The record-union., 1898-01-25

revolver, a knife, fifty extra car
tridges and some bread and meat.
When ready to go he shook hands with
the two white men of his party, nodded
to the others and to US, and said to
Johnson:
In an hour 1 shall reach the far side
and be ready to turn back Sorry the
earth isn't big enough for both Of us,
but we happen to be built that way.
It's a fair show for both, and there'H
be nothing to kick over"
During the hour allowed him Johnson
cleaned his firearms, overhauled his
pack, and gave some instructions as to
what should be done with certain inter-
, eSts in case he did not return. When
the hour was up he shook hands all
around, had a word with the men of
the other camp, and he was whistlinS
as he disappeared from view. 1t was
at once agreed between the two camps
| that there should be peace, and each
man found something at which to busy
himself The general idea was that
the affair in the basin would be over
before noon, but those who urged thus
made a mistake While both men
meant to kill, neither proposed to take
any chance. Life was the stake to be
played for, and the game was to be
drawn out.
When Williams had crossed the ba-
sin he turned and headed back to the
south but not on the trail. He knew
Johnson too well to suppose that he
would make his way to the center of
the basin on the trail. He entered the
woods on his right, and made his way
along through the tangle and over the
powders with the stealth of an Indian.
AS our leader entered the basin he
also entered the woods to his right.
The two men thus made a half circle,
and We're as far away from each other
as the limits allowed The basin con-
tanned about 800 acres of land, and
was walled in on every side The trees
We're not large, but the underground
was very thick, and there We're also
many great powders lying about
AS Williams circled to the south and
Johnson to the north, each made a
half circle before finding the others
| trail. The distance covered by this
half circle was about two miles, and
such was the caution with which the
men moved that it was afternoon be-
fore they came upon signs" Each
mans plan was now plain to the other,
and both at once changed That is,
each returned over his own trail, or
within reaching distance of it. This
| change simply prevented a meeting.
When one had reached the north end
of the trail the other was back at the
south end, and it was 4 o'clock in the
| afternoon. Then each took the trail
and held it to a point within 200 feet
of the center, and Williams left it for
the woods to his left and Johnson for
| the woods to his right Without sus-
| pecting each others presence they
crept carefully forward until only fifty
| feet separated them. Then wolf
| daShing out from the space between
them gave both men the cue, and each
| began to work for a shot Johnson
had before him three or four vine-cov-
cred powders, and he crept under the
vines and was SO well hidden that even
the eyes of fox could not have made
/ him out. Half an hour passed and
it was growing dark in the forest when
Williams rose up alongside a tree and
| began peering about His uprising
was like that of a shadow. and for ten
minutes he did not expose a finger as
a target. Then he either became i'm
patient or figured that Johnson was not
at hand, and his head left the shelter
| of the tree to get better look 1t was
| too dark for Johnson to take accurate
aim, and the bullet meant for Will
Jams eye passed through and knocked
! the cap off his head. In a second
| NNil1io,,oc hoJ
snap shot at the flash, and his bullet
tore through the cloth of Johnson S
shoulder.
Those who were the first and best
| shots fired. Each man drew away af-
ter firing, and they We're probably a
mile and half apart as they made
camp for the night. Had they been
| Indians they might have hunted each
| other in the darkness, bus each lay
down to sleep feeling as safe as in
camp. AS the sun came up the hunt
| was on again. They were nuw east and
west of the trail and more than a mile
| apart. They seemed to locate each
other by intuition, and one. moved to
the right and the other to the left to
make a rear approach. AT 9 o'clock
in the morning they had simply chang
ed olaces. It was then that each threw
| away a portion of his woedcraft and
began bolder advance. At II o'clock
as johnson crept forward oll his hands
and knees and started to ift himself
up beside a tree, he came face to face
| with Williams, who was about to do
the same thing from the opposite di-
rection- Both sprang up and began
firing. The range was too clo4e, and
the sudden encounter had also upset
| them. Each man fired five or six bull
let's, each had his clothing perforated,
| and tnen each retreated Taking the
tree as common center they began
circlng around it and must have pass
ed each other at least twice. Then the
circle was broadened until the tree was
half mile from it's outer edge, and it
took in a mass Of rock which both men
had marked for a strong position.
At about l o'clock in the afternoon
Johnson was creeping toward the rocks
from one direction and Williams from
another. but Williams gained the shell
! ter first. Johnson caught a glimpse Of
him as he crouched among the shad-
ows of the rocks but waited TO get a
/ better view before firing He lay on
mis- stomach, his rifle over a stick on
the earth and his eye at the sights,
/ and he felt sure of his man. Let Will
Jams but move a foot one way or the
other and the bullet would find him. For
/ ten minutes stiffness reigned through
out the basin. Then, as sudden as a
| thunder clap there was an angry
scream from Wild beast, and John
son saw some object cross his line of
| vision ard descend upon the crouching