Litchfield enquirer., 1868-05-28

we lOSb SlSnboi IeAIl, ana there was nOth- ing but thegreat hot plain before us. 4
 small division of the army had left fol Tungchow that same morning at daylight Their footprints and other traces of theil
 march were still visible. We gradually pol
 careless about the track, and finally lost il altogether. The way seemed tolerably eas, and we began to congratulate ourselves on the clever manner Tn which we were shan ing cur conrse Just then we came to 2
 white marble monument of peculiar form,
 It represented 8 mfsnstrous tortoise carry.
 ing an inscribed slab vertically on his back
 Such as these are erected to the memory oi
 the kings of one of the old dynasties It
 occurred to us that we had passed one oi
 these half an hour before, and on closer
 inspection tt proved to be the very same
 one. Without knowing it, we had lost oul
 way and made complete circle.
 This was particularly annoying, especial ly when the danger being 'overtaken by the darkness on this wide plain of the ene-
 my's was considered. Besides, my horse
 was beginning to show signs of Tagging, and stumbled continually. We halted and started again, talking a fresh departure, ? as naval men say, this time taking the sun for our gujde, and looking out for the foot prints. t1 ,. se e..-.-. ...cr .t
 To our great satisfaction we came upon the track again or rather upon track The possibility tlRt these could be any other than the foot prints of an English army for instance those of Tartars leading to their camp-never suggested itself. With light hearts we unexpectedly followed up tbis track, until, right ahead there appear ed long low wall, with here and there the top of a tent showing above it. One sig niticant look, full of meaning, suffced to show us that we had accidentally discover ed the much dreaded Tartar camp. ,-,
 Without saying word we wheeled round and galloped back as fast as the poor faded old steeds would carry us. Any hope that we had not been observed was instantly dispelled by seeing nine or ten Tartar horsemen, we'll mounted, rush out in hot pursuit. Thus We had fallen into the very pitfall that was our worst danger
 ; Our miserable horses seemed, by some curious instinct, to beaware of the danger They tore along at speed that greatly sur prised us.g Hedges, tlees, fields flew by; oyer the rice plantations, crashing through the millet stalks-away away, oyer every thing. This was raca for life and the speed was frightfuL This furious pace could not last Gradually the Tartars gained ground. On tiey came through a cloud of dust, the foremost ones alone yis- ible through it. Away. away, over the arid plain, the thick hot ail resonant with the eager shouts and sayags yells of our pur- suers.s : ~ Hsr lDsl5as4f s~sk t..gr
 But all the fierce goaling of our horses, we too well knew was gdIlissss sss Iatha lane Hhss Heavens! the e..tfng left forus but to sell onr eiI I;vsss @"s dearly as possible, to reserve sha i.,s precious bullet for ourselves. Once :ns1e hands of Tartars, the old proyerb be- .6mes reversed, for whilst there is life ;hereis no hope, except-yes, only one that of quick and easy death, a hope sell dom fulfilled. l @ sl5 '5aaiteelIa1t :. Nearer and yet nearer, they gained on us rapidly. Now an arrow passed followed by cross bow bolt; then another and auother in. quick succession. Still hcloser and closer they pressed on us. When with in safe distance of the foremost one,. Idrew my revolver, turned round in the saddle and fired. From over anxiety missed the mark. Jack, who fired shortly afterwards missed his man, but killed the horse, which was nearly as we'll. His next shot missed mine also; not, however, through bad aiming, but because, at the instant that pulled the trigger, an arrow grazed my right arm, tearing through the coat and the deshy part; but, happily, the arrow did not stick. -..---.--~r
 Nerved with rage, although smarting with intense pain my arm was steady for the next shot. With a long and careful aim the man we'll covered, I fired, a flash, a sharp ringing report, and one of my pur- suers rolled over with bitter scream and laid weltering in his hfe's blood. '''s i
 Faster and more fercely came on the rest of the savage horde. One received bullet from Jacks revolver that scattered his brains on the sand, and prevented his ever chasing again. His next shot, howev- CT, was not so successful had two bull lets left, and Jack three; the number that us were reduced to seven. If all shots were to tell, there would just be 8 chance of our escaping. A report from Jacks pistol and nasty glance at our pur- suers told me that he had fired without re- suit. 5 '
 The horses were Tagging tremendously, and 1t was evident that the, critical mo- ment was at hand. As we still sped on wards, the arrows whizzing past, I cooked my pistol, and refined in little to let the foremost man come with certain distance I could afford to waste no more shots. He rapidly came up, I got an excellent aim, and fired. With shriek and yell of ago. dy, he dropped, and his horse, galloped past me; at the same instant my horse fell down dead, struck by an arrow or bullet. l was aware of 6 sudden shock, my head was damned into my shoulders, and rolled ov- CT and over in the dust. .,. t,g,s .r..s rv Half blinded and choked with sand, l scrambled to my feet just in time to put a bullet through the body of a Tartar who Tn another moment would have ridden or cut me down. As he fell his horse luckily stumbled and fell alsoss I rushed to him and stiffiing his objections with the butt end of my revolver dragged him clear of his horse In less time than 1t takes to
 write it had the horse up on his legs, and
 was securing across the wide plain on his
 back. -..,-r~-s..s ,5r ,. sge,-.. .z.z:zf... s.s
 In the meantime Jack percelvlng my downfall, wheeled round and with consu- mate coolness loged one bullet most clever. ly in eskull of the nearest Tartar, and
 dismounted another with his last. We
 rode on together, and were exceedingly
 glad to see the rest of our pursuers turn
 back to attend to their wounded. Oul first care was to reload our revolvers. This
 done we halted for a moment whilst Jacl
 bound up my arm, which was intensely painful ond bled profusely. Having shak en hands, and congratulated each other on our escape, our former difficulty as to tht