Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1888-09-07

half a mile away, on which
were a1Og house and some farm. 1n-t
provements- At this time the place.
could be approached only by water,
and Dade was not bluf1ng when he
defied me. 1t is doubtful if any offer
of reward could have induced a Fed
eral soldier to follow Dan. The over
flow had driven the reptiles to take
refuge In the bushes and trees, and
+ as his canoe moved in and out the
hiss of the cOttOn-mOuth and the
warning of the RATHER came to his
ears almost continually. Half a
dozen times, in the course OF half an
hour. hideous seFpents let go Of the
branches and fell into the water with
a loud splash and swan for the canoe,
perhaps hoping. to be carried to high
ground, and at such times the man
had to lay down his paddle and beat
them on with q pole cut for the pur-
pose. There was danger with every
rod Of the journey, and the semi
darkness and the utter stiffness would
have taken the courage from an aV-
erage man.
Dan did not land upon the island,
but made the circuit Ofitin his canoe,
and one circuit satisfied him that no
sentinel was established here, as he
suspected might be the case. If one
had been posted there, he had been
forced to abandon his post by the
thousands of reptiles which had been
driven in for shelter. Any craft seek
ing the other island must pass here,
and any craft making for the river
from the other island must see this
Oh C1ASrZCI h1 hn1
left no danger behind him, and
that his way of retreat was open If
he was forced to fall back, Dan eau
tiOusly proceeded on his way. 1t
was not yet mid-afternOOn. Tt was a
hot summers day, and there was alb
sOlute silence in the great swamp.
The outlaws, returned from their
raid, would expect pursuit, and there
fore be Watchful. Dan was known to
all of them, and the instant he was
discovered he would be shot down.
He knew every foot of the island, and
as he neared it he had his plans all
laid. Making a wide sweep by fore
ing his canoe where it seemed hardly
possible for q serpent to go, he
landed on the north side of the is
land, half mile from the hut. As
soon as he had hidden the craft he
made his way toward the clearing,
with all the caution of an Indian on
the Warpath, and fully understand
ing the peril he was in. In telling
me his story, he said he saw more
snakes that day than he supposed
the whole country held. He touched
them time and again, and a score Of
times he came within an ace of being
bitten, and only his thirst for re
Venge- braced hin up to push along.
When Dan reached the edge Of the
clearing at a point where he was
close upon the cabin, he was sur
prised to find everything quiet. There
was a smOuldering fire at the door,
and plenty of evidence that the men
/ were near by. If they had set q
/ watch, it was down at the land
/ ing. After waiting for half an hour
| Dan made two important discoveries
/ at once. One Of the men came to the
door, yawned, threw up his hands,
and looked about him in a sleepy
+ manner. There was a jug Of Whiskey
outside the door, and after taking a
long drink the man staggered over
to the fire, threw on q few faggOts,
and then Iurched into the house
The other discovery was that the
back water in the bayou was rising.
He got the hint from the action of
cOOns, rabbits, and the snakes. They
were pressing toward the higher
ground on which the house stood,
and none of them seemed to mind his
presence.
Dan did not hope to accomplish his
errand without a fight. What he
was figuring for was an advantage
which would put them on something
like even terms. He had a Winches-
ter rife, and if he could reach the
cabin before the crowd we're aroused
ne would take his chances.
Taking advantage of such shelter
as was afforded, and being ready at
any moment to open the fight, the
man finally reached the cabin.
1t was a stout structure, with a
heavy door opening outward. On
the plank floor within, spraWled out
in reckless fashion, were five sleeping
men-Capt. Dade and his outlaws.
They were not only sleepers, but
each man was blind drunk. The
place smelled like a barrOOm, and
it was plain that the whole crowd
had turned to for a regular old spree.
Guns revOlvers, and knives were ly-
ing about on the floor, and some OF
the men had partly undressed them
selves. Dan could have gone among
them and stabbed each one to the
heart without risk, but he was not
coward enough for this. I had as
sured him that every outlaw caught
should be hanged by the neck until
dead. He was thinking that he
would bind the fellows tight and fast,
remove their weapons. and then bar