The National tribune., 1882-01-14
A PERIL0US SITUATION.

A new territory infested by Indians, and fill
ing up rapidly with adventures in quest of gold,
viii always be the theatre of thrilling events.
Such region was the Black Hills in 1861.
Many night has the writer sat in the light of
campfire in those days, and listened to tales re-
lated, with all the hard graphic earnestness of
truth, by men who needed not to embellish their
narratives to render them stranger than the most
sensational Of fictions.
These rough narratOrs, indeed, would have
scorned to embellish. The most Of their adven-
lures Were not romatic Commonly they were
stern realities: difficult to be met and overcome
perils often from which men are only too glad to
escape with their lives Such an one was the
following incident which occurred in the ex-
perience of friend Of the writer during the sea-
son offs.
Along with may others, James Bently went to
the Black Hills as soon after the Custer expedi-
ton as possible, hoping to gather a goodly por-
ton of the coveted yellow dust" reported to be
lying loose at the bottom of all the streams there
With five or six other gold-hunters, Bently
succeeded in avoiding the Government troops
then vainly trying to guard the territory-and
arrived on French Creek, near the present site
of Custer City, early in the spring of the year
above mentioned.
Provided with mining pans" he and his COM
panions at once tested the soil along the stream.
There seemed to be gold everywhere. In every
pan of dirt they washed, few bright particles
were found, yet not enough in quantity TO make
it profitable to spend time in getting it.
They next tried the rocker" but could not
make more than day wages. "Sluicing" was
next attempted, but the water supply proved in
adequate.
They were satisfied, however, that the claims
which they had located" along the stream, were
valuable, and that a reservoir, or dam, might be
built which would give a sufficient amount of
water.
Concluding, therefore, to hold their claims till
the resources of the country were better develop
ed. they built cabin and determined to seek for
gold elsewhere in the Hills, leaving one of their
party to take care of the cabin and the claims.
James was the first to whose lot it fell to guard
the cabin There were few miners left above
and below him. but most of those who had gather
ed there had left; so that the position of the sol
tary guardian was not only lonely, but dam
gerous one. The Indians at this time were feel
ing exceedingly aggrieved, not without reason
since the invasion of their territory was plainly
contrary to the treaty which our Government had
made with them.
Rumors had been rife all the spring that war
parties were prowling about the Hills watching
for a chance to pick off stray miners. That these
reports were true was pretty well demonstrated
by the fact that numbers of miners who had VEN
tured out prospecting" alone, had never return
ed. Several, indeed, had been found dead and
scalped.
Bently was a brave fellow, but he naturally
felt somewhat nervous during the first few days
of his solitary vigil at the cabin. By the end of
a week the irksomeness of his position told so
strongly upon him, that he would almost have been
glad of brush with the Indians, or to have un-
dertaken venture Of almost any kind to relieve
the weary monotony of his situation
At length he felt that he must do something
to divert his mind, and taking his rifle one morn
ing, he walked up the creek to the cabin of the
nearest miner-a taciturn fellow who seemed to
court solitude, but whose cabin was in sight OF
his own-and asked him if he would not as a
favor, keep an eye on his hut that day.
Scarcely looking up, the man grufiy assented
then turned to his work which seemed to be the
fashioning of rude chair from some d" shakes
which he had split.
Thanking him, Bently turned away and pro
ceeded rapidly up from the creek among the hills
resolved on good long tramp at any risk. Il
was fine day. His spirits rose as he climed the
rocky bluff and caught the piney oodr of the ever
green's which clothed their sides
For two or three hours he hunted for game, but
found none. There were, as he knew, hundreds
of black-tailed deer in the miles of woods
through which he had come; but the wind was