Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-11-15
An Adxentnre with Sioux.

An old trapper tells this story of early
Minnesota days in Forest and Stream:
The man of the Lake Tacott party about
this time came in also for team to move
their outfit home, leaving the two boys to
take care of things until his return. A
warm muggy day came while he was alb
sent, and the boys, attending to their traps
and carrying their guns around during the
day, got them both wet, and, boylike, ne
glecting to clean and dry them in order to
render them sure nre when needed, lay
down to sleep in their bed without remov-
ing their clothing, only drawing off their
boots. Their cabin door opened outward,
and Just at daylight, shortly after they
awoke, they observed their door opening
and saw an Indian swing it around and
set stick against it and then spring back
and raise his gun alongside two others who
stood with guns presented. At the first
sight of the Indian the boys sprang from
their bed, and while in the act of throw
ing off the covering and springng to their
feet the savages fired. The distance was
not over fifteen feet Il afterward examined
the ground carefully, and while it could
not again have been done in a thousand
times trying without both being killed,
the only hurt either sustained was a flesh
wound by a small bullet through the calf
of one of their legs. Selling their guns,
the boys aimed and snapped, but both guns
failed to go. Instantly the thought of
running, while yet the guns of the Indians
were empty, came TO their minds, and with
a word to each other they sprang through
the low door and rushed for the prairie
As they did SO, one or more charges
probably from double-barreled guns
greeted their rush for the open air, and
the unwounded boy, Tom kirkpatrick, had
a bullet part tie hair and Craze the skin
of his forehead
As the Indians ran after them the boys
presented their guns, and after this maneu-
yer had been few times repeated the
wretched towards turned back to plumber
the camp, and the boys were left to make
ments in their stocking feet over the burnt
grass stubs of the prairie.
In the afternoon the wounded boy de-
clared his inability to proceed further, and
requested Tom to go to the settlement and
bring a wagon out for him. Tom accord
ingly hurried on, and just about sunset,
while descending the river Just above the
town of Jackson (which town, by the way,
consisted alone of frontier postofiice),
just as he reached the crest of a low hill
and glanced across the ravine to the sum-
mt of the next hill in front, he saw five
Sioux, who, catching sight of him at the
same instant, came for him on the run,
spreading their line like an opening fan as
they ran. Tom turned and ducked down
behind the hill, and instead of running
down toward the river, turned and run up
it and ont on the high prairie, where,
providentiully for him, stood an old de-
serted field which had belonged 10 Nor
weyian settler murdered in the last massa-
ere, and which, now surrounded by high
rail fence, was occupied by dense crop of
tall weeds. Tom sprang over the fence,
and in his peril and fright not forgetting
to carefully part the weeds in front of each