July 24, 1884.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



503 



the horses from the buggy, leaving Singer sitting in it and 

 told a Mexican peon to draw the accursed Hebrew around 

 into the shade of the house Singer vowed he would not get 

 out of the buggy. Tom remarked that he could sit there 

 till Hades froze over, if he wanted to, and told him that he 

 would pay Mm for his time when we got back. We saddled 

 the horses. 1 filled my pockets with crackers and jerked 

 beef, hung a gallon canteen of water to my saddle, took my 

 gun and pistol and my old cavalry overcoat, for bedding, and 

 u lariat, and oil' we rode, followed by awful talk from 

 Singer, w uo threatened me and my employer with a suit for 

 damages ; said he would expose me— that threat seemed rather 

 indefinite, As we faded away in a cloud of dust, I turned 

 in the saddle and could see him stamping around and lectur- 

 ing in broken Spanish to an appreciative audience of Mexican 

 peons. 



We were rive in number. Tom had a Sharps .45-100; one 

 one man a .50-caliber Springfield needle gun, commonly 

 called a "flop over" down here, because the breech opens in 

 a peculiar manner; the two others and myself were armed 

 with Winchester rifles— model of 1873. Every one had a 

 Colt's .45-caliber revolver, single action — the popular pistol 

 of the West. We crossed the Pecos River at the ford and 

 soon found the horses' trail running straight east up on the 

 Staked Plains. The northern and western edge of the plains 

 are at least 300 feet above the prairie, and when you ap- 

 proach them they look like a range of hills, butwhen you get 

 on top it is a rolling prairie. They are called the Staked 

 Plains because a certain Government survey marked out a 

 trail across them with stakes, as there are no landmarks. 

 They are of an oval shape, hundreds of miles in length and 

 breadth, and said to be waterless. 1 asked Tom after we 

 had gone a few miles how far it was from the Pecos to water 

 the way we were going, and he said about eighteen miles. 

 By the* way, on the road home he confessed to me that it was 

 the first time that he had ever been over ten miles out on the 

 plains, but he dared not say so for fear we would turn 

 back. 



We had to travel slowly as the trail was on the grass and the 

 ground hard. Tom lost the trail several times where the 

 horses scattered, but we found it again and found a water 

 hole toward evening. Turning the horses loose with the sad- 

 dles on so that they could eat, w T e chewed away at the 

 crackers and jerked beef, and washed them down with 

 water. We ate up half we had and I was still hungry. Then 

 filling my canteen, we pushed on till it was so dark we could 

 not see the track, and made a dry camp on the trail. As 

 soon as it was light in the morning we saddled and rode. In 

 about a mile we came to a well beaten road about four feet 

 wide, with several paths on each side of it running parallel 

 to the main trail. The rniddie trail was made by ponies 

 dragging tent poles. It must have been used for years. Tom 

 said that he had heard of the path though he had never seen 

 it before. It is the road, used by the Comanche Indians and 

 white renegades, who still find a refuge in the Staked Plains 

 when they raid the upper Pecos, and it is called the Coman- 

 che War Trail. The horses we were after traveled in the 

 track and we could ride as fast as we dared push our horses. 

 After we had ridden about twenty-live miles from the last 

 water we came to a big water hole' that looked like perman- 

 ent water, finished our crackers and beef, and rode on at a 

 steady gait. 



About an hour before dark we saw a big valley ahead. 

 The trail was very fresh, horse droppings not dry yet. We 

 rode cautiously, Tom in the lead, At the last ridge he dis- 

 mounted, crept on hands and knees to the top of the ridge 

 and peeped over into an oval valley about half a mile long 

 and a quarter broad. It was a sink hole, about twenty feet 

 deeper than the surrounding prairie and partially walled by 

 a ledge of rock about ten feet high. There was a large pond, 

 in the center and the ground around it was worn bare by the 

 constant use of animals, till it looked like a corral. Seven 

 Indians were near the water cooking at a little fire, and the 

 niue stolen horses and two Indian ponies were feeding about 

 half way from us to them. Tom came back and we held a 

 council of war. I was in favor of getting around to the 

 edge about 200 yards from them and trying to kill them 

 with a volley, but; Tom was afraid that the survivors woidd 

 get away with the horses and so we decided to all go over 

 the iidge on horseback and make a charge. Three of us to 

 go straight at the Indians and not shoot till we got close to 

 them; and to do the shooting with our pistols; the other two 

 meanwhile driving off all the horses. We tightened our 

 girths, and suddenly it flashed through my mind what a fool 

 1 was to come out there to fight Indians, but it was too late. 

