RECREATION. 



Volume II. APRIL, 1895. 



Q. O. SHIELDS (COQUINA), Editor and Manager. 



Number 4. 



The American News Co., Agents for the U. S. and Canada. The International News Co., General Agents for Europe. 

 Offices: Breams Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, E. C, England; Stephanstrasse 18, Leipsig, Germany. 



THE KETTLE RIVER WILDERNESS. 



L. L. Dyche. 



I have just finished reading Charles 

 Greenwood's interesting articles on 

 the Kettle river country, and 

 feel as though I would like to shake 

 hands with him and exchange a few 

 stories. How my blood tingles, and 

 wmat a thrill of pleasure passes through 

 my mind when I think of my own ex- 

 periences in the Kettle river country. 



"Len Armfield" sounds a little strange 

 to me. When I was there, in the fall of 

 '89, he went by the name of Len Arm- 

 strong. He had just built a small log 

 cabin, about 7x9 feet. 



" It is big enough for me and the 

 Klootchman," said Len. " I did not 

 want a house large enough to admit 

 any Indians who might be passing 

 through the country. What they did 

 not steal, that old gal of mine would 

 give them. That's the way with these 

 Siwashes — you have to watch them." 

 Thus Len spoke as he sat on a pile of 

 deer skins, in our rancheria, puffing a 

 pipe of "good old cut plug" which 

 Maurice had just given him. 



Maurice Farrell and George Mc- 

 Laughlin were my guides and com- 

 panions on that trip. It was November 

 and the ground was covered with snow. 

 We did not have to hunt deer for meat. 

 They came to us, and we seldom passed 

 a day without one or more opportunities 

 to kill them within 100 yards of the 

 tent. They were leaving the higher 

 mountain ranges and passing down the 

 valleys, in bands of from two or three to 

 a dozen, or twenty. It was possible to 

 see from a dozen to 50 in a day. In an 

 hour and a half, one evening, while 

 traveling up the river, I met 35. On 

 another occasion I saw 65 in one day. 



Nevertheless, we hunted deer. I 

 wanted some of the very largest bucks. 

 We each killed two, and I had eight as 



fine specimens as could be found any- 

 where. I have them now in our collec- 

 tion of large North American mammals. 

 On this particular evening, Len and 

 Maurice had each added a monstrous 

 buck to the collection. Len had left 

 his Klootchman (squaw) at the cabin, 

 cutting wood 



" I come a sneak on the old gal," 

 said Len. " I have been out hunting 

 all day and that Siwash has not cut a 

 stick of wood. That's the way with 

 these Indians ; they soon get like white 

 women and won't do a lick of work 

 unless they have to. I don't mind cut- 

 ting wood when I am laying around 

 doing nothing, but when I hunt she 

 must cut wood. She can swing an ax 

 equal to any man in this country. I 

 just thought I would fool the old gal 

 once." 



Here I remarked to McLaughlin that 

 squaw-men seemed to have as little love 

 for work as the Indian bucks them- 

 selves. At this Len chuckled good 

 naturedly, and Maurice said : 



" Yes, even less. They become too 

 lazy to even haul wood to the wigwam 

 for their klootchmen to cut," pointing, 

 as he spoke, to Len's Siwash carrying 

 some dry poles to the cabin. Len 

 chuckled again and said, " It is the 

 nature of the squaw ; she would go 

 and gather up sticks if there were 10 

 cords of wood piled up about the 

 cabin." 



" Just the same," said Maurice, "there 

 isn't any wood piled around your cabin." 



Len soon retired and returned, later 

 in the evening, with his squaw wife and 

 little half breed son to our rancheria. 

 He brought a black wolf skin to show 

 us. He had killed 1 he wolf a week be- 

 fore our arrival. His dog had ventured 

 some distance from the house one 



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