The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1897-08-13

hud i ihuuHut / know lnr more ui Inc
diaus than old Flaihcrty, who had been
in The service nearly thirty years The
mule continued o. act Ike frightened
child, and about noon refused Co 90 by
throwing himself un the ground re.
garlleas of harness. aud hfaying boz tho
lUudpst touca The men tried cUaXiuU,
then lho whip. hutuIl 90 u0 avail "Hg
Hpakes tho tbuth iu hi1 way, Lootin.
iui, " said FlaheIly, in what seemed 90
me patouizing tone owed better
prepare for ava attack; I'm au old
soldier, sir, and / know phwat an IN.
dian surprise Is. Itmaucs trouble.
Pardon me, Lootiuin,. for tryiu' 10
give me commaudin' officer orders"
i felt very foolish and angry when /
found myself obeyiug Flaherty and
stopping my command for the pIauks
OF a mule. ordered the mento make
q baricade OF sand and sage-brush
branches, and corralled our mules be-
hind IL; in front of them we put tho
ambulance. and wagon for as TO hide
behind, so as 20 keep from the enemy
the fact that we numbered only fifteen
al told. We remained in this wmlike
attitude for nearly an hour; then dis
gusted with what / thought my folly,
/ gave orders for the mules 10 be har-
messed and our command 10 move on
The words were scarcely out Of my
mouth when, CHANGING towards the
/ road leading 10 our left, / saw q cloud
Of sand. i turned to Flaherty, who
stood by my side eying me reproach-
fully and sullenly What's that?" /
asked. cts the red men that Frisky
and said were coming, sir. IT'S the
beginnin' az the circus" In n few
moments we were surrounded by about
fifty hideously painted Indians on
their ponies, galloping around MS and
giving us the full benefit of their war
like yells. Fortunately, they were not
as well armed as we were; if they had
been, our time in this world would
have been short As it was, our men
had to fight like tigers. The struggle
lasted a little less than an hour.
During that time / lived through
days, it was all so new, strange, and
horrible to me. / was but twenty
two, and very much Of a boy at that.
My youth and inexperience seemed
strangely out of keeping with my at
tempts to give orders 90 men who
had spent more than half their lives
fighting Indians. So, after giving a
few, I turned the plan of battle over
to the Sergeant and Flaherty. The
latter was in his element, and showed
the greatest courage, GOODNESS and
observation-disclosures 1 have ever seen.
After every shot he fred he would call
out in slow tones: Faith, an is it me
red scalp We want to illewminate yer
wigwams? Well, take a pace of cowld
lead insthead," Coon a litthle
closer, We red snakes, Frisky an me
want to pay a debt we owe ye;" and
he would fire away deliberately, with
sure and deadly aim. Owing to his
bravery and that of the other men we
came out conquerors, and felt very
light-hearted when we saw what was
left of the red men Disappearing over
the hill, leaving their dead and
wounded behind them.
The men lost no time in Harvesting
the mules, packing the wagon and
moving on. After the last Indian had
disappeared, Frisky regained his Gus
tomary spirits and activity, and was
the hero of the hour, for we all appre-
ciated the fact that had it not been for
his warning we would have been mas
sacred in the wagon. That night Wa
put twenty-five miles between us and
the battlefield, and save for slight
fesh-wound on my arm, and a grazed
spot underneath Flahertys red hair,
we were none the worse. Soon after
/ reached Washington L sent Frisky a
gold medal; on it was engraved For
Frisky the wisest mule that ever
lived. He wore it fastened to the
: collar of his harness until he died.
Our Animal Friends.