Aug. 28, 1897.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
163 
drawing fotir heavy wagons; these would draw a very heavy 
load. 
After the party had built a log house and had been in 
camp for some months, provisions and clothing began to 
run short, and it was determined to draw lots to see who 
should go down to the fort for a fresh supply. This was by 
no means a light undertaking, as it had to be done on foot, 
all the horses having been sent bick after their first arrival; 
there was also snow on the ground, although not much, and 
the weather was cold. 
The trip down would have to be made in a day, but the 
return would be on horseback, the provisions being brought 
on pack horses. The drawing lots was done by straws, 
the man drawing the shortest being the one to go. The lot 
fell on Jim, who started out the following morning warmly 
dressed, with buckskin shirt, leggings and moccasins, tak- 
ing a little dried buflfalo meat with him. 
He made the ford the first night without any adventure 
or meeting any one on the way, and after remaining there 
for a couple of days to rest and get the packs together he 
started on the return journev with four pack horses and a 
saddle animal for himself. He had a good supply of every- 
thing required — provisions and clothing, not forgetting 
plenty of tobacco. 
About the middle of the day, and when about half-way to 
camp, while resting the horses for a short time, in taking 
a survey of the country ahead, he saw in the distance a 
party of mounted men on the full gallop toward him. He 
of course knew in a moment that it was a party of Indians, 
and there was no doubt that they had seen him, He was 
well enough acquainted with the state of the country to 
know that no party of Indians, and it made no difference to 
what tribe they belonged, were friendly to any white men 
they met away from tne forts and on the prairie. The only 
hope for him, as he knew, was that the party approaching 
might not be Sioux. Should they belong to this tribe noth- 
ing could save his life, as the Sioux Indians never in those 
days were known to spare the lives of any white men who 
fell into their hands. Should they be Crows or even Black- 
feet they might be satisfied with taking all he had and then 
letting him go. 
These Indians were not nearly so cruel as the Sioux, 
although great thieves, and it depended a good deal on the 
medicine made by the war party before they left their 
camp. This making medicine was a rite always gone 
through by the medicine men of the camp to tell each party 
as to the success or otherwise of their expedition, and also 
as to whether they should kill on the war path or only steal, 
and whichever they were told to do by their medicine or 
familiar spirit, which consisted of sometimes a wolf, crow, 
owl, or any other animal, was always carried out to the 
letter. It can therefore be imagined with what anxiety the 
advance of the party was watched by Jim. There was no 
chance whatever for him to escape, and resistance was out 
of the question, his life, therefore, depended altogether on 
the tribe to which the Indians belonged, and whether their 
medicine was good or bad. 
It was not long before they rode up to where he was 
standing, yelling like demons. They circled round him for a 
short while, then coming to a sudden halt turned their horses 
toward him, and he was greatly relieved to see by their 
dress and general equipment that he had fallen into the 
hands of a war party of Crows. He remained quietly stand- 
ing in the center of the rmg, when the chief rode out in 
front of the rest and spoke to him in the Crow language. 
Jim made signs (he being well acquainted with the sign 
language) that he did not understand. The chief then ad- 
dressed him in Blackfeet, which he understood, and asked him 
where he was going. He told him to the camp, pointing in 
the direction. The Indian then told him that the party had 
camped not far away from there the previous night, and 
that had they wished they could have killed all the white 
men, as they never knew that they were in their vicinity. 
The chief then made a sign to some of his young men, 
who left the circle and began to bring in the pack horses, 
that were grazing not far away. 
They had not offered, and did not seem inclined to offer, 
any violence toward him, and he made up his mind that the 
loss of his goods would be about all he would suffer— even 
hoping that they might leave him the horses, as they did not 
eeem to be on a horse stealing expedition, as when out on 
such the Indians generally go on foot. Several of the In- 
dians had in the meantime unloaded and opened up the 
packs of goods. These consisted of provisions of all sorts, 
and clothing, boots, and many other articles. 
They divided everything equally, placing them in piles, 
one for each man. After this was finished Jim, trusting it 
was now over, spoke to the chief and asked him if he would 
leave him the horses. 
To this question the Indian shook his head, making a sign 
that the horses were to go with him, and that Jim was to go 
on foot back to the fort. He at the same time took hold of 
Jim's coat and made a sign for him to take it off, wiiich he 
had to do. After this the Indians came up one by one, each 
indicating by a sign what portion of his clothing they re- 
quired, and it was not long before he was stripped of every 
article of clothing he had on, even down to his moccasins, 
but as each Indian took an article of clothing they returned 
him one in place of it, giving him their old worn-out and 
dirty breech clouts and an old, ragged blanket, together 
with a very dilapidated pair of moccasins. When they were 
done he stood forth dressed as a very dirty and disreputable- 
looking Indian. 
