Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1911-04-01
THE BLACK HILLS PIONEERS.
A Narrative Of the John Gordon Stock
ade Party in 1874.

CONTRIBUTED TO THE CUSTER CHRONICLE
BY DAVID AIKEN, voNA, COLO.
| [Continued from last week.
i came on guard duty attwelve o'clock
this night and relieved the guard at the
entrance of the gulch. The wind was
still blowing a fierce gale and it was
very dark and cold. No snow was fall
ing and but little had fallen. 1 was
compelled to keep on the move to keep
from freezing and it was as dark as a
cloudy night could be without any moon
and in the shadow of the hills could
see nothing, nor could have heard any
ordinary sound or noise above the roar.
ing of the wind among the rocks and
pines. The light snow that had fallen
earlier in the night seemed to have been
blown out of existance and / could get
no reflection from that, but time wore
on, four o'clock came and nothing had
been seen or heard to indicate that there
was any Indians around. The guards
were all relieved but myself. 1 con.
tinued my beat for ten or fifteen min
utes and finally concluded Blackwell had
not heard the call as he was little hard
of hearing. SO I ran to his tent, as he was
my relief, and looked in. Black well
was up and ! said, "Hello Blackwell, l
thought perhaps you were not awake"
He was sitting on the foot of his bed
holding his frozen boot over few Goals
in Dutch oven or iron pot, rubbing it.
He looked up while tears trickled down
his cheeks and in sad despondent voice
said, eyes was awake but the fact of
the matter is, Dave, this business is kill
ing me-" / was satisfied that he would
never have stood at the mouth of the
gulch if he had gone, so 1 said, off you
are not well, Blackwell, l will stand in
your place for it is bad night out and
you can do as much for me sometime"
He made no reply as 1 turned to run
back. Now Blackwell was homesick
and had the blues l knew and could not
help but pity him. He was the man
that told Johnny and when we went
to his camp on our arrival in Sioux City
that he and Mack, his partner, would 90
through if they had to go alone and that
they would live as the Indians lived
when they entered this country. BUTT
was beautiful weather then and long
way from Indians, and he had long since
changed his mind.
AS the sun came up the wind subsid-
ed. The clouds had drifted by, leaving
keen crisp air, but We did not mind
this while travelling. The wind had
completely obiterated the Indian trail
in most places and We could not tell how
far they had followed the road we were
travelling or where they had turned off
or gone. In fact we made no effort to
locate them. From this we put out
guards on either side of the train when
travelling as well as in front and in the
rear. Tommy Quiner and l took the
task of guard on the left side and with
the exception of one day we kept up un.
til our arrival at Clusters Park. We
aimed to keep from seventy-five to one
hundred yards from the train but owing
to the unevenness Of the ground we were
often two hundred yards distant and at
times would be three or four hundred
feet over the train in passing over some
high ridge while the train was in the
valley below
We often saw deer but during the first
few days did not shoot as our rules for
bade it, save in case of self defense and
as they were generally on the retreat
when seen, for awhile at least it baffled
our most strenuous efforts to construe
any of their actions in the light of an at
tack and we we're therefore compelled to
Withstand some very tempting shots, and
although the ordeal was very trying
one it was quite necessary that we should
strictly comply with our law until such
times as he deemed it unnecessary and
repealed it by common consent. A shot
by one of the guards would have been
construed to an Indian attack and would
have caused the train to corral and pre-
pare for defense. In fact it would have
caused great deal of unnecessary alarm
and delay.
AS Custer came out of the Hills on his
return he was probably lightly loaded
and could decend very steep point and
as we were travelling the opposite way
were obliged to ascend them or make a
new road. Consequently in a few in.
stances we were obliged to put our fif
teen yoke of oxen on one wagon as there
would be spots of ice and while some
could not pull at all times, others had
good footing and could keep the load
moving.
After the first day or so our course lee
more directly into the Hills. On the
third night while on camp guard B. B.
Logan had little experience that he re
lated the next morning with as little
concern as though it had been an every
day occurrance. His beat was in small
park or opening back of and above th,
camp. 1t was surrounded with quit,
heavy timber while near one end was
rocky point. At this place there was
couple of inches of snow and being quit
cold he was obliged to keep on the move
This he did by walking beat of fifty o
seventy-five yards in length. He hat
been going back and forth on this bea