The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1914-09-14
THE YAQUlS'
REVENGE
By M. QUAD
BY M. QUAD
Copyright, 1914, by Associated Lit
erary Press.

back to their hiding place in the noun.
tains. 1t was a case Of self preserva.
ton with us. When the Yaqui was on
a raid he made no difference between
the property or scalp of an American
and a Mexican. He owned the land
before Cortez appeared. The process
of wedding him out is still going on.
And so when the news came in that
the Yaquis had taken the warpath and
killed or driven off the men at the Sol
talto mine above us we turned out with
the 300 soldiers sent up to meet the
war party and drive it back
For three days we fought the Yaquis
before we got them on the retreat. 1t
was not enough. however, that we had
saved the big mines and 500 almost de-
fenseIess people. Orders came to the
colonel to push on after the retreating
Indians and hold them up if possible
and exterminate them. We went with
them to see the thing through and be
cause they had need of our rifles
and Of our sharpshooting Once among
the mountains the soldiers could no
longer move in a body. There was
constant fighting. but the Indians were
continually forced back. By and by
they had reached the women and chill
dren and their stronghold, and the
Mexican colonel rubbed his hands and
laughed and said:
I'VE have got them penned up at
1nc 60 no
the best show we have had for half
century to exterminate them"
The stronghold of the Indians was
berries of riffs and caves in the face Of
the mountain. There was but one
path leading to it. That wound over a
humber of ridges and then dipped
wn into basin which had circum
ence of about half mile. The colo
plan was to advance the whole
nbasin when night fell.
pr behind the powders
re-; nc 4 I b the the -e ep yes re
ie ready ut daylight to begin
K of determination. While
DON 'uf ~ troopers kept up fire to
9ent ~, aluiS- from leaving their
res anr; portion would collect
IN and Ike them to death. We
were not ;,,'''se to dealing the Indians
q hard blow md one to be remember
ed, but we did not go in for the ex-
termination of a thousand souls at
once, more than half OF whom were
women and children
command" said the colonel as he rub
bed bis bands and smiled. land you
will therefore decide for yourselves.
When darkness comes my command
will march down into the basin. For
fifteen years ! have been hunting the
Yaquis. For fifteen years 1 have been
hoping for just this chance"
They could not charge us with COW
ardice. but when our decision not to
support them in massacre was made
known there were smiles and expires
sions of contempt.
An hour after dark the soldiers left
us and went marching in single file
down into the basin. | do not belleve
the first man had yet descended into
the basin when we suddenly caught
sight of signal fire to the right
The YaquiS were not to be surprised
During the next hour the whole side OF
the mountain showed signals ut inter
walls. and then there was an interval
of three hours. during which not Il light
was TO be seen At midnight from the
center of the mountain a signal fire
suddenly nlaZed out 1t did not has
more than IL minute and waS follow
ed by noise none of us could make
out. 1t was like the roaring of gale
In a narrow gorge of the mountains
and we had been listening to il for per
haps ten minutes when from the dark
basin beneath us arose such cry a.
few men ever heard
"In the naue of Cod. what can II
be?" asked each man of his conIrhde
but no one could answer Down there
in the midnight blackneSs some terri
BILE tragedy was being enacted. but we
must wait for daylight TO solve it. TIL;
roaring. rushing sound came to MS aft
er the scream died away. but more
softly than at first From that hour
till dawn came there was no signaling
not noise, nothing to prove that there
was life in the mountains beyond our
little band The peaks Of the noun
tains stood out first. Then we follow
ed 1.-THE dawn down till our eyes rested
on} the caves. In front of them We're
hundreds of people. but they were
standing quiet and peering down into
tho BASIN In another minute daylight
had crept down there, and we looked
and cried aloud in horror The bottom
of the basin, as we saw 1t the evening
ind before. had been covered with
scrubs and grass. 1t was a basin still,
butS the bottom was hidden under ten.
twenty, thirty feet of water. There
wab no outlet, and we could see the
waters rushing and swirling round
and round as If to find one. And
borne on the rush were the bodies of
thei dead-of the 231 men who had left
us "a few hours before. Not one had
escaped High up on their side of the
mountain the Yaquis had damned
spyfng or rivulet and stored up the wa
tersj for Just such an emergency. AT
midnight they had let the food loose
and it had come tearing down at light
nink speed to overwhelm the enemy
caukht like rats In a trap. AS we turn
ed hway in our horror to make oui
wau down the mountains the Yaquis
raised their voices in one long shout
a exultation and then were silent