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In the course of time, he called on me at the fort, armed with letters to
the commanding officer of Fort Dodge, and instructing said officer to give Father Swineberg all the
assistance in his power. His objective point was way down in old Mexico,
across the borders of that unknown region, those days, of
New Mexico,
Arizona,
and old Mexico, a distance from Fort Elliott, his starting point, of over
one thousand miles. It was a desert, entirely unknown, in those days,
without water, wood, or habitations, or civilization of any kind. His
stock of trade was splendid maps of the region he was to traverse, encased
in an oil-cloth covered tin tube.
I, being familiar with the terrible dangers and privations he would
have to undergo, from lack of food and water, exposure to the elements
both heat and cold, as well as the terrible storms that visited that
country, and some big rivers to cross, tried to persuade him to desist.
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Fort Dodge in
1867.
This image available for
photographic prints and downloads
HERE!
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I told him it was as much as his
life was worth -- that he must not go. He said he had to go. I asked him,
why. Shrugging his shoulders, like a Frenchman would, he said: "Because my
bishop ordered me." The commanding officer at Fort Elliott fitted out
Father Swineberg and another priest, who was to be his traveling
companion, with two fine horses, what grub they could conveniently carry,
and blankets. They had no arms of any kind or description except knives;
they said they didn't need any. Remarkable to relate, they made the trip,
accomplished their object, and came back safely. Father Swineberg told me
that they enjoyed the trip. That once, when they were in one of the
greatest straits and lost without food or water, they ran into a very
large band of
Indians, who received them kindly, and several of the band
understood Spanish and some understood French. They stayed with the
Indians about a week, preaching alternately in French and Spanish, which a
good many of the
Indians seemed to understand and en joy and appreciate.
Now comes my yellow fever episode which reminded me of this story. When
the great call was made from the South to the North, for aid and nurses to
subdue the terrible scourge, Father Swineberg, with twenty-odd other
priests, nobly responded, well knowing they were going to their death.
Very few ever returned, and Father Swineberg was among the number that
went down. His was a noble life.
There was a society known as "The Orients," in
Dodge City,
with charitable work as its real object, and fun as a side line. A few
disparaging remarks, made by a young blood who desired membership,
subjected the individual to a "side degree," upon which lavish hand
performed all sorts of excruciating tricks, which were absurd and
ridiculous. When it came to ridicule, the old-timer was not sparing in
punishment.
The greatest excitement ever caused in
Dodge was the advent of an
Indian, one of the principal chiefs of the
Cheyennes. In the winter of
1872, W. D. Lee, of the firm of Lee & Reynolds, doing a large business at
Supply as freighters, government contractors, sutlers, and
Indian traders
combined, brought this
Indian to
Dodge City
to show him the wonders of the railroad and impress upon him how
civilization was advancing.
There happened to be several hunters in town
at that time, driven in by a heavy storm and snow. No sooner did the
Indian make his appearance on the street than the excitement began.
Most of the hunters hated an
Indian, and not a few of them had suffered
more or less from their depredations.
Among the latter was one Kirk Jordan, a very desperate man, whose sister,
brother-in-law, and whole family had been wiped out by the savages, and
their home and its contents burned and every vestige of stock stolen. This
had happened in the northwest part of the state. Jordan had sworn to kill
the first
Indian
he saw, no matter what the consequences might be. He was a leader and
a favorite with the hunters, and, together with his companions, being
inflated with liquor, had no trouble in getting followers.
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We ran the
Indian into a drugstore and locked the doors. There
was no egress from the rear, but two families occupied houses adjoining
the drugstore, and someone quickly tore off one of the upright partition
boards that separated the drug tore from the dwellings containing the
families, and the
Indian squeezed through. The board was quickly and
neatly replaced, leaving no trace of its having been removed; so when the
crowd of excited hunters burst into the store and could not find the
Indian, they were as puzzled a lot as ever lost a trail upon open prairie.
That afternoon I thought things had quieted down, and I saddled one of
Lee's finest horses (Lee had brought up a magnificent team,) and led it
around to the back door -- of course the
Indian had been previously
instructed to mount and make for his tribe as fast as the horse would
carry him; but before I rapped at the door I looked around, and from the
back of the dance hall, a hundred yards distant, there were fifty
buffalo
guns leveled at me.
I knew those fellows had nothing against me, but I was afraid some of the
guns might go off by accident, and wished right there that the ground
would sink down deep enough to cover me from the range of their guns. I
led the horse back to the stable as quickly and quietly as possible,
feeling relieved when inside. I at once dispatched a courier to the
commander at the fort, with the request that he send up a company of
cavalry, but he wouldn't do it. As soon as it got dark, Lee and I got in
his carriage, loaded with
buffalo-robes, had the
Indian rushed out, robes
piled on top of him, and went out of
Dodge on the run. Wernet Captain Tupper's troop of the Sixth United
States cavalry about a mile out, coming after the chief. There were no
more
Indians seen in Dodge
except under big escort.
The following rules were posted in one of the
Dodge City
hotels for the guidance of guests (some say rules were stolen from Mark
Twain's hotel).
HOTEL RULES
These are the rules and regulations of this hotel.
This house will be considered strictly intemperate.
None but the brave deserve the fare.
Persons owing bills for board will be bored for bills.
Boarders who do not wish to pay in advance are requested to advance the
pay.
Borders are requested to wait on the colored cook for meals.
Sheets will be nightly changed once in six months, oftener if necessary.
Boarders are expected to pull off their boots if they can conveniently do
so.
Beds with or without bedbugs.
All moneys and other valuables are to be left in charge of the proprietor.
This is insisted upon, as he will be held responsible for no losses.
