Show I rr n THE YELLOW I TUFT 4 t y 1 DAVID 13 B. B FITZGERALD a bY Short Story Pub Co I. I new colonel at Fort Win fT gate ate In m the de desert cr of Cf northwest northwest- st- st I Mexico was very unlike un- un New l rl ern an the veteran major who f like a dozen years at t the e post st tai Ii been lot of view Y d differed ln In i lots v thell hd points o. o j conceivable particular st ev ry S evening at the close A Ji they sat one fiery day In a n corner of tt blazing ung of a veranda of the commandants commandant's the e long colonel e discoursed dl cou 01 on hl his It the ers he be had studied rIte them a ar eighth Ight 5 pla aY I exactly on OD the crow hundred bundred d tulle miles Ues distant as sea en d dead ad Indian is Isa a tiles tiles- The only good until the major began to relfe ree re- re indIan of ot applying for the e question q absence He hated argument nt of lease ave not a pound of ice and there was hundred d' d miles I two m t then Se Sergt James fade an official report to the colonel Sated made Dade clicked Ws heels beels y and was i brought ofT off when hen the maj major r brought S standing with a word and reSted requested re- re reQuested Sted bim n no up him bun to tell the colonel what Quested Lined at the Little Chusca canyon Se The sergeant flattened himself against weather boarding ather boarding and In a The lie toe white we complied manner t deprecatory Well sir he h bald ald it was at atthe t t 1 fae time of the second Navajo uprising the theW for tor devilishness which pure About W ant wasn't In fn it for a minute one evening a ranchman fo sh I o'clock Manuelito with the news from came e In Navajos were out along the that th t the moving eastward and arid Arizona ri border leaving an unpleasant trail We We mounted mount mount- companies and were off oft on the id ed d four tour stroke stroke of ten But Lord 1 we didn't dream what was ahead When Then we dr ream tm for batted alted at dawn next morning two breed half Zuni scouts breakfast came ame elme In la and told us that we were up the whole Navajo nation with broad streaks lb It ts war paint on in bit and The captain considered a then ben ordered us to saddle and mount tWe We thought that meant falling back on the be fort tort but It really meant going head ahead and holding the Indians In check till reinforcements could come up With half halt a dozen scouts a mile mUe In edvan advance drance e we rode westward At nine o'clock we sighted a fairly sized good sized bunch of ot Indians Indians about about t two iro o to our one one but but that was nothing In n those days They made off oft to the north orth Intending to ride around and get t us and t the e fort so we clapped t e In n and went after them I Irlon Jont dont remember a nastier ride This desert Is is a warmish warm sort of a a place at atthe atthe the thees the best es that day it was a furnace The sun was was' so blazing hot it r raised lever t ev r blisters ers on our our souls souIs One poor fellow went clean dean daft We couldn't have h have v been h we wetter te or steamier If one of the post S st washerwomen had nad poured P I r balling at r J us t J J brushed ed d the reds red t three ree times Imes th that t. t diy day first firs lit dt J stage t g station sta- sta tion next at Yu Yucca ca cr creek ek and pd again n aIn it at l sona II near arthe the beginning o of the f E Each h time we rushed tl because there was was nothing else to do but bat they didn't stand worth a cent Spotted Owl was the only Indian I ever knew hew who would stand out In fn n the open and tIld fight tight like a man but he had too Peat great a fancy for tor green paint It drew the fire of every man within range te de e had I eight bullets In him the day he died toot About two hours before sundown jie the reds halted in the mouth of the LIttle tile Chusca canyon From their own t It was vas a beautiful place for fora I a J fight The steep walls a thousand i Ie feet t high protected their flanks anks The I gone Corge behind them ran back twenty I nUis nto the mountains and the floor of of J the canyon near its mouth was was' I with great boulders An Int In- In Just fast t dotes on shooting through a ain crevice cre the In-the in the rocks When our ur captain It It was the maor maSot ma- ma Sot or saw here th the situation It worried begging Mm ging his pardon-and pardon he hee celled the e lieutenants aside for a talk The e upshot wa was that the captain made i t US A 4 ti little speech the gist of ot which tn tas that we were not going to round u aD i that bunch of ot reds and might t as II be be 7 S going Ing as the real circus was that down on the plains nut But he said before live we left he would like kc to the T 1 Indians In m front a scare that Our oat keep them from hanging Banging on to toll trail We saw It ll tt d meant