Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-04-24
THE MAJORS WIFE.
And How the Major Came to Find Her at
 

And How the Major Came to Find Her at
 Last.
 Every soldier of duty had his face to the cast and was looking for tho cloud of dust which would herald tho approach of tho stagccoach. It had been rumored that tho majors wife would Do q apasSengor by the stage. and though every soldier growlcd at her coming all were on tho tip toe of expectation. The major had mar ried in Iowa, and scarcely had the knot been tied when military orders hurried him hundreds of miles to the west to engage in Indian warfare The rcd mon had been pretty badly beaten and the stayo route was onco more considered satc, but WIG of tho rank and file wondered that he should permit his bride to mako the long and dangerous journey. It WAS n lonely post, far beyond civilization, and though tho Indian talked peace today no ono could tell what he might say tomorrow It was no place for a woman, no matter whose wifc she was. Wo growlcd and criticised, but taking carc that no officer should over hear, and after a long delay we saw a little Cloud of dust rising lazily on the summer brcczc down at the bend of the trail. We watched for tho coach and its guards, but after few minutes a single horScman burst through tho cloud, and WIG knew then as well as 15 minutes later that dis aStcr had come to tho coach. The soldier, who was one of the coach guards, gallOpcd into the post with two bullets in his body, saluted the major with his left hand and reported:
 "Stagc attacked by from 40 to 30 Indians just beyond Bad Mans creek and every | body wiped Outn'
 The face of the major was winter than death. We who werc watching him saw him rccl and tottcr as if about to fall, but he suddenly straightcntd up and in Il voice so strange and harsh that no man could recognize it asked:
 How many passengers in tho cOach?'
 1.-Two, sir-a frcightcr and your wifel I know the fruightcr was killed, but I'm net suro about tho lady. When looked for her, hoping to bring her off with inc, sho was not to be found. It may be that sho had been carried of.
 "Ncry we'll Report to tho surgeon" | We knew what would follow and were ready when tho buglcS sounded. Thirty | trOopcrs-half the fOrCo of the garrison under the command of q captain rOdc forth and gallopcd down the trail. No one won dercd that tho major did not lead us. He was a soldier and husband, but n soldier | first. The commandant of n fort does not | lead n dash against marauding Indians. We rode at n gnllop, but we would be too late. Long enough before tho wounded guard rcachcd Us all was over with those he loft behind Twenty rods beyond the creek which flowed sullrnly across the trail | wo came upon the scene, The Indians and l thcir ponies had been hidden behind tho | ridgs to tho north, and the coach was cut | of at the first dash. Tho eight guards I could havc formed up and dashed through and over the bowling mob, but the thought never came to them They were there tC guard the coach, and in the coach was q woman. The man who bolted while thCrC was yet the fraction of a chance to beat the Indians of would forcvcr bc an object ot contempt.
 "So they dicd"' whispered a sergeant q, we surveyed the dcad They dismountct and fought from the ditch-frOm bchinC their dead horscs-fruIn under tho coach
 The driver and the frcightcr took Eant with them and died game, but the Indian, camc with rush and thCrC was no cover.
 The coach stood upright, and aS the cap
 tain dismount,d and approached to lool
 in we held our hr,aths. The woman coult
 not Lave escaped death or captivity. II l our hearts We hoped that she Was lyins dead across She seats. When the captain
 turned away, every man uttered a SrOan
 She had been carried away. A Wagon wa | sent down from the fort fer the dead, tn l draG j., rscs Were left to thl hllLZIrds anC coyot,e, and two or three G.,ys later tn bullet ri,i,ilvd roach was hHulcd away. \ the fJ:t Nc spoke iu whispers, and ther was I>itl.vr song Tor laughter Every on felt the deepest pity for the major, an' had he asked for volunteers to face an. danger promising rcsVur nO one Woul' have hung hack For three days no on except the captain saw him. Then tn
 word went round that hu had disappeared | At midnight. without a word Ia anybody
 he had passed out of the fort alone, and n
 man was tn sC0 him in life again Jus then r9-onforCrucnts came to us, and l'ar
 ties were sent out to the four points of tn
 comrass to search for the missing officer , He might have taken up the pursuit of tn
 Indians single handed and alone or craze ? with grief at the cruel blow SO suddcnl
 inflicted he might be wandering anon
 the hills or hiding away in tho thickct'
 We searched for days and weeks and go no trace. Winter camc 10 stop us, bu when tho warm suns and southcrly breeze l had molted the snOwS we took up th 7 search again.
 . Ono day, in a thickct of willows tc s miles from the sCcno of the tragedy, W solved the mystery. Wo found two skelt s ton bodies lying side by Sidt-thc one of 0 tIAc ptAiNA N4ttN 'A N'AN AA4'AJ'N' i4N | had bocn untouched by wolf or huz2arl i As ws interpreted it, the woman had cs | caped from tho stagrcuach during in
 fight and had gUt clear of tho Indians Sh
 may have wandered about for days an a nights, but at last Sho Crawled into th s thickst to die. No one could say how lon s the major had wandered about, but th s hour Clllno when he also crypt into th |. tanglo and found the mortal remains ( , | her who was his wife. Perhaps he cOul V have como back 10 Us then; perhaps l. . was dying and could not take another stei a He stretched himself out beside her, thrC'
 an arm across her bosom. and then tn
 lamp of life went out, and the dead wa
 with his dusld, and his griof was stilltd. ' NJ. QUAD.