wind was terrific and going at hurricane speed, and the air so thick
with sand and dirt we could not see the ears of our own horses. The
world seemed to have narrowed to a space that was appalling! You will
think that this could never have been--that I was made blind by
terror--but I can assure you that the absolute truth is being written.

Lieutenant Baldwin's voice sounded strange and far, far away when he
called to me, "Sit tight in your saddle and do not jump!" And then
again he fairly yelled, "We must stay together--and keep the horses
from stampeding to the stables!" He was afraid they would break away
and dash us against the iron supports to the flagstaff in the center
of the parade ground. How he could say one word, or even open his
mouth, I do not understand, for the air was thick with gritty dirt.
The horses were frantic, of course, whirling around each other,
rearing and pulling, in their efforts to get free.

We must have stayed in about the same place twenty minutes or longer,
when, just for one instant, there was a lull in the storm, and I
caught a glimpse of the white pickets of a fence! Without stopping to
think of horse's hoofs and, alas! without calling one word to the two
officers who were doing everything possible to protect me, I shut my
eyes tight, freed my foot from the stirrup, and, sliding down from my
horse, started for those pickets! How I missed Lieutenant Alden's
horse, and how I got to that fence, I do not know. The force of the
wind was terrific, and besides, I was obliged to cross the little
acequia. But I did get over the fifteen or sixteen feet of ground
without falling, and oh, the joy of getting my arms around those
pickets!

The storm continued for some time; but finally the atmosphere began to