The Red Cloud chief., 1900-07-13
AN INTERESTING LHTTER
Written by a Former Webster Countyite
Who is Now Enjoying an Outing in
the Wild and Wosly West
HARRISON, Neb., july 3, 1900.

~ S
The west is always spoken OF as being
wild and woody. The truthfulness ct
this ! can vouch for now, especially
the woody part. Two men small far
mers neal Marsland on the Il. d NJ
road, recently sold sl0,0S0 worth of
wool and had some left. They employ
one man each besides the help OF their
own children who are small. a TAR
mcr in the eastern part of the state
who could sell half that amount OF
crops would be II dandy, or even that
amount Of hogs, and mind YOU they
have the sheep left to grow more wool
In the eastern part of Sheridan county
the country looks woody and the meat
tastes woody As Bixby says, "BuIly
for Woollcy."
Going into the extreme northwest
corner of Harrison county ! was able
to step one foot in Dakota and one in.
to Wyoming and as my better half was
still in Nebraska | felt considerably
divided up, in fact didn't just know
"where | was at" Here is where the
wild part Of the country m in
The picturesque bad lands Of the north.
west-and well named they are too.
This Is the highest point in Nebraska
being 1000 feet above sea level. This
is also the pine timber country OF Neb.
raska, there being thousands OF cords
Of big dead pine logs which make ex'
cellent wood. 1t made me wish ! had
brought along an AK.
Looking from here to the north a
short distance are the Black Hills, to
the west a few miles are Rawhide
Bu,tes and 10 the southwest in the dis.
lance the white clad top of Laramie
Peak, the only place in Nebraska where
you can see perpetual snow.
Going from Harrison southwest ten
miles | came to the head. waters OF the
Niobrara river, a running stream no
larger than Oliver Hedges foot, and
following the stream down about sixty
miles I saw some OF the finest stock
ranches IN the world. Eastern WyO'
ming and the extreme western part OF
Nebraska being unexcellsd in grasses,
both for grazing and hay.
Going back to era Word ! expert.
enced one of the hottest days OF my
life, the thermometer standing 40 de-
grees in the saloon. That night the
people lay out on the roof Of the hoteI
gasping for breath and eve the liz
ards in crossing the road had to STOP
and turn their bellies up to cool them
from the burning sand. The following
day ! went south ver the Is. 4 NJ. tC
Hemingford in Box Butte county, and
after leaving Crawford, the Ions
freight train first crawled to the top o
Pine Ridge 1000 feet higher than Craw
ford. At the top Of the ridge we stop
ped to let the engine catch her breatl
and while waiting the conductor put
few crimps in the engineer for losinl
SO much time. Never mind" tn
= man with the eagle eye said, 81 viii
run fast enough down" and he did
1t reminded me Of the time when
was a small boy about 100 years ag'
and used to be the last one on a IN
4 string OF boys to run down a hill an
get cracked oil. | thought the caboos
would be cracked oil every minute an
| felt like the song in the photograph
- on, Mr., Captain, stop the ship,
For want to get of and walk;
feel so flippery, %iiarpery, flip,
[. THAT I'll never see New Nork,"
But we finally reached the level an
| am telling the tale.
East of Crawford the wondertl
Crow Butte where, as the story goe
occurred the terrible battle betwee
the Sioux and Crow Indians in whic
the Crows were nearly annihilated an
p those living yet were surrounded an
asked To surrender, but instead of tn
they climbed the mountain taking Nv
ponies with them, the Butte beil
easily accessible from either the nor
or south, but on the east anu we
sides is a sheer declivity of nearly 10
feet. The Sioux promptly surround'
the mountain and proceeded to star
them out, After staying there TO
days and eating their ponies and ever
thing else, n dark night Little Gro
an aged chieftain, told the rest of the
=. to go down over the cliff with rop
~ made Of the skins OF the ponies and
would keep the fires going to decei
the Sioux. They made a SUGGEST
escape that way, but when the Sio
found 1t out they didn't do Il thing
the old man. The Crow Indians s
come back to this Butte occasiona
tn pay tribute to the untimely tax
of of their chief.
While in Chadron recently | had
hnnnr a., n,aat old Rat fNln,,l ..L.