Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1911-01-28
THE BLACK HILLS PIONEERS.
A Narrative Of the John Gordon Stock
ade Party in 1874.

| ~S oAsy Al AosS
| CONTRIBUTED TO THE CUSTER CHRONICLE
BY DAVID AIKEN, voNA, COLO.
| Continued from last week.
Our general course was south of west
passing through Dixon, Wayne and
Madison counties and reaching the Elk
horn river at Norfolk. This country
was scarcely settled and the inhabitants
as a rule were poor. Their crops were
quite often destroyed by wind, hail or
rain storms, but like the people of the
frontier generally their latch strings
hung out at all times and they seem to
consider 1t q pleasure as well as pleas
ant duty to accommodate and help in
the many little ways that are always
highly appreciated and are of vital i'm
portance to the travellers or strangers
that by chance has come in their midst.
1t is spirit of noble kindness that would
sacrifice their own comfort and conven.
ience to smooth the path or tighten the
burden of the stranger at their door. 1t
is noble trait of character at all times
but under these peculiar conditions it
shows more brightly, being divested of
all hypocrisy as no favors were or could
be expected by any of them religiously
or politically and as the old saying goes,
they had no ak to grind. They neither
asked for nor expected any favors in re-
turn. Their noble, unselfsh acts were
the free expression of the noblest quail
ties of the human race and might be fol-
lowed by the more wealthy and aristo.
cratic sections of the east, with great
profit to their spiritual welfare and with
lasting benefit to the poor and oppressed
in their daily struggle for bread.
We travelled from twelve to fifteen
miles per day sometimes making but one
drive if we were late in the day finding
water. If water was found early we
made an afternoon drive. There was
not much game to be found, few chic
kens occasionally near settlement with
ducks and geese flying overhead. The
most of US carried our guns, a few had
shot guns as we'll as rifles. One of these
lucky ones, Williams, had as be claim
ed, one of the best made. He was now
generally in advance of the train a half
mile or 30 and never missed an oppor-
tunity to shoot on sight, but to the best
of my knowledge and belief he never
succeeded in getting bird, but accord
ing to his oft repeated statements he al
ways hit them, tearing loose whole
feather beds, breaking their legs and
crippling their wings and using them up
generally but they invariably succeeded
in getting away. Generally speaking
Williams was truthful and honorable
man. But according to his statements
in regard to his wonderful shots at
geese and ducks on this trip one could
only conclude that the air was full of
half denude, broken legged and badly
disfgured wounded birds as they wend-
ed their way south.
One beautiful morning while in one of
these stretches of rolling country where
there are no settlements for miles, five
or six of US were in advance of the train
q half mile or more, Newt Warren, COM
monty called "Uncle Newt" remarked
that we were liable to see antelope now
at any time. This is an animal l had
only read about but had never had the
pleasure ofseeing. Think Uncle Nevis
remark was spur to all of US to scru-
tinize our surroundings a little more
closely. Here the road had dwindled
down until it resembled couple of cow
paths. The knols produced but little
grass while on the fats there is quite
heavy growth.
While passing over one of these valleys
something sprang out of the grass near
me and started off at a very awkward
gate. 1 was looking for antelope and of
course this was young one. 1t had no
sooner started than l dropped my rife
and gave chase remarking as l did SO,
young antelope" At first l was puz.
zled to decide whether it was better to
out wind him on long run or to take
him in on short quick squirt. The
question was soon settled in my own
mind for l had come to the conclusion
that if he could not do any better run
ming than he was doing 1 would soon
take him in. Consequently redoubled
my exertions and as 1 supposed was
making pretty good time, but somehow,
notwithstanding his wobbly, shambling
gait that gave him the appearance of be-
ing quite played out he had actually
gained on me a little at the end of a
yard run and was just be-
ginning to realize that had chosen the
wrong tactic and would be obliged to
adopt another expedient. l must out
wind him. When 1 heard roar of
laughter from the party behind me, l
stopped and looked round and judging
from their actions one would naturally
conclude that they had all gone "stark
mad" Finally Charley Cordeiro blurt-
ed out amid his vehement gesticula-
tions, "Jack Rabbit" Well it was the
@ n L.. l.