THE 
 
 DELAHOYDES 
 
 BOY LIFE 
 
 ON THE 
 
 OLD SANTA FE TRAIL 
 
 BY 
 
 COLONEL HENRY INMAN 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE OLD SANTA F6 TRAIL," "A PIONEER FROM 
 
 KENTUCKY," "TALES OF THE TRAIL," 
 
 ETC., ETC. 
 
 CRANE & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 
 
 TOPEKA, KANSAS 
 
 i8 99
 
 Copyright, 1899, by CRANK & Co.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE story of the Delahoyde Boys is not pure fiction, 
 as is the general juvenile tale of the frontier. The 
 characters are all drawn from life : in some instances 
 the names only are fictitious. The localities are true 
 in their geographical description, and the incidents of 
 the plot are real experiences. 
 
 In its natural history, the author, who has always 
 been a close observer, has supplemented his own 
 knowledge of the habits and characteristics of the 
 animals, birds and fishes referred to, by a careful 
 study of eminent authorities on the subject, and it 
 is believed that the descriptions in this book are 
 correct. 
 
 The incidents in the lives of the famous men who 
 figure in the story are true to history, and are not 
 creations of the author's brain. In these instances 
 real names are given, and events are recorded which 
 are based upon actual occurrences. 
 
 (3)
 
 4 PREFACE. 
 
 While the scenes are sometimes a little sensational, 
 and perhaps may have a tendency to shock the sensi- 
 bilities of a refined nature, unfamiliar with the thrill- 
 ing events which make up the history of the border, 
 now vanished forever, they confirm the adage that 
 "Truth is stranger than fiction/' H. I.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PREFACE, 3 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 Ancestry of the Boys. Their Home on the Arkansas River. 
 Animals and Birds of the Region. Early Education of 
 Carlos and Pierre. Their Amusements. Interior of their 
 Dwelling . . 9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Boys' Duties on the Ranch. Their Love for Animals. 
 Their Pets. Failure to Tame the Lynx. Their Dogs. 
 Rabbit and Hare Chasing. Fighting Lynxes at Night. 
 Capture of a Young Elk. Fate of " Tom." Catching An- 
 telope Fawns. An Intelligent Hound. How the Boys 
 Dressed, 16 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Camping Out. Their Equipage. Their Campfire. Shoot 
 Blue-winged Teal. Description of these Birds. Catch a 
 Jack-Rabbit for the Dogs. Carlos Goes Fishing. Adventure 
 with a Bear. Kill a Cub. Pierre Rescues His Brother. 
 Sounds of the Night. Shoot a Wild Turkey. Manner of 
 Cooking. Arrival of their Father. Return Home, . . . .81 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Young Bostonians Meet Carlos and Pierre. Dinner in 
 the Indian Traders' Camp. Talk about Wild Turkeys. 
 The Sandhill Cranes and their Antics. In the Museum at 
 the Dugout. The Pet Bear, " Ephraim." Supper al fresco. 
 The Big Spring. Moles and their Habits, 56 
 
 (5)
 
 6 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Poisoning Wolves. Bathing in the Big Spring. Fishing with 
 a Trot-line. Burton's Curious Catch. The Garpike. 
 Prairie Grouse. Otter, and their Habits. Hook a Soft- 
 shell Turtle. Talk about Animals around the Campfire. 
 Story of the Five Skunks, ....-> 77 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Sunday at the Ranch. Summerfield and Burton Discourse 
 upon a Sabbath in the Far West. A Walk Out on the 
 Prairie. The Wild Flowers. Cyrus and Jupe Kill a Gray 
 Wolf. Prairie Dogs and the Burrowing Owl. The Old 
 Santa F6 Trail. Stories of Adventure Told by Mr. Dela- 
 hoyde 100 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Boys Leave the Arkansas on a Turkey-Hunt. Plovers 
 and Sandpipers. A Herd of Buffalo. Camp on Eagle 
 Chief Creek. All Take a Swim. Go to the Big Turkey- 
 Roost. Actions of the Immense Flocks. Great Sport in 
 Shooting them by Moonlight. Return to Camp. The 
 Coyotes. The Kingfisher. Hunt Jack - Rabbits. Bur- 
 ton's Dream. Night Attack on the Lynxes. Return to 
 the Ranch on the Canadian, 124 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Tom Norman, the Government Scout, Reports Vast Numbers 
 of Buffalo South of the Canadian. A Grand Hunt Pro- 
 posed for the Morrow. Stories of Adventure. A Comical 
 Meeting with a Grizzly Bear. Fight with a California 
 Lion. Capture of a Panther Cub, 150 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Boys Start on their Buffalo-Hunt. Duck Shooting. 
 Camp on the Walnut. Attacked by a Pack of Gray 
 Wolves. The Effect of Burnt Gunpowder. Camp on 
 Hackberry Creek. Pierre Shoots a Wild Turkey for Sup- 
 per. The Buffalo -Hunt. The Norther. Lost on the 
 Prairie. Burton Follows Wrong Star. Runs into a Co-
 
 CONTENTS. 7 
 
 manche Village. Captured by the Savages. Brought 
 Before a Subordinate Chief. Guarded Closely by War- 
 riors. The Morning Council. Eed Bear, the Head Chief. 
 
 Told They Would Not be Killed. Learning to Shoot 
 with Bow and Arrows. Negro Captives. Indian Peculiar- 
 ities. The Comanches. Dress of the Men and Women. 
 
 The Boys are Fitted with New Suits, 159 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Comanches. Their Splendid Horsemanship. Tactics in 
 Battle. Manner of Capturing Wild Horses. Religion of 
 the Tribe. Signals of the Savages. Burial of the Dead. 
 
 A Raid into Mexico. Warriors Report to their Head 
 Chief . Savage Surgery. Means of Transportation. Their, 
 Food. Camp in the Mountains. The Boys Tussle with a 
 California Lion. Kill a Black Bear. Back to the Vil- 
 lage. Discontentment. Red Bear Removes the Tribe to 
 the Wichita Mountains. The Boys Talk of Trying to Make 
 their Escape, ll 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Anxiety at the Ranch of the Delahoydes. The Peace Com- 
 mission. The Treaty. Broken Faith of the Government. 
 
 First Battle with the Allied Tribes. The Opening of the 
 Celebrated Winter Campaign by General Sheridan. Gen- 
 eral Sully's Fight. Establishment of Camp Supply. Gen- 
 eral Ouster's Famous March. The Attack on Black Kettle's 
 Village. A Great Victory. Shooting the Ponies. Prison- 
 ers. Arrival of the Troopers at Camp Supply Again. In 
 the Field. The Fate of Major Elliott's Command. Gen- 
 eral Custer's Report, 217 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Boys Run Away from the Comanches. Their Eventful 
 Journey. Their Sequestered Camps. Pierre Kills an In- 
 dian Runner. Visit to the Old Ranch. The Storm. The 
 Buffalo-Hunter's Cabin. A Search for Meat. Shoot a Doe. 
 
 The Terrible Storm Keeps Them Shut Up for Several 
 Days. Start on their Travels Once More. The Sound of 
 the Bugles. See "Old Glory." Start for the Fort, ... 245
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIH. 
 
 Toy at Camp Supply. General Sheridan's Buffalo-Hunt. 
 Arrival of the Lost Boys. Dine with General Ouster. On 
 the Trail to Fort Dodge. Slaughter of the Worn-out Cav- 
 alry Horses. Abandonment of their Babies by the Squaws. 
 Arrival at Fort Harker. Joyful Meeting of the Dela- 
 hoydes. Summerfield and Burton Leave for their Home. 
 After Graduating, Return to Kansas, and are now Wealthy 
 Ranchmen. Annual Reunions of the Delahoydes and their 
 Boston Friends, 271
 
 THE DELAHOYDES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANCESTRY OF THE BOYS. THEIR HOME ON THE ARKAN- 
 SAS RIVER. ANIMALS AND BIRDS OF THE REGION. 
 
 EARLY EDUCATION OF CARLOB AND PIERRE. THEIR 
 
 AMUSEMENTS. INTERIOR OF THEIR DWELLING. 
 
 PIERRE DELAHOYDE was an old-time French- 
 Canadian trapper, 1 who had been an employe of 
 the American Fur Company as early as 1820. 
 He died at the ripe age of ninety-three, at his home 
 on the North Platte, Wyoming, in' 1865. As was the 
 custom of men of his vocation, he married a squaw, 
 a Cheyenne, 2 and had one son, also named Pierre. 
 
 The younger Pierre 3 Delahoyde was sent, when about 
 fifteen years old, to school at St. Louis, as his father 
 did not want to subject his only boy to all the demor- 
 alizing influences incident to the life of a trapper, and 
 he remained away from his home until he was twenty- 
 three, after having been graduated with honors by the 
 University of Missouri. 
 
 1 Trappers were men who in the days before the settlement of the Great Plains 
 and Rocky Mountains were employed by the fur companies, to live out in those 
 wild regions and catch the beaver, mink, and other animals valuable for their skins. 
 
 2 The Cheyenne tribe of Indians take their name from the French word c/iien, 
 meaning dog. 
 
 3 Pierre, from petrus, Latin, meaning a piece of stone ; and is French for Peter. 
 
 O)
 
 10 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 Pierre, however, having an instinctively unconquera- 
 ble love for the wild life of the mountains and plains, 
 inherited from his father, and the natural savage tastes 
 of his Indian mother, chose to be a trapper, too, in 
 which vocation he continued until 1866, when the ad- 
 vent of the railroads into the interior of the continent, 
 and its incident rush of immigration, virtually ended 
 the traffic forever. 
 
 In 1850 he squatted on a piece of land bordering the 
 Arkansas river, near the mouth of the Walnut, a short 
 distance from where the historic Santa Fe trail crossed 
 that stream. 
 
 He had married the daughter of Carlos Beaubien, 
 another old-time trapper and boon companion of his 
 father, and had two boys to whom were given the an- 
 cestral names of their grandfathers. 
 
 He lived in a primitive dugout near the bank of the 
 stream, and there his children were born. It was 
 merely an excavation in the bluff, walled up on the in- 
 side with stone; the roof formed of saplings placed 
 close together, over which about three feet of grass was 
 lain, the whole covered with dirt, a layer of sod and 
 rocks. It had three doors but no windows, the light 
 from the entrances being deemed as sufficient; while 
 the floor was the natural earth, pounded to a hardness 
 as compact as that of the toughest wood. 
 
 No rain ever filtered through the thick roof, and it 
 was as dry as the best of shingles could have made it. 
 
 There were five rooms in the dugout, one of which
 
 THEIR HOME ON ?HE ARKANSAS RIVER ll 
 
 was called " the museum," and claimed solely by Pierre 
 and Carlos, for their collection of objects in natural 
 history, of which farther on. 
 
 The furniture was of the rudest character. The beds 
 were formed of the crotches of small saplings, driven 
 in the ground, in which were placed short pieces the 
 same width of the bed, over which poles were laid 
 lengthways, and the mattresses composed of seven buf- 
 falo robes each, their coverings also buffalo robes, and 
 the pillows flour-sacks stuffed with prairie-grass. There 
 were three or four chairs, fashioned by the old trapper 
 of the natural wood, and which in an Eastern home 
 would be considered rather artistic, rustic affairs, such 
 as are often to be seen on the lawns of country gentle- 
 men's homes. The only table was also a crude thing, 
 made of slabs from the tree, smoothed with an axe. 
 
 The fireplace was a huge one, built of stone, the 
 jhimney above leading out of the roof, formed of sticks 
 laid crosswise after the manner that children build 
 their corncob houses in the country, and the interstices 
 chinked with mud. There was an abundance of timber 
 in the region at that early day on the Walnut, and it 
 would have required much less labor to construct a 
 cabin ; but a dugout is cooler in summer and warmer 
 in winter, hence the character of their dwelling was 
 purely a matter of choice. 
 
 So remote from the nearest settlements was this 
 ranch 011 the Walnut, that it was impossible to procure 
 any furniture less than hundreds of miles distant; so
 
 12 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 the primitiveness of the appointments of their home 
 was not from lack of means on the part of the trapper, 
 or indisposition to have it, but due to the difficulty in 
 procuring it. Rude as everything was, their home was 
 kept scrupulously clean, for Mrs. Delahoyde had been 
 reared in a semi-cultured family in one of the large 
 towns in New Mexico. 
 
 As the era of trapping had closed about sixteen years 
 after Mr. Delahoyde took up his claim, he engaged in 
 the stock business, which was just then developing all 
 over the "Far West." 
 
 The site selected for his home was a perfect wilder- 
 ness of beauty. The silent river which flowed rhyth- 
 mically a few yards from the crudely picturesque home, 
 and the gentle soughing of the breeze in the forest 
 which surrounded and overshadowed it, were a sooth- 
 ing lullaby, which only those can appreciate who have 
 tasted the solitude of Nature in all her charm of isola- 
 tion from the conventionalities of a busy civilization, 
 an absolute immunity from all the disturbing elements 
 which characterize the features of a great city. 
 
 The whole region was a veritable hunter's paradise. 
 The deep woods which fringed the river on both banks 
 for many miles, was the home of the Lynx, or wildcat 
 as it is commonly called, though in fact there are no 
 wildcats on the American continent ; all so-called wild- 
 cats are lynxes. The lynx has a short tail a little 
 longer than its head, while the wildcat's tail is as long 
 as his body. Another difference between the two aui-
 
 ANIMALS AND BIRDS OF THE REGION 13 
 
 mals is that the ears of the lynx are tufted, while those 
 of the wildcat are not ; and the lynx also lacks the pre- 
 canine molar which is found in the teeth of the wild- 
 cat. On the open prairie beyond the timber, vast herds 
 of buffalo and antelope roamed, and the wolves were 
 found in great numbers all along the stream for miles, 
 where their dens were made in the rocky, precipitous 
 bluffs bordering it. 
 
 The different varieties the white, the gray, the 
 brindle, and their despicable congener the coyote, the 
 latter a thorough vagabond, outcast and Ishmaelite 1 of 
 the Plains were almost as innumerable as the cotton- 
 tails and the jack-rabbits. 
 
 It is not generally known, perhaps, that with the ex- 
 ception of an obliquity in the position of the eyes, and 
 a variation in the matter of ears, there is little anatom- 
 ical difference between the wolf family and the dog. 
 The ears of the wild animal are always pricked, the 
 lopped or drooping ear being essentially a mark of civ- 
 ilization. 
 
 In the era of which I write, through the geographical 
 region described, where there were no restraining influ- 
 ences, the mountain wolves and the gray wolves of the 
 prairie joined forces and hunted in packs, and were 
 then seen at their greatest and bravest, fairly exceed- 
 ing all other animals in shrewdness. 
 
 1 Ishmaelite, a term taken from the Bible : one resembling Ishmael, whose 
 hand was against every man and every man's hand against him ; one at war 
 against society. Hence the coyote is called the Ishmaelite of the Plains, because 
 he is " against " every other animal, and they against him.
 
 14 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 In the springtime great squadrons of cranes sailed 
 high in the air, and the eagle, our national bird, built 
 his nest far up on the limbs of the dead cottonwood 
 and elm trees. The river and its branches abounded 
 in fish, principally cat and buffalo, together with little 
 sun-perch, and that most ancient of all fish, whose an- 
 cestry dates back to the Devonian period, 1 the garpike, 2 
 a non-edible species. The catfish sometimes weighed 
 sixty or seventy pounds, and when one of these great 
 fellows was hooked, it required all the strength of the 
 boys to land it. 
 
 Pierre and Carlos, as soon as they were old enough to 
 handle a rifle, were carefully taught by their father 
 how to use it, so that when ten years of age they be- 
 came experts and could hit anything within range, 
 though it were only a bird as small as a wren. * Well 
 educated himself, as has been stated, the devoted father 
 became the tutor of his sons, setting apart a portion of 
 the morning and evening of each day to their educa- 
 tion. They could both read and write well, had a fair 
 knowledge of the history and geography of their coun- 
 try, as well as that of foreign nations, and were prob- 
 
 1 The Devonian period Is one of the great divisions, geologically speaking, of 
 the earth's strata, next to the oldest of all. Rocks of the Devonian period occur 
 widely in the United States, as well as In Europe. They abound in fossil plants 
 and animals, Including fishes of many varieties, one of the largest of which was 
 probably fifteen feet long, and according to the opinion of geologists could have 
 easily taken off a man's head at a bite. They were, in fact, armor-clad like the gar- 
 pike, from which the latter common fish has descended. The latter has degener- 
 ated, being much smaller than its remote ancestor. 
 
 *The garpike Is a fish belonging to the genus of pikes, with a very long snout, 
 the under jaw much shorter than the upper. Its scales are hard and knobby.
 
 THEIR AMUSEMENTS 15 
 
 ably better educated than the average American boy 
 born and reared on the extreme Western frontier. 
 
 As is generally the case, boys reared remote from the 
 confines of civilization necessarily hold closer commun- 
 ion with the visible forms of nature than do those of 
 the great cities. To this rule Carlos and Pierre formed 
 no exception ; or rather, in them it was developed be- 
 yond the ordinary. Baseball, billiards, marbles, kite- 
 flying and other amusements incident to civilization 
 were as unknown a quantity to the little trappers, as is 
 the x in algebra. Having no neighbors nearer than a 
 hundred miles, excepting the rough crowd at the stage 
 stations, they were thrown upon their own resources 
 for amusements, and their talents were directed to the 
 study of the various animals and birds whose habitat 
 was in the region where their home was located. They 
 observed and studied all the animals, and not even the 
 reptiles failed to escape their attention. In a few 
 years they collected such a large number of pets that 
 they alone would have constituted a small menagerie. 
 Their father's knowledge of the fur-bearing animals 
 was very extensive, because of his life-long vocation in 
 that direction ; and as he loved his boys, and was a 
 most indulgent father, he took great pains to train 
 their young minds to the study of animate nature, in 
 which he himself was so well versed.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE BOYS' DUTIES ON THE RANCH. THEIR LOVE FOR ANI- 
 MALS. THEIR PETS. FAILURE TO TAME THE LYNX. 
 
 THEIR DOGS. RABBIT AND HARE CHASING. FIGHTING 
 
 LYNXES AT NIGHT. CAPTURE OF A YOUNG ELK. FATE 
 OF "TOM." CATCHING ANTELOPE FAWNS. AN INTEL- 
 LIGENT HOUND. HOW THE BOYS DRESSED. 
 
 THE absolute work which Pierre and Carlos were 
 required to perform on their remote ranch was 
 very light; in fact, it was so little laborious 
 that it seemed like mere play. It consisted solely of 
 herding the relatively small number of cattle their 
 father possessed, which duty was always performed on 
 horseback, as each of the boys owned three of the hardy 
 little Indian ponies. They met with many adventures 
 while herding, and had such unusual opportunities for 
 observing the habits of the many wild animals and 
 great variety of birds with which they became ac- 
 quainted during their life on the ranch, that nearly 
 all their hours of sunshine were filled with amusement, 
 rather than with what could strictly be called labor. 
 The only thing that approached it was the cultivation 
 of a small garden-strip along the margin of one of the 
 creeks near home, where the soil was exceedingly rich, 
 
 (16)
 
 THEIR LOVE FOR ANIMALS 17 
 
 and which was irrigated l by a spring flowing out of the 
 wall of rock forming the canon through which the 
 stream ran. There was no attempt made at farming 
 on a large scale, as climatic conditions precluded its 
 possibility, excepting under a complicated system of 
 irrigation, which for that then remote region was 
 something very far in the future. 
 
 With an abundance of leisure on their hands, and 
 virtually having no neighbors, the boys were thrown 
 upon their own resources for amusement, and their 
 efforts in quest of it were directed to the study of 
 natural history. 
 
 Pierre and Carlos had a variety of living pets, as 
 what boy on the frontier does not ? Among these were 
 a coyote, an antelope, several prairie-dogs, a bear, an 
 elk, some moles, and even a rattlesnake. They had 
 made several attempts to tame young lynxes, but had 
 to give it up as a failure ; so they were compelled to kill 
 the quarrelsome brutes, as all the kindness bestowed 
 upon them was fruitless of beneficial results, and they 
 were mounted and placed in the museum, with other 
 animals and birds the boys had captured for that pur- 
 pose. 
 
 Of course both Pierre and Carlos owned dogs, sev- 
 eral of them, for what would a young boy's life 
 
 1 IRRIGATION. In the early days of watering by artificial methods, simple little 
 ditches were constructed, often with only a common hoe, through which the water 
 flowed to the garden-patches. Irrigation on a large, complicated scale, requires 
 the construction of expensive ditches, miles long, . the water being directed into 
 them from some river, like that of the Arkansas, in western Kansas, or the erection 
 of pumping stations ; these enterprises sometimes costing a million dollars, and 
 being controlled by a company. 
 
 -2
 
 18 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 be worth on a ranch without his most faithful friend 
 and companion, even though the animal should be the 
 meanest of mongrels ? Most of those belonging to 
 them, however, were hounds, some of rare, large breed, 
 great shaggy-haired fellows that hunted by scent alone, 
 and were a match, singly, for the biggest and most fe- 
 rocious of wolves. Many times they had been engaged 
 in hard-fought battles with them, and when not out- 
 numbered, had invariably been Ihe victors. The boys 
 also possessed four common greyhounds, noted for their 
 swiftness, but which hunted by sight only. 
 
 The country was filled with hares, or jack-rabbits, as 
 they are called, and the little cottontails, the genuine 
 rabbit. One of the distinguishing characteristics be- 
 tween the species is, that the hare makes his lair 1 on 
 top of the ground, generally in some thick mat of grass, 
 while the rabbit-warrens are burrows underneath the 
 surface, or in holes in the ledges of rock. 
 
 The boys had rare sport at all seasons, mounted 
 on their ponies and following the greyhounds after 
 the swift little aniipals, and the dogs were so perfectly 
 trained that when they caught sight of one it rarely es- 
 caped: stewed or broiled rabbit was quite a prominent 
 factor in the family larder. 
 
 The hounds were broken to chase the hare or cotton- 
 tail in the following manner : 
 
 The dog which first sighted one went directly after 
 him, the others keeping in the rear of the leader, but 
 
 1 Lrtr, an Anglo-Saxon word meaning, literally, a couch ; hence, the resting- 
 place of any wild beast.
 
 FIGHTING LYNXES AT NIGHT 19 
 
 spread out at intervals of ten or twenty feet, keeping 
 their eyes on their quarry, watching closely when he 
 bolted sideways or suddenly doubled on his tracks, 
 and then the nearest hound, having plenty of room to 
 turn himself, would take up the chase. Then the first 
 hound, whose impetus had sent him far ahead in a 
 straight line the way he was going, would drop behind, 
 and take his place in the rear, watching for his chance 
 to run ahead when the rabbit turned again. Some- 
 times the little animal succeeded in getting no farther 
 away from where he was flushed than twenty or thirty 
 yards, when the^fiound that was directly after him 
 would get close enough to shove his long nose under 
 him, toss him in the air, catch him in his strong jaws 
 as he came down, and instantly that rabbit was dead I 
 
 Often at night as tlie lynx is a nocturnal prowler 
 Pierre and Carlos would sally out from the dugout 
 accompanied by their large hounds, and have many an 
 hour's rare sport watching them tussle with the plucky 
 beasts. The lynx was easily tracked to where he was 
 prowling, for it has a cry strangely similar to that of a 
 child, which betrays its whereabouts. The animal is 
 no coward, and will fight to a finish, especially when 
 cornered, and then he makes the fur fly as he stands 
 at bay, and the hounds " go for" him. The dogs rarely 
 came out of the battle unscathed, as many a long and 
 deep scratch on their bodies, which they carried all 
 their lives, indicated. 
 
 Although the boys possessed a great number of pets,
 
 20 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 they had not been obtained without many a spirited 
 adventure, attended sometimes with real danger. 
 
 One afternoon while Carlos was returning home with 
 the herd of cattle he had been tending, as he reached 
 the edge of the timber he saw a young elk had strayed 
 from the side of its mother; so he determined to at- 
 tempt its capture, failing in which, he intended to kill 
 it for meat, as he always had his rifle with him. He 
 was an adept at throwing the lasso, however, which was 
 always attached to the horn of his saddle, ready for any 
 emergency ; so, swinging his rope over his head as the 
 fawn ran, he started for the beautiful little animal. 
 Throwing it swiftly, it caught the creature around the 
 neck and brought him to a sudden standstill. So ab- 
 ruptly was the frightened beast stopped, as Carlos's 
 pony braced his fore feet when he felt the lasso drawn 
 tight, as he was trained to do, the elk was thrown 
 sprawling on its side. The moment Carlos loosened 
 the lasso so as not to strangle the animal, the latter 
 sprang quickly to his feet, and, bristling with fight, 
 made a rush for the pony. The hair on his neck was 
 all turned the wrong way, just as the dog's is when he 
 is going to have a tussle with another of his species, 
 and.it was with great difficulty that Carlos could con- 
 trol the little fellow until he hobbled his fore feet and 
 subdued his fiery nature. 
 
 Fortunately, the place where the new pet was cap- 
 tured happened to be but a quarter of a mile from the 
 dugout; so, tying his prize to a tree, Carlos jumped on
 
 CAPTURE OF A YOUNG ELK 21 
 
 his pony again, and thumping its sides vigorously with 
 both heels, he fairly flew down the trail toward home. 
 Arriving there full of excitement, he told Pierre of his 
 great fortune in lassoing an elk, upon which Pierre 
 jumped on his pony, which was already saddled, and 
 both boys hurried back to the spot where Carlos had 
 left the animal. Reaching there in a few moments, 
 they found the young elk safe and unhurt, although it 
 was evident he had made desperate efforts to free him- 
 self, as the earth all around the tree to which he had 
 been fastened was cut up by his sharp hoofs as if it had 
 been dug with a spade. 
 
 Getting their valuable capture safely home, the boys 
 were soon at work building a corral for the pet, from 
 saplings, large enough for him to have sufficient exer- 
 cise but high enough to prevent his jumping out, at 
 which he made several abortive attempts, the moment 
 he was placed in the inclosure. This was intended as 
 a temporary structure only, as the boys, knowing well 
 the nature of elk, were satisfied that as soon as he was 
 tamed he would follow them around like a dog, and 
 becoming accustomed to his surroundings would feel 
 perfectly contented and not stray away. 
 
 Fortunately for the boys, the elk had been weaned, 
 so all they had to do was to cut the tender grass and 
 feed the little animal, which in less than ten days had 
 become so attached to its young masters that, as they 
 had predicted, it was apparently never perfectly con- 
 tented when out of their sight.
 
 22 THE DEtAHOYDES 
 
 The elk grew to be an immense fellow, and grazed 
 around the dugout in company with the cows. 
 
 The boys named him "Tom," and his neck was fit- 
 ted with a broad collar of red flannel, wrought with 
 beads in the highest style of Indian art by their 
 mother, and to the collar was attached a small bell. 
 
 The milk cows, numbering half a dozen, never 
 roamed far from home ; they took a strange fancy to 
 Tom, and would follow him everywhere. The tinkle 
 of that bell seemed to infatuate them as does the bell- 
 mare of a train of pack-mules. Tom always led them 
 to the best pasturage, or where the choicest browsing 
 was to be found, as he instinctively seemed to know 
 just at what time the different' varieties of grasses on 
 the prairie, and the shrubs in the great woods, were at 
 their best. The boys were never at a loss to know 
 where the cows were, or how far off, being ever guided 
 by the "tintinnabulation" of that never-silent bell, 
 as its sound was wafted through the pure atmosphere, 
 rarely any other noise disturbing it, excepting in the 
 summer-time by the monotonous droning of innumera- 
 ble insects, or in winter by the occasional howling of a 
 wolf. 
 
 Tom's fate was a sad one. Going out together after 
 the cows one evening about sundown, as was their cus- 
 tom, the boys noticed with surprise the absence of that 
 familiar tinkle of the bell on the elk's neck, and soon 
 coming up to the animals, which were in one of their 
 favorite haunts at that time of year ( it was early in
 
 FATE OF "TOM" 23 
 
 the spring), they saw at once that Tom was not with 
 them. The cows appeared uneasy, and commenced to 
 low the moment Pierre and Carlos came in sight, as if 
 they wished to indicate to them that their companion 
 was gone. 
 
 Both Carlos and Pierre were dumbfounded. At first 
 they were at a loss what to do, or which way to turn. 
 They knew that there were no wild beasts in the region 
 }xcepting the wolves, large enough to kill their pet, 
 and as these animals generally go on their predatory 
 3xcursions in the night, it was not at all probable that 
 they had killed and devoured him ; besides, some signs 
 would have been visible if such had been the case. The 
 hide, or at least pieces of it, would have been left, and 
 it would have been impossible for the wolves to devour 
 Tom's antlers, which were now large, as he was fully 
 two years old. 
 
 The boys looked at each other in mute astonishment 
 for a few moments, when Pierre suggested to Carlos 
 that he drive the cows home, while he wandered around 
 through the woods to find out what had become of Tom. 
 
 Pierre was a natural trailer, having studied the art 
 so well that he could tell by the pressure upon a leaf or 
 the grass what animal had trodden upon it, and in 
 which direction it was going. 
 
 Pierre stood for a few minutes until Carlos with the 
 cows was out of sight, then commenced to hunt around 
 for tracks of the elk, as he wandered forward and back- 
 ward over the ground where the animals had been
 
 04 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 feeding, and was rewarded at last by discovering the 
 hoof-prints of his pet leading toward the river. He 
 followed them very intently, now knowing well he 
 could track the elk to where it was. After walking 
 slowly for about a mile and a half, he saw ahead of 
 him, partly hidden in a patch of timber, a steep preci- 
 pice formed by the bluffs, at the foot of which the 
 river flowed. He walked to its edge, looked over, and 
 to his great grief and astonishment saw the body of 
 poor Tom lying upon the cruel rocks below. It re- 
 quired only one look, as he recognized the red collar ' 
 with its bell attached, to satisfy him that, alas 1 poor 
 Tom was dead ! 
 
 Almost overpowered by his feelings, Pierre scrambled 
 down to the river bank ; and it must be confessed the 
 boy shed a few tears, as he laid his hands upon the 
 cold body of Tom. Then, philosopher as he really 
 was, he began to theorize as to the cause of the ani- 
 mal's death. It required but very little observation tc 
 determine the fact that the elk had incautiously ap- 
 proached too near the precipice, and probably in step- 
 ping upon the loose stones which were scattered around, 
 had tumbled over, and the fall had broken his neck. 
 
 Pierre slowly retraced his steps to the cabin, and 
 when he told the fate of poor Tom there was genuine 
 grief in the little family, for .the old folks as weir as 
 the boys were sincerely attached to the elk. 
 
 During the two years the boys had lived on the ranch 
 they had made many attempts to catch a young ante-
 
 CATCHING ANTELOPE FAWNS 25 
 
 lope, but had signally failed. One morning in May, 
 while Pierre was out 011 the prairie about five miles 
 from the dugout herding the cattle, he saw in the dis- 
 tance a herd of about a hundred, with lots of the cov- 
 eted little animals among them. They were quietly 
 feeding, and as the family had been out of fresh meat 
 for three or four days, Pierre thought that here was an 
 opportunity to replenish their larder and capture one 
 or two fawns. He called Cyrus, one of the most intel- 
 ligent hounds, a dog that he claimed for his very own, 
 which always went hunting with him, and which he 
 had taught a series of tricks. Taking a piece of paper 
 out of his pocket, he wrote a few words upon it, and 
 tying it to the dog's neck, he ordered him to take it 
 home. The intelligent animal promptly obeyed, and 
 started on the run for the dugout; arriving there in 
 less than a quarter of an hour, he immediately hunted 
 up Carlos, who was working in the little garden-patch. 
 Noticing the note fastened to the dog, Carlos took it off 
 and read it. It said : # 
 
 " Carl, there 's a big herd of antelope about a half- 
 mile from me, and lots of little ones with it. You 
 better come out as quickly as possible with your rifle, 
 and let 's try and get some. I cannot leave the cattle 
 unless Cyrus is here; he '11 guide you to where I am. 
 Come at once. PIERRE." 
 
 Carlos, boy-like, dropped his hoe just where he was 
 at work, hurriedly got his pony, which was picketed
 
 26 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 near the cabin, saddled him, and slipping the bridle- 
 reins over the animal's head, led him up to the door, 
 gave them to Cyrus to hold, while he went in for his 
 rifle, buckled a belt of cartridges around his waist, 
 came out in another moment, mounted the pony, and 
 started to where his brother was, following the hound, 
 which led out on his own trail beautifully. He arrived 
 where Pierre was waiting for him, in about twenty min- 
 utes, for Cyrus was somewhat tired, and had occupied 
 a little longer time than he had in going home. Car- 
 los plainly saw the antelope which his brother pointed 
 out to him, still grazing peacefully, unconscious of 
 danger; but they had gradually worked nearer to 
 where the cattle were, than when Pierre first observed 
 them. 
 
 Both of the boys knew very well how instinctively 
 curious the antelope is, and feeling satisfied that the 
 herd of cattle had attracted their attention, both got 
 off their ponies, and putting the loops of their bridle- 
 reins into the dog's mouth, ordered him to remain 
 where he was and watch. They then took their rifles 
 and crawled into a big patch of bunch-grass about 
 three hundred yards away, which concealed them com- 
 pletely. They knew very well that if they patiently 
 waited, the ordinarily timid animals, attracted by the 
 strange appearance of the cattle, would approach near 
 enough for them to get a shot, and if they happened to 
 kill a doe with a young one at her side, it would not 
 leave its mother and they could easily capture it.
 
 CATCHING ANTELOPE FAWNS 27 
 
 Pierre and Carlos, long before their patience was ex- 
 hausted, saw five or six of the leaders of the herd of 
 antelope, together with about the same number of does, 
 accompanied by their little ones, stop feeding, look up 
 and gaze intently at the cattle, which were still graz- 
 ing quietly. Then two or three of the males began to 
 jump stiff-legged, the white patch on their rumps 
 spreading out, an indication that their curiosity was 
 unusually excited. Presently they stopped their antics, 
 and deliberately walked with their heads erect, fol- 
 lowed by their mates and little ones, right up to where 
 the boys were concealed. 
 
 Before they came within range, Pierre said to his 
 brother : 
 
 " Now, Carl, let 's both of us shoot a doe, if possible, 
 and let the bucks go, even if we have to 4 without 
 meat, for what we want now is little ones." 
 
 "All right," said Carl; "you see those two does 
 coming up this way: you shoot the one on the left, 
 and I '11 take the one on the right. Of course, we can 
 get but one shot apiece, and if we kill the mothers, we 
 are sure of the fawns." 
 
 ' ' Hist 1 Carl, ' ' said Pierre ; ' ' here they come. Take 
 good aim, and when I say, ' Now I ' let 's fire together." 
 
 The boys had been so well trained in the art of hunt- 
 ing, that they were always cool under the most excit- 
 ing circumstances ; so when Pierre gave the word, both 
 rifles were discharged simultaneously, and the two does 
 they had aimed at fell dead. The rest of the herd scam-
 
 28 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 pered off at the height of their speed, and were soon 
 lost to sight in the purple mist of the horizon. 
 
 Pierre and Carl jumped up and rushed to where their 
 dead game lay. The fawns, in their innocence, stand- 
 ing over the dead bodies of their mothers, were easily 
 captured. Pierre took a piece of twine out of his 
 pocket, fastened the legs of the little ones together, 
 hurried to where the ponies were, and returned with 
 them. Leaving Cyrus to watch the cattle, he packed 
 the dead carcasses of the does behind the cantle l of the 
 saddles, and, carefully lifting their prizes in front of 
 them, rode back to the herd and started it back to 
 the ranch, as they did not dare to leave it. Having 
 captured the fawns for which they had so long wished, 
 they did not want to take any chances of losing them 
 by remaining out on the prairie until evening. 
 
 The boys were more than an hour in reaching the 
 dugout, as they could not run the cattle, but no harm 
 had come to the fawns. They were taken into the 
 house, and given some milk, of which there was always 
 more than could be used at the ranch, and it only re- 
 quired about ten minutes for the little ones to take as 
 naturally to. the new method of eating, as if they were 
 pursing their mother. 
 
 The fawns throve splendidly, and in less than a week 
 were as gentle as kittens, following everyone in the 
 house around ; so outrageously tame did they become, 
 
 1 Cantle, the projecting part in the rear of those saddles used In the army and 
 l.y plainsmen.
 
 HOW THE BOYS DRESSED 29 
 
 that they were ever getting under one's feet. They 
 soon became used to their new surroundings ; grazed 
 on the bluffs above the dugout, rarely straying more 
 than a quarter of a mile away, and never failing to re- 
 turn promptly at sundown, to the little corral and 
 shed that Pierre and Carlos had made for them. 
 
 They were the most attractive pets of the many that 
 the boys possessed ; so graceful in all their movements, 
 and so affectionate. They never appeared to be afraid 
 of the dogs, which at first were inclined to inspect 
 them too closely; but a word or two from the boys 
 soon made them understand that the antelope were as 
 much a part of the family as themselves. 
 
 The boys' clothes were as picturesque and wild as 
 their surroundings. The nearest trader was at the 
 military post of Fort Larned, on the Arkansas, forty 
 miles up the river. Journeys were made there but two 
 or three times a year, for such articles as were indis- 
 pensable for the family coffee, sugar, flour, salt, and 
 dry goods, which latter comprised only calico for the 
 mother's dresses, muslin for underwear, and stockings. 
 For everything else in the way of clothing, the family 
 depended upon the well-tanned hides of the animals 
 shot or trapped in the vicinity of their home. 
 
 Carlos, Pierre and their father wore coats and trou- 
 sers made of the finest skins of the common red deer, 
 so abundant in the region. Their feet were covered 
 with moccasins of the same material, and their heads
 
 30 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 by a fanciful cap made of the breast-feathers of the 
 male mallard duck (so beautiful in their iridescence) 
 for the summer, and a lynx or coonskin cap for winter. 
 All these articles were fashioned by the deft hands 
 of their mother, who was an adept in the peculiar 
 bead- and needle- work of the Indian women, with whom, 
 during her early life, she had necessarily been closely 
 associated. 
 
 Although their apparel would have excited surprise 
 and wonder among people in a highly cultivated so- 
 ciety, it was nevertheless as comfortable, and 'fitted as 
 well, as if made by the most fashionable tailor. 
 
 Their saddles, bridles, and other paraphernalia used 
 in connection with their almost constant life on horse- 
 back, were also highly ornamented, the boys' tastes in 
 that direction having probably been inherited from 
 their dusky ancestors, as among all savage tribes a 
 love for gaudy appointments is characteristic.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CAMPING OUT. THEIR EQUIPAGE. THEIR CAMPFIRE. 
 
 SHOOT BLUEWING TEAL. DESCRIPTION OF THESE 
 BIRDS. CATCH A JACKRABBIT FOR THE DOGS. CAR- 
 LOS GOES FISHING. ADVENTURE WITH A BEAR. KILL 
 
 A CUB. PIERRE RESCUES HIS BROTHER. SOUNDS OF 
 
 THE NIGHT. SHOOT A WILD TURKEY. MANNER OF 
 COOKING. ARRIVAL OF THEIR FATHER. RETURN 
 HOME. 
 
 IN midsummer Pierre and Carlos often camped out 
 for weeks at a time, their indulgent father cheer- 
 fully granting permission, and as cheerfully re- 
 mained at home, herded the cattle and did the other 
 chores that generally fell to the lot of the boys. 
 
 They usually selected some beautifully shaded bend 
 in the river, a few days before they started, where they 
 knew big game and fish were abundant, intending to 
 hunt and trap during their stay. 
 
 One lovely morning in June, 1867, just as the sun 
 was gilding the bluffs above their dugout, they saddled 
 their favorite ponies, and after confining all but two of 
 the hounds, started on their journey. 
 
 They carried a small supply of flour, salt, coffee, 
 sugar, and a few other necessaries, a frying-pan, a 
 kettle, and knives and forks; intending to depend 
 upon their own prowess in providing for the larder 
 during the trip. 
 
 (31)
 
 82 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 Their beds, of course, were simply buffalo-robes, 
 which with their other equipage was packed 011 a 
 loose pony they drove before them. 
 
 They arrived at the appointed place long before 
 noon, as it was only about ten miles up the Walnut 
 from their home. 
 
 It was a charming spot: the river made a sudden 
 sweep to the south in a most symmetrical curve, 
 while the beach was perfectly level, composed of clean 
 sand, but colored brown with the stain of iron with 
 which it was impregnated. A few feet above, on the 
 bank of the stream proper, were great groups of 
 gnarled old cotton woods, that must have withstood 
 the wintry blasts of a century, their huge limbs reach- 
 ing out far over the water, affording a most grateful 
 shade. 
 
 At the foot of one of the largest of the trees, Pierre 
 and Carlos pitched their camp. They needed no other 
 shelter than the closely involved foliage, as it rarely 
 rains in that region, excepting in the early spring or 
 late fall. 
 
 After taking off the saddles, bridles and the load 
 from the pack-pony, they picketed out their animals, 
 which in a few moments were feeding knee-deep in the 
 nutritious bunch-grass 1 growing so luxuriantly all 
 around them. 
 
 Their beds for the present were thrown carelessly on 
 the ground, while preparations for dinner were imme- 
 
 1 Bunch-graes, a peculiar variety of prairie-grass which grows in tufts, or 
 bunches; hence the name. It is sometimes as tall as a horse's head.
 
 BLUE-WINGED TEAL 83 
 
 dicately begun, as the boys, like their animals, were 
 ravenously hungry, after their ride. 
 
 While Carl busied himself in cutting two sticks with 
 forks in the ends, in which a pole was to be laid to hold 
 the kettle, and gathered a lot of the dead driftwood to 
 make a fire, Pierre shouldered his rifle and wandered 
 off in search of meat. 
 
 By the time that Carlos had all his preparations 
 completed, the fire briskly burning and the water 
 sputtering in the kettle for the coffee, Pierre returned, 
 having succeeded in killing a couple of Blue-winged 
 Teal which he discovered swimming in an eddy under 
 the edge of the bank half a mile from camp. He had 
 crawled upon them, and waited with finger on the 
 trigger until the birds got into line, when he pulled, 
 and took off both their heads. In another instant he 
 was in the water and out again, hurrying toward camp 
 with his game. 
 
 While they were pulling the feathers off the birds, 
 they commenced to talk together about the habits of 
 the beautifully colored creatures which were sacrificed 
 to the demands of their stomachs. 
 
 " Do you know, Carl," said Pierre to his brother, as 
 he plucked the rich plumage from the wings of the 
 bird he was dressing, "that in all my experience in 
 hunting, these little fellows with their handsome blue 
 wings, fly awfully swift, and when they are under full 
 headway it takes a mighty quick eye and a snap-shot 
 to bring one down ? ' '
 
 84 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 "Yes," replied Carlos, "I know that they are the 
 hardest birds for me to get. I can hit them easily 
 enough when they are swimming, but on the wing 
 I often miss them. And you know, when they are 
 going to light, how carefully they sail about to see 
 whether there is anything around to scare them ; but 
 the moment they are down in the water or on the 
 ground they seem to forget all about enemies, and 
 crowd so closely together while feeding that you can 
 get half a dozen at a single shot sometimes." 
 
 "Did you ever see their nests, Carl?" inquired 
 Pierre. 
 
 "Oh, yes," answered his brother, "I have found 
 many of them ; they are built on the ground in the 
 coarse grass, or the reeds and rushes which grow along 
 the edge of the sloughs 1 out 011 the prairie. They line 
 their nests inside with down, which I suppose they 
 pluck from their own breasts, and they lay from eight 
 to twelve eggs at least I have found as many, often. 
 Don't you remember that set in the museum ? It has 
 a dozen eggs in it, that I found up the river last sum- 
 mer." 
 
 "Yes," answered Pierre; "and another good thing 
 about them is that they don't leave until late in the 
 fall, and I think they are the best birds to eat that we 
 have here, not even excepting the quail." 
 
 'Well," said Carl, "we shall soon know how these 
 
 ''Slough (pronounced slew), a low, wet or muddy place; generally a ravine 
 into which water has drained. Sometimes they are very deep, and are difficult 
 
 t'l (Til .
 
 BLUE-WINGED TEAL 35 
 
 taste; the water is boiling, and I've made the coffee. 
 I 'm going to stew them ; I brought along some onions 
 from the garden, and it won't take more than twenty 
 minutes to cook them, if I cut them up into small 
 pieces. So if you '11 mix the slapjacks, then water 
 the ponies, by the time you get back from the river 
 dinner will be ready." 
 
 Pierre jumped up, went after the three ponies, say- 
 ing as he started, " I '11 mix the slapjacks as soon as I 
 come back it won't take a minute." 
 
 While he was busy leading the animals down to the 
 river, Carlos put the teal into the pot, salted them, 
 threw in a few onions to flavor them, and in ten sec- 
 onds more the birds were sizzling and sputtering, and 
 sent out a most appetizing odor to his hungry stomach. 
 
 In twenty minutes Pierre returned with the ponies, 
 and picketing them out on a fresh spot, came to the 
 fire and got the slapjacks ready for frying in a jiffy. 
 
 They were cooked in a long-handled frying-pan ; and 
 when one side of a cake was done it was tossed into 
 the air, turning upon the other side as it came down. 
 It was quite an art to toss them properly, but both 
 of the boys were adepts at camp-life, and Pierre did 
 not drop one on the ground. 
 
 By the time he had cooked a tin plate heaping full, 
 Carlos took off the stew, and in a few minutes it rap- 
 idly disappeared, together with a liberal allowance of 
 the slapjacks and black coffee. The dogs were lying 
 near by, wistfully eyeing each mouthful as their mas-
 
 36 THE DELAHQYDEB 
 
 ters devoured their dinner, with which the boys soon 
 made sad havoc. 
 
 There was nothing left for the half-famished dogs, 
 excepting a handful of cleanly picked bones ; so Pierre 
 said: "Carl, we 've got to go and hunt something for 
 the hounds to eat, for they are terribly hungry, I know. 
 I guess we can soon find a jack or two or a cottontail for 
 'em out on the prairie." 
 
 "All right," said Carlos; "I'll be ready in a mo- 
 ment, as soon as I put out the fire." 
 
 That accomplished, so as to leave no embers that 
 might burn anything while absent, both the boys took 
 their rifles and sauntered out on the open prairie be- 
 yond the woods, the dogs following them, well know- 
 ing that it was for their benefit their masters were 
 going hunting. 
 
 They had not proceeded more than a mile from camp 
 when Cyrus flushed 1 a big jack, and both dogs took 
 .after him, but Pierre said, "You needn't run, you 
 tired fellows; " and as he spoke, he raised his rifle and 
 killed the animal before it had gotten twenty yards 
 from where the hound had started it. 
 
 The jack that Pierre shot was an immense fellow, 
 enough for two meals to each of the hounds; and as 
 the boys fed their dogs only twice a day, there was 
 sufficient food to last Cyrus and Jupe until the next 
 evening, and before that time arrived the young camp- 
 
 1 Flushed, a sportsman's term, meaning any animal or bird suddenly started, 
 or "flushed."
 
 CARLOS GOES FISHING 37 
 
 ers expected to kill an antelope, deer, or perhaps even 
 a buffalo. 
 
 As soon as the meat was secured for the hounds, 
 Pierre and Carl, closely followed by the hungry dogs, 
 returned to their camp, and upon reaching the big tree 
 under which they purposed to sleep, the hare was chop- 
 ped into four pieces, two of which were given to Cyrus 
 and Jupe, who did their own skinning, and soon got 
 themselves outside of their share of the hare. The re- 
 maining portions, which were to serve for their break- 
 fast next morning, were suspended to a limb of the big 
 tree, so as to be out of reach of the dogs. 
 
 The boys then sat down on the river-bank and dis- 
 cussed the probabilities of what their supper would be. 
 
 "What do you say about going fishing, and getting 
 a young cat for supper?" said Carlos to Pierre, as 
 he thought of their absolutely empty larder, so far as 
 any meat was concerned. 
 
 "Well, we have got to get something, Carl," re- 
 plied Pierre to his brother's interrogatory; "but I 
 don't see any use of both of us going fishing. If we 
 catch more than we can eat for supper, they won't 
 keep in this hot weather until, morning ; so suppose 
 you take a line and try your luck, and I '11 go out after 
 some bigger game ? " 
 
 "All right, Pierre," responded Carlos; "but leave 
 one of the hounds with me in case any wolves come 
 around while you are gone, and you take the other; 
 you would better take Cyrus with you, and I '11 keep
 
 38 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 Jupe, as he is not so good as Cyrus at hunting, but can 
 fight off a wolf just as well." 
 
