1 V CAi&
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(Copyright,
CHAPTER I.
A. a MoClur C.. 1110.)
Th Plainsman.
The man was riding Just below the
utomlt of the ridge, occasionally up
lifting bla head so as to gaze acrosa
the crest, shading his eyes with one
band, to thus better concentrate his
vision. Both horse and rider plainly
exhibited siens of weariness, but
every movement of the latter showed
ceaseless vigilance, his glance roam
ing the barren ridges, a brown Win
chester lying cocked across the saddle
pommel, his' left hand taut on the
rein. Yet the horse ( he bestrode
scarcely required restraint, advancing
slowly, with head hanging low, and
only occasionally breaking into a
"brief trot under the impetus of the
pur.
The rider was a man approaching
thirty, somewhat slender and long of
limb, but possessing broad, squared
shoulders above a deep chest, sitting
the Baddle easily In plainsman fash
ion, yet with an erectness of carriage
wfrich suggested military training.
The face under the wide brim of the
weather-worn slouch hat was clean
shaven, browned by sun and wind,
and strongly marked, the chin slight
ly prominent, the mouth firm, the gray
eyes full of character and daring. His
dress was that of rough service, plain
leather "chaps," showing marks of
tiard usage, a gray woolen shirt turn
ed low at the neck, with a kerchief
knotted - loosely about the sinewy
bronzed throat. At one hip dangled
the holster of a "forty-flve,'' on the
other hung a eanvas-covered canteen.
His was figure and face to be noted
anywhere, a man from whom yoJ
-would expect both thought and action,
and one who seemed to exactly fit
Into his wild environment.
Where he rode wu the very west
ern extreme of the prairie country,
billowed like the sea, and from off the
reet ef its higher ridges, the wide
level sweep of the plains was visible,
'extending like a vast brown ocean te
the foothills of the far-away moun
tains. Yet the actual commencement
f that drear, barren expanse was
fully ten miles distant, while all
about where he rode the conformation
ivaa irregular, comprising narrow val
leys and swelling mounds, with here
and there a sharp ravine, riven from
tbe rock and invisible until one drew
up startled at its very brink. Tbe
general trend of depression was un
doubtedly southward leading toward
the valley of the Arkansas, yet irregu
lar ridges occasionally cut across,
adding to the confusion. The entire
urroundiDg landscape presented the
same aspect, with no special object
upon which the eye could rest for
guidance no tree, no upheaval of
rock, no peculiarity of summit, no
snake-like trail all about extended
the same dull, dead monotony of
brown, sun baked hills, with slightly
greener depressions lying between,
interspersed by patches of sand or the
-white gleam of alkali. It was a
dreary, deserted land, parched under
the hot summer sun, brightened by no
vegetation, excepting sparse bunches
of buffalo grass or an occasional
stunted sage bush, and disclosing no
where the slightest sign of human
habitation.
The rUIng Bun reddened the rrest
of the hills, and the rider, halting his
willing horse, sat motionless, gazing
steadily Into the southweRt. Appar
ently he perceived nothing there un
usual, for he slowly turned his body
about In the saddle, sweeping his
eyes. Inch by Inch, along the line of
the horizon, until the entire circuit
bad been completed. Then hi com
pressed lips smiled slightly, his band
unconsciously putting the horse's
xick.
"I reckon we're still alone, old girl."
be said quietly, a bit of Soifthern
drawl in the voice. "We'll try for
the trail, and take It easy."
He swung stiffly out of tie saddle,
and with reins dangling over hN
. shoulder began the slover advinee
on foot, the exhausted horse trolling
behind. His was not a situation in
which one could feel certain of safety,
for any ridge might conceal the wary
foemen be sought to avoid, yet he pro
ceeded now with renewed confidence.
It was the summer of 1868, and the
place the very heart of the Indian
country, with every separate tribe
ranging between the Yellowstone and
tbe Brar.os, either restless or openly
on the war-path. Rumors of atrocities
were being retold the length and
, breadth of the border, and every re
port drifting In to either fort or set
tlement only added to the alarm. For
once at least the Plains Indians had
discovered a common cause, tribal dif
ferences had been adjusted in war
against the white invaders, and Klo--was,
Comanches, Arapahoes, Chey
enne and Sioux had become welded
together In savage brotherhood. To
oppose them were the scattered and
unorganized settlers lining the more
eastern streams, guarded by small de
tachments of regular troops posted
here and there amid that broad wil
derness, scarcely within touch of each
other.
