COPYRIGHTED 1638. 
 
 BUFFALO BILL TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 \j 
 i 
 
eroes 
 
 of the 
 
 Plains 
 
 OR 
 
 Lives and Wonderful Adventures 
 
 OF 
 
 Wild Bill, Buffalo Bill, Kit Carson, Capt. 
 
 Payne, "White Beaver," Capt. Jack, 
 
 Texas Jack, California Joe, 
 
 AND OTHER 
 
 CELEBRATED INDIAN FIGHTERS, SCOUTS, HUNTERS AND GUIDES, 
 
 - 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 A TRUE AND THHII,I,ING HISTORY OF GEN. OUSTER'S FAM- 
 
 OUS "LAST FIGHT" ON THE I,ITTI,E BIG HORN, WITH 
 
 SITTING BUI,!, ; AI^SO A SKETCH OF THE I,IFE OF 
 
 SITTING BUI,!,, AND HIS ACCOUNT OF THE 
 
 CUSTER MASSACRE, AS RELATED TO 
 
 THE AUTHOR IN PERSON. 
 
 By the Author of "Mysteries and Miseries of America's Great Cities," ' Border 
 
 Outlaws," etc., etc. 
 
 u 
 PROFUSELY IU,USTRATED. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 
 WEST PHILADELPHIA PUBLISHING CO., 
 
 3941 Market Street. 
 
Copyright, 1891, by 
 
 HISTORICAL PUBLISHING Co. 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 PUBLISHED AND MANUFACTURED BY 
 
 HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
 PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 
ncroft 
 
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 THE work of preparing a brief history of the greatest 
 ef plains-heroes has been one of especial pleasure to me, 
 although at times many obstacles interposed themselves 
 which only perseverance could remove. But the labor, 
 nevertheless, has afforded me no little enjoyment, as it 
 brought to my immediate consideration deeds of prow- 
 ess, cunning and endurance, putting to a test the meas- 
 ure of man's possibilities in a particular field of action. 
 It is our natural disposition to admire true heroes, and 
 not only to admire, but to exalt their acts, and this uni- 
 versal feeling, perhaps exaggerated in myself, was one 
 of the motives which impelled me into a preparation 
 of HEROES OF THE PLAINS." While this volume 
 abounds with thrilling adventures, sanguinary encoun- 
 ters and personal combats of the most startling charac- 
 ter, yet through every page there is observed a thread 
 of wholesome justice, upon which is strung every deed 
 recounted, preserving a forcible and moral influence 
 beneficial to young and old alike. 
 
 In compiling these personal histories I have adhered 
 strictly to facts without florid coloring. I was well ac- 
 quainted with Wild Bill for several years before his death, 
 and in 1879 wrote a pamphlet sketch of his life, but dis- 
 covered afterward that while it contained comparatively 
 few f bis adventures, there were several mortifying er~ 
 
 
10 AUTHOR'S PREFACE 
 
 rors, a correction of which influenced me to write another 
 sketch of the famous scout, and this labor developed into 
 " HEROES OF THE PLAINS." I was fortunate in securing 
 Wild Bill's diary from his widow, Mrs. Agnes Lake 
 Hickok, of Cincinnati, from which I have drawn my facts 
 Concerning him, that there might be no mistakes or 
 omissions in recounting the marvelous exploits of his life 
 in this publication. 
 
 Buffalo Bill, who now stands unchallenged as the 
 greatest plainsman living, was an intimate friend of 
 Wild Bill, and the two, so long connected in their won- 
 derful careers, deserve a conjunctive position in history, 
 such as I have here given them. 
 
 The other heroes, Kit Carson, Capt. Jack, Gen. Custer, 
 Capt. Payne, California Joe, and Texas Jack, have each 
 made their private mark over the wild expanse of West- 
 ern wilderness, in the highway they so ably assisted in 
 preparing for civilization and its peaceful pursuits : teem- 
 ing harvests, happy homes, the building of cities, exten- 
 sion of commerce and all attendant blessings. They 
 fought the fight whose victory has moved the center of 
 wealth and population Westward, and therefore deserve 
 the exultant recognition of every American whose patri- 
 otism extends from the heart to the MoH \tf his nativity. 
 
 J. W. B. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ILLUMINATED TITLE. PAGE. 
 
 ]. B. Hickok (Wild Bill), .... 20 
 
 Wild Bill's Birth Place,- - 22 
 
 Disembarking in a Kansas Mob, ... 27 
 
 Wild Bill Driving into Santa Fe, - 31 
 
 Wild Bill and his Men Charging the Indian Camp, 35 
 
 WILD BILL AND THE CINNAMON BEAR, - 39 
 
 WILD BILL'S FIGHT WITH THE McCANDLAS GANG, 45 
 
 A Close Shave, - - - - - 56 
 
 Wild Bill in Disguise, - 67 
 
 Wild Bill Surprises the Sleepy Sentinel, - 71 
 Man-to-yu kee (Conquering Bear), 
 
 WILD BILL'S DUEL WITH CONQUERING BEAR, 8} 
 
 Wild Bill and Mrs. Rogers in the Park, - - 89 
 
 Wild Bild Satisfies the Natives, - 94 
 
 A Duel with Four Men - 97 
 
 WILD BILL KILLING BLACK KETTLE, - 101 
 
 Scenery on the Route Traveled by the Wilson Party, 109 
 
 The Principal Amusement at Hays City, - - in 
 
 WILD BILL'S FIGHT WITH FIFTEEN SOLDIERS, 1 19 
 
 The Aboriginal Part of the Outfit, - - - - 129 
 
 The Bear and the Sausages, - - - 131 
 
 A Street in Abilene, 134 
 
 A Ride for Life, ... . . 154 
 
 Wild Bill Accidentally Kills a Friend, - - - 136 
 
 PUNISHING A BOGUS CHARACTER, - - 165 
 
 The Cabin in the Black Hills, - - - 171 
 
 Wild Bill and the Fox, - 173 
 
 Taking Desperate Chances, . . 177 
 
 Wild Bill's Miraculous Escape from the Indians, - 179 
 
 Deadwood in Embryo, - 186 
 
 ASSASSINATION OF WILD BILL, - - 189 
 
 Execution of Jack McCall, ... 205 
 
 Wild Bill's Grave, - - - 209 
 
 Gen. Forsyth and his Beleaguered Scouts, 222 
 Pony Express, .... 223 
 
 Hon. Wm. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill), ... 224 
 
 Stabbing of Buffalo Bill's Father, - - 230 
 
 Battle of Ash Hollow, - - 245 
 The Attack on the Stage Coach, .... 267 
 
 Inside the Robbers' Dug-Out, - 271 
 
 BUFFALO BILL WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP, - - 297 
 
 AMBUSHING THE INDIANS, - - 303 
 
 " Hi yi-yip-yah" The Attack, - - - 313 
 
 Beaver Creek, the Trapper's Ely sian, - - - 317 
 
 BUFFALO BILL IN CLOSE QUARTERS, - - 322 
 
 Buffalo Bill Tries a Shot at Long Range, - 329 
 
 Major Frank North, - - - 332 
 
 Silver Bricks awaiting Shipment, - - 336 
 
 Death of Tall Bull, - ... 344 
 
 Two Indians at One Shot, ... . 347 
 
 The Marriage Ceremony, - 353 
 
 "How! How!" - - . - 356 
 
 The Grand Duke's First Buffalo, .... 358 
 
 11 
 
12 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Residence of Hon. W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) at North Platte, Neb., 374 
 
 Brerent Major-Gen. Geo. A. Custer, - - . 377 
 
 Gen. Ouster's Interpreter Addressing the Assembled Sioux, - 380 
 
 DEATH OF GENERAL CUSTER, - 389 
 
 The Monument where Custer Fell, - - 392 
 
 BUFFALO BILL'S DUEL WITH YELLOW HAND, - - 397 
 
 A Shot that Beat William Tell's, - 407 
 
 California Joe, - - - - - -418 
 
 CALIFORNIA JOE AT THE STAKE, - - 423 
 
 The Indians Receiving the White Girl into their Canoe, - - 435 
 
 CALIFORNIA JOE ATTACKED BY A PANTHER, 446 
 California Joe Saves his Friend, .... 448 
 
 "Ugh! White Man," ... - 451 
 Kit Carson and his Blind Horse, .... 458 
 
 Kit Carson Employed as a Horse Tamer, - 463 
 
 Treed by a Hungry Grizzly, - 472 
 
 Hunting the Trail, ----- 474 
 
 Carson's Duel with the Frenchman, ... - 478 
 
 Kit Carson Saves his Fallen Comrade, - - - 481 
 
 Carson's Fight with a Mexican Lion, - - 483 
 
 Kit Carson's Indian Wife, - 484 
 
 Carson and the Wounded Buffalo, - - 489 
 
 Scene in Taos, N. M., ----- 494 
 
 Capt. D. L. Payne, - - - - - 498 
 
 THE MURDER OF MRS. BLINN, 509 
 
 Marching Through the Snow, - - 512 
 
 Departure of the Cheyennes, - - S 1 7 
 
 A Cheyenne Warrior, - - - ' 5 2 5 
 
 Colonel Coppinger Visits the Camp, - - 529 
 
 Drilling the Colonists, - 532 
 
 White Beaver (Dr. D. F. Powell), - - 534 
 
 White Beaver Charging the Indians, - - 543 
 
 A Ghastly Duel, - - - 546 
 
 White Beaver's Desperate Fight for Life, - 554 
 
 The Fight in Massacre Canon, - - 557 
 
 Combat with the Norwegian, - - 5" 1 
 
 Punishment of an Indian Adulteress, - 564 
 
 Sitting Bull, - 572 
 
 Surrender of Sitting Bull and his people, - 577 
 
 Rain-in-the-Face, - -581 
 
 Crow King, - 5 8 S 
 
 Gall, - 589 
 
 Low-Dog, ... - 591 
 
 Diagram of the Custer Battle-Field, - '594 
 
 Final Charge of the Indians on Custer' s Men, - ' 597 
 
 Custer' s Last Shot, - -598 
 
 Capt. Jack, the Poet Scout, ooo 
 
 Oura, - 6o5 
 
 Texas Jack, - 607 
 
 Tack Holding the Indians at Bay, 6or 
 
 Flagging Antelope, - - - - - ** 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LIFE OF WILD BILL. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Birth Family History Early Life Youthful 
 Hunting Adventures Desperate Fight on a Towpath 
 Leaves Home to take part in the Kansas War Receives 
 the Title of "Shanghai Bill" Lively Times in Kansas, 21 30 
 
 CHAPTER II. Stage Driving across the Plains Trouble with the 
 Indians Bill Leads an Expedition against them Desper- 
 ate Fight and Brilliant Victory Freighting to New Mexico 
 Terrific Fight with a Cinnamon Bear Bill Cleans out the 
 McCandlas Gang at Rock Creek, and wins the Title of 
 "Wild Bill," - 3050 
 
 CHAPTER III. Wild Bill Enlists in the Union Army Remarka- 
 ble Shooting at Pea Ridge Becomes a Spy for General 
 Curtis Makes his way to the Confederates and becomes 
 an Orderly to Gen. Price Desperate Adventure with Jake 
 Lawson A Ride for Life An Unprofitable Horse Race, 50 63 
 
 CHAPTER IV. Wild Bill again enters the Confederate Lines 
 Humorous Adventure with an Old Darkey Assumes the 
 role of an Arkansaw Traveler Is Detected and Condemned 
 to be Shot Escapes by Killing his Guard, - 63 72 
 
 CHAPTER V. Bill Declines longer to serve as a Spy Remarkable 
 Adventure with Three Bushwhackers Black Nell Bowie- 
 Knife Duel with Conquering Bear, - - 72 85 
 
 CHAPTER VI. Mary Logan, the Beautiful Indian Girl Her 
 Singular Infatuation for Wild Bill The Romance of Love 
 Mary Logan Poisons her Husband and Disappears For- 
 everDuel with Dave Tutt, in which Bill "Satisfies the 
 Natives," - - 8695 
 
 CHAPTER VII. Wild Bill Fights a Duel with Four Men Expedi- 
 tion Against Black Kettle Desperate Battle on the Wachita 
 Bill Kills Black Kettle, - - 9610$ 
 
 CHAT7ER VIIL W^ld Bill Visits Chicago Some Roughs try to 
 Tame him Ignominious Failure of the Attempt Bill Re- 
 ceives a Letter from Vice-President Wilson Serves as 
 Guide for the Vice-President's Party, and is Presented with 
 a Pair of Ivory-Handled Pistols Bill is Elected Marshal of 
 Hays City, - 
 
 II 
 
14 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. Jack Strawhan's Fatal Mistake Bill Mulvey un- 
 dertakes to ''Run the Town" But Runs against Wild 
 Bill's Pistol Desperate Fight with 16 Soldiers, - 113 124 
 
 CHAPTER X. Wild Bill's Buffalo Speculation Captures a Herd 
 of Wild Buffaloes and Exhibits them at Niagara Result, 
 Bankruptcy Bill becomes Marshal of Abilene, Kan. 
 Fatal Row with Phil Cole Wild Bill and the Professor of 
 Pugilism, - 124139 
 
 CHAPTER XL $5,000 offered for Wild Bill's Heart Eight Texas 
 Desperadoes Accept the Offer, but fail to Deliver the Goods 
 Death of Bill Thompson Wild Bill Kills and Scalps 
 Phil Cole's Cousin, - 140149 
 
 CHAPTER XII. Mrs. Lake Finds a Champion in Wild Bill Who 
 Makes a Speech in her Favor Bill Visits Kansas City 
 Description of that Place in its Early Days Bill Tames a 
 Rash Young Man, - 150 156 
 
 CHAPTER X1IL Wild Bill as an Actor The Tricks he played on 
 the "Supes" Settles a Crowd of Roughs, who were 
 Spoiling to Fight the entire Combination Adventure with 
 a Party of Merchants at Portland, Maine Wild Bill makes 
 ? Decided Hit Cleans out a Bogus Theatrical Troupe for 
 using his Name without Authority Goes West again Is 
 Attacked by Two Villains and Kills them Both, - 156 169 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. Expedition to the Black Hills Adventure with 
 the Silver Grey Fox Bill's Companions Attacked and 
 Killed by Indians His own Marvelous Adventures and 
 Final Escape, - - 170 180 
 
 CHAPTER XV. Wild Bill Accidentally meets Mrs. Lake Pro- 
 poses Marriage, is Accepted, and the Wedding takes place 
 Pleasant Visit to Cincinnati Sketch of Mrs. Lake and 
 her Daughter Emma, - - 180185 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. Bill's Last Expedition to the Black Hills Affec- 
 tionate Letter to his Wife Assassination of Wild Bill by 
 Jack McCall, - - 185192 
 
 CHAPTER XVIL The Murderer's Trial and Acquittal, 192198 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. Funeral of Wild Bill California Joe's Warn- 
 ing to the Murderer Capt. Jack's Poem on the Burial of 
 Wild Bill, -. - 198203 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. Second Trial of Jack McCall His Conviction 
 
 and Execution Pathetic Letter from his Sister, - 203 207 
 
 CHAPTER XX. Removal of Wild Bill's Remains, which are 
 found to be Petrified "Wild Bill's Grave" Peculiarities 
 of the Great Scout His Love for Black Nell His Wonder- 
 ful Dexterity in the use of Fire Arms Gen. Custer's Opin- 
 ion of Wild Bill, - ... 207 a*" 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Birth and Early Life Experiences with Mormons 
 and Frontier Characters The Kansas Troubles Attempt- 
 ed Assassination of Billy's Father Billy Rescues his Father 
 from a Mob Attempt to Blow up the Cody Residence with 
 Ppwder, 225 334. 
 
 CHAPTER II. Billy runs away from Home to become a Herder 
 Returns with his Pockets full of Silver, which he gives to 
 his Mother Goes to School His First Sweetheart Fight 
 with his Rival "I'm killed! I'm killed!" Billy again 
 Leaves Home to Escape Imaginary Dangers Is Followed 
 by his Rival's Father But Escapes his Fury Death of the 
 Elder Mr. Cody- Billy's Efforts to Help his Mother His 
 First Fight with Indians The Retreat Billy Slays the 
 "Biggest Indian in the Outfit" Returns Home to Find 
 himself Famous, ... 234 24* 
 
 CHAPTER III. Billy " Goes West" again Description of Over- 
 land Freighting A Singular Obligation " Bull- Whack- 
 ers " and " Cow-Boys "The Camp Wrecked by a Buffalo 
 Stampede Captured by Mormons Who Rob the Train, 
 but Release the Men Perilous March across the Plains 
 Desperate Fight with Indians Billy Shoots a Warrior at 
 Long Range The Rescue Trapping Camping in a Grave 
 Yard, - 243 233 
 
 CHAPTER IV. " Pike's Peak or Bust " " Busted "The Re- 
 turn Adventures on a Raft Billy becomes a ' ' Pony Ex- 
 press" Rider, 254 257 
 
 CHAPTER V. Billy and Dave Harrington as Trappers The Ac- 
 cident Alone on the Prairie Visited by Indians Twenty- 
 Nine Days of Lonely Suffering Help at Last The Return 
 Death of Noble Dave Harrington, 257 263 
 
 CHAPTER VI. Stage Driving Narrow Escape from Massacre 
 
 Battle of Clear Creek, 264269 
 
 CHAPTER VII. Billy's Adventure with the Robbers Kills one 
 
 of the Band and Escapes by Shrewd Strategy, 269 27J 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. The Great Civil War" Red Legs " and "Bor- 
 der Ruffians" ^Billy's Service as a Soldier and Scout 
 Adventure in Southern Missouri, - 275 280 
 
 CHAPTER IX. Close of the War Billy falls in Love and is Mar- 
 ried Wedding Trip to Kansas The Boat Attacked by 
 Bushwhackers Ovation at Leavenworth Housekeeping 
 Scouting for Gen. Custer, - 280 285 
 
CONTENTS . 
 
 CHAPTER X. The " Colored Troops " fail to Fight Nobly But 
 Unlimber Themselves and "Light Out" Saved by the 
 Darkness A Town Speculation Rome " Howls" Dr. 
 Webb and his Little Scheme Rome does not prove to be 
 an Eternal City Buffalo Hunting Cody Wins the Title of 
 "Buffalo Bill," 285291 
 
 CHAPTER XL -The Great Buffalo Hunting Contest Numerous 
 Visitors Great Excitement Magnificent Display of Skill 
 in Riding and Shooting Buffalo Bill Wins the Stakes, 292 299 
 
 CHAPTER XII. Bill is Captured by Indians But Escapes through 
 Strategy and the Fleetness of his Mule The Ambush 
 Marvelous Riding as a Dispatch Carrier The "Govern- 
 ment Mule," ...... 299 311 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL Gen. Forsythe's Desperate Battle with the Indi- 
 ans Buffalo Bill as Scout and Hunter Drives a Herd of 
 Buffaloes into Camp and Kills them Fighting Indians 
 Close Quarters, - - 311 320 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. The Battle with Black Kettle's Band Pursuit 
 of Horse Thieves "Throw up your Hands, or I'll Kill 
 You," - 320327 
 
 CHAPTER XV. Buffalo Bill Kills an Indian at Long Range- 
 Major North and his Pawnees Numerous Indian Fights, 328 339 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. Scouts and Battles Buffalo Bill shoots Tall 
 
 Bull Camp Life, - - - 339345 
 
 CHAPTER XVIL Buffalo Bill's Wonderful Horsemanship He 
 Kills Two Indians at One Shot The Pawnee Sentinel- 
 Buffalo Bill as a 'Squire A New Way to "Replevin" a 
 Stolen Horse The Wedding Ceremony, - - 345 353 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. Buffalo Bill Serves as Guide for Distinguished 
 Hunting Parties The Duke Alexis Spotted Tail and his 
 Indians The Duke Kills his First Buffalo Bill Treats him 
 to a "Western Stage Drive "Buffalo Bill Visits New 
 York on the Invitation of Prominent Citizens Another 
 Brush with the Indians, 354 363 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. Buffalo Bill is Elected a Member of the Legis- 
 lature Ned Buntline Makes him an Offer to go on the 
 Stage Bill and Texas Jack Learning their Parts Splendid 
 Success, 363372 
 
 CHAPTER XX. Acting and Scouting Death of Little Kit Prep- 
 arations for the Little Big Horn Expedition, 373 382 
 
 CHAPTER XXL History of the Unfortunate Expedition to the 
 
 Little Big Horn Custer's Last Fight and Death, - 382 393 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. Buffalo Bill's Duel with Yellow Hand "The 
 
 First Scalp for Custer," * 393 393 
 
CONTENTS. 17 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. Scouting on a Steamboat The Bad Lands- 
 Marvelous Ride and Narrow Escape Viewing an Indian 
 Buffalo Hunt from Ambush A Bridle of Indian Scalps- 
 Success on the Stage $48,000 Cleared in One Season A 
 Shot that Beat William Tell's, 400408 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. The Author visits Buffalo Bill The Famous 
 Scout's Home and Family His Great Popularity at Home 
 Wonderful Riding and Shooting Buffalo Bill's Liberal- 
 ity A Humorous Incident at Church An Indian's Con- 
 tempt for a Watch Other Incidents and Anecdotes, 408 416 
 
 LIFE OF CALIFORNIA JOE. 
 
 CHAPTER!. Who was California Joe? The Mystery that En- 
 shrouded him The Indian Massacre Captured and Con- 
 demned to the Stake Rescued by a Party of Trappers 
 after the Fire is Kindled, - - 419 435 
 
 CHAPTER II. A Romance of Love Capt. Jack's Poem Joe 
 
 Rescues Hazel Eye, - 425 436 
 
 CHAPTER III. Service as Scout During the War Scouting on 
 the Plains Gen. Custer's Description of California Joe 
 "An Ambulance Man er a Hoss Man" Silent Jack Corbin 
 Joe and Jack's Ride A Bear Hunt Ambushing the 
 Indiars " Boys, you kin hev the Fixtures, but the Scalps 
 are Mine," ... - _ 436 444 
 
 CHAPTER IV. Joe's Terrific Combat with a Mexican Couger 
 California Joe and Jack Corbin in the Black Hills Joe 
 Saves his Friend's Life " Ugh ! White Man! " - 444 453 
 
 CHAPTER V. Joe's Weakness Must have "Pie" His practical 
 joke on the Big Soldier "The Grave of Poor Amos 
 Billings " Incidents and Anecdotes Murder of California 
 Joe, - - - 453 457 
 
 LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Personal Characteristics Uncertainty of Kit's 
 Birth Place Early Days in Missouri Expedition to Santa 
 Fe Becomes a Mexican Horse Tamer Engages in Trap- 
 ping Trip to California Pursuit of Digger Indians 
 Charging through their Camp in the Darkness Kit kills a 
 Mexican Fights with Indians, - 459 469 
 
 CHAPTER II. Hunting and Trapping in Colorado Kit pursues 
 an Indian Horse Thief Overtakes and Kills him Treed by 
 a Grizzly Bear Trailing Indians in the Snow A Council 
 
18 CONTENTS. 
 
 that Ended in a Fight Kit Carson is badly Wounded in an 
 Effort to Save a Comrade Carson's Duel with the Arro- 
 gant Frenchman, - - 469478 
 
 CHAPTER III. Expedition into the Blackfeet Country Threaten- 
 ed with Starvation Combats with the Blackfeet Carson 
 Saves a Fallen Comrade Trapping on the Great Salt 
 Lake Terrible Fight with a Mexican Lion Kit Carson's 
 Indian Wife Her Death and Kit's visit to St. Louis 
 Serves as Scout in the Fremont Expedition Graphic De- 
 scription of a Buffalo Hunt Carson's Narrow Escape from 
 a Wounded Buffalo, - 479 499 
 
 CHAPTER IV. The Second Fremont Expedition Exploring the 
 
 Great Salt Lake Terrible Hardships and Sufferings, 490493 
 
 CHAPTER V. Carson's Service in the Mexican War Saves a 
 Party of Americans from Annihilation Close of the Mexi- 
 can War Carson's Home in New Mexico Commissioned 
 Brigadier General Death of Kit Carson, - - 493 497 
 
 LIFE OF CAPT. D. L. PAYNE. 
 
 CHAPTER L Early Life Goes West to Fight the Mormons- 
 Unprofitable Speculation in a Saw Mill Hunting on the 
 Plains of Kansas Payne's intimacy with Kit Carson, Wild 
 Bill, Buffalo Bill, California Joe, and other Noted Plains- 
 men Service in the Cival War The Pompous Dutch In- 
 specting Officer Payne as a Sailor The Joke he played on 
 a couple of Starchy Officers A Gallant Adventure at the 
 Battle of Prairie Grove, - - 498 507 
 
 CHAPTER II. Close of the War Scouting on the Plains Capt- 
 ure of Three White Ladies by Indians The Pursuit and Re- 
 capture Terrible Sufferings during the Expedition Ten 
 Cheyenne Chiefs in a Close Place Payne and the Lively 
 Mule Surrounded and Hemmed In Saved by Daring and 
 Skill Capt. Payne's Election to the Kansas Legislature 
 The Oklahoma Movement Payne's Arrest and Trial Per- 
 sonal Characteristics, ... 507 jjjj 
 
 LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Character of the Hero His Indian Mother Early 
 Life His Inherited and Acquired Knowledge of Medicine 
 Death of Mrs. Powell First Adventures on the Plains 
 " Follow Me Who Will." - 534$^ 
 
 CHAPTER II. A Fierce Fight With Twenty Sioux Sends Him- 
 self to the Louisville Medical College A Pistol Duel in a 
 
CONTENTS. ID 
 
 Ghostly Dissecting-room Return to the Plains Buffalo Bill's 
 Story of Powell's Noble Nature How He Saved Chief " Rocky 
 Bear's" Daughter Bestowal of the Name "White Beaver" 
 Upon Him by Rocky Bear, 542 550 
 
 CHAPTER III. To the Rescue of An Unfortunate Girl His Duel 
 With the Royall Brothers Joins a Band of " Cut Off" Sioux- 
 Dreadful Fight With Arrapahoe Indians Desperately Wound- 
 ed With a Lance Saved by Rocky Bear, 550 550 
 
 CHAPTER IV. Terrible Sight In Massacre Canon Discovery of 
 the Cheyenne Camp White Beaver Heads the Charge A 
 Terrible Alternative "The Chief Must Be Cured or White 
 Beaver Shall Die" He Cures the Chief, and is Made Medicine 
 Man of the Nation Removal to Lanesboro Desperate Fight 
 With a Norwegian Encounter With a Member of Crazy 
 Horse's Band How He Killed the Indian, - 555 565 
 
 CHAPTER V. Marriage of White Beaver His Estimable Wife 
 and Her Influence He Joins Buffalo Bill's Combination 
 White Beaver Suppresses an Indian War Dance in Chicago 
 And Cracks " Long Trailer's" Skull His Removal to 
 LaCrosse, Wis. Established as Proprietor of a Surgical Insti- 
 tute His Extraordinary Success and Practice in Surgery 
 Besought by Numerous Indian Tribes to Return and be Their 
 Medicine Chief His Skill as a Rifle and Pistol Shot, - 565571 
 
 SITTING BULL'S STORY OF THE CUSTER 
 MASSACRE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Sitting Bull's Taciturnity The Author's Visit to the 
 Great Warrior A Cordial Reception Sitting Bull not a Chief 
 But a Prophet A Brief History of His Career Attending an 
 Indian Funeral Back into Camp With Sitting Bull The 
 Author's Interview with the Distinguished Chief Graphic 
 History of a Painful Memory How the Last Survivor Died 
 A Story that Melts the Heart With Pity Identification of a 
 Skeleton by Teeth With Gold Fillings, - - 572588 
 
 CHAPTER II. STORY OF LAKOTAH, THE SQUAW-WARRIOR, 
 WHO FOUGHT AGAINST CUSTER Lakotah, the Wife of Chief 
 Spotted Horn Bull Her Fierce Fight with Chief Gall The 
 Author's Introduction to Lakotah Her Willingness to Tell the 
 Story of Custer's Defeat Explaining the Battle by Means of a 
 Diagram Reno's First Attack An Inexcusable Retreat 
 First Appearance of Custer on the Scene Caught in an 
 Ambush A Storm of Death Not a Soldier Left What Shall 
 the Heroes' Portion Be? 588 599. 
 
 SKETCH OF CAPT. JACK, THE POET SCOUT, 6oc> 606 
 
 SKETCH OF TEXAS JACK, (J. B. Omohundro), - 60761:2 
 
J. B. HICKOK, 
 (Wild Bill) 
 
HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 LIFE OF WILD BILL 
 
 (J. B. HICKOK.) 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 IT is a noticeable fact that nearly all our sturdy f ron- 
 characters are natives of the West ; there is, appar- 
 ently, something in the atmosphere, in the wild winds 
 which freight the air with primeval perfume ; an unde- 
 fined elemental principle which inoculates Western chil- 
 dren yrith a desire for adventure. Our hero, of course, 
 beloDg-3 to that longitudinal nativity where the prairies 
 bathe their feet at the margins of eastern forests, and 
 then roll away to the Occident, resting at that great ridge 
 which rinses ruggedly into the vertebrae of a continent. 
 
 JAMES BUTLER HICKOK, known to history only as ' ' Wild 
 Bill," was born in La Salle county, Illinois, near the 
 country village of Troy Grove, on the 27th of May, 
 1837. His parents were both natives of Vermont, from 
 which State they removed, directly after marriage, to 
 New York. After following farming for some time in 
 the Empire State, and meeting with indifferent success, 
 in 1834 the family, now consisting of the parents and 
 two children, packed up their few possessions and re- 
 moved to Illinois, going overland in a " mover's wagon," 
 as was the customary mode of traveling in that early 
 period. A place for settlement was chosen in Putnam 
 county, but two years afterward a more desirable location 
 was found in La Salle county, the homestead then selected 
 
 21 
 
22 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 and entered proving so satisfactory that it is still occur 
 pied by two survivors of the family. 
 
 The house in which Wild Bill was born was built in 
 1836 and stood, fronting east, upon a prairie one-half 
 mile from the timber skirting little Yermillion creek. 
 The house is still standing, and occupied, but the progress 
 of rapid settlement in Illinois has reared the village of 
 Homer about the pioneer's home, and the birth-place of 
 our hero is now situated in the southeast corner of block 
 
 
 Wild Bill's Birth Place. 
 
 number thirteen of that town. The cut of the house as 
 here produced, was made from a drawing executed by H. 
 D. Hickok, in March of the present year, and therefore 
 illustrates the place of to-day, though there have been n 
 material alterations made in the building since its first 
 erection. 
 
 The family consisted of six children, four boys and 
 two girls, whose names and ages are as follows : O. C. 
 Hickok, was born in New York in 1830 : he is now a resi- 
 
LITE OF WILD BILL. 23 
 
 dent of California, and is the trainer and part owner of 
 St. Julian, the greatest horse, perhaps, now on the turf. 
 Lorenzo B. was born, also in New York, in 1832 ; Horace 
 D. is a native of Putnam count j, Illinois, having been 
 born there in 1834 ; James B., Celinda D., and Lydia M. 
 were born at tne old homestead near Troy Grove. 
 Celinda, born in 1839, married a gentleman by the name 
 of Dewey, and is still living in La Salle county, while 
 Lydia, being two years younger, married a farmer named 
 Barnes and is living in Decatur county, Kansas. Lorenzo 
 arid Horace are still living on the old homestead. The 
 father died in 1852, and the mother in 1878 after reach- 
 ing the venerable age of seventy-four years. All the 
 children are living with the exception of James (Wild 
 Bill) whose marvelous career and tragic death will be 
 found fully recorded in the subsequent pages, constitut- 
 ing a leaf in history a parallel to which can be found 
 neither in the annals of fact nor romance. 
 
 James, it is said, was peculiar in his ways even in child- 
 hood. His earliest desire was for fire-arms, and by bar- 
 tering a number of childish trinkets, at the age of eight 
 years he became possessed of the greatest treasure his 
 youthful fancy had ever pictured a little single-barreled 
 pistol. In his eyes this weapon, though a flint-lock and 
 of imperfect make, represented the sum total of earthly 
 wealth ; he would not have exchanged it for all the gold 
 of the richest Peruvian Inca, and if staked against his 
 soul there is no doubt but that he would have taken great 
 risk of losing that before parting with his almost price- 
 less treasure. By dint of cunning exchange and bar- 
 ter the youthful sportsman procured powder, and when 
 lead was difficult to obtain he used pebbles, and thus 
 accoutered all his leisure hours were spent in marksman- 
 ship, in which, despite the primitiye character of his "out- 
 
24 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 fit," he occasionally killed a cat, wounded a pig, winged 
 a chicken, or stung a coyote. These foibles sometimes 
 brought a prominent admonition of Solomon into active 
 operation, at great expense to his youthful posterior ; but 
 if these corrections made the embryo hunter's sitting posi- 
 tion difficult they apprised him, at the same time, of the 
 more comfortable employment of walking, and this was 
 sure to lead him again into the commission of other acts 
 equally indefensible in the eyes of his parents. 
 
 At about the age of fourteen James secured an excel- 
 lent pistol and shortly afterward, by the assistance of his 
 father, he purchased a rifle, and thus armed he remained 
 in the woods almost constantly. At this period the few 
 settlers were greatly annoyed by the ravages of wolves, 
 so much in fact that the State offered premiums for the 
 scalps of these destructive animals. This furnished a 
 remunerative occupation for James who, every evening, 
 returned home with a belt full of bloody prizes which 
 brought him no small revenue at the end of every mouth 
 when the scalps were carried to the county clerk, as the 
 law provided. 
 
 His opportunities for schooling were entirely consistent 
 with his other advantages ; country schools had occa- 
 sional sessions in his district, but a regular attendance 
 was prevented, both by the great distance of the school- 
 house and the irregularity, or rather infrequencj, of the 
 sessions. However, he managed to acquire a rudimental 
 education. At the age of fifteen chance threw in his way 
 acopyof Peters' "Lifeof Kit Carson," and "The Trap- 
 per's Guide," two books which he read with the greatest 
 interest. The former made such an impression upon him 
 that he declared to his brothers that he would 4 ' one day 
 beat anything Kit Carson ever did or attempted." 
 
 Two years after familiarizing himself with Carson's ex- 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 25 
 
 ploits, James obtained employment as a tow-path driver 
 for the Illinois and Michigan canal. Soon after engaging 
 in this occupation he had a difficulty with a driver named 
 Charles Hudson, which resulted in a fistic contest lasting 
 more than an hour. The two began the fight on the tow 
 path, but gradually rolling towards the canal they both 
 finally tumbled into the water, and then it changed from 
 blows into an effort each to drown the other. Hudson 
 was a large man, whose physical abilities were far super- 
 ior to James', but the latter' s cat-like agility fully com 
 pensated for his deficiency in strength ; in addition to a 
 remarkable activity his endurance was another point of 
 superior excellence, and through these he at length 
 gained such a decided victory that Hudson was taken out 
 of the canal in a lifeless condition, but by dexterous 
 manipulation he was resuscitated. This ended James* 
 canal experience, and he returned home. 
 
 Thus passed the youth of Wild Bill, but who can tell 
 his longing far wider fields of adventure, his craving for 
 escapades in which danger becomes the source of pleas- 
 ure ? When he reached the period of responsible man- 
 hood, eighteen years, though the avenues of communica- 
 tion were few and narrow, yet there was brought to his 
 ears stories of the incipient struggles between Missouri 
 and Kansas. As the strife grew fiercer in aspect James 
 decided to seek the arena of conflict ; he may have 
 grasped the ideas which actuated the Kansas settlers in 
 repelling all efforts to make their State a territory privi- 
 leging slavery, but the elements of his nature rather in- 
 cite a belief that he was moved alone by the knowledge 
 that Kansas soil was vegetating bloody broils, and that 
 the great need of that section was heroes. 
 
 In the spring of 1855 our thirsting adventurer, collect- 
 ing together what money he could command, bade adiei 
 
26 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 to his old home, which nestled tamely in the wilderness 
 of prairies, and set out on foot for St. Louis, which citj 
 he reached after many days of painful traveling. The 
 world was almost a? strange to him as one of the planets, 
 for his intercourss uad been confined to such a limited 
 stretch of changeless country, that beyond the village 
 store his vision had never wandered over the scenes 
 of business Me. St. Louis was to him a painted pano- 
 rama, as mysterious as the labyrinths of the pyra- 
 mids ; the steamboats were novelties like the palaces of 
 necromancers, and this new life to him had such a strange 
 aspect that it was very like a second birth. The river 
 business was, at that time, very large, and the Missouri 
 was crowded with steamers plying between St. Louis and 
 Omaha. After much deliberation James engaged pas- 
 sage on the steamer Imperial for Leavenworth, a small 
 acquaintance with city life having infused a new longing 
 for adventure and stimulated him for greater concerns. 
 After a tedious voyage the boat reached Leavenworth, but 
 at the landing met with a reception least expected. Ex- 
 citement had seized upon everyone and the determination 
 of the people seemed to be the disorganization of society 
 and the formation of a universal mob. 
 
 James, an unsophisticated country lad, but withal pos- 
 sessed of a mother acuteness which led him to carefully con- 
 sider the best means for his own security, carefully noted 
 the excited throng which, without the least show of reason^ 
 except exaggerated suspicion, forbade any of the passengers 
 coming on shore . The town of Leavenworth being his des- 
 tination, however, James determined to leave the boat, and 
 to do this he resorted to a cunning expedient. Tying a 
 large bandana kerchief about his neck, with his pants 
 stuffed carelessly into his boot-legs, and being a deckpas^ 
 :senger, he readily assumed the labor of a roustabout and 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 
 
 27 
 
 began to carry off freight. While in this occupation he 
 had no difficulty in slipping away through the crowd and 
 gaining the center of the town, where he at once cast 
 about for means of employment. 
 
 Disembarking in a Kansas Mob. 
 
28 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Jim Lane, who had recently come from Indiana with a 
 body of two hundred men, was then the recognized leader 
 of what was known as the " Red Legs," or anti-slavery 
 forces in Kansas, and at this time had his headquarters 
 in Leaven worth. His band consisted of a little more 
 than three hundred men, armed with such weapons as 
 their individual means afforded. James gravitated natu- 
 rally towards Lane, and within a week after his arrival 
 in Leavenworth he had joined his fortunes with those 
 who were under that leader's generalship. A few days 
 after his enlistment the regiment was called out on the 
 commons west of town for drill and rifle practice. The 
 range was one hundred yards, and the guns used were 
 common squirrel rifles. In the contest of marksmanship 
 James easily beat every other man in the command, and 
 Indeed made such excellent scores that Lane personally com- 
 plimented his accuracy in the most flattering words . While 
 this little ceremony was being conducted, a crow chanced 
 to fly overhead, and, greatly elated at the distinction be- 
 ing shown him, James drew a pistol from his pocket and 
 shot the bird, then carelessly replaced his weapon with- 
 out remark as to the excellence of the shot. The crowd 
 of men, however, set up a wild cheering, and for several 
 minutes the confusion was so great that Lane could not 
 make himself heard. When the noise had somewhat 
 abated he renewed his flattering compliments, and putting 
 a hand on James' shoulder, he said to his band : " This 
 man, my newest recruit, will one day excite the wonder 
 and admiration of America, and I shall watch his course 
 with the greatest interest and solicitude." After this 
 little incident the regiment gave James the title of 
 " Shanghai Bill," a name which clung to him until after 
 his great fight at Rock Creek, nearly five years after- 
 wards. I can readily conceive the origin of the appella- 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 29 
 
 tlon of " Shanghai," because James was, at this time, no 
 less than six feet in height and uncommonly slim, though 
 very lithe and willowy, but how he came to be called 
 "Bill," instead of "Jim," I have been unable to discover. 
 His most intimate acquaintances are at a loss for the rea- 
 son, and his diary makes no mention of anything except 
 the time and circumstances under which the " title" was 
 bestowed. 
 
 "Bill," as I shall hereafter very properly call him, 
 served with Lane for nearly two years, through the most 
 trying days when Kansas was building a wall on her east- 
 ern border out of the blood and bodies of her noblest 
 sons, to keep out Slavery. He fought only as a brave 
 and excellent soldier, always recognized by Lane as the 
 most effective man in the command. In the early part 
 of 1857 Bill entered a claim of one hundred and sixty 
 acres of the finest land in Monticello township, Johnson 
 county, Kansas, and though he was not yet of age, his 
 reputation was such that almost immediately after set- 
 tling in that section he was elected constable. 
 
 But he was not permitted to live in peace in his new 
 home. The "Border Euffians " of Missouri, who had 
 suffered defeat, held a special grudge against Bill and ia 
 their predatory incursions on Kansas soil they visited 
 Monticello township and during the absence of their enemy 
 they burned his cabin. Being unable to revenge this out>- 
 rage because of the secret identity of the men who did it, 
 Bill went to work again and soon had another comfortable 
 house erected on his premises. His duties as constable 
 called him from home so frequently, however, that the 
 marauders had no difficulty in a second time applying the 
 torch and laying the new house in ashes. 
 
 The insecurity of his possessions admonished Bill that 
 fcw labors would never avail him, as a farmer in Johnson 
 
30 HEBOES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 county, and before the year expired lie abandoned his 
 claim and accepted a position as driver for the Overland 
 Stage Company. In this capacity he crossed the plains 
 several times, driving from St. Joseph, Denver, and 
 points in Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska, to Santa Fe, 
 New Mexico, and Salt Lake City. As a driver he was 
 apparently reckless and yet no man ever got through his 
 route so frequently with as few accidents. Coming into 
 his destination Bill usually treated his passengers to " a 
 shaking up," as he called it, " in order to jolt the crick* 
 out of their joints." The last stretch of road entering 
 Santa Fe was a slight decline and over this Bill almost in- 
 variably turned the horses loose and gave them the lash. 
 The big Concord coach would bound along like a wounded 
 monster, lurching the passengers from side to side, dish- 
 ing up dyspeptics, phlegmatics and rollicking disposition* 
 indiscriminately, and bowling into the town finally the 
 centre of a dust bank and the object of excited interest 
 to everyone in the ancient Mexican city. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THB Orerland Stage Company, like the great freight* 
 ers, Majors* Russell & Waddell, had its routes over the 
 entire West. It was a very easy matter at that time, and 
 in that peculiar civilization, for a man, so disposed, to 
 make a record. In fact, it was more difficult for him 
 not to make one, for he was soon put down as either an 
 arrant coward or a man of nerve. Every station was 
 located by a saloon and every stage employe wart practi- 
 cally an animated, skin-full of fighting whisky. Desper- 
 ate rows were as common as wax-weed flowers on 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 
 
 31 
 
32 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 prairie in spring-time, anu the man who had failed to 
 snuff out a life was like a bashful fellow at a country 
 dance wofully out of place. But Shanghai Bill's record 
 was recognized in the bud, for his physical ability had 
 been demonstrated in many social encounters, and while 
 he had gone through the ordeal of more than a score of 
 fights his master had not yet been found. Being also 
 acknowledged as the best shot on the plains and fortified 
 with a wonderful self-possession under trying circum- 
 stances, full of cunning, strategy and pluck, he was 
 already a hero by general consent of all who knew him. 
 In the fall of 1858 the Indians broke out of their res- 
 ervation on the Sweetwater and began their depredations 
 to the serious injury of the stage company. Several set- 
 tlers had been massacred, two pony express riders killed, 
 and, being emboldened by their success, they at length 
 attacked a stage coach near the three crossings on Sweetr 
 water creek. In this encounter the driver and three 
 passengers were killed and the assistant division agent 
 escaped with a serious wound. In addition to this out- 
 rage the Indians stole a large number of horses belonging 
 to the stage company and rendered its business so ex- 
 tremely hazardous that for nearly two months the express 
 and stage were suspended on that division. The com- 
 pany, being thus enjoined from operations, and appreci- 
 ating the necessity of some decisive action, sent for Bill. 
 He promptly responded and meeting the officers jit St. 
 Joseph they went into council to consider the best means 
 of proceeding against the Indians. Bill was the first to 
 offer a proposition looking to a solution of the troubles. 
 Said he : " You have got enough men here, if they are 
 turned loose right, to clean out all the Red Devils along 
 the route, and all the men now idle would consider it a 
 frolic to go into the Indian service for a short time." 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 33 
 
 He was requested to perfect his plans and given full 
 authority to conduct the proposed operations according 
 to his own wishes. Bill at once had the men called to- 
 gether and in his own pithy phrases related to them what 
 was wanted ; a hearty disposition to engage in the expe- 
 dition was manifested by every one, and on the following 
 day preparations were made to leave. About fifty men 
 enlisted, all of whom were well provided with the best of 
 arms and good horses ; before starting they unanimously 
 chose Bill as their leader, promising implicit obedience 
 to his orders. 
 
 The well equipped and organized body set out on the 
 29th day of September, pointing directly for the Powder 
 River. When they reached that stream, along which 
 they expected to find the Indians encamped, they saw 
 nothing but an indistinct trail leading westwardly. This 
 the company followed for three days, finding it growing 
 constantly fresher, when suddenly they found, upon 
 reaching Crazy Woman's Fork a small stream usually 
 dry during summer and frozen solid in winter that the 
 Indians whom they were so successfully trailing, had 
 been joined by another party in war paint numbering not 
 less than one hundred. Here was a dilemma which 
 caused several in the command to falter, for it was now 
 evident that the whole band of Indians comprised fully 
 two hundred, and to meet with such an overwhelming 
 force seemed like charging the guns at Balaklava. % But 
 Bill gave his men no opportunity to talk about the in- 
 creasing danger of the expedition, for he proposed to 
 shoot the first man who attempted to return. This bold 
 threat may not have been needed, for though there were 
 some expressions concerning the judiciousness of follow- 
 ing so large a band of Indians, yet every one under Bill 
 was full, up to the chin, with dare-devil courage, and 
 
34 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 they could be depended on to fight a ten-acre field full of 
 grizzly bears with only a tooth-pick for a weapon if they 
 were only put to it. 
 
 Finding the trail decidedly fresh, the party, with Bill 
 always in the lead, proceeded with due circumspection, 
 gaining the high knolls cautiously, and sweeping the land^ 
 scape to discover if the enemy were in view. At Clear 
 Creek the crossing was apparently made but two or three* 
 hours before, and almost immediately after this discov- 
 ery, the day being well advanced, Bill commanded a halt, 
 and pointing directly north, he said : " Do you see that 
 fittle blue vapor hanging on the tree tops? Well, that 
 means an Indian camp. You boys just stop right here 
 and I '11 locate the game." So saying he left the trail 
 and rode like he was making to the windward of a herd 
 of buffaloes, taking a broad circuit in order to reach some 
 high ground from which he could discover the exact 
 strength of the Indians, how their camp was pitched, 
 where their stock was stationed and whether tethered or 
 eorraled. All this information was soon gathered by 
 Bill, who returned and ordered his men to rest until dark, 
 get themselves in good readiness and be prepared for a 
 dashing fight after night-fall. 
 
 The company remained in camp, without fire, until 
 nearly ten o'clock, getting a good rest and permitting 
 their horses to recover from the tiresome march. When 
 Bill called his men to the saddle each one responded with 
 alacrity. His instructions then were for each man to fol- 
 low him into the Indian camp and to fight only with the 
 pistol ; to make for the stock which, being in a corral, 
 would be easily stampeded and run out, so it could be 
 collected and secured. These instructions were obeyed to 
 the letter ; the party rode cautiously toward the camp, 
 which being found unpicketed was easily approached > 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 
 
 35 
 
 and then a dash was made for the corral by twelve of the 
 "while the others rode into the camp and as the half 
 
 stupefied Indians came out of their tents, not realizing what 
 the confusion meant, they were shot down until the at- 
 tack became a slaughter. The surprise was complete; 
 
36 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 while the deadly revolvers in the hands of those who so 
 well knew how to use them, did fearful execution. All 
 the horses were secured except a few scrub ponies, and 
 then it was an easy matter to get off, for there was noth 
 ing left on which the Indians could make pursuit. 
 
 The men returned with all the horses stolen from 
 the stage company, together with more than a hundred 
 head of those belonging to the Indians. After getting 
 back to St. Joseph the brilliant results of the campaign 
 superinduced a general big drunk in which all the stage 
 employes participated, and, though very strange to assert, 
 yet none the less true, the row which followed as a mat- 
 ter of course, resulted in the killing of only one man, a 
 stage driver, by Alf . Slade, one of the company bosses. 
 
 Severing his connectin with the Overland Stage Co., 
 in 1859, Bill engaged with the great freighters, Majors 
 & Russels, to drive between Independence, Mo., and 
 Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was while thus employed that 
 he met with a unique adventure which cost him ver^ 
 dearly but taught him a very useful lesson. Matt Farley 
 was his companion on one occasion during this long over-* 
 land trip, and but for him the name of Wild Bill would 
 never have been heard. While passing through tho 
 Soccoro range with his team two miles ahead of Farley, 
 Bill discovered a large cinnamon bear with her two cubs 
 directly in the road ahead of him. The bear, instead of 
 manifesting any fear at Bill's approach, but moved en- 
 tirely by her maternal instincts, boldly disputed his pas- 
 sage, and with further advance of the team she growl edf 
 fiercely and showed her intention to attack him. Bill be- 
 ing provided with two excellent pistols and a large bowie- 
 knife gave himself no concern for the result of the en- 
 counter, thinking it an easy matter to kill the bear 8 
 presumption in which he was most seriously mistaken- 
 
LIFE OP WILD BILL. 3? 
 
 When the bear approached within twenty feet of him he 
 fired one of his pistols, the ball striking her squarely in 
 the forehead, but the accurate aim instead of proving 
 fatal had no other effect than to put the beast in a more 
 desperate rage, for the cinnamon, like thegrizzley, has a 
 brain protection so thick that the ball from an ordinary 
 rifle will produce no impression on it. In fact, many 
 experienced hunters claim that the cinnamon is much 
 more dangerous than the grizzley, because of its greater 
 activity and equal vitality. Bill at once discovered, from 
 the bad result of his first shot, that he had an antagonist 
 bent on a mission which might well afford serious appre- 
 hensions. His first feeling of security prevented him 
 from taking safety on the top of his wagon and now he 
 was cut off from that means of escape. In fact he had 
 no time to think of retreat after the first shot was dis- 
 charged, for the bear was fairly on him in the next 
 instant ; he discharged his second pistol and succeeded in 
 Injuring the animal's left foreleg, as he intended, but as 
 he jerked his long knife the bear reared on her hind legs 
 and grappled him. The struggle which now ensued was 
 one of the most desperate ever known. Bill buried the 
 knife rapidly in various parts of the bear's body and cut 
 her throat, but while doing this his shoulder was torn 
 dreadfully, his left arm crushed from the elbow, his 
 breast furrowed by the long, poniard-like claws, and his 
 left cheek was split open. But he never regarded his 
 terrible wounds, standing up in the agonizing embrace of 
 the infuriated animal until the ground on which they 
 fought was saturated with blood. Bill finally slipped 
 and fell, the bear falling squarely on top of him and 
 holding his left arm in her mouth. This fall, was, how- 
 ever, a most fortunate circumstance, for the position was 
 easily reversed and Bill could use his knife with greater 
 
38 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 effect ; while, in a standing position, although injured in 
 one of her forelegs, yet the bear could with this member 
 seriously interfere with the execution of Bill's single 
 free hand. Before the fight was concluded he had 
 literally disembowled the dangerous animal and her feet 
 became so tangled in her intestines that she thus assisted 
 in her own quick destruction. 
 
 The combat lasted nearly half an hour and at its close 
 it was difficult to decide which presented the more horri- 
 fying spectacle, Bill or his dead antagonist ; they were 
 both saturated with blood and their flesh was in shreds 
 m several places. However, Bill survived, but when his 
 companion, Farley, came up he was barely able to point 
 to the dead bear and his own desperate lacerations. Bill 
 was hauled to Santa Fe and there placed under the charge 
 of Dr. Sam Jones, an excellent frontier surgeon, who, by 
 good attention, was able to so far restore his patient in 
 two months' time as to permit Bill's return to Indepen- 
 dence. But it was not until several months after his dis- 
 charge from the surgeon's care that Bill was able to re- 
 sume work again, and the scars from the wounds rv&. 
 oeived in that encounter he bore to his grave. 
 
 In the latter part of 1860, Bill left the employment ol 
 Majors & Russel to accept a position tendered him by the 
 Overland Stage Co. as watchman and hostler at Rock 
 Creek Station, a point on the Old Platte route fifty miles 
 west of Topeka. The stage company, which ran its 
 coaches between St. Joseph, Mo., and Denver, had estab- 
 lished Rock Creek as a relay post and had built stables 
 for the accommodation of about twenty-five horses, which 
 number was almost always found there. Bill had a com- 
 panion with him known as Doc . Mills , a small Irishman , who 
 did the cooking and assisted in the care of the horses, in 
 fact performing a greater part of the menial duties, as 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 41 
 
 Bill was employed, chiefly, to guard the stock, owing to 
 the depredations of horsethieves who were very numerous 
 in that section. The two occupied a small log hut, hav- 
 ing but one room, which was divided, however, by the 
 suspension of an old horse-blanket, back of which was 
 their bed. The roof of the hut was thatched, and being 
 built on the side of a steep hill it was easy to walk from 
 the hill directly on to the roof. It was what is univer- 
 sally called in the far West a " dug-out,' * there being' 
 but one entrance, in the front, and not a single window. 
 To the right of the " dug-out" were the stables, built of 
 heavy logs and so secure that when the big puncheon 
 doors were locked it would require the services of a pro- 
 fessional safe-cracker to effect a violent entrance. It 
 was here that Bill and his chum spent the autumn days, 
 in the very heart of the dreariest solitude between Mis- 
 souri and the Rocky Mountains. But even away up in 
 this wild place the news of an approaching struggle be- 
 tween the North and South had penetrated and as the 
 daily coach rolled up before the cabin door Bill always 
 anxiously inquired for papers and information. 
 
 In the same neighborhood, not more than thirteen miles 
 west of Rock Creek, there was a rendezvous known as 
 the McCandlas ranche. It was located in a barely access- 
 ible spot, and well known to Bill as a corral for stolen 
 horses. The two McCandlas boys, Jack and Jim, had 
 long been a terror to the central part of Kansas ; had 
 killed more innocent men and stolen a greater number of 
 fine horses than any other two thieving cut-throats that 
 ever figured in the annals of Western outlawry. They 
 had enlisted about one dozen of equally desperate horse- 
 thieves, and this band laid enforced tribute upon every 
 farmer in that section, and when horse stealing grew dull 
 or unprofitable the McCandlases turned their talents 
 
42 HEROES OP THE PLAINS. 
 
 which were decidedly versatile to highway robbery, oc- 
 casionally stopping a stage, or murdering a party of trav- 
 elers. They had so overrun the country and asserted 
 their power that no attempt was ever made to arrest 
 them, the officers of the several adjoining counties fairly 
 standing in awe of the McCandlas name. 
 
 Kansas, although one of the strongest Union States, 
 nevertheless furnished some recruits for the Confederate 
 service, and among the active sympathizers with the South, 
 in the central part of the State, the McCandlas gang was 
 particularly prominent. By what authority he acted was 
 never discovered ; perhaps it was by none, and that his 
 assumed authority was but a pretext for bolder robbery ; 
 but it is certain that Jack McCandlas asserted his special 
 employment to collect horses, and enlist recruits for the 
 Confederate service. 
 
 About five miles from Rock Creek station, toward the 
 head of the branch, lived an old man named Shapley, a 
 good old soul who, with his aged wife, was known for 
 kindness of heart and a wholesome sympathy. As occa- 
 sion sometimes offered he would preach at points in the 
 neighborhood when as many as a dozen persons could be 
 collected together, a circumstance which the sparse set- 
 tlement very seldom afforded. This occasional occupa- 
 tion gained for him the titular honor of parson, so that 
 he was always called Parson Shapley by those who knew 
 him. Notwithstanding his grey hairs and naturally 
 peaceful disposition, when the threats of rebellion struck 
 his ears, the parson was not slow to show the blood, at 
 least, of his fighting ancestors. He was a pronounced 
 Union man and like a true "Westerner spit out his mind 
 without regard for results, and by an unconcealed patri- 
 otism rendered himself specially obnoxious to the Mc- 
 Candlas thieves. On the 16th day of December, 1870, 
 
LITE OF WILD BILL. 43 
 
 Wild Bill, whose title of "Wild" was so soon to be 
 gained, saw coming down the stage road a party of four 
 horsemen headed by Jim McCandlas, who was leading 
 the venerable old parson by a lariet fastened about his 
 neck. The sight aroused Bill's sympathy, but while he 
 was well disposed to assist the aged man yet discretion 
 admonished him of the f ruitlessness of such an undertak- 
 ing under existing circumstances. When the party came 
 abreast of the * ' dug-out," McCandlas in a most audacious 
 and authoritative manner spoke to Bill as follows : 
 
 " Look a here, I mean business ; I am a gatherin' up 
 horses for the Secesh service and I want yer to jist git 
 them thar horses in yer stable ready for me when I come 
 back here, which will be about three or four o'clock this 
 arternoon. This old hypocritical devil I've got here 
 has been a havin* of his say a little too free around here 
 and I concluded to take him along and show him the 
 needsessity of keepin* his mouth shet." 
 
 In addition to this burst of mandatory language Mc- 
 Candlas endeavored to persuade Bill to join him and 
 enter the Confederate service, but the reply was one of 
 those fearless expressions which Bill knew so well how 
 to give. Said he : 
 
 "You go to h 1 ! when you want these horses come 
 and take them, and if you want me, you'll have no diffi- 
 culty in finding me here." Bill then withdrew into the 
 dug-out, while McCandlas and his men rode on toward 
 their rendezvous. 
 
 Now it happened that Doc. Mills had left the cabin 
 only a short time before, and gone down the creek some 
 distance, taking a shot-gun with him to kill quails or other 
 game he might find, to provision the place with meat. 
 Thus Bill was left alone, with no one even to consult re-* 
 garding the most desirable method of defense. In the 
 
 8 
 
44 HEROES OF THE PLAli 8. 
 
 cabin there were several weapons, however, consisting of 
 a Mississippi Yager a rifle of very large bore two re- 
 volvers and two bowie-knives. Finding these in good 
 condition Bill determined to give the party, on their re- 
 turn, an interesting reception and trust to luck for the 
 outcome. The stables were securely closed and the dug- 
 out put in a state of defense. 
 
 Directly after three o'clock in the afternoon, true to 
 their promise, the McCandlas boys, with eight of their 
 desperate followers were seen approaching in a smart trot. 
 As they came up to the stables, finding the doors 
 locked, they called to Bill to "come out of his shell " 
 and deliver the horses, accompanying the command with 
 a threat that if he refused there would be a small murder 
 at Rock Creek and the stage company would have to en- 
 gage another watchman . 
 
 Bill shouted back to his beleaguers that he would shoot 
 the first man who attempted to open a stable door, and 
 if there were any murdering done at Rock Creek there 
 might also be more than one victim to bury. 
 
 The ten villains were really elated with this reply, be- 
 cause they had a spite which found in this answer suf- 
 ficient pretext for satisfying ; in short, they wanted to 
 kill somebody in addition to increasing their horse corral, 
 and Bill, single handed, would make such an easy and 
 choice victim ! Leaving their horses, which they first 
 methodically tied to swinging limbs, Jack McCandlas 
 ordered his men to bring forward a log, which lay 
 the premises, and with this they began battering the 
 door of the dug-out, which succumbed after a few heavy 
 thrusts had been delivered. Bill stood partly behind the 
 old blanket, with the Yager in hand and his other 
 weapons lying on a rude table beside him, convenient to 
 bis grasp. When the door splintered and fell in Jira 
 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 47 
 
 McCandlas with a large revolver in one hand and a bowie-. 
 knife in the other, with a yell leaped across the thresh- 
 hold, pressed by the others behind him. But the volun- 
 tary leap ended in an involuntary spring into eternity, 
 for Bill received him with a discharge from the heavy 
 rifle, sending an ounce ball directly through the despera- 
 do's heart. Jim never struggled after he fell, only 
 drawing up his legs slightly, as if to give more room for 
 the entrance of his comrades. Scarcely was the blaze 
 from the rifle extinguished before Bill had seized his 
 pistols and killed three more of his assailants before any 
 of them reached him. The combat now became truly 
 furious, for the six remaining cut-throats had gained the 
 rear of the cabin and grappled with Bill who continued 
 pouring shots from a pistol while he began cutting right 
 and left with his bowie. The gang were equally active, 
 discharging bullets into Bill's body, but owing to their 
 number they fought to great disadvantage. One of 
 the desperadoes struck Bill over the head and knocked 
 him backward across the table, and immediately Jack 
 McCandlas leaped on the prostrate and badly wounded 
 man, and with knife uplifted was in the very act of 
 sheathing the keen blade in the heart of his victim, but 
 ere the thrust was accomplished Bill shoved his pistol 
 into McCandlas' breast and fired. The knife descended 
 with great force, but the aim was deflected so that it 
 struck in the table. McCandlas trembled for a* moment 
 with the chill of death that shot through his body, and 
 with fierce but glazing eyes he dropped dead upon the 
 floor. The bowie in Bill's hands now did desperate 
 work, plunging from one heart into another, and draw- 
 ing great fountains of blood which spurted about until 
 the floor was fairly flooded ; but his own life current 
 assisted largely to swell the bright red streams, for his 
 
48 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 body was punctured by bullet holes and knife thrusta, 
 but the recesses of his life had not been touched and hia 
 strong arm continued to do its deadly work. Six of the 
 men who came to make of Bill an easy victim now lay 
 dead upon the floor, while two were desperately wounded 
 and only two remained unharmed. Finding in their foe 
 such wonderful vitality and precision of deadly aim with 
 pistol and knife the four beat a retreat, rushing out of 
 the cabin pursued closely by Bill. The two uninjured 
 gained their horses and fled precipitately while another 
 ran down the hill carrying such desperate wounds that he 
 was unable to mount. The other could barely reach the 
 foot of a large tree fifty yards from the cabin and there 
 he was shot to death by Bill with the gun wrested from 
 Doc. Mills, who came upon the scene at this moment. 
 The wounded man who escaped by running down the 
 hill (Bill being unable to pursue him because of his own 
 desperate wounds,) managed by some means to reach 
 the town of Manhattan, several miles distant, where he 
 died soon after from his terrible injuries. 
 
 After the fight was ended Bill, who had kept his feet 
 only under the stimulant of excessive excitement, at onoe 
 relapsed into an unconscious condition and was carried 
 into the dug-out by his partner, and laid on the bed, 
 which was saturated with blood. In about one hour 
 afterward the western stage rolled up, containing six pas- 
 sengers, among whom was Capt. E. W. Kingsbury, who 
 is now a resident of Kansas City, holding the position of 
 Chief of U. S. Storekeepers for the Western District of 
 Missouri, who afterward became one of Bill's most 
 intimate friends. The sight which presented itself to the 
 gaze of the stage passengers, all of whom entered the 
 cabin to view the havoc which one man had wrought, was 
 most distressing to ordinary sensibilities. There lay, ID 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 49 
 
 hideous death, six repulsive featured men, full of gaping 
 wounds . 
 
 Bill remained in a semi-conscious state for some time, 
 until one of the passengers, who chanced to be something 
 of a surgeon, resuscitated him by means of brandy and 
 cold water applications ; and after a while he regained suf- 
 ficient strength to give some of the particulars of the des- 
 perate fight. While telling, in broken sentences, how he 
 had been forced into a defense of the place, he used this 
 expression: "When six of the crowd piled on me and 
 one struck me with his gun, I thought my day had come, 
 so I just got wild and slashed about, like a bear with a 
 death-wound, and I guess that is how I came to get away 
 with them." From that moment he was given the name 
 of "Wild Bill," which afterward so effectually super- 
 ceded his real name, as well also as that of " Shanghai 
 Bill," that he went to his grave with that appellation and 
 left all his deeds to history under that most appropriate 
 nom de guerre. 
 
 A careful examination of his wounds disclosed the fol- 
 lowing, nearly any one of which it would appear was 
 quite enough to kill an ordinary man : A fracture of the 
 skull the frontal bone ; three terrible gashes in the 
 breast ; his left forearm cut through to the bone ; four 
 bullets in his body, one in his left hip and two through 
 the fleshy part of his right leg ; his right cheek cut open, 
 and the skin of his forehead cut so deeply that a large 
 portion of the scalp dropped down so far over his eyes as 
 to almost blind him. A surgeon was sent for, who came 
 directly from Manhattan, about seven miles distant, and 
 oH Mrs. Watkiiis, a five-mile distant neighbor, hearing 
 of the encounter, came down to the cabin directly and 
 Ttlunteered to nurse the wounded hero through his dan- 
 grcous extremity. For one month afterward his im- 
 
50 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 provement was almost imperceptible, but after that time 
 his condition took a mope favorable turn and his wounds 
 healed so rapidly that in June following he was able to 
 walk about, and was removed to Denver, and in less than 
 one year after the fight his recovery was complete. The 
 stage company paid all of his expenses during the period 
 of his confinement, but never otherwise recognized his 
 faithfulness in defending their property. 
 
 This combat, of one man fairly whipping ten acknowl- 
 edged desperadoes, has no parallel, I make bold to say, 
 in any authentic history. The fight has been described 
 more than a hundred times in newspapers and periodicals, 
 and was illustrated in Harper's Magazine, but all accounts 
 heretofore have been marred by much fiction and gross 
 inaccuracies. The particulars as here recorded are un- 
 questionably correct, for they were obtained from Capt. 
 Kingsbury, who heard Bill's first recital of the facts right 
 on the battle-ground ; Jolly, the man who escaped but 
 died a few days afterward at Manhattan, corroborated 
 Bill's statement of the facts, and Dr. Joshua Thome, one 
 of the most prominent physicians in Kansas City, who 
 attended upon and was one of Bill's confidantes, repeated 
 to me the same story as he himself had heard his pa- 
 tient relate it. These direct and most reliable sources, 
 each affirming the same facts, leave no room for doubting 
 the correctness of this account. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 LEAVING Denver, Wild Bill went directly to Leaven- 
 worth, and his name being in nearly every person's mouth 
 as the greatest fighter that had ever made a record, owing 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 51 
 
 to his annihilation of the McCandlas gang, Gen. John 
 C. Fremont, in command at Fort Leavenworth, sent for 
 him immediately upon hearing of his arrival, and offered 
 him the position of Brigade Wagon Master. At this time 
 the great civil war had overshadowed everything else, 
 and the adjoining borders of Missouri and Kansas had 
 become the theater of a truly direful conflict. Men of 
 nerve and cunning were in great demand, for murder, 
 under the color of justifiable war, was beginning to point 
 its shivering finger at every highway where the blood of 
 men had quenched the thirst of the earth. Bill accepted 
 the position, though not under enlistment, and directly 
 thereafter he was ordered to conduct a provision train 
 from the Fort to Sedalia, Missouri. On the third day 
 after their departure, a few miles inside the Missouri 
 line, the train was suddenly attacked by a company of 
 Confederates under Capt. Blunt, who, owing to the al- 
 most unexampled cowardice of the men under Bill 
 though numbering scarcely more than one dozen cap- 
 tured the outfit without meeting any resistance. How- 
 ever, while the Confederates easily made prisoners of his 
 men, Bill refused to surrender, and single-handed opened 
 fire. Being well mounted, he turned his horse toward 
 Kansas City, followed by fifty of the enemy. The chase 
 continued for several miles, with a rapid exchange of 
 shots, in which flying encounter Bill killed four of his 
 pursuers and escaped himself without injury. Col. Jen- 
 nison had a considerable force under him at Kansas City, 
 and Bill, reporting the circumstances of the capture of 
 his train, two companies were hastily mounted and sent 
 out to recover the property. Bill accompanied the sol- 
 diers, and by fast riding the Confederates were struck 
 within fifteen miles of the place where the first attack 
 was made. A charge was at once ordered, at the head 
 
52 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 of which rode Wild Bill, who, considering the fact of his 
 new commission, felt that he had been dishonored by the 
 loss of his first charge. The fight was a short and de- 
 cisive one, for the Confederates, being taken by surprise, 
 in return, speedily scattered and thus let their new acqui- 
 sition again fall into the possession of the Union troops. 
 Bill was very much elated over the result, and in triumph 
 conducted the train into Sedalia and immediately after- 
 ward offered his services to Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, who 
 was acting under orders of Gen. Halleck, and who con- 
 tinued him in the position to which Gen. Fremont had 
 appointed him, until the spring of 1863. 
 
 During his engagement as wagon master, conveying 
 supplies for Curtis 7 army, which was operating against 
 the Confederate forces under Gens. VanDom, Price and 
 McCulloch, the battle of Pea Ridge was fought (March 
 6th, 7th and 8th, '62), in which Bill became a voluntary 
 participant, taking the part of a sharp shooter. He ob- 
 tained an eligible location on the hill overlooking Cross- 
 Timber Hollow, and from behind a large log, where he 
 lay concealed for nearly four hours, he killed, by actual 
 count, thirty-five of the enemy, among his victims being 
 Gen. McCulloch. This dreadful execution served to 
 direct the attention of a Confederate company which de- 
 termined upon dislodging and killing him. The company 
 charged up the hill, firing so rapidly that Bill's fortifica- 
 tion was punctured by bullets like a pepper box, and but for 
 the timely relief of one hundred comrades who had recog- 
 nized his dangerous position and charged down from the 
 apex of the hill to the rescue, he would certainly have soon 
 resembled his friendly log. The two companies met not 
 more than one hundred yards from the spot where Wild 
 Bill lay, and an engagement followed which was by far 
 the hottest of the entire battle, for the encounter came 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 53 
 
 hand to hand and the ground was so bitterly disputed 
 that more than one half of each company was killed. 
 
 Soon after the battle of PeaKidge Gen. Curtis, discov- 
 ering the qualifications Wild Bill possessed, and knowing 
 his history as a fighter on the plains, engaged him as a 
 spy, with instructions to enter Price's lines and collect 
 necessary information as to the immediate and ultimate 
 intentions of the Confederate general. Price had already 
 laid waste a large portion of Western Missouri, besides 
 recruiting his forces by the acquisition of many men and 
 horses. He had been so successful in the campaign that 
 the Government was seriously alarmed, especially as Mis- 
 souri was never regarded as a loyal State, and it was 
 gravely feared that a series of Confederate successes in- 
 side her borders might serve to carry the State out of the 
 Union, a proposition already seriously debated. It was 
 for these reasons that Gen. Curtis had been specially em- 
 ployed to operate against Price and drive him from the 
 State. Immediately after Bill's employment as a spy he 
 was given a fine horse and directed to use his own means 
 for entering the Confederate lines. Accordingly, he as- 
 sumed the name of Bill Barnes and making a wide circuit 
 through Kansas and Indian Territory he entered Arkansas 
 below the western center and made directly toward Lit- 
 tle Rock. Arriving there he enlisted in a Confederate 
 company of mounted rangers which he knew was organ- 
 izing under Price's recruiting service to join the operating 
 force in Southwest Missouri. 
 
 In the latter part of September the company joined 
 Price, who, a few days after, formed a junction with 
 Gen. Joe Shelby on Elk River, in Newton county. Here it 
 was decided to make a stand and await the coming of Curtis 
 who was following swiftly after with a force slightly inferior 
 to that of the combined commands of Price and Shelby. 
 
4 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Bill received the appointment of orderly to Gen. Price 
 within a week after his enlistment, a position which offer- 
 ed special opportunities for acquiring information of the 
 greatest value to Curtis. On the 23d day of October the 
 Union forces drove in the Confederate pickets on the 
 north side of the river or more properly creek and at 
 once the command prepared for battle. Shelby lay on 
 the extreme left, while Price occupied the right, from 
 which, being first in the command, he was to direct the 
 engagement. While the armies were thus lying looking 
 into the face of each other, separated only by a narrow 
 creek and the rapidly approaching twilight which admon- 
 ished each side to postpone the fight until the morrow, 
 Gen. Price placed some dispatches in Bill's hands and or- 
 dered him to deliver them to Shelby at once. The posi- 
 tion of the daring spy had now become critical in the ex- 
 treme. From the moment Shelby had joined Price, Bill 
 had been very anxious to communicate with Curtis, but 
 no opportunity was offered. But now that preparations 
 had been made for battle it was more than important that 
 he should gain the Union lines, and he resolved to reach 
 Curtis at all hazards, a determination which he accom- 
 plished by having recourse to the following dangerous 
 strategy. In the company that had been recently recruit- 
 ed at Little Rock was a large, lank Arkansas desparado 
 named Jake Lawson. He was A 1 at drinking, shoot- 
 ing, cutting and bloviating. His reputation for being a 
 " rough customer" had caused him to be chosen ser- 
 geant of the company, and the manner of his boasting 
 led all his comrades to expect something brilliantly dar- 
 ing from him during the campaign. Taking the dis- 
 patches from Gen. Price, Wild Bill, with a courteous 
 g ^ppp o f hi s hand, mounted his horse and rode directly 
 it ward the left of the lines, but when he reached the 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 55 
 
 center, out of Price's sight, he halted before his company 
 and called forLawson. When the big bully came out of 
 his tent Bill, in a loud voice, so that all his comrades 
 might hear the dialogue, addressed him as follows : 
 
 " See here, Jake, let's have a little fun ; these fellows 
 have never been under fire, so suppose we give 'em a 
 sample of our pluck so as to encourage them for to- 
 morrow." 
 
 "Well," responded Lawson, "what do you want to 
 do ? Do you want to fight me with pistols at three paces, 
 or do you prefer the bowie with the two ends of a hand- 
 kerchief held in our teeth over the back of a chair ? ' ' 
 
 " Oh, no," said Bill, "nothing so bad as that, but 
 I'll make you take water on a less dangerous experiment. 
 I'll wager my horse against yours that I can ride closer to 
 the enemy's line than you can ," 
 
 Lawson looked at Bill a moment, and then tossing his 
 head, as an evidence of disgust, walked again into his 
 tent, when a laugh from those near the two caused him 
 to stop. 
 
 " What's the matter with your nerve?" asked Bill* 
 " You ain't afraid, are you, Jake? " 
 
 " No, I aint afeerd," responded Lawson, " but what's 
 the use trying such infernal nonsense? " 
 
 " None at all," replied Bill, " if you haven't got the 
 sand to accept the challenge. I only wanted to see the 
 real color of your character." 
 
 At this the boys began to laugh again , and several were 
 bold enough to remark that it did look very much as 
 though Jake Lawson was a bogus desperado . 
 
 Being pressed and taunted Jake at length agreed to put 
 his mettle as well as his horse against that of Bill's, and 
 the two mounting rode out, followed anxiously by the 
 eyes of the entire company, until they came to an open 
 
56 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 space directly in view of the Union forces. " Now, come 
 on," cried Bill, who, putting spurs to his horse, dashed 
 down toward the creek with Lawson abreast, but about 
 two rods west of him. The Union pickets seeing the 
 riders coming toward them, began firing, which brought 
 into line the forces of both armies. Upon reaching the 
 bank of the stream Bill, being in great danger himself 
 
 A Close Shave. 
 
 from the bullets of his friends, cried out: " Hold jour 
 fire, I'm Wild Bill, trying to get into the lines." This 
 remark, while it revealed him to his friends, also ex- 
 posed his purpose to Lawson and the Confederates. See- 
 ing now that he had been caught in a cunning trap the 
 big sergeant attempted to draw his pistol, but Bill's eyes 
 were upon him and the next instant he had sent a ball 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 57 
 
 crashing through his brain, and as he fell his horse, gal- 
 loping on, was caught by Bill who spurred his own horse 
 into the stream leading by the bridle that of the dead 
 sergeant. By the time Bill had reached the middle of 
 the creek, making necessarily slow progress, the Confed- 
 erates poured down to the bank and more than fifty rifles 
 were turned loose at the fugitive. The bullets were fall- 
 ing about his head like mosquitoes swarming over fresh 
 prey, splashing the water in his face and singing their 
 enquiring impromptus fairly in his ears. Truly, it was a 
 position almost as hot as that which tradition tells us the 
 Hebrew trio occupied on a memorable occasion, but with- 
 out the protection of a sacred guardianship Bill passed 
 through that fire of leaden hail without receiving the least 
 injury. As he emerged on the opposite side of the 
 stream, with the two horses, a great cheer of congratula- 
 tion went up from Curtis' men, and then a brisk engage- 
 ment followed between the two opposing forces across 
 the creek. With great respect Wild Bill placed in Gen. 
 Curtis' hands the dispatches entrusted to him by Gen. 
 Price for transmission to Shelby, and imparted such other 
 information as fully advised Curtis of the strength and 
 intentions of the Confederates. The battle which was 
 expected to take place on the following day was avoided 
 by the Confederates who, breaking camp that night, 
 pushed onward into Arkansas. 
 
 Remaining with Curtis a f e,w days, who continued the 
 chase after the Confederates, Wild Bill was requested to 
 again enter the ranks of the enemy for information. 
 Repairing to a tent by himself for a while he spent the 
 time in changing his appearance so as to escape detection. 
 His make-up now was so ingenious that it was almost im- 
 possible for Gen. Curtis himself to recognize him. From 
 a sleek, trim and neat figure, with perfectly fitting clothes, 
 
58 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 he emerged from his tent one of the most woe-be-goue 
 specimens of Arkansas travelers the country afforded. 
 There was that idiomatic expression, too, which disfig- 
 ured his voice equally as the clothes did his body. Thus 
 prepared for his dangerous mission, and accompanied by 
 Natt Tuckett, an old and valuable friend, he again set 
 out, going south-west, through the Indian Territory, and 
 down into central Texas where, at Austin, he and Tuckett 
 joined the Confederate forces under Kirby Smith. A 
 few days afterward Smith struck his tents and moved up 
 into Arkansas, that State having now become the theatre 
 of a desperate conflict between divisions from both 
 armies. Curtis had pushed Price and Shelby until the 
 debated ground had become like fighting a man on his 
 own hearth-stone, and instead of seeking an open or de- 
 cisive engagement his movements were now directed by a 
 wholesome regard for possible results. Smith reached 
 the Arkansas river near Lewisburg, in Con way county, 
 and while there encamped his advance scouts reported 
 the approach of Curtis with a force of five thousand men 
 and two pieces of light ordnance. The respective com- 
 mands were about equal, though Smith was without any 
 field guns. There being a ferry at Lewisburg the Con- 
 federates made a crossing and pushed forward to gain an 
 advantage ground and throw up breastworks so as to re- 
 ceive the Federals while in line of march. But the sur- 
 prise was not accomplished, as Curtis was an officer of 
 great caution and being in the enemy's own country he 
 kept his advance well guarded. Locating Smith, Curtis 
 halted, in line of battle, on a little knoll about one thou- 
 sand yards from the position occupied by the Confeder- 
 ates, and bringing his two ten pound guns into action, he 
 began a brisk shelling with the hope of dislodging thr> 
 enemy and bringing on an engagement in the opening 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 59 
 
 But Smith immediately despatched back for reinforce- 
 ments and remained sullenly silent, receiving the fire of 
 the Federals passively, as in fact it was wholly ineffec- 
 tual. 
 
 The position of the two armies remained unchanged for 
 more than an hour, the field-pieces continuing their rapid 
 discharges and the shells screaming apparently only for 
 the amusement of both sides. Suddenly there were de- 
 scried two horsejaen leaping from the breastworks and 
 making a bold and rapid dash toward the Federal lines. 
 More than a minute elapsed before a shot was fired, which 
 clearly indicated that the Confederates had either dis- 
 patched the riders for some singular purpose, or else did 
 not themselves at first comprehend the strange action. 
 But surprise was terminated and curiosity satisfied by a 
 rapid discharge of musketry followed by a dozen cavalry- 
 men well mounted and in rapid pursuit. Now the ride 
 began in earnest and a wild one it proved to be. The 
 Federals at once saw that the two first riders were fugi- 
 tives from the Confederate lines and a -hurrah went up, 
 which swelled on the air like an engagement with new 
 brigades just brought into action. For the first two or 
 three hundred yards a regular distance was maintained 
 between the pursued and pursuers, but after this two 
 from the latter party began to distance their comrades 
 and gain on the deserters. Coming to a broad ditch the 
 horse of one cleared it with a bound while the other rider 
 went down with a mortal wound from the pistols of the 
 two nearest pursuers. The next moment the single fu- 
 gitive was seen to wheel his horse and, putting out his 
 arms, two whiffs of smoke ascended and the two pursuers 
 fell under their horses feet and lay so still that it was un- 
 necessery to inquire if their wounds were mortal. The 
 fugitive then rode into the Federal lines waving his broad 
 
60 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 sombrero over his head but with tears coursing rapidly 
 down his sun-burnt cheeks. It was Wild Bill, the spy, 
 who had performed this perilous feat, starting out in 
 company with his friend Tuckett who now lay dead by 
 the ditch midway between the two armies. With an es- 
 cort of three men Bill rode back and recovered the body 
 of his beloved comrade and then with due solemnity it 
 was buried in a green spot on the hillside near the bat- 
 tery. 
 
 The motive which prompted this remarkable ride can- 
 not be divined. Of course Bill had important information 
 to convey to Gen. Curtis, but other means might have 
 been employed, more consistent with good judgment, to 
 reach the Federal lines . It was , however, no less singular 
 that Bill thus comported himself at all times during his 
 service as a spy ; though wonderfully strategic yet he 
 took chances which no other spy would have tolerated in 
 a companion, for he exposed himself almost constantly to 
 detection, and trusted to boldness, swiftness, and his ac- 
 curacy of aim for escape ; and with these, or good luck, 
 he managed to avoid the usual penalties of indiscretion. 
 
 After getting back from his second expedition as a spy in 
 the Confederate lines, Bill requested a short vacation, and 
 returned to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he met William 
 Cody who had not yet gained the well-known title of 
 "Buffalo Bill." The two had met before the war and 
 an intimacy had sprung up, growing out of an incident 
 which occurred directly after Cody first entered the em- 
 ploy of Russell, Majors & Waddell, as camp boy in 1857. 
 " Billy," as he was called, being at that time only twelve 
 years of age, though brave as a young catamount, became 
 the special object of aversion to one of the bull-drivers, a 
 great big, blustering, overbearing desperado. Under a 
 slight pretext this bully struck * * Billy ' ' one day while 
 
UFE OF WILD BILL. 
 
 In camp, knocking him backward over a log. Wild Bill 
 witnessed this unprovoked assault and, making two steps 
 forward, he struck the bully a blow in the face which 
 sent him sprawling ten feet away while the blood spurted 
 from his nose in a torrent. It was a clean knock-down 
 which took the overbearing brute with such surprise that 
 he scarcely realized from whence the blow came. But he 
 saw Wild Bill standing over him, and took excellent heed 
 of the admonition "never to lay hands on that boy 
 again." 
 
 When Wild Bill met Cody in Leavenworth he was un- 
 der engagement to take a government train to Rolla, 
 Missouri, and he asked Cody to go with him, which the 
 latter was glad to do. After reaching Rolla the two con- 
 tinued their companionship to St. Louis, taking with 
 them a fine race-horse that Bill had used in scouting ser- 
 vice, intending to enter the St. Louis races which were 
 advertised to take place in September. Bill and Cody 
 had been saving up some money, and between them they 
 counted up about $750, principally in paper money of 
 State bank issue. The two went out to the race-course 
 in fine spirits, confident of securing a goodly stake, be- 
 cause they harbored the suspicion that their horse was 
 very deceptive in his appearance and that this advantage 
 they would turn to good account. Their only concern 
 was in getting their bets taken, for they felt so certain 
 that "Old Mountain/' as the horse was called, could 
 easily run away with any animal the St. Louis jockeys 
 could produce that a perfectly natural anxiety was felt 
 for the prime consideration bettors. 
 
 Bill conducted the negotiations, Cody having entrusted 
 him with this part of the business, laying his last cent in. 
 his comrade's hands. There were no combinations or 
 pool selling, the races being conducted on a regular, 
 
 4 
 
HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 old time basis. Bill moved around among the crowd 
 making offers, and his success in getting takers filled him 
 with happiness, " for you know," said he to Cody, who 
 believed him implicitly, " we've got a dead sure thing." 
 After putting up all their money they next wagered the 
 horse against $250, and having exhausted all their 
 portables the race was prepared for. Cody, a spare, but 
 trimly made young fellow, one of the best riders that 
 ever sat on horse-back, was stripped to handle " Old 
 Mountain." The race was with a little black mare 
 owned by a party from Peoria, very neatly coupled, with 
 all the marks of a genuine courser, and was ridden by a 
 negro boy. 
 
 The preliminaries being arranged the two horses were 
 brought up before the judges and sent off in elegant style, 
 no advantage. " Old Mountain," however, had not de- 
 ceived the St. Louis boys so much as he had drawn the 
 wool down over the eyes of his backers, and as the little 
 black mare sped away, lifting up the dust so that it fairly 
 hid " Old Mountain," Cody gathered the impression, dis- 
 agreeable as it was, that "the dead sure thing" had 
 been transferred to other parties. How he did try to 
 unlimber his favorite ! and he was now as unsparing of the 
 whip as he had been before the race in laying his wagers. 
 
 When they passed under the home-stretch Bill and 
 Cody looked, for all the world, like the fellow who has 
 bought a gold brick, "it was stolen you know, and 
 here is a fortune for a few dollars" but finds on in- 
 spection that there has been a slight mistake a veneer- 
 ing of gold over a genuine brick of brass. 
 
 Our two heroes were woefully "busted," and away 
 out of their element, because they did not know a singl* 
 person in St. Louis. Sorry enough plight, but, like a 
 clause in the Declaration of Independence, "When, in 
 
the eourse of liuman events, it becomes necessary to beard 
 the lion in Ms lair, the Indian in his wigwam, or the 
 wood-ciuck in his hole when you' re out of meat," etc., 
 our two knights of the empty pocket-book passed appro- 
 priate resolutions which, being acted upon, resulted in 
 Wild Bill going up to military headquarters where he en- 
 gaged himself as scout. Being well known by his repu- 
 tation, he was forced to put this in pawn for twenty dol- 
 lars, which he turned over to his badly damaged protege. 
 Cody returned to Leavenworth while Bill went directly to 
 Springfield and from this point located and again joined 
 Curtis, where we find him in the adventure described in 
 the following chapter. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CURTIS was continuing his operations down along 
 Arkansas river in 1863, and Wild Bill having reported for 
 duty Curtis again employed him to strike the Confeder- 
 ate lines and especially to learn the designs of Van Dorn 
 and Price, who were so quiet that Curtis suspicioned they 
 were meditating plans for another invasion of Missouri, 
 One of his chief concerns, and which gave rise to this con* 
 elusion, was the success of Quantrell and his band of 
 guerillas, who were laying waste the western counties of 
 Missouri and pillaging the people of eastern Kansas. 
 
 Taking up the burden of this third dangerous mission 
 Bill rode directly across the country until he struck the 
 old Santa Fe trail, which he followed three days, bring- 
 ing him into the western part of Kansas ; then striking 
 due south he passed through the Indian Territory and en* 
 
64 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 tered Texas, going thence east along the border to the 
 southwestern corner of Arkansas where, after reaching 
 Texarkana, he stopped a few days, representing himself 
 as a Texas drover. From this point he rode eastward 
 until he came to the house of an old negro near the post- 
 office of Buffalo, in Ouachita county. Reaching the lit- 
 tle old log cabin late in the afternoon, Bill dismounted, 
 and entering into conversation with the aged darkey he 
 discovered the house was occupied by only the old fellow 
 and his wife. A series of questions soon convinced Bill 
 that the negro was loyal at heart and could be depended 
 on to keep a secret. 
 
 Shortly after his arrival supper was prepared by the 
 old negro woman, consisting of genuine hoe-cake and 
 crisply fried bacon, and the meal being concluded Bill 
 interviewed his guests regarding the condition of their 
 part of the country and the location of Confederate 
 forces. He was pleased to learn that while these old 
 people appeared extremely ignorant yet they had been 
 very anxiously observant of the Confederate and Federal 
 movements, and therefore were possessed of much m~ 
 formation valuable to him. 
 
 On the following morning Bill arose early and going 
 out to a stable on the premises, his own horse having 
 been stabled the evening previous by the old darkey, he 
 discovered a jackass of ancient countenance standing in. 
 that reverential and resigned position which only an ass 
 can assume perfectly. An idea of great consequence im- 
 mediately moved Bill to return to the house, disclose a 
 part of his purposes to the sable old uncle, change his 
 habit of dress, and make a goodly provision for safely 
 entering the Confederate lines. 
 
 Said Bill to his colored host : " I see, uncle, you have 
 a jackass in the stable, does he belong to you?" 
 
LIFE OF WUJ> BILL. 65 
 
 " Yes, sah," responded the old man, "Fee had dat 
 dare animule fo'de last ten yeahs ; but he's gittin' a good 
 deal like his marster now, not much 'count, sah ; but I 
 reckon ef he hadn't been so used up de Confeds would 
 a had 'im afore dis." 
 
 " Yes," said Bill, -' I guess that is so ; he don't look 
 like a very valuable brute, but at the same time he is such 
 a curious looking specimen that I've got an idea he would 
 suit me for a purpose I now have in view. How would 
 you like to trade your jack for my horse? " 
 
 4 * Well, now, dat is a funny propersishun f oh' you to 
 make, case I haint got nuffin' to give you to boot." 
 
 " But I don't want any boot ; you bring out the jack 
 and let my horse stay in the stable, if that kind of a trade 
 will suit you." 
 
 " Yah, yah, yah; why, marster, you doan mean dat, 
 does you? Afore God dat would be de mos' curiousest 
 bargan I'se hearn on; why, I declaar ef the Confeds 
 would see dat hoss in my stable dey'd want to know how 
 I got 'im right away, and I guess dey would take me 
 too in order to settle de title." 
 
 " I'll tell you how to do ; if anybody wants to know 
 anything about that horse, you tell them that he is a 
 stray that you have taken up, and that you're expecting 
 the owner along every day." 
 
 "Now, if you is a foolin' me go away, but ef you is 
 in yarnest, why dar is de jack and I'll try and keep de 
 hoss." 
 
 "Well, I'll just charge you' one thing to boot, and 
 that is, if you have an old suit of clothes about the house 
 that you don't care to use much longer, I will take them ; 
 will you agree to that?" 
 
 *' Yes, sah, I'll call de old woman and see what she's 
 got fcsskad away in de loft. Nancy I oh, Nancy I" yelled 
 
66 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 the old darkey. Hearing herself called, the old woman 
 left her corn cake on the clapboard before the fire, and 
 thrusting her bandana covered head through the door, 
 responded : " What does you want, Silas?" " Why, I 
 wants you to look on de peg by de chimbley and get me 
 datdar last Sunday-suit of geans, and bring it hayer." 
 
 The clothes were brought out in obedience to this com- 
 mand and submitted to Bill for inspection. There was a 
 pair of pants of saffron complexion, with a respectable 
 rent in the left knee ; the vest was an indigo blue re- 
 lieved by cross stripes of flaming red, and the coat was 
 made with due regard for the ground color of the vest, 
 but in matter of ornamentation the coat took a decided 
 precedence, for, although the buttons bore a diversified 
 character, they were, nevertheless, genuine brass and 
 large enough for shields. 
 
 The clothes fitted Bill quite as well as he desired, and 
 with a bi hat made of course unbleached straw he was 
 
 o 
 
 ready with his patient jackass for the campaign. He had 
 purposely allowed his whiskers to grow to considerable 
 length and his hair had put off the neatly combed polish 
 by which he was so well known. 
 
 Having so completely disguised his usual appearance 
 Bill felt that it would be impossible for anyone to distin- 
 guish him in a crowd of corner-store natives ; so, setting 
 out mounted on his novel conveyance, and carrying an 
 old shot-gun, he traveled without fear of detection until 
 he reached Pine Bluff, where a division of Van Dorn's 
 army was stationed. After looking around the place one 
 day he went up to head-quarters and offered his services 
 as a private in the Confederate army. Upon presenting 
 himself to a recruiting sergeant that official could not re- 
 frain from laughing heartily at the astonishing and 
 grotesque figure standing before him. 
 
LIFE OP WILD BILL. 
 
 67 
 
 " Well, sir," said the sergeant, " where the devil did 
 you come from ? ' ' 
 
 " Oh," responded Bill, "I got a little cabin up herein 
 the Ozarks, where I've been livin' in a patch o' clearin' 
 with this here jack and Bowlega for the last twenty 
 year." 
 
 " Who is Bowlegs? " asked the sergeant. 
 
 " Why, look a here, mister," replied Bill, " haven't you 
 
 Wild Bill in Disguise. 
 
 neve i hearn o' Bowlegs, the greatest wildcat and bar kill- 
 er in the whole o' Arkansaw? Bowlegs is my dog, and 
 ef you'd a seed him two months ago tackle a catamount, 
 upon huckleberry hill, bigger 'n my jack, you'd a bet the 
 last bristle on yer back that he could whip anything that 
 ever wore hair or straddled the Devil's Backless* 7<ra 
 see, the neighborhood K*^ n ^en a losin' o' pigs an* calfs 
 for a long tiro*} ^h</agh pigs an' calfs is a scarce article 
 n ~ tka hill, an'" 
 
68 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 ' ' Well, never mind the dog, ' ' growled the officer ; * * w* 
 haven't time now to hear your account of Bowlegs ; we'll 
 take for granted that he is the best fighter on the Devil's 
 Backbone (the Ozark range of mountains is sometimes 
 thus called), but we want men now that can fight just 
 like your dog. Do you harbor the suspicion that you can 
 do as good fighting as Bowlegs, especially if we should 
 set you on a drove of Yankees? " 
 
 " I think I mought make a full hand ef you'll fernish. 
 me with the amernition ; I got plenty caps jest now, but 
 my powder an' shot is kinder run low," replied Bill. 
 
 At this unsophisticated remark the sergeant and all 
 those about him broke out in an almost uncontrollable fit 
 of laughter, which lasted for several minutes ; but during 
 all their cachinations Bill stood in mute astonishment, as 
 if he had done something which conclusively established 
 the fact that he was the most stupendous fool on earth. 
 
 Recovering himself at length, the sergeant asked : 
 "You don't suppose our soldiers fight with shot-guns, 
 and such weapons as that you have in your hand, do 
 you?" 
 
 Opening his eyes in apparent wonder, Bill replied : 
 " On course I do, case hain't shot-guns better ner squirrel 
 rifles by a durn'd sight?" 
 
 The conversation finally tenninated by the enlistment 
 of Bill and the appraisement of his jackass, everyone 
 supposing that the droll ignorance of the new recruit 
 would furnish a constant diversion for the company to 
 which he should be assigned. 
 
 After some weeks were spent in camp the division was 
 ordered to Pine Bluff, Bill being a private in Co. I, under 
 Capt. Leverson. Curtis, leading his army of the frontier, 
 was also marching in the direction of Duvall's Bluff with 
 the intention of cutting off and destroying the Confederate 
 supplies collecting at that point.. 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 69 
 
 Before reaching the Bluffs, marching overland, the 
 pnfederate troops were reinforced by three hundred 
 men who had been reconnoitering in advance of Price. 
 On the following day after this junction was made a cor- 
 poral who had been with Price in the engagement near 
 Perryville and was a witness to the famous ride made by 
 Bill and Nat. Tucket, being attracted "by the assumed 
 eccentricities of the spy, finally discovered, under all his 
 cunning disguise, the daring Wild Bill, whose name was 
 on the lips of every Confederate in Missouri and Arkan- 
 sas. The corporal lost no time in reporting his discov- 
 ery, and in a trice a detail of twelve men dropped their 
 loaded guns and covered the body of Bill so effectually 
 that any attempt at escape would have resulted in certain 
 death. A court-martial was at once organized and the 
 spy placed on trial. His conviction was secured in an 
 hour's time and he was sentenced to be shot on the fol- 
 lowing morning. 
 
 In a memorandum Bill made concerning this event he 
 says : < ' The Rebs convicted me on mighty little evidence, 
 and here I am now in a bad pickle ; it may be that 
 they will shoot me to-morrow, but somehow I feel that 
 some means of escape will offer. Curtis must be very- 
 near, for he has been reported, in camp, as coming like 
 the devil beating bark, on a straight trail for the Bluffs. 
 Something tells me that I will get out of this, and this 
 feeling gives me nerve. I'll keep a lookout and see 
 what's what." How this entry was made in his journal, 
 while he was under a close guard, is not explained, but it 
 is probable that he wrote it after his escape to indicate 
 his feelings while under conviction, when the chances of 
 escape were least favorable. 
 
 Immediately after the trial was concluded it being 
 held in the evening while the division was encamped, 
 
70 HEROES OP THE PLAINS. 
 
 Bill was removed to a small log hut, and to prevent the 
 possibility of escape, as Van Dorn assumed, his arms 
 were securely pinioned and a guard set over him to watch 
 every movement. 
 
 About midnight a dreadful storm of wind and rain 
 began, which raged with great violence until morning. 
 Bill's guard being very much fatigued, owing to the long 
 march during the day, and trusting too much in his ability 
 to rouse himself at the slightest movement made by the 
 prisoner, sat down beside the closed door and gradually 
 dozed off to sleep. Bill, having his hands strongly tied, 
 saw how easily he could escape had the gyves about 
 his wrists been a little less tightly drawn ; but every twist 
 of his hands only served to break the skin under the 
 unyielding thongs. This painful suspense and lapsing 
 opportunity continued until nearly three o'clock in the 
 morning, when golden fortune, who always gives her 
 hand to the brave in their last extremity, disclosed to his 
 sight the very slightly protruding handle of an old case- 
 knife, the blade of which was hidden in the depths of an 
 auger-hole. Most glorious vision ! the bright portal of 
 life ! the realms of beatific possibility ; aye, the smoothe 
 pathway leading from the black shadows of death out 
 into the gorgeous light of salvation I How precious must 
 have appeared that old, worn-out, rusted, broken piece of 
 steel ! to the condemned spy it was worth more than all 
 the castles of polished ivory that the fabled Arabian Magi 
 could have created, " for what will a man not give to save 
 his own life?" 
 
 Stealthily creeping from the corner in which he waa 
 seated, Bill drew himself by inches toward the old knife, 
 while the beating of his heart sounded to him like the long 
 roll call. Gradually he grew nearer and nearer, until at 
 last, crouching for a moment, he arose with his back 
 
WFE OF WJLD BELL. 71 
 
 against the log walls and seized the rusty handle in his 
 pinioned hands. But still he was not free ; unable to 
 make much available use of his hands, he withdrew the 
 knife and then pushed the handle into the auger-hole, 
 leaving a small part of the blade out ; he then began rub- 
 bing the ropes between his wrists across the dull and 
 rusted blade, until after what seemed to him an age of 
 
 Wild Bill Surprises the Sleepy Sentinel. 
 
 hard labor he felt the cords loosen ; they were cut and he 
 was now a man with all the vigor God had so bounteously 
 lodged in his well developed sinews. 
 
 Bill did not wait long after cleaving the ropes which 
 bound his hands, to put into execution one of those bold 
 and desperate methods which serve to make his name im- 
 
72 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 perishable. Taking the old case-knife in his right hand, 
 he sprang upon the slumbering guard and in an instant 
 the rusted blade was thrust into the throat of the sleeping 
 victim and his neck almost severed in twain. Not a word 
 escaped from the unconscious sentinel as the rusty knife 
 flashed across his throat and let out the life-blood. Bill 
 quickly stripped the dead guard of coat and hat, and 
 placing them upon himself, with musket in hand, he 
 stealthily left the log house and by aid of the darkness 
 made good his escape, gaining Curtis' army on the fok 
 lowing day. 
 
 This really marvelous escape from death impressed 
 every one acquainted with the circumstances, with the 
 extraordinary good luck and strategy which seemed never 
 to forsake Wild Bill, but this impression was specially 
 conspicuous among Van Dom's men, many of whom, be- 
 ing almost as ignorant as Bill had professed to be in 
 joining the Confederate forces, honestly believed he was 
 leagued with the devil and that he could not be killed. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 AFTER fin ding himself secure in the Federal lines again, 
 Bill immediately called on Gen. Curtis and imparted a 
 great deal of useful information which resulted in much 
 advantage to the Union forces, for the army moved at 
 once and intercepted Van Dorn before he reached Du- 
 vall's Bluff. Here a hot battle was fought in which the 
 Confederates were routed, a large amount of their stores 
 captured, and the supply post occupied by the victorious 
 Federals. But Bill positively refused to enter the ene- 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 73 
 
 my's lines again, because he was now so well known in 
 the Confederate army operating west of the Mississippi 
 that to make another such attempt would be subjecting 
 himself to almost certain death. He continued scouting, 
 however, for some time afterward, and frequently went 
 in the guise of a Confederate officer hi order to secure 
 the confidence of southern sympathizers, from whom 
 much useful knowledge concerning the movements of 
 Confederate troops was from time to time obtained. 
 
 In 1864 Price made his second invasion into Missouri 
 and Gen. Daviess was ordered to harass his rear until 
 Curtis could return and reorganize a second campaign 
 against the invaders. Southern Missouri had become the 
 camping ground of Confederate detachments, and to 
 operate against these bands Gen. Daviess established his 
 headquarters at Holla. Wild Bill, being well acquainted 
 in Rolla, visited that place in the summer of 1864 and re- 
 ported to headquarters for a commission to scout in the 
 southern part of the State. Daviess was glad to secure 
 his services, for several of the adjacent counties were 
 seriously infested with independent bushwhackers claim- 
 ing authority for their acts under Confederate commis- 
 sions. 
 
 While the camp was quietly waiting for Curtis to re- 
 port from some point in Missouri where a junction might 
 be formed, on the 25th of July Bill mounted his horse 
 and without acquainting any one with his purpose, re- 
 solved to make a private expedition through the southern 
 part of Phelps county. He accordingly set out unaccom- 
 panied and rode directly south, passing by Pilot Knob 
 and through Elk prairie, meeting no one and finding no 
 evidence of hostile occupation. Near the post village of 
 Lake Spring, in the timber skirting a tributary of the 
 Meramec river, however, he suddenly came ttpon three 
 
74 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 men well mounted and carrying carbines, wit), pistols in 
 their outside belts. The trio, without proceeding by in- 
 terrogatories to learn anything about Bill, commanded 
 him to dismount, accompanying the order with a threat to 
 shoot him if he delayed an instant. Without attempting 
 any parley or considering the odds against him, Bill 
 threw up his pistol, which he had in his right hand hang- 
 ing on the off side of his horse, out of sight, and almost 
 in the glance of an eye, he shot the three with such pre- 
 cision that each tumbled to the ground with a mortal 
 wound. One of the bushwhackers, however, while in 
 the throes of death, summoned enough strength to raise 
 on his elbow and fire at Bill, the bullet striking his sad- 
 dle bow but doing him no personal injury. 
 
 The three now riderless horses, frightened by the fir- 
 ing, ran away, but fortunately all kept close together. 
 Bill went at once in pursuit of the animals, one of which 
 was a beautiful little black mare which he was specially 
 anxious to possess. The chase continued for nearly six 
 hours before Bill succeeded in capturing the three horses, 
 but as they were running in the direction of Rolla, no 
 time was lost. Tying the heads of the animals together 
 he led them back to camp as prizes of war, making due 
 report to his commanding officer. 
 
 Gen. Daviess, not having been made acquainted with 
 Bill's expedition, was at a loss to determine what had be- 
 come of him, when suddenly witnessing his re-appear- 
 ance Trith three horses, he at once concluded that Bill 
 had been engaged in making reprisals from non-belliger- 
 ents. 
 
 Assuming a stern look the General enquired of him : 
 "You have been out of camp for four days without 
 leave ; where have you been operating, and where did 
 you get those horses?" 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 75 
 
 Bill looked for a moment steadily at the General, whose 
 gaze, instead of relaxing, bore sterner evidence of his be- 
 lief that the horses had been stolen. Feeling keenly the 
 suspicion, Bill answered in an imperious manner, "I'm 
 not a private soldier, and as a scout I go where I please. 
 The horses have been turned over to you, therefore I 
 must say it's none of your d d business where I got 
 them." 
 
 This insubordinate attitude and insulting language 
 threw Gen. Daviess into a violent fit of anger, and in- 
 tending some severe punishment he ordered Bill's arrest 
 and confinement in the guard house. The command 
 was promptly obeyed and the cavalier scout was hur- 
 riedly conveyed to prison. On the same evening, about 
 nine o'clock, as the General was riding around the 
 poet he was astonished at seeing Bill salute him from 
 the sidewalk. Without saying a word to the mys- 
 teriously liberated scout he rode directly to the guard 
 house and in a thundering tone demanded of the guards 
 why Will Bill had been permitted to escape. His aston- 
 ishment greatly increased, however, when they assured 
 the General that Bill was in the guard house ; but an ex- 
 amination soon showed that they had been cleverly 
 deceived ; for it was soon discovered that one of the 
 other prisoners, whose term of service expired that even- 
 ing, had changed clothes with Bill and himself remained 
 in durance in order to give the popular scout his liberty. 
 
 This devoted comradeship so affected Gen. Daviess 
 that he at once pardoned the man who had contrived 
 Bill's escape, and ordering both men to be sent to his 
 headquarters, he repaired there himself to give them 
 an unexpected greeting. 
 
 When Bill and his devoted friend entered the General's 
 office they were received with the greatest cordiality and 
 
76 HEROES OF THE PLAINTS. 
 
 invited to fill up on some extra cogniac used by the Gen- 
 eral only on special occasions. After speaking in the 
 most feeling manner of the value of true comradeship, 
 and complimenting the friendship which prompted one of 
 his guests to sacrifice his own liberty to secure that of the 
 other, the General turned to Bill and in a courteous and 
 deferential manner asked him to relate the adventure by 
 which he had come into possession of the horses. First 
 excusing his hasty and insubordinate reply made during 
 the day, Bill told the General all the circumstances of his 
 private expedition, and in proof of his assertion he asked 
 Gen. Daviess to send a party of men with him back to 
 the spot where the fight took place, agreeing to produce 
 the bodies of his victims. Accordingly on the following 
 day a detail of his men accompanied Bill back to the 
 banks of the Meramac tributary where the bodies of the 
 three bushwhackers were found and properly buried. 
 
 After the events here recorded Gen. Daviess became 
 one of Bill's warmest friends, and had many other proofs 
 of his great valor and services before the campaign of 
 1864 closed. 
 
