The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-02-29
THE ROBBERY.

At the head of the hurrying Spokane
lay the placid lake of Ceur d'Alene.
The festooned pines and messy rocks Of
its indented shore played Narcissus with
its pellucid calEn; glassiness broken by
an occasional cranberry spotted trout
turning wagon wheels in the sun, and
sending off whirl Of spray that turned
opaline. and in faintest ripples died
away. Where the lake ends and the
river begins, mule tailed deer plunged
into its waters from the parted reeds and
cat tails Of the miniature bayou giving
approach from the underbrush ,skirting
the hill, and with antlers erect swan
straight toward tho sound of a bugle
calling to reyeille the drowsy soldiers
on the fort side. The companies fell in
sleepily for sunrise roll call on hisquiet
June morning of 1882, and Andy Streaer
whispered to his file leader as they
marched in to breakfast that he thought
he heard a gun talking just as the first
sergeant called his name in the detail
for guard.morArt; while down the river
and mile beyond Fatty Carroll's place,
where the darkness of the straight road
in the woods is streaked with gray light
from the open prairie farther on, some
thing is happening to lift the routine of
garrison life above monotony. The rail
road station is nine miles away and is
designated R&tl1drum. Adjoining it is
another structure, after the same plans
and specifications, by no lack of courtesy,
the Grand hotel, with everything con-
veniently on the ground door-the dining
service of tin plates and huge pans, and
the chairs long slim slab on either side
of the unplaned plank table. Contiguous
is the postmaster and his store, but there
is no express oEEce.
AS the early morning train comes in,
the stage for Fort Occur d'Alene swings
up to the door of the freight Office, Cor
poral Scion Bainbridge, Jr., with a Colt
in his belt, receives a rough, strongly
nailed box addressed to the post quarter
master, the black paint words in one
corner indicating that it contains horse
shoe nails, presumably for the cavalry
troops, and it is slowed away in the boot.
The corporal is the escort as a matter
of form; thee Chinese railroad graders are
strangers to theft. and the Siwashes
think 1t reprehensible- ponies and dogs
not catahogned- "A mclnentary stop is
made at the Office of the Grand; two
mandarins destined as servants to officers
lose themselves in their clothes as they
curl up on the inside back seat, and with
the corporal besade him, Dick, the old
time driver, Straps himself under the
canvas and IN hnaf an hour has passed
the open prairie, and the horses drop into
walk before their disappearance in the
woods, while with an especially salts
factory pull at his pipe, Dick turns to
the corporal and Ping!
The old story of fancied security is re-
peated The song Of the bullet tells the
corporal what has happened. and as he
reaches for his revolver he has peculiar
sensations; he finds that it has dropped
out Of the holster somewhere on the
road: he hears a second shot; he feels
pain, which he thinks must be rher1-
matte. The one man by the roadside,
with q guuny sack over his face and
chest, lowers his Winchester, tells his
unseen men not to shoot and drags the
square box out of the boot. It is heavy
and disarranges the gunny sack mask,
for a moment exposing the face Of the
highwaynan to the dull eyes of the half
unconscious corporal, who RECEIVERS with
a gasp; the frightened leaders, who had
turned head to head with the shiyering
wheelers, reared to the front again.
While the men Of the post were still
at breakfast the guardhouse sentry saw
a dense cloud Of duet arise on the river
road, and coming to arms port called
out, Corporal Of the guard, number
oner' Out Of the cloud, as if escaping
from prairie fire, came plunging and
rolling the R:thdrQm stage, its four
blacks racing Ike the wind, snorting
with terror, their nostrils distended,
their eyes ON fire, the f1ecks Of foam
flying wide. They came to standstill
in front of the adsutant's Office, more
from habit than the corporal's right
hand pun on the reins. His left arm
hung limp at his side, while with pale
face and quivering lip he touched the
visor of his fatigue cap in salute and re-
ported that the stage had been robbed of
$4,000.
Dick sat on the drivers seat leaning
over as far as the straps would permit,
like a drunken man asleep, and a red
band of blood from a purple hole in the
center of bis forehead said in pathetic
way that he had "driv out his trick" and
slowed up for the last time.
The horseshoe nails were funds shipped
to Major Bull, the army paymaster, for
payment Of the troops at the post and at
Camp Spokane, Foster Greek and Col
vile, and when it penetrated the fatty
brain OF this globular officer, who had
but fed on the roses and Lain on the Ill
les of life" and who was purple OF face
with that bad living so often niscalled
good, that this was money loss and re-
ss,onsibility Of his own which could not
be shifted. he ran Il full hundred yards
down the road to do battle with the rob
bers and was carried back on stretcher.
His young wife could not be induced to
let him leave his CHARTERS for week.