Buffalo Bill: His Life and Adventures in the Wild West — page 27: what you’re looking at

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

= ep * fe ee ee ee | y Va - os, . . tu hha As v hd *) a —4 rf : ty Ae 1 t ; ' y JY args : CP ci a Ue & HOT INDIAN FIGHT, at “Now, give ’em @ shot, just back of the , "The shots were fired, Billy Sie his eyes as he pulled the tricger, and Sable ‘Satan and the two mules fell dead in their In an instant, they were dragged into position, so as to form a triangular fort, and, getting into the wallow, with their knives, they threw up the dirt as rapidly as possible; to make their position safer. By this time, the Indians, some half- - hundred in number, were rushing upon _ them with wildest yells. But, crouching down in their little fort _ of flesh and dirt, Lew Simpson and his man and boy-comrade, levelled their rifles -over the bodies of the slain animals, and, as the howling red-skins came within sixty _ yards, fired together. - Down went three Indians, and while Lew Simpson re-loaded the yagers, Billy and George Woods, fired with their re- _volyers, with such right good will, that _ the Indians were checked in their advance, and turned to retreat out of range, fol- lowed by three- more shots from the yagers, — _ Five Indians and four ponies were the result of this fight, and it gave the hold- ers of the triangular fort confidence in _ themselves, _ But: the Indians did not attack, but circled around an fort, frmg upon the defenders with their arrows, and slightly wounding all three of them, while the bodies of the mules and “horse were literally filled with shafts. _ After a few rides around their pale-face ‘foes, the Indians suddenly charged again, coming from every quarter, and forcing as whites to each defend the space in his _ With demoniscal yells, they came on once more, and once more the yagers Opened, and then were thrown aside for the rapidly-firing revolvers, which did fearful execution. ay Cena toward Billy, Lew Simpson saw that he was perfectly cool, and had a “revolver in each hand, although his shirt was saturated with blood from the arrow in his shoulder. — ’ Unable to understand, or stand the hot firé oi the revolvers, they again broke, when within twenty yards of the fort, and ‘rode off rapidly out of range. » “You got three, that time, Billy!” eried Lew Simpson, gleefully, as he saw a trio of red-skins scattered along in front aitheboy, = _ Billy smiled, grimly, and reloaded his ive up the {this trick around the ai weapons, after which, Billy Lewson dressed the wounds of his comrades, who returned a bke favour for him, But the Indians had by no means gone, for they had gone into camp in a circle around their foes, but well out of range of che fearful Mississippi yagers, _ The three defenders, in the mean time, improved their beens to strengthen their fort with dirt, and dig a deeper space within, while they also lunched upon their scanty supply of food, “They'll starve us out, if they can’t take us by charging,” said Simpson. “ They can’t starve me, as long as your mils holds out, Lew, for I won’t eat peer Sable—it would choke me!” replied Billy. “Well, mule meat’s good,” said Woods. “Yes, when there ain’t anything else to eat, but I prefer buffler or Injun,” was Billy’s response. “We may have to eat Injun yet,” laughed Lew Simpson. All made a wry face at this supposition, and again prepared to meet a charge, for the red-skins were coming down in column, - But again they were checked with loss, and Biliy’s shot brought down the chief. Darkness coming on, the Indians formed in line and pretended to march away ; but id not cheat the bordermen, who knew that Indians do not ¢hus tamely leave their dead unburied. Ti an Indian dies and moulders away, he will arrive naked, and consequently helpless, inthe happy huntiny-eround, which is their benighted idea of Heaven; and, be- sides, if scalped his soul quits him by that hole in his head, and consequently he be- comes a mere nothing—he is “ nowhere ” he = annihilated, to use a big dictionary word, In fact, the Indians did hang round, and, lighting a fire in order to smother the dauntless thres in the smoke, attacked them under its cover. They did not catch them napping, but were again repuised. Then they surrounded them at a dis- tance, with intent to starve them out. By great good luck the train men came up on the hunt for their commander, and scared the merciless devils away, eee aD CHAPTER XX, ~ THE HOME BESIZGER was @ proud day, you may ba aure, when Buffalo Billy came home, and a happy one for his family, He har written from Fort Kearney ECoOmichboo <S7iGO m =