The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1886-04-21

son of Samuel Wi.keson, the journalist, and
was IS wears old i'm March The late civil
war made a soldier of him before he was 10
years old H. ran away from home and eu-
listed in battery of volunteer artillery. He
served as a canlioneer in the Army OF the
Potomac through all the fighting from the
Wilderness to the front of Petersburg; was
mustered out at the end of his term OF en-
listment; re-enlisted in the regular army,
and on the same day was promoted from the
ranks to a lieutenantcy in the Fourth United
States artillery.
A brevet captain in the regular army at
the age of little over IS, he resigned
his commission to enter a school of mathe-
mafics preparatory to his chosen hfe-work
of a mining engineer In 1857 he went into
the service of the Cambria Iron company, In
Pennsylvania, to qualify himself for the
management of haeir underground property.
He worked as a miner of coal and iron ore
for two yaaTs Then, on a disagreement
with the Cambria owners, he accepted em-
ployment from the Northern Pacific Railroad
company as a civil engineer, and for two
years took part in locating surveys for
that corporations main line through the
Rocky mountains in Montana across the
plains of the Colnmbia, down the north bank
of the Columbia river, down the eastern side
of Puget sound and across the Cascade
mountains by mary routes. He also explored
for the Northern Pacific company the eastern
slope of the Rocky range from the Deer
Lodge pass TO the north of the Assinaboine
river, for coal iron and copper, and
hunted the east bank of the Missouri
river, above Bismarck. for bituminous
coal During all this adventurous, and then
most dangerous service he had l, 400 acre
farm in Kansas, and on it wife and baby.
These finally pulled him out of engineering
and he settled down in Kansas to raise cattle
and grow wheat Being mighty hunter he
enlivened the terribly tame business of cattle
raising with bird shooting on the prairies and
elk hunting on the Rocky mountains, as
well as a little prospecting for gold and sill
yer, and much conserving with hunters and
prospectors in the Medicine Bow range He
frequently wrote his experiences for The
SIN, Of this city, sketches that will be long
and pleasantly remembered by all who read
them Finally he freed himself from the
Kansas ranch BY leasing it. and bought
a gold placer in the Douglas min
ing district in Wyoming territory,
in sight of the high Rabbit Ear
peak, and purchased deserted log palace
on the bank of roaring mountain stream,
furnished and sttIcked it, and settled dewn
with his wife ami two boys to enjoy life
nationally, and wash out gold in the inter
walls when he aslnot deep III the forest with
his blankets and rifle Altogether, he hvel
on the plains and in the Rocky mountain
fourteen years. Eastern by birth and nu?-
ture, he is western in every fiber of his body.
In 1884, to get near to his father. whom lla
tenderly loves and who lives in New Yo;;
.skx t,,.flt hx.,.. u
the east end of Long Island There he nov
resides But he yst owns the gold placer ard
the log palace ipi the Medicine Bow mo,n-
tains, and elk and deer and beaver come into
his Sleep and nightly he hears the voice, of
the forest calling tb him to come home
Mr.. Wilkeson is a man of tremendous ,,1ys-
ical force as well ali strong and fine nieatality.
He has large hhysiqG., handsome heal
set on a neck like d massive column of brry,-,l
stone, big clear eyes fun of kindness, md a
voice rich and deep and full of sweet t. a.s-
such voice as no lnan not honest and kin lly
could be gifted with He could be what is called
great II he chose tt9 figure where the worlds
prizes are offered He has the force anil
capacity TO achieve extraordinary things
He has, however. chosen TO live ont H III
contest as much as possible. With his
family his dogs, guns and love of n,;ur.
AMI natures wiidresses h finds Clee,..i. i,v,
tran the strife of life affoI,ls
He writes only hen the mood sa;z,s hin.
and never to ORDER as many nnluc.. sou.s
are compelled to do He makes a rcc:..;,t.oa
rather tl.an profession Of it. F.,r tiat
reason what he does write has a TO-. ami
freshness that make themselves felt
He is pleasing talker, with a fun; Of rich
experiences oi Kind not common ut in
conversation he il modest and def r n;iaI--
never esotistical With the exc i, .o9 Of
Prentice Mulforsi, | know no vi ! who
loves tbs wilderness 50 well. or VIII, ba, had
50 mr;h experiences in wild life. ii, tlle NOM.
tlinous mining districts Ypt l.,., t,.s.
men have more warm sympathy Win their
feliow-men titan one ten tinds IN ;ta !, VIII,
e..ll thems Ives uiiianthropists i;,th are
thinkers on the protlaIns that All ). N, vel
fare OF humanity anl ara aIw4-s 81, tha
hhnlahltarian sldh Both, too, No.. bora
and brought up IN the east, and both alp
western by nature in every paTtis.
Mf NHkesons chtrography is a neat ami
perfect as pen can make it. His man Ilscript
Z ~ TO editors, and his private Iet:er are
ll'f'ti oi courtesy and ksndn IL ex-
INc's - go 20 thh Rocky ncua ia, ~ a
l"hg tFlp curing the coming s.ss.i Il i. and
VII ifeat tne picltc to some mo charming
pifpares OF wild western life
GERTRuDE HARRISON
&sain Baleau saws shsL duri., s, Is-a.f,,.
Iaml Brown the infsmney If i,
w iNsti ", waS almost as y. sf.-s7l,ia r.