My Sixty Years on the Plains E-Book

W. T. Hamilton

• Herausgeber: Charles River Editors
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 251

Beschreibung

My Sixty Years on the Plains contains the adventures of "Bill" Hamilton, an American frontiersman who lived during the 19th century.

Das E-Book My Sixty Years on the Plains wird angeboten von Charles River Editors und wurde mit folgenden Begriffen kategorisiert:
indian; frontier; montana; dakota

Leseprobe

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Your chapter “CHAPTER I” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:The Vote that Made me an Indian Fighter. St. Louis. I Join Bill Williams’s Party. The Boy Catches on. A Parley with Kiowas. Friendly Cheyennes. A Traders’ Trick. My First Sign-Talk. A Good Trade. Swift Runner my Friend. Athletics and Longevity.Your chapter “CHAPTER II” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:Buffalo Hunt with Cheyennes. A Stirring Picture. My First Buffalo. Perils of the Chase. We are Feasted on our Return. Character of the Cheyennes. Pemmican and Depuyer a Substitute for Bread. We Leave the Cheyennes.Your chapter “CHAPTER III” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:Sioux Village on the South Platte. A Pawnee Horse Raid. We Give Chase. Wonderful Endurance of the Indian Pony. The Stock Recaptured. My First Shot at an Indian. Return with Pawnee Scalps. Coup-Sticks. Counting Coups.Your chapter “CHAPTER IV” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:Fur-Trade Rivalries. “Free Traders” and the Companies. Wealth of the Sioux. War-Parties and Singing. Indian Revenge. We Sell our Furs for Good Prices. Bill Williams a Diplomat. Visited by Arapahoes. We Trade, Feast, and Smoke. A Threatening Party of Crows. “Business Diplomacy.”Your chapter “CHAPTER V” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:In a Dangerous Country. We Find a Moccasin and Prepare for Trouble. Attacked in the Night by Blackfeet. The Enemy Repulsed. Scalps Taken. Pursuit. Williams a Reckless Indian Fighter. I Lift my First Scalp. We Wipe Out the Entire Party. Beaver Trapping an Art.Your chapter “CHAPTER VI” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:Little Wind River. A Wonderful Hot Spring. Shoshone Scouts. Chief Washakie. We Trade our Blackfoot Plunder. Shoshone Horse for Blackfoot Scalp. A Night of Council, Scalp Dance, and War Song. The Fate of Two Trappers. “Good for Evil” not the Trappers’ Creed. Shakespeare in a Trapper’s Pack. Mountain Men Great Readers. A White Beaver.Your chapter “CHAPTER VII” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:The Scouts Report Indian War-Parties. We Resolve to Clear the Country of them. Scouting for Hostiles. A Want of Strategy. Some Actual Warfare. A Wild Scene. We Have a Close Encounter. We Rush the Knoll. A Night of Mingled Mourning and Rejoicing.Your chapter contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:A Brush with Piegans. We Part from the Shoshones. I Mystify Washakie. Indian Horsemanship. The Shoshones. Beaver Trapping. My First Bear. A Lesson in Bear Shooting. Fascination of the Mountain Life.Your chapter “CHAPTER IX” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:The Blackfoot Fort in Utah. A Good Day for Bears. Fort Bridger. Mountain Men’s Law. We Trade our Furs. Infatuated with the Life. Exploration of the Yellowstone in 1839. Afterwards I Visit that Country. Trappers’ Tales. My Skill in Sign-Language. We Go with Washakie’s Band.Your chapter “CHAPTER XI” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:An Expedition to Explore Utah. The “Boy” Becomes “Bill.” Old Bear Orders us off. “Big Chief never Smokes with White Dogs.” Trapper Life in a Hostile Indian Country. Fortified in Camp Weber. The American Trapper a Fine Type. We Hear Wolf Howls and Prepare for Attack. The Enemy Repulsed with Heavy Losses. A “Big Talk” and Peace. “It Costs too much Blood to Fight Trappers.”Your chapter “CHAPTER XII” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:Bear River. The Bannocks. A Swim with the Mercury 38° below Zero. The Pah Utes a Low Race. Poisoned Arrows. Brown’s Hole and its Gay Winter Life. I am Made Trader. A Terrible Storm. Our Horses Stolen by Blackfeet. A Hard Ride. We Recapture the Stock.Your chapter “CHAPTER XIII” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:Williams Returns. Tygee the Bannock. A Lucky 13. Indians of the Blackfoot Country. Life at a Trappers’ Rendezvous. Hostile Bannocks. Howlack in a Rage. We Prepare for Trouble. Prowling Wolves when Shot Prove to be Indians. Spies who did not Return. Three Hundred Warriors Charge the Camp. A Desperate Fight. The Enemy Routed.Your chapter “CHAPTER XIV” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:The Bannocks