Note 14 — CHRONICLES OF BORDER WARFARE (continued 7)

Another case of border superstition is related to me by McWhorter. Alexander West had been doing sentry duty most of the night before, and on being relieved early in the morning, sat with his back to a tree and, rifle across his lap, fell to sleep. On awakening he sprang to his feet and cried, “Boys, look out! Some of us will be killed to-day! I saw the red doe in my dream; that is the sign of death; I never knew it to fail!” When Bonnett fell, it was considered in camp to be a verification of the “red sign.” Bonnett was carried by his comrades on a rude stretcher, but in four days died. His body was placed in a cleft of rock and the entrance securely chinked.––R. G. T.