The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-08-24

tured him as he approached the town.
bearing at his belt the fresh scalp of a
white man. He would have been killed
forthwith, but Clark. who wished to
avoid a repetition Of the savage yenge-
ance melted out TO the indians on
the previous day, had given orders that
all prisoners should be brought into the
fort. where they were to have a falr
trial by eourtmartial.
Both Helm and Beverley were at
RousSillon place, the former slipping
wine and chatting with Gaspard, the
latter, of course, lowering around Alice.
after the manner of a hungry bee
around a particularly swee and de-
iiciously refractory flower 1t was rain
ing slowly, the fine drops coming
straight down through the cold. still
February air: but the two young peo-
pie found il pleasant enough for them
on the Veranda. where they walked
back and forth. making fair exchange
of the exciting experiences which had
befallen them during their long separa-
ton eBtween the lines of these mu-
tual recitals sweet, fresh echoes OF the
old, old story went from heart to heart,
an amoebaean loYe-bout like :nat of
spring birds calling tenderly hack and
forth in the blooming MaytihIe woods.
Both Captain Helm and NJ RoussiIIon
were delighted 10 hear of Long Hairs
capture and certain fate. but neither
OF them regarded the news as of suf-
hcfent Importance to need much COM
ment. They did not think of telling
Beverley and Alice. Jean, however
lying awake in his little bed, overheard
the conversation, which he repeated to
Alice next morning with great circum-
stantiality.
Having the quick insight bred of
frontier experience, Alice instantly
caught the terrible significance of the
dilemma in which she and Beverley
would be placed by Long-Hair's sit
heart arose with irresistible power
demanding the final, the absolute hu-
man sympathy and gratitude. No
matter what deeds Long-Hair had
committed that were evil hey Ond for
givepess, he had done for her the all
atoning thing He had saved Beverley
and sent him back to her.
With start and a chill of dread, she
thought: What if il is already too
latei''
But her nature could not hesitate.
To feel the demand of an exigency
was to act She snatched a wrap from
its peg on the wall and ran as fast as
she could to the fort. People who met
her flying along wondered, staring aft
er her, what could be urging her so
that she saw nobody. checked herself
Tor nothing, ran splashing through
the puddles in the street, gazing ahead
OF her, as If pursuing some flying OBJ
ject from which she dared not turn
her eyes.
And there Rfas, indeed. a call for her
utmost power of flight. If she would be
OF any assistance to Long Hair, who
even then stood bound to a stake in
the forts area, while a platoon of
rif1emen. those unerring shots from
Kentucky and Virginia, were ready to
make target of him at a range of
but twenty yards.
Beverley, greatly handicapped by the
fact that the fresh scalp of a white
man hung at Long Hairs belt, had ex-
hausted every possible argument to
avert or mitigate the sentence prompt
ly spoken by the courtmartial. of
which Colonel Clark was the ruling
spirit He had succeeded barely to
the extent of turning the mode of exc
cution from tonlahawking to shooting
All the officers in the fort approved
killing the prisoner and il was difficult
for Colonel Clark to prevent the men
from making outrageou assaults upon
him, so exasperated were they at sight
of the scalp.
Oncle Jazon proved to be one of the
most refractory among those who de-
manded tOmahawldng and scalping as
the only treatment due Long Hair. The
repulsive savage stood up before them
stolid, reSolute, defiant, proudly fiaunt-
ing the badge which testified to his
horrible efficiency as an emissary of
Hamilton's. 1t had been left in his
belt by Clark's order, as the best jus
tification- of his doom.
IL me hack is damned head" On
Gle Jazon pleaded. Il jes' bankers to
chop q hole inter it. An besides 1
want is sceip to hang up WI mine an
that'n O. the Injun what scelped me-
He kicked me in the ribs, the stinkin
varmint.'
Beverley pleaded eloquently and well.
but even the genial Major Helm
laughed at his sentiment of gratitude
to a savage who at best but reiented
at the last moment. for Alice's sake.
and concluded not to sell him to Ham
ilton. 1t is due to the British COM
mander to record here that he most
positively and with what appeared to
be high sincerity. denied the charge Of
having Offered rewards for the taking
of human scalps. He declared that
his purposes and practices were hu-
name, and that while he did use the
Indians as military allies, his orders to
them were that they must fOrego cruel
modes of warfare and refrain from
savage outrage upon prisoners. Ger
tainly the weight of contemporary tes-
timcny seems overwhelmingly against
him, but we enter his denial Long
Hair himself. however, tainted him
with accusations of unfaithfulness in
carrying out some very inhuman con-
tracts, and to add a terrible sting, vol
unteered the statement that poor Bar
lows scalp had served his turn in the
place of Beveriey's.
With conditions so hideous TO con-
tend against, Beverley. of course, had
no possible means of succoring the
condemned savage
Him a-kickin' yer ribs clean inter
ye, an a-makin' We run the gauntlet
an here ye air a-tryin' to save is
lifei" whined Oncle Jazon. Wy man,
l thought We he'd some senterments.
Dast is Injun liver, 1 kin feel them
kicks what he guy me till yit. Ven
trebleu. que diable voulez-vous?
Clark simply pushed Beverley's
pleadings aside as not worth mo-
ment's consideration. He easily felt
the fine bit of gratitude at the bottom
of ii all; but there was too much in
the other side of the balance; justice.
the discipline and confidence of mis-
men and children on the frontier de-
manded firmness in dealing with a
case like Long Hairs.
NO, no." be said to Beverley, 81
would do anything in the world for
You, Fitz, except. to swerve an inch
! from duty to my country and the de-
fenseless people down yonder in Ken
lucky. ] can't do it, There's 10 use
to press the matter further. The die