Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1895-06-24

would interfere with their farming OBJ
erations. If tree grows up near them,
they will cut off every one of it's leaves
in early spring. They work only in the
cool part of the day and when it is cloudy.
About the first of December they retire
into their habitations and appear to un-
dergo sort of Information. Doubtless
their stores of grain serve to provide
them with food during this period. In
early spring, when it is sunny and warm,
they come out and bunch themselves in
balls as big as a mans fist. When fairly
season, they start in busily to clean up
the clearing, removing all refuse and
making everything ready for the planting.
Their favorite cultivated plant is the
familiar buffalo grass.
Vic.
Capt. Charles A. Curtis, U. S. A.,
whose story entitled Captured by the
Navajos" was published in Harper's
Young People a little more than a year
ago, and who is the author of ION an
Arizona Trail" which appears in the
Easter Vacation Number of the same
periodical, gives Tin recent letter to
the EDITOR the following account of Vic,
the dog that played an important part
in the earlier story:
''The day before I started Miss Vic
toriana - sent me a beautiful setter
shine, of the Fifteenth infantry, sta
toned at Fort Sheridan. The setter was
about six months old. | named her Vic
toriana in my own inner consciousness,
but called her Vic. By the last name
only was she known to my friends and
associates.
Il camped in deep valley-fourteen
by eight miles-on a Navajo trail, and
fhQrQ /
occupying sixteen little log cabins. Three
hundred Navajos attacked me the day
after my arrival but, although | had
but forty-fv men, | came out of the
fight best fellow. / had frequent other
encounters. | spent much time in edu-
eating Vic. She was taught to bring
my slippers when she saw me remove
my boots, shut door if shivered, carry
messages to the first sergeant, my serv-
ant and the cook, lead my horse from
the stable to the cabin and do many
other things. practiced her at long dis
tances, and succeeded in sending her
from a valley where I was fishing to
camp, a distance of six miles.
"Once / was caught in a cabin with a
sergeant by twenty-five Navajos. The
house was so situated that we could
successfully defend ourselves from the
windows and keep the Indians away.
At last they took a log of four feet
diameter and, lying behind it, rolled it
towards us. 1t was a movable breast
work. When | found that we were sure
to be taken and killed after the Indian
manner, | sent Vic nine miles to the val
ley for aid.
"The rolling Of the log was impeded by
stones in its path, and the Indians re-
moved them by digging under the log and
letting them down below the surface.
This made long delay. Vic. returned
with message that detail of ten men
was on the way to our rescue. She car
ried my note and brought back one-eight-
cen miles in all-in three hours. The
men came just in time to save our scalps.
For this Vic was presented with a
silver collar by the company. Ten silver
dollars were put in it, and as much more
paid for making it.
''All the other stories which have writ
ten of her are inventions. She accom-
Xuaca Xella desert. She sat on a balsa
which I padded on the Colorado river.
She accompanied me when I went to
New York on leave in 1866. She died
of old age in 1873. She was the mother
of but one litter of puppies.
II have already mentioned her mark
ings in my stories, but have omitted one
On her left foreshoulder she had a mark
in brown hair on the white that looked
like capital letter U. That was a sug-
gestion to me. All government stock is
always branded on the left foreshoulder
with U. S. With piece of caustic I
traced out semblance Of those letters on
Vic'S shoulder. By not making the solu-
ton too strong the letters took the same
tinge of the liver-colored spots and mot
ties on her body. I never allowed them
to fade, and most persons thought them
birthmark If questioned, always told
how they were made"