| Show mn r Fin I illS LAST BUFFALO HUNT HUNTI Story of the Thrilling Sport port on the Plains of 0 5 I ind Colorado 5 t I 1 1 u tram S Can Ban Bulletin How flow time Ume flies It U It noW more more than than It years ago a yet hardly I left lett mY home In ft a town In the stern or of Indiana for tor a hunt hUllt on the plains The dreaded CI Civil vII war lad tact Sumter had lUn become I a grim Ut the was wa Icon tad d the mad waves of t swept UP III to ou our r ve very door k es 8 a StAte had not yet declared Itself sine ditty wet organizing In every county Old Glory was lIas na t to II the peak and It ttA the mile width ot of the Ohio river separated u up from a hotbed ot of Bouth l lem em J JD was wal under men mennoe roe noe ot of WI We were under mare Inu saw and 1100 was wall paralyzed It wM Wal on an the 3rd ot of June 11 that I tumid I the ht key of my from the theArt 0 mi d e took the tbt Art It est for Cor Kan City which was all CO be my starting point for the plains There Thero were then no railroads railroad west of oC the Missouri river The advance or of d It a was wall 1 b y that Irre I conflict which In IndIe I n lime dIe great tragedy ot of the next tour four YO years rl afore l Paducah the captaIn f ot of our boot boat r Information that l r the had ot of the town am and had planted a lottery battery there then tor th the purpose of capturing everything that t came CAmo along dawn t the ht rI river ver There Thel ThelI Were Vere a number ot of on onI I 1 I bard haud The ladles cabin WA was filled lII with women omen and Paducah would t I lie be reached In the nl night ht And the captain had II a mind to run the creep creepIng j In Ing along clove d to la the sho shore 1 with all and ami only 1 steam power employed to tl GIve r the boat The met 1 with gonnal approval But It was 1 n clear proposition that the Confederates i were ot of our coming and would 4 have a watch wath pet for UI The chances or of stealing by were very ery small and as al alI the tho ladies cabin was as 88 exposed to II a araking raking fire from the battery at as any oth other I rr er part palt ot of the boll boat I the captain Anally to 10 make a at Rh and take the chancre of i i WI We were as we i J to be 00 The boAt was wall lied up and IntI the Ihei j i erS WIN were ordered to consider tI or of war which we told with the able hi of Jf a guard guart r In butternut uniform I felt the Import Importance I ance ot of the It 11 was to ban be n or of war The honor clime came entirely unsolicited Some men are horn born great gat oth others rs have greatness thrust upon them I WAS Ont one or of the 4 r I There were too many ot of us to feed t and as nothing contraband 0 of war wa was found on board the captain WU was I through the intercession lit et influential to fitter after Iv Ivf f Ipg Il a 11 reprisal bond It at the j i o ot of the Independence ot of the Confederate States l IJ PACK At Cape I picked up a ai ayoung i young ol ng mats man for tor R a who hid had Hover nor been further a away ay from i than St Louis As 9 he Is IIO now the tbt father of at 1 a numerous family modest did unwilling to bP be pilloried before the 1 world with the insignia ot of distinction i his name for the or of this story J shall be Bob We arrived lit at Kansas J Crt City full ull o of talon ot of sport purt ahead r I I were wert rite ot of Indian hostilities k J settlers were being driven In and we wewer wore regaled with ac accounts acs s counts of massacre and ond rapine W e a had t I n a route up the Smoky Hili fork tork ot of the Kaw river Ther That and the ii Republican fork tork were wem considered extra I hazardous and We were wert strongly all ad 4 to abandon the project ln n II 11 1 literate fellow who Will was anxious to join us provIded we would take some other 1 route upon finding that we ne adhered to tov v our original Intention threw up hi hie hands and exclaimed Oh the savage j lie He but his hIli quaint l expression found II a In Bobs Itoh s memory and aTHI from that time at every fresh tre h sign o of Indiana whether 1 or Dr otherwise e he gave ae It nn an airing In o of exciting et po possibilities we took saddle horses And one to pack our f 1 stuff Instead of at cumbering ourselves l with n a wagon agon Our pak pack animal was j nn an IndIan pon ponya trained buffalo hunt bunt buntt I ot of limb and fleet nett of toot foot that t had undergone the ordeal ot of having It Its t 1 Tight right O eye custom among the tho savages done to enable them to rIde close along b by the left Ift side ot of the sit 1 huge game under full tull speed und and plant 4 An unerring r arrow In its I heart Having 1 o s w Ms but one eye our pack Ilek hone bone w was ap appropriately christened We took up our line of much march on the of Jt June Junu to strike tb the base bae of the It at Bents nent Fort ort and from there make an excursion Into the were wre met with warn Inge ot of danger at every eVer step An Irish visitor on min taking 19 leave l ot of us IIII Maid I lood bye boys boYI Vea will never reo re return turn And yes let get back need needa a wig apiece At we yielded to w wire Counsels lH and changed our OUI course oure Hearin ort off we struck the U Republican I rk II a few miles above old uld Fort lort Sib h Icy then an abandoned post We were thaw Noll d III