Frontier sketches
Calkins, Frank W. (Frank Welles), 1857-1928
»^S*:a3f^Si-sS!!5K;<:JS^i,^^ /^■=tr Frontier Sketches BY FRANK W. CALKINS CHICAGO : DONOHUE, HENNEBERRY & CO. Copyrighted, 1893 BY DONOHUE, HENNEBERRY & CO. AH Rights Reserved. Frontier Sketches. PONOHUE & KENNI£BERRY, PKINTERS AND BINDERS, CHICAGO. CONTENTS. PAGE. I. A Piece of Frontier Strategy 5 II. The Mystery of the FiV^ Brand 18 III. Corson's Wife 28 IV. The " Moaning Rock " at Bogey's Bend 40 V. Mortimer Halleck's Adventure 54 VI. The Mystery of the Valley 64 VII. Followed 73 VIII. Olaf Helgerson's Pay 83 IX. A Wild Night-Ride. 97 X. Carlen and his Comet 10.5 XI. Caught in a Blizzard 115 XII. A Fortunate Cyclone 125 FRONTIER SKETCHES. I. A PIECE OF FRONTIER STRATEGY. In the early days of the settlement of Wisconsin there were neither land surveys nor government laws by which lands could be held with perfect security by the settlers. There was, however, in most counties an unwritten law, much like that which governs claim- taking in mining districts, and which generally pro- tected the claimant who complied witii its requirements. These requirements which were adopted in nearly all the new communities as " neighborhood by-laws," and in most of them strictly enforced against all persons who tried to violate them, were usually something like the following : The claimant, if he were of age or the head of a family, was entitled to one hundred and sixty acres of timber land and the same amount of prairie land, which he must first locate, and then proceed to measure by " stepping it off." There was usually some one in every organized town- ship who was regarded as an expert in measuring land. Eight hundred and eighty steps of three feet each along the four sides of a square, beginning at a given landmark and returning to it, were allowed as a quarter- section. The corners were established on the prairie by marked 6 , FRONTIER SKETCHES. stakes, and in timber by blazing trees and carving the takers name or initials upon them. Then within a reasonable time, say three months — the time was not definitely fixed — the squatter must build a cabin and move his family, if he had one, his effects if he had not, into it, and there make his home until the land should be survej^ed and " come into market," when, by appear- ing either himself or in the person of the " township bidder," at the regular " land sale " for his district, bidding the minimum price, one dollar and a quarter an acre, and paying the money to the registrar of the land- office, he received a government patent which made his claim valid and final. It was not well for an interloper to attempt to jump one of these claims, or to bid more than the minimum price above a claimant who had complied with the by- laws of his district. Generally, as I have said, the squatter, who com- plied with these " right of discovery " land laws, was safe enough to hold his claim, and if he had not the ready money saved to pay for it at the land sale, he ^ould easily borrow it of money-lenders in his district. But sometimes there were disputes, in which whole neighborhoods took sides, and occasionally a squatter's claim was the scene of an affray in which blood was shed. Two young men, Jacob and Jared Stebbins, who lived in the region between Blue Mounds and the Wisconsin, very early in the history of that country, belonged to the pioneer class above mentioned. Their father had mov^ed up there from Galena some time before the Black Hawk troubles, and, though they were but lads of sixteen and seventeen, they had taken part FRONTIER SKETCHES. 7 in the defense of Mound Fort, and in the battle of Wisconsin Heights. As they grew up and Jake came of age, they became ambitious to have land of their own. They had helped clear grub, break up, fence and cultivate one hundred acres of land on their father's "'patent" in Mound Creek Yalle}'', and now it was high time to begin for themselves. Up to this period the broad "Wisconsin, unfordable except in the driest seasons, had acted as a check to the tide of Northern and Western settlement in their district. There was much choice land upon the other side, and some two years before Jake was twenty-one the boys had been across the river hunting, and had staked and blazed claims for themselves — two "quart- ers"— upon one of which they had subsequently erected a snug log cabin, which they had covered with boards of their own make. They spent the greater part of two winters in this cabin, hunting and splitting rails during the short days, and during the spring, summer and autumn while working on their father's place, they watched jealously for any movement toward a settlement on the " other side. " The winter before Jake came of age several other claims were taken, above their own, on the west side of the river, on Sac Prairie, one of the most fertile prairies of the state. The boys now determined to move over finally so soon as they should gather the spring crops upon their father's place. In March, upon going home from their claim, they left their cooking utensils and other belongings inside the cabin, and closed the door and window by nailing 8 FRONTIER SKETCHES. some heavy strips across tbem. It was not until