Waterbury Democrat., 1901-01-16
FIRST NIGHT IN CAMP

N7HEN Dr. Beecher, curator at /" Yale university, went to Wins low, A. T., few weeks ago with seven New Haven friends and asked who I would be good man to conduct an out fit to the Moqui snake dance at Oribi, it was Chuck Hardy that was recom- lmended to him.
 .'Thar's man, said native, speak ing of Hardy, ''who was never known to git inter hole whatso he couldn't fog his way out of it if yer only let him have his own way and his siX-shooter- don't know yer need to be so per |tic'lar bout lettin' him have his own way, though, fer he'll have that any, way if he's got his cutter on his hip"
 Hardy was known in polite society as a "cow rustler" but the sheriff always referred to him in plain English as 'cattle thief For this outspokenness Hardy admired the sheriff, and always felt rather proud of himself when that dignitary referred to him by the latter title.
 A half dozen times he had been ar rested, but he was never convicted. Twice he was caught red-handed burn ing out brands. The foreman of the "Hash-Knife' outfit was unlucky enough to catch him a it the first time, and the following day the foreman was buried. Again Mexican was impolite enough to interrupt him while he was burning out a Long H' brand. At Winslow few days later the Mexican had bullet taken out of his leg and then left for old Mexico, or as the cow boys put it, ''he drug it clean out Of crea- ;tion."
 Over the Indian trail that leads from iWinslow to Oribi it is so miles. A com mon saying in Winslow is that coy ote has something to be proud of if he manages to go over the trail without either dying of thirst on the Painted desert or sinking in the quicksands of the Little Colorado. Because of the difficulties to be encountered upon the trip the doctor was careful to get 8 good man to conduct the outfit, and so | ;"Chuck" was engaged. Like nearly all l icow punchers, he knew how to cook that is, he knew how to fry beef unt il | 1t resembled a trunk strap, to make | something which looked like coffee and to make something else which he called | bread.
 Just at daybreak on the morning of | the start the commissary, piled high with bedding and provisions, rolled out of Winslow across Fuckers flats with "Chuck" mp on the high seat driving. Alongside the wagon, riding a half- broken brocho, was Rob Tickets, tall loose-jointed puncher, better known as Rickety Bob. Some four hours later, after they had their morning "bawth" i" and had spent an hour at breakfast, the doctor and his friends left in the light rigs, thinking to overtake Hardy at noon. But when their Luggage was put aboard" the rigs were overloaded, and at noon they were fully ten miles behind Hardy. and were thus forced to do without lunch.
 It had been cloudy all morning, and about one o'clock in the afternoon be- gan typical Arizona rain-a drench- ing pourdown that lasted unceasingly for hours, and seemed to come but from one little insignificant cloud that hung just overhead. At five o'clock darkness came on. To the west a little above Rabbits s Ear range of mesas settled heavy bank of dark clouds in which faint flashes of light. king gleamed. The eddying wind would suck one cloud scrap after an
 other from the bank~and hurl them out over the flats to reenforce the gushing cloud overhead. All the after
 noon Hardy kept the shoulders of his four horses hard against their collars
 When darkness came on he had not reached the high ground where he in
 tended to- make camp. Water six inches deep covered the flats, anc
 Hardy forced his horses on at swift
 CT gait than before. The heavy wagon 4 rolled and tossed like a distressed
 boat as the front and rear wheels dropped alternately to the hubs into
 soft, miry chuckholes. But Hardy !. kept on, and at seven o'clock, with
 whoop of triumph, he pulled up hi!
 tired, weary team on the top of ;
 large sand dune. .
 After the horses had been fed ant
 a pile of green greasewood, the only
 fuel to be had, had been gathered
 Hardy and Rickety Bob set abou
 making camp. They built 1arg'
 fire, so that those in the rigs behint
 might know where to come, and be gan to prepare supper.
 "Say, Chuck said Rickety, as h.
 rummaged about in the wagon, "d'
 you know we clean plump fergot t, bring coffee mill?'
 "No; you don't say"
 "Yes, sir; and the hen fr,sit wha
 yer got fer them hifalutin tenderfee , afr .jes' plump made inter an omele
 aready. And, good gosh! Look a ithe lid of this here bread oven. She cracked plump clean acrosst." "Wen,' drawled Chuck, 'sef that
 the case I guess thar ain't none o iour friends whatso will suffer a grea
 lot with gout afore they git back anyhow"
 Say, Chuck" said Rickety, scratch l ing his isheadthoughtfully and balancing } himself on the hind wheel of the wag , on, do you know we're agoin' te j have trouble with them thair ma, ericks? We air, shore. They's je. , like. a lot of bronks. You've jes' go l tier give it ter 'em proper the frs r .