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30 - Among the Camanches and Apaches- An Autobiography by Edwin Eastman · Among the Camanches and Apaches- An Autobiography

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  Speaker 1: Chapter thirty seven in Nine Years among the Comanches and Apaches,
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  Speaker 1: an autobiography by Edwin Eastman. This is a LibriVox recording.
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  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. The Conclusion.
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  Speaker 1: About this time, rumors were rife that the Indians were
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  Speaker 1: contemplating a raid on the mine, and operations were temporarily suspended.
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  Speaker 1: Meetings were called and a committee of Defense organized, with
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  Speaker 1: a view to taking such measures as would place the
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  Speaker 1: settlement in a position to successfully resist all or any
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  Speaker 1: attempts of the savages. Those who had had any experience
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  Speaker 1: in Indian warfare were called to the council and consulted
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  Speaker 1: on the best means to avert the impending calamity. The
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  Speaker 1: panic was more painfully apparent among those who had come
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  Speaker 1: upon the scene hampered with goods and chattels of various kinds.
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  Speaker 1: These worthies were brim full of wrath and whiskey, and
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  Speaker 1: gave free vent to the expression of their opinions regarding
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  Speaker 1: the outside world generally and Indians in particular. They were
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  Speaker 1: fertile in suggestion, and the many schemes they advanced for
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  Speaker 1: the total destruction of all who threatened their private interest
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  Speaker 1: would have reflected credit, not to say renown on a
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  Speaker 1: don Quixote. The thought of my enslaved wife was never
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  Speaker 1: absent from my mind, day and night, sleeping and waking.
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  Speaker 1: Her image haunted me. I fancied her suffering every degree
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  Speaker 1: of misery, and the consciousness that I was powerless to
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  Speaker 1: snatch her from the toils of relentless captors caused me
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  Speaker 1: the most poignant anguish. I had a vague, half formed
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  Speaker 1: notion of seeking her unaided, and by once more, assuming
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  Speaker 1: my Indian trappings and cognomen advance into the Apache country,
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  Speaker 1: penetrate to their villages, and by a bold dash, seize
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  Speaker 1: my wife and bare her defiantly off in the very
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  Speaker 1: teeth of my adversaries. This would have been very spirited,
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  Speaker 1: in chivalrous, no doubt, But unfortunately the obstacles that opposed
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  Speaker 1: themselves to this plan were legion. No sooner did I
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  Speaker 1: convince myself of the impracticability of such a mode of
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  Speaker 1: procedure than other plans would present themselves, which in their
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  Speaker 1: turn would have to be relinquished when submitted to the
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  Speaker 1: rigorous test of practicability. This constant strain on my mind
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  Speaker 1: interposed stumbling blocks to my material prosperity. As I had
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  Speaker 1: no heart for my work and wondered about the diggings aimlessly.
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  Speaker 1: I was rallied by my comrades on my morose temper,
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  Speaker 1: and recommended to try work as an effectual antidote for
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  Speaker 1: the causes that were preying on my health. One bally afternoon,
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  Speaker 1: as I sauntered among the working parties, gazing abstractedly at
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  Speaker 1: their operations, my attention was attracted to a group who
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  Speaker 1: seemed to be very much excited by some event. A
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  Speaker 1: few had gathered about an object lying upon the ground,
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  Speaker 1: while others were running frantically in different directions if they
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  Speaker 1: were possessed my curiosity. Being excited, I approached the group
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  Speaker 1: and found that the cause of this alarm was one
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  Speaker 1: of their comrades, who had been bitten by a snake.
