The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1890-05-22

face as it was turned toward me. l lay
on my back, with my hands clasped
under my head, and such was my
astonishment that l could not move.
Fortunately for me the fellows took this
for nerve. looked from man to man,
and finally said, in Comanchc:
"It is easy enough for squaw to
track horse after sunrise, and even a
boy could make prisoner of sleeping
man."
Ugh! ugh" grunted two or three of
them
"When your people at home hear of
your brave deed they will sing songs in
your praise!" I continued, speaking in
tones of contempt "Here, | have the
claws of a grizzly bear which l shot a
few months ago. Take them, and you
can secure further praise by claiming to
have killed the beast yourselves"
From the instant Irealized my situation
l knew that I was in for it. Goodness
and nerve are what count in such cmer-
gencies to throw the Indian off his bal
ance. I sat up, rubbed my eyes, reached
for my haversack and got some meat and
bread, and as I toasted the meat at the
fire l said, addressing myself to the
leader:
"Had I known YOU were Comanches
I should not have run away. l thought
you were Chickasaws on stolen horses.
l shall be ready to 60 as soon as have
eaten. l want to see the Comanche
country-the great plains-the Canadian
River-the mountains full of caves and
waterfalls-your Chief, Thunder Cloud"
He asked me if l belonged to the
party ahead, and I told him no. He
asked me how dared start out alone for
the Comanche country, and l told him
that l had trapped the mountain lion and
cut out and eaten his liver while still
alive, and therefore feared nothing living.
l could see that they were badly puzzled,
and that they had no idea of offering me
violence, and increased their wonder by
saying, as 1 finished my breakfast:
"Come. 1t is time to 60. We have
a long ride and am anxious to see your
country
I Iwhistled up my horse, and had him
nearly ready before they moved. They
had taken my rife and revolver, and l
did not seem to have noticed the fact,
but strapped my blanket to the saddle,
lighted my pipe, and waited for them.
They came together out of earshot and
had a confab, but apparently did not ar
rive at any satisfactory conclusion.
When we were ready to go I said:
1.-TWO of you must ride ahead and
three behind. 1t is an honor due me,
and you cannot show me too much re-
spect."
They looked at me in wonder and
amazemeut, and continued:
"And if we should encounter any
white men, avoid them, as I do not wish
to be seen."
That last observation drove the peg
home. When we set out two rode in
front and three behind, and no Indians
were ever more puzzled. In later years
l met one of them, and he told me that
their plan was to torture me as soon as
awoke. Even the one who was to have
the honor of scalping me had been desig-
mated, and the plunder had been ap-
portioned. And after they had con-
cluded to take me prisoner to village
one hundred miles away they meant to
tie me to my horse. They were beat out
of this by my queer remarks, intended
just for that purpose. We moved to the
west about five miles, then held to the
north until noon. After noon we turned
to the east, and figured that they were
fianking the camp of the white party by
thei1 maneuvre. We rode to the east
until nlghtfall, and then went into camp
in some timber alongside creek. Sew
eral times during the day I had expressed
my impatience at our slow pace and
asked them to get on faster, and when
we went into camp l saw that had
them off their guard. They looked
upon me more as q curiosity than
a prisoner, and this very fact bred
a new danger. After eating l sat apart
from them to smoke and mediate, and to
give them opportunity to compare notes.
1t did not take them long to satisfy each
other that l was "bad medicine" and
that if they carried me to their village
my presence would bring disaster. They
urged that be killed, but then came
the question of who should do it. Each
was afraid that the deed would bring
wrath upon his head, and so far as l
could make out each one refused the
task. While they were talking 1 moved
carefully backward on the earth, and by
and by had twenty feet between me and
the nearset man. All the horses were
loose in the timber to browse. The guns
were on the other side of the fire, where
l could not hope to reach them. Just
when the five got their heads together to
discuss something they did not wish me
to hear, arose and stepped backward
out of the light of the fire, and believe
l was hundred feet away when they
missed me. Every man sprang to his
feet with yell and rushed for the point
where l was last seen.
l had meanwhile dropped to my hands
and knees and was crawling to the left
toward the guns. AS the rush came I
dropped beside log, and one of the red
skins leaped square over me as he cleared
the log, heard them scatter and beat
about, and while they were hunting for
me crawled along and got my gun. 1t
was Winchester, and Il new thing to
them, and it had been left behind when
they snatched up their rifles. Icrept away
out of the circle of the fire and then got
the shelter of the tree The Indians beat
around for good half hour, and then