Beadle's Boy's Library of Sport, Story and Adventure, Vol. I, No. 1. by Prentiss Ingraham
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Prentiss Ingraham >> Beadle\'s Boy\'s Library of Sport, Story and Adventure, Vol. I, No. 1.
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6 A NEW FIELD! WITHOUT A RIVAL! JUST THE THING! TRUTH STRANGER THAN FICTION!
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Beadle's BOY'S LIBRARY of Sport, Story and Adventure
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Entered at the Post Office at New York, N.Y., as Second Class Mail Matter.
$2.50 a year. Copyrighted in 1881 by BEADLE AND ADAMS. December 14, 1881.
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Vol. I. Single PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY BEADLE AND ADAMS, Price, No. 1.
Number. No. 98 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK. Five Cents.
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Adventures of BUFFALO BILL FROM BOYHOOD TO MANHOOD.
Deeds of Daring and Romantic Incidents in the Life of
Wm. F. Cody, the Monarch of Bordermen.
* * * * *
BY COLONEL PRENTISS INGRAHAM.
[Illustration: MADDENED WITH FRIGHT, THE BULL BOUNDED INTO THE AIR,
SNORTED WILDLY, GORED THOSE IN ADVANCE, AND SOON LED THE HERD.]
Adventures of Buffalo Bill
From Boyhood to Manhood.
Deeds of Daring, Scenes of Thrilling Peril, and Romantic Incidents in
the Early Life of W.F. Cody, the Monarch of Bordermen.
BY COLONEL PRENTISS INGRAHAM.
CHAPTER I.
PROLOGUE.
That Truth is, by far, stranger than Fiction, the lessons of our daily
lives teach us who dwell in the marts of civilization, and therefore we
cannot wonder that those who live in scenes where the rifle, revolver
and knife are in constant use, to protect and take life, can strange
tales tell of thrilling perils met and subdued, and romantic incidents
occurring that are far removed from the stern realities of existence.
The land of America is full of romance, and tales that stir the blood
can be told over and over again of bold Privateers and reckless
Buccaneers who have swept along the coasts; of fierce naval battles, sea
chases, daring smugglers; and on shore of brave deeds in the saddle and
afoot; of red trails followed to the bitter end and savage encounters in
forest wilds.
And it is beyond the pale of civilization I find the hero of these pages
which tell of thrilling adventures, fierce combats, deadly feuds and
wild rides, that, one and all, are true to the letter, as hundreds now
living can testify.
Who has not heard the name of Buffalo Bill--a magic name, seemingly, to
every boy's heart?
And yet in the uttermost parts of the earth it is known among men.
A child of the prairie, as it were, Buffalo Bill will go down to history
as one of America's strange heroes who has loved the trackless wilds,
rolling plains and mountain solitudes of our land, far more than the
bustle and turmoil, the busy life and joys of our cities, and who has
stood as a barrier between civilization and savagery, risking his own
life to save the lives of others.
Glancing back over the past, we recall a few names that have stood out
in the boldest relief in frontier history, and they are Daniel Boone,
Davy Crockett, Kit Carson and W.F. Cody--the last named being Buffalo
Bill, the King of Bordermen.
Knowing the man well, having seen him amid the greatest dangers, shared
with him his blanket and his camp-fire's warmth, I feel entitled to
write of him as a hero of heroes, and in the following pages sketch his
remarkable career from boyhood to manhood.
Born in the State of Iowa in 1843, his father being one of the bold
pioneers to that part of the West, Buffalo Bill, or Will Cody, was
inured to scenes of hardship and danger ere he reached his tenth year,
and being a precocious youth, his adventurous spirit led him into all
sorts of deeds of mischief and daring, which well served to lay the
foundation for the later acts of his life.
CHAPTER II.
A CAPTURE OF OUTLAWS.
When Will was but nine years of age his first thrilling adventure
occurred, and it gave the boy a name for pluck and nerve that went with
him to Kansas, where his father removed with his family shortly after
the incident which I will now relate.
The circumstance to which I refer, and that made a boy hero of him in
the eyes of the neighbors for miles around where his parents lived,
showed the wonderful nerve that has never since deserted him, but rather
has increased with his years.
The country school which he attended was some five miles from his
father's house and he was wont to ride there each morning and back in
the afternoon upon a wiry, vicious little mustang that every one had
prognosticated would some day be the death of him.
