THE OLD SANTA FE TRAIL by COLONEL HENRY INMAN (best fiction novels of all time .TXT) 📕

Marched troops And Transported supplies

Over The Road, The Mexicans, And The Indians.

 

 

 

"With The Stage Company, The Military Authorities, And The American

Freighters I Had No Trouble.  With The Indians, When A Band Came

Through Now And Then, I Didn'T Care To Have Any Controversy About

So Small A Matter As A Few Dollars Toll!  Whenever They Came Along,

The Toll-Gate Went Up, And Any Other Little Thing I Could Do To

Hurry Them On Was Done Promptly And Cheerfully.  While The Indians

Didn'T Understand Anything about The System Of Collecting Tolls,

They Seemed to Recognize The Fact That I Had A Right To Control

The Road, And They Would Generally Ride Up To The Gate And Ask

Permission To Go Through.  Once In a While The Chief Of A Band Would

Think Compensation For The Privilege Of Going Through In order, And

Would Make Me A Present Of A Buckskin Or Something Of That Sort.

 

 

 

"My Mexican Patrons Were The Hardest To Get Along With.  Paying For

The Privilege Of Travelling Over Any Road Was Something They Were

Totally Unused to, And They Did Not Take To It Kindly.  They Were

Pleased with My Road And Liked to Travel Over It, Until They Came

To The Toll-Gate.  This They Seemed to Look Upon As An Obstruction

That No Man Had A Right To Place In the Way Of A Free-Born Native

Of The Mountain Region.  They Appeared to Regard The Toll-Gate As

A New Scheme For Holding Up Travellers For The Purpose Of Robbery,

And Many Of Them Evidently Thought Me A Kind Of Freebooter, Who Ought

To Be Suppressed by Law.

 

 

 

"Holding These Views, When I Asked them For A Certain Amount Of Money,

Before Raising The Toll-Gate, They Naturally Differed with Me Very

Frequently About The Propriety Of Complying With The Request.

 

 

 

"In Other Words, There Would Be At Such Times Probably An Honest

Difference Of Opinion Between The Man Who Kept The Toll-Gate And

The Man Who Wanted to Get Through It.  Anyhow, There Was A Difference,

And Such Differences Had To Be Adjusted.  Sometimes I Did It Through

Diplomacy, And Sometimes I Did It With A Club.  It Was Always Settled

One Way, However, And That Was In accordance With The Toll Schedule,

So That I Could Never Have Been Charged with Unjust Discrimination

Of Rates."

 

 

 

Soon After The Road Was Opened a Company Composed of Californians

And Mexicans, Commanded by A Captain Haley, Passed uncle Dick'S

Toll-Gate And House, Escorting a Large Caravan Of About A Hundred

And Fifty Wagons.  While They Stopped there, A Non-Commissioned

Officer Of The Party Was Brutally Murdered by Three Soldiers, And

Uncle Dick Came Very Near Being a Witness To The Atrocious Deed.

 

 

 

The Murdered man Was A Mexican, And His Slayers Were Mexicans Too.

The Trouble Originated at Las Vegas, Where The Privates Had Been

Bound And Gagged, By Order Of The Corporal, For Creating a Disturbance

At A Fandango The Evening Before.

 

 

 

The Name Of The Corporal Was Juan Torres, And He Came Down To Uncle

Dick'S One Evening While The Command Was Encamped on The Top Of The

Mountain, Accompanied by The Three Privates, Who Had Already Plotted

To Kill Him, Though He Had Not The Slightest Suspicion Of It.

 

 

 

Uncle Dick, In telling The Story, Said: "They Left At An Early Hour,

Going In an Opposite Direction From Their Camp, And I Closed my Doors

Soon After, For The Night.  They Had Not Been Gone More Than Half

An Hour, When I Heard Them Talking Not Far From My House, And A Few

Seconds Later I Heard The Half-Suppressed cry Of A Man Who Has

Received his Death-Blow.

 

 

 

"I Had Gone To Bed, And Lay For A Minute Or Two Thinking Whether I

Should Get Up And Go To The Rescue Or Insure My Own Safety By

Remaining Where I Was.

 

 

 

"A Little Reflection Convinced me That The Murderers Were Undoubtedly

Watching My House, To Prevent Any Interference With The Carrying Out

Of Their Plot, And That If I Ventured out I Should Only Endanger

My Own Life, While There Was Scarcely A Possibility Of My Being

Able To Save The Life Of The Man Who Had Been Assailed.

 

 

 

"In The Morning, When I Got Up, I Found The Dead Body Of The Corporal

Stretched across Raton Creek, Not More Than A Hundred yards From My House.