away af frum rum the It settlements 11 up the river we soon lOan lame came cameto to fresh frh signs and oft on the second day III pastes 1 I the remains remain ot of several buffaloes that hid been killed wIthin the put furty hours houri The next day dl was WaH nunda A head wind made and we proposed tu to milk make only a short hort stage and then rl rest for the day da mil miles brought u uto us to what hat would have eKen a lovely camping place but for the presence relIce or of half haIr a 1 dozen carcasses that were still streaming with the warmth or of recent They also gave token that Jo diane dlan had been there that morning and i brought Hub Bob the warning of our I Han Kansas lily friend The savage avage III hm t feete IP OilY faded out and when th the night owl 01 began its Ita inquiry Who who who o o we out the Arab and as 1111 silently stole toh away II Ith only the th tara stare for tor our guide Kulde The river eun ed to thE south lOuth like lib a great Ole ox oxbo bo but confident that we 1 stake It again we kept on II a coarse for about six Ix miles when the near nOar hoot or of an owl the croaking ot of the water anol and th the rustle rutI of swaying tree b told Us that Wt we were near wat water Rt er r Relieving our animals animal ot of their In incumbrances I cumbrances we Imply spread th the tnt tent under us for A couch Ih crept under blankets blanket end dept elt th the sleep ot of the Jut just FRIENDLY INDIANS Two To or three days lIy later we made our camp for the night under A low bluff blure facing the river and rune a villAge of at Indiana supposed o be friendly The bucks buk visited u us In crowds OUr helped themselves freely to o our provisions and were rOil on slant and Inri Importune in III their cravings for whisky Happily we had nonea thing thin to them end tile the probed and Into every hiding place for the priceless treasure It was a late lat when Ihl they left lett us u WI We re resolved reo solved to avoid nil all tearful parting scenes In th the mornIng by II taking a French leave of our dusky neighbors The Tbt village was wa on a bluff and we were under It out ot of Our horses were picketed In good rerAn grass close b by At midnight the ran InK chant of the tn in sentinel died away WR and the tb night was hushed In Silence save SAe when the whirling waters ot of the Platte gurgled In their bed ot of Hob slept I watched tilt the hour and for tor new worlds Among the stars At I awoke aw ke Bob said ald Iet us be going Our d departure was WAI accomplished unobserved And after a rapId march ot of nearly two hours houri we e were erl again In camp far tor a good rest with th the tent spread between n us liS and the damp Krass fr WI We made a 1 late start next morn murn lag And on the trail we tell In company tit at It a train of at three wn wa wagons gons bound for tor Pike Pikes I k mines Our was WIS not uneventful until Wt we reached what is known II as heaver Catona new military trail trull that ate A forded a direct route to Denver by way ot of l Fort ort Arapahoe The Arapahoe In and their allies the were friendly after arter the affair 1 of Ash h hollow and Wt we had nothing to fear from them We our first camp In the Cutoff Saturday night and proposed to remain the there over Sunday During Durin time till night I 1 determined tl to go o alone alon and mark the good huH halting I places for Cor Corthe forthe the benefit or of the l e little company compan when they lime came alon along It was only two days journey to ner with 1 Fort ort Arapahoe midway on the th route morning broke upon us UI bright Anti and warn warm ant and I prepared for an early shirt sturt No refine m meat nt ot of el eloquence no I poetic hyperbole can an iJo do just justice to the potentialities la II latent tent lent In a cup of strong trong coffee when body and mind Ire are weary with the jour and watt I drank oft off a pint of at the nectar netar and putting a few biscuits In my kt trot Ot Into the saddle tOil and set Ht oat without a lit nt any kind leaving even lilY my In Inseparable held glasses with Bob at hi A rIde or of ten mile brought suggestions ot of rest for tor III my mini minima mal ma and relaxation tor In my aching ONn u 1 I tenth on m small nm III timid covered with dry Iry hunh grass about half hair It a mil maul south nth of th the trail I threw myself un on th the around rounel and Rill rAVe gave mY horse the ot of his to toot lariat for fora a graing ruin I spell D RT Bi AN The tar far and near was wal honey honeycombed hone combed with lIh bur of at the prairie dog doga a species 1 II of marmot that live In lar large 1 communities and In with Uh tilt the prairie 0 owl I and rattlesnake The doge tORB burrow du dIw n to tn water and the owls nail snakes avail themselves ot of tb the acom thus thull afforded ado which i include an appetizing or of young immune dogs They are re called doll dogs bemuse e some allot landed thAt their powers or of speech were like those thole or of young oung puppies pup pi pies A line or of timber halt half a title milE tit titor or of the mound at It its nearest point Ie de denoted noted the channel of a creek dr dry ot of course our at that ot of the yeAr In looking about my Attention was WAI Irr t ted ed by some dark specks peck on the opposite site slope t two 11 mill