Living a few miles from the Cody ranch was a poor settler who had a son
two years Billy's senior, who also attended the same school, but whose
parents were too poor to spare him a horse from the farm to ride.
This boy was Billy's chum, and as they shared together their noonday
meal, the pony was also shared, for the boy rode behind my hero to and
from school, being called for each morning and dropped off near his
cabin on the return trip.
Owing to the lawlessness of the country Mr. Cody allowed his son to go
armed, knowing that he fully understood the use of weapons, and his
pistol Billy always hung up with his hat upon reaching the log cabin,
where, figuratively speaking, the young idea was taught to shoot.
The weapon was a revolver, a Colt's, which at that time was not in
common use, and Billy prized it above his books and pony even and always
kept it in perfect order.
One day Rascal, his pony, pulled up the lariat pin which held him out
upon the prairie and scampered for home, and Billy and Davie Dunn, his
chum, were forced to "hoof it," as the western slang goes, home.
A storm was coming on, and to escape it the boys turned off the main
trail and took refuge in a log cabin which was said to be haunted by the
ghosts of its former occupants; at least they had been all mysteriously
murdered there one night and were buried in the shadow of the cabin, and
people gave the place a wide berth.
It was situated back in a piece of heavy timber and looked dismal
enough, but Billy proposed that they should go there, more out of sheer
bravado to show he was not afraid than to escape a ducking, for which he
and Davie Dunn really little cared.
The boys reached the cabin, climbed in an open window and stood looking
out at the approaching storm.
"Kansas crickets! but look there, Davie!"
The words came from Buffalo Billy and he was pointing out toward the
trail.
There four horsemen were seen coming toward the cabin at a rapid gallop.
"Who be they, Billy?" asked Davie.
"They are some of them horse-thieves, Davie, that have been playing the
mischief of late about here, and we'd better dust."
"But they'll see us go out."
"That's so! Let us coon up into the loft, for they'll only wait till the
storm blows over, for they are coming here for shelter."
Up to the loft of the cabin, through a trapdoor, the boys went quickly
and laid quietly down, peering through the cracks in the boards. The
four horsemen dashed up, hastily unsaddled their horses and lariated
them out, and bounded into the cabin through the window, just as the
storm broke with fury upon forest and plain.
As still as mice the boys lay, but they quickly looked toward each
other, for the conversation of the men below, one of whom was kindling
a fire in the broad chimney, told them that, if discovered, their lives
would be the forfeit.
In fact, they were four of a band of outlaws that had been infesting the
country of late, stealing horses, and in some cases taking life and
robbing the cabins of the settlers, and one of them said plainly:
"Pards, when I was last in this old ranch it was six years ago, when we
came to rob Foster Beal who lived here; he showed fight, shot two of the
boys, and we wiped the whole family out; but now let us get away with
what grub we've got, and then plan what is best to do to-night. As for
myself, I say strike old Cody's ranch, for he's got dust."
The boys were greatly alarmed at this, but, putting his mouth close to
Davie Dunn's ear, Billy Cody whispered:
"Davie, you see that shutter in the end of the roof?"
"Yes, Billy," was the trembling reply.
"Well, you slip out of there, drop to the ground and make for your home
and tell your father who is here."
"And you, Billy?"
"I'll just keep here, and if these fellows attempt to go I'll shoot
'em."
"But you can't, Billy."
"I've got my revolver, Davie and you bet I'll use it! Go, but don't make
a fuss, and get your father to come on with the settlers as soon as you
can, for I won't be happy till you get back."
Davie Dunn was trembling considerably; but he arose noiselessly, crossed
to the window at the end of the roof, and which was but a small
aperture, closed by a wooden shutter, which he cautiously opened. The
noise he made was drowned by the pelting rain and furious wind, and the
robbers went on chatting together, while Davie slipped out and dropped
to the ground.
But ere he had been gone half an hour the outlaws were ready to start,
the rain having ceased in a measure, and night was coming on to hide
their red deeds.
"Hold on, boys, for I've got ye all covered. He's a dead man who moves."
Billy had crept to the trap, and in his hoarsest tones, had spoken,
while the men sprung to their feet at his words, and glancing upward saw
the threatening revolver.
One attempted to draw a weapon, but the boy's forefinger touched the
trigger, and the outlaw fell dead at the flash, shot straight through
the heart!
This served as a warning to the others, and they stood like statues,
while one said:
"Pard, who is yer?"
