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THE GOLDEN CAVES By CHARLES B. LEWIS (M. QUAD), (Copyright, 1892, by American Press Associa tion.] [CONTINUED.] CHAPTER V. Let us follow Joe as he leaves the rocky breastworks and creeps forward in the darkness. The Indian never leaves his dead in the bands of an enemy if it can be avoided. It is not chivalry which in duces him to peril his life to remove a dead body, but superstition. As soon as night fell preparations were made to secure the dead scattered on the slope. Half of the bodies had been removed when Joe made his start. There was but one chance of his work ing through the lines, and he was tak ing it. Before he had crept twenty feet he found himself beside the body of a warrior, as he hoped and expected to. He seized it by the arm and began pull ing it toward the gully. When half the ' distance had been accomplished he was joined by a warrior who came up from behind and seized the other arm and said: "I thought it was my brother, but he must be farther up." Joe uttered a grunt in reply, and the two dragged the body to the brink of the gulf. There other hands received ' it, and as it was lifted down to be borne away for burial Joe passed along with the three or f-ur warriors in charge. No one seemed to give him particular notice. Ther4enre only a few Indians in the gully, the Iif force having with drawn temporarily far. 1 to the north. The ponyt went forward. As Joe followed the body down the gully he i ,t several Indians coming up to help remove the dead, but he had not gone over two hundred feet when a break in the right bank offered him an opportunity to leave the big ditch. He P scrambled out at once and dropped to his hands and knees and crawled away in the darkness. He had passed the gully, which had been considered the great point of dan ger, and now to get the lay of the ground about him and seek to discover if there was another circle of Indians! Creeping I forward as silently as a rabbit he ascend ed a ridge from which he could make ,observations. I'"The Indians were carrying off their dead-a portion of them-while the others had built fires behind another ridge and were cooking their meat. They seemed assured that the white men would make no move to assume the offensive, and the repulse had evidently demoralized them for the time being. The way to the north and the west was unobstructed so far as the scout could determine in the darkness, and after a bit he moved forward, having no other object in view than to cover the twenty miles between him and the forks of the Cheyenne as soon as possible. He was carefully picking his way to the northwest, neglecting no precaution un til he should be certain that he was be yond the lines, when he suddenly came upon a dozen or more Indian ponies bunched in a hollow where the damp ness had brought forth a growth of sweet grass. Two or three were hob bled, but the rest were free, and after creeping clear around the circle Joe failed to find a guard. If one had been left he had temporarily abandoned his post. The Indian's horse and dog are like the Indian himself. They hate the white man. Although Joe's disguise had carried him through the Indians his scent betrayed him to the horses at once, and as he crept nearer, those which were unfettered moved away. The scout knew the characteristics of the animals, and he lost no time. From a heap of saddles, blankets and lariats he seized a rawhide rope and made a dash for one of the hobbled ponies, making off as fast as his situation would permit. In a couple of minutes he got the rope around the pony's neck and looped it into his mouth and then he had him. It was not more than five minutes work to cast off the hobbles and arrange blanket and saddle, and then he led the animal out of the hollow and over the ridge and away into the darkness until he felt safe in mounting him. Thebeastfought hard for a few minutes, knowing that it was all wrong, but the strong arms and the hard heels of the scout finally hum bled him, and he went off through the darkness at a gait which would have distanced pursuit had it been attempted. Up one ridge--down the other side up and down-never a change in the lay of the ground for miles and miles, but holding as straight for the forks as the needle of the compass could point. Hunters in the woods have their signs and need no compass. The hunters and scouts on the plains seem to divine by intuition. To the average eye the great plains are a trackless waste. To the scout they are an open book. Blindfold him and lead him in circles for an hour, \ and when the hoodwink is removed he Swill give the compass points without hesitation. And an Indian has the instincts of a fish or wild animal. The panther or wolf may be driven from his lair and pursued for miles, but he can return to it by the shortest route. Lead an In dian blindfolded a hundred miles from any familiar point and turn him loose and his eyes will instinctively turn in the direction of home. As Joe rode forward through the gloom of night he had no fear that he would come out above or below the forks. His only anxiety was that he might fail in finding the party. Sup pose it had pushed ahead faster