The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-11-16
THE GARMENT OF. IRON.

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There was no skeleton in the armor
when Hartpole found it; only some sand
and bunch of tumble-weed. a rattle
snake and a tarantula. The tarantula
scuttled off, he killed the rattlesnake,
and the tumble-weed and sand he emp
tied out. Then he had the armor done
up in a sheter-tent and put upon pack
mule. After which. the column moved
on. 1t should not have halted at all, for
it was in pursuit of band of Indians.
But there were bands Of Indians every
day, and tine finding OF full suit OF
armor lying under a mesquite bush beside
their trait was rare.
Certainly Iartpoie had never heard of
such Il thing. md, so far as he knew,
1t was the only suit of armor ever dis
covered on the New Mexican plains, but
his lore Oh the subject was not profound
When he got back to his tWO-company
post on the banks Of the Gila, he found
the interest in life, which had been lack
ing for him up to then, in charging tina,
knowledge. He sent East for books and
histories and treatscs concerning coats of
mail and the men who have Worn them,
and ne even went so far as to write to
the Smithsonian institution, at the risk
OF having a government commission sent
out ut once to seize his treasure. And in
the interval OF two months which elapsed
road was only to Kansas in those days
ne set about cleaning the armor himself,
and with his own hands joining it to-
gether.
He was so occupied, what with that
and the histories and the other books,
that hc..forg0t 70 have Gila-bott tom ma
laria and had no time to worry about
'hn,, ,%1
more bright as the azure shield of Achl-
les, and he had proved 70 his own and to
every ones satisfaction that it must once
have protected the body of one of Coro-
nado's men. and must date from the mid
die of the Sixteenth century, or there
about, he hung it up in his one-room
adobe quarters, along with the Indian
the bottled reptiles Of many sorts; and
the fame of it spread through the land
An English lord, in a pith helmet and
gray linen, who was going about the
country, Travelled miles out of his way to
look upon it: and scientific party from
Boston did the same. Hartpole was be-
gil to be very proud lt when: one day.
It was a man he had seen sometimes
hanging around the agency and the post
"a small 1.-THE fellow, part Coyotero
Apache, part Mexican, possibly a very
small part white, who had some reputa
ton as medicine-man with the tribes,
but not much as anything else.
Hartpole was sitting under his ramada
book whose covers curled up with the
heat. when something came between h; m
and his light, and, looking up, he saw the
medicine-man peering in the opening. He
said, "Hul!o, Cicggo," and added: "What
Go you want, eh?'
Ciego was so called because he was blind
in one eye. lie came in under the rama
da, and stood so close to him that Hart
pole moved little The Coyotero's cast
off uniform and red head-band were not
clean.
Ciegc spoke excellent Spanish, and, as
Hartpole did, too, he had no trouble
about making himself understood. He
suit of iron clothes which he had been
told that the lieutenant possessed. The
lieutenant was SO pleased to think that
it had been spoken of even in the fast
nesSes of the Sierra Blanca and of the
Tonic basin that he forgot how dirty
Cicgo was, and strai:htway rose and
invited him int: the one room.
The medicine man stood looking at the
armor with an intercs, and evident APP
probation that touched Hartpole very
much. After the manner of his kind, he
said no word, but presently he went
nearer and felt of the plates and chains
with his fingertops, and put his good eye
close and looked inside. Then he turned
to Hartpole. "Where did You find it?''
he asked.
The lieutenant explained at some
length.
rs it very old?''
Hartpole said it was at least three
hundred and thirty-odd years old, and
went into Il little history.
Ciego nodded his head. II know" he
said. But that was so manifestly alb
surd that Hartpole did not pay any at
Ciego. For how much will YOU sell it
to me?' Naturally, Hartpole only
laughed, but the Apache was in earnest.
nevertheless. NO. he insisted, LOOKING
him sharply in the face. mo, de veras,
wish to buy it from you
"Well. l don't wish to sell,' answered
the lieutenant, rather vexed at the mere
idea.
Il have $780," said the Indian.
have it,"
II have a thousand''
Hartpole laughed again, little impa-
tiently.
folds of his sash. It was full of gold.
There are $500 dollars here. in three
DAYS can bring you $500 more
Hartpole guessed how he had come by
it, and his temper rose. "That is stolen
money" he said. angrily; put it up.
You can't have the armor. Ukashee."
You let me have it," begged Ciego:
90" 90, wish it very much. I will do many
Hartpole sworc this time-mean, Span-
ish oaths. NO." he said. ''you can't
have it. Go to the ievil-get out"
Even though Ciego was only a dirty
Indian. the White-Eye should have re-
mcmbered that he probably had feelings
which could be hurt. It is well, how
ever: for those who have the direction
of children and savages in their hands
to remember that those simple folk have
sometimes reasons for tho things they do
and say, good and sufficient unto them
selves. But it never occurred to Hart
pole what this half-biind Indians rea-
sons might be. They did not transnire
until some weeks later.
Yet in CiegO's tribe there was q legend
of great white chief who once married
one Of their women, and had ruled over
them, and who had worn a suit of shin
ing iron. And their tradition ran that