Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1907-05-02

IKE a sieuthhound, noting a hundred
things which eve Amos would have
overlooked. He circled round the
bodies again and again; then he ran
a little way toward the edge of the
woods and then came back TO the char
red ruins of the blockhouse.
There is no sign of the women and
children" said he. They are keeping
the children to burn at their leisure I'm
their villages. The women they may
torture or may adopt, as the humor
takes them"
ASK him, Amos said the
"why we are yawing and lacking
here when we should be cracking on
all sail to stand after them"
Du Lhut smiled and shook his head.
Your friend Is a brave man." said he.
'1f he thinks that with four men we
can follow a hundred and fifty"
Tell him, Amos, that the Lord will
bear us up said the other eXcitedly.
"Say that he will be with us against
the children of Jeroboam. and we will
cut them off utterly"
But Du Lhut waved aside the sea-
mans suggestions. I'VE must have a
care now" said he, ''or we shall lose
our own scalps and be the cause of
those at Ste. Marie losing theirs as
well"
"Ste. Marie!" cried De Catinat. rs
there, then, danger at Ste. Marie?"
AYE, they are in the VOLTS mouth
now. This business was done last
night. The place was stormed by a
war party of a hundred and fifty men.
This morning they left and went north
upon foot. They have been cached
among the woods all day between Poi
tou and Ste. Marie"
'Then we have come through thems'
Eyes, we have come through them.
They would keep their camp today
and send out scouts. Brown Moose
and his son were among them and
struck our trail. Tonight
Tonight they will attack Ste. Ma
rie!"
at is possible. And yet with so
small a party | should scarce have
thought that they would have dared.
Well, we can but hasten back as quick
ly as we can and give them warning
Of what is hanging over them
And so they turned for their weary
backward journey, though their minds
were too full to spare a thought upon
the leagues which lay behind them or
those which were before.
Dark as it was, Du Lhut walked as
swiftly as during the sunlight and
never hesitated about the track. His
comrades could see, however, that he
was taking them a different way from
that which they had gone in the morn
ing, for twice they caught a sight of
the glimmer of the broad river upon
their left, while before they had only
seen the streams which flowed into 1t.
On the second occasion he pointed to
where on the farther side they could
see dark shadows.
~"Iroquois Canoes" he whispered.
There are ten of them, with eight
men in each. They are another party"
"How do you know that they are
another party?'
Because we have crossed the trail
Of the first within the hour"
De Catinat was filled with amaze
ment at this marvellous man who could
hear in his sleep and could detect a
trail when the very tree trunks were
invisible to ordinary eyes. Du Lhut
halted a little to watch the canoes and
then turned his back to the river and
plunged into the woods once more un-
til they came to the edge of a moonlit
clearing. Du Lhut was about to skirt
this, as he had done others, when sud
denly he caught De Catinat by the
shoulder and pushed him down behind
a clump of sumac, while Amos did the
same with Ephraim Savage.
A man was walking down the other
side Of the open space. He had just
emerged and was crossing 1t diagonal
ly, making in the direction of the riv-
er. His body was bent double, but as
he came out from the shadow of the
trees they could see that he was an
Indian brave In full war paint, with
leggings, loin cloth and musket. Close
at his heels came a second, and then a
third and a fourth, on and on. until II
seemed as If the wood was full of men
and that the line would never come to
an end. Last of all came a man in the
fringed tunic Of a hunter, with a cap
and feather upon his head. He passed
across like the others, and they van
ished into the shadows. 1t was five
minutes before Du Lhut thought II
safe to rise from their shelter.
"By Ste. Amer he whispered. did
you count them?"
"Three hundred and ninety-six," said
Amos.
81 made 1t 402."
"And you thought that there were
only a hundred and fifty Of Them
cried De Catinat.
"Ah, you do not understand. This Is
a fresh band. The others who took the
blockhouse must be over there, for
their trail lies between us and the
river. In their camp there are now
nearly 600 warriors. Unless we warn
them at Ste. Marie these devils will lay
some trap for them. Their parties are
assembling by land and by water. and
there may be a thousand before day
break. We must push on and give our
warning"