The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-07-05
ADVENTURES OF MUNCHAUsEN.
Daredevil Escapades of Editor Freeman
In His Young Days.

In His Young Days.
Leigh r. Freeman in Gibraltar Farmer.
The block house that built thirty miles below
Livingston. Mont, was the only habiiation OF
white man between Bozemsn and Fort Union,
distance of 1000 miles. It was the common
hunting ground of the Sioux, Cheyennes, Arap-
ahoes, Crows, Bloods, Piegsns, Blackfeet, Flat
heads, Spokanes, Ceur d'Alenes, Assinaboines,
Neg Perces, Bannocks and Pend dOreilles, and
have seen there the Comanches aud kiowas,
OF Texas: the Apaches, of Arizona, and the
Modocs, OF Southern Oregon and Northern Cali
fornia. ! have furnished friendly bands with
repeating rifles and ammunition to assist Us In
the thrashing OF the hostiles.
Once when there were but five men OF Us the
Blackfeet besieged my place. My little fortress
was in the form OF q cross, 30 the port holes
would have double bearing and enable Us TO
rake any direction with cross-fre. After put
ting upthe log walls and the pole roof we COW
cred the roof with heavy tufts OF sod and built
thick wall OF sod on the outside OF the log walls.
This made place cool in summer and warm in
winter, and it was impossible for the lndians to
burn it or shoot through it. In one corner was
q well From this well TO the river was tun-
mel. Through this tunnel we operated dug
out canoe. At the mouth OF the tunnel was
gate locked on the inside. In another corner
was stall for my Kentucky mare, Fanny,
which was superior in speed to any animal pos
sessed by the Indians
Mounted on this mare have often bantered
the Indians to chase me, and they were invari-
ably distaneed. The main thing that had to
look out for was prairie dog and coyote holes;
for II ever Fanny should step into one OF them
there would be broken leg and q thrown rider.
The friendlies who talked with the hostiles told
me that the savages had often placed themselves
in ravines ahead of me when they saw me cross
ing the prairie, but that they never got chance
taE hot fn~& kAFc inc
within rifle shot of q ravine would suddenly
gallop to the night or left and cross above or
below their place of concealment. They said
that they thought I must have been raised
among the Indians, because they saw that
made many maneuvers not practiced by the
whites; noticeable among these traits was the
habit OF always mounting my horse on
the right side, the same as all In
dams do At the time to which I refer,
when the savages besisged the place,
! was eating dinner out OF doors under q large
tree when / noticed at distance of several miles
single horseman quickly cross q bench land
from one ravine to another and disappear.
Watching few moments, / saw another
mounted man repeat the same maneuver, and
then another, and another, until 1 counted
twenty-seven. told the boys to catch the horses
on the meadow. We saddled and mounted i've
of the best animals and rode down q mile, to
where we could see that several Of the mysteri-
Gus horsemen had dismounted and climbed to
the tops of the tall cottonwood trees, and from
which lofty perch they were calmly looking over
the bench land and measuring our camp. They
were on the north side Of the Yellowstone, while
We were on the south side. We tantalized them
fight on the prairie. This they declined to do
they thought we would kill them while they
would be in the act of crossing.
Before dark we went into grove on the north
side OF the river, opposite our fort, and rolled
up great log heap, which we fred, and it
burned all night. This we did to make the
Indians think we had force OF men over there,
when in reality we had none. We put every
thing in ship-shape for a night attack. All the
horses except my favorits mare were on the out
side tied up to the wagons. The two dogs were
very restless and continually running around
and barking in that fierce manner that indi-
Gated that the enemy had crept up close to the
block house. No assault was made until ex-
actly at IL O'Clock, when the moon went down,
and our eyes had not had time to adapt them
selves to the change from bright moonlight to
darkness.
At that instant fusiiade Of boulders was fred
from under the river bank against the door;
every Indian gun was discharged, and before we
had time to do anything every horse on the out
side had been cut loose and was running full
speed across the prairie. We were lying on our
guns, allaillng our eyes Win aLl our might TO
catch q glimpse of Indians crawling up, but not
one could we see. One horse was lame and
could not be driven away, and one of the men
went outside and caught him and tied him up
again. This animal was aiterward cap
tured and recaptured twice. The door of
the block house was made of two thick
nesses OF boards, a portion of wagon
bed, placed diagonally and nailed with nails
that we made wrought by burning cut nails and
not tempering them. The hinges were hung on
iron rods taken from the hind endgate OF a
wagon. These rods ran through auger holes
bored through the logs of the house. Surprising
that they had set Us afoot and that no succor
could be had. the enemy continued to fire on us
five days, at the end of which time had ridden
10 Bozeman and procured assistance.
swan the river In the night, and, although
had never seen the country that l had to ira
verse, / crossed it, including the heavily tim
bered belt OF mountains, when it was pitch dark,
and arrived at my destination all right At that
time Bozeman was but mere hamlet, inhabited
mainly by John Renshaw, Mich, Bouyer and
other half-brsed Sioux of the worst type; but
went out into the neighborhood and raised
posse of Ntssourians who went with me to drive
sway the enemy We reached the block house
one morning just at daylight and attack the red
devils in the rear. They were taken completely
by surprise and were utterly routed. They had
not missed me from the block house, and never
dreamed that any considerable force could be
hrou OH IN haor thar