The Opelousas courier., 1892-01-09


as we rode was anything but pleasant to
me. It was agreed that | would be put
to the torture, and that it would be made
to last as long as possible.
When we reached the village I was
placed in a tepee and my arms unbound.
They refused to cast the lashings off my
legs, though three Of the bucks stood
guard outside. / was so stiff and sore
with the ride that | could not have taken
five Steps had they turned me loose and
told me to go. I got not a wink of sleep
that night, and it was not until about s
o'clock next morning that my legs were
freed. It was a village of eighty lodges,
and the one | occupied was almost irv1e
centre Of the collection. l couldn't have
escaped had they left the tent unguarded,
but they took no risks. There were al
ways two and sometimes four of the bucks
squatted outside of the lodge, and out
side of these a circle of squaws and chill
dren4
1t was the third day after my capture
| before | was disturbed. Then most Of
the warriors having returned to the viii
lage on purpose to witness my death, |
was led out at three o'clock in the after
noon to undergo the preliminary to
actual torture. This is running the
gauntlet. There was as near as | could
Judge sixty men and boys in each line,
and the lines were four feet apart. Had
each one been armed with a switch to
| strike me il would have been punish
ment enough, but they were allowed to
use clubs and sticks and tomahawk
handles. When I looked down the line
| | felt that there was no show for me to
make the run, and yet | must make the
attempt. You may ask why l did not
absolutely refuse, and let them do their
worst then and there. Because, ] was
hoping for them to show me a little
mercy. They would torture me, but
not so cruelty as if | refused to run
/ got as good a ready as ! could and
when the signal came | sprang away at
the top of my speed. Blow after blow
fell upon me while the savages shouted
their pleasure, and to my great surprise
I at length reached the end of the lines.
| There / fell in a heap and they gave me
about ten minutes in which to brace up
for the run back. made only half the
distance this time, being struck over the
conscious. When | had recovered my
senses they returned me to the lodge,
where / lay for many hours expecting to
be taken out any moment for torture.
They would have finished me but for the
fact that the wife of Little Feather, who
was in another village fifty miles away,
had not yet arrived. She wanted to be
IN at the death and SO further proceed
ings were declared off for the day.
The squaw arrived soon after md
night. My ankles were tightly lashed
and I could not sleep. She was for hay
ing me out at once, and came and looked
into the lodge to see if | was safe; but
she was told that I would be put to the
torture after breakfast in the morning,
aud long after she had turned away I
heard my guards gloating over the pros
poets. 1t was agreed among them that
I was a game man and would hold out
for several hours and give them lots of
amusement.
Half an hour after daylight the village
was astir, and at sunrise a squaw brought
me some breakfast aud the lashings
around my ankles were cast off. I
learned several years after that it was
intended to oblige me to run the gaunt-
let again. | was eating the meal the
squaw had brought when a sudden ex-
element arose outside. There was a
great shooting, followed by cheers and
the report Of firearms, and the next min
ute the 200 frontiersmen who had been
raised in Kansas and Nebraska as an in
dependent force charged into the village.
1t was a complete surprise to the Indians,
but not for long. It wasn't five minutes
before the fleeing warriors rallied
for defense, but before that time | was
safe. At the first alarm l leaped up and
out of the lodge full against one of the
guards, aud asI ran I was fred at two
Or three times. i was among the horse
inen in a minute or two, and after a bit
/ got a rifle and took an active part in
the hot fight going on. We were driven
off after a couple of hours, but we got
every pony in the herd and burned all
the lodges, and they had many a dead
warrior to mourn over.
It was a singular thing that in after
years / should meet the sauaw of Little
Feather on the reservation and have a
long talk with her. So it happened, and
she calmly told me that she had been
promised my scalp as q keepsake and that
it would have been her hand which
would have ended my agonies after ! had
amused the warriors to their fill as a
prisoner at the stake.-Ne0 York World.
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