Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-02-07

resting, and seizing it wheeled around Just
in time to receive the FIRE of the savage,
which he instantly returned. Mrs Shy
closed and locked the door at the same mo-
ment, and the Indians, seeing that they had
brave man to fight, placed themselves
out of view of the window and
opened rafting fire upon the house
from all sides. 1t was a flimsy frame
structure, and bullet would go through
the walls as though they were pasteboard
It was terrible time for about an hour in
side of that little house. with the pale. ter
ror-stricken wife and boy crouching in the
loft and the desperate ranchman crouching
in the room below, firing only when he
could see an Indian through the window,
listening to the angry zip of the bullets as
they tore through the thin walls and whis-
tied about his head.
After awhile there was lull in the firing.
A few yards distant from Mr.. Shy's house
was the house of Mr.. a. J. Yeater, his part
ner in a cattle ranch, who was at that time
being butchered, in company with his wife,
four miles away. The luli in the firing was
caused by the fact that the savages had
broken open Mr.. Yeater's residence and
were making themselves merry eating and
drinking and breaking up the furniture.
After getting through with this they fired
the house, which in few moments was
mass CT flames. Mr.. Shy saw that his own
house would be on fire in a few minutes,
and for a moment he was well nigh para
lived with despair. He glanced at
his wife and boy. and knew from
the ominous signs without that the
Indians were only waiting for the flames
to drive them out. In a moment his house
was on fire, and, telling his wife and boy
to come down from the loft, he prepared to
open the door and make a rush for safety
for some large rocks near by Opening the
door he threw his body half way out and
fired full at group OF savages; at the
same instant he sprang back within the
house. The next moment at least dozen
bullets were buried in the door facing The
flames were getting too hot, however, to
remain indoors, and Mr.. Shy telling his
wife and boy to follow him. sprang outside,
and made a rush for a large rock near by.
When he got within about five feet of it,
five savages jumped up from behind it and
fired right in his face. By wonderful
providence not bullet struck him, and he
instantly started for another large rock,
from which another group of redskins
fired a volley in his face. A storm of bull
lets were whistling around him from all
sides, but he seemed to bear O charmed
life, and not one of them touched him He
had the presence of mind before leaving
the house to fill his pockets with cartridges,
and he kept popping away at the savages.
Out in the open and knowing that ne
could no longer be tortured to death like
rat in hole, all sense of fear left him, and
he actually assumed the aggressive and ra.
the savages in body some distance awaV.
where they secreted themselves behind
some large rocks. He also placed himself
behind rock, and in his position wherever
he could see the body of an Indian exposed
he fired at it. Meanwhile his little boy had
been shot down, and Shy had kept the In
dams so busy by his own determined work
that Mrs Shy had an opportunity to get up
the gulch. The wounded boy had crawled
into thicket where his father had directed
him to go, but not before his devoted moth
er, fearlessly exposing herself TO the firing,
had taken off one of her skirts and wrapped
it around the little fellow. There are num-
berless details connected with the fight
which have no space for, but it is sufficient
that this heroic ranchman kept back the
savages until dusk, when they retired
Meanwhile Mrs. Shy had made detour
and started on a trip FOR Deming, twenty
miles away, hoping to get assistance for
her husband. The poor lady was found in
an exhausted condition late at night strug-
Cling along the road about ten miles from
Deming. She was picked up by relief
party of men who had been notified by cow
boys that Shy was surrounded by a large
party of hoStileS