Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1891-01-08

range - hu@5cA 1Au piSNlyftOus north nj
the gorge; cavalry cannot penetrate il. b''t
Lanes plan is quickly laid. He will 4.
his men sleep until 2 o'clock, keepin1 onl.
three sentries on the lookout, one of tho.
mounted and west of the gorge 70 srai
warning should the Indians move dpr;n'.
the night. Then, leaving the horses .o1
cealed among the rocks south If n.
stream, with two men to guard them -
will lead his company up the heights sod
as close as possible to the Apache ca,nr
lie in hiding until it is light enough IN az,
tinguish objects, then dash down into tbe,
midst, rescue the prisoners in the manic
and confusion that he knows viii resnl,
from the sudden attack, send them bacL
as rapidly as possible, guided by three a.
four men, to where Lis horses are eorralsd
while he and his little band interpose l.
tween them and any rally the Apache,
may make.
Knowing well that they are armed with
magazine rifles and supplied by a paternaI
bureau with abundant ammunition. know.
ing that they outnnmber him three 10 one
knowing that by sunrise the whole tribe
will have reassembled and must infalbbIv
detect the pitiful weak aess of his own force
it is desperate chance TO take; but Is tbs
only one-absolutely the oaiy one-to save
those tortured, agonized women, those ter.
ror stricken little ones, from fate more
awful than words can portray.
By or 9 in the morning, he argues K
troop must certainly reach him; he knows
item to be fresh and strong; he knows that
they have had only short and easy marcbe,
and therefore can easily come ahead all
night long ana be rounding the Pyramid
spur by daybreak. He knows Mason well
and can count on thai young officer doing
his "level best'' 10 support him Alas be
does not know that Mason is compelled by
this time 70 fall back to second place. and
that the last man on whom he can possibly
count "in pinch" is now in command Of
the looked for troop.
The night wears on without alarm. Well
nigh exhausted, Lane has thrown himself
at the foot of a tree TO catch what sleep he
may, and he feels as though he had no,
closed his eyes when Corp. Shea bends over
him to say il is 2 o'clock. Noiselessly The
men are aroused; silently they roll out Of
their blankets, and obedient TO the low
toned fall in Of the first sergeant SEIZE
There Lane briefly explains tie situation;
tells them of the position Of the Apache
bivouac; details Corp Riley aud four men
to search for, secure and HE away with
the prisoners, and orders all the rest to
fight like the devil to drive the Apaches
heller SHELTER into the rocks
let not one word be said nor trigger
pulled until we are right among them
Wait for my command, unless we are de
tected and fired on. II we are blaze away
mt once; but never stop your rush; get
right in among them. Let Riley and bis
men make instant search, be sure they
leave neither woman nor child behind and
start them back here. The rest Of US will
fall back slowly, keeping between them
and the Apaches all the time. Never let
them get near those prisoners That isthe
main object Of our attack. Once back
here with the horses we can pick out
places in the rocks from which we can
stand the Apaches off until X troop comes.
Rest assured Lieut.. Mason and his men
will be along by s or o; and it cannot be
that the cavalry now pursuing the Apaches
from the north will be more than few
hours behind Now, do you understand
for there will be no chance of orders up
there. Leave your canteens; leave any
thing that will hinder or rattle. Those Of
you who have on spurs take them Of
Those of you who have Tonic or Apache
moccasins take Off you. top boots and put
them on: they are all the better for going
up these hillsides. Now get your coffee,
men; make no noise, light no additional
fires, and be ready to move in twenty min
utes"
Then he pencils this brief note:
Commanding Officer Troop X. Eleventh
Cavalry:
I'VE have headed the Apaches and will
attack theis camp the instant it is light
enough to see, rescue their captives, then
fall back here to the gorge of the San 81
mon. They far outnumber us, and you
cannot reach us too soon. | count upon
your being here by s in the morning, and
hope with yonr aid to hold the enemy
until Greene's command arrives. Thenwe
ought to capture the whole band Do not
fail me "FREDERIcK LANE,
Captain Eleventh Cavalry
This he gave to Sergt. Luce with orders
to ride back on the trail until he meets
tlOOp anu IL " -oH'SAe
is in command and in half an
hour Luce is away.
And now, just as the dawn is breaking
and faint, pallid light is stealing through
the tree tops along the rocky range, there
come creeping slowly, noiselessly along the
slope a score of shadowy forms, crouching
from bowlder to bowlder, from tree to tree
Not word is spoken, save now and thena
whispered caution. Foremost, carbine n
hand, is the captain, now hating moment
to give some signal to those nearest nm
now peering ahead ove- the rocks that oa'
the way. At last he reaches a point WHERE
looking down the dark and rugged HILLSIDE
before him, he sees something which causes
him to unsling the case in which his iiela
glasses are carried, to gaze thither long
and fixedly With all eyes upon tneh
leader the men wait and listen; some eau
tiously try the hammers of their caroines
and loosen a few cartridges la the loops~
their prairie belts. A signal from Lane
brings Mr. Royce, the young second neF
tenant, to his side. 1t is the boys first eA'
of the kind, and his heart IS thuinls
ing, bat he means to be one OF the torenlos'
in the charge when the time comes. NatcI
ing closely, the nearest men can see thss
the captain is pointing out some oolsD,
nearer at hand than fley supposed, anu