The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-05-07


outfung arms and the canoe tilted the four who
had been standing amidshps fell the gunwaes.
violent trembling seized me, and deadly sickness.
leaned against tree feeling that the hand Of death
wns upon me. When looked again the Indians were
struggling about the overturned canoe In ruddy
froth. Two floating away upon the current
Two others, coughing his last breath with pune
tured lung, clung the dugout Another he who had
shot me. swimming down stream with his weapon
and powder horn held high. The last the man who
had padded at the stern, coming straight for
Such is the San Bias Indian. He fights like the
jaguar, against any odds and without knowledge Of
fear. This savage, who had seen four Of his
panons drilled like beads for string with the deadly
steel bullet Of my weapon, hurled himself toward
with face Of demoniac rage exposing himself TO
my fire while he shoreward- He carried a
Jagged spear one hand and when within his depth
lifted himself all dripping and charged with the yell
of wild beast through the shadows and up the bank
I was scarce conscious. what with pain and the In
tense exctaon Of the attack and the terrible
effect of my IRE. do not believe that 1 was afraid,
but all Of 1angle I certainly thought that my
side was shot away I had slid to the ground behind
the tree, clutching my rife In q shaking grip.
That dreadful cry aroused ne and by the time
swung my weapon around the distorted face Of the
Indian danced before my blurred vision He
within striking distance his tense, muscled figure
thrown back for the cast the wet hair pastered
his staring eyes, when 1 botted out the appar-
tion pumping desperately at the trigger and yelling
/ know not what primal yell Of rage and defiance.
L must have thrown myself backward into the
thicket Immediately afterward. All my impressions
of the deadly affair come to me through red haze
like gmpses caught from a fantastic dream re-
member crawling through the underbrush pausing to
press my hand against my numbed side and to look
stupidly at the red stains my hand when brought
1t away But no than minute or two could
have passed before my last enemy was upon me-
1t the who had fired the musket; he who
had padded in the bow. He had swan ashore.
loaded and tracked me- He crouching to draw
upon again when lodged away around close
grown ciump of palms.
Men do strange things play strange games, at the
tensest and most desperate moments Of life. There
In that lonely jungle Of the San Bias hills child
might have laughed see the naked warrior and the
white man play at tag among the trees I discovered
an unexpected agility. My opponent livelier
or trickier than I. clawed around to the right, cir
cling swiftly he followed, but checking and turning
back as he sought to outwit
DO not know why fed him, unless 1t that
was sick at heart with the slaughter. But we played
the senseess game around the palms until my anger
came back to me at being chased hther and yon and
with spring l to him
1 knocked up his ancient musket as he did my rife
and each with hand upon the others weapon
wrestled for space. He bore backward with the
grip of his naked feet the earth and dashed my
shoulder painfully against trunk But here bad
purchase and hurled him back, releasing my hold
upon the musket and bringing down the muzzle of my
own rife. With the last shot in the clip killed him
The Race with the Canoes.
Staggering back TO the shore waded out to the
overturned canoe, The wounded savages had all dis
appeared Whether any Of them reached shore not
shall never know, 1t had come me suddenly that
here the craft had all wanted I had the dug
righted and partly bailed before thought to
look at my wound again. found that the charge had
inflicted injuries serious than bruises and
eratons. The musket had been loaded with insufficient
powder behind collection Of pebbles nails and metal
sugs.
/ attempted to paddle the waterlogged canoe up
stream but made slow work of it and presently
Of whole fleet Of similar craft far down the
river coming up, made haste to get to shore again
and to press toward the camp foot The canoes
passed in spite of my frantic efforts keep the
and my companions Stumbling through the
jungle running. falling, running again. forced to
keep out of sight from the water and In my haste
made burt poor progress, AS neared the camp heard
firing ahead of me and certain that the feet Of
canoes had attacked the party
As out into the little clearing where our tents
stood found my brother Smith and Bartlett plugging
away with rife and revolvers across the water. The
canoes were in ain view and crowded with
natives who were standing up and pop-popping with
their muskets. But they firing at the opposite
bank of the creek, not toward us.
For moment could not understand, until. seeing
puns Of smoke from hostile shore and observing the
stature and costume Of the natives in the canoes
knew that these arrivals acting as allies
instead of foes. The mountain Indians, their heredl-
the newcomers had joined heartily in the fray,
through the bitterness of their ancient feud.
BY this timely aid the mountain natives. whose fel
lows had attacked me were driven off.