The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1895-03-23

dams, that they live in tents, and think
nothing of killing a newcomer by
shooting him dead. Others have an
idea a trife more advanced, that the
inhabitants are a sort of ofiicious,
pushing. breezy, unmannered, enter
prising lot of fortune seekers, good
natured, but rough, easy-going, but al
ways on the rush. Others, still, fancy
the west is filed with the queer peo-
pie described by the story-tellers aru
novelists, curious types, half-wittef
and half-witting picturesque old cod
gers. grooming, Woodworking, homely
women. few and far between, such peo-
pie as Octave Thanet and Hamlin Gar
land have given u.s.
All these suggestions are wrong.
The ruling population on the plains OF
Nebraska is the most intelligent,
cultured and enterprising emigration
from New England, New York and
Ohio-the cream, which naturally
rises to the top and floats off. They
have built churches, schools, UNIVERSE
ties, theaters and elegant hotels There
are Woodworking but enterprising
farmers, and some not SO enterprising,
lust as is the case in the east. Now
and then the towns are invaded by the
cowboys and Indians. The cowboys
are oftentimes fast young men from
the east who have gone west to work
off their spirits.
In the early seventies my father had
hardware store in the young city of
Lincoln; and frequent visitor at the
stove that stood in the little back
room was Buffalo Bill, then neither
very famous nor very rich, cowboy of
the plains, stopping to call on his
kinsman whenever he came to the city
and exchange yarns in true cowboy
fashion. My mother was afraid of
him, but my father found him very
good-natured fellow. The following
tale may have been one of his stories
do not know. He may have been an
on-looker, but my impression is that he
had not even seen the events and
sights he described.
The place may have been Beatrice or
Red Cloud or Kearney Junction-beg-
ging the pardon of any or all of those
now populous cities which happen not
to have been the one. The time was
quite twenty years ago, but it might
have been yesterday, ] fancy. Red
Cloud--we will call it Red Cloud-was
the center of farming district, and
was somewhat of a sleepy little town.
There were various stores, three
churches, three saloons and a post Of
l.
for there was no railroad; but the in
habitants were in hourly expectation
of both! The people were hard work
ing, intelligent and patient-New Eng
land farmers transplanted to the west.
The saloons were for the cowboys,
mostly, who ranged not far away and
often came trooping in with plenty of
noise and clatter to Liquor up" Every
Saturday evening they made night
hideous for the little village, drinking,
yelling, swearing, reeling about, but
the villagers were patient, as / have
said.
Perhaps the worst of the visitors was
BLACK jack" great big, dark
skinned fellow, of half-foreign parent
age, but crossed with the shrewd New
England stock, He could drink more
whisky, tell more thrilling stories, and
do more daredevil tricks than all the
rest of the gang put together. The In
dams liked him, and followed him de-
votedly. He had certain gentle way
with them which completely controlled
them, and made them ready at any
moment to do as he said or as he did.
Often he brought them to the village
to drink with him, and they were great
drinkers. When the liquor ran freely
enough they would sing their wild, un-
earthly songs, and dance in their
comic, grotesque way, fourishing their
knives delightedly about their heads,
as if they were about to scalp the
whole population; but this was mere
grim humor on their part. The In
dams are gri1nly humorous on nearly
all occasions, when they are not angry
or POLITICALLY serious.
l have called Red Cloud village,
but the Red Cloud of twenty years ago
would scorn that title. Red Cloud was
a city and it had mayor. One day
when it got new mayor trouble came
of the new mayor, for he determined to
break up these Saturday night orgies
and this grimly humorous Indian knife
dancing. He didn't see the humor of
it. He was New Highlander, Bap-
fist Of the close variety, and altogether
very moral man. He thought it
disgrace that peaceful, steady-going
Red Cloud, with no railroad and no
boom, should be thus disturbed weekly
or oftener by gang of vicious cowboys
and doubtful Indians. He therefore is
sued an order for the arrest of the first
Indian found dancing the knife-dance
in the street, for the dancing took
place in the broad street in front of
the saloon. This arrest took place the
very next Saturday night, when the
half-drunk Indian was suddenly seized
by three doughty constables and spir-
tied away out of sight before anyone
unite understood what haI l,oppara1