Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-07-27

showed some surprise. 1T was this
way" continued the old man. along
In the SOS, as you may know, Denver
was conspicuous by its absence more
than anything else Bands of people
who came through here bound for the
gold field way out west camped while
and then moved on, never stopping to
consider that they might stake out
town lot which would be better than
any mine in the course of years The
idea OF city would have been laughed
at then, just as you would now laugh at
the idea of a city being started in the
middle of the Arizona desert.
when l was boy, as far back as AZ.
my parents came to Colorado territory
from Iowa, bound for the west. but
nowhere in particular-any place to
start new home and make something.
We struck the Platte valley in the fall
and camped along in several places.
finally at point on the river which
must now be out beyond Overland
Here number of the party, exhausted
from the heat and wear of the overland
journey, grew very i'll and four of the
twenty-five died. The Arapahoe Indians
were then in their glory, and, although
so far in our journey, they did not offer
to modest us, none of the men in the
party were at all sanguine about re-
naming here and wanted to push on to
the southern trail and thence to Cali
fornia. The precarious condition of
number of the party made this tempo
rarily impossible, however. The camp
was made, and with considerable doubts
&C 70 caf OF he 90
do the best thing possible under the
circumstances.
THE stock of provisions had already
become very low, and before long all
that had been brought from the east
was exhausted. A little game was Sc
cured, but not enough to provide for
the great need of the camp. To add to
the gloomy outlook the weather became
cold. Finally, little less than starvation
was before the emigrants. At this point,
however, help came from an unexpected
quarter-the Indians themselves.
The canvas-wagon tourists carried,
as a matter of course, a number of
knick-knacks and trivial ornaments
which had found their way into the
boxes when the Iowa homes were
broken up
"One evening a number of Indians
came into the camp and viewed the
preparations for the evening meal with
considerable curiosity. Finally their
attention became riveted on some small
wooden blocks one of the children was
playing with. They were the old
fashioned sort, of square wood, and
painted red and blue. One of the red
men took several of them up and finally
put them in his girdle and walked
away. OF course no remonstrance was
made to this action
The next day the Indians returned
again and signifed by pictures that
they wanted to look at the child's toys.
They were at once produced. Among
other things there was an old-fashioned
checker board, with two sets of brass
bound checkers, with which some of the
party had served to pass the time.
These seemed especially valua BILE in the
eyes of the Indians, and they handed
them to one another and grunted over
them with the greatest satisfaction
When the visitors departed they confis-
Gated these, too.
1.-TWO days later four of the Araphoes
came into the camp loaded down with
the carcasses of some slain deer. These
were deposited in front of some of the
tents, and, pointing to them, the leader
made known that they were intended
for the use of the emigrants. Then he
pointed to string of bright-colored OBJ
jects around his neck
Il am living monument of untruth,''
concluded the old-timer, as he gazed in
Admiration at the top of the Boston
block, IF those redskins hadn't strung
the checkers and were using them as
necklaces. Well, they were welcome to
them. and the venison saved the camp
ers from starvation and enabled them
to move on '-DenVer SIM