The Messiah Craze; A Thrilling Experience; An Arkansaw Traveler, Etc.
A short time prior to the period of which I am writing, there had been
taught and promulgated by some half-breed, a religion which afterwards
became known as the "Messiah Craze." It had spread all over the Northwest
territories and finally reached Oklahoma. The principal tenet of this
strange religion was that the Great Spirit was going to remove all the
white folks and restore the buffalo to his native plains, which were to
become a sort of "Happy Hunting Grounds" for the Indians, or a heaven on
earth where everything was to be peace, joy, and chuckaway without end.
I had heard something about it, but had paid little or no attention to it.
The current of events lent an aspect of truth to the prophecy, as, about
that time the cowmen were being removed from the Cherokee Strip, their
fences and ranches torn down and moved away. All this seemed to say to the
half-crazed Indians that the white man's race was about run. All they had
to do was to wait a while and their earthly paradise would be opened for
Indian occupation. I could not see things in the same light as the Indian
enthusiast. It looked to me as if the Government intended to throw the
Cherokee country open to homestead settlement. The truth of this
conjecture was proven shortly afterwards, and showed that I had the
correct solution of the movement.
I made up my mind to make a journey down through that section to learn
something of the topography of the place and also to find a good location
in which to make a settlement when it was opened for the purpose. I fitted
out my wagon with the necessary supplies for the jaunt, took five head of
horses, and took my little boy, Emmet, then about twelve years of age, for
company. When all preparations were properly made, we started out on what
was to be a perilous journey.
On our first night out, we stayed with Judge Gard, on Mammoth Creek. He
was County Judge, one of those whole-souled men who never knew what it was
to pull in the latch-string-that hung on his door. We spent the evening
very pleasantly exchanging experiences of former days. Next morning we set
out before dawn, and sunrise found us on Wolf Creek trail. We followed
this along the creek until we reached its mouth, where it joins the
Beaver, and forms the head-waters of the North Canadian River, about a
mile and a half from Ft. Supply. From there we took the trail leading to
the little town of Woodward, only a station erected alongside the railroad
which had been recently built through that country. Here I had the
pleasure of meeting Thomas Bugbee, an old-time cowmen who was shipping his
cattle preparatory to leaving the Cherokee Strip. I had a friendly chat
with him, and then pulled out and proceeded on my way along the Canadian
River. We had not gone very far on our way when we met an old frontiersman
and prince of scouts, Amos Chapman, taking a band of Cheyenne Indians to
Camp Supply to draw their rations. As it was now past noon, we stopped to
let the horses graze while we prepared something for our wants. Whilst
there we inquired of Amos how things were running down the river. He told
us something about the excitement that had been stirred up. While we were
eating the Indians filed by, and their appearance was not any too
encouraging. Before parting with us, he advised us to keep a close watch
on them as they were all affected with the Messiah Craze; that they had
been making medicine, and were liable to break out at any time, but that
up to the present they had done nothing more than was customary with them.
As he had several bullet marks as souvenirs of former encounters with
them, and had also lost one leg in an Indian fight, I knew that I was
talking to a man of no small experience, and felt that his advice was
worth taking. He noticed that I had some good horses with me, and warned
me to keep them picketed close to me while I slept, as a good horse was a
very great temptation to an Indian, especially a bad one, but generally
speaking my stock was safe enough. I thanked him for his counsel, and as
the afternoon was fast slipping away, I moved on.
As the cowmen had nearly all left that part of the country, and as the
Indians had all gone to Camp Supply for their rations, we did not meet
many travelers on the trail that afternoon. We went into camp early, and
pursuant to the advice given us, we picketed our horses near at hand.
