The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-08-13

piSln view. Presently single lnulans
a Piegan, showed up in front of the
opening. He was in war paint and
I there was dog at his heels. Pretty soon
the dog scented the Crees and began
growing and barking. The Piegan
looked up, glanced moment about him,
and then instantly entered the cave.
In about ten seconds another Piegan
came around the rocks and also went
in; then another and another and an
other, there being but few seconds be-
tween them. The Crees lay silently in
the bushes watching and counting UNI
til upward of so Piegans had come
around the rocks and gone into the
cave. and still they kept coming. What
reemed remarkable was the fact that all
these Indians were to ell appearances
exactly the same size, were dressed and
painted alike, each carried Winches-
ter rifle. and, most remarkable of all,
earh one seemed a little lame in the
left foot, limping slightly.
'They were a gaudy crowd, and the
Crees counted 20 of them. The super
stitious Crees naturally concluded that
the evil spirit had something to do with
it. for there was no doubt that there
were 10 Piegan Indians on the island
who were exactly alike.
$50 thoroughly were they filled with
the idea that the devil was mixed up
with the mystery that even when rein
fercements arrived, which was in few
hours. they were reluctant to attack the
island. That night one Cree, less su-
rerstitious than the rest, crossed over
on the ice to Investigate. On approach
ing the supposed cave he was surprised
to find IL was no cave at all. but simply
an opening leading some ten feet into
the rock. where It made turn and came
on. on the other side 1t required but
glance to understand what had
seemed SO mysterious before. There
was but the remnant Of single eemp-
fire, the ponies were gone and not an
Indian was In sight. The apparent
presence of 90 other warriors was
sharp trick On the part Of the Piegan
warrior to deceive his enemies and gain
time for his escape, which he accom-
plished In good shape
while II Is true that most red men
are ridiculously superstitious and
others again so rtolid and Indifferent
that you might enter their presence
with brass band, throw handsprings
before them, smile, weep. have convul-
sions or do some other outrageous
thing, and yet they will sit and look at
you with a cold. reservettglance and
eye, still there are some
who have the bump Of humor pretty
well developed. and are intense wags in
their own way. The trader at Fort
on The upper Missouri, caught
q Tartar one day.
"A Rec Indian had given him consid-
erable annoyance by hanging around
the store In a hslf-drunken condition,
and was told that In case ke was seen
again with bottle it would be taken
from him and thrown into the fire. A
few days afterward the Indian APP
peared with a pint flask in his blanket,
as usual The trader was as good as his
word, and demanded the bottle, which
was given up without protest, and then
the redskins darted for the door. The
trader threw the flask into the stove,
when bang! went the stove and out
came the windows, the trader following.
Had he stopped to investigate before
throwing he would have found the flask
contained gunpowder. not whisky.
Some Of Coxey's foot tourists In
eastern Montana were badly sold last
spring by mischievous Crow Indian,
who moved sign on the road to Bill
lipgs reading Six miles to Billings
and stuck it up In strange place. The
weary commonwcalers travelled six days
md Ave nights before they reached the
town."3Fort Sill Cor. Buffalo Express.