Descendents of Floyd & Grace Lytle

Ken Thompson's Unofficial Medicine Lodge Website

This page is devoted to stories about things that happened in the Gyp Hills. Some of them may be true and some of them may not be true. You be the judge. Table of Contents Talking with William There ain't no gold in them Gyp Hills The Early Dwellings at the Medicine River Read this story first to understand the story about the Cavalry. The Cavalry comes to town The Great Blizzard of '71 Medicine Lodge needs Buffalo Bill! The Day Muck-Muck Got His Wish Deacon Jim How Willie the Cripple Got His Nickname January, 2008: The Chestnut Mare

"Dad, can I get my own horse? I'll take care of him," little Bradford Finch said to his dad. "I'll go catch a wild horse out in the Gyp Hills!"

"Now son, how many times have I told you there ain't no wild horses in them Gyp Hills!" his dad answered back with a smile on his face.

"Your father's right, there aren't any wild herds around here," Molly Finch said to her son with a stern face. "Now on Sunday we'll go over to your cousin's for your birthday. Your Aunt said she was going to bake a cake!"

"I think ten is old enough to have my own horse," Bradford said, trying to sound responsible.

"Son, it ain't about how old ya are. Heck, you been takin' care of all our horses ever since you were kneehigh to a grasshopper. But we already got a couple of good horses and don't need no more."

"But I'll take care of him," Bradford said as a last ditch effort.

"Finish your supper and do your homework," Molly said with that stern look.

"But it's Friday! I'll do my homework Sunday afternoon." Bradford finished eating, but kept daydreaming about a horse. He was glad that it was Friday because his homework was to memorize the Declaration of Independence. He had to recite it Monday morning. He didn't really see the point about memorizing a bunch of words from something that happened a hundred years ago. His teacher taught him that Kansas had been a state for 15 years and the Declaration was a hundred years old. He thought about his other aunt and uncle in Denver. They were just becoming a state this year and they called it The Centennial State. He knew they had huge herds of wild horses all over The Centennial State. And he was convinced that there were wild horses in the Gyp Hills.

After supper Bradford helped his dad with the chores. It was May and winter was long gone in Medicine Lodge. The sun stayed up until after supper and the trees were leafed out and it was warm. Perfect weather for riding a horse. But soon the sun set over the Gyp Hills and the chores were done. One of Bradford's chores was to fill the lanterns with coal oil and take them in the house. He lit one and put it on the mantle and then lit the others and put one on the kitchen table and one in his parent's bedroom and one in his bedroom. He was proud of their log cabin. He helped his father build it from the elm trees that grew all over Medicine Lodge.

The sun came through the oiled-skin window of the log cabin and his Bradford's eyes. He could smell breakfast cooking and knew he better get up. He got dressed and went into the kitchen and sat down next to his dad.

"Good morning," his mother said in her sing-song voice as she put some flapjacks on his plate. "Aren't you going to say anything, Brad?" she asked.

"Good morning," he answered, still half asleep.

"Son, remember I sold that old brown cow to those German's out there in the Gyp Hills? You know, the Kahmeyer family? Now I want you to walk that cow out to their farm. They're expecting it there by noon. Mr. Kahmeyer already paid me so we gotta get that cow out there today."

"You mean I gotta walk way out to the Gyp Hills!" Bradford said.

"You know where their farm is. Take the trail out across the river and past the Adam's place. I'll let you take along my six-shooter in case you see any snake," his father answered back.

"Well, in that case I'll be glad to go!" Bradford said with a big grin. He always enjoyed packing that six-shooter. It was a real Colt .45 and his dad taught him everything about cleaning it and loading it and shooting it. Mrs. Finch didn't like the idea of her ten year old son carrying a Colt. 45, but this time Bradford had the perfect reason. He was a good shot and there were snakes out in the Gyp Hills. His dad taught him how to shoot snakes, and he was getting pretty good at it.

