News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-06-10
THAT TERRIBLE COWBOY.
From the Chicago Inter-Ocean.


way. l haven't word against him, on
kindnesses at his hands. He is no
rougher than most of us would become
by the hanging about of these savage
wildernesses. His virtues are more than
a few, and as verile as his vices. The
wholesale damnation piled upon him by
some virtuous people is not only unjust
but foolish. As an Indian fighter, how
ever, he is rank failure. He gallops
around at safe distance, whoops and
/ swings his hat and shoots Ito the mortal
detriment of space and paralyzes every
thing but the foe.
| If you fancy from this that he is a
coward, you were never worse fooled.
| There is no class of men in the world,
| presume, more utterly contemptuous
of death. He will rub noses daily with
the bony old conquerer without twich
of the eyelid. But he wants to know
about it, to see his game. In the bar
room broil, where the friendly glass
spills an ugly word, the word is echoed
back by a blow, and the blow gets
answer in the flash of twenty revolvers
there the cowboy is at home He will
stand like rock and face the murderous
music of the 44's his own barking back
defantly. Shoot him full of holes, and
he will yet fetch down his man. Here
he is acquainted-in his own phrase he
'tsavvies the burro." But it is 'the
danger that we know not of which
''makes towards of us Ill ~
Whatever may be said to the con-
trary, the cowboy knows nil about In
dians. 1t isn't his business. A danger
that he can p. see os he VI. 81 fae l, Ike hero,
he has to deal with an invisible, an un-
known, and mysterious foe-he 'isn't
there" don't blame hint is sim
ply human. To lope or creep through
a country bleak, rugged, and desolate
beyond description; amid a silence
heavy enough to break the heart; see
ing no sign of life, yet knowing that
cactus rosette, any lonely rock may,
without any warning, spit out its little
puff of smoke with leaden message
to your heart-isn't it enough to make
any one little shaky2
Just as pointers on the dial of truth
as to w-puncher and Apache, let me
tell you some funny little incidents,
which are not only characteristic but
true. Last October, while Ulzanna
| (popularly corrupted to Hosanna) and
his bloody band were raiding in New
Mexico and Arizona, hard pressed by
Crooks efficient captains, it Glanced
one day that the old men and children
of the band, accompanied by four or
five bucks who could fight, swept down
| by Whites rancho, some twenty-five
miles south of this post They canped
in the open plain. half mile from the
| house, killed two or three beeves,
roasted them, ate all they could hold,
and packed all they could carry. In
the night they were up and away. In
that strong, stockaded rancho house
were twenty or twenty-five cowboys,
armed with Winchesters and sixshoot-
ers. Did they open on the esuperanuated
foe? Nary open. They hadn't lost any In
dians!
Again, Ulzanna's band was finally
driven into the Chircahua Mountains,
whence it twice tried to cross the broad
| San Simon valley to the northeastern
ranges, bu5 was each time deferred by
seeing troops. AT last the hostiles made
night dash across the Sulpher Springs
valley, west of the Chiricahuas. Their
stock was worn out, and, while the rest
rode on, three or four bucks swung over
to the Sulphur Springs rancho for fresh
mounts. There were several cowboys
sleeping in the house, all "heeled" to
the teeth, and the corral which held the
| horses was surrounded by tall, stout
palisade, securely locked and barred.
The Chiricahuas chopped down the pal
isade with hatchets and rode off with
all the stock Not a shot was fired,
and, in fact, the cowboys don't seem to
have known of the visit till morning.
Capt. Crawford chased the remounted
band through the Dragon Mountains
and into the Mule Mountains. There
the hostiles suddenly whipped around
| and made for the Chiricahua Noun tains
again. Crawford hung on;the1r trail, tire
| less as wolf. The next day after they
reached the mountains he came to where,
hard run and with failing stock the hos
| tiles had stabbed every one of their ami
mails to death and scattered on foot
among the rocks. Then he thonght he
had them. sure. Just at this time the
COWBOYS of the San Simon Valley were
preparing for the fall roundup and had
| congregated in force at ranch near the
mouth of Whitehall Canon. They had
their twenty-five or thirty prime ponies,
all nicely shod and ready for the round
up. They were warned that Indians had
been seen in the mountains that day,
and were advised TO put their horses in
the stout corral. But no; they insisted
upon lariating them out upon the grass
that night, while they themselves snored
conscientiousIy inside the house. Thy'd
like to see any Indians get away with
their stock. Next morning when they
awoke and rubbed their confident eyes
every pony was gone, lariat and all, and
Crawford's tremendous pursuit found
only the swift trail of those fresh ponies
sweeping tar down into Sonora, where
the savage riders were safe from pur-
suit.
These are fair samples of the fashion
in which the cowboy emerges from the
diminutive extremity of the conucopia
when he has to deal with the lightning
movements and matchless cunning of
the Apache.
ONE Bible house, which has been es,