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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 05:16:26 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 05:16:26 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/1049-0.txt b/1049-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d615c70 --- /dev/null +++ b/1049-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7687 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1049 *** + +VANISHED ARIZONA + +Recollections of the Army Life by a New England Woman + + +by Martha Summerhayes + + + + +TO MY SON HARRY SUMMERHAYES WHO SHARED THE VICISSITUDES OF MY LIFE IN +ARIZONA, THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED + + + + + +Preface + +I have written this story of my army life at the urgent and ceaseless +request of my children. + +For whenever I allude to those early days, and tell to them the tales +they have so often heard, they always say: "Now, mother, will you write +these stories for us? Please, mother, do; we must never forget them." + +Then, after an interval, "Mother, have you written those stories of +Arizona yet?" until finally, with the aid of some old letters written +from those very places (the letters having been preserved, with other +papers of mine, by an uncle in New England long since dead), I have been +able to give a fairly connected story. + +I have not attempted to commemorate my husband's brave career in the +Civil War, as I was not married until some years after the close of that +war, nor to describe the many Indian campaigns in which he took part, +nor to write about the achievements of the old Eighth Infantry. I leave +all that to the historian. I have given simply the impressions made upon +the mind of a young New England woman who left her comfortable home +in the early seventies, to follow a second lieutenant into the wildest +encampments of the American army. + +Hoping the story may possess some interest for the younger women of the +army, and possibly for some of our old friends, both in the army and in +civil life, I venture to send it forth. + +POSTCRIPT (second edition). + +The appendix to this, the second edition of my book, will tell something +of the kind manner in which the first edition was received by my friends +and the public at large. + +But as several people had expressed a wish that I should tell more of my +army experiences I have gone carefully over the entire book, adding some +detail and a few incidents which had come to my mind later. + +I have also been able, with some difficulty and much patient effort, +to secure several photographs of exceptional interest, which have been +added to the illustrations. + +January, 1911. + + + +CONTENTS + + PREFACE + + CHAPTER + I. GERMANY AND THE ARMY + II. I JOINED THE ARMY + III. ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING + IV. DOWN THE PACIFIC COAST + V. THE SLUE + VI. UP THE RIO COLORADO + VII. THE MOJAVE DESERT + VIII. LEARNING HOW TO SOLDIER + IX. ACROSS THE MOGOLLONS + X. A PERILOUS ADVENTURE + XI. CAMP APACHE + XII. LIFE AMONGST THE APACHES + XIII. A NEW RECRUIT + XIV. A MEMORABLE JOURNEY + XV. FORDING THE LITTLE COLORADO + XVI. STONEMAN'S LAKE + XVII. THE COLORADO DESERT + XVIII. EHRENBERG ON THE COLORADO + XIX. SUMMER AT EHRENBERG + XX. MY DELIVERER + XXI. WINTER IN EHRENBERG + XXII. RETURN TO THE STATES + XXIII. BACK TO ARIZONA + XXIV. UP THE VALLEY OF THE GILA + XXV. OLD CAMP MACDOWELL + XXVI. A SUDDEN ORDER + XXVII. THE EIGHTH FOOT LEAVES ARIZONA + XXVIII. CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA + XXIX. CHANGING STATION + XXX. FORT NIOBRARA + XXXI. SANTA FE + XXXII. TEXAS + XXXIII. DAVID'S ISLAND + + APPENDIX + + + + +VANISHED ARIZONA + + + + +CHAPTER I. GERMANY AND THE ARMY + +The stalwart men of the Prussian army, the Lancers, the Dragoons, the +Hussars, the clank of their sabres on the pavements, their brilliant +uniforms, all made an impression upon my romantic mind, and I listened +eagerly, in the quiet evenings, to tales of Hanover under King George, +to stories of battles lost, and the entry of the Prussians into the old +Residenz-stadt; the flight of the King, and the sorrow and chagrin which +prevailed. + +For I was living in the family of General Weste, the former +stadt-commandant of Hanover, who had served fifty years in the army and +had accompanied King George on his exit from the city. He was a gallant +veteran, with the rank of General-Lieutenant, ausser Dienst. A charming +and dignified man, accepting philosophically the fact that Hanover had +become Prussian, but loyal in his heart to his King and to old Hanover; +pretending great wrath when, on the King's birthday, he found yellow +and white sand strewn before his door, but unable to conceal the joyful +gleam in his eye when he spoke of it. + +The General's wife was the daughter of a burgomaster and had been +brought up in a neighboring town. She was a dear, kind soul. + +The house-keeping was simple, but stately and precise, as befitted +the rank of this officer. The General was addressed by the servants as +Excellenz and his wife as Frau Excellenz. A charming unmarried daughter +lived at home, making, with myself, a family of four. + +Life was spent quietly, and every evening, after our coffee (served in +the living-room in winter, and in the garden in summer), Frau Generalin +would amuse me with descriptions of life in her old home, and of how +girls were brought up in her day; how industry was esteemed by her +mother the greatest virtue, and idleness was punished as the most +beguiling sin. She was never allowed, she said, to read, even on Sunday, +without her knitting-work in her hands; and she would often sigh, and +say to me, in German (for dear Frau Generalin spoke no other tongue), +"Ach, Martha, you American girls are so differently brought up"; and I +would say, "But, Frau Generalin, which way do you think is the better?" +She would then look puzzled, shrug her shoulders, and often say, "Ach! +times are different I suppose, but my ideas can never change." + +Now the dear Frau Generalin did not speak a word of English, and as I +had had only a few lessons in German before I left America, I had the +utmost difficulty at first in comprehending what she said. She spoke +rapidly and I would listen with the closest attention, only to give up +in despair, and to say, "Gute Nacht," evening after evening, with my +head buzzing and my mind a blank. + +After a few weeks, however, I began to understand everything she said, +altho' I could not yet write or read the language, and I listened with +the greatest interest to the story of her marriage with young Lieutenant +Weste, of the bringing up of her four children, and of the old days in +Hanover, before the Prussians took possession. + +She described to me the brilliant Hanoverian Court, the endless +festivities and balls, the stately elegance of the old city, and the +cruel misfortunes of the King. And how, a few days after the King's +flight, the end of all things came to her; for she was politely +informed one evening, by a big Prussian major, that she must seek other +lodgings--he needed her quarters. At this point she always wept, and I +sympathized. + +Thus I came to know military life in Germany, and I fell in love with +the army, with its brilliancy and its glitter, with its struggles +and its romance, with its sharp contrasts, its deprivations, and its +chivalry. + +I came to know, as their guest, the best of old military society. They +were very old-fashioned and precise, and Frau Generalin often told me +that American girls were too ausgelassen in their manners. She often +reproved me for seating myself upon the sofa (which was only for old +people) and also for looking about too much when walking on the streets. +Young girls must keep their eyes more cast down, looking up only +occasionally. (I thought this dreadfully prim, as I was eager to see +everything). I was expected to stop and drop a little courtesy on +meeting an older woman, and then to inquire after the health of each +member of the family. It seemed to take a lot of time, but all the other +girls did it, and there seemed to be no hurry about anything, ever, +in that elegant old Residenz-stadt. Surely a contrast to our bustling +American towns. + +A sentiment seemed to underlie everything they did. The Emperor meant +so much to them, and they adored the Empress. A personal feeling, an +affection, such as I had never heard of in a republic, caused me to stop +and wonder if an empire were not the best, after all. And one day, +when the Emperor, passing through Hanover en route, drove down the +Georgen-strasse in an open barouche and raised his hat as he glanced at +the sidewalk where I happened to be standing, my heart seemed to stop +beating, and I was overcome by a most wonderful feeling--a feeling that +in a man would have meant chivalry and loyalty unto death. + +In this beautiful old city, life could not be taken any other than +leisurely. Theatres with early hours, the maid coming for me with a +lantern at nine o'clock, the frequent Kaffee-klatsch, the delightful +afternoon coffee at the Georgen-garten, the visits to the Zoological +gardens, where we always took our fresh rolls along with our +knitting-work in a basket, and then sat at a little table in the open, +and were served with coffee, sweet cream, and butter, by a strapping +Hessian peasant woman--all so simple, yet so elegant, so peaceful. + +We heard the best music at the theatre, which was managed with the same +precision, and maintained by the Government with the same generosity, +as in the days of King George. No one was allowed to enter after the +overture had begun, and an absolute hush prevailed. + +The orchestra consisted of sixty or more pieces, and the audience was +critical. The parquet was filled with officers in the gayest uniforms; +there were few ladies amongst them; the latter sat mostly in the boxes, +of which there were several tiers, and as soon as the curtain fell, +between the acts, the officers would rise, turn around, and level their +glasses at the boxes. Sometimes they came and visited in the boxes. + +As I had been brought up in a town half Quaker, half Puritan, the custom +of going to the theatre Sunday evenings was rather a questionable one +in my mind. But I soon fell in with their ways, and found that on Sunday +evenings there was always the most brilliant audience and the best plays +were selected. With this break-down of the wall of narrow prejudice, I +gave up others equally as narrow, and adopted the German customs with my +whole heart. + +I studied the language with unflinching perseverance, for this was the +opportunity I had dreamed about and longed for in the barren winter +evenings at Nantucket when I sat poring over Coleridge's translations of +Schiller's plays and Bayard Taylor's version of Goethe's Faust. + +Should I ever read these intelligently in the original? + +And when my father consented for me to go over and spend a year and live +in General Weste's family, there never was a happier or more grateful +young woman. Appreciative and eager, I did not waste a moment, and my +keen enjoyment of the German classics repaid me a hundred fold for all +my industry. + +Neither time nor misfortune, nor illness can take from me the memory of +that year of privileges such as is given few American girls to enjoy, +when they are at an age to fully appreciate them. + +And so completely separated was I from the American and English colony +that I rarely heard my own language spoken, and thus I lived, ate, +listened, talked, and even dreamed in German. + +There seemed to be time enough to do everything we wished; and, as the +Franco-Prussian war was just over (it was the year of 1871), and many +troops were in garrison at Hanover, the officers could always join us at +the various gardens for after-dinner coffee, which, by the way, was not +taken in the demi-tasse, but in good generous coffee-cups, with plenty +of rich cream. Every one drank at least two cups, the officers smoked, +the women knitted or embroidered, and those were among the pleasantest +hours I spent in Germany. + +The intrusion of unwelcome visitors was never to be feared, as, by +common consent, the various classes in Hanover kept by themselves, thus +enjoying life much better than in a country where everybody is striving +after the pleasures and luxuries enjoyed by those whom circumstances +have placed above them. + +The gay uniforms lent a brilliancy to every affair, however simple. +Officers were not allowed to appear en civile, unless on leave of +absence. + +I used to say, "Oh, Frau General, how fascinating it all is!" "Hush, +Martha," she would say; "life in the army is not always so brilliant as +it looks; in fact, we often call it, over here, 'glaenzendes Elend.'" + +These bitter words made a great impression upon my mind, and in after +years, on the American frontier, I seemed to hear them over and over +again. + +When I bade good-bye to the General and his family, I felt a tightening +about my throat and my heart, and I could not speak. Life in Germany had +become dear to me, and I had not known how dear until I was leaving it +forever. + + + + +CHAPTER II. I JOINED THE ARMY + +I was put in charge of the captain of the North German Lloyd S. S. +"Donau," and after a most terrific cyclone in mid-ocean, in which we +nearly foundered, I landed in Hoboken, sixteen days from Bremen. + +My brother, Harry Dunham, met me on the pier, saying, as he took me in +his arms, "You do not need to tell me what sort of a trip you have had; +it is enough to look at the ship--that tells the story." + +As the vessel had been about given up for lost, her arrival was somewhat +of an agreeable surprise to all our friends, and to none more so than +my old friend Jack, a second lieutenant of the United States army, who +seemed so glad to have me back in America, that I concluded the only +thing to do was to join the army myself. + +A quiet wedding in the country soon followed my decision, and we set +out early in April of the year 1874 to join his regiment, which was +stationed at Fort Russell, Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. + +I had never been west of New York, and Cheyenne seemed to me, in +contrast with the finished civilization of Europe, which I had so +recently left, the wildest sort of a place. + +Arriving in the morning, and alighting from the train, two gallant +officers, in the uniform of the United States infantry, approached +and gave us welcome; and to me, the bride, a special "welcome to the +regiment" was given by each of them with outstretched hands. + +Major Wilhelm said, "The ambulance is right here; you must come to our +house and stay until you get your quarters." + +Such was my introduction to the army--and to the army ambulance, in +which I was destined to travel so many miles. + +Four lively mules and a soldier driver brought us soon to the post, +and Mrs. Wilhelm welcomed us to her pleasant and comfortable-looking +quarters. + +I had never seen an army post in America. I had always lived in places +which needed no garrison, and the army, except in Germany, was an +unknown quantity to me. + +Fort Russell was a large post, and the garrison consisted of many +companies of cavalry and infantry. It was all new and strange to me. + +Soon after luncheon, Jack said to Major Wilhelm, "Well, now, I must go +and look for quarters: what's the prospect?" + +"You will have to turn some one out," said the Major, as they left the +house together. + +About an hour afterwards they returned, and Jack said, "Well, I have +turned out Lynch; but," he added, "as his wife and child are away, I do +not believe he'll care very much." + +"Oh," said I, "I'm so sorry to have to turn anybody out!" + +The Major and his wife smiled, and the former remarked, "You must not +have too much sympathy: it's the custom of the service--it's always +done--by virtue of rank. They'll hate you for doing it, but if you +don't do it they'll not respect you. After you've been turned out once +yourself, you will not mind turning others out." + +The following morning I drove over to Cheyenne with Mrs. Wilhelm, and +as I passed Lieutenant Lynch's quarters and saw soldiers removing +Mrs. Lynch's lares and penates, in the shape of a sewing machine, +lamp-shades, and other home-like things, I turned away in pity that such +customs could exist in our service. + +To me, who had lived my life in the house in which I was born, moving +was a thing to be dreaded. + +But Mrs. Wilhelm comforted me, and assured me it was not such a serious +matter after all. Army women were accustomed to it, she said. + + + + +CHAPTER III. ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING + +Not knowing before I left home just what was needed for house-keeping in +the army, and being able to gather only vague ideas on the subject from +Jack, who declared that his quarters were furnished admirably, I +had taken out with me but few articles in addition to the silver and +linen-chests. + +I began to have serious doubts on the subject of my menage, after +inspecting the bachelor furnishings which had seemed so ample to my +husband. But there was so much to be seen in the way of guard mount, +cavalry drill, and various military functions, besides the drives to +town and the concerts of the string orchestra, that I had little time to +think of the practical side of life. + +Added to this, we were enjoying the delightful hospitality of the +Wilhelms, and the Major insisted upon making me acquainted with the +"real old-fashioned army toddy" several times a day,--a new beverage +to me, brought up in a blue-ribbon community, where wine-bibbing and +whiskey drinking were rated as belonging to only the lowest classes. +To be sure, my father always drank two fingers of fine cognac before +dinner, but I had always considered that a sort of medicine for a man +advanced in years. + +Taken all in all, it is not to be wondered at if I saw not much in those +few days besides bright buttons, blue uniforms, and shining swords. + +Everything was military and gay and brilliant, and I forgot the very +existence of practical things, in listening to the dreamy strains of +Italian and German music, rendered by our excellent and painstaking +orchestra. For the Eighth Infantry loved good music, and had imported +its musicians direct from Italy. + +This came to an end, however, after a few days, and I was obliged to +descend from those heights to the dead level of domestic economy. + +My husband informed me that the quarters were ready for our occupancy +and that we could begin house-keeping at once. He had engaged a soldier +named Adams for a striker; he did not know whether Adams was much of +a cook, he said, but he was the only available man just then, as the +companies were up north at the Agency. + +Our quarters consisted of three rooms and a kitchen, which formed +one-half of a double house. + +I asked Jack why we could not have a whole house. I did not think I +could possibly live in three rooms and a kitchen. + +"Why, Martha," said he, "did you not know that women are not reckoned +in at all at the War Department? A lieutenant's allowance of quarters, +according to the Army Regulations, is one room and a kitchen, a +captain's allowance is two rooms and a kitchen, and so on up, until a +colonel has a fairly good house." I told him I thought it an outrage; +that lieutenants' wives needed quite as much as colonels' wives. + +He laughed and said, "You see we have already two rooms over our proper +allowance; there are so many married officers, that the Government has +had to stretch a point." + +After indulging in some rather harsh comments upon a government which +could treat lieutenants' wives so shabbily, I began to investigate my +surroundings. + +Jack had placed his furnishings (some lace curtains, camp chairs, and a +carpet) in the living-room, and there was a forlorn-looking bedstead in +the bedroom. A pine table in the dining-room and a range in the kitchen +completed the outfit. A soldier had scrubbed the rough floors with a +straw broom: it was absolutely forlorn, and my heart sank within me. + +But then I thought of Mrs. Wilhelm's quarters, and resolved to try my +best to make ours look as cheerful and pretty as hers. A chaplain was +about leaving the post and wished to dispose of his things, so we +bought a carpet of him, a few more camp chairs of various designs, and a +cheerful-looking table-cover. We were obliged to be very economical, as +Jack was a second lieutenant, the pay was small and a little in arrears, +after the wedding trip and long journey out. We bought white Holland +shades for the windows, and made the three rooms fairly comfortable and +then I turned my attention to the kitchen. + +Jack said I should not have to buy anything at all; the Quartermaster +Department furnished everything in the line of kitchen utensils; and, as +his word was law, I went over to the quartermaster store-house to select +the needed articles. + +After what I had been told, I was surprised to find nothing smaller than +two-gallon tea-kettles, meat-forks a yard long, and mess-kettles deep +enough to cook rations for fifty men! I rebelled, and said I would not +use such gigantic things. + +My husband said: "Now, Mattie, be reasonable; all the army women keep +house with these utensils; the regiment will move soon, and then what +should we do with a lot of tin pans and such stuff? You know a second +lieutenant is allowed only a thousand pounds of baggage when he changes +station." This was a hard lesson, which I learned later. + +Having been brought up in an old-time community, where women deferred to +their husbands in everything, I yielded, and the huge things were sent +over. I had told Mrs. Wilhelm that we were to have luncheon in our own +quarters. + +So Adams made a fire large enough to roast beef for a company of +soldiers, and he and I attempted to boil a few eggs in the deep +mess-kettle and to make the water boil in the huge tea-kettle. + +But Adams, as it turned out, was not a cook, and I must confess that my +own attention had been more engrossed by the study of German auxiliary +verbs, during the few previous years, than with the art of cooking. + +Of course, like all New England girls of that period, I knew how to make +quince jelly and floating islands, but of the actual, practical side of +cooking, and the management of a range, I knew nothing. + +Here was a dilemma, indeed! + +The eggs appeared to boil, but they did not seem to be done when we took +them off, by the minute-hand of the clock. + +I declared the kettle was too large; Adams said he did not understand it +at all. + +I could have wept with chagrin! Our first meal a deux! + +I appealed to Jack. He said, "Why, of course, Martha, you ought to know +that things do not cook as quickly at this altitude as they do down at +the sea level. We are thousands of feet above the sea here in Wyoming." +(I am not sure it was thousands, but it was hundreds at least.) + +So that was the trouble, and I had not thought of it! + +My head was giddy with the glamour, the uniform, the guard-mount, the +military music, the rarefied air, the new conditions, the new interests +of my life. Heine's songs, Goethe's plays, history and romance were +floating through my mind. Is it to be wondered at that I and Adams +together prepared the most atrocious meals that ever a new husband had +to eat? I related my difficulties to Jack, and told him I thought +we should never be able to manage with such kitchen utensils as were +furnished by the Q. M. D. + +"Oh, pshaw! You are pampered and spoiled with your New England +kitchens," said he; "you will have to learn to do as other army women +do--cook in cans and such things, be inventive, and learn to do with +nothing." This was my first lesson in army house-keeping. + +After my unpractical teacher had gone out on some official business, I +ran over to Mrs. Wilhelm's quarters and said, "Will you let me see your +kitchen closet?" + +She assented, and I saw the most beautiful array of tin-ware, shining +and neat, placed in rows upon the shelves and hanging from hooks on the +wall. + +"So!" I said; "my military husband does not know anything about these +things;" and I availed myself of the first trip of the ambulance over +to Cheyenne, bought a stock of tin-ware and had it charged, and made +no mention of it--because I feared that tin-ware was to be our bone of +contention, and I put off the evil day. + +The cooking went on better after that, but I did not have much +assistance from Adams. + +I had great trouble at first with the titles and the rank: but I soon +learned that many of the officers were addressed by the brevet title +bestowed upon them for gallant service in the Civil War, and I began +to understand about the ways and customs of the army of Uncle Sam. In +contrast to the Germans, the American lieutenants were not addressed by +their title (except officially); I learned to "Mr." all the lieutenants +who had no brevet. + +One morning I suggested to Adams that he should wash the front windows; +after being gone a half hour, to borrow a step-ladder, he entered the +room, mounted the ladder and began. I sat writing. Suddenly, he +faced around, and addressing me, said, "Madam, do you believe in +spiritualism?" + +"Good gracious! Adams, no; why do you ask me such a question?" + +This was enough; he proceeded to give a lecture on the subject worthy of +a man higher up on the ladder of this life. I bade him come to an end +as soon as I dared (for I was not accustomed to soldiers), and suggested +that he was forgetting his work. + +It was early in April, and the snow drifted through the crevices of the +old dried-out house, in banks upon our bed; but that was soon mended, +and things began to go smoothly enough, when Jack was ordered to join +his company, which was up at the Spotted Tail Agency. It was expected +that the Sioux under this chief would break out at any minute. They had +become disaffected about some treaty. I did not like to be left alone +with the Spiritualist, so Jack asked one of the laundresses, whose +husband was out with the company, to come and stay and take care of +me. Mrs. Patten was an old campaigner; she understood everything about +officers and their ways, and she made me absolutely comfortable for +those two lonely months. I always felt grateful to her; she was a dear +old Irish woman. + +All the families and a few officers were left at the post, and, with the +daily drive to Cheyenne, some small dances and theatricals, my time was +pleasantly occupied. + +Cheyenne in those early days was an amusing but unattractive frontier +town; it presented a great contrast to the old civilization I had +so recently left. We often saw women in cotton wrappers, high-heeled +slippers, and sun-bonnets, walking in the main streets. Cows, pigs, and +saloons seemed to be a feature of the place. + +In about six weeks, the affairs of the Sioux were settled, and the +troops returned to the post. The weather began to be uncomfortably hot +in those low wooden houses. I missed the comforts of home and the fresh +sea air of the coast, but I tried to make the best of it. + +Our sleeping-room was very small, and its one window looked out over the +boundless prairie at the back of the post. On account of the great heat, +we were obliged to have this window wide open at night. I heard the +cries and wails of various animals, but Jack said that was nothing--they +always heard them. + +Once, at midnight, the wails seemed to be nearer, and I was terrified; +but he told me 'twas only the half-wild cats and coyotes which prowled +around the post. I asked him if they ever came in. "Gracious, no!" he +said; "they are too wild." + +I calmed myself for sleep--when like lightning, one of the huge +creatures gave a flying leap in at our window, across the bed, and +through into the living-room. + +"Jerusalem!" cried the lieutenant, and flew after her, snatching his +sword, which stood in the corner, and poking vigorously under the divan. + +I rolled myself under the bed-covers, in the most abject terror lest +she might come back the same way; and, true enough, she did, with a most +piercing cry. I never had much rest after that occurrence, as we had no +protection against these wild-cats. + +The regiment, however, in June was ordered to Arizona, that dreaded and +then unknown land, and the uncertain future was before me. I saw the +other women packing china and their various belongings. I seemed to be +helpless. Jack was busy with things outside. He had three large army +chests, which were brought in and placed before me. "Now," he said, "all +our things must go into those chests"--and I supposed they must. + +I was pitifully ignorant of the details of moving, and I stood +despairingly gazing into the depths of those boxes, when the jolly +and stout wife of Major von Hermann passed my window. She glanced in, +comprehended the situation, and entered, saying, "You do not understand +how to pack? Let me help you: give me a cushion to kneel upon--now bring +everything that is to be packed, and I can soon show you how to do it." +With her kind assistance the chests were packed, and I found that we had +a great deal of surplus stuff which had to be put into rough cases, or +rolled into packages and covered with burlap. Jack fumed when he saw it, +and declared we could not take it all, as it exceeded our allowance of +weight. I declared we must take it, or we could not exist. + +With some concessions on both sides we were finally packed up, and +left Fort Russell about the middle of June, with the first detachment, +consisting of head-quarters and band, for San Francisco, over the Union +Pacific Railroad. + +For it must be remembered, that in 1874 there were no railroads in +Arizona, and all troops which were sent to that distant territory either +marched over-land through New Mexico, or were transported by steamer +from San Francisco down the coast, and up the Gulf of California to Fort +Yuma, from which point they marched up the valley of the Gila to the +southern posts, or continued up the Colorado River by steamer, to +other points of disembarkation, whence they marched to the posts in the +interior, or the northern part of the territory. + +Much to my delight, we were allowed to remain over in San Francisco, and +go down with the second detachment. We made the most of the time, which +was about a fortnight, and on the sixth of August we embarked with six +companies of soldiers, Lieutenant Colonel Wilkins in command, on the old +steamship "Newbern," Captain Metzger, for Arizona. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. DOWN THE PACIFIC COAST + +Now the "Newbern" was famous for being a good roller, and she lived +up to her reputation. For seven days I saw only the inside of our +stateroom. At the end of that time we arrived off Cape St. Lucas (the +extreme southern point of Lower California), and I went on deck. + +We anchored and took cattle aboard. I watched the natives tow them off, +the cattle swimming behind their small boats, and then saw the poor +beasts hoisted up by their horns to the deck of our ship. + +I thought it most dreadfully cruel, but was informed that it had been +done from time immemorial, so I ceased to talk about it, knowing that +I could not reform those aged countries, and realizing, faintly perhaps +(for I had never seen much of the rough side of life), that just as +cruel things were done to the cattle we consume in the North. + +Now that Mr. Sinclair, in his great book "The Jungle," has brought the +multiplied horrors of the great packing-houses before our very eyes, we +might witness the hoisting of the cattle over the ship's side without +feeling such intense pity, admitting that everything is relative, even +cruelty. + +It was now the middle of August, and the weather had become insufferably +hot, but we were out of the long swell of the Pacific Ocean; we had +rounded Cape St. Lucas, and were steaming up the Gulf of California, +towards the mouth of the Great Colorado, whose red and turbulent waters +empty themselves into this gulf, at its head. + +I now had time to become acquainted with the officers of the regiment, +whom I had not before met; they had come in from other posts and joined +the command at San Francisco. + +The daughter of the lieutenant-colonel was on board, the beautiful and +graceful Caroline Wilkins, the belle of the regiment; and Major Worth, +to whose company my husband belonged. I took a special interest in the +latter, as I knew we must face life together in the wilds of Arizona. I +had time to learn something about the regiment and its history; and that +Major Worth's father, whose monument I had so often seen in New York, +was the first colonel of the Eighth Infantry, when it was organized in +the State of New York in 1838. + +The party on board was merry enough, and even gay. There was Captain +Ogilby, a great, genial Scotchman, and Captain Porter, a graduate of +Dublin, and so charmingly witty. He seemed very devoted to Miss Wilkins, +but Miss Wilkins was accustomed to the devotion of all the officers of +the Eighth Infantry. In fact, it was said that every young lieutenant +who joined the regiment had proposed to her. She was most attractive, +and as she had too kind a heart to be a coquette, she was a universal +favorite with the women as well as with the men. + +There was Ella Bailey, too, Miss Wilkins' sister, with her young and +handsome husband and their young baby. + +Then, dear Mrs. Wilkins, who had been so many years in the army that she +remembered crossing the plains in a real ox-team. She represented the +best type of the older army woman--and it was so lovely to see her +with her two daughters, all in the same regiment. A mother of grown-up +daughters was not often met with in the army. + +And Lieutenant-Colonel Wilkins, a gentleman in the truest sense of +the word--a man of rather quiet tastes, never happier than when he +had leisure for indulging his musical taste in strumming all sorts of +Spanish fandangos on the guitar, or his somewhat marked talent with the +pencil and brush. + +The heat of the staterooms compelled us all to sleep on deck, so our +mattresses were brought up by the soldiers at night, and spread about. +The situation, however, was so novel and altogether ludicrous, and our +fear of rats which ran about on deck so great, that sleep was well-nigh +out of the question. + +Before dawn, we fled to our staterooms, but by sunrise we were glad to +dress and escape from their suffocating heat and go on deck again. +Black coffee and hard-tack were sent up, and this sustained us until the +nine-o'clock breakfast, which was elaborate, but not good. There was no +milk, of course, except the heavily sweetened sort, which I could not +use: it was the old-time condensed and canned milk; the meats were +beyond everything, except the poor, tough, fresh beef we had seen +hoisted over the side, at Cape St. Lucas. The butter, poor at the +best, began to pour like oil. Black coffee and bread, and a baked sweet +potato, seemed the only things that I could swallow. + +The heat in the Gulf of California was intense. Our trunks were brought +up from the vessel's hold, and we took out summer clothing. But how +inadequate and inappropriate it was for that climate! Our faces burned +and blistered; even the parting on the head burned, under the awnings +which were kept spread. The ice-supply decreased alarmingly, the meats +turned green, and when the steward went down into the refrigerator, +which was somewhere below the quarter-deck, to get provisions for the +day, every woman held a bottle of salts to her nose, and the officers +fled to the forward part of the ship. The odor which ascended from +that refrigerator was indescribable: it lingered and would not go. It +followed us to the table, and when we tasted the food we tasted the +odor. We bribed the steward for ice. Finally, I could not go below at +all, but had a baked sweet potato brought on deck, and lived several +days upon that diet. + +On the 14th of August we anchored off Mazatlan, a picturesque and +ancient adobe town in old Mexico. The approach to this port was +strikingly beautiful. Great rocks, cut by the surf into arches and +caverns, guarded the entrance to the harbor. We anchored two miles out. +A customs and a Wells-Fargo boat boarded us, and many natives came along +side, bringing fresh cocoanuts, bananas, and limes. Some Mexicans bound +for Guaymas came on board, and a troupe of Japanese jugglers. + +While we were unloading cargo, some officers and their wives went on +shore in one of the ship's boats, and found it a most interesting place. +It was garrisoned by Mexican troops, uniformed in white cotton shirts +and trousers. They visited the old hotel, the amphitheatre where the +bull-fights were held, and the old fort. They told also about the +cock-pits--and about the refreshing drinks they had. + +My thirst began to be abnormal. We bought a dozen cocoanuts, and I drank +the milk from them, and made up my mind to go ashore at the next port; +for after nine days with only thick black coffee and bad warm water to +drink, I was longing for a cup of good tea or a glass of fresh, sweet +milk. + +A day or so more brought us to Guaymas, another Mexican port. Mrs. +Wilkins said she had heard something about an old Spaniard there, +who used to cook meals for stray travellers. This was enough. I was +desperately hungry and thirsty, and we decided to try and find him. Mrs. +Wilkins spoke a little Spanish, and by dint of inquiries we found the +man's house, a little old, forlorn, deserted-looking adobe casa. + +We rapped vigorously upon the old door, and after some minutes a small, +withered old man appeared. + +Mrs. Wilkins told him what we wanted, but this ancient Delmonico +declined to serve us, and said, in Spanish, the country was "a desert"; +he had "nothing in the house"; he had "not cooked a meal in years"; he +could not; and, finally, he would not; and he gently pushed the door to +in our faces. But we did not give it up, and Mrs. Wilkins continued to +persuade. I mustered what Spanish I knew, and told him I would pay him +any price for a cup of coffee with fresh milk. He finally yielded, and +told us to return in one hour. + +So we walked around the little deserted town. I could think only of the +breakfast we were to have in the old man's casa. And it met and exceeded +our wildest anticipations, for, just fancy! We were served with a +delicious boullion, then chicken, perfectly cooked, accompanied by some +dish flavored with chile verde, creamy biscuit, fresh butter, and golden +coffee with milk. There were three or four women and several officers in +the party, and we had a merry breakfast. We paid the old man generously, +thanked him warmly, and returned to the ship, fortified to endure the +sight of all the green ducks that came out of the lower hold. + +You must remember that the "Newbern" was a small and old propeller, +not fitted up for passengers, and in those days the great refrigerating +plants were unheard of. The women who go to the Philippines on our great +transports of to-day cannot realize and will scarcely believe what we +endured for lack of ice and of good food on that never-to-be-forgotten +voyage down the Pacific coast and up the Gulf of California in the +summer of 1874. + + + + +CHAPTER V. THE SLUE + +At last, after a voyage of thirteen days, we came to anchor a mile or so +off Port Isabel, at the mouth of the Colorado River. A narrow but deep +slue runs up into the desert land, on the east side of the river's +mouth, and provides a harbor of refuge for the flat-bottomed +stern-wheelers which meet the ocean steamers at this point. Hurricanes +are prevalent at this season in the Gulf of California, but we had been +fortunate in not meeting with any on the voyage. The wind now freshened, +however, and beat the waves into angry foam, and there we lay for three +days on the "Newbern," off Port Isabel, before the sea was calm enough +for the transfer of troops and baggage to the lighters. + +This was excessively disagreeable. The wind was like a breath from a +furnace; it seemed as though the days would never end, and the wind +never stop blowing. Jack's official diary says: "One soldier died +to-day." + +Finally, on the fourth day, the wind abated, and the transfer was begun. +We boarded the river steamboat "Cocopah," towing a barge loaded with +soldiers, and steamed away for the slue. I must say that we welcomed the +change with delight. Towards the end of the afternoon the "Cocopah" put +her nose to the shore and tied up. It seemed strange not to see pier +sand docks, nor even piles to tie to. Anchors were taken ashore and the +boat secured in that manner: there being no trees of sufficient size to +make fast to. + +The soldiers went into camp on shore. The heat down in that low, flat +place was intense. Another man died that night. + +What was our chagrin, the next morning, to learn that we must go back to +the "Newbern," to carry some freight from up-river. There was nothing +to do but stay on board and tow that dreary barge, filled with hot, red, +baked-looking ore, out to the ship, unload, and go back up the slue. +Jack's diary records: "Aug. 23rd. Heat awful. Pringle died to-day." He +was the third soldier to succumb. It seemed to me their fate was a hard +one. To die, down in that wretched place, to be rolled in a blanket and +buried on those desert shores, with nothing but a heap of stones to mark +their graves. + +The adjutant of the battalion read the burial service, and the +trumpeters stepped to the edge of the graves and sounded "Taps," which +echoed sad and melancholy far over those parched and arid lands. My eyes +filled with tears, for one of the soldiers was from our own company, and +had been kind to me. + +Jack said: "You mustn't cry, Mattie; it's a soldier's life, and when a +man enlists he must take his chances." + +"Yes, but," I said, "somewhere there must be a mother or sister, or some +one who cares for these poor men, and it's all so sad to think of." + +"Well, I know it is sad," he replied, soothingly, "but listen! It is all +over, and the burial party is returning." + +I listened and heard the gay strains of "The girl I left behind me," +which the trumpeters were playing with all their might. "You see," said +Jack, "it would not do for the soldiers to be sad when one of them +dies. Why, it would demoralize the whole command. So they play these gay +things to cheer them up." + +And I began to feel that tears must be out of place at a soldier's +funeral. I attended many a one after that, but I had too much +imagination, and in spite of all my brave efforts, visions of the poor +boy's mother on some little farm in Missouri or Kansas perhaps, or in +some New England town, or possibly in the old country, would come before +me, and my heart was filled with sadness. + +The Post Hospital seemed to me a lonesome place to die in, although the +surgeon and soldier attendants were kind to the sick men. There were no +women nurses in the army in those days. + +The next day, the "Cocopah" started again and towed a barge out to the +ship. But the hot wind sprang up and blew fiercely, and we lay off and +on all day, until it was calm enough to tow her back to the slue. By +that time I had about given up all hope of getting any farther, and if +the weather had only been cooler I could have endured with equanimity +the idle life and knocking about from the ship to the slue, and from +the slue to the ship. But the heat was unbearable. We had to unpack our +trunks again and get out heavy-soled shoes, for the zinc which covered +the decks of these river-steamers burned through the thin slippers we +had worn on the ship. + +That day we had a little diversion, for we saw the "Gila" come down the +river and up the slue, and tie up directly alongside of us. She had on +board and in barges four companies of the Twenty-third Infantry, who +were going into the States. We exchanged greetings and visits, and from +the great joy manifested by them all, I drew my conclusions as to what +lay before us, in the dry and desolate country we were about to enter. + +The women's clothes looked ridiculously old-fashioned, and I wondered if +I should look that way when my time came to leave Arizona. + +Little cared they, those women of the Twenty-third, for, joy upon joys! +They saw the "Newbern" out there in the offing, waiting to take them +back to green hills, and to cool days and nights, and to those they had +left behind, three years before. + +On account of the wind, which blew again with great violence, the +"Cocopah" could not leave the slue that day. The officers and soldiers +were desperate for something to do. So they tried fishing, and caught +some "croakers," which tasted very fresh and good, after all the curried +and doctored-up messes we had been obliged to eat on board ship. + +We spent seven days in and out of that slue. Finally, on August the +26th, the wind subsided and we started up river. Towards sunset we +arrived at a place called "Old Soldier's Camp." There the "Gila" joined +us, and the command was divided between the two river-boats. We were +assigned to the "Gila," and I settled myself down with my belongings, +for the remainder of the journey up river. + +We resigned ourselves to the dreadful heat, and at the end of two more +days the river had begun to narrow, and we arrived at Fort Yuma, which +was at that time the post best known to, and most talked about by army +officers of any in Arizona. No one except old campaigners knew much +about any other post in the Territory. + +It was said to be the very hottest place that ever existed, and from the +time we left San Francisco we had heard the story, oft repeated, of the +poor soldier who died at Fort Yuma, and after awhile returned to beg for +his blankets, having found the regions of Pluto so much cooler than the +place he had left. But the fort looked pleasant to us, as we approached. +It lay on a high mesa to the left of us and there was a little green +grass where the post was built. + +None of the officers knew as yet their destination, and I found myself +wishing it might be our good fortune to stay at Fort Yuma. It seemed +such a friendly place. + +Lieutenant Haskell, Twelfth Infantry, who was stationed there, came down +to the boat to greet us, and brought us our letters from home. He then +extended his gracious hospitality to us all, arranging for us to come to +his quarters the next day for a meal, and dividing the party as best he +could accommodate us. It fell to our lot to go to breakfast with Major +and Mrs. Wells and Miss Wilkins. + +An ambulance was sent the next morning, at nine o'clock, to bring us up +the steep and winding road, white with heat, which led to the fort. + +I can never forget the taste of the oatmeal with fresh milk, the eggs +and butter, and delicious tomatoes, which were served to us in his +latticed dining-room. + +After twenty-three days of heat and glare, and scorching winds, +and stale food, Fort Yuma and Mr. Haskell's dining-room seemed like +Paradise. + +Of course it was hot; it was August, and we expected it. But the heat +of those places can be much alleviated by the surroundings. There were +shower baths, and latticed piazzas, and large ollas hanging in the +shade of them, containing cool water. Yuma was only twenty days from San +Francisco, and they were able to get many things direct by steamer. Of +course there was no ice, and butter was kept only by ingenious devices +of the Chinese servants; there were but few vegetables, but what was to +be had at all in that country, was to be had at Fort Yuma. + +We staid one more day, and left two companies of the regiment there. +When we departed, I felt, somehow, as though we were saying good-bye to +the world and civilization, and as our boat clattered and tugged away +up river with its great wheel astern, I could not help looking back +longingly to old Fort Yuma. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. UP THE RIO COLORADO + +And now began our real journey up the Colorado River, that river unknown +to me except in my early geography lessons--that mighty and untamed +river, which is to-day unknown except to the explorer, or the few people +who have navigated its turbulent waters. Back in memory was the picture +of it on the map; here was the reality, then, and here we were, on the +steamer "Gila," Captain Mellon, with the barge full of soldiers towing +on after us, starting for Fort Mojave, some two hundred miles above. + +The vague and shadowy foreboding that had fluttered through my mind +before I left Fort Russell had now also become a reality and crowded out +every other thought. The river, the scenery, seemed, after all, but an +illusion, and interested me but in a dreamy sort of way. + +We had staterooms, but could not remain in them long at a time, on +account of the intense heat. I had never felt such heat, and no one else +ever had or has since. The days were interminable. We wandered around +the boat, first forward, then aft, to find a cool spot. We hung up our +canteens (covered with flannel and dipped in water), where they would +swing in the shade, thereby obtaining water which was a trifle cooler +than the air. There was no ice, and consequently no fresh provisions. A +Chinaman served as steward and cook, and at the ringing of a bell we all +went into a small saloon back of the pilothouse, where the meals were +served. Our party at table on the "Gila" consisted of several unmarried +officers, and several officers with their wives, about eight or nine in +all, and we could have had a merry time enough but for the awful heat, +which destroyed both our good looks and our tempers. The fare was +meagre, of course; fresh biscuit without butter, very salt boiled beef, +and some canned vegetables, which were poor enough in those days. Pies +made from preserved peaches or plums generally followed this delectable +course. Chinamen, as we all know, can make pies under conditions that +would stagger most chefs. They may have no marble pastry-slab, and the +lard may run like oil, still they can make pies that taste good to the +hungry traveller. + +But that dining-room was hot! The metal handles of the knives were +uncomfortably warm to the touch; and even the wooden arms of the chairs +felt as if they were slowly igniting. After a hasty meal, and a few +remarks upon the salt beef, and the general misery of our lot, we would +seek some spot which might be a trifle cooler. A siesta was out of the +question, as the staterooms were insufferable; and so we dragged out the +weary days. + +At sundown the boat put her nose up to the bank and tied up for the +night. The soldiers left the barges and went into camp on shore, to +cook their suppers and to sleep. The banks of the river offered no very +attractive spot upon which to make a camp; they were low, flat, and +covered with underbrush and arrow-weed, which grew thick to the water's +edge. I always found it interesting to watch the barge unload the men at +sundown. + +At twilight some of the soldiers came on board and laid our mattresses +side by side on the after deck. Pajamas and loose gowns were soon en +evidence, but nothing mattered, as they were no electric lights to +disturb us with their glare. Rank also mattered not; Lieutenant-Colonel +Wilkins and his wife lay down to rest, with the captains and lieutenants +and their wives, wherever their respective strikers had placed their +mattresses (for this was the good old time when the soldiers were +allowed to wait upon officers 'families). + +Under these circumstances, much sleep was not to be thought of; the +sultry heat by the river bank, and the pungent smell of the arrow-weed +which lined the shores thickly, contributed more to stimulate than to +soothe the weary nerves. But the glare of the sun was gone, and after +awhile a stillness settled down upon this company of Uncle Sam's +servants and their followers. (In the Army Regulations, wives are not +rated except as "camp followers.") + +But even this short respite from the glare of the sun was soon to end; +for before the crack of dawn, or, as it seemed to us, shortly after +midnight, came such a clatter with the fires and the high-pressure +engine and the sparks, and what all they did in that wild and reckless +land, that further rest was impossible, and we betook ourselves with +our mattresses to the staterooms, for another attempt at sleep, which, +however, meant only failure, as the sun rose incredibly early on that +river, and we were glad to take a hasty sponge from a basin of rather +thick looking river-water, and go again out on deck, where we could +always get a cup of black coffee from the Chinaman. + +And thus began another day of intolerable glare and heat. Conversation +lagged; no topic seemed to have any interest except the thermometer, +which hung in the coolest place on the boat; and one day when Major +Worth looked at it and pronounced it one hundred and twenty-two in the +shade, a grim despair seized upon me, and I wondered how much more heat +human beings could endure. There was nothing to relieve the monotony of +the scenery. On each side of us, low river banks, and nothing between +those and the horizon line. On our left was Lower [*] California, and on +our right, Arizona. Both appeared to be deserts. + + * This term is here used (as we used it at Ehrenberg) to + designate the low, flat lands west of the river, without any + reference to Lower California proper,--the long peninsula + belonging to Mexico. + +As the river narrowed, however, the trip began to be enlivened by the +constant danger of getting aground on the shifting sand-bars which are +so numerous in this mighty river. Jack Mellon was then the most famous +pilot on the Colorado, and he was very skilful in steering clear of the +sand-bars, skimming over them, or working his boat off, when once fast +upon them. The deck-hands, men of a mixed Indian and Mexican race, stood +ready with long poles, in the bow, to jump overboard, when we struck +a bar, and by dint of pushing, and reversing the engine, the boat would +swing off. + +On approaching a shallow place, they would sound with their poles, and +in a sing-song high-pitched tone drawl out the number of feet. Sometimes +their sleepy drawling tones would suddenly cease, and crying loudly, "No +alli agua!" they would swing themselves over the side of the boat into +the river, and begin their strange and intricate manipulations with the +poles. Then, again, they would carry the anchor away off and by means of +great spars, and some method too complicated for me to describe, Captain +Mellon would fairly lift the boat over the bar. + +But our progress was naturally much retarded, and sometimes we were +aground an hour, sometimes a half day or more. Captain Mellon was +always cheerful. River steamboating was his life, and sand-bars were his +excitement. On one occasion, I said, "Oh! Captain, do you think we +shall get off this bar to-day?" "Well, you can't tell," he said, with a +twinkle in his eye; "one trip, I lay fifty-two days on a bar," and then, +after a short pause, "but that don't happen very often; we sometimes lay +a week, though; there is no telling; the bars change all the time." + +Sometimes the low trees and brushwood on the banks parted, and a young +squaw would peer out at us. This was a little diversion, and picturesque +besides. They wore very short skirts made of stripped bark, and as +they held back the branches of the low willows, and looked at us with +curiosity, they made pictures so pretty that I have never forgotten +them. We had no kodaks then, but even if we had had them, they could not +have reproduced the fine copper color of those bare shoulders and arms, +the soft wood colors of the short bark skirts, the gleam of the sun upon +their blue-black hair, and the turquoise color of the wide bead-bands +which encircled their arms. + +One morning, as I was trying to finish out a nap in my stateroom, +Jack came excitedly in and said: "Get up, Martha, we are coming to +Ehrenberg!" Visions of castles on the Rhine, and stories of the +middle ages floated through my mind, as I sprang up, in pleasurable +anticipation of seeing an interesting and beautiful place. Alas! for my +ignorance. I saw but a row of low thatched hovels, perched on the edge +of the ragged looking river-bank; a road ran lengthwise along, and +opposite the hovels I saw a store and some more mean-looking huts of +adobe. + +"Oh! Jack!" I cried, "and is that Ehrenberg? Who on earth gave such a +name to the wretched place?" + +"Oh, some old German prospector, I suppose; but never mind, the place +is all right enough. Come! Hurry up! We are going to stop here and land +freight. There is an officer stationed here. See those low white walls? +That is where he lives. Captain Bernard of the Fifth Cavalry. It's quite +a place; come out and see it." + +But I did not go ashore. Of all dreary, miserable-looking settlements +that one could possibly imagine, that was the worst. An unfriendly, +dirty, and Heaven-forsaken place, inhabited by a poor class of Mexicans +and half-breeds. It was, however, an important shipping station for +freight which was to be sent overland to the interior, and there was +always one army officer stationed there. + +Captain Bernard came on board to see us. I did not ask him how he liked +his station; it seemed to me too satirical; like asking the Prisoner of +Chillon, for instance, how he liked his dungeon. + +I looked over towards those low white walls, which enclosed the +Government corral and the habitation of this officer, and thanked my +stars that no such dreadful detail had come to my husband. I did not +dream that in less than a year this exceptionally hard fate was to be my +own. + +We left Ehrenberg with no regrets, and pushed on up river. + +On the third of September the boilers "foamed" so that we had to tie up +for nearly a day. This was caused by the water being so very muddy. The +Rio Colorado deserves its name, for its swift-flowing current sweeps by +like a mass of seething red liquid, turbulent and thick and treacherous. +It was said on the river, that those who sank beneath its surface were +never seen again, and in looking over into those whirlpools and swirling +eddies, one might well believe this to be true. + +From there on, up the river, we passed through great canons and the +scenery was grand enough; but one cannot enjoy scenery with the mercury +ranging from 107 to 122 in the shade. The grandeur was quite lost upon +us all, and we were suffocated by the scorching heat radiating from +those massive walls of rocks between which we puffed and clattered +along. + +I must confess that the history of this great river was quite unknown to +me then. I had never read of the early attempts made to explore it, both +from above and from its mouth, and the wonders of the "Grand Canon" were +as yet unknown to the world. I did not realize that, as we steamed along +between those high perpendicular walls of rock, we were really seeing +the lower end of that great chasm which now, thirty years later, has +become one of the most famous resorts of this country and, in fact, of +the world. + +There was some mention made of Major Powell, that daring adventurer, +who, a few years previously, had accomplished the marvellous feat of +going down the Colorado and through the Grand Canon, in a small boat, he +being the first man who had at that time ever accomplished it, many men +having lost their lives in the attempt. + +At last, on the 8th of September, we arrived at Camp Mojave, on the +right bank of the river; a low, square enclosure, on the low level of +the flat land near the river. It seemed an age since we had left Yuma +and twice an age since we had left the mouth of the river. But it was +only eighteen days in all, and Captain Mellon remarked: "A quick trip!" +and congratulated us on the good luck we had had in not being detained +on the sandbars. "Great Heavens," I thought, "if that is what they call +a quick trip!" But I do not know just what I thought, for those eighteen +days on the Great Colorado in midsummer, had burned themselves into my +memory, and I made an inward vow that nothing would ever force me into +such a situation again. I did not stop to really think; I only felt, and +my only feeling was a desire to get cool and to get out of the Territory +in some other way and at some cooler season. How futile a wish, and how +futile a vow! + + Dellenbaugh, who was with Powell in 1869 in his second + expedition down the river in small boats, has given to the + world a most interesting account of this wonderful river and + the canons through which it cuts its tempestuous way to the + Gulf of California, in two volumes entitled "The Romance of + the Great Colorado" and "A Canon Voyage". + +We bade good-bye to our gallant river captain and watched the great +stern-wheeler as she swung out into the stream, and, heading up river, +disappeared around a bend; for even at that time this venturesome pilot +had pushed his boat farther up than any other steam-craft had ever +gone, and we heard that there were terrific rapids and falls and unknown +mysteries above. The superstition of centuries hovered over the "great +cut," and but few civilized beings had looked down into its awful +depths. Brave, dashing, handsome Jack Mellon! What would I give and +what would we all give, to see thee once more, thou Wizard of the Great +Colorado! + +We turned our faces towards the Mojave desert, and I wondered, what +next? + +The Post Surgeon kindly took care of us for two days and nights, and we +slept upon the broad piazzas of his quarters. + +We heard no more the crackling and fizzing of the stern-wheeler's +high-pressure engines at daylight, and our eyes, tired with gazing at +the red whirlpools of the river, found relief in looking out upon the +grey-white flat expanse which surrounded Fort Mojave, and merged itself +into the desert beyond. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. THE MOJAVE DESERT + +Thou white and dried-up sea! so old! So strewn with wealth, so sown +with gold! Yes, thou art old and hoary white With time and ruin of +all things, And on thy lonesome borders Night Sits brooding o'er with +drooping wings.--JOAQUIN MILLER. + + +The country had grown steadily more unfriendly ever since leaving Fort +Yuma, and the surroundings of Camp Mojave were dreary enough. + +But we took time to sort out our belongings, and the officers arranged +for transportation across the Territory. Some had bought, in San +Francisco, comfortable travelling-carriages for their families. They +were old campaigners; they knew a thing or two about Arizona; we +lieutenants did not know, we had never heard much about this part of our +country. But a comfortable large carriage, known as a Dougherty wagon, +or, in common army parlance, an ambulance, was secured for me to travel +in. This vehicle had a large body, with two seats facing each other, and +a seat outside for the driver. The inside of the wagon could be closed +if desired by canvas sides and back which rolled up and down, and by a +curtain which dropped behind the driver's seat. So I was enabled to have +some degree of privacy, if I wished. + +We repacked our mess-chest, and bought from the Commissary at Mojave the +provisions necessary for the long journey to Fort Whipple, which was the +destination of one of the companies and the headquarters officers. + +On the morning of September 10th everything in the post was astir with +preparations for the first march. It was now thirty-five days since we +left San Francisco, but the change from boat to land travelling offered +an agreeable diversion after the monotony of the river. I watched with +interest the loading of the great prairie-schooners, into which went the +soldiers' boxes and the camp equipage. Outside was lashed a good deal of +the lighter stuff; I noticed a barrel of china, which looked much like +our own, lashed directly over one wheel. Then there were the massive +blue army wagons, which were also heavily loaded; the laundresses with +their children and belongings were placed in these. + +At last the command moved out. It was to me a novel sight. The wagons +and schooners were each drawn by teams of six heavy mules, while a team +of six lighter mules was put to each ambulance and carriage. These +were quite different from the draught animals I had always seen in the +Eastern States; these Government mules being sleek, well-fed and trained +to trot as fast as the average carriage-horse. The harnesses were quite +smart, being trimmed off with white ivory rings. Each mule was "Lize" +or "Fanny" or "Kate", and the soldiers who handled the lines were +accustomed to the work; for work, and arduous work, it proved to be, as +we advanced into the then unknown Territory of Arizona. + +The main body of the troops marched in advance; then came the ambulances +and carriages, followed by the baggage-wagons and a small rear-guard. +When the troops were halted once an hour for rest, the officers, who +marched with the soldiers, would come to the ambulances and chat awhile, +until the bugle call for "Assembly" sounded, when they would join their +commands again, the men would fall in, the call "Forward" was sounded, +and the small-sized army train moved on. + +The first day's march was over a dreary country; a hot wind blew, and +everything was filled with dust. I had long ago discarded my hat, as an +unnecessary and troublesome article; consequently my head wa snow a mass +of fine white dust, which stuck fast, of course. I was covered from head +to foot with it, and it would not shake off, so, although our steamboat +troubles were over, our land troubles had begun. + +We reached, after a few hours' travel, the desolate place where we were +to camp. + +In the mean time, it had been arranged for Major Worth, who had no +family, to share our mess, and we had secured the services of a soldier +belonging to his company whose ability as a camp cook was known to both +officers. + +I cannot say that life in the army, as far as I had gone, presented any +very great attractions. This, our first camp, was on the river, a little +above Hardyville. Good water was there, and that was all; I had not yet +learned to appreciate that. There was not a tree nor a shrub to give +shade. The only thing I could see, except sky and sand, was a ruined +adobe enclosure, with no roof. I sat in the ambulance until our tent was +pitched, and then Jack came to me, followed by a six-foot soldier, and +said: "Mattie, this is Bowen, our striker; now I want you to tell him +what he shall cook for our supper; and--don't you think it would be +nice if you could show him how to make some of those good New England +doughnuts? I think Major Worth might like them; and after all the +awful stuff we have had, you know," et caetera, et caetera. I met the +situation, after an inward struggle, and said, weakly, "Where are the +eggs?" "Oh," said he, "you don't need eggs; you're on the frontier now; +you must learn to do without eggs." + +Everything in me rebelled, but still I yielded. You see I had been +married only six months; the women at home, and in Germany also, had +always shown great deference to their husbands' wishes. But at that +moment I almost wished Major Worth and Jack and Bowen and the mess-chest +at the bottom of the Rio Colorado. However, I nerved myself for the +effort, and when Bowen had his camp-fire made, he came and called me. + +At the best, I never had much confidence in my ability as a cook, but +as a camp cook! Ah, me! Everything seemed to swim before my eyes, and I +fancied that the other women were looking at me from their tents. Bowen +was very civil, turned back the cover of the mess-chest and propped it +up. That was the table. Then he brought me a tin basin, and some flour, +some condensed milk, some sugar, and a rolling-pin, and then he hung a +camp-kettle with lard in it over the fire. I stirred up a mixture in +the basin, but the humiliation of failure was spared me, for just then, +without warning, came one of those terrific sandstorms which prevail +on the deserts of Arizona, blowing us all before it in its fury, and +filling everything with sand. + +We all scurried to the tents; some of them had blown down. There was not +much shelter, but the storm was soon over, and we stood collecting +our scattered senses. I saw Mrs. Wilkins at the door of her tent. She +beckoned to me; I went over there, and she said: "Now, my dear, I am +going to give you some advice. You must not take it unkindly. I am an +old army woman and I have made many campaigns with the Colonel; you have +but just joined the army. You must never try to do any cooking at the +camp-fire. The soldiers are there for that work, and they know lots more +about it than any of us do." + +"But, Jack," I began-- + +"Never mind Jack," said she; "he does not know as much as I do about it; +and when you reach your post," she added, "you can show him what you can +do in that line." + +Bowen cleared away the sandy remains of the doubtful dough, and prepared +for us a very fair supper. Soldiers' bacon, and coffee, and biscuits +baked in a Dutch oven. + +While waiting for the sun to set, we took a short stroll over to the +adobe ruins. Inside the enclosure lay an enormous rattlesnake, coiled. +It was the first one I had ever seen except in a cage, and I was +fascinated by the horror of the round, grayish-looking heap, so near the +color of the sand on which it lay. Some soldiers came and killed it. +But I noticed that Bowen took extra pains that night, to spread buffalo +robes under our mattresses, and to place around them a hair lariat. +"Snakes won't cross over that," he said, with a grin. + +Bowen was a character. Originally from some farm in Vermont, he had +served some years with the Eighth Infantry, and for a long time in the +same company under Major Worth, and had cooked for the bachelors' mess. +He was very tall, and had a good-natured face, but he did not have much +opinion of what is known as etiquette, either military or civil; he +seemed to consider himself a sort of protector to the officers of +Company K, and now, as well, to the woman who had joined the company. +He took us all under his wing, as it were, and although he had to be +sharply reprimanded sometimes, in a kind of language which he seemed to +expect, he was allowed more latitude than most soldiers. + +This was my first night under canvas in the army. I did not like those +desert places, and they grew to have a horror for me. + +At four o'clock in the morning the cook's call sounded, the mules were +fed, and the crunching and the braying were something to awaken the +heaviest sleepers. Bowen called us. I was much upset by the dreadful +dust, which was thick upon everything I touched. We had to hasten our +toilet, as they were striking tents and breaking camp early, in order +to reach before noon the next place where there was water. Sitting on +camp-stools, around the mess-tables, in the open, before the break of +day, we swallowed some black coffee and ate some rather thick slices +of bacon and dry bread. The Wilkins' tent was near ours, and I said to +them, rather peevishly: "Isn't this dust something awful?" + +Miss Wilkins looked up with her sweet smile and gentle manner and +replied: "Why, yes, Mrs. Summerhayes, it is pretty bad, but you must not +worry about such a little thing as dust." + +"How can I help it?" I said; "my hair, my clothes, everything full of +it, and no chance for a bath or a change: a miserable little basin of +water and--" + +I suppose I was running on with all my grievances, but she stopped me +and said again: "Soon, now, you will not mind it at all. Ella and I are +army girls, you know, and we do not mind anything. There's no use in +fretting about little things." + +Miss Wilkins' remarks made a tremendous impression upon my mind and I +began to study her philosophy. + +At break of day the command marched out, their rifles on their +shoulders, swaying along ahead of us, in the sunlight and the heat, +which continued still to be almost unendurable. The dry white dust of +this desert country boiled and surged up and around us in suffocating +clouds. + +I had my own canteen hung up in the ambulance, but the water in it got +very warm and I learned to take but a swallow at a time, as it could not +be refilled until we reached the next spring--and there is always some +uncertainty in Arizona as to whether the spring or basin has gone dry. +So water was precious, and we could not afford to waste a drop. + +At about noon we reached a forlorn mud hut, known as Packwood's ranch. +But the place had a bar, which was cheerful for some of the poor men, +as the two days' marches had been rather hard upon them, being so "soft" +from the long voyage. I could never begrudge a soldier a bit of cheer +after the hard marches in Arizona, through miles of dust and burning +heat, their canteens long emptied and their lips parched and dry. I +watched them often as they marched along with their blanket-rolls, their +haversacks, and their rifles, and I used to wonder that they did not +complain. + +About that time the greatest luxury in the entire world seemed to me +to be a glass of fresh sweet milk, and I shall always remember Mr. +Packwood's ranch, because we had milk to drink with our supper, and some +delicious quail to eat. + +Ranches in that part of Arizona meant only low adobe dwellings occupied +by prospectors or men who kept the relays of animals for stage routes. +Wretched, forbidding-looking places they were! Never a tree or a bush to +give shade, never a sign of comfort or home. + +Our tents were pitched near Packwood's, out in the broiling sun. They +were like ovens; there was no shade, no coolness anywhere; we would have +gladly slept, after the day's march, but instead we sat broiling in the +ambulances, and waited for the long afternoon to wear away. + +The next day dragged along in the same manner; the command marching +bravely along through dust and heat and thirst, as Kipling's soldier +sings: + + +"With its best foot first And the road a-sliding past, An' every +bloomin' campin'-ground Exactly like the last". + + +Beal's Springs did not differ from the other ranch, except that possibly +it was even more desolate. But a German lived there, who must have had +some knowledge of cooking, for I remember that we bought a peach pie +from him and ate it with a relish. I remember, too, that we gave him a +good silver dollar for it. + +The only other incident of that day's march was the suicide of Major +Worth's pet dog "Pete." Having exhausted his ability to endure, this +beautiful red setter fixed his eye upon a distant range of mountains, +and ran without turning, or heeding any call, straight as the crow +flies, towards them and death. We never saw him again; a ranchman told +us he had known of several other instances where a well-bred dog had +given up in this manner, and attempted to run for the hills. We had a +large greyhound with us, but he did not desert. + +Major Worth was much affected by the loss of his dog, and did not join +us at supper that night. We kept a nice fat quail for him, however, and +at about nine o'clock, when all was still and dark, Jack entered the +Major's tent and said: "Come now, Major, my wife has sent you this nice +quail; don't give up so about Pete, you know." + +The Major lay upon his camp-bed, with his face turned to the wall of his +tent; he gave a deep sigh, rolled himself over and said: "Well, put it +on the table, and light the candle; I'll try to eat it. Thank your wife +for me." + +So the Lieutenant made a light, and lo! and behold, the plate was there, +but the quail was gone! In the darkness, our great kangaroo hound had +stolen noiselessly upon his master's heels, and quietly removed the +bird. The two officers were dumbfounded. Major Worth said: "D--n my +luck;" and turned his face again to the wall of his tent. + +Now Major Worth was just the dearest and gentlest sort of a man, but he +had been born and brought up in the old army, and everyone knows that +times and customs were different then. + +Men drank more and swore a good deal, and while I do not wish my story +to seem profane, yet I would not describe army life or the officers as +I knew them, if I did not allow the latter to use an occasional strong +expression. + +The incident, however, served to cheer up the Major, though he continued +to deplore the loss of his beautiful dog. + +For the next two days our route lay over the dreariest and most desolate +country. It was not only dreary, it was positively hostile in its +attitude towards every living thing except snakes, centipedes and +spiders. They seemed to flourish in those surroundings. + +Sometimes either Major Worth or Jack would come and drive along a few +miles in the ambulance with me to cheer me up, and they allowed me to +abuse the country to my heart's content. It seemed to do me much good. +The desert was new to me then. I had not read Pierre Loti's wonderful +book, "Le Desert," and I did not see much to admire in the desolate +waste lands through which we were travelling. I did not dream of the +power of the desert, nor that I should ever long to see it again. But +as I write, the longing possesses me, and the pictures then indelibly +printed upon my mind, long forgotten amidst the scenes and events of +half a lifetime, unfold themselves like a panorama before my vision and +call me to come back, to look upon them once more. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. LEARNING HOW TO SOLDIER + +"The grasses failed, and then a mass Of dry red cactus ruled the land: +The sun rose right above and fell, As falling molten from the skies, And +no winged thing was seen to pass." Joaquin Miller. + + +We made fourteen miles the next day, and went into camp at a place +called Freeze-wash, near some old silver mines. A bare and lonesome +spot, where there was only sand to be seen, and some black, +burnt-looking rocks. From under these rocks, crept great tarantulas, not +forgetting lizards, snakes, and not forgetting the scorpion, which ran +along with its tail turned up ready to sting anything that came in its +way. The place furnished good water, however, and that was now the most +important thing. + +The next day's march was a long one. The guides said: "Twenty-eight +miles to Willow Grove Springs." + +The command halted ten minutes every hour for rest, but the sun poured +down upon us, and I was glad to stay in the ambulance. It was at these +times that my thoughts turned back to the East and to the blue sea and +the green fields of God's country. I looked out at the men, who were +getting pretty well fagged, and at the young officers whose uniforms +were white with dust, and Frau Weste's words about glaenzendes Elend +came to my mind. I fell to thinking: was the army life, then, only +"glittering misery," and had I come to participate in it? + +Some of the old soldiers had given out, and had to be put on the army +wagons. I was getting to look rather fagged and seedy, and was much +annoyed at my appearance. Not being acquainted with the vicissitudes of +the desert, I had not brought in my travelling-case a sufficient number +of thin washbodices. The few I had soon became black beyond recognition, +as the dust boiled (literally) up and into the ambulance and covered +me from head to foot. But there was no help for it, and no one was much +better off. + +It was about that time that we began to see the outlines of a great +mountain away to the left and north of us. It seemed to grow nearer and +nearer, and fascinated our gaze. + +Willow Grove Springs was reached at four o'clock and the small cluster +of willow trees was most refreshing to our tired eyes. The next day's +march was over a rolling country. We began to see grass, and to feel +that, at last, we were out of the desert. The wonderful mountain still +loomed up large and clear on our left. I thought of the old Spanish +explorers and wondered if they came so far as this, when they journeyed +through that part of our country three hundred years before. I wondered +what beautiful and high-sounding name they might have given it. I +wondered a good deal about that bare and isolated mountain, rising out +of what seemed an endless waste of sand. I asked the driver if he knew +the name of it: "That is Bill Williams' mountain, ma'am," he replied, +and relapsed into his customary silence, which was unbroken except by an +occasional remark to the wheelers or the leaders. + +I thought of the Harz Mountains, which I had so recently tramped over, +and the romantic names and legends connected with them, and I sighed to +think such an imposing landmark as this should have such a prosaic name. +I realized that Arizona was not a land of romance; and when Jack came +to the ambulance, I said, "Don't you think it a pity that such monstrous +things are allowed in America, as to call that great fine mountain 'Bill +Williams' mountain'?" + +"Why no," he said; "I suppose he discovered it, and I dare say he had a +hard enough time before he got to it." + +We camped at Fort Rock, and Lieutenant Bailey shot an antelope. It was +the first game we had seen; our spirits revived a bit; the sight of +green grass and trees brought new life to us. + +Anvil Rock and old Camp Hualapais were our next two stopping places. +We drove through groves of oaks, cedars and pines, and the days began +hopefully and ended pleasantly. To be sure, the roads were very rough +and our bones ached after a long day's travelling. But our tents were +now pitched under tall pine trees and looked inviting. Soldiers have a +knack of making a tent attractive. + +"Madame, the Lieutenant's compliments, and your tent is ready." + +I then alighted and found my little home awaiting me. The tent-flaps +tied open, the mattresses laid, the blankets turned back, the camp-table +with candle-stick upon it, and a couple of camp-chairs at the door of +the tent. Surely it is good to be in the army I then thought; and after +a supper consisting of soldiers' hot biscuit, antelope steak broiled +over the coals, and a large cup of black coffee, I went to rest, +listening to the soughing of the pines. + +My mattress was spread always upon the ground, with a buffalo robe under +it and a hair lariat around it, to keep off the snakes; as it is said +they do not like to cross them. I found the ground more comfortable than +the camp cots which were used by some of the officers, and most of the +women. + +The only Indians we had seen up to that time were the peaceful tribes +of the Yumas, Cocopahs and Mojaves, who lived along the Colorado. We had +not yet entered the land of the dread Apache. + +The nights were now cool enough, and I never knew sweeter rest than came +to me in the midst of those pine groves. + +Our road was gradually turning southward, but for some days Bill +Williams was the predominating feature of the landscape; turn whichever +way we might, still this purple mountain was before us. It seemed to +pervade the entire country, and took on such wonderful pink colors at +sunset. Bill Williams held me in thrall, until the hills and valleys in +the vicinity of Fort Whipple shut him out from my sight. But he seemed +to have come into my life somehow, and in spite of his name, I loved him +for the companionship he had given me during those long, hot, weary and +interminable days. + +About the middle of September, we arrived at American ranch, some ten +miles from Fort Whipple, which was the headquarters station. Colonel +Wilkins and his family left us, and drove on to their destination. Some +officers of the Fifth Cavalry rode out to greet us, and Lieutenant Earl +Thomas asked me to come into the post and rest a day or two at their +house, as we then had learned that K Company was to march on to Camp +Apache, in the far eastern part of the Territory. + +We were now enabled to get some fresh clothing from our trunks, which +were in the depths of the prairie-schooners, and all the officers' wives +were glad to go into the post, where we were most kindly entertained. +Fort Whipple was a very gay and hospitable post, near the town of +Prescott, which was the capital city of Arizona. The country being +mountainous and fertile, the place was very attractive, and I felt sorry +that we were not to remain there. But I soon learned that in the army, +regrets were vain. I soon ceased to ask myself whether I was sorry or +glad at any change in our stations. + +On the next day the troops marched in, and camped outside the post. The +married officers were able to join their wives, and the three days we +spent there were delightful. There was a dance given, several informal +dinners, drives into the town of Prescott, and festivities of various +kinds. General Crook commanded the Department of Arizona then; he was +out on some expedition, but Mrs. Crook gave a pleasant dinner for us. +After dinner, Mrs. Crook came and sat beside me, asked kindly about our +long journey, and added: "I am truly sorry the General is away; I should +like for him to meet you; you are just the sort of woman he likes." A +few years afterwards I met the General, and remembering this remark, +I was conscious of making a special effort to please. The indifferent +courtesy with which he treated me, however, led me to think that women +are often mistaken judges of their husband's tastes. + +The officers' quarters at Fort Whipple were quite commodious, and after +seven weeks' continuous travelling, the comforts which surrounded me at +Mrs. Thomas' home seemed like the veriest luxuries. I was much affected +by the kindness shown me by people I had never met before, and I +kept wondering if I should ever have an opportunity to return their +courtesies. "Don't worry about that, Martha," said Jack, "your turn will +come." + +He proved a true prophet, for sooner or later, I saw them all again, +and was able to extend to them the hospitality of an army home. +Nevertheless, my heart grows warm whenever I think of the people who +first welcomed me to Arizona, me a stranger in the army, and in the +great southwest as well. + +At Fort Whipple we met also some people we had known at Fort Russell, +who had gone down with the first detachment, among them Major and Mrs. +Wilhelm, who were to remain at headquarters. We bade good-bye to the +Colonel and his family, to the officers of F, who were to stay behind, +and to our kind friends of the Fifth Cavalry. + +We now made a fresh start, with Captain Ogilby in command. Two days took +us into Camp Verde, which lies on a mesa above the river from which it +takes its name. + +Captain Brayton, of the Eight Infantry, and his wife, who were already +settled at Camp Verde, received us and took the best care of us. Mrs. +Brayton gave me a few more lessons in army house-keeping, and I could +not have had a better teacher. I told her about Jack and the tinware; +her bright eyes snapped, and she said: "Men think they know everything, +but the truth is, they don't know anything; you go right ahead and have +all the tinware and other things; all you can get, in fact; and when the +time comes to move, send Jack out of the house, get a soldier to come in +and pack you up, and say nothing about it." + +"But the weight--" + +"Fiddlesticks! They all say that; now you just not mind their talk, but +take all you need, and it will get carried along, somehow." + +Still another company left our ranks, and remained at Camp Verde. The +command was now getting deplorably small, I thought, to enter an Indian +country, for we were now to start for Camp Apache. Several routes were +discussed, but, it being quite early in the autumn, and the Apache +Indians being just then comparatively quiet, they decided to march the +troops over Crook's Trail, which crossed the Mogollon range and was +considered to be shorter than any other. It was all the same to me. I +had never seen a map of Arizona, and never heard of Crook's Trail. +Maps never interested me, and I had not read much about life in the +Territories. At that time, the history of our savage races was a blank +page to me. I had been listening to the stories of an old civilization, +and my mind did not adjust itself readily to the new surroundings. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. ACROSS THE MOGOLLONS + +It was a fine afternoon in the latter part of September, when our small +detachment, with Captain Ogilby in command, marched out of Camp Verde. +There were two companies of soldiers, numbering about a hundred men +in all, five or six officers, Mrs. Bailey and myself, and a couple +of laundresses. I cannot say that we were gay. Mrs. Bailey had said +good-bye to her father and mother and sister at Fort Whipple, and +although she was an army girl, she did not seem to bear the parting very +philosophically. Her young child, nine months old, was with her, and +her husband, as stalwart and handsome an officer as ever wore +shoulder-straps. But we were facing unknown dangers, in a far country, +away from mother, father, sister and brother--a country infested with +roving bands of the most cruel tribe ever known, who tortured before +they killed. We could not even pretend to be gay. + +The travelling was very difficult and rough, and both men and animals +were worn out by night. But we were now in the mountains, the air was +cool and pleasant, and the nights so cold that we were glad to have a +small stove in our tents to dress by in the mornings. The scenery was +wild and grand; in fact, beyond all that I had ever dreamed of; more +than that, it seemed so untrod, so fresh, somehow, and I do not suppose +that even now, in the day of railroads and tourists, many people have +had the view of the Tonto Basin which we had one day from the top of the +Mogollon range. + +I remember thinking, as we alighted from our ambulances and stood +looking over into the Basin, "Surely I have never seen anything to +compare with this--but oh! would any sane human being voluntarily go +through with what I have endured on this journey, in order to look upon +this wonderful scene?" + +The roads had now become so difficult that our wagon-train could not +move as fast as the lighter vehicles or the troops. Sometimes at a +critical place in the road, where the ascent was not only dangerous, but +doubtful, or there was, perhaps, a sharp turn, the ambulances waited to +see the wagons safely over the pass. Each wagon had its six mules; each +ambulance had also its quota of six. + +At the foot of one of these steep places, the wagons would halt, the +teamsters would inspect the road, and calculate the possibilities of +reaching the top; then, furiously cracking their whips, and pouring +forth volley upon volley of oaths, they would start the team. Each mule +got its share of dreadful curses. I had never heard or conceived of +any oaths like those. They made my blood fairly curdle, and I am not +speaking figuratively. The shivers ran up and down my back, and I half +expected to see those teamsters struck down by the hand of the Almighty. + +For although the anathemas hurled at my innocent head, during +the impressionable years of girlhood, by the pale and determined +Congregational ministers with gold-bowed spectacles, who held forth +in the meeting-house of my maternal ancestry (all honor to their +sincerity), had taken little hold upon my mind, still, the vital drop +of the Puritan was in my blood, and the fear of a personal God and His +wrath still existed, away back in the hidden recesses of my heart. + +This swearing and lashing went on until the heavily-loaded +prairie-schooner, swaying, swinging, and swerving to the edge of the +cut, and back again to the perpendicular wall of the mountain, would +finally reach the top, and pass on around the bend; then another would +do the same. Each teamster had his own particular variety of oaths, each +mule had a feminine name, and this brought the swearing down to a sort +of personal basis. I remonstrated with Jack, but he said: teamsters +always swore; "the mules wouldn't even stir to go up a hill, if they +weren't sworn at like that." + +By the time we had crossed the great Mogollon mesa, I had become +accustomed to those dreadful oaths, and learned to admire the skill, +persistency and endurance shown by those rough teamsters. I actually +got so far as to believe what Jack had told me about the swearing being +necessary, for I saw impossible feats performed by the combination. + +When near camp, and over the difficult places, we drove on ahead and +waited for the wagons to come in. It was sometimes late evening before +tents could be pitched and supper cooked. And oh! to see the poor jaded +animals when the wagons reached camp! I could forget my own discomfort +and even hunger, when I looked at their sad faces. + +One night the teamsters reported that a six-mule team had rolled down +the steep side of a mountain. I did not ask what became of the poor +faithful mules; I do not know, to this day. In my pity and real distress +over the fate of these patient brutes, I forgot to inquire what boxes +were on the unfortunate wagon. + +We began to have some shooting. Lieutenant Bailey shot a young deer, +and some wild turkeys, and we could not complain any more of the lack of +fresh food. + +It did not surprise us to learn that ours was the first wagon-train +to pass over Crook's Trail. For miles and miles the so-called road was +nothing but a clearing, and we were pitched and jerked from side to side +of the ambulance, as we struck large rocks or tree-stumps; in some steep +places, logs were chained to the rear of the ambulance, to keep it from +pitching forward onto the backs of the mules. At such places I got out +and picked my way down the rocky declivity. + +We now began to hear of the Apache Indians, who were always out, in +either large or small bands, doing their murderous work. + +One day a party of horseman tore past us at a gallop. Some of them +raised their hats to us as they rushed past, and our officers recognized +General Crook, but we could not, in the cloud of dust, distinguish +officers from scouts. All wore the flannel shirt, handkerchief tied +about the neck, and broad campaign hat. + +After supper that evening, the conversation turned upon Indians in +general, and Apaches in particular. We camped always at a basin, or a +tank, or a hole, or a spring, or in some canon, by a creek. Always from +water to water we marched. Our camp that night was in the midst of a +primeval grove of tall pine trees; verily, an untrodden land. We had a +big camp-fire, and sat around it until very late. There were only five +or six officers, and Mrs. Bailey and myself. + +The darkness and blackness of the place were uncanny. We all sat looking +into the fire. Somebody said, "Injuns would not have such a big fire as +that." + +"No; you bet they wouldn't," was the quick reply of one of the officers. + +Then followed a long pause; we all sat thinking, and gazing into the +fire, which crackled and leaped into fitful blazes. + +"Our figures must make a mighty good outline against that fire," +remarked one of officers, nonchalantly; "I dare say those stealthy sons +of Satan know exactly where we are at this minute," he added. + +"Yes, you bet your life they do!" answered one of the younger men, +lapsing into the frontiersman's language, from the force of his +convictions. + +"Look behind you at those trees, Jack," said Major Worth. "Can you see +anything? No! And if there were an Apache behind each one of them, we +should never know it." + +We all turned and peered into the black darkness which surrounded us. + +Another pause followed; the silence was weird--only the cracking of the +fire was heard, and the mournful soughing of the wind in the pines. + +Suddenly, a crash! We started to our feet and faced around. + +"A dead branch," said some one. + +Major Worth shrugged his shoulders, and turning to Jack, said, in a low +tone, "D---- d if I don't believe I'm getting nervous," and saying "good +night," he walked towards his tent. + +No element of doubt pervaded my mind as to my own state. The weird +feeling of being up in those remote mountain passes, with but a handful +of soldiers against the wary Apaches, the mysterious look of those black +tree-trunks, upon which flickered the uncertain light of the camp-fire +now dying, and from behind each one of which I imagined a red devil +might be at that moment taking aim with his deadly arrow, all inspired +me with fear such as I had never before known. + +In the cyclone which had overtaken our good ship in mid-Atlantic, where +we lay tossing about at the mercy of the waves for thirty-six long +hours, I had expected to yield my body to the dark and grewsome depths +of the ocean. I had almost felt the cold arms of Death about me; but +compared to the sickening dread of the cruel Apache, my fears then had +been as naught. Facing the inevitable at sea, I had closed my eyes and +said good-bye to Life. But in this mysterious darkness, every nerve, +every sense, was keenly alive with terror. + +Several of that small party around the camp-fire have gone from amongst +us, but I venture to say that, of the few who are left, not one will deny +that he shared in the vague apprehension which seized upon us. + +Midnight found us still lingering around the dead ashes of the fire. +After going to our tent, Jack saw that I was frightened. He said: "Don't +worry, Martha, an Apache never was known to attack in the night," and +after hearing many repetitions of this assertion, upon which I made him +take his oath, I threw myself upon the bed. After our candle was out, I +said: "When do they attack?" Jack who, with the soldiers' indifference +to danger, was already half asleep, replied: "Just before daylight, +usually, but do not worry, I say; there aren't any Injuns in this +neighborhood. Why! Didn't you meet General Crook to-day? You ought to +have some sense. If there'd been an Injun around here he would have +cleaned him out. Now go to sleep and don't be foolish." But I was taking +my first lessons in campaigning, and sleep was not so easy. + +Just before dawn, as I had fallen into a light slumber, the flaps of the +tent burst open, and began shaking violently to and fro. I sprang to my +feet, prepared for the worst. Jack started up: "What is it?" he cried. + +"It must have been the wind, I think, but it frightened me," I murmured. +The Lieutenant fastened the tent-flaps together, and lay down to sleep +again; but my heart beat fast, and I listened for every sound. + +The day gradually dawned, and with it my fears of the night were +allayed. But ever after that, Jack's fatal answer, "Just before +daylight," kept my eyes wide open for hours before the dawn. + + + + + +CHAPTER X. A PERILOUS ADVENTURE + +One fine afternoon, after a march of twenty-two miles over a rocky road, +and finding our provisions low, Mr. Bailey and Jack went out to shoot +wild turkeys. As they shouldered their guns and walked away. Captain +Ogilby called out to them, "Do not go too far from camp." + +Jack returned at sundown with a pair of fine turkeys! but Bailey failed +to come in. However, as they all knew him to be an experienced woodsman, +no one showed much anxiety until darkness had settled over the camp. +Then they began to signal, by discharging their rifles; the officers +went out in various directions, giving "halloos," and firing at +intervals, but there came no sound of the missing man. + +The camp was now thoroughly alarmed. This was too dangerous a place +for a man to be wandering around in all night, and search-parties +of soldiers were formed. Trees were burned, and the din of rifles, +constantly discharged, added to the excitement. One party after another +came in. They had scoured the country--and not a trace of Bailey. + +The young wife sat in her tent, soothing her little child; everybody +except her, gave up hope; the time dragged on; our hearts grew heavy; +the sky was alight with blazing trees. + +I went into Mrs. Bailey's tent. She was calm and altogether lovely, and +said: "Charley can't get lost, and unless something has happened to him, +he will come in." + +Ella Bailey was a brave young army woman; she was an inspiration to the +entire camp. + +Finally, after hours of the keenest anxiety, a noise of gladsome shouts +rang through the trees, and in came a party of men with the young +officer on their shoulders. His friend Craig had been untiring in the +search, and at last had heard a faint "halloo" in the distance, and one +shot (the only cartridge poor Bailey had left). + +After going over almost impassable places, they finally found him, lying +at the bottom of a ravine. In the black darkness of the evening, he had +walked directly over the edge of the chasm and fallen to the bottom, +dislocating his ankle. + +He was some miles from camp, and had used up all his ammunition except +the one cartridge. He had tried in vain to walk or even crawl out of +the ravine, but had finally been overcome by exhaustion and lay there +helpless, in the wild vastnesses of the mountains. + +A desperate situation, indeed! Some time afterwards, he told me how he +felt, when he realized how poor his chances were, when he saw he had +only one cartridge left and found that he had scarce strength to answer +a "halloo," should he hear one. But soldiers never like to talk much +about such things. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. CAMP APACHE + +By the fourth of October we had crossed the range, and began to see +something which looked like roads. Our animals were fagged to a state +of exhaustion, but the travelling was now much easier and there was good +grazing, and after three more long day's marches, we arrived at Camp +Apache. We were now at our journey's end, after two months' continuous +travelling, and I felt reasonably sure of shelter and a fireside for the +winter at least. I knew that my husband's promotion was expected, but +the immediate present was filled with an interest so absorbing, that a +consideration of the future was out of the question. + +At that time (it was the year of 1874) the officers' quarters at Camp +Apache were log cabins, built near the edge of the deep canon through +which the White Mountain River flows, before its junction with Black +River. + +We were welcomed by the officers of the Fifth Cavalry, who were +stationed there. It was altogether picturesque and attractive. In +addition to the row of log cabins, there were enormous stables and +Government buildings, and a cutler's store. We were entertained for +a day or two, and then quarters were assigned to us. The second +lieutenants had rather a poor choice, as the quarters were scarce. We +were assigned a half of a log cabin, which gave us one room, a small +square hall, and a bare shed, the latter detached from the house, to be +used for a kitchen. The room on the other side of the hall was occupied +by the Post Surgeon, who was temporarily absent. + +Our things were unloaded and brought to this cabin. I missed the barrel +of china, and learned that it had been on the unfortunate wagon which +rolled down the mountain-side. I had not attained that state of mind +which came to me later in my army life. I cared then a good deal about +my belongings, and the annoyance caused by the loss of our china was +quite considerable. I knew there was none to be obtained at Camp Apache, +as most of the merchandise came in by pack-train to that isolated place. + +Mrs. Dodge, of the Twenty-third Infantry, who was about to leave the +post, heard of my predicament, and offered me some china plates and +cups, which she thought not worth the trouble of packing (so she said), +and I was glad to accept them, and thanked her, almost with tears in my +eyes. + +Bowen nailed down our one carpet over the poor board floor (after having +first sprinkled down a thick layer of clean straw, which he brought from +the quartermaster stables). Two iron cots from the hospital were brought +over, and two bed-sacks filled with fresh, sweet straw, were laid upon +them; over these were laid our mattresses. Woven-wire springs were then +unheard of in that country. + +We untied our folding chairs, built a fire on the hearth, captured an +old broken-legged wash-stand and a round table from somewhere, and that +was our living-room. A pine table was found for the small hall, which +was to be our dinning-room, and some chairs with raw-hide seats were +brought from the barracks, some shelves knocked up against one wall, to +serve as sideboard. Now for the kitchen! + +A cooking-stove and various things were sent over from the Q. M. +store-house, and Bowen (the wonder of it!) drove in nails, and hung up +my Fort Russell tin-ware, and put up shelves and stood my pans in rows, +and polished the stove, and went out and stole a table somewhere (Bowen +was invaluable in that way), polished the zinc under the stove, and lo! +and behold, my army kitchen! Bowen was indeed a treasure; he said he +would like to cook for us, for ten dollars a month. We readily accepted +this offer. There were no persons to be obtained, in these distant +places, who could do the cooking in the families of officers, so it +was customary to employ a soldier; and the soldier often displayed +remarkable ability in the way of cooking, in some cases, in fact, more +than in the way of soldiering. They liked the little addition to their +pay, if they were of frugal mind; they had also their own quiet room +to sleep in, and I often thought the family life, offering as it did a +contrast to the bareness and desolation of the noisy barracks, appealed +to the domestic instinct, so strong in some men's natures. At all +events, it was always easy in those days to get a man from the company, +and they sometimes remained for years with an officer's family; in some +cases attending drills and roll-calls besides. + +Now came the unpacking of the chests and trunks. In our one diminutive +room, and small hall, was no closet, there were no hooks on the bare +walls, no place to hang things or lay things, and what to do I did not +know. I was in despair; Jack came in, to find me sitting on the edge of +a chest, which was half unpacked, the contents on the floor. I was very +mournful, and he did not see why. + +"Oh! Jack! I've nowhere to put things!" + +"What things?" said this impossible man. + +"Why, all our things," said I, losing my temper; "can't you see them?'' + +"Put them back in the chests,--and get them out as you need them," +said this son of Mars, and buckled on his sword. "Do the best you can, +Martha, I have to go to the barracks; be back again soon." I looked +around me, and tried to solve the problem. There was no bureau, nothing; +not a nook or corner where a thing might be stowed. I gazed at the +motley collection of bed-linen, dust-pans, silver bottles, boot +jacks, saddles, old uniforms, full dress military hats, sword-belts, +riding-boots, cut glass, window-shades, lamps, work-baskets, and books, +and I gave it up in despair. You see, I was not an army girl, and I did +not know how to manage. + +There was nothing to be done, however, but to follow Jack's advice, so +I threw the boots, saddles and equipments under the bed, and laid the +other things back in the chests, closed the lids and went out to take a +look at the post. Towards evening, a soldier came for orders for beef, +and I learned how to manage that. I was told that we bought our meats +direct from the contractor; I had to state how much and what cuts I +wished. Another soldier came to bring us milk, and I asked Jack who was +the milkman, and he said, blessed if he knew; I learned, afterwards, +that the soldiers roped some of the wild Texas cows that were kept in +one of the Government corrals, and tied them securely to keep them +from kicking; then milked them, and the milk was divided up among the +officers' families, according to rank. We received about a pint every +night. I declared it was not enough; but I soon discovered that however +much education, position and money might count in civil life, rank +seemed to be the one and only thing in the army, and Jack had not much +of that just then. + +The question of getting settled comfortably still worried me, and +after a day of two, I went over to see what Mrs. Bailey had done. To my +surprise, I found her out playing tennis, her little boy asleep in the +baby-carriage, which they had brought all the way from San Francisco, +near the court. I joined the group, and afterwards asked her advice +about the matter. She laughed kindly, and said: "Oh! you'll get used to +it, and things will settle themselves. Of course it is troublesome, +but you can have shelves and such things--you'll soon learn," and still +smiling, she gave her ball a neat left-hander. + +I concluded that my New England bringing up had been too serious, and +wondered if I had made a dreadful mistake in marrying into the army, or +at least in following my husband to Arizona. I debated the question with +myself from all sides, and decided then and there that young army wives +should stay at home with their mothers and fathers, and not go into such +wild and uncouth places. I thought my decision irrevocable. + +Before the two small deep windows in our room we hung some Turkey red +cotton, Jack built in his spare moments a couch for me, and gradually +our small quarters assumed an appearance of comfort. I turned my +attention a little to social matters. We dined at Captain Montgomery's +(the commanding officer's) house; his wife was a famous Washington +beauty. He had more rank, consequently more rooms, than we had, and +their quarters were very comfortable and attractive. + +There was much that was new and interesting at the post. The Indians who +lived on this reservation were the White Mountain Apaches, a fierce and +cruel tribe, whose depredations and atrocities had been carried on for +years, in and around, and, indeed, far away from their mountain homes. +But this tribe was now under surveillance of the Government, and guarded +by a strong garrison of cavalry and infantry at Camp Apache. They were +divided into bands, under Chiefs Pedro, Diablo, Patone and Cibiano; +they came into the post twice a week to be counted, and to receive their +rations of beef, sugar, beans, and other staples, which Uncle Sam's +commissary officer issued to them. + +In the absence of other amusement, the officers' wives walked over to +witness this rather solemn ceremony. At least, the serious expression on +the faces of the Indians, as they received their rations, gave an air of +solemnity to the proceeding. + +Large stakes were driven into the ground; at each stake, sat or stood +the leader of a band; a sort of father to his people; then the rest +of them stretched out in several long lines, young bucks and old ones, +squaws and pappooses, the families together, about seventeen hundred +souls in all. I used to walk up and down between the lines, with the +other women, and the squaws looked at our clothes and chuckled, and +made some of their inarticulate remarks to each other. The bucks looked +admiringly at the white women, especially at the cavalry beauty, Mrs. +Montgomery, although I thought that Chief Diablo cast a special eye at +our young Mrs. Bailey, of the infantry. + +Diablo was a handsome fellow. I was especially impressed by his +extraordinary good looks. + +This tribe was quiet at that time, only a few renegades escaping into +the hills on their wild adventures: but I never felt any confidence in +them and was, on the whole, rather afraid of them. The squaws were shy, +and seldom came near the officers' quarters. Some of the younger girls +were extremely pretty; they had delicate hands, and small feet encased +in well-shaped moccasins. They wore short skirts made of stripped bark, +which hung gracefully about their bare knees and supple limbs, and +usually a sort of low-necked camisa, made neatly of coarse, unbleached +muslin, with a band around the neck and arms, and, in cold weather a +pretty blanket was wrapped around their shoulders and fastened at the +breast in front. In summer the blanket was replaced by a square of +bright calico. Their coarse, black hair hung in long braids in front +over each shoulder, and nearly all of them wore an even bang or fringe +over the forehead. Of course hats were unheard of. The Apaches, both men +and women, had not then departed from the customs of their ancestors, +and still retained the extraordinary beauty and picturesqueness of their +aboriginal dress. They wore sometimes a fine buckskin upper garment, and +if of high standing in the tribe, necklaces of elks teeth. + +The young lieutenants sometimes tried to make up to the prettiest +ones, and offered them trinkets, pretty boxes of soap, beads, and small +mirrors (so dear to the heart of the Indian girl), but the young maids +were coy enough; it seemed to me they cared more for men of their own +race. + +Once or twice, I saw older squaws with horribly disfigured faces. I +supposed it was the result of some ravaging disease, but I learned that +it was the custom of this tribe, to cut off the noses of those women who +were unfaithful to their lords. Poor creatures, they had my pity, for +they were only children of Nature, after all, living close to the earth, +close to the pulse of their mother. But this sort of punishment seemed +to be the expression of the cruel and revengeful nature of the Apache. