The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-12-22

the RICH ban some hundred yard!
above the fording place, and lacking
Dicks example to shame me to thu
Drawer curse. L fear l should have re.
coileG at the brink. But when the lac
sent his horse without the missing of {
bound far out over the eddying flood, J
shook the reins on the sorrei's neck
gave hin The word and shut my eyes.
After all. 1t was nothing worse thar
a cold plunge, with a few pistol bullets
to sputter harmlessly around us wher
we came ur for air. Moreover, there
We're the camp-fires of Davidson's mer
on the farther bank to encourage us;
and SO swimming and wading by
turns we got across in time to give the
alarm.
AS 0 would guess. there was a
mighty stir on our side of the river
when we had splashed ashore and got
our news we'll born. AS 1t turned out
General Davidson's main camp was a
good half-mile from the river In one OF
the outtields of Appleby Hundred. SC
1t CHANGED there We're upon the spot
only brave Joe Graham and his fifty
rineu,en to dispute the passage OF an
army.
What IA done at Macgowan's Ford
in the gray Of che morning of February
first, 1881, has become a page in our his
tory. But l protest that not any OF
the ~rhroniclers do even-handed Justice
to the little band Of patriot riflemen do
ing their utmost to hold a hundred-to-
n outnumbering host in check.
Twas a 1ne sight. be the onlooker
whig or tory. The guards, left. by the
fiery Irishman. O'Hara, took the water
first. the men croWding shoulder to
shoulder to brace against the sweep OF
the current which, on the western side
OF h stream, was little less than a
mill-tail for Swiftness. After them came
the foot and horse IN solid squares, and
always. with more to follow. None the
less. our little handful did not blanch;
and when the guards In midstream held
straight across instead of bearing to
the right as the ford ran, a shout went
up on u side II the fifty hastened
up from the forehead as one mar t.
face the enemy squarely. \
Now it was that the brown-barlele,
rifles began to crack and spit fire; an.
l do think II we had had our other "a
out of hat back field on the mano ,
lands. we might at least have made(th s
wading redcoats hurry a little. Indie.
as 1t was. the van Of the guards brpA :
here and there, and we could hes /
O'FIara berating his men as only /,
battle-mad lrishnan ran, with blarne, ,
tEgs and curses ,lntermingled. ~
Having no firearms ave our wettt
pistols. Jennifer and l crouched in CO. +
er. waiting to do what two swordsmt
might when the blades length shou &
bridge the fnst-narrowing distance b +
tween US mo the advancing host.
Twas in this little interval of forcts
inavtion that we heard a most famili! i
voice issuing from a clump of hol. a
just below our covert: Il voice lift,d
now in fervent prayer and again !;
scriptural anathama on the foe. :,
Let God arise and let His mimi "
he scattered. Let them he t, :,
Ghatf upon a t%lireshirs Noor'-' u
Jhe sharp crack OF the old borderel 9
iias filled the m~omrntary pause. and >,
EI!,ish officer IN 4 coionel's unifoipi,
ssv&s@l %G:unssnly in his saddle a IS
plunged t1euG!ons IN the stream.
Ret the1l BE as the children =,
-AianietS heftr. tbs Mighty One ~
!mt ei; make ;hnm4 II their prime
Ike tt,th ANA Zeeb;:.%.Sssa. make all tn
princes like rs Iabah and Zalmunlm
- MY God, make item like unttta
mseei. SAD - ne StGbhlr before tn:
wind. i.lt" as the fire that burnett. til
the wood. AID as the flame that ctis
sumelh tho mountainS. We
Crack. want The i~ols-barleied pi;to
as in. u;d aslin.an officer h%ailooing
his Eounde,iUs hatttaiinn bent to er
s.ttLie hnra II slippau iAto the turltr
iioud. ,rj
Aiy sovee rose. This picking off in
Officers iaS nlway vs. seemed to me lol,
savagest of war barbaritles. Hhi
Richard OWNED m% thought and pi
pose. [ know rot: nut when l Woh
have slipped down to Ytates' h2h
bush lie laid a ~letaining hand on Ii
arm. he
Let be- he said: its murder.fo
you like. but all war is that. When 10,
lil,h's turn comes. Trey will kill hi:nfty
relentlessly as he is killing them.'' a,
by this time the British vanguan,
was storming ashore through the shIo<
lows below the tree fringe which serV
as ovH for Graham's men. and III
kings aus,...c.s, silent hitherto, beg .
to roar and belch by platoon and volhf
fire. Jennifer craned his neck and toe
a SIT view Of the situation. q
by the Lord Harry" he cried. q
high time Joe Graham was getting q,
lads in order for a foot race. Once thEn,.
fellows come ashore they'll play hs
and hounds with us to the kings tas
Keep your eye on the nags, Jack.
may chance, us to do what two nv
can to cover a. belated retreat" e
We had tethered our horses in ar
thicket of scrub oak where they wolbr
be out OF bullet reach until the enenr
gained the bank. AS 1 looked to mag
sure OF them. the sorrel gave a shla
neigh to welcome the pounding Of hoa
on the Appleby road. l made sure TIN
would be General Davidson bringingst
the reserves; and so. indeed, it wac
but he. came too late. O'Hara's mpl
We're already climbing the bank: all
Joe Graham was rallying his little cor
pany for flight In the face of an onss
that made the tree fringe sing WHY
musket balls:
Ills our cue to run away" DID!
shouted, dragging me to my feet. -
the horses!" Z
But now we We're too late. Davis
sons men We're between us and tt
scrub oak thicket, and we must wa
till the column swept by. !
Dick swore fervently and put hi
face to the foe and his bad
to q tree. Whereupon
dragged him down as promptly as I
had just now dragged me up =tellin
him his broadsword would make but
poor shift .parrying musket balls.
What followed after was over an
done Within q dozen fiuttering hear
beats. Seeing the case was desperat
General Davidson gathered Graham
fifty into his flying. column, fiogged h
rear into the retreat, and was pitche
out Of his Saddle by a Tory rifle bull.
whilst he was doing 1t. And when tt
way to our horses was clear Of tt
galloping SCarolinians, and we woul
have U to mount and ride after then
b swarming redcoat al was upon u
with you and out of this!"a erie
Jennifer. setting me the exampl
I've must cen gallop as we ca
Quick, mani
~ NAsx go, gEENysr - MTtLs -