Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1899-06-08

SSSssSss54 = ssS lyssSSl 1870, was en-
(E'lTINGN-==5S oughly explor-
& ~ Tss> 10y ing the north
= e>> 49, ~ B faitish 'G ooIum n,
bia, in an effort to gain some ethno-
logical facts concerning the strange
Wnd aboriginal Indian races said to in
habit this practically unknown region.
! had left Fort st. John on the Peace
River early in April, and by the LIST OF
July had passed over the country to
tile east of the Rocky Mountains, and
had reached the head waters of the
Stachine River, which stream [ had
determined on following southwest to
the Pacific Ocean. 1t was not until
[ had reached the country among the
! head waters of the Stachine that my
troubles began in earnest. My native
| guides and escort had deserted me
one by one until at last [ only had
two men with mean Indian and o
half breed. At the end of another
week seemingly the hardest part of
the journey had been gone over, and
we had safely reached the north fork
of the Stachine.
We had encamped, as was our usual
custom, as the sun went down, in the
lee of a small cliff that jutted over
the right bank of the river. During
the last two days we had not seen any
signs of human habitation in the
country, and, convinced that there
was nothing to fear from hostile at
tack, we had lighted fire preparatory
to cooking our evening meal, when
our felicity was rudely interrupted by
several wild calls from a neighboring
hill, repeated in rapid succession.
Instantly the fire was put out, and,
listening with strained ears, similar
wild shouts could be heard coming
from neighboring heights, doubtless
answers to the first challenge. A
minnie more, and above our heads
whistled the purring ping" of bull
let, and then a clinking thud and a
shrill whistle as it harmIessly glanced
from the rock above our position. 1
looked at my companions. Denazee,
my Indian guide, was crouched
stealthily on the ground, with rife in
hand, and every muscle in his body
a-quiyer as he listened with an almost
tigerish CLEAN in his eyes for some
further signal Of the approach of our
hidden foes. The half-breed, on the
other hand, was literally frightened
out of his wits, and stood trembling
and qnaking with fear and numbling
prayers under his breath, convinced
that his last hour had surely come,
until I awakened him from his stupor
by placing a gun in his hands and or
dering him to guard a narrow open
ing on the right of the cliff, which
commanded the open expanse around
for a considerable distance.
1t was no time for hesitation. II
we remained in our present exposed
position we must inevitably be shot
down like rats in trap, without being
able too make resistance. 1t was futile
to think Of escaping by land, while
our single canoe, from its long journey
over land, leaked at every pore; yet il
was only by following the river that
we could hope to escape. Leaving
the Indian to guard against change
in the plans of our assailants and 6
rudden attack, [ called the shiverine
half-breed from his lonely vigil to as
sist me in repairing, as best we could.
the cracks in our frail craft Rub.
bling it thoroughly all over with what
oil was left, 1 took all the gum and
balsam in the packs, and with il
placed the bacon, some fifteen pounds
at least, and half dozen candles into
the pot The whole mixture was ther
ready, and the fire was once more
lighted. Our enemies, who for some
time past had been comparatively
silent, seeing that we were concerned
in some preparation, again turned
their guns in the direction of tn,
fire, while we discreetly retired to 1
more sheltered position.
Taking advantage of lull in theii
firing, we seized the pot from off the
fire, and while the mixture was still
boiling hot, daubed the outside of TIL,
boat with it from stem to stern. B,
the time these preparations had beer
completed the east began to take oil
rosy tinge, yelling the surrounding
landscape with an uncertain light
while a raw, penetrating vapor huns
over the river completely obscurint
our surroundings. There could be nj
mistaking this fortunate dispensatiol
Of Providence; SO, quickly pushing
the canoe from the bank, the load wa
adjusted, and quietly we took gu
positions, Denazee in the bow a
steersman, and recognizing the abso
lutte terror of the halfbreed, [ seizet
the stern paddle myself.
We had not been g moment to-
soon, for we had scarcely reached
point in mid-stream when through