El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-12-24

iungles of mesquite. Seeking shelter I'M
der some tall mesquites, we eamped for
the night building a fire and eating the
small remnant of lunch that Joe had
given us, after stalking our animals near
by. We used our saddles for pillows
and the blankets to cover US, and soon
dOZed off to sleep, eI feast l did.
Indians, Indians!
Suddenly l was awakened by a shrill
shrek and saw Baker Jump to his feet,
as he cried: Indians, Davis. For Gods
sake, get your gun and fight, for we arc
in for it." With that he began firing
toward a light We saw to the east, pos
sibly an eighth of a mile. 1t was all
so sudden that l also began firing at
the light, which we fancied was carried
by some indians trailing us. The light
suddenly disappeared and then reap
peared and then disappeared for good.
Baker" said 1, you have killed one
of them, and we had better get out OF
here quick or We will be massacred.' We
kicked out the chunks of mesquite roots
and smOthered the fire. He first SAD
died his horse while I stood guard. Then
while I was finishing placing my saddle
and bride on my horse, he yelled; Look
out Davis there's an indian right be-
hind yOu,' and began shooting right over
my head and around me in the dim light
of the Pickering embers of the camp
fire.
The Escape.
He then mounted and dashed away,
crying; Come this way" Meanwhile.
my horse was prancing like mad and
rearing up on his hind legs while l chung
to the bride, and he dragged me several
yards through the brush, cactus and mes
quite thorns. [ was maddened with the
pain and for the moment forgot indians
and danger, and sWOre at Baker, but
soon mounted and flew after him in
the darkness. How / ever saved nv
gun, I don't know, but I poured forth
a volley of abuse at rank tenderfeet,"
and commanded Baker to follow me-
which he humbly did. We gOaded our
horses through that uncanny gloom, re-
versing our course and making a wide
detour to avoid meeting any more in
dians between US and the river. Every
once in a while we would see from the
darkness over the tops of trees in front
of US what appeared to be the glow of
eampfires, and then we would shy Off
at right angles. 1t seemed as if the
entire bosque was alive with the enemy.
Travelling Over the Desert.
In this zigzag course we Travelled for
hours, in silence. until at last we struck
the drv river bed again. which we crossed
that morning, following it up several
miles until we came to a pool of water
We dismounted and tied our horses and
made our rude beds under a steep gravel
hank to protect us from the storm.
Weary and worn out and cold we soon
fell asleep. When we awOke we ana
the landscape were covered with snow.
We had gone miles out of our direct
course. I soon recognized the distant
mountains where Joe's cabin was, and
YEARLY and slowly we logged along to-
ward it, and finally arrived there in the
afternoon of that dismal, gloomy Christ
mas day.
Scolded by Old Joe.
Old Joe scolded us for being such fools
as to wander out all night and for keep
ing him in constant worry for our safety.
He hadn't slept a wink all night. When
Baker told him what a heroic fight We
had put up against a big band of in
dams, he gasped as he said: "You boys
are d-n fools. Why that bosque IS
alive with as desperate a gang of Snug
glers as there is in Mexico, and it's a