The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1911-08-04
Jap I.
The Plainsman.

Hitting his head SO as to gaze across
the crest. shading his eyes with n
hAcd- to thus better concentrate his
vision. Both horse and rider plainly
exhibited signs Of WEAKNESS, but
every movement Of the latter showed
ceaseless vigilance. his glance roam
ing the barren ridges, a brown Win
chester lying cooked across the saddle
poEznel, his left hand taut on the
eafn- Yet the horse he bestrode
'ocarcely required restraint, advancing
ssaowiy, with head hanging low. and
only occasionally breaking into a
brief trot under the impetus of the
spur.
The rider was a man approaching
shtrty. somewhat slender and Ion: of
hnb, but possessing broad. squared
shoulders above a deep chest. sitting
the saddle easily In plainsman fash
hon. yet with an erectness Of carriage
which suggested military training.
The face under the wide brim of the
w~cather-worn SLOUGH hat was clean
ehavcn, Drowned by sun and wind,
pnd strongly marked. the chin slight
" prominent, the mouth firm, the gray
eyes full of character and daring. His
6ress was that Of rough service. plain
leather CHAPS" showing marks Of
card usage. a gray wooden shirt turn
% low at the neck. with a kerchief
Plotted loosely about the sinewy
4ronzed throat. At one hip dangled
Q holster of a "forty-ive." on the
<vehnr hy,n0 n o1x,o~1J ,o-4aor
His was figure and face to be noted
anywhere. a man from whom you
would expect both thought and action.
and n who seemed to exactly fit
into his wild environment.
Where he rode was the very west
err extreme of the prairie country.
bflowed like the sea, and from off the
crest of its higher ridges. the wide
tevel sweep of the plains was visible,
extending like a vast brown ocean to
the foothills of the far-away noun
tains. Yet the actual commencement
OF hat drear. barren expanse was
fully ten miles distant, while all
about where he rode the conformation
was irregular, comprising narrow val
feys and swelling mounds, with here
and there a sharp ravine, riven from
the rock and invisible until one drew
mp startled at its very brink. The
general trend of depression was un-
doubtedly southwark leading toward
the valley of the Arkansas, yet irregu-
lar ridges occasionally cut across,
adding to the confusion. The entire
surrounding landscape presented the
same aspect, with no special object
upon which the eye could rest for
Euidance-no tree. no upheaval of
rock, no popularity of summit, no
snake-like trail-all about extended
the same dull, dead monotony of
brown. sun-baked hills, with slightly
ETsener depressions lying between,
i~nterspersed by patches of sand or the
white CLEAN Of alkali. 1t was a
creary. deserted land, parched under
D hot summer sun, frightened by no
vegetation, excepting sparse punches
Of buffalo grass or an occasional
stunted sage bush. and disclosing no
where the slightest sign of human
babitation.
The rising sun Redeemed the crest
of the hills, and the rider, hating lis
willing horse. sat motionless. gazing
ssbeadily into the southwest. Appar-
entity he perceived nothing there I'M
usual, for he slowly turned his body
about in the saddle. sweeping his
eyes. inch by inch, along the line of
the horizon, until the entire circuit
Dad been completed. Then his COM
pressed lips smiled slightly. his hand
unconsciously patting the horses
tneck-
Il reckon we're still alone, old girl"
he satd quietly, a bit of Southern
sarawl In the voice. "We1l try for
fhe trail. and take 1t easy"
He swung stifly out of the saddle,
Ind with reins dangling over his
shoulder, began the slower advance
= on foot, the exhausted horse trailing
behind. His was not a situation in
which one could feel certain of safety,
1lnr any ridge might conceal the wary
eoemen he sought to avoid. yet he pro-
}Beeded now with renewed confidence.
u was the summer of 1868, and the
place the very heart of the Indian
country. with every separate tribe
ranging between the Yellowstone and
che Brazos, either restless or openly
an the war-path. Rumors of atrocities
were being retold the length and
breadth Of the border, and every re.
port drifting in to either fort or set.
7e1ement only added to the alarm. For
ouce at least the Plains Indians had
discovered a common cause. tribal DIFF
ferences had been adjusted in wal
against the white invaders, and Kio
was. Comanches. Arapahoes. Chey
-annes and Sioux had become welded
fDxether In savage brotherhood. To
oppose them were the scattered and
urorganized settlers lining the more
eastern streams. guarded by small de
Sediments of regular troops posted
here and there amid that broad vii
dcmess. scarcely within touch Of eacf
either.
Everywhere beyond these lines ol
aDakrel wandered roaming war parties