 "Well, let's do it," said Pierre; "you can take a 
 piece of the hare for bait; cat will bite at it, if they 
 bite at anything, but they are a miserably slow fish 
 to bite at all ; they aren't a bit game like a trout, or a 
 perch. They will sometimes look at the bait half an 
 hour before attempting to touch it; and then again 
 they will not notice it although it hangs right before 
 their noses." 
 
 "I may catch some perch," said Carlos; "they're 
 better than cat anyhow, only they are small, and 
 you 've got to get so many more to make a meal, while 
 a decent-sized cat is enough for five or six men." 
 
 It was now about three o'clock, as the boys guessed, 
 looking up at the sun, their only timepiece; but they 
 could usually come within a quarter of an hour of the 
 real time, so dependent had they become upon nature 
 in their wild surroundings . They had sufficiently rested , 
 and while Carlos was getting his tackle ready, Pierre 
 took his rifle, whistled to Cyrus, and started for the 
 open prairie, where he had shot the hare a couple of 
 hours before. 
 
 It took Carlos about half an hour to get his line in 
 readiness, his bait cut up, and take a look at the ponies 
 to see if they were all right, before he started for the 
 river, intending to fish in the eddy where Pierre had 
 shot the teal. 
 
 Arriving there in a short time, he seated himself on
 
 ADVENTURE WITH A BEAR 39 
 
 the edge of the bank, while Jupe stretched out in the 
 shade of the overhanging limbs of the trees not far 
 from his master. 
 
 Absolute silence reigned ; not even the droning of a 
 bee could be heard, and there was not a breath of wind 
 to rustle the leaves in the treetops. The dog was sound 
 asleep, and Carlos, with line in the sluggish water of the 
 eddy, was patiently waiting for a nibble. At last it 
 came, and he hauled up a medium-sized perch, strung 
 it on a willow wand, cast in again, and was soon re- 
 warded with another. Thus he continued until he had 
 caught half a dozen, but not a single cat : they would 
 not bite, although, boy-like, he successively spat on his 
 bait, according to the superstitions of youth while an- 
 gling- 
 More than two hours were thus whiled away by the 
 patient Carlos, and it was now fully five o'clock, he 
 thought, as he looked up at the sun, which was half- 
 way between the zenith and the western horizon. The 
 slow progress of his fishing was growing rather monot- 
 onous, and he was just thinking he would return to 
 camp and await the return of Pierre, whom he hoped 
 had been luckier than he in getting something for sup- 
 per and breakfast, when his ears were suddenly greeted 
 by a low growl, and the rushing of Jupe toward him. 
 He looked around, and to his dismay saw not twenty 
 feet from him a black she-bear, with two half-grown 
 cubs by her side. She had evidently come down to the 
 water to drink, and had not observed either Carlos or
 
 40 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 the dog (the latter having remained quietly sleeping 
 all the time while Carlos was angling) until she emerged 
 from the underbrush that grew to the edge of the bank. 
 
 The creature was immediately seized with powerful 
 maternal instinct for the safety of her little ones, ajid 
 made a savage dash for Jupe. The moment he smelt 
 her, his fur all bristling with battle, he incontinently 
 made a rush for her, but she sent him sprawling over 
 and over on the sandy beach by one stroke of her dread- 
 ful paw, and then with mouth wide open, and jaws 
 frothing with rage, made a break for Carlos, who was 
 now on his feet, realizing the danger which confronted 
 him. 
 
 Carlos had very foolishly left his rifle in camp, and 
 had nothing to defend himself with but his pocket- 
 knife, which he had already opened, however, resolved 
 to do his best in the conflict which he believed inev- 
 itable. 
 
 Jupe had by this time recovered from the shock of 
 his sudden tumble, fortunately unhurt, and gallantly 
 came dashing on to the rescue of his master ; but be- 
 fore he reached the ferocious animal, it rolled over 
 dead, as the report of a rifle resounded through the 
 woods. 
 
 It was his brother Pierre's unerring aim, that had 
 sent a ball into the brain of the ferocious beast just in 
 the nick of time 1 
 
 He explained to Carlos, after the momentary excite^ 
 ment was over, that having failed to see any game
 
 PIERRE KILLS A CUB 41 
 
 while out, he had returned to camp, and not find- 
 ing him there, concluded that he was still fishing at 
 the eddy, and immediately walked down, happily soon 
 enough to prevent what might have been a serious 
 matter. 
 
 Carlos showed Pierre the very small string of fish he 
 had caught, and both concluded that the prospects for 
 supper and breakfast, if it had to depend on these, 
 were poor indeed; so they turned to the' dead bear, 
 but discovered she was so thin and bony that she was 
 not fit to eat. 
 
 They then looked for the cubs, only one of which 
 was visible, the other having made off in the brush 
 upon the report of the shot that had killed its mother. 
 The other cub stood within easy rifle-range, bewilder- 
 ingly gazing at the boys, when Pierre by a well-directed 
 ball killed it in its tracks. 
 
 It was very fat, luckily. Then both Pierre and Carl 
 laughed with each other over the whole affair in rela- 
 tion to the visit of the bear, now that it had turned 
 out without any harm to them or Jupe, and with the 
 more pleasant prospect of plenty of meat for some time. 
 
 The cub weighed about seventy-five pounds too 
 great a load for the boys to carry; so Pierre said he 
 would go back to camp and get the pack-pony, and 
 that Carlos could remain and watch the dead cub, for 
 if both went away the wolves would be sure to scent 
 it, and by the time they returned to the river there 
 would be no bear-meat to pack.
 
 42 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 Pierre started on a rapid walk back to camp, leaving 
 his rifle with Carlos, and half a dozen cartridges, should 
 an emergency arise for their use. 
 
 It was fortunate that Pierre had the forethought to 
 leave the rifle with his brother, for he had not been 
 gone ten minutes before Carlos noticed the head of a 
 gray prairie-wolf, popping up over a little ridge a few 
 feet from where he was standing. Jupe saw it at the 
 same instant, and made a rush for the intruder, which, 
 the moment he saw the dog, tucked his bushy tail be- 
 tween his legs and scooted off. 
 
 Carlos called Jupe back, for he knew the cowardly 
 wolf would lead him a wild-goose chase for more than 
 a mile, and the dog would only get tired out for his 
 pains. Besides, Carlos felt sure that the wolf he saw 
 was not the only one in the viqigity, and he might have 
 all he could do with both his rifle and Jupe, before 
 Pierre returned. 
 
 The boy was right in his conjecture, for by the time 
 that Jupe came up to him at his call, the deep snarl- 
 ing and growling of at least half a dozen of the impu- 
 dent creatures could be heard, not far off in the 
 brush. 
 
 Carlos had no fear of them so long as it was day- 
 light and he had his dog and rifle, for they are most 
 cowardly brutes, but at night are more bold and in- 
 cautious. They seem to possess the most acute smell, 
 and are attracted by the odor of a dead animal at most 
 astounding distances; as the boys' father once told
 
 WHAT BECAME OF THE CUB 48 
 
 them, he believed that a wolf thinks it no uncommon 
 thing to travel a hundred miles for his breakfast. 
 
 Although the continuous snarling of the wolves ex- 
 cited Jupe's combativeness, and Carlos with great dif- 
 ficulty restrained him from rushing into the brush after 
 them, not another ventured to make himself visible. 
 
 In an hour Pierre appeared, leading the pack-pony, 
 and carrying Carlos's rifle. Pierre reported everything 
 all safe at the camp, and in a few moments the cub was 
 securely fastened on the back of the pack-pony, and all 
 started for the temporary home under the big cotton- 
 wood. 
 
 It was nearly dark when the camp was reached, and 
 the first thing to be done was to water the ponies and 
 change them to a new grazing-spot. That was accom- 
 plished in a few minutes; then the bear was skinned, 
 its viscera taken out and given to the dogs, which gorged 
 themselves on the unexpected meal, after which they 
 stretched out on the grass and were soon slumbering 
 soundly. 
 
 The cub's carcass was then hung to the limb of a 
 tree, and while Pierre was attending to the animal's 
 glossy hide, which he intended to make into a mat for 
 his parents' bedroom, Carlos built a fire, started the 
 kettle to boiling, and then cut off slices of the choicest 
 portions of the bear. While the coffee was settling, 
 and the meat nicely frying in its own fat, he mixed 
 another batch of slapjacks, and by the time that his 
 brother had scraped the cub's hide, stretched it out be-
 
 44 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 tween two saplings and salted it, Carlos announced 
 supper, of which the boys partook with great relish by 
 the light of the campfire, as it was now dark and there 
 was no moon. 
 
 The moment their meal was disposed of, the broth- 
 ers prepared for bed ; for they had always been in the 
 habit of retiring early, and rising at an early hour, 
 before sunrise, in fact, the most delightful portion of 
 the day, especially in summer-time. 
 
 Their beds were easily made : three buffalo robes were 
 spread upon the ground, their saddles utilized as pil- 
 lows, with a robe thrown over them, and another robe 
 placed at their feet, to be used as a covering should it 
 grow cool toward morning. 
 
 The boys took off only their moccasins and coats, and 
 placing their rifles alongside, were soon snugly at rest; 
 the dogs, when not prowling around within a short 
 radius, lying at their masters' feet, ready to defend 
 them at the instant of danger. 
 
 Very shortly after the boys retired to rest, the usual 
 nocturnal l sounds peculiar to that wild region com- 
 menced, but which were a lullaby to their ears, for they 
 had been soothed to sleep by them in their room in the 
 dugout ever since they had lived on the Walnut. 
 
 The first of these familiar voices of the night was 
 the Screech-owl, which utters a plaintive note, and 
 then changes into a peculiar rattling sound, like the 
 
 'tfocfurna, night; hence, those animals or birds which make their appear- 
 ance and hunt their prey at that time are nocturnal In their habits.
 
 SOUNDS OF THE NIGHT 45 
 
 chattering of teeth. It keeps up its alternating whoop- 
 ing and moaning during the hours between sundown 
 and the appearance of the initial rosy tints on the east- 
 ern horizon, betokening the coming morning. Partic- 
 ularly does it love the moonlight, when it will perch 
 upon the top of some blasted tree. On moonless nights 
 it is not so vociferous ; but it is never entirely silent. 
 
 It inhabits alike the woods and the abodes of man in 
 the thickly settled States. It lives on mice, small birds, 
 and insects ; it makes scarcely any noise while on the 
 wing in search of its prey, upon which it pounces with 
 the swiftness of an arrow. It makes its nest in holes 
 in forest trees, and frequently in buildings in civilized 
 communities. The nests are sparingly lined with grass, 
 leaves, or feathers. The eggs are pure white, and usu- 
 ally from four to six are found in one nest. In the 
 boys' museum in the dugout they had six in their col- 
 lection, which Carlos found one day in the hollow of a 
 dead cottonwood on the bank of the Walnut. 
 
 As soon as it was fairly dark, the bird, known as 
 "Poor-will," in contradistinction to the Whip-poor- 
 will, of the East, began its wailing song of " poor-will, 
 poor- will." It repeats it almost continuously at night 
 during the breeding season. They love rocky, bluffy 
 places, where they lay their eggs, only two in number, 
 on the bare ground, but generally at the roots of a 
 bunch of grass, weeds, or the low plum-bushes on the 
 prairie. They do not line their nests with any soft 
 material. The eggs, like those of the screech-owl, are
 
 46 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 pure white. The birds arrive late in April, begin lay- 
 ing the last of May, and depart in September. 
 
 The lynxes were peculiarly noisy that night the boys 
 first camped out on the trip ; they kept up an almost 
 continuous mewing, and were probably attracted by 
 the carcass of the cub hung up in one of the trees, 
 but were afraid to approach it because of the presence 
 of Cyrus and Jupe, whose special antipathy was a lynx, 
 and who, when that animal commenced to mew, after 
 Carl and Pierre had gone to sleep, were extraordinarily 
 vigilant, prowling nearly all night around the tree, 
 from the limb of which the young bear was sus- 
 pended. 
 
 The boys slept splendidly, feeling perfectly secure 
 with such admirable sentinels as Cyrus and Jupe, and 
 at the first streak of dawn were out of their buffalo- 
 robes, and down to the warm sandy beach of the Wal- 
 nut to indulge in a bath. 
 
 They splashed around in the water, ducking and 
 dodging each other in their brotherly sport, for at 
 least fifteen minutes, then drying themselves in the 
 first beams of the morning sun as its rays glinted on 
 the beach, they dressed. Their initial duty of the 
 day was the care of the ponies, but it was not an ar- 
 duous task ; all required was to lead them down to the 
 river to drink, and re-picket them on a fresh spot of 
 grass. The ponies' demands disposed of, the remainder 
 of the hare that Pierre had shot the afternoon before 
 was divided between Cyrus and Jupe, and then Pierre,
 
 CARLOS SHOOTS A WILD TURKEY 47 
 
 acting the role of cook, began to prepare the morning 
 meal ; while Carlos, taking his rifle, and his own dog 
 Jupe, who had already devoured his portion of the 
 hare, sauntered up the bank of the stream to try his 
 luck in providing meat for the larder. 
 
 He was gone but a short time, as it did not require 
 more than half an hour for Pierre to get the usual 
 breakfast ready, which consisted of black coffee, slap- 
 jacks, and broiled bear-steaks; but instead of cooking 
 the steaks in the frying-pan, he stuck them on peeled 
 willow-twigs, the ends of which he put in the ground 
 before the glowing embers of the campfire, and in a 
 few moments they were done to a turn that would have 
 satisfied the taste of the most epicurean gourmand. 1 
 
 Carlos had bagged a young, wild-turkey gobbler, 
 which the boys proposed to roast in old trapper fash- 
 ion for their supper, as it would not be done by dinner- 
 time by the treatment to which it was to be subjected. 
 So, breakfast (which both the boys enjoyed immensely) 
 out of the way, preparations were commenced to roast 
 the beautiful bird which Carl had shot on his trip up 
 the river. 
 
 A hole was first dug into the ground about two feet 
 in diameter, and a foot and a half deep. In this was 
 kindled a fire, and kept up for more than an hour, until 
 the sides and bottom of the excavation were baked al- 
 most as hard as earthenware. Then the coals were 
 scraped out, the turkey put in, just as he was killed, 
 
 1 "Epicurean gourmand," a lover of good food : to such an extent that he is a 
 glutton.
 
 48 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 feathers and all, after he had first been coated all over 
 vith mud. Then over the hole were placed a few sticks, 
 sufficiently strong to bear up a covering of earth, on top 
 of which the live coals were heaped, and replenished 
 from time to time with freshly added fuel. Thus the 
 3ird was in a hot, hermetically sealed oven ; hot enough 
 to roast it better than can possibly be done in the most 
 improved stove. It had to remain there many hours, 
 to guarantee it being done when taken out. So, as the 
 boys could not leave camp that day, at least until their 
 turkey was cooked, which would not be before four 
 o'clock, they sat by their watch-fire and discussed their 
 favorite theme, natural history. 
 
 Both Carlos and Pierre were especially great lovers 
 of birds, and made a study of the many species whose 
 habitat was in the region where the dugout was located, 
 as well as those which were purely migratory, 1 passing 
 only a portion of their time in the vicinity during 
 each recurring season, where they made their nests and 
 reared their little ones. In the early fall these de- 
 parted southward, to return at a certain time the next 
 spring, either in flocks, singly, or in pairs, as their in- 
 stincts dictated. 
 
 Of course the boys had no knowledge of the scientific 
 names of the birds with whose habits they were so per- 
 fectly familiar, specimens of which they sometimes 
 themselves shot or trapped, and mounted, under the 
 
 1 Migratory, a term applied to animals or birds, especially birds, which reside 
 in their ordinary home during only a portion of the year, migrating to other parts 
 at certain seasons, where the temperature of the air and the surroundings are 
 suited to their habits.
 
 THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF BIRDS 49 
 
 of their father, who was an expert taxider- 
 mist, he having learned the art during his college 
 course. 
 
 Pierre and Carlos knew only the common names of 
 the feathered beauties which congregated in such an 
 almost endless variety in the woods bordering the Wal- 
 nut, on the open prairies contiguous thereto, or swam 
 in the quiet waters of the main stream or its tribu- 
 taries. 
 
 Notwithstanding their lack of purely technical 
 knowledge in these particulars, it is doubtful whether 
 the most accomplished ornithologist could have taught 
 the boys anything of the habits of the birds with which 
 they were so familiar; their method of nest-building; 
 the color and number of eggs which were laid by the 
 different species ;, and the notes to which they gave ut- 
 terance. 
 
 Of the swimming birds which frequented the waters 
 of the Arkansas, Canadian, and Walnut, there were 
 many varieties. The Ring-billed Gull was the most 
 common, generally arriving during April and May, 
 and remaining until September. They are as perfectly 
 at home on the wing as in the water. They seemed to 
 come so far inland, to feed upon the grasshoppers or 
 red-winged locusts which abounded in such innumera- 
 ble clouds on the Central Plains twenty or thirty years 
 ago. The boys arrived at this conclusion, from the 
 fact that of the hundreds they had killed, the crops of 
 all were filled with those insects. They did not breed 
 
 -4
 
 50 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 in the region of the boys' home, but far away on the 
 southern seacoast ; so that although Carlos and Pierre 
 had several finely mounted specimens, neither nest nor 
 eggs were obtainable. 
 
 The White Pelican was a common visitor, coming 
 with the early spring and departing early in the fall. 
 
 The boys were particularly fond of watching those 
 large birds. They admired them for their sociability 
 among themselves, and their peaceful nature, hardly 
 ever quarreling, as do nearly all the feathered tribe. 
 It was a rare thing to find a pelican alone ; they soared 
 in large numbers at great heights ; for hours Carlos and 
 Pierre often studied them, as they performed their 
 strange evolutions in mid-air. 
 
 The pelicans live principally upon fish, and have a 
 regular method in their angling. They get together 
 and drive the fish into shallow water up the stream, 
 where they catch and devour them at their leisure. 
 
 Even while Carlos and Pierre were quietly seated on 
 the ground, carefully attending to the fire, which they 
 knew must not be permitted to slacken, or their tur- 
 key would not be ready when evening came on, a 
 slight rushing of wings was heard, and both boys glanc- 
 ing at the smooth surface of the river, flowing only a 
 short distance away, saw a flock of ducks settle on its 
 bosom. 
 
 "Those are Pintails," said Pierre, as he threw a 
 handful of dry twigs on the fire, "and they are al- 
 ways the very first of the ducks to come in the spring."
 
 THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF BIRDS 51 
 
 "Yes," said Carlos; "and they eat a greater variety 
 of things than any other species, so far as I have 
 studied them, seeds, roots, worms, snails, and even 
 acorns; for I have found all of them in their crops." 
 
 "See how funny they act, Carlos," said Pierre, as 
 he saw the flock with their bodies tipped over, and 
 working their feet in the air. 
 
 " Yes," replied Carlos, " they seem to stand on their 
 heads; that's because they don't really dive, but keep 
 their bills under the water, searching for food." 
 
 "Just look at them, Pierre! Now they have turned 
 over and are swimming again. How gracefully they 
 sail around! There they go; something scared them, 
 and how fast they can fly ! " 
 
 "Their eggs are handsome, too," .said Pierre, as he 
 watched the flock rush off, their wings making a whir- 
 ring noise, so rapidly did they beat them against the 
 air. 
 
 "Yes," said Carlos, "but their eggs are not always 
 of the same color. I have found them from pale green 
 to yellow, or rather, the same shade as the egg of a 
 Plymouth Rock hen." 
 
 "They don't seem very particular about their nests, 
 either," continued Pierre; "you remember that when 
 we spent a whole morning last summer, searching for 
 them out in the grass near the creek, we found only a 
 sort of little scratched-out place, with a few scraps of 
 down in them." 
 
 " They lay seven to ten eggs," said Carlos. " Don't
 
 52 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 you recollect we got a great basketful that day, and 
 that both mother and dad liked 'em so much? " 
 
 At noon the boys cooked a light dinner, saving their 
 appetites for the turkey which would be done for their 
 supper. They fed Cyrus and Jupe on a part of one of 
 the hind legs of the cub, took " turn about " in caring 
 for. the ponies, watched the many varieties of birds 
 which flew around in the solitude where the camp was 
 located, and idled away the day in that manner, yet 
 really were learning something all the time, for noth- 
 ing escaped their notice. 
 
 At about five o'clock the boys concluded their tur- 
 key must be done. Carlos made coffee, mixed up the 
 indispensable slapjacks, and got all the preliminaries 
 ready for their evening meal. Pierre hunted around 
 for a piece of clean bark, to serve as a platter for their 
 big bird, as a tin plate was entirely too small to hold 
 it, and in a short time, having succeeded in finding 
 just what he wanted, he came back to the camp. Then 
 he raked off the coals from the improvised oven, 
 scraped away the earth, took off the sticks which held 
 it up, and lifted out the turkey, whose coating of mud 
 was now baked hard, and with a slight tap of a piece 
 of wood, struck the shell, and off it flew, all the feath- 
 ers sticking to it, and there was one of the most 
 beautifully white birds that was ever cooked. He laid 
 it on the bark plate, and everything else being ready, 
 the boys seated themselves on the ground and com- 
 menced their attack upon the turkey.
 
 EVENING BY THE CAMPFIRE 58 
 
 It was so juicy and tender that it fell to pieces under 
 the touch of their knives, all the rich juices preserved 
 by the unique way in which it had been cooked. 
 
 Its viscera were dried up into a little bunch inside, 
 which was easily removed, and there never was turkey 
 which tasted more delicious than that which comprised 
 the principal portion of the boys' supper in that re- 
 mote camp on the Walnut. 
 
 Carlos and Pierre had limited themselves to such 
 a light dinner at noon, that scarcely more than the 
 skeleton of the turkey was left when they were through. 
 The remains, together with an addition of cub-meat, 
 were fed to Cyrus and Jupe ; and after looking to the 
 needs of their ponies, they were almost ready for bed 
 again, as it was now dark. But having eaten so heart- 
 ily, they were afraid to retire until some time had been 
 allowed for digestion, thinking they might be visited 
 by that equine quadruped known as the "nightmare." 
 
 The boys sat up around a little campfire, or rather a 
 ' ' smudge ' ' to keep the mosquitoes away, until more 
 than an hour had passed beyond their usual bedtime, 
 when they threw themselves on their robes and were 
 soon sound asleep. 
 
 Carlos and Pierre were out of their buffalo-robes be- 
 times in the morning, watered the ponies, ate break- 
 fast, and fed the hounds. After putting out the fire, 
 they shouldered their rifles, whistled to Cyrus and 
 Jupe, and started off for the open prairie, intending 
 to have a grand hunt for two or three hours, when
 
 54 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 Carlos suddenly stopped, and said, " Pierre, what 
 noise is that?" 
 
 Pierre listened for a moment, and said: "It sounds 
 like horses' hoofs ; the ponies are not stampeded ; l I 
 can see them quietly standing at the end of their 
 picket-ropes, but they appear to notice something 
 strange." 
 
 The boys remained where they were, eagerly listen- 
 ing to the approaching sound of hoofs, which there was 
 now no mistaking; and presently they saw their fa- 
 ther, mounted on his favorite saddle-pony, coming 
 in sight as he emerged from a dense box-elder copse, 
 through which the trail along the river-bank ran. 
 
 As he rode up, and after a filial greeting, Carlos said 
 to his father : 
 
 "Dad," (the boys had always called their father 
 "Dad" from infancy,) "I hope nothing has gone 
 wrong at home?" 
 
 " No, boys, everything is all right at the ranch ; but 
 Dick Curtis, the Indian trader, arrived last night from 
 the Cheyenne village on the Washita river, away south 
 of us, and has traveling with him two young gentle- 
 men from Boston, who have never been out in the 
 " Far West " before, and they want to learn something 
 of the wild life out here. When I told them about you 
 boys, last evening, nothing would do but I must have 
 you home, as they are going to remain several days. 
 
 1 Stampede, a Spanish word meaning a sudden fright scaring a herd of cattle or 
 drove of horses on the plains, and causing them to run ; a hurried rush of an army 
 or any body of men or animals.
 
 THE RETURN HOME 55 
 
 They are nice, well-educated young men, both sopho- 
 mores of Harvard University, and nothing of the dude 
 about them. I thought you would like to meet them 
 and entertain them while they stay. So I started be- 
 fore day this morning, hoping to reach here before you 
 w r ent out of camp, and it 's lucky I arrived just in 
 time." 
 
 "All right, Dad," said Pierre; "we expected to re- 
 main here until day after to-morrow, but will go back 
 with you, of course." 
 
 "Have you had any breakfast, Dad ? " queried Car- 
 los; to which his father said "No." 
 
 "Then, Pierre, if you'll unsaddle Dad's pony and 
 picket him out, I '11 get some coffee and bear-meat for 
 him in a jiffy," continued Carlos, as he gathered up 
 some pieces of dry wood to kindle a fire. 
 
 By the time Pierre had his father's pony picketed 
 out, Carlos had the coffee boiling, for the pot was not 
 yet cold from breakfast, some nice slices of the cub 
 were broiled before the glowing embers, and in a few min- 
 utes Mr. Delahoyde was enjoying the substantial meal 
 Carl had so cheerfully and willingly prepared for him. 
 
 The boys brought up their animals, packed up their 
 camp equipage, and it was placed on the pony ; the 
 brothers saddled theirs; their father's horse had filled 
 himself with the rich grass, and after he wa-s brought 
 up to where the others were standing, and saddled, 
 they all mounted. The boys whistled to their hounds, 
 and they started on the trail for home, where they ar- 
 rived by ten o'clock.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE YOUNG BOBTONIAN8 MEET CARLOS AND PIERRE. 
 
 DINNER IN THE INDIAN TRADER'S CAMP. TALK ABOUT 
 WILD TURKEYS. THE SANDHILL CRANES AND THEIR 
 
 ANTICS. IN THE MUSEUM AT THE DUGOUT. THE 
 
 PET BEAR, "EPHRAIM." SUPPER AL FRESCO. THE 
 
 BIG SPRING. MOLES AND THEIR HABITS. 
 
 AS Mr. Delahoyde and his boys rode up to the 
 dugout, they saw Dick Curtis, the Indian tra- 
 der, and two young men sitting outside on a 
 log, smoking their pipes. They rose as the ponies 
 halted, and when Carlos, Pierre and their father had 
 dismounted, Curtis and his friends walked up, and af- 
 ter shaking hands with Mr. Delahoyde, Curtis intro- 
 duced Carl and Pierre to Mr. Summerfield and Mr. 
 Burton, saying, as greetings were interchanged: 
 
 "Gentlemen, these are the two boys I have spoken 
 to you about, and I think during the four or five days 
 we propose to camp here they will turn out to be the 
 best guides and hunters you could find in the Terri- 
 tory." 
 
 "Well, boys," spoke up Mr. Summerfield, "we are 
 what you call out here, ' tenderfeet.' Have never been 
 West before, but want to learn something of its wild 
 life and adventures ; and having spoken to your father 
 last evening about your giving up your time for about 
 
 (66)
 
 THE YOUNG BOBTONIAN8 57 
 
 a week to us, we hope you will look upon the proposi- 
 tion favorably, as we learn from Mr. Curtis that you 
 are better posted about hunting, and know more about 
 animals and birds, than even he, although he has been 
 on the Plains all his life." 
 
 " That 's~ putting it rather strong," said Carlos ; and 
 both he and his brother blushed at the compliment. 
 "To be sure, we have given a great deal of time to the 
 study of the animals and birds of this region, and per- 
 haps know a lot about them; and as Dad is willing 
 that we show you around here, both of us will do our 
 best to give you some sport. Turkeys are plenty now, 
 and they are the largest bird we have." 
 
 "Yes," interrupted Pierre, "both buffalo and an- 
 telope can easily be found only a few miles from here, 
 to say nothing of wolves, lynxes, and an occasional 
 bear. We killed a she-bear and her cub on this trip." 
 
 While the boys were talking to the young men, their 
 father had unpacked the meat and camp equipage, un- 
 saddled the riding animals, and picketed them out. 
 When he returned, the boys and their visitors were sit- 
 ting on the log, the latter listening to a description of 
 the beauties of the region, and asking all sorts of ques- 
 tions, which the strange scenes around them had pro- 
 voked. 
 
 Then the young men invited Carlos and Pierre to go 
 down to their camp and dine with them, where they 
 could lay out their plans for the week they proposed to 
 remain on the Walnut.
 
 58 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 Pierre and Carlos, accompanied by the Indian trader 
 and the young gentlemen, upon this invitation pro- 
 ceeded to their camp, which could be seen from the 
 dugout, about half a mile up the river under a large 
 box-elder tree. Arriving there, they were invited in- 
 side of the tent, which was a Sibley, patented by an 
 army officer of that name, after the Sioux tepee. It 
 was conical in shape, with capacity for a dozen men. 
 It had a small stove, the pipe of which ran out of the 
 top, and the pole that held up the canvas rested in an 
 iron tripod in the center. Scattered around were the 
 buffalo-robes and blankets, which were the beds of the 
 party, three saddles, four rifles, fishing-tackle, and a 
 couple of valises. 
 
 Outside were two wagons, such as are used by freight- 
 ers on the Plains, with white canvas covers ; four mules 
 and three ponies picketed near; a brightly burning 
 campfire, at which stood a Mexican, who was the cook 
 employed by the young men for their trip, now busily 
 engaged in preparing dinner for the party, as it was al- 
 most noon. 
 
 Dick Curtis, who had left Fort Dodge eight or ten 
 days previously, his wagons loaded with goods suitable 
 for trading with the Cheyennes, was an old trapper, 
 Indian fighter, guide and scout. 1 He had been on the 
 Plains and in the Rocky Mountains for more than 
 
 1 Scout, a person who goea ahead of the soldiers and spies out what the enemy 
 Is doing, how many there are, and gets all the Information for the commanding of- 
 ficer. Especially Is this duty necessary In Indian warfare. Kit Carson was the 
 greatest scout of his time; Colonel' W. F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill"), since the for- 
 mer's death thirty years ago.
 
 DINNER IN THE INDIAN TRADER'S CAMP 59 
 
 twenty years, and was known by everyone in the whole 
 region, from the Yellowstone to the Rio Grande. 
 
 At Fort Harker he had met the two young men from 
 the East, who had brought letters of introduction to 
 the officers of the post. These officers, upon learning 
 that the mission of the Boston gentlemen was to ' ' rough 
 it" for a week or two, hunt buffalo and wrestle with 
 the excitement of life on the frontier, suggested that 
 they make the trip with Curtis to the Cheyenne vil- 
 lage on the Washita, and stop for a time at the Dela- 
 hoyde ranch on the Walnut, one of the best parts of 
 the country for big game. They were also told of the 
 accomplishments of Carlos and Pierre Delahoyde, in 
 the direction of the amusement they were seeking ; so, 
 without a moment's hesitation, they had acted upon 
 the advice of the gentlemen at Fort Dodge. 
 
 Dinner was announced shortly after the arrival of 
 Carlos and Pierre at the trader's camp, and as Curtis 
 himself was a famous shot, the larder was always well 
 supplied with wild meat. 
 
 The table around which they all gathered was formed 
 of the end-gates of the wagons, over which an extra 
 piece of canvas was thrown, to serve as a cloth. The 
 appointments in the way of cups, dishes, knives, forks, 
 etc., were of the simplest character, generally tin, 
 and such as constitute a regular camping outfit. 
 
 Buffalo hump, grouse l and hare constituted the 
 meats; in addition, biscuits baked in a Dutch oven, 
 
 1 Qroute, a family of birds, of which there are many varieties, with different 
 names j in this Instance, the well-known " prairie-chicken " of the West.
 
 CO THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 coffee, with milk from the ranch, together with a va- 
 riety of canned fruit purchased from the sutler at the 
 fort. 
 
 All did ample justice to the meal, and at its conclu- 
 sion young Summerfield, Burton, Carlos and Pierre ad- 
 journed to the shade of the tent to discuss the program 
 of the hunting expedition, while Curtis busied himself 
 with some duty required about his wagons. 
 
 After Summerfield and Burton had filled and lighted 
 their pipes (neither Carlos nor Pierre indulged in to- 
 bacco) , the conversation opened with a discussion of the 
 wild turkey, its habits, and the best time to hunt it. 
 
 Pierre took up the subject upon some interrogatories 
 by both Summerfield and Burton, telling them that 
 the wild turkey could be found in almost every piece 
 of timber in the whole country, outside of the thickly 
 settled portions. Sometimes places where they have 
 been plentiful will suddenly appear deserted, but you 
 will find them all again somewhere, where the acorns 
 and nuts of other trees are ripe ; so they migrate from 
 one portion of the country to another, coming back 
 in good time to where you first saw them. 
 
 "Is there as much difference in size between the 
 gobblers and the hens as there is with our tame 
 ones?" inquired Burton. 
 
 "Yes," said Carlos, "the hens are much smaller, not 
 half so brilliant in their plumage, have no bristles on 
 their breasts, no spurs, and the fleshy lump above the 
 bill is not nearly so large as in the gobbler."
 
 TALK ABOUT WILD TURKEYS 61 
 
 "As I understand it," said Pierre, "the wild turkey 
 and the domesticated are really the same bird so 
 Dad says, and he has read all about them." 
 
 "It 's a mighty big thing to fin.d the nest of a wild 
 turkey (though I have found a good many)," said 
 Carlos; "for the hen always covers up her eggs with 
 leaves when she goes to feed, and you have to watch 
 her very closely to tell where the nest is, as she does 
 not go directly to it ; she never goes to it twice by the 
 same path, and unless you are very patient and wait, 
 you will fail to discover it. She lays from ten to fif- 
 teen eggs, and they are exactly like those of the tame 
 species." 
 
 " When is the best time to hunt them ? " asked Sum- 
 merfield. 
 
 "Oh, by moonlight, on the roost," replied Carlos 
 and Pierre, simultaneously; "there's lots of fun 
 then." 
 
 "Besides," said Pierre, "they're so stupid and be- 
 wildered, you can sometimes shoot as many as fifty 
 without moving from the spot." 
 
 "Let's see," said Carlos; "it will be full moon 
 next Wednesday, and this is Friday; we can go to 
 one of the great roosts in a day : what do you say for 
 next Wednesday night?" 
 
 Summerfield and Burton readily and enthusiastic- 
 ally agreed to the proposition. The conversation was 
 then directed to " ways and means " for the trip. 
 
 " We will go on horseback," said Pierre; " we don't
 
 62 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 want to be bothered with a wagon ; we can pack all 
 our bedding and cooking outfit on two ponies. You 
 gentlemen can stand thirty miles on horseback?" he 
 inquired, directing his interrogatory to Summerfield 
 and Burton. 
 
 "Oh, yes," they both responded; and Summerfield 
 continued: "I guess we rode a greater distance even 
 than that, some days, on our trip to the Washita. 
 Didn't we, Burton?" 
 
 "I know we did," replied Burton; "we have be- 
 come quite hardened to the saddle now. Besides, our 
 ponies are wonderfully easy in their lope." 
 
 "What shall we do between now and next Wednes- 
 day, boys?" inquired Summerfield, looking appeal- 
 ingly at Carlos and Pierre. 
 
 "Oh, there's lots," said Pierre; "we can fish, 
 hunt jackrabbits with the hounds, go up to the 
 wolf-dens " 
 
 "Or have a night hunt after lynxes with Cyrus and 
 Jupe; they're thick in the woods now," interrupted 
 Carlos; "but this afternoon I want to show you our 
 pets and museum." 
 
 At that moment the young men's attention was at- 
 tracted by a sort of croaking high up in the sky, and 
 they looked that way, then inquisitively at the boys. 
 Pierre said: 
 
 "There's a flock of Sandhill Cranes sailing around 
 away above us;" and stretching his neck upward he 
 said, " Look there! " as he pointed with his finger al-
 
 THE CEANE8 AND THEIR ANTICS 63 
 
 most directly to the zenith, where all presently saw a 
 thin circle resembling a small cloud, and listening, 
 they learned that the sonorous croak emanated from 
 it. 
 
 "Will they light," asked Burton, "so we can get a 
 good look at them ? " 
 
 "Yes," replied Carlos, "they are circling lower 
 now, and if we wait fifteen or twenty minutes they 
 will come down. If they light near enough, you'll 
 see the funniest sight you ever looked atl " 
 
 "How 's that ? " inquired Burton of Carlos. 
 
 "Oh, they just dance, and go through all sorts of 
 ludicrous antics; you'll see, if they light." 
 
 "Tell us something about them, their habits, and 
 how they make their nests," continued Burton, keep- 
 ing up an animated dialogue with Carlos. 
 
 "Well, they 're very common here. They generally 
 arrive from the south about the middle of March or 
 early in April, and stay with us until the first week 
 of October; sometimes a few will linger as late as 
 Christmas not frequently ; it depends upon the 
 weather. We often have the most delightful 'fall 
 until then ; but when a storm comes on you see no 
 more of the cranes until the next spring." 
 
 " How about their nests, and how many eggs do they 
 lay?" queried Suminerfield. 
 
 "Well," answered Carlos, "they make a sort of 
 platform of rushes about three feet in diameter, lined 
 with the leaves of the cat-tails, and in this nest lay
 
 64 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 only two eggs; a kind of pale olive buff, spotted with 
 brown and purple. I've got a couple in our museum 
 I '11 show you when " 
 
 " There ! they 're going to light on that bare sand- 
 knoll," exclaimed Pierre, pointing to the spot about an 
 eighth of a mile away, beyond the timber, " and if we 
 sneak up behind the trees perhaps we can get close enough 
 without scaring them away, and you can see one of their 
 funny cotillions." 
 
 At this the boys stole quietly off, keeping in the shadow 
 of the timber, and were successful in reaching a good 
 point of observation without disturbing the birds. As 
 Carl and Pierre squatted on the ground, making a sign 
 for Summerfield and Burton to do the same, Pierre put 
 his fingers on his lips, a sign for absolute silence. The 
 cranes then commenced to bow to each other, leap into 
 the air, skip backward and forward and circle about, let- 
 ting their great wings droop as they did so, uttering their 
 croaking whoops, and working themselves into a frenzy 
 of excitement more intense every second. 
 
 So ridiculous did their movements appear to the boys 
 who were watching them, that all simultaneously burst 
 into a loud laugh, and the cranes on the instant, with a 
 sharp croak, took to their wings, and were soon circling 
 more than a half-mile above where they had danced. 
 
 " Now that fun's over," said Carlos, " let's go up home 
 and look at our museum in the dugout, and our pets that 
 are scattered all around the place,"
 
 MUSEUM AT THE DUGOUT 65 
 
 So they started on a brisk walk for the ranch, Summer- 
 field and Burton evidently delighted at what they had seen, 
 and on the anxious lookout for fresh experiences. 
 
 When they arrived at the dugout, Carlos and Pierre led 
 the way to the room on the extreme right, and when the 
 Boston young men entered, their eyes fairly bulged with 
 astonishment. 
 
 Around the rude walls, on shelves equally as rude, made 
 of hewn slabs, were the nests and eggs of the several vari- 
 eties of birds indigenous to the region, but there were no 
 duplicates, for both Carlos and Pierre collected only to 
 study ; their natural love for animate nature was too great 
 to permit them to destroy for pure wantonness. 
 
 Summerfield and Burton were especially attracted by 
 the elk, which was once the favorite of the boys, and they 
 had to tell the story of his capture, his long sojourn with 
 them, and his sad ending. 
 
 Among the animals, nicely mounted, were the little 
 lynxes the boys once attempted to tame, a couple of beaver, 
 an otter, a badger, and a 'coon ; all the varieties of birds, 
 too, whose nests were there, had a place in the collection. 
 Summerfield and Burton, after spending a most agreeable 
 and instructive hour with their newly found friends, de- 
 clared that if the collection were in Boston it would readily 
 sell for many hundreds of dollars. 
 
 As they left the museum, Piqrre said : 
 
 " Now we '11 hunt up our pets, and the first we '11 show 
 
 you is ' Ephraim,' our bear. Dad says that all old trap- 
 5
 
 06 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 pers and mountaineers call that animal ' Ephraim/ so we 
 christened ours by that name." 
 
 " How old is he ? " inquired Burton, as Ephraim came 
 crawling out of his den in the ledge of rocks just in rear 
 of the dugout, whence the boys had led their guests, and 
 called their rough pet by name. He was fastened to a 
 tree outside by a long chain. 
 
 " How old is he ? " inquired Summerfield of Pierre, 
 forgetting that Burton had just asked the same question. 
 
 " About four years this month," answered Pierre. 
 
 "Dad and we boys were out one morning, getting a 
 load of dry wood for mother to cook with, and we were 
 not more than a half-mile from the dugout when Carlos, 
 who was off by himself a short distance, after an eagle's 
 nest he had discovered in the uppermost dead forks of a 
 tall cottonwood, suddenly yelled as if he were hurt. Wo 
 supposed at first that he had tumbled from the tree and 
 broken his leg or arm; so, dropping everything, Dad and 
 I ran with our rifles to where we had heard him scream, 
 and when we got there we saw him sitting on one of the 
 lower limbs, laughing at his predicament. At the foot of 
 the tree was a she-bear with one cub, and the old one was 
 examining Carl's rifle, which necessarily he had to leave 
 on the ground when he climbed up the tree to get the 
 eagle's eggs. The bear was turning the rifle over with her 
 nose, smelling it, and once in a while touching it with her 
 paw. You know bears are full of curiosity, and when 
 they come across anything they are not familiar with,
 
 "EPHRAIM," THE PET BEAR 67 
 
 at once commence to investigate it closely. Dad shot the 
 bear, and Carl came down from his perch. As the cub 
 was only a few weeks old it was very small, and we had 
 no difficulty in running it down after a spirited chase. 
 
 " Carl told us that he yelled as if he were hurt, so as 
 to attract our attention quicker, as he was not very com- 
 fortable in the forks of the tree, and had the eagle's eggs 
 in his hat, which he did n't want to lose. He was n't a 
 bit scared ; it takes a good deal to frighten him." 
 
 " Those were the very eggs I showed you in the mu- 
 seum," said Carlos, after his brother had told the story 
 of how they captured Ephraim. 
 
 " We got the cub home," continued Pierre, " and as 
 we had plenty of milk, had no trouble in getting him to 
 drink it right away. He was very fat when we caught 
 him, and I don't believe he ever lost an ounce of flesh, so ' 
 kindly did he take to his change of living." 
 
 " Ephraim soon became a great pet," said Carlos, " and 
 as he grew we taught him lots of tricks ; I '11 show you 
 one," continued he as he caught hold of the bear around 
 the body and began to wrestle with him. Over and over 
 they tumbled, the bear evidently enjoying the fun as well 
 as Carlos, but the bear was the stronger of the two, and 
 he succeeded in throwing Carlos on his back during the 
 scuffle. Effecting that, the bear would let go his hold and 
 stand up on his hind legs, ready for another bout. 
 
 " One of his dislikes," said Pierre, as Carlos ended the 
 wrestle with Ephraim, " is dogs I mean strange dogs j
 
 68 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 of course he will not make any fuss when he sees our own, 
 but they generally keep clear of him. Once when an 
 Indian trader who had a dog with him camped here about 
 three years ago, and the dog tried to be too familiar with 
 Ephraim, he just split his head open with one stroke of 
 his paw." 
 
 " Ephraim will follow us around just like a dog, when 
 we let him/' said Carlos. Once when I had him out 
 in the woods with me, it got dark so I could n't see 
 my hand before my face. I lost my way, and did n't know 
 in which direction to go. Whenever I started in a certain 
 direction, Ephraim would act uneasy, and run in front 
 of me against my legs, as if to warn me that I was going 
 wrong. As he did this several times when I changed my 
 course, at last I thought I would just follow him as he 
 walked right in front of me, when, without halting once, 
 or hesitating at all, he led me straight home, knowing the 
 direction, although it was dark as pitch, as well as if it 
 had been daylight." 
 
 Having watched the bear's antics for some time, young 
 Summerfield and Burton were preparing to return to their 
 camp for the night, as it was now about six o'clock, when 
 Mrs. Delahoyde came out of the dugout and invited them 
 to remain and take supper with the boys. 
 
 " We have plenty of milk," said she ; " I will have hot 
 biscuit, fresh butter, and will give you some broiled bear- 
 steak from the cub the boys brought home yesterday." 
 
 The young gentlemen did not need a second invitation,
 
 THE SPRING BEHIND THE DUGOUT 69 
 
 so gladly accepted the first. Then Carlos said he would 
 show them the spring, where they could wash, as his 
 mother brought out a clean towel. 
 
 The spring was only a dozen yards in rear of the dug- 
 out a stream of cool, clear water as big as a man's arm, 
 rushing out of the rocky bluff, forming a natural basin 
 below, where probably for ages it had fallen on the ledge, 
 and had worn out a hollow eight or nine feet in diameter 
 and four deep. 
 
 " This is our bath sometimes," said Carlos, " when 
 the river gets on a tear, and is too muddy ; the only objec- 
 tion to the water is, that it is too cold. If you want to try 
 it after dark, mother will let you have all the towels you 
 want." 
 
 "I'd 'like it first-rate," said Summerfield; "I have 
 always been used to taking a cold bath every morning at 
 home since I was seven years old, kept it up all through 
 college, and until I came out West have never missed. 
 But Carl, if it will make no difference to you folks, I 
 would prefer to take a bath early in the morning. I have 
 plenty of towels down in my tent." 
 
 " Thai 's all right," said Carlos ; " no one will disturb 
 you, and as the pool is completely hidden in the willows, 
 you will be as private there as if you were in your own 
 tent." 
 
 After they had completed their ablutions at the spring, 
 all walked to the dugout, where Mrs. Delahoyde surprised 
 them by announcing supper ready, which she had set out-
 
 70 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 side of the dwelling on the short, velvety buffalo-grass, 
 which formed a natural laAvn to the curious building. 
 
 On the grass was spread an immaculately white cloth, 
 around which, prone upon the sod, reclining after the 
 method of the old Romans 1 when eating, the little party 
 distributed themselves. 
 
 The service was very plain, of course, but the variety 
 of the viands, and the absolute cleanliness which charac- 
 terized the meal, charmed the young Bostonians, who did 
 ample justice to it, and were profuse in their compliments 
 to their hostess for offering them such an entertainment, 
 so delightfully and really al fresco, (as the Italians say for 
 out-of-doors.) 
 
 A great pail of milk, which had been cooled to almost 
 icy refrigeration by immersion in the spring; biscuits that 
 in lightness and whiteness rivaled the fleecy clouds float- 
 ing above them in the heavens ; and most deliciously broiled 
 young bear-steaks, which were a new sensation to the 
 young visitors, these formed the component parts of that 
 supper, with marmalade made of the wild plum, as the last 
 course. 
 
 After all had partaken 'heartily, and Mrs. Delahoyde 
 had removed the cloth, the party lingered where they sat, 
 and as the rays of the declining sun were gilding the crests 
 of the bluffs, a delightful breeze came from the south, 
 making the whole scene in its wild picturesqueness a de- 
 
 1 The Romans reclined on a couch or sort of bench while eating ; they did not sit on 
 chairs, as we do.
 
 MOLES AND THEIR HABITS 7l 
 
 lightful re very, they indulged in conversation full of in- 
 terest and instruction. 
 
 / 
 
 " Boys," said their father at last, "you have not shown 
 these gentlemen what I regard as the most curious and 
 interesting of your pets the Moles." 
 
 " Why, have you tamed moles, too ? " asked Summer- 
 field, in surprise. 
 
 " Yes, indeed," answered Mr. Delahoyde, " and the 
 boys can tell you more about them than you ever knew, 
 perhaps, because they have made a study of them, partic- 
 ularly Carlos." 
 
 " We 've seen lots of them at home," said Burton, " but 
 they are so common that we never took much interest in 
 them." 
 
 " Go bring them, Carl," said his mother, who having 
 completed her domestic duties inside of the dugout, joined 
 the group on the lawn. 
 
 Carlos promptly obeyed, and in a few moments re- 
 turned, bringing with him a cracker-box, into which the 
 young Bostonians looked, and saw nestled in dry leaves 
 and grass, six of the beautiful little creatures they had 
 been talking about, which immediately rose up on their 
 hind legs, as they felt the fingers of some one touching 
 their nest. 
 
 As Mr. Delahoyde had said, one of the most beautiful 
 animals in the region in which the ranch was located was 
 the mole. He is a timid, unobtrusive creature, yet, as is 
 well known in strictly agricultural districts, he exercises
 
 72 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 considerable influence upon the welfare of the farmer. In 
 the East he is always to be found around country homes, 
 and what boy who ever lived in rural districts there, has 
 failed, as he wandered through the fields of his father's 
 farm, to attempt the capture of the handsome little fellow ? 
 
