Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1893-03-18
A FRoNTIERSMAN S STORY.
The DeviIish Cunning OF the willy Red.

Truckee, bound east The conductor
had punched the tickets Of two pas
sengers who had boarded at that point
and was again at liberty to pursue
the thread Of one of the many nara
tives to which had been an inter
ested listener.
''Yes, them were boss times, round
'6O," said he. 81 was a young man
then and as clipper as any Of 'em,
can tell you. Plenty Injins round
this country, too, and they hated a
white man like pizen. That reminds
me of a little adventure had which
will give you an idea of how bitter an
1niin can hate.
81 was down to Silver City in the
fall Of III. l had just returned from
a successful prospectin' tour, and was
sort o. loungin' round waitin' for
Somethin' to turn I'D. / was gettin'
about sick of doin' nothin, when who
should / meet Oh the street one day
but Bill Winter, the partner of many
of my adventures.
"'Hallo, captain says he, Just
the man Pm looking for. Got any
thing to do?'
"'Well, no. says l; Pm kinder
rusticatin' Anything startling on?'
"'Yes, says Bill, there's pros
pectin' party down here waitin' for a
captain. You'd better take charge.
Done says 1: I'm your man.
What direction are we amin for?'
"tEast, following the course of the
the Carson River to the fork, near
the lake, then towards the Augusta
Range says Bill, AMI then, just
anywhere
Whoop! here's sport. Well, 1
kinder guess l will CO. says l. i
know the country like book.
There were twelve men besides
myself. l always did hate the num-
Der thirteen. and l felt kinder blue
when l counted the party, but said
nothin'.
1--WE made twenty-five miles the
first day, and at shutdown went to
camp by the river. After supper we
pulled straws for picket duty, and
Bob Mullen was chosen for the first
two hours, Bill Winters for the next;
by 9 o'clock the camp was quiet.
Il guess I'd been asleep bout an
hour when / was startled by an I'M
earthly shrek. Others we're Weakened,
too, and we jumped to our feet and
made for the direction where Bod
had been pacing on guard an hour be-
fore. The NOON was Shinin' bright,
ard we soon found Bob. Poor fell
low, he had been stabbed in the back,
and was dead. Closely examinin' the
damp sod near the body we found the
footprints Of herd of wild hogs,
who had Scampered away with Bob's
dying shrek. These hogs, l want to
tell you, were common camp-follOw-
erS, and when a man was on picket
would come snootin' and gruntin'
around the camp.
"Nothin' happened the rest of the
night At sunrise we buried poor
Bob and again examined the sod
prints, but marcy trace Of anything
human could we find.
1.-THE next night, after a hard days
tramp, we made camp, had supper
and were soon dead asleep. at 10
o'clock jake forget his ouher name
gave half yell which startled the
camp and well, we found him just
as we found Bod, stabbed in the back
and stone dead.
"I'll never forget the cold chill
that passed over me nor the awe
struck feelin' which was plain on
every face. We were all dazed, and
no wonder There wasn't a man in
the party who wouldn't face death in
a fair fight, but this arrangement
gave a feller no chance at all. The
boys wouldn't back out of the nights
picket and took their duty without
anythin' unusual happening.
The following night Bill, my old
partner, gave me quiet hand grip
and took the first picket duty. Twas
to take the next following him. At
ii o'clock Bill touched me lightly on
the shoulder and said:
"'Be careful, Cap, keep your eyes
Open!' gripping my hand at the same
time.
Looking carefully to the condi-
tion Of my rife, l took my place on
the lookout. made up my mind /
wasn't going to be stabbed in the
back, so kept my eyes in all directions
at once, if such thing were posi-
BILE. 1 was beginning to cit kinder
careless, when l noticed a herd of
hogs snootin' and gruntin' at the
other side Of the camp, near the
horses. They slowly worked round
my way while / watched 'em curious
ly. Four or five Of the beasts crossed
my path, but the remainder Of the
herd passed to the right and behind
me. was just Lurnin' my head to
the left to resume my walk, when like
a fash 1 caught the shadow Of a
suandin' figure within four steps O.
me. / fired, and a shrek rent the
air which might have been heard a
mile. Before you.could say Jack Robin
son the camp was on top OF me. I'll be
hanged if they didn't nearly shoot me
by mistake.
This Of course, cleared the mys-
terry. The Injin had got poar'sskin
somewhere and Disgusting himself fin it