquita " adios " was Antelope. 
 He had little to say, but averred he would continually 
 seek the aid of all the Ute gods, big and little, to bring 
 the heart of Chiquita to Antelope s tepee. 
 
 "Antelope will wait many, many snows and take no 
 other maiden," were his parting words. 
 
 The restraining influence which Chiquita and Yam 
 anatz exerted vanished very soon with their departure 
 from the reservation. Susan at once commenced to 
 be vindictive, as jealousy and revenge gnawed at her 
 heart. Chagrined and disappointed at the turn of 
 
UTE, BIG WARRIOR NO PLOW 165 
 
 affairs in the competition by the young bucks for their 
 brides, she coquetted with Johnson, well knowing that 
 in him she would find an acquiescent if not an ag 
 gressive leader. Futhermore, he was the brother-in- 
 law of Ouray and considered one of the greatest of 
 Douglas band of great warriors and fighters. She 
 soon became, in fact, Johnson s squaw, and no one in 
 all the Ute tribe was more regal in dress nor feared 
 more as an enemy than Susan. Her silver girdles, 
 beaded buckskins, elk-tooth necklaces and other 
 feminine accessories were the envy of squaws, whose 
 chiefs were also envious of Johnson aye, even of any 
 one of Douglas s band of braves. 
 
 While the races and general carnival were in 
 progress at the Agency a portion of this renegade band 
 had wandered far out in the plains one hundred miles 
 east of Denver, near Cheyenne Wells, where they quar 
 reled with and murdered Joe McLane, of Chicago, and 
 fled back to the reservation through Middle Park 
 Colorow, Washington, Shavano and Piah. Washing 
 ton was wounded and had his arm in a sling when they 
 met the outgoing party, of which Charley Rogers, 
 Jack, Yamanatz and Chiquita were members, then 
 camped on the Frazier River. Colorow offered no ex 
 planation of whence they came nor their object, but 
 all four were in a hurry and hastened along through 
 the Park. 
 
166 CHIQUITA 
 
 Arriving on the Blue, where old man Elliott peacea 
 bly conducted a ranch and with whom the Indians had 
 been on good terms for years, they murdered him in 
 cold blood and left immediately for the Agency. 
 
 Upon their arrival it did not take long to start the 
 undercurrent of open revolt. Susan enlisted the 
 sympathies of Jane, a vicious squaw, whose husband 
 had a great many ponies. Jane had selected a fine 
 piece of pasture land and under the rights of an Indian 
 " squatted " upon the land in question. It was the 
 best land near the Agency, and Meeker decided to use 
 it for cultivation and to " school " the Utes in the use 
 of the plow. Jane objected, and quarrel after quarrel 
 took place, Douglas even going so far as to assault 
 Agent Meeker in his (Meeker s) own home. 
 
 A compromise was seemingly effected by which Jane 
 was to get another piece of land for her pasture and 
 Meeker again set the plow to going, only to have the 
 man in charge of the work shot at by two bucks who 
 were concealed in the sage brush. Meeker had re 
 peatedly asked aid of both state and Federal govern 
 ment. He begged for troops, as the lives of the white 
 people were in peril. As the aged philanthropist 
 listened to the council held in a smoke-smothered 
 lodge, where warrior after warrior gave utterance to 
 his opinion in a language absolutely unintelligible to 
 any but a Ute, and when at last Douglas made his 
 
UTE, BIG WARRIOR NO PLOW 167 
 
 measured, forcible, irresistible appeal to his brother 
 savages to resist the onward march of the white peo 
 ple, he (Meeker) must have known his doom was at 
 hand. Signal fires were constantly seen as night came 
 on, and the murmur of discontent increased with the 
 uncertainty. 
 
 Finally word came that troops were on the way. 
 Captain Payne with colored, and Major Thornburg 
 with white troops had oeen despatched to the Agency. 
 The morning of September 30, 1879, saw the White 
 River plateau under sunny skies the air was warm 
 and inviting. Twenty or thirty bucks of Douglas s 
 band sauntered forth as though in quest of venison, 
 others of the various bands had been out among the 
 hills on similar errands, and it was not unusual for 
 the majority of the whole Ute nation to be scattered 
 throughout the reservation even beyond the lines for 
 short periods. 
 
 Susan, Jane, Antelope and a few others wandered 
 about the Agency buildings laughing, chattering and in 
 the best of spirits. All seemed happy, Susan especially, 
 and Antelope had not been so gay for a long time. 
 
 Still there was an ominous phase to their very good 
 humor. It had that practical joke fatality which fore 
 boded evil in every smile and made the heart sick for 
 those who watched the sage-covered mesa and feathery 
 clouds which floated from range to range. But a few 
 
168 CHIQUITA 
 
 miles away toward the Red Canon on Milk Creek the 
 troops were hastening. As the advance line swung up 
 to the narrow gorge a few Indians in warpaint sud 
 denly came into view. The cavalry made an attempt 
 to flank the defile and thus saved the entire command 
 from being literally shot to pieces by Indians surround 
 ing the open death trap into which they would have 
 marched. 
 
 Hostilities were begun at once by the Indians. 
 Major Thornburg in his attempt to cut through to the 
 main body was killed, with thirteen others. The rest of 
 the troops reached a place of safety, and with the dead 
 bodies of their comrades, the carcasses of dead horses 
 and mules and the wagons, formed a temporary shel 
 ter until breastworks could be thrown up. The com 
 mand was not relieved until the 5th of October. 
 
 Runners carried the news of the ambuscade to the 
 Agency, reaching there at noon of the same day. Dur 
 ing the excitement which followed and the shots di 
 rected first at the men who were putting a roof on a 
 building, the venerable agent was killed and a barrel 
 stave driven down his throat, log chains placed around 
 his neck, and subsequently the savages in their fury 
 held up the dead man s legs, imitating a man plowing. 
 
 The women were taken by Douglas, Johnson and 
 other Utes to the old Rock Creek village and there 
 held as prisoners until the middle of October. Susan 
 
ANTELOPE, THE CIVILIAN, 1902. 
 
UTE, BIG WARRIOR NO PLOW 169 
 
 was left at the Agency and did not know that her brave 
 warrior had taken unto himself a new squaw under 
 penalty of blowing her brains out, nor that Douglas 
 threatened another with death unless she, too, became 
 his Ute squaw, while the other Indians jeered, scoffed 
 and insulted the wives of the men who lay dead at the 
 Agency. Yet these bucks dared do nothing but taunt 
 the poor, helpless women, as Douglas and Johnson 
 were big chiefs, and the women owed their personal 
 safety to the declaration that they were respectively 
 Douglas s and Johnson s squaws. 
 
 Upon the body of Major Thornburg was found a 
 picture of Colorow, this signifying that the death- 
 dealing bullet that killed the officer had been fired by 
 that crafty old savage. 
 
 After a tedious examination of both Johnson and 
 Douglas by commissioners, Douglas was confined in 
 the prison at Fort Leavenworth for one year. Colorow 
 never was taken into custody. 
 
 When Susan learned that her wily spouse (John 
 son) had been unfaithful to her, she started at once for 
 Rock Creek with the intention of murdering the white 
 woman ; but she was too late, as the prisoners had been 
 led away and delivered to their friends in a place of 
 safety. 
 
 The Utes were afterward moved to the Uintah Res- 
 
170 CHIQUITA 
 
 ervation * in Utah, but many of them visit the old 
 Agency grounds, and at this writing (1902) Antelope 
 again favored the White River people with his pres 
 ence and his photograph in civilized attire. 
 
 *For authentic documents on the Meeker massacre see Chicago Tribune, 
 Oct. 2-15, 1879 ; Denver papers of same date ; Bancroft s History of Colorado ; 
 U. S. House Documents, 1879-1880 (Indian Commission). 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE BLAZING-EYE MINE. 
 
 In Eastern California there lies a strip of country 
 less than a hundred miles in length and thirty miles in 
 width the Gehenna of America a basin so defiled 
 that the abomination of the Israelites, the Valley of 
 Hinnom, was a paradise ; Tophet, where the sacrifices 
 of children to Moloch were made by this Biblical tribe 
 of Hebrews, was at least habitable. Death Valley lies 
 two hundred and fifty feet lower than the tide water of 
 the Pacific Ocean. Upon this strip of land grows no 
 verdure, and within its confines exists no life save the 
 scorpion, the centipede, the tarantula, the hideous gila 
 monster and rattlesnakes, all more deadly poisonous 
 than sisters and brothers of the same family found else 
 where, each species a continual menace to the others in 
 the never ending battle for life vindictive conquerors 
 at last being vanquished by more malignant foes. 
 
 The desert is one mass of burning, blighting alkali 
 sand. The heat is beyond human endurance, and what 
 few pools of water may be found by digging deep into 
 the earth are so pregnant with disease-breeding, loath- 
 
172 CHIQUITA 
 
 some germs, that death is but hastened to the poor 
 victim of thirst who attempts to assuage his sufferings 
 by drinking the polluted reward of frenzied labor. 
 
 At one time the government established an observa 
 tion station within the borders of this waste to give 
 scientifically to the world an accurate account of the 
 perils which await the prospector venturesome enough 
 to visit this living ossuary the realm of the dead 
 and habitat of the uncanny. Records show that 
 the government representative found the heat so 
 burdensome that clothing was dispensed with, and 
 in nature s primitive garb the lonely vigils were passed 
 until the station was abandoned. 
 
 Years before, a prospector braved the perils of the 
 desert and returned more dead than alive, but with 
 golden sand and golden nuggets and tales of a mine 
 whose splendor out-dazzled the wildest dreams. This 
 prospector called the mine after himself, " Pegleg." 
 He obtaining his sobriquet from the fact that one of 
 his legs was a wooden peg. He organized a party and 
 they entered the valley, never to return. Other parties 
 were formed and attempted a rescue, only to leave 
 their bones to bleach as monuments of man s distorted 
 and perverse cupidity. 
 
 The government sent a detachment of soldiers, well 
 versed in the knowledge of all the impending dangers, 
 but none returned save a corporal, and he a raving 
 
THE BLAZING-EYE MINE 173 
 
 maniac, upon a thirst-crazed mule. Thus the famous 
 " Pegleg " mine became a legend fraught with mys 
 tery and weird, blood-curdling memories. 
 
 It was to this mine, " The Blazing-Eye-by-the-Big- 
 Water," that Yamanatz was to conduct Jack. The 
 Utes in years gone by made the trip from the moun 
 tains to the desert land and returned laden with golden 
 ornaments, their trappings covered with gold nuggets 
 beaten into fantastic shapes. It took many moons in 
 their comings and goings, and many fierce battles were 
 waged with other tribes in the latter s endeavors to 
 wrest the secret from the wily warriors, who knew of 
 a safe but dangerous underground river bed, which 
 wound its tortuous way beneath the sand-covered 
 desert, cutting the wonderful deposit in half. But 
 even this passage to that mountain of wealth was beset 
 by terrors as frightful as those above the ground. Rep 
 tiles had ingress and egress from fissures leading to 
 the surface, and one was in constant danger at every 
 step, not from the trail alone, but from the roof and 
 sides of that slimy canon, the gloom of which added 
 to the dark hideousness, as the feeble, flickering 
 torches awakened the lethargic inhabitants of that 
 abandoned inferno. 
 
 The trip from the White River Agency had been 
 made by rail as far as possible. Every provision 
 had been made that could be devised for protection 
 
174 CHIQUITA 
 
 against the evils surrounding the dangerous mission* 
 The nearest station which Jack could in any way 
 " guess " would land them near a point from whence 
 Yamanatz could find his way was Mojave. The 
 curious of the little town watched the preparations of 
 the trio as they made ready to prospect toward the 
 Telescope range. The party consisted of Yamanatz, 
 Jack and Chiquita, and an old "forty-niner" who was 
 asked to join them under the promise of good wages 
 and the usual " interest " in any claims which might 
 be " staked." As they slowly made their way along 
 the edge of the great Mojave desert, Yamanatz was 
 continually on the lookout for some familiar sign that 
 would indicate they were in the locality leading to the 
 mysterious river bed. Finally the fourth day found 
 them encamped at the edge of a low " bench," or hill, 
 mountains arising from one side and an undulating, 
 dreary waste of billowy sands stretching to the hori 
 zon on the other. 
 
 " It is good," said Yamanatz, continuing, " On the 
 morrow Chiquita will go with the prospector to the 
 stream where yonder mountain meets the sky. Chi 
 quita will watch and wait until Jack and Yamanatz 
 shall return. The prospector will find an old vein of 
 mineral in which is gold. He must work upon that 
 while Yamanatz and Jack go toward the setting sun, 
 where the buzzards roost waiting for those who ven 
 ture into Death Valley." 
 
THE BLAZING-EYE MINE 175 
 
 This satisfied the prospector, who answered, " It 
 is not much thet bird gets to put inside his bone box 
 sence the fools quit a-goin ter ther Pegleg mine. Ye 
 hev bin told about thet, I guess, and ye don t look thet 
 crazy as would attempt even a one hour s ride into 
 thet furnass. I ll go with the Injun gal, and good luck 
 ter ye." 
 
 " We will be gone five sleeps," said Yamanatz. 
 
 The second day found Jack and the Ute chief inside 
 the well-concealed stone covered opening which led 
 to the river bed. Armed with horsehair whips and 
 gnarled pifion torches which blazed and smoked, they 
 made their way, leading horses and pack mules along 
 the subterranean passage. Occasionally the swashing 
 of water smote their ears, and at intervals open fissures 
 extending to the stream far below them were en 
 countered, whereby cooling drink was obtained by 
 means of a lariat and camp bucket. It was not difficult 
 to replenish the leathern pouches provided for water. 
 
 The middle of the fourth day they reached the 
 crumbling, disintegrated mass of quartz, honey 
 combed with gold. It was necessary to crush the de 
 cayed ore and extract the huge nuggets by washing 
 in a pan. Occasionally the breaking of some of the 
 rock revealed solid masses of pure gold, while in 
 pockets of rusty, discolored quartz great handfuls of 
 gold sand were disclosed. All that day and night Jack 
 
176 CHIQUITA 
 
 worked with a frenzied fervor, loading saddlebag after 
 saddlebag with the precious metal. Yamanatz assisted 
 until all their receptacles were filled, then a couple of 
 hours of rest sleep was out of the question. The heat 
 and excitement rendered it useless to attempt it. 
 
 Packing the valuable pouches together with the few 
 camp requirements which had been used on the trip, 
 the return was commenced. The entrance was reached 
 in less time than it required going; but now it be 
 came necessary to mark a trail by which Jack could 
 find the way back to the cavern alone. Monuments 
 of stone were erected in triangles, which gave the 
 needed bearings for future use. More time had been 
 consumed than had been allowed, and starvation ra 
 tions for man and beast became necessary. 
 
 When the last monument to complete the chain had 
 been erected it was midnight, and it was decided to at 
 tempt the crossing of the desert strip at an angle. Hour 
 after hour they traveled, yet at daybreak no blue haze, 
 no lofty peak appeared in that simmering, sweltering, 
 burning waste. The trail behind them was as water 
 struck with a whip. The sand in front gave no allur 
 ing sign. The ponies labored the mules were restive. 
 Silently as a moonbeam falling across the earth the 
 cavalcade moved. Another midnight, and Jack re 
 sorted to his knowledge of astronomy to guide them 
 from that fearful death which another day would prob- 
 
THE BLAZING-EYE MINE 177 
 
 ably bring. The constellation of Cassiopea seemed to 
 beckon him in her direction. Again the red copper- 
 colored sun appeared above the horizon; a faint blue 
 line in front gave hope of relief. The ponies were al 
 lowed free rein to choose their own way. 
 
 As the sun rose higher and higher the heat drove 
 the pack animals into a frenzy. The oscillating motion 
 of those in the saddle was almost unendurable. Gloom 
 ily they looked at each other the one seeing that 
 shrunken, skin-drawn, parched, pinched human hor 
 ror in front, wondering if he in turn looked the same. 
 Still they lived and hoped. Again hour succeeded 
 hour until the midnight of another day arrived. Sud 
 denly the mules gave a joyful whinny and started up 
 a sandy gulch at a brisker pace than they had been 
 traveling. The last of the water had been divided that 
 noon and no food had been tasted for three days. In 
 another hour they came to a rock where a little pool 
 struggled only to lose itself in the sand. But by 
 scooping away the earth while the animals were paw 
 ing, even biting, the very ground, Jack was at last able 
 to save a little of the precious fluid and appease their 
 immediate thirst. 
 
 A short rest and the march was again resumed. By 
 noon, gaunt and hidedrawn, two Indian ponies stum 
 bled along the burning sands. Two horsemen with 
 vacant, stony stare, pitifully reeled in their saddles as 
 
178 CHIQUITA 
 
 their horses wabbled slowly, painfully into the camp 
 of the " Lone Fisherman. " Pack mules with droop 
 ing, lifeless ears, tongues lolling from their mouths 
 and hoofs cracking from contact with the poisonous 
 alkaloids of the desert, staggered under their burdens 
 as they toiled after the silent spectres in the lead. The 
 dust-begrimed, skin-dried, withered, parched and 
 blighted beings athwart those animated skeletons were 
 Jack and Yamanatz. The load under which the beasts 
 of burden tottered was gold. Death Valley had been 
 invaded, and once more substantial treasure from the 
 " Pegleg " mine gave positive evidence of the fabulous 
 riches, surpassing the most wonderful opulence of an 
 cient kings, which was accorded those who survived 
 the horrors of the health-wrecking, life-destroying 
 journey. A joyous welcome awaited the returned 
 travelers. Chiquita had determined to get a rescuing 
 party that day, but a kind Providence directed other 
 wise. In attempting the short cut from the last tri 
 angle of monuments Jack and Yamanatz had traveled 
 in a circle. 
 
 Jack recovered his normal condition more readily 
 than did Yamanatz. Before leaving the " Lone 
 Fisherman," which the old prospector found of value 
 sufficient to pay for working, Yamanatz and Jack again 
 made the trip to and from the nearest located triangle 
 and Jack had no trouble in future visits. He soon sue- 
 
THE BLAZING-EYE MINE 179 
 
 ceeded in obtaining from the Government a valid title 
 to the ground. 
 
 The nucleus of that fortune was spent in fitting Chi- 
 quita for her college education. 
 
 She entered at once upon her studies, under the care 
 of private tutors, and in two years time the rapid ad 
 vancement made placed her far along toward the goal 
 of learning. Academic courses followed in quick suc 
 cession, her wonderful intellectual powers seemingly 
 never to weary or flag in their grinding evolution from 
 savagery to civilized enlightenment during her self- 
 imposed task of ten years in the bright fields of knowl 
 edge. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 COLLEGE VACATIONS. 
 
 During one of the spring terms, when the birds 
 taunted Chiquita with their freedom, Jack and Hazel 
 proposed, during the recess of two weeks, that they 
 all take a trip to the Indian Territory and visit the 
 Cherokees, Kiowas and Comanches, among whose 
 tribes were many relatives of Chiquita. Over a rough 
 and dusty roadbed rolled a long train of coaches bear 
 ing tourists, farmseekers and business men through 
 banks of smoke and clouds of cinders to the great 
 farming lands of the west. At Coffeyville Jack dis 
 embarked his party and in a comfortable " buckboard " 
 continued the journey. A couple of miles of dusty 
 road between sweltering hedges of osage orange led 
 them to the boundary of the Indian Territory. Along 
 this in a never varying line for a hundred miles on the 
 north side stretched farm after farm, divided from the 
 highway and each other by thousands of miles of wire 
 fencing. Bare cornfields and treeless wastes spread 
 forth uninviting landscape, marked at intervals with 
 the houses of the ambitious ranchmen, who, by pre- 
 
COLLEGE VACATIONS 181 
 
 occupation or purchase, obtained title to the soil. 
 Alkali dust smarted the nostrils, and the glare of the 
 noonday sun scorched the faces of travelers. Plow 
 men, making ready for the season s planting, rested 
 their teams as the pleasure seekers stopped to inquire 
 the road to California Creek. 
 
 To the south of the highway rolled a grass-covered 
 prairie that seemed a great poly-chromed rug of velvet. 
 The hand of man had not chiseled the virgin soil with 
 plowshare, nor riveted its surface with post and rail. 
 A well defined road led zigzag over its undulating 
 bosom until the hideous regularity of section lines dis 
 appeared behind a friendly stretch of upland. Cotton- 
 wood, elm and oak became frequent as they entered 
 the valley of the Verdigris and great stretches of for 
 est-dotted park enchanted the eye and gave rest to 
 tiresome monotony of treeless plain. Occasionally an 
 unpretentious, unpainted shanty gave evidence of man, 
 and inquiry proved it to be the abiding place of one of 
 the precivilized occupants of unfettered expanse of 
 the American continent, the other a " squaw man," 
 who had made matrimonial alliance with the partially 
 civilized companion. 
 
 " Jack," said Chiquita, after the inspection of one 
 of these abodes of an Indian, who had adopted some 
 of the ways and customs of his white brethren, 
 " Cherokee once big Indian, now half man, half 
 
182 CHIQUITA 
 
 coyote; little plow, little hunt, little eat little 
 good," and she curled her lip in disdain as she 
 contemplated the work of onwardness. Continuing 
 the conversation in the more polished language of a 
 college student, " Did not the Great Spirit, the one God 
 of the Indians, put his people here in this paradise 
 this continent of flower-carpeted, forest-grown hills 
 and vales, a people noble in thought, noble in dignified 
 demeanor, with a belief in a religion simple and effec 
 tive? Among Indians are no infidels or agnostics. 
 All Indians believe in the Happy Hunting Ground and 
 the Great Spirit. Do you know, Jack, of any coun 
 try where the native race, indigenous to the land, 
 compare with the noble red man as he was when the 
 first white settlers occupied America?" 
 
 " Possibly the Arabs or early Egyptians might 
 compare more favorably than any other nation that 
 I know of," Jack replied. 
 
 " Yes, but Egypt and Arabia are of today, whereas 
 the Indians are wards of a great government, and 
 your government has condemned the Indian to a 
 worse Siberia than that to which Nihilist was ever 
 transported. Look ; there is a specimen of what a civi 
 lized government docs to a native-born American," 
 pointing to a "half-breed" trying to plow with one 
 steer harnessed up like a horse. 
 
 " Hello ! " Jack sang out to the man thus referred to. 
 
COLLEGE VACATIONS 183 
 
 As the buckboard stopped a few rods from the shack, 
 called a " hoos," the individual addressed pulled at 
 his galluses and hat, then walked over to the fence, 
 which enclosed fifty acres of newly plowed ground, 
 said, " How?" and stood gaping at the travelers. 
 
