Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-07-18
TALES OF THE SANTA FE TRAIL AND OTHER
ROUTES OF THE PIONEER ARE RECALLED

| In his former article describing the
Santa Fee trail as he found it late II
1865 after he returned from the war
James King, former plainsman re
lates in very minute yet pleasing de
tail everything of moment along the
then dangerous route. The Indians
and their modes of attack on immi
grant trains, the blood brotherhood
the buffalo and the wolves, the over
land mail and soldiery; all come IN
for mention and the life on the plains
| is wildly pictured in an interesting
manner by this veteran who lived the
life and knows from actual experience
the things he relates. His first mum,
Der was printed in the issue OF May
I19, 1914 and the second, July 2. That
number because of it's great length
was thought best to divide and is fol
lowed by the present installment. In
the preceding number the party OF
/ which Mr.. King was a member, had
reached Cow creek the headquarters
F; Of Col. LeavenWCrth, agent for the
Indians. The letter continues as fol-
) lows
! Cow creek was homesteaded in 1867
by an old soldier of the twelfth Mis-
souri, cavalry l met this man IN
Hutchinson, Kansas, in 1887 and he
told me that when the Santa Fee rail-
road was built through that country
that he set up saw mill and that the
first year he netted nine thousand dol
| lars in the shipment of crude and
sawed walnut timber and lumber to
the eastern markets. Cow Creek
ranch was kept by William Matherson
who was the original Buffalo Bill OF
the plains. My old friend William F.
| Cody gained the sobriquet OF Buifaio
Bill by killing buffalo for meat for
contractors when building the K. P.
railroad up Smokey Hill river in 1867
and 1868.
Matherson had wife and family in
New York but they never came west.
Here as at Little Arkansas river there
were extensive stockades and the same
class of squaw man. Matherson was
both feared and revered by the red
men and was called by them Big
Thunder. He derived this name from
being the happy possessor of a fine
grass howitzer He was an adept ven
trilouuist and could discount any Wor-
rior on the trail at archery. I wit
messed one exhibition of his skill with
the bow and arrow in the summer or
&C at Council Grove. Around this lit
tie brass howitzer hangs the story OF
the name Big Thunder given Mather-
son by the Indians.
This Is about verbatim as told to us
by Matherson himself and I afterward
heard him repeat the tale at the old
Mansion hotel in Leavenwcrth, Kansas,
in the fall Of Sc.
appearance near my ranch and from
safe distance gave peace signs and
asked for a parley. I did not let them
see any one but myself. l permitted
two bucks to approach me. In the
meantime I had given orders to dou-
BILE shot the howitzer and have 1t
ready to use at seconds notice.
When they came near they said they
were heap good Indian and wanted
something to eat and wanted to trade
but | saw the treachery in their eyes
and informed them that the great
father from up in the sky was in the
ranch and that he had his thunder
with him and that he would DESTROY
the entire tribe with his thunder medi-
cine unless they went south across the
Arkansas river to never return, and
for them to go and so inform their
chief.
"They started back to report to their
chief who had singled out as my In
diam I stepped inside the door and
was soon dressed in suit Of U. S.
cavalry uniform and full feathered
A of fWo
trusty men all behind their guns and
the little brass boy was at port hole
in the stockade as were all the men.
After instructing my men to elevate
the muzzle Of the piece so that the mis-
sizes would go above the heads of the
red men mounted my fine Comanche
horse and rode straight into the midst
of the Indians. The Indians began
moving about restlessly, some string
ing their bows and some drawing their
tomahawks while others edged away
toward the creek as though they
thought me an imp Of satan I rode
straight up to the chief and laying my
hand on his shoulder told him in the
Cheyenne tongue to come with me as
the great chief Big Thunder wished
to see him This was the signal
agreed for the firing of the howitzer
which was promptly done.
'The whizzing Of the missiles al
most created general stampede
which actually did take place immedi-
ately after the firing Of the second
shot The great chief appeared to
think that something of the super
natural was taking place and without
a grunt or even looking back he rode
by my side straight into the stockade
where he was disarmed and blindfolded
and placed under guard in small
room. I then had the little howitzer
placed alongside the house near the
room in which the chief was prisoner
and once more loaded, this time with
powder only and at given signal it
was discharged, shaking the entire
room At the same time appeared
in the door way and found the red
man prone on the floor singing the
death song of his tribe and calling on
the great 'Manataw' to save him from
the wrath of the thunder God.
Matherson told us that he thought
the prisoner brought about treaty
which was backed by hostages Of three