The Somerset reporter., 1899-04-13
HIS LAST FORD.

"You see thet bluff over there? Thet &
Coyote point This was addressed to
TIE by my guide and assistant, "Mr
Amos Adams. as he loved to be called
| had been sent out to this No Man 8
Land to make preliminary survey with
barometer and hand level for a railroad
and, putting up one night at a saloon
the only hotel in Williams had met
"Ame. tall. broad shouldered Ari-
zonian, who took quite fancy to me
because | called him "Mr Adams and
offered to go with me Jest fer the fun
of the thing Learning that he was
more familiar with the country than
any one around there, l was only too
glad to employ him. All needed was
some one who knew the principal passes
and the location of the tanks (rocky
basins in ravines where water from the
winter rains or melted snow is held till
long in the summer).
1t bad been month since we had
camped on the banks of a muddy little
stream known to the Indians and Mexi-
cans as La Rio Puerco. and we were up
in the mountains north of the spot
where the town of Flagstaff is now To-
Gated.
We had finished a rather meager din
ner of bacon and hard tack. with a small
piece of yenison. part of deer which
Anne had killed the night before, and
were stretched out under pine tree
enjoying "a pipeful. Our horses
which we h-d unsaddled and hobbled,
were cropping the occasional tufts of
grass which grew near.
| turned my head lazily in the direc-
tion indicated and mumbled a gruff
"What of it2'
"Well, ii wuz nigh on six year ago
thet | last see thet bluff You see, Coy
ote wuz a bad man. half Indian an half
Mexican an a meaner critter never
breathed He could throw rope bet
ter n any of us an ride the meanest
broncho thet ever went up in the air
II wuz punchin cattle for Palmer
Bros X Y q brand, about 30 mile
northeast of Prescott There wuz Jim
Barker an Dandy butcher an Lem
Leonard. Coyote an me. There wuz
about 25 more, but we wuz the only
ones in at the time | speak Of.
"The old man, as we called Jim
Palmer, wuz about so, with white hair
an heart as big as yearlin calf. He
wuz always a-doin eomethin for us
boys an when Jim Barker had the
smallpox the old man never left him.
His brother Jack wuz a different
sort of chap, full ten year younger,
an he'd been a captain or lieutenant
or sCmethin in the army office at Wash
ington. We never knew exactly, but
heard thet he he'd he'd trouble with some
society woman, an she he'd turned him
down, so he resigned an came out to
help his brother, who loved him an
watched over him like father
HE always woe necktie-some-
thin the old man never he'd on, | guess
(leastways | never see him wear one }.
an occasionally he'd get on his high
boss an ride into Prescott, get drunk
an raise a row No one would hurt him
because he was the old man brother.
Then the old man would drive in an
get him without sayin word toa livin
soul
cone night-it wuz just after the
round up-all the boys he'd worked hard
an wanted little fun. The old man
gives us each 800 an told us not to
show up till it wuz gone. He knew we
would be back next night or the day
followin, canse hundred wouldn't go
far them days.
1--WE all rode into town, keepin pretty
well together, all 'ceptin Coyote, who
slipped away early in the evenin.
About 2 o clock in the mornin we
pranced into the MeIino saloon We
didn't get very lively reception, an
old Simpson raised his hand an sed,
'Sh, boys. Jacob Palmer $ got his dose.
You could hev heard n pin drop. Every
one of us had thought the same thing,
'What'll the old man thinkY' Then ont