The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-10-31
THE YELLOW
TUFT
By DAVID BRUCE FITZGERALD

post, and their points of view differed
in almost every conceivable particular
As they sat one evening, at the close
of blazing, fiery day, in a corner of
the long veranda OF the commandant's
quarters, the colonel discoursed on his
favorite theme-which he had studied
on Pennsylvania avenue, exactly 1900
miles distant as the crow fies-"The
only good Indian is a dead Indian"
until the major began to revolve the
question of applying for leave of abb
sence. He hated argument--and there
was not a pound of ice within 200
miles
Just then Sergt. James Mcguire
made an official report to the colonel,
saluted, clicked his heels and was
marching off, when the major brought
him up standing with word and re-
quested him to tell the colonel what
happened at the Little Chusca Canyon.
The sergeant flattened himself against
the white weather-boarding and In
deprecatory manner complied.
well, sir" he said ut was at the
time of the second Navajo uprising.
with which, for pure devilishness. the
first wasn't in II for minute. About
| six o'clock one evening a ranchman
| came in from Manuelito with the news
that the Navajos we're out along the
Arizona border, moving eastward and
leaving an unpleasant trail. We mount.
ed four companies and were off on the
stroke OF ten. But Lord! we didn't
dream what was ahead. When we
halted at dawn next morning for
breakfast, two halfbreed Zuni scouts
came in and told us that we were up
| against the whole Navajo nation, with
its war-paint on in broad streaks.
THE captain considered a bit, and
then ordered us to saddle and mount.
We thought that meant falling back on
the fort, but It really meant going
| ahead and holding the Indians in
check till reinforcements could come
up. With half dozen scouts mile
In advance, we rode westward.
"At nine o'clock we sighted a fairly
good-s2ed bunch of Indians-about
two to our one-but that was nothing
in those days. They made off to the
north, intending to ride around and
get between us and the fort. so we
| clapped the spurs in and went after
them. don't remember nastier
ride. This desert is a warmish sort of
II place at the best-that day II was a
furnace. The sun was so blazing hot
II raised fever blisters on our souls.
One poor fellow went clean daft. We
couldn't have been wetter or Steamer
| II one of the post washerwomen had
poured boiling water over us.
1--WE brushed the reds three times
that day, first Jewett's stage
station, next at Yucca creek, and again
at Gibson's, near the beginning Of the
| foothills. Each time we rushed them,
because there was nothing else to do.
but they didn't stand worth a cent.
Spotted Owl was the only Indian | ever
knew who would stand out I'm the open
and fight like a white man, but he had
too great fancy for green paint. It
drew the fire of every man within
range; he had eight bullets in him the
! day he died.
About two hours before sundown
the reds halted in the mouth of the
Little Chusca Canyon. From their
own standpoint, it was beautiful
place for fight. The steep walls,
thousand feet high, protected their
fanks. The gorge behind them ran
back 20 miles into the mountains, and
the floor of the canyon, near its mouth,
was strewn with great powders. An
Indian just dotes on shooting through
a crevice in the rocks.
when our captain-it was the ma
jor, here-saw the situation, it wor-
ried him-begging his pardon-and he
called the lieutenants aside for a talk.
The upshot was that the captain made
us little speech, the gist of which
was that we were not going to round
up that bunch of reds, and might as
well be going, as the real circus was
to be down on the plains, But he said
| that before we left he would like to
give the Indians in front a scare that
would keep them from hanging on to
our trail
I'VE saw It meant crawling, and an
swered by slipping from our horses.
We had half mile to cover before
the light failed, but the ground was
covered with big rocks, and we
crawled and lodged and made little
runs, the reds taking snapshots, but
doing no particular damage.
IA hundred and fifty yards from the
mouth of the canyon we reached an
open place, sand-noored and bare as
the palm OF your hand, except for one
big bowider in the center 1t would
have been just simple suicide to try
crossing The lieutenant shook his
head, and sent back sketch of the
ground to the captain.
while we waited for instructions.
noticed two Indians behind the big
bowlder. 1t was deYil-may-care
place TO be for II we charged they
were done ", no matter what hap.
pened to rs Individually, and they had
no way of knowing what we would
do. They were safe enough for the
time, so long as they kept behind the
rock, and | sized them up as a couple
OF bucks anxious to distinguish them.
selves.