 The little black mare captured from the bushwhackers, 
 by BilPs urgent request, he was permitted to retain, and 
 this animal afterward became one of the most famous 
 horses ever bred in America. Being black as a raven, 
 with limbs rounded with all the beautiful symmetry seen 
 in the choicest blooded animals, she would attract marked 
 attention among all the horses of the world. Bill gave 
 her the name of Black Nell, and giving much care to her 
 training, she "became the heroine; of many adventures, 
 which will be recorded in a subsequent chapter. 
 
 Early in January, 1865, Gen. Curtis, having again 
 driven Price and Shelby out of Missouri, established his 
 headquarters at Fort Lestvenworth, where he oould more 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. U 
 
 readily observe the movements of guerrillas who contin- 
 ued harassing convoys, couriers and weak posts in eas\ 
 ern Kansas and western Missouri. Wild Bill remained 
 in the service as chief of scouts, but he was employed a 
 greater part of the time in Missouri . 
 
 in February, Man-to-yu-kee (Conquering Bear), one 
 f the sub-chiefs of the Sioux Indians, a friendly tribe 
 
 Man-to-yu-kee (Conquering Bear*) 
 
 under the command of Gen. Jim Lane, came into Fort 
 Leavenworth and reported to Gen, Curtis the encamp* 
 ment of five hundred Choctaw warriors ten miles west of 
 Lawrence, on the Kaw river. The Choctaw and Cherokee 
 Indians, also some of the Creeks and Osages, were 
 employed as soldiers by the Confederates, and although 
 they performed very little service, yet the entire country, 
 
78 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 especially eastern Kansas, was dreadfully excited over an 
 anticipated Indian massacre of whites. Consequently, 
 when Conquering Beai became the messenger of such 
 news, reporting the fierce Choctaws in such close prox- 
 imity, there was no little apprehension created even in 
 the mind of the gallant Curtis. 
 
 Sending for Wild Bill, whose acquaintance with the 
 Indian character was thorough, Curtis recited the facts 
 as reported by Conquering Bear, and then asked him 
 what course of action he would advise. 
 
 The reply was fully characteristic of the man's readi- 
 ness to brave any danger where his services might prove 
 of value. Said Bill: 
 
 " The Indian is a mighty uncertain animal, and those 
 that profess the greatest friendship are very frequently 
 the most deadly enemies. I'll tell you my idea : You 
 send me back to the Sioux camp with this chief, and 
 before I return, you can depend on it I will know how 
 many Choctaws are near Lawrence and what they are up 
 to. If I'm not back here in four days, just put it down 
 that I've dropped my scalp." 
 
 Curtis replied : * * It looks to me as though such a trip 
 would be very hazardous if the hostile Indians are really 
 near Lawrence, unless you should take one or two hun- 
 dred men with you." 
 
 " I don't want any one with me," answered Bill, " ex- 
 cept Conquering Bear, and if he deceives me or is trying 
 to lay some devilish trap, then one of us will lift the 
 other's hair. No, I will only take Black Nell, and am 
 prepared to leave here for the Indian camp early to-morrow 
 morning." 
 
 " Well," responded Curtis, 4< if you think it possible 
 to penetrate the Indian c'amp, or learn the exact location 
 and intention of the Choctaws, I think the importance 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 79 
 
 of learning these facts warrant me in sending you ; there* 
 fore, whatever you may require it shall be provided, and 
 I can only hope for your safe return." 
 
 Bill sent for the Indian chief, and after acquainting 
 him with Gen. Curtis' desire, said : " I shall go with you 
 directly to your people, and then I shall expect you to 
 guide me to the hostile camp ; but remember, if you de- 
 ceive me in the least thing, one of us will have to die." 
 
 The Indian made many assuring promises that his loy- 
 alty to the Union and enmity to the Choctaws alone 
 prompted his desire to lead the Federal troops into the 
 enemy's camp. 
 
 On the following day, pursuant to the arrangements, 
 Wild Bill and the Indian started for Lawrence, which 
 place they reached the same evening, and shortly after- 
 ward went through the Sioux camp. Leaving there after 
 night, the two proceeded westward until suddenly, in the 
 darkness, Conquering Bear gave a singular whoop, and, 
 hiding quickly in the bushes, left Bill surrounded by a 
 band of Choctaws. The treachery of the Sioux chief was 
 now plainly apparent, and Bill saw that he had been pur- 
 posely led inside the hostile pickets. The Indians rushed 
 out from every side, but the darkness was so profound that 
 Bill was screened from his enemies, three of whom he killed 
 when they came too close. His little black mare, with 
 the intelligence of a scout herself, was so obedient that 
 by a tap of the hand she lay down or ran from covert to 
 covert as Bill desired. The Indians, in the meantime, 
 ran upon one another in the darkness, being unable to 
 locate their would-be victim, and by a series of strategies, 
 such as giving the Indian whoop and other signals which 
 Bill well knew, he managed to elude the Choctaws, and 
 finally escaped without receiving the least injury. 
 
 After an absence of nearly four days Bill returned to 
 Fort Leavenworth and made due report to Gen, Curtis 
 
80 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 of the circumstances of his trip, and thereupon asked for 
 a leave of absence for one week. His request being 
 granted, Bill went directly to Lawrence and began active 
 endeavors looking to a personal meeting with Conquering 
 Bear. Being well acquainted with the language and pe- 
 culiarities of the Sioux, Bill soon found opportunity for 
 eating his revenge. A young warrior from the tribe be- 
 ing seen walking the streets of Lawrence, Bill approached 
 him cleverly and by a liberal treatment to whisk;" and 
 gew-gaws soon gained his confidence and friendship. 
 Through this intermediary Bill was not long in reaching 
 Conquering Bear, who, through promises of a secret re- 
 ward awaiting him at a spot three miles east of the town, 
 was easily allured to a sequestered place unaccompanied 
 except by the young fellow who had faithfully followed 
 Bill's instructions. 
 
 The two Indians were proceeding slowly as if expect- 
 ing to meet with some persons bearing rich rewards, when 
 suddenly Bill rose out of his hiding place and confronted 
 the dusky traitor,, For a moment they stood perfectly 
 still, eyeing each other, one filled with fear, the other 
 with desire for revenge. Drawing from his belt two pis- 
 tols Bill threw cue to Conquering Bear and told him to 
 defend himself ; but the Indian knew the deadly aim of 
 his antagonist And refused to fight with the pistol. Bill 
 then told him he had either to fight or suffer the death 
 of the dog he 1 was. Conquering Bear tried to parley, but 
 being forced to accept immediate terms for a fight, he &i 
 length chos^ the knife, the long, keen-pointed bowie,, 
 with a bladl two inches in width and an edge sharp as 
 death's viage. Men on the border invariably carry this 
 desperate Veapon, and Conquering Bear was an expert in 
 its use, but not more proficient than was Bill ; each could 
 throw the b!*de through the body af a 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 81 
 
 at the distance of ten paces, and in the manual exercis* 
 with a bowie they were truly professional. 
 
 Bill quickly accepted the terms proposed by the Indian 
 and in a cool and calculating manner selected a level 
 spot and then instructed the Indian youth to prepare it 
 for the duel. This he did by kicking off the leaves and 
 twigs and drawing a circle ten feet in diameter in which 
 the contestants were to meet each other. The arrange- 
 ments having been perfected, Bill stepped inside the cir- 
 cle and called to Conquering Bear, but the Indian acting 
 as though fear had transfixed him, stood motionless until 
 Bill threatened to shoot him dead in his tracks if he did 
 not engage in eonibiJt at once. This threat aroused him, 
 and with a lithesome spring he leaped inside the imagin- 
 ary enclosure, his great knife gleaming in his right hand, 
 which was raised to a level with his face. The two mor- 
 tal enemies as they stood for a moment calculating the 
 opportunities for a first deadly thrust, were objects of 
 really magnificent terror. Such beauty of physical pro- 
 portions and such an exhibition of marvellous courage 
 were doubtless never before witnessed in a personal com- 
 bat as, with breasts bared to the steel, the two antago- 
 nists glared at each other a moment before commencing 
 the deadly onset. Bill was the first to make a motion, 
 stepping forward quickly one pace and delivering a feint ; 
 the Indian drew back, but partly stooped as if to make a 
 rush, then like two enraged lions they sprang at each 
 other, meeting in the center of the ring, and catching the 
 points of their knives they remained clashed together for 
 several minutes. There now succeeded a violent strug- 
 gle, their dreadful weapons remaining edge to edge, 
 while the left hand of each was around the other's body, 
 every muscle standing out in great ridges, evidencing the 
 terrible strain produced by the efforts of each to throw 
 
82 HEROES OF THE FLAWS. 
 
 or disadvantage the other. Like two fighting bull-dogs 
 when both secure a strong hold, clinging tenaciously un- 
 til exhaustion forces a relinquishment of the grasp ; it 
 was thus that Bill and his antagonist clung to each other 
 until tired nature caused a separation. Their eyes, how. 
 ever, kept faithful watch during a brief respite in the 
 encounter. 
 
 After a lapse of fully ten minutes the Indian, having 
 recovered from his 'first fright, was the first to advance 
 for a re-engagement, but Bill showed equal anxiety to 
 begin the desperate work, and both being intensely en- 
 raged the second encounter produced frightful results. 
 They came together with terrific force, but with marveU 
 lous dexterity each expert caught the knife of the other 
 on the edge of their respective weapons. But they did 
 not clinch this time, vor they now foresaw only ex- 
 haustion in such tactics which might permit an almost 
 resistless execution of the one of the least endurance, 
 each doubting his own superiority. A few moments 
 were spent in feints, change of positions, backing and 
 advancing until conceiving his opportunity. Bill gave a 
 terrible thrust at the Indian's heart, but a buckle on the 
 swarthy warrior's breast diverted the blow from its pur- 
 pose ; the knife was deflected slightly after striking, but 
 went downward with such force that it cut through the 
 Indian's jacket and opened a fearful gash, several inches 
 in length, in his side, from which the blood gushed in tor- 
 rents. But in giving his enemy this dreadful wound Bill 
 did not escape without serious injury. Seeing the thrust 
 made, the Indian struck hard at Bill's heart, but the 
 knife was caught in the scout's left arm and struck to 
 the bone near the shoulder point and stripped the flesh 
 half way to his elbow. From these two wounds the 
 ground soon became covered with blood, and yet the fight 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 85 
 
 continued while the strength of each flowed rapidly 
 away. The Indian grew weak very fast now, and realiz- 
 ing that if victory came to him it must be through an 
 effort speedily made, he thrust at Bill with great violence 
 and precision, but the dextrous scout skillfully parried 
 the effort and the next instant his knife went through the 
 neck of Conquering Bear, splitting through the tendons, 
 and cutting the jugular vein. With a convulsive twinge 
 of the body and straightening of the right arm the In- 
 dian fell forward, burying his tightly clutched knife in 
 the ground to the hilt. 
 
 The young Indian who had remained a horrified spec- 
 tator of this most terrible of all personal conflicts, seeing 
 the chief fall dead went up to Bill at once and bandaged 
 his wounded arm, so that the flow of blood was partly 
 stopped. Bill returned to Lawrence and on the same 
 day left for Kansas City, where he placed himself in 
 charge of his old physician and friend, Dr. Joshua 
 Thorne. But the wound was an obstinate one, and 
 caused him pain and annoyance for years afterward. 
 
 This memorable battle was fought on the 22d day of 
 January, 1865. The object of Conquering Bear's 
 treachery in trying to compass the death of Wild Bill, 
 was, no doubt, to obtain a reward that had been offered 
 by some of Bill's enemies to accomplish their cowardly 
 purposes. These rewards were very frequent immedi- 
 ately after the close of the war, some of which and the 
 circumstances under which they were offered, will be 
 described in subsequent chapters. 
 
 The Indian boy who had served Bill in this matter was 
 duly recompensed ; in addition to a liberal receipt of 
 money, Bill took him to Kansas City, gave him many 
 advantages and finally went back with him to the Sioux, 
 upon the Niobrara river, where their reservation lay. 
 
HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 AFTER the close of the civil war, Wild Bill decided to 
 quit the States for a while and pass a season on the Nio^ 
 brara trapping for beaver and otter. He was encouraged 
 in this decision by the young Indian who had aided him 
 so materially in satisfying his vengeance against Con- 
 quering Bear. This young buck whom Bill, in his 
 diary, calls Joe, had returned with his tribe, after the 
 close of their operations along the Kaw river, to their res- 
 ervation in Nebraska, and had frequently begged Bill to 
 pass a season with him on the Mobrara. After the kill- 
 ing of Man-to-yu-kee, the Sioux entertained a very ex- 
 alted opinion of Bill, particularly because the dead chief 
 had been exceedingly unpopular among hi? own people. 
 These several circumstances, added to which game for 
 the trap was reported as being abundant on the Mobrara, 
 which ran through the Sioux reservation, influenced Bill 
 to depart for that country in the fall of 1865. 
 
 Among the Sioux was a sister of Indian Joe, named 
 Mary Logan, whom Bill declares was a direct descendant 
 of the great chief of that name, though there was a 
 goodly amount of white blood in her veins. This girl 
 was about eighteen years of age when Bill first became 
 acquainted with her, and he rarely mentioned her with- 
 out going into raptures over her beauty. 
 
 Within a few days after he first met Mary Logan he 
 could not avoid observing the love which was lighted in 
 her heart ; she lingered about him as though influenced 
 by some magnetic or mesmeric force ; hungered for the 
 honey of his words and her eyes bespoke the admiration 
 in which she held him. Her bounteous hospitality and 
 persuasive words, together with the persistent solicitations 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 87 
 
 of her brother Joe, finally induced Bill to make her home 
 his own during the season. This home was only a little 
 log cabin containing a single room, with a large fire- 
 place, before which hung, almost constantly, many 
 pieces of jerked venison, antelope and buffalo meat. It 
 was not such a place as love usually selects to build her 
 bowers, but this Indian maiden admired the white face, 
 and more especially the comely, symmetrical features of 
 Wild Bill, whose fame as the most daring of Western 
 heroes, had been disseminated among every Indian tribe 
 west of the Mississippi river. 
 
 Being unable at last to endure his absence, Mary Lo- 
 gan begged Bill to allow her to accompany him on his 
 rounds in examining his traps, and to be with him on his 
 frequent hunts, a privilege which he gladly permitted, for 
 the girl was very handsome, excellent company, and so 
 devoted to him that her constant care was for his happi- 
 ness. 
 
 The cabin in which the Logans and Wild Bill lived, 
 was so circumscribed in its limits that the single room 
 was made to subserve all the purposes of an Indian fam- 
 ily, which are, of course, but few. This intimate com- 
 panionship continued for a period of six months, during 
 which time Bill had taught the girl how to read and 
 write, indifferently but yet intelligibly. Notwithstand- 
 ing this truly remarkable intimacy, in many particulars 
 equally close as the most devoted man and wife, Bill 
 always declared that the girl never lost her virtue, that 
 her honesty was almost phenomenal, for she would 
 readily have sacrificed her life rather than have forfeited 
 the jewel of her chastity. There is something in this 
 poor Indian girl's, character which is pathetically beauti- 
 ful ; an uncultivated bud in the great garden of God's 
 diversified creation ; reared in her own simplicity and 
 
88 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 protected by no words of wise counsel or warning, noth- 
 ing but the shield of her innate innocence. Her love was 
 pure as the fountain at its source, as sweet as the nectar 
 of heaven's own distillation, as coy and confiding as the 
 soul that gives itself into the keeping of a loved one. 
 
 The trapping season having closed and spring time 
 drawing on apace, Wild Bill bade his prairie maiden 
 adieu and returned to Missouri , but before proceeding to 
 a description of his subsequent adventures it is interest- 
 ing to follow the now despondent Indian girl, for her life 
 took on many grievous vicissitudes after her parting from 
 her white lover, who was the ideal of noble manhood in 
 her estimation. 
 
 In the succeeding fall (1866) a fellow named Rogers, 
 from St. Louis, found Mary Logan among her people, 
 still on the Niobrara, and being captivated by her beau- 
 tiful face and figure proposed marriage, which she ac- 
 cepted, not because his affection was reciprocated, but 
 solely because he promised to take her with him to St. 
 Louis where they would make their home. The poor 
 girl had never ceased grieving for Wild Bill and she be- 
 lieved that, living in Missouri, whither she knew he had 
 gone, she would find opportunities to see him often. 
 Mary Logan therefore sacrificed her maidenhood and 
 went to the States as Mrs. Rogers. 
 
 By singular coincidence very soon after reaching St. 
 Louis she did meet Wild Bill in one of the numerous 
 parks of that city, and in the meeting her joy was bound- 
 less. When he left her again it was with the promise 
 that a correspondence should be maintained between 
 the two. 
 
 Several months elapsed, during which time a weekly 
 exchange of letters passed between Mrs. Rogers and Bill 
 without the husband entertaining even a suspicion of 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 89 
 
 such a fact. Much evil, however, was destined to flow 
 from this pleasant correspondence. Bill's letters were so 
 precious in her sight that, instead of prudently destroy- 
 ing them, she kept each one as though it were a priceless 
 treasure. One of these communications at length fell 
 into the hands of the husband, and as the language was 
 of a decidedly affectionate character, the justly jealous 
 husband at once accused his Indian wife of infidelity, 
 treachery, duplicity and outrageous conduct ; all this she 
 bore with perfect resignation, but when he began the 
 
 Wild Bill and Mrs. Rogers in the Park. 
 
 same kind of abuse against Wild Bill she flew at him 
 with all the inflamed indignation of her nature and a do- 
 mestic scene ensued. Still they lived together, but 
 shortly afterward removed to Kansas City, where a 
 second letter of Bill's being discovered, the same scene 
 was re-enacted as that which had transpired over the first 
 discovery at St. Louis. Eogers having severely chastised 
 his wife and threatened Wild Bill with death, Mary re- 
 solved to kill her husband. To iccomplish this she had 
 
90 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 recourse to poison, mixing it with his coffee, and soon 
 after Rogers had drank the fatal potion he was a corpse. 
 All these facts she wrote to Bill and then disappeared, 
 going back to her former Indian life, it is supposed, but 
 so completely did she conceal her identity that Bill never 
 again heard of her. It is possible that the sore heart 
 which gave her such great distress finding that she 
 could never become the wife of the man she loved dear- 
 est of all on earth finally admonished her to find rest 
 and peace in a suicide's death. 
 
 Upon his return to the States Wild Bill went directly 
 to Springfield, Mo., where he soon after engaged in a 
 duel with one of the most desperate men that ever starfx 
 ed a graveyard. At this time (1867) Springfield was the 
 place of rendezvous for scores of roughs, gamblers and 
 dangerous characters generally. In one respect it was a 
 meeting place for the desperado element created by the 
 civil war. The southern half of Missouri had been strong- 
 ly inclined toward secession, and the Confederate forces 
 had been augmented by many companies recruited below 
 the Mason and Dixon line, and especially from the dis- 
 trict immediately adjacent to Springfield. When the war 
 closed, of course these discharged soldiers returned to 
 their homes with the spirit of Southern sympathy still 
 uppermost, while defeat had only served to increase their 
 bitterness toward those whose political sentiments were 
 in sympathy with the North. 
 
 Wild Bill was known (if not personally, at least by 
 reputation) to every man, woman and child in and about 
 Springfield, and his enemies bitter, uncompromising, 
 deadly foes were numbered by scores ; yet he lingered 
 about the place as though the danger in so doing had 
 become an irresistible allurement. But one of the prin- 
 cipal attractions about Springfield, to him, was the unre- 
 
LIFE Or WILD BILL. 91 
 
 atrieted gambling carried on in nearly every other house 
 on the business streets. The place had literally become a 
 paradise for sporting characters, of which class Bill was 
 not only a member in good standing, but occupied a dis- 
 tinguished position. He gambled with all the naturalness 
 that characterizes a duckling when it first strikes water 
 not so much for profit, perhaps, as for the excitement it 
 afforded. 
 
 Though he was constantly surrounded by numerous 
 enemies who would have given half their future for his 
 life, yet they stood in awe of his cool intrepidity, the 
 precision of his aim, the charmed life which seemed to 
 have preserved him for more gallant acts, and the proud 
 carriage of his person which told so plainly that he knew 
 nothing of fear. Any other man than he would have been 
 dragged to the nearest tree and throttled, while a crowd 
 of jeering desperadoes would have either lent a ready 
 hand or stood by and applauded the deed ; but the bark 
 of his pistol meant the bite of a bullet, and men rarely 
 become so lost to discretion as to fail in their respect for 
 leaden pellets. 
 
 Some time during the summer, a terror to the neighbor- 
 hood, named Dave Tutt (formerly a spy in the Confeder- 
 ate service), came to Springfield some said for the ex- 
 press purpose of killing Bill and at once threw himself 
 into the gambling element of the place, and per conse- 
 quence, soon met Wild Bill. The two engaged in a fifty- 
 dollar limit game of poker in the second-story of a build- 
 ing fronting the north side of the public square. Bill 
 played in bad luck and lost several hundred dollars, and 
 on the last hand he called when the bet was twenty-five 
 dollars more than he could put up. Being unable to dis- 
 charge the debt at that moment, he made a memorandum 
 of the amount and bad Tutt good-night. 
 
92 HEROES OP THE PLAINS. 
 
 After Bill had retired to his room he resolved never to 
 play in a game with Tutt again, as the suspicion just then 
 dawned upon him that he had been cheated. But he 
 kept his own counsel, and on the following day bor- 
 rowed fifty dollars more of Tutt, and with this money he 
 soon afterward raised another handsome stake. 
 
 Three evenings after his first game with the ex-Con- 
 federate spy Bill was in the same gambling room and 
 there he again met Tutt, who proposed another game of 
 poker To this Bill objected, but in such manner as led 
 Tutt to believe that he was no match for such a dexterous 
 player. Tutt then offered to stake a friend against Bill, 
 and this proposition being approved the two began to 
 play. Before beginning the game, however, Bill drew a 
 large gold watch from his pocket, and laying it on the 
 table before him, said to his partner: "Now I'll play 
 you a twenty-five dollar limit until one of us is broken, or 
 until twelve o'clock ; at that time I must quit, and there- 
 fore want this fact understood at the beginning." 
 
 Bill played this time in such excellent luck that Tutt's 
 friend required frequent staking, and in a couple of 
 hours' time his winnings were over five hundred dollars. 
 Tutt began to show signs of reluctance in putting up any 
 more for his unlucky friend, and in a tone betraying 
 much anger said : 
 
 " Bill, you are now ahead of this game enough to pay 
 me that fifty dollars I loaned you, and also that forty 
 dollars I won off you Tuesday night, and I want the 
 money right now," at the same time striking the table 
 with his fist. 
 
 " All right, Dave," responded Bill, " here is the fifty 
 dollars I borrowed, and now here is the twenty-five dol- 
 lars I owe you on the bet I called Tuesday night." 
 
 "That won't do, Bill," replied Tutt, "you owe me 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 93 
 
 fifteen dollars more, and I intend to have it right here, 
 or you won't get this watch again, " taking up Wild 
 Bill's watch and shoving it into his pocket. 
 
 Bill arose from the table and looking Tutt in the eye 
 very coolly remarked : " Well, Dave, I'll pay you every 
 cent I owe ; here is my memorandum book and you saw 
 me enter the amount I overbet at the time ; it was 
 twenty-five dollars, not forty." 
 
 Tutt now began to manifest great rage and called Bill 
 several vile names, while all in the room fairly held their 
 breath in anticipation of a mortal combat. But they 
 were disappointed. Without betraying the least excite- 
 ment, Bill replied to Tutt: "I don't want any row in 
 this gentleman's house, but, Dave, you had better put 
 that watch back on the table or somebody will get badly 
 hurt. I'll leave this matter to the boys who were present 
 when you won the twenty-five dollars, and if they say it 
 was forty dollars I'll pay you the money, but not other- 
 wise." 
 
 Tutt only pursed up his lip at Bill, and turning about 
 started out of the room, at the same time saying : " I'll 
 just keep this watch all the same, and if you want it 
 bad enough you can meet me in the public square to- 
 morrow morning at nine o'clock, for I intend to carry 
 it across the square at that hour." 
 
 " You'll never get across that place with my watch 
 unless dead men can walk," replied Bill; and thus the 
 two parted, Tutt taking the gold time-piece with him. 
 
 Tiiis singular dialogue astonished the gamblers present 
 as they were n ver before. Some began to think that 
 Bill's courage w^s chiefly on paper, and that he was 
 really afraid of Tutt. But the true reason an encounter 
 was not preciptated in the room at the time was undoubt- 
 edly the fact, which both realized, that even an attempt 
 
94 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 to draw a pistol would have resulted in the certain death 
 of each ; because they were both skilled in the use of 
 weapons and death wound would not have prevented a 
 return shot. 
 
 On the following morning (Saturday, September 12th) 
 nearly the entire male population of Springfield and 
 vicinity, hearing of the threatened duel, assembled about 
 the public square at an early hour. The law-abiding and 
 peace-preserving class was too small, or indisposed, to 
 restrain the two men from fighting to the death in the 
 
 Wild Bill Satisfies the Natives. 
 
 most prominent spot of the town. In fact any attempt 
 at interference would not have been tolerated. The 
 event promised altogether too much amusement for the 
 crowd to endure a postponement. 
 
 Promptly at nine o'clock Dave Tutt stepped out from 
 the crowd on the west side of the square, and holding 
 up the watch so that every one could see it, made some 
 bravado remarks and started toward the center of the 
 then enclosed place, carrying a large navy pistol in his 
 right hand. Bill was equally prompt, arid advanced 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 95 
 
 toward Tiitt briskly, scarcely showing the ivory-handled 
 pistol which he nearly covered with his hand. When 
 within ten paces of each other Tutt was the first to raise 
 his pistol, and instantly there were two reports which rang 
 out in such quick succession as caused many who were 
 unable to secure a good view, to believe, for a moment, 
 that only one shot had been fired. There was no doubt 
 concerning the result, however, for Tutt dropped his pis- 
 tol, and clapping both hands over his heart fell forward 
 without uttering a word. The bullet from his pistol 
 whistled harmlessly by Bill's head and buried itself in 
 an opposite building, where the mark may still be seen. 
 The instant his pistol was discharged, and without noting 
 the result, Bill wheeled in his tracks and, pointing Ibis 
 pistol at Tutt's friends, coolly asked, "Are you satis- 
 fied?" He expected a general attack from his old 
 enemies, and was therefore fully prepared to face any 
 consequences, but while they showed their weapons there 
 were none in the crowd bold enough to appeal the result 
 before them. 
 
 Bill was arrested directly after the shooting, but even 
 in a place where he had few friends and many enemies, 
 the respect for his daring nature was such that at a pre- 
 liminary examination he was discharged upon, the ground 
 of self-defense, and the grand-j dry never took cognizance 
 of the tragedy which was played so true to nature before 
 
 a town for an audience. 
 8 
 
96 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 LEAVING Springfield, soon after the killing of Tutt, 
 Bill went to Nebraska, where he again engaged in trap- 
 ping, but only for a brief period, owing to an incident 
 which made it judicious for him to leave that country, 
 and which may be described as follows : Having tried for 
 beaver on several of the creeks of Nebraska without 
 meeting favorable results, he changed his quarters with 
 the intention of testing some of the branches in the 
 southeastern part of the then Territory. Reaching Jef- 
 ferson county Bill chanced upon a country saloon which 
 derived a patronage from wayfarers and cow-boys. 
 Hitching his horse he went into the saloon and called for 
 a drink. In the place at the time were half a dozen 
 herders, all in a partial state of intoxication that con- 
 dition which invites either a fight or a treat with the 
 same desire. 
 
 In response to Bill's order the bar-keeper set out a 
 glass and the usual black bottle, at the same time giving 
 such a look as indicated the inquiry, " See here, stranger, 
 what are you a doin' in these here diggins ? ' * Four of 
 the cow-boys, seeing Bill in the act of taking a treat all 
 to himself, got up from the boxes on which they had been 
 sitting and began to interview the new-comer. Bill gave 
 no heed to their insults, but just as he was in the act of 
 raising the glass to his lips one of the herders, anxious 
 to test the stranger's pluck, gave Bill such a sudden push 
 in the back that the liquid was dashed all over his face, 
 his hat fell off, and in the momentum he struck the 
 counter so hard that it was nearly turned over. 
 
 Without uttering a word Bill wheeled about and struck 
 the curiously inclined fellow a blow that sent him on the 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 97 
 
 fly over three or four boxes, and into the comer, where 
 he lay limp and bleeding like a stricken ox. The other 
 herders were now in for a fight and were bound to have 
 it ; Bill tried to pacify them and show the justification 
 of his act, but his mild language only excited them the 
 more. Seeing that some shooting had to be done, Bill 
 proposed to fight any four of the men with pistols at a 
 distance of five or fifteen paces, just as they might choose. 
 This proposition was readily accepted, with the provi- 
 sion that the bar-keeper should act as umpire, giving the 
 
 A Duel with Four Men. 
 
 word when to fire. A distance of fifteen paces was duly 
 marked off and the four men took positions five feet 
 apart, each party being allowed to shoot when the word 
 ; * fire" should be given, and then to advance and fire at 
 will. 
 
 The bar-keeper, who was a bald-headed, cross-eyed 
 specimen of uncivilized villainy, pronounced the affair a 
 delightful little sporting event, and with a doubtful smile 
 on his ugly face stood in the doorway of his saloon and 
 houted : 
 
 " Are you all ready? One, two, three fire ! " 
 
98 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Before the last word had died from his lips Bill had 
 killed the man on the left, but at the same time he re- 
 ceived a wound in the right shoulder which caused his 
 arm to fall uselessly by his side. It required but an 
 instant, however, to snatch the pistol in his left hand, 
 and being ambidextrous his fatal precision dropped the 
 other three men with as many shots. 
 
 Examination disclosed the fact that three of the men 
 were shot in the brain and must have died instantly ; the 
 other was struck in the right cheek and a large portion 
 of his jaw was carried away, but he survived, and was 
 living three years ago (1878) in Kansas City. The 
 names of the four men were Seth Beeber, Jim Slater, 
 Frank Dowder, and Jack Harkness, the latter being the 
 survivor of that terrible fight. 
 
 Bill's wound gave him much pain, but notwithstanding 
 this and the apparent kindness of the bar-keeper and 
 others in the saloon, who carefully bandaged the in- 
 jured limb, Bill very wisely concluded that the locality 
 was now decidedly too insalubrious for him to remain 
 thereabouts. On the same day he set out on his favorite 
 black " Nell " for Kansas City, where he arrived on the 
 29th of December, seven days after the fight occurred. 
 His wound had become very much worse owing to neg- 
 lect, and for two months he was confined to his room, 
 suffering great pain in the meantime, but before spring 
 his recovery was so far accomplished that he was able to 
 join the expedition against Black Kettle. 
 
 This expedition was organized to punish th.3 Chey- 
 ennes who had left their reservation and started upon a 
 career of brutal atrocities. They had murdered many 
 settlers in western Kansas, participating with then- 
 northern brothers in the dreadful massacre on the Re- 
 publican river, and then separating continued their dep 
 redations along the "VYachita and Canadian rivers t 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 
 
 Two commands, one under Gen. Primrose and the 
 other under Gen. Carr, were sent out after the perpetra- 
 tors of these malignant, inhuman crimes. Wild Bill was 
 made chief of scouts under the former, and Buffalo Bill 
 filled the same responsible position under Gen. Carr; 
 subsequently, however, the two commands were consoli- 
 dated, and Wild Bill was made first assistant chief of 
 scouts under Buffalo Bill. The Indians were hotly pur- 
 sued for more than one month before a decisive engage- 
 ment could be precipitated. Early in March, '69, the 
 Cheyennes were brought to bay on the north side of the 
 Wachita river, near the Antelople Hills in Indian Terri- 
 tory, and a memorable battle was the result. The In- 
 dians were found encamped in a thick woods, and so 
 strong was their position that the most desperate fighting 
 was required to dislodge them. Black Kettle, one of the 
 ablest chiefs that ever led a body of rapacious Cheyennes, 
 was in command of the Indians, and so powerful was his 
 very name that many renegades from the Arrapahoes and 
 Kiowas, under Little Raven and Satanta, had joined their 
 fortunes with him. The fight was begun by a charge 
 from the front under Primrose, while Carr executed a 
 simultaneous flank movement and attacked the Indians 
 in the rear with such force that they were driven from 
 their first position. This advantage the troops followed 
 up speedily, and though the loss had been very severe, 
 every man in the command felt the importance of now 
 doing his full duty, however great the sacrifice. The 
 woods resounded with the yells of charging squadrons, 
 and soon squads of Indians were flying from covert to 
 covert like frightened animals in a corral of hunters. 
 Wild Bill and Buffalo Bill were the heroes of that day, 
 and their deadly rifles did the execution of an entire com- 
 pany ; without regard for the danger they incurred, each 
 
 
100 OTROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 rode into the very midst of the Indians, and with such 
 destructive effect that they are credited with having killed 
 BO less than fifty of the red-skins. But it was reserved 
 for "Wild Bill to win the greater honor. Black Kettle, 
 realizing how disastrous had become the battle, sought 
 safety in precipitate flight ; but he was espied by Wild 
 Bill, who ran a gauntlet of spears, tomahawks and rifles, 
 and, catching the famous chief, plunged a bowie-knife 
 through his back and heart. But in performing this 
 desperate feat, Bill was struck through the left hip with 
 a spear and nearly unhorsed. So pressed was he by more 
 than a hundred Indians, that the trophy of a chief's scalp 
 could not be secured ; and but for the plucky aid of Buf- 
 falo Bill, who plunged in among the Indians and dealt 
 death with a lavish hand, Wild Bill would certainly have 
 been killed. His wound soon became so painful from the 
 effects of the poison with which the spear was dipped, 
 that after the battle was concluded it became necessary to 
 convey him back to Ft. Hays in an ambulance. The In- 
 dians were so badly beaten that very few escaped, and 
 those few soon afterward came in and surrendered. All 
 the squaws and children of the tribe were taken, among 
 the number being a sister of Black Kettle, who was after- 
 ward killed at Hays under peculiarly lamentable circum- 
 stances, as will be found described in the life of Capt. 
 Payne. 
 
 W'ild Bill's condition did not improve, and being in great 
 need of complete rest for some time in order to insure 
 recovery, he resolved to visit his old home in Illinois. 
 The wound received in his Nebraska duel had not yet 
 entirely healed, and the fistula formed from the cut 
 received in his fight with Conquering Bear was still sup- 
 purating and painful. 
 
 On the 3d of April Wild Bill returned to th* 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 108 
 
 home he had left in his approaching manhood, more 
 than thirteen years before. His aged mother was in the 
 doorway to welcome him, but there were so many changes 
 in the appearance of mother and son that only the same 
 hearts remained to give recognition. From the boy whose 
 prowess and adventure had never extended beyond the 
 occupation of wolf -scalping before his departure, James 
 Hickok had been transformed into " Wild Bill," whose 
 wonderful deeds were on the lips of every American and 
 had interested every reader of border history. The proph- 
 esy he made when first reading the life of Kit Carson had 
 been fulfilled and a world had recognized his intrepid 
 daring, his unexampled strategy and his peerless charac- 
 ter in the civilizing process through which the great West 
 was passing. He had returned, laden with his honors, to 
 rest a while under the roof which had sheltered his in- 
 fancy, and to stray along the Vermillion's banks, wooing 
 remembrance of his youthful days and looking backward 
 over the path which ambition had made him travel. Un- 
 der the loving care of his mother and affectionate kin- 
 dred, Wild Bill soon felt returning strength and conva- 
 lescence. 
 
 CHAPTEE YIII. 
 
 Two months passed pleasantly away with Bill, for from 
 the hard service he had so long endured, the delicate 
 attention he now received was like soothing balm to his 
 wounds, and there was a rapid recovery. But the rest- 
 less spirit soon became conscious of its restrictions in the 
 old home of his nativity, and with recovery came the 
 
104 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 desire for new adventures on the wild wilderness of the 
 Western prairies. Before returning West, he concluded 
 to visit one of his boyhood friends named Heman Bald- 
 win, who was a resident of Chicago. Upon reaching that 
 city Baldwin, having been apprised of his intended visit, 
 met Bill at the depot and gave him a warm reception, 
 after which the two drove around to the principal places 
 of interest, and Bill was introduced to several of the most 
 prominent gentlemen in the city. 
 
 On the evening of the second day after Bill's arrival in 
 Chicago, in the company of his friend Baldwin, he went 
 into the billiard hall that was attached to the St. James 
 hotel. Being dressed in the genuine garb of a frontiers- 
 man, buckskin clothes trimmed with leather fringe, he 
 naturally attracted much attention everywhere on the 
 streets, but at no place did the curiosity of Chicagoans 
 display itself so much as in the billiard hall ; men actu- 
 ally left off in the midst of their games to gaze enquir- 
 ingly at the singular stranger, and Bill soon found him- 
 self the cynosure of all eyes. 
 
 Among those who made up the crowd hi the saloon 
 were seven compatriots of hoodlumism, fellows whose 
 airy tongues, swaggering style, and noses bedizened with 
 the torch-light of whisky's ensign, indicated plainly their 
 belligerent and crime loving proclivities. They fixed 
 their gaze on Bill with curious interest until the seven 
 concluded it would afford them much satisfaction and re- 
 dound no little to their reputation to give the stranger a 
 severe threshing just by way of illustrating how tame 
 Chicago boys could handle the wild plainsman. 
 
 In order to introduce the social affray one of the party 
 accosted Bill in the following manner : 
 
 " Say, you, leather breeches, where did you come 
 from?" 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 105 
 
 " I came from a section of country where everybody 
 minds his own business, a place you never saw," re- 
 sponded Bill. 
 
 " Why, the Indian scalper is a little sharp ; but there 
 are some feathers in his wings that ought to be cut,'* 
 another of the roughs suggested. 
 
 To this second insult Bill paid no attention because he 
 anticipated the object of the crowd and was anxious to 
 avoid trouble. A third one, however, considering his 
 turn had come to say something witty, addressed Bill : 
 
 4 ' I suppose that everybody in your country dresses in 
 raw-hide and washes every morning in a pot of fresh 
 blood ; ain't that so, Wild-Bull-of-the-Woods ? ' ' 
 
 " Well, a country of that kind is better than the one 
 you came from, where there isn't a fellow who knows his 
 own father," replied Bill. 
 
 This cutting rebuke created a perfect tempest among 
 the irascible hoodlums. Another quickly walked to- 
 ward Bill and fairly spit out between his teeth the in- 
 quiry : 
 
 " Do you mean to say that our mothers are not honest 
 women ?' ' 
 
 " I mean," answered Bill, " if they are it was d d 
 bad business they got into when you were begotten." 
 
 The words were scarcely out of his mouth before the 
 bullies gathered billiard cues and assailed Bill with an ex- 
 pressed determination to take his scalp in a manner pe- 
 culiar to the lake-side city. 
 
 Although still lame and sore from the wounds 111 his hip 
 and arm, Bill forgot these in the fight which ensued. 
 In a second he had grabbed a cue, which was as quickly 
 broken convenient to his hand, and then the trouble be- 
 came at once very serious. The fight, in fact, was a 
 counterpart of Gilhooley's affair at Tim Finnigan's 
 
106 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 wake, when a shillalah was worth a crown a sc-coud. 
 Baldwin, Bill's friend, was, of course, engaged and did 
 splendid service as a reserve, wielding a cue with much 
 dexterity. Bill was struck several times on the head and 
 arms, one of the strokes cutting a long, deep gash in his 
 forehead, but he fought with the same cool desperation 
 which had brought him so much glory and a decisive 
 victory at Eock Creek. 
 
 At the end of ten minutes the seven Chicago braggarts 
 were extended on the floor, each nursing bruises and cuts 
 the evidence of which will abide with them thro ugh life. 
 They had thoroughly interviewed ' ' leather breeches ' ' 
 and definitely determined the product of that queer coun- 
 try from whence the stranger had come. They each felt 
 like the little barefooted boy who delivered a vicious 
 kick at an old plug hat only to find that under it were 
 purposely concealed three big bricks. 
 
 Bill returned to Troy Grove on the following morning 
 with his head well bandaged, wearing painful mementoes 
 of his Chicago visit. While recuperating before starting 
 for the West again, he received a letter from Vice-Presi- 
 dent Henry Wilson, as follows : 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C., May 17th, 1869. 
 JAMES B. HICKOK, ESQ. : 
 
 DEAR SIR : A party consisting of several gentlemen, 
 ladies and myself, desire to spend a few weeks in the far 
 West during the warm season, and I hope it will be our 
 fortune to secure your excellent services as our guide. I 
 have heard much concerning your wonderful exploits in 
 the West, and of such a character, too, as commend you 
 highly for efficiency in the scouting service of the govern- 
 ment. If it be possible for you to accompany our party 
 as guide some time during the following month, please 
 write me at once at Willard's Hotel, Washington, indi- 
 cating what compensation you will expect, and also from 
 what point in Kansas we had best start on the tour. I 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 107 
 
 shall leave to you the selection of a pleasant route, as 
 your general acquaintance with the places of interest be- 
 tween the Missouri river and Rocky Mountains better quali- 
 fies you for deciding the trip that promises the most at^ 
 tractions. 
 
 Hoping to hear from you at your earliest convenience, 
 I am, yours truly, 
 
 HENRY WILSON. 
 
 On receipt of this letter Wild Bill replied at some 
 length, giving Mr. Wilson a brief description of many in- 
 teresting places, a visit to which it would be profitable for 
 the party to make. He fixed his compensation at five 
 hundred dollars for the trip indicated in his descriptions, 
 and feeling sure of an acceptance of the proposition, he 
 made provision for returning west. In this connection it 
 is but proper that reference should be made to another 
 trip Bill had made as guide to a party of officials, durir 
 tvhich, however, no incidents of special interest occurr * 
 
 In the spring of 1866 a party of government officia^, 
 appointed in compliance with a special act of Congress 
 for the purpose, made a visit to all the Indian tribes then 
 on government reservations. Wild Bill was chosen to 
 guide this party, and acquitted himself so well that each 
 member of the commission paid him the highest compli- 
 ments. Henry M. Stanley, who has since distinguished 
 himself by his African explorations, accompanied 
 the commission as a special correspondent of the New 
 York Herald, and in that capacity he epitomized the life 
 of Wild Bill and sent many columns of matter to his 
 paper descriptive of the great scout's valor, quiet humor, 
 wonderful acumen as a guide and Indian trailer, and 
 above all his marvellous accuracy of aim. These stories 
 possessed much interest for readers of the Herald, and 
 in fact for readers generally, as they were all copied by 
 many other papers, and served to make the name of 
 
108 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Wild Bill as familiar as that of Daniel Boone and Davy 
 Crockett. Harper's Magazine devoted several pages to 
 a description of his adventures, a number of which were 
 appropriately illustrated. But it is only necessary to pay 
 a passing allusion to these facts, as the important inci- 
 flents are already given more fully in the preceding 
 pages. 
 
 OP tin twentieth of June the Wilson party, with Bill 
 as guide, left Hays City, well provided with teams, spring 
 vehicles, and a well stocked commissary. The gentlemen 
 in the party, with the exception of the Vice President, 
 were dressed, ghigularly enough, in a style of garments 
 peculiar to the Washington modes ; that is, tight-fitting 
 pants, cut-away coat? and stiff hats. Bill could not help 
 making some remarks a\>out this, to him, odd manner of 
 dress, especially as he sa^ how inconvenient, if not un- 
 comfortable, it must prove ^pon a journey of the char- 
 acter they were about to make. Mrs. Wilson and the 
 ladies had more wisely prepared themselves with easy, 
 unconventional dresses, at once evidencing the fact that 
 they appreciated the admiration of thoir escorts less than 
 the comforts they desired while traveling on the plains. 
 Mrs. Wilson being a woman of superior wit, and jolly 
 under almost any circumstances ; in fact the evanescent 
 life of a party, on the day of their departure engaged 
 Bill in an agreable conversation, and the two speedily 
 became well acquainted. "Now," said she to Bill, "you 
 are with an unsophisticated crowd of Yankees who know 
 just as much about life on the plains as they do about 
 the person who first discovered there was a man in the 
 moon; there is no doubt, too, but that some of these 
 younger ones are badly in love, and this only serves to 
 make their simplicity more apparent. I want you, 
 Mr. Hickok, to keep a_protecting eye on the party, 
 
UPE OF WILU BILfc, 
 
 109 
 
110 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 discover their good and indifferent points if you can, 
 determine which are most courageous, etc., and see that 
 none of them get into trouble." 
 
 Of course Wild Bill readily assented to this request 
 from so amiable and elegant a lady ; and the party set 
 out with bright prospects under his watchful guar- 
 dianship, traveled over a large extent of territory, camp- 
 ing at night beside cool streams, roamed through the 
 canons of the Arkansas, and visited the spot on Repub- 
 lican river where the Cheyennes had perpetrated one of 
 the most terrible massacres that is recorded in Indian 
 warfare. Bill interested the party in many ways, giving 
 them examples of his skillful marksmanship with pistol 
 and rifle, pointing out places memorable for some excit- 
 ing incident, and at night regaling them with stories of 
 his life. The weather was delightful during the entire 
 trip, game abundant and nothing occurred to mar the 
 perfect pleasure of anyone in the social expedition. 
 
 Nearly five weeks had slipped by before the party re- 
 turned to Hays City, but the time had been so pleas- 
 antly employed that there was a general regret expressed 
 for the termination of the tour. 
 
 On the day the tourists were to leave for the East the 
 Vice-President had a dinner prepared at the hotel, to 
 which Bill was invited, and at the conclusion of the feast 
 the distinguished head of the party addressed Bill in the 
 most complimentary language, referring to his reputation 
 and pronouncing him one of the characters most essential 
 in the settlement of the great West, where brave men 
 were needed to curb the ferocious elements met with hi 
 all new countries ; then opening a beautiful case contain- 
 ing two elegant ivory-handled pistols, he presented it to 
 Bill as a souvenir of " the most pleasant trip he (the Vica- 
 President) had ever made/ ' 
 
LIFE OF WTLD MIX. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Hays City was, at this time, one of the liveliest towns 
 on the frontier. It contained a population of nearly two 
 thousand souls, and nearly every "soul" in it was a 
 lively character. The people were essentially a sporting 
 
 The Principal Amusement at Hays City. 
 
 olase, with a gambling den for every dozen of the males, 
 and a saloon well, the whole town was practically a 
 drinking shop. Fights, murders and drunks were the 
 incidents which enlivened the otherwise stupid place 
 
112 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 not much stupidity about such a place, the reader will at 
 once decide. But in fact, outside of the demoralizing 
 deviltry of the citizens, Hays City was only a little spot 
 sitting uneasily in the centre of a quiet prairie. On Sun- 
 day, as well as on every other day, the voice of the keno 
 caller could be heard in its monotonous cadence, as well 
 also as the exclamation " O ! shucks," from those whose 
 numbers were all crossed but one. Faro had its vo- 
 taries even more numerous than keno, and the street 
 walker could any time hear the euphonious refrain, " I'll 
 copper on the tray/' or, " busted ag'in, gimme a drink." 
 
 It was a singular civilization, that of Hays City in the 
 fall of 1869, and as every one enjoyed the sensation of 
 hourly expecting a call from an enemy bent on fight, the 
 population consented to have a marshal, whose services 
 they expected would be that of a mutual protector, guard- 
 ing one enemy from the surprises of another. 
 
 Wild Bill being universally regarded as the very per- 
 sonification of reckless courage, and therefore being ac- 
 cordingly popular, w r as elected City Marshal of Hays 
 City on the 8th of September, 1869. He went into of- 
 fice at once, and while every disorderly character consid- 
 ered himself exempt from interference, he nevertheless 
 expected the marshal to interfere with every other per- 
 son, so that there was great satisfaction felt, and really 
 salutary influences were looked forward to, in the newly 
 created office. 
 
LIFE Or WILD BILL. IIS 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 DIEBCTLY after assuming his official duties Bill was 
 called to perform an act which involved the destruction 
 of one of the most noted desperadoes on the border, 
 Jack Strawhan, who had started a half-dozen fresh 
 graveyards in as many different places, and boasted of his 
 ability to clean out Hays City and its new marshal. 
 
 Some years before the occurrence about to be related 
 took place, Capt. Kingsbury, at that time sheriff of Ells- 
 worth county, had occasion to arrest Strawhan for violent 
 conduct and outrages committed in the town of Ells- 
 worth. But the desperado was too powerful for one man 
 to handle ; besides his herculean strength he was well 
 armed and quick to use his weapons. Knowing this Capt. 
 Kingsbury called his deputy, named Charles Whitney, 
 and also Wild Bill, who chanced to be in Ellsworth at 
 the time, to his assistance. The three approached 
 Strawhan in such a manner that he saw resistance would 
 result in his certain death, and therefore quietly sub- 
 mitted to arrest. But as there was no jail in Ellsworth 
 he was tied securely for a short while until manacles 
 could be provided. 
 
 During the time of arrest Strawhan made oath by 
 declaration that he would kill Wild Bill, Whitney and 
 Kingsbury when the first opportunity offered, and the 
 character of the man justified belief that his public threat 
 would be carried into execution. 
 
 Learning that Bill was discharging the duties of City 
 Marshal at Hays City, Strawhan paid a special visit to 
 that place with the avowed purpose of getting even with 
 him, a warning which soon reached the ears of his in- 
 tended victim. 
 7 
 
114 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 On the nineteenth of October, 1869, while Bill was in 
 Tommy Drum's saloon with a party of friends, his 
 alert eye caught the form of Strawhan entering the 
 room by a side door. As his acquaintance with the 
 desperado had never extended beyond the circumstantial 
 meeting in Ellsworth, Bill appeared to take no notice of 
 him, though in fact the quick glances of his watch- 
 ful eyes kept him duly informed of every movement his 
 enemy made. Strawhan strolled up toward the bar in 
 an apparently indifferent manner until within ten feet of 
 Bill, when, conceiving that his opportunity had arrived, 
 he jerked out a heavy navy pistol, but when in the act of 
 raising it, Bill, with lightning-like quickness, drew one 
 of his small derringers, and with the same movement sent 
 a slug squarely into Strawhan' s left eye and through the 
 brain. The shot was so instantly fatal that the man was 
 stone dead on his feet, falling forward on his face without 
 even a twitch of the muscles. Without giving the slight- 
 est heed to his desperate work Bill turned to the bar and 
 extended the familiar invitation to all in the house : 
 " Come up, boys, let's all take a drink," and it is only a 
 fitting conclusion to this description of an " official exe- 
 cution " to say, that none in the saloon refused. 
 
 The body of Strawhan was " sat on " by a " crowu- 
 er's jury," the verdict of v-'hich was, " served him right, 
 and so we declare." 
 
 At night some of the boys got up an improvised string 
 band and gave Bill a serenade in true "Western style, 
 which ended, as did everything else in Hays City at that 
 time, in a general free-for-all drunk, with a few bad 
 fights by way of spice for the occasion. 
 
 Whitney did not die by the hands of Strawhan, but in 
 1873 he became engaged in a brawl with a Texas despe- 
 rado named Ben Thompson, in which he was shot to 
 
LITE or WILD BH&, 115 
 
 death. Capt. Kingsbury is still living in Kansas City, 
 respected by all who know him. 
 
 In December following the event just narrated, Hays 
 City became the objective point of Bill Mulvey, a no- 
 torious thug, prize fighter, cut-throat and demoralized 
 character generally, whose home was in St. Joseph, Mo. 
 Mulvey was a "terror" in his own neighborhood and 
 had fallen into the pernicious custom of running St. Joe 
 whenever his skin became thoroughly impregnated with 
 whisky, which was, generally, on an average of seven 
 times a week. When Mulvey reached Hays City he 
 wanted only a few drinks of that tantalizing, heroizing, 
 belligerent liquid peculiar to the far West, to put him in 
 proper condition for carrying out his old custom in the 
 new town, and he was not long in supplying the want. 
 
 It may be proper to explain here that, while every per- 
 son in Hays was a "bad crowd" on general principles, 
 yet there was no single individual in the place who had 
 ever assumed the responsibility of running the town , or 
 believed he was equal to such an undertaking. But Bill 
 Mulvey was an importation, and therefore excusable for 
 arrogating to himself a capacity which no man indig- 
 enous to the place thought of claiming. 
 
 When Mulvey got up a pressure of about three hun- 
 dred pounds to the square inch he moved in his old style, 
 and began howling like a Dervish, swearing like a recent 
 senator from Missouri, and making the town shake with 
 resolutions to clean out every "son of a whale " who 
 showed himself on the streets. Not satisfied with threat- 
 ening, he secured a club and began a promiscuous on- 
 slaught on windows, boxes, doors and everything he could 
 find that was breakable. At length a constable and jus- 
 tice of the peace trained their official batteries on him. 
 and tried to place him under arrest, but with such poor 
 
116 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 success that their prisoner brought up Ms reserve and 
 with raised club ran the two dignitaries nearly a mile out 
 of town. 
 
 Things were now getting altogether too interesting for 
 comf oil, for Mulvey, emboldened by his successful raid on 
 the two officers, took possession of the town so completely 
 that wherever he went there seemed to be, judging from 
 the ready obedience everyone yielded him, a perfect 
 resignation to his authority. At the time these depre- 
 dations were being committed Wild Bill was in another 
 part of the town and did not learn of Mulvey 's dis- 
 turbances until the west end was given over to his 
 pleasure. Word was brought to Bill, by a little boy, 
 concerning the troubles of citizens dealing with the des- 
 perado, and going at once to the place of difficulty he 
 soon found Mulvey, who had a pistol in each hand and 
 was still yelling like a tribe of victorious Comanches* 
 Approaching him in a quiet manner Wild Bill said : 
 
 " Stranger, I shall have to arrest you for disorderly 
 conduct ; come with me." 
 
 Eaising his two pistols in Bill's face Mulvey replied : 
 
 " Well, now stranger, suppose you come with me, 1 
 
 e> 
 
 hold the winning hand." 
 
 "That's so," responded Bill, "I can't beat thai 
 pair." 
 
 " No, I guess you can't, and since you are so fresh h 
 will be a good thing for me to hang you up till you dry. 
 March I" was the command given by Mulvey. 
 
 Before Bill turned he backed off two or three step! 
 and raising his hand as if to warn Mulvey against an at- 
 tack about to be made on him from the rear, said : 
 
 " Don't hit him boys, he's only in fun." 
 
 The strategy was perfectly successful, for Mulvey in* 
 mediately turned about expecting to confront a new ad 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL* 117 
 
 versary, but this act was the last in his career, for "Wild 
 Bill secured the drop in an instant and shot Mulvey in 
 the head, killing him with that rare skill for which he 
 was remarkable. 
 
 Everyone in Hays rejoiced at the result of Bill Mul- 
 vey 's " big tear," and instead of holding an inquest over 
 the dead body it was at once carted out to the nearest 
 burying spot and slung into a hole. Wild Bill was con- 
 gratulated with words full of unctious flattery and the 
 citizens directly wanted to see him elevated to the highest 
 pinnacle of fame, for they observed that he was civilizing 
 and protecting the neighborhood. 
 
 The duties of marshal were easy enough foi several 
 months after the killing of Strawhan and Mulvey. Bill 
 was regarded with great popularity as a conservator of 
 the peace, without specially interfering with the morale 
 of the town ; his acts met with great favor because they 
 were recognized as the execution of a stern but whole* 
 some justice. 
 
 During the campaigns of 1869-70 Gen. Phil. Sheridan 
 had his headquarters at Ft. Hays, a station one mile west 
 of Hays City. After the success of the Indian expeditions 
 along the Wachita, Arickaree Fork and Canadian rivers, 
 the troops returned to Ft. Hays, making a garrison for 
 the time being of about two thousand soldiers. These 
 enlisted men paid frequent visits to the town, and soon 
 became the source of no small annoyance, as they were in 
 the habit of filling up on pioneer whisky and then turn- 
 ing things literally inside out. Wild Bill had arrested 
 several of the more turbulent soldiers from time to time, 
 which developed a bitter hatred on the part of the men 
 again st him . He anticipated trouble from these unreason- 
 able, reckless volunteers, and was constantly prepared for 
 emergencies. 
 
118 HEBOES Or THE PLAINS. 
 
 On the 12th of February, 1870, a body of soldiers 
 visited Hays and began their usual orgies, which, of 
 course, called for Wild BilPs interference. Among the 
 disturbers of the peace was a large, double-jointed ser- 
 geant from the Seventh U. S. Cavalry, who had a goodly 
 reputation as a boss shoulder-striker, and his ability to 
 * * curry ' ' the best man in the regiment was generally 
 conceded. This fellow (whose name is not given in Bill's 
 diary for the reason, perhaps, that he never learned it), on 
 the day named, was in Paddy Welch's saloon smashing up 
 things with an abandon which did him infinite credit as a 
 desperate character. Wild Bill learned of the disturb- 
 ance and was soon at his post of duty. Soldiers were 
 standing around watching the hilarious occupation of 
 their sergeant and evidently enjoying the privilege of 
 practicing any deviltry their fancy dictated. Bill walked 
 into the saloon and laid his hand on the sergeant, at the 
 same time repeating his invariable command : * ' Stran- 
 ger, I shall have to arrest you for disorderly conduct ; 
 come with me." 
 
 The sergeant, taken by surprise at what he conceived 
 to be a piece of remarkable cheek and impudence, re- 
 sponded : 
 
 " How much do you weigh, Mr. Long Hair?" 
 
 ** 1 weigh only one hundred and sixty-five pounds/' 
 replied Bill, " when I'm in a good humor, but my fight- 
 ing size is a fraction more than a ton ; you come along 
 with me." 
 
 "Hold on !" said the sergeant, " I'm not going with 
 you just now ; but I'll tell you what I will do : I'll fight 
 you a fair fight right here in front of this saloon, and if 
 you lick me then I'm your meat, but if I lick you then 
 you're my meat ; how do you like the proposition, eh?" 
 
 Before Bill could reply more than a dozen soldiers sur- 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 121 
 
 rounded the two men and began shouting: " Fight, 
 fight, let 'em fight," etc., so that but one of two alter- 
 natives was left, either get out of the crowd like a coward, 
 or fight like the brave man he was. It was therefore 
 agreed that Bill and the sergeant should leave their 
 weapons with Paddy Welch and engage in a fair battle to 
 determine squarely their respective claims to the other's 
 "meat." 
 
 Although the sergeant was much larger, he was by no 
 means a match for Bill. When the two men faced each 
 other, stripped of theiv coats, they showed abundant 
 mettle and lost no time ia getting to work. The ser- 
 geant led off, but made euch a bad miscue that his right 
 eye lit heavily against Bill's fist and his nose followed 
 suit countering against the kick of the marshal's second 
 blow. Bill fought all round him, and in less than half 
 a minute had the big sergeant down in a dreadfully de- 
 moralized condition. Fourteen of the soldiers seeing 
 their ofiicer in the grip of a threshing machine with small 
 chance of getting out without much assistance, ran in 
 and began to club and stone Bill. Paddy Welch, realiz- 
 ing the great danger of his friend, at the imminent risk 
 of his own life gathered up Bill's pistols and, pushing 
 through the crowd, succeeded in placing them in their 
 owner's hands. Now the fun did begin with renewed in- 
 terest. Bang ! and with the discharge down went one of 
 the boldest soldiers. Then the crowd shouted, "Look 
 out ! he's got a pistol !" but before they got away, two 
 more of their number were shot dead The remaining 
 soldiers then drew their pistols and began firing with 
 such accuracy that Bill was struck no less than seven 
 times. He retreated firing, wounding three more of his 
 antagonists, which permitted him to escape by swimming 
 Smoky river. When he reached the other side, how- 
 
122 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 ever, his wounds gave him so much pain that, fairly drag^ 
 ging his injured body to a buffalo wallow, he secreted him- 
 self therein and tore up his clothes to bandage his hurts. 
 Three balls had passed through his arms, three more en- 
 tered the fleshy parts of his legs, and one had penetrated 
 the flesh of his left side. None of these wounds were 
 serious provided they could have received proper atten- 
 tion, but he was now compelled to undergo an exposure 
 which not one man in a thousand, perhaps, could survive. 
 While on his feet the blood had run down into his boots 
 until they were nearly full ; he was, therefore, compelled 
 to cut them off, especially as one of the wounds was in 
 the calf of his leg which the boot top rubbed, producing 
 the most violent pain. Bill lay in the wallow for two 
 days, so stiffened and in such agony from his injuries 
 that he could not summon up courage to attempt a 
 change. The weather was very cold in the meantime, 
 and from this he suffered as much as from the wounds ; 
 his clothes the few that remained on him were frozen 
 to the ground, and the bandages, now stiff from frozen 
 blood, seemed to gnaw at his injuries like ingenious in- 
 struments of torture. 
 
 On the third day, half -frozen, weak from loss of blood 
 and fasting, sore in every muscle, and suffering from the 
 most poignant anguish, Wild Bill arose, with the 
 crotcheting motion of Eip Van Winkle from twenty 
 years of sleeping, and by dint of incomparable resolution 
 gained his feet. But being unable to put on his boots he 
 wrapped his undershirt about his feet and struggled 
 away from that bed of terrible suffering. Moving at a 
 painfully slow pace he nevertheless managed to reach 
 Ben Williams' ranche, five miles from Hays, and there he 
 remained under the care of a kind friend for several 
 days* 
 
LIFE OF WILL BILL. 
 
 Knocking at the cabin door where Williams lived, his 
 friend answered the summons, but, with a startled look, 
 said : ' Why, my God ! Bill, what is the matter ? Come 
 in and tell me what I can do for you." 
 
 " Well, Ben," slowly responded Bill, " I am in a bad 
 fix ; shot all to pieces and suffering worse than I did with 
 them hurts I got up at Rock Creek. Didn't you hear of 
 the fight up at Hays, three days ago? " 
 
 "Yes," replied Williams, " I heard about the fight, 
 but I never knew you got shot ; I am afraid, Bill, they 
 will catch you here, for they are scouring the country for 
 you." 
 
 " Why, who is after me now? " eagerly enquired Bill. 
 
 " Good gracious I oldpard," replied Williams, " don't 
 you know that Gen. Sheridan has ordered out a whole 
 company with instructions to bring you in dead or alive ? ' ' 
 
 "No," answered Bill, "is that so? Well, they can 
 take me here, then, for I can't go any further ; I'm almost 
 dead from pain and hunger." 
 
 " They'll not take you if I can prevent it; I've 
 got an old pallet up in the loft of this cabin, and I guess 
 they'll hardly find you up there," were the assuring 
 words of Williams. 
 
 Bill was at once assisted up a ladder that stood in a 
 corner of the cabin, and he there lay secreted and was 
 properly cared for by his friend for more than three 
 weeks. 
 
 It transpired that Bill had effected his escape from the 
 soldiers without any of them supposing he was wounded, 
 and after Gen. Sheridan had issued his stern order to 
 capture and bring in the daring marshal " dead or alive," 
 it was reasonably supposed that only a long chase would 
 accomplish that result; consequently the soldiers who 
 were sent after Bill did not look for him in the immedi- 
 
124 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 ate vicinity, and were therefore unable to execute the 
 order. 
 
 After nearly a month of hiding, under the care of Wil- 
 liams, Bill had so far recovered that he left the ranche 
 in the company of his friend Whitney and went to Ells- 
 worth. But through fear of detection at this point, he 
 left there in a box car on the Kansas Pacific road and 
 went to Junction City, where he remained until his 
 wounds had entirely healed. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE vicinity of Hays City being decidedly insalubri- 
 ous, Wild Bill, after casting about some time for a con- 
 genial and remunerative occupation, at length decided 
 upon a novel speculation, in the firm belief that he saw a 
 fortune awaiting him in such an engagement. He rightly 
 divined that Niagara Falls was a place of popular resort 
 for fashionable people and that these visitors, having 
 plenty of money, were willing to pay liberally for their 
 amusement. Now, thought he, what could afford so 
 much interest as a buffalo chase real, shaggy, untamed 
 buffaloes, with Comanche Indians to lead the sport? The 
 idea did appear pregnant with large profit, and but for 
 some mismanagement would, no doubt, have paid very 
 handsomely. 
 
 Having made up his mind, Bill at once determined to 
 secure six fine buffalos and four Comanche Indians, and 
 with this outfit he proposed to visit Niagara during the 
 summer. Accordingly, in May, he set out for the buf- 
 falo feeding grounds on the Republican river, intent upon 
 the capture of animals for the forthcoming exhibit^***. 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 125 
 
 Reaching Culbertson, a small village in Nebraska, now 
 the county seat of Hitchcock county, Bill employed three 
 assistants and with them went southwest one hundred 
 miles. Here he found a large herd of buffaloes grazing 
 on the prairie a few miles north of Beaver Creek and 
 made ready for the capture. 
 
 A very laughable circumstance was connected with the 
 exploit about to be related. Bill had killed scores of 
 buffaloes, understood their habits and was an expert 
 hunter, but he had never undertaken to capture one of 
 these huge, unwieldy animals alive. After duly consid- 
 ering the matter, he adopted the most ludicrous scheme 
 that ever entered a man's mind. He knew that a drove 
 of horses could be easily managed by tying their heads 
 together, and this knowledge prompted him to use the 
 same means for controlling the desired number of buf- 
 falos. 
 
 In pursuance of his resolution, he prepared a number 
 of lassoes and, having everything ready, started on a 
 fleet horse for the drove. By riding and driving judi- 
 ciously, he soon got into the center of the herd, which 
 numbered about five hundred, but with all his persever- 
 ance he could not satisfactorily adjust his lassoes, on 
 account of the low position in which a running buffalo 
 carries his head. Seeing that little could be accomplished 
 while on horseback, he decided to abandon his horse and 
 ride the buffaloes, which were pressed so closely together 
 that he could easily slide from one to the other. Acting 
 upon this determination, he removed the bridle from his 
 horse, so that the reins might not fall and become entan- 
 gled in the feet of the horse or the buffaloes, and with his 
 gun in one hand and lassos in the other, he jumped upon 
 the nearest buffalo. But now finding his gun an encum- 
 brance, he rode the buffalo while tying the gun on his 
 
126 HEROES OP THE PLAINS 
 
 back, and then began the adjustment ot his laiaoes. 
 Bill presented a most comical appearance astride of a 
 lumbering bull, which plunged and snorted with fright 
 as though Satan himself were breaking him in. But the 
 work of maintaining a proper position, while managing 
 his gun and lassoes, was a trulj perplexing and difficult 
 task to Bill, which only one accomplished in expert horse- 
 manship could possibly perform. The assistants kept 
 pace behind, laughing at the rare sport now developing, 
 and feeling pretty certain that the fun must continue for 
 some time, as Bill had worked into the herd until they 
 could see no means for escape out of the rushing ava- 
 lanche, unless he could shoot an open furrow through the 
 stampeded buffaloes . But he had only one gun and his pair 
 of pistols, so this idea was impracticable, and with this 
 reflection Bill's assistants grew suddenly grave over the 
 possibility of his destruction. They therefore rode around 
 the herd, shouting and shooting, with the hope of sepa- 
 rating them, but Bill objected to this ; shouting through 
 the dust and roar of the affrighted animals, " Keep back ; 
 let 'em run, and I'll lariat the whole drove. " 
 
 After riding a buffalo thus furiously for several miles, 
 and having become far removed from his horse, that was 
 running with the herd, Bill concluded, since it was quite 
 impossible to throw the lasso successfully, that he would 
 place his lariats around the horns of at least six large 
 buffaloes running abreast, and take his chances for getting 
 out from his uncomfortably close position, and securing 
 his prize afterward. 
 
 It was a comparatively easy matter for him to thus se- 
 cure the required number of animals, though the security 
 extended no further than binding their heads together. 
 But he reasoned rightly that the six thus tied, being 
 unable to freely move their heads, would soon tire and 
 
LITE OF WILD BILL. 127 
 
 become separated from the herd, a supposition which was 
 soon verified. Then his assistants came up, seeing him 
 ride one of the selected buffaloes, and throwing a long 
 lasso the animals were soon in the grip of their captors. 
 Bill's horse was easily recovered, for the moment the 
 herd separated he returned to the horses ridden by Bill's 
 assistants 
 
 It was a long way back to a settlement, however, and 
 a much greater distance to a railroad station. How to 
 drive the buffaloes was then the conundrum. It was 
 finally determined that two men should ride on each side 
 of the herd with lassoes attached so as to pull the buf- 
 faloes in any required direction. But the brutes proved 
 unruly as a contrary pig, and ran from one side to the 
 other, backward and forward, until the horses and men 
 were tired out. To obtain a necessary rest, the buffaloes 
 were tied to a tree and kept there for nearly two hours, 
 until the horses had been fed, watered and well rested. 
 During this breathing spell the idea occurred to one of 
 the assistants that the buffaloes would drive much better 
 if they were hobbled. " Well," said Bill, when the sug- 
 gestion was made, "it is singular I hadn't thought of 
 that before ; suppose you prepare some hobbles and put 
 them on.'' 
 
 But he was not so much surprised at the suggestion as 
 he sought to make his assistants believe, for it was the 
 hope that some of his men would try the experiment that 
 prompted him to reply in the manner he did. 
 
 One of the men was a herder and understood hobbling 
 a steer or mule, but it is, nevertheless, certain that he did 
 not know anything about hobbling buffaloes until after 
 his first experience. Having everything prepared he 
 approached one of the animals which, though its head 
 was fast, had the free use of its hind quarters. Just as 
 
128 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 the cow-boy was in the act of slipping the noose around 
 the buffalo's fore-leg the brute whirled its quarters 
 and planted its hind foot on the shoulder of the aston- 
 ished hobbler. Did you ever see a professional tumbler 
 turn backward handsprings around a circus ring, observ- 
 ing how rapidly he revolved ? That cow-bow resembled 
 an expert tumbler for all the world. He just literally 
 got up and spun through the air, as though he had been 
 reeled off a spinning-wheel by a country maid. And 
 when he lit there stood the* buffalo about fifteen feet 
 away looking as demure and melancholy as though he had 
 lost his hind leg more than a week before. These men 
 never laughed more heartily nor did one ever feel so 
 grieviously humbled as was that quartette of buffalo 
 catchers. The animals were not hobbled. 
 
 After two weeks of the most tedious work the six buf- 
 faloes were brought to Ogallala, and from thence over 
 the Union Pacific to Omaha, where they were kept until 
 Bill could conclude arrangements with the necessary 
 number of Comanche Indians, of southern Indian Terri- 
 tory. Four excellent specimens of that tribe were 
 secured, one of whom had a cinnamon bear and another 
 a large monkey ; as these two animals were deemed 
 curiosities which might be advantageously used in the 
 Niagara entertainment, they were also engaged, and the 
 menagerie moved from Omaha for Niagara Falls on the 
 twenty-second of June. 
 
 After reaching his destination Wild Bill set about con- 
 cluding arrangements for the entertainment. A large lot 
 of ground was secured on the Canadian shore and a suit- 
 able enclosure erected. During the time these prepara- 
 tions were being made the Indians exhibited their bear 
 and monkey, deriving considerable profit therefrom. 
 
 The ohas being duly advertised for the 20th of July, 
 
LITE OF WILD BILL. 
 
 129 
 
 an immense crowd of people assembled to witness the 
 novel sight. As the enclosure was necessarily very large, 
 Bill did not deem it advisable to build a high board fence 
 to obstruct an outside view, thinking that the people who 
 were interested in the exhibition would contribute quite 
 as liberally if he passed his hat around among them. 
 
 The Aboriginal Part of the Outfit. 
 
 The buffaloes were brought out in cages and at the 
 appointed time were turned loose, with the Indians, who 
 were decked in war paint, leather breeches and eagle 
 feathers, in full pursuit, mounted on ponies. Several 
 gentlemen, visitors at the Falls, having provided them- 
 
130 HEBOES 10F THE 
 
 selves with horses, also entered the chase, and a hundred 
 yelping pet curs and poodles lent their assistance to make 
 the occasion excitingly interesting. The Indians, yelling 
 as only Comanches can, chased the affrighted huff aloes 
 round and round the enclosure, showing at the same time 
 their superb horsemanship, by executing the most difficult 
 feats, to the great delight of the crowd. During the 
 chase Bill moved among the spectators with his big som- 
 brero extended, giving every one a chance to contribute. 
 But after filing and pushing through the assemblage of 
 nearly five thousand people, he emerged with the pro- 
 ceeds of his expensive exhibition, and found that the en 
 tire contribution amounted to just $123.86 ; the expenses 
 at the same time were $1,279.30, leaving a balance sheet 
 showing a loss of more than $1,000. 
 
 When the Indians had returned again with the recap- 
 tured buffaloes, Bill was confronted with a bill of 
 expenses novel but importunate. During the excite- 
 ment the bear had been left muzzled and tied to a stake, and 
 the monkey in his cage. Of course these curiosities had 
 their votaries, and some one, in a spirit of mischief, had 
 removed the muzzle and unloosed the bear, hoping to get 
 up a counter attraction in the meantime . The mischievous 
 fellow, whoever he was, did not suffer a disappointment. 
 There was a heavy bearded Italian in the crowd selling 
 Vienna sausages, and another dressed in sailor's garb 
 stood on a box singing songs, for which he expected a 
 small consideration. When the peddler came up near the 
 bear the smell of fresh sausage was too much for the 
 hungry animal to forego investigating, and being loose, 
 he turned quickly on the Italian with the intention of 
 capturing the savory meats. The poor feDow, frightened 
 to the limit of his senses, let go his platter and tried to 
 , but the bear grabbed him in its large paws and tore 
 
OF WTU> BILL. 
 
 his checked overshirt into shreds, though giving his body 
 only a few scratches. Some of the bystanders rushed to 
 Ihe rescue, and one bolder than the rest seized the bear 
 
 The Bear and the Sausages. 
 
 in his arms and held it fast until the sausage man recov- 
 ered the full use of his heels. Having been raised from 
 a small cub by its Indian owner, the bear developed no 
 
132 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 dangerous qualities and was tied again without difficulty. 
 
 When Bill came in he was told of the side-show which, 
 had opened doors during the chase, and the trembling 
 Italian greeted him with a demand for damages. After 
 some parleying Bill purchased a new shirt for the irate 
 but still badly scared fellow and then exhausted his de- 
 tective ability in an effort to discover who unloosed the 
 bear but he failed signally. 
 
 The pecuniary failure of the buffalo chase now brought 
 with it many troubles for Bill. He had not only spent 
 every cent he could raise inaugurating the enterprise, but 
 still owed sundry bills for hotel accommodations, care 
 for his animals and entertainment for the Indians. He 
 was hopelessly " busted," and just there, as if to add 
 insult to his other mortifications, a dapper Englishman, 
 wearing a single eye-glass, sauntered up to him and su- 
 perciliously accosted him with : 
 
 " See 'ere, my friend, h'are you h'an Indian h'or a 
 white man?" 
 
 In a perfect frenzy Bill struck the impudent foreigner 
 a blow in the glass eye that sent him plowing up the 
 ground ten feet away, following the blow with the re- 
 mark : 
 
 " That's the kind of a man I am ; do you want to ex- 
 tend the acquaintance any further?" 
 
 I 4 " is only proper to state, in order to satisfy the cu- 
 riosity of the reader, that the Englishman manifested no 
 disposition to become better acquainted, as the intimacy 
 had already been disagreeably close. 
 
 Being unable to satisfy any of the demands made 
 against him, Bill was left no other recourse than that of 
 transferring the ownership of his buffaloes. The Indians 
 were compelled to part company with their bear and 
 monkey. With the balance left them, after paying all 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 133 
 
 bills, they were enabled to accompany Bill back to Kan- 
 sas, and return to their reservation. The pleasure of the 
 trip, which had enabled them to see so much of the white 
 man's civilization, seemed to fully satisfy them for their 
 services, for they made no demand on their employer for 
 compensation. 
 
 When Wild Bill reached Kansas he found, to his de- 
 light, that Gen. Sheridan and the Seventh U. S. Cavalry 
 had left Hays City, and he was, therefore, relieved of 
 any apprehensions regarding his personal safety in that 
 section of country. It was his intention, after learning 
 this fact, to resume his duties at Hays, provided he 
 could again secure the office of marshal ; but, stopping 
 at Abilene a few days to see some friends, he was sur- 
 prised by an offer to make him marshal of that place. 
 As the salary was entirely satisfactory Bill concluded to 
 accept the position, especially since adverse circumstances 
 had entirely exhausted his exchequer and immediate oc- 
 cupation was therefore essentially necessary. 
 
 When Bill became the custodian of the peace at Hays 
 City he found a town just about as full of iniquity as he 
 thought it possible to discover on the continent; but 
 while Hays was only comfortably full of the Devil's emis- 
 saries, Abilene was running over and bursting out at the 
 side with the very double distilled essence of depravity. 
 The town, with less than one thousand permanent resi- 
 dents, was filled with so much vileness that the very at- 
 mosphere appeared impregnated with the odor of abomi- 
 nation ; murder ran riot, drunkenness was the rule, gam- 
 bling a universal pastime, fighting a recreation, and the 
 mischief to pay generally the engrossing occupation. 
 
 There was one chief reason why Abilene reveled in 
 greater wickedness than any other Kansas town, and her 
 citizens are in a measure excusable because they were 
 
134 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 helpless. The place was one of much importance, owiug 
 to the fact that it had become the central shipping point 
 for the cattle raised in Texas, New Mexico and Indian 
 Territory. Every day great herds of cattle were driven 
 in, and accompanying the herds were scores of reckless 
 cow-boy sand owners, who regarded nothing with so much 
 
 as the meanest brands of fighting whisky. After 
 filling the pens these men invariably traveled to some 
 saloon, on as straight a line as the honey-laden bee, and 
 like a dry fish thrown back into its element, they absorbed 
 vitriol-adulterated liquids until some desperate act was 
 
UFE OF WILD BILL. 135 
 
 almost certain to conclude the spree. The large cattle 
 transactions at the pens made money abundant at Abilene, 
 and as money is the root of all evil, every one in the place 
 managed to secure a large portion of the root. Gambling 
 followed as a consequence, and, preserving the natural 
 sequence, shooting and stabbing became of daily occur- 
 rence. 
 
 This was the condition of society in Abilene when 
 Wild Bill received his commission and began to carry a 
 club as the insignia of his office. Of course there was 
 much in his favor, for, though rhapsodizing sentimental- 
 ists may enquire, "What's in a name?" it was very ap- 
 parent that in the name of Wild Bill many bullies intui- 
 tively saw a grim harbinger of their fate if their carnival 
 of crime remained unchecked. 
 
 Among the most desperate men on the border, who had 
 killed several men and " stampeded " nearly all the West- 
 ern towns, was a small, black-eyed, prof essional gambler, 
 named Phil Cole. He had no regular abiding place, but 
 striking Abilene he found that town so well suited to his 
 calling and disposition that, to use a Western phrase, 
 "he got his washing done in that hole" for several 
 months. 
 
 Within two days after Bill's appointment as marshal, 
 Phil Cole, in company with another desperado named 
 Jack Harvey, got on one of his accustomed tears, and 
 regardless of the new officer, he began his usual indis- 
 criminate destruction of property, smashing windows, 
 kicking in doors, insulting women, firing his pistol, and 
 sundry other malicious acts which demanded Bill's inter- 
 ference. Jack Harvey was a companion of Cole in all 
 these villainous proceedings and the two were permitted 
 the free exercise of their devilish proclivities until Bill, 
 m company with his deputy, Jim Me Williams, put in an 
 
136 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 objection. McWilliams was well acquainted with Cole 
 and knew that some one would get badly hurt unless the 
 gambler could be pacified. Approaching him in a 
 friendly spirit he tried to induce Cole to give up his pis- 
 tols, but in doing this Bill, standing off a few feet, 
 ordered the gambler to surrender. This order only 
 served to precipitate the conflict, for Cole immediately 
 
 Wild Bill Accidentally Kills a Friend. 
 
 fired at Bill, but as McWilliams had hold of his arm th* 
 shot proved ineffectual. Bill now drew his own pistol 
 and fired at Cole, but at the same instant the gambler in 
 wrestling with McWilliams threw him in front in such 
 manner that the faithful deputy received the bullet in his 
 heart and fell over dead. Cole now again raised his pis- 
 tol, but er ha pulled the trigger a shot from Bill' a 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 137 
 
 weapon penetrated the gambler's brain, marking him for 
 the second victim. Up to this time Jack Harvey had re- 
 mained a mute spectator of the tragic proceedings, but 
 seeing his partner in the agonies of death he pulled his 
 pistol and fired at Bill, the ball passing through his hat 
 and cutting off a lock of hair. But this proved Harvey's 
 last shot; he had falsely reckoned, and for it paid the 
 usual penalty. The smoke had hardly swept out of the 
 muzzle of his weapon when the deadly aim of Wild Bill 
 accomplished its work. Poor Jack, a good fellow under 
 ordinary circumstances, forfeited his right to Bill's clem- 
 ency and when he went down there was a bullet-hole 
 through his heart. 
 
 No act of Bill's whole life ever caused him such an- 
 guish of mind, such poignant grief, as the accidental 
 killing of Me Williams. The two had been old friends 
 bosom friends in fact and that his death should come 
 in such a manner was abundant reason for the inex- 
 pressible sorrow Bill felt. Years afterward tears would 
 start instantly in Bill's eyes at the mention or remem- 
 brance of his friend's death. 
 
 The killing of Cole was regarded by the community as 
 a " Christian act," because it was like ridding the coun- 
 try of a ferocious and destructive beast ; but to make the 
 act yet more righteous Bill raised the necessary money 
 with which to give his victims decent burial. 
 
 On one occasion, during a visit of Wild Bill to Hays 
 City, after assuming the conservatorship of Abilene' s 
 peace, he met with an adventure which has in it all the 
 elements of an anecdote. At the time referred to it 
 chanced that a professional pugilist named Patterson, 
 from New York, had become a Hays City transient and 
 had organized a school for training the combatively dis- 
 posed people of that town in the art of pugilism. He 
 
138 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 had several ambitious scholars who made such progress 
 that the Professor decided to give an entertaiment in the 
 place and thus demonstrate the results of his instructions. 
 Among those in attendance and the whole population 
 was present to witness the miniature arenic bouts on 
 the improvised stage was Wild Bill, drawn thither by a 
 natural curiosity. 
 
 The novel entertainment proved a grand success ; so 
 much in fact that several new scholars were enrolled for 
 the succeeding term. After the exhibition had concluded, 
 the Professor took a stroll down town which means that 
 he paid a visit to the most popular saloon for a " night 
 cap " before retiring. In the saloon he found the usual 
 crowd, and of course a conversation was at once started 
 on pugilism and the qualifications of noted Western char- 
 acters. Wild Bill was mentioned as being the handiest 
 man out West, a good shooter, skillful fighter, and brave 
 to rashness. In reply to the panegyrics offered by the 
 crowd on Bill, the Professor said : 
 
 "Now, look here, I've heard a great deal about this 
 man Wild Bill ; I would like very much to meet him, and 
 if he's got the pluck to stand before me I'll show you 
 how little he knows about the manly art." 
 
 One of the party responded : * * If you would like to see 
 him, just look over toward that corner (pointing to Bill) ; 
 that man wearing a sombrero and drinking with Buffalo 
 Bill is the person you want." 
 
 "Good enough," answered the Professor, and step- 
 ping to Bill he touched our hero on the shoulder and 
 addressed him : 
 
 " I understand that your name is Wild Bill, and that 
 you carry around in your clothes the reputation of being 
 the boss fighter in the West." 
 
 "Where did you get your information?'* responded 
 Bill. 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 139 
 
 "Why, all the boys declare you have got away with 
 every one that has tackled you yet. But I want to say 
 that while I am in this country I am boss ; that's my 
 business, and I'm ready to demonstrate my claims." 
 
 "Well," said Bill (drawing two pistols), "I'll just 
 shoot a hole through each of your ears, so that we'll all 
 know you hereafter ; the boss ought to carry his private 
 mark." 
 
 "Hold on, hold on," said the Professor, "I don't 
 mean that I'm a pistol fighter; I'll grant you the de- 
 served reputation as the best pistol shot on the plains ; 
 but I can prove my claim as the best man on the muscle, 
 and if you doubt my ability drop your pistols and shie 
 your castor." 
 
 The bantering tone of the Professor made Bill mad as 
 , wounded catamount, and giving his weapons to Buffalo 
 Bill he sailed into the pugilist like a red-hot ball from a 
 columbiad. For several minutes the furniture in the 
 room flew about, mixing with legs and arms, while the 
 boys stood around deeply interested in the fight. Tim 
 Finnegan's wake was like a candy-pulling compared with 
 the music of this memorable battle, for it developed into 
 a veritable cyclone of furious laughter. 
 
 Is it necessaiy to tell the reader that Wild Bill was 
 victorious? Of course not, for if he had been as badly 
 Whipped as the Professor was no mention would have 
 been made of this encounter. The fact is, the Professor 
 was so outrageously threshed like the game cock of many 
 victories, who, after one bad. defeat, never plumes his 
 feathers with the oil of courage again that it spoiled all 
 the reputation on which he had so successfully traveled; 
 the proper thing he realized was to indefinitely postpone 
 the ensuing school session and search for new fields, which, 
 let us hope, he found more fruitful for his purposes. 
 
140 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 CHAPTEBXI. 
 
 THERE was comparative peace in Abilene, after the 
 Cole triple tragedy, until the holidays, when another 
 fight occurred in which there were several seriously dam- 
 aged skulls, but no deaths. On the 26th of December, 
 1870, a dozen Texan cattle men concluded to take the 
 municipality by storm, as it were, and their preparatory 
 arrangements, as a matter of course, consisted of an 
 ample filling up with Abilene whisky. Among this num- 
 ber of " thoroughbreds," as they styled themselves, was 
 the owner of one of the largest ranches in the Lone Star 
 State. His name is withheld for obvious reasons, as he 
 is still living, and a publication of the incidents about to 
 be recorded, together with his real name and the impious 
 part he subsequently played, would, certainly, be followed 
 by legal perplexities. These interferences would not be 
 regarded but for the fact that the necessary witnesses 
 would be hard to find if indeed they could be at all. 
 But the facts will not be departed from one jot or tittle, 
 and in order to preserve the identity of this individual, he 
 will be called " Assassin Bledsoe." 
 
 This bloody-minded twelve began their carousals by 
 breaking into a harness shop, brutally beating the pro- 
 prietor and stealing a number of bull-whips. With these 
 they sallied out and attacked everyone they could meet 
 on the street, cutting right and left, administering the 
 severest punishment on several individuals and defying 
 the authority of the entire town. None of them display- 
 ing any weapons, this fact led Wild Bill to believe that 
 the unruly crowd might be controlled without bloodshed, 
 lie therefore called a few citizens to his assistance and 
 undertook the difficult job of arresting the drunken 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 141 
 
 By chance Bill first accosted Assassin Bledsoe in his 
 usual manner, using mild but pointed language. Instead 
 of obeying the injunction, "Come with me," Bledsoe 
 curled the bull-whip he carried over his head and strik- 
 ing Bill on the arm, it cracked with a pistol-like report. 
 The whip-stroke cut almost like a knife, and the pain it 
 produced was just enough to make Bill feel like killing 
 some one, especially Bledsoe. Raising his club he dashed 
 at the Texan and delivered a blow that laid open the skin 
 on Bledsoe' s head for a length of three inches. This 
 precipitated a general fight in which the citizens who 
 were deputized and the Texan crowd mixed indiscrimi- 
 nately. Clubs and stones were the only weapons used, 
 but in the hands of infuriated men these were very dan- 
 gerous and the result was something terrible enough for 
 the most morbid appetite. Blood was streaming from 
 numerous heads, arms were broken, bodies frightfully 
 bruised and demoralization was pictured on every par- 
 ticipant. Bill was the central figure in the fight, for be- 
 ing regarded as a kind of standard bearer the Texans 
 were anxious to take his colors. But he displayed the 
 cool intrepidity which had made his name so celebrated, 
 and though struck hard with stones, he kept his feet and 
 wielded a club like Hercules before the Hydra. The 
 deputies being reinforced by a number of other citizens, 
 at length closed the battle with acknowledged victory. 
 The wounded were carried to the nearest houses and nec- 
 essary surgical attention given them. The most serious 
 injury was that received by Assassin Bledsoe, who was 
 compelled to keep his bed for nearly two weeks, and the 
 greatest care was required to prevent inflammation of the 
 brain, from which he would have certainly died. 
 
 During this period of dangerous illness, Bledsoe de- 
 clared to his attendants, under oath, with uplifted hand in 
 
142 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 attestation of his determination, that if life were spared 
 him he would have Wild Bill's heart. When this threat 
 of vengeance was conveyed to Bill he gave it no special 
 concern, as perhaps a hundred others had vowed to 
 satisfy the same revenge ; it was only another admonition 
 for him to be always on the alert and watchful against 
 the strategies of his enemies. 
 
 After Assassin Bledsoe had fully recovered from his 
 wound he returned directly to his home in Texas and 
 conceived one of the most dastardly, cowardly and vil- 
 lainous purposes ever brought forth by a naturally 
 infernal mind. Being well acquainted with all the miser- 
 able, sneaking characters of his neighborhood, some of 
 whom were dependent upon him for employment ; men 
 whose desires and ambitions never rose above a full 
 whisky bottle, and to whose plastic natures a trifling 
 consideration was sufficient for killing any man from a 
 covert by the highway. Knowing, as he did, eight such 
 persons specially qualified for his designs, Bledsoe sent 
 for them and contrived a meeting in an old barn which 
 stood some distance from his house. These eight mon- 
 sters of iniquity met their cowardly employer as per 
 agreement, and that the design might lose none of its 
 black hideousness the meeting took place under the cover 
 of darkness. A jug of whisky played the part of a 
 needful accessory, and when its influence became per- 
 ceptible Bledsoe disclosed his purpose. With what 
 words he addressed his coterie of criminals no one knows 
 but themselves, but it is definitely known that Bledsoe 
 acquainted these men with his desire to possess the heart 
 of Wild Bill , and that he therefore offered them the sum 
 of $5,000 in gold if they would kill him and take out his 
 heart as an evidence that the deed had been consuming 
 ted. He first bound them by a terrible oath not to 
 
LIFE OP WILD BILL. 143 
 
 divulge a word of the compact about to be made nor of 
 anything connected with the meeting in the barn. The 
 terms of this desperate contract were that, under no cir- 
 cumstances, was his name to be discovered to anyone as 
 the employer of their services for this dark deed ; that 
 the sum of $50 should be given to each man to pay ex- 
 penses of the trip to Abilene, and that in addition to this 
 money $5,000 in gold was to be divided equally between 
 them on the day that Wild Bill's heart should be de- 
 livered to Bledsoe, and that the place of meeting for the 
 completion of the contract should be at the old barn. 
 To all these articles of the agreement the eisrht villains 
 
 O O 
 
 readily assented, and being at once provided with money 
 for the trip, on the second day thereafter they started for 
 Abilene. Reaching that town, instead of waylaying Bill, 
 as Bledsoe expected, the impious crowd of hired assassins, 
 never having had so much money at one time before dur- 
 ing their existence, could not resist the temptation cf so 
 many saloons, and gave way at once to the cravings of 
 their unnatural appetites ; as a consequence they drank 
 until every one became hilariously drunk. While in this 
 condition one of the men disclosed (though in disjointed 
 sentences) the object of their visit to Abilene. A friend 
 of Bill's hearing the asseverations of the drunken assas- 
 sin plied him with such questions as brought out the en- 
 tire scheme for the murder ; and being satisfied that the 
 plan had been truthfully revealed, though by an irre- 
 sponsibly drunken fellow, he lost no time in acquainting 
 Bill with the purposes of the eight men. 
 
 Bill received the information with thanks, but exhibited 
 no uneasiness. He instructed his friend to return to the 
 crowd and by some means which would not excite suspi- 
 cion, inform them that he (Wild Bill) was going down to 
 Topeka on the nine o'clock express. This information 
 
144 HEROES OF THE PLAINS, 
 
 the friend duly imparted to the Texans, at the same tim& 
 dropping several hints that his pistols had become useless 
 and he was going to Topeka for the purpose of purchasing 
 anew pair. 
 
 This little piece of clever strategy worked with such 
 great success that their discomfiture was complete. Bill 
 became a passenger on the east bound express train, and 
 chuckled as he saw the hired murderers take the coach 
 next the baggage car. Their idea was that Bill could be 
 readily influenced to pass from one car to the other upon 
 an invitation to join them in a game of cards, or a pre- 
 tended acquaintance, and while on the platform it was 
 arranged that he should be stabbed and thrown from the 
 car. If this very choice scheme had not miscarried, the 
 band of assassins could have left the train at the first sta- 
 tion and walking back to their victim cut out his heart 
 without there being a witness to their consummate villainy. 
 
 But the scheme did not work. About an hour after 
 the train left Abilene, or shortly after ten o'clock at 
 night, Bill concluded that now was the time for him to 
 act, as most of the passengers would be asleep. Know- 
 ing about where his would-be murderers sat, Bill walked 
 through the car, opened the door and drew his two ivory- 
 handled pistols. Reaching the door of the car in which 
 the eight sat, he peeped through a moment to discover 
 their exact positions ; he then threw open the door and 
 walked quickly up the passage way. In another moment 
 the assassins saw him, and as they also saw a large pistol 
 in each hand, their impious hearts fluttered with the fear 
 which immediately possessed them. Bill drew his wea- 
 pons so as to cover the band, and then in a voice which 
 indicated his resolution, he said : 
 
 " Now, you infernal scoundrels, get out of this car in- 
 stantly or I'll make buzzard food of your carcasses. Gtet 
 
LUTE OF WILD BILI*. 145 
 
 out, and off this train or I'll kill you as I would a pack 
 of cowardly wolves. If it wasn't for disturbing the pas- 
 sengers I'd kill you in the car, but I'm going to either 
 make you jump off this train or I'll shoot you off." 
 
 While addressing them in this threatening manner, he 
 drove the men before him, and as they believed he 
 would shoot anyhow, the entire eight stampeded in their 
 efforts to get out of the car, and when the platform was 
 reached they leaped off into the cut through which the 
 train was running at a speed of thirty miles an hour. In 
 the fall one of the villains was killed and three others so 
 seriously hurt that they had to be carried off by their 
 comrades. This ended the efforts made by Assassin 
 Bledsoe to secure Wild Bill's heart, notwithstanding his 
 desperate oath ; neither did he have the gratification of 
 attending his enemy's funeral ; in fact, after this, he 
 lived for nearly six years in constant dread lest Bill should 
 find and kill him. 
 
 On Bill's return from Topeka, after this novel adven- 
 ture with eight cowardly villains, he stopped two days at 
 Ellsworth for the purpose of visiting a somewhat noted 
 beauty of that place, named Emma Williams, whose 
 charms had made an impression on the softer portion of 
 his heart. 
 
 Visiting this gay siren of fatal beauty at the same time 
 was a big bully named Bill Thompson, and thus the two 
 Bills met under circumstances especially favorable for the 
 excitement of a fresh killing. Added to this jealous ri- 
 valry, Thompson was moved by a spirit of revenge for 
 having suffered arrest at the hands of Wild Bill nearly a 
 year previously. Miss Williams, finding two dangerous 
 lovers at her shrine, and both equally importunate for her 
 favors, was compelled to choose between them. Fortu- 
 nately for Bill, his handsome face and physique secured 
 
146 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 the coveted favor, while the coarse, uncouth, brutal 
 physiognomy of Thompson was relegated to the realms 
 of woman's rejection. This decision could but culminate, 
 in a tragedy, for, as is usual with men of the base charac-. 
 teristics which distinguished Thompson, they almost in- 
 variably resort to foul means when fair efforts are un- 
 availing to accomplish their object. 
 
 At the dinner hour, on the 17th day of February, 1871, 
 Wild Bill entered a restaurant in Ellsworth and called for 
 an oyster stew ; the tables of the restaurant were situated 
 between small partitions, as are still frequently noticed 
 in country ice-cream saloons in the West. He thought- 
 lessly took a seat with his back to the door, a position, it 
 is but proper to say, he never afterward assumed. As the 
 waiter returned, bearing the stew in a bowl on a platter, 
 Bill saw him exhibit a sudden fright, and turning quickly 
 in his seat discovered Thompson approaching and almost 
 in the very act of firing on him. Sliding out of his chair 
 with the celerity of a flash, the movement was executed 
 with such rare fortune that the ball from Thompson's 
 pistol struck the dinner plate on the table before Bill, 
 shattering it into a hundred pieces. But ere the jealous 
 desperado could fire again Bill had jerked a small der- 
 ringer from his breeches pocket and sent a slug squarely 
 into Thompson's forehead. His plot to kill Bill had only 
 turned upon himself. 
 
 The waiter's fright at this sudden and tragic meeting 
 of the rivals was so great that soup, bowl and platter fell 
 from his nerveless grasp, rattling in fragments on the 
 floor, adding, by the noise, much to the general confu- 
 sion which ensued. Bill coolly resumed his position at 
 the table and ordered the trembling waiter to bring him 
 the stew, giving no heed to the unconscious victim on the 
 floor; but the waiter showed no such indifferent, stand- 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 147 
 
 ing in dumb" astonishment and fright until the restaurant 
 filled with the curious of the village. Being unable to 
 obtain the desired stew, Bill coolly arose, filed through 
 the morbid crowd and hunted up another restaurant, 
 where he feasted according to his pleasure. His arrest 
 followed soon after, but at the preliminary hearing a 
 clear case of "justifiable homicide" was established, so 
 that his detention was not for more than two hours, and 
 at night he returned to Abilene. 
 
 In June, 1871, Wild Bill was appointed U. S. Marshal 
 at Hays City, or was rather reappointed, for he first 
 served in that position a short time during 1869 ; but as 
 nothing of special importance transpired worthy of record 
 among his spirited adventures during that period, the fact 
 was not mentioned in chronological sequence. 
 
 Two months after entering, for the second time, upon 
 the discharge of his duty circumstances required his going 
 to Wichita, Kansas, where he expected to arrest an of- 
 fender who, it was reported, was infesting that town. 
 There being no stage nor rail route to Wichita, Bill was 
 compelled to make the trip on horseback, a style of travel- 
 ing, however, well suited to his disposition and preference. 
 
 Upon arriving at Wichita, being wholly unacquaint- 
 ed in the place, he directed his course to a saloon, before 
 the door of which he alighted and tied his horse. Enter- 
 ing the saloon, he was somewhat surprised to find it con- 
 tained not a single soul the proprietor, even, having 
 absented himself from the business for the time being. 
 However, desiring to rest himself and possibly obtain 
 some essential information concerning the offender of 
 whom he was in search, Bill sat down and commenced 
 reading a newspaper in order to pass the time until the 
 proprietor should return. While he was thus engaged 
 his attention was attracted by a horseman who was just 
 
148 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 dismounting preparatory to entering the saloon. Bill 
 looked up from his paper as the stranger stepped upon 
 the threshold, for he supposed the man to be some ac- 
 quaintance of the neighborhood, and passed the usual 
 salutation : * Ho wd ' ye . " 
 
 " How are you?" returned the stranger; "is your 
 name Wild Bill?" 
 
 "That is what I'm generally called," replied Bill. 
 
 "Take that, then," said the stranger, accompanying 
 the words with the instant production of a pistol which 
 he fired so close in Bill's face that the skin was scorch- 
 ed. The bullet, by rare good fortune, only struck his 
 scalp, cutting a furrow more than three inches in length 
 and grazing the skull. It was a desperately close call, 
 but another fortunate circumstance was in the fact that 
 Bill was so badly stunned by the shot that he fell to the 
 floor as if strieken dead. The stranger, thinking that he 
 had secured his victim beyond a doubt, did not deem it 
 necessary to fire another shot into his body, but feeling 
 concerned for his own safety speedily mounted his horse 
 and rode swiftly a way to the south. 
 
 In a moment after the shot was fired the saloon pro% 
 prietor returned, and seeing Bill lying on the floor in a 
 dazed condition, quickly dashed a cup of water in his face ; 
 then attempted to examine the wound, which was bleed- 
 ing profusely. But Bill soon rallied, and gaining con- 
 sciousness he eagerly inquired for the stranger. Finding 
 that his assailant had fled, he refused all offers of surgi- 
 cal attention, and with the blood streaming down his 
 face, saturating his clothes and rendering his appearance 
 gory in the extreme, he gave pursuit, first learning the 
 direction taken by the would-be murderer. Being well 
 mounted he gave rapid chase, though his horse was well 
 pent by the trip just made. The stranger, after riding 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 149 
 
 with much speed for several miles, reined up, thinking 
 pursuit would hardly be given soon by any officer, and 
 least of all by the person who he felt sure was dead. 
 But the pursuer pushed rapidly on, and soon came 
 in sight of his man, who permitted him to approach 
 within a few hundred yards before discovering that it was 
 Wild Bill leading a chase. Notwithstanding his horse 
 was nearly exhausted, he urged him to his best efforts, 
 while the pursuit and flight developed into a furious ride, 
 one for life, the other for vengeance. Finding that it 
 was impossible to overtake the stranger, Bill had recourse 
 to his weapons, and firing as he rode soon disabled the 
 assassin's horse and directly afterward shot the man 
 through the back, producing a slow and terribly painful 
 death. To make his revenge more complete, Bill raised 
 the head of his dying victim and with the long, keen 
 bowie he carried cut from the stranger's scalp a strip of 
 hair and flesh such as he considered would correspond with 
 the portion extirpated from his own. With this ghastly 
 trophy he returned to Wichita and there had his own 
 wound properly attended to. 
 
 Subsequently Bill learned that his unknown assailant 
 was a cousin of Phil Cole also a noted gambler, who 
 had made many threats to avenge his kinsman's death, 
 and had sought for opportunities to execute his purpose, 
 only to find at last that in seeking revenge he had become 
 the victim of a more fatal vengeance. 
 
 As a reminder of this bloody adventure Bill carried 
 the piece of scalp cut from his victim's head for many 
 years. 'His brother, in communicating with the writer, 
 stated that Bill kept this ghastly memento in his pocket- 
 book until it became as hard as a piece of dried buffalo 
 hide, and it is possible, if not indeed probable, that he 
 kept it until death divided his possessions. 
 
 
150 HEBOE8 OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 IN August following Wild Bill's return from Wichita 
 an incident occurred which resulted, some years after- 
 ward, in his renouncing his previous declarations to re- 
 main a bachelor, and the taking unto himself of a wife. 
 The circumstances which culminated in so great a change 
 were romantically singular and are well worthy of record 
 in these otherwise sanguinary chronicles of stirring ad- 
 ventures . 
 
 The incident referred to grew out of the exhibition of 
 Lake's Circus in Hays City during August, 1871. It 
 was a rare occasion to see a circus so far West at that 
 time, owing to the sparsely settled condition of middle 
 and western Kansas, and when the caravan began to pitch 
 tents preparatory for exhibition not only the citizens of 
 Hays betrayed great curiosity, but every one within a 
 radius of more than twenty miles came into town, by a 
 variety of conveyances, to see the show. 
 
 Lake's Circus had been a standard entertainment for 
 many years in the East and South, and in addition to the 
 excellent reputation it bore it was well advertised by a 
 novel free exhibition which became the rage even in the 
 East a grand balloon ascension just before opening the 
 doors. The town council, like every one else in the 
 neighborhood, though anxious to see the performance, 
 held a meeting on the day preceding the time fixed for 
 exhibition, and decided to charge Mrs. Lake, the pro- 
 prietor of the circus, a license fee of fifty dollars ; but 
 before the municipal body adjourned Wild Bill stepped 
 up and asked to be heard a moment. Permission having 
 been granted, the town councilmen lit their pipes, passed 
 the bottle and leaning back in their chairs posed them- 
 
LIFE OF WILD BIL'L. 151 
 
 selves while Bill expressed himself substantially as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " I never made a speech in my life and I don't want 
 to begin now, but I never went back on a woman, and 
 I'm going to give you some plain talk. You fellows 
 live so far outside of civilization that your hearts have 
 dried up like small potatoes left out in the sun, and ai 
 you can't read the papers of course you don't know 
 nothing about what's going on east of the coyote's 
 range. 
 
 "This circus that's advertised to show and furnish a 
 little amusement for us heathens is owned by a woman, 
 one whose pluck catches my sympathy every time. Her 
 husband, Bill Lake, one of the best clowns that ever sung 
 a jolly song, was murdered down in Granby, Missouri, by 
 a cowardly villain, named Jake Killian, on the 24th of 
 August, 1869. The brave little widow, after burying her 
 husband, had to either sellout or go on the road with the 
 circus, and circumstances advised her to carry the show. 
 My opinion is that any woman capable to run a circus is a 
 darned sight bigger .curiosity in these parts than th 
 leather heads of this village ever heard of, and when I see 
 so much pluck shown by a little woman I just feel like 
 throwing in and helping her. 
 
 "Now, if you fellows that run this town knowed how 
 to appreciate a good thing for the place, instead of charg- 
 ing Mrs. Lake a license, you would vote an appropri- 
 ation to pay her for coming out here to show us 
 heathens a first-class circus. If I've got any author- 
 ity in Hays, Mrs. Lake ain't going to pay this town 
 a cent of license for showing, and if any man attempts to 
 stop the show then just put it down that he's got me to 
 fight. That's all I've got to say now, so drive on and 
 we'll see who pays the fiddler," 
 
152 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 When Bill concluded his "talk" the council of four 
 decided to reconsider their action and remit the license, 
 though this was, in the eyes of some, an extraordinary 
 opportunity for starting a town treasury. 
 
 Mrs. Lake, learning of Bill's disinterested kindness, 
 sent for him and expressed many thanks, after which she 
 introduced him to all the members of her troupe, includ- 
 ing her little daughter, Emma. After seeing the para- 
 phernalia of the circus and shaking hands with the per- 
 formers, Bill turned again to Mrs. Lake and said : 
 
 " Well, now, all this is fine enough, but do you know 
 the greatest curiosity about this canvas is yourself ; I 
 never saw a woman before that could run anything, except 
 with a broom handle, and to find one managing a big cir- 
 cus like this is a bigger sight than California Joe when he 
 was tackled by a panther down in the Wachitas. I used 
 to think that women never amounted to much outside of 
 being mothers, and I guess I wouldn't give them that 
 much credit if it hadn't happened that I had a mother 
 myself, and a good one, too. But I've changed my opin- 
 ion now, for if I could hitch up with such a business girl 
 as yourself I'd go in search of the parson to-morrow." 
 
