The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-07-02
WHAT CAME OF
RIFLE PRACTICE.
lOriginal.1


the eastern base of the Rocky noun
tains, was wealthy and desired his
only child, Corinne, to marry wealth.
He dreaded to have her shut up with
lot of impecunious officers, fearing an
affair with one of them. His fears
were realized. Percy King, light
haired, blue eyed boy fresh from West
Point, made the trouble. But Corinne
had been brought up to understand
that she must marry wealth and was
prepared to sacrifice her own feelings
and the lieutenants as well. She told
him that if he didn't keep off, she
would be sent east.
The principal occupations of army
officers at solitary stations at that time
were poker and whisky. King, not
having taste for either, on being de-
prived of the society of his ladylove
and feeling the need of something to
distract his attention, took up target
practice. Nearly every morning and
evening he could be seen on the shoot
ing grounds outside the fort with q
rife, at times firing at a target and
at times at objects tossed into the air
by his striker He found that he had
the especial combination of muscle,
nerve and eye TO make a rem arkable
shot. He kept lengthening the dis
lance between himself and the object
fred at till he discovered that what he
most needed was a longer range rifle.
Then he sent east for the best that
could be purchased, though it took all
his spare funds to pay for it.
One day camping party of the
younger people at the fort went UP into
the mountains. 1t was a foolhardy
thing to do, for the Indians had for
some time shown signs of revolt. King
was the only young person left behind.
Instead of moping in his quarters he
mounted his horse and, with his rifle.
set out to try for an antelope or CUP in
the canyon) Il goat. He took his striker
with him to carry the game in case he
got any. Failing to find an antelope,
he went up the canyon for q goat.
From an eminence he saw down on the
plain a sight that appalled, him-a body
OF Indians galloping toward the mouth
of the canyon. He knew from the APP
pearance and actions of the red men
that they We're on the warpath. They
were not sufficiently numerous to at
tack the fort, but it occurred to him at
once that they knew of the party in
the mountains and were going for
them. They were between him and
the fort, and a spur of the foothills
was between the fort and them.
There came mighty resolve in King.
He would make stand in the canyon
alone, while his striker rode on to the
camp and warned the purity.
As the striker moved on up the in
cline King descended till he came to a
small natural fortress that commanded
a stretch in the road about a quarter
of a mile long and at about 800 yards
distance from him. To enter upon this
stretch of road one must come around
a projecting rock. The young officer
had brought plenty of ammunition.
and his rifle could be depended upon to
carry the distance. Finding a crevice
in his miniature fort through which he
could fire without being seen or ex-
posed, he knelt behind it and was
ready for the fight
Suddenly an Indian shot out from
behind the rock, followed at about
twenty PAGES by two more. Kings
rifle cracked three times in quick sue
cession, and the three Indians dropped.
Several more who had come into view,
seeing that they We're ambushed, turn
ed to retrace their steps.
Considerable time elapsed before any
more redskins were seen. King judged
that their next appearance would be
on one or the other side of the canyon
and it would be impossible for them
to get above him without being seen.
A party of five did attempt to climb
over some fifty yards across rock,
but King picked off three of them,
and the other two rolled back over the
face of the rock.
He had scarcely given a gasp of re-
lief and was darling his eyes in every |
direction when he saw q man just step |
ping out of the foliage on to a ledge
from which he might look right down I
into the white mans redoubt. The In /
dian had grasped the ledge. but Kings .
rife cracked again, and the climber
fell back Another. apparently having
from different quarter, 1
was making signs from the ledge when \
he, too, fell a victim to Kings pre-
cision
All this occupied more than an hour. 7
But now King began to feel that the I
end was drawing near-that the Indian +
he had last shot had succeeded in COM /
knowledge of his weak !
ness. He was wrong. Nearly an hour /
more passed before he saw indications I
that his enemies had been climbing to /
his rear and were surrounding him. |
Then suddenly up the canyon he heard /
shots, which were answered by shots.
The striker had reached the camping
party. the women and children had T
been hidden and Il messenger sent by 4
a circuitous path to the fort. Then +
the men of the party. half a dozen i
officers and as many privates. cooks /.
and strikers. all armed, had gone to I
Kings support. They had encountered I.
the Indians in his rear, but the red /
skins were only a few who had climb 4
ed over the rocks for observation. and I
they were driven back. Then the sup
ports joined King.
The reinforcement discoura ged the 1
Indians. though they outnumbered the /