On one occasion I observed that some of the jacks had been kicked severely.  I said to my pack-master, “Mr. Williams, how is this?  Those jacks have been shamefully used.  The skin is off and the wounds are bleeding.  I, as you well know, hold you personally responsible for every animal.  Don’t let me ever see this again, sir.”

As I turned to go from him, I heard him mutter something.  I at once, with my hand upon my revolver, came back towards him and inquired, “what’s this you’re saying, sir?”

He replied, “I kicked the jacks myself and I will do it again if they bother me.”

I walked to within perhaps ten paces of him and said, “If I ever catch you at it, I will shoot you like a dog.”

“Two,” he replied, “can play at that game,” and his hand neared the butt of his revolver.  I jerked out my pistol and fired at his arm.  His pistol dropped to the ground.

“Don’t shoot again, captain.  I will do as you wish in the future.”

“All right,” said I.  “Let me see your arm.”

I had shot him through his wrist.  I bound up the wound as well as I could, and it soon healed.  He remained in my employ nearly four years after that, and to my knowledge was never guilty of doing me or my animals a wrong.

Another instance happened a long time after this.  I was getting short of provisions, and had got to do just so much work within a certain time.  So I resolved to run two instruments.  As we were then running sectional lines, I could take the variations at night.  So I fixed another instrument and gave it into the hands of a young man by the name of Biddleman.  I assigned to him his part of the line then, and set him at work within three miles of the camp.

Returning to camp about two o’clock in the afternoon, to do some traverse work around a small lake, what was my astonishment, to see that Biddleman’s party was already in camp.  Upon asking him what it meant, he told me that upon running a random line, he stopped to correct the error at the half mile corner, and that his men on getting to the mile corner, instead of coming back and reporting the error as they should have done, started for camp.  He, of course, followed on, as he could not do anything alone.

I at once called his party of men, told them to get their chain and pins, put the stakes, pickaxe and shovel on the line animal, and follow me.  This they did.  When we got to the corner where Biddleman left off work, I set my instrument, gave them an object to run by, and sent them off.  They went and returned to me.  I then ran another mile north, set my instrument and started them east again on random.  They went and I followed them to the half mile corner, to which place they returned.

I said:  “Boys, we will now go to camp.  In future whether with me or Biddleman, you will continue at your work until you are directed to return.”

Had I allowed either of the above transactions to have passed unpunished, I might as well have started for the States, for all order would have been at an end.