There was no curfew rung that night, but there was a good substitute, for,
about a mile away there was camped a company of soldiers, sent out from
the Fort ostensibly for the purpose of exercise, but in reality to watch
the movements of the Indians. At the passing of every hour we could hear
the sentry call out that all was well. As this was my first night to camp
out in some time I did not sleep very well, and, consequently, was up at
daybreak ready to start. The usual formalities of breakfast for ourselves
and attention to our outfit had been attended to, and we took up our
journey once more. We had not gone more than a mile when I discovered a
lone man standing beside the trail with a gun in his hands. What he was
doing there was a mystery to me. I could not see any horse near him, nor
was there anything else in sight to give a clue to his presence there. In
the meantime I kept moving on, with one eye on the man and the other on
the trail. When I was within a few hundred yards of him, he raised his gun
and fired. I could see the smoke and hear the report, but could not
discover the object he was trying to shoot. As I approached him, I
discovered that the man before me was an Indian, bare-headed with his
hair plaited down his back, and wearing a good suit of Uncle Sam's
clothes. His foot-gear consisted of a nicely beaded pair of moccasins. His
was a majestic figure as he stood there straight as an arrow and measuring
about six feet, four inches in height. He saluted me with the customary
Indian, "How," and I returned his salutation. I enquired of him what the
difficulty was, as it was an unusual thing to meet a lone Indian on the
prairie. I knew there was something out of the ordinary, or he would not
be there. Then my difficulty began. He knew comparatively nothing of the
English language and I knew less of his sign mode of communication. He
seemed rather eager to communicate with me, and I was anxious to know the
cause of his rather unusual predicament. It seemed a hopeless task to try
to make anything out of what he was trying to tell me. However, by
battling with his broken English, and mixing in a few Cheyenne words that
I knew, I arrived at some solution of the difficulty. The fact was that he
had been over on the South Canadian on some mission from the sub-agency,
and his horse had thrown him and left him afoot on the prairie. As there
were no Indians in the neighborhood from whom he could borrow a horse,
(they were all away attending the Messiah dance), he was trying to make
his way back on foot. As he had had nothing to eat since the day before he
had been trying to shoot a prairie dog, but he had met with no success.
Then I knew that he was hungry.
The Government has succeeded in moving the Indians around from one agency
to another, and in some instances the agents have plundered the wards of
the Government of their provisions and clothing, but they have never
succeeded in removing a live Indian's appetite.
That Indian's condition aroused my sympathy, and I felt that something
should be done to relieve his immediate wants. I reached behind the seat
to the grub-box, and brought forth some cold biscuits that remained from
the meal of the day before. When he saw what I had in my hand, a broad
smile of satisfaction spread over his face. When I saw that he relished
the biscuits so much, I cut open a can of tomatoes and handed it to him.
This seemed to delight him even more than did the biscuits, and it was a
pleasure to see him drink the liquid first and then with a broad grin eat
the tomatoes one after another with all evidence of deep content. There I
was doing as the Good Samaritan had done, to the man that I thought was
standing beside the trail to shoot me. During my interview with the
Indian, one of the horses had strayed away some distance, and Emmet had
ridden after him to bring him back to the buck-board. When the Indian saw
him, he said admiringly, "Heap good papoose." He seemed to take a great
interest in the boy, but I was wondering whether it was the boy or the
rifle he was carrying on his saddle. As I had learned the direction of his
teepee I invited him to take a seat beside me so that we might be moving
onward. When he settled himself into the seat, he gave a loud grunt of
satisfaction. We rode along for several miles to where the river make a
bend, and came close to the trail. There I decided to camp as it was
convenient for wood and water. I turned in there, and I had no sooner
stopped than the Indian was out gathering wood and kindling to start a
fire. I unhitched and Emmet drove the horses down to the river to get a
drink, and let them graze until they were needed again. At this time I
needed no interpreter. I handed the Indian a knife and a side of bacon,
pointed to the skillet, and he understood the signs perfectly. He
immediately set to work to attend to the frying and I undertook the work
of getting the dishes ready for our meal. As I had a guest, I took out an
extra quantity of coffee, and an extra plate, etc. The Indian showed
himself no novice in the line of cooking, and we soon had a repast ready
that would satisfy the craving of any hungry man, prince, potentate, or
plebeian. Some folks might think it intolerable to dine in the manner
employed on such occasions. We bade defiance to all the germ theories that
were being advanced at that time, and adapted ourselves to the conditions
of time and place. After the horses had grazed for some time we hooked up
again, and set forth without any further ceremony. My guest seemed to wish
to communicate some idea to me and kept his hands and fingers as busy as a
Drogheda weaver, but all to no purpose as I could not understand him. I
drove along on my mission, the Indian all the time making his signs. At
times he looked disgusted because he could not break through my ignorance.
Probably, if I had made more of an effort, I might have understood enough
to avoid some unpleasant complications which followed soon afterwards. In
the meantime, Emmet, boylike, had been keeping his eye open for anything
in the shape of game and held his gun in readiness to bring it into
immediate play. We were jaunting along rapidly enough, and the rattling of
the buckboard disturbed the repose of a coyote that was lying in the sage
brush along the trail. When he jumped up to take a survey of the
situation, Emmet fired at him and, whether through accident or good
marksmanship, I cannot say, brought down the beast on the spot. At the
crack of the gun, the Indian turned his head just in time to see the
coyote fall, then turned loose some more sign language and closed his
efforts by saying, "heap good papoose." We proceeded along our way until
we were in the neighborhood of Cantonment. Then my fellow-traveller made a
sign that he wanted me to stop, which I did. He left the buckboard and
started off through the brush, I suppose, to where his teepee was located,
some place along the river.
