Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-08-14
OSITO.

8s85 4 fft - Z ss@sEs4 ffgt8&ss ttats
4 On the lofty mountain that faced til
Captains cabin, the frost had alread
inside an insidious approach. and tn
slender thickets of quaking ash tina
marked the course of each tiny torrent
now stood out in respondent hues an
shcne afar off like gay ribbons runnin,
through the dark-green pines. Cor
geonsly. too, with scarlet, crimson ant
gold, cleaned the lower spurs, wher'
the oak-brush grew in dense masse
and bore beneath a blaze of color !,
1 goedly harvest of acorns, now ripe ant
loosened in their cups. M s s3.,ts
/ 1t was where one of these spurs
lsjoined the parent mountain. where thu
oak-brush grew thickest and, as a con
sequence, the acorns were most abun
dant, that the Captain. well versed il
woodcraft mysteries, had built his bear
trap. For two days he had been en-
i gagged upon it, and now, as tho evening
drew on, he sat contemplating it with
satisfaction as work finished and per.
fected. s..ssa..,. ST.,
From his station there, on the breast
| of the lofty mountain, the Captain
could scan many an acre of sonber pine
| forest with pleasant little parks inter
| spersed, and here and there long slopes
brown with bunch grass. He was the
| 10 d of this wild domain. And yet his
sway there was not undisputed. Be.
| hind an intervening spur to the west
| ward ran an old Indian trail long trav-
| eled by the Southern Utes in their mi
grations north for trading and hunting
| purposes. And even now light smoke
waited upward on the evening air told
| of band encamped on the trail on
| their homeward journey to the south.
west. 5zsaTe 4aas4ts aas54gf
The Captain needed not this visual
token of their proximity. He had been
aware of it for several days. Their
calls at his cabin in the lonely little
| park below had been frequent. and they
had been specially solieitous of his
coffee, his sugar, his biscuit and other
delicacies, insomuch that once, or twice
during his absence these ingenious
children of nature had, with primitive
simplicity, entered his cabin and helped
themselves without leave or stint. aI.
However, as he knew their stay
would be short, the Captain bore these
neighborly attentions with mild for
bearance. It was guests more grace
less than these who had reused his
wrath ,fss3 Tst 8 .stsg
@rrom their secret haunts far back to,
wards the Snowy Range, the beans had
come down to feast upon the ripencd
acorns, and so doing, had scented the
Captains bacon and sugar affair off and
had prcwled by night about the cabin
Nay, more, three days before, the
Captain. having gone hurriedly away
and; left the door loosely fastened, upon
his return had found all in confusion.
Msny of his eatables had vanished, his
flour sack. was ripped open and. uu..
kindest cut of all, his beloved books lay
scattered about. At the first indignant
glance. the Captain had cried out:
..Utes again!'' But on looking around
he saw q tell-tale trail left by fOurv
bear paws. s-sfs. a'sis,25ts sNr
Hence this bear trap. E4 tfs
q ltwas but.a STRONG log pen fiooredi
with rough hewn slabs and fitted with
a ponderous movable lid made OF other
slabs pinned on stout cross-pieces. But
satisfied with his handiwork the Cap
tain now arose and prying up one end
of the lid with lever. set the trigger
and baited it with a huge piece of
bacon. He then piled q great quantity
of rock upon the already heavy lid to-
further guard against the escape of any
bear so unfortunate as to enter, and
shouldering his AK and rifle walked
lonlewar0Es.
Whatever vengeful visions of captive
bears he. was INDUCING in, were. how
ever, wholly dispefled as he drew near
the cabin Before the door stood the
Ute chief accompanied by two squaws.
Howl said the chfeftain, with a con-
,s1s - IL law hon mn Z
breast of bronze and extending the
other as the Captain approached feit
sHow!" returned the Captain bfuffiy,
disdaining the hand with a recollection
of sundrY petty thefts. y tla zasli .
s-Has, the great Captain seen a pap
poose about his wigwam?'' asked the
Chief. nowise abashed. in Spanish--a
language which many of the Southern
Utes, speak IS tluently as their own.
The great Captain had expected a re-
quest for q biscuit; he, therefore, was
naturally surprised at being asked for a
baby With an effort he mustered to-
gether his Spanish phrases and man
agetLtD reply that he had seen no pap,
poese- san ,..c. i...s.a,. -.
ME pappoose lost, y said one of the
suuaws, brukenly And there was. SO
mich 0lSbItsS III ucI foiSS GiAsLt biiC zap
tain, forgetting instantly all about the
slight depredations of his dusky neigh
borss volunteered to aid them in their
senrch for the missing child
AN that night, for it was by this time4
neasay dark, the hills Jared with pine,
torches and resounded with the sarill
cries of the squaws, the whoops of the
warriors, the shouts OF the Captain; but
the search was fruitless.
This adventure drove the bear-trsp
from the builders mind, and it was two
DAYS before it occurred to- him, to, 90
there in quest of captive bears. sas q
Coming in view of it he immediaaelN1
saw the lid was down. Hastily he APP
preached, bent over. and peeped in,
And certainly in the whole of his i'd
venturous life the Captain was never
more taken by surprise; for there, q
crouched in one corner, was, that pre-
cious Indian infant sagzs IS s11ifI0.i
Yes. true it Was, that all those mas
sive tinnbers. all that ponderons mass !
of rock, had only availed to capture one.
very small Ute pappoose. At the
thought of ii. the builder Of the trap.
was astounded. He laughed aloud at
the absurdity. In silence he threw off
rock and lid and seated himself on the
edge OF the open trap. Captor and
captive then gaZed at each other with
gravity. The errant infants attire con-
sisted a calico shirt of gaudy hnes. a,
pair of little moceasons, much frayed,
and red flannel string. This last was