Everywhere beyond these lines of
BflfflPE
1
ATALC or THE PLAINS
Cgy Pamdall Paudish-
uthor Of 'My Lady Or The South"
Vhem Wilderness Was Kino. EKlrc
k.ui8TKAriens tn DeABBinMti.viu.'
patrol wandered roaming war parties,
attacking travelers on the trails, raid
ing exposed settlements, and occa
sionally venturing to try open battle
with the small squads of armed men.
In this stress of sudden emergency
every available soldier on active duty
civilians had been pressed Into serv
ice, and hastily despatched to warn
exposed settlers, guide wagon trains,
or carry despatches between outposts.
And thus our rider, Jack Keith, who
knew every foot of the plains lying
between the Republican and tbe Can
adian rivers, was one of these thus
suddenly requisitioned, merely be
cause he chanced to be discovered un
employed by the harassed commander
of a cantonment Just without the en
virons of Carson City. Twenty min
utes later he was riding swiftly into
the northwest, bearing Important
news to General Sheridan, commander
of the Department, who happened at
that moment to be at Fort Calrnes
To Keith this had been merely anoth
er page In a career of adventure; for
him to take his life In his hands had
long ago become aa old story. ' He
had quietly performed the special
duty allotted him, watched a squad
ron of troopers trot forth down the
valley of the Republican, received the
hasty thanks of the peppery little gen
eral, and then, having nothing better
to do, traded his horse in at the gov
ernment corral for a fresh mount and
started back again for Carson City.
For the greater portion of two nights
and a day he had been in the saddle,,
but he was accustomed to this, for he
had driven more than one bunch of
longhorns up the Texas trail; and as
he had slept three hours at Calrnes,
and aa his nerves were like steel, the
thought of danger gave him alight
concern. He was tnorougmy urea,
and It rested him te get out of the
saddle, while the freshness of the
morning air was a tonic, the very
breath of which made htm forgetful
of fatigue.
After all, this was Indeed the very
sort of experience which appealed te
him, and always had this life of
peril In the open, under the stars and
the sky. He had constantly experi
enced It for so long now, eight years,
as to make it seem merely natural.
While be ploughed steadily forward
through the shifting sand of the cou
lee, his thought drifted idly back over
those years, and sometimes he smiled,
and occasionally frowned, as various
incidents returned to memory. It had
been a rough life, yet one not unusual
to those of his generation. Born of
excellent family In tidewater Virginia.
his father a successful planter, his
mother had died while he was still In
early boyhood, and he had grown up
cut off from all womanly influence. He
had barely attained his majority, a
senior at William and Mary's College,
when the Civil War came; and one
month after Virginia cast in her lot
with the South, he became a sergeant.
In a cavalry regiment commanded by
his father. He had enjoyed that life
and won his spurs, yet it had cost.
There was much not over-pleasant to
remember, and those strenuous years
of almost ceaseless fighting, of long
night marches, of swift, merciless
raiding, of lonely scouting within the
enemy's lines, of severe wounds,
hardship and Buffering, had left their
marks on both body and soul. His
father had fallen on the field at Antie
tam, and left him. utterly alone in the
world, but he had fought on grimly
to the end, until the last flag of the
Confederacy had been furled. By that
time, upon the collar of his tattered
gray Jacket appeared the tarnished In
signia of a captain. The quick tears
dimmed his eyes even now as he re
called anew that final parting follow
ing Appomattox, the battle-worn faces
of his men,' and his own painful Jour
ney homeward, defeated, wounded and
penniless. It was no home when he
got there, only a heap of asnes and a
few weed grown acres. No familiar
face greeted htm; not even a slave
was left. 1
He had honestly endeavored to re
main there, to face the future and
work It out alone; he persuaded him
self to feel that this was his para
mount duty to the state, to the mem
ory of the dead. ' But those very years
of army life made such a task Im
possible; the dull, dead monotony of
routine, the loneliness, the slowness
of results, became Intolerable. As It
came to thousands of his comrades,
the call of tbe West came to him, and
at last he yielded, and drifted toward
the frontier. The life there fascinat
ed him, drawing him deeper and deep
er Into Its swirling vortex. He be
came freighter, mall carrier, hunter,
government scout, cowboy, foreman
Once be' had drifted Into the moun
tains, and took a chance In the mines,
but the wide plains called hira back
once more to their desert loneliness
What an utter waste It all seemed.
now that he looked bark upon It.
