The Morrills and Reminiscences - C. H. Morrill

Colonel looked at me for a moment and said, "Two thousand horses, and yet I must walk."
     Every year, late in November, the Colonel went into the mountains to hunt big game. The hunting camp was always located just above the snow line, since elk and deer seem to prefer a snow-clad country for their home. Daily they go below the snow line to feed, and as the snow creeps up or down the mountainside, they move their headquarters. Colonel Cody named these camping grounds "Picture Camps." Several weeks prior to the time set for the hunt, a party of hunters was sent out to choose sites and establish camp for that season. The men of this party were picked mountaineers, hunters, and story tellers. They pitched a sufficient number of tents to accommodate thirty to fifty people, and as soon as the camp was completed they began to hunt for game. The Colonel, each year, invited a number of his friends to accompany him, and to each guest he presented a fine silver-mounted Spencer sporting rifle. I was fortunate enough to be one of the guests.
     When we arrived at camp there were, hanging on limbs of trees, near the tents, three elk, four deer, two black bear, and numerous varieties of smaller wild game. The noted Indian Chief Iron Tail, and several of his tribe were there, all painted and dressed in war costumes. The Indians were invited to assist in making a real "picture camp."
     Each day many of the party went on a hunt and at night we all sat around the camp fires and listened to

hair raising tales told by participants in Indian battles of fights with gangs of horse thieves which at one time infested the country. Big game was always plentiful. Each of these hunting expeditions cost several thousand dollars, and many noted men were among the guests.
One evening Colonel Cody, who was a natural entertainer and story teller, related the following: "When I was Chief of the United States Scouts under General Miles, we were having a lot of trouble with the Indians in the country north of where Red Lodge, Montana, is now located. General Miles ordered me to take a squad of soldiers and go south fifty or one hundred miles to try to locate bands of hostile Indians that infested the country. We rode all day and in some way I lost my bearings and missed a small stream where we had expected to water our horses and replenish our canteens. Darkness came on but we could not stop until we reached water. About ten o'clock we saw a dim light glimmering in the distance. As we were fully seventy-five miles from any settlement I felt sure this indicated an encampment of Indians. Therefore water must be nearby, and we determined to cautiously approach. The night was very dark, and our only guide was the small light. I soon concluded it was not an Indian camp. As we drew nearer we could see the dim outlines of a small log house. There was one small window through which the light was shining. We held a conference and determined that with one other man I should go near enough to look inside. The house had but one room, in the center of

which was a table. In the middle of the table sat a woman and around it were seven men. They were playing poker and the woman seemed to be the chief spokesman. We held another consultation and concluded it was headquarters for a band of horse thieves. These men were more desperate fighters than the Indians. As we were almost famished for water we decided to take desperate chances. We separated a few feet, each man had his gun ready for action. I shouted 'Hello, hello.' Instantly the light went out. I continued to shout, 'Hello friends, Buffalo Bill, and friends.' After waiting a few moments someone answered, 'Who are you, and what the hell do you want?' I answered, 'It is Buffalo Bill and his party. We have been chasing Indians, have lost our way, and are all out of water. For God's sake help us out.' Soon the answer came back, 'We know Buffalo Bill. Send him to our cabin and if you are friends we'll do you no harm.' The woman was a sporting character known as 'Calamity Jane.' The men were all noted horse thieves. They all assisted in preparing supper for our hungry crowd. In the morning we started north to join General Miles' command."
During the construction of the North Platte Valley line of the Burlington railroad, I spent a large portion of my time in that section of Nebraska. Mr. John Orr, Mr. William H. Wright of Scottsbluff, Mr. Joseph Wiley and Mr. Jack Hunting of old Fort Laramie, Wyoming, all early pioneers, seemed to be the best informed about the early history of that part of

Nebraska and Wyoming. Mr. Wright was one of the pioneers in developing irrigation in the valley. With eastern friends he purchased the water rights and franchise of the Farmers' Canal, and it was the plan to at once extend this canal eastward many miles in order to provide water for the irrigation of fifty thousand acres of land, now known as the Tri-State lands. Hard times in the nineties prevented the completion of the work. Most of the settlers abandoned their lands, since without irrigation they were counted worthless for agricultural purposes. Gering was, at this time, the only town on the North Platte River in Nebraska west of North Platte city, and Fort Laramie the only town on the North Platte in Wyoming, east of Douglas. Fort Laramie was at one time a United States military post. It is located on the North Platte River at the mouth of the Laramie River, about forty miles west of the Nebraska-Wyoming state line.
From 1849 to 1860 the Indians on the frontier were continually at war with settlers. There was an overland wagon road running up through the North Platte valley to Denver. The Indians harassed and murdered freighters and others who were on their way to the goldfields of Colorado, or who were seeking homes along this route. Mr. Jack Hunting of Fort Laramie was a participant in many Indian battles. He is more familiar with the history of that section and with the acts of violence committed by the Indians than any man I have met. Mr. Charles Guernsey of Guernsey, Wyoming, who is largely interested in the Sunrise

