Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-03-25

abandoned one, struck IL WIN oAe -
his crutches-The nearest fence,
nevertheless, that un godH cripple wa
over that fence before the lively nor.
nets awoke with surprise and theI
surprised mel was very soon al
swelled up. but not from eating greer
apples. TWAS the fight and race OF my
life. There was mixture OF freGkles
and hornet pimples on my race iol
some time afterward. A sting from any
sort of stingeree does me up. SPEAK
ing Of cripples reminds me OF boI
Stevenson. who was a clerk IN the pos'
office in Ottumwa for many moons
Bob had one. leg of flesh and just as
like as not that was the only one he,1
use for half day hopping about walt
ing on patrons. I've seen him Jump on
that one foot an even twelve feet ano
alight like a bird. A few years ago
was down at lola; Kansas. In the hum
and whirl of the oil and gas excite
mcnt, and there met and visited WIZ
Bob in his elegant home. He has mace
good While there 1 also met VIII and
George Davis, the boys who knew more
about running skiffs and canoes on the
Des Moines than all the rest of US ae'
urigines. hey, too. arc WCs! IN. III
lola. I tct all mixed up with the lhF
ers' and Davis'-can't get 1t clear just
how If they were related. They were
intimately connected in the mill busl-
ness-I knew Josiah better than any
of the Myers boys, because he was
soldier in the same company as my
self. He married SADIE Cochran and to-
gether they were living on country
place out east Of town. 10 made a lot
of coffins in which boys Of our regl :
ment were buried In that internal spot
of earth, Helena, Ark Then, let's see
there was Don Mitchell. who married
one of the Davis girls. Don run a
lumber yard at the corner OF Second
and Marion. At the foot Of Marion was
located the Hunter and Sewer Touring
mill, and close by Bill Kramer put up
the big brewery-I recall that spot
quite lucid.y! This brewery talk re-
minds me Of the confession made OF
the first time 1 ever tasted lager beer
at New Ulna, MINI. That was, / be-
lieve, in 1S59-maybe 1853 My father
and Joseph Hayne bought large lot or
mich COWS which they drove up into
Minnesota. The force consisted OF
father, Hayne, Brad Cave, long-hair-
ed printer named Cameron others
whom I have forgotten, Harvey and
Napoleon Hayne. The cattle were as
sembled on a large pasture near
Dahlonega. Under the instructions OF
Cave, who was a veteran plainsman,
having made several trips ACROSS the
country to Denver and to California,
we were drilled with as much precision
as battalion Of soldiers:
My brother Robert and went along.
he driving three yoke Of oxen to d
wagon that was used solely for the
purpose of conveying newly born
calves enroute. and as one Of the
riders to drive the herd. i was provided
with splendid Indian pony that knew
more in a minute about driving cattle
than l ever learned. If any one Of the
herd strayed, my pony would take
after and bring it back-all I had to do
was to sit In the saddle and hold on.
He was as agile as deer; no one or
half dozen Of the cattle could get away
from him, as he would curve and
double himself like lightning, all the
time nipping at the unruly beasts
rump. Of course 1 had recourse to my
whip which was of short, stout
handle and lash of braided buck-skin
at least ten feet long. With this In
very few days l became SO expert that
I could bring blood everv time
brought the cracker at the end of the
lash in contact with whatever aimed
at. Rattlesnakes we're plentiful on the
prairies of western Iowa, and 1t was
great pastime to sit on the pony and
cut a snake in two with dexterous
twirl of nay whip. Many wearisome, hot
days were consumed in travel, which
were necessarily slow. to allow the cat
tie to nip the sweet prairie grass. When
we were nearing the vicinity Of Spirit
Indians were troublesome and doubt
less would try to stampede our herd;
but we had drilled in the large pasture
before leaving home, under the guild
ance of our manager Bradford Cave,
who had made several trips with cat
tie across the plains in the 40s, so that
each man, boy and horse, and the cat
tie themselves knew just what to DO III
such an emergency. day or two after
our warning, which came from an
Indian agent, sure enough, about 10
o'clock in the morning here came
down at us, squad Of twenty young
bucks of Inkpadutahs tribe Of Sioux
Indians, their horses at full speed
and they yelling and gesticulating.
Calmly we each rode to our respective
places along each side of the herd un-
pistol holsters ready for action, and
slung our Sharp's rifles and carried 1t
on our saddle bow. unbuttoned our
pistol holsters ready for action and
In coaxing and in talking
to the cattle. rode on Our orders were
to be ready but to not shoot until the
was given. It was sensation
to young fellow like me, and 1t APP
peared to me that I'd rather be at
home. The Indians soon found that
they had played against bad luck. for
not single hoof stirred out OF its path
but went .ploddine along as though
nothing unusual had occurred. The old
chiefs young son---the leader Of the
up to my brother and ask
ed him to see his whip, which he
handed over to him. He
then rode along the eide Of the oxen
and commenced larriping them UNI
nercifully at each swish of the whip
yelling "wo-haw god DAM" He had
the oxen turned out from the straight
path, when Cave rode rapidly round
the wagon and straight at the buck,
twirled his Ions lash in the air and
brought it kissing down upon the
bucks shoulders, the cracker cutting
open his buckskin 'acket like a sharp
razor would have done it, and yelling
1T him "wo-haw god damn you!" re-
peated the torture with lighting agil-
:ty, bringing blood at every stroke, I'M
til the buck dropped the whip and
screaming in agony turned his horse
and fled, his companions sitting on
their ponies and laughing until they
cried, and quietly they. too, rode away,
but we could hear them laughing till
ri, ont Of cicht That night ALI