St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-12-23

gle Tor lie, he sped away anP dlsap-
peared behind an adjacent thicket,
closely followed by Lion. | was
not far in the rear, and when |
doubled the point of the grove, was
proud and delighted to perceive the buck
stretched upon the ground, with the
dogs fangS buried deep in his throat.o |
speedily pnt an end to his sutferings by
shooting him through the head with one
of my belt pistols, and | was tempted to
embrace the dog who, unassisted, had
brought to bay after chase of many
miles and OverpOWered SO feet and
powerful an animal.
| was about to proceed to dress the
game, when the Indians arrived upon
the spot and claimed the buck as the
property of the soldiers lodge. | urged
that some Struggling hunter might APP
propriate the spoil, but one of the sol
diers made peculiar cut in the hide of
the deer, and then gave me the assur
ance that no one would dare to touch
the carcass. which would be conveyed
to the camp on our return. | perfOrce
obeyed, and we wendell our way several
stations, and distributed ourselves at
intervals Of few hundred yards along
the line, which was marked by success
Sive thickets with q stretch of open
prairie in front, thus enabling the sol
diers to keep themselves concealed,
while they would have a fair view of
any treSpasser.
[ had purpoSely taken my position
next to my friend who had previously
entrapped me, with determination, as
| have stated, to retaliate upon him if
he allowed me the opportunity. 1t must
be borne in mind that the soldiers are
Bound by the same rules as the others,
and are punishable in the same manner
for a breach of them. | was passing
the tedious and inactive hours as best |
could. when | saw buck of consider
able size crossing the strip of prairie
towards the spot where the Indian was
hid, and in few minutes | heard the
report of mis- gun. and the animal, evil
IDENTITY badly wounded. crossed the for
hidden line and after running fifty or
sixty yards iell dead. The Indian came
10 the edge of the thicket and looked
cautiously around. but failed to discover
any of the other soldiers, and believing
himself safe, he went to the place where
the buck had fallen, and attaching the
long leather thong with which burdens
are carried TO the antlerS of the deer, he
drew him back to the right side of the
line and skinned him. This perform
ance NaS watched 10y me with much
pleasure.
In the evening the soldiers, as is their
custom, assembled at some central point
to proceed to the camp in company. |
walked up to the delinquent, took his
gun from his unreSiSting hands. drew
the ramrod out of the thimbeS, and
thruSting it back into thD. lower one,
where it entered the stdef, broke it
off. rendering it somewhat of task to
extract the broken part, but not impair
ing the efficiency of the arm. He gaZed
angrily at me, and asked the meaning of
my action. | told him he had trans
gresSed, and when he denied that he
had done so, | beCkoned to the others to
follow me, and | led them to the broad
trail which betrayed him. He forth
with confessed, and, placing the skin of
the buck at my feet as peace offering,
he asked me not to punish him further.
put him in mind that to him | WAS in
debted for a cold ride with an unprO-
tected head, but, inasmuch as he ha
not injured my lodge. | would not be
more severe upon him, but would keep
the fine buckskin all the same. He had,
however, 10 endure the jibes of his
comrades, for having been so cleverly
done for by white man. and, as for
myself. | was gratified beyond measure
at having so neatly squared accounts
with my fellow soldier.
We started on our return to the camp
about sunset, stopping TO butcher the
buck that Lion had mastered, and the
soldiers insisted that | should load the
heavy carcass upon my horse, and lead
him by the bride. There was nothing
to do but to obey, and the search for the
camp proved to be one of my most toll
some and distressing experiences. The
sky became suddenly hidden from view
by dense masses of cloud, the night was
so darkened that not single object
could be distinguished. heavy ram set
in, and as the camp had been removed
after our departure in the morning, the
tenants making their accustomed ad-
advance of seven or eight miles, and
had 10 be found. Six more miserable
mortalS than we were could not be
found. To clap the climax. our route
was through region thickiy studded
with a growth of unyielding red oak
bushes, which made the walking dOubly
difficult. and. as | had to bring up the
rear, leading my burdened Steed, STUN
bling along as best ne could, was even
worse of than my fellows. My feet,
being encaSed in socks and thin moe
caSinS, met with painful obstacles at
every step, and after we had wandered
at random for an hour or more, l called
q halt, that we might compare notes as
to the direction we should pursue. Two
of the soldiers differed with the rest Of
US. and took a course on their own hook,
Consulting my pocket compass by
Pickering light, 1 told the other three
what my opinion was, and they agreed
to accompany me. as they believed | was
right. We resumed our march, and ere
long we heard shouts from the two dis
sentients. followed by gun shots. We
answered in like manner, and the two
rejoined US, being convinced that they
were wrong.
After long hours of marching, we came
to the high ground on one side of small
stream after midnight and were rejoiced
TO see the lights from the lodges at
short distance away. 1t was by the
merest chance that we struck the camp,
for we were all utterly bewildered. A
sorry sight we presented. Our clothing
was torn into strips, our footgear worn
out entirely, our faces scratched and