 Scientists aver that if it were not for this industrious 
 little animal, our land would be overrun with those worms 
 that live beneath the ground and do great damage to the 
 crops so necessary to our very existence. 
 
 Carlos and Pierre discovered, after one or two failures, 
 that the moles were easily tamed, and made clean, affec- 
 tionate little pets. The box in .which they we,re kept was 
 well ventilated, and filled with earth and prairie hay. 
 They had to be fed regularly, as the boys had found by a 
 sad experience that if they were at all neglected they 
 would soon die. 
 
 Differing from other wild animals, as soon as a mole is 
 caught and put in its house it will begin to eat immedi- 
 ately. 
 
 Carlos had studied the habits of the mole very indus- 
 triously, and said, as he handled one, that of all the ani- 
 mals with which he was familiar, it was the most skillful 
 digger. 
 
 That his observations were true, anyone who has 
 watched a mole working his way through the soil in search 
 of food will admit. It would be difficult to find an animal 
 any better adapted to his work. Nature has fitted him 
 most magnificently for the work he has to perform. His
 
 MOLES AND THEIR HABITS 78 
 
 front paws are made like broad shovels ; have five strong 
 claws, which set in a groove at the end of a finger-joint, 
 and work perfectly in putting away the earth which must 
 be moved in search of his food. His front legs are short, 
 fixed to a shoulder remarkable for its strength, while his 
 breast-bone is strongly formed so as to throw his head, 
 when he is digging, on a level with his hands. His nose, 
 too, has a mighty part to play in his excavations; it is 
 long and slender, with a small bone at the very top, which 
 helps him to push his way forward. His hind feet stand 
 flat and firmly upon the ground, and altogether he is very 
 strongly made. With his nose he picks out the worms 
 and other insects from their hiding-places as he moves 
 along. 
 
 The mole is always very hungry, and the deprivation 
 of food makes him crazy and he soon dies; the boys dis- 
 covered this fact from the experience they had while at- 
 tempting to tame the first ones they caught, in putting no 
 food in the cage and leaving them until night. When 
 they returned with the cows they found their would-be 
 pets dead. They however profited by their lesson, and 
 found that moles would eat fresh meat when confined. 
 Once when, by circumstances they could not control, they 
 neglected to place food in the cage where there were two of 
 the little animals, they found the one living had killed and 
 devoured his comrade. 
 
 Moles go about on top of the ground at certain times, 
 and are themselves devoured by wolves and coyotes. They
 
 74 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 are almost blind, but are able to hear well, which fact in 
 part compensates for the deficiency of the other sense. 
 
 The mole's eyes are very small, and are almost hidden 
 in the beautiful soft and fine fur which covers him, and 
 his ears are almost closed. 
 
 Pierre, also, made a long study of the habits of these 
 little animals, and found that they build themselves little 
 fortresses. He discovered that their little houses are not 
 indicated, as one would naturally suppose, by the ridge of 
 earth which marks their hunting expeditions, but is a 
 small hill thrown up by themselves which is protected by 
 a bank, the base of a tree, or a rock. 
 
 The industrious little fellows first work the earth very 
 well to make it convenient for use in building, and con- 
 struct galleries for the purpose of communication with 
 each other. At the upper part of the hill a round gallery 
 is constructed, and from it five passages lead to another 
 gallery below, which is larger than the first one. In the 
 lower gallery there is a room which might be called the 
 citadel of the fortress, and there the little animal lives. 
 It is made very dry, and constructed with great care. 
 Another gallery goes from the lower one in a straight line 
 as far as the animal hunts. At the bottom of the sleeping- 
 place is another, sinking lower into the earth. Several 
 little passages are made to provide the house with water, 
 and along which the mole goes for the desired liquid. It 
 seems that these animals require a great deal of water.
 
 MOLES AND THEIR HABITS 75 
 
 and their little homes usually communicate with a ditch 
 or pond. 
 
 Their little ones are born in another department, which 
 is placed at some distance from the main dormitory. The 
 mother gives birth to four or five at a time, which in little 
 more than a month begin to run about and provide them- 
 selves with food, although they are only about half grown. 
 
 Sometimes eight or nine defiles run around the hill from 
 which the mole gets his food. If the hill is very large it 
 may shelter several moles, but they are very careful not 
 to trespass upon one another's hunting-grounds. If two 
 should meet in the defiles, they fight until the weakest 
 one is overcome and retreats. 
 
 The mole never searches for food near the spot which 
 he has chosen for his fortress. He labors for two hours 
 in the morning when he is building his edifice; then does 
 not begin again until evening, when he works two hours 
 more. The principal defiles of the fortress are formed in 
 a circle, so that if anything happens he escapes through 
 some of the many run-ways. 
 
 After listening to Mr. Delahoyde and his boys expatiate 
 upon the merits of the pretty little creatures, Burton said 
 that he had no idea that the subject of moles could be so 
 interesting; that he had been delighted and instructed as 
 well. 
 
 It was now fairly night, and Summerfield suggested
 
 lO THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 the propriety of going to bed, as he wanted to get up early, 
 take his bath, and pass another pleasant day. 
 
 So they all got up, Mr. Delahoyde and sons accompany- 
 ing the visitors to their camp. 
 
 The gibbous moon poured out a flood of light as they 
 walked through the timber, and Pierre said : 
 
 " That will be a glorious moon for our turkey-hunt next 
 Wednesday night." 
 
 " Suppose it storms ? " remarked Burton. 
 
 " No fear of that," said Carlos j " it never rains here at 
 this time of the year." 
 
 " Carl is right," said Mr. Delahoyde ; " you can depend 
 upon a most brilliant full moon." Then, having reached 
 the tent, they bade their guests good-night, and walked 
 back to the dugout and immediately retired.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 POISONING WOLVES. - BATHING IN THE BIG SPRING. - 
 FISHING WITH A TROT-LINE. - BURTON'S CTTKIOUS CATCH. 
 - THE GARP1KE. - PRAIRIE GROUSE. - OTTER, AND THEIR 
 HABITS. - HOOK A SOFT-SHELL TURTLE. - TALK ABOUT 
 ANIMALS AROUND THE CAMPFIRE. - STORY OF THE FIVE 
 SKUNKS. 
 
 A^TEE breakfast was over at the ranch, Curtis came 
 to the dugout and inquired of Mr. Delahoyde 
 whether his boys had any wolf-skins to dispose of. 
 
 He replied that he thought they had about twenty-five 
 or thirty, and calling Carlos and Pierre, he asked them 
 how many wolves they had poisoned since the trader was 
 there a few months ago and bought all they then had. 
 
 The boys said they had thirty, fine ones ; and upon Mr. 
 Curtis telling them he wanted to purchase all, they took 
 him to a sort of storeroom built in rear of the dwelling, 
 and showed them to him. 
 
 The skins were in excellent condition, for the boys un- 
 derstood perfectly the art of preserving furs, 1 and Curtis 
 told them he would pay the usual price of one dollar apiece 
 for them. 
 
 1 The art of preserving furs Is the knowledge of that process which will keep them 
 from spoiling when first taken from the animal. The best method is a solution of 
 equal parts of saltpeter and alum, with which rub the skin on both sides two or three 
 times a day for a week. I advise all boys to use this preparation, which is perfectly 
 harmless to human life, and never to use arsenic, which is poisonous. I have used It 
 for thirty years, and never failed. They are the same ingredients employed by the 
 Smithsonian Institution, and are recommended by it. 
 
 (77) /
 
 78 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 The trade in wolf-hides was quite a remunerative one 
 for Carlos and Pierre, amounting sometimes to two or 
 three hundred dollars a year. Their method of procuring 
 them was adopted by all trappers, and had been taught 
 by their father. 
 
 Young saplings, generally of the cottonwood, about four 
 inches in diameter, are cut into lengths of two feet, one 
 end sharpened, and at the other a cup is made two or 
 three inches deep. These stakes are driven into the .ground 
 out on the prairie, and into the cup is poured melted grease 
 mixed with strychnine. The wolves lick the cups at night 
 as they prowl around, and in a few moments afterward 
 are dead. Frequently as many as ten of the wolves are 
 found in the morning when the location of the bait is vis- 
 ited. Of course they are sought for only during two or 
 three of the winter months, when their hair is thick and 
 desirable. 
 
 During the period of wolf-poisoning, the boys confine 
 their hounds at night, for even the most intelligent dog 
 does not possess brains enough to discriminate between 
 what is healthful and what would kill him, if the odor is 
 attractive. 
 
 When the Indian trader returned to the dugout with 
 one of his wagons to transport to camp the wolf-robes he 
 had purchased from the boys, Summerfield and Burton 
 came with him to learn what program Pierre and Carlos 
 had decided upon for that day's amusement. 
 
 After the usual greetings, Pierre asked Summerfield
 
 FISHING TRIP DECIDED ON 79 
 
 whether he had indulged in his bath at the pool, as he had 
 proposed the evening before. ' 
 
 " Tqs, indeed," replied he to the inquiry ; " I was up 
 at the first streak of dawn, and enjoyed my plunge im- 
 mensely. When I came up through the timber, your dogs 
 advanced to meet me, looked askance, but after smelling 
 me, probably satisfied that I was all right, went back to 
 their places on top of the dugout and curled themselves up 
 again to sleep. I found the water in the pool very cold, as 
 Carl suggested it would be, but I felt all right in a mo- 
 ment after I had splashed myself thoroughly." 
 
 " Have you decided how you and Burton would like to 
 put in the day ? " asked Carlos of Summerfield, as he got 
 through telling about his early bath. 
 
 " jSTo," he replied, " but Burton has expressed a desire 
 to try his luck at fishing; we both have excellent tackle.'' 
 
 " Well, let 's go fishing then," suggested Pierre ; " only 
 if we want to have lots of fun, it 's better to stretch a trot- 
 line across the river, and then we are more likely to catch 
 some big cats. Carl and I have a fine one all ready for 
 business, but baiting." 
 
 " All right," said Burton ; " but I must confess my 
 ignorance of what you mean by a 'trot-line.' " 
 
 " I '11 tell you, then," said Pierre. " It is a long fishing- 
 line, long enough to reach from one bank of the river to 
 the other. At certain distances apart are fastened short 
 lines, to each of which is tied a hook. The hooks are 
 about two feet apart, and well weighted with sinkers, so
 
 80 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 that they will stay straight down in the water. Sometimes 
 when you haul up the line, after letting it remain for a 
 couple of hours or so, you '11 get a big fish on every hook." 
 
 " I know now what you mean, since you have described 
 it," said Burton ; " it 's the same thing all regular cod-fish- 
 ermen on the New England coast call a trawl ; only a trawl 
 is frequently two or three miles long. It is coiled up in 
 a tub in the boat, already baited with clams, and when the 
 fisherman reach the location they started for, the long line 
 is paid out, both ends being fastened to an immense float, 
 usually a small barrel." 
 
 " What do you use for bait on your trot-line ? " inquired 
 Burton. 
 
 " Any kind of meat that we chance to have at the time. 
 Some of the cub that we killed the other day must serve 
 our purpose on this excursion ; it 's all we have now on 
 hand, but it is just as good as any." 
 
 " Let 's start at once," said Carlos ; " it will take two 
 hours to get the line ready and bait it up." 
 
 " Yes, all of that," said Pierre, " if you count in the 
 time it will take to get to where we want to go to set it." 
 
 " I guess I '11 take my pole and tackle along," said Bur- 
 ton ; " perhaps I can catch something myself. I do so love 
 to angle." 
 
 "All right," said Carlos; "you'll have plenty of time 
 to try your luck before we fellows get the trot-line set." 
 
 Then they all started for the store-room back of the dug- 
 out where Carlos and Pierre kept their odds and ends for
 
 GETTING READY TO START 81 
 
 hunting and fishing. When they arrived there, Pierre 
 said : " Carl, you and Summerfield straighten out the 
 trot-line, and while Burton goes down to camp for his 
 tackle I '11 cut up the bait, and then we '11 all put it on 
 the hooks." 
 
 Burton went for his pole, telling the boys that he would 
 hurry back and help them. Carlos and Summerfield then 
 got out the line and began to untangle it, while Pierre 
 started for a cottonwood a short distance off, to a limb of 
 which the carcass of the cub was hanging, and commenced 
 to cut off liberal slices of the toughest and most worthless 
 portions of the young bear. 
 
 In a little while the boys got the trot-line straightened 
 out, stretched it on the grass, and Pierre having gotten 
 the bait cut up into suitably sized pieces, the three com- 
 menced to put it on the hundred or more hooks. 
 
 Before they had completed the job, Burton returned 
 from camp with his fishing-tackle, and helped the other 
 boys finish baiting. 
 
 " Where do you think we 'd better go ? " inquired Car- 
 los of his brother. 
 
 " Why, I was thinking the best place would be at the 
 bend of the !N"orth Walnut, just below where Spring creek 
 empties into it. You know we 've always been lucky fish- 
 ing there; caught some of the biggest cats that were ever 
 taken out of the Arkansas." 
 
 " I guess you 're right," said Carlos j " besides, it 's only
 
 82 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 a few miles from here, and we can make it easily in an 
 hour and twenty minutes." 
 
 So, the question of location being thus quickly decided, 
 the little party trudged off, whistling, laughing and gos- 
 sipping on the way. 
 
 They arrived there at the appointed time suggested by 
 Carlos, and found it a really beautiful spot, and said that 
 Pierre had made no mistake in selecting their objective 
 point, so far as beauty of scenery was concerned. There 
 the Walnut made a graceful bend to the southeast, and 
 both banks of the stream were heavily fringed with great 
 cottonwoods and box-elders, whose limbs hung far out over 
 the water, making one of those deeply shaded places that 
 the sluggish catfish love to hide in. The banks, too, in- 
 stead of shelving gradually to the edge of the river, as 
 elsewhere, were four or five feet high, and washed out 
 underneath to a distance of three feet, where the dark 
 water moved very slowly, a perfect paradise of a retreat 
 for the species of fish the boys were after, where they love 
 to secrete themselves under just such a protection from the 
 sunlight. 
 
 Both Summerfield and Burton were charmed with the 
 delightfully sequestered place, with its primitive grandeur, 
 and so expressed themselves most enthusiastically to Car- 
 los and Pierre, who, though brought up amid such mag- 
 nificent scenes, declared that it was one of their favorite 
 resorts of the" many in the wild region where they lived. 
 
 The boys had brought a luncheon with them, which
 
 ARRIVAL AT THE RIVER 83 
 
 Mrs. Delahoyde insisted they must take along, as it would 
 be many hours until supper-time, and they did not intend 
 to return to dinner, as it was after ten o'clock before they 
 could get away from the ranch. 
 
 A dozen cold biscuits, a jug of milk and a small pail of 
 wild-plum jam, she thought would suffice, although the 
 party were not heavily freighted and could easily have 
 taken more. The trot-line was wound on a stick, and they 
 only had that and their luncheon to carry. Of course the 
 boys took their rifles ; Carl and Pierre never went a quar- 
 ter of a mile from home without them, and so used were 
 they to their guns, they really appeared a necessary part 
 of themselves. Smnmerfield and Burton had theirs with 
 them, too, because Mr. Delahoyde had told them the even- 
 ing before, that it was one of the unpardonable sins of 
 the frontier for a man to go anywhere without some sort 
 of weapon. 
 
 Pierre told Burton he might as well cast in his line, as 
 the rest of them were enough to set the trot-line; so he 
 jointed his rod, baited his hook, and seating himself on 
 the grass under one of the big cottonwoods, threw his line 
 as far up the stream as he could, into the darkest part of 
 the eddy. 
 
 " You '11 not get a bite at once," said Carlos to him, as 
 he looked so anxiously toward his cork float ; " you may 
 have to wait an hour before you get even a nibble; these 
 Western cats are terribly slow at taking the hook." 
 
 Just as he spoke, however, Burton felt a fearful tug-
 
 84 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 ging at his line; his float entirely disappeared, and as 
 he pulled up on his pole, he saw a curious-looking fish 
 wriggling on his hook. It was about two feet long, and 
 seemed mostly nose, while its body was covered with knobs 
 like armor. 
 
 " What in the world is it ? " he exclaimed, as he suc- 
 cessfully landed it alongside him, and got a good look at it. 
 
 " Why that 's a Garpike," said both Carlos and Pierre, 
 as they laughed at Burton's apparent perplexity in at- 
 tempting to classify his strange-looking monster. 
 
 " Why, so it is ! " said Summerfield, coming toward 
 Burton. " I studied that class of fishes in college. They 
 are the real aristocrats of the whole world, if ancient an- 
 cestry is considered. They have descended without a 
 break from the Devonian period, tens of thousands of 
 years ago ! " 
 
 " That is just what Dad says about 'em, too," said Car- 
 los ; " and you know he is a college graduate. We always 
 throw 'em back into the water. They 're no good but to 
 bother a fellow when he is fishing. 
 
 " If that 's the case, here goes," said Burton, as he 
 unhooked his prize and tossed it back into the river. " But 
 I take off my hat," suiting the action to the word, " and 
 salute the most bloated aristocrat, so far as a lengthy pedi- 
 gree is concerned, I have ever seen or heard of." 
 
 All laughed at Burton's apostrophe to the worthless fish, 
 and Carlos said : " There 's one thing I forgot to tell 
 you about the garpike : it 's a sign that you '11 have good
 
 BETTING THE TROT-LINE 85 
 
 luck in angling now, for good fish always come to you 
 after you 've hooked one of these fellows ; at least, that 's 
 what the old mountaineers say, so Dad has told us boys." 
 
 " Well, then," said Burton as he re-baited his hook and 
 cast his line in again, " I have always been a little super- 
 stitious myself ; believe in some of the omens 1 and auguries 2 
 that have come down to us from the Dark Ages, so I 
 shall expect to haul up a big cat next time I get a bite." 
 He then subsided again into passive indifference to every- 
 thing around him excepting his cork float, upon which he 
 fastened his eyes as intently as a snake does when it is 
 after a bird. 
 
 The excitement ended caused by the little episode of 
 Burton's hooking 'the garpike, Carlos, Pierre and Sum- 
 merfield went to work in real earnest to set their trot-line. 
 Unwinding it carefully, one end was fastened to a stout 
 bush that grew on the bank, and the other carried across 
 the river by Summerfield and Pierre, while Carlos kept in 
 their rear to properly adjust the hooks as they dropped one 
 by one into the water. 
 
 The boys had to take off their clothes while fixing the 
 line and wade through the stream, which so varied in depth 
 that sometimes they were in only to their ankles, and then 
 up to their necks, when they reached the dark eddy at the 
 opposite bank. 
 
 In less than an hour after they had commenced to 
 
 1 Omens, signs of good or evil to come. 
 
 * Auguries, prophecies of future events.
 
 86 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 stretch their trot-line across, it was secured and ready for 
 the reception of any fish that might be allured by its tempt- 
 ing bait. Then, having nothing to do but wait for results, 
 Carlos, glancing at the sun, remarked : " Fellows, it 's a 
 little after noon ; had n't we better attack that lunch ? " 
 
 Summerfield replied : " Good ! I 'm famishing already ; 
 this outdoor life gives me the appetite of one of your 
 moles, which I think you said would soon starve to death 
 if not fed pretty often." 
 
 " How is it with you, Burton ? " sang out Pierre across 
 the water to the " lone fisherman " still absorbed in watch- 
 ing that motionless float ; " do you want something to 
 eat?" 
 
 Burton upon hearing his name called, suddenly returned 
 to his normal state of mind, and straightening himself 
 out, replied, "Yes, I'm as hungry as a wolf!" 
 
 " All right," responded Pierre ; " we 're coming over 
 to your side of the river. Stick the end of your rod in the 
 ground it can't get away and join us at the foot of the 
 tree below where the trot-line is fastened." 
 
 In a few moments they were all sitting on the grass at 
 the foot of one of the big cottonwoods. The jug of milk, 
 which until then had been immersed in the cold water of 
 the eddy under the bank, the biscuit and the plum jam, 
 together with a tin cup, were before them. 
 
 Courtesy demanded that as only one cup had been 
 brought from the ranch, their guests should drink first; 
 so Pierre, pouring out some of the milk, passed it to Sum-
 
 PRAIRIE GROUSE 87 
 
 merfield, the eldest of the party, who, understanding the 
 politeness which dictated that he must take the initiative, 
 bowed to Pierre, and without any fuss drained the cup. 
 Then Burton came in for second, and so on, by turns ; all 
 the milk was soon consumed, and each one took his por- 
 tion of the biscuit, spread on the jam with his pocket- 
 knife, and in a few moments not even the wreck of what 
 they had brought along to eat was left. 
 
 Summerfield and Burton had just lighted their pipes to 
 indulge in their postprandial smoke, when a loud whirring 
 noise greeted the ears of the group, and a flock of large 
 birds flew swiftly by a few feet above them. 
 
 " What are those ? " inquired Summerfield as he with- 
 drew the pipe from his lips to ask the question. 
 
 " Prairie Grouse, commonly called Prairie Chickens," 
 replied Pierre, as he cast his eyes toward them to assure 
 himself before he answered the question. " They are the 
 finest birds we have out here," continued he, " always 
 excepting the wild turkey." 
 
 " Do they stay with you all the time, or do they mi- 
 grate in the fall ? " asked Burton. 
 
 " Yes," answered Pierre, " all the year round. They 
 live on the open prairie during the summer, and in the 
 winter they go into the timber, and when the snow is 
 deep and the weather cold they hide and roost underneath 
 the drifts." 
 
 " What do they live on ? " inquired Burton. 
 
 " Mostly on grasshoppers, seeds, buds, blossoms of the
 
 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 many varieties of wild flowers we have here, berries, and 
 nearly anything that conies handy," answered Pierre. 
 
 '' They ''re splendid eating too," said Carlos ; " and they 
 build their nests in tufts of grass under some low bush, 
 into which they work their body, line the hollow they 
 thus make with a few blades of the grass, and lay from 
 six to thirteen eggs ; I once found fifteen in one nest. The 
 color of their eggs is light clay to brown; very often per- 
 fectly plain, but generally speckled with fine dottings of 
 dark brown, and in shape more pointed than oval." 
 
 " They have several different notes," continued Pierre ; 
 " one very much like a wild turkey, and I have often been 
 fooled by it. It 's awful fun to watch a flock in the spring 
 when they are breeding; then they are very tame and you 
 can get quite close to them, and if you keep perfectly quiet, 
 can observe for an hour or more at a time all their queer 
 cuttings-up. They usually get together on some ridge of 
 the prairie, or little hill, always about sunrise, when the 
 cocks begin to dance around in a circle, facing each other 
 with their heads lowered, their feathers all ruffled up, like 
 a fighting rooster, and strut around as if challenging some 
 of the number to battle; but they rarely quarrel. Their 
 meetings and dances are almost as funny as those of the 
 sandhill cranes, and are kept up every day until the hens 
 are through laying and commence to sit." 
 
 " They are most wonderfully careful and attentive 
 mothers, too," said Carlos, " and will pretend to be dread- 
 fully lame when you come near one with her little ones
 
 FISH STOLEN BY OTTERS 89 
 
 hidden in the grass. She will flutter along the ground, as 
 if it were impossible for her to fly, to draw you away from 
 her chickens, almost let you catch her, until she believes 
 they are safe out of your reach, when with a whirr ! away 
 she goes, and you are left alone ! " 
 
 By the time this dissertation about the prairie grouse 
 had ended, Summerfield and Burton having finished smok- 
 ing their pipes, the latter asked the boys how long they 
 bad been in the habit of fishing with a trot-line. 
 
 Pierre spoke up, and replied : " Ever since we have 
 been old enough to go fishing alone; about seven years 
 ago; after we had lived on the ranch four. At first we 
 had terribly hard luck on account of the otters, which 
 used to steal the fish we caught. At that time we always 
 set our lines in the evening, baiting the hooks with young 
 frogs, and did not visit them until the next morning. 
 We always found that lots of fish had been hooked, but 
 nothing excepting portions of their heads were left, the 
 pesky little animals had devoured all the rest. They got 
 so bad that we had to give up fishing with a trot-line, and 
 go back to our rods. Then, at Dad's suggestion, we turned 
 our attention to the otters, as he had more than twenty 
 traps, although he had not made a business of trapping 
 since we were born." 
 
 " We had lots of fun too, catching the handsome little 
 beasts, and in one season we got about thirty, the skins of 
 which, after Dad had cured them properly, we sold for 
 a hundred dollars to Curtis when he came along."
 
 CO THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 " They ? ve never bothered us since," said Carlos ; " the 
 traps seemed to have driven them out of the country. 
 Of course," continued he, " once in a great while we see 
 some, but very rarely; besides, we have always since then 
 set our trot-line in the daytime, and watched it as we are 
 doing now." 
 
 "How about Otters?" said Burton. "I don't think 
 I have ever seen the animal, although I am familiar with 
 the fur; I had an overcoat trimmed with it last winter." 
 
 " Well," said Pierre, " they vary greatly in size, but 
 will average three feet and four inches long, counting the 
 tail, which is long, and is more than a third of their whole 
 length. Their fur is very soft, of a brown color, rather 
 lighter on the throat and breast. It is made up of long, 
 coarse, shining hairs, underneath which is another fur of 
 the finest quality." 
 
 " He does not eat anything but fish," said Carlos, " and 
 you seldom meet him far from the water on that account. 
 Dad says that he has heard his father tell how when he 
 was a boy in Canada, the otters used to bother the regular 
 fishermen by destroying their nets to get at the fish." 
 
 " Do you know anything about how they breed, Carl ? " 
 asked Suinmerfield. 
 
 " Yes," replied Carlos ; " they generally build a sort of 
 nest in a hole in the bank of a river, or in the roots of 
 some tree that hangs over the water. They have from 
 three to five little ones at a time, and they are usually born 
 in March or early in April."
 
 BURTON CATCHES A TURTLE 91 
 
 " I 'd like to see one," said Summer field. 
 
 " I don't believe you ever will here again," said Pierre ; 
 " I have n't come across one for three years or more ; I 
 guess they 've all cleared out." 
 
 Just then, Burton, who had all the time kept an eye 
 on that float, saw it slowly disappear under the water, and 
 the upper end of his pole pulled down close to the surface 
 of the river. He ran as fast as he could to where it was, 
 and hauling the line in, saw to his dismay another curious- 
 looking thing dangling at the hook. 
 
 " Well, I '11 be blessed," exclaimed he, if I don't have 
 the funniest luck in catching nondescripts I 1 Things I 
 never saw before or ever heard of; but I guess this is a 
 turtle, but not anything like those we have in the East." 
 
 " That 's a Soft-shell Turtle," said Pierre, as Burton 
 held the reptile up so that the other boys could get a good 
 look at it ; " they 're good eating, too, but are another of 
 those things that play hob with a fellow's fishing." 
 
 " What shall I do with him ? " queried Burton. 
 
 " Take him back to your camp ; I '11 bet that Mexican 
 cook of yours knows how to serve it," said Carlos in 
 answer to his inquiry. 
 
 " What do you say, Summerfield, shall we eat it ? " 
 asked Burton of his companion. 
 
 " Of course," replied Summerfield ; " I 'm going to eat 
 everything the natives of the country do ; I 've a cast-iron 
 
 1 Kondesoript, something which cannot be described or classified.
 
 92 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 stomach which never went back on me yet. Take him to 
 camp with us by all means." 
 
 The strangely shaped creature that Burton had caught 
 was about a foot in diameter lengthwise, and nearly the 
 same transversely. His nose was as sharp at the point as 
 a mole's, and his shell readily yielded to the pressure of 
 the fingers. 
 
 " Will he bite ? " asked Burton, as he tied a piece of 
 cord to the turtle's hind leg, before taking the hook out of 
 its mouth. 
 
 " Not unless you plague it," said Carlos. " He 's a 
 sluggish fellow, and won't bother you if you don't make 
 him angry." 
 
 After the turtle was unhooked, Burton fastened it to 
 the limb of the tree under which he had been fishing, and 
 the poor thing hung there, only moving its claws slowly 
 occasionally, indicating that it was still alive. 
 
 " I guess we 'd better haul up our trot-line now," said 
 Carlos ; " it 's after four o'clock. Don't you think so, 
 Pierre ? " he asked his brother. 
 
 " Yes, indeed," replied Pierre ; " by the time we get the 
 fish off the hooks, if we 've caught any, and wind the line 
 up, it will be time to start back home." 
 
 " Well, then," said Burton, as he began to unjoint his 
 rod and put up his tackle, " I don't think I '11 fish any 
 more ; I want to help you fellows, as I did n't do anything 
 in putting the trot-line out."
 
 HAULING IN THE TROT-LINE 93 
 
 " All right," said Pierre ; " you 'd better take off your 
 trousers, as we '11 have to wade in taking the fish off." 
 
 " Let 's commence at the opposite end," said Carlos ; 
 " then one of us can wind it up as we go along ; it won't 
 get tangled then, and when we get back to this side we 
 won't have anything to do but dress and start for the 
 ranch." 
 
 The boys all stripped, leaving their clothes on the bank, 
 Pierre having first cut a long willow limb with the end 
 ha\ 7 ing a crotch in it, to string the fish on, and then started 
 across the river. 
 
 When they reached the opposite bank, Carlos and Pierre 
 stepped out, the latter untying the line and handing the 
 end to Carlos, who fastened it to the piece of wood on which 
 it was wound when the boys brought it from the ranch. As 
 Pierre then lifted yard after yard of the line out of the 
 water, Carlos began to wind up the slack. 
 
 On the first ten hooks were six good-sized cats, which 
 would average four pounds each, and selecting two of the 
 best, with Summerfield's and Burton's help, Pierre strung 
 them on the willow wand. 
 
 " There 's no use in taking home more than we can eat 
 in two meals," said Pierre, as he tossed the four back into 
 the water again ; " they won't keep long in this hot 
 weather." 
 
 " Will they live after you put them in the river again ? " 
 asked Burton. 
 
 " Yes, indeed," replied Pierre. " The cat is the hardest
 
 94 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 fish to kill of all that I 'm acquainted with. They don't 
 mind the wound of a hook ; it will get well again in a day 
 or two, and then they are as ready to bite as at first." 
 
 When the trot-line had been all taken out of the river, 
 the boys discovered that they had caught forty fish, all 
 cats excepting half a dozen of the aristocratic garpike, 
 which is always on hand where there is bait put out. 
 
 Taking only eight of the best cats, the boys, after dress- 
 ing, picked up their traps and then started for the 
 ranch, where they arrived at six o'clock. Their progress 
 had been much slower going back than in coming out in 
 the morning, as they were freighted heavier, with the fish, 
 and as Burton was considerably handicapped by his turtle, 
 which gave him lots of trouble. 
 
 The fish were divided, the greater portion given to the 
 Delahoydes, as there were more mouths to feed, (includ- 
 ing the dogs, that were fond of fried cats,) and two were 
 taken to their camp by the Bostonians and given to the 
 cook with orders to serve one for supper and the other 
 for breakfast. 
 
 When they showed the Mexican the turtle and asked 
 him whether he knew how to cook it, he said : " Yes, you 
 bet make good soup ! " 
 
 After supper that evening, Mr. Delahoyde, Carlos and 
 Pierre went down to Curtis's camp to talk to the old 
 trader, who was going back to Fort Harker the next day, 
 and to whom they wanted to give some commissions for 
 the sutler, as he intended to return in about ten days.
 
 PLANNING FOR THE MORROW 95 
 
 The moon shone brightly, and after the Mexican had 
 lighted a smudge to drive away the mosquitoes which 
 swarmed rather thickly in the river-bottom where the 
 camp was located, all the party gathered in a small circle 
 around it, and talked of the adventures of the day. Then 
 plans were formulated for the remaining time that Sum- 
 merfield and Burton intended to remain on the ranch, 
 which would, of course, be until Curtis returned from the 
 Smoky Hill. 
 
 " To-morrow will be Sunday," said Pierre ; " and as 
 mother likes us to observe the day, we do not ever go fish- 
 ing or hunting, but stay around home and read, whenever 
 we have anything to read. Curtis brought down quite a 
 large bundle of newspapers from Fort Dodge for Dad, so 
 we can skim over them ; and in the afternoon, if you and 
 Summerfield," addressing himself to Burton, who sat close 
 to him, " would like to take a stroll out on the prairie, and 
 through the timber, we '11 go. Mother does n't object to 
 that, and perhaps you may see many things that are inter- 
 esting and new to you. This is the time of year when the 
 greatest variety of birds are here, and I know there are a 
 good many kinds that you have not yet come across." 
 
 " That will just suit me," said Burton, " and you too, 
 won't it, Summerfield ? " 
 
 " Certainly," replied Summerfield ; " I should enjoy 
 such a walk immensely." 
 
 " By the way," continued he, " I 've got a lot of maga- 
 zines and papers in my grip that Burton and I bought
 
 96 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 while traveling in the cars, and I shall be delighted to 
 give them to you boys. You can look them over during 
 the morning, while Burton and I write some letters, as 
 Mr. Curtis does not start until about noon, I understand." 
 
 " You 're right," said the old trader, " I can't get away 
 from here until then." 
 
 " Monday we '11 go on a wolf-hunt with the dogs," said 
 Carlos, " and Tuesday we must start early for the turkey- 
 roost, which as I told you is about thirty miles from here. 
 We must get our camp fixed up, and hunt some meat to 
 eat before we get at the turkeys ; besides, we want to get a 
 good rest as well, for it will be a tiresome ride this hot 
 weather." 
 
 "All right," said Summerfield; "Burton and I are 
 under you boys' orders, and are ready to obey as promptly 
 as regular soldiers." 
 
 The conversation drifted from one subject to another, 
 the young Bostonians asking innumerable questions of 
 Curtis, Mr. Delahoyde, and the boys. 
 
 In discussing the various animals of the region, Sum- 
 merfield asked Mr. Delahoyde which he regarded as the 
 most ferocious. 
 
 " Well," replied he, " the wolf, if hungry, is terribly 
 bold ; the she-bear with cubs, and the lynx : all, under cer- 
 tain conditions, are insanely ferocious ; but you know that, 
 normally, it is the habit of every wild beast to run at the 
 sight of man. If you had asked me which I regard as 
 the most dangerous, I should have unhesitatingly told you
 
 MR. DELAHOYDE'S SKUNK BTORY 97 
 
 the little black-and-white Skunk. We have two varieties 
 out here, one much larger than the other; the smaller is 
 to be dreaded, the bite of which is certain death. The 
 savages are aware of the fact, too. Two or three of my 
 old friends among the trappers and hunters have been 
 killed by the apparently insignificant little beast. They 
 generally attack one at night while asleep, often selecting 
 the nose of their victim, which they bite. The result is 
 hydrophobia, and a most horrible death. I would never 
 allow Carlos and Pierre to camp out, were it not that in 
 Cyrus and Jupe they have such vigilant sentinels, which 
 will never permit an animal to come within dangerous 
 proximity of where they are sleeping. 
 
 " Ordinarily," continued he, " the large skunk is harm- 
 less, excepting the dreadful odor he emits when he con- 
 siders himself in danger. The soldiers at the fort, where 
 there are always large numbers of the animal to be found, 
 have nicknamed him ' The essence peddler/ 
 
 " I once had a rather laughable experience with a lot 
 of the larger variety a few years ago. I was going on 
 horseback across the country from the Arkansas to the 
 Smoky Hill river, and after I had proceeded about twenty 
 miles, one of those terrible blizzards characteristic of the 
 Great Plains region in the fall, came down from the north 
 in all its fury. It was night when I started from the 
 Arkansas, and when the storm commenced it grew so in- 
 tensely cold in a few minutes, and the snow was so blind- 
 ing, that I could hardly urge my horse to move at all. I 
 7
 
 98 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 knew that I was not far from a rude stone shelter, which 
 had been erected by buffalo hunters as a place of refuge 
 in case of just such storms, and fortunately I reached it 
 before I was frozen or my animal absolutely refused to 
 go, which he would have done in a little while. It was 
 a square structure with a dirt roof, and had a large fire- 
 place in the one room, as a creek well timbered ran but a 
 short distance away, so fuel was comparatively handy. 
 
 " Well, when I had turned my horse loose at the south 
 side of the building (I knew that he would not run off), 
 I entered, and found ten hunters already there, who like 
 myself had been caught in the blizzard, and they already 
 had a roaring fire blazing on the hearth. I soon 
 thawed out, and hoping to get a little sleep, laid down 
 with the others on the dirt floor. Near the fireplace in 
 the wall were two or three great holes, and presently 
 through them marched five skunks, with tails erect ready 
 for action, evidently attracted by the warmth and blaze. 
 They walked deliberately all over us, smelling our heads, 
 but offered no violence, and we did not dare move, fearing 
 a hostile demonstration on their part ; so eleven men were 
 held at bay by five little animals they could easily have 
 killed with their hands alone. It cleared off about two 
 o'clock in the morning, those blizzards hardly ever last 
 long, and as soon as it was daylight the skunks departed 
 through the same holes by which they had entered, and we 
 men left shortly after, laughing over our ridiculous ad- 
 venture."
 
 TURNING IN FOR THE NIGHF 99 
 
 When Mr. Delahoyde had ended his story, the party 
 broke up; the Bostonians went to their tent and Mr. Del- 
 ahoyde and his sons to the dugout, as it was now after 
 nine o'clock, a much later hour than they had kept for 
 months.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SUNDAY AT THE RANCH. SUMMERFIELD AND BURTON 
 
 DISCOURSE UPON A SABBATH IN THE FAR WEST. A 
 
 WALK OUT ON THE PRAIRIE. THE WILD FLOWERS. 
 
 CYRUS AND JUPE KILL A GRAY WOLF. PRAIRIE 
 
 DOGS AND THE BURROWING OWL. THE OLD SANTA FE 
 
 TRAIL. STORIES OF ADVENTURE TOLD BY MR. DELA- 
 
 HOYDE. 
 
 SUMMERFIELD and Burton were out of their 
 blankets at the first indication of dawn; both of 
 them intending to take a bath in the pool at the 
 willows under the bluff behind the dwelling of their newly 
 found friends, the Delahoydes. After dressing lightly 
 for the purpose, Burton woke up the cook and told him to 
 have breakfast ready by the time they had returned, which 
 would not be more than half an hour. Summerfield then 
 opened his grip and took out a large bundle of maga- 
 zines and papers which he- had promised Pierre and 
 Carlos he would bring with him. 
 
 Both .of the young Bostonians were charmed with the 
 wilderness and solitude of their surroundings, and as 
 they walked slowly through the timber toward the dugout, 
 began to philosophize. 
 
 Summerfield remarked to his companion, as the de- 
 liciousness of the coming morning influenced his feelings : 
 "Although there cannot possibly be any difference between 
 one day and another out here in the wilderness, where 
 
 (100)
 
 SUNDAY AT THE RANCH 101 
 
 there is nothing to mark the passing of the week like the 
 relative quiet of the Sabbath by the cessation of all secular 
 industries, as in our crowded civilization back East, still 
 I feel a change when Sunday comes around. How is it 
 with you, Burton ? " 
 
 " I seem to catch the inspiration too," replied Burton ; 
 " suppose it is because on each recurring Sunday our 
 thoughts are attuned to the legendary holiness of the time 
 by our orthodox New England education. We should 
 probably feel the pressure of the same obligation to hold 
 it sacred wherever we chanced to be." 
 
 " Maybe heredity has something to do with it," said 
 Summerfield ; " but every Sunday I have passed out West 
 seems to have been endued with a holier atmosphere ; even 
 the birds appear to sing more sweetly; from the flowers 
 are wafted on the breeze a sweeter fragrance, and all Na- 
 ture is touched with an exquisite calmness that is spiritual 
 in its influence." 
 
 " I think that our closer communion with Nature, such 
 as we are having out here, and which never fell to my 
 experience before, may be the cause of our better feelings 
 predominating; the soul's best inspirations coming to the 
 surface," said Burton. 
 
 " Perhaps that 's it," answered Summerfield. " You 
 know that the old Ascetics 1 declared that when they hid 
 themselves from the crowd, subordinated the flesh to the 
 spirit, and communed with Nature, they had visions, glo- 
 
 1 Ascetic, a person retired from the world, engaged in religious devotion; who 
 spends his time in meditation upon holy objects.
 
 102 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 rious visions of the alleged beyond ; and from those dreams 
 have come down to us through the ages, all the great relig- 
 ions of the world." 
 
 " Well, it 's too deep a problem for me," said Burton. 
 " I only know that I experience the same feelings you 
 do on the recurrence of each Sabbath out here, but I can- 
 not fathom the depth of the arguments you have presented 
 to account for them. I was never considered much of a 
 logician at Harvard, anyhow." 
 
 When they arrived at the dugout, both were rather sur- 
 prised to find Pierre and Carlos were already up and at- 
 tending to the wants of their ponies. 
 
 As Carlos saw his young friends approaching, he 
 walked toward them, and to whom, after the conventional 
 salutations, Summerfield handed his bundle of papers, for 
 which Carlos thanked him, remarking, "I guess Pierre 
 and I can put in a good morning now at reading." 
 
 Summerfield told him that he and Burton were going 
 to take a bath, hurry back to camp for breakfast, then put 
 in all the time they could in writing, as they had many 
 friends with whom they corresponded, but who had been 
 sadly neglected, and it would take every moment of the 
 time to get through by the time Curtis should be ready 
 to leave for the Fort. 
 
 Burton said to Carl : " I wish that when you are 
 ready for our proposed stroll this afternoon, you and 
 Pierre would kindly come down to camp, and all start 
 from there."
 
 WILD FLOWERS 103 
 
 " Most certainly," said Carlos. " We '11 be there about 
 two o'clock ; that 's early enough ; it will give us good four 
 hours, and that will be all we shall want, for we '11 be tired 
 out then. We 're going out on the prairie from your side 
 of the timber anyhow, so by coming down there we '11 
 save time." 
 
 It was a perfect afternoon when at the appointed hour 
 suggested by Carlos in the morning, the boys, armed with 
 their rifles, assembled at the little camp in the timber on the 
 river-bottom, and in a few moments started for the open 
 prairie a mile beyond the edge of the woods. 
 
 There was just enough breeze blowing from the south 
 to gently move the treetops, and the air was redolent with 
 the perfume of a hundred varieties of wild flowers, con- 
 spicuous among which were the melon cactus with its 
 crimson blossoms, and its companion the broad-leafed 
 species, with its beautiful lemon-colored crown, all now 
 at the height of their unfolding ; the blue and white anem- 
 ones, the sensitive and thorny rose, and that most won- 
 derful of all the flora of the remote Western Plains, the 
 compass-plant, 1 one edge of whose leaves is invariably 
 turned toward the North Pole. It grow r s on the highest 
 points, never in the bottoms, and is a certain guide to the 
 lost traveler, when the heavens are cloudy. 
 
 " How true that saying of Grey's is," remarked Sum- 
 merfield, as he walked along and contemplated the beau- 
 
 1 Compass-plant, a coarse herb growing plentifully throughout the West, and well 
 known under the name of "rosin-weed." It exudes a resinous juice, which, when dry, 
 la gathered from the stalks by children and used as chewing-gum.
 
 104 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 tiful blossoms the party were constantly crushing under 
 llieir feet: 
 
 " Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, 
 And waste its sweetness on the desert air." 
 
 " That Elegy is Dad's favorite poem," said Carlos, as 
 Summerfield finished the quotation from it; "he often 
 repeats the whole of it when he and we boys are out on 
 a tramp or hunt together." 
 
 Soon they arrived at the base of a little divide, separat- 
 ing two ravines, on the crest of which Summerfield first 
 saw an animal, slowly pacing backward and forward, evi- 
 dently watching the aproach of the party. 
 
 "What is that, Pierre, a wolf?" he said, as he 
 pointed with his rifle to the object. 
 
 " Yes, indeed," responded Pierre, " and a great big 
 gray one too, one of the wickedest of the whole wolf 
 species." 
 
 As they neiared him, Burton wanted to try to shoot 
 him, but Pierre restrained him, saying : " I '11 show you 
 more fun than that. He does n't see the dogs yet." 
 
 Cyrus and Jupe were behind the party, close to their 
 legs, which completely masked them. 
 
 " Pick up a stone and throw at him, Summerfield, and 
 let 's see what he '11 do ? " 
 
 Suinmerfield picked up a good-sized stone and threw it 
 quite accurately toward the wolf, in fact, it struck the 
 ground within five feet of the animal, upon which he 
 turned sharply around, sat down on his haunches, facing
 
 DOGS KILL A GRAY WOLF 105 
 
 the boys, and raising his upper lip, showed two rows of 
 great white fangs. 
 
 " So ! So ! That 's your game, is it ? You want to 
 fight, do you? Well, you shall have all you want," said 
 Pierre, as he clapped his hands together, and yelled at the 
 top of his voice, " Sic 'em, Cyrus ! Sic 'em, Jupe ! " 
 and in an instant the dogs were after him. 
 
 The wolf started the moment he saw Cyrus and Jupe, 
 but they were too close to him, and were upon his neck 
 before he was aware of it, and there was a grand shock as 
 they came together. In a moment the very air was filled 
 with dust, hair, and the most awful growling and snarling 
 imaginable. However, the battle was of short duration, 
 and as the dust subsided, the wolf was discovered to be 
 dead. But Cyrus and Jupe had not escaped unscathed; 
 they had two or three long gashes in their bodies, made 
 by the terrible fangs of their antagonist. Carlos and 
 Pierre examined the wounds, and declared they were not 
 at all dangerous ; the dogs had come out of many a tussle 
 worse than that. 
 
 " Are you going to take his hide off ? " asked Burton 
 of Carlos. 
 
 " No. It 's not worth anything at this time of the 
 year," replied Carlos ; " besides, it 's all torn in strips 
 where Cyrus and Jupe got in their work. We '11 let him 
 stay where he is, the Buzzards will soon eat him up." 
 
 "Yes," said Pierre, you can see 'em already, sailing up
 
 106 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 in the air. It 's odd how those "birds can so quickly tell 
 an animal is dead." 
 
 " They will be down on his carcass the moment we are 
 out of sight," continued Pierre, " and in less than an 
 hour the.re won't be anything left of him but his bones." 
 
 " Yes," said Burton, " I know that bird very well. It 
 is properly a vulture, and in some of the cities down South 
 where I have visited, they run in the streets and are the 
 only scavengers there. They eat all kinds of filth and 
 carrion. Xo one is allowed to shoot them, either. I sup- 
 pose they breed out here ? " 
 
 " 1 have often found their nests," said Carlos in answer 
 to Burton's question. " They are on the ledges of the 
 bluffs generally, but sometimes in hollow trees and stumps. 
 There is no building about them ; they lay their eggs, two 
 of them, on the bare rocks. The eggs are a sort of grayisli 
 white, Spotted with brown." 
 
 " The only note they have," said Pierre, " is a hiss ; 
 and they are the biggest cowards of all the birds I know, 
 they won't even fight when you catch one, only stamp their 
 feet a little." 
 
 The boys continued their walk along the edge of the 
 woods so as to get into the shade of the trees occasionally, 
 for it had grown warm since they left camp, and the tim- 
 ber shut off the breeze in a measure. 
 
 Presently they reached the confines of an immense 
 Prairie Dog village, covering hundreds of acres. The 
 little animals were sitting at the edge of their holes, bark-
 
 PRAIRIE DOGS 107 
 
 ing vociferously as the boys approached, but soon turned 
 tail and disappeared, while the solemn diminutive owls 
 stood their ground, winking and blinking in the sunlight, 
 hardly moving from their places on the burrows. 
 
 " What cunning things those prairie dogs are ! " said 
 Summerfield. " We saw hundreds of their villages on 
 our trip to the Wichita Mountains, and tried to shoot one, 
 but never succeeded. They always ran down their holes, 
 even after I knew that I had hit 'em." 
 
 "They're awful hard things to kill," said Pierre. 
 " The only way to get them is to lay in the grass where 
 they can't see you, and when they are running from one 
 burrow to another shoot them, so they will die before they 
 can reach one. I 've killed lots of them that way." 
 
 "They are good eating, too," said Carlos ; " taste just 
 like a squirrel, which I think they really are. We had 
 several of them for pets; they became very tame, and 
 would follow us around like a dog." 
 
 " What became of them ? " asked Burton. " I did not 
 see any of them when you showed us your pets." 
 
 " ISTo, they all died from some cause we could not tell. 
 We kept them for over two years; they made a burrow 
 just in front of the dugout and would run in and out of 
 it and right into the house, and cuddle at mother's feet 
 until she gave them some milk, of whiph they were very 
 fond." 
 