But Billy feared to again trust his voice and answered not a word. He
lay there, his revolver just visible over the edge of the boards, and
covering the hearts of the three men crouching back into the corner, but
full in the light from the flickering fire, while almost at their feet
lay their dead comrade.
Again and again they spoke to Billy, but he gave no reply.
Then they threatened to make it warm for him, and one suggested that
they make a break for the door.
But, each one seemed to feel that the revolver covered him, and none
would make the attempt, for they had ocular demonstration before them of
the deadly aim of the eye behind the weapon.
To poor little Billy, and I suppose to the men too, it seemed as if ages
were passing away, in the hour and a quarter that Davie Dunn was gone,
for he had bounded upon one of the outlaws' horses and ridden away like
the wind.
But, at last, Billy heard a stern voice say:--
"Boys, you is our meat."
At the same time several pistols were thrust into the window, and in
came the door, burst open with a terrific crash that was music to
Billy's ears; while in dashed a dozen bold settlers, led by farmer Dunn.
The three outlaws were not only captured, but, being recognized as old
offenders, were swung up to a tree, while Billy and Davie became indeed
boy heroes, and the former especially was voted the lion of the log
cabin school, for had he not "killed his man?"
CHAPTER III.
BILLY'S FIRST DUEL.
Near where Billy's father settled in Kansas, dwelt a farmer who had a
son and daughter, the former being fourteen, and the latter eighteen.
As is often the case with boys, Billy fell in love with Nannie Vennor,
which was the young lady's name, although she at eighteen was just seven
years older than he was.
But she had been over to call on the Cody girls with her brother, and a
deep attachment at once sprung up between the boys, and Billy became the
devoted slave of Nannie, making her a horse-hair bridle for her pony,
gathering her wild flowers whenever he went over to the Vennor farm, and
in fact being as devoted in his attentions as a young man of twenty-one
could have been.
But Nannie had another lover, in fact a score of them from among the
neighboring young settlers, but one in particular who bid fair to be
Billy's most dangerous rival. This one was a dashing young fellow from
Leavenworth, with a handsome face and fine form, and who always had
plenty of money.
Folks said he was very dissipated, was a gambler, and his name had been
connected several times with some very serious affairs that had occurred
in the town.
But then he had a winning manner, sung well, and Nannie's beaux had to
all admit that he was every inch the man, and one they cared not to
anger.
From the first Billy Cody hated him, and did not pretend to hide the
fact; but it seemed the boy's intuitive reading of human nature, as much
as his jealousy on account of Nannie Vennor.
One day Billy was seated by the side of a small stream fishing.
The bank was behind him, rising some eight feet, and he had ensconced
himself upon a log that had been drifting down the stream in a freshet,
and lodged there.
Back from him, bordering the little creek ran the trail to the nearest
town, and along this rode two persons.
The quick ear of the boy heard hoof-falls, and glancing quickly over the
bank he saw three horsemen approaching, and one of these he recognized
as Hugh Hall his rival.
Just back of Billy was a grove of cottonwood trees, and here the men
halted for a short rest in the shade, and all they said distinctly
reached the boy's ears.
"I tell you, pards," said Hugh Hall, "I cannot longer delay then, so if
old Vennor refuses to let me have Nannie I'll just take her."
"The best way, Hugh; but what about the wife that's now on your trail?"
asked one.
"What care I for her, after I have run off with Nannie?"
"But she'll blow on you to old man Vennor."
"I do not care. I'll deny it to Nannie, say the woman is crazy, and one
by one the family will drop off until she only remains, and then she'll
get the property."
"You are sure it's coming to 'em, Hugh?" asked one.
"I am so sure that I drew up the will of Vennor's brother four years
ago, when I was practicing law in Chicago."
"He may have changed his mind."
"Nonsense; he died shortly after, and the will says if Richard Vennor
was not found, and the fortune turned over to him, within five years
after Robert Vennor's death, the fortune was to go to charity.
"Now I kept the secret dark, came out to look up Richard Vennor, and
having found him, shall marry his daughter and get all!"
"Your wife will give you trouble."
"I wish you to get rid of her then, and I'll pay well for it."
"We'll do the job, and help you all we can," said one, and the second
one of the pair whom Billy did not recognize, echoed his comrade's
sentiments.
"Well, Hugh, we found Lucy was trailing you, and hearing you was about
to strike it rich, concluded we'd come and post you for old friendship's
sake."
"And I'll pay you for it; but we must not be seen together, so I'll wait
here while you ride on to Leavenworth, and in an hour I'll follow you."