 

 

 

"As I Surmised, He Had Been Struck With A Heavy Club Or Stone, And

It Was At That Time That I Heard His Cry.  After That His Brains

Had Been Beaten Out, And The Body Left Where I Had Found It.

 

 

 

"I At Once Notified captain Haley Of The Occurrence, And Identified

The Men Who Had Been In company With The Corporal, And Who Were

Undoubtedly His Murderers.

 

 

 

"They Were Taken Into Custody, And Made A Confession, In which They

Stated that One Of Their Number Had Stood At My Door On The Night

Of The Murder To Shoot Me If I Had Ventured out To Assist The

Corporal.  Two Of The Scoundrels Were Hung Afterward At Las Vegas,

And The Third Sent To Prison For Life."

 

 

 

The Corporal Was Buried near Where The Soldiers Were Encamped at

The Time Of The Tragedy, And It Is His Lonely Grave Which Frequently

Attracts The Attention Of The Passengers On The Atchison, Topeka,

And Santa Fe Trains, Just Before The Raton Tunnel Is Reached, As

They Travel Southward.

 

 

 

In 1866-67 The Indians Broke Out, Infesting all The Most Prominent

Points Of The Old Santa Fe Trail, And Watching an Opportunity To

Rob And Murder, So That The Government Freight Caravans And The

Stages Had To Be Escorted by Detachments Of Troops.  Fort Larned

Was The Western Limit Where These Escorts Joined the Outfits Going

Over Into New Mexico.

 

 

 

There Were Other Dangers Attending The Passage Of The Trail To

Travellers By The Stage Besides The Attacks Of The Savages.  These

Were The So-Called road Agents--Masked robbers Who Regarded life As

Of Little Worth In the Accomplishment Of Their Nefarious Purposes.

Particularly Were They Common After The Mines Of New Mexico Began

To Be Operated by Americans.  The Object Of The Bandits Was Generally

The Strong Box Of The Express Company, Which Contained money And

Other Valuables.  They Did Not, Of Course, Hesitate To Take What

Ready Cash And Jewelry The Passengers Might Happen To Have Upon

Their Persons, And Frequently Their Hauls Amounted to Large Sums.

 

 

 

When The Coaches Began To Travel Over Uncle Dick'S Toll-Road, His

House Was Made A Station, And He Had Many Stage Stories.  He Said:--

 

 

 

"Tavern-Keepers In those Days Couldn'T Choose Their Guests, And We

Entertained them Just As They Came Along.  The Knights Of The Road

Would Come By Now And Then, Order A Meal, Eat It Hurriedly, Pay For

It, And Move On To Where They Had Arranged to Hold Up A Stage That

Night.  Sometimes They Did Not Wait For It To Get Dark, But Halted

The Stage, Went Through The Treasure Box In broad Daylight, And

Then Ordered the Driver To Move On In one Direction, While They

Went Off In another.

 

 

 

"One Of The Most Daring and Successful Stage Robberies That I Remember

Was Perpetrated by Two Men, When The East-Bound Coach Was Coming Up

On The South Side Of The Raton Mountains, One Day About Ten O'Clock

In The Forenoon.

 

 

 

"On The Morning Of The Same Day, A Little After Sunrise, Two Rather

Genteel-Looking Fellows, Mounted on Fine Horses, Rode Up To My

House And Ordered breakfast.  Being Informed that Breakfast Would

Be Ready In a Few Minutes, They Dismounted, Hitched their Horses

Near The Door, And Came Into The House.

 

 

 

"I Knew Then, Just As Well As I Do Now, They Were Robbers, But I

Had No Warrant For Their Arrest, And I Should Have Hesitated about

Serving It If I Had, Because They Looked like Very Unpleasant Men

To Transact That Kind Of Business With.

 

 

 

"Each Of Them Had Four Pistols Sticking In his Belt And A Repeating

Rifle Strapped on To His Saddle.  When They Dismounted, They Left

Their Rifles With The Horses, But Walked into The House And Sat Down

At The Table, Without Laying aside The Arsenal Which They Carried

In Their Belts.

 

 

 

"They Had Little To Say While Eating, But Were Courteous In their

Behaviour, And Very Polite To The Waiters.  When They Had Finished

Breakfast, They Paid Their Bills, And Rode Leisurely Up The Mountain.

 

 

 

"It Did Not Occur To Me That They Would Take Chances On Stopping

The Stage In daylight, Or I Should Have Sent Some One To Meet The

Incoming Coach, Which I Knew Would Be Along Shortly, To Warn The

Driver And Passengers To Be On The Lookout For Robbers.