They then made signs to him to proceed on his way to the 
fort. After going a short distance Jim felt the want of a 
smoke, but remembered that his pipe was in the pocket of 
the coat taken by the chief, while his tobacco and knife were 
in other articles of his clothing. He therefore returned, and 
walking up to the chief made signs that showed him what 
he wanted. The Indian pulled the pipe out of the coat 
pocket. He had put the coat on and looked at it for a short 
time, and then handed it over to Jim. He went to each In- 
dian in turn, and they gave him back his knife and also 
tobacco and matches. He then left them and started to walk 
back to the fort, about twenty miles away, and altogether 
well pleased to get oft" without the loss of his scalp. 
But before letting him go the chief spoke to the rest of the 
Indians for a short time, and then made signs to Jim to re- 
main quiet where he was. The young men then filed past 
him one by one, and as they passed they each struck him a 
shght blow on different parts of his body with their ramrods, 
all traveling off on to the prairie after doing so. The chief 
came last, and Jim expected a light blow also from him; but 
he sti-uck him with his full strength a stinging blow on the 
posterior, which made Jim's blood boil within him, but he 
had to stand it. 
This the Indians call counting their coups, it being a point 
of honor with a warrior to do something to a captured enemy 
which they can boast about over theu- lodge fires in future 
days. 
in case the medicine of a war party is bad this counting 
coups is done by killing and scalping; but if good, as in Jim's 
case, a light blow or the cutting of a lock of hair close to the 
scalp was considered enough for their honor. After a lock 
was cut off by twenty or thirty Indians, the appearance of a 
. man's head can better be imagined than described. 
It was not until midnight that Jim reached the fort. He 
hammered on the wicker gate with a stone for some time 
before it was opened by the gatekeeper. Yincent, who had a 
room near the gate, and whose business it was to tend to it and 
show any Indians who came into the Indians' room— a room 
kept on purpose for their accommodation, and where a large 
can of tea was always kept ready for them, with long Indian 
pipes and the strongest of tobacco. 
This man opened the gate after a while, swearing a good 
deal in English He was well up in most Indian languages, 
and accosting Jim in Blackfoot, asked him where he came 
from. Jim returned no answer, and was shown into the 
Indian room, where he seated himself, Indian fashion, in a 
corner, with his blanket drawn over his head. 
Vincent filled one of the long Indian pipes and handed it 
to him, at the same time changing his language to Crow, 
and again asking him where he came from," but no answer 
was retui'ned. He then tried him in every Indian language 
he was acquainted with— and he knew a good many — but 
with no result, Jim smoking away as if he was stone deaf. 
"What kind of an Indian is it, anyway?" says Vincent, 
after exhausting his Indian vocabulary and getting rather 
angry. He then went up to the supposed Indian, and, draw- 
ing back the blanket from his face, beheld the smiling coun- 
tenance of Jim, at which he burst into roars of laughter, and 
it was a long time before he could recover himself sufliciently 
to speak, when, without giving him a chance to explain, he 
shouted: "I know what's the matter with you! You've 
been held up by Indians!" His knowledge of everything 
pertaining to Western life telling him this by intuition. On 
this Jim detailed the circumstances, and they having been 
by this time joined by Mr. Clark, the chief trader, the whole 
matter was talked over after Jim had done honor to a good 
supper. 
The only thing to be done was to send another supply of 
goods to the lumber camp on the morrow, accompanied by 
a party of well armed men from the fort. All hope of ever 
recovering any of the horses or goods stolen was given up, 
and on the following day the party started, reaching the 
camp without incident. 
Nothing was ever heard to identify any of the Indians, as 
they would seldom tell on each other, and as such an inci- 
dent was of common occurrence in the West in those days 
it was soon forgotten. It was, however, not often that a 
party got off as easily as Jim, as hardly a month went by 
without some of a party traveling on the plains being killed 
and scalped by roaming bands of Indians, and it was many 
years before it became at all safe for even large parties to 
journey any distance from the forts, C. E. P. 
THE BEACH MYSTERY. 
In a quiet little place in a small shanty on the shore lived 
a man not much over forty years of age, respected by 
some and considered of no account by others. Weather- 
beaten and rough, careless of himself and surroundings, he 
owned a small boat and lobster outfit, and worked hard to 
earn a livelihood. 
