Los Angeles herald., 1906-02-11
UP the Missouri
oondnuer From Preceding Page

Condnuer From Preceding Page
coming from short distance up the ra-
VINE. Thinking, perhaps, it might be stray
aaihlmai, as there were no inhabitants within
enree miles OF the place, he turned and went
~ tne hollow to see. He had gone but short
Instance when he heard voices, and, step
pIln9 among some bushes, he carefully. work
CO. e ms way, toward them until he could dis
t.ntngulsh what they said, and learned that
vney were going to Fort Rice; that they
were 70 sell a pair of mules there. which he
stolen; and their talk also Indicated that from
t!hat point they should 60 on to Fort Benton,
in Montana.
Here Here as they were evidently preparing to
move on, he slipped away.
onarie thanked the man, and pushed ahead,
almost wondering at his own firm determine
essary.
A., tie had no plan as to how he should get
the t rha,es IL he should be able to overtake
!. some way. He now knew that they were
Just half day ahead of him, and were
srayehhg as fast as his own animal could
no,t ous Tor any great distance He had
posted the notice above Fort Randall, in
Cne vague nope it would meet our eyes, but
with little idea that we would follow him
so far.
!, When ne reached Fort Thompson and found
tnat mere were no more posts or agencies
ap pJn F Rs sqe OF the river between that point
anu rore hlce, he had been compelled to
iay III = stock OF provisions, for now he be-
ne ,ot tnat the latter place was the objective
Polnt Oh the thieves, and determined to push
lor that post, whether he found any further
evidence or not.
The officers warned him of the bad dispo-
sltlon OF several of the upper tribes of Sioux,
ana AM also cautioned him to dodge the Sank
kliaee, IL possible, without being seen, and he
had passed it in the night.
lie mad seen no Indians upon the route;
ma. naa putt Quit fire but twice, and the rest of
the time he had camped in some secluded
spGt at a distance from the trail. His horse
had held out better than he expected. al
Inouen IL grew thin and gaunt, until the
morning before he reached the place where
We We mad found it lying dead That morning
and seemed stiff and sore, and when he had
reached the bottom of the gully. Bonaparte.
as Charhe called him, threw himself upon
tne ground and utterly refused to get up
Seeing that the horse had really given out,
and was incapable of going further. he took
on MS saddle and bride, and throwing them
down beside him, pressed on afoot feeling, as
he said, "awfully blue"
90 Sharply and constantly had he been
been every. night, that he scarcely gave him
seit time to think of the serious nature of
the task he had undertaken. But this morn
ing the almost hopeless dreariness of his long
tour nearly overcame him. Charlie knew
however from the descriptions he had 70.
Geived OF the route at Thompson, that Fort
Rice could not be more than a two-davs
walk ahead OF him, and that steamboats, ran
up and down the river quite frequently at
this season of the year, so that he couii oct
back from there. e''
He had little faith now that he should ever
regain the mules, as for three davs ha nod
seen no signs which would Indicate that thew
were ahead of him.
The plucky fellow Travelled hard all dav
and succeeded by night in reaching a branch
oil Long Lake Greek, stream which empties
into the Missouri at some distance below the
fort. O'" VIC
The reader will bear in mind that the trail
forked several miles the other side OF the
place where we had captured the Assni
BON. One of these routes led across tbe
high, rolling country, and the other bore
nearer the Missouri. Charlie had taken the
former and we the latter He found n small
stream of water running through the he'd
of the little tributary, and patches of scrnb.
by bushes on either side of the fordinp Mace
de had a few crackers left, and Crawling
into one of the bush patches beside the road
which, although but few feet from the trail
still afforded perfect screen and shelter, he
ate his scanty supper and rolled himself in his
blanket N -'
When consciousness again came to him
the sun was an hour high, peeping over the