The Red Cloud chief., 1883-11-02
SNAKES IN THE GRASS.

weary. Ten feet away arc the embcrs o
the fire on which the evening meal wa,
cooked. Between the wagon and the
fire Is the rude bed of robes and blanket.
an which mother and children are sleep.
ing. On the other side Of the vehicle
stand the horses, munching at the short,
sweet grass or listening TO the far-of
voice Of the wolf.
This is the back ground. In the fore
ground a sentinel sits with his back q
the solitary cottonwood. At his RICH,
hand uns n little broOk-at his left !,
the Eoundlcss prairie DER which nigh,
has spread her mantle. Forty feet away
are wife and children trusting in hi,
vigilance. Overhead gray-white cloud,
are driving across the star-lit heavens,
N the moan Of the wind has an uneasy,
nery0ua round. Away out or the prairie
>shc wolf gallops from knoll to knoll
and snuffs the air, and the coyote gnaw,
at the bleached bones Of the buffalo, and
utters his short, sharp cries of hunger.
Is there dangeri All day long as the
fired horses pulled the wagon at a Slow
pace, the emigrant has carefully scanned
the circle about him. but without cause
for uneasiness. lie knows he is in the
Indian country, and for the last twenty
four hours his nerves have been braced
10 hear their dreaded ~war-whoop and
10 catch sight Of a band riding down
upon him.
II is midnight a. We find him. Hia
ar has been ne keen as a fox's and bis
eye has not rested for a moment. The
stakes are human lives -his life with
the rest. The odds are ten TO one
against him.
"Ah! il we were back at the old
home in Ohio! You remember the old
farmhouse hidden way among the
cherry and pear trees? There is the
highway. lined with dusty May-wceds.
Half a mile beyond Is the quaint little
schoOl-house. where tho children
learned their A, Il, &. Half = mile
above is the bridge across the"
The sentinel rouses up and ruhs his
eyes. 1t was the creek talking To him.
As he listened to its monOtOnOus babblc
1t suddenly began TO converse in plain
tongue. For a moment he il thrilled
and alarmed. He looks kecnly about,
and he listens with batcd breath.
There are the same sounds-the wall of
the coyOte-the munching of the horses
the babbling of the brook-now and
then a haif-groan from one of the chill
dren sleeping an uneasy sleep. And
now the brook talks again:
There was the big brown barn full
Of sweet-smelling hay-thc pasture lot
with its cows-the pond In which the
bare-legged children used to wade--the
orchard with its burden of fruit. Don't
you remember how you used TO sit on
the stoop mt evening-time and smoke
your pipe and watch the children ut
play on the grass? How peaceful every
thing was! There was a drOwsy feel
ing in the summer air-the lazy hum Of
insects the low songs of the good wife
rs she rocked baby TO slecp-who. you
sometimes fell asleep and let your pipe
drop from"
The brook babblcd and the man slept.
Aye! the sentinel who had five lives in
his keeping slept and dreamed, and in
his dreams wandered back to the old
home and heard the old familiar sounds.
SSH" 1t was a rustic in the grass!
Turn to the left a little more. There il
is! Thirty feet from the sleeping man a
rattlcsnake rears its head above the
grass and looks around. It's eyes CLEAN
like stars. The neck swells. the tongue
flashes In and out, and it coils and I'M
coils itself as il ir fierce combat. Now
II is adtancing--now 1t swerves 70 the
right-now to the left-now il halts and
coils itself to strike. 1t might creep up
and bury its fangs in the flesh of the
sleeping man. and it will! It creeps
again. 1t glides through the grass like
q gleam-now to the right-nOw to tho
left--now straight ahead.
''S-s-s-h.'
The serpent halts. Twenty feet more
and il could have struck the sleeper, but
movement Of his has alarmed it,
snd it glides away for fifty feet as fast as
. shadow travels.
Now look beyond the snake! Is it a
serpent worming its way over the
ground to surround the sleeper with
perl? Is it a wolf or panther creeping
forward to make a victim? Now you
can see more clearly. There is the
and feathers-the dark face
the cleaning eyes-the shut teeth and
tronzcd throat OF q Blackfoot warrior.
A courier from one branch Of his tribe
to another: he has discovered the equip
mcnt, circled around Il twice, and is
now creeping upon the man. who sleeps
instead OF watches.
How softly he moves! A panther
stealing upon q listening doe would not
inch. and yet he is slowly approaching.
He was . hundred feet away. Now Be
is He
can see . dark mass at the foot Of the
tree. and he knows that the sentinel
must be asleep or he would not be in
that position.
Sec the r~attlesnake! It has faced
about II it was daylight you could see
. 6ercer CLEAN In its eye-a tightening
OF the cords and muscles 6ercer fash
OF the red tongue. A straight line of
aixty feet drawn from the Indian to the
Q9~W2,pass over the snake. Now
he weET3of 0lopEhExArd again-not
, We'd breaking-no6 4f1gu1sf0 prove
Be- Ia snake! Its he'd Is thrown 81
-tt9 eyss shoot sparks-thsrs goes IL
aeo41y s-s-s-s-s q his rattle. 1he heoA
y tAs lndian b not three fest sway -
b Aeazs tie omiDous sound. He draws
baek, bit these b daxt. . lash. anA
Du0etht1g STRIKES hin I'M Il tAe faco
Nd = Dof sAa1oa - untl - sprinGD
- ~ 1bGt With cry lord tW baheI
~ nEoand a11 r1ahss svsy t IL
49, M n .e.aa,el :