Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1894-04-23

d W n W n r d
over the back of his chair; his feet rest
ed leisurely on the table; his arms
swayed Imply at his side and his mouth
was open. His breath went and came
in gurgles like the exhaust pipe of o
washtub. The Star man slapped him
on the shoulder, and tho Colonel" re.
turned to consciousness. He yawned a
few times, and in the process of pulling
himself together combed his hair wi5h
his fingers, thus lifting it from his
brow and exposing Il long and lurid
scar which started on the right temple
and travelled backward till it got lost
in hair.
Hello, colonel! Come out of this
and tell me how you got this scar"
said the prospector for facts.
This scar? Oh, yes, recollect
Well, | got that mark from being too
game 1t all happened last winter.
was living on ranch near Pease Bot
tom, Mont, and after the regular fall
wind-up three of the boys, Catfish
Johnnie, Roaring Hurry and Yellow
stone Joe, proposed that we take trip
through the Yellowstone park. This
was largely because Joe as his sobri-
Quet indicated, had seen n good deal of
experience in that tourist-haunted part
Of the country. lie had been profess
sional guide therein at 3 period ante
dating our acquaintance but with
which period this story is in nowiae CON
cerncd. 1t is quite probable that Joe
wanted to revisit his old stamping
ground so much that he was willing to
have the expense of the trip divided M
aYong three companions rather than
TO bear it all by himself.
But the story which am now tell
ing You must be more remarkable for
facts than suspicious After long
md delightful trip we came within the
shadow OF the Yellowstone mountains
and camped. 1t was a delightful spot
On one side ran the tracks of the
Northern Pacific, and every few hours
trains rushed by. On the other side
little stream babbled and sparlllcd. 1t
was abouC noon when we halted. There
were high hills all around us and plenty
of timber.
After dinner we sat on the railroad
waiting to see the overland express
dash by, when from the brush down
the track three men came out. They
strolled along in the direction of our
camp. We were a good many miles
from station and it was an unusual
ly suspicious circumstance to see these
fellows tramping along the ties. They
were bad visaged, and their general
appearance did not impress us very
favorably. AS they got within about
one hundred yards of ms they hallooed
in familiar wild west style and ar-
preached us civilly enough. The
spokesman said that one of their horses
had either strayed or had been stolen,
and he wanted TO know if we had seen
any horse answering the description
which he gave. OF course, we had not,
and invited the strangers to eat din
ner with us. They did not seem to be
ut all disturbed about the missing
equine, and during the meal stated
that good many horses had been lost
in that country within the post year
because of the dishonesty of certain
people.
They told us that their camp was
down the track in ravine about mile
distant, and said that they would be
glad to have us take dinner with them
on the morrow. We promised to do so.
However, there was some snealting sus-
picion down in the sub-ccllur Of our
minds that something was crooked
about the whole business. This sus-
picion was not calmed in any way by
the calculating glances which the party
bestowed on our armament and stock.
That afternoon it was decided that we
should picket our horses and stand
watch by turns throughout the night.
1t is Il very common practice with eS-
pert horse thieves to simply swoop
down and stampede the stock of an
outfit in true Indian fashion, but this
programme will never work where the
stock is picketed. In u case of this
kind the depredators simply sneak
around the camp like coyotes and cut
the ropes
'In our outfit we had one very wild
horse. He was as wild as a mountain
goat. He would run if you'd point vour
finger at him. The only RESTRAINING
influence which he Acknowledged was
that exercised by another horse The
wild horse was so absolutely stuck on
his four-footed friend that he would
eat and drink with him and never seem
satisfied without being in his company.
True he would hy off at a tangent b,s+