they wanted was to get us away from tlie creek. Their 
camps were on it sonievvhere, ' and they wanted the 
squaws to be given time to pack np and go. The whole 
command came out licre now; then leaving the Indians 
to follow or not, just as it suited them, we started up 
the creek to hunt their camp: but kept up on the edge 
ol the plauis while the Indians kept about i,ooo yards 
behind. They knew jnsi liow 'far our carbines could 
carry. Tlie Spencer is good up to about 400 yards; 
beyond that it is of little, account. There was one gun 
here, though, that the Indians knew nothing about just 
them; they found out all about it later on. 
I had my ritle with me and was anxious now to drop 
out and waken those fellows up. 
Along the edge of the jjlains about every 400 yards, a 
ravine crossed our trail. These ravines are called 
draws, and are made by the water ui the wet season, 
when it runs oS the plains duwn tu the creelc. There 
is no timber, and there are not often many bushes on 
the banks. We were coming to one of these draws 
when the Heutenant droijped baqk and said to nie: 
"Suppose you drop out of the ranks at the next draw 
and try tliat gun on those fellows." 
"Yes, sir, 1 would like to do it." 
"Then keep a mau with you to hold your horse, and 
when we have crossed, wait until they get close enough, 
then drop one or two of them; they won't give you 
a chance to drop many of them before they go back. 
Then follow us. Uon't stop there too long. If you 
see them making preparations to charge, you leave 
in a hurry. We will be close enough to prevent their 
cutting you oflf." 
When we had got to the draw I dismounted down 
in it out of sight of the Indians, and as soOn as every- 
thing had crossed I climbed up, still keeping out of 
sight, and raising my sight to 400 yards, lay down. 
I had eleven cartridges in the magazine, and put an- 
other in the chamber. I might gei a chance to give 
them the whole twelve, I hoped I would, I did not 
need them, I had too many for my horse to cai'ry. 
The Indians were nearly a quarter ol a mile away, but 
were closing up now. They did not want the column 
to get too far ahead of them, or not far enoug'h ahead 
of them, either. 
When they had got to what I judged wa.9 about 400 
yards of me, they stopped all in a bunch. I could 'not 
see the column from where I lay, but it had halted. 
This was what had caused the Indians to halt; they 
did not want to get too close up; they were too close 
now, but did not know it just yet.. 
One of them, riding to the front, turned his pony, aiid 
standing up in his saddle, made derisive gestures at the 
column. 
I took what I thought was a good aim and fired, but 
shot too low. I hit the pony, and it went down, carry- 
ing the Indian down with it. He must have got his 
leg under his pony for he was trying to get from under 
when my rifle spoke again, and this time I hit him. 
The other Indians were going back now as fast as 
their ponies could carry them, and jumping up I "sent 
them the remaining ten without waiting to take any 
aim; then going down to my horse rode on to the 
column. 
The officers had been watching me through- their 
glasses, and told me that at least half of my shots had 
hit either a man or a pony; they thought most of them 
had hit ponies. The riile wonld kill at 1,200 yards if it 
hit, and I had got the last of my shots fired before the 
Indians Avere much more than that far away, so 1 was 
not surprised at what they told me. Years after this 
the Indians themselves told me, not knowing at the 
time who had done the shooting, that three men had 
been hit. None of them died, they said, and they had 
forgotten then how many ponies I had hit, but it was 
a "heap many." I told the Indians, to account for my 
interest in the afifair, that I had been with these buffalo 
soldiers when this happened. 
We rode down to the creek soon after this, and while 
Ave Avere Avatering our horses one of our Tonkawa In- 
dian scouts, who had ridden up the vallcjr ahead of us, 
came in and told us' that there Avas a camp up above; 
and we put out for it at a gallop. 
, The camp soon came in sight, but it Avas only a small 
fine of half a dozen lodges, and across the creek from 
it a herd of about fifty ponies were grazing. Four In- 
dians Avere running out to the herd. They had only 
noAV taken the alarm. Three or four of us whites and 
the Tonkawas Aveilt for the lierd at a gallop, while the 
negroes fired one volley into the camp, and the shots 
not being returned, the trumpets sounded "Cease fir- 
ing." There was no one hut squaws and children in the 
camp; the men we were after and those I had been 
shooting at back there belonged here. 
