The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1886-12-08

Poor Jenny. Many women may have ex-
celled her in rigid virtue, bat few In gen
erosity, hospitality and womanly sympa-
thy. She has been twice married since her
scalping adventure and may benow alive.
May she flourish forever!
These little skirmishes continued almost
every day, until they finally eliminated IN
battle in which the Indians fell into
their own trap, aud the whites were pos
sessed OF thirteen of their scalps, and only /
one out of ninety odd, according to their
own account, reached camp without
wound. James Wells and myself received
the war bonnets Of their chiefs, but lt
would occupy too much space to enter INTO
the details of,this fight here and VIII
leave it for some other time
The constant strain and excitement COM
menced TO tell on me and determined to
leave the river. [ sold my interest to
Cash Veits, "a young man Of as comsummate
GOODNESS III the face of danger that Elaye
ever seen, a DEAD shot and a magnificent
oarsman. Joe Bushaway and Cash wish
ed me to 90 with them down TO our stock
ade, the place Jordan, Foster and Long
were killed, for the purpose of putting up
sign, notifying the steamboats, to take
wood and ice, and settle for.ft at Mussel-
shell. 1t was frightfully dangerous trip
and [ had a strong presentiment that |
should never come through another Indian
fight. hesitated, but at last consented to-
90 and endeayored to shake of my gloomy
forebodings. We started in the middle of
the afternoon, so that we could travel the
most dangerous part during the night. Out
of brayado we stuck mast up and hung
my war bonnet on top Of it, and lower
down, on a cross tree, we strung some
scalps that we had. Night came on and
we had now the most dangerous part of
our route to traverse. The moon came
up fnll and clear; the air was still and it
was as bright as day. Anyone who has
travelled up or down the Missouri river
must have observed that the lower end
Of "a point is always heavily
| timbered, the opposite bank
being bar or high bench. Joe
was steering our light skiff, CASH was
] helping the force Of the current with &C
casional caring; it was chilly and sat
wrapped in a buffalo robe on the bow of
the skiff to look out for snags. There was
a good stage of water, and we were float
ing on the timbered side Of the river. The
full moon made the opposite side as light
as day; ours, owing to the shade Of the
timber, black as night. The dismal pre-
sentiment of my fate depressed me; the
deadly silence, save the monotonous rip
pling of the water against our speeding
skiff; the thoughts Of the bloody horrors
: [ had lately passed through, and maybe
thoughts of that Haunting war bonnet ano
those bloody scalps, threw me into rev.
J erie. was not really awake, but / wa;
not asleep, and the vision [ saw was al
plain to me as anything [ ever had happer
to me in my waking hours. thought W.
: had been attacked and killed, and coulc
: plainly see our naked dead bodies on tha
/ barren sand bar. could distinguish th'
features of every Indian. I could hea
Z every word they said. One burly brute
with hideous black and yellow stripes OF
his face, measured Joe's giant length; an
) other CHASTITY, naked demon, danced ant
} sang on the body Of Cash.; and coult
feel on my pallid face the hot and sieken
! ing breath of the grim and painted sayag
: as he pulled the torn scalp from my bleed
J ing head.
. I was gazing on this vision as on pan
t oramic picture, when Joe said in husk..
! whisper, ssIndians ~ turned my startle'
E gaze, and on the opposite bank behel
s the figures, that in the bright moonligh
. looked gigantic, of q war party filing int
E the opposite bottom. Ny life had bee
e one of adventure and danger. Before
S was sixteen had carried a musket througl
Il more than twenty battles; when boy
s was one of charging column that rnshe
J on masked battery, and whose shattere
a ranks were moved by a hell of shot an
q shell, and [ lay wounded and senseles
e among the dead and dying; j, with fou
|. others, had been perched on a hill, unde
+ burning sun, without ammunition, foo
: or water, every horse killed, and nigh
6 coming on, amid the despair-inspirin
r hoMls Of the wolves attracted by the bloc
q of the shot horses; I had been riddle
|. down, alone, hundred miles from th
E nearest white man, BY q naked war part
: but until that moment never realize
n what horror meant. Had some Perseu
q turned the horrid glare Of his Gorgon
Q headed shield on me could not have bee
G more petritled with horror. Ny yer
e blood appeared to freeze, I felt SO sur
i that every thing had seen would come T
I pass.
r Joe, after few moments, asked vha