The evening times., 1897-01-18

Chamberlain, s. d., Jan. 12.-one of the
most celebrated OF the intrepid Dakota girls
who live in the great cattle country west
of the Missouri river is Miss Bessie Hill.
acting postmistresS at Leon, Stanley county.
Miss Bessie not only attends to her duties
as representative OF Uncle Sam in that wild
region, but does a great deal of the riding
after her fathers stock, pulls cattle out or
the mire by a rope attached tothe horn or
her saddle, brands calves, breaks broncos,
and is regarded as one OF the best cow hands
between the Missouri river and the Black
Hills.
Miss Hill uses the regulation cowboy
saddle, and wears divided skirts, soTnbrcro
and gauntlet gloves. She is an expert with
a lariat and a crack shot with rifle and six
shooter. One of her fayoritc diversions
is 20 lasso a Wild Texas steer, saddle and
bridle him, mount him and turn him loose
upon the prairie. She says that steers
are subdued quite as easily as the average
bronco. This daring young woman is six
teen years old, tall and handsome, with
unusually pleasant manners, and no one
from casual observation would imagine
for a moment that she possessed so much
nerve and courage.
Her parents formerly lived In Blunt s.
D., but nearly seven years ago, when a
portion of the Great Sioux Reservation
was opened to settlement, they moved to
Stanley county, which is embraced i'll the
ceded lands, and engaged in cattle raising.
Since then Miss Bessie's most intimate
friends have been cowboys and Indians,
and she haslearned to ride, shoot and throw
a lariat with as much dexterity as the best
OF them.
Soon after the ceded lands were opened
for settlement Postoffices were este blished
along Bad River, and the maIl sack was
carried up and down the river at irregular
intervals by freighters engaged i'll hauling
supuies to Midland. small town in the
interior In time a regular mail route was
established up Bad River from Missouri
River to the Black Hills, and semi-weekly
stages were put in operation between Fort
Pierre ana Rapid City. The pUstoffice near
est the Hill ranch was named Leon, and its
first postmaster was an old Frenchman,
who had an Indian family.
His name, as it appeared on the postof-
flee returns, was Napoleon Duchesneau, but
TO the patrons Of the office he was known
simply as Old Nap. The old man soon be-
gan TO feel crowded by the cncroachments
of civilization, and, seeing the cattle OF
settlers grazing about his ranch, he decided
to abandon his home and go where he
would have more room. So he loaded his
family and household effects upon wagons
and set out for the Standing Rock Indian
reservation, where such a place could still
be found, with an abundance OF grass for
his cattle and no neighbors to annoy him.
There is but little strife over postoffice
appointments in these thiniy populated dis
tricts, and no one appearing to covet the
honorable place at Leon, the settlers and
ranchers finally prevailed upon Mr.. Hill
to take charge OF the office In response
to their petition TO the Postoffice Depart
ment he was duly appointed postmaster at
Leon, s. d. Miss Bessie soon learned the
duties of the office, and now takes almost
entire charge OF the mails
She does not regard the saddle as indis-
pensable in her equestrian feats, and fire.
quently rides her favorite horses without
saddle or bride, guiding them by word or
with a touch OF the Quirt on the side of the
neck. This habit came very near bringing
her to grief one day last summer. She had
been training her favonte colt. Lightfoot.
to ride without the customary accoutre-
ments, and, wishing TO corral bunch of
horses. she sprang upon his back without
stopping to bride him, and dashed after
them. The horses were wild and obstinate,
and seemed determined to go in every drec-
ton except the one desired. Finally they
ran through an open gate into field that
was inclosed by a high barb wire fence.
By this time Lightfoot had become SO ex-
cited from the brisk run as to be abso-
lutely unmanaGeable. and he made straight
for the fence at top speed. For momentit
seemed as if the horse and rider must be-
come entangled in the barbed-wire and be
mutilated, b 1t just as the animal reachedthe
fence it gave a gigantic bound and cleared
the obstruction without SO much as touch
ing it. Miss Bessie got the horse tanned
down just as her parents and brother ap-
peared on the scene. They begged her not
to ride the colt again, but the girls blood
was up, and she declared that she would
driveiI the horses with Lightfoot just as he
was or die in the attempt. Striking him q |