Read Ebook: The Wolf Hunters: A Story of the Buffalo Plains by Peck Robert Morris Grinnell George Bird Editor

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fraid we haven't money enough to buy it. The outfit was all right for your purposes, but we'll have to buy a lot more things and must have some money left after buying a team and camp outfit. To buy your outfit would clean us out."

"Well," said Bill, "make a bid of what you can afford to give, not what it's worth. They do not expect to get what it's worth."

"It sounds like a mighty small price, Bill, and I'm ashamed to make you the offer," said Tom hesitatingly, "but two hundred dollars is as much as we can afford to give and still buy our other truck. Would your men consider such a bid as that?"

"Boys, that does seem like giving the outfit away, and until I see my men I won't say whether they'll take it or not, but I'll talk for you a little and help you out all I can. They told me to sell the rig for whatever I could get, and I'll tell them that two hundred dollars is the best offer I have had--it's the only one; if they say it's a go the outfit is yours."

As we stood on a corner near the levee awaiting Bill's return we heard the long, hoarse whistle of a steamboat, and saw one approaching from down the river, though still some distance away. A little later Bill came hurrying out of the hotel and gladdened our hearts by telling us that our offer had been accepted. His men were to take the approaching steamer to Saint Joe, and he must hurry back to Brown's stable and help get their fine hunting-horses aboard the boat.

I counted him out the two hundred dollars, which he stuffed in his pocket without recounting. We had bought for two hundred dollars an outfit worth at least five hundred dollars.

We soon had the six fine horses on board the boat. Bill went up to the cabin to turn over the money we had paid him. Soon the steamer's big bell clanged, and just as the deck-hands were about to pull in the gangplank, Bill came running out and turned and waved good-by to his employers, who stood on the hurricane-deck.

In the autumn of 1861 there was no railroad in Kansas, and the nearest point to reach the cars going east from Leavenworth would have been Weston, six or eight miles above, on the Missouri side of the river. The railroad from Saint Joseph east was patrolled by Union soldiers, to protect the bridges and keep it open for travel.

BACK TO THE BUFFALO RANGE

As we started back up-town Bill exclaimed gleefully:

"Well, boys, what do you think? When I offered them fellows the money you paid me for the outfit they would not take a dollar of it, but told me to keep it for an advance payment--a sort of retaining fee--for my services next season. They're coming out again next spring with a bigger party and made me promise to meet them here and go with them."

After Bill left us Tom said: "Bill never did know the value of money. He could just as well as not have had the whole outfit that he sold us or, if he didn't want to keep it, could have sold it for twice what we paid him for it. But he's a free-hearted, generous fellow and never thought of it. He's brave as a lion; never was known to do a mean or cowardly trick; a dead shot. I am afraid, though, that he will die with his boots on, and die young, too."

When we got back to the stable we found Jim Brown, the proprietor, there, and Tom told him that we had bought the wagon, mules, broncos, and so forth, and would pay his charges before taking them away, as soon as Wild Bill came around to confirm the sale.

"Now, men," said the veteran, when we reached our boarding-house, "we're beginnin' to see our way toward gettin' out of this town, an' the sooner the better, I say; but we've got to do some more plannin'. I'll give you my plans, an' if you can suggest better ways, all right. To-morrow mornin' we'll pay our bills, an' then we'll hitch up an' pull out onto that open ground out t'other side of Broadway and camp there an' go to work gettin' ready to leave here. In camp we can overhaul the outfit an' see just exactly what more we need."

"Nothing could be better," chipped in Jack.

"Same here," I added. "Now tell us what to do to get ready for travelling?"

"Hold on," said Tom, "I've got another suggestion to offer. We're going to have a heap heavier load than them hunters had, an' I'm in favor of gettin' a pair of lead harness an' spreaders an' putting them broncos on for leaders an' work four going out. We'll want to take about five months' supplies for ourselves an' what grain we can haul to help our animals through the winter, an' all that will make too much of a load for the mules alone. We can't afford to feed our stock full rations of grain, but they ought to have some to help 'em through the worst weather an' keep 'em from gettin' too poor."

"That's a good idea; but what if the mustangs won't work?" suggested Jack. "It's a common trick with their sort to balk in harness, though they may be good under the saddle."

"I know that," replied Tom, "an' so we want that question settled right here. Ef one or both of 'em refuses to pull we'll trade 'em off for something that'll work."

On going over to the stable next morning before breakfast to give the team a rubbing down, I found Jack there ahead of me, hard at work with currycomb and horse brush, grooming the stock.

Brown told us that Bill had called and said he should let us have the outfit when we came for it.

After breakfast, while Tom went down street to a second-hand store and bought lead harness and spreaders for the mustangs, Jack and I harnessed the mules and put all our belongings into the wagon. We were delighted to find that the broncos when hitched up walked away like old work horses, which they evidently were.

Moving out Shawnee Street, beyond Broadway, where there was open ground for camping, we made camp near a little creek and, after unloading the wagon, gave everything a general overhauling to determine what more we needed to fully equip us for the trip.

We had noticed a nice-looking black shepherd dog around Brown's stable that we had supposed belonged to Brown; but now discovered that it was the property of Wild Bill. The dog seemed to be very intelligent and his owner prized him highly.

