ful attention from him. The veterinary asked if we had
heard about the Indian ruction down at Kulanche last night--Kulanche
Springs being the only pretense to a town between our ranch and Red
Gap--a post-office, three general stores, a score of dwellings, and a
low drinking place known as The Swede's. The news had not come to us; so
the veterinary obliged. A dozen Indians, drifting into the valley for
the haying about to begin, had tarried near Kulanche and bought whiskey
of the Swede. The selling of this was a lawless proceeding and the
consumption of it by the purchasers had been hazardous in the extreme.
Briefly, the result had been what is called in newspaper headlines a
stabbing affray. I quote from our guest's recital:

"Then, after they got calmed down and hid their knives, and it
looked peaceful again, they decided to start all over; but the
liquor was out, so that old scar-faced Pyann jumps on a pony and
rides over from the camp for a fresh supply. He pulled up out in
front of the Swede's and yelled for three bottles to be brought out
to him, pronto! If he'd sneaked round to the back door and
whispered he'd have got it all right, but this was a little too
brash, because there were about a dozen men in the bar and the
Swede was afraid to sell an Injin whiskey so openly. All he could
do was go to the door and tell this pickled aborigine that he never
sold whiskey to Injins and to get the hell out of there! Pyann
called the Swede a liar and some other things, mentioning dates,
and started to climb off his pony, very ugly.

"The Swede wasn't going to argue about it, because we'd all come
out in front to listen; so he pulled his gun and let it off over
Pyann's head; and a couple of the boys did the same thing, and that
started the rest--about six others had guns--till it sounded like a
bunch of giant crackers going off. Old Pyann left in haste, all
right. He was flattened out on his pony till he looked like a
plaster.

"We didn't hear any more of him last night, but coming up here this
morning I found out he'd done a regular Paul Revere ride to save
his people; he rode clear up as far as that last camp, just below
here, on your place, yelling to every Injin he passed that they'd
better take to the brush, because the whites had broken out at
Kulanche. At that, the Swede ought to be sent