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  Speaker 1: The poor fellow was moaning piteously, and so sure was
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  Speaker 1: he that his death was only a matter of a
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  Speaker 1: few hours time, that he had begun to make the
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  Speaker 1: few bequests that would dispose of all his worldly goods,
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  Speaker 1: including that little horde of dust, so long and patiently
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  Speaker 1: sought for one of his friendsnelt at his side and
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  Speaker 1: was endeavoring to pour the contents of a flask of
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  Speaker 1: whiskey down his throat. The poison had taken immediate effect,
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  Speaker 1: and he doubtless would have been a corpse in a
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  Speaker 1: few hours. I was immediately recognized, and one of the
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  Speaker 1: miners accosted me with Hello, Eastman, just the man we want.
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  Speaker 1: Now is your time to produce some of those marvelous
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  Speaker 1: herbs you have told us about, and see what you
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  Speaker 1: can do for this poor fellow. My sympathies were awakened.
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  Speaker 1: My mind threw off its semi stupor, and hastily glancing
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  Speaker 1: about me on the ground, I sought for some of
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  Speaker 1: those simple herbs and plants that I had seen so
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  Speaker 1: effectually used in similar cases. Hastily gathering what I needed,
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  Speaker 1: I soon had leaves bandaged about the swollen parts, and
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  Speaker 1: then turned my attention to making a decoction of the herbs.
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  Speaker 1: This I forced the patient to take, and after caring
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  Speaker 1: for him assiduously during a few hours, I had the
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  Speaker 1: satisfaction of noting a marked change for the better. I
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  Speaker 1: was deluged with congratulations, and in a short time, the
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  Speaker 1: fame of this new exploit, and the healing art was
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  Speaker 1: noised abroad throughout the mine. My new friends were not
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  Speaker 1: miners in the proper sense of the term, but a
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  Speaker 1: party of mountain men who had been a lord hither
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  Speaker 1: by exaggerated reports of the immense wealth that was represented
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  Speaker 1: as scattered broadcast over the surface of the earth, and
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  Speaker 1: was only waiting for a claimant arriving on the ground.
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  Speaker 1: They had staked out acclaim and fell to work without
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  Speaker 1: any delay. It is needless to add that they did
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  Speaker 1: not realize the immense riches they had so fondly anticipated.
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  Speaker 1: The result was that they had sickened of their bargain,
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  Speaker 1: and many were for pulling up stakes and returning to
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  Speaker 1: the free and easy life among the mountains. A short
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  Speaker 1: time after the episode just related, there came to our
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  Speaker 1: camp one day a trapper who had but just returned
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  Speaker 1: from his traps and was on his way to the
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  Speaker 1: nearest trading post to exchange his paltries for powder wearing apparel,
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  Speaker 1: et cetera. From him, we learned that the Indians were
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  Speaker 1: preparing for some extensive raid, as he had seen numerous
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  Speaker 1: parties who were in their warpaint among other items. He
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  Speaker 1: related how he had been captured by a hand of
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  Speaker 1: apaches and had remained among them eight days before he
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  Speaker 1: succeeded in eluding the vigilance of his guard. From him
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  Speaker 1: I gained the first information concerning my wife. He had
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  Speaker 1: been captured by some a metto Chika's band, and by
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  Speaker 1: the description he gave of the white captives at the
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  Speaker 1: time in the village, I felt sure that my wife
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  Speaker 1: was one of the number. Learning that on his return
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  Speaker 1: he would seed to the same locality in quest of
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  Speaker 1: beaver plue, I determined to accompany him. About half a
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  Speaker 1: dozen signified their intention of following my example, and a
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  Speaker 1: party was soon made up. The trapper bade us a
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  Speaker 1: do promising to return as soon as his skins were
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  Speaker 1: traded for the supplies of which he stood in need.
