The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1905-01-20

""h' Ah' professor was or
uered 70 march with the command
ne followed at his own distance as
boiore, AS a walker, he might have
been iorcvn celebrated among t,s
nad ne not been destined 10 attain
celebrity of another sort when we
sl'pped into JicarIlla trap upon the
Mesa dc los Lobos.
Alter ten days Of marching we filed
out o. tortuous canon. one hot morn
ing upon the high plain. and having
by' some chance taken the lesser of
the two trails, where canon and road
iorked we found that we had oscapcd
annlhilation in a huge ditch only 10
meet a fierce Apache rush upon the
mesa Wild riders seemed to emerge
100, 20O-out Of nowhere. suddenly
materiallzing' out Of a shimmerinp
MIST OF heat radiation. and they were
! upon us before we could form for de-
iense. No ear in that tremendous din
could hear Murphy's roars of COM
mand
II was save himself who can" ex-
cept that no man thought of fight.
Each trooper and civilian got behind
morse, mule or wagon, drew his Colt
and hred into the screeching, clatter-
ing mob, which charged home upon us
In the characteristic Apache rush
II was a thrilling, savage moment.
Clouds Of horsemen hurled themselves
at us with doafening yeNs, dlscharging
a rain of feathered shafts and lunging
hereby at horse and man with their
long lances. They rode down and over
and through our thin line, a veritable
bosom Of destruction.
When this whirlwind OF savagerv
had howled over US and the dust OF 1t
had lifted somewhat. we took account
OF our casualties OF 2S fighting men
we had IS left uninjured Three were
killed outright and three disabled.
Nine horses and mules had been killed
or crippled
The faces Of the living we're grave
enough, and filled with graver fore
boding when It became apparent that
the Apaches had not met with severe
repulse They had carried off their
dead and were drawn mp on a ridge
marked by clumps Of greasewood a !
mile or so in our advance. In five min
utes three thin columns Of smoke |
arose among them, and we knew that
they were SIGNALING for the approach 1
Of another band.
To go back into the canons meant
certain destruction: to go forward
seemed equally perilous. But Murphy
was fighter. DE feared the moral ef-
feet Of entrcnchment and so began TO
put things in fighting order for adj
vance
-Four men were lowering the dead
into a shallow nit when the professor
came UP ont Of the canon in our rear.
We had rccnoned him with the lost.
1ut somehow the Apachos had missed
him. lie came among us with looks
of concern
why, why. men. this is-h-m-m
most Unfortunate" he said Ills
ace betrayed sorrowful emotion as
he dead were covered with a salute
ired Then he donned his hat and
inquired after the enemy Of whose
lin his deaf ears had heard nothing.
The Indians upon the ridge were
pointed out to him
The professor Strengthened his lank
Igure. adjusted his spectacles. and
.azed intently toward the mirage-dis-
orted figures and the thin wreaths OF I
moke which curled over them. Pres
ntly he spoke:
Lieutenant, do you think--h-m-m
they'll come on again?"
"Sure!" said Murphy.
Then" said the professor, calmly,
then, Lieutenant, we must-h- MN ,
aust drive EN- on"
Immediately he began TO unpack his ,
ig gun case. lie worked deftly. taxi
lg from its long cover and unwinding
swaddled Creedmoor rife of great
over and range. This ponderous
eapon, the barrel OF which had been /
pecially made to the professors or
CT. as | learned later. must have
eished ~ or 16 pounds To Il had
cen fitted a beautiful full-length tele-
,ope sight with set-screws for regu-
ting the elevation and windage 2
A laugh broke out among the troop 4
IS. who were unable TO resist the u
umor Of the situation. Murphy
'inned. but looked al the polished and =
'stly target-gun with degree OF re- .
,cct "
so you'd like to try a shot said .
e lieutenant Wei, guess IL won't
, any harm. q
1T must rest upon a wagon, lieuten-
it-h-m-m loull have the mules
moved, to give steadiness."
lie spoke authoritivcly and Murphy
'sitated for an instant, then with a
lizzical look, he gave the requisite "
der Soon the cover Of the unhitched ..
agon had been lifted and the profess =
r stood upon a feed-boX with his big
in resting well across some piled-up
cks OF corn lie busted himself at
ice in making a careful estimate Of ,l
9 distance. in adjusting the set ~
rews of the telescope, and in taking "a
49,