The New York herald., 1922-09-24
On the Frontier.
Experiences Along The Arkansas :
Recalled by an Old PIaInsman.

Api ioVus WHeH the wages OF uTlttfS IKE
myself We're reduced from S65 to $40 a
month, four OF us from the Lambert &
Smith outfit at Fort Lyon. Kansas Ter
ritory, decided that we would try our
luck poisoning wolves for their pei:s.
Buckskln Grant. the oldest of our party.
suggested the idea. which along in De-
cember we undertook to carry out.
IL he ever bad any other name we
never knew Il. Everybody around Fort
Lyon called him Buck. For the greater
part of his life he had been trapper:
ne was dead shot. and always dressed
On skins of deer or antelope killed and
tanned by himself. The next Oldest n
the party, Frank McCmdy was about
%, while Andy Ashgan and myself. IL
years each. were the junior members.
Ashisan and had Mexican mustangs.
probably stolen from the Mexicans ~
Comanche Indians. with whom we
traded for them. Ashigan swapped four
Sl plugs of tobacco for his, and sor
mine parted with defective baJe,ed
Remington revolver with which C;raII
said you could shoot around Il haystacItas.
our two mustangs had the Comanches1
brand, a y-shaped cut from tho off ear
of each. Grant and McCurdy were unn-
mounted. &e t8su e.
The four~of us put in $50 each. r,agl !
ing a pool of $120. and upon our arrival
at the post suffers at Fort Lyon stocked
up with provisions remember tlilt
flour was $50 sack of 100 pounds,
bacon 45 cents "A pound and everything
else high. even in comparison with world
"
sugar. with emphasis on the brown,
saltpcter and strychnine, together with
an outfit Of tools consisting of spade,
shovel. two axes and complete mess
kit. all of which was packed on the two !
mustangs. Il J
Armed with Spencer rifles, with REM ,
ington revolvers in our belts, and plenty
Of ammunition, we started down tine
Arkansas River afoot. arriving at 4.
point, selected by Grant as suitable fo. {.
our purpose. The stream there was very
wide and the embankment just high .
enough for a dugout. We were thens !
considerable distance beyond civiliza-
tion, from twenty-five to thirty miles
east OF Fort Lyon. the nearest settle
ment {.
1t was growing bitterly cold in the.
late afternoon of December "a, when |.
we unpacked our mustangs during a fall !
of snow, which in that region seldom.
more than covered the prairie grass; in :
fact it was not deep enough to prevents
the buffalo from feeding upon it. After
picketing the mustangs Buck noticed
n solitary buffalo on our side of tfe'
river headed toward our camp Weo
started to meet the old bull, which altar
sighting us had turned back. but not
quick enough to escape a. shot from
Grants gun. Buck was leading and n
broadside from the rest of us brought
the buffalo back toward us, the instinct
OF a wounded bull being to turn around
and charge.
A finishing shot from Grants gun
dropped him, and while was sent hack
to camp for the strychnine the rest cut
up the meat to be poisoned for bait.
We proceeded to lay the bait on foiir !
trails in the different directions in tn y
snow about 100 feet from the carcass.
There was no timepiece among us, but
1t must have been within an hour OF
dusk when we reached camp.
On the opposite or south side of the
river the prairie was literally black
with buffalo making for water. At sigfft'
of US they began a stampede over theJ
hills. We selected a camp site on the
snow covered embankment. built a fire
and made sheltering cover of sticks.
placing upon them oiir wooden blankets,T
then a couple Of rubber blankets cover
ing the top with saddle blankets, and
spent a very comfortable first nigni.,,
The following morning, December %,
after a fairly hasty grubpiie consisting
OF coffee, bacon and slapjacks, We
started out to look over our bait trails. i.
Our Christmas morning present was,
five gray timber wolves and nine coz
votes Ashigan started the dugout audG
the,other three of US skinned the wolves.
This done ! went to camp for the muse
tangs and with them pulled to camp thca
buffalo carcass on whiS1 we, had laid,
the wet wof>sl<ins. We cleared the snow.
away to spread out our pelts. laying the !
hair side on the grass and the flcsh
side UP. Upon this we sprinlkled sai1s,.
peter for the purpose Of taking the
flesh off the hide and at the same time :
fastening the hair to IT. The tradcrS,
paid us SO each for timber or other
wolfskins and S1.25 each for coyote pclis
thus treated. 40
The dugout on which Andy had made .
eood progress, was l2 feet long. . feat ?
wide md q feet high to the thatcheH
roof with hole called a chimney tO.,
carry the smoke from our inside tir!-
place. With the rest of us helping We 9
made a comfortable place. and broilcd''
the choice humps Of young buffalo meat,
plcntifully supplied TO the camp. thanks'
to Grants sure shots. on a four foot.
back log Of cottonwood, against whice
the smaller pieces OF wood were pilcd@
There was no landlord and 10 wortrn
about the supply or cost Of cdal. Witlr.
abundant sunshine and pure air We
were happy in our winter home. though
it was only hole i'm the ground COW
cred in "a primitive way.
Although our location was in tho
midst OF the Cheyenne and Arapahoe !,
Indian country, only one small band qI,t
rowing Chcyennes paid US visit, and
they were looking not for scalps but
for bread. sugar and BACON, OF which, .
we gave them as literally as our scant
store allowed Then they left as peace
fully as they came. going down The,
river IN uhqrp their mounts were pick- .