The Holbrook news., 1912-05-31

was one reason for their lack of the
 education which the school gives.
 They had the training of the west,
 which gave them rough, uncouth ex-
 teriors and unself1sh hearts. Jim or
 Maj. Bridger, born in Washington
 City, left the nations capital to trav-
 ell "out Vest and become guide, scout, map maker through the Rocky
 mountains Bridger's pass in the Rocky mountains bears his name Jim Bridger, 1t is claimed, first among the white men of America, saw Salt Lake in the winter of 1S24-5. Bridger was in the employ of the United States government for some years and served under Gen. John c. Fremont as 8 scout. He also gave valuable assist ance to the surveyors of the Union Pacific railroad.
 The Bents, St. Vrain, Maxwell, Jim Baker, the Coopers, the Gentrys, James P. Beckworth, Bill Williams, Tom To bin, James Hobbs-these are among the famous soldiers, traders, trappers and frontiersmen whose names are intimately associated with the TO- nance and history of the Santa Fe Trail. Near Arrow Rock, Saline county, Missouri, yet resides John D. Hurley, s5 years old, who was a fa- nous trader on the Trail, as was his father before him The lifetime of father and son covers the entire pc riod of the Old Trail Judge Turley's last trip was in 1851, when the Trail was yet in large use.
 We fought Indians across the en- tire continent and carried on a most profitable trade in merchandise with the Mexicans," said Judge Hurley. We bought whisky from the distil- leries in Missouri at 16 to 40 cents Q gallon. and sold 1t in Taos at $3 . gallon It was terrible stuff, too. We diluted it with water, making two gal Ions out of every gallon, but even then 1t was terrible. The OK teams had six yoke of oxen and the ordinary load for wagon was 7,200 rounds. A load of 5000 pounds Is a good wagon load now. We took our merchandise to Taos or Santa Fe, opened a regur lar store, and would sell out our en- tire stock in two or three months. The remnants of our last stock my father traded for Mexican sheep at $1 a head, took the sheep to California, and sold them at $1O a head. I sold sas- safras root at S4.50 a pound in Taos. We travelled about 25 miles a day. The last trip took 49 days. We met on that trip Rose, said to be the hand somest Indian woman in the west My father made his first trip in 1925, and the Turleys stayed on the Trail until nearly the opening of the Civil war. Various tricks were played on the Mexicans. There was a tarin on every load Of goods brought into Mexican territory. The tarif waa so much 8 wagonload. If the wagon was empty, 1t was admitted duty free. Some traders would load the goods just outside the Mexican territory into half the wagons and drive in with half the caravan made up of empty wag- ons, thus paying but half the duty. The kind of public dance was the chief form O. social entertain ment- The Spanish girls at the fan dangoes were sometimes treated to ice cream and whisky. It is a devilish combination"
 The story of the Old Santa Fe Trail is the story of its Bents, Carsona, Doniphans, Bridges, Woottons, Fur leys and the rest They were men cast in heroic mold. Made by the Trail, they were makers of the west.