The Worthington advance., 1895-03-14


the river
The night passed without seeing or
hearing any ything to cause us anxiety,
and at the first streak of dawn we ate
hasty breakfast and proceeded to
drop quietly down stream, always
keeping in the shadow of the branches
as much as possible and never round
ing point before scanning carefully
the stretch of river ahead of us. Con-
siderable fog hung about the edges of
the water and helped materially to
conceal our movements.
At one of the points the man in the
bow went ashore to peer ahead. He
hastily returned with the information
that the party we were in search OF
was at that moment not a quarter of a
mile from us on the same side of the
river, making his morning fire.
This was pleasing news, for it is
much more satisfactory to. hunt for a
person you see than for person you
do not see.
We had now only to go ashore, pull
the canoe up on the beach, lie down on
the point watch his movements and
devise a way to capture him.
The handouts and leg chains were
oiled and worked several times to in
sure rapidity in swapping them on.
She-ma-gan continued to crouch over
the new-made fire, evidently warming
himself before going to his fish net.
This we judged was his intention, as
we saw no pot on the fire for his break.
fast.
From our position we could command
his every movement; and with five
pairs of eyes watching, nothing es-
capped us.
One thing in our favor was, he had
evidently made away with his dogs, or
they would have scented us ere now,
as the light wind that was gradually
clearing away the tog came from down
the river and directly from our place
of conccalment to his camp.
Possibly part Of his insanity was that
he imagined the dogs were human be-
ings and had killed and eaten them.
Quite suddenly, asif the thought had
at that very moment just entered his
brain. he got up, went down to the
beach, turned over his canoe, pushed it
out into the water, got in and padded
down stream.
Nothing could have happened more
opportuncly for us than this move on
his part, for he had not taken his gun
or even an AK. We saw him enter the
canoe with absolutely nothing but his
paddle.
Two things we were sure of by his
I. I,, 1,n hot l<
had gone to visit his net for something
to breakfast on: and second. the net
was not far away. And it beEooved us
to be up and doing.
| at once detailed one man to re-
main at the canoe and await the signal
to paddle down to us; with the others
of the party 1 hurried through the
bush to She-ma-gan S camp.
The distance from the waters edge
to the brow Of the river bank upon
which the camp was pitched was fully
thirty yards, and on the upper side of
the beaten path, over which he went
to and fro to the beach, was clump of
stunted trees and willows, carried
about halfway over the sands by a
spring landslide.
Here placed two of my men, with
instructions to move only after he had
passed their ambush and was on the
point of clambering the crest of the
hill; at that moment he would be with
in arms length of us above.
1t appeared to me that we had only
been very few minutes in conceal
ment when our man hove in sight
around the point below us, and came
padding up to his landing-place, un-
aware of the presence of those waiting
to receive him.
My man and were lying, one on
each side of the path, on top of the
hill, we'll hidden in the wild tea and
blueberry shrubs. We allowed She
ma-gan to he almost over us when we
sprang up He made a motion to turn
and flee, but the men from the land
slide cache were already behind him.
To secure him between us was the
work of moment. Poor fellow! He
looked at us with such a hopeless ex-
preston when the handouts were ad-
justed; but he made no effort to resist.
A single pistol-shot was fred to
DI1uS uOW IL Vic CduOt, dLlll We 1udICllCO
our man Ito the camp, where he was
placed on log, with man on each
side to guard him.
On looking about, evidence was not
wanting to confirm the story of ca nni-
balism, for we saw the skull-bones of
his victims hung up on a pole in the
same way the Indians do those of the
bear; the larger bones Of the limbs
were picked clean and hid away in a.
roll of birch-barl.
These several bones we collected
carefully and buried on clear knoll, a
short distance from the scene of his
orgies. On the grave we piled heavy
stones, both to mark the place as well
as to keep animals from digging down.
Everything of any value, such as his
gun, traps and q bundle Of furs, was
carried down to the beach and placed
in our canoe. His canoe and paddle
were brought up and placed on top of
the lodge. And after we were all as
sembled on the sands, prior to our de-
Dartrre. one of the men was sent ha cl5