Bradford hurried up and finished his breakfast, and loaded up the gun and put extra bullets in his belt. Then he went outside and tied a rope halter on the old cow and took off down the trail. Sometimes the old cow wouldn't walk fast enough, but Bradford slapped it on the rear end to make it keep going.

It seemed like it took forever to get to the Medicine River. Bradford let the cow get a drink and wade out into the water a little bit. Bradford got a drink too. He thought to himself, how could those old indians think that this muddy red water was medicine? He'd rather drink water from the Elm Creek because it was clear.

After a few minutes at the river, Bradford made the cow wade across the river and they followed the trail on west. It seemed like forever until they passed the Adam's place. It seemed like eternity, trudging along the trail. Sometimes the cow would stop, and Bradford would have to tug on the rope and slap the cow's rear end to get it going again. But finally he could see his destination in the distance.

As he walked up to the cabin, he could smell something cooking, like the stuffed cabbage that his mother would sometimes fix for supper. And he could hear the funny words as the family talked. The door opened and Mr. Kaymeyer walked out.

"Da bist du! Warum bist du so spät?" Mr. Kahmeyer said.

"Uh, I don't understand, but here's your cow!" Bradford said.

"Ja, das ist die Kuh von Herr Finch. Du bist der Sohn des Herren Finch?" He asked.

"Uh, all I know is this is for you!" Bradford said as he put the rope in Mr. Kahmeyer's hand.

"I speaka a little bisschen English. You son of Herr Finch. Danke very much. I liebe die United Staten. Das ist freedom! Freiheit! No more kings and taxes! I buy a cow and make brautwurst. No give meat to king! I feed family. Wir essen jeden Tag und kein mehr König zu hassen. Wenn in die kourse of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the politikalische bands, eh?" Mr. Kaymeyer looked at Bradford as if he was asking a question. Bradford was totally dumbfounded. But somehow those words seemed familiar.

"Well, I better get going. Thank you."

"You hungrig? Mr. Kahmeyer said. "Kommst du herein. Sitzt du. Man muss essen wenn er so weit geht." Mr. Kahmeyer motioned for Bradford to come in the front door. Bradford could smell the stuffed cabbage. "Sitzt du." Mr. Kahmeyer motioned for Bradford to sit down at the table. Mrs. Kahmeyer brought a plate of the stuffed cabbage over and put it in front of him.

"Danke, das du die Kuh bringst. Wir wollen Brautwurst machen und essen," Mrs. Kahmeyer said with a big smile. Bradford still didn't understand anything. But the stuffed cabbage smelled good. He didn't realize he was so hungry, but he probably walked ten miles. Bradford ate fast and cleaned off the whole plate. While he was eating, some kids came in the front door.

"Er ist der Sohn des Herren Finch. Er hat die Kuh gebracht," Mr. Kahmeyer said to the kids.

"Are you Bradford Finch?" the oldest boy asked.

"Oh, you speak English. That sounds so good," Bradford answered.

"We go to school at that country school 3 miles south of here. Mrs. Roggen taught us English. Don't worry about my mom and dad. They're trying to learn some English. We're from Berlin. I was born there but my brothers and sister were born here in the Gyp Hills. There was some war going on and my dad didn't want to fight. He sold our house and everything and came here to live. We crossed the ocean on a big ship that had big steam engines and masts with big sails," the oldest boy told Bradford. "We were going to go to a place called Denver because my dad is a potato farmer and he wanted to grow potatoes in Denver, but we got into the wrong wagon train in Kansas City!" All the kids and Bradford laughed out loud.

"My aunt and uncle live in Denver but they're not potato farmers! And they speak English!" Bradford said as the kids laughed.

"You're funny!" the little girl said.

"My dad tried to grow potatoes here but there's not enough water. We should move closer to the river but my dad doesn't want to give up the cabin and our claim to the land," the oldest boy explained.

"Yeah, I know, my dad is real picky about our land. He's always looking for rustlers," Bradford answered back.

