EXPERIENCES OF A TRAPPER AND HUNTER 
FROM YOUTH TO OLD AGE 
By T. ALEXANDER 
CHAPTER XL 
The first of April arrived and Bill and I were off. Five months’ 
pleasure and we crossed the river on the Choctaw Reservation and pro¬ 
ceeded up the Arkansas River on an old cattle trail. There was no 
public highways in those days in the territory. The cattle trails were 
the only real roads by which you could travel. As we rode we met 
some Indians and they seemed to know Bill, and they would chat 
sometimes for an hour. As night drew near, I proposed to Bill that 
we strike camp. “No,” he said “I have a friend about four miles up 
the river and we will stay with him.” So we spurred, up our ponies 
and soon arrived at Bill’s friends. ‘‘Hello, Bill!” came a voice in plain 
English. We turned in our saddles to see who it was speaking and 
Bill saw that it was his friend, Pequay. He dismounted and as they 
met they shook hands and Pequay said, “Who is this with you?” He 
said “This is my friend, Alexander. Shake hands with him, he is all 
right.” Pequay advanced and gave me an Indian’s searching look and 
a hearty handshake and then turned to Bill anl said, “Let’s go to the 
house.” Bill and Pequay walked but I followed behind riding my pony. 
As we approached the house I saw several Indian squaws and men. 
They all stepped out to see the newcomers. As w r e approached the 
bunch and they saw Bill and recognized him, they started for him, and 
as they met Bill presented both hands. And of all the handshaking! 
It looked to me as though they would pull Bill’s arms from their 
sockets. After the Hurrah, Bill said, “This is my friend,” and I 
raised my hat as I had not as yet dismounted. The bunch gave me 
the suspicious look which Indians always give a stranger who is a 
white man. “Get down,” says Pequay and take off your saddle. 
This I did at once and was well pleased at the way the Indian had 
addressed me. We led our ponies to a small prairie and staked them 
out. The grass was about four inches high, tender and good feed 
such as animals relish in the spring. Bill and Pequay walked directly 
to the house as I followed. Pequay’s dwelling was a crude log house 
with a chimney in it that would receive wood five feet long. The 
house was furnished with round log benches and only the bark and 
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