 This language, though full of rather profane meta- 
 phors and tempered with phrases little suited for lute- 
 like lovers' lips," nevertheless expressed in homely truths 
 Bill's real sentiments, for he fell in love with Mrs. Lake, 
 not only on first sight, but even before the meeting ; he 
 was caught on the hook of her reputation. 
 
 Mrs. Lake, though not fully understanding the somewhat 
 incoherent address of her determined suitor, yet saw be- 
 neath his rough exterior a kind and healing sympathy, and 
 a heart ever brave and willing to protect the weak. His 
 face and form, too, were strikingly handsome, while his 
 dress was that of a gentleman. In short, he excited the 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 153 
 
 affection of her nature, having already won her admira- 
 tion. But they parted without avowals, and nearly three 
 years passed before they met again, when admiration 
 ripened into a warmer feeling, as will be seen in a subse- 
 quent chapter. 
 
 Becoming tired of the life which Hays City afforded, 
 Bill resigned his position as U. S. Marshal, and in the 
 spring of 1872 went to Kansas City, where he found a 
 place bristling with sports and excitements well suited to 
 his disposition. About the same time the writer, who 
 had been occupying an editorial position on the Fort 
 Scott Daily Monitor, accepted an offer made him by the 
 proprietors of the Kansas City Journal and took up a 
 residence in the Bluff City, where he became intimately 
 acquainted with the heroic scout and learned much con- 
 cerning his marvellous career. 
 
 Kansas City was a brisk town in 1872. It contained a 
 population of nearly 30,000, and was the parent block off 
 which was chipped all the gambling towns along the Kan- 
 sas Pacific railroad. Games of chance, cards, keno, faro, 
 roulette, dice, cock-mains, dog fighting and kindred means 
 for hazarding money ran day and night. On the west 
 side of Main, between Fourth street and Missouri avenue, 
 there was nothing in the upper stories of the buildings 
 except gamblers and gaming outfits. But this district 
 was peculiar only in presenting an unbroken chain, as it 
 were, of gambling dens. Fifth street, between Walnut 
 fcnd Main, was equally bad, even worse, because the 
 rooms were less inviting and patronized by a more disrep- 
 utable class. The lower end of main street and the 
 levee were given over to brothel houses, about which 
 a first-class item could nearly always be found. The 
 writer now recalls to mind one evening when he was de- 
 tailed to report three murders and one suspicious death. 
 
154 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 But to-day the infamies and demoralizing characters 
 which once filled the streets of Kansas City exist only in 
 the history of her progress, and the hum of her commerce 
 has long since displaced the sonorous voice of the keno 
 caller and the death-crack of the revolver. 
 
 Notwithstanding the lawless, turbulent elements that 
 gave character to Kansas City during the period of Wild 
 Bill's residence in the place, he kept himself aloof from 
 them, in his quiet, dignified, reserved way, and thus 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 155 
 
 never had occasion to unloose the tiger that slumbered 
 beneath his calm exterior. 
 
 The peaceable tenor of Bill' sway was disturbed on but 
 one occasion while he remained in the Bluff City, and 
 even this circumstance developed into a ludicrous rather 
 than a sanguinary scene. Joe Siegmund, now proprietor 
 of a railroad eating-house in Malvern, Arkansas, was at 
 that time owner and keeper of the St. Nicholas Hotel, 
 on the west side of the public square. Attached to the 
 hotel was a bar and billiard room, which gathered an 
 excellent patronage from the gambling gentry, and was 
 nearly always full of excited young bloods taking their 
 initiatory lessons in broils and drinking. On the occasion 
 referred to, September 17, 1872, Bill walked into the 
 saloon with an acquaintance and took a seat near one of 
 the billiard tables, to watch a game then in progress. 
 He had been in the saloon only a few minutes when four 
 " larks," two-thirds full of Western cussedness, and the 
 other third full of whisky, straggled around the room 
 and stopped in front of Bill. One of the quartette, 
 desirous of establishing a reputation for belligerency, 
 having heard much about Wild Bill, and knowing him by 
 sight, in a most insulting manner halloed out to his com- 
 panions : 
 
 "Here, boys, is the great wild man of the prairies; 
 the mighty untamable giaftycutus that eats three men 
 every night before retiring and rises so hungry that he 
 sometimes chews up a whole town for breakfast. Look 
 out, I tell you, its just about his meal time now." 
 
 This harangue very naturally excited Bill's anger, 
 but with apparent indifference to the insult he only re- 
 plied : 
 
 " See here, young man, I'll lift you with the toe of my 
 boot if you don't get away from here in five seconds/' 
 
156 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 The young fellow was spoiling for a row, and showing 
 the butt of his pistol he abused Bill in a manner ab- 
 solutely unbearable, calling him every vile name that a 
 wicked native was capable of uttering. Persuading 
 efforts only serving to increase the belicose fellow's pr*o- 
 pensities, Bill at length got up, and catching hold of 
 his shoulder, administered a stunning blow on the young 
 man's head which brought him to a realizing sense of his 
 assailant's true nature. Then holding him by one ear, 
 Bill boxed the impudent fellow's face until howls for 
 mercy preserved him from a more severe beating. The 
 lesson thus imparted was productive of excellent results, 
 for the abashed " larker," with tears in his eyes, slunk 
 away, followed by his amazed companions. 
 
 After the crowd had departed Bill expressed many re- 
 grets for having to use the young man so roughly, but 
 every one present pronounced the whipping a most de- 
 serving act, as it would probably serve to make the fel- 
 low more respectful and considerate in his future con- 
 duct. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 IN the fall of 1872 Buffalo Bill and Texas Jack had 
 accepted a proposition made by Ned Buntline ( Judson) 
 to go on the stage and make a theatrical tour of the States 
 in a play which he proposed to write for them. The en- 
 terprise proved such a decided success that for the season 
 of 1873-4 the Buffalo Bill Combination, as it was called, 
 made several flattering offers to Wild Bill to join them, 
 and he was eventually induced to appear before the foot- 
 lights in the bloody Indian drama entitled "Scouts of 
 tie Plains " 
 
LITE OF WILD BILL. 157 
 
 His first appearance on the stage was made in New 
 York City, the cast for the play being as follows : 
 
 BUFFALO BILL W. F. Cody. 
 
 TEXAS JACK J. B. Omohundro. 
 
 WILD BILL J. B. Hickok, 
 
 PALE DOVE (Wife of Texas Jack) Mile. Morlacchi. 
 
 Jim Daws, a renegade horse thief Frank Mordaunt. 
 
 Aunt Annie Carter Miss Jennie Fisher. 
 
 Ella Miss Lizzie Saflord. 
 
 Lotta Miss Eliza Hudson. 
 
 Uncle Henry Carter, a friend of the scouts J. V. Arlington. 
 
 Nick Blunder, with song and dance Walter Fletcher. 
 
 Tom Doggett, in cahoot with Daws W. S. McEvoy. 
 
 Ebenezer Longlank, gov't peace commissioner A. Johnson. 
 
 Tall Oak, a Kiowa, but on the square W. A. Reid. 
 
 Big Thunder, a Comanche Chief B. Meredith. 
 
 Bear Claw, Comanche Brave H. Mainhall. 
 
 Eaven Feather J. W. Buck. 
 
 The performance was lacking in many features essen- 
 tial to what is called "smoothness," and especially in 
 the part taken by Wild Bill. 
 
 Buffalo Bill, in his autobiography, describes Wild 
 Bill's acting in the following manner : 
 
 " Although he had a fine stage appearance, was a hand- 
 some fellow and possessed a good, strong voice, yet 
 when he went upon the stage before an audience, it was 
 almost impossible for him to utter a word. He insisted 
 that we were making a set of fools of ourselves, and that 
 we were the laughing-stock of the people. 
 
 " Wild Bill was continually playing tricks on the mem- 
 bers of the company, and it was his especial delight to 
 torment the < supers.' Quite frequently, in our sham 
 Indian battles, he would run up to the ' Indians ' (supers) 
 and putting his pistol close to their legs fire and burn 
 them with the powder instead of shooting over their 
 heads. This would make them dance and jump, so that 
 
158 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 it was difficult to make them fall and die although they 
 were paid twenty-five cents each for performing the 
 ' dying business.' " 
 
 Of his career during the period of his engagement with 
 the Buffalo Bill Combination, Wild Bill left no memoran- 
 da from which his exploits might be gathered for publi- 
 cation, but several interesting adventures are given in 
 Buffalo Bill's autobiography, to which the writer is in- 
 debted for many important facts concerning Wild Bill, 
 from which the following extracts are taken : 
 
 "One day at Titusville, Pennsylvania, while Burke, 
 the business agent, was registering our names and mak- 
 ing arrangements for our accommodation, several of us 
 started for the billiard room, but were met by the land- 
 lord, who stopped me and said that there was a party of 
 roughs from the lower oil regions who were spreeing, 
 and had boasted that they were staying in town to meet 
 the Buffalo Bill gang, and clean them out. The land- 
 lord begged of me not to allow the members of the 
 troupe to enter the billiard-room, as he did not wish any 
 fight in his house. To please the landlord, and at his 
 suggestion, I called the boys up into the parlor and ex- 
 plained to them the situation. Wild Bill wanted to go 
 at once and fight the whole mob, but I persuaded him to 
 keep away from them during the day. 
 
 * ' In order to entirely avoid the roughs the members 
 of the company entered the theatre through a private 
 door from the hotel, as the two buildings joined each 
 other. While I was standing at the door of the theatre 
 taking tickets, the landlord came rushing up and said 
 that Wild Bill was having a fight with the roughs in the 
 bar-room . It seemed that Bill had not been able to re- 
 sist the temptation of going to see what kind of a mob it 
 was that wanted to test the pluck of the Buffalo Bill 
 
LIFE OF WJLD BILL. 159 
 
 party; and just as he stepped into the room, one of the 
 bruisers put his hand on Bill's shoulder and said : 
 
 " * Hello, Buffalo Bill ! we have been looking for you 
 11 day.' 
 
 " ' My name is not Buffalo Bill ; you are mistaken in 
 the name,' was the reply. 
 
 " You're a liar 1' said the bruiser. 
 
 " Bill instantly knocked him down, and then seizing 
 a chair he laid out four or five of the crowd on the floor, 
 and then drove T;he rest out of the room. All this was 
 done in a minute or two, and by the time I got down 
 stairs, Bill was coming out of the bar-room, whistling a 
 lively tune. 
 
 "'Well! said he, *I have been interviewing that 
 party that wanted to clean us out.' 
 
 4 ' ' I thought you promised to come into the Opera 
 House by the private entrance ?' 
 
 " * I did try to follow that trail, but I got lost among 
 the canons, and then I ran in among the hostiles,' said 
 he ; ' but its all right now ; they won't bother us any 
 more.' 
 
 " We heard no more of them after that." 
 
 When the company reached Portland, Maine, to fulfill 
 an engagement, another incident occurred wherein Wild 
 Bill again distinguished himself, though not in a personal 
 combat. The leading members of the troupe stopped at 
 the United States Hotel, a large caravansary at which 
 boarded several bachelor merchants of the town. On 
 the night succeeding the first performance, Bill retired 
 to bed shortly after twelve o'clock, feeling unusually 
 tired, owing to a long walk he had taken during the day. 
 Before lying down he discovered that the room adjoining 
 his was occupied by several persons engaged in some 
 amusement which caused them to make considerable 
 
160 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 noise ; he retired to bed, however, and tried to sleep de- 
 spite the tumult of his neighbors, but finding, at length, 
 that the noise increased with no likelihood of abating 
 soon , he got up with the intention of either suppressing 
 the racket or having a first-class row. In partial undress 
 he knocked at the door of his unknown neighbors only 
 to find that the room was occupied by five of Portland's 
 leading business men, and that their noise was the result 
 of a game of poker, spiced with liquid refreshments of 
 savory perfume. Before making known the purpose of 
 his visit the party invited him to join them in the game 
 and partake of the bottle which was now well nigh empty. 
 Nothing ever afforded Bill so much pleasure as a game of 
 poker, and to indulge this gratification he was always 
 ready to sacrifice a night's rest. He therefore entered 
 into the sport of the game and after playing until the 
 party were fairly exhausted both in body and purse he 
 got up from the table seven hundred dollars better off 
 than when he sat down. In order that such pleasant 
 co r/pany might not separate without some benefit he gen- 
 erously gave them this parting advice : 
 
 " Gentlemen, I appreciate your hospitality, and espe- 
 cially the good luck in which I have played to-night, 
 therefore I will tell you a little secret, for it may prove 
 very valuable to you all hereafter ; never wake up a 
 stranger, destroy his rest, and invite him to take a hand 
 in a game of poker with you. Good night." 
 
 Buffalo Bill, in conversation with the writer, told the 
 following amusing story, which I will try to repeat near- 
 ly in his own language : 
 
 * < When I had arranged terms with Wild Bill to ap- 
 pear with my company, we were in New York playing an 
 engagement, and I was stopping at the Metropolitan 
 Hotel. Bill arrived in New York after dark, and being 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 161 
 
 unacquainted with the city this being his first visit there 
 he took a hack, instructing the driver to take him to 
 the Metropolitan Hotel. Upon arriving at the house, 
 Bill asked the driver his charges. 
 
 " ' Five dollars, sir,' was the reply. 
 
 " And you wouldn't accept anything less, would you ? ' 
 asked Bill. 
 
 " * No, sir, that's the charge, and nothing less.' 
 
 6 ' Bill then handed the driver five dollars, at the same time 
 striking him a blow in the face that sent him plowing up 
 the settlings of the gutter. A policeman very soon came 
 after Bill, but bail being furnished by me, he was kept 
 out of the tombs ; but the next day I paid a fine of $10 
 for him. This was his first experience in New York. 
 
 "We had two or three rehearsals together before Bill 
 made his appearance, and even then he was required to 
 say only a few words. The first scene in which he was 
 cast represented a camp fire, around which Wild Bill, 
 Texas Jack and myself were sitting telling stories. In 
 order to carry out the scene so that it should be a faith- 
 ful counterfeit of the reality, we had a whisky bottle 
 filled with cold tea which we passed from one to the other 
 at the conclusion of each story. When it came Bill's turn 
 to relate an adventure I passed him the bottle, and taking 
 it in the way with which he was so familiar, he commenced 
 draining the contents. I say commenced, because he 
 stopped very suddenly and spurted the tea right out on 
 the stage, at the same time saying, in a voice loud enough 
 for the audience to hear him : * You must think I'm the 
 worst fool east of the Rockies, that I can't tell whisky 
 from cold tea. This don't count, and I can't tell a story 
 under the temptation unless I get real whisky.' I tried 
 to remonstrate with him, while the audience fairly shook 
 down the galleries with their cheers . At first I was greatly 
 
162 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 mortified, but it did not take long to convince me that 
 Wild Bill had unconsciously made a big hit. I therefore 
 sent out for some whisky, which Bill drank, and then 
 told his story with excellent effect.'' 
 
 Wild Bill remained with the combination until the 
 spring of 1874, when, at Rochester, N. Y., he parted 
 abruptly from the combination. But before deciding 
 to cancel his engagement he met Mrs. Lake, who, 
 by chance being in Rochester, went to see the per- 
 formance. Buffalo Bill had frequently heard Wild 
 Bill declare his admiration for this lady, and when he 
 discovered her in the audience he immediately informed 
 Wild Bill of the fact and offered to introduce him again. 
 The result was that Mrs. Lake and Wild Bill met and in 
 the few moments they were together Bill said : 
 
 "Mrs. Lake, I don't know how to court, because I 
 never did any of it in my life, but I've been thinking 
 about you ever since we met in Hays City. Fact is, I'd 
 be mighty glad to hitch up in harness with you, because 
 I think we'd make a splendid team." 
 
 Mrs. Lake replied, " I don't know, Bill, how well we 
 would suit each other, but at the present time my busi- 
 ness is in such a condition that I couldn't think of mar- 
 rying." 
 
 * * How soon do you suppose you could straighten up 
 matters so that we could go to the parson together?" en- 
 quired Bill. 
 
 " Well, it will require two years probably to settle my 
 affairs, but your proposition comes so suddenly and un- 
 expectedly that I should have to think about it, for I 
 don't know that it would be proper for me to marry 
 again," was Mrs. Lake's reply, indicating that she was 
 not indifferent to the offer made her. 
 
 " I don't want to insist, but at the same time you suit 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 163 
 
 me to a dot, and I'd give my eyes to marry you ; there- 
 fore I'll give you time to consider. I've got to go on 
 the stage now to kill a few Indians to please this congre- 
 gation, but when the show is out, maybe I might see 
 you over at the Osborne House." 
 
 Bill thus left Mrs. Lake, but contrary to his expecta- 
 tions, did not see her again until 1876. 
 
 When he was called for his part during the same even- 
 ing's performance, he resumed his old annoying practice 
 of singeing the " supers " legs, and carried the trick so 
 far this time that Buffalo Bill remonstrated so sharply 
 that, without saying a word, Wild Bill doffed his buck- 
 skin suit, and resuming his usual dress, walked out of 
 the theatre, refusing to appear any more with the combi- 
 nation. Before he left Rochester, however, Buffalo Bill 
 and Texas Jack made up a purse between them of one 
 thousand dollars and gave it to him as an evidence of 
 their continued friendship. 
 
 Being considerably flush for a scout, Wild Bill went to 
 New York, and while there, in a very laudable effort to 
 break a faro bank, got himself ingloriously * 4 busted." In 
 this condition a theatrical manager approached him with 
 a liberal proposition , so that for a second time he became 
 a votary of Thespis, coming again before the public with 
 the Wild Bill combination. But he had evidently struck 
 a blind pocket of ill luck, for after a few fitful weeks of 
 uncertainty the concern became pecuniarily defunct. 
 After Bill had left the new combination the manager 
 immediately reorganized his troupe and replaced Wild 
 Bill by a cheaper character. Everywhere the company 
 performed they advertised the renowned Wild Bill as 
 their leading star, a member of the troupe being engaged 
 to personate the distinguished scout on and off the stage 
 
 alike. Wild Bill was not long in learning of this trick 
 10 
 
164 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 and at once decided to get satisfaction by undeceiving the 
 deceiver. Accordingly, learning that the company was to 
 appear at Binghamton, N. Y., he went there to witness 
 the performance. Waiting until the plot was developing 
 much interest to the audience, when the bogus Wild Bill 
 was shooting and slashing his way through a band of 
 howling Comanches, he leaped upon the stage, and grab- 
 bing the manager, flung him bodily into the orchestra, 
 and then knocked the personator of his character through 
 the scenes, regardless of the knives and pistols and tom- 
 ahawks carried by the Indians. 
 
 This novel procedure precipitated an intermission, 
 during which Bill unconcernedly resumed his seat and 
 shouted to the company to proceed with the show. 
 
 Information of the interruption having reached the 
 municipal officers, a policeman was sent up to arrest Bill. 
 He was easily found, but when the officer asked him to 
 consider himself under arrest the reckless scout replied ; 
 
 " How numerous are you? " 
 
 " I am alone ; why do you ask? " 
 
 " Well, I would advise you to call up some assistance.'"' 
 
 The policeman took his advice and went out and soon 
 returned with a brother officer. The two then approached 
 Bill and asked him to accompany them. 
 
 " How numerous are you now? " Bill asked. 
 
 " There are two of us." 
 
 " Then I would advise you to go out on another 
 recruiting expedition." 
 
 The two policemen, anxious to avoid a conflict with the 
 noted scout, then called the sheriff, who requested Bill 
 to submit to arrest, and had no difficulty in taking him 
 out of the theater and keeping him in charge until the 
 following morning, when his trial took place before 
 the city judge. The circumstances of the row having 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 167 
 
 been detailed Bill was fined three dollars and costs, but 
 his satisfaction in punishing the bogus character more 
 than compensated him for his expense and trouble. 
 
 Leaving the East, Bill went directly to Kansas City 
 and from there to Cheyenne, a place he had not visited 
 for several years. Here he drifted to a faro bank which 
 was run by a gambler named Boulder. Bill had only 
 two hundred dollars with him and he commenced the 
 game by staking small amounts. Losing all these, he 
 played up for an average by doubling. Staking fifty 
 dollars he also lost that, but immediately put down an- 
 other fifty dollar bill. Boulder, who was banking, told 
 Bill, who was a stranger to him, that the limit was 
 twenty-five dollars and that he couldn't play above that 
 sum. 
 
 4 'Why," enquired Bill, " didn't you just take fifty 
 dollars of my money?" 
 
 "Well," answered Boulder, "I won't let you play 
 that amount any more.' 3 
 
 " You won't?" replied Bill, " then I'll see why , that 
 fifty dollar bill lays on the tray, and if my card don't 
 turn, the money is yours, but if it does come out, then 
 I'll have fifty dollars of your money or there '11 be fun 
 here, that's all." 
 
 From this a war of words followed, until Bill struck 
 Boulder on the head with a heavy walking cane, which 
 rolled him off a substantial seat. Several bouncers for 
 the establishment rushed upon Bill, but he knocked them 
 in a most artistic manner, until finding the fighting too 
 progressive he jumped into a corner and jerked out two 
 pistols. At this juncture the bar-keeper, attending the 
 saloon down stairs, hearing the noise, ran up and discov- 
 ering the situation, cried out : 
 
 "Look out, boys, that's Wild Bill 1" 
 
168 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 This information acted like magic ; the tempest was 
 becalmed, and a moment later Bill was alone. 
 
 On the following day Boulder, although still nursing a 
 badly damaged head, called on Bill and producing cham- 
 pagne and cigars, the two settled their difference ami- 
 cably. 
 
 Some time after the killing of Phil Cole, his brother, a 
 well-known character in the far West, came to Hays City 
 with the expressed determination of avenging his rela- 
 tive's death. Wild Bill had only a few days before gone 
 to New York to join the Buffalo Bill Combination. 
 Learning this fact, Cole professed to be deeply chagrined, 
 saying : 
 
 " Yes, that is just my luck. I've come one thousand 
 miles to kill Wild Bill, only to find that the coward has 
 left the country ; but I'll just lay for him awhile in these 
 regions, and if he does come back we'll decide who is the 
 handiest with pistols. " 
 
 Weeks passed by, with Bill Still in the East, wholly 
 unconscious of Jim Cole's intentions, until at length, as 
 already described, Wild Bill severed his connection with 
 the troupe and returned West, going to Cheyenne. He 
 had scarcely reached that place when he was apprised by 
 a friend writing from Hays City that Jim Cole was on his 
 track and was about ready to leave for Cheyenne to meet 
 him. Bill gave little heed to this information, because 
 such threats as Cole was making had grown old to him. 
 
 About two weeks after his arrival in Cheyenne, how- 
 ever, Bill suddenly became conscious of the danger which 
 threatened him. This discovery was made in the follow- 
 ing manner: He was sitting in Luke Murrin's sa- 
 loon reading, when his attention was directed to two 
 strangers who, entering, walked up to the bar and called 
 for a drink. The order was given by Jirn Cole, and 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 169 
 
 though Bill had never seen this man, he instantly recog- 
 nized in his voice a similarity to that of Phil Cole's, and 
 was thus brought to a realization of his danger. 
 
 By chance, at the time of this meeting, Wild Bill's only 
 weapon was a small double-barreled pistol which Buffalo 
 Bill had given him in New York ; but still more disad- 
 vantageous was the fact that it contained but a single 
 cartridge. 
 
 Behind the bar was a very large looking glass, imd as 
 the faces of Cole and his partner were turned toward the 
 glass, Bill could study their features and keep himself 
 prepared (though indifferently) for the emergency soon 
 to arise. By a preconcerted $jgnal the two men turned 
 and drew their pistols simultaneously, but Bill was too 
 quick for his assailants. With the one shot he killed 
 Cole and almost at the same instant he threw the empty 
 pistol with such force in the face of Cole's partner that he 
 succeeded in rendering his aim harmless. To follow up 
 this advantage and prevent the stranger from shooting 
 again, Bill grabbed him and with a dexterous effort; trip- 
 ped him and threw him with such force that his head 
 struck the counter and broke his neck. 
 
 The coroner " sat on" the two bodies the same day, 
 and Wild Bill was duly arrested. A preliminary exami- 
 nation was had a few days after, and such positive testi- 
 mony was adduced proving Cole's threats and determi- 
 nation, as well also as the circumstances of the attack 
 made by the victims, that Bill was released on a verdict 
 of justifiable homicide. 
 
170 EDSBOES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 .<** 
 
 WILD BILL remained in Cheyenne only a short time, 
 
 for meeting with a party of friends who were wandering 
 about in quest of adventure, he proposed a visit to the 
 Black Hills, which section was just then beginning to 
 attract attention on account of important discoveries of 
 gold. Two of the party Tom Busey, of Laramie, and 
 Doc McGregor, an old trapper, who had just left his 
 season camp on the Nebraska river were delighted with 
 Bill's proposition, and a few days later, having packed 
 their mules with provisions and mining utensils, the three 
 started for the Hills. 
 
 After leaving Cheyenne there was but one practicable 
 route to the point of destination, and this led along Sage 
 Creek to the confluence of Cheyenne river, and followed 
 the main stream to French Creek. After reaching this 
 smull water way the route lay through several largo 
 canons, under the brow of one of which, on a level spot 
 only a fe\v hundred yards from the creek, the party 
 pitched their camps. After a few days' hard work a 
 comfortable cabin was constructed and prospecting began. 
 
 In comparatively comfortable quarters the three men 
 continued their explorations for gold, meeting with much 
 success and living luxuriously upon the abundant game 
 with which the forests abounded. Notwithstanding tho 
 
 o 
 
 war-like tendencies of the Blackfeet and Sioux Indiana 
 who possessed that section of country, the party lived 
 for a period of several months without interruption, noi 
 were any [ndians seen in the vicinity of their camp. 
 
 In the early part of April, 1875, however, while the 
 party was still in camp, Bill met with an adventure which 
 deserves to rank with the most marvelous of his many 
 
LITE OF WILD BILL. 
 
 171 
 
 escapes. Winter was still holding the creek in icy fetters 
 Jind the ground remained covered with a crust of snow. 
 The evening had been spent, as usual, in smoking and 
 
 THE CABIN IN THE BLACK HU.T.S 
 
172 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 reading well-worn books. Over the fire hung a paK of 
 boiling beans and above the cheerful, blazing house logs 
 were the rifles and wide-spreading antlers of a mon- 
 strous buck. This completed a perfect picture of fron- 
 tier happiness, for such contentment is rarely found even 
 in the most sumptuous elegance of metropolitan mansions. 
 
 Before supper was prepared or rather before the 
 beans were boiled sufficiently Bill, who was acting a 
 cook, discovered that more water was required to finish 
 the cooking, and that the water bucket was empty. 
 Putting on his coat, he took the bucket and a canteen 
 the only vessels in the camp used for holding water and 
 started for the stream. The moon was shining with 
 scintillating lustre, lighting up the canon and throwing 
 out long shadows from the trees overhead. 
 
 As Bill was stooping to dip the water from a hole out 
 in the ice, chancing to glance about him he saw a large, 
 silver-gray fox trotting on the ice up the creek. This 
 was a prize of no inconsiderable value, the pelt being mar- 
 ketable readily at from fifty to sixty dollars. In a mo- 
 ment Bill pulled his pistol and fired at the animal, but 
 succeeded in only breaking one of its hind-legs. The 
 creek made a sharp turn at this point and in order that 
 he might not lose the prize, Bill set out in pursuit, ex- 
 pecting soon to secure another shot. Every moment, 
 just as an opportunity appeared on the point of being of- 
 fered for a shot, the fox would dart behind some interven- 
 ing object, so that it was useless for Bill to fire, and yet the 
 distance between them continued only a few yards. In 
 this manner the scout was lured mile after mile, uncon- 
 scious of the distance he had traveled, until the large 
 eanon rose up before him in black and singular grand- 
 eur. The moon had now gone down behind the tower- 
 ing hills, leaving the creek an indistinct line difficult to 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 
 
 173 
 
 follow. With all his persistent pursuit and lengthy 
 journey he failed to capture the prize for which so much 
 time and effort had been expended ; for . the growing 
 darkness had enabled the fox to elude his pursuer and 
 hide somewhere about the roots of the numerous trees 
 which fringed the stream. 
 
 Retracing his steps again, Bill had proceeded but a 
 
 Wild Bill and the Fox. 
 
 short distance when he was startled by an unmistakable 
 sound emanating from the direction of the camp. It was 
 the distinct war-whoop of northern Sioux, and immedi- 
 ately apprehensions arose in his mind for the safety of 
 his comrades. Anxious to render aid when it was doubly 
 valuable, Bill ran down the creek with all possible speed, 
 but before arriving near the camp he discovered a bright 
 tinge in the atmosphere which told him that the cabin 
 
174 HEROES OP THE PLAIKS. 
 
 was on fire. Still running swiftly he did not pause until 
 reaching the opening leading down to the creek, when he 
 saw a band of twenty or more Indians dancing around 
 the burning timbers of, his home and consuming the 
 whisky which they had found in a keg in the cabin. 
 There was presented before him a panorama replete with 
 destruction and broken hopes. He saw the bleeding 
 scalps of his comrades displayed as trophies of this mur- 
 derous depredation, and -realizing that there was nothing 
 left for him to do but to look after his own safety, he 
 decided to leave the country at once, on foot, as the 
 stock of his party was now in the hands of the Indians, 
 and make directly for Ft. Fetterman. 
 
 The well known cunning and suspicion peculiar to the 
 Indians Bill knew would lead to an examination of the 
 vicinity to discover if there were any others belonging to 
 the camp whom chance had led away, and this examina- 
 tion he felt certain would result in a discovery of his 
 trail and lead to pursuit. Acting on this belief he trav- 
 eled with what speed he was capable, never stopping for 
 rest during the entire night. 
 
 After daylight, on the following morning, observing 
 no indications of a pursuit, and being almost worn out 
 with fatigue, he lay down beside a tree and immediately 
 fell asleep. It was fully an hour past mid-day when he 
 awoke, and being as hungry now as he was tired before, 
 he at once cast about with the hope of finding some kind 
 of game upon which to satisfy his gnawing appetite. 
 Fortune threw in his way a sage-hen, which a single shot 
 dispatched, and upon this he soon made an excellent 
 meal. Scattering the embers of the fire he had built 
 that it might not readily afford fresh evidence of hia 
 trail, should it be pursued, Bill resumed the southward 
 march, hoping to gain Ft. Fetterman in the two day? 
 succeed ing. 
 
LIFE OF WJLD BILL. 175 
 
 On the evening of the second day, while ascending to 
 the summit of a knoll which lay in his route, looking 
 away to the northwest, Bill discovered some suspicious 
 spots on the rim of the horizon which bordered the prai- 
 rie. Studying these for a few minutes, his keen sense 
 of perception told him that the moving figures were those 
 of Indians, while the* direction indicated that they were 
 on his track. 
 
 South of the place where Bill discovered his trailing 
 enemies was a strip of heavy timber which he thought 
 overhung the banks of upper Beaver Creek. Being less 
 than three miles distant, he hoped to gain this covert 
 and by wading in the stream throw the Indians off his 
 track, which was now easily followed by impressions 
 in the thin crust of snow still covering the ground. 
 Hurriedly he set off, knowing that no time was to be lost, 
 for the Indians were evidently riding at a fast pace, and 
 were, perhaps, less than ten miles distant. 
 
 He had approached to within about one mile of the 
 strip of woods when a troop of fifteen or more Sioux 
 dashed over the knoll that had hid them from Bill's 
 sight, and seeing the fleeing man they urged their horses 
 to a run , shouting with exultation over the promise of a 
 fresh victim. 
 
 Unfortunately for Bill, when he left the camp, harbor- 
 ing not the remotest suspicion of meeting with any ad- 
 venture, he had taken with him but a single pistol, of 
 six chambers, and even this weapon he had retained only 
 from custom. Two chambers of the pistol had been 
 emptied, and what defence he could now make lay in the 
 four loads remaining. 
 
 A lively chase ensued, Bill running at his greatest 
 speed, but it soon became apparent that his chances for 
 escape were exceedingly small. To add to his emoar- 
 
176 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 rassment, having reached the timber several hundred 
 yards in advance of his pursuers, he discovered that the 
 stream, which was of considerable width and evidently 
 deep, ran along the edge of the timber next to him, and 
 that the bank was a ledge of shelving rocks fully fifteen 
 feet in height. The creek was frozen over, to what 
 thickness Bill had no means of ascertaining, but he was 
 afraid to leap from the precipitous bank lest the ice 
 should riot be sufficiently strong to sustain his weight, 
 and in that event results from the fall would either have 
 killed him outright or caused such bodily injury as would 
 have made him an easy victim to the Indians. 
 
 Bill had faced many dangerous dilemmas during his 
 adventurous life, but for the time being he thought this 
 one offered the least chances for escape. Had he been 
 armed sufficiently, he thought, it were possible for him 
 to seek the cover of some friendly tree, and thus par- 
 tially protected fight with at least a faint hope of saving 
 his scalp ; but having only four bullets it was impossible 
 to use them with sufficient economy for his present 
 needs. 
 
 On came the whooping savages, but without discharg- 
 ing an arrow or firing a shot, evidently bent on capturing 
 the fugitive and reserving him for the stake. Seeing 
 that to run along the towering brink would only hasten 
 his end, the intrepid scout turned upon his pursuers when 
 they were within a few yards, and discharging every load 
 in his pistol, saw three of his enemies fall dead and an- 
 other wounded, apparently mortally. At this the Indians 
 drew down their guns and bows, realizing that they had 
 caught an obstinate Tartar that it were safer to kill than 
 to capture. But Bill was too quick for them ; taking 
 desperate chances, as he discharged his last shot, and 
 still holding his pistol in a position as if intending to 
 
LIFE OP WILD 
 
 177 
 
 fire, he threw himself over the dangerous brink into the 
 stream below. 
 
 It is singular how fortune follows the daring, bat 
 even more singular how lucky circumstances almost 
 always arose to deliver Wild Bill when surrounding dan- 
 gers seemed to offer no hope for escape. So it again 
 transpired in descending from the stony ledge overhang-* 
 ing Beaver Creek, for instead of being dashed to pieces 
 
 Taking Desperate Chances. 
 
 i seriously crippled, Bill fell into an air-hole, and 
 beyond the chill of a submersion, he escaped all serious 
 results. The water was very deep, but he managed to 
 keep well concealed from the Indians, and clambering 
 under the ledge soon got onto the ice, which he found 
 to be more than a foot in thickness. The red-skins, 
 lath to lose a victim who had, for the time, so singularly 
 
178 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 escaped them, rode up the bank of the stream, hoping 
 to find a less precipitous place, where a safe descent 
 might be made on horseback, and following back under 
 the bank, yet capture the fugitive, or find his mangled 
 body, from which some trophy might be obtained. 
 
 Bill continued his journey down the stream, always 
 keeping under the protecting ledge. He expected the 
 Indians would soon appear, and with this fear continual- 
 ly harassing him, he looked on every side for some 
 shelter in which to hide. But there was nothing to help 
 him out of the position which strange circumstances had 
 forced him into. Darkness had now intervened, and 
 this alone offered any hope ; but even this seemed to be of 
 little value after several hours of rapid traveling, when he 
 still found no place at which he could ascend out of the 
 canon. On either side the bank rose in perpendicular 
 walls, growing gradually higher as he advanced, and 
 towering above him like grim monsters anxious to topple 
 over and make sure of his destruction. 
 
 Having had nothing to eat since dining on the sage- 
 hen, he again became very hungry ; but the chances of 
 getting anything to eat were only equal to his chances of 
 escape and reaching Ft. Fetterman. All night long, 
 therefore, he journeyed on the ice, maintaining a 
 watchful regard for every cleft and crevice in the canon, 
 fearful of each, lest it might be a passage-way for the 
 Indians, and hoping that it might permit his ascent, for 
 in following the devious ways of Beaver Creek he knew 
 that, instead of going toward to the Fort, he was fre- 
 quently traveling in an opposite direction. 
 
 As day began to break on the following morning, Bill 
 discovered the protruding trunk of a large cedar tree, by 
 which there was a very rugged but possible ascent up the 
 side of the canon. Being exceedingly tired, he concluded 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 
 
 179 
 
 to rest a while on the tree trunk, behind which he could 
 screen himself from the observation of the Indians should 
 they appear on the ice, and in which place he felt secure 
 from detection by any one above him. The weather had 
 moderated so much during the night that with the first 
 rays of the morning sun not a trace of snow was left on 
 the ice or ground, which was a kindness of nature toward 
 the fugitive as grateful as it was unexpected. With a 
 
 Wild Bill's Miraculous Escape from the Indians. 
 
 feeling of partial relief, he gave way to exhaustion, and 
 fell asleep hugging the trunk of his friendly shelter. 
 When he awoke, several hours afterward, the sky was 
 overcast with angry, threatening clouds, while a succes- 
 sion of heaven's cannonading presaged the terrible storm 
 which was rapidly approaching. The rain soon began to 
 fall in great drops, and in a short time afterward he 
 
180 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 heard in the distance the mighty roar of rushing water 
 as it came down the canon. Appreciating the danger of 
 his position, he was on the point of clambering up the 
 rugged bank to escape the rising waters when his atten- 
 tion was attracted by the yells of Indians. Looking in 
 the direction from whence the sounds proceeded, he wit- 
 nessed with intense relief the struggles of his now fated 
 enemies, tossed on the seething crests of the torrent as it 
 tore down the canon, lashing the rocks with the bodies 
 of horses and Indians, stifling their despairing cries and 
 sweeping them remorselessly in the dreadful billows. 
 Fortune had again favored him. His enemies were 
 buried in the destroying foam of the avalanche of grind- 
 ing ice and water, and a sure way for his escape was 
 opened at a time most opportune. 
 
 The Indians had evidently gone many miles up the 
 creek bank before they found a place permitting their 
 descent onto the ice, and they had followed down the 
 stream only to be caught by the torrents of water which 
 cut off all chances for their escape. 
 
 Bill climbed with great difficulty to the top of the 
 bank, and marking a straight line southward reached Fort 
 Fetterman in an exhausted and famished condition four 
 days after leaving his desolated camp. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 WILD BILL was well received by the soldiers garrisoned 
 at Fetterman, and after relating the story of his wonder- 
 ful adventures in the Black Hills there was great desire 
 manifested to at once organize a campaign for the purpose 
 of punishing the tribe that was responsible for the per- 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 181 
 
 petration of such an outrage. But Gen. Curtis, who 
 had command of the troops, could not move without 
 orders from Gen. Sheridan, and Bill therefore returned 
 to Kansas City. His five months stay in the Hills, how- 
 ever, convinced him of the rich deposits of gold which 
 that section contained, and he decided to organize an ex- 
 pedition from the States, with the view of leading a force 
 into the auriferous region of such strength as would pro- 
 vide security against molestation from the Indians. 
 
 In furtherance of his scheme Bill visited several cities, 
 but the season was now so far advanced that those whom 
 he found willing to join such an * expedition , prevailed 
 upon him to wait until the following spring, 1876, when 
 the trip could be made more advantageously. 
 
 Returning to Kansas City he remained for some time 
 inactive owing to an attack of ophthalmia superinduced 
 no doubt from the exposure he underwent while in the 
 Black Hills. Dr. Thorne treated him for several months 
 with such success that his eyesight, which was for a time 
 entirely destroyed, was partly restored, but he never 
 again regained his perfect vision. 
 
 In the latter part of February, 1876, Wild Bill again 
 visited Cheyenne with the view of perfecting necessary 
 arrangements with some of his friends of that place, for 
 entering the gold region with his proposed expedition. 
 By a singular coincidence (each being wholly unaware 
 of the other's whereabouts,) Mrs. Lake also appeared in 
 Cheyenne at the same time, visiting one of her relatives, 
 Mr. S. L. Moyer. Each had been in the town nearly 
 two weeks before either was aware of the other's pres- 
 ence, as no one in the place knew of the tender regard 
 that existed between them, or even of their acquaintance. 
 One evening, while in conversation with an intimate 
 friend, Bill spoke of his admiration for Mrs. Lake, and 
 
182 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 forthwith he was struck with astonishment by th& 
 idtion of his friend : 
 
 " Why, Mrs. Lake is in the city now; didn't you 
 know it?" 
 
 " Oh, you're joking," answered Bill ; " if I was cer- 
 tain this town held her now, you could just prepare 
 for a wedding, and that mighty quick, too." 
 
 " No, I'm not joking, and if you '11 go over with me 
 to Mr. Moyer's, to whom I'll introduce you, I'll show 
 you Mrs. Lake." 
 
 This proposition satisfied Bill, and the two immedi- 
 ately started for Mr. Moyer's house, where, happy realiza- 
 tion, Bill met his future wife. 
 
 Becoming directly acquainted with the affectionate re- 
 lation sustained between Bill and Mrs. Lake, Mr. Moyer 
 and his family withdrew and left them alone. Wild Bill 
 then renewed his suit, and pressed his claims with such 
 persistency that the engagement was perfected and ar- 
 rangements concluded for the wedding, which it was 
 agreed should take place on the following day. 
 
 Several intimate friends of Bill were surprised to re- 
 ceive invitations, on the morning of March 5th, to wit- 
 ness the wedding ceremonies of J. B. Hickok, (Wild 
 Bill) and Mrs. Agnes Lake Thatcher, in the afternoon of 
 the same day. Of course they all responded, and when 
 the contracting parties stood up it was before an audience 
 numbering about twenty persons. The Rev. W. F. 
 Warren, a Methodist divine of Cheyenne, performed the 
 service at Mr. Moyer's residence, and after receiving 
 many congratulations the couple took the evening train 
 east and went directly to St. Louis, where, after spend- 
 ing a few days, they proceeded to Cincinnati, where nu- 
 merous relatives of Mrs. Lake lived. Here they were 
 received with many kind manifestations from all who 
 
 x 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 183 
 
 knew them, and their new life thus began under au- 
 spicious promises for future happiness. 
 
 In this connection it is proper to give the reader an in- 
 troduction to the new wife of our hero, especially since 
 Mrs. Hickok is a lady whose name has been prominently 
 before the people of both continents for many years. 
 
 The widow of Wild Bill is a native of Cincinnati, where 
 she was born in 1832 ; her maiden name was Agnes 
 Thatcher, and her parents were persons of eminent 
 standing. At the age of fifteen she married William 
 Lake who soon afterward became proprietor of a circus 
 and followed the life of a showman until his unprovoked 
 murder in 1869. As an arenic clown Lake had few 
 equals and his name was sufficient to pack a canvas. 
 
 Mrs. Lake, at an early age, manifested a talent fot 
 the profession which her husband so fittingly adorned. 
 She was the original " Mazeppa," and played this great 
 character throughout Europe and America ; she also ap- 
 peared on the theatre boards in many other starring 
 parts, always with success. After joining her husband's 
 circus she became the greatest slack-wire performer in 
 America, and was the first person to execute the daring 
 feat of trundling a wheelbarrow, on a small wire, over 
 the centre-pole of a circus tent. But her most distin- 
 guished performances were in equestrian acts, and 
 especially as a manege rider. In this she never had an 
 equal until her own daughter, Emma, arose to a position 
 of prominence when the mother had retired from the 
 arena. In her travels 1867-8 she visited the largest 
 cities of Prussia, and in Berlin she appeared as "Mazep- 
 pa" at the Victoria Theatre, rendering the part in the 
 German language. So well pleased was the Emperor 
 William, who witnessed the performance, that he sent 
 an autograph letter of thanks, and recommended her 
 
184 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 as the most finished actor then in the Empire. For a 
 time she also performed the daring feat of entering a 
 den of lions twice each day, and was known as " Senorita 
 Agnes, the Lion Queen." After the death of her hus- 
 band, for more than three years she successfully man^ 
 aged the Hippo-Olympiad Circus, attending to all the 
 managerial details of the business and taking the part of 
 a regular performer also. An interesting book of itself 
 might be written concerning the life of this excellent 
 woman, who now, nursing the grief which misfortune 
 bequeathed her lamenting the loss of two loving hus- 
 bands, both of whom were the victims of foulest murder 
 she lives only in the ambition of her beautiful daugh- 
 ter, her only child, who now delights the Western world 
 with her electrical horsemanship. 
 
 Miss Emma Lake, though only twenty-five years of 
 age, is a phenomenal circus rider, whose reputation has 
 spread over both hemispheres. She is indisputably 
 without an equal on horseback, especially as a manege 
 rider. Beautiful of face and figure, lithe and sinuous as 
 the mother of grace, indomitable and delighted with her 
 profession, she has achieved a rank which the most am- 
 bitious woman can never hope to excel. In addition to 
 her achievements in the ring she is a lady of extra- 
 ordinary intelligence and culture, possessing a finished 
 education and most refined sensibilities. Her literary 
 efforts have found a conspicuous place in the leading 
 journals of America, and some of her poetical pro- 
 ductions exhibit decided talent. Miss Emma Lake, as 
 she is known among those of her profession, is the wife 
 of Gil. Robinson, jr., son of the celebrated John Robin^ 
 son, of circus fame. She has been traveling, hovreyer, 
 with P. T. Barnum's Exhibition for several years, re- 
 ceiving the largest salary of any person employed by that 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 185 
 
 well-known showman. Her residence is in Cincinnati, 
 where she has an elegant home. She has one child, a 
 beautiful little girl, who is the pride of the neighbor- 
 hood, and with her lives Mrs. Hickok, whose every want 
 is administered to with true filial devotion. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 WILD BILL remained with his wife in Cincinnati nearly 
 two weeks, and then giving her an affectionate good- 
 bye, went directly to St. Louis for the purpose of get- 
 ting his proposed expedition organized. Excitement 
 over the Black Hills discoveries was now at fever heat, 
 and a lively business was being done at Bismarck and 
 Cheyenne in fitting out parties who were rushing into the 
 gold region with reckless haste. A great number of 
 those intent on reaching the Hills went by boat from St. 
 Louis to Bismarck and then overland. But Bill con- 
 sidered the route from Cheyenne as the most expeditious 
 and practicable ; and his company was organized to pro- 
 ceed that way, where outfits could be had much cheaper 
 than at Bismarck. 
 
 It required several days to make up the desired num- 
 ber of men, as Bill had fixed upon not less than one hun- 
 dred and fifty, and during this period of organization he 
 daily visited the writer, who was then city editor of the 
 Evening Dispatch, and reported the progress of his 
 scheme. 
 
 In the latter part of March about one hundred persons 
 had joined the expedition at St. Louis, and nearly as 
 many more had enlisted under Carpenter at Kansas City, 
 so that the two companies were consolidated and started 
 
186 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 to the Black Hills via Cheyenne on the 12th of April. 
 The party was guided through safely, reaching the Hills 
 in the first part of May. In the meantime the town of 
 Deadwood had sprung into being and was filling up with 
 the rapidity only known to mining towns. Rough shan- 
 ties and tents dotted the hillsides ; creaking wagons 
 marked out the streets by establishing roadways, and a 
 hundred saloons and other evil concomitants loomed up 
 in swelling the town's importance. 
 
 VIEW OF DEADWOOD. 
 
 Having settled the men, or rather discharged his duties 
 as guide, Bill established himself in Deadwood to watch 
 for an opportunity to make a profitable strike. He had 
 located several claims and was making arrangements to 
 complete the necessary assessment work by trading claims 
 for labor. 
 
 Deadwood, like every other big mining town that ha 
 yet been located in the West, was full of rough charao- 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 187' 
 
 ters, renegades, cut-throats, gamblers and the devil's 
 agents generally. Night and day the wild orgies of de- 
 praved humanity continued ; a fiddler was an important 
 personage, provided he would hire out to saw all night in 
 a saloon, and the concert singer was a bonanza, especially 
 if the voice were clothed in petticoats. The arbiter of all 
 disputes was either a knife or pistol, and the graveyard 
 soon started with a steady run of victims. Sodom and 
 Gomorrah were both dull, stupid towns compared with 
 Deadwood, for in a square contest for the honors of 
 moral depravity the Black Hills' capital could give the 
 people of the Dead Sea cities three points in the game 
 and then skunk them both. 
 
 Wild Bill indulged his propensities more or less while 
 in Deadwood, but continued to prospect and avoided 
 difficulties of every character until the day of his 
 murder. 
 
 In my first " Life of Wild Bill " I was led into mak- 
 ing a very unjust allusion, which was as far from the 
 truth as the poles are apart. This arose from informa- 
 tion which I believed trustworthy but which I definitely 
 ascertained sometime afterward, was a malicious report, 
 and the pleasure I now have in correcting the evil which 
 I unconsciously committed by that act is such that I 
 should be glad to extend the excuse and correction far 
 beyond the limits of this book, and make my assurances 
 of regret in person. 
 
 The allusion referred to was in doubting the affection 
 of Bill for his wife and asserting that a final separation 
 had occurred between them before Bill left for the Hills. 
 The facts are, no man ever loved a woman more ardently 
 than Bill did his wife ; she was in his very soul ; her 
 gpirit was his ruling mentor and all his ambition was 
 centered in her happiness. How true this is may be in- 
 
 
188 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 ferred from the following letter, the very last Bill ever 
 wrote. I copy from the original, which is at present in 
 my possession : 
 
 DEAD WOOD, DAKOTA, July 17th, 1876. 
 MY OWN DARLING WIFE AGNES : 
 
 I have but a few moments left before this letter starts. 
 I never was as well in my life ; but you would laugh to 
 see me now just got in from prospecting. Will go 
 away again to-morrow. Will write again in the morning, 
 but God knows when the letter will start. My friend 
 will take this to Cheyenne if he lives. 
 
 I don't expect to hear from you, but it is all the same ; 
 I know my Agnes and only live to love her. Never 
 mind, Pet, we will have a home yet, then we will be so 
 happy. I am almost sure I will do well here. 
 
 The man is hurrying me. Good bye, dear wife. 
 Love to Emma. 
 
 J. B. HICKOK. 
 
 This letter is copied verbatim. It will be seen that, 
 he promises to write again on the following day, but he 
 either neglected to fulfill the promise or the letter mis- 
 carried, for the one here reproduced was the last Mrs. 
 Hickok ever received from him. 
 
 The last act in the life of Wild Bill was fast approach- 
 ing when this letter was written. Though he lived in 
 apparent peace with every one in Dead wood, far re- 
 moved as he was from the scenes of his personal con- 
 flicts, where he looked for enemies in every corner and 
 at every turn, yet even here, while among new found 
 friends, it was destined that he should die at the 
 hands of as cowardly a villain as God ever placed on 
 this sphere to disgrace the name of humanity. 
 
 Returning from another prospecting tour along the 
 gulches in the Black Hills, Wild Bill repaired to a saloon 
 kept by Nuttall & Mann, and engaged in a game of 
 poker. His opponent in the game was a fellow he had 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 191 
 
 never seen before, named Jack McCall. This man had 
 been at work for three or four different parties in the 
 Hills, and as his previous history was unknown, he pass- 
 ed for a "gentleman," to use the term in a qualified 
 sense. The two played for several hours and until the 
 game was concluded by Bill having won largely from 
 McCall- about five hundred dollars. But though the 
 play had been a very disastrous one for Jack, yet he ap- 
 peared in no wise ill-humored, and acknowledged that he 
 had been beaten in a fair game. 
 
 In the afternoon of the second day (Wednesday, 
 August 2d), after his successful bout with McCall, Bill 
 again engaged in a game of poker at the same saloon, 
 with Carl Mann, Charley Rich and Captain Massey, a 
 Missouri river pilot. The quartette of gamesters were 
 nil laughing and joking as the game progressed, indicat- 
 ing that none had lost so heavily as to disturb the 
 equanimity of temper. About three o'clock P. M. Jack 
 McCall was seen entering the saloon in a careless man- 
 ner, so that not the least suspicion was created as to the 
 cowardly, villainous purpose of his visit. But with that 
 calculating carefulness with which an arrant coward 
 always conceals his designs, McCall walked up to the 
 bar and around behind his victim. Then, with an anxious 
 glance lest some one of the party might detect his move- 
 ments, he jerked out a large pistol and placing the muz- 
 zle within a yard of Wild Bill's head, fired, exclaiming 
 at the time, but in a subdued voice : " Damn you, take 
 that!" The ball went crashing through the back of 
 Bill's head and came out at the center of his right 
 cheek; but before it had spent its force it struck 
 Capt. Massey in the left arm, shivering the bone, and 
 was so firmly embedded that it had to be cut out. 
 Wild Bill dropped his head f orward, the cards fell from 
 
192 HEROES OF THE PLAINS, 
 
 his relaxing grasp, and, in a succession of slow move- 
 ments, he slipped out of the chair and then fell prone 
 upon the floor. The murderer's work had been thor- 
 oughly done, for his victim died without a convulsive 
 shiver and lay before him covered with a growing pallor ; 
 but on the face, though the shattered cheek was crim- 
 soned with a flow of richest blood, the last smile still 
 lingered, as if to proclaim the triumph of his manhood, 
 in showing how bravely he could die. 
 
 After firing; the fatal shot McCall drove the crowd 
 
 o 
 
 before him out of the saloon and resisted arrest until the 
 fear possessed him that some avenging friend of Bill's 
 would slay him. It was then the assassin offered to sub- 
 mit to a trial and accept the consequences of his act. He 
 was taken to a building in the lower part of the town, 
 where a volunteer guard was placed over him. 
 
 Within an hour after the murder the whole of Dead- 
 wood was in a furore of excitement. A coroner's jury 
 was soon empanneled with C. H. Sheldon as foreman, 
 which, after a short inquiry, rendered a verdict in accord- 
 ance with the circumstances as here related. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 AFTER receiving the verdict of the coroner's jury, im- 
 mediate preparations were made for the trial of the mur-* 
 derer. McDaniel's theatre was chosen as the most suit- 
 able place for conducting the proceedings, as it was cer- 
 tain a very large crowd would be in attendance. There 
 was no regular court at Deadwood, and in the absence of 
 duly qualified officers it was determined to conduct the 
 
LIFE OP WILD BILL. 193 
 
 trial according to the usages of self-constituted courts 
 outside the pale of established legal jurisdictions. 
 
 A meeting of citizens was held at the theatre during 
 the evening, at which preparations were made for the 
 trial. Judge W. L. Kuykendall presided over the as- 
 semblage, and after stating the object of the meeting he 
 was unanimously chosen as Judge in the trial of the mur- 
 derer. Isaac Brown was elected sheriff, and one deputy 
 and twelve guards were appointed by the presiding of- 
 ficer. After proceeding thus far an adjournment was 
 had until nine o'clock the following day, in order that 
 some time might be had for necessary preparations, and 
 to convey an announcement of the results of the meet- 
 ing to the miners of the Whitewood and Deadwood dis- 
 tricts. 
 
 At the appointed hour, on Thursday, the meeting was 
 called pursuant to adjournment, when the action of the 
 preceding meeting was submitted in a report read by J. 
 A. Swift, and adopted. Col. May was chosen to con- 
 duct the prosecution while the prisoner selected A. B. 
 Chapline to defend him, but as Chapline was quite ill at 
 the time, Judge Miller was named instead. A commit- 
 tee of three, consisting of Mr. Reid, of Gayville, Jos. 
 Harrington, of Deadwood, and Mr. Cain, of Montana 
 City, was next appointed by the chair, whose duty it was 
 to select the names of thirty-three residents from each of 
 their respective districts, and from the names thus sub- 
 mitted the jury of twelve was to be drawn. 
 
 Having now completed all the necessary arrangements 
 another adjournment was ordered until two o'clock P. M. 
 when the trial was to begin. 
 
 The excitement on the streets continued to increase 
 and sentiments of every character were fully expressed. 
 Some favored a lynching before trial, a few deemed the 
 
194 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 act justifiable, while a greater number were disposed to 
 abide the finding of the jury after a fair trial. 
 
 Promptly at the hour appointed the chosen officers 
 filed into the theater building, the prisoner being con- 
 ducted by the sheriff and guards. The improvised court 
 room, however, was fairly packed an hour before, and 
 the officers therefore had to elbow their way to the plat- 
 form. 
 
 Jack McCall, as he took a seat on the right of Judge 
 Kuykondall, presented a most forbidding appearance. 
 He was twenty-five years of age, but dissipation and a 
 low life had painted their stains on his ugly features. 
 His brow was low and retreating, as a sign of his cow- 
 ardly and brutal propensities, while sandy hair, small 
 moustaches and cross-eyes completed the unmistakable 
 evidences of his villainous character. He attempted to 
 appear indifferent and assume the role of a desperado 
 who had been accustomed to acting such parts, but de- 
 spite this effort the chicken liver he possessed made his 
 flesh creep and the blanche and color of his cheeks come 
 and go like a patient badly overcome with intermittent 
 fever. 
 
 The first proceeding was a selection of jurors. The 
 ninety-nine names submitted by the committee were 
 written on slips of paper and placed in a hat, from which 
 they were drawn by the deputy sheriff. As each name 
 was called the person responding thereto was examined 
 touching his qualifications to serve as a juror in the case. 
 Nearly all had either formed or expressed an opinion as 
 to the guilt of the prisoner, and the venire was therefore 
 almost exhausted before the necessary panel of twelve 
 was chosen, and which consisted of the following persons : 
 John Mann, J. J. Bumfs, L. D. Brokow, Edward Burke, L. 
 A. Judd, J. H. Thompson, Charles Whitehead, John E. 
 

 LITE OF WILD BILL. 195 
 
 Thompson, Geo. S. Hopkins, K. F. Towle, J. F. Cooper 
 and Alexander Travis. The jury being sworn, the trial 
 proceeded. The witnesses examined were Charles Rich, 
 Carl Mann, Samuel Young, an employe at the saloon, 
 Geo. M. Shingle, who was also a witness of the tragedy, 
 Isaac Brown, who arrested the prisoner, Patrick H. 
 Smith, H. H. Pitkins and Ira Ford. The last three were 
 introduced on behalf of defendant to prove his character 
 as a peaceable man. The evidence was all in accordance 
 with the facts of the tragedy as reported, except that 
 considerable time was consumed in eliciting opinions of 
 witnesses respecting the character of both Wild Bill and 
 his murderer, and of course a great variety of opin* 
 ions were expressed. 
 
 After the testimony was concluded, the prisoner was 
 asked if he desired to make any statement. 
 
 "Yes," was his response, "I have a few words to 
 say," and stepping down from the perch on which he 
 had been sitting into the auditorium, he placed one hand 
 inside the front opening of his woolen shirt, and throw- 
 ing back his head in an imperious manner, delivered him- 
 self as follows : "Well, men, I have but few words to 
 say. Wild Bill killed my brother, and I killed him. 
 Wild Bill threatened to kill me if I ever crossed his path. 
 I am not sorry for what I done ; if I had to, I would do 
 the same thing over again." He then returned to his 
 place on the stage. 
 
 The prosecuting attorney, instead of making an open- 
 ing argument, used the time in bringing out the testi- 
 mony of a number of persons who swore that Wild Bill 
 had been much abused and a reputation given him for 
 atrocious deeds which he never deserved : that in every 
 instance when he killed any one the act had always been 
 declared as justifiable by every fair-minded person. 
 
196 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Judge Miller, the defendant's counsel, then followed, 
 making a very able appeal in behalf of his client ; though 
 not a scintilla of evidence had been produced showing 
 that Wild Bill had killed McCall's brother, yet he used 
 the assertion made by the prisoner with telling effect. 
 He eloquently enlarged on the intention of the defendant, 
 who, as he asserted, had not considered the act as mur- 
 der, but a just revenge for the killing of his brother ; 
 that Bill's dexterity in the use of firearms rendered it 
 impossible for the prisoner to meet his victim " on the 
 square," as such an attempt would have been almost 
 equal to suicide. In addition to this kind of argument 
 the Judge closed with the following appeal to the jury : 
 "Men, comrades, you have been chosen to decide the 
 guilt and punishment of one of your own companions ; 
 look upon the honest countenance of this poor boy who 
 is being tried for his life because he struck down the 
 assassin of a dearly beloved brother ; note, particularly, 
 that unflinching and innocent eye, which could not possi- 
 bly belong to a man who could do any wrong," and con- 
 tinued for nearly half an hour in coining similar extrava- 
 gant qualifications which were a very parody on the brute 
 who was on trial ; or as a correspondent who was present 
 at the trial said, in his comments on the Judge's 
 panegyric, "the eye, the face, and in fact everything 
 about the prisoner, denoted villainy and iniquity as an 
 innate part of his nature." 
 
 The Judge certainly deserved credit for making so able 
 an effort when there was no real basis upon which to rest 
 a valid defense. 
 
 5 Col. May made the closing argument on behalf of the 
 prosecution, and those who knew him best declared it 
 the ablest speech of his life. After rehearsing the facts 
 of the case he declared that * * if this be not murder then 
 
LITE OF WILD BILL. 197 
 
 there never was murder committed. The deceased in 
 his bloody winding-sheet, from his mountain grave, de- 
 manded that a proper punishment be meted out to his 
 villainous assassin." He called attention to the fact that 
 no testimony had been adduced to show that Wild Bill 
 had ever done a single unlawful act, but contended that 
 in every instance where he had shed human blood that 
 he was justifiable in so doing, and that no evidence had 
 been submitted to show that he had threatened the life 
 of the prisoner. " It is strange," said the Colonel, "if 
 the prisoner has been living for years with a sworn deter- 
 mination to kill Wild Bill, that only two days ago he 
 should have been pleasantly engaged playing cards with 
 him." He appealed for justice in the name of law and 
 civilization, and begged the people not to suffer such an 
 atrocious and unprovoked crime to go unpunished lest 
 the barbaric code of the Indians become the arbiter of 
 disputes. 
 
 The trial was not concluded until six o'clock in the 
 evening, at which time the case was given to the jury, 
 and they repaired to a wing of the theatre to prepare 
 their verdict. As was afterward ascertained, when the 
 jury first voted there were eleven for acquittal and one 
 for conviction. Some debate then followed among 
 them, when another juror proposed that the prisoner be 
 fined in the sum of twenty dollars and then released, or 
 be committed until the fine should be paid. After an 
 hour and thirty minutes of discussion the jury came to a 
 compromise conclusion, and when they returned into 
 court, which remained in session awaiting a verdict, the 
 foreman handed to the clerk their finding, which read as 
 follows : 
 
 " We, the jurors, find the prisoner, Mr. John McCall, 
 not guilty. 
 
 " CHARLES WHITEHEAD, Foreman." 
 
198 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 The prisoner was immediately released, and some few 
 who sanctioned this endorsement of one of the foulest, 
 premeditated and utterly indefensible murders ever com- 
 mitted, had the audacity to congratulate McCall on his 
 acquittal. Thus ended this self -constituted farcical 
 court, and the citizens who attended the trial at once 
 went to their homes and cleaned up their weapons. If 
 the society of Deadwood permitted one man to slaughter 
 another with impunity in the manner McCall had killed 
 Wild Bill, then every person in the place recognized the 
 overshadowing importance of being prepared for emer- 
 gencies. 
 
 CHAPTER XVm. 
 
 AFTER the inquest on the remains of Wild Bill the 
 body was given in charge of Charley Utter (Colorado 
 Charley) whose friendship for the dead man had existed 
 for many years. A bier, or litter, was made by laying 
 some boards across two poles, on which the body was 
 placed and carried by a procession of friends across the 
 creek to Utter' s camp. Here the final preparations for 
 the funeral were made, and that too with a hand which 
 took this last means of demonstrating the depth of its 
 friendship. Charley was much affected by the death of 
 his old comrade, and like a true brother during life, his 
 love and admiration intensified when death severed th( 
 bond of companionship. 
 
 A romantic and beautiful arbor was constructed at th( 
 foot of the most majestic trees in the gulch by Utter 's 
 camp, under which the body of Wild Bill was laid, while 
 a fine coffin was ordered, and the following funeral notice 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 199 
 
 was printed and distributed among all the miners of the 
 district : 
 
 FUNERAL NOTICE. 
 
 DIED in Deadwood, Black Hills, August 2d, 1876, 
 from the effects df a pistol shot, J. B. Hickok, (Wild 
 Bill) , formerly of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Funeral services 
 will be held at Charley Utter 's camp on Thursday after- 
 noon, August 3d, 1876, at three o'clock, p. M. 
 
 All are respectfully invited to attend. 
 
 At the appointed hour, notwithstanding the large num- 
 ber who were in attendance at the trial, fully fifty friends 
 .and admirers of the deceased assembled at Utter' s camp 
 ready to pay the last rites of respect to him whose lif e 
 had been such a fitful dream. The mortal remains of 
 Wild Bill now reposed in a handsome comn mounted 
 with silver ornaments and covered with black cloth. The 
 body was handsomely dressed in the best clothes obtain- 
 able in Deadwood. A more complete picture of perfect 
 rest and resignation was never seen than that which the 
 dead scout presented. The gaping wound in his cheek 
 had been deftly closed and was scarcely noticeable ; hi& 
 long, beautiful, chestnut hair lay parted evenly across 
 his forehead and fell gracefully over his broad shoulders. 
 The face was a study for any beholder ; instead of mani- 
 festing the agony of death, there was nothing but peace 
 and contentment on his features ; the lips were slightly 
 parted as if still smiling at the last joke which was pass- 
 ing around the table when the fatal shot was fired. Be- 
 side him, in his coffin, lay his carbine rifle that he had 
 carried for many years, and was now to be buried with 
 him according to a wish he had often expressed. 
 
 A grave had been prepared in a most romantically 
 lovely spot on the mountain side, over which spread the 
 foliage of redolent pine trees, and around which was a 
 profusion of wild flowers, freighting the air with deli- 
 
 12 
 
300 HEROES OF THE PLAINS, 
 
 cious perfume*. On every side, making the landscape 
 replete with nature's grandest effects, were towering 
 boulders, from between the crevices of which peeped out 
 fragrant sweet wiihams and violets, mingling their in- 
 cense with the concert of warbling voices in the branches 
 overhead. It was such a spot as the brave sleeper would 
 have selected for his sepulcher, for he loved the forest 
 solitudes, and made companionship with the wilds of 
 the wilderness. 
 
 Here, under the bright arch of an auspicious heaven, 
 under the arbor nature had prepared with lavish hand, 
 Wild Bill was laid in that sleep which, perchance, 
 is eternal waking, and with him were all his animosities, 
 his desires for revenge, his ambitions, and his expecta- 
 tions. 
 
 A clergyman read an impressive funeral service over 
 the grave, after which the earth's warm, virgin sod, full 
 of bursting seeds and growing flowers, soon covered the 
 remains of t'he greatest scout, spy and fighter any nation, 
 perhaps, ever produced. 
 
 A large stump stood at the head of the grave, and 
 upon this was rudely carved the following : 
 
 "A brave man, the victim af an assassin, J. B. Hickok 
 (Wild Bill), aged 48 years ;* murdered by Jack McCall, 
 August 2, 1876." 
 
 The funeral ceremonies having been completed, those 
 who had assisted in the last services went directly to the 
 theater building where the trial of McCall was still in 
 progress. After hearing the verdict read and seeing the 
 murderer liberated, California Joe, an old mend of 
 Bill's, who chanced to be in Deadwood when tne assas- 
 sination occurred, stepped up to McCall and said : 
 
 *At the time of his death Wild Bill's age was 39 years, IO month* and 12 
 days. 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 201 
 
 " Look a here, young chap, these here regions haint very 
 healthy for you jist now ; so you'd better lose no time in 
 clearing outen these diggins, er yer skin won't hold water 
 no morn'n a camp sieve inside o' twenty-four hours." 
 
 At night several of the murdered man' s friends held a 
 secret meeting, at which it was decided to lynch McCali, 
 but their plans were frustrated by the assassin having 
 taken California Joe's warning, as he found the climate 
 suddenly very oppressive and injurious. 
 
 Tlxe following beautiful poem was written by Capt. 
 Jack. Crawford, the poet scout, one of Wild Bill's most 
 intimate comrades, a sketch of whose life will be found 
 in the latter part of this work. It was dedicated to Col- 
 orado Charley and commented on by the press generally 
 as oi>e of the finest specimens of Western poetic senti- 
 ever published : 
 
 BUKIAL OF WILD BILL. 
 
 [Written for the N. Y. Clipper.] 
 
 Under the sod ih the prairie land 
 
 We have laid him down to rest, 
 With many a tear from the sad, rough throng, 
 
 And the friends he loved the best ; 
 And many a heartfelt sigh was heard 
 
 As over the sward we trod, 
 And many an eye was filled with tears 
 
 As we covered him with the sod. 
 
 Under the sod in the prairie land 
 
 We have laid the good and true 
 An honest heart and a noble scout 
 
 Has bade us a last adieu. 
 No more his silvery voice will ring, 
 
 His spirit has gone to God ; 
 Around his faults let charity cling, 
 
 While we cover him with the sod. 
 
202 HEKOES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Under the sod in the land of gold 
 
 We have laid the fearless Bill ; 
 We called him Wild, yet a little child 
 
 Could bend his iron will. 
 With generous heart he freely gave 
 
 To the poorly clad , unshod 
 Think of it, pards of his noble traits- 
 
 While you cover him with the sod. 
 
 Under the sod in Deadwood Gulch 
 
 You have laid his last remains ; 
 No more his manly form will hail 
 
 The Red Man on the plains. 
 And, Charley, may Heaven bless you! 
 
 You gave him a " bully good send ;" 
 Bill was a friend to you, pard, 
 
 And you were his last, best friend. 
 
 You buried him 'neaththe old pine tree, 
 
 In that little world of ours, 
 His trusty rifle by his side 
 
 His grave all strewn with flowers ; 
 His manly form in sweet repose, 
 
 That lovely silken hair 
 I tell you, pard, it was a sight, 
 
 That face so white and fair I 
 
 And while he sleeps beneath the sod 
 
 His murderer goes free, 
 Released by a perjured, gaming set 
 
 Who'd murder you and me 
 Whose coward hearts dare never meet 
 
 A brave man on the square. 
 Well, pard, they'll find a warmer clime 
 
 Than they ever found out there. 
 
LIFE OF WILD BELL. 208 
 
 Hell is full of just such men ; 
 
 And if Bill is above to-day, 
 The Almighty will have enough to do 
 
 To keep him from going away 
 That is, from making a little scout 
 
 To the murderer' s home below ; 
 And if old Peter will let him out, 
 
 He can clean out the ranche, I know. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 JACK McCALL left Deadwood on the day following his 
 acquittal and went direct to Ouster City. Within a 
 short time after his appearance in that town, unable to 
 restrain his braggadocio inclination, he told certain per- 
 sons how he had killed Wild Bill, and boasted of the 
 deed as a most commendable act. He was at once ar- 
 rested by a Deputy TJ. S. Marshal, and at a preliminary 
 hearing, Judge Blair decided to hold the prisoner and 
 send him to Yankton for trial. C. W. Bramel appeared 
 for the defendant in the first hearing, and Attorney- 
 General Jenkins prosecuted. McCall was taken to 
 Yankton, without delay, by Marshal Bal combe, and 
 there held until the U. S. District Court sat in January 
 following, when the prisoner was put upon trial. The 
 Witnesses for the prosecution nearly all appeared without 
 special summons, as they were anxious to see a tardy 
 justice done at last. 
 
 The trial continued but little more than one day, and 
 as the testimony was a repetition of that elicited by the 
 impromptu court at Deadwood, a verdict of guilty was 
 returned almost without deliberation, and the Justice, 
 
204 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 after a few days, passed sentence of death upon McCall, 
 the time of his execution being fixed for March 1st, 1877. 
 
 Notwithstanding the deep-dyed villainy of Wild Bill's 
 murderer, he still had some friends who exerted all the 
 influence they could command to save him from the fate 
 he so richly deserved. Petitions for respite and com- 
 mutation of sentence were freely circulated, which, ob- 
 taining some signatures, were forwarded to the President, 
 hoping to secure the Executive's interference ; but they 
 all failed , 
 
 When the time for the execution arrived Yankton 
 presented a very animated appearance, as people came 
 from many miles around to witness the first official 
 hanging in Dakota Territory. 
 
 Father Doxacher, a Catholic priest, visited the fated 
 prisoner and administered spiritual nerve to fortify him 
 for the scene about to be enacted. A scaffold having 
 been erected on the open prairie about two miles north of 
 Yankton, at nine o'clock on the morning of March 1st;, 
 the prisoner, priest and guards entered a closed carriage 
 And drove to the place of execution. No time was wasted 
 in preliminaries, as everything had been completed be- 
 forehand. McCall, getting out of the carriage, ascended 
 the steps of the scaffold in company with the priest, and 
 from the platform surveyed for a moment the upturned 
 faces of the multitude before him, but uttered never a 
 word. The priest, shrouded in robes of white, knelt 
 with the prisoner on the scaffold and repeated the death 
 litany while McCall engaged in earnest prayer, kissing 
 the uplifted crucifix as he arose. 
 
 At twenty minutes past ten o'clock the black cv^ was 
 adjusted over the head of the condemned man and as the 
 marshal was fixing the noose about his neck, McCall re- 
 quested him to " draw it tight, and make no mistake. " 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 
 
 205 
 
 The next moment the trap was sprung and as the body 
 shot downward McCall was heard to exclaim, "My 
 Uod !" which were his last words. Throughout all this 
 most dreadful experience McCall never exhibited the least 
 trepidation, dying with that stolid indifference which he 
 manifested when addressing the jury that tried him in the 
 Deadwood court. 
 
 Execution of Jack McCall. 
 
 On the evening following the execution of McCall, U. 
 S. Marshal Burdick received the following letter : 
 
 LOUISVILLE, KY., February 25th, 1877. 
 To THE MARSHAL OF YANKTON. 
 
 DEAR SIR : I saw in the morning papers a piece about 
 the sentence of the murderer of Wild Bill, Jack McCall. 
 There was a young man of the name of John McCall left 
 here about six years ago, who has not been heard from 
 for tTi& last three years. He has a father, mother and 
 three sisters living here in Louisville, who are very un- 
 eacy about him since they heard about the murder of 
 Wild Bill. If you can send us any information about 
 him we would be very thankful to you. 
 
806 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 This John McCall is about twenty-five years old ; has 
 light hair, inclined to curl, and one eye crossed. I can- 
 not say about his height as he was not grown when he 
 left here. Please write as soon as convenient, as we are 
 very anxious to hear from you. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 MAKY A. McCALL. 
 
 This letter was from the sister of the man who had 
 just paid the penalty of his crime, and with what feel- 
 ings of sadness she received the marshal's reply can well 
 be imagined. 
 
 One version of the origin of the difficulty which cul- 
 minated in the assassination of Wild Bill has been given 
 so repeatedly by correspondents that, as it requires but a 
 few words to relate, it is here repeated. 
 
 Jack McCall, who was generally regarded as a gamb- 
 ling sharp by the people of Deadwood, challenged Bill 
 to a game of poker. As the latter was particularly fond 
 of this sport an immediate acceptance was the result. 
 The game lasted for some hours, to Bill's great advan- 
 tage, until McCall 's money having become exhausted he 
 overbet his hand. Bill in calling the bet discovered that 
 McCall had only $7.50 to make good his bet of $10. 
 He mildly remonstrated with him by saying : * * You 
 don't want to overbet your money ; that's no way to 
 play poker." McCall then admitted that he had not an- 
 other cent, whereupon Bill gave him $5.00 with which to 
 pay his lodging a'lid breakfast, and thus the two separa- 
 ted without a word indicative of harsh feelings. This 
 version is generally accepted as furnishing the sole rea- 
 son for the murder. 
 
 " With regard to the killing of McCall' s brother by 
 Wild Bill in Hays City, as was claimed by McCall, the 
 story is evidently without foundation. All the serious 
 difficulties Bill had while- at Hays City, or elsewhere, 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL 207 
 
 have been faithfully recorded in the preceding pages, and 
 unless Jack Strawhari was McCall's brother there cannot 
 be even the remotest suspicion that the assassination was 
 prompted by the motives claimed. In addition to this, 
 McCall never made any attempt to prove that his brother 
 had been killed by Wild Bill, nor does the letter of 
 Mary A. McCall, the sister, intimate any reason for her 
 brother's deed, as she certainly would have done had her 
 brother f alien a victim to Wild Bill's vengeance. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 DEAD WOOD improved so rapidly during the latter years 
 of the seventies that it became necessary to remove the 
 bodies which lay in the first grave-yard. Building after 
 building had sprung up on the hill sides ; the primitive 
 forest fell before the axe of progress, and all natural 
 beauties which originally surrounded Wild Bill's grave 
 were torn away to give place for improvements. 
 
 On the third day of August, 1879, Charley Utter and 
 Louis Shoenfield, old friends of Bill's, keeping ever 
 green the memory of their departed comrade, having 
 decided to give their precious dead a more fitting resting 
 place, repaired to the grave and with heads uncovered, 
 exhumed the remains of Wild Bill. Upon removing the 
 coffin lid, assembled friends of the deceased were sur- 
 prised to note the few changes that had taken place in 
 the features. Save a very slightly discernible shrinkage 
 of the jaws and eyes and a darker color of the skin, 
 Wild Bill lay resting, after his three years' sleep, just as 
 he was laid away. The same smile lingered on his lips, 
 lighting up a countenance of such perfect repose that the 
 
208 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 sleeper seemed moved by some pleasant dream. His 
 rifle still lay beside him in thorough preservation, not 
 even a speck of rust being perceptible on the polished 
 barrel. 
 
 Upon lifting the remains from the grave, an extra- 
 ordinary weight was detected, which was unexplainable 
 until, in clipping off a lock of hair, Charley Utter 's hand 
 came in contact with the face of his dead friend, when 
 a singular hardness of the flesh was felt. A closer ex- 
 amination then revealed the fact that, though the body 
 retained a natural appearance, yet it was in process of 
 petrifaction. At the time of death Wild Bill's weight 
 was about one hundred and seventy-five pounds, but at 
 the exhumation the body weighed nearly three hundred 
 pounds. 
 
 After the remains were exposed for several hours to 
 the gaze of numerous friends, they were conveyed to 
 Mount Moriah Cemetery, where a lot and grave had 
 been prepared by Charley Utter, and there given a 
 second burial. A handsome Italian head-stone was also 
 erected at the head of the grave by Mr. Utter, upon 
 which the following inscription was engraved : 
 
 WILD BILL (J. B. Hickok), 
 
 Killed by the Assassin, Jack McCall, in Dead wood, 
 August 2d, 1876. Pard, we will meet again in the 
 Happy Hunting Grounds, to part no more. Good-bye. 
 
 COLORADO CHARLEY. 
 
 Here let the brave heart rest in the solitude of a fron- 
 tier sepulcher ; rest from the strife with which his life 
 was so familiar ; rest from the labors of a sturdy pio- 
 neer. The highway which he blazed by indomitable 
 bravery and consecrated with the most sacred sacrifice he 
 could give, is still followed by the advancing hosts of an 
 expanding empire, dispelling primeval sounds and touch- 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 
 
 209 
 
 Ing the virgin forests with the magic wand of a perfect 
 civilization. The birds which carol their morning and 
 evening concerts over his grave are drifting westward and 
 will soon be seen no more, while in their stead will be 
 heard the whir and hum of a busy life. The rough 
 sounds and strife of a border settlement will give place 
 to the sweet home melodies of cultured maidens, and 
 eoming generation, like repeating wave* which wash out 
 the footsteps from the beach, will destroy the landmarks 
 
 Wild Bill's Grave. 
 
 of the early settlers and point to Wild Bill's grave as the 
 spot where sleeps a hero-pioneer ; whose heart in life 
 was gentle as a child's prayer, and yet brave as God 
 could make it. An appreciation of the services which 
 this noble scout rendered the builders of a Western em- 
 pire belongs to those of unborn generations. " No man 
 is appreciated until he is dead." 
 
 The following poem, another tribute of 
 
210 HEROES OP THE PLAINS. 
 
 from Captain Jack Crawford, who delights in embower- 
 ing the memory of his dead comrade with the most fra- 
 grant of poetic garlands, will appropriately conclude this 
 history of Wild Bill's death and burial : 
 
 WILD BILL'S GRAVE. 
 
 [Written for the Virginia Evening Chronicle, August 4, 1877.] 
 BY HIS PARD, CAPTAIN JACK. 
 
 On the side of the hill between Whitewood and Deadwood, 
 At the foot of a pine stump, there lies a lone grave, 
 Environed with rocks, and with pine trees and redwood, 
 Where the wild roses bloom over the breast of the brave. 
 A mantle of brushwood the greensward encloses ; 
 The green boughs are waving far up overhead ; 
 While under the sod and the flow'rets reposes 
 The brave and the dead. 
 
 Did I know him in life? Yes, as brother knows brother 
 I knew him and loved him 'twas all I could give, 
 My love. But the fact is we loved one another, 
 And either would die that the other might live. 
 Rough in his ways ? Yes, but kind and good-hearted ; 
 There wasn't a flaw in the heart of Wild Bill, 
 And well I remember the day that he started 
 That graveyard on top of the hill. 
 
 A good scout? I reckon there wasn't his equal, 
 Both Fremont and Ouster could vouch for that fact. 
 Quick as chain-lightning with rifle or pistol 
 And Custer said, " Bill never backed ! " 
 He called me his " kid "Buffalo Bill was his " boy 
 And in fact he knew more than us both : 
 And, though we have shared both in sorrow and joy, 
 Nary an oath. 
 
 And now let me show you the good that was in him 
 The letters he wrote to his Agnes his wife. 
 Why, a look or a smile, one kind word could win him. 
 Hear part of this letter the last of this life : 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 211 
 
 "AGNES DARLING: If uch should be that we never meet 
 again, while firing my last shot I will gently breathe the name 
 of my wife my Agnes and with a kind wish even for my 
 enemies, I will make the plunge and try to swim to the other 
 shore." 
 
 Oh, Charity ! come fling your mantle about him , 
 Judge him not harshly he sleeps 'neath the sod ; 
 Custer, brave Ouster ! was lonely without him, 
 Even with God. 
 
 Charge, comrades, charge ! see young Custer ahead 
 
 His charger leaps forth, almost flying. 
 
 One volley ! and half his comrades are dead 
 
 The other half fighting and dying ! 
 
 Let us hope while their dust is reposing beneath 
 
 The dirge-singing pines in the mountains, 
 
 That Christ has crowned each with an evergreen wreath 
 
 And giv'n them to drink from his fountains. 
 
 In the foregoing chapters the writer has described, as 
 he believes, every important adventure in Wild Bill's 
 life ; the commonplace incidents, however, have been 
 omitted , such as inconsequential personal difficulties ; 
 long and tedious journeys ; his career as a pony-express 
 rider ; overland trips to Salt Lake, and such other events 
 as happen to nearly all men engaged in frontier service. 
 His life was so full of daring acts that to record the or- 
 dinary incidents with the extraordinary adventures in 
 which he participated would destroy the interest and im- 
 pression the writer has sought to produce in this humble 
 effort. 
 
 But before concluding this biography of the greatest 
 scout and fighter, perhaps, of whose life history furnishes 
 any authentic record, it is important to briefly describe 
 Wild Bill in his social relations, removed from the influ- 
 ences which called for an exercise of his recklessly brave 
 spirit. 
 
 Socially, among those of cultivated taste and refine- 
 
212 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 ment, Wild Bill was very agreeable company, laying 
 aside at once every uncouth habit and showing the in- 
 nate gentlemanly qualities of which he was possessed. 
 He had but few intimate friends, the most prominent of 
 whom were W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill), and Capt. Jack 
 Crawford, whose lives ran in the same channels as his 
 own ; and Dr. Joshua Thorne a*nd Capt. E. W. Kings- 
 bury, both of Kansas City, among the limited number of 
 his associates in the more peaceful walks of life. 
 
 Dr. Thome was Bill's physician for many years and to 
 him he confided his most sacred secrets ; Kingsbury was 
 a Captain in the Second U. S. Cavalry during the time 
 that Bill was acting as guide for the regiment through the 
 Indian campaigns, and it was in this service that they be- 
 came very intimate. Wild Bill acted the part of an 
 elder brother to Buffalo Bill and the two were so warmly 
 attached that an insult would have been resented much 
 more promptly by one when directed against the other 
 than if pressed upon himself. Their relations were those 
 of devoted comradeship and each was gladdened by 
 praise bestowed upon the other. At times harsh words 
 might pass between them, but each would submit to any 
 language offered by the other without thinking of retali- 
 ation, while the slightest rebuke from anyone else would 
 be sure to precipitate a row. 
 
 Wild Bill had no well defined religious belief, though 
 his convictions, judging from assertions he had been 
 heard to make to his best friends, were those of a Spir- 
 itualist. To Dr. Thome he asserted that, when sur- 
 rounded by imminent dangers, he was influenced by 
 spiritual agencies who kept him cool while they discon- 
 certed his enemies. It was to this influence he ascribed 
 his presence of mind on the most trying occasions. 
 
 Another very singular characteristic Bill possessed was 
 
LIFE OF WILD BELL. 213 
 
 that of excessive grief following all his fatal encounters. 
 While never directly evading a fight, he always gave 
 way to great sorrow for its consequences. Nearly all 
 his victims were given proper burial at his expense, and 
 Bill was the chief mourner at all the funerals when he 
 had furnished the corpse. After his great fight at Rock 
 Creek he learned that Jim McCandlas had left a widow 
 with several children in destitute circumstances. From 
 that time until Mrs. McCandlas' death he contributed to 
 her support, sending remittances of money whenever he 
 was in condition to do so. 
 
 Dr. Thome informed the writer that he had removed 
 eleven bullets from the body of Wild Bill, nearly all of 
 which were shot into him at the Eock Creek fight, but 
 that during all of the painful operations Bill gave ex- 
 pression to none other than sympathetic words for the 
 ferocious enemies he had slain in that memorable en- 
 counter. 
 
 Though living the life of a bachelor within a few 
 months of his death, Bill was nevertheless excessively fond 
 of children, and so great was his influence among the 
 smallest infants that he could pacify the most peevish 
 ones better than a mother. 
 
 America has given birth to many a skillful marksman, 
 but there can be no question that Wild Bill was the most 
 expert pistol shot that this or any other country ever 
 produced. To him this accomplishment was a gift of 
 nature, which he greatly improved by years of persistent 
 practice. Nearly all the leading magazines and news- 
 papers have published elaborate articles descriptive of his 
 marvelous accuracy and skill in the use of a pistol, but 
 it is not inappropriate in this connection to recall some of 
 the excellencies of his pistol practice. 
 
 On one occasion, during his residence in Kansas City, 
 
214 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 he gave Dr. Thorne examples of his wonderful shooting. 
 It was on a sultry Sabbath afternoon, when the two were 
 sitting out in the side yard connected with the Doctor's 
 residence engaged in desultory conversation. A flock of 
 chickens were strolling about the place, among the num- 
 ber being a large rooster whose propensity was for chas- 
 ing every other gallinaceous male off the place. Dr. 
 Thorne having informed Bill of the troublesome qualities 
 of the fowl, expressed a wish that, as it was too old to 
 eat, some one would kill it out of compassion for the 
 other male chanticleers. Thereupon Wild Bill remarked : 
 
 " I'll bet you five dollars, Doctor, that I can cut the 
 rooster's throat with my derringer, at thirty paces, with- 
 out breaking his neck or touching the head or body." 
 
 11 You can't do it," responded the Doctor, "and I'll 
 take the bet." The chicken was chased to the required 
 distance, and w^hile it was still walking Bill raised his 
 pistol and fired, without even bringing the weapon to his 
 eye. The rooster ran a short distance and then drop- 
 ped and fluttered about until it died. Upon examina- 
 tion it was found that the chicken's throat and windpipe 
 had been cut with the same cleverness as if a knife had 
 been used, while its neck was evidently not touched. 
 
 This shot, surely as perfect as could be made, so as- 
 tonished the Doctor that he claimed it was an accident. 
 Bill then , to convince him that it was not, fired several 
 times from the two cartridge derringers he carried, first 
 at small objects and then at sparrows in the trees ; each 
 shot went directly to the mark, not a single miss being 
 made. The Doctor was satisfied. 
 
 Among the great number of fancy shots Bill was accus 
 tomed to make in amusing his friends, was one driving 
 the cork through the neck of a bottle and knocking the 
 bottom out without breaking the neck. This shot was 
 also performed at a distance of thirty paces. 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 215 
 
 For a lucrative pastime, at which he won no inconsid- 
 erable amount of money, Bill would get up a shooting 
 match and then take bets of from one to ten dollars that 
 he could shoot a hole through a silver dime at a distance 
 of fifty paces. This seemed so utterly impossible that 
 there was but little difficulty in getting a number of such 
 bets, until he demonstrated his ability to perform the act 
 nine times out of ten. Of course, at such a distance, it 
 is almost impossible to see so small an object as a silver 
 dime, but this difficulty was readily overcome by placing 
 the money in such a position that the sun's rays would 
 be gathered on its surface, thus presenting a brilliant 
 spot for a target. 
 
 In rifle shooting Bill was also an adept, but at short 
 spaces he was much more dextrous with the pistol. In 
 using the former weapon he took deliberate aim, while 
 with the latter he fired at seeming random, the bullet, 
 apparently, going straight to the mark of its own voli- 
 tion. 
 
 In the early part of 1864, during his service as a scout 
 under Gen. Daviess, as has already been related in chap- 
 ter V, Wild Bill came into possession of a beautiful 
 young mare to which he gave the name Black Nell." 
 This animal was a filly with a pedigree which it is to be 
 regretted Bill never learned, as she was captured in a fight 
 with three bushwhackers, but her exquisite beauty fur- 
 nished a true index of her lofty descent. She was black 
 as a raven and full of spirit ; her neck arched with the 
 grace of a rainbow ; her eye was soft and clear as a vir- 
 gin's, and her limbs were as symmetrical as those of the 
 trinity of graces. During all his leisure, Bill gave atten- 
 tion to the care and training of this animal until at 
 length she became the wonder of all who witnessed the 
 performances through which he so frequently put her. 
 13 
 
116 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 He first trained the mare to obey his commands given by 
 whistles ; to everyone except Bill she appeared fierce and 
 unmanageable, but to him she was the very soul of sa- 
 gacity and docility. Whether grazing, feeding at the 
 trough, or lying down, Bill had only to blow a single 
 whistle and she would come running to him with the 
 eagerness of a dog anxious to greet his master. A snap 
 of his fingers would send her galloping away, but the 
 whistle would always cause her immediate return. 
 
 Another trick Bill taught his beautiful mare afterward 
 proved the means of saving his life. Riding her at the 
 swiftest speed he had only to drop his hand so that the 
 mare could see the act, and instantly she would stop and 
 prostrate herself on the ground, remaining in that posi- 
 tion until she was bidden to rise again. On the occa- 
 sion referred to, where this trick saved his life, Bill was 
 riding through the northern part of Greene county, Mo., 
 on a scouting tour. While passing through the tall prai- 
 rie grass he was pursued by a body of bushwhackers. 
 After fleeing before them for several miles he crossed a 
 low piece of ground which temporarily hid him from the 
 sight of his enemies. In this place Bill made a turn and 
 moving his hand before Black Nell she instantly dropped 
 down and remained perfectly quiet while the pursuing 
 party rode by within fifty yards without discovering him. 
 
 During a visit of Wild Bill to Springfield, Mo., in 
 1867, meeting, with many old friends, he became decid- 
 edly convivial under the influences usually indulged in 
 that town. He had his famous mare with him, and after 
 explaining her good qualities and sense, offered to wager 
 treats for the crowd that he could make Black Nell leap 
 on to a billiard table and from that perch drink a quart of 
 whisky. Some one accepted the bet, chiefly because they 
 desired to see the act performed. Bill at once removed 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 217 
 
 the bridle and saddle from Nell, and going into a saloon 
 which contained an old billiard table, told the mare to 
 follow him. Nell, obedient as a poodle, walked so closely 
 behind her master that her nose rested on his shoulder. 
 Approaching the billiard table, he bade the mare mount. 
 Nell at once reared up and deposited her forelegs on the 
 table, but it was only after a long and persistent effort 
 that she could raise her hind feet so high ; in fact the 
 strain came near disabling her for life ; but she accom- 
 plished the feat, and then drank the whisky with as much 
 relish as her master ever exhibited. 
 
 This wonderful mare, famous among the most cele- 
 brated horses of America, died near Kansas City in 
 1869. Wild Bill manifested the most poignant grief at 
 the loss of his sagacious friend, and buried her with ap- 
 propriate funeral ceremonies, and afterward made many 
 pilgrimages to her grave. 
 
 Having now discharged my duties as biographer of 
 Wild Bill, and given to him the character of a brave, 
 honest and true man, worthy a position in the annals of 
 American frontier history, lest the reader should ascribe 
 to me undue admiration for the man whom I have 
 sought to justly heroize, I will close this history with two 
 published opinions from men capable of judging his true 
 character. The first, as here given, is from a writer in 
 Scribner's Magazine for October, 1876 : 
 
 " * * * I had been in town only a few moments 
 when I met Charley Utter, better known in the West as 
 Colorado Charley,* to whom I had a letter of introduc- 
 tion, and who at once invited me to share his camp while 
 I remained in the region. 
 
218 HEEOES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 " On our way to his tent, we met J. B. Hickok, 'Wild 
 Bill,' the hero of a hundred battles. Bill was Utter' s 
 pardner,' and I was introduced at once. Of course I 
 had heard of him, the greatest scout in the West, but I 
 was not prepared to find such a man as he proved to be. 
 
 M Most of the Western scouts do not amount to much. 
 They do a great deal in the personal reminiscence way, 
 but otherwise they are generally of the class described as 
 ' frauds.' In Wild Bill I found a man who talked 
 little and had done a great deal. He was about six feet 
 two inches in height, and very powerfully built ; his face 
 was intelligent ; his hair blonde, and falling in long ring- 
 lets upon his broad shoulders ; his eyes, blue and pleas- 
 ant, looked one straight in the face when he talked ; and 
 his lips, thin and compressed, were only partly hidden 
 by a straw-colored moustache. His costume was a cu- 
 riously blended union of the habiliments of the border- 
 man and the drapery of the fashionable dandy. Beneath 
 the skirts of his elaborately embroidered buckskin coat 
 gleamed the handles of two silver-mounted revolvers, 
 which where his constant companions. His voice was low 
 and musical, but through its hesitation I could catch a 
 ring of self-reliance and consciousness of strength. Yet 
 he was the most courteous man I had met on the plains. 
 On the following day I asked to see him use a pistol, and 
 he assented. At his request I tossed a tomato can about 
 fifteen feet into the air, both his pistols being in his belt 
 when it left my hand. He drew one of them and fired 
 two bullets through the tin can before it struck the 
 ground. Then he followed it along, firing as he went, 
 until both weapons were empty. You have heard the 
 expression quick as lightning.' Well, that will describe 
 Wild Bill. He was noted all over the country for rapid- 
 ity of motion, courage and certainty of aim. Wherever 
 
LIFE or WILD BILL. 219 
 
 he went he controlled the people around him, and many 
 a quarrel has been settled by his simple announcement, 
 * This has gone far enough.* Early in the forenoon of 
 my third day in Dead wood word was brought over to 
 camp that he had been killed/' 
 
 The following is extracted from Gen. G. A. Ouster's 
 "Life on the Plains." Wild Bill was for a longtime 
 engaged as scout for Gem Custer, accompanying him in 
 several important campaigns against the Indians, and 
 was repeatedly specially mentioned in the army reports 
 for gallantry : 
 
 "Among the white scouts were numbered some of the 
 most noted of their class. The most prominent man 
 among them was Wild Bill, whose highly varied career 
 was made the subject of an illustrated sketch in one of 
 the popular monthly periodicals a few years ago. Wild 
 Bill was a strange character, just the one which a novelist 
 might gloat over. He was a plainsman in every sense of 
 the word, yet unlike any other of his class. In person 
 he was about six feet one in height, straight as the 
 straightest of the warriors whose implacable foe he was ; 
 broad shoulders, well-formed chest and limbs, and a face 
 strikingly handsome ; a sharp, clear, blue eye, which 
 stared you straight in the face when in conversation ; a 
 finely-shaped nose, inclined to be aquiline ; a well-turned 
 mouth, with lips only partially concealed by a handsome 
 moustache. His hair and complexion were those of a 
 perfect blonde. The former was worn in uncut ringlets 
 falling carelessly over his powerfully formed shoulders. 
 Add to this figure a costume blending the immaculate 
 neatness of the dandy with the extravagant taste and 
 style of the frontiersman, and you have Wild Bill, then 
 as now the most famous scout on the plains. 
 
 " Whether on foot or on horseback, he was one of the 
 
HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 moat perfect types of physical manhood I ever saw. Of 
 his courage there could be no question ; it had been 
 brought to the test on too many occasions to admit of a 
 doubt. His skill in the use of the rifle and pistol was 
 unerring ; while his deportment was exactly the opposite 
 of what might be expected from a man of his surround- 
 ings. It was entirely free from all bluster or bravado. 
 He never spoke of himself unless requested to do so. 
 His conversation, strange to say, never bordered either 
 on the vulgar or blasphemous. His influence among the 
 frontiersmen was unbounded, his word was law ; and 
 many are the personal quarrels and disturbances which he 
 has checked among his comrades by his simple announce- 
 ment that 'this has gone far enough,' if need be fol- 
 lowed by the ominous warning that when persisted in ou 
 renewed the quarreler ' must settle it with me.' Wild 
 Bill is anything but a quarrelsome man ; yet no one but 
 himself can enumerate the many conflicts in which he 
 has been engaged, and which have almost invariably re- 
 sulted in the death of his adversary. I have a persona] 
 knowledge of at least half a dozen men whom he has at 
 various times killed, one of these being at the time a 
 member of my command. Others have been severely 
 wounded, yet he always escaped unhurt. On the plains 
 every man openly carries his belt with its invariable ap- 
 pendages, knife and revolver, often two of the latter. 
 Wild Bill always carried two handsome ivory-handled re- 
 volvers of the large size ; he was never seen without 
 them. Where this is the common custom, brawls or per- 
 sonal difficulties are seldom if ever settled by blows. 
 The quarrel is not from a word to a blow, but from a word 
 to the revolver, and he who can draw and fire first is the 
 beet man. No civil law reaches him ; none is applied for. 
 In fact there is no law recognized beyond the frontier 
 
LIFE OF WILD BILL. 
 
 but that of * might makes right.' Should death result 
 from the quarrel, as it usually does, no coroner's jury is 
 impanneled to learn the cause of death, and the survivor 
 is not arrested. But instead of these old-fashioned pro- 
 ceedings, a meeting of citizens takes place, the survivor 
 is requested to be present when the circumstances of the 
 homicide are inquired into, and the unfailing verdict of 
 justifiable,' 'self-defence,' etc., is pronounced, and the 
 law stands vindicated. That justice is often deprived of 
 a victim there is not a doubt. Yet in all of the many af- 
 fairs of this kind in which Wild Bill has performed a 
 part, and which have come to my knowledge, there is not 
 a single instance in which the verdict of twelve fair- 
 minded men would not be pronounced in his favor. 
 
 " That the even tenor of his way continues to be dis- 
 turbed by little events of this description maybe inferred 
 from an item which has been floating lately through the 
 columns of the press, and which states that ' the funeral 
 of " Jim Bludso," who was killed the other day by Wild 
 Bill, took place to-day.' * It then adds : ' The funeral 
 expenses were borne by Wild Bill ! ' What could be 
 more thoughtful than this? Not only to send a fellow 
 mortal out of the world, but to pay the expenses of the 
 transit!" 
 
^ 
 
 BOW. TFM. F. CODY, 
 (Buffalo Bill) 
 

 LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 
 
 (HON. WILLIAM F. CODY.) 
 
 RELATING THE ADVENTURES AND INCIDENTS IN THE CA- 
 EEEB OF THE MOST FAMOUS OF LlVING PLAINSMEN. 
 
 COMPRISING DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS DESPERATE ENCOUN- 
 TERS, NARROW ESCAPES, INDIAN BATTLES, WONDER- 
 FUL RIDES, GREAT HUNTS, AND CONQUESTS ON 
 AND OFF THE MIMIC STAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE peculiarities of American civilization are seen to 
 great advantage in the anomalous character of HON. 
 WILLIAM FREDERICK CODY, known throughout the Eng- 
 lish speaking world as Buffalo Bill. He is the very 
 embodiment of diversity, and a representative type of 
 the antipodal phases of society ; on the Plains and in 
 camp he becomes the essence of pioneer hardihood, 
 inured to privation, and the exponent of song and story ; 
 while in the salons of the aristocracy he is none the less 
 a kid-gloved society gallant, versed in all the subtle- 
 ties of polished etiquette, full of vivacity and courtly 
 witticisms. In short, there is no nature so readily con- 
 formable to all the ways of life as his, and under all cir- 
 cumstances there is always a sparkling effervescence of 
 spirit about him which can only find comparison in a 
 newly opened bottle of extra-dry champagne. These un- 
 exampled traits of character will be distinctly evidenced in 
 
 the following history of his singular life and adventures. 
 325 
 
226 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Buffalo Bill was born in a pioneer settlement of Scott 
 County, Iowa, on the 26th day of February, 1845. His 
 father, whose name was Isaac, was one of the original 
 surveyors of Davenport, and a man of strong individu- 
 ality, possessing considerable ability and the elements of 
 leadership. Opportunities, however, being few, Mr. Cody 
 had to adapt himself to the pursuits offered, and for two 
 or three years he drove a stage coach between Chicago 
 and Davenport. 
 
 In 1849 Mr. Cody was influenced by the wonderful 
 stories regarding the gold discoveries in California to 
 make provisions for the great overland journey, but after 
 starting, others who were to accompany him, abandoned 
 the enterprise and persuaded him to follow their exam- 
 ple. During his residence in Iowa he held the position 
 of Justice of the Peace, and also served one term in the 
 Legislature, but having a disposition for adventure and 
 delighting in pioneer life, he removed to Kansas in 1852, 
 settling his family at Weston, Missouri, on the farm of 
 his brother Elijah, and then established a trading post in 
 the northern part of Leavenworth County, Kansas, at 
 Salt Creek Valley, near the Kickapoo Agency. 
 
 At this time Kansas was occupied by numerous tribes 
 of Indians who were settled on reservations, and through 
 the territory ran the great highway to California and 
 Salt Lake City. In addition to the thousands of gold 
 seekers who were passing through Kansas by way of Ft. 
 Leavenworth, there were as many more Mormons in their 
 hegira from Illinois to found a new temple in which to 
 propagate their doctrines. This extensive travel made 
 the business of trade on the route a most profitable one. 
 But with the caravans were those fractious elements of 
 adventurous pioneering, and here little Billy, as Buffalo 
 Bill was then called, first saw the typical Westerner; 
 
LITE OF BUFFALO BILL. 227 
 
 with white sombrero, buckskin clothes, long hair, 
 moccasined feet and a belt full of murderous bowies and 
 long pistols. But instead of these outre peculiarities im- 
 pressing Billy with feelings of trepidation, they inspired 
 him with an ambition to become a daring plainsman. 
 The rare and skillful feats of horsemanship which he 
 daily witnessed bred in him a desire to excel the most ex- 
 pert; and when, at seven years of age, his father gave 
 him a pony, the full measure of his happiness had ripen- 
 ed, like Jonah's gourd, in a night. Thenceforth his oc- 
 cupation was horseback riding, in which pleasurable em- 
 ployment he made himself very useful in performing 
 necessary journeys in his father's interest. 
 
 Living so near the Kickapoo Indians, Billy soon became 
 well acquainted with them, and as they were very friend- 
 ly, he, with boyish curiosity, became a constant com- 
 panion of some young bucks of the tribe ; in this associ- 
 ation he participated in their sports and learned to shoot 
 with bow and arrow, throw the lance, and converse in 
 their native tongue all of which accomplishments be- 
 came very useful to him in after life. 
 
 In anticipation of the early passage of what was known 
 as the " Enabling Act of Kansas Territory," which was 
 then pending before Congress, Mr. Cody, in the fall of 
 1853, took his family from the farm of his brother and 
 settled them at the post in Kansas, where he at once set 
 about erecting suitable log buildings. In the succeeding 
 winter the act was passed, which opened up the territory 
 for settlement, and Mr. Cody immediately pre-empted 
 the claim on which he was living. 
 
 Every reader of American history is familiar with the 
 disorders which followed close upon the heels of the 
 " Enabling Act." Pending its passage the Western 
 boundary of Missouri was ablaze with the camp fires of 
 
228 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 intending settlers. Thousands of families were sheltered 
 under the canvas of their ox wagons, impatiently await- 
 ing the signal from the Nation announcing the opening 
 of the territorial doors to the brawny immigrants, and 
 when the news was heralded the waiting host poured 
 over the boundary line and fairly deluged the new public 
 domain. 
 
 In this rapid settlement of the territory a most per- 
 plexing question arose, which was contested with such 
 virulence that a warfare was inaugurated which became a 
 stain upon the nation's escutcheon, and was not abated 
 until the Missouri and Kansas borders became drunk with 
 blood. Nearly all those who came from Missouri were 
 intent upon extending slavery into the territory, whilst 
 those who emigrated from Illinois, Iowa and Indiana 
 and sought homes in the new domain were equally de- 
 termined that the cursed hydra head of slavery should 
 never be reared in their midst. Over this question the 
 border warfare began, and its fierceness can only find 
 comparison in the Inquisitorial persecutions of the fif- 
 teenth century. Men were shot down in their homes, 
 around their firesides, in the furrows behind the plow, 
 everywhere. Widows and orphans multiplied, the arm 
 of industry was palsied, while the incendiary torch lit up 
 the prairie heavens, feeding on blighted homes and trailing 
 along in the path of granaries and store-houses. Mobs 
 of murder-loving men, drunk with fury, and with hearts 
 set on desolation, day and night descended upon un- 
 guarded households, and tearing away husbands and broth- 
 ers from the loving arms of wives and sisters, left their 
 bodies dangling from the shade trees of their unhappy 
 homes, or shot them down where their blood might sear 
 the eyes of helpless, agonized relatives. Anguish sat on 
 every threshold, pity had no abiding-place, and for four 
 
LIFE OP BUFFALO BILL. 219 
 
 yars the besom of destruction, with all its pestilential 
 influences, blighted the prairie and rendered every heart 
 on the border sad and despondent. 
 