I learned afterwards through an interpreter that my companion was not a
bad Indian, but one of the numerous Red Men appointed by Uncle Sam to look
after the movements of the different tribes who at that time were taking
part in the Messiah craze, and report to the fort or agency the condition
in which he found them.
In the distance I could see the timber which skirts a small creek running
into the river, where I concluded there would be a good place to camp as
there would be plenty of wood and water there, and likewise good pasture
for the horses. It was now past the middle of the afternoon, and I decided
to go into camp early so as to have a good night's rest, and give the
horses an opportunity for a good graze to freshen up after the long drive.
It did not take me long to reach the creek, and when I drove over the hill
and down into the bottom lands, what was my surprise and consternation to
find that I had driven into the storm center of the Messiah Dance then
being held on the bank of the river. There were between five hundred and a
thousand Chyennes and Arpahoes in the assemblage. Just at the moment they
were holding what the cowmen call a "powow." I was evidently in a very
ticklish situation. What to do I did not know. One thing I decided on in a
very hasty manner, and that was that there was no use in showing the white
feather just then. I drove up within about twenty rods of their
headquarters. I got out and began to unhitch. I was certainly taking the
dilemma by the horns and determined to make the most of the situation.
While trying to make myself feel comfortable, which I was far from doing,
I told Emmet to hobble the rest of the ponies to prevent their wandering
away. Then I set to work to make flap-jacks and coffee, and I do not
believe that flap-jacks were ever turned out under such circumstances
before or since. I had been doing a lot of thinking over the situation,
but found that, no matter what angle I viewed it from, I was in
difficulties. I did not dare to tell Emmet what was passing through my
mind for fear he would lose his courage, and I must say that my own was
fast ebbing. I did not like to acknowledge to my boy that I was afraid.
They say that God hates a liar, and I must say that I am no greater
admirer of such a man myself, but when Emmet ask me what the disturbance
was all about, I had to evade his question and put him off by saying that
there was nothing wrong, that the Indians were out on one of their
picnics, which they were accustomed to hold frequently. I knew I was
deceiving him, but felt that it was the best I could do under the
circumstances. I knew that the Indians claimed to be in touch with Messiah
and Messiah had promised to remove the white man and restore the buffalo
to his native plains, and I began to think seriously that I might be the
first pale-face on which that order might take effect.
While making my flap-jacks for supper, I had a visit from some eight or
ten bucks dressed up in white sheets. They came and stood around me in a
half circle. They did not speak a word, nor even utter a grunt. I
continued to give my undivided attention to the work at hand, apparently
unaware of their presence. They remained there motionless as statues for
fifteen or twenty minutes. If one of them moved a muscle, I did not know
it. Their presence was rather disconcerting, to say the least, but what
could I do about it? Why they were wearing those white sheets, I could not
understand. It might, probably, have been a part of their regalia for the
ceremony. Whatever it was, it did not add anything to my feelings of
comfort. At a signal from headquarters they left me as uncerimoniously as
they had come. I had a winchester leaning against the front wheel of the
wagon, and a six-shooter lying on the top of the grub-box, and Emmet had a
rifle close at hand, which went to show that we were pretty well able to
look after ourselves in case of emergency. Just then my attention was
attracted by the rumbling of wheels and on looking around I saw a man
driving a small team of ponies in my direction. I was rather glad of his
arrival, whoever he might be. Some one has said that "misery loves
company," and I have yet to learn which was the greater nuisance, my
misery or my new-found arrival. I was anxious for a relief from the
present embarrassing conditions, and invited him to stop and have
something to eat. He complied with my request, or rather invitation. He
unhitched his ponies, not a very difficult task as he employed a
simplified harness of the chain variety, with corn-husk collars, and no
throat-latch to the bridles. When he went towards the wagon the old ponies
seemed to know what was coming, and shook their heads and the bridles fell
off, and they went to grazing. While Emmet was making more coffee and
frying an extra quantity of meat, I went over to inspect his outfit. It
was certainly a strange make-up for a man on a journey. There was no
bedding in sight, and no kind of cooking outfit. There was an old gun that
had once been a flint-lock, and might have seen service in the battle of
Waterloo. The breach had been cut off and it had been restocked. The
barrel was about four feet long, and for a front sight it had something
that very much resembled a brass collar button. The butt of the stock was
wrapped in a gunny sack and tied up carefully with binder twine, which I
learned afterwards was for the purpose of lessening the concussion on his
shoulder when firing it.
