Show THE BOSS HERDERS L E R I 1 D E IRS REVENGE when it come comes to exacting ample revenue for real or fancied injury give me the old time cow man and ill enow show you a fellow follow who ho forgive or forget aid said bob howard ur or tho last fifteen years haa has been foreman of toe the 1 I D hrand brand tn in the crow reservation in montana 1 I know one man that paid about 1200 for a hot bat tie tle of whisky simply because ho he fall fail ed to pay a little bet maybe it his fault that ho he mple good but just the same ho he was held hold at and had to foot tho the bill ilia itis name la Is paul mccormick ConnIck Mc and bo he lives out in billings lie ile la Is a rich man now said to be a millionaire and he misted the 1200 in fact up to the present timo time he know how much he paid for a quart of red eye this little incident happened abo 3 u 1 1 dozen years ago cattle were cheap the price had dropped with great t ld id denness and mccormick had contract t ed to purchase purr hafie hase SOO 00 head of the deek bar brand on eight months delivery by the time for the fulfillment of the contract hail had arrived he found blin hl mail facing lose 1089 on account of the drop in values ho he want the cattle so I 1 have always understood but abo bo owner of the duck bar dar was kod and mccormick had bad to take tile the cie the were cut out of the main herd and swum across abu big horn to the cast aide side the river Is very swift at this point as it if ip just where it emerges from the mountains under the tumbledown abode walls 0 of old fort 0 F smith it was july end and tho t i melting snow from the moun talus caused tho the river to run baneful mccormick accept the cattle with particular good humor and he tako take tho the jokes of the duck bar foreman with witti flie e gracious spirit that tho the west deLAit ids from the man who gets the tho worst of a bargain the fore man wae was a big muscular chap lamed billy carter nw a good out at great falla falls one day billy was looking across at steers on tho the other aide side of the 1 horn the me cattle swam the river in pret ty good shape paul he said 11 yes snapped mccormick a good deal odeal better than some men inen I 1 know could turn the trick A are you hinting around that I 1 swim it iff asked billy til ill cover your pile that you cm cant ut U t do IV it replied mccormick Theres The ree just forty in my belt that says I 1 can do both bath waya ways said thi cowboy well they put up the money and billy stripped the water was icy yai 11 W 0 ep are ou around thit I 1 swint it tl asked billy cola coll for it more than a dozen hours bours from melting snow and it bad a chance to rise in temperature cera pera ture to auch such an extent that it 11 woul dt bend a chill through your system every tibie time you took tonk a drink of it IL u the current curren was liko alk a mill millrace raco and was powerful enough A te t turn the wheels of all new now eng land billy took the plunge amid the cheers of the cow punchers from both outfits the instant he hit the wa va ter he vas was whirled around like a chip and was carried under the surface by tho the frothing eddies dut but he came to the top and struck out again we saw all head bobbing up and judging by his powerful stroke he be was good for a swim across the atlantic in the winter season he lie was carried about a mile down stream but mad the landing where the big horn ml m is a are vr X V 11 he came to the top and nd truck struck out again bend about halt a mile below the fort he ile rested for about an hour and the beat of the july eun sun jooa took the chill out of his body he ile borrowed some clothes from of micka men on the oklar fide ride got a horse end and rode abiva two ta miles up str stream earn then he took to the water again and landed about he had bad start started Ld tired but buoyed up by tho the thought that be hr had bad won his bet mccormick McCorm look particular ly comfortable over the iosi tor for I 1 be hove ilove ho he thought billy would back out of tho the return swim he lie made a luttio as to the disposal of the money that put it up to billy so that he get the coin and preserve his standing in that thal community billy he said sale of course thi this money la Is yours but what do you say to taking the whole eighty and getting a little stuff for the boyst boys they look pretty dry and I 1 dont bellevo this will got any more than they can carry IQ in good shape all right said billy count me e in ill do it if you will furnish a buckboard blich board and a man to go down to the port dort traders at fort custer McC mccormick orinick agreed to tale this fort custer Is down at the mouth of the little jdie big horn about forty mile miles from where we were tho the man lit out with the buckboard that very evening and did not bet let back till the me next at hernoon ter noon had stopped at micks camp about tour four miles below that of the duck bar dar outfit and when bo ho arrived at tho the latter place there wi a one bottle of ginger ale ate and a quart bottle of whisky he lie didn t give any explanations as to what bad become of the rest and he asked for any just the same billy carter expressed a little surprise that big his 80 tr chased more whisky for hie his own he lie voiced his astonishment mildly for a cowboy but the herders could tell from the snap of his eyes that he was doing a little thinking too in fact be was so 0 o mild about it that the real res of us thought he was going to let the mat ter drop but be badat tho the slightest lotrn arl n tion of passing up the matter he ile went over the crow reservation the very next day and bought tho the bes b es swimming horse hp rould find there was nothing anu unu ual in such an action and ond no comment wag was passed ex copt upon the swimming qualities of the horse that night hi ht brought the duck bar entile cattle down to the vest west ank of 0 the dig big horn and bedded then them down in bight eight of the steers sold to mccormick and then on the other aide of the river micks wan outfit was as I 1 have said about four miles belew on the aaa at side of the big horn but the cattle bought from the duck dar bar were in charge of hall halt a dozen men who split up tip the watcher for naghi night herding duty mccormick waa was a rigid disciplinarian and insisted that close watch be kept ept over hia his cattle for at though there so much danser danger of 0 a stampede there waa was alway always foar fear of cattle thieves sut but I 1 dont dent think r bay ry y ot of the men on n night heri here had any fears froin from the othar eldo side of the big horn but that 1 Is 1 I t where they were mistaken for two nights billy carter I 1 ade two trips a flight across the rivel river he lie stealthily cut out fl ue e or elx six heart hearl at a time and swam them to the other elde side it U was a ris risky ky piece of business he ile knew men were w watchful t c u and it if he aa as discovered it r meant a e a n t a hole lot of trouble for him dut but by the time he had made four trips twentythree twenty three head of steers were back with their old comrades in the duck bar and mccormick was more than a thousand dollars out the count had been made and of course it made over the vent brands been put pitt on the cattle and no one could prove that there bad had been any rustling mccormick moved the herd on in a few days and ro far as I 1 know be he nevar never discovered that his bunch waa was fiort things were ere dono done on such an extensive scale in those days that a few head in or out make so much the duck bir out fit sent a lot of cattle to kaneai city that fall and I 1 happened to be there when thy arrived I 1 noticed coma tareq year old among them 1 if I thought you had sold all you three year carol olds da to mccormick I 1 eaid said so we did said billy with a smile but there Is one carload of mew in this bunch and that is just what mccormick had to pay tor for that bottle of whisky he cent sent na 8 last july I 1 think this omat can ifford ff orl another dank on him como come and loin join wi new york pross |