New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-07-08
BILL JENKS'S STORY.
A "REMINISCENCES OF TIE DEADwooD TRAIL.


| chilly Int the fire which VIC had built and which
reached up with Its long tongues OF flame hall way 10
the dark pino tops above made tho camp conho'taoc
We had stopped for tho night Just of tho great Deao
wood trail. dozen miles from that pacc-that gica'
wagon read which leads from the gold mines to civll
saton, over 600 miles among mountains ana across
plains over Government land and through indian reser
vatlons.
"Im eon' TO bod an to sleep tonight" said Gene
Brooks q freghtcr, with three great freight wagons
and twelve mules. which he drove alone as Is Gus
tomary 9" set up all last night teln' you iclcrs
Stories but you can't rope me in that way tonight
We had fallen In with Gene on the trail the day before
We looked at the fire. burning lower. as we list
encd to the night wind, unfet below, singing through
the Pine tops the same low, sad refrain which inc
wind and tho pines ever sing.
Changed II there amt a stray mule said Gene, as
he strained his eyes through the darkness toward the
trail. Looks some like of Bin Jenls's leaders,
too. but Eli don't LET uonc OF lis mules get away
sides he's conc to sundanco this trip, though II
must be bout time for him TO get back-he brrries
long kinder fast now-ho gets lonesome, reckon.
/ b'leve | must tell you bout Bill fore forgct H.
and Gene cut of chew Of tobacco with POCKET
knife and rolled over and kicked his toes into tho
ground as he gazed at the fire. while the pines ceased
their complaining song for a moment, and the muir
riuring of Bear Butte Creek came to our ears as IL
dubbed along over the rocks few yards away all
graysh milky white, mudded by the silver mining
along its head waters In the Galcna dIsirct-all the
streams in tho Black Hills either the same graysh'
milky white or bood-red- silver or gold mining
"You heard me mention Bill last night went on
Cone He's good one-ain't 'frad OF nothing that
walks Been frclghtln' ever since havc-nino year
! Got a twelve mule Outft-thrce wagons. BIZ amt
exactly quarrclsOme, but II he has got anything AK"
anybody he don't go round tryin to forget II. Moo
! likely he Jumps the feller an cleans him ont. l'
amt never been licked the trail. Carries gun
J In M
~ Won know how to take him-I never had no tFouoie
with bim-but a little queer an not a man To money
with less You're lookin' for mighty lively exercise
Gene medtatlvcy took of his hat and blew the
dust from the wide brlm-the red. powdcry u'St W
the trail the dust that Is blown hhcr ana hther' OH
everything everything. through cVcrytmhE' 'ha' -
stirred by the treasure coach and passenger coach
n,ulo train and bull train by the passing breeze ana
the gale as IT sweeps down out OF the canon anu
whirls It along in great clouds that shut rom sish'
coach and wagon train, dusty passenger ana o1s'cr
driver. Then he began again:
| "Well, bout two year ago VIC was all irclSh"h
| from Plerrc-ncarest railroad town them you Know
| Them was lively times at Pierre. Killed man every
night buried him the mex mornin', or mcbDy inc uaS
! after 'cordln to how busy they was
There was girl at Pierre named Pearl Queen.
least that's what the bills said her name was though
| al'ays thought It little mixed 'bout II oeih
right She acted at the Alhambra Theatre, you see
! Danced on her toes remarkably perty lkc shea
bccn there some tmc and we all knowed her moro or
less She was little thing mid'ln' young Iedeeu,
though I al'ays calculated she looked lttlc SORT
! faded She was kinder quiet though she had per'S
peart look too They said she shot fecr at sidney
| but Pete Ferris said IT want her tai' 81 W"
| know nothing bout II.
| "Anyhov BIZ jerks cot a'qnalnted with her ono
trim and they Jess seemed to muchu'ly fall in love
with each other at first sight. Well, We dluht Pay
no attention this but we want quite ready ior
what folleret Bill got load OF mcrch ndisc lot I"au
! City. an the mex mornin pulled out, an the plno
is right here Setn' up on the saddle on the mean
wheel mule wa Pearl Queen. jes' 'sif she'd arrays
Leon there: an BIZ was walkln ''longsidc, meboy
little closer'n central swcarin' at the mules )eS si
| he never pulled out no other way
"well We all looked an that's bout all we did do
when We see ZEN comn'-there happened to be quito
lot Of us in camp there an We was ics' hookin up
BIZ had campcd down by the freight house Pearl
had on new caliker dress mostly red and pertty lkc
an noticed she pcarcd rather better lookn' than
central I thought. Big smith was camped with us,
He's one O. these crc smart Aecs an hchiin man,
an didn't like Bill none too we'll nohow. lie steps up
when they comes along an says n; 'Mornin, Bill
| .Mornin' Big Smith says Ell and stops his team
Il see you got Pearl Queen with YOU, says BIG smith,
IT does pear that way says Bill 4 b'licvo I'm
somewhat acquainted with Pearl myself says Big
smith kinder smart Ike. Il low you don know any
thing bad bout her. says BILL bitin his teeth together
hard well, = Crack! an Eli hit him ono on
the law so We could all hear H. sayin at the same time
What is II you knowF Big Smith fell like log an
Law there for most minute, Bill all the time watin'
for an answer Pertty soon Big smith got so he could
kinder roll a little, an then said: 'B, 1t 'ant worth
mcntionn'p Then Blll whistcd 10 his mules and went
| on
"Nothlng but fights for ELL jerks after that Tic
had 10 stop an lick the man that KEEP the Red Corral
fore he got o and he pounded two freghter'
at Willow Creek an Al Bad River he an the man that
run the road ranch there fit twenty minutes, an Bill
finally got him up to the bank of the stream an showed
| him in an that settled him. He would meet man,
| the man would say something bout Pearl or 90 TO
| GRIMM an Bill would stop, an step up an whale
| him. come back kinder mop off the thckest Of tho
blood with his sleeve, swear at the mules an 60 on,
while Pearl reached down an patted him on the
shoulder an chcercd him up
pearl stayed with him right along. She didn't ride
on the mule much after the first trip. cept when
they were goln into town. when Bill always had her
ride IT, so tina; II there anybody round that wanted
10 make any remarks, that she would tract their ten
on and they would make 'em, an Bill could stop and
have 1t out with cm. But IT wasn't long fore folks
| got over sayn' much in Bll's hcarn'-swful unhealthy
practice ono day when they was puln' into Rapid
city one of these plctur tried 10 take their pctur'
with Pearl on the mule, but Eli caught him at 1t an
went over an kicked Of tho legs off his outfit an
as that only left it, IT didn't stand very steady
an the looked kinder shcepish put II under his
arm an made a sneak
:" Bill alays fixed her up nice place to ride in the
rawaeon. an when she wasn't there or on the mule
she would walk long by his side s'pose 1t was very
plea for her TO hear BIZ swcarin at the mules all
day cause she thought heap Of him. When one o.
the rest of camps Of course aays have to rustic
round an cook own bacon. but she done his cookn
ri cht along an good cookin 1t too, cause BIZ asked
me TO cat with them scvra times. Biscuits WY she
used to make biscuits that tasted wy, durn II all,
they tasted most like they used TO at home BIZ an
Pearl arays got along powerful fine together. They
wasn't married regular you know-Bll said he didn't
believe IN any sach monhey business, an ! reckon she
didn't neither, but BIZ told me It was going to be a
| steady thing; an IT
"wc It hard life for the girl arays on the
roadcold an stormy through the winter an lot and
dusty when summer como-ncvcr sccIin in house an
mot hardly oyer ho mo I'm onc nj all ,cep occasionally