The Portland daily press., 1872-03-20

tom of her trunk, and thought herself per-
fectly secure under the cover of the wagon.
when she suddenly detected the false Lieut.
Fallon peering at her through hole which
he had cut In the canvas. All this she re-
ported to Mark
On the following day Mark had violent
altercatlOn with the pretended Lieutenant,
No one had eyes or ears for anything but
THIS exciting scene, and it thus happened that
a small body Of horsemen in the uniform of
the United States had come up, and had DASH
ed into the very camp before their approach
was noticed.
A loud bugle call from the head of the
troops was first token the emigrants re-
ceived of the new arrival.
In a moment the combatants were loosed,
and all eyes turned to the newcomers.
The disguised Lieut.. Fallon looked and
turned faint. He knew what this visit meant.
If no one else did.
Conductor" shouted the leader of the
troop, ''we are here in search of Blue Jack,
the noted desperate, accused of the attempt
ed murder of Lieutenant Fallon of the Unit
ed States army, whom he brutally attacked
and flung into the deep Canyon as dead. The
lieutenant is now at Fort Kearney, in a criti-
cal condition, and we demand his would-be
murdererp'
The emigrants had listened with breathless
amazement to the announcement of the off
Ger in charge of the small detachment of
troops They were actually spellbound. Not
so the person most interested in the announce
ment-Blue Jack himself.
The desperate had comprehended the er-
rand of the troops in the first moment of
their appearance. After his first sensation of
faintness and terror, he had recovered his
GOODNESS and courage, and was himself again.
AT the very commencement of the officers
announcement, Blue Jack exchanged glances
with the terrified and covering Burk. The
latter pointed one trembling finger over his
shoulder to spot at little distance, where
Blue Jacks horse stood grazing, saddled for
use.
In an instant the chief desperate darted
under the wagons toward the waiting horse.
He reached him and leaped upon his back
And in the next moment that desperate
rose gracefully in his stirrups at the distance
OF few rods, and with the fierce defiant veil
of wild Indian, dashed his spurs into his
horses side, and was away like the wind.
The troops gave an answering yell of sur
prise and anger, and the officer in command
led the swift pursuit.
Blue Jack had the advantage of a good
start, and was splendidly mounted, his horse
being seasoned ANIMAL born and bred on
the plains, and endowed with great life and
spirit.
Blue Jack laughed aloud as the strong an
imal bore him onward as if he had been
feathers weight. He rose again in his stir
rups, and shouted back defiahtly:
Come on. Take Blue Jack if you camp
The pursuing officers shouted to the out
law to surrender, but the only reply was
hooking laugh. The officer then fired shot
at the fugitive, but the bullet missed its mark
and Blue Jack, bending low to his horses
neck, and digging the spurs into the animals
sides, swept on and away with the rush of
tornado.
And after him swept the pursuers.
The emigrants watched the pursuit with
breathless interest until the foremost figure
upon the powerful Indian steed had passed
beyond their line of vision.
During the confusion Burk escaped Also
AT nightfall they halted upon the south
bank of the Platte, and were at supper
around their fires when the troops were seen
to approach, weary and dispirited- without
their prisoner.
''The fellow has escaped u.s." said the
officer.
"You held on to the chase well. Lieuten-
ant" said the conductor.
II can't bear to go back to the fort without
him. was the quick reply. ''There's ex-
element all through the fort. Poor Fallon
was nearly murdered, and was left for dead
He was flung over into Deep Canyon, and
happened to lodge in clump of bushes.
There he came to himself, an hour or more
afterward, and, more dead than alive, he
climbed up to the ground above, and fell
down in dead faint. A party was immedi-
ately organized, and sent in pursuit of the
outlaw"
The next day they encountered the party
OF soldiers that had been sent in pursuit Of
Blue Jack. They had found no trace of the
desperate or his companion.
mo use looking for Blue jack" said the
officer in charge of the party, addressing
Landlord. "There has been party of Sioux
about this quarter for few DAYS past, and no
doubt Blue Jack has fallen in with them.
The party is hardly large enough to attack
your train, and / understand they have gone
up toward Dakotah. Blue Jack has an In
dian wife somewhere up there"
Upon the second day after leaving Fort
Mcpherson, the emigrants made their mid
day halt in a grove of cotton woods, upon
the bank of the south fork of the Platte, at its
junction with wide, tree-fringed river which
descended from the northward, and here they
concluded to settle.
The site OF the village was selected exactly
at the junction of two rivers, upon a low
bluff overlooking the two streams.
Then public square was carefully laid out
with mathematical exactness
Then each mans lot was assigned him,
Mark Heber's was next to Whitman's, ON
and his future garden ran back to the edge of
the low bluff.
Mark Heber did mans work, and from
the first day of this hard toll Whitman ceased
to class the youth among the boys.
In the course of week, eight strong log
houses, each story in height, and pierced
with loop-holes, and each provided with sin
gle capacious chimney, were finished, and
tronted the little naked square
Mark Heber's house was simply arranged
built upon the plan generally adopted by the
settlers. There were but two rooms, one be-
ing entered through the other. The inner
room was to be Gays. The outer room was
to be parlor, dining-room, kitchen, library,
and Marks bedroom.
1.-The house is your province, Gay" said
the youth, upon the morning after the house
was finished. II shall leave you to furnish
1t and transform it into home while | work
upon the stockade. If you need my help
when the stockade and .block-house are finish
ed, will turn myself into house-carpenter.'
Il sha' MT need you, SIR" said Cav saucilv.
"You attend to the farm, and leave the house
to me.''
The shelter provided, the eight houses
were left entirely to the management of the
women, the men working upon the stockade,
which was constructed upon strict military
principles, and was model of worth and ex-
celence.
1t required two weeks and the labor of six
teen men to complete this work.
Whitman and his family had been living in
their house for week. All the families had
moved into their homes save the Hebers, but
Gay with pretty tyranny had not allowed
Mark to cross the threshold of his house since
he had finished it.
Now, when Mark unyoked his oxen, turn
ing them loose in his own yard, and drew his
wagon under great cottonwood in his back
garden, Gay called to him with bright smile.
saying that he might enter the house with
her.
He came pleased and smiling, but paused
upon the threshold in mute amazement.
Was this the room with four rough loo walls
which he had given into her hands?
Was this sunny little house loc-house on
the plains?
1t seemed incredible
For little cleVer-witted Gay, with her deli
cate, skillful fingers, had fashioned lovely
home out of her barren materials, such an
one as would delight the eye to rest upon. and
her sole helps had been two kindly bows of
fifteen years, who had worked under her di-
rections.
Its the prettiest room ever saw" cried
Mark, with enthusiasm. ''There isn't a house
in town like it. Won't the people open their
eyes? It's just lovelyp' cried Mark delight
eddy. "You are regular home fairy, Cav,
You were meant for the frontier, and YOU are
the fairest flower on all the plains My precious
little sisterr'
He drew her to him and kissed her tender