The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-11-07
A Subterranean
Surprise
The Story of an Indian
I Told by Me.
By w. b. NoRTHRoP.

BY w. b. NoRTHROP.
Three miles from Great Falls. Mont.
Is q singular body OF water called ths
Giant Spring, which is really the reap
pearance above ground OF = subterranean
stream. one OF the branches OF the Mis-
souri,.
Some years ago was travelling on horse
back In the vicinity. and an accident
brought me directly over the spot where
the river made the loudest rumble.
Frightened by the sound OF hidden
waters, my horse plunged ard threw me;
leaving me on my back while he dashed
of toward the settlement. As I raised
myself and looked about me. saw a tall,
thin figure Of an Indian standing at g
short distance. As I rose to my feet he
came forward and held out his hand In q
friendly manner. In the Blackfoot dia-
lect-which l understood well. having
been stationed on a Blackfoot reservation
as telegraph operator-he invited me
to his hut nearby, and while his son
went to the settlement for my horse the
old man told me this story:
We dwelIed peacefully in this country;
Dur great chief Bitten Snake Charmer,
ruling US with mighty. though not cruel,
hand.
When Bitten Snake Charmer died.
however. his son. Scared Kyote. ruled US
like a weakling. He never left the wig
=, wan, and spent his days like a woman.
Gradually the tribes who had been kept
in check by his father commenced to
ignore us. Scared Kyote never resented
encroachments on our boundaries. and
inch by inch we were driven into mar
rover fields. while the buffalo was taken
from US. only the deer and antelope being
left.
Our main camp was around this
Giant Spring, and on this very spot was
the tent of Scared Kyote; even here died
his father. the great chief. beside the
. surging waters of the spring.
Il. in those days. was a scout, and
had the reputation of being one of the
best fighters among the Blackfoot tribe.
''one night. Teamed. by going in dis
guise into the Paiute camp, that they
were preparing for a great surprise to
us Our tents were to be surrounded by
a combination of the tribes and the
Blackfoot tribe was to be destroyed.
Il FASTENED to our camp and sought q
conference with Sacred Kyote. He sent
out word that he would see me on the
morrow. Angry beyond measure,
shouted Dying, let him die" 1 then went
farfs NJ fbosa IN 1aybo,, 7 oo,Id
depend and told them what had happen
, ed. I informed them OF what I had
learned, and secretly, in the night, We
decided to shift our tents to the borders
of the Milk River. We would thus pre-
vent the Paiutes from joining the Chi |
rocks, and could destroy them separately. |
silently, at dead Of night, our tents
were struck, with the silence which only |
the Indians know. The stamping Of the !
horses was muffled by tying their feet |
in long prairie grass. which was green |
Had it been dry, We could not have been
so quiet. for it would have cracked, and
might have disturbed the sleeper-for
Sacred Kyote never slept like an Indian. |
with one eye open; but always like q
prairie cog In i8 Outflow
Alone on the prairie stood the chiefs
tent. We laughed as we thought Of how
surprised he would be when the sun
should arise.
But surprises greater than these were |
in store for Sacred Kyote. For, by q |
wonderful coincidence, the Patutes. the
same night we moved away, had de-
cided to attack Us unawares. They had |
moved down upon US In the night at the |
same time at which We were moving |
on in another direction; and. when |
Sacred Kyote awoke. he found himself |
surrounded by hostile Indians. One Of
these. whom I afterward took prisoner
through a most daring feat, about which.
I shall presently tell you, informed US
that Sacred Kyote swooned away; and
when he came to, he said he thought
he must have died and gone to the place
which good Indians never visit, for, on
opening his eyes. he found himself sur
rounded by enemies.
How We laughed when we heard of
the traitors dearh-for was he not a
traitor7''
/ assented with a nod.
We'll. the Paiutes and the Chinooks
csmped all about on our territory. their
central camp on the borders of this
spring. The wigwam that had been
Sacred Kyote's was used by the chiefs
Of both tribes. Though we had left
the place where we had had for many
years our headquarters. we by no means
gave up. even though we realized that
the forces which had united against us