And now follows an early day market report:
Dodge City
Markets:
(Corrected weekly by Wright, Beverly & Company)
Dodge City,
Kansas, Jan. 5th, 1878.
Flour, per 100 lbs. $ 2.50 @ 4.00
Corn Meal, per 10O lbs. 2.00
Oats, per bu. .45
Corn, per bu. .56
Hides,
Buffalo, per lb. .03¾ @ .04¾
Wolf .75 @ 1.25
Coyote .30 @ .5
Skunks .10 @: .50
Chickens, dressed, per lb. .10
Turkeys, per lb. 12½
Potatoes, per bu. .1.40
Apples, dried, per lb. .08 @ .10
Peaches, dried, per lb. 12½ @ 10
Bacon, per lb. 12@
Hams, per lb. .15 @ .17
Lard, per lb. .12 @ .14
Beef, per lb. .08 @ .16
Butter, per lb. .30@ @ .35
Eggs, per doz. .35
Salt, per bbl. 4.50
Coffee, per lb. .25 @ .26
Tea,per lb. .80 @ 1.26
Sugar, per lb. .12 @ .14
Coal Oil, per gal. .50
Coal, per ton 9.00 @ 10.00
I give this market report to show the difference between then, 1878, and
now [1913.]
The lexicographers of today should credit
Dodge City
with contributions to our language, as certain significations or meanings
of three words, now very much used, can be traced to our early
philologists. The words are "stinker," "stiff," and "joint." These words
are not considered the sweetest nor most elegant in the language, by our
institutions of learning nor in the realms of culture and refinement, yet
they are very expressive and are warranted by sufficient use. The word
"stinker", or rather the signification in which it is used when applied to
a person in a contemptuous way, originated in this way. In the early days
of this country, the
buffalo or bison densely populated the plains. The
killing of this noble animal for the hide was a great industry, and it was
nothing uncommon for the
buffalo hunter to get a stand on a herd and kill
scores of them in a very short time. Such occurrences were sometimes in
winter, and, before the hunters could skin all the animals, the carcasses
would freeze and he would be compelled to leave many frozen on the
prairies. When the weather moderated and the carcasses thawed, newcomers
or "tenderfeet," as we called them, would skin them for the hides. Natural
causes and decay would render such hides very inferior and almost
worthless, and, as these thrifty beneficiaries of the prowess of the
genuine
buffalo hunter were despised by him, the name "stinker" was
originated and applied to him, and the word has since supplied the
vocabulary of many, when their systems were surcharged with contempt and
hatred.
The word "stiff," as applied to people in a contemptuous way,
originated in
Dodge City.
The readers of this book will gather from this record of the early history
of
Dodge City,
the fact that the lifeless remains of people were a common sight here, in
those days, and veneration and respect for the dead was somewhat stinted,
unless some tie of friendship or relationship existed with the departed.
As the lifeless body of a human being soon becomes rigid, our philologists
substituted the easily spoken word "stiff" for the ghostly word "corpse,"
in referring to the dead in which they had no special interest, and, from
this, the word received an appropriate application to such people as
suggest death or worthlessness, or, in other words, "dead ones."
A very
common signification or meaning of the word "joint" is easily traced to
Dodge City,
and I here submit my proof. I quote from an edition of the Dodge City
Times, dated June 2nd, 1877:
"Washington, D. C., May 17, '77
Editor Dodge City Times:
I trust you will not take this, from its postmark outside, as being an
appointment to a lucrative official position. Such is not the case. I write to the far West seeking information. I see,
at times, in your sprightly paper, the use of the term or terms, 'go to
the joint,' or 'gone to the joint,' etc. Will you please inform me what
it means?
Yours, INQUIRER."
"We are always willing to give the people of Washington City any
information they may desire on matters of public interest. In order that
the president and his cabinet may get a clear idea of this grave question,
we will endeavor to be explicit. Gilmore, on municipal elections, page 77,
says, 'The gang got to the joint in good shape.' This is the best
authority we have. As an instance more easily understood by the average
Washingtonian, suppose Hayes and Morton should get on a bender and put
their jewelry in soak for booze, then it would be appropriate to say they
'got to the joint' by this means.
For further particulars, address, L. McGlue"
I remember well the first child born in
Dodge. Early in the morning, a
young doctor came into the only drugstore in
Dodge, with a look of thorough
disgust on his countenance, saying, "My God! I did something last night
that I never thought is possible to fall to my lot, and I am so ashamed
that I never will again practice in
Dodge. I delivered an illegitimate child from a notorious woman, in a
house of prostitution." The druggist and I both laughed at him and told
him he must not think of leaving the profession for such a little thing as
that; he must keep right on and fortune would sure follow, as it was a
great field for his profession, and we knew he was fully capable; and so
he did, and has become one of the most prominent, as well as skillful
physicians, not only of
Dodge City,
but the whole state of
Kansas. This was in the fall of 1872. Soon after,
followed the birth of Claude, son of Dr. T. L. and Sallie McCarty; and
close after him, Jesse Rath was born, son of Charles and Carrie Rath, who
died in infancy. So Claude McCarty can well claim the distinction of being
the first legitimate child born in the town, and the eldest native.
©
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated August, 2010.
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Author
and Notes: The Beginnings of Dodge City was written by Robert M.
Wright in 1913. The article was Chapter seven of his book, Dodge City, The Cowboy Capital and the Great
Southwest: In The Days Of The Wild Indian, The Buffalo, The Cowboy, Dance
Halls, Gambling Halls, And Bad Men (now in the public domain.) The
article is not 100% verbatim, as minor grammatical and spelling
corrections have been made.
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