Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1912-06-13

must be those to whom the dis
carded refuse of an abandoned
4 Indian camp seems wealth. Yet
such was the case with us. two repre-
sentatives of the higher civilization,
thus removed from that civilization by
no more than a few days span. As
soon as was able to stand we remov-
ed our little encampment to the ground
lately occupied by the Indian village.
We must have food. and could not
yet hunt. Here at the camp we found
some bits of dried meat. We found a
ragged and half hairless robe. discard
ed by some squaw. and to us it seem
ed priceless. for now we had a house
by day and a bed by night. A half
dozen broken lodge poles seemed rich
es to us. We boarded some broken
moccasins which had been thrown
away
For myself. weakened by sickness,
such food as we had was of little serv-
ice. l knew that | was starving and
feared that she was doing little better.
l.
had propped up our little canopy of
hide to break the sun. Her face was
clean drawn now into hard lines of
muscle. Her limbs lay straight and
clean before her as she sat, her hands
lying in her lap as she looked out
across the plains. Her eyes were still
brown and clear. her figure still was
that of woman. She was still sweet
to look upon, but her cheeks were
growing hollow. Unless presently
could arise and kill meat for her then
must the world roll void through the
ether, unpeopled ever more.
/ know not what thoughts came to
her mind as we sat looking out on the
pictures of the mirage which the sun
was painting on the desert landscape.
But finally as we gazed there seemed
among these weird images one colossal
tragic shape which moved, advanced,
changed definitely. Now it stood in
giant stature and now dwindled, but
always it came nearer. We realized
at last that it was solitary buffalo
bull, no doubt coming down to water
at little coulee just beyond us. 1
turned to look at her and saw her eyes
growing fierce She reached back for
my rifle. and | arose.
Come" / said. and so we started
We dared not use the horse in stalking
our game.
could stand, could walk short
way. but the weight of this great rife,
sixteen pounds or more. which | had
never felt before, now seemed to crush
me down. She put her arm about me
firmly, her face frowning and eager.
"Can you go?" she said.
NO" said l, 81 cannot. but l must
and | SHALL" put away her arm from
me, but in turn she caught up the rife.
Even for this | was still too proud.
'No," said |, II have always carried
my own weapons thus far"
Come. then" she said. this way"
and SO caught the muzzle of the heavy
barrel and walked on, leaving me the
stock to support for my share of the
weight. Thus we carried the great
rife between us. and SO stumbled on
until at length the sun grew too warm
for me, and l dropped. overcome with
fatigue. Patiently she waited for me,
and SO we two. partners. mates. man
and woman. primitive. the first. went
on little by little.
&C.," said |. motioning toward the
rife. Il am too weak. might miss.
l can get no farther"
She caught up the rife barrel at its
balancing point. looked to the lock as
a man might have done. and leaned
forward. eager as any man for the
chase. 1.-the, brown. sinuous. she
crept rapidly away. and presently was
hid where the grass grew taller in the
fat beyond. The bull moved forward
little also. and lost sight of both
for what seemed to me an unconscion-
able time. She told me later that she
crept close to the water hole and wait
ed there for the bull to come, but that
he stood back and stared ahead stupid
~ and would not move. She said she
trembled when at last he approached.
so savage was his look Even a man
might be smitten with terror at the
fierce aspect of one Of these animals.
But at last heard the bitter crack
Of the rife and. raising my head. saw
her spring up and then drop down
again. Then. staggering short way
up the opposite slope, saw the slow
bulk Of the great black bull. He turn
ed and looked back, his head low. his
eyes straight ahead. Then slowly he
kneeIed down and so died, with his
forefeet doubled under him.
She came running back to me, full
of savage joy at her success, and put
her arm under my shoulder and told
me to come. Slowly. fast as could,
went with her to our prey. We
butchered our buffalo as Auberry had
showed me. from the backbone down.
as he sat dead on his forearms. split
ting the skin along the spine and lay
ing il ont for the meat to rest upon.