Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-06-22
STAUNTON, VIRGINIA, JUNE %, 1888.

good deal of underbrush and it was hard
progress but excitement kept me up, and l
never paused until l reached a clearing a
good six miles away, where I threw myself
down and listened The wind was still vet,
the night was full of the interminable stir of
the woods, the futter of leaves, the swapping
OF twigs, and the scamper of some belated
squirrel, and in every sound fanced could
hear the faint, far baying of the hounds.
Stories had heard in camp of the savage
beasts swarming over poor wretches and
tearing them open as they fought, came back
to me, and every revolving detail leaped into
horrid picturing in my mind until my scalp
began to creep and sweat started out all over
me like water 1t had grown very dark, but
dived into the woods again, thrusting my
hands in front Of me to keep the branches
out of my eyes.
l kept on pretty steadily all night, and
when morning dawned it found me on the
fringes of the wood belt, with a sparsely
grown, undulating country before me. There
was a thicket near by; crept into it and
painted there for while. l was dead tired,
and my feet were swollen so that my shoes
seemed bursting; but I could not sleep for
the haunting thought of those dogs yelping
along my trail, and getting nearer and nearer.
made a club from the limb of a tree, and
dragged myself on. 1t would be tedious to
rehearse the experiences of that day and the
next in detail. / was weakened by punish
ment and bad food, and fatigue began to tell
terribly upon me. slept in uneasy snatches,
waking with start, and took extraordinary
pains to break my trail, swinging from
branches Of trees and jumping from stumps.
My brain was so distraught and preyed upon
that often stopped stock still with the agon-
izing conviction that the hounds were right
behind me. and at times I could make sure |
saw them crashing through the underbrush.
On the second day, when was half famished,
managed by great good luck to knock over
rabbit, and ate some Of it raw, carrying the
rest with me. On the third day had as yet
seen no house, but struck into disused road,
which made me hopeful that there were some
habitation near had determined to throw
myself on the mercy of the first man met.
1t must have been about noon, while I was
passing through well wooded strip, that 1
heard mournful note that made my hear
stand still. 1t was no hallucination this time,
but the unmistakable wall of bloodhounds
that had heard often enough from their
kennel in the camp. AS l stood there, terror
stricken and thrilling, the baying sounded
again, now right at hand, and an instant
~eSoNN5
and made straight at me. There was no tree
near that was large enough to bear me, SO 1
gripped my bludgeon and prepared to fight.
But when the dogs came within dozen feet
they stopped and began to fawn and wag
their tails. They were Eounds from the camp
they wore the Lone Star collar-but it was
plain they wanted to be friends even with
such poor wretch as I. Then I noticed that
the brutes were starved and trembling and
threw them half my rabbit By the time
they devoured it was patting their heads
and they were licking my hands.
My theory was then, and is now, that early
in the chase the rest of the hounds took the
wrong trail, and these three alone stuck to
the right one. Their famished condition lent
itself to this conclusion, at any rate never
saw or heard of the rest of the pack or any Of
the guards. But / soon found that blood
hounds are not to be despised as travelling
companions for I wandered aimlessly for
eight days longer, and. had it not been for
them, would most certainly have starved.
They ran down rabbits for me, and one day,
by great chance or dexterity, caught wild
turkey, and thus we managed to keep alive
At night time we all slept in heap, and the
dogs kept me warm Moreover, knew that
it would be impossible for any one to sur
prise me before they would give the alarm.
On the eleventh day out l and my three
bloodhounds walked into COW camp, and
when the good natured COW punchers heard
my story and satisfied themselves that had
been one of them once upon time, they I'M
dertook to spirit me over the state line I
hated to part with the dogs, for we had con-
ceived a great esteem for each other; but the
cowboys kept them as loot, and, afterward
learned, sold one of them for SIS to ar Eng
fish tourist. After q couple of months of
vicissitudes made my way north, and al
though the authorities of Texas have assured
me that there will be no effort made to prose-
cute or rearrest me, have never had any
craving to revisit the Lone Star state-New
York Sun.