The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-06-16
MISCELLANEOUS.
A NIGHT ATTACK.

than boy, in fact, when | left England
t. become the partner of my old school
mate, Dick Merton, who had settled dOwr
Is n sheep-faTmer in South America Oul
joint and rather modest capital was in
vested IN league of land near Santa Fe
on the Psrana, bought ''for a song" on ac
count of some defect in the title; also il
few sheep, having the lathy appearance
ans almost the speed, of grey hounds anc
lastly, III the materials of our house, o.
which, IS we had ourselves been the ar
chItects. builders, and clerks of the work
W were nol % little proud 1t was built
of sun baked bricks, and consisted of one
toleTably large rom, with flat roof and
parapet, ace sSib'e from the inside by
raeans of n lad1cI Around it at about
thirty yards distance, we had dug deep
cry ditch, crossed by draw bri'ge, and
intended as protection against surprise
by our enterprislEg sneighbOrs, the Indi-
ans. The latter dusky gentlemen had
hitherto behaved themselves very much rs
such, and had confined their throat-cut-
ting prOpensities TO certain Stay sheen.
Instead of gratifying them at the expense
of the owners. But ugly tales were still
told of their dOings round about us-of
white men taken while riding in sight OF
home, and tortured of cattle driven off,
and sheep speared in very wantonness of
mIschlef-w which were not reassuring, and
which caused US TO Keep a particularly
sharp lookout, especially when, as now,
the Indian moon their favoTite time of at
tack) gave light enough to point the way
70 plundeT, but not to guide the aim OF
he defenders.
Dick Merton, changed indeed since the
days when his word was law among a 1t.
lect circle of Pail Mall dandies, lounged
up to where | was standing. His cos
tune was simple in the extreme, and con-
sisted merely Of a sufficiently aged pair
81 leather unmentionables aud red flsn-
nci shiTt-the whole being surmounted
AMI relieved by very long black beard,
and very short but equally black pipe !;
bat through rough attire and surround
ings, the indefinable je ne sdis quoi of gen
tiilty vas as clearly recognizable as when
ne was sowing his rather extensive crop
of wild oats upon home soil, and before
that memorable Derby which induced
him, after settling with duns of every
description, To embark himself and the
leayngs of his property, and dwell among
sheep and savages, until he could return
WITH fresh grist to carry on the civilized
mill
Can you sea anything stirring in the
N1taip- -sdtu lie Ctllc up. uoSt
horses sre making a cOnfounded row in
t-.c corral. / saw johnson the Yankee
this morning, and he said that Indians
hal crossed the river and he guessed we'd
better keep our wits well lied, that the
dusky varnin didn't look in when we
warn't ready for visitors"
Now, horses were our surest safeguard
against surprise. Dogs we had too, but
they reused us up so frequently by bark
Ing az nothing more formidable than o
stray deer or fox that-reRinded OF the
gentleman whose amusement 1t was TO
cry, Wolfr'-we lost all faith in them
tut our little halfwlld Pampa horses had
fruer instinct, and their warnings, given
~ Stamping upon the ground, were not
ID DC disregarded with safety.
:" can make out some objects moving
about half mile to the southwark" said
l, alter long look out on the plains
they are mounted men by Joye y ex-
"ltmed nay companion; ''and riding hard
this way, too Stand here with your rifle,
Alfred, while / slip cartridges into the
others. At that pace they Will be here
directly"
And SD they were. Almost before Dick
hal reached my side again, two Qua.
chos,' their usually swarthy faces livid
with fear, sprung from their horses, which,
covered with blood, sweat, and foam,
showed how sharp had been the ride, and
rushed over the draw bridge. They told
us rs soon as terror would allow them,
that three hundred Indians were in hot pur-
suit, and would soon be on the spot, and
besOught Us, for the love of the Virgin, to
give them shelter, to ride out again
iutD the camp upon their fOundered
horses would be certain death.
Dick, rather To my surprise-fOr / did
not then know what distinguished liars
the natives a rule are-calmly lit his
pipe, and then ordered our visitors, in
a somewhat doubtful Spanish idio,n, to
make themseI yes scarce"
Unless" he said, politely, "you can
tell plain tale, senOres, without lies,
gtnos and n1iOs"
Upon this we learned, after much cross
questioning, that they had been TO buy
horses ('TO steal them, more likely" inter
lected Dick at the station of rich
HpaDiard, Don Ramon Garcia, who lived
about four leagues from US; and that
when they reached the top OF a gentle
rise in the ground, and had view of the
house, they had seen, To their horror and
dismay, large body of the dreaded In
dams VINO We're attacking-fOr they heard
Whereupon," said the spokesman,
with teeth chattering, eve rode hard to
your abode, well knowing that the brave
Englishmen would not deliver us up. But
let ms mount your fleetest horses, senOTes,
and ride for life. Soon they will be here,
and who can withstand the.ferce 6raoos f'
Z" 1t this be true said Dick, turning to
me" and believe it is, for these coward
ly scOundrels' faces are proof that they
have seen something the sooner we pre-
pare to fight the better. OF course they
were not attacking Ramon's place; he has
n fort strong enough To resist thousand
Oi them, and plenty of men and arms as
well. Most likely they made a dash to
carry off any one who might be strolling
at distance from the house, or to drive
off the horses and it's equally likely that
We shall have them here soon, where
there's a better chance for a night attack
In any event, we must be prepared Tor
them. Naturally, we can't run away, and
leave all we have N the world to be de
stroyed, as those valiant gentlemen
propose"
our own two men, who had often boasted
oi what they meant to do and had already
done in the way of fighting Indans-sud
denly disappeared. We afierward learned
that they took refuge in a corn field in
the rear of the house, where they lay con-
cealed until the fight was over.
Our preparations were very simple--a
box of cartridges was open tfor we were
provided with those inestimable peace
and life preservers, breechloading rifles)
and placed ready to hand, together with
bottle OF whisky and jar of water the
DOOR and window, our weakest points,