FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161  
162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   >>   >|  
ch obviously had caused the victims to stop there. Will walked back slowly and gravely to his comrades. "Did you find water, young William?" asked the Little Giant jovially. "I did," replied the lad briefly. "Then why does that gloom set upon your brow?" "Because I found something else, too." "What else do we need? Water fur ourselves an' the animals is all we want." "But I found something else, I tell you, Tom Bent, and it was not a sight pleasant to see." The Little Giant noticed the shudder in the lad's tones, and he asked more seriously: "Signs of hostile bands comin', young William?" "No, not that, but signs where they have passed, skeletons of those whom they have slain, just beyond the bushes there, picked clean, white and glistening. Come with me and see!" The others, who heard, went also, and the men looked reflectively at the scene. "I've seen its like often," said Boyd. "The emigrants push on, straight into the Indian country. Neither hardships, nor troops, nor the Indians themselves can stop 'em. Wherever a party is cut off, two come to take its place. I guess this group was surprised, and killed without a chance to fight back." "How do you know that?" asked Will. "'Cause the wagons are turned over. That shows that the horses were still hitched to 'em, when the firin' from ambush began, and in their frightened struggles tipped 'em on one side. Suppose we go through 'em." "What for, Jim?" "This must have been done at least a couple of months ago. The weather-beaten canvas covers and the general condition of the wagons show that. War not being then an open matter the Indians might have hurried away without making a thorough overhauling. Then, too, it might have been done by wandering Piegans or Blackfeet or Northern Cheyennes, who, knowing they were on Sioux territory, were anxious to get away with their spoil as quickly as they could." "Good sound reasonin', Jim," said the Little Giant, "an' we'll shorely take a good look through them wagons." The wagons, as usual with those crossing the plains, contained many little boxes and lockers and secret places, needful on such long journeys, and they searched minutely through every square inch of the interior space. The Indians had not been so bad at the sack themselves, but they found several things of value, some medicines in a small locker, two saws, several gimlets and other tools, and under a false bottom in one of the
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161  
162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
wagons
 

Little

 

Indians

 

William

 

victims

 
matter
 
hurried
 

overhauling

 
Blackfeet
 

Northern


Cheyennes

 

knowing

 
Piegans
 

wandering

 
making
 

condition

 
caused
 
weather
 

struggles

 

frightened


tipped

 

Suppose

 

slowly

 

ambush

 

walked

 

beaten

 

canvas

 

covers

 

months

 

couple


general

 
interior
 

searched

 

journeys

 

minutely

 
square
 

things

 
bottom
 

gimlets

 
medicines

locker
 

reasonin

 
shorely
 
hitched
 

anxious

 

quickly

 
lockers
 

secret

 
places
 

needful