Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1895-01-15

ion - 1904 ~ NIN InN ltfftd sunalttus
know l1'Ir Hl'0stn should haft
In.uN clio UN'pn1.uCaa W.ft m ihe
NI haFIIt drawn bceI To
OHV N.INIo eI0 W'ton. with white
1.rnNIfIu AOuIa cNI mat lo would
uoN ~ HNns rn Iht mail Besides
Apachea noW rHIIf nitackrlI mnin
which WcIo raicaoIa land folet lnd
ing remote fanohsn more profitable
prey. a. lhrif irItUdIr4eneas often mato
Disappearance uuio.fn nud ~fnntIiceA
Ihpso afe Iha deductions ~ wiser mun.
ana Hodeson had hut intoiy Joined. 30
be- rode on planning tho attack and %.
cafcd it in d liitlo arroyo which holds
very Enuely some hundicd yards eft The
Florence rood whtto - rocls on Che
piutl foothills 10 Cross tho Rio 0ila
Just why ucdetQn should have To-
Gated lho otiaok on The mail ID ihispaf-
ticuiar arroyo be hintsolf probably could
not teli youIAnd Is ~ rart Of my story.
but that it actually occurred there 50
mere coincidence Unless yon credit iolo-
paihy, which 1 profess not 10 under
stand Tho locality was Will chosen. o.
ia easily seen hy ihoU who have paeeed
it Tho ~inclosin9 hilisidca Of tho arroyo
are covered with granite cairns md
theg rsay have snercst'd 30 Hodeson's
excited brain certain l~iciules from an
old Fart ct war. illustrating The de-
fenao OF stone structures. showing loop
holes and cronuiaied flrukiua Grrango-
monts cesily reproduced by imagination
from tho freaks erosion had played
anong tho patches ol bastard granite
now exposed and left lying like great
brown scars on the hato b0stm Of this
narrow valley.
Tho detachment halted On fording tho
Rio Ciia. and while OLcary WA wet
ting ard flling the hentprnnt's canteun
Hodgs0n's eyes were resting on a foot
aill overlooking his chosen valley. and
from 20 be YVES deploying his little
SQUAD IA rapid counter attack. Yes,
Ch1istopherson had at that momont been
surrounded, and lie was just in time to
protect the maiii
IN q moment ta6 Apachc5 were re-
pulsed, and he had saved from savage
hands his letter. He had picked it up
FROM the ground, where they had drop
ped il. Ycslft was the same old hand
writing on tho Same "old rose" paper
as always before. He was Just about 70
} open il when reason, for some u~naccoun-
, table freak, shone for an instant on Lis
vagary and asserted chat, ms Christie
phcrson broke onmp at Rillit0 arroyo on
, Friday morning, he could not possibly
have any concern with Apaches there on
Saturday AFTERNOON, and the absurdity
3 striking in his reyerio took on q moro
/ rational turn. OF course the mail had
been attacked there Friday morning,
: and now he had picked MP tho trail,
: was following it hot haste over the
rugged Superstition range and was
heading for tho four peaks Of the Mat
zatzala He had followed this t%ortuOus,
arid trail many days and was r~cscuinf
that precious letter, whilo his ~ tired
3 saddle horse, heading tho detachment
had borne him from Rio ella 10 Dillitg
: arroyo, az the road winds 10 miles.
Q Hodgson was not even aware that tx
Z was nearing the arroyo, so engrosset
o was he with his imaginative war chase
2 until O'Leary, riding close behind
called out, "Lootcnaut. they've been q
ut againp'
Starting from his roverio, Hodgsol
y saw white letters ard papers htterinl
the level road q few PAGES before thew
. Re rubbed his eyes to nssure himself
was not mirage, and as he rodo up s.
c that his horse stepped on them lac shrd
n derod at the uncanny coincidence
Spread before him was a fair reality Q
/ follics that for hours had controlled hi
d brain.
There was little 70 DO told. The mai
had been empticl. tho letters and pa
9 pers scattered about, but apparently M
touched. The blackboard. with trace
uncut, stood just as C~hristopherson ha
a left 10 WHOM camping two nights before
q The mules were gone, while under
2 cholla bush near q granite cairn, a fey
" yards from the blackboard, was the bod
N Of old Christophors0n lying mutilate
- and dis6gurcd. Near his body and 1
" front Of tho cairn, lying on the ground
ar wero q handful Of winchester shells
Thoy told tho story Of the fight. Tn
n old man had not been killed ct the frs
ID hostile shot, but had crept to the cairr
in returning the fire until his a~nimunido
r was exhausted Ills winchester, hat an
rs belt had been taken.
Ok Poor devill Poor devill' sal
o. OLcary as they placed tho mangle
be body on tina blackboard. "Oi'd niver Z
o. thought the onld sinner nd "a died
as game.
Ike At the same moment Hodgson W:
ye controlled by thoughts Of men whoI
% hses lead 70 danger performing BRAY
as acts Of plain duty in tho struggle f
70 material existence unassociated wit
glory. Tho i,lea was as new 70 him
~ It was wholesome. for this wa the fir
'1 time his experience had confronted 1t,
"a Then they picked ~ the mail az
- sent Il back BY two troopers, with t
z, body on the blackboard. Hodgson x q
~ inod the letters several times. Tho o.
he wanted did not come. That meni
NC another weeks waiting, so be vas Rl'
'u that meantime he could DO foilowil
the trail
In reality they made q dry camp
It that night in the foothills Of tho me
mountain range Lying ia tho veal
10 Of a western sunset, Hodgson had oft
~ viewed that most gorgeous pile OF tol
Of and ccioring known as Che 6uporstiti
aid range, and now that the trail led the
he felt glad. for heWished to visit
an Bat BY night they had lost the Tail
wa this arid fastnoss. and being al q
pa without water were barely able, wi
much suffering from THIRST 70 get fh.
3adod animals back to the Rio Gila j..
ght =
ito Hodgson had now seen four yea
Wn service. and nezt year, Il poker pr
but pored. ho oould 60 on leave. Already
could hold his own ia the game e