The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1895-05-18
FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.
INTERESTING READING FOR YOUNG
PEOPLE.
The Boys War, How the Battles He
tween the Eastsfders AMI the
Wests'ders Ended - The Size OF
hem-N White-Tailed Cats.

long ago. III was w Tie u"Nh
| ers on the east and west sides OF a
river. Both parties had built snow
forts and feeling ran high. Prof. BOY
| essen tells of the final engagement as
follows:
Then the bombardment began. A
whole arsenal of ammunition had Deen
| stored behind the walls of each fort
| ress and the balls flew thick and fast,
| picking of man after man, now in the
| one fortress and now in the other.
There were at least thirty boys on
| each side, and so great was their mar
tial fury that they rose up again after
they had been wounded, and laughed
| at black eyes and bleeding noses. Inc
first serious accident occurred when
| plucky Anton Mikkelson losing his
| balance. tumbled we the wall, and,
| falling on the outside, rolled right
| down on the frozen river. The east
| siders, seeing a chance of making
him a prisoner of war, sent gu a ny
ing column; and the west-slders, IN
| order to rescue him, made a sorte IN
force. Leading his gallant army Gen.
yiggo advanced upon the ice, while
| the snoWballs whizzed past his ears,
and poor Marcus. the adjutant, re-
ceiyed a tremendous hit right in his
forehead which raised a huge lump in
an instant. But, though he lost MS
balance, he was soon upon his feet
again., and ran forward to shield his
beloved commander from the missiles
that flew about his head. Halvor
Retain, big, coarse, and burly, cheered
on his men with a roar like that of an
angry lion; and then advanced, foot
by foot, in spite Of the storm OF snow
balls which greeted him. Anton MIX
kelson. slightly stunned by his fall,
was snatched up by a dozen eager
hands before the west-siders could
lay hold Of him, and would have been
carried triumphantly to Fort Defance,
IL Gen. Viggo had not darted orwar
with drawn sword and compelled the
foe to drop him. And now commenced
a hand-to-hand fight which was simply
tremendous. The boys wrestled, tum-
bled head over heals, rose again. and
with loud whoops, charged the ranks
Of their antagonists. No one minded
bumps or scratches; nay, the boys
scarcely felt them, so filled were they
with hot zeal, so absorbed in the
great game of war.
For twenty minutes the battle ragged.
Then the east-side army gave way.
Many fell down half-eXhausted in the
snow. The rest suddenly broke and
ran, In spite of their generals wrath
full wells and calls. Gen. Niggo. at
the head Of his noble band, pursued
them up the slope, and, with a wild
cheer, stormed the walls of Fort De-
fiance. Marcus Henning was h first
to scale the rampant and snatch the
flag. He waved it thrice over his
head, and then carried 1t away in tri-
umph. Gen. Viggo promptly demand
ed the unconditional surrender of the
fortress, and Gen. Reitan, seeing that
his colors were struck. had to accept
the terms that were offered him. But
when he saw the weSt-siders march
away with his banner. he suddenly
forgot his surrender; and. beside him
self with anger, he summoned the
remnant of his men, and. rUshlnr
down upon the ice, charged once more
his victorious foe. The west-siders
though taken aback by such treach'
cry, turned about quickly and defend
ed themselves right valiantly. Gen
Viggo himself, who now carried the
captured banner, was bombarded will
snowballs from all sides. And 1lalvoI
Retain rushed straight at him t.
snatch the flag away. But Niggo.
though he was not so strong as Hal
vor, fought desperately. and, ever
after he was Knocked down, chung t
the fag-pole with all his might. Al
the enemy strove abot him, and tn
east-siders We're hurrying to the as
sistance of their commander, whel
suddenly a tremendous cracklin
sound was heard. and the two armie
scurried away. panic-stricken towar
the river banks. Did | say bot
armies? Yes, but not the two con
manders. In the middle of the rive
Halvor Retains wet tOusled head wa
seer bobbing up and a pair of on
stretched hands We're trying despel
ately to clutch at something on tn
smooth ice. Niggo, who had alrcad
turned to run with the rest. heard h
piercing shrieks. and. forgetting Il
enmity. he paused and looked bacl
There was his treacherouS foe. presSe
against the edge of the ice, s%trugglin
In the fierce stream which might IL
next moment pull him under. Niggo
. heart beat wildly. He saw the lor
cracks in the ice which We're slow
widening from the force of the Gu
rent. But. Summoning all his couraG
, he plunged forward. and. flinging hin
S self fiat on the ice, he pushed the fla
4 pole before him until it was with
, reach Of the drowning hoy.
- Hold on Tight" cried Niggo; "don
let GO"
e And. to he sure. Halvor held on tig1
4 enough. But the grnHt question W;
: for ViggO to get a safe footing, so as
Il brace himself for n mighty p"ll. TT
boys on shore stood staring with bit,
breath; for a moment not q single Of
!, moved. Then, quick as a flash. Ma
y Gus, the Muskrat, darted out on t
q river.
He had spiked so!es on his boo
f. and, though the ice seemed to be adri
- under his feet. he advanced fearlessI
" "Now, general" he shouted. se;zi'
l. Viggo by both legs, ard boring 1
L heels into the ice; now give Il pu
If and Il big one, One, two three
That was a wrench that n~a"ly to
" Niggo'S arms out Of their sockets. |
IS felt numb all over, and there was
film before his eyes. When his sig
=, cleared he saw HalvOr Retain crawl
toward him, still fearing to let 90 t
end of the f1ag-pole. Cautiously
pushed himself forward until he w
at NiggO's side. Then the valia
Muskrat grabbed them both by t
= feet and quickly dragged them aShOl
G. That was the end of thu SIC 70. A
:, 1t was the end. too, Of the wal betwe