The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-11-18
Tale of a Deserter.
(From Chambers Journal. In Four Parts.)
PART /.

L
brothers to time The voice of the prophet
| the voice Of Eilskwatawa-the fire tina!
| rushes through the iand-had shrieked de-
nunciations, and foretold the doom Of the
| invader of the red mans territory. the
exterminator of the red mans race. Ev-
erywhere throughout the Gulf region the
| dogs of war were loose, and two races few
| savagely at one another's threats. Ham
| lets burned; villages. abandoned, fell il
ruins; white men, horribly tortured. suffer
/ ed at the stake; red men fell in their
| thousands shot, bayoneted, bludgeoned,
until at last thesfury of the unequal con-
| test slackened, and the Indians. broken and
| despa:ring, their trusted leaders slain or
| captive laid down their arms and swung
sullenly from the land of their fathers
It was early m 1872 that Gen. Floyd.
with his little army OF Georgian volunteers
and 400 friendly Indians, took up his po-
sition on the heights above the swamps
of the Ch.Ilibee in Alabama. 1t was sup
posed that a large force of Creeks was
lurking in the vicinity, though the keenest
eyes among the scouts had hitherto failed
TO discover the exact whereabouts Of the
cunning foe. But Floyd was too good a
soldier and too experienced in Indian war
fare TO be deceived by appearances; and.
Notwithstanding the outward calm,. made
most careful preparations against surprise.
Pickets were doubled, patrols moved in
cessartly 10 and fro; and. though wearied
by his long march, a brief hour of sleep
was all the watchful commander allowed
himself to snatch.
Far away on the outermost line of sem
tries Amos Duerden stood on guard. SILL
as statue, he leaned against the trunk
.,,%n 10 n llr
darkness that surrounded him, or strained
his, ears to catch the faintest sound that
might break the oppressive stiffness. Brav-
est where all were brave, strong OF muscle
and stout of heart, there was no one in
his, army in whom Floyd reposed more
confidence than in Amos Duerden; none
who might be trusted so well to stand firm
and do his duty, though death came TO him
in the doing. Therefore, il was that he
had been selected for this lonely outpost,
the most dangerous of ALL where his firm
ness and knowledge of the country would
stand the white men in good stead against
the craft of their dusky foes.
Yet were the thoughts of Amos not alto
gether with the army. Twenty miles away
TO the northwest lay little village, never
destined to attain to the dignity OF town,
which bore the picturesque Indian name
Whispering Pines. Towards this Duerden's
heart turned as he kept his watch; for
there, waiting until the war should be
over, waiting in fear and trembling for
her lovers safety, lived Agnes Brotherton,
his wife that was to be.
No wonder Amos was anxious, for rumor
had it that Whispering Pines was in the
track of the Creek advance, and If that
were So He put the thought from him
as one too horrid to be entertained.
Away to his right a brook murmuring
mysteriously, rolled through the black
ness; but save for that slumberous sound,
all was still Ahead, behind, in front, all
around was inky black; but above, through
the dark boughs Of the pines, the stars
looked down upon the watcher, and ever
and anon, one fell, streaming Ike a signal
rocket athwart the sky.
"-'Tis monstrous dark here" thought
Amos Strengthening mis- tall form, and
grasping his musket firmly at the sound
of twig swapping somewhere away TO
the left. "A man might be slain mere ere
he knew he was attacked" Then, as 81
lence reigned once more, 81 trust all is well
with them at Whispering Pines. If Agnes
and her mother had but followed my ad
vice and moved north out of this accused
country, / should have no fear. AS it
is"
Again a twig snapped suddenly-this
time at MS very feet; and, almost before
he could recall his struggling thoughts. a
dark form rose swiftly from the ground,
and hand was laid lightly upon his lips.
Steady" breathed a voice in his ear.
so low that he could scarcely catch the
articulate words. Steady AIS well!
I'm Rivington. Who are you?" Before
Amos could reply the man went on: The
are coming on in force. They
are not much more than five miles away,
They have swept through Whispering
Pines, and cleaned out the village. Not
a soul left, I'm told. But they brought
away some women prisoners. Agnes
Brotherton is one Of them. If you see Du-
erden, tell him. I'm off 10 let the General
know. 1 think they'll attack about day. |
break
He dropped to the ground, and glided ]
away, while for an instant Amos drew |
himself up against his tree, stiff with hor- |
ror. There could be no mistake; Mark Riv- |
erton was too careful scout for that, and |
ne was an old friend of Duerden's, too. |
Hence his anxiety TO impart his fateful |
news TO the first man he met. And the |
enemy was but five miles away, and COM
ng on in force The camp would be at
tackled. What of that? What was that /
% him? Agnes! Agnes was in the hands
If the brutal redskins. RiHngton had |
heard that, and yet had done nothing to
ave her. In the bitterness OF his grief |
md dismay Amos cursed the friend who,
rot recognizing him in the dark, had i'm
parted the grewsome news.
As these wild thoughts coursed through
=
startled him. No rushing branch nor snap
ling twig this time, but a dull, smashing
ound, low moan, and silence. Then a
sudden rush, swish. a sharp thud "a
he keen blade of a tomahawk was buried
Il the trunk of a tree an inch from his
ace, and Amos found himself Rugged
gainst the brawny chest of a greasy saw
ge whose hot breath painted against MS
heck, and who strove nightly TO bring
i'm to the ground His musket dropped
0 the ground at the shock; but with a
wist Amos freed his left arm and drove
lis knife deep into the throat of his as
ailant, who sank with gurgling sob TO
be ground.
One muttered Amos, grinly, and
waited for the next. But none came and
resently he became aware that. whatever
is purpose, the Indian had been alone.
hen il flashed upon hinl-'Rivertonl The
edskin was after him. The spy had been
pied upon. Mark, where Is hep
Cautiously he moved in the direction OF
hat first oninous sound. Not far. for
re he had gone a dozen PAGES his foot
truck against something soft and yield
lg. He stopped down, cropping. and his
and touched the body OF a man. He fel;
Dr. the face, and drew back his hand wet
18th something warm. And then he knew.
lis friend, Mark Rivington, bold and |
rusty scout. lay dead beside dim. slain
v one more crafty than himself
One moment Amos spared 10 lament his