The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1875-05-07
FOSTER. THE INDIAN HUNTER.
~ TIE EEv. IL. A. GUILD.

sY THE REV. II. A. GUILD.
The Mohawks were fierce, bloodthirs.
ty tribe Of Indians not slow in their ae-
Acknowledgement OF favor. but lifelong
in the remembrance Of an injury. Once
aroused. their anger could only be APP
peased with blood. Shrewd as well as
savage. and expert in the use Of weapons
of warfare. their presence always proved
an inspiration Of terror. Enjoying from
time immemorial the uncontested occu-
pancy andrange OF the valley of the Mo-
hawk and The hills and woods of Herki-
mer. when finally the white man began
90 show his lac among them all the fiend-
ish qualities in their nature were excited :
and upon the slightest proyocation, as
also quite frequently in the
absence OF any proyocation what
ever, the tcmahawk was buried
in the brains OF their hated rivals. The
hunting GROUNDS of HerSimer belong
ed 10 them, so they conceived; and the
''pale face must :. hands Off" or make an
unceremonious pilgrimage to that coun-
try where Indians cease from trouble
and the weary are at rest" Ii would not
do 70 SET up the plea that they Were not
themselves sometimes dispatched upon a
journey to the happy hunting grounds"
for which they had made no especial pre-
paration, and for which they had no clear
ly-defined desire.
"Old FOSTER as he was termed. was a
good hater OF the red-man. That was his
forte. He WAS ''at homen nowhere else.
And he had good reason for indulging his
hatred; so he used TO say. The Indians,
according 10 his asseverations. had sack
ed his earthly home. and tomahawked and
scalped its inmates. He had barely es-
bwv. 1.~..-f.,sr
the trap door. crawling out of the cellar
window. and taking refuge in the thick
foliage of convenient hemlock. where
he remained until the work Of slaughter
and pillage was completed, and the lndi-
ans mad departed for fresh scenes of per-
tidy and blood. Az that time Foster was
amere STRIPPING: but he was old enough
10 form very vivid conception Of the
= situstion- And he came down from
that hemlock chockiull'' Of hatred and
vengeance.
Here said Foster, sis my life-work :
and avn in Orit. Those red devils shall
pay for this nights job, and good round
price at that. The murder Of my poor
fathers family shall he avenged /: and the
name Of Foster shall be terror whenever
a Mohawk shall hear it,
And these were not idle words, uttered
in haste, and TO Toe repenied at leisure.
They We're only faint reflection Of the
terribly resoiuie purpose that fred young
Fosters soul. He AT once began TO tamil-
iarize himself with the uses and capacities
of tie rifle such weapons were not so
accessible then as now: aud their charac-
ter for reliability could not always be de-
pended on with confidence. Several pieces
were tested by Foster before finding one
that would meet the peculiar demands of
the business he had on hand. An English
weapon finally found its way into his
hands that appeared to possess the requi-
site qualifications. IT. "borr," however,
was unlike that of all the neighboring
guns. and, no bullet-molds accompanying
il, here was difficulty. 10 surmount
this difficulty Foster toiled long and pa
tientlv. Finally. with the assistance Of q
blacksmith suitable molds were prepared (;
and then buckshot. leaden and pewter
spoons, were converted into bullets with
great raridty; and Foster passed a con-
siderable portion of each day I'm s'practic-
ing" When he could drive a nail every
shot at seyenty-five yards, and split bull
let on the blade of a jack. knife at sixty
yards. five shots ont OF six. he esteemed
himself ready tor 'business,' and pre-
pared to enter upon It without delay.
:. know" he said, "a little Indian.
rDthtWiidt UiZZtf llan Inc. VINO hitS al
day on an Old stump. and fishes IN Spruce
Creek. He'll do TO begin on. Failing to
report at the hut at the usual time, with
fish for supper. the old Indian will come
10 see what's the matter: and that'll be
chance No. ,"
Creeping sfsalthily through the spruce
and henlock trees that fringed the creek,
Foster soon discovered his victim in his
accustomed place. The target was suffi-
-5ently conspicuous, 80 far as hitting it
vas c0ncerned; hut the fall would not
be great enough to satisfy Fosters
ambition. So. resting one end of
a dead, dry limb on fallen tree,
he jumped suddenly upon IL. and the
noise OF its breaking rang through the
forest. The Indian sprang suddenly TO
his feet, and looked in the direction
whence the noise proceeded, perhaps ex-
pecting the approach Of bear on the way
20 the creek. TO slake IT, thirst The next
moment the sharp c.sck OF the rifle was
heard, and the Indian fell backward into