The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1884-06-18

still,
And theland Of my ioreiathersgravep'
FOR OUR LIVES.
With few exceptions, the guides
and scouts.of Arizona are brave and
upright, though rough; men whom
you could no more hire or persuade
to do a mean or cowardly act, than
you could induce them to sell Their
favorite horse or rife.
This strange country, with its
rocky ranges, deserts, and scores Of
canons and passes, is to them a
well learned lesson; they are fami'
liariwith every trail, known the
location of the springs, or water.
holes, can tell you where the best
grass is to be found, aud in case Of
an Apache raid are indispensable,
During my sojourn in the Terri
tory a few years ago, ! had occasion
to employ one of the scouts, Dave
White by name on seyeral Occas,
ions, and found him an invaluable
companion. He could explain
every curling wreath Of smoke on
the horizon; he could tell how long
a trail had been made and by whom,
he knew every Indian haunt, and
woe to the red.skin on whom he
drew a beadI "OId skiro," as he
had named his rife, was never
known Co miss its mark, and sad.
elante," his horse, was as fleet as
the wind when her master gave
the word "go."
Que beautiful autumn morning,
in the fall of 1871, Dave and my.
self started to ride from the rancho
ut Apache Pass Co the overland
mail station on the San Cimon,
q distance Of twenty-five or thirty
miles.
Threading our way slowly down
the vast canon Of the Pass through
the mountains, where huge rocks,
hundreds of feet high, lowered
above us on either hand-their jut.
ting, moss.grown sides filling the
gorge with a strange, somber, gloom
i could not dispel from my mind
a certain sense Of danger. Ugly
stories and yumors of Indian at,
tacks we're then common. So strong
an impression had they made up,
on me that l finally said:
"Dave, l believe we are going to
have trouble before we get through
today"
"TroubleI" replied Dave, "HaI
hal hal as though we weren't al.
ways havin' troubled Yer haint
scared, be ye, doctor2"
He laughed so loudly that the
rocks above US caught the sound,
and echoed a dozen startlingly dis
tinct hal ha! has!
The effect was SO uncanny that l
could scarcely believe but that a
band of savages were mockingly
repeating our rash notes of levity,
Again l asked Dave if we might
not do well to postpone this trip
till the following week. The scout
reined in his horse, and squaring
himself in his saddle, looked me
full in the face.
"Now look q here, DOCTOR" he
said; "ef yer afeared, we'll turn
back; Of not, we'll reach the San
CimOn, unless old skiro and Ado'
lante fail mel"
Icould only protest that l was
not afraid, but cautious, at which
suggestion Dave merely vouChsafed
a "h'm!" of incredulity, and spur.
red his horse into a brisk canter.
After two or three miles OF rid
ing, we left the rocky businesses oil
the pass, and thence proceeded for
six or eight miles further across
the plain, where scarcely a mound
or bush breaks the dead level as
far as the eye can sec. Ny fear ol
danger was gone or forgotten, while
l waslistening to one Of Dawes
stories of adventure-when sud.
denly he turned his head, and
looking over his shoulder, exclaim.
ed, "Thlnderl" in a voice that
sent every drop Of blood surging
back to my heartl"
Well l knew what such an OK.
Clamation from his lips meant; aud
the sight which met my eyes as