 And here we went, well spread out, with a mad rush over the 

 ridge and at them. They did not see us until toe late. One 

 ran a few steps toward the horses, two grabbed their guns 

 and fired, but did not hit anything; and then we were almost 

 on top of them, and were shooting as fast as we could; and 

 they all ran through the water, making it fly, aud up among 

 the rocks and bushes on the east side, leaving their stuff 

 scattered around. My horse ran into the water* I jumped 

 off, went down on all fours and had a drinking match with 

 my horse. Tom unslung his rifle and fired a shot or two 

 while I drank, and then 1 filled my canteen, took my gun 

 out of its scabbard and watched for something to shoot at 

 while he was drinking, but did not see anything. 



Tom picked up a needle gun and hung it on his saddle and 

 smashed two or three old rimfire Winchesters. I took a good 

 blanket that was lying by an old bug of an Indian saddle, 

 and we started back as fast as our water-filled horses could 

 carry us, followed by a few shots. When we had ridden 

 about two hundred yards Tom looked back and said, "Hold 

 my horse and I'll make that Comanche fellow stop that," 

 only he didu't say fellow. The gentleman in question was 

 lying on his back on a sloping rock, about four hundred 

 yards away, with his heels in the air and making insulting 

 gestures. Tom jumped down and shot. I saw a streak of 

 dust fly off the rock about six inches to the right of Mr. 

 Indian, and while he bounced off the rock and took to the 

 brush we made tracks toward our retreating horse herd. 

 When we caught up the. boys were hurrying the horses along, 

 still hobbled, with their an kles cut and bleeding. We stopped 

 when we reached the outfit, caught fresh horses and turned 

 our tired ones loose, unhobbled the rest, and by dark were 

 ten miles away ou the back track. After it was fully dark, 

 so that no one could see our trail, we rode off the trail at 

 right angles and camped two miles north, with a chew of 

 tobacco for supper and the canteen dry; the boys had emp- 

 tied it when I came to them, for they had not been able to 

 get to water. I passed a miserable night, very thirsty, and 

 more sick than hungry. We took turns standing guard. 



At dawn we saddled and rode for home, a disconsolate- 

 looking party. About five miles from water we rode past a 

 buck antelope about 400 yards away. Tom told me to shoot 

 him, but I was afraid I should miss, and proposed that four 



of us should get down and all shoot at once. We did so, and 

 killed him "too dead to skin," as the Texan cowboys say. 

 Every ball hit him. We rode out to him aud got down, and 

 some of the boys drank blood, It made me sick to think of 

 it, but I ate a little piece of raw liver, and then wo cut the 

 carcass up aud started for the water. We got there by 9 A. 

 M., and how we drank! My tongue was swelled and my 

 lips cracked and dry. The trip did not fell so badly on the 

 others, as they were used to exposure and an outdoor life, 

 and I was right out of a store. Tom cautioned me, and I 

 only drank a little at a lime. We built a flic of horse and 

 cow chips, and broiled meat; some of the boys couldn't wait 

 to much more than scorch it on the outside, and we all ate 

 it rather rare and dirty, and with no salt; but it was filling. 

 Away we went as soon as we could on the trail for 

 home, all the time expecting to see a big gang of Indians 

 after us. 



At about 3 P. M. we readied the next water, cooked and 

 ate more antelope, and just before dark started our weary 

 horses for home— eighteen miles away— crossed the ford at 

 about 10 P. M., and at 11 were eating tiMk eon Imems (red 

 pepper gravy with eggs dropped into it after frying them in 

 lard), tortillas (Mexican bread) and some coffee, black and 

 strong. Mr. Singer, strange to say, was in good spiiits, and 

 seemed as much at home as a tame cat. There was a Mexi- 

 can lady at the ranch who was very handsome and quite 

 friendly, and he had been giving her lessons in English. 



