People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 December 1893 — BEN’S ADVENTURE. [ARTICLE]

BEN’S ADVENTURE.

Iloattlo Indian* W«ro on Ono Side and Wild Animals on the Other. . In the latter part of August, 1877, says the author of “Rambles in Wonderland,” a party of tourists were attaeked by the Nez Perces Indians in the Yellowstone canyon. Some of them were killed and others wounded. Benjamin Stone, the colored cook, I made his escape, but a few days later, ■ while preparing dinner alone in the camp, he saw an Indian peering from behind some rocks. Ben dropped his | mixing-spoon and took to his heels. I He tells his story thus: “I struck for tall timber wid all my might, an’ what do you tink, sah? Why, 1 looked ahead, an’ dar 1 saw a redskin a-comin’ right toward me as ; fast as he could ride. “We war a-comin’ right meetin’ each ' oder, but I didn’t want to cultivate no sich ’quaintances den. I lit out for anoder trail; but de Injuns came right arter me. I thought 1 was a gone darkey den.” “How in the world did you get away, Ben?” inquired his listener. “Well, sah, jes’ by clean runnin’ Yes, sah, I ran ober a little ridge an* war out o' sight ob de Injun foh jes half a minute. Dar war a little pine tree a-standin’ in de trail, an’ I jes’ put my han’s on a limb dat stuck out, an’ was up in de branches in no time. “I hadn’t more’n got in de tree till dat sneakin’ rascal come along my trail, and stopped right under me. He i put his han’ up to his ear, and ' forred as if he war a-listcnin’ fur somethin’—an’ he war. Why, zah, I , could jes’ ’a’ put my foot righ| on top i ob his head he war so close; But it ■ wan’t no time for playin' joky.®.” “What did you do, Ben?” “Why, I jes stood dar wn’ hug dat tree an’ hoi' my bref, so as he wouldn’t ; heab me till he went on foh to look I foh me behind some rocks at anoder place.” Ben remained in the friendly pine till evening, when he descended and started for the thick timber, crawling on his hands and knees for fear of being discovered. But his troubles were not at an end. He continues his tale: “I kep a-crawlin’ an’ a-crawlin’ till I got away up in de woods, when what I should I meet but a great rousin’ big grizzly b’ar! It war a-comin’ right down de trail toward me. Dar de Injuns war on one side, an’ de bar on de oder. 'Pears like one or t’other on ’em war a-goin’ ter hab me now. T’ve tried the Injuns,’ says I. ‘l’ll take de b’ar.’ ” The bear sat up on his haunches and looked at Ben, who returned the compliment. After a minute or two the bear dropped on all fours and moved off in another direction. “I knowed I war safer to trust de b’ar dan de Injuns,” Ben used to say, with a wise shake of his head. An official notice has been issued fr Russia that “physicians shall have theright to make use of hypnotism in the treatment of their patients. In every case of the application they must in form the administrative authorities, a! the same time giving the names of th physician-1 in whose presence the tieut was hypnotized.”