May, after corn planting, that they moved across the river. They swam over two yoke of steers, their breaking team, and rafted across their wagon, ploughs and some other effects. It took them nearly all day to cross, and it was late in the evening when they reached their cabin. The cabin had been built in the edge of the valley timber, and they had cleared a space around it. As they drove out into this open space, they were sur- prised by the yelping of a dog, which came rushing toward them, and flew at the faces of the steers, so that they halted and lowered their horns to fight off the brute. Jared ran forward and drove the animal away with his whip, giving it a cut which sent it back to the cabin. " Somebody's here ? " said he. Jared went forward. The dog snarled at him from under the covered wagon as be approached. As he came up to the cabin, he saw that the boards had been ripped from the door, and that a light was shining through a crack. " Hallo, thar ! " he called, standing close to the door. There was a moment of waiting, a murmur of voices inside ; then the door swung inward, and the tall, gaunt figure of a middle-aged woman stood in the open space. " Who be ye? " she inquired, gruffly. " I'm one of the owners of this claim," said Jared, "an' wo'd like ter shar' the cabin with ye till we c'n get some supper.'' " Wal' ye can't come in hyer!" said the woman^ coolly. " This hyer claim an' this hyer cabin b'longs PRONTIEB SKETCHES. " Who be ye ? " she inquired, gruflay.— Page 8. 10 tRONTIEU SKETCHES. ter us?" and she stepped back to shut the door in his face. Jared was hot-blooded and was naturally angry at this turn of events. He sprang towards the closing door, and threw all his weiglit against it. The woman was large and strong enough to have offered stout resistance, but she was taken by surprise ; the door flew out of her grasp, back upon its hinges, and Jared was propelled against her with a force that made her stagger half-way across the room. Jared had gained admission, but found himself facing two big, bony men, who had arisen from their stools before the fire-place as he burst the door in. They sprang at him, knocked him over, sat on him — one on his shoulders and the other on his legs — and then, with buckskin straps, proceeded to bind him hand and foot. Jared struggled for a moment, and then, finding it useless, gave it up. He was soon relieved of the weight of his captors, but lay helplessly bound upon the floor. All this had happened so quickly that when Jake, who had heard the scuffle, bad tied the steers and come cautiously up to the door, gun in hand, he found him- self confronted by the muzzles of two rifles, which protruded tlirough a crack which had been made by removing a board from the nearest window. "Drop that gun!" came from within the cabin. But instead of dropping his weapon, the quick-witted young settler sprang to one side, and ran behind the wagon, under which the belligerent dog was still bark- ing. Then he called to his brother : " Say, Jerd, have they hurt ye ? " &KONTIER SKETCHES. ll Jared shoated back tliat tliey hadn't, but that two men had tied him hand and foot. Jake picked up a club and threw it at the dog to drive it away ; then he called to the men to know what they meant by such outrageous acts. One of them — the old man — answered back that they had taken up a man for assault and battery, and meant only to protect them- selves and their rights. Jake told them they had no business inside the cabin, which belonged to himself and his brother; that this claim had been made and held for two years, and that they were liable to prosecution for assault on his brother. The elder man answered back that he and his son had found an old trapper living in the cabin ; that they had bought his right to it, and laid claim to the land, and, what was more, they should hold it against all comers. It was also stated that a colony of settlers from Illinois had come in some three weeks before, hav- ing crossed the river at " The Portage," and squatted along on that side ; that a general meeting had already been held, and the usual regulations adopted, and that the speaker inside the cabin had been chosen constable until a regular election was held. The young fellow was astounded and chagrined at this intelligence. The situation was puzzling enough, for he saw that these claim-jumpers had greatly the advan- tage over him. He and Jared could i-eally prove nothing ; not a settler on the other side whom they knew had ever visited them here or knew of the location of their claim except by heresay. Their only callers had been two or three stray trappers and an occasional Winne- 12 FRONTIER SKETCHES. bago Indian who had at various times spent a night with them. It was one of those trappers, a rascally-looking fel- low whom he remembered he had disliked, who had pretended to sell this claim to the present occupants — and there was a whole neighborhood to stand by them in possession. The situation was discouraging even if Jared had not — according to the code of the region — been lawfully arrested for an assault. Jake went out near his own wagon and sat down on a stump to think. The night was not dark; the moon was shining faintly and