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rarious kinds of wood.. The valley or bot tom was a rich alluvion, carpeted with fresh sweet grass which our animals cropped eagerly and with various kinds of wild flowers; while hundreds of gay- plumed birds were hovering over our heads, or skimming along the surface, and thus checkering and enlivening the scene with their presence, and filling the air and our ears with the melody of their voices. The point of the valley not belted with the hills, looked out upon a prairie, which stretched away to the west, ani south, its half-grown grass waving in the breeze and resembling che light ripples of some beautiful lake.
"What a lovely scene!" .said Huntly. turning to me, as, dismounted, we, both
o
stood gazing upon it.
"x\. little Paradise that I have never seen surpassed," was my answer.
"Yes, but everything Beautiful here abouts gits sp'iit to them as knows it a few," chimed in the old hunter, blowing the smoke deliberately from his mouth. "Now, I've no doubt this here place looks purty to you, but I've seen blood run hereaways a ugh!"
"Indeed!" I exclaimed, advancing to the old trapper, as did each of the others, with the exception of Tom, who, having Sijuattecl himself some little distance off and lit his pipe, seemed wholly absorbed with thoughts of his own. "Then there has been lighting here in days gone by ?" I pursued.
"Well, thar has, hoss," was the res ponse. " Ye see that ar creek, don't ye?" pointing to it with the stem of his pipe.
"Ay."
"Well, it looks purty enough to one as don't know, but this coon's seen them wa ters red afore now.
"Tell us the tale," said Huntly.
Why it's long, Bosson, and we haint got time k) throw away so I'll hev to let it slide, I'm thinkin. Howsomever, I'll gin ye the gist on't, and I spose that'll do us well. That creek you see yonder's bin called Cotton's Creek ever sence that time, and the reason ou't is. case a powerful good chap culled Jim Cotton, or "Snake- Eye," gnt nibbed out lhar bv the cussed Pawnees. Me and him, and Jake Strader, and Sigh Davis, had bin down to St. Lou- flT, a^id sold our oeavers to the Nor-Wes-
ters,* (and them was the days when thcv fetched sonaethin five dollar a plew,| old or youDg uns, instead o' a dollar a pound augh !) and coming out to Independence with the ' rocks ' in our pockets, we got on a regular spree, and spent a few but not all and a infernal Greaser^ somehow git tin wind on't, and findin out jest which way we's a-goin, put out ahead, and got some five or six Pawnees to jine him, and come down here to cache for us.
"Well, in course we w r asn't thinkin o' nothin dangerous, case our bottles warn't all emptied, and we felt h^ppy enough. Jest down here we stopped to water and rest like we're doin now, when all at once that ar bush you see yonder near the bank, let out seven bullets right among us. Jim Cotton was throwed cold, and never kick ed artcr, poor feller! Jake Strader got arm broke, Sigh Davis a ball through his shoulder, and me one right into my calf. Then thinkin they throwed the majority, the oudacious skunks come tearin and yel- lin like sin, old, Greaser on the lead. A part broke for us, and the rest for our an imals, so as ef they didn't ' count a ccup ' they could put us 'afoot.'
"' Heyars hair, and a chance for dry powder gin 'em h! ' sez I; and I ups with old Sweetlove, and throwed old Grea ser cold, right in his tracks so cold ho never knowed what made meat of him, Greaser didn't.
"Well, jest as mine went I heerd two more pops, and blow me for a liar ef two
more of the rascals didn't drap purty!
How they'd done it specially Jake Stra der with his broken arm got me all of a heap; but done it they had, sartin as win- kin; and thar the varmints lay, a-kickin like darnation. Now thar was only four left and grabbin Jim Cotton's rifle, afore they knowed what I was about, I laid an other han'some. Now we was even, and I hollered to the skunks to come on and show fair fight, and I'd eyther lick the three or gin 'em my scalp. But they hadn't no notion o' tryinon't, the cowards I but turned and ' split ' as ef the arth wad agoin to swaller 'em.
- Hudson Bay Company is sometimes so call
ed by the trappers.
t Huie a whole sfcin.
Spaniard or Mexican. 6 Hide from cachn
