The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-12-21
THE DEATH BIRD
aiI
BY NJ. QUAD.

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corl 10 couple oil tiNl engineers nad
heard OF the death hIrd oil the desert
No living man had ever seen it, but
there We're plenty who had heard its
notes. and its notes always meant dan
ger. One might travel To and fro on
the Staked plains for year and never
sec bird of any sort except about their
edges The only living things to be
met with are serpents. lizards, scorpi-
ons and Skulking wolves. The aridness
and desolation are too much even for
the buzzardS.
The death bird, so the legend went
appeared only at night and then no
man saw him. He came to give warn
ing. His notes were peculiar, and no
hunter could initiate him, but one hear
Ing them in the silence of the night and
the desert could make no mistake. BE
fore making the trip an old hunter sad
to me:
There is but one danger To look out
for-the ApachcS. They may follow
you clear across the desert They
Will not attack you by daylight but nc
night, without Your having seen s.-n
of them. they viii creep upon You as
softly rs serpcntS and spare none. lis
ten Tor the notes OF the death bird ana
when you hear them take instant warn
Ing.
There We're IL OF MS in the party.
tourteen soldiers were supposed ID
constitute force able to take care q!
Itself anywhere. There was more any
iety as TO our water ANA ratlohs than
as to the Indians who might dog our
footsteps. 1t was midsummer, and tie
neat on mat great surface OF sand and
alkaH so!i was SIMPLY terrific. Alter
Ihe urst daN, when we were clear OF
shelter, a march oil SIX or elSht miles
was all any one was capable of. The
nights Drought cool OreeZcs ana recu-
peratlon, but they also brought a lone
illness no person can describe. Men
ahoat on the wide ocean III small
Doat near strange SOUNDS at night ana
are maze aifaIu. Men on the desert
are almost made towards by the un-
canny surroundings. II there is the
chirp of cricket or the howl of Il coy
ote, 1t IS not company. 1t simply ADDS
TO the loneliness. II the night Is unbro-
Ken then 1t IS as II heavy blanket
mad been thrown over your head to
shut out the living world.
I We saw nothing of Indians. No one
believed that party took our tran. a
faithful watch was Kept however, but
after few nights when had come TO
realize how helpless we really were
found myself depending on that legend
of the death bird. If we were menaced,
he would warn us. We had been out
week when there came the blacklist of
black nights. 1t was black because 1t
was moonless and storm was gather
ing. Our tents were set up in a clus-
ter, but they could not be seen ut dis
tance of six feet Three sentlnels We're
on duty, but they could not see the
sands at their feet. If the Indians had
followed, there would never De bet
ter night for surprise. 1t would he
no trick at all to creep within stabbing
distance OF the sehtlhelS' anu Nolie!
of arrows and bullets sent through the
tents must wound or Kill most OF us.
was sitting in the door of my tent
an hour after midnight, wondering
how soon the storm would break, when
there came to me from point not Tar
distant the notes of the death blrd.
They sounded a bit like the call OF
quail, and yet they were unlike. Ihey
were like words instead of notes. Ihey
were soft and clear and from the very
first they said to me:
Look out! Look out! LOOK out!
Dangerl Danger! Danger! Death
Death Death!
/ repeat that the bird seemed TO be
talking instead or crying out IN us nat
ural notes. l may nave got thls ldea
from my state OF nervous appreheh-
sion, but so it was. turned ana woke
up the two sleeping engineers ana ask
ed them to listen. Ihey dld not make
vhisnerpd.
"That's a danger cry, or | never
hoard one I tell YOU we are menaced
nv some great periln
Thrice the death bird called its notes,
and then all was silence as before.
soldier was sent creeping away to call
in the sentinels. A few rods to the
north of u.s. as we had noticed when
going into camp. the sands had been
toyed with b. some strong gale until
the ridges almost formed a natural
fo,t WITH +bo e,roo toct oarp and in fhp