Conservative.
MY KAST IStJI-TAM ) HUNT.
[ By ,1. Storliiif'Morton , president of the State
Historical Society of Kuliniskn. Road before
that or ani/atioH , in the chapel of the State
University , on the uveniiiK of Tuesday , Janu
ary 10 , IbW.l
Among all the glowing and glorious
autumns of the forty odd which I
have enjoyed in clear-skied Nebraska ,
the most delicious , dreamy end tranquil
was that of 18(51. ( The first day of
October in that year surpassed in purity
of air , clouds and colorings all the other
October days in my whole life. The
prairies were not a somber brown ,
but a gorgeous old-gold ; and there
drifted in the dry , crisp atmosphere lacelike -
like fragments of opalescent clouds
which later in the afternoon gave the
hori/on the look of a far-away ocean
upon which one could see fairy ships , and
up on its farther-away shores splendid
castles ; their minarets and towers tipped
with gold. The indolence of savagery
saturated every inhalation and all phy
sical exertion except in ( ho hunt or chose
seemed repellant , irksome and unendur
able. Then it was that like an evolu
tion from environment the desire and
impulse to go upon a buffalo hunt seized
upon and held and encompassed and
dominated ever } ' fibre of my physical ,
every ambition and aspiration of my
mental , make-up. Controlled by this
spontaneous reincarnation of the bar
baric tastes and habits of some nomadic
ancestor of a prehistoric generation , ar
rangements for an excursion to Fort
Kearney , on the Platte ( Colonel Alex
ander , of the regular army , then in com
mand ) , were soon completed. With
food rations , tent ami camping furni
ture , and arms and ammunition , and
pipes and tobacco , and a few drops of
distilled rye ( to bo used only when
snake-bitten ) , a light one-horse wagon
drawn by a well-bred horse which was
driven by the writer , was early the next
morning leaving Arbor Lodge and
briskly speeding westward oiitho "Over
land trail" leading to California. And
what rare roads there were in those
bouyant days of the pioneers ! All the
prairies , clear across the plains from the
Missouri river to the mountains , were
perfectly paved with solid , tough , but
elastic sod. And no asphalt or block-
paved avenue or well-worked pike can
give the responsive up-pressure to the
touch of a human foot or a horse-hoof
that came always from those smooth and
comely trails. Especially in riding on
horseback were the felicities of those
primitive prairie roads emphasi/ed and ac
centuated. Upon them one felt the mag
netism and life of his horse ; they ani
mated and electrified him with the vigoi
and spirit of the animal until in elation
the rider became , at least emotionally , a
centaur a semi-horse human. The invigoration -
vigoration and exaltation of careering
over undulating prairies on a beautiful
speedy and spirited horse thrilled every
sense and satisfied , as to exhilaration , by
ihysieal exercise , the entire mental per
sonality. Nature's roads in Nebraska
ire unequaled by any of their successors.
This excursion was in a wagon with
out springs ; and after driving alone , as
'ar as the Weeping Water crossing , I
overtook an ox train loaded with goods
ind supplies for Oilman's ranch on the
Platte away beyond Kearney.
DINNKK ON Tin :
One of the proprietors , Mr. Jed Oil
man , was in command of the outfit , and
by his cordial and hospitable invitation
[ became his willing and voracious
guest for the noonday meal. With a
township for a dining room over which
arched the turquoise-colored sky , like a
vaulted ceiling , frescoed with clouds of
fleecy white , wo sat down upon our
ouffalo robes to partake of a hearty
meal. There was no white settler with
in miles of our camp. The cry of "din
ner is now ready in the next car" had
never been heard west of the Mississippi
river nor even dreamed of in the East.
The bill of faro was substantial , bacon
fried , hot bread , strong coffee , stronger
raw onions and roasted potatoes. And
bho appetite which made all exquisitely
palatable and delicious descended to us
out of the pure air and the exhilaration
of perfect health. And then came the
post prandial pipe how fragant and so
lacing its fumes from Virginia natural
leaf , compared to which the exhalations
from a Perfecto segar are today a disa
greeable stench. There was then the leis
ure to smoke , the liberty and impulse to
sing , to whoop and to generally simu
late the savages into whose hunting
groxinds we were making an excursion.
