Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1919-12-19


imprinted on my brain before utter t
darkness descended upon me, must t
have meant an explosion, an upheaval i
shattering the cabin, bringing the roof +
down upon the struggling mob within. {
the heavy timbers crushing out their s
lives. And the cause! But one was |
possible-the half-keg of blasting /,
powder Kennedy had placed in the cor
ner as a last resort Had Tim reached
it in final, mad effort to destroy. or
had some accidental flame wrought
the terrible destruction? Perhaps no
one could ever answer that-but was
there alone, the sole survivor? Had
those others of our little party died
amid their Indian enemies, and were
they lying now som ewhere in this
darkness, crushed and mangled in the
midst of the debris?
Kennedy, Elsie Clark, the half
witted boy Asa Hall-their faces
seemed to stare at me out of the black
ness. They must be dead! Why, had
seen Kennedy fall, the needless feet
crunching his face, and Asa Hall
tossed into the air and shot at as he
fell. Eloise! Eloisei I covered my
eyes with the free hand. conscious that |
was crying like a child-Eloise. My |
| God, Eloise! / wonder if l tainted; l |
knew so little after that; so little, ex-
cept that 1 suffered helplessly. If 1
did not faint, then I must have been
upon the verge of insanity, for there
was a time-God knows how long
when all was blank.
Some slight, scarcely distinguishable
noise aroused me. Yes, it was actually
a sound. as though someone moved in
the room-moved stealthily, as though
upon hands and knees, seeking pas
sage in the darkness. I imagined 1
could distinguish breathing. Who, what
could it be? A man; prowling wild
animal which had scented blood? But
for my dry, parched lips would have
cried out-yet even with the vain
endeavor, doubt silenced me. Who
could be there-who? Some sneaking
cowardly thief; some despoiler of the
dead? Some Indian returned through
the night to take his toll of scalps,
hoping to thus proclaim himself a
| luISuly WdAA1O1 NdOlC llhSty Clclut
than friend. It was better that I lie
and suffer than appeal to such a fend
for mercy.
The slight sound shifted to the right
of where I lay, no longer reminding
me Of the slow progress of a moving
body, but rather as though someone
were attempting blindly to scrape to-
gether ashes in the fireplace. I pressed
my one free hand beneath my neck
; and thus, by an effort, lifted myself
so as to see more clearly beyond the
shoulder of the dead Indian. The first
, tiny, Pickering spark of fire had caught
the dry wood, and was swiftly bursting
into flame. In another moment this
, had illumined that STOPPING figure, and
! rested in a blaze Of light upon the
. lowered face, bringing out the features
as though they were framed against
= the black wall beyond-a woman's
face, the face Of Eloise
, I gave vent to one startled, inarticu-
; late cry, and she sprang to her feet,
. the mantling flames girdling her as
= though she were a statue. In that first
: frightened glance she failed to see
! me; her whole posture told Of fear, OF
= indeciSion.
"Who was it spoke? Who called? Is
someone alive here?"
The trembling words sounded
: strange, unnatural. I could barely
. whisper, yet I did my best.
'1t is Steven, Eloise-come to me-
= "Steven! Steven Knox-alive! oh
: my God; you have answered my
prayeri"
She found me, needless Of all the
. horror in between, as though guided
!. by some instinct, and dropped on he
knees beside me. felt a tear fall OF
: my cheek, and then the warm, cage
pressure Of her lips to mine. coult
y not speak: could only hold her clos,
. with my one hand.
: "You are suffering" she cried
"What can I do? Is it this Indian
body?"
"Yes," 1 breathed, the effort o
speaking an agony. "He lies directl
across my chest dead weight"
90 1t taxed her strength to the utmost
- but, oh, the immediate reliefi Wit
| llG uldWllS VI IL lQll UI0dIu l. IGlI
. return of manhood a revival of life
=. :. Another body pinned my limbs to th
~ floor, but this was more easily dis
= posed of. Then I managed to lift my
self, but with the first attempt he
y arm was about nv shoulders.
mo; not alone-let me help you. D
y you really think you can stand? VIII,
- you are hurt, dear: this is a knit
~. wound in your side. It looks ugly, bu
~ is not deep and bleeds no longer. Ar
40 there other injuries?"
~ my head rings, and this left arr
a appears paralyzed, from blows, 4
~ doubt; there are spots on my boo
nS which feel like burns. No, am not !
III bad shape. Now let me stand alone
a9 that's better. Good God, what
sceneI"
h ,h The fire, by this time blazing brigh
ly, gave us a full view of the entil
"a dismantled interior. The cabin was
aI complete wreck, the roof practical
all gone and the upper logs of the sic
walls either fallen within or danglir
in threat. Clearly enough it had bee
IL the sudden plunge Of heavy tfmbe
Fl and the dislodgment Of those upp'
logs, which accounted for this have
Of death. There were dead the
~ pierced by bullets and Drained by rit
stocks, but the many had met the
81 fate under the avalanche Of logs, ar
amid the burning glare Of explodi1
~ powder.
81 Only between arched timbers al
s. sections of fallen roof could we mo-
~ at all, and beneath the network
w this ENHANCEMENT the majority of ii
~ bodies lay, crushed and mangled.
- saw Kirby, free from his bonds, b
81, dead beneath heavy beam. His fa
III was toward US and the flicker of fan
"a revealed a dark spot on his torches
~ his life had never been crushed o
Nv hot xa11 lit