In the Early Days along the Overland Trail in Nebraska Territory, in 1852Cole, Gilbert L.
History
In the Early Days along the Overland Trail in Nebraska Territory, in 1852
Cole, Gilbert L.
Nebraska; Overland journeys to the Pacific
A few days after this an incident occurred in camp that bordered on the
tragic, but finally ended in good feeling. My guard mate, named Charley
Stewart, and myself were the two youngest in the company, and, being
guards together, were great friends. He was a native of Cincinnati, well
educated, and had a fund of stories and recitations that he used to get
off when we were on guard together. This night we were camped on the
side of some little hills near some ravines. The moon was shining, but
there were dark clouds occasionally passing, so that at times it was
quite dark. It was near midnight and we would be relieved in an hour. We
had been the "grand rounds" out among the stock, and came to the nearest
wagon which was facing the animals that were picketed out on the slope.
Stewart was armed with a "Colt's Army," while I had a double-barreled
shot-gun, loaded with buckshot. I was sitting on the double-tree, on the
right side of the tongue, which was propped up with the neck-yoke.
Stewart sat on the tongue, about an arm's length ahead of me, I holding
my gun between my knees, with the butt on the ground. Stewart was
getting off one of his stories, and, had about reached the climax, when
I saw something running low to the ground, in among the stock. Thinking
it was an Indian, on all fours, to stampede the animals, I instantly
leveled my gun, and, as I was following it to an opening in the herd, my
gun came in contact with Stewart's face at the moment of discharge,
Stewart falling backward, hanging to the wagon-tongue by his legs and
feet. My first thought was that I had killed him. He recovered in a
moment, and began cursing and calling me vile names; accusing me of
attempting to murder him, etc. During these moments, in his frenzy, he
was trying to get his revolver out from under him, swearing he would
kill me. Taking in the situation, I dropped my gun, jumped over the
wagon tongue, as he was getting on to his feet, and engaged in what
proved to be a desperate fight for the revolver. We were both sometimes
struggling on the ground, then again on our knees, he repeatedly
striking me in the face and elsewhere, still accusing me of trying to
murder him. As I had no chance to explain things, the struggle went on.
Finally I threw him, and held him down until he was too much exhausted
to continue the fight any longer, and, having wrested the revolver from
him, I helped him to his feet. In trying to pacify him, I led him out to
where the object ran that I had fired at, and there lay the dead body of
a large gray wolf, with several buckshot holes in his side.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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