410 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



LJijne 11. 1891. 



TWO PILGRIMS IN THE WEST. 



GEOEGIE AND PORGIE were two little men who 

 went to hunt for grizzly bears and mountain sheep 

 and moose and elk and goats of the cliff and deer and 

 trout and whitefish and prairie dogs and pike and grouse 

 and coyotps. They were going to bring home skins and 

 heads and branching antlers, except in the case of the 

 trout, pike, whitefish and grouse. These they were only 

 going to eat. 



They each provided themselves with a repeating rifle, 

 a belt full of cartridges, a pair of Smith & Wesson navy 

 revolvers and a bunting knife but little smaller than a 

 broadsword. They also had a return ticket apiece by 

 the United States Central Railroad for the Territory of 

 Monidota and back, and a large number of blank checks. 

 The tickets proved very valuable. When they took the 

 cars at Boston they were each clad in tunics and knicker- 

 bockers of a dead leaf tint, with tennis shoes and deer- 

 stalker hats, and their pockets bulged with silver dollars, 

 interesting for tbeir legal tender character. The conduc- 

 tor on the train spied the gentlemen, and while punching 

 their return tickets so frequently that they resembled 

 shotgun targets after a penetration test, he said with a 

 pleasant accent of command that guns were not allowed 

 on passenger trains. Georgie said he had tried to send 

 his gun by freight and had'begged the baggage man to 

 check it, but failing in this he had had the weapon nailed 

 tip in a case as the rules of the company prescribed. The 

 conductor was shocked that any gentlemen should wish 

 to carry lethal arms in the same conveyance with timid 

 and excitable ladies, and he forthwith summoned the 

 brakeman who put the guns over the stove in the baggage 

 car after knocking the sights off to lessen danger. 

 Georgie and Porgie were then notified to pay the baggage 

 man one dollar each on every division of the United States 

 Central Railroad or they would lose their guns. There 

 were twenty-seven divisions. 



These assessments paid to the baggage rnen, together 

 with the fees exacted by negro porters, and the balances 

 required in settling the issues of an interesting game of 

 whist, which they played with two polite and skillful 

 strangers, had nearly exhausted the stock of legal tender 

 dollars which Georgie and Porgie had laid in, when they 

 arrived (after a week of travel on the cars and of delays 

 at the disconnecting points) at the station in the Territory 

 of Monidota, where their sport was to begin. This point 

 was known as the Steer's Paradise, and it was surrounded 

 by a wide belt of country covered in part with the bones 

 of cattle that had gone to glory during the nine ex- 

 ceptional winters that had occurred in the Territory in 

 the course of the last ten years. 



Steer's Paradise had been the headquarters of the Great 

 Goose Cattle Company, and the receiver of that now 

 bankrupt concern occupied the chief mansion in the 

 settlement and drove an excellent pair of horses around 

 the country in search of assets to pay a dividend on the 

 Goose Cattle Company's debts. Georgie and Porgie 

 at this place bought two horses with suitable trappings, 

 and a fine dog. They also engaged the services of Mr. 

 Orlando Rickets, locally known as "blue" Rickets from 

 the character of his language. The function of Mr. 

 Rickets was to be an aid in the adventurous and hazard- 

 ous life which Georgie and Porgie were about to lead, and 

 an instructor in those more delicate and abstruse points 

 in a hunter's career which cannot be learned from the 

 extensive body of literature now extant on the subject. 



Mr. Rickets was willing to relieve his employers of the 

 tedium of paying for their purchase, and as the legal 

 tender money was now all gone Georgie filled out one of 

 the blank checks he had provided with so much fore- 

 sight. Mr. Rickets went away with the check but soon 

 came back in a contemptuous and irritated frame of 

 mind. He stated with a needless and indeed meaning- 

 less number of adjectives that the check was without 

 value. This Georgie knew to be untrue, but the rude 

 force of Mr. Rickets's logic and the difficulty of immedi- 

 ately proving the goodness of the check made the 

 situation painful. 



By good fortune, however, Porgie discovered that the 

 receiver of the Goose Cattle Company was a friend of 

 his papa and that gentleman not only cashed Geor^iie's 

 check but took a personal interest in the two young 

 travelers. At the suggestion of the receiver Mr Rickets , 

 was paid oft", as he consented to renounce his engage- ' 

 ment in consideration of two months' wages. Several I 

 more horses were bought and s? wagon was hired for 

 transporting their material into the mountains and their ( 

 skins and other tr ophies back to the railroad. Attached ( 

 to the wagon and to the party of the hunters was an able- ' 

 bodied veteran who had seen much service in the Grand [ 

 Army of the Republic and was drawing a pension on ' 

 account of a distemper contracted during a torchlight 

 procession. He eked otit this allowance by the earnings 

 of organized idleness. HIr name was Pond, and in view 

 of his present occupation Georgie and Porgie thought it 

 would indicate a play of fancy to call him horse pond. 

