Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1881-01-18
COLORADO LETTER
GREELEY Col, Jan. /. 1881

] u
do; build my cot In the wilds OF Maine and
become a mighty hunter there, or seek out
cavern in the Rocky Mountains and be-
come mighty hunter there. At any rate
was bound TO be mighty hunter some
where. The number OF boys in New Eng
land, WHO have the same vague idea that
had must 10 great, and dime novels and
sensational story papers have no tendency
10 diminish the number. The excitement
OF the chase, always has made strong
appeal to- something in the nature OF men
and Iromss and are likely 10 until broad
er religion than the world has yet recog-
nized calls men 20 know that even the low
er animals have rights which men are
bound to respect. In this last respect.
how incOmparably superior are the Asiatic
heather" To the American Christians.
have an idea that as our race moves
westward, wrestling with a wild soil, wild
beasts aud Wild men, il becomes possessed
with Wild fury, before which all these
wild things must yield. This state OF
things passed away ages ago in further
Asia, as 1t will some day pass away with
America The soil will be broken, the for.
e>ts too much sDbdued, and herds of buirs-
10 and antelope, and flocks of pigeons aud
prairie fowl >snd Indians) will be practi
eally unknown.
Ny own ten years experience in Colora-
DO. has, somehow, taken all the love OF
hunting out Of my nature. partly because
The surroundings Of the hunter here are 50
different from what they were In New Eng
aud. There one can tramp with dog and
guu most Coutentedly FOR each moment l. a
surprise and JOY. The view Is 80 circum
scribed by rocks and Tickets and groves
that one does not know what mome Mt
game may be found; aud beside the varied
landscape j. a continual surprise. a. have
before said, and continued rest Nstnrr
keeps the hunter from knowing too much
1t one glance. He must work out his sue
ceSses from moment 10 moment; and If he
/ sees no game there are fpe views OF wood
and water, numberless lichens and ferns
and trees, aud fruits, and berries, aud birds.
and fishes, and the dash OF running water.
where the thirst may be queRched. Now
let Us apslyze the Colorado hunters sur
roundiugs- he has come from the wood
of New England, the hunting on our plsiu>
/ = no hunting 81 all. As he energies from
his ''littlc cottage door" he can look about
/ him for miles on the level plain. The view
I Is mOuutonOus a. a calm sea when one l.
out OF sight OF land. For ten miles
around there Is no game In sight, and pos
Sibly NO covert for IT, With deep sigh In
/ view OF this s,upcndous eNpanSiyeness, he
j. ready To return the house. ImsGiue your
/ sell, Mr. Editor gum houl. dog 10y your side
/ In the middle of frozen lake, twenty mile
across, going hunting. Tha; l. about the
way hunting on Colorado plain affects
me. An hours walk, a days walk may not
change the scene particle. So far As re
suits are concerned. the hunter might a.
well take his Gun and standing up on The
floor marx time. In the mountains Tho
I climbing the cold barren and almost tree
less cragS i not much better; hut when
/ the deep SHOWS drive down the deer and
/ clk from the upper timber, there i crtain.
| climbing. We have n wire fence sbout the
/ colony lands which iuClos,s CO coo acres
I A few years sgo there were AZ least 5 0oI
antelopes In view just outside this
fence. Some 500 happened 10 come in
I through an opening Ia the fence and the
/ hoys and ucu from town used 10 90 out
there and the crack OF rifles and Colts re
volvers, the whang OF old muskets. aud II.
bang. bang, OF double barrelled fowlins
/ pieces would have given a stranger the i'm
I preston that our skirmish line had en-
couutered the Indians few miles out, anC
were bsttling bravely for home and country
Those were the days when every new arriv
al from the Esst brought half dozen mus
kets. guns, rifles or pistols, although som'
/ Of them were SIS useless as the time hon
/ ored musket that Grauiher Young
! brought home from Concord, busted.
was teaching school in those days. IN 81
\ Old affair OF building brough; down from
\ Cheyenne, were We roasted In one end o
/ the room and froZe 10 the other, called h,
| Hotel de Comfort, and It was no uncom
mon sight 10 see from my window som,
/ young fellow riding slowly in from th'
( glorious scene OF carnage, gun In hand
I dragging an unfortunate antelope with 1
/ rope which was wound round the horn OF tn
saddle. have seen hands OF hunters com
/ ing IN with wagons piled up with slain an
I telopes and the men walking beside their
I teams carcass was worth from aft,
cents 10 dollar. You may well believe tn,
poor fellows who kept butchers shop II
town didn't sell much beef that winter
There was veuison on the north side o
every shauty in town; but after time th'
antelopes made their way westward 10 III,
mountains. and our gallant sk!rmish linz
retired covered with honor. Alas l hsC
no share in II.
Sluce those stirring times men have I'm
ported greyhounds and made trial o
speed with the bounding antelope A gooS
hound viii pull them down pretty often.
What is the matter OF your houndi" sale
70 Scotchman who sat smoking by hi
stove door last summer IN one OF GU
towns. Run into a barbed wire ferc,