Taught a Lesson. Indians as Fighters. Excited Umatillas. The Walla Walla Valley. Its Fish and Game. The Walla Wallas. Tygh Valley.Indians Salmon Spearing. Indians Salmon Spearing. My First Sight of the Columbia. Latitude 49°. Vicissitudes of the Trapper’s Life.Your chapter “CHAPTER XV” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:A Rich Beaver Country. A Hunter’s Paradise. Great Klamath Lake. In Winter Quarters. A Horse Pack worth $7200. “Boston Men” and “King George’s.” In the Modoc Country. We Dig Rifle-Pits. Trappers’ Coats of Mail. Prepared for Attack.Your chapter “CHAPTER XVI” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:The Modocs Threaten to Rub us Out. The Camp Rushed. Hand-to-Hand Fighting. A Furious Charge. We Lose Three Men. Modoc Slaughter. An Incident of the Modoc War of 1856. The California Rangers. The Massacre of Bloody Point.Your chapter “CHAPTER XVII” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:Honey Lake Valley. Thieving Indians. We Turn South. The Truckee River. Degraded Red Men. In a Mountain Storm. Fortune Favors the Brave. A Dismal Camp. Snow-Bound. Glimpse of the Great American Desert. Camp on Carson River. A Pah Ute’s Square Meal. Gratified Squaws and Skinned Beavers. A Big Catch of Fur. Humboldt Lake. Hostile Utes. One of our Men Ambushed and Killed. A Sharp Fight and a Decisive Victory. We Capture Forty-three Horses. Our Revenge.Your chapter “CHAPTER XVIII” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:We Move Camp. Crestfallen Trappers. Blackfoot Victims. Fur Company Traders. Hot Springs. Our Company Breaks up. Expedition to the Big Horn Mountains. We Stand off the Blackfeet. An Arrogant Leader and a Coward. The “Tartar Outfit.”Your chapter “CHAPTER XIX” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:Washakie Again. The Joy of Youth. A Buflfalo Hunt. Stinking Water. Crow and Shoshone Horse-Racing. A Peaceful Camp. Sign-Language. The Mexican War. I Visit St. Louis. Home is Changed. “Westward Ho!” I Pilot an Oregon Emigrant Train. Attacked by Pawnees. Out of Deference to the Ladies we do not Scalp. Mormon Emigrants. Fort Hall. The Fur Companies and their Employees.Your chapter “CHAPTER XX” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:Fort Bridger. “Doby Men.” California Gold. We Decide to Go to the Mines. Fate of Bill Williams. Hunting and Trapping in the Big Horns. “Humpy” a War-Party Leader. We Give the Easterners a Lesson in Indian Fighting. Washakie Identifies the Scalps as Pend Oreilles.Your chapter “CHAPTER XXI” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:Bound for California. Furs and Gold. On the Old Camp Ground. An Undisturbed Grave. The Indians Hold Aloof. Crossing the Range. Sacramento. We Trappers Turn Miners, and Stake our Claims. Barbarous Murder.Your chapter “CHAPTER XXII” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:Miners Killed by Indians. A Gloomy Outlook. The “Mountaineer Miners.” Rifle Barrels for Crowbars. Our Circus Entry into Nevada City. A Council of War. Perkins Advises Vigorous Action. We Take the Trail. More Indian Outrages. We Overtake the Hostiles. An Attack and a Stubborn Defence. A Brave Chief. Good Work of the Sharps Rifle. “Silver Tip” Has his Ear Split and Russell Gets a Bullet through his Hat. The Indians Utterly Routed and Many Killed. White Men’s Scalps to Teach a Lesson. A Big Lot of Plunder. The Trappers are Made to Blush. We Have a Triumphal Ovation and are Hailed as Avengers. Our Fame Spreads.Your chapter “CHAPTER XXIII” contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:Our Services in Request at Hangtown (Placerville). We Meet the Indians at Biglow’s Lake. A Desperate Charge. Mexican War Veterans Save the Day. To Kill a Chief is to Win the Battle. Our Trained Horses. Fastidious Trappers Annoyed by Blood Spots on their Buckskin Suits. The Owner Gets his Mules. The Trinity Massacre. “Tarheads” Chastised. The Trappers in the Rogue River and Modoc Wars. The Pitt River Massacre. Our Band Breaks up. Through the Modoc Country again. Fort Walla Walla. I Go as Scout.Your chapter contains a very long chapter title or subheading. You might have accidentally applied a Heading style such as Heading 1 to one of your body paragraphs. To fix the issue, apply the Normal or the Clear Formatting style to the paragraph. The body paragraph we think you might have accidentally formatted as a Heading is:Death of Russell. A Brave Man and a True Comrade. I am Left Alone. My Horse Hickory. A Business Trip to Trade and Spy. In the Enemies’ Camp. My Part nearly Chokes me. An Extraordinary Trade. We Get what we Came for. The Spokane River Campaign. I Establish a Trading-Post at Missoula. Fort Benton. The Expedition of 1874 with General Crook. American Horse. Later Years.

