THE OLD SANTA FE TRAIL - COLONEL HENRY INMAN (surface ebook reader .TXT) 📗

Ton And A Half, And They Were Drawn By Eight Mules

Or The Same Number Of Oxen.  Later Much Larger Wagons Were Employed

With Nearly Double The Capacity Of The First, Hauled by Ten And

Twelve Mules Or Oxen.  These Latter Were Soon Called prairie-Schooners,

Which Name Continued to Linger Until Transportation Across The Plains

By Wagons Was Completely Extinguished by The Railroads.

 

 

 

Under Mexican Rule Excessive Tariff Imposts Were Instituted,

Amounting To About A Hundred per Cent Upon Goods Brought From The

United states, And For Some Years, During The Administration Of

Governor Manuel Armijo, A Purely Arbitrary Duty Was Demanded of

Five Hundred dollars For Every Wagon-Load Of Merchandise Brought

Into The Province, Whether Great Or Small, And Regardless Of Its

Intrinsic Value.  As Gold And Silver Were Paid For The Articles

Brought By The Traders, They Were Also Required to Pay A Heavy Duty

On The Precious Metals They Took Out Of The Country.  Yankee Ingenuity,

However, Evaded much Of These Unjust Taxes.  When The Caravan

Approached santa Fe, The Freight Of Three Wagons Was Transferred

To One, And The Empty Vehicles Destroyed by Fire; While To Avoid

Paying The Export Duty On Gold And Silver, They Had Large False

Axletrees To Some Of The Wagons, In which The Money Was Concealed,

And The Examining Officer Of The Customs, Perfectly Unconscious Of

The Artifice, Passed them.

 

 

 

The Army, In its Expeditions Against The Hostile Indian Tribes,

Always Employed wagons In transporting Its Provisions And Munitions

Of War, Except In the Mountains, Where The Faithful Pack-Mule Was

Substituted.  The American Freighters, Since The Occupation Of

New Mexico By The United states, Until The Transcontinental Railroad

Usurped their Vocation, Used wagons Only; The Mexican Nomenclature

Was Soon Dropped and Simple English Terms Adopted: Caravan Became

Train, And Majordomo, The Person In charge, Wagon-Master.  The Latter

Was Supreme.  Upon Him Rested all The Responsibility, And To Him

The Teamsters Rendered absolute Obedience.  He Was Necessarily A Man

Of Quick Perception, Always Fertile In expedients In times Of

Emergency, And Something Of An Engineer; For To Know How Properly

To Cross A Raging Stream Or A Marshy Slough With An Outfit Of Fifty

Or Sixty Wagons Required more Than Ordinary Intelligence.  Then In

The Case Of A Stampede, Great Clear-Headedness And Coolness Were

Needed to Prevent Loss Of Life.

 

 

 

Stampedes Were Frequently Very Serious Affairs, Particularly With

A Large Mule-Train.  Notwithstanding The Willingness And Patient

Qualities Of That Animal, He Can Act As Absurdly As A Texas Steer,

And Is As Easily Frightened at Nothing.  Sometimes As Insignificant

A Circumstance As A Prairie-Dog Barking at The Entrance To His Burrow,

A Figure In the Distance, Or Even The Shadow Of A Passing Cloud

Will Start Every Animal In the Train, And Away They Go, Rushing Into

Each Other, And Becoming Entangled in such A Manner That Both Drivers

And Mules Have Often Been Crushed to Death.  It Not Infrequently

Happened that Five Or Six Of The Teams Would Dash Off And Never

Could Be Found.  I Remember One Instance That Occurred on The Trail

Between Fort Hays And Fort Dodge, During General Sheridan'S

Winter Campaign Against The Allied plains Tribes In 1868.  Three Of

The Wagons Were Dragged away By The Mules, In a Few Moments Were

Out Of Sight, And Were Never Recovered, Although Diligent Search

Was Made For Them For Some Days.  Ten Years Afterward A Farmer,

Who Had Taken Up A Claim In what Is Now Rush County, Kansas,

Discovered in a Ravine On His Place The Bones Of Some Animals,

Decayed parts Of Harness, And The Remains Of Three Army-Wagons,

Which With Other Evidence Proved them To Be The Identical Ones

Lost From The Train So Many Years Before.

 

 

 

The Largest Six-Mule Wagon-Train That Was Ever Strung Out On The

Plains Transported the Supplies For General Custer'S Command During

The Winter Above Referred to.  It Comprised over Eight Hundred

Army-Wagons, And Was Four Miles In length In one Column, Or One Mile

When In four Lines--The Usual Formation When In the Field.

