Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-03-12

ono of their number coming within
 400 yards of the slender fighting line
 in the stream bed; some of them, in
 deed, disdaining to stoop, riding de-
 fiantly along the front, firing wildly
 as they rode, yet surely and gradu-
 ally guiding their ponies back to the
 higher ground, back out of harms
 way; and, in five minutes from tho
 time they had flashed into view, com
 ing charging over the mile away
 ridge, not red warrior was left on
 the low ground-only three or four
 luckless ponies, kicking in their last
 struggles or stiffening on the turf,
 while their riders, wounded or un-
 hurt, had been picked up and spirited
 away with the marvellous skill only
 known to these warriors of the
 plains.
 Then Ray and his men had time to breathe and shout laughing comment and congratulatioM Not one, as yet,
 was hit or hurt. They were secure for the time in strong position, and had signally whipped off the first as- sault of the Sioux.
 Loudly, excitedly, angrily these 1 latter were now conferring again far up the slope to the north. At least 100 in one concourse, they were hay ing hot discussion over the untoward result of the dash. Others, obedient to orders from the chief were circling far out td east and west and cross ing the valley above and below the position of the defense Others, still, were galloping back to the ridge, where, against the sky line. strong bodies of warriors could be plainly seen, moving excitedly to and fro. Two little groups slowly making their way to the crest gave no little comfort to the boys in blue. Some; at least, of the charging force had been made to feel the bite of the cavalry weapon and were being borne to the rear.
 But no time was to be wasted. Al ready from, far up the stream bed two or three Indians were hazard ing long-range shots at the grove, and Ray ordered all horses into a bend of the ''wash," where the side lines were whipped from the blanket straps and the excited sorrels se- curely hoppled. Then, here, there and in score of places along the bank and again at the edge of the cottonwoods, men had been assigned their stations and bidden to find cover for themselves without delay. Many burrowed in the soft and yield ing soil, throwing the earth forward in front of them. Others utilized fallen trees or branches. Some two or three piled saddles and blanket rolls into low barricade, and all, while crouching about their work, watched the feathered warriors as they steadily completed their big cir cle far out on the prairie. Bullets came whistling now fast and ire quently, nipping off leaves and twigs and causing many a fellow to duck instinctively and to look about him, ashamed Of his dodge, yet sure of the fact that time had been in the days of the most hardened veteran of the troop when he, too, knew what it was to shrink from the whistle of hostile lead. It would be but mo- ment or two, they all understood, before the foe would decide on the next move; then every man would be needed.
 Meantime, having stationed Field on the north front, with orders to note every movement of the Sioux, and having assigned Clayton to the minor duty of watching the south front and the Hanks, Ray was moving cheerily among his men, speeding from cover to cover, suggesting here, helping there, alert, even joy ous in manner. "We couldn't have better roost, lads," he said. "We can stand of double their number easy. We can hold out a week if need be, but you bet the major will be reaching out after us before we're two days older. Don't waste your shots. Coax them close in. Don't fire at galloping Indian beyond 300 yards. It's waste of powder and lead"
 Cheerily, joyously they answered him, these his comrades, his soldier children, men who had fought with him, many of their number, in a dozen fields, and men who would stand by him, their dark-eyed little captain, to the last. Even the young est trooper of the 50 seemed in- spired by the easy, laughing confi- dence of the lighter hearts among their number, of the grim, matter of fact pugnacity of the older cam paigners. It was significant, too, that the Indians seemed so divided in mind as to the next move. There was loud wrangling and much dis putation going on in that savage council to the north. Stabber's braves and Lame Wolf's followers seemed bitterly at odds, for old hands in the fast-growing rife pits pointed out on one side as many as half a dozen of the formers war riors whom they recognized and knew by sight, while Ray, studying the shifting concourse through his glasses, could easily see Stabber raging among them in vio- lent altercstion with tall, superb ly built and bedizened young brave, a sub-chief. apparently. who for his part. seemed giving Stabber as good as he got. Lame Wolf was not in sight at all. He might still be far from the scene, and this tall warrior be acting as his representative. But