 " Good morning," cheerily said Jack. " We are on 
 our way to Pryor Creek and then want to go into 
 the Kiowa Reservation. Can you tell us anything 
 about the road ? " 
 
 " Waal, I reckon yes. It s good goin til yer git to 
 the Verdigris. Thet nigh ho se (meaning horse, pro 
 nounced with long o and aspirate s) uster belong to the 
 Lazy L outfit." 
 
 The answer was given in a drawling, sing-song tone, 
 with full rests between every third word, when the 
 speaker stopped to pick up a stick to whittle, to halloo 
 at his steer or to show how straight he could expec 
 torate a small freshet of tobacco juice between his 
 teeth at some real or imaginary mark. His skin was 
 a dirty soot color, and his raven black eyes and straight 
 hair emphasized his ghastly pallor. He was tall and 
 thin built on the Arkansas plan of constructing lad 
 ders. His hips and shoulder blades seemed to meet, 
 giving his long, lank legs the appearance of a man s 
 head on jointed stilts. Jack made no reply to the re 
 mark about the horse with the "^ " brand, but in 
 quired the distance to the Verdigris. 
 
184 CHIQUITA 
 
 " It s quite a patch. I reckon yer mought hev some 
 navy about yer close; jess the same if yer moughten 
 thanks." 
 
 Jack had learned that a plug of tobacco had " open 
 sesame " qualities among certain species of human 
 beings, and in his war bag were several pounds cut 
 into goodly sized pocket pieces . One of them he 
 handed to the "half-breed," who tore off a corner 
 with his teeth, absentmindedly putting the rest in his 
 pocket. The " tip " had the desired effect, for " Lad 
 der Legs " recounted in the drawl of the Cherokee 
 half-breeds, with its characteristic aspirating, all the 
 crooks, turns, fords and distances to the Kiowa Res 
 ervation. In response to Jack s inquiry regarding the 
 limited cultivation of the land so near the Kansas 
 border, " Ladder Legs " vouchsafed this information : 
 
 "A squaw man has little ambition, and a half- 
 breed none. The environments of Indian life make a 
 States man dejected and he soon outgrows the in 
 fant ambition which prompted him to marry a squaw 
 that he might take up land in the territory. A white 
 man cannot live on the Indians ground except he mar 
 ries a squaw or the daughter of a man who has had 
 tribal rights conferred upon him ; then he becomes an 
 Indian and can have a fifty-acre pasture fenced, all the 
 land he will cultivate, and the range for his stock 
 to feed upon. You see that bend in the river? Waal, 
 
COLLEGE VACATIONS 185 
 
 a white man from the States married the widow of a 
 well-to-do Cherokee half-breed. He is educated and 
 has grown-up daughters almost as white as you be, 
 and a nice house well furnished, and he rents out a 
 part of his land on shares to some niggers/ or half- 
 breeds, and they cultivate all the land he can put under 
 fence. Some day when this land is allotted he will 
 own an immense tract." 
 
 " How about the range you spoke of? " asked Jack. 
 
 " The cattlemen up in the States supply a bunch of 
 cattle to some ranchman having a good range or lots 
 of open country, well watered, around his house. 
 Probably the man has a lot of corn and wants to feed 
 the cattle over winter and take profit in so much in 
 crease of beef, pound for pound, that these cattle 
 gain. Nearly all of the ranchmen have hogs to run 
 with the cattle, so there is another source from which 
 a return is anticipated. Pays, did you ask ? Sure ; all 
 get rich who will work. But over there on California 
 Creek was a young fellow who had a snap of it if ever 
 a man did. This young fellow married the daughter 
 of an Indian missionary, a preacher from up in Kan 
 sas, who rewrote the real Bible in the Cherokee dia 
 lect, for which the tribe made him a full-blooded In 
 dian, as far as any rights in the nation were concerned. 
 After they were married they came down here with 
 their fine duds and bought a ranch over on the creek 
 
186 CHIQUITA 
 
 of a full-blood Cherokee. He lived there about four 
 years. He had friends up in one of the Missouri 
 towns in the livestock commission business and they 
 had all kinds of cattle. They started the young fel 
 low with four thousand fine steers in the spring, and 
 told him to raise some corn for the next winter and 
 feed the first lot on the range, then they would send 
 in another bunch for winter care. Them there cattle 
 drifted all the way to Texas, and do you suppose 
 the lazy dude would try to round em up? No, sirree. 
 He was just too nice. His hands were so soft he 
 couldn t get a calf to the brandin post in a corral, let 
 alone rope a steer and brand him in the open coun 
 try. The folks came down on him and he lost the 
 ranch. His wife died and he went to Honduras, or 
 the Philippines, or somewhere. But this yere land is 
 all goin to be allotted some day and then it is good- 
 by to the freedom which we get here now. Yes, civi 
 lization kicks up a heap of dust. Good-by ; stop and 
 see me if you come back this way. Adios." 
 
 Chiquita seemed amazed to hear that an educated 
 man from the civilized States would let such a golden 
 opportunity pass him by. Mile after mile of the fair 
 est cattle range was passed on their way into the 
 Kiowa Reservation. 
 
 The time had arrived when Chiquita must return to 
 college. During her visit to the old relatives who 
 
COLLEGE VACATIONS 187 
 
 had married into the Territory tribes she learned that 
 a distant cousin of hers was to be shot for the murder 
 of a fellow Indian. The tribal council had tried him 
 and sentenced him to death six months before, but on 
 the plea which he made for leave of absence to go to 
 his old home among the mountain Utes in Colorado to 
 see his mother and father before he died, they had re 
 spited him. The time for his return expired at noon 
 the very day that Chiquita was to start back. 
 
 She learned the story about four hours before noon 
 the time for the execution and at once made her way 
 to the council hall, where in solemn silence waited the 
 court and executioners. Chiquita pleaded that they 
 spare her cousin. The plea was made to deaf ears. 
 He had dealt the death blow to a Kiowa, and by their 
 laws he had been tried and found guilty, and by their 
 law he must suffer death. 
 
 " Where is he, that I may see him ? " asked Chi 
 quita. 
 
 " He has not returned." 
 
 " He will come. A Ute does not fear the death that 
 awaits him, even for a crime/ proudly asserted Chi 
 quita. " The Great Manitou will send him back. Has 
 he not danced to Wakantanka with a buffalo skull 
 hung to a thong that passed through the flesh of his 
 back? Will one who has danced to the Sun be afraid 
 to return to the Kiowa dogs? Polar Bear knows that 
 
188 CHIQUITA 
 
 the Utes would drive him back from the Happy Hunt 
 ing Ground and be killed by them if he did not keep 
 his promise to return. Polar Bear knows there is no 
 escape." 
 
 " Chiquita is wise in what she says. The Kiowas 
 know that Polar Bear has been a big brave and danced 
 the awful Sun dance, but the hour is near at hand, 
 and no word that he comes. What have we to insure 
 his return, except the Indian s faith in the hereafter 
 and that the Great Manitou will punish him in the 
 Happy Hunting Ground if he disobeys the Kiowa 
 Council and splits his heart with a lie when he prom 
 ised to return? " 
 
 At this moment a shout was heard and a mounted 
 runner quickly appeared, his horse covered with flecks 
 of foam and nostrils deeply blowing. 
 
 " Polar Bear comes. He runs like the deer of the 
 plains, when we lived in sight of the great mountains, 
 the home of the Utes." 
 
 The council suspended all manifestations. The ex 
 ecutioner examined his rifle. Polar Bear entered and 
 bowed his head, then looked aloft and pointed to the 
 sky. 
 
 " I am ready," was all he said. 
 
 The hour lacked ten minutes of the expired time. 
 The executioner motioned and Polar Bear followed. 
 Under a large oak he took his stand, stripped to the 
 
COLLEGE VACATIONS 189 
 
 waist, a scarlet heart painted over his own. The exe 
 cutioner took his place, a few steps away, sighted his 
 rifle at the painted heart, a puff of smoke, a sharp 
 report, a gush of blood, and Polar Bear had atoned 
 for his crime. Chiquita turned to Jack and asked : 
 
 " Is there another nation in the world where their 
 criminals return of their own accord to suffer the 
 death penalty?" 
 
 Most of the summer vacations of her college life 
 Chiquita spent among the forests, crags and parks on 
 the Ute reservation or in her mountain home near 
 Middle Park. Hundreds of student friends visited 
 her at the latter place and were entertained for weeks 
 in a royal manner, to their great pleasure, a result 
 which does not always follow the lavish expenditure 
 of money. Tents, tepees, lodges, log cabins and quaint 
 cottages were set apart for the use of the guests. A 
 beautiful rustic chapel improvised for religious serv 
 ices and a hall for indoor entertainment were erected 
 near the small hotel at the source of Rock Creek, 
 where a famous iron and soda spring bubbles forth its 
 sparkling waters of more than ordinary quality. The 
 adjacent hills furnished abundance of deer, and even 
 bear, and the famous catches of trout perpetuated the 
 glory of a summer on Rock Creek as a lifelong real 
 istic dream. The most elaborate of Indian trappings 
 adorned the various abodes. Canoes silently sped 
 
190 CHIQUITA 
 
 along the surface of an artificial lake made by repair 
 ing an old beaver dam, and in the corral Ute ponies, 
 Mexican burros or American-bred saddle horses, be 
 sides traps, brakes and coaches presented a never- 
 tiring array from which to select in order to make pil 
 grimages into more distant territory. 
 
 A little garden furnished fresh vegetables, while 
 the " ranch hack " made trips to the nearest railway 
 station for other provisions once a week. Chiquita 
 arranged for the pre-emption of this ranch on one of 
 Jack s early visits, but by reason of mineral springs 
 being reserved by the Government from operation of 
 the land law, the property was abandoned in later 
 years. 
 
 In making her trips back and forth from the ranch 
 on Rock Creek to the college, Chiquita watched the 
 marvelous growth of that great stretch of country be 
 tween the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains 
 with sinking heart. 
 
 To Jack she confided her worst fears. " The Great 
 Manitou of the Utes has been conquered by the Great 
 Spirit of the white man," she was wont to remark as 
 her knowledge of the Christian religion advanced. 
 
 In truth, Chiquita had ground for her fears. Lead- 
 ville, with its never ceasing output of silver which 
 rolled in a continuous stream toward the great man 
 ufacturing centers of the East, was welcomed by the 
 
COLLEGE VACATIONS 191 
 
 idle, labor seeking armies as the Mecca of the world. 
 The prominent transportation companies sent emis 
 saries to all the great farming regions of Europe, 
 colonizing emigrants to enter the immense unculti 
 vated sections traversed by their respective charters in 
 the attempt to make their railways profitable. Train 
 load after train load of hardy, well-to-do Russians, 
 Norwegians, Swedes and Germans rolled into 
 the fertile valleys, peopling the arid wastes and 
 starting the building of villages, towns and cities 
 along the railway like unto tales of mythology. The 
 impetus of this gigantic, overwhelming land-grabbing 
 aroused the speculative world and money came forth 
 from its hiding place to seek investment. Mills began 
 to work overtime. Products of all kinds were in de 
 mand, for the comers to the new land had to be fed, 
 clothed and entertained. Prosperity ruled. 
 
 " Jack," said Chiquita, as the annual trip was made 
 across the great country to the mine near the close 
 of her college career, " see the effects of education 
 and civilization in these immense cities where ten 
 years ago were unplowed lands, open prairie and tree 
 less wastes. The untutored savage must go ; yes, 
 there is but one result can ensue, and while it makes 
 me feel sad for my people yet I doubt not it is best for 
 humanity." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 JACK WEDDED. 
 
 Twas the last of June, the wedding bells pealed joy 
 ously, the church organ bellowed noisily, the formality 
 of congratulations followed along with the flutter of 
 praises for the bride and groom, which they received 
 because it was eminently proper and expected ; a hur 
 ried breakfast, still more hasty good-byes, the whis 
 tle of an approaching train amid the excitement of 
 baggage checked, lost or forgotten, a rush of depot 
 farewells, a waving of handkerchiefs, a few misty 
 eyes, then Hazel had a chance to breathe a long sigh 
 of relief and Jack to unburden some pent-up adjec 
 tives as he picked rice out of his wife s hair and re 
 moved the tell-tale labels, ribbons and signs which 
 decorated umbrellas, suit cases and wraps. 
 
 " Jack," whispered Hazel, as she nestled close to 
 him in the railroad coach in which was no one but 
 an old man, the train attendant being on the plat 
 form. " I was skeert until you squeezed my hand, 
 and I trembled all over. I thought I should faint, but 
 I m your wife, ain t I, Jack?" 
 
JACK WEDDED 193 
 
 " Yes, you are an old married lady now," answered 
 Jack, dogmatically. 
 
 " An old married lady," repeated Hazel slowly, 
 lapsing into a brown study for a moment. " Jack, is 
 it such an awful long time since I was a little girl and 
 you pulled my sled on the hill for me?" 
 
 " No, dear, it is but yesterday and it will be yes 
 terday always, even if we live for a hundred years. 
 Don t you know, It s only once in life one s boots 
 have copper toes, and my copper-toed age was the 
 happiest part of my life." 
 
 " Until today, Jack," interrupted Hazel, very decid 
 edly. 
 
 " Yes ?" inquiringly replied Jack. 
 
 The time for Jack to make his regular visit to the 
 mine had also been selected for his wedding trip and 
 Chiquita was to join the newly married pair at Den 
 ver, then all three were to " do " Colorado, finishing 
 by spending a few weeks in Estes Park and the Buena 
 Vista ranch, as Chiquita called her wonderful summer 
 abode, later going on to California. Jack had pur 
 chased a fine equipment of split bamboo fly rods and 
 all the necessary accompaniments, while Hazel, equally 
 ardent in her admiration of the sport so fascinating 
 to the disciples of Izaak Walton, fashioned, with her 
 own hands, elegant rod cases, fly books and natty gar 
 ments for the outing. Conspicuous among the latter 
 
194 CHIQUITA 
 
 was a short walking skirt and Eton jacket of brown 
 duck, trimmed with bands of white and studded with 
 brass buttons, in which she arrayed herself and prac 
 ticed fly casting for imaginary trout on the lawn. A 
 stop of an hour in Boston gave them barely time to 
 transfer across the city of crooked streets to the Al 
 bany station and to settle themselves for the long 
 ride to Chicago. Jack provided in advance for plenty 
 of room, engaging a sleeper section. 
 
 By the time the train had shot past the beautiful 
 suburban cities of Auburn and the Newtons and rolled 
 into Framingham Mr. and Mrs. Sheppard were quite 
 at home. They commenced to congratulate themselves 
 on looking like old married folks and that no one 
 would suspect them of being bride and groom. 
 
 "Jack, you know something?" said Hazel in her 
 speculative way that always meant a favor to come. 
 
 " Well, sweetheart, what is it ?" Jack presumed it 
 was a glass of water or apples or that her pillow was 
 not right. 
 
 " Well, you know." 
 
 Jack knew then that something more than ordinary 
 was coming; that "you know" indicated not an un 
 certainty, but was the usual signal for a "hold up" 
 nothing short of opera tickets and the young man 
 wondered what unsatisfied desire was about to be 
 "you knowed." 
 
JACK WEDDED 195 
 
 " Well, you know that little descriptive story you 
 wrote of Estes Park, read it to me." 
 
 So Mr. Jack resurrected the tale from its pocket in 
 his suit case and in his rich, modulated voice, read 
 the story for the x th time, he thought : 
 
 " Peerless Estes ! That miniature world wilderness 
 of wonder and delight ! Set apart for the tired brain 
 and careworn wreck from the sepulchers of business 
 activity! A sweet paradise nestled amidst the en 
 circling snow-capped peaks whose somber heads rise 
 far above the habitat of microbe and parasite. Those 
 silent peaks silhouetted against an ethereal dome of 
 deepest blue or blackest star-bespangled canopy of 
 night! The mountain air of Estes; the elixir com 
 pounded by nature for reinvigorating battling civiliza 
 tion ! 
 
 " This enchanted arena, which pen fails adequately 
 to drape in poetical luxury, was dedicated for com 
 bats between rest and toil, health and sickness, vitality 
 and decay. The angler revels in luxury with the num 
 bers of easily accessible pools, riffles, meadows, canons, 
 the most distant an hour s drive and the majority but 
 ten minutes walk. Occasionally deer may be seen and 
 the Big Horn come down their aerial stairway 
 from the clouds to lick from the alkali waters in 
 Horseshoe. Wait until you see the chattering magpie, 
 with its bronze equipment and saucy manners. The 
 
196 CHIQUITA 
 
 foe of this long-tailed, noisy inhabitant is a blue jay 
 (the one James Whitcomb Riley calls the bird with 
 soldier clothes. ) Hours may be spent witnessing the 
 strategy, diplomacy, anger, spite and vindictiveness 
 waged by these bird robbers and desperadoes, for both 
 are notorious house breakers, murderers and thieves 
 in bird land, as well as clever in appropriating kitchen 
 supplies which they surreptitiously seize when oppor 
 tunity is presented. 
 
 "In Estes a Sabbath quiet broods at all times, broken 
 only by the swish of the angler s rod, the merry peal 
 of frightened laughter as some maiden lands her first 
 trout, or the crunching of horses hoofs in the hard 
 gravel roads as a pleasure party clatters by. Children 
 romp and play without fear of mosquitoes or snakes, 
 troublesome poisonous insects being banished as thor 
 oughly as if destroyed by some mysterious necroman 
 cer. 
 
 " Where in all the world can the lover go" 
 
 " Stop, Jack, look into the depth of my eyes and 
 skip those charming nooks, bowers and rock girt dens 
 where so many rehearse the preliminary episode which 
 leads to the altar. I know that by heart ; skip the 
 lover pages and read about the coach ride from 
 Lyons, for we will get to Lyons Friday, won t we ?" 
 
 So after a glass of water, an orange and readjusting 
 of pillows, Jack picked up his book again. 
 
JACK WEDDED 197 
 
 " The ride from Lyons is so fraught with surprises 
 that one becomes distracted. Situated as it is in a 
 veritable fiery furnace of red, rough, ragged preci 
 pices, monuments of the eruptive age when volcanoes 
 vomited billowy lava over the face of the earth, Lyons 
 is the antithesis of what the traveler expected at the 
 end of a tortuously curved railroad track, over which 
 the mixed train of freight and disgruntled human 
 ity has been jerked, jostled and jumped along for 
 about three hours, covering forty miles. 
 
 " But a delicious dinner awaits ; generally fried 
 chicken, southern style. This does not mean a sun 
 dried remnant of a wing, or the active extremity of a 
 leg with a burnt bone protruding through gristly skin, 
 but a nice, big piece of a yellow-legged Plymouth 
 Rock, the real article, hatched by a mother hen 
 acquainted with the business and not one of those 
 Illinois river incubators that furnish spring chickens 
 at all seasons of the year to be kept well frozen in cold 
 storage until called for. This chicken is fried in 
 ranch butter to a golden russet brown, if you happen 
 to know what color cooking calls for, and a whole lot 
 of it comes in on one great big platter, so you get a 
 chance to pick a good joint, but any part of such a 
 chicken is good." 
 
 " Jack, you are putting in a whole lot that is not in 
 that book just to make me hungry. My mouth has 
 
198 CHIQUITA 
 
 been puckered up for half an hour to get a bite of that 
 yaller leg. We are near Springfield; let s eat." 
 
 Suiting the action to the word they joined the mot 
 ley throng in the rush for the dining-room, as the train 
 came to a stop for forty minutes. 
 
 Fresh Connecticut River shad and roe, new green 
 peas, new potatoes in cream, lettuce, radishes. 
 
 " There, that will kill your chicken fever for a time," 
 said Jack, as he ordered for both. 
 
 " You may order me a piece of lemon pie, Jack. I 
 see some on the sideboard and the meringue is about 
 two inches thick." 
 
 " We want to go over and see the train for the 
 north pull out ; might see some Bozrah people, 
 Hazel," said Jack, after the dinner, " it leaves five 
 minutes before we do." 
 
 " Oh, sure enough, and there are a lot of students 
 just going home. I suppose Chiquita is in Denver by 
 this time." 
 
 " Hazel, there is old Deacon Petherbridge and Elam 
 Tucker. I ll bet they ve been down to New Haven on 
 a horse trade. You know Elam had the big livery sta 
 ble that burned down when you were eight and I was 
 just eleven. You remember the Tucker boy was fool 
 ish and set fire to the hay, Wanted to see it burn, he 
 told the town marshal. But we must get aboard." 
 
 The last beams of rose-tinted sunlight percolated 
 
JACK WEDDED 199 
 
 through the gathering darkness as the train sped on 
 its way, winding in and out among the hills of west 
 ern Massachusetts. Hazel watched the fading pano 
 rama as it dissolved in the gloom of the night. She 
 was thinking of her happy school days among those 
 very hills through which she was now gliding, a one- 
 day bride, wife of her childhood lover. As the scenes 
 vanished she shyly snuggled a little closer and whis 
 pered, " Jack, we will always be happy, won t we?" 
 
 " Why, yes ; but what made you ask it ?" 
 
 " Oh, just cause," continuing, " I kinder wish we 
 had gone around by Hoosac tunnel, we could have 
 seen Old Bozrah hills and"- 
 
 " I guess my new wife is a little homesick," consol 
 ingly interrupted Jack. " Suppose we visit Old Boz 
 rah when we come back and have a famous time going 
 nutting and picking autumn leaves" 
 
 " And getting ivy poisoned so my face will be all 
 spots next winter. I guess not." 
 
 The obsequious, ebony-hued gem man, in white coat 
 with black buttons, interrupted the first family differ 
 ences. 
 
 " If yoh doan mind, I d laik to fix up yoh section ; 
 got so much to do won t git through fore midnight." 
 
 " All right, where can we go ? This one across here 
 is unoccupied," replied Jack, wishing to accommodate. 
 
 " Dat section, sah, will not be taken until we neah 
 
200 CHIQUITA 
 
 Albany, sab," came from the man of tips and corpora 
 tion dignity. 
 
 They had been seated but a few moments when the 
 occupant of the section next forward of their own was 
 obliged to find temporary quarters as the ever-oblig 
 ing servant of monopoly touched his cap for permis 
 sion. A lady of prepossessing countenance, fault 
 lessly gowned and of gracious manner, knocked, as 
 it were, at Jack s door, addressing him, " May I occupy 
 this vacant seat while the porter arranges my domicile ? 
 Pardon the intrusion, but all other avenues seem al 
 ready taxed." 
 
