Rocky Mountain Sam — page 124: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. ieee is heads, the balloon was surging and careering, like one mass of living, golden flame—literally surrounded by a magnifi- cent pyrotechnic display. In the meantime, the thunder crashed, and the lightning gleamed, contributing their natural terrors to those of man; and through the fire-showers of whizzing pinwheels, Greek fire, flower pots, red lights, torpedoes, double- headed Dutchmen, triangles, Chinese blazes, turpentine balls, Siam swords, and rushing sky-rockets—furrowing the darkness with flame, and bursting into glittering stars or arain of sparks—and all of the inventions known to the science of pyrotechny, glimpses were caught of the White Hermit, Fayaway, and Rocky Mountain Sam, loom- ing to unearthly proportions in the sublime radiance, and each of them armed with Roman candles about three feet long, with which they were peppering the dusky throng. The Indians, or by far the greater number of them, were completely cowed. In vain their leader raged among them, striking down the flying, chiding and taunting the helplessly motionless; urging, aiding, shouting at the top of his voice; the de- moralization of the majority was complete. A few who were not so much hemmed in by their fellows, put spurs to their ponies—which, in most cases, were almost as much terrified as their masters—and galloped away; others flung themselves from their saddles, buried their faces upon the ground, trembling and shaking in the extremity of their - terror, while the majority grouped together, with discord- ant cries, feebly and individually protecting themselves as best they could from the attack of the hunters—which was now renewed with redoubled fury—or cringing and squall- ing as the burning tallow balls alighted and sizzled upon their crowns. ‘Here, Rube Tenyck!” cried Firefoot, catching the bridle rein of his henchman, asthe latter was spurring this way and that in a vain effort to escape; ‘‘help me to get these miserable wretches in fighting order. Shall the whole Blackfeet nation be put to flight by a handful of hunters? What, booby! did you never see fireworks before? Are you | afraid?” ‘N-n-no, n-n-no exactly afraid,” gasped Rube, with chattering teeth. ‘I’m only a leetle ¢red, cap. Yous-s-see 3? | (ele) Gomichboo mi