Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-05-04
CORPORAL JlM's FATE.


information that they had discovered
an Indian village few miles away,
an two hours later the officers passed
about from tent to tent and aroused
the s'eepiny men. Horses were brought
| in and 1aliied, ammunition overhauled,
/ ami 5 VI RS buckle on, and seventy OF
us rode quietly away over tho plains
towards the foothills There was plenty
| of time and the horses were not pressed
| beyond a walk. just as day began to
dawn we halted. While we sat wait
ing we could hear the bells of the In
dian ponies and the barking of dogs,
| and once the crying of a child was
waited to our cars across the valley.
Eve shall charge right into the viii
lage. Don't fire upon any of the squaws
unless they TAXI part in the fight
Keep together and mind the bugle
calP'
So the order came down the lines,
and ten minutes later daylight was
strong enough for us to make out the
wigwams. We rode forward a few
hundred yards, and then the bugle
sounded the Charge" and away we
| dashed.
| Military reports have told you how
it WAS. The Indians had somehow
been warned, and were lying in am
bush in the dry ravine in front of the
/ camp We were staggered-checl1ed-
| slaug entered - routed; two Indians
killed and two wounded; thirty out of
seventy troopers left lying there in
front of the ravine-all dead or dying,
thank God, when the fight was over,
except Corporal Jim. He had been
thrown from his horse and stunned.
/ When he recovered consciousness he
was prisoner in the Indian camp
Corporal Jimis an old veteran of the
war, and this is not the first time he
has encountered hostile Indians There
are seven notches cut into the stock of
his carbine Each one stands for a
warrior he has sent to the happy hunt
ing grounds.
He does not say this, but all of us
know it to be so. He has never uttered
boast, but we know that he is brave
to recklessness AS he lies on the
grass, bound hand and foot, with the
warriors dancing about him with bloody
scalp locks in their hands, Corporal
Jim groans aloud. AS they lift him
up and point to the dead and mutilated
bodies on which the squaws and chill
dren are still wreaking vengeance, Cor
poral Jim, turns pale and a faintness
steals away his strength.
A prisoner in the hands of the
] Apache! That means death. Ten thou
I sand dollars in gold would not ransom
him. If the chief of that village knew
that every living son in it would be
wiped out in revenge he would not
spare his prisoner. Not death by bull
let or stroke of tomahawk, but death
after hours and hours of torture-such
torture as only the merciless Apaches
know how to infiict and prolong. They
have ever been called the devils Of
earth. They are born with the feroci
ty of tiger; they are reared to be
merciless; they are trained to torture
and kill; they die happy if they can first
! infiict deathblow.
: AS the lines are formed and Corpora
Jim is un bound and conducted to the
head of them he knows what is coming
He is to run the gantlet. That is al
ways preliminary. 1t is to whet the
. appetites of the warriors for the feas
to come. On his right is Red Bird, {
, sub-chief. With his own hands Corpora
1 Jim bound up that chiefs wound on
: field of battle, gave him to drink from
l his canteen and defended him agains
: the exasperated trooper who wanted t.
finish him. Has the Apache forgotten
, | the incident? His eyes flash fire. ant
= there is murder in his look. Gratitud,
: in an Apache! AS well hope for it in
hyena! On his left is young Gray Eagle
the only son of a great chief A yea
n | ago when we charged a village the DO.
was wounded and captured. 1t wa
l Corporal Jim who had him in charge TO
six weeks, showing him every kindnes
and consideration. Aye, it was the cor
r | poral who pleaded so hard for his pris
g oner that vigilance was relaxed AM
: Gray Eagle escaped from the fort. H
: is impatient for the torture to begin
He would inflict it with his own han,
if permitted.
There is no hope for Corporal Jim
G He will be carried on the rolls as 'miss
o ing-supposed to be dead" Around tn
+ camp fires for year to come the boy
g | will mention his name in whispers an
e hope that he was dead before the re
demons reached him. 1t is high noon
The sunshine never seemed so mellow
the sky so blue, the distant mountain
so grand. There is a shout along tn
lines. The Indians are impatient 70
the torture to begin. The corporal is
brave man. and o man in his prime. III
will last for hours and afford them
feast. They have let go of his arms
and he is standing alone and waitin
for the signal to start The signal
given. and as yell rends the al
Corporal Jim jumps to the lef
wrenches a tomahawk from the hand
of warrior, and the next instant he
flying over the ground with the spec
of horse Thirty warriors rush ate
him; thirty more mount their ponie
and pursue.
Some day when these red devils ar
again being fed and clothed at govern
ment expense and complaining of thei
"wrongs'' they will tell US the rest {
the story. They will not exult as the
tell it They overhauled Corporal jim
and he turned at bay and fought s
desperately thatthey had to finish hil
then and there He did not die alon'
and those who tell us might show tn
Is 1c INF in%o hxyh I'M; IN, a