The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1908-12-24
'AQueStiOnOf Honor.

men had been out from Fort Thomas
for four days, cutting and placing tele>
graph rcles. when they wcra rrad 6,
by the EiCuN. :c-,: NJ; 4 tr~-jty Il
peace between the white man and the
red, but it had been felt for three
months past that the latter were get
ting ready to break it. The sergeant
had gone out without inGtrCctiC rs what
to do In case he was alta cI:cd When
he found that he was mCnAced he did
what a veteran captain would have
done He called in his men, scattered
for two miles along the li:,c. and threw
up defenses and prepared to stand off
the Indians until a cOuri>r could get
through to the fort and return with in
structiOns.
Unfortunately for Sergeant Brady,
the regimental adjutant chad it i'm for
the grizzled old veteran, who had put
| in twenty years on the frontier and
| knew all the tricks of the red men,
| Three or four things had occurred to
prove that the adjutant was after the
sergeants stripes, and for weeks the
| latter had walked the chalk line to de-
feat the formers plans. When the
and reached the fort and reported the
| commandant was for directing the
squad to come In at once, but it was
| the adjutant who said:
Sergeant Brady simply reports see
ing signs and being fired on. 1t is
some Of the young bucks giving him
scare. He's got ratified over nothing.
| We have no reports of outbreaks"
"He has shown his bravery a score
Of times, but perhaps he has made too
much Of this OCCASION" unused the
commandment II will order him to
hold his position for three days and
then report again. l will also caution
him not to provoke hostilities."
| 1t was tight squeak for the courier
to return to the little command. The
Indians were creeping up on all sides
and boasting that there should be a
wipe-out. Already there had come a
demand for surrender, and hostile bull
let's had come singing over the de-
lenses. The sergeant read his orders
and then assembled his men, read them
aloud and said:
"It's the hand of the adjutant, me
| boys and it makes no difference to
him that the rest Of you have got to
go down with me. It's ratified / am,
| is it. after being at the front in a score
Of shindies with the red devils! We
are not to provoke hostilities with 200
| copper faced heather waiting for our
scalpsv'
Seventy or eighty Indians who had
crept as near as they could find cover
rose up at a signal and rushed the
breastwork Of brush and limbs and
powders. The seven concentrated
| their fire on the rush and broke it.
Twenty redskins lay dead when the
| living retreated.
"Take a long breath and do q little
smiling, me boys" said the sergeant as
| he turned over and sat up. THAT'S a
thing we might brag about at the post
| if any Of us were to get there. We
are going to get value received, but
don't forget what the end is to be. Ii
| there were twenty of us and we had
two guns apiece it would still be the
same. Rafferty,, what place in the old
country is responsible for that mug OF
| yoursW
"The city of Dublin, as far as | can
remember" was the reply.
| "Ive been there myself and can't
| say too much in honor Of the town
| If you've an old mother back there
you might do bit of praying before
| our friends make another move.
| O'Grady, did you bring that red hair
| Of yours all the way across the big
| Waterw
Indeed, sarge, but 1 did. 1t was
| cOlored for me in the county of Tip
perary."
"The Indian who gets your scalp lock
will be mighty proud Of the same.
| O'Mears, are We thinking of that sweet
| heart Of yours back there in New York
| city,"
| That's what am, Sergeant Brady.
| I'm thinking how much more decent 1t
would have been of me to catch the
smallpox and die within sound Of her
wailing."
"Well, laugh and smile over it just
| the same. McGraw, I'm thinking see
| a wetness about your eyes. Have ye
been rubbing at them with some fine
| cut tobacco"
"Not at all, sarge, but curse the man
who held us here to be wiped out!'
ut don't need no vote to see that we
all think alike on that, but it's no time
| for tears. We've been put ON our
| honor, and we are going to die with
smiles on our faces. Whist, but they
have bullets to spare around usw
The Indians had completely encir--
| cled the little band, and for half an
hour they poured in such rain Of bull
! lets that every spot within the de-
| lenses was searched. Rafferty, and
| O'Grady were killed and Sullivan and
O'Mears desperately wounded before it
ceased.
"Four from seven leaves three" said
| the sergeant as he rose to his knees
and looked around. ''The next move
| is to die smiling, me boys. They'll
come with whoops and yells and be
over the breastwork in jiffy. Down
We'll go under the crush, but some
day the boys back at the post will
learn that we did our best Get ready
they're coming!'
"Dead-all Of themw said captain
40 ha looked over tha dpfanSpS two