The Tupelo journal., 1907-03-22
TUpELo MISSISSIPPI. FRIDAY MARCH p, 1907
The Two Friends United.
By COL. w. L. CLAYTON.


ter, the beaver and the mink,
and kept an eye out for the Red
skins and grizzlies. How happy
and contented were the Two
Friends amid these scenes how
employed and anxious were the
old trappers! Far from home
and the loved ones left behind,
without comforts and suffering
many privations; yet, the true
advance of civilization, home and
comfort, and the real Pathfinder
of our western wilds. AS the
two old trappers were one day
trudging along on the bank of
the stream looking after and re.
setting their traps there might
have been heard at a distance the
twang of a bow string from the
hiding place of the Comanche
warrior, and there came an ar
row from the bow with a peculiar
siss!, we'll known to the from
tiersman, coming SO close to the
cap of one of the trappers that it
brushed the fur, and the sensa-
ton was so great that the old
man almost felt the pain of the
flint. You see the wise Indian
knew that if he used his trusty
rifle and should fail of his mark,
the noise and smoke would reveal
his hiding place. Said one of the
trappers to the other: 'Drat
that Redskin;he came near spoil
ing my cap, but he'd better send
another in short order or I'll be
with him with my Betsy and
so saying, they both tucked be-
meath the bank just as another
arrow passed directly over the
place where they had stood.
The shrewd woodsmen had at
once glanced in the direction of
the supposed hiding place of the
Camanche Brave, and pretty well
took in the situation, but not suf-
ficiently to catch sight of the
enemy. Crawling on hands and
knees under the protection of
the overhanging bank, one of the
trappers discovered q small orifice
in the sheltering ledge by which
he could view the outlying ridge
and at the same time himself be
protected from the arrows of his
foe. Whispering to his compan-
ion who remained still in the
same place where they had first
concealed themselves from the
Sizing missel, the practiced In
dian fighter said: Joe, just put
up your cap a leetle on a piece of
that stick so can see the critter
when he makes another move to
shoot, and I'll teach him to let
honest folk alone" In accord
ance with the directions given,
the trapper, lying prone upon the
ground under the protection of
the friendly bank, Slowly eleva
ted his cap on a small twig. IS
though he were looking cautious
ly for his foe, when all at once,
there came crash, and the In
dian arrow passed through the
elevated cap and carried it some
feet from the hand that held the
branch. But, although the bow
was bent and the arrow sped in
a twinkling, it was not so quick
but the practiced eye of Sneak,
the other trapper, saw the move
ment of the bow and the passage
of the arrow through the air.
Having thus located the enemy,
the next thing was to ascertain
if possible whether there was
more than one. Several times
the cap was elevated and as often
there came an arrow from the
Indians S bow, but no evidence of
more than one enemy was seen,
but he was very careful not to
expose his own body to the rifle
of the white man Sneak, with
his eye alert, and his ever trusty
rifle in readiness TO send the fatal
bullet into the body of the Ca
manche, watched his opportunity
to end the unpleasant situation.
Finally. the Indian, in great anx-
iety to ascertain the hiding place
of the trappers, exposed a small
part of his head, when Sneak
said; now Joe, he's dead In
jun,' and suiting the action to
the word, the trusty rifle, point
ing through the orifice in the over
shadowing ledge, sped the fatal
lead unerringly to the mark, and
the Indian brave pitched forward
on his face, his bow and ready
arrow falling from his hand and
his rifle, which was always car
ried, but not always used, drop
ped from behind the tree which
he had used as a screen. War
rior, rest thee, thy warfare's
Ger. The happy hunting grounds
Of which thy medicine men have
told thee, now, according to their
teaching, opens up to thy view.
There the fish will ever bask in
the sunny streams; the buffalo,
elk and deer will roam, undis-
turbed by the white skin, over