The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-09-28
aDoUBLE AMBUSH.

w y nNc4 III lco40 w al
ters) through all the Seminole wal, which
lasted seven years, so that grew up
with the names of the great hostile
chiefs, Osceola, Alligator, Wild Cat, and
Tiger Tail, making part Of my child
hood.
A sense of peril was always present
with us. / remember the feelings with
which we heard of the slaughter of Lieu
tenant Dade. and his command. The
tragedy took place in open battle, yet it
seemed dreadful that so many brave
men should be shot down in the dark
woods, with the painted sayages yelling
around them.
In the spring, when 1 was. thirteen
and my brother Arthur fifteen, the war
was at its worst, and my father talked
strongly of removing to q greater dis
tance from the danger.
Among our few slaves, consisting only
of two black families, was q halfidiotic
young negro named Jason, who had the
privilege of wandering pretty much as
he pleased. He would often remain all
day in the forest, either lying asleep or
mocking the gobble of the wild turkeys.
One day he returned with an appear
ance which startled rs. : His woolly
head had been completely shaved, and
his black face dyed TO bright scarlet.
He had, however, received no real hurt,
and seemed not in the least terrified by
the ordeal through which he must have
passed.
We gathered from his broken SEN.
tences that he had fallen in with In
dians; and it was plain that they had
been in some measure true to the pro-
verbal respect of their people for idiots.
An ordinary person they would have
sacrificed without mercy; but when Ja-
son stared aimlessly at the tree-tops, OF.
gobbled like turkey, they simply set
their mark upon him, and let him go.
The incident showed that our danger
was more immediate than had been sup
posed but there was fortunately squad
of United States cavalry picketed with
in few miles of us, and my father lost
no time in notifying the officer in COM
mand of what had occurred. The sol
diers, however could find nothing of the
enemy; and in the mean time we passed
couple of days in very anxious sus-
pense. The movements Of Indian war
riors are erratic, and to white men un-
accountable. ts2.a $3.50
My parents began to regain conf
dence, believing that the Seminoles
were gone from the neighborhood, as
they doubtless were for the time. Fa-
ther said they were probably scouts, and
there was no telling how they might
have scattered themselves, or at what
point some of them might appear next.
He hoped, however, that the presence
of the soldiers had led them to abandon
any design they might have entertained
of attacking Us.
On the third day after Jason's adven-
CO. oh
negro men were at work in the fields,
and father had gone to considerable
distance from the house. Mother, Ar
thur and myself, with the female serv-
ants, were within-doors.
Presently, not far of, we heard the
gobble of wild turkey, or what seemed
such, although, as turkeys were not in
the habit of approaching 30 near the
house, we imagined Jason to be at his
old silly. pastime again, initiating the
call which he could so well counterfeit.
The notes were continued with great
regularity at intervals of q minute or
two, and so natural were they that Ar
thur would have been all on fire to seize
his rife and hurry in quest of the game
had he not remembered how often he
had teen led upon e fruitless chase by
the vocal powers of the poor idiot.
"We all excel in something - said
my mother, IS and Jason was made to
call turkeys. But do wish he would
be quiet; it make me nervous TO hear
him. rn
ssJason," said little negro girl who
Just than came in from the rear of the
premises; "why, missus, Jason done
gone to sleep in de shade at de back OBJ
de wash-house. done seen him dis
minute.''
Arthur hastened outdoors, looked be-
hind the wash-house, and having as
sured himself that the black boy had
nothing to do with the gobbling, re-
turned quickly for his rifle.
ssIt is a real turkey he said, sand
he's somewhere in the hollow" -
The hollow was made by depression
of the ground about fifty rods from the
house front, and running parallel with
It. Upon its further side was q decayed
stump. some four or five feet high,
standing below the sloping bank, and
with its top just visible from the house.
OF this stump the portion next to the
slope had so fallen away as to leave q
large cavity capable of containing .
The gobble indicated the turkeys
whereabouts pretty definitely.
SHE'S somewhere near that stump"
said Arthur; "perhaps inside of it, Sit
ting up on the rotten wood toward the
top. I'm afraid he'll get high enough
10 see me. But III make circuit, and
creep around where the ground is
lower.n
He went out at the back door, so as &c
make sure of not being seen. The land
on our right, a few rods from the house,
was very low, the depression stretching
of in crescent shape until it treached the
gully, which crossed it at fair rife-shoi
distance from the stump.
Arthur, young as he was, had already
become an excellent marksman, having
for two years possessed a rifle of his
own, which father had bought him, and
which was almost always In his hands.
We had no doubt that, with anything
like an ordinary chance, he would put 8
ball through the turkeys head, and re-
turn in triumph.
But somehow, after he went out, q
sudden thought seemed to strike mother
Wasn't it strange that a turkey should
come so far out of the woods, and keer
up such a gobbhng in the hollowp No,
not strange, perhaps, nor very unusual
and she wondered at her own uneasi.
ness. But her nerves had been shaken
by poor Jason's incident
: The house had q half story in front
with two small windows above the
ground rooms, and mothers feeling:
tmpelled her to runup there for q bettel
view. She wished to see where father
was, and perhaps might discover some
thing of the wild turkey. - ~ ~ :.
Twas close at her side. We saw father
with his rife away off across the fields
and the negroes at distance from him
engaged in their-work. The stump, too
was visible nearly to its foot, and at in,