Eight years of fighting, hardship and
rough living, and what had they
brought him? The reputation of a
hard rider, a daring player at cards
a Quick shot, a scorn or of danger, and
a bad man to fool with that was the
whole of a record hardly woo. The
maa! eyes hardened, kts Hps set firm
ly, as this truth came crashing home.
k pretty life story surely, one to be
proud of. and with probably ne better
ending than an Indian bullet, or the
flash of a revolver la some barroom
fight
The narrow valley along which he
was traveling suddenly changed Its
direction, compelling him to climb the
rise of the ridge. Slightly below the
summit he baited. In front extended
the wide expanse of the Arkansas
valley, a scene of splendor under the
golden rays of the sun, with vivid
contrast of colors, the gray of rocks,
the yellow of sand, the brown of dis
tant hills, the green of vegetation,
and the silver sheen ef the stream
half hidden behind the fringe of cot
tonwoods lining its banks. This was
a sight Keith had often looked upon,
but always with appreciation, and for
the moment his eyes swept across
from bluff to bluff without thought
except for Its wild beauty. Then he
perceived something which Instantly
startled him into attention yonder,
close beside the river. Just beyond
that ragged bunch of cotton woods,
slender spirals of blue smoke were
visible. That would hardly be a camp
ef freighters at this hour of the day,
and besides, tbe Santa Fe trail along
here ran close In against the bluff,
coming down to the river at the ford
two miles further west. No party of
plainsmen would ever venture to build
a fire in so exposed a spot, and no
small company would take the
chances of the, trail. But surely that
appeared to be tbe flap of a canvas
wagon top a little to the right of the
smoke, yet all was so far away he
could not be certain. He stared in
that direction a long while, shading
his eyes with both hands, unable to
decide. There were three or four mov
ing black dots higher up the river, but
so far away he could not distinguish
whether men or animals. Only as out
lined against the yellow sand dunes
could he tell they were advancing
westward toward the ford.
Decidedly puzzled by all this, yet
determined to solve the mystery and
unwilling to remain hidden there un
til night, Keith led his horse along the
slant of the ridge, until he attained a
sharp break through the bluff leading
down into the valley. It was a rug
ged gash, nearly Impassable, but
half hour of toll won them the lower
prairie, the winding path preventing
the slightest view of what might be
meanwhile transpiring below. Once
safely out ia the valley the river could
no longer be seen, while barely
hundred yards away, winding along
like a great serpent, ran the deeply
rutted- trail to Santa Fe. In neither
direction appeared any sign of human
life. As near as he could determine
from those distant eottonwoods out
lined against the sky, for the smoke
spirals were too thin by then to be ob
served, the spot Bought must be con
slderably to the right of where be had
emerged. With this Idea In mind he
advanced cautiously, his every sense
alert, searching anxiously for fresh
Blgns of passage or evidence of
wagon train having deserted the beat
en track, and turned south. The trail
Itself, dustless and packed hard, re
vealed nothing, but some Ave hundred
yards beyond the ravine he discovered
what he sought here two wagons had
turned sharply to the left, their
wheels cutting deeply enough Into the
prairie sod to show them heavily
laden. With the experience of the
border he was able to determine that
these wagons were drawn by mules,
two span of each, their small hoofs
clearly defined on the turf, and that
they were-being driven rapidly, on a
sharp trot as they turned, and then,
a hundred feet further, at a slashing
gallop. Just outside their trail ,ap-
Slender Spirals ef Blue Smeke Were
Visible.
pearcd the marks of a galloping horse
A few rods farther'along Keith came
to a contused blur of pony tracks
sweeping in from the east, and the
whole story of the chase was revealed
as though he had witnessed It with his
own eyes. They must have been
crasy, or else Impelled by some grave
necessity, to venture along this trail
In so small a party. And they were
traveling west westl Keith drew
deep breath, and swore to himself.
