Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1896-12-12
AFIREWATER SPRING
>ANGUlNARY PLANS OF WILD INDIANS
CLGYERLY FRUSTRATED.

BANG Culinary PLANS OF WILD INDIANS
CLGYERLY FRUSTRATED.
How n smrggler OH Il Government Rcser-
vat:on Laid Gut u Band of Red Devils
With Forty Rod Whisky and Saved the
Lives of Six Prisoners.
A Star man happened to meet man
who had served term or two or three
in various penitentiaries, hadn't served
several he should have served and is
likely to serve more before he is through
with himself. OF course that kind Of IA
man was interesting, and after time,
when he got to talking under the mel
lowing influence of things made for the
purpose, he was more interesting.
"When I was Is years younger than
i am nuw.' nc said. II was out i'll the
mountains Of the west OIL government
reservation, where I could make money
by selling whisky under post prices L
was always on the make, and so l SNUG
gled in dozen or moro gallons and had
them hid in a cave ten miles or SO out
of reach. The cave was Il kind of two
story affair, tiIu upper story being my
secret, and there I had my jugs of liq-
uor hid away, and from there [ carried
it out in smaller quantities for dlstri-
baton. The lower part of the cave was
90 feet below the UPPER chamber, and
in this part was basin Of water, which
bad dripped from the upper part. 1t did
not contain more than agallcn of water,
knew it was easily exhausted, for l
spent many night there, and found
there wasn't water enough 10 boil Eet-
| tie with.
"Well, about the time 1 got in my
second installment of fire juice the In
dams got bad and began creeping in
toward the settlements. 1 thought my
cave was unknown to the Indians as
well as the whites, bat it appears that
it wasn't, and one morning I barely had
time to slip cut of my down stairs room
and get up in the loft before 10 or - Of
the bloodiest looking braves you ever
saw sauatted in front of my residence
and began holding q council of war. In
half an hour or more all of them except
one went away, and he remained to
keep watch.
cat noon three returned with five
white prisoners, and 1T 6 o'clock the rest
of them came in with a girl about 4
years old. Just what they were going
to do was not apparent, and it WASH t
easy for me to find out, because when
came down to point where could see
! 1 was in danger of getting caught my
self. did SEQ enough, though, to show
me that tho five white prisoners, who
wero all old men, hadn't much chance
for their lives, but that the child would
be carried away. To save myself had
been my first thought. and now to save
these poor wretchos was first.
"While I was debating what to do OF
give it up as a bad job one of the In
dams vert to tho spring and got some
| water. That was my cue III a minute
more was back Up in my chamber, just
over tho hcaGwatoTs CT the spring, end,
having turred the drip into another
channel, / started Il stream Of that kill
ut 40 rod whisky down tho shoot and then
slipped back to watch the proceedings.
They were discussing when to kill the
prisorers-I knew enough Indian tc
know that. And when it was about de-
termincd to hold them over day ano
see if they couldn't pick up few more
and have real big time, another oil
them went O, err to the spring for water.
This time it wasn't so much water as il
had been Whatever it was made the
ugly redskin give IL big Ugh! Of delight
and the others went over TO him. Well,
it isn't necessary for me to go into par
ticulars.
"Anybody, even a reporter, knows
what becomes CT al Indian or a dozer
of them when there are unlimited guam
titles of firewater attheir disposal, ant
as soon as saw how the thing was go
ing 7 hurried back and set another jug
to work. Twas q little afraid they nigh
get ugly drunk and kill their prisoners
but evidently they hadn' had much Il
eat that day, and the liquor was getting
in it's work on empty stomachs. What
ever was the cause, before [ had any
idea that it was time fer it the whole
of them was full, and in few minutes
moro they were lying around the little
basin of the spring so drunk they coult
not move hand or foot.
"Then it was my time to play, and
corked up the liquor upstairs for anoth
er day and went down stairs. There
wasn't muoh time for thanks, because
we didn't know when the enemy nigh
make it unpleasant for Us. So told the
prisoners to take care OF the Indians
while 1 took care of the little girl, which
I did by taking her outside of the cave
where she could breathe the free air O
heaven once more. You see, kind O
thought they might like to attend t.
things themselves" he added apologet
ically and stopped.
"And did they?" inquired the report
er as the narrator seemed to think nj
had reached the end of his story.
"Isuppose they did, he replied. "A
least, when l went back to the cave
about month later, when the war hat
simmered down some, found the bodle
Of them Indians almost as well preserved
as if they had been put up in alcohos
that dern whisky of mine was SO powes
full. you know. was always kind o.
sorry hadn It sent the prisoners to TAX
care of the little girl while took care
of them Indians. By cripes, never go