The Powder River Patrol had been pushing their horses hard, bringing the word to settlers. to make their way to Fort Starke, Corporal Blaine made the call to unsaddle, hobble and feed their mounts, while they investigated the abandoned village...
"Corporal, looksee!"Shouted Trooper Twoflags.]
"Hell!"Replied the Corporal.
"Saddle and mount up boys."
"I'm a suspicioned we'll be makin' us a rapid ree-treat!"Hostile eyes are watching!
SMOKE SIGNALS!!!
Not every snake, slithering along the Canyon of Death, has two legs!
. The cards may well prove a cruel Mistress.
The outcome of this 'ere shindig may well come down to the power of the single action .45 calibre Army Colt
The panicky Troopers rush to saddle up, Just as Corporal Blayne gives the order to mount up, Rifles roar and arrow whistle! Blayne stumbles as he takes an arrow,
Tpr. Whistle's horse drags him off his feet, and bolts away.
Against the odds, the wounded Corporal and Tpr. Twoflags, mount up. Bugler Courtney quickly joins them.
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The intrepid Tpr. Tyree not only mounts, but remains cool enough to catch the packs.
Young Tpr. Coconut, a greenhorn mounts, in a funk he abandons his bunkie, Tpr. Whistle!
Howling, bronzed warpainted savages fall on the luckless Whistle.
Whistle's no greenhorn, he's an old sweat, quickly sending the Braves to the Happy Hunting Grounds.
But this night, Whistle goes home by a road he does not know. Overwhelmed he leaves a circle of dead Indians around him, before biting the dust.
The true face of the Plains Wars!
Standing tall, The Great lame Beaver gives the signal to charge. He leaps aboard his finest pony, now the chase is on!
Whooping Braves race their pony's to catch the patrol.
With his patrol now well in hand Corporal Blayne increases the pace. The heavy Cavalry horses are sadly no match for the fleet Indian pony's.
The troopers unload their pistols, thinning the Braves. The Braves's bloods up though, in the swirling dust, first Tyree and then Corporal Blayne himself are dragged from their mounts by screeching Redmen!
An excellently mounted Trooper Twoflags avoids the same fate. Running for the Canyon of Doom.
Corporal Blayne and Tpr. Tyree are soon back in the saddle, in the swirling dust, they get a break on. Both Tprs Coconut and Courtney are less fortunate, shot from their saddles, they're quickly overwhelmed.
Despite being grievously wounded, both dying Troopers face one final indignity.
Despite being hampered by the packhorse Tpr. Tyree negotiates the Canyon of Doom.
Tpr. Twoflags and a flagging Corporal Blayne reach the Canyon of Doom.
But it's here that Blayne's wound takes it's toll, climbing from the Canyon he falls from his mount. The Great Lame Beaver whoops in triumph! The Corporal waves his empty pistol, and draws his hunting knife. The Indian Chief hesitates for a second, he's not to know, Blayne's pistol is empty. He knows the Bluecoats with the yellow warpaint on their arms have powerful medicine. Being a War Chief of the Cheyenne is greater medicine, he charges!
Almost upon the Corporal, The Great Lame Beaver drags his pony, slithering to a halt. Clear and loud comes the sound of a *buggel in the afternoon!
The Cheyenne Warrior glowers at a defiant Blanye. In a swirl of dust the War party vanishes from sight. Corporal Blayne holsters his Colt, and gathers the Patrol's survivors around him. From another dust cloud, Captain Brittles and C Troop emerge. The Captain dismounts, two of his Troopers, support the injured Corporal...
"Report Corporal."
"Sir, we reached the rendezvous as ordered, you weren't there!"
"I wanted to be Corporal, carry on."Corporal Blayne made his report, emphasising Tpr. Tyree's gallantry in saving the packs full of ammunition. Captain Brittles nodded in acknowledgement.
"Good report, go on yer record. Ought to make Sergeant in two to five years."Back on the Plains, The Great Lame Beaver climbs the Spirit Mountain. He sings a victory song to the Great God Manitou.
Lower down the mountain, vultures decide it's teatime!
*Forty years ago my son had just started learning to read. They used to put old Cavalry and Indian films on in the afternoon back then. What's this one called, I asked the lad...
"Buggels in the Afternoon, Dad!"
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November 04, 2008, 10:53:54 PM