 " Certainly, it is no intrusion ; in fact, we shall be 
 glad to have you, as you have had a long siege of soli 
 taire," replied Jack. 
 
 " I do get so lonesome on my trips that I sometimes 
 wish some one else had the position," answered the 
 lady with that assurance which accompanies experi 
 ence. 
 
 " Gathering from that, I judge you travel for busi 
 ness instead of pleasure," said Jack. 
 
 " Yes, I make two trips a year on business. I am 
 buyer for Stoddersmith of Boston, and am on my 
 way to Colorado and California. I shall visit Estes 
 Park, Manitou and other points, then go to India and 
 China/ 
 
 Jack was no more surprised than if she had told him 
 
JACK WEDDED 201 
 
 she was quartermaster in the navy, or a field marshal 
 in the German army. He looked incredulous. The 
 lady handed him her card, which read, "Miss Asquith, 
 Stoddersmith s, Boston," remarking that if it would 
 be agreeable she would tell them how it happened a 
 woman occupied so important a position, and naively 
 added, " The only firm in the world who employs one 
 of our sex in this department, even as a saleslady." 
 
 " Oh, do tell us," said Hazel, and to Jack, " Just 
 think of a woman going alone to India to buy goods !" 
 
 " This trip is really a part of my twenty-fifth anni 
 versary with the firm," 
 
 Hazel interrupted. " Pardon me, but do you mean 
 to say you have been twenty-five years with one firm ?" 
 
 " Yes, and I am but forty-five. I went to work, a 
 girl of fifteen, in one of the then larger western cities 
 and after five years concluded I would prefer an east 
 ern house. New York did not offer the inducement 
 which I found in Boston. I was placed in the fur 
 stock in winter and lighter wraps in summer. For 
 some reason, after I had been with them ten years, 
 they transferred me temporarily into the present de 
 partment, later returning me for one winter to the 
 furs. At the end of that season I was given the option 
 of management of the entire wrap stock or a perma 
 nent place in the other line. I preferred the latter. I 
 did not feel confidence enough in myself to be a buyer. 
 
202 CHIQUITA 
 
 You see, if certain styles of goods fail to go, fail to 
 become popular or to bring a good profit, there is a 
 vacancy and a new buyer takes up the department. 
 My sales in the new stock increased steadily. It be 
 came positively embarrassing to me at times when 
 customers refused to have their wants attended to by 
 the men in the stock, men who had been there many 
 years longer than I had. But the fact was, it finally 
 became necessary for me to make appointments just 
 the same as dentists do in order to give the attention 
 necessary to the trade. Three years ago I made my 
 first attempt in buying from manufacturers in France. 
 That trip was one continual round of stage fright, 
 and even after the goods were in the house I worried 
 myself sick for fear the end of the season would be a 
 blank, as the boys say about lottery tickets, but the 
 books showed a very profitable period in the face of 
 grave reverses to the general trade. And now, to 
 show their confidence in me as well as making me the 
 magnificent present of a trip to India, I am on my v/ay 
 to buy goods. Isn t it lovely of them?" 
 
 " Well, you deserve it, even more if anything. Just 
 imagine working for one firm a quarter of a century," 
 spoke up Hazel very energetically. 
 
 " Many firms," said Jack, weighing his words, 
 " send style hunters abroad for the effect the mail 
 from a foreign port has on their customers. Half the 
 
JACK WEDDED 203 
 
 time these hunters stay long enough to mail their 
 announcements, like as not printed in the United 
 States, look at a few hats or garments, perhaps buy a 
 pattern or two, and then return home. Other firms 
 do send buyers into various ports abroad. Some have 
 resident buyers, but I never knew before of any firm 
 sending a buyer from the ranks of the fair sex to the 
 Orient. Let me compliment you, Miss Asquith, on 
 your high achievement. It certainly demonstrates the 
 advancement of woman s sphere. But may I ask you 
 a pertinent question regarding the social part of your 
 life?" 
 
 " Certainly, I can guess what you want to know, and 
 let me say, at first, I used to feel dreadfully when I 
 found that the working girl is to a great degree os 
 tracised by what is called society. But I learned that 
 society is treacherous. If one has lots of money to 
 spend there are certain attractions that it takes money 
 to enjoy or provide. The different degrees of wealth 
 provide their respective scale of eligible members to 
 make up their circle of society, and the lesser lights 
 are eclipsed or paled into insignificance by the grander 
 candle power. It is the same in business, professions, 
 art and politics, so I found that my sphere was prob 
 ably cast in just as pleasant places among my class of 
 those who work for a living, as though I had been 
 evolved by marriage or fortune into a society star of 
 
204 CHIQUITA 
 
 any magnitude, where the jealousies and snubs are 
 even harder to be endured because of the still greater 
 lustre found or imagined among more brilliant or ex 
 clusive sets into which I could not enter. Do I make 
 it clear?" 
 
 " Very ; indeed, you echo my own theory. But I 
 could not have expressed it as clearly as you have," 
 replied Jack. 
 
 " After all," continued Miss Asquith, " I doubt if 
 the very rich obtain as much unalloyed pleasure from 
 life as do the middle classes who do not aspire to great 
 ness and are educated from infancy to make them 
 selves happy in the strata to which they are indigen 
 ous, as one may put it. They are free to come and go 
 any and everywhere, while the wealthy commence life 
 in charge of a nurse girl, are educated by private tu 
 tors, attended by chaperones in their courtship and 
 graduate simply to be put in charge of the butler, foot 
 man, coachman and maid. But I guess I have worn 
 you out with my sermon on riches, and will say good 
 night." 
 
 Hazel and Jack joined in their good night and dis 
 cussed the subject some time, deciding to ask Miss 
 Asquith to meet Chiquita and the four go as one party 
 to Estes Park. As Hazel said, " It will give Chiquita 
 a grand chance to study another phase of the life of 
 her white sister, and, Jack, I guess the red man s 
 
JACK WEDDED 205 
 
 squaw is not alone in the field of drudgery, after 
 all." 
 
 Owing to through tickets having been procured, it 
 became necessary for Jack to go one route while Miss 
 Asquith took another from Chicago to Denver, ar 
 rangements being made to that end the day following. 
 Jack had to get his tickets vised at the Chicago office 
 and for some technical reason the matter was of such 
 a nature that it required the O. K. of the General Pas 
 senger Agent. As he awaited an audience, the official 
 being for the moment engaged with another person, 
 evidently a stranger to city methods and customs, Jack 
 struggled with a long forgotten, dimly familiar some 
 thing about the man that recalled brain impressions, 
 which they say are never destroyed when once im 
 printed. He had been directed to see Mr. Lillis at 
 such a room, in such a building, but that name carried 
 no suggestion. It did not seem to fit the groping 
 fancy of his mind. Still the name seemed to associate 
 itself with the party then engaging the General Pas 
 senger Agent. As the stranger turned to go he 
 stopped in front of Jack, looked at him a moment, then 
 put out his hand, " Shake, old man ; guess you don t 
 re-cog-nize Cal Wagner in his store clothes. I jess 
 cum out to God s country once more afore I pass in 
 my chips to see how things look in civilization. How 
 be ye?" 
 
206 CHIQUITA 
 
 Of course Jack then remembered his quondam 
 friend during the races on the Ute reservation, and 
 the name Lillis puzzled him more than ever. He 
 greeted Cal in a hearty manner, introducing Hazel. 
 
 " Wait a minute while I get my tickets fixed, then 
 I ll have a chat with you," said Jack. 
 
 As he presented his tickets, stating the object of 
 his errand, he noticed the official had a glass eye and 
 scar near his ear. When the tickets were returned a 
 name written across them identified so unmistakably a 
 part of Jack s " vision " that he immediately recalled 
 the story which Cal Wagner told him years before of 
 the first grave in Silver Cliff. The name was " Bert 
 Lillis." Allowing his curiosity to prevail, he asked 
 abruptly, " Mr. Lillis, were you ever in Silver Cliff?" 
 
 The official started, a shiver ran through his frame, 
 the color left his face until it was like a piece of Parian 
 marble, while he replied just audibly, helplessly, 
 " Yes," adding quickly, " Come in, I guess you must 
 know. I did you ever see me before?" 
 
 Jack shook his head, but turning to Cal said, " Cal, 
 this is Bert Lillis, formerly of Silver Cliff." 
 
 Cal looked from one to the other and replied, 
 " Guess you are mistaken. Lillis is dead many years." 
 
 " No, he is still alive," said the official. " Come 
 in." 
 
 Upon being seated, no one seemed desirous of 
 
JACK WEDDED 207 
 
 broaching the painful subject uppermost in their 
 minds, while Hazel was completely mystified as to the 
 conduct of the three men. Finally, with a great ef 
 fort to restrain his feelings, his head bowed upon his 
 breast, the railroad man said in broken sentences : "I 
 for fifteen years a blackened pall has shadowed my 
 path, a floating, abandoned derelict moored to my 
 heart has dragged me against the buffeting waves of 
 the sea of life or held me helpless in the trough as 
 storm crests broke over me in my misery. A man 
 marked with the brand which God placed upon Cain 
 for the murder of his brother, yet I was exonerated 
 by the jury. I shot Les McAvoy in the discharge of 
 my duty. I was a mere boy, without money, scantily 
 clad, in search of wealth with which to support my 
 mother, and had to accept the only opportunity pre 
 sented in that lawless mining camp. I had no tools 
 or trade and was not strong enough to do the work re 
 quired of miners, and the camp had not advanced 
 far enough to give employment to the ordinary run 
 of commercial wage earners. It was instilled into me 
 in early life to do my duty in whatever capacity I 
 served, under all circumstances, and I considered it my 
 duty to protect that gambling table even at the risk of 
 my own life. The years of mental anguish which I 
 have lived since that fatal moment, and the years 
 which my poor old mother has had her head bowed in 
 sorrow " 
 
208 CHIQUITA 
 
 " Wait a moment, Mr. Lillis," interrupted Cal. 
 " You did not kill Les McAvoy." 
 
 " What is that you say I did not ? Oh ! I wish it 
 is good of you to try to erase the stigma, but trie evi 
 dence, the facts, the coroner s verdict, at the hands 
 of Bert Lillis. Oh, no, no" sadly commented Lillis. 
 
 " Mr. Lillis, I will prove to you what I say is truth, 
 and if the grave of Les McAvoy has remained un 
 touched all these years, the evidence is in the coffin," 
 replied Cal. 
 
 " Tell it ! tell it ! prove, first, that you were there ; 
 describe the scene" 
 
 " You were dealing, you raised a Colt s old-fash 
 ioned, powder-and-ball navy six-shooter from yer 
 lap" 
 
 " Yes, I had cleaned up that old gun and loaded it 
 with fresh powder, ball and new caps that day. They 
 told me to" interrupted Mr. Lillis. 
 
 " Sam Tupper sat in a chair on top of a dry-goods 
 box; he was lookout. A man with mustache, dead 
 black, like India ink. Les did not like your remarks 
 and started to rise up in his chair, his hand goin to 
 his pistol pocket. You lifted that big Colt s with both 
 hands and as soon as the muzzle of it was pintin up 
 and away from your own body you pulled the trigger. 
 Les had his own weapon out ; you saw it, was fright 
 ened, dropped your own gun and tried to slip under 
 
JACK WEDDED 209 
 
 the table. As you went down Les placed the muzzle 
 of his gun agin yer eye and cut loose. While this was 
 goin on Tupper never moved until he saw a chanst to 
 open a drawer, grab a pearl-handled, silver-plated 
 shootin iron. He stood up ; advanced one step, and 
 fired downwardly at Les McAvoy s breast. Les 
 writhed, turned completely around, his hand convul 
 sively endeavoring to get an aim at Tupper, who stood 
 with a malicious grin waiting for McAvoy again to 
 face him, ready to fire again if need be, but he saw 
 it was useless. As McAvoy finally pivoted, the pis 
 tol dropped to the floor, and with a crash he fell flat 
 on his back, dead. You were under the table. Tup 
 per stepped from the box, his six-shooter a smokin 
 and said, You got it that time/ then put the gun in 
 his pocket." 
 
 " Where were you ?" exclaimed Mr. Lillis. 
 
 " Right agin the wall, and McAvoy s head struck 
 at my feet. One man saw this besides myself. He 
 wore three gold nuggets on his shirt front, and me and 
 him figgered it out that night and again the next 
 morning, but mum was the word. We knew the 
 gamblers would kill us both if we told what we seen. 
 I left the place and returned just as the last testimony 
 was being given. There was no evidence given of 
 Tupper having fired a shot. As the body lay upon its 
 side on the floor there was one wound in the breast 
 
210 CHIQUITA 
 
 near the left center. Just under the skin in the small 
 of the back was a dark, cone-shaped substance. It 
 was the lead bullet from that pearl-handled six- 
 shooter. The round bullet from your Colt s navy 
 went through the roof." 
 
 " Gentlemen/ said Lillis, " I am now able to relieve 
 my mind from this hideous vision, and it will bring 
 happiness to my mother. I can see now why the gam 
 blers removed me to Rosita and furnished me with 
 transportation and money to leave Colorado when I 
 recovered sufficiently to travel. The ball from Mc- 
 Avoy s pistol caught the lower portion of my eye, and 
 the turning of my head just before he fired caused the 
 bullet to pass out near my ear, instead of going into 
 my brain." 
 
 " We must go now, as it is near train time," said 
 Jack. 
 
 " Me, too," said Cal. 
 
 "Are you going west?" asked Jack. 
 
 " Same train you take, I guess," replied Cal. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said Mr. Lillis, " I regret you leave 
 so soon. I would like to entertain you if you care to 
 stay over. If not now, at some future time ; and, Mr. 
 Wagner, you have done me a great favor. My poor 
 old mother can live the rest of her life peacefully. 
 Good-bye! good-bye!" 
 
 As the train pulled out of the station on the way 
 
JACK WEDDED 211 
 
 to Denver the principal topic of conversation was the 
 remarkable coincidence of the rencounter of Jack and 
 Cal, emphasized by the more remarkable meeting of 
 Cal and Bert Lillis. 
 
 " Well, that beats me," said Cal. 
 
 " I ve got another surprise in Denver for you," said 
 Jack. 
 
 " Will it beat this one?" 
 
 " Wait until you see our old friend, Chiquita." 
 
 " Chiquita, the injun gal?" asked Cal, inquiringly. 
 
 " Yes, Yamanatz s daughter." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ESTES PARK. 
 
 The renewal of the acquaintance between Jack and 
 Cal was an opportune one. As each unfolded his past 
 and expectations for the future there seemed to be a 
 bond of mutual sympathy form unlike the ordinary 
 friendships. 
 
 " Jack," said Cal, confidentially, " I have laid up a 
 good pile of dust and got as likely a ranch outfit as 
 any of em. I ain t so much on talk as some fellers 
 with slippery tongues, neither is any one going to get 
 the worst of it as they do what deals with some of 
 them slippery talkers. When Cal says a thing s so, it s 
 so, just as sure as gun s made of iron. Now, I m git- 
 tin on in years, an git lonesome as a settin hen with 
 out airy egg. I ain t a pinin away, but I would like 
 to gin some desarvin woman a good home. I d 
 kinder like to live in Denver and have a house up 
 among them nabobs. I don t expect that big red stone 
 quarry is goin to give out right away and I just as 
 lieve as not use some of it to build a decent mansion. 
 
ESTES PARK 213 
 
 Then I ve got a few thousand steers; they s one 
 bunch of eighteen hundred fat ones, every one of them 
 beef to the heels, true Herefords, got the Hereford 
 mark, that will run twelve to fourteen hundred pounds 
 apiece, and prime beeves are good as cash anywhere. 
 I think that bunch of steers ought to provide a pretty 
 good place to live in as long as the stone don t cost 
 nothin ." 
 
 Cal stopped and looked curiously at Jack, who was 
 looking curiously at him. 
 
 " You are not so awful poor. Been about fifteen 
 years making it ? " asked Jack musingly. 
 
 " Well, longer than that. I took up that stone 
 ranch twenty years ago. Never thought much of it 
 until Denver got into the buildin boom and some 
 feller was cartin away my red rock without asking 
 the cattle, well in freightin and ranchin I run onto 
 many a maverick durin the spring round-ups, then 
 some young tenderfoot would get a rich uncle to stake 
 him; but when one of them March blizzards struck 
 his weavin , staggerin , half-famished bunch he would 
 get sick and be glad to turn over his travelin bone- 
 yard for a couple of hundred or less, an I kept addin 
 to em until I got into raisin nothin but thorough 
 breds," answered Cal. 
 
 " Let me tell you something, Cal. I ll put you onto 
 the right track and if you can t manage to do the right 
 
214 CHIQUITA 
 
 thing at the right time, you ll have to live in that red 
 house by yourself, see ? " 
 
 " I savvey." 
 
 Hazel commenced to smile. She had joined in the 
 general conversation until Cal got sentimental, but 
 when Jack joined forces with the honest man of the 
 plains who acknowledged to picking up " mavericks," 
 although she did not know what they were, still she 
 felt that it was some " get something for nothing " 
 scheme and she was afraid Jack might acquire bad 
 habits; then she was inclined to resent any effort on 
 the part of Mr. Jack to become a promoter of some 
 matrimonial enterprise, so she smiled and senten- 
 tiously remarked : " I guess you need not bind yourself 
 to deliver any foreign goods for domestic purposes, 
 free of charge, Mr. Jack." 
 
 " Now listen, my dear," said Jack. " Wait until 
 you learn what s trumps before you tip your hand. 
 I m going to invite Cal to go with us to Estes Park. 
 He can be so useful to me, you know, if I want to go 
 out for a deer hunt ; then he can pilot Miss Asquith 
 over the big rocks when I have my arms full attending 
 to you," said Jack, with a merry twinkle. 
 
 " Oh, ho ! so it is Miss Asquith you seek to waylay, 
 is it? Well, that is different. Say, I guess I ll have to 
 throw up my hand. I have no trumps! success to 
 you. " 
 
ESTES PARK 215 
 
 Cal laughed, Jack made merry over the prospect, 
 and Hazel could not help being amused at the deliber 
 ate plot to kidnap a woman s heart who had for twen 
 ty-five years earned her own living. 
 
 " Cal, there is a Miss Asquith going to meet us in 
 Denver and join us on a trip to Estes Park. Just you 
 come along and help me take care of the ladies. You 
 have nothing on hand and you will enjoy the trip any 
 way. Now that is all I want. If you get tangled up 
 in any foolishness " 
 
 " Now mind, if I do go, and get half a chance I ll 
 stake a claim sure as gun s made of iron," jokingly 
 remarked Cal. " I will have to go to the ranch first : 
 I ll stop off at Hugo and be in Estes in a few days. 
 I ll find you all right," so Jack and Hazel continued 
 alone on their journey. 
 
 " Say, Jack," said Hazel, after Cal left them, " what 
 a joke it would be if Mr. Wagner should marry Miss 
 Asquith." 
 
 " Why shouldn t he? Of course she is much better 
 educated ; he has the gruff ways of the rich frontiers 
 man, but he is rich and not so much older than she is. 
 He will give her an elegant home, where he will be 
 like the historic bull in a china shop. " 
 
 " Just what was in my mind," interrupted Hazel. 
 " Do you remember she said two or three times, jok 
 ing, of course, I don t see why I never could find a 
 
216 CHIQUITA 
 
 farmer who would take pity on me. Both laughed 
 heartily at such a prospect. The long, dusty ride over 
 sand hills, through dreary, brown sunburned cattle 
 ranges from Cheyenne Wells to Hugo and Hugo to 
 the end of their journey, finally came to an end. The 
 welcome snow-capped peaks freshened the super 
 heated atmosphere and Denver with all its wealth, 
 health and climate was reached. It did not take long 
 for Jack and Hazel to find Chiquita, and within an 
 hour or two Miss Asquith arrived. They were in a 
 mood to enjoy all the sights of the big city of the 
 plains; but what chiefly impressed the new visitors 
 was the clearness of the air, the bracing, inspiring 
 vigor which it imparted, and the absence of that after 
 math, which always followed exercise in the lower 
 altitudes on the lakes or sea coast. 
 
 The slow dragging, mixed train deposited its bur 
 den in Lyons just as the book said it would, and the 
 red volcanic rocks baked them, and the " yaller 
 legged " chicken, in all its delicious russet brown 
 jacket, was served to the hungry quartet, who re 
 newed their grumbling on the park hack as the driver 
 cracked his whip and the wheels crunched their way 
 through the deep hot sand. Slowly the great vehicle 
 groaned along for perhaps a mile, when a sudden turn 
 in the road brought them to a bridge which spanned 
 a clear sparkling stream, and the ascent of the first 
 
ESTES PARK 217 
 
 lofty foothills was begun. Eyes brightened, ejacula 
 tions of surprise and delight followed each other in 
 rapid succession as " Johnnie " cracked his whip and 
 dexterously guided the now thoroughly contented 
 coachful of pleasure seekers along a narrow ledge, 
 winding around some precipice or taking a run down 
 some steep declivity that caused the timid to shriek 
 and the blood to tingle in the more reckless. Up, 
 nearer and nearer the sky, ever leaving the top of the 
 next hill below them, until the summit was reached. 
 
 Coats that had been discarded because of the heat 
 were resumed, light wraps were called for by the 
 ladies, and the descent towards the Park commenced. 
 Great stretches of pine forest fringed the barren rocks 
 on some of the long ridges, while on others a chaotic 
 interwoven mass of tangled " dead wood " silently 
 proclaimed the terrible devastation of the devouring 
 mountain fire. 
 
 As the first view of the Park greeted the travelers, 
 a merry shout rent the air, the coach pulled up at the 
 side of the toll road and everybody alighted to 
 " stretch," get out still heavier wraps, and make ready 
 for the remaining four hours ride. Hazel had ex 
 hausted her supply of English suitable for the occa 
 sion, while Jack and Chiquita enjoyed the attempts 
 of Miss Asquith to do the subject justice in " shop " 
 words. 
 
218 CHIQUITA 
 
 Even the heavier wraps were none too warm as the 
 coach reached the foot of the last incline and rolled 
 easily over the hard, gritty, well kept turnpike. The 
 meadow stretched before them, the Big Thompson 
 easily distinguished in its center and the unbroken line 
 of mountains walling up to the sky, shut them out 
 from the noisy world which lay just beyond Long s 
 Peak, whose snow-white night cap was then a mass 
 of burnished copper from the last rays of the setting 
 sun. 
 
 " Oh, Jack, how supremely grand," was all Hazel 
 ventured. 
 
 " It is just lovely," murmured Miss Asquith. 
 
