The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-07-09
CORRAL OF THE BUFFALOES
n sLhUGHTER OF BEASTS FoLLoTED
ny A MATTE WITH MEN.


Tho Great Buffalo Trnp-A Fight he.
tween Blackfeet and Crows-A white
Mans Life with Dlackfset Indians.
KGPP. Mon July 4.-There are trappers and
tranperS The lad starting out from the old
farmhouse at break OF day to visit his snares
set along the bank Of some nearby stream 10 a
trapper: he has the true spirit. Then there is
IT, man. perhaps once n farmers boy, who
lives in the deep woods and has his blazed line
extending across valley and hill. and from
stream TO stream for miles and miles he Is a
trappcr in every sense OF the word. But the
trnprer who was the king o. them all has
passed away his domain has been taken from
him and the land knows him no more. He was
the one who in the course Of his vocation ex-
rlorod the great Vest and mapped the way for
that tide OF civilization which in our own time,
in the days succeeding the civil war. has torn
up the plains and conquered the mountains OF
hall continent.
One often hears the expression: "A lazy.
shiftless trapper." 1t is wide OF the truth. The
trapper is not lazy he tolls harder. undergoes
more prvation. exposes himself to more hard
ship than men OF almost any other class. The
truth is. no was born with dislike of the
trammels of civilization. In him the spirit OF
some remote ancestor. perhaps even that OF n
cave dweller has been rencarnated, and in
obedience to its demands he has returned to
nature. following her ways as nearly as he can.
lie Will not. cannot, bear the yoke which mod
ern life imposes. He has no ambition to own
lands and dwellings. to accumulate wealth. All
he cares for is to live with nature to lead life
untrammclled by the observances and duties Of
civilization. And people who cannot UNDER
stand such man deem him lazy and shiftess
but when one comes to know these men in
timately their character Is q revelation. They
have great will power; they are fertile In expe-
dent. and although deficient in education.
they are moro than the average man thinkers
and philosophers. They have their own opin-
ions. and strong ones. too. upon those large
questions which interest humanity.
As the farmers boy experiences pleasure In
rramring through piece of distant woodland
Tor the first time and exploring its unknown
expanse. so did the trappers of the early half
OF this century. and even later, delight to 1T
out at one OF the frontier towns-St Louis or
st. Paul-and start for years sojourn in the
Far West. At first they confined their opera
ton to the nearby country. Minnesota. Iowa.
Missouri and Kansas, but as tho years passed
they went further and further toward the sun
set in search of new fields. until they finally
established their winter camps along the slopes
of the Rockies and beyond. even to the Pacific
They knew Of but cared naueht for the dan
gers they would encounter. There were count
less bands OF Indians to fight or circumNent;
there were many wide and trcacherous streams
to cross wild beasts to encounter; they were
liable TO accident or disease far from a sur
gcons care. And all for what for the taking Of
Il few beaver and marten pclt1 No. it was that
inherited spirit Of unrest and love of adventure
which led them on. 1t was the satisfaction of
camping upon some PARKWAY stream in some
OF, \
tain height. ard saying: Il am the first white
man to view this spot The bones Of many Of
these brave men now lie bleaching on the great
plains OF the West or are buried deep in the
sands of the mountain streams. Sometimes
they returned to the frontier towns with their
clothing in iluttcrinE rags. their bare feet
swollen and bleeding: cmaciated, staggering.
and with Il look III their eyes which told OF the
hardshirs they had endured. They had escaped
from some thievng band OF Indians with their
lives, but had lost their horses. arms and furs.
The Indians often took that means OF dealing
with the poor trapprr. They thought he would
d"scrt, without food or the means to procure 1t
than If they should !! hlm on, the spot
How picturesque those OId-tlme trappers
Of them several lfcIik" cuts of them are to lie
found in old works about the West and even
the Rocky Mountain region. Their clothes
wer" generally Of huckskln. frnged I'M
wool. uullned cut with long tails and had
scwcd to the back of the neck a three-corner"d
cap"te OF like material. Brass buttons deco
rated the front and back. In ,tead OF hats they
wore huge turbaus Of coon or other fur. ami
beneath their long hair srrcamcd down over
their shoulders and was, Of equal length with
the beard which covered their faces. Neither
hair nor beard ever felt the shears When
either grew so long as to be- in the way they
whipped out their .sknninG knives and sawed
itotf; Around their waist was lcathcrn belt,
ltltl no MI gl,4f.t a
sometimes PISTOL. But as rule tho trupper
had no use for that weapon. prplerrIng 10 de,
rifle for ali purposes.
STA starting on one q those long .expcditions
trappcrs took scarcely more with them than if
they were going for q days Journey. They
may have hal two or three pack horses each.
but these carried scarcely any weight. Each
man had good supply OF ammuult on, which
was to procure his food there were plenty Of
traps. an axe or two. a few cooking utensils
and Il shelter Of some kind. generally an Indian
lodge. They may have had few pounds of
lluur. pork. sugar and tea; no more. however.
into the game country. The trappcr, like tho
indian, suhsisted almost entirely upon meat,
and l. seems o have been an alsuilicicnt and
hcalthfuI diet. The mcat-catinc habit. once
few surviving trapprrs Of tho old time. as well
as the Indians. suhslst upon it even in these
, mn'S q, 4 1h"aP ana varcd ood sunny brend
they have meat, and plenty OF it. they care for
nothing ct"e. unless il is tho service berry aud
the cherry, which they dry in quantities for
winter use.
About twenty miles east Of the foothills OF
the Rockies. in the northern part Of Montana,
there lives one of the old-timc trappcrs named
Rlvct. now 81 years OF age. Except that he Is
nearly blind, he is still fairly active and with
intellect unimpaircd lie delights to tell of the
days when he roamod the praircs and noun
tains. and OF the adventures which bcfcll him.
His long. low log house. where he lives with
his hai-brced children and grandchildren
stands near the shore OF the beautifully wood
ell Two Med cine River. clear. cold. mountain
stream noted tor the large trout which are to
be found in its deep wide pools liyet came
west in the employ Of tn" American Fur Com
pany in 1881. He well rcmcm hers the great
artist George Catlin. who vistedthc company
post, Fort MON, in the following year. and he
saw him painting pictures OF III" Indians there
fort. At that time the company was
having a great deal OF trouble with the
Backi"rt. the largest and most wnrlike
tribe in the Northwest, who murdered tho
trappcrs whenever they found them. Tho
Buckfc"t seldom came to Fort Union trading
mostly with tn" lluda4n's Bay Company, which
had post. Mountain Fort. On the uUuer SRs-
katchcwan, far to the northwest. To secure
this trade tho company d"tcruin"d to build a
lOst much further west on the Missouri. and in
order to S"cur" immunity from this tribe ii
I, 10 -