Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-03-13

In another moment the warrior will
be within striking distance. Plty2
Look into his bronzed face, daubed
here and there with war paint, AMI
lind trace of pity or mercy9 He will
not even make child a prisoner. A
scalp Is trophy, whether from the
head of an adult or babe. Curious
that the boy should hold such a race.
when fright and horror are pulling at
the muscles to weaken them: he
strains every. nerve and heads up the
dark and rugged gulch, as if the lone
ly shadows would wrap him in a man
tie of safety.
A brown body suddenly rises up be-
fore the boy, and there is a growI and
roar in his very face. He throws up
his arms with shrek and falls upon
the rocky path, and the brute leaps
over him to face the pursuing war
riOr.
Strange tabl9au.
They are not ten feet apart. The
cinnamon sits up and stretches out one
fOre-leg and then the other, as if max
ing ready to box, and his lips apart to
reveal teeth almost as sharp as the
warriors tomahawk.
The Sioux stands with one leo
thrown forward and lis Ratchet half
raised, and he looks straight into the
eyes of the foe barring his path.
Tomahawk verus teeth.
Hunting knife versus claws.
The grasp of an athlete versus the
hug of cinnamon.
The boy raises to his feet aud creeps
to the side of the gulch opposite the
den, and, with his back to the rock,
be becomes a spectator Of the tableau.
One.
There is a long growl from the
bear. He is looking into
the eyes of the Indian, and sees de-
iance written there.
Two.
The warriors touch tighten over
the handle of his tOmahawk He sees
the wicked claws working, and he
knows what is coming.
Three.
A roar, a yell, a rush, and two
bodies weave to and fro, in the gloom,
wrestle from side to side, and the
cinnamon is victor It is we'll for the
boy. Better be in the power of the
bear than the warrior. The CHINA
mon bends over his conquered enemy
with growls and shifts, and then
slowly turns and approaches the boy.
The child does not move. He lives
and breathes and sees and hears, but
the acme of terror has killed all mus
cular action. The bear comes close
to him, smells of his feet, shifts at his
breast, breathes in his face, but he
neither draws back nor cries out.
His great blue eyes ask for pity, and
the cinnamon turns back to the body
of the dead
Craunchl
Those terrible teeth seized an out
stretched arm and crushed the bones
as if they had been pipestems.
Gurgle.
The severed arteries and mangled
veins pour forth their hot store of
blood, but it is not wasted. The Gin
namon is thirsty. Here is something
better than the cold spring water of
the foothills.
Rend and tear.
The feast has begun. The boy clos
es his eyes, but he cannot prevent
those horrible sounds from filing his
ears.
The sun was not two hours high
when he fed from the wagon. The
feast is not ended when dark shadows
began to troop up and down the gulch
now halting beside the boy, now
running swiftly up ana down-by and
by gathering in such force as to wei
come night.
The boy shivers and his blood seems
to stand still He can no longer see
the cinnamon at his banquet, and the
branching and tearing and gurgling
have almost ceased.
What now?"
Now comes the silver moon of
summers night, gloriously bright and
full of peaceful rest. Up-up-and
now its brightrays fall into the gulch
and pour streams of soft white light
over the rugged rocks. Up-up-and
now the rays fall upon the poor lit
tie figure braced against the wall of
stone.
Here comes the cinnamonl His
banquet is finished Pat! pat! pat!
echo his footsteps as he shuffles along.
There is no growing warning Of
munger as he comes, lie nalLS before
the boy, and the summer moon throws
her full light down into the gulch to
whiten a pale face until it's ghostly
pallor makes it terribly distinct
The cinnamon touches that white face
with his nose. There is no movement
in response.
Now the shaggy form stretches and
yawns, and presently the great beast
lies down at the boys feet and closes
his eyes in sleep.
Adown the gulch is heap of bones
and bloody fragments. Here sleeps
the victor Pressed close to the finty
wall is the form. Of the child-asleep?
No! Deadi
The Multiplication of Dis eases.
Diseases multiply. One begets another. a tri-
fling indisposition may, therefore, originate a