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  Speaker 1: Gathering together what little money I had, I purchased a horse,
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  Speaker 1: rifle and pistol, and prepared to go in search of
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  Speaker 1: my lost wife. We had not long to wait for
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  Speaker 1: our new friend. He returned in less than a week's time,
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  Speaker 1: and all being in readiness, we gathered up our traps
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  Speaker 1: and took a final leave of the mine of San Ildefonso,
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  Speaker 1: Passing out at the northern end of the settlement, we
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  Speaker 1: struck the Santa Fe Road and followed its sinuous windings
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  Speaker 1: for some days. We passed through the sleepy Mexican towns
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  Speaker 1: that were situated along the route, without disturbing in the
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  Speaker 1: least degree the habitual drowsiness of their inhabitants. On the
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  Speaker 1: fourth day, we made a stretch of sixty miles through
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  Speaker 1: that terror of travelers in this section, the Hernando del Morto.
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  Speaker 1: After having crossed in safety, we rested one day to
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  Speaker 1: recuperate the animals, and soon after arrived in Santa Fe,
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  Speaker 1: halting at the end that had been the scene of
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  Speaker 1: the shooting affray on my former visit. Our stay in
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  Speaker 1: the capital of New Mexico was not of long duration,
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  Speaker 1: and once more we resumed our journey, striking out in
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  Speaker 1: the westerly direction towards the mountains. Our first encampment was
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  Speaker 1: on the banks of one of the tributaries of the
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  Speaker 1: Rio Colorado. Staking our horses out as is the cust them,
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  Speaker 1: we gathered around the campfire discussing our evening meal of
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  Speaker 1: fresh antelope steaks. Many were the stories told of trapper life,
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  Speaker 1: and as we filled our pipes for a smoke before retiring,
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  Speaker 1: the subject of conversation was upon food. All had some
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  Speaker 1: anecdote to relate, And after each had spun his yarn, Harding,
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  Speaker 1: who up to the present had been silent, drawled out, well,
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  Speaker 1: I spect his higher year have had some dolerable bad
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  Speaker 1: inch in your time. But I think I can just
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  Speaker 1: lay over anything in this year party in a way
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  Speaker 1: of shupher. How's them? Ever, I'll give you a chance
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  Speaker 1: to hear how this is nearer once got his supper
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  Speaker 1: up on the yowlerstone last season year. See, I had
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  Speaker 1: been in them parts ard of beaver, which war plenty
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  Speaker 1: and no mi and all. One day, when I had
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  Speaker 1: gone to cashier some skins, I left my rifle in
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  Speaker 1: the grass near my traps, like a gosh darned fool.
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  Speaker 1: Who should come along but a party of them black niggers,
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  Speaker 1: the crows, And the first thing they sought eyes upon
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  Speaker 1: was my shooting iron. In course, I seated all it,
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  Speaker 1: just had to lay low and cuss my tarnal stupidity,
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  Speaker 1: while them here crows hopped around like mine at finding
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  Speaker 1: my rifling things. They were so pleased, peered like they
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  Speaker 1: forgot themselves, and didn't follow up on my trail, but
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  Speaker 1: galloped off, carrying my plunder along with them. They minded
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  Speaker 1: did as well, and let on hard and alone. I
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  Speaker 1: reckon that too, marked one t ain't like they made
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  Speaker 1: much out of that speculation. Yes see, I wore leaned
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  Speaker 1: out and left with just a pair of leggings. Better
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  Speaker 1: than two hundred miles from any war. The company's postwar
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  Speaker 1: the nearest, so I just took down the river in
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  Speaker 1: that direction. I never seed varmit so shy. They wouldn't
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  Speaker 1: have been blast them if I had or had my traps.
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  Speaker 1: But they're want a critter from the miners to the buffler.
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  Speaker 1: That didn't take on as if they'd known how this
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  Speaker 1: narrow war fixed. I could get nothing for two days
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  Speaker 1: but lizard and scarce at that. I chewed up the
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  Speaker 1: old leggings until I was naked as Pike's Peak gully.
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  Speaker 1: Was it winter no forwar halftime, and warm enough for
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  Speaker 1: that matter. I didn't mind the want of garments in
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  Speaker 1: that way, but I could have eaten more of it.