The TonkaAvas shot doAvn two of the men before they 
had got to the herd; the other two got on ponies bare- 
backed and left. We need not have let them go. I 
certainl}^ could run down any pony Avith the horse I 
rode; but I did not try, nor even fire at them. The 
ponies Avere what we wanted. 
About the only charge that could be brought against 
these Indians was that they preferred to remain wild 
and not go on a reservation. They raided the settlers, 
it is true, but only for horses and cattle. I never knew 
of these Indians burning a ranch. The Kiowas Avould, 
though. I would not give a Kiowa nor a Cheyenne 
quarter. We destroyed the camp next. The lodges 
wete made of tanned buffalo hide. The only way th^ey 
could be burned Avas to throw them doAAm, then pile the 
Avood and saddles on them and set all on fire. While 
Ave Avere destrojang these lodges I examined them for 
pistols or magazine rifles; but only foimd a few muzzle- 
loaders, Avhich Ave destroyed. I got several nice painted 
work bags belonging to the squaws; these were made 
of buckskin and covered with bead work, and had in 
them the' usual squaw outfit of penknife and scissors 
and needles; I claimed them and afterAvard sent them 
to my women cousins in the East. 'i- • " 
It' was cold weather now and Ave Averc not' allowed 
to carry a blanket on the horse when leaivng the post. 
Some of our men were seizing the ' extra Indian 
blankets here-. There were plenty of them, but I did 
not Avant any;T knew Avhat Avould be in them; so did 
these ttien afterwards, when they had to sleep by them- 
FoR:EST AND STREAM, 
selves on our way home, and burn the clothes they 
wore after they had got home. But 1 threw my old 
rope lariat-away now and replaced it Avith a new buck- 
skin one. - . - ■ — .- . , . 
After the camp was-, destroyed we took . the squaws, 
children and ponies, and going doAvn the creek a mile 
or two went into camp- for the night. One of the old 
.squaAVs had been shot in the arm when that volley was 
fired into the camp; she AA^as the oi^ly one who had 
been hit; we .brought i-her .to the doctor, and when she 
saw him opening his case to -dress her arm^, she reached 
under her Wankct, using .her good arm, and brought 
out a butcher knife, and - went for the do'ctor. We 
caught her before she had time to carve him; and hold- 
ing her had him dress her arm. She had seen the doc- 
tor's tools and not.kHiowing why we had' brought her 
here, naturally, supposed-: he Av'as going -to begin his 
scalping on -h^if; t .71 - v,.- t- • ■ - 
The next morning !tl*e= captured ■'stock ..was divided. 
Each ofiicer-^got a pony -if he wanted one; the. re.st 
Avere given to'the Tonkiawas. -; These ■Tonkawa -scouts 
Avere supposed to be half civilized; they; were not nnicli 
more than half-civilized; thought s .- 
They were the remnant ol a once large tribe that 
had been by this time nearly all - killed off. by the 
Comanches. They andlhfe Gomanchcs were deJt'dly ene- 
mies. • What wer« left of tttem had a reser-vation at 
Griffin." They all "gpoke English and hdd English nanics. 
1 had formed a Iriendsilip Avith one them and had 
given- him part' of my name,' Antferson. ''• ' 
When the stock' was' giWn out 'our^ lieutenant took a 
mule', which he afterSv-itrd ^Otiiid he had a.s" mtich u^e 
for' as he would ha't'6-''for' a pffiV; Of Avings. When we 
had formed a closei'- atquaintance with the animal, we 
fomid that he- could ndt 'be ridden, would not lead, and 
could- n"Ot' be driven "Ivit'l'j '-a-iiything , shorter tban a lodge 
pole, if the drivet- did''tlbt Avarft lii's head kicked off. 