He had saved a little money from his earnings, but the 
most of his pay was spent in foolish ways. Without friends 
and alone in the world, he had lived here for years. Every 
spring his pots were put out and taken up in the fall. He 
had little to say to any one and kept his own counsels. He 
could be seen 'most any day, rain or shine, rough or calm, in 
his boat, bare-footed and generally wet to the skin ; he never 
was sick a day, and knew not what a cold was. He would 
go to town once in a while to get his provisions, then back to 
his hut and his lonely work by the sea. 
Such is the life and history of the man as I knew him, and 
little did I think when last I saw him that he would come to 
such an ecd. I have of ten heard it said that he would get 
drowned, for he did not seem to care fiow hard the wind 
blew, nor how rough the sea was— he went, just the same. 
The bay is as smooth as glass. The headlands to the north 
loom out of the sea and seem only a mUe or so away instead 
of eight or ten. To the south the water is dotted with the 
while sails of the mackerel fleet, with here and there a large 
white gull slowly sailing through the air, and before us the 
boats of the lobstermen float lazily on the water, which is 
dotted in long lines by the floats on the nets of the fishermen. 
They rise and fall as the old swell lifts them, and then it rolls 
up on the beach with a lazy, sleepy sound, and the songs of 
the fisherwomen come from the shanties on the shore. It is 
a beautiful day, as Jim, with his long, careless swing,'goes 
to his boat down the beach, pushes off and paddles away, 
never to come back and never to be seen again until the sea 
gives up its dead. 
He rows lazily along, with the old sail slanting first one 
side and then the other by the motion of the oars ; there is no 
wind, and you can hear Jim whistle as sailors often do to 
whistle up a breeze. 
Getting to his traps after a while, he pulls one after an- 
other, an'd we hear him singing as he works. After he has 
made his "haul" he goes to his net— a common gill-net which 
he uses to catch herring for bait. He has it not far from 
.shore in shallow water. There are others in the same local- 
ity. As he drifts along, with his feet on the sail and his long 
body stretched ou& in the stern, his hand over his shoulder 
resting on the tiller, he makes a picture of perfect rest. At 
peace with the world and nothing but good-will toward his 
fellow-men. 
He is hailed by a passing boat. "Morning, Jim. How'd 
ye raise 'em2 ' '"'Bout half," is his answer (meaning about 
one lobster to every two of his pots). 
"Your net looks heavy, Jim." 
"Cork line sags some," Jim answered, in his calm, low 
tone. 
"Guess she's full of herring to-day." 
He does not hurry nor show signs of excitement in the 
least. Passing the boat, he catches the cork line of his net. 
Seeing the tish, he throws off his coat to go to work. The 
fish are taken from one of these nets by hand. The lead line 
is pulled up and the fish taken out, then it is di'opped back 
into the water, The fisherman is obliged to reach down into 
the water to get hold of^ the net. Jim leans over the 
side of the boat to reach for a fish, when there is heard 
an unearthly scream, then another half-smothered cry for 
help. Then all is stUl. 
The fishermen in the boats st^t with alarm; the women 
on the shore stop their singing and rush out to see what is 
wrong. They see Jim's boat drifting and the water around 
the net In a fearful commotion. Snatching up the oars, the 
nearest boatmen row with all haste to the spot. They seethe 
net, but no Jim. They call for him, but he does not answer. 
Poor fellow, where is he? 
They row to his boat and find everything just as he is in 
the habit of having it. One fisherman looks over the side of 
the boat and gives a cry that is heard ashore: "My God I Do 
you see that shark? He is a maneater." The other man 
looking, sees a large shark of some kind, about 8ft. long 
slowly swimming around the net. They now try to pull the 
net and have only taken in a little of it when they see the 
shark again coming toward them. Seizing the oars they 
stand ready to give him battle. He sees the boat and slowly 
sinks out of sight. 
Can this thing have pulled .Jim out of the boat? This is a 
question never to be answered. The women on the shore 
say they saw him at the net and heard him scream and 
looked to see him in the water fighting with something, then 
all was over and the water resumed its calm, unruffled sur- 
face. Yes, all was over for poor Jim, but what a tragedy on 
such a plea,sant day and what must have been the thoughts 
that went like lightning through the poor fellow's head as he 
was taken from the boat by this monster of the deep, and 
dragged to his death in the sea which had been so good to 
him. 
