Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1901-08-29

| FlOrlda req men, who had once fought
! palms under the leadership of the
to the death amid the palmettos and
famed Osceola. The courages Of two
strong races were in them, and they
looked what they were: hard riders,
straight shots and desperate fighters.
The fame of this troop was as broad as
the land itself They were spoken of
! by far camp-f fires close to the Canadian
line, in pushed and velvety parlors.
and among the timid. slothful people
who live southwestward of the City of
| Mexico. From the Pacific to the At
lantic there was no desperate, cattle
rustler, smuggler. professional revo-
| lutionlst or petty Apache chieftaip who
did not know and fear them More
than half of their lives was spent on
! horseback but, though wounds were
| common with them, and death occa
sional, and fatigue their normal con
dition. they never sickened OF service
to which they had devoted themselves
with an enthusiasm that has had few
| parallels.
IF you can ever make 1t Gonven-
lent, Miss English" the Captain was
saying, you must visit us at Fort
Clark and | will be glad to have the
men go through some revolutions for
| you. They and their horses have been
together so long that sometimes fancy
the same soul animates man and
| beast. They are quite remarkable
| horsemen. | assure you
Il can believe it WE'LL she replied,
running her eye over the recumbent
forms. But do not feel that shall
ever visit your post. 1t lies to the
| eastward of us. does it not?"
1T does" he answered in some sur
prise, and looking at her more at
tentively, but what does that matter?
the West draw you? l have known
such cases out here"
1t is only twenty miles away. Does
The West or the South" she said,
with short laugh Perhaps you will
think me foolish, but it is SO with me.
Since | came | have been haunted by
the feeling, or presentment-call it
what you will-that | shall go east
| ward or northward never again.
Stranger still, though | was born and
reared in the far northeast, | am hap
Ply in this certainty. | had sentiment
call it sentiment,--I had the senti-
ment family, when | had taken "A seat
in 'he car at Grayborough and the
wheels began to whirl under me.
With each mile I travelled it grew
stronger. When ] saw this rancho and
met its gay. hospitable, kindly people,
it was very strong, indeed. Then a
voice said to mel think it was n
voice; / think | heard it--a voice said
to me: This is a resting place; here
you fold your wings for little while
and resume your flight, southwark and
westward, southwark and westward,
southwark and westward How this
shall come about do not know, but
do know that it is to happen. The
voice. call it a voice-was too dis
tinct."
Her deep. thrilling tones had sunk
almost to murmur and she looked at
him with wide, pathetic eyes. The
soldier, man of action and a man of
experience, but not man of thought
or spirituality felt uncomfortable. He
said afterwards that his skin ran in
waves up and down his back" lie
cleared his throat loudly and said;
Its possible that you're right, Miss
English; it's quite possible. i don't
pretend to understand such things. or
to know anything about them. Fact
is, have been kept SO busy looking af
ter these black infants that I've had no
time to examine matters outside of the
exercise ground and the march
You're a woman. and more finely
strung than we men. II man tells
me anything of the kind, | think al
first that he's staid at the mess-tabla
too long. and if find that he hasn't
think that he ought to stay at the
mess table longer. Fellow in my reg
iment once got out OF West Point with
dreams in his head qneerest chap you
ever saw Said he could feel the
north. Hadn't rs ! understand it,
read any of On Mauriers stun either.
Just said he could feel the north day
and night: ii never left him. Conse-
quently he didn't ned a compass; con-
sequently he couldn't be lost any
where: just closed his eyes and there
was the north Just as plain to one side
of him as Jack rabbit on sand
heap Went ont shooting blue quail in
the mesquite with him one day, and
got separated from him by hundred
yards Then | couldn't find him and
couldn't max him hear, Hunted for
him nearly all day and went back TO
the post expecting 10 md him there,
Turned out company to search for
him; looked all night; no Mr.. Man
No Mr.. Man next day; no Mr. Man next
night. Things looking serious and
whole regiment turned out. Second
lieutensnts too rare and precious with
us to spare one without tremendous
consequences to the service. Found
him on the evening OF the third day
eighty miles from the post semi-dellr-
ious and busily walking straight away
from succor Some Of these fellows
here found him. fed him on goats milk
and finally brought him He never
had sense of north again"
The Captains somewhat moist, thick
voice had not changed during this re-
cital, and he looked at the girl with an
honest, kindly grey eye. In turn, she
looked at him with eyes of red hazel
and broke into peal Of laughter.
1T is refreshing TO meet humorist.
Captain Harding" she said. MY Eng
lish friends. while everything that Is