head bowed in thought;
anon it rose sharply at recollections, and as he breathed, the shouts
and lamentations of crushed men--the yells and shots--the thunder of
horses' hoofs--the full fury of the desert combats came to the pricking
ears of the Deacon and me.

We saw through the smoke the brave young faces of the hosts which poured
into Texas to war with the enemies of their race. They were clad in
loose hunting-frocks, leather leggings, and broad black hats; had
powder-horns and shot-pouches hung about them; were armed with
bowie-knives, Mississippi rifles, and horse-pistols; rode Spanish
ponies, and were impelled by Destiny to conquer, like their remote
ancestors, "the godless hosts of Pagan" who "came swimming o'er the
Northern Sea."

"Rip" Ford had not yet acquired his front name in 1836, when he enlisted
in the famous Captain Jack Hayes's company of Rangers, which was
fighting the Mexicans in those days, and also trying incidentally to
keep from being eaten up by the Comanches.

Said the old Colonel: "A merchant from our country journeyed to New
York, and Colonel Colt, who was a friend of his, gave him two
five-shooters--pistols they were, and little things. The merchant in
turn presented them to Captain Jack Hayes. The captain liked them so
well that he did not rest till every man jack of us had two apiece.

"Directly," mused the ancient one, with a smile of pleasant
recollection, "we had a fight with the Comanches--up here above San
Antonio. Hayes had fifteen men with him--he was doubling about the
country for Indians. He found 'sign,' and after cutting their trail
several times he could see that they were following him. Directly the
Indians overtook the Rangers--there were seventy-five Indians. Captain
Hayes--bless his memory!--said,' They are fixin' to charge us, boys, and
we must charge them.' There were never better men in this world than
Hayes had with him," went on the Colonel with pardonable pride; "and
mind you, he never made a fight without winning.

"We charged, and in the fracas killed thirty-five Indians--only two of
our men were wounded--so you see the five-shooters were pretty good
weapons. Of course they wa'n't any account compared with these modern
ones, because they were too small, but they did those things. Just after
that Colonel Colt was induced to make bigger ones for us, some of which
were half as long as your arm.

"Hayes? Oh, he was a surveyor, and used to go out beyond the fronti