crawling and anVer an- an Ver by slipping from our horses I e n half the lI lUll 7 a mlle mile to co cover er before light ht COvered f tailed failed ed but the B ground und was crawled and with big rocks and we runs dodged and made little doing the no reds taking snapshots but butA A A i hUndred particular damage I uth of Sd and fifty fitt yards from the I Peu u the canyon nyon we reached an on onu onI J the he palm alm Dap Place sand sand- and bare as 4 j bib big hIe boUlder ot of YOur In hand except for tor one ku ate h been hlen f i the e center center- It would JUSt lain lain- tr St simple suicide to try ln g T The had tad lieutenant shook his J and I hound cr und sent back a n sketch of ot the to the I I captain l le We 1 I waited for Instructions c It two wo Indians Allans behind the big puce I ate to h be was as a n may care I tor r lf It We tre tone dope for f charged ed they tor I no matter wl what 1 I to us ns hSi at hap liap- 1 a w aJ y of f knowing knowIn Individually 0 what and they had i f Were what we would do h if 1 long sate Safe enough for the time H r Ii they kept I ept behind the rock kI d b hu em k Up as QS 1 aCtIo us a COUP couple of ot lel lIes ei to distinguish them them- I iO I 1111 f l I said to the man mau It I next me meK me k keep your sights on n that Qt bl big rock there are a couple of reds rede behind it Pass the word Ho uHe nodded squinting along his his' bar bu rel reI Presently he loaned over and laid his hand on the shoulder of Kelso theman the theman theman man next beyond I saw the two whis whispering wl Is- Is t together g ther and wondered knowIng knowing know know- ing they were not good friends nut lint Lord bless you sir I was as unprepared unprepared unprepared pared as a child for tor what happened The next moment I heard Kelso cry I r dont don't take a dare from no man and least of all nil from you Billy KrIm Be Before Be Be- fore foro ore I could more than rub my ray eyes e es Krim and Kelso were up and running I neck eck a and neck for the rock trailing their carbines and with their knives r J v 4 their A ce l 10 to t m. m come to-come come back as wo we all dId tint lt If they heard i td paid p Ir ii i o 1 tion Well sir that famous charge of ot Krim and Kelso was over over in less tim time than it takes to tell It The red redIn In InthE the mouth of ot the canyon must have havel tho glit we were play pIny s trI trick for t they ey held eld their b lr fire until the themen themen he hem I men men- m n had hild almost almost reached the boulder Then there were half a dozen sputter ing shots and Kelso went ent down on is face ran clear past the rock I turned raised his carbine and need flied 1 Then n ed d his piece and clo closed ed In There was another shot and I Krim when we found him next moan lag Ing In had a bullet through his lungs and was dead Also the two reds one s shot ot in the eye and the other with his skull smashed We Ve always thought K m must have gone mad with the heat that that day a J dot Of 01 course we wet couldn't think Hof- Hof of of r drawing offhand of o and nd l leaving the bodies lotour lot o our men ta to So the U lieu lieutenant u- u tenant sent a detain detail to bring up and water and we spent the night De- De lie lie- hind l our shelters watching the open space between us and the mouth of of the canyon with Instructions to shoot at anything that t tp ye t. t Soon P alt after after r we discovered that th the Indians Indians In In- decamped had had decamped up up the g gorge rge and the tho lieutenant nant ordered half halt a dozen of ofus ofus ofus us to bring in the bodies of Kelso n and d Krim And nd you found joUnd them scalped It was was the the col colonel nel who spoke The major major ma ma ma- jor rubbed h his s hands softly together inthe In Inthe inthe the darkness No sir sir answered the sergeant we found all nil four bodies reds reus and our men alike aUke wearing the yellow v tuft tuft tutt The yellow tuft What Is that Inquired the colonel I 1 think sir said the sergeant it itIs itis Is what you would call a decoration for bravery in action When a Navajo is killed In battle and hIs Jils people cant can't bring his body In and bury it with hon bon honors honors ors they try at any rate to give him the tuft It is a little bunch of at yellow feathers sir bound bound with a string a and tied on the forehead KrIm Irim and Kelso both had it Some red had risked h his s life in crawling out to the boulder bould r during the night night and and he had not n t overlooked overlooked overlooked over over- looked t the e fa fact t that our fellows re were rem e also in the scrimmage Under the circumstances cir circumstances cir cir- clr we the decorated the two dead Indians with a l cavalry button apiece tied d around their necks n and burled buried all four tour in the same grave |