My guest sat down to eat, and while he was thus occupied, I made bold to
question him as to whence he came and whither he was going. He informed me
that he was from Arkansaw and was on his way to No-Man's Land where he had
relations. I then ask him to mention some of the folks he was going to
bless with his presence. From the reply he gave me I knew that I was face
to face with an artistic liar, as I knew all the settlers up in that part
of the country. Having in earlier years made a study of phrenology, I
thought this the proper time to put some of the principals I had learned
to the test. I began to make a sort of mental examination of the formation
of his cranium and came to the conclusion that he would violate at least
seven of the commandments without a second thought, and the remaining
three would have to depend upon circumstances for their observation. One
thing I found in his favor and that was that he would not commit murder as
the bump of combativeness was almost entirely lacking a view which in a
very short time proved to be correct, for almost immediately, without any
preliminaries or forewarning, as if by magic the Messiah Dance was opened,
and the man from Arkansaw almost melted away through fear.
As it was now dark, I could see plainly the movements of the Indians by
the glare of the camp fires around their teepees. Their leader commenced
intoning a wierd Hi-Yi-Hi-Oh-Yip-Yip-Hi-Oh, and maintained the monotonous
chant as an accompaniment to the tom-tom. This was kept up without
intermission until the first set of dancers became exhausted. Then
everything became quiet once more. The silence remained unbroken until the
next performance was ready. When the recess had lasted about half an hour,
the signal was given a second time, and all the dancers, bucks and squaws,
fell into line and began a performance which resembled very much a
continuation of the old-time hop-step. They leaped and chanted at the same
time. The melody of their song was very much in keeping with the music of
the tom-tom, but entirely unlike anything I had ever heard, before or
since. Most of the bucks were decorated with the insignia of the rank they
held in their respective tribes, while the remainder were clothed in the
regulation blanket, moccasins, and breach clouts. The squaws, like their
white sisters, endeavored to outdo each other in the matter of fantastic
habiliments. They wore no head dress, and their hair was done up in the
latest style. They wore some splendid blankets which I judged were of
Navajoe make, and were highly ornamented. Besides this they wore moccasins
beaded in many colors, and leggings.
Still the dance went on with the same powow, with no variation in the
music. It was left for the third and final dance to make the grand display
of the evening. When they had enjoyed the second recess in sullen silence,
they broke forth in one grand effort to make the finale the
piece-de-resistance of the evenings entertainment. They seemed to have
restrained themselves for this special production of their hideous and
welkin-splitting pandemonium. Everything they had done in the way of
cavorting in the complex measures of their former dance, seemed to be
nothing to what was expected of them in the last grand splurge. From my
own observation of the performance I should best describe it by saying
that it seemed as if the infernal regions had been turned loose for a
holiday. The readers imagination will have to picture what really took
place in that final orgy of riot and disorder. Words cannot adequately
describe it, and I would be unwise to attempt to do so. But just to give a
faint idea of what really took place I will say that at a given signal
they all fell into line again as in the previous performance. In addition
to their former efforts, they included the call or cry of every bird or
beast known to them, from the guttural growl of the wild bear to the call
of the peewee. It was all there in one jumble of discordant sound, the
neighing of the horse, the roaring of the bull, the call of the bobwhite,
the barking of dogs, the howl of the coyote, the call of the peacock, the
familiar gobbling of the wild turkey, etc. This was continued until they
dropped from sheer exhaustion. The revel and riot was at length completed
and silence reigned again.
In all my experience I have never heard or seen anything like it. Anything
that I had ever seen before was like a children's picnic when compared
with the Messiah Dance. I had read of Tam O'Shanter peeping through the
crannies of the Auld Kirk of Alloway, feasting his eyes upon the dance of
the witches, but it was not to be compared with the Messiah Dance, for
here there were real, live mortals enacting a dance that was incomparable
in its weird peculiarities.
When the festivities had ceased, I asked my Arkansaw guest what he thought
of it. He replied that he had just about concluded to leave at once. "If,"
said he, "they do such things in play, what would they do to us if they
took the notion to put into practice some of the barbarities for which the
Indian is famed." I told him to get that notion out of his head
immediately, for, if he did, the Indians would likely follow him and take
his scalp for a prelude to what they would do afterwards to him. I assured
him that there was some security in remaining where we were, but that
there would be none in leaving, as they would think he was afraid and then
would follow him with results not to be desired. After a good deal of
persuasion, I induced him to share my blankets with me and my boy, which
was a great trial for him.
