The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1906-09-22

four black fellows. armed with spears
and kylies, going along the other
shore. one behind another, all bent
forward and moving quickly, as if
Tracking game.
| watched them q moment and it
then oer-rrai to ne. far more sudden
y than was agreeable, that | had my
SELF @s.cd along there but a few min
utes te-Cre on my way to the hut. and
tnat Was the game
! The conviction was unmistakable.
and S2Ee me a most unpleasant thrill
cartridges
Bat was not long rejecting that il
! was best 20 keen those spear and kyle
! fellows Oh The f@.,her side of the pool.
| 50, stepping on = sight, | cooked my
carbine and shc-:.i across. All stop
ped short and ,;.red at me. Then |
saw one OF the. alf-raise his hand
and 81 four d.. ed out of sight in
the grass.
To let them wv was armed, as
well as to t.y . > cartridges, took
aim at the trEi # a large gnm-tree
over there, and fired. The we!l-crimp-
ed cartridge pros ed effective. and fol-
loving the report | heard The bullet
spat against the trunk Of the gum.
instantly the blacks sparg TO their
feet with a defiant "Ooo-arrh.' and
disappeared among the trees.
But there Lad been an accent of exul-
tant hostility in the shout which made
ne think there might ba more to come
Ct IT, | now took serious thought as
to what had better do. and was not
long in deciding thai our ranch would
be good place for me-before they
raised the whole black country! I
knew the general direction of our
place from the river. and striking into
five ile-an hour jog, | soon left hut
and pool behind
had not gone far, however. when
| found myself growing exceedingly
weary | had not eaten much for
twenty-four hours; and falling asleep |
in wet clothes the previous night had |
been very unwise | had felt feverish
all the morning, and now headache |
and giddiness beset me.
kept on for an hour, however, COM |
ing at last to rocky uplands, where lay
great numbers of immense boulders OF I
large as a small house.
climbed on one of them and sat
GOV Il. where the dropping limbs of a
gun brushed the top of it. | felt nei-
thtr energy or care for what might
h9lHen. To go on seemed insupport-
allie eyerticn; an uncomfortable i'm
pulse 10 lie down came over ma-and
/ must have dropped asleep there
The sound of low voices reused me.
and raising my head off the hard
rock. saw something which instantly
aWOke me-
little way back on my trail were
what looked TO be ten or twelve ekeI-
etons, stealing forward These skel-
etons carried shields, spears and Ky
lies, however. They were black fell
lows, painted according to their Gus
tom for war or a corrobOree. outlining
their ribs and other bones in white
laub.
The pendent foliage of the gum had
prevented them from seeing me. l
rev back the hammer Of my carbine,
md under other circumstances it
would have been amusing, at the click.
and look about them
They saw me now: but instead J
# throwing their spears, they dropped !
II the grass and wriggled away like I
;nalles-in dread of the white mans ,
lead!y rifle {
Watching them disappear. slid down I
rom the rock and made off as fast as t
could.
By this time it was three O'Clock of
not and loWery afternoon; the mists
lad wholly lifted. My head ached t
cry severely: but | went on for two t
tours Or more, over sterile, rocky hills G
o the west of the Fitzroy. Toward S
he northeast | could see the river low S
ands and the clumps of lofty, flooded
ans which marked its course. | was
hus enabled to keep to the direction
which | knew our ranch lay. But e
was evidently long way off still; a
nd as evening drew on, l grew quite s.
discouraged, as much from illness and e
ack of strength as fear of my pur- n
uers.
My plight, indeed, was an unenvia- e.
lie one If l went on after nightfall II
was almost certain to be pushed" n
gain, and if l lay. down and fell a.
sleep, the black fellows might steal
p and spear me. But coming before &
ong to brook. hit on a ruse for II
hrowing them off my trail first a.