 

 

 

"It Turned out, However, That A Daylight Robbery Was Just What They

Had In mind, And They Made A Success Of It.

 

 

 

"About Halfway Down The New Mexico Side Of The Mountain, Where The

Canyon Is Very Narrow, And Was Then Heavily Wooded on Either Side,

The Robbers Stopped and Waited for The Coach.  It Came Lumbering

Along By And By, Neither The Driver Nor The Passengers Dreaming Of

A Hold-Up.

 

 

 

"The First Intimation They Had Of Such A Thing Was When They Saw

Two Men Step Into The Road, One On Each Side Of The Stage, Each Of

Them Holding Two Cocked revolvers, One Of Which Was Brought To Bear

On The Passengers And The Other On The Driver, Who Were Politely

But Very Positively Told That They Must Throw Up Their Hands Without

Any Unnecessary Delay, And The Stage Came To A Standstill.

 

 

 

"There Were Four Passengers In the Coach, All Men, But Their Hands

Went Up At The Same Instant That The Driver Dropped his Reins And

Struck An Attitude That Suited the Robbers.

 

 

 

"Then, While One Of The Men Stood Guard, The Other Stepped up To

The Stage And Ordered the Treasure Box Thrown Off.  This Demand Was

Complied with, And The Box Was Broken And Rifled of Its Contents,

Which Fortunately Were Not Of Very Great Value.

 

 

 

"The Passengers Were Compelled to Hand Out Their Watches And Other

Jewelry, As Well As What Money They Had In their Pockets, And Then

The Driver Was Directed to Move Up The Road.  In a Minute After

This The Robbers Had Disappeared with Their Booty, And That Was

The Last Seen Of Them By That Particular Coach-Load Of Passengers.

 

 

 

"The Men Who Planned and Executed that Robbery Were Two Cool,

Level-Headed, And Daring Scoundrels, Known As 'Chuckle-Luck' And

'Magpie.'  They Were Killed soon After This Occurrence, By A Member

Of Their Own Band, Whose Name Was Seward.  A Reward Of A Thousand

Dollars Had Been Offered for Their Capture, An This Tempted seward

To Kill Them, One Night When They Were Asleep In camp.

 

 

 

"He Then Secured a Wagon, Into Which He Loaded the Dead Robbers,

And Hauled them To Cimarron City, Where He Turned them Over To The

Authorities And Received his Reward."

 

 

 

Among The Arapahoes Wooton Was Called "Cut Hand," From The Fact

That He Had Lost Two Fingers On His Left Hand By An Accident In his

Childhood.  The Tribe Had The Utmost Veneration For The Old Trapper,

And He Was Perfectly Safe At Any Time In their Villages Or Camps;

It Had Been The Request Of A Dying Chief, Who Was Once Greatly

Favoured by Wooton, That His Warriors Should Never Injure Him Although

The Nation Might Be At War With All The Rest Of The Whites In the World.

 

 

 

Uncle Dick Died a Few Seasons Ago, At The Age Of Nearly Ninety.

He Was Blind For Some Time, But A Surgical Operation Partly Restored

His Sight, Which Made The Old Man Happy, Because He Could Look Again

Upon The Beautiful Scenery Surrounding His Mountain Home, Really

The Grandest In the Entire Raton Range.  The Atchison, Topeka, And

Santa Fe Railroad Had One Of Its Freight Locomotives Named "Uncle

Dick," In honour Of The Veteran Mountaineer, Past Whose House It

Hauled the Heavy-Laden Trains Up The Steep Grade Crossing Into The

Valley Beyond.  At The Time Of Its Baptism, Now Fifteen Or Sixteen

Years Ago, It Was The Largest Freight Engine In the World.

 

 

 

Old Bill Williams Was Another Character Of The Early Days Of The

Trail, And Was Called so When Carson, Uncle Dick Wooton, And Maxwell

Were Comparatively Young In the Mountains.  He Was, At The Time Of

Their Advent In the Remote West, One Of The Best Known Men There,

And Had Been Famous For Years As A Hunter And Trapper.  Williams Was

Better Acquainted with Every Pass In the Rockies Than Any Other Man

Of His Time, And Only Surpassed by Jim Bridger Later.  He Was With

General Fremont On His Exploring Expedition Across The Continent;

But The Statement Of The Old Trappers, And That Of General Fremont,

In Relation To His Services Then, Differ Widely.  Fremont Admits

Williams' Knowledge Of The Country Over Which He Had Wandered to Have

Been Very Extensive, But When Put To The Test On The Expedition,

He Came Very Near Sacrificing The Lives Of All.