Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1899-07-05

who were born in the little French
Indian village of La Saussail. Their
father, Baptiste LIE Beau, was trader
in peltries and their mother half
blood Mandan woman.
Pierre was two years the older and
very Indian and lazy by nature. An
tome was more like the French, and
clever, and therefore was sent away
to school in St. Louis, where he re-
mained until his father was killed, an
accidental victim, in fight between
Red Dogs and Three Feathers bands
of Bois-Brules.
Antoine found that during the four
years of his absence the fur trade had
been ruined. Settlers and stockmen
had come into the country across. the
river from La Saussail. He found
Charbonneau, his fathers partner, IN
possession Of the store and his mothe.
and Pierre with nothing left them
save few ponies, the log house they
lived in and the Indian title to tract
OF land above the village.
Although but Is years old, Antoine,
thrifty and clever, saw his opportunity
in the control of the land, which in
cluded some excellent grazing ground.
The stockmen across the river had
great droves of horses and cattle, and
they were already crowded for room.
So Antoine took horses to herd. He
succeeded in gathering 300 during the
first spring and received two dollars
per head for the season. He lost but
two out of this ''bunch," and the ami
mails did so we'll that more THAI 500
were placed in his charge the follow
ing year.
So the LIE Beaus were again highly
important among the people of mixed
complexion of La Saussail. Pierre
wore the gayest of blanket jackets,
lived merrily and sometimes amused
himself by going fishing. He loafed
much in Charbonneau's dingy store,
which smelled of hides, dried fish and
stale tobacco.
Now it happened one chilly morn
ing, when Antoine haT
warm his hands by go 'aa
fire, that couple of " "2
the settlements were il
ing to buy rope and bl
''eThis old rope
Pierre, as, one Of
stopped IS examine -
floor. ''My brudder Antoine, neos
buy some of dat rope las summer, and
de knots rdey rot off hees picket-pins.
At this Charbonneau flew into a
rage, called Pierre some hard names
in French and ordered him out of the
store. Then, as Pierre merely grinned,
Charbonneau rushed Mt him and flung
him violently upon the floor.
Antoine's French-Indian blood got
the upper hand of his school tr lining
at this. He seized the irate trader by
the beard, thrust pistol in his face
and said such emphatic things that
Charbouneau' legs shook like willows
in the wind, and his customers left in
alarm.
Charbonneau begged pardon, and
Antoines wrath quickly subsidized. The
lad was rather ashamed, in fact, for he
knew Pierre had been impertinent in
talking to customers about Charbon-
neau's goods.
The matter would have ended AMIGA
bly, but for Charbonneau's Ogalalla
wife, who was Of q temper quite as
choleric MS her husband and far more
steadfast. She was greatly enraged
when she learned that Charbonneau
had been taken by the beard, which
she seemed to consider most humil
iating thing. 1t made her despise
Charbopneau and thirst for revenge on
Antoine.
When the first warm days came after
the going ont of the ice Madame Char
bonneau gathered her small effects and
departed in q canoe with her children,
q ell-grown boy and girl. This little
family paddled far down the Missouri
and thence up White River to the big
Ogalalla towns.
Whether the, angry squawwife APP
pealed more signally to the spirit of
revenge or Of cupidity among her
friends is not quite clear, but certain
it is that shortly after her appearance
among them party of Ogalallas set
out across the great stretch of plain to
the northward, descended upon An
toine's horse -corrals one night in June
and drove off all the herded stock.
Antoine had built his corrals mile
above the village. AS these horses
were under sacred medicine" and in
charge of zone of the blood" there
was no danger that they would be
stolen by Cheyennes, Gros Ventres or
other tribes of the upper reserve.
Another and final element of safety
lay in the fact that most of the horses
were of large breed not much in use,
except for beef, among the Sioux. Thus
Antoine had felt doubly secure in leay
ing the animals at night unguarded
in the corrals He could not watch
all night aad work all day, and Pierre
couldrnot be depended on for guard
duty.
On the morning of his loss he rode
home from the broken corrals with
despair in his heart. His occupation
and his reputation were gone unless he
could recover the stock. The owners
of his herd aud other whites across the
river would not hesitate to accuse him
of having hand in such wholesale
robbery unless he could prove his iu-
nocence absolutely, and they woull
trust him with no more horses.
1t was barely daylight, SO early was
he out of morning, when Antoine
aroused his mother aad Pierre. The
woman Immediately took canoe and
paddlea across the river to warn the
owners Of the stolen horses. As for
Pierre, lie suddenly awoke to the i'm
portance of-loiag something. His Iu
dian blood wassaroused, and he readily
Joined Antoine in IA arduous chase
after the horse thieves.