The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1878-06-01


dicament. One evening, while drinking
in Murphy's saloon in Fort Richardson,
Cooper damned all Indian Agencies and
Indian Agents. He swore that if he
could only get crowd together with
shot-guns and six-shooters, he would 60
up to Fort Sill, lay around and watch
his chance, tear through an Indian camp
some night, riddle their tepees, and run
off their stock. He thought that in this
way he could square himself. Edward
Jackson, an old Ranger, quietly said that
he could count him for one. Jackson
was Just the man for so hazardous an
undertaking. He was shrewd. daring
and experienced in frontier troubles.
Others volunteered as joke, but he
meant business. The man who went to
Fort Sill on such an errand not only
excited the undying hostilities of tie
Indians, but threw down the gauntlet to
the United States Government Cooper
proposed to head the party mounted on
Old Douglas. The company burst into
a roar of laughter. Old Douglas was
a race-horse without an equal between
Red River and the Rio Grande,
and every body allowed that Cooper had
keen eye to his own safety in the event
of detection and pursuit.
The party broke up without coming to
an agreement. The proposal was not re-
garded as serious. 1t was thought to be
mere Dar-room talk. Three days after
ward one of the company met Jackson
mounted on apowerful bay mare, armed
with Henry rifle and a six-shooter
Why, Jackson" said he, where are
you going2' The ranger coolly replied
that he was going up to Fort Sill to
square Cooper and cut out some Indian
stock. The friend laughed and expressed
his doubts. Well, you'll see in few
days." drawled Jackson. I'll be back
before long with whole cavyard of
Comanche ponies.
He rode away, but the sequeal proved
that he told the truth. 1t was indeed a
desperate adventure. Nearly one thou
sand Indians were encamped on the res
ervation at Fort Sill, protected by six
or seven companies of colored cavalry.
Large droves of ponies were grazing in
the vicinity. Jackson, with McCarty
and Mathers, two spirits as daring as
himself, deliberately determined to cut
out knot of these horses, and run
them across the border into Texas.
They camped in an isolated spot on
Cache Creek, about six miles from the
fort 1t would not do to be recognized
by any one of the post Jackson said
they did not fear the Indians. The
dragons, or smoked Yankees" as he
called them, were all that stood in their
way. Three days and lights were spent
lurking around the Indian camp and
picking out a choice drove of ponies
About shutdown on the fourth day a
select lot were discovered in great bend
of the creek four miles from the fort.
The three men were well mounted.
They swept down upon the ponies like
falcons, yelling and screaming, rounded
them up in true frontier style, and
started for the Texas border at full gal
lop. The Indian herders were scattered
like chaff The boldness of the ma
neuver was the cause of its success. The
Indians saw three men, but supposed
that there were at least fifty. A few of
their herders ran to Fort Sill to give
the alarm; others aroused the Indian
encampment, and by twilight the saw
ages were on the skirts of the raiders.
McCarty and Mathers kept the drove on
a keen jump, while Jackson planted
himself firmly across the trail, and kept
up such steady fire with his repeating
life that the Indians, fancying them
selves outnum hered and fearful Of
trap, gave up the chase shortly after
dark.
Fort Sill was four miles away. The
nf OF 10 ri Of hn
nearly two hours after sunset. Two COM
panies of colored cavalry were thrown
in pursuit. Imagining that the raiders
would take the nearest route to the Red
R yer, they set out at full speed but
after riding until midnight without
striking trail were satisfied that they
had been thrown off the scent. Jack
son, with prudent foresight, drove the
hors' direct to the Abilene cattle trail.
the great highway between Texas and
Kansas. His footsteps we're swallowed
in this broad thoroughfare. A man might
as soon hope to trail drove of horses
down Broadway as to find the footprints
on the great Abilene road. There was
but one rancho on the route. 1t was
thirty miles from Fort Sill, about half
way between t1at post and Red River.
Fitzpatrick, its owner, heard the daring
raiders sweep by soon after midnight.
The ground trembled beneath the hoofs
of the jaded drove, and the air re-
sounded with the yeils of the drovers.
At sunrise Jackson had reached the
banks of the Red River, sixty three
miles from Fort Sill. He breakfasted
at Missouri Bills ranch in the Indian
Territory, and the horses were urged
across the stream. They entered Texas
at Red Rive Station. The inhabitants
gazed at the herd in establishment, but
jackson made no stop and answered no
questions. Some miles further on the
drove was turned out to grass, and the
triumphant triumvirate made division
of the horses Jackson drove his an
mails in the direction of Fort Richard
son, and McCarty and Mathers took diff
ferent trails.
That night the negro cavalry arrived
at Red River Station. On the following
day they struck the three trails and fol
lowed them like hounds on deer-track.
The chase grew hot. Mathers and
McCarty soon left their droves and be-
gan to look out for themselves. Jackson
kept his herd together until within fif-
teen mi es of Fort Richardson, and then
deserted them and broke for his old
home in Fannin County. The whole
country was filed with Indian ponies.
and for weeks afterward black-and- tan
dragons were securing the prairies pick
ing up the stragglers.
On his way home Jackson was arrested