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. LIFE AMONGST THE APACHES + +Bowen proved to be a fairly good cook, and I ventured to ask people to +dinner in our little hall dining-room, a veritable box of a place. One +day, feeling particularly ambitious to have my dinner a success, I +made a bold attempt at oyster patties. With the confidence of youth and +inexperience, I made the pastry, and it was a success; I took a can of +Baltimore oysters, and did them up in a fashion that astonished myself, +and when, after the soup, each guest was served with a hot oyster patty, +one of the cavalry officers fairly gasped. "Oyster patty, if I'm alive! +Where on earth--Bless my stars! And this at Camp Apache!" + +"And by Holy Jerusalem! they are good, too," claimed Captain Reilly, and +turning to Bowen, he said: "Bowen, did you make these?" + +Bowen straightened himself up to his six foot two, clapped his heels +together, and came to "attention," looked straight to the front, and +replied: "Yes, sir." + +I thought I heard Captain Reilly say in an undertone to his neighbor, +"The hell he did," but I was not sure. + +At that season, we got excellent wild turkeys there, and good Southdown +mutton, and one could not complain of such living. + +But I could never get accustomed to the wretched small space of one room +and a hall; for the kitchen, being detached, could scarcely be counted +in. I had been born and brought up in a spacious house, with plenty +of bedrooms, closets, and an immense old-time garret. The forlorn +makeshifts for closets, and the absence of all conveniences, annoyed +me and added much to the difficulties of my situation. Added to this, I +soon discovered that my husband had a penchant for buying and collecting +things which seemed utterly worthless to me, and only added to the +number of articles to be handled and packed away. I begged him to +refrain, and to remember that he was married, and that we had not the +money to spend in such ways. He really did try to improve, and denied +himself the taking of many an alluring share in raffles for old saddles, +pistols, guns, and cow-boy's stuff, which were always being held at the +sutler's store. + +But an auction of condemned hospital stores was too much for him, and +he came in triumphantly one day, bringing a box of antiquated dentist's +instruments in his hand. + +"Good gracious!" I cried, "what can you ever do with those forceps?" + +"Oh! they are splendid," he said, "and they will come in mighty handy +some time." + +I saw that he loved tools and instruments, and I reflected, why not? +There are lots of things I have a passion for, and love, just as he +loves those things and I shall never say any more about it. "Only," I +added, aloud, "do not expect me to pack up such trash when we come to +move; you will have to look out for it yourself." + +So with that spiteful remark from me, the episode of the forceps was +ended, for the time at least. + +As the winter came on, the isolation of the place had a rather +depressing effect upon us all. The officers were engaged in their +various duties: drill, courts-martial, instruction, and other military +occupations. They found some diversion at "the store," where the +ranchmen assembled and told frontier stories and played exciting games +of poker. Jack's duties as commissary officer kept him much away from +me, and I was very lonely. + +The mail was brought in twice a week by a soldier on horseback. When he +failed to come in at the usual time, much anxiety was manifested, and I +learned that only a short time before, one of the mail-carriers had +been killed by Indians and the mail destroyed. I did not wonder that on +mail-day everybody came out in front of the quarters and asked: "Is the +mail-carrier in?" And nothing much was done or thought of on that day, +until we saw him come jogging in, the mail-bag tied behind his saddle. +Our letters were from two to three weeks old. The eastern mail came +via Santa Fe to the terminus of the railroad, and then by stage; for +in 1874, the railroads did not extend very far into the Southwest. At +a certain point on the old New Mexico road, our man met the San Carlos +carrier, and received the mail for Apache. + +"I do not understand," I said, "how any soldier can be found to take +such a dangerous detail." + +"Why so?" said Jack. "They like it." + +"I should think that when they got into those canons and narrow defiles, +they would think of the horrible fate of their predecessor," said I. + +"Perhaps they do," he answered; "but a soldier is always glad to get a +detail that gives him a change from the routine of post life." + +I was getting to learn about the indomitable pluck of our soldiers. They +did not seem to be afraid of anything. At Camp Apache my opinion of the +American soldier was formed, and it has never changed. In the long +march across the Territory, they had cared for my wants and performed +uncomplainingly for me services usually rendered by women. Those were +before the days of lineal promotion. Officers remained with their +regiments for many years. A feeling of regimental prestige held officers +and men together. I began to share that feeling. I knew the names of the +men in the company, and not one but was ready to do a service for the +"Lieutenant's wife." "K" had long been a bachelor company; and now a +young woman had joined it. I was a person to be pampered and cared for, +and they knew besides that I was not long in the army. + +During that winter I received many a wild turkey and other nice things +for the table, from the men of the company. I learned to know and to +thoroughly respect the enlisted man of the American army. + +And now into the varied kaleidoscope of my army life stepped the Indian +Agent. And of all unkempt, unshorn, disagreeable-looking personages who +had ever stepped foot into our quarters, this was the worst. + +"Heaven save us from a Government which appoints such men as that to +watch over and deal with Indians," cried I, as he left the house. "Is it +possible that his position here demands social recognition?" I added. + +"Hush!" said the second lieutenant of K company. "It's the Interior +Department that appoints the Indian Agents, and besides," he added, +"it's not good taste on your part, Martha, to abuse the Government which +gives us our bread and butter." + +"Well, you can say what you like, and preach policy all you wish, no +Government on earth can compel me to associate with such men as those!" +With that assertion, I left the room, to prevent farther argument. + +And I will here add that in my experience on the frontier, which +extended over a long period, it was never my good fortune to meet with +an Indian Agent who impressed me as being the right sort of a man to +deal with those children of nature, for Indians are like children, and +their intuitions are keen. They know and appreciate honesty and fair +dealing, and they know a gentleman when they meet one. + +The winter came on apace, but the weather was mild and pleasant. One +day some officers came in and said we must go over to the "Ravine" that +evening, where the Indians were going to have a rare sort of a dance. + +There was no one to say to me: "Do not go," and, as we welcomed any +little excitement which would relieve the monotony of our lives, we cast +aside all doubts of the advisability of my going. So, after dinner, we +joined the others, and sallied forth into the darkness of an Arizona +night. We crossed the large parade-ground, and picked our way over a +rough and pathless country, lighted only by the stars above. + +Arriving at the edge of the ravine, what a scene was before us! We +looked down into a natural amphitheatre, in which blazed great fires; +hordes of wild Apaches darted about, while others sat on logs beating +their tomtoms. + +I was afraid, and held back, but the rest of the party descended into +the ravine, and, leaning on a good strong arm, I followed. We all sat +down on the great trunk of a fallen tree, and soon the dancers came into +the arena. + +They were entirely naked, except for the loin-cloth; their bodies were +painted, and from their elbows and knees stood out bunches of feathers, +giving them the appearance of huge flying creatures; jingling things +were attached to their necks and arms. Upon their heads were large +frames, made to resemble the branching horns of an elk, and as they +danced, and bowed their heads, the horns lent them the appearance of +some unknown animal, and added greatly to their height. Their feathers +waved, their jingles shook, and their painted bodies twisted and turned +in the light of the great fire, which roared and leaped on high. At +one moment they were birds, at another animals, at the next they were +demons. + +The noise of the tomtoms and the harsh shouts of the Indians grew wilder +and wilder. It was weird and terrifying. Then came a pause; the arena +was cleared, and with much solemnity two wicked-looking creatures came +out and performed a sort of shadow dance, brandishing knives as they +glided through the intricate figures. + +It was a fascinating but unearthly scene, and the setting completed the +illusion. Fright deprived me of the power of thought, but in a sort of +subconscious way I felt that Orpheus must have witnessed just such +mad revels when he went down into Pluto's regions. Suddenly the shouts +became war whoops, the demons brandished their knives madly, and nodded +their branching horns; the tomtoms were beaten with a dreadful din, and +terror seized my heart. What if they be treacherous, and had lured our +small party down into this ravine for an ambush! The thing could well +be, I thought. I saw uneasiness in the faces of the other women, and +by mutual consent we got up and slowly took our departure. I barely had +strength to climb up the steep side of the hollow. I was thankful to +escape from its horrors. + +Scarce three months after that some of the same band of Indians fired +into the garrison and fled to the mountains. I remarked to Jack, that I +thought we were very imprudent to go to see that dance, and he said he +supposed we were. But I had never regarded life in such a light way as +he seemed to. + +Women usually like to talk over their trials and their wonderful +adventures, and that is why I am writing this, I suppose. Men simply +will not talk about such things. + +The cavalry beauty seemed to look at this frontier life +philosophically--what she really thought about it, I never knew. Mrs. +Bailey was so much occupied by the care of her young child and various +out-door amusements, that she did not, apparently, think much about +things that happened around us. At all events, she never seemed inclined +to talk about them. There was no one else to talk to; the soil was +strange, and the atmosphere a foreign one to me; life did not seem to +be taken seriously out there, as it was back in New England, where they +always loved to sit down and talk things over. I was downright lonesome +for my mother and sisters. + +I could not go out very much at that time, so I occupied myself a good +deal with needle-work. + +One evening we heard firing across the canon. Jack caught up his sword, +buckling on his belt as he went out. "Injuns fighting on the other side +of the river," some soldier reported. Finding that it did not concern +us, Jack said, "Come out into the back yard, Martha, and look over the +stockade, and I think you can see across the river." So I hurried out to +the stockade, but Jack, seeing that I was not tall enough, picked up +an empty box that stood under the window of the room belonging to the +Doctor, when, thud! fell something out onto the ground, and rolled away. +I started involuntarily. It was dark in the yard. I stood stock still. +"What was that?" I whispered. + +"Nothing but an old Edam cheese," said this true-hearted soldier of +mine. I knew it was not a cheese, but said no more. I stood up on the +box, watched the firing like a man, and went quietly back into the +quarters. After retiring, I said, "You might just a swell tell me now, +you will have to sooner or later, what was in the box--it had a dreadful +sound, as it rolled away on the ground." + +"Well," said he, "if you must know, it was an Injun's head that the +Doctor had saved, to take to Washington with him. It had a sort of a +malformed skull or jaw-bone or something. But he left it behind--I guess +it got a leetle to old for him to carry," he laughed. "Somebody told me +there was a head in the yard, but I forgot all about it. Lucky thing you +didn't see it, wasn't it? I suppose you'd been scared--well, I must tell +the fatigue party to-morrow to take it away. Now don't let me forget +it," and this soldier of many battles fell into the peaceful slumber +which comes to those who know not fear. + +The next day I overheard him telling Major Worth what had happened, +and adding that he would roast that Doctor if he ever came back. I +was seeing the rugged side of life, indeed, and getting accustomed to +shocks. + +Now the cavalry beauty gave a dinner. It was lovely; but in the midst of +it, we perceived a sort of confusion of moccasined footsteps outside +the dining-room. My nerves were, by this time, always on the alert. +I glanced through the large door opening out into the hall, and saw +a group of Indian scouts; they laid a coffee-sack down by the corner +fire-place, near the front door. The commanding officer left the table +hastily; the portiere was drawn. + +I had heard tales of atrocious cruelties committed by a band of Indians +who had escaped from the reservation and were ravaging the country +around. I had heard how they maimed poor sheep and cut off the legs of +cattle at the first joint, leaving them to die; how they tortured women, +and burned their husbands and children before their eyes; I had heard +also that the Indian scouts were out after them, with orders to bring +them in, dead or alive. + +The next day I learned that the ringleader's head was in the bag that I +had seen, and that the others had surrendered and returned. The scouts +were Apaches in the pay of the Government, and I always heard that, as +long as they were serving as scouts, they showed themselves loyal and +would hunt down their nearest relative. + +Major Worth got tired of the monotony of a bachelor's life at Camp +Apache and decided to give a dance in his quarters, and invite the +chiefs. I think the other officers did not wholly approve of it, +although they felt friendly enough towards them, as long as they were +not causing disturbances. But to meet the savage Apache on a basis of +social equality, in an officer's quarters, and to dance in a quadrille +with him! Well, the limit of all things had been reached! + +However, Major Worth, who was actually suffering from the ennui of +frontier life in winter, and in time of peace, determined to carry out +his project, so he had his quarters, which were quite spacious, cleared +and decorated with evergreen boughs. From his company, he secured some +men who could play the banjo and guitar, and all the officers and their +wives, and the chiefs with their harems, came to this novel fete. A +quadrille was formed, in which the chiefs danced opposite the officers. +The squaws sat around, as they were too shy to dance. These chiefs were +painted, and wore only their necklaces and the customary loin-cloth, +throwing their blankets about their shoulders when they had finished +dancing. I noticed again Chief Diablo's great good looks. + +Conversation was carried on principally by signs and nods, and through +the interpreter (a white man named Cooley). Besides, the officers had +picked up many short phrases of the harsh and gutteral Apache tongue. + +Diablo was charmed with the young, handsome wife of one of the officers, +and asked her husband how many ponies he would take for her, and Pedro +asked Major Worth, if all those white squaws belonged to him. + +The party passed off pleasantly enough, and was not especially +subversive to discipline, although I believe it was not repeated. + +Afterwards, long afterwards, when we were stationed at David's Island, +New York Harbor, and Major Worth was no longer a bachelor, but a +dignified married man and had gained his star in the Spanish War, +we used to meet occasionally down by the barge office or taking a +Fenster-promenade on Broadway, and we would always stand awhile and chat +over the old days at Camp Apache in '74. Never mind how pressing our +mutual engagements were, we could never forego the pleasure of talking +over those wild days and contrasting them with our then present +surroundings. "Shall you ever forget my party?" he said, the last time +we met. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. A NEW RECRUIT + +In January our little boy arrived, to share our fate and to gladden our +hearts. As he was the first child born to an officer's family in Camp +Apache, there was the greatest excitement. All the sheep-ranchers and +cattlemen for miles around came into the post. The beneficent canteen, +with its soldiers' and officers' clubrooms did not exist then. So they +all gathered at the sutler's store, to celebrate events with a round of +drinks. They wanted to shake hands with and congratulate the new father, +after their fashion, upon the advent of the blond-haired baby. Their +great hearts went out to him, and they vied with each other in doing the +handsome thing by him, in a manner according to their lights, and their +ideas of wishing well to a man; a manner, sometimes, alas! disastrous in +its results to the man! However, by this time, I was getting used to all +sides of frontier life. + +I had no time to be lonely now, for I had no nurse, and the only person +who was able to render me service was a laundress of the Fifth Cavalry, +who came for about two hours each day, to give the baby his bath and +to arrange things about the bed. I begged her to stay with me, but, of +course, I knew it was impossible. + +So here I was, inexperienced and helpless, alone in bed, with an infant +a few days old. Dr. Loring, our excellent Post Surgeon, was both kind +and skillful, but he was in poor health and expecting each day to +be ordered to another station. My husband was obliged to be at the +Commissary Office all day, issuing rations to troops and scouts, and +attending to the duties of his position. + +But, realizing in a measure the utter helplessness of my situation, he +sent a soldier up to lead a wire cord through the thick wall at the head +of my bed and out through the small yard into the kitchen. To this they +attached a big cow-bell, so, by making some considerable effort to reach +up and pull this wire, I could summon Bowen, that is, if Bowen happened +to be there. But Bowen seemed always to be out at drill or over at the +company quarters, and frequently my bell brought no response. When he +did come, however, he was just as kind and just as awkward as it was +possible for a great big six-foot farmer-soldier to be. + +But I grew weaker and weaker with trying to be strong, and one day +when Jack came in and found both the baby and myself crying, he said, +man-like, "What's the matter?" I said, "I must have some one to take +care of me, or we shall both die." + +He seemed to realize that the situation was desperate, and mounted men +were sent out immediately in all directions to find a woman. + +At last, a Mexican girl was found in a wood-chopper's camp, and was +brought to me. She was quite young and very ignorant and stupid, and +spoke nothing but a sort of Mexican "lingo," and did not understand a +word of English. But I felt that my life was saved; and Bowen fixed up +a place on the couch for her to sleep, and Jack went over to the +unoccupied room on the other side of the cabin and took possession of +the absent doctor's bed. + +I begged Jack to hunt up a Spanish dictionary, and fortunately one +was found at the sutler's store, which, doubtless the sutler or his +predecessor had brought into the country years before. + +The girl did not know anything. I do not think she had ever been inside +a casa before. She had washed herself in mountain streams, and did not +know what basins and sponges were for. So it was of no use to point to +the objects I wanted. + +I propped myself up in bed and studied the dictionary, and, having some +idea of the pronunciation of Latin languages, I essayed to call for warm +water and various other necessary articles needed around a sick bed. +Sometimes I succeeded in getting an idea through her impervious brain, +but more often she would stand dazed and immovable and I would let the +dictionary drop from my tired hands and fall back upon the pillow in a +sweat of exhaustion. Then Bowen would be called in, and with the help of +some perfunctory language and gestures on his part, this silent creature +of the mountains would seem to wake up and try to understand. + +And so I worried through those dreadful days--and the nights! Ah! we had +better not describe them. The poor wild thing slept the sleep of death +and could not hear my loudest calls nor desperate shouts. + +So Jack attached a cord to her pillow, and I would tug and tug at that +and pull the pillow from under her head. It was of no avail. She slept +peacefully on, and it seemed to me, as I lay there staring at her, that +not even Gabriel's trump would ever arouse her. + +In desperation I would creep out of bed and wait upon myself and then +confess to Jack and the Doctor next day. + +Well, we had to let the creature go, for she was of no use, and the +Spanish dictionary was laid aside. + +I struggled along, fighting against odds; how I ever got well at all is +a wonder, when I think of all the sanitary precautions taken now-a-days +with young mothers and babies. The Doctor was ordered away and another +one came. I had no advice or help from any one. Calomel or quinine are +the only medicines I remember taking myself or giving to my child. + +But to go back a little. The seventh day after the birth of the baby, a +delegation of several squaws, wives of chiefs, came to pay me a formal +visit. They brought me some finely woven baskets, and a beautiful +pappoose-basket or cradle, such as they carry their own babies in. This +was made of the lightest wood, and covered with the finest skin of +fawn, tanned with birch bark by their own hands, and embroidered in blue +beads; it was their best work. I admired it, and tried to express to +them my thanks. These squaws took my baby (he was lying beside me on the +bed), then, cooing and chuckling, they looked about the room, until they +found a small pillow, which they laid into the basket-cradle, then put +my baby in, drew the flaps together, and laced him into it; then stood +it up, and laid it down, and laughed again in their gentle manner, and +finally soothed him to sleep. I was quite touched by the friendliness of +it all. They laid the cradle on the table and departed. Jack went out +to bring Major Worth in, to see the pretty sight, and as the two entered +the room, Jack pointed to the pappoose-basket. + +Major Worth tip-toed forward, and gazed into the cradle; he did not +speak for some time; then, in his inimitable way, and half under his +breath, he said, slowly, "Well, I'll be d--d!" This was all, but when he +turned towards the bedside, and came and shook my hand, his eyes shone +with a gentle and tender look. + +And so was the new recruit introduced to the Captain of Company K. + +And now there must be a bath-tub for the baby. The sutler rummaged his +entire place, to find something that might do. At last, he sent me a +freshly scoured tub, that looked as if it might, at no very remote date, +have contained salt mackerel marked "A One." So then, every morning at +nine o'clock, our little half-window was black with the heads of the +curious squaws and bucks, trying to get a glimpse of the fair baby's +bath. A wonderful performance, it appeared to them. + +Once a week this room, which was now a nursery combined with bedroom and +living-room, was overhauled by the stalwart Bowen. The baby was put to +sleep and laced securely into the pappoose-basket. He was then carried +into the kitchen, laid on the dresser, and I sat by with a book or +needle-work watching him, until Bowen had finished the room. On one of +these occasions, I noticed a ledger lying upon one of the shelves. I +looked into it, and imagine my astonishment, when I read: "Aunt Hepsey's +Muffins," "Sarah's Indian Pudding," and on another page, "Hasty's Lemon +Tarts," "Aunt Susan's Method of Cooking a Leg of Mutton," and "Josie +Well's Pressed Calf Liver." Here were my own, my very own family +recipes, copied into Bowen's ledger, in large illiterate characters; +and on the fly-leaf, "Charles Bowen's Receipt Book." I burst into a good +hearty laugh, almost the first one I had enjoyed since I arrived at Camp +Apache. + +The long-expected promotion to a first lieutenancy came at about +this time. Jack was assigned to a company which was stationed at Camp +MacDowell, but his departure for the new post was delayed until the +spring should be more advanced and I should be able to undertake the +long, rough trip with our young child. + +The second week in April, my baby just nine weeks old, we began to pack +up. I had gained a little in experience, to be sure, but I had lost my +health and strength. I knew nothing of the care of a young infant, and +depended entirely upon the advice of the Post Surgeon, who happened at +that time to be a young man, much better versed in the sawing off of +soldiers' legs than in the treatment of young mothers and babies. + +The packing up was done under difficulties, and with much help from our +faithful Bowen. It was arranged for Mrs. Bailey, who was to spend the +summer with her parents at Fort Whipple, to make the trip at the same +time, as our road to Camp MacDowell took us through Fort Whipple. There +were provided two ambulances with six mules each, two baggage-wagons, an +escort of six calvarymen fully armed, and a guide. Lieutenant Bailey was +to accompany his wife on the trip. + +I was genuinely sorry to part with Major Worth, but in the excitement +and fatigue of breaking up our home, I had little time to think of my +feelings. My young child absorbed all my time. Alas! for the ignorance +of young women, thrust by circumstances into such a situation! I had +miscalculated my strength, for I had never known illness in my life, +and there was no one to tell me any better. I reckoned upon my superbly +healthy nature to bring me through. In fact, I did not think much about +it; I simply got ready and went, as soldiers do. + +I heard them say that we were not to cross the Mogollon range, but were +to go to the north of it, ford the Colorado Chiquito at Sunset Crossing, +and so on to Camp Verde and Whipple Barracks by the Stoneman's Lake +road. It sounded poetic and pretty. Colorado Chiquito, Sunset Crossing, +and Stoneman's Lake road! I thought to myself, they were prettier than +any of the names I had heard in Arizona. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. A MEMORABLE JOURNEY + +How broken plunged the steep descent! How barren! Desolate and rent By +earthquake shock, the land lay dead, Like some proud king in old-time +slain. An ugly skeleton, it gleamed In burning sands. The fiery rain +Of fierce volcanoes here had sown Its ashes. Burnt and black and seamed +With thunder-strokes and strewn With cinders. Yea, so overthrown, That +wilder men than we had said, On seeing this, with gathered breath, "We +come on the confines of death!"--JOAQUIN MILLER. + + +Six good cavalrymen galloped along by our side, on the morning of April +24th, 1875, as with two ambulances, two army wagons, and a Mexican +guide, we drove out of Camp Apache at a brisk trot. + +The drivers were all armed, and spare rifles hung inside the ambulances. +I wore a small derringer, with a narrow belt filled with cartridges. An +incongruous sight, methinks now, it must have been. A young mother, pale +and thin, a child of scarce three months in her arms, and a pistol belt +around her waist! + +I scarcely looked back at Camp Apache. We had a long day's march before +us, and we looked ahead. Towards night we made camp at Cooley's ranch, +and slept inside, on the floor. Cooley was interpreter and scout, and +although he was a white man, he had married a young Indian girl, the +daughter of one of the chiefs and was known as a squaw man. There +seemed to be two Indian girls at his ranch; they were both tidy and +good-looking, and they prepared us a most appetizing supper. + +The ranch had spaces for windows, covered with thin unbleached muslin +(or manta, as it is always called out there), glass windows being then +too great a luxury in that remote place. There were some partitions +inside the ranch, but no doors; and, of course, no floors except adobe. +Several half-breed children, nearly naked, stood and gazed at us as +we prepared for rest. This was interesting and picturesque from many +standpoints perhaps, but it did not tend to make me sleepy. I lay gazing +into the fire which was smouldering in the corner, and finally I said, +in a whisper, "Jack, which girl do you think is Cooley's wife?" + +"I don't know," answered this cross and tired man; and then added, "both +of 'em, I guess." + +Now this was too awful, but I knew he did not intend for me to ask any +more questions. I had a difficult time, in those days, reconciling what +I saw with what I had been taught was right, and I had to sort over my +ideas and deep-rooted prejudices a good many times. + +The two pretty squaws prepared a nice breakfast for us, and we set out, +quite refreshed, to travel over the malapais (as the great lava-beds in +that part of the country are called). There was no trace of a road. A +few hours of this grinding and crunching over crushed lava wearied us +all, and the animals found it hard pulling, although the country was +level. + +We crossed Silver Creek without difficulty, and arrived at Stinson's +ranch, after traveling twenty-five miles, mostly malapais. Do not for a +moment think of these ranches as farms. Some of them were deserted sheep +ranches, and had only adobe walls standing in ruins. But the camp must +have a name, and on the old maps of Arizona these names are still to be +found. Of course, on the new railroad maps, they are absent. They were +generally near a spring or a creek, consequently were chosen as camps. + +Mrs. Bailey had her year-old boy, Howard, with her. We began to +experience the utmost inconvenience from the lack of warm water and +other things so necessary to the health and comfort of children. But we +tried to make light of it all, and the two Lieutenants tried, in a man's +way, to help us out. We declared we must have some clean towels for the +next day, so we tried to rinse out, in the cold, hard water of the well, +those which we had with us, and, as it was now nightfall and there was +no fire inside this apparently deserted ranch, the two Lieutenants stood +and held the wet towels before the camp-fire until they were dry. + +Mrs. Bailey and I, too tired to move, sat and watched them and had each +our own thoughts. She was an army girl and perhaps had seen such things +before, but it was a situation that did not seem quite in keeping with +my ideas of the fitness of things in general, and with the uniform in +particular. The uniform, associated in my mind with brilliant functions, +guard-mount, parades and full-dress weddings--the uniform, in fact, +that I adored. As I sat, gazing at them, they both turned around, +and, realizing how almost ludicrous they looked, they began to laugh. +Whereupon we all four laughed and Jack said: "Nice work for United +States officers! hey, Bailey?" + +"It might be worse," sighed the handsome, blond-haired Bailey. + +Thirty miles the next day, over a good road, brought us to Walker's +ranch, on the site of old Camp Supply. This ranch was habitable in a +way, and the owner said we might use the bedrooms; but the wild-cats +about the place were so numerous and so troublesome in the night, that +we could not sleep. I have mentioned the absence of windows in these +ranches; we were now to experience the great inconvenience resulting +therefrom, for the low open spaces furnished great opportunity for the +cats. In at one opening, and out at another they flew, first across the +Bailey's bed, then over ours. The dogs caught the spirit of the chase, +and added their noise to that of the cats. Both babies began to cry, and +then up got Bailey and threw his heavy campaign boots at the cats, with +some fitting remarks. A momentary silence reigned, and we tried again +to sleep. Back came the cats, and then came Jack's turn with boots and +travelling satchels. It was all of no avail, and we resigned ourselves. +Cruelly tired, here we were, we two women, compelled to sit on hard +boxes or the edge of a bed, to quiet our poor babies, all through that +night, at that old sheep-ranch. Like the wretched emigrant, differing +only from her inasmuch as she, never having known comfort perhaps, +cannot realize her misery. + +The two Lieutenants slipped on their blouses, and sat looking helplessly +at us, waging war on the cats at intervals. And so the dawn found us, +our nerves at a tension, and our strength gone--a poor preparation for +the trying day which was to follow. + +We were able to buy a couple of sheep there, to take with us for +supplies, and some antelope meat. We could not indulge, in foolish +scruples, but I tried not to look when they tied the live sheep and +threw them into one of the wagons. + +Quite early in the day, we met a man who said he had been fired upon by +some Indians at Sanford's Pass. We thought perhaps he had been scared by +some stray shot, and we did not pay much attention to his story. + +Soon after, however, we passed a sort of old adobe ruin, out of which +crept two bare-headed Mexicans, so badly frightened that their dark +faces were pallid; their hair seemed standing on end, and they looked +stark mad with fear. They talked wildly to the guide, and gesticulated, +pointing in the direction of the Pass. They had been fired at, and their +ponies taken by some roving Apaches. They had been in hiding for over +a day, and were hungry and miserable. We gave them food and drink. They +implored us, by the Holy Virgin, not to go through the Pass. + +What was to be done? The officers took counsel; the men looked to their +arms. It was decided to go through. Jack examined his revolver, and saw +that my pistol was loaded. I was instructed minutely what to do, in case +we were attacked. + +For miles we strained our eyes, looking in the direction whence these +men had come. + +At last, in mid-afternoon, we approached the Pass, a narrow defile +winding down between high hills from this table-land to the plain below. +To say that we feared an ambush, would not perhaps convey a very clear +idea of how I felt on entering the Pass. + +There was not a word spoken. I obeyed orders, and lay down in the bottom +of the ambulance; I took my derringer out of the holster and cocked it. +I looked at my little boy lying helpless there beside me, and at his +delicate temples, lined with thin blue veins, and wondered if I could +follow out the instructions I had received: for Jack had said, after the +decision was made, to go through the Pass, "Now, Mattie, I don't think +for a minute that there are any Injuns in that Pass, and you must not be +afraid. We have got to go through it any way; but"--he hesitated,--"we +may be mistaken; there may be a few of them in there, and they'll have a +mighty good chance to get in a shot or two. And now listen: if I'm hit, +you'll know what to do. You have your derringer; and when you see that +there is no help for it, if they get away with the whole outfit, why, +there's only one thing to be done. Don't let them get the baby, for they +will carry you both off and--well, you know the squaws are much more +cruel than the bucks. Don't let them get either of you alive. Now"--to +the driver--"go on." + +Jack was a man of few words, and seldom spoke much in times like that. + +So I lay very quiet in the bottom of the ambulance. I realized that we +were in great danger. My thoughts flew back to the East, and I saw, as +in a flash, my father and mother, sisters and brother; I think I tried +to say a short prayer for them, and that they might never know the +worst. I fixed my eyes upon my husband's face. There he sat, rifle in +hand, his features motionless, his eyes keenly watching out from one +side of the ambulance, while a stalwart cavalry-man, carbine in hand, +watched the other side of the narrow defile. The minutes seemed like +hours. + +The driver kept his animals steady, and we rattled along. + +At last, as I perceived the steep slope of the road, I looked out, and +saw that the Pass was widening out, and we must be nearing the end of +it. "Keep still," said Jack, without moving a feature. My heart seemed +then to stop beating, and I dared not move again, until I heard him say, +"Thank God, we're out of it! Get up, Mattie! See the river yonder? We'll +cross that to-night, and then we'll be out of their God d----d country!" + +This was Jack's way of working off his excitement, and I did not mind +it. I knew he was not afraid of Apaches for himself, but for his wife +and child. And if I had been a man, I should have said just as much and +perhaps more. + +We were now down in a flat country, and low alkali plains lay between us +and the river. My nerves gradually recovered from the tension in which +they had been held; the driver stopped his team for a moment, the other +ambulance drove up alongside of us, and Ella Bailey and I looked at each +other; we did not talk any, but I believe we cried just a little. Then +Mr. Bailey and Jack (thinking we were giving way, I suppose) pulled out +their big flasks, and we had to take a cup of good whiskey, weakened up +with a little water from our canteens, which had been filled at Walker's +ranch in the morning. Great Heavens! I thought, was it this morning +that we left Walker's ranch, or was it a year ago? So much had I lived +through in a few hours. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. FORDING THE LITTLE COLORADO + +At a bend in the road the Mexican guide galloped up near the ambulance, +and pointing off to the westward with a graceful gesture, said: +"Colorado Chiquito! Colorado Chiquito!" And, sure enough, there in the +afternoon sun lay the narrow winding river, its surface as smooth as +glass, and its banks as if covered with snow. + +We drove straight for the ford, known as Sunset Crossing. The guide was +sure he knew the place. But the river was high, and I could not see how +anybody could cross it without a boat. The Mexican rode his pony in +once or twice; shook his head, and said in Spanish, "there was much +quicksand. The old ford had changed much since he saw it." He galloped +excitedly to and fro, along the bank of the river, always returning to +the same place, and declaring "it was the ford; there was no other; he +knew it well." + +But the wagons not having yet arrived, it was decided not to attempt +crossing until morning, when we could get a fresh start. + +The sun was gradually sinking in the west, but the heat down in that +alkali river-bottom even at that early season of the year was most +uncomfortable. I was worn out with fright and fatigue; my poor child +cried piteously and incessantly. Nothing was of any avail to soothe him. +After the tents were pitched and the camp-fires made, some warm water +was brought, and I tried to wash away some of the dust from him, but the +alkali water only irritated his delicate skin, and his head, where it +had lain on my arm, was inflamed by the constant rubbing. It began +to break out in ugly blisters; I was in despair. We were about as +wretchedly off as two human beings could be, and live, it seemed to me. +The disappointment at not getting across the river, combined with +the fear that the Indians were still in the neighborhood, added to my +nervousness and produced an exhaustion which, under other circumstances, +would have meant collapse. + +The mournful and demoniacal cries of the coyotes filled the night; they +seemed to come close to the tent, and their number seemed to be legion. +I lay with eyes wide open, watching for the day to come, and resolving +each minute that if I ever escaped alive from that lonely river-bottom +with its burning alkali, and its millions of howling coyotes, I would +never, never risk being placed in such a situation again. + +At dawn everybody got up and dressed. I looked in my small hand-mirror, +and it seemed to me my hair had turned a greyish color, and while it +was not exactly white, the warm chestnut tinge never came back into it, +after that day and night of terror. My eyes looked back at me large and +hollow from the small glass, and I was in that state when it is easy to +imagine the look of Death in one's own face. I think sometimes it comes, +after we have thought ourselves near the borders. And I surely had been +close to them the day before. + + +***** + + +If perchance any of my readers have followed this narrative so far, and +there be among them possibly any men, young or old, I would say to such +ones: "Desist!" For what I am going to tell about in this chapter, and +possibly another, concerns nobody but women, and my story will now, for +awhile, not concern itself with the Eighth Foot, nor the army, nor the +War Department, nor the Interior Department, nor the strategic value of +Sunset Crossing, which may now be a railroad station, for all I know. It +is simply a story of my journey from the far bank of the Little Colorado +to Fort Whipple, and then on, by a change of orders, over mountains +and valleys, cactus plains and desert lands, to the banks of the Great +Colorado. + +My attitude towards the places I travelled through was naturally +influenced by the fact that I had a young baby in my arms the entire +way, and that I was not able to endure hardship at that time. For +usually, be it remembered, at that period of a child's life, both mother +and infant are not out of the hands of the doctor and trained nurse, to +say nothing of the assistance so gladly rendered by those near and dear. + +The morning of the 28th of April dawned shortly after midnight, as +mornings in Arizona generally do at that season, and after a hasty +camp breakfast, and a good deal of reconnoitering on the part of the +officers, who did not seem to be exactly satisfied about the Mexican's +knowledge of the ford, they told him to push his pony in, and cross if +he could. + +He managed to pick his way across and back, after a good deal of +floundering, and we decided to try the ford. First they hitched up ten +mules to one of the heavily loaded baggage-wagons, the teamster cracked +his whip, and in they went. But the quicksand frightened the leaders, +and they lost their courage. Now when a mule loses courage, in the +water, he puts his head down and is done for. The leaders disappeared +entirely, then the next two and finally the whole ten of them were gone, +irrevocably, as I thought. But like a flash, the officers shouted: "Cut +away those mules! Jump in there!" and amid other expletives the men +plunged in, and feeling around under the water cut the poor animals +loose and they began to crawl out on the other bank. I drew a long +breath, for I thought the ten mules were drowned. + +The guide picked his way over again to the other side and caught them +up, and then I began to wonder how on earth we should ever get across. + +There lay the heavy army wagon, deep mired in the middle of the stream, +and what did I see? Our army chests, floating away down the river. I +cried out: "Oh! do save our chests!" "They're all right, we'll get them +presently," said Jack. It seemed a long time to me, before the soldiers +could get them to the bank, which they did, with the aid of stout ropes. +All our worldly goods were in those chests, and I knew they were soaked +wet and probably ruined; but, after all, what did it matter, in the face +of the serious problem which confronted us? + +In the meantime, some of the men had floated the other boxes and trunks +out of the wagon back to the shore, and were busy taking the huge +vehicle apart. Any one who knows the size of an army wagon will realize +that this was hard work, especially as the wagon was mired, and nearly +submerged. But the men worked desperately, and at last succeeded in +getting every part of it back onto the dry land. + +Somebody stirred up the camp-fire and put the kettle on, and Mrs. Bailey +and I mixed up a smoking strong hot toddy for those brave fellows, who +were by this time well exhausted. Then they set to work to make a boat, +by drawing a large canvas under the body of the wagon, and fastening +it securely. For this Lieutenant of mine had been a sailor-man and knew +well how to meet emergencies. + +One or two of the soldiers had now forded the stream on horseback, and +taken over a heavy rope, which was made fast to our improvised boat. +I was acquainted with all kinds of boats, from a catamaran to a +full-rigged ship, but never a craft like this had I seen. Over the +sides we clambered, however, and were ferried across the treacherous +and glassy waters of the Little Colorado. All the baggage and the two +ambulances were ferried over, and the other wagon was unloaded and drawn +over by means of ropes. + +This proceeding took all day, and of course we could get no farther, and +were again obliged to camp in that most uncomfortable river-bottom. But +we felt safer on that side. I looked at the smooth surface of the river, +and its alkali shores, and the picture became indelibly impressed upon +my memory. The unpleasant reality destroyed any poetic associations +which might otherwise have clung to the name of Sunset Crossing in my +ever vivid imagination. + +After the tents were pitched, and the camp snugged up, Mr. Bailey +produced some champagne and we wished each other joy, that we had made +the dangerous crossing and escaped the perils of Sanford's Pass. I am +afraid the champagne was not as cold as might have been desired, but the +bottle had been wrapped in a wet blanket, and cooled a little in that +way, and we drank it with zest, from a mess-cup. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. STONEMAN'S LAKE + +The road began now to ascend, and after twenty miles' travelling we +reached a place called Updyke's Tanks. It was a nice place, with plenty +of wood and grass. The next day we camped at Jay Coxe's Tanks. It was +a hard day's march, and I was tired out when we arrived there. The +ambulance was simply jerked over those miles of fearful rocks; one could +not say driven or dragged over, for we were pitched from rock to rock +the entire distance. + +Stoneman's Lake Road was famous, as I afterwards heard. Perhaps it was +just as well for me that I did not know about it in advance. + +The sure-footed mules picked their way over these sharp-edged rocks. +There was not a moment's respite. We asked a soldier to help with +holding the baby, for my arms gave out entirely, and were as if +paralyzed. The jolting threw us all by turns against the sides of +the ambulance (which was not padded), and we all got some rather bad +bruises. We finally bethought ourselves of the pappoose basket, which we +had brought along in the ambulance, having at the last moment no other +place to put it. So a halt was called, we placed the tired baby in this +semi-cradle, laced the sides snugly over him, and were thus enabled to +carry him over those dreadful roads without danger. + +He did not cry much, but the dust made him thirsty. I could not give him +nourishment without stopping the entire train of wagons, on account +of the constant pitching of the ambulance; delay was not advisable or +expedient, so my poor little son had to endure with the rest of us. The +big Alsatian cavalryman held the cradle easily in his strong arms, and +so the long miles were travelled, one by one. + +At noon of this day we made a refreshing halt, built a fire and took +some luncheon. We found a shady, grassy spot, upon which the blankets +were spread, and we stretched ourselves out upon them and rested. But +we were still some miles from water, so after a short respite we were +compelled to push on. We had been getting steadily higher since leaving +Sunset Crossing, and now it began to be cold and looked like snow. Mrs. +Bailey and I found it very trying to meet these changes of temperature. +A good place for the camp was found at Coxe's Tanks, trenches were dug +around the tents, and the earth banked up to keep us warm. The cool air, +our great fatigue, and the comparative absence of danger combined to +give us a heavenly night's rest. + +Towards sunset of the next day, which was May Day, our cavalcade reached +Stoneman's Lake. We had had another rough march, and had reached the +limit of endurance, or thought we had, when we emerged from a mountain +pass and drew rein upon the high green mesa overlooking Stoneman's Lake, +a beautiful blue sheet of water lying there away below us. It was good +to our tired eyes, which had gazed upon nothing but burnt rocks +and alkali plains for so many days. Our camp was beautiful beyond +description, and lay near the edge of the mesa, whence we could look +down upon the lovely lake. It was a complete surprise to us, as points +of scenery were not much known or talked about then in Arizona. Ponds +and lakes were unheard of. They did not seem to exist in that drear land +of arid wastes. We never heard of water except that of the Colorado +or the Gila or the tanks and basins, and irrigation ditches of the +settlers. But here was a real Italian lake, a lake as blue as the skies +above us. We feasted our eyes and our very souls upon it. + +Bailey and the guide shot some wild turkeys, and as we had already +eaten all the mutton we had along, the ragout of turkey made by the +soldier-cook for our supper tasted better to us tired and hungry +travellers, perhaps, than a canvasback at Delmonico's tastes to the +weary lounger or the over-worked financier. + +In the course of the day, we had passed a sort of sign-board, with the +rudely written inscription, "Camp Starvation," and we had heard from +Mr. Bailey the story of the tragic misfortunes at this very place of +the well-known Hitchcock family of Arizona. The road was lined with dry +bones, and skulls of oxen, white and bleached in the sun, lying on the +bare rocks. Indeed, at every stage of the road we had seen evidences +of hard travel, exhausted cattle, anxious teamsters, hunger and thirst, +despair, starvation, and death. + +However, Stoneman's Lake remains a joy in the memory, and far and away +the most beautiful spot I ever saw in Arizona. But unless the approaches +to it are made easier, tourists will never gaze upon it. + +In the distance we saw the "divide," over which we must pass in order +to reach Camp Verde, which was to be our first stopping place, and we +looked joyfully towards the next day's march, which we expected would +bring us there. + +We thought the worst was over and, before retiring to our tents for the +night, we walked over to the edge of the high mesa and, in the gathering +shadows of twilight, looked down into the depths of that beautiful lake, +knowing that probably we should never see it again. + +And indeed, in all the years I spent in Arizona afterward, I never even +heard of the lake again. + +I wonder now, did it really exist or was it an illusion, a dream, or the +mirage which appears to the desert traveller, to satisfy him and lure +him on, to quiet his imagination, and to save his senses from utter +extinction? + +In the morning the camp was all astir for an early move. We had no +time to look back: we were starting for a long day's march, across the +"divide," and into Camp Verde. + +But we soon found that the road (if road it could be called) was worse +than any we had encountered. The ambulance was pitched and jerked from +rock to rock and we were thumped against the iron framework in a most +dangerous manner. So we got out and picked our way over the great sharp +boulders. + +The Alsatian soldier carried the baby, who lay securely in the pappoose +cradle. + +One of the cavalry escort suggested my taking his horse, but I did +not feel strong enough to think of mounting a horse, so great was my +discouragement and so exhausted was my vitality. Oh! if girls only knew +about these things I thought! For just a little knowledge of the care +of an infant and its needs, its nourishment and its habits, might have +saved both mother and child from such utter collapse. + +Little by little we gave up hope of reaching Verde that day. At four +o'clock we crossed the "divide," and clattered down a road so near the +edge of a precipice that I was frightened beyond everything: my senses +nearly left me. Down and around, this way and that, near the edge, then +back again, swaying, swerving, pitching, the gravel clattering over the +precipice, the six mules trotting their fastest, we reached the +bottom and the driver pulled up his team. "Beaver Springs!" said he, +impressively, loosening up the brakes. + +As Jack lifted me out of the ambulance, I said: "Why didn't you tell +me?" pointing back to the steep road. "Oh," said he, "I thought it was +better for you not to know; people get scared about such things, when +they know about them before hand." + +"But," I remarked, "such a break-neck pace!" Then, to the driver, +"Smith, how could you drive down that place at such a rate and frighten +me so?" + +"Had to, ma'am, or we'd a'gone over the edge." + +I had been brought up in a flat country down near the sea, and I did not +know the dangers of mountain travelling, nor the difficulties attending +the piloting of a six-mule team down a road like that. From this time +on, however, Smith rose in my estimation. I seemed also to be realizing +that the Southwest was a great country and that there was much to learn +about. Life out there was beginning to interest me. + +Camp Verde lay sixteen miles farther on; no one knew if the road were +good or bad. I declared I could not travel another mile, even if +they all went on and left me to the wolves and the darkness of Beaver +Springs. + +We looked to our provisions and took account of stock. There was not +enough for the two families. We had no flour and no bread; there was +only a small piece of bacon, six potatoes, some condensed milk, and some +chocolate. The Baileys decided to go on; for Mrs. Bailey was to meet her +sister at Verde and her parents at Whipple. We said good-bye, and their +ambulance rolled away. Our tent was pitched and the baby was laid on the +bed, asleep from pure exhaustion. + +The dread darkness of night descended upon us, and the strange odors of +the bottom-lands arose, mingling with the delicious smoky smell of the +camp-fire. + +By the light of the blazing mesquite wood, we now divided what +provisions we had, into two portions: one for supper, and one for +breakfast. A very light meal we had that evening, and I arose from the +mess-table unsatisfied and hungry. + +Jack and I sat down by the camp-fire, musing over the hard times we were +having, when suddenly I heard a terrified cry from my little son. We +rushed to the tent, lighted a candle, and oh! horror upon horrors! +his head and face were covered with large black ants; he was wailing +helplessly, and beating the air with his tiny arms. + +"My God!" cried Jack, "we're camped over an ant-hill!" + +I seized the child, and brushing off the ants as I fled, brought him out +to the fire, where by its light I succeeded in getting rid of them all. +But the horror of it! Can any mother brought up in God's country with +kind nurses and loved ones to minister to her child, for a moment +imagine how I felt when I saw those hideous, three-bodied, long-legged +black ants crawling over my baby's face? After a lapse of years, I +cannot recall that moment without a shudder. + +The soldiers at last found a place which seemed to be free from +ant-hills, and our tent was again pitched, but only to find that the +venomous things swarmed over us as soon as we lay down to rest. + +And so, after the fashion of the Missouri emigrant, we climbed into the +ambulance and lay down upon our blankets in the bottom of it, and tried +to believe we were comfortable. + +My long, hard journey of the preceding autumn, covering a period of +two months; my trying experiences during the winter at Camp Apache; the +sudden break-up and the packing; the lack of assistance from a nurse; +the terrors of the journey; the sympathy for my child, who suffered from +many ailments and principally from lack of nourishment, added to the +profound fatigue I felt, had reduced my strength to a minimum. I wonder +that I lived, but something sustained me, and when we reached Camp Verde +the next day, and drew up before Lieutenant O'Connell's quarters, and +saw Mrs. O'Connell's kind face beaming to welcome us, I felt that here +was relief at last. + +The tall Alsatian handed the pappoose cradle to Mrs. O'Connell. + +"Gracious goodness! what is this?" cried the bewildered woman; "surely +it cannot be your baby! You haven't turned entirely Indian, have you, +amongst those wild Apaches?" + +I felt sorry I had not taken him out of the basket before we arrived. I +did not realize the impression it would make at Camp Verde. After +all, they did not know anything about our life at Apache, or our rough +travels to get back from there. Here were lace-curtained windows, +well-dressed women, smart uniforms, and, in fact, civilization, compared +with what we had left. + +The women of the post gathered around the broad piazza, to see the +wonder. But when they saw the poor little wan face, the blue eyes which +looked sadly out at them from this rude cradle, the linen bandages +covering the back of the head, they did not laugh any more, but took him +and ministered to him, as only kind women can minister to a sick baby. + +There was not much rest, however, for we had to sort and rearrange our +things, and dress ourselves properly. (Oh! the luxury of a room and a +tub, after that journey!) Jack put on his best uniform, and there was +no end of visiting, in spite of the heat, which was considerable even +at that early date in May. The day there would have been pleasant enough +but for my wretched condition. + +The next morning we set out for Fort Whipple, making a long day's march, +and arriving late in the evening. The wife of the Quartermaster, a total +stranger to me, received us, and before we had time to exchange the +usual social platitudes, she gave one look at the baby, and put an end +to any such attempts. "You have a sick child; give him to me;" then I +told her some things, and she said: "I wonder he is alive." Then she +took him under her charge and declared we should not leave her house +until he was well again. She understood all about nursing, and day +by day, under her good care, and Doctor Henry Lippincott's skilful +treatment, I saw my baby brought back to life again. Can I ever forget +Mrs. Aldrich's blessed kindness? + +Up to then, I had taken no interest in Camp MacDowell, where was +stationed the company into which my husband was promoted. I knew it +was somewhere in the southern part of the Territory, and isolated. The +present was enough. I was meeting my old Fort Russell friends, and under +Doctor Lippincott's good care I was getting back a measure of strength. +Camp MacDowell was not yet a reality to me. + +We met again Colonel Wilkins and Mrs. Wilkins and Carrie, and Mrs. +Wilkins thanked me for bringing her daughter alive out of those wilds. +Poor girl; 'twas but a few months when we heard of her death, at the +birth of her second child. I have always thought her death was caused by +the long hard journey from Apache to Whipple, for Nature never intended +women to go through what we went through, on that memorable journey by +Stoneman's Lake. + +There I met again Captain Porter, and I asked him if he had progressed +any in his courtship, and he, being very much embarrassed, said he did +not know, but if patient waiting was of any avail, he believed he might +win his bride. + +After we had been at Whipple a few days, Jack came in and remarked +casually to Lieutenant Aldrich, "Well, I heard Bernard has asked to be +relieved from Ehrenberg. + +"What!" I said, "the lonely man down there on the river--the prisoner +of Chillon--the silent one? Well, they are going to relieve him, of +course?" + +"Why, yes," said Jack, falteringly, "if they can get anyone to take his +place." + +"Can't they order some one?" I inquired. + +"Of course they can," he replied, and then, turning towards the window, +he ventured: "The fact is Martha, I've been offered it, and am thinking +it over." (The real truth was, that he had applied for it, thinking it +possessed great advantages over Camp MacDowell. ) + +"What! do I hear aright? Have your senses left you? Are you crazy? +Are you going to take me to that awful place? Why, Jack, I should die +there!" + +"Now, Martha, be reasonable; listen to me, and if you really decide +against it, I'll throw up the detail. But don't you see, we shall be +right on the river, the boat comes up every fortnight or so, you can +jump aboard and go up to San Francisco." (Oh, how alluring that sounded +to my ears!) "Why, it's no trouble to get out of Arizona from Ehrenberg. +Then, too, I shall be independent, and can do just as I like, and when +I like," et caetera, et caetera. "Oh, you'll be making the greatest +mistake, if you decide against it. As for MacDowell, it's a hell of a +place, down there in the South; and you never will be able to go back +East with the baby, if we once get settled down there. Why, it's a good +fifteen days from the river." + +And so he piled up the arguments in favor of Ehrenberg, saying finally, +"You need not stop a day there. If the boat happens to be up, you can +jump right aboard and start at once down river." + +All the discomforts of the voyage on the "Newbern," and the memory of +those long days spent on the river steamer in August had paled before my +recent experiences. I flew, in imagination, to the deck of the "Gila," +and to good Captain Mellon, who would take me and my child out of that +wretched Territory. + +"Yes, yes, let us go then," I cried; for here came in my inexperience. I +thought I was choosing the lesser evil, and I knew that Jack believed it +to be so, and also that he had set his heart upon Ehrenberg, for reasons +known only to the understanding of a military man. + +So it was decided to take the Ehrenberg detail. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. THE COLORADO DESERT + +Some serpents slid from out the grass That grew in tufts by shattered +stone, Then hid below some broken mass Of ruins older than the East, +That Time had eaten, as a bone Is eaten by some savage beast. + +Great dull-eyed rattlesnakes--they lay All loathsome, yellow-skinned, +and slept Coiled tight as pine knots in the sun, With flat heads through +the centre run; Then struck out sharp, then rattling crept Flat-bellied +down the dusty way. + +--JOAQUIN MILLER. + + +At the end of a week, we started forth for Ehrenberg. Our escort was now +sent back to Camp Apache, and the Baileys remained at Fort Whipple, so +our outfit consisted of one ambulance and one army wagon. One or two +soldiers went along, to help with the teams and the camp. + +We travelled two days over a semi-civilized country, and found quite +comfortable ranches where we spent the nights. The greatest luxury was +fresh milk, and we enjoyed that at these ranches in Skull Valley. They +kept American cows, and supplied Whipple Barracks with milk and butter. +We drank, and drank, and drank again, and carried a jugful to our +bedside. The third day brought us to Cullen's ranch, at the edge of +the desert. Mrs. Cullen was a Mexican woman and had a little boy named +Daniel; she cooked us a delicious supper of stewed chicken, and fried +eggs, and good bread, and then she put our boy to bed in Daniel's crib. +I felt so grateful to her; and with a return of physical comfort, I +began to think that life, after all, might be worth the living. + +Hopefully and cheerfully the next morning we entered the vast Colorado +desert. This was verily the desert, more like the desert which our +imagination pictures, than the one we had crossed in September +from Mojave. It seemed so white, so bare, so endless, and so still; +irreclaimable, eternal, like Death itself. The stillness was appalling. +We saw great numbers of lizards darting about like lightning; they were +nearly as white as the sand itself, and sat up on their hind legs and +looked at us with their pretty, beady black eyes. It seemed very far off +from everywhere and everybody, this desert--but I knew there was a camp +somewhere awaiting us, and our mules trotted patiently on. Towards noon +they began to raise their heads and sniff the air; they knew that water +was near. They quickened their pace, and we soon drew up before a large +wooden structure. There were no trees nor grass around it. A Mexican +worked the machinery with the aid of a mule, and water was bought for +our twelve animals, at so much per head. The place was called Mesquite +Wells; the man dwelt alone in his desolation, with no living being +except his mule for company. How could he endure it! I was not able, +even faintly, to comprehend it; I had not lived long enough. He occupied +a small hut, and there he staid, year in and year out, selling water to +the passing traveller; and I fancy that travellers were not so frequent +at Mesquite Wells a quarter of a century ago. + +The thought of that hermit and his dreary surroundings filled my mind +for a long time after we drove away, and it was only when we halted and +a soldier got down to kill a great rattlesnake near the ambulance, that +my thoughts were diverted. The man brought the rattles to us and the new +toy served to amuse my little son. + +At night we arrived at Desert Station. There was a good ranch there, +kept by Hunt and Dudley, Englishmen, I believe. I did not see them, but +I wondered who they were and why they staid in such a place. They were +absent at the time; perhaps they had mines or something of the sort to +look after. One is always imagining things about people who live in such +extraordinary places. At all events, whatever Messrs. Hunt and Dudley +were doing down there, their ranch was clean and attractive, which was +more than could be said of the place where we stopped the next night, a +place called Tyson's Wells. We slept in our tent that night, for of +all places on the earth a poorly kept ranch in Arizona is the most +melancholy and uninviting. It reeks of everything unclean, morally and +physically. Owen Wister has described such a place in his delightful +story, where the young tenderfoot dances for the amusement of the old +habitues. + +One more day's travel across the desert brought us to our El Dorado. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. EHRENBERG ON THE COLORADO + +Under the burning mid-day sun of Arizona, on May 16th, our six good +mules, with the long whip cracking about their ears, and the ambulance +rattling merrily along, brought us into the village of Ehrenberg. There +was one street, so called, which ran along on the river bank, and then a +few cross streets straggling back into the desert, with here and there +a low adobe casa. The Government house stood not far from the river, and +as we drove up to the entrance the same blank white walls stared at me. +It did not look so much like a prison, after all, I thought. Captain +Bernard, the man whom I had pitied, stood at the doorway, to greet +us, and after we were inside the house he had some biscuits and wine +brought; and then the change of stations was talked of, and he said to +me, "Now, please make yourself at home. The house is yours; my things +are virtually packed up, and I leave in a day or two. There is a soldier +here who can stay with you; he has been able to attend to my simple +wants. I eat only twice a day; and here is Charley, my Indian, who +fetches the water from the river and does the chores. I dine generally +at sundown." + +A shadow fell across the sunlight in the doorway; I looked around and +there stood "Charley," who had come in with the noiseless step of the +moccasined foot. I saw before me a handsome naked Cocopah Indian, who +wore a belt and a gee-string. He seemed to feel at home and began to +help with the bags and various paraphernalia of ambulance travellers. +He looked to be about twenty-four years old. His face was smiling and +friendly and I knew I should like him. + +The house was a one-story adobe. It formed two sides of a hollow square; +the other two sides were a high wall, and the Government freight-house +respectively. The courtyard was partly shaded by a ramada and partly +open to the hot sun. There was a chicken-yard in one corner of the +inclosed square, and in the centre stood a rickety old pump, which +indicated some sort of a well. Not a green leaf or tree or blade of +grass in sight. Nothing but white sand, as far as one could see, in all +directions. + +Inside the house there were bare white walls, ceilings covered with +manta, and sagging, as they always do; small windows set in deep +embrasures, and adobe floors. Small and inconvenient rooms, opening +one into another around two sides of the square. A sort of low veranda +protected by lattice screens, made from a species of slim cactus, called +ocotilla, woven together, and bound with raw-hide, ran around a part of +the house. + +Our dinner was enlivened by some good Cocomonga wine. I tried to +ascertain something about the source of provisions, but evidently the +soldier had done the foraging, and Captain Bernard admitted that it was +difficult, adding always that he did not require much, "it was so warm," +et caetera, et caetera. The next morning I took the reins, nominally, +but told the soldier to go ahead and do just as he had always done. I +selected a small room for the baby's bath, the all important function of +the day. The Indian brought me a large tub (the same sort of a half of a +vinegar barrel we had used at Apache for ourselves), set it down in the +middle of the floor, and brought water from a barrel which stood in +the corral. A low box was placed for me to sit on. This was a bachelor +establishment, and there was no place but the floor to lay things on; +but what with the splashing and the leaking and the dripping, the floor +turned to mud and the white clothes and towels were covered with it, and +I myself was a sight to behold. The Indian stood smiling at my plight. +He spoke only a pigeon English, but said, "too much-ee wet." + +I was in despair; things began to look hopeless again to me. I thought +"surely these Mexicans must know how to manage with these floors." +Fisher, the steamboat agent, came in, and I asked him if he could not +find me a nurse. He said he would try, and went out to see what could be +done. + +He finally brought in a rather forlorn looking Mexican woman leading a +little child (whose father was not known), and she said she would come +to us for quinze pesos a month. I consulted with Fisher, and he said +she was a pretty good sort, and that we could not afford to be too +particular down in that country. And so she came; and although she was +indolent, and forever smoking cigarettes, she did care for the baby, and +fanned him when he slept, and proved a blessing to me. + +And now came the unpacking of our boxes, which had floated down the +Colorado Chiquito. The fine damask, brought from Germany for my linen +chest, was a mass of mildew; and when the books came to light, I could +have wept to see the pretty editions of Schiller, Goethe, and Lessing, +which I had bought in Hanover, fall out of their bindings; the latter, +warped out of all shape, and some of them unrecognizable. I did the best +I could, however, not to show too much concern, and gathered the pages +carefully together, to dry them in the sun. + +They were my pride, my best beloved possessions, the links that bound me +to the happy days in old Hanover. + +I went to Fisher for everything--a large, well-built American, and a +kind good man. Mrs. Fisher could not endure the life at Ehrenberg, so +she lived in San Francisco, he told me. There were several other white +men in the place, and two large stores where everything was kept that +people in such countries buy. These merchants made enormous profits, and +their families lived in luxury in San Francisco. + +The rest of the population consisted of a very poor class of Mexicans, +Cocopah, Yuma and Mojave Indians, and half-breeds. + +The duties of the army officer stationed here consisted principally in +receiving and shipping the enormous quantity of Government freight which +was landed by the river steamers. It was shipped by wagon trains across +the Territory, and at all times the work carried large responsibilities +with it. + +I soon realized that however much the present incumbent might like the +situation, it was no fit place for a woman. + +The station at Ehrenberg was what we call, in the army, "detached +service." I realized that we had left the army for the time being; that +we had cut loose from a garrison; that we were in a place where good +food could not be procured, and where there were practically no servants +to be had. That there was not a woman to speak to, or to go to for +advice or help, and, worst of all, that there was no doctor in the +place. Besides all this, my clothes were all ruined by lying wet for a +fortnight in the boxes, and I had practically nothing to wear. I did not +then know what useless things clothes were in Ehrenberg. + +The situation appeared rather serious; the weather had grown intensely +hot, and it was decided that the only thing for me to do was to go to +San Francisco for the summer. + +So one day we heard the whistle of the "Gila" going up; and when she +came down river, I was all ready to go on board, with Patrocina and +Jesusita, [*] and my own child, who was yet but five months old. I bade +farewell to the man on detached service, and we headed down river. We +seemed to go down very rapidly, although the trip lasted several days. +Patrocina took to her bed with neuralgia (or nostalgia); her little +devil of a child screamed the entire days and nights through, to the +utter discomfiture of the few other passengers. A young lieutenant and +his wife and an army surgeon, who had come from one of the posts in the +interior, were among the number, and they seemed to think that I could +help it (though they did not say so). + + * Diminutive of Jesus, a very common name amongst the + Mexicans. Pronounced Hay-soo-se-ta. + +Finally the doctor said that if I did not throw Jesusita overboard, +he would; why didn't I "wring the neck of its worthless Mexican of +a mother?" and so on, until I really grew very nervous and unhappy, +thinking what I should do after we got on board the ocean steamer. I, +a victim of seasickness, with this unlucky woman and her child on +my hands, in addition to my own! No; I made up my mind to go back to +Ehrenberg, but I said nothing. + +I did not dare to let Doctor Clark know of my decision, for I knew he +would try to dissuade me; but when we reached the mouth of the river, +and they began to transfer the passengers to the ocean steamer which +lay in the offing, I quietly sat down upon my trunk and told them I +was going back to Ehrenberg. Captain Mellon grinned; the others were +speechless; they tried persuasion, but saw it was useless; and then they +said good-bye to me, and our stern-wheeler headed about and started for +up river. + +Ehrenberg had become truly my old man of the sea; I could not get rid of +it. There I must go, and there I must stay, until circumstances and the +Fates were more propitious for my departure. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. SUMMER AT EHRENBERG + +The week we spent going up the Colorado in June was not as uncomfortable +as the time spent on the river in August of the previous year. +Everything is relative, I discovered, and I was happy in going back +to stay with the First Lieutenant of C Company, and share his fortunes +awhile longer. + +Patrocina recovered, as soon as she found we were to return to +Ehrenberg. I wondered how anybody could be so homesick for such a +God-forsaken place. I asked her if she had ever seen a tree, or green +grass (for I could talk with her quite easily now). She shook her +mournful head. "But don't you want to see trees and grass and flowers?" + +Another sad shake of the head was the only reply. + +Such people, such natures, and such lives, were incomprehensible to me +then. I could not look at things except from my own standpoint. + +She took her child upon her knee, and lighted a cigarette; I took mine +upon my knee, and gazed at the river banks: they were now old friends: I +had gazed at them many times before; how much I had experienced, and how +much had happened since I first saw them! Could it be that I should ever +come to love them, and the pungent smell of the arrow-weed which covered +them to the water's edge? + +The huge mosquitoes swarmed over us in the nights from those thick +clumps of arrow-weed and willow, and the nets with which Captain Mellon +provided us did not afford much protection. + +The June heat was bad enough, though not quite so stifling as the August +heat. I was becoming accustomed to climates, and had learned to endure +discomfort. The salt beef and the Chinaman's peach pies were no longer +offensive to me. Indeed, I had a good appetite for them, though they +were not exactly the sort of food prescribed by the modern doctor, for +a young mother. Of course, milk, eggs, and all fresh food were not to be +had on the river boats. Ice was still a thing unknown on the Colorado. + +When, after a week, the "Gila" pushed her nose up to the bank at +Ehrenberg, there stood the Quartermaster. He jumped aboard, and did not +seem in the least surprised to see me. "I knew you'd come back," said +he. I laughed, of course, and we both laughed. + +"I hadn't the courage to go on," I replied + +"Oh, well, we can make things comfortable here and get through the +summer some way," he said. "I'll build some rooms on, and a kitchen, +and we can surely get along. It's the healthiest place in the world for +children, they tell me." + +So after a hearty handshake with Captain Mellon, who had taken such +good care of me on my week's voyage up river, I being almost the only +passenger, I put my foot once more on the shores of old Ehrenberg, and +we wended our way towards the blank white walls of the Government house. +I was glad to be back, and content to wait. + +So work was begun immediately on the kitchen. My first stipulation was, +that the new rooms were to have wooden floors; for, although the Cocopah +Charley kept the adobe floors in perfect condition, by sprinkling them +down and sweeping them out every morning, they were quite impossible, +especially where it concerned white dresses and children, and the little +sharp rocks in them seemed to be so tiring to the feet. + +Life as we Americans live it was difficult in Ehrenberg. I often said: +"Oh! if we could only live as the Mexicans live, how easy it would be!" +For they had their fire built between some stones piled up in +their yard, a piece of sheet iron laid over the top: this was the +cooking-stove. A pot of coffee was made in the morning early, and the +family sat on the low porch and drank it, and ate a biscuit. Then a +kettle of frijoles [*] was put over to boil. These were boiled slowly +for some hours, then lard and salt were added, and they simmered down +until they were deliciously fit to eat, and had a thick red gravy. + + *Mexican brown bean. + +Then the young matron, or daughter of the house, would mix the +peculiar paste of flour and salt and water, for tortillas, a species +of unleavened bread. These tortillas were patted out until they were +as large as a dinner plate, and very thin; then thrown onto the +hot sheet-iron, where they baked. Each one of the family then got a +tortilla, the spoonful of beans was laid upon it, and so they managed +without the paraphernalia of silver and china and napery. + +How I envied them the simplicity of their lives! Besides, the tortillas +were delicious to eat, and as for the frijoles, they were beyond +anything I had ever eaten in the shape of beans. I took lessons in the +making of tortillas. A woman was paid to come and teach me; but I never +mastered the art. It is in the blood of the Mexican, and a girl begins +at a very early age to make the tortilla. It is the most graceful thing +to see a pretty Mexican toss the wafer-like disc over her bare arm, and +pat it out until transparent. + +This was their supper; for, like nearly all people in the tropics, they +ate only twice a day. Their fare was varied sometimes by a little carni +seca, pounded up and stewed with chile verde or chile colorado. + +Now if you could hear the soft, exquisite, affectionate drawl with which +the Mexican woman says chile verde you could perhaps come to realize +what an important part the delicious green pepper plays in the cookery +of these countries. They do not use it in its raw state, but generally +roast it whole, stripping off the thin skin and throwing away the seeds, +leaving only the pulp, which acquires a fine flavor by having been +roasted or toasted over the hot coals. + +The women were scrupulously clean and modest, and always wore, when in +their casa, a low-necked and short-sleeved white linen camisa, fitting +neatly, with bands around neck and arms. Over this they wore a calico +skirt; always white stockings and black slippers. When they ventured +out, the younger women put on muslin gowns, and carried parasols. The +older women wore a linen towel thrown over their heads, or, in cool +weather, the black riboso. I often cried: "Oh! if I could only dress as +the Mexicans do! Their necks and arms do look so cool and clean." + +I have always been sorry I did not adopt their fashion of house apparel. +Instead of that, I yielded to the prejudices of my conservative partner, +and sweltered during the day in high-necked and long-sleeved white +dresses, kept up the table in American fashion, ate American food in +so far as we could get it, and all at the expense of strength; for our +soldier cooks, who were loaned us by Captain Ernest from his company at +Fort Yuma, were constantly being changed, and I was often left with the +Indian and the indolent Patrocina. At those times, how I wished I had +no silver, no table linen, no china, and could revert to the primitive +customs of my neighbors! + +There was no market, but occasionally a Mexican killed a steer, and we +bought enough for one meal; but having no ice, and no place away from +the terrific heat, the meat was hung out under the ramada with a piece +of netting over it, until the first heat had passed out of it, and then +it was cooked. + +The Mexican, after selling what meat he could, cut the rest into thin +strips and hung it up on ropes to dry in the sun. It dried hard and +brittle, in its natural state, so pure is the air on that wonderful +river bank. They called this carni seca, and the Americans called it +"jerked beef." + +Patrocina often prepared me a dish of this, when I was unable to taste +the fresh meat. She would pound it fine with a heavy pestle, and then +put it to simmer, seasoning it with the green or red pepper. It was most +savory. There was no butter at all during the hot months, but our hens +laid a few eggs, and the Quartermaster was allowed to keep a small lot +of commissary stores, from which we drew our supplies of flour, ham, and +canned things. We were often without milk for weeks at a time, for the +cows crossed the river to graze, and sometimes could not get back until +the river fell again, and they could pick their way back across the +shifting sand bars. + +The Indian brought the water every morning in buckets from the river. +It looked like melted chocolate. He filled the barrels, and when it had +settled clear, the ollas were filled, and thus the drinking water was a +trifle cooler than the air. One day it seemed unusually cool, so I said: +"Let us see by the thermometer how cool the water really is." We found +the temperature of the water to be 86 degrees; but that, with the air at +122 in the shade, seemed quite refreshing to drink. + +I did not see any white people at all except Fisher, Abe Frank (the +mail contractor), and one or two of the younger merchants. If I wanted +anything, I went to Fisher. He always could solve the difficulty. He +procured for me an excellent middle-aged laundress, who came and brought +the linen herself, and, bowing to the floor, said always, "Buenos dias, +Senorita!" dwelling on the latter word, as a gentle compliment to a +younger woman, and then, "Mucho calor este dia," in her low, drawling +voice. + +Like the others, she was spotlessly clean, modest and gentle. I asked +her what on earth they did about bathing, for I had found the tub baths +with the muddy water so disagreeable. She told me the women bathed in +the river at daybreak, and asked me if I would like to go with them. + +I was only too glad to avail myself of her invitation, and so, like +Pharoah's daughter of old, I went with my gentle handmaiden every +morning to the river bank, and, wading in about knee-deep in the thick +red waters, we sat down and let the swift current flow by us. We dared +not go deeper; we could feel the round stones grinding against each +other as they were carried down, and we were all afraid. It was +difficult to keep one's foothold, and Capt. Mellon's words were ever +ringing in my ears, "He who disappears below the surface of the Colorado +is never seen again." But we joined hands and ventured like children +and played like children in these red waters and after all, it was much +nicer than a tub of muddy water indoors. + +A clump of low mesquite trees at the top of the bank afforded sufficient +protection at that hour; we rubbed dry, slipped on a loose gown, and +wended our way home. What a contrast to the limpid, bracing salt waters +of my own beloved shores! + +When I thought of them, I was seized with a longing which consumed me +and made my heart sick; and I thought of these poor people, who had +never known anything in their lives but those desert places, and that +muddy red water, and wondered what they would do, how they would act, +if transported into some beautiful forest, or to the cool bright shores +where clear blue waters invite to a plunge. + +Whenever the river-boat came up, we were sure to have guests, for +many officers went into the Territory via Ehrenberg. Sometimes the +"transportation" was awaiting them; at other times, they were obliged to +wait at Ehrenberg until it arrived. They usually lived on the boat, as +we had no extra rooms, but I generally asked them to luncheon or supper +(for anything that could be called a dinner was out of the question). + +This caused me some anxiety, as there was nothing to be had; but I +remembered the hospitality I had received, and thought of what they had +been obliged to eat on the voyage, and I always asked them to share what +we could provide, however simple it might be. + +At such times we heard all the news from Washington and the States, and +all about the fashions, and they, in their turn, asked me all sorts of +questions about Ehrenberg and how I managed to endure the life. They +were always astonished when the Cocopah Indian waited on them at table, +for he wore nothing but his gee-string, and although it was an every-day +matter to us, it rather took their breath away. + +But "Charley" appealed to my aesthetic sense in every way. Tall, and +well-made, with clean-cut limbs and features, fine smooth copper-colored +skin, handsome face, heavy black hair done up in pompadour fashion and +plastered with Colorado mud, which was baked white by the sun, a small +feather at the crown of his head, wide turquoise bead bracelets upon his +upper arm, and a knife at his waist--this was my Charley, my half-tame +Cocopah, my man about the place, my butler in fact, for Charley +understood how to open a bottle of Cocomonga gracefully, and to keep the +glasses filled. + +Charley also wheeled the baby out along the river banks, for we had +had a fine "perambulator" sent down from San Francisco. It was an +incongruous sight, to be sure, and one must laugh to think of it. The +Ehrenberg babies did not have carriages, and the village flocked to see +it. There sat the fair-haired, six-months-old boy, with but one linen +garment on, no cap, no stockings--and this wild man of the desert, his +knife gleaming at his waist, and his gee-string floating out behind, +wheeling and pushing the carriage along the sandy roads. + +But this came to an end; for one day Fisher rushed in, breathless, and +said: "Well! here is your baby! I was just in time, for that Injun of +yours left the carriage in the middle of the street, to look in at the +store window, and a herd of wild cattle came tearing down! I grabbed the +carriage to the sidewalk, cussed the Injun out, and here's the child! +It's no use," he added, "you can't trust those Injuns out of sight." + +The heat was terrific. Our cots were placed in the open part of the +corral (as our courtyard was always called). It was a desolate-looking +place; on one side, the high adobe wall; on another, the freight-house; +and on the other two, our apartments. Our kitchen and the two other +rooms were now completed. The kitchen had no windows, only open spaces +to admit the air and light, and we were often startled in the night by +the noise of thieves in the house, rummaging for food. + +At such times, our soldier-cook would rush into the corral with his +rifle, the Lieutenant would jump up and seize his shotgun, which always +stood near by, and together they would roam through the house. But the +thieving Indians could jump out of the windows as easily as they jumped +in, and the excitement would soon be over. The violent sand-storms +which prevail in those deserts, sometimes came up in the night, without +warning; then we rushed half suffocated and blinded into the house, and +as soon as we had closed the windows it had passed on, leaving a deep +layer of sand on everything in the room, and on our perspiring bodies. + +Then came the work, next day, for the Indian had to carry everything out +of doors; and one storm was so bad that he had to use a shovel to remove +the sand from the floors. The desert literally blew into the house. + +And now we saw a singular phenomenon. In the late afternoon of each day, +a hot steam would collect over the face of the river, then slowly rise, +and floating over the length and breadth of this wretched hamlet of +Ehrenberg, descend upon and envelop us. Thus we wilted and perspired, +and had one part of the vapor bath without its bracing concomitant +of the cool shower. In a half hour it was gone, but always left me +prostrate; then Jack gave me milk punch, if milk was at hand, or sherry +and egg, or something to bring me up to normal again. We got to dread +the steam so; it was the climax of the long hot day and was peculiar +to that part of the river. The paraphernalia by the side of our cots +at night consisted of a pitcher of cold tea, a lantern, matches, a +revolver, and a shotgun. Enormous yellow cats, which lived in and around +the freight-house, darted to and fro inside and outside the house, along +the ceiling-beams, emitting loud cries, and that alone was enough to +prevent sleep. In the old part of the house, some of the partitions did +not run up to the roof, but were left open (for ventilation, I suppose), +thus making a fine play-ground for cats and rats, which darted along, +squeaking, meowing and clattering all the night through. An uncanny +feeling of insecurity was ever with me. What with the accumulated effect +of the day's heat, what with the thieving Indians, the sand-storms and +the cats, our nights by no means gave us the refreshment needed by our +worn-out systems. By the latter part of the summer, I was so exhausted +by the heat and the various difficulties of living, that I had become a +mere shadow of my former self. + +Men and children seem to thrive in those climates, but it is death to +women, as I had often heard. + +It was in the late summer that the boat arrived one day bringing a large +number of staff officers and their wives, head clerks, and "general +service" men for Fort Whipple. They had all been stationed in Washington +for a number of years, having had what is known in the army as +"gilt-edged" details. I threw a linen towel over my head, and went to +the boat to call on them, and, remembering my voyage from San Francisco +the year before, prepared to sympathize with them. But they had met +their fate with resignation; knowing they should find a good climate and +a pleasant post up in the mountains, and as they had no young children +with them, they were disposed to make merry over their discomforts. + +We asked them to come to our quarters for supper, and to come early, as +any place was cooler than the boat, lying down there in the melting sun, +and nothing to look upon but those hot zinc-covered decks or the ragged +river banks, with their uninviting huts scattered along the edge. + +The surroundings somehow did not fit these people. Now Mrs. Montgomery +at Camp Apache seemed to have adapted herself to the rude setting of +a log cabin in the mountains, but these were Staff people and they +had enjoyed for years the civilized side of army life; now they were +determined to rough it, but they did not know how to begin. + +The beautiful wife of the Adjutant-General was mourning over some +freckles which had come to adorn her dazzling complexion, and she had +put on a large hat with a veil. Was there ever anything so incongruous +as a hat and veil in Ehrenberg! For a long time I had not seen a woman +in a hat; the Mexicans all wore a linen towel over their heads. + +But her beauty was startling, and, after all, I thought, a woman so +handsome must try to live up to her reputation. Now for some weeks Jack +had been investigating the sulphur well, which was beneath the old pump +in our corral. He had had a long wooden bath-tub built, and I watched it +with a lazy interest, and observed his glee as he found a longshoreman +or roustabout who could caulk it. The shape was exactly like a coffin +(but men have no imaginations), and when I told him how it made me feel +to look at it, he said: "Oh! you are always thinking of gloomy things. +It's a fine tub, and we are mighty lucky to find that man to caulk it. +I'm going to set it up in the little square room, and lead the sulphur +water into it, and it will be splendid, and just think," he added, "what +it will do for rheumatism!" + +Now Jack had served in the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteers during the +Civil War, and the swamps of the Chickahominy had brought him into close +acquaintance with that dread disease. + +As for myself, rheumatism was about the only ailment I did not have at +that time, and I suppose I did not really sympathize with him. But this +energetic and indomitable man mended the pump, with Fisher's help, and +led the water into the house, laid a floor, set up the tub in the little +square room, and behold, our sulphur bath! + +After much persuasion, I tried the bath. The water flowed thick and inky +black into the tub; of course the odor was beyond description, and the +effect upon me was not such that I was ever willing to try it again. +Jack beamed. "How do you like it, Martha?" said he. "Isn't it fine? Why +people travel hundreds of miles to get a bath like that!" + +I had my own opinion, but I did not wish to dampen his enthusiasm. +Still, in order to protect myself in the future, I had to tell him I +thought I should ordinarily prefer the river. + +"Well," he said, "there are those who will be thankful to have a bath in +that water; I am going to use it every day." + +I remonstrated: "How do you know what is in that inky water--and how do +you dare to use it?" + +"Oh, Fisher says it's all right; people here used to drink it years ago, +but they have not done so lately, because the pump was broken down." + +The Washington people seemed glad to pay us the visit. Jack's eyes +danced with true generosity and glee. He marked his victim; and, +selecting the Staff beauty and the Paymaster's wife, he expatiated on +the wonderful properties of his sulphur bath. + +"Why, yes, the sooner the better," said Mrs. Martin. "I'd give +everything I have in this world, and all my chances for the next, to get +a tub bath!" + +"It will be so refreshing just before supper," said Mrs. Maynadier, who +was more conservative. + +So the Indian, who had put on his dark blue waist-band (or sash), made +from flannel, revelled out and twisted into strands of yarn, and which +showed the supple muscles of his clean-cut thighs, and who had done up +an extra high pompadour in white clay, and burnished his knife, which +gleamed at his waist, ushered these Washington women into a small +apartment adjoining the bath-room, and turned on the inky stream into +the sarcophagus. + +The Staff beauty looked at the black pool, and shuddered. "Do you use +it?" said she. + +"Occasionally," I equivocated. + +"Does it hurt the complexion?" she ventured. + +"Jack thinks it excellent for that," I replied. + +And then I left them, directing Charley to wait, and prepare the bath +for the second victim. + +By and by the beauty came out. "Where is your mirror?" cried she (for +our appointments were primitive, and mirrors did not grow on bushes at +Ehrenberg); "I fancy I look queer," she added, and, in truth, she did; +for our water of the Styx did not seem to affiliate with the chemical +properties of the numerous cosmetics used by her, more or less, all her +life, but especially on the voyage, and her face had taken on a queer +color, with peculiar spots here and there. + +Fortunately my mirrors were neither large nor true, and she never really +saw how she looked, but when she came back into the living-room, she +laughed and said to Jack: "What kind of water did you say that was? I +never saw any just like it." + +"Oh! you have probably never been much to the sulphur springs," said he, +with his most superior and crushing manner. + +"Perhaps not," she replied, "but I thought I knew something about it; +why, my entire body turned such a queer color." + +"Oh! it always does that," said this optimistic soldier man, "and that +shows it is doing good." + +The Paymaster's wife joined us later. I think she had profited by the +beauty's experience, for she said but little. + +The Quartermaster was happy; and what if his wife did not believe +in that uncanny stream which flowed somewhere from out the infernal +regions, underlying that wretched hamlet, he had succeeded in being a +benefactor to two travellers at least! + +We had a merry supper: cold ham, chicken, and fresh biscuit, a plenty of +good Cocomonga wine, sweet milk, which to be sure turned to curds as it +stood on the table, some sort of preserves from a tin, and good coffee. +I gave them the best to be had in the desert--and at all events it was a +change from the Chinaman's salt beef and peach pies, and they saw fresh +table linen and shining silver, and accepted our simple hospitality in +the spirit in which we gave it. + +Alice Martin was much amused over Charley; and Charley could do nothing +but gaze on her lovely features. "Why on earth don't you put some +clothes on him?" laughed she, in her delightful way. + +I explained to her that the Indian's fashion of wearing white men's +clothes was not pleasing to the eye, and told her that she must +cultivate her aesthetic sense, and in a short time she would be able to +admire these copper-colored creatures of Nature as much as I did. + +But I fear that a life spent mostly in a large city had cast fetters +around her imagination, and that the life at Fort Whipple afterwards +savored too much of civilization to loosen the bonds of her soul. I +saw her many times again, but she never recovered from her amazement at +Charley's lack of apparel, and she never forgot the sulphur bath. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. MY DELIVERER + +One day, in the early autumn, as the "Gila" touched at Ehrenberg, on her +way down river, Captain Mellon called Jack on to the boat, and, pointing +to a young woman, who was about to go ashore, said: "Now, there's a girl +I think will do for your wife. She imagines she has bronchial troubles, +and some doctor has ordered her to Tucson. She comes from up North +somewhere. Her money has given out, and she thinks I am going to leave +her here. Of course, you know I would not do that; I can take her on +down to Yuma, but I thought your wife might like to have her, so I've +told her she could not travel on this boat any farther without she could +pay her fare. Speak to her: she looks to me like a nice sort of a girl." + +In the meantime, the young woman had gone ashore and was sitting upon +her trunk, gazing hopelessly about. Jack approached, offered her a home +and good wages, and brought her to me. + +I could have hugged her for very joy, but I restrained myself and +advised her to stay with us for awhile, saying the Ehrenberg climate was +quite as good as that of Tucson. + +She remarked quietly: "You do not look as if it agreed with you very +well, ma'am." + +Then I told her of my young child, and my hard journeys, and she decided +to stay until she could earn enough to reach Tucson. + +And so Ellen became a member of our Ehrenberg family. She was a fine, +strong girl, and a very good cook, and seemed to be in perfect health. +She said, however, that she had had an obstinate cough which nothing +would reach, and that was why she came to Arizona. From that time, +things went more smoothly. Some yeast was procured from the Mexican +bakeshop, and Ellen baked bread and other things, which seemed like the +greatest luxuries to us. We sent the soldier back to his company at Fort +Yuma, and began to live with a degree of comfort. + +I looked at Ellen as my deliverer, and regarded her coming as a special +providence, the kind I had heard about all my life in New England, but +had never much believed in. + +After a few weeks, Ellen was one evening seized with a dreadful +toothache, which grew so severe that she declared she could not endure +it another hour: she must have the tooth out. "Was there a dentist in +the place?" + +I looked at Jack: he looked at me: Ellen groaned with pain. + +"Why, yes! of course there is," said this man for emergencies; "Fisher +takes out teeth, he told me so the other day." + +Now I did not believe that Fisher knew any more about extracting teeth +than I did myself, but I breathed a prayer to the Recording Angel, and +said naught. + +"I'll go get Fisher," said Jack. + +Now Fisher was the steamboat agent. He stood six feet in his stockings, +had a powerful physique and a determined eye. Men in those countries had +to be determined; for if they once lost their nerve, Heaven save them. +Fisher had handsome black eyes. + +When they came in, I said: "Can you attend to this business, Mr. +Fisher?" + +"I think so," he replied, quietly. "The Quartermaster says he has some +forceps." + +I gasped. Jack, who had left the room, now appeared, a box of +instruments in his hand, his eyes shining with joy and triumph. + +Fisher took the box, and scanned it. "I guess they'll do," said he. + +So we placed Ellen in a chair, a stiff barrack chair, with a raw-hide +seat, and no arms. + +It was evening. + +"Mattie, you must hold the candle," said Jack. "I'll hold Ellen, and, +Fisher, you pull the tooth." + +So I lighted the candle, and held it, while Ellen tried, by its +flickering light, to show Fisher the tooth that ached. + +Fisher looked again at the box of instruments. "Why," said he, "these +are lower jaw rollers, the kind used a hundred years ago; and her tooth +is an upper jaw." + +"Never mind," answered the Lieutenant, "the instruments are all right. +Fisher, you can get the tooth out, that's all you want, isn't it?" + +The Lieutenant was impatient; and besides he did not wish any slur cast +upon his precious instruments. + +So Fisher took up the forceps, and clattered around amongst Ellen's +sound white teeth. His hand shook, great beads of perspiration gathered +on his face, and I perceived a very strong odor of Cocomonga wine. He +had evidently braced for the occasion. + +It was, however, too late to protest. He fastened onto a molar, and with +the lion's strength which lay in his gigantic frame, he wrenched it out. + +Ellen put up her hand and felt the place. "My God! you've pulled the +wrong tooth!" cried she, and so he had. + +I seized a jug of red wine which stood near by, and poured out a +gobletful, which she drank. The blood came freely from her mouth, and I +feared something dreadful had happened. + +Fisher declared she had shown him the wrong tooth, and was perfectly +willing to try again. I could not witness the second attempt, so I put +the candle down and fled. + +The stout-hearted and confiding girl allowed the second trial, and +between the steamboat agent, the Lieutenant, and the red wine, the +aching molar was finally extracted. + +This was a serious and painful occurrence. It did not cause any of us +to laugh, at the time. I am sure that Ellen, at least, never saw the +comical side of it. + +When it was all over, I thanked Fisher, and Jack beamed upon me with: +"You see, Mattie, my case of instruments did come in handy, after all." + +Encouraged by success, he applied for a pannier of medicines, and the +Ehrenberg citizens soon regarded him as a healer. At a certain hour in +the morning, the sick ones came to his office, and he dispensed simple +drugs to them and was enabled to do much good. He seemed to have a sort +of intuitive knowledge about medicines and performed some miraculous +cures, but acquired little or no facility in the use of the language. + +I was often called in as interpreter, and with the help of the sign +language, and the little I knew of Spanish, we managed to get an idea of +the ailments of these poor people. + +And so our life flowed on in that desolate spot, by the banks of the +Great Colorado. + +I rarely went outside the enclosure, except for my bath in the river at +daylight, or for some urgent matter. The one street along the river was +hot and sandy and neglected. One had not only to wade through the sand, +but to step over the dried heads or horns or bones of animals left there +to whiten where they died, or thrown out, possibly, when some one killed +a sheep or beef. Nothing decayed there, but dried and baked hard in that +wonderful air and sun. + +Then, the groups of Indians, squaws and halfbreeds loafing around the +village and the store! One never felt sure what one was to meet, and +although by this time I tolerated about everything that I had been +taught to think wicked or immoral, still, in Ehrenberg, the limit was +reached, in the sights I saw on the village streets, too bold and too +rude to be described in these pages. + +The few white men there led respectable lives enough for that country. +The standard was not high, and when I thought of the dreary years they +had already spent there without their families, and the years they must +look forward to remaining there, I was willing to reserve my judgement. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. WINTER IN EHRENBERG + +We asked my sister, Mrs. Penniman, to come out and spend the winter with +us, and to bring her son, who was in most delicate health. It was said +that the climate of Ehrenberg would have a magical effect upon all +diseases of the lungs or throat. So, to save her boy, my sister made +the long and arduous trip out from New England, arriving in Ehrenberg in +October. + +What a joy to see her, and to initiate her into the ways of our life in +Arizona! Everything was new, everything was a wonder to her and to my +nephew. At first, he seemed to gain perceptibly, and we had great hopes +of his recovery. + +It was now cool enough to sleep indoors, and we began to know what it +was to have a good night's rest. + +But no sooner had we gotten one part of our life comfortably arranged, +before another part seemed to fall out of adjustment. Accidents and +climatic conditions kept my mind in a perpetual state of unrest. + +Our dining-room door opened through two small rooms into the kitchen, +and one day, as I sat at the table, waiting for Jack to come in to +supper, I heard a strange sort of crashing noise. Looking towards the +kitchen, through the vista of open doorways, I saw Ellen rush to the +door which led to the courtyard. She turned a livid white, threw up +her hands, and cried, "Great God! the Captain!" She was transfixed with +horror. + +I flew to the door, and saw that the pump had collapsed and gone down +into the deep sulphur well. In a second, Jack's head and hands appeared +at the edge; he seemed to be caught in the debris of rotten timber. +Before I could get to him, he had scrambled half way out. "Don't come +near this place," he cried, "it's all caving in!" + +And so it seemed; for, as he worked himself up and out, the entire +structure feel in, and half the corral with it, as it looked to me. + +Jack escaped what might have been an unlucky bath in his sulphur well, +and we all recovered our composure as best we could. + +Surely, if life was dull at Ehrenberg, it could not be called exactly +monotonous. We were not obliged to seek our excitement outside; we had +plenty of it, such as it was, within our walls. + +My confidence in Ehrenberg, however, as a salubrious dwelling-place, was +being gradually and literally undermined. I began to be distrustful of +the very ground beneath my feet. Ellen felt the same way, evidently, +although we did not talk much about it. She probably longed also +for some of her own kind; and when, one morning, we went into the +dining-room for breakfast, Ellen stood, hat on, bag in hand, at the +door. Dreading to meet my chagrin, she said: "Good-bye, Captain; +good-bye, missis, you've been very kind to me. I'm leaving on the stage +for Tucson--where I first started for, you know." + +And she tripped out and climbed up into the dusty, rickety vehicle +called "the stage." I had felt so safe about Ellen, as I did not know +that any stage line ran through the place. + +And now I was in a fine plight! I took a sunshade, and ran over to +Fisher's house. "Mr. Fisher, what shall I do? Ellen has gone to Tucson!" + +Fisher bethought himself, and we went out together in the village. Not +a woman to be found who would come to cook for us! There was only one +thing to do. The Quartermaster was allowed a soldier, to assist in the +Government work. I asked him if he understood cooking; he said he had +never done any, but he would try, if I would show him how. + +This proved a hopeless task, and I finally gave it up. Jack dispatched +an Indian runner to Fort Yuma, ninety miles or more down river, begging +Captain Ernest to send us a soldier-cook on the next boat. + +This was a long time to wait; the inconveniences were intolerable: there +were our four selves, Patrocina and Jesusita, the soldier-clerk and the +Indian, to be provided for: Patrocina prepared carni seca with peppers, +a little boy came around with cuajada, a delicious sweet curd cheese, +and I tried my hand at bread, following out Ellen's instructions. + +How often I said to my husband. "If we must live in this wretched place, +let's give up civilization and live as the Mexicans do! They are the +only happy beings around here. + +"Look at them, as you pass along the street! At nearly any hour in the +day you can see them, sitting under their ramada, their backs propped +against the wall of their casa, calmly smoking cigarettes and gazing at +nothing, with a look of ineffable contentment upon their features! They +surely have solved the problem of life!" + +But we seemed never to be able to free ourselves from the fetters of +civilization, and so I struggled on. + +One evening after dusk, I went into the kitchen, opened the kitchen +closet door to take out some dish, when clatter! bang! down fell the +bread-pan, and a shower of other tin ware, and before I could fairly get +my breath, out jumped two young squaws and without deigning to glance +at me they darted across the kitchen and leaped out the window like two +frightened fawn. + +They had on nothing but their birthday clothes and as I was somewhat +startled at the sight of them, I stood transfixed, my eyes gazing at the +open space through which they had flown. + +Charley, the Indian, was in the corral, filling the ollas, and, hearing +the commotion, came in and saw just the disappearing heels of the two +squaws. + +I said, very sternly: "Charley, how came those squaws in my closet?" He +looked very much ashamed and said: "Oh, me tell you: bad man go to kill +'em; I hide 'em." + +"Well," said I, "do not hide any more girls in this casa! You savez +that?" + +He bowed his head in acquiescence. + +I afterwards learned that one of the girls was his sister. + +The weather was now fairly comfortable, and in the evenings we sat under +the ramada, in front of the house, and watched the beautiful pink +glow which spread over the entire heavens and illuminated the distant +mountains of Lower California. I have never seen anything like that +wonderful color, which spread itself over sky, river and desert. For an +hour, one could have believed oneself in a magician's realm. + +At about this time, the sad-eyed Patrocina found it expedient to +withdraw into the green valleys of Lower California, to recuperate for a +few months. With the impish Jesusita in her arms, she bade me a mournful +good-bye. Worthless as she was from the standpoint of civilized morals, +I was attached to her and felt sorry to part with her. + +Then I took a Mexican woman from Chihuahua. Now the Chihuahuans hold +their heads high, and it was rather with awe that I greeted the tall +middle-aged Chihuahuan lady who came to be our little son's nurse. Her +name was Angela. "Angel of light," I thought, how fortunate I am to get +her! + +After a few weeks, Fisher observed that the whole village was eating +Ferris ham, an unusual delicacy in Ehrenberg, and that the Goldwaters' +had sold none. So he suggested that our commissary storehouse be looked +to; and it was found that a dozen hams or so had been withdrawn from +their canvas covers, the covers stuffed with straw, and hung back in +place. Verily the Chihuahuan was adding to her pin-money in a most +unworthy fashion, and she had to go. After that, I was left without a +nurse. My little son was now about nine months old. + +Milk began to be more plentiful at this season, and, with my sister's +advice and help, I decided to make the one great change in a baby's life +i.e., to take him from his mother. Modern methods were unknown then, and +we had neither of us any experience in these matters and there was no +doctor in the place. + +The result was, that both the baby and myself were painfully and +desperately ill and not knowing which way to turn for aid, when, by a +lucky turn of Fortune's wheel, our good, dear Doctor Henry Lippincott +came through Ehrenberg on his way out to the States. Once more he took +care of us, and it is to him that I believe I owe my life. + +Captain Ernest sent us a cook from Yuma, and soon some officers came +for the duck-shooting. There were thousands of ducks around the various +lagoons in the neighborhood, and the sport was rare. We had all the +ducks we could eat. + +Then came an earthquake, which tore and rent the baked earth apart. The +ground shivered, the windows rattled, the birds fell close to the ground +and could not fly, the stove-pipes fell to the floor, the thick walls +cracked and finally, the earth rocked to and fro like some huge thing +trying to get its balance. + +It was in the afternoon. My sister and I were sitting with our +needle-work in the living-room. Little Harry was on the floor, occupied +with some toys. I was paralyzed with fear; my sister did not move. We +sat gazing at each other, scarce daring to breathe, expecting every +instant the heavy walls to crumble about our heads. The earth rocked and +rocked, and rocked again, then swayed and swayed and finally was still. +My sister caught Harry in her arms, and then Jack and Willie came +breathlessly in. "Did you feel it?" said Jack. + +"Did we feel it!" said I, scornfully. + +Sarah was silent, and I looked so reproachfully at Jack, that he +dropped his light tone, and said: "It was pretty awful. We were in the +Goldwaters' store, when suddenly it grew dark and the lamps above our +heads began to rattle and swing, and we all rushed out into the middle +of the street and stood, rather dazed, for we scarcely knew what had +happened; then we hurried home. But it's all over now." + +"I do not believe it," said I; "we shall have more"; and, in fact, we +did have two light shocks in the night, but no more followed, and the +next morning, we recovered, in a measure, from our fright and went out +to see the great fissures in that treacherous crust of earth upon which +Ehrenberg was built. + +I grew afraid, after that, and the idea that the earth would eventually +open and engulf us all took possession of my mind. + +My health, already weakened by shocks and severe strains, gave way +entirely. I, who had gloried in the most perfect health, and had a +constitution of iron, became an emaciated invalid. + +From my window, one evening at sundown, I saw a weird procession moving +slowly along towards the outskirts of the village. It must be a funeral, +thought I, and it flashed across my mind that I had never seen the +burying-ground. + +A man with a rude cross led the procession. Then came some Mexicans with +violins and guitars. After the musicians, came the body of the deceased, +wrapped in a white cloth, borne on a bier by friends, and followed by +the little band of weeping women, with black ribosos folded about their +heads. They did not use coffins at Ehrenberg, because they had none, I +suppose. + +The next day I asked Jack to walk to the grave-yard with me. He +postponed it from day to day, but I insisted upon going. At last, he +took me to see it. + +There was no enclosure, but the bare, sloping, sandy place was sprinkled +with graves, marked by heaps of stones, and in some instances by rude +crosses of wood, some of which had been wrenched from their upright +position by the fierce sand-storms. There was not a blade of grass, a +tree, or a flower. I walked about among these graves, and close beside +some of them I saw deep holes and whitnened bones. I was quite ignorant +or unthinking, and asked what the holes were. + +"It is where the coyotes and wolves come in the nights," said Jack. + +My heart sickened as I thought of these horrors, and I wondered if +Ehrenberg held anything in store for me worse than what I had already +seen. We turned away from this unhallowed grave-yard and walked to our +quarters. I had never known much about "nerves," but I began to see +spectres in the night, and those ghastly graves with their coyote-holes +were ever before me. The place was but a stone's throw from us, and the +uneasy spirits from these desecrated graves began to haunt me. I +could not sit alone on the porch at night, for they peered through the +lattice, and mocked at me, and beckoned. Some had no heads, some no +arms, but they pointed or nodded towards the grewsome burying-ground: +"You'll be with us soon, you'll be with us soon." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. RETURN TO THE STATES + +I dream of the east wind's tonic, Of the breakers' stormy roar, And the +peace of the inner harbor With the long low Shimmo shore. + +* * * * + +I long for the buoy-bell's tolling When the north wind brings from afar +The smooth, green, shining billows, To be churned into foam on the bar. + +Oh! for the sea-gulls' screaming As they swoop so bold and free! Oh! for +the fragrant commons, And the glorious open sea!