A man with two Lives

by Ambrose Bierce

here_is_the queer story of David William duck, related by himself . duck is an old man living in aurora, Illinois, where he_is universally respected . he_is commonly known, however, as " dead duck ."

" in_the autumn of 1866 i_was a private soldier of_the Eighteenth infantry . my company was one of_those stationed at fort Phil Kearney, commanded by colonel Carrington . the country is more or less familiar with_the history of_that garrison, particularly with_the slaughter by_the Sioux of a detachment of eighty- one men and officers-- not one escaping-- through disobedience of orders by its commander, the brave but reckless captain Fetterman . when_that occurred, i_was trying to_make my way with important dispatches to fort C .F . smith, on_the big horn . as_the country swarmed with hostile Indians, I traveled by night and concealed myself as best I_could before daybreak . the better to_do_so, I went afoot, armed with aHenry rifle and carrying three days' rations in my haversack .

" for_my second place of concealment I chose what seemed in_the darkness a narrow canon leading through a range of rocky hills . it contained many large bowlders, detached from_the slopes of_the hills . behind one_of_these, in a clump of sage- brush, I_made my bed for_the day, and soon fell asleep . it seemed as_if I had hardly closed my eyes, though in_fact it_was near midday, when i_was awakened by_the report of a rifle, the bullet striking the bowlder just above my body .a band of Indians had trailed me and had me nearly surrounded; the shot had_been fired with an execrable aim by a fellow who had caught sight of me from_the hillside above . the smoke of_his rifle betrayed him, and i_was no sooner on my feet than he_was off his and rolling down the declivity . then I ran in astooping posture, dodging among_the clumps of sage- brush in a storm of bullets from invisible enemies . the rascals did_not rise and pursue, which i_thought rather queer, for they_must_have known by my trail that_they had to deal with only_one man . the reason for their inaction was soon made clear .I had_not gone a hundred yards before I reached the limit of_my run-- the head of_the gulch which I had mistaken for acanon . it terminated in a concave breast of rock, nearly vertical and destitute of vegetation . in_that cul-de-sac i_was caught like a bear in a pen . pursuit was needless; they had only to wait .

" they waited . for two days and nights, crouching behind a rock topped with a growth of mesquite, and with_the cliff at my back, suffering agonies of thirst and absolutely hopeless of deliverance, I fought the fellows at long range, firing occasionally at_the smoke of_their rifles, as_they_did at_that of_mine . of_course, I_did_not dare to close my eyes at night, and lack of sleep was a keen torture .

"I remember the morning of_the third day, which I_knew was to_be my last .I remember, rather indistinctly, that in my desperation and delirium I sprang out into_the open and began firing my repeating rifle without seeing anybody to fire at . and I remember no more of_that fight .

" the next thing that I recollect was my pulling myself out of a river just at nightfall .I had_not a rag of clothing and knew nothing of_my whereabouts, but all that night I traveled, cold and footsore, toward the north . at daybreak I_found myself at fort C .F . smith, my destination, but without my dispatches . the first man that I met was a sergeant named William Briscoe, whom I_knew very_well . you_can fancy his astonishment at seeing me in_that condition, and my own at his asking who the devil i_was .

"'Dave duck,' I answered; ' who_should I be ? '

" he stared like an owl .

"' you_do look it,' he_said, and I observed that he drew a little away from me .' what's up ? ' he added .

" i_told him what had happened to_me the day before . he heard me through, still staring; then he_said:

"' my dear fellow, if_you_are Dave duck I ought to inform you that I buried you two_months_ago . i_was out with a small scouting party and found your body, full of bullet-holes and newly scalped-- somewhat mutilated otherwise, too, I_am sorry to_say-- right where you say you_made your fight . come to my tent and I'll show you your clothing and some letters that i_took from your person; the commandant has your dispatches .'

" he performed that promise . he showed me the clothing, which I resolutely put on; the letters, which I put into my pocket . he_made no objection, then took me to_the commandant, who heard my story and coldly ordered Briscoe to_take me to_the guardhouse . on_the way I_said:

"' bill Briscoe, did you really and truly bury the dead body that you found in_these togs ? '

"' sure,' he answered--' just as i_told you . it_was Dave duck, all right; most of us knew him . and now, you damned impostor, you'd better tell me who you_are .'

"'I'd give something to_know,' I_said .

"A week later, I escaped from_the guardhouse and got out_of_the country as fast as I_could . twice I_have_been back, seeking for_that fateful spot in_the hills, but unable to_find it ."