Yellowstone Jack: Trappers of the Enchanted Ground — page 49: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

, tare 4 4 Soa a In an instant the truth flashed ah pees my mind. y 4 : x “¢Those red fiends were going laeal to , _ butcher the Pawnees, their old hated fe “ My first thoughts were of Ben Zant, _ and whirling, I darted down the canyon a _ like an antelope, determined to get in ahead of the Sioux and warn the i: Pawnees of their danger, and thereby pave Ben. j “ As I had to keep to the shadows of the canyon, I had a long way to travel, » andIwas almost to the Pawnee camp ze when I heard the Pawnee sentinels giving _ eries of danger. ‘“T stopped to listen. “Just then it seemed to me as though | fee Hades had let loose all her fiends armed _ with breech-loading guns. | hy “A yell burst from the throats of a ae Giioneshd bloodthirsty Sioux, and a iM broad sheet of sulphurous flame shct down from the top of that canyon, a mile E in length. --& The ~Pawnees were surprised, but _ they rallied bravely in defence of their -' women and children, and soon sheets of flame shot upwards to meet those poured . down upon them. “The whole Pawnee camp was soon surrounded, and the first thing I knew I Ya } wl , : y y + vy fe td os Re, _ was inside the ring of death. “ Where Ben was I knew noi. “T crawled up the side of the canyon, and inserted myself in the narrow rift or wash-out where I could watch the battle. _ “TJ hadn’t been there long when some warriors passing above me started an avalanche of dirt down ‘over me, com- pletely burying me under it; but a few me _ scientific movements, such as a man will eM make when he feels he is smothering to death, brought air and light to me. > iia othing, however, but my face was uncovered, and as a number of Sioux __- were near me, I concluded.it would be to my interest to keep under cover, and so aioe Re resis vy ‘« Ti Cab 4 a c df i “Likept.. >. _ “The battle was still waging, and from the way the Sioux were advancing up the canyon, I felt certain it was going _hard with the Pawnees, and unless Ben had got out of there before the battle began, he’d have a tough time of it if caught in the Pawnee camp. “Tt wasn’t long till dayhght came, and _ when the sun rose it shone upon the a most horrible spectacle I ever beheld. fh e « ss a a 4 _ yw .” CAMPBELL COUNTS A OOUP. AT “ Half of the Pawnees were lying dead in the canyon—men, women, and children lay everywhere. “The remaining Pawnee warriors were still fighting bravely against odds. a “T kept a look out for Ben, Te om presently saw an Indian girl, upon whose arms, and in whose hair bright jewels flashed, come running from the centre of the canyon, with a gourd cup in her hand. “Tt was filled with water, for, in her hurry, I saw some of the lquid slop out. ‘The girl seemed to bear a charmed life, for a dozen bullets struck the earth — around her. “To me she appeared a lovely Indian _ girl, and I knew at once she was Prairie — Rose, the sunflower of Ben Zant’s affec- tion. er “She ran across the grassy plateau and entered a pocket in the hillside, where, under a shelving rock, 1 saw the form of a person lying. “Tt required no second glance to tell me that person was my young friend, Zant, and my first impulse was to bulge out of my hiding-place, and go to his assistance, for | knew he was wounded. “But before I could act a frightiul yeil rose on the air, and from the summit of the bluffs a thousand triumphant ~ Sioux came lke an avalanche down into the canyon. “T knew that all was over—that the Sioux had won. “JT saw Ben Zant crawl out from under the ledge and gaze up the valley. A shattered arm hung at his side. Hig?S_. face was covered in blood—his eyes were wild and glaring. By his side stood his dusky sweetheart, a hatchet in one hand, the gourd of water in the other. | ‘A brave little heroine, ready to deal death to the foe with the one, and ad- © minister the cooling draught to the lips” x of her wounded lover with the other. “ But changes came thick and fast in that valley of death. “Tt required but 2 few brief moments for the revengeful Sioux to dash out the brains of the Pawnee women and .chil- dren—aye, to butcher every Pawnee in sight. “Then they began to search for those hidden away in the pockets of the canyons. “Their eyes fell upon Ben and Prairie Rose, and they started towards them. EOMMIE KOOKS (E(0)