 " They can be caught," said Pierre, " in two ways. 
 One is to drown them out of their holes, if you can get
 
 103 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 at the water handily. Another is to take a barrel with 
 both heads out, put it over their hole, and keep filling sand 
 in the barrel until the dogs come up. You see, as the loose 
 sand fills the hole they have to push it behind them all the 
 time, and the first thing they know they are on top and 
 in the barrel, and you can then get them easily. But they 
 bite like fury, though soon get used to you. That 's the 
 way Carl and I caught ours." 
 
 " It 's funny that you most always see one of those 
 little Owls on the top of a burrow," said Summerfield; 
 " they must live happily together." 
 
 "Yes," said Pierre; "but the owl lives in other holes 
 besides those of the prairie dog. I have seen them in 
 badger-holes, fox-holes, and even in the dens of wolves." 
 
 "Sometimes they make burrows of their own," said 
 Carlos ; " and they don't seem, like other owls, to mind 
 the sun. You see," he continued, as he pointed to some 
 sitting at the edge of the dog-holes, " they look right at 
 you without blinking. All the other varieties of owls 
 come out at night only, while these little fellows are seen 
 at all times of the day. They have the dirtiest nests you 
 ever saw: full of rotten bits of animals they have killed 
 for food for their little ones, and swarming with lice. 
 They lay several eggs, and after the young ones are ready 
 to leave the nest you sometimes see six or seven of them 
 sitting with their mother at the holes." 
 
 " They say that the rattlesnake also lives with the owl
 
 THE OLD SANTA FE TRAIL 109 
 
 and prairie-Jog in the same hole : is that so, Carl ? " in- 
 quired Suimnerfield. 
 
 x " No. The snakes do live in the dog-holes frequently, 
 but it is after they have killed the little dogs," said Carlos. 
 
 When they had stopped at the prairie-dog village for 
 more than an hour, they concluded to go back to the river, 
 as it was very hot and they were all tired of walking. 
 The Delahoyde boys were not much used to traveling on 
 foot, as they usually rode their ponies even for the short- 
 est distances; so they were more fatigued than Summer- 
 field or Burton, who had made a practice of taking long 
 strolls through the country at home, and out on the Ar- 
 kansas had kept it up, in a measure, at least. 
 
 Pierre and Carlos rested at the camp of the Bosto- 
 nians a little while, and then went to their own home, after 
 exacting a promise from them that they would visit at 
 the dugout in the evening. 
 
 After supper, just at dusk, Summerfield and Burton 
 walked over to the Delahoydes, and found the family sit- 
 ting on the natural lawn before their dwelling. They 
 seated themselves, too, and Summerfield asked Mr. Dela- 
 hoyde to tell something of the " Old Santa Fe Trail," as 
 he had been watching the stage-coach go by and long lines 
 of wagons on the broad road which ran near their camp. 
 
 " Well," said Mr. Delahoyde, " it has been a ' line of 
 way ' for many hundred years. The Spanish explorers 
 were the first Europeans to travel it, but it had been used
 
 110 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 by the Indians of the Plains and the far North for cen- 
 turies before that, probably, because history records the 
 fact of those tribes going over it to New Mexico and 
 farther south, to exchange their furs for the shells, feath- 
 ers, and other things only to be found in those tropical 
 regions. 
 
 " Cabeca de Vaca, one of the noblemen who came to 
 this country with Cortez, was, it is believed by historians, 
 the first white man who traveled it. He was followed by 
 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, another of Cortez' ad- 
 herents, in their search of cities which were said to be 
 filled with gold and precious stones. Coronado traveled 
 it about six years after Cabeca, in the year 1535. 1 
 
 " Several expeditions by the intrepid Spaniards were 
 sent over the old trail, all of which had for their object 
 the search of precious metals, concerning which ridiculous 
 stories had been poured into the ears of the too-credulous 
 explorers, who were ready to believe anything the natives 
 of Mexico told them. 
 
 " It did not become a much-used road until the trade 
 opened up with far-off Santa Fe, in New Mexico, about 
 the year 1812. To be sure, numbers of old trappers 
 traveled it for many decades previously, hunting for the 
 animals whose skins were valuable; but the date I have 
 mentioned was the time that a regular traffic commenced, 
 since which it has grown into importance ; aggregating for 
 years many hundreds of thousands of dollars. 
 
 1 For a history of this great " highway," see my " Old Santa Fe Trail.
 
 THE OLD SANTA FE TRAIL 111 
 
 " The long lines of wagons, of which you spoke," ad- 
 dressing himself to Summerfield, " are called caravans, 
 hut at first only pack-mules were employed. Occasionally 
 you may see them yet, as the Mexicans are loth to abandon 
 the customs which they have been used to for so long. 
 
 " In 1849, after the conclusion of the war with Mexico, 
 and we obtained possession of that country by treaty, 
 stage-coaches were employed to carry the mail and pass- 
 engers from the Missouri river to Santa Fe. They con- 
 tinue to run daily; you have seen some of them. But 
 we shall soon have a railroad, as the survey has already 
 been commenced, and the days of caravans and coaches 
 will have passed away forever. 
 
 " The old trail is one of the most historic places on the 
 continent, and I advise you to read as much about it as you 
 can. It is full of thrilling stories of battles with the sav- 
 ages, and of hairbreadth escapes. It would take a month 
 to relate even a portion of them." 
 
 Thanking Mr. Delahoyde for his interesting facts about 
 the old trail, Summerfield asked him to relate some of his 
 early experiences on the frontier. 
 
 "Dad, tell them that story about your tussle with a 
 California Lion," said Pierre. 
 
 " Well, that was a good many years ago," said Mr. 
 Delahoyde, long before you boys were born ; but if these 
 young men think it will amuse them I shall be happy to 
 tell it." 
 
 " Do please," said Summerfield and Burton simultan-
 
 112 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 eously; the latter adding, " There is nothing so entertain- 
 ing to me as stories of adventures of the pioneers in this 
 wild country." 
 
 " It was after I had returned from school in St. Louis," 
 began Mr. Delahoyde, " and I was about twenty-three 
 years old. I had been on many a trapping expedition with 
 my father (whom you have been told was one of the ear- 
 liest employes of the American Fur Companies) before I 
 went to get my education, and was as well posted in re- 
 gard to the various fur-bearing animals, the manner of 
 trapping and curing their skins, as any young man of my 
 age. 
 
 " I thought I would continue in the same business as 
 my father, because I liked the wild life, and besides, it 
 paid well in those days. 
 
 " One winter I was trapping on Frenchman's creek, with 
 a partner named Foote. He was a Scotchman, but much 
 older than I, and had been on the frontier then for more 
 than twenty years. He was a fine shot, and as good a 
 trapper. 
 
 " We took turns at cooking and attending the traps, 
 which were scattered all along the stream for more than 
 six miles, and it was no easy job for a man to look after 
 so many traps. 
 
 " I had finished my work, and was strolling along care- 
 lessly through a bunch of thick underbrush, when the 
 first thing I knew I heard a ' spit ' and a low growl, and 
 looking to where the sound had come from I saw not five
 
 ENCOUNTER WITH A CALIFORNIA LION 113 
 
 feet from me a California lion with three little cats about 
 six wrecks old. 
 
 " IS'ow you must know that the animal is not a lion at 
 all, but really the American Cougar. He does not resem- 
 ble in any manner his African namesake, excepting in 
 color. Once they were common all over the East, from 
 Canada westward. I have often heard my father say that 
 he had killed them when a young man as far toward the 
 seacoast as in the woods of Quebec. There they were 
 called ( painters/ a corruption of panther. Their prin- 
 cipal prey is deer, and they seldom leave the timber, but 
 prefer the woods, where, crouching on the lower limb of a 
 tree, they watch until a deer comes along, then pounce 
 upon him. 
 
 " The animal was just getting ready to spring upon 
 me when I discovered her, and before I could get my rifle 
 fairly to my shoulder she made a leap for me ; so, without 
 taking any aim, I pulled the trigger. The ball hit her on 
 the side of the head, but glanced off, doing her no injury 
 excepting to make her madder than ever. 
 
 " I could see her eyes gleam like a flash of lightning on a 
 dark night, and she showed her great white teeth like a 
 mountain-wolf w r hen he is out of range of your rifle. 
 
 " She immediately recovered from the slight stunning 
 my first bullet had given her, and crouched again for an- 
 other spring, and I knew that unless I was quicker on the 
 trigger next time she jumped for me, it would be all day 
 with me.
 
 114 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 " You may be sure I lost no time in drawing up my 
 rifle and letting fly at her again. But instead of seeing 
 the ferocious beast roll over dead, she gave another spiteful 
 growl and a vicious ' spit ' ; so I knew that I had not killed 
 her. 
 
 " I had aimed directly at her left eye, knowing that the 
 ball would easily enter her brain, and when I saw her 
 only shake her head, I felt certain that in another moment 
 she would come for me again, for she was frothing at the 
 mouth, and her long claws were unsheathed, 1 ready for 
 business; so something had to be done and that mighty 
 quickly, for I was pretty well used up by the excitement. 
 
 " As she approached me, rather more cautiously this 
 time, I watched my chance (as I had no time to reload 
 my rifle) to try and blind her, by aiming a blow at her 
 with my knife that I had drawn; but unfortunately I 
 only cut her slightly on the nose, upon which the enraged 
 beast gave a howl of pain, but paid no further attention 
 to the wound than to give another shake, of her head, a 
 spit, and third jump for me. 
 
 " She pressed me closely, and I tried to dodge her, but 
 my foot caught in a grapevine and I fell sprawling on the 
 ground. In an instant she was on top of me, trying to 
 bite, and to claw me with her hind feet. Luckily, I had 
 on a new suit of buckskin, and that was all that saved me. 
 
 " With her front paws she had caught me by the left 
 
 'When In repose and not excited, all animals which possess claws fold them 
 back in their sheaths; but when angry, stretch them out as offensive and defensive 
 weapons.
 
 ENCOUNTER WITH A CALIFORNIA LION 115 
 
 shoulder as I fell, and the hinder portion of her body was 
 toward my face. I caught hold of her long tail, while 
 she caught me by the thigh, which seemed to afford her 
 considerable amusement, as she tried to tear the flesh; 
 but my good buckskins resisted all her efforts. 
 
 " I had hold of her tail with my left hand, and imme- 
 diately began to tickle her ribs with my hunting-knife ; 
 but still the brute would not let go her hold. 
 
 " I knew it would only take her a few moments to work 
 her teeth into my flesh, unless she was speedily shaken off 
 me; so I tried to tumble her down the bank into the river, 
 for our scuffle had brought both of us to the edge of 
 the bluff. So I stuck my knife into her side, and sum- 
 moned all my strength to throw her over. She resisted 
 her best, as if she divined my intentions, and was terribly 
 desperate in her attempts to tear my flesh. 
 
 " At last I succeeded in getting her so far down that 
 she lost her balance, and rolled over and over until she 
 landed on the edge of the water; but in her tumble she 
 dragged me with her. Fortunately I fell uppermost, and 
 as we reached the bottom her neck presented a fair mark 
 for my knife; so I lost no time in delivering a desperate 
 blow. The point of the long blade entered her gullet, and 
 by forcing the knife up to the handle it reached her heart. 
 She struggled for an instant, and then died, much to my 
 satisfaction. 
 
 " I got to camp a little later than usual that night, and
 
 116 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 my partner was just on the point of going to hunt me, 
 when I entered our cabin. 
 
 " I was only a little stiff and sore for a few days, and 
 I thanked my stars that I got off so luckily." 
 
 " Well, that was an adventure," said Summerfield. I 
 wouldn't have liked to be in your boots." 
 
 " What are we going to do tomorrow ? " asked Burton, 
 as the party broke up preparatory to retiring. 
 
 " Don 't exactly know," replied Pierre ; " but you fel- 
 lows come up early in the morning, and we '11 fix upon 
 something." 
 
 By sunrise Monday morning, Summerfield and Burton, 
 mounted on their ponies, and carrying their rifles, rode up 
 to the dugout, just as Carlos and Pierre were coming out. 
 
 " Romeo says that we are entirely out of meat," said 
 Sumerfield. We 've got lots of everything else, but have 
 to go and hunt something." 
 
 " Well, get down," said Pierre ; and the young men 
 dismounted, and were about tying their animals to a tree, 
 when Pierre, calling Cyrus, said, " Here, let the dog hold 
 them. Give him your bridle-reins, and he J ll take as good 
 care of the,m as he does of mine. You 've often seen him 
 hold mine. I never tie my pony when Cyrus is with me." 
 
 The dog promptly took the two reins in his mouth, and 
 upon invitation Summerfield and his companion went into 
 the dugout. 
 
 Mr. Delahoyde and his wife, who were just finishing
 
 OFF ON AN ANTELOPE-HUNT 117 
 
 their breakfast, invited the visitors to partake; but they 
 declined with profuse thanks, stating that they had had 
 theirs very early that morning, and had come up to get 
 Carl and Pierre to go out hunting with them, as their 
 larder was as bare as Old Mother Hubbard's, not even 
 a bone left in the shape of meat. 
 
 " Well, then," said Mr. Delahoyde, " you and the boys 
 had best go after Antelope. I saw a large herd about ten 
 miles down the river yesterday afternoon while you and 
 my sons were out for a walk. I had occasion to go that 
 distance, to look up better pasturage for the cattle, and 
 I came across a herd that must have contained several 
 hundred. I did not see any buffalo. I daresay you will 
 find the same animals there yet; or maybe they have 
 worked up this way some." 
 
 " Well, then, we '11 go antelope-hunting," said Pierre ; 
 " and let 's get off as quickly as possible." 
 
 " Won't we need a pack-animal to bring in our meat ? " 
 asked Burton. 
 
 " Eo," replied Mr. Delahoyde. " You can pack all that 
 you need on the backs of your ponies ; the meat won't keep 
 in this hot weather." 
 
 ' The Delahoyde boys soon got their ponies and were 
 ready to start, and after asking their father to keep the 
 dogs back, all started down the river by the trail on the 
 edge of the timber. 
 
 " We did n't bring any lunch," said Pierre to Summer- 
 field and Burton, " because we are certain of shooting
 
 118 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 something, and we can cook it by a fire in the timber, as 
 we shan't at any time be far from the river." 
 
 " That 's right," said Summerfield ; " I like to depend 
 entirely on what we may happen to kill for grub. That 's 
 the real hunter style ; and if we fail, why, we have to go 
 without eating, that 's all." 
 
 " Ko danger of that," said Carl ; " I never saw the 
 time yet in this country when we did not find game of 
 some kind. You can always kill a rabbit, if nothing else." 
 
 They hugged the timber, watching for signs of big 
 game as they walked their animals on the trail under the 
 trees, and were not rewarded by the sight of anything 
 until they had proceeded about ten miles, when in the 
 distance, far out on the prairie, Carl discovered a line of 
 moving objects, which he declared were antelope. 
 
 " I guess they are," said Pierre, as he stopped his pony 
 and gazed long and earnestly at the spot where there was 
 evidently something moving. 
 
 " They are more than two miles off," said Carl, " and 
 we had best make for that big patch of bunch-grass on 
 this side of them. They won't be startled until we get 
 within half a mile of them. There has been very little 
 hunting done in this region, and the animals are not 
 wild at all." 
 
 The party proceeded slowly toward the grassy area to 
 which Carl had referred, where there were also two or three 
 small trees. Upon arriving there they tied their ponies 
 to them, and then crept carefully to a point through the
 
 CURIOSITY OF THE ANTELOPE 119 
 
 excellent cover about seven or eight hundred yards from 
 where the herd of graceful creatures were grazing. 
 
 " Now," said Pierre, " we Ve got to attract them toward 
 us by something. You know that they are very curious, 
 and a bit of bright color will set them crazy to find out 
 what it means. There, Burton, that red silk handkerchief 
 you 've got around your throat, to keep the sun from blis- 
 tering your neck, is just the thing." 
 
 " Take it, then, by all means," said Burton, as he un- 
 tied it and handed it to Pierre. 
 
 Pierre then fastened it to the wiping-stick of his rifle, 
 leaving the larger portion of it to flutter in" the wind, and 
 then stuck it in the ground twenty yards from where 
 they were all concealed in the tall grass. 
 
 " !Now watch 'em," said Pierre, as the bright flag began 
 to wave in the breeze that was blowing gently from the 
 south. 
 
 Presently some of the foremost of the herd, on looking 
 up, noticed the strange object, and after gazing upon it 
 for a few moments, slowly, with heads erect, moved to- 
 wards the handkerchief. The rest of the animals soon 
 followed suit, and the boys saw with great satisfaction that 
 the antelope were unusually excited, and would get within 
 range of their rifles shortly. 
 
 " There are four coming up together," said Pierre ; 
 " wait until they get close enough, then we '11 all fire to- 
 gether at them. We can only get one shot apiece, and if
 
 120 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 we all kill, there will be meat enough to go round, as long 
 as it will keep. 
 
 " Here they are ! " whispered Pierre ; " now take them 
 in regular order, just as we lie ; I '11 plug the one on the 
 right, Burton the next, Summerfield the third, and Carl 
 the fourth." 
 
 " Fire ! " said Pierre, as the animals came within thirty 
 yards of the boys, and all four of the creatures fell, quiv- 
 ering in their death-throes; while the rest of the herd, 
 scared at the report of the rifles, rushed away as fast as 
 their swift legs could carry them. 
 
 " Let 's bleed them now," said Pierre, as they rose from 
 their positions. "Each one take his own animal." 
 
 The boys were quickly at the heads of their game, with 
 knives out, and just as Burton laid his hand on his ante- 
 lope, up it jumped and was off before you could say " Jack 
 Robinson." 
 
 Burton was perfectly bewildered, as he saw the other 
 boys' animals still lying where they had been killed, but 
 the one that he thought he had surely shot, flying down the 
 prairie to join its mates far away in the distance. 
 
 " You only creased * yours," said Carlos as he looked 
 at Burton's puzzled countenance. 
 
 " I thought I had killed it," said he. " It was all 
 sprawled out and trembling just the same as yours, when 
 I went toward it." 
 
 1 Created: Literally, to merely make a mark; to Just graze. See chapter 10, 
 where it la fully described.
 
 DINNER IN THE WOODS 121 
 
 " Well, never mind," said Pierre ; " we 've got all the 
 meat we can possibly take care of. These antelope are 
 awfully fat. Let 's hurry up and get them on the ponies, 
 and into the shade of the timber where we can take out 
 their entrails; then they will keep better, and won't be 
 such a heavy load, either." 
 
 The animals were packed on the backs of three of the 
 ponies just behind the saddles, and in a few minutes 
 were lying on the ground again, in the shade of the trees 
 on the margin of the river, where Carlos and Pierre evis- 
 cerated them, then hung them to limbs, to remain while 
 the ponies were picketed out to graze and the boys were 
 getting their dinner. 
 
 " Boys, gather some light-wood, and we '11 soon have 
 something to eat," said Pierre as he proceeded to cut 
 large slices off the choicest part of one of the antelopes 
 with his hunting-knife. 
 
 The wood was soon gathered, for all to be done was to 
 pick it up from the ground where there were cords of it 
 lying, dry limbs blown from the trees by the last winter's 
 storms. 
 
 Carl then took out his flint and steel from a pocket, 
 and selecting a few pieces of perfectly dry rotten wood, 
 struck the flint, and in a few moments, after stimulating 
 the sparks with his breath, he had a fire well started. 
 
 Each one fixed for himself a smooth wand of the wil- 
 low which grew so thickly on the bank of the river, and 
 presently was busily engaged in broiling the slices of an-
 
 122 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 telopte which Pierre had cut from one of the carcasses 
 hanging to the limb of a tree. They had not forgotten 
 to bring a little salt with them, and their frugal meal 
 was most delightfully satisfactory to their hungry 
 stomachs. 
 
 After they had eaten all they possibly could, Summer- 
 field and Burton brought out their pipes, and while wait- 
 ing for the ponies to fill themselves, sat on a log and 
 talked of various things they saw and heard in the deep 
 woods all around them. 
 
 Near them, in the middle of the river, was a marshy 
 bit of island, covered with rushes and willows, and from 
 which there came a curious sound of " Pump-a-lunk ! 
 Pump-a-lunk ! " a loud booming note, which caused Sum- 
 merfield to exclaim, " What in the world is that, Pierre ? " 
 
 " Oh, that 's what we call out here ' a Thunder Pump.' 
 It 's the bittern, or shitepoke as some people term them, 
 a wild, solitary bird, which like the owl, does not come 
 out of his marshy haunts until dark, or at least twilight. 
 They skulk and hide all day, and you can't get one up 
 unless you get right on top of him. Then he comes out 
 in a very slow, awkward way, dangling his long legs behind 
 him, and uttering a deep note that sounds like ' Kawk ! 
 Kawk ! ' " 
 
 " They 're the easiest bird killed I ever saw," said Car- 
 los ; " if a small shot strikes one he will fall. But he 
 isn 't worth anything even if you do kill him." 
 
 " What do they live on ? " asked Burton.
 
 RETURN TO THE RANCH 123 
 
 " Minnows, mice, frogs, crawfish, insects, or anything 
 that comes handy, like tadpoles and other small things," 
 said Carlos. " Their nests," he continued, " are built upon 
 hummocks in the low marshy water-grasses, and are made 
 of sticks, weeds and rushes woven together. They lay 
 some three or four eggs, of a brownish drab." 
 
 It was about three o'clock when the boys were ready 
 to start back to the ranch, where they arrived in two hours. 
 After dividing the meat, Summerfield and Burton went 
 to their camp, stating that they would not be up again 
 until early in the morning, as they wanted to get to bed 
 soon, so they would not oversleep themselves and be late 
 in going on the proposed turkey-hunt.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE BOYS LEAVE THE ARKANSAS ON A TURKEY-HUNT. 
 
 PLOVERS AND SANDPIPERS. A HERD OF BUFFALO. 
 
 CAMP ON EAGLE CHIEF CREEK. ALL TAKE A SWIM. 
 
 GO TO THE BIG TURKEY-ROOST. ACTIONS OF THE IM- 
 MENSE FLOCKS. GREAT SPORT IN SHOOTING THEM BY 
 
 MOONLIGHT. RETURN TO CAMP. THE COYOTES. 
 
 THE KINGFISHER. HUNT JACK-RABBITS. BURTON^ 
 
 DREAM. NIGHT ATTACK ON THE LYNXES. RETURN 
 
 TO THE RANCH ON THE CANADIAN. 
 
 .T 
 
 UESDAY morning arrived at last, to which the 
 boys, particularly Summerfield and Burton, had 
 so anxiously looked forward. The day broke with 
 its usual cloudless sky, and a delicious breeze from the 
 south, the prevailing direction of the wind in the region 
 'at this time of year. It is caused by the great " South- 
 west trade winds," which bear down toward the Andes 
 and are deflected by that lofty range of mountains di- 
 rectly north again, striking the interior of the continent 
 at about latitude thirty-seven, where they join the 
 constant current which crosses the whole United 
 States from the southwest. Hence the country watered 
 by the Arkansas, or at least that portion where the Dela- 
 hoydes lived, was always fanned in summer by a breeze 
 varying in intensity and velocity, according to the fluctir 
 ations of the atmospheric pressure'. 1 
 
 "* Atmospheric pressure, weight of the volume of air on the earth's surface
 
 OFF FOB A TURKEY-HUNT 125 
 
 The boys congregated at the dugout by sunrise, where 
 all partook of breakfast prepared for them by Mrs. Dela- 
 hoyde thus early, so they could get a good start. As soon 
 as the meal was hurriedly disposed of they were ready 
 to begin their journey to the turkey-roost, thirty miles 
 north of the Canadian river, near the head of Eagle Chief 
 creek. 1 
 
 The Mexican cook who was to accompany them, and 
 who was also an experienced packer, as nearly all of his 
 race are, had already brought up to the dugout the Bos- 
 tonians' horses and his own, on which latter he had skill- 
 fully packed the bedding and camp equipage of his em- 
 ployers, excepting the Sibley tent, which was left standing ] 
 just where it had originally been pitched, lie was ' 
 
 provided with one of the Delahoyde animals to ridejjj 
 young hunters all, of course, using their individual ponie$.^ 
 
 Carlos's and Pierre's outfit comprised the same articles^ 
 they had taken with them on their last hunting expedition, 
 when they shot the cub, and it was packed on the same 
 pony which had carried it before. 
 
 When everything was ready, about half-past six 
 o'clock, they " rolled out," in prairie parlance, the Mex- 
 ican in the rear in charge of the pack-animals, which 
 readily followed those the boys were riding. 
 
 Cyrus and Jupe, the never-failing companions on all 
 excursions in which Carlos and Pierre participated, trotted 
 
 1 Eagle Chief creek. So called after a celebrated Che7enne Indian, who was named 
 "The Eagle."
 
 126 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 alongside their masters' horses, occasionally looking up 
 into the countenances of the former with a sort of ex- 
 pression which seemed to indicate that they knew the boys 
 were under their charge, at night at least, and that they 
 would not be recreant to their trust. 
 
 They rode out of the timber slowly, and reaching the 
 open prairie walked their animals at even a more mincing 
 pace, as they did not want to " wind" them, for they knew 
 that on the treeless plains it was all the time growing 
 rapidly warmer, and they did not expect to arrive at their 
 camp under six hours, which would be about noon. 
 
 On their route, both on the ground and sailing in the 
 air, countless numbers of birds were seen. Those which 
 particularly attracted the attention of Summerfield and 
 Burton, Pierre told them were the Mountain Plover. 
 
 " Those birds," said he, " are fine eating, and arrive 
 here in great numbers about the first of April, begin to 
 lay early in May, and leave us again late in the fall. They 
 love the high, desert-like prairies, and seldom go near 
 low or marshy ground. They live on grasshoppers mostly." 
 
 " Their nest," said Carlos, taking up the subject, and to 
 whom his brother conceded a better knowledge- of eggs and 
 nests than himself, " is only a little hollow in the ground, 
 which is but sparingly lined with blades of grass, and 
 they lay from three to four eggs, of a deep brownish drab, 
 speckled with blackish-brown spots. I have found lots of 
 them." 
 
 " There 's another flock of birds over yonder," said
 
 SANDPIPERS FOB DINNER 127 
 
 Burton, pointing to them, " that look very much like them. 
 I watched them light, and the moment they touched the 
 ground they raised their wings away up, and then slowly 
 folded them." 
 
 " Yes, they 're Sandpipers, splendid eating, too," said 
 Pierre. " You can always tell them by the way you saw 
 them fold their wings, and the sweet, long whistle they 
 give utterance to as they fly. We must have some of 
 those birds for our dinner. Let 's stop, and as there are 
 so many of us, we '11 just pot-hunt them. Let me have 
 your shotgun, Burton, and I '11 creep up ; they are not 
 shy, and I can get a dozen at one pop if I wait until they 
 get into line." 
 
 So the boys stopped, while Pierre dismounted and 
 threw the bridle reins to Cyrus, which the noble dog im- 
 mediately took into his mouth; and while the others re- 
 mained in their saddles, Pierre crawled cautiously along 
 the ground until he came within range, where, waiting 
 for a few moments, he fired and killed eight. 
 
 " That 's not quite enough," said he as he picked up 
 the birds and handed them to the Mexican, who fastened 
 them to the cantle of his saddle ; but seeing that the flock 
 had again lighted not very far off, he followed it, and 
 presently got another shot, bringing down, half a dozen 
 more. 
 
 " Now we 've got enough for dinner," said Pierre, as 
 he gave the birds to the Mexican to fasten with the others
 
 128 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 to the back of his saddle, and handing Burton his shotgun, 
 mounted his pony again, and they all rode on. 
 
 They had made about fifteen miles from the Arkansas, 
 when in the distance an immense herd of buffalo was 
 discovered grazing on the broad bottom of a little stream 
 to the right of the trail they were traveling. 
 
 " How I should like to get a shot at one ! " said Summer- 
 field. " Let 's see if we can't hit one," continued he, 
 looking appealingly at Pierre. 
 
 " We can't stop now," said Pierre ; " we Ve a long way 
 to go yet; besides, none of our animals here have been 
 trained, and unless your pony understands his business, 
 you can't come within rifle-range of the herd. We have 
 four or five ponies at the ranch that are as good buffalo- 
 hunters as there are in the Territory. Besides, you and 
 Burton will have plenty of chances to go for them in a 
 few days, after we return from this trip. Curtis can't 
 possibly get back to the Arkansas for you from the Wichita 
 Mountains in less than fifteen or twenty days. It will 
 take him five to reach Fort Dodge, teji to get to the Chey- 
 enne village, and five or six more to arrive at our place; 
 so you will have plenty of time to shoot all you want." 
 
 " That's so," answered Summerfield. " I did n't think, 
 when I first spoke, that we have to wait for Curtis to take 
 us to Fort Harker. I did n't get a shot at one when we 
 were with him on our trip to the Cheyenne village, though 
 we saw thousands, but could not get near enough; per- 
 haps it was because our ponies are not trained, as you
 
 EN ROUTE TO THE ROOST 129 
 
 say. But I do so want to kill one and take his head back 
 to Boston with me." 
 
 " I '11 guarantee that, and will prepare it for you so 
 that it will be sure to keep," said Pierre encouragingly. 
 
 " Thank you," replied Summerfield, who, now seeming 
 satisfied, rode along in much better spirits. 
 
 In two hours more, without any adventure to relieve 
 the monotony of their journey, there loomed up in the 
 southeast a belt of timber, to which Carlos pointed, and 
 told Summerfield and Burton that it was the head of 
 Eagle Chief creek. 
 
 " You see that heaviest bunch of trees at the extreme 
 end ? " said Pierre. " Well, that 's the roost. Our trail 
 runs close to the edge of it, but our camp will be made 
 a mile below, where there is a fine spring. The banks of 
 the stream are very steep, and it is difficult to get down to 
 the water, yet the grass is so good for the horses out on the 
 open prairie, and the timber is only about a hundred yards 
 wide on the margin of the creek, that we always choose 
 that spot. Besides, there is always plenty of driftwood 
 for our fires without going to the trouble of cutting any." 
 
 " We ought to make it in another hour," said Carlos. 
 
 " I shall be mighty glad," said Burton, " for I am tired, 
 and as hungry as a bear." 
 
 " Well," said Summerfield, " there won't be anything 
 for us to do but rest, after we get our camp made and 
 the ponies cared for, will there, Pierre ? " 
 
 9
 
 130 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 " No, indeed," said Pierre, " you can go to sleep, or 
 anything else you want to." 
 
 " Can a fellow get a bath ? " inquired Summerfield. 
 
 " Yes, the water is delightfully clear and cool ; but, as 
 I told you, it is difficult to get at, though we can overcome 
 that in some way," replied Pierre. 
 
 The party soon arrived at the first bunch of timber; 
 botli Summerfield and Burton were astonished at the size 
 of the trees, and they saw with a feeling of delight the 
 evident signs of a roost where large numbers of birds must 
 have been for a great while. 
 
 At last they reached the beautiful spring which Pierre 
 had told about, and the young strangers to the country 
 were charmed with their resting-place. 
 
 The spring rushed out of a wall of rock, just like that 
 at the ranch of the Delahoydes, excepting that the water 
 in falling had formed two basins or pools, as it leaped 
 from one ledge to another; the lower a few feet beneath 
 the upper. Out of the lower one the animals drank, and 
 the upper one was used for culinary purposes. 
 
 The ground on which the camp was situated, between 
 two large trees, comprised about forty square feet, covered 
 with grass as fine as any lawn. On it the robes and 
 blankets for the beds were thrown, while a little distance 
 away, on a slightly rising plateau, the Mexican distributed 
 his pans and pots, for his kitchen. 
 
 The boys took the ponies out in the open to graze, after 
 they had watered them; and as they started out to picket
 
 A BATH BEFORE SUPPER 131 
 
 them, Summerfield said, "Romeo, you get us up something 
 as quickly as you can." 
 
 " All right," answered the Mexican ; " I get him quick ! " 
 
 When Pierre, Summerfield, Carlos and Burton returned 
 to the camp, Komeo had already gathered a lot of dry 
 wood for his fire, which he kindled, and was now busy 
 skinning the birds, (in camp, birds are not generally 
 picked; it takes too long,) and his coffeepot was already 
 beginning to sing. 
 
 While he was preparing other things, the boys un- 
 rolled their blankets and robes to air, and then sat down 
 on the grass for a few minutes. 
 
 " I wonder whether we will have time to take a bath 
 before dinner ? " said Summerfield ; " I 'm dreadfully 
 dusty." 
 
 - " How long will it take to get dinner, Romeo ? " asked 
 Burton. 
 
 " Half -hour ; can't get quicker ; birds must be cooked 
 well," answered Komeo. 
 
 " Then we can all take a swim," said Pierre ; and they 
 gathered a towel each, and started for the creek. 
 
 The banks of the little stream at the camp were twenty 
 feet high, and very precipitous, as Pierre had said they 
 were. So they walked down for a few hundred yards, 
 where Carlos told them he knew of a trail which led by 
 easy degrees to the water. 
 
 They found it in a moment, and hurrying to the stream, 
 all plunged in, taking a hurried wash, for they were
 
 182 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 awfully hungry, and did not want to be a minute late when 
 Romeo should announce the meal ready. 
 
 " All ready," said Romeo, as he saw the boys approach- 
 ing ; " come set down ; I give you fine grub now." 
 
 The invitation was obeyed with alacrity, and the boys 
 gathered themselves around a big dish of beautifully 
 broiled sandpipers, together with biscuit and coffee; both 
 Burton and Summerfield declaring they had never tasted 
 anything so delicious, even at Parker's, in Boston. 
 
 In a short time there was nothing left but a bunch of 
 scraps, which were tossed to the dogs, but every one had 
 had plenty. All now retired to their robes and blankets, 
 to take a siesta before they attempted anything in the 
 way of amusing themselves. 
 
 Pierre, noticing that the scraps left from the dinner 
 were not half a meal for Cyrus and Jupe, got up and 
 went for a piece of the cub, which he had purposely 
 brought for them from the ranch, and then cutting it in 
 two pieces he gave them to the dogs, who carried their 
 portions a little way off and soon devoured every morsel. 
 
 It was nearly six o'clock before the young hunters 
 awoke from their afternoon's sleep. Then Pierre said 
 that the ponies must be changed and watered ; so all went 
 out to the prairie where they were picketed, and after 
 leading them to the pool, re-picketed them, and returned 
 to camp. 
 
 " We can't do much this evening but take it easy and 
 Joaf around camp," said Pierre. " The ponies are tired,
 
 BOTHERED BY LYNXES 133 
 
 we are tired, and even the dogs seem to be affected the 
 same way. Besides, we will have to keep pretty close, as 
 the turkey-roost is too near for ns to be making much of a 
 stir, or it might frighten them away, and then we 'd have 
 all our journey for nothing." 
 
 " Well," said Summerfield, " after supper, and I have 
 had my smoke, I ; m going to pile into bed and get as much 
 sleep as I can, so as to be ready for tomorrow night." 
 
 " That 's a good idea," said Carlos ; " I guess we had 
 best all follow your example." 
 
 Supper was eaten and out of the way just about dark, 
 and sticking to their resolution of the afternoon, they 
 rolled up in their beds, and would soon have been sound 
 asleep had the lynxes not kept up such a racket for awhile. 
 
 " They smell the cooking," said Pierre ; " we '11 have 
 some fun with them to-morrow night; would now, but it 
 might interfere with our sport then." 
 
 The noisy beasts became quiet after awhile, and then 
 the young hunters fell into a gentle slumber, the faithful 
 Cyrus and Jupe keeping watch over the camp. 
 
 All were up betimes next morning, for this was to be 
 one of the eventful days of the trip, to Summerfield and 
 Burton. Breakfast out of the way, the animals watered 
 and changed, the boys started down through the timber 
 for the roost, intending to take their bearing for the work 
 of the night. 
 
 They arrived there in less than half an hour, and found 
 everything to their satisfaction, even to the very places
 
 134 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 where they intended to secrete themselves when darkness 
 favored their coming down to have their sport. Having 
 determined upon all their plans, they left the timber and 
 wandered out on the prairie, to return to the camp by the 
 open country, which they reached by noon, pretty well 
 tired out, but without having met with any adventure worth 
 recording. 
 
 They had another excellent meal provided by the ver- 
 satile Romeo, and after they had finished, there was noth- 
 ing to do but wait until night, when it would be time to 
 go to the roost -for business, that time. 
 
 Carlos and Pierre cleaned their rifles, while Summer- 
 field and Burton wrote in their journals the adventures of 
 their trip thus far, as they had promised before they left 
 home to keep an accurate 'record of all their doings. 
 
 They wished for supper-time to come, for time dragged 
 heavily on their hands with nothing to do. At last it was 
 announced, and they hurried to their places near the fire 
 to eat. 
 
 When they had all gathered around their simple little 
 supper-table which the cook had improvised for them out 
 of a huge piece of black-walnut bark, enjoying the birds, 
 and drinking their black coffee, Burton, his mind' ever 
 occupied with the thoughts of the coming sport, asked 
 Pierre : 
 
 " Why is it that you select a moonlight night for tur- 
 key-hunting ? " 
 
 " Because," replied Pierre, " the moonlight appears to
 
 OFF FOR THE ROOST 135 
 
 blind the birds' eyes, and they become bewildered, remain 
 where they are, right in the same place, not seeming to 
 know where to go or what to do." 
 
 "A lire has the same effect," interrupted Carlos. 
 " Sometimes the hunters build great fires under their 
 roosts, and they act in the same manner." 
 
 After their supper was over they became restless in 
 their little camp, impatient for the seemingly tardy sun 
 to set. At last, when more than two hours of the suspense 
 had continued, the fading rays began to gild the summit 
 of the divide which separates Eagle Chief creek from the 
 Salt Fork of the Arkansas, many miles northeast. Then, 
 still having to wait until the twilight curve met the west- 
 ern horizon, and the full moon appeared on the edge of 
 the eastern sky, looking like a disk of molten gold, all 
 excepting the Mexican cook and the dogs left the bivouac 
 and sauntered slowly through the timber to the huge trees 
 where the coveted birds were in the habit of congregating 
 at night for many seasons. As the party walked on, not 
 a word was uttered, against which both Carlos and Pierre 
 had warned Summerfield and Burton. 
 
 Arriving at the edge of the roost, at the suggestion of 
 the Delahoyde boys all took their positions on the ground, 
 separating themselves from one another at distances of 
 about twenty feet, each to watch from his individual van- 
 tage-point until the moment should come for the birds to 
 seek their resting-place. 
 
 They did not have to wait very long. Before it had
 
 136 THE DELAHOYDE8 , 
 
 fairly grown dark in the western sky, two or three flocks, 
 numbering at least two hundred of the bronzed beauties, 
 came walking stealthily down the sheltered ravines lead- 
 ing out into the broad bottom where the great trees stood 
 in aggregated clumps, in the shadows of which the boys 
 had secreted themselves. 
 
 Sumrnerfield and Burton could hardly contain them- 
 selves, so excited were they at such (to them) an extra- 
 ordinary scene; but a suppressed whisper from Pierre 
 brought them back to their normal common-sense. 
 
 Presently the leader of one of the flocks arrived at the 
 spot where his charge had been accustomed to roost. Then 
 he suddenly stopped, glanced all around him cautiously 
 for a few seconds, and, failing to observe anything sus- 
 picious, (so dark was it where his enemies lay prone upon 
 the ground,) seemed satisfied everything was all right; 
 and then he gave the signal a sharp, quick, shrill note, 
 at the instant of which, every bird with one accord, and 
 a great fluttering of wings, rose and alighted in the loftiest 
 branches of the tallest trees. 
 
 In a few moments, many more flocks arrived and went 
 through exactly the same evolutions as the first two, when, 
 having settled themselves for an undisturbed slumber, 
 Summerfield and Burton whispered, " Can't we commence 
 now ? " 
 
 "Not quite yet," replied Pierre; "wait a little longer 
 until the moon gets higher, you may spoil all by a too 
 hasty firing, and besides, are likely to miss them."
 
 Soon the moon, having apparently intensified its bril- 
 liancy as it approached nearer the zenith, flooded with a 
 golden sheen, as its light sifted through, the interstices 
 of the leaves, every limb, upon which could now be plainly 
 seen each individual bird as it crouched in position on its 
 roost. 
 
 " Fire away ! " said Pierre at last, and the boys began 
 to shoot on their own account; and although Summerfield 
 and Burton missed frequently in their excitement, the 
 turkeys dropped from the trees like leaves in October. 
 The birds not killed at the first fusillade did not seem to 
 possess sense enough to get out of harm's way, but flew 
 from tree to tree at every shot, persistently remaining in 
 the immediate vicinity of the roost with all their charac- 
 teristic stupidity on such occasions. 
 
 After indulging in the shooting for an hour, Pierre, 
 determining to put an end to the wanton slaughter, said, 
 " Fellows, let 's stop now. We 've got more birds than 
 we can possibly use, or take back to camp." He had only 
 allowed his conscientious scruples in this instance to be 
 suppressed, because he wanted his guests to have their 
 full measure of sport. 
 
 They then began to gather the dead birds, and found 
 they had killed thirty; but not being able to pack that 
 number, selected eight of the largest and fattest, and 
 started, compelled to leave the remainder just where they 
 fell. 
 
 " Shooting wild turkeys under such a brilliant full
 
 138 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 moon, which nowhere that I have ever been shines so in- 
 tensely," said Summerfield, " is the greatest sport I have 
 ever had." 
 
 When the young hunters reached their camp it was long 
 after midnight, and first suspending their turkeys to the 
 limbs of the trees, all immediately retired, worn out with 
 fatigue and excitement. 
 
 They had scarcely thrown themselves down on their 
 beds, when there came on the still air, at apparently a 
 great distance off, a snapping, snarling and barking as 
 if it emanated from the throats of a hundred wolves. 
 
 Summerfield and Burton both sat up and asked what 
 the terrible racket meant. They noticed that Cyrus and 
 Jupe were uneasy too, having lifted their heads and were 
 intently listening. 
 
 Pierre, without changing his position, answered the 
 question : " They 're Coyotes after the turkeys we shot 
 and left down at the roost." 
 
 " Let 's go and look at them," said Burton ; " it must 
 be a sight worth going for ! " 
 
 " !N"o use," said Carlos ; " by the time we got there you 
 wouldn't find a coyote on the ground. Probably there 
 were more than a hundred of them, and you can guess 
 how long twenty -two turkeys would last 'em; about five 
 minutes, and away they 'd go." 
 
 "There, hark!" said Pierre; "they're off already," 
 as the sharp yelps grew suddenly fainter, and in a few 
 seconds had ceased entirely. Upon the noise of the coy-
 
 THE COYOTES 189 
 
 otes having ended, Cyrus and Jupe again curled them- 
 selves on the buffalo-robes at their masters' feet 
 
 " It 's a lucky thing for turkeys that a coyote or wolf 
 can't climb a tree," said Carlos, " or there would n't be 
 many of the birds left in this country." 
 
 " Of course they can't climb a tree," said Summerfield, 
 keeping up the conversation, as the howling of the coy- 
 otes had awakened every one and all were inclined to talk 
 for a few moments, " but I suppose they can get around 
 pretty lively on steep places ? " 
 
 "Not at all!" answered Pierre. "You know how 
 clumsily a dog will scramble up a ledge of rocks? It 
 must be quite an easy slope for him to make it anyhow. 
 Well, a wolf is just like a dog in that particular : he can't 
 make any headway on a steep elevation like a rocky bluff, 
 unless it 's mighty easy footing." 
 
 The boys soon dropped off to sleep, and in a few mo- 
 ments not a sound disturbed the quiet of the little camp. 
 
 By daylight, Carlos and Pierre, as usual, were out of 
 their robes, but they did not disturb Summerfield or Bur- 
 ton, who were in a most profound slumber. They routed 
 out the Mexican cook, however, who had slept all night, 
 and inquired of him as they pointed to the turkeys hang- 
 ing to the trees, whether he knew how to roast one in the 
 old trapper style. 
 
 He answered affirmatively, saying that he had not only 
 cooked birds that way, but buffalo-heads, deer, antelope, 
 and mountain sheep. He then commenced operations,
 
 140 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 just as Carlos and Pierre had at the last camp ; and, satis- 
 fied that he knew his business, the boys went off to attend 
 to the seven ponies that were picketed out on the prairie. 
 
 When they had watered them and put them on fresh 
 grass, they returned to camp, and found Summerfield and 
 Burton just getting up, they having snuffed the breakfast 
 the cook was preparing. They were profuse in their apol- 
 ogies for being so late, as they looked at the sun and 
 noticed its rays were streaming over the tops of the trees. 
 
 " That 's all right," said Pierre ; " we thought we would 
 let you sleep a while this morning, as we knew that the 
 excitement of last night had worked your nerves up to 
 a high pitch. How do you feel, anyhow ? " 
 
 " I ''in in a delightful state of both health and mind,' 1 
 said Summerfield ; " slept like a top after those infernal 
 coyotes had shut up. I guess I 'II go and take a plunge in 
 the creek, before breakfast. Come along, Burton ! " 
 
 "In a minute," replied Burton, who, giving another 
 yawn, and stretching himself again, remarked : " All 
 night I had some of the most terribly exciting dreams 
 that I ever had in my life. I could n't get away from 
 great flocks of turkeys which attacked me with their sharp 
 bills like pick-axes; each bird being as large as an elephant, 
 and all I had to defend myself with was a little stick." 
 
 The other boys' laughed, as Burton rose, and throwing 
 a blanket around him, accompanied Summerfield to the 
 creek, remarking as he walked out of camp : " I guess
 
 DREAMS 141 
 
 a good plunge will cool my brain and quiet my nervous 
 system." 
 
 " You come back soon," said the Mexican cook in his 
 broken English; ''breakfast be ready quick." 
 
 " All right, Romeo," said Summerfield ; (his name was 
 Romero, but they called him Romeo, because it was easier 
 to remember;) "we'll be back in ten minutes." 
 
 In about ten minutes, as Summerfield had promised, he 
 and Burton returned, shortly afterward all were eat- 
 ing their breakfast, which Romeo had told them should 
 be an exceptionally good one. There were biscuits he had 
 baked in his skillet ; broiled slices of the breast of one of the 
 turkeys; black coffee; canned fruit, brought along from 
 the stores of the young Bostonians; besides plovers' eggs 
 which Carlos had gathered from the nests he had found 
 while Summerfield and Burton were taking their bath. 
 
 Gathered in a little circle near the cook's fire, all feeling 
 in excellent spirits over their luck of the last night, and 
 the really delicious things which Romeo had managed to 
 serve, the conversation turned toward the subject of 
 dreams, inspired by Burton's ridiculous experience. 
 
 " I rarely dream," said Summerfield, " but I am satis- 
 fied that there come to us in our slumbers, only visions 
 of things and events that have happened. No matter how 
 absurd, impossible and exaggerated the scenes that pass 
 before us, they are based upon actual occurrences. Con- 
 sider how ridiculous the turkeys appeared to Burton in
 
 142 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 his dream of last night, yet we can easily find the founda- 
 tion for it in our hunt." 
 
 " I am certain that animals dream too, or at least some 
 of them," said Carlos. " I have often watched Cyrus and 
 Jupe when asleep in camp. They would suddenly tremble 
 all over, their legs moving violently, and then they would 
 utter a suppressed yell, just as they do when chasing a 
 jack-rabbit or a lynx. When I woke them up, they would 
 look as sheepish as possible, stare all around for a moment, 
 then quiet down again, as if they realized they had been 
 dreaming." 
 
 " I have noticed that in my own dogs at home, too," said 
 Burton. " I don't see why animals should n't dream, as 
 well as people." 
 
 " I am sure that Ephraim, our bear, dreams," said 
 Pierre. " He will snort, tumble about, close his paws, and 
 act just as he does when Carl or I wrestle with him, and 
 I suppose he is dreaming of the fun he has with us that 
 way." 
 
 " Well, Romeo," said Summerfield, as the boys rose 
 from their places, " that was a splendid breakfast, as you 
 promised ; and here 's some tobacco, to make for yourself 
 some cigarettes." 
 
 " You wait for turkey to-night," said the Mexican, grin- 
 ning all over, " then you say bueno!" (good.) 
 
 " You and Burton ought to see how the old mountaineers 
 and trappers cooked their large game," said Pierre to 
 Summerfield, as the latter lighted his pipe with a coal
 
 TURKEY COOKED IN MUD 143 
 
 from the cook's fire. " Romeo is going to fix one of our 
 turkeys that way for supper. We can't have it for din- 
 ner, because it takes all day to cook it properly. Gener- 
 ally the meat, or whatever it may happen to be, is pre- 
 pared in the evening, and allowed to roast all night, so as 
 to be ready for breakfast. Carl and I had a turkey we 
 served that way when we were camping out last week. It 
 won't take long for Romeo to get his ready for the fire. 
 -By the time that Carl and I have shifted the ponies and 
 are back here, you and Burton can learn the whole mys- 
 tery ; then we '11 go out on a hunt." 
 