than he had figured! Suppose it was still two or three days away! Suppose the order to set out had been countermanded! The pony went forward through the lgkaeas at a steady gait, seeming never -to m sad after midnight the .charaikw o, t le country began to change. Inst+ince told the scout that he was approaching the forks. If the party were there there i vonu oem e a sore of signs to show it be- t fore coming wit;in rifle range. At the t disa.rce of a m .ile-away Joe pulled his I horee down to a walk and t'hus went forward, listening with: bated breath for some sound to locate the camp. 1 The soft footsteps of his horse alone broke the mighty silence. Not so much i as the chirp of a cricket came to him t from out the darkness. I When yet half a mile from the fork it Joe's heart sank within him. If there was a camp near at hand his horse a should make some sign. The Indian': . dog and pony are his sentinels as he! s sleeps. There was a grove of cottonwoods at the forks, and around and about wasi grass in plenty. It was the spot for a camp, but there was no camp. The I scout advanced at a steady walk until c he reached the edge of the grove un- f challenged. ThL* settled it. The party had not arrived. He almost cried out in his disappointment, and for the next ' few minutes he knew not what to do. 1 "They may have passed here no longer 1 ago than noon," he finally argued with himself, "or they may be only half a 1 day's march to the east. I must wait .o for daylight to determine." He had no fear of Indians here. Ev- 1 ery redskin for fifty miles around had been called in to make up the force now besieging the train. The pony was wa- 1 tered and staked out, and then the scout penetrated the grove a short distance and flung ];imself down to sleep. In ten minutes he was sleeping like a child. Therein lies the secret of the endurance of the plainmen. They drill themselves in sleeping. No opportunity to sleep for even a quarter of an hour is ever neglected. In Custer's battles with the red men his scouts slept in the deep snow with the thermometer at zero while waiting for daylight and the open ing of the battle of Wichita. Nothing occurred to create an alarm or disturb the scout's slumbers, and with the first signs of dawn he was on his feet. A quarter of an hour later he was beating back and forth for signs of the white party. Ten minutes' search satisfied him. It had not passed. No one, white or red, had passed the forks within three days. Joe had no food, and as his rifle had been left behind the prospect of procuring fresh meat was anything but encouraging. Anxiety offsets hunger, however. At the east end of the grove was a tall cottonwood standing alone. Joe mounted to its very top to make an ob servation. The country to the northeast was rolling, with timber along the course of the river, but after scanning the country as closely as possible the scout descended with the conviction that no considerable body of men was within twenty miles of him. Had the party from Fort Sully been within fif teen miles of him he could have detect ed the smoke of their morning camp fires. Should he wait? Not His impatience was too great. He had left the belea guered wagon train feeling that the fate of every man depended upon finding the soldiers at the forks. It had been a long, long night to the men crouched down behind the breastworks and expecting an attack at any moment. Had an at tack been made? Had they been strong enough to repel it? If not, the morning sun was looking upon their disfigured corpses. If so, the horrors of thirst were creeping in upon the defenders to madden and disorganize them. Every mouthful of meat and bread would but add to their torments. Every hour would render the heroes more desperate. And every man left behind was de pending on the energy of the scout, whose nerve had carried him out of the fort to save the party from the horrible fate which seemed in store for them. draft of the cold waters of the Chey enne he caught up his horse and mount ed and held for the west, keeping the right hand bank of the river and push ing the gait as fast as he dared. He had begun to believe that no party had left Fort Sully, but he was riding furi onsly forward in that desperation which makes men cling to straws in midocean. CHAPTER VL "Poor Jim--they've got him.!" Meanwhile what has happened inside the fort? Joe had been gone a full hour, and the captain felt sanguine that he had suc ceeded in passing out before the fact of his going was communicated to all. Bess for one had missed him, and had anxiously wondered why and where he was detained. When her father told her the news she received it in silence, but had he been looking more closely he w-ould have seen her face flush and grow pale even in the darkness. Men will peril their lives for men, but take a thousand risks for the woman they love. Intuition told her that Joe was taking the terrible odds for her, and she knelt and prayed God to bring him safely through. The evening grew into night. The Indians had removed the last of their dead and wounded, broken their fast and planned anew. If left alone, even surrounded as they were, some of the garrison might sleep. To prevent this