Life lengthened out before us like the
Overland route to the Pacific in undula
tions of continuously rising hillocks and
from the summit of each ono scaled wo
saw a similarly attractive one beyond in
a seemingly never-ending pathway of
pleasure , ambition and satisfaction.
The gold of the Pacific coast was
not more real then than the invisible pos
sibilities of life , prosperity , success and
and contentment which wore to teem ,
thrive and abound upon these prairies
which seemed only farms asleep or like
thoughts unuttered books unopened.
wic MOVI : ox.
But the smoke over , the oxen again
yoked to the wagons and the train , like
a file of hugo white beetles , lumbered
along to the songs , swearings and whip-
crackings of the drivers towards the
crossing of Salt creok. However , by
my persuasive insistence , Mr. Oilman
loft his wagon boss in charge and get
ting into my wagon accompanied mo.
Together wo traveled briskly until quite
late at night when wo made camp at a
point near where the town of Wahoo no\\
stands. There was a rough ranch cabin
there , and wo remained until the fol
lowing morning , when wo struck out ai
a brisk trot towards Kearney , entering
; ho Platte vnlloy at McCnbo's much.
The dny and the road were perfect. Wo
imclo good time. At night we were
entertained at Wurfiolds , on the Platto.
The water in the well there was too
lighly flavored to bo refreshing. Nine
slninks had been lifted out of it the day
of our arrival and only Platte river
water could bo had , which wo found
rather stale for having been hauled
some distance in an old sorghum cask.
But fatigue and a square meal are an in
nocent opiate and we wore soon fast
asleep under the open sky with the
moon and stars only to hear how loudly
a big ranchman can snore in a bedroom
of a million or more acres. In the
early morning of our third day out , wo
wore up , breakfasted with the sun
rise , and drove on over the then un
tried railroad bed of the Platte valley
it a rattling gait , the stanch and
speedy animal over which the reins wore
drawn , a splendid bay of gentle birth ,
: iad courage and endurance by heredity ,
and thus wo made time. Ranches were
from twenty to thirty miles apart. And
Che night of the third day found us at
Mabins.
FLEAS.
This was a hotel , feed barn , dry
goods establishment , and saloon all
under one roof , about thirty miles from
Fort Kearney. After a reasonably edi
ble supper , Mr. Gilmaii and I were
escorted to the saloon and informed that
wo could repose and possibly sleep in the
aisle which divided it from the granary
which was filled with oats. Our blank
ets and buffalo robes were soon spread
out in this narrow pathway. On our
right were about two hundred bushels of
oats in bulk , and on our left the counter
which stood before variously shaped
bottles containing alleged gin , supposed
whiskey and probable brandy. We had
not been long in a recumbent position
before instead of sleep gently creeping
over us we experienced that we were
race courses and grazing grounds for
innumerable myriads of sand fleas. Im
mediately Gilmaii insisted that wo
should change our apartment and go
out on the prairies near a haystack ; but
I stubbornly insisted that , as the fleas
had not bitten me , I would continue in
doors. Thereupon Oilman incontinentlv
left , and then the fleas with vicious
vigor and voracity assaulted me. The
bites wore sharp , they were incisive and
decisive. They came in volleys. Then
in wrath I too arose from that lowly
but lively couch between the oats and
the bar and sullenly went out under the
starlit sky to find Mr. Oilman energet
ically whipping his shirt over a wagon
wheel to disinfest it from fleas. But the
sand fleas of the Platte are not easily
discharged or diverted , from a fat and
juicy victim. They have a wonderful
tenacity of purpose. They trotted and
hopped and skipped along behind us to
the haystack. They affectionately and
fervidly abided with us on the prairie ;