San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-02-16
A PERILOUS SITUATION.

A new territory infested by Indians,
and filing up rapidly with Adventures
in quest of gold, will always be the the
atre of thrilling events. Such region
was the Black Hills ia lo75-6-7.
Many IA night has the writer sat in the
LIGHT of campfire in those days, and
listened to tales related, 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 adventures were not romantic.
Commonly they were stern realities;
difficulties to be met and overcome,
perils often from which men are only
too glad to escape with their lives.
Such one was the following incident,
which occurred in the experience OF
friend of tile writer during the season
of rs.
Along with many others, James
Bently went to the Black Hills as soon
after the Custer expedition . possible,
hoping to gather goodly portion OF
the coveted "yellow dust" reported to
be living loose at the bottom OF all the
streams there.
With five or six other gold-hunters,
Bently succeeded in avoiding the Gov
eminent 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 companions 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 III quantity to
make it profitable to spend time in get
ting it.
They next tried tue rocker but
could not make more than day wages.
"Sluicing" was next attempted, but the
water supply proved inadequate;
They were satisfied, however, that the
claims which they had located along the
streams we're valuable, and that reser-
voir or dam might be built which would
give sufficient amount of water.
Concluding, therefore, to hold their
claims till the resources of the country
were better developed, 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 gathered
there had left, so that the position of
the solitary guardian was not only
lonely but dangerous one. The In
dams at this time were feeling exceed
ING 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 had been prowling
around the Hills watching for chance
to pick off stray miAers. That these
REPORTS were true was pretty we'll dem
onstrated by the fact that numbers of
miners who had ventured out pros
Meeting" alone had never returned.
Several. indeed, had been found dead
and scalped.
Bently was brave fellow, but he
naturally felt somewhat nervous during
the first few days of his solitary vigil at
the cabin. BY the end of week the
irksomeness of his position told so
strongly upon him that he would almost
have been glad of brush with the ln-
dams, or to have undertaken venture
of almost any kind to relieve the weary
monotony of the situation.
At length he felt that he must do
something to divert his mind, and tax
ing his rifle one morning, he walked
M 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 grufily
assented. then turned to his work,
which seemed to be the fashioning of
rude chair from some shakes" which
he had split.
Thanking him, Bently turned away
and proceeded rapidly up from the
creek among the hills, resolved on
good long tramp at any risk. 1t was
fine day. His spirits rose as he climbed
the rocky bluff and caught the piney
odor of the evergreens which clothed
their sides.
For two or three hours he hunted for
game. but found none. There were, as
be knew, hundreds of black-tailed deer
in the miles of woods through which
be had come; but the wind was blowing
steadily in the direction he was travel