Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1898-10-13


grunted contemptuously.
You go hunt" he said. "Me mind
camp"
This reply, coming from his greasy,
dirty Incidence, made me boil with
sudden indignation. / made for him
as he lay, and selling his collar pulled
him out upon the floor and jerked him
to his feet.
'9Then you'll get out of this shantyr'
I exclaimed. ''Va-t-en. Understand?
Gitv'
He made one jump for his gun, but
| was expecting that, and my double
barrel instantly covered him. l turned
him out of the shanty, and threw after
him his gun, his snow-shoes and all
his belongings, with a big lump Of
cold roast venison ribs. He gathered
up all these articles sullenly, and tying
on his snow-shoes, tramped off up the
hillside among the pines.
Now that it was too ate, l began a
little to regret my act, for / rather
feared that he might hang around and
shoot me from behind tree. | kept
pretty close within my cabin that day
and did not go out unarmed, but al
though I watched from my window,
saw no more of my late guest. Next
day | followed his trail for several
miles through the woods, and as it led
unswervingly north-westward,
thought that he had finally left the
district.
Four days after, when I was return
ing about noon from an inspection of
some marten traps, I noticed tracks on
the snow once more-snow-shoe
| tracks. A two-days' storm had just
blown over, and tle wilderness was
covered with a fresh layer of wholly
unbroken white, beaten hard in open
places by the force of the gale. There
was also upon the snow-shoe trail a
track as of a narrow toboggan, and
the signt caused me certain vague
| uneaSiness.
My hearts miSgave me still more
when came in sight of the cabin and
saw the door standing wide open.
hurried forward, and in another in
slant had learned the truth. Tie
shanty was sacked and completely dis
| mantled
| My scanty stock of -four of tea, of
sugar; the large canister of gunpow
der, the little bags of shot the loaded
shells and the reloading tools-all were
gone. The blankets and furs had dis
appeared, with the cache of meat and
the AK, and my few books lay half
consumed at the edge of living fire
Oh the hearth, showing that a desire
for revenge as we'll as the wish to rob
me had inspired the deed.
A clean sweep had been made of
everything, and I stood possessed of
little more than my gun, my small
Ratchet and the couple of dozen load
ed shells in my belt.
at once set myself to examine the
trail of the robber, and as | expected,
l found the distinct mark of the patch
ed cross-bar in the snow-shoe. 1t was
the sign pedal of my Indian friend.
Had he appeared before me at that
moment l might have shot him down
in my anger. He had committed a
| fearful crime. Better kin q man out
right in the North than deprive him
of his supplies against cold and hun
ger. However, the culprit was doubt
upon his track.
1t appeared that he had passed along
about three hours before, probably as
soon as he had seen me disappear
down the valley. I walked in the
track of the toboggan, which, heavy
with the spoils Of my cabin, had beat
en- a hard pathway, enabling me to
make good pace. knew that the
Indian, encountered as he was by the
fresh snow and the toboggan, would
be able to travel but slowly, and I
hoped to overhaul him before dark.
At any rate, I expected that he
would camp for an hour or two at
nightfall for cup of tea and nap,
and l felt sure Of coming upon him be-
fore he could start again. Anyhow,
was determined to keep up the chase
until dropped or overlook my man.
The December afternoon soon grew
dark, and the woods speedily took on
that inexpressibly wierd, forbdding
look of desolaton and loneliness that
no one can picture unless he has
walked in Northern forest at night
fall. A moon already hung over the
tree-tops, and as the light waned in
the west the snow grew silvery with
her rays, so that l had no difficulty
in following the trail.
About an hour later / came upon the
smoldering ashes of a fire, and heap
of sapin where a blanket had been
laid. The Indian had been gone at
least an hour but it was plain that
l was gaining on him, so | pushed
forward with the utmost enthusiasm
into a rugged country CT hills and
small precipices, with clumsy
growth of birch and willow along the
frozen streanl-beds.
1 was upon the brink of one of these
decliyises, which was piled and