FOREST AND STREAM. 
47 
regular, too. My commission has not got here yet. I may 
et a court-martial instead of a commission, but let it go 
Thp Arapahoes were nearly up now, and their chief, 
eeing us halted here, also halted his outfit, then rode 
orward alone. I started and met him half way. 
"Why does the Arapahoe follow the trail ot the 
:omanche?" I asked him. . 
"I go to the Salt Fork to hunt. I am not following the 
;omanche. I don't want him." 
"The Salt Fork is there," I said, pointing to the south- 
vest, "let the Arapahoe go that way. That road is open. 
This one is not open. I have it closed. I say it. 
The chief looked at my line of battle, then looked bacl< 
o see- where his corporal and escort were. They were 
lot in sight. They had remained far enough in the rear 
iot to get mixed up in this affair. 
■T go that way," he said. 
"It is good. That road is wide and no man shall stop 
yrou. I say it." 
The Arapahoe chief turned his party south, and as 
joon as I saw that he really meant to go that way, 1 let 
him go, and kept on to overtake our band. 
We camped that night in the Salt Fork of the Canadien, 
near its head. . . j i. 
We had overtaken the buffalo again ; it seemed that 
they could not get away from us. There were plenty 
of them. I have shot them here, stalking them on foot 
among these sand hills the same as I would hunt deer. 
When we hunted them mounted, we would get as close to 
them as possible, going up slowly ; then when they had 
taken the alarm, we would ride after them and run them 
down; and it took a good pony to run them down, too. 
When we had got up with the bunch, we would single out 
the animal we wanted, then ride close in on him and 
shoot him. I have shot them when my pistol was close 
enough to burn the hair. The moment the pony saw the 
flash of the pistol, he would jump sideways and go off. 
He was afraid of being charged on. It is singular, but 
it is a fact, that should the man be thrown, the wounded 
buffalo would pay no attention to him, but continue to 
follow the pony. We shot them just behind the fore- 
shoulder ; that was the only spot in which they could be 
hit to be killed. ^ ■ , ^ -u . 
When I got among these buffalo I got excited, and shot 
as long as I had a ball in either of my pistols. I never 
used but one pistol at a time, though, and contented 
myself with shooting them singly. I have read an account 
of how men rode into them, then dropping their reins 
shot right and left, using two pistols. I could not do that. 
Neither could they. The man who rode m among them 
that way would stay there. He and his horse would be 
gored and trampled to death. The writer of such stuff- 
it had not been written for me, but for boys— probably 
killed his buffalo in his mind behind a desk m Boston or 
New York ; he never killed them out here on the plains, 
and he probably had forgotten when giving us— or the 
boys, rather— this blood-and-thunder narrative, that Uiere 
were still a few men living who really had killed buffalo, 
even if they could only kill one at a time. , , •„ , 
I shot my first buffalo in 1855, and since then had killed 
my share of them and a few more besides, and I could 
hunt them with any Indian chief and kill as many m the 
same time as he could. The white man who could kill 
more than one of these old chiefs could does not live 
now, or if he does, I have never met him. An Indian 
who h?d only a bow and arrows could shoot nearly as 
many as we could. He would ride on the right side of 
the buffalo, and send an arrow clear through him, so that 
it could be pulled out on the opposite side. The arrows 
were tipped with broad iron points, and could only be 
taken out that way. Each tribe has its arrows marked 
differently. The mark is in the shape of the blood gutter 
that runs from the heart toward the feather. If an arrow 
i? lost and a friendly Indian finds h, he always returns it 
to the chief of the tribe whose mark it bears, and he 
knows to whom in his tribe this arrow belongs; but if 
found by an enemy he generally breaks it; though i 
have had a Cheyenne return a Comanche arrow to me; 
he might not have given it to the chief, though ■ 
Our bows were made of osage orange, or burdock, as the 
Texans call it; bois d'arc, the French name for this 
wood, is where they get the name burdock from. 
When a piece of this orange wood that would make a 
bow was found, it was cut ; then might be carried for 
the next six months before being made into a bow. \V hile 
the men and boys made their own arrows, one man here 
made all the bows, and some of our men had bows that 
could hardly be bought from them. They make bovvs to 
sell to tourists, but these are only made to sell, ihey 
would not use them themselves. I had a bow and its 
case and a quiver full of arrows that were made for me, 
and I got to be expert enough to be able to send an arrow 
just where I wanted it. I gave the bow and arrows to a 
museum in St Louis some years after this. 
