The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-12-26
LIFE OF A "BULL-W HACKER"
Men Who Steered the Prairie SchooDers
Across the Plains Had Rough Times.
Transportation in Those Days Was Slow and
by No Means Certain-Herding Cat
tie on o Wild Night

John Martin, several years district pas
senger agent for the Big Four at this city.
and at present in advance Of The Still
Alarm Dramatic Company. was once a
bull whscker' on the plains. where his
services are still remembered by many.
Last night, while drawing . few reminis-
cences from the past. Mr.. Martin ran over
his experience IN the capacity named In
this fashion: "Bull-whacking is the art
Of persuading six or eight yoke OF oxen
over the country, hitchcd to big
wagons. loaded with about two and
one-half tons each. at the rate OF fifteen
miles q day. In the early sixties all freight
from the Missouri TO the new mining dis
rricts near Pixies Peak was transported In
this way. From twenty to thirty wagons
comprised q train. There was the wagon
boss and bis assistant who rode mules, anc
the drivers Who walked. An ordinary
train. including the extra cattle taken
song for emergenc les. consisted OF about
three hundred head of cattle. These beasts
were selected without my care as to their
dispositions OF temperaments. and it as
with the greatest skill that the
wagon boss matched the spe edsrs
30 as to prevent his train cover
ing q space rs broad as Nebraska.
These wagons were called prairie schoon-
ers' and were covered with canvas. A
driver received $40 o month and board.
The board was hapjacks. bacon and black
coffee. Then the driver was compelled to
mark his beasts so that he would know
them again. Some ommotlo was at one
time caused in a train L was with by a
wild freshman who had attempted to
knock out the left eye Of each OF his team
TO serve as n mark.
The cattle were herded at night
BY q man who rode about them.
Larry in the morning they were
yoked .up and the tramp lasted until 10
yoked and sent to grass for breakfast The
cooking in camp was much after the
fashion of army cooking. but the bill OF fare
was not always SO excellent. The night
herder was one Of the most important r1en
and was forced to be mp all night with the
cattle. he generally got drunk and slept
eli day In q wagon. Every body could sleep
IN the day time without danger The trains
In sight of each other from seven
to ten days before they met.
One cannot very well imagine q more lone.
some aud dreary life han fell to the lot of
with MS three hundred OF moro cattle and
ride aroHnd this herd the whole night, in
all kinds of weather, and many times in
tries full of hostile Indiana Yet. 30
far as the Indians were concerned. his po-
sition. though alone on the prairie, was q
much safer one than that of the mel who
were asleep inside the wagon corral. No
Indian would approach that herd of cattle
/. within shooting distance without being
scented and betrayed by those keen-nosed
pralrle steers.
IL Der an experience while filing
the position of night herder. The train
with which / was employed left the Mis-
souri, river about the first of September,
1867. At that time the whole Sioux ma
tion was at war with the whites and in
full possession of the country, from fifty
miles west of the Missouri river to within
sight of Denver. was engaged to herd
without adventure with hostile Indians.
though depredatIons were commit
ted both ahead and behind us.
The Indians had no use for cattle. as there
were millions of b~uffalos. and probably
thought our thirty men and train a force
30 strong they did not attempt TO loot the
wagons. We arrived at the last ranch,
only eight miles from Denver, about the
been beautiful all the-way. but when / was
awakened to my watch that night | found
the snow falling fast and q keen
wind blowing from the northwest.
was told the general direction in which
the cattle in charge of the day man had
been sent, but the snow was so binding
that / only found the day men and the cat
tie after o search of several hours, and. re.
peatedly firing a of my revolvers to at.
tract attention, they firing in return. When
i found them / asked when were the cattle.
They said, All round here babe me good
night and started for the corral. urged
my pony over the prairie. through the
storm, looking for cattle; once in awhile
j would catch a glimpse of some ghostly
steer, that would vanish in q moment. j
at last got alongside OF one of these phan-
toms q he was going on q
run. with his tail turned straigh.
hold of his tail. and thought 1 would have
him in the morning if no other. A few min.
utes' ride alongside this steer brought mt
mp on the leo side of the hay corral, an
adobe wall about eight feet high. inclos-
ing probably ~one-quarter of IN acre. in
which ranchmen's hay was stocked. ]
found many cattle had sought shelter
here on the protected side Of the
minute. In the course of two hours
j aseertained by going carefully through
the cattle that there were over three hun
dred there. Knowing ! could do nothing
before daylight TO regain the remaining
ones l u~nsaddled the pony, loft him with
tine cattle, scaled the corrsll and found an
entrance TO tho ranchman's stable, locked
on the outer side. where the temperature
was much more uncomfortable. After ex-
ercising myself mp and down the ccnter OF
place. As il was dark rs pitch, | could
only grope around until / touched some
thing. and. at the same time. something
touched me. l found myself lifted in the
air, and turned several somersaults before
alighting. When l aid alioht l found my
self situated upon a pile of straw. / lay
there until morning, when | found / had
been fooling with the business end of a
mule. q thing / have never since ATTEMPTED.
When | got oct of the stable / found the
wagon boss there, who soon had
the cattle counted, which showed
twenty : five missing. The snow
had ceased falling, but q keen
wind was still blowing. An hours hunt
found these twenty-five missing cattle hud-
died under the bank of a little dry prairie
creek.
Two years spent In the mines. and the
railroad had reached Denver, and when ]
crossed the plains again it was behind the
iron horse. and the occupation of the
freighter, the wagon-boss. the bull