The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1874-10-16

practised by the Sioux on their captiyes. and
the impossihility of making anything like
fair and even fight OF it-as they all had
rifles or carbinCs ran through nv mind
and even then, amid all the horror of the
situation | could hardly repress a smile at
the thought of the painful disappointment
the reds would feel in endeav0ring to .'Hft''
my hair, as, in accordance with habit con-
tracted in the East Indies, it was little over
three quarters of an inch long, certainly
not long enough TO afford sufficient hold for
them to take my soap.
! cannot say how long remained in this
position perhaps a few minutes, but it
seemed hours. Thoughts of home, and
places | should never see again, flashed
through my mind; and the idea of dying in
that way seemed all the more dreadful, as
thought Of the proximity Of the troops. and
how little they were aware of my fate.
Vague ideas as to whether my body would
be ever found, foatcd through my mind,
amid general piling up of mental agony.
! could hear the footsteps nearer and nearer,
and the cultural grunts of the ridders were
more distinctly audible as they approached
the top, and in a few more seconds, / was
aware by the sound they had reached the
summit and had, as judged, dismounted.
Can a much more unpleasant situation be
supposed? Within few feet of ny savage
enemies, who would certainly not pay any
attention to the etiquette of civilized war
fare, whose language was unintelligible TO
me, and mine to them and the certainty of
being discovered by their keen eyes the mo-
ment they had looked around the surround
ing country. must certainly confess to
very bad scare all sorts of wild schemes re-
volvcd through my brain; rushing down
the hill in a desperate effort to escape and
reach the train presented itself, and was
dismissed a. vain and futile.
Then the camness Of desperation seemed
to come, and with vague, dreamy feeling
of pitying myself a. one in a bad way. lay
revolver in hand. meditatiug whether 1t
would not be better to reserve tie last bul-
let for myself, so as not to fall alive into the
hands of savages.
st last the climax came. An exclamation
from one showed an object of interest, and
could hear them cluster together, and talk
rapidly From the infection of their voices,
l knew they had discovered something.
What could it be? In a moment | remem-
bercd in my haste had left small metal
matchbox Gan old travelling companion)
where had lit my pipe, and it had been
discovered. Then, footsteps were heard all
round, and close to my hiding-place; so
Il IL,
my pistol presented, and confronted-an In
dian certainly, and Sioux. too-but to my
intense relief recognised the peculiar fea-
lures of ''Tartanka Morza,' or ''Iron Buff
falo," one of the scouts attached to the ex-
petition.
Our mutual surprise was great. i never
felt so lovingly disposed to an Indian in my
life. He himself could not tell what to
make of the apparition of a white man sud
denly springug from behind rock, with
such decidedly hostile appearance; and
we stood looking at each other, till with
the intuitive perception Of an Indian, the
whole thing seemed t. burst on his mind,
and we both exploded into a roar of laughter
(it is mistake to sly redskins do not laugh),
in which the rest joined. Sitting down, we
discussed the affiir by pantomine over a
pipe, and then seeing below the wHite tents
rapidly rising, and dotting the neighboring
hillside. while the bugles made themselves
heard sounding halt as each company came
up, denoting the stoppage for the night, |
strcled lei urely down the bill to rejoin my
friends, and having got over my fright,
amused them that night with the story of
it.