"Out here we don't have rustlers but we have rattlers!" the oldest boy said.

"I ain't afraid of no rattlers! I got my Colt .45 to shoot 'em!" Bradford said, pointing at the gun on his hip.

"We saw that gun. You must be pretty good with a gun to be able to carry one."

"My dad taught me everything I know. It's really his gun, not mine." The kids all laughed again.

"Es ist spät und du hast viele Meilen zu gehen," Mr. Kaymeyer said to Bradford.

"He said it's late and you have a lot of miles to go," the oldest boy explained.

"That's right. I better get going. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Kaymeyer, for the food," Bradford said. They acted like they knew exactly what he was saying as they nodded and smiled.

Bradford put the plate and silverware in the washbucket and went towards the door. "If you kids come into town, stop by and say hello. My parents would be happy to meet you and I'll show you around Medicine Lodge." As they walked together across the front porch and down the steps, Bradford remembered to get the rope and halter off the cow. "I might need this," he said, as he coiled it across his shoulder and under the opposite arm.

"There's a shortcut back to town, if you go up over the ridge. Everybody says it's faster to go around the bluff, but I can make it in half the time by climbing the ridge," the oldest boy said. The little girl nodded her head in agreement.

"Okay, I'll give it a try." As he walked off down the trail, he turned around and waved goodbye to everybody.

"Und vergisst du nicht, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights," Mr. Kahmeyer yelled to Bradford in his broken English.

Bradford had been walking for a long time, but he could see that ridge in the distance. The trail back to town went around the base of the ridge, but he could make out a trail going up the side of the bluff. That had to be the shortcut that the Kahmeyer boy was talking about. Bradford followed the small trail as it broke off of the main trail, in a small grove of cedar trees. For a moment he thought he heard a horse. He figured, it must be somebody riding along the main trail on their way back to town.

It was steep, and the red soil was loose, but Bradford made his way up to the top of the ridge. He heard the horse whinny again. He looked back along the trail and couldn't see anybody, but part of the trail was blocked from his view by the cedar trees. So he made his way across the top of the bluff, still following the trail that was the shortcut.

When he got to the other side of the bluff, he couldn't believe his eyes. There was a pretty green valley, with a pond at the bottom, several elm trees and cedars, and another bluff on the other side. It was like a hidden valley. He saw a couple of deer running off away from the pond. Something must have startled them.

Bradford followed the trail on down the side of the bluff. It went through the cedar trees, and eventually passed by the pond. He heard the horse whinny again, and looked in that direction, only to see a chestnut mare drinking water on the far side of the pond. He knew that he was right all along--there were wild horses in the Gyp Hills!

He stopped behind a big elm tree and watched the horse. She was beautiful. Just exactly what he had been dreaming about. There was no bridle or bit so he knew she must be wild. He ran up to the next tree. The horse grazed on the grass and didn't seem to notice him at all. Then something spooked her, and she ran away.

He felt bad, watching the beautiful chestnut mare running off down the canyon. He could never catch her. He walked on up to where she had gotten her drink from the pond, and stood there.

After a few minutes, he realized that the sun was getting lower in the sky and he had to get home by nightfall. So he started walking back to the shortcut trail. He followed it on up the other side of the valley, up the steep side of the bluff. There were several other trails breaking off from his trail, but he wanted to get over the bluff and get home. He was thinking that when he got home he'd tell his dad about the wild horse that he saw in the Gyp Hills.

The top of the bluff was very flat and several hundred feet across. He stopped and looked around for a minute, and heard a whinny. He looked back down the bluff where he just came up, and there was the chestnut mare, on one of the side trails that went just below him. Just a few feet below was the most beautiful creature Bradford had ever seen. He thought for a moment, why didn't the horse smell him or hear him, and run away? And then he got a crazy idea. He jumped off the side of the bluff, and landed right on the back of the horse. He wrapped his arms around her neck and his legs as far as they would go around her sides, and held on for life. She started to buck, but on the little trail there wasn't room to buck, so she just ran.

