Show wi forgotten aDir gotten HEROES H ER ad ph un S vy ty ELMO SCOTT WATSON saved from apache tortures H AD tt it not nol been tor for the tearless fearless 1 A devotion of one of those typical old army sergeants the career of 0 a distinguished cavalryman and indian fighter might have been ended at the outset and american literature might never have been enriched by the stir ring romances ices ot of the old army days in the west which cume come from his pen lor for gen charles king a at the age ol of eighty seven one of the few ew remaining links today between the present and the past jast when there was a frontlet front lei owes tits life to sergeant bernard tay lor of the fighting ll fth cavalry in 1874 king then a lieutenant with a synill detachment ot of the fifth was pursuing a band of apache raider 1 in the mogollon Mu gollon mountains of at arizona near sut sef pass king accompanied by sergeant taylor scouting ahead ot of the uncovered the a bush tf which the indians had find laid for the e soldiers tin the first farst sign of the presence of the enemy was an arrow which whizzed past his bis head and burled buried itself deep into a tree A moment inter he pit felt a burning sensation as another dart tore through the outer corner ot of his left eye jumping quickly behind a rock ung king wa waited cited for or the enemy to show themselves and as two dusky forms g elidea elided into the open a quick shot f from r 0 in his carbine brought brou glit one of them down before lie he could reload a volley from the other warriors spattered on the rock A bullet pierced tits his right arm and his carbine dropped from tits his hand realizing instantly that the savages aou would id be upon him before the detachment could come up king sprang to tits his feet and started to dash down the slope but a tough clinging vine tripped him up and a headlong head long plunge of I 1 ten en feet left him lying bruised and almost senseless among the rocks As he be fumbled for his revolver tor for he was resolved not to let them take him a live alive he heard a voice calling lieutenant I 1 where are ye Il here lere sergeants sergeant replied the wound ed cd ott leer and a second later taylor was at his side had lifted h him I 1 in in his arms and started down the slope when king fell ell the apaches lost his trail for a few moments but they caught sight of him again as taylor readied reached him now began a thrilling race tor for life with the savages gaining on the sergeant with hla his heavy load every few yards yard she lie stopped to send a shot from his carbine to delay his pursuers and twice an apache dropped in his tracks taylor was tiring firing fast and king begged the sergeant to drop him and save his bis own life but the sergeant knew what that would mean for the young lieutenant ue he staggered on and just as he was about to col lapso lapse he heard beard the welcome sound of the soldiers crashing through the bushes they were saved F F V and indian scout a HIS 1 S veins 1 n s flowed some of the IN pro proudest u d eave b blood i 0 od in all america ills his father was col richard garnett ot of virginia a classmate of sheridan it at west point who was commanding ow at fort laralle Lar amle wyo wo before thi the civil war and who as a brigadier general of virginia troops in the confederate army lost its his life early in the tha war ills mother was an indian woman ot of the great chief red clouds ogallala Oi allala sioux so billy garnett could claim that he belonged to the first families of virginia and the dakotas during the sioux war of 1876 77 he served under general C crook roo k as a scout I 1 and interpreter and tt it was largely through throng 1 his energy influence and work in the field that chief crazy horse leader of the ho hostiles host stiles lles who over whelmed ouster custer on the L little ittle big horn surrendered at fort robinson lu in the spring of 1877 then ahen ft hen the war was over and some 9 turbulent red men were placed on the pine ridge reservation with dr V T dy a former army surgeon as agent garnett was made chief interpreter and this Is doctor tribute to him during seven years jears of service it was ft as largely through garnetts help and influence that I 1 was 11 able ble with the assistance of only ten white men and a force of 50 indian policemen to hold bold those indians in check many a time during my ln in cuni cum bency as agent billy stood by my side in hostile councils aligned on the ode of the great white fattier father when ou on prospects were good for a buffalo hunt bunt on ghost creek but lie he never neer weakened during the ghost dance i outbreak Dilt break ot of 1800 bl garnett was ns as usual to the front serving between hla his people and the whites tie he Is the last survivor or of the old scouts and interpreters he be had few equals and no superiors lie he helped open up the west to civilization and he helped make history on the frontier those last words were uttered when only a few years ago billy garfitt Gar old and decrepit from ardt arduous ious service and exposure during campaigns where the temperature ranged from in the summer to 05 61 below in the file winter was trying vainly to get a pension of SW a month from the government he b e had served so well at last the grateful republic which he served did grant him film a pen bensn stin sn but they cut it down to 20 a month I 1 and until his death in ID 1928 that was the only recognition which this forgotten hero hern of the old frontier had ever received aci western newpher New unton 1 |