-- + +For the restful great contentment, For the joy that is never known Till +past the jetty and Brant Point Light The Islander comes to his own! + +--MARY E. STARBUCK. + + +"I must send you out. I see that you cannot stand it here another +month," said Jack one day; and so he bundled us onto the boat in the +early spring, and took us down the river to meet the ocean steamer. + +There was no question about it this time, and I well knew it. + +I left my sister and her son in Ehrenberg, and I never saw my nephew +again. A month later, his state of health became so alarming that my +sister took him to San Francisco. He survived the long voyage, but died +there a few weeks later at the home of my cousin. + +At Fort Yuma we telegraphed all over the country for a nurse, but no +money would tempt those Mexican women to face an ocean voyage. Jack put +me on board the old "Newbern" in charge of the Captain, waited to see +our vessel under way, then waved good-bye from the deck of the "Gila," +and turned his face towards his post and duty. I met the situation +as best I could, and as I have already described a voyage on this old +craft, I shall not again enter into details. There was no stewardess +on board, and all arrangements were of the crudest description. Both +my child and I were seasick all the way, and the voyage lasted sixteen +days. Our misery was very great. + +The passengers were few in number, only a couple of Mexican miners +who had been prospecting, an irritable old Mexican woman, and a German +doctor, who was agreeable but elusive. + +The old Mexican woman sat on the deck all day, with her back against the +stateroom door; she was a picturesque and indolent figure. + +There was no diversion, no variety; my little boy required constant care +and watching. The days seemed endless. Everbody bought great bunches of +green bananas at the ports in Mexico, where we stopped for passengers. + +The old woman was irritable, and one day when she saw the agreeable +German doctor pulling bananas from the bunch which she had hung in the +sun to ripen, she got up muttering "Carramba," and shaking her fist +in his face. He appeased her wrath by offering her, in the most fluent +Spanish, some from his own bunch when they should be ripe. + +Such were my surroundings on the old "Newbern." The German doctor +was interesting, and I loved to talk with him, on days when I was not +seasick, and to read the letters which he had received from his family, +who were living on their Rittergut (or landed estates) in Prussia. + +He amused me by tales of his life at a wretched little mining village +somewhere about fifty miles from Ehrenberg, and I was always wondering +how he came to have lived there. + +He had the keenest sense of humor, and as I listened to the tales of +his adventures and miraculous escapes from death at the hands of these +desperate folk, I looked in his large laughing blue eyes and tried to +solve the mystery. + +For that he was of noble birth and of ancient family there was no doubt. +There were the letters, there was the crest, and here was the offshoot +of the family. I made up my mind that he was a ne'er-do-weel and a +rolling stone. He was elusive, and, beyond his adventures, told me +nothing of himself. It was some time after my arrival in San Francisco +that I learned more about him. + +Now, after we rounded Cape St. Lucas, we were caught in the long heavy +swell of the Pacific Ocean, and it was only at intervals that my little +boy and I could leave our stateroom. The doctor often held him while I +ran below to get something to eat, and I can never forget his kindness; +and if, as I afterward heard in San Francisco, he really had entered +the "Gate of a hundred sorrows," it would perhaps best explain his +elusiveness, his general condition, and his sometimes dazed expression. + +A gentle and kindly spirit, met by chance, known through the propinquity +of a sixteen days' voyage, and never forgotten. + +Everything comes to an end, however interminable it may seem, and at +last the sharp and jagged outlines of the coast began to grow softer and +we approached the Golden Gate. + +The old "Newbern," with nothing in her but ballast, rolled and lurched +along, through the bright green waters of the outer bar. I stood leaning +against the great mast, steadying myself as best I could, and the tears +rolled down my face; for I saw the friendly green hills, and before me +lay the glorious bay of San Francisco. I had left behind me the deserts, +the black rocks, the burning sun, the snakes, the scorpions, the +centipedes, the Indians and the Ehrenberg graveyard; and so the tears +flowed, and I did not try to stop them; they were tears of joy. + +The custom officers wanted to confiscate the great bundles of Mexican +cigarettes they found in my trunk, but "No," I told them, "they were for +my own use." They raised their eyebrows, gave me one look, and put them +back into the trunk. + +My beloved California relatives met us, and took care of us for a +fortnight, and when I entered a Pullman car for a nine days' journey to +my old home, it seemed like the most luxurious comfort, although I had +a fourteen-months-old child in my arms, and no nurse. So does everything +in this life go by comparison. + +Arriving in Boston, my sister Harriet met me at the train, and as +she took little Harry from my arms she cried: "Where did you get that +sunbonnet? Now the baby can't wear that in Boston!" + +Of course we were both thinking hard of all that had happened to me +since we parted, on the morning after my wedding, two years before, and +we were so overcome with the joy of meeting, that if it had not been for +the baby's white sunbonnet, I do not know what kind of a scene we might +have made. That saved the situation, and after a few days of rest and +necessary shopping, we started for our old home in Nantucket. Such a +welcome as the baby and I had from my mother and father and all old +friends! + +But I saw sadness in their faces, and I heard it in their voices, for no +one thought I could possibly live. I felt, however, sure it was not too +late. I knew the East wind's tonic would not fail me, its own child. + +Stories of our experiences and misfortunes were eagerly listened to, by +the family, and betwixt sighs and laughter they declared they were going +to fill some boxes which should contain everything necessary for comfort +in those distant places. So one room in our old house was set apart for +this; great boxes were brought, and day by day various articles, useful, +ornamental, and comfortable, and precious heirlooms of silver and glass, +were packed away in them. It was the year of 1876, the year of the great +Centennial, at Philadelphia. Everybody went, but it had no attractions +for me. I was happy enough, enjoying the health-giving air and the +comforts of an Eastern home. I wondered that I had ever complained about +anything there, or wished to leave that blissful spot. + +The poorest person in that place by the sea had more to be thankful for, +in my opinion, than the richest people in Arizona. I felt as if I must +cry it out from the house-tops. My heart was thankful every minute of +the day and night, for every breath of soft air that I breathed, for +every bit of fresh fish that I ate, for fresh vegetables, and for +butter--for gardens, for trees, for flowers, for the good firm earth +beneath my feet. I wrote the man on detached service that I should never +return to Ehrenberg. + +After eight months, in which my health was wholly restored, I heard the +good news that Captain Corliss had applied for his first lieutenant, and +I decided to join him at once at Camp MacDowell. + +Although I had not wholly forgotten that Camp MacDowell had been called +by very bad names during our stay at Fort Whipple, at the time that Jack +decided on the Ehrenberg detail, I determined to brave it, in all its +unattractiveness, isolation and heat, for I knew there was a garrison +and a Doctor there, and a few officers' families, I knew supplies were +to be obtained and the ordinary comforts of a far-off post. Then too, +in my summer in the East I had discovered that I was really a soldier's +wife and I must go back to it all. To the army with its glitter and +its misery, to the post with its discomforts, to the soldiers, to the +drills, to the bugle-calls, to the monotony, to the heat of Southern +Arizona, to the uniform and the stalwart Captains and gay Lieutenants +who wore it, I felt the call and I must go. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. BACK TO ARIZONA + +The last nails were driven in the precious boxes, and I started overland +in November with my little son, now nearly two years old. + +"Overland" in those days meant nine days from New York to San Francisco. +Arriving in Chicago, I found it impossible to secure a section on the +Pullman car so was obliged to content myself with a lower berth. I did +not allow myself to be disappointed. + +On entering the section, I saw an enormous pair of queer cow hide shoes, +the very queerest shoes I had ever seen, lying on the floor, with a much +used travelling bag. I speculated a good deal on the shoes, but did not +see the owner of them until several hours later, when a short thick-set +German with sandy close-cut beard entered and saluted me politely. "You +are noticing my shoes perhaps Madame?" + +"Yes" I said, involuntarily answering him in German. + +His face shone with pleasure and he explained to me that they were made +in Russia and he always wore them when travelling. "What have we," I +thought, "an anarchist?" + +But with the inexperience and fearlessness of youth, I entered into a +most delightful conversation in German with him. I found him rather an +extraordinarily well educated gentleman and he said he lived in Nevada, +but had been over to Vienna to place his little boy at a military +school, "as," he said, "there is nothing like a uniform to give a +boy self-respect." He said his wife had died several months before. I +congratulated myself that the occupant of the upper berth was at least a +gentleman. + +The next day, as we sat opposite each other chatting, always in German, +he paused, and fixing his eyes rather steadily upon me he remarked: "Do +you think I put on mourning when my wife died? no indeed, I put on white +kid gloves and had a fiddler and danced at the grave. All this mourning +that people have is utter nonsense." + +I was amazed at the turn his conversation had taken and sat quite still, +not knowing just what to say or to do. + +After awhile, he looked at me steadily, and said, very deferentially, +"Madame, the spirit of my dead wife is looking at me from out your +eyes." + +By this time I realized that the man was a maniac, and I had always +heard that one must agree with crazy people, so I nodded, and that +seemed to satisfy him, and bye and bye after some minutes which seemed +like hours to me, he went off to the smoking room. + +The tension was broken and I appealed to a very nice looking woman who +happened to be going to some place in Nevada near which this Doctor +lived, and she said, when I told her his name, "Why, yes, I heard of +him before I left home, he lives in Silver City, and at the death of +his wife, he went hopelessly insane, but," she added, "he is harmless, I +believe." + +This was a nice fix, to be sure, and I staid over in her section all +day, and late that night the Doctor arrived at the junction where he +was to take another train. So I slept in peace, after a considerable +agitation. + +There is nothing like experience to teach a young woman how to travel +alone. + +In San Francisco I learned that I could now go as far as Los Angeles by +rail, thence by steamer to San Diego, and so on by stage to Fort Yuma, +where my husband was to meet me with an ambulance and a wagon. + +I was enchanted with the idea of avoiding the long sea-trip down the +Pacific coast, but sent my boxes down by the Steamer "Montana," sister +ship of the old "Newbern," and after a few days' rest in San Francisco, +set forth by rail for Los Angeles. At San Pedro, the port of Los +Angeles, we embarked for San Diego. It was a heavenly night. I sat +on deck enjoying the calm sea, and listening to the romantic story of +Lieutenant Philip Reade, then stationed at San Diego. He was telling the +story himself, and I had never read or heard of anything so mysterious +or so tragic. + +Then, too, aside from the story, Mr. Reade was a very good-looking and +chivalrous young army officer. He was returning to his station in San +Diego, and we had this pleasant opportunity to renew what had been a +very slight acquaintance. + +The calm waters of the Pacific, with their long and gentle swell, the +pale light of the full moon, our steamer gliding so quietly along, the +soft air of the California coast, the absence of noisy travellers, these +made a fit setting for the story of his early love and marriage, and the +tragic mystery which surrounded the death of his young bride. + +All the romance which lived and will ever live in me was awake to the +story, and the hours passed all too quickly. + +But a cry from my little boy in the near-by deck stateroom recalled me +to the realities of life and I said good-night, having spent one of the +most delightful evenings I ever remember. + +Mr. Reade wears now a star on his shoulder, and well earned it is, too. +I wonder if he has forgotten how he helped to bind up my little boy's +finger which had been broken in an accident on the train from San +Francisco to Los Angeles? or how he procured a surgeon for me on our +arrival there, and got a comfortable room for us at the hotel? or how he +took us to drive (with an older lady for a chaperon), or how he kindly +cared for us until we were safely on the boat that evening? If I had +ever thought chivalry dead, I learned then that I had been mistaken. + +San Diego charmed me, as we steamed, the next morning, into its shining +bay. But as our boat was two hours late and the stage-coach was waiting, +I had to decline Mr. Reade's enchanting offers to drive us around the +beautiful place, to show me the fine beaches, and his quarters, and all +other points of interest in this old town of Southern California. + +Arizona, not San Diego, was my destination, so we took a hasty breakfast +at the hotel and boarded the stage, which, filled with passengers, was +waiting before the door. + +The driver waited for no ceremonies, muttered something about being +late, cracked his whip, and away we went. I tried to stow myself and my +little boy and my belongings away comfortably, but the road was rough +and the coach swayed, and I gave it up. There were passengers on top of +the coach, and passengers inside the coach. One woman who was totally +deaf, and some miners and blacksmiths, and a few other men, the flotsam +and jetsam of the Western countries, who come from no one knoweth +whence, and who go, no one knoweth whither, who have no trade or +profession and are sometimes even without a name. + +They seemed to want to be kind to me. Harry got very stage-sick and gave +us much trouble, and they all helped me to hold him. Night came. I do +not remember that we made any stops at all; if we did, I have forgotten +them. The night on that stage-coach can be better imagined than +described. I do not know of any adjectives that I could apply to it. +Just before dawn, we stopped to change horses and driver, and as the +day began to break, we felt ourselves going down somewhere at a terrific +speed. + +The great Concord coach slipped and slid and swayed on its huge springs +as we rounded the curves. + +The road was narrow and appeared to be cut out of solid rock, which +seemed to be as smooth as soapstone; the four horses were put to their +speed, and down and around and away we went. I drew in my breath as I +looked out and over into the abyss on my left. Death and destruction +seemed to be the end awaiting us all. Everybody was limp, when we +reached the bottom--that is, I was limp, and I suppose the others were. +The stage-driver knew I was frightened, because I sat still and looked +white and he came and lifted me out. He lived in a small cabin at the +bottom of the mountain; I talked with him some. "The fact is," he said, +"we are an hour late this morning; we always make it a point to 'do it' +before dawn, so the passengers can't see anything; they are almost sure +to get stampeded if we come down by daylight." + +I mentioned this road afterwards in San Francisco, and learned that it +was a famous road, cut out of the side of a solid mountain of rock; long +talked of, long desired, and finally built, at great expense, by the +state and the county together; that they always had the same man to +drive over it, and that they never did it by daylight. I did not inquire +if there had ever been any accidents. I seemed to have learned all I +wanted to know about it. + +After a little rest and a breakfast at a sort of roadhouse, a relay of +horses was taken, and we travelled one more day over a flat country, to +the end of the stage-route. Jack was to meet me. Already from the stage +I had espied the post ambulance and two blue uniforms. Out jumped Major +Ernest and Jack. I remember thinking how straight and how well they +looked. I had forgotten really how army men did look, I had been so long +away. + +And now we were to go to Fort Yuma and stay with the Wells' until my +boxes, which had been sent around by water on the steamer "Montana," +should arrive. I had only the usual thirty pounds allowance of luggage +with me on the stage, and it was made up entirely of my boy's clothing, +and an evening dress I had worn on the last night of my stay in San +Francisco. + +Fort Yuma was delightful at this season (December), and after four or +five days spent most enjoyably, we crossed over one morning on the old +rope ferryboat to Yuma City, to inquire at the big country store there +of news from the Gulf. There was no bridge then over the Colorado. + +The merchant called Jack to one side and said something to him in a low +tone. I was sure it concerned the steamer, and I said: "what it is?" + +Then they told me that news had just been received from below, that the +"Montana" had been burned to the water's edge in Guaymas harbor, and +everything on board destroyed; the passengers had been saved with much +difficulty, as the disaster occurred in the night. + +I had lost all the clothes I had in the world--and my precious boxes +were gone. I scarcely knew how to meet the calamity. + +Jack said: "Don't mind, Mattie; I'm so thankful you and the boy were not +on board the ship; the things are nothing, no account at all." + +"But," said I, "you do not understand. I have no clothes except what I +have on, and a party dress. Oh! what shall I do?" I cried. + +The merchant was very sympathetic and kind, and Major Wells said, "Let's +go home and tell Fanny; maybe she can suggest something." + +I turned toward the counter, and bought some sewing materials, realizing +that outside of my toilet articles and my party dress all my personal +belongings were swept away. I was in a country where there were no +dressmakers, and no shops; I was, for the time being, a pauper, as far +as clothing was concerned. + +When I got back to Mrs. Wells I broke down entirely; she put her arms +around me and said: "I've heard all about it; I know just how you must +feel; now come in my room, and we'll see what can be done." + +She laid out enough clothing to last me until I could get some things +from the East, and gave me a grey and white percale dress with a basque, +and a border, and although it was all very much too large for me, it +sufficed to relieve my immediate distress. + +Letters were dispatched to the East, in various directions, for every +sort and description of clothing, but it was at least two months before +any of it appeared, and I felt like an object of charity for a long +time. Then, too, I had anticipated the fitting up of our quarters with +all the pretty cretonnes and other things I had brought from home. And +now the contents of those boxes were no more! The memory of the visit +was all that was left to me. It was very hard to bear. + +Preparations for our journey to Camp MacDowell were at last completed. +The route to our new post lay along the valley of the Gila River, +following it up from its mouth, where it empties into the Colorado, +eastwards towards the southern middle portion of Arizona. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. UP THE VALLEY OF THE GILA + +The December sun was shining brightly down, as only the Arizona sun +can shine at high noon in winter, when we crossed the Colorado on +the primitive ferryboat drawn by ropes, clambered up into the great +thorough-brace wagon (or ambulance) with its dusty white canvas covers +all rolled up at the sides, said good-bye to our kind hosts of Fort +Yuma, and started, rattling along the sandy main street of Yuma City, +for old Camp MacDowell. + +Our big blue army wagon, which had been provided for my boxes and +trunks, rumbling along behind us, empty except for the camp equipage. + +But it all seemed so good to me: I was happy to see the soldiers again, +the drivers and teamsters, and even the sleek Government mules. The old +blue uniforms made my heart glad. Every sound was familiar, even the +rattling of the harness with its ivory rings and the harsh sound of the +heavy brakes reinforced with old leather soles. + +Even the country looked attractive, smiling under the December sun. I +wondered if I had really grown to love the desert. I had read somewhere +that people did. But I was not paying much attention in those days +to the analysis of my feelings. I did not stop to question the subtle +fascination which I felt steal over me as we rolled along the smooth +hard roads that followed the windings of the Gila River. I was back +again in the army; I had cast my lot with a soldier, and where he was, +was home to me. + +In Nantucket, no one thought much about the army. The uniform of the +regulars was never seen there. The profession of arms was scarcely known +or heard of. Few people manifested any interest in the life of the Far +West. I had, while there, felt out of touch with my oldest friends. Only +my darling old uncle, a brave old whaling captain, had said: "Mattie, I +am much interested in all you have written us about Arizona; come right +down below and show me on the dining-room map just where you went." + +Gladly I followed him down the stairs, and he took his pencil out and +began to trace. After he had crossed the Mississippi, there did not seem +to be anything but blank country, and I could not find Arizona, and it +was written in large letters across the entire half of this antique map, +"Unexplored." + +"True enough," he laughed. "I must buy me a new map." + +But he drew his pencil around Cape Horn and up the Pacific coast, and +I described to him the voyages I had made on the old "Newbern," and his +face was aglow with memories. + +"Yes," he said, "in 1826, we put into San Francisco harbor and sent +our boats up to San Jose for water and we took goats from some of those +islands, too. Oh! I know the coast well enough. We were on our way to the +Ar'tic Ocean then, after right whales." + +But, as a rule, people there seemed to have little interest in the army +and it had made me feel as one apart. + +Gila City was our first camp; not exactly a city, to be sure, at that +time, whatever it may be now. We were greeted by the sight of a few old +adobe houses, and the usual saloon. I had ceased, however, to dwell upon +such trifles as names. Even "Filibuster," the name of our next camp, +elicited no remark from me. + +The weather was fine beyond description. Each day, at noon, we got out +of the ambulance, and sat down on the warm white sand, by a little clump +of mesquite, and ate our luncheon. Coveys of quail flew up and we shot +them, thereby insuring a good supper. + +The mules trotted along contentedly on the smooth white road, which +followed the south bank of the Gila River. Myriads of lizards ran out +and looked at us. "Hello, here you are again," they seemed to say. + +The Gila Valley in December was quite a different thing from the Mojave +desert in September; and although there was not much to see, in that +low, flat country, yet we three were joyous and happy. + +Good health again was mine, the travelling was ideal, there were no +discomforts, and I experienced no terrors in this part of Arizona. + +Each morning, when the tent was struck, and I sat on the camp-stool by +the little heap of ashes, which was all that remained of what had been +so pleasant a home for an afternoon and a night, a little lonesome +feeling crept over me, at the thought of leaving the place. So strong is +the instinct and love of home in some people, that the little tendrils +shoot out in a day and weave themselves around a spot which has given +them shelter. Such as those are not born to be nomads. + +Camps were made at Stanwix, Oatman's Flat, and Gila Bend. There we left +the river, which makes a mighty loop at this point, and struck across +the plains to Maricopa Wells. The last day's march took us across the +Gila River, over the Maricopa desert, and brought us to the Salt River. +We forded it at sundown, rested our animals a half hour or so, and drove +through the MacDowell canon in the dark of the evening, nine miles more +to the post. A day's march of forty-five miles. (A relay of mules had +been sent to meet us at the Salt River, but by some oversight, we had +missed it.) + +Jack had told me of the curious cholla cactus, which is said to nod at +the approach of human beings, and to deposit its barbed needles at their +feet. Also I had heard stories of this deep, dark canon and things that +had happened there. + +Fort MacDowell was in Maricopa County, Arizona, on the Verde River, +seventy miles or so south of Camp Verde; the roving bands of Indians, +escaping from Camp Apache and the San Carlos reservation, which lay +far to the east and southeast, often found secure hiding places in the +fastnesses of the Superstition Mountains and other ranges, which lay +between old Camp MacDowell and these reservations. + +Hence, a company of cavalry and one of infantry were stationed at Camp +MacDowell, and the officers and men of this small command were kept +busy, scouting, and driving the renegades from out of this part of the +country back to their reservations. It was by no means an idle post, as +I found after I got there; the life at Camp MacDowell meant hard work, +exposure and fatigue for this small body of men. + +As we wound our way through this deep, dark canon, after crossing the +Salt River, I remembered the things I had heard, of ambush and murder. +Our animals were too tired to go out of a walk, the night fell in black +shadows down between those high mountain walls, the chollas, which are a +pale sage-green color in the day-time, took on a ghastly hue. They were +dotted here and there along the road, and on the steep mountainsides. +They grew nearly as tall as a man, and on each branch were great +excrescences which looked like people's heads, in the vague light which +fell upon them. + +They nodded to us, and it made me shudder; they seemed to be something +human. + +The soldiers were not partial to MacDowell canon; they knew too much +about the place; and we all breathed a sigh of relief when we emerged +from this dark uncanny road and saw the lights of the post, lying low, +long, flat, around a square. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. OLD CAMP MACDOWELL + +We were expected, evidently, for as we drove along the road in front of +the officers' quarters they all came out to meet us, and we received a +great welcome. + +Captain Corliss of C company welcomed us to the post and to his company, +and said he hoped I should like MacDowell better than I did Ehrenberg. +Now Ehrenberg seemed years agone, and I could laugh at the mention of +it. + +Supper was awaiting us at Captain Corliss's, and Mrs. Kendall, wife +of Lieutenant Kendall, Sixth Cavalry, had, in Jack's absence, put the +finishing touches to our quarters. So I went at once to a comfortable +home, and life in the army began again for me. + +How good everything seemed! There was Doctor Clark, whom I had met first +at Ehrenberg, and who wanted to throw Patrocina and Jesusita into the +Colorado. I was so glad to find him there; he was such a good doctor, +and we never had a moment's anxiety, as long as he staid at Camp +MacDowell. Our confidence in him was unbounded. + +It was easy enough to obtain a man from the company. There were then +no hateful laws forbidding soldiers to work in officers' families; no +dreaded inspectors, who put the flat question, "Do you employ a soldier +for menial labor?" + +Captain Corliss gave me an old man by the name of Smith, and he was glad +to come and stay with us and do what simple cooking we required. One of +the laundresses let me have her daughter for nurserymaid, and our small +establishment at Camp MacDowell moved on smoothly, if not with elegance. + +The officers' quarters were a long, low line of adobe buildings with no +space between them; the houses were separated only by thick walls. In +front, the windows looked out over the parade ground. In the rear, they +opened out on a road which ran along the whole length, and on the other +side of which lay another row of long, low buildings which were the +kitchens, each set of quarters having its own. + +We occupied the quarters at the end of the row, and a large bay window +looked out over a rather desolate plain, and across to the large and +well-kept hospital. As all my draperies and pretty cretonnes had been +burnt up on the ill-fated ship, I had nothing but bare white shades at +the windows, and the rooms looked desolate enough. But a long divan was +soon built, and some coarse yellow cotton bought at John Smith's (the +sutler's) store, to cover it. My pretty rugs and mats were also gone, +and there was only the old ingrain carpet from Fort Russell. The floors +were adobe, and some men from the company came and laid down old canvas, +then the carpet, and drove in great spikes around the edge to hold it +down. The floors of the bedroom and dining-room were covered with canvas +in the same manner. Our furnishings were very scanty and I felt very +mournful about the loss of the boxes. We could not claim restitution as +the steamship company had been courteous enough to take the boxes down +free of charge. + +John Smith, the post trader (the name "sutler" fell into disuse about +now) kept a large store but, nothing that I could use to beautify my +quarters with--and our losses had been so heavy that we really could not +afford to send back East for more things. My new white dresses came and +were suitable enough for the winter climate of MacDowell. But I missed +the thousand and one accessories of a woman's wardrobe, the accumulation +of years, the comfortable things which money could not buy especially at +that distance. + +I had never learned how to make dresses or to fit garments and although +I knew how to sew, my accomplishments ran more in the line of outdoor +sports. + +But Mrs. Kendall whose experience in frontier life had made her +self-reliant, lent me some patterns, and I bought some of John Smith's +calico and went to work to make gowns suited to the hot weather. This +was in 1877, and every one will remember that the ready-made house-gowns +were not to be had in those days in the excellence and profusion in +which they can to-day be found, in all parts of the country. + +Now Mrs. Kendall was a tall, fine woman, much larger than I, but I used +her patterns without alterations, and the result was something like a +bag. They were freshly laundried and cool, however, and I did not place +so much importance on the lines of them, as the young women of the +present time do. To-day, the poorest farmer's wife in the wilds of +Arkansas or Alaska can wear better fitting gowns than I wore then. But +my riding habits, of which I had several kinds, to suit warm and cold +countries, had been left in Jack's care at Ehrenberg, and as long as +these fitted well, it did not so much matter about the gowns. + +Captain Chaffee, who commanded the company of the Sixth Cavalry +stationed there, was away on leave, but Mr. Kendall, his first +lieutenant, consented for me to exercise "Cochise," Captain Chaffee's +Indian pony, and I had a royal time. + +Cavalry officers usually hate riding: that is, riding for pleasure; +for they are in the saddle so much, for dead earnest work; but a young +officer, a second lieutenant, not long out from the Academy, liked to +ride, and we had many pleasant riding parties. Mr. Dravo and I rode one +day to the Mormon settlement, seventeen miles away, on some business +with the bishop, and a Mormon woman gave us a lunch of fried salt pork, +potatoes, bread, and milk. How good it tasted, after our long ride! and +how we laughed about it all, and jollied, after the fashion of young +people, all the way back to the post! Mr Dravo had also lost all his +things on the "Montana," and we sympathized greatly with each other. +He, however, had sent an order home to Pennsylvania, duplicating all the +contents of his boxes. I told him I could not duplicate mine, if I sent +a thousand orders East. + +When, after some months, his boxes came, he brought me in a package, +done up in tissue paper and tied with ribbon: "Mother sends you these; +she wrote that I was not to open them; I think she felt sorry for you, +when I wrote her you had lost all your clothing. I suppose," he added, +mustering his West Point French to the front, and handing me the +package, "it is what you ladies call 'lingerie.'" + +I hope I blushed, and I think I did, for I was not so very old, and +I was touched by this sweet remembrance from the dear mother back in +Pittsburgh. And so many lovely things happened all the time; everybody +was so kind to me. Mrs. Kendall and her young sister, Kate Taylor, Mrs. +John Smith and I, were the only women that winter at Camp MacDowell. +Afterwards, Captain Corliss brought a bride to the post, and a new +doctor took Doctor Clark's place. + +There were interminable scouts, which took both cavalry and infantry +out of the post. We heard a great deal about "chasing Injuns" in the +Superstition Mountains, and once a lieutenant of infantry went out to +chase an escaping Indian Agent. + +Old Smith, my cook, was not very satisfactory; he drank a good deal, and +I got very tired of the trouble he caused me. It was before the days of +the canteen, and soldiers could get all the whiskey they wanted at the +trader's store; and, it being generally the brand that was known in the +army as "Forty rod," they got very drunk on it sometimes. I never had +it in my heart to blame them much, poor fellows, for every human beings +wants and needs some sort of recreation and jovial excitement. + +Captain Corliss said to Jack one day, in my presence, "I had a fine +batch of recruits come in this morning." + +"That's lovely," said I; "what kind of men are they? Any good cooks +amongst them?" (for I was getting very tired of Smith). + +Captain Corliss smiled a grim smile. "What do you think the United +States Government enlists men for?" said he; "do you think I want my +company to be made up of dish-washers?" + +He was really quite angry with me, and I concluded that I had been +too abrupt, in my eagerness for another man, and that my ideas on the +subject were becoming warped. I decided that I must be more diplomatic +in the future, in my dealings with the Captain of C company. + +The next day, when we went to breakfast, whom did we find in the +dining-room but Bowen! Our old Bowen of the long march across the +Territory! Of Camp Apache and K company! He had his white apron on, his +hair rolled back in his most fetching style, and was putting the coffee +on the table. + +"But, Bowen," said I, "where--how on earth--did you--how did you know +we--what does it mean?" + +Bowen saluted the First Lieutenant of C company, and said: "Well, sir, +the fact is, my time was out, and I thought I would quit. I went to San +Francisco and worked in a miners' restaurant" (here he hesitated), "but +I didn't like it, and I tried something else, and lost all my money, and +I got tired of the town, so I thought I'd take on again, and as I knowed +ye's were in C company now, I thought I'd come to MacDowell, and I came +over here this morning and told old Smith he'd better quit; this was my +job, and here I am, and I hope ye're all well--and the little boy?" + +Here was loyalty indeed, and here was Bowen the Immortal, back again! + +And now things ran smoothly once more. Roasts of beef and haunches of +venison, ducks and other good things we had through the winter. + +It was cool enough to wear white cotton dresses, but nothing heavier. It +never rained, and the climate was superb, although it was always hot in +the sun. We had heard that it was very hot here; in fact, people called +MacDowell by very bad names. As the spring came on, we began to realize +that the epithets applied to it might be quite appropriate. + +In front of our quarters was a ramada, [*] supported by rude poles of +the cottonwood tree. Then came the sidewalk, and the acequia (ditch), +then a row of young cottonwood trees, then the parade ground. Through +the acequia ran the clear water that supplied the post, and under the +shade of the ramadas, hung the large ollas from which we dipped the +drinking water, for as yet, of course, ice was not even dreamed of in +the far plains of MacDowell. The heat became intense, as the summer +approached. To sleep inside the house was impossible, and we soon +followed the example of the cavalry, who had their beds out on the +parade ground. + + *A sort of rude awning made of brush and supported by + cottonwood poles. + +Two iron cots, therefore, were brought from the hospital, and placed +side by side in front of our quarters, beyond the acequia and the +cottonwood trees, in fact, out in the open space of the parade ground. +Upon these were laid some mattresses and sheets, and after "taps" had +sounded, and lights were out, we retired to rest. Near the cots stood +Harry's crib. We had not thought about the ants, however, and they +swarmed over our beds, driving us into the house. The next morning Bowen +placed a tin can of water under each point of contact; and as each cot +had eight legs, and the crib had four, twenty cans were necessary. He +had not taken the trouble to remove the labels, and the pictures of red +tomatoes glared at us in the hot sun through the day; they did not look +poetic, but our old enemies, the ants, were outwitted. + +There was another species of tiny insect, however, which seemed to drop +from the little cotton-wood trees which grew at the edge of the acequia, +and myriads of them descended and crawled all over us, so we had to +have our beds moved still farther out on to the open space of the parade +ground. + +And now we were fortified against all the venomous creeping things and +we looked forward to blissful nights of rest. + +We did not look along the line, when we retired to our cots, but if we +had, we should have seen shadowy figures, laden with pillows, flying +from the houses to the cots or vice versa. It was certainly a novel +experience. + +With but a sheet for a covering, there we lay, looking up at the starry +heavens. I watched the Great Bear go around, and other constellations +and seemed to come into close touch with Nature and the mysterious +night. But the melancholy solemnity of my communings was much affected +by the howling of the coyotes, which seemed sometimes to be so near +that I jumped to the side of the crib, to see if my little boy was being +carried off. The good sweet slumber which I craved never came to me in +those weird Arizona nights under the stars. + +At about midnight, a sort of dewy coolness would come down from the sky, +and we could then sleep a little; but the sun rose incredibly early in +that southern country, and by the crack of dawn sheeted figures were to +be seen darting back into the quarters, to try for another nap. The nap +rarely came to any of us, for the heat of the houses never passed off, +day or night, at that season. After an early breakfast, the long day +began again. + +The question of what to eat came to be a serious one. We experimented +with all sorts of tinned foods, and tried to produce some variety from +them, but it was all rather tiresome. We almost dreaded the visits of +the Paymaster and the Inspector at that season, as we never had anything +in the house to give them. + +One hot night, at about ten o'clock, we heard the rattle of wheels, and +an ambulance drew up at our door. Out jumped Colonel Biddle, Inspector +General, from Fort Whipple. "What shall I give him to eat, poor hungry +man?" I thought. I looked in the wire-covered safe, which hung outside +the kitchen, and discovered half a beefsteak-pie. The gallant Colonel +declared that if there was one thing above all others that he liked, it +was cold beefsteak-pie. Lieutenant Thomas of the Fifth Cavalry echoed +his sentiments, and with a bottle of Cocomonga, which was always kept +cooling somewhere, they had a merry supper. + +These visits broke the monotony of our life at Camp MacDowell. We heard +of the gay doings up at Fort Whipple, and of the lovely climate there. + +Mr. Thomas said he could not understand why we wore such bags of +dresses. I told him spitefully that if the women of Fort Whipple would +come down to MacDowell to spend the summer, they would soon be able +to explain it to him. I began to feel embarrassed at the fit of my +house-gowns. After a few days spent with us, however, the mercury +ranging from l04 to l20 degrees in the shade, he ceased to comment upon +our dresses or our customs. + +I had a glass jar of butter sent over from the Commissary, and asked +Colonel Biddle if he thought it right that such butter as that should +be bought by the purchasing officer in San Francisco. It had melted, +and separated into layers of dead white, deep orange and pinkish-purple +colors. Thus I, too, as well as General Miles, had my turn at trying to +reform the Commissary Department of Uncle Sam's army. + +Hammocks were swung under the ramadas, and after luncheon everybody +tried a siesta. Then, near sundown, an ambulance came and took us over +to the Verde River, about a mile away, where we bathed in water almost +as thick as that of the Great Colorado. We taught Mrs. Kendall to swim, +but Mr. Kendall, being an inland man, did not take to the water. Now the +Verde River was not a very good substitute for the sea, and the thick +water filled our ears and mouths, but it gave us a little half hour in +the day when we could experience a feeling of being cool, and we found +it worth while to take the trouble. Thick clumps of mesquite trees +furnished us with dressing-rooms. We were all young, and youth requires +so little with which to make merry. + +After the meagre evening dinner, the Kendalls and ourselves sat together +under the ramada until taps, listening generally to the droll anecdotes +told by Mr. Kendall, who had an inexhaustible fund. Then another night +under the stars, and so passed the time away. + +We lived, ate, slept by the bugle calls. Reveille means sunrise, when a +Lieutenant must hasten to put himself into uniform, sword and belt, and +go out to receive the report of the company or companies of soldiers, +who stand drawn up in line on the parade ground. + +At about nine o'clock in the morning comes the guard-mount, a function +always which everybody goes out to see. Then the various drill calls, +and recalls, and sick-call and the beautiful stable-call for the +cavalry, when the horses are groomed and watered, the thrilling +fire-call and the startling assembly, or call-to-arms, when every +soldier jumps for his rifle and every officer buckles on his sword, and +a woman's heart stands still. + +Then at night, "tattoo," when the company officers go out to receive the +report of "all present and accounted for"--and shortly after that, the +mournful "taps," a signal for the barrack lights to be put out. + +The bugle call of "taps" is mournful also through association, as it is +always blown over the grave of a soldier or an officer, after the coffin +has been lowered into the earth. The soldier-musicians who blow the +calls, seem to love the call of "taps," (strangely enough) and I +remember well that there at Camp MacDowell, we all used to go out and +listen when "taps went," as the soldier who blew it, seemed to put a +whole world of sorrow into it, turning to the four points of the compass +and letting its clear tones tremble through the air, away off across the +Maricopa desert and then toward the East, our home so faraway. We never +spoke, we just listened, and who can tell the thoughts that each one +had in his mind? Church nor ministers nor priests had we there in +those distant lands, but can we say that our lives were wholly without +religion? + +The Sunday inspection of men and barracks, which was performed with +much precision and formality, and often in full dress uniform, gave us +something by which we could mark the weeks, as they slipped along. There +was no religious service of any kind, as Uncle Sam did not seem to think +that the souls of us people in the outposts needed looking after. It +would have afforded much comfort to the Roman Catholics had there been a +priest stationed there. + +The only sermon I ever heard in old Camp MacDowell was delivered by +a Mormon Bishop and was of a rather preposterous nature, neither +instructive nor edifying. But the good Catholics read their prayer-books +at home, and the rest of us almost forgot that such organizations as +churches existed. + +Another bright winter found us still gazing at the Four Peaks of the +MacDowell Mountains, the only landmark on the horizon. I was glad, in +those days, that I had not staid back East, for the life of an officer +without his family, in those drear places, is indeed a blank and empty +one. + +"Four years I have sat here and looked at the Four Peaks," said Captain +Corliss, one day, "and I'm getting almighty tired of it." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. A SUDDEN ORDER + +In June, 1878, Jack was ordered to report to the commanding officer at +Fort Lowell (near the ancient city of Tucson), to act as Quartermaster +and Commissary at that post. This was a sudden and totally unexpected +order. It was indeed hard, and it seemed to me cruel. For our regiment +had been four years in the Territory, and we were reasonably sure of +being ordered out before long. Tucson lay far to the south of us, and +was even hotter than this place. But there was nothing to be done; we +packed up, I with a heavy heart, Jack with his customary stoicism. + +With the grief which comes only at that time in one's life, and which +sees no end and no limit, I parted from my friends at Camp MacDowell. +Two years together, in the most intimate companionship, cut off from +the outside world, and away from all early ties, had united us with +indissoluble bonds,--and now we were to part,--forever as I thought. + +We all wept; I embraced them all, and Jack lifted me into the +ambulance; Mrs. Kendall gave a last kiss to our little boy; Donahue, our +soldier-driver, loosened up his brakes, cracked his long whip, and away +we went, down over the flat, through the dark MacDowell canon, with the +chollas nodding to us as we passed, across the Salt River, and on across +an open desert to Florence, forty miles or so to the southeast of us. + +At Florence we sent our military transportation back and staid over a +day at a tavern to rest. We met there a very agreeable and cultivated +gentleman, Mr. Charles Poston, who was en route to his home, somewhere +in the mountains nearby. We took the Tucson stage at sundown, and +travelled all night. I heard afterwards more about Mr. Poston: he had +attained some reputation in the literary world by writing about the +Sun-worshippers of Asia. He had been a great traveller in his early +life, but now had built himself some sort of a house in one of the +desolate mountains which rose out of these vast plains of Arizona, +hoisted his sun-flag on the top, there to pass the rest of his days. +People out there said he was a sun-worshipper. I do not know. "But when +I am tired of life and people," I thought, "this will not be the place I +shall choose." + +Arriving at Tucson, after a hot and tiresome night in the stage, we went +to an old hostelry. Tucson looked attractive. Ancient civilization is +always interesting to me. + +Leaving me at the tavern, my husband drove out to Fort Lowell, to see +about quarters and things in general. In a few hours he returned with +the overwhelming news that he found a dispatch awaiting him at that +post, ordering him to return immediately to his company at Camp +MacDowell, as the Eighth Infantry was ordered to the Department of +California. + +Ordered "out" at last! I felt like jumping up onto the table, climbing +onto the roof, dancing and singing and shouting for joy! Tired as we +were (and I thought I had reached the limit), we were not too tired to +take the first stage back for Florence, which left that evening. Those +two nights on the Tucson stage are a blank in my memory. I got through +them somehow. + +In the morning, as we approached the town of Florence, the great blue +army wagon containing our household goods, hove in sight--its white +canvas cover stretched over hoops, its six sturdy mules coming along +at a good trot, and Sergeant Stone cracking his long whip, to keep up a +proper pace in the eyes of the Tucson stage-driver. + +Jack called him to halt, and down went the Sergeant's big brakes. +Both teams came to a stand-still, and we told the Sergeant the news. +Bewilderment, surprise, joy, followed each other on the old Sergeant's +countenance. He turned his heavy team about, and promised to reach Camp +MacDowell as soon as the animals could make it. At Florence, we left the +stage, and went to the little tavern once more; the stage route did not +lie in our direction, so we must hire a private conveyance to bring us +to Camp MacDowell. Jack found a man who had a good pair of ponies and an +open buckboard. Towards night we set forth to cross the plain which lies +between Florence and the Salt River, due northwest by the map. + +When I saw the driver I did not care much for his appearance. He did +not inspire me with confidence, but the ponies looked strong, and we had +forty or fifty miles before us. + +After we got fairly into the desert, which was a trackless waste, I +became possessed by a feeling that the man did not know the way. He +talked a good deal about the North Star, and the fork in the road, and +that we must be sure not to miss it. + +It was a still, hot, starlit night. Jack and the driver sat on the front +seat. They had taken the back seat out, and my little boy and I sat in +the bottom of the wagon, with the hard cushions to lean against through +the night. I suppose we were drowsy with sleep; at all events, the talk +about the fork of the road and the North Star faded away into dreams. + +I awoke with a chilly feeling, and a sudden jolt over a rock. "I do +not recollect any rocks on this road, Jack, when we came over it in the +ambulance," said I. + +"Neither do I," he replied. + +I looked for the North Star: I had looked for it often when in open +boats. It was away off on our left, the road seemed to be ascending and +rocky: I had never seen this piece of road before, that I was sure of. + +"We are going to the eastward," said I, "and we should be going +northwest." + +"My dear, lie down and go to sleep; the man knows the road; he is taking +a short cut, I suppose," said the Lieutenant. There was something not at +all reassuring in his tones, however. + +The driver did not turn his head nor speak. I looked at the North Star, +which was getting farther and farther on our left, and I felt the gloomy +conviction that we were lost on the desert. + +Finally, at daylight, after going higher and higher, we drew up in an +old deserted mining-camp. + +The driver jerked his ponies up, and, with a sullen gesture, said, "We +must have missed the fork of the road; this is Picket Post." + +"Great Heavens!" I cried; "how far out of the way are we?" + +"About fifteen miles," he drawled, "you see we shall have to go back to +the place where the road forks, and make a new start." + +I nearly collapsed with discouragement. I looked around at the ruined +walls and crumbling pillars of stone, so weird and so grey in the +dawning light: it might have been a worshipping place of the Druids. +My little son shivered with the light chill which comes at daybreak in +those tropical countries: we were hungry and tired and miserable: my +bones ached, and I felt like crying. + +We gave the poor ponies time to breathe, and took a bite of cold food +ourselves. + +Ah! that blighted and desolate place called Picket Post! Forsaken by God +and man, it might have been the entrance to Hades. + +Would the ponies hold out? They looked jaded to be sure, but we had +stopped long enough to breathe them, and away they trotted again, down +the mountain this time, instead of up. + +It was broad day when we reached the fork of the road, which we had not +been able to see in the night: there was no mistaking it now. + +We had travelled already about forty miles, thirty more lay before us; +but there were no hills, it was all flat country, and the owner of these +brave little ponies said we could make it. + +As we neared the MacDowell canon, we met Captain Corliss marching +out with his company (truly they had lost no time in starting for +California), and he told his First Lieutenant he would make slow +marches, that we might overtake him before he reached Yuma. + +We were obliged to wait at Camp MacDowell for Sergeant Stone to arrive +with our wagonful of household goods, and then, after a mighty weeding +out and repacking, we set forth once more, with a good team of mules +and a good driver, to join the command. We bade the Sixth Cavalry people +once more good-bye, but I was so nearly dead by this time, with the +heat, and the fatigue of all this hard travelling and packing up, that +the keener edge of my emotions was dulled. Eight days and nights spent +in travelling hither and thither over those hot plains in Southern +Arizona, and all for what? + +Because somebody in ordering somebody to change his station, had +forgotten that somebody's regiment was about to be ordered out of the +country it had been in for four years. Also because my husband was a +soldier who obeyed orders without questioning them. If he had been a +political wire-puller, many of our misfortunes might have been averted. +But then, while I half envied the wives of the wire-pullers, I took a +sort of pride in the blind obedience shown by my own particular soldier +to the orders he received. + +After that week's experience, I held another colloquy with myself, and +decided that wives should not follow their husbands in the army, and +that if I ever got back East again, I would stay: I simply could not go +on enduring these unmitigated and unreasonable hardships. + +The Florence man staid over at the post a day or so to rest his ponies. +I bade him good-bye and told him to take care of those brave little +beasts, which had travelled seventy miles without rest, to bring us +to our destination. He nodded pleasantly and drove away. "A queer +customer," I observed to Jack. + +"Yes," answered he, "they told me in Florence that he was a 'road agent' +and desperado, but there did not seem to be anyone else, and my orders +were peremptory, so I took him. I knew the ponies could pull us through, +by the looks of them; and road agents are all right with army officers, +they know they wouldn't get anything if they held 'em up." + +"How much did he charge you for the trip?" I asked. + +"Sixteen dollars," was the reply. And so ended the episode. Except that +I looked back to Picket Post with a sort of horror, I thought no more +about it. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. THE EIGHTH FOOT LEAVES ARIZONA + +And now after the eight days of most distressing heat, and the fatigue +of all sorts and varieties of travelling, the nights spent in a +stage-coach or at a desert inn, or in the road agent's buckboard, +holding always my little son close to my side, came six days more of +journeying down the valley of the Gila. + +We took supper in Phoenix, at a place known as "Devine's." I was hearing +a good deal about Phoenix; for even then, its gardens, its orchards +and its climate were becoming famous, but the season of the year was +unpropitious to form a favorable opinion of that thriving place, even if +my opinions of Arizona, with its parched-up soil and insufferable heat, +had not been formed already. + +We crossed the Gila somewhere below there, and stopped at our old +camping places, but the entire valley was seething hot, and the +remembrance of the December journey seemed but an aggravating dream. + +We joined Captain Corliss and the company at Antelope Station, and in +two more days were at Yuma City. By this time, the Southern Pacific +Railroad had been built as far as Yuma, and a bridge thrown across the +Colorado at this point. It seemed an incongruity. And how burning hot +the cars looked, standing there in the Arizona sun! + +After four years in that Territory, and remembering the days, weeks, and +even months spent in travelling on the river, or marching through the +deserts, I could not make the Pullman cars seem a reality. + +We brushed the dust of the Gila Valley from our clothes, I unearthed +a hat from somewhere, and some wraps which had not seen the light for +nearly two years, and prepared to board the train. + +I cried out in my mind, the prayer of the woman in one of Fisher's +Ehrenberg stories, to which I used to listen with unmitigated delight, +when I lived there. The story was this: "Mrs. Blank used to live here +in Ehrenberg; she hated the place just as you do, but she was obliged to +stay. Finally, after a period of two years, she and her sister, who had +lived with her, were able to get away. I crossed over the river with +them to Lower California, on the old rope ferry-boat which they used +to have near Ehrenberg, and as soon as the boat touched the bank, they +jumped ashore, and down they both went upon their knees, clasped their +hands, raised their eyes to Heaven, and Mrs. Blank said: 'I thank Thee, +oh Lord! Thou hast at last delivered us from the wilderness, and brought +us back to God's country. Receive my thanks, oh Lord!'" + +And then Fisher used to add: "And the tears rolled down their faces, and +I knew they felt every word they spoke; and I guess you'll feel about +the same way when you get out of Arizona, even if you don't quite drop +on your knees," he said. + +The soldiers did not look half so picturesque, climbing into the cars, +as they did when loading onto a barge; and when the train went across +the bridge, and we looked down upon the swirling red waters of the Great +Colorado from the windows of a luxurious Pullman, I sighed; and, with +the strange contradictoriness of the human mind, I felt sorry that +the old days had come to an end. For, somehow, the hardships and +deprivations which we have endured, lose their bitterness when they have +become only a memory. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA + +A portion of our regiment was ordered to Oregon, to join General Howard, +who was conducting the Bannock Campaign, so I remained that summer in +San Francisco, to await my husband's return. + +I could not break away from my Arizona habits. I wore only white +dresses, partly because I had no others which were in fashion, partly +because I had become imbued with a profound indifference to dress. + +"They'll think you're a Mexican," said my New England aunt (who regarded +all foreigners with contempt). "Let them think," said I; "I almost wish +I were; for, after all, they are the only people who understand the +philosophy of living. Look at the tired faces of the women in your +streets," I added, "one never sees that sort of expression down below, +and I have made up my mind not to be caught by the whirlpool of advanced +civilization again." + +Added to the white dresses, I smoked cigarettes, and slept all the +afternoons. I was in the bondage of tropical customs, and I had lapsed +back into a state of what my aunt called semi-barbarism. + +"Let me enjoy this heavenly cool climate, and do not worry me," I +begged. I shuddered when I heard people complain of the cold winds of +the San Francisco summer. How do they dare tempt Fate, thought I, and I +wished them all in Ehrenberg or MacDowell for one summer. "I think they +might then know something about climate, and would have something to +complain about!" + +How I revelled in the flowers, and all the luxuries of that delightful +city! + +The headquarters of the Eighth was located at Benicia, and General +Kautz, our Colonel, invited me to pay a visit to his wife. A pleasant +boat-trip up the Sacramento River brought us to Benicia. Mrs. Kautz, a +handsome and accomplished Austrian, presided over her lovely army home +in a manner to captivate my fancy, and the luxury of their surroundings +almost made me speechless. + +"The other side of army life," thought I. + +A visit to Angel Island, one of the harbor defences, strengthened this +impression. Four years of life in the southern posts of Arizona had +almost made me believe that army life was indeed but "glittering +misery," as the Germans had called it. + +In the autumn, the troops returned from Oregon, and C company was +ordered to Camp MacDermit, a lonely spot up in the northern part of +Nevada (Nevada being included in the Department of California). I was +sure by that time that bad luck was pursuing us. I did not know so much +about the "ins and outs" of the army then as I do now. + +At my aunt's suggestion, I secured a Chinaman of good caste for a +servant, and by deceiving him (also my aunt's advice) with the idea that +we were going only as far as Sacramento, succeeded in making him willing +to accompany us. + +We started east, and left the railroad at a station called "Winnemucca." +MacDermit lay ninety miles to the north. But at Winnemucca the Chinaman +balked. "You say: 'All'e same Saclamento': lis place heap too far: me +no likee!" I talked to him, and, being a good sort, he saw that I meant +well, and the soldiers bundled him on top of the army wagon, gave him a +lot of good-natured guying, and a revolver to keep off Indians, and so +we secured Hoo Chack. + +Captain Corliss had been obliged to go on ahead with his wife, who was +in the most delicate health. The post ambulance had met them at this +place. + +Jack was to march over the ninety miles, with the company. I watched +them starting out, the men, glad of the release from the railroad train, +their guns on their shoulders, stepping off in military style and in +good form. + +The wagons followed--the big blue army wagons, and Hoo Chack, looking +rather glum, sitting on top of a pile of baggage. + +I took the Silver City stage, and except for my little boy I was the +only passenger for the most of the way. We did the ninety miles without +resting over, except for relays of horses. + +I climbed up on the box and talked with the driver. I liked these +stage-drivers. They were "nervy," fearless men, and kind, too, and had a +great dash and go about them. They often had a quiet and gentle bearing, +but by that time I knew pretty well what sort of stuff they were made +of, and I liked to have them talk to me, and I liked to look out upon +the world through their eyes, and judge of things from their standpoint. + +It was an easy journey, and we passed a comfortable night in the stage. + +Camp MacDermit was a colorless, forbidding sort of a place. Only one +company was stationed there, and my husband was nearly always scouting +in the mountains north of us. The weather was severe, and the winter +there was joyless and lonesome. The extreme cold and the loneliness +affected my spirits, and I suffered from depression. + +I had no woman to talk to, for Mrs. Corliss, who was the only other +officer's wife at the post, was confined to the house by the most +delicate health, and her mind was wholly absorbed by the care of her +young infant. There were no nurses to be had in that desolate corner of +the earth. + +One day, a dreadful looking man appeared at the door, a person such as +one never sees except on the outskirts of civilization, and I wondered +what business brought him. He wore a long, black, greasy frock coat, +a tall hat, and had the face of a sneak. He wanted the Chinaman's +poll-tax, he said. + +"But," I suggested, "I never heard of collecting taxes in a Government +post; soldiers and officers do not pay taxes." + +"That may be," he replied, "but your Chinaman is not a soldier, and I am +going to have his tax before I leave this house." + +"So, ho," I thought; "a threat!" and the soldier's blood rose in me. + +I was alone; Jack was miles away up North. Hoo Chack appeared in the +hall; he had evidently heard the man's last remark. "Now," I said, "this +Chinaman is in my employ, and he shall not pay any tax, until I find out +if he be exempt or not." + +The evil-looking man approached the Chinaman. Hoo Chack grew a shade +paler. I fancied he had a knife under his white shirt; in fact, he felt +around for it. I said, "Hoo Chack, go away, I will talk to this man." + +I opened the front door. "Come with me" (to the tax-collector); "we will +ask the commanding officer about this matter." My heart was really in my +mouth, but I returned the man's steady and dogged gaze, and he followed +me to Captain Corliss' quarters. I explained the matter to the Captain, +and left the man to his mercy. "Why didn't you call the Sergeant of the +Guard, and have the man slapped into the guard-house?" said Jack, when +I told him about it afterwards. "The man had no business around here; he +was trying to browbeat you into giving him a dollar, I suppose." + +The country above us was full of desperadoes from Boise and Silver City, +and I was afraid to be left alone so much at night; so I begged Captain +Corliss to let me have a soldier to sleep in my quarters. He sent me old +Needham. So I installed old Needham in my guest chamber with his loaded +rifle. Now old Needham was but a wisp of a man; long years of service +had broken down his health; he was all wizened up and feeble; but he +was a soldier; I felt safe, and could sleep once more. Just the sight +of Needham and his old blue uniform coming at night, after taps, was a +comfort to me. + +Anxiety filled my soul, for Jack was scouting in the Stein Mountains +all winter in the snow, after Indians who were avowedly hostile, and had +threatened to kill on sight. He often went out with a small pack-train, +and some Indian scouts, five or six soldiers, and I thought it quite +wrong for him to be sent into the mountains with so small a number. + +Camp MacDermit was, as I have already mentioned, a "one-company post." +We all know what that may mean, on the frontier. Our Second Lieutenant +was absent, and all the hard work of winter scouting fell upon Jack, +keeping him away for weeks at a time. + +The Piute Indians were supposed to be peaceful, and their old chief, +Winnemucca, once the warlike and dreaded foe of the white man, was now +quiet enough, and too old to fight. He lived, with his family, at an +Indian village near the post. + +He came to see me occasionally. His dress was a curious mixture of +civilization and savagery. He wore the chapeau and dress-coat of a +General of the American Army, with a large epaulette on one shoulder. He +was very proud of the coat, because General Crook had given it to him. +His shirt, leggings and moccasins were of buckskin, and the long braids +of his coal-black hair, tied with strips of red flannel, gave the last +touch to this incongruous costume. + +But I must say that his demeanor was gentle and dignified, and, after +recovering from the superficial impressions which his startling costume +had at first made upon my mind, I could well believe that he had +once been the war-leader, as he was now the political head of his +once-powerful tribe. + +Winnemucca did not disdain to accept some little sugar-cakes from me, +and would sit down on our veranda and munch them. + +He always showed me the pasteboard medal which hung around his neck, +and which bore General Howard's signature; and he always said: "General +Howard tell me, me good Injun, me go up--up--up"--pointing dramatically +towards Heaven. On one occasion, feeling desperate for amusement, I said +to him: "General Howard very good man, but he make a mistake; where you +go, is not up--up--up, but," pointing solemnly to the earth below us, +"down--down--down." He looked incredulous, but I assured him it was a +nice place down there. + +Some of the scattered bands of the tribe, however, were restless +and unsubdued, and gave us much trouble, and it was these bands that +necessitated the scouts. + +My little son, Harry, four years old, was my constant and only +companion, during that long, cold, and anxious winter. + +My mother sent me an appealing invitation to come home for a year. I +accepted gladly, and one afternoon in May, Jack put us aboard the Silver +City stage, which passed daily through the post. + +Our excellent Chinese servant promised to stay with the "Captain" and +take care of him, and as I said "Good-bye, Hoo Chack," I noticed an +expression of real regret on his usually stolid features. + +Occupied with my thoughts, on entering the stage, I did not notice the +passengers or the man sitting next me on the back seat. Darkness soon +closed around us, and I suppose we fell asleep. Between naps, I heard a +queer clanking sound, but supposed it was the chains of the harness or +the stage-coach gear. The next morning, as we got out at a relay station +for breakfast, I saw the handcuffs on the man next to whom I had sat all +the night long. The sheriff was on the box outside. He very obligingly +changed seats with me for the rest of the way, and evening found us on +the overland train speeding on our journey East. Camp MacDermit with its +dreary associations and surroundings faded gradually from my mind, like +a dream. + + +***** + + +The year of 1879 brought us several changes. My little daughter was +born in mid-summer at our old home in Nantucket. As I lay watching the +curtains move gently to and fro in the soft sea-breezes, and saw my +mother and sister moving about the room, and a good old nurse rocking my +baby in her arms, I could but think of those other days at Camp Apache, +when I lay through the long hours, with my new-born baby by my side, +watching, listening for some one to come in. There was no one, no woman +to come, except the poor hard-working laundress of the cavalry, who did +come once a day to care for the baby. + +Ah! what a contrast! and I had to shut my eyes for fear I should cry, at +the mere thought of those other days. + + +***** + + +Jack took a year's leave of absence and joined me in the autumn at +Nantucket, and the winter was spent in New York, enjoying the theatres +and various amusements we had so long been deprived of. Here we met +again Captain Porter and Carrie Wilkins, who was now Mrs. Porter. They +were stationed at David's Island, one of the harbor posts, and we went +over to see them. "Yes," he said, "as Jacob waited seven years for +Rachel, so I waited for Carrie." + +The following summer brought us the good news that Captain Corliss' +company was ordered to Angel Island, in the bay of San Francisco. "Thank +goodness," said Jack, "C company has got some good luck, at last!" + +Joyfully we started back on the overland trip to California, which took +about nine days at that time. Now, travelling with a year-old baby and a +five-year-old boy was quite troublesome, and we were very glad when +the train had crossed the bleak Sierras and swept down into the lovely +valley of the Sacramento. + +Arriving in San Francisco, we went to the old Occidental Hotel, and as +we were going in to dinner, a card was handed to us. "Hoo Chack" was the +name on the card. "That Chinaman!" I cried to Jack. "How do you suppose +he knew we were here?" + +We soon made arrangements for him to accompany us to Angel Island, and +in a few days this "heathen Chinee" had unpacked all our boxes and made +our quarters very comfortable. He was rather a high-caste man, and as +true and loyal as a Christian. He never broke his word, and he staid +with us as long as we remained in California. + +And now we began to live, to truly live; for we felt that the years +spent at those desert posts under the scorching suns of Arizona had +cheated us out of all but a bare existence upon earth. + +The flowers ran riot in our garden, fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh +fish, and all the luxuries of that marvellous climate, were brought to +our door. + +A comfortable Government steamboat plied between San Francisco and its +harbor posts, and the distance was not great--only three quarters of an +hour. So we had a taste of the social life of that fascinating city, and +could enjoy the theatres also. + +On the Island, we had music and dancing, as it was the headquarters +of the regiment. Mrs. Kautz, so brilliant and gay, held grand court +here--receptions, military functions, lawn tennis, bright uniforms, were +the order of the day. And that incomparable climate! How I revelled in +it! When the fog rolled in from the Golden Gate, and enveloped the great +city of Saint Francis in its cold vapors, the Island of the Angels lay +warm and bright in the sunshine. + +The old Spaniards named it well, and the old Nantucket whalers who +sailed around Cape Horn on their way to the Ar'tic, away back in the +eighteen twenties, used to put in near there for water, and were +well familiar with its bright shores, before it was touched by man's +handiwork. + +Was there ever such an emerald green as adorned those hills which sloped +down to the bay? Could anything equal the fields of golden escholzchia +which lay there in the sunshine? Or the blue masses of "baby-eye," which +opened in the mornings and held up their pretty cups to catch the dew? + +Was this a real Paradise? + +It surely seemed so to us; and, as if Nature had not done enough, +the Fates stepped in and sent all the agreeable young officers of the +regiment there, to help us enjoy the heavenly spot. + +There was Terrett, the handsome and aristocratic young Baltimorean, one +of the finest men I ever saw in uniform; and Richardson, the stalwart +Texan, and many others, with whom we danced and played tennis, and +altogether there was so much to do and to enjoy that Time rushed by and +we knew only that we were happy, and enchanted with Life. + +Did any uniform ever equal that of the infantry in those days? The +dark blue, heavily braided "blouse," the white stripe on the light blue +trousers, the jaunty cap? And then, the straight backs and the slim +lines of those youthful figures! It seems to me any woman who was not an +Egyptian mummy would feel her heart thrill and her blood tingle at the +sight of them. + +Indians and deserts and Ehrenberg did not exist for me any more. My +girlhood seemed to have returned, and I enjoyed everything with the +keenest zest. + +My old friend Charley Bailey, who had married for his second wife a most +accomplished young San Francisco girl, lived next door to us. + +General and Mrs. Kautz entertained so hospitably, and were so beloved by +all. Together Mrs. Kautz and I read the German classics, and went to the +German theatre; and by and by a very celebrated player, Friedrich Haase, +from the Royal Theatre of Berlin, came to San Francisco. We never missed +a performance, and when his tour was over, Mrs. Kautz gave a lawn party +at Angel Island for him and a few of the members of his company. It +was charming. I well remember how the sun shone that day, and, as we +strolled up from the boat with them, Frau Haase stopped, looked at the +blue sky, the lovely clouds, the green slopes of the Island and said: +"Mein Gott! Frau Summerhayes, was ist das fur ein Paradies! Warum haben +Sie uns nicht gesagt, Sie wohnten im Paradies!" + +So, with music and German speech, and strolls to the North and to the +South Batteries, that wonderful and never to-be-forgotten day with the +great Friedrich Haase came to an end. + +The months flew by, and the second winter found us still there; we heard +rumors of Indian troubles in Arizona, and at last the orders came. The +officers packed away their evening clothes in camphor and had their +campaign clothes put out to air, and got their mess-chests in order, +and the post was alive with preparations for the field. All the families +were to stay behind. The most famous Indian renegade was to be hunted +down, and serious fighting was looked for. + +At last all was ready, and the day was fixed for the departure of the +troops. + +The winter rains had set in, and the skies were grey, as the command +marched down to the boat. + +The officers and soldiers were in their campaign clothes; the latter had +their blanket-rolls and haversacks slung over their shoulders, and their +tin cups, which hung from the haversacks, rattled and jingled as they +marched down in even columns of four, over the wet and grassy slopes of +the parade ground, where so short a time before all had been glitter and +sunshine. + +I realized then perhaps for the first time what the uniform really stood +for; that every man who wore it, was going out to fight--that they +held their lives as nothing. The glitter was all gone; nothing but sad +reality remained. + +The officers' wives and the soldiers' wives followed the troops to the +dock. The soldiers marched single file over the gang-plank of the +boat, the officers said good-bye, the shrill whistle of the "General +McPherson" sounded--and they were off. We leaned back against the +coal-sheds, and soldiers' and officers' wives alike all wept together. + +And now a season of gloom came upon us. The skies were dull and murky +and the rain poured down. + +Our old friend Bailey, who was left behind on account of illness, grew +worse and finally his case was pronounced hopeless. His death added to +the deep gloom and sadness which enveloped us all. + +A few of the soldiers who had staid on the Island to take care of the +post, carried poor Bailey to the boat, his casket wrapped in the flag +and followed by a little procession of women. I thought I had never seen +anything so sad. + +The campaign lengthened out into months, but the California winters are +never very long, and before the troops came back the hills looked their +brightest green again. The campaign had ended with no very serious +losses to our troops and all was joyous again, until another order took +us from the sea-coast to the interior once more. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. CHANGING STATION + +It was the custom to change the stations of the different companies of a +regiment about every two years. So the autumn of '82 found us on the +way to Fort Halleck, a post in Nevada, but differing vastly from the +desolate MacDermit station. Fort Halleck was only thirteen miles south +of the Overland Railroad, and lay near a spur of the Humboldt range. +There were miles of sage-brush between the railroad and the post, but +the mountains which rose abruptly five thousand feet on the far side, +made a magnificent background for the officers' quarters, which lay +nestled at the bottom of the foot-hills. + +"Oh! what a lovely post!" I cried, as we drove in. + +Major Sanford of the First Cavalry, with Captain Carr and Lieutenant +Oscar Brown, received us. "Dear me," I thought, "if the First Cavalry is +made up of such gallant men as these, the old Eighth Infantry will have +to look out for its laurels." + +Mrs. Sanford and Mrs. Carr gave us a great welcome and vied with each +other in providing for our comfort, and we were soon established. + +It was so good to see the gay yellow of the cavalry again! Now I rode, +to my heart's content, and it was good to be alive; to see the cavalry +drill, and to ride through the canons, gorgeous in their flaming autumn +tints; then again to gallop through the sage-brush, jumping where we +could not turn, starting up rabbits by the score. + +That little old post, now long since abandoned, marked a pleasant epoch +in our life. From the ranches scattered around we could procure butter +and squabs and young vegetables, and the soldiers cultivated great +garden patches, and our small dinners and breakfasts live in delightful +memory. + +At the end of two years spent so pleasantly with the people of the First +Cavalry, our company was again ordered to Angel Island. But a second +very active campaign in Arizona and Mexico, against Geronimo, took our +soldiers away from us, and we passed through a period of considerable +anxiety. June of '86 saw the entire regiment ordered to take station in +Arizona once more. + +We travelled to Tucson in a Pullman car. It was hot and uninteresting. +I had been at Tucson nine years before, for a few hours, but the place +seemed unfamiliar. I looked for the old tavern; I saw only the railroad +restaurant. We went in to take breakfast, before driving out to the +post of Fort Lowell, seven miles away. Everything seemed changed. Iced +cantaloupe was served by a spick-span alert waiter; then, quail on +toast. "Ice in Arizona?" It was like a dream, and I remarked to Jack, +"This isn't the same Arizona we knew in '74," and then, "I don't believe +I like it as well, either; all this luxury doesn't seem to belong to the +place." + +After a drive behind some smart mules, over a flat stretch of seven +miles, we arrived at Fort Lowell, a rather attractive post, with a long +line of officers' quarters, before which ran a level road shaded by +beautiful great trees. We were assigned a half of one of these sets of +quarters, and as our half had no conveniences for house-keeping, it +was arranged that we should join a mess with General and Mrs. Kautz and +their family. We soon got settled down to our life there, and we had +various recreations; among them, driving over to Tucson and riding on +horseback are those which I remember best. We made a few acquaintances +in Tucson, and they sometimes drove out in the evenings, or more +frequently rode out on horseback. Then we would gather together on the +Kautz piazza and everybody sang to the accompaniment of Mrs. Kautz's +guitar. It was very hot, of course; we had all expected that, but the +luxuries obtainable through the coming of the railroad, such as ice, and +various summer drinks, and lemons, and butter, helped out to make the +summer there more comfortable. + +We slept on the piazzas, which ran around the houses on a level with the +ground. At that time the fad for sleeping out of doors, at least amongst +civilized people, did not exist, and our arrangements were entirely +primitive. + +Our quarters were surrounded by a small yard and a fence; the latter was +dilapidated, and the gate swung on one hinge. We were seven miles from +anywhere, and surrounded by a desolate country. I did not experience the +feeling of terror that I had had at Camp Apache, for instance, nor the +grewsome fear of the Ehrenberg grave-yard, nor the appalling fright I +had known in crossing the Mogollon range or in driving through Sanford's +Pass. But still there was a haunting feeling of insecurity which hung +around me especially at night. I was awfully afraid of snakes, and no +sooner had we lain ourselves down on our cots to sleep, than I would +hear a rustling among the dry leaves that had blown in under our beds. +Then all would be still again; then a crackling and a rustling--in a +flash I would be sitting up in bed. "Jack, do you hear that?" Of course +I did not dare to move or jump out of bed, so I would sit, rigid, +scared. "Jack! what is it?" "Nonsense, Mattie, go to sleep; it's +the toads jumping about in the leaves." But my sleep was fitful and +disturbed, and I never knew what a good night's rest was. + +One night I was awakened by a tremendous snort right over my face. I +opened my eyes and looked into the wild eyes of a big black bull. I +think I must have screamed, for the bull ran clattering off the piazza +and out through the gate. By this time Jack was up, and Harry and +Katherine, who slept on the front piazza, came running out, and I said: +"Well, this is the limit of all things, and if that gate isn't mended +to-morrow, I will know the reason why." + +Now I heard a vague rumor that there was a creature of this sort in or +near the post, and that he had a habit of wandering around at night, +but as I had never seen him, it had made no great impression on my mind. +Jack had a great laugh at me, but I did not think then, nor do I now, +that it was anything to be laughed at. + +We had heard much of the old Mission of San Xavier del Bac, away the +other side of Tucson. Mrs. Kautz decided to go over there and go into +camp and paint a picture of San Xavier. It was about sixteen miles from +Fort Lowell. + +So all the camp paraphernalia was gotten ready and several of the +officers joined the party, and we all went over to San Xavier and camped +for a few days under the shadow of those beautiful old walls. This +Mission is almost unknown to the American traveler. + +Exquisite in color, form and architecture, it stands there a silent +reminder of the Past. + +The curious carvings and paintings inside the church, and the precious +old vestments which were shown us by an ancient custodian, filled +my mind with wonder. The building is partly in ruins, and the little +squirrels were running about the galleries, but the great dome is +intact, and many of the wonderful figures which ornament it. Of course +we know the Spanish built it about the middle or last of the sixteenth +century, and that they tried to christianize the tribes of Indians +who lived around in the vicinity. But there is no sign of priest or +communicant now, nothing but a desolate plain around it for miles. No +one can possibly understand how the building of this large and beautiful +mission was accomplished, and I believe history furnishes very little +information. In its archives was found quite recently the charter given +by Ferdinand and Isabella, to establish the "pueblo" of Tucson about the +beginning of the 16th century. + +After a few delightful days, we broke camp and returned to Fort Lowell. + +And now the summer was drawing to a close, and we were anticipating +the delights of the winter climate at Tucson, when, without a note of +warning, came the orders for Fort Niobrara. We looked, appalled, in each +other's faces, the evening the telegram came, for we did not even know +where Fort Niobrara was. + +We all rushed into Major Wilhelm's quarters, for he always knew +everything. We (Mrs. Kautz and several of the other ladies of the post, +and myself) were in a state of tremendous excitement. We pounded on +Major Wilhelm's door and we heard a faint voice from his bedroom (for it +was after ten o'clock); then we waited a few moments and he said, "Come +in." + +We opened the door, but there being no light in his quarters we could +not see him. A voice said: "What in the name of--" but we did not +wait for him to finish; we all shouted: "Where is Fort Niobrara?" "The +Devil!" he said. "Are we ordered there?" "Yes, yes," we cried; "where is +it?" "Why, girls," he said, relapsing into his customary moderate tones, +"It's a hell of a freezing cold place, away up north in Nebraska." + +We turned our backs and went over to our quarters to have a +consultation, and we all retired with sad hearts. + +Now, just think of it! To come to Fort Lowell in July, only to move in +November! What could it mean? It was hard to leave the sunny South, to +spend the winter in those congealed regions in the North. We were but +just settled, and now came another break-up! + +Our establishment now, with two children, several servants, two saddle +horses, and additional household furnishings, was not so simple as +in the beginning of our army life, when three chests and a box or two +contained our worldly goods. Each move we made was more difficult than +the last; our allowance of baggage did not begin to cover what we had to +take along, and this added greatly to the expense of moving. + +The enormous waste attending a move, and the heavy outlay incurred +in travelling and getting settled anew, kept us always poor; these +considerations increased our chagrin over this unexpected change of +station. There was nothing to be done, however. Orders are relentless, +even if they seem senseless, which this one did, to the women, at least, +of the Eighth Infantry. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. FORT NIOBRARA + +The journey itself, however, was not to be dreaded, although it was so +undesired. It was entirely by rail across New Mexico and Kansas, to +St. Joseph, then up the Missouri River and then across the state to +the westward. Finally, after four or five days, we reached the small +frontier town of Valentine, in the very northwest corner of the bleak +and desolate state of Nebraska. The post of Niobrara was four miles +away, on the Niobrara (swift water) River. + +Some officers of the Ninth Cavalry met us at the station with the post +ambulances. There were six companies of our regiment, with headquarters +and band. + +It was November, and the drive across the rolling prairie-land gave us +a fair glimpse of the country around. We crossed the old bridge over the +Niobrara River, and entered the post. The snow lay already on the brown +and barren hills, and the place struck a chill to my heart. + +The Ninth Cavalry took care of all the officers' families until we +could get established. Lieutenant Bingham, a handsome and +distinguished-looking young bachelor, took us with our two children +to his quarters, and made us delightfully at home. His quarters were +luxuriously furnished, and he was altogether adorable. This, to be sure, +helped to soften my first harsh impressions of the place. + +Quarters were not very plentiful, and we were compelled to take a house +occupied by a young officer of the Ninth. What base ingratitude it +seemed, after the kindness we had accepted from his regiment! But +there was no help for it. We secured a colored cook, who proved a very +treasure, and on inquiring how she came to be in those wilds, I learned +that she had accompanied a young heiress who eloped with a cavalry +lieutenant, from her home in New York some years before. + +What a contrast was here, and what a cruel contrast! With blood thinned +down by the enervating summer at Tucson, here we were, thrust into the +polar regions! Ice and snow and blizzards, blizzards and snow and ice! +The mercury disappeared at the bottom of the thermometer, and we had +nothing to mark any degrees lower than 40 below zero. Human calculations +had evidently stopped there. Enormous box stoves were in every room and +in the halls; the old-fashioned sort that we used to see in school-rooms +and meeting-houses in New England. Into these, the soldiers stuffed +great logs of mountain mahogany, and the fires were kept roaring day and +night. + +A board walk ran in front of the officers' quarters, and, desperate for +fresh air and exercise, some of the ladies would bundle up and go to +walk. But frozen chins, ears and elbows soon made this undesirable, and +we gave up trying the fresh air, unless the mercury rose to 18 below, +when a few of us would take our daily promenade. + +We could not complain of our fare, however, for our larder hung full of +all sorts of delicate and delicious things, brought in by the grangers, +and which we were glad to buy. Prairie-chickens, young pigs, venison, +and ducks, all hanging, to be used when desired. + +To frappe a bottle of wine, we stood it on the porch; in a few minutes +it would pour crystals. House-keeping was easy, but keeping warm was +difficult. + +It was about this time that the law was passed abolishing the +post-trader's store, and forbidding the selling of whiskey to soldiers +on a Government reservation. The pleasant canteen, or Post Exchange, the +soldiers' club-room, was established, where the men could go to relieve +the monotony of their lives. + +With the abolition of whiskey, the tone of the post improved greatly; +the men were contented with a glass of beer or light wine, the canteen +was well managed, so the profits went back into the company messes in +the shape of luxuries heretofore unknown; billiards and reading-rooms +were established; and from that time on, the canteen came to be +regarded in the army as a most excellent institution. The men gained in +self-respect; the canteen provided them with a place where they could +go and take a bite of lunch, read, chat, smoke, or play games with their +own chosen friends, and escape the lonesomeness of the barracks. + +But, alas! this condition of things was not destined to endure, for the +women of the various Temperance societies, in their mistaken zeal +and woeful ignorance of the soldiers' life, succeeded in influencing +legislation to such an extent that the canteen, in its turn, was +abolished; with what dire results, we of the army all know. + +Those estimable women of the W. C. T. U. thought to do good to the army, +no doubt, but through their pitiful ignorance of the soldiers' needs +they have done him an incalculable harm. + +Let them stay by their lectures and their clubs, I say, and their other +amusements; let them exercise their good influences nearer home, with a +class of people whose conditions are understood by them, where they can, +no doubt, do worlds of good. + +They cannot know the drear monotony of the barracks life on the frontier +in times of peace. I have lived close by it, and I know it well. A +ceaseless round of drill and work and lessons, and work and lessons and +drill--no recreation, no excitement, no change. + +Far away from family and all home companionship, a man longs for some +pleasant place to go, after the day's work is done. Perhaps these women +think (if, in their blind enthusiasm, they think at all) that a young +soldier or an old soldier needs no recreation. At all events, they have +taken from him the only one he had, the good old canteen, and given him +nothing in return. + +Now Fort Niobrara was a large post. There were ten companies, cavalry +and infantry, General August V. Kautz, the Colonel of the Eighth +Infantry, in command. + +And here, amidst the sand-hills of Nebraska, we first began to really +know our Colonel. A man of strong convictions and abiding honesty, a +soldier who knew his profession thoroughly, having not only achieved +distinction in the Civil War, but having served when little more than a +boy, in the Mexican War of 1846. Genial in his manners, brave and kind, +he was beloved by all. + +The three Kautz children, Frankie, Austin, and Navarra, were the +inseparable companions of our own children. There was a small school +for the children of the post, and a soldier by the name of Delany was +schoolmaster. He tried hard to make our children learn, but they did not +wish to study, and spent all their spare time in planning tricks to be +played upon poor Delany. It was a difficult situation for the +soldier. Finally, the two oldest Kautz children were sent East to +boarding-school, and we also began to realize that something must be +done. + +Our surroundings during the early winter, it is true, had been dreary +enough, but as the weather softened a bit and the spring approached, the +post began to wake up. + +In the meantime, Cupid had not been idle. It was observed that Mr. +Bingham, our gracious host of the Ninth Cavalry, had fallen in love with +Antoinette, the pretty and attractive daughter of Captain Lynch of our +own regiment, and the post began to be on the qui vive to see how the +affair would end, for nobody expects to see the course of true love run +smooth. In their case, however, the Fates were kind and in due time the +happy engagement was announced. + +We had an excellent amusement hall, with a fine floor for dancing. The +chapel was at one end, and a fairly good stage was at the other. + +Being nearer civilization now, in the state of Nebraska, Uncle Sam +provided us with a chaplain, and a weekly service was held by the +Anglican clergyman--a tall, well-formed man, a scholar and, as we say, a +gentleman. He wore the uniform of the army chaplain, and as far as looks +went could hold his own with any of the younger officers. And it was a +great comfort to the church people to have this weekly service. + +During the rest of the time, the chapel was concealed by heavy curtains, +and the seats turned around facing the stage. + +We had a good string orchestra of twenty or more pieces, and as there +were a number of active young bachelors at the post, a series of weekly +dances was inaugurated. Never did I enjoy dancing more than at this +time. + +Then Mrs. Kautz, who was a thorough music lover and had a cultivated +taste as well as a trained and exquisite voice, gave several musicales, +for which much preparation was made, and which were most delightful. +These were given at the quarters of General Kautz, a long, low, rambling +one-story house, arranged with that artistic taste for which Mrs. Kautz +was distinguished. + +Then came theatricals, all managed by Mrs. Kautz, whose talents were +versatile. + +We charged admission, for we needed some more scenery, and the +neighboring frontier town of Valentine came riding and driving over +the prairie and across the old bridge of the Niobrara River, to see our +plays. We had a well-lighted stage. Our methods were primitive, as there +was no gas or electricity there in those days, but the results were +good, and the histrionic ability shown by some of our young men and +women seemed marvellous to us. + +I remember especially Bob Emmet's acting, which moved me to tears, in a +most pathetic love scene. I thought, "What has the stage lost, in this +gifted man!" + +But he is of a family whose talents are well known, and his personality, +no doubt, added much to his natural ability as an actor. + +Neither the army nor the stage can now claim this brilliant cavalry +officer, as he was induced, by urgent family reasons, shortly after the +period of which I am writing, to resign his commission and retire to +private life, at the very height of his ambitious career. + +And now the summer came on apace. A tennis-court was made, and added +greatly to our amusement. We were in the saddle every day, and the +country around proved very attractive at this season, both for riding +and driving. + +But all this gayety did not content me, for the serious question of +education for our children now presented itself; the question which, +sooner or later, presents itself to the minds of all the parents of army +children. It is settled differently by different people. It had taken a +year for us to decide. + +I made up my mind that the first thing to be done was to take the +children East and then decide on schools afterwards. So our plans were +completed and the day of departure fixed upon. Jack was to remain at the +Post. + +About an hour before I was to leave I saw the members of the string +orchestra filing across the parade ground, coming directly towards our +quarters. My heart began to beat faster, as I realized that Mrs. Kautz +had planned a serenade for me. I felt it was a great break in my army +life, but I did not know I was leaving the old regiment forever, the +regiment with which I had been associated for so many years. And as I +listened to the beautiful strains of the music I loved so well, my +eyes were wet with tears, and after all the goodbye's were said, to the +officers and their wives, my friends who had shared all our joys and our +sorrows in so many places and under so many conditions, I ran out to +the stable and pressed my cheek against the soft warm noses of our two +saddle horses. I felt that life was over for me, and nothing but work +and care remained. I say I felt all this. It must have been premonition, +for I had no idea that I was leaving the line of the army forever. + +The ambulance was at the door, to take us to Valentine, where I bade +Jack good bye, and took the train for the East. His last promise was to +visit us once a year, or whenever he could get a leave of absence. + +My husband had now worn the single bar on his shoulder-strap for eleven +years or more; before that, the straps of the second lieutenant had +adorned his broad shoulders for a period quite as long. Twenty-two +years a lieutenant in the regular army, after fighting, in a volunteer +regiment of his own state, through the four years of the Civil War! The +"gallant and meritorious service" for which he had received brevets, +seemed, indeed, to have been forgotten. He had grown grey in Indian +campaigns, and it looked as if the frontier might always be the home of +the senior lieutenant of the old Eighth. Promotion in that regiment had +been at a standstill for years. + +Being in Washington for a short time towards mid-winter enjoying the +social side of military life at the Capital, an opportunity came to me +to meet President Cleveland, and although his administration was nearing +its close, and the stress of official cares was very great, he seemed to +have leisure and interest to ask me about my life on the frontier; and +as the conversation became quite personal, the impulse seized me, to +tell him just how I felt about the education of our children, and then +to tell him what I thought and what others thought about the unjust +way in which the promotions and retirements in our regiment had been +managed. + +He listened with the greatest interest and seemed pleased with my +frankness. He asked me what the soldiers and officers out there thought +of "So and So." "They hate him," I said. + +Whereupon he laughed outright and I knew I had committed an +indiscretion, but life on the frontier does not teach one diplomacy +of speech, and by that time I was nerved up to say just what I felt, +regardless of results. + +"Well," he said, smiling, "I am afraid I cannot interfere much with +those military matters;" then, pointing with his left hand and thumb +towards the War Department, "they fix them all up over there in the +Adjutant General's office," he added. + +Then he asked me many more questions; if I had always stayed out there +with my husband, and why I did not live in the East, as so many +army women did; and all the time I could hear the dull thud of the +carpenters' hammers, for they were building even then the board seats +for the public who would witness the inaugural ceremonies of his +successor, and with each stroke of the hammer, his face seemed to grow +more sad. + +I felt the greatness of the man; his desire to be just and good: his +marvellous personal power, his ability to understand and to sympathize, +and when I parted from him he said again laughingly, "Well, I shall not +forget your husband's regiment, and if anything turns up for those fine +men you have told me about, they will hear from me." And I knew they +were the words of a man, who meant what he said. + +In the course of our conversation he had asked, "Who are these men? Do +they ever come to Washington? I rarely have these things explained to me +and I have little time to interfere with the decisions of the Adjutant +General's office." + +I replied: "No, Mr. President, they are not the men you see around +Washington. Our regiment stays on the frontier, and these men are the +ones who do the fighting, and you people here in Washington are apt to +forget all about them." + +"What have they ever done? Were they in the Civil War?" he asked. + +"Their records stand in black and white in the War Department," I +replied, "if you have the interest to learn more about them." + +"Women's opinions are influenced by their feelings," he said. + +"Mine are based upon what I know, and I am prepared to stand by my +convictions," I replied. + +Soon after this interview, I returned to New York and I did not give the +matter very much further thought, but my impression of the greatness of +Mr. Cleveland and of his powerful personality has remained with me to +this day. + +A vacancy occurred about this time in the Quartermaster's Department, +and the appointment was eagerly sought for by many Lieutenants of the +army. President Cleveland saw fit to give the appointment to Lieutenant +Summerhayes, making him a Captain and Quartermaster, and then, another +vacancy occurring shortly after, he appointed Lieutenant John McEwen +Hyde to be also a Captain and Quartermaster. + +Lieutenant Hyde stood next in rank to my husband and had grown grey in +the old Eighth Infantry. So the regiment came in for its honor at last, +and General Kautz, when the news of the second appointment reached him, +exclaimed, "Well! well! does the President think my regiment a nursery +for the Staff?" + +The Eighth Foot and the Ninth Horse at Niobrara gave the new Captain and +Quartermaster a rousing farewell, for now my husband was leaving his old +regiment forever; and, while he appreciated fully the honor of his new +staff position, he felt a sadness at breaking off the associations of +so many years--a sadness which can scarcely be understood by the young +officers of the present day, who are promoted from one regiment to +another, and rarely remain long enough with one organization to know +even the men of their own Company. + +There were many champagne suppers, dinners and card-parties given for +him, to make the good-bye something to be remembered, and at the end of +a week's festivities, he departed by a night train from Valentine, thus +eluding the hospitality of those generous but wild frontiersmen, who +were waiting to give him what they call out there a "send-off." + +For Valentine was like all frontier towns; a row of stores and saloons. +The men who kept them were generous, if somewhat rough. One of the +officers of the post, having occasion to go to the railroad station one +day at Valentine, saw the body of a man hanging to a telegraph pole a +short distance up the track. He said to the station man: "What does that +mean?" (nodding his head in the direction of the telegraph pole). + +"Why, it means just this," said the station man, "the people who hung +that man last night had the nerve to put him right in front of this +place, by G--. What would the passengers think of this town, sir, as +they went by? Why, the reputation of Valentine would be ruined! Yes, +sir, we cut him down and moved him up a pole or two. He was a hard case, +though," he added. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. SANTA FE + +I made haste to present Captain Summerhayes with the shoulder-straps of +his new rank, when he joined me in New York. + + +***** + + +The orders for Santa Fe reached us in mid-summer at Nantucket. I knew +about as much of Santa Fe as the average American knows, and that was +nothing; but I did know that the Staff appointment solved the problem of +education for us (for Staff officers are usually stationed in cities), +and I knew that our frontier life was over. I welcomed the change, for +our children were getting older, and we were ourselves approaching the +age when comfort means more to one than it heretofore has. + +Jack obeyed his sudden orders, and I followed him as soon as possible. + +Arriving at Santa Fe in the mellow sunlight of an October day, we were +met by my husband and an officer of the Tenth Infantry, and as we drove +into the town, its appearance of placid content, its ancient buildings, +its great trees, its clear air, its friendly, indolent-looking +inhabitants, gave me a delightful feeling of home. A mysterious charm +seemed to possess me. It was the spell which that old town loves to +throw over the strangers who venture off the beaten track to come within +her walls. + +Lying only eighteen miles away, over a small branch road from Llamy +(a station on the Atchison and Topeka Railroad), few people take the +trouble to stop over to visit it. "Dead old town," says the commercial +traveller, "nothing doing there." + +And it is true. + +But no spot that I have visited in this country has thrown around me +the spell of enchantment which held me fast in that sleepy and historic +town. + +The Governor's Palace, the old plaza, the ancient churches, the +antiquated customs, the Sisters' Hospital, the old Convent of Our Lady +of Loretto, the soft music of the Spanish tongue, I loved them all. + +There were no factories; no noise was ever heard; the sun shone +peacefully on, through winter and summer alike. There was no cold, +no heat, but a delightful year-around climate. Why the place was not +crowded with health seekers, was a puzzle to me. I had thought that the +bay of San Francisco offered the most agreeable climate in America, +but, in the Territory of New Mexico, Santa Fe was the perfection of all +climates combined. + +The old city lies in the broad valley of the Santa Fe Creek, but the +valley of the Santa Fe Creek lies seven thousand feet above the +sea level. I should never have known that we were living at a great +altitude, if I had not been told, for the equable climate made us forget +to inquire about height or depth or distance. + +I listened to old Father de Fourri preach his short sermons in English +to the few Americans who sat on one side of the aisle, in the church of +Our Lady of Guadaloupe; then, turning with an easy gesture towards his +Mexican congregation, who sat or knelt near the sanctuary, and saying, +"Hermanos mios," he gave the same discourse in good Spanish. I felt +comfortable in the thought that I was improving my Spanish as well as +profiting by Father de Fourri's sound logic. This good priest had grown +old at Santa Fe in the service of his church. + +The Mexican women, with their black ribosos wound around their heads and +concealing their faces, knelt during the entire mass, and made many long +responses in Latin. + +After years spent in a heathenish manner, as regards all church +observations, this devout and unique service, following the customs of +ancient Spain, was interesting to me in the extreme. + +Sometimes on a Sunday afternoon I attended Vespers in the chapel of +the Sisters' Hospital (as it was called). A fine Sanitarium, managed +entirely by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity. + +Sister Victoria, who was at the head of the management, was not only a +very beautiful woman, but she had an agreeable voice and always led in +the singing. + +It seemed like Heaven. + +I wrote to my friends in the East to come to the Sisters' Hospital if +they wanted health, peace and happiness, for it was surely to be found +there. I visited the convent of Our Lady of Loretto: I stood before a +high wall in an embrasure of which there was a low wooden gate; I pulled +on a small knotted string which hung out of a little hole, and a +queer old bell rang. Then one of the nuns came and let me in, across a +beautiful garden to the convent school. I placed my little daughter as +a day pupil there, as she was now eleven years old. The nuns spoke very +little English and the children none at all. + +The entire city was ancient, Spanish, Catholic, steeped in a religious +atmosphere and in what the average American Protestant would call +the superstitions of the dark ages. There were endless fiestas, and +processions and religious services, I saw them all and became much +interested in reading the history of the Catholic missions, established +so early out through what was then a wild and unexplored country. After +that, I listened with renewed interest to old Father de Fouri, who had +tended and led his flock of simple people so long and so lovingly. + +There was a large painting of Our Lady of Guadaloupe over the +altar--these people firmly believed that she had appeared to them, on +the earth, and so strong was the influence around me that I began almost +to believe it too. I never missed the Sunday morning mass, and I fell in +easily with the religious observances. + +I read and studied about the old explorers, and I seemed to live in +the time of Cortez and his brave band. I became acquainted with Adolf +Bandelier, who had lived for years in that country, engaged in research +for the American Archaeological Society. I visited the Indian pueblos, +those marvellous structures of adobe, where live entire tribes, and saw +natives who have not changed their manner of speech or dress since the +days when the Spaniards first penetrated to their curious dwellings, +three hundred or more years ago. I climbed the rickety ladders, by which +one enters these strange dwellings, and bought the great bowls which +these Indians shape in some manner without the assistance of a potter's +wheel, and then bake in their mud ovens. + +The pueblo of Tesuque is only nine miles from Santa Fe, and a pleasant +drive, at that; it seemed strange to me that the road was not lined +with tourists. But no, they pass all these wonders by, in their +disinclination to go off the beaten track. + +Visiting the pueblos gets to be a craze. Governor and Mrs. Prince knew +them all--the pueblo of Taos, of Santa Clara, San Juan, and others; and +the Governor's collection of great stone idols was a marvel indeed. +He kept them laid out on shelves, which resembled the bunks on a +great vessel, and in an apartment especially reserved for them, in his +residence at Santa Fe, and it was always with considerable awe that +I entered that apartment. The Governor occupied at that time a low, +rambling adobe house, on Palace Avenue, and this, with its thick walls +and low window-seats, made a fit setting for the treasures they had +gathered. + +Later on, the Governor's family occupied the palace (as it is always +called) of the old Spanish Viceroy, a most ancient, picturesque, yet +dignified building, facing the plaza. + +The various apartments in this old palace were used for Government +offices when we were stationed there in 1889, and in one of these rooms, +General Lew Wallace, a few years before, had written his famous book, +"Ben Hur." + +On the walls were hanging old portraits painted by the Spaniards in +the sixteenth century. They were done on rawhide, and whether these +interesting and historic pictures have been preserved by our Government +I do not know. + +The distinguished Anglican clergyman living there taught a small class +of boys, and the "Academy," an excellent school established by the +Presbyterian Board of Missions, afforded good advantages for the young +girls of the garrison. And as we had found that the Convent of Loretto +was not just adapted to the education of an American child, we withdrew +Katharine from that school and placed her at the Presbyterian Academy. + +To be sure, the young woman teacher gave a rousing lecture on total +abstinence once a week; going even so far as to say, that to partake of +apple sauce which had begun to ferment was yielding to the temptations +of Satan. The young woman's arguments made a disastrous impression +upon our children's minds; so much so, that the rich German Jews whose +daughters attended the school complained greatly; for, as they told us, +these girls would hasten to snatch the decanters from the sideboard, +at the approach of visitors, and hide them, and they began to sit +in judgment upon their elders. Now these men were among the leading +citizens of the town; they were self-respecting and wealthy. They could +not stand these extreme doctrines, so opposed to their life and their +traditions. We informed Miss X. one day that she could excuse our +children from the total abstinence lecture, or we should be compelled +to withdraw them from the school. She said she could not compel them to +listen, but preach she must. She remained obedient to her orders from +the Board, and we could but respect her for that. Our young daughters +were, however, excused from the lecture. + +But our time was not entirely given up to the study of ancient pottery, +for the social life there was delightful. The garrison was in the centre +of the town, the houses were comfortable, and the streets shaded by old +trees. The Tenth Infantry had its headquarters and two companies there. +Every afternoon, the military band played in the Plaza, where everybody +went and sat on benches in the shade of the old trees, or, if cool, in +the delightful sunshine. The pretty and well-dressed senoritas cast shy +glances at the young officers of the Tenth; but, alas! the handsome +and attractive Lieutenants Van Vliet and Seyburn, and the more sedate +Lieutenant Plummer, could not return these bewitching glances, as they +were all settled in life. + +The two former officers had married in Detroit, and both Mrs. Van Vliet +and Mrs. Seyburn did honor to the beautiful city of Michigan, for they +were most agreeable and clever women, and presided over their army homes +with distinguished grace and hospitality. + +The Americans who lived there were all professional people; mostly +lawyers, and a few bankers. I could not understand why so many Eastern +lawyers lived there. I afterwards learned that the old Spanish land +grants had given rise to illimitable and never-ending litigation. + +Every morning we rode across country. There were no fences, but the wide +irrigation ditches gave us a plenty of excitement, and the riding was +glorious. I had no occasion yet to realize that we had left the line of +the army. + +A camping trip to the head-waters of the Pecos, where we caught speckled +trout in great abundance in the foaming riffles and shallow pools +of this rushing mountain stream, remaining in camp a week under the +spreading boughs of the mighty pines, added to the variety and delights +of our life there. + +With such an existence as this, good health and diversion, the time +passed rapidly by. + +It was against the law now for soldiers to marry; the old days of +"laundresses" had passed away. But the trombone player of the Tenth +Infantry band (a young Boston boy) had married a wife, and now a baby +had come to them. They could get no quarters, so we took the family in, +and, as the wife was an excellent cook, we were able to give many small +dinners. The walls of the house being three feet thick, we were never +troubled by the trombone practice or the infant's cries. And many a +delightful evening we had around the board, with Father de Fourri, +Rev. Mr. Meany (the Anglican clergyman), the officers and ladies of the +Tenth, Governor and Mrs. Prince, and the brilliant lawyer folk of Santa +Fe. + +Such an ideal life cannot last long; this existence of ours does not +seem to be contrived on those lines. At the end of a year, orders came +for Texas, and perhaps it was well that orders came, or we might be in +Santa Fe to-day, wrapt in a dream of past ages; for the city of the Holy +Faith had bound us with invisible chains. + +With our departure from Santa Fe, all picturesqueness came to an end in +our army life. Ever after that, we had really good houses to live in, +which had all modern arrangements; we had beautiful, well-kept lawns +and gardens, the same sort of domestic service that civilians have, and +lived almost the same life. