The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1896-10-17
now THE WORLD wAGs.

blue waters of the lake rehectively.
Yes he said at last. i'm answer to my
question. ''T believe soldiers. as rule,
are superstiuous. The life they live has
a tendency to make them so. There is
much solitude particularly in the frontier
service and the man who is long alone
with nature becomes imbued with her
mysteries You can easily imagine
soldier on guard at night-a soldier OF
today-keeping pace with the modernity
of his times listening to the whisperngs
of the prairie breeze with much the same
feeling with which Joan OF Arc listened
| to the voices of the troubled air OF
| France. Yes, we are superstitiOuS-but
we grow into it. Ask any yOungster
! fresh from West Point the same question
you have given me. and he will in1ig-
| nantly resent 1t. In fact, the Mississippi
cuts my assertion in two as I implied
when ! answered YOU. But station the
! young lieutenant in the shadow of the
I Rockies for a score of years and transfer
! the social lines of the eastern garrisons
/ to the mountain jungles, and arid plains
for as long. and their answers win be
the same as mine
| ~ have known many soldiers to go 20
their death with a fun knowledge shat
their hour had come" continued the
! captain. You have no doubt, heard your
| father tell of such instances coming to
! his notice in the volunteer service. 1T
has often been my duty to listen to the
last Instructions of a comrade standing
i'm perfect health and manly courage be-
fore me on the eve of battle as he
quietly gathered little keepsakes of wife
or child or sweetheart, and prepared
them 90 be shipped eastward at the close
of another day. with my added words
as to how and where he died. All! ;hece
ore sad hours i'm a soldiers life.
you have heard Of handsome Phillip
Carleton, of the cavalry, haven't
1
loved him. He and ] we're the David and
Jonathan OF the regiment We had beer
through some pretty slVttish seasons to
gether in a couple of Indian campaigns
But at last there came time wher
hOstilties were suspended, and we were
free from all apprehensions of another
, | uprising, as the last retreat Of the In
dams had left them weakened and out
wardly, submissive. We had gone bach
to the post a fortnight before the time
of which / am about to tell YOU, and Tho
life and gayety there had made us forge
: the dangers we had so recently passed
! through. My youngest sister, my little
p Nellie, was visiting me -"
r The captain rose and walked across th'
room. his strong face quiverng in intens
y emotion. He controlled himself by
= | strong effort after a little while. AM
resumed, with an occasional break Il
= his deep voice;
: ''Phil had met Nellie when he carrie,
= | me home with a shattered arm ant
shoulder two years before. and this da,
- as we rode out to inspect the outpost
- the dear fellow told me Of the love 70
- her 1 had seen i'm his honest eyes for s
= long. and / had grasped his hand an
called him brother with the firm con
- Victon that 1 was placing my best be
& loved in the care of as true and brave
! soldier and gentleman as the army eve
y knew. Upon this dav secure, as we fell
from attack by the redskins, we talke
10 much of love and happiness of the future
- 1t had been a perfect afternoon and a
we rode slowly along homeward we weT
both impressed with the glory of the sur
set. The October air had a pecula
spicy fragrance. and the twilight hun
above us like a transparent veil of gOlde
tissue bordered with amethyst Cloake
in their purple shadows. the mountain
lifted their white and solemn faces
the light like priests before an altar. an
only our horses rhythmic footsteps di
turbed the perfect stiffness all around.
Suddenly Phil gave n slight eXclam;
- ton and turned his startled eyes at m
- The buttons on his blouse from thro;
q. to breast had fallen from him as thoug
- cut by a knife and were now rolling upC
the ground. He leaped from his hor!
and as he stopped to pick the buttons l
a little wood-dove fiuttered, dying, at h
l feet.
~ Frank? he cried hoarsely and que
tioningly, Frankg He lifted the lit
o creature to his breast, and with his IA
white and limbs trembling, leaned again
his horse for support
as That's nothing, old fellow 1 sal
with a heartiness 1 could not feel. s
X the telegraph wires are just overhea
The bird struck them and fell. You mu
make your striker account for the bu
at tons coming off, He laid the dead bi
r. down very gently and sprang into Z
saddle, and we rode along quite silent
N. until we neared the reservation. Pl
looked up into the glorious western sky
zee This is a great closing scene for
an life, Frank, he said simply. No u: