The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-02-26

and the sailors swung their sea swords
and the savages their spears Right
into the thick OF the melee went old Sir
Roger. with as much apparent Zest and
vigor as in days when he hau led many
a fight by land and sea. Still he held
his staff and swung it with power, the
heavy golden head of ii quickly bat
tered out of shape. and ever as he
fought he rallied his black flock about
with words in their barbarous tongue
which goaded them to a religious fury
BY HIM always was OZiel fighting
grinIy. but old Gabriel played eau
tious game He held back, and made
but a show. watching the others, for,
indeed he was not himself sure how It
would proft him in regard 10 that treas
ure for whose ownership all this strife
was, if Sir Roger was slain or Lynch.
Oziel had first the pistol alone which
a sailor had passed him, and, with 1t
dubbed, he did his best, but, before he
was well in, 4 negrO's spear passed
clean through Noll Dade's body, and
the New Englander dashed for the fall
ing man and secured his cutlaSs ere
the wretch was dead. BY that he was
in advance of his party. and found him
self face TO face with Donnereau.
There was little TO choose between
the height of the two. but Donnereau' S
black came charging on the lad with
yell. The pseudo civilization which he
had picked up from his plantation mas
tiers and his mates at sea was now ut
terly vanished, and of all the demoni-
acal and boodtnirsty crowd of Afri-
cans there he seemed the most furious,
the most devil possessed. He swung at
Oziel with a giant blow, and the lad
had barely time to leap aside and slash
al 10 arr a
The cut told and blood gushed from it,
but il served 20 make Donnereau the
wilder He came again. yelling and
ieaping with the strength of an OK
and the agility of panther. Yet Oziel
held him, and saved his skin, but that
was all. The young fellow found ii i'm
possible TO land a decisive blow or
thrust and not leave himself uncovered.
Again and again, while all about them
the fight ragged, these two, the hugest
on the field, rushed On each other, until
both were painting, when DiXey Lynch,
clearing bloody way, came running to
his confederate's aid and the two fell
upon Oziel simultaneously. For a mo-
ment he fought, but he felt he would be
beaten down, when suddenly over his
back a long black staff was thrust vio-
lently full in the face of Lynch, and d
voice cried fiercely:
Take then your treasure that you
seek. tbs gold; eat of it,
The heavy gold snake of the staff
was thrust at these words of Sir Roger
with such force fairly in the mouth of
Dixey Lynch that the blow sent him
staggering backward, splitting blood
and teeth, and Oziel. cheered by that
support, cut savagely at DonneCeau and
drew blood from his fierce and distort-
ed face The rest of Sir Rogers party
had meantime driven back the others
For a short minute Dixey sought to
stay the flight and then gave way
completely, and he and Donnereau
bounded like deers for the woods be-
hind them.
Oziel took breath and looked about
The fight had been short. but furious.
Three of the schOOner's men lay pierced
by spears or shot by Lynch, and the
blacks had literally slaughtered each
other in their frenzy. a very few fol-
lowed Dixey and the big traitor to
their religion who had seduced them,
for their own bettesment, into this fac
tonal strife; round Sir Roger and old
Gabriel many more were dead and dy-
ing. Oziel felt sick at the sight; sick
at the thought that two white mems
rival desires for gold had wrought this
havoc in a place which. however los.