An Incident of Indian Life as Told by a Corporal.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIV, Issue 3004, 20 June 1893, Page 4

An Incident of Indian Life as Told by a Corporal.

Twenty army wagons and their drivers —fifty.cavalrymen from Troop E—a pull Of ninety miles across the Indian country. "iTes, we shall be attacked by the hostiles. They would not let such an opportunity pass. They c;m muster fonr to one, even if we counted in the teamsters. Colonel Blank, at the new post to which we were botAd, had written to Captain White, who was to command the train:"My wife is to come out with yoxi. See that tny previous instructions are carried out. She knows what they are." And we had not inarched au hour when Captain White sent for me and said: "Corporal, you will act as a special guard over the third wagon." "Very well, sir." "The colonel's wife is in that wagon, as fou probably know." "Yea, sir." "In case the Indians are too strong for

us they mast not find her alive, That'i alll" I rode back to the third wagon and placed ray horse at the nigh foro wheel, nnd lifted the cap to tho lady, who had been provided with a comfortable Beat by herselfct She was a little bit of a woman, not over twenty-five years old, and married to the colonel only two years before. She looked at me out of her big blue eyes and smiled, but she could not steady her voice as she leaned forward and inquired: "Corporal, do you—you think we shall be attacked?" "Quite likely, ma'am, but we may squeeze through." "And if attacked, and you can't beat the Indiana off, you" "I have the captain's orders, ina'aml" "Yes; very well." We both understood. I had been specially detailed to kill her if I saw that we were to be wiped outl The thought of It made me dizzy as I rode along. Now and then I glanced up at her to find her face white and her eyes anxiously searching the horizon. I had my orders and was there to obey them, but could Idolt ? If I was the last living man of that train, could I raise my carbine and become her murderer? At 2 o'clock on the afternoon of the seo* ond day out we saw a dozen mounted Indians on a ridge to the right and closed up the train. To the left were a succession of ridges, and if there was any force of hostlles about they were hidden behind them. The colonel's wife was one of the first to discover the Indians at the right. She was looking at me as I glanced up. "We shall be attacked?" she queried. "Within ten minutes, ma'am." "Well, you—you" "Yes'm, but I hope we shall beat them off." The redskins on the right now began to ride to and fro and whoop and yell and seek to draw our attention and force the train to halt. Orders had been given the day before to keep moving in case of attack. In closing up the wagons had doubled the line, moving two abreast. The horsemen fell into their places at onee —twenty on a side, five in front and five in rear. Some of the teamsters had carbines, while all had revolvers. Half a mile beyond where we had seen the first Indian the attack was made, and it was a bold one. As we came opposite a valley running back into the ridges a hundred or more mounted Indians came charging down on us. The valley was just about as wide as the train was long, and therefore the twenty of us on that side had a chance at the reds as they came on in a mob shooting, shouting and seemingly determined to ride over us. -.. "Corporall" It was the voice of the colonel's wife, just as Aye were preparing to fire. "Yes'm, I remember," I replied as I lowered my carbine to look up at her. | We poured the fire of our carbines into the charging mass and checked its rush. The Indians then passed to our front and rear, so as to assail us on all sides. There were fully 300 of them, and had the train halted but for a minute tfiey would have had us wiped out. A part of them had been ordered to fire only at the mules attached to the wagons. As they were kept moving only three or four were struck and none disabled. "Corporal!" There was fighting on front and rear and both sides, and the bullets were flying about us in a spiteful way. No less than five had passed through the cover of the wagon beside me. It was the colonel's wife calling to me. I looked up into her white face and she gasped: "Corporal, are you going to—to" "Not yet—we are holding our own!" I replied as I turned to open fire again. We were gradually getting out of the trap. Farther on the ground was open and to our advantage. The Indian always docs liis best fighting at the start. Here and there we had a man wounded, but there was no confusion—no halting. Whenever they gathered as if to charge we opened fire on the spot and scattered them. Our fire was rapid and well sustained, aDd at the end of a quarter of an hour we had them beaten. We were just drawing clear of the ridge when a bullet struck the third wagon teamster in the shoulder and he fell forward on his saddle. It happened right under the eyes of the colonel's wife and she called to me: "Corporal, obey your orders!" She had her hands over her face so that she might not see me as I raised my gun. The next few seconds must have been terrible to her. * "Beg pardon, ma'am, but the reda are drawing off and the victory is ours." She dropped her hands and stared at me for a minute as if she could not comprehend. Then she fell back in a dead faint, and it was a long half hour before her blue eyc3 opened to the sunshine again. A week later, at the new post, Colonel Blank called me in one day and asked: "Corporal, weren't you ordered to shoot Mrs. Blank?" - "Yes, sir." "Then why didn't you do it?" he sternly demanded. ''■ "I—l was going to, but'| —■ "But what, sir? It was gross disobedience of orders, and you are no longer a corporal." But that was the old martinet's way of promoting me to a sergeantcy. i M. Quad.