The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1875-04-21
RANGING THE CHAPARRAL, Oh
THE MIDNIGHT nUGLER


oRemember the Alamo I" This,
The wnr-ery shrlll aud clear
Ofour brave band Of Hangers, fell
upOn the Bandits ear,
Al IN the morning, damp ana STILL
We dashed into their camp,
And woke them rom their Hlumbora by
The thunder Of our tramp,
Few were our numbers, many they,
Hut on our side was right,
We shot them down remOrselessly,
Nor spared them In the night.
They lied In terror-nll who escaped
From our aVonging hand
For quarter was not given then
Along tho Rio Grnnde.
Then frightened We our saddle girths,
Took tr0phlesof the fight,
And stretched across the prairie vast,
Nor halted I'LL twas night,
Aud though we met no MeNicans,
We struck their fresh-worn trail,
And passed their midday rendezvous,
Aud chased them like gale.
seid Donaldson, Tomorrow, boys,
Wen take 'em by surprise;
Picket your faded horses out
On yonder mesquite rise;
Cook up your grub--put out your fires
Sergeant, guard well the line;
And we Will sleep, then push ahead
Before the sun shall shine
Sweet was our rest; our morning fight
And weary march that day..
Caused all the boys 10 soundly sleep
Some usually were gay;
But Just NJ midnight, bugle note
Gave forth II shrlll alarm,
And every man Sprang from his couch
with rifle poised In arm
The moon on Texas brightly shown
All eager for the tray
But there was no foe 10 be seen,
Though nearly light ms day.
We dubbed our eyes, ana silently
Gazed round upon ea"h other;
Then from the guard our bugler strobe,
And said, boys, what's the bother|
Who's medlin' with my oxen-horn
AT this queer time o night
Dlsturbin honest peoples sleep
He can't be over bright"
And sure enough there glistening
Upon mesquite tree,
Hung our own companys bugle--
This was mystery,
whats up, my boys ?" says Donaldson,
sis this some thievm' Mex,
That's stole n bugle from Fort Brown -
He'd better pass his checks
Put out q hull-a-dOZen scout,
And scour the chaparral
And II we take him prisoner,
Wen ticket him to-
Stand bravely TO your arms, my boys
Sergeant, call in the guard
Bring In the horses--S ddle up,
For they may press us hard"
The scouts dashed OFF in swift pursuit,
We heard some scattering shot;
Then soon from thorny chaparral
We saw them struggling out.
"They're coming there they are, says Cal
"And got u sneakin cuss
Dog-gone yer dirty picture, why
Did you make such fuss?
Why didn't yer come decentlv
And say yer wanted hangin'?
Where's Cortina and his band p
Look here now none yer shamin'!"
But not word the bugler spoke;
He tiercely looked around,
While from his arm and from his cheek
The blood slow trickled down.
"Bring me rope we'll find his tongue,
You bet your bottom dollar =
Here, Toby, make hangman's knot,
And fit him to collar J!
The rope was looped around his neck
Then DER limb was run,
And half-a-doyen of the boys
Who liked that sort of fun
Pulled steadily upon the hemp,
And brough' him up II standing,
Till he was black as any mig
On Mississippi landing
"Hold on, says Cap; "now let him down;
I'll interview the cuss;
He'll give us information
If not, we'll treat him worse.
Now, Greaser, this Is your last chance
To do Christian deed
where's CortinaY tell us quick,
Or be hung up for seed"
From mortal fear and loss of blood,
The bugler's Ii :. BIS, they CULVER,
But knowing well he meier again
Would see his Grande river,
He braced himself, and gael around
Like tiger cat at bay;
Then yelled, " Fiud Ia COrttnd"-
Which was his final say
For ere he finished, high he swung;
"Make fast, boys-let him 60
A toolisher chap Inever see
Where did you catch him, Joe?'
"Well, Cap'n, he were coy liked
Among the chaparral,
Rut can scent a cigarette
I've got a powerful smell.
When was up with Burleson,
On BraZoS, where 'twere brackey,
| smelled a spring more'n four miles OH
Give us a chaw terbaccy."
Joe, you Il e the dangest stretcher
Alive, this side the Red;
But had II been whisky spring
I'd swallowed all you said.
Here's your 'bacca; saddle up,
And start back on the trail,
And tell the scouts we'll meet them on
The river, without fail"
Away went Joe; he knew no fear;
He'd ranged the region wide,
~ vt day we found him lying dead
A bullet in his side.)
Then hastily we pack our traps,
And take our morning meal;
Fall into line, answer the roll
And southwark silently steal,
Leaving the rigid bugler there
Slow swaying meath the tree;
A winning tn all GrpaRPIS. who