New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-10-26
LIFE ON THE FRONTIER.
AN OLD SCOUTS STORY.

western aA"f life SN BY BY harrington oReilly; T.
Illustrated by Paul Frenzeny Emo PIP "0''
Frederick Warne & Go.
This appears TO be a genuine record OF irohher az
venture, the hero being an old scout nameu jun =
Nelson whose story has been given certain i'e'",'
form by his editor. Mr.. OReiily IL Is d pa'.'"
frank and ungared narrative. presented m me enSe
., a., au,oh,ogranhv The editor has not tried to re
tain the rude II picturesque dialect of the frontiers
man. though had he done so even IN Wod'noo way
the ycrismilitude OF the book would nave oeen sreac
He has however, preserved the oriSq"e' uo"hFlsht
and candid manner of Nelson, who has eVmeh'N
given ALI that was IN his budget quite regardless OF
any considerations to what might ana what might
not rcuect credit upon himself In fact Mr.. Nelson.
nv his own showing. has led anything but a moral
ana useful life but his story appears TO be ruin
mi account Of one of those peculiar personalities which
and the restraints OF civilization absolutely ntoerae.
and which seek the wilderness as inSiinctively and
,rresistibly as do the Indian and the buffalo.
Nelson was born at Charleston, Va, in 1896,
his father being then overseer of salt works
a. Maiden The elder Nelson Is represented as having
treated the boy harshly. and the latter as having
been driven 70 run away: but II is toeraby evident
that the rowing impulse was In his blood, ana the
presumption is that he would have run away no
matter how dealt with. In case he worked his
wsy westward until he reached an uncle at Boone
VILE Mo, and after staying on the ranch long
enough TO learn riding and to gain some SIKH WIN
firearms the restless spirit seized him again. anu
he went of with a party OF traders who were ponhh
for the then mysterious and little known lhdah
country The passion OF young Nelson for wilo
life even the opening OF his career was so so"E
that the compsnionship of the traders soon pshei
unon him and he fell into the habit OF riding away
from the party solitary hunting AMI exploring
expeditions. during which nothing more delighted MIA
than sleeping alone on the prairie Reaching Tue
Platte River after three months OF travel the Dand
presently struck the camp of some ogalalla Sioux
Of whom spotted Tail chief Here another
strong impulse overcam Nelson Nothing would
satisfy him but to Join these Indians and live with
them and accordingly he literally forced bmset upon
the tribe. who seem 10 have humord him very soou
naturally, and Spotted Tail becoming MS pro
tector ne in due course formally adopted mo inc
tribe.
After such life 1t is natural mat he should take
=. rosecolored view of the North American Indian
hut though he declares that the red men were a
innocent as Children before the white men came
with their vices and their whiskey, the history ol
the continent previous to the white occupation can
hardly be said to support this view, while Telson
own narrative indicates weakness for soaps plhdcr
and horse stealing the part of his copper eoored
friends which cannot he aScribed wholly 10 the bad
example of the psefaces. Our adventurous friehd
is neither a philosopher nor an historian. ana II Is
necessary 10 caution his readers against accepting
either his chronology or his accounts OF historic
for instance is plainly outside of his personal eN-
perlsnces no moro Than "a repetition OF the loose
and fabulous stories which he found floating ao0u'
in the grOgShops Of the frontier settlements Tic
claims to have piloted brigham Young from tor'
Laramie TO the WahSstch Mountains. and perhaps he
did The adventures described as having happened
after he Joined the MOrmons however, have not
perfectly natural air, and It Is perhaps permissible
10 suspect an ufltrstion Of fancy at This point
The whole course of this natural white Arab Is
nevertheless full Of quaint havor Evidently he |
possessed the sailor temperament stability was !
wanting 20 his character. 4 few months OF steady |
work In house always eliminated in longing for |
the prairics so insistcnt he must drop every
thing and hurry away to his dearly loved Wilderness
In his sojourungs with the Indians he went through !
t1ic form Of marriage with Sioux maidens many lines
for as rule, his wife awey with an Indian
every time he left the village for few weeks of |
months. and in most cases the lady pieluded the |
eopcmcnt by giving all the property OF her huS-
band the pOor commoHly found himself DanH
rlrt as we'll WifesSS on his return lie appears
10 have borne these Of feminine treachery with
an exemplary philosophy: and though he says the
effect was 10 make him wOman-haer, his record
shows thai the efforts of III, Indian friends 10 con
sfe him. as It wcre with hair OF the dog mat w
him. were generally quite successful In the emu he
took 10 wife the daughter of old Smoke al oga-
lalla cLief named yellow Elk but whose Christian
cocnomen was Jenny. This woman hr was sub !
fashion and lie frankly admits his disappoin'm ent
when he discovered that by this ceremony he was |
tied 10 his Jenny for llfc; nevertheless he IS man
enough to admit that she has been very good anu
faithful wife 20 him. and this \ much Tor II Is Dy ho
means likely that gentleman OF his peculiar 'ehpeia |
ment would be very easy 10 get on wl'h
Trading, keeping bar prospecting for good IN The !
BLACK mis- tcamlng hunting, acting as military |
scoat, fighting Indians to-day and taking po'-nck |
with them now raising vegetables ana anon
raising scalps going prolonged Spires when he hah
money and working hard when his pockets were
enntIsuch was the sufficiently varied life led by our
frontiersmsn for many years. At one time he and a
mariner kept saloon with gambling house attach
ment under refle Nhingly candid name of Kooner
Roo,ts That Is exactly what the place was the
western emIgrants being the victims. This enter
prise brought Nelson plenty of money, bui OF course
he made haste 70 get rid Of it, and in little while was
ss noor As ever lie has plenty OF anecdotes, among
which may be mentioned some OF Dan 9ia''c' 'Hc
ro,oriou. wretch whose horrible of murder and
outrage Mark Twain WILDLY described IN hough
ipr liz Nelson seems to have been within an ace Of
killing slade on one OCCASION and ii is pity he was
prevented from doing The old scout TALKS very
nlainv about military matters, and about the conduct
OF the Indian agencies concerning which his opinion
IS indeed that OF nearly all who nave s'ldr" INC
question with any and closeneSS. II cannot Dc
said that there is any moral to =" Fifty Years on ue
Trail unless it is that the way OF the trsnSgeSsor
is hard The small boy who yearns to range The
mains will hardly lie deferred by all this stir OF al
venture though the account Of The harushp anu
privatation undergone might daunt most 'eh"er-
feet The whole strange life. however, Is chieny
interesting because Il Is practically eAunct III ths
coun,ry men like Nelson being among the last OF
their kind It NAV be added that in sheer interest
this volume will be found surpass almost any Work
OF fiction.
TIE BOOhS or THE WEEK.