The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-02-07
HAD HIS DUDS OFF
A HAND TO HAND BATTLE WITH 4
NAKED GIANT INDIAN.
Zoe Loestons Close Call When He Was
Saved Only by His Almost Superhuman
Prowess-Death by His Own Hand Rather

| One of the noted characters Of pioneer
| days was Joe Logston, gigantic Ken
tuckian who settled ON the banks of the
| Ohio river not many miles below Cincin
| natl. He was a powerful fellow, 6 feet
| inches in bis moccasins and proportion
steIy stout and muscular, with the agili-
| ty OF a cat and the courage of lion. He
| excelled In many of the feats Of strength
| and skill! that made men conspicuous in
| those days, when such accomplishments
| were requisite and necessity in the fierce
struggle for supremacy over savage man
and snar]ing beast. Logston was great
| hunter, but had achieved some distinction
as an Indian fighter md often boasted
| that it gave him more pleasure to pursue
| the red men than it did to follow the trail
| of wild game
On one occasion the intrepid hunter was
carelessly riding along an established trail
through the dense woods on the back of q
fine horse that he had captured from an
Indian chief when the unexpected crack
Of couple of rifles reused him to a reali
cation of danger One of the bullets scrap
ed bis breast bone. making slight flesh
wound. The other bali struck his horse
In the lcins, and it sank to the ground
with its rider. AS be struggled to release
himself from the fourdering beast two
Indians rushed from their concealment
and dashed toward him with uplif,ed
tomahawks and exultant shouts. But. al
though pnicned to the ground, with one
leg beneath tho dying horse, he managed
to bring his trpsty rifle to bear upon the
approaching savages, and they, well
knowing its unerring aim, halted and
then sought safety behind adjacent trees.
One of the Indians, however, was not
quick enough to place himself entirely be-
hind the protecting tree before the bullet
of the expert white man had pierced his
back, and he fell, with a fractured spine.
Disengaging himself from his horse, the
wary white man regained his feet, and
seeing the other savage reloading his rif1s
sprang toward him, with his gun raised
to strike. The Indian dropped his ramrod
Ia his excitement, but grasping his toma-
hawk he hurled it with ferocious force at
his enemy. Logston lodged the flying
weapon, and dashing forward with uplift-
ed rife struck at his foe. The Indian
leaped aside, and the gun struck sapling
and was shivered to pieces. The disap-
pointed white man then clinched with his
adversary, who was his equal in size and
strength, but his inferior in the science Of
wrestling, and this enabled the hunter to
throw his antagonist to the ground. But
the Indian, being naked, with his body
well oiled, was able to slip from the
clutches Of the exasperated white man and
regain his feet. For nearly an hour these
two giants, each a Goliah, fought like
gladiators in the desperate struggle to
conquer or die.
The terrific contest caused IN increased
flow Of blood from the wound in the breast
of the white nun made by the bullet OF
the Indian, and he began tc feel that his
strength was giving out But he deter
mined to end the combat if possible before
his antagonist could secure a greater ad
vantage over him, and when the Indian
had again crawlcd from his grasp after
being flung to the ground he jumped TO
bis feet, and as his assailant rose up he
dealt him blow with his fist that would
have done credit to a Corbett. The sur
prised savage fell, and as he staggered to
his feet he received a second blow from
the strong arm Of the pugilist!c pioneer
that stretched him half unconscious on
the ground. Before he could rise Logston
leaped upon his PROSTATE form with both
feet and attempted to stamp the breath
from his body. The Indian caught him
by the legs and tripped him to the ground,
and again the combetants engaged in
terrible tussls for victory. The red man
was almost exhausted from tho blows ard
stamping he had been subjected to, and
his adversary succeeded in seizing him by
the throat with clutch that closed his
breathing and rendered his resistance
weaker and weaker until he lapsed into
Inconsistencies.
AS soon as the Indian became insensi-
bic Logston released his hold upon his
throat, and running to where the toma-
hawk lay he picked it up, ard returning
to the side of the savage, who had partly
regained his senses, he Glove his skull
with the weapon, then turned his atten-
ton to the crippled warrior, whose cry OF
despair as he witnessed the death of his
companion had reached the ear of the VIC
to-ious hunter and recalled his presence.
The unfortunate savage had crawled to
a log, against which he had rested and
reloaded his gun, but his broken back
would not permit him to rise, and as he
would raise MS weapon to shoot he would
topple forward ON his face and could only
raise himself again by pushing the gun to
the ground and pressing himself aga inst
it. Seeing that the wounded savage was
almost helpless and unable TO escape and
not caring to run any risk Of being shot
by cripple, the wearied hunter fastened
back 10 the fort and told his story. Gov
ere1 with blood and dirt, his appearance
gave some indication of the severe contest
he had passed through. The following
morning a posse of men from the fort
were piloted by the unfortunate hunter to
the scene of his battle. The corpse of the
Indian giant lay where he had succumbed
to his fate. But the crippled Indian was
nowhere to be seen. A trail was discov.
cred made by the broken backed savage,
who had dragged himself some distance
through the woods, and following its
course the white men came TO where he
lay dead, with his knife sticking up TO
the hilt in mis- breast.
he had first cut with its keen point into
the bark OF the tree, beneath which he
had determined TO die, in rude characters
the story of his fate, so as TO inform pass
ing members of his tribe that he had TAX