The chronicle=news., 1913-07-12
Ren,iniscences of
The Frontier Days

time n house by the rolling river.
and 1t was u pretty hard place back
In til. Sos when nothing was espc-
cIaiiy soft in this land OF unfolding
dreams. This shack stoo. on the old
Santa Fe trail at the mouth OF the
Little Arkansas. twelve miies west OF
Fort Zarah and WAS the rendezvous
for all the soldiers and frontiersMcn
who travelled that way by the thon.
sands. The country. was full Of ugly
Indians who went in bands seeking
the blood OF the white men and steal
!nS everything they could run OF.
This human habitat 'on. II such II
could be called. WAS nothing but u
cheap picket house or jacal as the
MeSicans would call II. The sides
were formed like u stocknde by posts
driven Into the ground and sur
mounted at the top with "a flat roof
on which dirt wsa spread to Keep Ou,
tn. sunshine and the rain. A few OF
these primitive structures may still
oc rccn III the country.
This hov"l MAS kept as n saloon b,
wild-.yed fellow known AS Peter
Stnbb and ~as on the short cut from
the Arkansas TO the army posts at
the north. One day at the time Gen
cral Hancock was holding II treaty
mcctin. with the plains Indians at
Fort Znrah something OF n sensation
occurred at this well In the desert
which Is worth telling. Stabb had
gone up to Fort Wallace for supplies
and the place was left In charge OF
lanes Malone. the bsrkccp. The wo-
man Of the shack was Cora Stsbb, us
'h" was known. and the guests wer-
the two army &eutx. Hurricans B!i:
Martin and Charles Christy. who hap.
p.ncd mlonE Just st the wrong time.
The woman had that morning
dressed herself In Stabb's clothes ,nd
WAS on top II the citadel watching |
for Indians as was her custom when
the 'affriRhici a!r u shuddcr bore"
~ u always did when the rcd devils
were out ON the rampage.
Suddenly Miss Cora slid down off |
the roof half scared to death and fell |
'r'O tho one room of the shack cry
'n.; They're coming" The scouts
went to the door and sure enough
there they came like M many bats
out Of hcil-u band of crazy Chc,-
cnnes under spotted Horse. riding |
like mad and sprcadinH out fan
shape to surround the place. Before
the folks inside had time to think u |
biz buck sprans against the door and
forced II open. Hurr'oans Bill. who
WAS n big husky fellow with muscles
hike cro~b,r. sptanI upon the war
tior and forced him back through the ,
door. Then the insiders barred the !
entrance and go, rcady for n siege.
Woman-like Miss Cora collapsed and
crawled under the bed. when to her |
horror and dismay u ratticsnakc |
sleeping In the same corner arousci |
itself and crawled out over her nccx.
For once In her life she knew enough
TO keep que, and let the rattlcr go
on It's frightened way.
Outside the pandemonium became
81 demoniacal that IL sounded like |
the devils jubilee, The men inside
would rather have been on the out
side looking In and things took on n
tsl, ts.p
had bceh n Sunday school hoy back In
Philadelphia. began to think of his
old lessons and hcpc for thy return
sweet hour Of prayer" Then shot
rang out. right In the room IT seemed
to be: and Jim Malone fell over deaf.
He had been shot In the back by an
Indian who had dug out a chunk Of.
the chinkins and had shot through
the crack i
| The scouts were sparrins FOR time
in tho hope that they mi :ht find a
crevice and take n shot 1t the In
tuns. but the only hole was pre-
emptcd on the outside by the buck
who had killed Malone and they
were about ready to call II half II
day when they heard firing some dis
tancc off. The bucks scrambled
away in their wild endeavor to be at
the treaty pOw-wow on time and a
moment later Major A. A. Arms OF
the third infantry ratified up In an
Tmhn!ancc with m esror;. Every
body came In and took tin roof
drink on the house, They buried the
body of lin Malone and took the
woman to Fort Zarah where she ne
muined until the old man returned
to the house by the rolling river.
Business was resumed and the hurdv-