Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-07

fringed and beaded dogskin coat and chap
pareios (seatless overalls to protect the legs
from thorns), his costly boots with ridicu-
lous French heels, his silver-inlaid spurs
jingling with silver bells, and the pair of
pearl-mounted six-shooters at his belt.
was shy of him at first, but have since found
him very good fellow in his rough way,
and have experienced at his hands in the
Southwest countless pleasures and no
troubles.
Seventy-Nfne Miles in Day.
From Ellsworth I made a strong squirt,
Just to see what could do in "a hours. The
conditions were very favorable-the hard,
smooth turf roads are admirable to walk
upon, and I was in perfect trim and unin-
numbered. In "a hours I had trotted to
Ellis, an even 79 miles. The distance was
made in q hours, and the record would
have been better had not fallen asleep
when sat down to rest and thus lost three
hours. Walking and were on good terms
now, and every day scored from 80 to 40
miles; but that squirt from Ellsworth to
Ellis was the longest days walk I ever
made.
AT Hays City a cowboy who had gambled
| away his money, pistols and pony concluded
to walk with me to Wallace, where he had
brother that he 'reckoned would stake
| him." He had lost his money at pleasant
bull-fght at Caldwell the preceding Sum
day, and was evidently used to very tough
companionship, but I found him good
hearted, lenient toward my ignorance in
matters whereof he was expert, and alto
gether very spicy and entertaining com.
rade for the 131 miles in which he shared
nv sfbed and board" Walking was agony
| to him in those tight, tallheeled boots, but
| he was game to the end of his toes, and
hobbled on so pluckily that gave up my
haste and adopted gait which was easier
| for him.
A Rifle and Blanket.
At Wa Keeny I took up my rifle and
bought blanket, as the nights were grow.
| ing cold. 1t was big one while it had to
be carried, but when Cowboy Bill Henke
and both had to curl up in it at night, il
was very small, and could getneither enough
of it to keep out the winds of the plains,
nor to escape from my companion, who
nearly snored my head off nightly.
But we had very good time by day,
popping prairie dogs and snakes and herons,
| watching the big balls of the curious ''tum-
| ble-weed" which dries up in the fall, cracks
from the stem, and at the invitation of the
vagrant wind goes tumbling somer-
| saults off over the plain to visit its relatives
may be hundred miles away-racing with
that most agile of snakes, the 'blue-racer, u
or marveling at the speed with which his
horny-nosed cousin, the 'auger-snake, will
90 down through the hard dry turf, making
his hole in very few moments.
AT Wallace / left Henke to his brother
| and pushed on alone over the bare, dry
endless, waterless plains, sometimes reach
ing wee and shabby slab town, but more
often sleeping out on the crisp, brown grass
1t was getting up in the world, too. In the
less than 500 miles from Kansas City hal
been steadily climbing an inclined plane
and was now nearly 1000 feet above tn,
sea Indeed, after passing the Colorado
line there were very few days in the mex
/ 200 miles when was at an attitude mucl
less than 5000 feet.
The Last Of the BuffaIoes.
few wears before the vast plains of tn
Southwest were black with countless herd
of buffalo; but the pot-hunter, the hide
hunter, and worst of all the soulless fellow
who killed for the mere savagery of killing
had already exterminated this lordly game
The last of the buffaloes was killed at Chey
enne Wells, just as I passed-a grizzled oil
bull. who was the sole survivor of the noma,
race. But the turf was cut everywhere still
with their deep, narrow trails; and ever,
now and then I came to the grass-growl
'swallows" where the great bovine hunch
hacks had scooped out ''bowls" in the tur
by revolving upon their backs, to be rid 0
the,tormenting swarms of gnats.
III had grown robust as young bison my
self "Out-of-doors'' is glorious tonic. an
when 1 rose each morning from the brow
lap of Mother Earth, l seemed to have re
allied the fable of Antaus My lungs wer
growing even larger, my eyes were good TO
twice their usual range, and every sine,
stood out on my skin like little strand @