Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains, Or, the Last Voice from the Plains: An Authentic Record of a Life Time of Hunting, Trapping, Scouting and Indian Fighting in the Far WestDrannan, William F.
History
Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains, Or, the Last Voice from the Plains: An Authentic Record of a Life Time of Hunting, Trapping, Scouting and Indian Fighting in the Far West
Drannan, William F.
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.); Indians of North America -- Wars
When Maloney left us he made direct for Sand Point, but before he
reached there as he was riding along he discovered a small shoe
track, he dismounted and tried to follow it, but it seemed that
the tracks extended no farther. This confused him greatly, and he
said to himself: "Be the loife of me it was only just there that I
saw the thrack, and it's sure I am that she could not have flew
away. Oh! here it is again, and begorra I belave it's the thrack
of a white woman, for sure I am that no dhurty spalpeen of an
Injun could iver make such a dainty thrack as that. Sure and I'll
look in that bunch of brush, perhaps it's there she is, the poor
crayther."
He made his way up to the brush cautiously with a pistol in each
hand, and just as he peered in two Indians sprang upon him and
grabbed his arms, which caused his pistols both to be discharged
up in the air. They quickly bore poor Maloney to the ground and
soon had him bound hand and foot. They then drove a stake into the
ground and tied Mike to it, and began to gather brush for the
fire. This did not suit him a bit, but all he could do was to hurl
an avalanche of words at them, which, of course, they did not
understand and to which they paid no heed.
"Ah, ye dhurty divils," said Mike. "Ye's have took me pistols both
away from me. Ye's know I can't hurt ye's without me guns, so
what's the use in ye's tyin' me like a hog, ye dhurty blackguards.
Let me loose and Oi'll be afther lavin' ye's. Oi'll do it be the
boots that hung on Chatham's Hill. I do belave they are goin' to
burn me alive. O, ye bloody haythens; let me loose and Oi'll fight
the pair of ye's if ye's have got me pistols."
The Indians by this time had the fire started, but Mike still
retained his nerve, cussing the red fiends by all the powers in
the Irish vocabulary.
Davis and I were pushing on with all possible speed in the
direction of the place we expected to find Maloney's trail, when
we heard two pistol shots in quick succession further up the
canyon, so we put our horses down to their utmost in the direction
from whence the sound of the shots came.
After running about two miles we came in sight of a small fire a
short distance away that seemed to be but just kindled. We dashed
up at full speed and found Mike tied to a stake and two Apaches
piling brush on the fire. We fired at the Indians through the
gathering darkness, but only killed one, and the other one made
off about as fast as you ever saw an Indian go. Jim kicked the
fire away from Mike and cut his bonds before he was burned to
speak of. I asked him how he came to be taken prisoner by just two
Apaches, and his story ran like this:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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