The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-08-01

had been fred, with an execrable aim,
by fellow who had caught sight of
me from the hillside above. The smoke
of his rife betrayed him, and I was
no sooner on my feet than he was off
his and rolling down the declivity. Then
[ ran in STOPPING posture. lodging
among the clumps of sage, brush in
storm of bullets from invisible enemies
The rascals did not rise and pursue,
which I thought rather queer, as they
must have known by my trail that they
had to deal with only one man. The
reason for their inaction was soon made
clear. | had not gone a hundred yards
before | reached a large spring-the
source Of the creek. Immediately be.
yond was the head of the gulch which
II had mistaken for a canon; it termi.
mated in a coneave surface of rock,
nearly vertical and destitute of vege,
tation. In that cul-de-sac [ was caught
like rat in trap. Pursuit was
needless; they had only to wait.
"They waited. For two days and
nights, crouching behind a rock topped
with a growth of mesquite. and with
the cliff at my back, suffering agonies
of thirst and absolutely hopeless of de,
iverance, | fought the fellows at long
range, firing occasionally at the smoke
of their rifles, as they did at that of
mine. Of course, [ did not dare to
close my eyes at night, and lack of
sleep was my keenest torture.
81 remember the morning of the
third day, which l knew was to be my
l. T
that in my desperation and delirium
l sprang out into the open and began
firing my repeating rifle without see
ing anybody to fire at. And I remem'
Der no more of that fight.
HThe next thing I recollect was my
pulling myself out of river just at
nightfall had not rag of clothing
and knew nothing of my whereabouts,
but all that night I Travelled, cold and
footsore, toward the north. At day
break [ found myself at Fort G. F.
Smith, my destination, but without my
dispatches. The first man that I met
was a sergeant named William Briscoe,
whom I knew very well. You can
fancy his establishment at seeing me
in that condition, and my own at his
asking who the devil I was.
=" Dave Duck, I answered; 'who
should I be?'
"He stared like an owl.
% You do look it, he said, and l
observed that he drew a little away
from me. What s up?' he added.
81 told him what had happened to
me the day before. He heard me
through, still staring; then he said:
g My dear fellow, if you are Dave
Duck l ought to inform you that 7
buried you two months ago. | was out
| with a small scouting party and found
your body, full of bullet-h holes and new.
| ly scalped-somewhat mutilated too, I
am sorry to say-right where you say
| you made your fight. Come to my tent
| and I'll show you your. clothing and
! some letters that [ took from your per
/ son; the commandant has your dis
! patches
"He performed that promise. He
showed me the clothing, which I reso.
lutely put on; the letters, which l put
into my pocket. He made no objection,
then took me to the commandant, who
heard my story and coldly ordered
/ Briscoe to take me to the guardhouse.
On the way [ said:
Bill Briscoe. did you really and
truly bury the dead body that you
found in these togs9'
Sure he answered. Just as I
told you. 1t was Dave Duck, all right !;
most of us knew him. And now, you
damned impostor, you better tell me
who you are and what all this means.
I'D give something to know /
said.
GA week later, [ escaped from the
fort and got out of the country as
fast as / could. Twice [ have been
back seeking for that fateful spot in
the hills, but unable to find it,
A Wireless Message.
In the summer of 1896 Mr.. William
Holt, wealthy manufacturer of Chi
cago, was living temporarily in a little
town of central New York, the name
of which the writer memory has not
retained. Mr.. Holt had had ''trouble
with his wife, from whom he had
separated a year before. Whether the
trouble was anything more serious than
"incompatibiity of temper" he is
probably the only living person that
knows: he is man not addicted to
the vice of condolences. Yet he has
related the incident herein set down
to at least one person without exact
ing any pledge of secrecy. He is now
in Europe.
One evening he had left the house OF
a brother with whom he was living, fol
a stroll in the country. 1t may be
assumed-whatever the value of the
assumption in connection with what i:
said to have occurred-that his mind was
occupied with reflections on his domes
tic infelicities and the distressing
!, changes that they had wrought in hi
life. Whatever may have been his
thoughts, they so possessed him thai
he observed neither the lapse of time
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