Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1853-08-25

At the same moment the Indians per-
ceived the Captain, and leaped on their
horses. Cursing his own imprudence,
Ferguson turned bride, and began as
quickly as possible to retrace his steps.
Arrived at the outer border Of the wood,
he saw on the plain which he was about
to cross, dense cloud of lurid smoke
extending on either side as far as the
| eye could reach. 1t was prairie on
fire. What was he to do? To return
was death; to go forward, destruction no
less inevitable.
In this terrible emergency, Ferguson
did not lose his presence of mind, but
continued to advance rapidly in the di-
rection of the fire. When he met the
black advanced guard of smoke, behind
which the fame wound and darted like
some monstrous hydra-headed serpent,
Ferguson checked his horse and dis
mounted. He tore his mantle into pie
ces, fastened one as a bandage round his
horses eyes, and another so as to envel-
ope the animals mouth and nostrils;-
then he covered his own face in a SINH
lar manner. This was the work of a
few neutrality-suspicious. moments, for
the yells of the advancing Indians be-
came fearfully distinct. His preparation
made, Ferguson remounted, and facing
his horse towards the fire, spurred him
on with the energy of despair. The
noble beast bounded onwards, the fierce
flames enveloping him and his rider;-
but the arm of the latter was of iron
strength; he held up his horse, and i'm
PEELED him through the fire. A few des-
perate bounds, and the torture was over.
The fresh cool air-how delicious it
was! Ferguson tore off the bandages
which covered his own head and his
horses, and threw himself on the ground.
He is sayedl he has accomplished an un-
paralleled exploit! But above the roar
ing and cracking of the flames, he heard
the triumphal cries of his pursuers, who
think they have precipitated him into
the ocean of fire. He made an effort to
give back defying shout, but his voice
died on his lips!
Half suffocated, both horse and man
had scarcely strength to move across
the blackened plain; yet Ferguson knew
that without water they must inevitably
perish. He therefore summoned his re-
manning energies, and crept on, leading
his horse by the bride. All the poor
creatures hair was singed off, and large
pieces of his hide came away at the
slightest touch.
Tormented by raging thirst, Fergu-
son dragged himself towards the far
thest extremity of the plain; and there,
he perceived band of wolves advan-
cling with savage howls. This new per-
il reused both the horse and his rider.
A clear, fresh stream was flowing by
into it plunged the animal, and Fergu
son also dipped his head into the deli
cious bath. Its restorative effect was
magical. He recollected that the wolves
in these vast deserts are accustomed to
flock towards prairie on fire, in order
to prey on the animals escaping from the
flames. The Captain examined his
horse, and found with pleasure that the
poor creature was much recovered, and
even neighed in reply to the wolves
howling. More moved by this plaintive
neigh than he had ever been by human
cry, Ferguson gently caressed the head
of his steed, and then mounting, urged
him towards the forest. The wolves
meanwhile were crossing the stream in
hot pursuit, the hoarse yells sounding
thousand times more terrible than the
whistling of bullets on the battlefield.
A cold shuddering seized Ferguson.
eff my horse should fall!' he thought.
But, thanks to his vigilance, and the fe-
verish energy of the animal, they grad
ually gained on their pursuers, for the
speed of prairie wolf is much less than
that of feet horse.
But the powers of the noble creature
were nearly spent, his breathing became
rapid, and his head dropped Yet he
still made wondrous effort to gain the
forest, for, with the instinct of his kind,
he seemed to know that safety would be
found among the trees.
At tlength the wood was gained. Fer
guson gave joyous shout, for now he
could take refuge in tree. Tying his
horse to lower branch, our hero climb
ed one quickly, and loaded his carbine
and pistols, with a faint hope of defend
ing the poor animal from the wolves at
tack.
From the lofty branch on which he
had taken up his position, Ferguson
watched the monsters approach-they
were of the fercest species, white, with
glowing red eyes; and he saw that all
was over with his faithful horse They
rushed on their victim-Ferguson fired
among them; but in moment the ami
NAL was deyoured, and the empty bride
left hanging on the branch.
The wolves, with gaping throats, and
their white tusks grinning horribly, re-
mained around the tree, for the horse
had scarcely furnished each with sin
gle mouthful. On the Captains slight
est movement they jumped up, as if to
seize him before he could touch the
ground. Ferguson enjoyed sort of fe-
verish pleasure in killing number of
them with his carbine But night was
closing in, and, quite exhausted, unable
even to reload his arms, he was seized
with a sudden giddiness. He was forced