The Worthington advance., 1879-05-08
A DOUBLE ADVENTURE.
Beset byApache Indians. and in the
Tolls OF Robbers.


Beset by Apache Indians and in the
Tolls OF Robbers.
Night was fast approaching. The
slannlg sunbeams felliina dreamy sort
of indo,ent beauty uron the occasional
cactus or the bushy mesquite, and, daily
ing with their thorny branches, in q half
careless and half:coquettish radiance,
threw upon them such rich and gorgeous
tints as they can only bestow at the last
moment of their departing. glory. Far
away before us is stretchedsa seemingly
'interminable plain, which extended
beyond the sunbeams into the gray twi-
light of tho distant east; there, mistily
portrayed against the sky like vague
and imperfect dream, and apparently as
void of firm foundation, the SUBMITS of
the Sierra Madre rose towering heaven
ward. Here and there dense masses of
foliage, deepening and darkening into
Increased. depths Of shade, blended so al
most imperccptibly with the outstretch-
ing shadows which they cast that it was
/ difficult to tell where the reality ceased
and, the shallow began. Myriads of birds
were flocking from the open portions of
the plain into the recesses of the somber
foliage, and with noisy and vocifcrous
twittering were quarreling for the occu-
pancy of their favoritc roosting
twig. There are times when silence will
fall upon group Of travellers, quietly,
steadily, calmly, and pcaccaoly, like
snowfakes upon tho ground, without
any apparent cause. The group that
shortly before were engaged in earnest
conversation, and whose tones were per-
suasive or vehement,as the case might be,
and whose hearty laughter at some unex-
pected sally of wit OF, humorous narration
rang out with free and merry tone,
will suddenly become voiceless as statues
and as silent as If stricken with dumb
ness. 1t was so with our little group Of
three "Americanas," and one Moyo In
dian, who was acting in the double CO.
pacity of guide and servant, as we rode
over one Of those broad plains which are
so frequently found upon the coast-line
of Sinaloa. We had felt the influence of
the increasing darkness, as the gloom
of evening fell upon US it hushed US into
silence which was only disturbed by the
tramp Of our mules, the voices Of the
birds, and the hum of insect life. One
by one the stars shone out upon US, until
the arch above us was radiant with their
myriad scintillations. There had not
been for several leagues any token Of hu-
man dwellers on our route, and it almost
seemed as if our little company were the
only inhabitants Of the egion we were
traversing. Suddenly, as we passed by
cluster Of low shrubs, our mules prick
ed up their ears, and evidently trembling
with fear, made an abrupt divergence
from the trail, and broke into quick run
from the bushes toward an open space
The movement was SO unexpected that il
{ nearly unseated me, but as l struggled tc
regain my position l thought l saw in
, the dark shadows Of the bushes one 0,
two men, and heard their low toned
voices as they gave utterance to some ex.
preston in a language I could not com
prehend. Deeming Il best to be ready
for any emergency, as soon as was firm.
sly seated In my saddle again I drew one
Of my revolvels and held it-in readiness
for immediate use, if necessary. We esoon
had placed several hundred yards of dis.
tance between US and the bushes. II
!, :vass then that our guide placed his fin:
L gers upon his lips as a caution to be ST.
lent, and with an expressive gesture mo-
toned US to- be on our guard. It was
none too soon, for at the same instant 8
sharp whizzing sound passed through the
air near us, and from the noise made b,
SOME object striking into the gravel 8
short distance beyond, 1 knew that an ar.
& row, failing of hitting its mark, had
-. struck the, earth instead of its intended
Victim, Only one word was spoken, and
that was an almost inaudible whisper by
the guide, who uttered "Apache I" at the
sameI time squirting his mule into rap
id run. u We followed his example
keeping out into the open plain
and avoiding all, clusters of foliage
> Looking back upon our course, !
saw two or three savages max.
Ing a detour so as to come upon our
track some short distance ~ahea ead, and
~ ole of them, mot aware that had
seen him, ran across an open space
from one cluster to another of the
bushes" I drew a bead OF,
r'tlnm and fired. He tulnbled 30 suddenly
that another Apache who was close be-
hind. him fell over him, and a. he tried
,,ntp regain his feet second shot, this
time from the guide, dropped him also:
At the same instant a shower of arrows
passed near US, one of them hitting one
OF my companions in his shoulder. MAX
ing ragged hole in his coat and merely
scratching the skin. Fortunately for us
: the Indians were on foot and although
they were expert runners, they dared not
make free use of their speed, lest the fate
4 that had :befallen their two comradee
.slmight: also be .hcirs. After an hours
asrapid ride we reached the adobe house
OF hall. Mexican, fellow with a
IN most Xillainous expression of counte-
~, nance. and, securing our mules in a
m ,rds strong corral and giving them some feed,
,u. we placed our baggage in the house and
prepared for supper, aided by our host
and his wife, 9 young and rather pretty
". female of about eighteen years of age.
~ Fearing an attack from the Indians,
~, 1.-The '..are was extinguished as soon as
=, 4, 9pi p hasty meal was eaten, and we all sat
81, silent in the intense darkness. Not q
III sound was heard, either without or with
in the house, except the crunching of the
.tQod, as 1t was eaten by the mules. That
h,.aound soon ceased 80 suddenly that it al
>most appeared as if we could hear it
t!hDreak OF into silence. Not one of us