The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1891-11-08
BELEAGUERED 81 APACHEs.
Story Of The Overland Route 70 California in the
Good Old Days.
Y w. TT o. M $ o n
copvSsght tssi--AH RiqAts Reserrcd

meal was finished without interruption,
and some of the boys were just giving
the stock half rations Of corn and water.
when from out coulee about thou
sand yards to the northeast emerged a
single plumed and armed but implanted
Indian, who, to our great surprise, rode
straight toward us, waving in the air a
dingy rag which he no doubt considered
white.
"sWal, I'll be blamed eft that amt
cheekr exclaimed the captain. Wed
ort ter shoot the skunk right down the
mint he gifts in range. He's comm ter
pretend ter talk trade Yer see he amt
got no war paint on, an he reckons ter
git his people 'mong us on that old dodge
SOS ter wipe us out easy without fight.
But white mems habits is s6strong on
me that | RELY can't kill him IN his
tracks, an guess wen jest hev ter let
the mis- BILE cuss go.
Meanwhile the innocent looking war
rior loped along until within fifty yards
when he checked his pony and grunted
out lot of gibberish. Jim Burrows
who understood most of the dialects of
the plains, crawled under one Of the
wagons, and telling q couple of us to
cover him with our rifles, walked out to
meet the envoy. The conference, how
ever, had not lasted half a minute be-
fore the savage wheeled his pony and
rode off at speed, while the captain re-
turned to us with comical grin on his
wrinlkled visage
"'It's jest ez 'sposed, boys he ex-
planned, the fool galoot seq thar's band
nv thirty bucks dest thirty, see0 camped
down in the holler, an they'd like ter
trade off pony or two fur pork an
flour an baccy an sugar. didn't say
nothin much. only jest observed in a
kind of modest. casuwell way that my
names Jim Burrows, an. seein the
game war up. he didn't wait fur ter say
goodby. but moseyed off ter git his paint
on agin. Annow, ez the noospaper men
SEE, wen hev ter wait further deyellup-
ments.
"All the men of our party were armed
with ordinary fnuzzIe loading, single
barreled rifles, and there were in addi-
ton among the crowd nine heavy Colts
reyolvers. at that time rather rare and
costly weapon, SO that we could deliver
thirty-two shots at long range and nc
less than eighty-six at closer quarters
without reloading, the navy Colt being
quite effective up to fifty or sixty yards.
'.Jim's developments were not long
in coming, for about twenty minutes
after the bafied rag carrier had disap-
peared a great cloud of hideousiy painted
braves rode slowly out of the coulee and
drew up in body on the plain. Then
one of their number walked his pony
away In the direction Of mound fol
hundred yards or SO. stopped, turned
it twice around and galloped back at
top speed to his comrades What's the
meaning Of that little caper, CapY in
quired Sam Bidwell 1t means, re-
piled jim, that they're goin to pile
in soon's the two bands jines, an
tother ones ter hurry up Jest keep
yer eye on the ridge now Them scouts
hez bin layin low a-watchin fur signal,
an you'll see ther answer mighty suddin,
reckon Cure enough, in a couple OF
minutes we saw a big squad of mounted
warriors loom up over the crest Of the
rise and ride swiftly down in a direct
line for the band at the head of the cou-
lee. The united forces being then only
thousand yards away, we were able to
approximately estimate their numbers.
which most Of Us placed at three hum
dred, but the captain at two hundred
and sixty-a sufficiently alarming dis
parity, though the true significance of
this would depend good deal upon how
the savages were armed II with bows
and arrows, tomahawks and knives only,
we had not so much to fear; but If with
rifles also. the coming fight might prove
a long and desperate one, and the result
extremely doubtful
1.-THE enemy seemed now to be hold
ing an earnest, though by no means har-
monious, consultation, evidently debat-
ing as to the expediency of an imme-
diate attack. Two or three times an en-
cited group of warriors broke off from
the main body, and, setting up the war
whoop. dashed for little way toward
us, only to turn back again when they
found their companions did not follow.
Them young bucks, said Captain Bur
rows, is red hot fur fight, an they'll
bring the huh caboodle round ter Their
way Nv thinkin in no time. Thar's too
many scalps an too much plumber in this
ere outfit fur SIGH big crowd ter give
up till pile NV EMS wiped out. They're
bout ten ter one now, an jest's likely ez
not thars more a-comin. But we're all
right s'long's they don't git inter the
corral, an when they do--wal, thar won't
be nobody left ter Kill then, only the
two babies, an they'd likely carry them
off alive
SAT this plain intimation of what was
expected Of them, rather than let their
wives fall into the hands of the brutal
Apaches, the married men turned pale,
and thrill of shuddering horror ran
through our ranks; but moment later
the brave Anglo-Saxon spirit reasserted
itself, and bold, defiant cheer rang
out, stunning the astonished savages
into watchful quiet. Soon we noted a
movement on their part which seemed
to indicate that all differences had been
arranged and definite plan Of action
agreed upon Three warriors, appar-
emily chiefs, rode out from the crowd,
one straight ahead and the others di-
verging to the right and left, until all
4 wrrr. 81. J. l. !