 This name the teamster resented, He did, however, per- 

 mit his nominal employers to call him Colonel and was 

 even sufficiently placated by that title to resume his 

 position as chief of the expedition. 



With the aid of the receiver Georgie and Porgie had 

 now got ready for their real start. They had supplies of 

 canned tomatoes and canned corn and sardines and Brown's 

 ginger and catsup. The unsalable luxuries of the frontier 

 town had quite completely loaded their wagon. They re- 

 served room, however, for a thousand rounds of am- 

 munition apiece for the rifles and three hundred rounds 

 apiece for the pistols, which they intended to use only for 

 emergencies at close quarters. The Colonel laid in a 

 stock of -flour and pork for the general good, and added a 

 private store in a five-gallon keg labeled vinegar. He 

 said, however, that it was not good vinegar, suited for the 

 consumption of people of Boston, so he would use it him- 

 self between meals to keep off the scurvy to which he 

 was subject. 



The date of departure from the Steer's Paradise was 

 fixed for 6 o'clock on the morning of Sept. 13. The day 

 was Friday, but the party rose superior to superstition, 

 and did set forth at 1 P. M. on that day. At 1.30 they 

 stopped to lunch on pardines and canned corn, but the 

 dust got into their food so abundantly that the viands 

 lost their relish. At 4 o'clock the party passed a house, 

 tj>e Qolonel wished hh frieiwle to speii4 th© nighi 



there, but the hunters begged him to camp out as that 

 course was more becoming to their present mode of life. 

 Accordingly the wagon stopped about half-past six at a 

 pool of a rich brown color, which supplied them with 

 water, and as there was no fire wood to be had the party 

 supped on cold canned tomatoes. They then retired for 

 the night. Georgie and Porgie had one handsome blanket 

 apiece tied behind their saddips, and placing the saddles 

 for pillows as the best books advised, they stretched 

 themselves on the stones and prickly pears. 



The Colonel had provided himself with a large assort- 

 ment of bedding, which he rightly thought would appear 

 unattractive to the two young men, and he curled him- 

 self up in the wagon box, took a draught of vinegar from 

 his keg, and feeling secure from scurvy for the moment, 

 he was soon snoring soundly. The dog, too, after a 

 supper of sardines, went to sleep without uneasiness, but 

 the young men enjoyed but a troubled slumber. They 

 felt, however, that in a few days they would become 

 inured to the use of saddles as pillows, and that their 

 hardened frames would easily resist the chill of the night 

 air and the roughness of the ground. 



In the morning they arose somewhat stiff and fatigued 

 but they welcomed the Colonel's suggestion that they 

 should drive to a farmhouse about four miles off to 

 breakfast, as the water at their camp was of a distasteful 

 character. The saddle horses, however, had not re- 

 mained near camp,a«< well-trained hunting horses shotild, 

 but as they were still visible in the distance the hunters 

 set out, accompanied by their dog, to catch them. The 

 dog took the lead and soon approached the horses, but he 

 barked so loudly and ran so fast as to alarm them. The 

 hunters were obliged to use their utmost speed to head 

 oft" the horses and prevent them from rettirning to Steer's 

 Paradise. Luckily they here met a farmer's boy, who 

 told them that they could catch their mounts by driving 

 them into the angle of a wire fence near by. The boy 

 then took some stones which he threw at the dog with 

 precision and force, and soon with the boy's aid the 

 horses were caught and taken back to the wagon. 



Porgie wished to reward the boy, but as he had 

 thought it unnecessary and unsportsmanlike to carry 

 money into a wild region he was forced to offer the boy 

 a can of corn. About 10 o'clock the party reached the 

 farm house, where it proved that the Colonel was well 

 acquainted, and soon after they breakfasted on fat bacon 

 and a kind of tea that seemed peculiar to the country, 

 George thanked the farmer for his hospitality, and was 

 surprised by the gruff manner in which his civility was 

 received. The Colonel, however, restored their pleasant 

 relations by giving the farmer a can of sardines, a can of 

 tomatoes and a draught of vinegar, as the people of 

 Monidota seemed very liable to scurvy. 