 

 

 

The Animals Of The Train Were Either Hobbled or Herded at Night,

According To The Locality; If In an Indian Country, Always Hobbled

Or, Preferably, Tied up To The Tongue Of The Wagon To Which They

Belonged.  The Hobble Is Simply A Strip Of Rawhide, With Two Slides

Of The Same Material.  Placed on The Front Legs Of The Mule Just

At The Fetlock, The Slides Pushed close To The Limb, The Animal

Could Move Around Freely Enough To Graze, But Was Not Able To Travel

Very Fast In the Event Of A Stampede.  In the Indian Country, It Was

Usual At Night, Or In the Daytime When Halting To Feed, To Form

A Corral Of The Wagons, By Placing Them In a Circle, The Wheels

Interlocked and The Tongues Run Under The Axles, Into Which Circle

The Mules, On The Appearance Of The Savages, Were Driven, And Which

Also Made A Sort Of Fortress Behind Which The Teamsters Could More

Effectually Repel An Attack.

 

 

 

In The Earlier Trading Expeditions To Santa Fe, The Formation And

March Of The Caravan Differed materially From That Of The Army-Train

In Later Years.  I Here Quote Gregg, Whose Authority On The Subject

Has Never Been Questioned.  When All Was Ready To Move Out On The

Broad Sea Of Prairie, He Said:

 

 

 

          We Held A Council, At Which The Respective Claims Of The

          Different Aspirants For Office Were Considered, Leaders

          Selected, And A System Of Government Agreed upon--As Is

          The Standing Custom Of These Promiscuous Caravans.

          A Captain Was Proclaimed elected, But His Powers Were Not

          Defined by Any Constitutional Provision; Consequently,

          They Were Very Vague And Uncertain.  Orders Being Only

          Viewed as Mere Requests, They Are Often Obeyed or Neglected

          At The Caprice Of The Subordinates.  It Is Necessary To

          Observe, However, That The Captain Is Expected to Direct

          The Order Of Travel During The Day And To Designate The

          Camping-Ground At Night, With Many Other Functions Of

          General Character, In the Exercise Of Which The Company

          Find It Convenient To Acquiesce.

 

 

 

          After This Comes The Task Of Organizing.  The Proprietors

          Are First Notified by Proclamation To Furnish A List Of

          Their Men And Wagons.  The Latter Are Generally Apportioned

          Into Four Divisions, Particularly When The Company Is Large.

          To Each Of These Divisions, A Lieutenant Is Appointed,

          Whose Duty It Is To Inspect Every Ravine And Creek On The

          Route, Select The Best Crossings, And Superintend What Is

          Called in prairie Parlance The Forming Of Each Encampment.

 

 

 

          There Is Nothing So Much Dreaded by Inexperienced travellers

          As The Ordeal Of Guard Duty.  But No Matter What The

          Condition Or Employment Of The Individual May Be, No One

          Has The Slightest Chance Of Evading The Common Law Of

          The Prairies.  The Amateur Tourist And The Listless Loafer

          Are Precisely In the Same Wholesome Predicament--They Must

          All Take Their Regular Turn At The Watch.  There Is Usually

          A Set Of Genteel Idlers Attached to Every Caravan, Whose

          Wits Are Forever At Work In devising Schemes For Whiling

          Away Their Irksome Hours At The Expense Of Others.

          By Embarking In these Trips Of Pleasure, They Are Enabled

          To Live Without Expense; For The Hospitable Traders Seldom

          Refuse To Accommodate Even A Loafing Companion With A Berth

          At Their Mess Without Charge.  But These Lounging attaches

          Are Expected at Least To Do Good Service By Way Of Guard

          Duty.  None Are Ever Permitted to Furnish A Substitute,

          As Is Frequently Done In military Expeditions; For He That

          Would Undertake To Stand The Tour Of Another Besides

          His Own Would Scarcely Be Watchful Enough For Dangers

          Of The Prairies.  Even The Invalid Must Be Able To Produce

          Unequivocal Proofs Of His Inability, Or It Is A Chance

          If The Plea Is Admitted.

 

 

 

          The Usual Number Of Watchers Is Eight, Each Standing a

          Fourth Of Every Alternate Night.  When The Party Is Small,

          The Number Is Generally Reduced, While In the Case Of

          Very Small Bands, They Are Sometimes Compelled for Safety'S

          Sake To Keep Watch On Duty Half The Night.  With Large

          Caravans The Captain Usually Appoints Eight Sergeants

          Of The Guard, Each Of Whom Takes An Equal Portion Of Men

          Under His Command.

