r.
Fate decreed he was never to be so informed, but instead, a most cruel
and unfortunate accident was to provide the means.

That afternoon the young bucks were again anxious to test their skill
at the target. We all used the same carbine, which contained seven
cartridges, one in the gun barrel and six in a magazine in the butt of
the gun. Mr. Baker and I always tossed up a pebble to see who had
first shot. As Mr. Baker won the first chance, he took aim and pulled
the trigger and such an explosion as took place will never be
forgotten. Everyone was stunned by its force. When the smoke had
cleared, poor Baker's body was found lying on the ground with the
lower jaw torn from its place. On recovering from the shock the young
bucks fairly flew for the Indian medicine man. I quickly reached the
corral and informed the wagon boss of the accident. He at once ordered
the mules brought up. The light wagon was supplied with straw,
blankets, commissary bottle and grub. Six of the fastest mules were
hitched to the wagon and selecting two of the mulewhackers gave
instruction for his care en route. I took the lines and quickly drove
to the spot where poor Baker had fallen. Just as soon as the flow of
blood had been checked and his wounds dressed we raised him gently and
placed him in the wagon. Without a word I mounted the driver's box and
drove for all there was in those six mules, reaching Denver late the
following night. Some who read this narrative may be skeptical, but it
is a fact, nevertheless, that poor Baker recovered for I saw him a
year later, but he could partake of liquid food only. The once
stalwart form of that brave man, now emaciated and wasted to a mere
skeleton, still stood erect.

THE TOLL OF THE PLAINS

My whole heart went out to him who, in years past, had hunted the
antelope, deer, elk and buffalo; fought the cowardly savages and
desperadoes on the thirsty plains and amidst the ragged slopes of the
Rocky Mountains; penetrated the silent recesses of the dismal canyons
and caves; crossed the snow covered divides; faced danger of every
conceivable nature; and at last, although maimed for life, was
grateful that he had escaped death and thankful in the thought that he
had done his share in the settlement of the then Far West. As I gazed
into his once keen eyes and beheld that shriveled face, my heart wrung
with remorse, for I knew he had keenly suffered. Tears filled my eyes
and trickled down my weather-beat