The party then journeyed on through a plain that 

 began to lose its grassy appearance and take on a eover^ 

 ing of sage brush. Toward sunset some animals appeared 

 slowly walking along a neighboring ridge. The Colonel 

 said that they were antelope and that the party was in 

 serious need of fresh meat. The Colonel's language was 

 not as polished as this, but his meaning was clear, and 

 the hunters set off after the game. They rode carefully 

 toward the herd and had some trouble in getting the dog 

 to follow them, as he was riding in the wagon on a sack 

 of bacon. At last, however, he did come, and after a 

 time perceived the antelope, who had stopped to inspect 

 the strangers. As long as the antelope stood still the dog 

 followed the hunters full of suspicion; but when the 

 game began to move the dog bounded forward courage- 

 ously with loud howls. The hunters increased their 

 speed, but the sage brush and the roughness of the 

 ground so impeded them that they soon lost sight of the 

 chase. The antelope they qtiickly saw about a mile dis- 

 tant, and the dog returned soon after showing his pride 

 at having driven them away. During the gallop Porgie 

 had lost one of his Smith & Wesson navy revolvers, but 

 he thought that he could manage to get along with his 

 rifle and his remaining revolver by using a little additional 

 quickness. 



The Colonel was dissatisfied with the result of the hunt, 

 but they drove along until they Came to a water-hole, 

 where some stunted willows grew, and camped there. 

 The Colonel showed the hunters how to collect chips for 

 a fire. They piled up several bushels and the Colonel 

 made some coffee and fried some bacon. Both coffee and 

 bacon had an over-powering taste of the acrid smoke from 

 the chips, and the strong wind blew such a cloud of 

 choking dust and vapor from the smouldering pile that 

 Georgie and Porgie were glad to retire to the shelter of the 

 willows with a can of tomatoes and a bottle of catsup. 

 The Colonel, however, seemed to enjoy his meal. 



The next morning the weather had moderated, and 

 Georgie, looking out before the dog was awake, saw 

 several antelope regarding him curiously from a piece of 

 rising ground. It struck him as singular that the antelope 

 seemed usually to occupy a commanding position. He 

 decided in this instance to leave the dog asleep and stalk 

 his game as if it were red deer in the highlands of Scot- 

 land, He therefore took his gun and crawled some 

 distance on his hands and knees. Then he fired a shot 

 and "the antelope disappeared. He at once left his gun 

 among the sage brush and ran forward with his knife to 

 "gralloch"the antelope, as a stag shouH be "gralloched." 

 He was surprised to find how far it was to the spot where 

 the antelope had stood. He had gone at least a quarter 

 of a mile before he came to the place, and then could find 

 no dead body, although a living antelope was looking at 

 him from a considerable distance. He then went back 

 for his gun, but the sage brush seemed to be all alike, and 

 he could by no means distinguish the spot where he had 

 laid it down. At last he returned to camp, and found 

 Porgie there expectant, but when he found there was no 

 fresh meat to be had they got out a can of corn and a can 

 of currant jelly and breakfasted very nicely. 



Although Georgie was now without a gun yet he had 

 two revolvers of Smith & Wesson's navy model, and it 

 seemed to him that by getting close to his game and 

 firing a great many times he could make up for the want 

 of a larger weapon, and that if he ran out of ammunition 

 then he and Porgie could use the gun turn and turn about. 



Soon after this they overtook a flock of birds walking 

 along on the prairie. Some of the birds were nearly as 

 large as turkeys, but they were all of a dusty color that 

 made them hard to distinguish from the ground at a little 

 distance. Georgie and Porgie both began firing with 

 their revolvers. No birds were injured by the first few 

 shots, but finally one of the largest tumbled over dead : and 

 jihej^ took tbeir game |;o the Colonel who called it a sag^ 



hen and advised them to clean it at once. This, however, 

 they knew to be wrong, becauge game of this kind should 

 be hung a long time to get a rich flavor, and therefore 

 they kept the sage hen entire until night when they de- 

 cided to clean and eat it. The Colonel ate some pork and 

 some canned corn, but the hunters dined on sage hen. 

 It tasted so bitter that they could scarcely relish it, and 

 it made them both very sick a little later, but they did 

 not speak of this to the Colonel, and on awaking in the 

 morning while the Colonel was taking an early draught of 

 vinegar to hold the scurvy at bay, the hunters went to 

 get their horses which they had taken the precaution to 

 tie up. and spied a house whither they went and asked 

 for breakfast. 



It turned out that the house was occupied by a young 

 man named Edgar, whom the hunters knew, Edgar's 

 father had bought a ranch for him and settled him in the 

 West to grow up with the country, and had also supplied 

 him with a large band of sheep that he might have a sure 

 moderate income by their wool and their increase, and 

 perhaps gain a good deal of wealth by careful investment 

 of the proceeds. Edgar was very glad to see the hunters 

 and soon told them much about sheep. His own band, 

 he said, had been unfortunate, as their wool dropped off 

 by reason of a disease called the scab, and the young 

 lambs died from a kind of worm in their livers, but he 

 had skillful herders who dipped the sheep in tobacco 

 juice and other things to prevent the scab, and aside 

 from the damage done by disease, old age and hard 

 winters, his sheep were nearly as numerous as at first. 

