The St. Johns herald., 1889-04-18
SOARING WILD INDIANS.
Roman Candies Found to Be More Ef-
 fectiye Weapons Than Rifles.

Roman Candies Found to Be More Ef-
 feciiye Weapons Than Rifles.
 "One of my adventures, eh?' said the book agent to a reporter of the Omaha Her ald ''Well, about eight years ago carried a pack of novelties such as you frequently see exhibited OR the street corners, and pre- sided over by sunburned Italian. With another man and a young fellow of eight cen l travelled through Kansas to the Colo rado line. selling and trading our wares to the Indians for any thing marketable i'll the cities. About the time of our arrival in the western part of Kansas the memorable h. dian outbreak was terrorizing the country. From the south and west came reports of the terrible outra3es pcrpetrated by the Indians and grcasers. Houses were burned, the inmates were killed instantly or tortured to death, and all the cattle were driven off and scattered. You may be sure I felt considerable solIcitude concerning the safety of my little party and took extra precautions to find secluded spots when camping. Of course, under the conditions, I deemed it advisable to get out of the neighborhOod immediately. To do so we found it necessary to pass through the country most likely to be infested with struggling bands of Indians. Despite the risks we determined to make the attempt. Af~er a long, hard days tramp we en- canned for the night in one of those small canyons so prevalent in Western Kansas. It was an excellent place, too. Cur backs were eSectaGlly protected by a natural cave in tue side of the banii, the entrance to which was concealed by brush and tall grass Sam, the boy of the party, was an unusually bright young fellow and very familiar with tho tactics of Indian warfare. Just before lying down 1 noticed him unty- ing Q gCoU-3izcd bundle of sticks resembling short broom handles. He placed them with in easy reach and fum6led down to sleep. I had noticed him fumblilg around the bushes short tune before, but didn't pay much attention 10 his actions. The other fellow and myself concluded not to set a guard, as we were in such an excellent place. don't know hoU long we had slept when we were awakened by Sam shaking us slightly and whispering:
 "' Be quick, TOW. the Indians are getting ready to sip in on us.'
 "By this tune we were both wide awake and ready with our rifles.
 "'Llsteu.' whispered Sam; hear the dirty scamps sneaking up. Put down the rifles. I've got something better
 ''He handel us each four of the sticks mentioned, remarkiug:
 "'Ther's Roman candles. I've got pile Of whoppcTs along, and think we can scare these scamps clean out O their hiGes.'
 "I caught the idea ill q moment and strained my ears to listen for further dem onstrations from the attacking party. We could hear them creeping here and there through the bushes. scarcely making a nolse, but easily disting guished in the silence of tho night.
 "'Now,' whispered Sam, take two in each hand and I'll light them.'
 ''Suiting tho action to the word he con- trivcd to light them in rapid succession Then hc turned them into the bushes and heavens what glght was revealed as the candies flashed About fifty villainous- looking savages and greasers were stoop- ing and creeping towards us. At the first flash they stopped as if spell-bound. We turned them so the green and white balls would strike them in their faces. The candles were tremendous affairs and eight or tcG of thCm popping away independent Of human aid was enough to terrorize any one Our asSailantS wavered moment, then with terrible yell bounded away toward high ground as if the devil himself was in pursuit. We could hear them scramblmg up tho hillside, mount their horses and gallop away. Sam afterward explained that he had brought the candles along as side speculation, and he also ex- plained that he had arranged system of strings among the bushes so that no one could approach very close without meeting the obstruction and alarming him. It is needless to state that we reached safe ground in due time without further moles- fofiO,,