The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1886-11-06
UNCLE JOE'S STORY.

the Columbia river on the Oregon ,ide,'
said Uncle Joe, n veteran of the p!ains
and mountains, land while | was right
in the lnjan coantrv | ki,eled my
track 81 we'll that it was weeks before
they got on 10 me-. | baiit i brush hut
in the heavy tlmberea bottom. and the
cheerful mAiifttr in which moved
around that ntighiotilooh wonid have
done credit toa cat. | used the bow
and arrow altogether i'll KILN game,
and my trap brought ne in a back
load offli- about as fat dr. | could take
keer of 'em.
Il ene.sI had bin located about six
weeks. and had become sort o. calei-s>,
as was material, when / got a sudden
eye opener. One afternoon | cum
plump Oh the moccasin track If an In
jun, and from the way it circumlocuted
around, | soon made up my mind that
he was huntin' fur me. | was 4 bit
puzzled at first, because there was only
one track, but by and by figured oat
how it was. 1t was either sotne lnjun
who had slipped off to trap by hisself
for q few days, or it was some warrior
who had his suspicious aroused and
was doin' IA ieetIe investigation on his
hook. If he got my scalp he was %
ppch ahead, anl glary awaited him.
II liz got nothing lie would not be laugh
ed at by the rest of his tribe, for none Of
'em wouldknow of his adventure. The
mint iiskivercd his footprints | pull
ed myrelf together fur bizznes,. and
hadn't :o;leled his trail over twenty
rods before | found that he was foller
in an old trail of mine.
at didn't take NE a mint to realize
that one of us had got to die afore that
hunt would he ended. Il was a case
of fish or cur bait with me. | should
be follere.! if | left the bottoms. fur that
redskin wanted my life, and | con.dn't
stay If he did. Un his side, it would
never dae for him 10 abandon the place
AFTER ne had diskivered that | was
alone. He must stake his life agin mine
aud abide the Issue, Mcbbe you can
realize >unlhln' of the teelin' which
comes oves a man when he knows that
he is bein' tracked by somebody who
demands his life. I'd rather have had
:: whole tribe Of redskins come whoop
in and yellin down on me than to
know that Il sarpeut was dodgin' and
crawlin' along my trail, silent, deter
mined and i~mp!acahle. hit the fel
les's trail about half a mile from tie
hut. and the hour was about 3 o'clock.
| knew that he must sooner or later
strike one of my fresh trails and bring
up at the hut, and instead of toIlelin'
him as he follered my old trail broke
off after a few minutes and made direct
ly fur the hut. Near by was a mass of
rock which offered q square hidin'
place, and if l could reach it without
bein' seen | should have an advantage.
That is, it Was reasonable TO believe
that he would show up within sllootin'
distance durin' the next twenty-four
hours.
81 made the ~tailest kind o tracks
when | once got started. had to take
the chances of bis having found the
hut an ben in ambush, and I'm not !
disputin' that it was 8 great load of
my mind when . got safely settled
among the rocks. l dashed irto the
hut and got my rifle and a hunk of
cold meat, and in twenty -econds more
l was safe for the time being. Jist
what direction the varmint would ap
proach from coald not guess. but he
would be still more puzzled to know
what had become of me-. Fur the first
hour the place was as silent a> a grave
yard, aud | Was lookin' and listenin' as
only a man can when his life is at stake
to git a hit of the whereabouts of the
enemy. | finally got a sign. A buck
deer cum runnin' past me a way to I
show that he had seen a human benz
not fur off, and | figsercd that the red
skin was approachin. from the east.
He had made a complete half circle OF
nv hidin' place. Fur the naxt ho,s