Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-11-15
INDIAN REVENGE.
BY MARY A. DENlSoN.

20, do dote so on Indians"
SO said a musical little voice, as Miss
Margery Tracy looked over book of
beautiful engravings.
81 what?' exclaimed silvery
Beaded old man who sat in an easy chair
10y The winters fire.
''Dote on Indians, dear grandpa: they
look so noble in their richly colored
Soi'os, their furs and their feathers"
"iS4bie. the blood thirsty rebels said
the old man, holding out one arm as he
spoke and striking it with the other.
"that and this and every part of my
body, in fact, is scared by those infer
nal d g.. Why. look here, child" and
be drew his white locks from his ample
Forehead "see the marks of their scalp
ing knives; they lett me Cor dead once,
aud came near having these hairs hang
ing to their girdes."
"Why, grandpa!" exclaimed Margery,
drawing up to the old man, sis it posi-
bic that great white mark was made by
an Indian brave?'
IAN Indian coward? 2" cried the vet
ern contemptuously. Talk about their
bravery, the stubborn, Unborn devils,
they don't know what it means. The
courage of beast is oil they have. My
patience, girl, if you had seen as much
of the Indians as l have, you'd never
lake these creatures of painters i'm
agination to be the simon-pure savage.
No, no, there's difference. My child
l'll tell you story that Will cure YOU
of doting on Indians When L was q
young man had many bout with the
children OF the forest as your poets
call them. Now there was never
any poetry in your old grandfather,
Maggie. little one. never could see
anything beautiful in their hideous,
painted faces, aud, to tell the truth,
they killed my only BROTHER and l
bated the whole race.
I'VE had long spell of peace, and
had become tired of our cabins upon
Boone's station. It was too easy a Ii G
for young fellows, simply cunning,
fishing, sleeping aud eating. We
weren't like the moustachioed gentry OF
the present day-even like the one who
came to see you last night, little child,
though he is a better specimen than
some. We couldn't dress up in those
days AID take little bits of paper in
our hands and go call upon the pretty
ladies' and show Off our teeth and our
broadcioth the best part of the day. We
were rough men in our hunting frocks,
who thought good-sized deer none to
heavy to throw over our shoulders after
we had run him down, and to whom
other dears We're as fabulous as myths.
but, as [ tell you, we-there were
four of us-had become tired of idle
ness, and wanted another bout with
the Indians. So, knowing that party
had stolen some horses, and that they
bad taken their way to Chillicothe, we
set out after them to try and regain the
booty they had taken. We reached
Chlillcothe few days afterward, and
fell in with drove of horses feeding in
tie rich prairie. OF these we secured
@x aud started on our return. Before
we reached the Ohio storm came up.
The heavens grew black with clouds
and the wind blew perfect hurricane.
What to do with the horses we could
hardly tell They had become unman-
agabe and were difficult to control.
The river was SO swollen-its waves
dashed into fury-that we dared not
venture to cross. and we were fearful of
bel 6 pursued. 1t was nearing evening,
and we could just find Our way back To
the hills, where, after hobbiing our an
FINALS, we remained during the night.
1t was an awful night. The rain
poured in torrents, the lightning bIazed
from point to point, and the thunder
seemed to crash aud break against the
sides OF the hills. We were all exposed
so the fury OF tho tempest. In the
morning our clothes were wet aud we
had only saved our powder by sleeping
OF it. The wind, however had sub
sided, and we tried again to get our
! hor- es over to the other side-the crea-
lures resisted every attempt, and we were
driven to the alternative of. losing the
horses. Of course we chose the latter,