Most 'miire's''ar(y'saf'd'to' handle if you' ketp close to the 
head'.- This.'dng' cciuM-'Id'ck 'with''both pair of feet with 
equal "faTcilityi a'iid' 'ht?' licked'"]!nore1ike a cow than a 
m'lile. '•" '• ■''■' ; .'►'^i';;'^3'' -ii'i - 
After' s'evera'I-'of 'ffs'lhad fried' either to drive or lead 
him, and had .fajj'c'd, ' the' lieutenant tfdld us tb lH him 
go, and he A'^'^eilt, but"i10t''to the splice the lieutenant 
had sent hirii'tp; It js iiof to be fourid on the map of 
Te^ias. ' Howetef. 'the jiude did no't look for it,' but 
went to '-an' old mlu-e;|the'-Incnahs liad,'^^^ folloAved 
her." - She rnay \HaVe Ib'eeh his inotHer. Any time we 
wanted ^ the .\hfule'^W^f;,ilvi§ couldfalways find him 
where tlie nlaf-e AVas?"" '".V? ''^ ' -'' ' 
One afternoon dii' oift' ^ay .hofee,', a, controversy took 
place' as to whethei^.o'r'iiot anyone cold ride the mule; 
and the subjecfi'' -wks '.fin^W;^ re'f prredr, to 'me. I had 
generally fo'linlpire' some soVt ''0;!^^;^^ d!Kpute"about once 
a' day; at most tiines it would oe'^pne 'of ' law or his- 
tory; to.-day it referred to our friend, the mule. 
One of. the 'meii here had given it .as his. opinion that 
even the mythical Individual- who is supposed to pre- 
side where the lieutenant "had sent the mule, could not 
ride him. . ' / \ 
"I do not know if he, can .or-, not," I told them, "I 
have not therlronpr of .jiis jpejsonal acquaintance, and 
don't want it,, but ifi yatt'men willfieatch that mule for 
me I will see if I call ride him .or not." 
Oh, they, would catch :hijisifrtbat. was all I wanted.. 
"That is all, just catch him 'and ihold him while 1. 
put my saddle on* hjm. yd AVill- do;, the rest/.' . 
AVe hunted up- the mule, ; got a-.-rope ©ja him, and by 
main force dragged him.. tip to a tree, jamming his 
head close up to itji-^Thenp-while half a dozen men kept 
it^ there, I put -on ;my- saddle. . -Then forcing the mule 
back a few, feet ifrom^the'tree,. for I did not want to 
mount him Avhile he)X;ould lie up against it .and break 
my leg, I prepared tO' mount. The "Tactics" give us 
complete instructiotis how to' mount a horse; they say 
nothing about a mufe: I used these instructions in 
mounting him; but ignored ^ them' altogether when I 
came to dismount, later' «n. J. > ; ; 
Getting into the saddle, I>' tofd- the men to let him 
go. They took off the rope,i%ut lihe mule stood stock 
still. This was not one of -his -days -for going. 
"Give him- the' Spnr;"-5G)ne-'c5f the- men- advised. 
I gaAi-e him both:, of -fthem, atnd Was liberal about it. 
This seemed'to ■'Cvaken'-^liim..u'{ft' Gathering all his feet 
into a bun'tf-h he m'ade'Jt^vQ' or thtee- buck j'Umps, and I 
dismounted, executih;g-" Avhtt 'the Tactics call an "arc 
of circle" over the AtiTe's Keati and -sat 'do^n in front 
of him. I'-,^at dBwn so''hard-U-fati'fbr ^ hioment I did 
not know -^-hether I ^Svas iter-e 3F-'6ver -in 'New Mexico-. 
But the mule was still here, and I expedied bis next 
mOA'-e would be to lift jtle up'-%ith his liitid f6et, so I 
got up, and the i^ililli^ I'^fti'^oiaig back to where we had 
got liirri from, arid' as' sbon^'k'S h'e had 'g6f there! he lay 
doAvn to try -to f olt' the saddle off,-^ b'i)it did riot suc- 
ceed. I had put it_on_to stay on. 
