Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1901-11-13
..'...;
] 77LH][E. APP ACHE =:
:. A STORY OF TWO CHILDREN .
!: AND AN INDIAN.

x.."..i &c., 49,. 49,. -! -! -.
Not every Apache can get his fill OF
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
ages on the Colorado desert he was the
most riotously, unanimously happy
With what keen delight he had drawn
his sharp blade across the throats Oh
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
wells of their two little children with
the butt end of their fathers own rifle!
And then, when he had taken what
gold was In the Mexican's bag, what
mescal was in his demijohn, ana mao
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 shout
der had wandered far down the dry
arroyo, slipping from the demijohn the
Supplying 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 or
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 rifle 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.
j The humming of the wires is a 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 rifle by his side and
his unspeakably hideous face turned
ND toward the blue that arched the
desert.
It 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 ano
gone off to the land of Nod. They came
family at first and mingled with the
, murmurings of the wires. Surely they
were the voices of children.
Had the red beast been awake NJ
might have imagined that they were
the haunting voices Of the wee Mexi
! can children whose blood he had 81
ruthlessly shed that morning. but III
heard them not. They were very RAJ
from being ghostly voices anyway
2 those tones that now piped forth 81
: merrily as Dubs and Gay trudged dowi
Y the line. They were walking to thu
!. scoop out along the roadbed. not on TN
|, track. for that was forbidden.
There were other things that wer'
forbidden, too, and one of them wa
. straying so far away from the station
e but Dubs was taking good care o
his three-year-old sister, and in TIL
pride of his six full years he was equa
to the care of half dozen such as Gay
: OF ony had sum matches to build
v fire wiv," sighed Dubs, I'D burn oil
{ vese prickles JUS like We Injuns does"
"a "O-ohr' came suddenly from unde
/. GAYS sunbonnet. "Wots datT
"W'y, it's jugp' And Dubs left tn
: "toonies" and started toward the pill
IL of rocks where lay the Coyotes dem
L John and where also lay the Coyot
l. himself.
?. The two irudged up the little slope
d and Dubs grasped the handle or tn
y demijohn, only to let it drop again an
:, spring back quickly with Gay In III
=" arms. for he had caught sight OF tn
Coyote, and he was smitten with sue
den desire to go home.
But he saw the Indian did not mov'
d and so he suddenly became very brave
lr He was certainly sound asleep ana n
q more to be feared than papa when .
.. Law on the lounge in his midday repos
m Then, too, Dubs was quite sure he wa
/, "worky" Injun, like the Yaquis, WI
- shoveled and picked on the raiiroa'
: and so his mind became wholly at cas-
u The Coyotes cartridge belt. whie
Il had been so loosely strapped, had ia
T. len off and lay by his side. There wei
N a hundred very interesting bits OF bra'
r. sticking In II, and the children soc
i. had these scattered all about In u
ir sand by the snoring Coyote. In u
scramble for her share OF the innocei
toys Gay let one Of them drop on Il