The herald., 1895-10-13
A LIVELY TILT WITH THE SIOUX BY NIGHT
BY COLONEL II. sanford SMITH

! A snow storm had besn raging in the
Sierras since dawn. The train was
wedged tightly between two huge drifts
with no imm ediate prospects of escape
or relief.
At dark the situation being unchanged
half a dozen passengers adjourned to the
smoking rooms of the Pullman for the
purpose of soothing their nerves by
quiet smoke and to while away the weary
hours by quoting facts and fiction.
A 2O0-pouud travelling man headed the
class and opened the ball by telling a
funny story about an old maid discover
ing O ghost in a sleeping car. When the
applause which followed this recital had
died away all eyes were turned to the
tall, gray, whiskered gentleman who sat
next TO the drummer.
II would much prefer to come into the
game later, gentlemen" said the passeI-
ger with the patriarchal beard "as 1 am
afraid 1 don't hold hand worth the
ante"
There was no reply to his, but the
drum mer pointed the charred end OF a
match, with which he had Just kindled
an embryo volcano in his half consumed
cigar, at the speaker. and nodded b is head
suggestively.
Every we'll, then, twas the answer to this
pantomimic request to proceed. 'When L
was about 16 l went to Colorado on a
prospecting tour. with an old miner by
the name of Andy Borden. We built
log cabin in wooded gulch in locality
whore there were quite a number of other
prospectors. We spent very little time
at home, as we called our rude abode.
but made daily excursions into the hills
early in the morning and seldom return
ing until after dark.
"Ths Indians had not been very trou-
blesome that summer, but one evening
about dusk Andy and | acclden tally
stumbled into camp of six Sio ux bucks
and young squaw. Before we could get
our pockeI guns into position they fired
on US at close range.
lone bullet singed Andy on tho neck,
Just below the ear, and two others went
through the right sleeve of my shirt.
We returned the fire and downed two,
but the remaining four, instead of doing
any more shooting, grabbed up the blan-
kets on which the girl had been sitting
and made wild rush for Us.
l couldn't swear exactly how it hap
pened. and am half-ashamed to own up
to 1T, but the first thing we knew we were
both tangled up in those blankets, dis
armed ana tied hand and foot. IG was
pitch dark by that time, and as soon as
we were securely bound and wrapped like
mummies our captors picked us up bodily
and carried us to small sapling and
lashed US fast to it with rawhide larlats.
Then they left us and went back to the
fire about fifty feet away.
There they caught and killed Andy's
spotted pup which was with US and in a
the four bucks-the other two were evil
IDENTIFY dead-and the girl had disap-
pgared
While the banquet, which was grealy
enlivened by canteen of whisky taken
from Andy's pocket, was at its height.
the squaw crept up behind us and cut
the thongs from our hanos and feet and
those around our waists so quickly that
we hardly knew what was going on before
we found ourselves free. This long scar,
gentlemen, on the back of my hand is
the result OF wound made by slip OF
that dusky maiden's knife. The cut was
not very deep one, however, and did
though it bled freely for an hour or so.
We only got glimspe of our brave res
cuer, for she darted back in to the bushes
as soon as she had done slashing. With
out hunting her up to thank her or pr
pose marriage according to the old Gus
tom of liberated prisoners under similar
circum stances. we made a bee line for
home as fast as our legs could, carry us.
The cabin was about ten miles away. but
we reached it before midnight, and after
eating some cold ham and bread and
bandaging my hand, went to bed.
We had little fear of being further
molested by the reds, having concluded
that they were on their way to join u
large band fifty miles up the country,
and that they would get as far from the
mining camps as possible when they had
sobered up enough to travel. After talk
ing this over fol few minutes we went
to sleep, for we were about played out,
can tell you.
Nothing very startling about this. you
may think, gentlemen, and if so you are
correct. But now comes the strangest and
the main part of my story. fter l mad
been asleep foe some time l distinctly
heard the breaking of twig outside the
cabin wall, against which was lying. l
sat bolt upright at once and reached out
my hand to arouse Andy, who had been
snoring way on the front side of the bed
when dozsd off. But he was not there.
"Thinking he might have gone outside
I turned my face toward the door which
was open. l was on the point of calling
out when two stealthy, creeping shadows
began to show on the little patch Of
clearing in front of the cabin where the
rays Of the moon made everything s
plain as day.
"And while l looked the shadows grew
nearer and neareer, keeping so close to-
gether that could have sworn they were
made by one man with two heads, had
it not been for streak of moonlig ht
that showed itself between them now and
then.
"In about minute the doorway was
darkened by two OF the biggest savages,
that ever walked the earth. The log over
the door was nearly seven feet from the
ground, gentlemen. put. as a living
man. those overgrown devils had to stoop
to get under it,