 The great triangle sent forth its warning that din 
 ner was waiting, and reluctantly they entered the 
 house where the warmth of a little wood fire took the 
 chill off the crisp air. 
 
 " Think of it, 90 degrees in Chicago yesterday, to 
 day a fire to warm the house ! " exclaimed Hazel. 
 
 " It is just lovely," said Miss Asquith. 
 
 " Dinner," shouted a white-aproned darky. 
 
 A great platter of deliciously browned brook trout 
 stood appetizingly in the center of a round table, and 
 the four chairs were immediately occupied by four 
 hungry people, who waived all ceremony, as well as 
 the every day stereotyped roast beef, making trout the 
 Alpha and Omega of their first Estes Park repast. 
 
ESTES PARK 219 
 
 The sight-seeing was begun at daybreak, Jack rout 
 ing out his party in order to see the sunrise and the 
 dissolving mists which hung low on the mountain 
 sides as they disappeared beneath the warming influ 
 ence of old Sol. An early breakfast was followed by 
 unpacking of trunks, arranging of fishing tackle, 
 cameras, hammocks and paraphernalia which they 
 disposed of in and about the four-room cottage 
 near the main hostelry. Great elk a nd deer ant 
 lers decorated buildings all about them and 
 the emblem of occupancy was the fly rod 
 standing in some convenient corner. Saddle 
 horses, phaetons and four-seated spring wagons 
 were standing about, chartered for the day s outings, 
 while already on the banks of the streams were anglers 
 casting their favorite flies over pool, riffle and swirl, 
 in expectant anticipation of luring the wary, ever 
 alert inhabitant which lurked beneath some rock or 
 bank. A flash of something like light, followed by 
 the straightening of a line, the symmetrical curve of 
 a split bamboo, the sharp click of a swiftly revolving 
 reel in crescendo as the line cleft the water, then the 
 lull, the renewed dash for liberty as a spotted, open 
 mouthed one-pounder madly threw himself from the 
 water, shaking his head and falling with a splash back 
 into the stream, the critical moment, but the barb 
 holds and a limp, pink tinted trout, with extended 
 
220 CHIQUITA 
 
 gills, floats easily into the landing net a prize is cap 
 tured which proves the record breaker of the day, all 
 within sight of the " tavern." 
 
 Day after day excursion followed exploration ; fish 
 ing in Willow Park or Horseshoe, the canon and the 
 " pool," over on the St. Vrain and the meadow ; in the 
 latter place as the season advanced one becomes famil 
 iar with the finny tenant who has outwitted all the 
 temptations of professional angling, and many an hour 
 can be spent devising new deceptions with which to 
 entice the sagacious big ones, those who have felt the 
 keen thrust of a barbed hook and learned not to grab 
 every dainty morsel floating near its den. Few cap 
 tures of the landlords of the meadow stream are re 
 corded. 
 
 Among the tourists were numbers of English mem 
 bers of the nobility, and in fact a great portion of the 
 Park was the property of a well-known lord, whose 
 representative entertained his lordship s friends. The 
 grand herd of Hereford cattle grazing in the park be 
 longed to the English lord, as well as many of the 
 blooded horses found at the corral. 
 
 Just a week after Jack had tested his ability attend 
 ing to the caprices of a bride and his two proteges, 
 they were all resting in easy chairs or in the ham 
 mocks, awaiting the arrival of the stage from Lyons, 
 when a pair of handsome brown horses, flecked with 
 
ESTES PARK 221 
 
 foam, swung into view, drawing a buckboard in which 
 sat a lonesome traveler leading a beautiful roan sad 
 dle pony. It was Cal, and as he greeted Jack, who 
 had advanced to meet the outstretched hand, he said, 
 " I thought perhaps I d run across a maverick up 
 here." 
 
 Jack understood and replied, " Glad you come pre 
 pared to put your brand on any that you catch in the 
 round up." 
 
 As they were instructing the corral men what to do 
 with the horses Miss Asquith said to Hazel, "Oh, Mrs. 
 Sheppard, isn t that a stunning turnout? I guess it 
 must be my rich farmer." To which Hazel nodded 
 assent, remarking through her smiles, "There s no 
 telling." 
 
 Chiquita joined in the merriment with a suggestion, 
 " Suppose, Miss Asquith, you let me get some Indian 
 lovers ferns and you dry them, then crush them with 
 your own hands while you chant some lines which 
 one of the great Sachems, in time long ago, obtained 
 from a good spirit; and the good spirit promised the 
 great Sachem that any of his maidens could cause an 
 obstinate lover to woo her, or make a recreant spouse 
 return to the side of his love if the maiden or wife 
 would mix some of the ferns with some killikinnick, 
 so the object of solicitude would smoke himself into 
 her presence." 
 
222 CHIQUITA 
 
 " Oh! That is just lovely. I think I would rather 
 have one smell kind of smoky any how. I just abom 
 inate these scrupulously clean men who saturate the 
 atmosphere with Jockey Club; it is too much like 
 shop/ Ugh!" 
 
 "Sh ! " said Hazel, " they are coming. Welcome, 
 Mr. Wagner, and here is a poor unfortunate, Mr. 
 Wagner, who is on her way to China ; she says she is 
 going to bring back a Chinaman or die in the attempt 
 Miss Asquith." 
 
 11 You need not go to China for em. I ve got one 
 down at the ranch that I d just as lieve swap as not." 
 
 " Is he the genuine article with a dragon on his 
 blouse?" retorted Miss Asquith. "I am pleased to 
 make your acquaintance, Mr. Wagner." 
 
 " Thanks ; and, Chiquita, who would have thought 
 it? You here, and, well, this beats me," turning to 
 Jack, who was enjoying the scene. 
 
 " My surprise I promised you," said he. 
 
 " Surprise, well I should say so, sure as gun s made 
 of iron, but tell me 
 
 " I ll tell you myself," broke in Chiquita. " Yama- 
 natz s daughter has been to college for the last six or 
 eight years. Chiquita has adopted the life of her 
 white sisters." She said it rather regretfully, Cal 
 thought, but he replied : 
 
 " The flower of the Utes is a daisy, sure as gun s 
 made of iron." 
 
ESTES PARK 223 
 
 " Now, Mr. Wagner, that is not fair ; you might 
 have said something nice about me," playfully re 
 marked Miss Asquith. 
 
 " I suppose I never will be forgiven for such a lack 
 of good manners," said Cal, continuing in that open- 
 hearted off-hand way, " but let me tell you how I will 
 even up. Tomorrow morning you shall ride that roan 
 for me and the rest of us will trail along behind and 
 take your dust, for that horse is a thoroughbred." 
 
 Just then the dinner gong sounded. The party 
 planned an outing at Horseshoe Falls, Chiquita and 
 Miss Asquith, with Cal as escort, all mounted, while 
 Jack and Hazel drove in the buckboard, carrying sup 
 plies and fishing tackle. Ten miles over a hard, sandy 
 road, a couple of hours fishing, lunch in camp fash 
 ion, then an hour s rest and return to the hotel. Miss 
 Asquith was a trifle timid at first, but she was not a 
 novice and soon proved well able to master her mount, 
 although he was spirited and inclined to test his pow 
 ers against all comers. But she could not catch trout. 
 Cal, of course, found it necessary to spend most of his 
 time extricating her line from the limbs of trees or 
 driftwood in the stream and changing the flies. 
 
 He showed her when and how to let the sombre 
 hued gray hackle or gaudy " royal coachman " settle 
 daintily along the riffle, or drop a " black gnat " from 
 a bunch of grass on the opposite bank as though it was 
 
224 CHIQUITA 
 
 a sure enough bug. But the lady in search of a China 
 man could not hook the lord of the water. She was 
 either too slow or too quick, and the exasperating 
 ineffectual attempts to capture one little one of the 
 many that rose to the bait, took it with a rush only 
 to drop it instantly, or the ones even darting out of the 
 water as she lifted her flies too quickly, wore her pa 
 tience to a frazzle. In fact, after losing one grand fel 
 low that she had managed to hold for just an instant 
 before he broke her leader, she was fairly upset and 
 could not keep back the tears of disappointment. 
 
 " Now, little one, you must not give up that way," 
 Cal expostulated. " These pesky fellows are just like 
 lightning. Let me see if I can t get that one. Now 
 watch my fly as it goes into the dark shadow by that 
 tree and I will skitter the second fly sort of dancing- 
 like diagonally across the lower corner of the swirl 
 that makes over that sunken rock Gee, whiz! I ve 
 got him, and see, there is another just grabbed the 
 second fly. Now the trick is to let them fight it out 
 among themselves while I hold this end of the argu 
 ment. Two are not so hard to whip as one if you 
 keep your line just, easy tight as they are pulling 
 against each other all the time. But we will have to go 
 down by that little beach where I can wade out with a 
 landing net; the tail fly being down stream, the far 
 thest will drop into the net first, then I let the other 
 float in on top of him, see?" 
 
ESTES PARK 225 
 
 " I don t care, I think it is real mean I can t catch 
 one," replied Miss Asquith, "but oh, ain t they 
 pretty?" 
 
 " Guess they are half pounders, perhaps the biggest 
 will go three quarters," said Cal, as he adjusted the 
 " shrinker," a little spring scale which he took from 
 his pocket. " Nine ounces and fourteen ounces, larger 
 than I thought they were," said Cal, as he placed them 
 in his creel. " I guess we d better be moving towards 
 the camp, and as we go I will tell you one secret of 
 catching trout. As your flies settle into the water, 
 pull against them easy all the time as though they were 
 fastened to something, a good deal like feeling a 
 horse s mouth when driving. This seeming tension, 
 while infinitesimal, is enough that when a trout grabs 
 the fly he can not drop it ; and when you feel the 7 tug, 
 instead of jerking your line out of the water turn your 
 hand over and upward a little. This will set the hook 
 deep, then land your catch if you can." 
 
 " Oh, yes, it is easy enough to say it," replied Miss 
 Asquith. 
 
 The camp was soon reached and a gay party dis 
 cussed the two " big ones " at dinner upon their arriv 
 ing at the hotel. 
 
 " There are very few trout caught in the Park that 
 exceed a pound, and more six ouncers or less than in 
 excess of six," said Cal. " The large three to eight 
 
226 CHIQUITA 
 
 pound red throated mountain trout are more plentiful 
 in the waters that empty into the Pacific Ocean or 
 Rio Grande River than in the streams that go to the 
 North Platte and on into the Missouri River." 
 
 Trips of this nature and exploration tours followed 
 each other day after day, until all the country had been 
 visited. 
 
 One trip which Jack deferred was to Long s Peak, 
 and as day succeeded day he was conscious that his 
 little party cast longing glances toward that snow 
 capped, uncompromising sentinel of the plains. So 
 few ventured to undertake the fatigue incident to the 
 wearisome and perilous journey that little was heard 
 of the experiences, and those who did accomplish it 
 seemed loath to recount much of their experience. 
 When the signs in the zodiac at last became propitious, 
 and all were physically and morally equal to the at 
 tempt, preparations were made to go to the Half Way 
 house, Lamb s ranch, and the next morning, at four 
 o clock, make an early start to climb the peak. No 
 fishing tackle was carefully stowed away, no odds 
 wagered on results, and no great amount of unre 
 strained merriment attended the " make ready " as 
 wraps, lunches, heavy ironshod walking sticks and 
 sundry necessaries were packed into the vehicles. 
 Three good saddle ponies of the Indian variety were 
 provided for the ladies, while Jack and Cal made 
 
ESTES PARK 227 
 
 arrangements to get their saddle animals at Lamb s. 
 The road to the Half Way house was of the usual 
 rough thoroughfare, corduroyed in places, steep and 
 fringed with pine trees, whose uncanny whisperings 
 added to an already semi-funereal gloom which hung 
 oppressively over the party. This was partially due 
 to the impressive monosyllabic advice given in low 
 voices by guides, hostlers and residents of the park. 
 
 After a restless night, just as the gray dawn of 
 morning was breaking through the eastern sky, the 
 lengthening and shortening of stirrups, changing of 
 packs, wrapping up bundles of extra clothing and 
 other miscellany occupied the time while breakfast was 
 being prepared. With a good-bye to those who re 
 mained at the ranch, a cavalcade of a dozen, including 
 guides, started away in the crisp, frosty air, each one 
 eager to be in the lead, and on the return each one 
 was contented to be the drone. The sun was perhaps 
 two hours high when timber line was reached. Fre 
 quent stops for breathing had to be made and saddle 
 girths adjusted as higher altitudes and steeper grades 
 were encountered. The inexperienced noted the pant 
 ing horses, but did not fully grasp the terrific effort 
 required to climb those precipitous inclines at eleven 
 thousand feet above sea level. Not a cloud, not a 
 particle of haze blurred the clear atmosphere. The 
 pines soughed dreamily and waved their needle tipped 
 
228 CHIQUITA 
 
 arms in a lazy, indolent manner, wafting fragrance 
 and vigor to the world. The trail wound its serpen 
 tine way around hill after hill toward the monster 
 peak, standing cold and aloof, riveted, as it were, to 
 the deep blue firmament against which it seemed to 
 rest. As the sky was approached nearer and nearer, 
 the vegetation grew sparse and stunted. Coarse rye 
 grass in clumps few and far between gave evidence of 
 nature s provision, even at that altitude, for wandering 
 deer or elk that might be left behind when the great 
 winter migration of the restless bands sought the 
 lower regions. Great boulders appeared more fre 
 quently and the trail led the party over slide rock a 
 great portion of the way. The squeaks of conies 
 and shrill whistles of groundhogs could be distin 
 guished above the clatter of horses hoofs, for timber 
 line is their home. 
 
 At last the trees were left behind, the great boulder 
 bed stretched before them, an ocean of waste rock, 
 formidable, repellant, uninviting. The "Key Hole" 
 was plainly visible, two miles distant, while the sum 
 mit of the peak towered far above, almost over them. 
 Horses were lariated, saddles taken off, and lunches 
 stowed into pockets, the stout iron pointed sticks were 
 brought into service and the signal given, " Onward." 
 The way at first was over soft grassy spots inter 
 spersed between the waves of rocks, here and there a 
 
ESTES PARK 229 
 
 scrawny runt of a pine tree, looking more like roots 
 growing needles than a tree, beneath the shelter of 
 which the famous ptarmigan, or mountain quail, kept 
 lonely vigil. 
 
 The last vestige of verdure passed, the immensity 
 of that vast area of huge, desolate, dreary waste of 
 rock appalls the mind. Step by step, up, up, over 
 those ever increasing boulders, it did not seem like 
 mounting higher and higher, but as though one was 
 in a gigantic, fearful stone tread mill and the earth 
 gradually sinking away, down, down, into space be 
 low. After the boulder bed, the snow, hard, crusty, 
 firm enough to bear a horse. The " Key Hole " 
 and as the party passed through to the eastern slope, 
 they found spread out beneath their feet the dry, 
 dusty plain, with its brown coat of grass and alkali, 
 stretching away into nothing. A venture to the edge 
 of an immense great rock upon which one could lie 
 down and gaze into the depth below was like looking 
 into eternity, the contemplation of which baffles the 
 mind for words to describe the awesome, fearful 
 grandeur of God s handiwork as viewed from Long s 
 Peak. No other peak so barren, no other peak so 
 lonesome, no other peak so supernaturally devoid of 
 at least one redeeming feature as Long s. From its 
 barren crest one seems able to touch the sky, and one 
 bound into space would land him beyond the world. 
 
230 CHIQUITA 
 
 To the right could be seen Denver, there the Platte 
 River, Longmont in a maze of alfalfa beds and wheat 
 fields, but these were as a drop of water to the ocean, 
 a grain of sand to the plains. A hasty lunch, dry in 
 deed, but for the accommodating snow bank which 
 leaked enough to furnish ice water that coursed in a 
 stream about the size of the lead in a pencil down a 
 boulder, which dwarfed Cheops pyramid. The labor 
 involved in the return trip caused dejection and woe. 
 Lameness was the rule and only after much coaxing, 
 and threatening, could every one understand the peril 
 which awaited them, once the night settled dov/n be 
 fore the boulder beds were crossed. 
 
 Just below the " Key Hole " the guide conducted 
 the party to a wooden slab standing unpainted, weath- 
 erbeaten, bearing this inscription: 
 
 Here 
 
 Carrie J. Welton 
 
 Lay to Rest 
 
 Died Alone 
 
 Sept. 28-1884. 
 
 It was in a spot at the base of the " Key Hole " 
 where the rocks stood on end and seemed to disappear 
 into the boulders, that made up that vast boulder bed. 
 From a prayer book, which Jack carried, he read the 
 following tale of the awful tragedy: 
 
ESTES PARK 231 
 
 PERISHED ALONE. 
 
 From the Half Way House at break of day 
 A maiden gaily strode away, 
 To climb the heights of Long s Peak bold, 
 With guide to show the trail, I m told ; 
 For there s no path and the way is steep, 
 And death lurks round that grim old peak. 
 
 Twas at the dawn of an autumn morn, 
 
 The pine trees soughed as if to warn 
 
 As two climbed o er the boulder bed. 
 
 " Come back ! The storm ! Twill come," he said. 
 
 " On to the summit," she made reply. 
 
 " Why need we falter, you and I ?" 
 
 Then upward climbed to view the sight 
 Of raging storm on Long s Peak height, 
 And saw ambition s fixed star 
 On guard, within the gates ajar, 
 Lest mortal man should enter in 
 Before absolved from venial sin. 
 
 The solitude of those drear crests 
 No welcome gives to lingering guests 
 When storm king vies with mid-day sun 
 In battle, til the conquered one 
 Retreats for days, perhaps for weeks, 
 And gloom reigns o er the lonely peaks. 
 
 The wild wind shrieked as in snow and hail 
 They undertook the downward trail. 
 She brav d the cold and murmured not, 
 As they groped their way from spot to spot ; 
 Her wondrous strength succumbed at last 
 While yet the " Keyhole " must be passed. 
 
 The stalwart guide in his arms then bore 
 Her fragile form, and ponder d o er 
 
232 CHIQUITA 
 
 The waste of rocks beneath the " Key ;" 
 For his strength was failing rapidly, 
 And night clouds dimm d the tortuous way 
 Which few e er tread e en at mid-day. 
 
 "You may go for help," she moaned at last, 
 As through the " Key " they slowly pass d. 
 " The rocks will shelter me," she said, 
 And sank to rest on the boulder bed. 
 He covered her with the coat he wore, 
 Then hastened to the " Half Way " door. 
 
 Another dawn of an autumn morn 
 
 In the eastern sky had been born, 
 
 As stalwart guides, with throbbing heads, 
 
 Toiled wearily o er the boulder beds ; 
 
 Midst cruel crags and waist-deep snow 
 
 They battled on against the foe. 
 
 Up, up, they climb d that dreadful night 
 And brav d the storm on Long s Peak height; 
 Yet wild winds shrieked as heads were bow d 
 To gaze with awe at the snowy shroud 
 In which she slept on her boulder bed. 
 " She lay to rest, she s gone," they said. 
 
 "Oh, dear, isn t it sad?" said Hazel and Miss 
 Asquith in a breath. 
 
 "She died alone? queried Cal. 
 
 " Yes, sir," spoke up a guide, " both of us would 
 have perished, but she was true grit to the last. I 
 thought she might hold out, but the storm grew worse 
 as it grew darker." 
 
 " Do you have such awful storms as early as Sep 
 tember?" asked Hazel. 
 
"SHE LAY TO REST," ON HER BOULDER BED. 
 
ESTES PARK 233 
 
 " Sometimes the first winter blizzards are pretty 
 rough up here; generally get a starter any time after 
 the middle of September," answered another guide. 
 
 " We had better be moving," said Jack. 
 
 " One moment, please. Would you mind giving me a 
 copy of those verses when we get to the ranch? I 
 would like to show them to visitors," said the guide. 
 
 " Certainly, certainly ; why, just take the prayer 
 book. We will all put our names in here right now 
 and you can keep it to remember us by," replied Jack. 
 
 The dragging of swollen feet, weary bodies and 
 aching limbs back over that two miles of desolation 
 was full of torture for all. The expected relief when 
 the horses were reached proved but an additional mul 
 tiplicity of aches, especially in the joints of the knees, 
 where it seemed as though iron pins were crunching 
 the very cavities of those valuable adjuncts to man s 
 usefulness. 
 
 azel cried, Chiquita even complained, and poor 
 Miss Asquith, well, Cal had his hands full. He 
 showed his frontier gallantry by picking her up and 
 carrying her down one steep grade as though she 
 were but an infant, and the episode did more to rein- 
 vigorate the dejected spirits of the entire party than 
 anything that could have happened. 
 
 Nevertheless the Half Way house welcomed a hun 
 gry, cross, disgruntled aggregation of mountain 
 climbers. 
 
23-4 CHIQUITA 
 
 Said Jack as the guide bid him good-bye, " Don t 
 you ever get tired of seeing these peak sealers come 
 near the place ? They are all alike on the home stretch, 
 if they are able to stand up at all." 
 
 " I must say I do. I wouldn t care if no one ever 
 again wanted to make that fool climb. Why, that 
 senseless trip has often put folks to the bad for 
 months. They can ride up Pike s Peak, but they don t 
 know what climbing is until they tackle that old fel 
 low. Well, adios ; I ll say this much, you ve been the 
 jolliest party this season." 
 
 It was nine o clock when the hotel was reached, and 
 it was noon of the next day before a lot of crippled 
 tourists managed to limp into the dining room, leav 
 ing a trail of arnica and pain killers everywhere they 
 went. 
 
 " Oh, isn t this just lovely," said Miss Asquith, as 
 Cal rolled her in an invalid chair to her place at the 
 table. 
 
 It was a couple of days before the effects of the 
 Long s Peak trip abated to a degree that recreation 
 once more became a pleasure. During the days of 
 sight seeing and exploration of Estes Park, Chiquita 
 had opportunity to study the character of the sales 
 lady depicted by Miss Asquith, but she had little 
 chance to talk with the lady on whom the years sat 
 as easily as upon one in her teens, and whose viva- 
 
ESTES PARK 235 
 
 cious temperament was contagious. The enforced 
 respite gave plenty of time for recounting interesting 
 episodes in Miss Asquith s life, which she did with 
 charming grace. 
 
 To many, Miss Asquith seemed affected. The spon 
 taneous spark of a jovial, witty disposition burned 
 just as brightly in her at forty-five as it did a genera 
 tion before, but the critic would not have it so. " It is 
 put on, it is not natural, it is out of place; she had 
 better be saying her beads preparatory to being 
 buried," were some of the unkind remarks heard. 
 
