The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1894-12-14

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served both, in the Seminole and Next
can wars. and was pretty well posted
in regard to the tvarmints' wiles
When first organizing, we had elected
him to the captaincy, an honor which
he modestly declined. saying that the
young giant, Tom Granger, was far
more fit for it than he.
Well, when ten o'clock had come,
without sign Of Somers, Abe began
to suspect mischief.
.'Stay right here. boys" he said.
..till I make little scout" And of
he went in the direction previously
taken by the guide.
We saw him at intervals and again
lost sight Of him, exactly as we had
done with Bill, but, unlike the latter,
he came safely back In thirty minutes
or so. looking much distressed.
Boys" he quietly said, "you want
to wheel right about and form corral
out on the open plain, forty rods clear
Of cover. Poor Bills in the hands OF
the Indians, sure. The varmints have
sneaked up and lassoed him, or struck
him down before he could pull trigger
or give the alarm. saw the trail
where they hauled him way down
into pass he'd found, and they're
hiding in there now, waiting for us to
come along"
do you think they've killed Som
ers?" asked Granger.
mo, cap, I don't believe he's hurt q
mite, for don't see drop Of blood
anywhere" replied Abe. 1.-THE reds
have likely choked him senseless and
dragged him of to be tortured to
death. And, boys, we've got to rescue
him before shutdown; for when those
devils see that we're not going to fall
into the trap. they'll begin their hell
ish work just at that time"
Wen do that or die" savagely ex-
claimed one Of our men. How many
Of the brutes are there, Abe, and how
far OFF,"
Cant say; maybe twenty-maybe q
hundred, but judging by the sign, no
more than half dozen tackled Bill. !
don't know where the main crowds
located, but it's sure to be near the
narrowest and bushiest part of the
pass.
ABE" said Tom Granger, you'd
better take command Of the party till
this things settled; and I'll be full
private. / want a chance to fight with
ont being bothered giving orders. Be
sides, you know what ought to be done,
and / don't"
All of us seconded Toms request,
and the old soldier finally consented tc
the arrangement
While this talk went on we'd moved
away from the foothills, and on reach
| ing little creek in the vicinity where
there was not tree. shrub or rock &c
shelter an enemy, we corralled the
wagons, tethered the horses out te
feed and got our own dinners.
Then johnson said: "Boys, l want
nineteen volunteers besides myself fol
this job" Every man Of us jumped vi
on the instant, and Abe smilingly con
tinued: well. since you all want to go
| we'll draw lots, SO as to give every one
an equal chance. I'll put twenty-nint
| numbered tickets in my hat, shake EN-
up, and the fellows that draw the first
nineteen will go with me. The othel
ten must stay to guard the camp"
| All right. That's fair enough. u
| ahead. Abe" we agreed. And the
little pieces of pasteboard, cut from
an old book cover, were placed in the
hat, each man shutting his eyes. after
wards withdrawing one. Both Ion
Granger and / were among the lucky
nineteen, and the disappointed tel
submitted gracefully.
In addition to his Misunderstanding
rifle each one of us carried heavl
Colts revolver--a mighty costly weap
on ut that tiune-so twenty of us coule
fire. in all. one hundred and forty shot
without reloading.
Friends" thong htfully observed on
new captain, ''of course the redskin
have scouts out watching u.s. Theyv
marked our change of position ant
will reckon on us staying right her
and sending a squad into the pass T.
hunt for our comrade. II we wer
fools enough to do that not ma
wou,d ever come back. Then they
try to wipe out the rest OF us and car
ture the stock about daybreak &c
morrow morning. II they don't Sc
MS make a move all the warriors an
pushed in this end of the pass will IA
back ON tile main body before sur
down. and not one of the band WI
ever think of being attacked from Tn
f,,rthay end of the gorge.
snow. here's my plan: The bank
this creeks high enough to hide
! completely, and we'll sneak along =
he'd till we get to the timber TINS $40
of the Zig Sandy. Then Wen wor
! our way round the spurs to the we'