 In this war of vengeance the Cody family did not 
 escape a full measure of affliction . Near Mr. Cody's 
 trading post was another store, kept by a Missourian 
 named Eively, around which a considerable settlement 
 had been made, which became the rendezvous of many 
 different elements, and particularly of pro-slavery men, 
 who enjoyed Rively's sympathies. In the summer of 
 1854, and within a few months after the " Enabling Act" 
 was passed, a very large meeting was held at the popular 
 rendezvous, and Mr. Cody being present was pressed to 
 address the crowd on the slavery question, he being 
 regarded as favorably disposed to making Kansas a 
 slave territory, owing to the fact that his brother, 
 Elijah, was a Missourian. In the course of his remarks he 
 frankly admitted that his views were opposed to those 
 of his audience, but nevertheless expressed his opinions 
 in a most conservative manner, in order that no offence 
 might be given. Notwithstanding the guarded manner 
 of his speech, the crowd became very angry and man- 
 ifested their feelings by calling him a " black Abolition- 
 ist," and ordering him to " get down off the box." In 
 trying to assuage their anger he only aggravated them 
 the more, and before he fully comprehended the danger 
 of his position a rough desperado, who had been employed 
 as a farm hand by Elijah Cody, leaped onto the box with 
 a drawn bowie knife and stabbed the speaker twice in the 
 breast. The wounded man fell off the box and was 
 carried to Mr. Rively's house, from whence he was con- 
 veyed in a carriage to the residence of his brother, 
 where his wounds were dressed, which, though not 
 directly fatal, were indirectly the cause of his death a 
 short time after. 
 
980 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 The unfortunate speech of Mr. Cody at Bively's store 
 proved to be only the beginning of misfortunes to the 
 family. Being the first man whose blood was shed in 
 opposition to the extension of slavery in Kansas, the 
 border Missourians marked him as an object for their 
 special hatred. 
 
 STABBING OF BUFFALO BILL'S FATHER. 
 
 It was several weeks after receiving his wound before 
 Mr. Cody was able to leave his bed, and when he returned 
 to his trading post he received notice to quit the territory 
 immediately or abide the consequences which an enraged 
 mob threatened. Disregarding these warnings, his house 
 was surrounded by a body of armed mounted men on a 
 dark night shortly after, whose purpose it was to sum- 
 l marily hang him, and after consummating this foul deed 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 231 
 
 burn the house that sheltered his large family. Fortu- 
 nately the plan was discovered, and to effect an escape 
 he had recourse to the following stratagem : The night 
 being very dark, Mr. Cody quietly arose and clothed 
 himself in his wife's dress and bonnet, in which very 
 effective disguise he easily passed between the horsemen 
 and gained an adjoining cornfield, where he concealed 
 himself. The mob dismounted, and after inquiry and a 
 critical search of the premises, discovered that Mr. Cody 
 was absent a fact that the would-be murderers were at a 
 loss to understand. But that their visit might not be 
 wholly without some villainy, the mob robbed the premises 
 of everything they could find possessing any value, and 
 then drove off all the horses in the pasture and stables. 
 
 Mr. Cody, after keeping concealed for three days, suc- 
 ceeded in reaching Ft. Leavenworth, near which place 
 soon afterward he joined a party of Free State men 
 under Jim Lane, and was a participant in the fight at 
 Hickory Point, where the Free State men gained a de- 
 cided victory, but not without considerable loss. 
 
 After serving with Lane in one campaign, Mr. Cody 
 returned to his family clandestinely, and acquainting 
 them with his purpose went to Grasshopper Falls, where 
 he at once began the erection of a saw-mill. The pro- 
 slavery men were still determined to kill him, and upon 
 learning of his settlement at the Falls, immediately re- 
 solved themselves again into a body of intentional mur- 
 derers. By a lucky chance, one of the hired men on Mr. 
 Cody's homestead overheard the threats of the mob and 
 lost no time in conveying his information to Mrs. Cody. 
 With true wifely devotion, she considered only the safety 
 of her husband. Billy, her oldest boy, now nine years 
 of age, was her reliance, and to him, with trembling 
 heart, she quickly said : 
 
 14 
 
2 2 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 " Billy, my dear boy, hitch up Prince (the pony) inv 
 mediately, and ride with all your might to your father ; 
 the mob have again organized to murder him, and you 
 must reach him before they do, to warn him of his 
 danger." 
 
 There were great big tears in her eyes when she gave 
 this injunction ; a husband's safety was in the balance 
 on one side and the life of her little boy on the other ; it 
 was the hour for sacrifice, and brave little Billy, filled 
 with resolution, threw fear under his pony's feet and a 
 moment after was dashing away toward Grasshopper 
 Falls. Seven miles from the post he suddenly ap- 
 proached a body of armed men, by whom he was immedi- 
 ately recognized and commanded to halt. The boy, so 
 young in years, comprehended the situation and instead 
 of obeying the order, only quickened the pace of his 
 pony, making a detour on the prairie, hotly pursued by 
 the mob ; but he was riding to save the life of a loving 
 father, and could not afford to be captured. After a 
 chase of a few miles the mob drew rein and permitted 
 the boy to ride so far ahead of them that when they 
 reached Grasshopper Falls Mr. Cody and his brave boy 
 were enroute for Lawrence to join Jim Lane again. A1< 
 this time Lawrence was the territorial capital and thft 
 famous Lecompton Legislature was being organized, of 
 which body Mr. Cody was chosen a member. 
 
 After the first session of the Legislature he was called 
 to Ohio in the interest of the Free State advocates, 
 where he remained during a period of several months. 
 After the departure of his father, Billy, with three com- 
 panions, returned to Grasshopper Falls ; but while en- 
 route, they were ambushed by a party of renegades and 
 one of his companions killed, while Billy himself escaped 
 only through good luck and a fleet horse. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 238 
 
 Upon meeting his mother, whom he had not seen 
 since leaving home to warn his father of the mob's in- 
 tentions, he handed her a letter from Mr. Cody, which 
 fully relieved her mind from the dreadful anxiety she 
 had so long suffered ; overcome with joy, she fell upon 
 the neck of her brave boy- and could only manifest her 
 thankfulness with bounteous tears. 
 
 During Mr. Cody's absence his family was subjected 
 almost daily to some outrage ; gangs of cut-throats were 
 almost constantly hovering about the premises trying to 
 surprise Mr. Cody and kill him, or steal his stock and 
 provisions. But amid all this threatening condition of 
 affairs, and despite the persuasions of Elijah Cody, who 
 offered her a home with his family in Missouri, Mrs. 
 Cody was determined to remain at the home place and en- 
 dure whatever persecutions the pro-slavery men could in- 
 flict. She was a woman of unusual bravery, well suited 
 for a pioneer's wife, and yet a lady well educated and 
 used to the refinements of the most cultured society. 
 
 After Mr. Cody's return from Ohio he served his term 
 in the Lecompton Legislature and then resumed his la- 
 bors at Grasshopper Falls. But the wound he received 
 at the meeting near Rively's store had never healed and 
 continued to give him so much trouble that he was forced 
 to his bed again. While lying in this helpless condition 
 one of the neighbors, a violent pro-slavery man of the 
 lowest and most despicable proclivities, stole Billy's fa- 
 vorite little pony, Prince, and a few days afterward he 
 again visited the unfortunate family and expressed a deter- 
 mination to kill Mr. Cody, who was confined to his bed 
 in the upper story of the house. The murderous wretch, 
 however, was in such a maudlin condition, from the deep 
 potations in which he had indulged , that after ordering 
 Mrs. Cody and her daughters to get him some dinner, he 
 
234 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 forgot the purpose of his visit and rode off again. It 
 was fortunate for him that he made no attempt on the 
 life of Mr. Cody, as Billy had overheard his threats, and 
 with heroic resolve had taken a station at the head of the 
 stairs, with pistol in hand, determined to shoot the in- 
 truder the moment his head should appear above the 
 second-story floor. 
 
 In the spring of 1856 an attempt was made by the old 
 mob to blow up the Cody residence, to accomplish which 
 purpose two kegs of powder were secretly deposited in 
 the cellar, with a long fuse attached, but the villains 
 were foiled by the bravery of Mrs. Cody and her heroic 
 little boy, who managed to bluff the crowd that came to 
 the residence to light the fuse, by declaring that the house 
 was full of armed men who would fire on the intruders if 
 they did not immediately abandon the premises. 
 
 It was this life of constant peril that Buffalo Bill led 
 through the years of his youth, which was almost liter- 
 ally a baptism of blood and persecution ; from the boc- 
 cario he developed into the cavallard driver, and from 
 this latter occupation he speedily became a recognized 
 leader in the most thrilling adventures. 
 
 CHAPTER E. 
 
 IN the summer of 1855, when ten years of age, Billy 
 became a herder or cow-boy for Mr. Russell, to ac- 
 cept which position he ran away from home, returning 
 again at the expiration of two months with the sum of 
 fifty dollars, all in new silver coins, which he gave to his 
 mother, who needed his assistance now, since Mr. Cody 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. $85 
 
 wag still suffering from his wound and unable to con- 
 tinue his labors. 
 
 The settlement about the Kickapoo Agency having in- 
 creased rapidly, in 1856 a log school house was built and 
 an excellent teacher employed, by subscription, to give 
 instruction to the youth of that immediate section. Al- 
 though this was the first regular school in the district, 
 Billy had been under the instruction of a Miss Lyons, 
 who was engaged by Mr. Cody to come to his house and 
 teach the children, of whom there were seven, five girls 
 and two boys, so that he was considerably advanced, for 
 a pioneer boy, when he was enrolled as a pupil of one of 
 the first schools started in the territory. 
 
 For some time Billy made excellent progress ; was 
 esteemed a model scholar and in every respect won the 
 favor of teacher and fellow pupils. But his troubles 
 began right where he expected to find happiness, thus, 
 for once, following the usual plot of love stories. 
 Mary Hyatt, a flaxen-haired, pretty little miss, with 
 roguish smile and cunning eyes, was also a pupil in the 
 log school-house and sat on a seat so near Billy that she 
 became his dear charmer and condensed all his ambitions 
 in the one desire to gain a reciprocal feeling. By his 
 own admissions he became almost hopelessly stricken, 
 the arrow of love cleaving the right ventricle of his heart 
 clean through. The school-house was located on the 
 bank of a creek where the woods grew luxuriantly, and 
 afforded sylvan retreats for young lovers to build bowers 
 of foliage and flowers. Billy, ever regardful for the 
 happiness of Mary, with dextrous hands built arbors to 
 shelter his young love, just large enough to hold two, 
 the reserve spa@e being, of course, intended for himself. 
 But Billy was not without competition, his rival being a 
 larger and older boy named Stephen Gobel. The latter, 
 
236 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 instead of resorting to honorable means for winning 
 Mary, by trying to build a more delightful retreat for his 
 sweetheart, ruthlessly tore down the arbors constructed 
 by Billy and defied the school-mate he had wronged. A 
 fight was the consequence, in which adverse fortune 
 attended Billy, for he was compelled to acknowledge his 
 defeat, which fact coming to the notice of the teacher, 
 both combatants were brought under pedagogical disci- 
 pline. The course of poor Billy's love was, therefore, 
 undisputably rough, but though his spirit was humiliated, 
 his affection remained none the less strong. Like the 
 spider that, with industrious will, rebuilds again and 
 again the web destroyed by vengeful circumstance, so 
 Billy returned to the wreck of his little bower and care- 
 fully reconstructed the arch, with greener twigs and 
 fresher flowers. But again the domineering Stephen 
 destroyed the romantic little shelter and thus precipitated 
 another fight. In this second encounter the ruthless boy 
 again humbled his rival, but by chance Billy thought of 
 a small dagger he carried, and during the fight it fell out 
 of the scabbard convenient to his hand. With this he 
 contested successfully by thrusting its keen point into 
 Stephen's hip, bringing a copious flow of blood. The 
 wounded boy cried out, "I'm killed, I'-m killed ! " with 
 such piteous voice that the scholars ran to inform the 
 teacher, while Billy, frightened at what he had almost 
 unconsciously done, ran off with all possible speed, closely 
 pursued by the teacher, but not closely enough to be 
 caught. He continued his flight until he overtook a freight 
 team driven by an acquaintance named John Willis, to 
 whom he hastily related the cause of his hurry, not for- 
 getting, of course, to justify the act he had committed. 
 
 "Well," responded Willis, "you served him right; 
 gt up in the wagon and go with me to Ft. Kearney ; 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 237 
 
 the trip will take forty days, and I want you for a caval- 
 lard driver. " 
 
 This proposition suited Billy, for his adventurous spirit 
 caused him to long continually for an engagement that 
 would take him over the plains among the buffaloes and 
 tfoyotes ; but he could not go without first seeing his 
 mother, to whom he was most ardently attached. Willis 
 therefore consented to camp and go back with him at 
 night to see his mother and endeavor to gain her per- 
 mission. 
 
 Mrs. Cody had already heard of the trouble in which 
 Billy had became involved, but, like her boy, she did 
 not know the extent of Gobel's injuries, imagining them 
 to be greater than they were. After much reflection and 
 (in expression of poignant regret, Mrs. Cody at last gave 
 her consent to Willis* proposition, and with tears stream- 
 ing down her cheeks bade her little boy good-bye, not 
 neglecting to implore him to be a good boy, and ever 
 keep in mind the lesson he was now learning : that all 
 wrong was sure to entail punishment. 
 
 It so happened that Gobel's wound consisted of a very 
 slight cut, which, having drawn blood, was sufficient to 
 excite grave fears in the wounded lad. But Billy felt 
 that he had committed a terrible crime and very natu- 
 rally wanted to get out of the country to escape the fury 
 of Goble's father who, he rightly suspected, would fol- 
 low him. 
 
 On the following day, while Billy was sitting beside 
 Willis on the wagon, en route for Kearney, he discovered 
 old man Gobel, accompanied by two others, who had got 
 onto the trail and were after him. Adopting Willis* 
 suggestion, Billy got down into the wagon-bed and hid 
 himself securely among the freight, leaving his friend to 
 represent him. Willis was a plucky fellow, and being 
 
238 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 well armed he bluffed the pursuing party and carried 
 Billy through safely. 
 
 This incident was perhaps the turning point in William 
 Cody's life, for it proved to be the initiatory ceremony 
 which conferred on him the first degree as a Knight of 
 the Prairie, and caused him to adopt the wild, romantic 
 life he has ever since led. 
 
 After completing the journey to Kearney, Billy entered 
 the employ of Russell, Majors & Waddell again as a 
 cow-boy, which employment he followed for several 
 months. Having become somewhat emboldened by the 
 length of his absence, he at last returned home, where he 
 was rejoiced to find his own and the Gobel family on ex- 
 cellent terms of friendship, and Stephen ready to extend 
 the palm of forgiveness. 
 
 In the winter of 1856-5T Mr. Cody had so far recov- 
 ered that he was again able to leave his bed and travel, 
 and in company with another Free-State man named 
 Boles, went to Cleveland to bring out a colony to Kansas, 
 which he accomplished, settling the new emigrants near 
 Grasshopper Falls. But directly after his return a se- 
 vere cold, contracted during the journey, aggravated his 
 old wound and in the April following he died, leaving a 
 large family illy provided for, with Billy, who was now 
 twelve years of age, the main support. 
 
 With a heroism which has blossomed like the everlast- 
 ing flower throughout his life, the young plainsman 
 shouldered the burden that had thus fallen upon him, 
 and one month after his father's death he sought and 
 
 O 
 
 found employment with the great freighters, Russell, 
 Majors & Waddell, and departed with his mother's bless- 
 ings. He was assigned to duty under Frank and William 
 McCarthy, brothers, who were engaged to drive a large 
 herd of beef cattle to Salt Lake City, which were t* 
 
LIFB OF BUFFALO BILL. 239 
 
 serre as food for Gen. Albert Sidney Johnson's army, 
 then operating against the Mormons. 
 
 To appreciate the dangers which such a journey invited 
 at that date of Western settlement it is only necessary for 
 the reader to know the fact that in addition to the occu- 
 pation of the country by Mormons, hundreds of different 
 warlike tribes of Indians infested every ravine and moun- 
 tain pass, many of these pests of the great West being 
 employed by the Mormons to massacre overland freight- 
 ers and emigrants. It therefore required eternal vigi- 
 lance upon the part of the travelers to prevent themselves 
 from falling into hands as unmerciful as the iniquitous 
 inquisitors. Men of iron nerve and desperate pluck were 
 the only ones who attempted the perilous journey, and 
 even these never departed from their border homes with- 
 out taking a melancholy farewell of their kith and kin. 
 Little Billy, by which familiar and no less euphonious ap- 
 pellation the youthful Buffalo Bill was universally known 
 until after he became of age, was the only boy up to that 
 time that had ever been permitted to accompany a team 
 across the plains, as an assistant, but though fully ap- 
 prised of the dangers of such a trip, he ran up the black 
 feather and shouldering a Mississippi Yager manifested 
 the greatest pride in being accepted as one of the volun- 
 teers for such a hazardous undertaking. He sought 
 danger for the spice it afforded. 
 
 The company, comprising cooks, drivers, herders, etc., 
 numbering twelve persons, proceeded, with three hun- 
 dred head of cattle, as far West as the South Platte, 
 beyond old Ft. Kearney, before they met with any inci- 
 dent of note. Stopping at this point in the evening, to 
 go into camp, they met with a surprise which came near 
 ending in the annihilation of the party. Billy was busy- 
 ing himself carrying wood preparatory to cooking sup- 
 
240 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 per, while three of the herders were rounding up the cat- 
 tle in the corral ; the others were distributed around the 
 camping place preparing the tents and getting things 
 ready for the night. Suddenly, yelling and shooting 
 was heard out where the herders were, and with the first 
 volley three men were killed, having been taken by com- 
 plete surprise by a band of fifty Indians. The men in 
 camp gathered their arms instantly, just in time to meet 
 the charging Indians as they came pell-mell over the hill 
 directly for the wagons, yelling all the while like infuri- 
 ated demons. Billy was quick in comprehending the 
 situation, and though his heart may have become more 
 violent in its pulsations, he never stopped to pray or ask 
 advice ; but gathering his gun in common with the others 
 got behind the wagons and began pouring swift lead into 
 the Indians. This prompt action, resulting as it did in 
 the death of several braves, served to repel the charge. 
 The Indians, however, soon rallied, and flanking on both 
 sides came back in a rainbow movement, which promised 
 greater success. The McCarthy boys, appreciating the 
 danger of their position, ordered the men to break for 
 Plum Creek, the banks of which could be used as a pro- 
 tection and breastwork. In this retreat one of the party 
 was shot in the leg, the wound being so severe that his 
 companions had to carry him to prevent him from falling 
 into the hands of the red demons. 
 
 Beaching Plum Creek, which was only fifty yards 
 from the place of encampment, the men tried to check 
 the Indians, but their movements were anticipated and 
 in order to prevent being entirely cut off, the McCarthys 
 advised a retreat down the stream toward Ft. Kearney. 
 The wounded man was placed on a log fortunately found 
 at the water's edge and allowed to drift with the current, 
 which chanced to be rapid by reason of recent rains. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 241 
 
 The men by excellent markmanship, kept the Indians at 
 a distance, and thus the march continued for about twenty 
 miles, until they reached a jun ction of the creek with the 
 North Platte. But keeping close to the bank, the party 
 continued on down the stream throughout th e night. 
 
 Billy, being so young, became very much exhausted by 
 so long a march, carrying a large gun, and permitted the 
 others to get nearly a hundred yards in advance. The 
 night, now approaching morning, was made beautiful by 
 a bright full moon, and in closely watching the banks 
 Billy's quick eye fell upon the decorated head-dress of a 
 big Indian as he was peering over the bank looking for a 
 favorable shot. Quick as thought, without challenging 
 the enemy or shouting to his companions for help, the 
 brave boy raised his gun and fired. There was no cause 
 for conjecture regarding the effect of his aim, for with a 
 leap like the stricken deer, head-dress and Indian came 
 tumbling down the embankment, rolling over and over in 
 the descent, and fell dead at Billy's feet. To say that the 
 youthful Indian slayer was surprised affords no concep- 
 tion of his feelings ; he was frightened with astonishment, 
 and when his companions rushed back to determine the 
 cause of the shooting, they found Billy standing beside 
 his victim with looks indicative of victor and vanquished, 
 too puzzled at first to explain his act ; but the dead In- 
 dian was explanation sufficient and Billy was at once 
 complimented with such generous enthusiasm that he 
 soon realized what a heroic deed he had accomplished. 
 After the loss of their inquisitive companion the Indians 
 drew off and left Billy and his party to pursue the re- 
 mainder of their journey unmolested. 
 
 It was long after the first morning hours when the 
 footsore party reached Kearney, but upon arriving at the 
 /ort Frank McCarthy made due report of the Indian at- 
 
242 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 tack, not forgetting to elaborately describe the bravery of 
 Billy and how scientifically the lion-hearted lad had slain 
 the " biggest Indian in the outfit. " 
 
 A company was at once mounted on mules and sent 
 out from the fort, taking a howitzer with them, to re- 
 cover the cattle and if possible punish the dusky ma- 
 rauders. Billy was allowed to accompany the soldiers, 
 as his capabilities were now reckoned at more than par. 
 This force, upon reaching the scene of attack, found the 
 mutilated remains of the three herders, to which they 
 gave proper burial and then pushed on in pursuit of the 
 Indians, but the trail was lost in crossing Republican 
 river, and further efforts of the company were directed 
 to recovering the cattle. But even this object of the ex- 
 pedition had to be abandoned, as it was found that the 
 cattle not driven off by the Indians had been stampeded 
 with buffaloes, thus rendering their recapture impossible. 
 
 The first expedition, therefore, in which Billy had been 
 engaged terminated disastrously, but it brought to him a 
 full measure of adventure and notoriety. The fame so 
 soon won had preceded him on his return, so that when 
 he arrived in Leaven worth, on his way home, there was 
 an enterprising reporter awaiting to interview him. Billy, 
 though by no means vainglorious, told the story of his 
 adventure with much satisfaction, and on the following 
 day he found the substance of his relation under a bewil- 
 dering, pyrotechnical display of sensational head lines, in 
 which he was heroized with a veneering of eulogistic ex- 
 pressions impossible of analysis. In the language of Buf- 
 falo Bill, this incident has been attached to his name like 
 a tin kettle to a dog's tail, and ever since he has been pur- 
 suing life with this appendage clattering at his heels. 
 Many men, however, have been made famous by circum- 
 stances much loss interesting and meritorious. 
 
LITE OF BUFFALO BILL. 243 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 BILLY did not remain at home long before another 
 opportunity was offered him to cross the plains. With 
 most boys a trip replete with experiences such as he had 
 encountered at Plum Creek would have satisfied their 
 craving for further adventure in that direction, but to him 
 the effect was to increase his longing for the plains, to 
 share the perils, hardships and life of danger-loving prai- 
 rie free-rovers. 
 
 The opportunity referred to earne in an offer made him 
 by a wagon boss named Lew Simpson, who was in the 
 employ of Russell, Majors & Waddell, to accompany a 
 freight train to Salt Lake as an " extra." 
 
 Mrs. Cody was decidedly averse to her boy making 
 another trip over a route she was now convinced led 
 through the greatest dangers, and when Simpson begged 
 hard for Billy, pledging to return him in safety, she pos- 
 itively refused. No one can fail to appreciate this poor 
 mother's decision ; she saw in the proposed trip a certain 
 absence of nearly one year even should no evil attend her 
 promising son, but more than this, she could not avoid 
 the belief that should he go, no one could protect him 
 against the perils that he must encounter. 
 
 Finding her decision so firm, Billy at length told his 
 mother that, while he regarded her desires and loved her 
 devotedly, and sought to render true filial obedience, yet 
 he must needs follow some occupation that would yield a 
 necessary subsistence for the family now dependent upon 
 his exertions ; that he must therefore go. He accordingly 
 arranged the payment of his monthly salary ($40.00), 
 so that Mr. Russell could turn it over to her on the first 
 of each month during his absence. 
 
244 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Seeing that nothing could deter him frona his purpose, 
 Mrs. Cody implored Simpson to watch over her boy with 
 tender regard ; that he was not only a son in whom her 
 affections centered, but her staff of life upon whom she 
 was now compelled to lean. Mr. Russell also requested 
 Simpson to protect little Billy at all hazards, and these 
 promises being given, the young hero was suffered to de- 
 part on the dangerous journey, leaving a weeping and 
 praying mother behind him. 
 
 Before proceeding to a relation of the incidents during 
 the trip, it is needful to give a description of overland 
 freighting, and also some idea of the business conducted 
 by the great freighters, Russell, Majors & Wad dell. The 
 wagons used for this purpose vrere built specially by a 
 large firm in St. Louis, and #ere constructed with a 
 storage and carrying capacity tfi 7,000 pounds. To haul 
 these wagons, when loaded; V,)ually required from eight 
 to ten yoke of oxen, according to the weight of the cat- 
 tle. A train of prairie schooners consisted of twenty- 
 five wagons in charge of the following "officers and sea- 
 men,'* so to speak i The wagon-master, who acted as 
 captain ; then came the assistant wagon-master, then the 
 extra hand, then the night herder, then the cavallard 
 driver, whose duty it is to attend the extra cattle. Be- 
 sides these each team has a driver, so that the full com- 
 plement for a complete train is thirty-one men. 
 
 Among these men a language is used peculiarly their 
 own ; the wagon-master is called the " bull-wagon boss,*' 
 the teamsters are " bull- whackers," and a train is called 
 a "bull outfit." Everyman is expected to be thorough- 
 ly armed, and each knows where to " fall in " when an 
 attack is made, which at that date was anticipated at any 
 time while passing over the route to Salt Lake. 
 trail, as described by Buffalo Bill, ran as follows : 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 
 
246 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 " Through Kansas northwestwardly, crossing the Big 
 Blue river, then over the Big and Little Sandy, coming 
 into Nebraska near the Big Sandy. The next stream of 
 any importance was the Little Blue, along which the trail 
 ran for sixty miles ; then crossed a range of sand-hills 
 and struck the Platte river ten miles below old Fort 
 Kearney ; thence the course lay up the South Platte to 
 the old Ash Hollow Crossing, thence eighteen miles 
 across to the North Platte, near the mouth of the Blue 
 Water, where Gen. Harney had his great battle in 1855 
 with the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. From this point 
 the North Platte was followed, passing Court House 
 Rock, Chimney Rock and Scott's Bluffs, and then on to 
 Fort Laramie, where the Laramie river was crossed. 
 Still following the North Platte for some considerable 
 distance, the trail crossed this river at old Richard's 
 Bridge, and followed it up to the celebrated Red Buttes, 
 crossing the Willow Creeks to the Sweet Water, passing 
 the great Independence Rock and the Devil's Gate, up 
 to the Three Crossings of the Sweet Water, thence past 
 the Cold Springs, where, three feet under the sod, on 
 the hottest day of summer, ice can be found ; thence to 
 the Hot Springs and the Rocky Ridge, and through the 
 Rocky Mountains and Echo Canon, and thence on to the 
 great Salt Lake valley." 
 
 In order to take care of the business which then offer- 
 ed, the freight for transportation being almost exclu- 
 sively government provisions, Russell, Majors & Waddell 
 operated 6,250 wagons, for the hauling of which they 
 used 75,000 oxen, and gave employment to 8,000 men ; 
 the capital invested by these three freighters was nearly 
 $2,000,000. In their operations, involving such an 
 immense sum of money, and employing a class of 
 laborers incomparably reckless, some very stringent rule* 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 247 
 
 were adopted by the firm, to which all their employes 
 were made to subscribe. In this code of discipline was 
 
 the following obligation: "I, , do hereby 
 
 solemnly swear, before the Great and Living God, that 
 during my engagement, and while I am in the employ 
 of Russell, Majors & Waddell, that I will, under no 
 circumstances, use profane language ; that I will drink 
 no intoxicating liquors of any kind ; that I will not 
 quarrel or fight with any other employe of the firm, 
 and that in every respect I will conduct myself honestly, 
 be faithful to my duties, and so direct all my acts as 
 will win the confidence and esteem of my employers, so 
 help me God." 
 
 This oath was the creation of Mr. Majors, who was a 
 very pious and rigid disciplinarian ; he tried hard to en- 
 force it, but how great was his failure it is needless to 
 say. It would have been equally profitable had the old 
 gentleman read the riot act to a herd of stampeded buf- 
 faloes. And he believes it himself now. 
 
 Among the bull-whackers who accompanied this train 
 with Billy was J. B. Hickok, who afterward became the 
 noted " Wild Bill," and between the two an intimate ac- 
 quaintance soon sprang up which ripened into the strong- 
 est friendship, enduring year after year until the latter 's 
 assassination in 1876. In fact, as Buffalo Bill declares in 
 his autobiography, " Wild Bill was my protector (refer- 
 ring to the time when his first overland trip was made,) 
 and intimate friend, and the friendship thus begun con- 
 tinued until his death." 
 
 The route as described was the same as tnat taken by 
 Billy and the McCarthy boys only a few months before, 
 and when the train reached Plum Creek, having met with 
 no adventure worthy of note, a halt was made for one 
 
 day to rest the oxen and take a buffalo hunt. 
 15 
 
48 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Big game was so abundant in that section of country 
 that writers as far back as 1860 asserted that there were 
 enough buffaloes on the "Western prairies to feed the 
 whole world for a century, and that ten thousand hunters 
 shooting day after day for a hundred years could make 
 no perceptible diminution in the number. 
 
 Shortly after the oxen were herded and the wagons lo- 
 cated a large drove of buffaloes were discovered bearing 
 toward the camp with a party of California emigrants in 
 the rear. On they came in a mad stampede, and no 
 amount of shouting and shooting could swerve them 
 from their course. A few minutes later the whole herd 
 of more than one thousand crazed animals rushed like a 
 wave of thunder into the camp, over the wagons, oxen 
 and other impediments, crippling themselves but making 
 sad havoc of the train. Wagons were overturned and 
 broken, the provisions scattered and trampled, and when 
 the animated wave had swept over and by there was 
 desolation in the wake. The train men had found a 
 great many more buffaloes than they had intended hunt- 
 ing. It required two days of hard work to repair the 
 injury so that the train could proceed. 
 
 On the following day, after leaving the Plum Creek 
 camping grounds, the train-men met Joe Smith, Jr., who 
 was acting as a spy for the Mormons, ascertaining the 
 number and character of the " outfits" on the road, and 
 preparing for their capture. As no one in the train know 
 him he had no difficulty in obtaining all the information 
 he desired. 
 
 After remaining with the men for one day, Smith made 
 a plausible excuse for leaving them, and then rode rap- 
 idly to an appointed rendezvous where the Mormons, 
 nearly two hundred strong, were awaiting his orders. 
 
 When the train had reached the Rocky Mountains, 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 249 
 
 within eighteen miles of Green River, suddenly the men 
 were surrounded by Joe Smith and his well-armed fol- 
 lowers, who, being whites, did not arouse any suspicion 
 upon the part of the train-men until they found them- 
 selves covered by Mormon rifles. Resistance, under the 
 circumstances, was impossible, and Simpson, after roundly 
 berating the apostles, was forced to submit. 
 
 The result of this adventure was that, after rifling the 
 wagons of whatever provisions they were able to carry, 
 the Mormons set fire to the train and drove off the oxen. 
 The train-men, however, were allowed to retain their 
 arms and one wagon and six yoke of oxen and sufficient 
 provisions to last the party until they could reach Fort 
 Bridger. 
 
 After reaching the fort, it being far in November, the 
 party decided to spend the winter there with about four 
 hundred other employes of Russell, Majors & Waddell, 
 rather than attempt a return, which would have exposed 
 them to many dangers and the severity of a rapidly-ap- 
 proaching winter. During this period of hibernation, 
 however, the larders of the commissary became so de- 
 pleted that the men were placed on one-quarter rations, 
 and at length, as a final resort, the poor, dreadfully ema- 
 ciated mules and oxen were killed to afford sustenance 
 for the famishing men. 
 
 Fort Bridger being located in a prairie, all fuel there 
 used had to be carried for a distance of nearly two miles, 
 and after their mules and oxen were butchered the men 
 had no other recourse than to carry the wood on their 
 backs or haul it on sleds, themselves taking the part of 
 draught animals. 
 
 Starvation was beginning to lurk about the post when 
 spring approached, and but for the timely arrival of a 
 westward-bound train loaded with provisions for John- 
 
$50 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 son's army some of the party must certainly have fallen 
 victims to deadly hunger. 
 
 Arrangements having been made for a return to Fort 
 Leavenworth, all the employes at Fort Bridger deter- 
 mined to accompany the returning cavalcade, and Simp- 
 son was chosen brigade wagon-master of the new ' ' out- 
 fit, 3? which consisted of two trains and four hundred 
 men. 
 
 When the trains approached Ash Hollow, Simpson de- 
 cided to leave the main road and make a cut-off by fol- 
 lowing the North Platte down to its junction with the 
 South Platte. In traveling the two trains had become 
 separated with an intervening space of fifteen or twenty 
 miles between them, the latter train being in charge of 
 Assistant Wagon-Master Geo. Woods, under whom Billy 
 was acting as " extra." 
 
 Simpson, accompanied by Woods, desiring to reach 
 the head train, ordered Billy to " sinch"( saddle )up and 
 follow him. Tke three rode rapidly for some time until 
 they reached Cedar Bluffs, when they suddenly dis^ 
 covered a score of Indians emerging from the head of a 
 ravine less than half a mile distant, bearing down upon 
 them at great speed. 
 
 " Dismount and shoot your mules," was the quick 
 order issued by Simpson, who was at once alive to the 
 situation. As the jaded and stricken animals dropped in 
 their tracks, the three men or rather two men and one 
 little boy crouched down behind the mules which lay 
 together in a triangle, and using their dead bodies as 
 breast-works, opened fire on the Indians with Mississippi 
 yagers and revolvers, killing three and wounding two 
 ponies. The red-skins, surprised at the hot-bed they 
 had struck, circled around and sped away again, halting 
 iwvfsr&l hundred yards distant, evidently for consultatkix- 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 251 
 
 This gave the beleaguered trio time to reload their 
 weapons and prepare for a second charge, which they felt 
 sure would be made. 
 
 The Indians were armed with bows and arrows, which 
 of course required close range to be effective, and this 
 gave the little party an advantage which partly com- 
 pensated for the superior number of their enemies. 
 
 Little Billy showed so much pluck in the dangerous 
 position he occupied that Simpson could not help prais- 
 ing him, and by way of further encouragement he said : 
 
 " My brave little man, do you see that Indian on the 
 right, riding out from the party to reconnoiter?" 
 
 " Yes, I'm watching him," was the reply. 
 
 " Well, suppose you give him. a shot just by way of 
 experiment." 
 
 Billy at once extended himself and resting his gun on 
 the body of the mule before him, took steady aim and 
 fired. 
 
 "Bully boy! a splendid shot!" shouted Simpson as 
 he saw the Indian topple from his horse, struck evidently 
 in the side, as the wounded savage commenced trying to 
 crawl, his hand pressed over the injured spot. The dis- 
 tance was fully three hundred yards. 
 
 After a long parley the Indians scattered, and came 
 charging back again whooping in a delirium of excite- 
 ment. When they had approached within less^than one 
 hundred yards, the besieged party turned loose on them, 
 shooting two more out of the saddle ; but the Indians 
 rushed on discharging a shower of arrows, one of which 
 pierced Geo. Wood's right shoulder, producing a very 
 painful wound. More than a dozen other arrows struck 
 in the bodies of the dead mules, but inflicted no other 
 damage. For a second time the red warriors were re- 
 pulsed and when they drew off again it was evidently for 
 
282 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 the purpose of resorting to other tactics. Getting be- 
 yond the range of the yagers, the Indians formed in a 
 large circle, tethered their ponies and disposed themselves 
 for a siege, with the evident intention of starving out the 
 brave trio. 
 
 About three hours afterward, however, the cracking of 
 bull-whackers' whips was heard, and soon the advancing 
 train was seen coming over a hill. The Indians appre- 
 ciated what this meant, and gaining their ponies rode 
 down on the little party again, discharging another flight 
 of arrows and receiving a volly of bullets in return. No 
 damage was inflicted on either side in the last charge, 
 and the three were saved. Their safety, however, was 
 due entirely to the prompt and decisive action of Simp- 
 son, who was a man exactly suited for working out des- 
 perate circumstances to his own advantage. 
 
 After bandaging Wood's wound the train started again 
 and met with no further detention or accident, reaching 
 Leavenworth in July, 1858. Wild Bill had been a special 
 companion of Billy's during the entire trip, and so warm 
 had become the attachment between them that the latter 
 gave him a pressing invitation to go with him to his home 
 for a short visit, a request which Wild Bill acceded to. 
 During this visit he was treated with so much attention 
 that he became as one of the family, and ever after, until 
 the death of Billy's mother, he called her "Mother 
 Cody." 
 
 Billy had been at home scarcely one month before he 
 engaged himself as assistant wagon-master to another 
 train which was made up at Ft. Laramie to carry supplies 
 to a new post just established at Cheyenne Pass. In this, 
 his third trip, he met with no stirring adventure and got 
 through without losing a team or man. This result waC 
 in pleasing varience with his two former trips, both of 
 
LITE OF BUFFALO BILL. 258 
 
 which had been so full of stirring incidents and disas- 
 trous consequences. 
 
 Upon his return to Laramie from Cheyenne Pass he 
 entered into an engagement with a Mr. Ward, the post- 
 trader, to trap for beaver, mink and otter on the Chug- 
 water, and poison wolves for their peltries. This enter- 
 prise, yielding little or no profit, was abandoned after a 
 two months' experiment, and Billy returned to Laramie, 
 where, a few days after, in company with two others, he 
 started back to Leaven worth. 
 
 Upon reaching the Little Blue, the three were jumped 
 by a party of Indians, who chased them for several hours, 
 and doubtless would have captured them had not dark- 
 ness intervened to assist them in escaping. After " los- 
 ing" the Indians the trio discovered a cave, in which they 
 resolved to spend the night, but upon lighting a match 
 they were horrified at finding the place tenanted by the 
 bones and dessicated flesh of murdered emigrants, who 
 had gone the way of hundreds of other unfortunate pil- 
 grims seeking gold and fortune in the far West. 
 
 Without waiting to make an investigation, the three 
 now badly-frightened travellers broke camp, and regard- 
 less of the cold and snow, pushed rapidly forward. After 
 journeying all night they reached Oak Grove, and there 
 taking in a fresh supply of necessaries, resumed their 
 homeward march, reaching Leav.enworth in February, 
 1859. 
 
254 HEBOES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 BILLY, who had now reached the age of fourteen years, 
 and was unusually large for one of that age, having been 
 almost wholly without schooling, following his mother's 
 entreaties, concluded to attend a school which had just 
 been opened in the neighborhood of Grasshopper Falls. 
 
 The pretty little Mary Hyatt, however, had removed 
 from that section, and Stephen Gobel had forgotten the 
 rivalry which resulted in broken arbors and a bloody se- 
 quel. His attention being diverted by no love episodes, 
 Billy applied himself with becoming diligence during the 
 session, which lasted for a period of ten weeks, and made 
 a most gratifying progress. This was the longest term 
 of school he ever attended, and it is doubtful if all the 
 schooling he ever received would aggregate six months, 
 though he is now comparatively well educated, acquired 
 almost wholly by extensive travel and association with 
 polished people. 
 
 When spring returned and the warm rays of a conge- 
 nial sun freshened the brown grass on the prairie, turning 
 it into an emerald sward as boundless almost as the sky 
 overhead, the old impulse seized on Billy again and he 
 determined to seek the far West where adventure and 
 danger incite the restless spirit of brave men. 
 
 In addition to the promptings of his own nature there 
 was a further motive in the recent discoveries of gold at 
 Pike's Peak. Who that is thirty years of age now will 
 forget the wild excitement occasioned by the delirium- 
 producing stories which floated as generous as the air into 
 every nook of America, declaring the illimitable store- 
 house of gold just laid bare at Pike's Peak? There was 
 magic in the very name, and I distinctly recall to mind 
 
LITE OF BUFFALO BILL. 255 
 
 now, though a small boy at the time, that the whisky 
 bottles used then had the figure of a pilgrim with pack 
 and pick on his shoulder, blown in one side, with the 
 declaration, "Bound for Pike's Peak," underneath. 
 Why, since I come to think of it, my mother is using one 
 of those old Pike's Peak bottles at this very day as a recep- 
 tacle for camphor. 
 
 Billy, young in years, though now a man in size, in 
 common with thousands of others seized a pick and set 
 out for the wonderful diggings. He located on Cherry 
 Creek where there was a camp called Aurora, on the site 
 now occupied by the city of Denver. After digging 
 around Aurora for a few days, the ignusfatuus led him 
 further up the mountains to Black Hawk, where he set- 
 tled and worked most assiduously for a period of two 
 months without finding as much as a handful of pay dirt. 
 In the meantime provisions were so high that it took a 
 Jacob's ladder to reach the smell of cold beans. 
 
 Billy became not only tired but disgusted with the re- 
 sult of his mining labors and resolved to get out of the 
 country. He had no difficulty in finding others in camp 
 of the same turn of mind as himself, and such as he de- 
 sired as companions he induced to accompany him back. 
 Of the numerous caravans and individuals who adopted as 
 their motto, "Pike's Peak or Bust," Billy and his party 
 fell back on the latter end of the bold legend. They 
 were so badly "busted," in fact, that the only convey- 
 ance left them was their legs. Setting out on these the 
 party proceeded on foot to the Platta river, where the 
 idea possessed Billy that they might make the remainder 
 of their journey to Leavenworth on an improvised raft. 
 
 By various means, but chiefly by killing game along 
 the way, the party subsisted comfortably while they 
 floated down the stream on a rickety collection of logs. 
 
256 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Matters were satisfactory enough until they reached 
 Jule's ranche, or Julesburg, where having met a swifter 
 current the raft struck a snag and went to pieces with a 
 suddenness no less astonishing than the bath which in- 
 stantly followed. Fortunately, though the North Platte 
 is a broad stream, it is generally shallow, and the party 
 had to swim but a short distance before they found a 
 footing, and then waded ashore. 
 
 Everything having been lost with the raft, including 
 their arms and such provisions as they had, the party 
 stopped at Julesburg to wait for something to turn up. 
 
 It so happened that the great Pony Express had just 
 been established between Omaha and Pike's Peak, and 
 other far Western points, including San Francisco. This 
 route ran by Julesburg where the company had an agent 
 in the person of George Chrisman, who was well ac- 
 quainted with Billy, the two having freighted together 
 for Eussell, Majors & Waddell. 
 
 Finding Billy out of employment and express riders 
 being scarce, Chrisman offered him a position as rider, 
 which was gladly accepted. 
 
 The requirements for this occupation w~re such that 
 very few were qualified for the performance 01 the duties. 
 The distance and time required to be made were fifteen 
 miles per hour. Only boys could be employed on ac- 
 count of the weight to be carried, and such laborious rid- 
 ing could be endured by very few. Nevertheless, Billy 
 was an expert horseman and having the constitution and 
 endurance of a broncho he braved the perils and duties of 
 the position and was assigned to a route of forty-five 
 miles. 
 
 After riding for several months he received a letter 
 from his mother urging him to return home and give up 
 a position which would surely destroy his health. But he 
 
LITE OF BUFFALO BILL. 257 
 
 continued in the employ of the express company until an- 
 other letter came informing him of the severe illness of 
 his mother ; his filial love being stronger than any other 
 trait of character, he immediately resigned and hurried to 
 the bedside of his beloved parent, whom he was rejoiced 
 fx> find growing better. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 REMAINING at home scarcely one month Billy received 
 an invitation from an old friend, named Dave Harring- 
 ton, to accompany him on a trapping expedition up the 
 Republican river, which, with hasty preparation, he gladly 
 accepted. 
 
 The two started out from Salt Creek valley with an 
 outfit consisting of a wagon filled with traps and provis- 
 ions drawn by a yoke of oxen. 
 
 It was near the middle of November when the two 
 started on the expedition, Mrs. Cody standing in the 
 door when the team moved off, wiping the tears from her 
 eyes and giving bounteous blessings to her beloved boy, 
 watching with painful emotions until the white cover of 
 the wagon which sheltered her dearest treasure became 
 hidden by the prairie undulations in the distance. 
 
 The two made excellent progress and met with no de- 
 tention, arriving at the mouth of Prairie Dog Creek early 
 in December. Here they found an abundance of beaver 
 and trapped with such success that they secured three 
 hundred beaver and one hundred otter skins before the 
 severe weather interfered with their occupation. 
 
 Having obtained a full load of peltries it was decided 
 
258 HEROES OP THE PLAINS. 
 
 to remain in the dug-out which they had constructed un- 
 til the beginning of spring, when the return trip could be 
 made without dangerous exposure. 
 
 During the period of waiting the two occupied much 
 of their time shooting elk, large numbers of which were 
 roaming constantly within convenient proximity. On 
 one occasion while out hunting and in pursuit of a large 
 herd of elk, while passing around a large rock projecting 
 over a small ravine, Billy made a false step and was pre- 
 cipitated onto the rocks below, the fall breaking his leg 
 between the knee and ankle. This accident, always se- 
 rious, was doubly so under the circumstances, when no 
 surgical aid could be had, nor any but a miserably insuffi- 
 cient attention could be given to mitigate the injury. To 
 add still further to the misfortunes of the suffering boy, 
 only a few days before this accident one of the oxen had 
 broken a leg and Harrington had been compelled to shoot 
 the animal. Here the two trappers were, in the midst of 
 winter storms, without a team, and Billy rolling in an 
 agony which his partner was unable to relieve. 
 
 After discussing the situation for some time Harring- 
 ton said : 
 
 " Well, Billy, this is a bad box, and the only way to 
 get out is for me to reach the nearest settlement and get 
 a team to haul you home." 
 
 The poor boy, though he well knew that the nearest 
 place from which succor could be obtained was fully one 
 hundred and twenty-five miles distant, and appreciated 
 all the terrors of a long and painful waiting alone, 
 among the hungry wolves and bands of equally ferocious 
 Indians, told Harrington to do as he thought best about 
 making the trip. 
 
 It is no less pathetic than astonishing, the devotion 
 wbich is so often found among the Western pioneer* 
 

 LIFE OP BUFFALO BILL. 259 
 
 whose uncouth language and grizzly garb, if taken as ail 
 index to their true character, would lead to the inference 
 that they are destitute of that human kindness which re- 
 deems mankind and compensates our vices. 
 
 Brave Dave Harrington, just like Cody himself, big- 
 hearted, noble, generous, self-sacrificing, immediately 
 prepared for the tedious winter journey. Collecting 
 about and within convenient reach of Billy, plenty of 
 dried beef, water and other provisions needful for the 
 sufferer's subsistence, Dave set out on the long trip, bid- 
 ding his companion be cheerful and to expect his return 
 in twenty-one days. 
 
 Finding himself utterly alone, poor Billy I say 4 'poor" 
 because the facts cannot fail to arouse the deepest pity 
 nnd make us sympathize with him even now in remem- 
 brance, because sensibly affected by the realization of 
 Ms terrible situation inside a rude " dug-out," the 
 trapper's home, consisting of an excavation in the side of 
 a hill boarded up inside, and a single door for entrance 
 and ventilation, Billy lay on his rude litter nursing the 
 inflamed and painful fracture ; nothing to relieve his lone- 
 someness save the howls of prowling wolves scrambling 
 about the chimney, peering down through the mud and 
 sticks and sniffing at the chink under the door. Nothing 
 else to disturb his sombre reflections, save the whistling 
 winds which came sweeping over his rude habitation 
 rattling at the puncheon door and making the trees out- 
 eide groan in consonance with the biting cold. 
 
 Day after day, time, like a foot-sore and weary pilgrim, 
 jogged slowly and drearily along until the tenth day had 
 departed since Harrington left on his mission for help. 
 The shades of mid-winter were just gathering in the dark- 
 ening fold of eventide when Billy was aroused from his 
 revery by a singular noise outside the door of his abode. 
 
260 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 There were shuffling feet near the entrance, and then a 
 moment of silence, followed by voices which his experi- 
 enced ears told him proceeded from Indians. Uninvited, 
 more than a dozen Sioux, headed by chief Rain-in-the< 
 face, forced an entrance into the dug-out as though in- 
 tent upon rifling the place, thinking the owners were ab- 
 sent. But Billy rose up from his pallet and when the In- 
 dians' eyes fell upon him a murmur of confused voices 
 followed, which he interpreted as a prelude to the ter- 
 mination of his earthly career. 
 
 A stroke of good fortune, however, came to the suf* 
 fering boy in his direst extremity. Old Rain-in-the-face 
 chanced to be an acquaintance of Billy's, having met him 
 frequently at Laramie, and this acquaintance saved his 
 life. The old chief told Billy that the Indians had in- 
 tended to kill him, but he had prevailed on them to spare 
 his life on account of his youth. This was joyful news, 
 but the Indians remained in the dug-out all night, feast- 
 ing themselves on the provisions left for Billy's use, and 
 when they departed on the following morning took with 
 them nearly everything in his larder, besides all the fire- 
 arms. He was thus left in a more trying situation than 
 before, with many days yet to elapse before he could 
 expect Harrington's return. 
 
 To add still further to the ordeal of suffering he waa 
 compelled to endure, a terrible snow-storm began on the 
 fifteenth day after Dave's departure and continued until 
 the snow had fallen to a depth of nearly three feet, 
 blocking the entrance to his hut, and as he well knew, 
 must seriously delay Harrington, perhaps cause him to 
 lose the way or furnish a trail for a band of murderous 
 Indians. These forebodings almost crazed him, for in 
 addition to the probable loss of his friend, starvation 
 threatened him, and his injured limb had become daily 
 more painful from enforced neglect. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 261 
 
 At last the twenty-first day dawned, Billy having com- 
 puted the time by marking on the wall each day as it 
 passed. Every passing sound he felt sure was the foot- 
 step of his friend, but disappointment and hope came 
 and went like the pendulum of a clock ticking : fortune, 
 disaster ; fortune, disaster. It was thus that the day 
 came and died, and another dawn succeeded only to 
 arouse the same feelings of hope and dejection. 
 
 The fire had expired for lack of fuel to replenish it, and 
 the faint, hungry, now almost hopeless boy, was forced 
 to gnaw the few remaining chunks of frozen venison left 
 him, from which it was possible to obtain barely enough 
 to keep from starving, but never enough to stay hunger. 
 
 It was not until the twenty-ninth day after his depar- 
 ture that faithful Dave Harrington arrived at the old hut, 
 his approach being heralded by deep, sonorous commands 
 addressed to the yoke of oxen he had driven through 
 the snows and perils of a northern winter when every 
 bill and valley was the bivouac of depredating Indians. 
 
 When the grateful sounds of Dave's voice fell on Bil- 
 ly's ears the famishing boy believed it was the first warn- 
 ing of delirium, admonishing him to prepare for the last 
 horrors of starvation. But soon he heard that same voice 
 ring out clearly before the snow-embarred door : 
 
 4 < Hello, Billy ! are you alive yet?" 
 
 " Yes, Dave, still alive, but nearly gone." 
 
 Tjhen the brawny hands of Harrington fell to work 
 clearing away the snow with such exertions as he would 
 have employed to rescue a friend buried alive. It was 
 but a few moments ere the door was pushed open, and 
 rescued and rescuer fell into each others arms, weeping 
 with the joy of reunited friends after passing through the 
 valley of tribulation. 
 
 After rehearsing to each other the incident* that had 
 
262 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 transpired during the painful separation, in which Har- 
 rington told how he braved dangers few men could 
 survive, tumbling into snow-drifts, wading treacherous 
 streams, etc., the two made preparations to return, though 
 the perils of the journey over a territory beset with so 
 many uninviting prospects were sufficient to deter any 
 but the stoutest hearts. 
 
 A bed was carefully made in the wagon of furs and 
 blankets, on which Harrington placed Billy, and bidding 
 good-bye to the old hut in the hillside, the two set out 
 for Junction City. Directly after their departure, the 
 sun came out warm and revivifying, and in three days 
 the snow had melted so rapidly that they experienced no 
 further difficulty in traveling. 
 
 Reaching the place from whence Harrington had hired 
 the team to bring Billy away from the dug-out, another 
 yoke of oxen was purchased, being paid for in peltries, 
 and the latter end of the journey was accomplished with- 
 out further incident. 
 
 Arriving at Junction City, Dave and Billy sold their 
 furs at a most satisfactory price, and also the team, for 
 which they had no further use, as government mule trains 
 were almost daily passing that point, bound for Leaven- 
 worth, with which transportation was easily arranged. 
 
 The two trappers reached Leavenworth in March, 1860, 
 and Billy, unable to get about, begged his friend to ao 
 company him home, for at least a short visit. Harring- 
 ton, who was warmly attached to his now helpless com- 
 panion, assented after small persuasion, arriving at Salt 
 Creek Valley after a delay of one day at Leavenworth. 
 
 Mrs. Cody was overcome with joy when she received 
 her boy, but cast down again with grief at seeing his 
 condition, which, with a mother's natural solicitude, she 
 at first magnified into a aerious injury. Upon learning 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 263 
 
 the noble, generous part acted by Harrington toward 
 Billy, with tears of thankfulness and gratitude she mani- 
 fested her appreciation and obligation to the brave man 
 who had submitted to all danger and privation to secure 
 the safety of her darling boy. 
 
 Harrington remained with Billy at Mrs. Cody's home 
 for several days, treated with the consideration his sacri- 
 fices deserved ; but after the lapse of a week, thinking 
 he had been idle too long already, he set about perform- 
 ing some needful work on Mrs. Cody's premises. While 
 planting trees on a cold damp day in the latter part of 
 March the exposure, though not to be compared with 
 what he had so recently passed through, was such that he 
 contracted a severe cold, which speedily grew into pneu- 
 monia. Despite the most careful attention from Mrs. 
 Cody and the services of a physician from Leavenworth, 
 poor Dave Harrington, one of the noblest of God's 
 creatures, died, after an illness of one week. Far from 
 home and relations, he yielded up his brave spirit sur- 
 rounded by most devoted friends who mourned him as a 
 brother, and laid him away under a sod freshened 
 with their tears. 
 
 Even to this day to speak of Dave Harrington in Buf- 
 falo Bill's presence will turn him from the merriest mood 
 and bring tears to his eyes. There is a large place in 
 Cody's heart reserved for the memory of his dearest 
 friend. 
 
 16 
 
264 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 BILLY remained at home until his injured leg had be- 
 come thoroughly strong, and it being now the long and 
 tedious days of summer, he determined to cast about 
 again for occupation somewhere in the great wild West. 
 
 Proceeding to Leavenworth he there met Lew Simpsoa 
 to whom he made known his wishes, and received in re- 
 ply an invitation to accompany a train just then being 
 made up for Ft. Laramie. But "bull-whacking" was 
 not exactly the employment most desirable, and Billy 
 asked Simpson's influence in securing the position of 
 pony-express rider again. 
 
 The result of this application was Billy's departure 
 for Atchison, where he met Mr. Russell, proprietor of 
 the Express, who gave him a letter to Alf. Slade, who was 
 superintendent of the route between Rocky Ridge and 
 Juleeburg, with headquarters at Horse Shoe Station, neai 
 Laramie. 
 
 Having to go overland almost to Laramie, Billy con- 
 cluded to accompany Simpson's train, thereby making the 
 necessary trip a profitable one. Upon reaching Horge 
 Shoe he presented Mr. Russell's letter to Slade, who, af- 
 ter critically examining the youthful applicant, said : 
 
 "My boy, you're a mite too young for the business ? 
 I'm afraid you couldn't stand it more'n a week." 
 
 "I'd like to try again," responded Billy. "I rode 
 Bill Trotter's division for two months last year and 
 stood the shaking all right, so I don't see why I couldn't 
 do as well now, as I'm a year older." 
 
 "Are you the young one who rode that route and was 
 called the youngest express rider in the West?" 
 
 " That's me," replied the anxious Billy, " and I'd like 
 to do it again." 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 265 
 
 " Then I'll take you," answered Slade, " and you can 
 go right to work between Red Buttes and Three Cross- 
 ings." 
 
 Thus the engagement was concluded and Billy entered 
 upon active service the following day. 
 
 Red Buttes was a station on the North Platte, and 
 Three Crossings was a point seventy-six miles west, on 
 the Sweetwater. This route, a very long and dangerous 
 one, ran by the site now occupied by the town of North 
 Platte, and through what is now the main street of that 
 place. During a visit I made to Buffalo Bill, at his 
 home, in May, 1881, while riding with him, we crossed 
 the U. P. railroad bridge over the North Platte river, 
 and from this point of observation he showed me where 
 the express crossing of that stream was made. Although 
 the North Platte is generally quite shallow it is more 
 than half a mile wide, and in some places quite deep. 
 The crossing, which was always made on horseback by 
 the express riders, was only two or three hundred yards 
 south of the present railroad bridge, and near the west 
 shore where the channel runs, the water is about twelve 
 feet in depth, besides being very swift. The reader can 
 readily imagine, from this superficial description, the 
 nerve required in a rider over this perilous route, where 
 an average of fifteen miles per hour, including changes of 
 horses, had to be made. 
 
 Coming to the North Platte, regardless of the frequent 
 swollen and turbulent condition of the stream, Billy had 
 to plunge in and take his chances of getting to the other 
 shore. Time and again he was carried down on the 
 roaring waters, his horse's feet swept from under him, 
 and met with disasters from which escape seemed impos- 
 sible ; but he always gained the shore and lost very few 
 horses by drowning. 
 
266 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Only a short time after entering upon his duties, upon 
 reaching Three Crossings he found that the rider on the 
 next division, who had a route of eighty-six miles, had 
 been killed during the night before, and he was called on 
 to make the extra trip until another rider could be em- 
 ployed. This was a request the compliance with which 
 would involve the most taxing labors and an endurance 
 few persons are capable of, nevertheless Billy was 
 promptly on hand for the additional journey and reached 
 Rocky Ridge, the limit of the second route, on time. 
 This round trip, of three hundred and twenty-two miles, 
 was made without a stop, except for meals and change of 
 horses, and every station on the route was entered on 
 time, the longest and best ridden pony express journey 
 ever made. 
 
 During his occupation as an express rider Billy met 
 with many adventures, not alone in crossing the North 
 Platte, but in running through a country infested with 
 hostile Indians. Fortunately the country was an open 
 one so that an ambush was impossible, but more than a 
 score of times the Indians swarmed down upon him, and 
 he escaped only by the superior swiftness of his horse, 
 and his usual good luck in avoiding bullets and arrows. 
 
 After the poney express had become a thoroughly es- 
 tablished institution, frequently transporting money and 
 other valuables, the Indians killed several riders whose 
 packs yielded sufficient revenue to make a systematic 
 robbery along the route profitable to the otherwise unem- 
 ployed red devils. These -depredations at length became 
 so great that it was deemed advisable to withdraw the 
 poney express for a time and run stages only as occasion 
 demanded, until the Indians could be punished and made 
 to abandon their robberies and murders. 
 
 The condition of the country along the North Platte 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 
 
 267 
 
 had become so dangerous that it was next to impossible 
 for the Overland Stage Company to hire stage drivers, 
 although very high wages were offered. 
 
 Billy, now being out of employment as a rider, prof- 
 fered his services as a stage-driver, which, notwithstand- 
 ing his youth, were gladly accepted. Directly after be- 
 ginning this hazardous occupation he met with an adven 
 
 The Attack on the Stage Coach. 
 
 ture, which, though it may not have given him a genuine 
 fright, certainly did not contribute any to his estimation 
 pf the good times on the plains. 
 
 While driving a stage between Split Rock and Three 
 Crossings he was suddenly set upon by about five hun- 
 dred Sioux whose arms, fortunately, consisted only of 
 bows and arrows. Lieut. Flowers, a brave fellow who 
 was then acting as assistant division agent, sat on the 
 
HBBOES or THE PLAINS. 
 
 "boot" beside Billy, and the stage was occupied 
 by half a dozen well armed passengers. A terrible fight 
 ensued, which for a time seemed to threaten certain de- 
 struction to the occupants of the vehicle. Billy gave the 
 horses tke line while Lieut. Flowers applied the whip, 
 leaving the passengers to look to the defence. Arrows 
 fell around and struck the stage like hail, piercing the 
 sides, striking the horses and dealing destruction gener- 
 ally. Two of the passengers were killed and Lieut. Flow^ 
 ers was badly wounded in the shoulder. Billy grabbed 
 the whip from the wounded officer and kept applying it 
 briskly, shouting defiance in the meantime to his pursu- 
 ers, and succeeded in driving into Three Crossings with- 
 out further damage. 
 
 This last trip had proved so disastrous that it was de^ 
 termined by the stage company not to rely any longer on 
 the U. S. troops stationed at various posts in the West, 
 but to use their own volunteer employes in an administra^ 
 tion of frontier vengeance on the murderous Indians. 
 To accomplish this, requests for volunteers were made, 
 which found response in all the men communicated with, 
 about fifty in number. This force was placed under 
 charge of Wild Bill and was accompanied by Billy. The 
 expedition moved swiftly into the enemy's country as far 
 as Clear Creek where the Indians were found encamped, 
 unconscious of any lurking danger. 
 
 Waiting until nightfall the impetuous stage employes 
 descended upon the hostiles, charging through their camp 
 with revolvers in hand. As the astonished Indians poured 
 out of their wigwams they were met by a furious firs 
 which literally swept up the entire camp, leaving scores 
 of dead Indians around the smouldering fires and causing 
 those that escaped the revolver to flee precipitately to the 
 hills and hollows, where, owing to the darkness, they 
 eould not be followed. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL 
 
 The expedition was a complete success, for besides so 
 severely punishing the hostiles, about two hundred head 
 of horses were captured and brought safely to Sweetwa- 
 tar Bridge. 
 
 CHAPTEE VH. 
 
 BILLY having performed such excellent services for the 
 Express Company, upon his return from the Clear Creek 
 expedition Alf. Slade tendered him the position of 
 " extra," in which he was required to ride pony-express 
 only during the times when an extra man was needed, 
 which was so seldom that more than two-thirds of his 
 time was unoccupied save as he himself chose to employ 
 it. His pay, however, remained the same as that re- 
 ceived by the regular riders. 
 
 Located at Horse Shoe, in the center of a country 
 abounding with large game, it was here that Billy first 
 developed a desire for hunting, and by the constant use 
 of firearms thereafter became the best rifle and pistol 
 shot, as he confessedly is, of America to-day. The only 
 competitor he acknowledged in the use of a pistol in 
 1876 was Wild Bill, whose superior perhaps never lived, 
 and when that wonderful scout, guide and spy was assas- 
 sinated there were none, and are none now, to dispute 
 with Buffalo Bill the honors of superior marksmanship. 
 
 On one occasion, during the period of comparative 
 idleness, Billy concluded to go upon a bear hunt, large 
 numbers of bear being readily found in the adjacent 
 hills. So, saddling his horse and taking a large rifle and 
 fcwo revolvers with him, he departed early in the mom> 
 }ng and proceeded up the Horseshoe Valley. An abund- 
 
270 HEEOES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 ance of smaller game, such as antelope, sage-hens and 
 jack rabbits, were constantly passing within gun-shot, 
 but of these he had already killed great numbers, and 
 consequently they were now left unmolested. 
 
 Late in the evening, having as yet, found no bear, 
 Billy decided to camp and renew his hunt on the mor- 
 row, rather than return without some trophy of his suc- 
 cess as a bear hunter. 
 
 After building a fire he shot two sage-hens for supper, 
 but just as he was in the act of picking one of the birds 
 a horse's whinney was heard further up the mountain- 
 side, which gave him serious apprehensions. Scattering 
 the fire-brands he secreted his horse and went upon a 
 tour of investigation to discover the character of his 
 neighbors. 
 
 It had now grown quite late, so that the gathering 
 darkness gave some secrecy to his movements, and ap- 
 proaching cautiously the spot indicated by the horse's 
 signal, he soon discovered a dug-out, and several horses 
 tethered about the abode. Approaching still nearer he 
 heard the voices of several persons inside, conversing in 
 a familiar tongue, so that he at once concluded they 
 were trappers or hunters, and being white men, of course 
 friends. 
 
 Advancing to the door of the dug-out, Billy rapped on 
 the puncheon entrance and received in reply the chal- 
 lenge : 
 
 ' Who's thar?" 
 
 "A white friend," Billy replied. 
 
 At this the door was opened and by the light of a large 
 fire blazing on the ample hearth, there was disclosed to 
 his astonished gaze eight characters whose faces would 
 have been an admirable study for the horrible-loving 
 Dore. It was not only villainy pictured on their fea- 
 
&IFE OF BUFFALO BILL 
 
 271 
 
 tares, but an iniquity of human nature which migtit find 
 comparison only in the darkest caverns of Hades, wherein 
 sit the most hideous deformities of vicious wickedness. 
 
 Long, grizzled beards, blearing eyes, flaring and beaked 
 noses, mouths like caves of despair, dark complexions, 
 massive forms and bell-mouthed, deep, portentious voice*. 
 
HEROES OF ?HE PLAINS. 
 
 Two of these faces Billy had seen before and knew 
 they were worn by men discharged from the employ of 
 the Overland Stage Company ; further than this, intui- 
 tion admonished him that he had struck a den of horse- 
 thieves. 
 
 " Come in, don't be back'ard," was the invitation ex- 
 tended, arid appreciating the situation Billy had to appear 
 at ease in order to conceal his real anxiety. 
 
 " Whar 're you from, and who's with you?" 
 
 " Oh, I'm from down the country ; been a bear hunt- 
 ing by myself and hearing the whinneying of one of your 
 horses as I was going into camp for the night, thought 
 I'd see who was around ; so here I am." 
 
 Billy delivered his information in a most unconcerned 
 manner, though he could see serious trouble ahead un- 
 less he could get out of the thieves' clutches by some 
 strategy. 
 
 "Well, whar's your hoss?' 
 
 "I left him tied right down here a few hundred yards, 
 where I was camping. If you don't object I'll leave my 
 gun here and go back and bring him up, for I prefer 
 company and would like to stay with you to-night." 
 
 The cunning of this speech could not have been sur- 
 passed by the oldest strategist in a frontier settlement. 
 Parting with the gun Billy esteemed a small sacrifice if by 
 o doing he could save himself and horse. 
 
 But the scheme, though never so clever, did not suc- 
 ceed as the youthful hunter expected. Two of the vil- 
 lains at once proffered their services to accompany him 
 and assist in bringing the horse to the dug-out. 
 
 This social proposition took away at least two-thirds 
 of Billy's nerve, but he had to consent, and the three 
 started oJ, going directly to th boy's cairqHng place 
 and securing the horse* 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 273 
 
 61 There are a couple of sage-hens by the fire, which I 
 vras preparing to cook when I heard your horse nicker ; 
 I guess I'll take them along for our supper.'' 
 
 Thus speaking, Billy picked up the birds, and then the 
 thieves led off, leading the boy's horse, toward their den. 
 
 Billy fully realized the danger of his situation and 
 knew that the adoption of some desperate expedient 
 could alone save him from a terrible fate, for the thieves 
 would certainly kill him rather than permit his escape 
 and the certainty of his giving information of their ren- 
 dezvous. So after debating with himself for a few mo- 
 ments, he decided upon a plan which was put into imme- 
 diate execution. Purposely, and yet as though by acci- 
 dent, he dropped one of the sage-hens, and in picking it 
 up so managed as to let his two villainous companions 
 get slightly ahead. Quick as lightning he struck one of 
 the thieves a stunning blow from behind with the butt of 
 his heavy pistol, and as the other turned about to help 
 his companion Billy shot him dead. Grabbing his horse, 
 he leaped into the saddle and fled back down the moun- 
 tain. The way, however, was so rugged, abounding in 
 large stones and brush, that his progress was very slow. 
 
 The shot was heard by the robbers in the dug-out, and 
 they hurried down to discover the cause. Coming upon 
 the spot, they found a dead companion, and the one that 
 was knocked down had sufficently recovered to explain 
 the attack. 
 
 Pursuit was begun at once, and as the thieves could 
 travel much faster than Billy on horseback, contending 
 with the obstacles of a mountain descent, they soon ap- 
 proached so close that the brave boy leaped from hk 
 horse, giving the animal a smart stroke on the quarter 
 which sent him scrambling on, whil Billy secreted him- 
 self behind a large tree, where the villains soon passed 
 
274 HEROES OF THE PLAINS 
 
 him in their pursuit of the fleeing horse. A few momenta 
 later the shots from their revolvers convinced Billy that 
 his pursuers believed they were still on his track, and 
 hoped either to disable the horse or kill him in the sad- 
 dle. When the sounds of the pursuit had died away 
 he abandoned the sheltering tree and set off with all 
 possible speed for Horse-Shoe, which he reached in an ex- 
 hausted and almost famished condition after twelve hours 
 hard travel. 
 
 Eeporting the particulars of his adventure to Slade, a 
 party of ten was made up at once, headed by Slade him< 
 self and guided by Billy, to go in pursuit of the thieves. 
 A rapid travel of six hours brought them to the scene of 
 conflict, where a new-made grave was found which covered 
 Billy's victim, but upon reaching the dug-out they found 
 that place abandoned and nothing left to indicate an in- 
 tended return. After trying in vain to find the trail, the 
 party abandoned the idea of catching the robbers and re- 
 turned to Horse-Shoe. Billy was complimented in a most 
 deserving way for the cunning and bravery he displayed 
 in eluding the thieves, and especially for expending a pis- 
 tol cathartic on one of the number. 
 
 Directly after this incident he was put on the road again 
 as express rider, his alternate being Wild Bill. These 
 two rode between Three Crossings and Eed Buttes, mak- 
 ing better time than any other riders ever on the road. 
 Both, however, had grown so rapidly that their weight 
 exceeded the limit required by the express company, and 
 on this account they were discharged. But after a thirty 
 days' experiment the company found that it was impos- 
 sible to get other riders who could make the time, so thai 
 Billy and his particular friend, Wild Bill, were again em- 
 ployed, riding under an exception to the general order. 
 Here they remained until the tocsin of civil war summoned 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL 275 
 
 brave hearts to the front and changed nearly eyeiy man's 
 occupatioa. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 MUCH excitement having been created in eastern Kan- 
 sas by the Ft. Sumpter attack, and also learning of his 
 mother's general ill health, these two causes induced 
 Billy to give up his position as an express rider and hurry 
 home. Mrs, Cody entertained strong Union sentiments, 
 being greatly influenced therein by the outrages she had 
 been compelled to endure at the hands of pro-slavery 
 men, all of whom were now pronounced Southern sympa- 
 thizers on account of the slavery issue. 
 
 A number of Free-State men who had suffered perse- 
 cution from Missouri pro-slavery incursionists, concluded 
 that the inauguration of war, involving much of the issue 
 that had been fought out between Kansas and Missouri, 
 gave them license to cross the slave State border for re- 
 taliatory purposes . In pursuance of this conclusion Capt. 
 Chandler enlisted twenty-five men, Billy being one of the 
 number, to invade Missouri and capture promising horses. 
 This design, though having some of the appearances of 
 a criminal purpose, cannot affect Buffalo Bill's honor 
 now for several reasons, chief among which was the very 
 strong feeling that existed among the Free-State people 
 of Kansas against the Pro-Slavery party of Missouri. 
 No family ever suffered more from iniquitous mobs than 
 the Cody family ; robbed time and again ; insulted day 
 after day; Mr. Cody foully murdered; their stock 
 driven off; maturing crops devastated and suffering 
 
276 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 everj conceivable outrage, it was not only natural bul 
 proper that the remaining members of the Cody family 
 should regard retaliation as righteous. Further thaw 
 this, Billy was young in years and influenced by the spe- 
 cious representations of Chandler who gave to his intended 
 acts all the color of law and justice ; these several considera- 
 tions moved him to become a member of this independ' 
 ent band and share alike its fortunes and reverses. 
 
 In the latter part of July, according to a preconcerted 
 arrangement, Chandler's company met at Westport, 
 Missouri , and having received their orders every man 
 went upon a forage through the neighborhood, returning 
 at night with nearly fifty head of first-class horses, taken 
 promiscuously from people in Jackson county. After 
 this bold confiscation the company made their way over 
 into Kansas at Wyandotte where the party separated 
 with an agreement to meet again at the expiration of one 
 week in Leaven worth. 
 
 After two or three similar incursions the government 
 took a part in the suppression of the enterprise, and Mrs. 
 Cody learning the true nature of the forays counseled 
 with Billy against lending his aid to such undertakings j 
 admonishing him that the occupation was dishonorable 
 and he must abandon it. This kind and excellent advice 
 served to enlighten him as to the demerits of such retali- 
 ation and he refused to accompany subsequent expe- 
 ditions. 
 
 Later in the fall he earned dispatches between 
 Leavenworth and Ft. Larned, Kansas, and afterward 
 assisted George Long in purchasing horses for the 
 government. Succeeding this employment he became a 
 member of Capt. Tuff's Red Legged Scouts, which was a 
 company composed exclusively of scouts and well-known 
 irontier characters. This organization did most effective 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 277 
 
 service in the protection of Kansas and fighting the bor- 
 der guerrillas. When not in active duty on the field they 
 were employed in carrying military dispatches between 
 Forts Leavenworth, Lamed, Gibson and Dodge. 
 
 In the spring of 1863 Billy was engaged to conduct a 
 merchant train from Leavenworth to Denver, which being 
 conducted through safely, he received a letter on the day 
 of his arrival there informing him of the serious illness of 
 his mother. Instantly he saddled his horse and made all 
 possible speed homeward, riding almost day and night 
 until he reached the bedsid s of his beloved parent. He 
 was deeply distressed to find his mother quite ill, but not 
 so ill as to banish hope for her recovery. But her sick- 
 ness gave him such anxiety that he refused to leave 
 home, remaining to minister to her comfort and necessi- 
 ties. When the cold winds and sudden changes of fall 
 ushered in the new season, Mrs. Cody gradually grew 
 worse despite the most unremitting care, and on the 22d 
 day of November she died. 
 
 Billy could find nothing to console him for the loss of 
 a parent so well beloved ; there was a void in his nature 
 which no engagement could fill ; aimlessly he wandered 
 about the old homestead with the face of his dead 
 mother, pale and pitiful, ever before his confused eyes ; 
 there, before him, were her noble acts ; her brave, self- 
 sacrificing disposition, the source from whence he drew 
 the very nourishment of his existence, the goodly counsel 
 that made his manhood. How many tears he shed over 
 her grave ; how many fresh flowers he planted in the 
 coming spring ; how many hours he spent beside her last 
 earthly resting place and bedewed it with copious offer- 
 ings welling up from the springs of his heart ! There, 
 under the prairie sod, > here the winds gambol ceaselessly 
 with waving grasses and spontaneous flowers ; under the 
 
278 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 branches of a tree planted by the hands that once carried 
 water to her feverish lips and were clasped with hers in 
 prayer, sleeps a pioneer's wife and a true hero's mother ; 
 waiting the judgment day ; waiting that last reunion and 
 forgetting the sorrowful experiences of this eventful life. 
 
 The family, bereft of a mother, was not separated, for 
 one of Billy's sisters having been married in the early 
 part of the preceding spring, her husband settled on the 
 homestead and kept the sisters of the family together. 
 But Billy was now doubly anxious to do something that 
 would divert his mind from the loss which gave him such 
 heart-breaking grief ; and yet there seemed to be some- 
 strange influence trying to hold him near the sacred earth 
 which enclosed the remains of his soul's affection. 
 
 Some weeks after this most melancholy incident Billy 
 went to Leavenworth and there for the first time in his 
 life, acting under the false impression that inebriety 
 would mitigate his grief, deliberately drank to excess and 
 naturally fell among wicked and depraved characters. 
 While on a protracted spree and unconscious of what he 
 was doing, he joined Jennison's Seventh Kansas Jay- 
 hawkers, which had recently been organized for operation 
 in Missouri, but they were soon called upon to perform 
 some hard service in Tennessee and Mississippi. 
 
 In the spring of 1864, Billy moved with his regiment 
 to Memphis and from there to Tupelo, Miss., where, Gen. 
 A. J. Smith having command, he participated in a hard 
 fought battle with Gen. Forrest, the Confederates being 
 badly whipped. After some skirmishing in Mississippi, 
 Billy's regiment was ordered back to Missouri, entering 
 the State at Cape Girardeau. The Confederate General 
 Price had just entered upon his great raid in Missouri, 
 and Jennison's regiment was ordered to push forward 
 and either intercept the enemy or harass his rear until 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 279 
 
 Gen. Curtis could operate in conjunction with Gen. 
 Smith. 
 
 The courage, cunning and woodcraft displayed by 
 Billy had not escaped the soldierly eye of Gen. Smith, 
 and as brave and strictly reliable men were now urgently 
 needed, he was made a non-commissioned officer and 
 placed on detached service as scout. In this position he 
 did not conime himself to the usual duties of scout, but 
 voluntarily performed the additional and more dangerous 
 service of spy, for which he was well qualified. Serving 
 in this double capacity he obtained much valuable in- 
 formation and soon became the pride of Gen. Smith's 
 corps, and was regarded as one of the best general utility 
 men in the whole army, never hesitating to perform a 
 service however great the danger might be. 
 
 While riding through Southern Missouri an incident 
 occurred which well illustrates the magnanimity of his 
 character. Being more than a mile in advance of the 
 command, he came to a thrifty appearing farm-house at 
 which he alighted for a drink of water. The only occu- 
 pants of the house at the time were an elegant elderly 
 lady and her beautiful daughter. These two ladies were 
 at first very much frightened at the appearance of a Yan- 
 kee, but nevertheless exhibited their courteous dispo- 
 sitions by giving him water and setting out a chair with 
 genuine hospitality, in which they asked him to rest. 
 The elderly lady, in questioning Billy concerning the Union 
 forces, was informed that the army was now less than 
 one mile off and would soon march past the house. At 
 this much fear was entertained and expressed by the 
 ladies lest the soldiers should sack the premises and do 
 violence to the place, knowing they were in an enemy' si 
 country. But he quieted their solicitude by begging 
 them to be unconcerned, as he would see that they were 
 not molested. 
 
 17 
 
280 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 As the army came up, preceded by the commander and 
 staff officers, Billy placed himself at the entrance of the 
 house to act as sentry and guard to protect the premises. 
 A moment later several soldiers attempted to enter, but he 
 ordered them to stop , declaring at the same time that he 
 had been placed there to protect that property from mo- 
 lestation. Not doubting his authority the soldiers pass- 
 ed on and not a thing was taken from the place. 
 
 The ladies felt so grateful to their protector that they 
 prepared an excellent dinner for him, to which his hunger 
 was paying tribute when suddenly three men sprang into 
 the house and leveled their guns at him. 
 
 " Hold on; don't hurt this gentleman; he is our 
 friend !" cried the ladies to the three men, who were the 
 husband and two brothers of the family. 
 
 The guns were immediately lowered and when the situ- 
 ation had been explained to them each of the men shook 
 Billy warmly by the hand and thanked him heartily for 
 his kind interference. The dinner being concluded under 
 the happiest circumstances, Billy bade adieu to the family 
 and by fast riding soon overtook the command. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 YOUNG Cody remained with the army in Missouri, en- 
 gaging in the conflicts between the Union forces and Gen. 
 Price until the winter of 1864-5 put an end to the military 
 operations and both armies went into winter quarters. 
 During this period of inactivity Billy visited St. Louis 
 and by good luck was detailed for special service at head- 
 quarters. 
 
E OF BUFFALO 
 
 Winter is always a gay season itt tliC (Sty \vitli its ti5- 
 atres, balls, society gatherings, sleigh-riding and various 
 recreative sports, and Billy being of a most entertaining 
 and jovial character was very soon introduced to many 
 charming ladies of St. Louis society. Among the large 
 number of elegant and beautiful girls whose acquaintance 
 he made was one specially attractive to him, she being 
 the center of a large group of admirers, all of whom were 
 striving for the honor of her smiles and preference. The 
 young lady's name was Louisa Frederici, and she was the 
 daughter of an old and influential citizen. Not only was 
 she well connected and a lady of most admirable 
 character, but she also possessed a beauty of face and 
 perfection of form which were well nigh irresistible ; 
 large, lustrous, brown eyes, beautifully arched with ele- 
 gant brows ; skin fair as the lily, a mouth which seemed to 
 invite kisses, and hair prof use as a Naiad's and black as a 
 raven's wing. 
 
 It is only proper to say that the first time Billy met 
 the beautiful Louisa he fell in love too deep to ever hope 
 for escape. But always a man of fortunate circumstances, 
 his good luck did not forsake him in his love-making. It 
 is unusual to descant upon the beauty of a man, but I 
 will not be charged with hypercritical enthusiasm when I 
 say that Billy was then, as he is now, certainly one of the 
 handsomest men in America, a claim which I am sure all 
 the ladies will maintain, gathering their opinion from the 
 portrait given of him in this book. Miss Louisa thought 
 she had never met a finer-appearing gentleman, and to say 
 that Billy's all-absorbing affection was reciprocated is 
 but to declare what the sequel proved. 
 
 Before the winter expired he had made a frank ac- 
 knowledgment of his love and elicited a response which 
 led to an engagement, but while overjoyed at his excel- 
 
282 HEROES or THE PLAINS. 
 
 lent success he realized that he was illy prepared to take 
 care of a wife just then ; so without fixing the date for 
 their marriage the lover went back to his duties and re- 
 mained with his command until the war closed. He then 
 accepted the situation of stage driver proffered him by 
 Bill Trotter, who was agent for that division of the road 
 between Kearney and Plum Creek, the route which led 
 over the same ground where Billy killed his first Indian. 
 
 He continued to drive the stage until he had saved up 
 several hundred dollars, and feeling now that he was in 
 proper position for a consummation of his great desire, 
 returned to St. Louis, where, on the 6th of March, 1866, 
 he was married to Miss Frederici, the ceremony being 
 performed at the bride's residence before a large assem- 
 blage of friends. 
 
 After receiving many congratulations, the couple tool^ 
 passage on a Missouri river steamer for Kansas, whiclj 
 was to be their home. 
 
 During the bridal trip Billy was recognized by three o\ 
 four passengers who had been pro-slavery men before th< 
 war and Southern sympathizers throughout that event 
 ful period. Hate and vengeance still rankled in theii 
 bosoms, and though afraid themselves to attack the 
 brave young Benedict, they found means to commu- 
 nicate with some of their guerrilla friends that Bill Cody, 
 the scout and fighter, was on board and might fall an 
 easy prey to them. 
 
 When the steamer landed at a desolate point on the 
 river seventy-five miles west of Lexington, to take on a 
 fresh supply of wood, more than a dozen guerrillas ap- 
 peared on the bank and tried to board the boat, but the 
 captain frustrated their designs by ordering the stage- 
 plank drawn in and then backing the steamer out before 
 the guerrillas could gain the deck. Several shots were 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 283 
 
 fired at the boat, but no special damage resulted. Billy 
 had anticipated trouble, owing to remarks he had over- 
 heard from a party that had engaged passage at Lexing- 
 ton, and when the guerrillas appeared on the bank, in- 
 stead of keeping himself close in his stateroom, he took 
 a position at the head of the cabin stairs, and with a 
 pistol in each hand, stood unconcernedly waiting for the 
 approach of his enemies. Had they succeeded in getting 
 on board there would have been one of the liveliest fights 
 since Wild Bill met the McCandlas gang. 
 
 When Cody and his beautiful bride reached Leaven- 
 worth they were met at the landing by a long Kne of 
 carriages, which they were soon apprised contained 
 nearly a hundred of his friends, who, having learned of 
 his marriage and passage on the steamer, had made large 
 preparations to give him a grand reception. A band of 
 music headed the carriage procession and the party were 
 driven directly to the house of one of Billy's married 
 sisters, where the day and evening were spent in a truly 
 Western jollification, feasting, dancing and music, the 
 festivities being participated in by the best society of 
 Leaven worth, among whom Billy enjoyed great pop- 
 ularity. 
 
 Without wasting more time in a bridal tour, young 
 Cody went to Salt Creek Valley, where he rented the 
 house once occupied by his mother, and established a 
 hotel known as the Golden Kule House, which he con- 
 ducted with profit until the following September, when 
 his old desire for the freedom and stirring adventures of 
 the plains induced him to sell out and seek employment 
 as a scout. 
 
 At this time the Kansas Pacific railroad was in process 
 of construction and had reached a point as far west as 
 Salina, which had become an active place, and thither 
 
284 HEROES OF THE PLAIHS. 
 
 Billy directed Ms way. Beaching Junction City, he met 
 Wild Bill, who was then scouting for the government, 
 with headquarters at Fort Ellsworth (Fort Harker). 
 By advice of the latter he proceeded to the post at Ells- 
 worth, where his application for the position of scout was 
 favorably received and he at once went on duty. 
 
 While scouting and guiding parties between Fts. Ells- 
 worth and Fletcher, in which service he was employed 
 for a period of several months, he met Gen. Ouster, who 
 had been ordered to accompany Gen. Hancock on an In- 
 dian campaign. Ouster, with ten men, was at Ellsworth 
 and desired a guide to conduct him to Ft. Lamed, a dis- 
 tance of sixty-five miles. Cody was selected by the 
 commanding officer of the post to accompany the General, 
 who was to start on the following day. When the time 
 for departure arrived Cody appeared riding a small, 
 mouse-colored mule while Gen. Custer and his escort 
 were mounted on fine, high-mettled steeds that were 
 champing their bits with impatience to be off. Geu. 
 Custer laughed heartily at the scout's sorry-looking pal- 
 frey and declared that it would be impossible for the " lit- 
 tle mouse" to travel as rapidly as he wished. Billy, 
 however, insisted on riding the mule, and after a few 
 hours of fast traveling the little animal began to show its 
 bottom by keeping the advance and at length put so 
 much distance between him and the fine war steeds that 
 Billy had to rein up from time to time in order that the 
 General might overtake him. The best laugh, therefore, 
 was with him who laughed last, and Custer was so aston- 
 ished that he wanted to trade his fine horse for the sorry 
 little mule, for with Custer the chief consideration was 
 rapid travel regardless of the means employed but he 
 couldn't get the mule. 
 
 Billy's social disposition and contagious good humor 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 285 
 
 won the admiration of Ouster, who expressed much anx- 
 iety to engage his services, telling him that a position 
 would he open for him at any time he desired to join the 
 command. The friendship thus formed was cultivated 
 in after years and was intimate until the pathetic but 
 heroic death of that singularly brave officer. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 HAVING guided Gen. Ouster and his staff to Ft. Lamed 
 Cody, on his return, was ordered to report at Ft. 
 Hays. About this time a large band of Indians had at- 
 tacked the working force on the Kansas Pacific railroad 
 and besides killing six men they had driven off a hundred 
 head of horses and mules. 
 
 Major Ames of the Tenth Cavalry ( colored ) was or- 
 dered to take one company and a mountain howitzer and 
 pursue the marauders. Cody was selected as scout and 
 guide to the expedition, which set out on the trail leading 
 along the Saline river: . 
 
 On the second day after leaving Hays the Indian camp 
 was discovered on the opposite side of Saline river and 
 preparations were hastily made for the attack. An oppor- 
 tunity was now to be offered for the colored troops to 
 manifest their pluck, a large amount of which they seem- 
 ed to carry on their tongues which wagged continually 
 with expressions of impatience to get * ' turned loose on 
 de red coyotes." The Howitzer was stationed on a 
 knoll overlooking the Indian camp and placed under a 
 guard of twenty men, while the main portion of the com- 
 pany crossed over to begin the attack. Scarcely had the 
 
HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 crossing been made when a terrible yelling was heard in 
 the rear, and upon looking back Major Ames beheld the 
 colored flower of his army fleeing with all possible haste, 
 hatless and without arms, before a hundred Indians that 
 had charged on the guard and were now dancing around 
 the captured howitzer. Major Ames had to take up just 
 a little of the precious time in swearing at his cowardly 
 men who had fled at the approach of the enemy without 
 firing a gun ; but he soon ordered a charge back up the 
 knoll and easily re-took the gun, but the Major was bad- 
 ly wounded in the attack and the command thereafter 
 practically fell on Cody. 
 
 There were more Indians than had been anticipated, and 
 the command was not sufficient to cope with them ; so af- 
 ter a hard fight of about two hours it became a serious 
 matter, not so much how to disperse the enemy as how to 
 manage an escape, of which there seemed for a time 
 small probability. A retreat was begun in which the 
 colored troops unlimbered themselves in fine style, mak' 
 ing good progress despite the dodging they practiced. 
 Night approached at last like a generous friend and by 
 the protection the darkness afforded about one-half the 
 company succeeded in reaching Hays, the remainder having 
 fallen victims to the victorious Indians, who, however, had 
 suffered the loss of a goodly number of their warriors. 
 
 Returning from a decidedly disastrous expedition Cody 
 declared that he never wanted to go " hunting Indians 
 again with colored poachers." 
 
 From Ft. Hays he carried dispatches to Ft. Harker, 
 and having nothing special to engage him there, he vis- 
 ited Ellsworth where Wild Bill still made his headquar- 
 ters. While on this visit he made the acquaintance of a 
 Western character named William Rose, a railroad con- 
 tractor and a man of many schemes. His hobby just at 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 287 
 
 this particular time chanced to be the location of a town, 
 along the railroad, in which he expected to make a for- 
 tune selling corner lots. He disclosed his enterprise to 
 Cody, whom he knew by reputation, as did every other 
 person in the West, and the matter was presented with 
 such ingenious argument that Billy entered into the 
 scheme inflated with the promises of the undertaking. 
 Accordingly a sight was selected on the west side of Big 
 Creek, one mile from Ft. Hays, which was duly laid out 
 into blocks, with a large public square in the center, the 
 whole being handsomely drawn on a plat of gorgeous 
 colors. To give the place a start the two enterprising 
 enthusiasts built the first house, which was a store, and 
 stocked it with a good line of general merchandise. The 
 town was then duly christened " Rome," because the 
 place was expected to "howl." A lot was donated to 
 uvery one who would erect a building thereon and this 
 generous proposition had a most gratifying effect, for 
 building began with such a rush that in one month's 
 time there were two hundred frame residences, four 
 stores, and about twenty saloons. Lots were selling 
 rapidly for fifty dollars each and things were swimmingly 
 prosperous with the firm of Cody & Rose. Visions of 
 incalculable riches hung before their delighted imagina- 
 tion and happiness was pictured by an approaching abil- 
 ity to buy up the country, including the railroad then 
 under construction. Rome was howling ! But just as 
 fche dream was approaching realization, a gentleman 
 aamed Webb Dr. Webb stopped in town and enquir- 
 faig for the proprietors of .Rome, was directed to Cody & 
 Rose's store, where he found the two gentlemen, as 
 
 , figuring their prospective gains. 
 ** Got a booming town here I we," said Dr. Webb by 
 of introduction. 
 
HEBOES OF TUX FLA2VS. 
 
 44 Yes, got the best town now and the biggest city here- 
 after on the road. Want to buy some lots?" responded 
 Cody. 
 
 " Well, I don't know as I want to buy any lots, but I 
 would like to go into partnership with you." 
 
 * * Partnership ! why, great heavens , man, we don 't want 
 any partners." 
 
 " I thought you might want to take me in since I ain 
 agent for the K. P. road sent out to locate towns on the 
 route." 
 
 " That's all right, but we've got the bulge on you here 
 and can take care of this town by ourselves." 
 
 44 Well, if that's your decision, I guess I' 11 have to start 
 another town alongside of you just by way of compete 
 tion." 
 
 On the following day Dr. Webb went one mile west of 
 Rome and laid out a town which he named Hays City. 
 But Rome being altogether better situated than Hays and 
 having such an admirable beginning, the Doctor made a 
 proposition to donate two lots in his new place to every 
 one who would erect a building thereon, and in addition 
 to this, speakiu>g as if by authority of the railroad officials, 
 he made the announcement that the company intended to 
 locate and bu ;1 d their machine shops, round-house and 
 depot at Hays City, leaving Rome in a permanent de- 
 cline. 
 
 These flattering representations so seriously affected 
 the firm of Cody & Rose that during the next few days, 
 when they saw the whole town of Rome either on rollers 
 or on wagons moving over to Hays City, they would have 
 closed out their prospects for two cents and a half on the 
 dollar perhaps much less even than that. Very soon 
 the two dispirited town-owners were sitting in front of 
 their store, now the sole remaining building of the once 
 
LIFE OF BTTFFALO BILL. 281 
 
 flourishing town of Rome, contemplating the mutability 
 of human expectation ; the presto, change ! from riches 
 to the dull, solemn fact of comparative poverty. How 
 many times they said to themselves and to each other, 
 " Had we only taken Webb in as a partner ! " 
 
 However, it was some consolation to receive from their 
 successful rival a deed to four of the best lots in Hays, 
 but this generous and balsamic application to their 
 wounded anticipations did little to mitigate their feelings 
 of poverty. 
 
 During the short period that Rome was on the rise 
 Billy had fitted up the rear part of his store and occupied 
 it with his wife and infant daughter, Arta, but when the 
 bankrupting hegira to Hays City set in Mrs. Cody paid a 
 visit to her relations in St. Louis, where she remained for 
 some time and until a comfortable home was prepared 
 for her at Hays. 
 
 Abandoning all hope of making anything out of town 
 enterprises, Cody and his friend Rose took a sub-contract 
 for grading five miles of road west of Big Creek, and 
 while prosecuting this work Cody came into possession 
 of a horse which afterward figured conspicuously in his 
 interesting adventures. As Rose thoroughly understood 
 railroad contract work he was left to boss the men while 
 Billy performed an equally important work, furnishing 
 them with meat. To procure these provisions it was 
 necessary to hunt almost constantly, relying entirely on 
 buffaloes, which were less plentiful in that section than 
 in the country through which he had ridden the pony 
 express. 
 
 On one occasion as he was starting out on his favorite 
 horse, Old Brigham by name, he saw half a do^en well- 
 mounted officers approaching from Ft. Hays, who were 
 for a buffalo hunt. Billy carried with him a breech- 
 
HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 loading needle gun which he called " Lucretia Borgia," 
 an excellent weapon ; but old Brigham's caparisons con- 
 sisted solely of an ancient blind bridle. To the officers, 
 who ascertained that Cody was also out after buffaloes, 
 this " outfit," a sleepy, angular, old horse, without sad- 
 dle, bottle or other accessories, appeared so ridiculous 
 that they accosted him : 
 
 " Young man, ain't that a sorry team you're driving? 
 You don't expect to ride down any buffaloes with an old 
 crow-bait like that, do you?" 
 
 "Don't know, might catch up with the calves by 
 pushing hard on the reins," answered Billy. 
 
 The party had ridden out on the prairie scarcely two 
 miles when they discovered a herd of eleven buffaloes 
 making rapidly across the country toward a branch 
 of Big Creek. The well mounted officers started after 
 the game with all the speed they could get out of theii 
 fine horses, expecting to run the buffaloes down within 
 two or three miles. Instead of following the officers , 
 Billy pulled the reins on Old Brigham, who uncoupled 
 himself in fine style, and struck out at full speed on a dif- 
 ferent course from that pursued by the other party. Cody 
 knew from the direction and speed of the buffaloes about 
 the point they would strike the creek, so heading for an 
 objective point he struck the game fully a mile in ad- 
 vance of the officers. Throwing off the old blind bridle 
 he let his well-trained horse come alongside the herd, 
 and when he would shoot a buffalo Brigham would run 
 alongside another, and working thus as if by rule Billy 
 killed the entire herd in twelve shots before the aston- 
 ished officers came within firing distance. 
 
 " You see," said Cody, as the well mounted amateur 
 hunters came up to where he had dismounted and was 
 now standing by his unbridled horse, " I pushed well on 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 291 
 
 the reins, a thing which you, perhaps, neglected to do. 
 However, as I have got all the game, I don't want you to 
 go back empty handed, so just help yourselves to tongues 
 and tenderloins." 
 
 The superior officer in the squad then remarked : " My 
 name is Graham, Captain of the Tenth Cavalry ; now I 
 want to know your name." 
 
 ' ' Want to know my name ? Why, it' s nothing but Bill 
 Cody." 
 
 "Bill Cody I that they call Billy? Good gracious! 
 I've heard of you more than of any other man in the West. 
 Well, I am truly glad to see you. Let me introduce you 
 to Lieutenants Ezekiel, Reed and Emmick, they all be- 
 long to my regiment." 
 
 " Glad to meet you, gentlemen, for I'm something of 
 aft army man myself." 
 
 " I want to say, Billy, or Mr. Cody, that I have heard 
 much concerning your peculiar qualifications as a rider, 
 hunter and fighter, but heretofore I have been inclined to 
 discredit the stories told of you. But let me say now, 
 that after seeing you perform the remarkable feat of kill- 
 ing eleven buffaloes in about three minutes, fro in a horse 
 without bridle or saddle, that I am prepared to believe al- 
 most anything." 
 
 " Why, Captain, that is no trick at all on my part, for 
 old Brigham (that's my horse's name) is the one that did 
 the hunting, I only did the shooting." 
 
 This manner of conversation continued until the wagons 
 gent out from Billy 'scamp came up to haul off the buffa- 
 loes. But before separating the officers extended a very 
 cordial invitation to Cody to visit them at Ft. Hays, where 
 they expected to be stationed during the summer. 
 
292 HEROES OF THB PLAINS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 completed the contract for grading five miles 
 of road-bed, Billy was looking for another engagement 
 when he received a proposition from the Goddard Broth- 
 ers, who were boarding twelve hundred construction em- 
 ployes, to furnish them with meat. The amount required 
 was five buffaloes per day, to procure which involved 
 hard riding, but the labor was small compared with the 
 danger to be incurred from the Indians who were killing 
 every white man they could find in that section. Never- 
 theless, an offer of five hundred dollars per month for the 
 service made Billy unmindful of the exertion or peril, and 
 he went to work under contract to supply all the meat 
 required. During this engagement he had no end of won- 
 derful escapes from bands of Indians, not a few of whom 
 he sacrificed to secure his own safety. By actual count 
 he also killed, under his contract with theXroddard Broth- 
 ers, four thousand two hundred and eighty buffaloes. To 
 appreciate the extent of this slaughter, by approximate 
 measurement, these buffaloes, if laid on the ground end to 
 end, would make a line more than five miles long, and if 
 placed sideways, on top of each other, they would make 
 a pile over two miles high. 
 
 By special arrangements all the heads of the largest 
 buffaloes killed by Bill were preserved and delivered to 
 the K. P. railroad company, by which they were turned 
 into excellent advertisements for the road. Many of 
 these heads may still be seen in prominent places marking 
 the center of an oval board containing the advertisement 
 of the road. 
 
 So well had Billy performed his part of the contract 
 that the men connected with the Kansas Pacific road gr ve 
 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 295 
 
 him the appellation by which he is still known through- 
 out the world, " BUFFALO BILL." 
 
 A record of all his battles with the Indians during this 
 period of professional hunting would be so long that few 
 could read it without tiring, for there is a sameness 
 connected with attacks and escapes which it is difficult to 
 recite in language always sparkling with interest. But 
 Buffalo Bill being a brave man under all circumstances 
 when bravery is essential, and cautious when that element 
 subserved the purpose better, was almost daily in a posi- 
 tion of danger, and many times escaped almost like the 
 Hebrew children from the furnace. 
 
 So justly celebrated had Buffalo Bill now become that 
 Kit Carson, on his return from Washington City in the fall 
 of 1867, stopped at Hays City to make his acquaintance. 
 Carson was so well pleased with Bill's appearance and 
 excellent social qualifications that he remained for several 
 days the guest of the celebrated buffalo killer and scout. 
 Upon parting, the renowned Kit expressed the warmest 
 admiration for his host and conveyed his consideration 
 by inviting Bill to visit him at Fort Lyon, Colorado, 
 where he intended making his home. But the death of 
 Carson the following May prevented the visit. 
 
 Like every other man who achieves distinction by su- 
 perior excellence in some particular calling, Buffalo Bill 
 (who had now shed the familiar title of Billy), had his 
 would-be rivals as a buffalo killer. Among this number 
 was a well-known scout named Billy Comstock, who 
 sought to dispute the claim of champion. Comstock was 
 quite famous among the Western army, being one of the 
 oldest scouts and most skillful hunters. He was mur- 
 dered by Indians seven years after the event about to be 
 recorded, while scouting for Custer. 
 
 \o Bill was somewhat startled on day upon re 
 
294 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 ceipt of a letter from a well-known army officer offering 
 to wager the sum of $500 that Comstock could kill a 
 greater number of buffaloes in a certain given time, 
 under stipulated conditions, than any other man living. 
 This was, of course, a challenge to Buffalo Bill, who, 
 upon mentioning the facts, found hundreds of friends 
 anxious to accept the wager, or who would have put up 
 any amount that Bill's claim to the championship could 
 not be successfully disputed by any person living. 
 
 The bet was promptly accepted, and the following 
 conditions agreed to : A large herd of buffaloes being- 
 found, the two men were to enter the drove at eight 
 o'clock, A. M., and employ their own tactics for killing un- 
 til four o'clock, p. M., at the end of which time the one 
 having killed the largest number was to be declared win- 
 ner of the wager and also the * champion buffalo killer 
 of America." To determine the result of the hunt, a 
 referee was to accompany each of the hunters on horse- 
 back and keep the score. 
 
 The place selected for the trial was twenty miles east 
 of Sheridan, Kansas, where the buffaloes were so plenti- 
 ful that thousands could be found without difficulty, and 
 the country being a level prairie rendered the hunt easy 
 and afforded an excellent view for those who wished to 
 witness the exciting contest. 
 
 There was so much excitement created by a general 
 publication of the match that when the day arrived 
 several hundred visitors were present, among the crowd 
 being an excursion party of one hundred people from St. 
 Louis, which was accompanied by Buffalo Bill's wife and 
 youngest daughter. 
 
 Comstock was well mounted on a strong, spirited 
 horse and carried a 42-calibre Henry rifle. Buffalo Bill 
 appeared on his famous horse. Old Brigham, and in this 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 295 
 
 he certainly had great advantage, for this sagacious ani- 
 mal knew all about his rider's style of hunting buffaloes, 
 and therefore needed no reining. 
 
 The party rode out on the prairie at an early hour in 
 the morning and soon discovered a herd of about one 
 hundred buffaloes grazing on a beautiful stretch of 
 ground just suited for the work in hand. The two hunt- 
 ers rode rapidly forward accompanied by their referees, 
 while the spectators followed a hundred yards in the 
 rear. At a given signal the two contestants dashed into 
 the center of the herd, dividing it so that Bill took the 
 right half while Comstock pursued those on the left. 
 
 Now the sport began in magnificent style amid the 
 cheers of excited spectators, who rode as near the contest- 
 ants as safety and non-interference permitted. Buffalo 
 Bill, after killing the first half-dozen stragglers in the 
 herd, began an exhibition of his wonderful skill and 
 strategy ; "by riding at the head of the herd and pressing 
 the leaders hard toward the left, he soon got the drove 
 to circling, killing those that were disposed to break off 
 on a direct line. In a short time witnesses of this novel 
 contest saw Buffalo Bill driving his portion of the herd in 
 a beautiful circle and in less than half an hour he had all 
 those in his bunch, numbering thirty-eight, lying around 
 within a very small compass. 
 
 Comstock, in the meantime, had done some fine work, 
 but by attacking the rear of his herd he had to ride di- 
 rectly away from the crowd of anxious spectators. He 
 succeeded in killing twenty-three which, however, lay ir- 
 regularly over a space three* miles in extent, and there- 
 fore while he killed fewer than his rival, he at the same 
 time manifested less skill, which, by contrast, showed 
 most advantageously for Buffalo Bill. 
 
 All the party having returned to the apex of a beauti- 
 18 
 
296 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 ful knoll, a large number of champagne bottles were pro- 
 duced and amid volleys of flying corks toasts were drunk 
 to the buffalo heroes, Buffalo Bill being especially lauded 
 and now a decided favorite. 
 
 But these ceremonies were suddenly interrupted by the 
 appearance of another small herd of buffalo cows and 
 calves, into which the two contestants charged precipi- 
 tately. In this "round" Bill scored eighteen, while 
 Comstock succeeded in killing only fourteen. 
 
 The superiority of Buffalo Bill was now so plainly 
 shown that his backers, as well as himself, saw that he 
 could afford to give an exhibition of his wonderful horse- 
 manship, while continuing the contest, without fear of 
 losing the stakes. Accordingly, after again regaling 
 themselves with champagne and other appetizing acces- 
 sories, the cavalcade of interested spectators rode north- 
 ward for a distance of three miles, where they discov- 
 ered a large herd of buffaloes quietly browsing. The 
 party then halted, and Buffalo Bill, removing both sad- 
 dle and bridle from Old Brigham, rode off on his well- 
 trained horse, directing him solely by motions of his 
 hand. Reaching the herd by circling and coming down 
 upon it from the windward quarter, the two rival hunters 
 rushed uponf" the surprised buffaloes and renewed the 
 slaughter. After killing thirteen of the animals, Buffalo 
 Bill drove one of the largest buffaloes in the herd toward 
 the party, seeing which many ladies who were among the 
 interested spectators became very much frightened, show- 
 ing as much trepidation , perhaps, as they would have man- 
 ifested hud the buffalo been an enraged lion. But when 
 the ponderous, shaggy-headed beast came within a few 
 yards of the party Bill shot it dead, thus giving a grand 
 coup d'etat to the day's sport, which closed with this 
 magnificent exhibition of skill and daring. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 299 
 
 The day having now been far spent, and time called, it 
 was found that the score stood thus : Buffalo Bill, sixty-^ 
 nine ; Comstock, forty-six. The former was therefore 
 declared winner and entitled to the championship as the 
 most skillful buffalo-slayer in America. 
 
 CHAPTER XH. 
 
 AFTER the great buffalo killing match the name of 
 Buffalo Bill became familiar all over the country, and his 
 exploits, generally, were a topic people never grew tired 
 of discussing. All his great battles with the Indians and 
 valuable services as a scout were re-told, not only at the 
 fireside, but also by the military operating in the West. 
 He was beginning to be appreciated. 
 
 In the spring of 1868 a violent Indian war broke out 
 in central and western Kansas, which assumed such a 
 serious aspect that Gen. Sheridan, in order to be on the 
 field, took up his headquarters at Hays City. Directly 
 after making this move the General sent for Buffalo Bill 
 and in person tendered him a position as scout and guide, 
 which was immediately accepted. He was then ordered 
 to report to Capt. Parker, at Fort Lamed, for services. 
 
 Knowing that he would be absent from home for a 
 long time, he sent his wife and child to Leaven worth, 
 where he would have better opportunities of visiting them 
 than elsewhere. 
 
