The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1862-06-21
OTTAWA ILL.,, SATURDAY MORNING. JUNE 2l4852

those | see fitting before ME through th
pale, uncertain right of the moon
Cautiously they move Now the moo
shields itself for moment behind cloud
and shuts them from view Now !
bursts forth again, and before me | see
oh, horror indians Good Cod | an
lost, unless Reginald, my noble horse, ha
sufficient strength left to bear me out o
danger. They see me! Bang! bang
| whiZ o bullet cuts off a lock of my hair
while another passes through my arm
With my knife | manage to cut away The
meat, as ] now must get rid of all unne
cessary weight which would impede the
speed of my horse. ..-
Away We 60, It's race Of life or death
My horse, as if conscious of the danger O
his master, rushes on like the wind. Be
bind me are the savages, one, two, four
SIX. sight, ten, yelling, whooping, and
urging on their ponies with goad and spur
Away we fly. Ny arm becomes painful
very painful, and bleeds profusely. But
| look! O Heaven! Another horror! The
savages had set fire TO the tail, dry grass
| and borne on by n strong wind, it follows
me, Kissing, cracking, leaping its foykcd
| flames high in air, as If bat too sure of it,
victim. The savages had rode in another
| direction, and | hear their horrid ye!li
apparently ahead of me. But one dusky
warrior follows in my wake ] stop my
painting steed. The flames are close upol
me. With upliited tomahawk the yellin.
fiend of red skin comes on. draw nv
revolver. The shot is at random, bnt the
savage falls. On we 20 again. Hold out
my noble Reginald, yet while longer.
Ionder, away in the dim distance, are.
A. !.
But no, that cannot be, or they would
come to my assistance. Nr horse grows
weak. Nearer and nearer comes the de
vouring flames think Of my home and
loved ones thereof Jennie and her sweet
sunny smiles-of the beach trees, beneath
whose arborous bouchs we Of had sat, in
days lang syne and told our tale of love
! thought that ere long / should cease to
think; and that ! should be lying Oh the
scorched grouLd, a L!ackencI. hideous
corpse. How my soul s.ckeucd at the
the thought! But OH, horror upon horror
upon horror! he accurscd iiends have
got on ahead Of me, and again fired the
grass IN such a manner a manner as to
form IN angie OF the two fires which must.
ere long, reach me. If they lad fired the
grass directly ahead Of mel might have
had some chance 10 escape the fire, at
least but nov ! vas doomed.
I. ! stop . moment TO give my falterinE
horse breath. again ! ride on. ! pack
Of hungry wolves-tvpicalo o.: savag-s by
nature-comc howiug along the Iear Of
the fire, as Il they, too, were bent on my
destruction. grow more faint. but
coura-ci courage! Alas, talk not Of
courage when. before and behind, on all
s,de-. death-a hdeou-. ffightGuI death
starcs you IN the face. But hars. 4 rife
shot-a rifle shot Ny head grows giddy /;
the flames scorch and s.ucr my hair -
luuEe = s.Clcnlug sensation, and ali i
chaos.
When again came to ny senses. I was
lying on pallet in Beas tent, very weak
and sick Ny arm WAS taudaged and
friends stood 10y my side.
essayed 70 speak. but they mo,ioned
me 10 keep silent. As ! grew strong. they
related to me nov Beu had come to camp
awhile after dusk, expecting to find me
there; aud how six of the party. with
Ben, had started GU; in the sand hills t.
look for ne; how. after hunting in vain.
they had been attracted By the fire, which
was then q great distance og and had
ridden in that direction; how Ben had
espied me riding wildly before it: how
they had met and defeated the sayaaes 4.
how Ben had reached me Just in time to
save me from the flames my noble horse
having 1!lien dead. and thrown ne vic.
lently ogalr-t the earth. that ] had been
unconscious for near week. and that we
were than near n hundred mile. from the
scene of my disaster
er Il not want ter 90 huutn' Buflier
acin soon | reckon. youuEster' said Ben
and / was OF the same opinion.
| afterwards learned tuat | had ridden
thirty miles on that eyeutlul night The
wound in my arm was only flesh wound
and soon healed bu. the recoliectious OF
that awful night still haunt mY memory.
and in dreams | sometimes sac a repeti-
ton Of my pcrilous adventure.