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% \ Overland Witi Kit Carson Bj W/THOMSOir. tCopj'right, I8ta, by American Preaa Anrcln- tton.J * CHAPTER L owft'frtgon trnen L»rson CAreiessty miq, “Maybe yon’d best keep all your clothe* on tonight, girl*, for we’ll likely make a start by 3 in the morning." “Oh, captain,’’ laughingly replied Miss Douglas, “well not go regularly to bed so long a* the Indian* are about If they call upon us, they'll find us ready dressed." “Back, men! Back to cover! Don’t feee sight of the wotnen," ahouted the captain of our train as we were hurry ing toward the advanced position by the wde of adfep canyon Where he had (Some to a standstill. _ * 4 We knew our- leader—the Unowned Kit Carson—too welfto lose atnomen t in idle queatiouing, so all turned at once and •curried back to the hne of wagons, in the center one of which sat Tom Socord’s poetty wife and her still prettier sister, Helen Douglas. Rallying by the side of the women, or (firls rather, neither being yet 20 years of age, we looked ahead to see what Kit waa doing. Much to our surprise, that veteran scout, instead of riding swiftly In, as we expected, had dismounted from his horse and was walking quietly In front of the animal, thus making its body shield his own from any attack in the rear. When the ladies had retired, Kit’s whole manner changed. He sat for some time in deep thought, then quietly sig naled us to follow him out of the corral. On gaining a safe distance he said: “Now, boys, it'sall right to play upeasy- like before the women folks, but all the same we're in for a big fight. These red cusses outnumber us three to one, and they're after scalps and plunder sure. "Well by low and keep dark, so’s to make believe we’re all asleep, and if we can fool them into making a rush on the wagons every man of ns must shoot straight and steady, so’s to thin them out a little. “They’ll most likely attack on foot, and if wo can knock a dozen of ’em over at the first fire they'll turn and run. Then you want to pour in the lead from your revolvers and make a running fight of it to the canyon. But don’t, any of you, follow them one inch into it. If “What’s up, cap?“ three or four of ns asked in a breath as Carson, calm as the summer day Itself, joined us. “Nothing of much account, boys. But If we’d once got into the canyon I reckon none of us—only the women, maybe— would ever have come ont alive.” “Oh, Mr. Carson! What is it? Are the Indianr there? Is there mnch dan ger?” exclaimed Mrs. Secord. “Danger! Bless yonr sweet heart, not a mite for you or the girl so long’s a sin gle man of us is left, and we ain't any of ue going under just yet,” Kit gallant ly replied. “But, boys, ;ou might as well put things, in shipshape. It’s kind of half likely that we’ll have a little scrimmage. Near as I can guess, there’s well on to 50 Apaches hiding in tha can yon. I caught sight of a pony or two and half a dozen warriors, and—well, the red devils have got their warpaint on! They’ve reckoned to wipe hs ont as we went through the pass, bat they’ll have to wait awhile.” It was in 1850. We were on our way from Missouri to California—were how passing through Arizona and had ar rived at Canyon Diablo (the Devil’s canyon), in the vicinity of Little Colo rado river, when onr guide had so on- portunely discovered the ambnscade. Besides Kit Carson, then in his prime and abont 40 years of age, there were 18 men in our party, all stout fellows under 80, and the two young women. Our ontfit consisted of five covered wagons, afterward known as “prairie schooners,” and 15 horses—i. e., an extra horse for each wagon or available for the saddle while hnnting buffalo and other game. As It waa yet qnite early in the season w* had found good grass all along the ronte. Our cattle were consequently in first class condition, and we had touch enjoyed our trip, notwithstanding the constant watchfulness wo had been obliged to maintain ever since entering Indian territory. So far nothing very serious had oc curred, though on several occasions it was only onr complete state of preparation that saved ns from attack, bat now that we had reached the stamping gronnd of the bloodthirsty Apaches we could hard ly expect to escape molestation. We were well armed for those times, having a foil supply of muzzle loading riflee, double barreled shotguns and to each man a heavy Colt's revolver, then a very costly weapon. In less than five minntes after Carson had given the command the wagons were drawn into a rough circle and the horses brought within the incloenre. “Back, men! Back to cover!" We had a reserve of dry feed on hand