iron mines at Sunrise, a few miles north of Guernsey, is also well informed concerning the early history of that section. I have spent many pleasant days with him.
At the time the Burlington railroad was being constructed, land in the North Platte valley already under irrigation was offered for sale at prices varying from five to twenty dollars an acre, including water rights. Unirrigated land farther back, could be purchased at that time for a dollar and a quarter to five dollars an acre. I refused to purchase, for the sum of two thousand dollars, twelve hundred and eighty acres of land located north of the town of Morrill, Scottsbluff County, on what is known as the Dutch Flats. Six years later this land sold for forty to fifty dollars an acre, while at this writing with paid up water rights, it has a value of one hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars an acre. When I purchased land for the townsite of Scottsbluff in the year 1898, the price paid was fifteen dollars an acre. There was only one house, a "soddy," on the tract. Since Gering, the county seat, was located across the river only three miles away, it seemed impossible to establish and develop a town of any size on this new site. Gering was then well-established with every line of commercial business well represented. However, in 1916 Scottsbluff had between five and six thousand inhabitants, also a million dollar beet sugar factory. There was paid to the farmers in that vicinity in the year 1915, for sugar beets alone, the sum of one and a half million dollars. A second

In the year 1903 accompanied by my wife and daughter Minnie, we visited Old Mexico. On our way we stopped for a month in El Paso, Texas. A large number of Mexicans lived there. A municipal election took place during our stay in El Paso. There was no Republican ticket and the Democrats were divided into two factions. These differed very little, except in the question of leadership. The contest was really a squabble to decide which leader or leaders should run the city. Mexicans were brought from the city of Juarez on the opposite side of the Rio Grande River, by both factions. These Mexicans voted according to instructions. Neither side challenged votes nor made any objections to votes cast by these Mexican refugees. The day after election these Mexican voters gathered at the headquarters of each political faction to receive pay for their votes. There were several hundred Mexicans at each headquarters, and as their names were called they went to an open window, where each man received two dollars in Mexican money for the vote he had cast the day before.
Among the Mexicans waiting for pay there was a large number of negroes. I selected one of the brightest looking among them and asked him what was the cause of such a gathering. He replied, "Why, sir,

we want pay for our votes, that's what we're here for." I then asked him if he really sold his vote. He replied, "Well, not exactly, but you see, sir, I is a man with a family and they all must eat and two dollars buys a lot, sir." I then told him that I had been a Union soldier and had helped fight to free the negro from slavery, and that I was very much disappointed to see him selling his vote, especially when he sold it to the Democratic party, the party that had fought to keep him in slavery. I asked him if all the negroes sold their votes. He answered, "Yes, sir, you see we need the money." Neither the Mexicans nor the negroes seemed to have any idea about the responsibility of citizenship or the wrong done in selling their votes.
     At Juarez we attended several bull fights. The Mexicans attended in great numbers and seemed to be as much interested in the sport as Americans are in baseball or football.
     From El Paso we went to Mexico City, where we stopped at the Iterbede Hotel. As few Mexicans can speak English, we found it very difficult to get information sufficient to find the places of historical interest. We visited the museums, saw the immense sacrificial stones used by the Aztec Indians in their sacrificial ceremonies, and many other exhibits that showed something of the civilization among the different Indian tribes at the time of the conquest of Mexico by Cortez.
     I was informed by the authorities in the City of

Mexico, that the population of Mexico was divided into three classes as follows: Forty per cent mixed Indian, Aztec, and Spanish; forty per cent plain Indian; fifteen per cent of white descent; five per cent of foreign nationality.
     These simple-minded, primitive people seem entirely incapable of self-government. A handful of pureblooded Spaniards with a few Mexicans own all the land in enormous haciendas. It is said that the inhabitants of Mexico speak fifty different languages.
     While in Mexico City I had the pleasure of meeting President Diaz for a few moments. This favor was obtained for me by one of the officials of the Mexican National railroad, who went with me to Chapultepec. This place is located about five miles from Mexico City and here President Diaz had his residence and official headquarters. The National Academy is located at Chapultepec.
     I also visited Guadalupe. This is one of the oldest and most interesting missions in Old Mexico. My attention was attacted (sic) to a number of Mexican women, who surrounded an old well like Jacob's well. These women were drawing water in urn-like vessels which were carried on their heads in a manner similar to that used by the women of Samaria, as seen in illustrations of old Biblical times. One of the shrines, worshipped by these devoted Catholics, is located on the top of a very high hill, and is called the "Shrine of the Lady of Guadalupe." This little city was formerly a great Aztec stronghold. The temple on the hill was erected


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