THE WOLF HUNTERS
THE WOLF HUNTERS
"Well, men, what will we do?" said Jack Flanagan. "We can re-enlist or go back to the States and each hunt his job, or we can try to get something to do where we can all three stick together."
"Let's stick together if we can," said I.
"Now, hold on, men," advised Tom Vance, "until you hear what I have got to say. I have been thinking a lot about what we'd best do, and last night I think it come to me."
"Tell us what it is, Tom," said Jack eagerly. "'Tis yourself has the wise head on his shoulders, and I'd like to hear your plan."
We were three soldiers of Company K, First Cavalry, whose terms of service were about to expire, and we looked forward with much eagerness to the time when we should again be our own masters instead of being subject to military discipline. Of course, we could re-enlist for another five years, and the government offered inducementsto do this. A soldier who re-enlisted within three months before the expiration of his term received a discharge three months in advance of its expiration, with furlough for that length of time and three months' extra pay. At the expiration of that time he was expected to report to his company or, if unable to do that, at the nearest military post. Failing to report for duty on time, he was regarded as a deserter. Tom Vance had served for three enlistments and Jack Flanagan for two. I was at the end of my first five years.
We were at Fort Wise,[A]Colorado Territory, and it was the summer of 1861. The Civil War was just beginning.
"What is your plan, Tom?" Jack repeated.
"Well, men," said Tom, "as I say, I thought of it last night, and I believe that we can spend the winter somewhere out here in the buffalo range hunting wolves and can make a good stake doing that. We all know something about the plains and something about wolf hunting, and if we can raise the money needed for the outfit, I believe we can make a go of it. The Indians are pretty quiet now, but, of course, we know something about Indians and know that they've got to be looked out for all the time, but I guess we'll be safe enough. What do you think of it?"
"It's sure a fine plan," said Jack, "if we can carry it through; but how much money is it going to take?"
"It's a great scheme, Tom," I added, "and it seems to me there ought to be money in it; but have we the capital?"
"We'll have some money," said Tom, "but, of course, we've got to sail pretty close to the wind and to cut our coat according to our cloth. When we get our 'final statements' cashed we ought to have about two hundred dollars apiece. This ought to buy us a good team of ponies and camp outfit, with supplies for the winter. At outfitting towns like Saint Joe, Leavenworth, Kansas City, or Independence there are chances to buy a good team and camp outfit in the fall from people who are coming in from buffalo hunting, and get them cheap, too.
"We ought to go to one of those towns, look out for such hunting parties, and, if we can find what we want cheap, take it in; then we can strike out for the plains by the old Santa Fé road, select a location in about the thickest of the herds, build us a cabin or dugout, and get ready for winter."
Jack and I agreed that the plan was sound, and Tom then asked us for any ideas or suggestions that we might have. We both felt, however, that his fifteen years' service had given him so much experience that he was much more likely to think of the necessary points than we, and we had farmore faith in his judgment than in our own. We asked him to go ahead and give us the further details of his plan so far as he had thought them out.
"First," Tom said, "we must get what we absolutely need, and if we have any money left after that we can buy luxuries. For grub we'd better take about the same as government rations—flour, bacon, beans, coffee, sugar, rice, and salt. A Sharp's rifle and a Colt's navy apiece, with plenty of cartridges, will be all the arms we'll want, and, besides the clothing we already have, each man ought to have a good suit of buckskins. These are better than any cloth for wear and to keep off the wind. We can make overcoats, caps, and mittens out of furs as soon as we take a few pelts and dress them. Most of these things we can get here before we are discharged. The first sergeants of the cavalry companies often have some of these things over and will sell them to us for very little money."
"How about tobacco and pipes?" asked Jack.
"Tobacco don't come under the head of general supplies, and, as Peck don't use it, every man will have to buy his own tobacco."
"How about whiskey?" asked Jack, for he had a weakness for liquor.
Tom answered him quickly: "There'll be no whiskey taken along if I am to have any say in the plans for the expedition. When we leave thesettlements you'll have to swear off until we get back again; and that reminds me that when we get our 'final statements' cashed it will be a good idea for you to turn over your money to Peck, all except a small allowance for a spree, if you must have one."
Jack was forced to yield to the decision of the majority that whiskey should form no part of our supplies.
"Seems to me," I began, to change the subject, "that we've got to decide on where we'll go. Where do you think we'd better locate our winter camp, Tom?"
"As to that, I haven't quite made up my mind," said he, "but it must be somewhere near the centre of the buffalo range and not too far from the Santa Fé road. Fort Larned is about the middle of the range this season, and I've thought some of pitching our camp on Walnut Creek, about twenty miles north of the fort."
"It's now toward the last of August," continued Tom, "and our time will be out in September. We can call for our discharges now any time that we see a chance to get transportation into the States. It'll take us about a month to reach the Missouri River if we go by bull train, and that'll be about the first of October. Allowing about ten days to fit out for the return, it'll take us the rest of October to go back to the neighborhood of Fort Larned. We won't want to do much wolfskinning before the middle of November, when the winter coat begins to get good, but there'll be plenty of work to keep us busy, building, fitting up camp, and getting ready for the cold weather. It won't do for us to have our camp too close to Fort Larned or the Santa Fé road, for around there buffalo and wolves will be scarce, but we want to be near enough to call for our mail occasionally. Besides that, if Indians should be troublesome it's a good thing to be nigh to Uncle Sam's soldiers."
"They say," put in Jack, "that there's plenty of otter and beaver in Walnut Creek."
"Yes," replied Tom, "we'll be apt to find some of them, but they're nothing like as plenty as they used to be. All those timbered creeks used to have lots of beaver and otter in them, and we'll find some of them, but our best hold will be wolfskins. They are plentiest and easiest to get. We'll take a few steel traps along to try for otter and beaver. We'll take anything we can in the way of fur."