sufficient to sustain the beasts for sever al days and a week’s supply of water for onrselvea, but In case of a prolonged siege the horsee could be kept alive—or at least from great suffering—only by a visit once in every 24 hours to the nearest branch of the Colorado, which Carson said waa over a mile distant, and this daily trip in the fade of watchful ene mies would doubtless prove a desperate enterprise. None of ns, except the guide himself, knew anything of Indian warfare be yond what we had read in books, and Kit’s manner was so nonchalant, his mind so apparently free from care, that all of ns save two were inclined to make light of the situation. These two were the newly married Tom Secord and a powerfully built young fellow named Frank Austin, who during our long jour ney had monopolized rather more of Helen Douglas’ society than waa alto gether agreeable to the other bachelors of the party. Both men, however, managed to con ceal their anxiety from the women, and the latter soon recovered from their firs* abont 8 o’clock in the afternoon rune day when we came to a halt, there were yet five boon of day- left. Indeed on the open plain it d not bo dark even after nightfall, s moon was qnite foil and the sky clondlsss. This circumstance, Kit Carson said, would be greatly to our advantage, as tha hostilea oonld not well steal upon ns unawares, and if they did attack we see to shook 8® sparingly using of the fuel stored in the wagons r waa prepared at the usual time xrtaken of aa cheerfully as if there lot an enemy within 100 miles. n Hm« not a sound—man's voice my’s whinny-had been heard from anyon. All within its gloomy , geenied devoid of life, and noth- ss than implicit faith in our leader hare made us believe that it con- [ a horde of ruthless savages pa- p waiting to glut their hellish thirst >uf" 9 o’clock the sUters bade us ■jyht and were moving 9° *> their you‘do, you’ll lose your hair certain, for these Apaches are cunning as coyotes, and they’ll try to draw ns on to where there’ll be lots more of them skulking. “If you fellows all keep cool and just kind of think you’re on a wolf hunt, we can lick a hundred of the worst reds on the plains. And, mind, we must lick them so bad to begin with they'll not want to trouble ns again. We've got women along, and whatever happens every last man of us must keel over be fore a hair of their heads is touched.” A low murmur of approval went round the circle as Carson concluded, and we assured him that we would im plicitly obey instructions. “If yon do, we’ll come ont all right, men,” the brave fellow rejoined. “Now let’s get to onr posts. Take yonr sta tions all round inside the corral. Sit right down on the ground and shoot be tween the wheel spokes when the time comes. Not a word’s to be spoken nor a pipe lighted till we see what turns up. I'll undertake to keep yon awake, and if the attack's made only on one side yon mnst all gather there, bnt don't show a finger outside the shade of the wagons till the reds begin to run. Then pile in for all you’re worth.” In a few minntes everything was ar ranged to Kit’s satisfaction. The men, each one with rifle ami revolver ready, placed themselves abont 10 feet apart entirely aronnd the inner circumference of the circle, so as to command every possible point of approach, and then, ex cept for the gentle breathing of the horees and the occasional howl of a dis tant wolf, absolute silence prevailed—a silence strangely weird and solemn to the wakeful emigrants, who, however fearless, could not fail to reflect that this glorions, moonlit night might be their last on earth. Two hours passed away in that anx ious expectancy, more trying to the nerves of brave men than the fiercest conflict, and still the Indians made no sign. It was nearly midnight, and some of ns. cramped by long sitting and chafing under the wearing suspense, were getting restless. Kit Carson noted onr growing disquiet, and gliding noiselessly from one to the other whispered in the ear of each a few words of cheer. He had barely completed his round when his keen eye detected one, two, three and finally up to 40 savage*—save for paint, feathers and weapons, naked as the day they were born—steal from the black mouth of the pass, range themselves in hne and crouch ing like panthers come slowly toward us. A qniet gesture called attention to this move, and all the men rolled themselves over to that side of the inclosure. The canyon was more than 300 yards away, bnt the moon now rode high in the heavens, and we could see every manenver of the Indians quite plainly. For a little distance they preserved their alignment