The Elk Mountain pilot., 1924-06-05

hIty men in all, had been routed on
Hickory creek by Black Hawks in.
vincible warriors, with appalling losses
to the whites. He bore a stirring mes
sage from his commanding officer. ure.
Ing the men of Tippecanoe to rouse
themselves and join Warren county
troops in an immediate movement to
repel or at least to check the Sacs
and Miamis and Pottawattomies who
were swarming over the prairies like
locusts.
The appearance of this messenger.
worn and spent after his long ride,
created profound sensation. Here
at last was of1cial verifcation of the
stories brought in by the panic-stricken
refugees; here was something that
caused the whole town suddenly to
awake to the fact that a real menace
existed, and that 1t was not, after all,
another Of those rattle-brained "scares"
which were constantly cropping up.
For months there had been talk of
old Black Hawk and his Sacs going
on the warpath over the occupation of
their lands In northern Illinois by the
swift-advanclng. ruthless whites. The
old Sac. or Sauk, chieftain had long
threatened to resist by force of arms
this violation of the treaty. He had
been so long, however, in even making
start to carry out his threat that the
more enlightened pioneers had ceased
to take any stock in his spoutings.
The Free Press, Lafayette's only
newspaper, had from time to time
printed news seeping out of the North
west by means of carrier or voyageur;
their tales bore out the reports fur
nished by federal and state author1-
ties on the more or less unsettled con-
ditions.
There was, for example, the extreme
ly disquieting story that Black Hawk,
on his return from hunting trip west
of the Mississippi, had Travelled far
eastward across northern Indiana to
seek the advice of the British COM
mander in Canada. Not only was the
story of this pilgrimage true, but the
fact was afterward definitely estab-
lished that the British official advised
the chief to make war on the white
settlers-this being late in 1881, near
ly twenty years after the close of the
War of 1872. Many of Black Hawks
warriors had served under Tecumseh
in the last war with England, and they
still were rabid British sympathizers.
Amidst the greatest enthusiasm and
excitement, the men of Lafayette or
ganized the Guards" company
some three hundred strong. After sew
eral days of intensive and, for time,
ludicrous drilling" they were ready
and eager to ride out into the terror
lied Northwest.
Kenneth Gwynne was private In
THE Guards"
During the thrilling days of prepa-
ration for the expedition, he saw little
of the women next door. Doubtless for
reasons of their own, Viola and her
mother maintained a strange and per-
sistent aloofness. 1t was not until the
evening before the departure of the
"Guards" that he took matters into
his own hands and walked over to
Rachel's house.
The few glimpses he had had of
Viola during these busy days and
nights served not only to increase his
ardent craving for her but caused him
the most acute misery as well. Utter
despond had fallen upon him.
1t was significant of her new atti-
tude toward life that she had cast
aside the somber habiliments Of
mourning. She was now appearing In
bright, though not gay colors-unmis-
taxable evidence of her decision to
abandon all pretense of grief for the
man she had looked upon for so many
years as her father.
There was strange, new vivacity
in her manner, too-something that
hurt rather than cheered him. He
heard her singing about the house
eay Iarksome little snatches-and she
whistled merrily as she worked In tine
garden. Somehow her very light
heartedness added to his despair
What right had she to be happy ana
pav and cheerful whilst he was so mis-
erable? Had he not told her In so
many words that he loved herr Did
that mean nothing to her? Why should
she sing and whistle in her own do
main when she must have known that
he was suffering in his, not twenty
rods away? He was conscious at times
of a sense of injury, and as the time
drew near for his departure without
so much as sign of regret or even
interest on her part, this feeling deep
ened into resentment.
He was very stiff and formal as ne
approa ched the porch on which viola
and her mother were seated, enjoying
the cool evening breeze that mao
sprung up at the end of the hot ana
sultry day.
"We are off at daybreak,' he said
standing before them, his hat In MS
hand. "I thought I would come over
to say good-by.'
His hungry gaze swept over the hg-
ure of the girl, shadowy and indlstlnct