The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-10-09

cape by flight. The thin shoes on the
girls feet had almost been cut away
in going that short distance. and ex-
posure and exhaustion had made her
weak. AS the cry reached their ears
they were pushing along at the foot Of
a cliff forty or fifty feet high. and the
next morning the lieutenant uttered an
exclamation of satisfaction. He had
discovered the mouth Of a cave at the
base of the cliff, and lying about it
were carloads of bowlders which had
fallen from the crest.
I'VE must stop here and make fight
for it, he said, as he half carried her
to the opening. In with you and find
a place to sit down, and ! will block the
entrance"
The tourist who visits "Haskells
Cave" as it is called, will find a narrow
opening for a few feet. with turn to
the left and then a chamber twenty
feet square. There are others and
larger ones in the same cliffs, but none
with history. The girl passed through
into the chamber and fell on the rocky
floor, and after ten minutes hard work
the officer had the entrance securely
blocked against rush. When he had
seen to this he spoke few encourag-
ing words to the girl and then set him
self to watch for the Indians. He had
not long to wait. Five half-naked and
war-painted redskins came along on
their trail at q run, and the first in
timation they had of the presence of
the fugitives was bullet. which tum-
bled one Of them over. Army officers
believe In getting in the first knock
down in fight, and Haskell had not
waited to be first shot at. The surviv-
ing Indians sought places of safety and
opened fire on the barricade, while
messenger was sent off to bring the
rest of the band up. BY ten o'clock
they We're all there-Red Deer and
twenty or more warriors who had
broken away from the reservation four
or five days before. and whose raid of
murder and rapine had set five hundred
soldiers from different posts securing
the country. Red Deer was a fighter.
The trail showed that only a man and
a woman had passed into the cave. The
woman didn't count. Twenty Indians
ought to have him out at the first dash.
There should be no parlcying-nO de-
mand for surrender. When the officer
saw that an attack would soon be made
he went back To the girl and cautioned
her to keep clear of the bullets which
might enter.
Are they going to attack" she
asked.
Il think So"
Then my place is with you. Give me
a pistol
His protests We're useless. Side by
side they knelt behind the baricade,
and they We're hardly ready when the
Indians rushed. To do so. they had to
leave any sort of cover behind and en-
pose themselves In open. No mat
ter whether the girls shots were all
wasted or some of them told-the lieu-
tenant had no lead to throw away.
Crack! crack! crack! went his pistol.
and the rush was failure. Four dead
bucks lay in full view as the smoke
lifted, and there We're two Ur three
wounded to crawl away. Red Deer was
furious and his warriors thirsted for
furious and his warriors thirsted for
other rush. The rapidity OF the fire
from the besieged proved that the
woman could also handle pistol. The
redskins scattered about. and for an
hour kept up q hot fire on the entrance
of the cave. and then two or three ex-
posed themselves to witness results. A
bullet in the shoulder rewarded tht.
nearest one. Half an hour later all the
Indians gathered on the edge of the
cliff above the cave and began to col
lect and throw down dead leaves and
limbs of logs and whatever would
make a fierce fire. 1t was safer to
smoke the pair out than face the revol-
vefs. The work had been going on for
a quarter of an hour when it suddenly
ceased. Then came yells and shouts
and shots. and then the gang of cow
boys and prospectors hired by John
Livingstone came galloping up. ready
to fight Indians or outlaws, and the
siege was over. There was q running
fight with the Indians for five miles up
the valley, and Red Deer and q dozen
of his young men never returned to
the reservation, but that was a side
issue. Horses We're provided for the
lieutenant and the girl. and at a late
hour that evening she was restored to
her fathers arms. The officer made