The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1924-04-18
CAPTAINS OF
ADVENTURE
Copyr, by dsrruC Comps
By ROGER POCOCK

D0lted Tor the mouse, SrdDDeu His gun
| and returned, only to hear horse gal
Looping away into the night. Charcoal,
| for once, had failed to get remount.
| Sergeant Wilde was universally loved
| by the tribes. The same feeling caused
his old regiment, the Blues, at Wind
sor, TO beg for Black Prince, his
charger, after his death, and sent the
whole body of the Northwest Mounted
Police into mourning when he fell.
Tradition made him great aristocrat
under an assumed name and remem-
Der well how we recruits, in the olden
times, were impressed by his unusual
physical beauty, his stature, horseman-
ship and singular personal distinction.
Ambrose attended him when he rode
| out for the last time on Black Prince,
followed by an interpreter and body
Of Indian scouts. They were in deep
snow on a plain where there stands a
line of boulders, gigantic rocks, the
subject of weird legends among the
| tribes. Far off against the sky was seen
riding fast, an Indian, who swerved at
the sight of the pursuit and was recog-
nized for Charcoal. Wilde ordered Am
brose to gallop the twenty miles to
| Pincher Creek, turn the people out In
| the queens name, send dispatch to
Fort Macleod, and return at once. The
| Indians tried for Charcoal at long
range, but their new rifles were clogged
with factory grease, hard frozen, so
! that the pin failed of its impact, and
they all missed fire. Wildes great
horse was drawing ahead of the ponies,
and he called back:
Don't fire, or you'll hit me by mis-
! takew
| AS he overlook Charcoal he drew his
revolver, the orders being to fire at
sight, then laid the weapon before him,
wanting, for the sake of a great tradi-
| ton, to make the usual arrest-the TAX
| ing Of live outlaws>by hand. Charcoars
rife lay across the saddle, and he held
the reins Indian fashion with the right,
hand, but when Wilde grabbed at his
shoulder, he swerved, touching the
trigger with his left The bullet went
through Wilde's body, then, DETECTING
on the bone of the right arm, traversed
the forearm, came out of the palm.
Wilde rolled slowly from the saddle,
while Black Prince went on, and Char
coal also, but then the outlaw turned,
galloped back and fred straight down
ward into the dying man. Black Prince
had stopped at little distance snort
ing, and when the Indian came grab
bling at his loose rein, he struck with
| his forefeet in rage at his masters
murderer. Charcoal had fired to disable
Wilde as the only way left him of es-
| Gaping slavery; now he had to con-
quer the dead mans horse to make his
escape from the crackers.
Some three weeks before, CharcoaPs
brothers, Left Hand and Bear Paw,
had been released from Jail, with the
offer of forty pounds from the govern
ment and ten pounds from the officer
commanding, if they could capture the
! outlaw. The tribes had decided that
| Charcoal's body belonged of right to
the police, and after Wildes death he
| could expect no mercy on earth, no help
or succor from any living man. From
| the Staying, like a wounded beast to
his lair, he rode direct for home, came
to the little cabin, tied Black Prince to
bush and staggered toward the door.
Out of the house came Left Hand, who
ran toward him, while the outlaw,
moved by some brute instinct, fed for
the horse But Left Hand, overtaking
his brother, threw his arms about him,
kissing him upon both cheeks, and
Bear Paw, following cast his rope over
| the helpless man, throwing him down,
a prisoner The brothers carried Char
| coal into the cabin, pitched him down
in corner, then Left Hand rode for
the police, while Bear Paw stayed on
! guard.
1t was Sergeant Macleod who came
first to the cabin where Bear Paw
squatted waiting. and Charcoal lay to
all appearance dead in a great pool Of
blood upon the earthen floor. He had
| found cobbler's awl used in mending
skin shoes, and opened the arteries Of
his arm, that he might take refuge
| from treachery in DEATH
| For four months Charcoal had been
hunted as an enemy by D troop; now
! for a like time he was nursed in the
| guardroom at Fort Macleod, and,
though he lay chained to the floor in
mortal pain, his brothers of the guard
did their best As he had been terri
| bic in the field, so this poor hero was
brave in suffering-humble and of so
sweet a disposition that he won all
mems hearts.
At the trial his counsel called no
witnesses, but read the mans own de-
| tense, a document so sad, so wonder
fully beautiful in expression, that the
court appealed to the crown for mercy,
where mercy had become impossible.
When he was taken out to die, the
troop was on guard surrounding the
| barracks, the whole of the tribes being
assembled outside the fence. The pris-
oner sat in wagon face to face with
| the executioner, who wore a mask of
black silk, and beside him was the
| priest. Charcoal began to sing his
death song.
"Stay," said the priest, make no
cry. You're far too brave a man for
that" The song ceased, and Charcoal
/ ;axl 10