East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1922-09-22

condemned to remain out OF doors ulN
and night in country of cold winds
was uncomfortable, if not dangerous
In every day life the vest was of or
binary. civilian type, and usually was
left unbuttoncd. 1t was worn. not as
a piece of clothing. but solely because
its outside pockets gave handy stor'
age not only to matches but also tc
'mak,ngs," which aforementioned ar
ticles were cigarette papers and bag
of Bull Durham" tobacco.
Mixed in with these necessarieS
were, in all probability, a gold nugget
an Indian arrow head, or an "elK
tush" or two. These 'tushes," the
canine teeth from the wapiti's upper
jaw, now widely known as insignia OF
a great secret order, We're in the West
of years ago equally we'll known as
the most treasured jewels of the In
| dian squaw. Every cowboy acquired
all the "tushes" he conveniently could,
! doing so usually with no purpose of
ultimate trade with the Indians, but
ionly because of a vague, bOylile idea
that somehow. some day they might
be useful. In reality, as he got them
he gave them to Eastern souvenir
hunters. as he also gave the nuggets
and the arrow-heads.
This naive prediection for so-called
natural curioSities" went hand in
hand with desire to benefit ether sci
Icnce or the federal government; was
shared. in this public spirited FORM
with the scouts and hunters. and
worked for the inconvenience of the
Ireceiving clerks at the Smithsonian
Institution. There flower, for years.
to the doors of the iatter's museum
and from out of the West steady
stream of useless bones, horns, skins,
crystals, pieces of wood, and other
things enthusiastically started on
their journeys and most of them ul-
timately and properly landing on the
scrap-heap at Washington.
Men would undergo great personal
risks to obtain fine specimens"
The prevalent desire to patronize
"The Smithsonian" was eXemplified in
the experience of two Northwestern
scouts who had the same beneficent !
attitude toward science as had the (
punchers.
The Grow Indians had dumped"
their reservation and were on the
war-patch. They were being trailed |
by Tazewell Woody and James Dew
ing, Woody riding horse, DeWing a !
mule.
These scouts discovered an CnOr-
nous bald eagle, which, feeding at a
carcass was so gorGed as to be help
less. The tremendous size of the ,
bird suggested Immediately that
Washington was in great need of this
fine specimen, so heavy stick was
brought down on the national en-
blem's neck and the latter's immedi- 4
ate owner was then pronounced to be |
dead. The eagles legs were lashed 1
to the back of Dewing's saddle, while
a throng held in place the folded
wings of the hanging bird
The men mounted, and forthwith
war party broke from cover and at
tackled them. The scouts spurred II
their mounts into a retreat, but were
rapidly overhauled by the Indians,
whose ponies We're fleeter than Dew
tng's mule. Meanwhile shots were /,
flying.
Just as it began to look hopeless for
the two whites, there happened Sim
three things: First, a bull
let struck the ground in front of the
galloping mule, raised a furry of dust
and caused the brute to spin around
and to hurry toward the foe. Second,
I bullet cut the thong which Rad
bound the eagles kings Third the
eagle came to life, and, though with
egs still fastened to the saddle, stood
erect.
Then the charge completely re-
,ersed it's direction and appearance. 1t
had been to both whites and reds a
hundred armed warriors chasing two
helpless victims. Now it seemed to
he reds pursuing demon Fastening
o destroy a fleeing Indian tribe.
What Woody witnessed was a scream
ng eagle with talons imbedded in the
ump of crazed mule. with wings
,utspread and beating the air, and
With beak digging, amid the screams
nto Uncomfortable Dewing's back,
While the mule rushed after the In
lians, intermittently pausng to buck
nd bray, Dewing himself meanwhile
houting, cursing and shooting.
The matches in the cowboys pocket,
ike all matches on the range, were in
hin sheets like coarse toothed combs
hey had small brown or blue heads Q
hat were slow TO start a blaze, and 4
or some time after striking, merely
'ubbled and emitted strong fumes of
ulphur. To obtain a light, the West
ightened its trousers by raising its
light knee, and then drew the match
cross the trousers scat.
There has been described the vest
f every day. but there were OCCASION
] days which were not like every day,
he occasional days when the punchcr
vent i'm state either tOtown or to call i
pom his lady-lOve. on these infre-
uent and important errands, he was
ain to put on a waistcOat which was
pecialIy manufa ctured for the West
rn trade and which, though normal
n size and shape, was monumental in
peparancc. Plush or shaggy woOlen
Material was prey to the dyers bru-
ality. and on the cowboys manly but
innocent front the Aaurora Borealis,
nd the artists paint-boX met their
hrOmatic rival. a man Of modest
lste. and such were the majority Of
he punchcrs. was content with brown