The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1891-12-19

with n friendly, "How-de-doP" Then
| he would shrug his shoulders in way
that would wrinkle the three KS into
such bewildering folds that you could
not have read them unless you had
known what they were beforehand.
One day while he was meandering
about the place, gruntng quietly to
himself, he upset one OF my battery
jars.
..Tads." / cried. angrily. for the
deserts breath was hot upon me, and
| was irritating enough, let alone spilled
yitriol, you're little beast! Skip
out of here, or I'll take Il stick to your
Then arose great howl from Tads
and he kept on bowling until an
Apache woman came over the sands
from the wickiups and gathered him
up in her arms. She was his mother.
| She eyed me suspiciously. and walked
away with her highly demonstrative
burden.
OF course / regretted my hot lam
guage and wanted the little beggar
| back again. 1t was so lonely there on
| the desert. The wires walled so heart
| brokenly, while the sun beat down so
| fiercely in the daytime and the coyotes
| yelled so dolefully at night. How he
had crept into my heart, to be sure!
1t was several days before we were
on satisfactory terms again. Tads
wanted 10 be white man. He want
| ed to make talk marks" on ''pupper"
with a featber-I sometimes used q
| Quill pen, be it remarked-and he
wanted to speak with his finger. Well.
! | did manage to teach him Il few let
ters from railroad poster. aud he
learned to drawl out ''T-a-ds" in a
drol way. With perseverance that
was really startling. | afterward took
him in an uncertain way through
page or two of Can you see the fat
oxP' and so on, wherefore his heart
| was glad.
"I'll be wife mans heap sure" he
declared in his bull-frog voice. after
he had accomplished this wonderful
feat.
Great distress racked Tad's soul on
the fatal day when the wickiups were
taken down and the tribe mounted its
mustangs to 90 over the hills. The
Apaches had to search all over the
station to find Tads. At last they
hauled him forth from under my bunk.
screaming like mad OF no avail were
his screams; of no avail was his cry:
Me yanter stay wild him! Me yanter
be wife mans!"
Apache papas are unbending and
Apache mammas are inexorable. Away
they whisked Tads, leaving behind him
tenderfoot with queer feeling in his
throat.
We'll. the boy has the instincts of
white man." | said, for | was proud Of
what | fancied had made of him.
land he'll be sure to be "A shining
light among those devilish people OF
his. If we had few more like him to
put among them, the Apache question
would settle itself, and we could set
our soldiers to hoeing corn"
Then | took up the restless life of
city man, and a big aud busy rail-
road Office claimed good share of my
attention for the next ten years. Yes,
it was fully that long before again
set foot upon the desert. Our train
stopped ut the old station. How the
pepper-tree had grown. to be sure. In
its shade sat cavalry Sergeant with
h''ii-"o1Ii Va Hlltlt anu
in their midst were three Indian pris-
oners who were being taken to the
fort to he shot.
They were fierce-looking fellows,
those three savages. There was one,
the youngest, who was a perfect
demon, the soldiers said.
Killed three women and two babies
down ut Mustang Wash last Tuesday"
said the sergeant TO ME; lust after
one of them had given him breakfast,
too. He's Il young one not more than
Ia. | should say; but he's the worst
red devil | ever saw"
Gazing at the boy captive. strange
feeling stole over me. The stolid face
was oddly familiar
His name? Blessed if | know"
said the sergeant; what do YOU call
yourself, young onep' he asked, giv-
ing him not too delicate poke with
the toe of his boot.
"MeP Why my names Tadr'
grunted the boy.
Talks pretty good English for a
wild devil who has been over the Mex
lean border so long doesn't hep" ask
ed the sergeant, turning to me.
But | said nothing Frank Bailey
.Htttard in Argonaut.