The Nome nugget., 1902-01-18
(Cortinue1 l f,om January 15. ]

,a detailed and chrontlngi, al account of all the weary incl lent aud occurrences .eduring that evensful winter Mr. Kelly and I spent in isolation among the Chowchuan. To all purl o'es we were kept in a state of siege from the beg n- ming of October, 1897. until relieved about the middle of July, 1898. Dlsr ng all that time we had to be always on sour watch SBnd constantly prepared to flight, never daring to relax our vigil sance, for fear of receiving in an un- guarded moment cowardly kniie thrust in the back from an assassin or a bullet from distant ambush. Time and time again ihe natives copgreeRted in numbers of hundreds and more in and around our hnuse with the avowed purpose of killing us, when the least show of excitement by Us or loss of courage and seli-c0ntrol would have brought on hopeless fight. fit had mot been for our prior knowledge of natives and native wayS and methods 1 don't supp SC we should have lasted "a week. Never yet has time been an .object W h a native. PrOcrastinat ion is his grea est sin, and to take nnnt ces- sary chances, unless pressed. his,aboih- ina ion C b0ve ell. They knewtwe could tnot get &way out of the country for Q vwhile, so when we did not give, them a favorable opportunity to kill Us or 6 day they could afford to wait till Let ter tine presented itself. But when they came they always found Us ready for them. They could not understand .n,s; they did not 'kuow howit was that we did dsnCt seem afraid and that they ,cOald not. bluff or COW us by the show .of numbers and their hatred. We .loOked defenseless enough, but our un- rrufiled ealmness awed them and made .them suspect traps. We never carried 2 !ns or skn,ves. though we always had them rhilden close at hand and in ID aces quickly to be reached in all larIs of the house, to cause the bel If lthat we must possess weap1 1nS of de- 4fanse the nature of which.they did net know. They knew tba, we were well aware of the.r intentiLn to kill us, and if .nat their snarling .ant.c' told ,lhe tale plAiDly enough; but tur :ap- parent indltferen nee kept puzzling them and, 20 doubl, oall>stl them to think ,ha' we We're gitrd with means aud { l,t bon
 It tHDk. oi <, arse, continuous etlcrts on cur side, and itrANa, a cons .alt, se- were strain on Us to stay calm and hold -tsur fears in check. Life was dear to us. Many u time. nay fingers itched to pitch right into them and end 1t all. During the first month or two it was hard work for me tn keep my inmost ,quaking hidden from the sharp-eyed natives; later it became more of a -sec,nd nature and almesL &a game with sme. It is queer .hosv quickly a man twill adapt>him.elf and become used to :a life best compared toa life in q large .mena serie with all the different wild animals lnnnin. around loose and treity to sprlpg unsyou in an unguardtd secoud. On oc. aSiuns 1 hau ,o put .cheuks on my avt r-cOnh, ence. otiIi. .,tS the win ter wOIe on an lL itecain. spring once more, we had mue frienLs .here and there and had gained the re- spect of all, especially of the Chow. schnan, principally because we never showed spite. Strange as it-n.ay sound I never could get m, self to harbor Ill feeling against them, with bat lew ex- vcepions. We weee the intrGders. and we were decidedly in the wrong by beng ln,tbeir land. Tn consciou,ne ;, always stayed With me, and, no doubt. .heiped me On a number of occasions to keep my tt nper. By what righ- could we have expected that they would let us establish ourselves unresisLed among them? Why should they juige us by .ouc words when we told them that we should leave the land after a year ol so, and not by our actions :? Every sthiny we dad pointed to the factS that
 
 stay. We had built substantial houses, the most sib-tantialthey had ever seen or known of, and we were. giving noLite at large by buying deer that we had ambition uo becolne big deermen. How should they be able to grasp the idea that we we've buying deer tor the United States government? It wa, ridiculous to ask them to believe it. They saw and knew that we were two strangers who had come thete to inte,- fele shortly with al their nicely ad- .justed customs and usages by herding and drlv.n Ing our deer over liie pastures which were theirs anl had been' heyi fa. hers since time out of tradi,ioi
 Let d man gu down 10 Texas today apd bay up catt.e aud deiiDerateiy slart if sso graze them over his ncighbors