a light wind wa.s moving the tree tops, and as Jake sat with his face between his hands in a brown study, the figure of a person came across his range of vision. A boy emerged from the woods a short distance west of the cabin and came toward him. As he approached the dog ran out and began leaping upon him. ''Hullo, mister! w'at ye doin' out hyer?" The voice was that of a lad of fourteen or fifteen. Jake answered, warily, that " he'd jes' druv up a bit ago, an' was wonderin' where thar might be some water fer the oxen. " He added that he thought it rather late to wake people up to find out — there was no light that could be seen from the cabin. " Oh, I'll show ye, " said the boy. '' It's 'bout forty rod, though, the way ye'll hev ter drive t' git down ter the crick." "That don't make any differ'nce — the distance," said Jake. " I want to camp by water, " — which was true enough, as matters had turned out. Thereupon he untied his oxen, turned his wagon FKONTIEK SKETCHES. 13 about and drove after the boy, who led him back very nearly over the way he had come. Jake, looking back as they entered the timber-line, saw the cabin door swing open, and some one come out and look after them. But fortunately the boy was straight ahead and could not be seen, and the man, who had probably come out to see what was going on upon hearing the wagon rattle, turned again and entered the cabin. It was fifteen minutes' drive down to the creek, by the nearest approach for a wagon, but, as Jake well knew, the stream could be approached on the opposite side of the cabin, which was situated in a bend of it, by a very short cut through thick brush. It was from that quarter, in fact, that he and Jared had brought their water for cooking purposes. However, it just suited a plan which had flashed upon him that the boy should be at the pains of select- ing for him the best camping-place — it got them out of sight and hearing of the cabin. Jake walked well up by the steers and talked -to the boy as they went forward and learned, as he had expected, that the lad was the son of the man who had jumped his claim. The boy said he had gone over to a neighbor's who had just moved into a new log-house one mile west and was to have stayed all night, but finding that a number of land-seekers had claimed the neighbor's hospitality, he had spent the evenmg at play with their boys and returned. He said his father's name was Burrel. They reached the creek, and Jake, having quickly matured a plan of action, stopped his oxen and while untying a long, slender lead-rope from the horns of 14 FRONTIER SKETCHES. the "near" steer at the head of the teanij kept the boy near his side by talking to him. When he had secured the rope, however, he turned, flung an arm around his listener, and with a quick trip threw him to the ground. The boy struggled and screamed with fear and anger, but Jake quieted him with a stern command and then, holding him fast, told him just what had happened at the cabin, and also gave him a truthful account of his own and his brother's labor in making the claim, which had been jumped regardless of their rights. " An' now, youngster, I'm goin' ter tie ye up, an' bring yer ole dad ter terms, an' the more ye cut up the wuss it'll be for ye." The boy evidently believed hie story and saw both the point and the justice of the case, for he sullenly submitted, gritting out between his teeth that " Dad 'n' Bob '11 get ev'n with ye fur this." Jake tied his prisoner securely, unhitched his oxen and turned them loose, with the yokes on, to graze, and then, getting some quilts out of the wagon, made a bed under it, picked up the captive and laid him upon it. He then ate a cold bite of bread and meat, and taking his rifle went slowly back to the cabin. When he arrived there he again seated himself upon a stump and gave his mind to thought. He had gained one advantage, at least, he could exchange prisoners and get his brother free, which had been his object in so roughly treating the boy, but could he do anything more? He determined to try. Accordingly he got up and stole softly behind the covered wagon where he had stood before — the dog seemed to have exhausted its FRONTIER SKETCHES. 15 animosity or else it had followed the wagon and gone rabbit-hunting. Jake now shouted loudly at the cabin " Ho, Burrel ! Burrel, I say ! " There was a movement inside, a light shone through a crack and an angry voice — the old man's again — replied : " Wall, what ye yawpin' 'bout now ? " Jake briefly related the story of the boy's capture, only being interrupted every few seconds by ejacula- tions of wrath and chagrin from his auditors, or at least from two of them. Jared was listening also, and Jake heard him give a shout and a hearty laugh of triumph at the conclusion. For a moment there was confusion inside the cabin, and a gabble of excited discussion, then the door opened cautiously, and Jake heard somebody — evi- dently a woman — crying piteously. "Oh, they'll kill 'im I they'll kill my babby!"she moaned. " Shet up ! " said one of the men, roughly. " Say, mister ! " he called, poking his head out of a crack in the doorway. " Now, look hyer ! " called Jake, sharply, " none o' that ! Keep inside ef ye want to keep a whole skin." The head was hastily withdrawn. " Now, lookee hyer ! " repeated Jake, " I'm a-goin' ter hold this hyer cabin in a state o' seige till ye come ter my terms. My terms is these : " Yer turn my brother loose ; give 'im ev'ry gun ye've got an' let 'im bring 'em out hyer to me. Then yer pick up yer duds, 'n' bring 'em out 'n' pack 'era in this wagon 'n' take yerselves off 'n this claim, n' when ye've done that I'll turn yer boy loose. 