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. TEXAS + +Whenever I think of San Antonio and Fort Sam Houston, the perfume of the +wood violet which blossomed in mid-winter along the borders of our lawn, +and the delicate odor of the Cape jessamine, seem to be wafted about me. + +Fort Sam Houston is the Headquarters of the Department of Texas, and all +the Staff officers live there, in comfortable stone houses, with broad +lawns shaded by chinaberry trees. Then at the top of the hill is a great +quadrangle, with a clock tower and all the department offices. On the +other side of this quadrangle is the post, where the line officers live. + +General Stanley commanded the Department. A fine, dignified and able +man, with a great record as an Indian fighter. Jack knew him well, as +he had been with him in the first preliminary survey for the northern +Pacific Railroad, when he drove old Sitting Bull back to the Powder +River. + +He was now about to reach the age of retirement; and as the day +approached, that day when a man has reached the limit of his usefulness +(in the opinion of an ever-wise Government), that day which sounds the +knell of active service, that day so dreaded and yet so longed for, that +day when an army officer is sixty-four years old and Uncle Sam lays him +upon the shelf, as that day approached, the city of San Antonio, in fact +the entire State of Texas poured forth to bid him Godspeed; for if ever +an army man was beloved, it was General Stanley by the State of Texas. + +Now on the other side of the great quadrangle lay the post, where were +the soldiers' barracks and quarters of the line officers. This was +commanded by Colonel Coppinger, a gallant officer, who had fought in +many wars in many countries. + +He had his famous regiment, the Twenty-third Infantry, and many were +the pleasant dances and theatricals we had, with the music furnished +by their band; for, as it was a time of peace, the troops were all in +garrison. + +Major Burbank was there also, with his well-drilled Light Battery of the +3rd Artillery. + +My husband, being a Captain and Quartermaster, served directly under +General George H. Weeks, who was Chief Quartermaster of the Department, +and I can never forget his kindness to us both. He was one of the best +men I ever knew, in the army or out of it, and came to be one of my +dearest friends. He possessed the sturdy qualities of his Puritan +ancestry, united with the charming manners of an aristocrat. + +We belonged, of course, now, with the Staff, and something, an +intangible something, seemed to have gone out of the life. The officers +were all older, and the Staff uniforms were more sombre. I missed +the white stripe of the infantry, and the yellow of the cavalry. The +shoulder-straps all had gold eagles or leaves on them, instead of +the Captains' or Lieutenants' bars. Many of the Staff officers wore +civilians' clothes, which distressed me much, and I used to tell them +that if I were Secretary of War they would not be permitted to go about +in black alpaca coats and cinnamon-brown trousers. + +"What would you have us do?" said General Weeks. + +"Wear white duck and brass buttons," I replied. + +"Fol-de-rol!" said the fine-looking and erect Chief Quartermaster; "you +would have us be as vain as we were when we were Lieutenants?" + +"You can afford to be," I answered; for, even with his threescore years, +he had retained the lines of youth, and was, in my opinion, the finest +looking man in the Staff of the Army. + +But all my reproaches and all my diplomacy were of no avail in reforming +the Staff. Evidently comfort and not looks was their motto. + +One day, I accidentally caught a side view of myself in a long mirror +(long mirrors had not been very plentiful on the frontier), and was +appalled by the fact that my own lines corresponded but too well, alas! +with those of the Staff. Ah, me! were the days, then, of Lieutenants +forever past and gone? The days of suppleness and youth, the careless +gay days, when there was no thought for the future, no anxiety about +education, when the day began with a wild dash across country and ended +with a dinner and dance---were they over, then, for us all? + +Major Burbank's battery of light artillery came over and enlivened the +quiet of our post occasionally with their brilliant red color. At those +times, we all went out and stood in the music pavilion to watch the +drill; and when his horses and guns and caissons thundered down the hill +and swept by us at a terrific gallop, our hearts stood still. Even the +dignified Staff permitted themselves a thrill, and as for us women, our +excitement knew no bounds. + +The brilliant red of the artillery brought color to the rather grey +aspect of the quiet Headquarters post, and the magnificent drill +supplied the martial element so dear to a woman's heart. + +In San Antonio, the New has almost obliterated the Old, and little +remains except its pretty green river, its picturesque bridges, and the +historic Alamo, to mark it from other cities in the Southwest. + +In the late afternoon, everybody drove to the Plaza, where all the +country people were selling their garden-stuff and poultry in the open +square. This was charming, and we all bought live fowl and drove +home again. One heard cackling and gobbling from the smart traps and +victorias, and it seemed to be a survival of an old custom. The whole +town took a drive after that, and supped at eight o'clock. + +The San Antonio people believe there is no climate to equal theirs, and +talk much about the cool breezes from the Gulf of Mexico, which is some +miles away. But I found seven months of the twelve too hot for comfort, +and I could never detect much coolness in the summer breezes. + +After I settled down to the sedateness which is supposed to belong to +the Staff, I began to enjoy life very much. There is compensation for +every loss, and I found, with the new friends, many of whom had lived +their lives, and had known sorrow and joy, a true companionship which +enriched my life, and filled the days with gladness. + +My son had completed the High School course in San Antonio, under an +able German master, and had been sent East to prepare for the Stevens +Institute of Technology, and in the following spring I took my daughter +Katharine and fled from the dreaded heat of a Texas summer. Never can I +forget the child's grief on parting from her Texas pony. She extorted a +solemn promise from her father, who was obliged to stay in Texas, that +he would never part with him. + +My brother, then unmarried, and my sister Harriet were living together +in New Rochelle and to them we went. Harry's vacation enabled him to be +with us, and we had a delightful summer. It was good to be on the shores +of Long Island Sound. + +In the autumn, not knowing what next was in store for us, I placed my +dear little Katharine at the Convent of the Sacred Heart at Kenwood +on the Hudson, that she might be able to complete her education in one +place, and in the care of those lovely, gentle and refined ladies of +that order. + +Shortly after that, Captain Jack was ordered to David's Island, New +York Harbor (now called Fort Slocum), where we spent four happy and +uninterrupted years, in the most constant intercourse with my dear +brother and sister. + +Old friends were coming and going all the time, and it seemed so good to +us to be living in a place where this was possible. + +Captain Summerhayes was constructing officer and had a busy life, with +all the various sorts of building to be done there. + +David's Island was then an Artillery Post, and there were several +batteries stationed there. (Afterwards it became a recruiting station.) +The garrison was often entirely changed. At one time, General Henry C. +Cook was in command. He and his charming Southern wife added so much to +the enjoyment of the post. Then came our old friends the Van Vliets of +Santa Fe days; and Dr. and Mrs. Valery Havard, who are so well known in +the army, and then Colonel Carl Woodruff and Mrs. Woodruff, whom we all +liked so much, and dear Doctor Julian Cabell, and others, who completed +a delightful garrison. + +And we had a series of informal dances and invited the distinguished +members of the artist colony from New Rochelle, and it was at one of +these dances that I first met Frederic Remington. I had long admired his +work and had been most anxious to meet him. As a rule, Frederic did +not attend any social functions, but he loved the army, and as Mrs. +Remington was fond of social life, they were both present at our first +little invitation dance. + +About the middle of the evening I noticed Mr. Remington sitting alone +and I crossed the hall and sat down beside him. I then told him how much +I had loved his work and how it appealed to all army folks, and how +glad I was to know him, and I suppose I said many other things such +as literary men and painters and players often have to hear from +enthusiastic women like myself. However, Frederic seemed pleased, and +made some modest little speech and then fell into an abstracted silence, +gazing on the great flag which was stretched across the hall at one +end, and from behind which some few soldiers who were going to assist +in serving the supper were passing in and out. I fell in with his mood +immediately, as he was a person with whom formality was impossible, and +said: "What are you looking at, Mr. Remington?" He replied, turning +upon me his round boyish face and his blue eyes gladdening, "I was +just thinking I wished I was behind in there where those blue jackets +are--you know--behind that flag with the soldiers--those are the men +I like to study, you know, I don't like all this fuss and feathers of +society"--then, blushing at his lack of gallantry, he added: "It's all +right, of course, pretty women and all that, and I suppose you think I'm +dreadful and--do you want me to dance with you--that's the proper thing +here isn't it?" Whereupon, he seized me in his great arms and whirled me +around at a pace I never dreamed of, and, once around, he said, "that's +enough of this thing, isn't it, let's sit down, I believe I'm going to +like you, though I'm not much for women." I said "You must come over +here often;" and he replied, "You've got a lot of jolly good fellows +over here and I will do it." + +Afterwards, the Remingtons and ourselves became the closest friends. +Mrs. Remington's maiden name was Eva Caton, and after the first few +meetings, she became "little Eva" to me--and if ever there was an +embodiment of that gentle lovely name and what it implies, it is this +woman, the wife of the great artist, who has stood by him through all +the reverses of his early life and been, in every sense, his guiding +star. + +And now began visits to the studio, a great room he had built on to his +house at New Rochelle. It had an enormous fire place where great logs +were burned, and the walls were hung with the most rare and wonderful +Indian curios. There he did all the painting which has made him famous +in the last twenty years, and all the modelling which has already become +so well known and would have eventually made him a name as a great +sculptor. He always worked steadily until three o'clock and then +there was a walk or game of tennis or a ride. After dinner, delightful +evenings in the studio. + +Frederic was a student and a deep thinker. He liked to solve all +questions for himself and did not accept readily other men's theories. +He thought much on religious subjects and the future life, and liked to +compare the Christian religion with the religions of Eastern countries, +weighing them one against the other with fairness and clear logic. + +And so we sat, many evenings into the night, Frederic and Jack stretched +in their big leather chairs puffing away at their pipes, Eva with her +needlework, and myself a rapt listener: wondering at this man of genius, +who could work with his creative brush all day long and talk with the +eloquence of a learned Doctor of Divinity half the night. + +During the time we were stationed at Davids Island, Mr. Remington and +Jack made a trip to the Southwest, where they shot the peccary (wild +hog) in Texas and afterwards blue quail and other game in Mexico. +Artist and soldier, they got on famously together notwithstanding the +difference in their ages. + +And now he was going to try his hand at a novel, a real romance. We +talked a good deal about the little Indian boy, and I got to love White +Weasel long before he appeared in print as John Ermine. The book came +out after we had left New Rochelle--but I received a copy from him, and +wrote him my opinion of it, which was one of unstinted praise. But it +did not surprise me to learn that he did not consider it a success from +a financial point of view. + +"You see," he said a year afterwards, "that sort of thing does not +interest the public. What they want,"--here he began to mimic some funny +old East Side person, and both hands gesticulating--"is a back yard and +a cabbage patch and a cook stove and babies' clothes drying beside it, +you see, Mattie," he said. "They don't want to know anything about the +Indian or the half-breed, or what he thinks or believes." And then he +went off into one of his irresistible tirades combining ridicule and +abuse of the reading public, in language such as only Frederic Remington +could use before women and still retain his dignity. "Well, Frederic," I +said, "I will try to recollect that, when I write my experiences of Army +Life." + +In writing him my opinion of his book the year before, I had said, "In +fact, I am in love with John Ermine." The following Christmas he sent me +the accompanying card. + +Now the book was dramatized and produced, with Hackett as John Ermine, +at the Globe Theatre in September of 1902--the hottest weather ever on +record in Boston at that season. Of course seats were reserved for us; +we were living at Nantucket that year, and we set sail at noon to see +the great production. We snatched a bite of supper at a near-by hotel in +Boston and hurried to the theatre, but being late, had some difficulty +in getting our seats. + +The curtain was up and there sat Hackett, not with long yellow hair +(which was the salient point in the half-breed scout) but rather +well-groomed, looking more like a parlor Indian than a real live +half-breed, such as all we army people knew. I thought "this will never +do." + +The house was full, Hackett did the part well, and the audience murmured +on going out: "a very artistic success." But the play was too mystical, +too sad. It would have suited the "New Theatre" patrons better. I wrote +him from Nantucket and criticized one or two minor points, such as the +1850 riding habits of the women, which were slouchy and unbecoming and +made the army people look like poor emigrants and I received this letter +in reply: + +WEBSTER AVENUE, NEW ROCHELLE, N. Y. + +My dear Mrs. S., + +Much obliged for your talk--it is just what we want--proper impressions. + +I fought for that long hair but the management said the audience has got +to, have some Hackett--why I could not see--but he is a matinee idol and +that long with the box office. + +We'll dress Katherine up better. + +The long rehearsals at night nearly killed me--I was completely done up +and came home on train Monday in that terrific heat and now I am in the +hands of a doctor. Imagine me a week without sleep. + +Hope that fight took Jack back to his youth. For the stage I don't think +it was bad. We'll get grey shirts on their men later. + +The old lady arrives to-day--she has been in Gloversville. + +I think the play will go--but, we may have to save Ermine. The public is +a funny old cat and won't stand for the mustard. + +Well, glad you had a good time and of course you can't charge me up with +the heat. + +Yours, FREDERICK R. + + +Remington made a trip to the Yellowstone Park and this is what he wrote +to Jack. His letters were never dated. + +My dear Summerhayes: + +Say if you could get a few puffs of this cold air out here you would +think you were full of champagne water. I feel like a d--- kid-- + +I thought I should never be young again--but here I am only 14 years +old--my whiskers are falling out. + +Capt. Brown of the 1st cav. wishes to be remembered to you both. He is +Park Superintendent. Says if you will come out here he will take care of +you and he would. + +Am painting and doing some good work. Made a "govt. six" yesterday. + +In the course of time, he bought an Island in the St. Lawrence and they +spent several summers there. + +On the occasion of my husband accepting a detail in active service in +Washington at the Soldiers' Home, after his retirement, he received the +following letter. + + +INGLENEUK, CHIPPEWA BAY, N. Y. + +My dear Jack-- + +So there you are--and I'm d--- glad you are so nicely fixed. It's the +least they could do for you and you ought to be able to enjoy it for ten +years before they find any spavins on you if you will behave yourself, +but I guess you will drift into that Army and Navy Club and round up +with a lot of those old alkalied prairie-dogs whom neither Indians +nor whiskey could kill and Mr. Gout will take you over his route to +Arlington. + +I'm on the water wagon and I feel like a young mule. I am never going to +get down again to try the walking. If I lose my whip I am going to drive +right on and leave it. + +We are having a fine summer and I may run over to Washington this winter +and throw my eye over you to see how you go. We made a trip down to New +Foundland but saw nothing worth while. I guess I am getting to be an old +swat--I can't see anything that didn't happen twenty years ago, + +Y-- FREDERICK R. + + +At the close of the year just gone, this great soul passed from the +earth leaving a blank in our lives that nothing can ever fill. Passed +into the great Beyond whose mysteries were always troubling his mind. +Suddenly and swiftly the call came--the hand was stilled and the +restless spirit took its flight. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. DAVID'S ISLAND + +At Davids' Island the four happiest years of my army life glided swiftly +away. + +There was a small steam tug which made regular and frequent trips over +to New Rochelle and we enjoyed our intercourse with the artists and +players who lived there. + +Zogbaum, whose well known pictures of sailors and warships and soldiers +had reached us even in the far West, and whose charming family added so +much to our pleasure. + +Julian Hawthorne with his daughter Hildegarde, now so well known as a +literary critic; Henry Loomis Nelson, whose fair daughter Margaret +came to our little dances and promptly fell in love with a young, slim, +straight Artillery officer. A case of love at first sight, followed by a +short courtship and a beautiful little country wedding at Miss Nelson's +home on the old Pelham Road, where Hildegarde Hawthorne was bridesmaid +in a white dress and scarlet flowers (the artillery colors) and many +famous literary people from everywhere were present. + +Augustus Thomas, the brilliant playwright, whose home was near the +Remingtons on Lathers' Hill, and whose wife, so young, so beautiful and +so accomplished, made that home attractive and charming. + +Francis Wilson, known to the world at large, first as a singer in comic +opera, and now as an actor and author, also lived in New Rochelle, +and we came to have the honor of being numbered amongst his friends. A +devoted husband and kind father, a man of letters and a book lover, such +is the man as we knew him in his home and with his family. + +And now came the delicious warm summer days. We persuaded the +Quartermaster to prop up the little row of old bathing houses which had +toppled over with the heavy winter gales. There were several bathing +enthusiasts amongst us; we had a pretty fair little stretch of beach +which was set apart for the officers' families, and now what bathing +parties we had! Kemble, the illustrator, joined our ranks--and on a warm +summer morning the little old Tug Hamilton was gay with the artists and +their families, the players and writers of plays, and soon you could see +the little garrison hastening to the beach and the swimmers running down +the long pier, down the run-way and off head first into the clear waters +of the Sound. What a company was that! The younger and the older ones +all together, children and their fathers and mothers, all happy, all +well, all so gay, and we of the frontier so enamored of civilization +and what it brought us! There were no intruders and ah! those were happy +days. Uncle Sam seemed to be making up to us for what we had lost during +all those long years in the wild places. + +Then Augustus Thomas wrote the play of "Arizona" and we went to New York +to see it put on, and we sat in Mr. Thomas' box and saw our frontier +life brought before us with startling reality. + +And so one season followed another. Each bringing its pleasures, and +then came another lovely wedding, for my brother Harry gave up his +bachelor estate and married one of the nicest and handsomest girls in +Westchester County, and their home in New Rochelle was most attractive. +My son was at the Stevens Institute and both he and Katharine were able +to spend their vacations at David's Island, and altogether, our life +there was near to perfection. + +We were doomed to have one more tour in the West, however, and this time +it was the Middle West. + +For in the autumn of '96, Jack was ordered to Jefferson Barracks, +Missouri, on construction work. + +Jefferson Barracks is an old and historic post on the Mississippi River, +some ten miles south of St. Louis. I could not seem to take any interest +in the post or in the life there. I could not form new ties so quickly, +after our life on the coast, and I did not like the Mississippi Valley, +and St. Louis was too far from the post, and the trolley ride over there +too disagreeable for words. After seven months of just existing (on my +part) at Jefferson Barracks, Jack received an order for Fort Myer, the +end, the aim, the dream of all army people. Fort Myer is about three +miles from Washington, D. C. + +We lost no time in getting there and were soon settled in our pleasant +quarters. There was some building to be done, but the duty was +comparatively light, and we entered with considerable zest into the +social life of the Capital. We expected to remain there for two years, +at the end of which time Captain Summerhayes would be retired and +Washington would be our permanent home. + +But alas! our anticipation was never to be realized, for, as we all +know, in May of 1898, the Spanish War broke out, and my husband was +ordered to New York City to take charge of the Army Transport Service, +under Colonel Kimball. + +No delay was permitted to him, so I was left behind, to pack up the +household goods and to dispose of our horses and carriages as best I +could. + +The battle of Manila Bay had changed the current of our lives, and we +were once more adrift. + +The young Cavalry officers came in to say good-bye to Captain Jack: +every one was busy packing up his belongings for an indefinite period +and preparing for the field. We all felt the undercurrent of sadness +and uncertainty, but "a good health" and "happy return" was drunk +all around, and Jack departed at midnight for his new station and new +duties. + +The next morning at daybreak we were awakened by the tramp, tramp of the +Cavalry, marching out of the post, en route for Cuba. + +We peered out of the windows and watched the troops we loved so well, +until every man and horse had vanished from our sight. + +Fort Myer was deserted and our hearts were sad. + + +***** + +My sister Harriet, who was visiting us at that time, returned from her +morning walk, and as she stepped upon the porch, she said: "Well! of all +lonesome places I ever saw, this is the worst yet. I am going to pack +my trunk and leave. I came to visit an army post, but not an old women's +home or an orphan asylum: that is about all this place is now. I simply +cannot stay!" + +Whereupon, she proceeded immediately to carry out her resolution, and I +was left behind with my young daughter, to finish and close up our life +at Fort Myer. + +To describe the year which followed, that strenuous year in New York, is +beyond my power. + +That summer gave Jack his promotion to a Major, but the anxiety and the +terrible strain of official work broke down his health entirely, and in +the following winter the doctors sent him to Florida, to recuperate. + +After six weeks in St. Augustine, we returned to New York. The stress +of the war was over; the Major was ordered to Governor's Island as Chief +Quartermaster, Department of the East, and in the following year he was +retired, by operation of the law, at the age limit. + +I was glad to rest from the incessant changing of stations; the life +had become irksome to me, in its perpetual unrest. I was glad to find a +place to lay my head, and to feel that we were not under orders; to find +and to keep a roof-tree, under which we could abide forever. + +In 1903, by an act of Congress, the veterans of the Civil War, who had +served continuously for thirty years or more were given an extra +grade, so now my hero wears with complacency the silver leaf of the +Lieutenant-Colonel, and is enjoying the quiet life of a civilian. + +But that fatal spirit of unrest from which I thought to escape, and +which ruled my life for so many years, sometimes asserts its power, +and at those times my thoughts turn back to the days when we were all +Lieutenants together, marching across the deserts and mountains of +Arizona; back to my friends of the Eighth Infantry, that historic +regiment, whose officers and men fought before the walls of Chapultepec +and Mexico, back to my friends of the Sixth Cavalry, to the days at Camp +MacDowell, where we slept under the stars, and watched the sun rise from +behind the Four Peaks of the MacDowell Mountains: where we rode the +big cavalry horses over the sands of the Maricopa desert, swung in our +hammocks under the ramadas; swam in the red waters of the Verde River, +ate canned peaches, pink butter and commissary hams, listened for the +scratching of the centipedes as they scampered around the edges of our +canvas-covered floors, found scorpions in our slippers, and rattlesnakes +under our beds. + +The old post is long since abandoned, but the Four Peaks still stand, +wrapped in their black shadows by night, and their purple colors by day, +waiting for the passing of the Apache and the coming of the white man, +who shall dig his canals in those arid plains, and build his cities upon +the ruins of the ancient Aztec dwellings. + +The Sixth Cavalry, as well as the Eighth Infantry, has seen many +vicissitudes since those days. Some of our gallant Captains and +Lieutenants have won their stars, others have been slain in battle. + +Dear, gentle Major Worth received wounds in the Cuban campaign, which +caused his death, but he wore his stars before he obeyed the "last +call." + +The gay young officers of Angel Island days hold dignified commands in +the Philippines, Cuba, and Alaska. + + +***** + + +My early experiences were unusually rough. None of us seek such +experiences, but possibly they bring with them a sort of recompense, in +that simple comforts afterwards seem, by contrast, to be the greatest +luxuries. + +I am glad to have known the army: the soldiers, the line, and the Staff; +it is good to think of honor and chivalry, obedience to duty and the +pride of arms; to have lived amongst men whose motives were unselfish +and whose aims were high; amongst men who served an ideal; who +stood ready, at the call of their country, to give their lives for a +Government which is, to them, the best in the world. + +Sometimes I hear the still voices of the Desert: they seem to be calling +me through the echoes of the Past. I hear, in fancy, the wheels of the +ambulance crunching the small broken stones of the malapais, or grating +swiftly over the gravel of the smooth white roads of the river-bottoms. +I hear the rattle of the ivory rings on the harness of the six-mule +team; I see the soldiers marching on ahead; I see my white tent, so +inviting after a long day's journey. + +But how vain these fancies! Railroad and automobile have annihilated +distance, the army life of those years is past and gone, and Arizona, as +we knew it, has vanished from the face of the earth. + +THE END. + +APPENDIX. + +NANTUCKET ISLAND, June 1910. + +When, a few years ago, I determined to write my recollections of life +in the army, I was wholly unfamiliar with the methods of publishers, and +the firm to whom I applied to bring out my book, did not urge upon me +the advisability of having it electrotyped, firstly, because, as they +said afterwards, I myself had such a very modest opinion of my book, +and, secondly because they thought a book of so decidedly personal a +character would not reach a sale of more than a few hundred copies at +the farthest. The matter of electrotyping was not even discussed between +us. The entire edition of one thousand copies was exhausted in about +a year, without having been carried on the lists of any bookseller or +advertised in any way except through some circulars sent by myself to +personal friends, and through several excellent reviews in prominent +newspapers. + +As the demand for the book continued, I have thought it advisable to +re-issue it, adding a good deal that has come into my mind since its +publication. + + +***** + + +It was after the Colonel's retirement that we came to spend the summers +at Nantucket, and I began to enjoy the leisure that never comes into the +life of an army woman during the active service of her husband. We were +no longer expecting sudden orders, and I was able to think quietly over +the events of the past. + +My old letters which had been returned to me really gave me the +inspiration to write the book and as I read them over, the people and +the events therein described were recalled vividly to my mind--events +which I had forgotten, people whom I had forgotten--events and people +all crowded out of my memory for many years by the pressure of family +cares, and the succession of changes in our stations, by anxiety during +Indian campaigns, and the constant readjustment of my mind to new scenes +and new friends. + +And so, in the delicious quiet of the Autumn days at Nantucket, when the +summer winds had ceased to blow and the frogs had ceased their pipings +in the salt meadows, and the sea was wondering whether it should keep +its summer blue or change into its winter grey, I sat down at my desk +and began to write my story. + +Looking out over the quiet ocean in those wonderful November days, when +a peaceful calm brooded over all things, I gathered up all the threads +of my various experiences and wove them together. + +But the people and the lands I wrote about did not really exist for +me; they were dream people and dream lands. I wrote of them as they had +appeared to me in those early years, and, strange as it may seem, I did +not once stop to think if the people and the lands still existed. + +For a quarter of a century I had lived in the day that began with +reveille and ended with "Taps." + +Now on this enchanted island, there was no reveille to awaken us in the +morning, and in the evening the only sound we could hear was the "ruck" +of the waves on the far outer shores and the sad tolling of the bell +buoy when the heaving swell of the ocean came rolling over the bar. + +And so I wrote, and the story grew into a book which was published and +sent out to friends and family. + +As time passed on, I began to receive orders for the book from army +officers, and then one day I received orders from people in Arizona and +I awoke to the fact that Arizona was no longer the land of my memories. +I began to receive booklets telling me of projected railroads, also +pictures of wonderful buildings, all showing progress and prosperity. + +And then came letters from some Presidents of railroads whose lines ran +through Arizona, and from bankers and politicians and business men +of Tucson, Phoenix and Yuma City. Photographs showing shady roads and +streets, where once all was a glare and a sandy waste. Letters from +mining men who knew every foot of the roads we had marched over; +pictures of the great Laguna dam on the Colorado, and of the quarters of +the Government Reclamation Service Corps at Yuma. + +These letters and pictures told me of the wonderful contrast presented +by my story to the Arizona of today; and although I had not spared that +country, in my desire to place before my children and friends a vivid +picture of my life out there, all these men seemed willing to forgive +me and even declared that my story might do as much to advance their +interests and the prosperity of Arizona as anything which had been +written with only that object in view. + +My soul was calmed by these assurances, and I ceased to be distressed by +thinking over the descriptions I had given of the unpleasant conditions +existing in that country in the seventies. + +In the meantime, the San Francisco Chronicle had published a good review +of my book, and reproduced the photograph of Captain Jack Mellon, the +noted pilot of the Colorado river, adding that he was undoubtedly one of +the most picturesque characters who had ever lived on the Pacific Coast +and that he had died some years ago. + +And so he was really dead! And perhaps the others too, were all gone +from the earth, I thought when one day I received a communication from +an entire stranger, who informed me that the writer of the review in +the San Francisco newspaper had been mistaken in the matter of Captain +Mellon's death, that he had seen him recently and that he lived at San +Diego. So I wrote to him and made haste to forward him a copy of my +book, which reached him at Yuma, on the Colorado, and this is what he +wrote: + +YUMA, Dec. 15th, 1908. + +My dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +Your good book and letter came yesterday p. m., for which accept my +thanks. My home is not in San Diego, but in Coronado, across the bay +from San Diego. That is the reason I did not get your letter sooner. + +In one hour after I received your book, I had orders for nine of them. +All these books go to the official force of the Reclamation Service here +who are Damming the Colorado for the Government Irrigation Project. They +are not Damming it as we formerly did, but with good solid masonry. The +Dam is 4800 feet long and 300 feet wide and 10 feet above high water. +In high water it will flow over the top of the Dam, but in low water +the ditches or canals will take all the water out of the River, the +approximate cost is three million. There will be a tunnel under the +River at Yuma just below the Bridge, to bring the water into Arizona +which is thickly settled to the Mexican Line. + +I have done nothing on the River since the 23rd of last August, at which +date they closed the River to Navigation, and the only reason I am now +in Yumais trying to get something from Government for my boats made +useless by the Dam. I expect to get a little, but not a tenth of what +they cost me. + +Your book could not have a better title: it is "Vanished Arizona" sure +enough, vanished the good and warm Hearts that were here when you were. +The People here now are cold blooded as a snake and are all trying to +get the best of the other fellow. + +There are but two alive that were on the River when you were on it. +Polhemus and myself are all that are left, but I have many friends on +this coast. + +***** + +The nurse Patrocina died in Los Angeles last summer and the crying kid +Jesusita she had on the boat when you went from Ehrenberg to the mouth +of the River grew up to be the finest looking Girl in these Parts; She +was the Star witness in a murder trial in Los Angeles last winter, and +her picture was in all of the Papers. + +I am sending you a picture of the Steamer "Mojave" which was not on +the river when you were here. I made 20 trips with her up to the Virgin +River, which is 145 miles above Fort Mojave, or 75 miles higher than any +other man has gone with a boat: she was 10 feet longer than the "Gila" +or any other boat ever on the River. (Excuse this blowing but it's the +truth). + +In 1864 I was on a trip down the Gulf of California, in a small sail +boat and one of my companions was John Stanton. In Angel's Bay a man +whom we were giving a passage to, murdered my partner and ran off with +the boat and left Charley Ticen, John Stanton and myself on the beach. +We were seventeen days tramping to a village with nothing to eat but +cactus but I think I have told you the story before and what I want to +know, is this Stanton alive. He belonged to New Bedford--his father had +been master of a whale-ship. + +When we reached Guaymas, Stanton found a friend, the mate of a steamer, +the mate also belonged to New Bedford. When we parted, Stanton told me +he was going home and was going to stay there, and as he was two years +younger than me, he may still be in New Bedford, and as you are on the +ground, maybe you can help me to find out. + +All the people that I know praise your descriptive power and now my dear +Mrs. Summerhayes I suppose you will have a hard time wading through my +scrawl but I know you will be generous and remember that I went to sea +when a little over nine years of age and had my pen been half as often +in my hand as a marlin spike, I would now be able to write a much +clearer hand. + +I have a little bungalow on Coronado Beach, across the bay from San +Diego, and if you ever come there, you or your husband, you are welcome; +while I have a bean you can have half. I would like to see you and talk +over old times. Yuma is quite a place now; no more adobes built; it is +brick and concrete, cement sidewalks and flower gardens with electric +light and a good water system. + +My home is within five minutes walk of the Pacific Ocean. I was born at +Digby, Nova Scotia, and the first music I ever heard was the surf of the +Bay of Fundy, and when I close my eyes forever I hope the surf of the +Pacific will be the last sound that will greet my ears. + +I read Vanished Arizona last night until after midnight, and thought +what we both had gone through since you first came up the Colorado with +me. My acquaintance with the army was always pleasant, and like Tom +Moore I often say: + +Let fate do her worst, there are relics of joy Bright dreams of the past +which she cannot destroy! Which come in the night-time of sorrow and +care And bring back the features that joy used to wear. Long, long be my +heart with such memories filled! + +I suppose the Colonel goes down to the Ship Chandler's and gams with the +old whaling captains. When I was a boy, there was a wealthy family of +ship-owners in New Bedford by the name of Robinson. I saw one of +their ships in Bombay, India, that was in 1854, her name was the Mary +Robinson, and altho' there were over a hundred ships on the bay, she was +the handsomest there. + +Well, good friend, I am afraid I will tire you out, so I will belay +this, and with best wishes for you and yours, + +I am, yours truly, + +J. A. MELLON. + +P. S.--Fisher is long since called to his Long Home. + + +***** + + +I had fancied, when Vanished Arizona was published, that it might +possibly appeal to the sympathies of women, and that men would lay it +aside as a sort-of a "woman's book"--but I have received more really +sympathetic letters from men than I have from women, all telling me, in +different words, that the human side of the story had appealed to them, +and I suppose this comes from the fact that originally I wrote it for my +children, and felt perfect freedom to put my whole self into it. And now +that the book is entirely out of my hands, I am glad that I wrote it as +I did, for if I had stopped to think that my dream people might be real +people, and that the real people would read it, I might never have had +the courage to write it at all. + +The many letters I have received of which there have been several +hundred I am sure, have been so interesting that I reproduce a few more +of them here: + +FORT BENJAMIN HARRISON, INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA. January 10, 1909. + +My dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +I have just read the book. It is a good book, a true book, one of the +best kind of books. After taking it up I did not lay it down till it was +finished--till with you I had again gone over the malapais deserts of +Arizona, and recalled my own meetings with you at Niobrara and at old +Fort Marcy or Santa Fe. You were my cicerone in the old town and I +couldn't have had a better one--or more charming one. + +The book has recalled many memories to me. Scarcely a name you mention +but is or was a friend. Major Van Vliet loaned me his copy, but I shall +get one of my own and shall tell my friends in the East that, if they +desire a true picture of army life as it appears to the army woman, they +must read your book. + +For my part I feel that I must congratulate you on your successful work +and thank you for the pleasure you have given me in its perusal. + +With cordial regard to you and yours, and with best wishes for many +happy years. + +Very sincerely yours, + +L. W. V. KENNON, Maj. 10th Inf. + +HEADQUARTERS THIRD BRIGADE, NATIONAL GUARD OF PENNSYLVANIA, +WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA. JANUARY 19, 1908. + +Dear Madam: + +I am sending you herewith my check for two copies of "Vanished Arizona." +This summer our mutual friend, Colonel Beaumont (late 4th U. S. Cav.) +ordered two copies for me and I have given them both away to friends +whom I wanted to have read your delightful and charming book. I am now +ordering one of these for another friend and wish to keep one in my +record library as a memorable story of the bravery and courage of the +noble band of army men and women who helped to blaze the pathway of the +nation's progress in its course of Empire Westward. + +No personal record written, which I have read, tells so splendidly of +what the good women of our army endured in the trials that beset the +army in the life on the plains in the days succeeding the Civil War. And +all this at a time when the nation and its people were caring but little +for you all and the struggles you were making. + +I will be pleased indeed if you will kindly inscribe your name in one of +the books you will send me. + +Sincerely Yours, C. B. DOUGHERTY, Brig. Gen'l N. G. Pa. Jan. 19, 1908 + +SCHENECTADY, N. Y. June 8th, 1908. + +Mrs. John W. Summerhayes, North Shore Hill, Nantucket, Mass. + +My Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +Were I to say that I enjoyed "Vanished Arizona, "I should very +inadequately express my feelings about it, because there is so much +to arouse emotions deeper than what we call "enjoyment;" it stirs +the sympathies and excites our admiration for your courage and your +fortitude. In a word, the story, honest and unaffected, yet vivid, has +in it that touch of nature which makes kin of us all. + +How actual knowledge and experience broadens our minds! Your +appreciation of, and charity for, the weaknesses of those living a +lonely life of deprivation on the frontier, impressed me very much. +I wish too, that what you say about the canteen could be published in +every newspaper in America. + +Very sincerely yours, + +M. F. WESTOVER, Secretary Gen'l Electric Co. + +THE MILITARY SERVICE INSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. Governor's +Island, N. Y. June 25, 1908. + +Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +I offer my personal congratulations upon your success in producing +a work of such absorbing interest to all friends of the Army, and so +instructive to the public at large. + +I have just finished reading the book, from cover to cover, to my wife +and we have enjoyed it thoroughly. + +Will you please advise me where the book can be purchased in New York, +or otherwise mail two copies to me at 203 W. 54th Street, New York City, +with memo of price per copy, that I may remit the amount. + +Very truly yours, + +T. F. RODENBOUGH, Secretary and Editor (Brig. Gen'l. U. S. A.) + +YALE UNIVERSITY, NEW HAVEN, CONN. + +May 15, 1910. + +Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +I have read every word of your book "Vanished Arizona" with intense +interest. You have given a vivid account of what you actually saw and +lived through, and nobody can resist the truthfulness and reality of +your narrative. The book is a real contribution to American history, and +to the chronicles of army life. + +Faithfully yours, WM. LYON PHELPS, + +[Professor of English literature at Yale University.] + +LONACONING, MD., Jan. 2, 1909. + +Col. J. W. Summerhays, New Rochelle, N. Y. + +Dear Sir: + +Captain William Baird, 6th Cavalry, retired, now at Annapolis, sent me +Mrs. Summerhay's book to read, and I have read it with delight, for +I was in "K" when Mrs. Summerhays "took on" in the 8th. Myself and my +brother, Michael, served in "K" Company from David's Island to Camp +Apache. Doubtless you have forgotten me, but I am sure that you remember +the tall fifer of "K", Michael Gurnett. He was killed at Camp Mohave in +Sept. 1885, while in Company "G" of the 1st Infantry. I was five years +in "K", but my brother re-enlisted in "K", and afterward joined the +First. He served in the 31st, 22nd, 8th and 1st. + +Oh, that little book! We're all in it, even poor Charley Bowen. Mrs. +Summerhays should have written a longer story. She soldiered long enough +with the 8th in the "bloody 70's" to be able to write a book five times +as big. For what she's done, God bless her! She is entitled to the +Irishman's benediction: "May every hair in her head be a candle to light +her soul to glory." We poor old Regulars have little said about us in +print, and wish to God that "Vanished Arizona" was in the hands of every +old veteran of the "Marching 8th." If I had the means I would send a +copy to our 1st Serg't Bernard Moran, and the other old comrades at the +Soldiers' Home. But, alas, evil times have fallen upon us, and--I'm not +writing a jeremiad--I took the book from the post office and when I saw +the crossed guns and the "8" there was a lump in my throat, and I went +into the barber shop and read it through before I left. A friend of mine +was in the shop and when I came to Pringle's death, he said, "Gurnett, +that must be a sad book you're reading, why man, you're crying." + +I believe I was, but they were tears of joy. And, Oh, Lord, to think of +Bowen having a full page in history; but, after all, maybe he deserved +it. And that picture of my company commander! [Worth]. Long, long, have +I gazed on it. I was only sixteen and a half years old when I joined his +company at David's Island, Dec. 6th, 1871. Folliot A. Whitney was 1st +lieutenant and Cyrus Earnest, 2nd. What a fine man Whitney was. A finer +man nor truer gentleman ever wore a shoulder strap. If he had been +company commander I'd have re-enlisted and stayed with him. I was always +afraid of Worth, though he was always good to my brother and myself. +I deeply regretted Lieut. Whitney's death in Cuba, and I watched Major +Worth's career in the last war. It nearly broke my heart that I could +not go. Oh, the rattle of the war drum and the bugle calls and the +marching troops, it set me crazy, and me not able to take a hand in the +scrap. + +Mrs. Summerhays calls him Wm. T. Worth, isn't it Wm. S. Worth? + +The copy I have read was loaned me by Captain Baird; he says it's a +Christmas gift from General Carter, and I must return it. My poor wife +has read it with keen interest and says she: "William, I am going to +have that book for my children," and she'll get it, yea, verily! she +will. + +Well, Colonel, I'm right glad to know that you are still on this side of +the great divide, and I know that you and Mrs. S. will be glad to hear +from an old "walk-a-heap" of the 8th. + +I am working for a Cumberland newspaper--Lonaconing reporter--and I will +send you a copy or two of the paper with this. And now, permit me to +subscribe myself your + +Comrade In Arms, + +WILLIAM A. GURNETT. + + + +Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +Read your book--in fact when I got started I forgot my bedtime (and you +know how rigid that is) and sat it through. + +It has a bully note of the old army--it was all worthwhile--they had +color, those days. + +I say--now suppose you had married a man who kept a drug store--see what +you would have had and see what you would have missed. + +Yours, FREDERIC REMINGTON. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Vanished Arizona, by Martha Summerhayes + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1049 *** diff --git a/1049-h/1049-h.htm b/1049-h/1049-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4bfd6bb --- /dev/null +++ b/1049-h/1049-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9012 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Vanished Arizona, by Martha Summerhayes + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1049 ***</div> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + VANISHED ARIZONA + </h1> + <h2> + Recollections of the Army Life by a New England Woman + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + by Martha Summerhayes + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h4> + TO MY SON HARRY SUMMERHAYES WHO SHARED THE VICISSITUDES OF MY LIFE<br /> IN + ARIZONA, THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + Preface + </h2> + <p> + I have written this story of my army life at the urgent and ceaseless + request of my children. + </p> + <p> + For whenever I allude to those early days, and tell to them the tales they + have so often heard, they always say: "Now, mother, will you write these + stories for us? Please, mother, do; we must never forget them." + </p> + <p> + Then, after an interval, "Mother, have you written those stories of + Arizona yet?" until finally, with the aid of some old letters written from + those very places (the letters having been preserved, with other papers of + mine, by an uncle in New England long since dead), I have been able to + give a fairly connected story. + </p> + <p> + I have not attempted to commemorate my husband's brave career in the Civil + War, as I was not married until some years after the close of that war, + nor to describe the many Indian campaigns in which he took part, nor to + write about the achievements of the old Eighth Infantry. I leave all that + to the historian. I have given simply the impressions made upon the mind + of a young New England woman who left her comfortable home in the early + seventies, to follow a second lieutenant into the wildest encampments of + the American army. + </p> + <p> + Hoping the story may possess some interest for the younger women of the + army, and possibly for some of our old friends, both in the army and in + civil life, I venture to send it forth. + </p> + <p> + POSTCRIPT (second edition). + </p> + <p> + The appendix to this, the second edition of my book, will tell something + of the kind manner in which the first edition was received by my friends + and the public at large. + </p> + <p> + But as several people had expressed a wish that I should tell more of my + army experiences I have gone carefully over the entire book, adding some + detail and a few incidents which had come to my mind later. + </p> + <p> + I have also been able, with some difficulty and much patient effort, to + secure several photographs of exceptional interest, which have been added + to the illustrations. + </p> + <p> + January, 1911. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF"> Preface </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> <big><b>VANISHED ARIZONA</b></big> </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> GERMANY AND + THE ARMY <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> I + JOINED THE ARMY <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> ARMY + HOUSE-KEEPING <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> DOWN + THE PACIFIC COAST <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> THE + SLUE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. </a> UP + THE RIO COLORADO <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. </a> THE + MOJAVE DESERT <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. </a> LEARNING + HOW TO SOLDIER <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. </a> ACROSS + THE MOGOLLONS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. </a> A + PERILOUS ADVENTURE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI. </a> CAMP + APACHE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII. </a> LIFE + AMONGST THE APACHES <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII. + </a> A NEW RECRUIT <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0014"> + CHAPTER XIV. </a> A MEMORABLE JOURNEY <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV. </a> FORDING THE LITTLE + COLORADO <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER XVI. </a> STONEMAN'S + LAKE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII. </a> THE + COLORADO DESERT <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER XVIII. </a> EHRENBERG + ON THE COLORADO <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER XIX. </a> SUMMER + AT EHRENBERG <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX. </a> MY + DELIVERER <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER XXI. </a> WINTER + IN EHRENBERG <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER XXII. </a> RETURN + TO THE STATES <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XXIII. </a> BACK + TO ARIZONA <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XXIV. </a> UP + THE VALLEY OF THE GILA <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0025"> CHAPTER XXV. + </a> OLD CAMP MACDOWELL <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0026"> + CHAPTER XXVI. </a> A SUDDEN ORDER <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0027"> CHAPTER XXVII. </a> THE EIGHTH FOOT + LEAVES ARIZONA <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0028"> CHAPTER XXVIII. </a> CALIFORNIA + AND NEVADA <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0029"> CHAPTER XXIX. </a> CHANGING + STATION <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0030"> CHAPTER XXX. </a> FORT + NIOBRARA <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0031"> CHAPTER XXXI. </a> SANTA + FE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0032"> CHAPTER XXXII. </a> TEXAS + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0033"> CHAPTER XXXIII. </a> DAVID'S + ISLAND <br /><br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_APPE"> APPENDIX. </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h1> + VANISHED ARIZONA + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. GERMANY AND THE ARMY + </h2> + <p> + The stalwart men of the Prussian army, the Lancers, the Dragoons, the + Hussars, the clank of their sabres on the pavements, their brilliant + uniforms, all made an impression upon my romantic mind, and I listened + eagerly, in the quiet evenings, to tales of Hanover under King George, to + stories of battles lost, and the entry of the Prussians into the old + Residenz-stadt; the flight of the King, and the sorrow and chagrin which + prevailed. + </p> + <p> + For I was living in the family of General Weste, the former + stadt-commandant of Hanover, who had served fifty years in the army and + had accompanied King George on his exit from the city. He was a gallant + veteran, with the rank of General-Lieutenant, ausser Dienst. A charming + and dignified man, accepting philosophically the fact that Hanover had + become Prussian, but loyal in his heart to his King and to old Hanover; + pretending great wrath when, on the King's birthday, he found yellow and + white sand strewn before his door, but unable to conceal the joyful gleam + in his eye when he spoke of it. + </p> + <p> + The General's wife was the daughter of a burgomaster and had been brought + up in a neighboring town. She was a dear, kind soul. + </p> + <p> + The house-keeping was simple, but stately and precise, as befitted the + rank of this officer. The General was addressed by the servants as + Excellenz and his wife as Frau Excellenz. A charming unmarried daughter + lived at home, making, with myself, a family of four. + </p> + <p> + Life was spent quietly, and every evening, after our coffee (served in the + living-room in winter, and in the garden in summer), Frau Generalin would + amuse me with descriptions of life in her old home, and of how girls were + brought up in her day; how industry was esteemed by her mother the + greatest virtue, and idleness was punished as the most beguiling sin. She + was never allowed, she said, to read, even on Sunday, without her + knitting-work in her hands; and she would often sigh, and say to me, in + German (for dear Frau Generalin spoke no other tongue), "Ach, Martha, you + American girls are so differently brought up"; and I would say, "But, Frau + Generalin, which way do you think is the better?" She would then look + puzzled, shrug her shoulders, and often say, "Ach! times are different I + suppose, but my ideas can never change." + </p> + <p> + Now the dear Frau Generalin did not speak a word of English, and as I had + had only a few lessons in German before I left America, I had the utmost + difficulty at first in comprehending what she said. She spoke rapidly and + I would listen with the closest attention, only to give up in despair, and + to say, "Gute Nacht," evening after evening, with my head buzzing and my + mind a blank. + </p> + <p> + After a few weeks, however, I began to understand everything she said, + altho' I could not yet write or read the language, and I listened with the + greatest interest to the story of her marriage with young Lieutenant + Weste, of the bringing up of her four children, and of the old days in + Hanover, before the Prussians took possession. + </p> + <p> + She described to me the brilliant Hanoverian Court, the endless + festivities and balls, the stately elegance of the old city, and the cruel + misfortunes of the King. And how, a few days after the King's flight, the + end of all things came to her; for she was politely informed one evening, + by a big Prussian major, that she must seek other lodgings—he needed + her quarters. At this point she always wept, and I sympathized. + </p> + <p> + Thus I came to know military life in Germany, and I fell in love with the + army, with its brilliancy and its glitter, with its struggles and its + romance, with its sharp contrasts, its deprivations, and its chivalry. + </p> + <p> + I came to know, as their guest, the best of old military society. They + were very old-fashioned and precise, and Frau Generalin often told me that + American girls were too ausgelassen in their manners. She often reproved + me for seating myself upon the sofa (which was only for old people) and + also for looking about too much when walking on the streets. Young girls + must keep their eyes more cast down, looking up only occasionally. (I + thought this dreadfully prim, as I was eager to see everything). I was + expected to stop and drop a little courtesy on meeting an older woman, and + then to inquire after the health of each member of the family. It seemed + to take a lot of time, but all the other girls did it, and there seemed to + be no hurry about anything, ever, in that elegant old Residenz-stadt. + Surely a contrast to our bustling American towns. + </p> + <p> + A sentiment seemed to underlie everything they did. The Emperor meant so + much to them, and they adored the Empress. A personal feeling, an + affection, such as I had never heard of in a republic, caused me to stop + and wonder if an empire were not the best, after all. And one day, when + the Emperor, passing through Hanover en route, drove down the + Georgen-strasse in an open barouche and raised his hat as he glanced at + the sidewalk where I happened to be standing, my heart seemed to stop + beating, and I was overcome by a most wonderful feeling—a feeling + that in a man would have meant chivalry and loyalty unto death. + </p> + <p> + In this beautiful old city, life could not be taken any other than + leisurely. Theatres with early hours, the maid coming for me with a + lantern at nine o'clock, the frequent Kaffee-klatsch, the delightful + afternoon coffee at the Georgen-garten, the visits to the Zoological + gardens, where we always took our fresh rolls along with our knitting-work + in a basket, and then sat at a little table in the open, and were served + with coffee, sweet cream, and butter, by a strapping Hessian peasant woman—all + so simple, yet so elegant, so peaceful. + </p> + <p> + We heard the best music at the theatre, which was managed with the same + precision, and maintained by the Government with the same generosity, as + in the days of King George. No one was allowed to enter after the overture + had begun, and an absolute hush prevailed. + </p> + <p> + The orchestra consisted of sixty or more pieces, and the audience was + critical. The parquet was filled with officers in the gayest uniforms; + there were few ladies amongst them; the latter sat mostly in the boxes, of + which there were several tiers, and as soon as the curtain fell, between + the acts, the officers would rise, turn around, and level their glasses at + the boxes. Sometimes they came and visited in the boxes. + </p> + <p> + As I had been brought up in a town half Quaker, half Puritan, the custom + of going to the theatre Sunday evenings was rather a questionable one in + my mind. But I soon fell in with their ways, and found that on Sunday + evenings there was always the most brilliant audience and the best plays + were selected. With this break-down of the wall of narrow prejudice, I + gave up others equally as narrow, and adopted the German customs with my + whole heart. + </p> + <p> + I studied the language with unflinching perseverance, for this was the + opportunity I had dreamed about and longed for in the barren winter + evenings at Nantucket when I sat poring over Coleridge's translations of + Schiller's plays and Bayard Taylor's version of Goethe's Faust. + </p> + <p> + Should I ever read these intelligently in the original? + </p> + <p> + And when my father consented for me to go over and spend a year and live + in General Weste's family, there never was a happier or more grateful + young woman. Appreciative and eager, I did not waste a moment, and my keen + enjoyment of the German classics repaid me a hundred fold for all my + industry. + </p> + <p> + Neither time nor misfortune, nor illness can take from me the memory of + that year of privileges such as is given few American girls to enjoy, when + they are at an age to fully appreciate them. + </p> + <p> + And so completely separated was I from the American and English colony + that I rarely heard my own language spoken, and thus I lived, ate, + listened, talked, and even dreamed in German. + </p> + <p> + There seemed to be time enough to do everything we wished; and, as the + Franco-Prussian war was just over (it was the year of 1871), and many + troops were in garrison at Hanover, the officers could always join us at + the various gardens for after-dinner coffee, which, by the way, was not + taken in the demi-tasse, but in good generous coffee-cups, with plenty of + rich cream. Every one drank at least two cups, the officers smoked, the + women knitted or embroidered, and those were among the pleasantest hours I + spent in Germany. + </p> + <p> + The intrusion of unwelcome visitors was never to be feared, as, by common + consent, the various classes in Hanover kept by themselves, thus enjoying + life much better than in a country where everybody is striving after the + pleasures and luxuries enjoyed by those whom circumstances have placed + above them. + </p> + <p> + The gay uniforms lent a brilliancy to every affair, however simple. + Officers were not allowed to appear en civile, unless on leave of absence. + </p> + <p> + I used to say, "Oh, Frau General, how fascinating it all is!" "Hush, + Martha," she would say; "life in the army is not always so brilliant as it + looks; in fact, we often call it, over here, 'glaenzendes Elend.'" + </p> + <p> + These bitter words made a great impression upon my mind, and in after + years, on the American frontier, I seemed to hear them over and over + again. + </p> + <p> + When I bade good-bye to the General and his family, I felt a tightening + about my throat and my heart, and I could not speak. Life in Germany had + become dear to me, and I had not known how dear until I was leaving it + forever. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. I JOINED THE ARMY + </h2> + <p> + I was put in charge of the captain of the North German Lloyd S. S. + "Donau," and after a most terrific cyclone in mid-ocean, in which we + nearly foundered, I landed in Hoboken, sixteen days from Bremen. + </p> + <p> + My brother, Harry Dunham, met me on the pier, saying, as he took me in his + arms, "You do not need to tell me what sort of a trip you have had; it is + enough to look at the ship—that tells the story." + </p> + <p> + As the vessel had been about given up for lost, her arrival was somewhat + of an agreeable surprise to all our friends, and to none more so than my + old friend Jack, a second lieutenant of the United States army, who seemed + so glad to have me back in America, that I concluded the only thing to do + was to join the army myself. + </p> + <p> + A quiet wedding in the country soon followed my decision, and we set out + early in April of the year 1874 to join his regiment, which was stationed + at Fort Russell, Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. + </p> + <p> + I had never been west of New York, and Cheyenne seemed to me, in contrast + with the finished civilization of Europe, which I had so recently left, + the wildest sort of a place. + </p> + <p> + Arriving in the morning, and alighting from the train, two gallant + officers, in the uniform of the United States infantry, approached and + gave us welcome; and to me, the bride, a special "welcome to the regiment" + was given by each of them with outstretched hands. + </p> + <p> + Major Wilhelm said, "The ambulance is right here; you must come to our + house and stay until you get your quarters." + </p> + <p> + Such was my introduction to the army—and to the army ambulance, in + which I was destined to travel so many miles. + </p> + <p> + Four lively mules and a soldier driver brought us soon to the post, and + Mrs. Wilhelm welcomed us to her pleasant and comfortable-looking quarters. + </p> + <p> + I had never seen an army post in America. I had always lived in places + which needed no garrison, and the army, except in Germany, was an unknown + quantity to me. + </p> + <p> + Fort Russell was a large post, and the garrison consisted of many + companies of cavalry and infantry. It was all new and strange to me. + </p> + <p> + Soon after luncheon, Jack said to Major Wilhelm, "Well, now, I must go and + look for quarters: what's the prospect?" + </p> + <p> + "You will have to turn some one out," said the Major, as they left the + house together. + </p> + <p> + About an hour afterwards they returned, and Jack said, "Well, I have + turned out Lynch; but," he added, "as his wife and child are away, I do + not believe he'll care very much." + </p> + <p> + "Oh," said I, "I'm so sorry to have to turn anybody out!" + </p> + <p> + The Major and his wife smiled, and the former remarked, "You must not have + too much sympathy: it's the custom of the service—it's always done—by + virtue of rank. They'll hate you for doing it, but if you don't do it + they'll not respect you. After you've been turned out once yourself, you + will not mind turning others out." + </p> + <p> + The following morning I drove over to Cheyenne with Mrs. Wilhelm, and as I + passed Lieutenant Lynch's quarters and saw soldiers removing Mrs. Lynch's + lares and penates, in the shape of a sewing machine, lamp-shades, and + other home-like things, I turned away in pity that such customs could + exist in our service. + </p> + <p> + To me, who had lived my life in the house in which I was born, moving was + a thing to be dreaded. + </p> + <p> + But Mrs. Wilhelm comforted me, and assured me it was not such a serious + matter after all. Army women were accustomed to it, she said. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING + </h2> + <p> + Not knowing before I left home just what was needed for house-keeping in + the army, and being able to gather only vague ideas on the subject from + Jack, who declared that his quarters were furnished admirably, I had taken + out with me but few articles in addition to the silver and linen-chests. + </p> + <p> + I began to have serious doubts on the subject of my menage, after + inspecting the bachelor furnishings which had seemed so ample to my + husband. But there was so much to be seen in the way of guard mount, + cavalry drill, and various military functions, besides the drives to town + and the concerts of the string orchestra, that I had little time to think + of the practical side of life. + </p> + <p> + Added to this, we were enjoying the delightful hospitality of the + Wilhelms, and the Major insisted upon making me acquainted with the "real + old-fashioned army toddy" several times a day,—a new beverage to me, + brought up in a blue-ribbon community, where wine-bibbing and whiskey + drinking were rated as belonging to only the lowest classes. To be sure, + my father always drank two fingers of fine cognac before dinner, but I had + always considered that a sort of medicine for a man advanced in years. + </p> + <p> + Taken all in all, it is not to be wondered at if I saw not much in those + few days besides bright buttons, blue uniforms, and shining swords. + </p> + <p> + Everything was military and gay and brilliant, and I forgot the very + existence of practical things, in listening to the dreamy strains of + Italian and German music, rendered by our excellent and painstaking + orchestra. For the Eighth Infantry loved good music, and had imported its + musicians direct from Italy. + </p> + <p> + This came to an end, however, after a few days, and I was obliged to + descend from those heights to the dead level of domestic economy. + </p> + <p> + My husband informed me that the quarters were ready for our occupancy and + that we could begin house-keeping at once. He had engaged a soldier named + Adams for a striker; he did not know whether Adams was much of a cook, he + said, but he was the only available man just then, as the companies were + up north at the Agency. + </p> + <p> + Our quarters consisted of three rooms and a kitchen, which formed one-half + of a double house. + </p> + <p> + I asked Jack why we could not have a whole house. I did not think I could + possibly live in three rooms and a kitchen. + </p> + <p> + "Why, Martha," said he, "did you not know that women are not reckoned in + at all at the War Department? A lieutenant's allowance of quarters, + according to the Army Regulations, is one room and a kitchen, a captain's + allowance is two rooms and a kitchen, and so on up, until a colonel has a + fairly good house." I told him I thought it an outrage; that lieutenants' + wives needed quite as much as colonels' wives. + </p> + <p> + He laughed and said, "You see we have already two rooms over our proper + allowance; there are so many married officers, that the Government has had + to stretch a point." + </p> + <p> + After indulging in some rather harsh comments upon a government which + could treat lieutenants' wives so shabbily, I began to investigate my + surroundings. + </p> + <p> + Jack had placed his furnishings (some lace curtains, camp chairs, and a + carpet) in the living-room, and there was a forlorn-looking bedstead in + the bedroom. A pine table in the dining-room and a range in the kitchen + completed the outfit. A soldier had scrubbed the rough floors with a straw + broom: it was absolutely forlorn, and my heart sank within me. + </p> + <p> + But then I thought of Mrs. Wilhelm's quarters, and resolved to try my best + to make ours look as cheerful and pretty as hers. A chaplain was about + leaving the post and wished to dispose of his things, so we bought a + carpet of him, a few more camp chairs of various designs, and a + cheerful-looking table-cover. We were obliged to be very economical, as + Jack was a second lieutenant, the pay was small and a little in arrears, + after the wedding trip and long journey out. We bought white Holland + shades for the windows, and made the three rooms fairly comfortable and + then I turned my attention to the kitchen. + </p> + <p> + Jack said I should not have to buy anything at all; the Quartermaster + Department furnished everything in the line of kitchen utensils; and, as + his word was law, I went over to the quartermaster store-house to select + the needed articles. + </p> + <p> + After what I had been told, I was surprised to find nothing smaller than + two-gallon tea-kettles, meat-forks a yard long, and mess-kettles deep + enough to cook rations for fifty men! I rebelled, and said I would not use + such gigantic things. + </p> + <p> + My husband said: "Now, Mattie, be reasonable; all the army women keep + house with these utensils; the regiment will move soon, and then what + should we do with a lot of tin pans and such stuff? You know a second + lieutenant is allowed only a thousand pounds of baggage when he changes + station." This was a hard lesson, which I learned later. + </p> + <p> + Having been brought up in an old-time community, where women deferred to + their husbands in everything, I yielded, and the huge things were sent + over. I had told Mrs. Wilhelm that we were to have luncheon in our own + quarters. + </p> + <p> + So Adams made a fire large enough to roast beef for a company of soldiers, + and he and I attempted to boil a few eggs in the deep mess-kettle and to + make the water boil in the huge tea-kettle. + </p> + <p> + But Adams, as it turned out, was not a cook, and I must confess that my + own attention had been more engrossed by the study of German auxiliary + verbs, during the few previous years, than with the art of cooking. + </p> + <p> + Of course, like all New England girls of that period, I knew how to make + quince jelly and floating islands, but of the actual, practical side of + cooking, and the management of a range, I knew nothing. + </p> + <p> + Here was a dilemma, indeed! + </p> + <p> + The eggs appeared to boil, but they did not seem to be done when we took + them off, by the minute-hand of the clock. + </p> + <p> + I declared the kettle was too large; Adams said he did not understand it + at all. + </p> + <p> + I could have wept with chagrin! Our first meal a deux! + </p> + <p> + I appealed to Jack. He said, "Why, of course, Martha, you ought to know + that things do not cook as quickly at this altitude as they do down at the + sea level. We are thousands of feet above the sea here in Wyoming." (I am + not sure it was thousands, but it was hundreds at least.) + </p> + <p> + So that was the trouble, and I had not thought of it! + </p> + <p> + My head was giddy with the glamour, the uniform, the guard-mount, the + military music, the rarefied air, the new conditions, the new interests of + my life. Heine's songs, Goethe's plays, history and romance were floating + through my mind. Is it to be wondered at that I and Adams together + prepared the most atrocious meals that ever a new husband had to eat? I + related my difficulties to Jack, and told him I thought we should never be + able to manage with such kitchen utensils as were furnished by the Q. M. + D. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, pshaw! You are pampered and spoiled with your New England kitchens," + said he; "you will have to learn to do as other army women do—cook + in cans and such things, be inventive, and learn to do with nothing." This + was my first lesson in army house-keeping. + </p> + <p> + After my unpractical teacher had gone out on some official business, I ran + over to Mrs. Wilhelm's quarters and said, "Will you let me see your + kitchen closet?" + </p> + <p> + She assented, and I saw the most beautiful array of tin-ware, shining and + neat, placed in rows upon the shelves and hanging from hooks on the wall. + </p> + <p> + "So!" I said; "my military husband does not know anything about these + things;" and I availed myself of the first trip of the ambulance over to + Cheyenne, bought a stock of tin-ware and had it charged, and made no + mention of it—because I feared that tin-ware was to be our bone of + contention, and I put off the evil day. + </p> + <p> + The cooking went on better after that, but I did not have much assistance + from Adams. + </p> + <p> + I had great trouble at first with the titles and the rank: but I soon + learned that many of the officers were addressed by the brevet title + bestowed upon them for gallant service in the Civil War, and I began to + understand about the ways and customs of the army of Uncle Sam. In + contrast to the Germans, the American lieutenants were not addressed by + their title (except officially); I learned to "Mr." all the lieutenants + who had no brevet. + </p> + <p> + One morning I suggested to Adams that he should wash the front windows; + after being gone a half hour, to borrow a step-ladder, he entered the + room, mounted the ladder and began. I sat writing. Suddenly, he faced + around, and addressing me, said, "Madam, do you believe in spiritualism?" + </p> + <p> + "Good gracious! Adams, no; why do you ask me such a question?" + </p> + <p> + This was enough; he proceeded to give a lecture on the subject worthy of a + man higher up on the ladder of this life. I bade him come to an end as + soon as I dared (for I was not accustomed to soldiers), and suggested that + he was forgetting his work. + </p> + <p> + It was early in April, and the snow drifted through the crevices of the + old dried-out house, in banks upon our bed; but that was soon mended, and + things began to go smoothly enough, when Jack was ordered to join his + company, which was up at the Spotted Tail Agency. It was expected that the + Sioux under this chief would break out at any minute. They had become + disaffected about some treaty. I did not like to be left alone with the + Spiritualist, so Jack asked one of the laundresses, whose husband was out + with the company, to come and stay and take care of me. Mrs. Patten was an + old campaigner; she understood everything about officers and their ways, + and she made me absolutely comfortable for those two lonely months. I + always felt grateful to her; she was a dear old Irish woman. + </p> + <p> + All the families and a few officers were left at the post, and, with the + daily drive to Cheyenne, some small dances and theatricals, my time was + pleasantly occupied. + </p> + <p> + Cheyenne in those early days was an amusing but unattractive frontier + town; it presented a great contrast to the old civilization I had so + recently left. We often saw women in cotton wrappers, high-heeled + slippers, and sun-bonnets, walking in the main streets. Cows, pigs, and + saloons seemed to be a feature of the place. + </p> + <p> + In about six weeks, the affairs of the Sioux were settled, and the troops + returned to the post. The weather began to be uncomfortably hot in those + low wooden houses. I missed the comforts of home and the fresh sea air of + the coast, but I tried to make the best of it. + </p> + <p> + Our sleeping-room was very small, and its one window looked out over the + boundless prairie at the back of the post. On account of the great heat, + we were obliged to have this window wide open at night. I heard the cries + and wails of various animals, but Jack said that was nothing—they + always heard them. + </p> + <p> + Once, at midnight, the wails seemed to be nearer, and I was terrified; but + he told me 'twas only the half-wild cats and coyotes which prowled around + the post. I asked him if they ever came in. "Gracious, no!" he said; "they + are too wild." + </p> + <p> + I calmed myself for sleep—when like lightning, one of the huge + creatures gave a flying leap in at our window, across the bed, and through + into the living-room. + </p> + <p> + "Jerusalem!" cried the lieutenant, and flew after her, snatching his + sword, which stood in the corner, and poking vigorously under the divan. + </p> + <p> + I rolled myself under the bed-covers, in the most abject terror lest she + might come back the same way; and, true enough, she did, with a most + piercing cry. I never had much rest after that occurrence, as we had no + protection against these wild-cats. + </p> + <p> + The regiment, however, in June was ordered to Arizona, that dreaded and + then unknown land, and the uncertain future was before me. I saw the other + women packing china and their various belongings. I seemed to be helpless. + Jack was busy with things outside. He had three large army chests, which + were brought in and placed before me. "Now," he said, "all our things must + go into those chests"—and I supposed they must. + </p> + <p> + I was pitifully ignorant of the details of moving, and I stood + despairingly gazing into the depths of those boxes, when the jolly and + stout wife of Major von Hermann passed my window. She glanced in, + comprehended the situation, and entered, saying, "You do not understand + how to pack? Let me help you: give me a cushion to kneel upon—now + bring everything that is to be packed, and I can soon show you how to do + it." With her kind assistance the chests were packed, and I found that we + had a great deal of surplus stuff which had to be put into rough cases, or + rolled into packages and covered with burlap. Jack fumed when he saw it, + and declared we could not take it all, as it exceeded our allowance of + weight. I declared we must take it, or we could not exist. + </p> + <p> + With some concessions on both sides we were finally packed up, and left + Fort Russell about the middle of June, with the first detachment, + consisting of head-quarters and band, for San Francisco, over the Union + Pacific Railroad. + </p> + <p> + For it must be remembered, that in 1874 there were no railroads in + Arizona, and all troops which were sent to that distant territory either + marched over-land through New Mexico, or were transported by steamer from + San Francisco down the coast, and up the Gulf of California to Fort Yuma, + from which point they marched up the valley of the Gila to the southern + posts, or continued up the Colorado River by steamer, to other points of + disembarkation, whence they marched to the posts in the interior, or the + northern part of the territory. + </p> + <p> + Much to my delight, we were allowed to remain over in San Francisco, and + go down with the second detachment. We made the most of the time, which + was about a fortnight, and on the sixth of August we embarked with six + companies of soldiers, Lieutenant Colonel Wilkins in command, on the old + steamship "Newbern," Captain Metzger, for Arizona. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. DOWN THE PACIFIC COAST + </h2> + <p> + Now the "Newbern" was famous for being a good roller, and she lived up to + her reputation. For seven days I saw only the inside of our stateroom. At + the end of that time we arrived off Cape St. Lucas (the extreme southern + point of Lower California), and I went on deck. + </p> + <p> + We anchored and took cattle aboard. I watched the natives tow them off, + the cattle swimming behind their small boats, and then saw the poor beasts + hoisted up by their horns to the deck of our ship. + </p> + <p> + I thought it most dreadfully cruel, but was informed that it had been done + from time immemorial, so I ceased to talk about it, knowing that I could + not reform those aged countries, and realizing, faintly perhaps (for I had + never seen much of the rough side of life), that just as cruel things were + done to the cattle we consume in the North. + </p> + <p> + Now that Mr. Sinclair, in his great book "The Jungle," has brought the + multiplied horrors of the great packing-houses before our very eyes, we + might witness the hoisting of the cattle over the ship's side without + feeling such intense pity, admitting that everything is relative, even + cruelty. + </p> + <p> + It was now the middle of August, and the weather had become insufferably + hot, but we were out of the long swell of the Pacific Ocean; we had + rounded Cape St. Lucas, and were steaming up the Gulf of California, + towards the mouth of the Great Colorado, whose red and turbulent waters + empty themselves into this gulf, at its head. + </p> + <p> + I now had time to become acquainted with the officers of the regiment, + whom I had not before met; they had come in from other posts and joined + the command at San Francisco. + </p> + <p> + The daughter of the lieutenant-colonel was on board, the beautiful and + graceful Caroline Wilkins, the belle of the regiment; and Major Worth, to + whose company my husband belonged. I took a special interest in the + latter, as I knew we must face life together in the wilds of Arizona. I + had time to learn something about the regiment and its history; and that + Major Worth's father, whose monument I had so often seen in New York, was + the first colonel of the Eighth Infantry, when it was organized in the + State of New York in 1838. + </p> + <p> + The party on board was merry enough, and even gay. There was Captain + Ogilby, a great, genial Scotchman, and Captain Porter, a graduate of + Dublin, and so charmingly witty. He seemed very devoted to Miss Wilkins, + but Miss Wilkins was accustomed to the devotion of all the officers of the + Eighth Infantry. In fact, it was said that every young lieutenant who + joined the regiment had proposed to her. She was most attractive, and as + she had too kind a heart to be a coquette, she was a universal favorite + with the women as well as with the men. + </p> + <p> + There was Ella Bailey, too, Miss Wilkins' sister, with her young and + handsome husband and their young baby. + </p> + <p> + Then, dear Mrs. Wilkins, who had been so many years in the army that she + remembered crossing the plains in a real ox-team. She represented the best + type of the older army woman—and it was so lovely to see her with + her two daughters, all in the same regiment. A mother of grown-up + daughters was not often met with in the army. + </p> + <p> + And Lieutenant-Colonel Wilkins, a gentleman in the truest sense of the + word—a man of rather quiet tastes, never happier than when he had + leisure for indulging his musical taste in strumming all sorts of Spanish + fandangos on the guitar, or his somewhat marked talent with the pencil and + brush. + </p> + <p> + The heat of the staterooms compelled us all to sleep on deck, so our + mattresses were brought up by the soldiers at night, and spread about. The + situation, however, was so novel and altogether ludicrous, and our fear of + rats which ran about on deck so great, that sleep was well-nigh out of the + question. + </p> + <p> + Before dawn, we fled to our staterooms, but by sunrise we were glad to + dress and escape from their suffocating heat and go on deck again. Black + coffee and hard-tack were sent up, and this sustained us until the + nine-o'clock breakfast, which was elaborate, but not good. There was no + milk, of course, except the heavily sweetened sort, which I could not use: + it was the old-time condensed and canned milk; the meats were beyond + everything, except the poor, tough, fresh beef we had seen hoisted over + the side, at Cape St. Lucas. The butter, poor at the best, began to pour + like oil. Black coffee and bread, and a baked sweet potato, seemed the + only things that I could swallow. + </p> + <p> + The heat in the Gulf of California was intense. Our trunks were brought up + from the vessel's hold, and we took out summer clothing. But how + inadequate and inappropriate it was for that climate! Our faces burned and + blistered; even the parting on the head burned, under the awnings which + were kept spread. The ice-supply decreased alarmingly, the meats turned + green, and when the steward went down into the refrigerator, which was + somewhere below the quarter-deck, to get provisions for the day, every + woman held a bottle of salts to her nose, and the officers fled to the + forward part of the ship. The odor which ascended from that refrigerator + was indescribable: it lingered and would not go. It followed us to the + table, and when we tasted the food we tasted the odor. We bribed the + steward for ice. Finally, I could not go below at all, but had a baked + sweet potato brought on deck, and lived several days upon that diet. + </p> + <p> + On the 14th of August we anchored off Mazatlan, a picturesque and ancient + adobe town in old Mexico. The approach to this port was strikingly + beautiful. Great rocks, cut by the surf into arches and caverns, guarded + the entrance to the harbor. We anchored two miles out. A customs and a + Wells-Fargo boat boarded us, and many natives came along side, bringing + fresh cocoanuts, bananas, and limes. Some Mexicans bound for Guaymas came + on board, and a troupe of Japanese jugglers. + </p> + <p> + While we were unloading cargo, some officers and their wives went on shore + in one of the ship's boats, and found it a most interesting place. It was + garrisoned by Mexican troops, uniformed in white cotton shirts and + trousers. They visited the old hotel, the amphitheatre where the + bull-fights were held, and the old fort. They told also about the + cock-pits—and about the refreshing drinks they had. + </p> + <p> + My thirst began to be abnormal. We bought a dozen cocoanuts, and I drank + the milk from them, and made up my mind to go ashore at the next port; for + after nine days with only thick black coffee and bad warm water to drink, + I was longing for a cup of good tea or a glass of fresh, sweet milk. + </p> + <p> + A day or so more brought us to Guaymas, another Mexican port. Mrs. Wilkins + said she had heard something about an old Spaniard there, who used to cook + meals for stray travellers. This was enough. I was desperately hungry and + thirsty, and we decided to try and find him. Mrs. Wilkins spoke a little + Spanish, and by dint of inquiries we found the man's house, a little old, + forlorn, deserted-looking adobe casa. + </p> + <p> + We rapped vigorously upon the old door, and after some minutes a small, + withered old man appeared. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Wilkins told him what we wanted, but this ancient Delmonico declined + to serve us, and said, in Spanish, the country was "a desert"; he had + "nothing in the house"; he had "not cooked a meal in years"; he could not; + and, finally, he would not; and he gently pushed the door to in our faces. + But we did not give it up, and Mrs. Wilkins continued to persuade. I + mustered what Spanish I knew, and told him I would pay him any price for a + cup of coffee with fresh milk. He finally yielded, and told us to return + in one hour. + </p> + <p> + So we walked around the little deserted town. I could think only of the + breakfast we were to have in the old man's casa. And it met and exceeded + our wildest anticipations, for, just fancy! We were served with a + delicious boullion, then chicken, perfectly cooked, accompanied by some + dish flavored with chile verde, creamy biscuit, fresh butter, and golden + coffee with milk. There were three or four women and several officers in + the party, and we had a merry breakfast. We paid the old man generously, + thanked him warmly, and returned to the ship, fortified to endure the + sight of all the green ducks that came out of the lower hold. + </p> + <p> + You must remember that the "Newbern" was a small and old propeller, not + fitted up for passengers, and in those days the great refrigerating plants + were unheard of. The women who go to the Philippines on our great + transports of to-day cannot realize and will scarcely believe what we + endured for lack of ice and of good food on that never-to-be-forgotten + voyage down the Pacific coast and up the Gulf of California in the summer + of 1874. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. THE SLUE + </h2> + <p> + At last, after a voyage of thirteen days, we came to anchor a mile or so + off Port Isabel, at the mouth of the Colorado River. A narrow but deep + slue runs up into the desert land, on the east side of the river's mouth, + and provides a harbor of refuge for the flat-bottomed stern-wheelers which + meet the ocean steamers at this point. Hurricanes are prevalent at this + season in the Gulf of California, but we had been fortunate in not meeting + with any on the voyage. The wind now freshened, however, and beat the + waves into angry foam, and there we lay for three days on the "Newbern," + off Port Isabel, before the sea was calm enough for the transfer of troops + and baggage to the lighters. + </p> + <p> + This was excessively disagreeable. The wind was like a breath from a + furnace; it seemed as though the days would never end, and the wind never + stop blowing. Jack's official diary says: "One soldier died to-day." + </p> + <p> + Finally, on the fourth day, the wind abated, and the transfer was begun. + We boarded the river steamboat "Cocopah," towing a barge loaded with + soldiers, and steamed away for the slue. I must say that we welcomed the + change with delight. Towards the end of the afternoon the "Cocopah" put + her nose to the shore and tied up. It seemed strange not to see pier sand + docks, nor even piles to tie to. Anchors were taken ashore and the boat + secured in that manner: there being no trees of sufficient size to make + fast to. + </p> + <p> + The soldiers went into camp on shore. The heat down in that low, flat + place was intense. Another man died that night. + </p> + <p> + What was our chagrin, the next morning, to learn that we must go back to + the "Newbern," to carry some freight from up-river. There was nothing to + do but stay on board and tow that dreary barge, filled with hot, red, + baked-looking ore, out to the ship, unload, and go back up the slue. + Jack's diary records: "Aug. 23rd. Heat awful. Pringle died to-day." He was + the third soldier to succumb. It seemed to me their fate was a hard one. + To die, down in that wretched place, to be rolled in a blanket and buried + on those desert shores, with nothing but a heap of stones to mark their + graves. + </p> + <p> + The adjutant of the battalion read the burial service, and the trumpeters + stepped to the edge of the graves and sounded "Taps," which echoed sad and + melancholy far over those parched and arid lands. My eyes filled with + tears, for one of the soldiers was from our own company, and had been kind + to me. + </p> + <p> + Jack said: "You mustn't cry, Mattie; it's a soldier's life, and when a man + enlists he must take his chances." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, but," I said, "somewhere there must be a mother or sister, or some + one who cares for these poor men, and it's all so sad to think of." + </p> + <p> + "Well, I know it is sad," he replied, soothingly, "but listen! It is all + over, and the burial party is returning." + </p> + <p> + I listened and heard the gay strains of "The girl I left behind me," which + the trumpeters were playing with all their might. "You see," said Jack, + "it would not do for the soldiers to be sad when one of them dies. Why, it + would demoralize the whole command. So they play these gay things to cheer + them up." + </p> + <p> + And I began to feel that tears must be out of place at a soldier's + funeral. I attended many a one after that, but I had too much imagination, + and in spite of all my brave efforts, visions of the poor boy's mother on + some little farm in Missouri or Kansas perhaps, or in some New England + town, or possibly in the old country, would come before me, and my heart + was filled with sadness. + </p> + <p> + The Post Hospital seemed to me a lonesome place to die in, although the + surgeon and soldier attendants were kind to the sick men. There were no + women nurses in the army in those days. + </p> + <p> + The next day, the "Cocopah" started again and towed a barge out to the + ship. But the hot wind sprang up and blew fiercely, and we lay off and on + all day, until it was calm enough to tow her back to the slue. By that + time I had about given up all hope of getting any farther, and if the + weather had only been cooler I could have endured with equanimity the idle + life and knocking about from the ship to the slue, and from the slue to + the ship. But the heat was unbearable. We had to unpack our trunks again + and get out heavy-soled shoes, for the zinc which covered the decks of + these river-steamers burned through the thin slippers we had worn on the + ship. + </p> + <p> + That day we had a little diversion, for we saw the "Gila" come down the + river and up the slue, and tie up directly alongside of us. She had on + board and in barges four companies of the Twenty-third Infantry, who were + going into the States. We exchanged greetings and visits, and from the + great joy manifested by them all, I drew my conclusions as to what lay + before us, in the dry and desolate country we were about to enter. + </p> + <p> + The women's clothes looked ridiculously old-fashioned, and I wondered if I + should look that way when my time came to leave Arizona. + </p> + <p> + Little cared they, those women of the Twenty-third, for, joy upon joys! + They saw the "Newbern" out there in the offing, waiting to take them back + to green hills, and to cool days and nights, and to those they had left + behind, three years before. + </p> + <p> + On account of the wind, which blew again with great violence, the + "Cocopah" could not leave the slue that day. The officers and soldiers + were desperate for something to do. So they tried fishing, and caught some + "croakers," which tasted very fresh and good, after all the curried and + doctored-up messes we had been obliged to eat on board ship. + </p> + <p> + We spent seven days in and out of that slue. Finally, on August the 26th, + the wind subsided and we started up river. Towards sunset we arrived at a + place called "Old Soldier's Camp." There the "Gila" joined us, and the + command was divided between the two river-boats. We were assigned to the + "Gila," and I settled myself down with my belongings, for the remainder of + the journey up river. + </p> + <p> + We resigned ourselves to the dreadful heat, and at the end of two more + days the river had begun to narrow, and we arrived at Fort Yuma, which was + at that time the post best known to, and most talked about by army + officers of any in Arizona. No one except old campaigners knew much about + any other post in the Territory. + </p> + <p> + It was said to be the very hottest place that ever existed, and from the + time we left San Francisco we had heard the story, oft repeated, of the + poor soldier who died at Fort Yuma, and after awhile returned to beg for + his blankets, having found the regions of Pluto so much cooler than the + place he had left. But the fort looked pleasant to us, as we approached. + It lay on a high mesa to the left of us and there was a little green grass + where the post was built. + </p> + <p> + None of the officers knew as yet their destination, and I found myself + wishing it might be our good fortune to stay at Fort Yuma. It seemed such + a friendly place. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant Haskell, Twelfth Infantry, who was stationed there, came down + to the boat to greet us, and brought us our letters from home. He then + extended his gracious hospitality to us all, arranging for us to come to + his quarters the next day for a meal, and dividing the party as best he + could accommodate us. It fell to our lot to go to breakfast with Major and + Mrs. Wells and Miss Wilkins. + </p> + <p> + An ambulance was sent the next morning, at nine o'clock, to bring us up + the steep and winding road, white with heat, which led to the fort. + </p> + <p> + I can never forget the taste of the oatmeal with fresh milk, the eggs and + butter, and delicious tomatoes, which were served to us in his latticed + dining-room. + </p> + <p> + After twenty-three days of heat and glare, and scorching winds, and stale + food, Fort Yuma and Mr. Haskell's dining-room seemed like Paradise. + </p> + <p> + Of course it was hot; it was August, and we expected it. But the heat of + those places can be much alleviated by the surroundings. There were shower + baths, and latticed piazzas, and large ollas hanging in the shade of them, + containing cool water. Yuma was only twenty days from San Francisco, and + they were able to get many things direct by steamer. Of course there was + no ice, and butter was kept only by ingenious devices of the Chinese + servants; there were but few vegetables, but what was to be had at all in + that country, was to be had at Fort Yuma. + </p> + <p> + We staid one more day, and left two companies of the regiment there. When + we departed, I felt, somehow, as though we were saying good-bye to the + world and civilization, and as our boat clattered and tugged away up river + with its great wheel astern, I could not help looking back longingly to + old Fort Yuma. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. UP THE RIO COLORADO + </h2> + <p> + And now began our real journey up the Colorado River, that river unknown + to me except in my early geography lessons—that mighty and untamed + river, which is to-day unknown except to the explorer, or the few people + who have navigated its turbulent waters. Back in memory was the picture of + it on the map; here was the reality, then, and here we were, on the + steamer "Gila," Captain Mellon, with the barge full of soldiers towing on + after us, starting for Fort Mojave, some two hundred miles above. + </p> + <p> + The vague and shadowy foreboding that had fluttered through my mind before + I left Fort Russell had now also become a reality and crowded out every + other thought. The river, the scenery, seemed, after all, but an illusion, + and interested me but in a dreamy sort of way. + </p> + <p> + We had staterooms, but could not remain in them long at a time, on account + of the intense heat. I had never felt such heat, and no one else ever had + or has since. The days were interminable. We wandered around the boat, + first forward, then aft, to find a cool spot. We hung up our canteens + (covered with flannel and dipped in water), where they would swing in the + shade, thereby obtaining water which was a trifle cooler than the air. + There was no ice, and consequently no fresh provisions. A Chinaman served + as steward and cook, and at the ringing of a bell we all went into a small + saloon back of the pilothouse, where the meals were served. Our party at + table on the "Gila" consisted of several unmarried officers, and several + officers with their wives, about eight or nine in all, and we could have + had a merry time enough but for the awful heat, which destroyed both our + good looks and our tempers. The fare was meagre, of course; fresh biscuit + without butter, very salt boiled beef, and some canned vegetables, which + were poor enough in those days. Pies made from preserved peaches or plums + generally followed this delectable course. Chinamen, as we all know, can + make pies under conditions that would stagger most chefs. They may have no + marble pastry-slab, and the lard may run like oil, still they can make + pies that taste good to the hungry traveller. + </p> + <p> + But that dining-room was hot! The metal handles of the knives were + uncomfortably warm to the touch; and even the wooden arms of the chairs + felt as if they were slowly igniting. After a hasty meal, and a few + remarks upon the salt beef, and the general misery of our lot, we would + seek some spot which might be a trifle cooler. A siesta was out of the + question, as the staterooms were insufferable; and so we dragged out the + weary days. + </p> + <p> + At sundown the boat put her nose up to the bank and tied up for the night. + The soldiers left the barges and went into camp on shore, to cook their + suppers and to sleep. The banks of the river offered no very attractive + spot upon which to make a camp; they were low, flat, and covered with + underbrush and arrow-weed, which grew thick to the water's edge. I always + found it interesting to watch the barge unload the men at sundown. + </p> + <p> + At twilight some of the soldiers came on board and laid our mattresses + side by side on the after deck. Pajamas and loose gowns were soon en + evidence, but nothing mattered, as they were no electric lights to disturb + us with their glare. Rank also mattered not; Lieutenant-Colonel Wilkins + and his wife lay down to rest, with the captains and lieutenants and their + wives, wherever their respective strikers had placed their mattresses (for + this was the good old time when the soldiers were allowed to wait upon + officers 'families). + </p> + <p> + Under these circumstances, much sleep was not to be thought of; the sultry + heat by the river bank, and the pungent smell of the arrow-weed which + lined the shores thickly, contributed more to stimulate than to soothe the + weary nerves. But the glare of the sun was gone, and after awhile a + stillness settled down upon this company of Uncle Sam's servants and their + followers. (In the Army Regulations, wives are not rated except as "camp + followers.") + </p> + <p> + But even this short respite from the glare of the sun was soon to end; for + before the crack of dawn, or, as it seemed to us, shortly after midnight, + came such a clatter with the fires and the high-pressure engine and the + sparks, and what all they did in that wild and reckless land, that further + rest was impossible, and we betook ourselves with our mattresses to the + staterooms, for another attempt at sleep, which, however, meant only + failure, as the sun rose incredibly early on that river, and we were glad + to take a hasty sponge from a basin of rather thick looking river-water, + and go again out on deck, where we could always get a cup of black coffee + from the Chinaman. + </p> + <p> + And thus began another day of intolerable glare and heat. Conversation + lagged; no topic seemed to have any interest except the thermometer, which + hung in the coolest place on the boat; and one day when Major Worth looked + at it and pronounced it one hundred and twenty-two in the shade, a grim + despair seized upon me, and I wondered how much more heat human beings + could endure. There was nothing to relieve the monotony of the scenery. On + each side of us, low river banks, and nothing between those and the + horizon line. On our left was Lower [*] California, and on our right, + Arizona. Both appeared to be deserts. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * This term is here used (as we used it at Ehrenberg) to + designate the low, flat lands west of the river, without any + reference to Lower California proper,—the long peninsula + belonging to Mexico. +</pre> + <p> + As the river narrowed, however, the trip began to be enlivened by the + constant danger of getting aground on the shifting sand-bars which are so + numerous in this mighty river. Jack Mellon was then the most famous pilot + on the Colorado, and he was very skilful in steering clear of the + sand-bars, skimming over them, or working his boat off, when once fast + upon them. The deck-hands, men of a mixed Indian and Mexican race, stood + ready with long poles, in the bow, to jump overboard, when we struck a + bar, and by dint of pushing, and reversing the engine, the boat would + swing off. + </p> + <p> + On approaching a shallow place, they would sound with their poles, and in + a sing-song high-pitched tone drawl out the number of feet. Sometimes + their sleepy drawling tones would suddenly cease, and crying loudly, "No + alli agua!" they would swing themselves over the side of the boat into the + river, and begin their strange and intricate manipulations with the poles. + Then, again, they would carry the anchor away off and by means of great + spars, and some method too complicated for me to describe, Captain Mellon + would fairly lift the boat over the bar. + </p> + <p> + But our progress was naturally much retarded, and sometimes we were + aground an hour, sometimes a half day or more. Captain Mellon was always + cheerful. River steamboating was his life, and sand-bars were his + excitement. On one occasion, I said, "Oh! Captain, do you think we shall + get off this bar to-day?" "Well, you can't tell," he said, with a twinkle + in his eye; "one trip, I lay fifty-two days on a bar," and then, after a + short pause, "but that don't happen very often; we sometimes lay a week, + though; there is no telling; the bars change all the time." + </p> + <p> + Sometimes the low trees and brushwood on the banks parted, and a young + squaw would peer out at us. This was a little diversion, and picturesque + besides. They wore very short skirts made of stripped bark, and as they + held back the branches of the low willows, and looked at us with + curiosity, they made pictures so pretty that I have never forgotten them. + We had no kodaks then, but even if we had had them, they could not have + reproduced the fine copper color of those bare shoulders and arms, the + soft wood colors of the short bark skirts, the gleam of the sun upon their + blue-black hair, and the turquoise color of the wide bead-bands which + encircled their arms. + </p> + <p> + One morning, as I was trying to finish out a nap in my stateroom, Jack + came excitedly in and said: "Get up, Martha, we are coming to Ehrenberg!" + Visions of castles on the Rhine, and stories of the middle ages floated + through my mind, as I sprang up, in pleasurable anticipation of seeing an + interesting and beautiful place. Alas! for my ignorance. I saw but a row + of low thatched hovels, perched on the edge of the ragged looking + river-bank; a road ran lengthwise along, and opposite the hovels I saw a + store and some more mean-looking huts of adobe. + </p> + <p> + "Oh! Jack!" I cried, "and is that Ehrenberg? Who on earth gave such a name + to the wretched place?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, some old German prospector, I suppose; but never mind, the place is + all right enough. Come! Hurry up! We are going to stop here and land + freight. There is an officer stationed here. See those low white walls? + That is where he lives. Captain Bernard of the Fifth Cavalry. It's quite a + place; come out and see it." + </p> + <p> + But I did not go ashore. Of all dreary, miserable-looking settlements that + one could possibly imagine, that was the worst. An unfriendly, dirty, and + Heaven-forsaken place, inhabited by a poor class of Mexicans and + half-breeds. It was, however, an important shipping station for freight + which was to be sent overland to the interior, and there was always one + army officer stationed there. + </p> + <p> + Captain Bernard came on board to see us. I did not ask him how he liked + his station; it seemed to me too satirical; like asking the Prisoner of + Chillon, for instance, how he liked his dungeon. + </p> + <p> + I looked over towards those low white walls, which enclosed the Government + corral and the habitation of this officer, and thanked my stars that no + such dreadful detail had come to my husband. I did not dream that in less + than a year this exceptionally hard fate was to be my own. + </p> + <p> + We left Ehrenberg with no regrets, and pushed on up river. + </p> + <p> + On the third of September the boilers "foamed" so that we had to tie up + for nearly a day. This was caused by the water being so very muddy. The + Rio Colorado deserves its name, for its swift-flowing current sweeps by + like a mass of seething red liquid, turbulent and thick and treacherous. + It was said on the river, that those who sank beneath its surface were + never seen again, and in looking over into those whirlpools and swirling + eddies, one might well believe this to be true. + </p> + <p> + From there on, up the river, we passed through great canons and the + scenery was grand enough; but one cannot enjoy scenery with the mercury + ranging from 107 to 122 in the shade. The grandeur was quite lost upon us + all, and we were suffocated by the scorching heat radiating from those + massive walls of rocks between which we puffed and clattered along. + </p> + <p> + I must confess that the history of this great river was quite unknown to + me then. I had never read of the early attempts made to explore it, both + from above and from its mouth, and the wonders of the "Grand Canon" were + as yet unknown to the world. I did not realize that, as we steamed along + between those high perpendicular walls of rock, we were really seeing the + lower end of that great chasm which now, thirty years later, has become + one of the most famous resorts of this country and, in fact, of the world. + </p> + <p> + There was some mention made of Major Powell, that daring adventurer, who, + a few years previously, had accomplished the marvellous feat of going down + the Colorado and through the Grand Canon, in a small boat, he being the + first man who had at that time ever accomplished it, many men having lost + their lives in the attempt. + </p> + <p> + At last, on the 8th of September, we arrived at Camp Mojave, on the right + bank of the river; a low, square enclosure, on the low level of the flat + land near the river. It seemed an age since we had left Yuma and twice an + age since we had left the mouth of the river. But it was only eighteen + days in all, and Captain Mellon remarked: "A quick trip!" and + congratulated us on the good luck we had had in not being detained on the + sandbars. "Great Heavens," I thought, "if that is what they call a quick + trip!" But I do not know just what I thought, for those eighteen days on + the Great Colorado in midsummer, had burned themselves into my memory, and + I made an inward vow that nothing would ever force me into such a + situation again. I did not stop to really think; I only felt, and my only + feeling was a desire to get cool and to get out of the Territory in some + other way and at some cooler season. How futile a wish, and how futile a + vow! + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Dellenbaugh, who was with Powell in 1869 in his second + expedition down the river in small boats, has given to the + world a most interesting account of this wonderful river and + the canons through which it cuts its tempestuous way to the + Gulf of California, in two volumes entitled "The Romance of + the Great Colorado" and "A Canon Voyage". +</pre> + <p> + We bade good-bye to our gallant river captain and watched the great + stern-wheeler as she swung out into the stream, and, heading up river, + disappeared around a bend; for even at that time this venturesome pilot + had pushed his boat farther up than any other steam-craft had ever gone, + and we heard that there were terrific rapids and falls and unknown + mysteries above. The superstition of centuries hovered over the "great + cut," and but few civilized beings had looked down into its awful depths. + Brave, dashing, handsome Jack Mellon! What would I give and what would we + all give, to see thee once more, thou Wizard of the Great Colorado! + </p> + <p> + We turned our faces towards the Mojave desert, and I wondered, what next? + </p> + <p> + The Post Surgeon kindly took care of us for two days and nights, and we + slept upon the broad piazzas of his quarters. + </p> + <p> + We heard no more the crackling and fizzing of the stern-wheeler's + high-pressure engines at daylight, and our eyes, tired with gazing at the + red whirlpools of the river, found relief in looking out upon the + grey-white flat expanse which surrounded Fort Mojave, and merged itself + into the desert beyond. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. THE MOJAVE DESERT + </h2> + <p> + Thou white and dried-up sea! so old! So strewn with wealth, so sown with + gold! Yes, thou art old and hoary white With time and ruin of all things, + And on thy lonesome borders Night Sits brooding o'er with drooping wings.