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  Speaker 1: I soon struck a town of sand rats, and I
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  Speaker 1: made snares of my hair and trapped some of them.
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  Speaker 1: But they grow shy too. Cuss them, and I had
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  Speaker 1: to give up that claim this war. The third day
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  Speaker 1: and I were getting powerful. Week I again to think
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  Speaker 1: this child's time had come, and I would have turned
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  Speaker 1: passing my chips towere a little ard son up and
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: I was sitting on the bank when I seed something
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  Speaker 1: curious like floating downstream. When it came closer, I seed
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  Speaker 1: it were the carcass of a buffler, and a couple
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  Speaker 1: of buzzards flopping about on the thing, picking its beepers out.
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  Speaker 1: Were far out and the water deep, but I said
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  Speaker 1: I was going to fetch it a sh and I did.
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  Speaker 1: I took to the water and swum out. I could
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  Speaker 1: smell the animal four hour halfway. I were soon close
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  Speaker 1: up and seen that a glimpse that the calf for
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  Speaker 1: rotten is punk. The birds they mizzled, and I won
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  Speaker 1: going to have my swim for nothing. So I took
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  Speaker 1: the tail between my teeth and wagged my flippers for
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  Speaker 1: the shore. I had made three strokes when the tail
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  Speaker 1: pulled out. I then swum around and pushed at her
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  Speaker 1: thing afore me until I had got it high and
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  Speaker 1: dry on a sandbar, tour like to melt. When I
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  Speaker 1: poured it out of the water, twant eata will know how.
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  Speaker 1: I see the buzzard still flying about, and fresh one's coming,
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  Speaker 1: and I took an idea that I might get some.
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  Speaker 1: So I laid down close to the buffler and played possum,
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  Speaker 1: I want long there for a big cock come of
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  Speaker 1: flopping up and lit on the carkage. I grabbed him
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  Speaker 1: by the leg. The custody were nearly as stinking as
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  Speaker 1: the other, but it were dyed dog, buzzard or buffler.
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  Speaker 1: So I skinned the buzzard and ate it. Inquired one no,
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  Speaker 1: slowly drawed the trapper. It ain't me. A general life
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  Speaker 1: followed this remark. The rest of the birds got shy
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  Speaker 1: and kept away on the other side. Twaint no use
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  Speaker 1: trying that dodge over again. Just then I spied a
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  Speaker 1: coat and coming lopping down the bank, and another following
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  Speaker 1: upon his heels, and two or three more on the
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  Speaker 1: scene trail. I knowed it would be no joke gripping
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  Speaker 1: one of them by the leg, but I made up
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  Speaker 1: my mind to try it, and I laid down just
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  Speaker 1: as afore side the calf poor now gold. They smelled
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  Speaker 1: a rat and kept her clar Then I took a
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  Speaker 1: fresh idea in my head. I went for some of
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  Speaker 1: the old driftwood and made a pen around the buffler,
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  Speaker 1: and in the week of an eye I had six
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  Speaker 1: or those varmits in the traps. Then you had them, hey,
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  Speaker 1: old boy, said one, You bet, I just took a
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  Speaker 1: lot of stones, clupped up on the pen and killed
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  Speaker 1: the whole kid of them, such as jumping out of
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  Speaker 1: the island as when out pepper and the varmits order this.
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  Speaker 1: I had some at to eat, and in a few
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  Speaker 1: days reached the company's post. Did you ever see any
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  Speaker 1: of those redskins again? I inquired? Wow, you just better
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  Speaker 1: believe I. Did you see those five notches on theirs
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  Speaker 1: ear rifle? Well, they stand for crows they do. A
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  Speaker 1: general laugh followed this yarn, and all averred that his
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  Speaker 1: experience in the eating line was unequaled. After the trapper
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  Speaker 1: had finished his story, we wrapped ourselves in our blankets
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  Speaker 1: and were, with the exception of the horse guard, soon
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  Speaker 1: in a deep slumber. The next morning we were up
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  Speaker 1: and moving at sunrise, and after a march of twenty miles,
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  Speaker 1: came to a small stream heading in the Pinon Range.
