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A R O U N D T H E O L D A R M C H A I R
"I love it, I love It,
And who shall dare
To chide me for loving
The Old Arm Chair."
TWENTYWE YEARS AMONG THE INDIANS
Never-Before-Told Leather Stocking Tales iu a Mis.
sionary's Life Among the Comanches and Apaches.
By the Rev. W. W. Carithers, D.D.
A CATTLE THIEF'S CHANCE IN rocky valleys great springs sent
THE LAWLESS DAYS.* clear, cold water over their grav-
The course of Cache Creek for elly beds. Cache Creek itself is
nearly fifty miles is almost straight deeply cut into the valley, the bed
south to where it falls into Red of the stream being often twenty
River at what is known as "The to thirty feet below the level of
Hole of the Cache." This is the the country, and these branches,
natural line of travel from north which form the headwaters coming
to south through southwestern out of the mountains, have worn
Oklahoma. Perhaps the name of their beds down in many places
the creek arose from the fact that quite deeply, and together they
heavily loaded teams would fre- form a series of valleys wnose anquently
pass along this valley, and nual crop of grass made it a veriwhen
they found themselves over- table paradise for cattle men. A
loaded would be compelled to hide, fringe of timber almost invariably
or "cache" (pronounced cash) part grows along the banks of each
of the load until they would be stream, and among these valleys,
able to return and get the part on the headwaters of the Cache,
that had been hidden. About mid- the Mission is located.
way on this stretch of Cache Creek According to the terms of the
the Medicine Bluff Creek comes in Medicine Lodge Treaty, the Infrom
the v/est, draining the main dians were to have supplies of
body of the Wichita Mountains, beef furnished them at intervals,
which is now a forest reserve, and cattle men entered into con-
Where the Medicine Bluff Creek tracts for the furnishing of this
falls into the Cache Creek, the beef to the Agent at Anadarko,
Post of Fort Sill was established and he was to issue it to the Insoon
after the close of the Civil dians, and this story conctuib a
War. Not far from the same time, contractor who was furnishing the
THE CHRISTIAN NATION. Vol. 61.
a treaty was made with a number beef the year when' this occurred.
of Indian tribes, at Medicine He had to get a fresh supply of feeding, and saw that a man was
Lodge, Kansas, and a reservation beef from the Texas cattle ranges, taking care of the cattle, and
was set apart for them with Fort and along in the early spring, the drifting them toward one of the
Sill as the military centre. The contractor, accompanied by a boy streams where they would drink.
Indians were under the supervi- to help in driving, started north Following up this stream, and
sion of an Agent, whose headquar- with the head of cattle. After passters
was at Anadarko, which was ing through Fort Sill and up along at times, the contractor was near
only peeping over the high banks
located on the Wichita River; and Cache Creek on his way to Ana-
enough when the cattle came to
a road from Fort Sill to Anadarko darko, he met a man some miles water, to shoot the thief that was
followed up the line of the Cache north of the Fort who told him herding them. Slipping out and SEVERE RHEUMATIC^
for perhaps twenty miles, and then that he was in charge of a bunch securing his gun, he made his way
bore away to the northeast over of cattle that he was holding along back to camp. The next day, the PAINSJISAPPEAR
the higher ground into the valley Cache Creek, and for some reason, contractor got another of the Rheumatism depends on an acid
of the Wichita, while the head probably sickness among the cat-thievewaters in the same manner, only which flows in the blood, Sfiectin^ the
of the creek, coming from tie, he wished the contractor to in this case the dead man became muscles and joints, producing luflam-
a range of mountains lying to the drive around his herd. The conwest,
was made up of a number of tractor could do this by turning
gets into the blood through some demation,
stiffness and pain. This acid
entangled with the bridle, and he
secured the horse and equipment. fect in the digestive processes, ana
smaller streams that came out of to the west and following up along The next day the cattle scattered
badly, but along toward evennevs
and skin are too torpid to carry
remains there because the liver, kid­
the mountains, where among the the mountains. By this route he
would find plenty of water and ing a man, evidently very much it off. • „,. *
*This is the fourth story in the se- „„„ • ,.„ii„. c j . ,
Hood's Sarsaparilla, the old-time
rie in the issue of April 8 appea.^- ^°°^^ ^^"^y^ °f g'-^SS, and would
afraid, came out and rounded them
blood tonic, is very successful in tue
ed the first one, "The Man Whose ^void all danger to both herds by up, doing this so quickly that the treatment of rheumatism. It acts
Ear Had a Little Child," in the issue this arrangement.
for June 3 appeared the second one, ti,„ «.
'Little Tony;" in the issue for July ^he stranger even helped him
contractor did not get a chance to
shoot him.
8 appeared the third one, "The Cow- to turn his cattle in this proposed
Boy."
direction and rode along with him
for several hours in a very friendly
and in keeping the bunch of
way. The contractor camped cattle together had to spend
that night, finding matters as the more time and ride in wider
stranger had promised him, and circles, and this compelled him to
the next day brought his bunch of come near where the contractor
cattle up to another herd, where was hiding along the creek, and
he was confronted by his visitor of thus he had an opportunity to
the day before and three companions,
all well armed, and he was
shoot this third man in the same
way that he had killed the other
told to turn his cattle into the two.
bunch with theirs. They enforced The cattle after this, by the fact
their demands by a brave show of that they scattered in all direitions,
arms, and the contractor then real­
showed that no one was pay­
ized that this cattle thief had induced
him to drive his bunch of
cattle to this out of the way place
in order that he might more easily
steal them from him. There
was nothing to do in the face of
such odds but to ride off and leave
his cattle for the thieves.
Stopping after they had gone
some miles, the contractor and his
helper camped, and took account
of the odds against them. He had
neither time nor money to go back
to Texas and get a new supply of
cattle and get them to Anadarko
in time for the next issue of rations
to the Indians. The only
thing that stood between him and
ruin was in some way to get hold
of those cattle that had been stolen.
Along with this was a desire
to get even with the man who had
tricked him so unmercifully.
By morning he had his plan laid,
and leaving the boy at the place
where they had slept, he moved
cautiously back along the valleys,
keeping out of sight until he
found where the stolen cattle were
The following day, however,
the thief was a little bolder,
ing any attention to them, and so
the contractor began to look for
the camp where the thieves had
their headquarters. This, after
considerable search, he found in
the mountains. They had selected
the place for this camp among the
stone-flanked valleys with reference
to the natural fortifications,
and had also erected a certain
amount of barricade, probably expecting
that they might be called
on to stand a siege if owners of
the stolen cattle were to locate
them.
After he had discovered their
camp, the contractor studied the
situation and decided on his line
of attack. He stayed near the
camp of the thieves through the
night, and in the morning, just as
i: grew light, from his position
behind the stones he fired off his
Winchester and immediately threw
another cartridge in and pointed
his gun at the door. The shot,
echoing among the hills at this
time in the morning, must have
greatly startled the men in the
thieves' camp, for in a place where
visitors were not expected nor allowed,
the shot meant that some
one was there to interfere with
their plans.
Immediately one of the thieves
jumped to the door with his Winchester
in his hand, ready to take
(Continued on page 12.)
directly, with purifying effect, on lae
blood, and through the blood on tne
liver, kidneys ani skin, which n
stimulates, and at the same time h
improves the digestion.
Get Hood's Sarsaparilla toda%.
Sold by all druggists.