Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-12-12

.i 20 more bucks, and you have no show" "Jim!" called the sergeant, when he had recovered somewhat from his sur prise, "are you talking dead square?"
 Mol" was the renly. ''The force is the same as yesterday, with five on top, who joined last night There are six of you, and you can stand them off for week"
 The Indian beside the captive nut tered threats, evidently suspicious of his words which he could not fully understand but Brisbane continued:
 "Let lem do with me as they will, but do you hold the camp. Their idea is to wipe us all out. You might shoot this brute beside me, but there are two others behind that bush over there who would do for me. You won't sur render. I am 10 tell Little Bear that and let him do his worst"
 But how can we save you, Jim2. shouted the sergeant.
 There is no way. Make ready for a row and fight to the last, It serves me right for not being on the watch yesterday. GoodLby, boys, and do the best you can, and tell lem at the fort how it was with me"
 He turned and was soon hidden from view, and we at once began prepara- tions for defense. As I said at the start, we could be approached only from the front, and all six of us felt ourselves match for double the num- Der of Indians we might look for. For half an hour we heard nothing more from the redskins. Then, from a point down the valley hidden from our sight, came walls and cries of pain and distress, as though the soldier were being tortured. Our first thought was to rush out, but after listening more closely all declared that the tones were those of an Indian, and that the plan was to draw us into an ambush. When it was found useless, the cries ceased, and an hour later Brisbane appeared on the same spot as before, having the same Indian with him. At the bidding Of his guard he shouted:
 Little Bear has been joined by 20 more warriors, and unless the ser geant surrenders himself, all will be killed. You are to have half an hour in which to make up your minds
 Are you prevarieating, Jim?' asked the sergeant, in reply, using term which he knew the Indian would not understand.
 "The biggest kind!" shouted the captive. Divide the number of full company of soldiers by ten and you have the right figure. Don't be hum- bugged into a surrender"
 But what will become of you if we don't?"
 Makes no difference. Be prepared for rush and giveI blazes!e
 The soldier spoke $ ast the Indian could not follow him, out, suspecting something wrong, the Indian led him away. We pitied Brisbane, but could do nothing for him. We had no thought of surrender, and were sure we could beat off any attack We lay waiting and ready until close upon noon, when Brisbane suddenly appeared at the mouth of the valley, and running to- wards our camp at the top of his speed. Behind him were the Indians, who had planned 1t that way, think ing we would hesitate to fire for fear | of killing our comrade. That was just what happened, and but for a strange thing the band would have been upon us before a gun was fired. Thirty or 40 feet down the valley was shalSy spot in the ground. We had noticed it in walking over the spot, but appre- hended no danger. As the Indians charged, they came in a solid body, and on reaching the spot the earth suddenly gave way, and all went out of sight in an instant, while Brisbane fell forward, hung to the edge of the caye-in for a moment, and then dis 1 appeared. A crust of earth about 30 feet square had given way, and when we rushed out it was to look down into a hole 30 feet deep and see the Indians at the bottom ot it. Two were killed by the fail, and two others were badly hurt; Brisbane's neck was broken as he landed at the | bottom. No body of Indians ever re- ceived a greater surprise, and all their | thoughts of fighting were gone at onee We saw plainly enough that the roots of several trees growing on either side of the valley had stretched across and interlaced to hold up the earth over what had once been natural sink. It must have been years and years before the crust was thick enough to hold up a man, but it had finally become strong enough for that, though not for the weight of Il men rushing upon it. The Indians looked upon it as a trap set for their destruction by the great Manitou, and were frightened into helplessness for time. The only way for them to get out was to be hauled out. We got the ropes, and first drew up the body of our comrade. This we looked carefully over, and found that the poor fellow had not been gashed or tortured, as we all feared would be the case. Next, we made them send up their rifles, tomahawks and knives. and their own dead and injured One red-slSin had a leg broken and bad