He was always a good shot with a rifle great pleasure in competing for University prizes before ladies. After the war he began to work in most any kind of buisness[sic] lawyer etc etc and had accumulated about $8,000 when the great Panic of 1873 again swept away everything. So tis same year he concluded to come to the frontier and be out of all the whirl of buisy[sic] life. He built to[sic] log houses about 3 ½ ft. apart as it was more convenient to get logs to make two small houses than one large one. The first year this was the only house within 60 miles.

He lived alone and the Indians were the only human beings he saw. The next year settlers began to come in and the Indians to get angry so he made his house into a kind of blockhouse and sent to the Government and got 2,000 rounds of ammunition. Whenever the Indians went on a raid the settlers would flock to his house. The Indians passed there many times on the war path but seeing it well defended did not ever attack it. This yr. he got too bold and three times when out hunting he was seen by parties of Indians numbering 15 to 20 and would

Page 33

go for his house a flying. He had got to be a dead sure shoot[sic] and when an Indian would come to close He would delibertly[sic] stop and hunt the aforesaid Indian so he would "chaw the grass. He has been shot at lots of times but was never hit. He has shot elk, Deer and antelope on his own farm. He discovered the springs n his farm the first year he was homesteading. They most all come up in the centre[sic] of Victoria Canyon stream. As the stream or creek changed in time one and then another would be on the bank. Around the large sulphur spring he noticed

Page 34

the vapor arising. There are Magnesia, Lime, Iron Carbonate and Alum and Sulphur springs.

He put barrels and Boxes around his springs and finally a yr or so ago a Grand Island Company of men came up and Bought up the springs or a share in them. He was made President of the company. He now had to go into the store and waite[sic] on some customers, but as he didn't return after a reasonable length of time, I sauntered into the store and

Page 35

began questioning him again. I learned the following. He was practically the first Judge of Custer Co. and held said office a number of years. He has been Justice of Peace lots of times and said I was standing where 100's of happy people had leaned against the salt and sugar barrels while he repeated a 3 minutes speech to make them, "one." He said sometimes he got from 3 to 5 in money but more often Potatoes, corn, a young calf, pig or its equivalent. (I now noticed his rifles and immediately learned the following.

Page 36

from a few well chosen questions and answers.) He had a muzzle loading rifle that had been brought from old Kentucky. It was the same as used by Jackson at New Orleans, by Daniel Boone and many others. It had a very small stock and large heavy barrel. It weighed 13 lbs and had a fine sight. I held it up and it was very easy to get the bead on anything. He said with either it or his other rifle, He could knock off a quaills[sic] head at 200 yards every time. He now got his other

Page 37

rifle. This was an old-fashioned Sharps Breech Loader. And was the gun he had shot his Elk, Deer, Antilope[sic] and Indians with. He used 105 grains of powder when neccessary[sic]. I took it up loaded it and sighted with it. It seemed a light gun compared with the others and the barrel was nearly a foot shorter. I now bought a nickle's[sic] worth of stick candy and crackers to kind of Recompense him for his trouble.

Gus, Chas and I went up stream about a mile and took a swim. I went in first and found it was over my

Page 38

head. We came back and had a cold lunch for dinner. In the P.M. we saw the man who does the bottling at the bottling works. He is just from Boston and said there was a much difference between Boston Beans and Victoria Springs beans as there was between tea and coffee. Gus and Chas went out hunting and I went and "laid" under some trees and wrote letters. It was now about 110 in the shade and I drank about 4 gallons of Magnesia Water. The boys came back with 5 or 6 pieces of game. I dressed tem and we had

Page 39

supper and went to bed. Chas and I took another bath swim and run about 12 o'clock so as people would not be frightened.

THURSDAY
July 18, 1889
We got up very early (7.00 o'clock) and packed up our things. We decided to visit a beautiful canyon called Ceder[sic] Canyon. It is a very narrow canyon and the sides are very steep and covered with currants, all kinds of berries etc etc. We went about 5 miles and came to the man who owns the gate to the fence across the mouth of it. I was appointed a committee

Page 40

of one to confer with said man. He was over in the wheat field under a self binder. He had just jerked the horses and they had broke a rod or something in exchange. It wasn't a very presumtions[sic] moment. He could have shot right through where my heart is and it would not have injured me as my heart was in my throat and I'm chewing on it. I raised my hat and the following Dialogue insued[sic.]
Bayard H. Paine: Good Morning
Aft.Andrews:(Scowled)
B.P. Are you the man that owns this place?

created: September 23, 2003 by Karen Keehr
up-dated: September 23, 2003