 

 

 

          The Wild And Motley Aspect Of The Caravan Can Be But

          Imperfectly Conceived without An Idea Of The Costumes Of

          Its Various Members.  The Most Fashionable Prairie Dress

          Is The Fustian Frock Of The City-Bred merchant, Furnished

          With A Multitude Of Pockets Capable Of Accommodating a

          Variety Of Extra Tackling.  Then There Is The Backwoodsman

          With His Linsey Or Leather Hunting-Shirt--The Farmer With

          His Blue Jean Coat--The Wagoner With His Flannel Sleeve

          Vest--Besides An Assortment Of Other Costumes Which Go

          To Fill Up The Picture.

 

 

 

          In the Article Of Firearms There Is Also An Equally

          Interesting Medley.  The Frontier Hunter Sticks To His

          Rifle, As Nothing Could Induce Him To Carry What He Terms

          In derision "The Scatter-Gun."  The Sportsman From The

          Interior Flourishes His Double-Barrelled fowling-Piece

          With Equal Confidence In its Superiority.  A Great Many

          Were Furnished beside With A Bountiful Supply Of Pistols

          And Knives Of Every Description, So That The Party Made

          Altogether A Very Brigand-Like Appearance.

 

 

 

          "Catch Up!  Catch Up!" Is Now Sounded from The Captain'S

          Camp And Echoed from Every Division And Scattered group

          Along The Valley.  The Woods And Dales Resound With The

          Gleeful Yells Of The Light-Hearted wagoners Who, Weary Of

          Inaction And Filled with Joy At The Prospect Of Getting

          Under Way, Become Clamorous In the Extreme.  Each Teamster

          Vies With His Fellow Who Shall Be Soonest Ready; And It

          Is A Matter Of Boastful Pride To Be The First To Cry Out,

          "All'S Set."

 

 

 

          The Uproarious Bustle Which Follows, The Hallooing Of Those

          In pursuit Of Animals, The Exclamations Which The Unruly

          Brutes Call Forth From Their Wrathful Drivers, Together

          With The Clatter Of Bells, The Rattle Of Yokes And Harness,

          The Jingle Of Chains, All Conspire To Produce An Uproarious

          Confusion.  It Is Sometimes Amusing To Observe The Athletic

          Wagoner Hurrying an Animal To Its Post--To See Him Heave

          Upon The Halter Of A Stubborn Mule, While The Brute As

          Obstinately Sets Back, Determined not To Move A Peg Till

          His Own Good Pleasure Thinks It Proper To Do So--His Whole

          Manner Seeming To Say, "Wait Till Your Hurry'S Over."

          I Have More Than Once Seen A Driver Hitch A Harnessed animal

          To The Halter, And By That Process Haul His Mulishness

          Forward, While Each Of His Four Projected feet Would Leave

          A Furrow Behind.

 

 

 

          "All'S Set!" Is Finally Heard From Some Teamster--

          "All'S Set," Is Directly Responded from Every Quarter.

          "Stretch Out!" Immediately Vociferates The Captain.

          Then The "Heps!" To The Drivers, The Cracking Of Whips,

          The Trampling Of Feet, The Occasional Creak Of Wheels,

          The Rumbling Of The Wagons, While "Fall In" Is Heard From

          Head-Quarters, And The Train Is Strung Out And In a Few

          Moments Has Started on Its Long Journey.

 

 

 

With An Army-Train The Discipline Was As Perfect As That Of A Garrison.

The Wagon-Master Was Under The Orders Of The Commander Of The Troops

Which Escorted the Caravan, The Camps Were Formed with Regard To

Strategic Principles, Sentries Walked their Beats And Were Visited

By An Officer Of The Day, As If Stationed at A Military Post.

 

 

 

Unquestionably The Most Expert Packer I Have Known Is Chris. Gilson,

Of Kansas.  In nearly All The Expeditions On The Great Plains And

In The Mountains He Has Been The Master-Spirit Of The Pack-Trains.

General Sheridan, Who Knew Gilson Long Before The War, In oregon

And Washington, Regarded the Celebrated packer With More Than

Ordinary Friendship.  For Many Years He Was Employed by The Government

At The Suggestion Of General Sheridan, To Teach The Art Of Packing

To The Officers And Enlisted men At Several Military Posts In the West.

He Received a Large Salary, And For A Long Period Was Stationed at

The Immense Cavalry Depot Of Fort Riley, In kansas.  Gilson Was Also

Employed by The British Army During The Zulu War In africa,

As Chief Packer, At A Salary Of Twenty Dollars A Day.  Now, However,

Since The Railroads Have Penetrated the Once Considered impenetrable

Fastnesses Of The Mountains, Packing Will Be Relegated to The Lost Arts.