Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-11-29

| The Indians were armed, and their
faces were smeared with red paint.
Not understanding the ominous mean-
ing Of this, we welcomed them unsus-
piciously, and driving Dick away in
vited them to seats around our fire.
They We're surly at first and i'll at
ease, but when we had given them a
! good breakfast and some tobacco, their
humor changed; drawing close about
the fire and lighting their cigarettes,
they entered into a good-natured con-
versation with us in Spanish They
left when the sun rose, each shaking
hands with us, and saying, "Adios
amingo." Goodbye, my friendly
| AS soon as they We're out Of sight,
Billy said to me, "Pardner, we've got to
| get out of this; those bucks are UP to
mischief of some kind When asked
| them who they were and where they
lived, they made out they couldn't un-
derstand, although they understood
everything else. And did you notice
how queerly they looked at Dick? 2 and
at us when l asked them to come TO
the fire? l wonder if they aren't some
of the Chirikahwas slipped back up
here?" We knew that the Chirikahwa
| Apaches were "hostiles" and off their
| reservation.
"Surely not" answered; "if they
| us?"
That's all right" Billy said, "but
| Indians aren't white folks and at any
minute they may change their minds
| and come back after us-you can't
| guess what an Indian will do. We'd
| better start right away, for we're goin
| to take Dick with us. and We'll have
to go slow so he can keep up with u.s."
he concluded, going to where Dick was
! roofing for breakfast
"We're goin to pull up stakes, old
fellow" he said to the hog, bending
| over and scratching his back, "but
we're not going to leave yon behind;
| you haven't brought us any luck yet,
| but"
| He stopped abruptly and sank to his
| knees, looking intently at the ground.
| Presently he gave IA whoOp of delight,
then cried excitedly, "Come here, pard-
| ner, quick! l told you the old hoggy
| would bring us luck-he's found lead
| that will go four hundred to the ton,
or I'm much mistaken"'
And in fact the rock held a vein Of
ore in which even my unpractised eyes
| distinguished faint threads of silver.
"It just beats ALI" Billy exclaimed.
| Iii ,is
| ledge every day for a month, never
| once dreaming that rich vein was
| cropping out right at grass roots!
We're rich, pardner. and it all comes
of our treating Dick on the square.
Oh, you're mascot, aren't you.
old hoggy:" he cried, affectionately
slapping Dicks face first on one side,
then on the other. And Dick grunted
back that he thought he was-at least
so Billy understood him to say.
Running back to the fire, l brought
big batch of biscuit that we had just
cooked, and gave them to Dick; and
while he ate them, we gave him such
a petting and back scratching as per-
haps no other hog has ever had.
Next, we carefully examined the
ledge, clearing off the dirt, exposing
the vein for several feet, and found
that the ore grew richer the deeper we
dug. Satisfied that we had struck it
rich" we broke off several specimens
to take with us. Then we covered up
the vein, and hurredly packing our
burros, set out for Silver City.
Owing to Dicks inability to travel
far without stopping to rest, it took us
six days to reach our destination; and
then we found the town in great excite
ment y band of Chirikahwa warriors
had sneaked past the soldiers guarding
the Mexican boundary, and had swept
across Arizona and into New Mexico,
numbering and burning as they went,
and passing within a few miles of Sill
yer City.
The Indians we had entertained at
our camp were n part of this band, and
it set us shivering to think how easily
they could have killed us. Why they
did not do so, we could not imagine.
But few years later after we had
sold our mine for good price. l met
one of these Indians on the San Carlos
reservation. and first softening his
heart by a gift of tobacco and money.
i asked him to tell me why they spared
us.
lie answered readily that it was be-
cause of the "medicine" hog. Apaches
look upon all hogs rs being ''medcine."
that is. magical or supernatural. and
therefore will not eat their flesh; and
Dicks standing guard over us like Il
dog. something they had never seen be-
fore. made them think that he was
peculiarly powerful medicine" SO
they had not dared to harm us. And
as the Indian offered to trade me two
ponies and one of his wives for the Sc
crct OF this ''medicinc." believe that
he told me the truth.-Youth's Com
panlon.