The Carbon County news. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1924-1931, 1926-10-14
"WESTLAND TRAILS"
(By H. c. REAGAN
All rights reserved
CHAPTER TWELVE
Continued
CAMP FIRE STORIES

CAMP FIRE STORIES
Spencer related some of the stories
that were told by the old prospectors
and hunters. Uncle Charlie Willard
who was one of the pioneers had relat-
ed some very interesting ones.
One was about how Jim Hall one of
the old prospectors along with Horn
Miller, Charlie Cannon and Bill
Nichols would string the tenderfoot.
When they would get few tender
feet on the Cosmopolitan Hotel porch
Jim would ask Horn if he remembered
how cold it was in the year 1878 and
how the wild animals suffered and died
from cold and starvation. Horn would
agree with Jim and Charlie Cannon
and Bill Nichols would swear to the
fact. Soon the conversation would
drift off to the story of the bears. Jim
Hall said the winter it was so cold, he
started out on morning to look at his
traps on the trail to Cache Creek be-
tween Republican and Woody Noun
tains. Passing around projection of
rocks above Hayden falls he saw sew
eral bears. This being in January
with twenty foot of snow on the
ground. These bears seemed to Jim to
be acting little queer. Looking
again to make sure he was right. Jim
swears the bears were lying on their
backs on the snow with their paws
upward. This puzzled him to know
why they did this after a little time
the bears would get on their feet and
go little farther on the snow and re-
peat the act of lying on their backs
with their paws to the sun. Then it
struck Jim that it was so cold that the
bears paws got so cold that they could
not stand it and they would roll over
on their backs and hold their paws to
the sun to get them warm. Of course
you will remember this occurred in the
middle Of the winter with the snow on
the grounds in the Rocky Mountains.
The tenderfoot as a rule would bite
without thinking. Assured by the rest
of the old timers that it was fact.
Bill Nichols Great Buffalo Hunter
This prospector, hunter and trapper
was one of the old timers and lived
in Cooke and owned mineral claims
there. Now Bill was the original dis
coverer of coal at Red Lodge, Mont,
as he tells it. Bill would no doubt
have made some money if he could
have resisted the prospectors Will-o-
the-wisp. Bill had his claims located
and was on fair way to get some
thing when the discovery of gold at
Green River, Wyo., came. Bill up and
busted for the strike, leaving his coal
claims. He stayed over two years and
in the mean time a locator had watch
ed the coal claims and when Bill did
not return he relocated then according
to law and retained the property. Bill
returned to find he had lost them, yet
he felt owing to his original discovery
the government had deprived him of
his fortune. Bill was the Great Iagoo
Of the camp and it was his delight to
tell the tenderfoot stories Of Indian
fights, narrow escapes from death on
the plains and mountains. Bill was
great hnuter in his time.
He used to tell about the great num-
Der of mountain sheep that were on {
Woody Mountain and Sheep Mountain.
How they would drive the sheep on the
hog back on Woody Mountain and hav-
ng a partner there who would tie ]
heir tails together when the sheep
we're cornered and could not get away.
Mountain sheep as rule can and do
such portions Of the ranges
hat other animals cannot. With I'M 9
'rring aim they will leap from crag to c
rag and maintain their hold against
alllng owing to their feet having cup
'ed pads which suck to the rocks. Bill
new better himself but the tender S
DOT had to be entertained. One time
Bill was employed to procure Buffalo 0
1eat for the Indians. +,
It was Of interest to hear him tell s