The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-11-07


Meade says:
In the fall of 1859, l. young man
; full of life and vigor and loving hunt
ing and adventure above all else, went
into the heart of the buffalo range in
central Kansas and established hunt
ing camp known as Meade's ranch, on
the Saline river where built number
of cabins and made preparations to stay.
This was far beyond any settlement,
and was surrounded by buffalo, elk,
antelope, wolves, Indians etc. Most of
the time engaged actively in hunting,
had several men in my employ for COM
pany, assistance and protection, and
| while my first object was short, the
commercial side Of the business APP
pealed strongly to me, and I soon COM
bined pleasure and profit on quite an ex-
tensive scale. will here say that was
raised on farm in the ancient forests
which covered the bluffs of the Missis-
sippi river, close to Davenport, Ia.
From my boyhood / was an expert
hunter, expert in all woodcraft very re-
sourceful. was born in New England
Of good old Puritan stock.
IT was fascinated with my new life
on the plains and entered heartily into
it. Carried away by the excitement of
killing so much big game, and reaptng
such rich harvest, exerted myself to
the utmost limit from daylight to dark.
AS an illustration, 1 in one day killed,
skinned and took the tallow out Of
twenty-five buffaloes myself, using a
muzzle-loading rife and butcher knife
as my only tools, and walked five miles
going and coming from camp. In my
youth I cared very little for vegetables
of any kind, and on the plains we had
but three articles of diet-meat, bread
Tin the form of 'fapjaclO and coffee, of
which meat was the main part, the 9TH
ers to make complete ration. The
amount of meat we ate seems almost in
crtdible. In September or October of
$50 I shot a large, fat cow elk, and as
the weather was quite cool kept the
entire carcase and several gallons OF fat.
In a little over a week three of us ate
up the entire animal and made soup of
the bones and along with it at each meal
we made fiapjacks, fried IN the tallow,
and drank all the coffee we wanted,
usually two or three cups to each per-
son at morning and evening, and also a
moon, If we had time to cook at noon.
While meat was our main reliance,
and we had no end of the choicest part
of buffalo, elk, antelope, turkey, etc.
it seemed necessity to have coffee,
strong and in large quantities. No mat
ter what extreme physical labor had
undergone, nor how completely I might
be exhausted, a quart of strong cogee
would restore me to fresh life and spir
its at once, all fatigue would pass away,
and in an hour I was ready for more
exertion. With our coffee we wanted
sugarand usually had 1t. If not, the
coffee, while not so delightful, was
drank in the same quantity. Milk we
never had on the plains. I think it safe
to say that quart of coffee in the
morning and another at night (also as
much in the middle of the day if we
had time to make it,, was our average
through a series of years. We bought
the best green Rio coffee and roasted it
ourselves in Dutch oven as we re-
, quired it-perhaps weeks supply at
one time-and often pounded it in a tin
cup instead Of grinding it. So long as
we had an abundance Of coffee there
seemed to be no limit to our physical
endurance. When that was gone we
very soon started for the ranch, where I
kept large supply. I will say here
that neither myself nor any of the
many young men had in my employ at
: various times used or cared anything
for liquor, though we could buy an ex-
, cellent article of whiskey for eight dol
, lars per barrel. We never took it with
us on our hunting expeditions simply
because we cared nothing for it, but we
: could is soon have left our rifles at
3 camp as to start out without coffee.
1.-THE last half of the winter of 1852
!. spent hunting on the upper waters OF
: the Solomon river with two men. To-
: wards spring there came snow nearly
7 two feet deep on a level. Every day
/ with my heavy rifle Twelve pounds)
waded in the snow, travelling miles
: We had no horses with us, and I came
to camp strong, nervy, vigorous unit,
our coffee gave out. Then my knees
grew weak. I came in tired had nc
quick recuperative reserve apparently
J / boiled over the grounds in the COFFEE
!, pot several times, and one evening
coming in exhausted, ate the entire re.
: mainder and felt relieved. In a few
days we started for home.
o "As an illustration of our gastronom
! ic possibilities, one summer, after being
among the buffaloes for three months
q being on straight meat bread and cot
1 fee we started for Leavenworth, oul
base of supplies, with our loads of hides
z Ifurs etc. The first farm on our route
e was on Lyons Creek, where a thrifty
It Dutchman named Wanick lived. W.
i Icamped there and I went to the houst
land bought bucket of milk and fivt
dozen eggs while my young men were
getting supper. There were five of us
o At that meal we ate the usual supply O
meat, and with our coffee drank the en-
Il tire bucket of milk; also ate the fivt
e dozen eggs entire. Two of the men hat
r, a quarrel, claiming the other got NOR
# than his share of the eggs. I have con
d tinued to drink coffee continually tt
g this time, frequently drinking a quar-
is Of cold coffee at noon, with sugar ant
II cream, and not eat anything as I do no
h seem to require anything else. an
(. strong, active, vigorous, have an unusu
h ally strong babe of fifteen months o
n age. I eat almost nothingh but meat
m bread and coffee. Stomach is ready fo
= business at all times" kansas Cit,