The evening times., 1900-03-03
A HoOSIER HERO'S RIDE.
Ii Was Mere Incident. Hut saved
His Comrades Life.
Ufom the indianapolis Press.)


FTom the indianapolis Press.)
! Ii was early in the autumn of 1872 that
the main body of the army engaged against
/ the British and Indians in the Northwest
/ was encamped on the Maumee River. lot
/ far from the present city Of Fort Wayne.
The whole country was infested with hos
! tile tribes of the Delaware. the Pottawato-
mics and the Miami Indians. They die not
fight like the soldiers of civilized nations.
but like assassins and brigands. The In
dians would lie in wait and massacre
small detachments of soldiers or COM
pany of emigrants passing through the
country.
1t was at this time that small detach-
ment of an army was encamped twenty-five
or thirty miles north OF Greenville, Ohio
There were less than one hundred officers
and men here surrounded by large force
OF these hostile tribes acting under orders
OF the British officers. This detachment OF
United States soldiers found itself cut off
from the main army; in fact, surrounded
by the Indians. The men knew their cap
ture would result in torture and massacre,
and that they must suffer this or break
up into small bodies. and, so far as posi-
BILE. escape through the lines of the enemy,
or get a despatch to the main army, fully
thirty miles away.
The officer in command drew up the little
force In line and explained the dangerous
situation. He then called for volunteer
TO attempt the hazardous task of carrying
a despatch to the headquarters of the army.
IF ! have a man in my command that Is
willing to take the risk" he said let
him step forward" As he stood waiting,
the silence of death seemed TO pervade the
camp. but not a soldier responded. The
officer saw standing within few steps
of him a young teamster. not more than
twenty years old small and delicate. He
was clad In the usual h0mespun and had
his wagon whip under his arm. The young
man removed his hat bowed respectfully,
and said: Captain, give me good hoss
and / will make the attempt"
II was William Crist who spoke. There
was the glitter Of steel in his cold. grey
eyes as he stood facing the little band of
soldiers. The captain extended his hand
TO the boy and said: fGod bless you, my
brave fellow"
The soldiers attempted to cheer the gal
liant young boy. but the officer suppressed
all demonstrations of approval and sent
the men to their quarters. He at once
took young Crist TO his tent and carefully
talked over the dangerous task he was
about to undertake. The young man did
Bot falter. He was the embodiment OF
courage bravery, heroism. Coolly and de-
and on the following morning, 'at the
peep O. day" as he said he was ready for
the journey
The captain had spirited young forse.
active and accustomed TO travelling through
brush an swamps, over logs and creeks,
and he placed this horse in charge of the
boy The teamster declined the use Of a
saddle but asked for belt a brace OF
pistols knife, and musket. When he
arI ynnl- loay ~ fhn
officer. the soldiers stood silently watch
ing him. His lips were compressed, his
look determined. and his spirit undaunted.
Great tears stood on the bronZed cheeks
of many OF the men who had courageously
faced death on the battlefield. They con-
sidered that the intrepid young hero was
simply riding into the Jaws Of death"
There was no passable road, no marks
of civilization on the line that he must
travel. The country was strange one
to him. With a cloudless sky above him
and unbroken forest in front, he fearlessly
took the risk The Indian trails were
guarded and the forests beyond these
trails impenetrable. There was, possibly,
one chance in dozen for him to reach
the main body of troops, and he took that
chance. 1t was thought that if he got
few miles out from the camp from which
he started the danger would be serious
until ne approached the point Oh uestlhd-
ton.
For q force to accompany him through
the lines of the enemy would have been
but to invite an attack. He moved off in
the grey dawn of early morning, hoping
to pass the lines of his dangerous foe TN
noticed This he succeeded in doing, and
took the trail for the Maumee country.
The days journey was uneventful until he
came within FIVE miles of the outp0sts of
the army.
1t was about o'clock in the afternoon
when, riding rapidly along the trail, his
eye caught sight of a small band of braves
Immediately in front of him. and effec-
tually blocking his way. Their faces were
painted red and yellow, indicating that
they were on the warpath. They were all
mounted and armed with muskets, and,
as the young messenger we'll knew, had IN
their belts the scalping knife and in their
hearts relentless, cruel murder He knew
that to continue along the beaten trail
was to court capture, torture, and death.
Accordingly, he guided his horse into the
thick woods. and as rapidly as possible
made his way out from the trail. The
sayages soon reached the point where Re
had turned aside and there discovered the
fresh tracks of the young mans horse.
An unearthly warwhoOp greeted the boys
ears, and he knew what would be the
course pursued by the Indians. They would
track his horse and follow him. He urged
the faithful animal on, but it was not long
before he heard his savage foes behind
him. He then turned to make his way
back, IL possible, to the trail, believing
that his horse could by its better speed
and better power of endurance, enable him
to escape but his keen sighted foe had
anticipated this movement and had guard
ed the trail against 1t, Shots began to
sing about him. and he now determined
TO make his way through the forest. He
knew that his horse would jump logs and
streams that the ponies would not at
tempt. He lay first on the horses back
and urged him to his greatest speed. He