 Hazel said to Jack, " She shocks one at first with 
 her display of artlessness as a stock in trade, until 
 you learn by experience that it is natural." 
 
 " I presume, my dear, there are people at eighty 
 who condemn the kittenish actions of some at 
 ninety, the same as those of thirty criticise Miss 
 Asquith. Is it envy?" 
 
 " I ll tell you, Chiquita," said the lady in question 
 the day after the peak episode, " I find great enjoy 
 ment in being jolly, full of fun, possibly at times 
 breaking all written rules of decorum and dignity ; for 
 why should we poor mortals go around with a long 
 face, rigid arms and mouths full of pious ejaculations 
 just because the Puritans brought that style from 
 across the water? I have been doped on fashion for 
 a quarter of a century, and fashions change, but in 
 
236 CHIQUITA 
 
 that time I have learned that to laugh is to be with 
 the world. To weep is to be alone. Better be a little 
 frivolous with good appetite than strain at dignity 
 and wail with dyspepsia. This etiquette and form is 
 only skin deep any way." 
 
 " You are such a considerate little body I should 
 have thought some enterprising man would have cap 
 tured you years ago," ventured Chiquita. 
 
 " There was one, but he was stricken with fever and 
 after that I never have had a desire to become mar 
 ried. Think I would like to run a ranch, though, 
 now I am getting old and need some one to take care 
 of me," she playfully added, causing a genuine ripple 
 of merriment. 
 
 " Miss Asquith, you are all right," said Hazel. 
 " Don t let these carping critics cause you to forego 
 any fun there is in life, even to playing tag with a cat 
 tle king," which, of course, produced another burst 
 of laughter. 
 
 " I shall have to insist upon your accompanying us 
 to Buena Vista, Miss Asquith. I think you can 
 spare the time and positively we can not get along 
 without you," said Chiquita. 
 
 " I shall have to give up that pleasure. I must go 
 on my journey." The reply was rather sad, but she 
 quickly recovered her usual vivacity. " I want an 
 other trial at those fish. I suppose I will have to leave 
 Saturday, and this is Wednesday 
 
ESTES PARK 237 
 
 " Well, well, who are these girls conspiring against 
 now?" said Cal, as he drove up with Jack. 
 
 " We have just talked Miss Asquith to death and 
 tried to get her to go with us to Buena Vista/ You 
 will go, won t you, Cal?" said Chiquita. 
 
 " Oh, you bet, I d never lose such an opportunity. 
 Guess you will change your mind, Miss Asquith. In 
 fact we will have to take you prisoner." 
 
 " I want to catch a fish before I leave Estes. Now, 
 be good and go down in the meadow and tie one some 
 where to the bank so I can find it," banteringly replied 
 Miss Asquith. 
 
 " We will go Friday and I pledge the fish, a big 
 one," said Cal. 
 
 Seated upon the beautiful roan pony, Miss Asquith, 
 followed by Cal, went to the meadow Friday after 
 noon, while the others lolled in hammocks around the 
 hotel. The sky was just the least bit clouded and a 
 warm south wind blew lazily across the park. A few 
 fingerlings had been lifted from the riffles when Miss 
 Asquith headed her pony into deep water up stream 
 at a big bend where the river was sixty feet wide. Cal 
 was busy whipping the eddies farther down. As her 
 pony was well trained to the angling pastime, he knew 
 almost as well as his rider what was wanted. Stepping 
 slowly along until the water reached his belly the pony 
 stopped, Miss Asquith s flies flashed behind, then she 
 
238 CHIOUITA 
 
 gracefully dropped the leader far over the stream to 
 the other shore. 
 
 " Oh, dear," she exclaimed, " they have gone too 
 far and caught in the grass. How how will I ever " 
 
 Just then the tail fly dangled down to the surface 
 of the water, held back by the droppers, which were 
 caught in the grass ever so lightly. The top of some 
 thing darted from under the bank and seized the fly. 
 Miss Asquith thought it was a muskrat, it was so big. 
 Down went the line deeper and deeper. She instinct 
 ively turned her hand and wrist in order to free the 
 hooks from the grass, and thus set the fly good and 
 deep into whatever was cavorting around, making her 
 reel sing as she never had heard it before. 
 
 "Oh, Cal, quick! quick! come and get me," she 
 called, little thinking what she was saying, at the same 
 time pressing her knee against the side of the pony, 
 who recognized the signal and turned toward the 
 shore. Miss Asquith allowed her rod to hold steady 
 until she could dismount. By that time Cal was at her 
 side. 
 
 " You ve got a beauty, sure as gun s made of iron," 
 said he. 
 
 As she reeled in a little of the line the tension ceased 
 and an immense trout broke from the water. "Oh! 
 Oh! what shall I do?" 
 
 Cal spoke sternly, " Watch your line and don t be 
 foolish." 
 
ESTES PARK 239 
 
 With that she settled down to her work and in a 
 few moments had the pleasure of floating the fish into 
 the landing net, Cal wading out to intercept it. As it 
 went into the net she stood on the bank just above 
 him, a little beach giving him opportunity to make the 
 capture. As he stood there holding on to the staff of 
 his landing net with one hand and the line with the 
 other, he said, " This trout is yours on one condition 
 the fish, the horse and the man all go together. Say 
 yes, and the fish comes ashore, say no, and I turn 
 him loose." 
 
 " Yes, yes, y-e-s. Hurry up with the fish," she ex 
 claimed, adding excitedly, as Cal came to the bank, 
 " I ll just kiss you right here for the sake of the fish," 
 and, suiting the action to the word, she planted a good 
 smack on his upturned mouth. 
 
 " Now we will see what he weighs. But first here 
 is your reward," slipping a big solitaire off his finger 
 and holding up his hand, " tie it on if necessary." 
 
 " Why, what is that for ?" stammered she. 
 
 " Didn t you say yes, yes, yes ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Well, that meant fish, horse and man, and I m the 
 man." 
 
 "Mr. Wagner Cal let me go. My! the people 
 are all watching us." 
 
 " Never mind, show them your hand. Just two 
 
240 CHIQUITA 
 
 pounds and a quarter," said Cal, as he adjusted the 
 scales, " the biggest one this season so far." 
 
 " Yes, a fish, a horse and a man quite a catch for 
 one day," laughingly said Miss Asquith. 
 
 " The details of that catch are duly recorded in the 
 hotel register and never will be duplicated," said Cal 
 at dinner, as the party made merry and toasted the "fu 
 ture ranch owner, who blushed rosy as a girl of six 
 teen, while Cal was as brim full of joy as a lad with a 
 new pair of red top boots and sled to match. The 
 following telegram fairly burned the wires : 
 
 " Stoddersmith, Boston. Caught a trout, a horse 
 and a man with a six ounce rod. Trip to India post 
 poned. Resign position today. 
 
 " Miss Asquith." 
 
 To which they replied : 
 
 " Miss Asquith, Estes Park via Lyons, Colo. Con 
 gratulations. Fish, horse and man uncertain prop 
 erty. Resignation accepted to take effect day of cere 
 mony. Stoddersmith." 
 
 It was decided to go overland to Chiquita s Buena 
 Vista ranch on horseback and with pack animals, the 
 road horses and buckboard being started a few days 
 ahead by way of Georgetown and the Berthoud Pass, 
 to await the party at Hot Sulphur Springs, the 
 trail from Estes via Specimen Mountain being impass 
 able for anything on wheels. 
 
 " I am very anxious," said Jack, " that Hazel 
 
ESTES PARK 241 
 
 should see the grandest bit of scenery in Colorado. 
 While the average mind is satisfied with Estes, still 
 there is one little area beyond Estes that surpasses 
 anything else, and there is but one way to get to it 
 walk." 
 
 Two good camp hustlers were engaged to do the 
 work of packing, putting up tents and other duties 
 in common. By going ahead a camp was located and 
 pitched by the time the sightseers overtook the ad 
 vance guard. A saddle horse to each member of the 
 party, three small pack mules and a Mexican burro 
 the Rocky Mountain canary which Jack promised his 
 sister year after year the luggage so packed being 
 ample for three times the number in the party. 
 
 The sun had crossed the noonday meridian when 
 the final adios was given. Striking to the right of the 
 Horseshoe Park road the trail led into a labyrinth of 
 forest burned " down timber," miles of denuded trees 
 sentries in nature s graveyard and as the wind 
 wheezed dismally through the few branches left by 
 the consuming fire, their creaking and rattling was 
 not unlike the clatter of a thousand skeletons assem 
 bled in some vast amphitheatre to dance away a few 
 years of eternity s exile. 
 
 The first camp was made in the center of this weird 
 ly fantastic home of goblins and bogy men. The tents 
 had been pitched and camp fires started when Jack 
 
242 CHIQUITA 
 
 and his four companions came straggling along. The 
 side packs, containing commissary supplies, stood 
 gaping, awaiting the cook. Frying pans, coffee pot 
 and " Dutch oven " appealed, as it were, for recogni 
 tion, so in one chorus the honor was thrust upon Jack 
 to " get the first meal." But he was a past-master in 
 the art, notwithstanding he had not officiated before 
 in the presence of so " finnicky " an assemblage. 
 
 " Now, you ladies who have a cupboard full of 
 clean dishes to use when you commence to prepare a 
 meal, and a table to prepare it on and a cook book to 
 guide you, and a sink for the trash, and shelves full of 
 handy ingredients, and when the meal is ready every 
 dish has been used and every utensil stands neglected 
 with traces of its having fulfilled a mission belonging 
 to it, and who sigh because there are so many pots, 
 stewpans and table dishes to wash and dry after the 
 meal is over, just watch the frontier method." 
 
 Jack had superintended the packing of the " mess 
 box," so he knew where all the supplies were. Seizing 
 a stick, provided for the purpose, his first act was just 
 like that of a woman. He poked the fire, but in his 
 case it was to " draw out " a bed of coals on which he 
 set the oven skillet, a cast iron utensil about five inches 
 deep, with long legs under it and a bail and cast iron 
 cover half an inch thick. The latter he placed on the 
 fire logs. Next he washed his hands, then put a 
 
ESTES PARK 243 
 
 tablespoonful of coffee for each cup into a big pot and 
 added cold water. This was put on one corner of his 
 bed of coals. Taking a six quart pan he put in flour, 
 some salt, a pinch of sugar, some milk which 
 by good luck they had managed to capture at the last 
 ranch then some baking powder, and stirred it all up 
 with a big iron spoon until it was stiff. The mixing 
 was done on a convenient rock. Here Jack looked 
 suspiciously at the quizzical eyes which followed his 
 every movement. He washed his hands again, then 
 with turned-up shirt sleeves moulded the dough, add 
 ing flour until it was biscuit thick. Turning another 
 pan upside down he flattened a portion of the dough 
 to the desired thickness, then cut his biscuits square. 
 The remainder of the dough in the original pan was 
 treated likewise where it was. Cutting off a piece of 
 bacon rind he " greased " his oven skillet thoroughly, 
 placed the biscuits therein, then put the hot cover upon 
 the skillet and a shovelful of hot coals on the cover. 
 The coffee was just beginning to boil, so he set the 
 pot back on some hot ashes, washed his pans, spoons 
 and hands, and in a twinkle was slicing up some bacon 
 and calf s liver, which he placed in a frying pan near 
 the bread oven. 
 
 Bright tin cups, plates, knives, forks and spoons 
 were handed around and the " folks " instructed to 
 " get your places near the grub pile." A bucket of 
 
244 CHIQUITA 
 
 cold brook water stood handy by. Jack opened a can 
 of peas, which were soon sizzling in a double bot 
 tomed stewpan. A round wooden box was marked 
 " Oleo " but no one, except Jack, knew it to be other 
 wise than " best Elgin butter." 
 
 Into another frying pan Jack put some of the butter, 
 and when it was good and hot added half a dozen 
 brook trout that also had escaped the notice of the 
 now hungry onlookers. The scent of savory viands 
 nearly precipitated a riot. 
 
 " Supper !" called Jack. 
 
 " Why, you don t know whether those biscuits are 
 burned to death or raw," said Hazel. " Look at him 
 settle that coffee with cold water. Where s an egg?" 
 
 Jack lifted the cover off the oven and a cloud of 
 steam rose up and wafted away, then he set the skillet 
 in the center of the party, the fish beside the bread and 
 the bacon near at hand; peas came along and Hazel 
 picked up a lightly browned, rich, creamy biscuit, 
 breaking it in two and adding a dab of butter, took 
 a bite, smacked her lips and said " More." The ver 
 dict was unanimous. 
 
 The routine of camp life is not a dull one; new 
 and varied episodes follow each other in rapid order 
 while on the trail. The informal mannerisms of camp 
 life become contagious and an irresistible impulse 
 takes possession of the most conservative to break 
 
ESTES PARK 245 
 
 away from conventionalities. Bantering persiflage 
 bubbles in everyone, and good natured raillery adds 
 zest to all phases of the experience, whether it rains 
 or shines. 
 
 No sooner had Jack straightened up his kitchen 
 than he inspected the disposition of the horses, seeing 
 that each one had as good a spot to crop grass as was 
 obtainable. Then the beds. " Put some more of those 
 second growth pine boughs under that bunch of 
 blankets and it will be more like a good curled hair 
 mattress, to which I presume Miss Asquith is accus 
 tomed ; dig a trench all around each tent ; it may rain 
 before morning and this side hill will be a running 
 river if it does ; spread that wagon sheet over the sad 
 dles and commissary before you turn in ; we will 
 want to start about eight o clock ; you may sleep until 
 six." Thus he gave his instructions to the hustlers. 
 
 After a little chat, as they sat on the ground, Turk- 
 fashion, or lolled against a tree, first one yawned and 
 of course the others followed suit, so Jack suggested 
 " early to bed." 
 
 Breakfast over, saddles were cinched, camp equip 
 ment all snugly packed away and the laborious climb 
 was commenced which was to take them to the slide 
 rock trail five miles long, following the crest of the 
 great continental divide which separates the waters of 
 the Atlantic and Pacific. 
 
246 CHIQUITA 
 
 The men walked behind their respective ponies, 
 lessening their labor by hanging to the ponies tails, 
 while the fair sex suffered almost as much hard 
 ship listening to the panting, patient animals, as they 
 stopped every hundred feet to get a breath and 
 " blow." 
 
 " Oh, say, but this is a corker !" said Cal, as he 
 steadied himself and leaned against a tree for a little 
 rest. 
 
 " I often wish my tongue would hang out like a 
 dog s when I get to climbing these high peaks. Seems 
 as though mine fills my throat up so I can t breathe," 
 said Jack, his remark causing much merriment. 
 
 The summit was not far distant at ten o clock, and 
 as they surmounted the last slope the clouds rolled in 
 above them like a great drop curtain, black and dense. 
 Onward the great canopy spread toward the sunlit 
 peaks beyond, leaving a trail of drizzle, sleet and 
 snow. Then the entire party was swallowed up in 
 an immense gray fog bank, while darker electrically 
 charged masses of moisture bowled along, chasing 
 each other through phosphorously illuminated paths, 
 much to the consternation of the ladies. 
 
 " Oh, it s lightning right here ! Won t it strike 
 us?" exclaimed Miss Asquith. 
 
 " It might give you a little shock that would tingle 
 some, but not enough to hurt you," vouchsafed Jack. 
 
ESTES PARK 247 
 
 The light clouds soon followed, then the sun shone 
 bright, and in a few minutes the gum coats provided 
 for just such an emergency had been relegated to the 
 strings on the saddles. To the left, on the slope of 
 another hogback, rose tier after tier of little lakes, 
 seven terraces in all, each fringed with a belt of green 
 pine trees ; behind each belt rose a precipitous ledge of 
 rock. 
 
 " Just look at that, isn t it grand?" said Hazel. 
 
 Jack had provided plates and the panoramic camera 
 snapped its welcome to the view. Five exposures 
 were made to insure a good one, then the party filed 
 along the ragged, dimly outlined trail which Indians 
 had used for a century or more. In the distance could 
 be seen the headwaters of the Cache le Poudre and to 
 the immediate right a huge snow bank formed a 
 horseshoe half a mile in its arc. Leaving their ponies, 
 at a suggestion from Jack the party walked over to 
 the edge of the slide rock and gazed down into a small 
 lake, of perhaps a thousand acres, nestled in a rocky 
 embrace, twenty-five hundred feet below them, into 
 the nearer edge of which stones were sent splashing 
 by those who attempted a throw. Groups of pine 
 trees dotted the farther shore of the lake and upon its 
 bosom floated half a dozen immense icebergs, which 
 remain summer after summer, during the months of 
 July and August, never entirely disappearing. 
 
248 CHIQUITA 
 
 Again and again Jack attempted the difficult feat 
 of obtaining a focus to register that grandest of pic 
 turesque spots on the plates especially prepared, but 
 none proved successful when developed. 
 
 Slowly, regretfully, the march was again taken up 
 and camp was made on the low pass where pools of 
 water flow from two outlets, one north into North 
 Park, the other south into Middle Park and the Grand 
 River. This camp was beneath the famous Specimen 
 mountain and its fantastic spire-like rock formations, 
 on the apex of which the " Big Horn " dozed in per 
 fect security, the spires succeeding each other and 
 making the great aerial stairway accessible only to the 
 sure-footed mountain sheep. 
 
 No one enjoyed the life of the camp half as much as 
 did Chiquita. She was in her element. The respite 
 from the continual grind of college had been such a 
 welcome one that she preferred to listen to the others 
 rather than join in the general conversation. The top 
 ics discussed found no sympathetic chord in her mind, 
 and, notwithstanding the years she had submitted to 
 the refining influences of education, she was a savage 
 at heart. She realized it. Her restive spirit broke the 
 bonds of captivity as soon as the first campfire was 
 lighted. Like a golden winged chrysalis she burst her 
 civilization fetters and became again the forest-born 
 Indian maiden, Chiquita. No longer did she feel 
 
ESTES PARK 249 
 
 the restraint which society demanded. The buoyant 
 freedom of the camp injected new life into her veins, 
 new aspirations into her mind. But she was not aware 
 that the very ascendency of civilization immeshed her 
 in its grasp. Her manners, always charming, had 
 become more so under the polish of education and 
 association with those who trained the soul as well as 
 the hand, the eye, the body. 
 
 " The smoke of the tepee fire has driven away the 
 oppressive chaotic whirl of classes, recitations and ex 
 aminations which have had possession of me ever 
 since I left the college," she said, apologetically. 
 
 " That was one reason I had for making this trip 
 overland," said Jack. " I knew you longed to break 
 away from crockery and tablecloths, and in your tent 
 you will find something that will please and make you 
 still more at home." 
 
 When Jack superintended the packing of the para 
 phernalia for the trip over the trail, he managed to 
 include in Chiquita s outfit a complete set of buckskin 
 garments, and these she found awaiting her. It was 
 not long before she appeared in her native costume. 
 
 " Now you look natural," said Cal. 
 
 " The daughter of the woods is happy again," she 
 replied, half sadly, but, recovering quickly, proposed 
 a specimen-hunting expedition up the mountain which 
 derives its name from the great pockets of specimen 
 rocks found upon its slopes. 
 
250 CHIQUITA 
 
 The party picked its way carefully over slippery, 
 slimy, ooze-covered shale to the specimen beds. Geodes, 
 rounded nodules of rock, filled with waxy uncrystal- 
 lized deposits of infiltrated silicious waters were broken 
 open, presenting in some instances masses of infinites 
 imal stalactites, in others the beautiful ribbon agate so 
 much prized by the mineralogist, with its alternate 
 rows of different colors. Much more difficult to find 
 was chrysoprase in green, and the flesh red carnelian, 
 all of these known as chalcedony and of which in Rev. 
 21 : 19 and 20, St. John describes the third foundation 
 of the wall of the holy city as "a chalcedony," the 
 tenth foundation " a chrysoprasus." Hours were 
 spent in digging these precious souvenirs from their 
 resting place. 
 
 Far above, an occasional mountain sheep appeared 
 for a moment, reconnoitering to see if it was safe for 
 him to descend with his family to the night camp of 
 the Big Horn, for the oozy, slimy deposit was salty 
 and this " lick " was the most famous in all the great 
 length and breadth of the Rocky Mountains. It con 
 sequently became the resort of thousands of those 
 wary, intelligent animals, but there were times when 
 the insatiable desire for alkali grew so strong that no 
 danger appalled them, and they rushed recklessly only 
 to meet death at the hands of the hunter who took 
 advantage of this weakness. Skulls, broken horns 
 
ESTES PARK 251 
 
 and bones could be discerned upon the apex of many 
 of the spires or truncated cones which rose at inter 
 vals from the eruptive lava, that in ages gone by had 
 broken forth from the earth s crust, the surface of one 
 of these beds being, in many cases, not over three feet 
 in width, while the precipitous sides of the cone varied 
 from one foot to a thousand feet. To these dizzy 
 spots, which formed the Big Horn s aerial stairway, 
 did this wonderful animal bound, whether pursued or 
 in search of a resting place, alighting with sure foot, 
 and immediately curling down for a nap or another 
 bound in event danger was scented. That leap from 
 danger was in itself marvelous with all four feet 
 curled beneath that ponderous body, the iron muscles 
 warmed by the heavy hair coat, it was not the labori 
 ous effort of a steer elevating its hindquarters, unfold 
 ing one foreleg and then the other with a groan; it 
 was a propulsion of a seemingly inert mass into space, 
 a touch of toes to the earth and another bound into 
 the air and probably out of sight, for that stairway 
 is a mass of intricate, steep sided fissures, deep rifts 
 opening one into another, each presenting a ledge suf 
 ficiently large to enable one of these sure-footed trav 
 elers to find " bouncing room " and so down, down, 
 down for a thousand or more feet this denizen of the 
 clouds would make his escape. This method of retreat 
 being so sudden and the disappearance so sure, tales 
 
252 CHIQUITA 
 
 have been ofttimes told of the wonderful leaps into 
 mid air, dropping to the bottom of one of those canons 
 and of his sheepship alighting on his horns, none the 
 worse for jumping half a mile or more. 
 
 All one afternoon Chiquita told wonderful stories 
 of the wild game life, the parties of. hunters who came 
 even from Europe to wait for days until the sheep 
 came to the " lick," and how these hunters crept up 
 to the " beds" in the darkest and stormiest nights, 
 waiting within rifle shot until the dawn should break, 
 when the slaughter would commence. She told of the 
 bands of elk, two and three thousand herding together, 
 migrating from their summer feeding grounds among 
 the high willow grown, spongy bogs, to the cedar 
 grown mountains along Eagle River, crossing Middle 
 Park in October and November after the first great 
 snow storms began to drive them out. 
 
