The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-11-12
A DEATH VENTURE.

Captain William S. O'Neill of the rough
riders, the author of the following story
fell at.Santiago in the forefront OF pauIle'
In the Apache Indian reservation In
Arizona were mines from which the In
dams in the old days obtained silver from
which thew nodded bullets. At that time
four men went to prospect for these mines
OF these four men, one was larry Bar
rett He was young and had, as many
Young men have and as all young men
sbouid have, girl with whom he was
very much in love and to whom he was
engaged to be married. 1t was probably
this more than anything else that made
him SO DESTROYS of growing suddenly rich
nv finding the treasure mines of the
Apaches, for when young man, is truly
in love his greatest regret is that he does
not own the wealth of the Indies and pos
sess the power of the czar to augment his
Importance in the eyes of the woman in
whom he is SO deeply interested. When
the day came for the party to start out on
their search, he was the most light hearted
of all, especially when he Jagged behind to
kiss his hand to the girl for whose sake he
desired wealth and who stood at the door
of her fathers house watching him, while
she saw in vision the beautiful things that
the future had in store for them both.
The wealth that Harry might discover was
not necessary to make her pictures of the
future bright. If she only could have
Harry, that was sufficient, and when he
had passed from her sight she turned
away, humming the song he most liked
while thinking of the pleasures that await
ed his return.
1,ad 1<.nT mr..
of Indian disturbances. There had been
peace on the reservation so long that men
had ceased to give its dangers a thought,
as men who live in the shadows of yolca-
noes live day after day unthinking OF the
hour that win find them buried beneath
its lava. To the undertaken nothing is SO
commonplace as DEATH while the heads
man in time sees nothing notable in an
execution, save whether or not the ak finds
its way through one neck easier than
through another. And SO it is with dan
ger, for when it is ever present, men grow
callous to it, no matter how great it may
be. So it was with Harry Barrett and his
comrades. While the girl who was await
ing his return might have occasionally
thought of the risks that the little party
ran the men never felt any anxiety, or if
they did subdued it without openly ex-
pressing it.
For the first few days they found indi-
cations of rich silver deposits indications
that were SO rich that they made per-
manent camp, intending to examine the
lodges that crisscrossed the country thor
oughly. They had seen no Indians and
expected none. One day, though, as they
sat at dinner shot came from out of the
pines, and before the echo had died away
it was followed by score of Others. Old
jeff Bramlett dropped the tin plate from
which he was eating on the ground, not
abruptly, but so gently that it hardly
made sound. and as it fell he apparently
made an effort to rise to his feet, only to
fall face forward into the fire, where still
simmered the uneaten portion of the noon
day meal
The three remaining men sprang to
their feet unframed and rushed to seek
cover behind trees and powders, picking
up their arms that came nearest to their
hands. As Barrett passed the fire he drew
from it tho body of the old man. The face
was covered with ashes and blood, while
the long hair and open shirt were smoking
from the contact with the GOALS The limp
body and relaxed jaw told how suddenly
death had come.
AS the young man threw the body to
one side from the fire and sank under the
cover of bowlder he glanced in the direc'
ton from which the shots had come, but
could see nothing. AS he watched there
would occasionally rise puffs of white
smoke, followed by the report of rife,
and he would fire in return. Through the
whole afternoon never once did he see an
Indians face or form. After the first sur
prise the three had called to one another
and were rejoiced to know that none was
hit The Oldest had taken the direction
of affairs
Hold your ammunition and wait until
tonight, and then we will break back for
the canyon and try to reach the settle
ments There are too many of them for
US to stand off, - he said, and so through
the long afternoon they waited The fire
they had kindled burned out, and the body
of the dead man beside it grew cold and
rigid Tho blood no longer flowed from
the wound When the wind would blow
the ashes from the Goals left by the fire,
they would still glow, as If in mockery of
the quick death that had overtaken the
outstretched form beside them.
When darkness had come, the three men
gradually crept back, keeping as closely
together as possible, in the direction of
the canyon behind them. Occasionally,
out of the darkness, would come flash of
light from rife fired in their direction.
To these at first they replied, but when
they had got some distance from the camp
where the dead man lay they rose to their
feet and as rapidly and noiselessly as pos
sible retreated to the canyon. No one
spoke, but each knew that the faces of his
comrades were, like his own, glowing with
that feeling of gratitude that comes only
when man has escaped almost certain
death. They would never see the man
they had left behind again; but, after all,
he was old and alone in the world, while
they-well, with them life was sweeter
and dearer than it could possibly have
been to him. To Harry, at least, it SEEM
ed so. What would the girl have done
had he instead been killed and lying back
there by the deserted campfire to be mu-
tilated beyond recognition when his body
should pass into the hands of the Apachesf
By morning they would be within a few
miles of the settlements, and they would
be safe. 1t was so dark that they had to
use both hands and feet in feeling for a