CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11433, 25 July 1900, Page 3

CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

WHOSE TURN NEXT? [by c. tajidltn-king.] The Union Pacific express had just left Truckee, bound east. The conductor had punched the tickets of two passengers who had boarded at that point, and was again at liberty to pursue the thread of one of *e many narratives to which I had been an interested listener. " Yes, them were boss time*, 'round '60," said he. " I was a young man then, and as chipper as. any of 'em, I can tell you. Plenty Injins round this country, too, and they hated a white man like pizen. That reminds me of a little adventure I had which will give you an idea of how bitter an Injin can hate. " I was down to Silver City in e fall of '61. I had just returned from a > uccessful prospectin' tour, and was sort o' loungin' around waitin' for somethin''to turn up. I was gettin' about sick of doing notliin', when who should I meet on the street one day but Bill Winter, the partner, of many of my adventures. "' Hallo, captain,' says he, 'just the man I'm looking for. Got anything to do?' '"Well, no,' says I; 'I'm kinder rusticalin'. Anything startling on?' "'Yes',' says Bill, 'there's a prospect-in' party down hero waitin' for a captain. You'd better take charge.' "'Done,' says I; 'I'm your man. What direction are we aimin' for?' "' East, following the course of the Carson River to the fork, near the lake, then towards the Augusta Range,' says Bill, ' and then just anywhere.' '"Whoop! here's sport. Well, I kinder guess I will go,' says I. 'I know the country like a book.' " In three days we were provisioned for a two months' trip. Four horses and a heavy waggon completed the outfit. There were twelve men besides myself. I always did hate the number thirteen, and I felt kinder blue when I counted the party, but said nothin'.

"We made twenty-two miles the first'day, and at sundown went to camp by the river. After supper we pulled straws for picket duty, and Bob Mullen was chosen for the first two hours, Bill Winter for the next. A puff at the pipe made us all sleepy, and by 9 o'clock the camp was quiet. "I guess I'd been asleep 'bout an hour when I was startled by an unearthly shriek. Others were awakened too, and we jumped to our feet and made for the direction where Bob had been pacing on guard an hour before. The moon was shinin' bright, and we soon found Bob. Poor fellow, he had been stabbed in the.back, and was dead. Closely examinin' the damp sod near the body we found the hoof-prints of a herd of wild hogs, who had scampered away with Bob's dying shrieks. These hogs, I want to tell you, were common camp-followers, and when a man was on picket would come snortin' and gruntin' around the camp. A feller wouldn't bother 'em unless they got in bis path, which they rarely did, and then he'd simply kick them out of his way and pass on.

" Nntliin' happened tie rest of the night. At sunrise we buried poor Bob and again examined the sod-prints, but nary a trace of anything human could we find.

" The next night, after a hard day's tramp, we made camp and supper, and were soon dead asleep. At 10 o'clock Jake— forget his other name— a half yell which startled the camp and—well, we found him just as we found Bob t stabbed in the back and stone dead.

" I'll never forget the cold chill that passed over me, nor the awe-struck feelin' which was plain on very face. We were all dazed, and no wonder. There wasn't a man in the party who wouldn't face death in a fair fight, but this arrangement gave a feller no chance at all. The boys wouldn't back out of the night's picket, and took their duty without anytbin unusual happening. " The following night, Bill, my old partner, gave me a quiet hand-grip, and took the first picket duty. I was to take the next following him. At 11 o'clock Bill touched me lightly on the shoulder and said: — "' Be careful, cap., keep your eyes open!' gripping my hand at the same time. " Looking carefully to tie condition of my rifle, I took my place on the look-out. I made up my mind I wasn't going to be stabbed in the back, so kept my eyes in all directions at once, if such a thing were possible. I was beginning to get kinder careless, when I noticed a herd of hogs snortin' and gruutin' at. the other side of the camp, near the horses. They slowly worked round my way while I watched 'em curiously, Four or five of the beasts crossed my path, but the remainder of the herd passed to the right and behind me. I was just turnjn' my head to the left to resume my walk, when like a flash f caught the shadow of a standin' figure within four steps o' me. 1 fired, and a shriek rent the air which might have been heard a mile. Before you could say Jack Robinson the camp was on top of me. I'll be hanged if they didn't nearly shoot me by mistake. "This, of course, cleared the mystery. The Injin had sot a boar's skin somewhere arid disguising himself in it had gone among the other hogs as one of 'em. " You can bet we didn't allow any more hogs around our camp the rest of tin trip. " Hello, there's the whistle for Reno. "Good-bye. stranger. This is the terminus of my division."—Detroit Free Press.