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  Speaker 1: It was fringed with cottonwood trees and there was grass
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  Speaker 1: and abundance for our horses. We made a halt for
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  Speaker 1: an hour and then proceeded on our journey. We had
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  Speaker 1: not gone far when we made a discovery that changed
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  Speaker 1: all our plans. Harding had been riding about one hundred
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  Speaker 1: yards ahead of the main party when we observed him
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  Speaker 1: suddenly stop, bend down, and then throwing up his hands
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  Speaker 1: beckon us on. We were soon up to the spot,
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: asking in a breath what was the matter? He pointed
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  Speaker 1: to the ground and sententiously replied fresh engine sign. A
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  Speaker 1: consultation was held, and after an interchange of opinions, it
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  Speaker 1: was agreed that the trail was made by apaches, and
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  Speaker 1: that from the trampled nature of the ground, it indicated
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  Speaker 1: the presence of a large party. We had no doubt
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  Speaker 1: as to their intentions. They were evidently bound south on
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  Speaker 1: their annual foray. Now was my time beyond peradventure. Never
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: could I have had such another opportunity, perhaps even if
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: I waited patiently for years. I briefly related to my
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  Speaker 1: companions the circumstances of my capture, captivity, and subsequent escape,
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  Speaker 1: and asked their aid in rescuing my wife. Each grasped
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  Speaker 1: me cordially by the hand and expressed their willingness to
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  Speaker 1: see me through. And after a few moments more spent
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  Speaker 1: in consultation, we agreed on the following plan to push
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  Speaker 1: on it once and as speedily as possible for the
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  Speaker 1: Indian village, secrete ourselves in the adjacent mountains until nightfall,
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: and then, leaving the horses concealed in the bushes that
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  Speaker 1: fringe the base of the mountain, advance on foot to
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  Speaker 1: the chief's lodge. Once within its portal, it would be
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  Speaker 1: the work of a moment to seek out my wife,
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  Speaker 1: apprise her of what was transpiring, and quietly leading her
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: out hastened to our animalimals, mount and ride away. This
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  Speaker 1: plant seemed feasible, and as moments were precious, we resumed
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  Speaker 1: the march. About noon, we deboused through the mountain pass
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  Speaker 1: into a country of openings, small prairies bounded by jungly
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  Speaker 1: forests and interspersed with timber islands. These prairies were covered
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  Speaker 1: with tall grass and buffalo signs appeared as we rode
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  Speaker 1: into them. We saw their roads, chips and wallows. These
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: signs filled us with pleasurable anticipations, as who has not
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: longed for the delicious hump ribs, which, when once tasted
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  Speaker 1: in all their juicy richness, are never to be forgotten.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: The full grown forms of the cacti were around us,
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  Speaker 1: bearing red and yellow fruit in abundance. We plucked the
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: pairs of the pitahaya and ate them greedily. In short,
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: we dined on fruits and vegetables of many varieties indigenous
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  Speaker 1: only to this wild region. But our stomachs longed for
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  Speaker 1: the favorite food, and we pushed on through the openings.
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  Speaker 1: We had ridden about an hour among the chapparal when Harding,
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: who was riding in advance, pointed downward and intimated by
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: signs that he had struck fresh buffalo tracks. Very soon
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: after the animals came in view, and by using the
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  Speaker 1: bushes as cover, we made a very effectual surround, killing
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  Speaker 1: some three or four. That night, we regaled ourselves on buffalo,
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: and the following morning pushed on with renewed vigor and
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: in the best of spirits. Near evening on the fourth
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: day following we arrived at the foot of the sierra,
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: and directly in front of us, about midway up the
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: valley or pass, more properly speaking, lay the Apache village.
