Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1889-02-16

""NO' anu uouDlIeSs CnucKleu TO him
sell at the thought OF being on my trai
and unsupported. had to make what
Is called a dry camp" That is with
no water at hand. There was scan,
heritage for my horse, but | knew he
would not wander far, and that no In.
dian living could stampede him or ride
MIN away. | knew from the action,
OF the animal as soon as | dismounted
mat there was another horse near by,
out built 4 fire and toasted my meat,
and had enough water in my canteen
10 make . cup OF coffee.
Black Serpent would not be in n
hurry, When an Indian is trailing
you he likes to enjoy his triumph. He
plays with you as a cat does with a
mouse. Ten o'clock would be soon
enough for him, and | sat in plain
view OF my fire smoking until after
nine. Then | smothered the blaze for
hve minutes, and during this interval
rugged up my blankets to make n
dummy" When | retreated into the
darkness and looked back, the figure
was good enough TO deceive any body.
Black Serpent would not approach on
my trail but from exactly the opposite
direction, and ! crept away in the
darkness until | was fifty feet from the
fire.
1t was, as lear as | could figure Il,
about an hour when the young bulk
came creeping up from the direction
anticipated. I'll give him credit for
passing over the ground as noiselessly
as a rabbit could have moved. He
had left his rifle behind, calculating to
use his knife on me, He was all OF
twenty minutes creeping his last
twenty feet, and | sometimes doubted
II my eyesight had not deceived me.
lie was within six feet of the dummy
before he detected it. and then he
sprang high in the air and uttered his
death-whoop, knowing that | was lay
Ing Tor him. He came down in a heap
at the crack OF my rifle, and he was
dead when ] got to him. | kept his
entire outfit. sending word TO his
friends what had happened, and that !
held myself answerable TO them, but
no one troubled me about it, even TO
lay claim to any of the property.
A year later, when things generally
were more settled, but with dissatis-
ned bucks breaking away from the
agencies at intervals to make raids,
an Indian quarter-breed stole some
things from Fort Larned and | ran him
down and captured him. He was i'm.
prisoned for several weeks, and soma
OF his buck friends declared that |
pay Tor the ''indignity' with
my life. 1t vas honorable enough in
eyes TO steal, but Il great indig-
nifty to pay the penalty OF thieving. t
The three bucks whom | had TO fear
were called Red Earth, Half Moon and !
Day, They drew rations at
the agency, and were supposed to live i
within the limits, but as a matter OF :
fact were prowling over the country '
most OF the time and ripe for any dew t
iltry.
i was then riding between two posts E
about eighty miles apart. | took two t
days TO go and two to return, and, I
then. after a rest Of two days, | made |
the trip again. This had been the t
for two months, and the $
Indians knew it and could count on my I
% h~'vauuuts at II certain uate. FOR J
twenty-five miles Of the journey | had
stage road and was sure OF company. '
or twenty miles further the country ]
was fairly safe, there being many q
hunters and trappers and scouts out. r
ne dangerous part OF the journey +
was confined TO about Twenty-Five :
niles. The route lay along the baseof r
mountain-up a valley-overa sharp b
Use, and across several gulches. Sc /
ected the spot whore the Indians
you'd attack me if they held to their +
.hreat. just As the trail left the base c
h mountain to take to the valley n
mere was a canyon making into the T.
treat mound, and the trail ran within y
hirty feet OF its mouth before turning ii
o the left. II the weather was good a
passed this point in going west "
It about nine o'clock in the morning, L
n going the other way | arrived about Il
undown, and made my camp in the a
growing around "A spring. d
figured that the Indians would o
boot me down as | rode up 10 the d
or very soon after | had dis r.
nounted. They would then drag my il
ody up the canyon and conceal it, and e
Fad my horse a far up as possible and ii
hen kill him. | would be missed and l.
earched for. but it might be a week
efore any trace was discovered. BY
hat time the wolves and vultures u
'ould have left nothing to identify.
nj tho assassins would have been =,
o~nspicuously present AZ the agency. a,
is still the unwritten law of the -,
'ontier that when n man threatens g
life, eve II he is drunk at the =;
me, you are expected to protect -,
ourself by shooting him first. | had v
illnesses that these Indians had l.;
lreatened to wipe me out. | was ex. ,h
ected to shoot any one of them on
ght. I'd have been called a fool or a h;
ward to take any other course. n,
1t was the cunning OF the red man N
,ainst the wisdom OF the white. II ~
was wrong in my conclusion then my 40
would pay the penalty. l knew
would not act upon their threat ~,
on ce, as they would expect me to be ~
, my guard and perhaps have an Al,
'cort, and so ] waited until my second
lip before carrying out my own plans. on
he Indians would reach the canyon ~
the afternoon. A lookout could see r.
Q five miles away. Half a mile from az
g spot, however, there was a wooded :,
dye to hide my immediate approach, II,
ID this ridge run around the canyon. n,o
| moderated the pace Of my horseto ~
1t my plans, and approached the val wv,
Y half an hour ahead of my usual ~,
ne. When three miles away | dis