Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1906-04-08
BUFFALO BILL AND THE INDIAN

Col. w. +. Coly (Bufslo BILL sat
in the lobby Of tbs, New Willard
looking In prime health and chatting
with several friends Including Gov.
Richards. commissioner OF the gen.
Eeral land ONCE. aud Gen. A. 8. Burt.
United States navy. retired. Be-
tween Col. Cody and ths latter a spe-
ella friendship EXISTS, based on their
old associations In the West, In the
days when the redskins were hunting
the sealps OF the palefaces. When.
Cody took TO the stage II was his
friend. Gen. Burt. who wrote for him
that thrilling border melodrama,
May Cody or Lost and Won" one
OF the best frontier plays ever ON the
boards.
How was 10 Colonel" asked one
OF the party, that you were always
able TO circumvent the Indians. aud
get on unscathed under cIrcumstan-
Fces where death would have been any
other mans portion?" Partly q
gift. l think" replied Buffalo Bill.
smiling, "but more tina result of
-unceasing vigilance. l never went
scouting in q dangerous coantFy that
I didn't take q maximum OF pre-
caution. Besides that, whenever
was In tight box, l tried to put
myself In the place Of my enemy.
l kept figuring on what I'd be doing
II i were Mr.. Injun, and having
reckoned that. I'D proceed to try to
outwit him. \ good plainsman. al
ways looks on both sides Of the ,situa-
| ton.
Away back In 1868 L Was detailed
to 60, as q scout In advance OF Gen.
Ha2en, who was, ordered to LaEned
TO have a conference with some Of
the Kiowa and Comsnche chieftains,
The general rode In an ambulance
with guard OF. four troopers. and
kept about half mile ahead, hay
ing arranged a little code of signals
with the driver whereby IL he saw
me hold up my hand he was to make
halt. Along our route was one
pretty bad spot. locally known "a
Willow Springs, a natural htdins
place. and one which the Indians had
often used as an ambush. Ii had
been the scene of any number or kill
! ings, and SO as We approached IL, al
though / had NO reason to suspect
any OF the sayages were In hiding
there. / nevertheless, gave the ana
bulance driver the signal TO stop
and proceeded to do my usual pre-
cautionaTy stunt or investigation be
fore riding directly into the spot.
| Presently. and before l had quite
finished, got signal to &C me sack
TO the wagon, and Gen. Has IN ques-
toned me very sharply at Jut what
had been doing. commsIting with
aspeFity on the loss Of time involved
10 my maneuver He declared there
were no Indians In the country, any
way, and directed me to proceed Inn
mediately. This i did, and sure
enough, NO Indians were, there to
make -trSugle l left Gen. Hazen
at Larned, and a few days later,
when he started to Fetrace his jour
ney. he took another scout. little
Irishman. named Peter McGinn, who
did not know what fear meant. !
told Peter how had been called
down for too close reconnoitering al
/ Willow SpFInss althessh he knew
as welt as 1 the, Importance of 1t.
" Maybe ID was secause Mcainn feared
to get the same roasting, but, anyway
when he reached there be failed tc
duplicate my caution, and rode right
into an ambush. The poor fellow
fell. pierced by a score OF bullets
and had st not been for the oppor
tune coming up of bunch of Negro
caya. fymen, Gen. Hazsn and, his en-
tire OUTFIT would have been sssassi
mated ''---Washington Poet