The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-05-24
INDIAN REVENGE.

much over 20 when, in the reckless
spirit of adventure, wo joined a COM
pany of threescOre hardy fellows who
were on tho point Of starting OF up the
Ump-Qu river.
After many days Of tho most difficule
travel we came at length In sight Of an
Indian village, and approaching this
village to within y quarter Of mile we
pitched our permanent camp.
We had been there vvry few min
utes before our redskin nedghbors be-
came aware Of our preeeoce, and imme-
diately they swarmed down upon us,
displaying the most hostile intentions
The sight of our weapons oowed them,
and they saw it. would be best to leave
us alone
The chief Of tho tribe was one Wah-
kama, Il tall, muscular Indian of per-
haps 40. AS the days went by Wnh- kia-
na became quite II frequent visitor. His
favorite lounging place was the log
cabin in which jed and did the cook
ing.
One incoming Jed discovered Wah -lzia-
ma i'll the act of jabbing long, sharp
pointed piece of iron he invariably car
ried i'll his belt into the soup kettle,
hoping no doubt to fish out nice hot
chunk of beef. This was more than my
companion could stand.
Knocking tho iron out Of the redskins
hand with quick blow, jed grabbed
the fellow by tho scruff and the slack
and rushed him out of the cabin, quit
ting him with n push that sent him
sprawlinG upon the ground.
After that Wah-kia-na camo to the
cookhouse no more, and i'll month or
so the incident had dropped completely
from our minds. But not from the In
dams. IL his heart he nurtured ven
geance.
One day we learned that there emp
tied into the Ump-qua certain stream,
the exploration of which promised con
siderable sport This tributary was
known as Smiths river, after III unfu-
tunatc trappcr who had been killed by
the Indians many years before.
When we had arranged cur plans, we
made them known to Wattie Linn, IL
sturdy old backwoodsman, who he'd tax
ell quite fancy to us Youngsters qnd
had more than once proved himself Il
true friend.
| DCAi Z NC 50 DoyS, Sttil w tlllIC
"Why nos:" asked Jed. Eve can
manage tho canoe all right.
'Tain't that. "
"What is it, then? Are you afraid of
| the Indians cutting us uf?'
WAL, yes. that's about it, replied
| Waite.
Just as we We're pushing OF along
came Waite.
$50 yer bound to go, boys?" he said
half rcproachfully. WAL good luck to
yc But look hyar, want yc to promise
me something. Guess it'll take We
three days to get up TO Smiths, thar
bein frcshct in the river, but day
ought to fetch yc back slick us grease
Now, give me yer word, boys, TO bc
back hyar by five days at the latest
that is, if yc kin. -
We promised the old follow and dip
ped our paddles, inpatient to be off.
Good, lads, and now look hyar If so
be as You meet trouble and hcv to quit
the canoe and tramp homo mako tracks
down the right bank of the river the
right bank, do you hoer?"
Nothing particular happened until the
afternoon of the third day. We were
ripping along very quietly when sud
denly Jed reached over the side of the
canoe and fishcd something out OF the
water. 1t proved to be small closely
woven Indian basket.
That's bad, jed" / exclaimed.
"Surc as guns theirs redskins ahead of
| us -
! WED have met the bcggars if they
had come down stream; so they must
have gone up" said /. whats to be
| done, jedi"
"Donel Go ahead and trust i'll Provi-
dcncc," replied Jed. They may be
friendly or they may not. Anyhow
we've got our rifles
What's that yondcr?" cried Jed,
| pointing to IL hill little distance ahead
Its sloping side was dotted with what
| looked to be huts We rested on our
| paddles and gazod upon the scene with
| silent anxiety.
We found the cause of our wonder to
be an old Indian burying ground. Tho
hutlikc risings were simply hillocks of
earth, each of which marked the resting
place of IL warrior
Padding mile or two farther along,
we campcd for the night
AS soon us it was light enough we
started TO mount to the top of what we
meant to be our long toboggan slide
back to Ump-qua. 1t was the worst
| rapid we had yet encountered. After
| trying it several ways without success
we had to resort to tic towing line.
| We dragged our little craft up through
| the boiling currcnt yard by yard 1t
| may have been within dozen feet of