Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1864-07-28

escape his pursuers in a fair race across
the open prairie for the two hours which
yet remained of daylight. If he could
only elude the redskins till the SUN went
down, he had no doubt that, as there
was no twilight, he should be able to eff
feet his escape easily enough when once
it became dark. 80 -a..eE !; q
I The timber upon the creek was too
narrow to offer him any hope of conceal
ment, and he saw at once that his one
chance depended upon his reaching the
great forest on the Guadalupe; once in
that, and the sun below the horizon, he
was too good woodsman to care for the
yelling Indians in his rear. The Indi-
ans, however, were between him and the
forest of the Guadalupe, and to make a
detoua', to round them" was hazardous,
for he had no doubt the party would di-
vide, so that whilst one division chased
him upon the prairie, the other would
keep before, to cut him off from his
shelter he had not had to do with In
I dians so long without knowing how readi-
ly they would divine his intentions. All
these thoughts, which take time to des-
cribe, flashed instantly through the brain
of man who was constantly exposed to
danger, and accustomed to rely upon
himself for extrication, and he saw in an
instant the right thing to do-and he did
lit. Not doubling that more than one of
his enemies had recognized him as the
leader Of a corps of Texan Rangers, who
would scarcely be expected to be alone,
or far from his men, Legs cody turned
| his horse sideways to the Indians, and
waved his hand as though beckoningr to
his troop to hurry up, After giving two
or three quick motions with his hand, he
drew and cooked q six-shooter then,
putting spurs to his horse, charged full
at bis enemies, giving, as be came at
them, his war-cry which many of them
! had heard before J
The ruse succeeded; for between their
attention to the desperate man who
charged them SO fercely, and the expecta-
tion Of seeing the troop Of buck skinned
warriors come pouring round the point,
Indians were SO surprised that they for
got to uncoil their lassos, though few
let slip their arrows at him as he passed
through them, dischargng his six-shoot-
er as quickly as he could, and with that
unerring skill which constant practice
gives. Their surprise only lasted few
seconds but, short as it was, it had been
sufficient to enable Lewis to break through
his foes. Seeing that their tall antago-
mist kept his course for the distant for
est, and that no band Of rangers rounded
the point, the savages saw that they had
been duped very clcverly, and that they
might now, perhaps capture their hated
foe. No time was lost by the Indians
as soon as they prcceived the truth,
they stretched out at their horses best
speed, yelling their war-cry, How pow
poo-oo-oo-ah - But this, which would
have sadly tried the nerves of any one
unaccustomed to it, had no effect upon
Legs, except to warn him that the saw
ages had foundasut the trick, and were
now in eager pursuit He gained at
least four hundred yards by his rush,
and this he hoped to keep from the main
body of his pursuers. AS to now and
then one distancing the rest, and coming
pretty close to him, this caused Legs no
uneasiness !; for though he had emptied
one six-shootcr in his charge, he had yet
the other, and the extra cylinders, max
ing altogether eighteen shots more in de-
fence !; and even the discharged cylinders
might be reloaded --for he and all the
rangers practiced this at full speed-if
not pressed to closely. For about the
first two miles he kept his lead of about
four hundred yards, after which the In
}, dians began to lessen. the distance be-
, tween them for the rangers horse, one
, of the best for speed and endurance
upon the frontier, had had a long jour
ney, whilst the Indians mustangs were
comparatively fresh. Over one prairie
roll after another Legs urged his horse,
and the indistinct blue forest in the dis
tance became each minute better defined,
and soon the taller tree tops and giant
branches were cut out clearly in the
}, glowing sky made by the sinking sun.
, Hope rose high in Lewis's heart as he
saw himself drawing so close to the for
est, and rage possessed the savages, for
fear he should gain its shelter, and with
the aid of night escape their vengeance !;
) SO they goaded on their horses withtheir
/ quirts (raw hide whips), and, in some
instances, the points of their knives, to
overtake the fugitive. a
, About one mile remained to be cross
/ ed before the welcome refuge would be
: reached, and the best mounted of the
$ savages strained every nerve to oyertake
) their prey. Ever as one approached too
3 near, the pursued, turning in his saddle,
, either menaced with his pistol, the lead
| ing savage, or, if within reach, stopped
' him with bullet. In that last mile he
5 said he discharged bis pistol eleven times,
so closely was he pressed /; and SO des-
! perate had the savages become to cap
turc him, that they forgot their Coma