The herald., 1895-10-13

| "And there l sat withous gun or
knife unable to move hand or foot or to
utter word while the two Indians ad-
vanced slowly toward the bed, sstiu side
by side. 1t was quite dark in the cabin,
but could make out that they both held
| their hands behind them carrying, as |
supposed. knives and tomahawks.
II was already in half crouching po-
sition, and when the dark forms ca m
| within about ten feet of me nv courage
returned and gathered my feet under
me determined to spring through the
+, narrow space between the heads of the
] giants and the roof end then to make a
/ bold rush for the door.
-" | was clothed only in pair of over
| alls and blue flannel shirt. the blanket
having fallen off the bed when l first
started up. Well, when the supreme M O.
ment came l made a flying leap that
would have graced an acrobat. At the
| same time | found my voice and yelled,
Andy! Andy AndyP as loud as could
| scream. l had not calculated what tn e
consequences would be if my body should
strike the floor after my fight through
| space-you see | was stretched out
spread -eagle fashion full length in tn Q
air. But the two Indians had looked out
for my fall in way that led me to be-
lieve tnat they anticipated my method
| OF escape. For as soon as my form lsft
the bed they parted, stepped back u few
| PAGES and as if by magic, spread out
big, red blanket and held it by the four
| corners directly above the spot to which
| my momentum could carry me.
! l came down finally, but had no sooner
| touched the blanket than it was lowered
| to the floor. In another moment I was
] SO completely enveloEed in its folds tn at
| | could do nothing but wag my head
from side to side, wriggle my toes and
| yell for Andy.
But my captors paid 40 more attention
! to my shouts than if they had been deaf,
| but, to make my hands doubly secure,
they stood me on my feet and wound sew
eral lengths of rawhlde around me,
blanket and all. If l had previously
been in doubt as to the identity of the
| two Indians the doubt vanished when
took note of this, and l felt sure they
were two of the four Sioux 1 had last
| seen eating the remnants of Andy's pup.
| Before the task of securing me was COM
| pleted l thought l heard noise outside.
| SO l let up yelling and listened. At
| first could hear nothing but the distant
screaming of a wildcat. But presently
| the muffled groans of a man and the low
| sobbing of woman could be heard dis
| tinctly.
Poor Andy" I thought. "they have
captured him and he is already having q
taste OF the torture that is in store for
| me.'
| But the woman! Who could she bep
| And where did she come from?
| While such thoughts as these we're driv
| ing me half crazy the Indians finished
their work. After giving a few grunts
of satisfaction they stepped back and
| together, and not having the freedom of
my arms to balance myself 1 tottered
/ moment and then fell heavily to the
| floor, striking on my side.
This accident was no doubt expected
by my captors, for they TOOK no notice of
hut hot tn ha o6
| out toward the north. They returned in
little while and stood near me-one at
my feet and the other at my head.
/ wondered what was going to happen
next, but my anxiety was of short dura-
| tion. l was soon picked up as il had
been log OF wood or stiffened corpse
and carried out into the clearing. Here
l was laid out full length on the grou nd,
where l remained for short time. Then
l was taken to the stump of an old dead
| tree that stood not more than two rods
| northwest OF the cabin.
There | was placed ON my feet with my
back to the stump. The latter was about
eight feet high and something like twen-
ty inches in diameter 1t was hollow all
the way from big hole neal the ground
to the top, and as dry as seasoned plank
| [ thought 1 knew pretty well what was
] coming next, feeling that was doome ed
man, and was not at all surprised when
| more rawhide was produced an was
| strapped to the stump.
| Z | could still hear the groans and cries
of the man ana woman, coming from
| where | could not tell and wondered
whether they should be made to- share
| the torture that fate had in store for me.
| When the last knot was tied in the stout
thongs two other Indians came from the
! rear of the cabin carrying an object
wrapped in blanket like myself.
| Even before that silent form was placed
| n " ciH I pv "
| or alive, of poor Andy. And when our
| eyes met the look of despair he gave me
can never be forgotten. But that look in
| the eyes of the doomed man wa. nothing
| com pared to what l beheld a moment
| later.
! A corner of the blanket that covered the
| lower part of the face of the suffering
| wretch was soon pulled down by one OF
! the red hellions, and l saw that his
tongue had been forced out and sharp
| ened stick about the size and length of a
| lead pencil had been run through il In
| such q manner that it could not be drawn
| into his mouth.
| The blood was trickling from the hor-
| rble wound and as the head of the
| speechless victim dropped forward the
| crimson fluid spattered on the leaves at
| his feet. | tried to speak or scream or TO
make any kind of noise. but my own
| tongue stuck to the roof of my m outh,
| simply paralyzed at the fate in store for
it. In few minutes my half uncon-
scious companion was also bound to the
stump-the rawhide that fasten ed him be-
ing wouni around my body as we'll. AS
soon as this was done the two Indians
who had brought Andy disappeared
around the corner of the cabin. They
soon returned. dragging weeping and
waiting white girl, who at once recog-
nized by her squaw attire as the suppos-