1897-]
ceived their fate at the hands of the great White God for ventur
ing into its dwelling with unhallowed feet, Kiamichi and his war
riors left. But, strange to relate, the treasure which they took
was nowhere to be found, even by the most diligent search, and
to this day its hiding-place is a mystery. The cave, however, is
somewhere in this neighborhood. ’
“ After finishing which tale, Wewoka gave a grunt of relief,
and, rolling into his blanket, fell asleep. But, try as I might, I
could not get this story out of my head. The knowledge that
there was a buried treasure in the vicinity was constantly before
my mind, and at last I was forced to admit that I was becoming a
treasure-seeker. Day after day I prowled over the hills iu all
directions, but never did I see aught of any cave. My sole object
now in remaining in the woods was to find the hidden wealth.
But, as the days wore on, and no clues presented themselves, I
gave up hope, and was about to leave for home, when a new tie
arose to keep me in the forest.
“ I had been out one day for game, and was returning, early in
the afternoon, empty-handed, when suddenly, ‘ Whirr! whirr!’
and a wild goose rose from the lake, on whose beach I was walk
ing, and flew directly over my head. Raising my rifle to my
shoulder, I took hurried aim and discharged both barrels in quick
succession, and with a loud squawk he fell fluttering to the
ground. It was a difficult shot, and I was proud of its result.
So I hurried forward to secure my prize. But I had reckoned
without my host, for when I reached the spot where he had fallen
he was nowhere to be seen. Off to my right, however, was a
slight movement of the bushes, and guessing that my wounded
goose had determined to escape on foot I started in swift pursuit.
‘ ‘ And a ‘ wild goose chase ’ it was, to be sure. Several times
I caught sight of him, with his left wing trailing on the ground,
running painfully along ahead of me. But the spirit of the chase
had caught me, and I was determined to have him. On and on,
over stones and brambles I raced, and at last had the satisfaction
of seeing the wounded bird, only a few paces ahead, reeling as
though about to fall, Knowing that the end was near, I dropped
my gun and made a swift leap forward -to grasp him, just in time
to see him vanish with a dying squawk over the edge of a cliff.
Here was a pretty state of affairs, indeed. But I was determined
to have that bird, though it cost me my life. After recovering
my gun, I returned to the edge of the precipice and peered over.
The Treasure of the Forest,