The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1894-03-09
rAg pHANroM OF rAs pgssk1
A strange Cry That reil upon the Sol

As We leave the Pecos river and journey
northwprd toward tho great sandhills Of
the staked plains our Indian scouts aud
guides look about them az n expecting TO
SEQ an enemy at any moment, and rs tho
summer day draws 60 closo we notice
them Whispering together aud exhibiting
signs OF uneasineaa. They are speaking Of
the Phantom OF the Desert From the year
1893 to that OF 1878 strange tales were told
at the frontier posts and around the Campo
fires regarding that phantom. Huntcra.
soldiers and Indians believed them, and
hunters and lndlanswcre driven away from
tho heRdwatcrs OF the Concha riverb by their
fears OF something they had never seen.
We make our camp amid the sands
sands dry and deep hat they would absorb
the waters OF tho Mississippi and Scarcely
feel damp TO the touch. The cactus, the
lattlesnake, the vulturc and the sandsl
Nothing else, unless It be the bones our
horses feet throw TO the surface asthcy
dig for wster TO cool their tongues. The
rosy hucs die out OF tho west, and evening
comes Evening finally gives place 20 sel-
emn night Il is astnrlight night, but q
mist rises from the sands 70 mako the stars
look small and pale aud far away. There
are no tents no fires. At 10 o'clock nearly
all the command are asleep The sleeners
are lying rs ! saw the dead lie when await
ing burial at Gettysburg Each face Is un-
covered and upturncd TO the night, and you
feel chill as Won look az them You know
they sleep, aud yet you fear they are dead
camp OF dead men on drsnlate and ac-
cursed ground The men are hardly asleep
before tho horses become quiet, Some lie
down to slecp aud sigh; Others remain on
their feet, and weave TO and fro, and arouse
themselves at intervals to look about in a
daaod, queer way. Loneliness and night
aud desolation Affect q horse rs much as a
man fie cannot sleep and forget the situa-
ton IA his rider con. Only the sentinelsare
alert now. The Indians arc nj peace with
us, and no danger need be feared, but they
have heard Of thu Desert Phantom and are
nervous and wakeful,
Eleven o'clock, and all Is quiet But for
| the faint craunah Of tho footsteps OF tho
rentinels itwunld be che stiffness 81 atomb
On the plains you will hear an occasional
4 cry from some night bird the howl Of the
coyote, the chirp OF tho crickets Here Is
blankness- darkness silence 30 deep that
You are afraid OF 1t.
Midnight, aud the sergeant OF the guard
| IA about TO arouse the relief Ei,ild and
march them ont when a strange, weird
/ sound comes 90 his ears from thcn0rtb. 10
IA the cry OF a human halnW -ot WOMAN
4 such Il cry as a woman might utter ms she
/ totfered ahont and sunk down 20 die Of
hunger and thirst Il Is the cry q the
phantonl II has been heard . hnndrl
times before, and no man ms eyer snilisu
in contempt 81 the sound
The rhantom The Phantomi Ine t'han-
tonlI SO whisper tue three AeAsincts on
thar side OF the camp a. they ueaefe tnciF
posts and hasten u. q
"fools Cowhrdsl bet paeh pI WIZ ~
port your answers tnc sergeant, nne ,ney
move tinidly and LOOK % tne r'Rht Hnu
left.
Now comes the cry from the easy sue q
the eanipr-no shrek nor q sefsain, on !.
q long drawn, quasefing crY iuil o. Of ahs'llsn 2
and desolatlpn' WAS " fancy men WY
did every horse on the grpuna leap 70 an. NJ
feet and point ms ears ~ NV ntsp y ~ y.
Il the cry Of some lost and confused vultlre
flying heavily over cam ~ y fsatenpp 10. 10.
the iiockg II 50, why d'a tne sefohn er3
arouse every sleeping man and cause hliu
TO turn his facs tothe enst-Tmen VINO woulu
have slept on amid she howling q woiSeSf
whit isit, errgeantE
tIhe Phantom 81 the desert, SRI
Tho officer had heard the legenhs many
times, bat smiled IN pity on those VINO re.
lated them. An onieerpf the reRun.F army
believer IN phaDtoms' A troop % regu-
lor cavalry, most q the men u service tor
dozan years, panic stricken because OF =
cry from tho darkness heyondl
"sergeant, give me the names q THOSE
men who deserted their posts, and 4 i''7-r-
The cry came ngaln-thie time from the
west--a cry IN which there vert more an
gulsh aud desolation than before u quay
cred on the night air for 70 long saeopas.
and when y ceased every man he'Hv ,ses
of the horses stamped and snorted' ana the
men crowded together and reached ior
their carblnrs. foar parties Of sliree men
each were pushed out into inc dArkness,
and candles were lighted and men ordered
10 shout weleoine 70 The poor wnnaerer;
After an interval 81 iiye minutps we heard
tl,r ,.rs a ayain hut IL was further away this