The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1892-06-01
.gF PUMPKIN DANCE.

IA the spring Of o. " ~
.,ra in northern Kansas, l was
' j., tt.- the Potawatamic reservation
''ll ,n+q h inbred miles away; and that
wa rn5ians were engaged in one of their
'I' - obrations-"The Pumpkin
Dance. o,,,o rod n,on
4 - stood pictured in my Imagination
r ', of physical perfection, untiinching
r3ra and uncompromising honor,
ofn those instances where war made
i all things fair
=, sea him as civilization found him
j i bsen . passion of my childhood, and
,s s+iIIa very strong desire when this
oaoortInityto crafty it came.
= : resolved to see those Indians and
choir dance at any hazard, and shout d
have a attempted the journey alone if l
had mt met another tenderfoot fresh
f.,m Connecticut who was eager to ac-
company me.
Two hours from the time we met we
we're astride two bronchos, with guns,
blankets and three days rations, gallop-
Inc toward the open prairie
To one reared in the crowded East
nothing could be more thrilling than
sncb a ride. Not an object in front by
which to measure distance; nothing to
riobt or left but the prairie's broal ex-
nanse and behind us, after hours of
raDid riding, the little town, like fleet
Of boats in the sea of waving grass, so
near il must have followed us. We had
ridden thirty miles, and were well tired
out. vet it seemed that we had covered
8Httle more space, compared with the
astuess around us, than child on his
a,0cdnghorse in the nursery,
That evening we saw onr first prairie
sunset 1t was not like anything we
4 had seen. There was no sinking behind
free tops; no gorgeous coloring of clouds.
THE great fiery orb seemed to pause
moment just above the horizon, then
SWAY to right and left and drop out of
Hsight We paused vaguely expecting
& the ''wrock OF matter and the crash of
worlds" Neither came: but darkness
i did come before we had staked our
Sbronchos or eaten our lunch. When
#beSe important duties had been attend
3 ed to we rolled ourselves in our blankets
in true frontier fashion, and slept till the
BUN bounded back into the sky, proving
Fiat its dropping of the previous even
ng had been no optical illusion.
1t was such a morning as a poet might
NFln fame in attempting to describe vet
Fail utterly. The little town had receded:
#he horizon seemed farther away, while
'u around us tiny dew drops sparkIed
n every blade Of grass; and flowers of
#nany colors, invisible before, were open
70 the sun. We had lain down in a field
n yielding grass; we awoke in a wildness
b flowers.
My companion, Nutmeg, had called
fIn, was a very practical fellow. not
&SpoSed to waste much of the mornino
Il contemplating its beauties, and at his
l99sSuon we were soon following the
Before noon every thing had vanished
rom the prairie, We were alone in
pace and the solitude had begun to tell
pom our spirits, when we saw six dark
'.k' Tar to the left, moving toward the
''"' aI right angles. They were bison
'"Oue, we said to each other: but our
'o1sA@ prompted us to quicken OF
zee hoping to pass their line before
ney reached the trial.
I"o noticed from the beginning of the
'a5ney that Nutmeg was not graceful
0le saddle; and an incident in the
'o'n'ns had convinced me that he was
" O15 expert rider that he would have
0eDeYe' 4 huge snake by the road
Ut 'laa sounded its rattle: our horses
.7To quickly to the opposite side. and
!, No'neg standing in the trial less
71.ened by the accident than bv his
,r I,""'y to the angry serpent. His
,-ASe wit did not forsake him, how
NE had clang to his gun; in
. ne a2a not time to drop it, and now
I"ea deliberately at the swavino
1 :" ,le snake and clipped it from the
H., ~" -, Soon he came to where | stood
iT' ,1s horses explaining that he had
|br1. ' 10 make sure Of his prize, the
y". ,, hence had dismounted.
,e, wv when these specks that have