The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-11-28


under the personal observation Of the
writer, and whether the heroic or tragic
element preponderated will be left to the
Judgment of the reader.
In the spring of 1866 I assisted in the
gathering of a large herd of beeves in
Llano and Lampasas counties, Texas, in
tended for the California market. The
outfit considered necessary to drive across
the continent 1,5O0 full-grown. broad
horned steers. few If any of which had
ever felt the touch of a human hand
since they were branded as calves, was
rather extensive and in our case con-
sisted OF twenty men, sixty horses, and
two wagons loaded with supplies.
The horses. wagons, provisions, and
blankets were easily obtained in and
about Austin, but thepurchaSe and brand
ing of the cattle took time and plenty OF
hard riding, for the cattle men lived many
miles apart. and one or two hundred head
from each ranch was all that we could
depend upon at so short notice. as IL
was late in the season when we arrived,
and the herds had already been closely
culled. and most of the drivers 70 the
north and west were well out of the set
Elements.
Then came the most important as we'll
task of all, that of hiring the men.
Austin was filled with the riff-raff that
usually forms a prominent feature in the
population of towns everywhere along the
western border; there were dlsbanded
soldiers. renegades from other states, and
adventures OF all kinds. but very few
experienced cowboys could be had at any
reasonable figures. as most of these had
departed with the earlier herds. After
nearly a week we found we had succeed
ed in engaging only five or six really
competent men, leaving US no alternative
but to fill out the required number with
others who knew little or nothing about
clttle driving and whose antecedents
We're in many cases Of the most dubious
character.
II is not my purpose 70 give in this
article any minute description of the drive,
albeit the foregoing details are necessary
for an ineligible explanation Of what fol-
lowed. Sufficient then to say, that mis-
fortune followed in our trail from the day
we turned our faces westward from the
branding pens.
This was partly due to the incompe-
tsnce. indifference and general worthless
ness Of so large a portion Of the herders,
and partly to causes beyond human con-
troll. The criminal element sooa revealed
itself among us, creating d!Strust thai
destroyed the harmony of the camp, and
rendered efficient cooperation difficult
and uncertain
When we reached the eastern edge of
the St3ked Plain, refugees came into
camp from the other side with the news
that a band Of Indians led by tl2t inn
placable Old war chief. S3ta1td. had taken
possession Of Horse Head Crossing on the
Pecos. and Were capturing all the cattle
that reached the ford.
Efforts We're then made to obtain a
cavalry escort from TT. Chadbourne; but
these proved unsuccessful. and we de-
cided 10 drive To the northeast and win
ter IN Kansas
our misfortunes had only just begun.
The discOrd in camp rather increased than
.abated. The nerd was rapidly being
decimated by nightly stamDedes OF the
most violent character. which proved even
more destructive TO the men and horses in
proportion to their number than to the
catt.e themselves. Dispirited and worn
out by OverwOrk. exposure and loss of
sleep. our systems were but poorly fOrti-
fed against disease, and soon after cross
ing the Red river al fell victims 10 ma
iaria in IFS most malignant type. Some
times. for a week a a time. there would
not be a man who was really fl for the
saddle; and This state Of affairs continued
until the early part of December. when
fifteen emaciated, fever-stricllen men with
about thirty skeleton horses drove what
remained Of the herd. in a binding snow
storm. down into the rich bottoms Of the
9Iar3is du Cygne.
Five of the original twenty were dead;
three had succumbed to disease. and the
other two had, To use a significant west
ern expression, died in their boots.
Closing the synopsis at this point, we
vii return TO a period antedating the
crossing Of the Red river and concern
ourselves chiefly with the fortunes Of only
four OF the party two Of whom We're the
last two mentioned. What names these
two worthless sailed under before they
hODOred us with their society, or whether
there had been any previous acquaintance
between them. none OF the others knew,
but il was soon evident that the names
OF John Smith and George Carter, which
they used in signing the contract, were
handles OF Temporary convenience.
1t was soon observed that they had FIRE
uuent consultations that ceased when 9TH
ers approached and almost always rode
on the same flank of the herd, whether in
the drive by day or the guard by night
but the vague suspicious thus engendered
rested upon foundations too slight to
justify serious consideration. and it was
not until We had been nearly three weeks
on the road, and Were camped one night
near KickapoO Springs, that an incident
occurred that could be explained only by
the most inexcusable carelessness or de-
lberate criminal intent.
About midnight a heavy rain set in,
which continued until morning, but the
cattle appeared quiet and up 10 that date
had given us no serious trouble only the
usual number of herders were detailed for
the night-watch. In the morning, when
the herd was rounded up, it was discov-
cred that nearly two hundred head had
disappeared.
The watch was Immediately called to-
gether and closely questioned, but the re-
suit was far from satisfactory. 1t was
learned that Smith and Carter had, as
usual. taken one side together and the
other five had divided the rest of the line
As it happened. these five were among
the most skillful and reliable cowboys in
the outfit: their integrity and fidelity were
beyond question:. but about the only in
formation they could impart was that it
was impossible that any sucn number of
steers could have passed over their beat
that night without their knowledge Smith
and Carter asserted with equal vigor that
they had not escaped by them.
Prepare tons for the days drive ut once
ceased; and all day mounted men secured
the surrounding country in every direc-
ton. but the rain had effectually obliter-
ated the trail. and no traces of the fugi-
tives were ever discovered.
In the party were two splendid speci-
mems Of the native Texan. Tay,or and
Coffey. the value Of whose services to us
during the entire trip could hardly be
overestimated. AS cowboys they had no
superiors Before the war they had be-
Ionged to that body Of picked men select
ed BY the state Of Texas TO patrol the
neutral zone between the settlements and
the hostile Indian tribes. to check as far
as possible the DEMONSTRATING prOpensi-
49, &C..