OCR Text |
Show AFAOHBS AKD A UATU. Tears ago In the west, when the government gov-ernment sent out safes for the nee of Its paymasters in the army In remote districts. It wsa the euotom for the paymaster pay-master In the cavalry service to ride m as ambulance with the safe, escorted by a guard or six mounted men. On one oocaelon such a guard was attacked at-tacked by a lane force of Apache Indians. In-dians. Two men were killed and the Indians captured ths ambulance with ii1.. Thl wart oontained about 8000 In greenbacks, and It wslghed some four hundred pounds and had a combination com-bination lock. Now ths Indians In question had never seen a safe at closs quarters until this one happened along, but they knew that It oontained money. Also, that they wanted that money. They Bret pounded off the knob with stones, under the Impression that ths door -could then be pried open. Their sttempt was. of course, a failure. The next step was to try their tomahawks on the chilled steel, in the hope mat a hole might be cut In It. This means, too, proved of no avail: eo they determined to try Are. Accordingly, they gave the safs a three-hour roasting. Luckily for the government. It was fireproof. They threw big rocks upon It while it wss hot. but they were as far from ths money aa ever. Next the A pec bee dragged the safe up the slds of a mountain and tumbled It over a precipice too feet high. They expected, ex-pected, of course, to see It burst open, but the only damage was a slight Injury In-jury to ons of ths wheels. Ths safe was left soaking In the river for three or four days, and great was the Indians' disappointment at Boding themselves still rba ftled. Then they tried gunpowder: but knowing know-ing nothing of the art of blasting, they brought about an explosion that burned half a dosen warriors, and left ths safe none ths worse. The Indiana worked over that safs. off and oa. for a month or more, but failed to get at the Inside. Finally, la disgust, they left It Hi i deep ravine. Fourteen months later, when peace eame. the army accidentally found the safe. It was lying la ths bed of a creek with a great pile of driftwood around It. It was a sad looking safs. but when opened showed Its contents Intact. Harper's Har-per's Weekly. |