The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-12-24
RAILWAY "REMINISCENCES AND AN IN
CIDENTAL BUFFALO HUNT

Hon. Alex. johnson of Garrett, Judge
Martin of Atchison, and Mr.. Hawk, esq,
OF Parsons, all attorneys in the Missouri
Pacific system, spent the day in Wichita
yesterday, calling on the Coronado club in
the afternoon and on the editor Of the
EAGLE later in the evening, when natur
ally enough the subject of old times in the
ti.ties and sixties in Kansas came up.
Alex WAS major of the Fifteenth Kansas,
of which w. f. Cloud was colonel. AT
one time when the regiment was coming
down the Arkansas from an Indian hunt
with Kit Carson as an escort, Cloud, one
evening, conceived the eXtravagant idea
of rounding up herd Of buffalo and driv-
ing them to the Missouri river. Sounding
the officers call, the plan of selecting ten
men aud one officer from each company,
WAS announced and no sooner so than the
detail was made The regiment. which
had long train of commissary wagons in
the rear, was put in command of Major
johnson, who was instructed not to permit
any firing at buffalo during the day.
Early in t morning the little Emporia
tailor, and colonel with his detail of one
hundred and twenty splendidly mounted
men, his long hair trailing to the wind
over his shoulders, surrounded a herd OF
something like fifteen or twenty thousand
of the black, rolling humpback5, which
instanter broke away to the north, cavalry
and buffalo disappearing in a mighty
cloud of dust over the horizon in the
direction of the Smoky Hill river. Moth
ing more was heard of the chase until
about 10 o'clock when the major deserted
small detachment of eight or ten thousand
OF the huge monarchs of the plains bear
ing right down upon his command. lie
had had enough experience with the long
bearded brutes to know that unless turned,
and turned quickly, they would 90 pell
nell slashing through and over his train,
raising cain generally. In the command
was battery of several Howitzers. These
were limbered up and turned loose
on the solid mass of meat which came
laundering on at full gallop. The fire of
the battery was followed quickly by
charge all along the line. Johnson said he
Banged more beef in the course of ten min
utes than would have loaded a railway
train. Cloud, with his discounted detail
soon came sweeping into sight over the
hills, the hottest colonel that ever headed
a regiment of fearless Kansas free state
boys, and he was only pacified after
splendid dinner of fricased prairie dog and
fat calf, washed down with the best wine
afforded by the commissary.
Major johnson in after years, in 1870. at
which time he and the writer of this squib,
were serving out term each in the state
senate, drew up the charter of the first
railway enterprise that ever named
Wichita as point. 1t was
the Paola, Fall River and Arkansas
Valley railway, the western terminus of
which was to be at the confluence of the
Great and Little Arkansas rivers. In 1865
Major johnson participated in the big,
historical Usage Indian treaty which was
held at a point between the rivers near the
present home of Major Davis. The years
since hav been few in number and brief,
but the Indian is gone and the lonely
echoes of his medicine incantations and
heroic recitations are Weakened by the roar
of a dozen railroads, their trains and en-
gines, the rumble of multifarious machin-
cry and the ceaseless CHATTER of hoofS upon
the paved streets of a modern metropolis.