The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1897-03-26

the dQQlClOudl Audl"
hcatlon OF being entirely trustworthy,
says a correspondent of the Philadel-
phla Times. During the early days of
December, before the rains began, K.
N. Iucker-commonly called "Old
kaintuck" by his familiar-an ex-
teamster and general all-round cattle
herder, cowboy, etc., was acting as
visited being low down in the territory,
not far from the border. When they
had been several days out the party
struck camp in a little arroyo seco, or
dry creek bed, to keep out of the sweep
OF the winds, and did some pretty good
shooting, antelope and rabbits being
the principal game, with now and then
a coyote or a mountain lion to relieve
the monotony and keep things some
what adventurous. In the course of a
few days, however, the immediate Sec
ton having been pretty thoroughly
worked, "Old Kaintuck," taking one of
the men, Hickson by name, SCI out
upon a sort of scouting expedition to
select a new location. 1t CHANGED that
kalntuck's pony, a famous little ami
NAL called Cita, that was dear to the
old Transfers heart, had that very
morning grazed her shin by a fall on
the smooth rocks at the bottom of the
arroyo, so, much to his regret, but that
she might be saved a toilsome and ir-
r1tat'ng journey through the alkali
dust, Ter master rode another animal,
leaving his pet tethered to a manza-
nlta bush near camp. A few hours after
the departure of Kaintuck and Hick-
son the party in camp became aware,
to their great conservation, that they
were in the midst of one of the terrors
OF western plain life, a sandstone.
The wind swept across the desert lands
with a velocity almost i~ncalculable,
driving before it sheets and clouds of
sand that stifed the breath, blinded the
eyes and burnt into the skin like live
Goals. The camping party had much
ado to get themselves and the ponies
behind the stunted timbers or under
the jutting rock Lodges on the banks
of the arroyo. Once here, however,
they felt comparatively safe, but what
of poor Hickson and "Old Kaintuck"?
The wind was driving directly in the
limo OF the route taken by the two
scouts and the hunters we'll knew
what small chance they stood against
it's fury on the open prairie. But the
question of attempting to go to their
relief was not even to be thought of;
all they could do was just to sit and
wait, that dreariest of alternatives.
Though it's fury was spent in a few
hours, the wind kept up all day, bring
ing whiffs and gusts of white dust that
followed in the track of the sand cloud.
AS night came down, however. the
wind lulled and the moon rose, a great
white moon that Illuminated the plains
and showed the trees upon the foothills
in the distance. Not long thereafter
there was a sound of horses feet in the
distance; presently a solitary horseman
dashed into camp and poor Hickson,
more dead than alive, fell from his
staggering pony. 1t vas some time
before anything could be learned from
him of his own narrow escape or Of
"Old Kaintuck's" probable fate. 1t ap.
pears that Hickson and his pony haC
been driven against a clump of mama
nita bushes and so held in check
against the drifting sand. But poo
"Kaintuck" had not Jared so well. Tn
last Hlckson had seen of him he hat
been thrown from his horse and botl
were being driven on by the RELENTLESS!