The Wolf Hunters: A Story of the Buffalo PlainsPeck, Robert Morris
General
The Wolf Hunters: A Story of the Buffalo Plains
Peck, Robert Morris
Frontier and pioneer life -- Kansas; Hunting -- Kansas
We had hauled all our baled wolfskins over to Fort Larned and stored
them there as fast as they accumulated, but retained in camp for the
last load our otter and beaver skins and the peltries we had gotten
from the Indians; for we thought it best not to bring these latter
under the notice of Weisselbaum, for fear he should make trouble for us
for encroaching on his Indian trade.
As a prospective buyer he had kept close watch of our wolfskins, as
we stored them, and was anxious to buy our whole catch; but we had
stood him off, saying that we thought we could do better with them in
Leavenworth. We had heard that Kitchen's freighting train from New
Mexico was on the road, going in empty, and would pass Fort Larned in
a few days, and had decided that if we could not get Weisselbaum up to
our figures, we would ship them in that way.
After an early dinner, Tom and Jack had started for the fort with the
mule team, taking a partial load of the last of our wolfskins--a half
dozen bales--and some camp plunder.
I do not think that my comrades were as much alarmed as I was at the
thought of the hostiles dropping in on us. They seemed to be borrowing
no trouble on that account and, for fear of being ridiculed by them for
my cowardly fears, I had kept my thoughts on this subject to myself.
On this day we had all seemed unusually jolly; even Tom's grim features
occasionally relaxed into a pleasant smile at some sally from our wild
Irishman. Our spirits were high, for we had grown tired of buffalo
hunting and wolf skinning, with all the attendant hardships and
excitements, and were now eager to get back into "God's country" with
our profitable cargo of skins, to reap the reward of our winter's hard
work.
As I stood looking after Tom and Jack as they drove away, I thought:
"To-morrow they'll be back, and the next morning we'll load up the last
of our camp outfit and will soon be beyond the reach of Satank and his
crowd."
While still standing on top of our dugout watching the receding wagon
a growl from Found, at my feet, caused me to look down at him; and
following the direction of his look, down the ravine toward the timber,
I saw an Indian boy afoot stealthily approaching, every now and then
casting furtive glances behind him as though fearful that he might be
seen by some one in the timber. I at once recognized the boy as one of
To hausen's sons and, quieting the dog, awaited his approach. Following
a path skirting the edge of the water in the ravine, when he had
reached the platform between our dugouts, he again looked cautiously
about and beckoned me to come down where he stood.
When I neared him he said in his broken English:
"To hausen, my fadder, he say tell you, 'look out! Satank comin'!'"
And then asked, looking anxiously into my face:
"You savvy?"
"Yes, but where? When?" I hastened to ask excitedly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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