Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1883-03-16
THE FRONTIER wAIF.

"The bloody villains muttered
Sandy McGovern to himself, as he sat
on his horse surveying the scene of
desolation and death; 1.-THE bloody,
murderin' scoundrcls!"
In front of little knoll on which
Sandy had 'eined his horse in was a
confused se..p of broken wagons. Here
and there a dead horse, already par
TALLY stripped by the cayotes, and scat
tered up and down the line Of wagons
tie bodies of men who evidently died
fighting. 1t did not need the hideOus
red patches on top of the skulls. where
the sceips had been torn off, to tell the
old frontier sman that he saw before
him iii that was left of an emigrant
train that had been surprised by In
dians. To his experienced eyes, the
slight signs which would have escaped
a man new to the plains, teld him that
the massacre had taken place, at the
most, but two days before.
As he rode slowly along he suddenly
heard faint sound. With his nerves
strung by the scene which lay before
him, the frontiersman, whose senses
ss..'e always alert, found his attention
,raeted at once, and stopping his
ssin'es. sinse he listened intent,,yJ. In about d.
AT i ns BEARD it again, and noticed
!. ..ff:ssss.s-s f::ssss.s- LeAs' &ffrs
snt ,.f !. 3. u slgs "a; and IL Seemed Il
I ',S94I 4 S',r,,e close by the wagon, his hands
,ll9sinI,. rn than thRe rtootboard in front.
the foot-board he opened the iS..l more
in front, the top of which forms in a
prairie schooner the drivers seat, and
saw lying in it "a little child.
The big fronticrsman lifted the baby
for it was scarcely morc--out of its
strange resting-place as tenderly as
II o.her. He saw that the chill WI
very weak from its long fast, AMI
placing it gently on his blankets, he
b gan to search for something fit fol
it to eat. Fin ling bag of flour, h'
made, with little sugar, kind o.
thin Cruel heating it over fire he ha
hastily kindled. Taking the baby II
his arms, he fed it slowly and eau
tiously. With infinite patience the
big-bearded man went through thi'
strange task, until, after some time
he had the satisfaction of seeing The
little one refuse to swallow any more
Then sitting on the tongue of tho
wagon, with the dead lying all around
him, Sandy rocked the ba@y in his arm,
until it went to sleep.
Placingit in his blankets and cover
ing it up carefully, ! e examined tie
box in which he had fund it. In the
bottom was rough horse blanket
Thrown over the edge WIS piece Of
rope, placed there to prevent the nd
shutting tight, Alongside of the child
he found half of a bracelet evidently a
cheap i'm tation one. With looked a,
though it had been torn # from the
other half. At the lower end OF the
box there was confused heap o.
baby clothes, thrust in hastily. All OF
these things Sandy took. lie found
even the water in the spring beside
which the train had campad, to give
his newly-discoyercd treasure bath
which seemed to do the little one
great deal of good.
For one week Sandy starel there
spending his whole time look ng after
the baby. He saw Il lie child grow
strong and bright, and he found that
the feeding, washing and dressing Of
the "kid," as he had already christ
ened it, a source of eyer-increa5lng u
light. At the end of that time nav
; ing the broken bracelet carefully
slowed away in his saddle-bags, Sana!
mounted his horse, and, taking tne
"kid" in his arms, left the scene ol
the massacre never to see it again
What a wonderful change sixteen
years make in men and women Ing
/ glossy brown hair may have oeconi. a
? thin in that time, and on the oLoe
smooth face time may print more 'saa e
one flne wrinkle tellingof the deep lui.
rows to come. Sixteen years nave
' somewhat whitened Sandy MeCoVffh : }
hair and his figure is more portIy '.an !aa
: III MAS With IlC lONAo 't's
' scene of the desert massacre anu ,.5n Iln
4 teen wears have Transformed the ~ IN
into a tall stalwart lad of eighteen 1 ,gi'
of health and strength Robert NJ.
: Govern. as SANDY had called me pao 'oi
e he found in the Old wagon-DoA' loO4Ge t5a
= magnificcntly as he rode up ~ one Yne
; house, crossing the little stream ~ ,o.n o.
e easy leap of his horse. For the slhleJH n,pJu
$ wears had brought wealth to esnla5 oane5
e with the gray hairs. 1t really seeIl-eJ te,DrsJ
e as if everything he touched Pro'peiIIIe If
!, after he rescued the baoy' +bst r
y made more money in trapping f'rst ,npi
: wear than he had in any two Osto,s .tase
! He got contracts to supply lae 9'o9 o1t
9 line with horses and made inon'' in 4
!, of them, lie bought s9a,9 q, 9,orned ~
!, = claim for almost nothing, ana }. w. iu ncsy
out to he enormously rIGhl 'bu'''