The Dickson County herald. (Dickson, Tenn.) 1907-1979, 1914-04-24

men 20 90 tnAI But tnIs ~ not etriEt
~ military natter. al,d I give yoa M
orders. ! nssd conadsnsiAi naesssn
esr. man Of Intelligence md nsrvs;
but hs win take his iife In his hand,
end possibly tc no purpose. I hall
suspect treachery, and win order ne
ofieer OF my command TO such hazard
Gus service"
He stopped. and stood staring out Of
the window. his broad back toward me.
"Yon must deetn this matter Of
grave importance. said. firmly. ~and
! need seek no further: 1 volunteer To
go"
He wheeled about, and srasped my
hand.
Il thought so, Hayward. I am not
often mistaken In man. and | like
your face. Yet do not be too hasty In
decision. Sit down here. where We
can have the map between us, until
can explain what hell n brewing In
the pot Of those north woods. what
think you honestly Of Simon Girtyr'
Everything bad: . scoundrel from
head to foot"
"Ay! yet Hamiltoa uses him. The
man was . messenger. even 10 be
claimed. The Enslishman wrote that
with his own hand: have seen the
writing before"
He pushed the crumpled bit OF pa
per across, and read the crooked
lines slowly. for the penmanship was
almost illegible. Twice read II. half
convinced my brain played me some
trick.
Is this true. sir"
Some OF II is enough TO make me
afraid It may all be. The exact sitna-
ton 10 this. Hayward The tribes OF
the northwest are ready for war. In
spite OF the influence OF the chiefs
many OF the young men are already on
the war trail. They are In small par
ties ranging the woods, attacking out
lying settlers and hunters. Stories Of
outrages come drifting In here every
day. Nothing prevents general out
break but British restraint. and the op'
position OF the Wyandots."
"A strong nation"
The most important in the Indian
alliance. They are no friends OF ours,
yet they claim to be Christian. con.
verted by French Jesuits. and thus far
the priests have held them ON the side
OF peace. For the fret time their
chiefs have mot In council with the
others and threaten war. DO you un.
derstand the eausef"
Not clearly. sir: because OF some
prisoners we hold. In II not!"
IT was Greek to me. also. until
Girty explained. That is where trouble
arises. We have no such prisoner, but
II | send that word back By Girty. they
will believe I lied. But II an officer
OF this garrison goes boldly to them.
In response to their challenge; faces
them at their council are. and says 20
openly they will probably accept bis
word"
IF the wyandots join the other
tribes II will mean wary"
Yes; the length and breadth OF the
frontier. have no force with which
to meet them; hundreds OF livss---msn.
women and children will DO de-.
stroyed: settlements ruined. I doubt
II there be white man left north OF
the Ohio In three months II those
fends break loose. This 10 not my
work. endeavoring to treat with those
red devils. II is the duty OF the gov
srnor But st. Clair 10 away; | have
no means Of reaching him with this
information. The Wyaadots demand
instant reply. and our messenger must
reach them an soon A., II no, before.
the return OF Girty,'
DO have my choice OF scoutaf"
Certainly"
Then | will take Brady. sir"
The best man available. would
have named him. only feared your
late trouble had left you enemies"
Not at all: Il was 4 fair fght."
sat thinking In silence, and Har-
mar waited. The danger OF the Jour
ney uhsolled before me In imasina-
tion--the p>r,;ous waterways; the long
trail through the trackIess woods, men
aeed by rowing Indian bands: tho hos.
tie tribes In council. the chances OF
treachery and death lurking In every
step OF the way. Audacity. determine.
ton. the lives dependent on my sue.
cess. gave me courage. II was a work
someone must DO, drew the letter
over again. and studied It.
"You are sure, general. this 'wa.pa-
tee-tah' 10 not In our hsndsf At some
OF the other forssf"
As SURE A. | can be: heard from
Pitt yesterday, with reports from the
garrison between. and no account was
mAds OF such . prisoner being hrough,
In. Hambrouck wrote me from Win.
csnnss two weeks ago-some French
voyaeeurs left the letter on their way
up the river--and hs mentions moth.
inx save his troubles with the Indians
Of the Wabash. who are most impa-
dent and unruly--ths worst Of the lot,
to my notion. expect the fellow has
been killed in the woods."
"A man, them A ch'ef," To my
ears the name had feminine sound