16 FRONTIER SKETCHES. 'n' when ye've gone 'n' took a claim 't ye've got a right ter squat on, 'n' git settled onto it, yer c'n send one o' yer neighbors after them guns. Now yer c'n jes' do that er I'll hoi' ye in thar till the crack o'doom, 'n' yer boy 't's tied up out thar in the woods c'n stay thar till the b'ars eat 'im up, er the wolves, 'n' they's plenty o' both round hyer. I've got plenty ter eat in my pockets 'n' good shelter commandin' the winders 'n' door." At the close of this speech there was another wail inside the cabin. The woman, rough as she was, loved her boy and was terribly frightened, and the men seemed subdued and impressed with the gravity of the situation. After a long parley the men, moved by the entreaties of the woman and greatly to Jake's surprise, did accept them and sent Jared out with the guns. The}'^ brought out their household goods and the men sullenly packed them in the wagon while Jake and Jared with the guns stood guard at a safe distance. They got up their oxen and hitched them to the wagon, and then the woman, who had silently helped bring out their bedding, clothing and cooking utensils, broke down again, and begged that the boy might be "turned loose 'n' fetched." This was more than Jake could stand, and though he knew the lad was safe and fairly comfortable, he had tied him so that he felt certain he could not get loose. He, therefore, left Jared with two guns to guard the claim-jumpers and went and got the boy. The whole party then drove off without a word. It was nearly two weeks before a neighbor with whom they had become acquainted, and who sided with them upon learning all the facts in the case, came over FKONTIEK SKETCHES 17 and got the guns, and brought the information that the Burrels had settled about twelve miles down the river. He had previously told them that be and some other neighbors, who had elected the elder Burrel a constable, had not been acquainted with the family long, having only fallen in with them while " moving." After getting acquainted with all the new-comers of their neighborhood the two boys found good friends and good neighbors among them. n. THE MYSTERY OF THE F^ BRAND. Six or eight years ago horse and cattle thieves were exceedingly troublesome to the stockmen of Montana and northern Wyoming. During a year's stay in those regions I heard many accounts of daring and successful robberies, of narrow escapes on the part of these raiders, and of various curious expedients employed by them to accomplish their object, which was, of course, to drive off stock which did not belong to them. One of the most bold and yet cunning attempts at cattle- stealing, perhaps, ever made, occurred about that time on the South Cheyenne range near the Wyoming and Dakota lines. I do not know that the story was ever told outside the region in which it happened: but, wlietlier or no, it seems worth telling now. It was just at the close of the Indian troubles about the " Hills," when cattle men had newly discovered the many advantages of the range of country lying immediately south and west of the Black Hills. It would, in fact, have been impossible to have carried out so daring a scheme on an older and more closely guarded range. One of the first ranches to occupy a portion of this excellent grass region was built at Dead Cedar Forks on AVest Dry Wood, and was owned by the Cheyenne Cattle Company. It started with two thousand head of stock, and its brand duly recorded in the nearest stock journals was J V, the initials of an old ranch man 18 FRONTIER SKETCHES. 19 and chief stockholder, Joe Villemont. The letters were simply formed, about eight inches in height and eight inches apart, and were stamped upon the broad sides, always on the right of the company's cattle, and in smaller letters upon the left hips of its horses. "Old Joe," as Villemont's men called him, had always been averse to the cruelty of the big, compli- cated brands which disfigure the cattle upon so many ranges, and which must cause so much suffering in the stamping, and afterward until the wound heals. Accordingly he had always used the simplest and smallest brand that would identify his stock. At about the time the J Y ranch, as it was called, was established, several other cattle-owners came into the region, bringing large droves of cattle, and built ranches on Horee Head and Hat Creeks, and at the head of White River, and the Running Water, and the " L Z's," " Circle Bars " =0= " K— 23's," " Goose Eggs,'' "000" and others, took their places with the " J V's" upon the range. The circuit of a " round-up " was soon determined upon, and the cow-boys of each ranch soon made themselves familiar with the various brands upon their riding circuit. It was at the third general round-up, in