Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1900-12-19
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! THU GOLD BRACELET :


A daring thett nau Oeen committed on
board the American gun brig Warrior,
which was at the time lying about two
miles off the southwest coast of Hindu
| stan.
A native, having been fascinated by
| peculiar gold bracelet worn by Mrs. Bar
| dolph, the captains wife, had suddenly
| snatched it from her arm and jumped
| into a boat
A boat was lowered, in jumped the
captain and half a dozen sailors, and
| they were soon in pursuit Of the thief.
The men, pulling with a will, soon
| gained the spot where he had landed and
| left his boat.
Follow me, some Of you" shouted the
captain. "The rest of you stay here and
watch the boat"
The captain sprang into the thick
underbrush, following the natives trail,
shown by the trampled down bushes. He
had not proceeded far, however, when he
| came upon three distinct paths. Which
| had the fugitive taken? So hard was the
ground that he had left no tracks. -Four
men were with the captain.
| He sent two of them along the path
| branching to the left, the other two on
| the one opposite, while he took that look
| ing straight ahead.
The young man kept on for full hour
| without seeing any sign of the robber.
| Then he paused to recover his breath. At
| that moment he heard snarling noise
| behind him. He turned to behold huge
tigress dashing swiftly along past him.
| The ferocious beast had not seen him.
The sight of this monster would have
deferred many man in the captains
| Situo tiOn from vapturnp fo ri har Rut
! Bardolph was q person of indomitable
resolution and was rather headstrong
withal. No danger could turn him from
| purpose once formed.
| On he went, to at length discover the
native ahead of him in a thick grove,
resting under tree, his gaze fixed upon
the bracelet he had stolen.
| A few yards beyond the grove there
was jungle. The captain, fearing that
the thief, who, soon looking up, beheld
him, would make for this thicket, leveled
at him his pistol while he was yet 80
yards from the man.
"Stand, you rascal! If you move a
step, will blow your brains out!' shout
ed Bardolph.
With derisive laugh, the native glided
behind the tree.
Just as he was swinging himself over
one of the branches the captain, who had
watched his chance, fred
Another derisive laugh broke from the
native.
| "Never mind. You can't escape me!'
cried Bardolph.
Throwing off his boots, he assembled the
| tree The robber, seeing him coming,
drew from his belt long, sharp dagger,
his eyes flashing fiercely.
| When the captain had reached
branch within foot of him, the Hindoo,
suddenly leaning forward, made thrust
at him with the knife.
| Bardolph, prepared for this, struck up
the fellows arm with one hand. Using
the other, in which was his pistol, he
dealt him q blow on the head with the
butt end of the weapon. Momentarily
| stunned, the robber leaned back against
the trunk of the tree. The captain threw
himself upon him, but the thief, who had
then recovered, grappled with him.
The native was strong and wiry. In
striving to stab his adversary, however,
the keen blade of his weapon struck and
was half buried in a branch.
Half hidden by the vines and leaves
among the upper branches Of the adjoin-
ing tree, the broad head and great round,
glazing eyes of a tigress, evidently the
one which had previously passed the cap
tain, might now have been seen.
Suddenly, pushed with tremendous
force by the wiry arm of his antagonist,
Bardolph slipped off the branch and fell.
| He seized another branch a few feet be-
meath him as he went, thus saving Aim
| self from going farther. But he was
now caught in a mass of climbing para
sites, with many winding tendrils, from
which he vainly endeavored to extricate
himself. His feet, resting on a lower
branch, were tightly held, as were also
| his arms.
The natives face glowed with savage
exultation He had plucked his knife,
and, with it held firmly in his right hand,
he was descending toward the helpless
young man.
Soon he was right above his intended
victim, when, tantalizingly moving his
dagger to and fro, he remained motion
| less, glaring at the captain like a snake
looking at bird held fast in its coils.
Bardolph gave himself up for lost.
| At length, up went the knife above the
captain, the keen point on line with the
back of his neck, in which the native
meant TO bury the sharp blade to the hit.
1t was about to descend There seem
ed no hope for the unfortunate young
man, who, with an inward prayer for his
wife, stood ready to meet his fate. But
at that moment a quick, loud growl was
heard. There was a rustling noise in the
| adjoining tree, followed by whizzing
sound, as the striped body Of the tigress
descended slantingly through the air up
on the form of the Hindoo, whose bleed
ing throat had excited her voracity.
With a crash the fierce animal and his
victim fell to the ground, the former up
permost.
In short time the native was literally
| torn to pieces, after which he was de-
voured by the hungry beast.
The mans knife having dropped from
his hand and caught among the tendrils
around the captain, the latter succeeded
| in getting hold of it and finally in freeing
| himself.
| Waiting until the tigress, satiated with
her horrible repast, had left the spot,
Bardolph descended to the ground, pick
ed up his wife's bracelet, which had fall
en- from the thiefs pocket. and hurried
to the cutter, where he found all his
boats crew just preparing TO go in
search of him.
Mrs. Bardolph was glad to receive her
| bracelet. but she chung, weeping, to her
| husband when he described the perils