Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1886-07-23
UNCLE JOE'S ESCAPE.
IN. Y. SUM-

N. Y. SUM-
81 was huntin' and trappin' along the
Columbia river on tho Oregon side" said
Uncle Joe, veteran 90 the plains and
mountains and whilo was right in the
Iniun country kivercd my tracks so well
that IL WA weeks before they got on 10 me.
built a brush hut In n heavily-timbOred
lotion, and the kecrful manner in which
moved aronnd that neighborhood would
have done credit 70 cat usel tho bow
aud arrow altogether in KILN game, and
my traps brought me in n back load Of
furs about AZ fast as could take keer OF
icm.
II gicss had bin located about six
weeks, and hal become sort o. careless, rs
VAS material, whom got n sudden eve
opener. Ono AFTERNOON cum plump on
che moccasin track % an Injuu. and from
the way IL circumlocuted around. soon
made up my mind that he was huntin' fur
me. vas BIT puzElcd at first, because
thoro was only one track, but 10y and by
fingered out how Il was. II was either
some Injun who had slipped oil to trap
Ivy his-cf fur few DAYS, or IL was some
warrior who had had his suspicious aroused
aud was d0in' leetlo invostigation on hil
much ahead aad glory awaited him. II
he got nuthin' he wouldn't b. laughed at
by the rest Of his tribe, fur none Of 'em
would know Of biz adventure Tho mint
Idiskivered his footprint, pulled myself
together far bizness, and hadn't follercd
his trail over twenty rOd. before found
that lao was follcrin' an old trail Of mine.
1T didn't take mo mint u realize that
nm ~ ~ ha.sN a.. III = a.
would b. ended IL was a question Of fish
or cut bait With mo I should be- follerod
N | loft the BOTTOMS fur that rcdskin
wanted my life, and couldn't stay IL ho
did. On his side IL would never do fur
him 20 abandon the placJ art,r he had dis
kivercd that l was alone. He must stake
his life agin mine aud abide the issue.
Mebbe you kin realize suthin' If the feslin'
which comes ovor man when he knows
that he Is boin' tracked 10y some body who
demands his life. Id rather have had a
whole tribS or redskins come whoOpin' and
yollin' down upon me than 10 know that
sarpent was dodgin' and crlwlin' along nv
trnil, silent, determined aud implacable.
i bic the follor's trail about half "A mile
from the hut, aud tho hour was abont three
o'clock / knew that he must sooner or
later strike one OF my fresh trails and
bring up at the hut, and inst al Of follerin'
rs he fOllcrcd INV old trail broke of after
IA fow minutes and made directly fur tho
hut Near by was n mass Of rock which
offered secure hidin place. and could
reach IL without bein' seon | shouln have
an advantage. That u.s. IL was reasonable
90 believe that no would show up within
ShOot'n' distance durin' tbs neat twonty-
four hours.
II made thc tal.C .; kind o. tracks when |
once got started. J hal to take the chances
Of bis havin' found the hut an bcin' in am
bush, and Im not disputin that IL was a
great load or my mind when got safely
settled among tho rocks dashed into tho
hut and got my rifle and hunk Of cold
meat, and Ina twenty seconds moro | was
safe FOR the time bein'. Jist what direc.
ton the varmint would approach from
could not guess but he would b. still more
puzzled 10 know what had become of Ine
Fur the first hour the place was as silent as
n graveyard, and | was lOokin and listen
In AZ only mnn can when his life is at
stake to git hint of the whercabout, of the
euomy. finally got sign. \ buck deer
cum runnin' past mo in n way TO show that
no had seen "A human bein' not fur of. and
ltiggs rod that thu rcdskin was approachin'
from the east. Ho had made u complete
half circle OF nv hidin' place. Fur the
next half hour | used my eyes and ears
until my head achod. know the varmint
was approachin the hut, but he was comm
so cautiously that could not tell the exact
direction.
Tho sun was now gettin purity low, aud
II nj hat Ia, L..
soon I'd BE- badly boxed up fur the night. |
was all on aige and skeercely able to hold
myself when, all Of n sudden. tho silence
was broken by an awful yell, follered by
cry from some human bcin' IL wasn't
way OF, but right there within stones
throw, and Iriz up as II had springs under
me. Right there before my eyes, and not
hundred feet away, n panther and an In
jun was havin' II hot aud heavy, the beast
usin' his claws and teeth, aud the ro,lskin
cutting and slashin' with bis knife. | was
4, ~ nstonished that l couldn't move for n
mint or two, and when I got ready there
was no use in movin'. Tho two vnrmints
rolled over and over dozen times. too
badly mixed fur me 10 tell which wa,
which, ond then the panther kinder dra we'd
out Of the fight. He might have got fifteen
INV away Nhtu htctCu ONtI huu Kicked
in a way to tell me that he'd got his full.
The lnjun uttered faint whoop as the
panther drawed of, but when reached
him be was dead as a door nail He had
Nc IL out hand n hand, usin' his huntin'
Knife, and I'm tellin' you no was n terrible
lookin' object. Tho beast had tore almost
cvery inch Of clothin' oR'n him, and he was
bit and clawed until he was like raw beef
well, hggered II outpurty easy. That
pantor had slowed hissclf away on n limb
calkeiatin' To make it'hot fur me- reckon
he didn't got up there until arter had am
pushed myself, and whom the redskin cum
rrawlin' along the boast didn't stop 20 see
whether he was white OF black. / was
panther skin, rifle tomabawk and huntin'
knife ahead, and, although I remained
there for three weeks longer, saw no fur.
ther signs Of lnjuns."