Des Arc weekly citizen., 1868-05-23
LIPAN JOE.
CHAPTER ".

| That band of prowling redskins, though quite strong enough for any ordinary undertaking, had made a fearful miscalculation, when, instead of the defenseless train of some party of unlucky emigrants, they found themselves confronted by nearly a score of the deadliest rifles on the bor- der, and, after a brief struggle, they abandoned their enterprise, riding off with wild wells of rage and disappoint- mcnt, though not without carrying with them the scalps of three of the faithless teamsters, and some of the loose horses.
 Wild was the wrath oftltc remafh- ing desperadoes when they discovered the real extent of the stampede.
 They at once understood the truth of the case, for the two Murrays, Rosa, the negroes, I.anmau, Lipan Joe, and more than a dozen of the best horses, with all their equipments, had disap- peared ill . way to leave no doubt of the cause of tlcir departure.
 "Tell ger what, saida brawny brute, who seemed disposed to act as captain, s'it won't never do for that thar crowd to git to the fort. Durn the Indians {! They won't come back for anythin' more'n they've got, but it won't be long till sun-up, an we must saddle right away
 "And leave the wagons?'
 "Reckon theyll stay yer till we git back. Whats one of yer necks good for on this frontier if Charlie Lanman gifts to tell his mates what we fellers have been up to-
 "The West aint wide enough for man that gifts that crowd down onto him. I'm for tyail an no marcy.'
 This view of the case was so clearly dictated by common sense, that it met with no opposition, and though the wagons were ransacked for easily portable valuables, and the best horses were selected, regardless of ownership, in the course of half an hour more the whole gang was eagerly waiting for enough of daylight to enable them to follow the trail.
 The Comanches had carried of all their wounded, and only two of their dead, besides the luckless victim of Lipan Joe's prowcss, remained upon the field of battle.
 Great was their surprise and rage, howevev, when they discovered the fate oS tn. five warriors who had been detailed wait the results of the stampede onthe runaway side" of the camp.
 Moreover, the sudden departure of a party, seemingly so strong and numer- ous, was an insoluble puzzie to the most cunning brain among them.
 The struggle had been really between Lanman, Lipan Joe, and three, or rather two, of the hapless squad, for joe had spoken to them in their own tongue until so near that he and his friend were able to strike instant and fatal blows, and bowieknife, ''driven home" rarely fails of it's work.
 Fired by the hope of revenge, how ever, the Comanches did their best to follow the trail of their mysterious enemies, and so the fugitives, had they known it, were pursued at the same moment by two seperate bands of the most blood-thirsty and terrible sleuth- hounds known to the history of violence and crime.
 Well was it for them that Lipan Joe and Lanman insisted on making the best use of their time, and making their first start as great an advantage as possible while darkness still befriendsd them.
 CHAPTER V.
 The bright sun of Texas was in all his glory as the fugitives urged their horses onward over the seemingly boundless prairie, and until then little had been said by either of them. The returning light, however, seemed ia