The Republican., 1890-06-07
CAUGHT BY COMANCH ES.

"a 1863 hunting party composed
seyeraI prominent citizens Of st.
puis, Cincinnati, Louisville and
nlcngo. and numbering about thirty
~ all, entered the country of the
0manche Indians in that elbow of
ksxas lying between New Mexicn
nd the Indian Territory for Il four
weeks stay. There Was "a Temporary
amp of soldiers at the junction of
.*ne Big Wichita and the Red Rivers
l#t That time, and as we reached 1t on
our way into the country, l was hit
+en on the leg by rattlesnake. and
slAld up for five days. / was with the
party In the capacity of scout and
QuuteP: but as 1t was Il strong one, II
was decided not to wait for me. They
were To follow up the Red River to
& ts mouth uf the. 1-ittlss Wichita. and
~ Fmxa DO obi Tess ilYgrfstke them ere
lheN had decided ON a permanent
eanp.
While the Comanchcs were bitterly
hostile at that date, they had been
sadly reduced by smallpox and driY-
Ell to the north. and the old frontiers
men stated their belief that the party
would not even see one. When |
left camp | WAS four days behind the
party. AS all were mounted AID in
tended to push right ahead, this
meant matter Of eighty miles to me.
However, had 4 hardy mustang,
was well armed, and when / rode
away from the camp l had about re-
gained my strength. l felt a bit of
dizziness as galIoped along over the
trail, and soon discovered that my
eyes were weak. The party had left
a plain trail, and aS my mustang had
had long rest he kept TO his gait
with hardly break up to high noon.
Along the banks Of the stream the
country was wooded. A mile to the
west it was plain and prairie mixed.
sometimes badly broken and then as
level as a floor for several miles.
At noon l came to a small creek,
and watered and bated my horse and
ate my luncheon. 1 had just mount
ed for new start when I heard a
"Yi!yi! yi!" on my right. and l
turned my head to see five Conan
chpI coming out of the timber on
their ponies. They were about half
n mile away, and had evidently just
discovered me. They were to my
right and rear. and as started off on
We trail l had no particular anxiety
es ). safety. There wasn't an In.
tL1.<< my in Texas that could over
m $y mustang in his present fresh
condition. The yells were repeated
as | moyed away, but after going Il
mile I looked back and saw that the
red men had settled down to busi-
ness. They were strung out in line,
and adapted their pace to mine.
That meant a long chase and a test
of endurance.
when man rides for his life. the
greatest fear is OVERRIDING the matter.
| If he pushes too fast at the start he
will "bIow" his horse, and the effects
will be felt after the first ten miles.
l had been FIVE years on the plains,
had a pretty fair stock Of nerve. AMI
/ rode to favor my beast. He would
have gone third faster had per-
mitted 1t, but l rode to keep my
distance and gain nothing. Every
mile or 40 l shifted my weight for.
ward or back, to relieve the burden
on him, and so the afternoon wore
away. The timber was always in
plain view on my right-the plains
ON my left. AT 2 o'clock rode right
through the spot where the party han
camped the first night. and as the
Indians did not stop to INSPECT it or
give up the pursuit, knew that thew
had visited the spot before. They
were some rambling party out on the
warpath, but too weak to attack the
larger party. AZ the sun began to
sink in the west they sought to shOr.
ten the distance and bring me within
rife shot, hut word to the mustang
check mated this.
Had / been able to keep the trail
after three O'Clock, / should have
counted or finding the party In THEFT
second camp by sundown. as we were
getting over the ground at a rapid
rate, but about that hour l came to
rough, stony district. where the pas
sage of the horses had left no trail
and went ahead at randomi plan
ming to keep my distance from The
river. Twice, In crossing small
creeks. my horse got a little water
and as the sun finally went down he
seemed to be almost as fresh as al
noon. 1t was to be starlight night
and as soon as dusk came l urged
my beast to faster pace, and bore
more to the left. When l believed
that | had gained quarter Of mile