, 1874-10-18


| nothing could be discovered Of any Indians, and
theie was no eisn Of their having been around,
except single moccaain-track In the soft ground
] of the Eavine. The shot lad been On unlncdy
one, however; for, as it proved, Young Harry
1neoldsby had been shot through tho brain, and
scaiped, even before his companions had been
aware that there Was any particular danger. The
news spread rapidly, and on no one did it pro-
duce more sorrowful effect than upon Miss
Imogene, who appeared perfectly broken down
When she heard Of it.
The body Of young Harry WAS carefully
wrapped up in q blanket, placzd in ono OF the
Wagons, and carried along, as the men had no
time to stop to dig a grave; and it was thought
best to wait until they stopped for the night, in
order that 1t might be buried with decency and
decorum. The attack had been so sudden, and
there had been 90 little excitement about it, that
| it WA some time before they realized what had
! really occurred Que Indian, nlona, had crept
| up besida the road, in lttlo clump Of bushes.
! and, as Harry came along, had ahot and scalped
! him, anu then disappeared; and though xig-
orous seRroh vas made, aud eSa1y effort put
forth for tho discovery OF the assasBin, nothing
! could be found OF him. This was very strange
where LII the landscape to hide away wolf; but
Indians have faculty OF lying Hat on the ground
| covering themselves with grass and weedsin such
way as to renderit impossible to find them
Tbs train vent on. and few men were left III
rear to keep good lookout aud see il they
c;uld not discover the whereabouts Of the mDr-
de1er. Some of the party went considerable
dihtance On the side Of the road. aud closely
scrntlnixed the whole country in the vicinity Of
the place but no sign, other than the moccaain-
track, could be found in any direction.
Harry had been such 3 faYorite with every one
! that his loss was severely felt, and the party
went on with aorrowful hearts. He had no
blood-reiations IN the train ; but it was Thought
that alias lnaoGene Was engaged to be married to
him, though nothing was positively known in re-
gard to it. That she thought great deal Of
linn, WAS plain enough; aud Harry, on his part,
had always manifested q decided preference for
| her. His loss had been go unexpected, that as
yet there had been but little time to talk about it
! by the different members Of the party. The
! meu had been out looking for the enemy, sud
women, Ii the wagoas, were obliged to attend to
| the horses while they were 60 engaged. They
had, therefore, been unable to meet end converse
| about the matter; for, as soon as they could,
| the whole traln moved on, In order to get away
| from the 1nlucky place as soon as possible, aud
| to make as many miles on the journey during
| the day as they could. All wera glad when the
once more out on the lopg, hearing plain, where
tue hillocks are sometimes seen. rising one be-
yond tue other. ~ regularly and as eyeuly as the
waves of the ocean, On the left was the shallow
and treacle1ous river in front, the hard, white
road, stretching way of in the distance; aud,
On the right, the boundless plains, spreading out
to the north and west, until they reached the
bases Of the Rocky Mountains.
When good camping-place Was reached. the
| train halted, and the horses we're unhitched and
| iariated out, so that they could Craze to their
heaits' content. A party of men, with picka1es
and shoyels, soon dug Q grave, and prepared to
bury the body Of Harry lngo}dsby. Most Of the
females belonging to the train followed the re-
mains to the grave. where short, but at the
same time impressive, ceremony WAS performed.
| Miss 1mogene was almost broken down. but kept
! up her courage as we'll as she could- She took
last look ct the face Of the deceased. tho man
having carefully covered the top OF the head, and
| made it look as well as possible.
| While the greater part Of the people belonging
to the t1ain were standing round the grave, some
Of them looked toward the wcst, and there, re-
sealed in al its majesty stood the colossal
Spirit Of the Platte, seeming 70 be horeIing d.
appeared to be half-closed, and the hands were
pressed together as if in the attitude OF prayer.
4 pair OF shadowy wings were seen reaching
| above its head, md the drapery Of
clouds, and mist was as delicate and
| The features we're zupremely handsome,
| aud gorgeous nimtus OF golden rays appeared
| shining around and above its hair. Anything so
| enchantingy magnificent in all its details. and
| at the same time awe-hspiring in it's size had
! never before been dreamed OF by any one pres
| ent.
| Harry's remains we're lowered into tha grave,
| aud, as they reached the bottom, the Spirit
! bowed its head SLOWLY. the pale features BEAM
ing with celestial Light, as soft IL the rays Of
| evening. The sublime phantom. brilliant in a1l
| its details, stood as If tEansdxed. The serene
| broa, the downcast eyea. tho straight nose, and
the mouth besm1ng with supernatural grace.
formed picture SURPRISING any conceptions OF
[ the human mind. There it remained, in all its
superb proportions, until the grave mas filed
up, and the men and women had returned to
their wagons. Then it gradually faded away
| aud the stars OF evening mada thei appearance.
The death OF Harry, and tho vision OF the
Spirit Of the Platte, OF course gave riso to
great deal Of talk, and various we're the explana-
lions given. The effect of the phantom upon
Miss lmosene vas peculiar. She had befo7o
boen bowed down with tho greatest grief but.
upon seeing the celestial vision, her Hotrow ap-
peared to leave her at once, as she seemed tosee
in it IN ASSURANCE that Harry was happy and at
rest. There was great deal Of sympathy mani
Tested for the young girl, and her sisters did
everything in their power to cause her to forget
the loss OF her lover. Before going to the grave,
she could not bea. to mention Harrys name and
it gave her pain to lea: it from the lips Of others;
but, when she returned, ahe Was almost cheerful,
and spoke of Harry as oue who would re-
turn 10 her in sholt time. The terror
which death inspires he'd wholly PASS
ed away, and she thought Of the
rather than p1esage Of pvil. She even vent 80
far as to assist in clearing away the things after
the supper was ended, Though her sisters en-
deayored, by gentle means to prevent her doing
many knot was gathered around the camp
fires, discussing in quiet way the Strange
events that had transpired within the last twen-
ty-four hours. HARRIS own messmates we're
g1ief-strickea, and determined to avenge his
death Whenever Al opportunity offered. The
good qualities Of the young man we're brought
up, and talked over, in the fseest possible way,
and it was conceded on all hands that he vas
one Of the most aniable characters they had ever
known; his death had created painful void in