Thirty years on the frontier . alley, through which the bigmountain wolf skulked and prowled all nightlong, had felt the mysterious presence of theshadow or had seen it. They fled from theirblankets at its soft step, and they had firedat it, and seen it glide off unharmed. It was not a shadow of sentiment, but abeing who sought vengeance for the butcheryof the little band of heroes, for the bravecomrades who grouped themselves about thenoble Custer and fought to the death. Wlien the soldiers moved out of the valley,leaving so many graves behind them, thewolves rushed out from canon, ravine and
Thirty years on the frontier . alley, through which the bigmountain wolf skulked and prowled all nightlong, had felt the mysterious presence of theshadow or had seen it. They fled from theirblankets at its soft step, and they had firedat it, and seen it glide off unharmed. It was not a shadow of sentiment, but abeing who sought vengeance for the butcheryof the little band of heroes, for the bravecomrades who grouped themselves about thenoble Custer and fought to the death. Wlien the soldiers moved out of the valley,leaving so many graves behind them, thewolves rushed out from canon, ravine andden, to dig up the fresh earth and mutilatethe dead. The shadow was there—a solitary,mysterious and vigilant sentinel to guardthose sacred mounds. It screamed and ges-tured at the fierce beasts, it fired upon themwith rifle and revolver and struck them withbright, keen sabre. The wolves ran here andthere, from grave to grave, gnashing theirteeth in anger, but the shadow closely pur- o p 13* a>1-^ • C crO p o c (T) p Ofq. THIETY YEAKS ON THE FKONTIEK. 33 sued them. They formed in groups in themidnight darkness and waited for the shad-ow to tire out and fall asleep or go away,but it paced up and down over the graves,vigilant and unwearied, and daylight came tohurry the wild beasts to their lairs till an-other night. Hunters and scouts had seen the sentinel-beat among the graves in the light of noon-day, when men could not be mistaken. Thepath ran from grave to grave, winding aboutto take in every one, and then it ran to theriver and disappeared in a ledge of said it was a path beaten by humanfeet. The Indians said that a shadow orspirit alone could remain in that lonely spot,having only the company of wild beasts andthe graves of the lonely dead. Once when Eed Cloud and a trusty fewwere scouting to learn the whereabouts oftheir white foes, they encamped in the valleyfor the night. The shadow stole among themas they slept, and when the fierce screamaroused the
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectfrontie, bookyear1906
