The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-07

at this rate" muttered the sergeant jor
to his friend the chief trumpeter, 'sand
never know it until we STUN bled into a
tepee."
"How far ahead is it ?" asked the latter
ga mile, they say. We'd be deployed by
this time if it were less
Less than five minutes of gradual ascent
and the crest of the divide was reached,
and, one after another, every horseman
realized that he was then on the down.
word slope of the eastern side. Somewhere
ahead, somewhere between the ridge and
it's nearest neighbor, lay the hostile viii
lage, all unconscious of the foemen' s
coming, looking for disturbers as yet only
from the eastern side. Old cavalrymen
Indian village before the sharpest eyes
could "sight' it, and the packers swore the
statement was true, eff it were only made
of the mule"
"The colonel knows. He hasn't forgot
ten, you bet" was the comment, as again
the orderly rode swiftly rearward with
orders for the pack train to halt just west
of the crest and then every man seemed
to know the village couldn't be far ahead,
and some hands went nervously to the
holster flaps, others loosened the carbines
in their leather sockets, and men took fur
tive peeps at one another's faces along the
shadowy column, and then at their officer,
riding so confident and erect along the left
flank. And still no man could see more
than the depth OF three sets of tours ahead.
"Ain't we going to dismount and go
we always did
"Of course; when one could see to shoot
and would be seen himself anywhere
within five miles" was the disdainful
answer. ''What'd be the good of dis
mounting here?"
And now in places the horses plunged
deeper into the snow and tossed up drift
ing clouds of feathery spray as the column
crossed some shallow ruts in the eastward
face, and then once more, snakelike, it
began to twist and turn, following the
track of those invisible guides, and then it
seemed to take to evil courses and go splut-
tering down into sharp, steep banked
coulees and scramble out again on the
other side; and still the sure-footed horses
tripped nimbly on, and then presently, his
eyes a-twinkle, the adjutant came riding
back.
'Just half mile ahead, Jimmy" he
murmured TO the lieutenant riding in
Leale's place at the head of the first troop.
Form left front into line and halt. I'll
post the other troop"
Quickly the young officer refined out of
column to the left about ''Keep straight
Then, barely raising his voice and drop
ping for the time the conventional COM
mands of the drill-book, he rode back
along the column, saying, "Left front into
line" until all the rearward fours were
aligning; then back to the front he trotted,
halted the leading set, each of the others
in succession refining in and generally
aligning itself, ali without a sound that
could be audible ten yards away. Almost
at the same time the second troop headed
diagonaIly off to the left and presently
rode up into line with the first, while the
third and fourth were halted in similar
formation at troop distance in rear. "By
all that's glorious. we're going in
mounted!' was the word that seemed to
thrill down the line. Then we're not 60
ing to wait-not going to give him chance
to surrender"
Another moment and the word was,
"Hush! silence therel" for dimly seen
through the drifts the colonel, with his
little party of attendants, came riding to
the front of the line. Long, long Alter
ward they remembered that clear-cut SOL
dierly, high-bred face, with its aquiline
nose, keen, kindly, deep-set eyes, the gray
white mustache. snow-white now, as was
his close-cropped hair.
Men," said he, in the firm tones they
had known so long and well, 'sfully half
the band probably are some miles away ;
but Kill Eagle, with over hundred war
riors, is right here in our front. So too
are his women and children; SO, too, worse
luck, are some of our own unhappy cap
tives. You all know the first thing those
Indians would do, were we to attack as