Bradford held on as tight as he could as he bounced along on the horse's back. She ran and ran, following the trail, and made it all the way around the bluff. She followed the shortcut trail and took off down the side of the bluff and across the next valley. Bradford was glad she was just running and not trying to buck him off, because he didn't have any reins or saddle or anything to hang onto, except for his arms around her neck. She ran all the way across that valley and up the side of the next bluff.

On the side of the bluff, again there were more side trails. As the mare climbed up past the side trails, she suddenly stopped. She stood still. Then Bradford heard a rattler. He looked down, and off on the side trail was a rattler as long as his dad was tall. He carefully reached down to the holster, and pulled out the Colt .45. He aimed, and fired, and the snake shook and fell limp as the bullet went through it's head. The chestnut mare spooked, and took off running again, still following the trail. Bradford almost fell off, but he managed to get the gun back into the holster and his arms around the neck of the horse again. He felt proud. He was happy. He was riding a beautiful chestnut mare and had protected her from the bit of the deadly rattler.

As they crossed the top of the bluff at full gallop, the trail turned down a steep incline into the next valley. Bradford did everything he could to hang on, but at the bottom there was a fallen tree across the trail. The beautiful chestnut mare jumped and cleared the tree, but Bradford went rolling into the dirt and grass. He rolled a few times, and then sat up bewildered as the horse galloped off into the distance. It took a few minutes for him to gain his balance again and come to his senses. He checked to make sure the gun was still in the holster. His dad would be very mad if the gun was lost.

He realized that he was already back close to the Adam's place. He could see the main trail off in the distance. They must have been galloping very fast, because the horse had covered a couple of miles with Bradford on her back. He got up and looked around but there was no sign of the chestnut mare anywhere. He felt exhilarated from the wild ride on the chestnut mare, but also melancholy that the horse was gone and he had to walk on back to town. He wondered if he would ever see the chestnut mare again, as he trudged on home.

It was almost dark as Bradford walked into the barn and hung the rope up on a peg. He was tired as he trudged onto the porch of the cabin, and into the front door.

"There you are. We were worried. Did everything go okay?" his mother asked as she put some food on a plate and put it at his seat at the table.

"Those German people were really friendly, and I stayed there with them a long time. Dad, I saw a wild horse," he said earnestly. "It was a chestnut mare, and I rode her several miles on the trip back."

"Now I've told you, there ain't no wild horses in the Gyp Hills. The sheriff has been all over out there and he says there ain't no wild horses in the Gyp Hills."

"But dad, I saw it. I rode it. I was up on a bluff, and the horse was below me, so I jumped on her back, and she ran and ran and I held on and we went a couple of miles. And a rattler almost bit her but I shot the rattler."

"I think you're a dreamy kid with a wild imagination," Mr. Finch said.

"Honey, you finish your supper so you can get to bed. You've got to get up early and we're going to church. And tomorrow afternoon is your birthday party. Your aunt baked a chocolate cake. And remember, you've got to learn the Declaration of Independence for Monday morning in school!" Bradford's mother said with a stern look.

"Awe, mom, I don't want to memorize that Declaration. What good is it?" he said.

"It means that we broke away from the kings and the taxation and all the wars in Europe, so we could have freedom here in America. We elect our own leaders. We don't have some maniac king telling us what to think or what to say or how to live."

"Okay, I guess I'll go start memorizing it." He got up from the table, went to his room, and got his school book out. By the light of the lantern he started reading. "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another…" He thought to himself about those German people. They gave up their home and went thousands of miles to another land where they couldn't even speak the language, just because they wanted freedom. But they're a lot like the people here in Medicine Lodge, even if they don't speak the language. He read on into the Declaration, and something caught his eye. "…that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government…" "Now I understand what Mr. Kahmeyer was trying to say," he thought to himself. But I still wish I had that chestnut mare.

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