June of the second year, that the boys working to the northwest discovered a new brand upon that part of the range, and searching their record-book of JSTebraska, Wyom- ing and Dakota brands could find no marking to cor- respond. The new brand was " bar Y N " thus, Y N stamped upon the right broad side, and supplemented by a new moon upon the right hip. It was a camp on Lightning creek, a number of the 20 FBONTIEK SKETCHES. "Circle Bars" and "J V" men, who first found stock carrying the "bar Y N" brand, as they named it. The}^ found several steers and eighteen or twenty cows bearing it, in the first bunch thej'^ rounded up and cor- ralled at the Lightning Creek branding pens. The markings seemed rather fresh, and the calves which were running with the cows were not yet branded. There was no little speculation in the camp that even- ing, after the stock-book had been inspected by the foreman, as to where these cattle belonged. It was supposed that they must be strays from some recently established ranch farther north — one probably that had just run in a lot of fresh-branded stock and had not yet advertised its brand. As the camp moved north and made a new branding pen on Old Woman Creek the bar Y N stock became more numerous until it was calculated there must be a hundred and fifty or more of them ; and the out-rid- ing cowboys began to keep their eyes open for signs of a ranch. The mystery seemed to be solved one evening by the appearance in camp just at supper time of a horseman who reined up with a hearty " How do ? " and alighted. He was a slim, dark-looking fellow, dressed in a well- worn suit of corduroy, and wearing the regulation slouch hat and high top boots. " "Well, " said he, as the foreman of the camp came forward, " "Well, I suppose you've discovered a new brand on your range down hero, — the ' bar YN,' eh ? " The foreman said they had, and then asked if he represented that stock, to which the stranger replied that he was superintendent of the ranch to which it belonged, a ranch which had been newly established tRON'TIER SKETCHES. 21 on the Little Missouri range, that they had shipped out a lot of Minnesota cattle in March, and driven them down from the Northern Pacific, having hay enough on hand to keep them from running down until grass should start up fresh in April. They had expected to hold them without trouble, but there came a three days' blizzard, which the J Y and Circle Bar men had experienced also, from the north, caught a lot of them out, and ran them off to the south. There were about seven hundred of these new cattle gone from their ranch, he said, and they had found them scattered all the way from Belle Fourche to Hat Creek. He then drew a Montana stock journal from his breast pocket and pointed out his brand advertised as the property of the " Minnesota & Montana Cattle Company," and went on to say that he had brought down three of his men to begin at the southernmost point at which their stock was to be found, and work back toward home, gathering the cattle as they went. " We'll take what calves you leave us," he said, laughingly, " for you will be through with your brand- ing before we fairly get to work ! " He remarked that his camp, temporary, of course, was on a creek about twenty miles east, and that he had merely stumbled upon the round-up by chance while looking for his own brand. His story, perfectly plausible and established by an advertisement in an accredited stock journal, made him heartily welcome at the cow-camp, where he was immediately invited to take supper, and, as it rained that evening, he shared the foreman's bed, under the cover of a big supply wagon. S2 FRONTIER SKETCHES. It was about a week after this that the round-up broke camp, and in the meantime two other cow-men were met in search of bar Y N stock. Rather rough-looking fellows they were — hardly up to the standard of "number one punchers" the men thought them. Two of the J Y boys, " Griff " Moshcr and Tom Dodd, with an extra pony and a week's supplies, were left to look up several ponies which had strayed from the camp at Indian Creek, v/liile the others moved to another part of the range. Griff and Tom " rustled " around lively for a few days, picked up all of the ponies but two, five had stra3'ed, and giving those up for lost had started from Lightning Creek to go to the J V ranch on Dry Wood. They were riding down into the deep valley of a small run in search of water and a camp for the first evening, when they came upon a large bunch of cattle grazing upon the bottom and side hill. Upon approaching they discovered the brand bar Y N upon the nearest ones, and struck by the size of the drove, rode through them to discover, if possible, whether they all had that mark. It seemed so ; at least, they could see no other markings except the new moon looking remarkably fresh upon the right hip of each creature inspected. "Hum," said Griff, as they rode forward, "them fellows hev rounded up a big lot of strays right here, haint they now? Say, Tom, don't it 'pear sort o' strange that they haint a spotted critter in the whole bunch?" Tom cast his eyes over the lot with some astonish- ment. " That's so," he admitted ; " not a one." FRONTIER SKETCHES. 