Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1897-05-31

| leader and chief were evidently only the
| advance guard Of a large army; for we
| could see many more occasionally show
| ing themselves on the borders of the wood
and then retiring.
| l quickly decided upon my plan of ac-
ton. Shutting off all communication with
| the outer air, and strongly raising the
| electric pressure on the regulator, l made
the Shooting Star dart up into the air as
/ it shot from a cannon. Then | directed
it toward the circles of warriors on the
plain, and with a SWlftneSS calculated to
cut off from them all chance of escape.
| When they saw it's swift approach, they
seemed for a moment paralyZed, then
several of them the leader and his circle
of chiefs among them, made sudden
dash toward the wood. But it was too
/ late. Before they could reach the wood
we were amongst them.
| | might have killed the leader and his
ten chiefs easily, but | preferred to adopt
another course. Instead Of dashing the
| Shooting Star against their backs as they
were running toward the wood, l merely
| knocked them down with it, one after
another, without inficting any serious
injury upon any of them. Then, as they
| lay sprawling on their stomachs, [ made
| the machine, by virtue of strong at
| tractive force which [ directed toward
| the bottom of it, pick them UP one by
| one, and in such manner that they adj
|
giles to it's length. This done, / few off
with them.
The astonishment the utter stupefac-
| ton, of the Dergdunin when they beheld
their leader and chiefs thus carried off
| from their very midst, and in a position
so RIDICULOUS. was in itself a phenome-
| non. They stood speechless, with open
| mouths and staring eyes. Toh burst out
into a peal of laughter, which quickly
| communicated itself to his father and to
| me. To make the matter still more di-
| verting, | made the Shooting Star de-
scend again to within a foot or two of
the ground, and sailed slowly along with
| it at that tantalizing proximity. The
| frantic efforts of my eleven captiveS to
clutch the ground and detach themselves
| from the machine were so ludicrOus that
some even of their own men could not
restrain their laughter. The captives,
| dropping their spears, bows and buck
| lers, kicked, writhed and struggled, and
clutched wildly at the grass, which they
could just reach with the tips Of their
| fingers: but all in vain the attraction
of the machine was too strong for them,
| and they could not shake themselves Off.
Through the transparent shell OF the
| Shooting Star the Dergdunin could see
us distinctly, and one of them, holder
| than the rest, rushed forward and hurled
his spear at us. But he paid dearly for
his temerity. The diamond hardness of
the machine was proof against the shock;
| the spear rebounded without inficting the
| slightest injury. Seeing this, he took to
his heels towards the wood; but before
he could reach it the Shooting Star was
upon him, and down he fell, as his lead
ers had done before, somewhat shaken,
but net seriously injured. Him picked
up by the heels and flew off with, with
his head hanging down; still worse
position than that of his fellow-captives.
o1ofo izin &c |
ly tantilized the others, [ few straight
up into the air to a great height, and
subjected the twelve to another and still
worse mental torture. | loosened the at
traction of the machine and let them all
drop; then, before they had fallen many
yards, sent the Shooting Star after
them, and picked them up again by the
force of it's attraction.
After subjecting them to this torture
two or three times, / flew off with them
over the wood, that [ might ascertain
from this position of advantage what
force the enemy intended to bring
against the town of Grensum. 1t was an
immense army. Not only could we see
large force lurking in the wood, but
also several thousands marching towards
the wood on another plain beyond. de-
termined to pay a visit to these alsO,l
and give them some idea of the danger
of their enterprise. Those in the wood
| and gave utterance to their alarm and
establishment in loud EXPLANATIONS.
Those on the plain beyond soon caught
sight of the Shooting Star also and of
the twelve men attached to it; and
though we could not hear their cries, we
could see by their gestures that they
were no less astOnished and perplexed.
AS we were flying slowly over the wood
we held council ofsaWar. We might
| have driven the machine right into their
| midst and slaughtered them right and
left with ectaimpunity; but KAT, like
| myself, was averse to bloodshed if it
could be avoided, so we decided upon an
other course. Their captured leader, the
outlaw Dethloch, could speak the Ian
guages of the Grensumin and Dergdunin
with equal facility, and KAT proposed
that, while we remained shut up in our
machine, secure from any attack from
| their spears, Dethloch should acquaint
them with the fate in store for them if
| they presumed now or ever again to at
| tack the town of Grensum. Accordingly,
| while we were still a long way off, /
| opened the door Of the Shooting Star,
| and KAT, putting out his head, explained
| to the outlaw the task required of him.
''Ak dai yian siv mishe ak mi schen-
nin?'' But what are you going to do
| with me and my chiefsD he asked.
KAT replied that that would be decid-
| ed by the assembled council Of Grensum;
but that he would undertake TO promise
| him that their lives, at any rate, should
be spared, provided he faithfully now ex-
ecuted the task required of him; but that
any treachery would assuredly be pun
ished by death.
| Dethloch, as he had no other course
open to him, consented, though most re-
luctantly and most sulkily, to sink the
dignity of leadership, and act as the hum,
BILE interpreter of his enemies will and
pleasure.
The matter being thus settled, shut
the door again, and moved swiftly to-
wards the Dergdunin on, the plain, in
front of us-so swiftly indeed that they
had not even time to think of flight Be
fore they could make up. their minds
what to do, the Shooting Star was how
ering. over their heads at a height Of
less than twenty feet. All eyes were
turned upwards; and there was scarcely
a murmur or exclamation amongst the
assembled hosts. The suddenness with
which it had shot down from the sky,
| ho or of