Campfire Stories of Indian Qiaracter 543 



a carbine, shooting Corporal Everett through the stomach 

 and killing him almost instantly, and seriously wounding 

 his mate. 



Thus rudely taught that humanity was useless, and that 

 it must be a fight to the death, observing "Papa" Lawson 

 approaching from the fort at the head of his troop, Baxter 

 swung his own men up and along the top of the ridge, where 

 they could better command the old Cheyenne's position, 

 and opened on him a heavy fire — and it was just at this 

 juncture I arrived. 



Immediately after I first sighted the Indian, "Papa" 

 Lawson swung around the foot of the hill with his troop, 

 dismounted, and charged up on foot — thus making sixty 

 men concentrated upon one! 



The old Cheyenne kept up his rapid fire as long as he 

 could. Toward the last I plainly saw him fire his carbine 

 three times with his left hand, resting the barrel along the 

 edge of the washout, while his right hand hung helpless 

 beside him. 



Suddenly I saw him drop down in the bottom of the wash- 

 out, limp as an empty sack. 



When we came up to him it appeared that while the shot 

 that killed him had entered the top of his head, he neverthe- 

 less earlier in the engagement had been hit four times — 

 once through the right shoulder, once through the left 

 cheek, once in the right side, and a fourth ball toward the 

 last had completely shattered his right wrist. 



It was apparent that he had been making a desperate 

 break to reach my horses, which usually ran in the very 

 next canyon to the west, for he still carried with him a lariat 

 and bridle; but his unprotected feet had been so badly 

 frozen during the night that he had become entirely unable 

 to travel farther, and, realizing himself to be utterly help- 

 less, in sheer desperation had built a fire to get what poor, 



