Warren sheaf., 1903-09-10

herce brandishing of arms and shields
ana much curveting and prancing of
excited ponies, the wild battle lines
were formed again. The Sioux were
coming for the second trial.
Meet them as before! Make ev-
cry shot te]l!' were the orders passed
from man to man and heard and
noted amidst the whistling of the
WIND and the sounds of scurry and
commotion at the front. Then, 81
lent and crouching low, the soldiers
showed the brown barrels of their
carbines forth again and waited.
And then the grim silence of the little
fortress was broken, as, with start
ling, sudden force there went up a
shot from the westward side:
my God, boys, they're setting fire
to the prairie!" ~
Ray sprang to his feet and gazed.
Away out to the west and southwest,
whence came the strong breeze blow
ing from the Sweetwater hills, half
dozen dark, agile forms, bending
low, were scudding afoot over the
sward, and everywhere they moved
there sprang up in their tracks little
sheets of lambent flame, little clouds
of blush, binding smoke, and al
most in less time than it takes to-
tell it, low wall of fire, started in a.
dozen places, reaching far across the
low ground, fencing the valley from
stream bed to the southwark slopes.
crowned by it's swift-sailing crest of
hot, sitting fume, came tapping and
seeth1ng and sweeping across the
level, licking up the dry buffalo grass
like so much tow, mounting higher
and fiereer with every second, and
bearing down upon the little grove
and its almost helpless defenders in
fearful force, in resistless fury-a
charge no bullet could stop, an enemy
no human valor could hope to daunt
or down.
"Quick, men!" yelled Ray. "Out
with you, you on the west front!
Stay you here, you others! Watch
the Sioux! They'll be on us in an in
stant!' And away he sped from the
shelter of the bank, out from the
thick of the cottonwoods, out to the
open prairie, straight toward the
coming torrent of flame still, thank
God, full 700 yards away, but leap
ing toward them with awful strides.
Out with him rushed Field, and out
from Clayton's front sped half
dozen old hands, every man fumbling,
for his match box; out until they
reached a line with their captain, al
ready sprawled upon the turf, and
there, full an hundred yards from
the grove, they spread in rude sir-,
mish line and, reckless of the
mad chorus of yells that came sweep,
ing down the wind, reckless of the:
clamor of the coming charge, reckless
of the whistling lead that almost in
stantly began nipping and biting the.
turf about them, here, there and
everywhere, they, too, had started it,
tie fires; they, too, had run their line
of flame across the windward front;
they, too, had launched d wall Of
fame sailing toward the grove, and
then, gback, through binding smoke.
CuCy Il oil |1OA bAOA1 SdOOAC 'O4duhCCSs
just as the sharp sputter of shots
burst forth on the northward side,
and the Sioux, with magnificent dash,,
came laundering within range.
Then followed a thrilling battle for
life-two red enemies now enrolled
against the blue. Flight fire with
fire. is the old rule of the prairie.
Ray had promptly met the oncoming
sweep of the torrent by starting a;
smaller blaze that should. at least
clear the surface close at hand, and,
by eating off the fuel, stop, possibly,
the progress of the greater fame,
But the minor blaze had also to be
stopped lest it come swapping and de-
vouring within the grove. 1t is no
easy matter to check prairie fire.
against a prairie gale when every
human aid is summoned. It is des-