50 LIFE SKETCHES OF A JAYHAWKER 



away without staying to be shot at. They had recently killed four men 

 who were prospecting in that vicinity about two or three weeks previous, 

 and as we passed down the valley to Owens Lake we saw and counted sev- 

 enteen skeletons that the bones had been picked clean by the coyotee. 

 There had been a company of U. S. Troops sent down from Ft. Independence 

 who corralled the Indians on the margin of the lake and they could not 

 make their escape. We moved along without anything more of notice and 

 arrived at San Bernardino, where some of our party remained, and we pur- 

 sued our journey and were getting along very well except it was extremely 

 hot in the desert. We didn't pretend to travel only by night. There were 

 two places on the desert that were forty-five miles between water. We 

 would start about five o'clock P. M. and by eight A. M. we would reach 

 water again and lay there until evening. Lapaz, on the Colorado River, was 

 our point of destination. We camped there on the river for a few days and 

 while there, I happened to go to a butcher shop in the evening just about 

 dark. I inquired for some meat, and the butcher spoke and said he would 

 light up first and the minute he spoke I knew who he was by his voice. 

 After he had the lights going I asked him if he knew me and after turning 

 me around to the light a time or two, he knew me, and a more pleased man 

 I never met before or since. We had not seen each other for eleven years 

 when he started off to Mexico. He was one of our "Jay Hawkers" and one 

 of our mess and the same that helped me save the lift of Capt. Asa Hevins 

 who I have spoken of in an earlier chapter. I didn't get back to camp that 

 night, as he wouldn't let me go, and we talked nearly all night. He had a 

 wild and varied experience, had traveled a great deal in Mexico, both Old 

 and New, as well as Texas. He had started a stock ranch in New Mexico 

 and was quite successful having large herds of cattle and horses. About 

 this time the Indians came and robbed him of the greater part of his stock, 

 both horses and cattle. They came just at noon time and the most of his 

 men were at their dinner, but they saw the Indians coming and hurried to 

 the entrance, but the Indians made their way in and massacred all that were 

 in the house. Just at this time Bill Rude and a vaquero rode up and 

 through the gate saw what was going on and turned and made off as fast 

 as they could with the Indians after them. They shot the vaquero and Rude 

 who had been riding hard all the morning seen his horse was going to fall. 

 Luck seemed to favor him as there was a large mesquite thicket near that 

 he made for, left his horse and sought shelter in the thicket. He had his 

 holsters with him and was a dead shot. 



The Indians surrounded the thicket and commenced firing in, and he 

 could see the Indians but they could not see him. Every shot he made he 

 would get his Indian and every time he shot he would move his position, 

 but they fought him until just as the sun was going down they bid him 

 good-bye and said they believed he was the Devil anyway. They were the 

 Apaches, the meanest Indians that ever lived. Then he afterwards sold 

 his ranch to the Government for a pretty good price. He was a regular 

 Daniel Boon. There was no Indian that could out-Indian him. In one of 

 his rambles he was making across a desert country and had only had a Mexi- 

 can with him. In the morning after camping their mules had strayed from 

 camp and the Mexican had gone after them and as he did not return very 

 soon he thought he would go to the top of a high hill to look for him. He 