 Reaching Ft. Lamed Bill was appointed a special scout 
 to Gen. Hazen who had just arranged for a trip to Ft. 
 Sarah, thirty miles distant. Near Larned there were sev- 
 eral bands of Comanche and Kiowa Indians who had not 
 
300 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 yet joined their hostile brothers, but were seeking a pre- 
 text for so doing, especially as the fort was garrisoned by 
 only two companies of infantry and one of cavalry. The 
 head chief of these restless Comanches was Satanta, an 
 old villain who has since figured in Texas outrages and 
 been duly hanged according to a righteous law. 
 
 Gen. Hazen started for Ft. Sarah in a six-mule wagon 
 under an infantry escort of twenty men , with Buffalo Bill 
 as guide. The trip was made in safety, but as the General 
 concluded to go on to Ft. Harker without a guide, Bill 
 was ordered to return to Larned. Mounting his mule he 
 was making good time toward the post, when about 
 half way, near Pawnee Kock, forty Indians came rushing 
 down on him . Instead of presenting their arms , however, 
 they presented their hands, saying, " How I How ! " with 
 such warmth of feeling that Bill accepted their greeting, 
 but instead of shaking his hand they jerked inm with such 
 violence that he was almost unseated, while others in the 
 party grabbed the reins of his bridle and started to lead 
 the mule off. Bill was at an unreasonable disadvantage, 
 but nevertheless he was ready for a fight regardless of the 
 odds. Fortunately for him, as it proved, when he at- 
 tempted to draw his pistols one of the Indians struck 
 him a violent blow on the head with a tomahawk, render- 
 ing him so nearly insensible thatthiey easily disarmed and 
 bound him. All this time the Indians were howling their 
 war cries and otherwise indicated their purpose of going 
 on the warpath, so that Bill very naturally supposed he 
 was to be one of their first victims. 
 
 His captors led him for nearly two miles down a creek, 
 where they reached another body of Indians apparently 
 in council. Old Satanta, whom Bill knew by having seen 
 once before, occupied the chief council seat, and be- 
 fore this old veteran thief and murderer he was brought. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 301 
 
 At this juncture a marvelously cunning expedient came to 
 mind and was at once adopted by Bill. He knew that 
 the Indians were nearly out of meat and were expecting a 
 large herd of cattle which had already been promised 
 them by Gen. Hazen. In reply, therefore, to the first in- 
 quiries of Satanta, Bill, speaking in a very bold and osten- 
 tatious manner, said : 
 
 ' ' I have been after a big heap lot ' who-haws ' for your 
 people. Why have your young warriors acted to ward me 
 like a pack of hungry coyotes?" 
 
 This announcement caused the old rogue to change his 
 facial expression from a demure, murderous look to a 
 broad , happy grin ; and after questioning the cunning 
 scout until he had elicited more specious prevarications 
 than can be heard in a Turkish court, Satunta tried to 
 outlie Bill by declaring that his young men had meant no 
 harm by their acts, intending only to have some sport by 
 testing his bravery. He now asked Bill to drive the cat- 
 tle down to the opposite side of the creek where they 
 could herd and graze them, proffering an Indian escort if 
 he desired. 
 
 Bill promptly told him that he needed no escort but 
 would drive the cattle to the spot indicated, as that was 
 in pursuance of instructions from Gen. Hazen. 
 
 His mule having been returned to him Bill mounted 
 and rode toward the creek, reflecting on the excellent suc- 
 cess of his expedient and the probability of being fol- 
 lowed. The creek was quite broad but easily forded, so 
 that it was no barrier to pursuit if the Indians should 
 suspect the falsity of his representations. Upon reach- 
 ing the opposite bank he was therefore very much 
 alarmed at seeing a dozen of the Indians riding toward 
 him as if to determine the accuracy of his statements. 
 It chanced that the land on that side of the creek which 
 
302 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 he had now gained was considerably depressed, so that af- 
 ter passing over the bank he was hidden from view until 
 the Indians gained the apex. This advantage he used so 
 well, by putting the mule at his highest rate of speed, 
 that when the suspicious Indians gained the bank's sum- 
 mit he was fully one mile in advance and riding furiously 
 toward Ft. Larned. 
 
 Upon seeing the fleeing scout there were no further 
 grounds for suspecting his motives, so the Indians, who 
 were mounted on excellent ponies, dashed after him as 
 though they were impelled by a promised reward of all 
 the whisky and bacon in the Big Father's commissary for 
 his scalp. 
 
 Bill was trying to save his hair and the Indians were 
 equally anxious to secure it, so that the ride prompted by 
 these diametrically opposed motives was as furious as 
 Tarn O'Shanter's. 
 
 After running over about three miles of ground Bill 
 turned his head only to be horrified with the sight of his 
 pursuers gaining rapidly on him. He now sank the 
 spurs a little deeper into his mule, let out another inch 
 of the reins and succeeded in increasing the speed of his 
 animal, which appeared to be sailing under a second 
 wind. 
 
 It was thus the chase continued to Ash Grove, four 
 miles from Ft. Larned, at which point Bill was less than 
 half a mile ahead of the Indians, who were trying to make 
 line shots with him and his mule as the target. Reach- 
 ing Pawnee Fork he dashed into that stream and as he 
 gained the opposite shore and was rounding a thick clump 
 of trees he was rejoiced to meet Denver Jim, a promi- 
 nent scout, in company with a private soldier, driving a 
 wagon toward the post. 
 
 A moment spent in explanation determined the three 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 305 
 
 men upon an ambush. Accordingly, the wagon was 
 hastily driven into the woods, and posting themselves at 
 an advantageous point they awaited the appearance of 
 the red-skinned pursuers. "Look out!" said Bill, 
 "here they come, right over my trail." True enough, 
 the twelve painted warriors rode swiftly around the clump 
 of brush, and the next instant there was a discharge of 
 shots from the ambush which sent two Indians sprawling 
 on the ground, where they kicked out their miserable 
 existence. The others saw the danger of their position, 
 and making a big circle, rode rapidly back toward their 
 war party. 
 
 When the three men reached Larned, Buffalo Bill and 
 Denver Jim each displayed an Indian scalp as trophies of 
 a successful ambush, and at the same time apprised Capt, 
 Parker of the hostile character of Satanta and his tribe. 
 
 On the following day about eight hundred warriors 
 appeared before the fort and threatened to storm it, but 
 being met with a determined front they circled around 
 the post several times, keeping the soldiers inside until 
 their village could move off. 
 
 Considerable fear was entertained at the fort, owing 
 to the great number of hostile Indians who practically 
 invested it, and it was deemed by Capt. Parker as of the 
 utmost importance to send dispatches to Gen. Sheridan, 
 informing him of the situation. Fort Hays was sixty- 
 five miles distant from Fort Larned, and as the country 
 was fairly swarming with the worst kind of * ' bad ' L 
 Indians, Capt. Parker tried in vain to find some one wh& 
 would carry the dispatches, until the request was made 
 of Buffalo BilL This expedition was not within Bill's 
 line of duty, and presented dangers that would have 
 caused the boldest man to hesitate ; but finding all the 
 couriers absolutely refusing to perform the necessary 
 
306 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 service, he agreed to deliver the message, provided he 
 could select the horse that he wanted to ride. Of course 
 this requirement was readily assented to, and at ten 
 o'clock at night, during a terrible storm, the brave scout 
 set out, knowing that he had to run a very gauntlet of 
 hostiles, who would make many sacrifices if by so doing 
 they could lift his coveted scalp. 
 
 The profound darkness of the night afforded him some 
 security from surprise, but his fears of riding into an In- 
 dian camp were realized when he reached Walnut Creek. 
 A barking dog was the first intimation of his position, 
 but this was speedily followed by several Indians pursu- 
 ing him, being directed by the sounds of his horse's feet. 
 By hard riding and good dodging, however, he eluded 
 these, and meeting with no further mishap than being 
 thrown over his horse's head by reason of the animal 
 suddenly stepping into a gopher hole, he reached Fort 
 Hays shortly after daylight and delivered the dispatches 
 he carried before Gen. Sheridan had arisen from bed. 
 
 After delivering the message Bill went over to Hays 
 City, where he was well acquainted, and after taking some 
 refreshments, lay down and slept for two hours. Think- 
 ing then that Gen . Sheridan might want to ask him some 
 questions regarding the condition of affairs at Larned, he 
 returned to the fort and reported to him. He was some- 
 what astonished to find that Gen. Sheridan was as anx- 
 ious to send a dispatch to Ft. Dodge, ninety-five miles dis- 
 tant, as Capt. Parker had been to communicate with his su- 
 perior at Ft. Hays, and more surprised was he to find that 
 of the numerous couriers and scouts at the fort not one 
 could be induced to carry the General's dispatch, though 
 the sum of five hundred dollars was offered for the ser- 
 vice. 
 
 Seeing the quandary in which Gen. Sheridan was placed, 
 Bill addressed that official and gaid * 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 307 
 
 "Well, General, I'll go over to the hotel and take a 
 little more rest, and if by four o'clock you have not secured 
 some one to carry your dispatches I will undertake to do it ." 
 
 The General replied : " I don't like to ask so much of 
 you, for I know you are tired, but the matter is, of great 
 importance and some one must perform the trip. I'll 
 give you a fresh horse and the best at the Fort if you'll 
 undertake it." 
 
 " "All right, General, I'll be ready at four o'clock/' re- 
 sponded Bill, and he then went over to the hotel, but 
 meeting with many friends and the irrigating ' ' being 
 good, he obtained only the rest that gay compan- 
 ionship affords. 
 
 At the appointed time Bill was ready, and receiving the 
 dispatches at the hands of Gen . Sheridan he mounted his 
 horse and rode away for Ft. Dodge. 
 
 After his departure there was much debate among the 
 scouts who bade him good bye respecting the probability 
 of his getting through, for the Indians were thick along 
 the whole route, and only a few days before had killed 
 three couriers and several settlers. 
 
 Bill continued his ride all night, meeting with no inter- 
 ruption, and by daylight the next morning he had reached 
 Saw-Log Crossing, on Pawnee Fork, which was seventy- 
 five miles from Ft. Hays. A company of colored caval- 
 ry under Major Cox was stationed here, and it being on 
 the direct route to Ft. Dodge, Bill carried a letter with 
 him from Gen. Sheridan requesting Major Cox to furnish 
 him with a fresh horse upon his arrival there. This the 
 Major did, so after partaking of a good breakfast, Bill 
 took his remount and continued on to Dodge, which point 
 he gained at ten o'clock in the morning, making the 
 ninety-five miles in just eighteen hours from the time of 
 starting. 
 
308 HEEOES OF THE PLAINS, 
 
 The commanding officer at Ft. Dodge, after receiving 
 the dispatches, remarked : 
 
 " I am very glad to see you, Cody, and I'll tell you 
 that the trip just made is one of the most fortunate I 
 know of. It is almost a miracle how you got through 
 without having your body filled as full of holes as a pep- 
 per box. The Indians are swarming all around within 
 fifty miles of here, and to leave camp voluntarily is al- 
 most equal to committing suicide. I have been wanting 
 to send a message to Ft. Larned for several days, but the 
 trip is so dangerous that I can't find any one who will 
 risk it, and I wouldn't blame the bravest man for re- 
 fusing." 
 
 " Well, Major, as I didn't find any Indians between 
 here and Hays, I think I might get through to Larned ; 
 in fact, I want to go back there and if you will furnish 
 me with a good horse I'll try to carry your message." 
 
 " I don't think it would be policy for you to make the 
 trip now, especially since you have done so much hard 
 riding already. Besides, the best mount I could give you 
 would be a government mule." 
 
 " All right, Major, I don't want the best, second best 
 is good enough for me, so trot out your mule. I'll take 
 a little nap and in the meantime have your hostler slick 
 up the mule so he can slide through with me like a 
 greased thunderbolt should the reds jump us." 
 
 Bill then went off, and after * liquidating ' ' in true 
 Western style, lay down in the Major's quarters where 
 he slept soundly until nearly five o'clock in the evening, 
 when, having replenished his canteen, he mounted the pa- 
 tient mule and set out for Ft. Larned, which was sixty- 
 five miles east of Ft. Dodge. 
 
 After proceeding as far as Coon Creek, which was 
 nearly half way, Bill dismounted for the purpose of get- 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 309 
 
 ting a drink of water. While stooping down the mule 
 got frightened at something and jerked loose, nor did the 
 stupid animal stop to consider how essential his service 
 was to his rider, for he at once set off in a trot down the 
 creek. In vain did Bill coax the mule with promises of 
 oats and green pastures ; the stupid descendant of Ba- 
 laam's admonisher could not be fooled with that sort of 
 flattery, and the chagrined and weary scout had to follow 
 in the rear, hoping that the animal would step on the 
 loosened reins and thus check himself. But mile after 
 mile did the dismounted and now infuriated scout follow 
 that irritating mule. Time and again did he decide to 
 shoot the tantalizing animal, but the decision did not pre- 
 vail against his better reaaon; for though useless as a 
 conveyance the mule still carried the saddle and bridle 
 and it were better to make him bear th-> burden of these 
 to Ft, Lamed than attempt to carry them himself. 
 
 Thus the two traveled in the direction of Ft. Larned 
 all night, both keeping in the main road despite the dan- 
 ger which it threatened . In the morning just as the sun 
 was peeping over the hazy hilltops Bill and the mule 
 reached a high knoll at the bottom of which lay the fort. 
 " Now," said the scout to himself, " I'm going to manage 
 the rest of this journey, in as much as it is less than half 
 a mile long," and with this he raised his gun with venge- 
 ful deliberation and fired a slug into the rear abutments 
 of that incomparably malicious mule. One shot did not 
 afford the complete satisfaction he desired, and it was 
 really grateful to him to see the animal die so slowly. So 
 much sin required a dreadful amount of atonement, and 
 while the mule was in the atoning business it was expedi- 
 ent that he should do as much of it as possible. So died 
 the ass that looked back with scorn, and no man knoweth 
 
310 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 how much evil perished with him ; yea, even unto this day 
 knoweth no man. 
 
 After reaching Larned carrying the bridle and saddle 
 himself Buffalo Bill spent several hours in refreshing 
 sleep, and when he awakened he found Gen. Hazen try- 
 ^ng to induce some of the couriers to take his dispatches 
 to Gen. Sheridan, at Ft. Hays. Having been warmly 
 and very justly praised for the long and perilous rides he 
 had just completed, Bill again proffered his services to 
 perform the trip . At first Gen . Hazen refused to despatch 
 him on the mission, saying, "This is like riding a free 
 horse to death ; you have already ridden enough to kill 
 any ordinary man, and I don't think it would be treating 
 you properly to permit you to make this additional jour- 
 ney." 
 
 But when evening came and no other volunteer could 
 be engaged, as a matter of last resort Bill was given a 
 good horse and the dispatches entrusted to him for trans- 
 mission. It was after nightfall when he started on this 
 last trip and by daylight the next morning he was in Ft. 
 Hays, where he delivered the dispatches. Gen. Sheridan 
 was profoundly astonished to see Bill before him again in 
 so short a time, and after being informed of his wonderful 
 riding during the three days, the General pronounced it a 
 feat that was never equaled, and even now Gen. Sheridan 
 maintains that no other man could accomplish the same 
 distance under similar circumstances. To this day the 
 rides here described stand on record as the most remark- 
 able ever made. They aggregated three hundred and 
 fifty-five miles in fifty-eight riding hours, or an average of 
 more than six miles an hour including an enforced walk of 
 thirty-five miles. When it is considered that all this dis- 
 tance was made during the night time and through a coun- 
 try full of hostile Indians, without a road to follow or a 
 
LITE OF BUFFALO BILL. 311 
 
 bridge to cross the streams, the feat appears too incredu- 
 lous for belief were it not for the most indisputable evi- 
 dence, easily attainable, which makes disbelief impos- 
 sible. 
 
 CHAPTER XHL 
 
 GEN. SHEKIDAN was so favorably impressed by the 
 self-sacrificing spirit and marvelous endurance of Buffalo 
 Bill, and being already acquainted with his reputation as 
 a brave man and superior fighter, that he called the 
 noted scout to his headquarters directly after receiving 
 Major Hazen's dispatches, and said : 
 
 " Cody, I have ordered the Fifth Cavalry to proceed 
 against the Dog Soldier Indians who are now terrorizing 
 the Republican River district, and as the campaign will 
 be a very important one I want a first-class man to guide 
 the expedition. From my brief acquaintance with you I 
 am convinced that you are the person best suited for this 
 service. I have therefore decided to appoint you guide 
 and also chief of scouts of the command. I hope the 
 place will be acceptable to you, for it is particularly de- 
 sirable that the very best guide and scout should fill this 
 position, and I am frank to say I have thorough confi- 
 dence in your abilities." 
 
 Giving his big sombrero a careless whirl on his left 
 hand, Bill answered in his usual indifferent manner : 
 
 " I thank you, General, for this compliment ; I am al- 
 ways ready to execute your orders, and if you consider 
 me the best man for the place, why, then, I'm off without 
 
312 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Only two days before this occurrence a body of twenty 
 scouts, under Gen. Forsythe, had returned from the Re- 
 publican river, where they had been engaged in one of 
 the most desperate battles ever fought with the Indians. 
 The original force of the scouts was fifty men, but being 
 corraled by five hundred Indians on the Arickaree they 
 had to fight this overpowering number from breastworks 
 made of their dead mules for a period of six days. In 
 order to sustain life they fed on the bodies of their dead 
 animals, and when at last relieved by a detachment of 
 cavalry under Col. Carpenter, there were only twenty of 
 the original number left, the others having been killed 
 outright or died from neglected wounds. 
 
 On the third of October, nearly a week after Buffalo 
 Bill's appointment, the Fifth Cavalry arrived at Ft. 
 Hays, where he was directly introduced to the officers and 
 it was but a short time before he had won the friendship 
 and admiration of them all. 
 
 In two days after their arriva* the regiment was put 
 upon the march, going by the most direct route toward 
 the infested country. The transportation facilities com- 
 prised seventy-five six mule wagons, with a full comple- 
 ment of ambulances, the whole outfit when stretched out 
 on the prairie making a caravan most imposing in ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 During the first four days of marching no Indians 
 were seen and nothing occurred beyond the usual inci- 
 dents of camp life ; but on the evening of October 10th, 
 as the command was preparing to go into camp on the 
 Saline river, when all the horses were unsaddled and the 
 wagons corraled, the regiment was surprised by several 
 hundred Indians who rushed down from neighboring hill 
 upod the unprepared expedition and created great excite- 
 ment. A cordon of men was quietly thrown around thes 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 
 
 313 
 
 wagon* to protect the camp and afford time for the troops 
 to get their horses readv and mount. The Indians cir* 
 
 ^. 
 
 ~< 
 
 p- 
 
 I 
 
 > 
 
 cled around the bustling command, assuming various atti- 
 tudes on their ponies and shooting at the same time, but 
 
314 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 they were met with such an effective fire from the cordon 
 that they retreated, leaving several dead bodies on the 
 field. Buffalo Bill was the first man to get his horse in 
 readiness, and mounting in advance of all the rest, led the 
 van several hundred yards in pursuing the Indians, two 
 of whom he killed and wounded the horse of another. 
 Feeling safe from attack now, the regiment returned to 
 camp, intending to follow the trail made by the attacking 
 party early the next morning. 
 
 It was scarcely daylight when the command was put 
 in motion, following the trail sharply, which led to the 
 South Fork of Solomon river, where it scattered. Here 
 the expedition went into camp again, and as it was 
 scarcely yet three o'clock, p. M., Col. Royal requested 
 Bill to take a short circuit over the prairie and try to kill 
 a few buffaloes, as their fresh meat supply was almost 
 exhausted. 
 
 4 'All right," responded Bill, "send a wagon along 
 with me to haul in the carcasses." 
 
 " It is not a custom of mine to count profits before 
 beginning business. Kill your game first, and then I'll 
 send out the wagons," the Colonel replied. 
 
 Without saying anything more, Bill mounted his horse 
 and rode away toward the north, unaccompanied. After 
 an absence of nearly two hours, some of the soldiers 
 discerned a number of moving things, evidently advanc- 
 ing toward them. Closer and closer came the .singular 
 objects, until at last there was discovered a horseman, 
 riding in the rear of six large terror-stricken buffaloes. 
 In another moment the animals had charged directly into 
 camp, where they were shot down by Bill. 
 
 Col. Royal, hearing the agitation outside his tent, 
 rushed up to Bill, who he discovered was the cause of 
 the excitement, and vigorously embellishing his language, 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 315 
 
 by what authority he had aroused so much con- 
 fusion in the camp. 
 
 In a most lugubriously penitential way Bill replied : 
 
 "I didn't mean any harm, Colonel; but as you 
 wouldn't send out a wagon to haul in my game, I thought 
 It would be an accommodation to you if I made the buf- 
 faloes furnish their own conveyance. Allow me to pre- 
 sent you with some choice tongues." 
 
 The Colonel could not face this ingenious reply, and his 
 anger was at once succeeded by a hearty laugh ; nor did 
 he refuse the buffalo tongues proffered him by the seem- 
 ingly reckless hunter. 
 
 The expedition resumed its march on the following 
 day, but reached Buffalo Tank on Saline river without 
 meeting any more Indians. Here the command was 
 turned over to Gen. E. A. Carr who had been sent out 
 from Ft. Hays with the Forsythe scouts. Upon pro- 
 ceeding to Beaver Creek a large, fresh Indian trail was 
 discovered, which being followed for a distance of eight 
 miles brought about two hundred Indians in view, who 
 occupied a position on the bluffs. Company M was or- 
 dered forward, which being commanded by an impetuous 
 and daring French Lieutenant named Schinosky, the In- 
 dians were driven over the bluffs for more than a mile. 
 Suddenly they were reinforced and company M. found 
 itself fighting over four hundred red-skins without the 
 least protection. It looked for a short while as if there 
 were no escape from the murderous fire poured upon 
 them by the Indians. Buffalo Bill hearing the rapid fir- 
 ing over the bluffs, knew there was desperate work be- 
 ing done, and he spedl away in advance of the main com- 
 mand which was hurrying up to Schinosky' s assistance. 
 Gaining the environment, he shot two Indians and then 
 wheeling back he returned to headquarters and so accu- 
 
 19 
 
316 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 rately described the position of the savages that Gen. 
 Carr moved two companies so as to surround the enemy, 
 when a combined attack was made with such fury that 
 the battle was soon ended. 
 
 The Indians being repulsed fell back with the soldiers 
 pursuing until a second force of about six hundred war- 
 riors came into view, who had been in reserve to protect 
 their village, while the others deployed to bring the sol- 
 diers into an ambush. But the cavalry force was much 
 greater than the Indians had anticipated, and after mak- 
 ing two insignificant charges they precipitately retreated. 
 Night was now rapidly approaching and Gen. Carr or- 
 dered the tired soldiers into camp, where a good rest was 
 necessary for the movements of the morrow. 
 
 On the following day the expedition raised camp at an 
 early hour and taking up the trail where they left it at 
 the village, pushed forward so rapidly that about three 
 oVock they sighted a large force of Indians who turned 
 back the moment they were discovered and gave battle. 
 But they fought very shy, their purpose being to check 
 the cavalry advance so as to permit their village to es- 
 cape. Finding that a battle front would not serve their 
 purpose, they set the dry prairie grass on fire, but it was 
 too short to burn rapidly. A running fight continued 
 until the occupants of the village had abandoned all their 
 mo*e cumbersome materials, such as lodge-poles, kettles, 
 robes, bedding, etc. They now traveled much more 
 rapidly, so that the troops rarely came within gun-shot 
 distance. 
 
 The pursuit continued for three days until the Indian* 
 had scattered so badly that it was impossible for an army 
 to follow them any longer. 
 
 Having abandoned pursuit of the Dog Soldier Indians 
 the expedition set out for the headwaters of Beaver Creek. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 
 
 317 
 
 After traveling about thirty-five miles Gen. Carrrode for- 
 ward until he overtook Buffalo Bill, who as guide and 
 chief of scouts, was riding considerably in advance of the 
 command, and addressing him said : 
 
 " Cody, all the Forsyth scouts declare you are going in 
 the wrong direction , and also that we are not likely to 
 strike any water to-day by proceeding on this, route ; that 
 if you should strike any of the branches of the Beaver 
 you would certainly find them dry at this season." 
 
 Beaver Creek the Trapper's Elysian. 
 
 Bill answered : " I've been over this country several 
 times, General, and notwithstanding what the other scouts 
 say, I think we will find plenty of good water within eight 
 miles of here, and that we are making directly for the 
 point you wish to reach." 
 
 "All right ; but remember that the matteris too serious 
 to admit of mistakes ; the responsibility is now all your 
 own," and so saying General Carr rode back to the com- 
 mand. 
 
318 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 After marching seven miles further the Forsyth scouts 
 again declared that they were wandering in the wrong di- 
 rection, but notwithstanding their forebodings, within the 
 distance asserted by Bill a beautiful stream of water was 
 discovered purling along the ravines, almost hidden by the 
 trees which lined its banks. A level, grassy spot having 
 been selected, about four o'clock in the evening everything 
 was put in preparation for camping in an enemy's coun- 
 try. This stream, which was a branch of Beaver river, 
 having no location on the then existing maps, was named 
 by Gen. Carr Cody's Creek in honor of his distinguished 
 guide, a name by which it is now known on all the topo- 
 graphical maps of Kansas. 
 
 On the following morning camp was broken early and 
 the march toward Beaver Creek resumed. Buffalo Bill 9 
 as was his custom, had ridden nearly a quarter of a mile 
 ahead of the command, and first striking the Beaver at a 
 wide point was riding along the bank seeking a safe cross- 
 ing. As he emerged from a thick covert in abend of the 
 creek he suddenly confronted a party of Indians who fired 
 on him, shooting his horse dead. Bill was taken by such 
 complete surprise that as his horse fell he went tumbling 
 headlong into a thicket, from which it took some moments 
 to extricate himself. As he arose another volley of bul- 
 lets came zipping into his retreat, but bringing his faith-* 
 ful rifle into position he shot one of the Indian's 
 ponies and held the whole party at bay until the command 
 reached him. Company I, under Lieutenant Brady, was 
 sent in pursuit of the Indians, and being accompanied by 
 Bill, who had been furnished with another horse, a lively 
 battle was soon precipitated. But the Indians beat a 
 retreat, followed by the soldiers, who succededin killing 
 several and capturing a large quantity of Indian equip- 
 age. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 319 
 
 The expedition continued beating the skirts of Beaver 
 Creek for some days, but finding no more Indians, and 
 supplies running short, Gen. Carr ordered the command 
 to Fort Wallace, where it remained for several days. 
 
 During this period of quiet, Bill amused himself by 
 pursuing his favorite sport, buffalo and antelope shooting. 
 Having met with uniform success on these hunts, three 
 of the other scouts concluded to accompany him, and the 
 party, all being excellent marksmen, a wagon was given 
 them to haul in their game. The quartette of hunters 
 had proceeded seven or eight miles from the foit, when 
 they discovered a large herd of buffaloes, running rapidly 
 toward Beaver Creek. Pursuit was, of course, given, 
 and the sport became so exciting that the hunters took no 
 concern or thought of danger until they discovered about 
 fifty Indians bearing down on them, shutting off a retreat 
 toward Wallace. 
 
 The boys saw they were in for a hard fight, and Bill, 
 being recognized as a boss fighter and stayer, was looked 
 to for advice. 
 
 4 'Make for that ravine ; if we reach that in time we 
 san stand them off for a while anyhow." 
 
 This was his first order, and it was obeyed with such 
 alacrity that the party not only reached the ravine, but 
 had also dismounted in time to send such a destructive 
 volley into the charging Indians that four were unseated. 
 This checked the advance, but only for a moment, when 
 they again came pouring down upon the hunters, yelling 
 like the materialized spirits of hades. But again the 
 repeating guns of the four brave hunters played upon 
 them so disastrously that the Indians fell back. Sally- 
 ing, however, after a council of several minutes, they 
 made another charge, coming so close this time that one 
 of the hunters was wounded and three of their horse* 
 
320 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 were killed. But the attack was again successfully re- 
 pulsed, with such loss to the Indians that they retreated, 
 and riding rapidly due north were seen no more. 
 
 The four hunters had reason to rejoice at the victory 
 they had won, but though they had only three sound 
 horses and a wounded companion, the hunt was not yet 
 abandoned. Another herd of buffaloes being found, the 
 wounded man remained in the wagon, while the others 
 set off: after the gams, and killed as many as their means 
 of transportation justified. Having now succeeded as 
 both fighters and hunters, the party returned to the fort 
 with trophies of their adventures and received well 
 deserved compliments from Gen. Carr for their deeds. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 AFTER leaving Fort Wallace, Gen. Carr's forces were 
 ordered to winter along the Canadian river, in which 
 portion of the country Indians were occasionally com- 
 mitting depredations. Proceeding, therefore, to Fort 
 Lyon, the command was duly equipped for the approach- 
 ing season, and then set out, intending to overtake and 
 consolidate with Gen. Penrose, who had departed toward 
 Camp Supply three weeks previously. Buffalo Bill was 
 especially anxious for the consolidation, because Wild 
 Bill, his old friend, was Gen. Penrose' s chief of scouts. 
 
 Winter was now near at hand, and reaching Freeze Out 
 Canon, they found the snow so deep that it was almost 
 impossible to march through it. To overcome this obsta- 
 cle the command, as far as practicable, was put to work 
 ihoveling and beating a roadway for the teams, which 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 321 
 
 were brought through only with the greatest difficulty. 
 
 After a very long march, full of hardships and suffer- 
 ings, Gen. Penrose's camp was found on the Palodora 
 in a most distracted condition. Their provisions had 
 long been exhausted and life had been sustained by eat- 
 ing the carcasses of their draught animals. After a lib- 
 eral distribution of rations among the famishing men, 
 Wild Bill and Buffalo Bill covenanted together for a good 
 time of their own, to accomplish which they tapped a 
 beer train which was being driven through by a party of 
 Mexicans to Camp Evans to trade to the soldiers at that 
 point, which was only twelve miles from the Palodora 
 station. 
 
 Indulging to their full capacity, the soldiers were not 
 forgotten , and there was hilarity in camp o'f the most in- 
 spiriting character, changing all factious grumbling into 
 a hearty good time, in this sense proving a positive ben- 
 efit to the two suffering commands. Arriving at Camp 
 Evans, Wild Bill was despatched to Camp Supply, two 
 hundred miles distant, and the armies settled in tempo- 
 rary quarters to await his return. The trip was made in 
 an almost incredibly short time, his celerity being due to 
 orders from Supply informing Gens. Penrose and Carr 
 of Black Kettle's depredations on the Wachita, and order- 
 ing them to pursue him . Following out these in structions 
 the consolidated commands moved rapidly along the 
 Cimarron until they discovered the Indians, when a ter- 
 rific battle immediately ensued. In this fight Buffalo Bill 
 and Wild Bill did almost the work of a regiment ; braver 
 men never went into an action, both fighting as though 
 they were invulnerable. 
 
 In the fury and rout which followed the first charge 
 Wild Bill gave chase to Black Kettle, head chief of the 
 Cheyennes engaged, and overtaking the fleeing red war- 
 
322 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 rior, stabbed him to death. But the accomplishment of 
 this heroic action would have cost him his own life had 
 not Buffalo Bill ridden with impetuous daring into the 
 very midst of fully fifty Indians who had surrounded 
 Wild Bill intent on either his capture or death. These 
 two daring and intrepid scouts plunged furiously into the 
 midst of the Indians, each with a revolver in either hand, 
 and literally carved their way through the surging mass 
 of red skins, leaving a furrow of dead Indians in their 
 wake. Such fighting, such riding, and such marvelous 
 intrepidity combined, were doubtless never equaled, and 
 if but this act alone could be credited to the valor of Wild 
 Bill and Buffalo Bill their names would deserve inscription 
 on Fame's enduring monument. 
 
 Having broken the strength of the Cheyennes, killed 
 their famous chief and captured so many of their best 
 warriors, Gen. Carr, who was chief in command of the 
 consolidated forces, returned toward Camp Supply, but 
 owing to heavy snows it was considered more advisable 
 to pitch their tents on the Canadian river, especially as 
 the country abounded with game. 
 
 During this latter encampment a serious feud was cre- 
 ated between fifteen Mexican scouts with Gen. Penrose's 
 command and an equal number of American scouts en- 
 gaged with Gen. Carr. What provoked this nationalized 
 quarrel was Buffalo Bill's appointment as chief of the 
 combined force of scouts, with Wild Bill as assistant. 
 The quarrel increased in bitterness from hour to hour 
 until at length one day, while the opposing forces were 
 congregated before the sutler's store, the long anticipated 
 fight was precipitated by Buffalo Bill knocking one of 
 the insulting Mexicans an honest furlong. A moment 
 after he was attacked by the entire force of Mexican 
 scouts, whom he fought with great success, but was not 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 323 
 
 alone, for Wild Bill soon put in his oar, followed by the 
 other American scouts, and for nearly half an hour there 
 was the best imitation of the row at Tim Finnigan's 
 wake ever attempted on American soil. Every man did 
 his level best and the circus was consequently a big suc- 
 cess for the American scouts. 
 
 The command remained in camp along the Canadian 
 until March had approached, when seeing there were no 
 prospects of finding any more turbulent Indians, Gen. 
 Carr moved up to Ft. Lyon. Reaching this post, Buf- 
 falo Bill obtained a thirty days' leave of absence to visit 
 St. Louis where his family was then temporarily living. 
 He rode to Sheridan, distant one hundred and forty miles, 
 on a government mule, and taking the train there reached 
 St. Louis in due time, where his reception was very 
 cordial. 
 
 Upon his return to Ft. Lyon, Gen. Carr immediately 
 accosted him as follows : 
 
 " Cody, you have returned at a most opportune time, 
 for your services are just now badly needed. During 
 our stay here several of our best horses have been stolen, 
 and though I have sent out several parties, hoping to 
 capture the thieves or recover some of our stock, not one 
 of them has met with the least success. Now I want you 
 to make an effort/' 
 
 "All right, General, I'll try." 
 
 This was the only reply returned by Bill, but he at 
 once sought those who had been after the thieves, in or- 
 der to question them regarding the trails, if any had been 
 found. Bill Green, an old scout who had accompanied 
 parties sent out by Gen. Carr, informed him that he had 
 discovered a trail leading by Old Fort Lyon, but could 
 not follow it on account of the high grass it led through. 
 
 On the folio wing morning Bill started after the thieves, 
 
324 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 accompanied by Green, Jack Farley and another scout 
 whose name cannot be recalled. The party was led by 
 Green to the spot where high grass had prevented him 
 from following it further, and then Bill began a search- 
 ing investigation for hoof prints. These he found, 
 and taking up the trail where Green had lost it, followed 
 on for several miles until he reached a thick clump of 
 timber, where he found numerous evidences of a recent 
 corral of horses. But singularly enough, not a single 
 hoof print could be discovered leading in any direction 
 from the corral. 
 
 "Well, boys," said Bill, "we are after experienced 
 h'orse thieves ; that I know, because of the perfect man- 
 ner in which their trail is covered. We've got to divide 
 up here and each man make a five-mile circuit, coming 
 together again at this place to report." 
 
 The men immediately diverged in search of the hidden 
 trail, which Bill found in the sand hills, and discovered 
 that the thieves were moving with eight horses and four 
 mules. The party having met again as agreed, they 
 started out on the rediscovered trail and followed it with- 
 out difficulty to Denver, reaching a point four miles from 
 that town on Thursday. 
 
 "We have got to stop here," remarked Bill, "because 
 I know that the thieves are in Denver, and as Saturday 
 is the great horse sales day in that place, we will wait 
 here until Friday night so as to avert suspicion, and catch 
 them when the horses are put up for sale." 
 
 Early on Saturday morning Bill rode into Denver with 
 his three assistants and put up at the Elephant Corral, 
 overlooking the yard where all the auction horse sales 
 were made. After taking a survey of his position he 
 walked out into the yard, where he soon had the pleasure 
 of seeing one of the old packers in Gen. Carr'g command 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 325 
 
 ride into the corral on a racing mule, belonging to Lieut. 
 Forbush, and leading another. Bill waited for several 
 minutes, expecting to see the thief's confederate put in 
 an appearance, but as the mule was being bid on action 
 could no longer be deferred. 
 
 Pushing through the crowd, Bill approached the thief, 
 firho , recognizing him, attempted to escape, but the keen- 
 .gyed scout divined his intention, and seizing him, cried : 
 
 " Stop, or I'll have to kill you here ; come along with 
 /ne." 
 
 This action was a surprise to those attending the auc- 
 tion, and they demanded an explanation, which being 
 given, the thief, whose name was Williams, was taken 
 off three miles down the Platte river. Here, having 
 found a dense thicket suited for their purposes, Bill pre- 
 pared a noose with which he intended to hang Williams 
 if he refused to reveal the whereabouts of his confed- 
 erates. 
 
 Seeing that his captors were in earnest, Williams made 
 a complete disclosure of his operations, telling the party 
 that he had but one partner in the horse-stealing enter- 
 prise, and that he might be found at a deserted cabin 
 about four miles further down the river. The rope was 
 now taken down from the limb which suspended it, and 
 taking Williams along with them, the party proceeded 
 on down the river until the place they had been directed 
 to was reached. At the moment Green discovered the 
 old cabin, Bill's alert eyes fell on ten head of the stolen 
 horses, all tethered and grazing close about the house. 
 A-s the party rode up, the occupant, hearing unusual 
 noises, came to the door with pistol in hand. But Bill's 
 rifle instantly covered him and the command, " Throw 
 tip your hands, Bevins, or I'll kill you," made the thief 
 yield at once. 
 
32(5 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 This confederate of Williams' , whose name was Bev\ 
 ins, had also been a packer in Gen. Carr's expedition 
 and was well-known to Buffalo Bill, and, it may be 
 added, he also knew Bill, and it was this mutual recog- 
 nition which convinced the thief how useless it would be 
 to make any show of resistance. 
 
 A search of the old cabin resulted in the recovery of 
 several saddles, lariets, blankets, and two Henry rifles. 
 All the recovered horses and mules were then tied to- 
 gether, and with Williams and Bevins well secured, the 
 party returned to Denver. Passing one night in that 
 place they started out for Ft. Lyon, making seventeen 
 miles the first day and camping at Cherry Creek. 
 
 Notwithstanding it was late in April the weather was 
 very cold, and a big fire was made up before which all 
 but a single guard lay down to sleep. 
 
 At one o'clock in the morning it began to snow quite 
 hard and an increase of covering was necessary. The 
 prisoners were apparently sound asleep, and there being 
 a constant guard it was not deemed necessary to tie 
 them. At three o'clock, while Farley was on watch, 
 Bevins, seizing upon the opportunity, struck the guard a 
 violent blow and leaping over the fire sped swiftly away. 
 The noise awakened Cody just as Williams started to 
 join his companion, but Bill knocked him down and then 
 sent an ineffectual shot after the escaping thief. In the 
 flight Bevins accidently dropped one of his shoes and was 
 therefore barefooted, a condition which put him at great 
 disadvantage in the pursuit which followed. 
 
 Leaving Williams in charge of Farley and the 'other 
 scout, Bill and Green quickly saddled their horses and 
 set out after Bevins. They found his trail hard to fol- 
 low in the darkness, but had no difficulty after daylight, 
 owing to the imprints in the snow. After going several 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BELL. 327 
 
 miles the blood stains clearly showed that the fugitive's 
 unprotected foot was being lacerated by the sharp stones 
 and prickly-pears, but notwithstanding this he was mak- 
 ing fast time. 
 
 The pursuers had traveled rapidly for more than twelve 
 miles before they came in sight of the fleeing thief, on a 
 ridge, near the Platte river. Bill commanded him to halt, 
 under pain of being shot, and knowin g who was handling 
 the rifle drawn on him, Bevins at once sat down and be- 
 gan pulling the sharp needles from his terribly lacerated 
 feet. Taking their recaptured prisoner back to the Cher- 
 ry Creek branch (Bill allowing Bevins to ride his own 
 horse out of compassion for the painful condition of his 
 feet), the party took up their march again toward Ft. 
 Lyon. 
 
 On the following night Williams made his escape while 
 the scout whose name is not remembered was on duty, 
 and though earnest pursuit was given he was not recap- 
 tured. 
 
 With the remaining prisoner the party reached Ft. 
 Lyon, and after turning over the recovered stock to Gen. 
 Carr, Bevins was placed in charge of the civil authorities. 
 He was confined in a log jail at Boggs' ranch, from which 
 he escaped in a few days, just as Bill had predicted. In 
 1872, however, Bevins was captured again, together with 
 several other notorious outlaws of his gang who had been 
 robbing stage coaches in the country north of the Union 
 Pacific railroad, and he is now serving a life sentence in 
 the Nebraska penitentiary. 
 
328 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 IT was only a few days after Buffalo Bill's arrival at 
 Ft. Lyon with the stolen horses and his prisoner, that the 
 Fifth cavalry was ordered to proceed to Ft. McPherson, 
 in Nebraska, for operations in the department of the 
 Platte. The command prepared for the march at once, 
 Bill taking the advance and maintaining it throughout the 
 entire journey. After marching several days the regi- 
 ment approached the valley drained by the north fork of 
 Beaver creek where Cody discovered fresh and numerous 
 Indian signs from which he estimated there were not less 
 than four hundred lodges, or three thousand Indians, in 
 the immediate vicinity. Riding back to Gen. Carr he 
 requested him to halt in the valley and wait until he could 
 reconnoitre and locate the savages. Accordingly Lieut. 
 Ward, with twelve men, was sent out on the trail with 
 Bill and followed it along the creek bank for a distance 
 of twelve miles. Then leaving their horses, Bill and the 
 Lieutenant crawled carefully to the apex of a high knoll, 
 from which point of observation they discovered a very 
 large Indian village not more than three miles distant, 
 while to the left less than half a mile was an Indian hunt- 
 ing party riding ponies heavily laden with buffalo meat. 
 
 Examination convinced the two white men that their 
 position was not particularly safe, as the Indians seemed 
 to be running in every direction. Bill hastily wrote a 
 dispatch which he gave to Lieutenant Ward, asking its 
 immediate transmission to Gen. Carr. One of the sol- 
 diers was detailed for the purpose, but he had ridden 
 back less than a mile when several shots were heard and 
 soon the dispatch courier was seen riding for life around 
 the bend of the creek, closely pursued by 6*ve Indians. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 
 
 329 
 
 Bill and the Lieutenant, followed by the soldiers, dashed 
 out after the red-skins and giving a well-directed volley, 
 killed one of them and drove the others across the 
 creek. 
 
 As the badly scared messenger came up to the party, 
 Bill said sharply : 
 
 Buffalo Bill tries a Shot at Long Range. 
 
 " Lieutenant, give me that dispatch, I'll carry it 
 through," and taking the message, he rode rapidly to- 
 ward the regiment, but had proceeded only a short dis- 
 tance when he discovered a dozen Indians carrying buf- 
 falo meat on their ponies. In order to make thm 
 
330 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 lieve he was accompanied by a large force, Bill acted oa 
 the aggressive and delivered a shot at long range. The 
 Indians at first showed no inclination to fight, but seeing 
 only one man they cut loose their burdens and dashed 
 after the bold scout. But pursuit on already jaded po* 
 nies was useless, and Bill, after drawing them as far as pos- 
 sible, dashed off, leaving the Indians far behind and get* 
 ting safely into camp, delivered the message to Gen. 
 Carr. 
 
 Eight companies were instantly ordered to saddle up, 
 the other two being left in charge of the train. They 
 rode swiftly to the relief of Lieutenant Ward, but met 
 him returning, within three miles of camp ; he reported 
 an engagement with fifteen Indian hunters, one of whom 
 he had killed, and wounded one pony. The companies 
 kept straighten, however, and after going two miles 
 further they met a force of one thousand Indians, pre- 
 pared for battle, approaching up the creek. 
 
 Gen. Carr ordered an immediate charge, accompany- 
 ing the order with instructions to break through the line 
 of Indians and charge on to the village without stopping. 
 The French Lieutenant, Schinosky, unfortunately, failed 
 to comprehend the order, and instead of charging 
 through with the command, vigorously attacked the In- 
 dians' left flank, where he was quickly surrounded by a 
 large body of the enemy with every assurance of being 
 annihilated. Gen. Carr discovered Schinosky 's danger 
 barely in time to charge back to his rescue. But in thL. 
 fiasco several soldiers and horses were killed and the In* 
 dian village given time to get so far away that further? 
 pursuit was impracticable that day, which was already 
 nearly spent. 
 
 Couriers had been sent back, ordering the detail of two 
 companies to follow up with the supply train, but as they 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 331 
 
 did not appear it was gravely feared that they had been 
 surrounded by Indians and were either besieged or had 
 fallen victims to a terrible fate. It became necessary 
 therefore to return to the camp. Singularly enough, this 
 order had been also misunderstood, and the night was 
 spent in Beaver Valley. 
 
 On the following day pursuit was renewed and kept up 
 for two days, when a war party was again discovered by 
 an advance company, and some lively fighting ensued. 1 
 The Indians were now pressed so hard that they threw 
 away all their camp utensils and equipage and left behind 
 them several head of exhausted ponies. As a last resort, 
 the village separated, taking so many dfferent trails that 
 pursuit was given over and the command went to Fort 
 McPherson, to prepare for another expedition along the 
 Republican river. 
 
 While encamped at McPherson the command was rein- 
 forced by three hundred Pawnee scouts, under command 
 of Major Frank J. North, one of the best executive 
 officers, as well also as one of the bravest men that ever 
 carved a route through the great West. In this connec- 
 tion I cannot help indulging what I know will be a par- 
 donable degression, in order that some of the qualities of 
 this brave officer may be at least alluded to. 
 
 Major North, though born in New York, March 10, 
 1840, is nevertheless a thoroughly Western man in all 
 his training. His father removed from New York to 
 Nebraska, settling near Columbus, in the winter of 1856- 
 57, and directly thereafter was frozen to death at Emi- 
 grant Crossing, on Big Pampillion Creek, while trying to 
 secure wood for his suffering family. 
 
 Shortly after the death of his father young North 
 joined a party of trappers, McMurray, Glass and Mes- 
 senger, and began taking beaver and otter on the tribu- 
 20 
 
332 HEROES OF THE PLAINS, 
 
 tarieg of Platte river, but meeting with indifferent suc- 
 cess, returned to Columbus and engaged in anything that 
 promised remuneration, as the family was almost entirely 
 dependent on him for support. 
 
 In 1860, being now twenty years of age, Frank pro- 
 cured employment with Agent DePuy, at the Pawnee 
 Indian Reservation. Here, while performing his other 
 duties, he acquired such a thorough knowledge of the 
 
 Maj. Frank J. North. 
 
 Pawnee language that in the following year he waa 
 engaged as interpreter by Mr, Rudy, son-ia-law of the 
 Indian Commissioner. 
 
 At the breaking out of the Sioux war in 1864, Gen. 
 Curtis, commanding the Sixteenth and Twelfth Kansas 
 Cavalry, commissioned Mr. North to organize the Paw- 
 nee scouts, who were not only friendly to the Govern- 
 
LIFE OF BUFFAJLO BILL. 333 
 
 ment but inveterate foei of the Sioux. Under this au- 
 thority he enlisted seventy-seven young warriors and 
 organized a company of which he was made First 
 Lieutenant. This was the first enlistment ever made of 
 Indians for regular Government service, and while Lieut. 
 North is entitled to this honor, it is with regret I have to 
 add that he never received a cent for his services, neither 
 did his Indian warriors receive any pay, though they 
 were promised by Gen. Curtis, upon enlistment, that 
 they should receive the same as cavalrymen. 
 
 In the latter part of October following, acting under 
 orders from Gen. Custer, Lieut. North enlisted one hun- 
 dred more Pawnee warriors, who were then equipped 
 like the regular cavalry, and North was commissioned 
 Captain. 
 
 On the thirteenth of January, 1865, the company was 
 mustered into service, the delay being due to difficulties 
 regarding their acceptance by the Government, but when 
 regularly put on the muster rolls Capt. North began ac- 
 tive operations. Learning of depredations being made 
 by the Sioux in the neighborhood of Julesburg, he took 
 forty of his Pawnees and proceeded directly to the scene 
 of trouble. On the route to Julesburg he was horrified 
 to find the bodies of no less than fourteen white persons, 
 pilgrims on their way to Pike's Peak, mutilated beyond 
 recognition ; their scalps torn off, tongues cut out, legs 
 cut open and bodies full of arrows. Julesburg had also 
 been attacked and the garrison was on the point of yield- 
 ing when rescued. North now pushed after the Sioux 
 with all possible speed, and meeting with twenty-eight of 
 the incarnate devils, he fell upon them with such irresist- 
 ible force that not a single Sioux in the party escaped 
 his vengeance. 
 
 These Indians whom North had thus annihilated were 
 
334 HEROES OF THB PLAINS. 
 
 a predatory band from Red Cloud's forces, and had done 
 an inestimable amount of damage through the section 
 they had invaded. Only a few days previous to their 
 disastrous meeting with Capt. North, this same party had 
 suddenly attacked Lieutenant Collins, with fourteen 
 men, and killed the entire party. 
 
 Shortly after this successful sortie Captain North was 
 ordered to pursue a body of twelve Cheyennes and pun- 
 ish them for atrocities committed in the neighborhood of 
 Ft. Sedgwick. Taking twenty of his Pawnees he got on 
 the Cheyenne trail and after following it about thirty 
 miles, came up with the enemy whom he found in line of 
 battle. At the first volley, however, the Cheyennes 
 fled, followed bard by Capt. North. In this pursuit the 
 Pawnees were unable to keep up with their captain, as 
 their horses were too badly jaded to endure extra riding ; 
 Capt. North, however, was mounted on a superior 
 animal, and being full of desperate pluck, was deter- 
 mined to kill one Cheyenne at least. Looking back, at 
 length, he saw his men fully a mile behind him, and sev- 
 eral of them dismounted. Realizing the danger of his 
 position, he took deliberate aim and fired at the Chey- 
 ennes, one of whom tumbled from his pony dead. At 
 this the other Indians turned on the Captain and he was 
 compelled to flee for his life. 
 
 The Indians rode rapidly after him, shooting con- 
 stantly, until a bullet struck the Captain's horse in the 
 side, rendering him unfit for further travel. Leaping to 
 the ground, Captain North used his horse for a breast- 
 work, from which he fired until the position had become 
 too dangerous. He then started to run, but after getting 
 several yards he remembered the two holsters on the 
 saddle, each containing a loaded revolver, and he boldly 
 returned for these. With these pistols he fought tbf 
 
 i 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 335 
 
 Uheyennes nearly half an hour longer, and until relieved 
 by Lieut. Small. This fight, one of the most daring ever 
 made, is still spoken of, and the story frequently told 
 over and over again among Western men, who almost 
 reverence the name of Frank J. North. 
 
 At the conclusion of the Tongue River campaign in 
 1865-66, the Pawnees were mustered out of service and 
 Captain North was appointed Post Trader at the Pawnee 
 Reservation, where he spent the winter of 1866-67. 
 
 In March following, while acting under the orders of 
 Gen. Auger, Captain North raised a battalion of two 
 nundred Pawnees, who were divided into four companies 
 and taken to Fort Kearney, where they were equipped 
 for cavalry service. He was then given a Major's com- 
 mission, and with his Indian soldiers guarded construc- 
 tion trains on the Union Pacific Railroad until its com- 
 pletion to Ogden. In this service he was engaged almost 
 constantly with depredating Sioux and Cheyennes, who 
 descended on the construction trains at every opportu- 
 nity. After the road had reached Utah, large shipments 
 of silver were being made almost weekly, and as this 
 precious metal was brought into stations in large bricks, 
 which, for want of other storage, was usually piled up 
 on and about the platforms to await shipment, Major 
 North's Indians had also to perform the duty of guarding 
 the precious metal. 
 
 When the road was completed, Major North retired to 
 a ranche on Dismal River, sixty-five miles north of North 
 Platte, where he went into the cattle raising business. 
 He needed some quiet occupation, because of a disease 
 asthma which had been slowly sapping his existence 
 for several years and which he had lost all hope of re- 
 lieving. Buffalo Bill, after his first meeting with Major 
 florth. at Fort McPherson, served with him on several 
 
HEROES OF THE 
 
 campaigns, and in this service a very warm friendship 
 prang up between them, which led to the formation of 
 a copartnership in the cattle ranche on Dismal River, 
 which still continues. The firm of Cody & North is 
 Known among cattle men in every part of America ; they 
 now have seven thousand head of cattle and four hun- 
 
 Silver Bricks Awaiting Shipment 
 
 Ired head of horses, and to every one who calls at th 
 Dismal Ranche there is a hearty, white man's welcome. 
 Major North, aside from his reputation as an Indian 
 fighter and brave man, is a gentleman of the most gen- 
 erous and noble instincts ; popular with all classes, and a 
 friend honest and honorable to the end. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BIUL. 337 
 
 Returning to the regular narrative, Buffalo Bill remain- 
 ed at Ft. McPherson for several days, during which time 
 he made the acquaintance of all the officers of that post, 
 among whom was Lieut. Geo. P. Belden, the " White 
 Chief/' whose wonderful adventures have been so graph- 
 ically recited in a large work written by Gen. James S. 
 Brisbin, U. S.A. 
 
 Belden, being a crack rifle-shot and having heard much 
 concerning Buffalo Bill's skill, became anxious for a con- 
 test in order that the excellence of their marksmanship 
 might be determined. It was therefore scarcely an hour 
 after they were introduced to each other before Belden 
 had challenged Bill for a rifle match, which was as prompt- 
 ly accepted. The terms and arrangements were that 
 they should first shoot ten shots at a distance of two hun- 
 dred yards, without rest, for fifty dollars a side. Fol- 
 lowing this should be another match at one hundred yards 
 on the same terms. Buffalo Bill won the first wager on 
 an excellent margin, but Belden brought up his averages 
 well by winning the second match, and with this standoff 
 the crowd of spectators pronounced them both such supe- 
 rior shots that neither could be beaten . 
 
 Gen. Carr, before leaving McPherson, desired to man- 
 ifest his appreciation of the valuable services rendered 
 him by Buffalo Bill, and as the command was soon to 
 start on another long expedition, it occurred to him that 
 it would be an honor and excellent service to the army at 
 the same time to have Buffalo Bill appointed chief of 
 scouts in the Department of the Platte. Accordingly 
 Gen. Carr made the necessary recommendation to Gen. 
 Auger who at once issued the commission, allowing Bill a 
 large increase of pay over the amount he received as 
 chief of scouts in the Department of Missouri. This rec- 
 ognition of his services greatly pleased the heroic scout, 
 
338 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 especially as the appointment was made without his solic- 
 itation or knowledge that it was even thought of. 
 
 It was late in the summer when the command started 
 on an expedition through the Kepublican river country, 
 and the heat interfered somewhat with its progress. It 
 was certainly an interesting, as well as laughable, sight to 
 see Major North's Pawnees equipped for cavalry service. 
 To quote from the autobiography of Buffalo Bill: "The 
 Pawnee scouts were also reviewed, and it was very amus- 
 ing to see them in their full regulation uniform. They 
 had been furnished with a regular cavalry uniform, and on 
 this parade some of them had their heavy overcoats on, 
 others their large black hats, with all the brass accoutre- 
 ments attached ; some of them were minus pantaloons 
 and only wore a breech-clout. Others wore regulation 
 pantaloons but no shirt, and were bareheaded ; others 
 again had the seat of their pantaloons cut out, leaving 
 only leggins ; some wore brass spurs, but had neither 
 boots nor moccasins. With all this melange of oddity 
 they understood the drill remarkably well for Indians . 
 The commands, of course, were given to them in their 
 own language by Major North, who could talk it as well 
 as any lull blooded Pawnee." 
 
 After the expedition had been moving for several days 
 they approached near the mouth of Beaver Creek, where, 
 the day being far advanced, the command went into 
 camp. A herd of the draught mules was driven down 
 to a convenient watering place several hundred yards 
 from the camp ; as the herd was drinking, a party of 
 fifty Sioux made a rapid descent on the herders, one of 
 whom they shot and then stamped the mules. Buffalo 
 Bill instantly leaped on his horse, bare-backed, and 
 started for the scene of trouble, regardless of Indians or 
 thought of danger. As he dashed down through the 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 389 
 
 woods he was astonished to see the Pawnees come flying 
 by him, whooping, and in red-hot pursuit of their im- 
 placable enemies. The Sioux had seen the men go into 
 camp but had not the remotest suspicion that any Paw- 
 nees were present. They therefore considered it fun to 
 make a sortie on the herd, stampede the mules and do 
 other damage, and then flee away before the cavalry 
 could get ready to follow them. The Pawnees, however, 
 unlike regular soldiers, did not wait for orders, but see- 
 ing a band of Sioux their enmity overleaped the bounds 
 of discipline and they were bound to fight, which they 
 did over a distance of fifteen miles, killing more than a 
 dozen of the Sioux. 
 
 After this little skirmish the expedition continued the 
 march up Beaver and Prairie Dog rivers, but finding only 
 small bands of apparently harmless Indians, at the end 
 of twenty days the command returned to Ft. McPherson. 
 This expedition, though proving of little advantage to 
 the army, resulted most advantageously to Buffalo Bill, 
 as it was the running fight at the mouth of the Beaver 
 that threw into his way "Old Buckskin Joe," ahorse 
 which afterward gained great notoriety in connection 
 with Bill's exploits. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE command under Gen. Carr- did not remain long 
 inactive at Ft. McPherson, for within one day after their 
 return news was received of fresh depredations on Re- 
 publican river, and the restless spirit of the troops, who 
 were anxious to accomplish something more glorious than 
 
340 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 marches and counter marches, was sufficient excuse for 
 the General to order them into the field again. 
 
 The command moved westward up the Republican, 
 preceded by two companies of Pawnees under Major 
 North. Reaching Black Tail Deer Fork the expedition 
 went into camp, but before the shadows of night had 
 fallen, the Pawnees, who had not been heard from for 
 some days, came riding down the winding stream toward 
 camp, yelling their victorious exultations, and waving 
 many reeking scalps above their heads. After they had 
 alighted the information was speedily acquired, that Maj. 
 North and his Pawnees had run into a foraging party of 
 Sioux, several of whom they had killed. But a much 
 larger body, composing in fact an extensive village, was 
 discovered traveling northward, which being too strong 
 for the Pawnees to attack, Maj. North had ordered a 
 quick return to the camp for the purpose of forming a 
 junction and entering upon a pursuit. 
 
 On the following morning the troops were put in mo- 
 tion, Buffalo Bill, with a squad of six Pawnees, taking 
 the lead and going ahead far enough to warn the com- 
 mand, by courier, should the Indians be discovered, 
 thereby giving ample time to prepare for a charge. 
 
 The Sioux trail was followed for two days, when, pass- 
 ing several dying camp fires, each showing a more recent 
 kindling, Bill was admonished that he was rapidly gain- 
 ing on the moving village. Coming, at length, to the 
 sand hills, a careful and cautious survey discovered the 
 Indians encamped at Summit Springs. Bill immediately 
 posted his Pawnee squad and rode back to Gen. Carr, 
 who was ten miles in the rear, with report of the Sioux 
 position. 
 
 There was much bustle among the troops when the or- 
 der was issued to * tighten saddles." Every cavalryman 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 341 
 
 knew what that order meant, and the Pawnees under 
 Major North could scarcely be constrained. Everything 
 having been put in readiness, the command pushed for- 
 ward rapidly aftei Buffalo Bill, who led the way in a 
 sharp gallop. 
 
 Reaching within a, mile of the unsuspecting Sioux, Bill 
 changed horses, mounting his reliable " Buckskin Joe," 
 which had given substantial evidence of being the 
 swiftest horse with Gen. Carr's expedition. He then told 
 the General to follow after him and he would lead the 
 command between the village and South Platte River, by 
 which movement the intervening hills would enable them 
 to approach so near as to give the Indians a complete 
 surprise. 
 
 Buffalo Bill's suggestions were adopted, and with such 
 success that the charge was not sounded until the entire 
 command was within a thousand yards of the Indians, 
 who were just preparing to move on, most of their 
 horses being already in readiness. For a moment 
 the Sioux seemed to be struck dumb with astonish- 
 ment at beholding such an array of cavalry bearing down 
 upon them. A few attempted to meet the charge, but 
 only for an instant, when they wheeled and the entire 
 village fled precipitately. But luggage and incomplete 
 preparation impeded their flight, and ere they had gone 
 half a mile, the troops, following Buffalo Bill, were 
 among them, shooting right and left with terrible effect. 
 
 The pursuit continued until darkness made it impossi- 
 ble to longer follow the Indians, who had scattered and 
 were leading off in every direction like a brood of young 
 quails. The expedition went into camp along the South 
 Platte, much exhausted by so long a chase, and though 
 very tired, every trooper seemed anxious for the morrow. 
 
 it was nearly sunrise when " boots and saddles " was 
 
342 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 sounded, breakfast having been disposed of at break of 
 day. The command started in a most seasonable timot 
 but finding that the trail was all broken up, it was deemed 
 advisable to separate into companies, each to follow a dif 
 ferent trail. 
 
 The company headed by Buffalo Bill struck out toward 
 the Northwest over a route indicating the march of about 
 one hundred Indians, and followed this fc? nearly two 
 days. At a short bend of the Platte a new trail was dis- 
 covered leading into the one the company was following, 
 and at this point it was evident that a junction had been 
 made. Further along the evidence of a reunion of the 
 entire village increased, and now it began to appear that 
 further pursuit would be somewhat hazardous, owing to 
 the largely increased force of Indians. But there were 
 plenty of brave men in the company and nearly all were 
 anxious to meet the Indians, however great their numbers 
 might be. This anxiety was appeased on the third day, 
 when a party of about six hundred Sioux was discovered 
 riding in close ranks near the Platte. The discovery was 
 mutual and there was immediate preparation for battle 
 on both sides. Owing to the overwhelming force of the 
 Indians, extreme caution became necessary, and instead 
 of advancing boldly the soldiers sought advantageous 
 ground. Seeing this, the Indians became convinced that 
 there had been a division in Gen. Carr's command and that 
 the company before them was a fragmentary part of the 
 expedition ; they therefore assumed the aggressive, charg- 
 ing the soldiers who retired to a ravine to act on the de- 
 fensive. The attack was made with such caution that the 
 soldiers fell back without undue haste, and had ample 
 opportunity to secure their horses in the natural pit, 
 which was a ravine that during wet seasons formed a 
 branch of the Platte. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 343 
 
 After circling about the soldiers with the view of meas- 
 uring their full strength, the Indians, comprehending how 
 small was the number, made a desperate charge from two 
 sides, getting so near that several of the soldiers were 
 badly wounded by arrows . But the Indians were received 
 with such withering fire that they fell back in confusion, 
 leaving twenty of their warriors on the ground. Another 
 charge resulted like the first, with heavy loss to the red 
 skins, which so discouraged them that they drew off and 
 held a long council . After discussing the situation amorig 
 themselves for more than an hour they separated, one 
 body making off as though they intended to leave, but 
 Buffalo Bill understood their motions too well to allow 
 the soldiers to be deceived. 
 
 The Indians that remained again began to ride in a 
 circle around the soldiers, but maintaining a safe distance, 
 out of rifle range. Seeing an especially well mounted 
 Indian riding at the head of a squad, passing around in 
 the same circle more than a dozen times, Buffalo Bill 
 decided to take his chances for dismounting the chief 
 (as he proved to be), and to accomplish his purpose he 
 crawled on his hands and knees three hundred yards up 
 the ravine, stopping at a point he considered would be in 
 range of the Indian when he should again make the cir- 
 cuit. His judgment proved correct, for soon the Indian 
 was seen loping his pony through the grass, and as he 
 slackened speed to cross the ravine, Bill rose up and 
 fired, the aim being so well taken that the chief tumbled 
 to the ground while his horse, after running a few hun- 
 dred yards, approached the soldiers, one of whom ran 
 out and caught hold of the long lariet attached to the 
 bridle, and thus secured the animal. Bill returned to the 
 company, all of whom had witnessed his feat of killing an 
 Indian at a range of fully four hundred yards, and by 
 
344 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 general consent the horse of his victim was given to him. 
 Tnis Indian killed by Bill proved to be Tall Bull, one 
 of the most cunning and able chiefs the Sioux ever had, 
 anc. uis death so affected the Indians that they at once re- 
 treated without further attempt to dislodge the soldiers. 
 
 Some days after this occurrence 
 Gen. Carr's command was brought 
 together again and in an engage- 
 ment with the Sioux, more than 
 three hundred warriors and a large 
 number of ponies were captured, 
 together with several hundred 
 squaws, among 
 the latter being 
 Tall Bull's wi& 
 ow, who told 
 with pathetic in- 
 terest how the 
 Prairie Chief * 
 had killed her 
 husband. But 
 instead of being 
 moved with ha- 
 tred against him, 
 as most civilized 
 
 women would 
 have been under 
 like circumstan- 
 ces, she regarded 
 him with special 
 favor, and es- 
 
 Death of Tall Bull. 
 
 teemed it quite an honor that her husband, a great war- 
 rior himself, should have met his death at the hands of 
 so mighty and celebrated a person as the Prairie Chief. 
 She ever afterward regarded Buffalo Bill with a feeling 
 akin to tender affection, or as near that sentiment as an 
 Indian squaw could be expected to approach, and invari- 
 ably availed herself of every opportunity to show her 
 esteem for him. 
 
 "Buffalo Bill is known among all Northern Indians as the Prairie Chief. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 345 
 
 The expedition having succeeded in thoroughly break- 
 ing the power of the Sioux, Gen. Carr went into bar- 
 racks at Ft. Sedgwick, where the soldiers, elated with 
 the trophies of their success, indulged in merrymaking 
 until a* jollier camp was never seen than that around 
 Jule's old ranche. One special feature of this glorious 
 celebration was horse racing, in which Buffalo Bill backed 
 his new acquisition, which, in honor of his dead owner, 
 Bill generously called Tall Bull, against all the horses of 
 the regiment, and put up all his available cash, even to 
 the last paper five-cent piece. His winnings amounted 
 to just seven hundred dollars in cash, three jack knives, 
 two scalps and a two-stringed fiddle. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 GEN. CARR having received a leave of absence, 
 hi command reached Ft. McPherson Gen. W. H. Kmory 
 took charge of the Republican River District, and the 
 Fifth Cavalry went into regular quarters. 
 
 Buffalo Bill being assured that the command would 
 remain at McPherson as a reward for the long and severe 
 labor performed by the regiment, had a house built, and 
 then sent for his wife and daughter, who were in St. 
 Louis, to come to him, as McPherson would now be their 
 home. 
 
 Two years passed without the occurrence of any eveut 
 of special interest connected with Buffalo Bill, his time 
 being spent in hunting and home occupations. 
 
 In the winter of 1869-70 Bill accompanied two parties 
 of wealthy Englishmen upon a hunting expedition, in 
 
346 HEROES OF THE PLAINS . 
 
 which he acquitted himself with such credit and satisfac- 
 tion that upon returning home the Englishmen sounded 
 his praises so earnestly that letters began to pour in from 
 other wealthy gentlemen of England propounding hun- 
 dreds of questions appertaining to hunting on the great 
 Western prairies. 
 
 During the visit of the Englishmen, a horse race was 
 arranged at Ft. McPherson, to take place between Buf- 
 falo Bill, who was to ride Tall Bull, and a cavalryman 
 who owned what he considered a fast horse. There was 
 a singular feature about this race, however, which was a 
 stipulation that while running Bill should leap from his 
 horse to the ground and then remount again eight con- 
 secutive times before completing the course, which was 
 one mile in length. His advantage seemed so great that 
 every one bet on the cavalryman ; in fact, few believed 
 Bill was circus man enough to perform this feat, and none 
 believed it less than the Englishmen . But the race was run 
 according to programme, and Bill won it easily, together 
 with several hundred dollars from his foreign guests. 
 Leaping and remounting from a running horse is an act 
 as easy for Buffalo Bill to perform as it is p or a profes- 
 sional bareback rider to assume a standing osition on a 
 moving horse. 
 
 In the spring of 1870 a party of Indians nade a de- 
 scent on a stock ranche near McPherson and succeeded 
 in running off twenty-one head of horses, and coming 
 closer to the post during night, also got away with an- 
 other fast horse owned by Cody, which he called Powder 
 Face. * 
 
 The moment this loss was discovered, Company I was 
 ordered to pursue the thieves, Buffalo Bill being sent 
 with the soldiers as trailer. An early start was made and 
 so fast did the company move that they covered sixty 
 
LIFE OP BUFFALO BILL. 347 
 
 miles before sundown. An encampment was made within 
 four miles of Red Willow Creek, on the banks of which 
 Bill expressed his earnest belief that the Indian thieves 
 were camped. But to verify his suspicions he made an 
 investigation, unaccompanied, during the night, and sure 
 enough he found them, with guard posted, about four 
 miles from the company's camp. 
 
 Having located the Indians, he returned to the camp 
 jmd posting the soldiers, arranged matters for an attack 
 
 Two Indians at One Shot 
 
 Ufore daylight on the following morning. His pro- 
 gramme was carried out with such success that the cavalry, 
 wtich he headed, rode with shout, pistol afcd saber into 
 the Indian village just as the gray dawn was appearing. 
 Sharp work succeeded, in which there was a rapid deci- 
 mation of the red race. Several Indians, however, suc- 
 ceeded in mounting ponies and a pursuit ensued in 
 which Buffalo Bill took a specially interesting part, as 
 in 
 
348 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Ms Powder Face carried one of the fleeing thieves. Dur- 
 ing this interesting race Bill ran down two Indians who 
 were riding the same pony, and by a skillful shot sent a 
 rifle ball through both their bodies, felling them to the 
 ground still locked together. But Powder Face being 
 the swiftest horse among the cavalry, Bill was compelled, 
 with chagrin and mortification, to see the thief who rode 
 him disappear in the distance. 
 
 The pursuit terminated with excellent results, for all 
 the stolen horses were recovered except Powder Face, and 
 more than a dozen Indian scalps were brought back ao a 
 compensation for that loss and they all belonged to 
 Bin, too. 
 
 Soon after this most successful surprise an expedition 
 was organized to again penetrate the Republican river 
 country, the command being entrusted to Gen. Thomas 
 Duncan, who was first officer under Brevet Maj. Gen. 
 Emory. Now, it chanced that Gen. Duncan, while one 
 of the best and bravest soldiers, was a rigid discipline 
 rian, and at the same time full of eccentricities. In fact 
 he had but to be sounded when immediately there would 
 escape so much good humor and infectious jokes that the 
 whole regiment would be almost paralyzed with uncon- 
 trolable laughter. There was fun ahead for the boys, 
 though duty was always imperative with their commander. 
 
 The expedition was accompanied by Maj. North's Paw- 
 nee scouts, who, while they had done genuine fighting 
 service, had never been placed on guard duty. But Gen. 
 Duncan was determined that they should be in every 
 sense thorough soldiers, and consequently the Pawnees 
 must be initiated. Of course, being with white men only 
 for a short season, and having an officer over them who 
 was fluent in their own language, the Pawnees were abso- 
 lutely ignorant of English, save to repeat, like a parrot, 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 340 
 
 a few words which they heard frequently used. But thi 
 fact was ignored by Gen. Duncan, who ordered the guard 
 stationed around camp and that every post should call 
 each hour of the night as it was sounded, thus : 
 
 "Post No. 1, ten o'clock, all is well." "Post No. 2, 
 ten o'clock, all is well," and so on, until the entire guard 
 had made the call. 
 
 This order was explained to the Pawnees by Maj. 
 North, but with all his explanations they could not com- 
 prehend the meaning, or if comprehending, their igno- 
 rance of English prevented them from executing the or- 
 der with intelligence. The result was as follows : 
 
 The hour being called by one of the soldiers, the In- 
 dian occupying the adjoining post would sing out through 
 a distorted remembrance : 
 
 "Ploss numbler five cent* o'clock go to h 1 don't 
 care, big chief." 
 
 Another would try to repeat and stumble onto : 
 
 "Ploss numbler half past How! he; 
 drink." 
 
 They started out right, but after the first two 
 recollection came to them only in expressions which they 
 had previously fixed in their minds. 
 
 This system, while it was superbly ridiculous, fur- 
 nished food for laughter, and every night came to be a 
 regular love-feast of fun ; but, like a joke frequently 
 told, it at length grew tedious and Gen. Duncan was 
 compelled to countermand the order, which relieved the 
 Pawneei from guard duty, much to their satisfaction. 
 
 The expedition after remaining out for several days, 
 met a party of Indians, who had massacred the Buck sur- 
 veyors, and had a running fight with them. Buf- 
 falo Bill had a whip shot from his hand and a bullet 
 went through his hat, but he killed two Indians by way 
 
350 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 of compensation for his narrow escape. Meeting with no 
 further adventures, the command returned to Ft. Mc- 
 Pherson, where, upon arrival, Bill received from his 
 wife the celestial gift of a first son, whom he named Kit 
 Carson. 
 
 Peace being now restored, and all the troublesome In- 
 dians having returned to their reservations, Ft. McPher- 
 son became a quiet place, save for the usual disturbances 
 indirectly chargeable to sutler's stores. 
 
 Bill, though still chief of scouts, performed little 
 scouting service except between quarters and refreshment 
 stations, which is always a congenial occupation to good 
 trailers. 
 
 One day, as he was cracking jokes, spinning yarns, 
 and keeping things about the post in good humor and 
 condition, Gen. Emory approached him and said : 
 
 Iv, I am annoyed very much by the petty thiev- 
 
 3 going on about here, nearly every day having 
 
 ^aplaints from persons who have either lost 
 
 ^vis or other personal property. We need a Justice of 
 
 the Peace very badly, and I have decided to bestow that 
 
 office on you." 
 
 " Good gracious ! General, I appreciate the compli- 
 ment, but if you can pick out any one of the Government 
 mules about here that knows less of law than I do, then 
 I'll give him my recommendation for the appointment." 
 
 "Well, you are not required to know much law 5 
 rather to discriminate between right and wrong, and mete 
 out proper punishment." 
 
 "I know," answered Bill, "that it's wrong to get 
 drunk ; in fact, against the law military but just what 
 written law I couldn't tell." 
 
 " I can, perhaps, deal with drunkenness in eamp ; T 
 want you to deal with the thieves." 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 351 
 
 'All right, General, I can string a thief without 
 mercy, and if that's the purpose of my appointment, 
 why, just put your fist to the commission." 
 
 Bill was duly appointed 'Squire, and hi about fifteen 
 minutes after receiving his authority, a party living at 
 McPherson, sought him with tha following complaint : 
 
 " Say, 'Squire, a yaller-legged ranchero, that lives up 
 on the Beaver, has jist stole one o' my hosses an* I want 
 a writ o' replevin." 
 
 " Want a writ of replevin? why, don't you want your 
 horse ? What good would a writ of replevin do you with- 
 out you first had the horse?" 
 
 " I don't know, they told me down here at headquar- 
 ters that you was the 'Squire, and to ax you for a writ o* 
 replevin." 
 
 " Where is your horse now?' 
 
 " Why, old yaller-legs is a drivin' or him like h 1 
 to'ard Beaver. 
 
 Bill turned around, and taking Lucretia Borgia, his 
 rifle, from the rack, went out, mounted his horse, and 
 told the complainant to lead off in the direction taken by 
 " Yaller-legs." 
 
 The two rode rapidly for several miles, until they 
 aught up with the thief, who was driving several head 
 of horses. 
 
 Bill accosted him : " Hello ! you've got a horse in that 
 herd that belongs to this complainant ; that piebald on 
 the off side he says belongs to him." 
 
 " Well, what are you going to do about it?" 
 
 "I'm going to make you cut out the horse, put a rope 
 around his neck and deliver him to this man," an- 
 swered Bill, at the same time bringing his rifle to a posi- 
 tion suggestive of slaughter. 
 
 The thief obeyed the order with alacrity, but after 
 
352 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 turning over the horse, Bill told him there were some 
 damages to settle, and if the settlement were not made 
 at once, he would take him back to McPherson. 
 
 " I can't go back there, my time is too precious ; what 
 are the damages ?' ' 
 
 " Twenty dollars," replied Bill, which sum was imme- 
 diately paid over and duly credited to Buffalo Bill's " of- 
 ficial" account. 
 
 Soon after this incident, the knowledge of there being 
 a 'squire in McPherson prompted a sample resident of 
 the place to call on Bill and arrange terms with him f 01 
 performing a marriage ceremony. 
 
 " How much money have you got, young man," asked 
 Bill. 
 
 "O, I h'aint got much, but maybe I could raise ten 
 dollars." 
 
 "Ten dollars goes," replied Bill ; "bring over the gul 
 and I'll hitch you according to the law and the prophets." 
 
 After the applicant had departed, Bill got down a copy 
 of the Nebraska "tatutes and for more than an hour tried 
 with becoming assiduity to find the form prescribed for 
 marriage, but it was worse than hunting for Indians dur- 
 ing a dark night in high prairie grass ; he couldn't find it. 
 
 Thus unprepared, Bill was soon called on by the in- 
 tended groom and bride, both of whom were apparently 
 bwed down with either the gravity of the situation, 
 or an innate diffidence, which was greatly increased by 
 the motley crowd that stood around in the room waiting 
 to witness the ceremony. 
 
 Bill infused some courage Into the bewildered couple 
 by saying : 
 
 "Are you the parties who want to get married?" 
 
 A feeble " yes" came from the groom. 
 
 "Well, then, brace up and answer the questions the 
 law makes it my duty to ask you." 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 
 
 353 
 
 To the bridegroom ' * Do you take this woman to b? 
 your wedded wife ; to honor, support and protect her 
 
 through life?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 To the bride < * Do you accept this man for your law- 
 ful husband ; to love, cherish and obey him, through good 
 and ill report?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 The Marriage Ceremony. 
 
 "That's good ; now join hands while I pronounce the 
 benediction : I now declare you man and wife, and let me 
 add that whomsoever God and Buffalo Bill join together 
 let no man put asunder. May you live long and prosper, 
 Amen !' 
 
 The ceremony being completed, Bill kissed the bride, 
 after which . there was an adjournment for irrigating 
 purposes. 
 
364 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVHL 
 
 EARLY in September, 1871, a grand hunt was projected 
 by Gen. Sheridan, whose intention was to afford some of 
 his Eastern friends the excitement of a buffalo chase. 
 Accordingly invitations to participate in the hunt were 
 issued to and accepted by the following gentlemen: 
 James Gordoo Bennett ; Gen. Anson Stager, of the West- 
 ern Union Telegragh Company ; Charles Wilson, editor 
 Chicago Journal; Lawrence R. and Leonard W. Jerome ; 
 Gen. H. E. Davies ; Gen. Fitzhugh ; Gen. Rucker ; Capt. 
 M. E. Rogers ; Carroll Livingston, and Surgeon General 
 Arsch. 
 
 This party having announced their coming, were receiv- 
 ed at Ft. McPherson by a cavalry company escort under 
 Gen. Emory and Major Brown. Almost immediately 
 upon their arrival Gen. Sheridan sent for Buffalo Bill 
 whom he introduced with flattering remarks to each one 
 in the hunting party, after which he told Bill that the 
 gentlemen had come to McPherson with the expectation 
 of taking a big hunt under his special guidance and direc- 
 tion. 
 
 In anticipation of the arrival of these distinguished and 
 wealthy gentlemen, Bill had taken considerable pains to 
 present a slick appearance, having, as he expressed it, 
 " curled my front teeth; brushed up a new buckskin 
 toga ; put on my Sunday moccasins combed out the 
 fringe on my trousers, and left nothing undone save 
 ' banging ' my front hair." 
 
 In a very interesting pamphlet of sixty-eight pages 
 which Gen. Davies afterward wrote, describing the inci- 
 dents of this pleasurable hunt, under the title, " Ten Days 
 on the Plains,'* he mentions the fact that at his meeting 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 355 
 
 with Buffalo Bill on the occasion referred to, he thought 
 the scout was the handsomest man that had ever trod the 
 prairies ; such a perfect type of physical manhood, com- 
 bining a powerful physique with such rare symmetry and 
 harmony of feature, which perfections were brought 
 into greater prominence by the extraordinary grace of 
 his movements. 
 
 The party hunted over a large extent of territory for a 
 period of ten days, killing many buffaloes, turkeys, jack 
 rabbits, antelopes, etc., and having an excellent cook with 
 them the cuisine was equal, if not superior, to the epicu- 
 rean dainties set at Olympian feasts. 
 
 Early in January, 1872, Gen. Forsyth and Dr. Arsch, 
 both of Gen Sheridan's staff, visited Buffalo Bill at Ft. 
 McPherson for the purpose of arranging with him the 
 preliminaries of a grand buffalo hunt which the Grand 
 Duke Alexis , who was then visiting the United States, 
 had express a desire to participate in. As the royal 
 guest of the nation deserved, by reason of his position, 
 special recognition, Bill at once conceived the idea of en- 
 gaging a large number of Indians to take part in the hunt, 
 and add to the Duke's pleasure by giving exhibitions and 
 ceremonies which would acquaint him with their peculiar 
 life. Acting upon this idea he visited Spotted Tail's 
 camp Sioux on the Bed Willow, where he readily in- 
 fluenced one hundred of the leading chiefs and warriors 
 to accompany the Duke, and by his further request they 
 assembled at Government Crossing, on the Red Willow. 
 After obtaining the consent of the Indians, Capt. Eagan 
 with a company from the second cavalry was despatched 
 to the meeting point to arrange for the Duke's reception. 
 The ground was cleared and leveled, a large wall tent 
 erected and plenty of stores were carefully packed away 
 sufficient to last the Duke's party during the hunt. 
 
356 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 On the 12th of January, the royal guest and his party 
 arrived at North Platte, over the Union Pacific Eailroad, 
 where they were received by Buffalo Bill, Captain Hays 
 and a company of cavalry under Captain Eagan. There 
 were also in waiting six ambulances and twenty extra 
 saddle horses. Gen. Sheridan accompanied the Grand 
 
 "How!" 
 
 Duke and introduced him to Buffalo Bill, whereupon Bill 
 tendered His Highness the use of Buckskin Joe, a famous 
 buffalo horse, and an hour afterward the party were 
 mounted and riding southward across the South Platte 
 toward Medicine River., 
 

 LITE OF BUFFALO BILL. 357 
 
 Beaching the rendezvous on Red Willow, all necessary 
 arrangements were found completed, and the Indians 
 were in waiting, ready for the ceremonies expected of 
 them. 
 
 Several members of the party were introduced to Spot- 
 ted Tail, who appeared clad in government clothes, but 
 which, it was evident, were never made for him. He 
 wore a U. S. belt, with the buckle upside down, and as 
 he advanced with extended hand, saying "How," he was 
 a good model for a caricature artist. 
 
 In the afternoon, the Duke was highly entertained with 
 exhibitions of wonderful horsemanship, lance throwing, 
 bow shooting and sham fights, and in the evening the 
 [ndians gave a grand war dance, in which many of their 
 singular ceremonies were introduced . 
 
 On the following day, Bill rode beside the Grand 
 Duke and instructed him in the manner of shooting buf- 
 faloes, until looking away to the south nearly two miles, 
 a large herd was discovered: crossing the party's intended 
 route. In a moment the Duke became very much excited 
 and anxious to charge directly toward the buffaloes, but 
 Bill restrained him for a time, until getting around to 
 windward and keeping behind the sand hills, the herd 
 was gradually approached. 
 
 "Now," said Bill, "is your time; you must ride as 
 fast as your horse will go, and don't shoot until" you get 
 a good opportunity. ' ' 
 
 Away they went, tearing down the hill and throwing 
 up a sand storm in the rear, leaving the Duke's retinue 
 far behind. When within a hundred yards of the fleeing 
 buffaloes the Duke fired, but unfortunately missed, being 
 Hnused to shooting from a running horse. 
 
 Bill rode up close beside him and advised him not to 
 fire until he could ride directly up on the flank of a buf- 
 falo, as the sport was most !n the chase. 
 
358 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 The two now dashed off together and ran their horse* 
 on either side of a large bull, against the side of which 
 the Duke thrust his gun and fired a fatal shot. He was 
 very much elated at his success, taking off his cap and 
 waving it vehemently, at the same time shouting to those 
 who were fully a mile in the rear. When his retinue 
 came up there were congratulations, and every one drank 
 to his good health with overflowing glasses of cham- 
 pagne. The hide of the dead buffalo was carefully re- 
 moved and dressed, and the royal traveler in his journey- 
 
 The Grand Duke's First Buffalo. 
 
 fogs over the world has no doubt often rested himself up- 
 on this trophy of his skill (?) on the plains of America. 
 An encampment was now made, as the party was quite 
 fatigued, and the evening passed with song and story. 
 On the following day, by request of Spotted Tail, tho 
 Grand Duke hunted for a while beside " Two Lance," 
 a celebrated chief, who claimed he could send an arrow 
 entirely through the body of the largest buffalo. This 
 feat seemed so incredulous that there was a general de- 
 nial of his ability to perform it ; nevertheless, the Grand 
 
LITE OF BUFFALO BILL. 359 
 
 Duke and also several others who accompanied the chief, 
 witnessed, with profound astonishment, an accomplish- 
 ment of the feat, and the arrow that passed through the 
 buffalo was given to the Duke as a memento of Two 
 Lance's skill and power. 
 
 On the same day of this performance the Grand Duke 
 killed a buffalo at a distance of one hundred paces, with 
 a heavy navy revolver. The shot was a marvelous 
 scratch. 
 
 After the hunt was concluded, Buffalo Bill, upon invi- 
 tation of Gen. Sheridan, took the reins of an ambulance 
 team and showed the Duke how old stage drivers set their 
 horses " afire." But the drive was not appreciated suf- 
 ficiently to applaud, for the Duke was an occupant of the 
 ambulance. As they went down hill toward the Medi- 
 cine at the rate of sixty miles a minute more or less 
 there was a tuft of royal hair sticking up like a sugar 
 loaf, while his coat-tails were flapping and cracking like 
 the whips of an army of bull-whackers. 
 
 North Platte was reached after a week's absence, and 
 upon taking the train for the East, the Grand Duke in- 
 vited Bill into his car where, as a recognition of his re- 
 gard and appreciation, he gave him numerous and valuable 
 presents, concluding by extending him a cordial invita- 
 tion to visit Eussia, where he promised to receive him 
 royally. 
 
 Soon after the Grand Duke's departure, Buffalo Bill 
 received an invitation from a large number of leading 
 men of New York City, to visit the East ; among those 
 who desired to extend him their hospitalities were James 
 Gordon Bennett, August Belmont, Leonard W. Jerome, 
 and many others of equal prominence. At the earnest 
 solicitation of Gen. Sheridan, Bill at length concluded to 
 accept the invitation, and made preparations accordingly. 
 
360 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Gen. Stager provided him with railroad passes and ar 
 ranged for him to stop at Chicago, Niagara Falls, Buf- 
 falo and Rochester. At all these places a committee of 
 reception was appointed to receive him with becoming 
 honors, and he was introduced into the best society of ar 
 these cities. 
 
 Upon arriving at New York, Bill was received by a 
 committee who escorted him directly to the Union Club, 
 where he met the wealthy gentlemen who had sent the 
 invitation. He was now taken in charge by the members, 
 who gave him one ceaseless round of dinners and parties. 
 Invitations came in on him so rapidly that it was con- 
 fusion worse confounded, and he was in a very whirlpool 
 of demoralization. One of the largest dinners given in 
 his honor was prepared by James Gordon Bennett, but 
 Bill was in such purturbation of mind, owing to the hun- 
 dreds of invitations which lay before him, that he was un- 
 able to decide which had precedence, and consequently 
 the Bennett dinner had to be postponed. 
 
 Mr. August Belmont then prepared a dinner for Bill, 
 which was one of the most elegant affairs known in New 
 York even to this day, and it is good to remember the 
 fact that Bill graced the occasion with his presence, and 
 Bennett was also there with forgiveness in his righ/ 
 hand for Bill's delinquency. 
 
 During this visit Buffalo Bill had the pleasure of attend- 
 ing the Bowery Theater, where was being produced a play 
 entitled " Buffalo Bill, the King of Border Men," thereby 
 seeing some of his noted adventures mirrored by an ex- 
 cellent actor named J. B. Studly. The play was a decid- 
 ed success, and as it became known among the audience 
 that the real hero occupied a private box in the theatre, a 
 shout went up which would not abate until the manager 
 led Bill out on the stage for a speech. The house was 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 361 
 
 Mrly filled to overflowing, and as the great scout had 
 never appeared in the role of public speaker, he was 
 worse embarrassed than the diffident couple he had mar- 
 ried several months previously at Ft. McPherson. The 
 fact is, he never felt so badly corraled in his life as he did 
 on that occasion, and after muttering a few unintelligible 
 Words he retreated in disorder behind the scenes. But 
 notwithstanding his embarrassment, the manager offered 
 him five hundred dollars a week to take the leading role 
 in the performance. But this amount was insufficient to 
 counteract his extraordinary "want of cheek,'* and he 
 declined the offer. 
 
 After indulging in an uninterrupted round of festivities 
 for twenty days, Buffalo Bill visited some of his relatives 
 in Westchester, Pennsylvania, whom he had never seen, 
 and after spending a few days, in obedience to a tele- 
 gram received from Gen. Sheridan, he returned to Ft. 
 McPherson where his services were needed. 
 
 Directly after his arrival at the post, a party of Indians 
 made an attack on McPherson Station, five miles from 
 the fort, and after killing three men ran off several head 
 of horses and cattle. 
 
 Captain Meiiihold was at once ordered out with his 
 company to pursue the depredating Indians, and Buffalo 
 pill was, of course, expected to accompany the command 
 as trailer. On this expedition he had an assistant scout 
 with him in the person of J. B. Omohundro, known 
 throughout the United States as " Texas Jack," of whose 
 career some mention will be made before concluding the 
 adventures of Buffalo Bill. 
 
 For two days the command moved slowly on account 
 of the indefinite trail, which the Indians had taken suck 
 pains to cover that it was almost impossible to follow it. 
 However Bill's fertility of well-directed suspicions car- 
 
362 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 ried the expedition to a point on the South Fork of the 
 Loupe, where a camp was prepared at which all the sol- 
 diers, except four, halted, while Buffalo Bill, Texas Jack 
 and the detail of four men pushed forward to reconnoitre 
 a heavy strip of timber in which Bill thought the Indians 
 were secreted. 
 
 Proceeding only a few miles and gaming the summit 
 of a high ridge, Bill surveyed the country within his 
 vision and saw encamped at the timber edge about one 
 dozen Indians and near them several head of horses were 
 grazing. He immediately proposed to charge the sav- 
 ages rather than take the chances of their escaping dur- 
 ing his return to the command. All his men being of 
 like mind, Bill rode down toward the Indians, keeping 
 well behind the brush until he approached within a few 
 hundred yards. He now ordered a charge which was 
 made with such impetuosity that he was carried directly 
 through the camp. The Indians, after firing a single 
 volley, broke for their horses, but being too closely pur- 
 sued tried to make another stand. Bill shot down two 
 of them before they rallied, and killed a third cne as he 
 was trying to cross the Loupe. There were thirteen In- 
 dians in the original party, but three of them being killed 
 the odds were now only six to ten. Some of them had 
 crossed the river and these Bill pursued, expecting his 
 men to follow, but instead of so doing, they rushed after 
 seven of the Indians who remained on the north side of 
 the river. Suddenly he found himself alone and at the 
 same time saw two of the fugitives turn and ride di- 
 rectly toward him, shooting and yelling. He was struck 
 by one of the shots in the left side of the head, produc- 
 ing only a scalp-wound, but drawing so much blood that 
 he was almost blinded by the flow. With a swipe of his 
 band he cleared his face for a moment so as to fire, and 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 363 
 
 with the shot an Indian fell dead. The other one now 
 turned to run, but Bill pushed his horse forward and 
 when within a few yards, he raised himself in the stir- 
 rups and shot the Indian dead, thus scoring five Indians 
 himself in a fight of only a few minutes, the scalps of 
 which he secured and also recovered all the stolen stock. 
 Capt. Meinhold, hearing the firing, ordered his compa- 
 ny into the saddle, but when the soldiers approached the 
 scene of battle they found only the spoils of victory ; 
 seven dead Indians, as many bloody scalps, and twenty 
 horses. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 RETURNING from this expedition Buffalo Bill was en- 
 gaged to accompany the Earl of Dunravenon an elk hunt, 
 which lasted three weeks, to the infinite delight of the 
 Earl, who was an excellent sportsman. Before complet- 
 ing this hunt, however, a party of wealthy gentlemen of 
 Chicago went out to Ft. McPherson with letters from 
 Gen. Sheridan, inviting Bill to guide them on a hunt, and 
 so pressing was their invitation that he placed the Earl in 
 charge of Texas Jack and accompanied the Chicago gen- 
 tlemen, among whom were E. P. Green, Alexander Sam- 
 ple, Mr. Mulligan, of Keath & Mulligan, and a number 
 of others. During this excursion the pleasure party was 
 jumped by a band of Indians and had to run for a dis- 
 tance of six miles back to camp and the way they push- 
 ed on the reins was interesting to see. 
 
 Following this hunt came another with several mer- 
 ehants, judges and lawyers from Omaha. U. S. District 
 
 22 
 
364 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Attorney Neville was one of this party, and was a novelty 
 of no insignificant pretensions. He wore a plug hat and 
 swallow-tailed coat which gave him a most amusing ap- 
 pearance when pursuing buffaloes. 
 
 After getting fairly upon the hunting grounds, at the 
 request of the party, who were anxious to see so strange 
 and dextrous a feat performed, Bill lariated a large buffalo 
 bull, while on a tight run r and then tied the animal to a 
 tree, a thorough captive. But throwing the lasso was an 
 easy employment for Bill, as he had practiced the art for 
 several years and acquired a dexterity rarely to be mot 
 with, even among Mexicans. 
 
 In the fall of 1872 a convention of Democrats was held 
 at Grand Island for the purpose of nominating a candi- 
 date to represent the Twenty-sixth Legislative District. 
 Every county in the State was overwhelmingly Republi- 
 can, and the Twenty-sixth District was as one-sided as a 
 jug handle. Nominations were made by the Democrats, 
 not with the view of electing their candidates, however, 
 but for the purpose of maintaining their party organiza- 
 tion. 
 
 In the convention referred to some one proposed the 
 name of Wm. F. Cody for representative, and with the 
 proposition a cheer went up forthwith which resulted in 
 placing his name formally before the convention, where 
 his nomination was instantly made unanimous. 
 
 No one was ever more surprised than Bill when he was 
 informed of the convention's action, nor would he believe 
 that his candidacy had really been considered until offi- 
 cial information made the fact incontestible. He felt 
 that it would be cowardice for him to refuse to make the 
 race, as some one must be immolated for party's sake, 
 and justice impressed him with the belief that he might 
 as properly be the victim as any other man. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 365 
 
 Being absent from home more than nine-tenths of his 
 time, he made no canvass whatever of the district, yet 
 his personal popularity was so great that nearly every one 
 in the district, whether Democrat or Republican, gave 
 him their votes, and his election was a triumph few men 
 ever achieve. It was a testimonial to his honor, ability 
 and noble qualities of such priceless value that what 
 would not any man give to be the recipient of a like esti- 
 mation ? 
 
 But however great the honors, beyond the gratitude 
 he felt he indulged little of the pride of his position, for 
 about the time of taking his seat in the legislature a 
 proposition was made him which his best interests dic- 
 tated an acceptance of. Ned Buntline, who only a few 
 years previously had met Buffalo Bill and made fame for 
 both by his stories concerning the scout's adventures, 
 published in the New York Weekly ', being greatly im- 
 pressed with the popular qualities of his hero, made him 
 a flattering offer for his services as a leading theatrical 
 attraction. 
 
 The proposition, when first made, very naturally 
 appeared somewhat ridiculous to Bill, who thoroughly 
 appreciated his imperfections and lack of experience, and 
 was especially haunted by the remembrance of his confu- 
 sion during his appearance at the Bowery Theater. But 
 Buntline put a silver lining to all his persuasive words and 
 covered his promises with a heavy veneering of gold. 
 
 The final result was that Bill resigned his seat in the 
 legislature, and in the latter part of November he sent his 
 letter of resignation to Gen. Reynolds as chief of scouts. 
 
 Having settled matters in the West, Bill took his fam- 
 ily and started East, stopping one day in Omaha to ac- 
 cept the recognition paid his services by the citizens who 
 had enjoyed his company on the hunt already referred to. 
 
366 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 A grand dinner was the means taken for affording the 
 recognition and appreciation they desired to manifest, 
 and an elegant time was the result. 
 
 At Omaha Bill met Texas Jack, who had played the 
 role of first assistant hero in Buntline's stories, and as 
 Jack was anxious to accompany his old friend, Bill gladly 
 engaged his company. They proceeded directly to Chi- 
 cago, where Ned Buntline was stopping, while Bill's 
 family went to their relations in St. Louis, who were not 
 only glad to welcome Mrs. Cody but also to see the new 
 accession, little Ora, who had been born only a short 
 while before Bill's election to the legislature. 
 
 Upon reaching Chicago, Bill and Jack were met at the 
 depot by Mr. Mulligan, who had engaged rooms at the 
 Sherman House, intending that the two scouts should be 
 his guests. 
 
 Buntline was so busily engaged delivering temperance 
 lectures and preparing for the introduction of his stellary 
 duet that it was not until the following day that he mot 
 the two rising theatrical comets. 
 
 When the three did meet, Bill and Jack were astounded 
 upon shaking hands with Buntline to hear him spin out 
 the following, scarcely taking time to breathe between sen- 
 tences. 
 
 ' * How are you ? glad to see you just in time got er~ 
 erything arranged and we're going to make an immense hit 
 come over to the Amphitheatre with me and see Nixon, 
 he's the manager we open there Monday night and you 
 must stir about lively so as to be ready how do you 
 feel? when did you arrive? where are you stopping?" 
 and thus he rattled away, like an old alarm clock just 
 wound up, with a broken ratchet, and until he had run 
 down somewhat neither of the scouts could reply. 
 
 When Bill caught up with the machine he managed to 
 stammer out by way of contrast : 
 
LITE OF BUFFALO BILL. 367 
 
 " Well, Buntline, I don't see just where to catch on ; 
 you don't mean to say that Jack and I are expected to 
 make our appearance on the stage next Monday night?" 
 
 44 That's just what I mean, and I have made arrange- 
 ments accordingly. Come with me and we'll call on the 
 manager." 
 
 The two scouts, who now perceived that they were trail- 
 ing down a strange canon, followed their new guide and 
 said nothing further. 
 
 They proceeded to the Ampitheatre, where Mr. Nixon 
 was found awaiting them, and to whom the scouts were 
 introduced, after which Buntline said : 
 
 "Well, Nixon, here are the boys, and they are a pat 
 hand, all flushes and fours, I tell you. We will open up 
 on next Monday night with a flourish that will fire the 
 people." 
 
 " So early as that, Ned? That will scarcely give 
 the gentlemen time for preparation. Let me see your 
 drama, and perhaps I can be of some assistance in organ- 
 izing the company." 
 
 Buntline' s reply was a very cyclone of surprise. Said 
 he: 
 
 "I haven't written the drama yet, neither have I en- 
 gaged any company, but there are plenty of unemployed 
 theatrical people in town who would be glad of an en* 
 gagement." 
 
 "Why, you astonish me. No company nor drama, 
 and only four days to write a play, engage a company, 
 study the parts, rehearse, and get out the show bills. I 
 guess we will not go any further with our arrangements, 
 and the contract between you and me may be considered 
 off." 
 
 This was the way Nixon received Buntline's admissions 
 and declarations. 
 
368 HEROES or THE PLAINS. 
 
 But not in the least dismayed, Buntline replied : 
 
 " All right. I believe the theater is not engaged for 
 next week, so what rent will you charge me for the house 
 for six nights ? ' ' 
 
 " Six hundred dollars." 
 
 "All right, again, I'll take it," was Buntline' s re- 
 sponse. 
 
 Having made this engagement for the theater, Buntline 
 invited Bill and Jack over to his hotel, where a supply 
 of pens, ink and paper was at once ordered, and three 
 copyists engaged to record his dictations. 
 
 "Now I've got it, boys," exclaimed Buntline; "the 
 play shall bear the title, < Scouts of the Plains.' " 
 
 This appeared good, and with this the inspiration 
 seemed to possess him, for he dictated the parts with 
 such rapidity that in three hours' time the narrative was 
 completed, and only required proper division to be given 
 into the hands of the performers. Bill's and Jack's parts 
 were first copied off and given them by Buntline, with 
 the remark : 
 
 "Now, boys, I want you to pitch right in and don't 
 leave this room until you are letter perfect ; in the mean- 
 time I'll go out, engage the company, order the bills ami 
 advertising, and get everything in readiness. Upon my 
 return I'll hear you rehearse and help you on the de- 
 livery." 
 
 With this he shot out of the room, fairly running over 
 with the business in hand, and did not return until lattf 
 in the evening. 
 
 After Buntline' s departure the two scouts abstractedly 
 looked at the numerous lines that had been left for them 
 to memorize, and then each turned at the same time to 
 eye the other. Bill was the first to speak : 
 
 "Jerusalem I Jack, this is worse than a village of hos* 
 tiles. How are you on the commit? " 
 
LIFE OP BUFFALO BELL. 369 
 
 " Why, Bill, you know I never did have sense enough 
 to remember anything but a bull-whacker's speech or an 
 Indian's war-whoop." 
 
 " Well," answered Bill, " by close calculation I've de- 
 cided that I could muster about two lines and a whoop in 
 two years, and at this rate I might catch onto the whole 
 piece in about three life times." 
 
 " Then don't despair," replied Jack, " for that beats 
 me as far as McCarthy's flight beat that little party of 
 Pawnees you told me about some days ago. Fact is, I'm 
 in doubt about remembering my stage name, and I 
 couldn't if Buntline hadn't considerately let me wear my 
 old title." 
 
 Finding it impossible to bring themselves down to solid 
 fvork, they made the most of the situation and spent the 
 day in spinning yarns. When Buntline came bustling in 
 during the afternoon he said : 
 
 " Well, boys, how are you getting along with your 
 parts?" 
 
 "Oh, the parts are all right, only they don't like us 
 very well. I guess, Ned, we will have to foreclose on 
 the study ; our health might give way if we continued , ' ' 
 replied Bill. 
 
 " You must not get discouraged, boys," said Buntline, 
 " for besides the incentive you have in the golden reward 
 that awaits your efforts, remember that I have assumed 
 a large responsibility and therefore none of us can afford 
 to fail." 
 
 This had the effect to brace up the despondent scouts 
 and they consented to recite some of their parts from the 
 manuscript, but in this they made such a miserable failure 
 that even Buntline was to some extent discouraged. But 
 he was as patient as he was versatile, and by hard work 
 the training at length began to tell. After drilling for 
 
370 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 two days, Bill and Jack met the other members of th 
 company at a general rehearsal, and things began to grow 
 smooth, although to save their lives the scouts could not 
 avoid a stiffness and apparent want of confidence in them- 
 selves which seriously interfered with the rendering of 
 their parts. 
 
 Monday night came soon enough too soon for the 
 scouts and at seven o'clock Bill and Jack went over to 
 the theatre with the faces of chief mourners in a funeral 
 procession. They repaired at once to the dressing room, 
 where their buckskin suits stage-dress were adjusted, 
 and when prepared they took a peep through the curtain, 
 when they were horrified as well as delighted to see a 
 packed house, with standing room at a premium. 
 
 Bill's first thought after this sight was of his feelings 
 when standing before a large audience in the Old Bowery 
 theatre ; his knees knocked ^ogetherlike the palsy of old 
 age, and when the curtain rang up and his appearance had 
 to be made a more scared man actually, positively and liter- 
 ally, never lived than Buffalo Bill. 
 
 Bu-ntline was cast in the play, and but for his encour- 
 aging presence and sustaining expedients, both Bill and 
 Jack would certainly have dropped out of sheer stage- 
 fright. 
 
 The audience, of course, greeted their appearance with 
 vociferous cheers, and when the noisy ovation subsided 
 Bill had lost the trail completely, and could not remem- 
 ber a single word of his part. But Buntline saw his em- 
 barrassment and came to the rescue by speaking foreign 
 to the text : 
 
 " Where have you been, Bill? What has detained you 
 so long?" 
 
 At this juncture fortune knocked at Bill's door, for 
 seeing Mr. Mulligan, with whom he had hunted only a 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 371 
 
 few weeks before, sitting in a private box of the theatre, 
 surrounded by several friends, he answered : 
 
 "I've just been out on a hunt with Mr. Mulligan, and 
 we got corraled by a party of hostiles." 
 
 This answer fairly brought down the house, as Mulli- 
 gan was one of the best known business men in Chicago. 
 
 Both Bill and Buntline saw they had struck a fortunate 
 cue, and that the only way out of their embarrassment 
 was by following this colloquy. Buntlkie therefore quer- 
 ried: 
 
 "Is that so? well, tell us all about the hunt and your 
 escape." 
 
 Thereupon Bill , who is an excellent story teller and 
 knows just how much ornamentation to give his recitals 
 concerning Indians, related at some length all the partic- 
 ulars that a curious-loving audience could desire, and 
 upon concluding the story there was an encore which 
 shook the house like an explosion. 
 
 Another good fortune came to Bill when he and Jack 
 went on in the second act, for their services were required 
 only in a desperate Indian battle which was fought out 
 to the intense satisfaction of both the audience and com- 
 batants. There were twenty supes dressed up like In- 
 dians, and the way in which the two scouts slaughtered 
 them with blank cartridges was absolutely marvelous, 
 killing off the entire crowd without receiving a scratch 
 themselves. 
 
 On the following morning all the city papers contained 
 lengthy accounts of the performance, and some of these 
 were more interesting than the play itself. Of course 
 Buffalo Bill and Texas Jack were not criticised as actors, 
 but the drama was all split up the back, so to speak. 
 Some asserted that if Buntline spent three hours in pre- 
 that drama he must have been engaged in several 
 
372 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 other occupations at the same time. Ned Buntline was 
 killed in the second act, and some of the papers expressed 
 the idea that it was a great oversight in the performers 
 that they did not kill him in the first. 
 
 But in spite of the criticisms, the same play continued 
 during each evening of the week, and at every perform- 
 ance the house was crowded with an enthusiastic audience, 
 and Buntline' s venture proved a thorough financial suc- 
 cess. 
 
