The Opelousas courier., 1895-09-14

didn't know what you might do te
free American citizens when yor
cotched 'em on your own side. So We
held a sort Of council right thar, an
Buckskin Charley spoke up an seq:
Boys, we'd best git rid of that val
ler jacket fust thing
THAT riled us up wuss nor skunks,
an Bronco Jack SEE:
"'By jingo! We amt a-goin' to spill
no good whisky. We kin jist hide tlis
pizen in them willers down by tht1
erik, IN If the sojers finds it, whyswtf
kin sw'ar we didn't know noting
erbout it. But, less their noses is
mighty sharp, they won't find it, an
when they go way beat, we'll be all
hunky dory.'
"Waal, the hull crowd felt that way.
We didn't want to waste stuff that war
with ten beaver skins a g~allon-sich
q thing wal wicked! So we carried
the twenty kegs out IN SGT 'em Gown
among some thick bushes under the
bank. Then we felt chock full of in
nerence an resoomed our game, victim.
comfortable ez could be. fur You fell
lers to diskiver the fort, which war
jam up teetotal now.
''Bimeby we heared the Crees at it
agin-a-hollerin' an yellin' nor
ever. Sqnar'-toed Jimmy scooted out
to see what wartup, an when he got
back he obsarved, short an snappy ez
a bob-tailed cat:
"'Boys, them red devils has found
the lickery
''That scaSt us bad. for we knowed
| the wild cusses war sure to git ugly.
So we locked the gates loaded Up all
our guns an watched outcn the loop
holes.
Thar wal erbout a hundred Iniuns
an a hundred gallons of whisky,
which, considerin' it's natur, war
enough to lay out any eight hundred
two-legged critte1! an in less than a
half hour the reds war all fghtin'
drunk, a-bellowin' an roarin' like
butler bulls in stampin' time. But be-
fore another halt hour had gone by,
every mothers son of 'em-oId Piney
an" all a-lSin' on the ground.
stiffer'n SO many logs. Then Long
Dave-he's a preacher now-kiHd Of
meditatin', remarked:
This ere arn't a bad time to trade
fur them ponies
Reckon not seq half a dozen on us
to onct.
80 we got the cayuses in right off.
We didn't leave one of the animiles,
cause the reds mightn't like the trade
when mornin' come; an if they was
afoot they couldn't foller us, fur we
warn't goin' to stop thar to argoo the
pint. Anyhow, it var a real honest
swap. So we loaded the packs up in
no time an struck out fur the Sweet
Grass hills long before daylight.
Next day, bein' guided by the on
grateful I~njuns, You chaps did find
Whoop Up, a lot of mighty sick
warriors on what whisky war left.
The redskins must have given us Il bad
name, likely; fur a squad of perleece
sot right out on our trail; but our crit
tiers bein' Observation-Disclosures war
eighty of EN-, besides the nineteen we
war ridin'-we got to the bound'ry
line fust.
Don't you rek'lect when YOU come
up we. war sittin' round that pile of
stones on Milk river, iist inside of Mon
tana. a-pokin' fun at you? But you
come one foot on Uncle Sans
ranch, an had to bid us a sorrerful
adoo. 1t trooly war a gelorious time!
II amt bearin' no malice 'gainst the
redcoats. l s'pose they've got to airn
ther grub. But it war low-down mean
on EN- to hold up Tom Higgins when
he war a-comin' back from Benton ez
innocent an unsuspectin' ez a tender
foot Chinee. An then to spill out all
that whisky he had along war owda-
foolish. Why. you might have
gone in partners with Tom an
made a little forth outen it.! But
is too bull-headed for any
With which sage remark
Pete turned away in disgust
and crawled into his bunk again. He
was at this time in durance vile at
Fort Walsh, having been at last cap
tured and convicted of bringing spir-
ltuous liquors into the northwest ter
-itories of Canada, where, after twenty
years of police supervision, it is now
difficult to get a drink OF
whisky than in a Kansas drug store.
Some OF these eld-time whisky
did really reform, however,
became honest citizens. One is
low a member of the Manitoba 1egis-
allure, and several others are respect
bile business men in Montana; but all,
N occasion, enjoy telling of that
'ventful night at Whoop Up when Joe
Johnson became SO suddenly pious on
he strength of 1.-THE worlds Dustin
Y. Ledger.