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  Speaker 1: An exclamation of joy escaped my lips. At last, then
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  Speaker 1: the hopes and longings of nine weary years were about
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  Speaker 1: to be satisfied. My reflections were abruptly terminated by Harding,
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: remarking that it was highly important that we seek cover
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  Speaker 1: and approached the village cautiously if we expected our efforts
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  Speaker 1: to be crowned with success. All felt the justness of
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: this observation, and seeking the cover of the mountain, we
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: proceeded on our journey. In a short time, we had
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  Speaker 1: advanced as near as we deemed it prudent, until the
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  Speaker 1: night should close in. Our reins were tightened, and we
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: sat on our weary horses looking over the plain. A
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: magnificent panorama, under any circumstances lay before us, but its
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: interest was heightened by the peculiar circumstances under which we
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: viewed it. The lodges were dotted over the plain in
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  Speaker 1: picturesque profusion, the smoke curling gracefully up in their dreamy spirals.
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  Speaker 1: One lodge stood apart, and from its size and decorations
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  Speaker 1: we at once guessed it to be the adobe of
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  Speaker 1: the chief. Harding confirmed our conjectures. Several droves of horses
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  Speaker 1: were quietly browsing on the open prairie. The sun was setting,
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: the mountains were tinged with an amber colored light, and
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: the quartz crystal sparkled on the peak of the southern Sierras.
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  Speaker 1: It was a scene of silent beauty. We remained for
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  Speaker 1: some time gazing up the valley, without anyone uttering his thoughts.
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  Speaker 1: It was the silence that proceeds resolve. An hour has fled,
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: the sun sinks below the horizon, and the mountains take
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  Speaker 1: on a somber hue. It is night. We urge our
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  Speaker 1: horses forward once more, keeping close to the mountain foot,
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: conversing in whispers, we crawl around and among the loose
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  Speaker 1: boulders that have fallen from above, and after an hour's ride,
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: we find ourselves opposite the town. The night passes slowly
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: and silently. One by one, the fires are extinguished, and
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: the plane is wrapped in the gloom of a moonless night.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: The swan utters its wild note, the gruyah whoops over
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: the stream, and the wolf howls on the skirts of
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: the sleeping village. Dismounting, we gather in a little knot
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: and consult as to what land we shall pursue. It
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: is finally determined that Harding and myself shall penetrate into
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: the village, enter the chief's lodge, abduct my wife, and
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: hastily rejoin our comrades, who will hold themselves in readiness
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: to cover our retreat, and if the worst comes to
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: the worst, keep our pursuers at bay until we have
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: made good our escape. Hastily divesting ourselves of all unnecessary accoutrements,
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: we started out on the plain and cautiously approached the
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: chief's lodge, which loomed up in the darkness like some
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: hideous jeni. An Indian dog that was lurking about the
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: door gave the alarm, but Harding's knife entered his vitals
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: or he could repeat it. Now was the critical moment.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: Drawing the flap aside that served as a door, I
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: peered cautiously in. All was silent. A small fire was
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: burning in the center of the lodge, its fitful gleam
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: dimly illuminating the interior. A number of low couches were
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: ranged around the wall. But at this juncture a dilemma
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: presented itself. Here were a number of women, one of
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: when was certainly my wife. But how was I to
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: ascertain in which of these couches. She reposed, if I
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: should trust a chance advance to the first one and
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: peer in, and by doing so startle its inmate, even
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: though that inmate wore my wife, the peculiar nature of
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: the visit would so startle her that she would not
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: be enabled to recognize the intruder. However, I determined to
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: approach the first bed in trust to the chapter of
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: accidents for the rest. Advancing noiselessly to the side of
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: the couch, I lifted the curtain of dressed buffalo hide.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: The fire cast a dim light over the face of
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: the sleeper, and oh joy, it was the loved features
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: of my wife. I tried to speak, whisper her name,
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: my tongue clove to the roof of my mouth. I
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: trembled like an aspen and had to grasp the bed
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: for support. This movement awaken the sleeper, and with a
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: half suppressed exclamation, she sprung to a sitting posture to
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: breathe her name. Clasp her in my arms and rush
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: for the door was the work of an instant, and
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: hastily snatching a robe that was suspended from the side
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: of the lodge, I enveloped her in it and rapidly
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: gained the cover of the mountain. In a few moments
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: our party was in full gallop down the valley. Leaving
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: the Indian village. We started with all speed on our return.
