The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1896-04-11
THE CAPTAINS PREMONITION.

E 10 o'clock in the forenoon the val
~ ley suddenly narrowed; we had no
i y choice but to take the path leading
between two 1r-crowned ridges. We had
sighted Indians the day before, but the
night had passed without an alarm and
the morning had slipped along without
sight of a warrior Had the savages fig
ured it out that the 80 of us guarding the
10 wagons of clothing and provisions were
too strong for them, and that our keeping
so well closed up and on the alert made
the capture of stragglers impossible.
Halt" came the word from the head
of the column, and two men were sent
ahead to spy out the lay of the land.
They found the path only wide enough
for the wagons, leading toward and
away until it crossed a creek and was lost
in the gloom beyond. Not bird sang
from the branches-not a rabbit scurried
away in alarm There was the silence of
death along the path. Foot by foot, with
ears bent forward and nostrils dilating,
the horses of the scouts moved on and
their riders had the vigilance of men
whose lives might be snuffed out at any
moment
No danger along the path-no danger
lurking at the crossings of the creek. So
the scouts reported as they returned to
the column, and the captain had just
opened his lips to give the order to march
when wolf came running up the path
and dashed through the column. There
was fire in his eyes, but his tail was
down.
"Skeered! whispered an old veteran,
and by Injuns at that The wolf has
bin turned out of his lair by the redsr'
AN ambush down thar to wipe us out!'
whispered a second. The captain shaded
his eyes with his hands and peered for Il
moment. Then he quietly said:
Turn the wagons about and keep TO the
east till we strike another path Don't
hurry-don't shout Corporal French,
strike up 'Dixie's Land and you boys all
join in the chorusv'
In five minutes we were out OF the
mouth of the gorge and marching away
to the east on the level plain again, and
as we marched every trooper sang the
chorus of the lively song at the top of his
voice.
What is it? What did the captain see
down there?" was asked from man to
man.
The captain saw nothing. He was obey
ing an instant-one of those premonitions
which sometimes stops man in time to
prevent terrible tragedy The men
TESTED and sang, but now and then one
looked back over his shoulder and gave
the lie to the jest on his lips. No one had
seen anything-no one had heard any
thing. Miles away they found a safer,
If longer road and the fort was reached
at last without sight of an Indian. Around
the mess table they joked the captain for
backing out of the gorge and adding miles
to his journey.
"All on account of a scared wolf" said
one.
And scared at his own shadow at
that" added a second. The captain had no
reply, but to himself he wondered if he
had not been too cautious. 1t was months
later when a captive squaw told him a
tale All night long, as the wagon guard
lay sleeping, the hostile Indians were com
ing up by dozens and scores, and going
into ambush along the creek. They had
dug rifle pits-they had piled up logs and
stones-they We're hidden under the cedars
until over 800 of them lay waiting with
bated breath for the train to enter the
trap
When the last wagon and the last troop
er should have passed a certain spot. the
signal was to be given to open fire Three
hundred jets of flame. 300 bullets seeking
living targets. There would not have been
20 troopers left alive after the first volley.
At the end of five minutes every man
would have been dead, and the red de-
mons screaming in glee as they twisted off
the scalps. frightened wolf betrayed
the ambush. The train took another route
and was saved. For an hour or more the
Indians watched and waited, none daring
to move for fear of betraying his pres
ence. At last all realized that their game
had escapaed from the trap, and sullenly
and noiselessly the 300 moved down the
path. up the rise. into the cedars. where
their ponies were herded, and without
shout or curse or sound to be heard 10
yards away they mounted and rode away,
and the ridges hid them from view.-De-
trOit Free Press.