 At Mr. Nixon's solicitation he was taken in as a part- 
 ner by Buntline, after the first week, and then the com- 
 pany began to travel, visiting all the large cities and 
 meeting everywhere with the same astonishing success 
 which had met them at Chicago. The season closed in 
 June, 1873, and after a distribution of profits, amounting 
 to six thousand dollars each, Bill and Jack returned to the 
 West for another big hunt. They had remained away 
 from their familiar pastures so long that nothing ever 
 gave them so much pleasure as the greeting of old scout- 
 ing friends and a buffalo dash over the prairies again. 
 
 In the fall they went to New York, where they reor^ 
 ganized the company for the season of 1873-74, engaging 
 Wild Bill as one of the stars. This second season also 
 proved successful, more so, financially, than the first, and 
 when they closed, in May, 1874, they had money "to 
 throw at the birds," as Bill declared, with fortune dog- 
 ging their footsteps. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 373 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 BEFORE leaving for the West, Bill went to New York 
 on some special business, and while there was introduced 
 to Thomas P. Medley, a very wealthy gentleman of Lon- 
 don. Mr. Medley had just arrived in America for the 
 express purpose of taking a big hunt on the plains, and 
 the moment he touched New York his correspondents and 
 friends there told him of Buffalo Bill's presence in the 
 city. He immediately called on the scout at the Metro- 
 politan Hotel, and disclosing the object of his visit, en- 
 gaged his services as guide, at a salary of one thousand 
 dollars a month. Before starting out on the hunt, Mr. 
 Medley told Bill that he did not want to be treated as a 
 guest or employer ; that he proposed doing all his own 
 cooking while on the plains, kill his own game, and go 
 hungry if he was so unfortunate as to secure none. 
 
 Some men have excellent intentions, like the sound 
 sleeper who promises, the evening before, to rise early in 
 the morning, only to find his resolution destroyed by the 
 indisposition of morning sleep. But Mr. Medley kept 
 well his determination made amid the luxuries of a fine 
 hotel. He actually killed and cooked his game, carried 
 wood to build the fire and the water he needed. This he 
 did solely to acquaint himself with life on the plains. 
 He was a generous man, and besides being a good hunter 
 proved himself a most agreeable companion. 
 
 After finishing this hunt, which lasted about six weeks, 
 Bill was engaged by Col. Mills, of the Third Cavalry, as 
 guide to an expedition then preparing for a trip along 
 Powder River, in the Big Horn country. The command 
 was equipped at Rawlins, "Wyoming Territory, and from 
 this point crossed the Rocky Mountains and established a 
 
374 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 supply oamp at Independence Hock, on the Sweetwater, 
 on the route over which Bill had ridden the pony express 
 fifteen years before. It was here that California Joe 
 joined the expedition, being engaged as scout by Bill, 
 who knew how to estimate this old and valuable Indian 
 lighter's services. 
 
 After scouting the country several days, the expedition 
 surprised a band of Arrapahoes, under Lone AVolf, whom 
 they drove back to the reservations. A few days after 
 this event the command was ordered back to Rawlins, 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 375 
 
 Biljf retained East to reorganize his theatrical com- 
 pany for the approaching season. Having purchased 
 property in Rochester, New York, during his tour of 
 1873-74, which included a handsome residence, he now 
 moved his family to that place, where they remained for 
 several years and until Mrs. Cody's health, injuriously 
 affected by that climate, admonished him to remove again 
 to the West, his next settlement being at North Platte, 
 Nebraska, in 1878, where he still resides. 
 
 In the succeeding season, 1875-76, his combination Wtis, 
 for the fourth time, put on the road, playing everywhere 
 with great profit and satisfaction. It was during this 
 tour, however, that the shafts of sorrow struck his family 
 most severely, making such wounds as time can hardly 
 heal. 
 
 While he was performing with his company at Spring^ 
 field, Massachusetts, in April, 1876, a telegram wa& 
 handed him announcing the dangerous illness of his little 
 baby boy, Kit. His ambitions, heart and nature were so 
 interwoven with the life of this most amiable and beau- 
 tiful child that the shock completely unnerved him, 
 Leaving another member of the troop to act his part,. 
 Bill immediately engaged a special car and hurried with 
 all possible haste to Rochester. When he arrived, little 
 Kit, who was being rapidly consumed by the fires of 
 scarlet fever, retained barely enough consciousness to 
 recognize his father, and putting his wan but loving little 
 arms around his neck imprinted one affectionate kiss on 
 his cheek, and then the spirit forsook its tenement poor 
 little Kit was dead . 
 
 There were many kind friends present to put back the 
 long curly hair of the little one, whose feet were now 
 treading the golden sands ; many to tell of heaven's gain, 
 and divide the grief of that stricken household, but none 
 
376 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 could close the bleeding wound in the hearts of the pros- 
 trated parents. There were birds, and flowers, and sweet- 
 scented breezes, and ainid these they buried little Kit, u? 
 Mount Hope Cemetery, leaving at last the precious littli 
 mound of earth moistened with the libations of their 
 tears. 
 
 Very soon after this most distressing incident, Cody 
 received several pressing requests, by telegraph, from 
 Gen. Carr to return West and join the Fifth Cavalry 
 again, as chief of scouts ; the Sioux war had just begun, 
 and the whole north-west was panic stricken. Custerand 
 Crook were operating in the Big Horn country, and the 
 Fifth Cavalry had been ordered to scout the vicinity of 
 the Black Hills. Buffalo Bill, so sorely stricken with 
 grief, was anxious to plunge into some adventure thai; 
 would excite him to forgetfulness of his affliction. 
 Moved by these feelings, and enjoying under all circum- 
 stances the thrilling experiences of Indian warfare, he 
 at once decided to accept the position offered by Gen. 
 Carr, and went directly to Cheyenne, where the Fifth 
 Cavalry was outfitting for the expedition. 
 
 Upon arriving at that place, Bill was met at the depot 
 by Lieut. King, adjutant of the regiment, whom he ac* 
 companied to the camp, where he was received with a 
 genuine ovation from all the soldiers. On the following 
 morning the command started for Ft. Laramie, where it 
 met Generals Sheridan, Forsyth and Frye, who were 
 en, route for Red Cloud Agency. 
 
 Bill accompanied Sheridan to that post, where the neces- 
 sary orders having been left, they returned to Laramie, 
 and from there the expedition journeyed northward to the 
 South Fork of Cheyenne river. Reaching the Cheyenne 
 country at the foot of the Black Hills, several bands of 
 predatory Indians were met and dispersed after a few 
 slight skirmishes. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 377 
 
 After operating in the Black Hills country for two 
 weeks Gen. Wesley Merritt superseded Gen. Carr in 
 command of the Fifth Cavalry, and supposing the Indians 
 had been driven out of that section, he ordered the regi- 
 ment back to Ft. Laramie. While returning to that post 
 word was brought to the command by a courier, of the 
 Ouster massacre on the Little Big Horn. With this 
 news came an order directing Gen. Merritt to push on. 
 rapidly to Ft. Fetterman and join Gen. Crook, who had 
 been ordered to the Big Horn country. 
 
 Brevet Major-Gen. Geo. A. Custer. 
 
 In this connection it is eminently proper to introduce a 
 description of this, the most appalling holocaust that ever 
 occurred on the plains ; an event so disastrous that time, 
 infinite though it is, can never make generations forget 
 the tale of how Custer and his heroic band gave up their 
 lives, while fighting in the desolate country drained by 
 the Little Big Horn, 
 
 There are many circumstances connected with this ter- 
 rible battle primarily the causes leading thereto which 
 must be left to those who write the life of Gen. Custer 
 
378 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 in extenso, as my purpose is rather to relate adventure 
 than explain personal grievances and mistakes. Inas- 
 much as not a single soldier of Ouster's command escaped 
 to relate particulars of the dreadful massacre, many of 
 the facts connected therewith are lost forever, as the 
 Indians who participated in the slaughter can hardly be 
 relied on to tell the whole truth concerning the battle. 
 What I shall report here has been collected from a variety 
 of sources, all from scouts and soldiers whose familiarity 
 with the country and orders under which Gen. Custer 
 was acting, the movements of his troops, position of the 
 Indians, and mode of fighting, qualify them for forming 
 a most reasonable opinion of how Custer met the foe, 
 and how he struggled to his death. 
 
 The Sioux Indians have ever been regarded as the most 
 intractable of Northern tribes ; at one time their power 
 was so great that they might have contested successfully 
 with all the other tribes west of the Mississippi combined, 
 and In addition to their superior numbers they are alto* 
 gether better soldiers, brave, athletic and of marvelous 
 endurance. 
 
 When the Black Hills gold fever first broke out, m 
 1874, a rush of miners into that country resulted in much 
 trouble, as the Indians always regarded that region with 
 jealous interest, and resisted all encroachments of white 
 men. Instead of the Government adhering to the treaty 
 of 1868 and restraining white men from going into the 
 Hills, Gen. Custer was sent out, in 1874, to intimidate 
 the Sioux. The unrighteous spirit of this order the Gen- 
 eral wisely disregarded, but proceeded to Prospect Valley, 
 and from there he pushed on to the valley of the Little 
 Missouri. Custer expected to find goo'd grazing ground 
 in this valley, suitable for a camp which he intended to 
 pitoh there for several days, and reconnoitre, but the 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 379 
 
 country was comparatively barren and the march was 
 therefore continued to the Belle Fourche valley, where 
 excellent grazing, water, and plenty of wood was found. 
 
 Crossing the Fourche the expedition was now among 
 the outlying ranges of the Hills, where a camp was made 
 and some reconnoitering done ; but finding no Indians, 
 Gen. Ouster continued his march, skirting the Black Hills 
 and passing through a country which he described as 
 beautiful beyond description, abounding with a most lux- 
 urious vegetation, cool, crystal streams, a profusion of 
 gaudy, sweet smelling flowers, and plenty of game. 
 
 Proceeding down this lovely valley, which he appropri- 
 ately named Floral Park, an Indian camp fire, recently 
 abandoned, was discovered, and fearing a collision unless 
 pains were taken to prevent it, Ouster halted and sent 
 out his chief scout, Bloody Knife, with twenty friendly 
 Indian allies to trail the departed Sioux. They had gone 
 but a short distance when, as Ouster himself relates : 
 "Two of Bloody Knife's young men came galloping back 
 and informed me that they had discovered five Indian 
 lodges a few miles down the valley, and that Bloody Knife, 
 as directed, had concealed his party in a wooded ravine, 
 where they awaited further orders. Taking E company 
 with me, which was afterward reinforced by the remain- 
 der of the scouts and Ool. Hart's company, I proceeded 
 to the ravine where Bloody Knife and his party lay con- 
 cealed, and from the crest beyond obtained a full view of 
 the five Indian lodges, about which a considerable num-' 
 ber of ponies were grazing. I was enabled to place my 
 command still nearer to the lodges undiscovered. I then 
 despatched Agard, the interpreter, with a flag of truce, 
 accompanied by ten of our Sioux scouts, to acquaint the 
 occupants of the lodges that we were friendly disposed 
 and desired to communicate with them. To prevent 
 
 28 
 
380 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 either treachery or flight on their part, I galloped the re- 
 maining portion of my advance and surrounded the lodges. 
 This was accomplished almost before they were aware of 
 our presence. I then entered the little village and shook 
 
 hands with its occupants, assuring them, through tho in 
 terpreter, that they had no cause to fear, as we were 
 there to molest them, etc*!* 
 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 381 
 
 Finding there was no disposition on the part of Gen. 
 Ouster to harm them, the Indians despatched a courier to 
 the principal village, requesting the warriors to be present 
 at a council with the whites. This council was held on 
 the following day, but though Ouster dispensed coffee, 
 sugar, bacon and other presents to the Indians, his advice 
 to them regarding the occupation of their country by 
 miners was treated with indifference, for which, he ob- 
 serves in his official report, "I cannot blame x the poor 
 savages." 
 
 During the summer of 1875 Gen. Crook made several 
 trips into the Black Hills to drive out the miners and 
 maintain the Government's faith, but while he made many 
 arrests there was no punishment and the whole proceed- 
 ing became farcical. In August of the same year Ouster 
 Oity was laid out and two weeks later it contained a pop- 
 ulatian of six hundred souls. These Gen. Crook drove 
 out, but as he marched from the place others swarmed 
 in and the population was immediately renewed. 
 
 It was this inability, or real indisposition, of the Gov- 
 ernment to enforce the terms of the treaty of 1868 that 
 led to the bitter war with Sitting Bull and which termina- 
 ted so disastrously on the 25th of June, 1876. 
 
 It is a notorious fact that the Sioux Indians, for four 
 years immediately preceding the Ouster massacre, were 
 regularly supplied with the most improved fire-arms and 
 ammunition by the agencies at Brule, Grand River, 
 Standing Kock, Fort Berthold, Cheyenne and Fort Peck. 
 Even during the campaign of 1876, in the months of 
 May, June and July, just before and after Ouster and his 
 band of heroes rode down into the valley of death, these 
 6ghting Indians received eleven hundred and twenty 
 Winchester and Remington rifles, and 413,000 rounds of 
 patent ammunition, besides large quantities of loose pow- 
 
382 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 der, lead and primers, while during the summer of 1875 
 they received several thousand stand of arms and more 
 than a million rounds of ammunition. With this gener- 
 ous provision there is no cause for wonder that the Sioux 
 were able to resist the Government and attract to their 
 aid all the dissatisfied Cheyennes and other Indians in the 
 Northwest. 
 
 Besides a perfect fighting equipment, all the Indians 
 recognized in Sitting Bull the elements of a great war- 
 rior, one whose superior, perhaps, has never been known 
 among any tribe ; he combined all the strategic cunning 
 of Tecumseh, with the cruel, uncompromising hatred of 
 Black Kettle, while his leadership was far superior to 
 both. Having decided to precipitate a terrible war, he 
 chose his position with consummate judgment, selecting 
 a central vantage point surrounded by what is known as 
 the "bad lands," and then kept his supply source open 
 by an assumed friendship with the Canadian French. 
 This he was the better able to accomplish, since some 
 years before he had professed conversion to Christianity 
 under the preaching of Father DeSmet and maintaine/d 
 a show of great friendship for the Canadians. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 WAR against the Sioux having been declared, brought 
 about by the combined causes of Black Hill outrages and 
 Sitting Bull's threatening attitude, it was decided to send 
 out three separate expeditions, one of which should move 
 from the north, under Gen. Terry, from Fort Lincoln ; 
 another from the east, under Gen. Gibbon, from Fort 
 
LITE OF BUFFALO BILL. 383 
 
 Ellis, and another from the south, under Gren. Crook, 
 from Fort Fetterrnan ; the movements were to be simul- 
 taneous, and a junction was expected to be formed near 
 the headwaters of the Yellowstone River. 
 
 For some cause, which I will refrain from discussing, 
 the commands did not start at the same time. Gen. 
 Crook did not leave Fetterman until March 1st, with 
 seven hundred men and forty days* supply. The com- 
 mand was intrusted to Col. Reynolds, of the Third Cav- 
 alry, accompanied by Gen. Crook, the department com- 
 mander. 
 
 Nothing was heard of this expedition until the 22d 
 following, when Gen. Crook forwarded from Ft. Reno 
 a brief account of his battle on Powder River. The 
 result of this fight, whicii lasted five hours, was the de- 
 struction of Crazy Horse's village of one hundred and 
 five lodges. Or that is the way the dispatch read, though 
 many assert that the battle resulted in little else than a 
 series of remarkable blunders which suffered the Indians 
 to make good their escape, losing only a small quantity 
 of their property. 
 
 One serious trouble arose out of the Powder River 
 fight, which was found in an assertion made by Gen. 
 Crook, or at least attributed to him, that his expedition 
 had proved that instead of there being 15,000 or 20,- 
 000 hostile Indians in the Black Hills and Big Horn coun- 
 try, that the total number would not exceed 2,000. It 
 was upon this estimation that the expeditions were pre- 
 pared. 
 
 The Terry column, which was commanded by Gen. 
 Custer, consisted of twelve companies of the Seventh 
 Cavalry, and three companies of the Sixth and Seven- 
 teenth Infantry, with four Gatling guns, and a detach- 
 ment of Indian scouts. This force comprised twenty- 
 
384 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 eight officers and seven hundred and forty-seven men, of 
 the Seventh Cavalry , eight officers and one hundred and 
 thirty-five men of the Sixth and Seventeenth Infantry, 
 two officers and thirty-two men in charge of the Gatlmg 
 battery, and forty -five enlisted Indian scouts, a grand 
 total of thirty-eight officers and nine hundred and fifty- 
 nine men, including scouts. 
 
 The combined forces of Crook, Gibbon, Terry and 
 Custer, did not exceed twenty-seven hundred men, while 
 opposed to them were fully 17,000 Indians, all of whom 
 were provided with the latest and most approved patterns 
 of repeating rifles. 
 
 On the 16th of June Gen. Crook started for the Rose^ 
 bud, on which stream it was reported that Sitting Bull 
 and Crazy Horse were stationed ; about the same time a 
 party of Crow Indians, who were operating with Gen. 
 Crook, returned from a scout and reported that Gen. Gib- 
 bon, who was on Tongue River, had been attacked by 
 Sitting Bull, who had captured several horses. Crook 
 pushed on rapidly toward the Rosebud , leaving his train 
 behind and mounting his infantry on mules. What 
 were deemed accurate reports, stated that Sitting Bull 
 was still on the Rosebud, only sixty miles from the 
 point where Gen. Crook camped on the night of the 15th 
 of June. The command traveled forty miles on the six- 
 teenth, and when within twenty miles of the Sioux* 
 principal position, instead of pushing on, Gen. Crook 
 went into camp. 
 
 The next morning he was much surprised at finding 
 himself attacked by Sitting Bull, who swooped down on 
 him with the first streaks of coming dawn, and a heavy 
 battle followed. Gen. Crook, who had camped in a basin 
 surrounded on all sides by high hills, soon found his posi- 
 tion so dangerous that it must be changed at all hazards. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 386 
 
 The advance was therefore sounded with Noyes' battal- 
 ion occupying a position on the right, Milk on the right 
 icentre, Chambers in the centre, and the Indian allies on 
 the left. Mills and Noyes charged the enemy in magnifi- 
 cent style, breaking the line and striking the rear. The 
 fight continued hot and furious until 2 p. M., when a gal- 
 lant charge of Col. Roy all, who was in reserve, supported 
 by the Indian allies, caused the Sioux to draw off to their 
 village, six miles distant, while Gen. Crook went into 
 camp, where he remained inactive for two days. 
 
 In the meantime, as the official report recites : "Gen- 
 erals Terry and Gibbon communicated with each other 
 June 1st, near the junction of the Tongue and Yellow- 
 stone Rivers, and learned that a heavy force of Indians 
 had concentrated on the opposite bank of the Yellow- 
 stone, but eighteen miles distant. For fourteen days the 
 Indian pickets had confronted Gibbon's videttes." 
 
 Gen. Gibbon reported to Gen. Terry that the cavalry 
 had thoroughly scouted the Yellowstone as far as the 
 mouth of the Big Horn, and no Indians had crossed it. 
 It was now certain that they were not prepared for them, 
 and on the Powder, Tongue, Rosebud, Little Horn or Big 
 Horn Rivers, Gen. Terry at once commenced feeling for 
 them. 
 
 Major Reno, of the Seventh Cavalry, with six compa- 
 nies of that regiment, was sent up Powder River one 
 hundred and fifty miles, to the mouth of Little Powder 
 to look for the Indians, and, if possible, to communi- 
 cate with Gen. Crook. He reached the mouth of the 
 Little Powder in five days, but saw no Indians, and could 
 hear nothing of Crook. As he returned, he found on the 
 Rosebud a very large Indian trail, about nine days old, 
 and followed it a short distance, when he turned about up 
 Tongue River, and reported to Gen. Terry what hp had 
 
386 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 seen. It was now known that no Indians were on either 
 Tongue or Powder Rivers, and the net had narrowed down 
 to Rosebud, Little Horn or Big Horn Rivers. 
 
 Gen. Terry, who had been waiting with Custer and the 
 steamer Far West, at the mouth of Tongue River, for 
 Reno's report, as soon as he heard it, ordered Custer to 
 march up the south bank to a point opposite Gen. Gib- 
 bon, who was encamped on the north bank of the Yel- 
 lowstone. Terry, on board the steamer Far West, pushed 
 up the Yellowstone, keeping abreast of Gen. Ouster's 
 column. 
 
 Gen. Gibbon was found in camp, quietly awaiting de- 
 velopments. A consultation was had with Gens. Gibbon 
 and Custer, and then Gen. Terry definitely fixed upon 
 the plan of action. It was believed the Indians were on 
 the head of the Rosebud, or over on the Little Horn, a 
 dividing ridge only fifteen miles wide separating the two 
 streams. It was announced by Gen. Terry that Gen. 
 Custer' s column "would strike the blow.'* 
 
 At the time a junction was formed between Gibbon 
 and Terry, Gen. Crook was about one hundred miles 
 from them, while Sitting Bull's forces were between th e 
 commands. Crook, after his battle, fell back to the 
 head of Tongue River. The Powder, Tongue, Rosebud 
 and Big Horn Rivers all flow northwest, and empty into 
 the Yellowstone ; as Sitting Bull was between the head- 
 waters of the Rosebud and Big Horn, the main tributary 
 of the latter being known as the Little Big Horn, with 
 this knowledge of the topography of the country, it is 
 easy to definitely locate Sitting Bull and his forces. 
 
 Having now ascertained the position of the enemy, or 
 reasoned out the probable position, Gen. Terry sent a 
 dispatch to Gen. Sheridan, as follows : 
 
 " No Indians have been met with as yet, but traces of 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BIL'L. 387 
 
 a large and recent camp have been discovered twenty or 
 thirty miles up the Rosebud. Gibbon's column, will 
 move this morning on the north side of the Yellowstone, 
 for the mouth of the Big Horn, where it will be ferried 
 across by the supply steamer, and whence it will proceed 
 to the mouth of the Little Horn, and so on. Ouster will 
 go up the Rosebud to-morrow with his whole regiment, 
 and thence to the headwaters of the Little Horn, thence 
 down that stream." 
 
 Following this report came an order, signed by E. W.' 
 Smith, Captain of the Eighteenth Infantry, Acting As- 
 sistant Adjutant General, directing Gen. Custer to folio w 
 the Indian trail discovered, pushing the Indians from one 
 side, while Gen. Gibbon pursued them from an opposite 
 direction. As no instructions were given as to the rate 
 each division should travel, Custer, noted for his quick, 
 energetic movements, made ninety miles the first three 
 days, and, discovering the Indians in large numbers, di- 
 vided his command into three divisions, one of which he 
 placed under Major Reno, another under Major Benteen, 
 and led the other himself. 
 
 As Custer made a detour to enter the village, Reno 
 struck a large body of Indians, who, after retreating 
 nearly three miles, turned on the troops and ran them 
 pell mell across Grassy Creek into the woods. Reno 
 overestimated the strength of his enemies and thought he 
 was being surrounded. Benteen came up to the support 
 of Reno, but he too took fright and got out of his posi- 
 tion without striking the enemy. 
 
 While Reno and Benteen were trying to keep open a 
 way for their retreat, Custer charged on the village, first 
 sending a courier, Trumpeter Martin, to Reno and Ben- 
 teen with the following dispatch : * * Big village ; be quick ; 
 send on the packs." This order was too plain to be mis- 
 
388 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 construed. It clearly meant that he had discovered the 
 Tillage, which he intended attacking at once ; to hurry for- 
 ward to his support and bring up the packs, ambulances, 
 etc. But instead of obeying orders, Reno and Benteen 
 stood aloof, fearful lest they should endanger their posi- 
 tion, while the brave Ouster and his squad of noble he- 
 roes rushed down like a terrible avalanche upon the In- 
 dian village. In a moment, fateful incident, the Indians 
 came swarming about that heroic band until the very 
 earth seemed to open and let loose the elements of vol- 
 canic fury, and the fiends of Erebus, blazing with the hot 
 sulphur of their impious dominion. Down from the 
 hillsides, up through the valleys, that dreadful torrent of 
 Indian cruelty and massacre poured around the little 
 squad to swallow it up with one grand swoop of fire. 
 But Custer was there at the head, like Spartacus fighting 
 the legions about him, tall, graceful, brave as a lion at 
 bay, and with thunderbolts in his hands. His brave fol- 
 lowers formed a hollow square, and met the rush, and 
 roar, and fury of the demons. Bravely they breasted 
 that battle shock, bravely stood up and faced the leaden 
 hail, nor quailed when looking into the blazing muzzles of 
 five thousand deadly rifles. 
 
 Brushing away the powder grimes that had settled in 
 his face, Custer looked over the boiling sea of fury 
 around him, peering through the smoke for some signs of 
 Reno and Benteen, but, seeing none and thinking of the 
 aid which must soon come, with cheering words to his 
 comrades, he renewed the battle, fighting still like a Her- 
 cules and piling heaps of victims around his very feet. 
 
 Hour after hour passed and yet no friendly sign of Re- 
 no's coming ; nothing to be seen saving the battle smoke, 
 streaks of fire splitting through the misty clouds, blood 
 flowing in rivulets under tramping feet, dying comrades. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 391 
 
 and Indians swarming about him, rending the air with 
 their demoniacal "hi-yi-yip-yah, yah-hi-yah." 
 
 The fight continued with unabated fury until late in 
 the afternoon ; men had sunk down beside their gallant 
 leader until there was but a handful left, only a dozen, 
 bleeding from many wounds, and hot carbines in their 
 stiffening hands. The day is almost done, when, look ! 
 heaven now defend him ! the charm of his life is broken, 
 for Custer has fallen ; a bullet cleaves a pathway through 
 his side, and as he falters another strikes his noble 
 breast. Like a strong oak stricken by the lightning' s bolt, 
 shivering the mighty trunk and bending its withering 
 branches down close to the earth, so fell Custer; but like 
 the reacting branches, he rises partly up again, and 
 striking out like a fatally wounded giant lays three more 
 Indians dead and breaks his mighty sword on the musket 
 of a fourth; then, with useless blade and empty pistol 
 falls back the victim of a dozen wounds. He is the last 
 to succumb to death, and dies, too, with the glory of ac- 
 complished duty in his conscience and the benediction of 
 a grateful country on his head. 
 
 "So sleeps the brave who sank to rest, 
 By all his country's wishes blessed. " 
 
 The place where fell these noblest of God's heroes is 
 sacred ground, and though it be the Golgotha of a na- 
 tion's mistakes it is bathed with precious blood, rich with 
 the germs of heroic inheritance. 
 
 " It was the last HDation Liberty draws 
 From the hearts that break and bleed in her cause." 
 
 I have avoided attaching blame to any one, using only 
 the facts that have been furnished me of how Custer 
 came to attack the Sioux village and how and why he 
 died. 
 
 When the news of the terrible massacre was learned, 
 
392 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 soldiers everywhere made a pilgrimage to the sacred 
 place, and friendly hands reared a monument on that 
 distant spot, commemorative of the heroism of Custer 
 
 and his men ; collected together all the bones audl relic* 
 of the battle and piled them up in pyramidal form, where 
 they stand in sunshine and in storm, overlooking the 
 
or BUFFALO BILL. 393 
 
 Little Big Horn. The engraving herewith given is from 
 a photograph taken while a heavy snow-storm was pre- 
 vailing. 
 
 CHAPTER XXH. 
 
 AFTER the massacre of Ouster's little band, there was 
 great activity in military movements in the Northwest, 
 and an almost consuming desire to give the Sioux and 
 Cheyennes a touch of wholesale retaliation. With the 
 news of the disaster came a report from Col. San ton, of 
 the Fifth Cavalry, informing Gen. Merritt that eight hun- 
 dred Cheyenne warriors had left the Eed Cloud Agency 
 to join Sitting Bull on the Big Horn, and instructing him 
 to join Gen. Crook at Ft. Fetterman. 
 
 Instead of following the strict letter of the order, Gen- 
 Merritt, with Buffalo Bill as his chief of scouts, con- 
 cluded to intercept the Cheyennes, a most commendable 
 purpose, which happily justified his good judgment. 
 
 Selecting five hundred of his best men and horses, 
 Gen. Merritt made a forced march toward War Bonnet 
 Creek, which he knew the Indians must cross, and at a 
 point, too, which he estimated it would be easy to reach 
 in advance of them. 
 
 On July 17th the command reached the creek, and 
 Buffalo Bill was sent out to discover if the Cheyennes 
 had yet effected a crossing, but finding no trail he con- 
 tinued scouting for some distance, and was rewarded by 
 seeing a large body of Indians approaching from the 
 south. Bill rode rapidly back to camp to acquaint Gen. 
 Merritt of his discovery, whereupon the cavalry was 
 ordered to mount and hold themselves in readiness, whilo 
 
394 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Bill and the General should ride out on a tour of obser< 
 vation. Selecting a high knoll, by the use of field glasses, 
 the Cheyennes were plainly seen riding directly toward 
 Gen. Merritt's camp. Presently a party of fifteen Indi- 
 ans were observed to leave the main body and ride at a 
 furious pace northward, and scanning the surroundings 
 critically to ascertain the cause, Bill saw two mounted 
 soldiers, evidently couriers, trying to reach Gen. Merritt's 
 camp. In order not to apprise the Indians of the pres- 
 ence of the regiment, Bill suggested to the General the 
 advisability of waiting until the couriers should come near 
 the command, when, having led the fifteen Indians some 
 distance from the main party, he would take the othef 
 scouts and cut the squad off so as to insure their capture. 
 
 Gen. Merritt approving of Bill's idea, the latter rode 
 back to camp, selected fifteen men and hurried to a place 
 of concealment, where he waited for the pursuers. It 
 was but a few moments until the couriers dashed by with 
 the Indians not more than two hundred yards in the rear- 
 Bill and his men leaped out of their ambush and sent P 
 rattling fire after the Indians, three of whom were killed ; 
 the rest turned and ran back to the main party, which 
 had halted upon hearing the rapid firing. 
 
 After stopping for a few moments the Cheyennes re- 
 newed their march, thinking they were opposed by a 
 small body that would offer no particular resistance. 
 Another advance party of twenty Indians was sent out 
 from the main body, and as they approached near, BilJ 
 and his men charged them, but the Indianj, seeing theii 
 numbers were superior, made a stand, and a lively fight 
 ensued. Each side then duw off, and while they stood 
 studying their opportunities, one of the Indians, richly 
 dressed in a chief's ornamentation, large war bonnet, 
 capped with eagle's feathers, and carrying a Winchester 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 395 
 
 rifle, rode out from his squad several rods, and made the 
 following speech, addressing Buffalo Bill, whom he had 
 seen before, and heard much of. 
 
 "Me know you, Pa-he-has-ka (the Indian for "long 
 hair' ' ) , you great chief, kill many Indians ; me great chief, 
 kill many pale faces ; come on now fight me." 
 
 Here was a direct challenge, and Buffalo Bill was not 
 the man to decline it. He would not have sjirunk from 
 fighting a duel with any living man ; so he shouted back 
 to the chief : 
 
 " I'll fight you ; come on ; let Indians and white men 
 stand off and see the Red Chief and Long Hair fight with 
 rifles." 
 
 \ This was a genuine novelty, and of such an exciting 
 nature that the troops advanced to a position command- 
 ing a view of the battle ground, while the Indians rode 
 up also sufficiently close to witness the combat. 
 
 When everything was in readiness, Bill advanced on 
 horseback about fifty yards toward his opponent, and then 
 the two started toward each other on a dead run. They 
 Were scarcely thirty yards apart when both their rifles 
 were discharged simultaneously. The Indian's horse fell 
 dead, having been struck by the bullet from Bill's rifle, 
 and at the same time thelatter's horse stepped into a hole 
 and tumbled over; thus they were both dismounted. 
 Bill was not hurt by the fall, and springing to his feet, 
 he faced his recovered antagonist, now not more than 
 twenty paces distant. Again the two fired almost simul- 
 taneously, but the Indian missed, while Bill's aim was 
 good, his bullet planting itself in the chief's breast. As 
 the Indian reeled and fell Bill leaped on him and in the 
 next instant had thrust his bowie-knife into the warrior's 
 heart. With a skillful movement, acquired only after long 
 practice, Bill tore the war-bonnet off his victim's head and 
 
396 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 then scalped him in the most gentlemanly and dexterous 
 manner. Then holding up the bonnet and reeking cap^ 
 sheaf, he exclaimed : 
 
 < ' The first scalp for Ouster /' ' 
 
 Following this event, which was a display of genuine 
 pluck very few men possess, the main body of Cheyennes 
 charged down on Bill and would have killed him had not 
 the cavalry been so near that they intercepted the savages 
 before they could reach him. 
 
 Finding that the Indians could not now be ambushed. 
 Gen. Merritt ordered his troops to charge, and a running 
 fight ensued for a distance of thirty miles, the Cheyennes 
 retreating toward Red Cloud Agency, to which point the 
 pursuit was continued. Upon arriving at the agency, a 
 thousand dissatisfied Indians were found discussing the 
 advisability of joining Sitting Bull, but they offered no 
 hostility to the Fifth Cavalry, which stood ready to fight 
 the entire Cheyenne tribe. 
 
 At Red Cloud Bill learned that the name of his victim 
 in the rifle duel was Yellow Hand, son of Cut Nose, one 
 of the leading Cheyenne chiefs. Upon hearing of the 
 death of his son, this chief sent a white interpreter to 
 Buffalo Bill, offering four mules for the return of Yellow 
 Hand's scalp, ornaments, gun, pistols and knife, which 
 Bill had captured, but the messenger had to return with- 
 out the trophies. 
 
 Leaving Red Cloud Agency, Gen. Merritt started to 
 join Gen. Crook, who was encamped near Cloud Peak, 
 in the Big Horn Mountains. A junction was made on 
 the third of August at Goose Creek, and after remaining 
 in camp one day the united expedition set out for Tongue 
 River, leaving their trains behind them. Reaching that 
 point, they marched on to the Rosebud, where a large 
 Indian trail, indicating seven thousand warriors, was 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 399 
 
 struck, which the command followed for several miles, 
 but as the trail was four days old, and the Indians were 
 traveling very rapidly, the pursuit was abandoned for 
 the day. 
 
 While on the Rosebud the command was met by Capt. 
 Jack Crawford, whose familiar title is " Capt. Jack, the 
 Poet Scout of the Black Hills." Jack brought dis- 
 patches to Gen. Crook from Ft. Fetterman, distant three 
 hundred miles, through a country as full of hair-lifting 
 Indians as Italy is of beggars, but he got through all 
 right, without losing a hair. 
 
 After remaining in. camp one night, the command 
 pushed on again, following the large trail down the Rose- 
 bud for five days, but no Indians were seen. A cloud of 
 dust and a large party of horsemen, however, caused a 
 rapid preparation for battle, but when each side was 
 ready for action the discovery was made that the ap- 
 proaching party was Gen. Terry's command and some> 
 friendly Nez Perces and Snakes. 
 
 When the two armies came together Col. Weir recog- 
 nized Buffalo Bill, and at once pulled off his hat and 
 shouted : 
 
 " Here's Buffalo Bill. God bless him! give him a 
 cheer!" and the whole command responded in the 
 heartiest manner. 
 
 After a lengthy council between Generals Terry and 
 Crook, the Fifth Infantry was ordered to return by forced 
 march to the Yellowstone, and from there proceed by 
 boat down to the mouth of Powder river, that they might 
 intercept any Indians attempting to cross at that point. 
 
 The main consolidated command continued to follow 
 the large trail for several days, but seeing no Indians and 
 running short of supplies, a return was made to the con- 
 fluence of the Powder and Yellowstone rivers, where a 
 permanent camp was established* 
 
400 HEROES OF THE PLADT8. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIIL 
 
 WHILE lying in camp on the Yellowstone, Bill and a 
 half-breed named Louis Richard were ordered to accom- 
 pany Gen. Mills on a scouting expedition down the Yel- 
 lowstone on the steamer Far West. This novel idea em- 
 anated from Gen. Terry, who thought that a steamboat 
 was a good thing to beat up an Indian trail at the cross- 
 ings. Four companies were taken on board for both de- 
 fensive and offensive purposes. 
 
 When the boat started down the river Bill and Richard 
 took up a position on top of the pilot house, from which 
 point of observation a large scope of country lay before 
 their view. But the boat proceeded as far as Glendive 
 Creek without any Indians being seen by the " outlook- 
 ers." At this point Col. Rice, in charge of one company 
 of the Fifth Infantry, was met, who, the day previous, 
 had fought a party of Indians with a Rodman cannon and 
 killed three of their number. 
 
 Having to remain over night at Glendive Creek, Gen. 
 Mills desired to communicate with Gen. Terry, and, of 
 course, selected Bill to carry the message, as the route 
 was the roughest as well as the most dangerous that a 
 man ever traveled over. But Bill performed the duty 
 without a word of complaint, and during the night rode 
 seventy-five miles through the bad lands, reaching Gen, 
 Terry's camp at daylight next morning. 
 
 The bad lands, so called because no worse designation 
 could be thought of at the time by the party who named 
 them, are a barren waste of country, over which it is most 
 dangerous to travel, owing to the numerous broad fissures 
 which run zig-zag and in every direction, like the cracks 
 which appear in the basins of recently dried up ponds io 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 401 
 
 summer time ; the only difference being that in the bad 
 lands these cracks are from two to six inches wide, some 
 even much wider, and extending to a depth of many 
 feet. In riding through such a country, especially during 
 the night, the dangers may be readily understood. In 
 the trip made by Buffalo Bill, he was thrown from his 
 horse several times, and upon reaching Gen. Terry's 
 camp there were bruises all over his body. 
 
 As it now appeared certain that Sitting Bull had started 
 for the British possessions, and that the prospects for 
 further fighting were decidedly indefinite, Bill concluded 
 to start east again for the purpose of making prepara- 
 tions for the approaching theatrical season . He had con- 
 ceived the idea that a drama, with all its situations based 
 upon the Sioux war, would form a very successful enter- 
 prise, and was determined to try the experiment. Ac- 
 cordingly, taking his leave of Generals Terry and Crook, 
 who were then packing up to start out on the old Indian 
 trail on Powder River, he took the down-going steamer 
 on the Yellowstone for Ft. Beauford ; but after proceed- 
 ing twenty miles, another steamer was met, coming up 
 the river, having on board Gen. Whistler, with a body of 
 soldiers who were en route to join Gen. Crook. The two 
 boats landed together, and among the first persons Bill 
 met among the passengers, was Texas Jack, who had been 
 employed as dispatch carrier for the New York Herald. 
 
 Gen. Whistler interviewed Bill regarding the campaign, 
 and learning that Crook and Terry had left the camp at 
 the mouth of Powder River, he begged of Bill to cany 
 some dispatches which he had from Gen. Sheridan to 
 Gen. Terry. Being now on his journey to the East, Bill 
 tried to avoid making the trip, but upon learning that no 
 other person with Gen. Whistler would perform the duty, 
 he consented, and that morning, mounted on the Gener- 
 
402 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 al's fine thoroughbred, he started out to overtake Gren- 
 Terry, which he accomplished before dark. 
 
 After Bill had taken lunch, Gen. Terry requested him 
 to carry a message back to Gen. Whistler. This duty he 
 gladly performed, as it was over the route he would have 
 to take anyhow, and at one o'clock in the morning Bill 
 arrived at the boat. He was astounded, upon delivering 
 the message, to hear the following address from Gen. 
 Whistler : 
 
 " Mr. Cody, immediately after your departure yester- 
 day morning, a considerable body of Indians made their 
 appearance in the vicinity, and have been skirmishing 
 around the boat ever since. As my force here is insig- 
 nificant, I am very anxious to communicate again with 
 Generals Terry and Crook. I tried in vain, all day yes- 
 terday, to induce some one to carry my message, and 
 while I feel that it is asking too much of you, really, the 
 matter is of so much importance that, as a last resort, 1 
 am compelled to ask you to take my dispatch. I'll give 
 you any horse you want, and see that you are well paid 
 for the service." 
 
 " Never mind the pay, General; if your message is 
 ready I will start back again," was Bill's answer. 
 
 At two o'clock in the morning the brave scout set out 
 on his return to Gen. Terry, regardless of the cordon of 
 Indians that surrounded the boat. His woods-craft ena- 
 bled him to pass through the lines unobserved, and in 
 four hours from the time of leaving the boat, he dashed 
 into Gen. Terry's camp just as the command was on the 
 point of moving. After reading Gen. Whistler's mes- 
 sage, Terry held a council with Crook, which resulted in 
 the latter continuing on the trail, while Terry turned 
 back to the Yellowstone, which he crossed on boats, and 
 then pushed his forces in the direction of the Dry Fork 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BELL. 403 
 
 of the Missouri, Bill acting as guide at Gen. Terry's 
 urgent request. The command marched for three days, 
 until they reached the buffalo range, where numerous 
 fresh signs of Indians, who had evidently been hunting, 
 were discovered. 
 
 At this point Gen. Terry asked Bill to carry a dis- 
 patch to Col. Rice, who was still in camp at Glendive 
 Creek, eighty miles distant. Night had already set in, 
 and with it came a drizzling rain and a terrible wind- 
 storm. Notwithstanding the darkness, and the further 
 fact that Bill had never before set foot in that section of 
 country, he set out at ten o'clock and traveled as best he 
 could until morning, having made about thirty-five miles. 
 As the country was full of predatory bands of Indians, 
 he selected a place affording excellent concealment, 
 with the intention of remaining there until night, as to 
 have attempted a passage of the prairies during daylight 
 on a poor horse, such as he was riding, would have been 
 suicidal. 
 
 After eating a breakfast of bacon and crackers, he lay 
 down for a sleep, but an hour or more afterward he was 
 awakened by a rumbling noise, and crawling to the 
 edge of the bluff he was on, he looked out over the prai- 
 rie below and saw a large hunting party of Indians chas- 
 ing buffaloes, which they were killing and packing on 
 their ponies. This they continued for fully two hours, 
 and when their meat was secured they started off in the 
 direction which Bill must travel to reach Glendive Creek. 
 It was pretty certain that the camp of the Indians was 
 somewhere along his route, but Bill never hesitated on 
 that account to continue his journey. 
 
 When the shades of night had deepened, he mounted 
 again and set out, and by making a large semi-circle he 
 avoided the Indians and reached Col. Rice at daylight 
 
404 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 the following morning. After delivering Gen. Terry's 
 message Bill bade adieu to Col. Rice, and again embark- 
 ing on the Far West, he proceeded down the Yellowstone 
 to Bismarck, where he took passage by rail to Rochester, 
 New York. 
 
 After meeting his family, he began preparations for 
 his next theatrical tour, by employing a gentleman to write 
 a drama for him which would introduce the striking situ- 
 ations of the Sioux war. The play was soon prepared , and 
 was in five acts, nearly all of which were replete with mimic 
 battles and scalping picnics. The performance invaria- 
 bly filled the house and brought down the galleries, so 
 that the season proved successful even beyond anticipa- 
 tion. 
 
 While in New York, Bill had a novel bridle made, the 
 like of which was never before seen. In all his Indian 
 fights he had made it a point to preserve the hair and 
 scalps of all his victims (and they were hundreds), and 
 with curious impulse he had a bridle made of the hair 
 thus preserved ; it was most deftly worked by a skillful 
 hair artist, while the bit, buckles and side stars were of 
 bullion silver handsomely engraved. The whole, when 
 completed, was a master-piece of workmanship, and such 
 a novelty, besides, that August Belmont offered Bill one 
 thousand dollars for it. But this offer was refused, as 
 the bridle had been made for a special purpose for 
 presentation to Miss Emma Lake, the world's famous 
 equestrienne. It was accordingly given to this admirable 
 little lady, who has exhibited the bridle in nearly all the 
 leading cities of America. 
 
 During the season of 1876-77, Bill visited all the East- 
 ern cities, and then made a tour of California, where he 
 met with unexampled success. Upon his return, he and 
 Major North located a ranche on the South Fork of the 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL, 405 
 
 Dismal River, in Nebraska, upon which they placed a 
 large herd of cattle, the marking and branding of which 
 occupied him the entire summer. In the following fall 
 Bill visited Eed Cloud Agency, where he engaged a party 
 of Sioux Indians to accompany him on his theatrical tour 
 of 1877-78. He then returned with these to Rochester, 
 where, placing his eldest daughter, Arta, at a young 
 ladies' seminary, Mrs. Cody and little Ora traveled with 
 him during the season. 
 
 During this tour Bill introduced a new drama, the inci- 
 dents of which were founded on the Mountain Meadows 
 Massacre, entitled: "May Cody; or, Lost and Won." 
 This season was the most profitable of any he had en- 
 joyed up to that time, and at its close he removed from 
 Rochester to North Platte, Nebraska, where he is now 
 living. 
 
 Since 1878 Bill has continued in the role of profes- 
 sional actor, introducing to the amusement-loving public 
 for three consecutive seasons his new and best play, writ- 
 ten by Col. Prentiss Ingraham, entitled: "The Knight 
 of the Plains ; or, Buffalo Bill's Best Trail." How suc- 
 cessful he has been may be estimated by the fact that 
 during the season of 1880-81 his neb profits from the 
 stage aggregated forty-eight thousand dollars. 
 
 During the season ef 1880-81 an incident occurred 
 which illustrates Buffalo Bill's wonderful accuracy of 
 aim and goes far to prove the assertion that since the 
 death of Wild Bill he is the champion rifle and pistol 
 shot of the world, and no one is likely to ever wrest the 
 title of champion from him. 
 
 The incident referred to may be recorded as follows : 
 During September, 1880, Bill was performing at Pope's 
 theater in St. Louis, having with his company the cel- 
 ebrated marksman Ira Paine, whose exhibitions of rifle 
 
HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 and pistol shooting have been witnessed with delight by 
 thousands of people in various cities of the United States. 
 
 One morning, as a number of Bill's and Paine's friends, 
 among others Capt. D. L. Payne, the scout, and Dr. 
 Voerster, ex-Coroner of St. Louis, were engaged in 
 friendly conversation, a dispute arose respecting the 
 relative abilities, as marksmen, of Bill and Ira Paine. 
 As a result of the dispute a contest was arranged to take 
 place the following afternoon at the Fair Grounds, a 
 wager being laid of a basket of champagne and a supper 
 of oysters, Capt. Payne backing Bill and Ira Paine bet- 
 ting on himself. The shooting was to consist of rifle 
 and pistol practice, steady and snap shots, at a mark and 
 flying glass balls. 
 
 The terms and place having been agreed upon, the 
 party, reinforced by several other friends, repaired to the 
 Fair Grounds, where the contest took place. Buffalo 
 Bill won with such ease in all the variety of shots, that 
 comparison in the contest would be ridiculous. Out of 
 one hundred glass balls thrown from a distance of 
 forty yards, Bill broke ninety-eight and chipped another, 
 making ninety-nine out of a possible hundred. A dis- 
 pute arose over the one ball that was chipped, some con- 
 tending that it was missed, while Capt. Payne maintained 
 that it was struck, and to prove his assertion he walked 
 out on the field, and picking up the ball, was returning 
 with it to the crowd, when Bill shouted to him : 
 
 " Hold on, Payne ; let me cut the ashes off your cigar 
 without touching the fire." 
 
 Payne stopped, and turning his face sideways, per- 
 mitted Bill to fire. The bullet struck the ashes, leaving 
 the fire exposed. 
 
 "Now," said Bill, "I'll cut off the tip end of the 
 cigar, so that you will only lose the fire." 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 
 
 40? 
 
408 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Payne held himself stiff and perfectly steady while Bill 
 performed the second feat successfully. These wonder- 
 ful exhibitions of skill elicited great applause, as though 
 they were made with a Winchester rifle. Payne started 
 toward the crowd, but when within twenty yards, 
 Bill again called out to him : 
 
 "Stop again, Payne, and I'll see if I can't cut the 
 cigar out of your mouth with this pistol without touching 
 your lips." 
 
 Payne, fearing nothing, at once turned sideways again, 
 but the crowd thought the danger of such a shot was too 
 great, and begged Bill not to try it. But Payne said 
 with some warmth : 
 
 " Let him shoot ; Buffalo Bill always hits what he aims 
 at," 
 
 Dr. Voerster, who is an excellent shot himself, still 
 protested, but when he found that there was a determi- 
 nation to attempt the feat, he walked out to Payne, and 
 placing his hands on either side of the scout's head, stead- 
 ied him while Bill shot. At the crack of the pistol Payne 
 turned about and exhibited a little stump of his cigar, the 
 part he held between his teeth. The bullet had 
 struck under his moustache and cut off the cigar withir 
 less than a quarter of an inch off his lips. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL, 409 
 
 CHAPTEK XXIV. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 BUFFALO BILL is one of the few famous scouts who 
 has justly won the renown which encircles his name. His 
 exploits have been so numerous, involving a display of 
 such extraordinary daring and magnificent nerve that 
 language cannot exaggerate them. Gen. Sheridan makes 
 bold to assert that Buffalo BiJ has killed more Indians 
 than any white man that ever lived. It would be no 
 credit to the daring scout if these Indians had fallen with- 
 out justification, but since they were the victims of legit- 
 imate war, and were slain in the performance of a sworn 
 duty, he may properly wear the laurels and deserve the 
 plaudits of civilization whose effective instrument he has 
 ever been. 
 
 Before closing this narrative of his wonderful life, I 
 cannot resist the temptation to include a few words re- 
 specting his social relations, which are so amiable that no 
 man can possibly be happier than he. 
 
 In May, the present year (1881), I received an invita- 
 tion from Buffalo Bill to visit him , which I accepted with 
 much pleasure, as it afforded me the opportunity I so 
 much desired for acquainting myself with his personal pe- 
 culiarities and social surroundings. Upon returning from 
 that visit I prepared a correspondence for the ' 'American 
 Traveler's Journal," recounting mv exceedingly pleasant 
 experiences with the celebrated scout and his family, ex- 
 tracts from which I will here reproduce for the purpose 
 of giving the reader an idea of his entertaining character, 
 and the interesting nature of his surroundings : 
 
 I met Mr. Cody, by arrangement, in Omaha on the 5th, 
 
410 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 where I was received with that generous cordiality for 
 which he is distinguished, and remained with him in that 
 city during two days, in order to attend an entertain- 
 ment at Brown ell Seminary, at which institution his 
 beautiful daughter, Arta, is a student. En passant I will 
 be excused for remarking that Miss Arta, though but 
 fourteen years of age, is one of the most charming and 
 interesting young ladies it has been my fortune to meet. 
 She is accomplished both in music and rudimentary litera- 
 ture, being a thorough student, and free from the vanity 
 which so frequently turns the heads of much less handsome 
 young girls. With her beauty and accomplishments, 
 she combines that noble trait of loving devotion to her 
 mother and father, inheriting much of the peculiarities of 
 the latter ; especially her facility in shooting and riding, 
 in both of which she has few superiors. 
 
 On Saturday, the 7th, I departed in Mr. Cody's compa, 
 ny for his home, which we reached at 2 A. M., to find hk 
 wife and younger daughter, Ora, eight years of age, 
 awaiting us with buggies, in which we rode to his beauti- 
 ful residence, which is situated one mile west of North 
 Platte, near the U. P. railroad track. This house, built 
 after a design furnished by his estimable wife, combines all 
 the elegancies of a thorough mansion. It has three large 
 intersecting parlors, the floors are covered with luxurious 
 carpets, and the walls bedecked with handsome paintings, 
 the more conspicuous being pictures of his family and fron- 
 tier friends, Wild Bill, Capt. Jack Crawford, Texas Jack, 
 hunting scenes, Indian battles, etc. In addition to these, 
 there is a fine piano and an organ, on both of which instru- 
 ments Mrs. Cody and her elder daughter ^tre excellent 
 performers. The table is beautified with taaten silver, 
 and the cellar filled with the finest wines and choicest 
 liquors ; for there is a constant stream of visitors, and to 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 411 
 
 entertain guests in regal style is a forte peculiar to Buffalo 
 Bill and his elegant wife. 
 
 On the morning following our arrival at North Platte, 
 with the first intimation that Buffalo Bill had returned 
 home, the town put on its wardrobe of congratulations ; 
 flags went up, and the visitors flocked down on him with 
 welcomes so hearty as to approach an ovation. His pop- 
 ularity reverses the biblical adage, " A prophet is not 
 without honor save in his own country." 
 
 Omitting details of his reception by the citizens, de- 
 lighted to see him again after a nine months' absence as 
 a popular theatrical star in the East, by his invitation a 
 party was at once collected, and on horseback we rode 
 southward for a hunt near C. H. Groner's (the sheriff's) 
 ranche. The season was too early for antelope, so we had 
 to content ourselves with smaller game, such as ducks, 
 snipe and curlews, which were none too plenty. But in 
 addition to the pleasure of killing several birds, I met 
 with the characters known as " cow-boys," with whose 
 peculiar manners I sought to familiarize myself by re- 
 maining over night at the ranche, and participating in 
 their games and duties. A shot at a passing coyote was 
 the only thing affording any excitement, but this very 
 soon disappeared with the little animal, and the follow- 
 ing day I was glad to return in a buggy sent for me. 
 
 Beyond the little rifle-practice we had indulged in at 
 Buffalo Bill's house and on the prairie, which I consid- 
 ered creditable to the entire party participating, I had 
 not yet seen anything of special importance, but it was 
 reserved for me to witness remarkable sights on Tuesday, 
 which would have compensated for a trip a thousand 
 times greater. Early in the morning of that day, the 
 preliminaries having been arranged the evening previous, 
 a party consisting of Buffalo Bill and wife, ex-Congress^ 
 
412 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 man Taft, wife and daughter, Major Heinman and wife, 
 with the writer acting as cavalier to the rear, started out 
 for a picnic excursion eight miles north of the town, 
 taking guns of various calibre with us, and ammunition 
 sufficient to provide for an incessant fusilade on glas 
 balls, birds and game. The commissary, which wa 
 under the immediate supervision of Mrs. Cody, was all 
 that the most fastidious epicurean could have desired, 
 consisting of abundant substantiate, as well as those rare 
 and dainty delicacies which good housewives know so 
 well how to prepare. To these we were all devoutly 
 attached, even to the uttermost vestige of the pro vision- 
 ary spread. 
 
 When the feasting was over, Buffalo Bill consented to 
 amuse the company for a time with some of his prairie 
 pastimes. At first I was quite willing to lay wagers of 
 ten cents a shot against his hitting flying glass balls, 
 hurled by myself, with his Winchester, but as the ap- 
 pearances very soon convinced me that if I continued the 
 betting without hedging I would have to be sent home 
 C. O. D., I adopted a wiser course. But I got even with 
 him by accepting his bets that I could not hit consecutive 
 stationary glass balls, at ten paces, with his gallery rifle. 
 
 But the most exciting part of the entertainment was 
 reserved for the last, which was a tableau of unparalleled 
 riding and marksmanship. Mounting his gray pony, 
 from whose back a shot had never before been fired, Bill 
 rode out from the camp with his Winchester, I accompa- 
 nying him on a fleet horse. Marking objects on the 
 route by pointing to them, as the insubordination of his 
 horse precluded the possibility of first locating the marks 
 along a defined route, Bill put his steed upon the run and 
 began firing right and left, shooting at a distance of fifty 
 and seventy-five yards. At every shot the horse would 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL, 413 
 
 jump sideways so violently that it appeared impossible 
 for the agile rider to keep his seat ; yet he seemed like a 
 veritable centaur, so perfectly was his equilibrium main- 
 tained while his hands were both occupied in handling 
 the gun, which he fired with a rapidity most astonishing. 
 Not only did he thus exhibit a truly wonderful accom- 
 plishment as a rider, but his marksmanship was equally 
 astonishing, for with all his rapid firing from a running, 
 fractious horse the bullets were invariably sent with a 
 precision which would have won honor for an expert 
 shooting from the ground at a target. Surprise cannot 
 express my feelings at witnessing the remarkable feats he 
 accomplished with rifle on horseback. His tours through 
 the country as an actor have familiarized nearly every 
 one in the United States with his accuracy of aim, which 
 has elicited such spontaneous plaudits from admiring 
 audiences ; yet Buffalo Bill on the stage is but a by-play 
 to Buffalo Bill on the plains. It is only on the broad 
 prairies, beyond the boundaries of confinement, that his 
 skill can be shown to advantage, and with a fleet, wild 
 horse Buffalo Bill surpasses the most preposterous exag- 
 gerations of the Leather Stocking stories. 
 
 Socially, this genuine hero in deed and reputation is 
 one of the most generous and noble-hearted of men. To 
 meet him is to be his friend. He is the very soul of hu- 
 mor and anecdote, regaling a camp with an inexhaustible 
 fund of rare experiences and witticisms. At Omaha 
 we met Lieut. Frederick Schwatka, the most successful 
 of all arctic explorers, who recently found the remain 3 of 
 thirty members of the ill-fated Franklin expedition. 
 Schwatka and Bill have been in three different expeditions 
 together, one as chief of scouts, and the other as lieuten- 
 ant in the regular army, and both under Gen. Crook. 
 
 The following story was told to me by the Lieutenant, 
 
414 HEKOES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 who regards Bill with a friendship which he delights in. 
 During the expedition of 1874 in the Big Horn country, 
 when Gen. Crook was operating against the Si >ux, the 
 command had pitched camp in the canons, where they 
 were momentarily expecting an attack. Buffalo Bill, as 
 chief of scouts, being well acquainted with the country 
 and the peculiarities of the Indians, was given practical 
 command of the Snake Indians, who were co-operating 
 with the expedition. One night Bill selected one of the 
 friendly Indians to act as corporal of the guard, giving 
 him minute instructions to call the guard every two hours 
 and send a relief. In order to give the Indian a better 
 idea of the time, Bill gave him his watch, saying : 
 
 "Now, take this watch, and hold it in your hand; 
 when the big hand goes around twice and the little one 
 moves two figures, that will show you two hours have 
 passed, and you must then put out a new guard." 
 
 The Indian, having never before seen a watch, was so 
 pleased with it that he assured Bill he understood his in- 
 structions, being anxious to look at the attractive play- 
 thing, as he considered it. 
 
 Taking a position by the camp-fire, the Indian held the 
 watch carefully in his hand, listened to its ticking, arid 
 then watched the hands. After spending five or six 
 hours in this manner he lost all interest in the watch, and 
 going over to Bill's tent, he awakened him and said : 
 
 "D n Melican man; him fool Indian long time" 
 (pointing to the watch) ; "big hand all right, but little 
 hand, him d n tired," and threw the watch to Bill. 
 
 The Indian had got the information badly mixed, 
 thinking that both hands of the watch should make the 
 circuit of the dial in the same time, and becoming dis- 
 gusted with the "tired" movement of the smaller hand, 
 he thought Bill had been playing a trick on him ; he there- 
 fore refused to act as corporal any longer. 
 
LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL. 415 
 
 During the same expedition the Lieutenant and Bill left 
 camp one afternoon to bathe in the Sweet water. While 
 they were in the stream the Lieutenant discovered a sage- 
 hen in the brush on the bank, and as fresh meat had be- 
 come an exceedingly scarce article in that section, the 
 two were very anxious to kill the bird. They had but 
 one pistol between them, and both wanted to do the 
 shooting, trusting in their respective abilities to kill the 
 hen. The Lieutenant, however, secured the first shot, 
 but missed. Bill then grabbed the pistol, saying, " You 
 can't shoot for cold beans ; I'll show you how to profit by 
 this opportunity." Taking fair aim, Bill fired, but he 
 also missed. He considered the miss an accident, howev- 
 er, and refusing to give the Lieutenant another chance, 
 he kept firing until the six chambers of the pistol were 
 emptied without touching the bird. Incensed at his bad 
 shooting, he then hurled the pistol at the bird and lucky 
 circumstance killed it ! This joke has been following 
 Buffalo Bill ever since the return of the expedition, and 
 it will probably dog his trails so long as he continues to be 
 a crack shot. 
 
 While I was in North Platte I heard another excellent 
 joke on Bill, which furnishes too strong a temptation 
 for me to resist relating : It is well known that he is the 
 most liberal giver in Nebraska. Although far from bo- 
 ing a church-goer, he nevertheless, contributes to th 
 church with a wonderful liberality. When the first fine 
 church building was completed in North Platte, proposi- 
 tions were made for opening it with grand dedicatory 
 ceremonies. Mrs. Cody was anxious to have her hus^ 
 band attend, and continued to persuade him until he 
 consented-* not, however, until he had warned her that he 
 was almost certain to make a "bad break in meeting." 
 
 In opening the song service the choir occupied a choral 
 
 26 
 
416 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 gallery in the front part of the church, and the leader 
 chanced to be a lady who, while she was an excellent 
 organist, had a screechy voice tuned in so high a key that 
 no one could follow her. Nevertheless it devolved on 
 her to start the tune, both by voice and instrument. 
 She began : 
 
 " My soul's in arms ten thousand foes arise ; " 
 but she saw the key was pitched up about seven octavea 
 above the door-step of heaven, so she halted a moment, 
 and again started : 
 
 " My soul's in arms ten thousand foes arise." 
 But she got it down not more than a single note, which 
 left the other portion of the choir and audience on theii 
 tip-toes, and even then they wanted several feet of reach- 
 ing the summit of the air. Bill turned half-way round 
 in his seat, and looking up toward the aerial singer, 
 cried, " Start it at five thousand, and maybe we can get 
 in." The audience were unable to control their risibili- 
 ties, while Bill accepted his wife's invitation to retire. 
 
 Such jokes as these are numerous as blades of prairie 
 grass about North Platte, Buffalo Bill always figuring as 
 the chief character. I never enjoyed a visit so much as 
 the brief one I paid Buffalo Bill, and not more to him than 
 to his most estimable and handsome wife am I indebted 
 for courtesies which I shall ever regard as souvenirs of a 
 jolly time in North Platte. 
 
 The success of Buffalo Bill's theatrical enterprises has 
 been surprisingly great; I say surprisingly because he 
 has scarcely an equal in the mimic arena, being now reck- 
 oned the third richest actor in America, notwithstanding 
 the fact that his personal expenses are perhaps greater 
 than those of any other character on the stage, and UIB 
 career dates only since 1873, He combines many rare 
 qualities of conception, organization and management, 
 
LIFE OP BUFFALO BILL. 417 
 
 which force success where all others would fail. His 
 ingenuity and business judgment has long been pro- 
 nounced ; but his flattering reputation in this respect 
 has been far transcended by an enterprise which he 
 originated in the summer of 1883 ; one that is at once so 
 grand and ambitious that in speaking of it P. T. Barnum 
 was lead to declare Buffalo Bill the greatest organizer of 
 successful combinations to please public taste in the 
 world. 
 
 The enterprise of which I speak is a vivid illustration 
 of what he calls " Wild Life in the Far West." In it he 
 has associated with himself Dr. W. F. Carver, the ac- 
 knowledged champion rifle, pistol and shot-gun expert of 
 the world. Cody and Carver are the proprietors of the 
 combination ; they have traveling with them during the 
 summer season sixty Indians, as many horses, also herds 
 of elk, buffalo, and the most skillful lariat throwers to 
 be found either in the West or Mexico. Their entertain- 
 ments are in the open air, being usually given in fair 
 grounds, and consist in shooting, reckless riding, lasso- 
 ing elk and buffalo, illustrating Indian attacks on stage 
 coaches, in canons, and on settlements. In short, giv- 
 ing a realistic panorama of the wild life through which 
 Buffalo Bill has passed. This brilliant conception is thus 
 far his crowning achievement, and to speak of it as a 
 success does not express the real triumph it has obtained 
 wherever the show has been given. It is a fitting con- 
 clusion to the exciting life-labors of the only Buffalo Bill 
 that the West is capable of bringing into world-wide 
 noxice for genuine achievements. 
 
418 
 
LIFE OF CALIFORNIA JOE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE Man in the Iron Mask and the author of the Jo* 
 nius letters are the great unsolved personalities of history ; 
 but while a comparison between these and California Joe 
 would appear, in some degree, ridiculous to the aesthetic 
 student of human nature, yet in so far as identity alone 
 is concerned they were not altogether unlike ; though the 
 character of the Wandering Jew would afford an alto- 
 gether more appropriate resemblance when considering 
 alone the odd traits and singular adventures of this great 
 plainsman. 
 
 Who was California Joe? This question many may 
 consider themselves able to answer, but no one, perhaps, 
 can distinguish between the California Joes who have 
 figured in so many escapades attributed to this enigmatic 
 character, for there has been more than one person to 
 adopt the title. Where was he born? No one will at- 
 tempt to answer. The California Joe who hunted, trail- 
 ed, fought and slept beside Gen. Custer and Buffalo Bill 
 is believed to have been a native of Kentucky. Buffalo 
 Bill maintains that his real name was Joseph Milmer, 
 while Capt. Payne declares that his name was Joseph 
 Hawkins, and, as a further proof of the claim, asserts 
 that Joe was a distant relative of Daniel Boone, and also 
 his (Payne's) third cousin. We are only able to say, 
 
 419 
 
420 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 therefore, that California Joe was singularly reticent con- 
 cerning his early life, and died at last with his full iden- 
 tity unsolved. For what facts I here present concerning 
 his life I am indebted to Buffalo Bill and Capt. Payne, 
 and it is this reason which has prompted me to respect 
 the opinions of each by giving their assertions, not, how- 
 ever, with any desire to involve them in any further dis- 
 cussion concerning Joe's real name. 
 
 The first thrilling adventure in which California Joe 
 participated, of which I have any information, may be 
 described as follows : 
 
 In the summer of 1849 a party of sixty-five hardy ad' 
 venturers from Kentucky, with California Joe as their 
 leader, attempted an overland journey to California, be- 
 ing impelled by the golden stories of newly discovered 
 wealth along the San Juan . They proceeded without in- 
 terruption for several weeks, when they reached a canon 
 near Pueblo. Here a camp was made just before night- 
 fall, and as the party had never been initiated into the 
 perils of Indian treachery, they did not consider the im- 
 portance of anticipating and guarding against an attack 
 from these prairie nomads. 
 
 During the still hours of night, when the entire party 
 was sound in slumber, perchance dreaming of vast treas- 
 ures and the exaggerated blessings which wealth provides, 
 a band of two hundred vindictive Cheyennes descended, 
 likes wolves upon the fold, from the hillsides, and poured 
 into the camp before there was even a suspicion of their 
 proximity. Lance and arrow, tomahawk and war club, 
 soon destroyed the bright dreams, the golden anticipa- 
 tions, and out of the party of sixty-five only two escaped, 
 one of whom was California Joe, but even he was badly 
 wounded. (Two persons who were well acquainted with 
 Joe during his life assert that his wife and two little boys 
 were killed at the same time.) 
 
LIFE OF CALIFORNIA JOE. 421 
 
 In the darkness of the night Joe succeeded in eluding 
 the savages while thej were mutilating and dancing over 
 the bodies of his dead comrades, and crawling to the Ar- 
 kansas River, one mile distant, embarked on a log, upon 
 which he floated down to Ft. Lyon, where he was taken 
 out of the water and cared for. 
 
 Although this, his first experience on the plains, had 
 been tempered with sore adventure, it was scarcely two 
 months after this event when he again attempted the 
 overland trip to California. He had with him this time 
 but two companions, and having been chastened for his 
 lack of precaution, he now fully appreciated the fruits of 
 that lesson. A guard was therefore constantly main- 
 tained, but even this did not avail against what appeared 
 a decree of bitter fate. 
 
 The three were attacked by twenty-five Utahs, as they 
 were passing through the gateway of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains, and after a bitter struggle Joe's comrades were 
 killed and himself taken prisoner. The Indians bound 
 him securely on a pony, after which they started off 
 northward with their prisoner. The terrible forebodings 
 which his helpless condition prompted as he rode silently 
 beside his cruel captors, as Joe afterward expressed it, 
 was "tearin' to a sinner's soul." 
 
 Just before dark the Indians halted in a valley beside 
 Green River and then deliberately began to make prepara- 
 tions for punishing their victim. Joe was first taken 
 from the pony he had been riding and laid upon the 
 grass, where he was watched by a single warrior, while 
 the others busied themselves gathering dry wood, which 
 they piled in a circle about a tree. 
 
 The fiendish intentions of his enemies were now re- 
 vealed to Joe, for these preparations he knew meant 
 death at the stake. Seeing that his life was to end in 
 
422 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 torture, he made a desperate effort to free himself, hop- 
 ing that his actions would cause some of the Indians to 
 kill him at once, but knowing their captive to be well 
 bound the savages gave no heed to his writhings. 
 
 When the circle of wood was completed and ready for 
 lighting, the savages carried their victim to the tree, and 
 despite his struggles, bound him fast, his back being 
 drawn tight! j against the trunk of the tree. The sacri- 
 fice now being prepared, one of the Indians, who was evi- 
 dently a chief, drew a large knife, with which he cut off 
 the outer rim of each of Joe's ears, placing the bleeding 
 flesh inside his beautifully beaded belt. 
 
 When this part of the ceremony was concluded, the 
 Indians executed a war dance around their victim , in or- 
 der, no doubt, to torture him with the dread anticipation 
 of his approaching fate. 
 
 Darkness now had fairly settled down, as if to hide 
 the dark and dreadful deed, and accepting this pall of 
 nature as the most opportune time for their hellish design, 
 the circle of wood was lighted in a dozen places, after 
 which the Indians sat down around the fire, filled their 
 pipes and entered upon the full enjoyment of the bar- 
 becue. 
 
 As the fire had been intentionally placed a little distance 
 from Joe's feet, in order that he might first feel its dis- 
 comforting heat, thereby prolonging the torture, he had 
 time to yell vigorously, this being his only hope of rescue 
 from sudden death, considering all the while a possibility of 
 so provoking the Indians that they would kill him out- 
 right. 
 
 His lusty shouts, together with the illumination on the 
 clouds from the fire about him, by extraordinary good 
 fortune, attracted the attention of a party of trappers, 
 who chanced to be camped on Green River, within less 
 
LIFE OF CALIFORNIA JOE. 425 
 
 than half a mile from the place where Joe was being 
 sacrificed. Knowing that something was wrong, the trap- 
 pers, fifty in number, rushed down toward the spot indi- 
 cated by the cries, and approaching carefully they dis- 
 covered the situation. With a deadly volley from their 
 rifles, twelve Indians dropped over dead with smoking 
 pipes in their hands. Another volley followed swiftly 
 after the firsthand when the trappers rushed to the res- 
 cue of Joe they found eighteen savages ready for the 
 scalping. Poor fellow ! the fire had wrinkled his buck- 
 skin clothes, and so burnt the skin on his lower limbs 
 that large pieces fell off ; though the pain he suffered 
 was most excruciating, yet the injuries were not of a 
 serious character. He was taken to the trappers' camp 
 and treated with all the consideration and kindness friends 
 are capable of giving. Upon his recovery, some weeks 
 after his wonderful escape from the most horrible of 
 deaths, Joe became associated with the party in their oc- 
 cupation, and followed trapping for more than a year in 
 the company of his rescuers. 
 
 CHAPTER H 
 
 CALIFORNIA JOE'S courtship and marriage, as told by 
 himself, and repeated in sweet, pathetic story by one of 
 nature's noblemen, Capt. Jack Crawford, is unquestion- 
 ably one of the most sympathetic and lovingly sorrowful 
 recitals that was ever created by imagination or found in 
 any of the peculiar phases of human life. Its reproduc- 
 tion here will thrill the hearts of every lover of the most 
 noble instincts of nature, and perhaps bring tears to the 
 
426 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 eyes of many, moved by that fellow-feeling which estab* 
 lishas a universal kinship among mankind : 
 
 Well, mates, I don't like stories, 
 
 Nor am I going to act 
 A part around this camp fire 
 
 That ain't a truthful fact. 
 So fill your pipes and listen, 
 
 I'll tell you let me see, 
 I think it was in fifty, 
 
 From that till sixty-three. 
 
 You've all heard tell of Bridger? 
 I used to run with Jim, 
 
 And many a hard day's scouting 
 I've done 'longside of him. 
 
 Well, once, near old Fort Reno, 
 A trapper used to dwell ; 
 
 We called him old Pap Reynolds- 
 The scouts all knew him well. 
 
 One night the spring of fifty 
 
 We camped on Powder River ; 
 We killed a calf of buffalo, 
 
 And cooked a slice of liver ; 
 While eating, quite contented, 
 
 We heard three shots or four ; 
 Put out the fire and listened, 
 
 Then heard a dozen more. 
 
 We knew that old man Reynolds 
 Had moved his traps up here ; 
 
 So, picking up our rifles, 
 And fixing on our gear, 
 
LITE OF CALIFORNIA JOE. 427 
 
 We mounted quick as lightnin' 
 
 To save was our desire. 
 Too late ; the painted heathens 
 
 Had set the house on fire. 
 
 We tied our horses quickly, 
 
 And waded up the stream ; 
 While close beside the water 
 
 I heard a muffled scream, 
 And there among the bushes, 
 
 A little girl did lie ; 
 I picked her up and whispered, 
 
 " PU save you, or Pll die! " 
 
 Lord, what a nde ! old Bridger, 
 
 He covered my retreat, 
 Sometimes the child would whisper, 
 
 In voice so low and sweet, 
 " Poor papa ! God will take him 
 
 To mamma up above ; 
 There's no one left to love me 
 
 There's no one left to love.*' 
 
 The little one was thirteen, 
 
 And I was twenty-two. 
 Said I ; " I'll be your father, 
 
 And love you just as true." 
 She nestled to my bosom, 
 
 Her hazel eyes so bright, 
 Looked up and made me happy, 
 
 Though close pursued that night. 
 
 A month had passed, and Maggie 
 (We called her Hazel-Eye), 
 
HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 In truth, was going to leave me - 
 "Was going to say " good-bye." 
 
 Her uncle, mad Jack Reynolds 
 Reported long since dead 
 
 Had come to claim my angel, 
 His brother's child, he said. 
 
 What could I say? We parted. 
 
 Mad Jack was growing old ; 
 I handed him a bank-note, 
 
 And all I had in gold. 
 They rode away at sunrise, 
 
 I went a mile or two, 
 And, parting, said : " We'll meet again*** 
 
 May God watch over you." 
 
 Beside a laughing, dancing brook, 
 
 A little cabin stood, 
 As, weary with a long day's scout, 
 
 I spied it in the wood. 
 A pretty valley stretched beyond, 
 
 The mountains towered above, 
 While near the willow bank I heard 
 
 The cooing of a dove. 
 
 'Twos one grand panorama ; 
 The brook was plainly seen, 
 
 Like a long thread of silver 
 In a cloth of lovely green. 
 
 The laughter of the waters, 
 The cooing of the dove, 
 
 Was like some painted picture- 
 Some well-told tale of love. 
 
LIFE OF CALIFOENIA JOB. 
 
 While drinking in the grandeur, 
 
 And resting in my saddle, 
 I heard a gentle ripple, 
 
 Like the dipping of a paddle. 
 I turned toward the eddy 
 
 A strange sight met my view : 
 A maiden, with her rifle, 
 
 In a little bark canoe. 
 
 She stood up in the centre, 
 
 The rifle to her eye ; 
 I thought (just for a second) 
 
 My time had come to die. 
 I doffed my hat and told her 
 
 (If it was all the same) 
 To drop her little shooter, 
 
 For I was not her game. 
 
 She dropped the deadly weapon* 
 
 And leaped from the canoe. 
 Said she : " I beg your pardon, 
 
 I thought you were a Sioux ; 
 Your long hair and your buckskin 
 
 Looked warrior-like and rough ; 
 My bead was spoiled by sunshine, 
 
 Or I'd killed you, sure enough." 
 
 ** Perhaps it had been better 
 
 You dropped me then," said I; 
 "For surely such an angel 
 
 Would bear me to the sky." 
 She blushed and dropped her eyelids j 
 
 Her cheeks were crimson red ; 
 One half -shy glance she gave me, 
 
 And then hung down her head. 
 
80 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 I took her little hand in mine- 
 She wondered what I meant, 
 
 And yet she drew it not away, 
 But rather seemed content. 
 
 We sat upon the mossy bank 
 Her eyes began to fill 
 
 The brook was rippling at our feet* 
 The dove was cooing still. 
 
 I smoothed the golden tresses, 
 Her eyes looked up in mine. 
 
 She seemed in doubt then whispered: 
 " "Tis such a long, long time 
 
 Strong arms were thrown around 
 Til save you, or I'll die." 
 
 I clasped her to my bosom- 
 My long-lost Hazel-Eye. 
 
 The rapture of that moment 
 
 Was almost heaven to me ; 
 I kissed her 'mid her tear-dropa, 
 
 Her innocence and glee ; 
 Her heart near mine was beating, 
 
 While sobbingly she said : 
 "My dear, my brave preserver, 
 
 They told me you were dead. 
 
 "But, oh I those parting words, Joe, 
 
 Have never left my mind, 
 You said : 'We'll meet again, Mag,' 
 
 Then rode off like the wind ; 
 And, oh I how I have prayed, Jos, 
 
 For you, who saved my life. 
 That God would send an an^rct 
 
 To guard ; ou through all strife. 
 
LIFE OF CALIFORNIA JOB. 
 
 "And he who claimed me from you, 
 
 My uncle, good and true 
 Now sick in yonder cabin 
 
 Has talked so much of you. 
 ' If Joe were living, darling/ 
 
 He said to me last night, 
 * He would care for Maggie, 
 
 When God puts out my light.' * 
 
 We found the old man sleeping. 
 
 "Hush ! Maggie, let him rest." 
 The sun was slowly sinking 
 
 In the far-off glowing west ; 
 And tho' we talked in whispers, 
 
 He opened wide his eyes, 
 " A dream a dream I " he murmured, 
 
 " Alas I a dream of lies I " 
 
 She drifted like a shadow 
 
 To where the old man lay, 
 "You had a dream, dear uncle, 
 
 Another dream to-day?" 
 " Oh, yes ; I saw an angel, 
 
 As pure as mountain snow, 
 And near her, at my bedside, 
 Stood California Joe." 
 
 "I'm sure Tm not an angel, 
 
 Dear uncle, that you know ; 
 These arms are brown, my hands, too 
 
 My face is cot like snow,- 
 now, listen wnlle 1 tell 
 
 For I have news to 
 And Hazel-Eye is 
 
 For Joe is truly here. 
 
433 HEKOES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 And when a few days after, 
 
 The old man said to me, 
 'Joe. boy, she ar' a angel, 
 
 An* good as angels be ; 
 For three long months she's hunted 
 
 An' trapped an' nurs'd me, too ; 
 God bless ye, boy ! I believe it 
 
 She's safe along wi' you." 
 
 The sun was slowly sinking, 
 
 When Mag (my wife) and I 
 Came riding through the valley, 
 
 The tear-drops in her eye, 
 "One year ago, to-day, Joe 
 
 I see the mossy grave 
 We laid him 'neath the daisies, 
 
 My uncle, good and brave." 
 
 And, comrades, every spring-time 
 
 Was sure to find me thyere 
 A something in that valley 
 
 Was always fresh and fair ; 
 Our loves were newly kindled 
 
 -While sitting by the stream, 
 Where two hearts were united 
 
 In love's sweet, happy dream. 
 
 There is another part to this beautiful sti>ry, founded 
 as it is on fact, which, owing to its singular harmony with 
 the sentiment expressed in this poem of Capt. Jack's, fur- 
 ther illustrates the large-hearted devotion of California 
 Joe, and ought therefore to be added. It is as follows : 
 
 An old trapper named Reynolds, one of the rery first 
 white men that ever set foot in the Black Hills country, 
 
LIFE OF CALIFORNIA JOE. 433 
 
 had settled on the Yellowstone with his large family of 
 children, among the number being a very beautiful little 
 girl eleven years of age, whose name was Maggie. She 
 was not only of a winsome figure, lovely in feature and 
 disposition, but also very precocious for one of her age. 
 Young as she was, nothing so charmed her youthful ambi- 
 tion as the chase. With a rifle, the very weight of which 
 was a burden scarcely to be borne by such tender shoul- 
 ders, she day after day scouted in the vicinity of the old 
 cabin, killing deer and even attacking more dangerous 
 game, such as bears and wolves. 
 
 One day little Maggie went hunting, as usual, never 
 straying far from home, but when night drew on apace 
 she had not returned. The mother became somewhat 
 anxious at her daughter's prolonged absence ; but when 
 darkness fell, and the hours of night sped by one after 
 another, anxiety grew into alarm and a search was insti- 
 tuted. Father, mother, brothers, all joined in the hunt, 
 each calling aloud, from time to time, the name of the 
 lost one, but no response came. This search was contin- 
 ued for several days and until the distracted parents 
 finally concluded that the child had either been carried off 
 and devoured by some wild animal, or had been kidnapped 
 by the Indians, the latter supposition occurring to them 
 as more reasonable. 
 
 Some months after this sad occurrence, California Joe 
 while trapping on the Yellowstone, visited old man Rey- 
 nolds, and during this visit was made acquainted with the 
 circumstances of little Maggie's strange disappearance. 
 He at once exclaimed : 
 
 "I'll bet a silver fox's skin that that ar gal is now 
 with them thar tarnal Cheyennes ; ' fact I already hearn 
 thar was a white face 'mong them wretches." 
 
 Hearing this assertion, Mrs. Eeynolds began to lament > 
 
 26 
 
434 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 but between her sobs of grief she pleadingly inquired it 
 there were any means by which her daughter could be 
 rescued. 
 
 " Yer bet thar is," replied Joe, "and more than that, 
 Mrs. Reynolds, I'll just undertake to find her myself." 
 
 Joe remained over night with the Reynolds family, but 
 on the following morning at an early hour, he gathered 
 up his rifle and 'bidding them good bye, set off in search of 
 the little girl. 
 
 He proceeded to a spot where he knew a party of 
 Cheyennes were encamped, with whom he had done some 
 trading only a few days before. Finding the Indians, he 
 selected four of the tribe he was best acquainted with, 
 and after treating them to a large bottle of frontier 
 whisky, he made a contract (stipulating more fire-water) 
 with the savage quartette for the restoration of the child. 
 These four Indians set out directly to find a large village 
 of their tribe located near the headwaters of the Mis- 
 souri. They not only succeeded in finding their red 
 brothers, but getting into camp it was not long ere they 
 also discovered the little pale face in the custody of an 
 old squaw who was using Maggie as a servant. 
 
 By skillful insinuation they at length managed to com* 
 mumcatewith the little girl, 'and acquainted her with their 
 purpose, arranging at the same time to meet her on the 
 Missouri river bank at midnight with a canoe, to carry 
 her out of the village. The arrangement succeeded most 
 admirably, as the girl, young as she was, employed so 
 much care and cunning that she stole away from the side 
 of her sleeping guard and got out of the tepee without 
 discovery. She then hastened to the trysting place, 
 where she was received by the four waiting Indians, who 
 conveyed her down the river in their canoe to a spot 
 designated by California Joe. 
 
LIFE OF CALIFORNIA JOEL 435 
 
 The girl was missed very soon after her escape from 
 the village, and ten of the Cheyennes started out at once 
 to effect her recapture, but though they made directly 
 toward old man Reynolds' cabin, Joe had preceded them 
 
 The Indians Receiving the White Girl into their Canoe. 
 
 feo /ar that Maggie was restored to her overjoyed parent* 
 before the Indians arrived. When they came up to tha 
 cabin, intending to forcibly retake the girl, they wer$ 
 met by a volley of bullets^froni deadly rifles in the hands 
 
436 HHBOES OP THE PLAINS. 
 
 of Joe and Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, the latter being a 
 true frontiersman's wife, knowing how to shoot as wefl 
 as most crack shots. A lively fight ensued, but protected 
 by the cabin, the party inside sustained no injury, while 
 they succeeded in killing five of the Indians. The coun- 
 try, however, had now become too dangerous for a longer 
 residence on the Yellowstone, and the Reynolds family 
 speedily abandoned their home and fled southward with 
 Joe to the North Platte. 
 
 It has been asserted that California Joe married the 
 little girl he had thus rescued, six years afterward, but it 
 is possible that the name of the girl, Maggie, being the 
 same as that of his wife, gave rise to this belief. The 
 circumstances, as here related, concerning the rescue of 
 Reynolds' daughter, are undoubtedly true, but that he 
 married this same girl afterward is scarcely worthy of 
 belief. Joe himself related the story of his marriage to 
 Capt. Jack, who undoubtedly truthfully repeated it in 
 the beautiful verses already quoted. 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 IN 1857 California Joe removed to Oregon, where he 
 continued trapping and prospecting until the civil war 
 broke out, when he returned to the States, and shortly 
 afterward joined Berdan's sharpshooters, among whom 
 he was regarded as far the most skillful marksman in 
 that arm of the service. 
 
 The following incident is told of him by a war corres- 
 pondent of Harper's Weekly in reporting the first siege 
 of Richmond in 1862 : 
 
LIFE OF CALIFORNIA JOE. 437 
 
 "A rebel sharpshooter had been amusing himself and 
 annoying the General and other officers by firing several 
 times in that direction, and sending the bullets in un- 
 pleasant proximity to their heads. 
 
 " * My man, can't you get your piece on that fellow 
 who is firing on us, and stop his impertinence?' asked 
 the General. 
 
 " *I think so,' replied Joe; and he brought his tel- 
 escopic rifle to a horizontal position. 
 
 " 'Do you see him?' inquired the General. 
 
 " 'I do.' 
 
 ' < ' How far is he away ? ' 
 
 " 'Fifteen hundred yards.' 
 
 " Can you fetch him?' 
 
 " 'I '11 try.' 
 
 "And Joe did try. He brought his piece to a steady 
 aim, pulled the trigger, and sent the bullet whizzing on 
 its experimental tour, the officers meanwhile looking 
 through their field glasses. Joe evidently hit the fellow 
 in the leg or foot, for he went hobbling up the hill on 
 one leg and two hands, in a style of locomotion that was 
 amusing." 
 
 The picture of California Joe given at the commence- 
 ment of this sketch, is from a photograph taken during 
 the siege of Yorktown, by Harper's special artist, and 
 represents him in his position picking off the Confeder- 
 ate gunners. The personality and situation are there- 
 fore true to life. 
 
 At the close of the war Joe became connected with 
 Gen. Curtis, for whom he trailed and did guide service 
 for several years, following him in the Wachita campaign, 
 and afterward with the command scouting through Ne- 
 braska and Dakotah. In Gen. Custer's work, "My 
 Life on the Plains," that gallant officer gives the follow- 
 
438 HEROES OF THE PLAINS, 
 
 ing description of Joe, having reference to the time 
 when his command was operating against Black Kettle, 
 in the Wachita mountains : 
 
 * * In concentrating the cavalry which had hitherto been 
 operating in small bodies, it was found that each detach- 
 ment brought with it the scouts who had been serving 
 with them. When I joined the command I found quite 
 a number of these scouts attached to various portions of 
 the cavalry, but each acting separately. For the purpose 
 of organization it was deemed best to unite them in a sep- 
 arate detachment under command of one of their own 
 number. Being unacquainted with the merits or demer- 
 its of any of them, the selection of a chief had to be 
 made somewhat at random. 
 
 "There was one among their number whose appearance 
 would have attracted the notice of any casual observer. 
 He was a man about forty years>of age, perhaps older, 
 over six feet in height, and possessing a well proportioned 
 frame. His head was covered with a luxuriant crop of 
 long, almost black hair, strongly inclined to curl, and so 
 long as to fall carelessly over his shoulders. His face, 
 at least so much of it as was not concealed by the long, 
 waving brown beard and moustache, was full of intelH, 
 gence and pleasant to look upon. His eye was undoubt- 
 edly handsome, black and lustrous, with an expression 
 of kindness and mildness combined. On his head was 
 generally to be seen, whether awake or asleep, a huge 
 sombrero, or black slouch hat. A soldier's overcoat, 
 with its large circular cape, a pair of trousers with the 
 legs tucked in the top of his long boots, usually consti- 
 tuted the make-up of the man whom I selected as chief 
 scout. He was known by the euphonious title of * Cali- 
 fornia Joe ; ' no other name seemed ever to have been 
 given him, and no other name appeared to be necessary. 
 
LIFE Or CAUFOBNIA JOB. 439 
 
 His military armament consisted of a long, breech-load- 
 ing Springfield musket, from which he was inseparable, 
 and a revolver and hunting-knife, both the latter being 
 carried in his waist-belt. His mount completed his 
 equipment for the field, being, instead of ahorse, a finely 
 formed mule, in whose speed and endurance he had every 
 
 confidence. 
 
 * * * * * * 
 
 " California Joe was an inveterate smoker, and was 
 rarely seen without his stubby, dingy-looking briarwood 
 pipe in full blast. The endurance of his smoking powers 
 was only surpassed by his loquacity. His pipe frequently 
 became exhausted and required filling, but California Joe 
 seemed never to lack for material or disposition to carry 
 on a conversation, principally concerning personal adven- 
 tures among the Indians, episodes in mining life, or expe- 
 rience in overland journeying before the days of steam 
 engines and palace cars rendered a trip across the plains 
 a comparatively uneventful one. It was evident from 
 the scraps of information volunteered from time to time, 
 that there was but little of the Western country, from the 
 Pacific ocean to the Missouri river, with which California 
 Joe was not intimately acquainted . He had lived in Oregon 
 years before, and had become acquainted from time to 
 time with most of the officers who had served on the plains 
 or on the Pacific coast. I once inquired of him if he had 
 ever seen General Sheridan. He answered : 
 
 "'What! General Sheridan? Why, bless my soul, I 
 knowed Sheridan away up in Oregon more'n fifteen years 
 ago, and he wuz only a second lieutenant uv infantry. 
 He was quartermaster uv the foot, er suthin' o' that soil, 
 an' I hed the contract fer furnishin' wood to the post, 
 an', would yer b'leve it? I hed a kind uv a sneakin* no- 
 tion that he'd hurt sombody ef they'd ever turn him 
 loose. Lord, but ain't he old lightnin' I ' 
 
440 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 " This was the man whom, upon a short acquaintance, 
 
 I decided to appoint as chief of the scouts." 
 
 ****** 
 
 ' * As the four detachments already referred to were to 
 move as soon as it was dark, it was desirable that the 
 scouts should be at once organized and assigned. So, 
 sending for California Joe, I informed him of his promo- 
 tion and what was expected of him and his men. After 
 this official portion of the interview had been completed, 
 it seemed proper to Joe's mind that a more intimate ac- 
 quaintance between us should be cultivated, as we had 
 never met before. His first interrogatory, addressed to 
 me in furtherance of this idea, was frankly put as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 *' ' See hyar, Gineral, in order thet we hev no misonder- 
 standin' I'd jist like ter ax ye a few questions. First, 
 are ye an ambulance man er a hoss man ? ' 
 
 " Professing ignorance of his meaning, I requested him 
 to explain. 
 
 " ' I mean,' said he, doyerb'lieve in catehin' Injuns in 
 ambulances or on hossback ? ' 
 
 " Still assuming ignorance, I replied, ' Well, Joe, I be- 
 lieve in catching Indians wherever we can find them, 
 whether they are found in ambulances or on horseback.' 
 
 " * Thet ain't what I'm a drivin' at,' he responded. 
 ' S'pose you're after Injuns and really want to hev a 
 tussle with 'em, would yer start after 'em on hossback 
 er would yer climb inter a ambulance and be hauled after 
 'em? Thet's the pint I'm a headin' fer.' 
 
 " I answered that I would prefer the method on horse- 
 back, provided I really desired to catch the Indians ; but 
 if I wished them to catch me, I would adopt the ambu- 
 lance system of attack. 
 
 " 4 You've hit the nail squar on the head,' said he, ' I've 
 
LIFE OF CALIFORNIA JOE. 441 
 
 bin with 'em on the plains whar they started out after In- 
 juns on wheels jist as ef they war goin' to a town fu- 
 neral in ther States, an' they stood 'bout as many chan- 
 ces uv catchin' Injuns ez a six-mule team would uv catchin* 
 a pack of thievin' ki-o-tes, jist as much. Why, thet sort 
 uv work iz only fun ferthe Injuns ; they don't want any- 
 thing better. Yer ort to 've seed how they peppered it to 
 us, and we a doin' o' nuthin' all the time. Sum uv 'em 
 wuz afraid the mules war goin' to stampede an run off 
 with ther train and all our forage an' grub, but thet wuz 
 impossible ; fer besides the big loads uv corn an' bacon 
 an' baggage the wagons hed in 'em, thar war from eight 
 to a dozen infantry men piled into 'em besides. Yer ort 
 to hev heard the quartermaster in charge uv the train try- 
 in' to drive the infantry men out uv the wagons and git 
 them into ther fight. I 'spect he wuz a Irishman, by Jris 
 talk, fer he said to 'em : " Git out uv thirn wagons ; get 
 out uv thim wagons ; yez' 11 hev me thried fer disobadi- 
 ance uv orders for marchin' tin min in a wagon whin I've 
 ordhers fer but ait.' ' " 
 
 I have quoted somewhat liberally from Gen. Ouster, be- 
 cause that which is repeated above affords an excellent 
 basis upon which to form an opinion of California Joe's 
 unique peculiarities. Old Joe was, however, of so much 
 importance that Custer devotes several pages of his book 
 to a rehearsal of the droll adventures of this singular 
 character. 
 
 After Ouster's fight with Black Kettle, in which a great 
 victory was gained, breaking the power of the Cheyennes 
 completely, Oalifornia Joe was selected as courier to 
 carry the report back to Gen. Sheridan, whose headquar- 
 ters were at Camp Supply. The journey was not more 
 than one hundred miles, but it was through a country lib- 
 erally beset with revengeful Indians. Black Kettle's 
 
442 HEROES OF THE PLAINS, 
 
 forces were, of course, dispersed in the battle and had 
 divided up into small parties so as to facilitate their es- 
 cape ; they had back-tracked in order to again reach the 
 game country of the Indian Nation, and of this fact Cus- 
 ter was well aware when he requested Joe to carry the 
 dispatches, tendering him at the same time, a cavalry es- 
 cort of fifty men. Custer was, therefore, very much 
 surprised to hear Joe say that he wanted no escort and 
 that the only companion he desired on the trip was his 
 "pardner," Jack Corbin, whose peculiar characteristic 
 was extreme taciturnity, the very opposite of Joe, whose 
 loquaciousness was almost phenomenal. It was a singu- 
 lar attachment which bound these two men together, 
 doubtless the desire of one to do all the talking while the 
 other was contented only while doing all the listening. 
 But whatever constituted the bond of friendship between 
 them it was of a material of great strength. 
 
 These two men, Joe and Corbin, set out from Ouster's 
 camping place at nightfall and reached Camp Supply in 
 less than twenty-four hours, though they had to make 
 several wide circuits to avoid the Indians. Delivering 
 
 o 
 
 the dispatches to Sheridan, they received a message for 
 Custer in reply, and with a change of animals, returned 
 to the latter 's camp in just forty-eight hours from the 
 time of their departure. 
 
 During the operations of Custer in the Wachita Moun- 
 tains, and after the defeat of Black Kettle, while the 
 command was encamped, California Joe, Capt. D. L. 
 Payne and four of the soldiers went out several miles 
 from camp for a bear hunt. While riding up a canon 
 just across the boundary line of New Mexico, Joe, who 
 uras in advance, espied seven Indians approaching up tha 
 same canon in single file. In an instant he threw him- 
 self sideways off his mule, which action was followed by 
 
LIFE OF CALIFORNIA JOB. 443 
 
 the rest of his party. Payne, not having observed the 
 Indians, and thinking that Joe had seen a bear, eagerly 
 inquired : 
 
 " Where is it, Joe?" 
 
 ' * Look around that thar boulder and down ther canon ; 
 thar's seven uv 'em," was his reply. 
 
 Payne made the examination as directed, and then see- 
 ing the Indians, remarked : 
 
 "Those are Indians, Joe, and perhaps they are coming 
 in to surrender themselves, or make peace. What do 
 you propose doing?' 
 
 "What do I p'rpose ter do? Why, I p'rpose to take 
 thar scalps ; we'll jist drop behind this here boulder, an* 
 when they come up we'll bag 'em, hide an' all." 
 
 " No, no, Joe, that isn't right ; we ought to first decide 
 whether they are hostiles or not ; the fact is, I believe 
 they are peaceable Indians, or else they would not be 
 riding so leisurely this near Ouster's camp." 
 
 "Look a hyar, Cap, when I make up my mind to kill 
 Injuns no man can pervent me," replied Joe, and quickly 
 dropping his pistol so as to cover Capt. Payne in a vital 
 spot, he concluded the sentence by saying, " an' ef I find 
 it necessary I'll have ter drop yer first ; yer jist keep 
 right still, er off goes yer brain-pan." 
 
 "All right, Joe," Payne answered, "you have th 
 drop on me, but I am not afraid to tackle you in a fair 
 way, even chances, if you are sufficiently offended by my 
 protest to want satisfaction. However, if the majority 
 of the boys favor killing the Indians, then I am satisfied 
 to do my part of it." 
 
 The soldiers favored Joe's proposition, and they there- 
 fore awaited the approach , with guns ready . When the sav- 
 ages came within about thirty-five yardfi of the ambush, 
 Payne noticed that the pony ridden by the leading Indian 
 
444 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 began to sniff and throw his ears forward, which they 
 invariably do when catching the first scent of a white 
 man. 
 
 "Now is your time, or we will be detected," and with 
 this remark the six turned loose their rifles, dropping as 
 many Indians, and as the seventh and last one turned to 
 run, another shot wounded his pony and he was thus 
 placed at the mercy of Joe. But the quality of that 
 mercy was quickly illustrated, for in a moment a ball 
 from the old scout's rifle penetrated the warrior's brain, 
 and then there was work for the scalping knife. 
 
 Joe, with a wave of his hand, said : "Now look a hyar, 
 boys, yu can have the fixtures, but the scalps ar' mine." 
 He then drew his large hunting knife, and mechanically 
 raising the head of each dead Indian, one at a time, he 
 dexterously cut out a large circular piece of scalp and hair, 
 cramming each scalp into his waist-belt as it was extir- 
 pated. 
 
 This adventure terminated the hunt, and they returned 
 to camp with the trophies of their conquest. Shortly 
 afterward the command was ordered to Ft. Hays, and 
 there Joe sold his seven scalps to curiosity lovers, and 
 scouts who were ambitious for the reputation o? Indian 
 killers, at the rate of five dollars each. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CALIFORNIA JOE was a born hunter, trapper and guide, 
 but he seldom followed either of these employments for 
 any considerable length of time, rather pursuing them in 
 rotation as if to extract all the enjoyment that was to 
 
LIFE Or CALIFORNIA JOE. 447 
 
 be found in all. So from Ft. Hays he went to New 
 Mexico to kill game for the outlying posts of that sec- 
 tion. It was while thus engaged that he met with a most 
 singular adventure, and one which came neur terminating 
 his usefulness for anything save wolf bait. 
 
 Passing under a ledge of large boulders, which were 
 covered with a profusion of tropical vegetation, an im- 
 mense Mexican cougar, or spotted panther, that had evi- 
 dently been living in an enforced fast until hunger had 
 made it fearless, sprang from its covert and lighted 
 squarely on Joe's back. That it meant to devour him 
 was evidenced by the manner of attack. The animal 
 fastened its teeth deep into the flesh at the base of Joe's 
 neck, and with terrific growls began its desperate work, 
 rending his back and ripping his sides with its stiletto- 
 like claws. 
 
 The force with which the animal struck Joe, when it 
 bounded upon his back, knocked his rifle several feet 
 distant, leaving him with only his large knife for defense ; 
 but this he used with such excellent results, notwith- 
 standing the awkward position he was forced to assume, 
 that he disemboweled the voracious cougar and almost 
 cut it in two before the animal's hold was broken. He 
 killed the powerful beast, but his own injuries were of 
 the most serious character, and but for his great knowl- 
 edge of the medicinal virtues contained in several plants 
 in convenient proximity, he would surely have died of his 
 wounds. He was still able to secure the plants needed, 
 from which he prepared a balsamic poultice with which 
 he bound up his neck, the properties of the plants being 
 to stay the flow of blood and absorb the poison which 
 always appears after the bite of an animal. But when 
 the wound healed a very large and prominent scar re- 
 mained, which marked him until his death. 
 
44:8 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 In 1875 California Joe and Jack Corbin, his old 
 partner, went to the Black Hills to try their luck 
 in gold mining. They built a small cabin at a point 
 where the indications were good, but after digging 
 for seme time without reaching pay dirt, they 
 
 California Joe Saves his Friend. 
 
LITE OF CALIFORNIA JOB. 449 
 
 started another prospect hole about five miles further 
 up the mountains. Here their work was prosecuted 
 with much vigor and some profit. On one occasion 
 Joe had gone back to the cabin for some blasting pow- 
 der, all their heavy articles being stored at that place, 
 leaving Corbin alone for the time being. Upon his re- 
 turn, and when within a short distance of the prospect 
 hole, Joe heard his partner shouting for help. He rushed 
 forward with all possible speed, and just as he reached 
 an opening commanding a view of the spot where the 
 mine was being put down, he saw Corbin down upon one 
 knee battling with a large, powerful Sioux Indian, whose 
 knife was being uplifted for a fatal plunge. It was 
 scarcely an instant, so quick, in fact, that the knife had 
 not begun to descend, when Joe raised his rifle and sent 
 a ball crashing through the Indian's heart. 
 
 After his marvelous rescue from death, Corbin related 
 to Joe the circumstances of the attack substantially as 
 follows : 
 
 4 ' I was working on the shale at the side of the pit, 
 and just as I came to the top for the purpose of empty- 
 ing the bucket, before I had a suspicion of an Indian's 
 presence, this fellow (poking the dead Indian with his 
 foot) leaped on me, imd as his strength was far greater 
 than my own, I was bv f :rne to the ground and had to fight 
 with my bare hands co prevent him from stabbing me. 
 I maintained this unequal contest for several minutes, 
 keeping hold of his wrists, with all my might, shouting 
 for you all the while, for I felt that unless assistance 
 came soon my doom was sealed. At length he released 
 his right hand, and was in the attitude you saw him when 
 that blessed bullet f om old ' never fail ' picked me up out 
 of the very jaws of death." 
 
 Some weeks after this incident another more was made 
 
450 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 in search of better paying dirt, the next location being 
 on the side of an adjacent mountain about the same dis- 
 tance (five miles) from their cabin. It was customary 
 for the two miners to carry their provisions and cooking 
 utensils with them on a small burro, so that they were 
 not compelled to return to the cabin at the close of each 
 day's work, especially as the weather was so delightful 
 as to permit a comfortable sleep on the ground, where, 
 in fact, it was cooler, and therefore more pleasant, than 
 down in the valley where their cabin was situated. 
 
 Corbin was sent over to Custer City after new supplies, 
 shortly after their last location was made, and during his 
 absence California Joe, being unable to work in the pit 
 without assistance, concluded to- prospect over the adjoin- 
 ing district, entertaining a hope that he might make some 
 great discovery by which to surprise Corbin on his return. 
 So, packing his patient little burro, he set out up the 
 mountain side, carrying his rifle and pistol with him. 
 After searching for some time he found what appeared to 
 be excellent surface indications of gold, and here he tied 
 his little pack animal and began to work with his pick. 
 
 In working around over the various places he left his 
 gun lying on the ground some distance from him. Pretty 
 soon his attention was attracted by an "Ugh! White 
 man !" the voice and sound of which immediately apprised 
 him of an Indian's presence. Joe quickly grasped his 
 pistol, but before turning round looked over his shoulder 
 and saw an Indian holding his (Joe's) gun, and looking 
 at him with a very demure countenance, while some dis- 
 tance in the background were two others watching the 
 proceedings. Knowing with what dread the Indians re- 
 garded him , Joe spoke out 
 
 44 Ugh I white man, yes ; California Joe. Come on 
 fight." 
 
 
LIFE OF CALIFORNIA JOE. 
 
 451 
 
 By this time Joe had his pistol presented, while the 
 profoundly astonished at meeting an adversary 
 
 of such known powers, changed his demeanor, and ad- 
 vancing, proffered Joe his hand. Instead of attacking 
 
452 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 him as they had intended, the Indians made manj oveis 
 tures of friendship, and returning Joe's gun, they soon 
 afterward departed. The first Indian, who had crept up 
 and secured the gun, evidently believed that he could 
 intimidate the owner, who was left with nothing but a 
 pistol to fight three Indians ; but the magic in the name 
 of " California Joe " changed their purpose. 
 
 This wonderful dread of one man, and of California 
 Joe in particular, was illustrated before, in 1869, as will 
 be found related in the life of Captain Payne, whose 
 escape from a frightful death was due entirely to the 
 belief entertained by a large body of Indians who had 
 surrounded him and two others, that one of his comrades 
 was California Joe. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 DURING Gen. Crook's expedition to the Big Hon* 
 country, California Joe proffered his services, which were 
 gladly accepted. All the regular army boys were warm- 
 ly attached to him on account of his droll character and 
 excellent fighting qualities, and when he came into camp 
 they gave him a genuine ovation. Buffalo Bill was a 
 special favorite of Joe's and to be with him Joe would 
 sacrifice almost any interest. The principal reasons for 
 this attachment were found in the rollicking freedom, gen- 
 erosity, true grit, and infectious good humor of Bill, and 
 chiefly, it may also be added, because of Bill's extraordi- 
 nary good skirmishing and nosing qualities for " SOUP 
 mash," of which grain extraction Joe was passionately 
 fond. As Bill would divide his last cent with a comrade, 
 
LIFE OF CALIFORNIA JOB. 453 
 
 he was no less noted for dividing his last " drop " with a 
 friend, and Joe was always a solicitor for that "drop." 
 After the command reached the Big Horn mountains and 
 was moving in daily expectation of meeting the Sioux, 
 Bill called Joe to his tent one evening while they were in 
 camp, and said: 
 
 " Joe, now you have been with this expedition for more 
 than two weeks without being on the pay-roll. General 
 Crook is glad to have your services, and there is no reason 
 that I know of why you cannot be regularly engaged as a 
 scout, and thus draw a salary of five dollars per day. If 
 you would like the service I will see Crook and have you 
 engaged . What do you say to the proposition ? ' ' 
 
 "Oh, I don't know 'bout this here scoutin' with Crook ; 
 'pears to me I wouldn't jist like it," replied Joe. 
 
 " Well, I don't see what your objection 5s ; it is only 
 your own interest that I have in view ; the service is well 
 organized and Crook is a splendid officer. What is the 
 trouble?" Bill urged. 
 
 " I've got reasons of my own," responded Joe. 
 Bill waited some moments for further explanations, 
 but hearing none he inquired : 
 
 "Well, Joe, you have no objection to telling me, have 
 you, why 4 you can't expect proper treatment from Gen. 
 Crook?" 
 
