Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1895-07-17
.rne cRouwo OF TAE DEAD. /.
Bullets Were Not the Only Deadly
Things on This Night

Things ON This Night
We went into campe on . wooded
ridge to the west Of which was . DESC
late strip Of ground about . mile long
by half q mile wide. The soil was light
and without grass or bush. One could
not look down upon It without thinking
Of the ashes Of the dead. Beyond this
strip was the dry bed Of . creek: at
the foot Of our ridge was q creek not
vet run dry. e-.
Just at sunset two rabbits which had
been hiding in the bed Of the dry creek
came running towards Us in great af-
fright, though we could find no reason
for their action. Behind them came
q wolf and a fox. and We finally sus-
pected that an Indian scout had crawl
ed down the bed Of the stream from
the bills to ascertain our strength and
spy out the lay Of the camp. Sentinels
were posted on that side Of the camp
ut an early hour, with Instructions to
exercise the greatest vigilance, and as
| we rolled ourselves in our blankets
each man placed his carbine and revol
yer where they could be seized at a mo
Tent's notice.
| At midnight the sentinels heard
strange sounds from that ground Of
the dead" as some had named it 1t
was Q sound akin to that made by
grasshoppers as they swarm over the
earth. dsvouring every green thing as
they advance Ten minutes later three
! or four rabbits came rushing across the
strip and through the sleeping camp,
| but the sentinels saw nothing In pur-
suit. The rabbits were followed by
half & dozen coyotes, and a minute
later a wolf down by the dry creek set
up a great yelping, as II wounded by
bullet or arrow. At half past IL the
sentinels heard faint splashes In the
creek at he base of the ridge. but they
looked in vain for sight of man or anil
NAL. They finally decided that the
noise was made by beavers swimming
about, and the half-formed idea of
calling out the corporal Of the guart
! vas abandoned.
At o'clock there were sixty Indian
braves crouched n the bed Of the dry
creek opposite our camp. They had
crept and crawled and skulked a dis
tance Of two miles to reach the posi-
ton. The scout had reported that VIC
were the paymasters escort-twelv0
troopers and paymaster and clerk. An
Apache indian always wants scalp and
money, but seldom finds the combina-
ton. Here 1t was on this night, and
sixty to fourteen ought to win. especial.
ly as they planned on a sudden and
complete surprise. Fourteen scalps
5000 In cash, fourteen saddle horses,
four mules and an ambulance, with an
outfit Of carbines, revOlvers. overcoats,
blankets and small stuff-that was the
prize. Its taking would enrich the
whole tribe and crown every warrior
with q laurel wreath.
At half past 1 the warriors formed
for the charge-sixty men In a single
line. The light, ashy soil OF the ground
Of tho dead" muffied their footsteps
and the darkness hid them from view.
The bark Of q wolf was to be the sig
at least half way to the ridge before
discovery. At the flash Of the senti- |
nel's carbine they would raise their
warcry, dash ahead with new impetus
and they might figure on finding at
least half the white men dazed and |
confused from the sudden awakening |
and therefore easy prey for bullet or
tomahawk. At a quarter Of 2 the sig. |
nal Is given and the line dashes away |
as one man. 1t Is half way across the |
field Of desolation when warrier |
cries out-then another and another
and the sentinels fire their carbines |
and shout an alarm. The line dashes |
ahead, but mingled with war Fhoops |
are cries Of alright, and the line bends |
and wavers and is broken 1t reaches |
the creek under the steady fire Of the |
sentinels-a few warriors leap the
stream and utter shouts Of victory
Twenty seconds after the alarm is Civ.
en- every sleeper Is on his feet with |
weapons In hand. Five seconds later |
every man Is pulling trigger on the
black objects swarming up the hillside |
1t Is a strange battle. inasmuch for
every war whoop there Is a scream OF
shrek. It Is over in two minutes and |
the Indians are retreating-all who
cries cease, but the strange cries and
shr1eks ring in our ears for tho next
ten minutes. Two wounded Indians
creep up the hillside into camp and
beg to be taken prisoners, and they
look down upon the ground Of the
dead" and shiver like children who
hear a strange sound in the darkness
We ask them to explain, but they can
rot
Morning comes with a mist hanging
over the desolate strip. The sun comet
up to drive 1t away, and then the mys.
terry Is solved. There are four dead
warriors between us and the creek-all
killed by our bullets. There are six
more dead beyond the other bank.
Half way the the bed Of the dry creek
are three more. On the bank of the
stream is a single one. and we doubt
not that under the bank, hidden from
our sight, are yet other corpses in war.
paint and feathers We stand and starr
and wonder, but only for a moment be
fore finding the solution The "grount
of the dead' Is swarming with cent?.
pedes and serpents, driven from the
plains to the west by the continued
drought They came before the line of
warriors, and they had slaked their
thirst and were lying about in scores
to be trodden on and In turn to use
their deadly stings and fangs.-M
Quad in Detroit Free Press.
To Put Out Potato Eyes.
NJ. Schraibau, of the French 1nstituti
Agronomo, has discovered a means Of
potato eyes from shooting,
which will be Of great value to potato