Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 January 1892 — HUNTING IN WYOMING. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HUNTING IN WYOMING.

FROM FT. M’KINNEY TO POWDER RIVER FORK. ■torlm of the Stage Hoad—The Feeding Ground of the Antelope—Chasing a I>eer at the Drop of a Hat—A Tenderfoot’s tuck. Endurance of a Wounded Antelope. We had been enjoying the ho pitality of Colonel J. J \an Horn, the comn andanta'i Fort McKinney, writes Charles E. Nixon in the Chicago Inter Ocean. Up to six months ago Fort McKinney was the most remote front : er poet, be ng over 200 miles from the railway: now the distance has been reduced one-lialf. In the surroundings contributing i o comfort, amid so much good taste showing the handiwork of refined and in enious woman, one cou d hardly reali: e that we were 700 miles from the nearest city. Omaha; that the ladies of the post had been accustomed to do their shopping entirely through the problematical medium of a price-I.st, wi h an expro s

company as a messeng r. You women of cities think of being denied the privilege of overhauling shelves of sifks. car- j ryi%g off dozens of samples, and hov. ring about Monday's “barga : n counters” as thick as leaves in \ai untrosa! The wives and daughters of the military are brought up in a more heroic school of denial, but one that Is more satisfactory In results, judging from the genuine comforts of household eouipment, the ! science of cookery, and the go d taste displayed in toilets. Eevenons a nos moutons —we were invited to engage in a hunt, and Frank Grouard, chief of scouts, the hero of a hundred hair-breadth escapes by flood and field, was called in for eonsu'tation. We had a wild longing to scale the heights of the Big Horn and track the grizziy to his lair, but tLe scout “sized us up” and intimated that we had better keep out of the mountains and chase the festive deer and antelope. Surely we were In the hands of our friends;i we wisely yielded without debate. Early next morning a cavalcade left the beautiful plateau of F’ort McKinney, lying in the shadow of the snow capped Big Horn, and started south towards the breaks of the Powder River. It was in charge of Capt. G. L. Scott, of the Sixth Oavalry. Oar first camp was thirty miles down the old stage road from Douglas to tort Custer, at Harris Kaneh, the s ene of Captain Burke’s (Eighteenth Infantry) fight in 18(59. Fot over a decade ago the whole country hereabouts was the hanting ground of the Indians. The renegade white man was nearly as bad as the redskin, aud the ;tage was frequently held up in the go-d od times The ranch houso is a long, low log structure; the store or bar pre-empts the larger portion of the building, and the annex Is the dining room where transients are treated. The front door is as heavy as the side walls and has chain locks, a device to furni h the man on the inside some advantage over his visitors. It Is historic, like the doors of the Theban Templo, but instead of hieroglyphics it is tilled fu lof bullets and

buckshot cards of visitors and reciprocal compliments from the inmates Tne most sensational “pick-up” at this point wartbe work of a “rustler" in the fall of 1887. Major Wamb. United States Paymaster, bad driven up in an ambulance with an os ort The air was tfttnfr cold and the paymaster went into the ranch nouse. accompanied ty most of hiaeacort, leaving a ca>alryman to •tend guard Presently the aromatic odor of onions and venison sto e out opoa tto air, and Harris came to the door aad shouted "all hands for mb." The stableman lo.t no rnm» hi cotUng then; the ahiv

cring soldier scanned the q»untry for miles arouDd; not a man in sight. He walked toward the door; just as his hand touched the latch he heard the sound of horse's feet Out from the stable yard like a flash came a slender young horseman, holding in one hand a small gripsack, in It was 815,000 pay for soldiers that had keen left in the ambulance. Away went the horseman with speed of the wind, up came the carbine to the soldier’s shoulder, the benumbed fingers pulled the trigger, tlie bullet was burled In the dust at the flying feet of the horse. There was a rush of liien.from the house, then another rush for arms, all the work of a minute perhaps, but the horseman was off at long range, zigzagging in his course in a style that made sights and wind gauges superfluous. \\ lm, zip, whiz went the bullets of a fu i lade: the soldiers were shooting to sa'e salary, but in vain; the daring rider only waved a defiant gesture of abomination as he rodo over tho ridge. Before the horses in the distant corral could get their loosened cinches tightened tne robber was over the hills and off toward the mountain fastnesses and was not heard from until two years later in Nebra-ka, where a small fraction of the money was recove, od That night we slept bn tho ground, an l neighbor Harris’ hogs were most attentive ami inquisitive The Captain broke two dubs over one razor back's head, and then dutifully tried to rest with a bunch o: cactus stuck in his heel like a natural spur, a painful souvenir

of his reckless barefoot charge in the' dark. In the morning the porkers were | just as naive and frisky as ever. The camp was up betimes next morning, and we were off early in a southerly direction. Toward noon we loft the stage-road and turned southeast. In the afternoon wo saw several bands of anteioie, and the Captain threw up the dust around them at 1,200 yards, hoping | to bring them our way, but with a reckless disregard for his wishes they turned tail In the other direction F'rank Grouard startod after them, and we saw no more of him until that night, when

he came into camp with two fat pronghorns. Now they are as sharp as any newsboys, and instead of cutting circus didos .they move off steadily in a long line without manifesting the pioneer spirit of aceommodat on for the benefit of tho hunter, and when they get a commanding position of four or five miles stop and wink the other eye. Next day we hunted in earnest, the captain and correspondent followed the sun toward the west, Frank Grouard aud Lieutenant Rhodes crossed tho river to the east, l rofessor B. held the fort, and the cavalrymen scoured the country

in a'l directions. How the game got away is a mystery, but it did. Following up the long draws on horseback we saw many deer signs running toward the river, but the fleet and crafty anima's were away back in the~ hills. There were many tracks of mountain ltou, and occasionally a coyote would bark at us and turn tail as a bullet responded to h s welcome. The first day was considered we 1 spent in getting the lay Of the land Grouard, of course, managed to slay a pair of antelope and a deer, and encourage us with the fact that game was about Wa were all In the saddle early the

following morning. The captain bid “Jefferson Davis” farewell, leaving assurance that he would have deer meat for supper. Grouard, myself and Lieutenant Rhodes crossed the powder and were soon threading the iabrynthian draws that led away from the river. Deer signs were quite thick. Grouard was slightly in advance, his keen eyes could fina the track of a wild turkey in tho sage grass, and could teil wheve a deer had trod during the previous fortyeight hours, picking the new out of a puzzling multitude of o d tracks. His gentle “sh, sh,” and quick gesture of the hand indicates something new and warm. A little shadow Hits up the canon “There goes a deer, wait here,” said the guide. Out of the gully and around it in S shape he circles. Crack goes his ride; we ride up just as Grouars is dragging out a small body that looks like a goat, ft is wild and wooly, quiet a young deer, and trie guide pronounced it “the most curious thing” he had ever shot A few minut‘s after lie has skillfully carved the carcass, has the hams on his horse, aud leaves the remains for the great golden eagle that is soaring, hungry overhead. T wo hours later we a pproach the brow of a high hill. “There are some deer over there,” said the guide, pointing with his hand; “be cares ” “Don’t cock your gun!” We dismount, stake the lariated horses, and then half creeping, move toward the edge of the ridge. Now wo are down on our hands and knees “Careful, careful”—we peep over; the Lieutenant is in for it and excited, sure enough Biff, bang, goes his carbine; up jump two bucks, magnificently antlered, and scud off down the hill toward the river with the speed of tho wind. “Quick, to your hores, ” says Grouard, and suiting the action to the word he is on a stooping run for the animals, thirty yards away. Snatching out the pin and gathering in tho lariat as he moves, he is on his horso very quickly. Your correspondent had to hustle, but managed to scramble into the saddle; with a “long Tom” (Springfield rifle) hanging out like the arm of a derrick in one hand and his lariat in the other he had his hands full. In fact, ho had no chance to grasp the bridle, and his horse went down the incline after his fellows at a J. I. C. gait Those two bucks went eight miles before Grouard’s bullets laid them low, in the river bottom. The Captain had been lucky, and our party had managed to pile up a backboard full of game, that was sent to Fort McKinney next day. Coming in that evening Lieut. Rhodes and myse f had a wild chaso through the timber, but the deer got away.

Again we are in an antelope country. The correspondent had been practicing with his rifle The Lieutenant could down the ace of spades with his carbine at 200 yards, and he had as yet failed to down a deer or antelope. What hopo had a poor tenderfoot! Grouard cheerfully said, “You. will bring in an antelope to-dN, ” A word like this from a prophet of the plains was inspiring. About 11 o'clock Grouard decried a band of antelope. We took a long circuit, and finally got within 200 yards of them, but firing simultaneously, each breaking an anteiope'3 hind leg. Now to cut them off from the herd. It took hard riding, but the two wounded ones were laggards, ai.d we turned them about. Then it was up hill and down dale for an hour. One of tho animals disappeared as suddenly as if ho had dropped into a hole in the ground. Wo kept on the jump after tho other. St-ange how an antelop; can run and maneuver on three legs. This one kept us on the move, through prairie dog towns, droves of jack rabbits, up gullies and down hills for eight miles. But we gained on tho. antelope; lie tried to play with my sympathies, but ho was doomed, Grouard circled about the animal like a hawk, and filled tne air with laughter. 1 fired several shots from horseback,

and finally dismounted and resumed th« chase on foot. I was warm; my blool was up. so was my rifle. I tired high-» six shots. F'inally my seventh broke his spine: tho antelope was mine. It was a matinee for Grouard; it was extremely exciting for mo; it was a tragedy for the poor antelope. At any rate, I had shot the largest antolopo of the outfit. and was crowned by a tine pair ot horns. That night there was joy in my dreams. One thjng to be certain of is that game, in the wild West, does not hunt the hunter under the conditions that our party experienced. But a dozen antelope and fifteen duor should satisfy for a ten days’ hunt.

HUNTING “ITEMS” AND ANTELOPES.

CAPTAIN SCOTT TAKES AN INVENTORY.

FRANK GROUARD’S “ROUND-UP."