Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1855-01-24

the clar dozen.'' .---..ar--
''A hundred and forty-fve dozen l''
| repeated in astonishment; and yet hav
, no doubt Of the truth of the trapper'
f statement, for he had no interest in decei
9 wing me. l ana satisfied, from what
: knew of him, that he had slain the full
number stated-one thousand seven hun
e dred and forty L ~
, became curious to learn the cause o
| his antipathy to the prairie wolves; for ]
that that had induced him to create such
|, wholesale havoc among these creatures
f By careful management, 1 at last got him
upon the edge of the story, and quietly
pushed him into it. He gave it me thus:
F "Wal, sir, about ten winters agone,
war travelling from Bent's Fort on the
Arkansaw, to Laramie on the Platte, all
alone b. myself. had undertook the
Tourney on some business for Bill Bent
no matter now what. had crossed the
divide, and got within sight of the Black
Hills, when one night had to camp out
in the open Parairy, without either bush
or stone to shelter me. That war, per-
haps. the coolest night this niger re-
members there war a wind kum down
from the mountains that wud froze the
har off an iron dog 1 gathered my blan-
ket Ground me, but that wind whistled
thro' it as if it had been a rail-fence.-
'Twan't no use lyin' down, for l couldn't
sleep, so sol. up. You may ask why
hadn't fire ? I'll tell you why. Fust,
thar wasn't stick of timber within ten
miles of me ; and secondly, if thar had
been, dasen't made a fire. l was trav-
elm as bad bit of Injun ground as could
been found in all the country, and I'd
seen Injun sign two or three times that
same day. It's true thar war good
grist of buffler chips about, tol'ably dry,
and | mout have made some sort of fire
but for that; an at last did make fire
arter fashion. did it this way.
"Seein' that with the cussed cold
wasn't agoin' to get wink of sleep, l
gathered lot Of the bufler chips. then
dug hole in the ground with my bowie,
and hard pickin' that war; but L got
through the crust at last, and made Il sort
O. oven about fut, or fut and half
deep. At the bottom l laid some dry
grass and dead branches O. sage plant,
and then'settn' it a6re, piled the buffier
chips on top. The thing burnt tol'able
we'll, but the smoke O. the buf1er-dung
would a choked skunk. AS soon as il
had got fairly underway. hunkered an
sot down over the hole, in sich position
as to ketch all the heat Under my blanket,
an then l was comf'table enough. OF
coorse no Injun kud see the smoke arter
night, an it would tuken sharp eyes to
have sighted the FIRE, l reckon.
"Wall, sir, the critter l rode war a
young, mustang colt. about half broke.
| had bought him from a Mexikin at
Bent's, only the week afore. and it war
his fust journey, leastwise with me. OF
coorse had him on the lariat but up to
this time had kept the end O. the rope
in my hand, because had that same day
lost my picken- pan an thinkin, as l
want agin' to sleep, mout as we'll hold
onto it. By m by, howsumever, l begun
to feel drowsy. The fire atween my legs
promised to keep me from freeziu', and
thort mout as we'll get a nap. So tied
the liriat round my ankles, sunk my head
atween my knees, an in the twiakIIn of a
goats tail l war sound. jest noticed as
| war goin' off, that the mustang war out
some yards nibblin' away at the dry grass
of the parairy.
81 guess l must slep about an hour,
or thereabouts-I won't be sartin how
long. only know that didn't wake Of
my own accord. 1 was awoke and
when 1 did awoke I still thort
war a dreamin.' 1t would been
rough dream but unfortunately for me,
it warn't dream, but jeDywine reali-
ty. At fust, cudn't make out what war
the matter with me, no how and then l
thort war in the hands of the Iniuns,
who were dragging me over the parairy ;
and sure enough l war a draggln' that
way, though not by the Injuns. Once or
twice l lay still for Jest second or two,
an then away l went agin' travelin' and
bumpin' over the ground, as if had been
tied to the tail O. gaIlopin' hoss. All
the while there war a yellin' in my ears
as if all the cats an dogs of-any where
were arter me- Wal, sir, it war some
time afore compre' 'nded what all this
rough usage meant. did at last. The
pull upon my ankles gave me the idea.-
1t war the liriat that war round them.-
My mustang had stampedoed, and war
; draggin' me at full gallop cross the parai-
ry.
"The barkin', an howliu', an yelpin'
that l heard, war pack Of parairy-
wolves. Half famished, they had attack
ed the mustang, and started him. AL
this KUN into my mind at once. You'll
say war easy to lay hold on the rope
an stop the hOss. So it mout appear
but kin tell you it aint't so easy thing
1t wasn't SO to me. My ankles were il
$ a moose, and war drawed clost together
s OF course, while l war movin' along,
couldn't get to my feet :; an whenever
the mustang kun TO halt, an l had hal
: gathered myself, afore could reach the
3 rope, away went the critter sgin' an fling