and then divided up into five groupa of eight each. It was evident that believing ns to be asleep they had arranged to attack all the wagons si multaneously, and doubtless knowing onr exact numbers supposed that in no case was any one of the vehicles likely to contain more than four men—an easy prey for eight! After thus forming in sections the central groups held back for a time, while those on the flanks made a circling sweep, and in a very brief space onr position was completely surrounded. The several detachments then halted at abont 60 yards distance, apparently awaiting some preconcerted signal, or perhaps to make sure that we were off our guard. Although by the moon's clear light we could distinctly note every movement of onr enemies, we ourselves, wedged in be tween and shaded by the closely packed horses and the high topped wagons, were quite invisible to them. Our force had of course been properly redistributed to meet the emergency, and there were now four men concealed behind each one of that number of wagons, while in lee if of the fifth knelt Carson, Tom Secord and Frank Austin. For fully 10 minntes—anxious minutes for ns—the hostiles remained motionless as so many statues. Then the simulated cry of a coyote broke in upon the dread, stillness, and the whole five parties si lently as shadows slowly converged upon the corral. They did not, however, come qnite np, bnt halted again when within 25 yards, and we could see that they were armed only with tomahawks, knives and warclubs. having evidently left their bows and arrows behind, in tending to make a hand to hand massa cre of it As we gazed upon the hideously paint- od wretchee each one of us no doubt steadied his nerves and steeled his heart by reflecting how mnch depended upon his own individual prowess, but we had little time to think at all, for within five seconds of this last halt Kit Carson's low command—“Steady, boys! Steady now! All together. Fire!”—fell upon onr ears. [TO Bt COVTINURP, | rue Tapping oi *«>• oaatuwaten. The so called deathwatch, dreaded by the superstitious, is a small beetle which has a very powerful joint in it* neck and call* its mate by tapping with its bead on the wall or on any surface where it may happen to be located. The noise is similar to that which may be produced by tapping irith the finger nails on a table, and the insect can frequently be made to answer such tape.—New York Evening Sup 1 Wisdom and virtue are by no means sufficient without the supplemental laws of good breeding. AREYOU GOING TO PAINT? If yon are we want to say a few words to you about paints in general and the Averill Paint in particular Our long, hot season makes ours one of the hardest and most try'ngcliinatt son paints. Cheap paints are worthless. The best white lead will “chalk off” in a very few months. A paint to give satisfactory results here must l>e especial ly adapted toourclimatic con ditiona. The JJtfepill Is just such a pain- It has bten used in thi» lo cality for 23 years, and has al ways given satisfa^ t ion. It Is GUARANTEED To give you perfect satisfac tion after time sufficient to thoroughly test it has elapsed, and we are authorized to pro tect this guarantee. Please call at our store for color cards (free), and see book of 20 ele- gant designs for house-paint ing Welling & Bonnoilt. Junl—lm E.J. O’CONNOR, -DEALER I2C- Oil MOBim Horn 908 BROAD STREET, .a.ttg-ttst.a., a-a.. The Largest Liquor House in the South Choice Brandies, Wines, Oins, Rums and Liquors of Every Description. Mail Orders Receive Attention. Sept 28—3mo Prompt Auditor’s Notice. Auditor's Office. ) Darungtom, 8. C., Pee. 1,18flP. j T HIS office will be open for the purpose of listing all real and personal property and poll taxes for the fiscal year commencing Nov 1, 1893, and ending Oct. 81, 1894, from January 1, to February 20, inclusive, excepting days required in filling the jury box and days named below. 1 will attend in person or by dep- uty: ' Philadelphia, Monday, Jan. 8. Lamar, Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 9 and 10. Cypress, Thursday, Jan 11. Ashland, Friday, Jan. 12. Stokes Bridge, Saturday, Jan. 13. Lydia, Monday, Jan. 15. Hartsville, Tuesday and Wednes day, Jan 16 and 17. Antioch, Thursday, Jan. 18. Leavensworth, Friday, Ian 19. Society Hill, Thursday and Friday, Jan. 18 and 19, by deputy. Jasper, Saturday, Jail. 20, by dep uty. High Hill, Monday, Jan. 22, by dep uty. Mechanicsville, Tuesday, Jan. 23. If taxpayers will aid theAuditor in get ting all the taxable property on the tax books much dissatisfaction now existing wonld cease. The school fund would be incieased if all