"Of all the blame fools!"
He perceived tbe picture In all Its
grewsome details the two mul
drawn wagons moving slowly along
the trail in the early morning; the
band of hostile Indians suddenly
swooping out from some obscure bid
Ing place tn tbe bluffs; the discovery
ot their presence; the desperate effort
at escape; the swerving from the
epen trail In vain hope of reaching
the river and finding protection un
derneath its banks; the frightened
mules galloping wildly, lashed into a
Si
freniy by tie maa ea fcorseback; fli
pounding of the pontes' hoofs, punc
tuated by the exultant yells of the
pursuers. Again he swore:
"Of all the blame looUl"
(To lie Continued.)
Prejudice.
person forming a prejudice
Against soinethimr and refusing
o consider arguments and even
facts, is a fanatic. A prejudice
lever proved anything, never
helped anvhody; it keeps a man
lind. The most common
prejudice is against proprietary
edicines manufactured in large
quantities. It is, in some in
stances, justified, but in certain
cases most unjust. Take, for ex
ample, Triner's American Elixir
of Hitter Wine. Lay aside your
prejudice and convince yourself
that this preparation consists of
pure red wine, fully matured, and
of selected herbs, the use of which
you might suggest yourself to a
friend sulTering from a stomach
or intestinal trouble. You will
find t hat it is very valuable in
constipation, dull and sick head
ache, in rheumatic and neuralgic
attacks, in backache, in colicky
pains in the abdomen, in disturb
ances of the digestion and in
cramps. Your prejudice will
vanish. At drug stores. Jos.
Triner, 1333-1339 So. Ashland
Ave., Chicago, III.
State Fair Item.
Entries for State Fair races
September llh to 8th will close
Monday, August 14th, and are na
fololws; Trotting, 2:25, 2:18,
2:15 and 2:10. Pacing, 2:30,
2:20, 2:17, 2:10 and free for all.
Each for a $500 purse, with 5
per cent entry. On this date also
closes the 1 1-16 mile Nebraska
Derby for $300, and the 10-mile
relay running race (2 miles each
day) for $1,250. These, with the
eight early closing races, four of
which are for $1,000 each, and
nine running races, easily con
stitute the best card ever offered
in Nebraska. The new grand stand
to seat 6,400 people will be com
pleted and patrons will havo a
nice, comfortable seat from which
to enjoy races, aeroplane flights,
Liberati's Military Hand and
Grand Opera Concert Company,
vaudeville and fireworks.
Here's Your Chance.
You can get the Daily State
Journal all the rest of this year,
without Sunday, for only One
Dollar, or including the big Sun
day paper, only $1.25. This is a
cut price made just to get you
started reading this splendid
paper, and at (no end of the time
the paper will be stopped without
any efl'ort on your part. Tho
Slate Journal, in addition to its
wonderful Associated press and
special telegraph services, is the
eader in reporting affairs from
all o,vcr the stale of Nebraska. It
is clean, independent and thor
oughly reliable. The publishers
think ifs the one Nebraska paper
above all others that you should
cad, no matter what your politics.
This Lincoln paper will please
your whole family. The sooner
you send in tin; more papers you
will get for your money.
Buys Out Hlatt.
The Olson Photo Machine com
pany has bought out the Olson
l'holnpraph company, owned by
D. Hialt. The deal is an im
portant one for Plattsmouth, as
added capital will be tut into the
business and men put on the road.
X full announcement of the deal
and plans will be made in Mon-
lay's Journal.
Card of Thanks.
We wisli to sincerely thank the
members of the lire department
and others who worked so hard
last evening in putting out the
fire on the bluff near our homes.
George Dovey.
David llabington.
Card of Thanks.
We take this method of return
ing our sincere thanks to the
neighbors and friends, also the
boys of the H. & M. shops, who so
kindly assisted us in our recent
sickness and death of our little
son.
Mr. and Mrs. O. II. Tower.
Mrs. J. II. Archer went to
Oretna, Neb., 'today to visit her
sister.
You wiil save money ty placing
your order for engraved calling
cards with tho Journal. Let ui
show you the samples.