We had a corporaf named Fl'anigan, an Irishman, 
and a natural born fool, so i^-norant that he could 
hardly sign his nai-i|(sM'the,.:pais;i,i&-S.oSe had SAvallowed 
all the big words he found, in the dictionary and used 
them in his conversatioti, general}}' ■gfetting hold of the 
Avrong word. Tfcfe-'men -hated' 'him- bw account of his 
propensity for repO'rting them for 'puWishment, or often 
giving the punishtlifent" fii?st|'' then rep'orting it after- 
ward. A "non-et^ini-* then ha'd riidpe authority' in that 
respect' than his ofificef' rtpw has; ■•hfe' dould tie a' mjm 
up, buck and" gag him, 0^1 jgife him a log to carry, for 
anjr'or no offenMd Wha-tever. it'cannot-'be done no-w 
though. 'He had' never' trifed to'ptini'sh me'yet. He Avas 
continually making -misfajtes ffiat laid hi'rh' open to 
punishment himself, '-an'd' /I kept telHtig him-' of them; 
he seemed to be" afraid''6fattle. He was reduced to the 
ranks soon affe'r this, and^ AA'asP appointed in his place. 
That hurt hirn'-l-irt6.re thari Hrs-- ■redriction--did; he had 
been expecting 'thai-;'- but ;I was'^d'Tiiyfa "recruit" here: 
The lieutyriant ' was h^ard frori1-''ri'b-\v. '' "Corporal 
Flanigan," he called out,-".Send me tKe"frfan who owns 
the saddle on that mule there." 
"The liftinint wants ye," he told me, "an' it's meself 
as is of the opinion that he has a log, for ye. It Avill 
a#grd rn,e ,.a..,.grea,t^deal. of-.-:;ple^^ a heaA'^ 
one.p Ye--.|ha-V;e ^jairned ■ if, me^ b;.icky; ye are so darn 
sMH;, tSe^ h6fl thi^li Want'% correct ye meself." 
-'"Veryi''good, 'cOrprora'Ff ' but -'don't' go- to hunt that 
log before you get the order. He may not giv e me 
one after all; he -don't give me many, you know." 
He had ncA'er given nie any and djd not give m- 
one now. These logs were carried un the . shoulder, 
under the eye of the guard, for punishment.'' When 
1 was provost-sergeant at this post of Griffin, I had 
a pet boy, a trumpeter named Gray, who would be 
sent to me about every other day tu be made carry 
a log. I had a log that 1 kept for him; it looked as 
if it weighed a ton; it really weighed ten pounds, be- 
ing a mere shell plugged up at each eiid. Going up to 
Ihc lieutenant, I saluted him and stood at attention. 
"Is that your saddle on that mule?" he asked, poinl:- 
ing to the mule, which lay on his back, nr as nejir on it 
as my saddle would allow him witli his fe.et stuck up 
in the air. 
"Yes, sir, it is mine." 
"What is it doing on that mule?" 
"I was trying to ;ride him, sir." 
"Well, did you succeed?" 
"No, sir. he thrcAV me." 
"Of course he did.' l^Jow dun't- you kiio-W? i>y- tT-iTS 
time lhat you or no. one else can, ride: the' blanked 
mule? .Had 1 wanted you to ride him you would not 
have been half as anxious to do Jt as you seem tp, be. 
Catch him, n(,)w, and get your s,addlc olf him before he 
breaks it for you. If you can't catch him, yourself .get 
those men to help you." They Ayere -willing enough to 
help you when you wanted him caught before." He 
had seen the whole affair. 
We surrounded the mule again, got another rope on 
him, got him up to the tree again. I dared not go 
Avithin ten feet of him unless Ave had him spubbed up 
to .something. Then I got my saddle and bridle oft" 
and let him go. lie was afterward giv.en to the Tonka- 
Avas, but after he had hall-killed several of them. they 
shot and ate him. C^bia Blanco. ' 
As to the Red Gods. 
