The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1908-11-20
'AQuestiOnOf Honor.

Aoi i1uI udyS. cutting ana puclnI teles
graph poles. when they were fired on
blythe Sioux There vas a tfsitJ OF
peace betwee. the white mai and the
red. but It Lad been felt for three
months past that the latter were get
ting ready to break It, The sergeant
had gone out without instructions what
TO do In case he was attacked when
he found that he was menaced he did
what a veteran captain would have
aone. He called In his men. scattered
for two miles along the line. and threw
up defenses and prepared to stand off
the Indians until courier could get
through to the fort and return with in
Btructions.
Unfortunately for Sergeant Brady,
the regimental adjutant had It in" 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
sergeant's stripes, and for weeks the
latter had walked the chalk line to de-
feat the formers plans. When the
courier lodged the gathering warriors
and reached the fort and reported the
commandant was for directing the
squad TO come in at once, but 1t 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 a
scare. He's got ratified over nothing.
We have no reports of outbreaks
HE has shown his bravery q score
OF times, but perhaps he has made too
much Of this OCCASION" mused the
commandant 'I will order him to
hold his position for three days and
then report again. l win also caution
him not 10 provoke hostilitiesp
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 Il
wipe-out Already there had come
demand for surrender, and hostile bull
lets had come singing over the de-
fenses. The sergeant read his orders
and then assembled his men, read them
aloud and said:
TITS the hand of the adjutant, me
boys, and It makes no difference to
him that the rest OF you have got to
20 down with me. It's ratified am,
IS It. after being at the front in a score
of shlndies with the RED devils! We
are not to provoke hostilities with 200
copper faced heather waiting for our
scalpsr'
Seventy or eighty Indians who had
crept as near as they could find cover
rose up at signal and rushed the
breastwork OF brush and limbs and
powders. The seven concentrated
their fire on the rush and broke 1t.
Twenty redskins lay dead when the
living retreated.
Take long breath and do little
smiling, me boys" said the sergeant as
he turned over and sat up. That's
thing we might brag about at the post
II 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 1t would still be the
same RAFFERTY,, what place in the old
country IL responsible for that mug OF
yours?"
.erhe city of Dublin, as far as can
remember" was the reply.
1--WE been there myself and can't
say too much IN honor of the town.
IL you've an old mother back there
you might do e 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
water?"
Indeed, sarge, but did. II was
colored for me In the county Of Tip
perary."
''The Indian who gets youi scalp lock
will be mighty proud Of the same.
o'Mears, are ye thinking Of that sweet
heart of yours back there in New York
cityr
That's what / am, Sergeant Brady.
I'm thinking how much more decent 1t
wculd have been of me to catch the
smallpox and die within sound of her
waillng."
"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 tobaccoT
mot at all, sarge, but curse the man
VINO held us here to be wiped OUT"
1T 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 u.s.
The Indians had completely encir-
cled the little band, and for half an
hour they poured In such rain Of hul-
lets that every spot within the de-
fenses was searched Rafferty, and
O'Grady were killed and Sullivan and
O'Mears desperately wounded before II
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 aud be
over the breastwork in jiffy. Down
Wen go under the crush. but some
day the boys back at the post will