MY SIXTY YEARS ON THE PLAINS

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Trapping, Trading, and Indian Fighting

W.T. Hamilton

LACONIA PUBLISHERS

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Copyright © 2016 by W.T. Hamilton

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

My Sixty Years on the Plains

THE WESTERN MOUNTAINEER

CHAPTER I: The Vote that Made me an Indian Fighter. St. Louis. I Join Bill Williams’s Party. The Boy Catches on. A Parley with Kiowas. Friendly Cheyennes. A Traders’ Trick. My First Sign-Talk. A Good Trade. Swift Runner my Friend. Athletics and Longevity.

CHAPTER II: Buffalo Hunt with Cheyennes. A Stirring Picture. My First Buffalo. Perils of the Chase. We are Feasted on our Return. Character of the Cheyennes. Pemmican and Depuyer a Substitute for Bread. We Leave the Cheyennes.

CHAPTER III: Sioux Village on the South Platte. A Pawnee Horse Raid. We Give Chase. Wonderful Endurance of the Indian Pony. The Stock Recaptured. My First Shot at an Indian. Return with Pawnee Scalps. Coup-Sticks. Counting Coups.

CHAPTER IV: Fur-Trade Rivalries. “Free Traders” and the Companies. Wealth of the Sioux. War-Parties and Singing. Indian Revenge. We Sell our Furs for Good Prices. Bill Williams a Diplomat. Visited by Arapahoes. We Trade, Feast, and Smoke. A Threatening Party of Crows. “Business Diplomacy.”

CHAPTER V: In a Dangerous Country. We Find a Moccasin and Prepare for Trouble. Attacked in the Night by Blackfeet. The Enemy Repulsed. Scalps Taken. Pursuit. Williams a Reckless Indian Fighter. I Lift my First Scalp. We Wipe Out the Entire Party. Beaver Trapping an Art.