 " Very well," said Summerfield, " but I think that you 
 should let Burton and I do our share of the camp-work this 
 morning." 
 
 " N^ever mind that now," replied Pierre ; " there will 
 be plenty for you to do after a while." 
 
 Then he and his brother started for the animals. 
 
 Summerfield and Burton watched Romeo dig his pit, 
 kindle a fire in it, and plaster the turkey all over with 
 mud, ready for cooking in a style that they had never seen 
 or heard of in Boston. 
 
 As soon as Carlos and Pierre returned to the camp, 
 they all took their rifles, whistled to the dogs, and started 
 on foot for a ramble along the creek-bank to pass the morn- 
 ing with some sort of amusement. 
 
 They had not proceeded very far when Burton, seeing 
 a curious-looking bird at the edge of the water, said, " I 
 know what that is : it 's a kingfisher, is n't it, Carl ? VTe
 
 144 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 have them down East ; I 've often seen them along the 
 rivers and brooks in Massachusetts." 
 
 "Yes, you're right," replied Carlos. "That's the 
 Belted Kingfisher; he is here all summer, and sometimes 
 stays with iis during the winter, if the weather is mild, 
 as our winters generally are. You see he has a band, the 
 color of a chestnut, around his body, and that 's why they 
 call him belted. They are always found at the edges of 
 the streams, sitting on a limb of a tree which overhangs 
 the water, ready to dive for the minnows which come to 
 the surface. They seldom fail to catch one, either. The 
 funniest thing about them is, that they always carry the 
 fish they catch to some place where they can rest, and kill 
 it by beating it before they swallow it, which they do head 
 first!" 
 
 "They have a harsh, shrill note," said Burton; "it 
 sounds like a policeman's rattle ! " 
 
 " It 's exactly the same bird that you have East," said 
 Pierre. " Hark ! hear him ? " as the bird struck up his 
 unmusical screech. 
 
 After studying the kingfisher for a few moments, the 
 boys walked on, and presently reached the open prairie, 
 where they hoped to start up a rabbit for dinner, as the 
 sandpipers were all gone and they had only turkey left, but 
 did not care to eat any more of that kind of meat until 
 evening, when the turkey which Romeo had put in the 
 underground oven would be done. 
 
 They had not gone more than half a mile before Cyrus
 
 HUNTING JACK-RABBITS 145 
 
 flushed a big jack, and both the dogs went for him full 
 tilt. They ran him a mile, though, before Cyrus caught 
 him and brought him to Pierre. 
 
 " That will do for a beginning," said he to the dogs ; 
 " but we must have one more, at least, or you two hungry 
 fellows will go without your dinner." And he started 
 them on again. 
 
 In less than half an hour both Cyrus and Jupe had 
 each caught another; and then, as there was meat enough 
 for themselves and the dogs too, the boys concluded to 
 return to camp, as it was growing fearfully hot. 
 
 " Well, we must get an early start for home in the 
 morning," said Pierre, " and it is a pity that all our tur- 
 keys are spoiled by the hot weather; but we will have 
 some sport with them and the lynxes to-night," he; con- 
 tinued. " I thought that we never should be able to get 
 any of them to the ranch ; it 's lucky that Romeo com- 
 menced this morning on that one in the oven, or we would 
 be without anything to eat now." 
 
 " It 's too warm to go anywhere until evening," said 
 Carlos ; " so we must content ourselves in camp until then. 
 I 'm going to take another bath. Don't you fellows want 
 to go along ? " he inquired of the others. 
 
 " Yes, indeed," said Summerneld ; " you can't propose 
 bathing too often for me. I 'm a regular water-dog." 
 
 So all went down to the stream again, where they played 
 in the water for an hour or more ; then returned to camp, 
 
 took care of the ponies, and threw themselves on the beds 
 10
 
 146 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 for a nap until time for supper, when the turkey would 
 be ready. 
 
 About sundown, Romeo announced that the bird was 
 cooked all right, and to it they fell with most ravenous 
 appetites; for they had purposely refrained from eating 
 much dinner, so as to get all the good they could out of 
 the unique manner in which the cook had served the bird. 
 
 After they had finished, Pierre said, " As soon as it 
 gets dark, we '11 take the turkeys and carry them out into 
 the timber about half a mile from camp, so the lynxes 
 will smell them, and then when the moon is up, which 
 will be in a few minutes, we will go and hide under some 
 tree near by them. Then when Mr. Lynx comes along 
 we '11 have some fun." 
 
 They found a suitable spot, close to some big cotton- 
 woods, where they could mask themselves behind their 
 trunks, and placing the bodies of the spoiled turkeys 
 within easy rifle-range of the trees they had chosen as a 
 blind, all sat themselves on the ground to quietly await 
 developments. 
 
 The moon had risen before they had tied their tempt- 
 ing bait to the bushes, and very shortly after they had 
 taken their places the soft mewing of a lynx could be 
 heard, then another and another, as they stealthily crept 
 toward the bait. 
 
 When they reached it a tremendous snarling and spit- 
 ting took place, just like tom-cats on a garden fence in a 
 town; and the boys, waiting until they had fairly begun
 
 RETURN TO THE RANCH 147 
 
 to feast on the birds, opened on them with their rifles. 
 Carlos and Pierre both killed one, Burton another, but 
 Summerfield missed his completely; so they got three in 
 all, which was pretty good work for the short time it took 
 to effect it. And as there was no use in remaining there 
 any longer, because the animals would not come back, the 
 boys returned to camp and went to bed. 
 
 Bright and early the next morning they were all on 
 their way to the ranch, where they arrived in time for 
 supper. Very hungry they were, too, for their breakfast 
 had been a light one, as all that they had depended upon, 
 the turkeys, had been spoiled by the warm weather. 
 
 That evening Summerfield and Burton visited the dug- 
 out, as was their wont, the delightful moonlight forbid- 
 ding thoughts of bed until they had passed an hour or 
 two with their young friends of the ranch, and listened 
 to some adventure by Mr. Delahoyde of his own boyhood 
 days, of which he had a store. 
 
 When all were seated on the big log that laid in front 
 of the dugout, Summerfield and Burton having lighted 
 their pipes, the conversation drifted to what they had 
 particularly noticed on their trip to the turkey-roost. 
 Summerfield had been especially attracted by the deceiv- 
 ing pictures of the wonderful mirage, 1 and admitted that 
 
 1 Mirage is that peculiar phenomenon best observed on deserts, or on the arid 
 mid-continent region of the United States. It Is derived from the French word 
 mfrer, to look at, and from the Latin mirus, wonderful. Its cause was first explained 
 by the scientist Monge, a Frenchman who accompanied Napoleon on his expedition to 
 Egypt : "The layers of air in contact with the heated soil are rarefied and expanded 
 more than those immediately above them ; a ray of light from an elevated object has
 
 148 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 he did almost believe that what he saw was real, and not 
 the distorted images caused by the atmosphere. 
 
 Burton said that he would have sworn at one time on 
 the journey, they were approaching a beautiful lake, and 
 was only assured of his mistake when they reached the 
 spot where he imagined it existed, to find that nothing 
 was there but the dead prairie. 
 
 Mr. Delahoyde told them that emigrants in the early 
 days, when crossing the Plains, often made long detours 
 from the established route in trying to reach one of those 
 deceptive lakes, which seemed about ten or twelve miles 
 distant, and much suffering ensued. 
 
 Once, during an Indian war on the Plains some years 
 ago, an officer of a cavalry regiment pursuing a band of 
 savages that had been committing depredations on the 
 border, when riding ahead of his troops, saw, as he be- 
 lieved, a party of the savages not more than a mile in 
 advance, and who appeared to be coming toward him on 
 a quick lope. Orders were immediately given for the 
 troopers to move forward and meet the attack, as the dis- 
 tance between the supposed enemies was decreasing each 
 moment. The command to charge was just about to bo 
 sounded, when what at first appeared to be a band of the 
 Indians was found to be nothing but the desiccated car- 
 
 to traverse strata of air less and less refracting, and the angle of Incidence continually 
 Increases In amount till refraction gives place to Internal reflection." The objects 
 distorted by the mirage are generally seen In the air Inverted, and appear to be 
 formed In water, so as to create the Illusion that a lake or pond Is near. Many a 
 thirsty traveler on the Great Plains has been deceived, and followed for miles the 
 phantom sheet of water he so terribly needed, only to find that it had no existence.
 
 DECEPTION OF THE MIRAGE 140 
 
 casses of some buffalo which the mirage had exaggerated 
 by the effect of the peculiar atmospheric conditions; and 
 that waving motion which always attends the phenomenon 
 caused the buffalo to appear as if moving toward the com- 
 mand. 
 
 " You have to get used to a great many curious things 
 out in this strange country," said Mr. Delahoyde. The 
 mirage is one of them, and the other is the deception of 
 distances ; but the eye soon gets accustomed to it." 
 
 After more conversation relative to their hunt, all re- 
 tired to their separate sleeping-places, anxious for the 
 morning to come, which was to be full of new adventures.
 
 CHAPTEK VIII. 
 
 TOM NORMAN, THE GOVERNMENT SCOUT, REPORTS VAST 
 
 NUMBERS OF BUFFALO SOUTH OF THE CANADIAN. A 
 
 GRAND HUNT PROPOSED FOE THE MORROW. STORIES OF 
 
 ADVENTURE. A COMICAL MEETING WITH A GRIZZLY 
 
 BEAR. FIGHT WITH A CALIFORNIA LION. CAPTURE 
 
 OF A PANTHER CUB. 
 
 SUMMERFIELD and Burton did not get out of bed 
 next morning until after seven o'clock, so stiff and 
 sore were they from their long ride of sixty miles. 
 They went immediately to the pool to take their accus- 
 tomed bath, stopping a fe,w moments at the dugout to talk 
 with Pierre and Carlos; then returned to their camp to 
 clean ^their rifles, and to fix their clothes that had been 
 torn in the brush on Eagle Chief creek. 
 
 Carlos and his brother were just as fresh and lively as 
 ever after their night's sleep, and went to work in theii 
 little garden-patch, which had been sadly neglected for 
 the past week, while entertaining their young visitors, 
 and did not go to their camp until after supper, to invite 
 them up to the dugout and spend the evening. 
 
 Before dark, Summerfield and Burton were again 
 seated on the lawn at the ranch, as had been the custom 
 when not out on a trip with Carlos and Pierre. Mr. Dela- 
 hoyde told them that just after they had left for their 
 camp last evening, Tom Norman, a Government scout, on 
 
 (150)
 
 VAST NUMBEE8 OF BUFFALO 151 
 
 his way from Fort Sill to Harker, had stopped at the 
 ranch a few moments, and reported the whole country 
 south of the Canadian black with buffalo. " He struck 
 the Arkansas about thirty miles west of here, then fol- 
 lowed the Santa Fe trail right down to here. So if you 
 boys want to go on a hunt before you leave for home, now 
 is a good opportunity, for the buffalo will probably remain 
 for a week or more in the vicinity of where Norman saw 
 them." 
 
 " Let 's go by all means," said Summerfield. " Why 
 can't we start to-morrow ? " 
 
 " I know of no reason why you can't," said Mr. Dela- 
 hoyde ; " but you do not have to leave here until afternoon, 
 because you can't get to the ground before the second day, 
 and will have to camp on Bluff creek the first night. So 
 you can take it easy, and be ready the first thing next 
 morning to go on to the Canadian, and arrive there by 
 sundown." " w / 
 
 " We won't want to take any camping-out things," said 
 Pierre, because it is so warm now we can use our saddle- 
 blankets to sleep on, and can cook our meat just as we 
 did the antelope yesterday." 
 
 " Of course," said Carlos. " We don't have to take the 
 dogs along, either, they '11 be in the way ; and as there 
 are so many of us four we can take turns keeping guard 
 at night. Besides, we shall not be out more than four 
 nights, anyhow." 
 
 " We '11 have to take one extra pony along, come to
 
 152 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 think of it," continued Pierre, "to pack a buffalo head 
 that I promised to mount for Summerfield." 
 
 " Yes," said Summerfield, " don't forget that. I want 
 to take a head with me back to Boston by all means." 
 
 " It 's settled then," said Burton, " that we go to-mor- 
 row afternoon." 
 
 " As we have plenty of time for sleep to-night, can't 
 you tell us some other adventure before we go back to the 
 camp, Mr. Delahoyde ? " appealingly asked Summerfield. 
 
 " Why, yes, if you care to hear one," replied Mr. Dela- 
 hoyde. " I have a fund of them, but they do not always 
 come to me when I want them. Let 's see," continued he, 
 musingly ; " I once had two adventures on the same after- 
 noon; one was very comical, the other quite serious. 
 
 " I was trapping on Powder river with my father, and 
 as we were getting scarce of meat, he told me, just after 
 our meager dinner one day, to go out and hunt for any- 
 thing that was good to eat. 
 
 " I must have walked about five miles down the stream, 
 you know we never thought much of a five- or even ten- 
 mile tramp in those days, and coming through a big 
 patch of underbrush, I suddenly met, face to face, a mon- 
 strous grizzly bear. Luckily for me, it was a male, and 
 not a female with cubs at her side, or it would have been 
 the end of me. 
 
 " We were upon each other before we had any idea of 
 it, the brush was so thick ; and as he met me he looked at 
 me askance, gave a snort, quickly raised one of his big
 
 FIGHT WITH A PANTHER 153 
 
 fore paws, without stopping, and knocked my rifle clear 
 out of my hand; it would have gone forty feet if it had 
 not been for the chapparal. Fortunately, he kept right 
 on in his tracks, without turning his head to take a second 
 look. So did I as soon as I had picked up my rifle, which, 
 as luck would have it, was not injured a bit. 
 
 " I don't know which was the worst scared, the bear 
 or myself. 
 
 "Continuing down the river trail, in about half an hour 
 I came upon a small herd of black-tail deer, and shot a 
 fine fat doe, which fell right under a big mountain cotton- 
 wood tree on the bank of the stream. While I was busy 
 bleeding the doe, I heard a low growl immediately above, 
 and upon looking up, saw a panther with the bristles 
 on its back all standing, and glancing down at me, as if 
 not perfectly understanding whether there was any danger 
 to be apprehended or not. 
 
 " I knew that the brute was going to leap upon me in 
 another instant, and raising my rifle, pulled the trigger, 
 just as the dark figure left the tree. She was shot through 
 the side, the bullet coming out and striking the trunk of 
 the tree. I could hear it plainly. The brute spasmodi- 
 cally drew herself together, and laid for a moment abso- 
 lutely motionless, excepting that her tail was gently oscil- 
 lating, just as you have often seen a house-cat when 
 watching a mouse-hole. This gave me time to load again, 
 which I did immediately, and taking careful aim, hit her 
 in the eye and stretched her out cold.
 
 154 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 " All that saved me from a furious attack, and probable 
 death, was her wavering for a moment to get into position 
 for another spring, which gave me time to load my gun. 
 
 " I was scared when I saw that I had not killed her 
 with my first bullet, and expected to have a hand-to-hand 
 struggle with the ferocious beast, but fortune was on my 
 side, and I did not get even a scratch. 
 
 " Now comes the funny part of the adventure. While 
 the panther was entertaining me, half a dozen mountain 
 wolves, attracted by the scent of the doe's blood, were 
 soon drawn to the spot where she lay, and devoured every 
 morsel of it, as I was unable to pay any attention to them, 
 although I could hear them growl and snap, not a hun- 
 dred yards away. We had to go without meat again that 
 night, but had excellent luck next day. 
 
 " My father had an exciting experience to which I was 
 a witness, for I was with him at the time. It was when 
 I first returned from St. Louis and made my initial trap- 
 ping-trip with him. 
 
 " It was on the upper Arkansas river where we estab- 
 lished our trapping-camp, and had with us as partners 
 two more old mountaineers, whose names I have forgotten. 
 
 " Father had heard somehow that the commanding offi- 
 cer of the regular troops stationed at Santa Fe, New 
 Mexico, was desirous of obtaining a young panther, and 
 that he would pay fifty dollars for it. 
 
 "We talked the subject over in* camp, and father said
 
 CAPTURING A YOUNG PANTHER 155 
 
 he was going to try and get a young cat and the fifty dol- 
 lars. 
 
 u One afternoon, we heard the mewing of a young 
 panther, not very far from our camp, and we all started 
 for the direction from which the sound seemed to come, 
 and presently arrived at the foot of a tree not a great dis- 
 tance off, whegre, sure enough, high up on one of the 
 branches, we discovered the little animal. It was not 
 more than six weeks old, and father at once began prep- 
 arations for securing it. He sent me back to camp for a 
 lariat. I returned very shortly with it, and father buckled 
 his belt tighter, put his hunting-knife in it, and began 
 to cautiously climb the tree, placing the rope around his 
 shoulders. It was nearly twenty-five feet to the first limb, 
 but he was a good climber, and soon reaching it, sat down 
 on it to take breath and feel if his knife was all right. 
 He then looked up, and saw that the young cat was still 
 motionless, and clinging to the same branches as at first. 
 
 " Then, using the other limbs as natural steps, father 
 ascended quickly and lightly toward the kitten, which, 
 though it did not move in the least, still kept its fiery eyes 
 on its approaching foe. 
 
 " But unknown to any of us, wilder eyes than those 
 of the young one were watching my father's progress. 
 The grim and dangerous enemy was none other than the 
 mother of the kitten, which lay with tail gently waving 
 on the limb of a dead tree standing alongside of the cot-
 
 156 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 tonwood on which father was, with its branches interlac- 
 ing it. 
 
 " The old panther was apparently ready to spring, 
 seemingly only waiting until the distance was lessened 
 between father and her kitten, before she would make the 
 leap and throw herself, teeth and claws, upon the auda- 
 cious man who would dare to seize her offspring. 
 
 " Carelessly swinging from limb to limb, father was 
 soon under the young one, which began to raise itself 
 gently, after the fashion of the domestic cat with its back 
 up, and stood on the branch looking down upon father, 
 as if not perfectly comprehending the danger to be ap- 
 prehended from him. 
 
 " Father, seeing now that he was in the position he de- 
 sired, took the lariat from around his shoulder, and form- 
 ing it into a noose with which to throw over the kitten's 
 head, steadied himself between two limbs, and looking up 
 for the proper moment to land his rope, saw for the first 
 time, directly opposite him, and hardly ten yards from 
 where he stood, the glowing eyes of the now enraged 
 mother as she bent down for the fatal spring ! 
 
 " The reason why none of us had seen the old one be- 
 fore was, that the leaves on the cottonwood were very 
 thick, as it was the height of thejr unfolding, and we 
 never thought of looking into the dead tree alongside it. 
 
 " Father had presence of mind enough to realize the 
 situation he found himself in, and called to me, but I 
 had fortunately at the same instant caught sight of the
 
 A GLOBE CALL 157 
 
 brute, and raising my rifle, fired just as the dark figure 
 of the mother made her leap. 
 
 " The beast, pierced by the bullet, gathered herself, and 
 sprang from branch to branch until she had reached the 
 topmost limb, where, the thin foliage not being able to 
 sustain her, she tumbled to the ground, dead. 
 
 " Father, now happily relieved from his perilous posi- 
 tion, perfectly cool, as he always was, under the most 
 trying circumstances, threw his rope so accurately that it 
 caught the kitten just back of its shoulder-blades, when, 
 bracing himself, he jerked it off the limb, and carefully 
 holding on to the coil of the lariat, let the kitten down 
 slowly, which I secured as soon as it touched the ground. 
 
 " Then father descended, and we tied the kitten firmly 
 by all its legs. He then sent me to camp for a pony, while 
 hq waited and watched his prize. As soon as I returned, 
 he tossed the kitten over the front of the saddle, and 
 mounting, we rode back to camp, where we arrived about 
 sundown, it having taken several hours to accomplish the 
 capture of the young panther. 
 
 " The kitten, however, did not live to reach Santa Fe, 
 having died of stubbornness, refusing to drink the milk 
 offered it at the several ranches on the trail ; so father had 
 all his trouble for nothing. But it was an exciting ad- 
 venture, all the same." 
 
 The little party now broke up, Summerfield and Bur- 
 ton going to their camp, after having been told they need
 
 158 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 not hurry in the morning, for if they got away by ten or 
 eleven o'clock they would be in time to make their camp 
 on Bluff creek, only a day's ride from where Norman 
 had seen the herd of buffalo. 
 
 The boys all retired in a happy state of mind over their 
 prospective start for a buffalo-hunt on the morrow, but 
 Summerfield and Burton did not get asleep until long after 
 midnight, for talking about it.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE BOYS START ON TIIEIE BUFFALO-HUNT. DUCK-SHOOT- 
 ING. CAMP ON THE WALNUT. ATTACKED BY A PACK 
 
 OF GBAY WOLVES. THE EFFECT OF BUKNT GUNPOWDER. 
 
 CAMP ON HACKBERRY CKEEK. PIERRE SHOOTS A 
 
 WILD TURKEY FOR SUPPER. THE BUFFALO-HUNT. 
 
 THE NORTHER. LOST ON THE PRAIRIE. BURTON FOL- 
 LOWS WRONG STAR. RUNS INTO A COMANCHE VILLAGE. 
 
 CAPTURED BY THE SAVAGES. BROUGHT BEFORE A 
 
 SUBORDINATE CHIEF. GUARDED CLOSELY BY WARRIORS. 
 
 THE MORNING COUNCIL. RED BEAR, THE HEAD 
 
 CHIEF. TOLD THEY WOULD NOT BE KILLED. LEARN- 
 ING TO SHOOT WITH BOW AND ARROWS. NEGRO CAP- 
 TIVES. INDIAN PECULIARITIES. THE COMANCHES. 
 
 DRESS OF THE MEN AND WOMEN. THE BOYS ARE 
 
 FITTED WITH NEW SUITS. 
 
 THE next morning after breakfast, Pierre and Car- 
 los went out to the herd and drove five ponies up 
 to the dugout. Four of these had been thoroughly 
 trained to hunt buffalo ; the fifth was to be used as a pack- 
 animal to transport what meat they might want to bring 
 home, and the buffalo head for Summerfield to take to 
 Boston with him. Summerfield and Burton's own horses 
 had never been trained, so they rode two belonging to the 
 Delahoydes, that would know just what was expected of 
 them when they got close to a herd of the great shaggy 
 
 (159) 

 
 160 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 beasts; theirs were to be left in charge of the Mexican 
 until the party returned. 
 
 About the middle of the forenoon, Summerfield came up 
 to the dugout for the animals he and Burton were to ride, 
 and leading them back to the camp, soon returned 
 mounted, accompanied by his partner. 
 
 A coffeepot and four tin cups were fastened to the pack- 
 animal's saddle, and that was about all he was to be bur- 
 dened with, as the boys intended to use their hunting- 
 knives instead of carrying others along, and in place of 
 a frying-pan, to cook their meat before the campfire on 
 small limbs of trees. 
 
 The Boston young men took dinner at the dugout, and 
 in about half an hour after it was concluded, all wore 
 ready to start. 
 
 " Have you everything you will need ?" asked their 
 mother, as Pierre and Carlos swung themselves into their 
 saddles. 
 
 " Yes, indeed," replied Pierre ; " our wants will be 
 few." 
 
 " You 're sure you 've got your flint and steel, 1 Pierre ? " 
 inquired his father anxiously ; " that 's the most important 
 of all." 
 
 1 Flint and steel were used before the introduction of matches, and continued to be 
 part of an old trapper's or hunter's outfit long after the latter were invented. The 
 steel was simply a short piece of good steel, and the flint a piece of pure silica such as 
 could be picked up anywhere near the margin of a stream, or even on the open prairie 
 In the vicinity of rocks. Fire was made by striking the flint on the steel ; the sparks 
 generated by the friction communicated to a bit of soft rag, generally cotton, or dry 
 splinters of wood, or grass, as the case might be. It was more reliable on the Plains 
 and in the mountains than matches, for the latter were easily affected by the damp 
 weather, and became useless.
 
 START ON A BUFFALO-HUNT 161 
 
 " It 's right here," replied Pierre, as he struck his 
 hand on the place where his pocket was in his buckskin 
 jacket. " Good-bye," continued he, as he led out toward 
 the river-bank. 
 
 " Good-bye," was reechoed by Summer field and Burton, 
 as the little party rode away from the ranch, full of spir- 
 its, laughing and chatting, not imagining they would 
 not look upon it again until many weary months of ex- 
 citement, hardship and adventure had passed. 
 
 "A good thirty-mile ride before to us to where we shall 
 camp to-night," said Pierre ; " for Norman must have 
 struck the Arkansas at the main ford. A splendid place ; 
 plenty of dry wood, good grass for the animals, and a 
 fine spring of water." 
 
 " I suppose he saw the big herd of buffalo not far south 
 of the riveo* ?" said Carlos. 
 
 " I so understood him when he told Dad about them. 
 And if they are there we can have a fine hunt and get 
 back home by dark the fourth night." 
 
 " What do you expect to kill for supper ?" asked Burton 
 of Pierre. " I don't suppose it will be rabbits, as we 
 have no dogs along to flush them." 
 
 "Birds," laconically answered Pierre. "Either ducks 
 or sandpipers. No danger of our going to bed hungry." 
 
 " No, indeed," said Carlos ; " our trail runs right along 
 the river the whole distance to the ford, excepting a little 
 cut-across, where it makes a bend below Spring crock ; you 
 11
 
 162 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 remember where we set our trot-line the day we went fish- 
 ing last week ? " 
 
 " I 'd rather kill some blue-winged teal," said Pierre, 
 " because if we can get five or six, and we may at one 
 shot, it will be enough for both breakfast and supper. 
 So keep your eyes skinned for ducks upon the river, boys. 
 We '11 have buffalo for our dinner to-morrow, sure, I 
 think." 
 
 They had passed the little cut-across, as Carlos had 
 called the detour, and got back to the river again, when 
 Burton, whose faculty for observation was very acute, 
 suddenly stopped his pony, pulled v up on his bridle-reins, 
 and pointing to a spot under some overhanging trees, 
 about five hundred yards up-stream, said, " Pierre, I 
 think that there is pur supper and breakfast, too." 
 
 " Yes, indeed," replied Pierre, " a flock of blue-winged 
 teal, sure ! Let 's halt here, and I '11 crawl up on them." 
 
 The boys all stopped, and Pierre dismounted, letting 
 his pony stand, it had been trained to stay just where it 
 was left, when on a hunting expedition, and cautiously 
 walked along the trail. As he neared the ducks that were 
 swimming along, totally unconscious of approaching dan- 
 ger, he crept into the thick willows that bordered the 
 water, his comrades watching him intently until he dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 In a few moments they heard the discharge of his gun, 
 and then saw him emerge from the copse, holding in one 
 hand a bunch of birds.
 
 CAMPING FOR THE NIGHT 163 
 
 " How many ? " sang out Summerfield, as he came 
 within hailing distance. 
 
 " Seven, and all at one shot ! " answered Pierre, who, 
 when he reached his pony, tied the birds to the cantle of 
 his saddle, and they all rode on. 
 
 They saw lots of all kinds of game on the way, but not 
 caring to waste any ammunition, and having enougli 
 meat to last them until the morrow, they passed the time 
 in chatting, and arrived at the Fort Sill ford about six 
 o'clock. 
 
 They chose their camp close to the spring; and while 
 Pierre and Carlos picketed out the ponies, Summerfield 
 and Burton began preparations for supper, as all were 
 fearfully hungry. 
 
 By the time that Carlos and his brother returned, the 
 two Bostonians had the coffee boiling, the ducks skinned, 
 cut up, and ready for each one to broil his own portion 
 before the now brightly glowing embers. 
 
 While the birds were slowly cooking, Pierre said, " Fel- 
 lows, we will have to tie our ponies in to-night, as we have 
 no dogs to watch them, and the wolves might get after 
 them if left away out on the prairie. So, after they 've 
 filled themselves, we '11 bring them in and fasten them near 
 where we sleep." 
 
 After supper was disposed of with great relish, Pierre 
 told the boys that they must gather lots of wood. " We '11 
 have to keep up a fire all night, for if there are buffalo 
 near us there 's bound to be lots of wolves hanging around
 
 164 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 the herd, and they 're just as liable to pay us a visit as 
 not." 
 
 Acting upon Pierre's suggestion, the boys all willingly 
 pitched in, gathered x great quantities of limbs of the trees 
 which had been blown down by the, wind, and portions of 
 the dried trunks, until they had collected more than two 
 cords. 
 
 " I guess that 's enough, isn 't it, Carl ? " inquired 
 Pierre, depending somewhat upon his brother's judgment. 
 
 " Yes, but don't let us make the fire too near where we 
 are going to sleep ; it 's fearfully hot down here in the tim- 
 ber, anyhow," replied Carlos. 
 
 " Well, we '11 put it a dozen yards off, then," said Pierre. 
 
 It was now just dusk, and noticing the ponies were 
 standing at the ends of their picket-ropes lazily swinging 
 their heads and switching their tails to keep away the 
 gnats and mosquitoes, which were thick out on the prairie, 
 Pierre said: "We had best bring in the ponies now; 
 they 're full, and we want to get them tied up before it 
 grows too dark to see." 
 
 So all went out, brought the animals in, and after tying 
 them to trees close to where they had spread out the sad- 
 dle-blankets to sleep on, Summerfield and Burton lighted 
 their pipes, Carlos and Pierre sitting on their robes, and 
 they commenced to talk. The conversation opened imme- 
 diately upon a subject that was uppermost in the minds of 
 the young Bostonians the proposed buffalo-hunt.
 
 SIGNS OF BUFFALO 165 
 
 "How far east," asked Summer field of Pierre, "can 
 you find the buffalo now ? " 
 
 " Well, Dad says he doubts if any have been seen east of 
 a line drawn north and south, cutting the Arkansas at the 
 Big Bend of that river, for a great many years. West 
 of there, clear to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, 
 he says, as late as sixteen years ago, the whole country 
 seemed fairly blocked with the shaggy animals; an im- 
 mense moving mass, which made the very earth tremble 
 with their clattering hoofs when from some cause they 
 were stampeded. Kow, there are not half as many as 
 there used to be, even within my own recollection of thir- 
 teen or fourteen years; besides, they are getting scarcer 
 every season." 
 
 " By the signs around here out on the prairie, that I 
 noticed when Pierre and I went to picket the ponies, a 
 big herd had been in the vicinity very recently," said 
 Carlos. 
 
 " Yes, only as late as yesterday ; for I could see the 
 fresh trails leading down to the river where they went to 
 drink, You need not be afraid that we shall not have all 
 the sport with them we want, to-morrow." 
 
 Then Pierre said : " It 's about time to turn in ; now 
 who's going to stand guard first to-night? " 
 
 " Let me ! " promptly replied Summerfield. " I do so 
 want to." 
 
 " All right, then," said Pierre ; " as we shall start out
 
 166 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 on our hunt at daylight, or as soon as we eat breakfast, 
 it will be less than two hours apiece for us. What time 
 is it now, Summerfield ? " 
 
 Summerfield looked at his watch, and replied, " Just 
 half -past eight." 
 
 " Well, then, your turn begins now," said Pierre, ad- 
 dressing himself to Summerfield ; " and at half-past ten, 
 call me; at half -past twelve, Carl goes on; at half -past 
 two, Burton will take his turn, but before his two hours 
 are ended we shall all be up, as daylight comes then." 
 
 " That will give us plenty of sleep," said Carlos ; " and 
 the time will fly when you 're on guard in camp, it al- 
 ways seems so to me, anyhow." 
 
 The three boys then laid down on their saddle-blankets, 
 while Summerfield, seating himself on a stump a short 
 distance from the fire, his rifle resting between his knees, 
 commenced to puff vigorously at his pipe, while he mused 
 over the strange situation in which he found himself. He 
 rather enjoyed the perfect stillness of his surroundings, 
 as he watched the stars twinkle so brightly in the clear at- 
 mosphere, for he was inclined to love solitude, and was 
 always contented when alone with his thoughts. 
 
 Occasionally he would get up and stroll around, his 
 rifle on his shoulder, real army-sentry fashion ; sometimes 
 go to where his companions were wrapped in deep slum- 
 ber on their single blanket, with heads resting on their 
 saddles for a pillow, the ground their bed and the heavens 
 their canopy.
 
 GRAY WOLVES 167 
 
 After lie had smoked two or three pipefuls, and wan- 
 dered around the camp several times, he looked at his 
 watch to learn how the time was progressing, when to 
 his surprise he saw that it was already quarter-past ten. 
 lie thought that he had been on guard only about twenty 
 minutes, so rapidly did the hours pass to him. 
 
 " Well," he said to himself, " I '11 take just one more 
 smoke, then call Pierre, and turn in for a little sleep." 
 
 He had scarcely seated himself on his favorite stump 
 and pulled out his tobacco-pouch, before he heard, far 
 away, a sound similar to that heard on the night of the 
 turkey-hunt, when the coyotes were after the birds they 
 killed and were fighting over them down at the roost. 
 
 Summerfield listened intently. The noise grew more 
 distinct in volume, the yelping hoarser than that of coy- 
 otes, and he knew that, whatever it emanated from, it 
 was coming nearer each moment ; so he determined to 
 apprise Pierre of the fact. He was just about to call him, 
 when Pierre suddenly jumped up, and punching Carlos 
 gently with his foot, exclaimed, " A pack of gray wolves ! 
 Don't you hear them ? " 
 
 Carlos was on his feet in a second, rifle in hand, and in 
 a minute all the boys had gathered around the fire, as 
 the ferocious animals were evidently rapidly approach- 
 ing camp. 
 
 " Look at the ponies ! " said Pierre ; " how they tremble 
 and pull at their lariats, trying to stampede. Carl, go
 
 168 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 and speak to them, they know as well as we what 's com- 
 ing." 
 
 Carlos ran to where the ponies were fastened, and 
 tried to soothe them by patting their necks and talking 
 to them. It had the effect of quieting them in a moment, 
 when he returned and took his place with the other boys. 
 
 Carlos had scarcely arrived at the fire, when ten of 
 the ugly brutes came into plain view, growling, snapping 
 and whining, as they were balked by the sight of the 
 young hunters and the blaze of the campfire that shot 
 high in the air, Summerfield having thrown on a supply 
 of fresh fuel at the instant of their emerging from the 
 timber. 
 
 " Let 's kill them," said Burton, as he brought his rifle 
 to his shoulder. 
 
 " No ! no ! " said Pierre ; " we have n't any ammunition 
 to waste that way. We can get rid of them without killing 
 them. Throw a little loose powder out of your flask into 
 the fire, Burton; the smell of burning powder is dreaded 
 by nearly all wild animals." 
 
 Sure enough, as Burton poured a little powder into his 
 hand and tossed it into the flames, which leaped into the 
 air doubly brilliant, with a howl of evident rage and dis- 
 appointment the wolves all " turned tail," and darted 
 away into the shadow of the timber; nor did they return. 
 
 The boys as they stood at the fire could still hear their 
 snarling as they rapidly retreated, the sound each moment, 
 however, growing fainter, until it finally ceased altogether.
 
 PIERRE ON GUARD 169 
 
 " Well, those confounded wolves have upset all our ar- 
 rangements," said Pierre. " What time is it, Summer- 
 field?" 
 
 Summerfield drew out his watch, held its face toward 
 the fire, and replied, " Half-past one." 
 
 " Let me take your watch now," continued Pierre ; 
 " you and the others go try and get a little sleep ; I '11 
 stand guard until half -past three; then it will be almost 
 daybreak. We '11 get some breakfast while the ponies are 
 grazing, and be off as soon as they are filled up, for day- 
 light will be here by that time." 
 
 All excepting Pierre threw themselves on their blankets, 
 and in a few moments were sound asleep. Pierre then 
 walked to where the ponies were tied, spoke a few words 
 to them, although they were perfectly quiet, returned to 
 the fire, threw on some more fuel, and sat down on a stump 
 with his rifle ready for any emergency. 
 
 ~Not a sound now disturbed the stillness of the little 
 camp, excepting the occasional mewing of a lynx down 
 in the heavy timber, or the hooting of an owl perched on 
 the limb of some blasted tree near by, and the crackling of 
 the fire when Pierre added fresh fuel. 
 
 Some boys would have felt very lonely under such cir- 
 cumstances, but not so with Pierre, who with his brother 
 had been reared from infancy in the solitude of the remote 
 Plains. There is an old saying that " The nearer we get 
 to Mother Earth, the more we love her," and it was fully
 
 170 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 realized by both Pierre and Carlos, whose lives had been 
 passed in the closest communion with Nature. 
 
 Pierre walked around and sat down by turns, musing 
 upon the subject that occupied his thoughts, to give his 
 young guests as much sport as possible on their contem- 
 plated buffalo-hunt. 
 
 Throwing some wood on the fire, which had burned 
 low while he was thinking, as it blazed up again he drew 
 out Summerfield's watch, and looking at it, was rather 
 surprised to find it was almost a quarter to four o'clock. 
 Then casting his eyes toward the eastern horizon, he no- 
 ticed the first faint, rosy streaks of light, announcing the 
 approaching dawn. 
 
 He said to himself, as he put the watch back into his 
 pocket: "I'll not wake up Burton; let them all rest; 
 they 're pretty well tired out, and I could n't sleep any 
 more now if I tried. I '11 picket out the ponies myself, 
 then put the coffeepot on, and when it boils, call the boys." 
 
 He then took out two of the ponies at a time, picketed 
 them on a spot of fresh grass, came back for two more, 
 and at last led the pack-animal out. Returning, he went 
 to the spring, washed himself, filled the coffeepot, put it 
 on the fire, and sat down again on the stump. 
 
 In a few moments the pot began to sing, and as day 
 was rapidly approaching, Pierre stirred up his compan- 
 ions, who stretched and yawned, but soon realizing where 
 they were, they jumped up in a hurry, ran to the spring 
 and washed, then returned to the fire, ready to help picket
 
 BREAKFAST IN CAMP 171 
 
 out the ponies; but upon looking where they had been tied 
 the evening before, noticed they were gone, and saw them 
 grazing peacefully out on the open prairie. 
 
 " Why, Pierre," said Summerfield and Burton, " you 
 did n't call us to help you with the animals ! " 
 
 " That 's all right. I did n't want to sleep, so I thought 
 I might just as well let you boys get all you could." 
 
 " Well, I 'm much obliged for your kindness," said 
 Burton ; " for to tell the truth, I never was so tired out 
 and sleepy in all my life, that I can recollect of." 
 
 The ducks, which had been prepared the evening before 
 and placed in the spring to keep them sweet, were now 
 brought to the fire, where each one took his portion and 
 broiled it, and with the coffee made a good breakfast. 
 
 Pierre watched the ponies to see when they had filled 
 themselves, which would be as soon as they should have 
 stopped grazing and swung at the end of their lariats. 
 
 It was a whole hour after breakfast before the animals 
 ceased to feed, and almost six o'clock when they were 
 saddled ready to start on the hunt. 
 
 The boys took a straight line south from the Arkansas, 
 and after having ridden for about ten miles without seeing 
 the first evidence of the presence of a large herd, Pierre 
 said, " I 'm afraid that something has stampeded them, 
 and we may have, to go clear to the Hackberry before we 
 find them." 
 
 " How far is it to the Hackberry ? " asked Summer- 
 field.
 
 172 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 "About thirty miles, isn't it, Carl?" replied Pierre, 
 referring to his brother. 
 
 " All of that," said Carlos, " and over a dry country, 
 too. If we don't see them by the time we reach the creek, 
 we can rest there, eat our dinner, graze the ponies, and 
 then go ahead, as I 'm for keeping on until we come 
 across the herd, if it takes a week." 
 
 " Well, that 's just what we '11 do ; but if we don't come 
 up with the herd by the time we arrive at Hackberry 
 creek, we will have to shoot something to eat for our din- 
 ner," said Pierre. 
 
 " No danger of our not getting something, is there, 
 Pierre ? " inquired Burton, who was always blessed with 
 a good appetite. 
 
 " No, I guess not ; we '11 find something if it 's only a 
 prairie-dog, and I know there are two or three big vil- 
 lages of the little fellows between here and the creek," 
 replied Pierre. 
 
 Two more hours passed, and it was now after ten o'clock. 
 The prairie was perfectly lifeless, so far as the presence 
 of animals was concerned, although the signs were abun- 
 dant that a vast concourse of buffaloes had recently passed 
 over it. 
 
 The sun had reached the meridian; still the ponies 
 plodded wearily through the alkali-dust 1 of the desert 
 region between the Canadian and Ilackberry creek, and 
 not a sign of buffalo in sight. 
 
 1 A chemical term. Employed on the deserts of the world to designate the white 
 dust of arid regions.
 
 IN CAMP ON HACKBERRY CREEK 178 
 
 It was fully three o'clock before the timber on Kack- 
 berry appeared, like a dark line on the distant horizon, 
 over three miles away. The hunters arrived there in an- 
 other hour, selected a suitable spot, pitched their camp, 
 and turned out their jaded ponies to graze. While the 
 others were attending to the animals, Pierre went on a 
 hunt for meat. 
 
 The boys in camp soon heard the report of his rifle, 
 and presently another discharge. In a few minutes he 
 appeared with a wild turkey, and told them that he had 
 missed the second shot at one; but they had enough with 
 the bird he had killed, and more, -too, than they could 
 possibly eat. 
 
 " How did you come to see them ? " asked Burton. 
 
 "I was walking along the edge of the timber," said 
 Pierre, " when I started up a big flock. They did not 
 fly, but did some tall marching. I tell you there is no 
 bird that can outrun a wild turkey. They were on one 
 side of a little knoll, and I ran around to head them off, 
 but by the time I got there the turkeys were away ahead, 
 nearly out of range. Luckily, I got one, but missed the 
 other because he was too far off when I pulled trigger." 
 
 They broiled the turkey, after cutting it into small 
 pieces so it would cook quicker, and, contrary to Pierre's 
 statement that it was more than they could eat, every bit 
 was devoured, so hungry were all, after their long and 
 wearisome ride. 
 
 Summerneld and Burton indulged in their usual smoke;
 
 174 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 Carlos laid down on his blanket to rest; but the nover- 
 tired Pierre took a stroll on top of the bluff bordering the 
 creek, to see if he could discover anything of the buffaloes 
 which he believed must be somewhere in the vicinity. 
 
 He was not gone more than fifteen minutes, when he 
 hurried back to camp and announced to the boys that the 
 whole prairie beyond the creek was literally black with 
 buffaloes. 
 
 In a moment all were on their feet, full of excitement 
 at the good news Pierre had brought them; and Summer- 
 field and Burton, had they not been restrained by the 
 better judgment of Pierre and Carlos, would have jumped 
 on their worn-out ponies and gone after the herd, and 
 the chase would have resulted only in failure and disap- 
 pointment. 
 
 " We must wait," Pierre told the nervous young men, 
 " until our ponies are in condition to run ; that is impos- 
 sible now. It will take a couple of hours at least for them 
 to get rested sufficiently to do the work, and then it will 
 be only a little after six o'clock. Plenty of daylight to 
 kill all the buffaloes we want to, and get a bull's head for 
 Summerfield." 
 
 " It will be much cooler then, too," said Carlos ; " this 
 has been an awfully hot day." 
 
 Six o'clock did not come a moment too soon for the 
 young Bostonians, who all the afternoon had been chafing 
 at the delay; but at last Pierre told them to help get tho
 
 KILLING BUFFALOES 175 
 
 ponies in, saddle lip, and then they would start out after 
 the buffaloes. 
 
 They rode out of camp full of excitement, and when 
 they arrived at the top of the bluff and saw the prairie 
 beyond covered with the great ruminants, just as Pierre 
 had told them, their enthusiasm knew no bounds, as they 
 rode around to the leeward of the herd, which was about 
 two miles distant. 
 
 Coming up to the herd, the ponies, well trained to the 
 business, ran after the one which was selected by each 
 of the hunters, and in a few minutes three of them were 
 killed; but one was so old and tough that when Pierre 
 and Carlos dismounted to skin him with the others, they 
 abandoned him to the wolves, which could be seen trailing 
 after the herd. 
 
 Pierre succeeded in killing an enormous young bull, 
 with a magnificent head and horns, which he told Sum- 
 merfield was the best specimen he had seen for a long 
 time, and that when they got to camp he would fix it so it 
 would keep until they returned to the ranch. 
 
 Summerfield was lucky enough to kill a very fat cow 
 which ran in front of his pony. He bravely dashed 
 after her, but at first only wounded her, the second shot 
 laying her out cold. 
 
 Burton missed altogether, though he fired several times 
 at the running animals, his pony acting superbly in its 
 efforts to bring his rider up to them, and he was very
 
 176 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 much disgusted with himself when he found out that all 
 the rest of the party had been successful in bringing down 
 one or more of the huge beasts. 
 
 Summerfield had quite an adventure with a cow which 
 he wounded; she turned on his pony and showed fight, 
 but he bravely loped around her, and got in a death-shot. 
 
 Night was rapidly coining on when they had skinned 
 their game and packed what they wanted of it on the pony, 
 together with the large head of the bull which Pierre had 
 shot purposely for Summerfield. 
 
 They intended to make camp on the Hackberry that 
 night, take a fresh start in the morning for the Canadian, 
 and the next evening reach home. 
 
 Unfortunately, as they rode away from the field of their 
 slaughter a " norther "* began to make its appearance. 
 Black, ominous-looking clouds rolled up on the western 
 horizon, and it suddenly grew so dark that the boys could 
 not see the ground. 
 
 They were at least ten miles south of Hackberry creek, 
 the buffaloes having led them a chase that distance before 
 they discontinued the slaughter, and Pierre said, as he 
 noticed the coming storm, " I guess we won't camp on 
 the Hackberry very soon to-night." 
 
 They traveled on in the dismal fog which soon began 
 to overspread the earth, occasionally stopping to listen 
 
 1 " Norther " 18 a name given to sudden storms of a very cold wind from the north, 
 often accompanied by snow. They usually occur beyond the one-hundredth meridian, 
 and are not of long duration. Farther east they are termed " blizzards," though a 
 blizzard differs In maay particulars from the Texas norther, principally In Its continu- 
 ing for a longer time.
 
 LOST IN THE STORM 177 
 
 for the roar of the creek, which Pierre knew must now be 
 swollen; but nothing was conveyed to their ears but the 
 whine of a distant wolf, and the rumbling of the thunder. 
 
 It is usually the case that when persons are lost on the 
 prairie they unconsciously travel in a circle, and it was 
 so with the party of young hunters, and very soon the 
 fact stared Pierre in the face that he was lost! 
 
 Neither he nor Carlos could agree as to the proper di- 
 rection; one insisted upon this way, the other that, until 
 they were both so confused they did not know which way 
 to move. 
 
 Fortunately, they were caught on the edge of the norther 
 only, and it was not so cold as to make the air uncom- 
 fortable, nor was the sky completely covered by clouds. 
 There were great rifts in them, through which the stars 
 twinkled at times, but both Carlos and his brother realized 
 that the region in which they were now was strange 
 to them. Not a landmark with which they were familiar 
 could be recognized, and the darkness, which is always 
 more bewildering on the open prairies than in the forest, 
 soon had its effect on the brave boys, for brave they were, 
 and they knew they were lost. 
 
 It grew darker every moment, and even the hundreds 
 of old buffalo-trails leading to the streams, which those 
 animals followed to drink once a day, became indiscern- 
 ible; and as for catching a glimpse of the timber which 
 fringed many little creeks tributary to the Canadian, it 
 was impossible.
 
 178 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 At last Pierre pulled up on his pony, and said to Car- 
 los : " Carl, we can't make Hackberry to-night ; let 's 
 camp in one of these ravines, and wait for daylight." 
 
 "No ! " insisted Carlos ; " we must make the creek, or 
 as near to it as we can. It won't do to build a fire, for 
 we are not far from the Comanche country, and some of 
 the Indians might see it, and if they should it would be 
 all up with us." 
 
 Burton spoke up, and said, " We have to go directly 
 north, don t we, Pierre ? " 
 
 " Yes," replied Pierre ; " Hackberry creek and the Ca- 
 nadian are both north of us. If we go in that direction, 
 we are bound to strike them somewhere." 
 
 " Well, then," said Burton, " I know the North Star 1 
 when I see it, and we can guide ourselves by that if 1 
 can get a glimpse of the sky through the rifts of the clouds." 
 
 "All right," said Pierre; "pick out the North Star, 
 and we '11 follow on a straight line for it. All we have 
 to do is to travel north, and as long as we reach the creek, 
 whether we come out below the trail or above it, we can 
 cross and keep right on to the Canadian, for I know 
 every inch of that river for forty miles either up- or down- 
 stream." 
 
