The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-12-25
A Trying Yuletide in
the Great North1and

up our dogs. packed Their goods an lit
out. In tn hurry O. startin' I didn't hev
time to git ready. ez I'd oughter, an
travelled through Their snow all night, with
nothin on my feet put light stockin's an
moccasins, to another Injuns camp, bout
thirty mile frum thar. An, in course,
when we git thar-jist arter daybreak-
one O. my feet wuz froze solid. laid thar
fur three weeks, sufferin' terrible-the
breeds hevin' left me TO go arter some
chuck and ter let tn rest o. tn outfit
| know whar we wuz. 1h' Injuns wuz
| starvin' most o. Their time, now an then
1 KILN a fat dog or a badger, an givin'
me jist enough ter keep goin' on, thet's
all. Eft TIL end o. thet time my men,
| who'd he'd a hard time count O. Their deep
| snow, git back with a few pervisioDs,
| speeding, reckon, ter fin me done fur.
| It wuzn't my time yit, though, an they
| TUX me back on a sled ter Their camp we
wuz to fust, whar we foun' tn rest o. tn
outfit, with tn HOSES an pack sleds.
Thar they put me in car Nv oil squaw,
who. arter taKin' look ct my foot, put
onter it some kim o. herbs. SeV'ral O. tn
Iniuns wuz fur cutiin' Nv it off, it wuz SO
fur gone, but she wouldn't hev it, an,
will yer b'lieve it, in three days frum ther
time she begin docterin' it, 1T wuz pooty
nigh well. / wanted TO pay her fur it
I'd hev give her everythih' l he'd eff she'd
wanted it-but she wouldn't take nothin'
but a leetle lookin'- glass. wurth bout two
cents"
"Indians do sometimes show a little
kindly feeling, them" l suggested al this
juncture.
oval, yes" he drawled, "but not ofen.
Taint Their genial disposition, so to speak
But, ez I wuz a sayin', when wuz well
enough ter travel, we sot out fur another
camp ter trade fur some pervisions, but
couldn't get none and he'd ter cut up our
fat sleds fur fuel an pack Their furs on
Their bosses. Their mex day-it was Christ
mas; l shan't never furgit tive foun'
lot o. wolves what he'd been poisoned by
Whoop-Up wolfers, an Ctwuz a groun'-
hog case) we he'd ter eat 'em or starve.
Poorly ticklish business eatin' pisoned
meat you hear mel though we billed it
earthly fust. Arter eatin' some NV it we
set roun' Their fire fur couple o. hours
a watchin' ter see eff anybody kicked; but
nobody didn't, and so We eat more Nv it.
"What d. yer think o. that fur Christ
mas dinner? An thet wuz all we he'd till
we got back ter Their Big Bend, an we
didn't git nuthin' thar but dog. Our
sled dogs WIZ so thin yer could Almost see
through 'em, fur they'd been ehawin' OF
buffaler bones fur more'n three weeks
an hedn't he'd a souaTi meal in all
tibet time. see one on 'em bowed over
on Their perairie one day, be WIZ that fee
Bile. We left ZEN at Their Bend fur thur
summer and started fur home. Soon arter
settin' out we killed q big dog what he'd
follered Us frum 1her Bend. an made
short work Nv in, you bet-gettin nuthin'
arterward fur two days 'cept gopher
ruther 8 light meal fur nine manI Then
we come TO 3 badger hole and camped by
it day wai1in' iur him ter come ont. He
did, fn'ly, an We killed sn' eat 'im-after-
wards singin' tn hair ofen Their skin an
bilin' II! We used ter car fully pick over
our pelts, too-nostiy badger, wolf an
deer-s huntin' fur Iettle scraps o. flesh
IN lem. nm when We made camp ct night
you'd see en- stuck d all roun' III fire on
leetle sticks
.sSome o. Their breeds actcherly roasted
sharanappi pack cords an eat 'em, an
one day one on ZEN billed down bout a
hunderd poun' @ buffaler bones, gittin'
enough narrer grease ter give Us, mebbe,
half dozen spoonfuls apiece.
"Another day We come acroste enough
rock tripe' ter make a meal Nv, an It
warnt bad, but We couldn't I'm no more
Nv it.
ssSoon after leavin' ther Bend I'd sent q
man ahead fur some chuck, an be reached
us bout three days travel frum Their post
with 8 hunderd poun' o. pemmican. How
them haIfbreeds did gorge thesselvesl
They got away with Their share in four
hungry fur Their mex two
days-but 1 went slow on mine, hid it
away, an he'd my meals regular till we got
in. 1 never had no wus trip then tibet
atore nor sence, though 1 he'd sev'ral
almost ez bad. Don't scarcely b'lleve
cud stan 'em now"
So saying the old man arose, knocked
the ashes ont of his pipe ana ''reckoned"
he would turn in. G. f. DAVIS.