Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-05-01

tne INDIANS c0uld not SET the mouse on
fire, even when they had broken into
the first floor, for in the whole build
ling, as I have mentioned already, not
piece of wood had been employed.
/ now first carried Toms dead body
up stairs, that the redskins, when they
broke in, might not see we had suffer-
ed losses. Then, before I withdrew
upstairs myself, I looked about me
everywhere, when suddenly my glance
fell upon little keg of whisky stand
ing against the wall. My first thought
was to knock in the bottom of the keg
and let its contents run out, for I
knew that the Indians, if liquor fell
into their hands, would do 10 times
more mischief Then, at the last mo-
ment, a thought crossed my brain that
made me tremble, for it opened to me
o hope where death and destruction
threatened US.
l possessed a quantity of mixed
medicine for external use on cattle,
which contained very dangerous
poison. Only a short time before a
cowboy had swallowed little of the
mixture, mistaking it for whiskey,
and an hour later was dead man.
I remembered it now and set to
work at once. In five minutes I
had removed the bung, poured the
whole mixture into the keg and
bunged it up again carefully. Then
I rolled it few times to and fro,
to mix the contents we'll, and also
placed, for the convenience of the
redskins, several little cans near it.
Well, to make the matter short,
| it had grown dark, and my wife
and Maria and myself kept watch
at the loop holes commanding the
stairs. On q sudden, without any
indication of an attack, the door
was burst in with log-a frightful
crash, and the furious Indians rushed
yelling into the ground floor. They
had soon found out our place of
refuge; but, as they began to climb
the stairs, one of them received a
bullet in his heart, and the rest,
intimidated, shrunk back. Temporal
rily they contented themselves now
with stealing and destroying what
ever fell into their hands On the
ground floor. They had managed
to procure light, and in a few
minutes I heard from their wild
shouts that they had discovered the
keg of whisky.
Then arose perfect Pandemonium {;
they had evidently come to blows over
the whisky. had no fear that the
peculiar taste of the same would keep
them from drinking the stuff. Stom-
achs that stand such a hellish drink as
is usually sold to the Indians would
not refuse the most disgusting mixture.
For about an hour the feast lasted,
with laughter and savage cries, even
with an occasional wild dance. Mean
while, with anxions hearts, we stood on
the watch, as we still feared that the
savages might, in their intoxication, at
tempt reckless attack. In that case
we could not protect ourselves against
them long, and then all was over with
US.
But after another half hour it grew
gradually still, and at last complete
quiet reigned. We continued to keep
watch until daybreak, as we feared
stratagem on the part ofthe red devils.
As it became lighter we looked out
through the loop holes. Two of the
redskins lay dead in the yard in front
of the house. After some hesitation 1
ventured cautiously down stairs to see
what had become ofour foes. My pre-
caution, however, proved unnecessary.
All lay stretched out on the ground
13 men altogether-dead as door nail.
| 1t was indeed hairbreadth escape for
US Clipper.