TALE OF THE TRAIL

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1847, 31 July 1907, Page 19

TALE OF THE TRAIL

SURVIVED SIX BULLET-WOUNDS AND LOSS OF SCALP. Hundreds of interesting and thrilling incidents are told of life on the Santa e trail in the early days. Recently the “Cleveland Plain Dealer” contained an article concerning a driver on the stage between Leavenworth and Dodge City in tho early days, James Bashford Sooct, who relates a number of thrilling experiences. One of the most startling of Scott’s experiences occurred in March, 1852. This is the story as he tells it: “I left Fort Leavenworth one morning with a party of ten men and several hundred dollars in the stage. The horses w'ere in excellent condition, and we covered the first twenty miles from the fort in two hours. We wero making good across the plains when' a. roving oand of Comanch.es came into sight. 1 knew that it meant a fight, and 1 prepared the occupants of the stage tor the ncounter. They were nearly all army officers, and although they realised that their lives were at stake not one of them showed the slightest sign of fear. They calmly loaded their revolvers and waited for the attack. I left my seat and took my stand between tho horses. The Indians were about fifty in number, and we knew that it probably meant death for us all. Still we determined to sell our lives as dearly as possible, and we did not fire until the band had closed in upon us. “At least eight of the redskins fell from their horses at the fust volley, but they were too many for us, and one by one the members of our party were killed. I received two bullets in the fleshy part of my arm, but kept on firing until I was struck down from behind. 1 heard one of the officers say, lliere goes Scotty,' and I remember no more. “When I came to I was on a c °t * n the hospital at Fort Leavenworth. Ihe doctor told me I had six bullet wounds, and in addition liad been scalped. It seems that a detachment of soldiers had come upon the looted stage the day aftei the attack. The ten men were dead, scalped all of them, but by some strange play of fate I was still alive. I hey hurried me to Fort Leavenworth, where I was given the best medical care, and after several weeks my wounds healed. So far as I know I am the only man that, has survived the scalping knife.