 Burton took a glance at the heavens, which at that mo- 
 ment happened to be quite clear of clouds in the direction 
 he was looking, and said, " Come on, fellows, follow 
 
 me! 
 
 t 
 
 i North Star, a star at the north, around which the heavens appear to revolve.
 
 BURTON'S ASTRONOMY AT FAULT 179 
 
 Unfortunately for the young Bostonian, although he 
 perhaps had a very good knowledge of astronomy, he se- 
 lected a bright star in the far south, and unconsciously 
 led his companions in directly the opposite direction from 
 that in which they should have gone. 
 
 On they plodded (their ponies giving evident signs of 
 leg-weariness, frequently stumbling, an unusual thing 
 for them, as they were very sure-footed animals) for as 
 much as ten miles more, vainly peering into the darkness 
 for some signs of timber ahead of them. 
 
 Pierre now cast his eyes to the heavens, and saw to his 
 dismay that the star which they had been endeavoring to 
 follow had passed far down toward the western horizon, 
 and he stopped and said to Burton : 
 
 " That cannot be the North Star you are guiding us 
 by. You know it never gets so low down." 
 
 Burton very unwillingly had to admit that Pierre was 
 right, and he felt much chagrined over the mistake he had 
 made. 
 
 Then they halted to talk over the dilemma they found 
 themselves in, when Carlos, who had particularly fine 
 eyesight, said : " I see campfires ahead ! " 
 
 All strained their eyes to the place Carlos pointed out 
 to them, and sure enough, apparently far ahead of them, 
 in the direction in which they had been traveling, they 
 distinctly saw the dull embers of half a dozen fires. 
 
 " Some buffalo-hunters, probably," said Pierre. " We 
 are all right now, for we can find from them where we are,
 
 180 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 stop with them all night, and get a fresh start early in 
 the morning." 
 
 Then, thus encouraged, they moved forward again, hop- 
 ing to reach the camp in a few minutes, when siiddenly 
 their ears were almost deafened by the yelling of a perfect 
 canine cataract which came pouring around them as they 
 naturally pulled up at the horrid din ; and the next instant 
 they were surrounded by a dozen dusky forms. They had 
 struck an Indian village, instead of a hunter's camp as 
 they had hoped! 
 
 Immediately a score of warriors closed upon them and 
 yelled at the dogs, which instantly skulked off, and our 
 young hunters found themselves captives. Pierre told 
 Burton and Summerfield he supposed they were Coman- 
 ches. 
 
 " Keep up your courage," said Carlos ; " it always 
 counts, Dad says, among the Indians." 
 
 " Besides," said Pierre, " the Comanches, Cheyennes, 
 Kiowas and Arapahoes are friendly with the whites, and 
 that fact may help us some ; but you never can tell what 
 a savage is going to do. They may kill us, and may not." 
 
 While they were conversing together, the warriors most 
 unceremoniously jerked them off their ponies, took their 
 guns away from them, and led them rather roughly to a 
 large tepee 1 in the middle of the village; and having 
 
 1 " Tepee " Is the name given by the Sloni to their dwellings, and Is now a gen- 
 eral term for any Indian lodge. A tepee Is built of from thirteen to seventeen poles, 
 about three Inches In diameter, the ends of which rest on the ground. They are slen- 
 der In shape, tapering symmetrically, and are eighteen feet or more In length. The 
 number of poles employed varies with the different tribes. They are tied together at
 
 CAPTURED BY INDIANS 181 
 
 been told by signs to enter, they saw a rather dignified- 
 looking Indian smoking a long pipe and blowing the smoke 
 through his nostrils. 
 
 The old savage gazed at the boys, spoke a few words, 
 which of course none of them understood, but in a few 
 moments knew what they meant, for the same warriors 
 who had ushered them in carried them to another lodge, 
 where they were bound by the feet. 
 
 Summerfield and Burton thought that their time had 
 come, surely. But the warriors laughed at them, and an 
 old squaw made her appearance in the tepee, and, after 
 jabbering a few unintelligible sentences to one of the 
 Indians, returned with some dried buffalo-meat and a 
 bucket of water. Then the warrior who had spoken to 
 the squaw motioned to the boys to eat. 
 
 The alarm of the young hunters somewhat subsided at 
 this demonstration of friendliness, because Pierre and 
 Carlos, who were quite well acquainted with the Indian 
 character, said they had been told by their grandmother 
 that Indians rarely feed a person they intend to kill. The 
 Bostonians, comforted by these encouraging words, fell 
 to eating, as did Pierre and Carlos, for they were all ter- 
 ribly hungry, having had nothing since their turkey diri- 
 
 the small ends with buffalo-hide strings, then raised until the frame resembles a cone, 
 over which buffalo skins are placed, very nicely fitted ; and having been made soft by 
 manipulation with the brains of the animals that wore them, the skins are sewed 
 together with the sinews of the buffalo, taken from the strong and long muscle that 
 holds up the great head of the beast. In summer the lower edges of the skins are 
 rolled up, and the wind blowing through makes the tepee a cool retreat. In winter, of 
 course, everything Is closed tight, and the tepee Is quite a comfortable place. Some 
 tribes build their dwellings of rushes and other material, but the general name of 
 "tepee" is given to the lodges of all tribes.
 
 182 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 ner on Hackberry creek at four o'clock that afternoon, 
 and it was now long past midnight by Summerfield's 
 watch, it having as yet escaped the eyes of the warriors. 
 
 After they had surfeited themselves for there was no 
 stint to the old woman's rations they were told by signs 
 to go to sleep, at the same time being shown a pile of 
 buffalo-robes in the end of the lodge. They immediately 
 took possession of these, for their worst fears were dissi- 
 pated, and they soon fell asleep, waiting for what events 
 the morning might develop. 
 
 At sunrise, which came too quickly for the tired young 
 hunters, they were roused up by one of the warriors who 
 had been sent to stand guard over them during the night, 
 to prevent any possible attempt to escape. The painted 
 and feather-bedecked savage had to shake them two or 
 three times rather roughly, so sound was their slumber 
 after their fatiguing journey to the Indian camp. 
 
 Breakfast was served to them by the same old squaw, 
 which consisted of the conventional dried buffalo-meat 
 and cold water. After finishing breakfast they were told 
 by signs to follow the warrior who had awakened them. 
 
 He took them to a magnificent tepee, which, by its ap- 
 pointments of rich furs, and the highly ornamented shield 
 that hung on a tripod before the lodge entrance, indicated 
 that it was the dwelling of the principal chief. He before 
 whom they were brought the evening previous was only a 
 subordinate. 
 
 The boys entered, as they were made to understand by
 
 CHIEF ' ' BED BEAR ' ' 183 
 
 signs they must, and upon going in found themselves con- 
 fronted by a very large Indian with a prominent nose, i 
 broad, high forehead, his long hair falling down to his 
 waist, braided, and ornamented with brass rings an inch 
 wide, placed at intervals of three or four inches. 
 
 Summerileld and the rest of the young hunters found 
 out afterward that these rings were peculiar insignia of 
 the chief, no other of the principal warriors being per- 
 mitted to wear anything like them. Also, that when he 
 dressed in his best, he wore on his breast a polished copper 
 plate as big as a dish-pan, which glistened in the sun as 
 he strutted about the village. 
 
 This chief, whom they learned was " Eed Bear," al- 
 ways remained in the village, only moving when the tribe 
 migrated, for he was a very old man, eighty years at 
 least, the boys thought. He had a son who was regarded as 
 a sort of chief too, and whose wife was a white woman, 
 a raiding party of the Oomanches having captured her in 
 Texas some years previous to the advent of the young 
 hunters in the village. 
 
 Pierre and the other boys made several attempts to talk 
 with her, but at first were frustrated by the watchful sav- 
 ages, the chief having forbidden her to hold any conver- 
 sation with them. 
 
 There was another white captive in the village, who was 
 made an interpreter by the chief for the occasion, which 
 was in reality a council to decide upon the fate of the 
 boys. He was told to tell them that if they were not
 
 184 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 Texans, would be good, and not try to run away, they 
 would not be killed, but might stay with the tribe, and 
 finally be adopted as members thereof. While the 
 interpreter was explaining what the old chief had to say, 
 the latter pointed to a row of relatively fresh scalps which 
 hung on a pole in his lodge, and said something, which 
 the white captive immediately interpreted as follows: 
 About three weeks before, four Mexicans were captured 
 on a raid, brought to the village, treated kindly, and sent 
 out to herd the ponies; but they attempted to escape. 
 Some warriors were sent after them to bring them back, 
 but the chief finally decided that as they had started, only 
 their scalps must be returned to the village; and if the 
 boys tried to run away, they would be served in like man- 
 ner! 
 
 Red Bear was very impressive and decidedly in earnest, 
 the young prisoners discovered, and made up their minds, 
 after conversing together alone, that the best thing for 
 them to do was to keep quiet, stay with the Indians with- 
 out making any fuss, and bide their time, for it would 
 only be madness to make any attempt to get away at 
 present. 
 
 So the young hunters contented themselves as well as 
 they could under the circumstances, gave a promise to 
 the old chief that they would " be good " and obey all his 
 orders just like the other young men of his tribe. 
 
 They were then told that they would not be tied any 
 more; that a lodge would be assigned them, and a squaw
 
 HERDING PONIES FOR THE INDIANS 185 
 
 ordered to cook and work for them as the other braves 
 were waited upon by the women, for men did not work. 
 A warrior must only hunt and fight. 
 
 Having been assigned to a really nice skin lodge, not 
 very far from that of the chief, they were sent out to herd 
 the ponies, an immense number, with some Indian boys 
 of about their own age. 
 
 Out on the prairie, like all boys the white captives and 
 their dusky companions soon got on the most friendly 
 terms, and before noon on the first day at herding, each 
 side had picked up a few words of the other's language. 
 
 They were kept out all day, and did not get back to 
 the village until it was quite dark. Going to the lodge, 
 they found that the squaw who had been assigned to take 
 care of them had provided an ample meal, of which they 
 ate heartily, for all were exceedingly hungry after their 
 romping and riding out on the hot prairie. 
 
 The next morning they were told that other of the 
 young boys would be detailed to herd that day, and they 
 must begin to learn how to become great warriors. 
 
 After breakfast they were escorted by some old war- 
 riors, together with about half a dozen young bucks, to 
 a place out on the prairie, not far from the outskirts 
 of the village, which might properly be called a training- 
 school, and the exercises they were put through with their 
 dusky companions were very amusing and exciting. 
 
 When they left their lodge for the race-course, as Sum- 
 merfield afterward called it, they were mounted on very
 
 186 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 fast ponies, but as all the white captives, particularly 
 Pierre and his brother, who had virtually lived on horse- 
 back since they were old enough to straddle an animal, 
 were perfectly at home when in a saddle, they did not 
 have the least fear when the frisky little Indian beasts 
 were given to them. 
 
 Arriving at the appointed place, they found on each 
 side of the track they were to race over, wolf-skins sewed 
 together and fashioned in the shape of a man, which were 
 stretched out on the prairie. They were given a bow and 
 arrows, and showed by some of the young Indians just 
 what they were expected to do. 
 
 Four of the young savages then went back for a distance 
 of about three hundred yards from the supposed enemy, 
 then turned and dashed down the track as fast as their 
 ponies could be made to go. When they passed the skin 
 images each shot an arrow right through it, by throwing 
 himseilf on the side of the pony, holding on by his heel 
 against the rear projection of the saddle. The left arm, 
 with a shield on it, was thrown over the horse's neck, 
 grasping the bow with the arrow in the right hand. The 
 arrow must be delivered and hit the image while passing 
 it, or it did not count. They also had to learn to shoot 
 with the left hand as well as with the right. 
 
 Pierre, Summerfield, Carlos and Burton went at their 
 allotted task with much trepidation, not that they were 
 at all afraid, but none of them had had any experience 
 with such a primitive weapon as a bow, consequently they
 
 INVETERATE GAMBLERS 187 
 
 made some bad breaks in their attempts to shoot at the 
 skin images. 
 
 The young savages and the white captives got many a 
 tumble, at which all would laugh, for the average Indian 
 boy is as full of fun and enjoys a joke as well as a white 
 boy. 
 
 The riding of the young whites was infinitely better 
 than their shooting, at the start, but after some weeks of 
 constant practice they even excelled their dusky compan- 
 ions; for it is a fact, that the white man can do anything 
 an Indian can, and always better, after he learns how. 
 
 Frequently bets were made on the daily drills, of skins, 
 little trinkets, and sometimes even of ponies, for the sav- 
 age is an inveterate gambler. The young trapper-boys 
 often came out ahead in these friendly contests, and even- 
 tually accumulated quite a lot of savage gewgaws, the re- 
 sult of their superiority in such sports. 
 
 One day, about three months after the boys had been 
 captured, and had become quite proficient in the Comanche 
 language, a raiding party of warriors returned from 
 northern Texas with several prisoners, among whom were 
 three negroes. They had been slaves to a Cherokee chief ; 
 had run away from him, and while they were trying to 
 reach Mexico the war-party of Comanche warriors caught 
 them. They were on horseback, having animals they had 
 stolen from their master; and why the Indians did not 
 kill them might seem a mystery to those who are not 
 acquainted with some of the peculiarities of the North-
 
 188 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 American savage. They never scalp a negro soldier killed 
 in battle; say they are "bad medicine," and call them 
 " buffalo soldiers." 
 
 When the poor frightened negroes were brought before 
 old Ked Bear he was astonished, for he had never before 
 seen a black man. He asked Pierre, to whom the old 
 chiej: had taken quite a liking, why those men blacked 
 their faces and curled their hair. He was even more 
 astonished when Pierre told him that they were born so, 
 but he would not believe it until he had rubbed his finger 
 over their faces and examined very closely every portion 
 of their anatomy. He pulled at their hair, and woiider- 
 ingly inquired of Pierre how it got so kinky. In fact, 
 the dark-skinned men were a great curiosity to the whole 
 village, men, women and children flocking to see and ex- 
 amine them. 
 
 The negroes were terribly frightened all the time, ex- 
 pecting they were to be killed; but Pierre and Summer- 
 field, who had made a special study of the character of 
 their captors, assured them that they would be turned 
 loose in a few days, given food and ponies and treated 
 kindly, for the Indians were rather inclined to regard 
 them as " bad medicine," and were afraid to hurt them, 
 as it might bring down upon the tribe some manifesta- 
 tion of their god, who would be angry if they were hurt. 
 
 In about a week, as Pierre and Summerficld had pre- 
 dicted, Red Bear sent for the negroes, and told them that 
 as they had had a good rest now in his village, they might
 
 8QUAW. MAKES CLOTHES FOR THEM 189 
 
 go where they pleased. He ordered a big supply of food, 
 buffalo-robes to sleep on, good ponies to ride were given 
 them, and he sent a party of eight of his warriors to escort 
 them to the trail into Mexico. 
 
 The boys often went fishing with the young Indians, 
 and learned how to catch trout with a bone hook. They 
 were told one day while out on an excursion of this char- 
 acter, that very soon a party of warriors were going on a 
 raid to the Pawnee country, to steal horses, and the boys 
 were to go with them. The Comanches were the most 
 accomplished horse-thieves of all the Plains tribes, and 
 their wealth consisted principally in the number, of ponies 
 they owned, as a very large portion of their lives was spent 
 on horseback. 
 
 As might have been expected, the boys' clothes soon be- 
 came very ragged, particularly those of Summerfield's 
 and Burton's, which were of cloth, while Pierre's and his 
 brother's, made of the same material as those of the In- 
 dians, were not so badly worn; but the old woman who 
 had charge of their lodge said they all needed new suits, 
 and she was charged with making them. 
 
 Of course, they were to be similar in every respect to 
 those worn by the warriors : a buckskin hunting-shirt, 
 reaching to the waist, and trousers of the same material, 
 but made so as to require a breech-cloth, as they do not 
 cover the small of the back. Moccasins were the only 
 foot-covering worn, but frequently they were elaborately 
 beaded.
 
 190 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 The women of the tribe wear a buckskin petticoat and 
 dress, reaching to the knee, and trousers like the men. 
 The dress of the squaws is generally fringed, and the most 
 favored often wear a handsome red blanket in addition 
 to the rest of their costume. The women, as usual in all 
 savage tribes, perform all the labor. They are ever busy : 
 they cook, wash, and with great skill make up all the 
 garments worn. For needles, they use awls made of thorns 
 or sharp bones. The thread is made of a species of wild 
 flax, though they often use the sinews of the animals taken 
 in the chase. All the skins are dressed and tanned by the 
 women, and their taste in ornamentation, with both beada 
 and small shells, is quite wonderful.
 
 CHAPTEK X. 
 
 THE COMANCHES. THEIE SPLENDID HORSEMANSHIP. 
 
 TACTICS IN BATTLE. MANNER OF CAPTURING WILD 
 
 HOBSES. KELIGION OF THE TRIBE. SIGNALS OF THE 
 
 SAVAGES. BUKIAL OF THE DEAD. A RAID INTO MEXICO. 
 
 WARRIORS REPORT TO THEIR HEAD CHIEF. SAVAGE 
 
 SURGERY. MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION. THEIR FOOD. 
 
 CAMP IN THE MOUNTAINS. THE BOYS TUSSLE WITH 
 
 A CALIFORNIA LION. KILL A BLACK BEAR. BACK TO 
 
 THE VILLAGE. DISCONTENTMENT. RED BEAR REMOVES 
 
 THE TRIBE TO THE WICHITA MOUNTAINS. THE BOYS 
 
 TALK OF TRYING TO MAKE THEIR ESCAPE. 
 
 A? THE time of the capture of the young buffalo- 
 hunters, the Comanches were in all probability 
 the most formidable and blood-thirsty savages of 
 the Great Plains. They were the most perfect eques- 
 trians in the world. Forever on horseback, forever at war, 
 they roamed restlessly from one point of the great prairies 
 to another in search of the buffalo which supported them. 
 They acknowledged no superior to that of their own tribe. 
 They robbed indiscriminately all who ventured through 
 their inhospitable hunting-grounds, murdering the de- 
 fenseless who were so unfortunate as to fall under their 
 hatred. They were a dangerous, implacable, cunning, 
 brutal and treacherous enemy, half centaur, 1 half demon, 
 living but to kill and eat. 
 
 1 Centaur: In heathen mythology, a mythical creature, half horse, half man. 
 (191)
 
 192 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 They were trained in warlike feats from their infancy. 
 Wheji perfected in the art of their splendid horseback- 
 riding, they would dash along at full speed, then suddenly 
 drop over the side of their animal, leaving no part of their 
 person visible but the sole of one foot, which was fastened 
 over the horse's back, as a purchase by which the rider 
 could pull himself to an upright position. In that atti- 
 tude they could ride any distance, and at the same time use 
 their bow or fourteen-foot lance with deadly effect. One 
 of their favorite methods of attack was to ride swiftly, 
 at the top of their animal's speed, toward the enemy, and 
 then, just before they came within range, drop on the 
 opposite side of the horse, dash past, and pour into the 
 surprised foe a shower of arrows delivered from under the 
 animal's neck, or even under his belly. It was useless 
 for the enemy to return the shots, as the whole body of 
 the Comanche was hidden behind that of his horse. There 
 was nothing to aim at but the sole of the savage's foot, 
 just projecting over the horse's back. 
 
 Often the Comanches would try to steal upon their ene- 
 mies by leaving their lances behind them, slinging them- 
 selves along the sides of their horses, and approaching 
 carelessly, as though these horses were nothing but a troop 
 of animals without riders. A quick eye was necessary to 
 detect this ruse, which was generally betrayed by the fact 
 that the horses always kept the same side toward the 
 looker-on, which would seldom be the case were they wild 
 and unrestrained in their movements.
 
 CAPTURING WILD HOR8E8 193 
 
 Every Comanche warrior had one favorite horse, w T hich 
 he never mounted except for the war-path or for hunting 
 the buffalo, always using an inferior upon ordinary oc- 
 casions. Swiftness was the chief quality for which the 
 steed was selected, and for no price would the owner part 
 with his favorite animal. Like all uncivilized peoples, the 
 Comanche treated his horse with a strange mixture of 
 cruelty and kindness. While engaged in a hunt, for ex- 
 ample, he spurred and whipped the animal in the cruelest 
 manner; but as soon as he returned, he carefully turned 
 the valued beast over to his squaw, who stood ready to 
 receive it as if it were a cherished member of the family. 
 
 The manner in which the Comanches replenished their 
 stock of horses was remarkable. In many portions of the 
 central regions of the continent, until within a few years 
 ago (there may be some yet left in remote places), horses 
 had become so perfectly acclimatized, had run wild for 
 so many decades, that they had lost all traces of domesti- 
 cation, and were as truly wild as the buffalo or antelope, 
 and assembled in immense herds led by the strongest and 
 swiftest stallions. 
 
 It was from these immense droves that the Comanches 
 supplied themselves with horses, which were so absolutely 
 necessary to them. When a warrior wished a fresh animal 
 he mounted his best that he had at home, provided himself 
 with a lasso, and started out in search of the nearest herd 
 of wild ones. When he arrived as closely as possible with- 
 out being in danger of discovery, he dashed at them at 
 13
 
 194 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 full speed, and singling out one of the animals that suited 
 him, (which, hampered by the multitude of its companions, 
 ran on,) he soon threw his lasso over its neck. As the 
 noose became firmly settled, the Indian jumped off his 
 own animal. The pony was trained to stand where left, 
 and allowed himself to be dragged by the frightened horse 
 he had taken, and which shortly fell by the choking the 
 leather cord effected. As soon as the horse had gone to the 
 ground, the savage came up to it very cautiously, keeping 
 the lasso tight enough to prevent it breathing perfectly, 
 and yet loose enough to guard against complete strangu- 
 lation, and at last was able to place one hand over its 
 eyes and the other on its nostrils. The horse was now at 
 the Indian's mercy. Then, in order to impress upon the 
 animal the fact of its servitude, he hobbled together its 
 fore feet for a time, and fastened a noose to its lower jaw; 
 but within a wonderfully short period he was able to re- 
 move .the hobbles, and to ride the conquered animal into 
 camp. Of course, during the time occupied in taming 
 the horse it jumped arid struggled in the wildest manner ; 
 but after the one attempt for the mastery it gave up, and 
 became the willing slave of its captor. 
 
 One of the most astonishing things in the whole pro- 
 cess was the rapidity with which the operation of taming 
 was accomplished. An experienced hunter would chase, 
 capture and break a wild horse within an hour, and do it 
 so effectually that almost before the herd was out of sight 
 the wild animal was ridden as easily as if it had been born
 
 CAPTURING WILD HORSES 195 
 
 in servitude. The Comanche, cruel master as he gen- 
 erally was, always took special care not to break the spirit 
 of his horse, and prided himself on the jumps and the 
 bucking which the animal indulged in whenever it received 
 its rider upon its back. , 
 
 Of course, the very best animals were never captured 
 from the herd. It was impossible to capture them, be- 
 cause they always placed themselves at the head of the 
 troop, assuming the position of leaders, and dashed off at 
 full speed as soon as they feared danger. Consequently 
 they were often a half-mile or more in advance of their 
 fellows, so that an Indian stood no chance of overtaking 
 them on a horse impeded by the weight of the rider. 
 
 When the Indians began to receive firearms and had 
 learned how to use them, they adopted a new method for 
 capturing wild horses, called " creasing." Taking his 
 rifle, the hunter crept as near the herd as he could get, 
 and watched until he decided which horse he wanted. He 
 waited until the horse stood with its side toward him, then 
 aimed carefully at the top of its neck and fired. If the 
 shot was correctly guided, the bullet just grazed the ridge 
 of the neck and the horse fell as if dead, stunned for* a 
 moment by the shock. It recovered within a very short 
 time, however; but before it had regained its feet, the 
 Indian was able to go up to it, hobble and secure it. It 
 was a very effectual method of wild-horse catching, but 
 always broke the spirit of the animal, and deprived it of
 
 196 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 that fire and animation which the warrior prized so highly ; 
 therefore the Indians resorted to it only occasionally. 
 
 A Comanche funeral was a curious spectacle. They 
 would carry for a hundred miles or more a dead warrior 
 killed in battle, that his body might lie within the limits 
 of his own nation. The departed warrior was wrapped in 
 buffalo-robes, and laid on a scaffold made in a tree, as 
 high as the body could be placed. His bows and arrows 
 were laid beside him, buffalo-meat put under his head, 
 and his horse killed at the foot of the tree. When all tht 
 ceremony was over, the assembled warriors dropped on 
 their knees, and with hands ^uplifted and clasped, eyes 
 raised to the sun, 1 in a deeply devout manner murmured 
 their prayers to their deity; asking that the departed 
 brother be taken into his bosom, and be happily revived in 
 the heavenly hunting-grounds. 
 
 The Comanches believe that a dead warrior with his 
 bow and arrows, sitting astride the horse at the foot of 
 the tree in which his body rests, will ascend to the sun, 
 bearing the provisions that have been placed under his 
 head, which are thought to be sufficient to last him on his 
 journey, where he is expected to find an abundance upon 
 his arrival there. After the lapse of a century, he will 
 return to his nation, with the same bow and arrows, riding 
 the same horse ! All men, women and children after death 
 must return at the end of a hundred years of supreme hap- 
 
 1 The ran la the god, or Great Spirit, of the Oomanches.
 
 INDIAN SIGNALS 197 
 
 piness in the sun, in order to keep up the population and 
 power of the tribe. 
 
 The signals of savages by means of smoke are some- 
 tiling wonderful; each particular kind having its special 
 meaning. A sudden puff, rising into a graceful column, 
 and almost as suddenly losing its identity, indicates the 
 presence of a strange party in the vicinity; but if the 
 columns are multiplied rapidly and repeatedly, they 
 serve as a warning to show that the travelers are well 
 armed and numerous. If a steady smoke is maintained 
 for some time the object is to collect the warriors and 
 the scattered bands of the savages at some designated 
 point, prepared for hostilities. These signals are made 
 in the same order at night, by means of fires, which, hav- 
 ing been kindled, are either alternately exposed and 
 shrouded from view, or suffered to burn steadily, as occa- 
 sion may require. 
 
 The grass on the prairies, and especially along the 
 banks of the streams, where it grows more rank, if pressed 
 down during the dry season will retain its impress and 
 grow daily more yellow, until the rains impart new life 
 into it. The savages are so well versed in this style of sig- 
 naling that they can tell by the appearance of the grass how 
 many days have passed since it was trodden upon; whether 
 the party were Indians or white men; about how many 
 there were; and also of what particular tribe, if Indians, 
 they were members. 
 
 To do this effectually they select some well-defined
 
 198 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 footstep, for which they hunt with a marvelous avidity, 
 and gently pressing down the grass so as not to disturb the 
 surrounding herbage, they very carefully examine the 
 imprint. The difference between the crushing heel of a 
 white man's boot and the light imprint left by an Indian's 
 moccasin is too striking to admit of a doubt; while the 
 different styles of moccasins used by the various tribes are 
 well known to all the others. The time which has elapsed 
 since the party passed over the ground is determined by the 
 discoloration, and by breaking off a few pieces of the grass. 
 Numbers are arrived at by the multiplicity of tracks. 
 Signaling by bent twigs, broken branches, and blazed trees, 
 while traveling through the forest, is also common. 
 
 If a mounted party have been on the trail, their number, 
 quality, and time of passing are determined with exacti- 
 tude, as well as the precise sex and species of the animal? 
 ridden. The moment such a trail is discovered they fol 
 low it eagerly until some of the dung of the animals is 
 found, which is immediately broken open, and from its 
 condition of moisture and other properties the date of 
 the passage of the party is arrived at with wonderful 
 accuracy, as well as the region from which they came. 
 This latter point is determined by the contents of the 
 dung ; whether of gramma-grass and other varieties which 
 are grown only in certain parts of the country. When 
 barley or corn is discovered, it is certain that whites have 
 passed over the trail. Barley shows almost conclusively 
 that they were Americans; if corn, they were Mexicans.
 
 INDIAN SIGNALS 199 
 
 Signaling by stones is much more difficult to compre- 
 hend than any of the other methods, and few white men 
 have ever reached a proficiency in this art. The celebrated 
 Kit Carson was the most skillful, and, as is well known, 
 no man had a keener insight into Indian methods than that 
 famous frontiersman. The traveler is often surprised 
 to find a lot of stones on the trail, apparently without 
 observable arrangement. The only thing that attracts his 
 attention is the utter absence of others anywhere in the 
 immediate vicinity. He will know intuitively that they 
 must have been placed there, and that is all. But they 
 have a meaning according to whether they are laid in 
 their original position, i. e., with the same side toward 
 the ground, or whether turned up, on edge, half turned 
 over, etc. 
 
 In signaling they also make use of a piece of looking- 
 glass, a kind of heliograph. 1 
 
 The mirror also sometimes serves for another purpose: 
 The warrior fastens a fragment of one to his shield, and 
 is often able to dazzle the eyes of an enemy taking aim at 
 him, thus causing his shot to miss. 
 
 The Indian would give a horse for a small mirror, but 
 
 1 Heliograph, from the Greek helios, the sun, and grapho, I write. The modern 
 heliograph, used by the United States Army for signaling on the plains and in the 
 mountains, is a circular mirror, revolving on a horizontal axis, and is adjusted to the 
 required angle of Incidence with the sun by a telescopic rod, by which the rays can be 
 directed to any point with accuracy. The dots and dashes of the Morse system of 
 telegraphy are used in transmitting messages. Ever since the North-American Indian 
 came in contact with the white man, and learned of reflecting surfaces, such as a look- 
 ing-glass or bright metal, he has employed them in a crude sort of way aa a means of 
 signaling ; but his usual method is by means of fire and siuoke, his code being a marvel 
 of savage ingenuity.
 
 200 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 cares nothing for a valuable watch. This fact Summer- 
 field soon discovered, for the chief took his watch and 
 pocket-mirror, the latter with a grunt of evident satisfac- 
 tion, but the watch Ked Bear simply broke into pieces, 
 which he gave to his favorite squaw to wear as ornaments. 
 
 " There goes my last Christmas present from my dear 
 mother," said Summerficld, as Red Bear grabbed his 
 watch ; " but I suppose it would be of no use for me to pro- 
 test," he continued, appealing to Pierre and the inter- 
 preter. 
 
 " Not a bit," replied the white captive. " He could 
 raise your hair, if he wanted to ; he could merely tell one 
 of his braves to scalp you, and the red devil would do it 
 with a grin of satisfaction. We had best take things as 
 easy as we can, and trust to luck to get out of here one of 
 these days." 
 
 By Christmas, after the boys had been with the tribe 
 for nearly six months and had become quite proficient in 
 the language, they were told that a party of warriors were 
 going down into New Mexico to fight the Apaches, and 
 that Red Bear wanted the, white boys to go with them. 
 He was to send five hundred of his best braves, who were 
 to steal all the horses they could and bring back as many 
 scalps as possible. 
 
 Pierre, Summerfield, Carlos and Burton talked the 
 matter over at the first opportunity when they found 
 themselves alone, and concluded that they dared not re- 
 fuse to go with the party ; that they rather liked the idea
 
 STARTING ON THE RAID 201 
 
 of such a trip, it would be something to brag about when 
 they got away from the savages : but they did not at all 
 take to that part of the chief's program which included 
 the murder of innocent people and wrenching off their 
 hair. 
 
 In a few days, grand preparations were made for the 
 raid. The best war-dresses of the warriors were brought 
 out from their parfleche 1 boxes by the squaws, and 
 cleaned up; the fastest ponies were selected from the im- 
 mense herds of the tribe and brought closer in to the 
 village ; the shields and bows carefully inspected ; many 
 new arrows manufactured; and the squaws were kept busy 
 until long into the night for several days, preparing the 
 rations of dried buffalo-meat and other articles to eat. 
 Every morning and afternoon, the warriors particularly 
 the younger ones, who were to make their first venture into 
 battle, including the white boys drilled constantly on 
 the race-course. 
 
 At last everything was declared ready for the march, 
 and early one morning, with the whole village out of the 
 lodges to give them encouragement, the five hundred war- 
 riors in full war-paint and feathers, their long lances at 
 poise, shields, bows and quivers of arrows in place, moved 
 out, making the air hideous with their whoops and cries 
 of defiance. 
 
 The party camped on some stream every night, and 
 hunted buffalo on the way, in which the boys participated. 
 
 1 Prrfleehc Is the tanned hide of the buffalo.
 
 202 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 Now that Suinmerfield and Burton had become experts in 
 horseback riding, they killed just as many of the huge 
 animals as either Pierre, Carlos, or any of the young 
 " bucks." 
 
 It was a novel sight at night, just before the savages 
 went to sleep, to see them get down on their knees facing 
 toward where the sun had set, with their hands elevated 
 and joined, and pray for the successful termination of 
 the expedition, lots of scalps of their enemies, and many 
 horses. At sunrise the same ceremony was repeated, as 
 is the daily custom of the Indians, both in their villages 
 and in the field. 
 
 The party was absent from the village about two months, 
 during which time it had many a skirmish with detached 
 bands of Apaches, but always came out victorious. The 
 warriors brought back with them six hundred ponies and 
 fifty scalps, but lost seven of their own braves. Their dead 
 bodies were transported on ponies for more than two hun- 
 dred miles, until the boundaries of the Comanche nation 
 were reached, and were there buried with all the ceremony 
 described in a former paragraph. 
 
 The next morning after the arrival of the war party 
 at the village, the warriors were ordered to assemble at 
 the old chief's lodge, to make their report of the expedi- 
 tion to him, as required by the customs of the tribe. 
 
 Every warrior took his place in a circle in front of the 
 entrance to the lodge of Red Bear, the old chief sitting in 
 the doorway on a magnificently embroidered buffalo-robe,
 
 REPORT TO THE CHIEF 208 
 
 his son, the war-chief who had led the party on the 
 raid, by his side. First, the medicine-pipe was lighted 
 and passed from one to the other, and after a smoke, 
 which is always the preliminary to everything that a 
 savage does, in a very loud voice, so that all of his braves 
 who had accompanied him could hear him, the events of 
 the expedition to the minutest detail were narrated by the 
 war-chief. 
 
 While he was talking, the most profound silence pre- 
 vailed; and when he had concluded his narrative, he 
 asked his warriors one by one if he had not told the story 
 of their expedition correctly. These reports are usually 
 very accurate, but if a mistake is made by the narrator, 
 some of the warriors correct it. The war-chief was very 
 profuse in his praises of the conduct of the white cap- 
 tives, particularly Burton, who had killed an Apache. 
 
 Many of the warriors were severely wounded during 
 their battles. The majority of them, however, recovered 
 very soon, by the careful nursing of the squaws ; but three 
 had been so terribly injured that between them the am- 
 putation of two legs and one arm was necessary. The 
 wounded were returned to the village on buffalo-robes 
 suspended between two ponies, forming a kind of litter, 
 in common use among the tribes for transporting the sick 
 and wounded in battle. 
 
 The amputation of the wounded limbs as witnessed by 
 the white boys they described as barbarous in the extreme. 
 The only instruments used were an old butcher-knife and
 
 204 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 a saw made from a piece of hoop-iron. The offensive 
 members were cut off with the miserable knife, the bone 
 severed with the improvised saw, and the stump seared 
 with a hot iron, and then bound up with a poultice of 
 bark, which is always to be found in the villages and 
 is carried on expeditions. 
 
 The savage who had to undergo the frightful operatron 
 was placed on the ground, and tightly held by another 
 of his companions, while the victim hejd in his teeth a 
 leaden bullet. Only a few slight groans were given, the 
 poor man bearing up most manfully. Strange to say, all 
 recovered from such savage surgical manipulations. 
 
 After the wounded had recovered, and the period of 
 mourning for the dead had ended, a feast was given which 
 continued uninterruptedly for fifteen days, in which 
 horse-racing, foot-races and ball games were the principal 
 amusements. The ball game among the Indians is very 
 similar to a white boy's " shinny," and played with just 
 such crooked sticks. The players are dressed with only 
 a simple breechcloth and a pair of moccasins. Sides are 
 chosen, and much in the shape of stakes is always put up 
 on the result of the game. 
 
 The Comanches spoke the Spanish (or rather, the cor- 
 rupted Mexican) with remarkable facility, and their fre- 
 quent raids into New Mexico, with resultant successful 
 plundering, had supplied them with many silver-mounted 
 saddles, bridles, and spurs; and these were often of much 
 intrinsic value. Consequently their ponies were gor-
 
 MOVING THE VILLAGE 205 
 
 geously caparisoned, which was a surprise to the boys, 
 until they learned from experience how the Indians got 
 them, and were themselves possessed of some by the same 
 means. 
 
 The arms of the Comanches for many years were con- 
 fined to the primitive bow and arrows, but at thirty yards 
 they could discharge them as rapidly, or even more rapidly 
 in the hands of an expert warrior, than the repeating 
 rifles of to-day. The boys' rifles were a new sensation to 
 the old chief. Of course he had seen many of the trap- 
 pers' guns, muzzle-loading and flint-lock, but those of the 
 boys, especially Summerfield's and Burton's, were the 
 then new Spencer breech-loading arm, and the warriors 
 were surprised at their rapidity and accuracy in firing 
 them. In a short time all the Indians of the Plains were 
 well armed with the most improved weapons, by the munifi- 
 cence of the Government. 
 
 The village moved in the fall to the region of the foot- 
 hills of the Rocky Mountains to gather wild gooseberries, 
 cherries, and the nuts of the piiion. The operation of 
 transporting the equipage and lodge goods of the savages 
 was conducted entirely by the squaws. A long pole was 
 strapped to each side of a pony, called a travois by the 
 old French-Canadian trappers, with a platform fashioned 
 on the parts dragging behind the animal, on which the 
 tepees and very little children were carried. Many of 
 the dogs, of which there are always hundreds in an In- 
 dian village, were made to do duty when moving. Small
 
 206 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 travois were constructed for them exactly like those for 
 the larger animals; and everything not transported on 
 these travois was carried by the women. 
 
 In packing the dogs, it is amusing to see the trouble that 
 sometimes ensues, for many of the little brutes will not 
 submit to the treatment of being made beasts of burden, 
 and also worry those that are willing. Consequently, 
 fights are of common occurrence, often including the 
 squaws, who take sides with their respective dogs, and a 
 general free-for-all scrabble is the result. 
 
 The warriors ride on the flanks of the moving band, 
 leaving everything for the women to do, and always seem 
 to take great delight in these fights between the dogs and 
 their owners. Sometimes more than twenty thousand 
 ponies, dogs, women, and children, together with the war- 
 riors, constituted the population of one of the Comanche 
 villages in the past. 
 
 Arriving at their destination, after a temporary camp 
 was selected by the chief the lodges were erected, which 
 required the whole of the first day, and the next morning 
 all the women started out to gather pinons and acorns. 
 
 The nut of the pinon tree is about half the size of a 
 chestnut, and is used very extensively as an article of food 
 both by the poorer classes of Mexicans and the Indians. 
 It grows in a cone which contains twenty-five or thirty 
 of the nuts, and is quite oily. The nuts are prepared 
 for winter eating by covering over great piles of the cones 
 with earth and then setting the heap on fire. This is
 
 THOUGHTS OF HOME 207 
 
 allowed only to smoulder, in order to bake and soften the 
 shells. When the cones are reduced nearly to charcoal, 
 the nut and its kernel may easily be taken out. 
 
 Acorns are pounded into meal by a stone pestle, and 
 are then boiled with corn mush. The squaws also gather 
 immense quantities of wild currants, gooseberries, plums, 
 and choke-cherries; but the choke-cherries of the moun- 
 tains are entirely different from those found in the East. 
 All of these fruits are dried for winter use, and, when 
 the year is a prolific one for them, form a good portion 
 of the savages' rations. 
 
 Before they started for the mountains, Carlos often 
 said that he wished he had his dog Cyrus with him, if 
 for only a single night; for, as he told the other boys, he 
 would write a note, tie it to his neck, and telf him to take 
 it home, which he certainly would do, even though the 
 distance were a hundred miles. 
 
 " It is not more than seventy in a straight line," said 
 Pierre ; " but there we have n't got any Cyrus ! " 
 
 " I wonder," said Summerfield, " whether your folks 
 have ever attempted to find out where we are ? " 
 
 " I know they have," said Carlos ; " and they will keep 
 on trying to find us until they do." 
 
 " Well, we 've got to wait our time," said Burton, " and 
 if it were not for the worry and trouble 1 'm giving my 
 father and mother, and losing my chance at college, I 'd 
 like to stay with the Indians a whole year. I like this 
 wild life. Eed Bear has treated us very nicely, and all
 
 208 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 the boys seem to be our friends. We might have fared 
 much worse, if we had fallen in with any other chief." 
 
 This conversation was carried on while they were trav- 
 eling to' the new camp at the foot of the mountains. They 
 had never given up the idea that soon they would be res- 
 cued by the Government, or that some trader would come 
 down to the village and find out they were there. 
 
 They did not know, however, that several traders had 
 been to the village while they were there, but the wily 
 old chief had sent them out of the way on some sort of a 
 mission, either herding the ponies at a great distance from 
 the village, or hunting the buffalo with a party of war- 
 riors. The chief always knew when strangers were ap- 
 proaching his little kingdom, for the savages keep up a 
 system of espionage through the medium of a well-trained 
 corps of " runners," who give any information by signals 
 of smoke or fire as already described. 
 
 Red Bear expected, when the proper time arrived, to 
 receive a ransom from the Government, either in the form 
 of money or goods, and for that reason was very good to 
 his young captives. 
 
 The temporary camp in the mountains was located on 
 the Rio Corralitos, in Old Mexico, and the slopes of the 
 mountains were covered with the piiion, the stream 
 abounded in fish, and wild berries grew in profusion. 
 
 During the stay of the savages in the (for them) charm- 
 ing region, there were no raids made upon the inoffensive 
 Mexicans. The presence of the warriors was necessary
 
 BRUIN IS CAUGHT ON A LEDGE.
 
 THEIR AMUSEMENTS 209 
 
 to protect the women in their duties of gathering the 
 winter supply of food; so the men idled away their time 
 in smoking, gambling, and sleeping. 
 
 This leisure gave the boys, both red and white, lots of 
 time to themselves, and they improved it by indulging in 
 all sorts of amusements: fishing, swimming, hunting, 
 shooting at a mark, playing ball, and everything else that 
 the place and the time offered. They had many adventures 
 while wandering through the somber mountains with their 
 dogs, for as stated, the village was overrun with as motley 
 a gathering of canines as it is possible to conceive of. 
 There were none of them thoroughbreds, like Cyrus, Jupe 
 and the others at the ranch on the Arkansas, for their 
 pointed ears showed very plainly their close affinity to the 
 wolves, with which they often affiliated. 
 
 The mountains were inhabited by various animals, espe- 
 cially the so-called California lion ; and it was while living 
 in the temporary camp of the Comanches that Summer- 
 field, Burton, Pierre and Carlos made their first acquaint- 
 ance with the ferocious beast, in which one of the largest 
 and best of the Indian dogs lost his life. 
 
 The boys with half a dozen of their dusky companions 
 were roaming through the hills one morning, and had 
 gotten about five miles from the camp, when they suddenly 
 came upon a lion, or cougar, that was sleeping in the 
 underbrush, after partly devouring a deer which he had 
 killed, portions of which were lying near the beast 
 14
 
 210 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 The lion was evidently very sluggish, for even the noise 
 the boys made did not awaken him as they walked by his 
 retreat; but one of the dogs ferreted him out of his lair, 
 and the now astonished brute attempted to escape by 
 climbing a pine tree near by. Before he could effect it, 
 however, one of the dogs caught him by the leg, and both 
 lion and dog rolled over on the ground, biting and tear- 
 ing each other terribly in the conflict. At last, by a 
 supreme effort on the part of the lion, the poor dog's side 
 was ripped wide open by the sharp claws of the lion's 
 hind feet, just as one, of the Indian boys fired a sharp 
 pointed arrow into the brute, which made him let go his 
 hold on the poor animal. 
 
 The dog was too far gone when the boys came up to him, 
 and he lived only, a few moments. He was one of the 
 best of all in the camp, and was called " White Swan " 
 by the tribe. The young savages were almost inconsolable 
 over the loss of " White Swan," but swiftly revenged his 
 death by pouring a shower of arrows into the lion, in 
 which the white boys assisted, and the brute died in a 
 few seconds after he was completely riddled by the swiftly 
 fired savage weapons. 
 
 The young Indians soon skinned him, intending to take 
 his hide back to camp to show their prowess in killing such 
 a formidable beast. 
 
 On their way back, they came upon the fresh trail of a 
 bear, and all determined to hunt him up and kill him too. 
 They tracked him to a ledge of rocks, on a projecting
 
 FIGHT WITH A BLACK BEAR 211 
 
 shelf of which he was taking his morning siesta, probably 
 having gorged himself upon some animal he had caught 
 on his predatory tour, the tracks of which the boys had 
 come across. 
 
 Bruin was perched pretty high up on the ledge, and 
 above him it was almost perpendicular, so that the only 
 way for him to get down from the shelf was by the same 
 trail he had gone up, and that led directly to where the 
 boys were standing ready to give him a bloody reception. 
 
 The bear woke up, and eyeing his enemies for a few 
 seconds, gave a low growl, and looked above him to dis- 
 cover some means of escape that way; but he saw it was 
 impossible, so stood at bay, snarling, snorting, and show- 
 ing his teeth. 
 
 Fortunately for the boys, perhaps, the animal was only 
 a common black bear, for if he had been a cinnamon or a 
 grizzly, their chances of killing him without losing one 
 or more of their own party, or at least getting badly 
 wounded, would have been very slim; but the black bear 
 is not a very ferocious animal, unless when a she one has 
 her cubs with her. 
 
 The bear evidently understood his awkward position, 
 and the dilemma he was in, for he cried like a baby as 
 he looked down upon his enemies. 
 
 It was a comical sight to the white boys, and they could 
 not restrain their laughter at the hopeless-looking expres- 
 sion of the bear's face, as he seemed to realize perfectly 
 that he was " a gone goose."
 
 212 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 Presently, the Indians could stand the inaction of both 
 themselves and Bruin no longer, so they drew up their 
 bows and poured a shower of arrows at him, nearly all 
 of which, owing to the shortness of the range, for the 
 bear was not more than thirty feet from the group of boys 
 that were firing at him, took effect, but none of them 
 happened to hit a vital part until fifty of the feathered 
 missiles had been poured into him, when, by a lucky ven- 
 ture of Carlos', an arrow pierced the beast's heart, and he 
 tumbled off the shelf right at the feet of the delighted boys. 
 
 He had a beautiful robe, for he was very fat, and the 
 work of skinning him occupied but a few moments. Then 
 the two hides, one that of the lion and the other that of 
 the bear, were rolled up, and transported on a pole borne 
 on the shoulders of two boys, who took " turns about " in 
 carrying them until they arrived at camp. 
 
 The tribe remained at the camp for more than two 
 months, until all the nuts, fruit and other things the 
 women had come after were exhausted, and then prep- 
 arations were at once made to return to their old perma- 
 nent ground south of Hackberry creek in the Indian Ter- 
 ritory. All was confusion again, the same general fights 
 between the dogs and the squaws taking place, that had 
 characterized their start from the village ; but the animals 
 were more heavily weighted than before with the vast 
 accumulation of food the women had gathered at the foot 
 of the mountains. 
 
 The tribe were many days on the road, and coming
 
 DRIVING BUFFALOES OVER PRECIPICE 213 
 
 across several vast herds of buffalo, some time was occu- 
 pied in killing them; and as the tribe had hundreds of 
 extra ponies with them, they could easily transport thou- 
 sands of pounds of the meat. 
 
 When the tribe reached Little Red river, they found 
 the prairie adjoining that stream's high banks literally 
 black with the coveted animals. At a point near where 
 they pitched camp one afternoon, there was a high preci- 
 pice, at least five hundred feet from its brink to the mar- 
 gin of the water. Here they succeeded in surrounding a 
 large herd of buffalo, in which all the warriors and the 
 young men assisted, and stampeding them, the huge ani- 
 mals rushed over the embankment and were precipitated 
 on the rocks below, hundreds being killed by the awful 
 fall. All hands then went to work skinning. The squaws 
 cut the meat into strips, salted it with salt gathered from 
 the saline springs which abound in that region, dried it 
 in a sort of twist, with a streak of fat and lean together, 
 and put it into bales for packing. It took them all the 
 next day to properly prepare what they had killed in that 
 one lucky venture of the precipice, and they started on 
 their way the next morning rejoicing at their unusual 
 good fortune. 
 