Miss Lucille. Dates does not
seem so well today, but her con
dition as yet is not at all alarm
ing and we trust that it will not
be. She has sat up but little dur
ing her illness, and we hope to re
port her greatly improved in a
few days.
FINAL HEARING
BEFORE BOARD
Freight ClassllicaTIoii Discussed
by Railroad Men.
VERY FEW SHIPPERS ATTEND.
L. O. Jones Elected Head of Epworth
Asembly for Fifteenth Time Di
rector Sheldon Discovers Who First
bowed Wintar Wheat in State.
Lincoln, Aug. 11. The state rail
way commission began a final hearing
on classification of freight. A host ot
railroad men and very few shippers
I attended the meetinc. K. H. Wood.
general freight agent of the Union
Pacific railroad company, took a lead
ing part In suggesting changes and
giving reasons therefor.
J. Al. Guild, representing the Oma
ha Commercial club, combatted some
of the changes proposed and Insisted
on retaining several of the present
classifications. Mr. Quild Insisted on
retaining butter for grease In barrels
with cloth top, but Mr. Wood con
tended that a better package should
be Insisted upon by railroads. "That
packuge was allowed to be shipped at
a time when the railroads were haul
ing food for farmers to eat and seen
grain for them to raise a crop," In
said. "Now that the fanners are u
lug automobiles and have velvet cur
pets, we Insist that a better pnekuge
should be shipped ho that other goods
will not be contaminated."
"You would not object to the farm
ers hauling butter iq their auto
mobiles?" asked Commissioner Win
nett Senator Placek ot Saunders county,
who Is a Bhlpper of steel culvertB, was
preseut to ask for a reduction in
classification on the produce he ships.
Mr. Healey of Fremont and the Von
Steen Fence company of Deatrlce
asked for a reduction on combination
wire fencing used for making portable
corn cribs.
All of the differences between the
railroads and shippers are to be taken
under advisement by the commission.
Commissioners Clarke and Furse
have under consideration the applica
tion of the Omaha Oraln exchange,
that the twenty-four hour demurrage
limit on grain be not made to apply
to grain that hns not been placed on
the Inspection track. The time re
quired for inspection will probably not
be counted by order of the commis
sion when It Issues Its order.
First Winter Wheat In Stite.
Director A. E. Sheldon of the legls
latlve reference uurnuu has deduced
from the records of the past the fact
that the lirst winter wheat sowed in
Uils state was by M. Maher, father of
Colonel John Maher of this city, on
his farm in Platte county, in 18U9
The planting was very small, amount
Ins' to only two bushels, but, accord
ing to a letter on file with the state
hoard of agriculture, It returned to
ttie owner nineteen and a half bushels
nf the grain. Winter wheat, however
was not taken up by the farmers of
the state to any great extent until
1!)D, when the prevalency of the
chinch bugs forced the farmers to
rust about lor oii"thlng 'to take the
place of this grain. The grain ex
perlmeiited with by Mr. Malier was
planted in September. 18K9, and wai
harvested In July, 1870.
Must Add Police Magistrate.
Several hundred Incorporated vil
lages In the state of Nebraska, find,
under an opinion written by Ah
ilstnnt Attorney General ICdgerton,
that they must add a police manis
trnte to their other officials. In reply
to nn inquiry from Oshkosh, the
firoHHinnu police innglstrule bill, pass
ed by the lust legislature, was exam
Ined and so Interpreted that it
means that police 'mtKistrutes will
hereafter exercise in cities and In
corporated v Hinges a part of the
('uties heretofore performed by Jus-
ces of tho peace. Except In the
larger cities, where police Judges havo
always been elected, very few, If any,
candidates for police magistrate have
iieen named as primary candhlntes.
Epworth Assembly Closes.
The fifteenth annual session of the
Epworth assembly came to a close
after one of the most successful years
ever had by the organization. At' the
annual election the following officers
were named, nearly all being re-elec
tions to the places which they held:
U O. Jones was named as head for
the fifteenth time since the organiza
tion of the assembly. The other of
fleers are; J. W. Embree, vice pres
Ident; O. E. Tohey, secretary; C, E.
Sanderson, treasurer; Rev. C. M.
Shepherd, auditor; Mrs. C. I Meyers
of Geneva, Junior superintendent; E
M. Furman of Hebron, missionary
secretary; Ir. I. F. Ronch, secretary
ot Christian citizenship.
