The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1884-04-16


81 swelled out my muscles with all my
might; you know how the tricks done;
but, gentlemen, before they got half done
/ knew / was cornered.
g saw it in that old black villains
wrinkled, scowling face and in his muir
derous, snaky little eyes He was one of
their medioine-men, probably the greatest
of the tribe. The old brute was jealous
of me; and, knowing there was nothing
any more supernatural about my tricks
than about his own heedyus Juggling,
he'd made up his mind to corral me in
one of my own performances.
We'll, gentlemen that rope was
passed round my wrists in twinkling,
and drawed so tight that winked hard
with the pain, and felt the veins swell
almost to bursting.
" From my wrists they passed the rope
tight around my waist, then took half
hitch round my neck and knotted it
under my arms. Then they went for my
legs with the other end of the rope, and
tied my ankles I'd taken off my boots)
so tight that my feet ached before they'd
finished knotting.
81 laid there and never opened my
mouth; | wouldn't even let myself think
till they pulled the curtains on me-
When they got through, | told 'em to
draw the curtain and shut me in so that
| might set my medicine at work upon
the ropes. l saw the old medicine-man
grin as give the order. He showed the
young fellow off the staging and pulled
the curtains to, leaving himself inside
Then heard surprised grunt all over
the house. and began to think
let my muscles relax and shrunk up
like a turtle; but them knots shrunk
with me, and found myself helpless as
a baby; and there was that old grinning
wretch bending oyer me with his snakish
black eyes just glittering in triumph
Guess you've got me, old man.,
said l; what are you going to do about
it 2"
''He bent lower over me, and made a
kissing noise with his mouth, noise that
sounded exactly like the buzz of rattle
snakes tail. Everything and everybody
in the room was as still as tombstone.
| couldn't hear a breath outside. All at
once that wretch stopped his kissing, and
with quick movement jerked my head
up between his knees, iammed something
between my jaws, whipped red scarf
out from under his blanket, and passed
it around my head and mouth--gagged
me, in fact, tight as double-sinched
bucker
I've given my last show on this
earth, l thought. Then the old villain
backed down off the platform and slipped
out from under the curtain.
There was a general grunt of curiosity
and astonishment outside; and heap of
admiration for their old juggler was mixed
up with their racket
a. 'Silence!" growled the old wretch in
Comanche. 'Sience | have breathed
upon the bad medicine man of the whites
If had not done so, his vile, poisonous
breath would have slain every warrior in
the room. At midnight every one of you
would have died. Just as the moon rose
above the tree-tops, your spirits would
have left your bodies. Your squaws and
your children would have been given to
them crawling snakes the Creeks and the
Choctaws in the East
"Of course I'm only trying to give
you the substance of what he said. /
don't understand their jargon only well
enough to get their general meaning.
When the old man ceased speaking the
crowd just got up and shrieked the
awfullest blood-curdling yells you ever
dreamed of for a minute | thought my
time had come, and that l should be
torn to pieces by the screeching mob;
but the old man shook his madicine-rat-
tie at 'em and down they set again, quiet
as you please.
"Listenr he said. Go home now,
my children, to your tepees and sleep;
come not here till morning, when you'll
find the bad medicine of the whites
harmless rs the water of the Coder. He
shall not hurt you. Go and leave me
with the medicine-dOg; for l must
breathe again upon him, and M breath
will take away all his charms and all his
magic. He shall ketch no more bullets
in his teeth. Go, my children, for my
breath is sacred and can be of no good
until all the members of my tribe are in
their lodges.
"And do you believe it, they all got
up and skipped out of there, every
mothers son of 'em! There l was left
alone with the heedyus old beast l had
worked desputly all the time he was
talking, trying to draw my hands from
the rope. / loosened one of 'em Just a
trife, enough to know that in half an
hour of hard work l could bring my
wrist through, by peeling all the skin off
with it. Well, when they'd gone and
the last sound of 'em died away, the old
juggler stuck his face inside.
Il go now, says he, Il go to my
tepee to prepare my medicines against
the medicine of the white dog. When 1
come again the white mans magic shall
all be mine; he will tell me all his medi-
cines.' Then he came inside, felt of all
my knots, made himself sure of 'em, and
then went out and left me.
4" so that's your game, is it3' thought
I, and l began TO take hope at once.
| hadn't time to think over the situation F;
l Just worked like Il beaver, with the
sweat pouring off me like rain off a
7 IL IL