The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-06-07

z = T-IC
occasionally in splitting trees, were in
serted in the barrel with ends project.
ing between the packs which covered
and concealed the explosive and its
packing Of rock.
THE STRATAGEM
In the mean time. as it was believed
that ss)ies were on the watch the
Da.esu was loaded in the regular way
and again in the night the positions OF
the TWO boats were exchanged and the
hatboat moored III front of the station
Al noon the next day. with BATHS and
four men aboard and its three-cornered
sail set, the ifat5oat, trailing a light
skiiT at the stern, set out on its dan
gerous errand.
The water was high, the current
swift, and, as the wind MAS fairly
favorable, the boat made good prog
ress, despite its clumsy build. 1t was
I loaded nearly TO the waters edge. and
from the shore. piled as il was with the
I light and spurious bales, no eye could
have detected the build of the craft
! By shutdown the boat was many miles
/ below the hiockhouse. and now its
crew, With BATHS at the steering oar,
keenly watched the wooded shores and
the sweep of the river in front
BATHS believed the attack would
come that night while passing the
NC4iSC DtAt VI ltItlDCI WHICH SIIelC0cU
for fifty miles or more along the south
side of the river. Purposely, he ran the
boat as close in along that bank as the
waters OF the current would permit.
The men ate supper of 'doughboys'
hard, dry biscuits and dried venison.
The night wore on with all hands at
the oars and eyes strained with watch
ing. The mouth OF the Jim river was
passed, morning close at hand, the Big
Stony n mr. 70 no,
many miles in advance, and no sign Of
the pirates. The men at the oars,
weary and sleepy, wanted to run the
fiatboat ashore, take a rest and go
back. They expressed the belief that
Harke and his men were a thousand
miles away, not nearer than the yell
lowstone at least, and finally, in dis
gust at the fruitless journey. shipped
their oars and threw themselves upon
their blankets spread upon the bales.
BATHS alone stubbornly remained at
his post. He held the sailrope in one
hand and the steering oar in the other.
The wind had gone down and the boat
fioated idly. drifting along the shore,
almost within the shadows of the great
elrns and cottonwoods which threw into
deep gloom every curve and point of
the bank.
THE ATTACK.
LACClily lilc w dlCll, WLllc Ills COil-
rades snored, BATHS, at length, in ap-
preaching a point of timber, became
aware of the several dark objects lying
out from shore upon the current, and
dimly outlined against the dense shore
line. Watching them in sharp excite
ment and suspicion, these objects took
shape of motions as he drew near.
Beyond doubt they were canoes. a.
half dozen or more, with men in them.
l.or -sa1 <ar-fle
distant when BATHS. as had been pre-
arranged, yelled Indians, Indiansi"
His men jumped out OF their blankets
electrified.
The pirates close at handi Get into
the boat quick Missed the young
leader sharply.
Then while the men scrambled to the
rear, Sprang into the skiff with their
weapons and cut loose from the flat
beat amid an uoroar of shots and
yells from the coming canoes, BATHS
kneit hidden at the bottom of the fiat
boat. He uncovered the ends of the
fuse, scratched a match and lighted
both under the cover of his cap. Then
quickly covering the 1izzing ends by
muffiing them with a pack OF WORKOUT
blankets, wetted hours before, he
hastily crowded to the stern, keeping
close down behind the piled-up bales.
dropped into the water and swan up
for dear life. The four men in
the skiff, one of them with a bullet-a
chance shot in the darkness-through
his wrist, brought their boat to a stand I
dangerously near TO the scene of action
and watched eagerly for BATHS. They
saw the canoes-five OF them-each
containing three or four men, approach
and swarm around the flatboat. Find 4
ing their prey abandoned, the robbers
ceased firing, and most OF them
hastily aboard the larger (
craft, fastening their canoes alongside. /!
THE EXPLOSION.
The men in the skiff watched the re-
ceding group breathlessly. Both pieces I
Of fuse had been cut to burn about two /
minutes. The waiting seemed an age,
though the fiatboat and its miscreant
crew were not hundred and Atty
yards distant, when the powder barrel
blew Up. Then q great sheet of fame
burst up, and in the glare of it men and
missiles were seen thrown up and out
ward. There was a heavy boom like
the distant explosion of thunder q
splashing of water. sparks and tongues
IF fire from a burning and dismantled
wreck, in the light of which several
overturned canoes were seen, and in
.wo or three of the nearest of them
men climbing upon their upturned bot
rom wretches struggling in the water
BATHS had been little more than able
o hold his own against the current.
luckily he had escaped from the fall
ng stones and missiles. and now
shouted to his men to row down and
ret him. He was soon picked up.
Fearing an ambush on shore, the
survivors of the wreck were left to save
themselves as they could, and the
,lucky BATHS and his crew pulled up
he river two or three miles and landed
IN the opposite shore. They made a
orced march out upon the prairie, hid
n a ravine and slept the day out.
They returned to the blockhouse by a
ircuitous route, hiding in day time
nd pushing on at night.
The traDDers were satisfied that eff ]
ective work had been done in punish {
ng the fur pirates, as they were
allied, and. in fact, no further attacks
rom this particular gang were ever
card of afterward.
A friendly Indian told at one of the !
PIPER trading stations, that summer, /
nat Chief Two Fingers and eight of
is men had been killed and drowned
n the blowing up of the boat, and the
and had broken 10 and scattered. Z
he affair spread among the Indians
long the river and the white mems
heap shooting boat made them wary !
nd cautious of approaching a fiatboat '
r bateau for a long time. }