This agreement seemed satisfactory, and two horsemen rode away, after a
few more words, while Hugh Hall threw himself down upon the grass to
rest.
For awhile Billy Cody was very nervous at what he had heard; but he soon
grew calm, and having waited until he knew the two men were more than a
mile away, he cautiously stood up upon the log and glanced over the
bank.
Hugh Hall was fast asleep, and his horse was feeding near.
Noiselessly Billy drew himself upon the bank and approached the man, his
faithful revolver held in his hand.
"I wonder if it would be wrong if I killed him, when he is such a
villain!" he muttered.
"Yes, I won't do it; but I'll make him go straight to Mr. Vennor and
I'll tell him all I heard.
"Here, Hugh Hall, farmer Vennor wants to see you."
The man sprung to his feet, his hand upon his revolver.
But Billy had taken the precaution to get behind a tree, and had the
drop on his rival.
"Oh, it's you, you accursed imp of Satan," cried the man angrily.
"Yes, it's me, and I want you to go to Mr. Vennor, for I'm going to tell
him all I heard you say," said the boy boldly.
Hugh Hall knew Billy's reputation as a fearless boy and a sure shot, and
he saw that he was in great danger; but he said quietly:
"Well, I was going to the farmer's and we'll ride together."
"No, I'll ride and you'll walk, for I came down the stream fishing
to-day, and haven't got my pony."
As quick as a flash the man then drew his pistol, and firing, the bullet
cut the bark off the tree just above the boy's head.
Instantly however Billy returned the shot, and the revolver of Hugh Hall
fell from his hand, for his arm was broken; but he picked it up quickly
and leveled it with his left, and two shots came together.
Billy's hat was turned half round on his head, showing how true was the
aim of his foe, while his bullet found a target in the body of Hugh
Hall.
With a groan he sunk upon the ground, and springing to his side, Billy
found him gasping fearfully for breath.
"I am sorry, Hugh Hall, but you made me do it," he said sorrowfully.
But the man did not reply, and running to the horse feeding near, he
sprung into the saddle and dashed away like the wind.
Straight to farmer Vennor's he went and told him all, and mounting in
hot haste they rode back to the grove of cottonwoods.
Hugh Hall still lay where he had fallen; but he was dead, greatly to
Billy's sorrow, who had hoped he would not die.
Then, while farmer Vennor remained by the body, Billy went for the
nearest neighbors, and ere nightfall Hugh Hall was buried, and his two
allies in crime were captured in Leavenworth, and given warning to leave
Kansas forever, which they were glad to do, for they had not expected
such mercy at the hands of the enraged farmers.
But before they left they confessed that Billy's story was a true one,
and told where the wife of Hugh Hall could be found, and once again did
the boy become a hero, even in the eyes of the bravest men, and the
settlers gave him the name of Boss Boy Billy, while Nannie Vennor, now a
mother of grown sons, each Christmas time sends him a little souvenir,
to show him that she has not forgotten her boy lover who fought his
first duel to save her from a villain.
CHAPTER IV.
SHOOTING FOR A PRIZE.
While Mr. Cody was an Indian trader at Salt Creek Valley in Kansas,
Billy laid the foundation for his knowledge of the red-skin character,
and which served him so well in after years and won him a name as scout
and hunter that no one else has ever surpassed.
For days at a time Billy would be in the Indian villages, and often he
would go with the warriors on their buffalo and game hunts, and now and
then would join a friendly band in a war trail against hostiles.
Another favorite resort of Billy's was Fort Leavenworth, where his
handsome face, fearlessness and manly nature made him a great favorite
with both officers and men.
On one occasion while at the fort a large Government herd of horses,
lately brought up from Texas, where they had been captured wild on the
prairies, stampeded, and could not be retaken.
Once or twice Billy had come into the fort with a pony of the fugitive
herd which he had captured, and the quartermaster said to him:
"Billy, if that herd remains much longer free, they will be harder to
take than real wild horses, so go to work and I'll give you a reward of
ten dollars for every one you bring in, for the Government authorizes me
to make that offer."
This was just to Billy's taste, and he went at once home and spent a
couple of days preparing for the work before him, and from which his
mother and sisters tried to dissuade him; but the boy saw in it a
bonanza and would not give it up.
His own pony, Rascal, he knew, was not fast enough for the work ahead,
so he determined to get a better mount, and rode over to the fort to see
a sergeant who had an animal not equaled for speed on the plains.
