The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-08-13
UNCLE JoE's STORY.


plains and mountains, "and while
was right in the Injun country kiver-
ed my tracks so we'll that it was weeks
before they got on to me. built a
brush hut in the heavily timbered bot
tom, and the cheerful manner in which
| moved around that neighborho
/ would have done credit to cat. |
used the bow and arrow altogether in
KILN game, and my trap brought me
| in q back load OF furs about as fast as
could take keer of 'em.
II guess had bin located about six
weeks, and had become sort o. care
less, as was material, when got sud
den eye opener. One AFTERNOON Icum
| plump on the moccasin track of an
lplun, and from the way it circumlo-
cuted around, l soon made up my
mind that he was huntin' fur me.
was bit puzzled at first, because
there was only one track, but by and
/ by | figured out how it was. 1t was
either some lnjun who had slipped off
to trap by hisself for few DAYS, OF it
was some warrior who had had his
suspicious aroused and was dom a
leet!e investigation on his own hook.
Ii he got my scalp he was so much
ahead, and glory awaited him. If he
got nothing he would be laughed at
by the rest OF his tribe, for none OF 'em
would know of his adventure. The
mint | diskivered his footprints |
pulled myself together fur bizness, and
| hadn't follered his trail over twenty
rods before found that he was foller-
in an old trail of mine.
| .S;J,,,+ $40 - l.
ize that one Of us had got to die afore
that hunt would be ended. 1t was a
case OF fish or cut bait with me.
should be follered if l left the bottoms,
fur that redskin wanted my life, and |
couldn't stay if he did. On his side,
| it would never du fur him to abandon
the place arter he had diskivered that
| was alone. He must stake his life
agin mine and abide the
issue. Mebbe you can realize sunthin'
OF the feelin' which comes over man
when he knows that he is bein' track
ed by somebody who demands his life.
I'd rather have had q whole tribe of
redskins come whoopin' and yellin'
down on ME than to know that sar-
pent was dodgin' and crawlin' along
my trail, silent, determined and i'm
placable. | hit the feller's trail about
half mile from the 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 follerin' him rs he fol
Tered my old trail broke off after a
few minutes and made directly fur
the hut. Near by was u mass of
rock which offered square hidin'
place, and if could reach it
without bein' seen | should have an
advantage. That is, it was reason
able to believe that he would show up
within shootin' distance durin' the
next twenty-four hours.
81 made the taiest kind O. tracks
when | once got started. | had to
take the chances OF his having found
the hut an bein' in ambush, and Pm
not disputin' that it was great load
off my mind when got safely settled
among the rocks. l dashed into the
hut and got my rifle and q hunk OF
cold meat, and in twenty seconds
more | was safe for the time being.
Jist what direction the varmint
would approach from | could not
guess, but he would be still more puz-
zled to know what had become of me.
Fur the first hour the place was as silent
as a graveyard, and | was lookin' and
listenin' as only man can when his
life is at stake to git a hint Of the
whereabouts OF the enemy. finally
got a sign. A buck deer cum runnin'
past me in a way to show that he had
seen human bein' not fur off, and |
tiggered that the redskin was ap-
| proachin' from the east. He had
made q complete half circle OF my
hidin place. Fur the next half hour
] used my eyes and ears until my head
ached. | knew the varmint was ap-
proachin' the hut, but he was comm
SO cautiously that could not tell the
exact direction.
''The sun was now wgettin' purity low,
and allowed that if he didn't show
up purity soon I'd be badly boxed up
fur the night. | was all on aige and
skeercely able to hold myself, when,
all OF q sudden, the silence was broken
by an awful yell, folered by a cry
from some human bein' 1t wasn't
way off, but right there within stones S
| throw, and riz up Us if had springs
under me. Right there before my eyes,
and not q hundred feet away, pam
ther and an Injun was havin' it hot
and heavy, the beast usln' his
| claws and teeth, and the red
skin cuttin' and slashin' with his
knife. ] was so astonished that |
couldn't move for a mint or two and
when ! got ready there was no use in
movin.' The two varmints rolled over
and over dozen times, too badly
mixed for me to tell which vas which,
and then the panther kinder drawed
out OF the fight. He might have got
fifteen feet away when he keeled over
and kicked in q way to tell me that
he'd got his full. The eniun uttered a
faint whoop as the panther drawed
off, but when | reached him he was as
dead as a door nail. He had fit it
out hand to hand, usin' his huntin'
knife, and I'm telln' you he was a
terrible lookin' object. The beast had
tore almost every inch ofclothin' Off
him, and he was bit and clawed until
he was like raw beef.
"Well, fggered it out purity easy.
4 That panther had slowed hisself away
on a limb calkelatin' to make it hot
tur me. | reckon he didn't git up
there until arter had ambushed my
self, and when the redskn cum crawl
in along the beast didn't stop to see
whether he was white or black. | was
a panther skin, rifle, tomahawk and
huntin' knife ahead, and, although ]
remained there for three weeks longer,
[ saw no further signs OF lnjuns."
He Would Sec Stebbins.
From the Detroit Free Press
There was an old couple at the Third
street depot the other day who had
been to Niagara Falls, and were wait
ing for a train to their home IN the in.
terror of the state. They lust felt that