Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1904-04-21
CHAPTER III.

IS was more noise than fight, SC
X far as results seemed to in4i
cate. II was ali about small
dame jeanne of fine brandy which an
Indian of the name of Long Hair had
seized and run off with ct the height Ct
the ca-ousal. He must have been so.
! bere- than his pursuers or naturally
iieeter, for not enc of item could catch
him or even keep long in sight of him
Some pistols were enptied while the
race was on, and two or three Of the
men swore roundly to having seen Long
Hair Jump sidewise and stagger. as IL
one of the shots had taken effect. But,
although the moon was shining, he
some way disappeared, they could not
understand just how, far down beside
the river below the fort and the church.
1t was not an uncommon thing for an
Indian to steal what he wanted, and in
most cases light punishment followed
conviction. but it was felt TO be a cap
ital offense for an Indian or anybody
else to rape demijohn of fine brandy,
especially one sent as present by q
friend in New Orleans to Lieutenant
Governor Abbott, who had until re-
Gently been the commandant of the
post. Every man at the river house
recognized and resented the enormity
of Long Hairs crime, and each was for
the moment ready to be his judge and
his executioner He had broken at
once every rule Of frontier etiquette and
every bond Of sympathy. Nor was
Long Hair ignorant of the danger in
yolved in his daring enterprise. He
had beforehand carefully and stolidly
weighed the conditions, and true to his
Indian nature had concluded that n lit
tie wicker covered bottle of brandy
was well worth the risk of his life. So
he had put himself in condition for a
great race by slipping out and getting
rid of his weapons and all surplus
weight of clothes.
This incident brought the drinking
bout at the river house to a sudden
end, but nothing further came Of it
that night and no record OF it would be
found in these pages but for the fact
that Long Hair afterward became an
important character in the stirring
historical drama which had old Vim
cennes for its center of energy.
Rene dc Ronville probably felt him
self in bad luck when he arrived at the
river house just too late to share In
the liquor or to join in chasing the
bold thief He listened with interest,
however, TO the story Of Long Hairs
capture OF the cor1mandants demijohn
and could not refrain from saying that
If he had been present there would
have been quite different result.
II would have shot him before he
got 10 that door, he said, drawing his
heavy fiintlock pistol and going
through the motions of one aiming
ously in earnest was he with the pam
tomime that he actually did fire, unin-
tentionally of course, the ball burying
itself in the doorjamb.
He was laughed at by those present
for being more excited than they who
witnessed the whole thing One of
them, leathery faced and grizzled old
sinner, leered at him contemptuously
and said in queer French, with a
CuIlOuS GtcGII Caught lTOul lOllS use
Of backwoods English:
'Listen how the boy brags! Ye
might think to hear Rene talk that
he actually amounted to big pile"
This parsonage was known to every
Foul in Vincennes as Oncle Jazon, and
when Oncle Jazon spoke the whole
town felt bound to listen.
A. L. IL.
ndded. with an intolerable wink
"Aimed at the door and hit the post
Certainly Long Hair would have been
in great danger! Oh, yes, he'd ave
killed Long Hair at the first shot,
wouldn't he thought
"All right, Oncle Jazon," said Rene.
laughing and blowing the smoke out
sf his pistol. "'Twas you, all the same.
who let Long Hair trot off with the
governors brandy; not l. If you could
have hit even doorpost 1t might have
been better"
Oncle Jazon took of his cap and
looked down into it In a way he had
when about to say something final.
''Ventrebleu! l did not shoot at Long
Hair at ALL" he said, speaking slowly.
because the scoundrel was 'unarmed
He didn't have on even a knife, and he
was havin' enough 10 do dodgin' the
bullets that the rest of 'em were
plumpin' at i'm without any compli-
ments from me to bother i'm more"
"Well," Rene replied, turning away
with n laugh, 'ff I'd been scalped by
the Indians as you ave | don't think
there would be any particular reason
why l should wait for an Indian thief
to go and arm himself before 1 ac-
cepted him as a target"
Oncle JaZon lifted hand involuntar-
lily and rubbed his scalpless crown;
then he chucl1led with grotesque
grimace as If the recollection of hav-
thing ina maginable.
"When you've killed as many of 'em
as Oncle JaZon has" remarked by
stander to Rene, you'll not be so
hungry for blood, maybe"
Especially after ye've took fifty-nine
scalps to pay for yer one" added oncle
Jazon, replacing his cap over the hair
less area of his crown.
The men who had been chasing Long
Hair presently came struggling back
with their stories-each had distinct
one-of how che fugitive escaped. They
were wild looking fellows, most OF
them somewhat intoxicated, all pro-
fusely liberal with their stock of pic
turesque profanity. They represented
the toughest element of the well nigh
lawless post.
I'm positive that he's wounded"
said one. Jacques and l shot at him
together, SO that our pistols sounded
just as if only one had been fired
bang! that way-and he leaped side
ways for all the world like q bird
with n broken leg. l thought he'd fall;
but We! he ran Eastern ever, and all at
once he was gone-just disappeared"
"Well, tomorrow We'll get him." said
another. "You and | and Jacques,
wen take up his trail, the thief, and
follow him till we find him. He can't
get off SO easy"
II don't know SO well about that"
said another ITS Long Hair, you must
remember, and Long Hair is no COM
mon buck that just anybody can find
asleep. You know what Long Hair is.
Nobody's ever got even with i'm yet.
That's so, amt it? Just ask oncle
Jazon, il you don't believe itr'
The next morning Long Hair was