The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1914-07-24
HLUSTRATEDbr DJ.LAyIN
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arm, his alert eyes searching out the
ground ahead. Behind him numbered
Schultz, heaVy-footed, and grumbling
Dutch oaths at every misstep yet
somehow managing to keep up; while
brought up the rear my gaze intent
on the surrounding ridges.
For three days we encountered moth
Ing to alarm. Brady purposely kept
away from all trails, trusting implicitly
to his instinct as a woodsman to dis
cover safe passage. He possessed
the instincts of the wild, the subtlety
of the savage, born of constant peril
and loneliness.
Once, where we forded a consider
able stream, which think now must
have been the Vermilion, we came up
on the blackened remains of a camp
nre, apparently deserted but a few
hours before, Brady examined it with
great care, trailing the party to the
river bank, and then making wide
circuit Of the woods, before he finally
returned satisfied.
Less than three hours gone" he
said soberly, and travelling north.
DO you know who they were?"
asked. How many were in the party?"
Miamis and Ojibwas, l reckon, and
they had prisoner, bound to that
small tree out yonder; see here, Hay
ward, the fellow had boots on, and not
moccasins. From the trail they made
here on the bank there must have been
twelve or fifteen Indians; ay, and a
white renegade" he bent down again
to study track in the mud, for this
is no REDSKINS foot, with the toes
| turned out" He swore, the only oath
had heard thus far from his lips, pluck
ing a few long hairs from off a spittle
of underbrush, and holding them up in.
to the sunlight. "a war party all right,
with scalps. One fellow brushed
against this bush as he came down
the bank; from the color they must
have been raiding the German settle
ments."
| stared at the floating hairs, shud
dering in horror, and hands gripped
hard on my rife.
Good God! and they are going oul
way?"
THAT needn't trouble us, while they
leave plain trail behind. Those devils
feel safe enough now, or they'd take
more care. We are in no danger while
they keep ahead of US"
We made detour to the right
plunging straight forward into the I'm
broken woods. Brady led at a fas
gait, his trained iron muscles tireless
while urged the breathless soldier tt
new exertions, frightening him by con
slant reference to the raiders SO close
at hand, The perspiration rolled dowl
his face, yet he kept close at Brady
heels, falling fiat on the ground dur
ing our brief halts, but determined no
, to be left behind There was certainl,
SOOu bLuu III tllS lSlkOAy CAtIOuSA
swoTe stifly, and had a tread like al
elephant. Just before dark, the fores
about US already in gloom, we sudden
~ emerged from out the shadow @
great trees, and stood on the shore Q
> a lake girded with woods A few hur
dred feet from where we stood smal
: rocky island, dense with trees, ros
, above the mirrored surface. After on
swift glance about the line of shor
; Brady's eyes rested on this haveI
pe as though questioning its feasibility a
: a night camp There was a yello'
tinge to the intervening water, SUI
: gegtiye of shallowness. and spok
/ first
ct will be dark in few minute
t more; isn't that cambridge leadin
out yonder?"
e ct looks so to me-" he replied quie
0 IT, "but the only sure way to tell is I
Q test the passage In my Judgment "