The bucks and squaws had, by this time, retired to their tents, and
everything, was quiet. The camp fires were still burning and lit up the
trees and shrubbery so plainly that one could see each separate branch and
twig. The reflection of the blaze lit up the little valley in such a way
that we seemed to be walled in by a cordon of liquid fire.
As I was fatigued after the day's journey, I turned in like a trooper's
horse, with my shoes on, to be ready to meet any emergency that might
arise. As innocence knows neither crime, nor danger, Emmet was curled up
in sleep like a babe in its mother's arms. But such was not the case of
the Arkansaw Traveller. He was lying on the opposite side of the "bed,"
next to Emmet, but in spite of the fact that he was removed from me in
that manner, I could hear his heart beating so distinctly that it seemed
like the fluttering of a bird trying to break from its cage. For myself, I
just trusted in a kind Providence, and slept the sleep of the weary.
At daybreak we were up and thankful that we were still alive. We went
about the preparation of breakfast as though nothing unusual was taking
place around us. As the weather looked as though we would have rain very
soon, I set about the task of building a teepee, as I had no shelter. I
intended to cover it with a wagon sheet, as that was the most serviceable
for the purpose of keeping us dry. In the meantime Emmet had strayed off
through the trees and brush to see what he could find in the way of game.
I had just cut some willows to make the framework of my teepee, when the
boy came running excitedly back to camp and exclaimed, "papa, papa come
down to the river and see what those Indians are doing!" As I saw he was
excited about something, I dropped everything and followed him to the
river which was not far from our camp. There I saw something that was
novel to me. There were about five hundred bucks and squaws in the water
taking their morning bath. They were not in one group, but were separated
about seventy-five yards, bucks in one group and squaws in another.
Between them was an imaginary dead line over which, by tribal custom, no
young buck or brave had the temerity to cross. They were splashing around
in the water like nymphs, disporting themselves after their own fashion. I
did not notice that indispensable attache of refined society, the chaperon
domineering over those simple, stainless daughters of the plains to keep
them from drifting from the path of moral rectitude. A native sense of
modesty, as well as tribal traditions dispensed with such a guardian.
There was no need of one. There were no ladies of high-degree lolling on
benches on the bank, with a broad brimmed hat, and all the other follies
that go to make up what is called "style," neither were there any little,
black nosed, red eyed, fluffy-haired dogs with expensive collars around
their necks, nor pugs with tails curled up so tightly that it would be
almost impossible for their hind legs to touch the ground. No, they were
not there, neither were many other devises that go to improve the figure
to make it Juno-like, nor were bathing suits in evidence, but in spite of
all that they seemed to be enjoying the frolic in the water.
As I had left the kettle of beans simmering on the fire, I had to return
and look after them as the mind of the man from Arkansaw was too much
perturbed to be in condition to mind anything so commonplace as beans.
When I reached my outfit, I was surprised to find a half dozen Indian
police awaiting me. They bore a message from the Indian agent stating that
he wished to see me. As I was rather anxious to depart from that locality,
I was not long in making the necessary arrangements to do so. When I
arrived at the agency, I made inquiries of those who were there as to the
whereabouts of the agent. I was directed to the office. I entered and
introduced myself and inquired what was wanted of me. The agent, who
introduced himself as Boak, a very nice gentleman, told me that the
Indians were holding their Messiah Dance and did not care for the presence
of white folks, as witnesses. As they had seen me begin to build a teepee
they came to the conclusion that I was going to become a permanent fixture
there, and they requested the agent to invite me to choose another
locality for my habitation. Of course, he informed me that I was welcome
to such hospitality as the agency could furnish. I believed him and
thanked him for his generosity. I assured him that it had not been my
intention to disturb the Indians in their religious proceedings. I did not
say anything about my being afraid that I would be disturbed by them. It
chanced that our feelings in regard to the matter were mutual. The more we
discussed the matter, the more he seemed to insist upon my partaking of
his hospitality, which led me to believe that he was rather uneasy on
account of the Messiah Dance and wanted not only my company, but whatever
assistance I could give in case the Indians became threatening. I did not
find any fault with him for having that feeling, and it would take a man
better versed in Indian lore to tell what was likely to happen next.
