The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-09-22
BY Francis Lynds.

had led the captured horses in the
dusk.
This route promised all the perils Of
a gantlet-runninS since by ii we must
take the risk of meeting the fleeing
fugitives from the convoy camp, ii the
explosion had spared amy fit to lift
and carry the vengeance cry. But here
again there was no alternative. and we
set MS In order for The descent. With
Yeates and the tataWba ahead, the
women and Dick in the midst. and hey
Apostolic Majesty's late captain of hus-
sars. masquerading as q British troop
er. to bring on the rear.
once in motion beneath the blue
black shadows of the pines. | quickly
lost all sense of direction. After we
had ridden in wordless silence q short
half hour or less, and I supposed we
should be nearing the head of our de-
scending ravine. our little cavalcade
was halted suddenly in a 1hickset
grove of the pines. and Ephraim Yeates
appeared at my stirrup to say:
Hist VI off your nag. Cap'n John.
and let's take IL far'well suuinch at the
inimy whilst we can
where what enemy" would ask,
slipping from the saddle at his word.
WIN the -caDtain'S varmintS,
to be sure. or WhGt-all the amobination
o desolation has left of EN-. We amt
more than a cats jump from the edge
o the big rock where we first Sot eyes
on EN- this morning."
I saw not what was to be gained by
any Such long-range cSpial In the dark
ness. None the less. | followed The old
man to the cliffs edge. He was wiser
in his ~forecnsiinSs than | was in mine.
There was a thing to look at. and light
enough to see it by. one of the missile
stones. it seems, nad crashed into the
great fire, scattering the brands in al.
directions. The ~pinc-bough troop shell
ters We're ablnHe. and creeping serpents
OF fire were worming their way hither
and yon over the yea"-old leaf beds in
the wood Ever and anon some pine
sapling in the path of these fiery ser
penis would go UP in a torch-light
flare. and so, as | say. there was light
enough.
What we locke down upon was not
inaptly pictured out by IGphraim
Yeates's Scripture phrase. the abom-
ination of desolation. Every vestige of
the camp save the glowing skeletons
OF the troop shelters had disappeared,
and the Swarded avann vas become
a blackened chaos-b!ot on the fair
woodland scene. have said taAt the
Notwithstanding boulder WAS a cliff
for size, the mighty upheaval of the
explosion had topped 1t in ruins into
the stream. and huge fragments the
bigness of a wine-butt had been hurled
with the storm of lighter debris broad
east upOn the am
At fist W. saw 10 sign of life in all
the tirelit space. But Il IN la
tel, when three or four Of the sapling
torches blaZed up together. we made
out some half dozen figures of human
beings-whether red or white we could
not teil-stumblinS and Keeling about
among the rocks like blind men
drunken.
At sight of these the old hunter
DOTTED his hat and fell upon his knees
with hands uplifted to pour out his
zcalot's soul in the awful sentences OF
the 'salmiSt's imprecaticn.
Let God rise, Inc let His inimies
be scattered; let them also that hate
Him flee before Him. Like as the
smoke vanisleth. so shalt thou drive
them away; and like as the wax melt
eth at the fire. so let the ungodly per
ish at the presence of God. ;"