Adventure Magazine, December 10, 1924 — page 109: what you’re looking at

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

The Homesteaders Murray, free to move about and seem- ingly unnoticed by the Sioux, ran to him and commiserated. “This is too bad, Mose. What awful things have happened! I keep thinking I must wake up and find it a lying dream. How did they catch you?” “I was trying to make the agency with word of some killings up north. Miss Mar- tha sent me. Horse played out. was loose by the time I sighted the river. Cap’n Marsh tried to cross near the ferry. He and nearly all his men was killed or drowned. Soldier trying to make the fort told me there’s only thirty white men at Ridgely and a dozen breeds. Guess they'll all be killed with all their folks. Guess they’ll kill me. You seem to be all right. If I’m done for get the papers in my inside coat pocket and see they’re delivered.” “They sha’n’t kill you!’’ fiercely cried Murray. ‘““My God! Such a sight!” “Don’t look!”’ panted Mose. But both had seen; a warrior was gallop- , ing his pony along the north edge of the vil- lage with what had been a white woman dragging at the end of a long rope. The darkening horizon swam mistily be- fore Murray’s horrified eyes, and only by a mighty effort did he fight off the sickness and keep his feet. Staring at Mose so he might not observe any other terrible sight, he advanced and removed the noose. The squaw in the cart at once leaped from the seat and, shrieking like a devil-cat, ran to the prisoner with uplifted ax. Sev- eral warriors shouted encouragement. Mur- ray grappled with her and tore the ax from her hand and hurled her back. Screaming shrilly, she gathered herself to attack him, her hand pulling a short skinning knife from her skirt. The men shouted approval, but warned: “Kill the old man! Do not touch the young man. He wears the crow of Chetan Wakan Mani. Kill the old man slowly!” Her fierce gaze weakened as she beheld the crowskin pinned on Murray’s shirt. She began circling about to get at Shanty Mose. Thelaughing warriors formed a wide circle. Murray kept between her and the prisoner. One of the men, mad from drink- ing raw alcohol, became impatient over the cruel play and began creeping in from the circle, short ax in hand. “Git back, you bloody ——!” roared Mose, his short side whiskers bristling. 87 Murray wheeled, darted between the two, plucked the crowskin from his shirt and pinned it on his friend. This act angered the drunken man and he would have brained Murray had not two men leaped forward, caught his arm and dragged him back. “He can be killed when he does not wear the crow!” yelled the would-be killer. “The medicine is very strong. They say it covers him,” said one of the two. The squaw ceased her efforts on behold- ing Little Crow’s symbol on her prisoner’s breast. Then she broke from the circle on observing that some squaws were stealing from her cart. Murray released Mose’s hands. After rubbing them smartly to re- store circulation Mose returned the crow- skin, saying: “Wear it yourself. I won’t.” As Murray was replacing it on his shirt two boys, neither more than sixteen years of age, ran up. Each was flourishing a butcher knife, and both were yelling that they would skin the prisoner alive. Mur- ray caught one under the chin with his clenched fist and sent him headlong to the ground. But the other would surely have killed Mose had not Wacouta suddenly ap- peared in the ring, caught the young de- mon’s arm and hurled him back. The two were his sons, lusting to kill where as the father, of the white man’s party, would spare. “Do not touch these two men!”’ he cried. “This is not time and place to kill prison- ers. This man here is covered by a strong medicine.” And he placed a hand on the frightened Murray’s shoulder. “Let the young man wear the crow. He must not give it to another if he would live,” angrily spoke up one of the men who haa dragged the drunken savage away from Shanty Mose. Murray did not understand this. Wa- couta enlightened him by warning in English— “You keep it.” And he touched the scarred crowskin. ‘‘You keep it and live. You give to a man, to a woman, you die bimeby.” To the scowling circle he harangued: “You Dakota men say Wacouta must lead you toa fight. Your chief will lead you, but fighting white men is bad. Killing this white man is very bad. Wacouta will lead you to a fight, but no prisoners taken by Comiclboolk A) CO =