The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1857-11-14

L
near. now disanpearinr from view in cross-
ing some concealed hollow. and again dis
plsyed ~ bold relief aeainst the sky as they
monnted some nrom;nent ridge. :,
At length their distance was diminished to
less than 4 Quarter Of 4 mile. and thinking 4
closer acouaintance undesirable. / turned
INV horses head with a view Of riding mod.
erately toward the camp till they should
manifest some design ON me: when imagine
the chill Of horror which curdled nv blood
a. sow two small PARTIES IN ny REAR. gal
Hoping together from either side to cut of
nv retreat. and heard the terrific veil which
all three raised as they saw their willy ma
neuyre discovered, and That further silence
would be useless. ~ a
While the main body had continued to At
tract nv attention BY advancing conspicu-
ously toward me, these two parties had TAX
en- advantage Of the numerous hollows,
which had at times concealed them tempo
rarily from view, to diverge, and by wide
circuit attain nv rear, / greehorn that / was,
never dreaming Of this common Indian STRAIT
agem while stupidity regarding the FIRST and
only object which attracted my gaze. But
was not there yet time? The two intercept
ing parties were rapidly conyerging toward
the fine of my retreat, and were already with
in q quarter Of mile Of each other, while
was not more than half that distance from
the centre. The main party, with fearful
whoop, dashed forward to close me in. MY
horse was fleet and true, but he was also
travel worn and fatigued. How long could
he distance those wild coursers Of the desert,
even If escaped the Immediate danger
But there was no time to deliberate. Now
or never was the only chance. Another mo-
ment would be too late. Grasping my rife
with firmer clutch, and re-assuring with
caressing words the frightened steed, who
alane could save me from a horrible fate, /
made bold dash for the interval which
still separated the detached parties, and
upon which they were rapidly closing.
Nobly the gallant animal responded to the
call. Snortine with terror at the wild shouts
Of our nurs1ers. trembling in eyerv limb
with the Intensity of his eSertions. he fiew
over the cronnd. and with the aeetness Of
the wind. Re dashed between the annroacb-
;ns hordes within a hundred vards of ms on
| either hand. With the ener9v Of desnair
cra snad the saddle with nv tnoes and hpnt
forward to assist his aync course. On on
toward the only hone Of safety. flftv yelline
demons hard ,,non nur tracks their biank ats
| and fnerv Av;no in the wind onward we
sneed- nursucrs and nursued. over the broad
ernansa of the nro;rse ocean - '.''"~
Soon the feetness and blood Of INV Amer.
loan conrser heoan to tell on the enduring
bnt slower footed mnstancs of the Indians
Some of tho worst mounted were ora,luallv
dronn;nc to the rear. and after rnnn;no two
or tbren miles tbev we've strnnc ont in 5 lonr
I;ns " bcb;nd me- Grad"alivi sIacted the
sneed for we'll knew that the bottom and
eppdurancs of The Indian borses, accustomed
to traverse ;mmense distances mt q s;ncle
stretch ;s almost w;thont I;m;t, and manS n
Ionc milo was still hefore ma. Aca;n tHev
wonld d;m;n;sh tho distance and AGAIN I
was vas OBLIGED to urce nv ;aded steed 10 his
bast efforts Rut sas bec;nn;no 10 breathe
freer. the first startling alarm was over.
| half the distance was ACCOMPLISHED. If nv
gallant gray could but maintain his tre-
mendous exertions for four miles more l
was safe, Once in sight of our camp and
the prudence of my Wild pursuers would
glance but once at the eighty American rifles
which would gleam from behind our wagon
wheels.
| Twas now descending a long but gentle
inclination toward broad level depression
in the prairie which spread out about a
couple Of hundred Yards wide at its base
Nv savage pursuers were for moment out
of sight behind the ridge | had lust crossed.
[ reached the foot of the hill ut full speed,
my steed plunged forward on what seemed
hard ground; and, 0, despair. sank to his
belly in treacherous swamp! All! can the
gathering years of all futurity ever blot
from my memory the despair Of that awful
moment! How far this seemingly impassa-
BILE barrier extended up and down the rivu.
let which divided it could not guess. Al
terrific yell burst from the exultant warriors
as they appeared over the crest on the
ridge and recognized the dilemma they had
too truly anticipated. Terrible fears chill
ed nv blood. In that brief moment, as the
wild savages came charging down the hill,
tumultuous thoughts of home and friends,
mingled with the bright anticipations go
long cherished, of golden future in the
land of promise, came thronging in wild
confusion through nv teeming brain. There
was one hope left, desperate as it seemed;
but there was no time for deliberation, no
opportunity for choice. Resistance was
madness. / was hemmed in on every side
but one. Straight ahead was my only
chance. might founder through, and at oil
events, suffocation OF capture in the bog was
no worse than instantaneous destruction
where was. Dashing the rowels into the
trembling animal, madly urged him for
ward. The soil, though covered with grass
and apparently firm, gave way at every
step. Flowing his way BY gigantic efforts,
now for an instant raising himself on some
higher spot, then sinking to his saddle
girths, urged by my frantic exertions, terri
fed to phrenzy by the appalling yells of the
approaching enefny and the shots which had
began to whistle around us, the noble ami
mai toiled gallantly on and gained the firm
bank lust as the dusky forms of nv pursu.
ers, infuriated at the possible loss Of their
prey. were clustering on the opposite
side, seeking favorable spot to follow.
Their deliberations saved me. 1t required
strong control of reason to walk my fail
ing horse slowly up the hill, while the Indi-
ans were foundering after me through the
swamp. But rightly judged that little
breathing time would not be wasted on him.
turned the summit of the hill Just as the
discounted Indians were beginning to crawl
out of the bog, and again putting spurs to
my iaded horse, once more VIC sprang for
ward in that mad race of life and DEATH