The cowboys are a clean lot of brave loyal lads. They carry guns—but not as is supposed to use on one-another—but to shoot wild horses which they are riding—suppose your foot gets fastened in a stirrup and your are thrown, you will not go far till you are dragged to death. this is where the Gun does its intended work.
I have had to take my hat and strike the top of the water to drive the bugs down so I could drink without swallowing bugs, I used to cook and thought nothing of taking my water from a slough where several carcasses of cows wrere putrying. Sometimes I ran short of Soda then I would use the ashes of Buffalo chips for Soda. All this is as harmless to health; as eating asparagrass grown in a manure pile.
Well life grew monotnous, each succeeding year brought but old time haunts and the accostomed experiences. So as we sat at midnight in Portland Oregon in a grand ball room indulging in our only bad habit—smoking, simultaneously The Coyote Kidd and Myself proposed—to the gang let us go up to Alaska" To this we all shook hands.
Off for New Fields of Adventure—Going to Faraway Alaska
We went direct to the Little horn river Montanna and sold our Horses to the Crow Agency. Went to Deadwood S. Dak. picked up our Old Dog "Chum." and some other property went back to Billings Montana settled up our Business and went to Seattle Wash.
In Seattle we fitted out for a three year expedition.
And on the 20th day of April at 2 P.M. we shipped out of the Harbor on the Old James Dollar—She was agood old ship built in South America made of meteec—.; but had her back broken while being launched Was patched up and yet hardly fit for rough seas.
Our first four days were very pleasant till we struck Millbank sound There we were hit with a heavy sea on our starboard-beam. The old ship would leap almost out of the ocean and then fall back like a wounded duck. she would flounder, pitch, rool and dive come to the surface and wipe off the brine slick as a mole. I felt a little disturbed in the locality of my abdomen, also my appetite failed me for a few days; I was standing one morning on deck by the hand rail just leaning over for convenience—near by stood an Irishman spewing in the sea, a sailor came allong and said to the Irishman" You seem to have a weak stomache." "I don't know" Said the Irishman" I think I can throw it as far as the next one" Over that same rail engaged at the same pass-time was a young lady, leaning on the arm of her old Dad Between times she repeated"