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Show 34 TALES OF THE COLORADO PIONEERS. "Another thought it was a sailing puff of dust. ' " I have it,' said old Neptune Holman, who had been to sea; 'it's a ship turned loose on the prairie, begad.' '"It's too many for me,' said the driver; 'I give it up.' " Indeed it was an apparition to us, to all intents and purposes; a thing of enchantment and awful mystery. I am not sure but some of the boys were a little scared. I didn't more than half like it, myself. The suspense was not long. "As it gracefully approached us we saw that it was what was called in those days a "wind wagon" - a wagon fitted out with sails and rudder like a ship. Our party had never seen a wind wagon before, though some of us had heard of them, and the beautiful floating thing just took our hearts along with our optics. There was a fine breeze, and it moved along with the swiftness of ja, locomotive. The sails were full set, and one man, whom we recognized as W. N. Byers, sat at the rudder, while G. M. Chilcott, David H. Moffat, Jerome B. Chaffee and George M. Pullman occupied chairs inside and were engaged in a game of cards. They puffed their cigars with an air of abandon, ease and comfort. As they passed, they raised their hats and mingled their voices in the negro song: "' If we get there before you do, We'll tell 'em you are coming too;' THE WIND WAGON. |