The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-02-24
A FIGHT WITH COLD TYPE

My acquaintance with the red man in
the past has been Of such a nature that |
| have had ample opportunities Of observing
| his characteristics, That acquaintance,
| though extensive, has not been altogether
| pleasant on my part, and has often caused
me- 90 view the past with pangs of regret,
The noble red man acquires great flu
eney with other people property at a very
early age, and by judioiously oultivating
this popularity as he grows older he soon
looks upon all laws relating to the rights
Of property with naughty disdain and in
| finite disgust.
My first acquaintance with the Apache
came about in the most unexpected man
ner and at time when | was wholly I'M
| prepared to receive such distinguished Wis
| itors
1t was in the fall of 1882. had been in
Las Vegas, New Mexico, about six months,
working in the job room of The Daily OPP
| tie, then leading daily in the territory. |
had not accumulated much money-about
the only thing | had acquired was desire
to get back To civilization. and the ambi-
ton TO become the proprietor of a news
paper. 1t happened about that time that
there was big excitement broke out over
the discovery of gold at Kingston, near
Lake Valley. Then Russ" Kistler, re-
porter for The Optic came to me and said:
There is fine opening for paper
down at Kingston. Why can't we go
down there and start one? It won't cost
much, and will be paying investment
l told him / was willing if l could see
any way to get a press and material TO
work with
That is easy enough he answered.
"There is an old Champion press in the
junk room Of this Office which they offer
TO sell TO us cheap on the instaIlment plan,
and If you are willing Wen go in together
and give the thing a trial"
/ readily accepted this offer, and hasty
preparations were made to move our traps
TO the new FL Dorado.
We took the evening train on the Santa
Fe road, and went TO Mutt station $50
miles from Las Vegas From there we
had TO make our journey by wagon. a dis.
lance of forty miles. We hired a wagon
and team at Mutt station, and loading in
our press and other materials we set ont
for the new town with light hearts and
bright expectations.
We soon fell in with half dozen other
wagons on their way to the new mines.
and though there had been some trouble
with the Indians in that vicinity a short
time before, we thought that our number
would ward off any attack. but in this we
were mistaken. / had never met auv of
the Apaches before, but il was a wild.
picturesque place they selected for our first
meeting-far from the influence OF civiliza-
ton and the United States army
We had camped on little knoll, on every
side of which stretched the Unbroken
monotony of the sage brush and the dark
Mexican thistle. 1t was grand sight we
witnessed the next morning when the sun
rose ont the sea of prairie desert and re-
vealed the cloud like peaks of the mighty
Rockies looming through the gray mist of
earlineSs.
Here. ere the stars sang together, nature,
IN oer nrst wild rapture of existence, flung
aloft her giant arms and froze the noun
talns IN eternal snowsr'
but that was before my day. and I don't /
know what she done next, but suppose she
turned the country over TO the Apaches
II had been there at the time | would
have got nature 70 throw alofr her arms
once more and rake ia few of the Apaches.
should like to see 8 few Apaches "froze