miles away a Buffalo No we were Werf beyond their rant range II a dark object emerged 1 from the tat east side Idl ot of th the timber and appeared to 10 be moving toward me Un Unsuspicious suspicious or of an embarrassing visit I watched In th the sunlight created the surmise that It might be a I soldier from some lomp military I In the vicinity A nearer op p enabled ml me to tn discern II a horse horAe horsemen men coming at AI full steed And n a few rew moments later revealed nn an Indian armed with bow and arrows and decked in III his hll gaudy war lie Ile axe evl dandy It a chief paint and eagle feathers buckskin triage smith glittering gew WR told ot of rank The Th flashes I had came from n It string or of small round hanging from each stile HIlle ot of his lucid head dress to III hi his knees I got Into my saddle antI and awaited his ape all My f attempt to retreat would have been I n for he was 1188 well mounted anti and had the advantage ot of he bt lag Ing armed bel besides eB I was not yet alt alto altogether gether certain of his character He might be a friendly Arapahoe Ul lie dashed up to within six Alx yards ot of me ant and brought tale his horse to 1 a sudden atop WI We looked at each other far tor n A few tt mo me I In n allen silence then extending my hand I offered the usual friendly how lIow The fhe Indian shook hook his hiM head and ad II close Iule alongside ot of lit litha me ha hating In seen fn that I 1 nas hi his finger In my Iny bridle ring amid with Inc m lu In tow toward his camp amp The now lIow lashed upon my In mind A band ot of hostile had come lume up from th the south lOuth on a marauding expedition and I IWAS WAS their prisoner All 11 I do wa was to retard tale hll progress HI as much AS O without appearing to do so IW In the forlorn hope th that t being near the trail occur might I ht coin COlne they could away with Ith me Wt lie were At al cross pur por pose I was wall anxious to keep within hailing distance or of Ih the trail while lit ray captor to urge ure my horae lone Into a gallop In the direction of at athis his lamp camp I Iy a small cloud ot of dust rose roll over the tle rut crest ot of the distant hill hili on the west side ot of time the creek and A moment afterward a black speck pk ape ap appeared moving down the slope My h kind friend ee eyed 1 It anxiously ly and reo re renewed his efforts to In our The Indians Indian herd which had har harat at attracted my attention geared as It if b by magiC A second cloud ot of dust and Ind 1 a second de descending speck increased my captors anxiety and mine two militAry ambulances under an escort or of soldiers emerged l coin our side or of the fringe ot of timber They saw lilY lay signal of at distress anti and n small mall tIe de detachment galloped towArd m me My Iy captor retreated I had no occasion to Or OP SOLDIERS What does doe that fellow tellow want with you OU 1 T the In asked as 1111 soon II as they th were within speaking sp di tAnI tance That just what Ive been aen a little curious to know myself I 1 replied I explained th the situation and the they congratulated me on m my timely erance It proved to be a 11 from time the pout on their WilY way to establish a station on the new trail You Vou had better go back bak with us U I the maid amt I agreed with him himOn On the I f was surprised at suet trig Ing our little train The They had changed their minds and concluded to lU tl Wilow low me We put ourselves on a war footing fooling amid made n a noon halt at the nisi where 1 the Were when they sent me lime a g Invitation to g go with them theIR They had left their hiding and were Wert moving ore oft In n body t the he south Jut but when they saw our little party they turned and cumin at full rull speed There were but eight or of us I against tort forty Indians but ur Wt Weapons on were inure effective than tho th Ins at lung long rage Falling into Inlo line ePhy 0 I man see Sf heeled I ted hla hili target but to lo avoid A It if we H at al all an alma aim to use what effect It hI hIon on them They The hid hall only th the bow lIw and arrow and u eing that they th were out outclassed classed In weapons the they sent in disgust What their were We e could ohly from trum their actions We camped cAmpe that night at Flirt Furt Arapa Arapahoe hoe hill and III time evening of th the da day reached Duner which was ill thet thel thelIn In Its Infancy After Atter resting re a te tow days Rob and I went Into the mountains crossing Ih the divide b by wa way ot of South pArk to the tributaries ot of Grand rh r stances us to limit ur air ate BIllY In the mountains to flirts weeks 1 k and we found excitement enough to make th the Urn Hume puss PUIS too A battle between the amt wit lL an event ent The lall raided n a Ule village and carried off II a bauli tul fal young girl Wo asked uke l them by Igns what they thoy would do with her and andIn the made us Understand that they In tended tu to on the neB flea by burn Lurn lag her at the stake The tan tribes tribe were engaged III ht a war of Anxious to mate the poor pt r rea crea tune tUN from such a dr dreadful fate we WC or of feted tu to purchase her imer with hors horses I and money mone but thy they all III I o of our overtures and left for their A strong band ot of Tte itte started In pursuit and |
