Woodruff County news. [volume] (McCrory, Ark.) 1901-1910, 1908-08-20
SAVED BY
DULAN
BY VIM. J. Dryer.

| in India | had been sent from Colon
| DO, at my own request, to Calcutta
to there join the force that was to
| be sent up in the hills to put down the
uprising. Upon my arrival at Cal
cutta the force under Gen. Darcy had
already been several days on the
march. After much bargaining | de-
cided to trust to luck, and engaged
native boatman to paddle me up
the river to a point where | could take
the trail. l had no fears that | would
not be able to make myself under
stood SO long as l was among the
friendly hill tribes.
Upon the advice of my boatman we
landed at point ON the river several
miles below a village. After leaving
me encamped on the bank, behind the
| tropical foliage, with the boat drawn
out of sight, he went to the village
the inhabitants.
He returned after several hours,
which seemed to be SO many da7s, ac-
cOmDanied by an intelligent looking
man and woman. | found that she
was from far up in the hills, and
that years before she had run away
from her native village with the man
who was now her husband. They had
intended on the morrow to return to
the place of her birth, and had con-
scented to act as my guides and to
carry my luggage.
We started off in the cool of the
evening. We were in hopes of reach
in the encampment of the soldiers in
five or six days Up! Up! Up! AL
ways up! 1t seemed as though the
world had settled back and that we
were doomed eternally to climb up.
We passed village after village totally
deserted The fanatics of the hills
had evidently called the villagers to
join their forces or they mad fed TO
the low lands. On the third day up
my man guide developed bad fever.
The next day he became de)irious.
and toward dusk collapsed completely
His wife, whose name was Dulan, took
up the luggage, and l half-carried,
half-dragged him to the outskirts of
the village, where we made bed of
bamboo Dulan would look at me
appealingly and express with Fer eyes
how grateful she would be to me if
| would save her husband. | literally
filed him with quinipe, and [ found,
to my surprise the next morning, that
the patient was losing his fever. We
found the sole inhabitant O. the viii
lage was an old man who had de-
cided to remain, and after we had
left her husband in his care, Dulan
and l proceeded
Late the same erening We entered
another village that was to all intents
deserted. Dulan selected a house
where she was to sleep, ant'I selected
another nearby. | proceeded to re-
tire for the night, and, il fact, had
been resting on my bed of bamboo
for some few minutes, wlen | heard
the beating, indistinctly at first, of a
tom-tom drum.
The room was in total darkness,
and cautiously glancing around l saw
off to the left the reflection through
the floor of light. / vas in a cold
sweat My clothing clung to me. At
ter few minutes interval proceeded
to drag myself toward the light, and
amid the cracking of the bamboo |
looked through the crevice and dis
covered that | was above a cave of the
hill fanatics. They were carrying on
one of their wild, outrageous dances,
whirling around and around, until,
completely exhausted, they would
drop, one by one.
/ dared not move now for fear of
being discovered. Vermin covered
me, and the stencil from the pit below
was well-nigh unbearable. | do not
believe | moved one inch during the
whole night. l could see the sun ris-
ing through the halfopened door and
half wished that | had been butchered
and had the suspense over with.
Then, ah, then, / heard the sweetest
music in the world An army bugle
sounded. | was saved! l heard the
rumbling of gun carriages, and
cramped as l was, half crawled to
the door and beheld a mountain bat
terry coming down the street.
Dulan was seated on the first gun
carriage between two soldiers.