St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-07-18

the path followed shelf u rock rome
the side Of precipice. we came to tn
place where the mountain lion had over
taken the grizzly. There had been I
fight and no mistake. There were bloos
and hair and other marks of fferc'
struggle, showing that business had be
gun promptly aftr they got together
But neither bear nor lion was to b
seen, and we coald end no traces o
either leading frosa the place, although
we searched for them forward and bacl
along the trail. Antonio went to tn
edge Of the precipice, which fell shee
for full 200 feet. He steadied himsel
by scrub oak tree that grew out from
the brink and looked down.
There they be, both those fellows,
he said. They tumble of, and boil
get killed.
Antonio stepped back to give me |
chance to see. and with him holding
me fast by my belt clutched the tire
trunk and looked down the dizzy depth
At the foot Of the cliff both animal
were lying still; the bear q shapeles
heap, the lion stretched on his side, an,
both dead. Sintago was safe from them
but where was he? for we had not ono
come in sight Of him. We were hungry
for it was now afternoon, and we hat
eaten the last morsel Of bread and bacol
we had brought from the station Of
starting out in the morning. We hat
to stop an hour to let the horses res
and feed, and then we took the trai
again, for the specimens must be re
covered and we must follow whereve
SintagO chose to lead. I thought o
the wagons numbering along toward Sill
yer City and the teamsters' comfortable
dinner. and It did not help my feeling
to think Of what the mine owners would
say when the wagons came in withou
me or the specimens.
"But soon there was something clOsel
at hand to think of. had fallen littl'
behind Antonio. and when 1 came NJ
with him he was looking very serious
He pointed to the path. and there across
It was the trail of Is or 20 ponies tina
had passed within an hour, going L
the south. The depth Of the hoof prints
and the way they had travelled in single
file showed that they had carried lndial
riders.
"'Los Apaches.' said Antonio, look
ing fearfully around, and both of III
clutched our firearms as il the Indian!
were upon us. But they were not il
sight, and they had been going in I
hurry, for not one of them had turnet
to follow Sintago's tracks. which mus
have been fresh when they passed. VI
went on, keeping a sharp lookout, TO
when the Apaches are out there is M
safe place for any white man about thu
kurro mountains. We hurried on, bu
still could see no sight of Sintago. L
WINS plain that he knew where he wa!
going, though we didn't. 1t might bs
to Silver City, or some Mexican plazeta;
it might be an Indian camp or robber'i
den in the mountains. At last, as ths
sun was going down behind the peaks
we saw from the top Of a rise the burrt
far ahead, just entering = narrow can
yon. We set spurs to our horses, tool
the trail down the long steep canyon
on the run, and came out upon the plaiI
with the mountains ell behind US
Ahead. disappearing like a shadow IL
the twilight, was Sintago, still carry
ing his pack and heading straight fol
Silver City, whose lights were CLEAN
ing Ave or six miles away.
.sGlad enough we were to see thos'
lights. and our horses at sightof then
Iuickened their pace. We soon over
took Sintago moving smartly along a
half trot, looking none the worse TO
wear, though he had been carrying hi
pack for 36 hours through a mountain
country. We kept him ahead of us, and
In another hour, we all halted in front o
the Legal Tender corral in Silver Cit,
with the wagons not due until the mex
day at noon.
I'VE put our animals in the CORA
and went to the hotel, taking the sack,
of specimens with us. That evening
met the mine owners and the syndicat,
man at Porter & CrawfOrd's store, will
the specimen ores to exhibit, a day
ahead of time. and the deal was mad,
then and there. Then I went to tn,
hotel and to bed, for was very tired
At three o'clock in the morning wa.
awakened by the landlord, bringing
news. ss.sssi 49,
ga courier had just come over ths
stage TRAIL he said, and he says tn,
Apaches jumped your wagon outfit il
TETON Gulch last evening. They killed
sill the transfers, ran the stock of, and
burned the wagons. The sheriff is get
ting up party to 60 out and get the
bodies at daylight. and I thought you'd
like to 60 along.
II went ont with the party to the
scene of the massacre. There were the
mutilated bodies of the transfers ".
ing as they had fallen. by the charred
wheels Of the wagons. should have
been lying there with them had it not
been for Sintago's strange fancy fol-
. trip over the mountains. which kept
me from going along with the wagons
The one break in his good record that
caused me so much anxiety and trouble
had been the means of saving my life. =