A good many men who had pistols still used the bow 
and kept the pistol in reserve, on account of their not 
having much powder for them. Most of their pisto s 
were the old powder and baU Colt's or Remington, while 
mine were breechloaders; and my cartridges would not 
fit their pistols. But I often lent one of mine to them, 
and when I did so an Indian and I would ride down a 
herd and I would have to do close shooting to not let ^him 
beat me. I have given a pistol to a son of the chief s, a 
boy of about twenty years of age, and have had him get 
six buffalo in six shots. ^ , , -i^ 
When I first joined the band, I saw a fine, heavy -built, 
milk-white pony in the chief's herd that was never ridden, 
and I asked the chief why he was not used. 
"He can't be ridden," he said, "he throws us off hiin. 
He is no good. I will shoot him some day, then we will 
eat him." . . . , • 1. 
"No, don't shoot him just yet. I'll give him a chance 
to throw me one of these days. I don't think he can do 
it, though." . , , . J 
I had been waiting for a good place to ride him, and 
now had it; so one morning I told the negro boy to rope 
the pony and bring him in. I put my McClellan saddle 
and heavy bridle on him, and then the negro thought he 
could ride him with this saddle. I told him to try. I 
had kept the rope on the horse's neck, and stood off hold- 
ing the end of it The boy mounted, and after the pony 
had given a few back jumps dismounted over the pony's 
head. I got a short, round stick and lashed it to the 
poliimel of the saddle. It is Called a bucking stick, and 
with this on the pony could not throw the boy, the stick 
liolding him on by pressing against his legs. The nc-gro 
boy got on him again, and the pony tried to buck him off; 
but every time he did so, I jerked on the rope and shut 
off his wind. Next the pony tried to lie down and roll 
him off, but I called the pony's attention to this rope 
again. The hoy now got off and said he would give it up. 
l ied the pony down close to the river bank where the 
sand was a foot deep, and taking off the rope and stick, 
mounted him. He tried to buck, but could not; the sand 
was too deep. Then he started off, and with every jump 
that he made I gave him a cut with a short riding whip — 
a quirt it is called. Next he tried to roll, but I had him 
there also; I had on a pair of gilt spurs such as the 
officers wear, with sharp rowels. 'I could cut his sides to 
pieces with them; so I "gave him the spurs," as our 
officers tell us to do when the horse goes on a strike and 
quits. These spurs were something he had not "met up 
with" before, and he concluded that he did not want to 
lie down to-day. After I had half killed him, I got off 
him and led him out of the sand. The chief, who was 
looking on, wanted to know if I was tired. 
"No, but the pony is." 
"Oh, go on, kill him; he is no good." 
"No, you don't kill this pony. I'll ride him or he will 
kill me." 
I led him up to camp, took his saddle off, got a lump 
of sugar and offered it to him. He looked at it, then at 
me, then taking the sugar, ate it, and rubbed his nose 
against my shoulder. He wanted more sugar. 
' "He likes you now," the chief said, "he won't try to 
throw you any more." 
He liever did. I rode him out to the herd, and turning 
liim loose caught a small pony to hunt buffalo oil. When 
I came in in the evening the chief's squaw said: "You 
have the Comanche language, but no Comanche name, 
and I have a name for you now." 
"What is it, my sister?" I asked. 
" 'Cabia Blanco,' White Pony," she told me. 
"It is good. I like it." And as Cabia Blanco I was 
known ever afterwards. 
The next morning, going out to the herd, I held up a 
lump of sugar and my pony came to me and let me mount 
him. I rode him all this and the following winter. He 
turned out to be one of the fastest ponies that we had, 
and a good buffalo pony, but I never used him in hunting 
if T had a chance to change his saddle to a sorrel pony. 
I had a superstition that I could not be killed when 
mounted on a sorrel; and never would ride a horse of 
any other color in the cavalry. I rode a sorrel for twenty 
years, ten of them in a bay horse troop, and at one tipe 
i had the only sorrel in the troop, the captain allowing 
ine to keep him when he traded off all his off-colored 
horses for bays. Cabia Blanco. 