 He was obliged, however, to go hunting a good deal to 

 pass the time, and he gave the hunters much useful in- 

 formation. First he examined Porgie's gun and found 

 that the front sight which had been knocked off by the 

 baggagemen was still lacking, so he cut a copper cent in 

 tivowithan axe and made a very good sight of it by 

 filing. He said it was lucky that Georgie's gun was lost, 

 because he had spoiled his last copper cent in fixing the 

 other. Edgar seemed to have a great many guns and he 

 lent one to Georgie and gave the hunters much advice. 

 At Edgar's suggestion they gave the dog to the Colonel 

 and paid him off with money Edgar lent them. The 

 Colonel's supply of vinegar was running low and he was 

 glad to avoid the renewed danger of scurvy, so he went 

 back with the dog and the wagon. Edgar also told the 

 hunters to leave their pistols and most of their ammu- 

 nition at his ranch, where they could send for them if 

 needed. 



Edgar and the two friends were accompanied on the 

 start from the ranch by a neighbor of Edgar's named 

 Sam. Sam had lived a long time in the country and said 

 he was very familiar with it all. Besides this Sam could 

 cook, and assisted by Edgar bound the luggage of the 

 party firmly upon pack horses, for the mountain trails 

 could not be used by wagons. It seemed at first to Georgie 

 and Porgie impossible to fasten their things sifely on the 

 animals, but after the operation had been done once or 

 twice it seemed very simple. 



Sam said the secret lay in throwing the diamond hitch, 

 so he taught the hunters how to cross the rope and pass 

 the bight under the standing part, which was, he said, 

 "the whole trick." Georgie and Porgie then packed one 

 horse and threw the diamond hitch, but they were 

 troubled by two things— in the first place, the rope tan- 

 gled badly when they tried to arrange it, and afterward 

 it all pulled out straight when they began to tighten, 

 Sam said it would save a great deal of time for them to 

 take another lesson first, but he never had any leisure to 

 teach them after that, and they were content to leave the 

 matter with him. 



The party had killed several grouse and caught enough 

 trout for their needs by the time they had got well into 

 the mountains, but they had seen no larger game until 

 one morning Edgar, who was leading the party, stopped 

 and motioned for silence. 



All dismounted quickly, and Edgar said he had seen 

 the horns of a buck oter the ridge, and the hunters could 

 no\^ get a shot. Georgie said it had been arranged be- 

 tween himself and Porgie that Porgie should shoot th© 

 first large animal they met and he the second, and so 00. 

 alternately, but Edgar told them both to come and fire 

 the moment they got a good chance. They crept up to 

 the ridge and saw a fine deer standing quite near. Both, 

 the young men happened to get ready at about the same 

 moment and their shots came close together. The buck 

 ran away some dintance and he looked as if he were going 

 out of sight, but Edgar said he was hard hit and soon he 

 lay down, and by the time the hunters reached him was 

 quite dead. They searched for the bullet wounds, but 

 they could only find one hole and neither of them could 

 remember what part he had aimed at. Porgie knew how 

 a deer should be divided among various claimants when 

 each had a share in the capture, but here there was 

 doubt. Finally they decided that the meat should be 

 common property and that Porgie should have the head 

 to stuff and Georgie should receive the skin for a mat. 



That afternoon a message came to Edgar from hia 

 herder to say that the sheep were threatened with a 

 renewed attack of the scab and ought to be dipped in 

 tobacco juice again. So Edgar had to go home, but Sam 

 said that he would stay with the hunters and take them 

 to a place where they would be sure to find bear. Sam 

 said the place was about twelve miles off and he knew 

 the way very well. They traveled, however, two days 

 and a half before Sam recognized the desired spot. They 

 made camp very quietly in the evening and ate cold pan- 

 cakes for supper so that they nef-d not frighten the game 

 with the light of a fire. Early in the morning they rose 

 and looked for bear and bear tracks or other indications. 

 It proved that it was a bad season for berries and Sam 

 said the bears must be back along the range, seeking 

 other food, Georgie and Porgie thought they had 

 reached the back of the range and asked Sam if 

 there were any other back region in the range 

 further back than they were. Sam would not ex- 

 plain clearly, but maintained that the bears must 

 be back along the range because they were nowhere 

 else. While they were discussing this point Sam 

 looked down a small valley and was surprised to see a 

 well'traveled wagon road there. The party approached 

 it and soon met a four-horse team. The driver told 

 them that a newly ^completed branch of the railroad ran to 

 a station about half a mile away. This displeased Sam, 

 but Georgie and Porgie thought on reflection that this 

 would be very convenient for them. So they got Sam to 

 pack up their things and made him a present of many 

 yaluable articleB that they did not want and some money 