and to harass and annoy and torture body and mind a score of redskins secured positions where they were safe from bullets and began a steady fire upon the fort. They did not expect their bullets to wound or kill, but the fire was to harass and annoy. The captain of the wagon train un· destood this, and he advised each de fender to shelter himself as safely as possible ard return no answering shot unless further danger menaced. Thus midnight came and went. The horses began to betray their suf ferings for water, but their discipline was wonderful. They realized the sit uation as fully as the men, and a low, kind word or a caress quieted each one for the time being. Not one of the an imals had had a drop for twenty-four hours when the train was halted. and every nour arter tnat meant suttering. About midnight the light breeze died entirely away and a heavy dew began to fall. The men licked the rocks for c the moisture and felt relieved. The horses licked at the earth-the wagon y covers-the stones about them aid cooled their parched tongues and de laved the end. Between midnight and daylight the ' Indian attacks, if he plans a night at i tack at all. There was a rush for the a gold in the Black Hills. Every hour the 3 train held out increased the chances of 3 rescue by another train coming into the 3region. Every hour that the Iidians I dallied there let in a party from some c 3 other quarter. They must strike quickly or the game h t might slip through their hands. a At about half past one o'clock in the e 1 morning the ground for half a mile 3 around the fort would have presented a l queer sight had a flood of light been a suddenly turned on. It was covered ' with creeping, crawling savages, each 0 t one armed with knife and tomahawk. f t They closed in from all sides, their movements directed by what seemed to 0 r be the barking of a wolf. i The fusillade had slackened a little, " but had not by any means been aban- r t -doned while carrying out the other O plan. The Indians figured that the gold e hunters would be scattered to watch the I entire circle of breastworks, and that a r rush from all sides at once must carry them over at some point. t The human serpents were creeping up ° e for the dash. When the signal came O a every warrior would leap to his feet, t sound his warwhoop and dash for the a breastworks. Then for victory. s Now and then a suspicious sound t p came to the ears of the anxious listeners. t r and ere long the captain was satisfied as r e to what move was intended. If he p could not concentrate his force a rush o would end in a butchery. There were 3 fifteen saddle horses tied among the 3 wagons. Under his orders each one of a them was loosened and led clear of the I vehicles toward the low wall in which t a the Indians had charged before. The e animals stood in a bunch, heads up and f ears working. They knew that danger h menaced, and each was ready to spring o at the first alarm. s The men were now concentrated to 1 d, defend three sides of the irregular circle. e Each one had his Winchester and at s least one revolver, and they were nerved y up for desperate fighting. For half an hour before the attack was made Bess a had been crouching behind the rocks by e her father's side. Every man who could 3- reach her with his whispers had advised At her to retire to the wagon and put her le self out of danger, but to each one she Shad replied: to "Your death means my death. Your n safety means my safety. I must stay Ls here and do what I can." to The redskins were within pistol shot f when the signal was at last given. In t an instant two hundred or more sprang to their feet with a savage yell and dashed forward, and ten seconds later ,e there was a blaze of fire along the breast t- works. Full thirty Indians rushed at te the ui,-protected side, and as they neared 8e it without receiving the expected volley, and as some of them grasped the rocks a to swio2g themselves over, their elation g could no longer be restrained. Shouts t" of victory rent the night air,.but only Ig to die away in wild yells of terror. Ig The bunch of horses had bolted from d the row behind them, just as the captain t had planned for, and spreading out like Lo a fan they thundered straight at the low y wall with the momentum of a tidal it wave. The Indians could not tell t' whether the horses -were mounted or e. riderless. Down thundered the living e- wave upon them, to trample them under t, foot and crush the life out of some, and le a panic instantly resulted. le The attack elsewhere had been fierce a. and determined. At one or two points sp warriors had succeeded in scaling the y- defenses, though only to receive death it- inside, while others had been shot down Lie at the very muzzle of the rifles. It was h-a critical moment when the stampede le of horses caused a panic and turned the al tide of battle. The cries of alarm were ri heard above the din and th i effe t was h immediate. The entire attacking party n. began to draw off. The band of horses were desperate with hunger, thirst and excitement, and after clearing the wall they wheeled to the left and charged right down through the line of Indians, scattering it in the wildest