Omaha daily bee., 1906-10-30


career as a mighty hunter. In a moment
the boys heart was fired with the cour-
age that distinguished him through all his
subsequent career and which carried him
safely through many a crisis that would
have unnerved man Of less skill and
daung.
Leaves Home.
with the thlekeninR settlements came
the Telling OF the forests. whom the big
game vanished The changed conditions
became intoierable to the adventurous
spirit Of young Perkins, and leaving his
native home at the age Of 10 he migrated
to western Missouri, then a comparative
wilderness. Here he built cabin and en-
gagged in his fsvorite occupation OF trap
ping and hunting till again overtaken by
the advancing tide OF civilization. In the
meantime he had married and sons and
daughters were born to him. The civil
war found him reduced to the extremity OF
farming for livelihood. though large
game. especially deer. were stiu quite
abundant.
The adventurous spirit of William H.
Perkins welcomed the stirring events OF
that bloody period as a real diversion. and
be early enlisted as a government scout
performing distinguished services on the
border line between the contendlng armies
TIL peace compelled him TO return to the
prosaic occupation Of farming, but not for
long.
Oppression OF Civilization.
The oppressive conditions imposed by
civilized society became intolerable to his
restless nature and he again moved west
ward this time settling with his family
near Fort Scott. Kan. Here he built a
comfortable home, but the broad stretches
..f.-t-
and, leaving wife and children, he jour
neyed to the Rocky mountains alone.
bringing up at Rosita Colo, in the Wet
Mountain valley. Here for time he en-
gagged In mining and hunting big game
which then abounded in that region. For
the fret time he found the wild environ
ment his nature craved which gave full
scope TO his peculiar and extraordinary
powers.
During the winter OF 1868 while mining
above timber line, the provisions becoming
exhausted, 1t became necessary to send his
companions to the village for supplies.
These worthless imblbed too freely OF
their favorite beverage and seem to have
forgotten their errand. At least they failed
to again show up at the mine. A terrific
snowstorm blocked the trails and Perkins
was marooned alone on the mountain. with
but a scanty supply Of provisions.
After consuming everything in camp and
boiling the coffee as he expressed II. "till
II wouldn't color the snow" he set out
for the settlement over the unbroken trail
which had been practically obIiterated by
the storm. His feet. which were incased
in only thin pair OF moccasins. were ter
ribly frozen before he had half completed
that memorable journey.
Named 'SIOccasin Bill"
on arriving at the village he found It inn
possible to remove the moccasins without
stripping the skin from the flesh, so he
kept them on for several weeks. TIL his
feet were healed. In hobbling about town
the soles became worn. when he glued
another pair over the old ones without
removing the mocoasins, a process which
he repeated till his feet, naturally large,
had assumed enormous proportions. Thus
1t happened that his comrades gave him
the sobriquet of ''Moceasin Bill" name
by which he afterward became famous
throughout the western slope.
| While living at Rosita Moccasin Bill
found and lost his one opportunity to ac-
aure a competence.
In company with slpartner he uncovered
r. vein showing good values In gold and
silver After a preliminary examination a
their prospect. which offer was accepted.
As is usual, before making payment. the
| investors employed a mining expert to
make final test as 10 values in sight and
to report on the probable result of further
| development In the meantime the partner
! in order TO insure the same. and without
the knowledge OF Moccasin Bill, "salted"
the vein.
! The practiced eye Of the expert quickly
! detected the attempted swlndle and re-
/ ported adversely to his clients. OF course
the deal was declared of, as no amount OF
real values can induce the initiated to pur-
chase a saited mine when the fact is
known.
No one knowing Mocasin Bill believed
him to have been "A party to this gross
violation of the mining code OF honor. His
! transparent honesty had won for him the
| confidence of the entire community and It
was a common saying that Moccasin Bills
word was always as good as his bond.
After the discoveries of Leadvile, Moe
CASH, Bill was among the first to arrive
on the scene and built the second house
erected in the great carbonate camp,
though he seems to have never again
acquired mining property Of value. His
family. which had moved to Rosita some
years previous, now Joined him at Lead
vile, but II was not In the nature OF
Moccasin Bill TO long WOO the tickle god
dess OF fortune among the mines. He
longed for the vast solitude Of the noun
tains, and following this instinct he early
removed from Leadville TO the western
slope, where bic game OF every kind pc
culiar TO Colorado abounded at that time
Here he spent the remainder Of his days
and was never so happy as when camping
alone in the wilds with only his faithful
burro for a companion.
His second daughter, Ella, had grown TO
young womanhocd, and, having become an
expert rife shot under the tuition OF her
father, frequently accompanied him on his
hunting eXcurslors into the mountain fast
nesses. Ella b, Perkins, now Mrs. Eason.
living In Wetmore, Colo, is a comedy ma
tron approaching middle age. She Is a
quick, agile woman, a little above medium
height, and is still distinguished by a GER
tain alertness Of bearing that speaks OF a
life spent among the dangers Of the re-
mote frontier. On being asked TO recount
her adventures while hunting big game IN
the Rockies, she insisted that nothing had
ever happened to her worth recording
Besides said she, father was always
with me- and there was no danger. y
I furfhar copvreraa ffov, datya1.