Next, they painted his face
in stripes with red and yellow clay, so that he looked, as they
thought, handsomer than he ever had before in his life. When all had
been done, and they were satisfied with the appearance of their new
Indian, they sat down to a great feast, and made merry.
[Footnote 5: Squaws: Indian women.]
153. Boone escapes, but the Indians find him again; what a handful
of tobacco dust did.--After a time Boone managed to escape, but the
Indians were so fond of him that they could not rest till they found
him again. One day he was at work in a kind of shed drying some tobacco
leaves. He heard a slight noise, and turning round saw four Indians
with their guns pointed at him. "Now, Boone," said they, "we got you.
You no get away this time." "How are you?" said Boone, pleasantly;
"glad to see you; just wait a minute till I get you some of my
tobacco." He gathered two large handfuls of the leaves: they were
as dry as powder and crumbled to dust in his hands. Coming forward,
as if to give the welcome present to the Indians, he suddenly sprang
on them and filled their eyes, mouths, and noses with the stinging
tobacco dust. The savages were half choked and nearly blinded. While
they were dancing about, coughing, sneezing, and rubbing their eyes,
Boone slipped out of the shed and got to a place of safety.
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