 The mountains around here used to be the great 
 est paradise for game that Indian ever found. Is it 
 any wonder my people resent the intrusion of the pale 
 face?" said she, after giving an enthusiastic account 
 of one of the Ute hunting expeditions which took 
 place when she was but a few years old. 
 
 The fascination and charm which held the listener 
 spellbound could not be analyzed. Chiquita in her col 
 lege dress and college speech was not the Chiquita of 
 the forest. Day after day as the party wended its 
 
ESTES PARK 253 
 
 course along the Grand River and over the range to 
 those famous springs at the Buena Vista ranch, she 
 pointed out hunting grounds, battle fields where Chey- 
 ennes fought the Utes, or Sioux came down from the 
 north to wage a war of conquest. 
 
 The buckboard was at Hot Sulphur Springs when 
 they arrived. Miss Asquith and Cal, it is needless to 
 remark, found this conveyance more to their liking, at 
 least a part of the time, than the saddle method. 
 
 From the ranch excursions were made to Egeria 
 Park, where the towering Toponas rock lifted its 
 ragged summit over five hundred feet in the air, and on 
 whose side a city of swallows, martins and mud-nesting 
 birds numbering into tens of thousands, dwelt until the 
 winter breath drove them to the warm southland. A 
 trip to the famous Steamboat Springs, with its porce 
 lain frescoed caves, belching forth the peculiar chug, 
 chug, chug of a Mississippi boat, as though some giant 
 ventriloquist were navigating one of those floating 
 palaces in the bowels of the earth. Great trout were 
 captured, after arduous labor, from the sluggish 
 waters of the Bear River, but little peace was afforded 
 the whole trip from the pestiferous swarms of red- 
 legged grasshoppers exiled from the plains, to be buf 
 feted back and forth from the surrounding ranges of 
 snow-capped mountains, until the white man s de 
 stroying agency should catalogue them with the auk, 
 
254 CHIQUITA 
 
 the buffalo and the red man ; as Chiquita chronicled it, 
 " another example of the onward march of civiliza 
 tion." 
 
 The removal of the Utes from White River to the 
 Uintah reservation had been so distasteful to Chiquita 
 that she seldom visited the remnants of her people 
 domiciled in a strange land. Many of these, however, 
 made pilgrimages to her ranch, and the various tour 
 ists who shared in her hospitality had opportunity to 
 see the blanket Indian in all his modern splendor of 
 cast-off army garments and civilian society apparel. 
 
 Yamanatz made his home a greater part of the year 
 at his daughter s place, but the aged chief had lost his 
 vigor and only waited the call to the Great Hunting 
 Ground beyond. He took little interest in the com 
 ings and goings of strangers, but enjoyed the com 
 pany of Jack, who made it his mission to entertain the 
 old warrior in every manner possible as far as he 
 could. 
 
 The time for Chiquita to return to college was ap 
 proaching. She had given up the trip to California 
 on account of the sequel which the little romance of 
 Miss Asquith and Cal had brought about. Chiquita 
 had obtained their promise that the wedding should 
 take place at the Buena Vista ranch. 
 
 The preparations \vere made and the services of a 
 clergyman, who was making a tour of the mountains, 
 
ESTES PARK 255 
 
 was secured. Cal was elated at the unexpected turn 
 of affairs and Miss Asquith was easily reconciled. 
 Jack gave away the bride and the " wedding bells " 
 which comprised a part of the ceremony " pealed 
 forth " from a lot of Indian tom-toms, sleigh bells and 
 tin pans in the hands of some visiting Utes. 
 
 The newly made man and wife started, after the 
 wedding repast was served, for Denver. Jack, Hazel 
 and Chiquita followed a few days later, Chiquita to 
 return to college, Jack to continue his journey to the 
 mine. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 CHIQUITA GRADUATES. 
 
 In a room overlooking the broad Connecticut valley, 
 a student, wearing cap and gown, stood by the window 
 watching the clouds as they floated in filmy drapery 
 above the long rows of corn, tobacco and rhubarb 
 which paralleled each other on either side of the his 
 toric stream that divides western Massachusetts. 
 Chiquita, as she surveyed the scenery, then the 
 room and then herself, heaved a sigh of satis 
 faction. The same old routine of registering, getting 
 the trunks unpacked, studies and classes arranged, had 
 come to an end. Greetings by classmates, introduc 
 tions to new professors, salutations to members of 
 the faculty and respects to the dean had taken their 
 regular order, and now the daughter of Yamanatz 
 gazed wistfully into the deep waters which reflected 
 the clouds above. The room was gorgeous in Indian 
 blankets, draperies, spears, arrows, pottery, beaded 
 scarfs and long war bonnets, gold and silver-mounted 
 leather trappings of bridles, lariats, saddle skirts and 
 pistol holsters adorned the walls, while the floor and 
 
CHIOUITA GRADUATES 257 
 
 furniture were smothered in lion, beaver, wolf, bobcat 
 and fox skins. Busts of Powhatan and Massasoit 
 looked down from pedestals upon the young Indian 
 girl as she reflected the advancing stages of educa 
 tion and refinement which make the civilized world. 
 Well she remembered the lonesome, world forgotten 
 time when she first registered in the great reception 
 room, seven years before, after two years private tu 
 torship in her effort to master the English language 
 and learn her A, B, Cs. 
 
 Oh ! the days and nights of study, study, study ! 
 Nothing but knowledge, for breakfast, dinner, supper 
 and dreams. And as she looked forward to the easy 
 senior year and honors which awaited her upon grad 
 uation day, she smiled a little and then waxed serious. 
 
 " Me, Chiquita, the daughter of a red devil, mis 
 tress of English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, 
 Greek and Latin. Winner of prizes in literature, elo 
 cution and music, as well as first lady at all class par 
 ties ! For two years no function by any great society 
 or college demonstration has been complete without 
 Chiquita, and this is to be my last year. Then adios 
 to my alma mater forever yes, forever. It is little sat 
 isfaction to fill one s mind with knowledge. It is pov 
 erty.- The mind is dull that is oppressed with wisdom. 
 Chiquita is not as happy here as she expected. But, ah, 
 happiness will surely come when I visit the sick, the 
 
258 CHIQUITA 
 
 maimed, and comfort the dying. In that life where 
 the medicine man of the paleface cuts out big 
 chunk in sick man and pale-faced sister in medicine 
 clothes nurse em til all well. Ah, Jack, you told 
 me the medicine story in such simple language 
 that I understood it far easier than I now interpret the 
 oppressive wisdom dispensed at clinics or lecture 
 room, by those who fetter themselves to profound and 
 awe-inspiring dissertations, until human intelligence 
 seems a fallacy. With this vast amount of knowledge 
 how little we know ! But that reminds me : what will 
 be the theme for my valedictory? There is no one 
 who can, no one who will expect this honor but Chi- 
 quita. And I will discuss Ambition, something 
 after this fashion : 
 
 " A soul lay fettered at the portals of heaven. The 
 long, winding stairway reached down into space, 
 through worlds of worlds, and countless millions as 
 cended toward the great white throne, each uncon 
 cerned as to the fate of the other. On a bier, with 
 body swathed in burial robes, lay the inanimate clay 
 from which the soul fled after its imprisonment of tHe 
 allotted threescore and ten years. Around the bier 
 were gathered the few of the endless millions left be 
 hind, who remembered the departed a brief season and 
 then became absorbed in the great race of life against 
 death. Science is constantly establishing new guide- 
 
CHIQUITA GRADUATES 259 
 
 posts in the chaos of obscurity and winning con 
 verts to the domain of enlightened intelligence. 
 
 " There, that is what comes of educating a Ute 
 chief s daughter, and about six pages of that will be 
 proof positive that the savage is infinitely happier 
 with the worship of the sun, the wind, the water as 
 animate objects, than we in the realm of knowledge 
 with our defunct moons and birdless heavens." 
 
 Chiquita spent a great portion of her senior year in 
 day dreaming and imaginings, often putting her 
 thoughts into manuscript form. Not that she ex 
 pected to use them, but because she read the stories 
 she thus improvised over and over to herself, occa 
 sionally sending one to Jack for his inspection and 
 criticism. If Jack said it was good she kept it, but if 
 he made objections to any portion, she destroyed the 
 whole. In one of these she wrote of her people and 
 herself and the utter folly of any attempt on the part 
 of the Indians to regain their lost hunting ground and 
 lands. She wrote thus : 
 
 " Alas ! for my people ! The Great Spirit of the 
 white man is probably the same as the Great 
 Manitou of the red man, the Buddha of the 
 Hindoo and the Mahomet of the Arab. All 
 worship a divine being, all nations and tribes of 
 the earth acknowledge a power, mysterious, ever pres 
 ent but unseen, who rules the world, the elements and 
 
260 CHIQUITA 
 
 the actions of his followers. The white races are in 
 tellectual, far outranking the black man of Africa, 
 the yellow man of eastern Asia and the red man of 
 America. In the end I see but one result, the occupa 
 tion by them of the entire world and ultimate blotting 
 out of all religion except the Christian belief in the 
 Messiah, who in the form of man was crucified to do 
 away with the offerings, sacrifices and consecrated 
 rites established by the Hebrews and observed by them 
 without dissension until the commencement of the 
 Christian era. But there are Jews today still looking 
 for the King promised by the old prophets of the 
 Bible, and while prophecy upon prophecy has been 
 fulfilled in a most marvelous manner, these people 
 with no country, no flag, no standing as a nation are 
 promised the earth and fulness thereof and a new 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 " Do not the followers of Buddha look forward from 
 the death of Gaudama, who became incarnate 500 years 
 B. C, to the thousands of years which must pass be 
 fore another Buddha appears to restore the world 
 from ignorance and decay? Do not the noble red- 
 skinned tribes of the great American continent pray 
 to their Manitou for the restoration of the land where 
 the buffalo roam and the paleface cannot molest them ? 
 
 " But, alas, my people ! The heathen world must 
 succumb before the strides of education, science and 
 
CHIQUITA GRADUATES 261 
 
 civilization. It is useless to hope for the return of 
 those days, and while the children of the forest cannot 
 in one generation adapt themselves to the ways and 
 habits of industry, education and social life of their 
 white brethren, the time is not far distant when the 
 blanket Indian will be as the buffalo, and the noble 
 red man become a farmer, mechanic or politician. 
 
 " The home, sweet home of the people is the place 
 where they spent their early youth, and no matter 
 where their other years are passed, no matter what 
 their successes, no matter what their failures, the 
 sweetest spot on earth is the home of their younger 
 days, to which millions return and from which mil 
 lions die far away, but with fatherland a vision still 
 bright before them." 
 
 The last term was at end. Visitors flocked to the old 
 historic town to witness the commencement exercises 
 and hear Chiquita, the Ute s daughter, deliver the val 
 edictory. Her father, the aged Yamanatz, was there 
 with several chiefs in full council robes, and this of 
 itself was sufficient to draw thousands of the curious. 
 Prominent officials, who had watched the progress of 
 yoking the savage red maiden of the forest to her 
 civilized white sister of fashion, occupied front seats 
 on the platform of the edifice wherein the commence 
 ment scenes were enacted. Interest in the prelimi 
 nary features seemed to flag, and only desultory at- 
 
262 CHIQUITA 
 
 tention greeted the various ones as diplomas were 
 handed out. 
 
 Little were the gowned professors and learned LL. 
 D. s prepared for the tumultuous wave of approbation 
 which greeted Chiquita as she appeared on the plat 
 form from a side entrance, clad in her native costume 
 of richly-beaded buckskin, her copper colored face set 
 in a frame of intensely black hair, which reached to 
 her knees in voluminous braids from whose ends 
 dangled the " medicine " of the Utes. Words are fee 
 ble to express the transition from darkness to educated 
 light, but there she stood in primeval beauty, uttering 
 her valedictory in language so fascinating that not 
 one syllable was lost. 
 
 Bouquets were showered upon her, " bravos " rent 
 the air, and. as she stepped before the dean to receive 
 her sheepskin, with its guarantee that Chiquita was 
 educated, a smile of profound satisfaction played for 
 an instant over her marvelously thoughtful face. Then 
 spying Yamanatz near the platform, she bounded into 
 his arms to receive his blessing, her filial affection 
 superior to her decorous surroundings. Never before 
 in the history of the college had such an outburst of 
 enthusiasm greeted a graduate. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A HOSPITAL AND A BOARDING HOUSE. 
 
 Long rows of windows in a massive building gave 
 light to thousands within, who in turn looked out upon 
 the thousands plodding their way to and from toil. It 
 was in one of the hospital zones of the second city in 
 the United States and the building was one of the 
 largest hospitals in the city. Within the memory of 
 the present generation the word " hospital " was 
 fraught with weird and uncanny dark rooms, bloody 
 floors, shrieking victims of accident or disease under 
 going the torture of the knife, muffled rumbles of 
 iron-wheeled trucks rolling in new patients or wheel 
 ing the lifeless form of the dead to the morgue. Over 
 the door, unseen by mortal man, an ominous inscrip 
 tion, " He who enters here leaves all hope behind." 
 
 By the onward, irresistible advance of that flicker 
 ing flame which penetrates the darkest corner of big 
 otry and ignorance, science has groped its way beyond 
 the portals of death and snatched many from the very 
 coffin after being prepared for the grave. This is civ 
 ilization. Even today thousands look askance at the 
 
264 CHIQUITA 
 
 uncompromising brick and stone walls, shuddering as 
 the ambulance gong warns them of its approach, bear 
 ing the victim, perchance, of some terrible disaster. 
 To the unsophisticated who visit for the first time one 
 of these institutions a surprise is in store. The awful 
 gloom is penetrated by sunlight. In place of bespat 
 tered walls and crimson stained operating table are 
 snow white tiling and glass slabs mounted on iron 
 frames. The sickening offensive odor of the old 
 " slaughter pens " has been relegated to the dark ages, 
 and nothing worse than a whiff of carbolic acid or a 
 possible suspicion of iodoform greets the most sensi 
 tive nostrils. 
 
 Within such an institution Chiquita found herself 
 face to face with the " medicine " man of the paleface, 
 and her white sister in " medicine " clothes. Arrayed 
 at last in the oriental blue and white striped uniform, 
 white apron with strings crossed at the back and 
 jaunty little white cap, Chiquita began the task of fa 
 miliarizing herself with the calling which so recently 
 has placed woman in a sphere entirely her own, and 
 made her the subject of hero worship on battlefield and 
 in peaceful home. Faithfuly she performed the labori 
 ous work of smoothing the rumpled clothing of a 
 fever-racked patient, or adjusting the uncomfortable 
 bandages of another, crushed and maimed. In the 
 operating room she administered anesthetics or as- 
 
HOSPITAL AND BOARDING HQUSE 265 
 
 sisted with sponge and basin, and at clinics she lis 
 tened intently to all the specialists, while in other 
 channels she learned the necessary business methods 
 needed for successfully carrying on the expensive 
 undertaking which she proposed to inaugurate for the 
 good of her own people. 
 
 The last half of the second year of hospital life 
 had commenced. It was summer, and Jack, with 
 Hazel, was returning from his annual trip to the 
 Blazing- Eye-by-the-Big- Water mine. 
 
 Chiquita had enjoyed an afternoon with them, driv 
 ing about the city, and observed that Jack was not as 
 bright and cheerful as usual. 
 
 " No," said he, " I don t feel at all well. I think I 
 over-exerted myself at the mine." 
 
 Hazel and Chiquita insisted upon his consulting a 
 physician, but Jack contended that it was " nothing ; I 
 will be all right in the morning." 
 
 His malady, however, grew more pronounced, the 
 third day finding him with a high fever and in great 
 bodily pain. A surgeon was called, who discovered 
 that an immediate operation was imperative. 
 
 Jack protested, but finally yielded to the pleadings of 
 his wife, and arrangements were made to take the 
 then almost helpless patient to the hospital. 
 
 The carriage was driven to where Chiquita in great 
 anxiety awaited their coming. The surgeon had pre- 
 
266 CHIQUITA 
 
 ceded them, informing the matron that it was a case of 
 blood poisoning, and arranged for the admission of 
 his patient. 
 
 At 9 o clock that evening the affected part was 
 lanced, giving temporary relief, but this disclosed a 
 dangerous complication which would require a tedious 
 operation and a prolonged stay in the hospital. 
 
 The next morning, as Chiquita prepared Jack for 
 the operating table, they joked about the medicine 
 tepee and dwelt long upon the singular coincidence 
 that should bring them together under such circum 
 stances. Chiquita administered the anesthetics. While 
 Jack was losing consciousness, struggling vainly 
 to gasp a breath of fresh air, she recalled the 
 vivid description of hospital life which he had so 
 long ago on Rock Creek depicted to her. As the sur 
 geon skillfully wielded his various instruments, and 
 with the electric wire burned the sensitive flesh along 
 the track of the affected part, Chiquita for the first time 
 felt a sinking, gaping, craving of her heart. 
 
 She realized in that one moment what it meant. She 
 felt that if Jack should die her heart would cease its 
 tumultuous beating, that if he lived she should forever 
 have to keep her secret and stifle the emotions which 
 her love for him revealed. 
 
 A sudden thought surged within her. " No one 
 would know ; should she" " He is not for me I 
 
HOSPITAL AND BOARDING HOUSE 267 
 
 am a Ute s daughter, a degraded Indian. Can I live 
 and see him the husband of another and not betray my 
 secret ? Oh, Jack ! perhaps it had been better that Chi- 
 quita had never become a medicine tepee queen ! Were 
 it not better that the sister of the forest should never 
 have been educated ? 
 
 A little learning is a dangerous thing; 
 Drink deep or taste not the Pierian spring ; 
 There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, 
 And drinking largely sobers us again. 
 
 "I can not turn back. I will stifle my love for the 
 one who lies there helpless. I will consecrate my life 
 to the customs of his people, that I may leave a legacy 
 to my people the inheritance which civilization 
 brings." 
 
 Mechanically she perfomed the rest of her duties; 
 nurses had taken the unconscious form away in its 
 swaths of bandages, while she remained to adminis 
 ter to other patients and begin the long siege of love s 
 starvation, until her heart should capitulate and turn 
 to stone. 
 
 The day following the operation, Chiquita s first 
 duties were to take Jack s temperature and respiration, 
 and note other conditions. She performed the latter 
 with perfect composure, but when she essayed the 
 counting of those " little blood knocks upon the wrist," 
 her own heart beat so furiously that she was fearful of 
 
268 CHIOUITA 
 
 making an error, and was obliged to ask another nurse 
 to take that record. Afterward, however, she was 
 able to control her feelings, and take Jack s tempera 
 ture with composure. 
 
 Upon the fifth day, when the internes were dressing 
 Jack s wound, it was discovered that another operation 
 would have to be performed. The surgeon had over 
 looked a portion of the affected tract, and the wound 
 would again have to be reopened and rescarified with a 
 burning white hot electric wire. This discovery was 
 made Saturday, and Jack was at once informed. 
 
 Hazel tried to encourage him, but despondency 
 seemed to take possession of him, and all day Sunday, 
 as the church bells clanged their discordant soul-rack 
 ing peals, he tossed restlessly upon his bed. The ter 
 rific winds from the southwest blew their breath to 
 the north in sweltering blasts, and poor humanity had 
 to endure it. Tuesday, Chiquita once more was called 
 upon to watch Jack as he succumbed to the influence 
 of the anesthetic. Once more she counted his heart 
 throbs as the surgeon scraped, burned and annihilated 
 germs, bugs and septic tissue, and once more her 
 heart wildly stampeded in its ecstatic throbbing of 
 love for him whose life she literally held in her own 
 hands, as his hallowed form reposed unconscious on 
 the glass slab. 
 
 Oh, what joy to her ! what an entrancing, ravishing 
 
HOSPITAL AND BOARDING HOUSE 269 
 
 hour ! As she afterwards lived those minutes over and 
 over again, allowing her stony heart to grow tender 
 as the impulse swayed her, she was carried back in 
 vivid memory to the camp on Rock Creek where she 
 first learned of the medicine tepee queen. 
 
 The second operation was successful, and although 
 Jack s convalescence was prolonged for months, he 
 was fully cured of an ailment which in days of less 
 scientific skill had invariably resulted fatally. 
 
 With the culmination of her hospital education, 
 Chiquita turned her attention to the study of the eco 
 nomics of city life, and investigation of the details re 
 lating to her future enterprise. 
 
 She found herself domiciled in a rather pretentious 
 establishment in a fashionable and aristocratic neigh 
 borhood. 
 
 " Yes, Senorita Chiquita, I shall be pleased to have 
 you make your home with my family, as they call 
 themselves, and we are a happy houseful." So 
 spake the little black-eyed proprietor of the " Adding- 
 ton." She was Mrs. Pickett. Pickett was a specu 
 lator. The whole atmosphere in and about Pickett 
 reflected the market; if he was on the right side of 
 corn or wheat or provisions one could feel it, hear it, 
 see it in Pickett s handshake, voice and clothes. If, 
 however, he was " bull " on a " bear " movement, the 
 Pickett barometer dropped accordingly. 
 
270 CHIQUITA 
 
 " Pshaw ! that wheat is worth a dollar any day. Buy 
 five thousand at 72." But " puts " went to 68 cents at 
 the close of the " privileges " and Pickett was glum. 
 
 Pickett was not a big plunger, only one of the ten 
 million poor, hungry hangers on who watch the 
 "ticker," listen to the reports made up for the masses 
 by the master hand of manipulators, out of storm cen 
 ters, visible supply, and world s consumption, and then 
 gorge the bait. 
 
 Pickett was a winner one day on a pork deal and 
 among other commodities in the " pit " which seemed 
 a "good thing" was corn at 31 cents. He bought a 
 small line and then forgot it in the strenuous circum 
 stances which followed. At the close of the day s pork 
 business he pocketed a big roll of bills and went out 
 with the boys for a good time, only to fall down stairs 
 and break his ankle. After three weeks suffering he 
 hobbled into the broker s office. Greetings were ex 
 changed with the regulars, then he sought the cashier 
 to draw the balance of his pork money. This account 
 being settled the cashier said to him, " Pickett, what 
 are you going to do with that corn?" 
 
 "What corn?" 
 
 " Why that corn you bought at 31 cents the day you 
 broke your ankle." 
 
 " I did not buy any corn, did I ?" 
 
 " Yes, you did, and there is to your credit $7,000." 
 