[The Spanish of Cabia Blanco's name is Caballo bianco, 
white horse, the sound of caballo, horse, being cab-i-o; 
the "i" being sounded like the English pronoun of the 
first person.] 
[to be continued.] 
Camp Medicine and Surgery. 
Mr. George Kennedy's request as to filling his medical 
case to take into camp has excited my interest. It has 
been my experience during many years of outing that 
the services of a surgeon are more needed in cainp than 
are those of a physician. The most common accident in 
my experience has come from the ignorant or 'careless use 
of the camp ax or tomahawk. The tenderfoot likes _tn 
chop, and frequently the ax glances or fails to hit its 
mark, and in consequence of this miss a wound more or 
less serious often results. While I am a sincere admirer 
of our great leader, Nessmuk, yet I have given up the 
use of his double-bitted ax because of its danger. The 
most natural thing is to strike it into a log or into a tree 
with one of its edges uppermost, and I know of one or 
two accidents resulting from such a careless disposal of it. 
If the ax had been of the usual solid head, no accident 
would have happened. 
Drugs are a physician's tools, and what one physician 
would use might not be used by another one, although 
they would both achieve the same result. My experience 
of the past twenty-five years, in camps from Canada to 
South America, has resulted in fitting up my pocket case 
as follows : 
I advise a liberal supply of surgeon's adhesive plaster, 
torn into strips two inches wide and three feet long, the 
quantity to equal about three square feet. This is care- 
fully wrapped in paraffined paper to prevent hardening 
and to keep it clean. This is the most useful adjunct of 
the pocket case. It can be used for drawing small cuts 
together instead of stitches, and for fastening bandages 
on abrasions and cuts. It can also be used for splints in 
case of sprains by wrapping the injured part firmly with 
plenty of the plaster, extending well above and below the 
injury. This gives support and much comfort. A patch 
of it will stop a leak in a rubber blanket It will cover 
spark holes in the little Nessmuk tent I have mended 
my pack with it, and on one occasion it provided a fairly 
serviceable patch for my camp moccasins. But its most 
common use is for dressing blisters on the feet. Unless 
one is hardened to the trail a blister will often appear, 
causing great discomfort and well-nigh spoiling the whole 
trip. 
One bottle in the case should have a hypodermic 
syringe with two needles for it, kept immersed in pure 
alcohol. This prevents the syringe drying up and also 
keeps it antiseptic. Wrap the points of the needles in a 
little piece of sheet rubber before putting them in the 
bottle alongside of the syringe. This will prevent their 
getting dulled. Another bottle should have several yards 
of coarse and fine surgeon's silk, v/ith two_ straight, 
medium sized surgeon's needles, one curved medium sized, 
and one small curved surgeon's needles. These should 
also be kept in the bottle filled with alcohol. These are 
to be used for sewing cuts and tying arteries if such an 
emergency should arise. Another bottle should contain 
tablets of bichloride of mercury to dissolve to make an 
antiseptic solution of one to one thousand, for sterilizing 
your hands, tools and wounds. This solution is made 
much quicker than boiling water, and should be faithfully 
employed. A solution of permanganate of potash should 
fill another bottle, for bites of snakes and poisonous in- 
sects. Attothef bottle should contain hypodermic tablets 
of sulphate of strychnine, to be used hypodermically iri 
case of heart failure due to over-exertion or the effect of ^ 
snakes, .alacrans, tarantulas, etc., which require a hypo^ . 
dermic injection of the permanganate of potash. The 
strychnine will keep the heart going until the poison is 
neutralized and inert 
With these surgical necessities there should be an ■ 
artery forc'eps and needle-holder combined.^ I have one ' 
ihree inches long, which, in spite of its size, is a very 
practical tool. The above will be surgical material enough ' 
for any minor surgery that an amateur will be apt to 
undertake in a camp. 
Now for the medical part of the equipment. Have pne 
bottleful of compound cathartic pills for constipation, 
another bottle with camphor and opium pills for diarrhea. 
One or two of your bottles should contain soda mints for 
sour stoinach, heartburn, etc., to be taken internally. Dis- 
solved in water they make a soothing application for ivy 
poisoning- and itching and burning eruptions of the skin. 