—JOAQUIN + MILLER. + </p> + <p> + The country had grown steadily more unfriendly ever since leaving Fort + Yuma, and the surroundings of Camp Mojave were dreary enough. + </p> + <p> + But we took time to sort out our belongings, and the officers arranged for + transportation across the Territory. Some had bought, in San Francisco, + comfortable travelling-carriages for their families. They were old + campaigners; they knew a thing or two about Arizona; we lieutenants did + not know, we had never heard much about this part of our country. But a + comfortable large carriage, known as a Dougherty wagon, or, in common army + parlance, an ambulance, was secured for me to travel in. This vehicle had + a large body, with two seats facing each other, and a seat outside for the + driver. The inside of the wagon could be closed if desired by canvas sides + and back which rolled up and down, and by a curtain which dropped behind + the driver's seat. So I was enabled to have some degree of privacy, if I + wished. + </p> + <p> + We repacked our mess-chest, and bought from the Commissary at Mojave the + provisions necessary for the long journey to Fort Whipple, which was the + destination of one of the companies and the headquarters officers. + </p> + <p> + On the morning of September 10th everything in the post was astir with + preparations for the first march. It was now thirty-five days since we + left San Francisco, but the change from boat to land travelling offered an + agreeable diversion after the monotony of the river. I watched with + interest the loading of the great prairie-schooners, into which went the + soldiers' boxes and the camp equipage. Outside was lashed a good deal of + the lighter stuff; I noticed a barrel of china, which looked much like our + own, lashed directly over one wheel. Then there were the massive blue army + wagons, which were also heavily loaded; the laundresses with their + children and belongings were placed in these. + </p> + <p> + At last the command moved out. It was to me a novel sight. The wagons and + schooners were each drawn by teams of six heavy mules, while a team of six + lighter mules was put to each ambulance and carriage. These were quite + different from the draught animals I had always seen in the Eastern + States; these Government mules being sleek, well-fed and trained to trot + as fast as the average carriage-horse. The harnesses were quite smart, + being trimmed off with white ivory rings. Each mule was "Lize" or "Fanny" + or "Kate", and the soldiers who handled the lines were accustomed to the + work; for work, and arduous work, it proved to be, as we advanced into the + then unknown Territory of Arizona. + </p> + <p> + The main body of the troops marched in advance; then came the ambulances + and carriages, followed by the baggage-wagons and a small rear-guard. When + the troops were halted once an hour for rest, the officers, who marched + with the soldiers, would come to the ambulances and chat awhile, until the + bugle call for "Assembly" sounded, when they would join their commands + again, the men would fall in, the call "Forward" was sounded, and the + small-sized army train moved on. + </p> + <p> + The first day's march was over a dreary country; a hot wind blew, and + everything was filled with dust. I had long ago discarded my hat, as an + unnecessary and troublesome article; consequently my head wa snow a mass + of fine white dust, which stuck fast, of course. I was covered from head + to foot with it, and it would not shake off, so, although our steamboat + troubles were over, our land troubles had begun. + </p> + <p> + We reached, after a few hours' travel, the desolate place where we were to + camp. + </p> + <p> + In the mean time, it had been arranged for Major Worth, who had no family, + to share our mess, and we had secured the services of a soldier belonging + to his company whose ability as a camp cook was known to both officers. + </p> + <p> + I cannot say that life in the army, as far as I had gone, presented any + very great attractions. This, our first camp, was on the river, a little + above Hardyville. Good water was there, and that was all; I had not yet + learned to appreciate that. There was not a tree nor a shrub to give + shade. The only thing I could see, except sky and sand, was a ruined adobe + enclosure, with no roof. I sat in the ambulance until our tent was + pitched, and then Jack came to me, followed by a six-foot soldier, and + said: "Mattie, this is Bowen, our striker; now I want you to tell him what + he shall cook for our supper; and—don't you think it would be nice + if you could show him how to make some of those good New England + doughnuts? I think Major Worth might like them; and after all the awful + stuff we have had, you know," et caetera, et caetera. I met the situation, + after an inward struggle, and said, weakly, "Where are the eggs?" "Oh," + said he, "you don't need eggs; you're on the frontier now; you must learn + to do without eggs." + </p> + <p> + Everything in me rebelled, but still I yielded. You see I had been married + only six months; the women at home, and in Germany also, had always shown + great deference to their husbands' wishes. But at that moment I almost + wished Major Worth and Jack and Bowen and the mess-chest at the bottom of + the Rio Colorado. However, I nerved myself for the effort, and when Bowen + had his camp-fire made, he came and called me. + </p> + <p> + At the best, I never had much confidence in my ability as a cook, but as a + camp cook! Ah, me! Everything seemed to swim before my eyes, and I fancied + that the other women were looking at me from their tents. Bowen was very + civil, turned back the cover of the mess-chest and propped it up. That was + the table. Then he brought me a tin basin, and some flour, some condensed + milk, some sugar, and a rolling-pin, and then he hung a camp-kettle with + lard in it over the fire. I stirred up a mixture in the basin, but the + humiliation of failure was spared me, for just then, without warning, came + one of those terrific sandstorms which prevail on the deserts of Arizona, + blowing us all before it in its fury, and filling everything with sand. + </p> + <p> + We all scurried to the tents; some of them had blown down. There was not + much shelter, but the storm was soon over, and we stood collecting our + scattered senses. I saw Mrs. Wilkins at the door of her tent. She beckoned + to me; I went over there, and she said: "Now, my dear, I am going to give + you some advice. You must not take it unkindly. I am an old army woman and + I have made many campaigns with the Colonel; you have but just joined the + army. You must never try to do any cooking at the camp-fire. The soldiers + are there for that work, and they know lots more about it than any of us + do." + </p> + <p> + "But, Jack," I began— + </p> + <p> + "Never mind Jack," said she; "he does not know as much as I do about it; + and when you reach your post," she added, "you can show him what you can + do in that line." + </p> + <p> + Bowen cleared away the sandy remains of the doubtful dough, and prepared + for us a very fair supper. Soldiers' bacon, and coffee, and biscuits baked + in a Dutch oven. + </p> + <p> + While waiting for the sun to set, we took a short stroll over to the adobe + ruins. Inside the enclosure lay an enormous rattlesnake, coiled. It was + the first one I had ever seen except in a cage, and I was fascinated by + the horror of the round, grayish-looking heap, so near the color of the + sand on which it lay. Some soldiers came and killed it. But I noticed that + Bowen took extra pains that night, to spread buffalo robes under our + mattresses, and to place around them a hair lariat. "Snakes won't cross + over that," he said, with a grin. + </p> + <p> + Bowen was a character. Originally from some farm in Vermont, he had served + some years with the Eighth Infantry, and for a long time in the same + company under Major Worth, and had cooked for the bachelors' mess. He was + very tall, and had a good-natured face, but he did not have much opinion + of what is known as etiquette, either military or civil; he seemed to + consider himself a sort of protector to the officers of Company K, and + now, as well, to the woman who had joined the company. He took us all + under his wing, as it were, and although he had to be sharply reprimanded + sometimes, in a kind of language which he seemed to expect, he was allowed + more latitude than most soldiers. + </p> + <p> + This was my first night under canvas in the army. I did not like those + desert places, and they grew to have a horror for me. + </p> + <p> + At four o'clock in the morning the cook's call sounded, the mules were + fed, and the crunching and the braying were something to awaken the + heaviest sleepers. Bowen called us. I was much upset by the dreadful dust, + which was thick upon everything I touched. We had to hasten our toilet, as + they were striking tents and breaking camp early, in order to reach before + noon the next place where there was water. Sitting on camp-stools, around + the mess-tables, in the open, before the break of day, we swallowed some + black coffee and ate some rather thick slices of bacon and dry bread. The + Wilkins' tent was near ours, and I said to them, rather peevishly: "Isn't + this dust something awful?" + </p> + <p> + Miss Wilkins looked up with her sweet smile and gentle manner and replied: + "Why, yes, Mrs. Summerhayes, it is pretty bad, but you must not worry + about such a little thing as dust." + </p> + <p> + "How can I help it?" I said; "my hair, my clothes, everything full of it, + and no chance for a bath or a change: a miserable little basin of water + and—" + </p> + <p> + I suppose I was running on with all my grievances, but she stopped me and + said again: "Soon, now, you will not mind it at all. Ella and I are army + girls, you know, and we do not mind anything. There's no use in fretting + about little things." + </p> + <p> + Miss Wilkins' remarks made a tremendous impression upon my mind and I + began to study her philosophy. + </p> + <p> + At break of day the command marched out, their rifles on their shoulders, + swaying along ahead of us, in the sunlight and the heat, which continued + still to be almost unendurable. The dry white dust of this desert country + boiled and surged up and around us in suffocating clouds. + </p> + <p> + I had my own canteen hung up in the ambulance, but the water in it got + very warm and I learned to take but a swallow at a time, as it could not + be refilled until we reached the next spring—and there is always + some uncertainty in Arizona as to whether the spring or basin has gone + dry. So water was precious, and we could not afford to waste a drop. + </p> + <p> + At about noon we reached a forlorn mud hut, known as Packwood's ranch. But + the place had a bar, which was cheerful for some of the poor men, as the + two days' marches had been rather hard upon them, being so "soft" from the + long voyage. I could never begrudge a soldier a bit of cheer after the + hard marches in Arizona, through miles of dust and burning heat, their + canteens long emptied and their lips parched and dry. I watched them often + as they marched along with their blanket-rolls, their haversacks, and + their rifles, and I used to wonder that they did not complain. + </p> + <p> + About that time the greatest luxury in the entire world seemed to me to be + a glass of fresh sweet milk, and I shall always remember Mr. Packwood's + ranch, because we had milk to drink with our supper, and some delicious + quail to eat. + </p> + <p> + Ranches in that part of Arizona meant only low adobe dwellings occupied by + prospectors or men who kept the relays of animals for stage routes. + Wretched, forbidding-looking places they were! Never a tree or a bush to + give shade, never a sign of comfort or home. + </p> + <p> + Our tents were pitched near Packwood's, out in the broiling sun. They were + like ovens; there was no shade, no coolness anywhere; we would have gladly + slept, after the day's march, but instead we sat broiling in the + ambulances, and waited for the long afternoon to wear away. + </p> + <p> + The next day dragged along in the same manner; the command marching + bravely along through dust and heat and thirst, as Kipling's soldier + sings: + </p> + <p> + "With its best foot first And the road a-sliding past, An' every bloomin' + campin'-ground Exactly like the last". + </p> + <p> + Beal's Springs did not differ from the other ranch, except that possibly + it was even more desolate. But a German lived there, who must have had + some knowledge of cooking, for I remember that we bought a peach pie from + him and ate it with a relish. I remember, too, that we gave him a good + silver dollar for it. + </p> + <p> + The only other incident of that day's march was the suicide of Major + Worth's pet dog "Pete." Having exhausted his ability to endure, this + beautiful red setter fixed his eye upon a distant range of mountains, and + ran without turning, or heeding any call, straight as the crow flies, + towards them and death. We never saw him again; a ranchman told us he had + known of several other instances where a well-bred dog had given up in + this manner, and attempted to run for the hills. We had a large greyhound + with us, but he did not desert. + </p> + <p> + Major Worth was much affected by the loss of his dog, and did not join us + at supper that night. We kept a nice fat quail for him, however, and at + about nine o'clock, when all was still and dark, Jack entered the Major's + tent and said: "Come now, Major, my wife has sent you this nice quail; + don't give up so about Pete, you know." + </p> + <p> + The Major lay upon his camp-bed, with his face turned to the wall of his + tent; he gave a deep sigh, rolled himself over and said: "Well, put it on + the table, and light the candle; I'll try to eat it. Thank your wife for + me." + </p> + <p> + So the Lieutenant made a light, and lo! and behold, the plate was there, + but the quail was gone! In the darkness, our great kangaroo hound had + stolen noiselessly upon his master's heels, and quietly removed the bird. + The two officers were dumbfounded. Major Worth said: "D—n my luck;" + and turned his face again to the wall of his tent. + </p> + <p> + Now Major Worth was just the dearest and gentlest sort of a man, but he + had been born and brought up in the old army, and everyone knows that + times and customs were different then. + </p> + <p> + Men drank more and swore a good deal, and while I do not wish my story to + seem profane, yet I would not describe army life or the officers as I knew + them, if I did not allow the latter to use an occasional strong + expression. + </p> + <p> + The incident, however, served to cheer up the Major, though he continued + to deplore the loss of his beautiful dog. + </p> + <p> + For the next two days our route lay over the dreariest and most desolate + country. It was not only dreary, it was positively hostile in its attitude + towards every living thing except snakes, centipedes and spiders. They + seemed to flourish in those surroundings. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes either Major Worth or Jack would come and drive along a few + miles in the ambulance with me to cheer me up, and they allowed me to + abuse the country to my heart's content. It seemed to do me much good. The + desert was new to me then. I had not read Pierre Loti's wonderful book, + "Le Desert," and I did not see much to admire in the desolate waste lands + through which we were travelling. I did not dream of the power of the + desert, nor that I should ever long to see it again. But as I write, the + longing possesses me, and the pictures then indelibly printed upon my + mind, long forgotten amidst the scenes and events of half a lifetime, + unfold themselves like a panorama before my vision and call me to come + back, to look upon them once more. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. LEARNING HOW TO SOLDIER + </h2> + <p> + "The grasses failed, and then a mass Of dry red cactus ruled the land: The + sun rose right above and fell, As falling molten from the skies, And no + winged thing was seen to pass." Joaquin Miller. + </p> + <p> + We made fourteen miles the next day, and went into camp at a place called + Freeze-wash, near some old silver mines. A bare and lonesome spot, where + there was only sand to be seen, and some black, burnt-looking rocks. From + under these rocks, crept great tarantulas, not forgetting lizards, snakes, + and not forgetting the scorpion, which ran along with its tail turned up + ready to sting anything that came in its way. The place furnished good + water, however, and that was now the most important thing. + </p> + <p> + The next day's march was a long one. The guides said: "Twenty-eight miles + to Willow Grove Springs." + </p> + <p> + The command halted ten minutes every hour for rest, but the sun poured + down upon us, and I was glad to stay in the ambulance. It was at these + times that my thoughts turned back to the East and to the blue sea and the + green fields of God's country. I looked out at the men, who were getting + pretty well fagged, and at the young officers whose uniforms were white + with dust, and Frau Weste's words about glaenzendes Elend came to my mind. + I fell to thinking: was the army life, then, only "glittering misery," and + had I come to participate in it? + </p> + <p> + Some of the old soldiers had given out, and had to be put on the army + wagons. I was getting to look rather fagged and seedy, and was much + annoyed at my appearance. Not being acquainted with the vicissitudes of + the desert, I had not brought in my travelling-case a sufficient number of + thin washbodices. The few I had soon became black beyond recognition, as + the dust boiled (literally) up and into the ambulance and covered me from + head to foot. But there was no help for it, and no one was much better + off. + </p> + <p> + It was about that time that we began to see the outlines of a great + mountain away to the left and north of us. It seemed to grow nearer and + nearer, and fascinated our gaze. + </p> + <p> + Willow Grove Springs was reached at four o'clock and the small cluster of + willow trees was most refreshing to our tired eyes. The next day's march + was over a rolling country. We began to see grass, and to feel that, at + last, we were out of the desert. The wonderful mountain still loomed up + large and clear on our left. I thought of the old Spanish explorers and + wondered if they came so far as this, when they journeyed through that + part of our country three hundred years before. I wondered what beautiful + and high-sounding name they might have given it. I wondered a good deal + about that bare and isolated mountain, rising out of what seemed an + endless waste of sand. I asked the driver if he knew the name of it: "That + is Bill Williams' mountain, ma'am," he replied, and relapsed into his + customary silence, which was unbroken except by an occasional remark to + the wheelers or the leaders. + </p> + <p> + I thought of the Harz Mountains, which I had so recently tramped over, and + the romantic names and legends connected with them, and I sighed to think + such an imposing landmark as this should have such a prosaic name. I + realized that Arizona was not a land of romance; and when Jack came to the + ambulance, I said, "Don't you think it a pity that such monstrous things + are allowed in America, as to call that great fine mountain 'Bill + Williams' mountain'?" + </p> + <p> + "Why no," he said; "I suppose he discovered it, and I dare say he had a + hard enough time before he got to it." + </p> + <p> + We camped at Fort Rock, and Lieutenant Bailey shot an antelope. It was the + first game we had seen; our spirits revived a bit; the sight of green + grass and trees brought new life to us. + </p> + <p> + Anvil Rock and old Camp Hualapais were our next two stopping places. We + drove through groves of oaks, cedars and pines, and the days began + hopefully and ended pleasantly. To be sure, the roads were very rough and + our bones ached after a long day's travelling. But our tents were now + pitched under tall pine trees and looked inviting. Soldiers have a knack + of making a tent attractive. + </p> + <p> + "Madame, the Lieutenant's compliments, and your tent is ready." + </p> + <p> + I then alighted and found my little home awaiting me. The tent-flaps tied + open, the mattresses laid, the blankets turned back, the camp-table with + candle-stick upon it, and a couple of camp-chairs at the door of the tent. + Surely it is good to be in the army I then thought; and after a supper + consisting of soldiers' hot biscuit, antelope steak broiled over the + coals, and a large cup of black coffee, I went to rest, listening to the + soughing of the pines. + </p> + <p> + My mattress was spread always upon the ground, with a buffalo robe under + it and a hair lariat around it, to keep off the snakes; as it is said they + do not like to cross them. I found the ground more comfortable than the + camp cots which were used by some of the officers, and most of the women. + </p> + <p> + The only Indians we had seen up to that time were the peaceful tribes of + the Yumas, Cocopahs and Mojaves, who lived along the Colorado. We had not + yet entered the land of the dread Apache. + </p> + <p> + The nights were now cool enough, and I never knew sweeter rest than came + to me in the midst of those pine groves. + </p> + <p> + Our road was gradually turning southward, but for some days Bill Williams + was the predominating feature of the landscape; turn whichever way we + might, still this purple mountain was before us. It seemed to pervade the + entire country, and took on such wonderful pink colors at sunset. Bill + Williams held me in thrall, until the hills and valleys in the vicinity of + Fort Whipple shut him out from my sight. But he seemed to have come into + my life somehow, and in spite of his name, I loved him for the + companionship he had given me during those long, hot, weary and + interminable days. + </p> + <p> + About the middle of September, we arrived at American ranch, some ten + miles from Fort Whipple, which was the headquarters station. Colonel + Wilkins and his family left us, and drove on to their destination. Some + officers of the Fifth Cavalry rode out to greet us, and Lieutenant Earl + Thomas asked me to come into the post and rest a day or two at their + house, as we then had learned that K Company was to march on to Camp + Apache, in the far eastern part of the Territory. + </p> + <p> + We were now enabled to get some fresh clothing from our trunks, which were + in the depths of the prairie-schooners, and all the officers' wives were + glad to go into the post, where we were most kindly entertained. Fort + Whipple was a very gay and hospitable post, near the town of Prescott, + which was the capital city of Arizona. The country being mountainous and + fertile, the place was very attractive, and I felt sorry that we were not + to remain there. But I soon learned that in the army, regrets were vain. I + soon ceased to ask myself whether I was sorry or glad at any change in our + stations. + </p> + <p> + On the next day the troops marched in, and camped outside the post. The + married officers were able to join their wives, and the three days we + spent there were delightful. There was a dance given, several informal + dinners, drives into the town of Prescott, and festivities of various + kinds. General Crook commanded the Department of Arizona then; he was out + on some expedition, but Mrs. Crook gave a pleasant dinner for us. After + dinner, Mrs. Crook came and sat beside me, asked kindly about our long + journey, and added: "I am truly sorry the General is away; I should like + for him to meet you; you are just the sort of woman he likes." A few years + afterwards I met the General, and remembering this remark, I was conscious + of making a special effort to please. The indifferent courtesy with which + he treated me, however, led me to think that women are often mistaken + judges of their husband's tastes. + </p> + <p> + The officers' quarters at Fort Whipple were quite commodious, and after + seven weeks' continuous travelling, the comforts which surrounded me at + Mrs. Thomas' home seemed like the veriest luxuries. I was much affected by + the kindness shown me by people I had never met before, and I kept + wondering if I should ever have an opportunity to return their courtesies. + "Don't worry about that, Martha," said Jack, "your turn will come." + </p> + <p> + He proved a true prophet, for sooner or later, I saw them all again, and + was able to extend to them the hospitality of an army home. Nevertheless, + my heart grows warm whenever I think of the people who first welcomed me + to Arizona, me a stranger in the army, and in the great southwest as well. + </p> + <p> + At Fort Whipple we met also some people we had known at Fort Russell, who + had gone down with the first detachment, among them Major and Mrs. + Wilhelm, who were to remain at headquarters. We bade good-bye to the + Colonel and his family, to the officers of F, who were to stay behind, and + to our kind friends of the Fifth Cavalry. + </p> + <p> + We now made a fresh start, with Captain Ogilby in command. Two days took + us into Camp Verde, which lies on a mesa above the river from which it + takes its name. + </p> + <p> + Captain Brayton, of the Eight Infantry, and his wife, who were already + settled at Camp Verde, received us and took the best care of us. Mrs. + Brayton gave me a few more lessons in army house-keeping, and I could not + have had a better teacher. I told her about Jack and the tinware; her + bright eyes snapped, and she said: "Men think they know everything, but + the truth is, they don't know anything; you go right ahead and have all + the tinware and other things; all you can get, in fact; and when the time + comes to move, send Jack out of the house, get a soldier to come in and + pack you up, and say nothing about it." + </p> + <p> + "But the weight—" + </p> + <p> + "Fiddlesticks! They all say that; now you just not mind their talk, but + take all you need, and it will get carried along, somehow." + </p> + <p> + Still another company left our ranks, and remained at Camp Verde. The + command was now getting deplorably small, I thought, to enter an Indian + country, for we were now to start for Camp Apache. Several routes were + discussed, but, it being quite early in the autumn, and the Apache Indians + being just then comparatively quiet, they decided to march the troops over + Crook's Trail, which crossed the Mogollon range and was considered to be + shorter than any other. It was all the same to me. I had never seen a map + of Arizona, and never heard of Crook's Trail. Maps never interested me, + and I had not read much about life in the Territories. At that time, the + history of our savage races was a blank page to me. I had been listening + to the stories of an old civilization, and my mind did not adjust itself + readily to the new surroundings. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX. ACROSS THE MOGOLLONS + </h2> + <p> + It was a fine afternoon in the latter part of September, when our small + detachment, with Captain Ogilby in command, marched out of Camp Verde. + There were two companies of soldiers, numbering about a hundred men in + all, five or six officers, Mrs. Bailey and myself, and a couple of + laundresses. I cannot say that we were gay. Mrs. Bailey had said good-bye + to her father and mother and sister at Fort Whipple, and although she was + an army girl, she did not seem to bear the parting very philosophically. + Her young child, nine months old, was with her, and her husband, as + stalwart and handsome an officer as ever wore shoulder-straps. But we were + facing unknown dangers, in a far country, away from mother, father, sister + and brother—a country infested with roving bands of the most cruel + tribe ever known, who tortured before they killed. We could not even + pretend to be gay. + </p> + <p> + The travelling was very difficult and rough, and both men and animals were + worn out by night. But we were now in the mountains, the air was cool and + pleasant, and the nights so cold that we were glad to have a small stove + in our tents to dress by in the mornings. The scenery was wild and grand; + in fact, beyond all that I had ever dreamed of; more than that, it seemed + so untrod, so fresh, somehow, and I do not suppose that even now, in the + day of railroads and tourists, many people have had the view of the Tonto + Basin which we had one day from the top of the Mogollon range. + </p> + <p> + I remember thinking, as we alighted from our ambulances and stood looking + over into the Basin, "Surely I have never seen anything to compare with + this—but oh! would any sane human being voluntarily go through with + what I have endured on this journey, in order to look upon this wonderful + scene?" + </p> + <p> + The roads had now become so difficult that our wagon-train could not move + as fast as the lighter vehicles or the troops. Sometimes at a critical + place in the road, where the ascent was not only dangerous, but doubtful, + or there was, perhaps, a sharp turn, the ambulances waited to see the + wagons safely over the pass. Each wagon had its six mules; each ambulance + had also its quota of six. + </p> + <p> + At the foot of one of these steep places, the wagons would halt, the + teamsters would inspect the road, and calculate the possibilities of + reaching the top; then, furiously cracking their whips, and pouring forth + volley upon volley of oaths, they would start the team. Each mule got its + share of dreadful curses. I had never heard or conceived of any oaths like + those. They made my blood fairly curdle, and I am not speaking + figuratively. The shivers ran up and down my back, and I half expected to + see those teamsters struck down by the hand of the Almighty. + </p> + <p> + For although the anathemas hurled at my innocent head, during the + impressionable years of girlhood, by the pale and determined + Congregational ministers with gold-bowed spectacles, who held forth in the + meeting-house of my maternal ancestry (all honor to their sincerity), had + taken little hold upon my mind, still, the vital drop of the Puritan was + in my blood, and the fear of a personal God and His wrath still existed, + away back in the hidden recesses of my heart. + </p> + <p> + This swearing and lashing went on until the heavily-loaded + prairie-schooner, swaying, swinging, and swerving to the edge of the cut, + and back again to the perpendicular wall of the mountain, would finally + reach the top, and pass on around the bend; then another would do the + same. Each teamster had his own particular variety of oaths, each mule had + a feminine name, and this brought the swearing down to a sort of personal + basis. I remonstrated with Jack, but he said: teamsters always swore; "the + mules wouldn't even stir to go up a hill, if they weren't sworn at like + that." + </p> + <p> + By the time we had crossed the great Mogollon mesa, I had become + accustomed to those dreadful oaths, and learned to admire the skill, + persistency and endurance shown by those rough teamsters. I actually got + so far as to believe what Jack had told me about the swearing being + necessary, for I saw impossible feats performed by the combination. + </p> + <p> + When near camp, and over the difficult places, we drove on ahead and + waited for the wagons to come in. It was sometimes late evening before + tents could be pitched and supper cooked. And oh! to see the poor jaded + animals when the wagons reached camp! I could forget my own discomfort and + even hunger, when I looked at their sad faces. + </p> + <p> + One night the teamsters reported that a six-mule team had rolled down the + steep side of a mountain. I did not ask what became of the poor faithful + mules; I do not know, to this day. In my pity and real distress over the + fate of these patient brutes, I forgot to inquire what boxes were on the + unfortunate wagon. + </p> + <p> + We began to have some shooting. Lieutenant Bailey shot a young deer, and + some wild turkeys, and we could not complain any more of the lack of fresh + food. + </p> + <p> + It did not surprise us to learn that ours was the first wagon-train to + pass over Crook's Trail. For miles and miles the so-called road was + nothing but a clearing, and we were pitched and jerked from side to side + of the ambulance, as we struck large rocks or tree-stumps; in some steep + places, logs were chained to the rear of the ambulance, to keep it from + pitching forward onto the backs of the mules. At such places I got out and + picked my way down the rocky declivity. + </p> + <p> + We now began to hear of the Apache Indians, who were always out, in either + large or small bands, doing their murderous work. + </p> + <p> + One day a party of horseman tore past us at a gallop. Some of them raised + their hats to us as they rushed past, and our officers recognized General + Crook, but we could not, in the cloud of dust, distinguish officers from + scouts. All wore the flannel shirt, handkerchief tied about the neck, and + broad campaign hat. + </p> + <p> + After supper that evening, the conversation turned upon Indians in + general, and Apaches in particular. We camped always at a basin, or a + tank, or a hole, or a spring, or in some canon, by a creek. Always from + water to water we marched. Our camp that night was in the midst of a + primeval grove of tall pine trees; verily, an untrodden land. We had a big + camp-fire, and sat around it until very late. There were only five or six + officers, and Mrs. Bailey and myself. + </p> + <p> + The darkness and blackness of the place were uncanny. We all sat looking + into the fire. Somebody said, "Injuns would not have such a big fire as + that." + </p> + <p> + "No; you bet they wouldn't," was the quick reply of one of the officers. + </p> + <p> + Then followed a long pause; we all sat thinking, and gazing into the fire, + which crackled and leaped into fitful blazes. + </p> + <p> + "Our figures must make a mighty good outline against that fire," remarked + one of officers, nonchalantly; "I dare say those stealthy sons of Satan + know exactly where we are at this minute," he added. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, you bet your life they do!" answered one of the younger men, lapsing + into the frontiersman's language, from the force of his convictions. + </p> + <p> + "Look behind you at those trees, Jack," said Major Worth. "Can you see + anything? No! And if there were an Apache behind each one of them, we + should never know it." + </p> + <p> + We all turned and peered into the black darkness which surrounded us. + </p> + <p> + Another pause followed; the silence was weird—only the cracking of + the fire was heard, and the mournful soughing of the wind in the pines. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, a crash! We started to our feet and faced around. + </p> + <p> + "A dead branch," said some one. + </p> + <p> + Major Worth shrugged his shoulders, and turning to Jack, said, in a low + tone, "D—— d if I don't believe I'm getting nervous," and + saying "good night," he walked towards his tent. + </p> + <p> + No element of doubt pervaded my mind as to my own state. The weird feeling + of being up in those remote mountain passes, with but a handful of + soldiers against the wary Apaches, the mysterious look of those black + tree-trunks, upon which flickered the uncertain light of the camp-fire now + dying, and from behind each one of which I imagined a red devil might be + at that moment taking aim with his deadly arrow, all inspired me with fear + such as I had never before known. + </p> + <p> + In the cyclone which had overtaken our good ship in mid-Atlantic, where we + lay tossing about at the mercy of the waves for thirty-six long hours, I + had expected to yield my body to the dark and grewsome depths of the + ocean. I had almost felt the cold arms of Death about me; but compared to + the sickening dread of the cruel Apache, my fears then had been as naught. + Facing the inevitable at sea, I had closed my eyes and said good-bye to + Life. But in this mysterious darkness, every nerve, every sense, was + keenly alive with terror. + </p> + <p> + Several of that small party around the camp-fire have gone from amongst + us, but I venture to say that, of the few who are left, not one will deny + that he shared in the vague apprehension which seized upon us. + </p> + <p> + Midnight found us still lingering around the dead ashes of the fire. After + going to our tent, Jack saw that I was frightened. He said: "Don't worry, + Martha, an Apache never was known to attack in the night," and after + hearing many repetitions of this assertion, upon which I made him take his + oath, I threw myself upon the bed. After our candle was out, I said: "When + do they attack?" Jack who, with the soldiers' indifference to danger, was + already half asleep, replied: "Just before daylight, usually, but do not + worry, I say; there aren't any Injuns in this neighborhood. Why! Didn't + you meet General Crook to-day? You ought to have some sense. If there'd + been an Injun around here he would have cleaned him out. Now go to sleep + and don't be foolish." But I was taking my first lessons in campaigning, + and sleep was not so easy. + </p> + <p> + Just before dawn, as I had fallen into a light slumber, the flaps of the + tent burst open, and began shaking violently to and fro. I sprang to my + feet, prepared for the worst. Jack started up: "What is it?" he cried. + </p> + <p> + "It must have been the wind, I think, but it frightened me," I murmured. + The Lieutenant fastened the tent-flaps together, and lay down to sleep + again; but my heart beat fast, and I listened for every sound. + </p> + <p> + The day gradually dawned, and with it my fears of the night were allayed. + But ever after that, Jack's fatal answer, "Just before daylight," kept my + eyes wide open for hours before the dawn. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X. A PERILOUS ADVENTURE + </h2> + <p> + One fine afternoon, after a march of twenty-two miles over a rocky road, + and finding our provisions low, Mr. Bailey and Jack went out to shoot wild + turkeys. As they shouldered their guns and walked away. Captain Ogilby + called out to them, "Do not go too far from camp." + </p> + <p> + Jack returned at sundown with a pair of fine turkeys! but Bailey failed to + come in. However, as they all knew him to be an experienced woodsman, no + one showed much anxiety until darkness had settled over the camp. Then + they began to signal, by discharging their rifles; the officers went out + in various directions, giving "halloos," and firing at intervals, but + there came no sound of the missing man. + </p> + <p> + The camp was now thoroughly alarmed. This was too dangerous a place for a + man to be wandering around in all night, and search-parties of soldiers + were formed. Trees were burned, and the din of rifles, constantly + discharged, added to the excitement. One party after another came in. They + had scoured the country—and not a trace of Bailey. + </p> + <p> + The young wife sat in her tent, soothing her little child; everybody + except her, gave up hope; the time dragged on; our hearts grew heavy; the + sky was alight with blazing trees. + </p> + <p> + I went into Mrs. Bailey's tent. She was calm and altogether lovely, and + said: "Charley can't get lost, and unless something has happened to him, + he will come in." + </p> + <p> + Ella Bailey was a brave young army woman; she was an inspiration to the + entire camp. + </p> + <p> + Finally, after hours of the keenest anxiety, a noise of gladsome shouts + rang through the trees, and in came a party of men with the young officer + on their shoulders. His friend Craig had been untiring in the search, and + at last had heard a faint "halloo" in the distance, and one shot (the only + cartridge poor Bailey had left). + </p> + <p> + After going over almost impassable places, they finally found him, lying + at the bottom of a ravine. In the black darkness of the evening, he had + walked directly over the edge of the chasm and fallen to the bottom, + dislocating his ankle. + </p> + <p> + He was some miles from camp, and had used up all his ammunition except the + one cartridge. He had tried in vain to walk or even crawl out of the + ravine, but had finally been overcome by exhaustion and lay there + helpless, in the wild vastnesses of the mountains. + </p> + <p> + A desperate situation, indeed! Some time afterwards, he told me how he + felt, when he realized how poor his chances were, when he saw he had only + one cartridge left and found that he had scarce strength to answer a + "halloo," should he hear one. But soldiers never like to talk much about + such things. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI. CAMP APACHE + </h2> + <p> + By the fourth of October we had crossed the range, and began to see + something which looked like roads. Our animals were fagged to a state of + exhaustion, but the travelling was now much easier and there was good + grazing, and after three more long day's marches, we arrived at Camp + Apache. We were now at our journey's end, after two months' continuous + travelling, and I felt reasonably sure of shelter and a fireside for the + winter at least. I knew that my husband's promotion was expected, but the + immediate present was filled with an interest so absorbing, that a + consideration of the future was out of the question. + </p> + <p> + At that time (it was the year of 1874) the officers' quarters at Camp + Apache were log cabins, built near the edge of the deep canon through + which the White Mountain River flows, before its junction with Black + River. + </p> + <p> + We were welcomed by the officers of the Fifth Cavalry, who were stationed + there. It was altogether picturesque and attractive. In addition to the + row of log cabins, there were enormous stables and Government buildings, + and a sutler's store. We were entertained for a day or two, and then + quarters were assigned to us. The second lieutenants had rather a poor + choice, as the quarters were scarce. We were assigned a half of a log + cabin, which gave us one room, a small square hall, and a bare shed, the + latter detached from the house, to be used for a kitchen. The room on the + other side of the hall was occupied by the Post Surgeon, who was + temporarily absent. + </p> + <p> + Our things were unloaded and brought to this cabin. I missed the barrel of + china, and learned that it had been on the unfortunate wagon which rolled + down the mountain-side. I had not attained that state of mind which came + to me later in my army life. I cared then a good deal about my belongings, + and the annoyance caused by the loss of our china was quite considerable. + I knew there was none to be obtained at Camp Apache, as most of the + merchandise came in by pack-train to that isolated place. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Dodge, of the Twenty-third Infantry, who was about to leave the post, + heard of my predicament, and offered me some china plates and cups, which + she thought not worth the trouble of packing (so she said), and I was glad + to accept them, and thanked her, almost with tears in my eyes. + </p> + <p> + Bowen nailed down our one carpet over the poor board floor (after having + first sprinkled down a thick layer of clean straw, which he brought from + the quartermaster stables). Two iron cots from the hospital were brought + over, and two bed-sacks filled with fresh, sweet straw, were laid upon + them; over these were laid our mattresses. Woven-wire springs were then + unheard of in that country. + </p> + <p> + We untied our folding chairs, built a fire on the hearth, captured an old + broken-legged wash-stand and a round table from somewhere, and that was + our living-room. A pine table was found for the small hall, which was to + be our dinning-room, and some chairs with raw-hide seats were brought from + the barracks, some shelves knocked up against one wall, to serve as + sideboard. Now for the kitchen! + </p> + <p> + A cooking-stove and various things were sent over from the Q. M. + store-house, and Bowen (the wonder of it!) drove in nails, and hung up my + Fort Russell tin-ware, and put up shelves and stood my pans in rows, and + polished the stove, and went out and stole a table somewhere (Bowen was + invaluable in that way), polished the zinc under the stove, and lo! and + behold, my army kitchen! Bowen was indeed a treasure; he said he would + like to cook for us, for ten dollars a month. We readily accepted this + offer. There were no persons to be obtained, in these distant places, who + could do the cooking in the families of officers, so it was customary to + employ a soldier; and the soldier often displayed remarkable ability in + the way of cooking, in some cases, in fact, more than in the way of + soldiering. They liked the little addition to their pay, if they were of + frugal mind; they had also their own quiet room to sleep in, and I often + thought the family life, offering as it did a contrast to the bareness and + desolation of the noisy barracks, appealed to the domestic instinct, so + strong in some men's natures. At all events, it was always easy in those + days to get a man from the company, and they sometimes remained for years + with an officer's family; in some cases attending drills and roll-calls + besides. + </p> + <p> + Now came the unpacking of the chests and trunks. In our one diminutive + room, and small hall, was no closet, there were no hooks on the bare + walls, no place to hang things or lay things, and what to do I did not + know. I was in despair; Jack came in, to find me sitting on the edge of a + chest, which was half unpacked, the contents on the floor. I was very + mournful, and he did not see why. + </p> + <p> + "Oh! Jack! I've nowhere to put things!" + </p> + <p> + "What things?" said this impossible man. + </p> + <p> + "Why, all our things," said I, losing my temper; "can't you see them?'' + </p> + <p> + "Put them back in the chests,—and get them out as you need them," + said this son of Mars, and buckled on his sword. "Do the best you can, + Martha, I have to go to the barracks; be back again soon." I looked around + me, and tried to solve the problem. There was no bureau, nothing; not a + nook or corner where a thing might be stowed. I gazed at the motley + collection of bed-linen, dust-pans, silver bottles, boot jacks, saddles, + old uniforms, full dress military hats, sword-belts, riding-boots, cut + glass, window-shades, lamps, work-baskets, and books, and I gave it up in + despair. You see, I was not an army girl, and I did not know how to + manage. + </p> + <p> + There was nothing to be done, however, but to follow Jack's advice, so I + threw the boots, saddles and equipments under the bed, and laid the other + things back in the chests, closed the lids and went out to take a look at + the post. Towards evening, a soldier came for orders for beef, and I + learned how to manage that. I was told that we bought our meats direct + from the contractor; I had to state how much and what cuts I wished. + Another soldier came to bring us milk, and I asked Jack who was the + milkman, and he said, blessed if he knew; I learned, afterwards, that the + soldiers roped some of the wild Texas cows that were kept in one of the + Government corrals, and tied them securely to keep them from kicking; then + milked them, and the milk was divided up among the officers' families, + according to rank. We received about a pint every night. I declared it was + not enough; but I soon discovered that however much education, position + and money might count in civil life, rank seemed to be the one and only + thing in the army, and Jack had not much of that just then. + </p> + <p> + The question of getting settled comfortably still worried me, and after a + day of two, I went over to see what Mrs. Bailey had done. To my surprise, + I found her out playing tennis, her little boy asleep in the + baby-carriage, which they had brought all the way from San Francisco, near + the court. I joined the group, and afterwards asked her advice about the + matter. She laughed kindly, and said: "Oh! you'll get used to it, and + things will settle themselves. Of course it is troublesome, but you can + have shelves and such things—you'll soon learn," and still smiling, + she gave her ball a neat left-hander. + </p> + <p> + I concluded that my New England bringing up had been too serious, and + wondered if I had made a dreadful mistake in marrying into the army, or at + least in following my husband to Arizona. I debated the question with + myself from all sides, and decided then and there that young army wives + should stay at home with their mothers and fathers, and not go into such + wild and uncouth places. I thought my decision irrevocable. + </p> + <p> + Before the two small deep windows in our room we hung some Turkey red + cotton, Jack built in his spare moments a couch for me, and gradually our + small quarters assumed an appearance of comfort. I turned my attention a + little to social matters. We dined at Captain Montgomery's (the commanding + officer's) house; his wife was a famous Washington beauty. He had more + rank, consequently more rooms, than we had, and their quarters were very + comfortable and attractive. + </p> + <p> + There was much that was new and interesting at the post. The Indians who + lived on this reservation were the White Mountain Apaches, a fierce and + cruel tribe, whose depredations and atrocities had been carried on for + years, in and around, and, indeed, far away from their mountain homes. But + this tribe was now under surveillance of the Government, and guarded by a + strong garrison of cavalry and infantry at Camp Apache. They were divided + into bands, under Chiefs Pedro, Diablo, Patone and Cibiano; they came into + the post twice a week to be counted, and to receive their rations of beef, + sugar, beans, and other staples, which Uncle Sam's commissary officer + issued to them. + </p> + <p> + In the absence of other amusement, the officers' wives walked over to + witness this rather solemn ceremony. At least, the serious expression on + the faces of the Indians, as they received their rations, gave an air of + solemnity to the proceeding. + </p> + <p> + Large stakes were driven into the ground; at each stake, sat or stood the + leader of a band; a sort of father to his people; then the rest of them + stretched out in several long lines, young bucks and old ones, squaws and + pappooses, the families together, about seventeen hundred souls in all. I + used to walk up and down between the lines, with the other women, and the + squaws looked at our clothes and chuckled, and made some of their + inarticulate remarks to each other. The bucks looked admiringly at the + white women, especially at the cavalry beauty, Mrs. Montgomery, although I + thought that Chief Diablo cast a special eye at our young Mrs. Bailey, of + the infantry. + </p> + <p> + Diablo was a handsome fellow. I was especially impressed by his + extraordinary good looks. + </p> + <p> + This tribe was quiet at that time, only a few renegades escaping into the + hills on their wild adventures: but I never felt any confidence in them + and was, on the whole, rather afraid of them. The squaws were shy, and + seldom came near the officers' quarters. Some of the younger girls were + extremely pretty; they had delicate hands, and small feet encased in + well-shaped moccasins. They wore short skirts made of stripped bark, which + hung gracefully about their bare knees and supple limbs, and usually a + sort of low-necked camisa, made neatly of coarse, unbleached muslin, with + a band around the neck and arms, and, in cold weather a pretty blanket was + wrapped around their shoulders and fastened at the breast in front. In + summer the blanket was replaced by a square of bright calico. Their + coarse, black hair hung in long braids in front over each shoulder, and + nearly all of them wore an even bang or fringe over the forehead. Of + course hats were unheard of. The Apaches, both men and women, had not then + departed from the customs of their ancestors, and still retained the + extraordinary beauty and picturesqueness of their aboriginal dress. They + wore sometimes a fine buckskin upper garment, and if of high standing in + the tribe, necklaces of elks teeth. + </p> + <p> + The young lieutenants sometimes tried to make up to the prettiest ones, + and offered them trinkets, pretty boxes of soap, beads, and small mirrors + (so dear to the heart of the Indian girl), but the young maids were coy + enough; it seemed to me they cared more for men of their own race. + </p> + <p> + Once or twice, I saw older squaws with horribly disfigured faces. I + supposed it was the result of some ravaging disease, but I learned that it + was the custom of this tribe, to cut off the noses of those women who were + unfaithful to their lords. Poor creatures, they had my pity, for they were + only children of Nature, after all, living close to the earth, close to + the pulse of their mother. But this sort of punishment seemed to be the + expression of the cruel and revengeful nature of the Apache. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII. LIFE AMONGST THE APACHES + </h2> + <p> + Bowen proved to be a fairly good cook, and I ventured to ask people to + dinner in our little hall dining-room, a veritable box of a place. One + day, feeling particularly ambitious to have my dinner a success, I made a + bold attempt at oyster patties. With the confidence of youth and + inexperience, I made the pastry, and it was a success; I took a can of + Baltimore oysters, and did them up in a fashion that astonished myself, + and when, after the soup, each guest was served with a hot oyster patty, + one of the cavalry officers fairly gasped. "Oyster patty, if I'm alive! + Where on earth—Bless my stars! And this at Camp Apache!" + </p> + <p> + "And by Holy Jerusalem! they are good, too," claimed Captain Reilly, and + turning to Bowen, he said: "Bowen, did you make these?" + </p> + <p> + Bowen straightened himself up to his six foot two, clapped his heels + together, and came to "attention," looked straight to the front, and + replied: "Yes, sir." + </p> + <p> + I thought I heard Captain Reilly say in an undertone to his neighbor, "The + hell he did," but I was not sure. + </p> + <p> + At that season, we got excellent wild turkeys there, and good Southdown + mutton, and one could not complain of such living. + </p> + <p> + But I could never get accustomed to the wretched small space of one room + and a hall; for the kitchen, being detached, could scarcely be counted in. + I had been born and brought up in a spacious house, with plenty of + bedrooms, closets, and an immense old-time garret. The forlorn makeshifts + for closets, and the absence of all conveniences, annoyed me and added + much to the difficulties of my situation. Added to this, I soon discovered + that my husband had a penchant for buying and collecting things which + seemed utterly worthless to me, and only added to the number of articles + to be handled and packed away. I begged him to refrain, and to remember + that he was married, and that we had not the money to spend in such ways. + He really did try to improve, and denied himself the taking of many an + alluring share in raffles for old saddles, pistols, guns, and cow-boy's + stuff, which were always being held at the sutler's store. + </p> + <p> + But an auction of condemned hospital stores was too much for him, and he + came in triumphantly one day, bringing a box of antiquated dentist's + instruments in his hand. + </p> + <p> + "Good gracious!" I cried, "what can you ever do with those forceps?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh! they are splendid," he said, "and they will come in mighty handy some + time." + </p> + <p> + I saw that he loved tools and instruments, and I reflected, why not? There + are lots of things I have a passion for, and love, just as he loves those + things and I shall never say any more about it. "Only," I added, aloud, + "do not expect me to pack up such trash when we come to move; you will + have to look out for it yourself." + </p> + <p> + So with that spiteful remark from me, the episode of the forceps was + ended, for the time at least. + </p> + <p> + As the winter came on, the isolation of the place had a rather depressing + effect upon us all. The officers were engaged in their various duties: + drill, courts-martial, instruction, and other military occupations. They + found some diversion at "the store," where the ranchmen assembled and told + frontier stories and played exciting games of poker. Jack's duties as + commissary officer kept him much away from me, and I was very lonely. + </p> + <p> + The mail was brought in twice a week by a soldier on horseback. When he + failed to come in at the usual time, much anxiety was manifested, and I + learned that only a short time before, one of the mail-carriers had been + killed by Indians and the mail destroyed. I did not wonder that on + mail-day everybody came out in front of the quarters and asked: "Is the + mail-carrier in?" And nothing much was done or thought of on that day, + until we saw him come jogging in, the mail-bag tied behind his saddle. Our + letters were from two to three weeks old. The eastern mail came via Santa + Fe to the terminus of the railroad, and then by stage; for in 1874, the + railroads did not extend very far into the Southwest. At a certain point + on the old New Mexico road, our man met the San Carlos carrier, and + received the mail for Apache. + </p> + <p> + "I do not understand," I said, "how any soldier can be found to take such + a dangerous detail." + </p> + <p> + "Why so?" said Jack. "They like it." + </p> + <p> + "I should think that when they got into those canons and narrow defiles, + they would think of the horrible fate of their predecessor," said I. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps they do," he answered; "but a soldier is always glad to get a + detail that gives him a change from the routine of post life." + </p> + <p> + I was getting to learn about the indomitable pluck of our soldiers. They + did not seem to be afraid of anything. At Camp Apache my opinion of the + American soldier was formed, and it has never changed. In the long march + across the Territory, they had cared for my wants and performed + uncomplainingly for me services usually rendered by women. Those were + before the days of lineal promotion. Officers remained with their + regiments for many years. A feeling of regimental prestige held officers + and men together. I began to share that feeling. I knew the names of the + men in the company, and not one but was ready to do a service for the + "Lieutenant's wife." "K" had long been a bachelor company; and now a young + woman had joined it. I was a person to be pampered and cared for, and they + knew besides that I was not long in the army. + </p> + <p> + During that winter I received many a wild turkey and other nice things for + the table, from the men of the company. I learned to know and to + thoroughly respect the enlisted man of the American army. + </p> + <p> + And now into the varied kaleidoscope of my army life stepped the Indian + Agent. And of all unkempt, unshorn, disagreeable-looking personages who + had ever stepped foot into our quarters, this was the worst. + </p> + <p> + "Heaven save us from a Government which appoints such men as that to watch + over and deal with Indians," cried I, as he left the house. "Is it + possible that his position here demands social recognition?" I added. + </p> + <p> + "Hush!" said the second lieutenant of K company. "It's the Interior + Department that appoints the Indian Agents, and besides," he added, "it's + not good taste on your part, Martha, to abuse the Government which gives + us our bread and butter." + </p> + <p> + "Well, you can say what you like, and preach policy all you wish, no + Government on earth can compel me to associate with such men as those!" + With that assertion, I left the room, to prevent farther argument. + </p> + <p> + And I will here add that in my experience on the frontier, which extended + over a long period, it was never my good fortune to meet with an Indian + Agent who impressed me as being the right sort of a man to deal with those + children of nature, for Indians are like children, and their intuitions + are keen. They know and appreciate honesty and fair dealing, and they know + a gentleman when they meet one. + </p> + <p> + The winter came on apace, but the weather was mild and pleasant. One day + some officers came in and said we must go over to the "Ravine" that + evening, where the Indians were going to have a rare sort of a dance. + </p> + <p> + There was no one to say to me: "Do not go," and, as we welcomed any little + excitement which would relieve the monotony of our lives, we cast aside + all doubts of the advisability of my going. So, after dinner, we joined + the others, and sallied forth into the darkness of an Arizona night. We + crossed the large parade-ground, and picked our way over a rough and + pathless country, lighted only by the stars above. + </p> + <p> + Arriving at the edge of the ravine, what a scene was before us! We looked + down into a natural amphitheatre, in which blazed great fires; hordes of + wild Apaches darted about, while others sat on logs beating their tomtoms. + </p> + <p> + I was afraid, and held back, but the rest of the party descended into the + ravine, and, leaning on a good strong arm, I followed. We all sat down on + the great trunk of a fallen tree, and soon the dancers came into the + arena. + </p> + <p> + They were entirely naked, except for the loin-cloth; their bodies were + painted, and from their elbows and knees stood out bunches of feathers, + giving them the appearance of huge flying creatures; jingling things were + attached to their necks and arms. Upon their heads were large frames, made + to resemble the branching horns of an elk, and as they danced, and bowed + their heads, the horns lent them the appearance of some unknown animal, + and added greatly to their height. Their feathers waved, their jingles + shook, and their painted bodies twisted and turned in the light of the + great fire, which roared and leaped on high. At one moment they were + birds, at another animals, at the next they were demons. + </p> + <p> + The noise of the tomtoms and the harsh shouts of the Indians grew wilder + and wilder. It was weird and terrifying. Then came a pause; the arena was + cleared, and with much solemnity two wicked-looking creatures came out and + performed a sort of shadow dance, brandishing knives as they glided + through the intricate figures. + </p> + <p> + It was a fascinating but unearthly scene, and the setting completed the + illusion. Fright deprived me of the power of thought, but in a sort of + subconscious way I felt that Orpheus must have witnessed just such mad + revels when he went down into Pluto's regions. Suddenly the shouts became + war whoops, the demons brandished their knives madly, and nodded their + branching horns; the tomtoms were beaten with a dreadful din, and terror + seized my heart. What if they be treacherous, and had lured our small + party down into this ravine for an ambush! The thing could well be, I + thought. I saw uneasiness in the faces of the other women, and by mutual + consent we got up and slowly took our departure. I barely had strength to + climb up the steep side of the hollow. I was thankful to escape from its + horrors. + </p> + <p> + Scarce three months after that some of the same band of Indians fired into + the garrison and fled to the mountains. I remarked to Jack, that I thought + we were very imprudent to go to see that dance, and he said he supposed we + were. But I had never regarded life in such a light way as he seemed to. + </p> + <p> + Women usually like to talk over their trials and their wonderful + adventures, and that is why I am writing this, I suppose. Men simply will + not talk about such things. + </p> + <p> + The cavalry beauty seemed to look at this frontier life philosophically—what + she really thought about it, I never knew. Mrs. Bailey was so much + occupied by the care of her young child and various out-door amusements, + that she did not, apparently, think much about things that happened around + us. At all events, she never seemed inclined to talk about them. There was + no one else to talk to; the soil was strange, and the atmosphere a foreign + one to me; life did not seem to be taken seriously out there, as it was + back in New England, where they always loved to sit down and talk things + over. I was downright lonesome for my mother and sisters. + </p> + <p> + I could not go out very much at that time, so I occupied myself a good + deal with needle-work. + </p> + <p> + One evening we heard firing across the canon. Jack caught up his sword, + buckling on his belt as he went out. "Injuns fighting on the other side of + the river," some soldier reported. Finding that it did not concern us, + Jack said, "Come out into the back yard, Martha, and look over the + stockade, and I think you can see across the river." So I hurried out to + the stockade, but Jack, seeing that I was not tall enough, picked up an + empty box that stood under the window of the room belonging to the Doctor, + when, thud! fell something out onto the ground, and rolled away. I started + involuntarily. It was dark in the yard. I stood stock still. "What was + that?" I whispered. + </p> + <p> + "Nothing but an old Edam cheese," said this true-hearted soldier of mine. + I knew it was not a cheese, but said no more. I stood up on the box, + watched the firing like a man, and went quietly back into the quarters. + After retiring, I said, "You might just a swell tell me now, you will have + to sooner or later, what was in the box—it had a dreadful sound, as + it rolled away on the ground." + </p> + <p> + "Well," said he, "if you must know, it was an Injun's head that the Doctor + had saved, to take to Washington with him. It had a sort of a malformed + skull or jaw-bone or something. But he left it behind—I guess it got + a leetle to old for him to carry," he laughed. "Somebody told me there was + a head in the yard, but I forgot all about it. Lucky thing you didn't see + it, wasn't it? I suppose you'd been scared—well, I must tell the + fatigue party to-morrow to take it away. Now don't let me forget it," and + this soldier of many battles fell into the peaceful slumber which comes to + those who know not fear. + </p> + <p> + The next day I overheard him telling Major Worth what had happened, and + adding that he would roast that Doctor if he ever came back. I was seeing + the rugged side of life, indeed, and getting accustomed to shocks. + </p> + <p> + Now the cavalry beauty gave a dinner. It was lovely; but in the midst of + it, we perceived a sort of confusion of moccasined footsteps outside the + dining-room. My nerves were, by this time, always on the alert. I glanced + through the large door opening out into the hall, and saw a group of + Indian scouts; they laid a coffee-sack down by the corner fire-place, near + the front door. The commanding officer left the table hastily; the + portiere was drawn. + </p> + <p> + I had heard tales of atrocious cruelties committed by a band of Indians + who had escaped from the reservation and were ravaging the country around. + I had heard how they maimed poor sheep and cut off the legs of cattle at + the first joint, leaving them to die; how they tortured women, and burned + their husbands and children before their eyes; I had heard also that the + Indian scouts were out after them, with orders to bring them in, dead or + alive. + </p> + <p> + The next day I learned that the ringleader's head was in the bag that I + had seen, and that the others had surrendered and returned. The scouts + were Apaches in the pay of the Government, and I always heard that, as + long as they were serving as scouts, they showed themselves loyal and + would hunt down their nearest relative. + </p> + <p> + Major Worth got tired of the monotony of a bachelor's life at Camp Apache + and decided to give a dance in his quarters, and invite the chiefs. I + think the other officers did not wholly approve of it, although they felt + friendly enough towards them, as long as they were not causing + disturbances. But to meet the savage Apache on a basis of social equality, + in an officer's quarters, and to dance in a quadrille with him! Well, the + limit of all things had been reached! + </p> + <p> + However, Major Worth, who was actually suffering from the ennui of + frontier life in winter, and in time of peace, determined to carry out his + project, so he had his quarters, which were quite spacious, cleared and + decorated with evergreen boughs. From his company, he secured some men who + could play the banjo and guitar, and all the officers and their wives, and + the chiefs with their harems, came to this novel fete. A quadrille was + formed, in which the chiefs danced opposite the officers. The squaws sat + around, as they were too shy to dance. These chiefs were painted, and wore + only their necklaces and the customary loin-cloth, throwing their blankets + about their shoulders when they had finished dancing. I noticed again + Chief Diablo's great good looks. + </p> + <p> + Conversation was carried on principally by signs and nods, and through the + interpreter (a white man named Cooley). Besides, the officers had picked + up many short phrases of the harsh and gutteral Apache tongue. + </p> + <p> + Diablo was charmed with the young, handsome wife of one of the officers, + and asked her husband how many ponies he would take for her, and Pedro + asked Major Worth, if all those white squaws belonged to him. + </p> + <p> + The party passed off pleasantly enough, and was not especially subversive + to discipline, although I believe it was not repeated. + </p> + <p> + Afterwards, long afterwards, when we were stationed at David's Island, New + York Harbor, and Major Worth was no longer a bachelor, but a dignified + married man and had gained his star in the Spanish War, we used to meet + occasionally down by the barge office or taking a Fenster-promenade on + Broadway, and we would always stand awhile and chat over the old days at + Camp Apache in '74. Never mind how pressing our mutual engagements were, + we could never forego the pleasure of talking over those wild days and + contrasting them with our then present surroundings. "Shall you ever + forget my party?" he said, the last time we met. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIII. A NEW RECRUIT + </h2> + <p> + In January our little boy arrived, to share our fate and to gladden our + hearts. As he was the first child born to an officer's family in Camp + Apache, there was the greatest excitement. All the sheep-ranchers and + cattlemen for miles around came into the post. The beneficent canteen, + with its soldiers' and officers' clubrooms did not exist then. So they all + gathered at the sutler's store, to celebrate events with a round of + drinks. They wanted to shake hands with and congratulate the new father, + after their fashion, upon the advent of the blond-haired baby. Their great + hearts went out to him, and they vied with each other in doing the + handsome thing by him, in a manner according to their lights, and their + ideas of wishing well to a man; a manner, sometimes, alas! disastrous in + its results to the man! However, by this time, I was getting used to all + sides of frontier life. + </p> + <p> + I had no time to be lonely now, for I had no nurse, and the only person + who was able to render me service was a laundress of the Fifth Cavalry, + who came for about two hours each day, to give the baby his bath and to + arrange things about the bed. I begged her to stay with me, but, of + course, I knew it was impossible. + </p> + <p> + So here I was, inexperienced and helpless, alone in bed, with an infant a + few days old. Dr. Loring, our excellent Post Surgeon, was both kind and + skillful, but he was in poor health and expecting each day to be ordered + to another station. My husband was obliged to be at the Commissary Office + all day, issuing rations to troops and scouts, and attending to the duties + of his position. + </p> + <p> + But, realizing in a measure the utter helplessness of my situation, he + sent a soldier up to lead a wire cord through the thick wall at the head + of my bed and out through the small yard into the kitchen. To this they + attached a big cow-bell, so, by making some considerable effort to reach + up and pull this wire, I could summon Bowen, that is, if Bowen happened to + be there. But Bowen seemed always to be out at drill or over at the + company quarters, and frequently my bell brought no response. When he did + come, however, he was just as kind and just as awkward as it was possible + for a great big six-foot farmer-soldier to be. + </p> + <p> + But I grew weaker and weaker with trying to be strong, and one day when + Jack came in and found both the baby and myself crying, he said, man-like, + "What's the matter?" I said, "I must have some one to take care of me, or + we shall both die." + </p> + <p> + He seemed to realize that the situation was desperate, and mounted men + were sent out immediately in all directions to find a woman. + </p> + <p> + At last, a Mexican girl was found in a wood-chopper's camp, and was + brought to me. She was quite young and very ignorant and stupid, and spoke + nothing but a sort of Mexican "lingo," and did not understand a word of + English. But I felt that my life was saved; and Bowen fixed up a place on + the couch for her to sleep, and Jack went over to the unoccupied room on + the other side of the cabin and took possession of the absent doctor's + bed. + </p> + <p> + I begged Jack to hunt up a Spanish dictionary, and fortunately one was + found at the sutler's store, which, doubtless the sutler or his + predecessor had brought into the country years before. + </p> + <p> + The girl did not know anything. I do not think she had ever been inside a + casa before. She had washed herself in mountain streams, and did not know + what basins and sponges were for. So it was of no use to point to the + objects I wanted. + </p> + <p> + I propped myself up in bed and studied the dictionary, and, having some + idea of the pronunciation of Latin languages, I essayed to call for warm + water and various other necessary articles needed around a sick bed. + Sometimes I succeeded in getting an idea through her impervious brain, but + more often she would stand dazed and immovable and I would let the + dictionary drop from my tired hands and fall back upon the pillow in a + sweat of exhaustion. Then Bowen would be called in, and with the help of + some perfunctory language and gestures on his part, this silent creature + of the mountains would seem to wake up and try to understand. + </p> + <p> + And so I worried through those dreadful days—and the nights! Ah! we + had better not describe them. The poor wild thing slept the sleep of death + and could not hear my loudest calls nor desperate shouts. + </p> + <p> + So Jack attached a cord to her pillow, and I would tug and tug at that and + pull the pillow from under her head. It was of no avail. She slept + peacefully on, and it seemed to me, as I lay there staring at her, that + not even Gabriel's trump would ever arouse her. + </p> + <p> + In desperation I would creep out of bed and wait upon myself and then + confess to Jack and the Doctor next day. + </p> + <p> + Well, we had to let the creature go, for she was of no use, and the + Spanish dictionary was laid aside. + </p> + <p> + I struggled along, fighting against odds; how I ever got well at all is a + wonder, when I think of all the sanitary precautions taken now-a-days with + young mothers and babies. The Doctor was ordered away and another one + came. I had no advice or help from any one. Calomel or quinine are the + only medicines I remember taking myself or giving to my child. + </p> + <p> + But to go back a little. The seventh day after the birth of the baby, a + delegation of several squaws, wives of chiefs, came to pay me a formal + visit. They brought me some finely woven baskets, and a beautiful + pappoose-basket or cradle, such as they carry their own babies in. This + was made of the lightest wood, and covered with the finest skin of fawn, + tanned with birch bark by their own hands, and embroidered in blue beads; + it was their best work. I admired it, and tried to express to them my + thanks. These squaws took my baby (he was lying beside me on the bed), + then, cooing and chuckling, they looked about the room, until they found a + small pillow, which they laid into the basket-cradle, then put my baby in, + drew the flaps together, and laced him into it; then stood it up, and laid + it down, and laughed again in their gentle manner, and finally soothed him + to sleep. I was quite touched by the friendliness of it all. They laid the + cradle on the table and departed. Jack went out to bring Major Worth in, + to see the pretty sight, and as the two entered the room, Jack pointed to + the pappoose-basket. + </p> + <p> + Major Worth tip-toed forward, and gazed into the cradle; he did not speak + for some time; then, in his inimitable way, and half under his breath, he + said, slowly, "Well, I'll be d—d!" This was all, but when he turned + towards the bedside, and came and shook my hand, his eyes shone with a + gentle and tender look. + </p> + <p> + And so was the new recruit introduced to the Captain of Company K. + </p> + <p> + And now there must be a bath-tub for the baby. The sutler rummaged his + entire place, to find something that might do. At last, he sent me a + freshly scoured tub, that looked as if it might, at no very remote date, + have contained salt mackerel marked "A One." So then, every morning at + nine o'clock, our little half-window was black with the heads of the + curious squaws and bucks, trying to get a glimpse of the fair baby's bath. + A wonderful performance, it appeared to them. + </p> + <p> + Once a week this room, which was now a nursery combined with bedroom and + living-room, was overhauled by the stalwart Bowen. The baby was put to + sleep and laced securely into the pappoose-basket. He was then carried + into the kitchen, laid on the dresser, and I sat by with a book or + needle-work watching him, until Bowen had finished the room. On one of + these occasions, I noticed a ledger lying upon one of the shelves. I + looked into it, and imagine my astonishment, when I read: "Aunt Hepsey's + Muffins," "Sarah's Indian Pudding," and on another page, "Hasty's Lemon + Tarts," "Aunt Susan's Method of Cooking a Leg of Mutton," and "Josie + Well's Pressed Calf Liver." Here were my own, my very own family recipes, + copied into Bowen's ledger, in large illiterate characters; and on the + fly-leaf, "Charles Bowen's Receipt Book." I burst into a good hearty + laugh, almost the first one I had enjoyed since I arrived at Camp Apache. + </p> + <p> + The long-expected promotion to a first lieutenancy came at about this + time. Jack was assigned to a company which was stationed at Camp + MacDowell, but his departure for the new post was delayed until the spring + should be more advanced and I should be able to undertake the long, rough + trip with our young child. + </p> + <p> + The second week in April, my baby just nine weeks old, we began to pack + up. I had gained a little in experience, to be sure, but I had lost my + health and strength. I knew nothing of the care of a young infant, and + depended entirely upon the advice of the Post Surgeon, who happened at + that time to be a young man, much better versed in the sawing off of + soldiers' legs than in the treatment of young mothers and babies. + </p> + <p> + The packing up was done under difficulties, and with much help from our + faithful Bowen. It was arranged for Mrs. Bailey, who was to spend the + summer with her parents at Fort Whipple, to make the trip at the same + time, as our road to Camp MacDowell took us through Fort Whipple. There + were provided two ambulances with six mules each, two baggage-wagons, an + escort of six calvarymen fully armed, and a guide. Lieutenant Bailey was + to accompany his wife on the trip. + </p> + <p> + I was genuinely sorry to part with Major Worth, but in the excitement and + fatigue of breaking up our home, I had little time to think of my + feelings. My young child absorbed all my time. Alas! for the ignorance of + young women, thrust by circumstances into such a situation! I had + miscalculated my strength, for I had never known illness in my life, and + there was no one to tell me any better. I reckoned upon my superbly + healthy nature to bring me through. In fact, I did not think much about + it; I simply got ready and went, as soldiers do. + </p> + <p> + I heard them say that we were not to cross the Mogollon range, but were to + go to the north of it, ford the Colorado Chiquito at Sunset Crossing, and + so on to Camp Verde and Whipple Barracks by the Stoneman's Lake road. It + sounded poetic and pretty. Colorado Chiquito, Sunset Crossing, and + Stoneman's Lake road! I thought to myself, they were prettier than any of + the names I had heard in Arizona. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIV. A MEMORABLE JOURNEY + </h2> + <p> + How broken plunged the steep descent! How barren! Desolate and rent By + earthquake shock, the land lay dead, Like some proud king in old-time + slain. An ugly skeleton, it gleamed In burning sands. The fiery rain Of + fierce volcanoes here had sown Its ashes. Burnt and black and seamed With + thunder-strokes and strewn With cinders. Yea, so overthrown, That wilder + men than we had said, On seeing this, with gathered breath, "We come on + the confines of death!"—JOAQUIN MILLER. + </p> + <p> + Six good cavalrymen galloped along by our side, on the morning of April + 24th, 1875, as with two ambulances, two army wagons, and a Mexican guide, + we drove out of Camp Apache at a brisk trot. + </p> + <p> + The drivers were all armed, and spare rifles hung inside the ambulances. I + wore a small derringer, with a narrow belt filled with cartridges. An + incongruous sight, methinks now, it must have been. A young mother, pale + and thin, a child of scarce three months in her arms, and a pistol belt + around her waist! + </p> + <p> + I scarcely looked back at Camp Apache. We had a long day's march before + us, and we looked ahead. Towards night we made camp at Cooley's ranch, and + slept inside, on the floor. Cooley was interpreter and scout, and although + he was a white man, he had married a young Indian girl, the daughter of + one of the chiefs and was known as a squaw man. There seemed to be two + Indian girls at his ranch; they were both tidy and good-looking, and they + prepared us a most appetizing supper. + </p> + <p> + The ranch had spaces for windows, covered with thin unbleached muslin (or + manta, as it is always called out there), glass windows being then too + great a luxury in that remote place. There were some partitions inside the + ranch, but no doors; and, of course, no floors except adobe. Several + half-breed children, nearly naked, stood and gazed at us as we prepared + for rest. This was interesting and picturesque from many standpoints + perhaps, but it did not tend to make me sleepy. I lay gazing into the fire + which was smouldering in the corner, and finally I said, in a whisper, + "Jack, which girl do you think is Cooley's wife?" + </p> + <p> + "I don't know," answered this cross and tired man; and then added, "both + of 'em, I guess." + </p> + <p> + Now this was too awful, but I knew he did not intend for me to ask any + more questions. I had a difficult time, in those days, reconciling what I + saw with what I had been taught was right, and I had to sort over my ideas + and deep-rooted prejudices a good many times. + </p> + <p> + The two pretty squaws prepared a nice breakfast for us, and we set out, + quite refreshed, to travel over the malapais (as the great lava-beds in + that part of the country are called). There was no trace of a road. A few + hours of this grinding and crunching over crushed lava wearied us all, and + the animals found it hard pulling, although the country was level. + </p> + <p> + We crossed Silver Creek without difficulty, and arrived at Stinson's + ranch, after traveling twenty-five miles, mostly malapais. Do not for a + moment think of these ranches as farms. Some of them were deserted sheep + ranches, and had only adobe walls standing in ruins. But the camp must + have a name, and on the old maps of Arizona these names are still to be + found. Of course, on the new railroad maps, they are absent. They were + generally near a spring or a creek, consequently were chosen as camps. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bailey had her year-old boy, Howard, with her. We began to experience + the utmost inconvenience from the lack of warm water and other things so + necessary to the health and comfort of children. But we tried to make + light of it all, and the two Lieutenants tried, in a man's way, to help us + out. We declared we must have some clean towels for the next day, so we + tried to rinse out, in the cold, hard water of the well, those which we + had with us, and, as it was now nightfall and there was no fire inside + this apparently deserted ranch, the two Lieutenants stood and held the wet + towels before the camp-fire until they were dry. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bailey and I, too tired to move, sat and watched them and had each + our own thoughts. She was an army girl and perhaps had seen such things + before, but it was a situation that did not seem quite in keeping with my + ideas of the fitness of things in general, and with the uniform in + particular. The uniform, associated in my mind with brilliant functions, + guard-mount, parades and full-dress weddings—the uniform, in fact, + that I adored. As I sat, gazing at them, they both turned around, and, + realizing how almost ludicrous they looked, they began to laugh. Whereupon + we all four laughed and Jack said: "Nice work for United States officers! + hey, Bailey?" + </p> + <p> + "It might be worse," sighed the handsome, blond-haired Bailey. + </p> + <p> + Thirty miles the next day, over a good road, brought us to Walker's ranch, + on the site of old Camp Supply. This ranch was habitable in a way, and the + owner said we might use the bedrooms; but the wild-cats about the place + were so numerous and so troublesome in the night, that we could not sleep. + I have mentioned the absence of windows in these ranches; we were now to + experience the great inconvenience resulting therefrom, for the low open + spaces furnished great opportunity for the cats. In at one opening, and + out at another they flew, first across the Bailey's bed, then over ours. + The dogs caught the spirit of the chase, and added their noise to that of + the cats. Both babies began to cry, and then up got Bailey and threw his + heavy campaign boots at the cats, with some fitting remarks. A momentary + silence reigned, and we tried again to sleep. Back came the cats, and then + came Jack's turn with boots and travelling satchels. It was all of no + avail, and we resigned ourselves. Cruelly tired, here we were, we two + women, compelled to sit on hard boxes or the edge of a bed, to quiet our + poor babies, all through that night, at that old sheep-ranch. Like the + wretched emigrant, differing only from her inasmuch as she, never having + known comfort perhaps, cannot realize her misery. + </p> + <p> + The two Lieutenants slipped on their blouses, and sat looking helplessly + at us, waging war on the cats at intervals. And so the dawn found us, our + nerves at a tension, and our strength gone—a poor preparation for + the trying day which was to follow. + </p> + <p> + We were able to buy a couple of sheep there, to take with us for supplies, + and some antelope meat. We could not indulge, in foolish scruples, but I + tried not to look when they tied the live sheep and threw them into one of + the wagons. + </p> + <p> + Quite early in the day, we met a man who said he had been fired upon by + some Indians at Sanford's Pass. We thought perhaps he had been scared by + some stray shot, and we did not pay much attention to his story. + </p> + <p> + Soon after, however, we passed a sort of old adobe ruin, out of which + crept two bare-headed Mexicans, so badly frightened that their dark faces + were pallid; their hair seemed standing on end, and they looked stark mad + with fear. They talked wildly to the guide, and gesticulated, pointing in + the direction of the Pass. They had been fired at, and their ponies taken + by some roving Apaches. They had been in hiding for over a day, and were + hungry and miserable. We gave them food and drink. They implored us, by + the Holy Virgin, not to go through the Pass. + </p> + <p> + What was to be done? The officers took counsel; the men looked to their + arms. It was decided to go through. Jack examined his revolver, and saw + that my pistol was loaded. I was instructed minutely what to do, in case + we were attacked. + </p> + <p> + For miles we strained our eyes, looking in the direction whence these men + had come. + </p> + <p> + At last, in mid-afternoon, we approached the Pass, a narrow defile winding + down between high hills from this table-land to the plain below. To say + that we feared an ambush, would not perhaps convey a very clear idea of + how I felt on entering the Pass. + </p> + <p> + There was not a word spoken. I obeyed orders, and lay down in the bottom + of the ambulance; I took my derringer out of the holster and cocked it. I + looked at my little boy lying helpless there beside me, and at his + delicate temples, lined with thin blue veins, and wondered if I could + follow out the instructions I had received: for Jack had said, after the + decision was made, to go through the Pass, "Now, Mattie, I don't think for + a minute that there are any Injuns in that Pass, and you must not be + afraid. We have got to go through it any way; but"—he hesitated,—"we + may be mistaken; there may be a few of them in there, and they'll have a + mighty good chance to get in a shot or two. And now listen: if I'm hit, + you'll know what to do. You have your derringer; and when you see that + there is no help for it, if they get away with the whole outfit, why, + there's only one thing to be done. Don't let them get the baby, for they + will carry you both off and—well, you know the squaws are much more + cruel than the bucks. Don't let them get either of you alive. Now"—to + the driver—"go on." + </p> + <p> + Jack was a man of few words, and seldom spoke much in times like that. + </p> + <p> + So I lay very quiet in the bottom of the ambulance. I realized that we + were in great danger. My thoughts flew back to the East, and I saw, as in + a flash, my father and mother, sisters and brother; I think I tried to say + a short prayer for them, and that they might never know the worst. I fixed + my eyes upon my husband's face. There he sat, rifle in hand, his features + motionless, his eyes keenly watching out from one side of the ambulance, + while a stalwart cavalry-man, carbine in hand, watched the other side of + the narrow defile. The minutes seemed like hours. + </p> + <p> + The driver kept his animals steady, and we rattled along. + </p> + <p> + At last, as I perceived the steep slope of the road, I looked out, and saw + that the Pass was widening out, and we must be nearing the end of it. + "Keep still," said Jack, without moving a feature. My heart seemed then to + stop beating, and I dared not move again, until I heard him say, "Thank + God, we're out of it! Get up, Mattie! See the river yonder? We'll cross + that to-night, and then we'll be out of their God d——d + country!" + </p> + <p> + This was Jack's way of working off his excitement, and I did not mind it. + I knew he was not afraid of Apaches for himself, but for his wife and + child. And if I had been a man, I should have said just as much and + perhaps more. + </p> + <p> + We were now down in a flat country, and low alkali plains lay between us + and the river. My nerves gradually recovered from the tension in which + they had been held; the driver stopped his team for a moment, the other + ambulance drove up alongside of us, and Ella Bailey and I looked at each + other; we did not talk any, but I believe we cried just a little. Then Mr. + Bailey and Jack (thinking we were giving way, I suppose) pulled out their + big flasks, and we had to take a cup of good whiskey, weakened up with a + little water from our canteens, which had been filled at Walker's ranch in + the morning. Great Heavens! I thought, was it this morning that we left + Walker's ranch, or was it a year ago? So much had I lived through in a few + hours. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XV. FORDING THE LITTLE COLORADO + </h2> + <p> + At a bend in the road the Mexican guide galloped up near the ambulance, + and pointing off to the westward with a graceful gesture, said: "Colorado + Chiquito! Colorado Chiquito!" And, sure enough, there in the afternoon sun + lay the narrow winding river, its surface as smooth as glass, and its + banks as if covered with snow. + </p> + <p> + We drove straight for the ford, known as Sunset Crossing. The guide was + sure he knew the place. But the river was high, and I could not see how + anybody could cross it without a boat. The Mexican rode his pony in once + or twice; shook his head, and said in Spanish, "there was much quicksand. + The old ford had changed much since he saw it." He galloped excitedly to + and fro, along the bank of the river, always returning to the same place, + and declaring "it was the ford; there was no other; he knew it well." + </p> + <p> + But the wagons not having yet arrived, it was decided not to attempt + crossing until morning, when we could get a fresh start. + </p> + <p> + The sun was gradually sinking in the west, but the heat down in that + alkali river-bottom even at that early season of the year was most + uncomfortable. I was worn out with fright and fatigue; my poor child cried + piteously and incessantly. Nothing was of any avail to soothe him. After + the tents were pitched and the camp-fires made, some warm water was + brought, and I tried to wash away some of the dust from him, but the + alkali water only irritated his delicate skin, and his head, where it had + lain on my arm, was inflamed by the constant rubbing. It began to break + out in ugly blisters; I was in despair. We were about as wretchedly off as + two human beings could be, and live, it seemed to me. The disappointment + at not getting across the river, combined with the fear that the Indians + were still in the neighborhood, added to my nervousness and produced an + exhaustion which, under other circumstances, would have meant collapse. + </p> + <p> + The mournful and demoniacal cries of the coyotes filled the night; they + seemed to come close to the tent, and their number seemed to be legion. I + lay with eyes wide open, watching for the day to come, and resolving each + minute that if I ever escaped alive from that lonely river-bottom with its + burning alkali, and its millions of howling coyotes, I would never, never + risk being placed in such a situation again. + </p> + <p> + At dawn everybody got up and dressed. I looked in my small hand-mirror, + and it seemed to me my hair had turned a greyish color, and while it was + not exactly white, the warm chestnut tinge never came back into it, after + that day and night of terror. My eyes looked back at me large and hollow + from the small glass, and I was in that state when it is easy to imagine + the look of Death in one's own face. I think sometimes it comes, after we + have thought ourselves near the borders. And I surely had been close to + them the day before. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + If perchance any of my readers have followed this narrative so far, and + there be among them possibly any men, young or old, I would say to such + ones: "Desist!" For what I am going to tell about in this chapter, and + possibly another, concerns nobody but women, and my story will now, for + awhile, not concern itself with the Eighth Foot, nor the army, nor the War + Department, nor the Interior Department, nor the strategic value of Sunset + Crossing, which may now be a railroad station, for all I know. It is + simply a story of my journey from the far bank of the Little Colorado to + Fort Whipple, and then on, by a change of orders, over mountains and + valleys, cactus plains and desert lands, to the banks of the Great + Colorado. + </p> + <p> + My attitude towards the places I travelled through was naturally + influenced by the fact that I had a young baby in my arms the entire way, + and that I was not able to endure hardship at that time. For usually, be + it remembered, at that period of a child's life, both mother and infant + are not out of the hands of the doctor and trained nurse, to say nothing + of the assistance so gladly rendered by those near and dear. + </p> + <p> + The morning of the 28th of April dawned shortly after midnight, as + mornings in Arizona generally do at that season, and after a hasty camp + breakfast, and a good deal of reconnoitering on the part of the officers, + who did not seem to be exactly satisfied about the Mexican's knowledge of + the ford, they told him to push his pony in, and cross if he could. + </p> + <p> + He managed to pick his way across and back, after a good deal of + floundering, and we decided to try the ford. First they hitched up ten + mules to one of the heavily loaded baggage-wagons, the teamster cracked + his whip, and in they went. But the quicksand frightened the leaders, and + they lost their courage. Now when a mule loses courage, in the water, he + puts his head down and is done for. The leaders disappeared entirely, then + the next two and finally the whole ten of them were gone, irrevocably, as + I thought. But like a flash, the officers shouted: "Cut away those mules! + Jump in there!" and amid other expletives the men plunged in, and feeling + around under the water cut the poor animals loose and they began to crawl + out on the other bank. I drew a long breath, for I thought the ten mules + were drowned. + </p> + <p> + The guide picked his way over again to the other side and caught them up, + and then I began to wonder how on earth we should ever get across. + </p> + <p> + There lay the heavy army wagon, deep mired in the middle of the stream, + and what did I see? Our army chests, floating away down the river. I cried + out: "Oh! do save our chests!" "They're all right, we'll get them + presently," said Jack. It seemed a long time to me, before the soldiers + could get them to the bank, which they did, with the aid of stout ropes. + All our worldly goods were in those chests, and I knew they were soaked + wet and probably ruined; but, after all, what did it matter, in the face + of the serious problem which confronted us? + </p> + <p> + In the meantime, some of the men had floated the other boxes and trunks + out of the wagon back to the shore, and were busy taking the huge vehicle + apart. Any one who knows the size of an army wagon will realize that this + was hard work, especially as the wagon was mired, and nearly submerged. + But the men worked desperately, and at last succeeded in getting every + part of it back onto the dry land. + </p> + <p> + Somebody stirred up the camp-fire and put the kettle on, and Mrs. Bailey + and I mixed up a smoking strong hot toddy for those brave fellows, who + were by this time well exhausted. Then they set to work to make a boat, by + drawing a large canvas under the body of the wagon, and fastening it + securely. For this Lieutenant of mine had been a sailor-man and knew well + how to meet emergencies. + </p> + <p> + One or two of the soldiers had now forded the stream on horseback, and + taken over a heavy rope, which was made fast to our improvised boat. I was + acquainted with all kinds of boats, from a catamaran to a full-rigged + ship, but never a craft like this had I seen. Over the sides we clambered, + however, and were ferried across the treacherous and glassy waters of the + Little Colorado. All the baggage and the two ambulances were ferried over, + and the other wagon was unloaded and drawn over by means of ropes. + </p> + <p> + This proceeding took all day, and of course we could get no farther, and + were again obliged to camp in that most uncomfortable river-bottom. But we + felt safer on that side. I looked at the smooth surface of the river, and + its alkali shores, and the picture became indelibly impressed upon my + memory. The unpleasant reality destroyed any poetic associations which + might otherwise have clung to the name of Sunset Crossing in my ever vivid + imagination. + </p> + <p> + After the tents were pitched, and the camp snugged up, Mr. Bailey produced + some champagne and we wished each other joy, that we had made the + dangerous crossing and escaped the perils of Sanford's Pass. I am afraid + the champagne was not as cold as might have been desired, but the bottle + had been wrapped in a wet blanket, and cooled a little in that way, and we + drank it with zest, from a mess-cup. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVI. STONEMAN'S LAKE + </h2> + <p> + The road began now to ascend, and after twenty miles' travelling we + reached a place called Updyke's Tanks. It was a nice place, with plenty of + wood and grass. The next day we camped at Jay Coxe's Tanks. It was a hard + day's march, and I was tired out when we arrived there. The ambulance was + simply jerked over those miles of fearful rocks; one could not say driven + or dragged over, for we were pitched from rock to rock the entire + distance. + </p> + <p> + Stoneman's Lake Road was famous, as I afterwards heard. Perhaps it was + just as well for me that I did not know about it in advance. + </p> + <p> + The sure-footed mules picked their way over these sharp-edged rocks. There + was not a moment's respite. We asked a soldier to help with holding the + baby, for my arms gave out entirely, and were as if paralyzed. The jolting + threw us all by turns against the sides of the ambulance (which was not + padded), and we all got some rather bad bruises. We finally bethought + ourselves of the pappoose basket, which we had brought along in the + ambulance, having at the last moment no other place to put it. So a halt + was called, we placed the tired baby in this semi-cradle, laced the sides + snugly over him, and were thus enabled to carry him over those dreadful + roads without danger. + </p> + <p> + He did not cry much, but the dust made him thirsty. I could not give him + nourishment without stopping the entire train of wagons, on account of the + constant pitching of the ambulance; delay was not advisable or expedient, + so my poor little son had to endure with the rest of us. The big Alsatian + cavalryman held the cradle easily in his strong arms, and so the long + miles were travelled, one by one. + </p> + <p> + At noon of this day we made a refreshing halt, built a fire and took some + luncheon. We found a shady, grassy spot, upon which the blankets were + spread, and we stretched ourselves out upon them and rested. But we were + still some miles from water, so after a short respite we were compelled to + push on. We had been getting steadily higher since leaving Sunset + Crossing, and now it began to be cold and looked like snow. Mrs. Bailey + and I found it very trying to meet these changes of temperature. A good + place for the camp was found at Coxe's Tanks, trenches were dug around the + tents, and the earth banked up to keep us warm. The cool air, our great + fatigue, and the comparative absence of danger combined to give us a + heavenly night's rest. + </p> + <p> + Towards sunset of the next day, which was May Day, our cavalcade reached + Stoneman's Lake. We had had another rough march, and had reached the limit + of endurance, or thought we had, when we emerged from a mountain pass and + drew rein upon the high green mesa overlooking Stoneman's Lake, a + beautiful blue sheet of water lying there away below us. It was good to + our tired eyes, which had gazed upon nothing but burnt rocks and alkali + plains for so many days. Our camp was beautiful beyond description, and + lay near the edge of the mesa, whence we could look down upon the lovely + lake. It was a complete surprise to us, as points of scenery were not much + known or talked about then in Arizona. Ponds and lakes were unheard of. + They did not seem to exist in that drear land of arid wastes. We never + heard of water except that of the Colorado or the Gila or the tanks and + basins, and irrigation ditches of the settlers. But here was a real + Italian lake, a lake as blue as the skies above us. We feasted our eyes + and our very souls upon it. + </p> + <p> + Bailey and the guide shot some wild turkeys, and as we had already eaten + all the mutton we had along, the ragout of turkey made by the soldier-cook + for our supper tasted better to us tired and hungry travellers, perhaps, + than a canvasback at Delmonico's tastes to the weary lounger or the + over-worked financier. + </p> + <p> + In the course of the day, we had passed a sort of sign-board, with the + rudely written inscription, "Camp Starvation," and we had heard from Mr. + Bailey the story of the tragic misfortunes at this very place of the + well-known Hitchcock family of Arizona. The road was lined with dry bones, + and skulls of oxen, white and bleached in the sun, lying on the bare + rocks. Indeed, at every stage of the road we had seen evidences of hard + travel, exhausted cattle, anxious teamsters, hunger and thirst, despair, + starvation, and death. + </p> + <p> + However, Stoneman's Lake remains a joy in the memory, and far and away the + most beautiful spot I ever saw in Arizona. But unless the approaches to it + are made easier, tourists will never gaze upon it. + </p> + <p> + In the distance we saw the "divide," over which we must pass in order to + reach Camp Verde, which was to be our first stopping place, and we looked + joyfully towards the next day's march, which we expected would bring us + there. + </p> + <p> + We thought the worst was over and, before retiring to our tents for the + night, we walked over to the edge of the high mesa and, in the gathering + shadows of twilight, looked down into the depths of that beautiful lake, + knowing that probably we should never see it again. + </p> + <p> + And indeed, in all the years I spent in Arizona afterward, I never even + heard of the lake again. + </p> + <p> + I wonder now, did it really exist or was it an illusion, a dream, or the + mirage which appears to the desert traveller, to satisfy him and lure him + on, to quiet his imagination, and to save his senses from utter + extinction? + </p> + <p> + In the morning the camp was all astir for an early move. We had no time to + look back: we were starting for a long day's march, across the "divide," + and into Camp Verde. + </p> + <p> + But we soon found that the road (if road it could be called) was worse + than any we had encountered. The ambulance was pitched and jerked from + rock to rock and we were thumped against the iron framework in a most + dangerous manner. So we got out and picked our way over the great sharp + boulders. + </p> + <p> + The Alsatian soldier carried the baby, who lay securely in the pappoose + cradle. + </p> + <p> + One of the cavalry escort suggested my taking his horse, but I did not + feel strong enough to think of mounting a horse, so great was my + discouragement and so exhausted was my vitality. Oh! if girls only knew + about these things I thought! For just a little knowledge of the care of + an infant and its needs, its nourishment and its habits, might have saved + both mother and child from such utter collapse. + </p> + <p> + Little by little we gave up hope of reaching Verde that day. At four + o'clock we crossed the "divide," and clattered down a road so near the + edge of a precipice that I was frightened beyond everything: my senses + nearly left me. Down and around, this way and that, near the edge, then + back again, swaying, swerving, pitching, the gravel clattering over the + precipice, the six mules trotting their fastest, we reached the bottom and + the driver pulled up his team. "Beaver Springs!" said he, impressively, + loosening up the brakes. + </p> + <p> + As Jack lifted me out of the ambulance, I said: "Why didn't you tell me?" + pointing back to the steep road. "Oh," said he, "I thought it was better + for you not to know; people get scared about such things, when they know + about them before hand." + </p> + <p> + "But," I remarked, "such a break-neck pace!" Then, to the driver, "Smith, + how could you drive down that place at such a rate and frighten me so?" + </p> + <p> + "Had to, ma'am, or we'd a'gone over the edge." + </p> + <p> + I had been brought up in a flat country down near the sea, and I did not + know the dangers of mountain travelling, nor the difficulties attending + the piloting of a six-mule team down a road like that. From this time on, + however, Smith rose in my estimation. I seemed also to be realizing that + the Southwest was a great country and that there was much to learn about. + Life out there was beginning to interest me. + </p> + <p> + Camp Verde lay sixteen miles farther on; no one knew if the road were good + or bad. I declared I could not travel another mile, even if they all went + on and left me to the wolves and the darkness of Beaver Springs. + </p> + <p> + We looked to our provisions and took account of stock. There was not + enough for the two families. We had no flour and no bread; there was only + a small piece of bacon, six potatoes, some condensed milk, and some + chocolate. The Baileys decided to go on; for Mrs. Bailey was to meet her + sister at Verde and her parents at Whipple. We said good-bye, and their + ambulance rolled away. Our tent was pitched and the baby was laid on the + bed, asleep from pure exhaustion. + </p> + <p> + The dread darkness of night descended upon us, and the strange odors of + the bottom-lands arose, mingling with the delicious smoky smell of the + camp-fire. + </p> + <p> + By the light of the blazing mesquite wood, we now divided what provisions + we had, into two portions: one for supper, and one for breakfast. A very + light meal we had that evening, and I arose from the mess-table + unsatisfied and hungry. + </p> + <p> + Jack and I sat down by the camp-fire, musing over the hard times we were + having, when suddenly I heard a terrified cry from my little son. We + rushed to the tent, lighted a candle, and oh! horror upon horrors! his + head and face were covered with large black ants; he was wailing + helplessly, and beating the air with his tiny arms. + </p> + <p> + "My God!" cried Jack, "we're camped over an ant-hill!" + </p> + <p> + I seized the child, and brushing off the ants as I fled, brought him out + to the fire, where by its light I succeeded in getting rid of them all. + But the horror of it! Can any mother brought up in God's country with kind + nurses and loved ones to minister to her child, for a moment imagine how I + felt when I saw those hideous, three-bodied, long-legged black ants + crawling over my baby's face? After a lapse of years, I cannot recall that + moment without a shudder. + </p> + <p> + The soldiers at last found a place which seemed to be free from ant-hills, + and our tent was again pitched, but only to find that the venomous things + swarmed over us as soon as we lay down to rest. + </p> + <p> + And so, after the fashion of the Missouri emigrant, we climbed into the + ambulance and lay down upon our blankets in the bottom of it, and tried to + believe we were comfortable. + </p> + <p> + My long, hard journey of the preceding autumn, covering a period of two + months; my trying experiences during the winter at Camp Apache; the sudden + break-up and the packing; the lack of assistance from a nurse; the terrors + of the journey; the sympathy for my child, who suffered from many ailments + and principally from lack of nourishment, added to the profound fatigue I + felt, had reduced my strength to a minimum. I wonder that I lived, but + something sustained me, and when we reached Camp Verde the next day, and + drew up before Lieutenant O'Connell's quarters, and saw Mrs. O'Connell's + kind face beaming to welcome us, I felt that here was relief at last. + </p> + <p> + The tall Alsatian handed the pappoose cradle to Mrs. O'Connell. + </p> + <p> + "Gracious goodness! what is this?" cried the bewildered woman; "surely it + cannot be your baby! You haven't turned entirely Indian, have you, amongst + those wild Apaches?" + </p> + <p> + I felt sorry I had not taken him out of the basket before we arrived. I + did not realize the impression it would make at Camp Verde. After all, + they did not know anything about our life at Apache, or our rough travels + to get back from there. Here were lace-curtained windows, well-dressed + women, smart uniforms, and, in fact, civilization, compared with what we + had left. + </p> + <p> + The women of the post gathered around the broad piazza, to see the wonder. + But when they saw the poor little wan face, the blue eyes which looked + sadly out at them from this rude cradle, the linen bandages covering the + back of the head, they did not laugh any more, but took him and ministered + to him, as only kind women can minister to a sick baby. + </p> + <p> + There was not much rest, however, for we had to sort and rearrange our + things, and dress ourselves properly. (Oh! the luxury of a room and a tub, + after that journey!) Jack put on his best uniform, and there was no end of + visiting, in spite of the heat, which was considerable even at that early + date in May. The day there would have been pleasant enough but for my + wretched condition. + </p> + <p> + The next morning we set out for Fort Whipple, making a long day's march, + and arriving late in the evening. The wife of the Quartermaster, a total + stranger to me, received us, and before we had time to exchange the usual + social platitudes, she gave one look at the baby, and put an end to any + such attempts. "You have a sick child; give him to me;" then I told her + some things, and she said: "I wonder he is alive." Then she took him under + her charge and declared we should not leave her house until he was well + again. She understood all about nursing, and day by day, under her good + care, and Doctor Henry Lippincott's skilful treatment, I saw my baby + brought back to life again. Can I ever forget Mrs. Aldrich's blessed + kindness? + </p> + <p> + Up to then, I had taken no interest in Camp MacDowell, where was stationed + the company into which my husband was promoted. I knew it was somewhere in + the southern part of the Territory, and isolated. The present was enough. + I was meeting my old Fort Russell friends, and under Doctor Lippincott's + good care I was getting back a measure of strength. Camp MacDowell was not + yet a reality to me. + </p> + <p> + We met again Colonel Wilkins and Mrs. Wilkins and Carrie, and Mrs. Wilkins + thanked me for bringing her daughter alive out of those wilds. Poor girl; + 'twas but a few months when we heard of her death, at the birth of her + second child. I have always thought her death was caused by the long hard + journey from Apache to Whipple, for Nature never intended women to go + through what we went through, on that memorable journey by Stoneman's + Lake. + </p> + <p> + There I met again Captain Porter, and I asked him if he had progressed any + in his courtship, and he, being very much embarrassed, said he did not + know, but if patient waiting was of any avail, he believed he might win + his bride. + </p> + <p> + After we had been at Whipple a few days, Jack came in and remarked + casually to Lieutenant Aldrich, "Well, I heard Bernard has asked to be + relieved from Ehrenberg. + </p> + <p> + "What!" I said, "the lonely man down there on the river—the prisoner + of Chillon—the silent one? Well, they are going to relieve him, of + course?" + </p> + <p> + "Why, yes," said Jack, falteringly, "if they can get anyone to take his + place." + </p> + <p> + "Can't they order some one?" I inquired. + </p> + <p> + "Of course they can," he replied, and then, turning towards the window, he + ventured: "The fact is Martha, I've been offered it, and am thinking it + over." (The real truth was, that he had applied for it, thinking it + possessed great advantages over Camp MacDowell. ) + </p> + <p> + "What! do I hear aright? Have your senses left you? Are you crazy? Are you + going to take me to that awful place? Why, Jack, I should die there!" + </p> + <p> + "Now, Martha, be reasonable; listen to me, and if you really decide + against it, I'll throw up the detail. But don't you see, we shall be right + on the river, the boat comes up every fortnight or so, you can jump aboard + and go up to San Francisco." (Oh, how alluring that sounded to my ears!) + "Why, it's no trouble to get out of Arizona from Ehrenberg. Then, too, I + shall be independent, and can do just as I like, and when I like," et + caetera, et caetera. "Oh, you'll be making the greatest mistake, if you + decide against it. As for MacDowell, it's a hell of a place, down there in + the South; and you never will be able to go back East with the baby, if we + once get settled down there. Why, it's a good fifteen days from the + river." + </p> + <p> + And so he piled up the arguments in favor of Ehrenberg, saying finally, + "You need not stop a day there. If the boat happens to be up, you can jump + right aboard and start at once down river." + </p> + <p> + All the discomforts of the voyage on the "Newbern," and the memory of + those long days spent on the river steamer in August had paled before my + recent experiences. I flew, in imagination, to the deck of the "Gila," and + to good Captain Mellon, who would take me and my child out of that + wretched Territory. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes, let us go then," I cried; for here came in my inexperience. I + thought I was choosing the lesser evil, and I knew that Jack believed it + to be so, and also that he had set his heart upon Ehrenberg, for reasons + known only to the understanding of a military man. + </p> + <p> + So it was decided to take the Ehrenberg detail. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVII. THE COLORADO DESERT + </h2> + <p> + Some serpents slid from out the grass That grew in tufts by shattered + stone, Then hid below some broken mass Of ruins older than the East, That + Time had eaten, as a bone Is eaten by some savage beast. + </p> + <p> + Great dull-eyed rattlesnakes—they lay All loathsome, yellow-skinned, + and slept Coiled tight as pine knots in the sun, With flat heads through + the centre run; Then struck out sharp, then rattling crept Flat-bellied + down the dusty way. + </p> + <p> + —JOAQUIN MILLER. + </p> + <p> + At the end of a week, we started forth for Ehrenberg. Our escort was now + sent back to Camp Apache, and the Baileys remained at Fort Whipple, so our + outfit consisted of one ambulance and one army wagon. One or two soldiers + went along, to help with the teams and the camp. + </p> + <p> + We travelled two days over a semi-civilized country, and found quite + comfortable ranches where we spent the nights. The greatest luxury was + fresh milk, and we enjoyed that at these ranches in Skull Valley. They + kept American cows, and supplied Whipple Barracks with milk and butter. We + drank, and drank, and drank again, and carried a jugful to our bedside. + The third day brought us to Cullen's ranch, at the edge of the desert. + Mrs. Cullen was a Mexican woman and had a little boy named Daniel; she + cooked us a delicious supper of stewed chicken, and fried eggs, and good + bread, and then she put our boy to bed in Daniel's crib. I felt so + grateful to her; and with a return of physical comfort, I began to think + that life, after all, might be worth the living. + </p> + <p> + Hopefully and cheerfully the next morning we entered the vast Colorado + desert. This was verily the desert, more like the desert which our + imagination pictures, than the one we had crossed in September from + Mojave. It seemed so white, so bare, so endless, and so still; + irreclaimable, eternal, like Death itself. The stillness was appalling. We + saw great numbers of lizards darting about like lightning; they were + nearly as white as the sand itself, and sat up on their hind legs and + looked at us with their pretty, beady black eyes. It seemed very far off + from everywhere and everybody, this desert—but I knew there was a + camp somewhere awaiting us, and our mules trotted patiently on. Towards + noon they began to raise their heads and sniff the air; they knew that + water was near. They quickened their pace, and we soon drew up before a + large wooden structure. There were no trees nor grass around it. A Mexican + worked the machinery with the aid of a mule, and water was bought for our + twelve animals, at so much per head. The place was called Mesquite Wells; + the man dwelt alone in his desolation, with no living being except his + mule for company. How could he endure it! I was not able, even faintly, to + comprehend it; I had not lived long enough. He occupied a small hut, and + there he staid, year in and year out, selling water to the passing + traveller; and I fancy that travellers were not so frequent at Mesquite + Wells a quarter of a century ago. + </p> + <p> + The thought of that hermit and his dreary surroundings filled my mind for + a long time after we drove away, and it was only when we halted and a + soldier got down to kill a great rattlesnake near the ambulance, that my + thoughts were diverted. The man brought the rattles to us and the new toy + served to amuse my little son. + </p> + <p> + At night we arrived at Desert Station. There was a good ranch there, kept + by Hunt and Dudley, Englishmen, I believe. I did not see them, but I + wondered who they were and why they staid in such a place. They were + absent at the time; perhaps they had mines or something of the sort to + look after. One is always imagining things about people who live in such + extraordinary places. At all events, whatever Messrs. Hunt and Dudley were + doing down there, their ranch was clean and attractive, which was more + than could be said of the place where we stopped the next night, a place + called Tyson's Wells. We slept in our tent that night, for of all places + on the earth a poorly kept ranch in Arizona is the most melancholy and + uninviting. It reeks of everything unclean, morally and physically. Owen + Wister has described such a place in his delightful story, where the young + tenderfoot dances for the amusement of the old habitues. + </p> + <p> + One more day's travel across the desert brought us to our El Dorado. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVIII. EHRENBERG ON THE COLORADO + </h2> + <p> + Under the burning mid-day sun of Arizona, on May 16th, our six good mules, + with the long whip cracking about their ears, and the ambulance rattling + merrily along, brought us into the village of Ehrenberg. There was one + street, so called, which ran along on the river bank, and then a few cross + streets straggling back into the desert, with here and there a low adobe + casa. The Government house stood not far from the river, and as we drove + up to the entrance the same blank white walls stared at me. It did not + look so much like a prison, after all, I thought. Captain Bernard, the man + whom I had pitied, stood at the doorway, to greet us, and after we were + inside the house he had some biscuits and wine brought; and then the + change of stations was talked of, and he said to me, "Now, please make + yourself at home. The house is yours; my things are virtually packed up, + and I leave in a day or two. There is a soldier here who can stay with + you; he has been able to attend to my simple wants. I eat only twice a + day; and here is Charley, my Indian, who fetches the water from the river + and does the chores. I dine generally at sundown." + </p> + <p> + A shadow fell across the sunlight in the doorway; I looked around and + there stood "Charley," who had come in with the noiseless step of the + moccasined foot. I saw before me a handsome naked Cocopah Indian, who wore + a belt and a gee-string. He seemed to feel at home and began to help with + the bags and various paraphernalia of ambulance travellers. He looked to + be about twenty-four years old. His face was smiling and friendly and I + knew I should like him. + </p> + <p> + The house was a one-story adobe. It formed two sides of a hollow square; + the other two sides were a high wall, and the Government freight-house + respectively. The courtyard was partly shaded by a ramada and partly open + to the hot sun. There was a chicken-yard in one corner of the inclosed + square, and in the centre stood a rickety old pump, which indicated some + sort of a well. Not a green leaf or tree or blade of grass in sight. + Nothing but white sand, as far as one could see, in all directions. + </p> + <p> + Inside the house there were bare white walls, ceilings covered with manta, + and sagging, as they always do; small windows set in deep embrasures, and + adobe floors. Small and inconvenient rooms, opening one into another + around two sides of the square. A sort of low veranda protected by lattice + screens, made from a species of slim cactus, called ocotilla, woven + together, and bound with raw-hide, ran around a part of the house. + </p> + <p> + Our dinner was enlivened by some good Cocomonga wine. I tried to ascertain + something about the source of provisions, but evidently the soldier had + done the foraging, and Captain Bernard admitted that it was difficult, + adding always that he did not require much, "it was so warm," et caetera, + et caetera. The next morning I took the reins, nominally, but told the + soldier to go ahead and do just as he had always done. I selected a small + room for the baby's bath, the all important function of the day. The + Indian brought me a large tub (the same sort of a half of a vinegar barrel + we had used at Apache for ourselves), set it down in the middle of the + floor, and brought water from a barrel which stood in the corral. A low + box was placed for me to sit on. This was a bachelor establishment, and + there was no place but the floor to lay things on; but what with the + splashing and the leaking and the dripping, the floor turned to mud and + the white clothes and towels were covered with it, and I myself was a + sight to behold. The Indian stood smiling at my plight. He spoke only a + pigeon English, but said, "too much-ee wet." + </p> + <p> + I was in despair; things began to look hopeless again to me. I thought + "surely these Mexicans must know how to manage with these floors." Fisher, + the steamboat agent, came in, and I asked him if he could not find me a + nurse. He said he would try, and went out to see what could be done. + </p> + <p> + He finally brought in a rather forlorn looking Mexican woman leading a + little child (whose father was not known), and she said she would come to + us for quinze pesos a month. I consulted with Fisher, and he said she was + a pretty good sort, and that we could not afford to be too particular down + in that country. And so she came; and although she was indolent, and + forever smoking cigarettes, she did care for the baby, and fanned him when + he slept, and proved a blessing to me. + </p> + <p> + And now came the unpacking of our boxes, which had floated down the + Colorado Chiquito. The fine damask, brought from Germany for my linen + chest, was a mass of mildew; and when the books came to light, I could + have wept to see the pretty editions of Schiller, Goethe, and Lessing, + which I had bought in Hanover, fall out of their bindings; the latter, + warped out of all shape, and some of them unrecognizable. I did the best I + could, however, not to show too much concern, and gathered the pages + carefully together, to dry them in the sun. + </p> + <p> + They were my pride, my best beloved possessions, the links that bound me + to the happy days in old Hanover. + </p> + <p> + I went to Fisher for everything—a large, well-built American, and a + kind good man. Mrs. Fisher could not endure the life at Ehrenberg, so she + lived in San Francisco, he told me. There were several other white men in + the place, and two large stores where everything was kept that people in + such countries buy. These merchants made enormous profits, and their + families lived in luxury in San Francisco. + </p> + <p> + The rest of the population consisted of a very poor class of Mexicans, + Cocopah, Yuma and Mojave Indians, and half-breeds. + </p> + <p> + The duties of the army officer stationed here consisted principally in + receiving and shipping the enormous quantity of Government freight which + was landed by the river steamers. It was shipped by wagon trains across + the Territory, and at all times the work carried large responsibilities + with it. + </p> + <p> + I soon realized that however much the present incumbent might like the + situation, it was no fit place for a woman. + </p> + <p> + The station at Ehrenberg was what we call, in the army, "detached + service." I realized that we had left the army for the time being; that we + had cut loose from a garrison; that we were in a place where good food + could not be procured, and where there were practically no servants to be + had. That there was not a woman to speak to, or to go to for advice or + help, and, worst of all, that there was no doctor in the place. Besides + all this, my clothes were all ruined by lying wet for a fortnight in the + boxes, and I had practically nothing to wear. I did not then know what + useless things clothes were in Ehrenberg. + </p> + <p> + The situation appeared rather serious; the weather had grown intensely + hot, and it was decided that the only thing for me to do was to go to San + Francisco for the summer. + </p> + <p> + So one day we heard the whistle of the "Gila" going up; and when she came + down river, I was all ready to go on board, with Patrocina and Jesusita, + [*] and my own child, who was yet but five months old. I bade farewell to + the man on detached service, and we headed down river. We seemed to go + down very rapidly, although the trip lasted several days. Patrocina took + to her bed with neuralgia (or nostalgia); her little devil of a child + screamed the entire days and nights through, to the utter discomfiture of + the few other passengers. A young lieutenant and his wife and an army + surgeon, who had come from one of the posts in the interior, were among + the number, and they seemed to think that I could help it (though they did + not say so). + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Diminutive of Jesus, a very common name amongst the + Mexicans. Pronounced Hay-soo-se-ta. +</pre> + <p> + Finally the doctor said that if I did not throw Jesusita overboard, he + would; why didn't I "wring the neck of its worthless Mexican of a mother?" + and so on, until I really grew very nervous and unhappy, thinking what I + should do after we got on board the ocean steamer. I, a victim of + seasickness, with this unlucky woman and her child on my hands, in + addition to my own! No; I made up my mind to go back to Ehrenberg, but I + said nothing. + </p> + <p> + I did not dare to let Doctor Clark know of my decision, for I knew he + would try to dissuade me; but when we reached the mouth of the river, and + they began to transfer the passengers to the ocean steamer which lay in + the offing, I quietly sat down upon my trunk and told them I was going + back to Ehrenberg. Captain Mellon grinned; the others were speechless; + they tried persuasion, but saw it was useless; and then they said good-bye + to me, and our stern-wheeler headed about and started for up river. + </p> + <p> + Ehrenberg had become truly my old man of the sea; I could not get rid of + it. There I must go, and there I must stay, until circumstances and the + Fates were more propitious for my departure. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIX. SUMMER AT EHRENBERG + </h2> + <p> + The week we spent going up the Colorado in June was not as uncomfortable + as the time spent on the river in August of the previous year. Everything + is relative, I discovered, and I was happy in going back to stay with the + First Lieutenant of C Company, and share his fortunes awhile longer. + </p> + <p> + Patrocina recovered, as soon as she found we were to return to Ehrenberg. + I wondered how anybody could be so homesick for such a God-forsaken place. + I asked her if she had ever seen a tree, or green grass (for I could talk + with her quite easily now). She shook her mournful head. "But don't you + want to see trees and grass and flowers?" + </p> + <p> + Another sad shake of the head was the only reply. + </p> + <p> + Such people, such natures, and such lives, were incomprehensible to me + then. I could not look at things except from my own standpoint. + </p> + <p> + She took her child upon her knee, and lighted a cigarette; I took mine + upon my knee, and gazed at the river banks: they were now old friends: I + had gazed at them many times before; how much I had experienced, and how + much had happened since I first saw them! Could it be that I should ever + come to love them, and the pungent smell of the arrow-weed which covered + them to the water's edge? + </p> + <p> + The huge mosquitoes swarmed over us in the nights from those thick clumps + of arrow-weed and willow, and the nets with which Captain Mellon provided + us did not afford much protection. + </p> + <p> + The June heat was bad enough, though not quite so stifling as the August + heat. I was becoming accustomed to climates, and had learned to endure + discomfort. The salt beef and the Chinaman's peach pies were no longer + offensive to me. Indeed, I had a good appetite for them, though they were + not exactly the sort of food prescribed by the modern doctor, for a young + mother. Of course, milk, eggs, and all fresh food were not to be had on + the river boats. Ice was still a thing unknown on the Colorado. + </p> + <p> + When, after a week, the "Gila" pushed her nose up to the bank at + Ehrenberg, there stood the Quartermaster. He jumped aboard, and did not + seem in the least surprised to see me. "I knew you'd come back," said he. + I laughed, of course, and we both laughed. + </p> + <p> + "I hadn't the courage to go on," I replied + </p> + <p> + "Oh, well, we can make things comfortable here and get through the summer + some way," he said. "I'll build some rooms on, and a kitchen, and we can + surely get along. It's the healthiest place in the world for children, + they tell me." + </p> + <p> + So after a hearty handshake with Captain Mellon, who had taken such good + care of me on my week's voyage up river, I being almost the only + passenger, I put my foot once more on the shores of old Ehrenberg, and we + wended our way towards the blank white walls of the Government house. I + was glad to be back, and content to wait. + </p> + <p> + So work was begun immediately on the kitchen. My first stipulation was, + that the new rooms were to have wooden floors; for, although the Cocopah + Charley kept the adobe floors in perfect condition, by sprinkling them + down and sweeping them out every morning, they were quite impossible, + especially where it concerned white dresses and children, and the little + sharp rocks in them seemed to be so tiring to the feet. + </p> + <p> + Life as we Americans live it was difficult in Ehrenberg. I often said: + "Oh! if we could only live as the Mexicans live, how easy it would be!" + For they had their fire built between some stones piled up in their yard, + a piece of sheet iron laid over the top: this was the cooking-stove. A pot + of coffee was made in the morning early, and the family sat on the low + porch and drank it, and ate a biscuit. Then a kettle of frijoles [*] was + put over to boil. These were boiled slowly for some hours, then lard and + salt were added, and they simmered down until they were deliciously fit to + eat, and had a thick red gravy. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + *Mexican brown bean. +</pre> + <p> + Then the young matron, or daughter of the house, would mix the peculiar + paste of flour and salt and water, for tortillas, a species of unleavened + bread. These tortillas were patted out until they were as large as a + dinner plate, and very thin; then thrown onto the hot sheet-iron, where + they baked. Each one of the family then got a tortilla, the spoonful of + beans was laid upon it, and so they managed without the paraphernalia of + silver and china and napery. + </p> + <p> + How I envied them the simplicity of their lives! Besides, the tortillas + were delicious to eat, and as for the frijoles, they were beyond anything + I had ever eaten in the shape of beans. I took lessons in the making of + tortillas. A woman was paid to come and teach me; but I never mastered the + art. It is in the blood of the Mexican, and a girl begins at a very early + age to make the tortilla. It is the most graceful thing to see a pretty + Mexican toss the wafer-like disc over her bare arm, and pat it out until + transparent. + </p> + <p> + This was their supper; for, like nearly all people in the tropics, they + ate only twice a day. Their fare was varied sometimes by a little carni + seca, pounded up and stewed with chile verde or chile colorado. + </p> + <p> + Now if you could hear the soft, exquisite, affectionate drawl with which + the Mexican woman says chile verde you could perhaps come to realize what + an important part the delicious green pepper plays in the cookery of these + countries. They do not use it in its raw state, but generally roast it + whole, stripping off the thin skin and throwing away the seeds, leaving + only the pulp, which acquires a fine flavor by having been roasted or + toasted over the hot coals. + </p> + <p> + The women were scrupulously clean and modest, and always wore, when in + their casa, a low-necked and short-sleeved white linen camisa, fitting + neatly, with bands around neck and arms. Over this they wore a calico + skirt; always white stockings and black slippers. When they ventured out, + the younger women put on muslin gowns, and carried parasols. The older + women wore a linen towel thrown over their heads, or, in cool weather, the + black riboso. I often cried: "Oh! if I could only dress as the Mexicans + do! Their necks and arms do look so cool and clean." + </p> + <p> + I have always been sorry I did not adopt their fashion of house apparel. + Instead of that, I yielded to the prejudices of my conservative partner, + and sweltered during the day in high-necked and long-sleeved white + dresses, kept up the table in American fashion, ate American food in so + far as we could get it, and all at the expense of strength; for our + soldier cooks, who were loaned us by Captain Ernest from his company at + Fort Yuma, were constantly being changed, and I was often left with the + Indian and the indolent Patrocina. At those times, how I wished I had no + silver, no table linen, no china, and could revert to the primitive + customs of my neighbors! + </p> + <p> + There was no market, but occasionally a Mexican killed a steer, and we + bought enough for one meal; but having no ice, and no place away from the + terrific heat, the meat was hung out under the ramada with a piece of + netting over it, until the first heat had passed out of it, and then it + was cooked. + </p> + <p> + The Mexican, after selling what meat he could, cut the rest into thin + strips and hung it up on ropes to dry in the sun. It dried hard and + brittle, in its natural state, so pure is the air on that wonderful river + bank. They called this carni seca, and the Americans called it "jerked + beef." + </p> + <p> + Patrocina often prepared me a dish of this, when I was unable to taste the + fresh meat. She would pound it fine with a heavy pestle, and then put it + to simmer, seasoning it with the green or red pepper. It was most savory. + There was no butter at all during the hot months, but our hens laid a few + eggs, and the Quartermaster was allowed to keep a small lot of commissary + stores, from which we drew our supplies of flour, ham, and canned things. + We were often without milk for weeks at a time, for the cows crossed the + river to graze, and sometimes could not get back until the river fell + again, and they could pick their way back across the shifting sand bars. + </p> + <p> + The Indian brought the water every morning in buckets from the river. It + looked like melted chocolate. He filled the barrels, and when it had + settled clear, the ollas were filled, and thus the drinking water was a + trifle cooler than the air. One day it seemed unusually cool, so I said: + "Let us see by the thermometer how cool the water really is." We found the + temperature of the water to be 86 degrees; but that, with the air at 122 + in the shade, seemed quite refreshing to drink. + </p> + <p> + I did not see any white people at all except Fisher, Abe Frank (the mail + contractor), and one or two of the younger merchants. If I wanted + anything, I went to Fisher. He always could solve the difficulty. He + procured for me an excellent middle-aged laundress, who came and brought + the linen herself, and, bowing to the floor, said always, "Buenos dias, + Senorita!" dwelling on the latter word, as a gentle compliment to a + younger woman, and then, "Mucho calor este dia," in her low, drawling + voice. + </p> + <p> + Like the others, she was spotlessly clean, modest and gentle. I asked her + what on earth they did about bathing, for I had found the tub baths with + the muddy water so disagreeable. She told me the women bathed in the river + at daybreak, and asked me if I would like to go with them. + </p> + <p> + I was only too glad to avail myself of her invitation, and so, like + Pharoah's daughter of old, I went with my gentle handmaiden every morning + to the river bank, and, wading in about knee-deep in the thick red waters, + we sat down and let the swift current flow by us. We dared not go deeper; + we could feel the round stones grinding against each other as they were + carried down, and we were all afraid. It was difficult to keep one's + foothold, and Capt. Mellon's words were ever ringing in my ears, "He who + disappears below the surface of the Colorado is never seen again." But we + joined hands and ventured like children and played like children in these + red waters and after all, it was much nicer than a tub of muddy water + indoors. + </p> + <p> + A clump of low mesquite trees at the top of the bank afforded sufficient + protection at that hour; we rubbed dry, slipped on a loose gown, and + wended our way home. What a contrast to the limpid, bracing salt waters of + my own beloved shores! + </p> + <p> + When I thought of them, I was seized with a longing which consumed me and + made my heart sick; and I thought of these poor people, who had never + known anything in their lives but those desert places, and that muddy red + water, and wondered what they would do, how they would act, if transported + into some beautiful forest, or to the cool bright shores where clear blue + waters invite to a plunge. + </p> + <p> + Whenever the river-boat came up, we were sure to have guests, for many + officers went into the Territory via Ehrenberg. Sometimes the + "transportation" was awaiting them; at other times, they were obliged to + wait at Ehrenberg until it arrived. They usually lived on the boat, as we + had no extra rooms, but I generally asked them to luncheon or supper (for + anything that could be called a dinner was out of the question). + </p> + <p> + This caused me some anxiety, as there was nothing to be had; but I + remembered the hospitality I had received, and thought of what they had + been obliged to eat on the voyage, and I always asked them to share what + we could provide, however simple it might be. + </p> + <p> + At such times we heard all the news from Washington and the States, and + all about the fashions, and they, in their turn, asked me all sorts of + questions about Ehrenberg and how I managed to endure the life. They were + always astonished when the Cocopah Indian waited on them at table, for he + wore nothing but his gee-string, and although it was an every-day matter + to us, it rather took their breath away. + </p> + <p> + But "Charley" appealed to my aesthetic sense in every way. Tall, and + well-made, with clean-cut limbs and features, fine smooth copper-colored + skin, handsome face, heavy black hair done up in pompadour fashion and + plastered with Colorado mud, which was baked white by the sun, a small + feather at the crown of his head, wide turquoise bead bracelets upon his + upper arm, and a knife at his waist—this was my Charley, my + half-tame Cocopah, my man about the place, my butler in fact, for Charley + understood how to open a bottle of Cocomonga gracefully, and to keep the + glasses filled. + </p> + <p> + Charley also wheeled the baby out along the river banks, for we had had a + fine "perambulator" sent down from San Francisco. It was an incongruous + sight, to be sure, and one must laugh to think of it. The Ehrenberg babies + did not have carriages, and the village flocked to see it. There sat the + fair-haired, six-months-old boy, with but one linen garment on, no cap, no + stockings—and this wild man of the desert, his knife gleaming at his + waist, and his gee-string floating out behind, wheeling and pushing the + carriage along the sandy roads. + </p> + <p> + But this came to an end; for one day Fisher rushed in, breathless, and + said: "Well! here is your baby! I was just in time, for that Injun of + yours left the carriage in the middle of the street, to look in at the + store window, and a herd of wild cattle came tearing down! I grabbed the + carriage to the sidewalk, cussed the Injun out, and here's the child! It's + no use," he added, "you can't trust those Injuns out of sight." + </p> + <p> + The heat was terrific. Our cots were placed in the open part of the corral + (as our courtyard was always called). It was a desolate-looking place; on + one side, the high adobe wall; on another, the freight-house; and on the + other two, our apartments. Our kitchen and the two other rooms were now + completed. The kitchen had no windows, only open spaces to admit the air + and light, and we were often startled in the night by the noise of thieves + in the house, rummaging for food. + </p> + <p> + At such times, our soldier-cook would rush into the corral with his rifle, + the Lieutenant would jump up and seize his shotgun, which always stood + near by, and together they would roam through the house. But the thieving + Indians could jump out of the windows as easily as they jumped in, and the + excitement would soon be over. The violent sand-storms which prevail in + those deserts, sometimes came up in the night, without warning; then we + rushed half suffocated and blinded into the house, and as soon as we had + closed the windows it had passed on, leaving a deep layer of sand on + everything in the room, and on our perspiring bodies. + </p> + <p> + Then came the work, next day, for the Indian had to carry everything out + of doors; and one storm was so bad that he had to use a shovel to remove + the sand from the floors. The desert literally blew into the house. + </p> + <p> + And now we saw a singular phenomenon. In the late afternoon of each day, a + hot steam would collect over the face of the river, then slowly rise, and + floating over the length and breadth of this wretched hamlet of Ehrenberg, + descend upon and envelop us. Thus we wilted and perspired, and had one + part of the vapor bath without its bracing concomitant of the cool shower. + In a half hour it was gone, but always left me prostrate; then Jack gave + me milk punch, if milk was at hand, or sherry and egg, or something to + bring me up to normal again. We got to dread the steam so; it was the + climax of the long hot day and was peculiar to that part of the river. The + paraphernalia by the side of our cots at night consisted of a pitcher of + cold tea, a lantern, matches, a revolver, and a shotgun. Enormous yellow + cats, which lived in and around the freight-house, darted to and fro + inside and outside the house, along the ceiling-beams, emitting loud + cries, and that alone was enough to prevent sleep. In the old part of the + house, some of the partitions did not run up to the roof, but were left + open (for ventilation, I suppose), thus making a fine play-ground for cats + and rats, which darted along, squeaking, meowing and clattering all the + night through. An uncanny feeling of insecurity was ever with me. What + with the accumulated effect of the day's heat, what with the thieving + Indians, the sand-storms and the cats, our nights by no means gave us the + refreshment needed by our worn-out systems. By the latter part of the + summer, I was so exhausted by the heat and the various difficulties of + living, that I had become a mere shadow of my former self. + </p> + <p> + Men and children seem to thrive in those climates, but it is death to + women, as I had often heard. + </p> + <p> + It was in the late summer that the boat arrived one day bringing a large + number of staff officers and their wives, head clerks, and "general + service" men for Fort Whipple. They had all been stationed in Washington + for a number of years, having had what is known in the army as + "gilt-edged" details. I threw a linen towel over my head, and went to the + boat to call on them, and, remembering my voyage from San Francisco the + year before, prepared to sympathize with them. But they had met their fate + with resignation; knowing they should find a good climate and a pleasant + post up in the mountains, and as they had no young children with them, + they were disposed to make merry over their discomforts. + </p> + <p> + We asked them to come to our quarters for supper, and to come early, as + any place was cooler than the boat, lying down there in the melting sun, + and nothing to look upon but those hot zinc-covered decks or the ragged + river banks, with their uninviting huts scattered along the edge. + </p> + <p> + The surroundings somehow did not fit these people. Now Mrs. Montgomery at + Camp Apache seemed to have adapted herself to the rude setting of a log + cabin in the mountains, but these were Staff people and they had enjoyed + for years the civilized side of army life; now they were determined to + rough it, but they did not know how to begin. + </p> + <p> + The beautiful wife of the Adjutant-General was mourning over some freckles + which had come to adorn her dazzling complexion, and she had put on a + large hat with a veil. Was there ever anything so incongruous as a hat and + veil in Ehrenberg! For a long time I had not seen a woman in a hat; the + Mexicans all wore a linen towel over their heads. + </p> + <p> + But her beauty was startling, and, after all, I thought, a woman so + handsome must try to live up to her reputation. Now for some weeks Jack + had been investigating the sulphur well, which was beneath the old pump in + our corral. He had had a long wooden bath-tub built, and I watched it with + a lazy interest, and observed his glee as he found a longshoreman or + roustabout who could caulk it. The shape was exactly like a coffin (but + men have no imaginations), and when I told him how it made me feel to look + at it, he said: "Oh! you are always thinking of gloomy things. It's a fine + tub, and we are mighty lucky to find that man to caulk it. I'm going to + set it up in the little square room, and lead the sulphur water into it, + and it will be splendid, and just think," he added, "what it will do for + rheumatism!" + </p> + <p> + Now Jack had served in the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteers during the + Civil War, and the swamps of the Chickahominy had brought him into close + acquaintance with that dread disease. + </p> + <p> + As for myself, rheumatism was about the only ailment I did not have at + that time, and I suppose I did not really sympathize with him. But this + energetic and indomitable man mended the pump, with Fisher's help, and led + the water into the house, laid a floor, set up the tub in the little + square room, and behold, our sulphur bath! + </p> + <p> + After much persuasion, I tried the bath. The water flowed thick and inky + black into the tub; of course the odor was beyond description, and the + effect upon me was not such that I was ever willing to try it again. Jack + beamed. "How do you like it, Martha?" said he. "Isn't it fine? Why people + travel hundreds of miles to get a bath like that!" + </p> + <p> + I had my own opinion, but I did not wish to dampen his enthusiasm. Still, + in order to protect myself in the future, I had to tell him I thought I + should ordinarily prefer the river. + </p> + <p> + "Well," he said, "there are those who will be thankful to have a bath in + that water; I am going to use it every day." + </p> + <p> + I remonstrated: "How do you know what is in that inky water—and how + do you dare to use it?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Fisher says it's all right; people here used to drink it years ago, + but they have not done so lately, because the pump was broken down." + </p> + <p> + The Washington people seemed glad to pay us the visit. Jack's eyes danced + with true generosity and glee. He marked his victim; and, selecting the + Staff beauty and the Paymaster's wife, he expatiated on the wonderful + properties of his sulphur bath. + </p> + <p> + "Why, yes, the sooner the better," said Mrs. Martin. "I'd give everything + I have in this world, and all my chances for the next, to get a tub bath!" + </p> + <p> + "It will be so refreshing just before supper," said Mrs. Maynadier, who + was more conservative. + </p> + <p> + So the Indian, who had put on his dark blue waist-band (or sash), made + from flannel, revelled out and twisted into strands of yarn, and which + showed the supple muscles of his clean-cut thighs, and who had done up an + extra high pompadour in white clay, and burnished his knife, which gleamed + at his waist, ushered these Washington women into a small apartment + adjoining the bath-room, and turned on the inky stream into the + sarcophagus. + </p> + <p> + The Staff beauty looked at the black pool, and shuddered. "Do you use it?" + said she. + </p> + <p> + "Occasionally," I equivocated. + </p> + <p> + "Does it hurt the complexion?" she ventured. + </p> + <p> + "Jack thinks it excellent for that," I replied. + </p> + <p> + And then I left them, directing Charley to wait, and prepare the bath for + the second victim. + </p> + <p> + By and by the beauty came out. "Where is your mirror?" cried she (for our + appointments were primitive, and mirrors did not grow on bushes at + Ehrenberg); "I fancy I look queer," she added, and, in truth, she did; for + our water of the Styx did not seem to affiliate with the chemical + properties of the numerous cosmetics used by her, more or less, all her + life, but especially on the voyage, and her face had taken on a queer + color, with peculiar spots here and there. + </p> + <p> + Fortunately my mirrors were neither large nor true, and she never really + saw how she looked, but when she came back into the living-room, she + laughed and said to Jack: "What kind of water did you say that was? I + never saw any just like it." + </p> + <p> + "Oh! you have probably never been much to the sulphur springs," said he, + with his most superior and crushing manner. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps not," she replied, "but I thought I knew something about it; why, + my entire body turned such a queer color." + </p> + <p> + "Oh! it always does that," said this optimistic soldier man, "and that + shows it is doing good." + </p> + <p> + The Paymaster's wife joined us later. I think she had profited by the + beauty's experience, for she said but little. + </p> + <p> + The Quartermaster was happy; and what if his wife did not believe in that + uncanny stream which flowed somewhere from out the infernal regions, + underlying that wretched hamlet, he had succeeded in being a benefactor to + two travellers at least! + </p> + <p> + We had a merry supper: cold ham, chicken, and fresh biscuit, a plenty of + good Cocomonga wine, sweet milk, which to be sure turned to curds as it + stood on the table, some sort of preserves from a tin, and good coffee. I + gave them the best to be had in the desert—and at all events it was + a change from the Chinaman's salt beef and peach pies, and they saw fresh + table linen and shining silver, and accepted our simple hospitality in the + spirit in which we gave it. + </p> + <p> + Alice Martin was much amused over Charley; and Charley could do nothing + but gaze on her lovely features. "Why on earth don't you put some clothes + on him?" laughed she, in her delightful way. + </p> + <p> + I explained to her that the Indian's fashion of wearing white men's + clothes was not pleasing to the eye, and told her that she must cultivate + her aesthetic sense, and in a short time she would be able to admire these + copper-colored creatures of Nature as much as I did. + </p> + <p> + But I fear that a life spent mostly in a large city had cast fetters + around her imagination, and that the life at Fort Whipple afterwards + savored too much of civilization to loosen the bonds of her soul. I saw + her many times again, but she never recovered from her amazement at + Charley's lack of apparel, and she never forgot the sulphur bath. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XX. MY DELIVERER + </h2> + <p> + One day, in the early autumn, as the "Gila" touched at Ehrenberg, on her + way down river, Captain Mellon called Jack on to the boat, and, pointing + to a young woman, who was about to go ashore, said: "Now, there's a girl I + think will do for your wife. She imagines she has bronchial troubles, and + some doctor has ordered her to Tucson. She comes from up North somewhere. + Her money has given out, and she thinks I am going to leave her here. Of + course, you know I would not do that; I can take her on down to Yuma, but + I thought your wife might like to have her, so I've told her she could not + travel on this boat any farther without she could pay her fare. Speak to + her: she looks to me like a nice sort of a girl." + </p> + <p> + In the meantime, the young woman had gone ashore and was sitting upon her + trunk, gazing hopelessly about. Jack approached, offered her a home and + good wages, and brought her to me. + </p> + <p> + I could have hugged her for very joy, but I restrained myself and advised + her to stay with us for awhile, saying the Ehrenberg climate was quite as + good as that of Tucson. + </p> + <p> + She remarked quietly: "You do not look as if it agreed with you very well, + ma'am." + </p> + <p> + Then I told her of my young child, and my hard journeys, and she decided + to stay until she could earn enough to reach Tucson. + </p> + <p> + And so Ellen became a member of our Ehrenberg family. She was a fine, + strong girl, and a very good cook, and seemed to be in perfect health. She + said, however, that she had had an obstinate cough which nothing would + reach, and that was why she came to Arizona. From that time, things went + more smoothly. Some yeast was procured from the Mexican bakeshop, and + Ellen baked bread and other things, which seemed like the greatest + luxuries to us. We sent the soldier back to his company at Fort Yuma, and + began to live with a degree of comfort. + </p> + <p> + I looked at Ellen as my deliverer, and regarded her coming as a special + providence, the kind I had heard about all my life in New England, but had + never much believed in. + </p> + <p> + After a few weeks, Ellen was one evening seized with a dreadful toothache, + which grew so severe that she declared she could not endure it another + hour: she must have the tooth out. "Was there a dentist in the place?" + </p> + <p> + I looked at Jack: he looked at me: Ellen groaned with pain. + </p> + <p> + "Why, yes! of course there is," said this man for emergencies; "Fisher + takes out teeth, he told me so the other day." + </p> + <p> + Now I did not believe that Fisher knew any more about extracting teeth + than I did myself, but I breathed a prayer to the Recording Angel, and + said naught. + </p> + <p> + "I'll go get Fisher," said Jack. + </p> + <p> + Now Fisher was the steamboat agent. He stood six feet in his stockings, + had a powerful physique and a determined eye. Men in those countries had + to be determined; for if they once lost their nerve, Heaven save them. + Fisher had handsome black eyes. + </p> + <p> + When they came in, I said: "Can you attend to this business, Mr. Fisher?" + </p> + <p> + "I think so," he replied, quietly. "The Quartermaster says he has some + forceps." + </p> + <p> + I gasped. Jack, who had left the room, now appeared, a box of instruments + in his hand, his eyes shining with joy and triumph. + </p> + <p> + Fisher took the box, and scanned it. "I guess they'll do," said he. + </p> + <p> + So we placed Ellen in a chair, a stiff barrack chair, with a raw-hide + seat, and no arms. + </p> + <p> + It was evening. + </p> + <p> + "Mattie, you must hold the candle," said Jack. "I'll hold Ellen, and, + Fisher, you pull the tooth." + </p> + <p> + So I lighted the candle, and held it, while Ellen tried, by its flickering + light, to show Fisher the tooth that ached. + </p> + <p> + Fisher looked again at the box of instruments. "Why," said he, "these are + lower jaw rollers, the kind used a hundred years ago; and her tooth is an + upper jaw." + </p> + <p> + "Never mind," answered the Lieutenant, "the instruments are all right. + Fisher, you can get the tooth out, that's all you want, isn't it?" + </p> + <p> + The Lieutenant was impatient; and besides he did not wish any slur cast + upon his precious instruments. + </p> + <p> + So Fisher took up the forceps, and clattered around amongst Ellen's sound + white teeth. His hand shook, great beads of perspiration gathered on his + face, and I perceived a very strong odor of Cocomonga wine. He had + evidently braced for the occasion. + </p> + <p> + It was, however, too late to protest. He fastened onto a molar, and with + the lion's strength which lay in his gigantic frame, he wrenched it out. + </p> + <p> + Ellen put up her hand and felt the place. "My God! you've pulled the wrong + tooth!" cried she, and so he had. + </p> + <p> + I seized a jug of red wine which stood near by, and poured out a + gobletful, which she drank. The blood came freely from her mouth, and I + feared something dreadful had happened. + </p> + <p> + Fisher declared she had shown him the wrong tooth, and was perfectly + willing to try again. I could not witness the second attempt, so I put the + candle down and fled. + </p> + <p> + The stout-hearted and confiding girl allowed the second trial, and between + the steamboat agent, the Lieutenant, and the red wine, the aching molar + was finally extracted. + </p> + <p> + This was a serious and painful occurrence. It did not cause any of us to + laugh, at the time. I am sure that Ellen, at least, never saw the comical + side of it. + </p> + <p> + When it was all over, I thanked Fisher, and Jack beamed upon me with: "You + see, Mattie, my case of instruments did come in handy, after all." + </p> + <p> + Encouraged by success, he applied for a pannier of medicines, and the + Ehrenberg citizens soon regarded him as a healer. At a certain hour in the + morning, the sick ones came to his office, and he dispensed simple drugs + to them and was enabled to do much good. He seemed to have a sort of + intuitive knowledge about medicines and performed some miraculous cures, + but acquired little or no facility in the use of the language. + </p> + <p> + I was often called in as interpreter, and with the help of the sign + language, and the little I knew of Spanish, we managed to get an idea of + the ailments of these poor people. + </p> + <p> + And so our life flowed on in that desolate spot, by the banks of the Great + Colorado. + </p> + <p> + I rarely went outside the enclosure, except for my bath in the river at + daylight, or for some urgent matter. The one street along the river was + hot and sandy and neglected. One had not only to wade through the sand, + but to step over the dried heads or horns or bones of animals left there + to whiten where they died, or thrown out, possibly, when some one killed a + sheep or beef. Nothing decayed there, but dried and baked hard in that + wonderful air and sun. + </p> + <p> + Then, the groups of Indians, squaws and halfbreeds loafing around the + village and the store! One never felt sure what one was to meet, and + although by this time I tolerated about everything that I had been taught + to think wicked or immoral, still, in Ehrenberg, the limit was reached, in + the sights I saw on the village streets, too bold and too rude to be + described in these pages. + </p> + <p> + The few white men there led respectable lives enough for that country. The + standard was not high, and when I thought of the dreary years they had + already spent there without their families, and the years they must look + forward to remaining there, I was willing to reserve my judgement. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXI. WINTER IN EHRENBERG + </h2> + <p> + We asked my sister, Mrs. Penniman, to come out and spend the winter with + us, and to bring her son, who was in most delicate health. It was said + that the climate of Ehrenberg would have a magical effect upon all + diseases of the lungs or throat. So, to save her boy, my sister made the + long and arduous trip out from New England, arriving in Ehrenberg in + October. + </p> + <p> + What a joy to see her, and to initiate her into the ways of our life in + Arizona! Everything was new, everything was a wonder to her and to my + nephew. At first, he seemed to gain perceptibly, and we had great hopes of + his recovery. + </p> + <p> + It was now cool enough to sleep indoors, and we began to know what it was + to have a good night's rest. + </p> + <p> + But no sooner had we gotten one part of our life comfortably arranged, + before another part seemed to fall out of adjustment. Accidents and + climatic conditions kept my mind in a perpetual state of unrest. + </p> + <p> + Our dining-room door opened through two small rooms into the kitchen, and + one day, as I sat at the table, waiting for Jack to come in to supper, I + heard a strange sort of crashing noise. Looking towards the kitchen, + through the vista of open doorways, I saw Ellen rush to the door which led + to the courtyard. She turned a livid white, threw up her hands, and cried, + "Great God! the Captain!" She was transfixed with horror. + </p> + <p> + I flew to the door, and saw that the pump had collapsed and gone down into + the deep sulphur well. In a second, Jack's head and hands appeared at the + edge; he seemed to be caught in the debris of rotten timber. Before I + could get to him, he had scrambled half way out. "Don't come near this + place," he cried, "it's all caving in!" + </p> + <p> + And so it seemed; for, as he worked himself up and out, the entire + structure feel in, and half the corral with it, as it looked to me. + </p> + <p> + Jack escaped what might have been an unlucky bath in his sulphur well, and + we all recovered our composure as best we could. + </p> + <p> + Surely, if life was dull at Ehrenberg, it could not be called exactly + monotonous. We were not obliged to seek our excitement outside; we had + plenty of it, such as it was, within our walls. + </p> + <p> + My confidence in Ehrenberg, however, as a salubrious dwelling-place, was + being gradually and literally undermined. I began to be distrustful of the + very ground beneath my feet. Ellen felt the same way, evidently, although + we did not talk much about it. She probably longed also for some of her + own kind; and when, one morning, we went into the dining-room for + breakfast, Ellen stood, hat on, bag in hand, at the door. Dreading to meet + my chagrin, she said: "Good-bye, Captain; good-bye, missis, you've been + very kind to me. I'm leaving on the stage for Tucson—where I first + started for, you know." + </p> + <p> + And she tripped out and climbed up into the dusty, rickety vehicle called + "the stage." I had felt so safe about Ellen, as I did not know that any + stage line ran through the place. + </p> + <p> + And now I was in a fine plight! I took a sunshade, and ran over to + Fisher's house. "Mr. Fisher, what shall I do? Ellen has gone to Tucson!" + </p> + <p> + Fisher bethought himself, and we went out together in the village. Not a + woman to be found who would come to cook for us! There was only one thing + to do. The Quartermaster was allowed a soldier, to assist in the + Government work. I asked him if he understood cooking; he said he had + never done any, but he would try, if I would show him how. + </p> + <p> + This proved a hopeless task, and I finally gave it up. Jack dispatched an + Indian runner to Fort Yuma, ninety miles or more down river, begging + Captain Ernest to send us a soldier-cook on the next boat. + </p> + <p> + This was a long time to wait; the inconveniences were intolerable: there + were our four selves, Patrocina and Jesusita, the soldier-clerk and the + Indian, to be provided for: Patrocina prepared carni seca with peppers, a + little boy came around with cuajada, a delicious sweet curd cheese, and I + tried my hand at bread, following out Ellen's instructions. + </p> + <p> + How often I said to my husband. "If we must live in this wretched place, + let's give up civilization and live as the Mexicans do! They are the only + happy beings around here. + </p> + <p> + "Look at them, as you pass along the street! At nearly any hour in the day + you can see them, sitting under their ramada, their backs propped against + the wall of their casa, calmly smoking cigarettes and gazing at nothing, + with a look of ineffable contentment upon their features! They surely have + solved the problem of life!" + </p> + <p> + But we seemed never to be able to free ourselves from the fetters of + civilization, and so I struggled on. + </p> + <p> + One evening after dusk, I went into the kitchen, opened the kitchen closet + door to take out some dish, when clatter! bang! down fell the bread-pan, + and a shower of other tin ware, and before I could fairly get my breath, + out jumped two young squaws and without deigning to glance at me they + darted across the kitchen and leaped out the window like two frightened + fawn. + </p> + <p> + They had on nothing but their birthday clothes and as I was somewhat + startled at the sight of them, I stood transfixed, my eyes gazing at the + open space through which they had flown. + </p> + <p> + Charley, the Indian, was in the corral, filling the ollas, and, hearing + the commotion, came in and saw just the disappearing heels of the two + squaws. + </p> + <p> + I said, very sternly: "Charley, how came those squaws in my closet?" He + looked very much ashamed and said: "Oh, me tell you: bad man go to kill + 'em; I hide 'em." + </p> + <p> + "Well," said I, "do not hide any more girls in this casa! You savez that?" + </p> + <p> + He bowed his head in acquiescence. + </p> + <p> + I afterwards learned that one of the girls was his sister. + </p> + <p> + The weather was now fairly comfortable, and in the evenings we sat under + the ramada, in front of the house, and watched the beautiful pink glow + which spread over the entire heavens and illuminated the distant mountains + of Lower California. I have never seen anything like that wonderful color, + which spread itself over sky, river and desert. For an hour, one could + have believed oneself in a magician's realm. + </p> + <p> + At about this time, the sad-eyed Patrocina found it expedient to withdraw + into the green valleys of Lower California, to recuperate for a few + months. With the impish Jesusita in her arms, she bade me a mournful + good-bye. Worthless as she was from the standpoint of civilized morals, I + was attached to her and felt sorry to part with her. + </p> + <p> + Then I took a Mexican woman from Chihuahua. Now the Chihuahuans hold their + heads high, and it was rather with awe that I greeted the tall middle-aged + Chihuahuan lady who came to be our little son's nurse. Her name was + Angela. "Angel of light," I thought, how fortunate I am to get her! + </p> + <p> + After a few weeks, Fisher observed that the whole village was eating + Ferris ham, an unusual delicacy in Ehrenberg, and that the Goldwaters' had + sold none. So he suggested that our commissary storehouse be looked to; + and it was found that a dozen hams or so had been withdrawn from their + canvas covers, the covers stuffed with straw, and hung back in place. + Verily the Chihuahuan was adding to her pin-money in a most unworthy + fashion, and she had to go. After that, I was left without a nurse. My + little son was now about nine months old. + </p> + <p> + Milk began to be more plentiful at this season, and, with my sister's + advice and help, I decided to make the one great change in a baby's life + i.e., to take him from his mother. Modern methods were unknown then, and + we had neither of us any experience in these matters and there was no + doctor in the place. + </p> + <p> + The result was, that both the baby and myself were painfully and + desperately ill and not knowing which way to turn for aid, when, by a + lucky turn of Fortune's wheel, our good, dear Doctor Henry Lippincott came + through Ehrenberg on his way out to the States. Once more he took care of + us, and it is to him that I believe I owe my life. + </p> + <p> + Captain Ernest sent us a cook from Yuma, and soon some officers came for + the duck-shooting. There were thousands of ducks around the various + lagoons in the neighborhood, and the sport was rare. We had all the ducks + we could eat. + </p> + <p> + Then came an earthquake, which tore and rent the baked earth apart. The + ground shivered, the windows rattled, the birds fell close to the ground + and could not fly, the stove-pipes fell to the floor, the thick walls + cracked and finally, the earth rocked to and fro like some huge thing + trying to get its balance. + </p> + <p> + It was in the afternoon. My sister and I were sitting with our needle-work + in the living-room. Little Harry was on the floor, occupied with some + toys. I was paralyzed with fear; my sister did not move. We sat gazing at + each other, scarce daring to breathe, expecting every instant the heavy + walls to crumble about our heads. The earth rocked and rocked, and rocked + again, then swayed and swayed and finally was still. My sister caught + Harry in her arms, and then Jack and Willie came breathlessly in. "Did you + feel it?" said Jack. + </p> + <p> + "Did we feel it!" said I, scornfully. + </p> + <p> + Sarah was silent, and I looked so reproachfully at Jack, that he dropped + his light tone, and said: "It was pretty awful. We were in the Goldwaters' + store, when suddenly it grew dark and the lamps above our heads began to + rattle and swing, and we all rushed out into the middle of the street and + stood, rather dazed, for we scarcely knew what had happened; then we + hurried home. But it's all over now." + </p> + <p> + "I do not believe it," said I; "we shall have more"; and, in fact, we did + have two light shocks in the night, but no more followed, and the next + morning, we recovered, in a measure, from our fright and went out to see + the great fissures in that treacherous crust of earth upon which Ehrenberg + was built. + </p> + <p> + I grew afraid, after that, and the idea that the earth would eventually + open and engulf us all took possession of my mind. + </p> + <p> + My health, already weakened by shocks and severe strains, gave way + entirely. I, who had gloried in the most perfect health, and had a + constitution of iron, became an emaciated invalid. + </p> + <p> + From my window, one evening at sundown, I saw a weird procession moving + slowly along towards the outskirts of the village. It must be a funeral, + thought I, and it flashed across my mind that I had never seen the + burying-ground. + </p> + <p> + A man with a rude cross led the procession. Then came some Mexicans with + violins and guitars. After the musicians, came the body of the deceased, + wrapped in a white cloth, borne on a bier by friends, and followed by the + little band of weeping women, with black ribosos folded about their heads. + They did not use coffins at Ehrenberg, because they had none, I suppose. + </p> + <p> + The next day I asked Jack to walk to the grave-yard with me. He postponed + it from day to day, but I insisted upon going. At last, he took me to see + it. + </p> + <p> + There was no enclosure, but the bare, sloping, sandy place was sprinkled + with graves, marked by heaps of stones, and in some instances by rude + crosses of wood, some of which had been wrenched from their upright + position by the fierce sand-storms. There was not a blade of grass, a + tree, or a flower. I walked about among these graves, and close beside + some of them I saw deep holes and whitnened bones. I was quite ignorant or + unthinking, and asked what the holes were. + </p> + <p> + "It is where the coyotes and wolves come in the nights," said Jack. + </p> + <p> + My heart sickened as I thought of these horrors, and I wondered if + Ehrenberg held anything in store for me worse than what I had already + seen. We turned away from this unhallowed grave-yard and walked to our + quarters. I had never known much about "nerves," but I began to see + spectres in the night, and those ghastly graves with their coyote-holes + were ever before me. The place was but a stone's throw from us, and the + uneasy spirits from these desecrated graves began to haunt me. I could not + sit alone on the porch at night, for they peered through the lattice, and + mocked at me, and beckoned. Some had no heads, some no arms, but they + pointed or nodded towards the grewsome burying-ground: "You'll be with us + soon, you'll be with us soon." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXII. RETURN TO THE STATES + </h2> + <p> + I dream of the east wind's tonic, Of the breakers' stormy roar, And the + peace of the inner harbor With the long low Shimmo shore. + </p> + <p> + * * * * + </p> + <p> + I long for the buoy-bell's tolling When the north wind brings from afar + The smooth, green, shining billows, To be churned into foam on the bar. + </p> + <p> + Oh! for the sea-gulls' screaming As they swoop so bold and free! Oh! for + the fragrant commons, And the glorious open sea!— + </p> + <p> + For the restful great contentment, For the joy that is never known Till + past the jetty and Brant Point Light The Islander comes to his own! + </p> + <p> + —MARY E. STARBUCK. + </p> + <p> + "I must send you out. I see that you cannot stand it here another month," + said Jack one day; and so he bundled us onto the boat in the early spring, + and took us down the river to meet the ocean steamer. + </p> + <p> + There was no question about it this time, and I well knew it. + </p> + <p> + I left my sister and her son in Ehrenberg, and I never saw my nephew + again. A month later, his state of health became so alarming that my + sister took him to San Francisco. He survived the long voyage, but died + there a few weeks later at the home of my cousin. + </p> + <p> + At Fort Yuma we telegraphed all over the country for a nurse, but no money + would tempt those Mexican women to face an ocean voyage. Jack put me on + board the old "Newbern" in charge of the Captain, waited to see our vessel + under way, then waved good-bye from the deck of the "Gila," and turned his + face towards his post and duty. I met the situation as best I could, and + as I have already described a voyage on this old craft, I shall not again + enter into details. There was no stewardess on board, and all arrangements + were of the crudest description. Both my child and I were seasick all the + way, and the voyage lasted sixteen days. Our misery was very great. + </p> + <p> + The passengers were few in number, only a couple of Mexican miners who had + been prospecting, an irritable old Mexican woman, and a German doctor, who + was agreeable but elusive. + </p> + <p> + The old Mexican woman sat on the deck all day, with her back against the + stateroom door; she was a picturesque and indolent figure. + </p> + <p> + There was no diversion, no variety; my little boy required constant care + and watching. The days seemed endless. Everbody bought great bunches of + green bananas at the ports in Mexico, where we stopped for passengers. + </p> + <p> + The old woman was irritable, and one day when she saw the agreeable German + doctor pulling bananas from the bunch which she had hung in the sun to + ripen, she got up muttering "Carramba," and shaking her fist in his face. + He appeased her wrath by offering her, in the most fluent Spanish, some + from his own bunch when they should be ripe. + </p> + <p> + Such were my surroundings on the old "Newbern." The German doctor was + interesting, and I loved to talk with him, on days when I was not seasick, + and to read the letters which he had received from his family, who were + living on their Rittergut (or landed estates) in Prussia. + </p> + <p> + He amused me by tales of his life at a wretched little mining village + somewhere about fifty miles from Ehrenberg, and I was always wondering how + he came to have lived there. + </p> + <p> + He had the keenest sense of humor, and as I listened to the tales of his + adventures and miraculous escapes from death at the hands of these + desperate folk, I looked in his large laughing blue eyes and tried to + solve the mystery. + </p> + <p> + For that he was of noble birth and of ancient family there was no doubt. + There were the letters, there was the crest, and here was the offshoot of + the family. I made up my mind that he was a ne'er-do-weel and a rolling + stone. He was elusive, and, beyond his adventures, told me nothing of + himself. It was some time after my arrival in San Francisco that I learned + more about him. + </p> + <p> + Now, after we rounded Cape St. Lucas, we were caught in the long heavy + swell of the Pacific Ocean, and it was only at intervals that my little + boy and I could leave our stateroom. The doctor often held him while I ran + below to get something to eat, and I can never forget his kindness; and + if, as I afterward heard in San Francisco, he really had entered the "Gate + of a hundred sorrows," it would perhaps best explain his elusiveness, his + general condition, and his sometimes dazed expression. + </p> + <p> + A gentle and kindly spirit, met by chance, known through the propinquity + of a sixteen days' voyage, and never forgotten. + </p> + <p> + Everything comes to an end, however interminable it may seem, and at last + the sharp and jagged outlines of the coast began to grow softer and we + approached the Golden Gate. + </p> + <p> + The old "Newbern," with nothing in her but ballast, rolled and lurched + along, through the bright green waters of the outer bar. I stood leaning + against the great mast, steadying myself as best I could, and the tears + rolled down my face; for I saw the friendly green hills, and before me lay + the glorious bay of San Francisco. I had left behind me the deserts, the + black rocks, the burning sun, the snakes, the scorpions, the centipedes, + the Indians and the Ehrenberg graveyard; and so the tears flowed, and I + did not try to stop them; they were tears of joy. + </p> + <p> + The custom officers wanted to confiscate the great bundles of Mexican + cigarettes they found in my trunk, but "No," I told them, "they were for + my own use." They raised their eyebrows, gave me one look, and put them + back into the trunk. + </p> + <p> + My beloved California relatives met us, and took care of us for a + fortnight, and when I entered a Pullman car for a nine days' journey to my + old home, it seemed like the most luxurious comfort, although I had a + fourteen-months-old child in my arms, and no nurse. So does everything in + this life go by comparison. + </p> + <p> + Arriving in Boston, my sister Harriet met me at the train, and as she took + little Harry from my arms she cried: "Where did you get that sunbonnet? + Now the baby can't wear that in Boston!" + </p> + <p> + Of course we were both thinking hard of all that had happened to me since + we parted, on the morning after my wedding, two years before, and we were + so overcome with the joy of meeting, that if it had not been for the + baby's white sunbonnet, I do not know what kind of a scene we might have + made. That saved the situation, and after a few days of rest and necessary + shopping, we started for our old home in Nantucket. Such a welcome as the + baby and I had from my mother and father and all old friends! + </p> + <p> + But I saw sadness in their faces, and I heard it in their voices, for no + one thought I could possibly live. I felt, however, sure it was not too + late. I knew the East wind's tonic would not fail me, its own child. + </p> + <p> + Stories of our experiences and misfortunes were eagerly listened to, by + the family, and betwixt sighs and laughter they declared they were going + to fill some boxes which should contain everything necessary for comfort + in those distant places. So one room in our old house was set apart for + this; great boxes were brought, and day by day various articles, useful, + ornamental, and comfortable, and precious heirlooms of silver and glass, + were packed away in them. It was the year of 1876, the year of the great + Centennial, at Philadelphia. Everybody went, but it had no attractions for + me. I was happy enough, enjoying the health-giving air and the comforts of + an Eastern home. I wondered that I had ever complained about anything + there, or wished to leave that blissful spot. + </p> + <p> + The poorest person in that place by the sea had more to be thankful for, + in my opinion, than the richest people in Arizona. I felt as if I must cry + it out from the house-tops. My heart was thankful every minute of the day + and night, for every breath of soft air that I breathed, for every bit of + fresh fish that I ate, for fresh vegetables, and for butter—for + gardens, for trees, for flowers, for the good firm earth beneath my feet. + I wrote the man on detached service that I should never return to + Ehrenberg. + </p> + <p> + After eight months, in which my health was wholly restored, I heard the + good news that Captain Corliss had applied for his first lieutenant, and I + decided to join him at once at Camp MacDowell. + </p> + <p> + Although I had not wholly forgotten that Camp MacDowell had been called by + very bad names during our stay at Fort Whipple, at the time that Jack + decided on the Ehrenberg detail, I determined to brave it, in all its + unattractiveness, isolation and heat, for I knew there was a garrison and + a Doctor there, and a few officers' families, I knew supplies were to be + obtained and the ordinary comforts of a far-off post. Then too, in my + summer in the East I had discovered that I was really a soldier's wife and + I must go back to it all. To the army with its glitter and its misery, to + the post with its discomforts, to the soldiers, to the drills, to the + bugle-calls, to the monotony, to the heat of Southern Arizona, to the + uniform and the stalwart Captains and gay Lieutenants who wore it, I felt + the call and I must go. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIII. BACK TO ARIZONA + </h2> + <p> + The last nails were driven in the precious boxes, and I started overland + in November with my little son, now nearly two years old. + </p> + <p> + "Overland" in those days meant nine days from New York to San Francisco. + Arriving in Chicago, I found it impossible to secure a section on the + Pullman car so was obliged to content myself with a lower berth. I did not + allow myself to be disappointed. + </p> + <p> + On entering the section, I saw an enormous pair of queer cow hide shoes, + the very queerest shoes I had ever seen, lying on the floor, with a much + used travelling bag. I speculated a good deal on the shoes, but did not + see the owner of them until several hours later, when a short thick-set + German with sandy close-cut beard entered and saluted me politely. "You + are noticing my shoes perhaps Madame?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes" I said, involuntarily answering him in German. + </p> + <p> + His face shone with pleasure and he explained to me that they were made in + Russia and he always wore them when travelling. "What have we," I thought, + "an anarchist?" + </p> + <p> + But with the inexperience and fearlessness of youth, I entered into a most + delightful conversation in German with him. I found him rather an + extraordinarily well educated gentleman and he said he lived in Nevada, + but had been over to Vienna to place his little boy at a military school, + "as," he said, "there is nothing like a uniform to give a boy + self-respect." He said his wife had died several months before. I + congratulated myself that the occupant of the upper berth was at least a + gentleman. + </p> + <p> + The next day, as we sat opposite each other chatting, always in German, he + paused, and fixing his eyes rather steadily upon me he remarked: "Do you + think I put on mourning when my wife died? no indeed, I put on white kid + gloves and had a fiddler and danced at the grave. All this mourning that + people have is utter nonsense." + </p> + <p> + I was amazed at the turn his conversation had taken and sat quite still, + not knowing just what to say or to do. + </p> + <p> + After awhile, he looked at me steadily, and said, very deferentially, + "Madame, the spirit of my dead wife is looking at me from out your eyes." + </p> + <p> + By this time I realized that the man was a maniac, and I had always heard + that one must agree with crazy people, so I nodded, and that seemed to + satisfy him, and bye and bye after some minutes which seemed like hours to + me, he went off to the smoking room. + </p> + <p> + The tension was broken and I appealed to a very nice looking woman who + happened to be going to some place in Nevada near which this Doctor lived, + and she said, when I told her his name, "Why, yes, I heard of him before I + left home, he lives in Silver City, and at the death of his wife, he went + hopelessly insane, but," she added, "he is harmless, I believe." + </p> + <p> + This was a nice fix, to be sure, and I staid over in her section all day, + and late that night the Doctor arrived at the junction where he was to + take another train. So I slept in peace, after a considerable agitation. + </p> + <p> + There is nothing like experience to teach a young woman how to travel + alone. + </p> + <p> + In San Francisco I learned that I could now go as far as Los Angeles by + rail, thence by steamer to San Diego, and so on by stage to Fort Yuma, + where my husband was to meet me with an ambulance and a wagon. + </p> + <p> + I was enchanted with the idea of avoiding the long sea-trip down the + Pacific coast, but sent my boxes down by the Steamer "Montana," sister + ship of the old "Newbern," and after a few days' rest in San Francisco, + set forth by rail for Los Angeles. At San Pedro, the port of Los Angeles, + we embarked for San Diego. It was a heavenly night. I sat on deck enjoying + the calm sea, and listening to the romantic story of Lieutenant Philip + Reade, then stationed at San Diego. He was telling the story himself, and + I had never read or heard of anything so mysterious or so tragic. + </p> + <p> + Then, too, aside from the story, Mr. Reade was a very good-looking and + chivalrous young army officer. He was returning to his station in San + Diego, and we had this pleasant opportunity to renew what had been a very + slight acquaintance. + </p> + <p> + The calm waters of the Pacific, with their long and gentle swell, the pale + light of the full moon, our steamer gliding so quietly along, the soft air + of the California coast, the absence of noisy travellers, these made a fit + setting for the story of his early love and marriage, and the tragic + mystery which surrounded the death of his young bride. + </p> + <p> + All the romance which lived and will ever live in me was awake to the + story, and the hours passed all too quickly. + </p> + <p> + But a cry from my little boy in the near-by deck stateroom recalled me to + the realities of life and I said good-night, having spent one of the most + delightful evenings I ever remember. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Reade wears now a star on his shoulder, and well earned it is, too. I + wonder if he has forgotten how he helped to bind up my little boy's finger + which had been broken in an accident on the train from San Francisco to + Los Angeles? or how he procured a surgeon for me on our arrival there, and + got a comfortable room for us at the hotel? or how he took us to drive + (with an older lady for a chaperon), or how he kindly cared for us until + we were safely on the boat that evening? If I had ever thought chivalry + dead, I learned then that I had been mistaken. + </p> + <p> + San Diego charmed me, as we steamed, the next morning, into its shining + bay. But as our boat was two hours late and the stage-coach was waiting, I + had to decline Mr. Reade's enchanting offers to drive us around the + beautiful place, to show me the fine beaches, and his quarters, and all + other points of interest in this old town of Southern California. + </p> + <p> + Arizona, not San Diego, was my destination, so we took a hasty breakfast + at the hotel and boarded the stage, which, filled with passengers, was + waiting before the door. + </p> + <p> + The driver waited for no ceremonies, muttered something about being late, + cracked his whip, and away we went. I tried to stow myself and my little + boy and my belongings away comfortably, but the road was rough and the + coach swayed, and I gave it up. There were passengers on top of the coach, + and passengers inside the coach. One woman who was totally deaf, and some + miners and blacksmiths, and a few other men, the flotsam and jetsam of the + Western countries, who come from no one knoweth whence, and who go, no one + knoweth whither, who have no trade or profession and are sometimes even + without a name. + </p> + <p> + They seemed to want to be kind to me. Harry got very stage-sick and gave + us much trouble, and they all helped me to hold him. Night came. I do not + remember that we made any stops at all; if we did, I have forgotten them. + The night on that stage-coach can be better imagined than described. I do + not know of any adjectives that I could apply to it. Just before dawn, we + stopped to change horses and driver, and as the day began to break, we + felt ourselves going down somewhere at a terrific speed. + </p> + <p> + The great Concord coach slipped and slid and swayed on its huge springs as + we rounded the curves. + </p> + <p> + The road was narrow and appeared to be cut out of solid rock, which seemed + to be as smooth as soapstone; the four horses were put to their speed, and + down and around and away we went. I drew in my breath as I looked out and + over into the abyss on my left. Death and destruction seemed to be the end + awaiting us all. Everybody was limp, when we reached the bottom—that + is, I was limp, and I suppose the others were. The stage-driver knew I was + frightened, because I sat still and looked white and he came and lifted me + out. He lived in a small cabin at the bottom of the mountain; I talked + with him some. "The fact is," he said, "we are an hour late this morning; + we always make it a point to 'do it' before dawn, so the passengers can't + see anything; they are almost sure to get stampeded if we come down by + daylight." + </p> + <p> + I mentioned this road afterwards in San Francisco, and learned that it was + a famous road, cut out of the side of a solid mountain of rock; long + talked of, long desired, and finally built, at great expense, by the state + and the county together; that they always had the same man to drive over + it, and that they never did it by daylight. I did not inquire if there had + ever been any accidents. I seemed to have learned all I wanted to know + about it. + </p> + <p> + After a little rest and a breakfast at a sort of roadhouse, a relay of + horses was taken, and we travelled one more day over a flat country, to + the end of the stage-route. Jack was to meet me. Already from the stage I + had espied the post ambulance and two blue uniforms. Out jumped Major + Ernest and Jack. I remember thinking how straight and how well they + looked. I had forgotten really how army men did look, I had been so long + away. + </p> + <p> + And now we were to go to Fort Yuma and stay with the Wells' until my + boxes, which had been sent around by water on the steamer "Montana," + should arrive. I had only the usual thirty pounds allowance of luggage + with me on the stage, and it was made up entirely of my boy's clothing, + and an evening dress I had worn on the last night of my stay in San + Francisco. + </p> + <p> + Fort Yuma was delightful at this season (December), and after four or five + days spent most enjoyably, we crossed over one morning on the old rope + ferryboat to Yuma City, to inquire at the big country store there of news + from the Gulf. There was no bridge then over the Colorado. + </p> + <p> + The merchant called Jack to one side and said something to him in a low + tone. I was sure it concerned the steamer, and I said: "what it is?" + </p> + <p> + Then they told me that news had just been received from below, that the + "Montana" had been burned to the water's edge in Guaymas harbor, and + everything on board destroyed; the passengers had been saved with much + difficulty, as the disaster occurred in the night. + </p> + <p> + I had lost all the clothes I had in the world—and my precious boxes + were gone. I scarcely knew how to meet the calamity. + </p> + <p> + Jack said: "Don't mind, Mattie; I'm so thankful you and the boy were not + on board the ship; the things are nothing, no account at all." + </p> + <p> + "But," said I, "you do not understand. I have no clothes except what I + have on, and a party dress. Oh! what shall I do?" I cried. + </p> + <p> + The merchant was very sympathetic and kind, and Major Wells said, "Let's + go home and tell Fanny; maybe she can suggest something." + </p> + <p> + I turned toward the counter, and bought some sewing materials, realizing + that outside of my toilet articles and my party dress all my personal + belongings were swept away. I was in a country where there were no + dressmakers, and no shops; I was, for the time being, a pauper, as far as + clothing was concerned. + </p> + <p> + When I got back to Mrs. Wells I broke down entirely; she put her arms + around me and said: "I've heard all about it; I know just how you must + feel; now come in my room, and we'll see what can be done." + </p> + <p> + She laid out enough clothing to last me until I could get some things from + the East, and gave me a grey and white percale dress with a basque, and a + border, and although it was all very much too large for me, it sufficed to + relieve my immediate distress. + </p> + <p> + Letters were dispatched to the East, in various directions, for every sort + and description of clothing, but it was at least two months before any of + it appeared, and I felt like an object of charity for a long time. Then, + too, I had anticipated the fitting up of our quarters with all the pretty + cretonnes and other things I had brought from home. And now the contents + of those boxes were no more! The memory of the visit was all that was left + to me. It was very hard to bear. + </p> + <p> + Preparations for our journey to Camp MacDowell were at last completed. The + route to our new post lay along the valley of the Gila River, following it + up from its mouth, where it empties into the Colorado, eastwards towards + the southern middle portion of Arizona. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIV. UP THE VALLEY OF THE GILA + </h2> + <p> + The December sun was shining brightly down, as only the Arizona sun can + shine at high noon in winter, when we crossed the Colorado on the + primitive ferryboat drawn by ropes, clambered up into the great + thorough-brace wagon (or ambulance) with its dusty white canvas covers all + rolled up at the sides, said good-bye to our kind hosts of Fort Yuma, and + started, rattling along the sandy main street of Yuma City, for old Camp + MacDowell. + </p> + <p> + Our big blue army wagon, which had been provided for my boxes and trunks, + rumbling along behind us, empty except for the camp equipage. + </p> + <p> + But it all seemed so good to me: I was happy to see the soldiers again, + the drivers and teamsters, and even the sleek Government mules. The old + blue uniforms made my heart glad. Every sound was familiar, even the + rattling of the harness with its ivory rings and the harsh sound of the + heavy brakes reinforced with old leather soles. + </p> + <p> + Even the country looked attractive, smiling under the December sun. I + wondered if I had really grown to love the desert. I had read somewhere + that people did. But I was not paying much attention in those days to the + analysis of my feelings. I did not stop to question the subtle fascination + which I felt steal over me as we rolled along the smooth hard roads that + followed the windings of the Gila River. I was back again in the army; I + had cast my lot with a soldier, and where he was, was home to me. + </p> + <p> + In Nantucket, no one thought much about the army. The uniform of the + regulars was never seen there. The profession of arms was scarcely known + or heard of. Few people manifested any interest in the life of the Far + West. I had, while there, felt out of touch with my oldest friends. Only + my darling old uncle, a brave old whaling captain, had said: "Mattie, I am + much interested in all you have written us about Arizona; come right down + below and show me on the dining-room map just where you went." + </p> + <p> + Gladly I followed him down the stairs, and he took his pencil out and + began to trace. After he had crossed the Mississippi, there did not seem + to be anything but blank country, and I could not find Arizona, and it was + written in large letters across the entire half of this antique map, + "Unexplored." + </p> + <p> + "True enough," he laughed. "I must buy me a new map." + </p> + <p> + But he drew his pencil around Cape Horn and up the Pacific coast, and I + described to him the voyages I had made on the old "Newbern," and his face + was aglow with memories. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said, "in 1826, we put into San Francisco harbor and sent our + boats up to San Jose for water and we took goats from some of those + islands, too. Oh! I know the coast well enough. We were on our way to the + Ar'tic Ocean then, after right whales." + </p> + <p> + But, as a rule, people there seemed to have little interest in the army + and it had made me feel as one apart. + </p> + <p> + Gila City was our first camp; not exactly a city, to be sure, at that + time, whatever it may be now. We were greeted by the sight of a few old + adobe houses, and the usual saloon. I had ceased, however, to dwell upon + such trifles as names. Even "Filibuster," the name of our next camp, + elicited no remark from me. + </p> + <p> + The weather was fine beyond description. Each day, at noon, we got out of + the ambulance, and sat down on the warm white sand, by a little clump of + mesquite, and ate our luncheon. Coveys of quail flew up and we shot them, + thereby insuring a good supper. + </p> + <p> + The mules trotted along contentedly on the smooth white road, which + followed the south bank of the Gila River. Myriads of lizards ran out and + looked at us. "Hello, here you are again," they seemed to say. + </p> + <p> + The Gila Valley in December was quite a different thing from the Mojave + desert in September; and although there was not much to see, in that low, + flat country, yet we three were joyous and happy. + </p> + <p> + Good health again was mine, the travelling was ideal, there were no + discomforts, and I experienced no terrors in this part of Arizona. + </p> + <p> + Each morning, when the tent was struck, and I sat on the camp-stool by the + little heap of ashes, which was all that remained of what had been so + pleasant a home for an afternoon and a night, a little lonesome feeling + crept over me, at the thought of leaving the place. So strong is the + instinct and love of home in some people, that the little tendrils shoot + out in a day and weave themselves around a spot which has given them + shelter. Such as those are not born to be nomads. + </p> + <p> + Camps were made at Stanwix, Oatman's Flat, and Gila Bend. There we left + the river, which makes a mighty loop at this point, and struck across the + plains to Maricopa Wells. The last day's march took us across the Gila + River, over the Maricopa desert, and brought us to the Salt River. We + forded it at sundown, rested our animals a half hour or so, and drove + through the MacDowell canon in the dark of the evening, nine miles more to + the post. A day's march of forty-five miles. (A relay of mules had been + sent to meet us at the Salt River, but by some oversight, we had missed + it.) + </p> + <p> + Jack had told me of the curious cholla cactus, which is said to nod at the + approach of human beings, and to deposit its barbed needles at their feet. + Also I had heard stories of this deep, dark canon and things that had + happened there. + </p> + <p> + Fort MacDowell was in Maricopa County, Arizona, on the Verde River, + seventy miles or so south of Camp Verde; the roving bands of Indians, + escaping from Camp Apache and the San Carlos reservation, which lay far to + the east and southeast, often found secure hiding places in the fastnesses + of the Superstition Mountains and other ranges, which lay between old Camp + MacDowell and these reservations. + </p> + <p> + Hence, a company of cavalry and one of infantry were stationed at Camp + MacDowell, and the officers and men of this small command were kept busy, + scouting, and driving the renegades from out of this part of the country + back to their reservations. It was by no means an idle post, as I found + after I got there; the life at Camp MacDowell meant hard work, exposure + and fatigue for this small body of men. + </p> + <p> + As we wound our way through this deep, dark canon, after crossing the Salt + River, I remembered the things I had heard, of ambush and murder. Our + animals were too tired to go out of a walk, the night fell in black + shadows down between those high mountain walls, the chollas, which are a + pale sage-green color in the day-time, took on a ghastly hue. They were + dotted here and there along the road, and on the steep mountainsides. They + grew nearly as tall as a man, and on each branch were great excrescences + which looked like people's heads, in the vague light which fell upon them. + </p> + <p> + They nodded to us, and it made me shudder; they seemed to be something + human. + </p> + <p> + The soldiers were not partial to MacDowell canon; they knew too much about + the place; and we all breathed a sigh of relief when we emerged from this + dark uncanny road and saw the lights of the post, lying low, long, flat, + around a square. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXV. OLD CAMP MACDOWELL + </h2> + <p> + We were expected, evidently, for as we drove along the road in front of + the officers' quarters they all came out to meet us, and we received a + great welcome. + </p> + <p> + Captain Corliss of C company welcomed us to the post and to his company, + and said he hoped I should like MacDowell better than I did Ehrenberg. Now + Ehrenberg seemed years agone, and I could laugh at the mention of it. + </p> + <p> + Supper was awaiting us at Captain Corliss's, and Mrs. Kendall, wife of + Lieutenant Kendall, Sixth Cavalry, had, in Jack's absence, put the + finishing touches to our quarters. So I went at once to a comfortable + home, and life in the army began again for me. + </p> + <p> + How good everything seemed! There was Doctor Clark, whom I had met first + at Ehrenberg, and who wanted to throw Patrocina and Jesusita into the + Colorado. I was so glad to find him there; he was such a good doctor, and + we never had a moment's anxiety, as long as he staid at Camp MacDowell. + Our confidence in him was unbounded. + </p> + <p> + It was easy enough to obtain a man from the company. There were then no + hateful laws forbidding soldiers to work in officers' families; no dreaded + inspectors, who put the flat question, "Do you employ a soldier for menial + labor?" + </p> + <p> + Captain Corliss gave me an old man by the name of Smith, and he was glad + to come and stay with us and do what simple cooking we required. One of + the laundresses let me have her daughter for nurserymaid, and our small + establishment at Camp MacDowell moved on smoothly, if not with elegance. + </p> + <p> + The officers' quarters were a long, low line of adobe buildings with no + space between them; the houses were separated only by thick walls. In + front, the windows looked out over the parade ground. In the rear, they + opened out on a road which ran along the whole length, and on the other + side of which lay another row of long, low buildings which were the + kitchens, each set of quarters having its own. + </p> + <p> + We occupied the quarters at the end of the row, and a large bay window + looked out over a rather desolate plain, and across to the large and + well-kept hospital. As all my draperies and pretty cretonnes had been + burnt up on the ill-fated ship, I had nothing but bare white shades at the + windows, and the rooms looked desolate enough. But a long divan was soon + built, and some coarse yellow cotton bought at John Smith's (the sutler's) + store, to cover it. My pretty rugs and mats were also gone, and there was + only the old ingrain carpet from Fort Russell. The floors were adobe, and + some men from the company came and laid down old canvas, then the carpet, + and drove in great spikes around the edge to hold it down. The floors of + the bedroom and dining-room were covered with canvas in the same manner. + Our furnishings were very scanty and I felt very mournful about the loss + of the boxes. We could not claim restitution as the steamship company had + been courteous enough to take the boxes down free of charge. + </p> + <p> + John Smith, the post trader (the name "sutler" fell into disuse about now) + kept a large store but, nothing that I could use to beautify my quarters + with—and our losses had been so heavy that we really could not + afford to send back East for more things. My new white dresses came and + were suitable enough for the winter climate of MacDowell. But I missed the + thousand and one accessories of a woman's wardrobe, the accumulation of + years, the comfortable things which money could not buy especially at that + distance. + </p> + <p> + I had never learned how to make dresses or to fit garments and although I + knew how to sew, my accomplishments ran more in the line of outdoor + sports. + </p> + <p> + But Mrs. Kendall whose experience in frontier life had made her + self-reliant, lent me some patterns, and I bought some of John Smith's + calico and went to work to make gowns suited to the hot weather. This was + in 1877, and every one will remember that the ready-made house-gowns were + not to be had in those days in the excellence and profusion in which they + can to-day be found, in all parts of the country. + </p> + <p> + Now Mrs. Kendall was a tall, fine woman, much larger than I, but I used + her patterns without alterations, and the result was something like a bag. + They were freshly laundried and cool, however, and I did not place so much + importance on the lines of them, as the young women of the present time + do. To-day, the poorest farmer's wife in the wilds of Arkansas or Alaska + can wear better fitting gowns than I wore then. But my riding habits, of + which I had several kinds, to suit warm and cold countries, had been left + in Jack's care at Ehrenberg, and as long as these fitted well, it did not + so much matter about the gowns. + </p> + <p> + Captain Chaffee, who commanded the company of the Sixth Cavalry stationed + there, was away on leave, but Mr. Kendall, his first lieutenant, consented + for me to exercise "Cochise," Captain Chaffee's Indian pony, and I had a + royal time. + </p> + <p> + Cavalry officers usually hate riding: that is, riding for pleasure; for + they are in the saddle so much, for dead earnest work; but a young + officer, a second lieutenant, not long out from the Academy, liked to + ride, and we had many pleasant riding parties. Mr. Dravo and I rode one + day to the Mormon settlement, seventeen miles away, on some business with + the bishop, and a Mormon woman gave us a lunch of fried salt pork, + potatoes, bread, and milk. How good it tasted, after our long ride! and + how we laughed about it all, and jollied, after the fashion of young + people, all the way back to the post! Mr Dravo had also lost all his + things on the "Montana," and we sympathized greatly with each other. He, + however, had sent an order home to Pennsylvania, duplicating all the + contents of his boxes. I told him I could not duplicate mine, if I sent a + thousand orders East. + </p> + <p> + When, after some months, his boxes came, he brought me in a package, done + up in tissue paper and tied with ribbon: "Mother sends you these; she + wrote that I was not to open them; I think she felt sorry for you, when I + wrote her you had lost all your clothing. I suppose," he added, mustering + his West Point French to the front, and handing me the package, "it is + what you ladies call 'lingerie.'" + </p> + <p> + I hope I blushed, and I think I did, for I was not so very old, and I was + touched by this sweet remembrance from the dear mother back in Pittsburgh. + And so many lovely things happened all the time; everybody was so kind to + me. Mrs. Kendall and her young sister, Kate Taylor, Mrs. John Smith and I, + were the only women that winter at Camp MacDowell. Afterwards, Captain + Corliss brought a bride to the post, and a new doctor took Doctor Clark's + place. + </p> + <p> + There were interminable scouts, which took both cavalry and infantry out + of the post. We heard a great deal about "chasing Injuns" in the + Superstition Mountains, and once a lieutenant of infantry went out to + chase an escaping Indian Agent. + </p> + <p> + Old Smith, my cook, was not very satisfactory; he drank a good deal, and I + got very tired of the trouble he caused me. It was before the days of the + canteen, and soldiers could get all the whiskey they wanted at the + trader's store; and, it being generally the brand that was known in the + army as "Forty rod," they got very drunk on it sometimes. I never had it + in my heart to blame them much, poor fellows, for every human beings wants + and needs some sort of recreation and jovial excitement. + </p> + <p> + Captain Corliss said to Jack one day, in my presence, "I had a fine batch + of recruits come in this morning." + </p> + <p> + "That's lovely," said I; "what kind of men are they? Any good cooks + amongst them?" (for I was getting very tired of Smith). + </p> + <p> + Captain Corliss smiled a grim smile. "What do you think the United States + Government enlists men for?" said he; "do you think I want my company to + be made up of dish-washers?" + </p> + <p> + He was really quite angry with me, and I concluded that I had been too + abrupt, in my eagerness for another man, and that my ideas on the subject + were becoming warped. I decided that I must be more diplomatic in the + future, in my dealings with the Captain of C company. + </p> + <p> + The next day, when we went to breakfast, whom did we find in the + dining-room but Bowen! Our old Bowen of the long march across the + Territory! Of Camp Apache and K company! He had his white apron on, his + hair rolled back in his most fetching style, and was putting the coffee on + the table. + </p> + <p> + "But, Bowen," said I, "where—how on earth—did you—how + did you know we—what does it mean?" + </p> + <p> + Bowen saluted the First Lieutenant of C company, and said: "Well, sir, the + fact is, my time was out, and I thought I would quit. I went to San + Francisco and worked in a miners' restaurant" (here he hesitated), "but I + didn't like it, and I tried something else, and lost all my money, and I + got tired of the town, so I thought I'd take on again, and as I knowed + ye's were in C company now, I thought I'd come to MacDowell, and I came + over here this morning and told old Smith he'd better quit; this was my + job, and here I am, and I hope ye're all well—and the little boy?" + </p> + <p> + Here was loyalty indeed, and here was Bowen the Immortal, back again! + </p> + <p> + And now things ran smoothly once more. Roasts of beef and haunches of + venison, ducks and other good things we had through the winter. + </p> + <p> + It was cool enough to wear white cotton dresses, but nothing heavier. It + never rained, and the climate was superb, although it was always hot in + the sun. We had heard that it was very hot here; in fact, people called + MacDowell by very bad names. As the spring came on, we began to realize + that the epithets applied to it might be quite appropriate. + </p> + <p> + In front of our quarters was a ramada, [*] supported by rude poles of the + cottonwood tree. Then came the sidewalk, and the acequia (ditch), then a + row of young cottonwood trees, then the parade ground. Through the acequia + ran the clear water that supplied the post, and under the shade of the + ramadas, hung the large ollas from which we dipped the drinking water, for + as yet, of course, ice was not even dreamed of in the far plains of + MacDowell. The heat became intense, as the summer approached. To sleep + inside the house was impossible, and we soon followed the example of the + cavalry, who had their beds out on the parade ground. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + *A sort of rude awning made of brush and supported by + cottonwood poles. +</pre> + <p> + Two iron cots, therefore, were brought from the hospital, and placed side + by side in front of our quarters, beyond the acequia and the cottonwood + trees, in fact, out in the open space of the parade ground. Upon these + were laid some mattresses and sheets, and after "taps" had sounded, and + lights were out, we retired to rest. Near the cots stood Harry's crib. We + had not thought about the ants, however, and they swarmed over our beds, + driving us into the house. The next morning Bowen placed a tin can of + water under each point of contact; and as each cot had eight legs, and the + crib had four, twenty cans were necessary. He had not taken the trouble to + remove the labels, and the pictures of red tomatoes glared at us in the + hot sun through the day; they did not look poetic, but our old enemies, + the ants, were outwitted. + </p> + <p> + There was another species of tiny insect, however, which seemed to drop + from the little cotton-wood trees which grew at the edge of the acequia, + and myriads of them descended and crawled all over us, so we had to have + our beds moved still farther out on to the open space of the parade + ground. + </p> + <p> + And now we were fortified against all the venomous creeping things and we + looked forward to blissful nights of rest. + </p> + <p> + We did not look along the line, when we retired to our cots, but if we + had, we should have seen shadowy figures, laden with pillows, flying from + the houses to the cots or vice versa. It was certainly a novel experience. + </p> + <p> + With but a sheet for a covering, there we lay, looking up at the starry + heavens. I watched the Great Bear go around, and other constellations and + seemed to come into close touch with Nature and the mysterious night. But + the melancholy solemnity of my communings was much affected by the howling + of the coyotes, which seemed sometimes to be so near that I jumped to the + side of the crib, to see if my little boy was being carried off. The good + sweet slumber which I craved never came to me in those weird Arizona + nights under the stars. + </p> + <p> + At about midnight, a sort of dewy coolness would come down from the sky, + and we could then sleep a little; but the sun rose incredibly early in + that southern country, and by the crack of dawn sheeted figures were to be + seen darting back into the quarters, to try for another nap. The nap + rarely came to any of us, for the heat of the houses never passed off, day + or night, at that season. After an early breakfast, the long day began + again. + </p> + <p> + The question of what to eat came to be a serious one. We experimented with + all sorts of tinned foods, and tried to produce some variety from them, + but it was all rather tiresome. We almost dreaded the visits of the + Paymaster and the Inspector at that season, as we never had anything in + the house to give them. + </p> + <p> + One hot night, at about ten o'clock, we heard the rattle of wheels, and an + ambulance drew up at our door. Out jumped Colonel Biddle, Inspector + General, from Fort Whipple. "What shall I give him to eat, poor hungry + man?" I thought. I looked in the wire-covered safe, which hung outside the + kitchen, and discovered half a beefsteak-pie. The gallant Colonel declared + that if there was one thing above all others that he liked, it was cold + beefsteak-pie. Lieutenant Thomas of the Fifth Cavalry echoed his + sentiments, and with a bottle of Cocomonga, which was always kept cooling + somewhere, they had a merry supper. + </p> + <p> + These visits broke the monotony of our life at Camp MacDowell. We heard of + the gay doings up at Fort Whipple, and of the lovely climate there. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Thomas said he could not understand why we wore such bags of dresses. + I told him spitefully that if the women of Fort Whipple would come down to + MacDowell to spend the summer, they would soon be able to explain it to + him. I began to feel embarrassed at the fit of my house-gowns. After a few + days spent with us, however, the mercury ranging from l04 to l20 degrees + in the shade, he ceased to comment upon our dresses or our customs. + </p> + <p> + I had a glass jar of butter sent over from the Commissary, and asked + Colonel Biddle if he thought it right that such butter as that should be + bought by the purchasing officer in San Francisco. It had melted, and + separated into layers of dead white, deep orange and pinkish-purple + colors. Thus I, too, as well as General Miles, had my turn at trying to + reform the Commissary Department of Uncle Sam's army. + </p> + <p> + Hammocks were swung under the ramadas, and after luncheon everybody tried + a siesta. Then, near sundown, an ambulance came and took us over to the + Verde River, about a mile away, where we bathed in water almost as thick + as that of the Great Colorado. We taught Mrs. Kendall to swim, but Mr. + Kendall, being an inland man, did not take to the water. Now the Verde + River was not a very good substitute for the sea, and the thick water + filled our ears and mouths, but it gave us a little half hour in the day + when we could experience a feeling of being cool, and we found it worth + while to take the trouble. Thick clumps of mesquite trees furnished us + with dressing-rooms. We were all young, and youth requires so little with + which to make merry. + </p> + <p> + After the meagre evening dinner, the Kendalls and ourselves sat together + under the ramada until taps, listening generally to the droll anecdotes + told by Mr. Kendall, who had an inexhaustible fund. Then another night + under the stars, and so passed the time away. + </p> + <p> + We lived, ate, slept by the bugle calls. Reveille means sunrise, when a + Lieutenant must hasten to put himself into uniform, sword and belt, and go + out to receive the report of the company or companies of soldiers, who + stand drawn up in line on the parade ground. + </p> + <p> + At about nine o'clock in the morning comes the guard-mount, a function + always which everybody goes out to see. Then the various drill calls, and + recalls, and sick-call and the beautiful stable-call for the cavalry, when + the horses are groomed and watered, the thrilling fire-call and the + startling assembly, or call-to-arms, when every soldier jumps for his + rifle and every officer buckles on his sword, and a woman's heart stands + still. + </p> + <p> + Then at night, "tattoo," when the company officers go out to receive the + report of "all present and accounted for"—and shortly after that, + the mournful "taps," a signal for the barrack lights to be put out. + </p> + <p> + The bugle call of "taps" is mournful also through association, as it is + always blown over the grave of a soldier or an officer, after the coffin + has been lowered into the earth. The soldier-musicians who blow the calls, + seem to love the call of "taps," (strangely enough) and I remember well + that there at Camp MacDowell, we all used to go out and listen when "taps + went," as the soldier who blew it, seemed to put a whole world of sorrow + into it, turning to the four points of the compass and letting its clear + tones tremble through the air, away off across the Maricopa desert and + then toward the East, our home so faraway. We never spoke, we just + listened, and who can tell the thoughts that each one had in his mind? + Church nor ministers nor priests had we there in those distant lands, but + can we say that our lives were wholly without religion? + </p> + <p> + The Sunday inspection of men and barracks, which was performed with much + precision and formality, and often in full dress uniform, gave us + something by which we could mark the weeks, as they slipped along. There + was no religious service of any kind, as Uncle Sam did not seem to think + that the souls of us people in the outposts needed looking after. It would + have afforded much comfort to the Roman Catholics had there been a priest + stationed there. + </p> + <p> + The only sermon I ever heard in old Camp MacDowell was delivered by a + Mormon Bishop and was of a rather preposterous nature, neither instructive + nor edifying. But the good Catholics read their prayer-books at home, and + the rest of us almost forgot that such organizations as churches existed. + </p> + <p> + Another bright winter found us still gazing at the Four Peaks of the + MacDowell Mountains, the only landmark on the horizon. I was glad, in + those days, that I had not staid back East, for the life of an officer + without his family, in those drear places, is indeed a blank and empty + one. + </p> + <p> + "Four years I have sat here and looked at the Four Peaks," said Captain + Corliss, one day, "and I'm getting almighty tired of it." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVI. A SUDDEN ORDER + </h2> + <p> + In June, 1878, Jack was ordered to report to the commanding officer at + Fort Lowell (near the ancient city of Tucson), to act as Quartermaster and + Commissary at that post. This was a sudden and totally unexpected order. + It was indeed hard, and it seemed to me cruel. For our regiment had been + four years in the Territory, and we were reasonably sure of being ordered + out before long. Tucson lay far to the south of us, and was even hotter + than this place. But there was nothing to be done; we packed up, I with a + heavy heart, Jack with his customary stoicism. + </p> + <p> + With the grief which comes only at that time in one's life, and which sees + no end and no limit, I parted from my friends at Camp MacDowell. Two years + together, in the most intimate companionship, cut off from the outside + world, and away from all early ties, had united us with indissoluble + bonds,—and now we were to part,—forever as I thought. + </p> + <p> + We all wept; I embraced them all, and Jack lifted me into the ambulance; + Mrs. Kendall gave a last kiss to our little boy; Donahue, our + soldier-driver, loosened up his brakes, cracked his long whip, and away we + went, down over the flat, through the dark MacDowell canon, with the + chollas nodding to us as we passed, across the Salt River, and on across + an open desert to Florence, forty miles or so to the southeast of us. + </p> + <p> + At Florence we sent our military transportation back and staid over a day + at a tavern to rest. We met there a very agreeable and cultivated + gentleman, Mr. Charles Poston, who was en route to his home, somewhere in + the mountains nearby. We took the Tucson stage at sundown, and travelled + all night. I heard afterwards more about Mr. Poston: he had attained some + reputation in the literary world by writing about the Sun-worshippers of + Asia. He had been a great traveller in his early life, but now had built + himself some sort of a house in one of the desolate mountains which rose + out of these vast plains of Arizona, hoisted his sun-flag on the top, + there to pass the rest of his days. People out there said he was a + sun-worshipper. I do not know. "But when I am tired of life and people," I + thought, "this will not be the place I shall choose." + </p> + <p> + Arriving at Tucson, after a hot and tiresome night in the stage, we went + to an old hostelry. Tucson looked attractive. Ancient civilization is + always interesting to me. + </p> + <p> + Leaving me at the tavern, my husband drove out to Fort Lowell, to see + about quarters and things in general. In a few hours he returned with the + overwhelming news that he found a dispatch awaiting him at that post, + ordering him to return immediately to his company at Camp MacDowell, as + the Eighth Infantry was ordered to the Department of California. + </p> + <p> + Ordered "out" at last! I felt like jumping up onto the table, climbing + onto the roof, dancing and singing and shouting for joy! Tired as we were + (and I thought I had reached the limit), we were not too tired to take the + first stage back for Florence, which left that evening. Those two nights + on the Tucson stage are a blank in my memory. I got through them somehow. + </p> + <p> + In the morning, as we approached the town of Florence, the great blue army + wagon containing our household goods, hove in sight—its white canvas + cover stretched over hoops, its six sturdy mules coming along at a good + trot, and Sergeant Stone cracking his long whip, to keep up a proper pace + in the eyes of the Tucson stage-driver. + </p> + <p> + Jack called him to halt, and down went the Sergeant's big brakes. Both + teams came to a stand-still, and we told the Sergeant the news. + Bewilderment, surprise, joy, followed each other on the old Sergeant's + countenance. He turned his heavy team about, and promised to reach Camp + MacDowell as soon as the animals could make it. At Florence, we left the + stage, and went to the little tavern once more; the stage route did not + lie in our direction, so we must hire a private conveyance to bring us to + Camp MacDowell. Jack found a man who had a good pair of ponies and an open + buckboard. Towards night we set forth to cross the plain which lies + between Florence and the Salt River, due northwest by the map. + </p> + <p> + When I saw the driver I did not care much for his appearance. He did not + inspire me with confidence, but the ponies looked strong, and we had forty + or fifty miles before us. + </p> + <p> + After we got fairly into the desert, which was a trackless waste, I became + possessed by a feeling that the man did not know the way. He talked a good + deal about the North Star, and the fork in the road, and that we must be + sure not to miss it. + </p> + <p> + It was a still, hot, starlit night. Jack and the driver sat on the front + seat. They had taken the back seat out, and my little boy and I sat in the + bottom of the wagon, with the hard cushions to lean against through the + night. I suppose we were drowsy with sleep; at all events, the talk about + the fork of the road and the North Star faded away into dreams. + </p> + <p> + I awoke with a chilly feeling, and a sudden jolt over a rock. "I do not + recollect any rocks on this road, Jack, when we came over it in the + ambulance," said I. + </p> + <p> + "Neither do I," he replied. + </p> + <p> + I looked for the North Star: I had looked for it often when in open boats. + It was away off on our left, the road seemed to be ascending and rocky: I + had never seen this piece of road before, that I was sure of. + </p> + <p> + "We are going to the eastward," said I, "and we should be going + northwest." + </p> + <p> + "My dear, lie down and go to sleep; the man knows the road; he is taking a + short cut, I suppose," said the Lieutenant. There was something not at all + reassuring in his tones, however. + </p> + <p> + The driver did not turn his head nor speak. I looked at the North Star, + which was getting farther and farther on our left, and I felt the gloomy + conviction that we were lost on the desert. + </p> + <p> + Finally, at daylight, after going higher and higher, we drew up in an old + deserted mining-camp. + </p> + <p> + The driver jerked his ponies up, and, with a sullen gesture, said, "We + must have missed the fork of the road; this is Picket Post." + </p> + <p> + "Great Heavens!" I cried; "how far out of the way are we?" + </p> + <p> + "About fifteen miles," he drawled, "you see we shall have to go back to + the place where the road forks, and make a new start." + </p> + <p> + I nearly collapsed with discouragement. I looked around at the ruined + walls and crumbling pillars of stone, so weird and so grey in the dawning + light: it might have been a worshipping place of the Druids. My little son + shivered with the light chill which comes at daybreak in those tropical + countries: we were hungry and tired and miserable: my bones ached, and I + felt like crying. + </p> + <p> + We gave the poor ponies time to breathe, and took a bite of cold food + ourselves. + </p> + <p> + Ah! that blighted and desolate place called Picket Post! Forsaken by God + and man, it might have been the entrance to Hades. + </p> + <p> + Would the ponies hold out? They looked jaded to be sure, but we had + stopped long enough to breathe them, and away they trotted again, down the + mountain this time, instead of up. + </p> + <p> + It was broad day when we reached the fork of the road, which we had not + been able to see in the night: there was no mistaking it now. + </p> + <p> + We had travelled already about forty miles, thirty more lay before us; but + there were no hills, it was all flat country, and the owner of these brave + little ponies said we could make it. + </p> + <p> + As we neared the MacDowell canon, we met Captain Corliss marching out with + his company (truly they had lost no time in starting for California), and + he told his First Lieutenant he would make slow marches, that we might + overtake him before he reached Yuma. + </p> + <p> + We were obliged to wait at Camp MacDowell for Sergeant Stone to arrive + with our wagonful of household goods, and then, after a mighty weeding out + and repacking, we set forth once more, with a good team of mules and a + good driver, to join the command. We bade the Sixth Cavalry people once + more good-bye, but I was so nearly dead by this time, with the heat, and + the fatigue of all this hard travelling and packing up, that the keener + edge of my emotions was dulled. Eight days and nights spent in travelling + hither and thither over those hot plains in Southern Arizona, and all for + what? + </p> + <p> + Because somebody in ordering somebody to change his station, had forgotten + that somebody's regiment was about to be ordered out of the country it had + been in for four years. Also because my husband was a soldier who obeyed + orders without questioning them. If he had been a political wire-puller, + many of our misfortunes might have been averted. But then, while I half + envied the wives of the wire-pullers, I took a sort of pride in the blind + obedience shown by my own particular soldier to the orders he received. + </p> + <p> + After that week's experience, I held another colloquy with myself, and + decided that wives should not follow their husbands in the army, and that + if I ever got back East again, I would stay: I simply could not go on + enduring these unmitigated and unreasonable hardships. + </p> + <p> + The Florence man staid over at the post a day or so to rest his ponies. I + bade him good-bye and told him to take care of those brave little beasts, + which had travelled seventy miles without rest, to bring us to our + destination. He nodded pleasantly and drove away. "A queer customer," I + observed to Jack. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," answered he, "they told me in Florence that he was a 'road agent' + and desperado, but there did not seem to be anyone else, and my orders + were peremptory, so I took him. I knew the ponies could pull us through, + by the looks of them; and road agents are all right with army officers, + they know they wouldn't get anything if they held 'em up." + </p> + <p> + "How much did he charge you for the trip?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Sixteen dollars," was the reply. And so ended the episode. Except that I + looked back to Picket Post with a sort of horror, I thought no more about + it. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVII. THE EIGHTH FOOT LEAVES ARIZONA + </h2> + <p> + And now after the eight days of most distressing heat, and the fatigue of + all sorts and varieties of travelling, the nights spent in a stage-coach + or at a desert inn, or in the road agent's buckboard, holding always my + little son close to my side, came six days more of journeying down the + valley of the Gila. + </p> + <p> + We took supper in Phoenix, at a place known as "Devine's." I was hearing a + good deal about Phoenix; for even then, its gardens, its orchards and its + climate were becoming famous, but the season of the year was unpropitious + to form a favorable opinion of that thriving place, even if my opinions of + Arizona, with its parched-up soil and insufferable heat, had not been + formed already. + </p> + <p> + We crossed the Gila somewhere below there, and stopped at our old camping + places, but the entire valley was seething hot, and the remembrance of the + December journey seemed but an aggravating dream. + </p> + <p> + We joined Captain Corliss and the company at Antelope Station, and in two + more days were at Yuma City. By this time, the Southern Pacific Railroad + had been built as far as Yuma, and a bridge thrown across the Colorado at + this point. It seemed an incongruity. And how burning hot the cars looked, + standing there in the Arizona sun! + </p> + <p> + After four years in that Territory, and remembering the days, weeks, and + even months spent in travelling on the river, or marching through the + deserts, I could not make the Pullman cars seem a reality. + </p> + <p> + We brushed the dust of the Gila Valley from our clothes, I unearthed a hat + from somewhere, and some wraps which had not seen the light for nearly two + years, and prepared to board the train. + </p> + <p> + I cried out in my mind, the prayer of the woman in one of Fisher's + Ehrenberg stories, to which I used to listen with unmitigated delight, + when I lived there. The story was this: "Mrs. Blank used to live here in + Ehrenberg; she hated the place just as you do, but she was obliged to + stay. Finally, after a period of two years, she and her sister, who had + lived with her, were able to get away. I crossed over the river with them + to Lower California, on the old rope ferry-boat which they used to have + near Ehrenberg, and as soon as the boat touched the bank, they jumped + ashore, and down they both went upon their knees, clasped their hands, + raised their eyes to Heaven, and Mrs. Blank said: 'I thank Thee, oh Lord! + Thou hast at last delivered us from the wilderness, and brought us back to + God's country. Receive my thanks, oh Lord!'" + </p> + <p> + And then Fisher used to add: "And the tears rolled down their faces, and I + knew they felt every word they spoke; and I guess you'll feel about the + same way when you get out of Arizona, even if you don't quite drop on your + knees," he said. + </p> + <p> + The soldiers did not look half so picturesque, climbing into the cars, as + they did when loading onto a barge; and when the train went across the + bridge, and we looked down upon the swirling red waters of the Great + Colorado from the windows of a luxurious Pullman, I sighed; and, with the + strange contradictoriness of the human mind, I felt sorry that the old + days had come to an end. For, somehow, the hardships and deprivations + which we have endured, lose their bitterness when they have become only a + memory. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVIII. CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA + </h2> + <p> + A portion of our regiment was ordered to Oregon, to join General Howard, + who was conducting the Bannock Campaign, so I remained that summer in San + Francisco, to await my husband's return. + </p> + <p> + I could not break away from my Arizona habits. I wore only white dresses, + partly because I had no others which were in fashion, partly because I had + become imbued with a profound indifference to dress. + </p> + <p> + "They'll think you're a Mexican," said my New England aunt (who regarded + all foreigners with contempt). "Let them think," said I; "I almost wish I + were; for, after all, they are the only people who understand the + philosophy of living. Look at the tired faces of the women in your + streets," I added, "one never sees that sort of expression down below, and + I have made up my mind not to be caught by the whirlpool of advanced + civilization again." + </p> + <p> + Added to the white dresses, I smoked cigarettes, and slept all the + afternoons. I was in the bondage of tropical customs, and I had lapsed + back into a state of what my aunt called semi-barbarism. + </p> + <p> + "Let me enjoy this heavenly cool climate, and do not worry me," I begged. + I shuddered when I heard people complain of the cold winds of the San + Francisco summer. How do they dare tempt Fate, thought I, and I wished + them all in Ehrenberg or MacDowell for one summer. "I think they might + then know something about climate, and would have something to complain + about!" + </p> + <p> + How I revelled in the flowers, and all the luxuries of that delightful + city! + </p> + <p> + The headquarters of the Eighth was located at Benicia, and General Kautz, + our Colonel, invited me to pay a visit to his wife. A pleasant boat-trip + up the Sacramento River brought us to Benicia. Mrs. Kautz, a handsome and + accomplished Austrian, presided over her lovely army home in a manner to + captivate my fancy, and the luxury of their surroundings almost made me + speechless. + </p> + <p> + "The other side of army life," thought I. + </p> + <p> + A visit to Angel Island, one of the harbor defences, strengthened this + impression. Four years of life in the southern posts of Arizona had almost + made me believe that army life was indeed but "glittering misery," as the + Germans had called it. + </p> + <p> + In the autumn, the troops returned from Oregon, and C company was ordered + to Camp MacDermit, a lonely spot up in the northern part of Nevada (Nevada + being included in the Department of California). I was sure by that time + that bad luck was pursuing us. I did not know so much about the "ins and + outs" of the army then as I do now. + </p> + <p> + At my aunt's suggestion, I secured a Chinaman of good caste for a servant, + and by deceiving him (also my aunt's advice) with the idea that we were + going only as far as Sacramento, succeeded in making him willing to + accompany us. + </p> + <p> + We started east, and left the railroad at a station called "Winnemucca." + MacDermit lay ninety miles to the north. But at Winnemucca the Chinaman + balked. "You say: 'All'e same Saclamento': lis place heap too far: me no + likee!" I talked to him, and, being a good sort, he saw that I meant well, + and the soldiers bundled him on top of the army wagon, gave him a lot of + good-natured guying, and a revolver to keep off Indians, and so we secured + Hoo Chack. + </p> + <p> + Captain Corliss had been obliged to go on ahead with his wife, who was in + the most delicate health. The post ambulance had met them at this place. + </p> + <p> + Jack was to march over the ninety miles, with the company. I watched them + starting out, the men, glad of the release from the railroad train, their + guns on their shoulders, stepping off in military style and in good form. + </p> + <p> + The wagons followed—the big blue army wagons, and Hoo Chack, looking + rather glum, sitting on top of a pile of baggage. + </p> + <p> + I took the Silver City stage, and except for my little boy I was the only + passenger for the most of the way. We did the ninety miles without resting + over, except for relays of horses. + </p> + <p> + I climbed up on the box and talked with the driver. I liked these + stage-drivers. They were "nervy," fearless men, and kind, too, and had a + great dash and go about them. They often had a quiet and gentle bearing, + but by that time I knew pretty well what sort of stuff they were made of, + and I liked to have them talk to me, and I liked to look out upon the + world through their eyes, and judge of things from their standpoint. + </p> + <p> + It was an easy journey, and we passed a comfortable night in the stage. + </p> + <p> + Camp MacDermit was a colorless, forbidding sort of a place. Only one + company was stationed there, and my husband was nearly always scouting in + the mountains north of us. The weather was severe, and the winter there + was joyless and lonesome. The extreme cold and the loneliness affected my + spirits, and I suffered from depression. + </p> + <p> + I had no woman to talk to, for Mrs. Corliss, who was the only other + officer's wife at the post, was confined to the house by the most delicate + health, and her mind was wholly absorbed by the care of her young infant. + There were no nurses to be had in that desolate corner of the earth. + </p> + <p> + One day, a dreadful looking man appeared at the door, a person such as one + never sees except on the outskirts of civilization, and I wondered what + business brought him. He wore a long, black, greasy frock coat, a tall + hat, and had the face of a sneak. He wanted the Chinaman's poll-tax, he + said. + </p> + <p> + "But," I suggested, "I never heard of collecting taxes in a Government + post; soldiers and officers do not pay taxes." + </p> + <p> + "That may be," he replied, "but your Chinaman is not a soldier, and I am + going to have his tax before I leave this house." + </p> + <p> + "So, ho," I thought; "a threat!" and the soldier's blood rose in me. + </p> + <p> + I was alone; Jack was miles away up North. Hoo Chack appeared in the hall; + he had evidently heard the man's last remark. "Now," I said, "this + Chinaman is in my employ, and he shall not pay any tax, until I find out + if he be exempt or not." + </p> + <p> + The evil-looking man approached the Chinaman. Hoo Chack grew a shade + paler. I fancied he had a knife under his white shirt; in fact, he felt + around for it. I said, "Hoo Chack, go away, I will talk to this man." + </p> + <p> + I opened the front door. "Come with me" (to the tax-collector); "we will + ask the commanding officer about this matter." My heart was really in my + mouth, but I returned the man's steady and dogged gaze, and he followed me + to Captain Corliss' quarters. I explained the matter to the Captain, and + left the man to his mercy. "Why didn't you call the Sergeant of the Guard, + and have the man slapped into the guard-house?" said Jack, when I told him + about it afterwards. "The man had no business around here; he was trying + to browbeat you into giving him a dollar, I suppose." + </p> + <p> + The country above us was full of desperadoes from Boise and Silver City, + and I was afraid to be left alone so much at night; so I begged Captain + Corliss to let me have a soldier to sleep in my quarters. He sent me old + Needham. So I installed old Needham in my guest chamber with his loaded + rifle. Now old Needham was but a wisp of a man; long years of service had + broken down his health; he was all wizened up and feeble; but he was a + soldier; I felt safe, and could sleep once more. Just the sight of Needham + and his old blue uniform coming at night, after taps, was a comfort to me. + </p> + <p> + Anxiety filled my soul, for Jack was scouting in the Stein Mountains all + winter in the snow, after Indians who were avowedly hostile, and had + threatened to kill on sight. He often went out with a small pack-train, + and some Indian scouts, five or six soldiers, and I thought it quite wrong + for him to be sent into the mountains with so small a number. + </p> + <p> + Camp MacDermit was, as I have already mentioned, a "one-company post." We + all know what that may mean, on the frontier. Our Second Lieutenant was + absent, and all the hard work of winter scouting fell upon Jack, keeping + him away for weeks at a time. + </p> + <p> + The Piute Indians were supposed to be peaceful, and their old chief, + Winnemucca, once the warlike and dreaded foe of the white man, was now + quiet enough, and too old to fight. He lived, with his family, at an + Indian village near the post. + </p> + <p> + He came to see me occasionally. His dress was a curious mixture of + civilization and savagery. He wore the chapeau and dress-coat of a General + of the American Army, with a large epaulette on one shoulder. He was very + proud of the coat, because General Crook had given it to him. His shirt, + leggings and moccasins were of buckskin, and the long braids of his + coal-black hair, tied with strips of red flannel, gave the last touch to + this incongruous costume. + </p> + <p> + But I must say that his demeanor was gentle and dignified, and, after + recovering from the superficial impressions which his startling costume + had at first made upon my mind, I could well believe that he had once been + the war-leader, as he was now the political head of his once-powerful + tribe. + </p> + <p> + Winnemucca did not disdain to accept some little sugar-cakes from me, and + would sit down on our veranda and munch them. + </p> + <p> + He always showed me the pasteboard medal which hung around his neck, and + which bore General Howard's signature; and he always said: "General Howard + tell me, me good Injun, me go up—up—up"—pointing + dramatically towards Heaven. On one occasion, feeling desperate for + amusement, I said to him: "General Howard very good man, but he make a + mistake; where you go, is not up—up—up, but," pointing + solemnly to the earth below us, "down—down—down." He looked + incredulous, but I assured him it was a nice place down there. + </p> + <p> + Some of the scattered bands of the tribe, however, were restless and + unsubdued, and gave us much trouble, and it was these bands that + necessitated the scouts. + </p> + <p> + My little son, Harry, four years old, was my constant and only companion, + during that long, cold, and anxious winter. + </p> + <p> + My mother sent me an appealing invitation to come home for a year. I + accepted gladly, and one afternoon in May, Jack put us aboard the Silver + City stage, which passed daily through the post. + </p> + <p> + Our excellent Chinese servant promised to stay with the "Captain" and take + care of him, and as I said "Good-bye, Hoo Chack," I noticed an expression + of real regret on his usually stolid features. + </p> + <p> + Occupied with my thoughts, on entering the stage, I did not notice the + passengers or the man sitting next me on the back seat. Darkness soon + closed around us, and I suppose we fell asleep. Between naps, I heard a + queer clanking sound, but supposed it was the chains of the harness or the + stage-coach gear. The next morning, as we got out at a relay station for + breakfast, I saw the handcuffs on the man next to whom I had sat all the + night long. The sheriff was on the box outside. He very obligingly changed + seats with me for the rest of the way, and evening found us on the + overland train speeding on our journey East. Camp MacDermit with its + dreary associations and surroundings faded gradually from my mind, like a + dream. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The year of 1879 brought us several changes. My little daughter was born + in mid-summer at our old home in Nantucket. As I lay watching the curtains + move gently to and fro in the soft sea-breezes, and saw my mother and + sister moving about the room, and a good old nurse rocking my baby in her + arms, I could but think of those other days at Camp Apache, when I lay + through the long hours, with my new-born baby by my side, watching, + listening for some one to come in. There was no one, no woman to come, + except the poor hard-working laundress of the cavalry, who did come once a + day to care for the baby. + </p> + <p> + Ah! what a contrast! and I had to shut my eyes for fear I should cry, at + the mere thought of those other days. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Jack took a year's leave of absence and joined me in the autumn at + Nantucket, and the winter was spent in New York, enjoying the theatres and + various amusements we had so long been deprived of. Here we met again + Captain Porter and Carrie Wilkins, who was now Mrs. Porter. They were + stationed at David's Island, one of the harbor posts, and we went over to + see them. "Yes," he said, "as Jacob waited seven years for Rachel, so I + waited for Carrie." + </p> + <p> + The following summer brought us the good news that Captain Corliss' + company was ordered to Angel Island, in the bay of San Francisco. "Thank + goodness," said Jack, "C company has got some good luck, at last!" + </p> + <p> + Joyfully we started back on the overland trip to California, which took + about nine days at that time. Now, travelling with a year-old baby and a + five-year-old boy was quite troublesome, and we were very glad when the + train had crossed the bleak Sierras and swept down into the lovely valley + of the Sacramento. + </p> + <p> + Arriving in San Francisco, we went to the old Occidental Hotel, and as we + were going in to dinner, a card was handed to us. "Hoo Chack" was the name + on the card. "That Chinaman!" I cried to Jack. "How do you suppose he knew + we were here?" + </p> + <p> + We soon made arrangements for him to accompany us to Angel Island, and in + a few days this "heathen Chinee" had unpacked all our boxes and made our + quarters very comfortable. He was rather a high-caste man, and as true and + loyal as a Christian. He never broke his word, and he staid with us as + long as we remained in California. + </p> + <p> + And now we began to live, to truly live; for we felt that the years spent + at those desert posts under the scorching suns of Arizona had cheated us + out of all but a bare existence upon earth. + </p> + <p> + The flowers ran riot in our garden, fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh + fish, and all the luxuries of that marvellous climate, were brought to our + door. + </p> + <p> + A comfortable Government steamboat plied between San Francisco and its + harbor posts, and the distance was not great—only three quarters of + an hour. So we had a taste of the social life of that fascinating city, + and could enjoy the theatres also. + </p> + <p> + On the Island, we had music and dancing, as it was the headquarters of the + regiment. Mrs. Kautz, so brilliant and gay, held grand court here—receptions, + military functions, lawn tennis, bright uniforms, were the order of the + day. And that incomparable climate! How I revelled in it! When the fog + rolled in from the Golden Gate, and enveloped the great city of Saint + Francis in its cold vapors, the Island of the Angels lay warm and bright + in the sunshine. + </p> + <p> + The old Spaniards named it well, and the old Nantucket whalers who sailed + around Cape Horn on their way to the Ar'tic, away back in the eighteen + twenties, used to put in near there for water, and were well familiar with + its bright shores, before it was touched by man's handiwork. + </p> + <p> + Was there ever such an emerald green as adorned those hills which sloped + down to the bay? Could anything equal the fields of golden escholzchia + which lay there in the sunshine? Or the blue masses of "baby-eye," which + opened in the mornings and held up their pretty cups to catch the dew? + </p> + <p> + Was this a real Paradise? + </p> + <p> + It surely seemed so to us; and, as if Nature had not done enough, the + Fates stepped in and sent all the agreeable young officers of the regiment + there, to help us enjoy the heavenly spot. + </p> + <p> + There was Terrett, the handsome and aristocratic young Baltimorean, one of + the finest men I ever saw in uniform; and Richardson, the stalwart Texan, + and many others, with whom we danced and played tennis, and altogether + there was so much to do and to enjoy that Time rushed by and we knew only + that we were happy, and enchanted with Life. + </p> + <p> + Did any uniform ever equal that of the infantry in those days? The dark + blue, heavily braided "blouse," the white stripe on the light blue + trousers, the jaunty cap? And then, the straight backs and the slim lines + of those youthful figures! It seems to me any woman who was not an + Egyptian mummy would feel her heart thrill and her blood tingle at the + sight of them. + </p> + <p> + Indians and deserts and Ehrenberg did not exist for me any more. My + girlhood seemed to have returned, and I enjoyed everything with the + keenest zest. + </p> + <p> + My old friend Charley Bailey, who had married for his second wife a most + accomplished young San Francisco girl, lived next door to us. + </p> + <p> + General and Mrs. Kautz entertained so hospitably, and were so beloved by + all. Together Mrs. Kautz and I read the German classics, and went to the + German theatre; and by and by a very celebrated player, Friedrich Haase, + from the Royal Theatre of Berlin, came to San Francisco. We never missed a + performance, and when his tour was over, Mrs. Kautz gave a lawn party at + Angel Island for him and a few of the members of his company. It was + charming. I well remember how the sun shone that day, and, as we strolled + up from the boat with them, Frau Haase stopped, looked at the blue sky, + the lovely clouds, the green slopes of the Island and said: "Mein Gott! + Frau Summerhayes, was ist das fur ein Paradies! Warum haben Sie uns nicht + gesagt, Sie wohnten im Paradies!" + </p> + <p> + So, with music and German speech, and strolls to the North and to the + South Batteries, that wonderful and never to-be-forgotten day with the + great Friedrich Haase came to an end. + </p> + <p> + The months flew by, and the second winter found us still there; we heard + rumors of Indian troubles in Arizona, and at last the orders came. The + officers packed away their evening clothes in camphor and had their + campaign clothes put out to air, and got their mess-chests in order, and + the post was alive with preparations for the field. All the families were + to stay behind. The most famous Indian renegade was to be hunted down, and + serious fighting was looked for. + </p> + <p> + At last all was ready, and the day was fixed for the departure of the + troops. + </p> + <p> + The winter rains had set in, and the skies were grey, as the command + marched down to the boat. + </p> + <p> + The officers and soldiers were in their campaign clothes; the latter had + their blanket-rolls and haversacks slung over their shoulders, and their + tin cups, which hung from the haversacks, rattled and jingled as they + marched down in even columns of four, over the wet and grassy slopes of + the parade ground, where so short a time before all had been glitter and + sunshine. + </p> + <p> + I realized then perhaps for the first time what the uniform really stood + for; that every man who wore it, was going out to fight—that they + held their lives as nothing. The glitter was all gone; nothing but sad + reality remained. + </p> + <p> + The officers' wives and the soldiers' wives followed the troops to the + dock. The soldiers marched single file over the gang-plank of the boat, + the officers said good-bye, the shrill whistle of the "General McPherson" + sounded—and they were off. We leaned back against the coal-sheds, + and soldiers' and officers' wives alike all wept together. + </p> + <p> + And now a season of gloom came upon us. The skies were dull and murky and + the rain poured down. + </p> + <p> + Our old friend Bailey, who was left behind on account of illness, grew + worse and finally his case was pronounced hopeless. His death added to the + deep gloom and sadness which enveloped us all. + </p> + <p> + A few of the soldiers who had staid on the Island to take care of the + post, carried poor Bailey to the boat, his casket wrapped in the flag and + followed by a little procession of women. I thought I had never seen + anything so sad. + </p> + <p> + The campaign lengthened out into months, but the California winters are + never very long, and before the troops came back the hills looked their + brightest green again. The campaign had ended with no very serious losses + to our troops and all was joyous again, until another order took us from + the sea-coast to the interior once more. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0029" id="link2HCH0029"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIX. CHANGING STATION + </h2> + <p> + It was the custom to change the stations of the different companies of a + regiment about every two years. So the autumn of '82 found us on the way + to Fort Halleck, a post in Nevada, but differing vastly from the desolate + MacDermit station. Fort Halleck was only thirteen miles south of the + Overland Railroad, and lay near a spur of the Humboldt range. There were + miles of sage-brush between the railroad and the post, but the mountains + which rose abruptly five thousand feet on the far side, made a magnificent + background for the officers' quarters, which lay nestled at the bottom of + the foot-hills. + </p> + <p> + "Oh! what a lovely post!" I cried, as we drove in. + </p> + <p> + Major Sanford of the First Cavalry, with Captain Carr and Lieutenant Oscar + Brown, received us. "Dear me," I thought, "if the First Cavalry is made up + of such gallant men as these, the old Eighth Infantry will have to look + out for its laurels." + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Sanford and Mrs. Carr gave us a great welcome and vied with each + other in providing for our comfort, and we were soon established. + </p> + <p> + It was so good to see the gay yellow of the cavalry again! Now I rode, to + my heart's content, and it was good to be alive; to see the cavalry drill, + and to ride through the canons, gorgeous in their flaming autumn tints; + then again to gallop through the sage-brush, jumping where we could not + turn, starting up rabbits by the score. + </p> + <p> + That little old post, now long since abandoned, marked a pleasant epoch in + our life. From the ranches scattered around we could procure butter and + squabs and young vegetables, and the soldiers cultivated great garden + patches, and our small dinners and breakfasts live in delightful memory. + </p> + <p> + At the end of two years spent so pleasantly with the people of the First + Cavalry, our company was again ordered to Angel Island. But a second very + active campaign in Arizona and Mexico, against Geronimo, took our soldiers + away from us, and we passed through a period of considerable anxiety. June + of '86 saw the entire regiment ordered to take station in Arizona once + more. + </p> + <p> + We travelled to Tucson in a Pullman car. It was hot and uninteresting. I + had been at Tucson nine years before, for a few hours, but the place + seemed unfamiliar. I looked for the old tavern; I saw only the railroad + restaurant. We went in to take breakfast, before driving out to the post + of Fort Lowell, seven miles away. Everything seemed changed. Iced + cantaloupe was served by a spick-span alert waiter; then, quail on toast. + "Ice in Arizona?" It was like a dream, and I remarked to Jack, "This isn't + the same Arizona we knew in '74," and then, "I don't believe I like it as + well, either; all this luxury doesn't seem to belong to the place." + </p> + <p> + After a drive behind some smart mules, over a flat stretch of seven miles, + we arrived at Fort Lowell, a rather attractive post, with a long line of + officers' quarters, before which ran a level road shaded by beautiful + great trees. We were assigned a half of one of these sets of quarters, and + as our half had no conveniences for house-keeping, it was arranged that we + should join a mess with General and Mrs. Kautz and their family. We soon + got settled down to our life there, and we had various recreations; among + them, driving over to Tucson and riding on horseback are those which I + remember best. We made a few acquaintances in Tucson, and they sometimes + drove out in the evenings, or more frequently rode out on horseback. Then + we would gather together on the Kautz piazza and everybody sang to the + accompaniment of Mrs. Kautz's guitar. It was very hot, of course; we had + all expected that, but the luxuries obtainable through the coming of the + railroad, such as ice, and various summer drinks, and lemons, and butter, + helped out to make the summer there more comfortable. + </p> + <p> + We slept on the piazzas, which ran around the houses on a level with the + ground. At that time the fad for sleeping out of doors, at least amongst + civilized people, did not exist, and our arrangements were entirely + primitive. + </p> + <p> + Our quarters were surrounded by a small yard and a fence; the latter was + dilapidated, and the gate swung on one hinge. We were seven miles from + anywhere, and surrounded by a desolate country. I did not experience the + feeling of terror that I had had at Camp Apache, for instance, nor the + grewsome fear of the Ehrenberg grave-yard, nor the appalling fright I had + known in crossing the Mogollon range or in driving through Sanford's Pass. + But still there was a haunting feeling of insecurity which hung around me + especially at night. I was awfully afraid of snakes, and no sooner had we + lain ourselves down on our cots to sleep, than I would hear a rustling + among the dry leaves that had blown in under our beds. Then all would be + still again; then a crackling and a rustling—in a flash I would be + sitting up in bed. "Jack, do you hear that?" Of course I did not dare to + move or jump out of bed, so I would sit, rigid, scared. "Jack! what is + it?" "Nonsense, Mattie, go to sleep; it's the toads jumping about in the + leaves." But my sleep was fitful and disturbed, and I never knew what a + good night's rest was. + </p> + <p> + One night I was awakened by a tremendous snort right over my face. I + opened my eyes and looked into the wild eyes of a big black bull. I think + I must have screamed, for the bull ran clattering off the piazza and out + through the gate. By this time Jack was up, and Harry and Katherine, who + slept on the front piazza, came running out, and I said: "Well, this is + the limit of all things, and if that gate isn't mended to-morrow, I will + know the reason why." + </p> + <p> + Now I heard a vague rumor that there was a creature of this sort in or + near the post, and that he had a habit of wandering around at night, but + as I had never seen him, it had made no great impression on my mind. Jack + had a great laugh at me, but I did not think then, nor do I now, that it + was anything to be laughed at. + </p> + <p> + We had heard much of the old Mission of San Xavier del Bac, away the other + side of Tucson. Mrs. Kautz decided to go over there and go into camp and + paint a picture of San Xavier. It was about sixteen miles from Fort + Lowell. + </p> + <p> + So all the camp paraphernalia was gotten ready and several of the officers + joined the party, and we all went over to San Xavier and camped for a few + days under the shadow of those beautiful old walls. This Mission is almost + unknown to the American traveler. + </p> + <p> + Exquisite in color, form and architecture, it stands there a silent + reminder of the Past. + </p> + <p> + The curious carvings and paintings inside the church, and the precious old + vestments which were shown us by an ancient custodian, filled my mind with + wonder. The building is partly in ruins, and the little squirrels were + running about the galleries, but the great dome is intact, and many of the + wonderful figures which ornament it. Of course we know the Spanish built + it about the middle or last of the sixteenth century, and that they tried + to christianize the tribes of Indians who lived around in the vicinity. + But there is no sign of priest or communicant now, nothing but a desolate + plain around it for miles. No one can possibly understand how the building + of this large and beautiful mission was accomplished, and I believe + history furnishes very little information. In its archives was found quite + recently the charter given by Ferdinand and Isabella, to establish the + "pueblo" of Tucson about the beginning of the 16th century. + </p> + <p> + After a few delightful days, we broke camp and returned to Fort Lowell. + </p> + <p> + And now the summer was drawing to a close, and we were anticipating the + delights of the winter climate at Tucson, when, without a note of warning, + came the orders for Fort Niobrara. We looked, appalled, in each other's + faces, the evening the telegram came, for we did not even know where Fort + Niobrara was. + </p> + <p> + We all rushed into Major Wilhelm's quarters, for he always knew + everything. We (Mrs. Kautz and several of the other ladies of the post, + and myself) were in a state of tremendous excitement. We pounded on Major + Wilhelm's door and we heard a faint voice from his bedroom (for it was + after ten o'clock); then we waited a few moments and he said, "Come in." + </p> + <p> + We opened the door, but there being no light in his quarters we could not + see him. A voice said: "What in the name of—" but we did not wait + for him to finish; we all shouted: "Where is Fort Niobrara?" "The Devil!" + he said. "Are we ordered there?" "Yes, yes," we cried; "where is it?" + "Why, girls," he said, relapsing into his customary moderate tones, "It's + a hell of a freezing cold place, away up north in Nebraska." + </p> + <p> + We turned our backs and went over to our quarters to have a consultation, + and we all retired with sad hearts. + </p> + <p> + Now, just think of it! To come to Fort Lowell in July, only to move in + November! What could it mean? It was hard to leave the sunny South, to + spend the winter in those congealed regions in the North. We were but just + settled, and now came another break-up! + </p> + <p> + Our establishment now, with two children, several servants, two saddle + horses, and additional household furnishings, was not so simple as in the + beginning of our army life, when three chests and a box or two contained + our worldly goods. Each move we made was more difficult than the last; our + allowance of baggage did not begin to cover what we had to take along, and + this added greatly to the expense of moving. + </p> + <p> + The enormous waste attending a move, and the heavy outlay incurred in + travelling and getting settled anew, kept us always poor; these + considerations increased our chagrin over this unexpected change of + station. There was nothing to be done, however. Orders are relentless, + even if they seem senseless, which this one did, to the women, at least, + of the Eighth Infantry. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0030" id="link2HCH0030"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXX. FORT NIOBRARA + </h2> + <p> + The journey itself, however, was not to be dreaded, although it was so + undesired. It was entirely by rail across New Mexico and Kansas, to St. + Joseph, then up the Missouri River and then across the state to the + westward. Finally, after four or five days, we reached the small frontier + town of Valentine, in the very northwest corner of the bleak and desolate + state of Nebraska. The post of Niobrara was four miles away, on the + Niobrara (swift water) River. + </p> + <p> + Some officers of the Ninth Cavalry met us at the station with the post + ambulances. There were six companies of our regiment, with headquarters + and band. + </p> + <p> + It was November, and the drive across the rolling prairie-land gave us a + fair glimpse of the country around. We crossed the old bridge over the + Niobrara River, and entered the post. The snow lay already on the brown + and barren hills, and the place struck a chill to my heart. + </p> + <p> + The Ninth Cavalry took care of all the officers' families until we could + get established. Lieutenant Bingham, a handsome and distinguished-looking + young bachelor, took us with our two children to his quarters, and made us + delightfully at home. His quarters were luxuriously furnished, and he was + altogether adorable. This, to be sure, helped to soften my first harsh + impressions of the place. + </p> + <p> + Quarters were not very plentiful, and we were compelled to take a house + occupied by a young officer of the Ninth. What base ingratitude it seemed, + after the kindness we had accepted from his regiment! But there was no + help for it. We secured a colored cook, who proved a very treasure, and on + inquiring how she came to be in those wilds, I learned that she had + accompanied a young heiress who eloped with a cavalry lieutenant, from her + home in New York some years before. + </p> + <p> + What a contrast was here, and what a cruel contrast! With blood thinned + down by the enervating summer at Tucson, here we were, thrust into the + polar regions! Ice and snow and blizzards, blizzards and snow and ice! The + mercury disappeared at the bottom of the thermometer, and we had nothing + to mark any degrees lower than 40 below zero. Human calculations had + evidently stopped there. Enormous box stoves were in every room and in the + halls; the old-fashioned sort that we used to see in school-rooms and + meeting-houses in New England. Into these, the soldiers stuffed great logs + of mountain mahogany, and the fires were kept roaring day and night. + </p> + <p> + A board walk ran in front of the officers' quarters, and, desperate for + fresh air and exercise, some of the ladies would bundle up and go to walk. + But frozen chins, ears and elbows soon made this undesirable, and we gave + up trying the fresh air, unless the mercury rose to 18 below, when a few + of us would take our daily promenade. + </p> + <p> + We could not complain of our fare, however, for our larder hung full of + all sorts of delicate and delicious things, brought in by the grangers, + and which we were glad to buy. Prairie-chickens, young pigs, venison, and + ducks, all hanging, to be used when desired. + </p> + <p> + To frappe a bottle of wine, we stood it on the porch; in a few minutes it + would pour crystals. House-keeping was easy, but keeping warm was + difficult. + </p> + <p> + It was about this time that the law was passed abolishing the + post-trader's store, and forbidding the selling of whiskey to soldiers on + a Government reservation. The pleasant canteen, or Post Exchange, the + soldiers' club-room, was established, where the men could go to relieve + the monotony of their lives. + </p> + <p> + With the abolition of whiskey, the tone of the post improved greatly; the + men were contented with a glass of beer or light wine, the canteen was + well managed, so the profits went back into the company messes in the + shape of luxuries heretofore unknown; billiards and reading-rooms were + established; and from that time on, the canteen came to be regarded in the + army as a most excellent institution. The men gained in self-respect; the + canteen provided them with a place where they could go and take a bite of + lunch, read, chat, smoke, or play games with their own chosen friends, and + escape the lonesomeness of the barracks. + </p> + <p> + But, alas! this condition of things was not destined to endure, for the + women of the various Temperance societies, in their mistaken zeal and + woeful ignorance of the soldiers' life, succeeded in influencing + legislation to such an extent that the canteen, in its turn, was + abolished; with what dire results, we of the army all know. + </p> + <p> + Those estimable women of the W. C. T. U. thought to do good to the army, + no doubt, but through their pitiful ignorance of the soldiers' needs they + have done him an incalculable harm. + </p> + <p> + Let them stay by their lectures and their clubs, I say, and their other + amusements; let them exercise their good influences nearer home, with a + class of people whose conditions are understood by them, where they can, + no doubt, do worlds of good. + </p> + <p> + They cannot know the drear monotony of the barracks life on the frontier + in times of peace. I have lived close by it, and I know it well. A + ceaseless round of drill and work and lessons, and work and lessons and + drill—no recreation, no excitement, no change. + </p> + <p> + Far away from family and all home companionship, a man longs for some + pleasant place to go, after the day's work is done. Perhaps these women + think (if, in their blind enthusiasm, they think at all) that a young + soldier or an old soldier needs no recreation. At all events, they have + taken from him the only one he had, the good old canteen, and given him + nothing in return. + </p> + <p> + Now Fort Niobrara was a large post. There were ten companies, cavalry and + infantry, General August V. Kautz, the Colonel of the Eighth Infantry, in + command. + </p> + <p> + And here, amidst the sand-hills of Nebraska, we first began to really know + our Colonel. A man of strong convictions and abiding honesty, a soldier + who knew his profession thoroughly, having not only achieved distinction + in the Civil War, but having served when little more than a boy, in the + Mexican War of 1846. Genial in his manners, brave and kind, he was beloved + by all. + </p> + <p> + The three Kautz children, Frankie, Austin, and Navarra, were the + inseparable companions of our own children. There was a small school for + the children of the post, and a soldier by the name of Delany was + schoolmaster. He tried hard to make our children learn, but they did not + wish to study, and spent all their spare time in planning tricks to be + played upon poor Delany. It was a difficult situation for the soldier. + Finally, the two oldest Kautz children were sent East to boarding-school, + and we also began to realize that something must be done. + </p> + <p> + Our surroundings during the early winter, it is true, had been dreary + enough, but as the weather softened a bit and the spring approached, the + post began to wake up. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime, Cupid had not been idle. It was observed that Mr. + Bingham, our gracious host of the Ninth Cavalry, had fallen in love with + Antoinette, the pretty and attractive daughter of Captain Lynch of our own + regiment, and the post began to be on the qui vive to see how the affair + would end, for nobody expects to see the course of true love run smooth. + In their case, however, the Fates were kind and in due time the happy + engagement was announced. + </p> + <p> + We had an excellent amusement hall, with a fine floor for dancing. The + chapel was at one end, and a fairly good stage was at the other. + </p> + <p> + Being nearer civilization now, in the state of Nebraska, Uncle Sam + provided us with a chaplain, and a weekly service was held by the Anglican + clergyman—a tall, well-formed man, a scholar and, as we say, a + gentleman. He wore the uniform of the army chaplain, and as far as looks + went could hold his own with any of the younger officers. And it was a + great comfort to the church people to have this weekly service. + </p> + <p> + During the rest of the time, the chapel was concealed by heavy curtains, + and the seats turned around facing the stage. + </p> + <p> + We had a good string orchestra of twenty or more pieces, and as there were + a number of active young bachelors at the post, a series of weekly dances + was inaugurated. Never did I enjoy dancing more than at this time. + </p> + <p> + Then Mrs. Kautz, who was a thorough music lover and had a cultivated taste + as well as a trained and exquisite voice, gave several musicales, for + which much preparation was made, and which were most delightful. These + were given at the quarters of General Kautz, a long, low, rambling + one-story house, arranged with that artistic taste for which Mrs. Kautz + was distinguished. + </p> + <p> + Then came theatricals, all managed by Mrs. Kautz, whose talents were + versatile. + </p> + <p> + We charged admission, for we needed some more scenery, and the neighboring + frontier town of Valentine came riding and driving over the prairie and + across the old bridge of the Niobrara River, to see our plays. We had a + well-lighted stage. Our methods were primitive, as there was no gas or + electricity there in those days, but the results were good, and the + histrionic ability shown by some of our young men and women seemed + marvellous to us. + </p> + <p> + I remember especially Bob Emmet's acting, which moved me to tears, in a + most pathetic love scene. I thought, "What has the stage lost, in this + gifted man!" + </p> + <p> + But he is of a family whose talents are well known, and his personality, + no doubt, added much to his natural ability as an actor. + </p> + <p> + Neither the army nor the stage can now claim this brilliant cavalry + officer, as he was induced, by urgent family reasons, shortly after the + period of which I am writing, to resign his commission and retire to + private life, at the very height of his ambitious career. + </p> + <p> + And now the summer came on apace. A tennis-court was made, and added + greatly to our amusement. We were in the saddle every day, and the country + around proved very attractive at this season, both for riding and driving. + </p> + <p> + But all this gayety did not content me, for the serious question of + education for our children now presented itself; the question which, + sooner or later, presents itself to the minds of all the parents of army + children. It is settled differently by different people. It had taken a + year for us to decide. + </p> + <p> + I made up my mind that the first thing to be done was to take the children + East and then decide on schools afterwards. So our plans were completed + and the day of departure fixed upon. Jack was to remain at the Post. + </p> + <p> + About an hour before I was to leave I saw the members of the string + orchestra filing across the parade ground, coming directly towards our + quarters. My heart began to beat faster, as I realized that Mrs. Kautz had + planned a serenade for me. I felt it was a great break in my army life, + but I did not know I was leaving the old regiment forever, the regiment + with which I had been associated for so many years. And as I listened to + the beautiful strains of the music I loved so well, my eyes were wet with + tears, and after all the goodbye's were said, to the officers and their + wives, my friends who had shared all our joys and our sorrows in so many + places and under so many conditions, I ran out to the stable and pressed + my cheek against the soft warm noses of our two saddle horses. I felt that + life was over for me, and nothing but work and care remained. I say I felt + all this. It must have been premonition, for I had no idea that I was + leaving the line of the army forever. + </p> + <p> + The ambulance was at the door, to take us to Valentine, where I bade Jack + good bye, and took the train for the East. His last promise was to visit + us once a year, or whenever he could get a leave of absence. + </p> + <p> + My husband had now worn the single bar on his shoulder-strap for eleven + years or more; before that, the straps of the second lieutenant had + adorned his broad shoulders for a period quite as long. Twenty-two years a + lieutenant in the regular army, after fighting, in a volunteer regiment of + his own state, through the four years of the Civil War! The "gallant and + meritorious service" for which he had received brevets, seemed, indeed, to + have been forgotten. He had grown grey in Indian campaigns, and it looked + as if the frontier might always be the home of the senior lieutenant of + the old Eighth. Promotion in that regiment had been at a standstill for + years. + </p> + <p> + Being in Washington for a short time towards mid-winter enjoying the + social side of military life at the Capital, an opportunity came to me to + meet President Cleveland, and although his administration was nearing its + close, and the stress of official cares was very great, he seemed to have + leisure and interest to ask me about my life on the frontier; and as the + conversation became quite personal, the impulse seized me, to tell him + just how I felt about the education of our children, and then to tell him + what I thought and what others thought about the unjust way in which the + promotions and retirements in our regiment had been managed. + </p> + <p> + He listened with the greatest interest and seemed pleased with my + frankness. He asked me what the soldiers and officers out there thought of + "So and So." "They hate him," I said. + </p> + <p> + Whereupon he laughed outright and I knew I had committed an indiscretion, + but life on the frontier does not teach one diplomacy of speech, and by + that time I was nerved up to say just what I felt, regardless of results. + </p> + <p> + "Well," he said, smiling, "I am afraid I cannot interfere much with those + military matters;" then, pointing with his left hand and thumb towards the + War Department, "they fix them all up over there in the Adjutant General's + office," he added. + </p> + <p> + Then he asked me many more questions; if I had always stayed out there + with my husband, and why I did not live in the East, as so many army women + did; and all the time I could hear the dull thud of the carpenters' + hammers, for they were building even then the board seats for the public + who would witness the inaugural ceremonies of his successor, and with each + stroke of the hammer, his face seemed to grow more sad. + </p> + <p> + I felt the greatness of the man; his desire to be just and good: his + marvellous personal power, his ability to understand and to sympathize, + and when I parted from him he said again laughingly, "Well, I shall not + forget your husband's regiment, and if anything turns up for those fine + men you have told me about, they will hear from me." And I knew they were + the words of a man, who meant what he said. + </p> + <p> + In the course of our conversation he had asked, "Who are these men? Do + they ever come to Washington? I rarely have these things explained to me + and I have little time to interfere with the decisions of the Adjutant + General's office." + </p> + <p> + I replied: "No, Mr. President, they are not the men you see around + Washington. Our regiment stays on the frontier, and these men are the ones + who do the fighting, and you people here in Washington are apt to forget + all about them." + </p> + <p> + "What have they ever done? Were they in the Civil War?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + "Their records stand in black and white in the War Department," I replied, + "if you have the interest to learn more about them." + </p> + <p> + "Women's opinions are influenced by their feelings," he said. + </p> + <p> + "Mine are based upon what I know, and I am prepared to stand by my + convictions," I replied. + </p> + <p> + Soon after this interview, I returned to New York and I did not give the + matter very much further thought, but my impression of the greatness of + Mr. Cleveland and of his powerful personality has remained with me to this + day. + </p> + <p> + A vacancy occurred about this time in the Quartermaster's Department, and + the appointment was eagerly sought for by many Lieutenants of the army. + President Cleveland saw fit to give the appointment to Lieutenant + Summerhayes, making him a Captain and Quartermaster, and then, another + vacancy occurring shortly after, he appointed Lieutenant John McEwen Hyde + to be also a Captain and Quartermaster. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant Hyde stood next in rank to my husband and had grown grey in the + old Eighth Infantry. So the regiment came in for its honor at last, and + General Kautz, when the news of the second appointment reached him, + exclaimed, "Well! well! does the President think my regiment a nursery for + the Staff?" + </p> + <p> + The Eighth Foot and the Ninth Horse at Niobrara gave the new Captain and + Quartermaster a rousing farewell, for now my husband was leaving his old + regiment forever; and, while he appreciated fully the honor of his new + staff position, he felt a sadness at breaking off the associations of so + many years—a sadness which can scarcely be understood by the young + officers of the present day, who are promoted from one regiment to + another, and rarely remain long enough with one organization to know even + the men of their own Company. + </p> + <p> + There were many champagne suppers, dinners and card-parties given for him, + to make the good-bye something to be remembered, and at the end of a + week's festivities, he departed by a night train from Valentine, thus + eluding the hospitality of those generous but wild frontiersmen, who were + waiting to give him what they call out there a "send-off." + </p> + <p> + For Valentine was like all frontier towns; a row of stores and saloons. + The men who kept them were generous, if somewhat rough. One of the + officers of the post, having occasion to go to the railroad station one + day at Valentine, saw the body of a man hanging to a telegraph pole a + short distance up the track. He said to the station man: "What does that + mean?" (nodding his head in the direction of the telegraph pole). + </p> + <p> + "Why, it means just this," said the station man, "the people who hung that + man last night had the nerve to put him right in front of this place, by G—. + What would the passengers think of this town, sir, as they went by? Why, + the reputation of Valentine would be ruined! Yes, sir, we cut him down and + moved him up a pole or two. He was a hard case, though," he added. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0031" id="link2HCH0031"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXI. SANTA FE + </h2> + <p> + I made haste to present Captain Summerhayes with the shoulder-straps of + his new rank, when he joined me in New York. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The orders for Santa Fe reached us in mid-summer at Nantucket. I knew + about as much of Santa Fe as the average American knows, and that was + nothing; but I did know that the Staff appointment solved the problem of + education for us (for Staff officers are usually stationed in cities), and + I knew that our frontier life was over. I welcomed the change, for our + children were getting older, and we were ourselves approaching the age + when comfort means more to one than it heretofore has. + </p> + <p> + Jack obeyed his sudden orders, and I followed him as soon as possible. + </p> + <p> + Arriving at Santa Fe in the mellow sunlight of an October day, we were met + by my husband and an officer of the Tenth Infantry, and as we drove into + the town, its appearance of placid content, its ancient buildings, its + great trees, its clear air, its friendly, indolent-looking inhabitants, + gave me a delightful feeling of home. A mysterious charm seemed to possess + me. It was the spell which that old town loves to throw over the strangers + who venture off the beaten track to come within her walls. + </p> + <p> + Lying only eighteen miles away, over a small branch road from Llamy (a + station on the Atchison and Topeka Railroad), few people take the trouble + to stop over to visit it. "Dead old town," says the commercial traveller, + "nothing doing there." + </p> + <p> + And it is true. + </p> + <p> + But no spot that I have visited in this country has thrown around me the + spell of enchantment which held me fast in that sleepy and historic town. + </p> + <p> + The Governor's Palace, the old plaza, the ancient churches, the antiquated + customs, the Sisters' Hospital, the old Convent of Our Lady of Loretto, + the soft music of the Spanish tongue, I loved them all. + </p> + <p> + There were no factories; no noise was ever heard; the sun shone peacefully + on, through winter and summer alike. There was no cold, no heat, but a + delightful year-around climate. Why the place was not crowded with health + seekers, was a puzzle to me. I had thought that the bay of San Francisco + offered the most agreeable climate in America, but, in the Territory of + New Mexico, Santa Fe was the perfection of all climates combined. + </p> + <p> + The old city lies in the broad valley of the Santa Fe Creek, but the + valley of the Santa Fe Creek lies seven thousand feet above the sea level. + I should never have known that we were living at a great altitude, if I + had not been told, for the equable climate made us forget to inquire about + height or depth or distance. + </p> + <p> + I listened to old Father de Fourri preach his short sermons in English to + the few Americans who sat on one side of the aisle, in the church of Our + Lady of Guadaloupe; then, turning with an easy gesture towards his Mexican + congregation, who sat or knelt near the sanctuary, and saying, "Hermanos + mios," he gave the same discourse in good Spanish. I felt comfortable in + the thought that I was improving my Spanish as well as profiting by Father + de Fourri's sound logic. This good priest had grown old at Santa Fe in the + service of his church. + </p> + <p> + The Mexican women, with their black ribosos wound around their heads and + concealing their faces, knelt during the entire mass, and made many long + responses in Latin. + </p> + <p> + After years spent in a heathenish manner, as regards all church + observations, this devout and unique service, following the customs of + ancient Spain, was interesting to me in the extreme. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes on a Sunday afternoon I attended Vespers in the chapel of the + Sisters' Hospital (as it was called). A fine Sanitarium, managed entirely + by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity. + </p> + <p> + Sister Victoria, who was at the head of the management, was not only a + very beautiful woman, but she had an agreeable voice and always led in the + singing. + </p> + <p> + It seemed like Heaven. + </p> + <p> + I wrote to my friends in the East to come to the Sisters' Hospital if they + wanted health, peace and happiness, for it was surely to be found there. I + visited the convent of Our Lady of Loretto: I stood before a high wall in + an embrasure of which there was a low wooden gate; I pulled on a small + knotted string which hung out of a little hole, and a queer old bell rang. + Then one of the nuns came and let me in, across a beautiful garden to the + convent school. I placed my little daughter as a day pupil there, as she + was now eleven years old. The nuns spoke very little English and the + children none at all. + </p> + <p> + The entire city was ancient, Spanish, Catholic, steeped in a religious + atmosphere and in what the average American Protestant would call the + superstitions of the dark ages. There were endless fiestas, and + processions and religious services, I saw them all and became much + interested in reading the history of the Catholic missions, established so + early out through what was then a wild and unexplored country. After that, + I listened with renewed interest to old Father de Fouri, who had tended + and led his flock of simple people so long and so lovingly. + </p> + <p> + There was a large painting of Our Lady of Guadaloupe over the altar—these + people firmly believed that she had appeared to them, on the earth, and so + strong was the influence around me that I began almost to believe it too. + I never missed the Sunday morning mass, and I fell in easily with the + religious observances. + </p> + <p> + I read and studied about the old explorers, and I seemed to live in the + time of Cortez and his brave band. I became acquainted with Adolf + Bandelier, who had lived for years in that country, engaged in research + for the American Archaeological Society. I visited the Indian pueblos, + those marvellous structures of adobe, where live entire tribes, and saw + natives who have not changed their manner of speech or dress since the + days when the Spaniards first penetrated to their curious dwellings, three + hundred or more years ago. I climbed the rickety ladders, by which one + enters these strange dwellings, and bought the great bowls which these + Indians shape in some manner without the assistance of a potter's wheel, + and then bake in their mud ovens. + </p> + <p> + The pueblo of Tesuque is only nine miles from Santa Fe, and a pleasant + drive, at that; it seemed strange to me that the road was not lined with + tourists. But no, they pass all these wonders by, in their disinclination + to go off the beaten track. + </p> + <p> + Visiting the pueblos gets to be a craze. Governor and Mrs. Prince knew + them all—the pueblo of Taos, of Santa Clara, San Juan, and others; + and the Governor's collection of great stone idols was a marvel indeed. He + kept them laid out on shelves, which resembled the bunks on a great + vessel, and in an apartment especially reserved for them, in his residence + at Santa Fe, and it was always with considerable awe that I entered that + apartment. The Governor occupied at that time a low, rambling adobe house, + on Palace Avenue, and this, with its thick walls and low window-seats, + made a fit setting for the treasures they had gathered. + </p> + <p> + Later on, the Governor's family occupied the palace (as it is always + called) of the old Spanish Viceroy, a most ancient, picturesque, yet + dignified building, facing the plaza. + </p> + <p> + The various apartments in this old palace were used for Government offices + when we were stationed there in 1889, and in one of these rooms, General + Lew Wallace, a few years before, had written his famous book, "Ben Hur." + </p> + <p> + On the walls were hanging old portraits painted by the Spaniards in the + sixteenth century. They were done on rawhide, and whether these + interesting and historic pictures have been preserved by our Government I + do not know. + </p> + <p> + The distinguished Anglican clergyman living there taught a small class of + boys, and the "Academy," an excellent school established by the + Presbyterian Board of Missions, afforded good advantages for the young + girls of the garrison. And as we had found that the Convent of Loretto was + not just adapted to the education of an American child, we withdrew + Katharine from that school and placed her at the Presbyterian Academy. + </p> + <p> + To be sure, the young woman teacher gave a rousing lecture on total + abstinence once a week; going even so far as to say, that to partake of + apple sauce which had begun to ferment was yielding to the temptations of + Satan. The young woman's arguments made a disastrous impression upon our + children's minds; so much so, that the rich German Jews whose daughters + attended the school complained greatly; for, as they told us, these girls + would hasten to snatch the decanters from the sideboard, at the approach + of visitors, and hide them, and they began to sit in judgment upon their + elders. Now these men were among the leading citizens of the town; they + were self-respecting and wealthy. They could not stand these extreme + doctrines, so opposed to their life and their traditions. We informed Miss + X. one day that she could excuse our children from the total abstinence + lecture, or we should be compelled to withdraw them from the school. She + said she could not compel them to listen, but preach she must. She + remained obedient to her orders from the Board, and we could but respect + her for that. Our young daughters were, however, excused from the lecture. + </p> + <p> + But our time was not entirely given up to the study of ancient pottery, + for the social life there was delightful. The garrison was in the centre + of the town, the houses were comfortable, and the streets shaded by old + trees. The Tenth Infantry had its headquarters and two companies there. + Every afternoon, the military band played in the Plaza, where everybody + went and sat on benches in the shade of the old trees, or, if cool, in the + delightful sunshine. The pretty and well-dressed senoritas cast shy + glances at the young officers of the Tenth; but, alas! the handsome and + attractive Lieutenants Van Vliet and Seyburn, and the more sedate + Lieutenant Plummer, could not return these bewitching glances, as they + were all settled in life. + </p> + <p> + The two former officers had married in Detroit, and both Mrs. Van Vliet + and Mrs. Seyburn did honor to the beautiful city of Michigan, for they + were most agreeable and clever women, and presided over their army homes + with distinguished grace and hospitality. + </p> + <p> + The Americans who lived there were all professional people; mostly + lawyers, and a few bankers. I could not understand why so many Eastern + lawyers lived there. I afterwards learned that the old Spanish land grants + had given rise to illimitable and never-ending litigation. + </p> + <p> + Every morning we rode across country. There were no fences, but the wide + irrigation ditches gave us a plenty of excitement, and the riding was + glorious. I had no occasion yet to realize that we had left the line of + the army. + </p> + <p> + A camping trip to the head-waters of the Pecos, where we caught speckled + trout in great abundance in the foaming riffles and shallow pools of this + rushing mountain stream, remaining in camp a week under the spreading + boughs of the mighty pines, added to the variety and delights of our life + there. + </p> + <p> + With such an existence as this, good health and diversion, the time passed + rapidly by. + </p> + <p> + It was against the law now for soldiers to marry; the old days of + "laundresses" had passed away. But the trombone player of the Tenth + Infantry band (a young Boston boy) had married a wife, and now a baby had + come to them. They could get no quarters, so we took the family in, and, + as the wife was an excellent cook, we were able to give many small + dinners. The walls of the house being three feet thick, we were never + troubled by the trombone practice or the infant's cries. And many a + delightful evening we had around the board, with Father de Fourri, Rev. + Mr. Meany (the Anglican clergyman), the officers and ladies of the Tenth, + Governor and Mrs. Prince, and the brilliant lawyer folk of Santa Fe. + </p> + <p> + Such an ideal life cannot last long; this existence of ours does not seem + to be contrived on those lines. At the end of a year, orders came for + Texas, and perhaps it was well that orders came, or we might be in Santa + Fe to-day, wrapt in a dream of past ages; for the city of the Holy Faith + had bound us with invisible chains. + </p> + <p> + With our departure from Santa Fe, all picturesqueness came to an end in + our army life. Ever after that, we had really good houses to live in, + which had all modern arrangements; we had beautiful, well-kept lawns and + gardens, the same sort of domestic service that civilians have, and lived + almost the same life. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0032" id="link2HCH0032"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXII. TEXAS + </h2> + <p> + Whenever I think of San Antonio and Fort Sam Houston, the perfume of the + wood violet which blossomed in mid-winter along the borders of our lawn, + and the delicate odor of the Cape jessamine, seem to be wafted about me. + </p> + <p> + Fort Sam Houston is the Headquarters of the Department of Texas, and all + the Staff officers live there, in comfortable stone houses, with broad + lawns shaded by chinaberry trees. Then at the top of the hill is a great + quadrangle, with a clock tower and all the department offices. On the + other side of this quadrangle is the post, where the line officers live. + </p> + <p> + General Stanley commanded the Department. A fine, dignified and able man, + with a great record as an Indian fighter. Jack knew him well, as he had + been with him in the first preliminary survey for the northern Pacific + Railroad, when he drove old Sitting Bull back to the Powder River. + </p> + <p> + He was now about to reach the age of retirement; and as the day + approached, that day when a man has reached the limit of his usefulness + (in the opinion of an ever-wise Government), that day which sounds the + knell of active service, that day so dreaded and yet so longed for, that + day when an army officer is sixty-four years old and Uncle Sam lays him + upon the shelf, as that day approached, the city of San Antonio, in fact + the entire State of Texas poured forth to bid him Godspeed; for if ever an + army man was beloved, it was General Stanley by the State of Texas. + </p> + <p> + Now on the other side of the great quadrangle lay the post, where were the + soldiers' barracks and quarters of the line officers. This was commanded + by Colonel Coppinger, a gallant officer, who had fought in many wars in + many countries. + </p> + <p> + He had his famous regiment, the Twenty-third Infantry, and many were the + pleasant dances and theatricals we had, with the music furnished by their + band; for, as it was a time of peace, the troops were all in garrison. + </p> + <p> + Major Burbank was there also, with his well-drilled Light Battery of the + 3rd Artillery. + </p> + <p> + My husband, being a Captain and Quartermaster, served directly under + General George H. Weeks, who was Chief Quartermaster of the Department, + and I can never forget his kindness to us both. He was one of the best men + I ever knew, in the army or out of it, and came to be one of my dearest + friends. He possessed the sturdy qualities of his Puritan ancestry, united + with the charming manners of an aristocrat. + </p> + <p> + We belonged, of course, now, with the Staff, and something, an intangible + something, seemed to have gone out of the life. The officers were all + older, and the Staff uniforms were more sombre. I missed the white stripe + of the infantry, and the yellow of the cavalry. The shoulder-straps all + had gold eagles or leaves on them, instead of the Captains' or + Lieutenants' bars. Many of the Staff officers wore civilians' clothes, + which distressed me much, and I used to tell them that if I were Secretary + of War they would not be permitted to go about in black alpaca coats and + cinnamon-brown trousers. + </p> + <p> + "What would you have us do?" said General Weeks. + </p> + <p> + "Wear white duck and brass buttons," I replied. + </p> + <p> + "Fol-de-rol!" said the fine-looking and erect Chief Quartermaster; "you + would have us be as vain as we were when we were Lieutenants?" + </p> + <p> + "You can afford to be," I answered; for, even with his threescore years, + he had retained the lines of youth, and was, in my opinion, the finest + looking man in the Staff of the Army. + </p> + <p> + But all my reproaches and all my diplomacy were of no avail in reforming + the Staff. Evidently comfort and not looks was their motto. + </p> + <p> + One day, I accidentally caught a side view of myself in a long mirror + (long mirrors had not been very plentiful on the frontier), and was + appalled by the fact that my own lines corresponded but too well, alas! + with those of the Staff. Ah, me! were the days, then, of Lieutenants + forever past and gone? The days of suppleness and youth, the careless gay + days, when there was no thought for the future, no anxiety about + education, when the day began with a wild dash across country and ended + with a dinner and dance—-were they over, then, for us all? + </p> + <p> + Major Burbank's battery of light artillery came over and enlivened the + quiet of our post occasionally with their brilliant red color. At those + times, we all went out and stood in the music pavilion to watch the drill; + and when his horses and guns and caissons thundered down the hill and + swept by us at a terrific gallop, our hearts stood still. Even the + dignified Staff permitted themselves a thrill, and as for us women, our + excitement knew no bounds. + </p> + <p> + The brilliant red of the artillery brought color to the rather grey aspect + of the quiet Headquarters post, and the magnificent drill supplied the + martial element so dear to a woman's heart. + </p> + <p> + In San Antonio, the New has almost obliterated the Old, and little remains + except its pretty green river, its picturesque bridges, and the historic + Alamo, to mark it from other cities in the Southwest. + </p> + <p> + In the late afternoon, everybody drove to the Plaza, where all the country + people were selling their garden-stuff and poultry in the open square. + This was charming, and we all bought live fowl and drove home again. One + heard cackling and gobbling from the smart traps and victorias, and it + seemed to be a survival of an old custom. The whole town took a drive + after that, and supped at eight o'clock. + </p> + <p> + The San Antonio people believe there is no climate to equal theirs, and + talk much about the cool breezes from the Gulf of Mexico, which is some + miles away. But I found seven months of the twelve too hot for comfort, + and I could never detect much coolness in the summer breezes. + </p> + <p> + After I settled down to the sedateness which is supposed to belong to the + Staff, I began to enjoy life very much. There is compensation for every + loss, and I found, with the new friends, many of whom had lived their + lives, and had known sorrow and joy, a true companionship which enriched + my life, and filled the days with gladness. + </p> + <p> + My son had completed the High School course in San Antonio, under an able + German master, and had been sent East to prepare for the Stevens Institute + of Technology, and in the following spring I took my daughter Katharine + and fled from the dreaded heat of a Texas summer. Never can I forget the + child's grief on parting from her Texas pony. She extorted a solemn + promise from her father, who was obliged to stay in Texas, that he would + never part with him. + </p> + <p> + My brother, then unmarried, and my sister Harriet were living together in + New Rochelle and to them we went. Harry's vacation enabled him to be with + us, and we had a delightful summer. It was good to be on the shores of + Long Island Sound. + </p> + <p> + In the autumn, not knowing what next was in store for us, I placed my dear + little Katharine at the Convent of the Sacred Heart at Kenwood on the + Hudson, that she might be able to complete her education in one place, and + in the care of those lovely, gentle and refined ladies of that order. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after that, Captain Jack was ordered to David's Island, New York + Harbor (now called Fort Slocum), where we spent four happy and + uninterrupted years, in the most constant intercourse with my dear brother + and sister. + </p> + <p> + Old friends were coming and going all the time, and it seemed so good to + us to be living in a place where this was possible. + </p> + <p> + Captain Summerhayes was constructing officer and had a busy life, with all + the various sorts of building to be done there. + </p> + <p> + David's Island was then an Artillery Post, and there were several + batteries stationed there. (Afterwards it became a recruiting station.) + The garrison was often entirely changed. At one time, General Henry C. + Cook was in command. He and his charming Southern wife added so much to + the enjoyment of the post. Then came our old friends the Van Vliets of + Santa Fe days; and Dr. and Mrs. Valery Havard, who are so well known in + the army, and then Colonel Carl Woodruff and Mrs. Woodruff, whom we all + liked so much, and dear Doctor Julian Cabell, and others, who completed a + delightful garrison. + </p> + <p> + And we had a series of informal dances and invited the distinguished + members of the artist colony from New Rochelle, and it was at one of these + dances that I first met Frederic Remington. I had long admired his work + and had been most anxious to meet him. As a rule, Frederic did not attend + any social functions, but he loved the army, and as Mrs. Remington was + fond of social life, they were both present at our first little invitation + dance. + </p> + <p> + About the middle of the evening I noticed Mr. Remington sitting alone and + I crossed the hall and sat down beside him. I then told him how much I had + loved his work and how it appealed to all army folks, and how glad I was + to know him, and I suppose I said many other things such as literary men + and painters and players often have to hear from enthusiastic women like + myself. However, Frederic seemed pleased, and made some modest little + speech and then fell into an abstracted silence, gazing on the great flag + which was stretched across the hall at one end, and from behind which some + few soldiers who were going to assist in serving the supper were passing + in and out. I fell in with his mood immediately, as he was a person with + whom formality was impossible, and said: "What are you looking at, Mr. + Remington?" He replied, turning upon me his round boyish face and his blue + eyes gladdening, "I was just thinking I wished I was behind in there where + those blue jackets are—you know—behind that flag with the + soldiers—those are the men I like to study, you know, I don't like + all this fuss and feathers of society"—then, blushing at his lack of + gallantry, he added: "It's all right, of course, pretty women and all + that, and I suppose you think I'm dreadful and—do you want me to + dance with you—that's the proper thing here isn't it?" Whereupon, he + seized me in his great arms and whirled me around at a pace I never + dreamed of, and, once around, he said, "that's enough of this thing, isn't + it, let's sit down, I believe I'm going to like you, though I'm not much + for women." I said "You must come over here often;" and he replied, + "You've got a lot of jolly good fellows over here and I will do it." + </p> + <p> + Afterwards, the Remingtons and ourselves became the closest friends. Mrs. + Remington's maiden name was Eva Caton, and after the first few meetings, + she became "little Eva" to me—and if ever there was an embodiment of + that gentle lovely name and what it implies, it is this woman, the wife of + the great artist, who has stood by him through all the reverses of his + early life and been, in every sense, his guiding star. + </p> + <p> + And now began visits to the studio, a great room he had built on to his + house at New Rochelle. It had an enormous fire place where great logs were + burned, and the walls were hung with the most rare and wonderful Indian + curios. There he did all the painting which has made him famous in the + last twenty years, and all the modelling which has already become so well + known and would have eventually made him a name as a great sculptor. He + always worked steadily until three o'clock and then there was a walk or + game of tennis or a ride. After dinner, delightful evenings in the studio. + </p> + <p> + Frederic was a student and a deep thinker. He liked to solve all questions + for himself and did not accept readily other men's theories. He thought + much on religious subjects and the future life, and liked to compare the + Christian religion with the religions of Eastern countries, weighing them + one against the other with fairness and clear logic. + </p> + <p> + And so we sat, many evenings into the night, Frederic and Jack stretched + in their big leather chairs puffing away at their pipes, Eva with her + needlework, and myself a rapt listener: wondering at this man of genius, + who could work with his creative brush all day long and talk with the + eloquence of a learned Doctor of Divinity half the night. + </p> + <p> + During the time we were stationed at Davids Island, Mr. Remington and Jack + made a trip to the Southwest, where they shot the peccary (wild hog) in + Texas and afterwards blue quail and other game in Mexico. Artist and + soldier, they got on famously together notwithstanding the difference in + their ages. + </p> + <p> + And now he was going to try his hand at a novel, a real romance. We talked + a good deal about the little Indian boy, and I got to love White Weasel + long before he appeared in print as John Ermine. The book came out after + we had left New Rochelle—but I received a copy from him, and wrote + him my opinion of it, which was one of unstinted praise. But it did not + surprise me to learn that he did not consider it a success from a + financial point of view. + </p> + <p> + "You see," he said a year afterwards, "that sort of thing does not + interest the public. What they want,"—here he began to mimic some + funny old East Side person, and both hands gesticulating—"is a back + yard and a cabbage patch and a cook stove and babies' clothes drying + beside it, you see, Mattie," he said. "They don't want to know anything + about the Indian or the half-breed, or what he thinks or believes." And + then he went off into one of his irresistible tirades combining ridicule + and abuse of the reading public, in language such as only Frederic + Remington could use before women and still retain his dignity. "Well, + Frederic," I said, "I will try to recollect that, when I write my + experiences of Army Life." + </p> + <p> + In writing him my opinion of his book the year before, I had said, "In + fact, I am in love with John Ermine." The following Christmas he sent me + the accompanying card. + </p> + <p> + Now the book was dramatized and produced, with Hackett as John Ermine, at + the Globe Theatre in September of 1902—the hottest weather ever on + record in Boston at that season. Of course seats were reserved for us; we + were living at Nantucket that year, and we set sail at noon to see the + great production. We snatched a bite of supper at a near-by hotel in + Boston and hurried to the theatre, but being late, had some difficulty in + getting our seats. + </p> + <p> + The curtain was up and there sat Hackett, not with long yellow hair (which + was the salient point in the half-breed scout) but rather well-groomed, + looking more like a parlor Indian than a real live half-breed, such as all + we army people knew. I thought "this will never do." + </p> + <p> + The house was full, Hackett did the part well, and the audience murmured + on going out: "a very artistic success." But the play was too mystical, + too sad. It would have suited the "New Theatre" patrons better. I wrote + him from Nantucket and criticized one or two minor points, such as the + 1850 riding habits of the women, which were slouchy and unbecoming and + made the army people look like poor emigrants and I received this letter + in reply: + </p> + <p> + WEBSTER AVENUE, NEW ROCHELLE, N. Y. + </p> + <p> + My dear Mrs. S., + </p> + <p> + Much obliged for your talk—it is just what we want—proper + impressions. + </p> + <p> + I fought for that long hair but the management said the audience has got + to, have some Hackett—why I could not see—but he is a matinee + idol and that long with the box office. + </p> + <p> + We'll dress Katherine up better. + </p> + <p> + The long rehearsals at night nearly killed me—I was completely done + up and came home on train Monday in that terrific heat and now I am in the + hands of a doctor. Imagine me a week without sleep. + </p> + <p> + Hope that fight took Jack back to his youth. For the stage I don't think + it was bad. We'll get grey shirts on their men later. + </p> + <p> + The old lady arrives to-day—she has been in Gloversville. + </p> + <p> + I think the play will go—but, we may have to save Ermine. The public + is a funny old cat and won't stand for the mustard. + </p> + <p> + Well, glad you had a good time and of course you can't charge me up with + the heat. + </p> + <p> + Yours, FREDERICK R. + </p> + <p> + Remington made a trip to the Yellowstone Park and this is what he wrote to + Jack. His letters were never dated. + </p> + <p> + My dear Summerhayes: + </p> + <p> + Say if you could get a few puffs of this cold air out here you would think + you were full of champagne water. I feel like a d—- kid— + </p> + <p> + I thought I should never be young again—but here I am only 14 years + old—my whiskers are falling out. + </p> + <p> + Capt. Brown of the 1st cav. wishes to be remembered to you both. He is + Park Superintendent. Says if you will come out here he will take care of + you and he would. + </p> + <p> + Am painting and doing some good work. Made a "govt. six" yesterday. + </p> + <p> + In the course of time, he bought an Island in the St. Lawrence and they + spent several summers there. + </p> + <p> + On the occasion of my husband accepting a detail in active service in + Washington at the Soldiers' Home, after his retirement, he received the + following letter. + </p> + <p> + INGLENEUK, CHIPPEWA BAY, N. Y. + </p> + <p> + My dear Jack— + </p> + <p> + So there you are—and I'm d—- glad you are so nicely fixed. + It's the least they could do for you and you ought to be able to enjoy it + for ten years before they find any spavins on you if you will behave + yourself, but I guess you will drift into that Army and Navy Club and + round up with a lot of those old alkalied prairie-dogs whom neither + Indians nor whiskey could kill and Mr. Gout will take you over his route + to Arlington. + </p> + <p> + I'm on the water wagon and I feel like a young mule. I am never going to + get down again to try the walking. If I lose my whip I am going to drive + right on and leave it. + </p> + <p> + We are having a fine summer and I may run over to Washington this winter + and throw my eye over you to see how you go. We made a trip down to New + Foundland but saw nothing worth while. I guess I am getting to be an old + swat—I can't see anything that didn't happen twenty years ago, + </p> + <p> + Y— FREDERICK R. + </p> + <p> + At the close of the year just gone, this great soul passed from the earth + leaving a blank in our lives that nothing can ever fill. Passed into the + great Beyond whose mysteries were always troubling his mind. Suddenly and + swiftly the call came—the hand was stilled and the restless spirit + took its flight. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0033" id="link2HCH0033"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXIII. DAVID'S ISLAND + </h2> + <p> + At Davids' Island the four happiest years of my army life glided swiftly + away. + </p> + <p> + There was a small steam tug which made regular and frequent trips over to + New Rochelle and we enjoyed our intercourse with the artists and players + who lived there. + </p> + <p> + Zogbaum, whose well known pictures of sailors and warships and soldiers + had reached us even in the far West, and whose charming family added so + much to our pleasure. + </p> + <p> + Julian Hawthorne with his daughter Hildegarde, now so well known as a + literary critic; Henry Loomis Nelson, whose fair daughter Margaret came to + our little dances and promptly fell in love with a young, slim, straight + Artillery officer. A case of love at first sight, followed by a short + courtship and a beautiful little country wedding at Miss Nelson's home on + the old Pelham Road, where Hildegarde Hawthorne was bridesmaid in a white + dress and scarlet flowers (the artillery colors) and many famous literary + people from everywhere were present. + </p> + <p> + Augustus Thomas, the brilliant playwright, whose home was near the + Remingtons on Lathers' Hill, and whose wife, so young, so beautiful and so + accomplished, made that home attractive and charming. + </p> + <p> + Francis Wilson, known to the world at large, first as a singer in comic + opera, and now as an actor and author, also lived in New Rochelle, and we + came to have the honor of being numbered amongst his friends. A devoted + husband and kind father, a man of letters and a book lover, such is the + man as we knew him in his home and with his family. + </p> + <p> + And now came the delicious warm summer days. We persuaded the + Quartermaster to prop up the little row of old bathing houses which had + toppled over with the heavy winter gales. There were several bathing + enthusiasts amongst us; we had a pretty fair little stretch of beach which + was set apart for the officers' families, and now what bathing parties we + had! Kemble, the illustrator, joined our ranks—and on a warm summer + morning the little old Tug Hamilton was gay with the artists and their + families, the players and writers of plays, and soon you could see the + little garrison hastening to the beach and the swimmers running down the + long pier, down the run-way and off head first into the clear waters of + the Sound. What a company was that! The younger and the older ones all + together, children and their fathers and mothers, all happy, all well, all + so gay, and we of the frontier so enamored of civilization and what it + brought us! There were no intruders and ah! those were happy days. Uncle + Sam seemed to be making up to us for what we had lost during all those + long years in the wild places. + </p> + <p> + Then Augustus Thomas wrote the play of "Arizona" and we went to New York + to see it put on, and we sat in Mr. Thomas' box and saw our frontier life + brought before us with startling reality. + </p> + <p> + And so one season followed another. Each bringing its pleasures, and then + came another lovely wedding, for my brother Harry gave up his bachelor + estate and married one of the nicest and handsomest girls in Westchester + County, and their home in New Rochelle was most attractive. My son was at + the Stevens Institute and both he and Katharine were able to spend their + vacations at David's Island, and altogether, our life there was near to + perfection. + </p> + <p> + We were doomed to have one more tour in the West, however, and this time + it was the Middle West. + </p> + <p> + For in the autumn of '96, Jack was ordered to Jefferson Barracks, + Missouri, on construction work. + </p> + <p> + Jefferson Barracks is an old and historic post on the Mississippi River, + some ten miles south of St. Louis. I could not seem to take any interest + in the post or in the life there. I could not form new ties so quickly, + after our life on the coast, and I did not like the Mississippi Valley, + and St. Louis was too far from the post, and the trolley ride over there + too disagreeable for words. After seven months of just existing (on my + part) at Jefferson Barracks, Jack received an order for Fort Myer, the + end, the aim, the dream of all army people. Fort Myer is about three miles + from Washington, D. C. + </p> + <p> + We lost no time in getting there and were soon settled in our pleasant + quarters. There was some building to be done, but the duty was + comparatively light, and we entered with considerable zest into the social + life of the Capital. We expected to remain there for two years, at the end + of which time Captain Summerhayes would be retired and Washington would be + our permanent home. + </p> + <p> + But alas! our anticipation was never to be realized, for, as we all know, + in May of 1898, the Spanish War broke out, and my husband was ordered to + New York City to take charge of the Army Transport Service, under Colonel + Kimball. + </p> + <p> + No delay was permitted to him, so I was left behind, to pack up the + household goods and to dispose of our horses and carriages as best I + could. + </p> + <p> + The battle of Manila Bay had changed the current of our lives, and we were + once more adrift. + </p> + <p> + The young Cavalry officers came in to say good-bye to Captain Jack: every + one was busy packing up his belongings for an indefinite period and + preparing for the field. We all felt the undercurrent of sadness and + uncertainty, but "a good health" and "happy return" was drunk all around, + and Jack departed at midnight for his new station and new duties. + </p> + <p> + The next morning at daybreak we were awakened by the tramp, tramp of the + Cavalry, marching out of the post, en route for Cuba. + </p> + <p> + We peered out of the windows and watched the troops we loved so well, + until every man and horse had vanished from our sight. + </p> + <p> + Fort Myer was deserted and our hearts were sad. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + My sister Harriet, who was visiting us at that time, returned from her + morning walk, and as she stepped upon the porch, she said: "Well! of all + lonesome places I ever saw, this is the worst yet. I am going to pack my + trunk and leave. I came to visit an army post, but not an old women's home + or an orphan asylum: that is about all this place is now. I simply cannot + stay!" + </p> + <p> + Whereupon, she proceeded immediately to carry out her resolution, and I + was left behind with my young daughter, to finish and close up our life at + Fort Myer. + </p> + <p> + To describe the year which followed, that strenuous year in New York, is + beyond my power. + </p> + <p> + That summer gave Jack his promotion to a Major, but the anxiety and the + terrible strain of official work broke down his health entirely, and in + the following winter the doctors sent him to Florida, to recuperate. + </p> + <p> + After six weeks in St. Augustine, we returned to New York. The stress of + the war was over; the Major was ordered to Governor's Island as Chief + Quartermaster, Department of the East, and in the following year he was + retired, by operation of the law, at the age limit. + </p> + <p> + I was glad to rest from the incessant changing of stations; the life had + become irksome to me, in its perpetual unrest. I was glad to find a place + to lay my head, and to feel that we were not under orders; to find and to + keep a roof-tree, under which we could abide forever. + </p> + <p> + In 1903, by an act of Congress, the veterans of the Civil War, who had + served continuously for thirty years or more were given an extra grade, so + now my hero wears with complacency the silver leaf of the + Lieutenant-Colonel, and is enjoying the quiet life of a civilian. + </p> + <p> + But that fatal spirit of unrest from which I thought to escape, and which + ruled my life for so many years, sometimes asserts its power, and at those + times my thoughts turn back to the days when we were all Lieutenants + together, marching across the deserts and mountains of Arizona; back to my + friends of the Eighth Infantry, that historic regiment, whose officers and + men fought before the walls of Chapultepec and Mexico, back to my friends + of the Sixth Cavalry, to the days at Camp MacDowell, where we slept under + the stars, and watched the sun rise from behind the Four Peaks of the + MacDowell Mountains: where we rode the big cavalry horses over the sands + of the Maricopa desert, swung in our hammocks under the ramadas; swam in + the red waters of the Verde River, ate canned peaches, pink butter and + commissary hams, listened for the scratching of the centipedes as they + scampered around the edges of our canvas-covered floors, found scorpions + in our slippers, and rattlesnakes under our beds. + </p> + <p> + The old post is long since abandoned, but the Four Peaks still stand, + wrapped in their black shadows by night, and their purple colors by day, + waiting for the passing of the Apache and the coming of the white man, who + shall dig his canals in those arid plains, and build his cities upon the + ruins of the ancient Aztec dwellings. + </p> + <p> + The Sixth Cavalry, as well as the Eighth Infantry, has seen many + vicissitudes since those days. Some of our gallant Captains and + Lieutenants have won their stars, others have been slain in battle. + </p> + <p> + Dear, gentle Major Worth received wounds in the Cuban campaign, which + caused his death, but he wore his stars before he obeyed the "last call." + </p> + <p> + The gay young officers of Angel Island days hold dignified commands in the + Philippines, Cuba, and Alaska. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + My early experiences were unusually rough. None of us seek such + experiences, but possibly they bring with them a sort of recompense, in + that simple comforts afterwards seem, by contrast, to be the greatest + luxuries. + </p> + <p> + I am glad to have known the army: the soldiers, the line, and the Staff; + it is good to think of honor and chivalry, obedience to duty and the pride + of arms; to have lived amongst men whose motives were unselfish and whose + aims were high; amongst men who served an ideal; who stood ready, at the + call of their country, to give their lives for a Government which is, to + them, the best in the world. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes I hear the still voices of the Desert: they seem to be calling + me through the echoes of the Past. I hear, in fancy, the wheels of the + ambulance crunching the small broken stones of the malapais, or grating + swiftly over the gravel of the smooth white roads of the river-bottoms. I + hear the rattle of the ivory rings on the harness of the six-mule team; I + see the soldiers marching on ahead; I see my white tent, so inviting after + a long day's journey. + </p> + <p> + But how vain these fancies! Railroad and automobile have annihilated + distance, the army life of those years is past and gone, and Arizona, as + we knew it, has vanished from the face of the earth. + </p> + <p> + THE END. <a name="link2H_APPE" id="link2H_APPE"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + APPENDIX. + </h2> + <h3> + NANTUCKET ISLAND, June 1910. + </h3> + <p> + When, a few years ago, I determined to write my recollections of life in + the army, I was wholly unfamiliar with the methods of publishers, and the + firm to whom I applied to bring out my book, did not urge upon me the + advisability of having it electrotyped, firstly, because, as they said + afterwards, I myself had such a very modest opinion of my book, and, + secondly because they thought a book of so decidedly personal a character + would not reach a sale of more than a few hundred copies at the farthest. + The matter of electrotyping was not even discussed between us. The entire + edition of one thousand copies was exhausted in about a year, without + having been carried on the lists of any bookseller or advertised in any + way except through some circulars sent by myself to personal friends, and + through several excellent reviews in prominent newspapers. + </p> + <p> + As the demand for the book continued, I have thought it advisable to + re-issue it, adding a good deal that has come into my mind since its + publication. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + It was after the Colonel's retirement that we came to spend the summers at + Nantucket, and I began to enjoy the leisure that never comes into the life + of an army woman during the active service of her husband. We were no + longer expecting sudden orders, and I was able to think quietly over the + events of the past. + </p> + <p> + My old letters which had been returned to me really gave me the + inspiration to write the book and as I read them over, the people and the + events therein described were recalled vividly to my mind—events + which I had forgotten, people whom I had forgotten—events and people + all crowded out of my memory for many years by the pressure of family + cares, and the succession of changes in our stations, by anxiety during + Indian campaigns, and the constant readjustment of my mind to new scenes + and new friends. + </p> + <p> + And so, in the delicious quiet of the Autumn days at Nantucket, when the + summer winds had ceased to blow and the frogs had ceased their pipings in + the salt meadows, and the sea was wondering whether it should keep its + summer blue or change into its winter grey, I sat down at my desk and + began to write my story. + </p> + <p> + Looking out over the quiet ocean in those wonderful November days, when a + peaceful calm brooded over all things, I gathered up all the threads of my + various experiences and wove them together. + </p> + <p> + But the people and the lands I wrote about did not really exist for me; + they were dream people and dream lands. I wrote of them as they had + appeared to me in those early years, and, strange as it may seem, I did + not once stop to think if the people and the lands still existed. + </p> + <p> + For a quarter of a century I had lived in the day that began with reveille + and ended with "Taps." + </p> + <p> + Now on this enchanted island, there was no reveille to awaken us in the + morning, and in the evening the only sound we could hear was the "ruck" of + the waves on the far outer shores and the sad tolling of the bell buoy + when the heaving swell of the ocean came rolling over the bar. + </p> + <p> + And so I wrote, and the story grew into a book which was published and + sent out to friends and family. + </p> + <p> + As time passed on, I began to receive orders for the book from army + officers, and then one day I received orders from people in Arizona and I + awoke to the fact that Arizona was no longer the land of my memories. I + began to receive booklets telling me of projected railroads, also pictures + of wonderful buildings, all showing progress and prosperity. + </p> + <p> + And then came letters from some Presidents of railroads whose lines ran + through Arizona, and from bankers and politicians and business men of + Tucson, Phoenix and Yuma City. Photographs showing shady roads and + streets, where once all was a glare and a sandy waste. Letters from mining + men who knew every foot of the roads we had marched over; pictures of the + great Laguna dam on the Colorado, and of the quarters of the Government + Reclamation Service Corps at Yuma. + </p> + <p> + These letters and pictures told me of the wonderful contrast presented by + my story to the Arizona of today; and although I had not spared that + country, in my desire to place before my children and friends a vivid + picture of my life out there, all these men seemed willing to forgive me + and even declared that my story might do as much to advance their + interests and the prosperity of Arizona as anything which had been written + with only that object in view. + </p> + <p> + My soul was calmed by these assurances, and I ceased to be distressed by + thinking over the descriptions I had given of the unpleasant conditions + existing in that country in the seventies. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime, the San Francisco Chronicle had published a good review + of my book, and reproduced the photograph of Captain Jack Mellon, the + noted pilot of the Colorado river, adding that he was undoubtedly one of + the most picturesque characters who had ever lived on the Pacific Coast + and that he had died some years ago. + </p> + <p> + And so he was really dead! And perhaps the others too, were all gone from + the earth, I thought when one day I received a communication from an + entire stranger, who informed me that the writer of the review in the San + Francisco newspaper had been mistaken in the matter of Captain Mellon's + death, that he had seen him recently and that he lived at San Diego. So I + wrote to him and made haste to forward him a copy of my book, which + reached him at Yuma, on the Colorado, and this is what he wrote: + </p> + <p> + YUMA, Dec. 15th, 1908. + </p> + <p> + My dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + </p> + <p> + Your good book and letter came yesterday p. m., for which accept my + thanks. My home is not in San Diego, but in Coronado, across the bay from + San Diego. That is the reason I did not get your letter sooner. + </p> + <p> + In one hour after I received your book, I had orders for nine of them. All + these books go to the official force of the Reclamation Service here who + are Damming the Colorado for the Government Irrigation Project. They are + not Damming it as we formerly did, but with good solid masonry. The Dam is + 4800 feet long and 300 feet wide and 10 feet above high water. In high + water it will flow over the top of the Dam, but in low water the ditches + or canals will take all the water out of the River, the approximate cost + is three million. There will be a tunnel under the River at Yuma just + below the Bridge, to bring the water into Arizona which is thickly settled + to the Mexican Line. + </p> + <p> + I have done nothing on the River since the 23rd of last August, at which + date they closed the River to Navigation, and the only reason I am now in + Yumais trying to get something from Government for my boats made useless + by the Dam. I expect to get a little, but not a tenth of what they cost + me. + </p> + <p> + Your book could not have a better title: it is "Vanished Arizona" sure + enough, vanished the good and warm Hearts that were here when you were. + The People here now are cold blooded as a snake and are all trying to get + the best of the other fellow. + </p> + <p> + There are but two alive that were on the River when you were on it. + Polhemus and myself are all that are left, but I have many friends on this + coast. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The nurse Patrocina died in Los Angeles last summer and the crying kid + Jesusita she had on the boat when you went from Ehrenberg to the mouth of + the River grew up to be the finest looking Girl in these Parts; She was + the Star witness in a murder trial in Los Angeles last winter, and her + picture was in all of the Papers. + </p> + <p> + I am sending you a picture of the Steamer "Mojave" which was not on the + river when you were here. I made 20 trips with her up to the Virgin River, + which is 145 miles above Fort Mojave, or 75 miles higher than any other + man has gone with a boat: she was 10 feet longer than the "Gila" or any + other boat ever on the River. (Excuse this blowing but it's the truth). + </p> + <p> + In 1864 I was on a trip down the Gulf of California, in a small sail boat + and one of my companions was John Stanton. In Angel's Bay a man whom we + were giving a passage to, murdered my partner and ran off with the boat + and left Charley Ticen, John Stanton and myself on the beach. We were + seventeen days tramping to a village with nothing to eat but cactus but I + think I have told you the story before and what I want to know, is this + Stanton alive. He belonged to New Bedford—his father had been master + of a whale-ship. + </p> + <p> + When we reached Guaymas, Stanton found a friend, the mate of a steamer, + the mate also belonged to New Bedford. When we parted, Stanton told me he + was going home and was going to stay there, and as he was two years + younger than me, he may still be in New Bedford, and as you are on the + ground, maybe you can help me to find out. + </p> + <p> + All the people that I know praise your descriptive power and now my dear + Mrs. Summerhayes I suppose you will have a hard time wading through my + scrawl but I know you will be generous and remember that I went to sea + when a little over nine years of age and had my pen been half as often in + my hand as a marlin spike, I would now be able to write a much clearer + hand. + </p> + <p> + I have a little bungalow on Coronado Beach, across the bay from San Diego, + and if you ever come there, you or your husband, you are welcome; while I + have a bean you can have half. I would like to see you and talk over old + times. Yuma is quite a place now; no more adobes built; it is brick and + concrete, cement sidewalks and flower gardens with electric light and a + good water system. + </p> + <p> + My home is within five minutes walk of the Pacific Ocean. I was born at + Digby, Nova Scotia, and the first music I ever heard was the surf of the + Bay of Fundy, and when I close my eyes forever I hope the surf of the + Pacific will be the last sound that will greet my ears. + </p> + <p> + I read Vanished Arizona last night until after midnight, and thought what + we both had gone through since you first came up the Colorado with me. My + acquaintance with the army was always pleasant, and like Tom Moore I often + say: + </p> + <p> + Let fate do her worst, there are relics of joy Bright dreams of the past + which she cannot destroy! Which come in the night-time of sorrow and care + And bring back the features that joy used to wear. Long, long be my heart + with such memories filled! + </p> + <p> + I suppose the Colonel goes down to the Ship Chandler's and gams with the + old whaling captains. When I was a boy, there was a wealthy family of + ship-owners in New Bedford by the name of Robinson. I saw one of their + ships in Bombay, India, that was in 1854, her name was the Mary Robinson, + and altho' there were over a hundred ships on the bay, she was the + handsomest there. + </p> + <p> + Well, good friend, I am afraid I will tire you out, so I will belay this, + and with best wishes for you and yours, + </p> + <p> + I am, yours truly, + </p> + <p> + J. A. MELLON. + </p> + <p> + P. S.—Fisher is long since called to his Long Home. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + I had fancied, when Vanished Arizona was published, that it might possibly + appeal to the sympathies of women, and that men would lay it aside as a + sort-of a "woman's book"—but I have received more really sympathetic + letters from men than I have from women, all telling me, in different + words, that the human side of the story had appealed to them, and I + suppose this comes from the fact that originally I wrote it for my + children, and felt perfect freedom to put my whole self into it. And now + that the book is entirely out of my hands, I am glad that I wrote it as I + did, for if I had stopped to think that my dream people might be real + people, and that the real people would read it, I might never have had the + courage to write it at all. + </p> + <p> + The many letters I have received of which there have been several hundred + I am sure, have been so interesting that I reproduce a few more of them + here: + </p> + <p> + FORT BENJAMIN HARRISON, INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA. January 10, 1909. + </p> + <p> + My dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + </p> + <p> + I have just read the book. It is a good book, a true book, one of the best + kind of books. After taking it up I did not lay it down till it was + finished—till with you I had again gone over the malapais deserts of + Arizona, and recalled my own meetings with you at Niobrara and at old Fort + Marcy or Santa Fe. You were my cicerone in the old town and I couldn't + have had a better one—or more charming one. + </p> + <p> + The book has recalled many memories to me. Scarcely a name you mention but + is or was a friend. Major Van Vliet loaned me his copy, but I shall get + one of my own and shall tell my friends in the East that, if they desire a + true picture of army life as it appears to the army woman, they must read + your book. + </p> + <p> + For my part I feel that I must congratulate you on your successful work + and thank you for the pleasure you have given me in its perusal. + </p> + <p> + With cordial regard to you and yours, and with best wishes for many happy + years. + </p> + <p> + Very sincerely yours, + </p> + <p> + L. W. V. KENNON, Maj. 10th Inf. + </p> + <p> + HEADQUARTERS THIRD BRIGADE, NATIONAL GUARD OF PENNSYLVANIA, WILKES-BARRE, + PENNSYLVANIA. JANUARY 19, 1908. + </p> + <p> + Dear Madam: + </p> + <p> + I am sending you herewith my check for two copies of "Vanished Arizona." + This summer our mutual friend, Colonel Beaumont (late 4th U. S. Cav.) + ordered two copies for me and I have given them both away to friends whom + I wanted to have read your delightful and charming book. I am now ordering + one of these for another friend and wish to keep one in my record library + as a memorable story of the bravery and courage of the noble band of army + men and women who helped to blaze the pathway of the nation's progress in + its course of Empire Westward. + </p> + <p> + No personal record written, which I have read, tells so splendidly of what + the good women of our army endured in the trials that beset the army in + the life on the plains in the days succeeding the Civil War. And all this + at a time when the nation and its people were caring but little for you + all and the struggles you were making. + </p> + <p> + I will be pleased indeed if you will kindly inscribe your name in one of + the books you will send me. + </p> + <p> + Sincerely Yours, C. B. DOUGHERTY, Brig. Gen'l N. G. Pa. Jan. 19, 1908 + </p> + <p> + SCHENECTADY, N. Y. June 8th, 1908. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. John W. Summerhayes, North Shore Hill, Nantucket, Mass. + </p> + <p> + My Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + </p> + <p> + Were I to say that I enjoyed "Vanished Arizona, "I should very + inadequately express my feelings about it, because there is so much to + arouse emotions deeper than what we call "enjoyment;" it stirs the + sympathies and excites our admiration for your courage and your fortitude. + In a word, the story, honest and unaffected, yet vivid, has in it that + touch of nature which makes kin of us all. + </p> + <p> + How actual knowledge and experience broadens our minds! Your appreciation + of, and charity for, the weaknesses of those living a lonely life of + deprivation on the frontier, impressed me very much. I wish too, that what + you say about the canteen could be published in every newspaper in + America. + </p> + <p> + Very sincerely yours, + </p> + <p> + M. F. WESTOVER, Secretary Gen'l Electric Co. + </p> + <p> + THE MILITARY SERVICE INSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. Governor's Island, + N. Y. June 25, 1908. + </p> + <p> + Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + </p> + <p> + I offer my personal congratulations upon your success in producing a work + of such absorbing interest to all friends of the Army, and so instructive + to the public at large. + </p> + <p> + I have just finished reading the book, from cover to cover, to my wife and + we have enjoyed it thoroughly. + </p> + <p> + Will you please advise me where the book can be purchased in New York, or + otherwise mail two copies to me at 203 W. 54th Street, New York City, with + memo of price per copy, that I may remit the amount. + </p> + <p> + Very truly yours, + </p> + <p> + T. F. RODENBOUGH, Secretary and Editor (Brig. Gen'l. U. S. A.) + </p> + <p> + YALE UNIVERSITY, NEW HAVEN, CONN. + </p> + <p> + May 15, 1910. + </p> + <p> + Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + </p> + <p> + I have read every word of your book "Vanished Arizona" with intense + interest. You have given a vivid account of what you actually saw and + lived through, and nobody can resist the truthfulness and reality of your + narrative. The book is a real contribution to American history, and to the + chronicles of army life. + </p> + <p> + Faithfully yours, WM. LYON PHELPS, + </p> + <p> + [Professor of English literature at Yale University.] + </p> + <p> + LONACONING, MD., Jan. 2, 1909. + </p> + <p> + Col. J. W. Summerhays, New Rochelle, N. Y. + </p> + <p> + Dear Sir: + </p> + <p> + Captain William Baird, 6th Cavalry, retired, now at Annapolis, sent me + Mrs. Summerhay's book to read, and I have read it with delight, for I was + in "K" when Mrs. Summerhays "took on" in the 8th. Myself and my brother, + Michael, served in "K" Company from David's Island to Camp Apache. + Doubtless you have forgotten me, but I am sure that you remember the tall + fifer of "K", Michael Gurnett. He was killed at Camp Mohave in Sept. 1885, + while in Company "G" of the 1st Infantry. I was five years in "K", but my + brother re-enlisted in "K", and afterward joined the First. He served in + the 31st, 22nd, 8th and 1st. + </p> + <p> + Oh, that little book! We're all in it, even poor Charley Bowen. Mrs. + Summerhays should have written a longer story. She soldiered long enough + with the 8th in the "bloody 70's" to be able to write a book five times as + big. For what she's done, God bless her! She is entitled to the Irishman's + benediction: "May every hair in her head be a candle to light her soul to + glory." We poor old Regulars have little said about us in print, and wish + to God that "Vanished Arizona" was in the hands of every old veteran of + the "Marching 8th." If I had the means I would send a copy to our 1st + Serg't Bernard Moran, and the other old comrades at the Soldiers' Home. + But, alas, evil times have fallen upon us, and—I'm not writing a + jeremiad—I took the book from the post office and when I saw the + crossed guns and the "8" there was a lump in my throat, and I went into + the barber shop and read it through before I left. A friend of mine was in + the shop and when I came to Pringle's death, he said, "Gurnett, that must + be a sad book you're reading, why man, you're crying." + </p> + <p> + I believe I was, but they were tears of joy. And, Oh, Lord, to think of + Bowen having a full page in history; but, after all, maybe he deserved it. + And that picture of my company commander! [Worth]. Long, long, have I + gazed on it. I was only sixteen and a half years old when I joined his + company at David's Island, Dec. 6th, 1871. Folliot A. Whitney was 1st + lieutenant and Cyrus Earnest, 2nd. What a fine man Whitney was. A finer + man nor truer gentleman ever wore a shoulder strap. If he had been company + commander I'd have re-enlisted and stayed with him. I was always afraid of + Worth, though he was always good to my brother and myself. I deeply + regretted Lieut. Whitney's death in Cuba, and I watched Major Worth's + career in the last war. It nearly broke my heart that I could not go. Oh, + the rattle of the war drum and the bugle calls and the marching troops, it + set me crazy, and me not able to take a hand in the scrap. