Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-02-10

WnO, BpeeQ1uE a1OuS Ut Gu9 OASS O1 baSe triangle, sought to tet between the re- treating horsemen and the corral.
 "sGreat snakast reared Burrows, now at last raging like a lion, the cunnin varlnints hez fooled old Jim this timet Stiddy, boys, stiddyi Them fellers'l hev ter fight ther way in or we'll all go under. Nol nary man break cover, an don't shoot till they git clost up, so's we kin pick of the reds from 'mong them.'
 "But the gallant six, as it proved, did not require our help, for, when yet two hundred yards from the wagons, they, had reduced the number of their treacher- ous assailants to thirteen, and these, sec ing the game was played out, turned tail and fled to the heavier force, now about twice that distance from us and them selves.
 Our men then darted into the opening made by displaced wagon, the gap was again closed, and we proceeded to take stock of damages. Every man of the heroic six had received numerous arrow wounds, but none were disabled. All their horses, too, had been struck, and one of them afterward died.
 "Gus Taylor was in command of this squad, and it was solely owing to his prudence that single member of it es- capped. It seems that he took his men to the margin of the spring, but caused | four of them to remain mounted, while the other two began to fill the kegs, into ] which, however, they had dipped only a. , few gallons when the ambushed Indians, then numbering twenty-five, emerged from behind the nearest point of rock, | fortunately forty yards distant, and
 poured among them a flight of arrows,
 instantly answered by a volley from their ready revolvers. Three of the sav- ages fell at this fire, and two more at the
 next, and by the time the remaining
 twenty had closed up our fellows were
 all in their saddles and away. Taylor
 concluded by saying that if his party
 had carried only single shooters all
 would inevitably have been slain, but
 the repeaters so surprised the enemy,
 none of whom had been in the first
 fight, that they were half demoralized
 from the start.
 'Perceiving that all their schemes had SO far failed, the hosti1es now be- gan a regular blockade, intending,
 doubtless, to keep it up until want of
 water should compel us either to surren-
 der or charge out on them, to be over
 whelmed by numbers in hand to hand
 fight.
 "Reverting to their old time practices,
 they all that evening until nightfall
 circled about the plain on every side,
 but always beyond rifeshot, and the
 last thing we saw was a strong party
 entering the pass to guard the precious
 water, while the greater body retur ned
 to the coulee.
 'Then we quietly enjoyed 8 hearty
 Supper-the wounded men as much as
 any-a double watch was set, and those
 not on guard dropped off to sleep. But
 the hardy guide, who seemed proof
 against fatigue, never closed an eye.
 The night was intensely dark, and up to
 ten o'clock not 8 sound except the gen
 tle trampling of our cattle broke the op-
 pressive silence. Then, first one by one
 and shortly in a combined chorus of
 snarling yelps, there hoated through the
 stygian gloom the horrid concert of prowling coyotes and buffalo wolves. al-
 ready engaged in their loathsome feast. That's fustrate moosic, boys observed . Old Jim to the men who shared his watch. Them critturs is our best ; friends. Nary fear uv no 'sprise
 s'long's ther round, but when they quit ther noise, sudden like, you wanter look : out fur squalls
 However, the whole night, and even , that most dreaded hour, the dawn of } morning, passed without an alarm, , though we several times fancied that we ] heard the weird chant of the far away { death song rise from the enemy's camp. , 'The sun rose bright and cloudless
 and climbed high in the summer sky, 5 but still no foe appeared; and, as even with the greatest economy our supply . of water and horse feed would barely 3 suffice for thirty-six hours more, some l of the younger men urged the captain to @ resume the journey. Wal, no; not a much! not jest yit,' replied he; 'ef you - spose the Injuns is gone, jest lead out a r string uv mules ter git bite uv grass. d "The boys jumped at this proposal @ and swinging one of the wagons aside t took the animals out. All began to feed ' eagerly, but they had not cropped a e dozen mouthfuls when simultaneously e from pass and coulee once more rode the s vigilant redskins, and the disappointed s beasts were again corralled. Determined d to cut us off from even this resource. the 5, vengeful Apaches now resumed theil d patrol of the plain; but having whole l. some dread of our fires, and seeing that It nothing was at present to be gained by a nearer approach, they kept about fv' l. hundred yards away. One particular
 Indian, riding piebald mustang, and It seeming from his profusely decorated n person to be a great chief, made himsel n especially conspicuous by prancing abou a the field, animating his braves and ap d parently giving orders.
 a. "The utmost effective range ot ou c. ordinary hunting rifles was about thre 10 hundred and fifty yards; but it SO hap Il pened that Seth Morris, the husband o or the woman who had done us so good le service the day before, had brought witt lt him heavy target rifle, provided wit ss telescope sights. This cumbrous weapon
 had not as yet been once used on tn