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: I did not anticipate pursuit, and we made no attempt
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: to conceal our trail. Indeed, my mind was so occupied
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: with the grand fact that I had recovered my long
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: lost darling that I thought of nothing else. As we
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: rode along, each recounted to the other the story of
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: their toils, trials and sufferings. A thousand questions were asked
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: and answered, and in the joy of the present and
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: hope for the future, we were for a time happy.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: About the middle of the forenoon, where we approached a
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: thick chaparral and were just entering it, when a party
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: of about sixty apaches suddenly rushed out from its leafy coverts,
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: and with the rapidity of thought, we were surrounded and captured.
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: My wife was able, by her influence with the leader
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: of the party to save us from indignity, and a
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: lengthy parley followed. I made known to the chief my
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: desire to recover my wife, and endeavored to arrange some
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: terms of purchase or barter. In this I was, after
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: a time successful, and after an indeterminable siege of pipe smoking,
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: in discussion relative to the price, we came to terms,
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: and in a few minutes I had purchased my wife
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: at the cost of all my worldly possessions. But I
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: cared not for this. On the contrary, I was only
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: too glad to recover my wife at any cost, and
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: felt no regret at parting from the accumulations of two
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: years of toil and hardship. Resuming our journey, we reached
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: Santa Fe in safety in a few days and commenced
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: making preparations for our return to the East. The kind
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: hearted Mexican woman overwhelmed my wife with attentions, and she
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: was soon provided with a barrel more suitable than the barbaric,
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: although beautiful Indian costume. My principal difficulty was the want
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: of money, and I was much perplexed to know how
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: to secure a sufficient sum to enable us to return
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: to our friends. It is probable that had I freely
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: stated our circumstances and narrated our sad story, generous hearts
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: might have been found among the many American miners and trappers,
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: sojourning in the town for many A noble heart beats
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: beneath a rough and uncompromising exterior. But my pride shrank
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: from appearing in the character of a medicant, and I
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: finally came to the conclusion that we must remain in
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: Santa Fe for a time until I could find some
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: employment by which to earn sufficient means to enable us
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: to return to our former home. I had forgotten the
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: fact that I possessed a warm friend in ned Harding,
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: or if I had thought of him in this connection,
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: it was not with any idea that he could aid
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: me in this I was mistaken, As the sequels show.
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: On the third morning after my return, Ned called me
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: out under the pretense of taking a walk, and after
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: strolling about for a time in silence, he opened his
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: mind as follows, well, lad, what are you going to
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: do next? I suppose you don't intend to stay here
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: in this er god forsaken hole that these yarrabellies calls
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: the city the Lord forgive their ignorance if they can
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: only see lonon once well, as I was saying, you
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: can't stay here, and you can't take your little girl
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: back to the mining country very well, So what do
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: you mean to do? Let old Ned know, and don't
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: go round keeping as close as an insta and never
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: saying nothing to nobody. Thus admonished, I've forgotten my reserve,
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: and folly explained to him my dilemma. He listened in
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: silence until I had finished, and then broke forth with
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: why Lord, bless you, Lad, you're a gettin foolish sutin.
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: Your little woman has turned her head. Sure, why you
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: forgot an't about the mine? And I reckon there's valley
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: enough that to send ye home like a nabob if
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: you'd like to travel that way the mine, I exclaimed,
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: in surprise. Why Ned, I thought we had abandoned it altogether.
