The New era-leader. (Wagner, Charles Mix County, S.D.) 1911-1912, 1911-07-21
CHAPTER !.
IRE PIainsran.

the crest, shading his eyes with one
hand, 10 thus better concentrate his
vision Both horse and rider plainly
exhibited signs OF WEAKNESS. hut
every movement of the latter showed
c~easeless vigilance. his glance roam
ing the barren ridges, a brown Win
chester lying cooked across the saddle
pommel. his left hand taur on the
rein Yet the horse he bestrode
scarcely required restraint. advancing
slowly. with head hanging low. and
only occasionally breaking into a
brief trot under the impetus of the
spur.
The rider was a man approaching
thirty. somewhat slender aud long of
limb. but possessing broad. squared
shoulders above a deep chest. sitting
the saddle easily in pIainsman fash
ion yet with an erectness of carriage
which suggested military training
The face under the wide brim of the
weather-worn SLOUGH hat was clean
shayen. Drowned by sun and wind.
and strongly marked. the chin slight
IL prominent, the mouth firm. the gray
eyes full OF character and daring His
dress was that Of rough service. plain
leather chaps" showing marks Of
hard usage. a gray woolen shirt turn
ed low at the neck. with a kerchief
knottsd loosely about the sinewy
bronzed throat At n hip dangled
the holster of q ~foryy-fve." on the
other hung a ~canyascoyered canteen.
His was figure and face 10 be noted
anywhere. a man from whom you
would expect both thought and action,
and one who seemed to exactly 1T
into his wild environment
Where he rode was the very west
ern extreme of the prairie country.
beloved like the sea, and from of the
crest of its higher ridges. the wide
level sweep of the plains was visible.
extending like a vast brown ocean TO
the foothills of the faraway noun
tains- Yet tie actual commencement
of that drear. barren expanse was
fully ten miles distant. while all
about where he rode the conformation
was irregular. comprising narrow al
legs and swelling mounds. with here
and there a sharp ravine. riyen from
the rock and invisible until one drew
tp starrsed at its very brink Tie
general trend of depression was III
d~ogbtedly southwark leading toward
the valley O. the Arkansas. yet irregu-
lar ridges occasionally cut cross.
adding to the confusion The entire
surrounding landscape presented the
same aspect, with no special object
upon which the eye could rest for
guidance-no tree. no upheayal OF
rock. no peculiarly OF summit, no
snake-like trail-all about extended
the same dull. dead ,monotony of
brown. sun-baked hills, with slightly
greener depressions lying between.
fnterspersed by patches of sand or the
white gleam of alkal- II was
dreary. deserted land. parched under
the hot summer sun frightened by no
vegetation. excepting sparse punches
of buffalo gras or an occasional
Etunted sage bush, and disclosing no
where the slightest sign of human
A6OfA0Ax0A-
The rising sup redeemed the crest
of the hills, and the rider. hating lis
willing horse. sat motionless, gazing
steadily into the southwest Appar-
emily he perceived nothing there IN
usual. for he slowly turned his body
about in tie saddle sweeping his
eyes. inch by inch. along the line of
the horizon. until the entire circuit
had been completed. Then his com
pressed lips smiled slightly. his hand
un~consciously patting the horss's
neck
4 reckon we're still alone, old girl"
he said quietly. q bit of Southern
drawI In the voice. We'll Try f0r
the trail. and take it easy"
He swung stifiy out of the saddle.
and with reins dangling over his
shoulder. began the slower advance
on foot. the exhausted horse trailing
behind His was not q situation In
which one could feel certain of safety.
for any ridge might conceal the wary
foemen he sought to avoid. yet he pro
eeeded now with renewed confidence.
II was the summer of 1853, and the
place the very heart of the Indian
country. with every separate tribe
ranging between the Yellowstone and
the Brazos. either restless or openly
on the war-path. Rumors Of atrocities
we're being retold the length and
breadth OF the border. and every ~
" drifting in to either fort " st
Element only added to the alarm For
once at least the Plains Indians had
discovered a Common cause, tribal DIFF.
ferences had been adjusted in vaf
against the white invaders. and Kio-
was. Comanches, ArapaEoes. Chey.
ennes and Sioux had become welded
together in savage brotherhood To
oppose them were the scattered and
u~norganized settlers lining the more
eastern streams. guarded by small de
tachments Of regular troops posted
here and there amid that broad vii
~itha ftouchH -
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