As it was getting along in the forenoon, and I saw there was no further
use in prolonging the interview, I left the agency, went and got my
belongings and set out on my journey up along the river. I took the bottom
trail that wound a zig-zag course through the timber. My progress seemed
to be made through a leafy tunnel. The trees on each side of the trail
were heavily leaved, and the branches above reached across the trail,
forming a beautiful corridor-like passage. When I had gone on my way for a
mile or more, I happened to glance behind and saw an Indian on a pony,
with a winchester across his saddle, who seemed to be following me. I did
not like the looks of things just then. I concluded that if the Indian had
any trouble he wanted to settle, the best thing was to have the matter
attended to without delay. I drove on until I came to a rather lengthy
passage, free from windings, and then stopped the team. I motioned for him
to come up to where I was. He did so. When he arrived, I asked him in an
uncertain tone of voice what he wanted? He uttered but one word, "tobac."
I had about half a sack of Duke's Mixture which I handed to him. He took
it hastily, turned his horse around and plunged into the brush at the side
of the trail, and that was the last that I saw of him. I found it hard to
reconcile myself to the belief that it was tobacco alone that he was
wanting.
The rain had begun falling in the meantime, and to say that it was merely
raining will not convey the proper idea to the mind. It poured in
torrents, and continued to do so all day long. About noon we stopped and
tried to make some coffee for dinner, but it was no use. We set out again
and plodded along in the deluge until late in the afternoon. I was
continually on the look-out for some sort of shelter, and my sight was at
last gratified by observing at some distance from the river, a stockade
building. I set off in the direction of the expected shelter, and when I
reached it, found that it had a good dirt-roof, but no windows nor doors.
It was what is called a wind-break and I determined to preempt it for the
night. I knew it belonged to some Indian, but as he was likely off to the
Messiah Dance, he would not return just then, and even if he did, I would
try to make him as comfortable as circumstances would permit, divide my
chuckaway with him, even go so far as to share my blanket with him, but as
for deserting that shelter just then, it was not to be thought of. If he
were to become hostile and wanted to fight, I would accommodate his
longing as there would be little or no chance to seek safety in flight. I
made preparations to cook some supper, and Emmet attended to the horses,
hobbled them and turned them loose to graze. In the meanwhile, I must not
forget to say that Arkansaw had been following me like a shadow ever since
I left the agency. To see him as he was then in his bedraggled condition,
with his ramshackle outfit, one would think that the genius of famine and
desolation had descended upon the land. I carried the chuck-box, bedding,
guns, and utensils into the shelter preparatory to getting things ready
for supper and bed. I enlisted the services of Arkansaw to gather some
wood to build a fire, and I must say as a hauler of wood he was a dismal
failure. However, we finally managed to get a fire started and set in to
dry our clothes, bedding, etc., along with getting something to eat. We
were all ravenously hungry, and the flap-jacks disappeared with wonderful
alacrity. When our appetites had been satisfied, things did not look so
bad to us. It was not the most comfortable place to spend the night, but
it was far better than the rain soaked ground. To add to our discomfort,
it began to turn cold. We crawled under the partially dried blankets in
the hope that wearied nature would provide a good sound sleep. As we were
not distracted by such howling and yelling as we had endured the night
before, things would have been favorable for a good night's rest. But I
cannot say there was much prospect for a refreshing sleep as it is one
thing to find repose under dry blankets, and another to seek the same balm
for a wearied body under bedding that has been exposed to a downpour of
rain for hours. No, it was not going to rest, it was just lying down for
want of something else to do. I noticed that the heart of the Arkansaw
Traveller did not beat as loudly as on the preceding night, and it was not
long until he began to snore with all the variations of a steam calliope.
