Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-07-22

and resigned when Sumter was fred upon, as
70 Thought his stats would secede. When he
found that Il would not. he got his resignation
recsl.sd and rose to the rank Of major general
ne was an astronomer Of considerable note, and
had-in ls4S-charEe Of the expedition to dis
cover the sources Of the Red River of the North
Caf people were a. ignorant Of the territory
| mas mad been acquired By the Guadalupe Hi
| osi&o .senE - they were Of the hisroglyphios
| OF Central American civilization, Emory went
- Tar q Pecos, In New Mexico, and was the
| drst to sketch and describe the old Aztec tenn
pie on that historic stream, the reputed birth.
place Of Montszums. II had been IN ruins then
ior nearly . century. Ihi: was the Cicuyes Of
Coronado's journal, and there he found the
| sacred afe burning, and besides the Aztec Es-
| tanfas set up the Church Of the Holy Cross.
| and for hundred years the smoke of the GEN.
| serS and the smoke Of the FIRE of the heather
goa assembled to heaven together. Emory found
| only ruins % he passed on his way to SAINT Fe,
| . few miles beyond.
1.-THE Shorthand Custer trail Of the winter OK.
| petition Of 1882 against the Indians followed
the beaten trail to Fort Dodge, in southwest
Kansas, and followed the Arkansas river, on the
north, back about twelve miles east; there IL
crossed the river and passed on down to Camp
supply, In Indian territory. The trail is in
four vide tracks and is very plain. One of it's
historic spots 10 Mount Jesus, in Clark county,
Kan: u was there, In 1868, that Sheridan first
received notice of his appointment to the
SASsoAeAAARS
promotion Of Sherman to that Of general, caused
BY Grants retirement on account Of his
| elevation to the presidency. Sheridan
was riding north with me in my ambulance
and just as we reached point on
the trail opposite Mount Jesus We discovered
horseman coming toward the ambulance en-
veioped In cloud Of dust. As the scout drew
near We saw that his horse was white with foam
and ready to drop with exhaustion. The scout
recognized Sheridan, and, pulling paper from
A6nk ~a - a.
his hat and swung il high in the air, yelling at
the top Of his voice, 'Hurrah for the lieutenant
general He had In his hand the telegram noti-
flying Sheridan Of his confirmation and had
bssn sent on scouting trip to round up little
Phil"
Those are the seven great trails which, start
ing generally ct the "Kaw's mouth" near Kan
sas City, reach out like great fingers through
Kansas to Santa Fs and California up north
through Nebraska to Utah and Washington and
Oregon and down through the territory into
the uanos of Texas Like great ser
psnts the sinuous sweeps Of bare brown earth
crept across the prairie toward where the sun
went down. Sometimes the trail narrowed to
team or two abreast. This was where the In
dians were known to have vantage ground for
| attacks. Then when great caravans or bodies
OF troops were marching the lines would spread
out on the level prairie until Eve or six trails
cut into the grass for miles and miles in length.
running parallel q half. often mile. separated
from each other. The short buffalo grass
beaten into dust by the thousands Of tramping
feet followed the marching columns like a pillar
Of cloud, and ascending heavenwar warned the
distant enemy that the hour for plumber and
death was near.
Driving the Cattle.
When the Indians we're driven out OF Kansas
and Nebraska or confined to their reservations,
the cattlsmen took possession Of the rich grass
| lands and over these, some old trails. the cattle
were driven to the cattlemen's paradise, and for
twenty years nearly they all but monopolized
the trail business. For the last fv years the
| cowboys have found the roundup a difficult
task, and drive almost an impossibiity.
The old trails are fenced across, plowed under
| or hedged in. Grazing grounds were cut down
by sections and townships and counties until
| the great herds Of cattle could no longer be
| maintained. The cattlenlen sold close until
now they own hundreds where they once
counted by Thousands. and the railroads carry
| cheaper than the cattle could be driven from
point to point Civilization and civilizations
great motors, the railroads, have killed the cat
| tie business of the plains.
The old trails die hard, though Sometimes
> grain field will have outlined through its
whole length the spot where the old trail rossed
| II. The grain that grows there sprouts first
grows faster, is a richer green and gives
! heavier yield at harvest than the other land ad-
jacent 1t IL All uncanny thought to harbor
but maybe it is because those old trails have
drunk so deep Of the blood of pioneer martyrs.
| In 1870 the plains were white with bleaching
bones. Bison, Indians cattle and too sadly
often carcasses Of white men all lay there
whitening In the sun: Choler. twice swept
along those old trails like a cyclone aud lined
the roaddde with unburied dead. Indian bat
| ties and pitiless massacres spilled human blood
every day during tho years from 1860 to 1870
| Smallpox was epidemic many seasons and the
| unburied victims Law where they died miserably
| mr. Wa0 fra
LEFT abandoned whom death drove. and humans.
horses, mules and cattle persisted together,
tho one Of disease. the others Of slow
starvation and thirst. The bison that
once hold full sway on the plains we're merci-
| lessly shot by Thousands for their fur to make
robes and their bodies were left to 70. where
they fell When the great cattle drives" were
| on the erase often dried up till there was no
nutrition in It, and the few streams went dry.
Then the cattle died by tens OF thousands. In
| the first years Of the settlement OF Kansas and
Colorado, Nebraska, Dakota and Wyoming the
giant industry OF the country was the collect
/ ing Of these bones which sold for "a and s5 .
ton, to be used - fertilizers. Along the rail-
| roads, where they were hauled for shipment
they were piled up high above the freight car
| roofs, and extended for a mile or more along
the tracks. Men with teams made big money for
years at this business. In California they hedge
farms with cactus; in Virginia stumps Of trees
answer the purpose, and In Massachusetts the
only thing to do with the .'nigger heads Is to
build stone fences that are always tumbling
down, but in Kansss and Nebraska "forties'
| and ''sixties' were once set about with q
chevaux de frise Of buffalo and Texas cattle
skulls! CHASTITY aud grinning with enormous
steers horns, interlocked with the blunt ones
! Of the bison. the cattle that had yielded up the
ghost to the depletion Of some cattle baron .
pocket book, because OF too scanty forage by
irony Of fate were themselves set up as
breastwork against the possible depredations
their hungry kindred might make on the corn
and rye fields Of the thrifty settlers.
II those old trails had tongues their ante
norton stories would rival those Of the cru
sadss, but we'll for the world the victims of
their scourges sleep soundly. Sometimes in
those vast wheat fields where the grain grows
tallest and thickest the reaper will come sud-
denly upon . spot of earth. bare Of heritage
except for . nodding sunfower perhaps, its
sunken surface almost covered with q rafting
cross olumsiIy made Of tomato boxes, Or q
broken wagon tongue Names and dates. II any
there were are long years since obliterated, but
by that holy token the stranger knows that the
dust that once encased soul slumbers as calmly
in that wheat field and a. free from the de-
spoilers hands a. though reposing in Arlington
under tons Of carved stone. There are hun
drsds Of these lonely graves throughout the
vest and legend tells that women and little
children Ill them. Since above these old trails
the grain grows stronger and sweeter, the
prairie flowers bloom brighter and sundowers
''sathef in battalions," il may be Khakgam' q
philosophy Was the true one that: