Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1892-08-11

IRE carefully adjusted, the brides slipped
off. three OF four men remain Ia sad.
die as heFdgpard ana the horses are
left to grGze. Rich with nutriment L
that crisp, dry bunch grasp-rich and
plentiful, The mules Of the pack train
bray with impatience to shed their loads
and JOIN their enyied four footed com.
rades, but presently they, too, follow.
ing the bell, are streaming out upor
the guarded prairie, rolling in luxury
upon the frosty earth and kicking their
legs in air ID genuine delight. From a
dozen little fires among the bare Iimbed
cottonwoods the thin smoke is curIins
aloft, and the rattle of tin cup and plate
and the joYial voices Of the men seem
to clamor for their soldier rations, h
long rows the. saddles and equipments
We're aligned upon the turf, each mans
earhine and belt at his saddle. Huge
rolls Of robes and blankets are unstrap.
ped and spread t. air, and all this time.
while the troop officers are looking tc
tile comfort ana security Of their horses.
Major Berrien. followed BY a single Or
derly, is riding ABOUT froIn point te
point Eo satisfy himself that the guards
are stationed where best they can se-
cure the bisoaac against surprise.
The ridge to the southwest is higher
than those which limit the view at other
points, and thither Berrien is now riding
at easy lope Rolfe anA Hazlelt, watch.
ing him fox i moment, exchange an ap.
preciatiye nod as they hear from the
group Of soldiers ut the nearest camp
fire some brawHy scn Of the old sod re.
mark, Just luck at the ould man now:
sure its a smart redskin that will ever
get through the pickets he posts" MOI
since the days pf pld ..Maj0F Sluwtrot, 9
ola iPapa Thomas has there been d
battalion commander better loved BY
the rank and file. They know nothing
will ever induce him to forget one pre-
caution for their safety, and reward lis
cure with loyalty Of devotion good Ia
see. Watching him still further. Haz-
lett notes that a distant vedette has sig-
nailed. and that Berrien. slowly now, Is
riding pp the slope to Join him. A ser.
ghant nay some question To ask at the
moment, and when Hazlett again looks
out to the southwest, major, orderly and
yedctte< have disappeared from view
around "a little shoulder Of bluff Other
yerivttcs can be seen at tlIcir posts on all
sides. and few dismounteJ sentries
lying prone where. unseen themselves,
they San SCAN the country to their front,
But Hazlett's curiosity is excited by the
fact that two men. mere specks III the
distance, are Auddling together at the
crest half a mile away to the southwest
and evidently watching something out
at their front and lnotioning to the ser
geant back with the supports. Presently
this trooper. too, .trots out to join them.
BerIiep anl llls party are still out VI
sight from camp.
,'Captain, may / borrow your field.
glasses," asked Nh. Brewster, swinging
up tQ the fire where Hazlett stands. II
have lent mine to the sergeant Ut the
guard"
did you see where the major went.'
asks Hazlett by way Of reply, as he
hands the desired instrument.
II last saw him at the point yonder.
He rode around it with Sergeant Ellis
and couple Of men, and that yedette
must have been calling to him. 1t
seems 10 me they've been gone some
time; 50 Gorhan says / can ride out and
find out what it means
I'D go with you, Brewster, but my
horse is out at herd. Take the glasses
with you, anyhow Brewster's biz
black is led up at the moment, and the
lieutenant quickly mounts ana canters
easily away.
Meantime, old Berrien, who has noted
the signals Of the vedette referred to,
has joined him, with the brief inquiry,
"What is it, Scott
"Why, sir, was posted here by the
sergeant, and ha had no sooner gone
than / saw what l toGk to be horsemen
i'll tile valley several miles out yonder to
the southwest. Tie major can see the
whole country from u butte that lies
perhaps three hundred yards farther out
beyond this ridge. But here comes the
sergeant back, sir.
1t is Ellis, cantcriAg briskly from the
advanced position Scott has designated,
and coming to them now around the
shoulder of the bluff little to the right.
That Ellis has seen something is evi-
dent; his face shows it III an instant.
can Indian war party, major, per
baps a dozen. rode from behind long
ridge over to the west and down into
the valley Of what take to be branch
Of tile Porcupine. That butte hides d
good deal Of the valley but we can see
ii from there, though
You three men come with me." says
Bcllieu quietly. I'VE must look into
this.
Two minutes lope brings them to the
butte Ellis has pointed out. Leaving
their horses with the orderly, Berrien,
the sergeant and the sentinel 60 crouch
ing ZIP the hither slope, throw them
selves On the ground and crawl to the
summit AS the vedette has said, the
whole country for miles in every dirpc-
tion can be seen-a country of bold con
tours, Of bare, rounded bluffs and buttes,
Of deep, shadowy rayines and gulches-
country bare Of trees save the ghostly,
leafess cottonw00ds pcrched by the
banks of many frozen stream Miles
and miles to the north and northwest
the wild Indian land spreads before their
eyes. Close at hand, tuinbling, billowy
and abrupt, the ridges follow or inter
cept one another in rapid succession.
The face of the land Is cut up into tor
tuous breaks the deep, narrow beds
of countless little streams, all winding
tributary to the river that flows placidly
away to the northeast in the broad val
ley from which the column marched at
dawn. Beyond that. west Of north,
clearly, sharply defined in the distance,
already alternating glaring surface and
ghostly shade under the slanting rays Of
the westering sun, tulnbling mass Of
jagged. fantastic shapes, tangle Of
vertical cliffs and scanned and furrowcd
walls, d labyrinth of gorges, gullies,
washed out channels, deep, black crew
ices, and broad, yawning. inipassable
CULTS. the storied Bad Lands of Dakota.
Stunned by all except the renegade and
outlaw iii the past, now habitable only
BY the Indian. Beyond these, faint and
dim iii the distance. the snow covered
pine crested SUBMITS in the Black Hills
AL TIE rest af the surface. east wesl