I slept well on a big wool mattress, and the next morning 

 Tom gave Singer $20 for forcible, detention, me $20 for my 

 employer and my pick of the two Indian ponies for myself. 

 We all went up to the Plaza that evening. Tom and the 

 rest, including Singer, got very full on Anheuser lager beer 

 at fifty cents per bottle." I don't drink, and so the evening's 

 entertainment was an awful bore to me. 



When I got back to Anton Chico I sold the Indian pony to 

 Mr. Monkrwho keeps hotel, for $30, and the next week was 

 back at the old job in Las Vegas with a good appetite, 

 thanks to my excursion. W J. Dtxon. 



Colorado. 



"WOODCRAFT." 



THE little book "Woodcraft" has been received with such 

 general favor and treated so leniently that I would not 

 advert to the few critical exceptions only that they are cal- 

 culated to mislead. I wish to be brief. 



One writer criticises the light boots recommended on page 

 5 of "Woodcraft." He prefers shoes every time and 

 always, because the boots will get w T et and can't be drawn 

 on and off. Quite right as regards the average boot usually 

 bought of dealers'; wrong as regards the boot I recommend. 

 I have a pair of them on my feet as I write. This is the 

 third season I have worn them. They have been worn on 

 two rather rough cruises in the North Woods; have been 

 waded in for nearly a day at a time through the muddy 

 ditch called "Brown's Tract Road," where shoes would be a 

 nuisance; have been worn on three trips down the Tiadatton 

 the present season, where I was overboard a dozen times a 

 day among the rapids, and they have never bothered me two 

 minutes at a time in drawing on or off. They are water- 

 proof at this time, and easy as a pair of moccasins. They 

 weigh two pounds six ounces. Any competent bootmaker 

 should be able to get up such a pah for $5 or $6. 



Exception is taken to the hunting knives described on page 

 13 as being of too high temper, liable to "nick," and hard 

 to sharpen. I did not and do not recommend high temper, 

 but the best. And the best is the tough, tenacious steel that 

 will hold a keen biting edge, without being hard or brittle. 

 The strong double-blade shown in the cut does not come up 

 to my idea of a pocket hunting-knife, but is the best I could 

 find on sale. En passant, I have just received a lot of pocket 

 hunting knives made after a model whittled out by myself. 

 I have sent one to the hunting editor of Forest and 

 Stream, who, I presume, will be pleased to show it to any 

 reader who takes an interest in camp kit, and I will only 

 add that it pretty well represents my idea of a model pocket 

 hunting knife. 



Another writer takes exception to my directions for using 

 baking powder (three tablespoonfuls to one quart of flour), 

 and thinks it may be a printer's error. The directions are 

 substantially correct — for the woods. Experience and experi- 

 ment will prove to "Kelpie" that the quantity of baking 

 powder which may be sufficient in a dry, warm kitchen, will 

 have but little effect in the cool, damp atmosphere, of the 

 forest, particularly if there happens to be a brisk wind whif- 

 fling fitfully around the camp. I soon learned this, and came 

 to think that the powders would not work well in out-door 

 cooking. I found some old guides and woodsmen, how- 

 ever, who made good bread, and I was not long in picking up 

 the "kink," which was simply, that the guides who used the 

 powders most freely always had the lightest bread. Of course 

 a good deal depends on the mixing, handling and baking. 

 I was with a Brown's Tract guide in the summer of 1880, 

 whose bread and pancakes were alwa} r s light. 1 am loth to 

 say how many tablespoonfuls \ he used to a quart of flour, 

 much more than three, however. Aud he remarked that 

 making bread in the woods was expensive, because the pow- 

 ders cost more than the flour. 



Among the many newspaper notices of "Woodcraft," I 

 note one in the New York Evening Post, wberein commenda- 

 tion and criticism are so neatly blended that I would not say 

 a word were the criticism sound — which it is not. Firstly, 

 the writer objects to the "general fishing rod," which, he 

 says, "most people consider, and justly, a nuisance. Not 



food for bait-fishing and almost worthless for fly-fishing." 

 f the writer will select the best eight or ten-ounce bait-rod 

 he can find in New York, he will probably admit that it is 

 "good for bait-fishing." Then let him add a good fly-tip, 

 and if he cannot make it something more than "worthless 

 for fly-fishing,"! venture to suggest that the fault will be 

 found somewhere near the butt of the rod. 



