I also received another benefit I had some silver deposited in my face to straight up my sunken cheek. hence am never busted. I have been in several bad rows with both four-footed beasts and two footed beasts, but this was at least as lively a scrap as I ever got into. and all because I was careless. We lifted camp early in March sold our fur and the whole of us went down to 'Frisco to see the sights. Here we studied the history of China in the faces of the moon-eyed heathens, enjoyed the curious haunts of humanity the entire summer.
That fall I hired Old Ed Scott, Bert Terrell, Jack Troy and ferd Gotch. Myself and the Kid made up and we calculated quite a decent gang. I think we were by far the largest and best gang in the west.
I had four hired men, Eleven head of horses, two wagons, four tents, Six riding saddles, four pack saddles, twenty four guns and revolvers, six hundred steel traps and cooking utensels enough for a dozen men. My expenses were a thousand dollars a month--Our chief game was rat, mink, otter, coyotes, and grey wolves, we marched up North Platte to Raw-hide creek--and set traps for fur--We moved once a week and averaged to take about one hundred and sixty pelts a day.
When we reached the Raw-hide about fifteen miles from North Platte river in Lormey Co. I caught a monstrous grey wolf in a trap. I knew the virtue of the trap it was a New-House noumber four. I was armed with a 49-90 winchester but refrained from shooting him because the ball tore too big a hole in the hide. I attempted to knock him in the head with my hatchet, I saw I had a good high holt on him so I stepped up closer to him--when the darn skunk made a leap at my windsucker; the trap chain broke and he lit on my left arm and got busy eating meat. My gun was johnie on the spot, for several days I carried my arm in a buckskin sack meanwhile I concluded I would shoot game not trying other experiences.
After a few days we reached Hat creek, where we were told that a Sheep herder had been driven into camp by a silver tipped Grizzley. The ranchmen wanted us to camp till we killed the old boss. So I detailed Ed Scott and a new man I had recently hired by the name of Charley Whippel to go with me--and I left the rest to run trap lines and watch things. We rode out toward the Cheyenne river. Just as we reached Cow creek and crossed over and was about twenty rods up the slope we heard a bear; we stopped and suddenly old silver as free as Bryans Silver issue; descending the hill in our direction. We all opened fire at once and spoiled his fun to quick to mention. We secured his skin head and all including his tailbone and paws the ranchmen sent it to Denver to a Texiderment and he sold it to the Chicago Public Musium. We broke camp the following day and started for Beaver creek here we made three settings, then we broke again and moved to the head of the Belle Fourche river. trapping coyote and wolf. from there to powder river, and then on to tongue river. We broke camp that spring at Dayton, Wyoming; and for novelty hired out to herd cattle for the U.X. Cattle Co. We rode here on the general roundup, quit our job and set out for the Big horn basin. Crossing the main range of the Big horn mountains we went up Canon Creek looking for trapping for another season. We followed down the creek till we reached Big horn river; then we swung around and followed up the Bighorn to the end.