The Old Santa Fe Trail: The Story of a Great HighwayInman, Henry
History
The Old Santa Fe Trail: The Story of a Great Highway
Inman, Henry
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.); New Mexico -- History; Santa Fe National Historic Trail
At times when the herd was very large, the horses scattered over the
prairie and were irrevocably lost; and such as did not become wild fell
a prey to the wolves. That fate was very frequently the lot of stampeded
horses bred in the States, they not having been trained by a prairie
life to take care of themselves. Instead of stopping and bravely
fighting off the blood-thirsty beasts, they would run. Then the whole
pack were sure to leave the bolder animals and make for the runaways,
which they seldom failed to overtake and despatch.
On the Old Trail some years ago one of these stampedes occurred of a
band of government horses, in which were several valuable animals. It
was attended, however, with very little loss, through the courage and
great exertion of the men who had them in charge; many were recovered,
but none without having sustained injuries.
Hon. R. M. Wright, of Dodge City, Kansas, one of the pioneers in the
days of the Santa Fe trade, and in the settlement of the State, has had
many exciting experiences both with the savages of the great plains, and
the buffalo. In relation to the habits of the latter, no man is better
qualified to speak.
He was once owner of Fort Aubrey, a celebrated point on the Trail, but
was compelled to abandon it on account of constant persecution by the
Indians, or rather he was ordered to do so by the military authorities.
While occupying the once famous landmark, in connection with others, had
a contract to furnish hay to the government at Fort Lyon, seventy-five
miles further west. His journal, which he kindly placed at my disposal,
says:
While we were preparing to commence the work, a vast herd
of buffalo stampeded through our range one night, and
took off with them about half of our work cattle. The next
day a stage-driver and conductor on the Overland Route told
us they had seen a number of our oxen twenty-five miles east
of Aubrey, and this information gave me an idea in which
direction to hunt for the missing beasts. I immediately
started after them, while my partner took those that
remained and a few wagons and left with them for Fort Lyon.
Let me explain here that while the Indians were supposed to
be peaceable, small war-parties of young men, who could not
be controlled by their chiefs, were continually committing
depredations, and the main body of savages themselves were
very uneasy, and might be expected to break out any day.
In consequence of this unsettled state of affairs, there
had been a brisk movement among the United States troops
stationed at the various military posts, a large number of
whom were believed to be on the road from Denver to Fort Lyon.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account