EARLY DAY STORIES. Ill 



CHAPTER XV. 

 Hunting Elk and Deer in Custer County. 



It was the second week in November, 1872, while we 

 were in camp on Oak creek in the western part of Howard 

 county, Nebraska, that the events occurred that are herein 

 related. Belonging to our camp were twelve persons — four 

 surveyors, four assistants, two teamsters, one camp helper, 

 and a cook. Five of these were from Antelope county; 

 namely, George H. McGee, Bob, Will and Charley Skiles 

 and myself; all the others were from Columbus, Nebraska, 

 excepting one young man from Omaha. The company was 

 in charge of I. N. Taylor, then of Columbus, but later of 

 Antelope county, and who afterwards became well known 

 to many of the early settlers of this part of the state. At 

 this time Mr. Taylor was a member of the State Immigra- 

 tion Board, its headquarters being in Omaha. The duties 

 of this office called him to Omaha occasionally, and as he 

 was required to go to Lincoln to confer with the officials 

 of the land department of the B. & M. railroad company, 

 it happened that he was away from camp about half the time. 

 Whenever Mr. Taylor was called away from camp to be 

 gone a few days, he would, before going, call the four sur- 

 veyors into his tent and give them instructions about the 

 work to be done in his absence, but he never placed any one 

 in charge of the camp. This was an unfortunate mistake 

 on his part. There were two or three men in camp who were 

 shiftless, and who would shirk duty at any time when they 

 could, and these men were almost worthless in Mr. Taylor's 

 absence. He ought when absent to have left George H. 

 McGee in charge — he was equally as competent as Mr. Tay- 

 lor himself, and was popular with us all. 