After establishing our camp our commander, old Tom, gave his orders, as occasion suggested, and Jack and I promptly executed them.

"One of us must always be in camp," said the old man, "for we don't know what prowler might come along an' steal somethin' if we ain't here to watch things. Now, for to-day, I'll be camp guard while you youngsters do the foraging. First thing, Jack, you an' Peck light out an' hunt up some wood to cook with."

As the camp-stove would be so much handier and more economical of fuel than an open fire, we had taken it out of the wagon and placed it on the ground, with the mess-chest near by--just behind the wagon--and, after pitching the tent, moved the stove inside.

Jack and I skirmished along the creek, and each gathered an armful of wood which we broke up into stove lengths, while Tom busied himself overhauling the mess-chest and cooking utensils.

When we had finished our job Tom gave another order:

"Now, while you're restin' Jack, you take the two mules, an', Peck, you take the two broncos, an' go back up the street to that blacksmith shop just this side of the Mansion House an' git 'em shod all 'round. That'll take about all forenoon. An' while the blacksmith is workin' on 'em one of you can stay there an' the other can go to a meat market an' git a piece of fresh meat an' bring it out to camp right away so that I can put it on to cook for dinner. While you're gettin' the meat, bring a loaf or two of soft bread, too. We've got plenty of hardtack in the wagon, but we'd better use baker's bread while we're in reach of it an' save the hardtack to use on the road, in camps where fuel is scarce."

Leaving Jack at the blacksmith's shop to attend to the shoeing of the team, I carried out Tom's various instructions.

While a kettle of bean soup was boiling Tom was busy rearranging things in the mess-chest and wagon. Fearing that he might neglect the soup and let it scorch, I asked:

"Tom, is there any danger of the beans sticking to the bottom of the camp-kettle and burning?"

"What do you take me for, young fellow?" he retorted indignantly. "Do you s'pose I've been a-cookin' an' eatin' Uncle Sam's beans all these years an' ain't learnt how to cook bean soup without burnin' it? Ef that soup scorches I'll agree to eat the whole mess."

"Of course you know how to cook 'em," I said apologetically, "but I noticed the beans are gettin' soft and thought maybe while you was busy at something else they might get burnt."

"Ain't you never learnt how to keep beans from stickin' to the bottom of the camp-kettle?"

"No, except to keep stirring them," I replied.

"Well, I didn't think you'd a-got through five years of soldierin' on the plains without learnin' how to keep beans from burning. Now, I'll tell you of a trick that's worth a dozen of stirrin' 'em when you've got somethin' else to do besides standin' by the kettle an' watchin' 'em. When your beans begin to git soft just drop two or three metal spoons into the camp-kettle, then go on about your business, an' long as they don't bile dry they won't burn. You savvy the philosophy of it?"

"No, I don't."

"Well, it's just this: the heat keeps the spoons a-dancin' around in the bottom of the kettle, an' that keeps the beans from settlin' an' burning. Savvy? Easy as rollin' off a log when it's explained to you, ain't it?"

After getting back to camp with the mules and broncos newly shod, we had just taken our seats around our mess-box table when who should ride up but Wild Bill. He had heard from Brown of our move and came out to see how we were fixed. As he reined up near us Jack saluted him with:

"Get down, Bill, an' hitch your hoss an' watch me eat."

"Not by a durned sight, Jack; I can do a heap better than that," replied the scout, too familiar with the rough hospitality of the frontier to wait for a more formal invitation; "but if you've got time to watch me eat I'll show you how to do it."

He dismounted, tied his horse to the wagon, turned up a water bucket for a seat, and sat down to dinner with us. "The smell of that bean soup catches me."

As a surprise, when we had nearly finished Tom went to the oven and brought out a couple of nice hot pies.

"What a blessin' it is, sure," said Jack, "to have somethin' to cook an' somebody that knows how to cook it!"

"Well," replied Tom, "it's better than having a surplus of cooks an' no rations--a state of affairs we all know something about."

"I was just a-goin' to remark," added Bill, "that I see you've got a good cook in the outfit, an' that's no small help. I always knew Tom was a first-class soldier, an' now I've found out another of his accomplishments. Boys, I expect to be out to Fort Larned before long, an' if I ever strike your trail out in that neighborhood I'll sure foller it up an' invite myself to take a square meal with you once in a while."

"Well, I'll tell ye right now, Bill, you'll always be welcome," said Jack, while Tom and I added: "Second the motion."

"My special errand out here," said Bill as he unhitched his horse and prepared to mount, "was to tell you that when you get ready to lay in your supplies for the trip I think you can do better to buy 'em of Tom Carney than anywhere else in town. There's where I bought the truck for our trip, an' I found his prices reasonable, an' everything was satisfactory an' packed in good shape. Tom's accommodatin', an' reliable, and an all-round good fellow to trade with."

While standing by his horse Bill's dog had taken post in front of him and by wagging his tail and looking up at his master was trying to attract his notice, seeing which the scout stooped down and began talking to his canine friend and patting him affectionately, which seemed to put the dog in an ecstasy of delight.

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