STORIES TOLD IN RANGER CAMPS 175 



there an' made slathers of hard cider ; Caupolion, the chief, who once traveled 

 then the men went and held an election with his ten wives and his 500 picked 

 every year gave their weapons to the horses, and who sat at the head of the 

 women, an'' got awful drunk. Some- tribe when they caroused on the Island 

 times the whole tribe went away with of Crab-Apples, was dust, with all his 

 thousands of the splendid horses an' belongings, ages ago; his land is 

 lots more they took from the Spaniards, changed into farms and fields, and I 

 away back to valleys of the Andes, guess some of his descendants are plow- 

 When a brave rode out, his servants ing there now." 



kept bringin' on a string of fresh "Seems to me very often when I 



horses, an' they changed saddles every hear about things," said another ranger, 



hour, goin' like the wind, always travel- "as if I had come into the world some 



in' to war, or comin' home. too late. It would bust me up if I let 



"There never were such men any- it strike in deep." 



where else, such giants of fellows, fear- "Onc't I took out a party of nice fel- 



less, and a terror to their foes. The soap lows from Philadelphia," volunteered 



peddler said they had first-class chiefs, a third retailer of old stories, "and they 



an' they built up a kind of republic of had a book they read out loud in camp, 



their own an' drew a line between their It was all about a great, fine, expensive 



land and that of the Spaniards. But at French cardinal named Rishloo. He 



last, he says, the Spaniards come down was mighty good to his friends and 



very still an' quiet an' with an' army, mighty stiff with his enemies. Then 



took the country, built a city they there was a green young feller from the 



named Valdivia, an' began to mine country that had a rusty old sword and 



for gold. Then down from the high rode a buttercup-colored horse. He 



mountain valleys rode these horsemen, fought everybody that poked fun at 



thousands of 'em, and they tore the him. Pretty soon he was churns with 



settlement all to pieces. Then they the best bunch of fighters in France and 



took the chief Spaniard an' set him up against old Rishloo who bossed 



down on a chair, an' promised him France about then." 



plenty of gold, since that was what he "What was the king doing?" 



seemed to want. Then they melted a "None of them kings counted for any- 



heap of gold and poured it, all hot, down thing. But I wish I could run across 



his throat and went back to their that" book again. I wish some fellow 



Andes." who knew how to read out loud in good 



"That's great!" said one ranger. s i iape cou \^ rea( j t h at tnmg to our camp 



"How much of that is true?" next winter" 



'A whole lot of it," I said, coming It > s in the ran?er Hbrary ;' said 



to the rescue of the story-teller. The anothen It > s The^Three Musketeers. 



Araucanans of Chili were a wonderful Qne of the bi from Washing ton 



and a heroic race of men before the wrQte Ws name and ?aye jt to the 



vices of the whites conquered them. , 

 They were the Cossacks of earlier South Zj the fi htin , k}d that rode the 



America as far as horsemanship went, , , , . ., -> 



, , , , , , buttercup-colored horse m it? 



and nobody knows how much trouble *,, 



they gave the successors of Pizarro. 



They really 'came into camp' to the Well, you show it to me next time 



Chilians about 1870." t we hlt headquarters. That s the sort of 



"Guess I'll try to get an exchange hlstor y I llke - None of y ur old 



into some forest down there in Chili," kidnappers, nor your Dago cider drink 



said one ranger. ers - I don't call that no novel. That 



"You wilfhave to have a new Ian- hook just writes down things exactly 



guage and a new religion, and otherwise as they happened to real live people.'' 

 hit a new gait altogether. Besides, "They happened pretty durn quick 



these things happened a long time ago. and frequent for history." 



