Amador ledger. (Jackson, Amador County, Calif.) 1875-19??, 1909-01-01
AQueStiOnOf Honor.

copyright, 1908, by T. c. McClure.1
Sergeant Brady and his squad of
men had been out from Fort Thomas
for four days, cutting and placing tele'
graph poles, when they were fired ON
by the Sioux There was a treaty Of
peace between the white man and the
red, but 1t had 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 O veteran captain would have
done. He called In his men, scattered
for two miles along the line, and threw
up defenses and prepared to stand Off
the Indians until a courier could get
through to the fort and return with in
structions.
Unfortunately for Sergeant Brady,
the regimental adjutant had 1t 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
sergeants 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 fred 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 score
Of times, but perhaps he has made too
much of this OCCASION" unused the
commandant. II will order him to
hold his position for three days and
then report again. I will also caution
him not to provoke .hostilities."
1t was a 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
lets had come singing over the de-
fenses. The sergeant read his orders
and then assembled his men, read them
aloud and said:
"Its 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 I am,
is it. after being at the front in score
of shindies with the red devils! We
| are not to provoke hostilities with 200
copper faced heather waiting for our
scalpsw
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 it.
Twenty redskins lay dead when the
| living retreated.
"Take a long breath and do a little
smiling, me boys" said the'sergeant as
he turned over and sat up. CHATS 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. If
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
yours"
1.-THE city of Dublin, as far as l can
remember" was the reply.
1--WE 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 a 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 I 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 1 am, Sergeant Brady,
Pm thinking how much more decent 1t
would have been of me to eaten the
smallpox and die within sound of her
wailing"
"Well, laugh and smile over it just
the same McGraw, I'm thinking l see
a wetness about your eyes. Have We
been rubbing at them with some fine
cut tobacco"
mot at ALL sarge, but curse the man
who held us here to be wiped Quit!
at don't need no vote to see that we
all think alike on that, but it's no time