White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1928-07-06
CHAPTER IV-Continued

to q faint impression In the moss
where something solid, like the butt OF
a rifle, had rested. Then he showed
us a faint abrasion on limb nearly
level with the top of my head, and
said 1t had been made by the barrel
of the rifle. Cromit promptly cried:
"Its the critter who stole my rife!
No Cap'n Jack killed the Injun 1t
was the thief, and he's taking my rifle
to DuQuesne to trade 1t to the French.
ding himl"
1t was with difficulty that ! re-
strained him from making an imme
date search for the fellows trail and
thereby hindering the Onondaga in his
work.
'I'll git that rifle even If l have to
60 to Duquesne Alone" he sullenly. In
formed me.
The Onondaga's signal broke up our
p talk. We FASTENED to join him and
were informed:
"Black Hunter scalped the Huron.
Lookl The Onondaga with the nose
of the Wolf has found where ten men
passed close to the Huron. One man
stepped aside and scalped him. The
Huron was dead when they came up,
or they would not have found him.
The man with the long gun by the fire
killed the Huron and ran away. The
black-white man came along and took
the scalp. Look!"
The story was plain enough In the
trail made by a number of men trav.
cling in single file. No Indian. unless
he were dead, would remain at the
edge OF the bushes while the way.
farers approached him.
Having satisfied ourselves to this
extent, we proceeded to indulge Gro.
NIT BY finding the trail of the man
with the long rifle. The signs of bis
flight were very plain and suggested
panic. We followed 1t without diff
ficulty toward the west side of the
Little crossing, or Castleman's river
tributary of the Youghiogeny, but
when within short distance of the
crossing Round Paw, who was ahead
halted and lifted his Ak.
Cromit and ! became more cautious
and paused. Round Paw beckoned us
to join him. The three OF US listened
At first thought 1t was thunder
then came the crack of single rifle
only the woods were so thick and &C
muffled any sound 1t was hard to de-
termine the direction with any degree
of exactness. The Indian wet his fin
ger and held 1t up to catch the trifling
breeze, and then bounded away at 9
lope.
zone man In old trade-house. HUI
rons trying to get him." be called bach
to me.
Somewhere in the neighborhood was
deserted cabin, once used by Croghar
az trading post. Round Paw and
had spent a night there two winters
before. We came out on slope anG
could look over the forest crown into
q small clearing. And there In the
middle of the opening stood the trad
ing post. Only instead of the shrll
wind of that winters night, and the
bowling of the starved wolf-pack there
we're now ululating war-cries and the
explosion of guns being fred into the
log walls.
We kept under cover and counted
the puffs OF smoke and estimated the
attacking force to number fifteen OF
twenty. The cabin stood In the center
of the clearing and was completely en-
circled by the besiegers.
At last the cabin became alive
There came puff OF smoke from 6
loOp-hole and naked savage at the
edge of the forest leaped grotesquely
into view and would have fallen on his
face had not man leaped forward
and caught him and dragged him tt
the shelter of the woods. The sui
glittered on something he wore around
his neck, and knew 1t to be silver
gorget, such as Captain Beaujeu anG
other French officers wore to indicate
their rank. Otherwise one would have
taken the fellow for savage
Its scouting party from Duquesne
In charge of one or more Frenchmen,
said. "That was the leader who
pulled the indian under cover.
fire of musketry cracked around
the clearing, two guns being dis.
charged from the woods at the foot OF
the slope and directly In advance OF
our pusition The OnOndaga told Us
n remain ul,iet while he secuted near