Page:Castlemon--Joe Wayring at Home.djvu/36

 rare and curious things that Joe's friends were always glad of an invitation "to step up for a few minutes." Uncle Joe's love for the rod and gun had led him to roam all over his own country, as well as to some remote corners of foreign lands, and during these rambles he never forgot the boy at home who thought so much of relics and souvenirs of all kinds, and took such good care of them. He gave Joe the Alpine stock which had assisted him in his ascent of Mount Blanc; the Indian saddle and bridle he had used when fleeing from the agency at the time the Utes rose in rebellion and killed Meeker and all the other whites who did not succeed in making good their escape; the head of the first bison he had ever shot, and which, having been mounted by an expert taxidermist, had been hung above the looking-glass over the mantle to serve as a resting place for the sword and pistols Uncle Joe carried during the war, the elk-horn bow, quiver of arrows, scalping knife and moccasins presented to him by a Sioux chief; and for the prize lancewood bow won by my master at a shooting match; for Joe was an archer, as well