Again, the. writer says: "The description of the head- 

 light, used almost entirely for shooting deer out of season, 

 might have been omitted." Just so. The headlight being a 

 most useful and handy article in a woodland camp, and the 

 best light to float a deer in season, is to be "omitted" because 

 a poacher may use it out of season. And the boat and the 

 10-bore, being necessary to float a deer in the hands of a 

 law-abiding sportsman,' had better be omitted, because they 

 can be used as well by the poacher. A lame and impotent 

 sort of logic. The witty affusion to the soap and towel, 

 carried for seven weeks in the Wilderness without being once 

 used, with the suggestion that "probably the portrait of 

 'Nessmuk,' which forms the frontispiece, was taken just be- 

 fore the seven w^eeks were up," are so neatly put that I will 

 not say a word in explanation, especially as the writer con- 

 cludes that "on the whole, the book is sound and practical, 

 and well worth the reading," Nessmuk. 



RESCUE OF THE GREELY PARTY. 



THE International Geographical Congress at Hamburg, 

 in 1879, adopted a scheme for the establishment of cir- 

 cumpolar stations for scientific observation in the Arctic 

 regions. The location selected for the United States station 

 1 was at Discovery Harbor. Lady Franklin Bay, in latitude 

 81° 45' north, longitude (14" 45' west. This was the most 

 northerly and difficult of access of all the projected stations. 

 Lieut. A. W. Greely, Fifth United stales Cavalry, was ap- 

 pointed to the command, and on the Fourth of July, 1881. 

 the colony left. St. John. Newfound laud, in the steamship 

 Proteus. The expedition opened most auspiciously. The 

 Proteus found an open passage and made a run quick be- 

 yond parallel. Within one month from leaving port she 

 reached her destination. On the day of their arrival the 

 party killed fourteen musk oxen, which dressed 300 pouuds 

 each— three months' rations. The men set about building 

 their house, which had been already prepared in this coun- 

 try, with its double frame— a house within a house; two 

 years' stores of provisions were landed, and there were dogs 

 and sledges, with Esquimau drivers, boats, and a sUam launch 

 and coal. With letters full of confidence and hope, written 

 by Lieut. Greely and the others, and parting directions about 

 the relief vessels which were to come in the summers of 1882 

 and 1883, the Proteus sailed away, Aug. 18, and left the 

 Greely colony in their snug quarters at Discovery Harbor. 

 According to arrangement, in 1882 and 1883 relief ships — the 

 Neptune, the Proteus and the Yantic— set out to carry suc- 

 cor and supplies to the party but, as is well known, they 

 failed to accomplish their mission; and from the l;th day of 

 August, 1881, until the wretched survivors were brought 

 back to St. John, July 17, 1884, no word came of the fate of 

 the Greely colony. Last Thursday the telegraph brought to 

 usthenewsof their rescue, and a story of heroism, endur- 

 ance, suffering and self-sacrifice well worthy to rank with 

 the most thrilling chapters in the annals of Arctic explora- 

 tion. 



I.— CAMP CONOER. 



They named the station Carnp Conger iu honor of the 

 Michigan senator, who had been instrumental in securing 

 the Government appropriation for the expedition. Scientific 

 observations (meteorological, astronomical, magnetic, etc.) 

 were begun immediately and continued while they were at 

 the post. The long Arctic winter was necessarily monoto- 

 nous, but the regular routine of observations coupled with 

 such military discipline as was not inappropriate to the 

 climate and the mode of living rendered it more tolerable. 

 One hour's exercise daily was exacted of all. The men were 

 required to bathe once a week, and great care was taken by 

 frequent inspection to see that the quarters and particularly 

 the berths were kept clean. The efficiency of the hygienic 

 arrangements adopted is fully demonstrated by the fact that 

 there was no scurvy in the expedition, notwithstanding that 

 the water used was from melted ieeinvaiiably obtained from 

 the floe. Thanksgiving and national holidays were always 

 celebrated by a good dinner, and the first 'Christmas was 

 rendered pleasant by presents for every member of the ex- 

 pedition from unknown but thoughtful friends. 



