The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1901-11-12
:: THI|E APP ACHE
A STORY OF TWO CHILDREN
AND AN INDIAN.

Not every Apache can get his NIL or
blood before sun up and his fill Of mes
cal before noon. Yet Coyote That Bites
had managed TO achieve both those de-
lightful ends, and of all the happy saw
most riotously. tumultuously happy.
With what keen delight he had drawn
his sharp blade across the throats OF
Jose Sanchez and his wife after he had
stolen into their wagon in the gray
dawn, and what thrills of Joy shot
through his breast when he silenced the
yells Of their two little children with
the butt end of their fathers own rife!
And then, when he had taken what
gold was In the Mexican's bag. what
mescal was in his demijohn, and had
strapped Jose's rather loose fitting car
fridge belt about his sun brown belly,
with what fierce pleasure he stole away
from the scene of his bloody work and
with the Mexican's rifle on his shOul-
der had wandered far down the dry
arroyo. slipping from the demijohn the
stupefying juice of the agave from time
to time until he felt that he was grow
ing drowsy!
Then he had dragged his uncertain
way along until he had come to the
railroad track. He stared stupidity at
the bright steel rails and looked up at
the humming wires in an awed sort OF
way. He would like to lie there be-
hind the rocks. he thought. until some
one should come along the track and
then try a shot at him with his newly
acquired weapon. The demijohn was
growing light, and the rife was grow
ing heavy. Well. it was getting toward
noon and rather warm even for an
Apache. and he would lie down in the
shade Of the rocks over there and rest.
The humming Of the wires Is sooth-
ing sound. and no sooner had his head
touched the earth than sleep took
mighty hold upon him and wiped out
his realizing sense Of Joy. as sleep has
way of doing with everybody that
has anything to be Joyful for. And SO
he lay. with the rife by his side and
his unspeakably hideous face turned
up toward the blue that arched the
desert.
1t was quiet there and restful-no
sound save the music Of the wires.
Stay; there were other sounds, but they
came some time after Coyote That Bites
had thrown himself upon the sand and
gone off to the land of Nod. They came
faintly at first and mingled with the
murmurings of the wires. Surely they
were the voices Of children.
Had the red beast been awake he
might have imagined that they were
the haunting voices Of the wee Mexi-
can children whose blood he had 30
ruthlessly shed that morning, but he
heard them not. They were very far
| from being ghostly voices anyway
| those tones that now piped forth Sc
| merrily as Dubs and Gay trudged down
| the line. They were walking to the
scoop out along the roadbed, not on the
| track, for that was forbidden.
| There were other things that were
forbidden, too. and one Of them was
straying so far away from the station
but Dubs was taking good care" OF
his three-year-old sister. and In thu
pride Of his six full years he was equa
to the care of half dozen such as Gay
"F on'y had sum matches to build
fire wiv." sighed Dubs, "Pd burn OF
vese prickles JUS like We Injuns does"
"O-ohr came suddenly from undel
Gays sunbonnet. "Wot datT
"W'y, it's jugv And Dubs left th'
"toonies" and started toward the pill
Of rocks where lay the Coyotes demi
John and where also lay the Coyote
himself.
The two trudged up the little slope
and Dubs graspcd the handle Of thu
demijohn. only to let II drop again ant
spring back quickly with Gay in hi
arms, for he had caught sight Of thu
Coyote. and he was smitten with sud
den desire TO 20 home.
But he saw the Indian did not move
and so he suddenly became very brave
He was certainly sound asleep and NJ
more to be feared than papa when h'
lay on the lounge in his midday repose
Then, too. Dubs was quite sure he wa
''worky' lnjnn. like the Yaquis. wh'
shoveled and picked on the railroad
and so his mind became wholly at ease
The Coyotes cartridge belt, whicl
had been so loosely strapped, had fal
, len of and lay by his side. There wer
hundred very interesting bits Of bras
sticking in ii. and the children sOOl
had these scattered all about in tn
sand by the snoring Coyote. In tn
scramble for ber share Of the innOcen
toys Gay let one Of them drop ON th