Iron County register., 1899-12-28

mirals and other officers of high rama
were present. Speech followed speech.
Some wise things were said, andssfAlso
some things not particularly wise. &aw-
tons turn came. He arose amid a hearty
round of applause. He bowed in ir9nt,
to the right and to the left. Then he sat
handsomely. 1t was just like LawIon,
who is frequently described by brother Of
army.
story Credited to Lawton.
The story of the returned soldier from
santiago who met profuse admiration
with the response. Il amt no hero; I'm
only reg lar" is said to have originated
with Gen. Lawton. If the general did not
start the story he was one of the nrSt 10
tell 1t, and the satisfaction he took IN The
repetition was very plain.
a Medal of Honor Man.
MAJ is not generally known. This most
priced decoration OF the American army
was conferred upon him for distln-
gu!shed gallantry in leading charge Of
sklrmiShers against the enemy'S rite pits,
taking them with their occupants anu
stubbornly and successfully resisting two
determined attacks of the enemy 10 re-
take the works 1t was in front OF At
lsnta in August, 1854. while captain os
ton thus distinguished himself.
The Pursuit of Apaches.
1t was Lawton's reputation Tor daring
ana tlreiess pertinacity that led to his be-
coming internationally famous. His char
acteristics were known, of course, to his
superior officers thoroughly as they
We're known to the Indians whom he mad
been fighting for a dozen years. For the
Apaches. headed by Chief Naches and oi-
rected by Geronimo, had jumped the San
carlos reservation, leaving behind them
the usual trail of blood and ruin. Ranch
men We're butchered on lonely ranges
children's brains were dashed out, and the
smoke of burning dwellings rose day and
brilliant
a trained soldier and an Indian fighter
himself, was in command, and he selected
capt Lawton for the task that was set
before them. He started with two troops
or veterans, taking trail that at its be-
ginning was broad and plainly marked.
Then followed the most remarkable pur
suit in the history of Indian warfare. Day
after day the ceaseless toll continued. The
men speedily found themselves in coun-
try where horses without claws were of
worse than no account. Their officer dis
mounted them. We will walk them.
1t was white pluck and endurance against
Indian craftiness and endurance.
Terrible Experiences.
Over rocks that blistered the hands
when touched, in ravines so deep and dark
that through the narrow rift far over
up the sides of kIge hills down which
trickled rivulets of dust, threading paths
green valleys 5000 feet below, drinking ot
cold. clear springs that gushed above the
clouds, sometimes in the sun-baked 'les-
ert, again clambering far beyond the tim
Der line, Lawton and his followers strus-
gled on.
Week succeeded week Men dropped,
fainting, in the giant hills and their COM
rades passed on. There was no time TO
stay. They were left to find their way
Indian and white were foemen worthy of
each others steel, and the issue of the
contest was in doubt to the last day.
A Supreme Test of Courage.
Finally, one night just as the sentries
We're set, there was faint hail and an
Indian stood before them. He was wor1 10
the bone, but dauntless still. He said that
his chief would talk to the white man, but
would talk to him alone His camp was
some miles further on, but the messenger
would guide Lawton to it if he cared to
suade the captain against the venture but
he smiled sourly at them and told the IN
dian that he was ready. They left the
camp of the soldiers lie next morning. BY
ten O'Clock Lawton stood in the Apache
horde. Cavernous eyes cleaned at MIN.
Lips drawn back from discolored teeth
grinned at him. wasted hands were
waved at him threatenIngly. Stern, DOM
inant, the living, breathing personification
of The great White Spirit that had beaten
thel.I back from the far eastern verge
of the land they had owned he walNGI
straight to the medicine man and demani-
ed his su. render. There was a brief pac-
ley. LawtOn contemptuouSly refused IL
promise anything or to guarantee any
would be fed
Maybe you will be hanged afterward,"
he said.
81 don't know about that. Anyhow, you
ought to be. but III feed you. I'd feed
a dog in your fix
Apache Resistance Broken.
month afterward Geronimo, Naches
and their band of cutthroats were pris-
oners in Florida. Not only was the power
for evil of this particular tribe nulifiel,
but, the spirit of Apache resistance was
broken. 1t had been demonstrated that
they could be beaten at their own game,
Once again the white man had shown
them that he was their master, mentally.
and physically. 1t was this ser'-
ice which called Lawton from the west
and landed him in Washington, with mum
official prestige.
"LET ME LIKE a SOLDIER FALL"
Gen. LawtOn's Choice of FayOritc
Air Proved Prophetic.
New York, Lee. 2O.-During the