The William F. Cody Archive: Documenting the life and times of Buffalo Bill

Fort Harker July 1st 1867

My Dear Sister

I arrived here this a.m and believing you would like to learn something of the manners and habits of the frontiersman life I will devote a little time this evening in giving you such items of interest as has come under my notice. the past twelve hours, this place is a military post. Five hundred miles due west of St Louis. The little town of Ellsworth three miles west of here the last town, on the frontier. this is on the Santafee road. and all almost all hours of the day can be seen. large trains of mule or ox teams, six mules or ten oxen to each wagon all heavily laden with all description of merchandise for all points in New Mexico Military orders forbid less than one hundred teams in a train to leave here to cross the plains. an account of the hostile Indians they are now on the war path and are killing and scalping every small party of men they come accross, it is regarded at present as very unsafe to ride out five miles from this post. I had intended going out on a   Buffal hunt when I reached here. but I do not care to be bald headed, or wear a wig just yet a while so I have abandoned the idea of a hunt this time. there are numers herds of Buffalo ranging within twenty to thirty miles of here, also Elk and Antelope, while prairie chickens and prairie Dogs and Prairie wolves are very numerous. these men whose live are so checquered, and consistantly exposed to danger are generous to a fault, will devide their last dollar and their last loaf of bread, with a man in need, they almost live in the saddle, a big belt around their waist and a navy revolver and huge knife, is their outfit, I called in a man to day whom I had sold goods to in another portion of the state, but who is now running a bar room, billiard tables, and a grocery house and lumber yard. he took me up stairs over his grocery store, and there I found all the impliments for three different kinds of gambling Keeno, Monte and a sweat cloth. if some of these suited the hardy pioneers they could be accommodated with seven up: as any other means of gambling they desired, there was no delicacy or seacrecy about it. but the   manner in which they spoke of it. I thought they regarded it as a legitimate business, Sunday is not regarded as a day of rest as in any manner sacred, but rather as a time for trading, and getting drunk and into a fight, and a fight here means something. a man rarely ever strikes another, but a slight provication will draw his revolver and blaze away. human life is not held at so high an estimate as it is in the older settled states it seems to me these men live only for to day I have never herd so much profane language used as is the custom here. you seldom here a sentance used that is not accompanied with an oath. the Union Pacific Rail Road is now running to this place, but the Indians are detirmined it shall go no farther. they have killed a number of the Rail Road hands, and many sections of the road under contract for grading has been abandoned, the men refusing to work, when there lives are in constant peril by attacks from Indians. I enclose you a flower I picked in the prairie here to day. Fifteen hundred miles west of you. I expect to be at home in about ten days, when I hope to find a letter from you, with love to all I am