CHAPTER VI: Little Wind River. A Wonderful Hot Spring. Shoshone Scouts. Chief Washakie. We Trade our Blackfoot Plunder. Shoshone Horse for Blackfoot Scalp. A Night of Council, Scalp Dance, and War Song. The Fate of Two Trappers. “Good for Evil” not the Trappers’ Creed. Shakespeare in a Trapper’s Pack. Mountain Men Great Readers. A White Beaver.

CHAPTER VII: The Scouts Report Indian War-Parties. We Resolve to Clear the Country of them. Scouting for Hostiles. A Want of Strategy. Some Actual Warfare. A Wild Scene. We Have a Close Encounter. We Rush the Knoll. A Night of Mingled Mourning and Rejoicing.

CHAPTER VIII

A Brush with Piegans. We Part from the Shoshones. I Mystify Washakie. Indian Horsemanship. The Shoshones. Beaver Trapping. My First Bear. A Lesson in Bear Shooting. Fascination of the Mountain Life.

CHAPTER IX: The Blackfoot Fort in Utah. A Good Day for Bears. Fort Bridger. Mountain Men’s Law. We Trade our Furs. Infatuated with the Life. Exploration of the Yellowstone in 1839. Afterwards I Visit that Country. Trappers’ Tales. My Skill in Sign-Language. We Go with Washakie’s Band.

CHAPTER X: Horse-Racing. Shooting from Horseback. Whites Outshoot Indians. Williams Leaves us. Navajo Blankets. A Lost Manuscript.

CHAPTER XI: An Expedition to Explore Utah. The “Boy” Becomes “Bill.” Old Bear Orders us off. “Big Chief never Smokes with White Dogs.” Trapper Life in a Hostile Indian Country. Fortified in Camp Weber. The American Trapper a Fine Type. We Hear Wolf Howls and Prepare for Attack. The Enemy Repulsed with Heavy Losses. A “Big Talk” and Peace. “It Costs too much Blood to Fight Trappers.”

CHAPTER XII: Bear River. The Bannocks. A Swim with the Mercury 38° below Zero. The Pah Utes a Low Race. Poisoned Arrows. Brown’s Hole and its Gay Winter Life. I am Made Trader. A Terrible Storm. Our Horses Stolen by Blackfeet. A Hard Ride. We Recapture the Stock.

CHAPTER XIII: Williams Returns. Tygee the Bannock. A Lucky 13. Indians of the Blackfoot Country. Life at a Trappers’ Rendezvous. Hostile Bannocks. Howlack in a Rage. We Prepare for Trouble. Prowling Wolves when Shot Prove to be Indians. Spies who did not Return. Three Hundred Warriors Charge the Camp. A Desperate Fight. The Enemy Routed.

CHAPTER XIV: The Bannocks Taught a Lesson. Indians as Fighters. Excited Umatillas. The Walla Walla Valley. Its Fish and Game. The Walla Wallas. Tygh Valley.Indians Salmon Spearing. Indians Salmon Spearing. My First Sight of the Columbia. Latitude 49°. Vicissitudes of the Trapper’s Life.

CHAPTER XV: A Rich Beaver Country. A Hunter’s Paradise. Great Klamath Lake. In Winter Quarters. A Horse Pack worth $7200. “Boston Men” and “King George’s.” In the Modoc Country. We Dig Rifle-Pits. Trappers’ Coats of Mail. Prepared for Attack.

CHAPTER XVI: The Modocs Threaten to Rub us Out. The Camp Rushed. Hand-to-Hand Fighting. A Furious Charge. We Lose Three Men. Modoc Slaughter. An Incident of the Modoc War of 1856. The California Rangers. The Massacre of Bloody Point.

