Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1899-06-29

feeling very well; he did not dare to
say what he really wanted 2 holiday
for, as he feared refusal. OF course
the major granted his request, and Joe
left the Office with lighter heart than
he had had for many day. First he
went to notify man the major had
designated to take the herd out in the
morning, and then he repaired to the
quarters of old Baptiste Rondin, the
company's hunter, to consult with
him about his plan, which was no less
than the stealing OF Snake out of the
Blackfeet camp. The old voyageur
entered into his scheme with enthusi-
asm, and bidding his wife prepare
small sack of food and fill canteen of
water for the boy he began to plan
the proper course to pursue, Joe lis
tening with the closest attention.
When everything was in readiness the
two slipped out of the fort through
the small gate, hurried down to the
shore of the river, where a skiff was
tied, and i'll few minutes Joe was
safely landed on the opposite side.
There is sense of location, of di-
rection, possessed by all true plains
men, at once undefnable and mex
plicable. Joe had been told where
the camp was located and had often
passed the place in times gone by;
SO now, us if by instinct, in the dark
est of nights, without guide or land
mark, he traversed the six or seven
miles OF rolling prairie between the
two streams and in the course of
couple of hours found himself over
looking the great camp, which was
pitched by the creek in the valley
below him. The lodges, illuminated
by the fires within, were plainly seen
through the intense darkness. He
could hear the beating of tomtoms and
singing where party of young men
were practising war dance; the
sounds of laughter and scraps of con-
versation foated up to him plainly
through the heavy night air; innu-
merable dogs barked and yelped in
answer to the bowling of the wolves
skulking about the neighboring hills.
Joe we'll knew that somewhere in the
great camp Snake was tied close to the
doorway of Owls Heads lodge; he also
knew that it would be certain death
for him to attempt to enter the camp
while the people were still up and
awake. Equally hopeless would be
the task of finding the lodge and the
horse after the people had retired and
the light of their fires died ont; in the
thick darkness one horse could scarce
ly be distinguished from another. His
best chance, as the old voyageur had
predicted, was to follow Owls Heads
tactics and, watching his opportunity,
steal the horse from the herd as they
grazed about on the hills during the
day. Having made up his mind to do
this, Joe crawled into thick patch of
cherry and service berry brush he
had stumbled against and, hoping he
was not intruding in the haunt of
some rattlesnake, curled himself up for
a sleep with one hand resting on his
rifle, ready for any emergency.
When the boy awoke it was broad
daylight, and, peering through the
bushes, he saw the horses stringing
out to both sides of the valley as the
early rising women unfastened their
tethers and turned them loose Taking
his telescope from its case, he carefully
adjusted it and closely examined the
horses already grazing out from the
still tethered in the village. His heart
leaped as he discovered Snake tied by
the doorway Of Q red-painted lodge.
A woman came out, united the lariat,
and, with long, graceful leaps, the
beautiful animal fastened to Join its
mates on the other side of the stream.
Joe watched them sadly as they
moved up the side of the hill, stopping
for bite here and there as they went,
for his chance to steal the horse that
day was gone; he could not possibly
cross the valley without being discov-
cred. He cut some of the brush in the
centre of the patch and interlaced it
in that standing about him to screen
more ehiectually his hiding place and
then ate little of the food he had
brought along.
The hours dragged along slowly.
The sun ere, up in the sky and beat
down on him numerically. The can
teen of water was most precious now,
and he drank of it sparingly. All day
long he lay there in the sitting heat,
and it seemed as if night would never
come People came and went over the
hills in all directions, often passing
close to the patch of brush. Once a
couple of men came and sat right at
the edge of it and conversed for long
time. Joe scarcely dared to breathe
for fear they would hear him, and he
gave great sigh of relief when they
finally arose and went down the hill to
the camp. At noon all the horses
were driven in from the prairie to
water, and at sundown they were
again driven in, watered and tied up
about the lodges for the night. With
his telescope Joe saw Owls Head him
self catch Snake and after petting it
and stroking its glossy neck tie the
animal close to the doorway of the
lodge. The boy now knew just where
the horse was to be found. Time and