Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-06-29
DAILY STORY
WHAT CAME OF
RIFLE PRACTICE.

Colonel Tanning of the United states II
cavalry, in command of Il district at Il
the eastern base of the Rocky noun Il
tains. was wealthy and desired his
only child. Corinne, to marry wealth Il
He dreaded to have her shut up with
lot of impecunious officers, fearing an
affair with one of them. His fears 4
were realized. Percy King, light |
haired, blue eyed boy fresh from West /
Point. made the trouble. But Corinne 4
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 Il |
rifle. at times firing at q 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 Il remarkable |
| shot. He kept lcngthening the dis
| lance between himself and the object
| fired at till he discovered that what he
| mort needed was longer range rife.
| Then he sent east for the best that
| could be purchased though it took all
his spare funds to pay for it.
One day a 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 rife
set out to try for an antelope or CUP in
the canyon 4 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 a goat
| From an eminence he saw down on the
plain Il sight that appalled, nina body
of Indians galloping toward the mouth
of the canyon. He knew from the 8p-
pcarance and actions of the red men
that they We're on the warpath. They
were not sufficiently numerous 10 at
tack the fort. but it occurred to him ut
once that they knew of the party in
the mountains and We're going for
them. They We're between him and
the fort, and a spur of the foothills
was between the fort and them.
There came a mighty resolve in King.
He would make a stand in the canyon
alone, while his striker rode on 10 the
camp and warned the party.
As the striker moved on up the in
cline King descended till he came to
small natural fortress that commanded
a stretch in the road about a quarter
Of a mile long and at about 500 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 Sut 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.
Il 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 climl
over some fifty yards across a rock
but King picked off three of them
! and the other two rolled back over the
5 face of the rock.
He had scarcely given n gasp of re
= lief and was darting his eyes in every
c direction when he saw man just step
Il ping out of the foliage on to a ledge
d from which he might look right dowr
u into the white mans redoubt. The In
= dian had grasped the ledge. but King:
D rife cracked again, and the climber
e fell back. Another, apparently having
. approached from different quarter
Q was making signs from the ledge wheI
4 he. too, fell victim to Kings pre-
n cision.
# All this occupied more than an hour
u But now King began to feel that thu
y. end was drawing near-that the IndiaI
;, he had last shot had succeeded in com
=, munfcating knowledge of his weak
ness. He was wrong. Nearly an hou
more passed before he saw Indication
= that his enemies had been climbing t,
:, his rear and were surrounding him
|" Then suddenly up the canyon he hear,
shots, which were answered by shots
lie The striker had Rached the campin,
IL party, the women and children ha,
IS been hidden and messenger sent b,
I. a circnitous path to the fort. Thel