The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1893-11-23

4T0H
"Those whipped Apaches will hardly
attack again. but you'd better stick to
camp as close as possible. If we don't
| get back by the morning of the third day.
you'll know we've gone under. Then
push ahead to first military post and get
new guide. All ready, men? Then
mount! The reds are making for the
mountains, and we've got long chase be-
fore us. Good by. boys"-and before the
! five minutes were up Kit and his COM
rades had galloped away.
The savages were two miles ahead and
were double the number of their pursu-
ers. but we knew that the latter would
rescue the captives or die in the attempt.
Carson was host in himself, and we
had little fear of the result. The only
question was, Coull our eastern bred
horses run down the tough Indian ponies
and do it in time? For it was matter
of vital importance to the well being Of
the women that their brutal captors
should not be permitted to halt for even
half hour.
| We who were left watched our FIVE
| gallant comrades Until they were lost in
the distance and then prepared to pass
the remainder of the night, or rather the
first hours of the morning, in obtaining
much needed rest. Feeling certain that
the ambushed Indians would not again
molest us unless themselves REINFORCED,
we agreed to keep guard turn and turn
about, one man at time, while the
others slept. On drawing lots the first
watch happened to fall to me, and with
my rifle on my lap seated myself in a
position commanding clear view to the
edge of the canyon.
! / had not been 10 minutes on duty
when the loud snoring of my tired COM
panions proved that they were already
buried in profound slumber. and smiled
to think how easily men become famil-
iarized to danger. 1t was now past 9
o'clock. The days were at their longest,
and the sun would rise at 20 minutes
past a. AS it would be nearly daylight
at the expiration of my watch, deter
mined not to disturb the fellows at all,
but to let them sleep until they should
awake of their own accord. One of them
an embryo surgeon-had put couple
of stitches in my cut cheek, and the
wound was painful enough, thought
to drive away all drowsiness.
By and by, as sat comfortably on one
of the wagon poles, that peculiar dark
ness which precedes the dawn came over
the landscape, and congratulated my
self on feeling so alert and wide awake!
Onlya moment afterward, as it seemed
to me, looked around in positive af-
fright l could have sworn that had
never closed my eyes, and yet the sun
was now above the horizon!
Stranger still, every last one of the
fallen Indians had been carried away!
! had slept on my post with a vengeance
and doubtless nothing but the fear of a
1 possible interruption in their supposed
! prevented the savages from slaughtering
every man of us!
| | felt uncommonly mean and cheap at
! my own negligence. but made a clean
+ breast of it so soon as my comrades
! walked up. None of them reproached
me, however, each one generously blam-
ing himself for having slept so soundly
through it all.
Don't you suppose, Will" said Dick
Harding, ''that the Indians have been
REINFORCED? Surely the IA we drove into
the gulch could not have got away with
20 corpses in that short time"
II don't believe they have, Dick" l
replied; "even 10 men (about the num-
ber of the unwounded warriors) could
easily remove the bodies in two hours.
They were scattered along, you know,
all the way from here to the canyon. If
| the reds had been numerous enough to
! fight and take care of their dead, too, we
would not be alive to talk of it. They
got such surprise on their first attack
that guess they thought we might be
playing possum again and were only
too glad to get away without another
battle. Getting their dead comrades
out of the hands of any enemy is consid-
cred an imperative duty among these
plains Indians They're superstitious on
this point above all others and will risk
everything rather than leave their killed
and wounded behind"
WELL" said Harding refiectively
1.-The devil himself is not quite so black
as he's painted. Even these murderous
villains possess some virtues, it seems.
But, Will, the horses must be taken to
water at once. They're beginning to
suffer-"
1t was quite true. The poor beasts
had passed 1S hours without drink and
were now showing unmistakable signs
of distress. Whatever the possible dan
ger, an immediate trip must be made to
the river. So after hasty breakfast
we divided our force, seven fully armed
men riding off with the horses and the
same number remaining to guard the
wagons
The watering party had little over q
mile to go and could not be molested by
the small band of savages left in the can.
yon unless these had some way of egress
other than the mouth of the pass, on
emerging from which they must be seer
by us. All seemed to be going well, as
we heard no shooting from the direction