23 "And say," said Griff, pulling up with sudden energy, " if that big yellow steer there with the wide horns haint the one we hed such a tussle with a-rebrandin' him over at Old Woman last fall, I'll eat my hat." Tom emphatically coincided with him. " Yes, an' what's more," fairly shouted Griff, " I can see a dozen cows I'd swear to as J Vs this minute ! Here, cut loose the horses an' let's down that red heifer thar with a fresh brand on 'er, an' hev a look at it !" It was the work of three or four minutes for these practiced " ropers " to catch the heifer, throw her, and examine her brand. It also took but a hasty scrutiny to discover that an old marking of J Y had been changed to Y IST by adding fresh "lean tos"tothe original letters, with a bar and the new moon to make the deception more complete. Griff and Tom wasted no time, but set their wits at work, to plan a capture of the daring rascals, or, at least, to take steps at once to prevent them from run- ning off the stock, as — from the gathering of so large a bunch — it was evident they intended doing soon. Luckily, as they believed, the fellows had not discovered their presence in the valley, and were probably camped at no great distance above or below. As there were known to be four of them at least, the boys felt that it would be too risky to attempt to cope with them alone, and they determined to ride to the ranch at Dead Cedar Forks, and rally a crowd if any men could be found there. They mounted, passed through a narrow draw to the creek and up another to the high ground beyond, and then rode hard all night, changing ponies fre- quently, and only stopping twice for water, and a S-i FRONTIER SKETCHES. lialf-hour's rest at noon or a little before they reached the J V ranch. There was no one there except Lame Johnnie, the cook, and he had not seen a man, he said, for five (lays; didn't know where any of the boys were or when they'd be in. Johnnie himself could not ride on account of his wretched legs; and while tiiey were off hunting up a crowd the thieves might drive the cattle through to Montana and sell them. iN'ot an hour was wasted; the two bold fellows determined to make an attempt to recapture the stock unassisted. Arming themselves with Winchesters from the ranch in addition to their six-shooters, and selecting four of the best ponies from the corral, they rode swiftly back over the route they had traveled in the morning. They gave themselves three hours' sleep that night, and the next morning halted at the creek where they had found the bunch of stock with the stolen brand upon them. As they had feared, the cattle were gone ; there was not a creature except a few head of L Z and Circle Bar stock to be seen in the region. But after two hours' search to the northward of where they had struck the stream, they came upon a well-defined and fresh trail of a lot of cattle going north, and knew they were upon the right track. The cattle had been started the day before, as near as the boys could judge, or the day after they had seen them. They followed the trail at a racking gait until it became too dark to trace it without diflBculty, then picketed their tired ponies, ate a cold lunch, and gave FKONTIER SKETCHES. S5 themselves up to a night of refreshing and much needed sleep. All the next day they rode hard upon the trail, but did not come up with the thieves, who, they concluded, were pushing the stock at a terrible rate, probably fearing that they were pursued, as, indeed, for aught Griflf and Tom knew, they themselves might have been within plain sight of some or all of the thieves, while making the discovery of the fradulent brand. It was easy to keep hidden among these breaks and gulches. It was not until late in the afternoon of the third day's chase that they sighted the drove just descending into a narrow and canon-like valley of a tributary of the Belle Fourche. Believing the thieves would stick to this narrow val- ley in order to keep well hidden, the boys circled, rode rapidly around them, and descended into the valley in their front, as they could tell by the cloud of dust that rose continually above the herd. They reached the level of the stream at the mouth of a gulch about sun- down. Knowing that the cattle thieves would be on the alert, the two cowboys had formed no plan save that of immediate attack upon them from the nearest point of vantage and the most unexpected to the attacked that could be gained. The spot they had happened upon was well adapted to an ambush. They picketed their ponies some rods from the mouth of the gulch and out of sight, and then the determined fellows, with their Winchesters and revolvers, and abundance of ammunition, placed them- 26 FRONTIER SKETCHES. selves behind a small bank and awaited the approach of the robbers as they urged the stock along the canon. TliG cloud of dust rolled down, and the leaders of the herd came in sight climbing out of a gulch a few rods distant. Yells and the cracking of stock whips could now bo heard above the trampling and lowing of the cattle. It was growing dusk, and the thick dust which rose from the dry, grassless soil of the canon made it impossible to see more than a few rods with certainty. But