Cheyenne transporter. [volume] (Darlington, Indian Terr.) 1879-1886, 1885-11-12

OF SenJlnel pacing MS DcaJ OOWn the
road in front of the guard house. Sud-
denly there was a challenge across the
river. Halt! Who comes theree"
Quick footsteps up the road brought a
messenger and the captain ordered me
to take a squad to the guard house.
Down the steep road my squad and
went at the doublc-quick. The moon
was rising from behind the mountains
toward Winchester, throwing her white
light through the graceful wires of the
bridge and athwart the trembling rip
pies of the river. / arranged my men
at tho guard house as had been or
dered, and took my stand near the
entinel. "A little procession approach
ed us from tile otner side, and as it
neared the center, where the curving
cables seemed almost to touch it on
either flank, we could see it was form
ed by eight men bearing another
wrapped in blanket on their shoul-
ders, and that it was led by the Lieu
tenant of the guard. Behind, between
two guards with fixed bayonets, reel
ed drunken soldier. L was called
from my astonishment by the sharp
voice of the officer ordering me to
give him men to relieve his of their
burden, and the drunken one who
followed, were the ten stragglers to
the negro hut.
The transfer was made and the pro-
cession continued up the road to the
shanties. The intoxicated man fell to
the ground as he neard the guard
house with an attack of mania potu.
He was a raw-boned, generally we'll
behaved Pensylvanian. We carried him
in and laid HIM on the hard bunk.
made Of pine bark with blanket spread
on it. The excitement of finding the
dead body of Parr, who was well liked
in the company, had sobered all of the
stragglers bnt the Pensylvanian, and
had made them cautious as to what
they said that could have any bearing
on PARIS death. The body had been
stumbled on in the dark by the leu
tenant when on the other side of the
river near the outlet of the ravine, as
he was returning from the negro hut
with the nine scapegraces he had met
there. Before the body had been car
ried far, it had been examined in the
light of a picket fire and no wound or
trace OF violence could be found.
What was t o connection between
the shot at 6 o'clock and Parr's death ?
Had the enemy had anything to do
with it, more than one shot would have
been heard, for all the stragglers were
armed, and, drunk as they may have
been at the time, or rather because
they were drunk, there would have
been lively fusillade. But all agree
that there was but one shot.
The Pensylvanian writhed in his de-
lirium on the bunk. and was held
down by iree men. He appeared to
have no interest in aught but the hog
goblins and creeping things that as
sailed him in his fancy. But he had
semi-rational moments, when he would
sit up and carry on conversation with
himself in muttered, incoherent tones
not easy to understand. And when
ever he spoke we listened, as if for q
revelation. Our only light in the hut
was from a single candle set into the
socket of a bayonet stuck in the earth
en- floor. From time to time he would
force himself out of the strong hands
that where holding him. and, as he
swung his arms mournfully about, his
shadow and ours would be thrown up.
on the rude walls and cotton ceilings
of the hut, making absurd, yet, under
the circumstances, frightful carica
lures of human suffering. Only once
did he say anything worth while
"Poor Parr! but | wasn't to blame
Yes, poor Parr! but who was to blamei
1t was dreadful thing to believe
that murder could have been commit.
ted there, among comrades whose
lives were in constant peril for com
mon cause, even if done in drunken
brawl. But there was no certainty
that all of the nine had been much il