AMONG THE RED INDIANS

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4892, 19 October 1925, Page 4

AMONG THE RED INDIANS

WITH THE NORTH-WEST POLICE, TRUE ADVENTURES TOLD. Tales of Red Indians, that thrilled us in our school days were only echoes- of true adventures endured on the outskitrs of civilisation by hardy adventurers. Mr Hubert Elmonds, who joined the North-West mounted police in 1882, and went .through some stirring adventures in company with a son of Charles Dickens, narrated some of the more exciting to a representative of the “Evening News.” “I shall never forget returning one night to Fort Pitt from an Indian encampment with a plucky fellow named Lowsby,” he isaid. “He was, riding and 1 was driving a sleigh pulled by a broken-winded horse. “During pur stay at the encampment snowi had fallen heavily and the trail was obliterated. We lost our way in the woods a dozen times, and tried for hours to ge,t hack on the track. At last Lowsby found a singlefoot track and we set off. “We had not gone far when two little dogs I had with me in the sleigh began ,to whimper and cower beside me. Then there was, the terrifying sound fo wolves, a pack of them.

“We knew what that meant. - I loosened my revolver in its holistcr and mentally resolved to jump for a tree if we could not outdistance them. I put the old broken-winded horse to his best speed, but still the howls came nearer and nearer; The dogs trembled, the snow blew up like white dust behind my fleeing sleigh as we broke from the woods into an open space about half a mile across. “I leathered the old horse and both of us shouted encouragement at the top of our voices. I feared that any isecond the horse would drop. But the frightened animal kept on until cur shouts were heard at the lor.t and some of the fellows-came out to beat off the wolves.

“When the Riel, rebellion broke out Big Bear, .much against his own judgment, I feel sure, declared war against us at Fort Pitt. ‘ “Before the Indians surrounded the fort—we knew that was their intention —,we held a. consultation, and prevailed upon Dickens (F. J. Dickens, the third son of- the novelist) to forsake the fort, for the water supply was a good way away and the prospect of fighting without water was hopeless. “At first Dickens was for holding on to the fort, but, as we explained to him, by taking to the river in boats we ran the smaller of twb risks. So we exploded all the ammunition we could not carry with us and put on to the half-frozen;river.

“The boat proved to be leaky ; and soon we saw that unless we could obtain pails for baling purposes we would sink in mid-river. So volunteers were called to go back to the fort for pails. “Amongst the volunteers was my dare-devil friend' Lowsby. He made to the fort safely, got some pails, and then, mounting one of the horses, he.aded for the bank of the river. He crouched ton his' horse’s ne’ek like a jockey, and though more .than a thousand'shots were fired at him he, was only hit twice in the right leg, and we got him into the boat. “Lowsby, by the way, is alive today, I believe. He is the only other member of that little body who* besides myself, is, alive to-day.

“Then followed eight days on that frozen river without flood. That was the'most awful week of my life, and I believe it undermined my really fine constitution. For eight days we baled and baled the icy water from ■ the crazy old boat, and though we’ all suffered pretty gadly fr.om hunger and cold none could have been in the sorry plight of the plucky Lowsby, who lay wounded in tlie bottom of the boat. t

“It was a nightmare journey. All we had to eat during the whole of those eight days was a wild goose, which one bf us shot.; But we got through in the end, and had the questionable pleasure: of hanging some of the Indians. ■ '

“I believe- I have seen something that few other white men have seen. I have seen the ceremony in which the Indians, make their ‘braves.’ “An Indian did until he had: done something worth while: stolen: a horse, perhaps, or scalped a ‘paleface.’ Having, however, dowe, some deed to win his spurs, he went through the griuesome .ceremony which I S|aw. “It. was through'the friendship of

Big Beai- that I was able, well- hidden, to watch the performance. About a score of braves got round a pole to which was attached, a number of ropes. At the loos.e ends of the ropes were fixed things'like skewtors. Each ‘brave’ took two of/these skewers and drove them deeply into his chest muscles from the side, and then, like a merry-go-round, the whole lot started dancing round, swinging their arms above their heads and chanting madly of the deed which enabled them to become ‘braves.’ .

“It' was a terrible sight to watch. But we young ‘Mounted’ were inured to hard sights. We wtere chosen because we would carry out anything we were ordered to do.”