soon at the tail of the herd two horsemen appeared, then another, then a fourth. They were riding not far apart, the nearest about fifty yards away, and rather dimly outlined in the dust and growing darkness. Griff and Tom laid down their Winchesters, and with self-cocking revolvers opened fire upon the miscreants. The first shots had no other effect than to cause the thieves to leap from their saddles and get behind their ponies. That they did not immediately ride out of range was no doubt owing to the fear that they had been surrounded, and that these shots were merelv to drive them upon the muzzles of other guns upon the other side or in the rear. They were not altogether cowards, either, for they returned fire at once, and for a few moments the canon witnessed one of those fierce shooting affrays which sometimes occur between the outraged citizen and the desperado of the plains and mountains. " Crack ! crack ! crack ! " the thieves fired across their horses' backs at the heads and shoulders which Griff and Tom offered as marks, while the incensed and excited cowboys emptied their revolvers, and then "FRONTIER SKETCHES. 27 caught lip their Winchesters and " pumped " forty- five's in rapid succession. These last weapons settled the affair speedily, their length and steadiness gave a better and truer aim than could be got with revolvers. First a pony went down, then one of the thieves got a bullet in his leg and led his horse away while he limped at his side. The man whose horse was shot took to his heels and ran away. One of the others exposed himself while mounting, and rode away hanging across his horse's wethers. The other sprang upon his pony, and galloped off up the caiion. In three minutes from the time the firing began the thieves were whipped, " cleaned out " in Western par- lance, and gone, and the two plucky cowboys had come off without a scratch. They dared not attempt to follow up their advan- tage, however, but rode immediately after the stock, which they succeeded in getting out of the canon, and twenty miles on the route toward home before morn- ing. After that they took it leisurel}^, only keeping a sharp lookout, aud taking turns in guarding the stock closely at night. They saw no more of the thieves who had, no doubt, had enough of cattle stealing for once. The Cheyenne Cattle Company rewarded this bold exploit as it deserved, by raising the wages of Griff and Tom each from forty -five to sixty dollars per month. III. CORSON'S WIFE. It would be hard to find in tlie Rocky Mountains a rouglier stage road than tliat which runs between the mining hamlets of Thunder Gulch and Squaw Forks. Indeed, if a worse road could be found, there are few persons who would care for a seat in the coach of the most careful driver. This road is twelve or thirteen miles lon^. A few years ago a lady who ventured to ride over it called it "The Twelve-Mile Horror," and by this name the road is known to miners and travelers of the region. That the name is deserved the writer can testify, for he knows it to be truly a rambling thread over dizzy precipices and among black, gaping canons. There are ]ilaces along the verge of cliffs and around the jutting points of yawning gulches where the coach seems literalh' suspended in mid-air, and the rider, glancing out over the wheels into the sheer, gaping space below, hastily pulls down the " flaps," closes his eyes, and leans dizzily back in his seat, not daring to look a second time. For five years Gideon Fletcher, or '' Gid," as he is commonly called, has driven the stage once each day, Sundays excepted, from Squavr Forks to Thunder Gulch and back. Of course, he has occasionally missed a trip, when slides or heavy falls of snow along the line have prevented him from running. Yet during all his fifteen hundred " round trips " he has never met with 28 FRONTIER SKETCHES. 29 an accident serious enougli to cause the loss of life or limb to his passengers. So trusty and sure-handed a driver is he that the *' contractors of the line" will have no other, and they pay him double wages to keep him upon this particular stretch of their route. Only once has a coach been demolished or a horse killed under his management ; but on that occasion he met with a double accident, under circumstances so stirring and heroic as to be well worthy of narration. It was some two years after Gideon had begun driv- ing the coach upon this road that one day, as he came out from eating his dinner at "^ The Rough-and-Tumble House" of Thunder Gulch, a pale-faced young woman appeared at the rude gate, and beckoned to him. "Are you the stage-driver that drives the stage to Squaw Forks this afternoon ? " she asked, as he came up. " I reckon I'm the chap yer lookin' fer, mum," said Gideon. " Want ter go flown ? Start in half a hour." The woman glanced about nervously, as though fear- ful of being overheard, and then she said, hurriedly and in a low voice : " I'm from Corson's Camp. I'm Corson's wife ; but he — they all — abuse me dreadfully, and the baby too. Look here," and she threw an old bonnet she wore back from her forehead, and showed a great fresh scar across one temple. "I got that last night. They do it when they're drunk, and they're drunk most of the time. Night before last one of 'em threatened to throw my baby into a hot spring. He said he'd ' kill the little imp, he would,' and oh, I can't, I don't dare to stay there any longer! I'm the only woman up at the camp, and FKONTIER SKETCHES. 