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Show SAVED HIS SCALP. Why One Apache Dldnt Pay a Ttalt te j the Happy Boutin Ground. One hot summer day after climbing the old "Government" road, which windy in and out of the gulches, but always up from Copper Basin, my companion. com-panion. Colonel Bigelow, and myself reached the cool spring which bubbles from the rocks just before the divide U reached from which the road commences com-mences to descend to Prescott, which is eight or nine miles away. The mountains here are covered with tall pine trees which spring from the ground covered with immense granite bowlders. Resting ourselves at the spring the colonel pointed to a trail leading up the side of the opposite mountam and said: "A good many years since I think it was in 1865, and when I felt much younger than now I came very near being taken in by the Indians up on the trail where it passes over the divide. I'll tell you how it was. "I had been down to Presoott for a month or two, having a good time with the boys until I had become broke and tired of so much hilarity, and I made up my mind I would strike out for camp, which at that time was at tlie mouth of the Grand Wash, which leads down into the Hassayampa, four or five miles below Copper Basin. "I started out from Prescott, and was coming up the trail on the other side of that ridge over there, all the time keeping my eyes open for Indiana, , for in those days a person was always j on the lookout for Indians and always had his gun ready for instant use. "As I came up the hill I noticed a movement of the boughs in tlie top of a tall pinion pine tree which stood on top of the ridge. Not being able from my position to discover what made the commotion in tlie pine tree top, I carefully care-fully made my way op the hill until I had a good view of the tree, and what do you think I saw? Well, an Indian had slnnned up the pine tree, and, with a long light rib of a saghuara, was knocking off the pine cones which hold the sweet pinion pine nuts. "I felt very comfortable when I saw the Indian up the tree, for I imagined the result u he had caught me up the tree. I made up my mind that he was iny Indian, for the Apaches had made things particularly hot for me on more than one occasion. Without any regard re-gard as to whether he would fall on a soft spot or not, I took good aim and then didn't shoot." "No; what was the matter?" I asked. "I'll tell you why," continued the colonel. "Hearing a slight noise, I looked down the trail on the other side of tlie hill, and there, not more than 100 yards away, were coming seven or eight Indians in single file, and all were armed. They had not seen me, I suddenly sud-denly concluded I hadn't lost any Indian In-dian that day, and I lay flat down in the brush while they passed along the trail in full view of my hiding place and disappeared over the hilL ; "As I didn't care to call a band of the red fiends upon me by shooting, I just crawled away from them without letting the Indian up the tree know bow near he had been to being my meat, nor how near my scalp bad been to hanging to the belt of one of his tribe." Arizona Republican. |