Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1895-11-14


mon to human nature. write Alice c.
Fisher in an article entitled Hunting
Customs Of the Omahas" in the Cen
fury. The following well-authenticat-
ed adventure took place in the last CEN
fury. Two brothers loved the same
woman. She favored the younger, but
by some means the elder took her to
wife. They were married in the fall
of the year, and winter passed by, and
one day in spring the brothers went
forth to hunt together. Walking near
the breaks Of the Clearwater, the elder
stopped to look over the edge of the
canyon, where, a thousand feet below,
the river glistened in the morning sun.
Half way down the rocky wall upon
ledge that jutted out from the sheer
face of the prcaipice. he saw a nest of
young eagles. He called TO his brother.
who returned. and looked down upon
! the nest. Il know what | will do he
! said; Il will make a rope
SO the two set to work. They
stripped the bark from young willows,
and plated it into rope strong
enough to hold man. This done, they
! threw one end over the percipice to see
if it was long enough to reach the nest:
but it fell far short. Then they worked
on, lengthening the rope until it finally
rested upon the ledge They agreed
! that one was to let the other down to
secure the eagles. The elder tied the
rope about his body and the younger
lowered him carefully until his feet
were we'll on the ledge. AS he walked
along toward the nest he saw the rope
suddenly tossed over the cliff instinct
lively he steadied himself. caught the
rope, and pulled it in. He was alone,
with precipice above and precipice
below. on a narrow ledge, with no liv-
ing thing but himself and the half
grown engles. BY and by the old
eagles returned. and seeing the in
truder, were inclined to be hostile; but
the man was careful not to anger them,
and when they went away again he Sc
cured part of the game they had
brought to their young.
Days wore on, and the mans life
was sustained by the food the old eagles
brought: but his distress from thirst
was great, so he cleared out the little
holloWs in the rock to catch the rain,
covering them carefully to prevent
evaporation. The young eagles became
accustomed to his companionship and
the touch of his hand; but by and by
the time came when they were ready
to fly. and death looked the lonely man
in the face. He resolved to make an
effort to reach the ground. He had
hidden his rope in a crevice in the rock
to keep it from drying; he now tied it
firmly about his body, fastening each
end strongly to an eagle. leaving suffi-
cent length between the birds and
himself to give full play for their wings.
He reasoned that if the eagles were not
able TO fly with his weight. they would
break his fall by their endeavors to
save themselves. At all events. it was
death to remain upon the ledge after
they had gone. When all was ready,
with his bow and culver fastened upon
his back. he pushed the wondering
eagles off their nest over the cliff, and
they bore their strange burden down
down the canyon. and finally. weary
with their enforced flight. alighted
lpon a tree at the bottom. The man
took feather from each of his pre-
servers and released them; then he
swung himself down through the
branches to the ground. and, taking the
shortest trail to his home. came upon
his brother and his wife sitting to-
gether outside the tent. 1t took but a
moment to send an arrow through the
unsuspecting man who had so cruell!
betrayed him; then. confronting the
woman in intensity of hope he asked
Are you glad have come" She was
silent, but her face told him the truth
and second arrow pierced her heart
Her body fell over the PROSTATE form
of the younger brother before any ont
in camp realized that he who had Ions
been given up as dead had returned
to avenge his grievOus wrongs.