 The reply was fully characteristic of Joe. Putting on 
 an innocent and injured look, he responded : 
 
 " Fact is jist this, Bill, and I don't mind tellin' uvyou, 
 because you are my friend and I know it won't go 
 any further, I'll never scout for any 'tarnal government 
 officer that won't furnish pie to his men. Now, thet's 
 my reason." 
 
 Bill was, of course, fairly convulsed with laughter at 
 the joke Joe had thus perpetrated on htm, and the 
 
454 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 way to get eren he at once availed himself of. So turn* 
 ing about, he raised the lid of a "sacred" chest, and 
 drawing from a very obscure corner thereof a dark-col- 
 ored bottle, presented it to Joe with the remark : 
 
 "Old boy, that's good. Imbibe I I'll have you put 
 on the pay-roll to-morrow as scout, and see that you get 
 a daily ration of * pie.' ! 
 
 When Crook's command reached Independence Rock, 
 on the Sweetwater, another incident occurred illustrative 
 of Joe's penchant for perpetrating jokes. At this point 
 the expedition went into camp, and the boys as the 
 soldiers are invariably called in camp after hard march- 
 ing, were hungry and wanted a few extras, something at 
 least to take the part of dessert to their regular rations 
 of hard crackers and bacon. Some new supplies were 
 received at Independence Rock, which included a large 
 variety of canned fruits and meats, the very appearance 
 of which was to the privates like cool, crystal water to 
 the traveler in a desert, famishing from thirst. Several 
 of the boys rushed up to the commissary asking for ra- 
 tions of canned goods, but they could be obtained only 
 upon an order issued by the commissary sergeant, a fact 
 which several were not made acquainted with, and conse' 
 quently could not understand why they were refused. 
 
 Joe procured the necessary order, and going to the 
 commissary, obtained a large quantity of canned corn, 
 tomatoes, sardines, oysters, peaches, etc., which h 
 placed on his arm and then shuffled through the camp to 
 his tent, taking good care to display his "rations" to 
 those who had been refused. Presently one of the sol- 
 diers stopped him and said : 
 
 "Hold on, Joe, I want you to tell me how you got 
 those canned goods. I've been up there begging for a 
 few cans and they wouldn't give me a single one." 
 
LIFE OF CALIFOBNIA JOS. 455 
 
 " Oh," replied Joe, "that's ther way they treat some 
 ttT the boys that they think will stand it. I tell you thet 
 them thar canned goods belong to ther soldiers, and ef 
 you'll do as I did they'll give yer all yer want." 
 
 "Well, what must I do, Joe?" 
 
 "Why, jist go up boldly to thet ther commissary with 
 feher list yer want, an* ef he refuses to giv' 'em to yer, 
 knock him down an' take what yer want. Them commis- 
 sary fellers thinks they're 'fernal smart ; yer've got ter 
 teach 'em thet they ain't, thet's all." 
 
 Believing implicitly every word Joe had said, the sol- 
 dier, who was a large double-jointed descendant of the 
 Grampian stock, immediately started off to get the can- 
 ned goods peaceably if he could, forcibly if he must. 
 Having made out a list of what he wanted, the private 
 < sailed on the commissary and put in his request. 
 
 " Where is your order?" asked the commissary. 
 
 "Here's my order, and I want it filled," replied the 
 soldier. 
 
 "We don't recognize that kind of an order here ; you 
 
 QUSt ' 
 
 But the sentence was left unfinished, for the great right 
 hand bower of that enraged soldier fell so heavily 
 against the commissary's right eye that he would have 
 been falling yet, perhaps, if some friend had not caught 
 him. The soldier then leaped over the counter and help- 
 ed himself, and he took care not to be stingy about the 
 quantity either. This soldier who was bound to have his 
 * rights ' ' was duly arrested and brought bef ore Colonel 
 Mills, who gave him a severe sentence, but learning the 
 part that Joe had acted, released him after an imprison- 
 ment of one day. The Colonel afterward asked Joe why 
 he had so deceived the soldier, and was answered : 
 
 "Oh, I didn't mean any harm ; only I wanted to hev a 
 little fun." 
 
456 HEROES OF THE FLAUfS. 
 
 There is one more humorous incident arising from 
 Joe's love of practical joking, that must be included 
 before closing this brief record of his life. 
 
 The Crook expedition, with Col. Anson Mills command- 
 ing, was passing through Yellowstone Park at a late hour 
 one afternoon, when, reaching a spot within a mile of 
 the intended camp for the night, Joe came across an old 
 grave, before which he stopped and reverently uncovered 
 head, appearing at the same time to be much affected. 
 Of course the boys who saw him in this attitude and it 
 was nearly the entire command were anxious to know 
 the cause of his singular action. His reply was as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 ' ' This hyar is the grave of poor Amos Billings ; I 
 helped to bury him in this spot 'way back in '36. Yer 
 see there wuz a party uv twenty uv us, an' we hed been 
 up to the Black Hills a diggin' gold. We found so much 
 uv the precious stuff thet we actually loaded ourselves 
 down with it. Every man hed his mule loaded to the 
 las' poun' it could carry, and besides this we all hed our 
 pockets full. In fact we hed to leave a lot uv it behind, 
 becos we couldn't carry another ounce. Well, when we 
 got ter this place we went into camp ; an' thet night poor 
 Billings took ther cramps. Lordy ! how he did suffer, is 
 awful f er me to think uv now. We did everything in 
 our power to help him, but, poor fellow, he died, and 
 here is whar we buried him. As all uv us already hed 
 all the gold we could carry, we buried Billings' gold with 
 him, includin' what his mule was a carryin', fer none uv 
 us considered thet we hed any right to it. Poor Amos 
 Billings! here is [one tear more to moisten yer grave." 
 
 Shortly after dark, when the command had gone into 
 camp, the entire force under Col. Mills attacked "Poor 
 Amos Billings' grave," and no body of men ever worked 
 
LITE OF CALIFORNIA JOE. 457 
 
 harder and with greater expectations than they. When 
 the excavation had reached a depth of about ten feet, 
 with a most astonishing circumference, they found 
 nothing but some old bones ! 
 
 Joe had conceived this monstrous lie almost as soon as 
 he discovered the grave ; and though he placed the date 
 of burial almost anterior to his own birth, the " golden 
 story" turned the soldiers wild, and as he looked around 
 and saw the deserted camp, he only murmured, "What 
 'fernal fools these fellers be !" 
 
 Notwithstanding the fact that nearly every one who 
 enjoyed his acquaintance was his friend, Joe died the vic- 
 tim of the most damnable assassination. On the 5th 
 day of December, 1876, while sitting in front of his 
 cabin at Red Cloud, Dakotah, performing some little 
 duty, a cowardly fiend slipped up to the corner of "the 
 cabin, where, from a concealed position, he shot poor old 
 Joe to death. It was a most terrible murder, which could 
 find a parallel only in the assassination of his friend, 
 Wild Bill, only four months before, and, deplorable to 
 relate, Joe's murderer made good his escape and has 
 since been apprehended. 
 
Kit Carson and bis Blind Horse, 
 
 458 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 No character of which history gives any account pre 
 ents more anomalous peculiarities than that of Kit Car- 
 son. His whole nature was enigmatic, for no two per- 
 sons, however intimate they might have been with him, 
 whether on the plains or in the councils of white men or 
 Indians, could agree in their estimation of his traits of 
 character. Like the temple of Janus, he always pre- 
 sented two or more unlike sides, each so distinctly prom- 
 inent that those about him were invariably diverse in 
 their opinions respecting his disposition. He was, ap- 
 parently, at once the polished gentleman and the rough 
 plainsman; shrinking from and courting danger at the 
 same time ; an adviser and the reckless mad-cap of his 
 companions ; large in his own estimation, yet modest and 
 most unpretentious among his associates ; a lover of 
 peace, though still the organizer of discord. In brief, 
 he was unlike any person save himself alone, and had it 
 been possible his spirit would certainly have abandoned 
 its own castle, so as to present a perfect dissimilarity. 
 These strange peculiarities will be partly seen in the fol- 
 lowing biographical sketch, which pretends to no other 
 merit than that of a faithful portraiture, after a thorough 
 consideration of all the available facts connected with his 
 remarkable career. 
 4*8 
 
460 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER (Kit) CARSON'S birth-place has been va- 
 riously located, and all authors who have attempted to 
 write the history of his adventures have usually prefaced 
 their labors with an argument attempting to prove their 
 respective claims, some asserting that he was born in 
 Kentucky, others in Illinois, and yet others claiming 
 Missouri as his place of nativity. The opinion of the 
 writer, gained from proofs adduced by Peters and Bur- 
 dett, both of whom have been Carson's biographers, is, 
 that his native place was Madison County, Kentucky, 
 where he was born on the 24th of December, 1809. La 
 the following year, the family removed to what was then 
 Upper Louisiana, but what is now Missouri, settling in a 
 region of country which, at this time, is defined as How- 
 ard County. 
 
 Gen. John C. Fremont, during his great exploring 
 expedition through the West in the years 1843-44, em- 
 ployed Kit Carson as his chief guide, and in giving an 
 exhaustive report of his travels and discoveries devoted 
 much space to a description of the renowned hunter and 
 his wonderful adventures. The General, in this report, 
 claims that Carson was a native of Boonslick County, 
 Missouri, but as there is no such county in that State the 
 assertion furnishes the proof of its own error. It is very 
 probable, however, that Gen. Fremont meant Boone 
 County, which adjoins Howard, and as Missouri was not 
 organized into counties until some time after Carson's 
 birth, being ceded to the United States by France in 
 1804 and admitted as a State in 1821, the causes which 
 led to such an error are manifest. Another important 
 fact in this connection affords a still readier means for 
 determining the cause of the error referred to, and also 
 the reasons which induced a removal of Kit Carson's 
 father to Missouri, may be stated as follows : 
 
LITE OF KIT CAKSON. 461 
 
 Directly after the formation of the territorial govern- 
 ment over Missouri, the great Salt Springs of Howard 
 county, bearing the name of " Boonslick," in honor of 
 Daniel Boone, the famous Kentucky woodsman, became 
 the center of attraction to all emigrants seeking homes 
 west of the Mississippi river. Although this section of 
 the country was occupied by numerous bands of Indians, 
 none of the tribes offered any hostility to the settlement 
 of white men on their lands until the encroachments inci- 
 ted cupidity and numerous crimes. These salt works 
 were operated by Major James Morrison, and with such 
 success that they became the means of a rapid building 
 up of the new territory. 
 
 One of the first offices opened by the United States for 
 the sale of lands west of the Mississippi was in the vicin- 
 ity of Boonslick in the year 1818, when Illinois had just 
 been admitted to the sisterhood of States. It was imme- 
 diately thronged with purchasers of lands which, the set- 
 tlers, however, had already been cultivating. Some of 
 these had located themselves on the public domain as soon 
 as it had been purchased by the United States, and fore- 
 going personal safety and the comforts of refined society, 
 had plunged into the wilderness and carved out homes 
 with their own hands. Among this number was the 
 father of Kit Carson, who became possessed of a fine 
 tract of land on Bonne Femme creek. 
 
 In the year 1810, when the infant Kit came to Mis- 
 souri, the territory contained a population of 20,845 souls, 
 and but a single newspaper, the Gazette, which is still 
 running as the Missouri Republican, and is to-day the 
 most important and influential paper published west of 
 the Mississippi. The primitive condition of the wilder- 
 ness in which the brave hunter was to be reared, and th 
 causes which led to his adoption of a hunter's life, des- 
 
462 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 tined to be so replete with adventure, can thus be readily 
 conceived. The numerous Indian wars which engaged 
 the settlers during the years of 1811 to 1820 it is hardly 
 appropriate tcr describe here, especially since the father 
 of Kit Carson rarely participated, or if he did no record 
 is available from which the circumstances may be gathered. 
 
 Kit Carson, at the age of fifteen, had already become 
 an expert with the rifle, having manifested a passion for 
 hunting at an uncommonly early age. Day after day he 
 would wander through the forests, wholly unaccompa- 
 nied, in pursuit of bear, deer and wolves, exhibiting 
 especial delight in meeting with the largest species of the 
 former, hundreds of which became victims to his aim 
 before he was scarcely more than a dozen years old. He 
 exhibited a more ardent desire for adventure as he grew 
 older, and in 1826, hoping to find opportunity for a grati- 
 fication of his longings, he joined a band of traders in 
 an expedition from St. Louis to Santa Fe, New Mexico. 
 During this trip no special incident occurred beyond the 
 accidental shooting of one of the party, which necessi- 
 tated the amputation of an arm. In the performance of 
 this surgical operation Carson, because of the assistance 
 he proffered and the nerve he exhibited, was called to act 
 the chief part. The instruments used consisted of a 
 razor, hand-saw and an iron bolt ; the latter being heated 
 to high temperature and used to cauterize the bleeding 
 cut. Although little skill was used in the operation, the 
 wounded man recovered and served in subsequent expe- 
 ditions. 
 
 After the arrival of the traders at Santa Fe, Carson 
 abandoned the party and went to Fernandez de Taos, 
 where he became intimate with a mountaineer and re- 
 mained during the following year, engaged chiefly in 
 breaking wild horaes, which, after being caught, were 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 
 
 463 
 
 kept in haciendos until a rider could be secured to domes- 
 ticate them. Being thrown with Mexicans exclusively, 
 Kit applied himself earnestly to the acquirement of the 
 
 Spanish language, in which, after a year of study, he be- 
 came sufficiently conversant to fill the position of inter- 
 preter to a rich American merchant _named Trammell, 
 
464 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 with whom he made a trip to El Paso and Chihuahua. 
 Leaving this service a year afterward, Carson became 
 teamster in an expedition fitted out by Robt. M. Knight, 
 for a trip to the copper mines on the Gila river, but re- 
 turning within a few months he again visited Taos. 
 
 Having saved a few dollars from the services in which 
 he had been employed, Kit spent a few months in Taos, 
 and until an opportunity was offered him to join a band 
 of forty trappers under Ewing Young. These trappers 
 were organized into a well armed body in order to repel 
 the attacks of Indians, who bitterly resisted the attempts 
 of white men to trap beavers on the waters of the Gila 
 or its tributaries. 
 
 The party proceeded directly to Salt River, one of the 
 affluents to the Rio Gila, upon reaching which they were 
 attacked by a body of Indians, but the engagement was 
 short and decisive. The Indians were routed with severe 
 loss, leaving eleven of their number dead on the ground, 
 their flight being too hasty to permit of carrying the fallen 
 ones with them. This was Carson's first Indian fight, 
 but he displayed the rare presence of mind and cool de- 
 cision of character which at once furnished the true index 
 to the success of his subsequent adventures. 
 
 After trapping with much success on the Salt and San 
 Francisco rivers, the company broke camp and divided, 
 one portion returning to Santa Fe and the other, eighteen 
 in number, including Carson, started for the Sacramento 
 Valley, California. In this dreary journey, rendered 
 moce difficult by the dry deserts through which the route 
 lay, the party suffered greatly for want of both food and 
 water. So reduced did they become before reaching 
 their destination that availing themselves of the last re- 
 source, they killed several of their horses, drinking the 
 blood and consuming the flesh of the faithful animals. 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 465 
 
 Reaching the beautiful valley of the Sacramento, after 
 weeks of exhausting effort, they began trapping again for 
 beaver, in which occupation they spent several months 
 most profitably. 
 
 Shortly before the close of the trapping season a band 
 of Digger Indians came upon the party during the night 
 and succeeded in driving off nearly all their horses, flee- 
 ing with the animals to the mountains. The Mohave In- 
 dians at the mission of San Gabriel, with whom the trap- 
 pers had been maintaining commercial intercourse, kindly 
 loaned the party the necessary number of horses to pur- 
 sue the dusky thieves. Carson, though scarcely twenty 
 years of age, had nevertheless demonstrated his marvel- 
 ous abilities as a fighter, and to him was entrusted the 
 leadership of the expedition for the recovery of the stolen 
 horses. Accordingly, selecting eleven of his comrades, 
 and leaving the remainder to protect the camp and pel- 
 tries, he started after the marauding Indians without hav- 
 ing the slightest idea of their number. But discovering 
 the trail soon after, no room for doubt was left that the 
 band comprised not less than one hundred savages. But 
 this fact di'd not deter him in his previously formed reso- 
 lution, for he advanced with all possible speed through 
 valleys and over mountains until the fresh trail admonish- 
 ed him to move more cautiously. More than a hundred 
 miles from the trapper's camp the red skins were discov- 
 ered during a late hour in the afternoon, just as they were 
 going into camp for the night. 
 
 Having located the Indians and taken careful note of 
 the surroundings, the time had now come for an exhibi- 
 tion of Carson's abilities. Twelve men set over against 
 a hundred furnished an inequality which could only be 
 compensated by extraordinary cunning and complete sur- 
 prise. Kit was was fully equal to the occasion, and his 
 
466 
 
 comrades having perfect confidence in the dexterity an<3 
 capacity of their leader were prompt in obedience to his 
 orders. 
 
 Carson disposed his men in such a manner that, while 
 they remained concealed from view, they could yet read- 
 ily distinguish every movement of the Indians ; ascertain 
 the location of sentinels and the weak points in the camp. 
 Maintaining this position, the party awaited the approach 
 of midnight before making an attack, the wisdom of 
 Which decision was determined in the result. Their pur- 
 pose was assisted by the pall of darkness which fell on 
 the landscape, rendering objects almost invisible except 
 by a concentration of vision, and a previous knowledge 
 of the position occupied by the object sought. The In- 
 dians, not anticipating the presence of foes, wei-e not on 
 their guard, while the little band of determined men led 
 by Carson were directed by the knowledge they had 
 gained before night came on. 
 
 When the auspicious hour had arrived Carson led his 
 men in a careful detour, until having approached to the 
 position it was necessary to first reach, he made a dash, 
 followed by the others, directly through the Indian camp, 
 shooting into the tents as they sped by, and whooping 
 with such vigor that the horse thieves evidently believed 
 they had been surprised by an entire tribe of native en- 
 emies. The direst confusion followed this sudden attack, 
 and as the greatest advantage was now offered, Carson 
 and his men rushed on to the corral, where they found 
 the Indians' horses tethered. These they speedily re- 
 leased and then stampeded, affording the party means 
 of escape during the confusion, for Carson's good 
 judgment told him that after the first tremor of surprise 
 had run through the camp his enemies would recover 
 their scattered sense* and not only give battle but f ol- 
 low hard in pursuit. 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 467 
 
 Directing his men to secure at least one extra horse, 
 some time was spent chasing the flying ponies over the 
 mountains, but the darkness prevented the party from 
 capturing any of the stampeded animals until the follow- 
 ing day, when thirty head were secured, and the trappers 
 then returned to their companions, who had been op- 
 pressed with grave fears for their safety, and hailed their 
 return with many manifestations of joy. 
 
 Shortly after this event the trappers, still accompanied 
 by Mr. Young as the leader, broke camp, and with an 
 immense quantity of beaver skins returned to Santa Fe 
 over the same route they had passed in going to the 
 Sacramento and Jan Jose valleys. These products of 
 their labors they disposed of, and upon a division of the 
 proceeds, each man in the party was given $500 as his 
 share. In possession of so much money, Carson was 
 unable to restrain his bent for indulging freely in the 
 dissipations peculiar to Mexican towns, and during this 
 period of hilarious intercourse with the rude natives he 
 became involved in a desperate street brawl, which 
 terminated by his flight after having killed one of his 
 opponents. 
 
 Being forced to leave New Mexico, owing to the nu- 
 merous threats made against his life, Carson proceeded 
 toward Missouri, but meeting a party of trappers under 
 James Fitzpatrick, he joined them in a journey to Utah. 
 For a time the party trapped on the Platte, Sweet Water, 
 Goose and Salmon rivers, but with indifferent success ; 
 besides, the Blackf eet Indians gave them constant anxiety, 
 as the tribe was a very numerous and hostile one, whose 
 delight was in massacreing the whites. 
 
 In the spring of 1830 Kit Carson and four others left 
 Mr. Fitzpatrick' s party, and proceeded to New Park, on 
 the headwaters of the Arkansas, where they continued 
 
 28 
 
468 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 trapping in the company of Captain John Yount and 
 twenty others, until the return of spring the following 
 year. While wintering in camp a band of sixty Crow 
 Indians robbed the party of several horses, to recapture 
 which Carson was dispatched with fifteen men after the 
 robbers. 
 
 Taking up the trail he followed the Indians until h 
 found them entrenched behind a rude fortification of logs 
 with their horses tied within ten feet of their shelter. 
 Carson gave his men no time to reflect on the rashness 
 of his undertaking, but ordering an immediate charge, 
 rushed upon the protected savages, nor did he stop until 
 he had seized the horses and led them triumphantly away. 
 In this attack three of Carson's men were killed, but they 
 were brought away, while five of the Indians were slain, 
 one of whom was scalped by Carson himself. 
 
 Shortly after this daring attack, Carson and Captain 
 Yount* s men were surprised by a force of two hundred 
 Crow Indians, and the fleetness of their horses alone 
 saved them from a massacre. The attack having been 
 made after due preparation by the Indians, they pos- 
 sessed all the advantages, not only in numbers, but 
 also in effective fighting. No other recourse was there- 
 fore left Capt. Yount' s party but to retreat and trust to 
 the fleetness of their horses for escape. The flight con- 
 tinued under a rain of arrows and bullets for nearly fifty 
 miles, the Indians being determined to possess themselves 
 of the scalps and property of the little band of whites. 
 Several of the party were killed, but Carson escaped 
 with only a slight wound. Had all the Indians been 
 armed with rifles not one of the men would have escaped, 
 but being able to keep a considerable distance in advance 
 of their pursuers, the range was too great for the effec- 
 tive use of arrows, and the few rifles the Indians pos- 
 sessed did all the execution. 
 
LIFE OF KIT CAKSON. 469 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 EARLT in the spring of 1832 Captain Yo ant's party hav- 
 ing met with little success during the past season, Car- 
 son decided to begin trapping on his own account. He 
 therefore settled with the Captain, but before starting for 
 the new trapping grounds two others connected with Cap- 
 tain Yount expressed their desire to accompany him, 
 Mrhich companionship Carson gladly accepted. The three 
 proceeded up the streams into Colorado or what is now 
 known as Colorado where they found the beaver more 
 abundant, and there pursued their labors with consider- 
 able profit for nearly a year. Returning to Taos with 
 their furs they sold out to much advantage, and imme- 
 diately afterward Carson joined Capt. Lee in an expedi- 
 tion up Green river. 
 
 Capt. Lee's company consisted of thirty trappers un- 
 der the direction of an old mountaineer named Robideau. 
 This experienced trapper had engaged the services of a 
 young California Indian as a guide and interpreter, such 
 native assistant being rendered necessary by the hostile 
 character of roving Indians which the trappers were con- 
 stantly meeting. 
 
 In the following October, 1833, while the party was 
 encamped on a tributary of Green, river and meeting with 
 much success catching both beaver and otter, the young 
 Indian guide contrived to clandestinely secure six of the 
 best horses belonging to the company, and made his es- 
 cape. The theft was soon discovered, and Kit Carson, 
 who had now become a renowned " thief -catcher," was 
 deputed to recover the stolen animals. 
 
 The thieving red skin having had several hours the 
 start, and Carson being little acquainted with the country, 
 
470 HEKOES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 he procured the services of a Utah Indian to assist him ia 
 tracing the figitive. 
 
 The trail was not definitely determined until the second 
 day after Kit and his companion had started out, but 
 once they became certain of the discovery the speed at 
 which their pursuit was conducted, after one hundred 
 miles had been made, disabled the Utah Indian's horse so 
 that he could proceed no further, and being unwilling to 
 accompany Kit on foot, returned again to the camp of 
 his tribe. Carson, however, not to be deterred in his un- 
 dertaking, pressed on alone and after a half -day's further 
 ride discovered the thieving Indian riding one of the stolen 
 horses and leading the five others. Almost at the same 
 moment that Carson sighted the Indian the fugitive also 
 saw his pursuer, and a fight to the death each realized was 
 inevitable. The Indian, who carried a rifle and was re- 
 garded as an excellent shot, besides being possessed of 
 the courage to make his skill in an encounter most effec- 
 tive, leaped from his horse and sought shelter. Kit fully 
 comprehended the tactics of the Indian, and the distance 
 being great between them he concluded to hazard a shot, 
 knowing that he could reload before the Indian could 
 reach him, especially since he was mounted. Therefore, 
 stopping his horse, Kit drew a bead on the Indian as he 
 was making for a tree, and fired. The aim was so perfect 
 that the thief fell forward dead, with a bullet through hid 
 body. This shot was in a measure accidental, for the 
 distance was fully three hundred yards, and the Indian 
 being at the time in a brisk run the aim was rendered 
 more doubtful. 
 
 The six horses were recovered and returned to the 
 camp after an absence of six days, and for his services 
 Captain Lee and Robideau presented Carson with a large 
 quantity of peltries, which made the incident one of groat 
 profit to him. 
 
LIFE OF KIT OAKSON. 471 
 
 in the following year, 1834, Caraon, in company with 
 three excellent companions, concluded to spend a season 
 trapping on the Laramie, a stream reputed to be fairly 
 alive with beaver, otter and mink. The expectations of 
 the party were fully realized a few weeks later, when they 
 had pitched their tents on the banks of that clear, but 
 sometimes doubtful river. In fact during all of Carson's 
 experience as a trapper, he never met with success equal 
 to that which he found on the Laramie. 
 
 On one occasion, while he was acting as hunter, during 
 this most profitable season, to obtain a fresh supply of 
 meat, he met with an adventure so full of peril that he 
 never afterward entertained the least desire to be similarly 
 situated. Game of every kind was very abundant, and 
 within a mile of the camp he killed a large elk, but as he 
 was proceeding to cut its throat, suddenly there appeared, 
 coming toward him, a species of game for which he had 
 not been hunting. A large grizzly bear, one of the most 
 ferocious and dreadful denizens of North American forests, 
 moved by hunger, resolved, apparently, to make the hun- 
 ter its victim. Time was just now very precious to Kit, 
 so that he made all possible use of his extremities in 
 reaching the nearest tree, leaving his unloaded gun lying 
 beside the animal he had just killed. The bear, not dis- 
 covering the dead elk, made directly for Kit, who man- 
 aged, but just how he was never able to tell, to ascend a 
 goodly sized tree in time to save himself from the vora- 
 cious maw of the terrible beast. But his perch appeared 
 decidedly unsafe, as the bear would rear up almost to the 
 limb on which he was seated, opening its mighty jaws 
 and blowing hot gusts of air through teeth nearly as long 
 as a man's finger. At every lunge it made Eat felt that 
 the bear would surely reach him, and he would involun- 
 tarily hitch up his legs while all the flesh would crawl a* 
 
472 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 though it were trying to get on top of his head. Grab- 
 bing about for something with which to defend himself, 
 he twisted off a branch from the tree, and this he dex- 
 terously used in striking the nose of the grizzly whenever 
 it reached up its head uncomfortably close. This so en- 
 
 Treed by a Hungry Grizzly. 
 
 raged the brute that it fell to gnawing the body of the 
 toee, but being able to make but little impression, aban- 
 doned that and began growling with a fierceness which 
 made Kit quake with the most direful anticipations. 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 473 
 
 The bear kept him a prisoner in the tree until nearly 
 midnight, when it began to circle around the spot, grad- 
 ually extending the circle until it at length scented the 
 dead elk, upon which it speedily gorged itself, and then 
 disappeared in the woods. Kit got down from his anxious 
 seat speculating on the probabilities of the bear's return, 
 and though every bone in his body seemed to be splitting 
 from the strain to which he had been subjected, he nev- 
 ertheless made excellent speed toward the camp. His 
 comrades had become very much alarmed at his pro- 
 longed absence, and a safe return fully compensated them, 
 for their beaver supper, from which unsavory game they 
 had been compelled to satisfy their hunger in the ab- 
 sence of more desirable meat. 
 
 After collecting several hundred valuable peltries, Car- 
 son and his companions went to Santa Fe, where the pro- 
 duct of their season's trapping was disposed of satisfac- 
 torily. But Kit did not remain idle more than a few 
 days, for he soon found opportunity of joining another 
 party of fifty men bound for the Blackfeet country, on 
 the Upper Missouri. The trip was a long and tedious 
 one, and in the end proved not only unprofitable but dis- 
 astrous to several of the men, including Kit himself, 
 for they had struck a country in which none of them had 
 ever been before, and to add to their other hardships 
 they had penetrated a section of country held by a tribe 
 of the most treacherous and cruel Indians on the fron- 
 tier, which made eternal watchfulness the price of their 
 safety. 
 
 Shortly after the encampment of the party on Big 
 Snake river, a band of Blackfeet stampeded the horses 
 of the whites and stole eighteen of their best animals. 
 Carson, to whom the whole company looked for needful 
 assistance, at once proposed pursuit, and taking twenty 
 
474 
 
 HEBOES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 of the best men in the expedition, set. out after the 
 thieves. A heavy snow covered the ground, which made 
 the trail easy to follow until on the succeeding night, 
 when another fall of snow began to rapidly obliterate the 
 tracks. The pursuit was continued with all possible 
 speed until the trail had become so nearly extinct that 
 Kit and another experienced trailer named Markland had 
 to leave their horses from time to time during the night 
 and search for the tracks by the aid of small torches. 
 
 Hunting the Trail. 
 
 The party rode for a distance of seventy-five miles, the 
 latter half of the journey being made through extraor- 
 dinary difficulties, before they came in sight of the In- 
 dians. The thieving Blackfeet, numbering about forty 
 warriors, discovered tbeir pursuers, but instead of trying 
 to escape, stopped and desired a parley with the trappers, 
 which, being consented to, sometime was spent in speech-- 
 making and pipe-smoking. The Indians declared that 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 475 
 
 they had no intention of wronging the whites, and had 
 taken the horses because they thought the animals be- 
 longed to the Snake Indians, their enemies. But with 
 all their protestations of friendship, they still refused to 
 deliver up the stolen animals. An attempt was then 
 made by the trappers to take their property by force, 
 which brought on the fight which Kit had anticipated. 
 
 The Indians were armed chiefly with bows and arrows, 
 but a few of them had rifles, which they had obtained at 
 various trading posts. The Indians, therefore, while 
 twice as many in number as the trappers, were not nearly 
 so well armed, and the fighting advantages were about 
 equal. Every man, red and white alike, sought the pro- 
 tection of trees and carried on the battle with all the 
 cunning available. Carson and Markland were bosom 
 companions and fought from adjacent shelters. It 
 chanced that they were directly opposed by two swarthy 
 warriors, each of whom was also armed with a rifle. As 
 Kit sought opportunity to fire at his antagonist he dis- 
 covered another Indian in the act of taking a deadly aim 
 at Markland, who was unconscious of his own danger. 
 Kit instantly turned his weapon on the Indian and shot 
 him dead, thereby saving his comrade's life ; but in this 
 commendable act he came near sacrificing his own life, for 
 the Indian he had been previously watching fired, the 
 bullet striking Kit in the left shoulder, shattering the 
 bone and making a terrible wound. The fight contin- 
 ued with unabated fury until nightfall, when the Indians 
 drew off, taking their stolen property with them. 
 
 Carson was found by his companions lying in the snow 
 perfectly conscious, but refusing to make any manifesta- 
 tion of the great suffering he was enduring. He had 
 gathered his coat in a lump at the shoulder, trying to 
 staunch the flow of blood which had saturated the cloth- 
 
476 HEROES or THE PLAINS. 
 
 ing on his left side. The cold had at last stopped the 
 ebbing life current, but not until he was so weak that it 
 became necessary to cany him back over the long route 
 and through the deep snow to the trappers' camp. Three 
 others of the party were killed and four wounded, but 
 those that were injured were fortunately able to ride. It 
 was a terrible journey to Kit, but he endured his suffer- 
 ings with such fortitude that those who ministered to his 
 needs could not comprehend how severe was the pain he 
 felt. 
 
 Upon their return to camp, Capt. Bridger took thirty 
 men and started out again after the depredating Black- 
 feet, but though he beat the country for more than a 
 week, he was unable to find the trail, and so returned 
 without accomplishing anything. 
 
 Soon after this unfortunate incident in the season on 
 Big Snake river, the party left that immediate section 
 and camped on Green river, where they were joined by a 
 large party of Frenchmen and Canadians who were trap- 
 ping for the Hudson Bay Fur Company. The camp, by 
 these accessions, numbered about one hundred men, a force 
 sufficient to afford some security against hostile Indians. 
 
 Carson was not long in establishing a most favorable 
 reputation among the men, because, while some in the 
 party knew how courageously he had always deported 
 himself in moments of extreme peril, they all soon learned 
 that under all circumstances he remained courteous and 
 obliging, hence he was esteemed by all in the party. 
 
 Among the number of imported trappers was a large 
 Frenchman named Shuman ; a man particularly fond of 
 bad whisky, and who delighted in bullying his companions. 
 He was rarely engaged in a fight himself, because his ar* 
 rogant boasts had intimidated nearly all the men, but not 
 content with his own autocratic domineering, he found 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 477 
 
 pleasure in creating discord and embroiling comrades. 
 On one occasion, while riding about the camp with gun 
 in hand, Shuman, among other indiscriminate insults, 
 began a tirade of abuse directed against the Americans, 
 pronouncing them scullions and chicken-livered scoun- 
 drels, who merited nothing but threshings with hickory 
 withes for their cowardice and villainy. This unprovoked 
 language aroused the spirit of Carson, who stepped for- 
 ward toward the boasting Frenchman and said : 
 
 44 1 am an American, and no coward; but you are a 
 vapid bully, and to show you how Americans can punish 
 liars, I'll fight you here in any manner your infamous 
 heart may desire." 
 
 Shuman fairly boiled over with rage at this proposi- 
 tion from a man so far inferior to him in size ; besides 
 he had never before had his privilege of abusing the men 
 questioned. He therefore replied : 
 
 "If you want to be killed I have no objections to 
 shooting you as I would a dog. Get on your horse and 
 fight me, starting at one hundred yards and riding toward 
 each other, firing as we come together. Come on, you 
 pale-faced little scullion !" 
 
 Kit returned no answer to this arrogant acceptance of 
 his challenge, but mounting his horse he prepared for the 
 duel . The two first rode apart, each divining the purpose 
 of the other, until a proper distance was reached, when 
 they wheeled their horses as if entering a race course 
 under stipulations, and rushed toward each other. The 
 entire camp was, of course, speedily apprised of the duel, 
 and every trapper came out to witness the combat, the 
 sympathies of the men being unanimously with Carson. 
 Shuman was an excellent rifleman and had trained him-* 
 self to fire from his running horse by shooting buffaloes, 
 and he therefore felt confident of putting a bullet through 
 
478 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 the head of his adversary. Kit carried a pistol, but this 
 was from choice, as he was an expert with this weapon. 
 The two determined men rushed toward each other like 
 the knights of mediaeval chivalry, until within a few yards, 
 vrhen Shuman raised himself in his stirrups, and, taking 
 aim, fired. The bullet went so close to the mark that a 
 lock of Kit's hair was seen to fall, cut from above his 
 ar. But the aim, though good, had not dispatched a fatal 
 messenger, and Shuman was compelled to take Kit's fire. 
 
 Carson's Duel with the Frenchman. 
 
 The smoke from the Frenchman's rifle was stilt rolling 
 away over his head when Carson presented his pistol 
 almost as the heads of the two horses came together, and 
 saluted his enemy. The ball struck Shuman in the hand, 
 and passing upward in the arm, lodged near the elbow. 
 Though not fatal, the wound was suificient to thoroughly 
 humble the desperado, and so change his disposition as 
 to eliminate all braggadocio from his character. 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 479 
 
 CHAPTER IK. 
 
 SOON after this incident the party of trappers returned 
 to New Mexico, and there Carson joined Capt. McCoy, 
 who was outfitting for another expedition to the Yellow- 
 stone, in the Blackfeet country. This party, consisting 
 of a dozen rneu, upon arriving at the Yellowstone, found 
 no signs of either beaver or otter ; so breaking camp, 
 they set out to hunt a stream affording reasonable expec- 
 tations for success. They continued to travel through a 
 country supporting nothing but artemesia, which barely 
 subsisted their horses, until all their provisions were 
 exhausted and starvation seriously threatened the whole 
 party. 
 
 Day after day went by and still neither game nor grass 
 roots could be found until at length they were reduced to 
 such dreadful extremities that to prevent death from star- 
 vation they bled their horses and drank the blood. Hap- 
 pily, when it was decided to kill one of the horses for its 
 flesh, a body of Snake Indians appeared, from whom a fat 
 pony was purchased and this the party killed and subsist- 
 ed upon until they reached Ft. Hall 
 
 After a rest of several days Carson, McCoy and the 
 other members of the party equipped themselves for an- 
 other trapping expedition, this time intending to plant 
 their traps on Green river, but on arriving at that stream 
 another party of nearly one hundred men was found 
 who, meeting with no success, were preparing to leave 
 for the head waters of the Yellowstone, and if finding no 
 game there had arranged to follow up to the Missouri 
 river sources. 
 
 A consolidation was made between the two parties, who 
 now selected Carson and Mr. Fontenelle as their leaders. 
 
480 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 This union of forces was made more as a precaution against 
 the Blackfeet Indians, who were very numerous and Tin- 
 dictive in the Yellowstone country. 
 
 The winter, which was very severe, was passed among 
 the Crow Indians, who were well provided with large 
 lodges made of buffalo hides ; some of these were twenty 
 feet in diameter with an opening at the top which served 
 as a chimney to permit the smoke from the fire inside to 
 escape. But it was difficult to provide food for the trap- 
 pers' horses, owing to a deep snow which covered the 
 ground during the entire winter. It was necessary to 
 feed their horses on bark stripped from cotton wood trees, 
 and twigs of willow, a collection of which involved almost 
 constant work. 
 
 When spring appeared the trappers started out to be- 
 gin operations, but their first attempts were discovered 
 by the Blackfeet, who, though greatly reduced in num- 
 bers by small-pox which had raged among them during 
 the winter, were still a powerful tribe. Carson, with 
 forty men, was attacked at their traps and it was only by 
 the most desperate fighting that they saved themselves 
 from annihilation. The Indians were kept in check until 
 the trappers' ammunition was almost exhausted, when a 
 retreat was made back toward the camp. During this 
 movement a horse bearing one of the trappers stumbled 
 and fell in such a manner that the rider was caught and 
 held to the earth by the weight of the animal. Five In- 
 dians immediately jumped forward to scalp the unlucky 
 rider ; seeing which Carson wheeled back to the aid of 
 his comrade. He shot the foremost Indian and held the 
 others at bay until the trapper was released, and being 
 taken up behind Carson the two escaped. 
 
 It was not long before the other trappers, who had gone 
 off in a southeasterly direction to place their traps, heai> 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 
 
 481 
 
 ing the firing, ran to the rescue of Carson's party. With 
 a, fresh supply of ammunition and reinforced by sixty 
 men, Carson turned on the Indians and the fight was re- 
 newed with great earnestness by both sides. The Indians 
 
 Kit Carson Saves his Fallen Comrade. 
 
 were at last defeated with a loss of so many of their 
 warriors that they beat a retreat and never afterward 
 molested the victorious trappers. 
 
482 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 After prosecuting their operations for two months, a 
 large number of peltries were secured, and the expedi- 
 tion then broke camp and repaired to the trading post OD 
 Nend River, where the skins were sold at a large profit. 
 
 Carson's next enterprise was in trapping for beaver on 
 the streams flowing from the Rocky Mountains into Great 
 Salt Lake. He took with him only a single companion, 
 believing he could operate more successfully without be- 
 ing restricted by the limitations of a large party, as the 
 Utah Indians regarded him with friendly feelings but op- 
 posed the invasion of their territory by any considerable 
 number of white men. 
 
 It was while trapping in this section that he met with 
 an adventure of a truly thrilling character. He was 
 walking along the bank of a stream where many of his 
 traps were set, while his companion was back in camp pre- 
 paring supper. Carson had a large rifle with him, as was 
 his custom, and seeing a turkey strutting along a few 
 yards in advance, was preparing to shoot it when his at- 
 tention was directed to a pair of fierce eyes gleaming from 
 out the roots of a great tree. It was scarcely twenty feet 
 away, and a moment's inspection convinced him that he 
 was in the presence of a powerful mountain lion. To re- 
 treat he knew would have invited the attack he felt was 
 about to be made, so raising his rifle he fired, but there 
 was such a profusion of snake-like roots surrounding the 
 lion's body that his shot resulted only in an exasperating 
 wound, as it struck the animal in the left shoulder. In 
 the next instant the lion was upon him, roaring like its 
 ancestral kith of African jungles. Carson had no other 
 weapon now save the large knife he carried, and with 
 this he defended himself most valiantly. But the sharp 
 poniard-like claws of the ferocious beast penetrated his 
 flesh and cut like a two-edged sword. Carson's shirt 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSOX. 
 
 483 
 
 was ripped off him and while he slashed with his knife 
 and thrust it to the hilt time and again in the lion's body, 
 the infuriated animal still fought with such success that, 
 Weakened by the loss of so much blood, Carson was fair- 
 
 Carson's Fight with a Mexican Lion. 
 
 ly on the point of yielding. But it is hard to give up 
 life, and this universal human feeling impelled Kit to use 
 his last energies in this terrible contest. Fortune at last 
 favored him, for the lion also much exhausted, fell under 
 
 29 
 
484 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS 
 
 one of Carson's blows and as it rolled onto its back with 
 its dreadful fangs still fastened in the remnants of Kit's 
 tattered shirt, a plunge of the knife deep into the ani- 
 mal's throat, severing its head almost from the body, de- 
 termined the battle in Carson's favor. 
 
 But the victory was purchased at great expense, for 
 the wounded trapper was so overcome by the lacerations 
 of his flesh and sinews that he fainted and would undoubt- 
 edly have died had not his comrade in camp, alarmed at 
 his long absence, instituted a search which resulted in the 
 
 discovery of the bleeding and 
 unconscious body of his com- 
 panion lying beside the dead 
 lion. Kit was carried back to 
 the camp and given all the care 
 that one true and anxious com- 
 rade can give another. This 
 tender and excellent treatment 
 renewed the life so near ex- 
 hausted, and after a month of 
 dangerous suspension between 
 life and death, Carson began to 
 recover rapidly, and in another 
 month was able to renew his 
 labors. After returning from 
 his trapping expedition in Utah, 
 which, despite his terrible fight 
 with the mountain lion, had 
 proved a profitable one, Carson 
 returned to New Mexico and 
 there made an engagement with 
 Messrs. Bent and St. Vrain to 
 hunt and supply the garrison at 
 It was during this occupation that 
 
 Kit Carson's Indian Wife. 
 
 Bent's Fort with incut. 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 485 
 
 he married an Indian girl belonging to the Comanche tribe. 
 This union was severed ten months after by the singular 
 devotion of the Indian wife, who, learning of Carson's 
 illness at Ft. Hall, immediately mounted a horse and rode 
 the one hundred miles that separated her from him, in 
 twelve hours. This exertion, which was made within 
 two weeks after she had given birth to a daughter, brought 
 on fever, from which she died in a few days. 
 
 Carson sincerely mourned the loss of his young wife, 
 who, though she was an Indian, possessed many noble 
 qualities of heart, not the least being her soul-absorbing 
 love for her husband. 
 
 The little girl baby was well cared for by a Mexican 
 family, and lived and grew under their Ipnd treatment. 
 Five years after the death of his wife Kit visited St. 
 Louis, taking his child with him for the purpose of plac- 
 ing her in an educational institution, that she might have 
 the advantages of excellent schooling and training. The . 
 little girl developed into a stately and beautiful woman, 
 and when twenty years of age she married a gentleman 
 in St. Louis, named Boggs, who is at this time a resident 
 of Los Animos, Colorado, where Kit Carson, Jr., also 
 has his handsome residence. 
 
 When Carson arrived in St. Louis, he was received with 
 public demonstrations of delight, and there were none too 
 great or rich to pay him homage, as he had long been re- 
 garded as "The Monarch of the Plains." 
 
 At the time of this visit it chanced that Gen. John C. 
 Fremont was in the city, organizing an expedition for 
 exploring that part of the country lying between Missouri 
 and the Rocky Mountains. Although this was his orig- 
 inal intention , the General made the overland trip to Cal- 
 ifornia, and included in his report all the explorations 
 along the entire route. 
 
486 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 . Fremont sent fbr Carson, a* soon as the presence 
 of the great trapper became known to him, and a long inter- 
 view between them resulted in the employment of Carson 
 as chief guide to the expedition, which left St. Louis by 
 steamer the 22d day of May, 1842. The other members 
 of the exploring party consisted of twenty-one men, 
 principally Creoles, Charles Preuso, first assistant in the 
 topographical survey, and Louis Maxwell, of Kaskaskia, 
 Illinois, who was engaged as hunter. 
 
 The expedition disembarked from the steamer at the 
 mouth of Kansas river, and then struck across the broad 
 prairies of Kansas on to the Platte river, for the explora- 
 tion of which a large rubber boat was carried with them, 
 which was very useful on several occasions. From the 
 South Platte they followed the Oregon trail past Fort 
 Laramie, and from thence on to the Rocky Mountains. 
 
 Just before leaving the Platte, the monotony of the 
 journey was relieved by a grand buffalo hunt, which Gen. 
 Fremont describes as follows : 
 
 1 'As we were riding quietly along the bank, a great 
 herd of buffalo, some seven or eight hundred in number, 
 came crowding up from the river, where they had been 
 to drink, and commenced crossing the plain slowly, eat- 
 ing as they went. The wind was favorable ; the coolness 
 of the morning invited to exercise ; the ground was ap- 
 parently good, and the distance across the praire (two or 
 three miles) gave us a fine opportunity to charge them 
 before they could get among the river hills. It was too 
 fine a prospect for a chase to be lost ; and halting for a 
 few moments, the hunting horses were brought up and 
 saddled and Kit Carson, Maxwell and I started together. 
 The buffaloes were now somewhat less than half a mile 
 distant, and we rode easily along until within about three 
 hundred yards, when a sudden agitation, a wavery in the 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 487 
 
 herd, and a galloping to and fro of some which were 
 scattered along the skirts, gave us the intimation that we 
 were discovered. We now started together at a hard 
 gallop, riding steadily abreast of each other, and here 
 the interest of the chase became so engrossingly intense 
 that we were sensible to nothing else. We were closing 
 upon them rapidly, and the front of the mass was already 
 in rapid motion. 
 
 " A crowd of bulls, as usual, brought up the rear, and 
 tjvery now and then some of them faced about, and then 
 dashed on after the herd, and then turned and looked 
 again as if more than half inclined to stand and fight. 
 In a few moments, however, during which we had been 
 quickening our pace, the rout was universal, and we were 
 going over the ground like a hurricane. When at about 
 thirty yards, we gave the usual shout (the hunters pas 
 de charge), and broke into the herd. We entered on the 
 side, the mass giving way in every direction in their 
 heedless course. Many of the bulls, less active and less 
 fleet than the cows, paying no attention to the ground, 
 and occupied solely with the hunter, were precipitated to 
 the earth with great force, rolling over and over with the 
 violence of the shock, and hardly distinguishable in the 
 dust. We separated on entering the herd, each singling 
 out his own game. 
 
 "My horse was a trained hunter, famous in tke West 
 under the name of Provean, and with his eyes flashing, 
 and the foam flying from his mouth, sprang on after the 
 cow I was pursuing like a hungry tiger. In a few mo- 
 ments he brought me alongside of her, and rising in the 
 stirrups, I fired at the distance of a yard, the ball enter- 
 ing at the termination of the long hair, and passing near 
 the heart. She fell headlong at the report of the gun, 
 and, checking my horse, I looked around for my com- 
 panions- 
 
488 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 * * At a little distance Kit was on the ground engaged in 
 tying his horse to the horns of a cow, which he was pre- 
 paring to cut up. Among the scattered bands at some 
 distance below I caught a glimpse of Maxwell, and while 
 I was looking a light wreath of white smoke curled away 
 from his gun, from which I was too far to hear the re- 
 port. Nearer and between me and the hills was the body 
 of the herd, and giving my horse the reins we dashed after 
 them. A thick cloud of dust hung upon their rearwhich 
 filled my mouth and eyes and nearly smothered me. In 
 the midst of this I could see nothing and the buffaloes 
 were not distinguishable until within thirty feet. 
 
 1 1 They crowded together more densely still as I came 
 upon them and rushed along in such a compact body that 
 I could not obtain an entrance the horse almost leaping 
 upon them. In a few moments the mass divided to the 
 right and left, the horns clattering with a noise above ev- 
 erything else, and my horse darted into the opening. 
 
 " Five or six bulls charged on us as we dashed along 
 the line, but were left far behind, and singling out a cow 
 I gave her my fire, but struck too high. She gave a tre- 
 mendous leap and scoured on swifter than before. 1 
 reined up my horse and the band swept on like a torrent 
 and left the place quiet and clear. Our chase had led us 
 into dangerous ground, a prairie-dog village, so thickly 
 settled that there were three or four holes in every twen^ 
 ty yards square, occupying the whole bottom for nearly 
 two miles in length." 
 
 While Gen. Fremont was making his second attack on 
 the herd, Carson left the buffalo which he had killed and 
 partly cut up to pursue a large bull that came rushing by 
 him alone. He chased the game for nearly a quarter of 
 a mile, not being able to gain rapidly owing to the blown 
 condition of his horse. Coming up at length to the side 
 
LITE OF KIT CARSON. 
 
 489 
 
 of the fleeing buffalo Carson fired, but at the same instant 
 his horse stepped into a prairie-dog hole, going down and 
 throwing Kit over his head fully fifteen feet. The bullet 
 struck the buffalo low under the shoulder, which only 
 
 Carson and the Wounded Buffalo. 
 
 served to so enrage him that the next moment the infuri- 
 ated animal was pursuing Kit, who, fortunately not much 
 hurt, was able to run toward the river. It was a race for li/ 
 
490 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 now, Carson using his nimble heels to the utmost of their 
 capacity, accelerated very much by the thundering, bel- 
 lowing bull bringing up the rear. For several minutes it 
 was nip and tuck which should reach the Platte river first, 
 but Kit got there by a scratch a little in advance. It was 
 a big stream, and deep water under the bank, but heavens ! 
 it was paradise indeed compared with the hades plunging 
 at his back, so Kit leaped into the water trusting to Prov- 
 idence that the bull would not follow. The trust was 
 well placed for the bull did not continue the piirsuit, but 
 itood on the bank and shook his fists head vehemently 
 at the struggling hunter, who preferred deep w.iv* to ti^ 
 horns of a dilemma on shore. 
 
 Kit swam around for some time, careful ly guarded by 
 the bull, until hia position was observed by Maxwell, who 
 attacked the belligerent animal successfully with a No. 4i 
 slug, and then Kit crawled out and skinned the enemy. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CARSON continued with Fremont until the expedition re- 
 turned to Laramie, after Fremont's ascent to the summit 
 of the loftiest peak in the Rocky Mountain range. Upon 
 leaving the expedition Carson returned to New Mexico, 
 where, in 1843, he contracted a second marriage, espous- 
 ing a Mexican lady, with*whom he lived happily for many 
 years, and who gave him two children, a boy and a girl, 
 the former, Kit Carson, Jr., reaching manhood, but the 
 daughter died while young. 
 
 Carson engaged his services again to Bent & St. Yrain, 
 for whom he hunted and acted as courier, until, learning 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 491 
 
 that Fremont had started out on a second expedition of 
 exploration, and was within two days' journey of Ft. 
 Bent, he decided to visit him. When Carson came into 
 General then Lieutenant Fremont's presence, the lat- 
 ter, after greeting him with great warmth, said : 
 
 "Carson, you are the man, of all others, I am most 
 delighted to see. If I had known your address I should 
 certainly have communicated my desire to have you ac- 
 company me on the present expedition ; but since I ana 
 so fortunate as to meet you at my camp, your services, I 
 trust, will be given me." 
 
 Carson had not thought of accompanying Fremont, 
 but being offered a good salary, he gave his consent. 
 First returning to Ft. Bent for a number of mules, which 
 Fremont required, he came back to the rendezvous, after 
 which, heading the cavalcade, the expedition moved 
 westward for the Sacramento Valley. 
 
 On the 21st of August, 1844, the party of hardy ad- 
 venturers reached Bear river, and descending that stream 
 twenty miles, they came upon the Great Salt Lake, which 
 Fremont, in company with Carson and two other mem- 
 bers of the expedition, circumnavigated in their rubber 
 boat. From this point the journey was continued until 
 Nez Perce was reached, which was a trading post estab- 
 lished by the Hudson Bay Fur Company in Northern 
 California. This was the western limit of Fremont's 
 journey, as at this point a connection was made with 
 Commander Wilkes, who had completed the survey east- 
 ward from San Francisco. 
 
 After a rest of several days, Fremont sent Carson to 
 the Dalles, with instructions to prepare a number of 
 pack-saddles, blankets, provisions and other things need- 
 ful for a long expedition during the winter, having deter- 
 mined to start back upon his return journey at once. 
 
492 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Notwithstanding the fact that it was now almost mid- 
 winter, the bold explorer had decided to pass through a 
 new section of country, thereby adding to his discover- 
 ies, upon the return. He therefore chose a route which 
 would take him, first, to Tlamath Lake, and from there 
 by a southeast course to the Great Basin ; thence to the 
 Buenaventura river, and from thence to the Rocky Moun- 
 tains, at the headwaters of the Arkansas, .and then 
 strike Bent's Fort, from which place the government 
 trail would betaken for St. Louis. 
 
 This projected route for the return journey, or at least 
 a greater portion of it, was practically h rra incognita to 
 white men, and therefore concealed obstacles which put 
 to the severest test man's powers of endurance. 
 
 The entire party consisted of twenty-five persons, com- 
 prising six distinct nationalities, several of them being 
 under age, one of whom, a son of Hon. Thos. H. Ben- 
 ton, was only a lad. Hut provision having been made, 
 the journey Avas begun about the latter part of Decem- 
 ber with light hearts and joyous anticipations. T\\<> 
 Indian guides were engaged at Vancouver's to conduct 
 the party through to Tlamath Lake, which proved to be 
 only a shallow basin containing a little water when 
 the snows were melting during spring-time. From this 
 lake they started for Mary's Lake without any guide 
 save the compasses they carried. This journey brought 
 them into a land of desolation, in which several perished 
 from cold and starvation, their park animals were lost, and 
 progress made only by carving a highway through snow 
 often twenty feet in depth. But as Gen. Fremont has 
 himself graphically described the perils and terrible 
 hardships of this expedition while searching for Mary's 
 Lake and Buenaventura river, it is useless to repeat the 
 incidents of the expedition here. 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 493 
 
 Fort Sutter was not reached until the 6th of March, 
 at which time the horses belonging to the expedition had 
 been reduced from sixty-seven to thirty-three, from which, 
 and considering the men who died and were lost, the terri- 
 ble, almost unparalleled sufferings of the men in this unfor- 
 tunate expedition may be approximated by the reader. 
 Those of the party who reached Sutter were so reduced 
 by privations they had suffered on the dreary route that 
 each man was little more than an animate skeleton of 
 skin and bone, and their horses were so poor and weak 
 that not one could bear the burden of a rider, so that 
 they had to be led. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 UPON returning from thi: second expedition, Carson 
 again settled at Taos, and in the spring of 1845 was com- 
 pleting arrangements with a partner named Owens to 
 start a sheep ranche. But before he became fully en- 
 gaged in raising sheep, Fremont had projected a third 
 expedition, and for the third time called for Carson's 
 services. The two had become warmly attached to each 
 other on their previous trips together, and an admiration 
 for Fremont influenced Carson to again follow his old 
 commander. 
 
 The journey of this last expedition lay through the 
 same country over which they had passed previously, but 
 while there was no lack of suffering on this trip the par- 
 ty experienced few trials to be compared with those met 
 with before. After reaching Sutter 's Fort the expedi- 
 tion recruited and marched toward Monterey, but were met 
 
494 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 m route by Gen. Castro at the head of foui 
 icans, who opposed Fremont's further progress and order- 
 ed his immediate return. Although Fremont had but for- 
 ty men, each one had been tried in the crucible of hard 
 experience and knew how to meet any opposition, so by 
 skillful tactics they evaded Castro and moved oil to Monte- 
 
 Scene in Taos, N. M. 
 
 rey, where there were a number of Americans ready to join 
 them, appreciating the probabilities of a war between Mex- 
 ico and the United States, which was then being prepared 
 for. 
 
 Very soon after this the war tocsin was sounded, and 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 495 
 
 . Fremont, with Carson as his first lieutenant, was duly en- 
 listed for the fray, in which they contested with com- 
 mendable valor and made their power felt throughout 
 California. 
 
 In 1847 Carson was sent overland as the bearer of dis- 
 patches from Fremont for Washington, but after proceed- 
 ing eight hundred miles on the journey he met Lieutenant 
 Gillespie, of the United States marines, who had been 
 despatched from Washington for the slope with thirty 
 men. At the Lieutenant'? request Carson's dispatches 
 were entrusted to a Mr. Fitzpatrick for transmission and 
 he returned with Gillespie as guide to California. Camp- 
 ing one night on an island in Salt Lake, the little party 
 was surprised and attacked by a party of Tlamath In- 
 dians, who brained five of the men with tomahawks as 
 they lay asleep, one of the victims at the time lying be- 
 side Carson. After being aroused the remainder of the 
 men attacked the Indians vigorously and repulsed them 
 with a loss of twelve warriors. 
 
 When Carson reached California again, Fremont 
 had attracted to his standard a body of two hundred 
 Americans, and at Sonoma had declared the independence 
 of the territory, and adopted the Bear Flag, which was ten- 
 dered to Commodore Sloat, who raised the united flags 
 over the camp. 
 
 Soon after this Fremont was appointed Governor of 
 California, and Carson was again sent to Washington 
 with dispatches apprising the Government of the situa- 
 tion on the slope. He performed this journey in sixty 
 days, and then hastened his return to the field of action. 
 
 While a squad of Fremont's men were maneuvering 
 thirty miles from San Diego, they were surrounded by a 
 large party of Mexicans, who cut off their retreat and 
 threatened the little party' s annihilation . The Americans 
 
496 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 took position in a clump of timber, and there resisted 
 attack until hope seemed exhausted. When night ap- 
 proached, Carson addressed the men, declaring that the 
 only possible means for their escape lay in the possibility 
 of communicating with the forces at San Diego and secur- 
 ing their assistance. But this plan seemed anything but 
 feasible, as the Mexicans had established a complete cor- 
 don around the American squad and any attempt to break 
 through the lines would certainly be detected. After 
 counciling with the men for some time on the hopeless- 
 ness of their situation, Carson volunteered to make the 
 attempt at establishing communication with San Diego, 
 and in this effort Lieutenant Beale offered to accompany 
 him. The two therefore started out at midnight, and 
 crawling on their hands and knees, they approached the 
 first line of guards without detection. Their shoes were 
 then removed to prevent noise, and again they resumed 
 their perilous progress, over rocks and through briars, 
 each step lacerating their feet, and the breaking of 
 each twig exciting the gravest fears of discovery. 
 But the outlying posts were passed, and then they 
 made all possible haste for San Diego, which was 
 reached shortly after daylight. The sufferings of this 
 journey were so acute that Lieutenant Beale was for sev- 
 eral days deranged from the effects, and did not recover 
 his usual physical health until two years had elapsed. 
 Carson's feet were so badly torn and bruised that for a 
 time amputation seemed necessary, and he was unable to 
 walk again for nearly two months. But the object of 
 their mission was accomplished, Commodore Stockton 
 sending relief forward, which arrived barely in time to 
 save the Americans from massacre. 
 
 After the close of the Mexican war Carson and his 
 old friend Maxwell settled in the beautiful Rayedo valley, 
 
LIFE OF KIT CARSON. 497 
 
 fifty miles from Taos, where they each erected substan- 
 tial and ornamental residences, at which point there is 
 still a thriving settlement. It was while living here in 
 1853 that Carson received his appointment as Indian 
 agent for New Mexico, which position he qualified for by 
 filing the necessary bonds and entered upon the discharge 
 of his duties as a true almoner of the Government's boun- 
 ty to the Indians. His administration was characterized 
 by wisdom and exact justice, for which he received uni- 
 versal credit by his wards and all the citizens of New 
 Mexico. 
 
 In 1863 Gen. James H. Carlton directed the formation 
 of a New Mexican Brigade, of which Carson was made 
 Brigadier General, and in this capacity he continued his 
 excellent services until the close of the war. 
 
 The life of this noted hunter and plainsman closed on 
 the 23d day of May, 1868, at Ft. Lyon, Colorado, the 
 immediate cause of his death being the rupture of a large 
 artery in the neck. Only a few months previous to the 
 termination of his active career, he had visited Washing- 
 ton on some important business connected with the Indian 
 Department in New Mexico, and at the solicitation of the 
 various trades bodies in cities along his route, he stopped 
 at many of the important towns to receive the homage of 
 an admiring people. Everywhere along the line of his 
 travel flags were flying and salvos of cannon proclaimed 
 with what estimation he was regarded by the American 
 people. 
 
 When his will was opened several days after his death, 
 a clause was found in which he bequeathed his trusty old 
 rifle, one he had carried through all the stirring events of 
 his thirty-five years of plains life, to Montezuma Lodge, 
 A, F. and A. M., at Santa F. 
 
CAPT. D. L. PAYNE, 
 (The Cimanxm Scout.) 
 
 
LIFE OF OAPT. D. L. PAYNE, 
 
 THE CIMARRON SCOUT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HON. DAVID L. PAYNE, generally known throughout 
 the West as Capt. Payne, of the Oklahoma Colony Co. t 
 was born in Grant county, Indiana, December 30, 1836. 
 Being a lover of hunting and adventurous sports, in the 
 spring of 1858, in company with his brother, he started 
 West with the intention of engaging in the Mormon war 
 which was at that time creating a furore of excitement 
 throughout the country, and especially in the West. 
 Beaching Doniphan county, Kansas, he found the excite- 
 ment somewhat abating,, and inducements offering, he 
 concluded to pre-empt a body of land and erect a saw 
 mill. This investment, while the prospects had appeared 
 decidedly flattering, nevertheless proved a most unfortu- 
 nate speculation, and Payne soon found himself destitute 
 of means. He had resources, however, which could not 
 be readily expended, and his courageous heart and crav- 
 ing for adventure soon afforded him occupation of a most 
 congenial character. 
 
 At the time of Payne's settlement in Doniphan county 
 that now fertile and thickly populated section was the 
 grazing grounds for vast herds of buffalo, deer, wolves 
 and other wild animals peculiar to the plains. These he 
 
 M < 
 
500 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 hunted with much success and gratification, gradually ex- 
 tending his occupation south west wardly until he had pen- 
 etrated the Magillon mountains of New Mexico, explored 
 the course of the Cimarron river of the Indian Territory, 
 and become thoroughly acquainted with the topography 
 of the great Southwest. He naturally drifted from hunt- 
 ing to scouting, and thenceforward he was engaged con- 
 tinually by either the Government or private expeditions, 
 becoming the comrade of all the distinguished guides , 
 trappers and hardy characters of pioneer life. His inti- 
 macy with Kit Carson, Wild Bill, Buffalo Bill, California 
 Joe, Gen. Custer, and many others with national reputa- 
 tions, approached comradeship. 
 
 When the civil war broke out, Payne was one of the 
 first to volunteer his services, being placed in the Fourth 
 regiment, which was subsequently consolidated with the 
 Third, and shortly afterward the two were joined with 
 the Tenth regiment. He served three years as a private, 
 refusing in the time of his service six different tenders of 
 commissions. At the expiration of his three-year term 
 he returned to Doniphau county, and in the fall of 1864 
 he was elected to the Kansas Legislature, serving in the 
 session of 1864-65, during which, while never courting 
 the part of an orator, his influence was pronounced. At 
 the close of the Legislature he again volunteered as a 
 substitute for a poor neighbor who had been drafted and 
 whose care for a household full of children was such that 
 leaving them they would have been dependent upon the 
 chanty of the neighborhood. Payne, upon his re-enlist- 
 ment, assisted in recruiting a company for Gen. Han- 
 cock's corps of veterans, and succeeded in enlisting one 
 hundred and nine men, all hardy Westerners, who were 
 devotedly attached to him. Again Payne refused to ac- 
 cept a commission, preferring to remain a private com- 
 rade with his friends. 
 
LIFE OF CAPT. PAYNE 501 
 
 The division to which Payne was attached was detailed 
 for duty at Washington City and their service was little 
 more than a strict observance of methodical military 
 punctilios. Every man was provided with white gloves, 
 nobby uniforms resplendent with brilliant buttons, highly 
 polished boots, and their guns were required to shine 
 like the armor of de Abigail, the ladies' knight-errant. 
 
 After engaging in this elegant body service for a few 
 months the division was ordered to Trenton, N. J., where 
 during a few days stay the following humorous incident 
 took place : Being called out for inspection one morn- 
 ing, every man radiant with his bright regimentals, a 
 Dutch captain named Schmit was found to be inspecting 
 officer, contrary to expectations . This fellow, clothed with 
 a brief authority and fierce moustache, but without the 
 external dress of a fancy officer, marched up in front of 
 Payne's company with his breast thrown out like a Dutch 
 tobacco sign, and exclaimed, " One, two, tree! front! 
 right dress I ' ' executing the movements with a precision 
 as if each was regulated by a vast system of clock-work 
 inside the ample profundity of his naturally large abdo- 
 men. Extending his ungloved hands, the officer received 
 Payne's highly polished gun and began the inspection, 
 when he was astonished to hear himself addressed in the 
 following undignified manner. Said Payne : 
 
 " I'd rather you wouldn't handle that gun without 
 gloves." 
 
 Turning as though he had been stuck sharply with a 
 pin the Dutchman hissed between his teeth : 
 
 " Vat you say, you veller mit so much lip?" 
 
 * ' I mean that I would prefer that you would not run 
 your big sweaty hands over that gun," replied Payne. 
 
 " Teller I" said the now doubly inflated Teutonic repre- 
 sentative of the Faderland generalissimo, " do you know 
 
502 HEROES OF THE PLAIXS. 
 
 dot you vas speaking mit an officer, und dot I vill teach 
 you how it vas yo~u dalk like you don't know some- 
 dings." 
 
 " I know," pleasantly answered Payne, " that you are 
 nothing but a d d Dutchman, and that I have long 
 since learned how to talk to such roaring nobodies." 
 
 With a spring like that of an infuriated bovine, the 
 Dutchman leaped toward Payne, at the same time throw- 
 ing the gun with such force that it nearly knocked the 
 owner down. This so enraged Payne that he stepped out 
 of the ranks and with the force of a catupult let fly his 
 right fist which caught the officer under the chin, knock- 
 ing him into the air like a trounced frog. The Dutchman 
 lit yelling like his Hessian forefathers on the banks of 
 the Delaware a century before. 
 
 "For Got's sake, doan you kill your superior officer I 
 I'll haf you in der gaurd house ; I make you built a whole 
 fort, so help me by gracious ! Swgent, arrest dot man, I 
 command you mit my power ! " 
 
 Thus the sorely distressed inspecting officer cried, all 
 the time inspecting himself rather than proceeding with 
 that of the company. 
 
 The sergeant did undertake to arrest Payne, but when 
 the attempt was made the non-commissioned officer used 
 his best endeavors to arrest himself in a backward flight 
 not wholly unlike that which the Dutchman had just taken. 
 Finding his hand now well in, while the officer continued 
 a tirade of abuse, Payne made a second attack, and 
 catching the already dilapidated Dutchman by the collar 
 and a convenient place about his posterior middle, drove 
 him against the side of a house with such force that the 
 beer, sausage and kraut of at least twelve months were 
 thoroughly well shaken up. 
 
 Instead of attempting to rescue the unfortunate officer. 
 
LIFE OF CAPT. PAYNE. 503 
 
 the boys in the company applauded the manual exercise 
 with vociferous shouts of, " Give it to him!" "Knock 
 the bung out of his beer reservoir!" "Show up the 
 kraut 1 " " Set down on him ! " and other tender expres- 
 sions appropriate to the occasion. 
 
 When the excitement had somewhat subsided, the abject 
 and most pitiable appearing inspecting officer was helped 
 to his feet, and by painful persistency reached headquar- 
 ters. On the same day Payne was arrested and placed 
 in the guard-house, but he managed first to telegraph his 
 predicament to Gen. Tom Ewing at Washington, who 
 was a most intimate friend, and on the following day, 
 before any trial was had, Ewing had influenced Secretary 
 Stanton to send a pardon, and thus Payne escaped any 
 punishment for humorously, but none tiie less ef- 
 fectually, drubbing his superior. 
 
 About two weeks after the incident just related, Payne's 
 company was ordered back to Washington, and after the 
 lapse of another week he was ordered to report, with a 
 letter to Gen. Wenzle, at New York harbor. Not under- 
 standing nor inquiring what the errand meant, he obeyed 
 his instructions and was much astonished, after seeing the 
 General read the letter, to hear himself addressed as 
 Lieutenant Payne, for he could not divine why the title 
 had been bestowed. 
 
 Said he : "I guess you are mistaken, General. I am 
 not a lieutenant." 
 
 "Well, then," replied Wenzle, "this is strange; but 
 maybe you have been sent to me to go on my yacht. Are 
 you a seaman ? ' ' 
 
 Payne, though he well knew his disqualifications for a 
 seaman, nevertheless, feeling in the humor for fun and 
 adventure, he promptly responded "yes," and being re- 
 quested, he went down and reported to the captain of the 
 
504 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 yacht. Now, thinking the joke, or misapprehension, had 
 proceeded far enough, he plainly told the Captain that he 
 knew no more about water service than a Government 
 contracter did of the Golden Rule. Payne's astonish- 
 ment was very much increased upon hearing the officer 
 eay that he wanted one man at least who was ignorant of 
 marine service, and that he would be accepted to fill that 
 vacancy. 
 
 Two days afterward, Payne and a comrade were or- 
 dered to man one of the yacht's s;iiall boats, for the pur- 
 pose of taking two of the naval officers, with four elegant 
 ladies, out on a pleasure ride in the harbor. Payne knew 
 nothing about rowing a boat, but fora time he tried hard, 
 though his efforts only subjected him to the derision of 
 the ladies and officers. At length, tired of his vain en- 
 deavors, and being much piqued, he threw his oar out 
 into the water, and then jumped in as if to catch it, but 
 really, owing to the heat of the clay, he only wanted a 
 bath. After swimming around aimlessly ho returned to 
 the boat, and nearly upset it trying to get in again. All 
 this occasioned much laughter, while Payne so infused 
 his comrade with a spirit of mischievousness that he too 
 threw away his oar. 
 
 After the fun had proceeded sometime, the officers or- 
 dered Payne and his companion in servitude to recover 
 the oars and row the boat back to shore ; but this the 
 two oarsmen peremptorily refused to do, and upon being 
 threatened, Payne told the officers that if they made any 
 attempt at coercion he would throw them both out of the 
 boat just as he had the oars. Now, here was a great big 
 dilemma for the officers, their embarrassment being spe- 
 cially humiliating because of the presence of four beau- 
 tiful ladies, before whom anything but a maintainance of 
 official dignity and gallantry would be shocking. 
 
LIFE OF CAPT. PAYNE. 505 
 
 Finding that orders and threats accomplished nothing, 
 and the prospects appearing that the party would spend 
 the night at sea, the ladies began a series of importun- 
 ings with Payne ; but he was inflexible, while his sinewy 
 arms, powerful build, large proportions and determined 
 features admonished the officers how disastrous coercive 
 measures would certainly prove. Every other means of 
 gaining the shore having been fruitlessly debated, the 
 officers at length were compelled to splash around until 
 they recovered the oars, and then pull the boat and party 
 to shore, while Pay 1113 and his comrade sat, one in the 
 prow and the other in the stern, singing jolly songs for 
 the delectation of the ladies. When they reached shore 
 Payne anticipated results by calling at once on his friend, 
 Gen. Tom Ewing, whose influence again procured for 
 him a pardon ; but he never returned to the marine ser- 
 vice, for directly afterward he was discharged with his 
 company, and returned home. 
 
 Payne's service in the volunteer army extended over a 
 period of eight years, first as a private in company F, 
 Tenth Reg. Kans. Infantry, from August, 1861, until Au- 
 gust, 1864 ; his second enlistment was in company G, 
 Eighth Reg. of Veteran Volunteers as private from March, 
 1865, until March, 1866 ; his third service was as captain 
 of company "D" of the Eighteenth Kans. Cavalry, from 
 July, 1867, until November of the same year ; and his last 
 service was as captain of company H, Nineteenth Kansas 
 Cavalry, in which he served from October, 1868, until Oc- 
 tober, 1869. In the meantime he performed other duties 
 of great service to the State, holding the position of post- 
 master at Ft. Leavenworth, a member of the Legislature, 
 and was, during two terms, sergeant-at-arms of the Kan- 
 sas Senate, besides engaging in such political campaigns 
 as gave him an acknowledged influence. He was an ar- 
 
506 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 dent supporter of Gen. Tom Ewing, who after serving % 
 term as Chief Justice of Kansas, sought the greater hon- 
 or of U. S. Senator. Payne worked so hard to secure 
 Ewing' s election that the latter, though a politician, never 
 forgot those favors, and remains to this day one of 
 Payne's warmest friends. 
 
 During the rebellion Payne was attached to the army 
 of the frontier under Gens. Price and Blunt, and was en- 
 gaged in nearly all the memorable conflicts that took 
 place in Missouri and Arkansas, distinguished for desper- 
 ate fighting and dreadful mortality. He was a participant 
 in the battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, which occurred 
 on the 7th of December, 18G4, and in this engagement 
 he performed an act of gallantry Avhich well entitles him 
 to a place in the honorary niche of history. In the hot- 
 test of the fight his 1st Lieutenant, Cyrus Leland, who 
 was at the head of his men leading them in an onslaught 
 against the enemy, was struck hard in the right shoulder 
 and his sword knocked several feet distant. Leland tried 
 in vain to recover his s\vord with the right hand, but in- 
 stead of obeying his will the arm was limp and useless. 
 Then, like the courageous man he was, the wounded lieu- 
 tenant raised the lifeless arm with his left hand and thrust 
 it between his suspender and body, and picking up the 
 sword in his left hand he continued bravely leading his 
 men. In a few moments after receiving the wound, a 
 bullet having crashed through hig shoulder, the gallant 
 lieutenant fell from sheer exhaustion, though at this time 
 the enemy had recovered from the charge, and reinforced 
 was pouring such a deadly fire into the faces of Payne's 
 company that the commanding officer ordered his men to 
 fall back. Payne, seeing his brave comrade lying on the 
 ground, while a maddened enemy was charging back 
 ready to trample him, stepped out of ranks and lifting 
 
LIFE OF CAPT. PAYNE. 507 
 
 the almost lifeless Lieutenant, bore him on his shoulders, 
 like Hector of Troy, for fully half a mile, and deposited 
 his precious burden within his own tent, where immediate 
 surgical attention saved brave Leland's life. Such an act 
 of devoted comradeship can only find a parallel in the 
 Brothers-in-Arms of the time of Henry II., and deserves 
 the richest garlands of poetry to enshrine it in history. 
 Leland was afterward appointed Adjutant General on 
 Ewing's staff, and is now a wealthy citizen of Troy, Kan- 
 sas, a living evidence of Payne's heroism and devotion. 
 
 During his term of service in the Legislature in 1864- 
 65, Capt. Payne opposed the special bounty act, upon 
 purely patriotic grounds, and after its passage he again 
 volunteered, but instead of accepting the bounty he per- 
 mitted it to be credited to his county Doniphan thus 
 manifesting his consistency and honesty. 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 
 AFTER the close of the war, Payne again resumed the 
 occupation of a plainsman scouting, hunting, trailing, 
 guiding trains, etc. His disposition was so congenial, 
 and possessing a courage which challenged the respect of 
 the greatest desperado, he has ever enjoyed the popular- 
 ity of every pioneer who knows him. The Indian Terri- 
 tory and canons of the Cimarron, including the great 
 salt basin, are so familiar to him that he is entitled, by 
 precedence, to the appellation of " The Cimarron Scout." 
 Few men are better acquainted with the Indian character, 
 and his conflicts with the Cheyennes, Arrapahoes, Kiowas 
 and Navajoes are numerous almost beyond the limit of 
 
508 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 description, one of which, because it is classed among 
 the most remarkable that ever took place on the plains, 
 will serve to illustrate his true character. 
 
 In the spring of 1868, the Northern Cheyennes, under 
 Tall Bull, made a raid along the Republican river, and 
 near Jules City they committed a massacre of white set- 
 tlers and travelers which will long live in the memory 
 of Western pioneers. Their atrocities were peculiarly 
 shocking because they spared none but two women whom 
 they reserved for their own devilish purposes ; ripping 
 up the other females, dashing out the brains of children 
 and horribly mutilating the men. The two women 
 whose lives were spared were Mrs. Morgan, a bride of 
 only one month, and a Miss White, both of whom were 
 en route, with their families, for Southern Colorado. A 
 Mrs. Blinn, from St. Louis, was captured, together with 
 her little boy, at the same time, and spared for a w r hile, 
 but being unable to endure the march, the Indians split 
 her head open and butchered her six-year old boy, leav- 
 ing their bodies lying in the trail, where the skeletons 
 were afterward found. 
 
 As soon as a report of the dreadful outrage spread 
 through the settlements, an armed band started in pur- 
 suit of the Indians and followed them for several months, 
 only to at last lose the trail and return home without 
 accomplishing anything. 
 
 When the settlers were first attacked, Mrs. Morgan's 
 husband was shot down before her face, and of course 
 she believed him dead. Miss White, as she was being 
 carried off by her captors, still entertained some hope 
 that her father had escaped, and would act as a guide for 
 some relief party that she expected would make an effort 
 to rescue her. She therefore tore her dress in pieces, 
 and from time to time dropped small bits on the way, so 
 
LIFE OF CAPT. PAYNE. 511 
 
 that if her father should be among the pursuers he would 
 recognize the pieces as parts of her dress, and the party 
 would thus be enabled to keep directly in the trail. Miss 
 White's father, however, was killed, while the husband of 
 Mrs. Morgan, though desperately wounded, was found 
 by friends and by careful nursing became convalescent, 
 but not until after some months had elapsed. When Mr. 
 Morgan grew able to ride, he went directly to Gov. Craw- 
 ford, of Kansas, and asked for assistance in an effort he 
 proposed to make for the recapture of his wife. There 
 were many who believed that Mrs. Morgan and Miss 
 White had been murdered, and that such an expedition as 
 the anxious husband proposed was altogether useless. 
 However, a short time after his conference with the 
 Governor, he received reliable information that both the 
 women were still living and in the keeping of their first 
 captors. Gen. Ouster was commanding a body of Gov- 
 ernment troops in southern Kansas at this time, and 
 learning of the expedition proposed by Morgan, he be- 
 came anxious to enter a chase after the Cheyennes. But 
 before any definite action was taken, Gov. Crawford Bent 
 for Capt. Payne, for the purpose of consulting him as to 
 the advisability of entrusting the expedition to Govern- 
 ment troops or to a volunteer force of Kansas men. 
 Capt. Payne at once advised a concerted movement with 
 an organization of two or three companies of volunteers 
 who would place themselves under the general command 
 of Custer. This action was deemed most expedient, be- 
 cause the Northern Cheyennes had joined their Southern 
 L/ethren in the Indian Nation, and by a union of the two 
 tribes had a force of fully one thousand warriors. 
 
 The result of the interview was that the Governor gave 
 Capt. Payne orders to enlist from one to two hundred 
 men and report to Custer at Ft. Hays. Payne returned 
 
512 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 directly to Leavenworth, and in two days' time had raised 
 a volunteer force of one hundred and fifty men, and had 
 collected one hundred and seventy-five head of mules for 
 the expedition. This force, of which Payne was chosep 
 
 Captain, he took at once to Ft. Hays, and on the next 
 day after his arrival there, November 20th, the entire 
 command was mounted and the expedition started for th 
 
LIFE OF CAPT. PAYNE. 513 
 
 CimarroB, along the banks of which stream it was re- 
 ported the Indians had recently been seen. 
 
 The rigors of a bitter winter came on very early that 
 year, and the expedition had moved only a very short 
 distance, when, striking the lower ridge of the Wichita 
 range and Cimarron canons, the snow accumulated so 
 rapidly that it offered the most serious impediments, a 
 large number of their horses and mules being lost. The 
 command, numbering about twelve hundred men, con- 
 tinued maneuvering in the Indian Territory until the 
 February following, when, owing to the extreme weather 
 and inability to locate the Indians, the expedition went 
 into camp at Ft. Sill and remained for one week. At 
 the expiration of this time the scouts brought in word 
 that the Cheyennes, two hundred strong, had been sighted 
 only a few miles west. This information created great 
 excitement in the camp, and preparations were made for 
 an immediate move. Accordingly, on the 12th of Feb- 
 ruary, the march was begun, the force having been in- 
 creased by the employment of one hundred scouts, who 
 went ahead "beating" the route in order to definitely 
 locate the Indians. Gov. Crawford had also joined the 
 expedition, first resigning his position as Governor of 
 Kansas in order to participate in the campaign. 
 
 The Cheyennes' trail was soon found and led soutwest- 
 wardly for fifty miles ; then struck directly across the 
 Great Salt Plains toward New Mexico. This desert spot, 
 which is from sixty to one hundred miles broad, is one 
 of the most wretchedly dreary and desolate stretches of 
 country on the globe. It is covered by a thick, stubby 
 growth of wire grass, which, in turn, is covered by a 
 heavy incrustation of salt. In marching through it the 
 greatest difficulty is experienced, for the feet sink down 
 just as in a twelve-inch depth of snow covered with a 
 
514 HEROES OF THE PLAINS, 
 
 strong crust of ice. In addition to this impediment^ 
 which cuts the feet of horses and men in the most cruei 
 manner j the salty atmosphere, through inhalation, pro- 
 duces a constant burning thirst, while nowhere can be 
 found in that vast expanse a drop of water. 
 
 On reaching this desolate region, the expedition, being 
 wholly unacquainted with the length and character of the 
 march, neglected to carry a proper supply of water and 
 provisions, a fact which every one in the command real- 
 ized after the first day of their entrance thereon. The 
 animals that were still alive were barely sufficient to 
 convey arms, munitions and camp equippage, so that the 
 men were compelled to complete the entire journey on 
 foot. When night approached, the officers and scouts 
 looking about for water or the shelter of some kind oasit, 
 saw only the shimmering salt, stretching away, appar- 
 ently, to the rim of the horizon on every side ; nothing 
 but the trail of the Cheyennes bore any evidence that a 
 single living thing had ever before explored the regions 
 of this wilderness of uninhabitable desolation. The 
 pangs of thirst began to be felt in both men and horses, 
 which increased as the weary hours wasted, and to pre- 
 vent death from this most terrible deprivation, many 
 experiments were resorted to. Deep wells were sunk, 
 but the water thus obtained was so strongly impregnated 
 with the saline properties of the earth above that it was 
 next to impossible to swallow it. 
 
 The scarcity of provisions became another source of 
 extreme privation, so that the command was placed on 
 half rations, while the march was so fatiguing that it ap- 
 peared for a time that the entire expedition would cer- 
 tainly perish within the confines of this dreadful, barren 
 solitude. These several exhausting and harassing imped- 
 iments so retarded the journey that it was not until the 
 
LIFE OF CAPT. PAYNE. 515 
 
 close of the fourth day that the advance scouts reported 
 the appearance of trees which margined the Salt Plains. 
 When this truly glorious sight broke upon the vision of 
 the suffering army, every throat, though dried by thirst 
 like crispy parchment, found voice for praise, for it was 
 verily like the harvest of life out of death. 
 
 Several of the horses died before they reached the ha- 
 ven of growing vegetation and the purling of singing 
 brooks. So sorely famished were the men that they 
 broke their fast upon the dead carcasses. After reaching 
 the Cimarron river, although there was an abundance of 
 pure water and grasses for their jaded and starved ani- 
 mals, yet contrary to general expectation, no buffalo or 
 other ame was found, and the men were therefore at last 
 reduced to the extremity of killing some of the remain- 
 ing horses for meat in order to save themselves from 
 death by starvation. Capt. Payne, who suffered all the 
 privations endured by his men, was forced by the pangs 
 of hunger to appease his appetite on the steaks of some 
 of his faithful pack animals, and now makes the observa- 
 tion that mule meat may not appear very palatable when 
 included among the ample spread of a versatile menu, but 
 on the occasion when he partook of it he felt that it was 
 as delicious as the mauna that heaven distilled to save 
 the chosen of Israel. 
 
 After three days more of marching, bearing up under all 
 their sufferings, the expedition reached a, section of coun- 
 try where prairie chickens and wild turkeys were abun- 
 dant, and a general hunt soon provisioned the army for 
 the time being. 
 
 On the 13th of March the Cheyennes were discovered 
 encamped on a small tributary of Red river, and imme- 
 diately upon this fact being known preparations were 
 made for an attack. When the Indians learned theprox- 
 
516 HEROES OF THE- PLAINS. 
 
 imity of their pursuers, and finding how determined was 
 the expedition, ten of the sub-chiefs were sent to Custer 
 as a peace commission for a " pow-wow." Among this 
 decemvirate of chiefs were Roman Nose, the head chief, 
 Lone Wolf, Cross Timber, Eagle Chief and Yellow Nose, 
 five whose names were specially loathesome to the Wes- 
 tern settlers. When this body of treaty peace-makers 
 came into camp Custer immediately ordered their seizure, 
 and then sent back word to the waiting tribe that he 
 would hold the ten chiefs as hostages, and would kill 
 each of them if the women were not delivered up. In 
 answer to this the Indians agreed to return the women, 
 but declared they were not with the tribe but were in 
 charge of the squaws at Little Robe camp, twelve miles 
 beJow. They further asked permission to drop down to 
 that camp, promising that they would return on the next 
 day with the women. This request Custer granted, feel- 
 ing confident that so long as he had possession of the ten 
 chiefs the tribe would not kill the women, nor would they 
 attempt an escape. This action of Custer was so bitterly 
 opposed by all his men that only the most careful gener- 
 alship prevented a mutiny. 
 
 The Indians packed up their things, and loading their 
 baggage, squaws and children onto sleds they departed 
 southward. Custer, however, became somewhat anxious 
 about the fulfillment of their promise, and to provide 
 against possible ill-results, he followed with his entire 
 force. When the command reached Little Robe imagine 
 Custer 's surprise to find neither Indians nor any evidence 
 of a recent occupation of the place. The cunning Chey- 
 eynnes had taken advantage of the privilege and dispersed 
 themselves like a brood of young quails when alarmed, 
 not one being in sight. 
 
 This result so annoyed the men that they all clamored 
 
LIFE OF CAPT. PAYNE. 
 
 517 
 
 for the execution of the captive chiefs, but Custer and 
 Payne had influence enough to prevent this. On the fol- 
 lowing day the scouts reported the appearance of Indians 
 
 lurking around the camp, and it now became evident that 
 they were trying to discover what had become of their 
 
518 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 chiefs. This fact led to a most sensible suggestion which 
 resulted, happily, in the recovery of the two women. 
 Knowing that the Indians were now fully cognizant of 
 what was taking place in the white camp, Ouster order- 
 ed preparations to be made for the execution of the ten 
 chiefs. Ten ropes were thereupon adjusted to a long 
 branching limb of a large tree and the ten nooses display- 
 ed to great advantage ; a platform was erected under- 
 neath the ropes, everything being suggestive of an execu- 
 tion, and then a cordon of soldiers was stationed around 
 the tree. Seeing these preparations, some of the Indians 
 came in from their hiding places and offered to give up 
 the women if the lives of the chiefs were spared. This 
 Custer consented to do, provided the women were deliv- 
 ered to him within two and one-half hours from that 
 time. 
 
 The strategies of the Cheyennes could not avail them 
 now, and soon there was descried coming down a defile of 
 the mountains, a long line of Indians, having in front of 
 them Mrs. Morgan and Miss White, each having a buffalo 
 robe wrapped about her person. When they had reach- 
 ed within several hundred yards of Custer' scamp four of 
 the Indians accompanied the ladies into the presence of 
 Custer and formally delivered them up. 
 
 The women presented a most forlorn appearance when 
 they reached their rescuers, and told a tale of suffering, 
 which, if it were not well verified, would certainly be dis- 
 credited by many. Mrs. Blinn, being unable to continue 
 the march, owing to her inhuman treatment, refused to 
 go further, and not being able to force her, an Indian, 
 obeying the order of his chief, grabbed her by the long 
 hair which so beautifully adorned her head, and while 
 another of the fiends was butchering her little boy, she 
 was dragged a short distance, her skull split open by a 
 tomahawk and her body horribly mutilated. 
 
LIFE OF CAPT. PAYNE. 519 
 
 The other two ladies were given over to the care of the 
 squaws, whose jealousy prompted cruelties as cunning as 
 the inquisitorial torments. They were forced to perform 
 the most trying and degrading labors of the camp, and 
 during the winter time, when carrying wood and water, 
 their fingers would become so cold that they could not 
 resist the temptation to warm them by the fire ; as a 
 punishment for this act the squaws forcibly held the 
 hands of the ladies in the blaze until their finger ends 
 were burned to the bone and became charred stumps ; 
 yet even in this agonizing condition their labors were not 
 abated, for the heavy cudgel compelled them to continue 
 in the performance of duties almost too heavy for human 
 endurance. Nor did the night bring them rest, for their 
 sufferings continued until sheer unconsciousness afforded 
 a respite. It is almost impossible to conceive how na- 
 ture, and, least of all, feminine nature, could survive so 
 long under such exhausting and acute pangs of mental 
 and physical torture. 
 
 The Cheyennes, who had escaped the annihilation they 
 so justly merited, made off in a direction which caused 
 grave suspicion that their purpose was to unite with other 
 tribes in the territory and thus re-enforced fall upon the 
 expedition before it could reach the sheltering forts of 
 Kansas. This suspicion was so natural that nearly every 
 one in the command confidently expected an attack, which, 
 if it had been attempted by the large number of Indians 
 whom Tall Bull 'might easily have influenced, would no 
 doubt have proved successful. Thoroughly comprehend- 
 ing the probable danger of his position, Gen. Ouster held 
 a consultation with Capt. Payne, in whose judgment the 
 entire command placed the greatest reliance. 
 
 Said Ouster, addressing Payne : " Captain, we have got 
 to send word to Ft. Hays at once ; some one must act as 
 
520 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 courier to notify our friends of our position, and to cany 
 the good news that the two ladies are in safety with us." 
 
 Capt Payne responded : " Yes, that is my idea, and the 
 sooner a messenger is despatched the better." 
 
 " Well, then," replied Ouster, "you are the very man 
 to make this trip ; you are thoroughly acquainted with 
 the country, and I feel safe in entrusting you with this 
 important mission." 
 
 " All right," was the cheerful reply of Payne, not with- 
 standing the fact that he was the heaviest man in the en- 
 tire expedition, besides holding an official position in the 
 command. 
 
 " You can take your pick of men and horses and start 
 at once. I think you will require about fifty men, but 
 with these I have no fear of your getting through," ad- 
 vised Ouster. 
 
 " The fewer men I have with me the better," replied 
 Payne, "for fifty of the best soldiers in the expedition 
 couldn't make any headway at fighting the hordes of In- 
 dians on the war path between here and Hays, and 
 would only make the trip more difficult." 
 
 "Well," responded Ouster, "you shall have your own 
 way ; what men will you take? " 
 
 "I'll take Jack Oowan and Charley Picard," respond- 
 ed Payne, " and my purpose is to set out from here in 
 about fifteen minutes." 
 
 This was getting ready with despatch, but that was 
 exactly what the circumstances demanded, and at the 
 expiration of the time decided on, Oapt. Payne and his 
 two trusty companions started off briskly for Ft. Hays. 
 The expedition, having been in pursuit of the Cheyennes 
 from November, 1868, until March of 1869, had crossed 
 and recrossed the trail, and so circuitous had been the 
 last month's march that from the point where the ladies 
 
LIFE OF CAPT. PAYNE. 521 
 
 were recaptured to Camp Supply was only one hundred 
 and thirty miles by the direct road, which ran around the 
 northern boundary of the Salt Plains. This first ride 
 was accomplished by Payne in eighteen hours, and reach- 
 ing Camp Supply, a change of horses or, rather, of 
 mules was made, and with a stop only of a few mo- 
 ments, the three couriers started for Ft. Dodge, the next 
 intermediate station. In making the change, Capt. Payne 
 was somewhat annoyed to find that his new mule was a 
 three-year old, upon whose back there had never been 
 the presence of a seat or saddle. Here was fun for those 
 who witnessed the antics of the untamed animal. Payne, 
 though a man weighing nearly two hundred and fifty 
 pounds, was unusually agile for one of his size, and cred- 
 ited himself with an ability to ride anything that could 
 be saddled ; but the obstreperous mule could not be sad- 
 dled until he was violently thrown to the ground and 
 held there till the caparisons were adjusted. By backing 
 the animal up against a rick of wood, so that he could 
 not shy aside, Payne at length managed to mount ; it 
 was now that the interesting part of the performance 
 began it was the trick mule out of the circus ring. At 
 first this long-eared descendant of the Holy Land reared 
 up on his fore-feet and threw his heels out with the force 
 of a cannon ball, taking an angle of nearly forty-five 
 degrees, as if to salute the man-in-the-moon with a ball 
 of Indian Territory mud. In vain did this athletic com- 
 pound of villainy and masked stupidity try to dislodge 
 his rider by kicking ; but having inherited some of tho 
 choice rascality, the cunning strategy of his ancestral 
 kith, the mule plunged directly from kicking into buck- 
 ing, and so quickly, too, was this great protean act ac- 
 complished that, it must be confessed, Capt. Payne's 
 last meal became dreadfully agitated over the result. 
 
522 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Imagine the spectacle of a little mule with a back as flex- 
 ible as an Indian's bow, and having its possibilities as 
 thoroughly in hand. This very considerate animal would 
 draw his back down until it resembled the trough of the 
 the sea : then letting go the spring suddenly, it would 
 shoot up in the shape of a rainbow, permitting the rider 
 to explore the upper currents of atmosphere, and then 
 replace himself with a force as undignified as it was pain- 
 ful. The fun of this thing, it may here be properly 
 stated, was altogether with the mule and the spectators, 
 for the Captain was not allowed a sufficient vacation to 
 discover the nub of the joke. 
 
 This free-for-all, go-as-you-please performance contin- 
 ued for some time without any intermission for refresh- 
 ments, but becoming tired at last with his exertions to 
 please the audience, this interesting mule deliberately lay 
 down, in excellent imitation of the death scene in Romeo 
 and Juliet, both of whom, it is well known, gave up the 
 ghost kicking against the cruel in junctions of Montague,, 
 or Capulet, as you please. The persuasive prod, howev- 
 er, brought the mule to life again for the second act, 
 which, it is but justice to his memory to state, he went 
 through with to the eminent satisfaction of his manager. 
 
 Away went the three daring couriers, each riding a 
 mule and driving a pack animal before them who. was 
 laden with eighteen hundred rounds of ammunition, as a 
 pro visionary precaution in case of a siege. Shortly after 
 dark, as the party was clambering up the hills of Western 
 Kansas, they suddenly found themselves almost within 
 the camp of more than a hundred scalp-loving Kiowas. 
 Jack Cowan, in whom there was the moving spirit of the 
 devil to dare danger, proposed riding through the camp 
 on a run " just to see some fun," as he expressed it. 
 Payne admonished Jack that the nature of their mission 
 
LIFE OF CAPT. PAYNE. 523 
 
 was altogether too important for indulging in fun of that 
 character. The three carefully backed out and went 
 around the camp without being discovered, but on the 
 following day, having passed Ft. Dodge and made an- 
 other change of animals, in looking through the field- 
 glass Payne saw a body of Indians numbering nearly one 
 hundred and fifty, passing through a defile of the hills, 
 evidently following the trail his little party had made. 
 They had not long to await developments, for the paint, 
 discovered through the glass on the faces of the Indians, 
 plainly told the purpose on which they were bent. 
 
 Payne and his comrades made off rapidly for a ravine 
 in which they found the bank sufficiently high and abrupt 
 to well serve their needs for a fortification. As the In- 
 dians came riding rapidly along the hillside near the ra- 
 vine, Jack Cowan, being unable to restrain his impulsive 
 nature, drew his carbine and sent a bullet after the leader, 
 but instead of hitting the Indian he struck the red-skin's 
 horse in the head, knocking him down, and the hillside 
 being steep the pony tumbled and rolled down so near 
 Payne and his comrades that their mules became very 
 much frightened and tried hard to get away. The party 
 being now discovered, a fight ensued in which three sturdy 
 scouts were matched against fifty times their number. 
 Payne and Picard fired a moment after Cowan's first 
 shot and two Indians went down, one killed dead and the 
 other badly wounded. The Kiowas were armed with 
 bows and arrows, and as the wind was blowing in hard 
 gusts, they could not discharge their missiles with any 
 accuracy at long range, and they were too cowardly to 
 make a charge. 
 
 The fight continued for nearly two hours, with the 
 Indians occasionally riding at great speed in a circle by 
 their dead comrades, five of whom were now on the 
 
524 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 ground, and as they came rushing by each one would 
 throw himself on the off side of his horse, and reaching 
 down, try to drag away one of the bodies. This peculiar 
 occupation afforded Payne and his men no small amuse- 
 ment, for the Indians made no serious effort to charge or 
 dislodge the little party. Having at last secured and 
 taken away their dead, the Indians divided, a body of 
 about fifty crossing the ravine, which was quite broad, 
 to make an attack from the other side. Payne at once 
 changed his quarters so as to cover the exposed position, 
 and so dexterously did he handle the Indians now on his 
 side that three of the enemy and two ponies fell victim? 
 to his excellent aim, while Cowan and Picard were 
 equally active, and did such execution that the Kiowas 
 drew off a while to council. In about half an hour they 
 came back on a dead run, each of the two parties circling 
 by the ravine and turning loose a shower of arrows, only 
 one of which, however, did any execution ; this one 
 struck Capt. Payne in the right shoulder, glancing, cut- 
 ting a gash of considerable depth, but fortunately did 
 not touch the bone. Two more Indians and one pony 
 went down in the charge, and Cowan, moved by that 
 impetuous spirit which always distinguished him, jumped 
 up on the bank of the ravine, and shouting to the Ki- 
 owas, took a long pull at his whisky bottle. Seeing this 
 act of bravado, several of the Indians cried out, " Cali- 
 fornia Joe!" and so holy a horror had they of this great 
 fighter, whom they believed Cowan to be, that they im- 
 mediately made off and were seen no more. 
 
 Payne and his party met with no further adventure 
 until the following day, when, on the Santa Fe trail, 
 they were again struck by a party of Cheyennes who had 
 already discovered and set upon Bo\ Wright, who was 
 taking a freight train to Santa Fe The three fougLl the 
 
LIFE OF GAIT. PAYNE. 
 
 525 
 
 Indians so well that a respectable distance was main* 
 tained. The pack mule, however, came near costing 
 them very dearly ; this animal was one of those plodding 
 creatures that, with all the belaboring Baalam could havs 
 
 A Cheyenne Warrior. 
 
 inflicted, would not move out of a jog-trot. It was there- 
 fore a fight under the disadvantages of a distressingly 
 slow retreat, with nothing oil the broad prairie to afford 
 
526 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 shelter. Payne and his men, however, managed to reach 
 Wright's corral without injury, only to find their friends 
 badly frightened over the prospects. There were twelve 
 men with Wright, whom Payne, after filling up to the 
 exciting point with whisky, ordered out and made a dash- 
 ing charge at the Indians, killing nearly a score and gain- 
 ing such a decisive victory that the remainder of the band 
 beat a final retreat. 
 
 On the fourth day out Payne reached Ft. Hays, hav^ 
 ing performed the journey of three hundred and sixty- 
 five miles in one hundred hours, one of the swiftest rides, 
 considering the obstacles and delays encountered, ever 
 made on the plains. Before reaching their destination, 
 having lost so much rest, Payne had to rub tobacco in hia 
 eyes to keep from falling asleep on the way. 
 
 Delivering his message, Payne returned at the head of 
 two hundred men as a relief party, but found Ouster and 
 the expedition making rapid progress and all in the hap- 
 piest humor. No troublesome Indians had been met, 
 and on the 22d of March the command reached Ft. Hays t 
 with the two ladies. Mr. Morgan had been unable to ac- 
 company the expedition, owing to his enfeebled condition, 
 and remaining at Hays had the incomparable joy of re- 
 ceiving his wife from the hands of her deliverers. 
 
 Miss White, who was alone in the world, her father and 
 relatives having been killed at the massacre on Republi- 
 can river, knew not what to do or where to go. Finding 
 her in a very disconsolate frame of mind, " Pottawatto- 
 mie " Jenkins, an old pioneer who accompanied the expe- 
 dition from Pottawattomie county, made a little speech 
 to the boys at Ft. Hays, reciting their gallant acts, and 
 concluding his remarks by calling attention to the lonely 
 condition of Miss White, who was a pretty and highly ed- 
 ucated lady, offered a quarter-section of fine land to any 
 
LIFE OF CAPT. PAYSTE. 527 
 
 one in the expedition who would marry her. This prop- 
 osition was accepted by a man from near Leavenworth, 
 whose name cannot now be recalled. The marriage cer- 
 emony was performed on the same day, both parties ap- 
 pearing very happy over the singular circumstances which 
 ended in their "consolidation," and at night the event 
 Was celebrated by a big " frolic." On the day following 
 a subscription was started for the benefit of the two 
 ladies, both 3trangely united to husbands, and the sum 
 of $2,000 was raised, $1,000 each, which gave the couples 
 a big lift over the obstacles which poverty had interposed. 
 
 The ten chiefs, instead of being released, as the Ohey- 
 ennes expected, were kept in custody and brought up to 
 Ft. Hays with Ouster, where they were placed in the stock- 
 ade, together with sixty-five Indian women and children 
 who had been captured the December previous in the 
 fight with Black Kettle, on the Wachita river. Black 
 Kettle was killed in this engagement, but his sister, Wah- 
 wis-sa, with her three year old child, was captured and 
 kept in the stockade at Hays. Some time during the 
 summer of 1869 the captive chiefs made an attempt at 
 escape, in which they fought with such courage that three 
 of the soldiers on guard were killed, but in return all of 
 the chiefs received mortal wounds from the rifles of the 
 soldiers who were near to succor the guards. 
 
 In this hopeless attempt made by the chiefs, Black 
 Kettle's sister was also killed under very distressing cir- 
 cumstances. Ever since the day of her capture she 
 seemed contented to remain with the whites ; she was 
 permitted to return to her people, her child having been 
 kept, however, at the fort ; but after a time she was 
 offered her liberty, together with that of her child. 
 Instead of going back to her tribe she declared her desire 
 to live always with the white people, who treated her 
 
528 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 much better than the Indians of her own tribe. When 
 the chiefs broke out of the stockade and rushed on their 
 guards this woman became so connected with the strug- 
 gle that, under an apprehension that she was trying to 
 assist the Indians, one of the soldiers shot her in the side 
 fatally. She 1-ived some hours after the shooting, and 
 being conscious up to the moment of her death, she 
 explained that, instead of helping the chiefs, she was 
 trying to take a knife from one of them, and had not the 
 fatal bullet struck her she would have saved the life of 
 one of the guards who was stabbed with the knife which 
 the chief drew from her relaxing grasp. 
 
 In 1870 Capt. Payne removed to Sedgwick county, 
 Kansas, near Wichita, and the following year was chosen 
 to represent that district in the Legislature. While serv- 
 ing in the session of 1871-72, through his influence Sedg- 
 wick county was divided and a new county formed of the 
 northern part, which was called Harvey. In the redis- 
 tricting of Sedgwick county one of its largest town- 
 ships was named in his honor, * ' Payne," in which he now 
 makes his home, owning a large ranche about ten miles 
 northeast of Wichita. 
 
 In the year 1879 Capt. Payne became interested in a 
 movement for the occupation and settlement of a district 
 in the Indian Territory, which is known as Oklahoma 
 (beautiful land). This central spot in that beautiful 
 country comprises one hundred thousand acres of the 
 finest land on the American continent. He claims the 
 right of white settlement on these lands under a treaty 
 made by the Government with the Indians in 1866, by 
 which this district was ceded to the Government as a 
 public domain, and was afterward surveyed and set apart 
 as such. 
 
 Through Capt. Payne's personal endeavors a larg^ col- 
 
LITE OF CAPT. PAYNE. 
 
 529 
 
 ony was organized for the purpose of entering upon and 
 settling these lands. This colony moved early in Decem- 
 ber. 1880, and first assembled on the border of the In- 
 
 dian Territory on Bitter Creek, and after organizing on a 
 military basis, moved along the State line to Hunnewell, 
 wJaere thev went into camp. The settlers were closely 
 
530 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 followed by Federal cavalry under the command of Colo- 
 nel Coppinger, who had previously warned the intending 
 invaders that any attempt to enter the Indian Territory 
 in the face of the President's proclamation would be for- 
 cibly resisted . At Hunnewell, where the cavalry occupied 
 one side of a creek and the colonists the other, 
 the latter remained in camp for two or three days, 
 receiving a good many recruits from the dry region 
 of Western Kansas, where the settlers have been literally 
 starved out for some years past. On Sunday, the 12th, 
 the camp was crowded during the day by the inhabitants 
 of the surrounding country, who came to inspect the 
 throng. During the afternoon, after a dress parade by 
 the colonists, there was a religious service conducted by 
 the colony chaplain. An invitation was extended to the 
 officers of the Federal troops to unite in the service, and 
 their acceptance occasioned great satisfaction. Seats 
 were provided for the ladies, some forty or fifty in num- 
 ber, and the exercises opened with the grand national an- 
 them, "America." The chaplain's text was from Exo- 
 dus the Lord's commandment to Pharoah to let his peo- 
 ple go and possess the promised land. The next song 
 was: 
 
 " Hold the fort for we are coming, 
 Oklahoma still." 
 
