The Benton weekly record. [volume] (Benton, Mont.) 1880-1885, 1880-09-24
Selected Stt1,r.
THE HAUNTED Tribe.
a Story OF the Sasgs.az Eaewam
Plains.

va ssii august Gay, III 1917, EflY e0mpan
ion and / were riding from tIse Buffal
range OF the Saskatchewan Tlaflls toWar
the Rocky Mountains. We aere go,no +
4 the Flat-head Lake. During Ghe t1ay x.
had halted on the verge Of tbs eastern wal
OF the great coulee that tre5 lis from In,
Milk River far to the north1 This dee,
Itroughlike depression had apl..rsntly beer
cut III the rocks by the strong waters of j,
mighty river long since deaa. The str;t{i i
/ tication Of the rocks forming 8fle walls o.
the canon was horizontal. Tn waters o1
tine great liver, ii the bygone va. i1ces-
sanity nibhling the rocky walls nf its bed
had discovered the soft strafa and eaten
them away much faster. than fIiev had the
harder strata. This action Of fEEse caroCiine
waters had shelVetl the walls Oh file. collee
into deep recesass. Leaving tifas wall of
the canon, we were riding eareIsSslF = over
the plains toward the Milk Rsssvaf, where
we intended TO camp, when WaJSsnezpect-
edly stumbled into 4 long ran ge4llisunler-
Standing with some Indians Of 4 Gt5be to ;ls
unknown. A short distance lsstft ~ of.us
we had seen 4 little s.Wasf4DHE ssss,asr-
ntosilat ID tsssi:sisa ssli.e
nc iIldians on horseback,
who taeass.slltIy ga1Iopea around us in.
Great circles. that we're gradually reduced
In diameter. IL WaH after sun set. 1t had
been d very bot day. The air still culver
ed with the intense heat adding to the diff
ficulties Of clear vision through the haze of
an August evening on the not, Wind-sWept
plains Of the North. Standing, watching
the movements of the six Indians, the
steady gallop Of their horses, the tierceness
Of the gestures the riders continually made
was quickly excited. My nerves began
to thrill. Turning to my friend, said =
George, cannot endure this circling
around us. We had better begin fighting
at once, while there is still light to see the
sights Of our rifles" Cheerfully he ans
wered, eco ahead, my boy. will sup
tOII SOG ~ itt1 iii W 1uJtISStSl SbCAI sto
they are within range" Elevating the
sights Of my rifle to eight hundred yards,
opened fire. The rapid shooting and
range Of the weapon apparently
alarmed the Indians. We saw them gal
op of, disappearing behind the long roll
ng swell to the north, known as the "Hole
II Breast,' really the continental divide
separating the waters of Hudson's Bay
rom those Of the Gulf Of Mexico. Turn
ng to my comrade, I saw him looking
.nxiously up toward the point where we
lad last seen the retreating forms of the
'ix. Turning to me, he said softly, as
hough he were speaking to himself,
"Fhey were six. They did not return the
ire. Their horses were ever on the full
'un,o Then his tone changed to an anx-
GUS dread-chord, and he said: "Great
Sod! they were the wraitils Of the Saska~
chewan Plains.'' Sharply he added, "Do |
lot laugh!' in correction Of my sudden |
ni1th; then asked, "Did you ever hear the
tory?" tNo," 7 answered. Let us
aide ourselves ii the dry coulee, and to-
light will tell it to you
We mounted. The ride was 4 pleasant /
me, AS we followed the river, deer and /
TX occasionally broke cover near lis, and I
All swiftly into the darkness. Coming to |
he mouth Of the coulee, we turned in and I
we're far up the canon when the waning
noon rose above the eastern horizon The |
red and white sandstone wall /
f the dead river, that Nasfully exposed to
he glare of the moon, was streaked with I
vide, black lines showing where the
helyes were. The dark vertical plane of
he shadowed wall was marked with broad
ines of intense black. In the little valley,
he bed Of the extinct river, detached rocks
vith clearly cut outlines and casting dense
Iladows, stood in isolation like lonely SEN
inels, or in irregular lines as though about
. move forward 10 shislnisi4 with unseen
nemies. The impression chat the tall |.
oclzs standing il the moonlight were the
pectres Of the genii Of the river, standing
watching for the comingo Of the
Taters that wsll never again flow until
ome mighty conyu,sion frees the rock
ound springs deep il the heart Of the
arth, took possession Of me, and I rode to
ne Of them and placed my hand on its
mooth side to reassure myself. Black an
mails, all seemed black in the moonlight,
RACED ii the valley far beyond us. Oeca-
Ionally coyotes jumped up from the grass
efore =us, trotted Oh d little distance, and
tting down on their launches would look
us with approval, probably, as We could /
ae their white teeth glisten as they smiled
. their eommiaealies. A coyote chorus y