CHAPTER XVII: Honey Lake Valley. Thieving Indians. We Turn South. The Truckee River. Degraded Red Men. In a Mountain Storm. Fortune Favors the Brave. A Dismal Camp. Snow-Bound. Glimpse of the Great American Desert. Camp on Carson River. A Pah Ute’s Square Meal. Gratified Squaws and Skinned Beavers. A Big Catch of Fur. Humboldt Lake. Hostile Utes. One of our Men Ambushed and Killed. A Sharp Fight and a Decisive Victory. We Capture Forty-three Horses. Our Revenge.

CHAPTER XVIII: We Move Camp. Crestfallen Trappers. Blackfoot Victims. Fur Company Traders. Hot Springs. Our Company Breaks up. Expedition to the Big Horn Mountains. We Stand off the Blackfeet. An Arrogant Leader and a Coward. The “Tartar Outfit.”

CHAPTER XIX: Washakie Again. The Joy of Youth. A Buflfalo Hunt. Stinking Water. Crow and Shoshone Horse-Racing. A Peaceful Camp. Sign-Language. The Mexican War. I Visit St. Louis. Home is Changed. “Westward Ho!” I Pilot an Oregon Emigrant Train. Attacked by Pawnees. Out of Deference to the Ladies we do not Scalp. Mormon Emigrants. Fort Hall. The Fur Companies and their Employees.

CHAPTER XX: Fort Bridger. “Doby Men.” California Gold. We Decide to Go to the Mines. Fate of Bill Williams. Hunting and Trapping in the Big Horns. “Humpy” a War-Party Leader. We Give the Easterners a Lesson in Indian Fighting. Washakie Identifies the Scalps as Pend Oreilles.

CHAPTER XXI: Bound for California. Furs and Gold. On the Old Camp Ground. An Undisturbed Grave. The Indians Hold Aloof. Crossing the Range. Sacramento. We Trappers Turn Miners, and Stake our Claims. Barbarous Murder.

CHAPTER XXII: Miners Killed by Indians. A Gloomy Outlook. The “Mountaineer Miners.” Rifle Barrels for Crowbars. Our Circus Entry into Nevada City. A Council of War. Perkins Advises Vigorous Action. We Take the Trail. More Indian Outrages. We Overtake the Hostiles. An Attack and a Stubborn Defence. A Brave Chief. Good Work of the Sharps Rifle. “Silver Tip” Has his Ear Split and Russell Gets a Bullet through his Hat. The Indians Utterly Routed and Many Killed. White Men’s Scalps to Teach a Lesson. A Big Lot of Plunder. The Trappers are Made to Blush. We Have a Triumphal Ovation and are Hailed as Avengers. Our Fame Spreads.

CHAPTER XXIII: Our Services in Request at Hangtown (Placerville). We Meet the Indians at Biglow’s Lake. A Desperate Charge. Mexican War Veterans Save the Day. To Kill a Chief is to Win the Battle. Our Trained Horses. Fastidious Trappers Annoyed by Blood Spots on their Buckskin Suits. The Owner Gets his Mules. The Trinity Massacre. “Tarheads” Chastised. The Trappers in the Rogue River and Modoc Wars. The Pitt River Massacre. Our Band Breaks up. Through the Modoc Country again. Fort Walla Walla. I Go as Scout.

CHAPTER XXIV

Death of Russell. A Brave Man and a True Comrade. I am Left Alone. My Horse Hickory. A Business Trip to Trade and Spy. In the Enemies’ Camp. My Part nearly Chokes me. An Extraordinary Trade. We Get what we Came for. The Spokane River Campaign. I Establish a Trading-Post at Missoula. Fort Benton. The Expedition of 1874 with General Crook. American Horse. Later Years.

MY SIXTY YEARS ON THE PLAINS

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Trapping, Trading, and Indian Fighting

By W. T. Hamilton

(“Bill Hamilton”)

Edited by E. T. Sieber

THE WESTERN MOUNTAINEER

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IN WRITING THIS BOOK THE author had only one end in view, that of relating in a simple way his experiences as a mountaineer. In these days, when such experiences are fast becoming a thing of the past, the story is of special interest.

