Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1901-10-26

They are coming" cried Saxon LET
no man draw trigger until he sees me
shoot. II any does. | shall send a bullet
through him, though il was my last shot
and the troopers were among us"
As our leader uttered this threat, and
! looked grlmly around upon us with an
evident intention of executing ii, a shrill
blare of bugle burst from the horse
men in front of us, and was answered BY
those upon our flank At the signal both
bodies set spurs to their horses and
dashed down upon us at the top of their
speed. Those in the field were DELAYED
| for a few moments, and thrown into
some disorder, by finding that the ground
Immediately in front of them was soft
and DOGGY; but having made their way
through it, they reformed upon the other
side and rode gallantly at the hedge.
Our own opponents, having a clear course
before them, never slackened for an in
slant, but came laundering down with a
Jingling of harness and tempest of oaths
upon our rude barricade.
All, my children! when a man in his age
tries to describe such things as these. and
to make others see what he has seen, IL
IS only then that ne understands what a
small stock of language a plain man
keeps by HIM for his ordinary use in the
world, and how unfit it is to meet any
call upon it, For though at this very
moment | can myself see that white Som
ersetshire road, with the wild whirling
charge OF the horSemen, the red angry
faces of the men, and the gaping nostrils
of the horses all wreathed and framed in
clouds of dust, | cannot hope to make it
clear to your young eyes, which never
have looked and, | trust, never shall
look, upon such a scene. When. too, /
think of the sound, a mere rattle and
Jingle at first, but growing i'll strength
and volume with every step, until it came
upon US with a thunderous rush and roar
which gave the impression of irresistible
power, L feel that that too is beyond the
power of my feeble words to express.
To inexperienced soldiers like ourselves,
it seemed impossible that our frail de-
fense and our feeble weapons could check
for an instant the impetus and weight
of the dragons. To right and left 1
saw white set faces, open-eyed and rigid.
unhinching, with a stubbornness which
rose less from hope than from despair.
All round rose EXPLANATIONS and prayers.
Lord, save thy people" Mercy. Lord,
mercy" BE with us this day." Re
ceive our souls, . merciful Father" Sax
on lay across the wagon with his eyes
glinting like diamonds and his petrOnel
presented at the full length of his rigid
arm. Following his example, we all took
aim as steadily as possible at the first
rank Of the enemy. Our only hope of
safety lay in making that one discharge
so deadly that our opponents should be
10 OuIucH Sndkeu 10 continue IHelF dIIdCk.
Would the man never fire! They could
not be more than ten PAGES from us. |
could see the buckles of the mems plates
and the powder charges in their bando-
Tiers. One more stride yet, and at last
our leaders pistol flashed and we poured
in a close volley, supported by shower
of heavy stones from the sturdy peasants
behind. | could hear them splintering
against casque and cuirass like hail upon
a easement. The cloud of smoke yelling
for an instant the line of galloping steeds
and gallant riders drifted slowly aside to
show verw different scene. A dozen
men and horses were rolling in one wild
bloodspurting heap, the unwounded fall
ing over those whom our balls and stones
had just brought down. Struggling, snort
ing chargers, ironshod feet. staggering fig
ures rising and falling, wild. hatless, be-
wildered men half stunned by fail, and
not knowing which way to turn. That
was the foreground of the picture, while
behind them the remainder of the troop
were riding furiously back, wounded and
hale, all driven by the one desire of get
ting to place of safety where they might
rally their sheltered formati ton. A great
shout of praise and thanksgiving rose
from the delighted peasants, and surging
over the barIicade, they struck down or
secured the few uninjured troopers who
had been unable or unwilling to join
their companions in their flight. The
carbines, swords and bandoliers were
eagerly pounced upon by the victors,
some of whom had served in the militia,
and knew we'll how to handle the differ
ent weapons which they had won.
The victory. however, was by no means
completed. The thanking squadron had
ridden boldly at the hedge, and Il dozen
or more had forced their way through,
in spite of the showers of stones and the
desperate thrusts of the pikemen and
the long swords and the armor of the
dragons gave them great advantage.
and though the sickles brought several of
the horses to the ground. the sol
diers continued to lay about them
freely. and to beat back the fierce
but Harmed resistance of their OppO-
nents. 4 dragoon sergeant, man of
great resolution and of prOdigious
strength. appeared to be the leader of
the party, and encouraged his followers
both by word and example. \ stab from
a half pike brought his horse to the
ground. but he sprang from the saddle
as it fell, and avenged its death by a
sweeping backhanded cut from his broad
sword. Waving his hat in his left hand.
he continued to rally his men. and to
strike down every Puritan who came
against him, until a blow from a Ratchet
brought him on his knees, and fail
stroke broke his sword close by the hilt.
At the fall of their leader his comrades
turned and fled through the hedge, but
the gallant fellow, wounded and bleeding
still showed fight. and would assuredly
have been knocked upon the head for
his pains had | not picked him up and
thrown him into a wagon, where he had
the good sense to lie quiet until the Skin
mish was at an end. OF the dozen who
broke through. not more than four es
capped. and several others lay dead or
wounded upon the other side Of the hedge
empaled by scythe blades or knocked off
their horses by stones. Altogether, nine
of the dragons were slain and fourteen
wounded, while we retained seven un-
scathed prisoners. ten horses fit for Serv-
ice. and a score or so of carbines, with
good store of match, powder and ball
The remainder of the troop fired single
struggling. irregular volley, and then gal
loped away down the crOssroad, disap-
pearing among the trees from which they
had emerged.
All this, however, had not been accom-
plished without severe loss upon our side.
Three men had been killed and six
wounded. one of them very seriously, by
the musketry fire. Five had been cut
down when the fianking party broke, their