HOSPITAL AND BOARDING HOUSE 271 
 
 " Seven thousand dollars !" shouted Pickett, and be 
 fore any answer could be made he ordered the deal 
 closed, then went out and bought a fast " hoss," a 
 pair of checked trousers, a silk hat, and hunted up the 
 girl who immediately became Mrs. Pickett as soon as 
 the necessary formalities could be arranged. But the 
 seven thousand dollars did not last long and the sup 
 port of a wife was more than Pickett bargained for. 
 Matters grew very serious and Mrs. Pickett found she 
 had either to go to work in some clerkship capacity, 
 or start a boarding house or peanut and candy store 
 near some school house. She chose the boarding 
 house, which soon merged into a swell private hotel, 
 and it was in the " Addington " that Chiquita saw a 
 phase of life so common to the man of the world and 
 the bachelor girl charging full tilt into the twentietfi 
 century. 
 
 " Mrs. Pickett, please tell me a little of yourself, 
 that I may understand why the white sister has no 
 husband to care for her as other white sisters have." 
 
 It was about three months after Chiquita had taken 
 up her residence at the " Addington." The two were 
 on one of the porches which overlook the lake on the 
 north shore in a most beautiful location near Sheridan 
 drive. 
 
 " It is a long story, but I can make it very brief in 
 words, although the years have been rilled with events 
 
272 CHIQUITA 
 
 which handicap a woman of my age in looks and 
 spirit, and that handicap will make the story seem 
 longer to me than to a listener." 
 
 " Don t skip any of the incidents, will you? I mean 
 those portions where the Christian spirit upheld you in 
 your grief and sadness." 
 
 " I was young. Mr. Pickett s fast horse must share 
 the blame for a portion of the admiration I became 
 possessed of for Mr. Pickett. Then he was such a 
 swell dresser, a good singer and at that time a Board 
 of Trade man, at least I thought so, and when he 
 showed me that pile of money and said * Junie, let s 
 get married, I said, Pickett, give my father a home 
 and I will marry you tomorrow. 
 
 " We were married, but the money did not last long 
 and poor Pickett lost all ambition save that of watch 
 ing the ticker, reading the market reports, and liv 
 ing in the fascinating atmosphere of bucket shops/ 
 gambling in grain, stocks and provisions, as do an 
 army of poor, deluded would-be speculators. 
 
 " There was but one course for me a boarding- 
 house, and here I have lived. My father died, and 
 soon after, my husband was stricken with a lingering 
 illness, which lasted six years ere death relieved him 
 of his sufferings. It has been a bitter cup, but after 
 all, as my good father often said, It is all for the best. 
 He waters the corn and weeds alike, and burns up the 
 
HOSPITAL AND BOARDING HOUSE 273 
 
 roses as well as the thistles; trust in God, Junie/ and 
 so I try to make the most of what I have." 
 
 " Mrs. Pickett, it is so hard for me, an Indian born 
 girl, a daughter taught to pray to the wind, the sun, 
 the rain as animate gods, capable of doing good or 
 harm, to have that faith you possess that beautiful 
 faith in the hereafter, in a God whose heaven and 
 home you know not of, yet where, you acknowledge, 
 there are no flowers, no birds, no deer, no giving in 
 marriage, no thirst, and no hunger. What, then, can 
 my uneducated people be expected to relinquish that 
 great and Happy Hunting Ground, which is to be re 
 turned to us as it was before the white man drove us 
 to the setting sun, drove the buffalo into the great sea 
 and destroyed our homes, our villages, and killed our 
 warriors? It is hard for Chiquita with all her learn 
 ing and life among her palefaced sisters to say, Lord, 
 into Thy hands I commend my spirit. But I try to 
 believe that your life is the better one for the world, 
 for the human race, and that in the end there will be 
 no more savages, no more heathens, no more unbe 
 lievers." 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 GALLING YOKES OF CIVILIZATION. 
 
 In one of the large wholesale houses, a junior part 
 ner, much interested in municipal affairs and whose 
 endorsement was sought by many a candidate seeking 
 election for the junior partner wielded a vast inter 
 est in both the secular and Christian life was pre 
 sented to Chiquita and she spent many an hour, at con 
 venient times, discussing the affairs of mutual inter 
 est, he seeking to establish the superiority of the ways 
 of education and civilization, she accepting the teach 
 ings and attempting to persuade herself that he was 
 right and that savagery was nothing more nor less 
 than animal life in the woods. 
 
 " Mr. Dunbar," she said one day, " the red man of 
 the forest is sometimes a gambler, and when the spirit 
 moves him he seeks one of his kind and they spread 
 a blanket under a tree or near the wigwam and there 
 follow their inclination, open and above board, with 
 out fear of police interference. I am told that the 
 young white man sometimes has a similar temptation 
 in the big city, but that you have laws which forbid 
 
YOKES OF CIVILIZATION 275 
 
 gambling. Nevertheless, because of political influ 
 ence, there are booths and rooms where gambling in 
 its civilized conditions can be found. Will you take 
 Chiquita to a gambling den that she may see the class 
 of men found at the tables?" 
 
 The brows of the merchant contracted, he hesitated 
 and stammered as he attempted to reply. 
 
 " Why er my dear Senorita, you know I am a 
 pillar of the church, an active member in one of the 
 largest wholesale houses in the west, and my exam 
 ple to my young men, if I were to appear in a gam 
 bling room, would be horrifying. I er " 
 
 " Oh, never mind if it would prove such a heinous 
 offense; but why, Mr. Dunbar, is it allowed, if re 
 spectable people can not go there without contamina 
 ting themselves? Is it possible that the people of a 
 great city like this make laws and elect men to enforce 
 those laws, and yet take no notice of law breakers 
 except to protect them ?" 
 
 " Senorita, it is useless to make any defense. Our 
 officeholders are corrupt. The blush of shame rises 
 to the face of respectable citizens when they have to 
 acknowledge that they elect men to office simply be 
 cause the candidate stands for party principles, only 
 to make use of the office for private gain or personal 
 spite. Of course, there are exceptions, but men do 
 not go into political battles without expecting a re- 
 
276 CHIQUITA 
 
 ward, and that reward must be a greater inducement 
 than the one offered in private life. But I will escort 
 you to a gambling den and we will see for ourselves." 
 
 (< You certainly are brave to attempt it, and I shall 
 thank you so much." 
 
 At ten o clock a carriage drove up to a corner. 
 Mr. Dunbar and Chiquita alighted " an English 
 tourist and his valet." It was but a few steps to the 
 middle of the block where a pair of green covered 
 swinging doors, on polished brass hinges, continually 
 but noiselessly opened and closed. The bright glare 
 of arc lights made the street as midday. The throngs 
 of pedestrians glanced at the green doors, and either 
 passed by without comment, or one would say to the 
 other, " Great game up in Doll s." " Why don t the 
 police shut it off ?" " Got a pull with the high chief 
 now." 
 
 Mr. Dunbar and his protege found themselves in a 
 long entry at the head of the stairs which led to a door 
 at its farther end, where at a little window sat a fat 
 gentleman with gray mustache. 
 
 " Walk in, right this way. No danger. Suppose 
 you are looking for a little game. Go through the 
 doors at the right." 
 
 The great baize covered screens opened as if by 
 magic, revealing a large square room, carpeted with 
 velvet and smothered with deep piled rugs. Magnifi- 
 
YOKES OF CIVILIZATION 277 
 
 cent landscapes by Bierstadt, Colby and Elkins hung 
 from the walls, depicting the Rocky Mountains and 
 the plains. Immense chandeliers, festooned with 
 prisms which scintillated the colors of the rainbow, 
 hung from the ceilings. Mahogany and rosewood 
 sideboards glistened with cut glass decanters, tumblers 
 and fine chinaware, while the sable attendant served 
 dainty refreshments and thirst-assuaging liquids to 
 those who asked for them. Leather upholstered tete- 
 a-tetes graced corners and bay windows, while in an 
 anteroom long racks were filled with files of newspa 
 pers and magazines. A wainscot of highly polished 
 black walnut surrounded the room, and rich India 
 draperies deadened the walls. At a table near the 
 entrance were three young men playing poker, while 
 the keeper of the game, in accents harsh, urged new 
 comers to " take a hand, only a quarter to draw cards." 
 At a side table five cattlemen, just from the stock 
 yards, were killing time in a game of draw, while on 
 the opposite side a roulette wheel spun round and 
 round until the little ball settled into its space and the 
 announcement " the red wins " was greeted by click 
 ing of chips as the croupier paid out or raked in. 
 
 But the great throng was at the far end of the room, 
 where, around a table some seven feet long and four 
 feet wide, were men three to five deep, craning, push 
 ing, reaching, to place a bet or receive their chips on 
 
278 CHIQUITA 
 
 a winning card. The air was close and hot, just the 
 slightest murmuring, the low indistinct utterings of 
 questions asked and answered : " How many times 
 has the queen been loser?" The tray is a case," 
 " Copper the jack for a blue chip," " Play ace to lose 
 and king to win," " Last turn in the box, gentlemen, 
 four for one on the call." A scruffing of feet, a sigh 
 of relief, the tension eased up for a few moments while 
 the dealer shuffles his cards. Some change seats, oth 
 ers quit the game, new ones buy chips, and again the 
 " soda " card appears and another deal is on. The 
 suppressed excitement is again apparent in feature 
 and action ; the flushed face of the winner and the 
 cold sweat on the brow of the loser make no impres 
 sion on the calm, self-satisfied face of dealer or look 
 out, each of whom wears a light slouch hat, the brim 
 shading the eyes. Both are dressed neatly and in good 
 taste, except for the enormous diamonds they show in 
 shirt bosoms and on the little finger. There is no trag 
 edy here. The sequel of the life in a city gambling 
 den is the wife at home without food, or suffering 
 from dyspepsia because of its plenteousness, or per 
 haps in the counting-room of some Board of Trade 
 office, directors room of a bank, or a police station, to 
 which the embezzler is taken after the confession. 
 The mining camp and frontier gambling dens differ in 
 respect to lawlessness, but the atmosphere after all is 
 about the same. 
 
YOKES OF CIVILIZATION 279 
 
 " I am ready to go, Mr. Dunbar," said Chiquita. 
 
 " While we are at it, suppose we take in one of the 
 theater restaurants and then at midnight see the worst 
 sink hole of iniquity on the American continent," re 
 plied Mr. Dunbar, a look of " do or die" changing 
 his usually kind face to that of uncompromising 
 severity. 
 
 " I trust, Mr. Dunbar, I have not offended by ask 
 ing a sacrifice of your self-respect, and " 
 
 " No, no, do not mention it," interrupted he, quick 
 ly. " I am glad of this opportunity. To be sure it has 
 taken a great deal of resolution on my part, not only 
 to satisfy my consciousness of the propriety in the 
 first place, but to feel that it is consistent with a Chris 
 tian life to allow one s self on any pretext to come in 
 contact with evil just to gratify curiosity. I am 
 not in sympathy with the so-called slumming par 
 ties, either for the good such investigations may bring 
 about, or for the benefit that such visitations might 
 result in to the inmates. There are other methods 
 by which the same end may be accomplished and 
 not appear so drastic. I have sometimes won 
 dered if there are really any grounds for the 
 flings made at Chicago, and if there be any truth 
 in the oft heard remark, Chicago s down town 
 resorts have no counterpart in any other city in the 
 world. Of course I expect we will see a mild form 
 
280 CHIQUITA 
 
 of dissipation and possibly one or two who may have 
 taken a drop too much, but as those stories go from 
 one to another they are exaggerated until one has to 
 make allowance for these word pictures. But here we 
 are." 
 
 " Have a private room, sir?" asked an attendant, for 
 they had stepped into a hallway leading to private din 
 ing rooms up stairs. " We have nice rooms for pri 
 vate parties. If you expect ladies you can wait for 
 them there." 
 
 Just then a lady, unaccompanied, came through the 
 swinging doors and darted to the elevator. In a low 
 tone she told the attendant to show her to No. 7, where 
 she would wait. Mr. Dunbar and Chiquita rather un 
 decidedly followed into the elevator and were whisked 
 up to the second floor, where they sauntered along 
 toward an open door. Merry peals of laughter wafted 
 over transoms and a sudden opening of one door 
 showed a party of five seated round a table, while a 
 sixth member, one of the fair sex, was standing on the 
 table. Then the door shut out the scene. Mr. Dun- 
 bar gasped a little, but concluded to go back to the 
 ground floor and have a lunch in the main restau 
 rant. They were shown seats well back from the front 
 of the place, in a position commanding a good view of 
 the tables, all of which seemed crowded. 
 
 " While we are waiting for our lunch we can study 
 
YOKES OF CIVILIZATION 281 
 
 the people," said Chiquita. " I guess the rooms up 
 stairs are used by theatrical people and they give little 
 dramas of their own." 
 
 " Yes, I should judge it to be dramatic," answered 
 Mr. Dunbar grimly. " Do you notice at every table in 
 the room some one is drinking, either a malt beverage 
 or wine, and at a majority of the tables some one is 
 smoking?" asked he of Chiquita. 
 
 " Yes, I presume they came here to forget the dark 
 spots of a day s life and to drown sorrow in drink and 
 music. You have not spoken of the classic strains 
 coming from that harp and two fiddles." 
 
 Mr. Dunbar smiled audibly at the reference to 
 music. 
 
 " Well, I don t consider this such an awful place 
 for a wicked man, a man of the world; every one is 
 well behaved and there is no loud noise, but these 
 scenes lead to others still worse and the temptations 
 offered here require a goodly sized purse and larger 
 salaries to support this extravagance than the average 
 man commands. But it is midnight and we must 
 make our way to the resort in the next block." 
 
 Descending a steep stairway they found themselves 
 at the end of a long room. The air was reeking with 
 the fumes of smoke, stale beer and sickening per 
 fumery. Shouts and loud guffaws mingled with shrill 
 peals of screamy laughter. Glasses tinkled amid 
 
282 CHIQUITA 
 
 the disconsolate strains of a discordant piano, but 
 above all other sounds were the harsh orders of wait 
 ers. " Draw six," " one green seal," " two martinis," 
 " four straight whiskies," " high ball and two gin 
 fizzes." Down the long line of tables they passed men 
 and women who leered at each other, drinking to each 
 other s health, both sexes smoking cigarettes, some 
 singing, some arguing, some swearing such oaths that 
 the visitors fain would have fled the place. At the 
 foot of the staircase, commanding the whole place and 
 surrounded by painted creatures in the latest wraps, 
 sat the proprietor, a man of fifty, dark and swarthy, 
 with black curly hair and mustache. His face was 
 filled with lines, the accumulations of years of de 
 bauchery. Upon his hands were diamond rings, seem 
 ingly too numerous to count, a watch fob with more 
 gems than a fashionably dressed ball attendant would 
 wear, hung below his vest, and his shirt front was lit 
 erally ablaze with " sparklers." The poor dupes about 
 him in this whirling vortex of hell were receiving their 
 infamous commissions for inducing men who visited 
 the resort to purchase drinks. 
 
 " And from whence come these sisters and daugh 
 ters?" asked Chiquita. 
 
 " Go to the great sales counters of some of the 
 cheaper grade of stores and follow the life of some 
 poor unfortunate; seek the divorce court and find a 
 
YOKES OF CIVILIZATION 283 
 
 victim of misplaced affection ; go to the political foun 
 tain and gaze at the high chief whose influence re 
 strains the guardian of the public peace from interfer 
 ing with these dens of vice where voters congregate to 
 do honor to the chief. Seven thousand saloons in the 
 city, with a following of twenty to each saloon to vote 
 for their master who wields the baton of wide-open 
 hell holes to the end of obtaining blood money from 
 those who are protected! Senorita, this is the black 
 spot on our fair Christian land. It is so to a greater 
 or lesser degree in all cities, in all lands, where civiliza 
 tion endures. This bartering of and in human souls 
 within the business districts of Chicago must come to 
 an end. Now we will step into the police headquar 
 ters, only a block away, while I ask the desk sergeant 
 a couple of questions." 
 
 As they started up the steps leading to the central 
 detail headquarters a cab drove up to the curb, and a 
 young man, whom Mr. Dunbar immediately recog 
 nized, stepped to the walk, followed by a detective in 
 plain clothes. They lifted a good-sized sack of some 
 thing from the cab and carried it past the late visitors. 
 A clinking of silver was easily recognized and Mr. 
 Dunbar became interested. He presumed the young 
 man had just been arrested and naturally inquired the 
 cause. 
 
 " Tommy, are you in trouble that you come in with 
 
284 CHIQUITA 
 
 an officer at this hour?" inquired Mr. Dunbar of the 
 supposed prisoner. 
 
 Tommy stopped and walked up to the speaker. It 
 was some seconds before he recognized Mr. Dunbar 
 in the disguise of a tourist. When he did so he hesi 
 tated to confide the truth of the circumstances, but 
 finally acknowledged, under promise that the informant 
 should never be known, that the sack contained over 
 five thousand dollars, which had been collected from 
 the proprietors of just such dens of vice as Mr. Dun- 
 bar had just visited. 
 
 " And my business is to count it, divide it into 
 halves and quarters and deliver the respective bun 
 dles to those who are high on the throne of police 
 authority/ 
 
 " How often are you called upon to make this col 
 lection, division and delivery?" asked Mr. Dunbar. 
 
 " Oh, once every six weeks or so." 
 
 With that Mr. Dunbar stepped up to the desk and 
 with a bow naively asked, " Can you tell me where 
 there is a first-class gambling hall? I am a stranger 
 to the calling, but would like to visit one of these dens 
 said to be run in Chicago." 
 
 " An who be ye thot ye want a gamblin* house at 
 this time o night? Get out o here, there be s not a 
 gamblin din in all Chicago fer the last three years 
 thot I ve been on the cintral detail, is there, Jawn?" 
 
YOKES OF CIVILIZATION 285 
 
 And Mr. Dunbar took his departure with Chiquita. 
 In her diary Chiquita entered this : " Visited the most 
 horrible dens of vice imaginable, the refinement of edu 
 cated debauchery, literally sitting in the lap of po 
 litical lechery, hurling defiance at virtue, decency and 
 respectability." 
 
 During her hospital career Chiquita had many ex 
 periences outside of the varied occurrences in the life 
 of a nurse, which added to rather than detracted from 
 the perplexities of civilizing her people. These other 
 scenes enacted in the great empire of industry swept 
 all minor attractions away, leaving a dreadful negative 
 photographed indelibly upon her sensitive mind, 
 whose films reproduced with startling detail not only 
 the foreground of drastic events, but the background 
 reproduction of unswerving determination on the part 
 of political demagoguery which brought ruination to 
 millions of people and even threatened the financial 
 fabric of the entire world ; a photograph more in 
 accord with the despotic days of fiddling Nero than 
 those of advanced civilization under the constitution 
 of the new republic. 
 
 While waiting for a car that would take her to the 
 hospital, Chiquita noticed numbers of men in rather 
 shabby attire approach better clad individuals and 
 after a little conversation each would go his way. In 
 some instances the better dressed speaker put his han d 
 
286 CHIQUITA 
 
 in his pocket and handed the other a coin. Then the 
 latter waited a time before accosting another and then 
 another. Oftener would the better dressed individual 
 shake his head, even savagely repulsing the appeal of 
 his less fortunate brother. One of these solicitors-at- 
 alms, for such they were, approached Chiquita, and as 
 she presented no frowning or repellant mien, he po 
 litely doffed his cap and explained in a few words his 
 mission. 
 
 " Pardon me, lady, I am unfortunate, I am out of 
 work and have no place to sleep tonight. I have three 
 cents ; for five cents I can get a bed. Will you give 
 me a penny? I will get another somewhere." 
 
 Closely scanning the man s face she saw not the har 
 dened lines of dissipation, not the pallor of the convict 
 nor the attenuated features of a cripple, but a young 
 man in good health, decently clad, though in rather 
 threadbare clothing. Chiquita had seen hundreds of 
 men brought into the hospital of all grades and call 
 ings and had become an adept as a student of human 
 nature. The man before her did not shift his eyes nor 
 stand irresolute, but the mournful voice and drooping 
 mouth told only too plainly that discouraging, de 
 spondent tale thrust so suddenly upon a prosperous 
 nation in 1893. 
 
 "Why are you without work?" asked Chiquita. 
 
 " Canceled orders and help laid off indefinitely," 
 replied the young man. 
 
YOKES OF CIVILIZATION 287 
 
 "Why were the orders canceled?" 
 
 " I don t know exactly, but Wall street and free 
 silver had something to do with it." 
 
 " Had you no money saved up to fall back upon at 
 such a time?" 
 
 " Yes, ma am ; but the savings bank went to the 
 wall and my three hundred, which I had been five 
 years getting together, went with it." 
 
 " Can t you get a job as porter rather than beg?" 
 
 " There s a thousand men waitin for all the por 
 ter jobs. Lady, you don t know it, but half the pop 
 ulation of this country is out of work." 
 
 " Where can you get a bed for a nickel ?" asked 
 Chiquita, dubiously. 
 
 " On the west side at one of the Friendship 
 houses." 
 
 " You mean a whole bed and room by yourself?" 
 
 " Oh, no, lady, just a shelf to lie on, perhaps an 
 old quilt to cover up with. This costs a nickel ; in some 
 places we get a claim on the floor for two cents." 
 
 " You say a claim on the floor ; you don t pay for 
 sleeping on the floor?" said Chiquita, drawing back in 
 amazement. 
 
 " Yes, we have to pay for everything but air in Chi 
 cago. We pick out our claim, first come, first served, 
 and put down a newspaper for bed, cover up with an 
 other, all for two cents ; but I don t like the floor. The 
 other fellows step on you when they come in late." 
 
288 CHIQUITA 
 
 " Are these places clean ?" timidly inquired Chi- 
 quita. 
 
 " Not very, ma am ; not like the hospital." 
 
 " Well, my poor fellow, here is a quarter ; I hope it 
 will do you some good." 
 
 " Thank you, lady." 
 
 Instead of going to the hospital Chiquita made a 
 pilgrimage to one of those well-known better class 
 lodging houses, not far from the Board of Trade. 
 Here she saw every chair of a hundred or more occu 
 pied by men similarly dressed and evidently looking 
 for work. Of the numbers accosted all told the same 
 tale of misfortune and all emphasized the deplorable 
 condition of the great manufacturing industries 
 throughout the United States. There was no work to 
 be had at any price. Large firms reduced their forces 
 to the lowest capacity possible. Many curtailed the 
 working hours of all rather than discharge half the 
 number, while one colossal corporation ran their works 
 at a loss, despite the wide spreading distrust prevalent 
 during the panic, which crippled every occupation, 
 profession and calling. Banks closed their doors, re 
 gardless of the suffering inflicted, business houses, 
 shorn of their credit, dropped all attempts to sustain 
 relations with the world, and armies of men thrown 
 out of employment had to provide for themselves and 
 their families as best they could. 
 
