The Bossier banner., 1893-10-12
A THRILLING INCIDENT.
One of Kit Carson's Many Daring
Adventures.

crossing the great plains en- route to
California. We numbered thirty-eight
men in all, and our outfit with it's
eight wagons, teams and necessary sup
plies, was very valuable one. In those
days overland emigrants had literally
to fight their way. Eternal vigilance
was the price at which life and proper
ty were preserved
Nevertheless we had reached well
into Arizona without serious mishap,
having lost neither a man nor an ami
NAL on our long journey.
One day we were toiling along be-
tween Mogollor mountains and Black
Butte when far away &c the left, riding
diagonally across our course, we saw a
single horsenan whom, even at that
distance, we knew to be white man.
Splendidly mounted on jet-black
horse he was making rapid progress,
but we could not at first imagine why
he pressed on so furiously, nor why, as
he could plainly see our white-topped
wagons, he did not make directly for
us. Our surprise at his apparent avoid
ance of us was increased when our
guide, Joe Carroll, riding in advance of
the train, presently called out:
"Close up, boys, and form corral.
Well likely have fight before long.
There's sixty or more Apache chasing
that lone rider, and they'll have him,
sure! See how they're spreading out,
the numbering villains! They know
the ground ahead of them"
Sure enough, we could now see, just
coming over the ridge of distant rise
In the plain, a band of mounted In
dians, who, as they advanced, gradually
extended their line as if to prevent the
hunted man from swerving to the right
or left.
why in thunder don't the blamed
fool ride straight for us?" impatiently
exclaimed Tom Ross, our captain.
For mighty good reason" replied
Joe. Between us and him, right in
the middle of that smooth-looking
plain, and running square across his
path, lies DEVILS gulch. It's more than
three miles long, very wide in places,
and no living thing has ever seen the
bottom of it. The reds say it has none
There's no rise on either side of it, and
it can't be seen till one gets close up;
but those devils and that poor fellow,
too, know it's there. He's opposite the
center of it now, and the bloodthirsty
brntes see that he won't have time to
clear either end before they overhaul
hlm. So they're sure of his scalp. but
they'll have to ride around the gulch to
get at u.s.
They'll pay dearly for that scalp,
then," savagely shouted Capt. Ross.
drab your rifles, boys, and thirty of
you come along. Let the others stick
to the corral Pm afraid we can't
save the man, but if a lot of you can
get to the gully before the reds retreat
beyond rifie-shot we'll have revenge,
anyhow"
we had no saddle horses except three
ridden by Ross and Carroll, and as we
We're barely half mile from the ra-
vine, no time would be gained by un-
harnessing and mounting the draught
animals. So our leaders spurred on
ahead and we followed on foot as fast
as our legs could carry us.
AT the moment we started the beset
horseman was about as far from one
SIDE OF the gulch as we were from the
other Hewas still riding at top speed,
out to our amazement, as we Judged
within four hundred yards of the bar
Eler lie 6rnnuht hn % l. g.
uown to hand-gallop, thus enabling
the yelling, exultant savages to gain
rapidly on him.
IT seemed strange that the apparent
~ doomed man should deliberately, in
.nts manner, shorten his brief span Of
me IL must be, we conjectured. only
because he wished to sell it more dear.
~ Tor now we saw him half turn in
tne saddle and throw up his rife. A
PUN OF smoke, report, almost inaudi-
ole TO us, and the foremost arrior,
VINO had come within a hundred and
my yards of his hoped-for prey. reeled
III ms seat and pitched headlonx to the
sarth' his trained pony remaiurng mo.
'ionless by the dead body.
never checking the easy looe of his
morse the white man reloaded with in
ereoloie speed, turned once more and
0rought down another of his pursuers
"hile the scattering volley ired at him
IN return proved harmless
Our mounted comrades aad by thi.
saas nearly reached the eulch. Sud