Capt. W. F. Drannan, Chief of Scouts, As Pilot to Emigrant and Government Trains, Across the Plains of the Wild West of Fifty Years Ago

by William F. Drannan

I told her that I would try and get some kind of fresh meat for them between then and night.

"It may be Elk or it may be Buffalo or it may be Antelope."

She said, "What kind of an animal is an Elk?"

I told her that an Elk was about as large as a cow and equally as good meat, and all the ladies said, "Well, well, wouldn't we like to have some."

I told them that I wouldn't promise for sure, but I thought I could get some fresh meat for supper tomorrow night.

The next morning my scouts and I were off early. I told them before we started that we must keep two objects in view that day. One object was to look out for Indians, and the other was to look for camp.

"We are in a game country, and there is plenty of Elk and Buffalo, and the first man that sees a band of either kind must signal to the others, and we will all get together and see if we can get enough to supply the camp for a day or two at least."

We had gone perhaps five or six miles when I heard a signal from the south. I got to it as quickly as possible, and as pretty a sight awaited me as I ever saw in the way of game. Down in a little valley just below the man that had signaled to the rest of us were about fifty Elk cows feeding, and there were also a few calves running and jumping around their mothers. As soon as all the men got there, I began to plan how we could get to them and kill some of them before they saw us. They were feeding towards the road, and they were not more than a quarter of a mile from it when I first saw them. A little ways from us there was a little ravine which was covered with brush, and it led down to the valley where the Elk were feeding. I told the men that we would hitch our horses and then crawl down the ravine, and I thought we could get a few of them before they could get away from us. All the men were as anxious to get the game as I was. I took the lead, and when we got down to the valley the Elk were only a short distance from us. I said, "Now wait until they feed opposite us, and then they will not be over fifty yards from us, and as I am to the right I will take the leader and each man in rotation as they come to him. In doing this way we will be sure to each get an Elk as not two of us will fire at the same animal, and if they are not too far from us after we have fired our rifles, let us pull our pistols and try to get some more."

When the Elk had got near enough to us, I gave the word to fire, and down came twelve Elk cows, and then we went for them with our pistols, and we got five calves, and so we knew we had plenty of meat to supply the camp for a day or two.

I sent one of the men back to meet the train and to tell Jim what we had done, and told him to send all the help he could so we could get the meat to the train as quickly as possible, and the rest of us commenced to skin the animals. In a short time there were forty or fifty men there, and it did not take long to finish the job, and we had the meat on the way to the wagons. About the time we had got the meat all dressed, several ladies came with sacks in their hands. I asked them what part of the animal they wanted. They said they wanted the livers and the hearts. This was a new idea to me. I asked them what they were going to do with them. One of the women said, "We want you and Mr. Bridger to take supper with us tonight, and we will show you what we have done with them then."