Rocky Mountain Sam — page 174: what you’re looking at

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

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 165 ‘“‘They’re said to have a mortal antipathy to Irishmen,” said Sam, grimly. ‘“No more chaffing,” interrupted the professor. ‘Teddy, whirl at that crank hke aman. Sam, jerk the throttle- valve. I think we might as well go a little lower down.” The professor consulted the compass, and then leveling his glass, long and eagerly studied the country over which they were passing. | ‘‘We’re completely out of reckoning,” at length, said he, raising a face indicative of the keenest disappointment. “The Judith Mountains are directly under us, and there is Judith River shining and curving at their base. Weare at least sixty. miles to the south-east of Fort Benton, and it is clouding up as if there were going to be a storm.” Both Sam and Teddy put on rather long faces at this in- telligence. ‘“‘Well, what’s to be did?” said the former. ‘‘Shall we » go up higher, an’ poke around for a more favorable cur- rent?” “Wait,” said Max, with his eye tothe glass. ‘‘I see some Indians down there at the base of the mountains, and they appear to be up to some deviltry or other. Lower away, Sammy; the gathering clouds will conceal us from view, while we can examine them at will. There, that will do,” continued old Max, with the glass still to hiseye. ‘‘We will just hang around on the skirts of the storm here till we see what the Indians are at.” They all hung looking over the side of the car, and presently, as the clouds beneath them rolled apart, they could plainly distinguish everything on the ground below. On the bank of the river—a wild and dashing tributary of the Missouri—and just at the base of a precipitous mountain-spur, about fifty Indians were gathered in a wild and barbarous dance around two captives, who were bound to a stake in the center of the group, and surrounded by all the horrible accessories for being burnt alive. The captives were a youth of about sixteen and a young girl about two years his senior. They were wailing loudly and clinging to each other in their terror, But their piteous supplications seemed to have no other effect upon their hideous captors other than to excite their derision; and among the latter were a number of squaws, young and old, who seemed to take especial pleasure in the fear and (ele) ‘comicbooks