River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1876-08-03


shoes off and pared his hoofs neatly.
Reynolds then went TO the saddler and
had a set Of leather shoes made TO fit
the horses feet, Soas TO buckle around
the fellocSs.
"What are those for ~ asked
~ little dodge of mine to fool the
Indians. They make no trail"
Then re packed three OF four days
rations i saddle pocket. prepared a
supply of ammunition, and cleaned mp
a long, old.fashioned rifle. Then, eat.
ing hearty dinner, lSlay dAsn under
wagon for nap.
About O'Clock that evening an en-.
gineering party started off in the di.
rection Reynolds was to take, and sad.
ding his horse and strapping on can.
vas bag Of settlers, he accompanied us.
We rode till about 10 O'Clock. and
went into camp in cluster of trees
near a brook. 4 fire was lighted, q
pot Of coffee made and after drinking
cupful Reynolds mounted into his
saddle and rode silently of into the
dark.
Ills path lay through a tracklcss
wilderness 200 miles of 1.-THE con.
slant haunt Of hostile Indians, and
not foot Of the ground had Reynolds
ever seen before. He had never been
at Laramie he only knew the general
direction in which il lay, and his only
guide.bOard was the stars. After four
nights Of riding and three days Of
sleeping he reached his destination UNI
harmed. ! saw him afterward at Fort
Lincoln on our return. lie told me he
got through nicely and mailed the let.
ters / had intrustcd to his care.
had been told that under this gen
tie demeanOr lay q romance as remark
able as any Cooper ever wrote, and one
day asked him to tell me the story of
his life. lie blushed little. laughed
quietly, and replied he didn't think it
worth while.
But they tell me you have had
remarkable experience, | suggested.
Not so very remarkable" he ans
wered. II guess you can find enough
to ill your paper without publishing
about me.
And that is all the romance got
from his lirs. But from the lips of
others learned that he ha1 not al
ways been lonesome Charley Rey-
nOlds, No one, however. knew his
true name. He was called clone
some" because of an absent pensive
way he had-a habit Of scclusivcness.
lie came TO Lincoln from Montana
three years before, with his partner, "
where the two had been hunting and
together for several years.
The story Of his life that partner"
told was this:
Reynolds was the son OF 4 wealthy
family in Tennessee, but
was educated in the north, and when
the war broke out he found himself
IN q painful dilemma. He had imbbed
enough of northern ideas to make him
strongly hostile to the secession move.
ment, while his family, consisting Of
father, mother and sister, were yio-
lent sympathizers with the south. His
father entered the confederate army
as IN officer early in the war. The son
could not go with him and fight against
ms principles. non could he stay at
home and brook the taunts and plead
ings of his mother. and sister, nor
could he Join the federal army and
hght against his father. 50 he left his
home and wandered away TO the mines
on the Pacific slope. His home was at
the centre Of hostilities. and all COM
munIcation was cut of.
At the close OF the war he went back
to Tennessee, and what was once his
home was desoldtipn. The neighbors
told him his father had been killed in
one of the early battles. his mother
had died, and his sister had married q
rebel officer whose name was not re-
membered, and all traces of her had
been lost. The old plantation had
been conhseated, and there was not a
single tie left to bind him to the past.
He spent seine months in search of his
sister, without result, and finally,
homeiesSness and disposition which
shrauk from fellowship with men
drove him back to his old home in the
mountains to spend the rest of weary
life. From 1865 to 1872 he was in the
mines in Colorado and Montana. AM
hunting and trapping along tile streams
/ of the great northwest. being EN-
/ ployed occasionally by the government
! TO do some work for which ordinary
men were too cowardly or incompe
/ tent.
lie was q short, stocky man, with
little STOPPING Of the shoulders, and
way of carrying his head bent forwar,
/ wi II his face toward the ground. III
had u shrinking blue eye, u very hand
some mouth, and forehead on whicl
one could trace blue veins, as YOU cal
trace them on the forehead of won
an. lie was full-bcarded. but neithe
the growth Of his hair nor the mark
of exposure had Ctiaced the lines q
beauty from his face. His manner wa
/ uuobtrusiye aud gentle, his voice wa
as soft and tender rs q Woman's tones
! lie was man that horses aud dog
+ loved instiuctlyat first acquaintance
whom men respected, although he wa
never fathomed hy the wiSrst of hi
/ friends. lie had fought Il whole tlih
/ of Indians single handed, people said
although no one ever learned OF an pN
plot from his own lips. lie ncve
learned tile necessity of swearing
never told story, never smoked
pipe or Il cigar before q campfire. an
never drank amy liquor
The Peasant Of herzegovina
tuwhN Magazine
Is wc got ill., ~, the number q
people coming down the mountain in
creased The women were AN dres,e
| IN the long white nalmatian Jacket