The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1882-07-28
On tho Plains.

Going up Broadway, last week, with q
friend from the west, we met halfbree
Indian coming down the street near the
post-oflice, and was surprised to hear my
friend exclaim:
why, halo, Jim, what are you doing in
New York;
Leaving the two talking together at a
warm window in the post-otlicc, | took Il
stare and rode home. He was poor, COM
mon.loolsing fellow, that halfbreed, with
from the ordinary tramp by his tall, 1.-the
form, long, black hair, dark face and pierre
ing black eyes, and / wondered why my
high-toned friend had stopped TO renew ac-
Quaintance with that link of two races.
Three days later / met my friend and re-
marked:
We'll, viii, that Indian didn't get your
scalp?"
mo. Let me tell you something about
him."
"All right"
81 met him first at Abilene, Kansas he
was our guide in surveying party. Saved
my life one night"
"How?"
''From rattlesnakc, the deadly reptiles
are the constant menace to surveying par
ties; in measuring Off land you suddenly
hear under your very feet in the thick grass
the blood-curdling warning, and you must
Immediately jump or be bitten; but ii
night they will actually crawl under your
get warm That is your terrible
aud unconscious danger; move hand or
foot and they bury their deadly fangs in
you. The only way to keep them out of q
tent is to surround it with a horse.har lar
iGt, laid in an unbrokcn circle ON the
ground; they will not crawl over it, the
hair scratches them, or perhaps they mis-
take 1t for their mortal enemy, the black
snake, But to the story; One night
ip the bright moonlight streaming in
to the tent, Jim saw rattlesnakt
moved he caught it by the tail, quick a,
lightning and flung it through the tent
door. Poor fellow, he was hungry thu
other night and ! took him over and or
dered first.class supper for us both, and
he told me little incident that went RICH,
down to the bottom of my heart. He /.
: only poor half.breed outcast, but he,
true as steel, and when they come tC
make up jewels, at The last day for tn,
something shining in his hear
that may give poor Jim chance. This Il
what he told ME; He had been away wes
to see his old Indian mother, who live
with her tribe, and was returning acros
the plains on his pony when, one day
about half way between Denver and For
Wallace, he saw n wagon In the distance
whose owner appeared to have gone int
camp. Riding toward II he was surprise,
to see no horses in sight and going still
nearer, he saw woman sitting on tn
ground crying rs Il her heart would break
At her breast she held q poor, hungry
looking little baby, which was seckin
nourishment from source which was cvi
IDENTIFY fast failing far the want OF iuud. !
was q pitiablc scene; the woman's husban,
lay dead In the wagon and the horses ha
broken loose and gone in search OF food
while not o spark n fire was loft and not
bite of food The woman, or rattle
girl shc might have been called, sh
was SO young, told u sad tale OF SUI
fcring aud restitution. She had marric
against the wishes and commands Of he
father who lived on q comfortable farr
near Concordia, Kansas, and. after yea
OF deprivation and toll with her husban
ON q farm he Ind rented o few mile
nom her father, they had decided to go fui
ther west and had started In their WACO
with oil they possessed In the world, II
& cluding a little baby one or two month
old. For few weeks they enjoye
The trip; the weather was pleasant, gam
plentih,l and grass abundant for tho horse
Then they got into sterile region aud b
/, Carle lcston tue wide prairie, where do