Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-01-02
THE PHANTOM OF THE DESERT.
A Strange Cry That Fell Upon the So
t1iers' Ears.

As we leave the Pecos river and iourpe-
ncr,hwarl toward the great sandhills /
the stakcl plains our Indian scouts All |
gnides look about them rs if expecting II |
see an enemy at any moment, and as Il. /
summ, r day draws to u close We motto /
them whislskng Together and exhibit,
signs of unca,siness. They are speaking
the phapto:a Of the Desert. From the We r
ISIS to that Of 1873 strange tales We're toll
ut the frontier posts and around the cam.
fires regarding that phantom. Hunt,s
.ol,ier,, and Indians believed them. nd
| hunters and Indiansw We're driven away frn,,
| the hc,tlyatcrs Of the Concha river by tbqr
fears Of something, they had never seen.
| We make our camp amid the san,is-
sands so dry and deep that they would abs N
the waters Of the Mississippi and scarcciv
feel damn to the touch. The cactus. =
rattlcsrokc. the vulturc and the sap,s !.
Nothin,p else. unless it he the bones ~
| horses feet throw to the surface as n a.
| dig for water to cool their tongues. Tic
rosy hres die out Of the west. and evening
corcs. Evening finally gives place To- Oh
| emn night Ii Is starlight night, butl a
mist rise, from the sands to make the >i .s-s
look small and pale and far away. There
are no tents, no fires. At 10 o'clock nearly
ali the comrAand arr asleep The slcerers
are living ~ / SAW the dead lie when av,ait
| ing burial Il: Gettysburg. Each face is m
covered and up:urncd to the night, and vou
feel a chill a. YOU look nj them. Eou know
they si.cp and yet yen fear they are dead
camp Of dead men on dcsolatc and ac-
cursed ..rourd The men are hardly sleep
before the horses become quiet. Some lie
down To sleep AID sigh; Others remain on
their feet. and weave to and fro, and arouse
themselves Mt intervals 10 lool, about in a
tlazcd. quccr way. Loneliness and hight
and ,lcSnl.tion AFFECT &: horse as much as a
man. lie canno. sleep and forget the >itua-
ton rs his rider can. Only the scn,incs are
aler; now. The Indians are 1T peace With
us. and no danger need hc feared. but they
have heard Of the Deser, Phantom and are
nervous and wikeful.
Eleven o'clock, and all is quiet. Eu, for
the faint craunch Of the footsteps 81 the
sentinel. il would be the stiffness oi a tomb.
On the plains you will hear an occasional
cry from some night bird. the howl of the
coyote, the chirs of the crici.cts. Hero is
ss-darkness-silcnce 80 deep that
you arc a.rs.!d 81 1t.
Nidn ghi, aud the sergeant of the g,Iard
march them ca, when Strange, weird
sound comes toAliis cars from the north 1t
Is the cry OF a human bcing-pf Il woman
such n cTy as woman might utter as she
tottered about aud sunk down to die Of
hunger and thirst. 1t is the cry Of the
Phantom. 1t has bccn heard a hundred
times before, and no man has ever smiled
in contempt at the sound.
1.-The Phantom, The Phantom! The phan-
TOM So whisper the three seniincls ON
tha: side OF the camp as they desert ihei,
posts and hasten IN.
Fools! towards! Get back or VIII re-
port Your answers the sergeant, bit they
, move timidly and look to the right and
left.
. Now comes the cry from the east de oil
the camp no, n shrek nor scream. but
long drawn, quavering cry full al anguish
and lcsolation. Was it fancy: Then why
did every horse on the ground LEAP % his
. feet aud point his cars ut The frs: Cry Was
| it the cry Of some los. and confused vrltTre
Tying heavily over camp rs y searched io'
! the flock, II 81, why did the second cry
arouse every sieeplnE man ana cause nm
E to turn his ACE TO the east-men who would
e have SLEPT ca amid she bowling Oh vnives'
What IS IL sergeant
Inc 1h2n.om o. the desert, SIR;
The officer haa heard the legends many
, times. put smiled IN pity on those VINO re
lated tnehi: An onicero OF the reialaf army
, believer IN pnantoms. troop OF reSu
: lar cavalry most o. the men IN service io
. dozen years pane stricken because III
cry from the darkness beyond.
Sergeant ave me the names OF thos'
e men VINO ue''rte" ,.ieir posts, ana
Inc CT! c;-ii'e 'Sai,'-,h's tiihe from IN
e west" Cy IN MHion 'uere were more an
5 gnish am, o'.o,a'ion tnan heiore. Ii quay
$ cred on u: ihi,hS air Tor ~ long seconds
4 ana whei II ceased every man heart wa
i peatihs 80 nc c'"iu near .he souhu' man!
Y OF tue moss Stamped ana shorteo' ana IN
n men croN"e" tITYher ana feacheo 10
u 'heir carh'AeS' foer parties OF three mel
each wer' pushed out into the darkness
4 and candies We're lighted and men ordcre'
g 20 shout u "eicotne 10 the poor wanderei
% After IN interval oi I'VE minutes We hear
!, the cry asain' uu' IL was farther away TIL
g time and we thought it had changed toe
a There was note OF anger and disappoin'
9 ment IN 1t. long 10 minutes passe'
< away, and thon we got the cry for the las
O time-a waning, pctulant CRY which Nigh