Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1910-04-01
CHARLIE RENO'S GRANDSIRE.
By HERBERT COOLIDGE.

There used to be a saying among
my tribesmen." said Charlie Reno.
the Indian preacher, that working a
Modoc was like breaking a lynx to
lead My grandfather was a Modoc,
and from the age Of ten was a captive
among the Pitt Rivers. Some of the
stories he told about the way he and
his captors treated each other would
make you laugh, and others would
make your blood run cold. will
tell you the story of his last day Of
slavery just as he has told 1t to me
many times
Improvisation seemed a deeply
rooted instinct with Charlie Reno, and
as he took up the narrative one could
easily imagine himself in the pres
ence of grim old Indian grandsire.
'Manuk was my friend-all the
rest of the Pitt Rivers treated me
worse than a dog, He was the hest
hunter and the bravest fighter of the
tribe. was not yet grown--a Modoc
slave raised on women's workout
he treated me as one man treats an
other.
Grinding acorns and scraping
hides was worse than death for me,
and Manuk would borrow me some
times to help carry in game from the
mountains. He gave my owner veni-
son for this, when plenty of the young
sucking braves would have been glad
to help him for nothing.
He was ahead about ten steps
when we approached the scrub-oaks
above Rivers Fang, where he had
cached two deer. Manuk carried his
bow and arrows, I the long pole we
used to carry burdens with before the
day of horses came. Behind was the
long, wide flake-rock slide we had
crossed; before and below was the
fang Of the river. just its tip splitting
the freshet where it hissed along a
erack-likei channel down a fiat, slant
Ing bed Of solid stone: farther below.
fheu Waterfalls and rapids were trying
10 gna* the bottom out of the canyon.
Just as he stepped under the
branches, Manuk halted, motioned me
over his shoulder, and began back
tracking without a sound. l began
back-tracking, too, STOPPING at the
same time so that could look under
the foliage. l saw there the carcases
Of the two deer, both on the ground
and both chewed and mangled.
''At that moment there was a ter
rible crashing in the brush to the side
Of Manuk. saw the tops of the
bushes whipping furiously. saw Ma
nuk spriIc; straight into the air and
grasp an lak branch Just in time to
escape being borne to the ground by
the rush of the grizzly. But before
Manuk could wriggle out of reach, the
bear reared on its launches and made
a lunge with its paw that brought a
spurt of blood out of my hunter
friends leg below the knee.
THE grizzly whirled to make an
other upward drive. and I saw that
his right flank was Scared as by fire
or scalding. My heart fluttered then
like a woman's. Just to say Scar
Flank would set any of the Indians
round Mount Shasta to looking over
their shoulders, for old Scar-Flank,
1t was said. was the haunt of a crazy
''~n demon. 1 turned and scudded
u 3 the slide.
\ halfway across I heard terrible
shrieks, and stopped. l thought the
shrieks came out of my friend s
death-anguish, and 1 stood there, lis
tening and trembling. Then I heard
Manuk's shrill war-whoop; then he
began barking like dog. and knew
that he was trying TO scare the bear
with strange noises.
I was so afraid for my friend that
sneaked back toward the scrub
oaks. still chung to the long burden
pole. Having something in my hands
made me feel a little safer. Manuk
was in the topmost limb of the scrub
by little tree. He was lodging the
blows Of the bear as well as he could,
and the branch was nearly breaking.
! saw blood spattering down through
the foliage.
Il was too afraid for my friend to
leave him and to afraid for myself to
stir or make a sound. Then Manuk
saw me.
Run, Rum he cried. Run
and tell my people that old Scar
Flank has killed met
"A great warm feeling for my
friend came over me then. and hardly
knowing what l did. 1 picked up a
jagged fake of rock, ran little
nearer to old Scar-Flank, and threw
1t against his back But the bear
thought the blow came from Manuk
and tried all the harder to get at him
l picked up another chunk of rock
and threw it with all my strength. II
caught him on the head and brought
him round, charging.
"The terrible eyes of the grizzly
scared me out of my senses, and
ran like a rabbit across the slide
Behind me | heard the stone fakes
knocking together. and knew that old
Scar-Flank was coming.
a bear runs poorly along places
that are siding. | knew it, but who
could run before old Scar-Flank