confusion. Bearing still to the left the wave thundered over another portion of the line and then broke sharply away for the forks of the Big Cheyenne, as if the night air had at last - borne them the scent of water. Ten minutes from the sounding of the signal the fight was over. The Indian must win at a dash or his enthusiasm gives out. A dozen or more had been killed and wounded, and the singular action of the horses produced a veritable panic for a few minutes. "That will be the last time they will charge us," said the captain as the red ide skins fell back. "From this out it will be a siege." ihe Three of the whites had been wound ac- ed, though not seriously in either case. o And as soon as their hurts had been at ll. tended to all the men, except five to act iad as sentinels, were permitted to fling he themselves down and catch such sleep old as they could. The Indians were al ce, lowed to remove their dead without in he terruption, but when daylight came the ow blood stains on the sterile soil told of their loss as plainly as if the bodies had ut been allowed to rest where they fell. ian When the sun came up the thirst, Joe which had been alleviated by the dew. lnu returned with greater severity, and now m all were actually suffering for water. The team horses were becoming violent, he but there was no relief. Leir "We must hold on somehow until an ast other morning," said the captain as the men gathered around him. "By that 1e time Joe will be here with the party he ep. set out to find, or we will be sure that oy we have nothing to hope for. Then of we'll cool our tongues with the blood of iey the horses. Where's the gal?"' a "Asleep," replied Harkins, "and never not a complaint of thirst, though I know but she's suffering as much as the rest of un "I was right beside her when the de- charge was made," said another of the as men, "and know she fired six bullets hot into the screeching mob swarming down upon us. The gal's clear grit, and if I had ten drops of water she should have uf- nine of 'em." ine The Indians had not opened fire, much sitf- to the surprise of the trainmen, nor yye iw, was a single one seen in any direction. one When two hours of daylight had passed an without a change in this state of affairs, our the men began to wonder if the last ird' bloody reuode had not disheartened the zeuzsum anu resiuea in t eir witn drawal. "Waitr' was the grim reply of the captain as his opinion was asked. Nine o'clock came, and nothing was yet in view. "I tell you," said one of the trainmen, as all gathered to discuss the question, "we've given 'em all they want, and a little more, and they have thrown up the fight. I'll bet my horse there isn't a liv ing red within ten miles of us." "Just what I say!" added a second. "No Indians ever made could stand such a drubbing and toe the scratch again." "Then let's be off for the forks!" ex claimed four or five in chorus. "Stop!" commanded the captain, who had stood one side leaning on his rifle and seemingly bent on a study of the earth. "What for?"' "To save all our lives!" was the quiet answer. "The redskins have simply withdrawn behind the ridges to bait us out. It is simply one of their cunning tricks." "Nothing goes to show it," growled one of the men. "Something would go to show it the moment the wagons moved out. Does it stand to sense that a force still ten to one are going to draw off unless threat. ened? They want plunder and they want revenge. They attempted to rush us and got worsted, but they know oum fix. They know we haven't a drop of water and they know we must shoot ourselves or surrender within a couple of days. If we move out we shall be butchered before we have gone a mile." "I don't believe in your theories," was the blunt reply of the man. "I believe they have gone off. I'm so sure of it that I'm willing to scout all over the ridges." "You'll go to your death." "Pooh! I'll come back to prove that you don't know redskin natur as well as you think for." "I warn you not to go," said the cap tain, as the man began saddling one of the team horses. "I'll bring back the scalp locks of the hull caboodle!" laughed the man, and two minutes later he leaped his horse over the barricade, swung his hat tc those left behind him and cantered oif to the north. He could be seen for half a mile. He halted at the crest of a swell and ttfrned to the left, and as he gal, loped forward he was soon hidden froni view by a ridge as high as the platead and three-quarters of a mile away. The men were watching and listening when a cry of alarm was heard from the ridge, and a moment later the trainman'd horse came flying over the swell at his fastest pace and made direct for the in, closure. "Poor Jim-they've got him!" whis pered the captain, as he climbed upoi the rocks to get a wide range of vision. To be taken captive by hostile IndianA means more than death. Aye! a bullet in the brain at the moment of capture would be an act of mercy to the pool urisoner. CHAPTER VII. The captain rested it across the rocks. The captain was right in his suspi* cions. The besieging force of savages, dia heartened at their bloody repulse, had quietly withdrawn behind the ridges in hopes to lure the white men from