Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1905-12-19
tired. So he lighted fire, ate supper,
made his bed, and slept, with Letters |

In the night Letters growled and
| paved at his masters breast All the
| evening pair of mountain lions had
been screaming not far away: but such
sounds were too familiar to alarm
| either Ben or the dog.
Wondering that the dog had reused
| him. Ben took his rifle and went out.
| His campfire, nearly burned to ashes
| and close to the gulch wall, was visible
few yards distance. There was but
faint moonlight down in the gulch,
but the rough snowy edges showed dis
tinctly against the sky.
| Seeing nothing alarming, Ben sup.
| posed that one of the lions had ven.
tured to the gulch cliff directly over
the camp, so that the dog smelled him.
II so, the creature was now gone; be.
sides, he cared little for such beasts.
Walking silently down the gulch
little way, he suddenly encountered a
deer, probably going to the spring to
J drink. His rifle sprang to his shout
der, but it took some seconds to eaten
an aim in that light AS his finger
pressed the trigger, he saw, out of the
corner of one eye, the head and pricked
ears of lion rise over the edge of the
gulch above him.
With the flash and crack of his rifle
the deer leaped and fell, and the
stretched body of lioness appeared
falling through the air upon Ben. He
was driven violently back into the
snow, and lay dazed.
/ =, HI Nd
his sight cleared. The lioness stood
with one paw on his thigh. Instead Of
selling his throat, she screamed an eX-
ulting signal to her mate, and watched
Letters who was bounding frantically
about her, menacing assaults upon her
tanks.
The dog soon ran in valiantly and
nipped her tail She turned head,
snarling. This gave Ben chance. He
slyly drew his revolver. At the click
of its hammer the lioness started, but
too late. He shot her through the head
and was trying to rise when the lion
leaped from above at the dog, only to
receive ball in his chest as he
alighted
In scrambling out of the way, and
firing again, Ben became conscious of
a frightful pain in his right leg. He
could not get upon his feet, SO he
erawled to the lioness and sat upon her
to examine his hurts. The small bone
was broken between knee and ankle
His clothing was torn, and there were
long. raw scratches upon his left shoul
der and arm. He sat few moments,
thinking.
Here's fix" he said to himself 81
shan't be able to walk in fortnight
maybe a month-and the mail due
through day after tomorrow. No help
nearer than two days journey. What
ought fellow to do? First, got to fix
n this leg myself. Next, get up that deer
y for provision. Lucky there's lots OF
i wood ready Guess can stick it out
f here till can travel, if they don't miss
a the mail and send scout to look for
4 1t. Here you, Letters. quit worrying
the lions earl
!. Ben crawled to the nearest bushes
and cut half a dozen stout splints
With these and his handkerchief he
bound up his leg, first carefully put
ting the bone in place. Then he
crawhed to the camp, cut a long string
from the sledge there, and wound his
bound-up leg securely. Also he washed
his scratches and anointed them with
fat melted over his fire. With the az
he cut two crotched poles for crutches
put his broken leg in sling from his
shoulder, and found that he could hob
BILE slowly.
Thus he made his way down to the
deer, skinned and cut it up, and witt
Letters to help pull, dragged its flesf
to camp on its skim yard at time
In doing this while his hurts were We
). new, he suffered much less than If h,
had waited
This work occupied him all night
By the time he had eaten little break
fast his hurts began to infiame, and tn
pain made him feel sick. Nevertheless
he slept several hours in pure exhaus
ton.
When he awoke at noon his broke
leg was swollen and very painful. s
he heated water in his camp pan, an
laved it for long time, until the swell
y ing partly subsidized and the ache neal
y ly ceased But his scratches burne
and smarted dreadfully.
Four days of this wore upon Bel
- Ceaseless pain, an awful sense of lone
ly helplessness, cold, damp, sleepes
ness, the accidental touching of hi
sores and continual irritation, all t,
gethef were united with worry abo,
= the mail.
AS 1t was now two days past til
time when the mail was due, Ben b
gan to hope the settlers would sen
for 1t. Naturally they would be imp,
tient at not receiving their Christina
letters and packages.
~ So far the weather had been goo
Letters had enjoyed himself. The r
mains of the deer and lions furnishe
him with all the feasting to which l
chose to invite himself
The fifth day great storm bega
which lasted several days, with inte
walls. Snow fell thickly, and a ga
blew great drifts over the rocky wal
of the gulch, filing it with deep pile
Luckily the camp and spring we
i under the sheltering wall. All alol
n, that side there remained a mario
s clear streak, path by which Lette
- went to his feasts, and space for B,
to move about the little that was ne
Y essary. This storm put an end
hopes of speedy rescue. No SEQ
would go over the trail until the sno