Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1886-12-27
WILLIAM MATTHEWSON.
GENUINE HERO OF THE WILD
WESTERN PLAINS.
How He Became a Favorite with the
Indians and How He Saved Much
observation-disclosures of His Thrilling Id
Especial Correspondence

= lie Dill
Especial corrcspondence.1
Boston, Dec. 13.-William Matthewson,
OF Fort Sill, !. T., stands six feet two inches,
with e head on him that would have done fora
senator when men were senator's; chin square
cut; square 'shouldered; you would say a
man on the square as you looked ut him.
Modest as the brave ever are, not disposed to
talk until he is sure of his man. But when
he does talk the days of Daniel Boone do not
seem SO far away. See him as he sits in
front of his ranch, grave as a Roman sem
ator. Yonder galloping across the plains
m an Indian. AS he comes nearer we
see he has the physique Of q giant. Matthew
cons face kindles.
ut is Big Bow" he says.
The Indian rides within forty PAGES of us,
but veers off toward the Quaker agency.
lAsshe does he shouts and points that way,
"Sinpah! zilbah! Come, agent"
There has been trouble; he wants Sinpah
Zilbah-'the dangerous one with long hair on
his chin"-as- the Kiowas nave named
Matthewson, to help him get at this Quaker
agent, who seems to him a half squaw man.
How has this man made himself q power
with the fercest chief among the Kiowas7
Years ago in the state of New York was a
lad with a hot, restless heart; that heart had
not been made restless by the cheap novel, for
the cheap novel was not yet. His heart was
restless because it was a big heart, full of
courage and high daring. That heart had
been fired by a book, but it was a very noble
book, the life OF one Of our very braves
Americana, John c. Fremont. Well, the 10y
did what my boy readers had better not
do, unless they are absolutely sure they have
as lofty a heart as William Matthewson had;
he ran away, and he struck for the path the
great pathfinder had ~found-the overland
route to California. Out and out he went
into the heart Of what was called once the
great American desert, but which never was
a desert, only a great plain, stretching,
stretching, as the great Lake Michigan
stretches, and which, perhaps, was the bottom
of d great lake once. The ranch where the
youth stopped was also in the heart OF the
Indian country. The Kiowas were there, and
fierce, fearless fellows they were, who could
look you square in the face without finching.
Tie Conianches, too, occasionally swept up
there, short and squatty, inferior looking
save on horseback, and they did not look we'll
square In the eye-they cast furtive side
wls5 chances. The kiowas took lovingly 10
him when they ann in. And while he was
learning frontier lore from the ranchmen he
i was learning as fast as he could the Kiowa
language.
AT % he pushed out further alone in the
Kiowa country and established a ranch. 1t is
enough Of q trading ranch to give him an ex-
cuse to stay among them, His ranch, being
the farthest out this side the Rocky noun
tains, Is o haven to weary overlanders to Cal
tfornia. A7 r. Yef
Matthewson, besides the Kiowa language,
had learned the sign language, which is the
common language between all of the tribes.
II you ask an Indian how far any place is,
and II he does not speak your language, he
viii tell you how many sleeps off it is. A
sleep Is about twenty miles. If it is about
200 miles Off he viii lay his head in his hand,
close his eyes and then hold up both hands
1t Is ten sleeps of. II he wished to tell you
you lied he would thrust out two index fin
gers from his mouth, making an obruse angle,
@Yoa talk forked."s Matthswson understood
this sign Language perfectly, but the Indians
DID not know this Some Indians Of another
tribe had come In. They were talking this
sign language to a group of Kiowas:
aWhat is itfp
"a prisoner got away. Prisoner white
and a young girl, Stole one Of their ponies.
Get away in a storm. win give one, two,
three, four, five cattle Kiowa catch herr
A at once it flashed over me,' he said.
"a young girl alone or the plains, two tribes
handing to catch heri Ny brave one I'm on
: your side! sold them or half gave them
the goods to get them away. I slipped away
myself cautiously, quietly. I saddled two
horses, my mare Bsss and a splendid horse !
had. / took my carbine and two Colt re-.
volvers; I told some struggling Kiowas that
were still there, MY cattle gone;I must 90
hunt them.' I pushed Off on the course /
knew she would likely take. In a few
hours I struck trail. I examine it close;
yes it Is hersl Before this ! strike a
small band of Kiowa Indians who were sccur-
ing the plains for her trail. Where you go
inge Hunt my cattle; four got way; two
red, two spotted i push on. / follow the
trail as long as l can see; camp; partner I was
young then, l didn't sleep muchl As soon
as i can see the bent and crushed grass of the
trail again l push on, east, ever eastward
That girl has got sense as well as pluck. She
knows the settlement lies there. Ress losses
her head and leads out in q long stride. Sup
pose those red devils strike across and get
ahead Of mel Well, il 1t comes to the worst,
Il ouldnt go down in a better cause. Hour
after hour nothing but the sweep and hateful
sameness OF the stretch Of the prairie. It is
ftn the middle Of the secS,nd evening. By
- - -okSSAl = SOLl6 otSS, WEI III
make that speck grow bigger. It's a horsel
and there's some one. on it.
"Partner, I'm not the praying kind, but !
did thank the Almighty. When she looked
around and saw me she was nigh frightened
to death. Her eyes looked just like a fright
ened fawn's, but the next time she turned
they looked like a fawn's when it finds out its
mother has scared it Her Indian pony was
shaky, ! had her on my led horse in a jify.
We pushed for the first station or ranch on
the route. We changed horses there and still
pushed on. We were not safe yet. / carried
hers to the settlement In Kansas.
aHer folks had oil been murdered In Texas.
She made her home there afterwards. Part
uer, 1t would mako a prettier ending for m
i 70 say I married that girl; but I didn't; my
time hadn't come yet. Later on / iariated Q
splendid girl up of q Kansas prairie.n
In lS60 William Matthewson earned the
title Of Buffalo Bill. The Kansas drought:
bad cut short two successive crops. Settler.
were absolutely starving. Kiowas, Sioux
and Cheyennes were on the warpath. Agar
the chivalrous knight arose in Matthewson
Out in the range Of these hostile tribes were
plenty OF buffalo. He got q wagon trair
together and said, aFollow me!' In q few
days the wagons were back to the settle
nents, loaded down with buffalo meat
while he remained out there. Train after
train goes out, to como back with life saving
meat. Grateful settlers would say: a.Wht
killed your buffaloa' 1Buffale killer him
, SELF they would just say. Then o few o.
. those who knew him would call him Bill