 When the tribe arrived at the old ground and the lodges 
 were erected and the village looked as it did before their 
 migration to the mountains, a great feast and dance was 
 given, in honor of their good luck. - 
 
 The lost trapper boys and their companions were now
 
 214 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 entering upon their second year with the Comanchcs, 
 Winter was rapidly approaching, though the name of the 
 month alone betrayed it, for tho weather was delightful. 
 The only change observable to the young Bostonians, who 
 were used to cold, snow and fogs in their harsh New Eng- 
 land climate, was that the trees had donned their autumn 
 dress of russet, and many varieties of birds with which 
 they had become familiar during the summer, now no 
 longej were to be seen, having departed on their migration 
 southward. The grass on the prairies was brown, the 
 woods rustled at every breath of the wind as their leaves, 
 dry and crisp, fell in showers to the earth. The notes of 
 the cranes high in midair were no longer heard, the pleas- 
 ant " Bob- White " of the quail taking their place, or the 
 sharp whirr of the prairie-grouse as they took to the shelter 
 of the timber, their usual winter quarters. 
 
 With a general dullness in the character of the village 
 incident to the close of the busy season, the boys began 
 to long for those things which civilization brings: the 
 festivities of the Christmas season, and the conventional- 
 ities of the New Year. So, for the first time since they 
 were captured by the Indians, did the time hang heavy 
 on their hands. 
 
 They had become sufficiently conversant with the lan- 
 guage of the Comanches to understand what were the most 
 frequent topics upon which the savages talked. They 
 heard of the meeting of the Peace Commission, and noted 
 the mutter ings of disappointment at the failure of the
 
 MOVE TO THE WICHITA MOUNTAINS 215 
 
 Government to ratify the stipulations of the treaty made 
 at Medicine Lodga Also, they learned shortly after 
 their return from the Rio Corralitos, that it was the inten- 
 tion of Red Bear to remove the village to the Wichita 
 Mountains, so as to be farther from the region of country 
 occupied by the whites, as a general war was to be inaugu- 
 rated by all the tribes. 
 
 The boys were much disappointed when they heard the 
 decision of the old chief, for they thought the chances of 
 their getting away from their captors considerably lessened 
 if they went so far to the south. 
 
 By the last of November the new village was firmly es- 
 tablished at the foot of the range known as the Wichita 
 Mountains, though it is a misnomer to call them such. 
 They are, in fact, but an aggregation of isolated peaks 
 standing on a level prairie, principally composed of gran- 
 ite in various shades of color, green predominating. 
 They are much broken up on their sides, and from the 
 base of nearly every one of them a cold spring of water 
 gushes. The region is well timbered, and is the home of 
 innumerable songsters; the mocking-bird, one of Amer- 
 ica's sweetest warblers, and the thrush prevailing. 
 
 It was a favorite winter residence of the tribes that 
 were friendly with each other, as the climate was all that 
 could be desired, mild in the extreme, and the skies of a 
 deep blue, rivaling the sapphire. 
 
 The boys were pleased with the change of location: it 
 was more picturesque than the region of the old village,
 
 216 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 but the enchantment was dispelled when they considered 
 how much farther off were those whom they loved and 
 longed to see again. 
 
 The tribe was kept posted by a corps of runners, who 
 from day to day reported to Ked Bear all that took place ; 
 and of course the boys, through their young Indian com- 
 panions, were kept informed. 
 
 They heard of massacres having been committed by the 
 Cheyenne^ upon the Smoky Hill river, and that a general 
 war was imminent. They saw, too, many of the most 
 noted warriors of the tribe depart from the- village and not 
 return. These they were told had gone to join the allied 
 forces in the field ; and they began to think whether their 
 own lives were any longer safe in the village. Although 
 no difference was apparent in the conduct of the savages 
 toward them, they instinctively believed it would be better 
 to make their escape, if possible ; and the sooner they could 
 effect it, the better.
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 ANXIETY AT THE RANCH OF THE DELAHOYDES. THE 
 
 PEACE COMMISSION. THE TKEATY. BROKEN FAITH 
 
 OF THE GOVERNMENT. FIRST BATTLE WITH THE AL- 
 LIED TRIBES. THE OPENING OF THE CELEBRATED 
 
 WINTER CAMPAIGN BY GENERAL SHERIDAN. GENERAL 
 
 SULLY'S FIGHT. ESTABLISHMENT OF CAMP SUPPLY. 
 
 GENERAL CUSTER^S FAMOUS MARCH. THE ATTACK ON 
 
 BLACK KETTLE'S VILLAGE. A GREAT VICTORY. SHOOT- 
 ING THE PONIES. PRISONERS. ARRIVAL OF THE TROOP- 
 ERS AT CAMP SUPPLY AGAIN. IN THE FIELD. THE 
 
 FATE OF MAJOR ELLIOTTS COMMAND. GENERAL CUS- 
 
 TER'S REPORT. 
 
 TEN days had elapsed at the ranch on the Arkansas, 
 since the departure of the Del ahoy de boys and 
 their young guests on their buffalo hunt far south 
 of the river. Then their non-arrival home began to give 
 the parents of Pierre and Carlos some uneasiness, but they 
 did not worry a great deal, until the evening of the elev- 
 enth day, the last moment it was probable they would 
 remain away, and still no signs of the absent ones. 
 
 The Mexican cook came up to the dugout and expressed 
 his surprise at the delay of the return of his employers. 
 He told Mr. Delahoyde they had ever, been very prompt 
 in their dealings with him ; he had never known them to 
 break an engagement, or remain beyond the appointed 
 time. 
 
 (217)
 
 218 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 Mr. Delahoyde told him that he and his wife were much 
 worried, and that if they did not make their appearance 
 that evening (it was then about four o'clock), he intended 
 to go and search for some sign of them, and would like to 
 have him go along. 
 
 The Mexican said he would gladly go, and it was agreed 
 that they should start at daylight in the morning. Mr. 
 Delahoyde suggested that they ride the two animals of the 
 Bostonians, as his own ponies were far out on the prairie,, 
 and he could not get them up in time to start at the ap- 
 pointed hour unless he went after them that evening. For 
 this he really had not the time, as he must fix things so as 
 to leave his wife without too much to attend to during their 
 absence, for he did not know how long they might be 
 gone, intending to follow their trail as far as possible. 
 
 Mr. Delahoyde immediately went to work and put his 
 stock into the big corral, so that his wife would only have 
 to throw a little hay in to them occasionally; and as the 
 spring was inside of the inclosure, she would have no 
 trouble in caring for them. 
 
 The next morning at daybreak the Mexican made his 
 appearance at the dugout with two of the young men's 
 horses saddled. As both he and Mr. Delahoyde had al- 
 ready breakfasted, they started down the river on the 
 trail to the Fort Sill ford, taking their rifles with them 
 and a supply of dried meat. 
 
 Arriving there about noon, they saw the evidences of the 
 boys having camped at the spring, and here they halted
 
 SEARCHING FOR THE BOYS 219 
 
 for an hour to eat their lunch and give their animals an 
 opportunity to graze. 
 
 By two o'clock they were in the saddle again, following 
 the trail south to the Canadian, and reaching that stream 
 about dark, discovered where the boys bad rested and 
 eaten a turkey, for the feathers of the bird were lying 
 upon the ground near their little fire by which they had 
 cooked it. 
 
 Mr. Delahoyde and the Mexican stayed on the Cana- 
 dian that night, and started out again early the next morn- 
 ing, still following the trail of the boys southward. 
 
 The first sign they discovered that the boys had killed 
 any of the great animals was beyond Hackberry creek. 
 The remains of the tough old bull, which Pierre and Car- 
 los had rejected, were right on the trail. It was nearly 
 devoured by the wolves, but by the freshness of the bones 
 they knew it had been lately killed, and as no buffalo- 
 hunters had been in the country for many weeks, they 
 were certain that the old bull had been killed by the boys. 
 
 Owing to the multiplicity of tracks of both ponies and 
 buffalo, caused by the boys chasing the latter over a wide 
 area, and the preponderance of the tracks of the split hoofs 
 of the buffalo, it was impossible to trail the boys any 
 farther, and the search had to be abandoned. That any 
 of them had been injured in the chase, seemed not at all 
 likely, for certainly all of them could not have been dis- 
 abled ; some of them would have returned to the ranch and
 
 220 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 reported the fact if any mishap had occurred: so that 
 theory was not entertained for a moment. 
 
 Reluctantly Mr. Delahoyde returned to his home, almost 
 heart-broken at the disappearance of his two bright boys. 
 To his wife he said that he did not believe they had been 
 killed; the worst he conjectured was they had fallen in 
 with some stray band of Indians and been captured ; but 
 as the several tribes were at peace with the Government, 
 he did not think they would be harmed; only held for 
 ransom, which although a mere theory, gave some com- 
 fort to the mother of Pierre and Carlos. 
 
 The shadow of profound grief brooded over the once 
 pleasant home on the Arkansas, and until Curtis, the In- 
 dian trader, returned from Fort Harker, nothing could be 
 done in furtherance of the quest of the lost boys ; for Mr. 
 Delahoyde could not leave his good wife alone in the iso- 
 lated dugout, to himself go to the fort and report to the com- 
 manding officer there the disappearance of the young 
 Bostonians and his own sons. 
 
 Ten more days of gloom shrouded the home in the val- 
 ley of the Arkansas, when one, evening just at sundown 
 the long-looked-for Curtis drove up to the ranch. lie was 
 immediately informed of the absence of his charge, and 
 at once he and Mr. Delahoyde began to formulate plans 
 to find out what had become of the missing youths. 
 
 Curtis said that although the Indians were apparently 
 inclined to be friendly, there was a spirit of unrest among 
 them. The constant encroachment of the whites upon
 
 CURTIS GOES TO FORT BARKER 221 
 
 their hunting-grounds, and the advent of the railroad, 
 which now had penetrated many miles into the interior, 
 bringing with it a horde of settlers greedy for the public 
 land, he feared would cause trouble soon, and that a 
 bloody war would be inaugurated. 
 
 He said that he did not think the boys were in any im- 
 mediate danger, for of late years most of the tribes had 
 changed their tactics in relation to their captives: they 
 treated them fairly well, in hope of receiving a ransom 
 for them from the Government. 
 
 It was agreed that Curtis should return immediately 
 to Fort Harker and acquaint the officers stationed there of 
 the circumstances concerning the absence of the boys, and 
 get their opinion as to the best means to be employed to 
 find out whether they were with any of the tribes. 
 
 Curtis started back to the fort early the next morning, 
 on horseback, leaving his teams and goods with Mr. Dela- 
 hoyde, saying he would return in about four days. 
 
 The period of his absence was a time of suspense and 
 agony to both Mr. Del ahoy de and the anxious wife. They 
 both mourned over their ill-fortune, sometimes despairing 
 of ever seeing their boys again, then brightening up as 
 some new theory would be advanced by either one of them. 
 
 Promptly on the evening of the fourth day after his 
 departure from the ranch, Curtis made his appearance. 
 He reported that it was the opinion of the commanding 
 officer at Fort Harker that the boys had fallen in with some 
 band of Indians, and were now with them up in the moun-
 
 222 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 tains, as at this time of the year they generally migrated 
 there to gather nuts and berries for their winter's supply, 
 and would not return to their permanent villages until 
 November. Nothing could be done in the way of sending 
 out scouts to learn whether there were any white captives 
 among them, as it was not known at what point in the 
 mountains the savages had gone. He told Mr. and Mrs. 
 Delahoyde that the officers at the post all agreed that their 
 sons were in no immediate danger, for if they were held 
 by the Indians they would not injure them, as there was 
 a sort of peace existing between all the tribes and the 
 Government; but that the Indians were dissatisfied with 
 the appearance of so many whites on their hunting- 
 grounds, and that the Government had appointed a Com- 
 mission to treat with them, and find out, if possible, what 
 the cause of their grievance was. Congress had appro- 
 priated a very large sum to meet the expenses of the Com- 
 mission, and it was to convene in August on Medicine 
 Lodge creek, in Barber county, Kansas. All the famous 
 generals of the United States Army, and several Sena- 
 tors, composed the Commission, and it was to be fitted out 
 and start from Fort Ilarker, on the Smoky Hill, which 
 point the Union Pacific Railroad had now reached. 
 
 The principal chiefs of all the Plains tribes, the Chey- 
 ennes, Kiowas, Arapahoes and Comanches, had promised 
 to be present at the council and have a talk with the rep- 
 resentatives of the " Great Father " at Washington.
 
 NEWS OF THE BOYB 223 
 
 " The Council won't meet, then, for two months yet ? " 
 said Mr. Delahoyde. 
 
 " !N"o," replied Curtis ; " this is only the last of June, 
 and I suppose the Commission will not get ready until the 
 last of August. You know how slowly these Government 
 bodies always move! 
 
 " The commanding officer at Fort Harker thinks that 
 I would better go on down to the Cheyenne village in the 
 Wichita Mountains, and find out from any old Indians 
 who may have stayed there while the rest of the tribe are 
 away, whether their friends the Comanches had any cap- 
 tives among them. You know that the Cheyennes and 
 Comanches are never hostile with each other, and are 
 always well acquainted with the doings of their different 
 bands." 
 
 " I think that you are correct," said Mr. Delahoyde. 
 " I suppose you are ready to leave here by to-morrow 
 morning ? " 
 
 " Yes, I have a load of goods for the Cheyennes, and 
 will start at daylight." 
 
 The trader left the ranch early the next morning, tak- 
 ing the Mexican with him, who, having nothing to do, 
 was anxious for a job, and gladly accepted the offer to 
 drive the team. 
 
 Curtis was gone about ten days, when he returned to 
 the ranch and reported that there were four boys who 
 had run into the Comanche camp one night, and that they 
 were now with the tribe in the mountains of Old Mexico.
 
 224 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 They were all right, said Curtis; had been treated just 
 as if they were of the tribe, and had been adopted by it. 
 
 This was good news to the lonely family at the ranch, 
 and their worry over the possible death of their sons 
 ceased, now they were assured of their safety. 
 
 The days dragged along very slowly until August came, 
 when the Delahoydes heard that the Commission had left 
 Fort Harker, escorted by cavalry, the famous regiment 
 commanded by the intrepid General Custer. 
 
 Eed Bear was too old to attend the council in person, 
 so he sent his son to represent him, who was told by his 
 father to say nothing of the presence of the white cap- 
 tives in their village, as the old man had become attached 
 to the boys and did not want to part with them. 
 
 This may seem strange to the uninitiated in Indian 
 character; but they are possessed of strong likes and dis- 
 likes so it was not derogatory to their vagaries that he 
 should become attached to his young captives, and did 
 not want to give them up. 
 
 The meeting of the famous chiefs at Medicine Lodge 
 creek was one of the most important that has ever occurred 
 in the history of Indian treaties. 
 
 There were about six thousand members of the four 
 tribes assembled there, and some of the greatest soldiers 
 the United States has furnished. General Sherman, then 
 General of the Army, Generals Harney, Terry, Marcy,
 
 THE PEACE COMMISSION 225 
 
 Auger, Gibbs, and others of lesser fame, together with 
 Senator John B. Henderson, of Missouri, and other prom- 
 inent civilians in the public service, composed the repre- 
 sentatives of the Government. This body is known to his- 
 tory as " The Peace Commission," whose duty it was to 
 learn from the Indians themselves the cause of their griev- 
 ances, and make such a treaty with them as would forever 
 put an end to the continuous hostilities which year after 
 year devastated the frontier. 
 
 An agreement was entered into, after much parleying, 
 which came near ending in a row; and there would have 
 been another massacre if it had not been for the excellent 
 disposition which had been made of the troops, which com- 
 pletely surrounded the Indians, who outnumbered the sol- 
 diers by many hundreds, and who foresaw nothing but a 
 terrible slaughter of their warriors if they took the initi- 
 ative. 
 
 The treaty was signed, as they always are, by each 
 chief touching the pen, (some of them were mounted and 
 riding furiously around,) while a clerk handed it to him, 
 the ignorant savage having no more idea what he was sub- 
 scribing to than if it had been a Greek manuscript. 
 
 Congress failed to make any appropriation to carry into 
 effect the stipulations of the treaty, and after waiting 
 patiently for nearly nine months for the Government to 
 fulfill its pledges, the Indians became disgusted at the 
 broken faith, allied themselves for one grand demonstra- 
 
 15
 
 226 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 tion, and commenced a series of raids along the border, 
 extending from the Nebraska line to the northern confines 
 of Texas. 
 
 Then the Government sent General Sheridan to com- 
 mence an active campaign against the allied tribes. He 
 took the field in person, and inaugurated his memorable 
 winter march, with such lieutenants as Generals Ouster 
 and Sully. In seven months the savages were completely 
 vanquished, and a peace was brought about that has never 
 been broken on the Central Plains. 
 
 The first battle occurred in September, 1868, on the 
 Arrickaree Fork of the Republican river, just over the 
 Nebraska line north of Kansas, when General Forsyth, of 
 the commanding general's staff, with fifty-two picked men, 
 all civilians, held at bay for over a week more than eight 
 hundred of the savages, who were at last compelled to re- 
 treat. It was one of the most terribly unequal battles in 
 all the history of our Indian wars. 1 
 
 At the commencement of hostilities all the settlers, 
 scattered at varying distances on the river and creeks, were 
 compelled to abandon their claims and seek the protection 
 of the military at the several posts. The Delahoydes left 
 their beautifully timbered home and went to Fort Harker, 
 which was then the largest military post near to them. 
 The cattle, ponies, and the many pets of Carl and Pierre 
 were also taken there, and excited considerable wonder 
 
 i For a detailed description of this fight, see " Tales of the Trail," Crane A Co., 
 Topeka, Kansas.
 
 OPENING THE CAMPAIGN 227 
 
 among the children of the officers, and of course were 
 kindly cared for by the boys and girls, under whose charge 
 they were placed. 
 
 In October following the battle on the Arrickaree Fork 
 of the Eepublican, General Sheridan changed his head- 
 quarters from Fort Hays, on the railroad, to Fort Dodge, 
 on the Arkansas, where were to be concentrated the troops 
 for active service in the field against the allied tribes, as 
 he had determined to strike a blow at those savages in 
 their winter quarters; something which had never before 
 been attempted in all our wars with the Plains Indians. 
 
 The expedition intended to operate south of the Arkan- 
 sas one of the favorite haunts of the Indians was com- 
 prised of the larger portion of the famous Seventh United 
 States Cavalry, 1 General Ouster's regiment, and some 
 companies of the Third Infantry. It had early in Sep- 
 tember already crossed the Arkansas, under command of 
 General Alfred Sully, whose reputation as an Indian 
 fighter, during the celebrated Sioux campaign of 1864, 
 placed him at the head of the list. 
 
 When General Sully' s command reached the Cimarron 
 it encountered the savages, who fought him all day, but 
 at night, as is usual, suspended hostilities, for they 
 seldom attack after dark. 
 
 The next morning, as his command got strung out, a 
 
 1 Seventh Cavalry, the famous regiment commanded by the lamented Ouster, and 
 which has fought more battles with the Indians than any other in the service. It was 
 nearly annihilated by Sitting Bull, the great Sioux warrior, at the battle of the Little 
 Big Horn (sometimes called the Rosebud), where Custer lost his life.
 
 228 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 band of two or three hundreds warriors dashed at the rear 
 of the column, and succeeded in cutting off a few led 
 horses and two of the troopers who had lingered behind. 
 The rear guard, commanded that day by Captain Louis 
 McLane Hamilton, 1 of the cavalry, immediately wheeled 
 his troops about and prepared to charge the savages, who 
 were about to carry off the two captured troopers. The 
 savages, who were within pistol-range, were gallantly 
 charged, and obliged to give up one of their prisoners, but 
 in abandoning him, cruelly shot him through the body 
 and left him on the trail, supposed to be mortally wounded, 
 while they succeeded in escaping with the other unfortu- 
 nate trooper. 2 
 
 As the command moved along, the Indians harassed it 
 at every step, and at about three o'clock in the afternoon 
 a general engagement took place with the allied Chey- 
 ennes, Arapahoes, and Kiowas, resulting in the retreat of 
 the troops toward Fort Dodge, which they reached the next 
 day, after almost continuous fighting, and having ex- 
 hausted their ammunition. Luckily, the savages aban- 
 done4 the conflict, satisfied with driving the troops away 
 from the vicinity of their villages. 
 
 Effective measures were at once decided upon. It was 
 determined to establish a temporary base of supplies at 
 
 1 A grandson of Alexander Hamilton. 
 
 s The poor fellow was tortured to death, as was related by the Indians themselves 
 after the war had ended. He was tied to a stake, strips of flesh cut from his body, arms 
 and legs, burning brands thrust Into the bleeding wounds, the nose, lips and ears cut 
 off, and finally, when from loss of blood and terrible pain, he fell to the ground, the 
 younger savages were allowed to rush upon him and dispatch him with their knives.
 
 LOCATING CAMP SUPPLY 229 
 
 some point yet to be chosen, about a hundred miles south 
 of Fort Dodge, from which place forage and rations for 
 the troops operating against the savages could be drawn. 
 
 On the 12th of November all was ready for a grand 
 movement, and an immense train of four hundred army 
 wagons, loaded with forage for the cavalry horses and 
 rations for the troops, started from Fort Dodge, escorted 
 by a few companies of infantry, who were to guard it 
 and become the garrison of the cantonment 1 to be s'elected. 
 They crossed the Arkansas at Mulberry creek, twelve 
 miles below the fort, and, camping there that night, the 
 next morning began their march to the Indian Territory. 
 
 On the afternoon of the sixth day after leaving the Ar- 
 kansas, the command arrived at the junction of the Beaver 
 and Wolf rivers, those streams forming the North Fork 
 of the Canadian, where it was determined to locate the 
 base of operations, and to which was given the name of 
 Camp Supply. 
 
 Two or three days after the arrival of the troops at 
 Camp Supply, General Sheridan made his appearance, 
 and immediately relieved General Sully from command 
 of the forces, placing General Custer at their head, who 
 was at once ordered to prepare for an aggressive campaign 
 against the hostile savages. 
 
 As many of the best wagons and teams as were consid- 
 ered necessary for the impending expedition were selected 
 
 1 Cantonment: Literally, a canton, or district where soldiers are quartered. In 
 common military parlance now, temporary rude shelters. In the field or elsowhere.
 
 280 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 from the immense train, and rations and forage to last 
 thirty days were loaded into them. The Seventh Cavalry, 
 Glister's own regiment, comprising eleven companies, ag- 
 gregating about nine hundred men, now awaited orders 
 for their search of the whereabouts of the Indian villages. 
 
 On the 22d of the month, General Sheridan issued or- 
 ders for the command of General Ouster to move out at 
 daylight next morning. That evening a terrible storm of 
 snow, sleet and hail commenced, one of the, worst ever 
 known in that region; and when the morning broke, al- 
 though the storm had abated, the ground was covered with 
 snow to the depth of a foot, and snow was still falling. 
 
 It was scarcely daylight when the several troop com- 
 manders reported to General Ouster that they were ready 
 to move. " Boots and saddles m was quickly sounded. 
 Then, as every man had fixe4 his trappings, " To horse ! " 
 woke the silence of the somber camp, and after the usual 
 commands, " Prepare to mount," and " Mount," were 
 given, each trooper sprang into his seat, the " Advance " 
 was blown by the orderly trumpeter, and with the band 
 at the head of the column, just as it struck up " The Girl 
 I Left Behind Me " the troops moved out in the snow and 
 wind. 
 
 Not a man of the whole of the large command had ever 
 before been in that part of the country, excepting the 
 Osage Indian guides, Little Beaver and Hard Hope, and 
 even they stated that they could not tell anything about 
 
 1 "Boots and toddles," a bugle-call to prepare for the march, In the cavalry service.
 
 CAMPING IN THE BNOW 231 
 
 which way to travel until the snow stopped falling and 
 they were able to see the landmarks with which they were 
 familiar. Thus, progress was very slow, handicapped as 
 the command was by the condition of the atmosphere ; nor 
 could it camp that night where originally intended, on 
 account of the inability of the guides to tell where they 
 were. 
 
 They marched on through the storm until about two 
 o'clock, when a place was selected on Wolf creek at whicli 
 to remain until morning; although the snow continued to 
 fall, with little prospect of its stopping. Fortunately, 
 there was an abundance of timber on the stream, but it 
 was very difficult to procure, on account of the depth of 
 the snow. However, fires were soon kindled, and the 
 warmth of their blaze had the effect of putting every one 
 in good-humor, and when the supper was ready content- 
 ment pervaded the camp. 
 
 Morning came with a clear sky, but as the snow had 
 continued to fall during most of the night, the earth was 
 now covered to the depth of a foot and a half, and the 
 march that day was a wearisome one ; but when camp was 
 reached at night, the same difficulties had to be contended 
 with, excepting that the storm was no longer a disturbing 
 element. 
 
 Out on the route early on the morning of the third day 
 from Camp Supply, nothing of any particular importance 
 occurred, and the command plodded wearily along, and 
 encamped in the same valley that night.
 
 232 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 The next morning, after ascending a high divide 
 for some hours, the descent began, and the Indian 
 guides said that the valley the command was to enter was 
 that of the Canadian; and upon its bank camp was made 
 that night. 
 
 In the morning the river was crossed with some diffi- 
 culty, on account of the rapidity of the current and the 
 great masses of floating ice with which it was burdened. 
 
 It was firmly believed that the villages of the hostile 
 savages were located somewhere south of the Canadian, 
 and every one was on the alert, particularly the Osage 
 guides, to discover a trail leading from the river to them. 
 At last it was found, about twelve miles up the stream, 
 and preparations were made to follow it. 
 
 The wagon train was to be left in charge of a detail, 
 and only such supplies as coiild be taken by the men 
 strapped to their saddles were allowed. One hundred 
 rounds of ammunition were allotted to each trooper, a little 
 ground coffee and hard bread, together with a small amount 
 of forage for his horse. 
 
 The route carried the anxious troopers through the snow, 
 which was over a foot deep, and the ground very rough, 
 which made it terribly bad for the horses to get along; 
 and it was nine o'clock at night before the command halted 
 for rest and to feed their tired animals. 
 
 It was at first proposed to continue the pursuit of the 
 trail by the light of the moon, but Little Beaver, the chief 
 of the Osages, strongly advised against it; he gave no
 
 CUBTEB AFTER THE INDIANS 283 
 
 valid reason for his objection, However, and the order was 
 given. So at ten o'clock the men were all in their saddles, 
 and silently the column stretched out, not a word allowed 
 to be spoken or a bugle-note to be sounded, for it was not 
 known how near the savages might be. 
 
 The Osage scouts, famous trailers, led out, with whom 
 General Ouster rode, the cavalry following in the rear at 
 a distance of a quarter of a mile. This was the disposition 
 of the command, for the reason that the snow was crusty, 
 and the tread of so many horses breaking through it would 
 make too much noise, that might be heard a long way off. 
 
 At last one of the guides stopped, and when General 
 Custer asked him what was the matter, he replied that 
 he smelt fire. He was then told to proceed again, but to 
 be very wary ; and when he again halted and the General 
 came up to him the second time, he said, " Me, told you 
 so ! " and looking in the direction indicated by the Indian, 
 the almost extinguished embers of a fire could be seen, 
 just on the edge of the timber not a hundred yards away. 
 That it had been built by an Indian was beyond the pos- 
 sibility of a doubt ; and to make sure that the savages had 
 been there, and how many of them there were, the Gen- 
 eral ordered the scouts to dismount, and, with their rifles 
 ready for use at an instant's warning, to proceed cau- 
 tiously to where the still-glowing coals could be seen, and 
 investigate. 
 
 Anxious moments passed while the Indian scouts were 
 gone on their mission. When they returned they reported
 
 234 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 that the fire had been deserted, but that from the great num- 
 ber of pony-tracks in the vicinity it must have been 
 kindled by herders, and that it was their feeding-ground 
 on which the fire had been made. 
 
 From these facts, which were not to be disputed, it was 
 believed that the command were not more than a mile or 
 two from the main village; so the utmost caution was 
 now necessary, in order to surprise the savages in their 
 lodges. The Indian scouts were then ordered to go on, 
 and accompanied by the General they stole silently up a 
 little divide. As they neared its crest, one of them went 
 ahead (as was always their custom), and looked over into 
 a little valley below. 
 
 After listening intently for a few moments, as he peered 
 into the darkness, he turned to Ouster and said in a 
 whisper, " Heap Injuns down there ! " 
 
 The General vainly gazed to where the scout had 
 pointed, and then inquired of him why he thought there 
 were Indians over there. 
 
 " Me hear dog bark ! " was the reply. 
 
 That was very satisfactory to General Ouster; because 
 if the Osage really had heard the dogs bark, it was an 
 assurance that a village was close at hand, for the savages 
 never take their dogs with them on a raid, while their 
 villages are infested with them. 
 
 Listening again, the General was himself rewarded by 
 distinctly hearing the growling and snapping of dogs away 
 off in the heavy timber, and very shortly after, the faint
 
 PLANNING FOR THE ATTACK 235 
 
 tinkling of a bell was wafted to his ears on the still, 
 wintry air, which indicated that a herd of ponies was near. 
 Then another unmistakable sound came that of an infant 
 (for of course Indian babies cry as do those of the white 
 race). And now, doubly assured that an Indian village 
 lay below him, he returned to the main body of the scouts 
 and Osages, and by one of them was sent a message to 
 the troops, ordering the most perfect silence on their part, 
 and directing every officer to hasten and report to him. 
 
 When the officers had all noiselessly arrived at the point 
 where their commander stood, he told them what he had 
 seen and heard, that they might personally know the exact 
 location of the village and the character of the ground 
 their troopers would have to charge over in making the 
 proposed attack. Sabres were then taken off, gently laid 
 on the snow, and with the General his officers carefully 
 crawled to the summit of the crest, to there obtain a view 
 of the valley below. 
 
 In suppressed conversation, so as to prevent a sound 
 reaching the unsuspecting savages, the General made his 
 plans and assigned to each troop-commander just what he 
 was to do. The idea was to completely surround the 
 village, and at daybreak, or as soon as it should become 
 light enough to see, to charge in upon the Indians from 
 every side. 
 
 It was intensely cold as the morning approached, but 
 fires were an impossibility, and for four terrible hours 
 the shivering troops had to wait for the dawn which would
 
 236 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 enable them to see where to go. Stamping their feet to 
 excite the blood, and thus put some warmth in them, was 
 forbidden, and there was nothing to do but stand and 
 suffer. During all those fearfully long hours, every man 
 stood at his horse's head, bridle-reins in hand, anxious 
 for light and to be away from such dismal surroundings. 
 
 The first streaks of the coming day at least began to 
 light up the eastern horizon, and all were to prepare for 
 the advance. Although the air was freezing, overcoats, 
 haversacks, and all other things which might interfere 
 with their quick movements, were ordered removed, and 
 especially were the men forbidden to fire a shot until the 
 signal to attack was sounded. 
 
 The plan of operations for the command, as it was now 
 formed, was for each squadron in its assigned place to get 
 as close to the village as possible without being discov- 
 ered, and at daylight the band to play at the instant the 
 charge was to be made. 
 
 The command approached so near the lodges that Ous- 
 ter really feared he had been discovered, and that they 
 had all been deserted some time before; but noticing 
 smoke issuing from some of them, he was satisfied the 
 village was still inhabited. 
 
 The General was in the lead, as ever, while immedi- 
 ately in the rear of his horse came the band, all mounted, 
 each musician with his instrument glued to his lips, wait- 
 ing for the signal. The leader had been told before, that 
 when they struck up, the tune should be " Garry Owen,"
 
 CAUGHT NAPPING 237 
 
 as an initial piece. At the moment when Ouster was 
 about to give the signal for the attack to begin, a single 
 shot from a rifle rang out clearly on the crisp morning 
 air, and suddenly turning to the band-leader, the General 
 ordered him to strike up. At once the long-familiar tune 
 to the troopers of the regiment sounded forth through 
 the timbered valley, and the cheers of the men as they 
 recognized the rollicking, fighting air, were reechoed from 
 the squadrons on the opposite side ; and while the trumpets 
 blew the charge, quickly the impatient soldiers dashed 
 right into the sleeping village. It was like a thunderbolt 
 from a cloudless sky. Caught napping, the savages came 
 rushing out from their lodges as the gallant Seventh Cav- 
 alry struck them. The Indians soon rallied from their 
 surprise, however, and in a few moments, from behind 
 trees and from the banks of the creek, they began a vig- 
 orous defense of their homes and little ones. 
 
 It was the humane intention of General Custer to fight 
 only those who were classed as the warriors of the tribe; 
 but when the little boys, often not more than from seven 
 to ten years old, expert in the use of the bow and arrow 
 as well as of the more murderous revolver, began getting 
 in their work on the soldiers, it became necessary as a 
 measure of self-defense to get them out of the way as 
 well as the older men. The gallant Colonel Benteen, 
 than whom a better or braver soldier never drew saber, 
 had to kill a mere lad of fifteen, who persistently, in spite 
 of all the efforts of the Colonel to save the boy's life by
 
 238 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 taking him prisoner, fired shot after shot from his revolver 
 at the Colonel's head, and who would not listen for a mo- 
 ment to peace overtures and be saved. He had fired sev- 
 eral times at the Colonel, always missing him; but at 
 last a bullet went through his horse's neck and another 
 in a very uncomfortable proximity to his own head. He 
 now made another effort to induce the plucky redskin to 
 surrender, to which he paid no attention, but aimed his 
 revolver for a fourth or fifth shot. Then, with deep re- 
 gret for the necessity of his action, the Colonel dispatched 
 him. 
 
 The center of the village was soon gained by the troop- 
 ers, and a terrible hand-to-hand fight took place, as they 
 found it impossible to dislodge the infuriated warriors 
 from their places of refuge behind the trees and the bank 
 of the creek, which they were utilizing as a sort of rifle- 
 pit. So every man fought for himself, observing the same 
 tactics as the savages, taking advantage of the shelter the 
 trees afforded, where by their superior aim they effected 
 the dislodgment of their enemies. 
 
 An incident occurred during the fight which is an ex- 
 ponent of the savage instincts of the Indian race. A squad 
 of troopers came upon a squaw who was endeavoring to 
 get away, leading a little white boy, a captive of the tribe, 
 taken by the warriors during some recent raid on the set- 
 tlements. When the woman saw that she was about to be 
 surrounded and that escape was impossible, she drew from 
 beneath her blanket a big knife and plunged it into the
 
 DE8PEKATE FIGHTING OP THE SAVAGES 239 
 
 almost naked body of the hapless child. The men could 
 riot resist their own savage impulse on such an exposition 
 of devilishness, and in an instant the fiendish act was 
 punished by a volley of bullets fired into the body of the 
 squaw, and she died instantly. 
 
 The warriors fought with a desperation worthy the 
 cause for which they struggled the defense of their homes 
 and all that was dear to them. At one point, in a natural 
 depression in the earth, seventeen of the savages had in- 
 trenched themselves, and every attempt to drive them 
 from it failed, as only when a warrior raised his head to 
 fire was it possible to hit one. At last they were all killed 
 by some of the sharpshooters securing a place of cover and 
 picking them off one by one. 
 
 Ten o'clock came, and still the fight continued. It 
 was supposed, of course, that some of the warriors had 
 escaped; but greatly to the surprise of the General, 
 through his field-glass he saw on the divide more than a 
 hundred mounted savages, all in full war-paint, 1 their 
 lances at poise, and their gayly colored war-bonnets flash- 
 ing in the sunlight. It did not seem possible that so many 
 could have succeeded in getting out of the village at the 
 first attack, surrounded as it was by the excellent dispo- 
 sition of the troopers, and the General was at a loss to 
 account for their presence in the vicinity. What were 
 his thoughts may be imagined, on being told by one of the 
 
 1 Painted warriors. All North-American Indians bedaub their faces and bodies be- 
 fore going out to battle.
 
 240 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 captured squaws that immediately below, on the same 
 stream, were located a succession of villages of the hos- 
 tile Indians, Comanches, Kiowas, Arapahoes, and Chey- 
 ennes; that the one which he had just taken was but a 
 portion of one of the Cheyenne villages; that the nearest 
 was only two miles distant, and the farthest ten. 
 
 It was becoming serious, for the General felt certain 
 that he would soon be attacked by greatly superior num- 
 bers, the moment the horde of savages below on the stream 
 could make their preparations, which they had probably 
 been doing ever since they had heard the firing in the 
 village he had just captured, the battle having virtually 
 ended there. 
 
 On evejy side the savages could be seen mustering their 
 forces, and from having surrounded a village, the troops 
 were now themselves surrounded; the situation of affairs 
 was completely changed. The command .was hastily re- 
 formed and posted in readiness for the attack which was 
 expected as soon as the chiefs and warriors could reach 
 there from the lower villages. 
 
 A temporary hospital had been established in the cen- 
 ter of the captured village, and the wounded cared for 
 as well as they could be under the circumstances. Cap- 
 tain Hamilton was killed early in the fight, just as the 
 command entered the place, and he fell by the side of 
 Custer, with whom he was riding at the head of his 
 squadron. Captain Barnitz, another squadron com- 
 mander, was terribly wounded, and in a dying condition,
 
 DISAPPEARANCE OF MAJOR ELLIOTT 241 
 
 having been shot through the body in the region of the 
 heart. Of Major Elliott, the second officer in rank to Ous- 
 ter, nothing had been seen or heard since early in the 
 morning, when he rode with his detachment of troopers 
 into the village. He had nineteen men with him, includ- 
 ing the sergeant-major of the regiment ; and upon inquiry 
 of all the other officers and many of the enlisted men, 
 they declared that nothing had been seen of them since 
 the first charge into the village. The conclusion was ar- 
 rived at that he and his force had by some means been 
 cut off from the main command. It was at last developed 
 by one of the scouts, that immediately after the attack 
 upon the village he had noticed a number of warriors 
 escaping through a gap in our lines, and that Major El- 
 liott had started in pursuit. Shortly after their departure 
 he had heard sharp firing in the direction taken by him, 
 but it soon ceased, and he had thought no more about it 
 until the Major and his men were reported among the 
 missing. 
 
 A small detachment was immediately sent in the direc- 
 tion indicated by the scout, to find out if possible what 
 had become of Major Elliott and his brave command, but 
 they returned without accomplishing their mission. 
 
 The large herd of ponies, numbering over a thousand, 
 were then ordered killed by the General, as it was im- 
 possible to take them along, and to leave them for the 
 Indians to again collect would be a very unwise thing. 
 
 To deprive a savage of his means of transportation would 
 16
 
 242 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 be as severe a blow to him as could be inflicted. So an 
 officer was detailed to take a detachment of troopers and 
 shoot them. Enough were saved from the lot to carry the 
 prisoners to Camp Supply, and the remainder were dis- 
 patched a cruel necessity. 
 
 The last act of the tragedy ended, the command was 
 re-formed, and dispositions were made to overcome any 
 resistance to the advance of the column by throwing out 
 skirmishers. It moved out with colors flying, the band 
 playing, and the prisoners (all women) mounted on their 
 ponies, strongly guarded, immediately in rear of the 
 troops. 
 
 The command pushed on, and continued its march until 
 long after dark, by which time it had arrived at the vil- 
 lages, which it was found had been deserted, their occu- 
 pants having fled when the news of the attack on Black 
 Kettle had reached them. There the General faced his 
 forces about, and it was the intention to reach his train 
 of supplies as soon as possible. Arriving at the battle- 
 ground again, but not halting, the troops took the same 
 trail they had followed in going to the village, continuing 
 on until about two o'clock in the morning. Then it was 
 considered prudent to bivouac until daylight, after sending 
 a squadron ahead to reinforce the guard at the train. 
 
 As soon as day broke, the troopers were in the saddle 
 again and marching toward the train, which they reached 
 about ten o'clock, and which to their great joy they found 
 safely encamped.
 
 FATE OF MAJOR ELLIOTT'S COMMAND 243 
 
 The mules were immediately hitched to the wagons, 
 without waiting for breakfast, and early in the afternoon 
 camp was reached in the timbered valley of the Washita. 
 There the men and animals took their first " square meal," 
 and the pickets having been posted, horses were unsaddled, 
 the tents pitched, and every one made himself as com- 
 fortable as possible. 
 
 From there General Ouster sent his official report of 
 the engagement to General Sheridan, who was still at 
 Camp Supply, waiting anxiously to hear from him. 
 
 In a few days, without any incident of importance 
 occurring, the command arrived at Camp Supply; but 
 the rest there was to be very short. In less than a week 
 the command was in the saddle again, reinforced by the 
 addition of a portion of the Nineteenth Kansas Cavalry, 
 which had been raised at General Sheridan's request, and 
 on the way south, over the same trail taken when the at- 
 tack on Black Kettle's village was made. Upon reach- 
 ing there, measures were at once taken to discover the 
 remains of Major Elliott and his men, no doubt longer 
 existing of their fate. General Sheridan, who accompa- 
 nied this later expedition, thus in his report describes 
 the result of the search for the bodies of the unfortunate 
 men, an epitome of that made to him by General Custer : 
 
 " After marching a distance of two miles in the direc- 
 tion in which Major Elliott and his little party were last 
 seen, we suddenly came upon the stark-, stiff, naked, and 
 horribly mutilated bodies of our dead comrades. No
 
 244 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 words were needed to tell how desperate had been the 
 struggle before they were finally overpowered. At a 
 short distance from where the bodies lay could be seen 
 the carcasses of some of the horses of the party, which 
 had probably been killed early in the fight. Seeing the 
 hopelessness of breaking through the line which sur- 
 rounded them, and which undoubtedly numbered more 
 than one hundred to one, Elliott dismounted his men, 
 who tied their horses together, and prepared to sell their 
 lives as dearly as possible. The bodies of Elliott and his 
 little band, with but a single exception, were found lying 
 within a circle not exceeding twenty yards in diameter. 
 We found them exactly as they fell, except that their bar- 
 barous foes had stripped and mutilated the bodies in the 
 most savage manner." 
 
 The punishment inflicted upon the Cheyennes by Gen- 
 eral Ouster at the village of Black Kettle virtually ended 
 the war. Since that time the savages of the Great Central 
 Plains have been forced on reservations, and no serious 
 disturbance with them has occurred.
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 TJiE BOYS RUN AWAY FROM THE COMANCHES. - THEIR 
 EVENTFUL JOURNEY. - THEIR SEQUESTERED CAMPS. - 
 PIERRE KILLS AN INDIAN RUNNER. - VISIT TO THE OLD 
 RANCH. - THE STORM. - THE BUFFALO-HUNTER's CABIN. 
 
 - A SEARCH FOR MEAT. -- SHOOT A DOE. - THE TERRI- 
 BLE STORM KEEPS THEM SHUT UP FOR SEVERAL DAYS. - 
 
 - START ON THEIR TRAVELS ONCE MORE. - THE SOUND 
 OF THE BUGLES. - SEE " OLD GLORY/' - START FOR THE 
 FORT. 
 
 BY THE first of November, all the various tribes 
 the Comanches, Kiowas, Cheyennes, and Arapa- 
 hoes had established themselves in their winter 
 quarters on the Washita, their villages extending for more 
 than twenty miles on both banks of the stream, with that 
 of Black Kettle's near the head of the river. 
 
 In the Comanche village, where the boy-captives were, 
 there was a continual round of feasting, dancing and 
 amusements peculiar to the savages, for the season had 
 been very prolific in game and fruits, so they had an 
 abundance to eat; and when an Indian is sure of a meal 
 he is contented. 
 
 Runners brought the news that Creeping Panther 1 had 
 taken the war-path with thousands of his " Long Knives," 2 
 
 1 General Ouster was called by the Plains tribes " The Creeping Panther," because 
 of the manner in which he always succeeded In surprising them, like that sly animal 
 creeping upon Its game. 
 
 * " Long Knivet " has been the designation for the cavalry among the Indians, ever 
 since they first saw those troops with their sabers, In the early days of the century. 
 
 (245)
 
 246 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 and soon ball-playing and other games gave place to the 
 scalp-dances and other fetes preceding an impending war. 
 In a short time after it was ascertained that the Govern- 
 ment had sent troops into the field against the tribes, 
 nearly all the able-bodied men had left the ComancliG 
 village to join the allied warriors tinder the lead of the 
 celebrated chiefs Satanta, Bull Bear, Kicking Bird, Sa- 
 tank, Yellow Bear, Little Raven, and a host of other 
 famous savage braves, leaving only the very old men, 
 the women and children in the village. 
 
 Summerfield, Burton, Carlos, and Pierre, who had 
 now become proficient in the strange language of their 
 captors, were ever on the alert to catch portions of the 
 conversations which daily took place between Red Bear 
 and his runners or spies; and they listened with eagerness 
 to the report that a camp of the soldiers had been estab- 
 lished at the confluence of the Wolf and Beaver rivers, 
 which they found out was only about a hundred miles 
 distant as the crow flies. 
 
 The vigilance which was for so many months exercised 
 to prevent their possible escape, gradually relaxed, and' 
 now that only the very old men and squaws were left in the 
 village, the opportunities for consultation among them- 
 selves were frequent. Heretofore they had been closely 
 watched whenever they were found talking together, and 
 made to separate. Only late at night, in the quiet of their 
 lodge, when sleep had overpowered their captors, could they 
 indulge in anything like an animated conversation.
 
 PLANNING TO ESCAPE 247 
 
 One day, when it was their turn to watch the herd of 
 ponies which grazed far down the prairie, and for some 
 lucky reason none of the other Indian boys were with them, 
 they formulated a plan to make their escape as soon as the 
 moon, which was now rapidly waning, had disappeared. 
 
 In three days more, on pretense of going on a fishing 
 excursion, they quietly selected four of the fastest ponies 
 in the herd, knowing well from a long experience which 
 they were, and secreted them in the timber late in the 
 evening, determined to that night make the attempt 
 for freedom. 
 
 They had for several days previously quietly carried 
 a supply of dried buffalo-meat and hidden it in the hollow 
 of an old cottonwood tree, for rations on their anticipated 
 journey, as they knew that they would not dare fire a 
 shot on the way for the purpose of procuring food, although 
 they intended to steal their rifles from the lodge of old 
 Red Bear, where the wily chief had most religiously kept 
 guard over them ever since they were taken. They knew, 
 however, just where they were, and saw them every time 
 they entered his lodge ; and being on good terms with the 
 chief, they believed themselves smart enough to get the 
 rifles without his being any the wiser. 
 
 On the night when all their plans were consummated, 
 Pierre and Carlos went into the old chief's tent while Sum- 
 merfield stayed on the outside, according to the plan they 
 had decided upon by which to get the four rifles. Carlos 
 engaged the old fellow in conversation, and he became
 
 248 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 much interested. He liked to talk with the white boys 
 sometimes, and to-night, as luck would have it, he was in 
 a particularly good humor. So he did not notice Pierre 
 gently remove the rifles and belts of cartridges from their 
 place on the floor, and slip them under the edge of the 
 skin which formed the wall of the lodge, where Summer- 
 field was watching for them, and who, the moment he 
 got his hands upon them, made off to the timber and hid 
 them near where the ponies were tied. 
 
 Carlos and Pierre saw that their plans had matured, 
 and still interested the old chief until they thought that 
 sufficient time had elapsed for their confederate to accom- 
 plish his part of the work. Then they too got up, made 
 their salutations to Red Bear, and took their departure 
 as happy as can be imagined. 
 
 All went to their lodge at the usual time that night, and 
 there they remained, wide awake, but perfectly quiet, 
 until long after the village was wrapped in deep slumber. 
 Then they silently rose from their bed of buffalo-robes, 
 gathered a few things they might need, and passed out 
 into the darkness. The dogs, of course, came around and 
 smelled of them, but, satisfied that they belonged to the 
 village, quietly walked away to their accustomed places, 
 curled themselves up, and took no more notice of the boys, 
 who wended their way to the timber. 
 
 The night was propitious for the escape of the young 
 captives. There was no moon, but the stars shone bril- 
 liantly as the boys silently mounted their ponies, and
 
 TRAVELING AT NIGHT 249 
 
 guided by the North Star (no mistake this time) they 
 rode out on the open prairie with light hearts and breasts 
 filled with hope. 
 
 Pierre was the first to break the silence, after they had 
 ridden for more than an hour without saying a word : 
 
 " I think we had best strike straight for the Canadian, 
 and then follow it toward the west, as the Wolf and Beaver 
 rivers 1 both run into the Canadian, so we can't miss them." 
 
