The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-04-03
Stories of an inland State.

| The MexicanS stood ready, weapons Il
hand. The sun was high in the heavens
1t was probably eleven o'clock AROUND
and around the Indians raced, drawing al
most imperceptibly nearer at each revolu
ton. Suddenly, they darted in. The his:
of the feathered arrows warned the Mexi
cans, for they dropped to their knees be
bind the beasts. Two of the burros wer,
wounded. One of these began to groar
With pain. One Mexican arose and dis
charged his musket. Tejada crawled an
grily over to him and shook him by tbs
| shoulders.
Fool he cried. you shot blindly. HOLD
| your firev'
Then Tejada crept back to his place
again. The Indians were again circling
and now they came down with a rush. TIE
iada Hyid with rage, arose and fired his
pistol. One of the foremost Indians top
pied from his horse.
Tejada smiled. then grasped his arm and
crouched in agony. An arrow had buried
its head and mis- shoulders.
THE uniforms spoiled said Tejada al
most gaily. do the devils poison Their
arrows? Here Miguel
The Mexicans met the rush OF the In.
| dams with a rafting fire and Miguel stand
| ing prominently among the rest and for
getting for the moment his fear, fell back
| ward on the grass, stung by an arrow in
the arm.
I'VE have no priest" he cried. "I an
| dying"
Get up, you coward" cried Tejada "You
| are not hurt. Here, Pull this arrow out
| quick, The Indians are falling back. Here
| pull it out, Ugh! Let me jerk that from
your arm, Here hold still, can't you?"
| Miguel fell back to the ground bowling
with pain.
| Down on your bellies, you" cried Te-
| jada seeing that four of the beasts were
down on the side of the attack
The natural leader dropped himself.
| This is play" he said to his comrades
But what is troubling me. If they kill all
| our beasts how are We to get out of this ?
| Morelos, have a carei"
| Morelos heard the warning and at the
same time dropped forward on his face,
an arrow through his heart. 1t was an ar
row that he been shot at an distance and
| came down in a curve.
| He don't move" observed Tejada Hes
| done for. A dead body may save a live
one''
| He crawled over to the wounded man and
rolled his body up on fallen burro.
Here they come again." he cried. Fire
| now, your best Santa Maria, here is kindl-
ing wood for somebody. Santiago, In the
shoulder again. Miguel pull it out What,
! Miguel. are you ended so soon? Two bodies
are better than oner' He pulled the limp
| form of Miguel pierced with dozen arrows
| in the back, upon the body of Morelos
| MY best men gone, This is getting serious
| Juarez, there, why are you leaning on the
| beast so? Back of us too. The devils.
.;uareZ, stand upr' But Juarez did not
| answer. Dead too. The ammunition does
not go so fast. Here is a mathematical
problem for her majesty's pedagogue VIII
FIVE men with ten rounds of ammunition
| each make a better fight than ten men
with six rounds each. Oh, you devils,
There goes another Mexican. There is a
surplus of weapons here. Santa Maria, how
bold they arel 1 believe I've killed the
only redskin. There. one in my back where
l can not reach it, And none to pull it out
They have gone down like swine. A pref
ty company! Lord, how that arrow hurtsI"
So the leader of the band talked TO him
self. The Indians had circled clear around
the camp. The air was full of glinting,
gliding arrows. One after another the Mex
leans had dropped in their tracks with ar
backs. One or two were grooming piteous-
~ and ploughing the ground with their
heels.
Tejada alone was left fighting, loading
and charging his pistol again and again
with mechanical GOODNESS. He continued:
and Christina. How does she fare?
What ais the weapon? Fooll The stock
outward. I would have killed myself Here
the devils yen Where IS the powder. I
am down. Where Is the pistol. Tejada.
my son. 1t Is wet here! Tejada, my con,
Tejada-'
He sprawled in the grass, greasy with
blood, and was silent.
AS Black Wolf sent his last arrow at his
fellen foe he turned and saw beside him
the boy. Running Bull. The approaching
horseman whom he had sighted before the
fight now came to his mind. What did the
papoose mean?
Running Bull. feverish with the desire
TO distinguish himself in the lodge, had
secretly followed the hunters. all morning.
He came UP as the fight was concluded.
He had Invested himself OF everything but
moccasins. He wore no clout as the men.
He was not allowed to hunt with the men,
Hence Black VOLTS establishment.
Now another sight caught the warriors
eye. From out the white mans vehicle
leaped a most beautiful white woman, who
extended her arms In suppliance.
Christina. lying breathlessly with her
babe IN the box OF the vehicle had listened
TO the combat without. and when It had
ceased she had made a resolve. Here were
savages. probable victors. but they were
her deliverers from the worse than savage
man VINO had attacked her. So she leaped
out IN a sort OF despairing hope, leaving
her baby In the vehicle.
When the beautiful woman stood before
them the Indians IN their change of tone
and expression gave way to a rare thing
among Indians-surprise.
They ceased firing and looked astonlshet.
Here was captive.
But as they stood there dum-founded.
Running Bull leaped from his pony. HIS
dark skin elinted as the muscles of his HI
tie legs and arms and shoulders contracted
and the long straight arrow In his bow
drew back til its barbed head touched the
crescent wood. Then with intu!tive aim.
he let fly, the bow-st-ing sang ard the az
row sped invisibly IN the sunlight. ana
struck the woman in the breast. pucker-
ing the loose tc'ds OF her dress and pierced
her heart.
The Indians turned ssvagely or the hasty
boy. But only 4 moment, for fl came 10
them as good joke and they laughed IN
the boisterous savage Indian way
Now they disnounted and crept STEALTH
" upon the murdered Mexicans. Now they
scalped them. each man examining the
fatal arrows for his own notch in the fea;h-
er. Running Bull counted coup and took
the long hair OF the beautiful Christina
Now they ransacked the camp and took
everything. stripped the dead. Finding the
silver dollars. which, not being the coin OF
the United States. they dumped them to-