His body has never been found. They have searched the 
shore and dragged the bay with nets but of no avail. The 
"Life Saving station men" have looked in vain for the body 
of poor Jim. For weeks they have felt that on some of their 
lonely watches on this bleak shore they might find him, and 
each man hopes he might not be the one to do it. Their 
friend in need and they knew it. To-day in their night 
watches, as they pass the spot where he was last seen the'y 
glance toward the sea with a shudder, and hurry along as if 
in fear that his song or whistle may be heard above the voice 
of the waves. His boat and fishing gear were sold, and the 
little money which he had was given to someone who did 
not care enough about him to look him up when he was 
alive. p, E, Woodwakd. 
Massachusetts. 
HUNTING THE TAPIR. 
The tapir commonly distributed throughout tropical 
America is at times really dangerous, and its great size, 
wary habits and untiring strength make it an animal worthy 
of the highest rank among those classed as big game. 
The flesh very much resembles beef, though it is rather 
coarse in texture, and tapir, or danti steak, as it is usually 
called, is considered a great delicacy, and on this account 
these animals are vigorously hunted, and whenever one is 
killed people come from long distances to secure the priz9. 
The tapir loves the deep woods, and the hunter to be suc- 
cessful must be prepared for a long chase, and must be 
philosophical about disappointments, for this animal ranees 
over a great stretch of country, and a sportsman might visit 
regions where they are abundant, and go about for weeks 
without even hearing of them. 
I have visited one locality, however, the northern slopes 
of the Sierra Nevada on Santa Morta Mountains of Columbia, 
where there is generally a pretty good assurance of success. 
This region is peculiar, and the tapir, which is unusually 
abundant there, is confined to certain localities, and is 
almost as restricted as if in a great park. 
The northern slopes and foothills of these mountains are 
covered with a luxuriance of vegetation rarely met with even 
in the tropics, and the country is just such as the tapir loves. 
Surrounding the mountains there is a flat region which is al- 
most a desert, supporting little more than cactus and thorn 
bushes. The reason for this great difference is that the 
Sierra Nevada de Santa Morta Mountains were in other days 
an island in the great pre- Cambrian Ocean, and since that 
remote period there has been abundant time for a rich accu- 
mulation of soil. With the upheaval of the Andes Moun- 
tains in cretacious times a gradual sedimentation set in, and 
during the Testiary period this action extended to and aroimd 
the Sierra Nevada de Santa Morta Mountains, and a hard, 
sterile, marly deposit, on which only a poor vegetation can 
be supported, was laid down around them. A traveler pass- 
ing from one of these localities to the other cannot but notice 
the remarkable difference, and it is abundantly evident why 
game of all kinds collect on the fertile mountain sides. The 
place where they live is isolated, there is little to disturb 
them, they enjoy the greatest abundance of food and clear 
fresh water; and under these favorable conditions animals 
and birds have multiplied, till at times the place seems almost 
alive with game. 
I was camping at the foot of these mountains engaged 
geological explorations, and being endowed with the appeti' 
of an ordinary man, I managed to give some attention tOy"- 
game, and never wanted for meat; yet I was not satisfli^ i . 
Every night I heard one or two tapirs come tramping down 
the brook near the camp, but I could never get a shot at 
one. 
During a long experience traveling through little known 
parts of tropical America, I have often tried for a shot at 
these wary animals, but always without success ; and now 
that I was in a region where quantities of them were penned 
in, as it were, by miles of arid country on the east and the 
sea on the north, it was a shame ever to think of going 
away without giving at least one day to that mostjexciting 
sport of tapir hunting. 
I had three men with me well accustomed to the woods, 
but they did not appear very enthusiastic when I proposed 
an attempt at tracking down a tapir. 
"They are dangerous at this season," said my head man. 
"One of the boys can sit up to-night and kill a tapir as they 
go past; and I am responsible, Senor, that you return in 
safety." 
To assume a sort of responsibility for a traveler's safety in 
order to avoid complying with inconvenient orders is one of 
the most provoking customs of the South American guides, 
and I never allow them to play that game on me, at least 
not now, and after giving my head man a few directions as 
to what I wanted, combined with a choice opinion as to bis 
personal worth and virtue, he began active preparations to go 
after tapir the next day. 
Our camp was in one of those rare places even in the 
tropics, where the surroundings were all that one could fancy 
for such places. We were on a rising ground just at the 
foot of the mountains, and around us there was a dark, 
damp woods with palms and a multitude of great trees all 
growing close together, while over the ground every avail- 
able space was taken up by ferns, moee^ and a bewilder- 