their stronghold. They would have waited until the wagons were strung out in 'line and pressing forward, and then a charge would have brought victory. The man who volunteered to act as scout had be trayed the plot. His willfulness would cost him his life, but it would save twenty-three others. Two minutes after that cry of alarm had reached the men in the fort the In' dians could be seen all about them. Concealment was useless, and the red demons circled about the fort on their ponies and kept up such a yelling that one would have thought they regarded sound as powder and bullet. They kept up the hubbub for an hour, and then dismounted out of rifle range to rest. "We shall hear from that' renegadd before long," said the captain, as he noted a crowd of Indians at a certain point. "Have any of you men got an old fashioned rifle?" "I have," replied a man named Peters. "It's not only old style, but heavy enough to use as artillery. I brought it along because I couldn't even give iti away at Brule." -ne gun was nsnea out or ms wagon and brought forward. It was the old fashioned buffalo rifle, carrying a bullet like a cavalry carbine, and its owner had brought along a few charges for it. It had scarcely been loaded when the renegade stepped out from the.crowd with a white flag and advanced to with in pistol shot of the fort. Then he halt ed and sung out: "Boys, you have made a brave de fense, but it's no use in trying to hold out agin us. Thar's over two hundred of us yere yet, as you kin see by countin up, and you don't show sense by holdin out." "What do you want of us." demanded the captain. "Waal, when I summoned ye the other day all we wanted was fur ye to turn back. Ye refused to, and ye've killed a couple of warriors and wounded a lot more. We can't let ye off quite so easy now." "What are your terms?" "Now ye begin to talk sense. If ye want to walk out and leave the wagins and horses fur us I'll give ye my word ye shall go in peace. That's lettin ye off powerful easy, being as the reds are mad all the way through." "Shan't we also leave our guns and revolvers behind?" asked the captain in sarcasm. "As to that," replied the renegade, taking him seriously, "it might be a good ijee. It would show yer faith in us." "You captured one of my men over the ridge an hour ago." "We did. That is, we didn't capture him, but axed him to stop with us for a visit. He's injoyin hissalf as hearty as you please." S"Let him count your numbers and .ome in and give us the figures. I fvn are s atrong as you say we may aecme to surrender." "We-we couldn't do that, ye know That's rayther agin the rules of war. However, the minit ye march out we'll set him free to jine ye." "It's no use!" called the captain in de cided tones. "We won't talk surrender until the man comes in." The renegade returned to his friends and held a brief council, after which he came forward to say: "Boys, I can't hold 'em in much longer -no, I can't. Ye must cum to terms or take the consequences." "Won't you release the man?' "We can't. It would only make one more to fight us." "Then go back to your friends and tell them we'll shoot down every horse, burn every wagon and shoot each other be fore we surrender!" There was a general howl of rage among the Indians when this news was communicated, but no movement to at tack. A water hole in the bed of one of the gullies furnished them and their ponies with a limited supply of the liquid, and they knew that the belea guered white men could not obtain a drop. It was only a question of time when the climax would come. The red skins were therefore content to pre serve an irregular circle around the fort and wait. Noon came. Of a sudden each suffering horse pricked up his ears, held his head high and gazed intently toward the east. "The soldiers!" whispered a dozen men. "No-rain!" replied the captain, as he pointed to the sky. All looked to see a black cloud loom ing up over the ridge a mile away, and in a moment there was a flash of light ning and a heavy peal of thunder. "Rain-rain-rain!" shouted the men as they rushed here and there like so many boys, but under the orders of the cool headed captain the greater part of them were soon at work to profit by the heaven sent shower. Everything which would catch or re tain water was spread out on the ground, while the canvas covers of the wagons were arranged in folds and pouches. They were scarcely -.eady when the storm broke. The rain poured down copiously for half an hour, and by that time all suffering had ended, and the supply on hand was enough for three days. "Let us give three cheers," cried one of the more enthusiastic men as the storm passed away and the sun showed its face again. "Hark!" whispered the captain. "The gal is giving thanks to God. She is right. We should pray instead of cheer!" The downpour of rain had shattered the plans of the redskins. They could no longer be held to the siege, knowing that the climax was indefinitely post poned, nor could the bombastic talk of the chiefs bring them up to another as sault They were ready to go, but be fore moving off they had one last card to play. Better for the renegade he had not meddled with it. Huntley, the man who had been