Meanwhile they were making expeditions to explore the 

 country in different directions, The number of dogs had 

 been sadly reduced by sickness and death, but those left 

 were carefully looked after and by breeding Lieut. Greely 

 was able, in the spring of 1882, to put two good teams in the 

 field. In nearly all of his explorations, as ever in Arctic ex- 

 peditions, the dogs were found most useful and almost indis- 

 pensable accessories. 



These exploring trips were always attended with peril, 

 often with great suffering. The men at one time, under Ser- 

 geant Brainard, experienced the lowest corrected mean tern 

 perature ever known in the annals of Arctic travel — viz 

 minus sixty-one degrees. On another trip by Dr. Pavy, Mr. 

 Rice, with the Esquimau Jens Edwards, and. a team of dogs] 

 to discover land to the north of Cape Joseph Henry, Rice 

 and Jens traveled fifty miles on foot in a temperature of — 40°, 

 without sleeping bag or tent, and later the party were adrift 

 on an ice pack and driven miles from land, escaping as by a 

 miracle over the grinding, crumbling ice, 



Again, Lieut. Lockwood with Brainard and Frederick 

 Christensen with a dog team, set out, to explore the northern 

 shore of Greenland, crossed tne Polar Ocean direct to Cape 

 Britannia, thence through regions never before trodden by 

 man, to a point they named Lockwood Island, the highest 

 northern latitude ever yet attained, 83" 21.5 , in longitude 

 40° 45' west — and would have gone further yet, but that the. 

 long shadows of Arctic cliffs prevented a determining of the 

 latitude, so their instruments failed them before their courage. 

 They found animal life abundant with scant vegetation similar 

 to that met with in Grinnell Land. Traces of hares, lemmings, 

 ptarmigan and snow bunting, and the tracks of a bear were 

 seen, and droppings of the musk ox as far as twenty miles 

 north of Cape Britannia. Looking to the noitheastward 

 from an elevation of about two thousand feet, the land was 

 seen for about fifteen miles, the furthest point. Cape Robert 

 Lincoln, being in about latitude 83° 35' aud longitude H8° 

 west. Although the weather was unusually clem, no other 

 land could be seen, the horizon beiug examined carefully to 

 the northward and northwestward. On the 15th they started 

 south, picking up en mate the. union jack and sextant left by 

 Lieut. Beaumont, of the Nares expedition, during his extra- 

 ordinary retreat with a scurvy stricken party in l8?5, and 

 returned to Fort Conger, where they arrived on June 1, 

 after an absence of fifty- nine days, all in good condition ex- 

 cept that two were snow blind and had to lie led into camp. 



During the season of 1882 Lieut. Greely made two jour 

 neys into the interior of Grinnell Laud, leaving Fort Conger 

 on April 23 and June 24 respectively. Winter quarters of 

 Esquimaux were found and some 'relies showing that they 

 had possessed dogs, sledges and iron. Two ranges of moun- 

 tains running nearly parallel with the United States range 

 were called respectively Conger and Garfield range, and a 

 lofty peak, the highest in Grinnell Land, Mount Arthur. Of 

 glaciers there were many, the largest of which was called 

 Henrietta Nesmith Glacier. Great hardships were endured 

 on the second of these journeys, when Greely and Linn, 

 leaving the supporting party, traveled with packs, which 

 weighed on starting about eighty pounds, fording and swim- 

 ming many streams and being otherwise subjected to much 

 exposure, without, however, any eventual ill resulting there- 

 from. 



Game was abundant, more than one hundred musk oxen 

 beiug seen, besides hares and birds. From tbe summit of 

 Mount, Arthur, Lieut, Greely, who was alone able to make 

 the ascent, was satisfied from the trend of the mountains 

 and the appearance of the country that Grinnell Land ended 

 but a short distance to the westward, and that its coast line 

 must run nearly southwest from the extreme point reached 

 by Lieut. Aid rich. Royal Navy, iu 1876. Later in August 