The mountaineers as a class were unique. Life itself had little value in their estimation. They were pushing, adventurous, and fearless men, who thought nothing of laying down their lives in the service of a friend, or often, it might be, only as a matter of humanity. Theirs was a brotherhood in which one man’s life was entirely at the service of any of its members, regardless of friendship or even of acquaintanceship.

Equipped with nothing but their skill and endurance, a few ponies, a gun or two, and provisions enough to last them for the day, they set out to make their way through a vast wilderness that held all the terrors of the unknown. They became self-reliant, and encountered obstacles only to overcome them with a dash and courage which amaze and delight us.

Mr. William T. Hamilton is a living example of this type of men. He is now in his eighty-third year, and is still in full possession of his acute intellect. He is a general favorite wherever he is known, and is familiarly styled “Uncle Bill.” He spent his whole life, from the time he was twenty, on the plains, and is an authority on Indian life and customs. He was also acknowledged by all to be the greatest sign-talker on the plains, either Indian or white; and was able to converse with all tribes. All Indian tribes use the same signs, though speaking a different language.

Sign-talking among Indians will soon be a lost art, for the present generation is not handing its knowledge down to its children. In 1882, while Mr. Hamilton was a witness in the Star Route trial in Washington, the Smithsonian Institution endeavored to photograph these signs, but with indifferent success.

The author has been extremely modest in describing the Indian fights, stating only the simple facts. These simple facts accentuate the valor and intrepidity of the trappers, when brought to bay by hostile tribes.

His story also gives, for the first time, an account of three years of the life of the great scout and mountaineer, Bill Williams, one of the prominent figures in the early history of the plains.

To the efforts of these heroes we owe the great advances civilization has made in the West. They reclaimed this vast and valuable territory from the outlaws and the Indians. They “blazed the trail” that was to lead the frontiersman to valuable deposits and rich agricultural regions. They set an example for courage and perseverance which will keep their memory always bright in the hearts of true Americans.

Hilma S. Sieber.

Park Citt, Montana, August, 1905.

CHAPTER I

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THE VOTE THAT MADE ME AN INDIAN FIGHTER. ST. LOUIS. I JOIN BILL WILLIAMS’S PARTY. THE BOY CATCHES ON. A PARLEY WITH KIOWAS. FRIENDLY CHEYENNES. A TRADERS’ TRICK. MY FIRST SIGN-TALK. A GOOD TRADE. SWIFT RUNNER MY FRIEND. ATHLETICS AND LONGEVITY.

ON THE RIVER TILL, IN Cheviot Hills, Scotland, in the year 1825, twenty-five men formed a company for the purpose of emigrating.

These men built themselves a bark, and when ready to sail held a council to determine whether their destination would be India or America. A vote was taken, which resulted in a tie, thus forcing the captain to cast his ballot. He voted for America, and by so doing destined me to fight Indians instead of hunting Bengal tigers in India. My father was one of the company, and his brother was the captain.

I was just two years and ten months of age when we landed at New Orleans.

My father had means and we travelled all over the States, finally settling in St. Louis eighteen months later. Here I remained until I was twenty years of age, receiving five years of schooling.

In the meantime chills and fevers were undermining my constitution, and the doctor ordered a change of climate. My father made arrangements with a party of hunters and trappers, who were in St. Louis at the time, to allow me to accompany them on their next trip, which would last a year.

The party consisted of eight men, all free trappers, with Bill Williams and Perkins as leaders. These two men had had fifteen years’ experience on the plains amongst Indians, and had a wide reputation for fearless courage and daring exploits.

A good trading outfit was purchased, one third of which my father paid for, giving me a corresponding interest in the trip.

We started in the spring of 1842 with wagons and pack animals, making for Independence, Mo., which was the headquarters for all mountaineers in those days. At Independence we sold our wagons and rigged up a complete pack outfit, as our route would take us where it would be difficult for wagons to travel.