31 to-day the men are all up at Big Horn Spring pros- poctin' for a new place, and so I've come to you to see if you won't take me away from this dreadful place. " I've no money with me, an' no friends nearer than Denver. My folks live there, and I would have wrote to 'em to come and take me away if I dared ; but I knew if Corson got wind of it before they got here he'd kill me and the baby, too ; for though he's my husband he's the most horrid and' wicked man lever saw, except the gang he keeps around him. Oh, will you let me go with you ? " " Wal, now, I sh'd smile ! " answered Fletcher, in his hearty way. " You jest go 'n' git yer baby 'n' yor fixin's, 'n' we'll git out o' these diggin's in a jiffy." " Oh, I daresn't come here to start," she replied ; " but in an hour I'll be down at the mouth of the 'Gap ' below. If I should come here, Corson would find out soon as he comes back that I'd started off with you, and they'd like enough catch us before we'd got down to the Forks. "■ Some of 'em may be back any minute ; like enough they're there now; but I'm going to sneak away with baby somehow, if they are. There don't seem to be anybody hangin' round here now. All off but the women folks, I s'pose, and it looks like I'd have a good chance to get off without anybody's knowin' how or where I went," and with this she turned and sped away. " I'll wait for ye, sure," Gideon assured her as she started. He hung about the stable of the Rough-and-Tumble longer than usual that noon, pretending to one of the women that came out presently that he had to " fix " 32 FEONTIER SKETCHES. something about his harness before he started on the return trip, "Everybody's gone off crazy 'bout the new 2)lacer up at Big Horn," they had told him at the table, " 'n lef nobody but thcr women folks 't the Gulcli." In about an hour from the time he had finished dinner, Gideon and his coach were in waiting at the mouth of Melcher's Gap. It was about half an hour later when the woman, with her child in arms, came hurrying breathlessly down to him. She looked behind her frequently, and he saw as she approached that her face was white with fear and suspense. The baby, a wretched little year-old object, dressed, like its mother, in mere rags, turned its poor and piti- ful little face upon the driver with a wan smile that, as he said, " fetched" him "clear to the boots." " Oh, you 7nust drive fast," cried the poor woman, as she clambered into the coach without waiting for the proffered help, " for they've come back, as I was afraid ! Corson and two of the men, and they're going to break camp and move up to Big Horn this afternoon. They daresn't trust me there alone, for I am some good to 'em in cookin' and keepin' camp. I knew tHis was the last chance to git free, so I took the baby and started down to the spring for a pail of water, and when I got out of sight I just run for here, and you must go, go for they'll sure be after us ! " " I'll go fast enough," answered Gideon cheerily, " an' don't you be afraid they'll ketch us neither on them leetle mountain ponies." But though he spoke with such assurance and deter- mination, he did not feel at all sure of the outcome of a race if the men at Corson's camp should soon discover FKONTIEK SKETCHES. 33 the woman's flight and follow. He felt that he had taken an extremely hazardous exploit, considering the dangerous route he had to drive over and the characters of the men, who, he had not a doubt, would be upon his trail within the next half hour. The spring at Corson's Camp he knew was in a ravine at the head of Melcher's Gap, and as this canon was the only outlet in that direction, Corson could not long remain ignorant of his wife's line of flight after he had discovered, as he soon must, that she was truly gone. But the woman and her baby, in such evident and distressing need of rescue, had "fetched him," and the brave driver, looking to his revolvers to see that the chambers were all loaded, drew in the lines and urged forward his horses at as great a rate of speed as the nature of the road would warrant. For a half hour or more the coach rattled forward at a dangerous ])ace, for these first few miles were the roughest part of the road. Up and down it went through deep gorges, scaling precipitous " hog backs," and swaying far above the verge of cavernous canons. From the point of every turn that commanded a view of the trail behind, Gid cast anxious glances backward, to note if anyone were yet in. pursuit. At the " half-mile stone," which was supposed to mark a spot midway between Thunder Gulch and Squaw Forks, was a height from which a good portion of the road for two miles back could be seen, and here it was that the driver discovered, indeed, that Corson and his men were following them. A single glance sufficed to reveal them — three horsemen — riding- at a 34 FRONTIER SKETCHES. breakneck gallop over the crest of a long hog-back some mile and a half in the rear of the coach. 