Rascal, some sixty dollars, a rifle, and some well-tanned skins were
offered for the sergeant's horse and refused, and in despair Billy knew
not what to do, for he had gotten to the end of his personal fortune.
"Sergeant," he suddenly cried, as a bright idea seized him.
"Well, Billy?"
"They say you are the crack shot in the fort."
"I am too, Billy."
"Well, I'll tell you what I'll do to win your horse, Little Grey. I'll
put up all I have offered you against your animal and shoot for them."
"Why, Billy, I don't want to win your pony and money."
"And I don't want you to; but I'll shoot with you for your horse against
mine and all else I have offered."
The sergeant was a grasping man, and confident of his powers, at last
assented, and the match was to take place at once.
But the officers learning of it were determined Billy should have fair
play, and a day was set a week off, and the boy was told to practice
regularly with both pistol and rifle, for the terms were ten off-hand
shots with the latter at fifty and one hundred yards, and six shots
standing with the revolver at fifteen paces and six from horseback, and
riding at full speed by the target.
Billy at once set to work to practice, though he had confidence in his
unerring aim, and upon the day of trial came to the fort with a smiling
face.
Nearly everybody in the fort went out to see the match, and the sergeant
was called first to toe the mark.
He raised his rifle and his five shots at fifty yards were quickly
fired.
Billy gave a low whistle, but toed the scratch promptly, and his five
shots were truer than the sergeant's, and a wild cheer broke from one
and all.
At one hundred yards the sergeant's shooting was better than the boy's;
and so it was with the pistol shooting, for when standing the sergeant's
shots were best, and in riding full speed by the target, Billy's were
the truest, and it was called a tie.
"How shall we shoot it off, Billy?" asked the sergeant, who seemed
somewhat nervous.
Billy made no reply, but went to his haversack and took from it an
apple, and going up to his pony placed him in position, the rein over
the horn of the saddle.
The apple he then put on the head of the pony, directly between his
ears, and stepping back while all present closely watched him, he threw
forward his pistol and fired.
The apple flew into fragments and a wild burst of applause came from all
sides, while Billy said quietly:
"I've got another apple, sergeant, for you to try the same on Little
Grey."
"I'll not run the risk, Billy, of killing him, so give in; but I'll win
him back from you sometime," said the sergeant.
"Any time, sergeant, I'm willing to shoot," replied the boy, and with a
happy heart he mounted his prize and set off for home.
CHAPTER V.
WILD HORSE HUNTING.
For several days after Billy Cody got his prize he did nothing but train
the animal to his use and was delighted to find that Little Grey would
follow him like a dog wherever he went.
Having all arranged now for his wild horse hunting, he set out one day
from home to be gone a week or more, he told his mother, and with the
promise that he would bring her a small fortune soon.
He had already discovered the feeding grounds of the herd, and thither
he went at once, arriving in the vicinity shortly before dark.
As he had expected, he found the herd, nearly five hundred in number,
but he kept out of sight of them, as it was so near dark, and camped
until morning, when he found they had gone up the valley for some miles.
Cautiously he followed them, and getting near unobserved at last made a
dash upon them.
Into their midst he went and a good horse was picked out and lariated in
the twinkling of an eye and quickly hoppled and turned loose.
Then another and another, until Billy felt that he had done a pretty
good day's work.
He had discovered two things, however, and that was that Little Grey
seemed more than a match for any of the herd with one exception, and
that one was a large, gaunt-bodied black stallion, that appeared to drop
him behind without much effort.
"I've got to have him," said Billy, as he returned to his hoppled prizes
and began to drive them toward the fort.
It was a long and tedious work, but the boy was not impatient and
reached the fort at last and received his reward, which he at once
carried to his mother and received her warm congratulations upon his
first success.
Back to the herd's haunts went Billy, and again he camped for the night,
but was aroused at dawn by a sound that he at first thought was distant
thunder.
But his ears soon were undeceived as he sprung to his feet, well knowing
that it was the herd of wild horses.
Instantly Billy formed his plan of action and mounting Little Grey rode
into a thicket near by, which wholly concealed him from view.
Here he waited, for he knew that the herd was coming to the river to
drink, and a cry of delight burst from his lips as he beheld the black
stallion in the lead.
"It is the horse the settlers call Sable Satan and that belonged to a
horse thief, father told me, who was shot from his back one night.
"Well, if I can catch him I'll be in luck, and I'll try it, though they
say he is awful vicious. Be quiet, Gray, or you'll spoil all."
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