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: You don't mean to tell me that I can realize
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: anything from the claim? You bet? I mean just that,
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: said harding, his features expanding into a broad grin as
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: he marked my look of utter astonishment. Why lad, if
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: we were all agreed on the thing, I've got a
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: party to hear that'll give us five thousand apiece for
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: our claim. I ain't such a fool as I look,
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: and at want for nothing that I left Pete there
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: hold in possession, and there he'll stay till he hears
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: for me. So now, if you're willing to take five
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: thousand for your share, just say the word, and we'll
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: have it settled in no time. Further inquiry elicited the
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: information that during the two days previous, while I had
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: spent my time in unprofitable cogitation, Ned had been kin
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: to prospecting round among the speculators, as he termed it,
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: and had found parties willing and anxious to buy the
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: claim held jointly by Ned, Pete Jackson, and myself for
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: fifteen thousand dollars in cash. Ned had brought with him
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: some specimens of the courts which he had shown to
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: the intending purchasers, and some of which they had subjected
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: to essay, and the result of this had determined them
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: to buy the claim if everything could be satisfactorily arranged.
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: It did not take me long to decide. In fact,
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: I fairly jumped at the offer. The sum mentioned seemed
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: a princely fortune at the time, and in fact, to
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: one in my situation, it really was so, for wealth
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: is but comparative. After all. The following morning the trade
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: was arranged, the necessary papers drawn, up and ned left
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: the same afternoon for the mine in company with the buyers,
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: to deliver the property and complete the transaction. In a
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: few days. He returned, and I soon found myself in
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: possession of five thousand dollars in gold coin, the largest
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: amount of money I ever owned. I now hurried the
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: preparations for our department, and a few days later rejoined
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: an eastward bound train and journeyed with it towards the
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: rising sun. With the details of our journey, I will
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: not weary the reader, suffice it to say that we
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: made the trip without trouble or molestation of any sort,
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: and reached Saint Louis in safety. How strange it all
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: seemed to walk about the streets of the great city
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: of the West, and, as the residents fondly term it,
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: the future great city of the world. Everything seemed so
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: unreal after the long years of my captivity and wild
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: life among the mountains, that I used sometimes to fancy
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: that it was all but a dream, and I would
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: presently awake to find myself again in the temple with
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: Watka Mechla, and that strange and far off land hidden
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: among the mighty mountains of the Sierra Madre. We remained
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: but a few days on the metropolis of the West,
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: and then journeyed to a point further eastward, where my
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: wife had relatives living, or at least supposed that some
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: might yet be surviving. On our arrival, we found such
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: to be the case, and a joyful reunion was the result,
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: we being received as to risen from the dead, and
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: now our cup of happiness was indeed full. Reunited, after
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: so long a separation and such bitter suffering, we had
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: returned at last to friends and home. In conclusion, I
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: can only express my thanks to those kind readers who
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: have followed me patiently through all my wanderings and listened
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: to my simple, yet I hope not uninteresting narrative of
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: the hardships and perils through which I have passed. If
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: the story of our captivity has proved a source of
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: entertainment to the reader, if it happily excites a feeling
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: of sympathy and interest for the many wretch captives who
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: yet remain the servitude worse than death among the rude
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: tribes of the West. If it renders the general public
• 38:21
  Speaker 1: more familiar with the region of which so little is known,
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: If should chance to afford to those officials of our government,
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: to whom the subject is regulated, any new views in
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: reference to the proper method of dealing with the Indians.
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: If it accomplishes any of these ends, I shall be
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: more than repaid for my labor in its preparation. My
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: thanks are also due to my kind friend, doctor Clark Johnson,
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: without whom opportune aid this book would never have been written.
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: And now kind reader, for the present at least farewell.
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: End of seven and nine years among the Comanches and Apaches,
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: an autobiography by Edwin Eastman. Audiobook recording by Claude Stewart,