The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1900-11-22
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and so did the medicine man. SO when
the news of the armor suit had reached
him. he had levied heavy fees for his
incantatioDS for some months. and.
adding these Ia the gold he had eX-
changed for Mexican dollars, collected
| from many raids. he took himself down
| to the camp of the soldiers TO obtain
fairly and by purchase that which was
his very own. But fairness and the
offers of purchase had failed.
Ciego looked the White Eye officer
over from his scalp to his toes, and up
again, and then with no sound, save
just one grunt, went out from the quar-
tiers and from the post.
Hartpole told of it at the mess that
night. and forgot all about it after that.
But Ciego did not-as Hartpole ought
TO have foreSeen.
One night an Indian. his body naked
as 1t was born, a poisoned knife In his
hand, stole across the sandy parade
ground when the moon was under the
clouds of a coming storm. and slipped,
as silently as none but a savage can,
under the ramada of Hartpole's quar-
ters. and thence through the open door.
The Indian had missed nothing when
he had been in that one small room a
month before. He knew where every
thing in II was. from the chrome in q
blue frame on the wall to the cot in the
corner. across from the fireplace. He
hid himself behind the piece of calico
that curtaiued off the nook where Hart
poles clothes hung, and waited until
the moon showed for a moment through
a break in the clouds, and he could see
the figure on the cot beneath the mos
quito-net. When the room was dark
again, he slid out; and the blade of the
knife in his hand went straight through
the heart of the man asleep. Then he
took the rattling armor from its nails
and wrapped it in the calico curtain,
and fled through the night, as silently
and swiftly as only an Apache can.
Now 1t happened that Hartpole had
gone to another post good many miles
to the east that very day, and he had
left his striker to sleep in his quarters
and keep guard over his things. So it
was into the luckless soldiers heart
that the knife was driven, and the next
day n telegram apprised Hartpole that
his striker was murdered and his suit
of mail was gone.
The day after that all the department
knew that the Coyoteros We're on the
war-path. and, having cut the reserva-
ton. We're killing right and left. They
were led by medicine-man called
''Ciego," and the scouts reported ttat
he was dressed in garment of white
iron which no White-Eye's bullet could
peirce. They also reported that the
Chiricahuas and the Pah-Utes and the
Sierra Blancas were joining him. 1t
promised to be an interesting time for
the territories.
Hartpole began TO have dim idea of
why the medicine-man had wanted his
Spanish mail. now. He was ordered
out, of course. Most of the department
was. Trouble of the sort that this
promised to be had to be checked at
once, if at all. 1t was serious already;
but there was one thing in favor to get
away Their fanatical faith in their
medicine-man led them to seek battle
rather than to shun it. And twice,
having done so, they beat off the
troops, because there were, as usual,
too few. But the third time they We're
caught in pocket of the MogallonS
and there We're no less than six troops
against them. Hartpole's was of the
number.
The Indians fought from dawn of the
first day until twilight of the second. In
the open at first, then from behind shell |
ter. then at last they retreated to a
shallow cave high up on a hillside and
there was no getting them out. a
mountain howitzer might have done 1t.
but there was none with the command. |
All day the troops fired volleys into so
much of the mouth of the cave as show |
ed between the pine trunks and the
walls of rock. They knew that the |
slaughter within must have been pretty |
severe, hut there We're no signs of sur,
render, nevertheless. The hostiles |
might hold out until the last one was |
dead: they certainly would until their |
medicine-man should fall. The medi- |
cine-man could be seen from time to |
time. cleaning figure. moving clumsi- |
ly among the trees and underbrush. |
And for all that it went so slowly and |
was so bright. no bullet seemed ever to |
hit it. Even the white men began to |
consider it with awe.
At sunset of the second day, when |
the sounds from the cave had all but |
ceased and the Indians within it were |
without ammunition and at bay, the |
glistening form came clambering delib- |
erately to the top of a high rock, |
whooping and yelling, calling the rem.
nant of its followers on. 1t stood SO, |
for moment. the red sun rays striking |
through the pine branches on the dent
ed steel, weird sight in the depths of |
the mountain fastnesses of the New |
World; so odd and strange that the sol |
diers hesitated with their fingers on |
the triggers of their carbines.
But Hartpole. kneeling alone behind |
a bowlder, remembered only that that |
glowing armor was his, and that he |
wanted it, The visor was up and he |
could see the glitter of the one good |
eye He had won a sharpshooter's med |
al in his time, and he put his skill to
use now. There was a puff of smoke |
from above his bowlder. and the shin |
ing figure threw up its arms and stag |
gered. Then 1t fell forward, down from
the pinnacle of rock, Gathering and
crashing among the logs and stones.
They found, when they dragged him
out, that Hartpole's bullet had gone
straight through the good eye, and that
Ciego was ciego in very truth now
and quite dead.-San Francisco Argo-
naut.