Show RAMBLING THOUGHTS OF A by frank continued from last week soon darkness came on and silence froni from the concealed indians who had retired and gave them no further trouble it must be remembered we left joe wilson wounded in the foot and crawling in the brush for concealment ceal ment from the indians soon becoming exhausted joe concealed himself hi m the best he be could in a laige large clump clamp of scrub oak As he left a plan plain trail of blood from his wounded foot the indians very soon trailed him up and one of the indians taking care ul il aini aim shot him in the head the bullet going through his nose shot out one of his eyes but apparently glanced off around his skull thus saving his life blood gushed from the wound and joe fell back apparently dead hub played possum us u tie lie still remained conscious and saw dimly through his remaining eye the indian who ii iid hd d shot him pat is rifle and say wano winchester soon after the indians departed and joe lay suffering much pain and thirst in the hot afternoon sun at length came darkness and joe by a pioneer instinct knew the direction of his home at ad moab so began to crawl down the ridge that led toward the he valley he would crawl and rest cra cr rland awand rest his hands and knees became full of cactus cachu s and prickly pears rocks bruised and cut kept on determined to save aye his life if possible all night he be kept this up and at daylight he had bad era crawled ed 4 bout about three miles and had i reached the valley near the trail here her two wo squaws squads rounding up their ponies found him ant and placing him 1111 on one of their most gentle powe ponies b holding him on they brought him hi aln near home to about where our furj court house now stands and whirling I 1 their ponies around they hurriedly left for their camp near the head of pack jacv creek joe shouted and crawled toward home and soon he be was safely at h home where by careful nursing he soon recovered from his wounds but he ys ws crippled for life hac in his foot and tie he must go through life disfigured and totally blind in oue eye it must be remembered that we started out to write about the killing of jack by wash at peters sp spring rag in the summer of 1895 diddier jack and wash prior to this duela hid I 1 is as a rule been on rather friendly terms but getting etting fi into in to a card game came they began beg an to quarrel over cheating fix by bott both players finally final y ma mad all they decided on a lucrio duc rio ithe death and agreed to io ta aTack to back with their win C kis rs loaded and ready and each ach e tiner oft KV ras to step off in opposite dit erti thirty paces whirl and lire fire at tt e other this they did but for 90 i ia unknown reason bridger jack ld crazily fired into the aar air while wash vash fired directly at bridger bri adjer jack ho fell with witha a bullet ili fiealt hear fc and died lne instantly bantly no one wa ever know hy bridier bridger jack didio t fire at wash helas fie vi a crack eifle shot an and rf had hd hit aimed at ho doubt doitt there would bave ave been a i try abory tow to writ wt rafig a trip to navajo sp springs rin 93 the writer s saw w and talked with he aca acq acted a little locked lo coed by tho ex sheriff of a county who 6 knew wash M Had been a little crazy for everal years and he thought 1 lii was hurting the killing of bridger jack an dofher acts chehad he had committed in county ty in fr the past we have followed I 1 la part the settlement of western wester fi Co lorada and t southeastern utah and have given same aoi neof bof the leading events as the RhA icker recalls them A noted writer of today once wrote tote me that thai truth is stranger than biclon and that many events in n a pioneer s lif life in in the west sounds dt str raner ranger than fic von tion to those who do di anol no really kno the strength of the pio pioneers eera each and nd every one who has done his or her part in this To work and aas as we are still Ponte riny in L 6 many ways let us still areep on oil dom doin nur an and pon bootin oo w ti tin in if cr th the 0 benefit of all humanity hun anity today we arp arc bacad wh many continued on last page RAMBLING THOUGHTS OF A i continued from page 1 r cp r i problems we still have the zuni eni prairie dogs with us the overgrazing of our ranges by sheep and cattle the erosion of our soil kiy winds wands and floods continues many are on n relief with few exceptions through no fault of their own as nine line out butof of gather from re 1 liable statistics would work if the they had bad a chance and could get steady work at fair wages 1 I it a fact that farmers and all 11 workers fed half of the civilized civill zd I 1 world in our great world war they did their part as well as the bos i who went to the front in france and pl were in training camps it at home we have painted thedarl the dark side of a historical picture of our district di strict shall we quite quit give up and drift along with the tide no that is not the american spirit nor the pioneer spirit let us go forward and try to build up a as 1 soon as possible this great fertile fertil district to as near as possible its former state when the writer came here in august 1882 then a wave of grass and two small towns of pran lc dogs in all this district durango to la sal an old timer sees this district to day with tile the exception of la sal monticello standing blandin and bluff city the greater part oi of it a desert the indians struggled for many years to retain this country as their own but ut today it is a question if we were to give it back to them they more than likely would reply no savvy savvy 1 white man has spoiled it no swap selfishness the love of wealth wealth and power or shall we call it ness in all of us together with millions of zuni prairie dogs his has about done its work at last I 1 j to lo be cont riedl |