 In which hundreds of voices joined, and the religious ex- 
 ercises concluded with the rendition of the ' ' Star Span- 
 gled Banner," three cheers for the flag, three more for 
 the President, and a tiger for the Federal troops. It was 
 a novel spectacle, and none seemed to en joy it better than 
 the officers of the army, who sat upon the anxious bench, 
 sandwiched between the choir and the pilgrims. The 
 stars and stripes were conspicuously displayed about the 
 camp, while a number of the wagons were adorned with 
 
LIFE OF CAPT. PAYNE. 531 
 
 the same colors. The wagon covers were nearly all in- 
 scribed with " On to Oklahoma I " " No Turning Back ! " 
 " Strike for Homes ! " " Uncle Sam is rich enough to 
 to give us all a home in Oklahoma ! " and similar devices. 
 On Sunday night a colony meeting was held for confer- 
 ence as to their future course, but the only conclusion was 
 to wait a day or two longer for some modification of 
 the President's order, under which it would be possible 
 for them to proceed. 
 
 The Secretary of the Interior, Carl Schurz, having held 
 that these lands were purchased exclusively for the settle- 
 ment of negroes or of Indians who would accept the civil- 
 izing influences of the nation, the President issued his 
 proclamation forbidding white persons to enter upon 
 these lands, and called upon the military to enforce the 
 order. 
 
 Receiving no answer to their petition, which the colo- 
 nists had forwarded to the President, and getting some- 
 what anxious, whilst many proposed entering the lands 
 despite the military, on the 13th of, December a meet- 
 ing was held at which Dr. Robert Wilson, of Texas, was 
 appointed a committee of one to go to Washington to see 
 if something could not be done at once to relieve the crit- 
 ical situation on the border. 
 
 On the 14th the colonists broke camp and moved for- 
 ward to Caldwell, Kansas. Before starting the chaplain 
 offered up a prayer for the success of the undertaking, 
 in carrying the gospel and civilizatian to this hitherto 
 barbarous and benighted land. At Caldwell, where five 
 wagons and twenty men joined the column, the Mayor 
 and a long procession of citizens came out to meet 
 the colonists and escorted them through the streets, 
 women waving handkerchiefs and men cheering. The 
 eavalry moved along with the settlers without interfering 
 
532 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 with their progress. The day following, at a mass meet- 
 ing of the citizens of Caldwell, resolutions were adopted 
 indorsing the movement to settle the lands, and asking 
 
 the President to order the troops to accompany the set- 
 tlers to Oklahoma as an escort. 
 
 Being unable to accomplish anything, either through 
 petition or by endeavoring to influence Congressional 
 
LIFE OF CAPT. PAYNE. 533 
 
 legislation, the colonists became restless, and shortly 
 afterward Capt. Payne, having been arrested by the U. 
 S. authorities, charged with tresspassing on Indian reser- 
 vations, the colony disbanded temporarily. 
 
 The trial of Capt. Payne occurred at Ft. Smith, before 
 U. S. District Judge Parker, on the 7th of March, 1881. 
 He was represented by Judge Baker, of St. Louis, who 
 argued at great length the character of the treaty of 1866. 
 The question raised over Capt. Payne's arrest involves 
 directly the nature and validity of that treaty, and hence 
 a means is afforded for testing a point upon which the 
 Secretary of the Interior and the ablest lawyers of the 
 country are at variance, the latter holding that Oklahoma 
 is a part of the public domain , and subject to pre-emption 
 and settlement like all other public lands. 
 
 Personally, Capt. Payne is one of the most popular 
 men on the Western frontier. He is a natural scout, 
 born and indurated to the hardships of adventure and 
 campaign service. His mother is a first cousin of the 
 celebrated Davy Crockett, for whom he was named, and 
 from whom he seems to have derived a character which 
 has led him into a similar life. Unlike most heroes of 
 the plains, Capt. Payne is a strictly temperate man, and 
 is so far removed from the desperado and bravado that 
 he is universally recognized as a dignified gentleman of 
 no small talent in all the fields of labor where his services 
 have been employed. He is in the very prime of life, of 
 very large and powerful frame, with such a commanding 
 presence, mild manners and agreeable deportment that 
 he is by right esteemed as one of the most prominent 
 men whose names are inseparably linked with the settle- 
 ment of the West. 
 
 82 
 
534 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER, 
 
 PR D. F. POWELL) 
 
 CHIEF MEDICINE MAN OF THE WINNEBAGOSIOUX 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE life of White Beaver (Dr. D. F. Powell) bears 
 all the colors and shades of an idyllic romance ; his char- 
 acter stands out upon the canvas of human eccentricities 
 in striking originality, and finds never its counterpart, 
 save in stories of knight-errantry, when hearts, names 
 and titles were the prizes bestowed for daring deeds 
 evolved from generous sentiments. His has been the 
 tenor of uneven ways, with characteristics as variable as 
 the gifts in Pandora's box. A born plainsman, with the 
 rough, rugged marks of wild and checkered incident, and 
 yet a mind that feeds on fancy, builds images of refine- 
 ment, and looks out through the windows of his soul 
 upon visions of purity and fields elysian. A reckless 
 adventurer on the boundless prairies, and yet in elegant 
 society as amiable as a school-girl in the ball-room ; evi- 
 dencing the polish of an aristocrat, and a cultured mind 
 that shines with vigorous lustre where learning displays 
 itself. A friend to be valued most in direst extremity, 
 aad an enemy with implacable, insatiable and revengeful 
 animosities. In short, he is a singular combination of 
 opposites, and yet the good in him so preponderates 
 over his passions that no one has more valuable friend- 
 ships and associations than these strange complexities 
 5S5 
 
536 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 attract to him. He is an ideal hero, the image which 
 rises before the ecstatic vision of a romancer, and he 
 impresses himself upon the millions who know his repu- 
 tation as a brave and chivalrous gentleman. 
 
 Dr. David Frank Powell (White Beaver) has in his 
 veins the blood of three races, each of which has im- 
 parted to him a distinct peculiarity. His mother was a 
 woman of great fertility of mind and resource, whose 
 father was a full-blooded Indian Medicine Chief of the 
 Seneca tribe, who were known as the Nun-da-wa Ona 
 (Mountain-dwellers). Her mother was a Tompkins, 
 born in Tompkins County, near Seneca Lake, New York, 
 which county was named in honor of her people. The 
 mother of the subject of this sketch was married at the 
 age of fifteen years to Dr. C. H. Powell, of Kentucky, 
 who was of Highland-Scotch descent. Their acquaint- 
 ance and marriage occurred while Miss Tompkins, with 
 her Indian father, was upon a hunting excursion near 
 Seneca Lake, when, by accident, she met Mr. Powell, 
 who was surveying that region. After marriage, the 
 couple went to Kentucky and settled in the mountainous 
 district near the Tennessee line, on the Kentucky River. 
 Mr. Powell was a highly-educated gentleman, speaking 
 several languages, and was a physician of large reputa- 
 tion. Mrs. Powell is popularly reputed to have been a 
 woman of extraordinary beauty, and, having an inherited 
 liking for botany, she acquired an exceptional knowledge 
 of the medicinal virtues of nearly every plant indigenous 
 to the places where she lived. This knowledge she 
 applied industriously, and became not only a great 
 assistant to her husband, but was known and sought as a 
 physician by thousands herself. 
 
 There is no doubt but that Dr. Frank Powell has inher- 
 ited all the striking traits of his character from his 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 537 
 
 mother, for she was a woman not alone of beauty and 
 intelligence, but also one of great magnetism, which 
 made her the counselor of all her acquaintances ; she 
 was courageous almost beyond expression, firm and self- 
 reliant, yet sympathizing, generous, noble and gentle. 
 These traits are impressed upon all her children, who 
 resemble her in both appearance and disposition ; even to 
 her grandchildren have been transmitted these same dis- 
 tinguishing peculiarities. 
 
 Of the tribe of Indians to which Mrs. Powell (before 
 her marriage) belonged, there were four branches, or 
 clans the Beaver, Wolf, Bear and Turtle she being a 
 member of the Beaver clan. Her grandfather, a firm 
 friend of the whites, was a soldier under Gen. Sullivan, 
 and received his death-wound in 1779 in a battle which 
 took place near Niagara Falls. 
 
 Dr. D. Frank Powell was born at the home in Ken- 
 tucky, May 25th, 1847. He had no early school advan- 
 tages, save what his parents gave him in their own log 
 cabin, but they were both excellent instructors, and not 
 only taught him the rudiments of an education, but also 
 the fundamental principles of medicine, a profession 
 which he gave youthful indications of embracing, mani- 
 festing an aptitude said to have been almost marvelous. 
 
 In the year 1855 Mr. Powell died, and soon thereafter 
 Mrs. Powell, anxious to again see her parents, who were 
 living at an advanced age, sold all her effects, and, with 
 her family of three sons Frank, George and William- 
 returned overland to New York. Here she settled again, 
 about thirty miles from Ithica, and began farming. 
 Meeting with indifferent success, after a few years she 
 started with her family for the Great West, which was 
 then beginning to attract emigrants. Getting as far as 
 Chicago, the family stopped, and young Frank secured a 
 
538 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 position with F. A. Bryan, a druggist, with whom he 
 remained for two years, and until his mother decided to 
 again remove, this time directing her course for Omaha. 
 Here Frank was given a situation as chief clerk in a large 
 drug-store, owned by Dr. James K. Ish. In this posi- 
 tion his efficiency and rare medical knowledge, for his 
 age, became so conspicuous -that they were recognized by 
 Dr. Ish giving him a full partnership interest in the store. 
 The firm of Ish & Powell developed a large business in 
 the preparation of family medicines, which they supplied 
 to nearly all the Territories. 
 
 Frank was now making both reputation aud money, 
 but the other members of the family were unsettled, and 
 to find employment they purchased a considerable tract 
 of land on Platte River, Nebraska, near Lone Tree, a 
 place that is now historically known as Old Eagle Island. 
 Here Mrs. Powell remained, using her best efforts for 
 the advancement of her children's interest, giving both 
 her unremitting labor and counsel until 1879, when she 
 was seized with purpura, which ended her eventful life. 
 The boys, with their own hands, made her a grave under 
 the cotton woods, and, bedewing the sacred spot with a 
 libation from breaking hearts, left her in a pious sleep. 
 That upheaval of precious earth is still their Mecca, to 
 which they pay homage in annual pilgrimages, to leave 
 their offerings of filial love. 
 
 While conducting his prosperous business in Omaha 
 Frank usually spent two months of each year on the 
 ranche with his brothers. Game was abundant, not to 
 speak of the Sioux Indians, and this became a field of 
 delight for his adventurous nature. He was a fit com- 
 panion for the noblest and most noted border men, and 
 his society being courted, Frank became a favorite of 
 such daring plains heroes as Buffalo Bill, California Joe, 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 539 
 
 Wild Bill, Leon Pallerday, "Old Man Platte," the Ke- 
 shaw family, Texas Jack, and a hundred others. From 
 the inception of these friendships, they found that Frank 
 was a brave lad among the bravest men, that with a dar- 
 ing heart he had a generous kindness, and already was a 
 surgeon and physician whose equal had not yet set foot 
 upon the frontier. 
 
 In -the times of which I am now writing the great 
 plains were productive only of buffaloes and Indians, the 
 number of each apparently being in fair distribution ; 
 buffalo hunting was therefore an exhilarating sport, but 
 fighting and getting away from the Indians was decidedly 
 more exciting ; and the latter was very often a sequence 
 of the former. There are men who cannot appreciate a 
 pastime unless there is in it an element of great danger. 
 It is this characteristic which attracted many reckless 
 men to the frontier and won for them the name of heroes. 
 Among this class Frank Powell was a conspicuous figure, 
 but while some followed the various employments pe- 
 culiar to the plains and incurred dangers in pursuit of a 
 livelihood, Frank invited them as an exhilarant, met them 
 because they were the true delight of his courageous and 
 venturesome nature. He has been an active, front-rank 
 participant in a hundred or more fierce Indian fights, and 
 bears upon his person the trade-marks of not a few val- 
 orous warriors ; if I were to describe all the battles in 
 which he has heroized himself it would require a book 
 equal to the whole of this work, but there are some ad- 
 venturous incidents which the value of history demands 
 that I record : 
 
 In 1868, while Frank was out hunting with the elder 
 Eeshaw, McCabe, the Shoshone scout, Jonathan Pugh, 
 and eight others, the party was attacked by a band of 
 Arrapahoes in command of Chief Friday, near Whiskey 
 
540 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Gap, on Sweet water River. The Indians came upon them 
 suddenly, but not until hasty action permitted Powell's 
 party to corral their horses and make a stand in a buffalo 
 wallow. The Indians numbered fully one hundred war- 
 riors and were well armed, several having rifles and pis- 
 tols, which, however, it appears they had not learned to 
 use effectively. The fight was very spirited at the be- 
 ginning, and for a time there were grave doubts that a 
 single one of the besieged hunters would escape. Their 
 horses were shot down in a short while, but this really 
 served as an advantage to the men, for immediately the 
 bodies were piled in a circle and used as a barricade. 
 Indians never fight like white men, their tactics being to 
 ride in a circle around their enemies, gradually closing in 
 if advantage promises, instead of charging directly. It 
 was thus the Arrapahoes kept up their attack, riding- 
 round and round the little party of brave hunters, shoot- 
 ing and yelling, but doing no more damage than occa- 
 sionally wounding, with spent bullets that penetrated 
 through the barricade, some of the hunters. But there 
 was more execution made by the besieged, so that after 
 the first day's fighting the Indians drew off out of range, 
 intending to starve out the beleaguered party or compel 
 them to abandon their defensive position by preventing 
 them from replenishing their canteens with water. The 
 river was nearly one mile distant, flowing peacefully by, 
 unmindful of the service its inviting waters might give to 
 the famishing party. For three days and nights the In- 
 dians, feeling certain of their victims, kept their posi- 
 tions on hillsides surrounding the hunters ; every avenue 
 of possible escape was securely guarded ; no friendly aid 
 could be expected ; there was no pitying glance in na- 
 ture's aspect, and everything seemed to forecast a mas- 
 sacre. Of food there was an abundance, but every drop 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 541 
 
 of water had been exhausted on the first day, chiefly in 
 bathing wounds, and thirst had now become an enemy 
 more dangerous than Indians. No one was determined 
 what to do until at last up spoke Powell, the youngest of 
 the party : * I will decide this battle ; better die at once 
 than linger from parching thirst in the terrible stench of 
 these dead horses." 
 
 " Well, what will you do?" was asked him. 
 
 " Do? Why charge the red devils and trust to luck ; 
 follow me who will ; for one I intend to leap into the 
 crisis." These last words had scarcely left his lips 
 when with a spring he leaped outside the breastworks 
 and made a break for the river. With terrible yells the 
 Indians dashed toward him ; down they came in a fierce 
 swoop, every warrior competing for the white man's 
 scalp. When a distance of scarce fifty yards separated 
 them, Frank stopped and, raising his gun, fired, and the 
 foremost Indian dropped headlong from his saddle. A 
 rattling fire followed from the hunters, who, until now, 
 Frank did not know had left the barricade. There was 
 a fierce contest for a few minutes, in which so many In- 
 dians were killed that the remainder drew off and let the 
 brave hunters through, who reached the Sweetwater and 
 there so intrenched themselves that they had no imme- 
 diate fear of another attack. The wounded were attended 
 by Frank with such skill that only one died from injuries 
 received in the fight ; four others of the party, however, 
 were killed outright. 
 
 The Indian whom Frank killed with his first shot 
 proved to be " Walking Crane," one of the most re- 
 nowned braves among the Arrapahoes, whose teepee was 
 well lined with scalps taken from those he had destroyed 
 in battle. 
 
 The reckless daring as well as decisive judgment dis- 
 
542 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 played by Frank upon this occasion gained for him a 
 considerable reputation among all the scouts and Indian, 
 fighters, and his name soon became familiar throughout 
 the northwest. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SHORTLY after the battle on Sweetwater, with a party of 
 four others, Frank was hunting on Stinking Water, and 
 was again attacked by twenty or more Sioux. Thistime r 
 however, he sought no protection, but, without giving 
 his companions time to consider, he ordered a charge and 
 rode with all speed toward the Indians ; his daring act 
 inspired those that were with him, and a more gallant 
 charge was never made than that which here followed, 
 Taking the bridle reins in his teeth, with a revolver in 
 each hand and carbine caught fast in the saddle seat 
 before him, his appearance was sufficient to inspire anj* 
 painter. Fierce as a wounded panther, and shooting 
 with rattling rapidity, the five men rode up to and over 
 the Sioux before they had time to think of their enemy's 
 action, least anticipating anything but retreat from so 
 small a number. Seven of the Indians were killed iu 
 this attack and as many more were wounded. Had not 
 the others fled their entire party would certainly have 
 been annihilated. But of such fights I might describe 
 scores, actual rencontres which occurred on the Beaver > 
 Platte, Republican, Solomon, Arrickaree, Niobrara, 
 Prairie-dog Nose, and other creeks upon which it was* 
 the custom of Frank Powell to hunt and scout. 
 
 Being a thirty-second degree Mason, even at this early 
 age, Frank was appointed District Deputy Grand Mastei 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 
 
 543 
 
544 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 of Masons for Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming, and 
 in 1869 conferred the Master's degree upon Buffalo Bill 
 at Platte Valley Lodge, Cotton wood Springs. 
 
 In the latter part of 1869, although Frank had neve* 
 been to a regular school one day in all his life, he sub 
 mitted to a competitive examination, with thirteen othei 
 candidates, for a beneficiary scholarship in the University 
 of Louisville. This examination was made in pursuance 
 of a rule of the college which admitted, free of matricu- 
 lation expense, one scholar from each state, the candidate 
 being selected by a board of examiners in the respective 
 states, Gen. Estabrook, the eminent jurist, being presi- 
 dent of the Nebraska board. With the disadvantages 
 against him, Frank carried off the honors and thus 
 became admitted to the college as a beneficiary student. 
 He spent the years 1869 (latter part of), 1870-71 at the 
 medical department of the college, and by performing 
 the duties of janitor paid his expenses ; before graduating 
 he was made assistant demonstrator of anatomy, and 
 upon finishing his course was pressed to take a professor- 
 ship. But his desire for a wild life, the lonesomeness of 
 a large city to him, and the proffer of a position as post-* 
 surgeon from Gen. Joseph B. Brown, medical director of 
 the Department of the Platte, induced him to decline the 
 former honor and take the latter. As a recognition of 
 his learning and the high social esteem in which he was 
 held at the college, he was chosen as valedictorian of his 
 class and acquitted himself with such merit that his 
 address was printed in hundreds of newspapers. It was 
 thus he started life as an M. D. ; but, aside from the 
 prestige which his college course and graduation g^ve 
 him, Dr. Powell owes most of his success as a physician 
 to the teachings of his mother ; this fact is attested 
 largely by the results of his practice before he received 
 hia degrees - ^ 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 545 
 
 While attending college in Louisville Dr. Powell went 
 through the ordeal of a duel with Dr. Louis Oppeuheimer, 
 a member of the faculty of the same college, which 
 created a very great excitement at the time and led to 
 the publication of many accounts of the affair, few of 
 which were correct. The facts are easily accessible, as 
 Dr. Oppenheimer is still living and practicing medicine 
 in Indiana, possibly in Seymour. A bitter feeling arose 
 between the two, consequent upon an insult which it was 
 alleged Dr. Oppenheimer gave to a lady friend of Dr. 
 Powell's. The reported insult may have been exaggerated 
 by officious persons, but Dr. Powell felt that it was his 
 duty to protect the lady, and therefore, according to the 
 ethics of Kentucky aristocracy, he sent a challenge to 
 Dr. Oppenheimer, which was accepted. The latter, 
 having the selection of place and weapons, chose the 
 dissecting room of the college, which was on the fifth 
 floor, and for weapons pistols were named. There was 
 a ghastly feature about this duel which made it unique, 
 but fortunately it was not fatal . The dissecting room of 
 a college is, perhaps, of all places, the one most suitable 
 for a reflection on death and its terrible consequences. 
 There was a gruesome suggestiveness to Dr. Powell that 
 his antagonist felt certain of his aim and had an ambition 
 to dissect his victim ; but if so it did not come to pass as 
 the challenged party hoped, if not anticipated. 
 
 The combatants repaired to the room selected some 
 time after nightfall, accompanied by their seconds. A 
 distance of ten paces was cleared by removing tables on 
 which reposed dead bodies in various stages of dissection, 
 and the principals then took their places. Dr. Al. 
 Blakely, now a practicing physician in New York, ar- 
 ranged the preliminaries by first placing the principals 
 back to back, with instructions that at his word they 
 
546 
 
 HEKOES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 were to walk apart until reaching the positions assigned 
 to them, when, at the word " fire," they were to wheel 
 and discharge their weapons. When the two took their 
 first positions Dr. BUikcly turned down the gas until ob- 
 jects in the room were scarcely perceptible. When they 
 
 had walked apart to their positions, the gas was turned 
 on again and the command to fire was given. At the 
 first discharge Dr. Powell was shot in the left forearm, 
 while a ball from his pistol grazed Dr. Oppenheimer's 
 cheek. Friends of both parties acknowledged satisfac- 
 tion, but Dr. Powell demanded a second fire, which, of 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 547 
 
 course, was accorded. The same rules were again ob- 
 served, and the result this time was more serious than 
 before ; for, though Dr. Powell escaped, Dr. Oppen- 
 heimer received a bullet in his right shoulder, shattering 
 the bone and rendering his pistol arm useless. His com- 
 batant being thus disabled, Dr. Powell could not ask for 
 another fire, and thus the duel terminated, not fatally, 
 but seriously. Dr. Powell carries a scar from the wound 
 thus received, while Dr. Oppenheimer has never regained 
 the full use of his right shoulder. 
 
 After his appointment as post-surgeon, Dr. Powell 
 was located at Fort McPherson ; he was changed from 
 there some time afterward to North Platte Barracks, 
 thence to Camp Stambaugh, Fort Laramie, and other 
 posts, at each place becoming a great favorite. Tiring 
 of garrison life in its endless and unvarying duties for a 
 surgeon, the Doctor asked for and was granted permis- 
 sion to take the field with the soldiers when sent out upon 
 campaigns. This gave opportunity, for which he thirsted, 
 to participate in numerous fights with the Indians, and so 
 eagerly did he embrace it that his superiors found fault 
 with him for always being in front when a battle was 
 waging, rather than in the rear attending to the wounded. 
 . The numerous dashing escapades in which Dr. Powell 
 has figured, both as principal and participator, cannot be 
 chronologically given, for the reason that he never kept 
 a diary, nor has he ever made any attempt to preserve 
 them in his memory ; besides, being supersensitive, it is 
 only by the greatest exertion that he can be induced to 
 speak of himself. Therefore, the few I here record are 
 adventures which I have had described chiefly by others, 
 who were witnesses of the incidents themselves, or who 
 received the accounts from those who were. 
 
 As an illustration of his sympathy and generous nature, 
 
548 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 the following is told of him by Buffalo Bill. In the year 
 1873, just after returning to Fort McPherson from a 
 scouting expedition among the Sioux, and when almost 
 exhausted from hard riding with Capt. Meinhold, of the 
 Third Cavalry, Dr. Powell was called upon by a half- 
 breed, who begged him to attend immediately upon the 
 daughter of Moran, the French scout, known as Iron 
 Leg, who had been bitten by a Massasanger rattlesnake. 
 
 Without waiting to dismount, he dashed off to Moran' s 
 ranche, two miles from the fort. Keaching the cabin, he 
 found the girl in a rapidly-sinking condition, her leg that 
 was bitten being swollen to twice its natural size. He 
 took a bottle of brandy and forced it down the girl's 
 throat, after which he made an incision into the leg where 
 the bite was received, and, applying his lips to the wound, 
 sucked it for nearly an hour, and until no more blood 
 could be drawn from it. This truly heroic act saved the 
 girl's life, but it greatly jeopardized his own. His lips, 
 which had been chapped, became dreadfully swollen, and 
 the poison in his system showed its work in various ways, 
 but through his own skill in medicine he recovered. The 
 young girl thus rescued from death gave the Doctor her 
 pet antelope, which she prized above all other things ; a 
 refusal to accept it seemed to cause her grief, as she de- 
 sired to attest her thankfulness, and the Doctor therefore 
 kept it. Having grown to womanhood, she is now a sis- 
 ter-in-law of Leon Pallerday, official interpreter, with 
 whom she is living, with her sister, at Rosebud Agency. 
 
 For many years Dr. Powell has been known as White 
 Beaver, a name which sticks to him with the tenacity that 
 Buffalo Bill does to Cody. This appellation the Doctor 
 received under the following circumstances, as he related 
 them to me himself. 
 
 Rocky Bear, a Ke-uck-se, or "Cut-Off" Sioux Indian^ 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 549 
 
 bad a daughter whom he called Muz-zas-ka, meaning 
 White Metal, whom he loved with an affection rarely ex- 
 hibited among the tribe. She was not so pretty as some 
 Indian maidens are described to be, but she was neverthe- 
 less her father's pride. This young girl, about eighteen 
 years of age, was stricken down with malarial fever, which 
 became aggravated by reason of the treatment which she 
 received. It has been an ancient practice among Indians, 
 and is so among not a few tribes even to-day, to treat 
 their sick by incantation and noisy ceremony, attributing 
 disease to the influence of an evil spirit, which they seek 
 to propitiate. In the instance now being noted, the In- 
 dians had for several days been chanting their doleful 
 songs, and making a terrible noise with gourds, partly 
 filled with shot, over the girl. This tumult, of course, 
 only served to excite the patient, and arrest any natural 
 tendency there might have been in the favorable condition 
 of the disease. The girl, therefore, was given over to 
 die ; she had become first delirious, and then almost com- 
 atose. She was in this condition when Dr. Powell, by 
 accident, came into the Indian camp. Hearing a death- 
 chant near where he stopped, he inquired the cause, and 
 learning all the facts, he went to the patient, and after 
 making an examination, told Rocky Bear that the girl 
 might be saved, which information gave the Indian great 
 joy, and he begged the Doctor to treat her, offering every- 
 thing he had on earth if a cure were accomplished. Dr, 
 Powell then dismissed the chanters, and, admonishing 
 quiet under all circumstances, treated the girl so effect- 
 ively that he soon had her well again. The gratitude of 
 Rocky Bear was unbounded, and to prove this he pre- 
 sented to the Doctor a white beaver skin, which, among 
 Indians, is regarded with reverential awe and supersti- 
 tious veneration, similar to the estimation in which white 
 33 
 
550 HEROES OF THE PLAINS, 
 
 elephants are held by the Siamese. In making tb3 pres- 
 ent, Rocky Bear also gave Dr. Powell the Indian name, 
 *<8hoppa-8k<xS 9 the Sioux for White Beaver, which be- 
 stowal was because his mother was known to be a mem- 
 txa^ of the Beaver Senecas. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The manner in which White Beaver, as he must now bv. 
 known, nurses his wrath and vengeance is illustrated in 
 the following incident, which occurred in 1867, and was 
 correctly reported at the time for a Western paper (the 
 clipping from which lies before me, but name detached) 
 by an eye-witness. 
 
 About the year 1865, White Beaver, being always a 
 favorite with the ladies, was paying attentions to a very 
 estimable young lady, not with any view to matrimony, 
 but because her society was agreeable. In the same town 
 were two brothers named Royall, who were handsome, 
 well-dressed fellows, but of a dissolute character, and 
 whose pride was in the destruction of female innocence. 
 These two men were both seeking the ruin of the young 
 lady referred to, who, being a widow's daughter, and 
 without brothers to defend her, became an object of their 
 special concern. Their character, however, was so well 
 disclosed to the young lady by White Beaver that she re- 
 pelled their addresses. Finding that their specious wiles 
 were unavailing, the two concocted a diabolical plot to for- 
 cibly accomplish their base, lecherous desires. The young 
 lady was lured from her home by a female companion, 
 and in a covert to which she was carried the poor girl was 
 sacrificed. When White Beaver learned these facts, ho 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 551 
 
 sought the impious wretches, but they had flown. Day 
 and night he seemed to hear the plead ings of that terribly 
 wronged girl ; he took upon himself the grievance of a 
 brother, and in the saddle he sought the villains. Years 
 went by, and yet they could not be found ; he was anx- 
 ious lest one or both of them might die before he could 
 avenge the girl ; but it was not so destined. There was 
 a day of reckoning, and it came about in this way : White 
 Beaver was with the Indians near Sand Creek ford, on 
 the Arrickaree, and while in camp one evening an Indian 
 came in telling of two strangers whom he had met at a 
 ranche a few miles distant. His description of the men 
 led White Beaver to believe they were the Royall broth- 
 ers. So fixed was he in this belief that on the following 
 
 o 
 
 morning he took up his Winchester, and started over to 
 the ranche. Just before reaching the cabin, he saw two 
 horsemen, and, riding near them, was gratified to see 
 that his suspicions as to their identity were correct. He 
 made a circuit to head them off, for they had discovered 
 who he was, and rightly divined his intentions ; but, be- 
 ing two to one, they sought no means to avoid a meeting. 
 A few minutes elapsed, when White Beaver was within 
 rifle range, and, as he was in the act of dismounting, both 
 the brothers fired at him. Their shots, however, were 
 without effect. Then the Beaver fired, and had the sat- 
 isfaction of seeing one of them, Oliver, fall dead ; a sec- 
 ond shot wounded the other one, but did not unhorse him, 
 and he made good his escape. The shooting attracted 
 the men at the ranche at which the brothers had stopped 
 over night, and three of them came down to where the 
 dead body of Royall lay, and took charge of it. White 
 Beaver only turned the dead man over to be certain he 
 had made no mistake, and satisfying himself, he rode again 
 to the Indian camp, without making any explanation of 
 
552 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 his conduct. The paper that published an account of 
 duel condemned White Beaver, but afterward, learning 
 all the circumstances, an article was published applauding 
 the act. 
 
 The surviving brother rode on to Elm Creek Station 
 where he appeared four days after the affray, and there 
 made affidavit that his brother had been killed and him- 
 self wounded by Dr. D. F. Powell, " White Beaver," 
 but he refused to give his name. This is the first time 
 that the full particulars of this tragic incident have been 
 published. 
 
 After the killing of Oliver Roy all, White Beaver con- 
 nected himself with a band of Cut Off Sioux, who were 
 under the leadership of Rocky Bear. This branch of the 
 great tribe was called " Cut Off"' because they had with- 
 drawn themselves from all connection with the tribe, and 
 literally became bandits of the prairie, engaging in pred- 
 atory excursions, chiefly against the Arrapahoes and 
 Cheyennes. Their object was to capture whatever of 
 property they could take from these tribes, and their en- 
 gagement therefore became one of war and reprisal. 
 
 At this time White Beaver never expected to enter the 
 borders of civilization again ; he had met with reverses, 
 which came as a natural consequence ; his associations 
 were all of the lawless class, and he drifted away from 
 wholesome influences, until his nature blended with that 
 of the wild savages with whom he allied his fate. The 
 Cut Offs were desperadoes, daring to a fault, reckless 
 and remorseless. Following these Indian devastators, 
 White Beaver was led into many fearful contests and 
 slaughters, frightful to contemplate. In one of these 
 onslaughts he was badly wounded, and for a time his life 
 was dispaired of, but a rugged constitution and excellent 
 care from a devoted mother brought about his recovery, 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 55S 
 
 and the results which followed are given in the chronicles 
 of his after life a reformed and useful man. 
 
 The details of the light referred to are briefly told : 
 White Beaver, with Eocky Bear and his clan of Indian 
 adventurers, was in camp on the South Platte River, in 
 the summer of 1876, waiting, like a crafty spider for 
 victims to fall into his web. A party of fifty or more 
 Arrapahoe Indians were seen far to the south, crossing a 
 prairie butte with a herd of horses. This was the game for 
 which the Cut Offs were watching ; every one was quickly 
 mounted and pursuit given, expecting to have a hard ride 
 after a band of fugitives ; but the Arrapahoes refused to 
 be intimidated, since the numbers on each side were about 
 equal, and, as it proved, they were both war parties. A 
 lively dash over the prairie soon brought the two tribes 
 into a collision that was indeed war to the knife, and 
 knife to the hilt. White Beaver was one of the bravest 
 and most active participants, killing several Arrapahoes 
 and scalping them in a running fight from his horse. 
 
 His attention was particularly attracted to a powerful 
 brave whose long lance was decorated with a score or 
 more scalps, indicative of his prowess and valor ; to over- 
 come this stalwart warrior, at oncq the hero and pride of 
 the Arrapahoes, became W^hite Beaver's ambition, and 
 through the excited ranks of both sides he dashed on his 
 fiery pony towards the Indian who was striking the Cut 
 Offs with direful execution. As White Beaver swiftly 
 advanced, he drew his revolver and tried to shoot, but 
 every chamber in his pistol had been discharged, a fact 
 of which he was in ignorance, and he had no time to 
 draw another weapon. As the horses of the two com- 
 batants came together, the Indian made a vicious thrust 
 with his long, keenly pointed lance, but instead of impal- 
 ing his antagonist, as he intended, his horse reared so that 
 
554 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 the lance struck White Beaver in the left thigh, cleaving 
 the sciatic nerve and cutting an artery from which a tor- 
 rent of blood spouted. The first sensation was that of 
 
 extreme pain, which lasted but a moment, when a dazed 
 feeling succeeded that served to deceive White Beaver as 
 to the extent of his injury ; he therefore continued fight- 
 
LIFE OF WHTTE BEAVER. 555 
 
 ing until almost exhausted from the loss of blood ; hi 
 horse was shot dead , and he himself being too weak to rise 
 again, several Arrapahoes rushed upon him to secure his 
 scalp, but he had another pistol with which he defended 
 himself most valorously and effectively. Rocky Bear, 
 endeared to White Beaver by the strongest ties, for saving 
 his daughter's life, as already described, came to the as- 
 sistance of his suffering friend, and, having killed th<* 
 Indian who gave him such a dreadful lance thrust, rallied 
 a number of his braves to the rescue, and the Indians 
 surrounding White Beaver were beaten back and the vic- 
 tory was finally won by the Cut Offs, but at the sacrifice 
 of nearly one-half their number, who lay dead upon the 
 field. Being in the vicinity of his mother's home, White 
 Beaver, now unconscious, was placed upon a swinging 
 litter carried between two horses, and thus conveyed to 
 his mother's ranche, where he lingered between life and 
 death for many days, but finally recovered. 
 
 Under his mother's influence White Beaver resolved to 
 enter upon a plan of usefulness, and abandon the wild 
 and savage career and associates from which he had been 
 providentially separated. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 DURING the time that he was post surgeon at Camp 
 Stambaugh, a border tragedy was enacted, in which he 
 was a principal by reason of a difficulty which was forced 
 upon him. The Beaver, with his brother George, a man 
 by the name of Morse, Dwight Brafit, and two others 
 went out hunting and stopped at a stage ranche near 
 Slade's old camp ; the party sat down in the saloon that 
 
556 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 was kept there and began a game of draw poker. The 
 game had proceeded only a short time when it was inter- 
 rupted by the entry and riotous conduct of Jim Dyson 
 and a band of desperadoes from Utah. They were 
 determined upon a row, and in order to precipitate a 
 disturbance they ordered the game of poker to be re- 
 sumed and that he should take a hand. White Beaver 
 refused to do this, whereupon Dyson drew his revolver 
 with the determination of killing some person. He had 
 only discharged one shot, without effect, however, when 
 White Beaver seized his Winchester and with it struck 
 Dyson a blow on the head, which crushed the fellow's 
 skull so that he died within an hour. The others, seeing 
 their leader fall by the hand of our hero, made a hasty 
 retreat, but several were helped out of the cabin in a 
 very familiar, not to say expeditious, manner. 
 
 Massacre Canon is the name given by White Beaver to a 
 deep gorge in the North Phitte River where was enacted 
 one of the most atrocious butcheries that has ever found 
 record in border history. 
 
 In the spring of 1877 White Beaver was out on a scout- 
 ing campaign with a company of soldiers from Camp 
 Stambaugh, under command of Capt. Meinhold. The 
 Cheyennes had become troublesome, stealing stock and 
 occasionally killing settlers, and there were threatenings 
 that they intended soon to go on the war-path. The 
 expedition was intended more to intimidate than to pun- 
 ish, as Indian war always results in the killing of not a 
 few defenceless people, including women and children. 
 
 The expedition had been out for several days, meeting 
 an occasional burnt cabin and other evidences of Indian 
 devilment, when at length they struck a fresh trail lead- 
 ing up the iiv,r baiiK indicating a war party of about one 
 hundred Cheyennes. As the trail grew plainer tne uroofs 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 
 
 557 
 
 increased that the Indians were in open hostility, their 
 outrages being now plainly apparent. As the company 
 reached a point overlooking the gorge referred to a dread- 
 
 ful sight in the valley below .net their gaze ; there were 
 broken emigrant wagons, a smouldering camp-fire, and 
 no less than fifteen emigrants lying dead and frightfully 
 mutilated. The Indians had evidently surprised the little 
 
558 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 party and with most malignant cruelty had butchered 
 every one of them, adding to death a horrible feature of 
 the scalping knife. 
 
 A grave was dug by the soldiers, in which the mutila- 
 ted emigrants were placed and then covered to protect 
 the bodies from coyotes ; this required but a short while 
 and after its completion the company started in active 
 pursuit of the Indians. No doubt anticipating that a ne- 
 mesis would be on their track the Indians marched so 
 rapidly that it was not until the second day after the 
 massacre that Capt. Meinhold's company overtook them. 
 The Indians were just going into camp late in the even- 
 ing, when their presence was discovered and with a whoop 
 the soldiers, headed by White Beaver, rushed upon the 
 murderous red-skins. There was a rattle of small arms 
 that meant terrible execution, and the Indians being sur- 
 prised their defense was of little consequence.- White 
 Betivor killed no less than ten of the Cheyennes, but he 
 was himself badly wounded in the groin, being struck with 
 a charge from a shot-gun. This wound laid him up for 
 nearly two months, but while the fight lasted he gave no 
 attention to anything save the enemy, fully one-half of 
 whom were killed, the remainder escaping through their 
 woodscraft. 
 
 The manner in which White Beaver became medicine 
 man of the Winnebago-Sioux Indians is thus 'related by 
 himself: "In 1876 I was on a deer hunt in the pine 
 forests above Black River Falls. It has been my custom 
 to take a hunt every year, and usually I visit the Indian 
 camps to be of assistance if any is needed, and because I 
 like to be brought in contact with the Indian character. 
 It chanced that while on this hunt old Wee-noo-sheik, 
 head chief of the Winnebago nation, was very sick, 
 suffering from fever and old wounds. His medicine 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 559 
 
 men had been unable to relieve him, and, learning that 
 I was in his vicinity, he sent out several of his tribe to 
 search for me and beg me to come to him. I was easily 
 found, and to their importunities I readily assented. 
 Once within his camp he told me I should not go out 
 again until he was cured- Inasmuch as it is not an 
 uncommon thing for chiefs to order the execution of a 
 medicine man who fails to cure distinguished patients of 
 the tribe, I was not in a very rapturous frame of mind 
 when I took charge of Wee-noo-sheik. His condition 
 became a matter of extreme importance to me, though I 
 betrayed no feeling of anxiety, as I did not regard the 
 case as a very dangerous one in the beginning, but I gave 
 him my very best professional services. He did not re- 
 cover as rapidly so I wished, or expected, but in about 
 three weeks the old chief was able to go out of the teepee 
 again and resume his usual occupations, smoking and 
 hunting. Directly after his recovery he called a council 
 of his people, at which, with much ceremony, I was for- 
 mally adopted into the tribe and made medicine chief of 
 the nation, a position which I still ostensibly hold." 
 
 In 1877 White Beaver removed to Lanesboro, Minne- 
 sota, where he established himself as a practicing physi- 
 cian, and soon there came to him more patients than he 
 could accommodate. His fame as a skilful surgeon had 
 grown until it spread over the entire northwest, and there 
 was little need for him to make special efforts to enlarge 
 his professional calls. But, like nearly all western char- 
 acters, he had dropped into the customs of army officers, 
 who, to dissipate the tedium of camp life, in the absence 
 of all refining influence, dissipate themselves. This was 
 very unfortunate for him, because of the disposition 
 which came uppermost when under the influence of 
 drink. He is no longer a victim of this vice, but, being 
 
560 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 at all times as frank as his name, with never anything to 
 conceal, he often speaks of regretful adventures which 
 he might have escaped. Notwithstanding his occasional 
 sprees, the people of Lanesboro were warmly attached to 
 him, and when two years ago he decided to leave there 
 for more fertile fields, a petition was gotten up and 
 signed by every person in town beseeching him to remain 
 with them. 
 
 While practicing in Lanesboro he was called profes- 
 sionally to Elliota, a small town in Fillmore County, and 
 while there he became involved in a quarrel with a large 
 and powerful Norwegian, a desperado of well earned 
 reputation as a fighter and man-slayer. An insult had 
 been given which White Beaver resented with a blow of 
 his fist ; the Norwegian quickly drew a large dagger and 
 made an overhand strike, but the knife was arrested by 
 catching on the two first fingers of White Beaver's left 
 hand, chopping a large piece of flesh from the first finger 
 and splitting the middle one its entire length. At -the 
 second stroke he caught the knife blade squarely in his 
 right hand so that the guard stuck in the lorwer portion 
 and the blade ran across, the edge inward. No one can 
 imagine a more cruel grip, for the knife cut with a grind- 
 ing, crunching noise, through flesh and tendon and almost 
 through the bones themselves. Here was a test of nerve 
 rarely, if ever before, exhibited ; a man who can hold n 
 sharp dagger in his hand while his combatant is wrench- 
 ing and trying to make the knife cut its way out, cer- 
 tainly has a marvelous amount of reserve force. But 
 White Beaver knew that his only hope lay in preventing 
 the knife from being wrenched from his grasp, so he 
 heroically held out until, by reaching with his bleeding 
 left hand back and around his own body to the right side, 
 he drew a revolver from his bek and quickly shot three 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER 
 
 561 
 
 bullets into the Norwegian's abdomen with deadly effect. 
 White Beaver's hand will always remain badly disfigured 
 from the knife wounds which he received in this desp<y 
 ate encounter. 
 
 COMBAT WITH THE NORWEGIAN. 
 
 Jtn 1879, while still a resident of Lanesboro, a party of 
 Indians visited White Beaver and made their camp about 
 
562 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 hvo miles from the town, on Root River. On the night 
 of their arrival White Beaver paid them a visit in com- 
 pany with a young man named Mack Donaldson, now 
 a resident of Sioux Falls, Dakota, from whom I learned 
 the particulars of the affair which follows : The Beaver 
 shook hands and spoke to several of the Indians in their 
 native tongue, a language which he converses in with the 
 same fluency as in English. All the Indians seemed de- 
 lighted to see him, save one, who sat apart from the rest, 
 with his features hidden under a large red blanket. Upon 
 inquiring the cause of his sulkiness, Big Fire, a chief, 
 told White Beaver that the man was a Sioux who had 
 married a Winnebago squaw, and was going with them to 
 see her at Black River Falls. The Beaver then approached 
 the disguised Indian with a friendly salutation, to which 
 he received the following reply : "White Beaver had bet- 
 ter keep his voice within his throat ; Sioux braves do not 
 talk to pale-faced long knives who feast on cut-throat 
 blood." This expression cannot be well understood 
 without some explanation. "Dakota," in the Sioux 
 tongue, signifies " cut-throats," by which name the Sioux 
 call themselves. " Melahoskas " is the Indian expres- 
 sion for soldiers who carry long knives swords. This 
 Indian who had made the insulting reply to White Beaver, 
 had met him in Dakota during a war between the soldiers 
 and the Sioux when White Beaver fought in the front 
 ranks ; he still felt angry, ready to fight on small provo- 
 cation and for these reasons he used the language quoted. 
 White Beaver pulled aside the blanket which concealed 
 the Indian's features and recognized a Sioux belonging to 
 Crazy Horse's band, and an Indian with whom he had 
 had some trouble in 1875. When the blanket was drawn 
 aside the Indian, very irate at the act, drew a revolver 
 and snapped it three times at White Beaver, but as it did 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 563 
 
 not discharge he started to run. Mack Donaldson fired a 
 small pistol at the Indian without noticeable effect, while 
 White Beaver ran to a log on which he had laid his rifle 
 and as the Indian plunged into the water he fired, sending 
 a bullet through his victim's body. All the Indians ap- 
 peared glad that they were thus rid of a troublesome 
 companion, who they asserted had been ugly during the 
 entire journey. White Beaver and Donaldson recovered 
 the body from the river and gave it secret burial, where 
 it no doubt still lays. 
 
 The Indian tribes generally, and particularly the Sioux, 
 are governed by a strict but unwritten code of morals 
 which appear baybaric in observance. It is an exception 
 amounting almost to curiosity a rara avis to find an 
 Indian who will no\ deal when opportunity offers. I, of 
 course, refer only to Indians who have never separated 
 from their tribal relations. It is also very rare to find 
 one who has any conception of truth or honor. They 
 are uncleanly, I may say filthy, have little or no regard 
 for their conjugal partners as a rule, expose their persons 
 without a suggestion of modesty ; and yet, with all these 
 brutalizing instincts they observe that rigid moral senti- 
 ment which forbids that sensual indulgence so common 
 among all other peoples. There are such beings as libid- 
 inously immoral Indian women, but they are singularly 
 few, a fact which would be almost remarkable but for the 
 punishment that is provided and practiced to force the 
 women to be virtuous. It is not always that such cruel 
 means are resorted to, but on the other hand the punish- 
 ment is not infrequently inflicted. A case in point will 
 serve to illustrate the barbarism to which I have refer- 
 ence. In the year 1878, after White Beaver had returned 
 to civilization again to pursue his professional calling, 
 upon an occasion he visited a band of Sioux Indians on 
 
564 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 their reservation near Cannon Ball Eiver. It chanced 
 that during this visit an Indian girl was detected in a fla- 
 grant relation with a young buck, and as the discovery 
 
 was made by a rejected suitor he sought his revenge by 
 reporting the facts to his chief. The girl was accordingly 
 apprehended and the proofs being incontestable she was 
 duly sentenced to death ; the manner of her execution 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 5G5 
 
 was decided by the chief, who ordered that she be torn 
 asunder by two horses, one to be hitched to her arms and 
 the other to her feet, and then driven apart. This exhi- 
 bition of cruel savagery was prepared for and was upon 
 the point of being carried out when White Beaver inter- 
 posed all his influence as a medicine chief, to which he 
 added threats of speedy punishment of the chief if the 
 intended execution were not prevented. A row ensued, in 
 which White Beaver killed one Indian and then drew his 
 revolver upon the chief, declaring his intention to shoot if 
 further molestation occurred. By this exhibition of bra- 
 very, his own influence, and threats that the government 
 would certainly bring the offenders to a dreadful justice, 
 he at length prevailed upon the Sioux to release their in- 
 tended victim and send her out of the camp. This rigid 
 discipline of female morals has such an effect that what- 
 ever the exposure or opportunity, officers and soldiers at 
 the frontier posts have declared to me that a dissolute In- 
 dian woman is rarely seen once in a soldier's lifetime, a 
 statement which mv own observation leads me to believe. 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 IN the year 1878 White Beaver made the best invest- 
 ment of his life, as well as the wisest ; this fortunate 
 step being no less than his marriage to Miss Bertie Brock- 
 way, of Minneapolis, one of the most amiable and charm- 
 ing little women I ever met ; she is an aggregation of 
 noble characteristics, such as serve to make the very 
 name of woman revered by gentlemen who can appreciate 
 so God-like a creation. The refined, cultured influence 
 of this lady has subdued the recklessness of her husband, 
 84 
 
566 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 and subordinated his superficial life to the purer and 
 nobler nature which lay deep within him ; she has been 
 to him like the sunlight to transplanted, precious seed 
 that had before sent up only unattractive shoots in 
 some rocky, shaded place. Instead of the teepee and 
 smoke from the camp-fire which once he courted, White 
 Beaver now lives among flower beds, rich paintings, mu- 
 sic's soothing and elevating influence, in a home where 
 the sunlight of a high life streams gloriously upon all his 
 surroundings, and where the chill of discontent never en- 
 ters. Thus has his wife brought him back to what he 
 pined for but never before understood, love's shrine, and 
 here he daily makes his well accepted sacrifices. 
 
 In the year 1881, at the solicitation of Buffalo Bill, 
 White Beaver consented to make a short tour as a mem- 
 ber of the former's theatrical combination. He was cast 
 in an important part, and though wholly without prepar- 
 ation, he acted it with credit. It was through his influ- 
 ence that a band of Winnebago Sioux Indians were se- 
 cured to travel with the great scout's show, and thereby 
 added much to the success of the season. The tour was 
 not without its incidents ; two old time friends, scouts, 
 Indian fighters and bordermen, such as Buffalo Bill and 
 White Beaver could not long remain together without giv- 
 ing some evidence or outcropping of their previous lives ; 
 both being men of iron nerves, fearless under all condi- 
 tions that can be mentioned, they were like a lion that, 
 long caged, is loosed again in his native jungle : he first 
 looks dazed, and contemplates his suroundings as in a 
 dream, then plunges headlong into covert declaiming to 
 the woodland round about his freedom. From stage ac- 
 cessories the two comrades turned instinctively to stories 
 of their wonderful adventures, and disported again in 
 memory on the great plains which are fast becoming a 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 567 
 
 mighty harvest field. It was next to impossible for them, 
 thus associated, to confine their attention to the enact- 
 ment of scenes through which they had so often passed, 
 and it was for this reason, being ever mindful of their 
 restraints, that White Beaver returned to the practice of 
 his profession before the season was concluded. I must 
 chronicle one escapade, however, which transpired before 
 he gave up his engagement : While the company w r a-s 
 playing at the Olympic Theater, in Chicago, three of the 
 Indians became drunk and began to have a grand war 
 dance in the property room of the theater during the per- 
 formance ; they created such a disturbance that several 
 of the ladies in the audience became very much fright- 
 ened and were beginning to leave. Buffalo Bill was in 
 the middle of an act, so White Beaver took it upon him- 
 self to quell the noisey savages. He thereupon ran down 
 into the room and found Long Trailer, Decorah, and 
 Brave Bear dancing and singing a war-song with vocifer- 
 ous gusto. The Beaver ordered them to cease, where- 
 upon Long Trailer made a vicious blow at him with a war 
 club. White Beaver evaded the blow, and having a 
 heavily loaded whip in his hand struck the hostile on the 
 head and laid him out unconscious. The other two Indi- 
 ans came to the rescue of their unfortunate comrade, but 
 they received a dose fully as large ; at this juncture Buf 
 falo Bill, who had rung down the curtain, made his ap- 
 pearance, and in less time than the facts can be told the 
 three Indians were bound and in a helpless condition on 
 the floor. One of them remained with Buffalo Bill, but 
 the other two returned to Wisconsin, where it is said 
 Long Trailer died from the effects of the blow given him 
 in this rencontre. 
 
 In 1872 White Beaver removed from Lanesboro to La 
 Crosse, Wisconsin, where he established a large medical 
 
568 HEROES OP THE PLAINS. 
 
 institute, tnd in addition to his practice, which is larger 
 than that of any physician in the State, he is pushing the 
 sale of his wonderful herbal remedies, White Beaver's- 
 Cough Cream and his Yosemite Yarrow, well known now 
 all over America. His institute in its interior decorations. 
 is a marvel of beauty and artistic selection and arrange- 
 ment. He has seven large rooms for the accommodation 
 of both sexes: two reception rooms, a large laboratory, 
 two operating rooms, an office, and a large packing room. 
 The two reception rooms are furnished not only sumptu- 
 ously, but with a skill for harmonious effects. In the 
 ladies' room is an elegant set of furniture, the richest car- 
 pets, fine oil paintings, a playing fountain of cologne-wa- 
 ter, large fresh bouquets and numerous bric-a-braa 
 decorations. In the gentlemen's room there is an 
 exhibition of rich mementoes and rare trophies, indicative 
 of his pride, habits and proclivities. The ceiling and 
 walls are arched, festooned and otherwise elaborately 
 decked with memorials and souvenirs of his friends, gifts 
 from both Indians and white men. Almost covering the 
 ceiling is an immense buffalo hide, hairless and soft 
 tanned, ornamented by Indian hands with colored twine 
 and beads. There are pictures on the walls of celebrated 
 Indian chiefs whose names are most familiar to American 
 history. There is also the skull of Little Crow, who 
 planned and executed the direful Minnesota massacre of 
 1802. There are also skulls of other Indians who have 
 played conspicuous parts in border warfare, and Indian 
 pipes of curious workmanship, arrows, bones, stone im- 
 plements, mound relics, specimens of fancy bead work, 
 buck-skin clothes, guns and pistols of both ancient and 
 modern make, all being the gifts of friends. 
 
 White Beaver still maintains his great influence among 
 the Winnebago Indians. Those living in the vicinity of 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVER. 569 
 
 Black Eiver Falls, fifty miles from La Crosse, several 
 hundred in number, consult him upon every political step 
 contemplated by the tribe ; in this way he has several 
 times been before the Indian Commissioner in their be- 
 half. His word is law among them ; only a short time 
 ago an Indian became insane and in his mad frenzy beat 
 his mother's brains out with a club ; for this act he was 
 regularly tried, according to the customs of the Indians; 
 and sentenced to be shot. The facts accidentally reached 
 White Beaver, who at once wrote a letter to chief, Bi* 
 
 o 
 
 Fire, advising him not to shoot the young man, who was 
 unaccountable for his acts, but to have him sent to the 
 insane asylum. The letter was read, and its contents be- 
 ing imparted to the tribe they with one accord accepted 
 the advice and acted upon it. He has been offered every 
 inducement within the gift of any Indian tribe, time and 
 again, to go with them and be their medicine chief. They 
 regard him as one having direct relations with the Great 
 Spirit and believe that if he would abide with them they 
 could never be subject to pestilence or misfortune. Such 
 is the power which the superior mind of a resolute, intel- 
 lectual white man may exercise over the Indians, who 
 still see in the disturbed or peaceful elements the wrath 
 er pleasure of the Creator. 
 
 In addition to his other qualifications peculiarly fitting 
 him for a life on the plains, he is an expert pistol and rifle 
 shot, in fact there are perhaps not a half-dozen persons 
 in the United States who are his superiors ; his precision 
 is not so great now as it once was, for the reason that dur- 
 ing the past three or four years he has had rery little 
 practice, but even now he would be regarded as an expert 
 among the most skilful. For dead-center shooting at 
 stationary objects he never had a superior ; his eyesight 
 is more acute than an eagle's, whick enables him to dis- 
 
570 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 tmguish and hit the head of a pin ten paces distant, and 
 this shot he can perform now nine times out of ten. 
 Any of his office employes will hold a copper cent be- 
 tween their fingers and let him shoot it out at ten paces, 
 so great is their confidence in his skill ; he also shoots 
 through finger-rings held in the same manner. One very 
 pretty fancy shot he does is splitting a bullet on a knife- 
 blade, so exactly equally dividing it that the two parts 
 will strike in a given mark ; he also suspends objects by 
 a hair, and at ten paces cuts the hair, which of course he 
 cannot see, but shoots by judgment. Several persons 
 have told me that they have seen him shoot a fish line in 
 two while it was being dragged swiftly through the water. 
 At this writing (October, 1883) White Beaver is having 
 made a novel target which, if he succeeds in striking, will 
 give him world renown as a rifle-shot. This unique 
 arrangement consists in a double circular target, one 
 placed behind the other, with a bull's-eye in each near 
 the periphery, or within an inch of the outer rim. The 
 first one is stationary while the rear one revolves, and 
 they are so placed that at each revolution the bull's-eyes 
 are brought opposite each other for the instant. It is 
 White Beaver's ambition, and I may say, design, to shoot 
 through both bull's-eyes while the rear target is revolving. 
 To do this will require quicker shooting than has ever yet 
 been attempted. The calls on his professional service* 
 are so great that he has no time to practice with the riflo 
 save after nine o'clock at night, and gas-light shooting is 
 not favorable to a rapid development of <*kill as a marks- 
 man, so I think it is doubtful if he ever accomplishes the 
 feat which he has set about to do. 
 
 A description of White Beaver is not difficult to give, 
 because of his striking features ; those who see him once 
 are so impressed with his bearing that his image is never 
 
LIFE OF WHITE BEAVEE. 571 
 
 forgotten. He is just six feet in height, of large frame, 
 and giant muscular development ; a full, round face set 
 off by a Grecian nose, a handsome mouth, and black eves 
 of penetrating brilliancy. His hair is long, and hangs 
 over his shoulders in raven ringlets. In action he is mar- 
 vellously quick, always decisive, and his endurance almost 
 equals that of a steam engine. His appearance is that of 
 a resolute, high toned gentleman conscious of his power, 
 and yet his deference, I may say amiability, attracts 
 every one to him. He is, in short, one of the handsomest 
 as well as most powerful men among the many great He- 
 roes of the Plains. 
 
 The extraordinary popularity of Dr. Powell among the 
 masses is well attested by the fact that he has been twice 
 chosen Mayor of La Crosse, and each time received an 
 overwhelming majority, though running as an independ- 
 ent candidate. At the present writing (1886) he is still 
 Mayor of his beautiful city, and in July, at a State Con- 
 vention of the Workingmen's Party, he was strongly 
 endorsed for Governor. He is no doubt the strongest 
 candidate for the Governorship in the State, though by 
 no means a seeker for the office, and probably could not 
 be induced to make a canvass for the position. 
 
TATANKA-E YOTONKA. Autograph Signature. 
 
 573 
 
SITTING BULL. 
 
 A SKETCH OF THE CELEBRATED INDIAN CHIEF'S LIFE, 
 
 AND His STORY OF THE MASSACRE OF 
 
 GEN. CUSTER AND His MEN. 
 
 ALSO, REVELATIONS OF THRILLING INCIDENTS CON* 
 
 NECTED WITH THIS REMARKABLE BATTLE, BY SPOTTED 
 
 HORN BULL'S WIFE, AN INTELLIGENT INDIAN 
 
 WOMAN, WHO PARTICIPATED IN THIS GREAT 
 
 HISTORICAL EVENT, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 IT has been more than seven years since the tragic but 
 heroic death of Gen. Custer and his brave band on the 
 Little Big Horn River. The remembrance of that dire- 
 ful day brings a tear to almost every eye, and such heart- 
 aches to the friends of the two hundred and forty-six 
 heroes who lay down in death together upon the wild hill- 
 sides of a remote country. The story of how they died, 
 fighting like the Lacedaemonians, has been told a thousand 
 times, but never by a survivor, for of all those who stood 
 like a rampart about their commander, not one lived 
 through the savage hail-storm of bullets and arrows ; 
 they left their bleeding corses, piled one upon another, 
 with faces always toward the foe, and thus made their 
 sacrifice complete, hallowing a spot fit for the yew tree's 
 ahade. History after history has been compiled, and 
 commissioners have visited the battle ground to secure 
 
 73 
 
574 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 reliable facts concerning the fight. A court of investiga- 
 tion was held to examine charges preferred against Major 
 Reno, for whose coming and assistance Gen. Ouster 
 looked so anxiously on the fatal day. But with all these 
 efforts many important facts were necessarily omitted 
 from all histories and reports, because they could not be 
 gathered from inferences. 
 
 Applications have been time and again made to the In- 
 dians who participated in the fight, for particulars of the 
 battle, but by Sitting Bull's advice they all refused to 
 talk on the subject, believing that any admissions regard- 
 ing the fight would criminate themselves and lead to their 
 condign punishment. I have striven hard to procure re- 
 liable incidents of the massacre, seeking all sources, and 
 beyond what is recorded in previous editions of this work 
 failed to receive anything of additional interest until the 
 occasion which I am now about to report. 
 
 After some correspondence with Buffalo Bill, several 
 government interpreters, and commanders at various posts 
 in the West, I decided to visit Ft. Yates Standing Rock 
 Agency where Sitting Bull and his tribe are stationed, 
 and make a last endeavor to learn how Custer died. This 
 visit was made in August (1883) and so well did my en- 
 terprise succeed that I have deemed the information then 
 gathered of sufficient importance to add it as an appendix 
 to " Heroes of the Plains." 
 
 My route to Ft. Yates was by the way of the Northern 
 Pacific R. R. to Bismarck, Dakota, and thence by stage, 
 sixty-six miles south, where I crossed the Missouri River 
 in a skiff late in the evening and took lodgings with the 
 store-keeper, Mr. Douglass. Ft. Yates is a considerable 
 post so far as houses are concerned, but the force sta- 
 tioned there consists of only two hundred and fifty men, 
 tbese beipjF portions of the Seventh Cavalry and Seven- 
 
SITTING BULL. 575 
 
 teenth Infantry. The reservation extends up and down 
 the river forty miles, on which there are estimated to be 
 seven thousand Sioux, all of whom, except those since 
 born, composed the body that massacred Ouster. Sitting 
 Bull is, of course, the central figure of his tribe, but 
 there are many other chiefs whose valor far transcends 
 that with which he is credited, such as Rain-in-the-Face, 
 Low-Dog, Gall, and Crow King, who fought Ouster with 
 such fatal results. 
 
 True democracy flourishes only with the Indians ; the 
 chiefs are chosen for their wisdom, by bands, and these 
 bands are great or small according to the chief's popular- 
 ity ; thus, an Indian may be chief of a band of twenty, 
 or of two hundred, for eveiy Indian has the right to for- 
 sake his chief and become a member of another band. 
 It often occurs that a chief is entirely abandoned, and 
 then he becomes, practically, " a private in the rear 
 ranks." 
 
 Sitting Bull is not a chief in the sense the term is used f 
 but is a Moses among his people ; he has almost unlim- 
 ited influence among all the tribe, whether chiefs or bucks ; 
 some have pronounced him a medicine man, but this he 
 disclaims, for he is too cunning to be subjected to a 
 daily manifestation of his power. He claims to be a 
 prophet ; that he is in direct communion with the Great 
 Spirit, who visits his teepee and talks with him face to 
 face ; and not only talks, but smokes his pipe and makes 
 himself otherwise familiar. 
 
 The career of Sitting Bull, or that for which he has 
 credit, is eventful, if not remarkable, especially that por- 
 tion since 1875. His war with the government opened in 
 the spring of that year. Various depredations in the 
 neighborhood of Fort Buford, on the Missouri River, 
 were charged to him, but he denied them. Some settle*" 
 
576 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 began measures of retaliation, when the prophet became 
 greatly enraged, and, gathering about him a strong band, 
 refused to live on a reservation, and went into camp on 
 the Yellowstone. Then followed his siege of Fort Pease, 
 when five hundred Indians endeavored for three months 
 to capture the place and its defenders, forty-seven white 
 men in all. A regiment of cavalry and some friendly 
 Indians were sent to the relief of the garrison, but Sit- 
 ting Bull withdrew at their approach, and as soon as the 
 troops escorted the besieged away he returned and burned 
 the fort. War was then declared against him, and, fail- 
 ing to surrender within the ten days allowed, Generals 
 Crook, Terry and Gibbon started after him in different 
 directions. He checked the advance of General Crook 
 by engaging his troops, slaughtered General Custer and 
 all his band in an ambush on June 25th, 1876, and effect, 
 ed an escape to Canada, where he lived, under the sur- 
 veillance of Major Walsh, of the British Mounted Police, 
 until the year 1880. 
 
 On Monday, June 14th, a body of Sitting Bull's tribe, 
 to the number of five hundred, came down from the 
 British territory, and, crossing the Yellowstone, surren- 
 dered to Gen. Miles at Ft. Keogh. A smaller party had 
 surrendered to Gen. Miles in 1877, but this was because 
 of his active campaign in which the Indians were pursued 
 so closely that they, were unable to cross the British line. 
 
 Sitting Bull, and about two hundred of his followers, 
 surrendered on the 20th of June, together with their 
 arms and ponies, to Major Brotherton, at Ft. Buford. He 
 was forced to take this course to save himself and people 
 from starvation. They found the British climate too 
 severe, while the game of that region was so scarce that 
 they could not sustain themselves. The cavalcade, as it 
 entered the fort, attracted much attention. It consisted 
 
578 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 of six army wagons loaded with squaws and children, fol- 
 lowed by thirty of Louis Legare's Red River carts well- 
 filled with baggage. Sitting Bull himself and his chiefs 
 rode their ponies, and refused to dismount or shake hands 
 until they arrived at the place fixed upon for their camp. 
 Immediately after the surrender, the Indians were placed 
 between the Post and the steamboat landing and there re- 
 mained secure in Maj. Brotherton's charge until a few 
 months after, when they were transferred to Standing 
 Rock Agency. 
 
 On the evening of my arrival at Ft. Yates I made the 
 acquaintance of several officers at the club room, among 
 whom was Capt. McDougal of the 7th Cavalry, who was 
 with Maj. Benteen at the time of the Custer massacre, and 
 who, with his commanding officer, attacked the Indians 
 so savagely that Sitting Bull was compelled to retreat. I 
 also met Lieutenant Brennen, of the Seventeenth Infan- 
 try, also Captain Greene, Captain Howes, Colonel Stewart 
 and others. Announcing to them the object of my visit, 
 they volunteered their services to make my trip a success- 
 ful one. 
 
 On the following morning I was introduced to Mrs. 
 McLoughlin, wife of MajorMcLoughlin the Indian agent. 
 This excellent lady is official interpreter for the govern- 
 ment, and her influence with the Indians at the post is 
 almost equal to that of Sitting Bull himself. Her servi- 
 ces to me were invaluable, of which I shall speak here- 
 after. 
 
 Shortly before noon a government team was placed at 
 my disposal, with a driver, and accompanied by Captain 
 McDougal and Lieut. Brennen, I drove down to Sitting 
 Bull's camp, one mile south of the Fort. Upon reach- 
 ing the tepees we learned of a funeral which was then 
 taking place, the body being that of Sitting Bull's nephew, 
 
SITTING BULL. 579 
 
 sixteen years old, who had died the day previous of a 
 lung trouble contracted while he was attending school in 
 the southern part of the territory. This opportunity I 
 could not forego, so at my solicitation we drove over the 
 hills two miles or more, and came upon the funeral pro- 
 cession, if such it can be called, just as the body was be- 
 ing deposited. It is the custom of the Sioux to hang 
 their dead up on the branches of trees, when in a wooded 
 country, but when their camp is on the prairie they erect* 
 scaffolds about ten feet in height, upon the top of which 
 their dead are laid. 
 
 The corpse of Sitting Bull's nephew had been prepared 
 for deposition the evening previous to my visit, this prep- 
 aration consisting in swathing the body with all the cloth- 
 ing owned by the deceased, including the allowance 
 shortly before made him by the government, and around 
 these were two blankets, the whole being bound with 
 ropes, so that no part of the body was left uncovered. 
 Lamentations were then made over the corpse all night, 
 not, as might be supposed, by the relations, but by four 
 old women who were engaged to do all the crying. It is 
 a rare thing to see an Indian crying, as it is esteemed dis- 
 graceful, so there are professional mourners who engage 
 themselves to display the grief supposed to be felt by the 
 friends and relatives of deceased persons. Frequently, 
 when there is extreme grief over a death, the distressed 
 persons will cut off a finger or toe as an evidence of their 
 feelings. 
 
 Bodies are taken to the place of final deposit by tying 
 them on a travois*, with head toward the ground. It 
 was thus the body we followed was conveyed to the scaf- 
 
 * A travois is made of interlaced withes fastened to two poles, or shafts, 
 the open ends being allowed to drag on the ground, and is drawn by a single 
 horse. 
 
580 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 fold, made ready to receive it three weeks before, when 
 his father died and was deposited on a scaffold large 
 enough to receive another corpse. 
 
 The procession, so-called, consisted of four old women 
 and their children, the professional mourners previously 
 spoken of. Indian men never attend a funeral unless it 
 is that of a chief. We arrived at the scaffold in time to 
 see the women make a temporary ladder up which they 
 climbed and carried the body, with extreme difficulty, and 
 deposited it beside the remains which already lay there. 
 I saw no other scaffold on which there was more than one 
 body. After the deposition was made, the women threw 
 their arms about, tossed their hair and crooned a kind of 
 dirge which had neither time nor melody to distinguish it 
 from an unrythmic wail ; after crying thus for a time 
 they fell to stamping the ground and digging with a short 
 crow-bar. We had witnessed these sights from a dis- 
 tance, being unwilling to intrude upon so sacred an occa- 
 sion ; as we drove up the lamentations suddenly ceased 
 and gave place to stares of curiosity. One of the old 
 women, engaged as mourner, told us she had been em- 
 ployed to cry so much recently that she could scarcely 
 see. The rheumy appearance of her eyes certainly 
 confirmed this declaration. Shortly after our departure 
 the old women returned to the camp and were succeeded 
 by four others. The mourning was thus continued, by 
 relays of women, for a period of three days. The dura- 
 tion of such manifestations of grief is generally deter- 
 mined by the number of ponies left by deceased to pay 
 for the service. 
 
 After leaving the cemetery we drove back to Sitting 
 Bull's lodge, and being introduced I conducted a long 
 conversation with him through Charles McLoughlin, a 
 young son of the Indian agent, as Sitting Bull can scarce- 
 
 
SITTING BULL, 
 
 581 
 
 RAIN IN -THE- FACE. 
 
582 HEROES OF THE PLAINS 
 
 ly speak a word of English, though he signs his na & 
 fairly well as is seen in his autograph. 
 
 I found him sitting upon the ground, within his tent, 
 with six other leading men of his tribe. Capt. McDou- 
 gal asked for a pipe, which being produced and filled 
 with tobacco, was lighted and smoked by the entire party. 
 After this friendly ceremony the Captain announced to 
 Sitting Bull the purpose of my visit, and assuring him of 
 my good intentions toward his people, begged that he 
 tell me, without reserve, everything he might know con- 
 cerning the Custer Massacre. The cunning prophet made 
 no reply for several minutes, smoking his pipe vigorously 
 in the meantime, evidently debating with himself the 
 advisability of his actions. At length he said : 
 
 " I was not in the fight and know nothing about it, 
 save what my warriors have told me." 
 
 Again Capt. McDougal besought him to abandon his 
 reserve, and, for the sake of history, and that justice 
 might be done his people and himself, to disclose what 
 he knew concerning the battle ; how it was conducted, 
 what orders he had given, who killed Custer, and all 
 other information he possessed. His answer I will give 
 in my own language as it was, in effect, interpreted to 
 me : 
 
 " I need not tell you how we have been deceived by 
 the white people, for if you are friendly you know the 
 facts, and if you are our enemy you would not believe 
 me. The Black Hills country was set aside for us by 
 the government ; it was ours by solemn agreement, and 
 we made the country our home ; we realized how our 
 lands had been taken, our reservations circumscribed, my 
 people driven like so many wild beasts toward a common 
 center to be shot down by encircling soldiery. Our 
 homes in the Black Hills were invaded when gold was 
 
SITTING BULL. 583 
 
 discovered there ; we asked for protection, which was 
 promised, but with all our importunities the government 
 refused to come to our aid. White thieves committed 
 depredations and then accused my people of perpetrating 
 the acts. Well, it is no use to tell you more. At last 
 we resisted, and that moment the poor despised Indian 
 raised his arm to protect his wife, children and his own, 
 the government to which we looked for the aid that had 
 been promised, let loose the army upon us to kill without 
 mercy, exterminate if possible. We fought as brave 
 men fight, with no advantages but courage to defend 
 against usurpers, we met our enemies and honorably de- 
 feated them. 
 
 " Now it is asked, why do I refuse to talk about our 
 fight with Custer? You cannot wonder at my silence. 
 Every man's rifle is leveled at the Indian's heart; every 
 white man cries out, ' let us avenge Custer,' and especial 
 hatred is directed against Sitting Bull. I am afraid to 
 trust myself away from my people. They have tempted 
 me with large offers to travel in the States, but the cars 
 would make me sick, and once wholly within their power, 
 the white people would starve me to death, because they 
 say I murdered Custer. 
 
 " Now I will tell you the truth, after our fight at Fort 
 Pease my people concluded to leave our country and 
 travel into the British Possessions, where we hoped to 
 find plenty of game and have better protection. To 
 prepare for this great journey and change, we held our 
 annual Sun Dance, being our offering to the Great Spirit. 
 It is our belief that we can only come into the presence 
 of the Great Spirit through sufferings of the flesh, but 
 though the ceremony indicates pain to those who partici- 
 pate, yet there is really no suffering when there is an 
 acceptance. At the conclusion of the third day of our 
 
584 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 dance I became unconscious of my material surroundings 
 and was awakened in the spirit before the Great Ruler. 
 He smoked and then gave to me the peace pipe ; we were 
 seated together in a beautiful tepee, and after smoking, 
 he said to me, ' Tatanka-e-Yotonka, you are being sur- 
 rounded by your enemies ; in seven suns you will be 
 attacked by your ancient foe, the Crow Indians, but over 
 these I will give you a victory ; three more suns shall not 
 set before your people will have an engagement with 
 white soldiers ; the fight will be a terrible one, but your 
 enemies will be slaughtered and you shall have a great 
 victory. This prophecy you can make to your people, 
 for they are weary and this will give them courage.' 
 After thus speaking the Great Spirit vanished and some 
 time during the night I recovered consciousness. I 
 prophesied to my people as the Great Spirit directed, and 
 that it came to pass as I uttered my people are the wit- 
 nesses. 
 
 "The Crow Indians attacked us, but were repulsed 
 with heavy losses, so that they molested us no more. On 
 the seventh day thereafter, as we were encamped near the 
 Rose Bud, a body of soldiers appeared who, I have since 
 learned, were commanded by Maj. Reno. They fired 
 into us, but being prepared we charged upon them so 
 briskly that the troops fled in such a panic that many lost 
 their arms, and a large number were killed. We did not 
 follow them for fear of an ambush, as I could not under- 
 stand why Reno did not make a stand. We drew off 
 and in the afternoon my scouts reported another body of 
 soldiers approaching. After learning their probable 
 strength I directed my warriors to form in the ravines so 
 as to be out of view, and leave a horse-shoe gap so as to 
 surround the troops when they should enter. 
 
 " My position was across the river from where th bat- 
 
SITTING BULL. 
 
 585 
 
 tie occurred, as I took it upon myself to direct the fight 
 and also take charge of the camp. My orders were de- 
 livered })y courier to Spotted Eagle, Rain-in-the-Face, 
 
 CROW-KING. 
 
 Crow King, Low Dog, and Gall, and these chiefs partici 
 pated in the battle. 
 
 " The troops discovered my warriors before the gap 
 was closed upon them, and with a wild yell they charged 
 right clown a ravine toward our camp, but upon coining 
 
586 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 up on the other side the circle was completed about them 
 and the battle began. Now, I witnessed little of the 
 fight myself, but was kept informed of its progress. 
 The firing was terrific, and though the soldiers fought 
 with desperation my braves were better fighters than 
 they. The combat lasted I cannot tell how long, as we 
 do not compute time like the white people, but I should 
 judge not longer than it would require me to walk to the 
 fort and return (two miles). The firing gradually grew 
 less and when it had almost ceased a messenger came and 
 told me that all the soldiers had been killed. 
 
 " As I started toward the battle-ground I saw five of 
 my braves chasing a soldier over the hills. They were 
 on horses and all running with great speed. I watched 
 them until they had disappeared in the distance. The 
 pursuers, who were braves of my tribe, returned some 
 time after and reported that they had been pursuing an 
 officer, who being well mounted would certainly have es- 
 caped, but that just as they were about giving over the 
 chase, the officer drew a pistol and placing it against his 
 head blew his brains out. The pursuers brought back 
 with them a portion of the suicide's clothing. My braves, 
 who had won the battle, collected what material, arms, 
 ammunition, clothing and money they could find on the 
 battle-ground, and then started northward. Up to this 
 time I did not know we had been fighting Gen. Custer, 
 and nothing ever surprised me more than the report which 
 came to me a long time after the battle, that my warriors 
 had killed Custer. We knew that the General wore long 
 hair, and it was by this peculiarity we expected to dis- 
 tinguish him. Since the return of my people to Fort 
 Yates I learn that Ouster's coat of buckskin was stripped 
 from the dead body of the General by one of my braves 
 who afterward wore it until his death, and was buried 
 
SITTING BULL. 587 
 
 In it. I did not learn this, however, until after the death 
 of t r je brave. 
 
 " On the night after the battle our tents were struck 
 an r 'J we started northward, expecting an attack on the fol- 
 io wing day. My warriors were very tired, and had the 
 ' /ursuit been an active one we would, no doubt, have been 
 overcome. Had not Maj. Benteen joined forces with 
 Maj. Reno when we had the latter surrounded in the 
 woods, there would have been few soldiers left in the 
 three commands to tell the story of their disaster. 
 
 " No one can tell who killed Gen. Custer, it is impos- 
 sible because of two facts : ( 1 ) None of my braves 
 knew Custer, and (2) the tumult and smoke of the bat- 
 tle were so great that combatants were often obscured en- 
 tirely, and the fighting was therefore promiscuous. None 
 of my people ever boasted to me that they had killed 
 Custer. 
 
 * ' I have now told you all that I know in regard to the 
 fight with Custer. I can't see why the white people hold 
 me responsible for his death ; the soldiers attacked us 
 and we fought to defend ourselves. If all my people 
 had been slaughtered the whites would have been glad. 
 I am now at peace, however, and do not want to speak 
 ill of the government. I hope our peace may endure. 
 I have only one ambition now, and that is to live the re- 
 mainder of my days with my children and people. I 
 feel that my life will not long endure : a lung trouble has 
 afflicted me for more than a year, and seems to grow 
 gradually worse. Many offers have heen made me. to 
 travel through the country and show myself, but no in- 
 ducements could prevail. I never rode on the cars and 
 fear such travel would make me sick ; besides, I would 
 not trust myself with the whites, who would starve me. 
 My delight is to have my children with me every day, 
 and here among my people will I die." 
 
 
588 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 This closed my interview with the wily warrior, and 
 though short, it was far more satisfactory than I had dared 
 to hope for. Sitting Bull impresses all who see him with 
 his genius, not particularly as a warrior but as a states- 
 man or tactician. He has a noble, kindly face, and an 
 eye that discloses his trait of acute observation. His 
 stature is tail and commanding, broad of chest and strong 
 in limb. He declared his age as forty-four, but as In- 
 dians, as a rule, cannot compute time, his statement does 
 not appear wilfully absurd ; I should judge his age to be 
 about sixty-five. 
 
 The story which Sitting Bull tells of an officer who was 
 pursued and who shot himself to escape capture is authen- 
 ticated by a discovery made by Gen. Sherman two or 
 three years ago, when on a visit to the battle ground. 
 Six or seven miles from the field of disaster, the General, 
 with his party, came upon the skeleton of a man with 
 remnants of officer's clothing still adhering to it. An ex- 
 amination of the skull disclosed gold filling in several of 
 the teeth, and served to identify the skeleton as that of 
 Lieutenant Harrington, of the 7th U. S. Cavalry, who was 
 with Custer. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 STORY OF CHIEF SPOTTED HORN BULL* 8 SQUAW, A PAR- 
 TICIPANT IN THE CUSTER MASSACRE. 
 
 AMONG the Sioux Indians there is a squaw, La- 
 kotah by name, the wife of chief Spotted Horn Bull 
 (Tatanka-ha-gle-ska), who, by her bravery and intelli- 
 gence, has risen to a position of influence among the tribe 
 
SITTING BULL. 
 
 589 
 
 far superior to that of her husband, and second only to 
 Sitting Bull himself. A short time before my visit to 
 Ft. Yntes this dusky Amazon had a combat with the oreat 
 
 GALL. 
 
 warrior chief Gall, who so distinguished himself in the 
 Custer fight. Report states that Gall had attempted to 
 form a matrimonial alliance with an Indian girl regardless 
 of the fact that his wife was still sharing .his tepee and 
 
590 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 the government allowances with him. Gall's wife is a 
 cousin of Mrs, Spotted Horn Bull, and she took such um- 
 brage at him for trying to displace her relative that, 
 setting aside all attempts to reason or compromise, she 
 challenged the chief to an encounter ; the challenged failed 
 to afford her satisfaction, so she forced a light by attack- 
 ing Gall in front of Mr. Douglass' Government store. 
 The scene which followed is represented as having been 
 exciting in the extreme. Gall first acted entirely on the 
 defensive, but he soon became aggressive only to bring 
 upon himself a distressing defeat, for the heroic squaw 
 beat him so badly that, after his features were chewed 
 out of shape, he howled for mercy, and to escape further 
 punishment gladly promised to restore his wife and for- 
 ever after abandon reckless courtships. 
 
 Spotted Horn Bull is not generally reputed to be a 
 brave or able chief, natural faults which his wife has long 
 perceived, and, possibly, to the end that the family may 
 not be wholly without honor among the tribe ; or, follow- 
 ing an inherited inclination to seek glory in the field o'f 
 strife, she disdain ihe occupation of her sex, and has sev- 
 eral times been an act ive warrior in the fighting ranks of her 
 tribe. Her last exploit was as a participant in the bloody 
 meeting with Ouster, in which she rode a white pony that 
 was always where the fight was hardest ; her carbine did 
 terrible execution, and her bravery so incited the Indians 
 that they made the massacre complete. Intrepid daring, 
 hoAvever, is not Lakotah's only characteristic, for she is 
 acknowledged to be the smartest member of her tribe. Un- 
 like Sitting Bull (to whom she bears the relation of cous- 
 in), who is always suspicious and stubborn, she is frank, 
 good-humored, and is glad of an opportunity to talk 
 about the Custer massacre, though never vauntingly of 
 herself. Mrs. McLaughlin, to whom I have previously 
 
SITTING BULL. 
 
 591 
 
 referred, having told me that Lacotah could give me a 
 better description of the fight than any other Indian, I 
 appealed to her to arrange an interview that I might hear 
 
 LOW-DOG. 
 
 the squaw's interesting story. At my solicitation, there- 
 fore, Mrs. McLaughlin drove down to the Indian camp 
 and brought Lacotah up to her ho'jse, where, as per ar- 
 rangement, I met her. After an introduction a 
 
592 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 ment of my purposes a request was made by Mrs. 
 McLaughlin that Lakotah relate to me a full description 
 of the fight as well as the antecedent and subsequent facts 
 calculated to give a more definite idea of the dreadful 
 massacre. With Mrs. McLaughlin acting as interpreter, 
 the Indian woman told me the story of that horrible ho- 
 locaust substantially as follows, conveying her meaning 
 in my own language : 
 
 "I will leave it to others to tell you of the wrongs 
 done my people by the Government and its soldiers. Th e 
 Custer Massacre was a consequence of this treatment, and 
 if it teaches the father at Washington to do us justice 
 hereafter I shall be glad, but I now fear that instead of 
 serving to improve our miserable condition it will cause 
 the soldiers to seek revenge by increasing the severities 
 from which we suffer. But I will now only talk to you 
 about our fight with Custer. 
 
 " Eleven days before the battle we were encamped with- 
 in fifty miles of the place where the engagement took 
 place, on a small creek called Greasy Grass ; I do not 
 know the English name for it. In this place our people 
 held a religious ceremony, our Sun Dance, to show the 
 Great Spirit that our hearts were always toward him and 
 to ask for His protection. Among the number who bore 
 the tortures of that ceremony, by piercing the muscles of 
 his breast and thus suspending himself from the pole, 
 was Sitting Bull. There were six other chiefs who cut 
 themselves and were bound to the pole, but they all 
 fainted or broke their bonds the first day. Sitting Bull 
 remained in one attitude for two days, looking always 
 toward the sun, and never showing any signs of suffer- 
 ing or weakness from loss of blood. In all this time he 
 tasted neither food nor water, but the third morning he 
 went into a sleep and we knew he was holding a 
 
SITTING BULL. 593 
 
 cil with the Great Spirit. I forced food and water into 
 his mouth, bathed his wounds and watched beside him 
 until night, when he opened his eyes and then told how 
 he had been counseled to act by the Great Spirit ; he 
 also prophesied a battle with the Crow Indians, and 
 with Ouster (at this point she related the same story 
 told to me by Long Soldier, which I have given in 
 the chapter devoted to Sitting Bull's account of the bat- 
 tle). 
 
 "Two days after the Sun Dance was concluded, and 
 according to Sitting Bull's prophecy, a large war party 
 of Crows attacked us, but after fighting all day they 
 were driven off into the Wolf Mountains, several of their 
 warriors being killed; our loss was only seven. 
 
 " On the morning after the battle with the Crows, we 
 broke camp and moved on to the Little Big Horn, where, 
 finding plenty- of water and grass, we went into camp 
 agai n . 
 
 " To make my story more readily understood for I 
 shall now begin to tell you about the great battle which 
 here took place between my people and Gen. Custer I 
 will draw a diagram of our camps and the general posi- 
 tion we occupied when the fight began." 
 
 At this point Lakotah called for my pencil, and being 
 given a piece of paper she made the following drawing, 
 in the execution of which I was very much surprised. 
 
 " The total fighting force of the seven tribes was about 
 five thousand, and all of these were first camped on the 
 west side of the river, where the ground is nearly level, 
 except at a little distance back where the ground rises in a 
 bench six or seven feet high. On the east side of the 
 river, however, the land is broken and hilly, while along 
 the bank there are precipitous bluffs, the highest being 
 marked on the diagram ' K'. Reno threw up his shallow 
 
594 
 
 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 breastworks at ' G,' at which point the land is two hun- 
 dred feet above the river, rising very abruptly. It was 
 from this side of the river and over these hills the United 
 States soldiers approached. 
 
 " It was to the bluff point marked ' K' that captains 
 Benteen and Wier rode to discover the position of Gen. 
 Custer, but being unable to sight him, and seeing the 
 
 DIAGRAM OF THE BATTLE FIELD. 
 
 A Blackfeet camp. 
 
 B Uncapapa camp. 
 
 C Ogallala and Sans Arc camp. 
 
 D Brule camp. 
 
 E Cheyenne camp. 
 
 F Minneconjoux camp. 
 
 G Reno's breastworks. 
 H Custer monument. 
 /Small coolie aid stream. 
 A' High point of bluff. 
 L Reno's retreat crossing. 
 M Line of first bench. 
 
 large Indian camp, they fell back to support Reno. Iu 
 the meantime, however, Reno had crossed the river . 
 which was anywhere easily forded at * L,' and attacked 
 the In'dians in the rear. This was on the morning of 
 June 25th. On this same date seven Cheyenneshad been 
 sent out to join Chief Spotted Tail ; five of this number 
 got through, but the other two stopped on the bluff and 
 from a high point signaled with their blankets the ap- 
 
SITTING BULL. 595 
 
 proaoh of a large body of soldiers, which afterward 
 proved to be Custer. 
 
 " When Reno opened fire from the west bank, he 
 seemed to have little or no idea of the number of Indians 
 to whom he was opposed. He dismounted his men, and 
 leaving one man to guard four horses, which of course 
 diminished his fighting forces one quarter, he rushed onto 
 the camp. It happened that very few warriors were in 
 camp at the time, as more than half of them were after 
 the pony herd, so that with the first fire there was a panic 
 among the women and children that I cannot undertake 
 to describe. We all expected to be massacred, and there 
 was not the least resistance manifested, when suddenly, 
 and for a most unaccountable reason, Reno's men became 
 panic-striken and retreated back across the river in such 
 wild disorder that scores were killed by our men ; even 
 little boys followed in the rout and pulled soldiers from 
 their horses and killed them. After crossing the river the 
 retreat continued up a hill so sleep that unless badly 
 frightened a man could scarcely climb it. 
 
 L'akotah several times repeated her disgust at the action 
 of the whites, and the only explanation she could give for 
 the retreat was that Reno saw, when he got into it, how 
 large the Indian village Was and was seized with a panic 
 greater than that among the Indians themselves. That 
 the latter was very decided, however, was proven by the 
 fact that the warriors hurriedly returning with the quick- 
 ly rounded herds, met many fugitives from the camp and 
 feared the worst on their own return. 
 
 " Very soon after Reno's retreat the blare of Ouster's 
 trumpets was heard ; messengers soon reported his prob- 
 able force and the work of surprise and hemming him in 
 was begun. The braves who were after the pony herd 
 had now returned, and the whole fighting force crossed 
 
596 HEROES or THE PLAINS. 
 
 Little Big Horn and, being hidden by the hills, surround- 
 ed Custer before he was probably aware that there were 
 so many Indians in the vicinity. When the whites had 
 marched under the high ledge of rocks, suddenly our 
 force of five thousand rose up and fell upon them on 
 every side. The whites first dismounted and fought, but 
 seeing how they had been surrounded, and that there waa 
 little hope for their escape, they remounted again. For 
 nearly half an hour the fight was terrible, as our braves 
 were all as well armed as the soldiers. The valley be- 
 came so full of smoke that it was like a den.se fog, and 
 the noise and confusion was dreadful. After that time 
 . there was a gradual cessation of the firing and in less 
 than an hour we had killed every soldier and the battle- 
 ground was left to us. 
 
 "I am not sure, but I think that I saw Gen. Custer, 
 though I did not know him at the time, fighting desper- 
 ately about one hundred yards from where he fell ; I 
 certainly saw a leading officer of the troops whose de- 
 scription answered that of Custer. This man, whoever 
 he was, showed wonderful bravery, so that many of our 
 warriors tried to kill him for the honor that the deed 
 would confer, but I do not know who killed him, and 1 
 am almost certain that no one else knows, for the confu- 
 sion made it impossible to tell what execution any Indian 
 did." 
 
 Custer and his command killed, the Sioux again turned 
 their attention to the troops on the hill, and the woman, 
 resuming the story, laughed gleefully as she told what 
 fun the bucks had shooting at the soldiers as they ran 
 that terrible gauntlet, down the hill to the river, for wa- 
 ter. The Custer men were soon stripped, of course, and 
 the only way the Indians knew they had killed the Long- 
 Haired Chief was by his bucksk.a coat trimmed with 
 
SITTING BULL. 
 
 ^s\ : ^i^^ )' I i J /f\^ 
 
598 HEKOES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 beaver, which they found on his person. Lakotah says 
 the Sioux lost thirty killed and more than twice as many 
 wounded, but the loss was no doubt very much greater 
 than this estimate. Among the killed were boys of 
 twelve and fourteen, who, in the ardor of young Varrior- 
 hood, rushed across the river on their ponies and into the 
 thickest of the fight. She mentioned two boys who were 
 wounded ; one, a young Achilles, in the heel, and another 
 in the right arm, which was shot off. Both recovered 
 and neither of them is yet twenty, though seven years 
 have passed since they counted their first coups. It was 
 with a tone of most noticeable regret that the woman 
 told of the quantities of bank notes found and wasted, 
 as being utterly ignorant of the value of the curiously 
 painted parallelograms of green paper. 
 
 Of course, feasting and laudation were the order of the 
 day and night succeeding the slaughter, but the news of 
 Terry's approach with his command compelled a hasty 
 breaking up of the camp. She says they marched day 
 and night for several days, and soon the whole band was 
 safe in the fastnesses of the Big Horn mountaiw-s, where 
 they remained some time before a separation took place, 
 and the Uncapapas and portions of other tribes went 
 north. The squaw's story was told straightforwardly 
 and beyond question she believes it true, every word. 
 
 Among the many brave and noble-hearted men who 
 fell with Gen. Custer were his two younger brothers. 
 Boston and Tom Ouster, Lieutenant James Calhoun, his 
 brother-in-law, and Autie Reed, a young hero, his 
 nephew ; all these dropped out at once, as it were, from 
 the family circle. Every man in Calhoun's company 
 died in the ranks ; there was no scattering to indicate 
 either panic or retreat, but with the ranks all closed up 
 the company fell as though every man had been struck 
 
SITTING BULL. 
 
 599 
 
 with one fatal bolt of lightning. Lieut. John J. Crit- 
 fcenden, Col. Cook, Capt. Yates, Lieut. Riley, in short 
 every one of those who participated and fell in. that 
 dreadful fray were as gallant men as ever went forth to 
 battle or lay life upon the sacrificial altar of their coun- 
 
 try. Though mangled by bullet and arrow, discrowned 
 by the savage scalping-knifc, divested of their country's 
 uniform which would have been most fitting cerements for 
 such patriotic heroes, let us believe that at the final roll- 
 call these evidences of Indian desecration will prove their 
 passport into the highest, holiest life. 
 
CAPT. JACK, 
 (The Poet Scout) 
 
 600 
 
A SKETCH OF CAPT. JACK, 
 
 THE POET SCOUT. 
 
 CAPTAIN JOHN W. CRAWFORD, known to fame as Capt. 
 Jack, the Poet Scout of the Black Hills, is a native of 
 County Donegal, Ireland, where he was born in the year 
 1848, of prominent parents, his mother being a lineal 
 descendant of Sir William Wallace. In 1852 the elder 
 Crawford left Ireland for America, but shortly after his 
 arrival in this country he fell into evil ways, and gave 
 such license to a previously acquired appetite for strong 
 drink that thenceforward he neglected aH hi duties as 
 kusband and father. 
 
 In 1856, however, Mrs. Crawford came orer to Amer- 
 ica and joined her husband at Minersrille, Pennsylvania, 
 where he was prosecuting his trade as tailor with indiffer- 
 ent success. But a year of hard labor and economy 
 enabled the mother to save sufficient from her 
 scanty earnings to send for her children,, four in num- 
 ber. 
 
 The following incident, which I have taken the liberty 
 to copy from a prefatory life sketch of Capt. Jack, pub- 
 lished in his recent book of poems, entitled, " The Poet 
 Scout," will illustrate the disadvantages of hia early 
 youth, the incentive of his future actions, and the domes- 
 tie sufferings of his beloved mother : 
 
 "It was at the close of a hard day's march during Cus- 
 ter's campaign on the Yellowstone, and the command 
 
 had toiled through long miles of rough ctwrntry, in the 
 601 
 
02 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 midst of a rain storm such as is known only in the Rocky 
 Mountains. The officers were seated around the camp- 
 fire trying to extract some warmth from the smouldering 
 buffalo chips, when one of them produced from his sad- 
 dle-bags a canteen of whisky, and taking a long draught, 
 with the remark, ' this is the soldier's best friend,' passed 
 it to Captain Jack Crawford. 
 
 " ' Thank you, Captain, but I never drink.' 
 
 " ' Never drink ! ' responded the officer, 4 why it is al- 
 most incredible ; you are the first man I ever met with on 
 the plains who refused good liquor.' 
 
 " * Yes, Jack,' said several of the others who were in- 
 terested listeners to the conversation, * tell us how it is 
 you are so strict a temperance man.' 
 
 " ' That stuff you are drinking,' responded the scout, 
 * robbed me of a good father, made him forget his own 
 flesh and blood, and changed him from a man to a brute. 
 That is not my only reason. Years ago, when my poor 
 mother was on her death-bed, she called me to her side, 
 and holding out her thin white hand, asked me to prom- 
 ise in the presence of my brothers and sisters, and in the 
 invisible presence of God, that my lips should never 
 touch the destroyer. Gentlemen, I consider that that 
 vow is registered in heaven, and I have kept it. I do not 
 even know the taste of liquor. Is my re&son satisfac- 
 tory?' " 
 
 The misfortune which an ungovernable desire for 
 strong drink invariably precipitates, so wrecked the 
 Crawford family that at a very early age little Jack was 
 compelled to contribute to the support of his mother with 
 all the earnings his youthful and constant labors could 
 create. His education was, in consequence, entirely neg- 
 lected, and BO little care was given to his instruction that 
 not only was he never in a school-house, but at the age 
 
SKETCH OF CAPT. JACK. 603 
 
 of fifteen, when he left home to enter the Union army, 
 there was not a single letter in the alphabet that he knew 
 the name of. 
 
 In 1863 he enlisted as a private in the 48th Regiment 
 of Pennsylvania Volunteers, serving under Gen. John F. 
 Hartranft, who afterward became Governor of that State. 
 At the battle of Spottsylvania Court House, May 12, 
 1864, Jack was in the front ranks that led a desperate 
 charge on the enemy's works, in which he fell desper- 
 ately wounded and was carried back to the field hospital. 
 Some days after the battle he was sent to Washington, 
 and transferred from there to the Saterlee Hospital in 
 West Philadelphia. For many weeks he lay upon a bed 
 of terrible suffering, but it chanced that he fell under the 
 tender care of a Sister of Charity who nursed him into 
 convalescence, and then began to give him lessons, first 
 in the A B C's, and then led him along gradually until, 
 under her tutelage, he learned to read and write. Hav- 
 ing thus become possessed of the primary elements of an 
 education, he continued in the acquisition of knowledge, 
 unaided, and became at last fairly informed. 
 
 After recovering from his wound, Jack returned to his 
 regiment, and remained in active service until the 2d of 
 April, 1865, T\hen he was again wounded, at Petersburg, 
 Virginia, and had not recovered when the army disbanded 
 at the close of the war. 
 
 In the latter part of 1865 Captain Jack's mother died, 
 and being now alone in the world, and moved by a nat- 
 ural craving for adventure, he started West, bearing with 
 him letters of warm recommendation from Gens. Hart- 
 ranft ind Sherman, which introduced him favorably to 
 frontier army officers, and he soon after found congenial 
 service in the Western camps. 
 
 He was one of the first white men to enter the Black 
 
604 HEBOES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 Hills, and became the founder of Ouster City, Gayville, 
 and Spearfish, in Dakotah, and was one of the original 
 organizers that laid off the towns of Deadwood and 
 Crook City. 
 
 In the Indian campaign of 1876 Capt. Jack was second 
 in command of Gen. Crook's scouts, and superseded 
 Buffalo Bill as chief on the 24th of August of the same 
 year, Bill having resigned to reorganize his theatrical 
 company for the season of 1876-77. 
 
 As a horseman and rider Capt. Jack is extraordina- 
 rily skillful, while as a scout and Indian fighter he has 
 honestly earned great renown. Among his more celebra- 
 ted rides may be mentioned one he accomplished in July, 
 1876, when in response to a telegram he rode from Med- 
 icine Bow, on the Union Pacific railroad, to the Rosebud 
 and Little Big Horn, a distance of nearly four hundred 
 miles in five days. This feat of wonderful speed and en- 
 durance was performed, too, through a country literally 
 swarming with hostile Indians, several of whose camps 
 and villages he was compelled to pass within pictol shot of. 
 
 On another occasion, being engaged as a social mes- 
 senger for the New York Herald, whose special corres- 
 pondent was with Gen. Crook's army, Capt, -,ack car- 
 ried an account of the battle of Slim Buttes to Ft. Lara- 
 mie, a distance of three hundred and fifty miles, in less 
 than four days. In accomplishing this unprecedented 
 ride he passed five couriers and arrived more than five 
 hours in advance of the fastest, but he killed two horses 
 in making the journey, for which the Herald allowed him 
 $222.75, besides giving him $500 for the service. 
 
 Capt. Jack's adventures have been numerous and 
 thrilling, many of which he has related in verse, which 
 be writes with terse fluency and rythm. In 1873 he join- 
 ed Buffalo Bill's troupe and played a leading part for 
 
SKETCH OF CAPT. JACK. 
 
 605 
 
 two seasons very satisfactorily, but he preferred the wild 
 Mf e of the far West and returned to his old home iu Da- 
 kota. 
 
 During the late war, in 1879, Capt. Jack was employed 
 as scout and trailer and was engaged in several of the hot- 
 test fights of that campaign. He was well acquainted 
 with Chief Oura, whose friendly services he did much to 
 seeure and through whose influence with his people hostili- 
 
 ^ Oura. 
 
 ties were brought to an early close, and the captive Meeker 
 family restored to the whites. Oura's death occurred in 
 1880 on the Ute reservation. He was an able chief, pro- 
 gressive, intellectual, and ambitious to bring his tribe 
 under the civilizing and elevating influence of the white 
 people, for whom he ever cherished a warm and friendly 
 feeling. 
 
606 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 As a man Capt. Jack has always enjoyed the greatest 
 popularity ; he is a thorough gentleman, an excellent 
 scout, good Indian fighter, and his morals have ever been 
 regarded as phenomenal by the hardy and generally reck- 
 less characters of the frontier. His affection for Buffalo 
 Bill approaches veneration, and more than half of his 
 poetic effusions are dedicated to or founded upon some 
 incident in Bill's life. 
 
 As a poet, Capt. Jack deserves the admiration of every 
 one capable of appreciating poetic genius. Deprived of 
 all the cultivating influences calculated to suggest the 
 sentiment of verse, his own innate, self-created endow- 
 ments made nature assert itself, and he has written 
 poetry because this manner of expressing his thoughts 
 and ideas was more natural to him than prose. There is 
 no profound or aesthetic phraseology in his verses, but 
 they abound in what is vastly superior : ennobling and 
 sublime rhapsodies which reveal the God-given poetic 
 gift beneath the uncultured exterior. His style most 
 resembles that which distinguishes Bret Haite, which, 
 though it is less elegantly rounded with rhetorical finish, 
 nevertheless breathes a purer and loftier sentiment, and 
 a more divine creation than Sierra's poet can boast of. 
 
 He is still living, in the hey-day of life, and at this date 
 (October, 3883,) is mining in Mew Mexico. Whether as 
 chief of scouts, town trustee of Custer City, chief of the 
 Red Rangers, poet at the banquet table, author, actor, 
 or "poorest man on the range," Capt. Jack is always the 
 same good-natured, accommodating, generous and geniaf 
 gentleman, with a true heart, and the spirit of devotion 
 for his friends. 
 
TEXAS JACK. 
 
 JOHN B. OMOHUNDRO, more familiarly known by the 
 title of " Texas Jack," was a native of West Virginia, 
 but the exact date of his birth I have never been able to 
 learn. 
 
 At the early age of seven years, he ran away from 
 home and shipped as a " general utility" boy on a sailing; 
 vessel bound for Australia. This voyage proved so de- 
 lightful to the youthful adventurer that he remained at 
 sea until he had developed into a seaman before the mast, 
 in which service he visited nearly all the countries of the 
 world, but in 1858 was wrecked off the coast of Texas, 
 and after a hard struggle for life with the angry billows, 
 was cast upon the shore near Corpus Chris ti. 
 
 After this rather " sa'ty " experience, Jack resolve^ to 
 remain a landsman until some desirable position should 
 offer him for an easier life. He was not long idle, how- 
 ever, for occupation was readily found among the large 
 
 607 
 
608 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 cattle herders of Texas, which service soon introduced 
 him to the wild life found only on the plains, and in 
 which there was a congeniality and fascination peculiarly 
 suited to his disposition. 
 
 Jack was employed on a ranche in the Texas pan-han- 
 dle, near the border line of the Indian Territory, where 
 Indian cattle thieves were accustomed to make periodical 
 depredations. On this ranche were also many head of 
 horses, raised chiefly for herding purposes, and these 
 animals required constant watchfulness from the herders 
 to prevent them falling into the hands of covetous In- 
 dians. In fact, many cow-boys were murdered by these 
 pests of the ranche, so that the business of herder had 
 become extremely hazardous in the pan-handle section. 
 
 When Jack entered upon the dangerous duty of ranch- 
 man, he expected trouble with the Indians, and was, 
 therefore, prepared for it. Nor was he in anywise sur- 
 prised when, a few months after his engagment, a large 
 body of the red-skins came down upon him and his part- 
 ner, with whoop and weapons, intent upon capturing the 
 horses under Jack's charge. But the Indians were re- 
 ceived with a cordiality little expected. Jack at once 
 covered the rear, and while his partner drove the horses 
 rapidly toward National Monument, Jack poured a deadly 
 fire into the Indians, killing several, and thus checking 
 pursuit. For this skilful and effective resistance he was 
 well rewarded by the owner of the stock. Afterward 
 Jack made several cattle drives to Abilene, and became 
 one of Texas' most renowned rancheros. 
 
 When the great civil war was declared, and there was 
 a mustering of Southern forces through the Southwest, 
 Jack proffered his services to Gen. Floyd, by whom he 
 was at once made "headquarters courier," and directly 
 thereafter was promoted to chief of scouts under the eel- 
 
609 
 
10 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 ebrated cavalry Colonel, J. B. Stuart. He served in this 
 capacity for several years, and became noted throughout 
 the Confederacy. 
 
 At the close of hostilities Jack was employed as guide 
 between the Colorado and Rio Grande rivers, and after 
 pursuing this calling for several months made an extend- 
 ed tour through Kansas and Nebraska for the purpose of 
 o familiarizing himself with the country that he could 
 competently guide parties through those territories (now 
 States). 
 
 In 1872 Jack was engaged as scout for the Government 
 *nd in the following summer had charge of four hundred 
 Pawnees who were engaged to operate against the Chey* 
 cnnes. It was while thus employed that he made the ac- 
 quaintance of Buffalo Bill, with whom he scouted a con- 
 siderable time and until the two became partners in an 
 enterprise conceived by Ned Buntline, as detailed in the 
 "Life of Buffalo Bill." 
 
 While Gen. Sheridan was organizing his campaign 
 against the Northern Cheyennes, Jack was employed as 
 hunter for the army, in which capacity he developed re- 
 markable skill in killing antelope, which abounded on the 
 prairies of Western Kansas at that time. The method 
 employed for killing this most wary and fleet of North 
 American game is well portrayed in the accompanying 
 engraving. The killing of antelope is not so exciting as 
 that of buffalo hunting, but it requires great caution and 
 has much of genuine sport in it. 
 
 During the Cheyenne war, and at the time of Ouster's 
 death, Jack was employed by the New York Herald to 
 carry dispatches from the scene of hostilities to the near- 
 est points for transmission, and performed these duties 
 with such satisfaction that he received many nattering no- 
 tices of praise from that paper. 
 
6U 
 
612 HEROES OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 In the early part of 1880 Jack's health became much 
 impaired, and he went to Colorado with the hope of ben 
 efitting his physical condition and also his fortune, astLe 
 Leadville gold and silver discoveries were then promising 
 large returns for small investments of capital and labor. 
 But his anticipations were never realized, for in May he 
 was attacked by pneumonia, a disease of great prevalence 
 in the rarified atmosphere of that high altitude, and in 
 June following he died. His wife, who is known on 
 the stage as M'lle Morlacchi, was with him during his 
 illness and nursed him with all the care and tender atten- 
 tion that a devoted wife could give. 
 
 Texas Jack was a true exponent of Western civilization : 
 courageous, true to his friends, unfaltering in the line of 
 duty and resolute under all circumstances. His grave is 
 among those whose adventurous spirits led them to the 
 auriferous fields of Leadville only to lay down their hopes 
 and burdens beside the still waters and peaceful fields of 
 death ; but it is kept green by friendly hands, while his 
 name i* ever fresh in the memory of companions who 
 cherish the traits of his noble manhood.