One bottle should contain ointment made from benzoated 
oxide of zinc for a base in which resorcin has been 
worked in. This is for fly bites, mosquitoes, sand-fleas, 
and ah stings that are not dangerous, but exceedingly uri- 
comfortable. Another bottle might contain dry boracic 
acid which can be dusted on galls, abscesses and chafes, 
or it can be dissolved in water and used for sore eyelids. 
The last bottle should contain tincture of opium to be 
used internally for pain, and to be combined with the 
boracic acid solution or with the soda mint solution for 
sore eyes and for skin eruptions resulting from vegetable 
poisons. If I was going south, I should take at least an 
ounce of sulphate of quinine in tablets for malaria. If I 
was going north of Mason and Dixon's line I should not 
bother with the quinine. 
To the best of my recollection the boracic acid is used 
the least of anything in my case, and the soda mints are 
used the most This happens, I think, because of the 
amount of grease and fried things that one eats in camp, 
causing sour stomach and heartburn. It might be better 
to discard this bottle of boracic acid and use the bottle 
for the soda miiits. The bottles should all be plainly 
labeled, and if possible the screw tops and corks on the 
bottles containing the poisons should be made different 
from the others. This will often prevent mistakes. The 
druggist who fits up Mr. Kennedy's case can label and 
put the doses as required on the bottles. 
I have found this outfit sufficient, and with the addition 
of a sharp jackknife, a pair of tooth forceps and a 
catheter, I have practiced medicine when on the trail. I 
never paid a cent for entertainment at the ranches and 
the coffee fincas of Southern Mexico and Central America 
because of my sei'vices as a physician and surgeon. 
Edward French^ M.D. 
Little Rock, Ark., Jan. 8. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
I think that Mr. George Kennedy's suggestion in the cur- 
rent issue of the Forest and Stream about someone writ- 
ing an article about "The Camp Doctor and His Kit" & 
very good one. By all means let some physician, who is 
also a sportsman, write such an article. But far oftener 
than the camp needs a physician it needs a surgeon. Now, 
I am neither; but having had more experience with acci- 
dents and "first aid" than most men, I venture to make a 
few remarks. 
In the first place, many, if not most, of the fatalities 
from gunshot wounds — the accidents to which sportsmen 
are most liable — are due to loss of blood. If the bleeding 
could be stopped at the time, many deaths in the woods 
would be averted. Ordinarily all that would be needed 
is a bandage; but loose bandages are very inconvenient 
things to carry around, being liable to unroll, to get dirty, 
rendering it liable to infect the wound on which it is used, 
and to be carelessly used for making strings when pack- 
ing. The Germans (I have never seen one ai^where 
else) manufacture a bandage which overcomes all these 
difficulties. I have one before me now, such as I always 
carry in the woods. It bears the manufacturer's label, 
"C. Stiefenhofer, Munich," and consists of a bandage 
15 cm. (6 inches) wide and 10 m. (33 feet) long, put up 
in a tin can and soldered hermetically. The can is pro- 
vided with a key to open it, like an ordinary meat tin. 
It is about six inches long and two inches in diameter, 
and weighs about five ounces. Such a bandage can be 
carried for years in the pocket or camp kit, and is always 
clean and sterile and ready for immediate use on opening 
the can. It is large enough for dressing any part of the 
body, and if too wide can, of course, be made narrower 
by cutting the roll in two with a sharp knife. 
Another very desirable surgical appliance to have in 
the field is the Esmarch suspender; the invention of 
Prof. Esmarch, of Kiel, and in use by the German army. 
The cut I send is clipped from the catalogue of a Ger- 
man sporting goods dealer. As will readily be seen, the 
elastic is in one piece, so that when removed from^ the 
wire loops it makes a band about five feet long. This 
makes a ligature which is long enough and strong enough 
to stop the flow in case of a large blood vessel in one of 
the limbs being cut 
With these two little appliances many lives rnight be 
saved which are now sacrificed, and much suffering alle- 
viated. To carry the bandage is very little trouble (I 
always have one in the game pocket of my shooting coat, 
and never notice its presence), and to wear the suspen- 
ders is none at all. While few sportsmen^ outside of the 