I was glad to know that he at least could find sleep under such
conditions, but for me, there was not much comfort. I thought that by this
time my fellow traveller was over his scare, but in the midst of his
dreams he let a yell out of him and exclaimed, "Let up on that, you can't
scalp me, I'm from Arkansaw." I reached over and gave him a poke in the
side and told him that it made no difference whether he was from Arkansaw
or New Jersey, that he would be scalped unless he was ready to put up a
pretty stiff fight. When we rolled out shivering in the morning, we found
that it had frozen during the night. We welcomed the coming of the dawn,
as the night had been one continual toss from one side to the other, and
no comfort was found. I arose and shook myself to see if I were all there,
and found myself intact. The others followed my example with the same
results. I stepped outside to see how the horses were faring and found
they had wandered off. I left word for Arkansaw to prepare something to
eat and went off in search of the ponies. I had a rather good idea of
where they had gone, and after walking about a mile I found them. They
were huddled together for warmth. Their hobbles were frozen stiff. I
removed the frozen hobble from one of them, mounted him, and drove the
others back to camp. When I returned to the shelter, breakfast was ready
and soon attended to. I gathered up my belongings once more and we set out
again. It was a beautiful morning and the sun seemed to be trying to
compensate us for the hardship we had endured during the night. The
horses seemed anxious to go, and their speed shortened the time of our
journey considerably. We rode on for about ten or twelve miles, when we
came to a beautiful grazing ground sheltered by a sand hill. With such a
fine location I decided that this was a good opportunity to spread out the
bedding to dry, and attend to our other wants. It seemed as if we were
always hungry, and when a fine opportunity presented itself for preparing
a repast, we simply had to yield to the occasion. I set Emmet and Arkansaw
to cooking, while I attended to the horses. I then took a ramble around
for I had seen where there was evidence of a flock of wild turkeys in the
neighborhood. It was no great difficulty to follow their trail in the soft
earth, and I soon happened upon a flock of forty or fifty feeding on the
heads of wild rye that was growing in a sort of pocket formed by the hill.
I took in my surroundings at a glance, and to my agreeable surprise I saw
a deer about two hundred yards away nibbling at the leaves of a shin oak.
I determined to take a chance with the deer first. I took careful aim and
fired. My shot was not true, but I succeeded in breaking his hind leg. He
did not seem to realize where the shot came from, and turned and came
straight for me. I will admit that his advance upon me was disconcerting
as it was so unusual. I waited until he had come within about twenty yards
from me, and fired again. The bullet struck within about six inches of
where I was aiming, which showed that I was influenced by what is called
"buck fever." While all this was taking place, the turkeys had flown off
over the hill. I followed them, knowing that they would not be far away. I
came upon them. They were all huddled together in one dense mass. I sent a
bullet into the midst of them and succeeded in killing two of them. The
others flew away, and I knew by their flight that more of them had been
hit. I gathered up the two that I had brought down and took them back to
where the deer was lying. I found that I had carried them about as far as
I cared to, and went off to get some dinner, intending to have Emmet
saddle up his pony and bring them in later. I accompanied him as he was
too young to attend to the matter alone. I hung the turkeys on the saddle
horn, and the pony seemed to object as he bucked considerably. He did not
take kindly to dragging the deer after him and showed his displeasure by
performing such gyrations as only a Texas cow pony can accomplish.
However, we succeeded in persuading him to perform the task and set out
for camp. When we had returned to our outfit, and I had begun to dress the
deer, Arkansaw came to me in an apparent state of trepidation and told me
that, during my absence, a band of Indians, seven in number had called at
the camp and left word for me to leave the reservation. To be sure that I
understood him aright, I asked, 'how many?' "Seven" said he. I asked him
if they were all on horseback and he said that they were, that one of them
wore a war-bonnet. I made no reply to this, but when I had completed the
task of dressing the deer and turkeys, I made a circle around the camp,
about fifty yards out, and found no traces of any Indians being there.
When I returned to the camp, I felt satisfied that Arkansaw was about the
most artistic and monumental liar west of the Mississippi. I then knew
that he was still frightened and wanted to get as far away from there as
he could and that as soon as possible. He was afraid to go alone and
originated the tale to induce me to set out at once. I did not tell him
what I thought of the originality of design he manifested, but if he had
an ounce of judgment he would have seen that I would easily detect his
falsehood as my horses were all shod, and I could easily detect the marks
of the unshod Indian ponies in the soft earth if they had been in the
neighborhood. I did not make any preparations to depart immediately, but
left Emmet and Arkansaw to look after the things about the camp, and set
out again to secure more game if possible. It was with reluctance that my
brave? friend consented to do such a little thing as greasing the
buckboard, as he felt there was grave danger in delaying there any longer.
Before leaving I informed him that I was thinking of departing next
morning, but if any more Indians appeared on the scene while I was gone,
to inform them that I was not in a hurry to leave those parts, and,
furthermore, if they were looking for trouble, I was there to accommodate
them.
The absence of danger is sometimes a great stimulus to a man's courage,
and I felt that there was no peril in store for us as it was most likely
that there was not an Indian within fifteen miles of us, and, besides I
wanted to scare the Arkansaw Traveller properly.
