The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-08-01
THE VALLEY MEN IN CAMP.
SUExYsIDE, Col, July 20, 1891.


Seated around the camp fire at D. m.
are Col. Arkansaw, Mr. Whitewater,
Lieut.. Walnut, Maj. Neosho, Capt. Kaw.
The ex-minister to Dakomo is cooking
supper. 'Well," said Capt. Kaw, IF this
is sample of fishing in the upper Rio
Grande, it strikes me as about As much
overdrawn as the boom stories of Kan
opolis. Now look at those fish; a 7-year-
old boy, after an hours exercise at play
ing marbles, could eat the whole catch and
60 to bed hungry. / have heard it said
that blade of Colorado grass was worth
ton of Kansas hay. Perhaps a two
ounce Colorado trout is equal to forty
pound Kansas catfish. You fellows lured
me from the gay and festive Manitou to
such deal as this, promising ibrain food
in such quantities that l would land my
self in congress. Now, what do l finds
Nothing but bacon and mountain spring
water. Water is all we'll enough in its
place, but to man who has lived in apro-
hibition state for ten years it is somewhat
monotonous. I came out here with an
utter disgust for everything could get at
home, and find only mountain water for a
change. Won't some of you call that
ebony hued pastor of a burning sun and
tell him to open some of that N. and P. of
X. G. before | brain some of these idiotic
fishing cranks? Hold on there, have got
the floor and won't Weld until | am
through. When you fellows start out in
the morning | would advise you to take
some money, a revolver, and buy some
fish, but if they won't sell hold the fellows
up.
If we have dash or two Of heliotrope-
| mean a dash or two of fish from Stories
camp just at this time, could almost for
give you fellows.
Moio I'LL hot
Dakoma could cook!" said Col Arkansaw.
well, he may have been able to cook SOW
belly and make coffee on a cattle ranch in
Texas, but just look at those trout in the
skillet with their heads off Now if those
fellows over at Stories camp should come
along and find US cooking trout with
their heads off they would organize a
mob and hang every mothers son of us
Capt Kaw, you have made a great kick
about our first days catch. want to give
you pointer" If I hadn't slipped on
rock and got in the water up to my neck
and broke my rod at the same time, and
then had to lay on the bank all day to dry,
| would have taken more fish than a hun
dred such fellows as you could eat, and at
the same time | admit the fishing is not as
good as ii was during willow fly time.
| had a friend out here three weeks
ago, and he is reliable and never eXagger-
ates only when speaking of Wichita. He
told me that he filed his twenty pound
creel dozen times in one day, and every
time he filed it he would give the fish to
some camping out fit on the bank, and
when he got ready to go home he filed his
creel and in climbing up the bank the lid
of his creel opened and he lost all his fish
among the under brush, and went down
to old PaJtens at the Gap and they wouldn't
believe word of it; said that fairy tales
didn't go and that he couldn't have been
in it that day.
F'Hold on" said Lieut.. Walnut, 'You
are getting garrulous, old man, and there
is no point to that story. l could have
made nice catch today myself, but l
tried bass tactics and didn't get rise, and
getting tired I got out on the bank and
met camper from Illinois. who after |
told him l was to have been fish commits
sioner, seemed willing for me to talk to
him all the balance of the day"
well" said Capt. Kaw, ''it is all very
fine for you fellows to brag and blow
about what you can do, but l
came out here to get some brain
food and propose TO have it if l have to
go over to my friend, the judge of private
land claims don't like to go over there
without taking that NJ. and P. stuff, for
the judge will be sure to strike me for it,
and you know am a reciprocity cuss, and
if do take it what will you fellows do?
well" said Col. Arkansaw, ''of all the
kickers | ever met you are the worst. |
didn't tell you why 1 failed to make a
catch. Now, tomorrow | am going to
show you what | can do. | only wish |
to walk down to the Gap and see if old
man Patton hasn't got a stock of flies. l
have some Royal Coachman dark cow
dung, brown and gray Hacket black Hats
and a professor or two, but | don't think
the front were rising TO any of these just
at this time. l wish | had some minnies.
know a fellow over at Sterris, who fishes
with minnies all the time and he never
fails to make q great catch, and he gets
big four-pounders."
"Well,'' said Capt. Kaw, couldn't we
on the quiet get him to furnish
fish for this camp? | wouldn't
give the snap away. l tell you
l am so hungry for fish l wouldn't hest
tate to tell lie about the manner of OBJ.
tanning them. Say, Dahoma, did you
ever catch any fish? Yes, sir, boss: Tse
kotched lots Of them down in the Arkan
sas river at Wichita; but we had big
net and corralled them. Well, | wish we
had that net or seine here, we might stand
some show.
well, Mr. Whitewater, what do you
think of the situation? | am novice or
what they call tenderfoot out in this
section, but from looking at the flies they
use | think a little piece of red
calico on hook would be
just the thing to attract the wild, untamed
trout; but what has worried US more than
fish is that unearthly noise up on the
mountain that | have heard for the last
ten minutes, and Lieut. Walnut says that
it is mountain lions. know the trout are
shy enough, but l don't know about the
lions. If they knew what a tough crowd
this is they might let US alone"
"Oh, don't get frightened said Maj.
Neosho, Il am told that mountain lions
never attack mountain liars, and if that is
the case, some in this crowd could protect
the whole state of Colorado"
Just then the woolly broncho brayed and
every one of the party dropped on his
stomach with his face buried in the sand
Here we leave them until our next
WAGON WHEEL GAP.