The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-02-26
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 Our troopers .. ere armed with tho worthless old Spencer carbines. and doubt if these did much execution, but there were some good old Hawkin ri f1es and old big bored Yagers and more modern Sharps' rifles and other buffalo guns of one sort or another with us among the plainsmen and teamSters. and when these spoke there came breaks in the Haunting line that sought to hedge us. The Sioux dropped be hind their horses bodies. firing as they rode, some with rifles, more with bows and HrTows. Most of our work was done as they topped the rough ground close on our left, and we saw here a half dozen bodies lying limp, flat and ragged. though presently other riders came and dragged them away.
 At a hundred yards their arrows fell extraordinarily close to the mark. and time and again they spiked our mules and horses with these hissing shafts that quivered where they struck. They came near breaking our rear in this way, for our men fell into con fusion. the horses and mules plunging and trying to break away.
 was crowding a ball down my rife with its hickory rod when I felt a shove at my arm and heard a voice at my ear. "Git out of the way, man! How can see to shoot if you bob you1 head acrost my sights all the timer"
 There stood old Mandy McGovern, her long brown rifle half raised. She was as cool as any man in the line and as deadly.
 Git in here, git in here, sonE' I heard her cry. And to my wonder now I saw the long, lean figure of Andrew Jackson McGovern come for ward, a carbine cIutched in his hand, while from his mouth came some sort of eerie screech of incipient courage, which seemed tn give wondrous com fort to his fierce dam. At about this moment one of the Sioux, mortally wounded by our fire, turned his horse and ran straight toward US hard as he could. He knew that he must die. and this was his way. An. those red men knew how to die! He got within forty yards, reeling and swaying, but still trying to fit an arrow to the string, and as none of us would fire on him now, seeing that he was dy- ing, for a moment it looked as though he would ride directly into us and per haps do some harm. Then I heard the boom of the boys carbine, and al- most at the instant, whether by acci- dent or not I could not tell, I saw the red man drop out of the forks of his saddle and roll on the ground with his arms spread out
 Perhaps EeTer was metamorphosis more complete than that which now took place. Shaking of detaining hands, Andrew Jackson Sprang from | our line, ran up to the fallen foe and | in frenzy of rage began to belabor | and kick his body, winding up by 1 catching him by the hair and actually ] dragging him some paces toward our firing line. Mandy called out as | though he were a young dog at his 1 first fight: "Whoopee! Git to him, boy, git to him! Take him, boyI | Whoopeew
 We got Andrew Jackson back into | the ranks. His mother took him by the hand, as though for the first time she recognized him as a man.
 Now, boy, that's somethin' like" She turned to me. Some says it's in | the paw she remarked. "I reckon it's some in the maw an a leetle in the trainin'"
 Cut up badly by our fire, the Sioux scattered and hugged the shelter of the i river bank, beyond which they rode | along the sand or in the shallow water, scrambling up the bank after they had got out of fire. I looked about me now at the interior of our barricade. I saw Ellen Meriwether on her knees lifting the shoulders of a wounded man who lay back, his hair dropping from his Brehead, now gone bluish gray. She pulled him to the shelter of a wagon, where there had been drawn four oth- 8rs of the wounded. I saw tears fall ing from her eyes-saw the same pity on her face which had noted once be- fore when a wounded creature lay in her hands. I had been proud of Mandy McGovern. I was proud of Ellen Meri- wether now.
 Almost as I had turned felt a sud- den jar. as though some one had taken 8 board and struck me over the head l with all his might. Then as I slowly became aware my head was utterly and entirely detached from my body and went sailing off deliberately in front of me. I could see it going dis tinctly, and yet, oddly enough, could also see sudden change come on the face of the girl who was stopping be- fore me and who at the moment raised her eyes.
 'fIt is strange thought I, ''but my head, thus detached, is going to pass directly above her, right therer'
 Then I ceased to take interest in and sank back into the arms of that from which we come, calmly taking hold of the hand of mystery.