The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1895-01-31

Juan, we will wait here till the mer
come up. | want to speak to the Lieu
tenant again."
"When the first wagon arrived he
halted it, and then rode back to the
rear and found the officer, and in de.
Lucrative and somewhat determined
voice said:
Lieutenant, we are on dangerous
ground, and viii have to fight before we
leave this canyon. Your men are strag.
CLING and not prepared for the defense. y
The Lieutenant answered, haughtily,
"How dare you, sir, address me in this
way, and presume to dictate to me?
shall put you under arrest and in the
guard-house when we get to Fort
Bowie"
my orders, sir" answered the guide,
"come from the Department Command
er, through the commanding officer at
Las Cruces, and here they are, showing
the General Orders.
CLOSE UP YOUR WAGONS, SIR.
Put your men in order to protect the
Government property In your charge.
Put 80 men in front of the wagons, 20
in the rear, with the First Sergeant in
command; the remainder distribute along
the line to protect your train from being
cut in two"
Very reluctantly the West Pointer
arranged his men as the careful guide
had ordered. Meantime the guide joined
Juan in the front. The morning was
bright, clear, and still not breath of
air was there to stir the cedars, NOT even
the chirp of bird to break the monot-
ony-nothing but the steady tramp of the
soldiers and the creaking of the wagons
that broke the silence
The men marched on, casting glances
at the towering cliffs as if to pierce their
silent, gloomy walls, and discover a hid
den foe; an inexplicable feeling seemed
to warn them of near and hidden
danger behind the dark, stolid ledges of
rock, and even nature seemed to hold
her breath in anticipation of another
bloody scene about to be enacted in
that Golgotha of the West The silence
and strange feelings increased as they
neared the most desirable place in the
canyon for an ambush. There the guide
turned to the Mexican, "Juan," he said,
"we must dismount when we reach yonder
narrow, because we will not have room
to manuver our horses. We will ride
back to the rear and leave them, and
return to the 'front.'"
"Si Senor," was the Mexican's laconic
reply.
When they reached the rear wagon
they dismounted, tied their horses TO it,
pulled of their blouses, and threw them
into the wagon, aud took from their
saddle-bags each an extra artridge-belt
and buckled them on. The Lieutenant,
still in the rear, asked:
Sergeant, what does this mean?"
"Getting ready for fight" was the
short answer.
do YOU really think there Is dan
ger?" was the next anxious question.
"Wait a short time and see. No
cactus here, but rocks and cedars that
will be heard from presently, or / am
mistaken"
Scarcely had the guide finished speak
ing when a long, piercing yell rang
out from the cliffs and echoed and re-
echoed from cliff TO cliff. Every sol |
dier started. although they had been ex-
pecting some movement Of the enemy |
as each saw the firmness and stIaightfor-
wardness of the guide, and believed |
what he had said in regard to precau-
tion. The cry had scarcely died away, |
when Juan muttered in Spanish the war
cry Of Cochise, and then thundered |
back defiant shout
CHALLENGING HIM TO SINGLE COMBAT
NO! no! my friend" exclaimed the
guide; our place is to the front there
will be work for us there. | will not