 " It may be a little farther that way," said Carlos, 
 " but as the old saying has it, ' The longest way round is 
 the shortest way home.' " 
 
 The ponies the boys had chosen were fast walkers, and 
 they made about four miles an hour over a very level 
 prairie, after they got away from the breaks 2 of the 
 Washita, which lasted for three miles or more. They did 
 not dare lope their animals, as they did not propose to 
 make a halt until daylight. Then they would hide them- 
 selves in some ravine, graze their ponies, and lie perfectly 
 quiet until darkness came on again, when they would re- 
 sume, their journey. They knew that runners from the 
 various hostile tribes were constantly on the go between 
 the soldiers and the villages. These runners hanging 
 around the flanks of the former, without themselves being 
 seen, could watch every movement and report it to their 
 war-chiefs, for the Indians have a most perfect system 
 
 1 Wolf and Beaver riven, two streams south of the Arkansas, In the Indian Terri- 
 tory. 
 
 8 The "6rafc" of a stream are the hilly, rough region contiguous to Its banks; 
 sometimes stretching on one or both sides for a distance of many miles.
 
 250 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 of espionage 1 and signals, as stated in a previous chapter. 
 The boys did not fear one or two of the spies if they should 
 run across only that number of them on their way, but 
 frequently a party of warriors, detached from the main 
 force, went out on their own hook on a horse-stealing 
 foray, and it might not be very healthy to run into one 
 of their camps. If they were Comanches, perhaps it 
 might not go so hard with them; but if Kiowas, Chey- 
 ennes, or Arapahoes, they would stand no chance for their 
 lives, as now the savages killed and scalped every white 
 person who came in their way, irrespective of sex or age. 
 
 When daylight showed its first faint streaks in the east, 
 the boys sought a well-sheltered, rocky ravine, and get- 
 ting down into its deep bottom, picketed their ponies on the 
 grass, which is generally good in those places. After eat- 
 ing their breakfast of the dried buffalo-meat, and having 
 for their drink only water, which they found in a spring 
 or little rivulet running through the diminutive canon 
 where they had stopped, they laid down and went to sleep, 
 taking turns in watching. 
 
 They had to guess at the time for each one's turn at 
 guard, for both Summerfield's and Burton's watches had 
 been taken from them and broken up, the first day after 
 their capture, by the old chief Red Bear. 
 
 They slept very soundly, each one taking his turn, aa 
 he was called when apparently two hours had elapsed, 
 and so the time passed until darkness spread its welcome 
 
 1 Espionage, a system of spying.
 
 MAKING CALCULATIONS 251 
 
 mantle over the earth. Then they saddled up, and again 
 taking their direction from the North Star, continued on 
 that course until daylight made its appearance, when they 
 once more sought a sheltered ravine, and camped in its 
 friendly depth all that day. 
 
 Just before they laid down to rest in the early dawn, 
 they began to figure upon how many miles they had made 
 during the one night and part of a night they had been 
 traveling. 
 
 " Let 's see," said Summerfield ; " it was about ten 
 o'clock when we started from the village, and daylight 
 comes by seven. That would make nine hours that we 
 were on the way before we stopped yesterday morning, 
 so we must have made thirty miles, at least, the first night." 
 
 "All of that," said Carlos; "and we did better last 
 night, for we got an earlier start by four hours ; don't you 
 think so, Pierre ? " 
 
 " Yes," replied Pierre ; " we must be more than seventy 
 miles from the village, and close to Hackberry creek." 
 
 " I wonder where we '11 cross it ? " said Burton. 
 " Would n't it be funny if we should strike it at the same 
 place where we camped and ate the turkey Pierre shot? " 
 
 " Perhaps we may," said Pierre. " Were we traveling 
 in daylight, I could tell something about where we are 
 going to strike it, but we won't know anything until we 
 are right on top of it." 
 
 " But even if it is as dark as a pocket, we can tell
 
 252 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 whether we have ever been at that particular point or not," 
 said Carlos. 
 
 "Well, I think that we are not very far from Hack- 
 berry now," SummorneJd said; "for I fancied that I 
 could see a dark line ahead of us just as we came down 
 into this ravine, and I think it was timber." 
 
 " If you were right," said Pierre ; " we can't be more 
 than two or three miles away from it, for you could n't 
 see farther, it was still so dark when we came down in 
 here. I '11 wait until day fairly comes, and then I '11 ven- 
 ture on top of the ridge and take a look for the timber. 
 There are lots of rocks out on the ridge, I noticed as we 
 came here, and I can skulk behind them." 
 
 " Do you think it 's safe to take any chances ? " asked 
 Burton. " Some devil of a savage may be prowling 
 around; and confound them, they have such a faculty of 
 seeing farther than any white man I ever knew ! " 
 
 "I'll risk it," replied Pierre. "I want to get our 
 bearings anyhow, and I can't do it at night. It's my 
 first turn to stand guard, and while you fellows sleep I '11 
 go up on the ridge and take a peep around." 
 
 After they had all eaten their meager breakfast, all ex- 
 cepting Pierre laid down on their saddle-blankets to rest. 
 He waited until it grew lighter; then, taking his rifle, he 
 sauntered to the top of the ravine, where the ground was 
 covered by great granite boulders, many of them as high 
 as a man's head. He wandered around cautiously among 
 them, hiding behind their smooth surfaces, and at last
 
 PIERRE KILLS AN INDIAN 253 
 
 got a good glimpse of the prairie away below him to the 
 north. There, sure enough, he plainly saw the line of 
 timber which Summerfield declared he had noticed, about 
 three miles off, and he made up his mind that it must be 
 that which fringed Hackberry creek. 
 
 While carefully peeping around the angular corners of 
 the boulders, he thought he saw something resembling a 
 bunch of feathers, which seemed to move very slightly, 
 as if by a breeze ; but as there was no wind at all, not the 
 slightest breath of zephyr blowing, he thought at first it 
 must be a bird. On thinking a moment longer, however, 
 he decided that it was impossible that a bird with such 
 gaudily colored plumage, like that of the mallard duck, 
 could be in the region at the present time, in the midst of 
 winter. 
 
 Pierre watched the object which had so riveted his at- 
 tention for a few moments, when to his surprise he saw 
 that there stood a savage dressed in his war-bonnet, 1 with 
 his bow and quiver full of arrows, behind one of the huge 
 masses of granite, and that he was watching him with all 
 the cunning of his race. He further noticed that the In- 
 dian was fingering his bow, evidently with the intention 
 of shooting him, believing, perhaps, that Pierre had not 
 yet discovered him. 
 
 In an instant, without any compunctions, Pierre sud- 
 
 1H Bonnet "was the name originally given to a head-dress for men, before the 
 Introduction of hats. It Is a cap without a visor. An Indian war-bonnet was probably 
 so called from the Scotch bonnet, but It In nowise resembles it, excepting that it has 
 no visor. It Is simply a band, Into which feathers, generally of the eagle, are stuck, 
 and sometimes extending away down the back of the wearer.
 
 254 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 denly drew his rifle to his shoulder, and, taking deliberate 
 aim, pulled the trigger, and with a convulsive shudder the 
 savage dropped dead in his tracks. 
 
 The report of Pierre's rifle brought the rest of the boys 
 to the top of the ridge in a moment, with their rifles ready 
 for instant use, for they knew that Pierre would not 
 have discharged his weapon without an urgent reason. 
 
 Upon arriving at where Pierre now stood, over the dead 
 savage, they were astonished, and Carlos excitedly asked 
 whether there were any more skulking among the rocks. 
 
 " This is the only one I 've seen," replied Pierre ; " but 
 there may be more, and you fellows would better take a 
 turn around and see. Be awfully careful, and don't let 
 them, if there are others, get the drop on you. I don't 
 believe you '11 find any more, however, or they would have 
 made their appearance when this one fell." 
 
 All the boys, leaving the dead Indian where he laid, 
 made the rounds of the boulders, and not finding any 
 signs that others had been there, returned to examine the 
 one Pierre had shot. 
 
 " lie 's a Cheyenne," said Carlos, picking up his quiver 
 and scrutinizing the arrows. 
 
 " That 's so," echoed the others, who had made them- 
 selves familiar with the different weapons of the several 
 tribes; for one who is used to them can easily determine 
 to what band they belong. Moccasins, too, are a distin- 
 guishing feature, as the savages of each tribe have a dif- 
 ferent style.
 
 TAKING A CHANCE BY DAYLIGHT 255 
 
 " I would like ,to' have his war-bonnet," said Summer- 
 field, as he took it off the head of the dead warrior; 
 <: that is, if I am ever going to get back to Boston." 
 
 " Take it, if you want it," said Pierre, " and this hand- 
 some quiver and arrows, too. You can easily pack them 
 on your pony. As for the dead savage himself, we '11 just 
 let him stay where he is. The wolves will soon have a 
 feast off his bones. We could n't bury him if we wanted 
 to the ground is too hard; besides, we haven't got any- 
 thing to dig with." 
 
 " I can't find the tracks of any more," said Pierre, who 
 had been scrutinizing the ground. " I suspect the fellow 
 had been trailing us, and expected to make an easy cap- 
 ture of our ponies. Those Cheyennes can't let the chance 
 of stealing a horse go by." 
 
 "Well, he'll never steal another," said Carlos; "he's 
 dead as a poisoned wolf ! " 
 
 " Boys," said Pierre, " I guess that we can chance 
 making the timber on the Hackberry. I 'm satisfied there 
 are no more Indians around here, and we can hide just 
 as well there. What do you all say ? " 
 
 " We '11 do just what you and Carl think best," said 
 Summerfield, which was also agreed to by Burton. 
 
 So they waited until their ponies had filled themselves, 
 then saddled up, mounted, and, keeping under the shadow 
 of the divide, followed it down to the creek and entered the 
 timber. 
 
 When they reached the water, which was about three
 
 256 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 miles from the ravine where Pierre had killed the Chey- 
 enne, they found themselves at the precise spot where they 
 had camped the afternoon before their capture. Of 
 course there were no signs of their ever having been there, 
 so far as any remains of their camp were concerned ; but 
 all recognized an immense cottonwood, and a curious tree 
 which grew up into a single trunk, then divided into two 
 limbs, one of which was an elm and the other an ash. 
 They had noticed this freak of nature when they camped 
 there, and it alone was sufficient to determine the ques- 
 tion, for such anomalies are very rare. Originally there 
 had been two distinct little twigs, one of them an ash, 
 the other an elm. So closely did they come together that 
 eventually they bocame a single trunk, and at the point of 
 separation (the " crotch") one fork was an ash, the other 
 an elm. 1 
 
 Where they camped, they discovered that only very 
 recently a large body of cavalry had bivouacked 2 at that 
 point, and imagined that some of General Ouster's com- 
 mand in following the trail of the Indians had remained 
 there over-night, for the hoof-prints of the horses showed 
 that they had been shod; besides, there were the remains 
 of scattered grain on the ground, which would not have 
 been the case if only a band of savages had halted there. 
 
 The boys kept themselves hidden in the deepest timber 
 
 1 This cnrlons tree was In existence a dozen years ago. The author of this volume 
 saw It when camping there, on the trail that Ouster took to the Canadian. 
 
 ^ Bivouac, a military term meaning where troops are without tents or shelter, In a 
 State of watchfulness, ready for a sudden attack.
 
 A TERRIBLE NIGHT 257 
 
 all day, and just as night began to fall they mounted their 
 ponies again and started on their lonely journey. They 
 hoped to make many miles by daylight, but had not pro- 
 ceeded a great way when the wind suddenly sprang up 
 from the northwest, and the snow began to fall in great 
 flakes, indicating one of those fearful storms which char- 
 acterize the Plains in the early winter. 
 
 " It 's going to be a terrible night," said Pierro; " we 're 
 bound to have a tough time of it if this wind keeps up." 
 
 " Well, we '11 have to stand it," said Summerfield, 
 " until we reach the Canadian, as you say there is no 
 timber between here and there, but I wish that we were 
 back in our warm skin lodge, until the storm blows over." 
 
 " Pierre," said Carlos, (as at dawn they arrived at the 
 Canadian, almost frozen,) " don't you remember that old 
 buffalo cabin somewhere along about here ? " 
 
 " Yes, now I comq to think of it. It was just about 
 three miles from Spring creek. I don't suppose it 's there 
 now, though. It's more than a year that we've been 
 away, and if the Indians could destroy it they would." 
 
 " If we could only find it," said Burton, " what luck 
 it would be! We could make a fire and keep warm any- 
 how." 
 
 " Keep a good lookout for it," said Pierre ; " if it is 
 in existence we must be pretty close to it. We passed 
 Spring creek some time ago." 
 
 In half an hour, peering in the darkness and through 
 the almost blinding snow, now falling thick and fast, Bur- 
 17
 
 258 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 ton, whose eyes were always good, said, " Pierre, what is 
 that dark-looking object looming up over there like a 
 mountain ? " 
 
 Pierre and Carlos both strained their eyes in trying to 
 penetrate the inky blackness, and in a moment Pierre said, 
 " Good ! That 's the old buffalo shanty ! Let 'a get to it 
 as quickly as we can. It 's right on the trail, and can't 
 be more than a hundred yards ahead." 
 
 Presently they arrived at the rude structure, which had 
 been built of rough stones, with a fairly good dirt roof on 
 it. It contained one room, and diagonally across one 
 corner was a huge fireplace built of cobblestones from the 
 bed of the Canadian. The door (it had no windows) was 
 made of saplings, chinked with prairie-grass, and it hung 
 on wooden hinges, having a sort of latch of the same ma- 
 terial. It had been built by the buffalo-hunters some three 
 years before, and connected with it was a small stone 
 corral and shelter for a dozen horses. Near it, too, was 
 a fine spring. It was common property; every buffalo- 
 hunter occupied it in storms, and, strange to say, it had 
 been left intact by the savages on their raids; probably 
 because constructed of stone and they could not burn it. 
 
 The boys were almost wild with delight as they rode 
 up to the crude cabin and found that it would protect 
 them from the awful storm, which by the time they had 
 reached the shelter raged more furiously than ever, so 
 that their ponies could hardly face it. They, too, were 
 almost stiff with cold. At once they jumped off their ani-
 
 NIGHT IN THE OLD CABIN 259 
 
 mals and rushed into the welcome hovel, which they found 
 had not a flake of snow in it, the roof completely whole, 
 and the room fairly comfortable ; at least, the change from 
 the outside was so great that the temperature was hot by 
 comparison. 
 
 Fumbling around, Pierre found some dry pieces of 
 wood, and taking out his flint and steel, which he had 
 somehow managed to get hold of before he stole away 
 from the Comanche village, soon had a cheerful blaze 
 roaring up the fireplace. 
 
 Warming themselves for a few moments, so as to thaw 
 out, they then went to take care of their ponies, which 
 stood on the lee side of the cabin. They took them into 
 the corral, and found the shed in good condition, under 
 which the true little animals hurriedly betook themselves. 
 The saddles, blankets and bridles were then taken into 
 the cabin, and the blankets spread out before the fire to 
 dry, for they were soaking; and in a short time the boys 
 were quite comfortable. 
 
 While they were drying themselves and sparingly par- 
 taking of their dried buffalo-meat, which now was almost 
 exhausted, they talked over the situation in which they 
 found themselves. 
 
 " Well, the poor ponies will have to stand it to-night," 
 said Pierre ; " but in the morning, as soon as it gets light 
 enough for us to see, we '11 have to get them some cotton- 
 wood limbs 1 to feed on." 
 
 In places where timber grows, in all cases where the white man finds himself 
 Bnow-bound and it Is impossible for his horses to get at the grass, he cuts down cotton-
 
 260 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 " It will be mighty hard work to cut them with nothing 
 but our knives," said Carlos ; " yet it 's got to be done, 
 for the ponies are our only dependence. If we lose them, 
 we 're gone up." 
 
 " The wood is getting short, fellows," remarked Bur- 
 ton. " We had best get outside and hustle some, for we 
 can't stay in here to-night without fire and only four 
 horse-blankets for covering." 
 
 " Then, out it is," said Carlos, jumping up and going 
 to the door, the rest of the boys following him. The wind 
 was howling at a terrific rate, and the snow was blown 
 into their faces with the force of a hurricane; it stung 
 even their hardened cheeks, as the great flakes struck them 
 like nettles, while the fitful blasts nearly carried them off 
 their feet, as they stood for a moment trying to catch 
 their breath in the freezing wind. 
 
 Pierre saw a white pile near the door as he stepped 
 outside, and putting his hands on it, to his delight dis- 
 covered it to be a heap of wood, now covered with about 
 a foot of snow. The wood had evidently been left there 
 by the last hunters who had occupied the place. 
 
 " That 's a streak of luck I did n't look for," said he, 
 as he told the boys what he had found, and they almost 
 yelled with delight as they brushed the snow off the wood 
 and commenced to carry it into the cabin. 
 
 wood trees, the bark of which the animals are fond of and which sustains life as well as 
 does the grass, for a time. Where the mulberry can be found, It Is preferred to the 
 cottonwood ; but the former Is limited to a relatively narrow belt on the border of (he 
 Great Plains, while the cottonwood abounds along the margins of most of the streams 
 all over the West.
 
 NIGHT IN THE OLD CABIN 261 
 
 There was more than enough taken in in a few minutes 
 (and even then the pile was not exhausted) to last them 
 until broad daylight. They piled the fresh fuel on the 
 glowing embers, and instantly the red flames shot up the 
 throat of the huge chimney like the blast of an iron fur- 
 nace, for the wind gave it a terrific draft. 
 
 It required about two hours for the blankets to dry, 
 and then spreading them out on the earth floor, the boys 
 found them only wide enough to allow two to lie down at 
 a time; so they determined to watch by twos and sleep 
 the same way. 
 
 Summerfield and Pierre, declaring themselves by seni- 
 ority to be entitled to watch first, insisted that Carlos 
 and Burton should lie down at once, and when they had 
 slept three hours, as nearly as Pierre and Summerfield 
 could guess, they were to be called and take their turn. 
 
 The room, which was only about ten feet square, was 
 thoroughly warmed, and although there were no windows, 
 the immense fireplace, which was almost the width of the 
 entire room, gave perfect ventilation, and the boys did' 
 not suffer in the least from vitiated air. 
 
 Carlos and Burton, Pierre and Summerfield both in- 
 sisting, reluctantly threw themselves on the blankets, 
 thinking that it was unjust for the older boys to stand 
 guard first. While the latter seated themselves on their 
 saddles (the other two were used by the sleepers for pil- 
 lows) they commenced to talk quietly, so as not to disturb 
 their worn-out companions.
 
 262 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 Summerfield, of course, had to fill his pipe. He was 
 more like an Indian than the others in that particular. 
 But he was now confined to the savage's tobacco, the bark 
 of the red willow. The genuine article he had not even 
 seen for more than six months, when he happened to get 
 a little from old Red Bear one day when he was in a 
 specially good humor, and gave Summerfield about two 
 pipefuls of the precious stuff. 
 
 After the two had sat quietly for a few moments while 
 Summerfield was struggling with his pipe to keep it 
 lighted, for his tobacco had become very wet in his 
 pocket, the wolves set up a most dismal howling, appar- 
 ently but a short distance from the cabin. 
 
 " They 're after our ponies," said Pierre ; " but they can't 
 get at them, the stone wall is too high ; and as I told you 
 a great while ago, the wolf is a mighty poor climber. They 
 will have to satisfy their appetites with yelping. It 's a 
 mighty lucky thing for us that there is a corral here, or 
 we should certainly have lost our ponies to-night if we 
 had been obliged to picket them out. The wolves are 
 terribly bold now during such a storm. I suppose there 
 are at least twenty of them outside, judging from the howl- 
 ing they keep up. They would probably like to get at 
 us too, but they smell the fire, and dare not come any 
 nearer than the corral. They '11 all be gone by daylight." 
 
 " Let 's eat a bite," said Summerfield ; and he went to 
 the parflcsche packet which held their dried buffalo-meat, 
 and as he took out a portion, said to Pierre: "I guess
 
 NIGHT IN THE OLD CABIN 263 
 
 we won't have anything to eat to-morrow night, if we don't 
 kill something to-morrow; there is only meat enough left 
 for breakfast and dinner ! " 
 
 " Well, then we '11 have to shoot something," said Pierre. 
 " I hoped that we would have enough to last until we 
 got to the forks of the Beaver and the Wolf, but this storm 
 has played hob with all our calculations, and it may con- 
 tinue all day to-morrow. We can't start out while it 
 snows, and after it stops we must wait until some of it is 
 melted so we can see the trail, and find some grass for the 
 ponies." 
 
 When they thought their three hours were up, they woke 
 Carlos and Burton, who promptly obeyed the summons, 
 and took their places near the fire on the saddles, while 
 Pierre and Summerfield threw themselves down on the 
 warm blankets to rest for their three hours. 
 
 Carlos and Burton talked about all sorts of things, and 
 forgot all about going to sleep again until daylight came 
 streaming down the throat of the great chimney. Then 
 they went to the door and looked out. It was still snow- 
 ing hard, but the wind did not blow so furiously as during 
 the night. The earth was now covered to the depth of 
 nearly two feet, and Carlos told Burton he had never seen 
 so much snow on the ground before, that it was the worst 
 storm he had ever known of since he was born. 
 
 Of course the daylight was a dull ashen gray, and as 
 they could not tell by any possible means what time it was, 
 thought best to wake Pierre and Summerfield, and all go
 
 204 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 and attend to the ponies, \vbich must be nearly starved 
 by now. 
 
 Pierre and Summerfield got up the moment they were 
 called, and without thinking of their breakfast, after 
 washing at the spring and taking a good drink of the 
 water, started out to get some cottonwood limbs for their 
 animals. 
 
 Before they had left the cabin, Carlos in prowling 
 around came upon an axe, which, though not very sharp, 
 was a prize to them just then, for without it they had 
 nothing but their hunting-knives with which to cut down 
 the small trees necessary to the salvation of their ponies. 
 
 Going to the corral, Burton and Carlos took the ani- 
 mals down to the spring, while Pierre and Summerfield 
 went out into the timber, and selecting some of the smallest 
 of the cottonwood saplings, commenced to work at them 
 vigorously with the axe, taking " turns about " until they 
 had felled what they thought would be enough to last the 
 ponies until the next morning, at least. When Burton 
 and Carlos had finished watering the ponies, they went to 
 where Pierre and Summerfield were chopping, and car- 
 ried the trees to the corral, getting them all there by the 
 time sufficient had been cut down. 
 
 The boys returned to the cabin well satisfied with their 
 success in getting forage for their favorite animals, ate 
 their own breakfast, and found that only enough of the 
 meat was left, as Summerfield had suggested, to last for 
 one more meal.
 
 PIERRE KILLS A DEER 265 
 
 " We 've got to get something to eat," said Pierre. 
 " Suppose that Summerfield and I go out and try to find 
 something, while you and Carlos," addressing himself to 
 Burton, " stay here and keep up the fire and watch things, 
 as it won't do to leave the ponies and our things alone." 
 
 " All right," said Burton ; " Carl and I will bring in 
 enough of that wood to last us while you and Summerfield 
 are gone." 
 
 " Get your rifle, Summerfield," said Pierre ; " we must 
 start right away, for we don't want to be out in this storm 
 any longer than we can help. All we can hope to get will 
 be a deer, as nothing else will be here in the timber, and 
 we can't venture out on the prairie to hunt for an ante- 
 lope." 
 
 Summerfield filled that everlasting pipe, and both he 
 and Pierre started out for the river, wading through the 
 snow up to their knees, knowing that if they kept along- 
 side the stream there was no danger of their getting lost. 
 It was terribly cold, but the wind had moderated so that 
 it did not bother them much, as they walked as briskly as 
 they could, hoping to find something in a short time, and 
 not be obliged to wander many miles without seeing any 
 animal good to eat. 
 
 They had proceeded about half a mile from the cabin, 
 when Pierre, who was a little in advance, stopped short, 
 and put his hand on Summerfield's shoulder, at which the 
 latter, too, halted. Pierre pointed with his hand to a 
 large box-elder tree, about two feet in diameter, and
 
 266 (THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 showed him a deer, whose head was completely masked 
 by the trunk of the tree, but whose left side was boldly 
 beyond it. Raising his rifle, and taking careful aim, he 
 pulled the trigger, and the doe (for such it proved to be) 
 dropped dead without a struggle. 
 
 They both went up to their lucky quarry, and while 
 Pierre cut the animal's throat to let it bleed, Summer- 
 field commenced to take off its hide, at which in another 
 moment Pierre assisted him. Then, throwing the skin 
 away, for they had no use for it there, they eviscerated 
 the doe, and tying its legs together, hung it on a pole they 
 found near, and so transported it to the cabin by resting 
 one end of the pole on a shoulder of each. 
 
 Burton and Carlos had heard the report of the rifle, 
 and when Pierre and Summerfield approached the cabin 
 they were standing outside eagerly watching for them, 
 and when they saw the doe on their shoulders they took off 
 their hats and waved them, congratulatory of their suc- 
 cess. 
 
 When Pierre and Summerfield entered the cabin they 
 found that the boys during their absence had not only 
 brought enough wood in to last until morning, but that 
 they had built an unusually hot fire for their especial 
 benefit, knowing they would be very cold after their hunt. 
 
 While they were all cutting up the doe, which weighed 
 over seventy-five pounds, Carlos said : " Well, we 've got 
 enough meat now to last five days without another morsel,
 
 COOKING MEAT IN THE FIREPLACE 267 
 
 and the beauty of it is that we shan't lose any, for it will 
 keep in this weather without drying." 
 
 "Yes, said Pierre; "but if the weather clears off, I 
 hope we shall be in the fort on the Beaver before five days 
 have passed. We ought to be able to start out to-morrow 
 night if it clears any time to-day though I did not see 
 any signs of it when we were out." 
 
 The meat was cut up into convenient strips for carry- 
 ing at the backs of their saddles and apportioned equally 
 to each one, but was hung outside of the cabin on a tree, 
 for it was too warm inside. 
 
 By the time the meat was taken care of, the boys, al- 
 though they could not tell what the hour was, felt by the 
 cravings of their stomachs that it must be time to eat 
 again. So each one cut off choice portions of the deer, 
 and, hunting some fine branches of the willow, trimmed 
 them into skewers upon which they broiled their portions 
 before the glowing embers, the fire having purposely been 
 allowed to go down, as the room was warm, to make just 
 the right kind of coals to cook it. 
 
 The fireplace was large enough to permit them all to 
 broil their meat at once, and there was a general sputter- 
 ing as they sat down on the earth floor and each one put 
 his stick with the meat upon it before the coals, and pa- 
 tiently watched it until it was done to a turn. 
 
 " How I wish that we had some salt ! " said Summer- 
 field, as he tore off a little piece of the meat with his 
 hunting-knife and put it into his mouth.
 
 208 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 " I brought some along," broke in Carlos ; " I forgot 
 all about it;" and he reached down into the inside pocket 
 of his coat and pulled out a buckskin package, which he 
 opened, and displayed about two ounces of the precious 
 stuff. 
 
 All grasped some of it with avidity, and then their 
 meat tasted much better, with the addition of the neces- 
 sary condiment, they all declared. 
 
 " Which would you rather have salt, or tobacco ? " 
 asked Pierre of Summerfield. 
 
 " Tobacco, of course," replied he. " A man can get 
 along without salt, but if he loves to smoke, he must have 
 tobacco." 
 
 They all laughed at him, and even Burton, who was 
 an inveterate smoker, said, " Well, I '11 take salt in mine 
 every time." 
 
 " I should like to get a taste of the real stuff once more," 
 said Summerfield as he vigorously puffed his pipe, " and 
 I shall be glad if we ever get where there is a sutler's 
 store, so 1 can beg, borrow or buy some." 
 
 " I guess that we would better- cook all the meat," sug- 
 gested Pierre ; " for we may not be able or dare to make 
 a fire after we leave here." 
 
 So they watered the ponies, and finding that there was 
 not enough cottonwood to last them during the day, Pierre 
 said, " We '11 have to get them some more roughness, 
 then we '11 cook the meat." 
 
 "Roughness!" said Summerfield; "what's that?"
 
 LEAVING THE CABIN 269 
 
 " That J s a Western term for anything that a horse or 
 cattle will eat, excepting grain, grass, hay, or cottonwood 
 limbs." 
 
 Sumrnerfield and Burton laughed, and the latter said, 
 " I should think that they had roughness enough where 
 they are ! " 
 
 Cutting cottonwood limbs and packing them to the cor- 
 ral occupied all the rest of the forenoon, and after eat- 
 ing their dinner the boys went diligently to work and 
 broiled the rest of the doe, which required pretty much 
 all the remainder of the day. 
 
 That night the storm abated somewhat, but it was still 
 very cold, and the snow did not melt at all ; so for two days 
 more they were compelled to remain in the old stone cabin, 
 eating, cutting cottonwood for the ponies, and sleeping. 
 
 On the afternoon of the fourth day since they had occu- 
 pied the cabin, the sun came out, the air from the south 
 was very warm, and the snow began to melt rapidly. 
 
 By night the trail was plainly discernible, and they 
 made preparations to leave as soon as it grew dark. The 
 ponies were saddled, and were in fine condition after their 
 long rest, notwithstanding they had eaten only the bark 
 of the cottonwood trees. The remains of the cooked 
 deer-meat were divided equally, tied behind their saddles, 
 and they rode out into the night feeling very hopeful that 
 in two more nights, at least, they would reach the forks of 
 the Beaver and Wolf. 
 
 They traveled all night, and just at the break of day
 
 270 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 camped in a sheltered little bend of the river, under a 
 high bluff which formed the boundary of the stream on 
 the south side. They had hardly gotten the saddles off 
 their ponies, when their ears were greeted by a strange 
 sound. 
 
 " Hark ! " said Summerfield ; " what 's that ? " 
 
 They all listened, and Pierre spoke up : " It sounds 
 like a bugle!" 
 
 " So it does ! " all reechoed as they stood still to catch 
 the strange sound. 
 
 " Let me go on top of the bluff," said Summerfield, 
 t( and perhaps I may find out something. Soldiers are 
 certainly somewhere in the vicinity ! " 
 
 Summerfield started quite lively for the top of the 
 bluff, and after having been gone only a few moments, 
 came rushing down, waving his hat, and almost out of 
 breath, said : " It 's the fort ! I can see the flag waving 
 in the breeze, and it 's not more than two miles away ! " 
 
 " Hurrah ! " shouted Pierre. " Saddle up again. 
 " Don't let 's wait for breakfast or anything else, but get 
 there as soon as we can ! " 
 
 So, with feelings excited at the thought of the ending 
 of their eventful journey, they hurriedly saddled and 
 rode up on the bluff, to take a look at " Old Glory," and 
 the haven of all their hopes.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 JOY AT CAMP SUPPLY. GENERAL SHERIDAN^S BUFFALO- 
 HUNT. ARRIVAL OF THE LOST BOYS. DINE WITH GEN- 
 ERAL CUSTER. ON THE TRAIL TO FORT DODGE. 
 
 SLAUGHTER OF THE WORN-OUT CAVALRY HORSES. 
 
 ABANDONMENT OF THEIR BABIES BY THE SQUAWS. AR- 
 RIVAL AT FORT HARKER. JOYFUL MEETING OF THE 
 
 DELAHOYDES. SUMMERFIELD AND BURTON LEAVE FOR 
 
 THEIR HOME. AFTER GRADUATING, RETURN TO KANSAS, 
 
 AND ARE NOW WEALTHY RANCHMEN. ANNUAL REUN- 
 IONS OF THE DELAHOYDES AND THEIR BOSTON FRIENDS. 
 
 THE second of December, 1SG8, broke over the can- 
 tonment at the junction of the Wolf and Beaver 
 rivers with cloudless skies and a temperature de- 
 lightful in its mildness. It was a charming day, char- 
 acteristic of the midwinter weather on the Central Plains 
 after such a terrible storm as had just ended, and during 
 which General Custer made his memorable march and 
 attack on the village of the Cheyennes on the Washita; 
 through which, also, the lost boys persistently plodded in 
 making their escape from the camp of Red Bear, the chief 
 of the Comanches. The snow still covered the prairie in 
 spots, but was rapidly disappearing under the influence 
 of the warm south breeze. 
 
 Flags were flying everywhere over the rude buildings 
 of the primitive fort, in honor of the great victory Gen- 
 
 (271)
 
 272 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 eral Custer and his gallant troopers had effected, who 
 were now taking a well-deserved rest after a campaign 
 almost unparalleled in its hardships. The prisoners taken 
 in the fight, numbering fifty-three, were encamped on the 
 margin of the creek, guarded by a detachment of infantry, 
 anxiously waiting for the morrow, when they were to be 
 transported by wagon-train to Fort Dodge, on the Ar- 
 kansas, where they were to remain until their final dispo- 
 sition was determined upon by the authorities in Washing- 
 ton. 
 
 General Sheridan and his brilliant personal staff were 
 still at Camp Supply, and that morning, in company with 
 several other officers belonging to the garrison, were in- 
 dulging in a buffalo-hunt, as the whole region for miles 
 in every direction was covered with the shaggy animals. 
 As it was not at all probable that the immense herd would 
 remain in the vicinity for more than another day, ad- 
 vantage was taken of their presence for a few hours' ex- 
 citing sport. 
 
 With the party of hunters was the renowned chief of 
 scouts, W. F. Cody, afterward known all over the world 
 as " Buffalo Bill," and probably the most successful all- 
 around shot in the world at that time. 
 
 When they had reached a point about three miles from 
 the fort, there suddenly appeared coming over the bluffs 
 bordering Wolf creek, a party of four individuals, who 
 from their dress seemed to be Indians. The General im- 
 mediately dispatched Cody and two other of his couriers
 
 MEETING WITH "BUFFALO BILL" ^273 
 
 to ride toward them and find out who they were, as lead- 
 ing men of the various tribes were daily coming in to 
 surrender themselves and followers. 
 
 When Cody and his scouts arrived within hailing dis- 
 tance of the strange-looking group, he stopped, still be- 
 lieving them to be Indians, and putting up both of his 
 hands with the palms outward, the sign of friendship, 
 called out to them to halt. 
 
 The boys (for they were our old friends) immediately 
 responded by gestures similar to those which the chief of 
 scouts had made, and then rode boldly toward him. As 
 they came up, they were instantly recognized as white, 
 notwithstanding their bronzed faces and savage garb. 
 
 " Who are you ? " inquired Cody as they drew up on 
 their ponies within three feet of him. 
 
 '' We are the Delahoyde boys, and two other young men, 
 Summerileld and Burton ; have just escaped from the Co- 
 manches, where we have been prisoners for more than a 
 year and a half," answered Pierre, who acted as spokes- 
 man for the rest. 
 
 " Don't you know my dad, Delahoyde, the old trap- 
 per ? " interrupted Carlos. 
 
 '*' Why, certainly ! " said Cody; " every one in the whole 
 country knows him. So you are his boys, and these other 
 young men are the ones whom General Sheridan has been 
 having so much correspondence about with their parents 
 in Boston." 
 
 18
 
 274 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 " Where is our dad ? " anxiously inquired Pierre of the 
 scout. " Do you know ? " 
 
 " Yes," quickly responded Cody, noticing the look of 
 filial solicitude on the countenances of the two boys, as 
 Pierre asked the question. " Your father, and mother, 
 too, are all right. Your father is at Foil Barker, em- 
 ployed in the quartermaster's department. They have 
 grieved very much over your disappearance from the ranch, 
 but your father has always said that you would turn up 
 sooner or later, and get away all right from the savages. 
 
 " You would better all go with me now to General Sher- 
 idan ; he 's over there," pointing with his quirt 1 to where a 
 group of officers were standing watching the meeting of the 
 scouts and the strangers. 
 
 Then they rode up to where the General was waiting 
 for them, and upon arriving, Cody said : " General, these 
 two youngest boys are Delahoyde's sons, and the others 
 what are their names? those parties whose fathers have 
 written to you so continuously about them." 
 
 " Oh, Summerfield and Burton," interrupted the Gen- 
 eral, as he cordially shook hands with the four young fel- 
 lows, and congratulated them upon their escape from the 
 Indians. 
 
 " It 's a mighty fortunate occurrence for you," con- 
 tinued he, " that you effected your escape before the bat- 
 tle of the Washita, for all the captives held by every tribe, 
 
 1 Quirt, a rldlng-whlp with a short wooden or stiff leather handle and a braided 
 rawhide lash : used In the western United States and In Spanish-American countries.
 
 INTERVIEW WITH GENERAL 8HERIDAN 275 
 
 with one or two exceptions, were brutally murdered the 
 moment the news of the defeat of Black Kettle reached 
 their villages, as I have been told by my scouts. 
 
 " You would better go on to the fort now ;" and turning 
 to one of his couriers, he ordered him to conduct the young 
 men there. " We shall soon be through our hunt, and 
 will see you later, as I want to have a long talk with you. 
 To-morrow I will send you to Fort Harker with the train 
 which is going to take the Indian prisoners there, and 
 from there you young Bostonians," addressing himself 
 to Summerfield and Burton, "can go to Fort Hays and 
 take the cars for home. How are your ponies in good 
 condition ? " 
 
 " Excellent," replied Pierre ; " they are good for any 
 trip." 
 
 Turning to Summerfield again, the General said : " You 
 will find lots of letters at the sutler's store 1 for you. They 
 have been accumulating for months. I 've had consider- 
 able correspondence with your parents, and will send a 
 telegram to them by a courier who leaves this evening for 
 Fort Harker, that you are safe and well. You would bet- 
 ter send one too. I suppose that you are out of funds, so 
 I will pay for it. Your parents will immediately forward 
 money for you to get home with ; but if you want to start 
 before you receive an answer, I will furnish what funds 
 you may need." 
 
 1 "Sutler's store," a store at military posts, or In the field, for the accommodation 
 of the troops. The proprietor Is called a sutler.
 
 276 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 Summerfield and Burton both thanked the General for 
 his kind offers, and then all followed the scout to the fort, 
 where they arrived in about fifteen minutes. 
 
 On the way, Pierre asked the scout what had become 
 of Dick Curtis, the Indian trader; and at the same time 
 Summerfield inquired after his faithful valet, Romeo, the 
 Mexican. 
 
 " Poor fellows ! " replied the scout, " they were both 
 killed by the Cheyennes. We found their bodies on the 
 trail to Fort Sill. Curtis must have been surprised by 
 the savages, for his head was resting on his saddle, in 
 a little ravine where he had incautiously gone to sleep; 
 his breast filled with arrows, his scalp missing, and his 
 body horribly mutilated. We did not find the Mexican 
 until the next day, about fifteen miles from where Curtis 
 was killed. I suppose they captured him alive, and get- 
 ting tired of taking him to their camp, just murdered him 
 to save themselves the trouble of bothering with him any 
 further." 
 
 All the boys felt grieved over the news of Curtis's death, 
 for he was an excellent man, and had been a lifelong 
 friend of the Delahoydes; and Romeo had become quite 
 a favorite with the young Bostonians, because of his faith- 
 fulness in their service. 
 
 Upon arriving at the fort, all the boys wore introduced 
 to General Custer, who was standing at the entrance to 
 his tent watching their approach. After shaking hands 
 very cordially, he ordered their ponies taken care of by an
 
 DINING WITH THE GENERAL 27? 
 
 orderly. Then, inviting the boys inside his tent, he began 
 to question them quite at length concerning the Coman- 
 ches ; their strength, the locality of their village, the num- 
 ber of the warriors they could muster, and everything else 
 by which he could profit. 
 
 After the bright young fellows had imparted all the 
 information the General desired, he ordered an excellent 
 dinner prepared for them by his own cook, and when in 
 about half an hour they sat down to it, and tasted coffee, 
 hard-tack and butter, their feelings of gratification at once 
 more eating like Christians may better be imagined than 
 described. 
 
 After dinner was over, the Bostonians spent an hour in 
 writing letters, as at the end of that time the courier would 
 be ready to start with the mail for Fort Harker. They 
 also sent the telegram suggested by the General, when 
 they first met him on the open prairie. 
 
 Upon invitation, that evening the boys had the honor 
 of taking supper with General Sheridan and his staff. 
 When the meal was disposed of, all gathered in front of 
 the tent, where a brisk fire was burning, and they passed 
 a delightful evening in roasting buffalo shinbones and in 
 conversation. The conversation was kept up until after 
 ten o'clock, the young adventurers having to do most of 
 the entertaining, by answering the host of questions put 
 to them relating to the incidents of their eventful lives 
 while prisoners among the Comanches. 
 
 Suminerfield told the group of officers assembled that
 
 278 THE DELAHOYDEB 
 
 all the trouble and sufferings they had experienced were 
 caused by his great desire to obtain a buffalo-head to take 
 back to his home in Boston ; but that the result was zero, 
 so far as a head was concerned, and he had brought only 
 hardship upon his companions. 
 
 The General said, laughingly : " There is an old adage, 
 1 All things come to him who waits.' We got some mag- 
 nificent heads to-day on our hunt, and you shall each have 
 one, which proves the truthfulness of the saying, for you 
 have certainly waited with commendable patience for your 
 desire." Then, turning to one of his orderlies standing 
 near, he said to him : " Give my compliments to Mr. 
 Cody, the chief of scouts, and ask him to send a couple 
 of the best heads down to *he Indian camp to be prepared, 
 so that they will keep until they reach Boston. Then/' 
 addressing himself to Surnmerfield, " you can there have 
 a regular taxidermist finish them for you." 
 
 Summerfield and Burton were profuse in their thanks 
 to the General for his kindness, and after the orderly had 
 departed on his mission, all retired, the boys in a tent 
 assigned to them by General Ouster near his own, where 
 with plenty of buffalo-robes they slept very soundly and 
 peacefully for the first time in two weeks. 
 
 The next morning, contrary to all expectations, opened 
 with a fearful blizzard of blinding snow and furious wind 
 from the north; but after a good breakfast, the train of 
 eight hundred wagons, with the Indian prisoners stowed 
 in as many of them as were necessary, with an escort of
 
 OFF FOR FORT HARKER 279 
 
 one squadron of cavalry, two hundred and forty dis- 
 mounted troopers and one company of infantry, started 
 for Fort Harker via Fort Dodge, Accompanying the train 
 were one hundred and twenty-seven worn-out horses of Ous- 
 ter's command, which it was the intention should be taken to 
 the fort to recuperate. The commanding officer of the es- 
 cort, however, expressed his doubts to General Sheridan 
 whether he would be able to get them there, on account of 
 the terrible storm, and there was no dependence for what 
 they were to subsist upon but such grass as they might find 
 under the snow. The General replied, not by any means 
 to allow them to be caught alive by the wolves, but to ex- 
 ercise his own judgment as to their disposition in case 
 he could not get them along. 
 
 The buffalo-heads and the equipage belonging to the 
 boys were placed in one of the ambulances, but they them- 
 selves preferred to ride their ponies instead of using an 
 ambulance, particularly as the commanding officer waa 
 compelled to stick to his horse at the head of the column, 
 where, with a compass on his saddle-bow, he led the way 
 on the now obliterated trail down the river, the terrible 
 wind and the blinding snow making it impossible to see 
 ten feet ahead ! 
 
 The poor horses were trailing slowly behind, and it re- 
 quired the utmost efforts of the infantry in the rear to 
 prevent the wolves, which hung in packs on their tracks, 
 from getting at them. 
 
 By dint of almost herculean heroism on the part of the
 
 280 THE DELAHOYDES 
 
 soldiers, twelve miles were made by three o'clock, when, 
 with frosted feet and hands, they camped in the friendly 
 timber of the Beaver. 
 
 Tents were put up, and large fires kindled, by means 
 of which all were soon rendered relatively comfortable. 
 The played-out cavalry horses were so harassed by the 
 wolves, which kept increasing in numbers as night came 
 on, and as there was no forage for them, it was deemed 
 advisable to kill them to prevent their falling alive into 
 the rapacious jaws of the persistent brutes which were 
 snarling and snapping among themselves by the hundreds, 
 almost inside the very camp. So the poor animals were 
 taken a few rods from the trail and mercifully shot, in 
 order to save them from the more cruel fate of falling by 
 the wayside to be torn to pieces by the rapacious mon- 
 sters which were sure to get them eventually. 
 
 After the slaughter was ended, such a growling, fight- 
 ing, snapping and snarling while the famished brutes 
 pounced upon their now easily acquired quarry, has rarely 
 been heard; and before morning the bones of the luckless 
 animals which had done such good service, were picked as 
 clean as it is possible for a wolf to accomplish it. 
 
 During the night the storm abated, the snow ceased 
 falling, but the wind continued to blow furiously, and it 
 was bitter cold. After the command had gotten fairly 
 strung out on the trail, it was discovered on counting the 
 Indian prisoners, that two or three of the youngest, mere 
 babies in fact, were missing, and upon inquiry through
 
 DELAHOYDE BOYS MEET THEIR PARENTS 281 
 
 the interpreter, it was learned that the squaws had pur- 
 posely abandoned them in the snow at the camp! An 
 ambulance was immediately sent back for them ; they 
 were gathered up without any apparent injury having 
 happened to them, and returned to the train. 
 
 Before the train started on again, the commanding 
 officer, through the interpreter, informed the savages 
 that if that occurred again he would hang five of them to 
 the first tree he came to on Bluff creek, which they would 
 reach by noon the next day. The threat had its effect; no 
 more babies were left in camp, but the best of care taken of 
 them all the way to Fort Dodge, where the train arrived 
 on the afternoon of the fourth day from Camp Supply, 
 crossing the Arkansas, which was filled with floating ice, 
 right at the Fort. 
 
 The next day the command left for Fort Harker, where 
 they arrived after about two days' travel. 
 
 The meeting between the Delahoyde boys and their 
 parents was very affecting ; nor was their joy at seeing the 
 Bostonians again less sincere. That whole evening was 
 passed in relating the sad experiences through which they 
 had all passed, and reading the mass of letters found at the 
 sutler's by Summerfield and Burton. 
 
 The next morning an ambulance was to start for Fort 
 Hays, on the Kansas Pacific Railroad, in which, after an 
 affectionate farewell, and protestations of undying friend- 
 ship, the Bostonians rode, they promising to write the mo- 
 ment they arrived home, the Delahoydes watching the 
 vehicle until it passed out of view over the divide.
 
 282 THE DELAHOYDE8 
 
 A fortnight had scarcely elapsed since the departure of 
 Summerfield and Burton from Fort Harker, before long 
 letters were received from both the boys and their parents, 
 full of praise for the bravery of Pierre and Carlos, with the 
 assurance that each vacation, until they were graduated, 
 both sons would spend with their companions in so much 
 pleasure and hardships, on the beautiful Arkansas, a 
 stream so fraught with sad and delightful memories. 
 
 In a few days after the receipt of the letters, a large 
 box came by express, filled with a choice selection of books, 
 and a magnificent repeating-rifle for Carlos and Pierre, 
 with an abundance of cartridges. 
 
 The war having ended after Custer's punishment of the 
 savages, the rest of the tribes were placed on reservations 
 provided for them by the Government, and peace once more 
 spread its wings over the land. The Delahoydes moved 
 back to their ranch on the Arkansas, where a neat stone 
 house was erected to take the place of the old dugout de- 
 stroyed by the savages. 
 
 The next season Summerfield and Burton, true to their 
 promise, came and spent their vacation of three months 
 at the place, where they fished and hunted as of old, but 
 now they could go anywhere without fear of running 
 into a Comanche camp ! 
 
 In less than three years the Bostonians had completed 
 their studies at Harvard, and were graduated with honors ; 
 but so attached had they both become to the wild and 
 exciting life of the frontier, that they lost all taste for the
 
 REMINISCENCES 283 
 
 conventionalities of Eastern civilization, and their fathers, 
 being wealthy, purchased for their boys a couple of sections 
 of land, not many miles from the ranch of the Delahoydes, 
 stocked it with fine cattle, and both places are considered 
 to-day as among the finest and best equipped frontier homes 
 in the whole Western country. 
 
 Every fall, Pierre, Carlos, Summerfield and Burton 
 took an outing of five or six weeks, going to the localities 
 which years before were so fraught with thrilling adven- 
 tures for them, camping on the identical ground ; and while 
 smoking their pipes, renewed, in reminiscence, the strange 
 story of their young lives. 
 
 At first, for a few years, the buffalo, antelope and wild 
 turkey still lingered in their old haunts ; but as immigration 
 poured in, they too became a mere picture on memory's 
 walls, and only the ubiquitous wolf, the cowardly little 
 coyote and the cranes were left to form a living picture of 
 the long-ago. The Polled Angus, Ilerefords, and the 
 broad-backed Shorthorns on the ranches usurped the place 
 of the great shaggy ruminants, the once monarchs of the 
 Plains, and that which was originally a wild but pic- 
 turesque region was transmuted by civilization into the 
 most charming pastoral landscape on the continent. 
 
 The " old folks " of both families visit their sons very 
 often, and the only regret ever expressed is that there 
 are no girls, so there might be a closer relationship than 
 now exists, of only a deep friendship.
 
 A 000033305 4