The Opelousas courier., 1893-05-13

cows, cooked the food, did the washing,
attended to the modest little garden
that she had managed to coax from the
arid Arizona soil, and wen gave the two
cayuse ponies that belonged to her
father all the grooming they ever got.
Besides that, she had to attend to the
selling of water from the a~rtesian we'll
that was the only excuse for Freshwa-
ter Ranch's existence.
There was not so very much travel on
the road that ran by Mt. Graham down
to the dusty ella Valley. but there were
forty miles at a stretch of it, and Fresh.
water Ranch had the only water that
was to be found upon it. And so, when
the freight teams and the army ambu-
lances made the trip from Fort Grant to
Fort Thomas the teamsters were very
glad to pay twenty-five cents a bucket
full for water and double rates for forage.
And this is how Bess made a living, a
wretched, lonely. almost outcast living,
for her father and herself.
But there was plenty to do this day
and plenty of excitement. For the first
time in all her memory, a whole troop of
handsome cavalrymen, with a bright.
checked and still handsomer lieutenant
at its head, had come to Fresh water
Ranch to actually camp oyer night and
perhaps stay even longer A bunch of
White River Apaches, getting over the
effects of a tlsHiD drunk, had jumped
the reservation, and started on asmurder-
ing and thieving raid after their usual
manner. Quite after their usual man
ner, also, two troops of cavalry had
started in pursuit, following their trail
with the faint hope of catching up with
the feet-footed Apaches; while the re-
niainder of two regiments of cavalry and
twice as many of infantry had been put
at patrol duty at the guarding of water,
holes, springs and mountain passes. !
1t is the young lieutenant that is sent,
on this patrol duty, as a rule. The more.
experienced officers are sent in pursuit.
And it is a hard grind, indeed, on the
nerves of the impatient young lieutenant
to sit for days in his camp watching the,
surrounding country through his field
glass and receiving the reports of his
scouts, always the same m~onotonous!
tsDidn't see No signs of 'em, SIR" 1t is.
his ambition to get under fire. 1t is
the height of a. young lieutenantisr
widest dream to capture or kilfa raiiing
Apache. His heart burns with enEy
when he hears big Bailey, of his regis,
ments who, bat a few years before, was
hfaaseif but a green lieutenant, talk in an
s0fE hand way about that time 1--WE had.
the fight with old Recommendations in the
San Samoane Valley" Bailey looks in.
% Jne campfire as he speaks, ana Goes
net appear to care whether any one is
listening. There is q tantalizing tilt to
Bailey's forage-cap, and the youngster
swears that if he ever does, by any good
luck, happen to come across a hostile
Apache, he viii cut off his head forth.
with and send it to Bailey, and do d
little talking himself. He would hate
Bailey il he wasn't such a jollyagoodfelss
Toward SO internally kind when one.
discovers that one is a little short of
ready cash on ones STRIPPING pay, and 80
deucedly clever about getting ones
mount in good trim when one has famed
the poor beast with uhskiliful riding;
all of which Bailey unfortunately is.
Such was the precise situation Of.
young S8r. Bristow. second l~tidtenant Of
the -th Regiment of United States Cav
airy, on this day when Bess was at her
wits end with work and excitement.
Chilcauno and his band had jumped the
reservation at San Carlos after murder
ing a freighter and stealing his horses,
and all Southern Arizona was in q state
of excitement. To be ordared out to
guard . watAfing station is bad enough;
but when you are quite persuaded that
the miscreants have gone in another
direction and that you have no chance
Whatever of being in near at the
death. the situation is almost unbearsr
bic.
And that was Why Lieutenant Bars.
stow fumed and fretted, and walked up
and down IN front Of the half log, half
adobe house called FreshWater Ranch,
all the long afternoon, and did nothing
more important than to swear alta trooper
much after the manner Of several cap
tains he knew and then to apologize to
the trooper and make himself ridiculous
just because be bad some Of those higher
ideas Of the soldier, even though he were
but i few months our Of West Point.
/ Andao Bees caught but q few gimpses
Of the lieutenant as he occasionally
Passed The ao d she saw that he was
young and handaoNnh- asaN0pana