Smyrna times., 1891-01-14


tween Morgan and Fort sedgwich-A
Good Story About Ministers ALI g ID
Narrow Escap.
There was some Indian fighting II
1867. as remember" said Major W. H.
Russell as he sat in the rotund of
Palmer House. - remember The
Cheyennes were raising Cain along the
overland stage route, attacking stag 5,
plundering stations and mail bags, AMI
chopDing down telegraph wires. Tpis
was in Colorado, between Fort Morgan
and Fort Sedgwick. went out with u
company of sixty men to re-establish tie
route. We had just got beyond Il Dlac"
called MOOres, a sort OF station for tie
stage line, and stage came up as we lav
in camp after hard days march. The
Indians had been crawling around try
Ing to surprise US, but no Indian fighter
Is ever surprised, and / was ready for
tuem. The men on the stage were for
going on, but 1 said: wouldn't il l
were you, for there's about sixty On those
devils hiding among the sand-hills over
yOnder.' The stage-driver knew his
business and went back to MoOres. 1
cOld them was going to march In the
morning at five o'clock. There was
woman with her children in the stage,
90. by the way. The men were indig-
nant at turning back, but the driver had
the advantage. Well, next morning
about 30 O'Clock we saw the stage
coach behind us in the sand hills and
out popped the Indians. Part Of us got
back and drove them of. The Indian
doesn't fight unless he has clearly the
best Of 1t from the start. Well, you
ought to have seen the civilians that
were 30 hot to go ahead the night before.
oh wifi
body and crying and carrying on. The
woman with the children sat inside the
stage all the time, cool as a cucumber
and never cheeped,
We'll, we went on and found that the
stage coming east from Denver on the
strength Of the report that was going
to clear the line and re-establish the sta
tiOns, putting two Of my men at each
place, had been attacked and the driver
and the horses killed. The mail-bags had
all been rifled and such envelopes as
looked as II they might have money in
them were ripped open. shall always
believe there was a renegade white man
among them. But there was no trace Of
any passenger killed. And now comes
the funny part Of the story.
After we got into camp again as
was smoking after supper, long, lanky,
muddy man came up and introduced him
self as Mr.. SO-and-So-I forget his name
nova minister from Denver, and
wanted to borrow a rifle so he could take
the stage on East. Says he: l was on
that stage that the Indians got yester-
day looked at him as much as to say {:
Tell that to dog-robber' He saw 1
didn't take any stock in his story, and
he said: I suppose you hardly believe
me. Well, says I, IL you weren't a
minister Of the Gospel l should say you
were a dashed liar
Then he told me his story. He was
the only passenger, and as it was a hot
day he had his shoes and coat off and
was doing. when bang bang = went a
lot Of guns and he looked out and saw
crowd Of Indians whOOping and digging
out for the stage coach. He saw the
driver keel over, shot through the head.
and the horses swerve from the road off
on to the prairie. His first impulse
was to get the lines and fetch the horses
back into the road, and he believed he
could beat the Indians In a race. So he
climbed ont OF the window and got upon
the box, but the lines had dropped on
the ground and the four horses were
just more than stFeaklng it. He climbed
down on the pole to pick up the lines
the Indians popping away at him all the
time, and just then the coach struck a
wallOw, sort of gutter about two feet
wide and perhaps nine inches deep, and
down he went into the mud and the
stage went on without him. Well,
thinks he, It's all up with me. They'll
torture me, sure. But whether they
thought he was dead or that they would
come back after him, they rode around
him, anyhow, and made for the coach
Then the thought came to him that he
1 4s.kN Nr-av~ 49, ! - al 4
God Almighty for all / was worth he
said, and then slid along on my stom-
ach in the mud till got to where the
ground slOped down toward the Platte
river. But they saw me and three
Of them came after me on their
ponies. Well, sir, says he, I had only
my socks on and that place was as full
Of cactus thorns as a flax hackle, but
got away from there in q hurry tell yOI.
was q pretty good swimmer and if
could get into the water 1 was pretty
near all right. Just then three Indi ms
stopped and looked west. turned, too.
and there were two men with guns com
ing down the river bank on my side as
II to cut me of. But had prayed anil l
wasn't going to give up then, so l made
bee line for the river and got on the
other side and was shaking myself " pu
I heard somebody holler in Engl,sh
Come over We won't hunt you l
told them / was just Gs safe whore /
was. Then they hOllered tack that tlcy
were two soldiers from Fort Sedgw.cN
come out hunting, and would you hr.
lieve It. they hadn't heard that ter,
were Indians in the neighborhOo l.
You see Trey saw my force coming u
the +, al and these two men com ug
along the river, and they thought W
were going TO surround them and buck. ,
them to pieces. so they ran. W,l.
gave the man his rifle and thought Ia. D..
earned it"