The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1902-12-26
CHAPTER XVIII.

ing cowboys, and the one who had
been trusted with returning to the
Stone House on forming the compact,
was found at the door when the trap,
per responded that night. He had
ridden the journey in great haste and
considered that the circumstances de-
manded 1t.
All was tumult at the Stone House.
Old Egan and his warriors had sur
rounded the place and would accept
no terms Of peace. 1t was only
through an occasional gift by the
Lord of The Desert to the old chief
that he had kept on peaceful terms
with him so long for the old chief
had always considered the white
Grizzly" as he called him, menace
to the Indians welfare and an en-.
croacher upon his rights; besides
this, the horses and cattle of the
Lord of The Desert had always been
considered a valuable prize and the
late improved guns and revolvers
about the place had more than once
almost gotten the better of the chiefs
good intentions; and now that he had
caught Dan Follett, the Lord Of The
Deserts right hand man and hench.
man, in the act of making away with
his horses, and then trailed him back
to the Stone House, he took 1t for
granted that it was ruse on the
part of the white Grizzly" to rob
him, and considered all obligations OF
amity between them closed.
1t was the blow that he had long
desired to strike and he had come
fully prepared to strike it.
| After the capture of Follett the
chief had pursued the Warm Springs
Indians until he had killed or cap.
tured majority of them and retaken
all of his horses and several more be-
sides, and then returned to his camp
at the foot of Ash Butte. In the
meantime he had wrung from one OF
the Warm Springs warriors the con
fession that Follett had come to the
Warm Springs camp and persuaded
| them to embark In the enterprise
against the Piutes. The old chief
suspected this, but he wished to as
sure his warriors Of the fact to make
them the more sanguine in the at
tack upon the Stone House.
On the night of their arrival at Ash
Butte a strong guard had been placed
over Follett, but a stronger guard
had been placed about the horses,
which were also carefully corraled
that night. Both guards were in
structed to keep vigilant watch, the
one to see that their prisoner escaped
and the other to see that he did not
secure horse.
Late in the night Follett's guard
faxed" sleep and the willy French
man crawled away as lightly as a cat.
When once in the darkness and alone
he looked about to secure a horse but
he saw the forms of Egan's warriors
silhoutted against the horizon when
ever he discovered the dark outline
of an animal. In making his last at.
tempt to secure one of the animals.
and when he thought he was about to
be rewarded for his trouble, a war
rior shouted the Indian word for
coyote" and dozen arrows
"whished" in close proximity to him.
Then he saw them sneaking in his
direction as if to surround him, and
he made away through the sage
brush, striking boldly out across the
desert, guided by the north star.
To add to his discomfort the In.
dians had removed his hat and coat
and boots that night and he was now
fugitive on the desert without a
coat, hat or shoes.
Old Egan had arranged his plans,
and history itself records the fact
that this old chief always laid them
we'll Couriers had already been sent
to other allies of his tribe, while
scouts were put on Dan Follett's trail
to see that he went to the Stone
House.
These scouts had followed him,
climbing among the rimrocks by day
and observing him as he picked his
way across the plain, and then fol
lowed by night. They had seen him
visit the trapper's abode, and had fol
lowed him on until he entered the
Stone House. In the meantime Ola
Egan had mustered his men and, two
hundred strong, had started for the
Stone House, while he expected as
many more allies to join him there
sooner or later. There were maraud-
ers among the Modocs and Klamaths
that he could count on, and he had
sent for these also.
The destruction of the power of the
Lord of The Desert had long been
contemplated and the time had now
come.
Egan was not slow to look after his
own interests. To arrive first upon
the scene and select a few of the
choicest of the white Grizzlys" cat
tie and horses and make way with
them before the arrival Of his allies
was his purpose. and then besiege the
whites until his allies arrived and
then crush the enemy and divide the
remaining spoils.
And he was not slow in action.
Dan Follett reached the Stone House
Just after dark one night, and the fol-
lowing morning found Old Egan's
warriors around the entire premises
at a safe distance from the loop-holes
Of the outer walls, while detachment
of his men had driven away select
bands Of horses ad cattle.
The first cowboy to go without the
enclosure that morning received an
unmistakable warning In the form of
a feathered arrow which was battered
against the wall near his head. Then
he saw the war bonnets Of the Piutes
protruding above the rocks and boul-
ders In every direction and rushed
back into the enclosure. followed by
a shower Of arrows, and gave the
alarm.
There we're about so Of the inmates
all told and all owned revolvers. but
there we're not more than half that
number OF rifles. They were well
prepared for defense against an or
binary Indian attack, but It was not
thought safe to go into the open
against the odds that appeared be-
fore them in ambush. They made 3