Editor Forest and Stream: ' ■ ■ 
Siiice Mr. R. W. Ashcroft returns to the j'ustifiektion 
of his condemnation of Kiplmg's poem, and to the 
support of the assertions of his "alter ego,"'' L. "F: 
Brown— of Sand Lake, Michigan, Avhose violent AVords 
he main.tains were "legitimate literary criticism,"' I 
think it may be in the interest of all concerned to' call 
attention to the fact that legitimate literary criticism 
is not secured by misrepresentation or evasib'n of' points 
uhdiCr discussion. 
Mr. Brown asserted that "A bar , is atmiiys a dc-, 
posit of alluvium earth-sediment, which has' 'gathered 
and formed a mud hank^ or island}' (The italics 
are mine.) From this ' deliberate and sweeping,' 
statement of his own T Avas ' 'surely justified jp. 
my inference that, according to his own words',' 
Mr. Brown had never seen or heard of such a thing 
as a sand, bar, although the term is .one of the: com- 
monest in the language, and the. .thing referred.^ to a.s* 
common and generally known as anything that could 
be named. ' 
Mr. Ashcroft says "this is all fog," though it, js.' im- 
possible to detect any fog in regard to the whole mat- 
ter save that which Mr. Ashcroft , and Mr. Brown have 
tried to raise. 
Perhaps the chorus of indignant responses which 
their letters called forth may suggest to these gentle- 
men that the \vorld-wide reputation of the most ac-. 
ceptable story-teller and poet of the present time Avas. 
not based upon "blindness to nature's beauty and 
grace," "mistruth," "inexactness," "misdescriptio.n," 
"rhyme-tinsel," "daubed chromo" picturing, "inten- 
tionally distorted and brulesque description," "just such 
false work" a,s the burlesque doggerel "Caramel," 
"fakir vociferation," "squawking of a brood goose on 
addled eggs," etc., etc., to quote no more of ' the rtbaTd 
epithets of these "legitimate literary, crtics.!" ' 
To ascribe to Mr. Hardy and myself a mesmerized 
condition which makes us "consider it sacrilegious to 
criticise" any of Kipling's productions on account of 
"a divinity hedging about him," is quite gratuitous. Our 
Avillingness to criticise anything else of KipHpg's .has 
been in no wise tested or called into question- by any- 
thing in this discussion. . , 
A poem generally accepted and enj oyed, not '.only.; as 
one of great beauty of poetic conception, but of . singu- 
larly accurate epithet and description ; of nature, has 
been assailed with a rudeness and violence to Avhiqh 
readers of Forest and Stream are quite unaccus- 
tomed, and which has called forth protest from those 
who will not permit the "critics'! to retire under any 
"fog" that they may try to raise; Mr. B,rown'.s "circular 
letter" on the question of , canoe-poles, so far as it is 
addressed .to sportsmen in "India, "NorAvay," "Aus- 
tralia," "Finland" and points in the "upper Amazon 
Valley," may elicit facts of interest to Mr. BroAvn, and 
perhaps other, but none having any bearing Avhatever, 
on the point at issue, viz., as stated in Mr. BroAvn's 
OAvn words, whether Kipling was a "fakir when = he 
Avrote the nine words": 
"To the click of shod canoe-pdles round the bend.^,'' 
Everyone who has read the poem, "The Feet of the 
Young Men," knows Avhat part of the world is de- 
scribed by each division of the poem, and what is 
meant by the "Four Way Lodge." 
He also knows that the land of "the blackened tim- 
ber" and the "raAv right-angled log jam" and Avhere 
the "shod canoe-poles" "click," and Avhere we shall find - 
the "silent, smoky Indian" and the "couch of- new- 
pulled hemlock" is not," in "India" or "Norway" or 
"Australia" or the "Upper Amazon Valley," and that. 
Kipling's lines are not responsible for the customs of 
boatmen there, whatever those customs may be, and 
that the attempt to divert attention to them in the ef- 
fort to support a hasty arid mistaken "statement is the 
thing that "is all fog." From the land to which Kip- 
ling's words apply, Ave have already heard a chorus of 
approving voices, and on their testimony the poet's 
use of Avords is abundantly vindicated. 
He has seen the shod canoe-pole and heard its click— 
and knows that thousands of other men have — and, Avith 
the best warrant in the world he coins his truthfullj 
