The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-08-21

Il NA a ca
sailed him in his fancy. But he had
semi rational moments, when he would
sit up and carry on a conversation with
himself in muttered. incoherent tones
not easy to understand. And when.
ever he spoke we listened, as if for Il
revelation. Our only light in the hut
was from a single candle set into the
socket of a bayonct 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-
did he say anything worth while:
Poor Parr! but l wasn't to blame"
Yes, poor Parr! but who was to blamep
1t was a dreadful thing to believe
that murder could have been commit
ted there. among comrades whose
lives were in constant peril for a COM
mon cause even if done in a drunken
brawl. But there was no certainty
that all of the nine had been much in
liquor. AS | scanned the faces of the
other stragglers Twas puzzled by one
~countenance, that of a little Welsh
man, well knit, about thirty, dark
complexioned, and having a pair of
black eyes, which even on ordinary
occasions were full of fire. But now
his eyes glowed like two burning
Goals and his cheeks were ashen white.
His manne and voice were agitated
in the extreme, and I o every question
his answer varied but slightly from,
Look We, alb know nothin' about it,
The dciirlous fellows rawlings had
seemed strange, but now II suspicion
was growing that the man who did
the murder, ii Il murder was done,
was this Welshmau, whose violent
temper and vindictive nature were
known to us all
While the horrible thoughts sug-
gested to my mind by all that had oc-
cured on this stirring night were
crowding upon me-, another Sergeant
relieved me with orders to take the
%stragglers to the shanties, all but the
Pennsylvanian, who could not be re-
moved.
In a hollow place behind the shan
ties burned the great fire where the
company's cooking was done. Its
glare was hidden from distant OBJ
servers, and the wind kept off bv the
shanties in front and the ridge which
rose steep1y behind, and at each end
was shaded by screens of laurel bushes
interlaced with pine branches. In the
open space before the pright embers
that sparkled against a huge back
log, the men gathered to while away
the long evenings until the hour
camc to '.turn i'm for sleep. Many
of the soldiers were stripliugs, no
yet out OF their teens. But there
were some there in the groups that
used to stretch tlrel feet into the ashes
before that fire who could no doubt
have told stranger tales than any they
told, had they been SO inclined; half
grizzled waits from various parts of the
world veterans of European. Asian and
African wars; sailors who had sailed
in all the known seas-one of these
had made several slave voyages, an
other had been an accomplice in u IA
nous mutiny where the crew killed its
master and mates were running the
ship off to turn her into a pirate when
overtaken and captured by an Ameri-
can MAJ -of-war. There were the fag-
ends OF humanity enlisted for pelf and
from hatred of work, and associated
with honest and patriotic men. Like
some of the crusaders of old thev
were fighting for meat and drink, and
pay, in a glorious cause. Yet, mer-
cenaries as many of these men were,
and frankly acknowledged themselves
to be, they were mostly brave and
were loyal to the flag they had chosen
to follow. And over us all was a cap
captain who was an earnest man in the
cause OF the Union, a gallant and
skillful soldier, very pious withal, and
a great halter of Intoxicating drink.
In front of the fire, within a semi
circle formed by all of us at the shan
ties, lay PARIS body, decently stretch
ed out on the blanket in which he had
been brought across the bridge. Fifty
faces looked down upon their dead
comrades rugged face. Parr was a
finely shaped man with strong but
good features. and, in sailor fashion,
for he had been a man-o'-war's man,
he wore a thick beard enclrcling his
throat from q to eur. the rest of his
face being shaved smooth. There was
no sign about him that we could see
of a violent death. He was scarcely
even paler than usual. The captain
ordered the stragglers placed IN the
front rank of the semi-circle, and in
his Indignation burst into q scathing
harangue against drinking.
The Welshman. however, drew the
covert scrutiny of all by his behavior.
He shook violently as his eyes search
ed all the faces about the ring, and
1T was noticed that never once did he
let his turn toward PARIS body. But
while the captain was at the height of
his eloquence, pointing to the lesson
OF total abstinence to be drawn from
the tragical incident, one of the strag-
glers, a very l%oquacious fellow, of an
envious mind and bitter dislikes. had
been uneasily watching the Welsh
mar. Suddenly, as if by an instinct,
he rushed over to the body, and kneel-
ing down beside it, called the first
lieutenant's attention to something
under PARIS beard. 1t was a three
cornered cash sinking deep into the
throat. At the exposure of this
wound, now for the first time OBJ.
served, another of the stragglers, usu-
ally the sprightliest young fellow in
the company fell in a faint across the
corpse. The captain ceased his SER
mon and a whispered conference took
place among the officers.
The stragglers were ordered to give
over their muskets for inspection. All
We're found to be loaded, as usual at
such an outpost, and none had been
recently fired of. Barrels, and bayo-
nets too, shone like silver. without
stain, or rust, or flaw, on steel OF
stock. The bayonet s%cabbards too
might have been examined, but some
how in the excitement this was over
looked. The delirious fellows arms