The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1898-08-18

appeared. For dayswe could not see a
crow, or even one " those little brown
birds SO plentiful ir,every prairie region.
| We had intended tp go from the North
Canadian to the Salt Fork of the Arkan-
sas, but missed our heckoning and struck
the Red Fork. 1t was a long and weari-
some march, and w9 rall suffered severely
from thirst, and many Of the men from
hunger.
SUFFERING FRoM HUNGER.
| On the Red Fork wei divided up our
| little stores equally, and turned up Haro
Wood Creek, heading directly for santa
Fee. During this march we suffered
greatly from hunger. Hhe stream on
which we were is a famous resort LOT
Kiowas, but they had all left it and gone
| to section where game was to be had.
| All along it's banks there were evidences
that but a short time before there had
been a great number of them camped IN
| the vicinity.
| This is a most singular stream-but
eight feet wide, and dry as floor at lts
mouth, while three miles up it was Ia Ia
| feet wide, with current OF clear, SWAT
running water, and three miles furtcer
| toward it's source it was the same width
| and two feet deep, and after travelling
| five days more in the direction OF ITS
head-waters it measured 80 yards IN
width, and was at least 20 feet deep, and
it was yet another days journey to it's
head; but whether or not it increased In
size all the way cannot tell. :.
We were all out of rations when we lett
Hard Wood Creek, and as to Capt. tltZ-
hughs company, it had been out since
two days before our arrival at the Red
| Fork of the Arkansas. After travelling III
| the direction of Santa Fe for some days,
we found so much Indian sign that, after
due deliberation, the officers determined
to return i'll the direction of Fort Belknap,
The chances OF our seeing home looked
rather gloomy when we reflected that we
had 400 miles to travel through a region
we knew to be destitute OF game; the mos,
sanguine reader, l presume, would
scarcely venture to say that our prospects
were fattering.
| From Hard Wood Creek we crossed t.
the MesQuit, one of the tributaries OF the
| South Canadian, and here we began
feel ourselves safe from an attack by
superior force of savageS, as the sign was
not plentiful and was very old. On thl:
stream we encamped in a large grove o
most beautiful young cottonwOOds, nea
which was a bluff so feet high, with {
projecting cliff almost forming cave.
CHASTITY REMAINS.
Near the foot of this we found thu
skeleton of a man and of a huge bear
perhaps grizzly. The arms of the mar
had been crushed and the ribs broken
while nearby lay the irons of a rifle witt
part of the mutilated stock, and large
bowie knife of the, pattern known as thu
Arkansas toothpick. Judging from ap
pearances, the man had stood on the
ground and shot the bear on the level o
the cliff, and that the animal, though
mortally wounded, had leaped down, and
after a desperate struggle, killed the
hunter.
How long they had lain there was
mere matter for conjecture; but, doubt
less, the period might be measured by
years. No name was on the gun or knife
r...l toll
unfortunate hunter was; but the surgeon!
after examining the homes, pronounced
them to belong to white man.
While on this stream we had a mule
bitten by an enormous rattlesnake, and
none of US knew what to do in the matter.
AS soon, however, as we had reached the
camp, Shawnee Jack examined the
wound, after which he took a survey OF
the ground for some distance, till his eye
rested on a particular plant, when he took
out his bowie knife and dug it up by the
roots. The root was a long one, some,
what resembling d small sweet potato,
both as to shape and Size; and Jack at
once bit off a piece, which he commenced
chewing till he had rendered it plastic,
after which he bound 1t on the wound,
| which was n severe one, each fang of the
reptile having cut afslit in the hide of the
animal at least five inches long; and a
single night under the Influence of this
wonderful restorative suf1iced to render
the animal entirely sound again.
We were now suffering terribly from
/ hunger, and in every direction our eyes
were searching for something to satisfy
our craving appetites; but we saw moth
ing till we reached the South Canadian
River, at the mouth of Mesquit Creek.
| There we came upon group OF low,
sandy hills, covered with grapevines,-
no other vegetation, however, not even
grass, being in sight-young and thrifty,
and loaded with fruit,-the first of the
kind ever saw
This was indeed Godsend to us; the
children of Israel never devoured mama
more greedIy than we did these grapes;
and having satisfied our appettes, we
carried away as many as we could put in
our haversacks and camp kettles. How
these vines happened to grow there is a
mystery; and why they were so unusu-
ally thrifty, considering the soil, is a
problem despair of solving.
TO be continued.)