San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-11-26

-Le OpCE prairie On 'h0 hiIhSl Slue VI
the village is no longer tenantless, as it
was at dawn. Two parallel lines con-
front each other there.
: In logged submission to the orders of
their captors and the mandate of the
big white chief which has been laid be-
fore them, silent, sullen, muffled to the
eyes in dingy robe or blanket, the braves
have slowly moved out from their Turk
ing places among the tepees and shuffied
down the gentle slope until well away
from the outskirts of their town, and
just in front of a long, silent rank If dis
mounted troopers they squat upon the
ground. No word is spoken by either
side. Here crouch the savage leaders of
the hostile tribe, and, in long extended
line, scores of their fiercest and bravest.
Others still lurk among the squaws and
lodges. Others peer with glittering,
malignant eyes from under heaps of
foul Smelling robes or parfeches. Those
in the outing glance but fqrtively at the
blue line before them. They are silent
as the dead, yet the war cry trembles on
their lips. They wait, but wait expectant.
They crouch, but it is the tigers
crouch, ready for a spring. The word
has been passed that all arms must be
surrendered, and every arm is there,
ready, hidden, but with the lightning
sleeping in it"
Back among those brown, dingy te-
PEGS, breathless with excitement, squaws
are scurrying to and fro; children are
being huddled away to the farther side.
look at that, Curly" mutters Warren
under his frozen mustache, as he passes
rapidly along i'll rear. Isn't that enough
to show they mean Mischief Some of
the Indian police and Interpreters are
still searching for warriors in hiding.
Yet has not the old chief bowed his as
sent to the orders and given his direc-
tons that his people should comply?
Nothing must be, can be done so long as
the Indian makes no overt move. The
dismOunted men of two troops are in
long single rank. Some of the men
shiver little, for cold and excitement
are telling now, as in many cases over
coats have been thrown aside, but brave
men tremble ofttimes until the first shot
comes, and then the nervous strain is
gone, for the hot blood leaps and tingles
through the veins. Back some distance
the horse herders are aligned. Off to
the TANKS and rear cOmrade troops gaze
silently on the scene. From the crest
of low bluff the black muzzle of the
Hotchkiss gun peers from its knot of
watchful batterymen. Farquhar, vigil
liant and grave, has just sent Warren
with other orders. A halfbreed Indian
steps forth, as though to carry its i'm
port to the chief. At him the eyes Of
the old maniac of a medicine man glare
with tigerish fury. He lowers his feath-
cred head. He crouches.
Then, suddenly, catlike leap, wild
yell. Off goes every blanket, as though
hurled by the explosion from within
In simultaneous crash the flame and
lead have leaped upon the trooper line,
and now through the yelling smoke
every Indian is fighting like a demon.
Down goes many sturdy soldier, vet
eran sergeant brave faced boy. The
line reels with the sudden shock, but in
an instant men like Thorpe and Brews-
ter and Randolph leap forward among
the men and their voices ring with the
clamOr of battle. Back up the slope,
scurrying, stopping low, firing, dropping
in their tracks, the Indians are making
for the shelter of their tepees-for the
skirts of the squaws. What Sioux WON.
an fears to die in defense of her brave
What Sioux warrior disdains to shield
himself from fOeman's blow and to shoot
from the covert of the sheltering form
of his devoted wife?
"For Gods sake, men, head 'em off
Don't let them back among the women,
is the yell. But Indian tactics, STOPPING
TO anything, stopping at nothing, are 20,
much for men trained TO fight only a
soldiers and gentlemen. Already squaw
are rushing forward, knife and revolve
in hand. Already the hidden savage
are firing from under tent or travoi-
Already a score of the best and braves
of the Twelfth have bit the dust. Curl,
Brewster's arm is smashed by rifle hri
let; Thorpe, cheering on his men, head
ing them in their rapid return fire
plunges suddenly to earth with one gasp
ing cry, "Oh, God! My little ones!
Rolfe, riding like mad a dozen yard
ahead of his men in wild effort to cut Of
the backward move, tumbles in senseles
heap at the very feet of knife wieldin
fury of a woman, who is only laid 10y
just as her clutch is on his hair, he
cleaning blade at his throat. Aye, o
this bleak and barren and cherries field
under these leaden skies, beside the blac
waters, streaked now with curdling rec
the battle fiend is loose; there is, indeed
"the devils work this day." but wher
the blame lies as between the soldier VIII