taken prisoner, was now brought forward, the white man holding one arm and a stal wart warrior the other. When within speaking distance he said: "Captain, they have got me, and they declare that if you don't surrender they'll burn me alive!" "We are sorry for, you, Jim!" replied the captain, "but you know what sur render would mean. They would butch er every man of us inside of ten min utes." "But think of me," wailed the man in sorrowful tones. "Think of the tortures they will inflict before they kill me!" "It's bad, Jim--terrible bad! I'd give an arm to have-}ou inside with us this minute." "But I can't die-oh, I can't diel" shrieked the man. The captain seemed to be thinking, and the prisoner knelt down, ..l.aped his hu.,aand wa.ild onut: "Captain, for the love of God. 3o some thing for me! Come out here and talk it over and make them an offer They'll let you come and go safely." "It is only a trap for you.r shouted half a dozen voices at the captain, "Aye, lads, I know it, but I'd take almost any risk for poor Jim He's nigh scart to death, and seeing what . in store for him, we can't blame hini" Then raising his voice he called to Huntley: "Keep up bravely, Jim. We can't help you just now,- but the time may come within an hour. Don't give up yet." Few white men have been known to 5re on a flag of truce, no matter how treacherous the enemy who bore it. Huntley had been brought forward un der one, and it was respected. Had one of the trainmen gone out with a flag he wsould have been shot down or made prisoner, and the others ridiculed for their confidence. When the three had returned to the lines the captain asked for Peter'sheavy rifle. I had been carefully loaded for the occasion, and the captain rested it across the rocks and waited a minute until the renegade came into view. Every man in the inclosure held his breath and watched for the result of the shot. It was a minute before the sights covered the renegade, but when the rifle cracked he was seen to throw up his arms and fall heavily to the earth. There was a howl from the Indians and a cheer from the fort, but both were drowned in a volk y of musketry, a chorus of yells and the thunder of horses' feet. The relief party had arrived. "Out of this, boys, and go for 'em!" shouted the captain as he caught sight of a large body of cavalry charging down the slope. It was quick work. The Indians had been caught napping, and their only idea was to get away. In a quarter of an hour the last one of them had been chased out of sight, and -those who counted up the corpses counted thirty eight. ' In that struggle to wipe out the wagon train the Indians lost, as was aft erward confessed, a total of ninety-five men, and their sole offset was one pris oner. Joe had found the party in a grove fifteen miles from the forks. They had come on as the nature of the ground would permit, dreading that they might be too late, and their arrival had at last set the little band free. There was cheering and shouting and wild enthu siasm as the battle ended and the men rushed to shake each other's hands. Bess had hidden herself in the wagon to give thanks to God and indulge in a little cry when some one sprang upon the seat and held out his hand. The figure was dressed as an Indisa, and she screamed in terror. Not h redskin, but Joel" lanthed a voice sne was longing to near. "And you did this for-for nsr".she stammered as she moved toward him. ec "For-for us, but more particulatly cl for you," he replied as he seized her T hand. ki CHAPTER VIII. st What of Huntley? U In the confusion and excitement no d one had thought of him, but after mat- tl ters began to calm down a little his friends began to make anxious inquiry. rc He was last seen a moment before the T renegade was shot. The attack on the Indians had been so sudden that many n of them had fled on foot, and it was 01 hoped that those having the prisoner in p charge would leave him behind in their tc panic. h A search was made for two miles o around, but no trace of the captive f could be found. Hurried as they were h the savages had managed to run him b off. When this fact became generally c known more than one man sadly shook o his head and muttered: a "Poor Jim! Better for him if he were lying here a corpse!" The party of soldiers and hunters were a anxious to get on, and an hour after the h fighting had ceased the wagon train q moved out of the inclosure in good g shape, and with no fear of being again F molested for days to come. Most of the dead warriors were stripped of their or naments, at least, while arms and am- a munition were carefully gathered up. No one thought of burying the dead. The Indians would return for that pur pose. If not, let the wolves and vultures , bavw their feast. Let us titoc the fate of Huntley. "You may be one of those who believe that a the Indian has been grievously wronged. You may believe he has the sentiments attributed to him by novelists. You may have read that the feeling of mercy has a lodgment in his heart. When the man rode out of the fort on * his scout he firmly believed that the In dians had withdrawn. He was a brave man. None but a brave man would I have periled his life to back his t opinions in