YOKES OF CIVILIZATION 289 
 
 Money could not be borrowed. Even the gold- 
 bearing bonds of the United States fell under the ban 
 of suspicion; and nothing but gold, gold, gold, had 
 any intrinsic value. The new word which wrought 
 such dire disaster was Coin, and the bank notes pre 
 sented day after day by Wall street sapped the gold 
 of the treasury until repudiation seemed inevitable. 
 The one man upon whose shoulders the burden of dis 
 aster fell, took the oath of office as President of the 
 United States, on March 4th, 1893, the responsibility 
 of a bond issue being thrown upon him by the outgoing 
 administration. The new official refused to declare his 
 policy. Wall street wanted knowledge positive as to 
 the issuance of bonds with which to buy gold to main 
 tain the reserve. Day followed day before the ten 
 sion was relieved by a bond issue, which was suc 
 ceeded by other bond issues. The harm had been 
 done. Financial institutions bridged the torrent at 
 one place only to succumb and plunge into the yawn 
 ing abyss at another. Stagnation followed disaster. 
 Had the new administration declined to give gold for 
 the " coin " notes and tendered silver, could any 
 greater ruin have overtaken American commerce? 
 
 Following in the wake of the ghastly spectre of 
 commercial ruin, that cruel, remorseless and vindic 
 tive vulture, discontent, swooped down upon a far 
 reaching industry, shrieked its defiant and soul curd- 
 
290 CHIQUITA 
 
 ling edict " Strike," and to the consternation of the 
 world, labor organizations refused to temporize. The 
 steam pulses ceased to beat, machinery came to a stand 
 still, the great factory doors closed against wage earn 
 ers and the stupendous battle between iron handed 
 men of toil and iron gloved employer was on. 
 
 Aided by sympathetic city and state officials the 
 wage earners grew insolent and arbitrary. Pitying 
 the unfortunate, misguided mechanic, artisan and la 
 borer, the iron gloved employer awaited until the de 
 vouring flame of jealousy and strife consumed itself. 
 It was under a broiling July sun that Chiquita and 
 Jack visited the scene to see for themselves the ef 
 fects of newsboys hoarse cries, Extra! Extra! All 
 about the bloody strike! The Stock Yards in dan 
 ger !" 
 
 Regiments of soldiers were bivouacked about the 
 postoffice, on the lake front, and at the yards. Dis 
 mantled, untrucked, costly palace cars blocked rail 
 road tracks from Van Buren street to the city limits. 
 In the vicinity of Thirty-ninth street turbulent masses 
 of muttering, riotous, eye-inflamed sympathizers con 
 gregated to watch the incoming United States troops 
 from Fort Sheridan. 
 
 Women, carrying babies, mingled with the angry, 
 unruly, drink-maddened throng, urging, aye, even 
 commanding more devastation, more wrecking of 
 
YOKES OF CIVILIZATION 291 
 
 property. As the snail moving train of army equip 
 ment was pulled along the siding, coupling pins were 
 drawn by the lawless, and as one car was recoupled 
 another was detached. Soldiers, in United States uni 
 form, endured insults of every nature. 
 
 A woman, acting as bodyguard to a crowd of jeer 
 ing, taunting idlers, stepped up to a guard and spat in 
 his face, then slapped him and in vulgar language de 
 rided him for wearing the uniform of -liberty. The 
 soldier was powerless to resent the affront, and this 
 emboldened the vindictive throng to acts of greater 
 violence. Turning to Chiquita, Jack said, with shame 
 faced candor, " Never did I expect to see my country s 
 flag humiliated in such a manner." 
 
 The officer of the day approached. It was the seem 
 ing signal for an outbreak; a hundred throats re 
 sponded to the one voiced cry, " The torch !" " Burn 
 the train !" " Burn the Yards !" The woman pushed 
 the man in front of her along the railroad track to 
 within a few feet of the officers. The crowd behind 
 drew closer, their jeers dropped to sullen, discontented 
 murmurings. The officer held up his hand. 
 
 " Halt ! Disperse !" 
 
 He waved his hand for the mob to go back, but they 
 made no movement. The woman cried out, " You 
 have no business to stop us ;" the man in front made 
 a rough remark and roared to his followers, " Come 
 
292 CHIQUITA 
 
 on, we ll show em." The officer backed away, calling 
 to a guard to take a position on a near-by fence. 
 " Load with ball, make ready, aim," pointing his 
 sword at the oncoming law-breaking, infuriated ruf 
 fian who had stopped a sword s length away. The 
 striker heard the words of the officer. 
 
 " When I count three I shall give the command, 
 Fire! if you and your mob have not obeyed my 
 order to disperse. One two" 
 
 The man looked at the soldier, at the carbine and 
 the cold gray eye that followed along the barrel as 
 the muzzle sought the breast of the leader, he meas 
 ured the distance, he heard the word " two," then 
 with despairing yell turned and fled. 
 
 The success of the mob at another place met with 
 cheers and shouts of approval as an engineer was borne 
 from the cab of his engine to a saloon across the way, 
 a new recruit to the army of disorganized, rebellious 
 workmen, fed by the ever ready impromptu orator 
 seeking opportunity to air his views a near friend 
 and close imitator of the agitator commissioned 
 " walking delegate." 
 
 " Jack," said Chiquita, " are these scenes, these 
 property-destroying conflicts between employer and 
 employe necessary for the advancement of civilization 
 and fulfillment of that commandment that Ye love 
 one another? " 
 
WHENCE COME MY PEOPLE? 293 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 WHENCE COME MY PEOPLE? 
 
 The holiday recesses were spent by Chiquita in the 
 great eastern cities, where she attended theater, opera, 
 and many social functions of greater or lesser magni 
 tude. 
 
 After Jack s wedding she came to rely upon his 
 w if e w ho found the Indian Senorita always in 
 cluded in the invitations sent the Sheppard house to 
 smooth the difficult paths of etiquette and to instruct 
 her in the many formalities necessarily omitted in her 
 college life, that were imperative upon being presented 
 in the whirl of fashionable circles. She was wel 
 comed by various clubs, literary folk, and at state re 
 ceptions this grandly intellectual daughter of a sav 
 age chief. 
 
 The first great effort she made in behalf of her 
 people was an attempt to forestall the opening of 
 the great expanse of land in the Indian Territory to 
 settlement by the white people. A venerable senator 
 from Massachusetts espoused her cause sufficiently to 
 awaken a hope in her inexperienced breast that the 
 
294 CHIQUITA 
 
 object could be accomplished. Another, from a west 
 ern state, gladly joined in the undertaking, while a 
 brilliant ex-secretary of state devoted his energies in 
 her behalf. 
 
 At a memorable cabinet meeting the question was 
 discussed, and in the presence of that august body, 
 and of the President himself, Chiquita delivered her 
 appeal, recounting step by step the claims under which 
 the prerogative of the Indian to the land in question 
 should be forever recognized : 
 
 " Mr. President, and gentlemen who constitute his 
 advisers, you ask whence come my people? 
 
 " For ages, as countless as the sands of the Big 
 River, the fresh waters of the great inland seas skirt 
 ing the first lofty range of the Rocky Mountains 
 washed in torrents and torrents the salt deposited by 
 the great upheavals of the western continent, through 
 the yawning canons which were created by these tor 
 rents own irresistible force, to the bases of the great 
 barrier where the sun disappears. The fresh waters 
 encroaching left their alluvial deposits further and 
 further toward the setting sun in the same manner as 
 the white settlers dispossessed the noble red warrior 
 and primeval possessor of the Western hemisphere. 
 The fresh waters divided and subdivided into smaller 
 and smaller compasses. In these grand forest-grown, 
 grass-covered areas herds of wild horses, buffalo, deer, 
 
WHENCE COME MY PEOPLE? 295 
 
 elk and mountain sheep found subsistence. The fer 
 tile valleys and meadows were thronged with villages 
 of beaver, otter and mink, whose dams were over 
 grown with the silvery-leafed aspen upon which these 
 busy families existed. The forests were fragrant 
 with fir, cedar and pine, among whose branches the 
 birds of the wood built their nests. 
 
 " But before these were other possessors of this 
 great mass of tangled volcanic eruptions, at a time 
 so remote that the mind becomes a mist, a fog bank in 
 its endeavor to locate the date, and then only as an 
 age, it being impossible to determine the century. 
 The fossils of these prehistoric creatures have been 
 found in deposits over three thousand feet in thick 
 ness, species until recently unknown to science. Here 
 man inhabited dwellings of unhewn stone cemented 
 with mortar containing volcanic ashes, at a period so 
 long ago that the waters were supposed to wash the 
 face of the cliffs upon whose precipitous side these an 
 cient people lived, in evidence of which are the fossil 
 ized human bones. 
 
 " In this legacy is found the answer, Whence come 
 my people? And what nation has ever disputed the 
 title of land conveyed by the Indians ? As early as 1851, 
 when Colorado was organized as a territory, a treaty 
 was made at Fort Laramie with several tribes of In 
 dians, by which the latter gave up all the lands east of 
 
296 CHIQUITA 
 
 the Rocky Mountains. West of the continental di 
 vide were the great warlike tribes of Utes extending 
 to the Sierra Nevadas, 15,000 free-born American 
 savages to whose necks the galling yoke of civilization 
 was to be adjusted. 
 
 " The Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Comanches and 
 Kiowas, plains Indians, were mild and tractable in 
 comparison with the Utes. These latter were fearless, 
 indomitable warriors, who owned the forest, the river 
 beds and mountain crags by inheritance from Al 
 mighty God, and whose disestablishment is written in 
 letters of blood where the forest man was the aggres 
 sor by retaliation. But the outrages of the new people, 
 the educated, civilized white man, must be forever un 
 recorded. Repudiation, shameless duplicity, political 
 and martial perfidy, local and national, followed each 
 other year after year until 1865, when the final trea 
 ties effected the abandonment of Colorado by the 
 plains Indians, who were removed to the Indian Ter 
 ritory, where the government agreed to pay each In 
 dian $40 annually for forty years. 
 
 " My people, the White River Utes, had taken no 
 part in the plains Indian controversies with the white 
 people, and, while the Utes territory bordered that of 
 the Arapahoes and Cheyennes, the only courtesies 
 were the exchanging of scalps and horses whenever 
 they met. The time arrived when agents were ap- 
 
WHENCE COME MY PEOPLE? 297 
 
 pointed by the government to reside with each Indian 
 tribe. These agents were generally respected and 
 settled many jealousies which sprang up between the 
 various bands of the tribe. 
 
 " Nevava, the great Ute chief of the White River 
 tribes, had passed into the Happy Hunting Grounds 
 and his sons each claimed the inheritance of ruler. 
 There were many in the tribes who would gladly have 
 accepted the distinction, but Ouray was appointed 
 chief over all, the lesser chiefs being forced to content 
 themselves with such following as their individual 
 qualities could command. This caused great jealousy 
 and in 1875 many conspired against Ouray. The neg 
 lect of the government to pay the annuities was 
 charged against the big head chief, who was said to be 
 in collusion with certain white men in depriving the 
 Utes of their goods, and the question was ofttimes 
 asked, How comes Ouray to be so rich? 
 
 " In 1879, the venerable N. C. Meeker was ap 
 pointed to take charge, as agent, of my people at 
 White River. He undertook the task of educating the 
 Ute warriors to plow. Opposition met him at the 
 start, for the soil is no more Ute soil when once broken 
 by the white man s plow. 
 
 " Aid from the war department was expected to 
 force the warriors to till the soil. 
 
 " Runners carried the news to the agency that a 
 
298 CHIQUITA 
 
 band of Utes who had set out to hunt had ambushed 
 the cavalry. The final outcome of this outbreak cost 
 us our home in Colorado, for soon after the relief of 
 the cavalry the White River agency was abandoned 
 and my people removed to the Uintah Reservation in 
 Utah. It is too late now to undo the wrong which re 
 sulted in the removal of the Utes from Colorado, but, 
 gentlemen, the land given over and set apart by your 
 own government in the Indian Territory for those 
 tribes now occupying the domain should be held 
 sacred. I appeal to you to keep this land intact and 
 forbid its being thrown into the hands of speculating 
 spoilers. The Indian is not able to cope with 
 the cunning of the white brother, and he is unable 
 to endure the conditions by which his white brother 
 naturally adapts himself to the cultivation of the soil, 
 the marketing of produce and protection of estate." 
 
 The appeal was in vain. The political influence of 
 cattle barons proved too great, and the concourse of 
 settlers swallowed the territory in question. The re 
 sult was very disheartening to Chiquita, but she bore 
 up and turned her attention to other duties, preparing 
 for the final establishment of her home for the aged 
 and infirm Indians. This home she decided to model 
 after a plan of her own, unlike anything in any city, 
 possibly in the world. Persistent effort among the 
 political leaders of both great parties resulted in Con- 
 
WHENCE COME MY PEOPLE? 299 
 
 gress setting apart, in western Colorado, a large tract 
 equal to one hundred miles square, to include a por 
 tion of the land on the north side of the Grand River, 
 where it cut the Park or Gore range, taking in the 
 old Ute trail, the camp in the willows, the junction of 
 Rock and Toponas Creeks and the high divide along 
 the edge of Egeria Park, where Jack froze his feet. 
 
 The tract of land became by law the National Hunt 
 ing Ground of the Blanket Indian, provision being 
 made for the maintaining of the park, policing, stock 
 ing with game and fish, as the same might be killed or 
 disappear. No white man was to be allowed to hunt 
 or fish under any circumstances within the domain, 
 no squaw with white man husband and no descendants 
 of any but full-blooded Indians were to be allowed to 
 take up residence within its established lines. No 
 cultivation of the soil for domestic purposes, no har 
 vesting of any crop whatsoever, no institutions of learn 
 ing, no mercantile establishments, no Indian agency to 
 obtain footing, no railroad, no stage line for tourists, 
 no telegraph or telephone poles and no vehicles of any 
 kind were to be tolerated. Tourists afoot or on horse 
 back accompanied by an Indian guide, a resident of 
 the park, could travel and camp, the guide allowed 
 to kill game or catch fish for his party as food supply, 
 but no game or fish to be taken from the park. The 
 one exception to all this was the immense hospital and 
 
300 CHIQUITA 
 
 necessary minor buildings, an ambulance, vehicles and 
 paraphernalia for conveying disabled persons, supplies 
 for the hospital, and nurses to and from the nearest 
 railway. All food products, supplies and clothing 
 were to be obtained outside of the park lines and all 
 annuities due the Indians were to be paid them at 
 agencies established without the park. 
 
 When the bill making these provisions came before 
 the upper house for a final vote, a tall, white-haired 
 senator responded to his name and arose. Pointing 
 with outstretched hand to the gallery, where a group 
 of aged, wrinkled chiefs congregated about a fair In 
 dian girl, he said, in part : 
 
 " Tardy as this action of the great American people 
 may seem, I think I echo the sentiments of both friends 
 and foes of this persecuted race when I raise my 
 voice in their behalf. The foes of the Indian are but 
 the natural result of broken faith, and while it may be 
 good logic to say one white man is worth more than 
 all the Indians ever created, it does not condone the 
 trespass committed when the white man became the 
 usurper and confiscator of the very thing given vol 
 untarily by his fathers and forefathers. Follow the 
 patient man of the forest as the dogs of civilization 
 barked at his heels, worrying him the same as the 
 doe becomes affrighted when she hears the deep bay 
 of the hound upon her track. Look at the primitive 
 
WHENCE COME MY PEOPLE? 301 
 
 means of defense with which the noble red man at 
 tempted to defend his domain against the onward 
 march of civilization. The pages of the record of this 
 chamber, of the war department, of the department of 
 the interior are dripping with the blood of this race, 
 defrauded of their homes, their hunting grounds, aye, 
 gentlemen, even their burrying grounds. Move on ! 
 Move on ! has been the command since 1620, until this 
 handful of a great and brave nation are today but rem 
 nants of cowardly and degraded tribes, made so by 
 the damnable treachery of American white people and 
 their civilized methods of aggression. I consider it 
 one of the greatest honors of my life to be able to face 
 that faithful, devoted Indian girl, Chiquita, and -cast 
 my vote f aye in this weak and tardy attempt at re 
 muneration." 
 
 Two tiny red spots burned in Chiquita s cheeks as 
 the senator finished. She smiled at the applause which 
 greeted the venerable member and prepared to listen 
 to the rest of the voting. When the last name was 
 called, before the teller could announce the result, a 
 cheer from the galleries burst forth, every eye was 
 directed toward Chiquita, and in response to the wave 
 of applause she arose and bowed her appreciation of 
 the action of that august body. 
 
 But the excitement proved too great a strain upon 
 her temperament, and she was carried to the hotel 
 
302 CHIQUITA 
 
 in a fainting condition. As she recovered con 
 sciousness, she said to Hazel, " Chiquita will be 
 one of the first to leave the National Hunting Ground 
 for the great Happy Hunting Ground above." She 
 realized that her vitality was weakened, that over 
 work and exposure had made her vulnerable to 
 insidious disease, whose progress would be rapid 
 now that the weakened spots had succumbed to 
 its ravages. But she would not give up the cher 
 ished hopes of seeing her one aim in life accom 
 plished, the forest-grown reservation where her people 
 could forever hunt and fish without further mo 
 lestation or dividing up of the land, and in its center 
 wigwams, lodges, tepees and her great hospital for 
 the sick, helpless and aged when they would be unable 
 to take care of themselves. 
 
 Immediate preparations were made to carry out her 
 cherished wish, which had been so many years her 
 aim. With Jack to aid her the purchases of material 
 were made. Contracts were entered into for the erec 
 tion of the buildings and equipment therefor. Nurses 
 and attendants were engaged for the hospitals, and 
 for a year she watched the accumulating results 
 which her education and fortune were bringing about. 
 
 But the task of civilization was one which nature 
 condemned in such a short period. The overwork and 
 confinement was more than she could endure and she 
 
WHENCE COME MY PEOPLE? 303 
 
 sought rest from the weary toil inflicted upon her 
 self in behalf of her people. 
 
 In a grove of tall fir trees, close to the placid waters 
 of the Grand River, Yamanatz erected his tepee, where 
 in the soft, balmy air, fragrant with balsam and cedar, 
 Chiquita could rest and watch the clouds as they made 
 great shadow pictures on the mountain and stream. 
 Like a sentinel, a lone peak stood beyond the cleft in 
 the great divide, whose precipitous sides rose in tow 
 ering splendor all clad in verdure green. The river 
 reflected on its mirror of millions of tiny drops of 
 sparkling water, the blue sky, the trees tinted red by the 
 setting sun, the tepee on the bank of the stream and 
 the mountain tipped with its cap of eternal snow. 
 The camp fire sent a spiral of thin blue smoke toward 
 the azure dome, and by the lurid coals two Utes 
 smoked in silence. Within the sign-bedecked tepee, 
 upon a couch of lion skins, lay Chiquita, clad in hunt 
 ing garb, her rifle and fishing rod beside her. Yama 
 natz, Antelope, Jack, and the mother of Chiquita 
 stood by, while the fairest of the White River maid 
 ens told them of the great happiness which awaited 
 her in the Happy Hunting Ground of the Utes which 
 lay just beyond the sky. 
 
 " If my father and my mother were only there," 
 said Chiquita, as she pointed beyond the cleft above 
 the river. " And, Jack," she continued, " you must beg 
 
304 CHIQUITA 
 
 leave of absence from the heaven of the white man and 
 visit Chiquita in her happy home. You will find birds 
 that sing and the bounding deer and flowers that 
 bloom. The warriors of many, many snows are gath 
 ered there and you will see the Utes in all their gran 
 deur, as they were before the white man took their 
 land." 
 
 " But what of your friends, Chiquita, those who 
 taught you of the religion of our people, of the only 
 Christ who died to save mankind?" asked Jack, as he 
 recalled the years and years of Chiquita s life in 
 school, in college, in the hospital, the church and in 
 the society of the ablest women of the nineteenth cen 
 tury. 
 
 " Ah, Jack !" Chiquita waited a moment, then with 
 her bright eyes reflecting the love of the forest queen 
 for her native haunts, customs and the freedom of the 
 woods, she continued, " The God who gave you the 
 Christ gave you also wisdom, and with that wisdom 
 cruel weapons to drive the weaker to destruction. 
 The paleface has driven the red man to his death. My 
 people share not the needs nor desires which civiliza 
 tion brings to the white brethren, nor the society de 
 mands which make our paleface sister a slave to her 
 calling. Jack, I have lived among my white sisters, 
 I have been one of them, been sought for, banqueted, 
 heralded and had tributes of honor thrust upon me. 
 
WHENCE COME MY PEOPLE? 305 
 
 No school, no church, no institution of science, no 
 club, no society, no matter how select, has been other 
 than glad to have Chiquita honor them with her pres 
 ence. With wealth untold and accomplishments unat- 
 tained before by any woman in the world, Chiquita 
 returns to her forest home for peace and contentment. 
 In my Father s house are many mansions. Yes, Jack, 
 and the tepees of the great Indian nation stretch be 
 yond the sky to welcome Chiquita. See, Jack, father, 
 mother, the braves in all their glorious array are wait 
 ing for Chiquita ! Our Father/ the Great Spirit of 
 both the red and white man, welcomes. It is in the 
 peace of the Happy Hunting Ground that we find rest. 
 Adios, Jack. The great Yamanatz will soon follow 
 and it will not be long ere all my people are as the 
 buffalo, and the white man alone in the land that 
 once was a paradise, but the mockery of civilization 
 turned it into a stench hole of iniquity and market 
 place of educated vampires, against which the child 
 of the forest of the same God had no" The voice 
 failed to respond to the effort. Chiquita was dead. 
 And with her was buried that undying, unquenchable, 
 unsung love which consumed her heart. 
 
 A camp bird, in subdued autumn plumage of black 
 and pearl gray, mewed plaintively as the old war 
 rior came forth from the tepee. The wrinkled 
 visaged chief beat his breast and muttered in Ute dia- 
 
306 CHIQUITA 
 
 lect the prayers of a bereaved father for a dead daugh 
 ter. The old " medicine " chief ceased to bang the 
 tom-tom and the jargon of the squaws was silenced. 
 Jack looked on with keen disappointment. For years 
 he had watched and sympathized witE Chiquita in 
 her ambition; and now at the last turn in the great 
 course of life, after tasting nearly every phase of civ 
 ilized honor, she had returned to the religion of her 
 fathers and died with utter contempt in her heart for 
 the foibles and allurements of civilization, civilized 
 society and civilized government. 
 

 

 M12038 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY