Year: 1873




The following narrative I have kept


for some time. but being persuaded in


my own mind, from its singularly


amusing yet ludicrous nature, that it


may prove to be an agreeable enter


tainment to many of your numerous


subscribers, / have concluded to sub


NIT it to your views, and if you think


it worth publication and will serve


the end I anticipated. you can give it


place in your excellent, time-hon-


ored paper.


About eighteen months ago, four


young men of Middle Tennessee, not


great distance from Clarksville,


from a chain of calamities sustained


during the late war and a zeal and


ambition to overcome them and rise


faster and higher on fortunes wheel


than the advantages in their own ma


tive country promised, determined to


seek their fortunes elsewhere. After


reading many eulogistic descriptions


of the west, with the many advanta-


ges offered in all the vocations of life,


for acquiring fortune and happiness


and from the dreams of its salubrious


climate, its fertile soil, its rich mines


of gold and silver, the grandeur of its


high, glittering, snow-capped noun


tains, with theirricb, verdant valleys,


the picturesque beauty of its magnifi-
Gently gorgeous landscape, its wide
spreading prairies and extensive
plains wrapt in an exuberance of rich,
waving herbage, upon which are gra-
zing countless herds of buffalo cattle
and deer, they agreed on a tour to
those beautiful wilds.


I will withhold description of
three Of the gentlemen as non-essen-
tial to the interest of the narrative:
it is sufficient to say they were truly
gentlemen. will give a short de-
scription of the fourth, as he is the
hero of the tale. He was tall young
man, with light sandy hair, large
blue eyes, considerably goggled, with
a blank inanition of countenance,
displaying timidity, but possessing
more intellect and nerve than his
physiognomy indicated, and had in
finitely more confidence in his own
mental abilities than any one could
have in him. He was kind and be-
nevolent, and liberal to fault. He
was beloved by all who knew him
having but one prominent fault, that
of bigotry, with great deal of the
native green.


The morning of the first day of Sep
tember, 1871, was delightful. The
three young men had congregated at
the house of our hero, whom we shall
denominate as Frank, tor the pur-
pose of taking leave of their friends
ind bidding adieu to their native
lduu iOA thC loi "CcI. IHcy
had determined on making the trip
through Missouri to southern Kansas
on horseback, knowing they would
have better opportunity of examin-
ing the country, and then let circum-
stances dictate their course, both as
to the method of travelling and their
final destination. After many adieus
and kind wishes from their friends
and relatives, they started, having a
a long and tiresome journey, attended
with no incident worth noting. They \
travelled over the fertile hills and
plains of southern Missouri, and ar
rived, on the 18th, at the fiourishing
little city of Springfield.


Here they met with a company of
pleasure seekers, going out to south
ern Kansas to spend the fall, hunting
buffalo. The company being favora-
bly, impressed with the young men,
insisted that they lie over day or
two, and they would accompany
them and show them how to kill
buffalo. This suggestion delighted
our young Tennesseeans, and as their
horses needed rest, readily accepted
the invitation. Our hero, Frank,
from hislittle eeccentricities, facetious-
ness, and vivacity of spirit, made him
quite an acquisition to the hunting
party, as he had been to his former
keeping up mirthful state
of feeling all the while.


They were on their journey in few
days, with wagons to carry their camp
equipage. The slow moving of the
wagons gave those on horseback a
good deal of leisure time, which was
spent in hunting near the road. Our
hero enjoyed it remarkably, but could !
never kill adeer on account of the in
tense excitement that would sudden
ly seize him at the time, but he told
them, to never mind, when he got in
10 the buffalo region he would show
hem how to kill beeves.


In about ten days, they arrived at
their camping ground, on the west Of
the Arkansas some fifty or sixty
miles, on little stream called Good
River.


The next morning the camp was
all in ferment, boiling over with ex-
element for the chase. Frank could
hardly restrain himself. He would
push back and forth, as busy as a bee,
doing nothing, but rolling his big Cog
gle eyes, making the most odd and
expressions, to the extreme
merriment of the crowd. Finally
they started. An old hunter led the
way, and all were to strictly obey his
orders. They went in southwest
arly direction, soon emerging from
the wood into an immense prairie.
They continued their course for few
miles, then turning south near the
border of the timber, seeing OCCASION
ally small groups of buffalo and deer.
Presently they saw an immense herd
Of buffalo, about four miles distant,
to the windward of the timber west
Of them. The old hunter viewed
them through his eyeglass, then
handed it to another and another
Finally it came to Frank. He ap-
piled one OF his google eyes to it, but
could not shut the other, which pro-