Boy Drowns Near Box Elder.
McCook, Neb. Aug. 11. Paul, the
Blxteen year-old son of Hubert Reach,
living near Rox Elder, was drowned
In a swimming hole in a canyon
about twelve miles north of McCook.
The body was burled here.
Wing Sentenced for Auto Thefts.
Oamha, Aug. 11. Arthur E. Wing,
confessed automobile thief, was de
Died parole and sentenced to one to
seven years In the penitentiary at
Lincoln by Judge Eetelle.
WIHSTC3 CKUflCKm
iflWIMMtel i WMVIMVl Mill
Caii Dnrltflment Will
oaid I aiiiamcm run a
Enact Home RuleilL
VICTIM OF PERJURY
DIES IN PENITENTIARY
Man Convicted on False Testi
mony Serves tile Sentence,
Dcs Moines, Aug, 12. M. B. Fisher,
the life prisoner who died In the
penitentiary nt Fort Madison, accord
ing to dispatches received in the city,
is believed . by many persons to be
Innocent of the crime ot, first degree
murder, ot which he was convicted
two separate times.
Fisher wns convicted and sentenced
to death in 1877 for the alleged slay
ing of Emmett Reed near Hedford.
The supreme court reversed the case.
On the second trial he was again con-
vlcted and sentenced to life imprison
ment
In this second trial the most ln-
portnnt state's evidence wns given by
a man named Howard, who claimed
that he hud ' seen Fisher near tha
scene of, the crime tho day after It
was committed and that Fisher then
nad several horses and some wagon
belonging to Reed. Howard also tes
tified thnt Fisher told him that h
"had the best of Reed" aud not to say
anything If he heard any thing "dro
down at Redford."
After Fisher hnd been sentenced It
was discovered that Howard's tes
timony wos false. It was found that
on the day ho was supposed to hs
seen Fisher that he was doing time in
the state penitentiary. Hence he wa
convicted of perjury.
Flsher'H attempts to secure a new
trlnl by reiison of Ihla false testimony
were fruitless, tho Iowa law making
no provision lor a new trial in such
Instances.
LITTLE HOPE FOR RECOVERY
Fern Johnson In Critical Condition
From' Her Injuries.
Sioux City, la., Aug. 12. Fern John
son, the only Burvlvor of the train
automobile accident near Gulva, la,
which wiped out nearly the whole
family of A. F. Johnson of Akron, la.,
still is In n critical condition at th
St. Joseph's hospital, and little hop
is held out for her recovery. Ths
boilles of the other four members of
the family, which were brought to
Sioux City on a special truln, were
taken to Akron where the funeral
services .were held this afternoon.
PRISONER RUNS AMUCK '
Slain by ' Deputy After He Had
Wounded Marshal and Two Others.
Christopher, 111., Aug.' 12. Attempt-
lug to escape after being remanded
to Jail for examination, Martin
Shadowens shot Jdsllce of the Peace
James Mannon, City Marshal John
Staklnrlder and a- spectator and cut
Deputy Tom Mackey; whose condition
s serious. Mackey then shot and
killed Shadowens, whose brother,
Charier, In the excitement, fell from
a Becond story window and was prob
ably fatally hurt.
New National Party In Mexico.
Mexico City. Aug. 12. Following;
the abandonment of Francisco I. Ma
dero'a standa'Q by the antl-re election
lsts In reply to bis virtual repudiation
rocently of that organization, a call
was sent out to all the antlre-eleo-tionlst
clubs for a convention e
August 15 to nominate a new national
ticket, of which Frauclsro Vasquea
Gomez, minister of foreign affairs, la
slated to be tho head.
Dynamite Storehouse Blows Up.
Newhurgh, N. Y., Ang. 12. With a
concussion thnt shook the earth for
miles around, a dynamite storehot
of the New York Aqueduct on Storm
King mountain, at Cornwall, blew up.
The building hnd in It 1.100 pounds
of explosive. No trace of tho building
wns left, shanties In the vicinity wore
leveled and P large quantity ot win
dow glass in the village of Cornwall
was broken. A Russian caretaker at
the shaft is missing.
V i? .
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