The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-12-29

thickened with -four. was good enough for
US. We used 45-calibre muzzle loading
rifles with four drains OF powder and
seldom shot a second time At anything.
In the ravine one day I shot IT q buffalo
COW and killed her dead and another
several rods beyond which I had not no.
ticed; there was about leo OF them within
range, and got five or six OF them before
they ran of. One evening Boss said
there was a creek coming into the river
about mile above camp and great wat
ering place at its mouth and he was going
up there 10 see about it. So he should
cred his heavy rife and started afoot.
Not long after I could hear him banging
away az something and he kept II up till
long after dark About 9 o'clock he
returned pretty well tired ont. He said a
bull had chased him over the bank and
then watched for him. ! asked him II he
had killed any buffalo. He said he reck-
oned so; took 25 bullets with him, shot
them all away; guessed he killed about
every time. j said we would go up IN the
morning and see. We got breakfast early
hitched UP our two teams and all went
up to the creek. There lying upon the
plain I counted twenty-five dead buffalo,
result OF his Is bullets. We went TO skin
ming and saving the tallow as rapidly as
possible. I kept my rife at my side and
whenever a buffalo came within easy
range I would shoot load and keep on
with my work sending the old man back
10 camp with load several times dur
ing the day.
In the morning I noticed buffalo calf
ct Nv air Nd teo
ing or noticing US. Seemed peculiar, so
took my gun and knife and walked over
TO II. I found its head sweIled to twice
its natural size, eyes tight shut, head as
hard as maui. 1 ended its woes with
my knife. At noon we took our lunch
and started down the steep timbered
bank 10 the sandy river bed in the shade
to eat a hasty meal OF cold meat Halt
way down beside the path I saw and kill
ed a yellow diamond rattIesnake five
feet long and as thick as my arm; he had
bitten the calf and l took his hide for q
belt.
The Smoky Hill river had curious Gus
tom in the heat of summer of running in
the morning and disappearing in the af-
ternoon. Some said the buffalo drank II
dry, but there was water in pools, so we
sat down on the cool. damp sand to eat
our lunch Of cold meat and creek water.
In few minutes a bunch OF buffalo
charged down the steep bank almost onto
US Pushed into the pool and drank, not
paying any attention to US. OF course
1 had my rife at my side. so shot one
through just back OF the shoulders; it
started on a run up the steep path, the
as it got to the top Of the bank It fell
dead and rolled backward and over end
into the river bed almost on top OF US.
While we were eating our lunch I shot
four others who repeated the same per-
Torrance. In the afternoon 1 kept skin
ming and shooting; punches OF buffalo
were rushing past US In their mad thirst
for water, almost constantly The sun
was so intensely hot that the skins would
bake hard and dry on the side OF a buffa-
10 IN a short time. and in skinnig one Of
these with a knife as sharp as a razor
1 cut the end OF my finger of. Little
things like that did not amount TO much
so I tore of a strip OF shirt. tied It up
and worked on. When quitting time
came at evening I found that in the
course of the day while at work I had
killed p buffalo. which with tho .
Boss killed the evening before made a.
buffalo; we two Of US skinned and saved
all the tallow Of them that day. The old
man and boy put in their time hauling
through sand one or two miles 10 camp.
At this time it seems a cruel. wicked.
wanton waste. 70 thus slaughter innocent
animals. Then we were but reaping the
harvest OF the plains. plucking ? few
spars Of grass from a meadow-which
apparently contained unnumbered mill
lions; a few buckets OF water out OF the
ocean would not be missed had any one
told US we would live 10 see the buffalo
extinct. or those plains covered with
thrifty farms. we would have thought
him lunatic. I visited the place in
1888 and behold a beautiful farm house
stood within gun shot OF our camp. but
the bluff the ravine. the river and the
elm tres were there as we left them, but
TO return 10 our story. The next day We
spent in peEging out our hides 70 dry and
along towards evening I had a curiosity
90 find out where that rarine went %
anyhow. 50 climbed over the bluff back
Into the raviue and followed Il until
came TO q thick bunch Of tres growing
IN the mouth OF a cave which completely
hid the opening. entered and found
the walls covered with Indian hierogiy-
phics. depicting battle. adventures. etc.
and imagined was the lrst white man
who had ever entered that secluded. un-
known. spooky place. when 70 ny as
constituent saw a name carved in the
stone in ancient characters as follows.
TVREDO. 1856 Il was getting dark and
I expected % return IN the morning with
better Hight and cory the Inscriptions and
see what further ! might find of ancient
histcrF. So / cut ny name under the
ether and climbed out OF the raVine %
the Jewel along the top ~ the blur and
there found ? creVice about a foot wide
agt down though tho sandstone across the .
blur 20 the river extending dozn into ire
cave which had = small opening into TIE
river Just below or camp. The water in
running from the table lard over TIE
bluff o. ages pest had sawed narrow
channel. getting larger beioz-throuEh
vhich al the material gone from that
long ravine had PASSED
returned % camp. tod - ny disc0v- .
sry ard rolled 90 in r1y blankets on TIE 4
ground 20 sleep. az IN the morning
7 ws aroused ~ hors1rar !
riding irto camp. X GreF=d
- he Joe Lemon. famous hgnt- (
=. lie said Re had been osape8 a sfw 4
rifles above VS. That evcniEz he heard f
srsr1s beating 1D IRE valIsT and hiding f
-uils Esst from 8 high hln he SAX fhe val +
- as far ss ~ could ere Ilt - - irfisa 4
-su1D Tres IT, c5ruauche tribe Rad l--s-
zone oase tie river Re advised ss fo rlH .
TX az once Ets teams we're ften pser-
rx ard the Indians -vo1ia - sean a-5 T.
- = - - --------- = - - =