Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1870-12-14
THE CAPTAINS LOST ARM.
AN ENGLISH OFFICERS STORY.

II was at one of our evening camp
fires in India that be told his story
Far in the distant jungle sounded the
cry Of the Of the terr bic wild beasts that
rcigned there. IL sounded over the
plains and came to onr ears with the
most dismal monotony. W. could i'm
acine how gracefully the tiger crouched
there. how like Tho flames his eye balls
cleaned. Above us was the deep
deep purple of nm India sky, its stars
burning with IGstre that our cooler
England never knows. The lurid blaze
of "ur fire threw erie gIimn srs out in
t. the darkness There were four of us.
We were half lying along the ground.
each of us indus, riously putting at our
-cheroot. There had been silence of n
quarter Of an hour, when Charters,
luuking ~ the Captain. rs he calmly
smoked said: Now Roland, isn't it q
favorable time TO redeem youf promise
Of year ag"?
Captain Roland looked ND question
inCiy-l believe the e was M greater fa
vnrits in the regiment than Roland, and
|. there was 10 danger of spoiling him eli
Their. He was about thirty five years
old had been in India ten years, and
thus far had escaped fe,ers aud wounds,
though 40 man exposed lis life more
bravely, but he never did ii foolhardy.-
His left arm was gone, but none Of us
knew how il was lot. 1t had not been
in battle.
In reply TO this look, Charters said :
You know YOU promised TO tell Us how
YOU happened to lose YOU arm
Roland shudderei percsptIbly, rs be
drew his cigar from his mouth, aud said :
Yes. did promise, and | hope it
will do me good TO tell that story once.
I've kept silence about it, but hav-
en't forgot it. You see man remem.
beers thorough fight good while. Ii
was when | was in The - regiment,
before | was transferred 10 this. That
was about eleven years ago, and was a
good deal Younger, and ,ushed into nlI
sorts of scrapes, though | do hope un
der the same circumstances rs happened
that day. | should do the sams thing
over again. WIS lieutenant in those
days, and that morning was sent out
| in command of half dozen men in pur
suit Of deserter, who was reported to
be hiding in the vicinity Of that place
called Maivel's Gully. You know the
place! There are not many of US SOL
diers but do know it. The sun glared
down with unvarying, cloudIess heat, q
| gentle wIpd blew over the carth, like the
breath of an oven ten times heated; il
struck against me a. | rode, and shud
dered Ms felt it. for it seemed the breath
OF some great firemonster that would de
your this Iuckess land. am more used
10 that breeze now, but il used to make
me the most hOmesick of ANYTHING.
We rode A. fast rs We dared IN the
heat and by noon bad reached the wretch
ed village where we were ordered to
search for the deserter l did not mucl
like the job. and rather hoped We SHOULD
not find him; but we did. aud while W,
were safely securing the miserable wretch
party of natives came up in great ex
element and begged us TO go down il
the gully with them, saying that tina
morning ayoung girl, the pet of the vii
lage, had gone down on some kind o
an GRAND, and that they were afraid sh'
had fallen a victim to a tiger; one o
them had been seen lurking about afte
the girl Ind started.
The men in NV little command wtr
weary and disinclined to go. and so,n
Of them had rather disagreeab!s expe
riences in such expeditions. But though
of the girl. and hoped the tiger ha'
missed her; aud ia anticipation fe'
the triumph of killing him before sh
bad fallen into his power. So | toll
the natives would go with them, and
left my men in the village, with stron
suspicion that they would all be drum
when came back.
with my gun'ovsr my ar,n-I ha
both arms then-I stole. softly slon
over the baked earth with nv dusk
coppaniops. who did not seem 10 min