I took my gun and sauntered off over the hill, enjoying the walk after
being cramped up in the buckboard. I could have killed several turkeys,
but preferred to get another deer if possible. In my meanderings I came
upon an Indian grave. He had been laid to rest upon a platform, rolled in
his blanket and wrapped in an outer covering of bark. I must confess that
I had an uncanny feeling as I approached the last resting place of that
noble red man, but it was a sensation entirely different to the ones I had
experienced in meeting some of them in the flesh. However, since he was
there and I was close by, I thought it a good opportunity to satisfy my
curiosity about their customs of burial. I approached him with about as
much alacrity as one would expect under the circumstances. I found the
blanket in which he was rolled, incrusted with sand that had blown upon it
from the neighborhood. It was rotten from long exposure to the elements
and had about the same consistency as paper. I turned back one corner to
get a view of the condition of the remains. The flesh had disappeared, the
long braided hair was there, but from its appearance I could not tell
whether he had been there thirty days, or three years. It had a gloss to
it that seemed to indicate that his burial took place recently. I turned
back the blanket and left him as I found him. I retraced my steps towards
camp, as I was beginning to have another attack of what usually ailed me,
hunger. On my way, I discovered another deer near the place where I had
killed the first one, and was able to bring him down at the first shot. I
left him where he fell and went back to where Emmet and Arkansaw were
whiling away the time making ready for the next lap of our journey. I sent
the boy back with the pony to bring in the game.
While we were alone, Arkansaw, while watching me get supper, grew
confidential. He told me about leaving his native state, and how he had
traded coonskins for the gun with the remarkable action. I asked him why
he did not use it when an occasion presented itself for bagging a few
turkeys. He replied that he was rather afraid to shoot the weapon, as,
just before leaving his home, he was short of ammunition and had no
opportunity of procuring any. Besides that, one of his neighbors told him
that he would be likely to meet some bad men on the way to the Territory,
and advised him to put a plow bolt down the barrel to keep the load that
was in it from getting damp. He said that he was afraid the bolt had
rusted in the barrel and consequently he had not the courage to fire the
gun. Just to add to his pleasurable feelings at that moment, I thought I
would give him some of his own coin and told him that I had seen an Indian
on my travels, who was dressed differently from those we had seen at the
Messiah Dance, and that there were likely more in the neighborhood. I
warned him to prepare for an emergency by getting that gun into working
shape. I advised him to pour bacon grease into the lock and try to get it
into working order, for if those Indians he saw would return, there would
be some moments of activity around that neck of the woods. As Emmet had by
this time arrived with the deer, I set to work to dress it and put things
in shape for our departure in the morning. To have some more sport with
Arkansaw I tried to get him to stand guard during the night. I told him
that now that his gun was in good shape he would be in a position to
protect himself, and at the same time warn us of the approach of Indians.
He tried for a while, but I could see that he was suffering agony untold
on account of his fear of an attack. The rustling of a leaf caused him to
tremble, and any louder noise made him jump. It is a wonder that in his
excitement he did not turn loose with the old gun, but I suppose he forgot
all about it. I took pity on him and told him to lie down, that there was
little or no danger. He gladly sought the shelter of the blanket and was
soon giving me selections on the calliope. Next morning we still found
ourselves in possession of our scalps, and felt much refreshed after the
good night's rest. We gave the usual attention to breakfast, which did not
take long. We were about ready to start, except for one thing. I did not
like the idea of Arkansaw carrying that old gun around with him,
especially since I learned that it was loaded with a plow bolt. I tried to
get him to fire it off as the jarring of his old wagon or some other
concussion might explode it and kill some person, or injure some of the
horses. To rid myself of the danger, I agreed to fire it for him, to which
he readily consented. I took the gun and tied it to a tree, fastened a
rope to the trigger and when all preparations for our farewell salute were
made, I pulled the trigger. The old gun went off in two different
directions. The barrel went forward, and the recoil kicked the old stock
backwards about five feet and it stuck fast in the sand. Right there my
worry about the old gun terminated.
With our game packed on the buckboard and covered with the wagon sheet to
keep off the sand which was blowing plentifully at the time, we started
for Timms City. The horses were fresh and the trails in good condition,
and we advanced rapidly. My only trouble was to keep Arkansaw and his
festive steeds out of the way, as he was determined to put as much
distance between him and the scene of his fright as possible. At times he
had his poor old nags on the gallop. Such a pace they could not maintain,
and about noon time they gave out. We stopped for refreshments. When we
were ready to set out again, I pointed out the way to Sod Town in No-Man's
Land and left him. When I parted company with him I felt that I had met
one of the strangest characters I had ever encountered in all my days. I
reached home the same night. In conclusion of this article I wish to say
that I have never had another hankering to attend a Messiah Dance.