The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1897-04-23

place, rifle iu hand, between two meus
and for bali an hour We expected "a
sudden rush. AZ tao cod Of that time
q single warrior appeared 81 view %
tbs base oil the h.ll. aul. Ia broken
English. demanded unr surrender,
The sergeant answered him that we
wore ready lor them. ant "A Che Same
time fred Il shot which rolled the red
skins pony over. Three minutes later
there was circle of ire about as
indians had mounted into trees 90 the
right and left Of as 90 get piuugiug
fire. and from tho tops Of tao lower
hills they poured in thoir bullets at
random. We simply crouched down
behind the rocks aud smoked our
pipes. pleased that they we're throwing
away their cartridges. 40 tho end OF
au hour they ceased firing, Not a
man OF MS had been touched, but stray
bullets bad killed one Of the mules
and wounded two horses. There would
be- a rush now, aud o. NO made ready
for It the coloneps wife sank down be-
side me and quietly said
"I'ye tumbIed over sage hens aud
jack rabbits, and ought to be able
to hit an Indian. DO ! look fight.
ened?'
''You are a. white IS q ghost,
ma'am," ! answered, Is / turned 70
her.
'But I'm al right, she smiGngly
said, "and here they come"
So they did. With every painted
warrior yelling at the top Of his voice,
the entire band charged rs al once,
taking in the whole circle. 1t was not
until they got close up that We could
see anything to shoot at, and every
few seconds the sergeant cried out 10
MS to hold our fire. 1t was over in a
minute. They did not expect TO find
US intrenched, and We knocked them
over like ninepins.
believe We killed or wounded a full
score, and it took the fight out of
them so thoroughly that not q rifle
was fred at as again until afternoon.
Then, soon after two o'clock, and
without the slightest warning, we we're
charged again, and for three minutes
it was a wild melee. We fred into
their very faces as they spTang upon
the defenseg. and two warriors were
shot down inside our fort, and both
by the colonel's wife. It was their
final and supreme effort. and we'll 1t
was for Us that it was thus. When We
had beaten them off Sergeant Gregg
and another man lay down, four men
we're badly wounded, and they had
cut our animals out of the gulch and
run them Off Had the attack lasted
a minute longer, or been renewed, two
men and O woman would Rlone have
opposed it. And among the queer
things of that last dash was the be-
havior of the colonels wife. With my
own eyes saw her shoot down the two
warriors who leapod the breastwork,
and believe she killed two or three
more outside of it, and yet, when the
attack had been repulsed, the little
woman fell over in u dead faint, and
for ten minutes we believed her dead
from bullet. When she came back
to life she had fit of weeping, and
when that was over she turned to and
attended our hurts and was ready fol
another brush.
We put in another nighi right there
not knowing that the Indians had
drawn off, but soon after sunset next
morning we're relieved of all anxiety
by the appearance of a scout, whC
passed on and sent US aid from tn,
fort The colonel's wife did not ge
down to the railroad, for that was tn,
opening of a war which lasted TO
months, but there was no blame at
tached to any of the living who re
turned with her. On the contrary, tn
old martinez of colonel took eacl
one of us by the hand, breaking ovel
} military etiquette" once more in hi
life, and said:
, "You did we'll, nay man, and here
my hand on it, and l won't forge
you !"-Buialo Times.