, 1889-06-27

in hat direction the nerd was sur
rounded without difficulty. Two par
ties converged, one from the north, an
other from the west, and the third, in
which was Jake, moved slowly forward
from the southeast. =
1t was plain that the herd should be
driven toward this last party, who were
to rush in upon their front and turn
them about. This would bring the whole
hunting party upon them.
In oae respect the plap was perfect.
AT about sunrise the big drove was seen
by Inkpaduta's party. and Boyer OBJ
served, with no little satisfaction, that
theelk were coming directly toward him.
They came right on without seeming
to see the hunters, who had spread a lit
tie and lay close along the backs of their
ponies.
There were more than two hundred
elk, and Boyer said it was a splendid
sight to see them come on, the bulls in
the lead, ian acre of branchin' horns"
as he expressed it, "movin' down swift
like the front of the wind in n blizzard. Z"
When the foremost elk were within
gunshot tho Indians Strengthened up,
and with loud yells dashed their ponies
at the face of the herd But instead of
turning the whole bunch spread out like
a fan and wen by like a shot, scattering
continually as they sped on
The Indians whirled their ponies and
gave chase, having fired several ineffec-
tive shots, and as zach selected his game
the maneuvers drew them rapidly apart.
This was precisely what Boyer had
hoped for, and he followed Big Face,
keeping him all the time in view. The
Indian soon overlook a fat COW elk,
whose calf got in her way and impeded
her progress. Big Face rode alongside,
showed he muzZle of his gun almost
against the cows side, and killed her in
stantly.
He had fired one barrel before, and
with a whoop he now circled his pony
about, sprang to the ground and stood
over the dead elk. evidently satisfied
with his mornings work.
This was not what Boyer wanted at
all, for there were still other Indians in
sight. In fact, nearly the whole party
was by this time racing along in pursuit
of tho herd.
But, knowing that he had not a mo-
ment to spare If he would allay suspicion
and catch Big Face with unloaded gun,
he drewup alongside. Quickly dismount-
ing, he stepped in front of the Indian and
covered him with the light rifle, which
he had not unloaded.
"Give me my gun or I'll shoot" said
the trapper, sharply.
Big Face saw hat he was tricked, and
that Boyer had the best of him. Like
all of his kind he was n coward at heart,
and with a sickly grin of fear he laid the
ill gotten rifle against the elkis body and
stepped back.
Now, let go that pony and walk off"
commanded Jake, with a meaning ges-
ture. The Indian obeyed, and hurried
away toward the retreating elk at a pace
the meaning of which Boyer knew well.
Jake's first move was hastily to load
his recovered rifle with heavy charges,
having kept balls in his pockets that
would fit the bore. Then fastening his
small rifle to tho saddle of the pony he
had ridden, and tying that animal to the
lariat dragging at the neck of Big Faces
pony, no mounted the Indians horse,
turned and rode northeast toward the
Minnesota settlements which were then
the nearest white habitations.
Just as he started he looked back over
his shoulder and saw Big Face making
frantic gestures from the top of n knoll
about a hundred rods away. But the
whole party, elk and all, had passed out
of sight into the valley of the Stony, and
the last that Jake ever saw of the band,
as he spurred his pony in the opposite di-
%rection, was the outwitted Big Face wav-
ing his arms.
1t was q daring stratagem which had
secured him his rifle and q pony for
damage" and one which a man less
hardy and keen witted would never have
planned, and certainly could not have
succeeded in carrying out.
~Inkpaduta and his men evidently gave
the big elk herd q long chase, without
any notion of what had happened in their
rear. Ifany of them had seen Big Face and
Boyer near tho dead elk they must have
thought the white mar had stopped only
to take charge of his game. At any rate
they did not overtake Jake, who pushed
rapidly on TO Lake Shetek, where at q
settlement he was safe from Indian as
sault.
Later, he Joined Williams 1t Fort
Dodge, having passed through Inkpa-
duta's country in the night. After that
he trapped west of the Big Sioux, as he
considered the lake region unhealthy"
for him.-Frank Welles Calkins in The
Youths Companion.