Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1894-03-29

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of another drunk. Hundreds of the
old dragons could barely sign their
names, many could only touch tho pen
when called upon to make "his Ky
mark" Another busted clerk" was
the general expression when the young
Californian came forward to enlist.
Yet no was the picture of clear eyed,
athletic manhood, was accepted with
much hesitancy by the officers and un-
doubted suspicion by the men, yet speed
lily proved splendid horseman, scout,
shot and, as was the final admission,
"all round trooper, despite the fact
that he was we'll educated and spoke
Spanish like a native. Still, such was
the prevailing faith, as it ever is among
veteran soldiers, that the old style was
the best, it was long before he won pro-
motion. No one who has not known
both can begin to imagine tho differ
ence between the army of a quarter cen
tury ago and the army of today. Just
as Feeny was a resolute specimen of the
old, so was Wing pioneer of his class
in the new. At the moment when the
latter struck spurs to the wearied fanks
of poor Dick and called on him for one
more effort, the stalwart and handsome
sergeant sped away on the path of duty,
confident of the fact that by this time
every man in his own troop and every
soldier who knew him at all would
stake his last dollar on Bob Wings tao
king the problem before him as fear
leesly and intelligently as any veteran
in the regiment.
Having ordered the ambulance up the
gorge, he himself spurred away to gath
er in all stragglers within reach, so as
to re-enforce the little garrison at the
caves in the event of attack from the
Apaches. To his practiced eye no ves-
tige of doubt remained as to the char
acter and purpose of the signal smokes.
Not moment was to be lost. Within
that very hour perhaps unseen Indians
would come skulkiDg, spying, "snak-
ing" upon their refuge, would bo able
infallibly to determine the number and
character of its occupants, and If their
own force were considerable and that
Of the garrison weak God alone could
help those innocent women,
When last noted, the westward signal
was putting slowly up into tho cloudless
sky from point in the range perhaps
six miles below Patterson's station in
the rocks. The three wearied troopers,
dragging slowly back from the chase,
could be seen coming up the valley prob
ably four miles away, some distance,
therefore, ahead of tho supposed position
of the foe. Wing we'll knew with what
goatlike agility the mountain Indians
could speed along from rock to rock and
still keep under cover, and every man
who had served month in Arizona
could have predicted that if Indians in
any force were within days march of
those throo stragglers ambush and death
would be their fate, perhaps even when
within view of their longed for goal.
That they had not seen the sign, that
they were ignorant of tho possible pres
ence of Apachcs in the range, was man.
ifest simply because they rode close
along under the foot hills, often over
the bowldcr strown outskirts of the
falda, and, though still far from them,
such was Wings anxiety for their safe
ty that he rodo furiously along, signal
ing with his left hand as though to
say" Keep out! Keep to your right!
Don't co SO close to tn, rocks"
In this way, urging Dick to his speed
and never thinking of his own safety,
intent only on saving his comrades
from possible death, believing, too,
that no Apache could yet have worked
his way SO far up the range, Wing was
riding, straight as the crow flies, from
the little oasis at the mouth Of the
canyon toward the ambling laggards to
the south. His course led him along
within 100 yards Of many q bowlder or
Pitchers Cast0rIa.