The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1896-11-27


N~W with pleasant mem
cries TO the many.
Louis was q good.for-nothing, as even
those who loved him had 10 acknowl-
edge. He was @ wanderer of tho
wanderersi here to-day, away to-
morrow, ever on the move; tripping,
trading, driving dogs, fishing, hunt.
ing, freighting, trapping, a handy man
IN camp in the woods, in boat or
canoe, or on the plains, at home
everywhere. a fearless rider, a skilful
dog driver, a trusty guide, an expert
gambler, an iuimitable raconteur, a
rars good fiddler, and withall iovial
poor soul whose abundant good quail
tiles outnumbered the bad In his
oddly equipped personality. The men
pretended to despise him when re-
moved from the influence Of his ire
sistible good humor, the women
scolded and petted him by turns, the
girls admired hlm in secret, and the
children worshiped him. The hero of
many an unenviable exploit-of duties
neglected or promises forgotten, but
never guilty Of the meanness Of theft
or criminal untruth-there came a
day when Louis found himself in sad
disgrace.
He had joined the autumn brigade
of buffalo hunters that started west.
ward from the Red River every mid,
summer, and-iust as their hope oil
securing a winters supply Of meat and
a rich booty of robes was on the point
of fruition-had committed an act
which, in its very thoughtlessness,
transcribed all his past sins and
called for condign punishment.
The laws of the half-breed hunters
of the plains were contained in ar
unwritten code, whose 'shalt not's'
were few and easy of comprehension
but their observance was vigorously
enforced, and punishment for theil
lnfraction was immediate and severe
The penalty varied with the degree o
guilt, and ranged from the loss of thu
offenders saddle, bride or coat, t.
logging, and, in extreme cases, ban
ishment from the brigade. n Louis
crime fell within the last category.
One evening the scouts reported
great herd of buffalo three hour
ahead OF the advancing brigade. CAM
was made at once, sentries posted, ant
strict silence enjoined upon all. Thon
after long hours OF nervous alertness
the hunters sped swiftly and SILENT,
away before dawn, to the might,
d ed of slaughter, which was to mari
the birth of the new day. The rider
spread out in long line to right an,
left as they advanced, and at lengtl
crested the summit OF range of 10y
living hills that bounded one side O
the valley in which the unsuspectin
prey we're grazing peacefully, Fror
the height they overlooked broa
depression whose further limit of en-
circling hills was already made glol
ious by the opalescent tints of tia
rising sun; beneath them foated
cloud of quiyering, undulating, snow
mist that hid the valleys bottom an
shut from their view the thousands {
Win ChbblOS WuOSO PAVsOASO Haol hOFOl
theless. made certain by the muf1e
shorts and low believing that reache
/, their ears through the evanescent cul
tain.
= A sign from Pierre Delorme, th
captain, brought the line to halt
the hunters made hasty preparation
for the grand charge -loosening thei
powder horns, filing their mouth
with bullets, and adjusting cincht
and saddles-all eyes were fixed 0
Pierre, whose signal "Ho!" should ST
them charging madly on the herd. A
the supreme moment an eagle cam
soaring over the valley, Louis's gu
rang out, and the bird tumbled,
disheYelled bulk, through the stsrtle
air. In IN instant the distant hill
4 tops were black with fleeing butfaloe
Up from the mist they rose like Sc
monsters from the waves, aud were 0
over the divide, the earth Eibratin
beneath the shock of the myria
hoofs. The hunters charged, but to
late: all that was left for their bullet