taxable lls could be entered. Male persons tween the ages of 21 and 50 years are deemed taxable polls except those incapable of earning a support. W. H. LAWRENCE, Dec 7—4t Auditor D. C. po bei Me’: Salt! Pursuant to a deed of trust made to me by W. D. Woods, I will sell AT PUBLIC OUTCRY, in front of the Court House, at Darlington, S. C., on ■AT, MM S, IS9i The following described real es tate : All that tract of land situated in the town of Darlington, fronting on Cashua street, and containing 85 ACRES more or less; the same to be sold X2>r LOTS as indicated by a plat which may be seen at the office of Gibson & Woods. The sale will continue from day to day until all the lots are sold. Terms of sale, one-third cash; balance in one year, secured by the bond of the purchaser or purchasers and mortgage of the premises. Purchaser or pur chasers to pay the undersigned for all necessary papers. N. S. GIBSON, Nov30tojan4 Trustee. No. 7, Knights of Pythi as, meets on 1st and 3rd Tuesday Evenings in each month, at Caatle Hail, Flo ence street, opposite broad. Visit ing brothers fraternally CHRISTMHS GIFTS! % Thin is the Year to Give Comu lon-Senne Presents! BUY FURNITURE. Make Your Friends a Present that will Make Their Heme Gemferlable! I will display a nice line of Wagons, Bicycles, Tri cycles and Velocipedes lor Children, as well as the more useful, and substantial. Home Comtorts for the older ones. Let me see you. 8S-P. S.— You will find me next to the Jail."®! J.D. BHIRD. The Darlington Shoe Store We are receiving daily our stock of Shoes for the Fall and Winter! 9 [MEN’S, LADIES’, MISSES and CHILDREN’S] And beg an inspection of the same w hen in need of nice Footwear. Our stock is bought in large quantities direct from the very best manufacturers, which ensures new fresh goods, and we propose to sell them at a very small margin. We call special attention to our $3.00 Shoe for Men, made by the ROCKLAI D Company; genuine calf, Goodyear welt, all styles in congress and lace. Rubber Good8-Oleyery description, consisting of Mackin osh Garments for Ladies and Men, also a complete line of Rubber Shoes for Men, Boys, Ladies, Misses andChildrem Wesellthe MARVEL RUBBER a perfect rubber.’ TRUNKS, VALISES, SATCHELS, UMBRELLAS AND SHOE FINDINGS OF I VERY DESCRIPTION. NEWEST STYLE HATS. Sep 14—4m SHNTH CLHUS’ Headquarters. mum« m With much pleasure we partly enumerate a list of the articles to be found in our stock. Our line, usually very complete, is much larger and more varied this season than ever before, em bracing chiefly novelties of the American and Foreign markets. Wood. Leather. Metal. TOILET, MANICURE, ODOR, JEWEL, COMBINATION, SMOKER, CIGAR, GAME SETS, PHOTO CASES, TOILET AND HAND MIRRORS, GLOVES AND HANDKER CHIEFS, FRAMES, KNIFE AND FORK, PEPPER AND SALT, AFTER DINNER SPOONS, AUTOGRAPH, PHO TOGRAPH AND SCRAP ALBUMS, ALBUM EASELS, LAP TABLETS, PORT FOLIOS, TRAVELLING SETS, POC KET BOOKS, CARD CASES, PURSES, BILL BOOKS, LETTER CASES, PEN TRAYS, ASH RECEIVERS, INK STANDS, PAPER WEIGHTS, PAPER CUTTERS. BOOKLETS AND XMAS CARDS, CALENDARS, PRAYER BOOKS AND HYMNALS, BIBLES, TESTAMENTS, M’LAUGHLIN’S BOOKS, GAMES AND BLOCKS, JUVENILE BOOKS, POEMS, TOYS, DOLLS, WAGONS, VELOCI PEDES, BICYCLES, TRICYCLES, VASES, AND CHINA GOODS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. * We are headquarters for School Books and School Supplies, and in every department may be found all the latest novelties that the market affords. Call and see. BOOK STORE. Nov 30-tUX IS NOW A complete line of every thing usual to a first-class Hardware Store. Also a full line of AgMd lafliauli, Epm’ Sipplies, Miur;, Stem AISTID TIISTWAIRE, And will sell at the very lowest prices for cash. Tinning, Roofing & Plumbing Oct6—tf Al BFJBOI-A-IiTTT. Insure Your Property WITH IF- E. XsTOEnVCEETT, Who represent* the un ME ME HUES H TEE TOE! Satisfaction Guaranteed. Represents Twelve First- class Companies. September 11,1890 A Profitable Mmeiit. The foUgwlog Is self-explanatory: “On the 14th i ay of October, 1892, we insured our lives in the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, of Newark, N. J.. for $15,000. When onr second premiums fell dne, we re ceived over 26 pir cent, dividends on our money. We can safely say to all wanting insurance that this is the safest and most profitable and liberal company in the United States. “S. Karoo, “I. Lkwenthal." Call on G. W. YODNG, A^ent, Par- W. WITCOYER Wishes to inform the public that be has opened In the ALEXANDER BUILDIHG next door to Sanders’ bnteher where he Is prepared to pay the 1 eet cash price* possible for all 1 ’ ler shop, »l, Coonlrr Produce tod Furs