, and was instrumental in gathering in a number of
the most notorious criminals of his day. One of Dad's favorite stories is
of the capture of a gang of Mississippi River pirates.

"It was Dad's father that finally cleaned out this great nuisance when he
captured Mason, their leader, through the treachery of his fellows. When
the final raid was made, Dad, who was then a young man, was one of the
party. It seems that there was a certain boy in this pirate gang who
escaped, after having been arrested with the others. Several years later
Dad had occasion to remember the threats this boy had made to him at the
time of the raid.

"Dad was out on a trapping trip with a group of professional trappers,
and, as was the custom, each man had taken with him two good horses, one
to carry his share of the hides and his food supply, the other to be used
in case of emergency. They were trapping in the Arkansas valley, and
after a few weeks out they began to suspect that their camp was being
watched by a large band of hostile Indians. They understood the situation
perfectly. The Indians were not following them for murder or for a mere
fight, but for their horses and furs. They would not attack, however,
until they were reasonably sure of getting away with the desired booty
without loss of life to their own party.

"The trappers' hunt had been a very successful one, and a large amount of
money was already represented in the heavy packs of fur. Each night these
packs of fur were carefully arranged in a big circle, forming a crude
rampart for the party. The furs gave the men reasonable safety as they
slept, for no arrow, however swift, could penetrate a roll of green
hides. The horses were always securely fastened not far from the camp,
and guards posted at night.

"Finally the ideal night for attack came. It was dark as pitch, not even
a star showing in the cloudy sky. As night fell, it was so stormy that
the usual night guard was not deemed necessary. Instead, every man went
to sleep. Sometime in the night Dad was suddenly awakened by the pounding
of many hoofs on the hard gravel of the valley. In less than a second the
entire camp was awake, and every man gripped his rifle in readiness. No
one dared to leave the rampart. Safety lay in being all together. The
pounding of hoofs grew louder and louder, the picketed horses whinnied,
then there was a wild gallop past the little camp, accompanied by
fiendish yells. Not a man dared to inves