the face of the warnings he received. When he rode out for half a mile and turned to the left the last doubt vanished. The Indians had with drawn. He had made assertions and proved his sagacity. Next moment, as he disappeared over the crest of the ridge, he found himself in the midst of a horde of Indians lying in concealment. He uttered one loud, l farreaching shout of astonishment, and was pulled from his horse to be menaced to silence by tomahawk and knife. But 1 there was no need to menace him. A great terror seemed to have frozen I the blood in his veins. He could not have cried out again had they pricked him with their knives. He was dumb. He was helpless. The captive's signal of alarm had been heard and understood at the fort, and r the Indians, angered that their trap had been exposed, now showed themselves, C and affairs turned as related in the pre vious chapter. Brave men have no fear of bullet, grape and canister when charging a battery. Men go to the gallows without flinching. The fear of death itself makes but few cowards. It was what would be before death that broke this strong man down and held him in chains of terror. He looked about him with horror in his gaze. His bronzed face grew deathly white. His lips had that bloodless, blue look which the lips of the dead carry. It was not until he had been cruelly beaten about that he partially threw off the horrible incubus and secured strength enough to go forward and make the appeal he was told to make. He heard his own voice, but he could not recognise it. Huntley had been mounted to be taken away before the attack came. In deed he and the two warriors guarding him had already made a fair start to the southwest and were beyond pursuit. After a ride of ten milesover the broken ground a halt was made at a grove which appeared to be an old camping ground. As the Indians fled before the vengeance of the whites they made for this grove, and at length all who had escaped death were reunited here. A score of tigers starved for days could not have been in worse temper. Wounded and unwounded alike thirsted foir vengeance. Had they held a hun dred prisoners each one would have been put to the torture, and yet the sua ferings of all would not have placated the defeated and decimated band. They had but one. Fifty enraged savages rushed at him to chop him to pieces with knife and tomahawk, but the chiefs restrained them. A speedy death would be too merciful and deprive them of antici pated enjoyments. As soon as the scouts posted on the distant ridges signaled that the white men were moving for the forks there was no occasion for further delay. Huntley's demeanor had undergone a change. That dumb terror which had made a woman of him had passed away and his own brave spirit had returned to make a men of him. He reproached himself for his cowardice in begging of Sthe fiends to spare his life. He thirsted Sfor revenge, He exalted over their Sbloody defeats. SLet a pack of wolves follow on the trail of a brave man and he may seek to Soutrun them-dodge-escape. He will fear them. Let them drive him into a Scul de sac from which thereis no escape, and he will turn and fight them, even with bare hands, and die fighting. A sapling was cut down and .driven Sinto the ground for a stake, and a dozen Ssavages ran about to collect fagots for a fire. SHuntley's eyes blazed. His bonds had Sbecome loosened and his guards were r watching the preparations. Utterhng Sthe hunter's warwhoop and wrenching z himself free in the sudden effort, he twisted a tomahawk from the belt of , the nearest savage and began to lay Sabout him. SHe could not escape. He realized that he would be quickly overpowered and tortured withadditfonal fervor for every · blow he struck, but he dashed here and j there with the strength of a giant and 3 the frenzy of a madman. C Orash! Crash! Crash! SThe Indians were taken by surprlise by · the hunter's sudden break, awd then . there was such Ba terrible change in his a looks that they shrank away appalled. His whine of supplication had changed * to shrill yells of defiance; his eyes no a longer betrayed a terror stricken soul. SSwish! Sweep! Orash! SHe buried the sharp tomahawk to the * eye at every blow. He folloewd the up as they fell awa~y beftore hm. As a the cried ont in alarm he shouted in rde It was a momentary panic. They could have shot him down, but the chiefs kept shouting orders not to do it. The frenzied and desperate man had killed two and wounded three when he was driven to bay and found himself surrounded. He stood panting for a mo ment with his exertions, while the blood dripped from the sharp tomahawk upon the green grass. To the right-to the left-in front-in rear-the circle was closing in upon him. There was no escape. With lightninglike movements the man swung the tomahawk about him, cutting and gashing himself in a dozen places, and as a rush was made he tot tered and fell like some great tree which had lived out its century and was weary of further life. Blood was spurting from several veins and arteries, and ere he could be dragged to the stake and bound life had fled. When this fact be came known there was a general howl of rage and disappointment, and a