The Mobridge news. [volume] (Mobridge, Walworth Co., S.D.) 190?-1917, 1912-03-22
u
The Scene Of Tragedy.

The Scene Of Tragedy.
Whatever might be the nature of
The tragedy II would be over with long
before this. and those moving black
spots away yonder TO the west. that
he had d~iscerned from the bluff, were
undoubtedly the departing raiders.
There was nothing left for Keith TO
do except determine the fate of the
u~nfortunates. and give their bodies de-
cent burial. That any had escaped.
or yet lived, was altogether unlikely,
unless, perchance, women had beer In
a party. In which case they would
have been borne away prisoners.
Confident that no hostiles would be
3eft behind to observe his movements.
Keith pressed steadily forward. lead
ing hts horse. He had thus traversed
1nlly half a mile before coming upon
any evidence Of a fight-here the pur-
'Taers had apparently come up with
fhe wagons, and circled out upon
sither side. From their ponies tracks
there must have been a dozen In the
band. Perhaps a hundred yards furth-
or afeug lay two dead ponies. Keith
exarfined them closely-both had
iheca ridden with saddles, the marks
0f the cinches plainly visible. Evil
IDENTIFY one OF the wagon mules had
also dropped In the traces here. and
had been dragged along by his mates.
Just beyond came a sudden depression
IN the prairie down which the wagons
had plunged so heavily as to break
me Of the axles; the wheel lay a few
yards away. and, somewhat to the
right, there lay the wreck of the wag-
on itself. two dead mules still In the
traces. the vehicle stripped of con-
tents and charred by fire. A hundred
feet further along was the other
wagon, It's tongue broken, the canvas
top ripped open, while between the
two were scattered odds and ends Of
wearing appaSsl and provisions. with
o pile of boxes smoking grimly. The
remaining mules were gone, and no
;pemblance of life remained anywhere.
Keith dropped his reins over his
borse's head, and, with Winchester
cooked and ready. advanced eau
aiousiy.
Death from violence had long since
become almost q commonplace occur
renee to Keith, yet now he shrank for
&n instant as his eyes perceived the
Figure Of a man lying motionless
ACROSS the broken wagon tongue. The
griz2led hair and beard were streaked
With blood. the face almost unrecog-
Htzable, while the hands yet grasped
"a bent and shattered rife. Evidently
Abe man had died fighting. beaten
down by overwhelming numbers after
fxpending his last shot. Then those
aends had scalped and left him where
he fell. Fifty feet beyond, shot In
The back. lay a younger man, doubled
mp in a heap. also scalped and dead.
That was all; Keith secuted over a
wide circle, even scanning the stretch
0f gravel under the river bank, before
he could fully satisfy himself there
Avere no others in the party. II seem.
ed impossible that these two travelling
alone would have ventured upon such
p trip in the face of known Indian
hostility. Yet they must have done
30. and once again his lips muttered:
-Of all the blame fools!"
Suddenly he halted. staring about
over the prairie. obsessed by q new
fnought. an aroused suspicion. There
Rad appeared merely the footprints
~ the ~ horse alongside Of the fee
ing wagons when they first turned
put fron the trail. and that horse had
been newly shod. But there were two
dead ponies lying back yonder; Meth
or shoA. yet both had borne saddles.
More than this. they had been spur
fed. the blood marks still plainly Wis
Vile. and one Of them was branded;
he remembered 1t now. a star and ar
sow. What could all this portendf
Was It possible this attack vas no
Indian affair after all? Was the dis
Agusfng OF bodies, the scalping. mere
~ done to make II appear the act OF
savases? Driven to investigation by
his suspicion. he passed again over
ne trsmpied ground. marking this
dime every separate indentation, ev.
cry faintest imprint Of hoof or foot.
There was no impression Of a mecca.
etn anywhere; every mark REMAINING
was Of booted feet. The inference
was sufficiently plaintiffs had becb
the deed Of white men. not Of red; foul
murder. and not savage war.
The knowledge seemed to scar
xBith's brain with fine. and he sprang
3 his fest. hands clinched and eyes
blazing. He could have believed this
Indians. Il was according to their
nature. their method Of warfare; but
Ne oowsrdlinsss Of II. the ~atrocity OF
Ne aok - psspstsStsd by men of his
bwn race. Instantly aroused within
m q desire Tor vengeance. He
TAINTED to run TIE fellows down, %
Dbcoyor their identity. without
dnking Of psgusaal danger he I'm
rvard On tAG1R Gail. which ~ a.
- vsstuaad- anng the H. q