Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-07-16

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no living man could long face and live
TO lose ones self on those bald prairies
meant certain death.
MY winters on the upper Missouri
had taught me caution, so the moment
I found difficulty in keeping the road
l pulled out to one side into shallo"
swale and unhitched my team.
Then. first tramping rather narrow
circle in the snow, l covered my mules
with buffalo hobes, and throughout the
long hours of the night tramped round
my saving circle, leading the beasts
It was the only way to save them
and myself from freezing, and stick &c
it and pull through we did.
The next day l managed to walloW
through to Painted Woods, and there
Law several days, resting and thawine
out my frost-bites.
Returned to Bismarck, was pre-
pairing to pull out for new fields, When
an incident happened that served &c
hasten my departure. A widow Whom
knew we'll and respected, appealed 70
me for protection against dlssolute
character named Barker who had peen
persistently annoying her with MS at
tentions calling frequently OF evenings
and threatening to break in when she
denied him admission.
Knowing the thoroughly bad char.
acter of the man, I suggested that
would call early that evening, On the
chance he might appear later and give
me an opportunity to throw the 1ear
Of God into him. @"t-s
But. as so often occurs in life. II
was the unexpected that happened
That evening he stole up to the mouse
early caught her unawares, ana was
inside before she realized he was near
few minutes later his ear caught the
crunch of my feet upon the snow as !
approached.
Noticing a trap-door leading into a
cellar, he slid through it, threatening
her with death if she revealed MS
hiding-place. -
Entering at her prompt answer TO
nv knock, | remarked, well m1ssey'
the sooner your friend Barker calls
now the better" before noticing that
she stood with finger on lips ard eyes
glued to spot on the floor behind me,
Turning. was just in time to make
a lightning side-leap, as that trap-door
suddenly raised and an out-thrust
pistol blazed at me. But, too OLD
bird at the game to give any man a
second chance at me, before he coulo
fire again had my pistol-barrel IN MS
ear and persuaded him to back up, or
rather down, into the cellar
hn vii faCCn
nails and a hammer, l nailed MIN
safely within his retreat.
Safe as she was at the moment. 50
thoroughly terrorized had she become
Eof the rufian that she insisted on leav'
ling me on guard of the house Whlle
she hurried down town in search OF a
buyer for her effects.
And when, within an hour, she re-
turned to announce to me her traps
disposed of. I put her on the midnight
train, bound east.
Directly the train departed, l went
back to her house and freed Barker
from his cellar prison.
had rather hoped the several hours
he had passed there in cold storage
would have lowered the temperature
Of hts rage to a safe degree. But when
7 let him out and told him the Wldo"
had jumped the town. he showed SC
warlike it cost me about twenty dol
lars for drinks to mollify his wrath to
point 1 dared leave him-safe ne
would not be tracking and bushwhack
ing me.
Aud to make quite sure of avoiding
further trouble with him, myself took
train early the next forenoon 1ol
Fort Gary, now Winnipeg.