The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1906-02-03
t Days in the Saddle.
Adventures with Troop of Cavalry
After Indians.

| and rode with his StirrupS so short
that his knees were showed half way
up to his chin, and in riding he leaned
forward in the saddle something as
English hunters are represented in
newspaper cuts as doing, but no fox
hunter or any one else could follow
the hounds riding as he did. l could
not, at least.
We were taught to ride with stirrup
straps long enough to allow our legs
to extend their full length and to sit
erect in the saddle Had we leaned
forward as he did, an officers saber
across our backs would have straight
ened us up. Crawford carried
Henry rifle on the saddle in front of
him and lugged around two Colts pis-
tolls day and night. He slept with
! them on. We had to do that ourselves
at times. but unless | was told to keep
mine on it came off promptly when |
lay down. | could get it quickly
enough if l needed it.
He had been an Indian fighter all
his life. or said he had, and as he
found us no Indians this trip, and
never made another one with us |
will have to take his word for it, but
| from what l saw of him afterward.
| If | were an Indian he would be the
man l should want to follow me- |
| would not expect to have to fight him
| oftener than twice day.
We went into camp more than half
mile beyond the cave, and as soon
| as our horses were staked out | went
to Crawford and asked him if he
would go and examine that cave with
me. No, he did not care to walk that
| far.
1T is only half a mile" said.
Eyes, but it is another half mile
back, and amt used to walking. You
may go down and get that bear if you
want him."
81 want him of course, if he is
there"
"Oh, he is there all right l saw his
tracks there"
| went to the major and asked per-
mission to hunt the bear.
Yes he told me, hunt him, but
as Mr.. Crawford was going to do"
l had no idea of doing that l did
not want bear quite SO badly as that,
and l don't think that Crawford had
ever meant to crawl into it, either.
He was not exactly fool.
On my way to the cave l began to
study plans to get him out of it if he
in il without in
ging him out. first thought to climb
up there, then give him a shot or two
into, but l dismissed that plan. l
might kill him If l did and would
not know it, l was not going in to
see. According to some authorities
on bears, it takes a man and gun
half day to kill one. Sometimes it
half day, then did not kill him.
don't know that l ever wounded him,
though l shot at him often enough.
And again l have killed one in less
than two minutes with pistol. 1t
depends good deal on where you hit
the bear how many shots it takes to
kill him.
l got down in front of the cave and
examined the ground for bear signs,
but found none. The ground, what lit
tie there was of it that was not COW
cred with loose rocks, was hard yellow
clay-an OK team passing over it
would hardly leave sign.
Gathering up a lot of dry brush,
weeds and leaves l piled them in
front of the cave, set them on fire, and
going off few feet to one side waited
for the bear or bears to come out
had Spencer carbine and Colts
pistol, and l though that l could stop
all the bears that might be in there.
The wind drove the smoke right into
the cave, the fire burned out, but no
bear made his appearance. There
would be no danger in going into that
cave now, and l tried it, but as there
was too much smoke in it l had to
crawl out l went back to camp and
Crawford wanted to know if l had seen
the bear.
"No, SIR, there is none there, nor has
there been any lately"
"Oh, yes, there has BEEN" he had
seen their signs.
You could not see sign there with
a microscope. The ground is too
hard"
There might be plenty Of signs
there that an old hunter could see,
and you could not. You have not
been in this country long"
Eyes, know; but we have men in
this troop that have been, some Of
them twenty years out on the frontier
| myself have been pretty we'll over
the Northwest, and have hunted with
Sioux Indians. They know something
about signs, don't they? We are not