dozen savages fell upon the poor body with the fury of fiends. They scalped it. They severed the head and kicked it about for a football. They cut off hands and feet and flung them about. They hacked and cut and slashed and gave themselves up to their devilish passion for blood and revenge, but the poor body was beyond feeling. For every Indian revealing the hon. est courage of the white man there are a thousand skulking cowards. For every redskin feeling the senti ments of humanity there are a thousand who delight in the tortures of a child. For every savage who has reward ed the kindness of the white man with another act of kindness a hundred have laid in wait for his life. So called humanitarians say that the Indian has hereditary rights because he was here when the white man came. So were the wolves, bears, panthers and serpents. They shed tears because he has been pushed back from the shores of the At lantic to the plains of the west That id the march of progress. Every civilized and enlightened ceuntry on earth had exterminated its .higinal population, even when hapless and defensive. The American Indian has no prototype. He stands.out cu the records of civiliza tion as the most crafty, cruel, treacher ous and vindictive of earth's inhabitants. He has never shown mercy and never asked for it. He expects to kill and be killed. He hates civilization-industry -cleanliness-law and. order. He de lights in drunkenness, theft, lust, by' pocrisy, revenge and murder. He is good only when used as a ferti lizer. [TO BE CONTI OvD.] COULEE CROCHE, Oct. 6, 1892. Resolved, That we, the Parish Far mers' Union of St., Landry, in regular meeting convened, endorse the action of Won't Die and Harmony Unions in demanding of the cotton-seed buyers representing the different cotton-seed companies $9.00 per ton for our cotton seed at place of delivery; and. in case of failure to pay said amount, we agree to haul same back home. Be it further resolved, That we re quest all sub-unions to pass like resol utions. J. J. BARRY, E. E. ORTEGO, Prest. pro tem. Secretary. Subscribe to the CLARION, $1.50 per year For Sale. VALUABLE RICE, FARMING AND TIMBER LANDS IN CAL CASIEU PARISH. Suecession of C.- D. Welsh in Commu nity with Gee. 0. Elms and Others. ABOUT 25000EIoS Prairie, near Railroads. Sale by order of. Court and by the Sheriff of Calcasieu par ish, at Welsli on December 31st. 1892. Terms-One-fourth or more cash, balance in one, two and three years, with interest at 8 per cent, all usual clauses, no personal security required. GEO. O. ELME. nov26 6t SHERIFF'8 SALE. HENRY L. GARLAND VERSUS FANNY E. BURTON ET ALS. , No. 15,089 IN TaE 11TH JUDICIAL DITwraw' COURT, PAIsH or ST. LasdnY, LA. By virtue of an order of seizure and sale issued out of the honorable 11th Judicial District Court of Louisiana. for St Landry parish, in the above entitled and number ed suit and to me directed, I have seized, Sand I will proceed to sell at public auction to the last and highest bidder, at the front a door of the Court House in the town of Op Selousas, La., at 11 o'clock a. m., on . Saturday, December 81st, 1802, Sthe following described property, to-wit: That portion of said lands which were sold by Henry L. Garland to James 0. Brunson, on Sept 29th, 1887, by act before 1 Benjamin A. (Guidry, notary public of St. r Landry, and is now bounded by lands of J Simon Bloch on the east. by the other piece Sof land acquired from H L. Garland, and occupied by the deceased Brunson at his f death, on the west, by land now occupied I by Oneal Prejean on the north, and by Slands of Z. T. Young and Houston Young on the south. -Seized in the above entitled suit. S Terms-Cash. a T. 8. FONTIENOT, I nov26 t Sheriff Parish of St. Landry. Sheriff's 8ale. NORMAND F. THOMPSON VS.ROBERT 8. WILKINS. SNo. 15088 15 TaE flt JUIcIAL DIxrlnsicr r COcarT, P*arsa or ST. L4AHDY, Ls. By virtue of a writ of seizure and sale I issued out of the Eleventh Judicial Dis e trict Court. in and for the parish of Bt. Landry, and to me directed in the above entitled and numbered suit. I have seized S and will proceed to sell at public auction e to the last and highest bidder, at the front f door of the Court House in the town of Op Selousas, St Landry parish, La., on Saturday, December 81st, 1892, tat 11 o'clock a m, the following described SAbouteleven hundred ascres of landpar Y ticnlarly described as follows, and being in i sections 40, 50 & 55 Tp. 4 south ranlge 4east, d commencing at the southwest corner of section forty T"p. 4 8 1 4 E, thence east 7? and 501100 chains, thence north 49 degrees east to the moat northern corner of section y forty-three, thence south 31 4degree8s east 46 Sand 33100 chains to the southwest corner of section fifty-five, thence north 20 chains, thence east 80 24f100 chains, thence sorth 1 60 chains, thence west 128 24000 ehlains, d thence south 12 411100 chains, thence west S113 chains to the bank of Bayou BJro, thence down said bayou, with its meaneader ing~s. to the point of beginning; contat. ing about 1100 acrese, together with the u buildinB and improveme t.I thereon. 'Seized in the above entitled suit. Terms-Cash without raitsement. - nov26 st Sheriff Parish of St. LIztltl