Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1894-12-21
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burned brick. Our old guide handled
1t tenderly as he knocked the ashes
out of it's wide bowl, carved in the
likeness of a bison's head
Fill up again, Thad," said I, ''and
while we smoke tell us the story of
that pipe. Come, you've promised it
often enough"
A smile lit up the ragged, weather.
scanned face of the old trapper as he
gazed long and musingly at the short
pipe he held in his hand, and in the
play of his features one might have
read tales of daring and prowess, and
of cunning and strategy as subtle as
that of the willy Sioux whose right of
possession to the great prairies Of the
northwest old Thad cambridge was
one of the first to dispute.
ut amt no Injun pipe" he began,
Though it is made of pipestone same
as the whites found in use by all the
tribes of the nor'west when they first
came among IN, and low was about
the first white man to dig the stone
and make pipe of this kind for him
self. Common as were these pipes
among the Injuns, there is only one
spot in all the country where the soft,
red stone they're made of is to be
found. 1t was by the merest accident
that happened to stumble upon the
quarry, and a bigger accident yet that
my scalp didn't pay for the find. 1t
was when / was trappin' up on the
headwaters of the Des Moines one
spring, early in the 'forties. I'd gone
farther up into that lake and prairie
region than I'd ever been before, and
taken as prime lot of beaver and OF
ter as ever cheatin' trader beat an
honest trapper out of. hadn't seen
an Injun ON the prairies all that
spring, nor didn't expect to. though
that amt sayln' that camped in plain
sight and left an open trail wherever
went Inluns are like the bad deeds
man has done and tried to cover up;
they're always turnin' UP when you
least expect 'em, and knew the crit
tiers too well for that.
II struck out to the northeast from
my camp one mornin' intendin' to cir
clio round to the north and west to
look at some ponds and lakes that l
couldn't well get at with my canoe.
I'd travelled until about noon, when |
struck somethin' that changed my
plans mighty sudden, can tell you. /
wasn't lookin' for Injun sign, when all
at once | stepped smack into plain
trail leadin' toward my camp, a dozen
miles or more off to the south To say
/ was surprised wouldn't be putin it
half strong enough. At least dozen
ponies had passed that way but a few
days before, and what puzzled me more
than anything else was the fact that
the trail looked as if it had been used
for years. / knew there was a big
Sioux village up to the north on Big
Stone lake, but where this trail could
lead to that l had never struck it be-
fore, scourin' all the country to the
south as I'd done for months, was more
than could guess l thought knew
lnjuns aid Injun ways pretty well, but
this thing stumped me. | dropped
down in the grass to study the matter
over, but couldn't make head nor tail
of 1t. Here's somethin' for you to
learn, old man, said l to myself, and
there's just one way for you to learn
It,. So, takin' the caps off to see that
both barrels of my rifle were well
primed, started south along the trail,
keepin' short outlook on all sides.
hadn't gone three miles when, on
roundin' little hill, l saw faint
smoke risin' out of a fringe of willows
in the valley of little creek about a
mile ahead
''Keepin' carefully under cover, l
crept near enough to see the poles of
three or four tepees peepin' up
through the tops of the willows, and
quite band of ponies browsin' along
the creek. l knew they couldn't be
huntin' buffalo, for all the herds were
off to the south and west of the Big
Muddy at that time of the year, and
when lnjuns go trappin' they don't go
In bands nor on horseback, either.
"There was rocky rise of ground a
few hundred yards up the creek from
their camp that | thought would give
me good outlook, and l crept round
toward it, for had made up my mind
to find what they were up to if
had to wait for dark to reconnoiter
their camp. reached the point, and
was creepin' along between two of
the many lodges of rock that stuck up
few feet above the prairie sod, when
happened to notice that pieces Of the
stone had been Clipped off here and
there. / picked up piece and ex-
amined 1t a minute. Great Scott! /
could hardly believe my eyes; but
when l whipped out my knife and
tried it, the whole thing, the old trail
and all, was as plain as daylight to rue.
I'd found the redskins pipestone
quarry!
THE discovery so upset me that |
came pretty near forgettin that Sioux
camp in the willows just below. I'd
learned from the Winnebagos along
the Mississippi that the quarry was
located somewhere out on these
prairies between the two Big Waters,
and I'd a notion for years that I'd like
to find it and fashion pipe for my
self. There were plenty of Injun make
to be had at almost any post traders;
bnt l never fancied the Injun pipes,
with their long shanks and clumsy
stems, more like the handle of toma.
hawk than pipe stem. | felt pretty
ticklish when fairly realized where
was, and Rugged the ground close
enough, | can tell you, until had
taken a good peep all around. Nary a
red war in sight and i knew they
hadn't seen me from their camp, fol
I'd kept too well under cover Now
that I'd found the rock meant tc
have piece of it for pipe, Injuns OF
no In1uns. So gettin' big ledge be