Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1913-04-17

DAY he looked purity bad. Well. waited for orders
Ill VIC were nearly crazy, and when it seemed as if
couldn't stand it any longer, along came an offciai
letter for the captain with War Department stamp
on it, here was letter from the girl, too carried
them to him and waited to what he wanted. He
read the girls letter first, and when he had finished it
his face was white sheet and he just groaned o
God! and buried his face in his arms. Well, walked
a little closer and says
"Tsnt there anything l can do for you Captain
"IIe raised his head at that, and the look of him
scared me- He Just blurted out
"'Brown she's thrown me over She won't marry
me-do you understand? She says | don't care for
her or I'd come anyway; that there re plenty of men
to take my place and God knows and you know that l
can't go now when we're likely TO get orders any
minute
Then says very quiet:
"Thcre's an official letter there that may want an
answer sir.
"He grabbed it up and tore it open and read it
twice Then some OF the color came back in his face.
They've offered me rowing commission, Brown he
says I'm to raise and equip fifty scouts. I'll ask
Tor authority include you. Get Our traps together
50 we can move at a moments notice.
Then he a long letter to the girl and when
| came to mail it he looked almost if he'd been
crying but didn't take any notice
eve had Our work cut out for us then. The cap
tain knew everybody in the Territory and weren't
long in getting our men and horses. Then along
came the rifles and they were beauties. No one there
had ever seen anything like EN-, for they were the
Henry seven-shot repeaters Each one OF us had two
Colts revovcrs in addition. One fine day pulled
out, as fine a body Of men ever the sun shone on
I'VE worked steadily toward the West and did
lot Of scouting without coming up with any of the
hostilcs You boys all know that country-nothing
but alkali plains covered with greasewood and sage
brush cut up by deep guie and dry washes and high
ranges of rocky, barren hills with broad valleys in
between. Game was plentiful and we always had
fresh meat.
"One afternoon found plenty of fresh signs, pony
and noccasin tracks l remember plumb dis
gusted that day; not Indian had seen, and yet
we felt that they were watching every move
we made We were tired, too horses and men. Just
at shutdown we to where the trail led down
little gully. The steep slopes each side were COW
cred with big rocks and tall sage brush, with here
and there few squat cedars. A likely place for an
ambush but lankers explored it before we went
through We came into broad meadow sur
rounded by low hills, which cut in two by the
river and along the banks big cottonwood trees
In the middle OF the river was a small island COW
cred with willows and good broad current ran on
each side purity swift, but only about belly deep 20
= horse 1t all looked good to us, and when the cap
tain called the halt glad enough to stop.
We'll, took the captains horse, but he didn't
easy in his mind and presently he and the doctor and
Old Bill futile, the chief of scouts, hard at it.
I heard the captain say, futile, don't like the look
of things They're all around certainty, and
lust waiting their chance told the boys what had
heard, and it cheered EN- up nightly.
"Bv the time we'd groomed and fed the horses and
had Our supper it dark and the captain orders
to saddle up and for each to sleep on his picket
pin all ready to grab his horse in of trouble We
posted the sentres, and you bet wasn't long before
the rest of us sound asleep.
81 don't know what time it was, but, all of sud
den he'll seemed to break loose The next thing |
knew had my horse by the head-stall and he was
rearing and pungng and trying his damnedes to break
loose 1t was the most internal racket I'd lis
tened to! sounded like herd of buffalo charging
down on u.s. 1t the Indians, all right, and every
mothers son Of 'em screening his lungs out and
flaming his blanket in the air to try and stampede
the horses They got the pack-mules-there isn't any
use irving to hold government mule when he's scared
but we hung on to Our horses, and got EN- quoted
down 1t was over in a second almost, and | got to
the captains side just as the trumpeter sounded the
mount Up we went into saddles, and the captain
shouted This way, boys and made for the island
We forded the river just as the light broke in the
east. and dsmounted on the island every stand
ing behind his horse.
"As II turned out the red devils expected us to
take the back trail, and they had a purity little am
bush fixed up for us in the gully that we'd come
through the night before, but they couldn't fool the
captain The minute they charged down from the OPP
poste direction he seemed to know what their plan
was, and he upset it by taking TO the island, which
mighty unexpected
"As soon as they saw what we'd done their bowls
were full Of disappointment. and then they started
to make thing. interesting. Every BUSH in the eoun-
try seemed to be spoung fame and smoke. and as