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Summerhays calls him Wm. T. Worth, isn't it Wm. S. Worth? + </p> + <p> + The copy I have read was loaned me by Captain Baird; he says it's a + Christmas gift from General Carter, and I must return it. My poor wife has + read it with keen interest and says she: "William, I am going to have that + book for my children," and she'll get it, yea, verily! she will. + </p> + <p> + Well, Colonel, I'm right glad to know that you are still on this side of + the great divide, and I know that you and Mrs. S. will be glad to hear + from an old "walk-a-heap" of the 8th. + </p> + <p> + I am working for a Cumberland newspaper—Lonaconing reporter—and + I will send you a copy or two of the paper with this. And now, permit me + to subscribe myself your + </p> + <p> + Comrade In Arms, + </p> + <p> + WILLIAM A. GURNETT. + </p> + <p> + Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + </p> + <p> + Read your book—in fact when I got started I forgot my bedtime (and + you know how rigid that is) and sat it through. + </p> + <p> + It has a bully note of the old army—it was all worthwhile—they + had color, those days. + </p> + <p> + I say—now suppose you had married a man who kept a drug store—see + what you would have had and see what you would have missed. + </p> + <p> + Yours, FREDERIC REMINGTON. + </p> + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1049 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..990e604 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #1049 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1049) diff --git a/old/1049-h.zip b/old/1049-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8f4756e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1049-h.zip diff --git a/old/1049-h/1049-h.htm b/old/1049-h/1049-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dcd5cc8 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1049-h/1049-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9414 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Vanished Arizona, by Martha Summerhayes + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Vanished Arizona, by Martha Summerhayes + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Vanished Arizona + Recollections of the Army Life by a New England Woman + +Author: Martha Summerhayes + +Release Date: August 7, 2008 [EBook #1049] +Last Updated: February 6, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VANISHED ARIZONA *** + + + + +Produced by A Team of Arizona women, and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + VANISHED ARIZONA + </h1> + <h2> + Recollections of the Army Life by a New England Woman + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + by Martha Summerhayes + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h4> + TO MY SON HARRY SUMMERHAYES WHO SHARED THE VICISSITUDES OF MY LIFE<br /> IN + ARIZONA, THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + Preface + </h2> + <p> + I have written this story of my army life at the urgent and ceaseless + request of my children. + </p> + <p> + For whenever I allude to those early days, and tell to them the tales they + have so often heard, they always say: "Now, mother, will you write these + stories for us? Please, mother, do; we must never forget them." + </p> + <p> + Then, after an interval, "Mother, have you written those stories of + Arizona yet?" until finally, with the aid of some old letters written from + those very places (the letters having been preserved, with other papers of + mine, by an uncle in New England long since dead), I have been able to + give a fairly connected story. + </p> + <p> + I have not attempted to commemorate my husband's brave career in the Civil + War, as I was not married until some years after the close of that war, + nor to describe the many Indian campaigns in which he took part, nor to + write about the achievements of the old Eighth Infantry. I leave all that + to the historian. I have given simply the impressions made upon the mind + of a young New England woman who left her comfortable home in the early + seventies, to follow a second lieutenant into the wildest encampments of + the American army. + </p> + <p> + Hoping the story may possess some interest for the younger women of the + army, and possibly for some of our old friends, both in the army and in + civil life, I venture to send it forth. + </p> + <p> + POSTCRIPT (second edition). + </p> + <p> + The appendix to this, the second edition of my book, will tell something + of the kind manner in which the first edition was received by my friends + and the public at large. + </p> + <p> + But as several people had expressed a wish that I should tell more of my + army experiences I have gone carefully over the entire book, adding some + detail and a few incidents which had come to my mind later. + </p> + <p> + I have also been able, with some difficulty and much patient effort, to + secure several photographs of exceptional interest, which have been added + to the illustrations. + </p> + <p> + January, 1911. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF"> Preface </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> <big><b>VANISHED ARIZONA</b></big> </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> GERMANY AND + THE ARMY <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> I + JOINED THE ARMY <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> ARMY + HOUSE-KEEPING <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> DOWN + THE PACIFIC COAST <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> THE + SLUE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. </a> UP + THE RIO COLORADO <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. </a> THE + MOJAVE DESERT <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. </a> LEARNING + HOW TO SOLDIER <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. </a> ACROSS + THE MOGOLLONS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. </a> A + PERILOUS ADVENTURE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI. </a> CAMP + APACHE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII. </a> LIFE + AMONGST THE APACHES <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII. + </a> A NEW RECRUIT <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0014"> + CHAPTER XIV. </a> A MEMORABLE JOURNEY <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV. </a> FORDING THE LITTLE + COLORADO <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER XVI. </a> STONEMAN'S + LAKE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII. </a> THE + COLORADO DESERT <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER XVIII. </a> EHRENBERG + ON THE COLORADO <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0019"> CHAPTER XIX. </a> SUMMER + AT EHRENBERG <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX. </a> MY + DELIVERER <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER XXI. </a> WINTER + IN EHRENBERG <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER XXII. </a> RETURN + TO THE STATES <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XXIII. </a> BACK + TO ARIZONA <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XXIV. </a> UP + THE VALLEY OF THE GILA <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0025"> CHAPTER XXV. + </a> OLD CAMP MACDOWELL <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0026"> + CHAPTER XXVI. </a> A SUDDEN ORDER <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0027"> CHAPTER XXVII. </a> THE EIGHTH FOOT + LEAVES ARIZONA <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0028"> CHAPTER XXVIII. </a> CALIFORNIA + AND NEVADA <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0029"> CHAPTER XXIX. </a> CHANGING + STATION <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0030"> CHAPTER XXX. </a> FORT + NIOBRARA <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0031"> CHAPTER XXXI. </a> SANTA + FE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0032"> CHAPTER XXXII. </a> TEXAS + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0033"> CHAPTER XXXIII. </a> DAVID'S + ISLAND <br /><br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_APPE"> APPENDIX. </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h1> + VANISHED ARIZONA + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. GERMANY AND THE ARMY + </h2> + <p> + The stalwart men of the Prussian army, the Lancers, the Dragoons, the + Hussars, the clank of their sabres on the pavements, their brilliant + uniforms, all made an impression upon my romantic mind, and I listened + eagerly, in the quiet evenings, to tales of Hanover under King George, to + stories of battles lost, and the entry of the Prussians into the old + Residenz-stadt; the flight of the King, and the sorrow and chagrin which + prevailed. + </p> + <p> + For I was living in the family of General Weste, the former + stadt-commandant of Hanover, who had served fifty years in the army and + had accompanied King George on his exit from the city. He was a gallant + veteran, with the rank of General-Lieutenant, ausser Dienst. A charming + and dignified man, accepting philosophically the fact that Hanover had + become Prussian, but loyal in his heart to his King and to old Hanover; + pretending great wrath when, on the King's birthday, he found yellow and + white sand strewn before his door, but unable to conceal the joyful gleam + in his eye when he spoke of it. + </p> + <p> + The General's wife was the daughter of a burgomaster and had been brought + up in a neighboring town. She was a dear, kind soul. + </p> + <p> + The house-keeping was simple, but stately and precise, as befitted the + rank of this officer. The General was addressed by the servants as + Excellenz and his wife as Frau Excellenz. A charming unmarried daughter + lived at home, making, with myself, a family of four. + </p> + <p> + Life was spent quietly, and every evening, after our coffee (served in the + living-room in winter, and in the garden in summer), Frau Generalin would + amuse me with descriptions of life in her old home, and of how girls were + brought up in her day; how industry was esteemed by her mother the + greatest virtue, and idleness was punished as the most beguiling sin. She + was never allowed, she said, to read, even on Sunday, without her + knitting-work in her hands; and she would often sigh, and say to me, in + German (for dear Frau Generalin spoke no other tongue), "Ach, Martha, you + American girls are so differently brought up"; and I would say, "But, Frau + Generalin, which way do you think is the better?" She would then look + puzzled, shrug her shoulders, and often say, "Ach! times are different I + suppose, but my ideas can never change." + </p> + <p> + Now the dear Frau Generalin did not speak a word of English, and as I had + had only a few lessons in German before I left America, I had the utmost + difficulty at first in comprehending what she said. She spoke rapidly and + I would listen with the closest attention, only to give up in despair, and + to say, "Gute Nacht," evening after evening, with my head buzzing and my + mind a blank. + </p> + <p> + After a few weeks, however, I began to understand everything she said, + altho' I could not yet write or read the language, and I listened with the + greatest interest to the story of her marriage with young Lieutenant + Weste, of the bringing up of her four children, and of the old days in + Hanover, before the Prussians took possession. + </p> + <p> + She described to me the brilliant Hanoverian Court, the endless + festivities and balls, the stately elegance of the old city, and the cruel + misfortunes of the King. And how, a few days after the King's flight, the + end of all things came to her; for she was politely informed one evening, + by a big Prussian major, that she must seek other lodgings—he needed + her quarters. At this point she always wept, and I sympathized. + </p> + <p> + Thus I came to know military life in Germany, and I fell in love with the + army, with its brilliancy and its glitter, with its struggles and its + romance, with its sharp contrasts, its deprivations, and its chivalry. + </p> + <p> + I came to know, as their guest, the best of old military society. They + were very old-fashioned and precise, and Frau Generalin often told me that + American girls were too ausgelassen in their manners. She often reproved + me for seating myself upon the sofa (which was only for old people) and + also for looking about too much when walking on the streets. Young girls + must keep their eyes more cast down, looking up only occasionally. (I + thought this dreadfully prim, as I was eager to see everything). I was + expected to stop and drop a little courtesy on meeting an older woman, and + then to inquire after the health of each member of the family. It seemed + to take a lot of time, but all the other girls did it, and there seemed to + be no hurry about anything, ever, in that elegant old Residenz-stadt. + Surely a contrast to our bustling American towns. + </p> + <p> + A sentiment seemed to underlie everything they did. The Emperor meant so + much to them, and they adored the Empress. A personal feeling, an + affection, such as I had never heard of in a republic, caused me to stop + and wonder if an empire were not the best, after all. And one day, when + the Emperor, passing through Hanover en route, drove down the + Georgen-strasse in an open barouche and raised his hat as he glanced at + the sidewalk where I happened to be standing, my heart seemed to stop + beating, and I was overcome by a most wonderful feeling—a feeling + that in a man would have meant chivalry and loyalty unto death. + </p> + <p> + In this beautiful old city, life could not be taken any other than + leisurely. Theatres with early hours, the maid coming for me with a + lantern at nine o'clock, the frequent Kaffee-klatsch, the delightful + afternoon coffee at the Georgen-garten, the visits to the Zoological + gardens, where we always took our fresh rolls along with our knitting-work + in a basket, and then sat at a little table in the open, and were served + with coffee, sweet cream, and butter, by a strapping Hessian peasant woman—all + so simple, yet so elegant, so peaceful. + </p> + <p> + We heard the best music at the theatre, which was managed with the same + precision, and maintained by the Government with the same generosity, as + in the days of King George. No one was allowed to enter after the overture + had begun, and an absolute hush prevailed. + </p> + <p> + The orchestra consisted of sixty or more pieces, and the audience was + critical. The parquet was filled with officers in the gayest uniforms; + there were few ladies amongst them; the latter sat mostly in the boxes, of + which there were several tiers, and as soon as the curtain fell, between + the acts, the officers would rise, turn around, and level their glasses at + the boxes. Sometimes they came and visited in the boxes. + </p> + <p> + As I had been brought up in a town half Quaker, half Puritan, the custom + of going to the theatre Sunday evenings was rather a questionable one in + my mind. But I soon fell in with their ways, and found that on Sunday + evenings there was always the most brilliant audience and the best plays + were selected. With this break-down of the wall of narrow prejudice, I + gave up others equally as narrow, and adopted the German customs with my + whole heart. + </p> + <p> + I studied the language with unflinching perseverance, for this was the + opportunity I had dreamed about and longed for in the barren winter + evenings at Nantucket when I sat poring over Coleridge's translations of + Schiller's plays and Bayard Taylor's version of Goethe's Faust. + </p> + <p> + Should I ever read these intelligently in the original? + </p> + <p> + And when my father consented for me to go over and spend a year and live + in General Weste's family, there never was a happier or more grateful + young woman. Appreciative and eager, I did not waste a moment, and my keen + enjoyment of the German classics repaid me a hundred fold for all my + industry. + </p> + <p> + Neither time nor misfortune, nor illness can take from me the memory of + that year of privileges such as is given few American girls to enjoy, when + they are at an age to fully appreciate them. + </p> + <p> + And so completely separated was I from the American and English colony + that I rarely heard my own language spoken, and thus I lived, ate, + listened, talked, and even dreamed in German. + </p> + <p> + There seemed to be time enough to do everything we wished; and, as the + Franco-Prussian war was just over (it was the year of 1871), and many + troops were in garrison at Hanover, the officers could always join us at + the various gardens for after-dinner coffee, which, by the way, was not + taken in the demi-tasse, but in good generous coffee-cups, with plenty of + rich cream. Every one drank at least two cups, the officers smoked, the + women knitted or embroidered, and those were among the pleasantest hours I + spent in Germany. + </p> + <p> + The intrusion of unwelcome visitors was never to be feared, as, by common + consent, the various classes in Hanover kept by themselves, thus enjoying + life much better than in a country where everybody is striving after the + pleasures and luxuries enjoyed by those whom circumstances have placed + above them. + </p> + <p> + The gay uniforms lent a brilliancy to every affair, however simple. + Officers were not allowed to appear en civile, unless on leave of absence. + </p> + <p> + I used to say, "Oh, Frau General, how fascinating it all is!" "Hush, + Martha," she would say; "life in the army is not always so brilliant as it + looks; in fact, we often call it, over here, 'glaenzendes Elend.'" + </p> + <p> + These bitter words made a great impression upon my mind, and in after + years, on the American frontier, I seemed to hear them over and over + again. + </p> + <p> + When I bade good-bye to the General and his family, I felt a tightening + about my throat and my heart, and I could not speak. Life in Germany had + become dear to me, and I had not known how dear until I was leaving it + forever. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. I JOINED THE ARMY + </h2> + <p> + I was put in charge of the captain of the North German Lloyd S. S. + "Donau," and after a most terrific cyclone in mid-ocean, in which we + nearly foundered, I landed in Hoboken, sixteen days from Bremen. + </p> + <p> + My brother, Harry Dunham, met me on the pier, saying, as he took me in his + arms, "You do not need to tell me what sort of a trip you have had; it is + enough to look at the ship—that tells the story." + </p> + <p> + As the vessel had been about given up for lost, her arrival was somewhat + of an agreeable surprise to all our friends, and to none more so than my + old friend Jack, a second lieutenant of the United States army, who seemed + so glad to have me back in America, that I concluded the only thing to do + was to join the army myself. + </p> + <p> + A quiet wedding in the country soon followed my decision, and we set out + early in April of the year 1874 to join his regiment, which was stationed + at Fort Russell, Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. + </p> + <p> + I had never been west of New York, and Cheyenne seemed to me, in contrast + with the finished civilization of Europe, which I had so recently left, + the wildest sort of a place. + </p> + <p> + Arriving in the morning, and alighting from the train, two gallant + officers, in the uniform of the United States infantry, approached and + gave us welcome; and to me, the bride, a special "welcome to the regiment" + was given by each of them with outstretched hands. + </p> + <p> + Major Wilhelm said, "The ambulance is right here; you must come to our + house and stay until you get your quarters." + </p> + <p> + Such was my introduction to the army—and to the army ambulance, in + which I was destined to travel so many miles. + </p> + <p> + Four lively mules and a soldier driver brought us soon to the post, and + Mrs. Wilhelm welcomed us to her pleasant and comfortable-looking quarters. + </p> + <p> + I had never seen an army post in America. I had always lived in places + which needed no garrison, and the army, except in Germany, was an unknown + quantity to me. + </p> + <p> + Fort Russell was a large post, and the garrison consisted of many + companies of cavalry and infantry. It was all new and strange to me. + </p> + <p> + Soon after luncheon, Jack said to Major Wilhelm, "Well, now, I must go and + look for quarters: what's the prospect?" + </p> + <p> + "You will have to turn some one out," said the Major, as they left the + house together. + </p> + <p> + About an hour afterwards they returned, and Jack said, "Well, I have + turned out Lynch; but," he added, "as his wife and child are away, I do + not believe he'll care very much." + </p> + <p> + "Oh," said I, "I'm so sorry to have to turn anybody out!" + </p> + <p> + The Major and his wife smiled, and the former remarked, "You must not have + too much sympathy: it's the custom of the service—it's always done—by + virtue of rank. They'll hate you for doing it, but if you don't do it + they'll not respect you. After you've been turned out once yourself, you + will not mind turning others out." + </p> + <p> + The following morning I drove over to Cheyenne with Mrs. Wilhelm, and as I + passed Lieutenant Lynch's quarters and saw soldiers removing Mrs. Lynch's + lares and penates, in the shape of a sewing machine, lamp-shades, and + other home-like things, I turned away in pity that such customs could + exist in our service. + </p> + <p> + To me, who had lived my life in the house in which I was born, moving was + a thing to be dreaded. + </p> + <p> + But Mrs. Wilhelm comforted me, and assured me it was not such a serious + matter after all. Army women were accustomed to it, she said. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING + </h2> + <p> + Not knowing before I left home just what was needed for house-keeping in + the army, and being able to gather only vague ideas on the subject from + Jack, who declared that his quarters were furnished admirably, I had taken + out with me but few articles in addition to the silver and linen-chests. + </p> + <p> + I began to have serious doubts on the subject of my menage, after + inspecting the bachelor furnishings which had seemed so ample to my + husband. But there was so much to be seen in the way of guard mount, + cavalry drill, and various military functions, besides the drives to town + and the concerts of the string orchestra, that I had little time to think + of the practical side of life. + </p> + <p> + Added to this, we were enjoying the delightful hospitality of the + Wilhelms, and the Major insisted upon making me acquainted with the "real + old-fashioned army toddy" several times a day,—a new beverage to me, + brought up in a blue-ribbon community, where wine-bibbing and whiskey + drinking were rated as belonging to only the lowest classes. To be sure, + my father always drank two fingers of fine cognac before dinner, but I had + always considered that a sort of medicine for a man advanced in years. + </p> + <p> + Taken all in all, it is not to be wondered at if I saw not much in those + few days besides bright buttons, blue uniforms, and shining swords. + </p> + <p> + Everything was military and gay and brilliant, and I forgot the very + existence of practical things, in listening to the dreamy strains of + Italian and German music, rendered by our excellent and painstaking + orchestra. For the Eighth Infantry loved good music, and had imported its + musicians direct from Italy. + </p> + <p> + This came to an end, however, after a few days, and I was obliged to + descend from those heights to the dead level of domestic economy. + </p> + <p> + My husband informed me that the quarters were ready for our occupancy and + that we could begin house-keeping at once. He had engaged a soldier named + Adams for a striker; he did not know whether Adams was much of a cook, he + said, but he was the only available man just then, as the companies were + up north at the Agency. + </p> + <p> + Our quarters consisted of three rooms and a kitchen, which formed one-half + of a double house. + </p> + <p> + I asked Jack why we could not have a whole house. I did not think I could + possibly live in three rooms and a kitchen. + </p> + <p> + "Why, Martha," said he, "did you not know that women are not reckoned in + at all at the War Department? A lieutenant's allowance of quarters, + according to the Army Regulations, is one room and a kitchen, a captain's + allowance is two rooms and a kitchen, and so on up, until a colonel has a + fairly good house." I told him I thought it an outrage; that lieutenants' + wives needed quite as much as colonels' wives. + </p> + <p> + He laughed and said, "You see we have already two rooms over our proper + allowance; there are so many married officers, that the Government has had + to stretch a point." + </p> + <p> + After indulging in some rather harsh comments upon a government which + could treat lieutenants' wives so shabbily, I began to investigate my + surroundings. + </p> + <p> + Jack had placed his furnishings (some lace curtains, camp chairs, and a + carpet) in the living-room, and there was a forlorn-looking bedstead in + the bedroom. A pine table in the dining-room and a range in the kitchen + completed the outfit. A soldier had scrubbed the rough floors with a straw + broom: it was absolutely forlorn, and my heart sank within me. + </p> + <p> + But then I thought of Mrs. Wilhelm's quarters, and resolved to try my best + to make ours look as cheerful and pretty as hers. A chaplain was about + leaving the post and wished to dispose of his things, so we bought a + carpet of him, a few more camp chairs of various designs, and a + cheerful-looking table-cover. We were obliged to be very economical, as + Jack was a second lieutenant, the pay was small and a little in arrears, + after the wedding trip and long journey out. We bought white Holland + shades for the windows, and made the three rooms fairly comfortable and + then I turned my attention to the kitchen. + </p> + <p> + Jack said I should not have to buy anything at all; the Quartermaster + Department furnished everything in the line of kitchen utensils; and, as + his word was law, I went over to the quartermaster store-house to select + the needed articles. + </p> + <p> + After what I had been told, I was surprised to find nothing smaller than + two-gallon tea-kettles, meat-forks a yard long, and mess-kettles deep + enough to cook rations for fifty men! I rebelled, and said I would not use + such gigantic things. + </p> + <p> + My husband said: "Now, Mattie, be reasonable; all the army women keep + house with these utensils; the regiment will move soon, and then what + should we do with a lot of tin pans and such stuff? You know a second + lieutenant is allowed only a thousand pounds of baggage when he changes + station." This was a hard lesson, which I learned later. + </p> + <p> + Having been brought up in an old-time community, where women deferred to + their husbands in everything, I yielded, and the huge things were sent + over. I had told Mrs. Wilhelm that we were to have luncheon in our own + quarters. + </p> + <p> + So Adams made a fire large enough to roast beef for a company of soldiers, + and he and I attempted to boil a few eggs in the deep mess-kettle and to + make the water boil in the huge tea-kettle. + </p> + <p> + But Adams, as it turned out, was not a cook, and I must confess that my + own attention had been more engrossed by the study of German auxiliary + verbs, during the few previous years, than with the art of cooking. + </p> + <p> + Of course, like all New England girls of that period, I knew how to make + quince jelly and floating islands, but of the actual, practical side of + cooking, and the management of a range, I knew nothing. + </p> + <p> + Here was a dilemma, indeed! + </p> + <p> + The eggs appeared to boil, but they did not seem to be done when we took + them off, by the minute-hand of the clock. + </p> + <p> + I declared the kettle was too large; Adams said he did not understand it + at all. + </p> + <p> + I could have wept with chagrin! Our first meal a deux! + </p> + <p> + I appealed to Jack. He said, "Why, of course, Martha, you ought to know + that things do not cook as quickly at this altitude as they do down at the + sea level. We are thousands of feet above the sea here in Wyoming." (I am + not sure it was thousands, but it was hundreds at least.) + </p> + <p> + So that was the trouble, and I had not thought of it! + </p> + <p> + My head was giddy with the glamour, the uniform, the guard-mount, the + military music, the rarefied air, the new conditions, the new interests of + my life. Heine's songs, Goethe's plays, history and romance were floating + through my mind. Is it to be wondered at that I and Adams together + prepared the most atrocious meals that ever a new husband had to eat? I + related my difficulties to Jack, and told him I thought we should never be + able to manage with such kitchen utensils as were furnished by the Q. M. + D. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, pshaw! You are pampered and spoiled with your New England kitchens," + said he; "you will have to learn to do as other army women do—cook + in cans and such things, be inventive, and learn to do with nothing." This + was my first lesson in army house-keeping. + </p> + <p> + After my unpractical teacher had gone out on some official business, I ran + over to Mrs. Wilhelm's quarters and said, "Will you let me see your + kitchen closet?" + </p> + <p> + She assented, and I saw the most beautiful array of tin-ware, shining and + neat, placed in rows upon the shelves and hanging from hooks on the wall. + </p> + <p> + "So!" I said; "my military husband does not know anything about these + things;" and I availed myself of the first trip of the ambulance over to + Cheyenne, bought a stock of tin-ware and had it charged, and made no + mention of it—because I feared that tin-ware was to be our bone of + contention, and I put off the evil day. + </p> + <p> + The cooking went on better after that, but I did not have much assistance + from Adams. + </p> + <p> + I had great trouble at first with the titles and the rank: but I soon + learned that many of the officers were addressed by the brevet title + bestowed upon them for gallant service in the Civil War, and I began to + understand about the ways and customs of the army of Uncle Sam. In + contrast to the Germans, the American lieutenants were not addressed by + their title (except officially); I learned to "Mr." all the lieutenants + who had no brevet. + </p> + <p> + One morning I suggested to Adams that he should wash the front windows; + after being gone a half hour, to borrow a step-ladder, he entered the + room, mounted the ladder and began. I sat writing. Suddenly, he faced + around, and addressing me, said, "Madam, do you believe in spiritualism?" + </p> + <p> + "Good gracious! Adams, no; why do you ask me such a question?" + </p> + <p> + This was enough; he proceeded to give a lecture on the subject worthy of a + man higher up on the ladder of this life. I bade him come to an end as + soon as I dared (for I was not accustomed to soldiers), and suggested that + he was forgetting his work. + </p> + <p> + It was early in April, and the snow drifted through the crevices of the + old dried-out house, in banks upon our bed; but that was soon mended, and + things began to go smoothly enough, when Jack was ordered to join his + company, which was up at the Spotted Tail Agency. It was expected that the + Sioux under this chief would break out at any minute. They had become + disaffected about some treaty. I did not like to be left alone with the + Spiritualist, so Jack asked one of the laundresses, whose husband was out + with the company, to come and stay and take care of me. Mrs. Patten was an + old campaigner; she understood everything about officers and their ways, + and she made me absolutely comfortable for those two lonely months. I + always felt grateful to her; she was a dear old Irish woman. + </p> + <p> + All the families and a few officers were left at the post, and, with the + daily drive to Cheyenne, some small dances and theatricals, my time was + pleasantly occupied. + </p> + <p> + Cheyenne in those early days was an amusing but unattractive frontier + town; it presented a great contrast to the old civilization I had so + recently left. We often saw women in cotton wrappers, high-heeled + slippers, and sun-bonnets, walking in the main streets. Cows, pigs, and + saloons seemed to be a feature of the place. + </p> + <p> + In about six weeks, the affairs of the Sioux were settled, and the troops + returned to the post. The weather began to be uncomfortably hot in those + low wooden houses. I missed the comforts of home and the fresh sea air of + the coast, but I tried to make the best of it. + </p> + <p> + Our sleeping-room was very small, and its one window looked out over the + boundless prairie at the back of the post. On account of the great heat, + we were obliged to have this window wide open at night. I heard the cries + and wails of various animals, but Jack said that was nothing—they + always heard them. + </p> + <p> + Once, at midnight, the wails seemed to be nearer, and I was terrified; but + he told me 'twas only the half-wild cats and coyotes which prowled around + the post. I asked him if they ever came in. "Gracious, no!" he said; "they + are too wild." + </p> + <p> + I calmed myself for sleep—when like lightning, one of the huge + creatures gave a flying leap in at our window, across the bed, and through + into the living-room. + </p> + <p> + "Jerusalem!" cried the lieutenant, and flew after her, snatching his + sword, which stood in the corner, and poking vigorously under the divan. + </p> + <p> + I rolled myself under the bed-covers, in the most abject terror lest she + might come back the same way; and, true enough, she did, with a most + piercing cry. I never had much rest after that occurrence, as we had no + protection against these wild-cats. + </p> + <p> + The regiment, however, in June was ordered to Arizona, that dreaded and + then unknown land, and the uncertain future was before me. I saw the other + women packing china and their various belongings. I seemed to be helpless. + Jack was busy with things outside. He had three large army chests, which + were brought in and placed before me. "Now," he said, "all our things must + go into those chests"—and I supposed they must. + </p> + <p> + I was pitifully ignorant of the details of moving, and I stood + despairingly gazing into the depths of those boxes, when the jolly and + stout wife of Major von Hermann passed my window. She glanced in, + comprehended the situation, and entered, saying, "You do not understand + how to pack? Let me help you: give me a cushion to kneel upon—now + bring everything that is to be packed, and I can soon show you how to do + it." With her kind assistance the chests were packed, and I found that we + had a great deal of surplus stuff which had to be put into rough cases, or + rolled into packages and covered with burlap. Jack fumed when he saw it, + and declared we could not take it all, as it exceeded our allowance of + weight. I declared we must take it, or we could not exist. + </p> + <p> + With some concessions on both sides we were finally packed up, and left + Fort Russell about the middle of June, with the first detachment, + consisting of head-quarters and band, for San Francisco, over the Union + Pacific Railroad. + </p> + <p> + For it must be remembered, that in 1874 there were no railroads in + Arizona, and all troops which were sent to that distant territory either + marched over-land through New Mexico, or were transported by steamer from + San Francisco down the coast, and up the Gulf of California to Fort Yuma, + from which point they marched up the valley of the Gila to the southern + posts, or continued up the Colorado River by steamer, to other points of + disembarkation, whence they marched to the posts in the interior, or the + northern part of the territory. + </p> + <p> + Much to my delight, we were allowed to remain over in San Francisco, and + go down with the second detachment. We made the most of the time, which + was about a fortnight, and on the sixth of August we embarked with six + companies of soldiers, Lieutenant Colonel Wilkins in command, on the old + steamship "Newbern," Captain Metzger, for Arizona. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. DOWN THE PACIFIC COAST + </h2> + <p> + Now the "Newbern" was famous for being a good roller, and she lived up to + her reputation. For seven days I saw only the inside of our stateroom. At + the end of that time we arrived off Cape St. Lucas (the extreme southern + point of Lower California), and I went on deck. + </p> + <p> + We anchored and took cattle aboard. I watched the natives tow them off, + the cattle swimming behind their small boats, and then saw the poor beasts + hoisted up by their horns to the deck of our ship. + </p> + <p> + I thought it most dreadfully cruel, but was informed that it had been done + from time immemorial, so I ceased to talk about it, knowing that I could + not reform those aged countries, and realizing, faintly perhaps (for I had + never seen much of the rough side of life), that just as cruel things were + done to the cattle we consume in the North. + </p> + <p> + Now that Mr. Sinclair, in his great book "The Jungle," has brought the + multiplied horrors of the great packing-houses before our very eyes, we + might witness the hoisting of the cattle over the ship's side without + feeling such intense pity, admitting that everything is relative, even + cruelty. + </p> + <p> + It was now the middle of August, and the weather had become insufferably + hot, but we were out of the long swell of the Pacific Ocean; we had + rounded Cape St. Lucas, and were steaming up the Gulf of California, + towards the mouth of the Great Colorado, whose red and turbulent waters + empty themselves into this gulf, at its head. + </p> + <p> + I now had time to become acquainted with the officers of the regiment, + whom I had not before met; they had come in from other posts and joined + the command at San Francisco. + </p> + <p> + The daughter of the lieutenant-colonel was on board, the beautiful and + graceful Caroline Wilkins, the belle of the regiment; and Major Worth, to + whose company my husband belonged. I took a special interest in the + latter, as I knew we must face life together in the wilds of Arizona. I + had time to learn something about the regiment and its history; and that + Major Worth's father, whose monument I had so often seen in New York, was + the first colonel of the Eighth Infantry, when it was organized in the + State of New York in 1838. + </p> + <p> + The party on board was merry enough, and even gay. There was Captain + Ogilby, a great, genial Scotchman, and Captain Porter, a graduate of + Dublin, and so charmingly witty. He seemed very devoted to Miss Wilkins, + but Miss Wilkins was accustomed to the devotion of all the officers of the + Eighth Infantry. In fact, it was said that every young lieutenant who + joined the regiment had proposed to her. She was most attractive, and as + she had too kind a heart to be a coquette, she was a universal favorite + with the women as well as with the men. + </p> + <p> + There was Ella Bailey, too, Miss Wilkins' sister, with her young and + handsome husband and their young baby. + </p> + <p> + Then, dear Mrs. Wilkins, who had been so many years in the army that she + remembered crossing the plains in a real ox-team. She represented the best + type of the older army woman—and it was so lovely to see her with + her two daughters, all in the same regiment. A mother of grown-up + daughters was not often met with in the army. + </p> + <p> + And Lieutenant-Colonel Wilkins, a gentleman in the truest sense of the + word—a man of rather quiet tastes, never happier than when he had + leisure for indulging his musical taste in strumming all sorts of Spanish + fandangos on the guitar, or his somewhat marked talent with the pencil and + brush. + </p> + <p> + The heat of the staterooms compelled us all to sleep on deck, so our + mattresses were brought up by the soldiers at night, and spread about. The + situation, however, was so novel and altogether ludicrous, and our fear of + rats which ran about on deck so great, that sleep was well-nigh out of the + question. + </p> + <p> + Before dawn, we fled to our staterooms, but by sunrise we were glad to + dress and escape from their suffocating heat and go on deck again. Black + coffee and hard-tack were sent up, and this sustained us until the + nine-o'clock breakfast, which was elaborate, but not good. There was no + milk, of course, except the heavily sweetened sort, which I could not use: + it was the old-time condensed and canned milk; the meats were beyond + everything, except the poor, tough, fresh beef we had seen hoisted over + the side, at Cape St. Lucas. The butter, poor at the best, began to pour + like oil. Black coffee and bread, and a baked sweet potato, seemed the + only things that I could swallow. + </p> + <p> + The heat in the Gulf of California was intense. Our trunks were brought up + from the vessel's hold, and we took out summer clothing. But how + inadequate and inappropriate it was for that climate! Our faces burned and + blistered; even the parting on the head burned, under the awnings which + were kept spread. The ice-supply decreased alarmingly, the meats turned + green, and when the steward went down into the refrigerator, which was + somewhere below the quarter-deck, to get provisions for the day, every + woman held a bottle of salts to her nose, and the officers fled to the + forward part of the ship. The odor which ascended from that refrigerator + was indescribable: it lingered and would not go. It followed us to the + table, and when we tasted the food we tasted the odor. We bribed the + steward for ice. Finally, I could not go below at all, but had a baked + sweet potato brought on deck, and lived several days upon that diet. + </p> + <p> + On the 14th of August we anchored off Mazatlan, a picturesque and ancient + adobe town in old Mexico. The approach to this port was strikingly + beautiful. Great rocks, cut by the surf into arches and caverns, guarded + the entrance to the harbor. We anchored two miles out. A customs and a + Wells-Fargo boat boarded us, and many natives came along side, bringing + fresh cocoanuts, bananas, and limes. Some Mexicans bound for Guaymas came + on board, and a troupe of Japanese jugglers. + </p> + <p> + While we were unloading cargo, some officers and their wives went on shore + in one of the ship's boats, and found it a most interesting place. It was + garrisoned by Mexican troops, uniformed in white cotton shirts and + trousers. They visited the old hotel, the amphitheatre where the + bull-fights were held, and the old fort. They told also about the + cock-pits—and about the refreshing drinks they had. + </p> + <p> + My thirst began to be abnormal. We bought a dozen cocoanuts, and I drank + the milk from them, and made up my mind to go ashore at the next port; for + after nine days with only thick black coffee and bad warm water to drink, + I was longing for a cup of good tea or a glass of fresh, sweet milk. + </p> + <p> + A day or so more brought us to Guaymas, another Mexican port. Mrs. Wilkins + said she had heard something about an old Spaniard there, who used to cook + meals for stray travellers. This was enough. I was desperately hungry and + thirsty, and we decided to try and find him. Mrs. Wilkins spoke a little + Spanish, and by dint of inquiries we found the man's house, a little old, + forlorn, deserted-looking adobe casa. + </p> + <p> + We rapped vigorously upon the old door, and after some minutes a small, + withered old man appeared. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Wilkins told him what we wanted, but this ancient Delmonico declined + to serve us, and said, in Spanish, the country was "a desert"; he had + "nothing in the house"; he had "not cooked a meal in years"; he could not; + and, finally, he would not; and he gently pushed the door to in our faces. + But we did not give it up, and Mrs. Wilkins continued to persuade. I + mustered what Spanish I knew, and told him I would pay him any price for a + cup of coffee with fresh milk. He finally yielded, and told us to return + in one hour. + </p> + <p> + So we walked around the little deserted town. I could think only of the + breakfast we were to have in the old man's casa. And it met and exceeded + our wildest anticipations, for, just fancy! We were served with a + delicious boullion, then chicken, perfectly cooked, accompanied by some + dish flavored with chile verde, creamy biscuit, fresh butter, and golden + coffee with milk. There were three or four women and several officers in + the party, and we had a merry breakfast. We paid the old man generously, + thanked him warmly, and returned to the ship, fortified to endure the + sight of all the green ducks that came out of the lower hold. + </p> + <p> + You must remember that the "Newbern" was a small and old propeller, not + fitted up for passengers, and in those days the great refrigerating plants + were unheard of. The women who go to the Philippines on our great + transports of to-day cannot realize and will scarcely believe what we + endured for lack of ice and of good food on that never-to-be-forgotten + voyage down the Pacific coast and up the Gulf of California in the summer + of 1874. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. THE SLUE + </h2> + <p> + At last, after a voyage of thirteen days, we came to anchor a mile or so + off Port Isabel, at the mouth of the Colorado River. A narrow but deep + slue runs up into the desert land, on the east side of the river's mouth, + and provides a harbor of refuge for the flat-bottomed stern-wheelers which + meet the ocean steamers at this point. Hurricanes are prevalent at this + season in the Gulf of California, but we had been fortunate in not meeting + with any on the voyage. The wind now freshened, however, and beat the + waves into angry foam, and there we lay for three days on the "Newbern," + off Port Isabel, before the sea was calm enough for the transfer of troops + and baggage to the lighters. + </p> + <p> + This was excessively disagreeable. The wind was like a breath from a + furnace; it seemed as though the days would never end, and the wind never + stop blowing. Jack's official diary says: "One soldier died to-day." + </p> + <p> + Finally, on the fourth day, the wind abated, and the transfer was begun. + We boarded the river steamboat "Cocopah," towing a barge loaded with + soldiers, and steamed away for the slue. I must say that we welcomed the + change with delight. Towards the end of the afternoon the "Cocopah" put + her nose to the shore and tied up. It seemed strange not to see pier sand + docks, nor even piles to tie to. Anchors were taken ashore and the boat + secured in that manner: there being no trees of sufficient size to make + fast to. + </p> + <p> + The soldiers went into camp on shore. The heat down in that low, flat + place was intense. Another man died that night. + </p> + <p> + What was our chagrin, the next morning, to learn that we must go back to + the "Newbern," to carry some freight from up-river. There was nothing to + do but stay on board and tow that dreary barge, filled with hot, red, + baked-looking ore, out to the ship, unload, and go back up the slue. + Jack's diary records: "Aug. 23rd. Heat awful. Pringle died to-day." He was + the third soldier to succumb. It seemed to me their fate was a hard one. + To die, down in that wretched place, to be rolled in a blanket and buried + on those desert shores, with nothing but a heap of stones to mark their + graves. + </p> + <p> + The adjutant of the battalion read the burial service, and the trumpeters + stepped to the edge of the graves and sounded "Taps," which echoed sad and + melancholy far over those parched and arid lands. My eyes filled with + tears, for one of the soldiers was from our own company, and had been kind + to me. + </p> + <p> + Jack said: "You mustn't cry, Mattie; it's a soldier's life, and when a man + enlists he must take his chances." + </p> + <p> + "Yes, but," I said, "somewhere there must be a mother or sister, or some + one who cares for these poor men, and it's all so sad to think of." + </p> + <p> + "Well, I know it is sad," he replied, soothingly, "but listen! It is all + over, and the burial party is returning." + </p> + <p> + I listened and heard the gay strains of "The girl I left behind me," which + the trumpeters were playing with all their might. "You see," said Jack, + "it would not do for the soldiers to be sad when one of them dies. Why, it + would demoralize the whole command. So they play these gay things to cheer + them up." + </p> + <p> + And I began to feel that tears must be out of place at a soldier's + funeral. I attended many a one after that, but I had too much imagination, + and in spite of all my brave efforts, visions of the poor boy's mother on + some little farm in Missouri or Kansas perhaps, or in some New England + town, or possibly in the old country, would come before me, and my heart + was filled with sadness. + </p> + <p> + The Post Hospital seemed to me a lonesome place to die in, although the + surgeon and soldier attendants were kind to the sick men. There were no + women nurses in the army in those days. + </p> + <p> + The next day, the "Cocopah" started again and towed a barge out to the + ship. But the hot wind sprang up and blew fiercely, and we lay off and on + all day, until it was calm enough to tow her back to the slue. By that + time I had about given up all hope of getting any farther, and if the + weather had only been cooler I could have endured with equanimity the idle + life and knocking about from the ship to the slue, and from the slue to + the ship. But the heat was unbearable. We had to unpack our trunks again + and get out heavy-soled shoes, for the zinc which covered the decks of + these river-steamers burned through the thin slippers we had worn on the + ship. + </p> + <p> + That day we had a little diversion, for we saw the "Gila" come down the + river and up the slue, and tie up directly alongside of us. She had on + board and in barges four companies of the Twenty-third Infantry, who were + going into the States. We exchanged greetings and visits, and from the + great joy manifested by them all, I drew my conclusions as to what lay + before us, in the dry and desolate country we were about to enter. + </p> + <p> + The women's clothes looked ridiculously old-fashioned, and I wondered if I + should look that way when my time came to leave Arizona. + </p> + <p> + Little cared they, those women of the Twenty-third, for, joy upon joys! + They saw the "Newbern" out there in the offing, waiting to take them back + to green hills, and to cool days and nights, and to those they had left + behind, three years before. + </p> + <p> + On account of the wind, which blew again with great violence, the + "Cocopah" could not leave the slue that day. The officers and soldiers + were desperate for something to do. So they tried fishing, and caught some + "croakers," which tasted very fresh and good, after all the curried and + doctored-up messes we had been obliged to eat on board ship. + </p> + <p> + We spent seven days in and out of that slue. Finally, on August the 26th, + the wind subsided and we started up river. Towards sunset we arrived at a + place called "Old Soldier's Camp." There the "Gila" joined us, and the + command was divided between the two river-boats. We were assigned to the + "Gila," and I settled myself down with my belongings, for the remainder of + the journey up river. + </p> + <p> + We resigned ourselves to the dreadful heat, and at the end of two more + days the river had begun to narrow, and we arrived at Fort Yuma, which was + at that time the post best known to, and most talked about by army + officers of any in Arizona. No one except old campaigners knew much about + any other post in the Territory. + </p> + <p> + It was said to be the very hottest place that ever existed, and from the + time we left San Francisco we had heard the story, oft repeated, of the + poor soldier who died at Fort Yuma, and after awhile returned to beg for + his blankets, having found the regions of Pluto so much cooler than the + place he had left. But the fort looked pleasant to us, as we approached. + It lay on a high mesa to the left of us and there was a little green grass + where the post was built. + </p> + <p> + None of the officers knew as yet their destination, and I found myself + wishing it might be our good fortune to stay at Fort Yuma. It seemed such + a friendly place. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant Haskell, Twelfth Infantry, who was stationed there, came down + to the boat to greet us, and brought us our letters from home. He then + extended his gracious hospitality to us all, arranging for us to come to + his quarters the next day for a meal, and dividing the party as best he + could accommodate us. It fell to our lot to go to breakfast with Major and + Mrs. Wells and Miss Wilkins. + </p> + <p> + An ambulance was sent the next morning, at nine o'clock, to bring us up + the steep and winding road, white with heat, which led to the fort. + </p> + <p> + I can never forget the taste of the oatmeal with fresh milk, the eggs and + butter, and delicious tomatoes, which were served to us in his latticed + dining-room. + </p> + <p> + After twenty-three days of heat and glare, and scorching winds, and stale + food, Fort Yuma and Mr. Haskell's dining-room seemed like Paradise. + </p> + <p> + Of course it was hot; it was August, and we expected it. But the heat of + those places can be much alleviated by the surroundings. There were shower + baths, and latticed piazzas, and large ollas hanging in the shade of them, + containing cool water. Yuma was only twenty days from San Francisco, and + they were able to get many things direct by steamer. Of course there was + no ice, and butter was kept only by ingenious devices of the Chinese + servants; there were but few vegetables, but what was to be had at all in + that country, was to be had at Fort Yuma. + </p> + <p> + We staid one more day, and left two companies of the regiment there. When + we departed, I felt, somehow, as though we were saying good-bye to the + world and civilization, and as our boat clattered and tugged away up river + with its great wheel astern, I could not help looking back longingly to + old Fort Yuma. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. UP THE RIO COLORADO + </h2> + <p> + And now began our real journey up the Colorado River, that river unknown + to me except in my early geography lessons—that mighty and untamed + river, which is to-day unknown except to the explorer, or the few people + who have navigated its turbulent waters. Back in memory was the picture of + it on the map; here was the reality, then, and here we were, on the + steamer "Gila," Captain Mellon, with the barge full of soldiers towing on + after us, starting for Fort Mojave, some two hundred miles above. + </p> + <p> + The vague and shadowy foreboding that had fluttered through my mind before + I left Fort Russell had now also become a reality and crowded out every + other thought. The river, the scenery, seemed, after all, but an illusion, + and interested me but in a dreamy sort of way. + </p> + <p> + We had staterooms, but could not remain in them long at a time, on account + of the intense heat. I had never felt such heat, and no one else ever had + or has since. The days were interminable. We wandered around the boat, + first forward, then aft, to find a cool spot. We hung up our canteens + (covered with flannel and dipped in water), where they would swing in the + shade, thereby obtaining water which was a trifle cooler than the air. + There was no ice, and consequently no fresh provisions. A Chinaman served + as steward and cook, and at the ringing of a bell we all went into a small + saloon back of the pilothouse, where the meals were served. Our party at + table on the "Gila" consisted of several unmarried officers, and several + officers with their wives, about eight or nine in all, and we could have + had a merry time enough but for the awful heat, which destroyed both our + good looks and our tempers. The fare was meagre, of course; fresh biscuit + without butter, very salt boiled beef, and some canned vegetables, which + were poor enough in those days. Pies made from preserved peaches or plums + generally followed this delectable course. Chinamen, as we all know, can + make pies under conditions that would stagger most chefs. They may have no + marble pastry-slab, and the lard may run like oil, still they can make + pies that taste good to the hungry traveller. + </p> + <p> + But that dining-room was hot! The metal handles of the knives were + uncomfortably warm to the touch; and even the wooden arms of the chairs + felt as if they were slowly igniting. After a hasty meal, and a few + remarks upon the salt beef, and the general misery of our lot, we would + seek some spot which might be a trifle cooler. A siesta was out of the + question, as the staterooms were insufferable; and so we dragged out the + weary days. + </p> + <p> + At sundown the boat put her nose up to the bank and tied up for the night. + The soldiers left the barges and went into camp on shore, to cook their + suppers and to sleep. The banks of the river offered no very attractive + spot upon which to make a camp; they were low, flat, and covered with + underbrush and arrow-weed, which grew thick to the water's edge. I always + found it interesting to watch the barge unload the men at sundown. + </p> + <p> + At twilight some of the soldiers came on board and laid our mattresses + side by side on the after deck. Pajamas and loose gowns were soon en + evidence, but nothing mattered, as they were no electric lights to disturb + us with their glare. Rank also mattered not; Lieutenant-Colonel Wilkins + and his wife lay down to rest, with the captains and lieutenants and their + wives, wherever their respective strikers had placed their mattresses (for + this was the good old time when the soldiers were allowed to wait upon + officers 'families). + </p> + <p> + Under these circumstances, much sleep was not to be thought of; the sultry + heat by the river bank, and the pungent smell of the arrow-weed which + lined the shores thickly, contributed more to stimulate than to soothe the + weary nerves. But the glare of the sun was gone, and after awhile a + stillness settled down upon this company of Uncle Sam's servants and their + followers. (In the Army Regulations, wives are not rated except as "camp + followers.") + </p> + <p> + But even this short respite from the glare of the sun was soon to end; for + before the crack of dawn, or, as it seemed to us, shortly after midnight, + came such a clatter with the fires and the high-pressure engine and the + sparks, and what all they did in that wild and reckless land, that further + rest was impossible, and we betook ourselves with our mattresses to the + staterooms, for another attempt at sleep, which, however, meant only + failure, as the sun rose incredibly early on that river, and we were glad + to take a hasty sponge from a basin of rather thick looking river-water, + and go again out on deck, where we could always get a cup of black coffee + from the Chinaman. + </p> + <p> + And thus began another day of intolerable glare and heat. Conversation + lagged; no topic seemed to have any interest except the thermometer, which + hung in the coolest place on the boat; and one day when Major Worth looked + at it and pronounced it one hundred and twenty-two in the shade, a grim + despair seized upon me, and I wondered how much more heat human beings + could endure. There was nothing to relieve the monotony of the scenery. On + each side of us, low river banks, and nothing between those and the + horizon line. On our left was Lower [*] California, and on our right, + Arizona. Both appeared to be deserts. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * This term is here used (as we used it at Ehrenberg) to + designate the low, flat lands west of the river, without any + reference to Lower California proper,—the long peninsula + belonging to Mexico. +</pre> + <p> + As the river narrowed, however, the trip began to be enlivened by the + constant danger of getting aground on the shifting sand-bars which are so + numerous in this mighty river. Jack Mellon was then the most famous pilot + on the Colorado, and he was very skilful in steering clear of the + sand-bars, skimming over them, or working his boat off, when once fast + upon them. The deck-hands, men of a mixed Indian and Mexican race, stood + ready with long poles, in the bow, to jump overboard, when we struck a + bar, and by dint of pushing, and reversing the engine, the boat would + swing off. + </p> + <p> + On approaching a shallow place, they would sound with their poles, and in + a sing-song high-pitched tone drawl out the number of feet. Sometimes + their sleepy drawling tones would suddenly cease, and crying loudly, "No + alli agua!" they would swing themselves over the side of the boat into the + river, and begin their strange and intricate manipulations with the poles. + Then, again, they would carry the anchor away off and by means of great + spars, and some method too complicated for me to describe, Captain Mellon + would fairly lift the boat over the bar. + </p> + <p> + But our progress was naturally much retarded, and sometimes we were + aground an hour, sometimes a half day or more. Captain Mellon was always + cheerful. River steamboating was his life, and sand-bars were his + excitement. On one occasion, I said, "Oh! Captain, do you think we shall + get off this bar to-day?" "Well, you can't tell," he said, with a twinkle + in his eye; "one trip, I lay fifty-two days on a bar," and then, after a + short pause, "but that don't happen very often; we sometimes lay a week, + though; there is no telling; the bars change all the time." + </p> + <p> + Sometimes the low trees and brushwood on the banks parted, and a young + squaw would peer out at us. This was a little diversion, and picturesque + besides. They wore very short skirts made of stripped bark, and as they + held back the branches of the low willows, and looked at us with + curiosity, they made pictures so pretty that I have never forgotten them. + We had no kodaks then, but even if we had had them, they could not have + reproduced the fine copper color of those bare shoulders and arms, the + soft wood colors of the short bark skirts, the gleam of the sun upon their + blue-black hair, and the turquoise color of the wide bead-bands which + encircled their arms. + </p> + <p> + One morning, as I was trying to finish out a nap in my stateroom, Jack + came excitedly in and said: "Get up, Martha, we are coming to Ehrenberg!" + Visions of castles on the Rhine, and stories of the middle ages floated + through my mind, as I sprang up, in pleasurable anticipation of seeing an + interesting and beautiful place. Alas! for my ignorance. I saw but a row + of low thatched hovels, perched on the edge of the ragged looking + river-bank; a road ran lengthwise along, and opposite the hovels I saw a + store and some more mean-looking huts of adobe. + </p> + <p> + "Oh! Jack!" I cried, "and is that Ehrenberg? Who on earth gave such a name + to the wretched place?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, some old German prospector, I suppose; but never mind, the place is + all right enough. Come! Hurry up! We are going to stop here and land + freight. There is an officer stationed here. See those low white walls? + That is where he lives. Captain Bernard of the Fifth Cavalry. It's quite a + place; come out and see it." + </p> + <p> + But I did not go ashore. Of all dreary, miserable-looking settlements that + one could possibly imagine, that was the worst. An unfriendly, dirty, and + Heaven-forsaken place, inhabited by a poor class of Mexicans and + half-breeds. It was, however, an important shipping station for freight + which was to be sent overland to the interior, and there was always one + army officer stationed there. + </p> + <p> + Captain Bernard came on board to see us. I did not ask him how he liked + his station; it seemed to me too satirical; like asking the Prisoner of + Chillon, for instance, how he liked his dungeon. + </p> + <p> + I looked over towards those low white walls, which enclosed the Government + corral and the habitation of this officer, and thanked my stars that no + such dreadful detail had come to my husband. I did not dream that in less + than a year this exceptionally hard fate was to be my own. + </p> + <p> + We left Ehrenberg with no regrets, and pushed on up river. + </p> + <p> + On the third of September the boilers "foamed" so that we had to tie up + for nearly a day. This was caused by the water being so very muddy. The + Rio Colorado deserves its name, for its swift-flowing current sweeps by + like a mass of seething red liquid, turbulent and thick and treacherous. + It was said on the river, that those who sank beneath its surface were + never seen again, and in looking over into those whirlpools and swirling + eddies, one might well believe this to be true. + </p> + <p> + From there on, up the river, we passed through great canons and the + scenery was grand enough; but one cannot enjoy scenery with the mercury + ranging from 107 to 122 in the shade. The grandeur was quite lost upon us + all, and we were suffocated by the scorching heat radiating from those + massive walls of rocks between which we puffed and clattered along. + </p> + <p> + I must confess that the history of this great river was quite unknown to + me then. I had never read of the early attempts made to explore it, both + from above and from its mouth, and the wonders of the "Grand Canon" were + as yet unknown to the world. I did not realize that, as we steamed along + between those high perpendicular walls of rock, we were really seeing the + lower end of that great chasm which now, thirty years later, has become + one of the most famous resorts of this country and, in fact, of the world. + </p> + <p> + There was some mention made of Major Powell, that daring adventurer, who, + a few years previously, had accomplished the marvellous feat of going down + the Colorado and through the Grand Canon, in a small boat, he being the + first man who had at that time ever accomplished it, many men having lost + their lives in the attempt. + </p> + <p> + At last, on the 8th of September, we arrived at Camp Mojave, on the right + bank of the river; a low, square enclosure, on the low level of the flat + land near the river. It seemed an age since we had left Yuma and twice an + age since we had left the mouth of the river. But it was only eighteen + days in all, and Captain Mellon remarked: "A quick trip!" and + congratulated us on the good luck we had had in not being detained on the + sandbars. "Great Heavens," I thought, "if that is what they call a quick + trip!" But I do not know just what I thought, for those eighteen days on + the Great Colorado in midsummer, had burned themselves into my memory, and + I made an inward vow that nothing would ever force me into such a + situation again. I did not stop to really think; I only felt, and my only + feeling was a desire to get cool and to get out of the Territory in some + other way and at some cooler season. How futile a wish, and how futile a + vow! + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Dellenbaugh, who was with Powell in 1869 in his second + expedition down the river in small boats, has given to the + world a most interesting account of this wonderful river and + the canons through which it cuts its tempestuous way to the + Gulf of California, in two volumes entitled "The Romance of + the Great Colorado" and "A Canon Voyage". +</pre> + <p> + We bade good-bye to our gallant river captain and watched the great + stern-wheeler as she swung out into the stream, and, heading up river, + disappeared around a bend; for even at that time this venturesome pilot + had pushed his boat farther up than any other steam-craft had ever gone, + and we heard that there were terrific rapids and falls and unknown + mysteries above. The superstition of centuries hovered over the "great + cut," and but few civilized beings had looked down into its awful depths. + Brave, dashing, handsome Jack Mellon! What would I give and what would we + all give, to see thee once more, thou Wizard of the Great Colorado! + </p> + <p> + We turned our faces towards the Mojave desert, and I wondered, what next? + </p> + <p> + The Post Surgeon kindly took care of us for two days and nights, and we + slept upon the broad piazzas of his quarters. + </p> + <p> + We heard no more the crackling and fizzing of the stern-wheeler's + high-pressure engines at daylight, and our eyes, tired with gazing at the + red whirlpools of the river, found relief in looking out upon the + grey-white flat expanse which surrounded Fort Mojave, and merged itself + into the desert beyond. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. THE MOJAVE DESERT + </h2> + <p> + Thou white and dried-up sea! so old! So strewn with wealth, so sown with + gold! Yes, thou art old and hoary white With time and ruin of all things, + And on thy lonesome borders Night Sits brooding o'er with drooping wings.—JOAQUIN + MILLER. + </p> + <p> + The country had grown steadily more unfriendly ever since leaving Fort + Yuma, and the surroundings of Camp Mojave were dreary enough. + </p> + <p> + But we took time to sort out our belongings, and the officers arranged for + transportation across the Territory. Some had bought, in San Francisco, + comfortable travelling-carriages for their families. They were old + campaigners; they knew a thing or two about Arizona; we lieutenants did + not know, we had never heard much about this part of our country. But a + comfortable large carriage, known as a Dougherty wagon, or, in common army + parlance, an ambulance, was secured for me to travel in. This vehicle had + a large body, with two seats facing each other, and a seat outside for the + driver. The inside of the wagon could be closed if desired by canvas sides + and back which rolled up and down, and by a curtain which dropped behind + the driver's seat. So I was enabled to have some degree of privacy, if I + wished. + </p> + <p> + We repacked our mess-chest, and bought from the Commissary at Mojave the + provisions necessary for the long journey to Fort Whipple, which was the + destination of one of the companies and the headquarters officers. + </p> + <p> + On the morning of September 10th everything in the post was astir with + preparations for the first march. It was now thirty-five days since we + left San Francisco, but the change from boat to land travelling offered an + agreeable diversion after the monotony of the river. I watched with + interest the loading of the great prairie-schooners, into which went the + soldiers' boxes and the camp equipage. Outside was lashed a good deal of + the lighter stuff; I noticed a barrel of china, which looked much like our + own, lashed directly over one wheel. Then there were the massive blue army + wagons, which were also heavily loaded; the laundresses with their + children and belongings were placed in these. + </p> + <p> + At last the command moved out. It was to me a novel sight. The wagons and + schooners were each drawn by teams of six heavy mules, while a team of six + lighter mules was put to each ambulance and carriage. These were quite + different from the draught animals I had always seen in the Eastern + States; these Government mules being sleek, well-fed and trained to trot + as fast as the average carriage-horse. The harnesses were quite smart, + being trimmed off with white ivory rings. Each mule was "Lize" or "Fanny" + or "Kate", and the soldiers who handled the lines were accustomed to the + work; for work, and arduous work, it proved to be, as we advanced into the + then unknown Territory of Arizona. + </p> + <p> + The main body of the troops marched in advance; then came the ambulances + and carriages, followed by the baggage-wagons and a small rear-guard. When + the troops were halted once an hour for rest, the officers, who marched + with the soldiers, would come to the ambulances and chat awhile, until the + bugle call for "Assembly" sounded, when they would join their commands + again, the men would fall in, the call "Forward" was sounded, and the + small-sized army train moved on. + </p> + <p> + The first day's march was over a dreary country; a hot wind blew, and + everything was filled with dust. I had long ago discarded my hat, as an + unnecessary and troublesome article; consequently my head wa snow a mass + of fine white dust, which stuck fast, of course. I was covered from head + to foot with it, and it would not shake off, so, although our steamboat + troubles were over, our land troubles had begun. + </p> + <p> + We reached, after a few hours' travel, the desolate place where we were to + camp. + </p> + <p> + In the mean time, it had been arranged for Major Worth, who had no family, + to share our mess, and we had secured the services of a soldier belonging + to his company whose ability as a camp cook was known to both officers. + </p> + <p> + I cannot say that life in the army, as far as I had gone, presented any + very great attractions. This, our first camp, was on the river, a little + above Hardyville. Good water was there, and that was all; I had not yet + learned to appreciate that. There was not a tree nor a shrub to give + shade. The only thing I could see, except sky and sand, was a ruined adobe + enclosure, with no roof. I sat in the ambulance until our tent was + pitched, and then Jack came to me, followed by a six-foot soldier, and + said: "Mattie, this is Bowen, our striker; now I want you to tell him what + he shall cook for our supper; and—don't you think it would be nice + if you could show him how to make some of those good New England + doughnuts? I think Major Worth might like them; and after all the awful + stuff we have had, you know," et caetera, et caetera. I met the situation, + after an inward struggle, and said, weakly, "Where are the eggs?" "Oh," + said he, "you don't need eggs; you're on the frontier now; you must learn + to do without eggs." + </p> + <p> + Everything in me rebelled, but still I yielded. You see I had been married + only six months; the women at home, and in Germany also, had always shown + great deference to their husbands' wishes. But at that moment I almost + wished Major Worth and Jack and Bowen and the mess-chest at the bottom of + the Rio Colorado. However, I nerved myself for the effort, and when Bowen + had his camp-fire made, he came and called me. + </p> + <p> + At the best, I never had much confidence in my ability as a cook, but as a + camp cook! Ah, me! Everything seemed to swim before my eyes, and I fancied + that the other women were looking at me from their tents. Bowen was very + civil, turned back the cover of the mess-chest and propped it up. That was + the table. Then he brought me a tin basin, and some flour, some condensed + milk, some sugar, and a rolling-pin, and then he hung a camp-kettle with + lard in it over the fire. I stirred up a mixture in the basin, but the + humiliation of failure was spared me, for just then, without warning, came + one of those terrific sandstorms which prevail on the deserts of Arizona, + blowing us all before it in its fury, and filling everything with sand. + </p> + <p> + We all scurried to the tents; some of them had blown down. There was not + much shelter, but the storm was soon over, and we stood collecting our + scattered senses. I saw Mrs. Wilkins at the door of her tent. She beckoned + to me; I went over there, and she said: "Now, my dear, I am going to give + you some advice. You must not take it unkindly. I am an old army woman and + I have made many campaigns with the Colonel; you have but just joined the + army. You must never try to do any cooking at the camp-fire. The soldiers + are there for that work, and they know lots more about it than any of us + do." + </p> + <p> + "But, Jack," I began— + </p> + <p> + "Never mind Jack," said she; "he does not know as much as I do about it; + and when you reach your post," she added, "you can show him what you can + do in that line." + </p> + <p> + Bowen cleared away the sandy remains of the doubtful dough, and prepared + for us a very fair supper. Soldiers' bacon, and coffee, and biscuits baked + in a Dutch oven. + </p> + <p> + While waiting for the sun to set, we took a short stroll over to the adobe + ruins. Inside the enclosure lay an enormous rattlesnake, coiled. It was + the first one I had ever seen except in a cage, and I was fascinated by + the horror of the round, grayish-looking heap, so near the color of the + sand on which it lay. Some soldiers came and killed it. But I noticed that + Bowen took extra pains that night, to spread buffalo robes under our + mattresses, and to place around them a hair lariat. "Snakes won't cross + over that," he said, with a grin. + </p> + <p> + Bowen was a character. Originally from some farm in Vermont, he had served + some years with the Eighth Infantry, and for a long time in the same + company under Major Worth, and had cooked for the bachelors' mess. He was + very tall, and had a good-natured face, but he did not have much opinion + of what is known as etiquette, either military or civil; he seemed to + consider himself a sort of protector to the officers of Company K, and + now, as well, to the woman who had joined the company. He took us all + under his wing, as it were, and although he had to be sharply reprimanded + sometimes, in a kind of language which he seemed to expect, he was allowed + more latitude than most soldiers. + </p> + <p> + This was my first night under canvas in the army. I did not like those + desert places, and they grew to have a horror for me. + </p> + <p> + At four o'clock in the morning the cook's call sounded, the mules were + fed, and the crunching and the braying were something to awaken the + heaviest sleepers. Bowen called us. I was much upset by the dreadful dust, + which was thick upon everything I touched. We had to hasten our toilet, as + they were striking tents and breaking camp early, in order to reach before + noon the next place where there was water. Sitting on camp-stools, around + the mess-tables, in the open, before the break of day, we swallowed some + black coffee and ate some rather thick slices of bacon and dry bread. The + Wilkins' tent was near ours, and I said to them, rather peevishly: "Isn't + this dust something awful?" + </p> + <p> + Miss Wilkins looked up with her sweet smile and gentle manner and replied: + "Why, yes, Mrs. Summerhayes, it is pretty bad, but you must not worry + about such a little thing as dust." + </p> + <p> + "How can I help it?" I said; "my hair, my clothes, everything full of it, + and no chance for a bath or a change: a miserable little basin of water + and—" + </p> + <p> + I suppose I was running on with all my grievances, but she stopped me and + said again: "Soon, now, you will not mind it at all. Ella and I are army + girls, you know, and we do not mind anything. There's no use in fretting + about little things." + </p> + <p> + Miss Wilkins' remarks made a tremendous impression upon my mind and I + began to study her philosophy. + </p> + <p> + At break of day the command marched out, their rifles on their shoulders, + swaying along ahead of us, in the sunlight and the heat, which continued + still to be almost unendurable. The dry white dust of this desert country + boiled and surged up and around us in suffocating clouds. + </p> + <p> + I had my own canteen hung up in the ambulance, but the water in it got + very warm and I learned to take but a swallow at a time, as it could not + be refilled until we reached the next spring—and there is always + some uncertainty in Arizona as to whether the spring or basin has gone + dry. So water was precious, and we could not afford to waste a drop. + </p> + <p> + At about noon we reached a forlorn mud hut, known as Packwood's ranch. But + the place had a bar, which was cheerful for some of the poor men, as the + two days' marches had been rather hard upon them, being so "soft" from the + long voyage. I could never begrudge a soldier a bit of cheer after the + hard marches in Arizona, through miles of dust and burning heat, their + canteens long emptied and their lips parched and dry. I watched them often + as they marched along with their blanket-rolls, their haversacks, and + their rifles, and I used to wonder that they did not complain. + </p> + <p> + About that time the greatest luxury in the entire world seemed to me to be + a glass of fresh sweet milk, and I shall always remember Mr. Packwood's + ranch, because we had milk to drink with our supper, and some delicious + quail to eat. + </p> + <p> + Ranches in that part of Arizona meant only low adobe dwellings occupied by + prospectors or men who kept the relays of animals for stage routes. + Wretched, forbidding-looking places they were! Never a tree or a bush to + give shade, never a sign of comfort or home. + </p> + <p> + Our tents were pitched near Packwood's, out in the broiling sun. They were + like ovens; there was no shade, no coolness anywhere; we would have gladly + slept, after the day's march, but instead we sat broiling in the + ambulances, and waited for the long afternoon to wear away. + </p> + <p> + The next day dragged along in the same manner; the command marching + bravely along through dust and heat and thirst, as Kipling's soldier + sings: + </p> + <p> + "With its best foot first And the road a-sliding past, An' every bloomin' + campin'-ground Exactly like the last". + </p> + <p> + Beal's Springs did not differ from the other ranch, except that possibly + it was even more desolate. But a German lived there, who must have had + some knowledge of cooking, for I remember that we bought a peach pie from + him and ate it with a relish. I remember, too, that we gave him a good + silver dollar for it. + </p> + <p> + The only other incident of that day's march was the suicide of Major + Worth's pet dog "Pete." Having exhausted his ability to endure, this + beautiful red setter fixed his eye upon a distant range of mountains, and + ran without turning, or heeding any call, straight as the crow flies, + towards them and death. We never saw him again; a ranchman told us he had + known of several other instances where a well-bred dog had given up in + this manner, and attempted to run for the hills. We had a large greyhound + with us, but he did not desert. + </p> + <p> + Major Worth was much affected by the loss of his dog, and did not join us + at supper that night. We kept a nice fat quail for him, however, and at + about nine o'clock, when all was still and dark, Jack entered the Major's + tent and said: "Come now, Major, my wife has sent you this nice quail; + don't give up so about Pete, you know." + </p> + <p> + The Major lay upon his camp-bed, with his face turned to the wall of his + tent; he gave a deep sigh, rolled himself over and said: "Well, put it on + the table, and light the candle; I'll try to eat it. Thank your wife for + me." + </p> + <p> + So the Lieutenant made a light, and lo! and behold, the plate was there, + but the quail was gone! In the darkness, our great kangaroo hound had + stolen noiselessly upon his master's heels, and quietly removed the bird. + The two officers were dumbfounded. Major Worth said: "D—n my luck;" + and turned his face again to the wall of his tent. + </p> + <p> + Now Major Worth was just the dearest and gentlest sort of a man, but he + had been born and brought up in the old army, and everyone knows that + times and customs were different then. + </p> + <p> + Men drank more and swore a good deal, and while I do not wish my story to + seem profane, yet I would not describe army life or the officers as I knew + them, if I did not allow the latter to use an occasional strong + expression. + </p> + <p> + The incident, however, served to cheer up the Major, though he continued + to deplore the loss of his beautiful dog. + </p> + <p> + For the next two days our route lay over the dreariest and most desolate + country. It was not only dreary, it was positively hostile in its attitude + towards every living thing except snakes, centipedes and spiders. They + seemed to flourish in those surroundings. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes either Major Worth or Jack would come and drive along a few + miles in the ambulance with me to cheer me up, and they allowed me to + abuse the country to my heart's content. It seemed to do me much good. The + desert was new to me then. I had not read Pierre Loti's wonderful book, + "Le Desert," and I did not see much to admire in the desolate waste lands + through which we were travelling. I did not dream of the power of the + desert, nor that I should ever long to see it again. But as I write, the + longing possesses me, and the pictures then indelibly printed upon my + mind, long forgotten amidst the scenes and events of half a lifetime, + unfold themselves like a panorama before my vision and call me to come + back, to look upon them once more. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. LEARNING HOW TO SOLDIER + </h2> + <p> + "The grasses failed, and then a mass Of dry red cactus ruled the land: The + sun rose right above and fell, As falling molten from the skies, And no + winged thing was seen to pass." Joaquin Miller. + </p> + <p> + We made fourteen miles the next day, and went into camp at a place called + Freeze-wash, near some old silver mines. A bare and lonesome spot, where + there was only sand to be seen, and some black, burnt-looking rocks. From + under these rocks, crept great tarantulas, not forgetting lizards, snakes, + and not forgetting the scorpion, which ran along with its tail turned up + ready to sting anything that came in its way. The place furnished good + water, however, and that was now the most important thing. + </p> + <p> + The next day's march was a long one. The guides said: "Twenty-eight miles + to Willow Grove Springs." + </p> + <p> + The command halted ten minutes every hour for rest, but the sun poured + down upon us, and I was glad to stay in the ambulance. It was at these + times that my thoughts turned back to the East and to the blue sea and the + green fields of God's country. I looked out at the men, who were getting + pretty well fagged, and at the young officers whose uniforms were white + with dust, and Frau Weste's words about glaenzendes Elend came to my mind. + I fell to thinking: was the army life, then, only "glittering misery," and + had I come to participate in it? + </p> + <p> + Some of the old soldiers had given out, and had to be put on the army + wagons. I was getting to look rather fagged and seedy, and was much + annoyed at my appearance. Not being acquainted with the vicissitudes of + the desert, I had not brought in my travelling-case a sufficient number of + thin washbodices. The few I had soon became black beyond recognition, as + the dust boiled (literally) up and into the ambulance and covered me from + head to foot. But there was no help for it, and no one was much better + off. + </p> + <p> + It was about that time that we began to see the outlines of a great + mountain away to the left and north of us. It seemed to grow nearer and + nearer, and fascinated our gaze. + </p> + <p> + Willow Grove Springs was reached at four o'clock and the small cluster of + willow trees was most refreshing to our tired eyes. The next day's march + was over a rolling country. We began to see grass, and to feel that, at + last, we were out of the desert. The wonderful mountain still loomed up + large and clear on our left. I thought of the old Spanish explorers and + wondered if they came so far as this, when they journeyed through that + part of our country three hundred years before. I wondered what beautiful + and high-sounding name they might have given it. I wondered a good deal + about that bare and isolated mountain, rising out of what seemed an + endless waste of sand. I asked the driver if he knew the name of it: "That + is Bill Williams' mountain, ma'am," he replied, and relapsed into his + customary silence, which was unbroken except by an occasional remark to + the wheelers or the leaders. + </p> + <p> + I thought of the Harz Mountains, which I had so recently tramped over, and + the romantic names and legends connected with them, and I sighed to think + such an imposing landmark as this should have such a prosaic name. I + realized that Arizona was not a land of romance; and when Jack came to the + ambulance, I said, "Don't you think it a pity that such monstrous things + are allowed in America, as to call that great fine mountain 'Bill + Williams' mountain'?" + </p> + <p> + "Why no," he said; "I suppose he discovered it, and I dare say he had a + hard enough time before he got to it." + </p> + <p> + We camped at Fort Rock, and Lieutenant Bailey shot an antelope. It was the + first game we had seen; our spirits revived a bit; the sight of green + grass and trees brought new life to us. + </p> + <p> + Anvil Rock and old Camp Hualapais were our next two stopping places. We + drove through groves of oaks, cedars and pines, and the days began + hopefully and ended pleasantly. To be sure, the roads were very rough and + our bones ached after a long day's travelling. But our tents were now + pitched under tall pine trees and looked inviting. Soldiers have a knack + of making a tent attractive. + </p> + <p> + "Madame, the Lieutenant's compliments, and your tent is ready." + </p> + <p> + I then alighted and found my little home awaiting me. The tent-flaps tied + open, the mattresses laid, the blankets turned back, the camp-table with + candle-stick upon it, and a couple of camp-chairs at the door of the tent. + Surely it is good to be in the army I then thought; and after a supper + consisting of soldiers' hot biscuit, antelope steak broiled over the + coals, and a large cup of black coffee, I went to rest, listening to the + soughing of the pines. + </p> + <p> + My mattress was spread always upon the ground, with a buffalo robe under + it and a hair lariat around it, to keep off the snakes; as it is said they + do not like to cross them. I found the ground more comfortable than the + camp cots which were used by some of the officers, and most of the women. + </p> + <p> + The only Indians we had seen up to that time were the peaceful tribes of + the Yumas, Cocopahs and Mojaves, who lived along the Colorado. We had not + yet entered the land of the dread Apache. + </p> + <p> + The nights were now cool enough, and I never knew sweeter rest than came + to me in the midst of those pine groves. + </p> + <p> + Our road was gradually turning southward, but for some days Bill Williams + was the predominating feature of the landscape; turn whichever way we + might, still this purple mountain was before us. It seemed to pervade the + entire country, and took on such wonderful pink colors at sunset. Bill + Williams held me in thrall, until the hills and valleys in the vicinity of + Fort Whipple shut him out from my sight. But he seemed to have come into + my life somehow, and in spite of his name, I loved him for the + companionship he had given me during those long, hot, weary and + interminable days. + </p> + <p> + About the middle of September, we arrived at American ranch, some ten + miles from Fort Whipple, which was the headquarters station. Colonel + Wilkins and his family left us, and drove on to their destination. Some + officers of the Fifth Cavalry rode out to greet us, and Lieutenant Earl + Thomas asked me to come into the post and rest a day or two at their + house, as we then had learned that K Company was to march on to Camp + Apache, in the far eastern part of the Territory. + </p> + <p> + We were now enabled to get some fresh clothing from our trunks, which were + in the depths of the prairie-schooners, and all the officers' wives were + glad to go into the post, where we were most kindly entertained. Fort + Whipple was a very gay and hospitable post, near the town of Prescott, + which was the capital city of Arizona. The country being mountainous and + fertile, the place was very attractive, and I felt sorry that we were not + to remain there. But I soon learned that in the army, regrets were vain. I + soon ceased to ask myself whether I was sorry or glad at any change in our + stations. + </p> + <p> + On the next day the troops marched in, and camped outside the post. The + married officers were able to join their wives, and the three days we + spent there were delightful. There was a dance given, several informal + dinners, drives into the town of Prescott, and festivities of various + kinds. General Crook commanded the Department of Arizona then; he was out + on some expedition, but Mrs. Crook gave a pleasant dinner for us. After + dinner, Mrs. Crook came and sat beside me, asked kindly about our long + journey, and added: "I am truly sorry the General is away; I should like + for him to meet you; you are just the sort of woman he likes." A few years + afterwards I met the General, and remembering this remark, I was conscious + of making a special effort to please. The indifferent courtesy with which + he treated me, however, led me to think that women are often mistaken + judges of their husband's tastes. + </p> + <p> + The officers' quarters at Fort Whipple were quite commodious, and after + seven weeks' continuous travelling, the comforts which surrounded me at + Mrs. Thomas' home seemed like the veriest luxuries. I was much affected by + the kindness shown me by people I had never met before, and I kept + wondering if I should ever have an opportunity to return their courtesies. + "Don't worry about that, Martha," said Jack, "your turn will come." + </p> + <p> + He proved a true prophet, for sooner or later, I saw them all again, and + was able to extend to them the hospitality of an army home. Nevertheless, + my heart grows warm whenever I think of the people who first welcomed me + to Arizona, me a stranger in the army, and in the great southwest as well. + </p> + <p> + At Fort Whipple we met also some people we had known at Fort Russell, who + had gone down with the first detachment, among them Major and Mrs. + Wilhelm, who were to remain at headquarters. We bade good-bye to the + Colonel and his family, to the officers of F, who were to stay behind, and + to our kind friends of the Fifth Cavalry. + </p> + <p> + We now made a fresh start, with Captain Ogilby in command. Two days took + us into Camp Verde, which lies on a mesa above the river from which it + takes its name. + </p> + <p> + Captain Brayton, of the Eight Infantry, and his wife, who were already + settled at Camp Verde, received us and took the best care of us. Mrs. + Brayton gave me a few more lessons in army house-keeping, and I could not + have had a better teacher. I told her about Jack and the tinware; her + bright eyes snapped, and she said: "Men think they know everything, but + the truth is, they don't know anything; you go right ahead and have all + the tinware and other things; all you can get, in fact; and when the time + comes to move, send Jack out of the house, get a soldier to come in and + pack you up, and say nothing about it." + </p> + <p> + "But the weight—" + </p> + <p> + "Fiddlesticks! They all say that; now you just not mind their talk, but + take all you need, and it will get carried along, somehow." + </p> + <p> + Still another company left our ranks, and remained at Camp Verde. The + command was now getting deplorably small, I thought, to enter an Indian + country, for we were now to start for Camp Apache. Several routes were + discussed, but, it being quite early in the autumn, and the Apache Indians + being just then comparatively quiet, they decided to march the troops over + Crook's Trail, which crossed the Mogollon range and was considered to be + shorter than any other. It was all the same to me. I had never seen a map + of Arizona, and never heard of Crook's Trail. Maps never interested me, + and I had not read much about life in the Territories. At that time, the + history of our savage races was a blank page to me. I had been listening + to the stories of an old civilization, and my mind did not adjust itself + readily to the new surroundings. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX. ACROSS THE MOGOLLONS + </h2> + <p> + It was a fine afternoon in the latter part of September, when our small + detachment, with Captain Ogilby in command, marched out of Camp Verde. + There were two companies of soldiers, numbering about a hundred men in + all, five or six officers, Mrs. Bailey and myself, and a couple of + laundresses. I cannot say that we were gay. Mrs. Bailey had said good-bye + to her father and mother and sister at Fort Whipple, and although she was + an army girl, she did not seem to bear the parting very philosophically. + Her young child, nine months old, was with her, and her husband, as + stalwart and handsome an officer as ever wore shoulder-straps. But we were + facing unknown dangers, in a far country, away from mother, father, sister + and brother—a country infested with roving bands of the most cruel + tribe ever known, who tortured before they killed. We could not even + pretend to be gay. + </p> + <p> + The travelling was very difficult and rough, and both men and animals were + worn out by night. But we were now in the mountains, the air was cool and + pleasant, and the nights so cold that we were glad to have a small stove + in our tents to dress by in the mornings. The scenery was wild and grand; + in fact, beyond all that I had ever dreamed of; more than that, it seemed + so untrod, so fresh, somehow, and I do not suppose that even now, in the + day of railroads and tourists, many people have had the view of the Tonto + Basin which we had one day from the top of the Mogollon range. + </p> + <p> + I remember thinking, as we alighted from our ambulances and stood looking + over into the Basin, "Surely I have never seen anything to compare with + this—but oh! would any sane human being voluntarily go through with + what I have endured on this journey, in order to look upon this wonderful + scene?" + </p> + <p> + The roads had now become so difficult that our wagon-train could not move + as fast as the lighter vehicles or the troops. Sometimes at a critical + place in the road, where the ascent was not only dangerous, but doubtful, + or there was, perhaps, a sharp turn, the ambulances waited to see the + wagons safely over the pass. Each wagon had its six mules; each ambulance + had also its quota of six. + </p> + <p> + At the foot of one of these steep places, the wagons would halt, the + teamsters would inspect the road, and calculate the possibilities of + reaching the top; then, furiously cracking their whips, and pouring forth + volley upon volley of oaths, they would start the team. Each mule got its + share of dreadful curses. I had never heard or conceived of any oaths like + those. They made my blood fairly curdle, and I am not speaking + figuratively. The shivers ran up and down my back, and I half expected to + see those teamsters struck down by the hand of the Almighty. + </p> + <p> + For although the anathemas hurled at my innocent head, during the + impressionable years of girlhood, by the pale and determined + Congregational ministers with gold-bowed spectacles, who held forth in the + meeting-house of my maternal ancestry (all honor to their sincerity), had + taken little hold upon my mind, still, the vital drop of the Puritan was + in my blood, and the fear of a personal God and His wrath still existed, + away back in the hidden recesses of my heart. + </p> + <p> + This swearing and lashing went on until the heavily-loaded + prairie-schooner, swaying, swinging, and swerving to the edge of the cut, + and back again to the perpendicular wall of the mountain, would finally + reach the top, and pass on around the bend; then another would do the + same. Each teamster had his own particular variety of oaths, each mule had + a feminine name, and this brought the swearing down to a sort of personal + basis. I remonstrated with Jack, but he said: teamsters always swore; "the + mules wouldn't even stir to go up a hill, if they weren't sworn at like + that." + </p> + <p> + By the time we had crossed the great Mogollon mesa, I had become + accustomed to those dreadful oaths, and learned to admire the skill, + persistency and endurance shown by those rough teamsters. I actually got + so far as to believe what Jack had told me about the swearing being + necessary, for I saw impossible feats performed by the combination. + </p> + <p> + When near camp, and over the difficult places, we drove on ahead and + waited for the wagons to come in. It was sometimes late evening before + tents could be pitched and supper cooked. And oh! to see the poor jaded + animals when the wagons reached camp! I could forget my own discomfort and + even hunger, when I looked at their sad faces. + </p> + <p> + One night the teamsters reported that a six-mule team had rolled down the + steep side of a mountain. I did not ask what became of the poor faithful + mules; I do not know, to this day. In my pity and real distress over the + fate of these patient brutes, I forgot to inquire what boxes were on the + unfortunate wagon. + </p> + <p> + We began to have some shooting. Lieutenant Bailey shot a young deer, and + some wild turkeys, and we could not complain any more of the lack of fresh + food. + </p> + <p> + It did not surprise us to learn that ours was the first wagon-train to + pass over Crook's Trail. For miles and miles the so-called road was + nothing but a clearing, and we were pitched and jerked from side to side + of the ambulance, as we struck large rocks or tree-stumps; in some steep + places, logs were chained to the rear of the ambulance, to keep it from + pitching forward onto the backs of the mules. At such places I got out and + picked my way down the rocky declivity. + </p> + <p> + We now began to hear of the Apache Indians, who were always out, in either + large or small bands, doing their murderous work. + </p> + <p> + One day a party of horseman tore past us at a gallop. Some of them raised + their hats to us as they rushed past, and our officers recognized General + Crook, but we could not, in the cloud of dust, distinguish officers from + scouts. All wore the flannel shirt, handkerchief tied about the neck, and + broad campaign hat. + </p> + <p> + After supper that evening, the conversation turned upon Indians in + general, and Apaches in particular. We camped always at a basin, or a + tank, or a hole, or a spring, or in some canon, by a creek. Always from + water to water we marched. Our camp that night was in the midst of a + primeval grove of tall pine trees; verily, an untrodden land. We had a big + camp-fire, and sat around it until very late. There were only five or six + officers, and Mrs. Bailey and myself. + </p> + <p> + The darkness and blackness of the place were uncanny. We all sat looking + into the fire. Somebody said, "Injuns would not have such a big fire as + that." + </p> + <p> + "No; you bet they wouldn't," was the quick reply of one of the officers. + </p> + <p> + Then followed a long pause; we all sat thinking, and gazing into the fire, + which crackled and leaped into fitful blazes. + </p> + <p> + "Our figures must make a mighty good outline against that fire," remarked + one of officers, nonchalantly; "I dare say those stealthy sons of Satan + know exactly where we are at this minute," he added. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, you bet your life they do!" answered one of the younger men, lapsing + into the frontiersman's language, from the force of his convictions. + </p> + <p> + "Look behind you at those trees, Jack," said Major Worth. "Can you see + anything? No! And if there were an Apache behind each one of them, we + should never know it." + </p> + <p> + We all turned and peered into the black darkness which surrounded us. + </p> + <p> + Another pause followed; the silence was weird—only the cracking of + the fire was heard, and the mournful soughing of the wind in the pines. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, a crash! We started to our feet and faced around. + </p> + <p> + "A dead branch," said some one. + </p> + <p> + Major Worth shrugged his shoulders, and turning to Jack, said, in a low + tone, "D—— d if I don't believe I'm getting nervous," and + saying "good night," he walked towards his tent. + </p> + <p> + No element of doubt pervaded my mind as to my own state. The weird feeling + of being up in those remote mountain passes, with but a handful of + soldiers against the wary Apaches, the mysterious look of those black + tree-trunks, upon which flickered the uncertain light of the camp-fire now + dying, and from behind each one of which I imagined a red devil might be + at that moment taking aim with his deadly arrow, all inspired me with fear + such as I had never before known. + </p> + <p> + In the cyclone which had overtaken our good ship in mid-Atlantic, where we + lay tossing about at the mercy of the waves for thirty-six long hours, I + had expected to yield my body to the dark and grewsome depths of the + ocean. I had almost felt the cold arms of Death about me; but compared to + the sickening dread of the cruel Apache, my fears then had been as naught. + Facing the inevitable at sea, I had closed my eyes and said good-bye to + Life. But in this mysterious darkness, every nerve, every sense, was + keenly alive with terror. + </p> + <p> + Several of that small party around the camp-fire have gone from amongst + us, but I venture to say that, of the few who are left, not one will deny + that he shared in the vague apprehension which seized upon us. + </p> + <p> + Midnight found us still lingering around the dead ashes of the fire. After + going to our tent, Jack saw that I was frightened. He said: "Don't worry, + Martha, an Apache never was known to attack in the night," and after + hearing many repetitions of this assertion, upon which I made him take his + oath, I threw myself upon the bed. After our candle was out, I said: "When + do they attack?" Jack who, with the soldiers' indifference to danger, was + already half asleep, replied: "Just before daylight, usually, but do not + worry, I say; there aren't any Injuns in this neighborhood. Why! Didn't + you meet General Crook to-day? You ought to have some sense. If there'd + been an Injun around here he would have cleaned him out. Now go to sleep + and don't be foolish." But I was taking my first lessons in campaigning, + and sleep was not so easy. + </p> + <p> + Just before dawn, as I had fallen into a light slumber, the flaps of the + tent burst open, and began shaking violently to and fro. I sprang to my + feet, prepared for the worst. Jack started up: "What is it?" he cried. + </p> + <p> + "It must have been the wind, I think, but it frightened me," I murmured. + The Lieutenant fastened the tent-flaps together, and lay down to sleep + again; but my heart beat fast, and I listened for every sound. + </p> + <p> + The day gradually dawned, and with it my fears of the night were allayed. + But ever after that, Jack's fatal answer, "Just before daylight," kept my + eyes wide open for hours before the dawn. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X. A PERILOUS ADVENTURE + </h2> + <p> + One fine afternoon, after a march of twenty-two miles over a rocky road, + and finding our provisions low, Mr. Bailey and Jack went out to shoot wild + turkeys. As they shouldered their guns and walked away. Captain Ogilby + called out to them, "Do not go too far from camp." + </p> + <p> + Jack returned at sundown with a pair of fine turkeys! but Bailey failed to + come in. However, as they all knew him to be an experienced woodsman, no + one showed much anxiety until darkness had settled over the camp. Then + they began to signal, by discharging their rifles; the officers went out + in various directions, giving "halloos," and firing at intervals, but + there came no sound of the missing man. + </p> + <p> + The camp was now thoroughly alarmed. This was too dangerous a place for a + man to be wandering around in all night, and search-parties of soldiers + were formed. Trees were burned, and the din of rifles, constantly + discharged, added to the excitement. One party after another came in. They + had scoured the country—and not a trace of Bailey. + </p> + <p> + The young wife sat in her tent, soothing her little child; everybody + except her, gave up hope; the time dragged on; our hearts grew heavy; the + sky was alight with blazing trees. + </p> + <p> + I went into Mrs. Bailey's tent. She was calm and altogether lovely, and + said: "Charley can't get lost, and unless something has happened to him, + he will come in." + </p> + <p> + Ella Bailey was a brave young army woman; she was an inspiration to the + entire camp. + </p> + <p> + Finally, after hours of the keenest anxiety, a noise of gladsome shouts + rang through the trees, and in came a party of men with the young officer + on their shoulders. His friend Craig had been untiring in the search, and + at last had heard a faint "halloo" in the distance, and one shot (the only + cartridge poor Bailey had left). + </p> + <p> + After going over almost impassable places, they finally found him, lying + at the bottom of a ravine. In the black darkness of the evening, he had + walked directly over the edge of the chasm and fallen to the bottom, + dislocating his ankle. + </p> + <p> + He was some miles from camp, and had used up all his ammunition except the + one cartridge. He had tried in vain to walk or even crawl out of the + ravine, but had finally been overcome by exhaustion and lay there + helpless, in the wild vastnesses of the mountains. + </p> + <p> + A desperate situation, indeed! Some time afterwards, he told me how he + felt, when he realized how poor his chances were, when he saw he had only + one cartridge left and found that he had scarce strength to answer a + "halloo," should he hear one. But soldiers never like to talk much about + such things. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI. CAMP APACHE + </h2> + <p> + By the fourth of October we had crossed the range, and began to see + something which looked like roads. Our animals were fagged to a state of + exhaustion, but the travelling was now much easier and there was good + grazing, and after three more long day's marches, we arrived at Camp + Apache. We were now at our journey's end, after two months' continuous + travelling, and I felt reasonably sure of shelter and a fireside for the + winter at least. I knew that my husband's promotion was expected, but the + immediate present was filled with an interest so absorbing, that a + consideration of the future was out of the question. + </p> + <p> + At that time (it was the year of 1874) the officers' quarters at Camp + Apache were log cabins, built near the edge of the deep canon through + which the White Mountain River flows, before its junction with Black + River. + </p> + <p> + We were welcomed by the officers of the Fifth Cavalry, who were stationed + there. It was altogether picturesque and attractive. In addition to the + row of log cabins, there were enormous stables and Government buildings, + and a sutler's store. We were entertained for a day or two, and then + quarters were assigned to us. The second lieutenants had rather a poor + choice, as the quarters were scarce. We were assigned a half of a log + cabin, which gave us one room, a small square hall, and a bare shed, the + latter detached from the house, to be used for a kitchen. The room on the + other side of the hall was occupied by the Post Surgeon, who was + temporarily absent. + </p> + <p> + Our things were unloaded and brought to this cabin. I missed the barrel of + china, and learned that it had been on the unfortunate wagon which rolled + down the mountain-side. I had not attained that state of mind which came + to me later in my army life. I cared then a good deal about my belongings, + and the annoyance caused by the loss of our china was quite considerable. + I knew there was none to be obtained at Camp Apache, as most of the + merchandise came in by pack-train to that isolated place. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Dodge, of the Twenty-third Infantry, who was about to leave the post, + heard of my predicament, and offered me some china plates and cups, which + she thought not worth the trouble of packing (so she said), and I was glad + to accept them, and thanked her, almost with tears in my eyes. + </p> + <p> + Bowen nailed down our one carpet over the poor board floor (after having + first sprinkled down a thick layer of clean straw, which he brought from + the quartermaster stables). Two iron cots from the hospital were brought + over, and two bed-sacks filled with fresh, sweet straw, were laid upon + them; over these were laid our mattresses. Woven-wire springs were then + unheard of in that country. + </p> + <p> + We untied our folding chairs, built a fire on the hearth, captured an old + broken-legged wash-stand and a round table from somewhere, and that was + our living-room. A pine table was found for the small hall, which was to + be our dinning-room, and some chairs with raw-hide seats were brought from + the barracks, some shelves knocked up against one wall, to serve as + sideboard. Now for the kitchen! + </p> + <p> + A cooking-stove and various things were sent over from the Q. M. + store-house, and Bowen (the wonder of it!) drove in nails, and hung up my + Fort Russell tin-ware, and put up shelves and stood my pans in rows, and + polished the stove, and went out and stole a table somewhere (Bowen was + invaluable in that way), polished the zinc under the stove, and lo! and + behold, my army kitchen! Bowen was indeed a treasure; he said he would + like to cook for us, for ten dollars a month. We readily accepted this + offer. There were no persons to be obtained, in these distant places, who + could do the cooking in the families of officers, so it was customary to + employ a soldier; and the soldier often displayed remarkable ability in + the way of cooking, in some cases, in fact, more than in the way of + soldiering. They liked the little addition to their pay, if they were of + frugal mind; they had also their own quiet room to sleep in, and I often + thought the family life, offering as it did a contrast to the bareness and + desolation of the noisy barracks, appealed to the domestic instinct, so + strong in some men's natures. At all events, it was always easy in those + days to get a man from the company, and they sometimes remained for years + with an officer's family; in some cases attending drills and roll-calls + besides. + </p> + <p> + Now came the unpacking of the chests and trunks. In our one diminutive + room, and small hall, was no closet, there were no hooks on the bare + walls, no place to hang things or lay things, and what to do I did not + know. I was in despair; Jack came in, to find me sitting on the edge of a + chest, which was half unpacked, the contents on the floor. I was very + mournful, and he did not see why. + </p> + <p> + "Oh! Jack! I've nowhere to put things!" + </p> + <p> + "What things?" said this impossible man. + </p> + <p> + "Why, all our things," said I, losing my temper; "can't you see them?'' + </p> + <p> + "Put them back in the chests,—and get them out as you need them," + said this son of Mars, and buckled on his sword. "Do the best you can, + Martha, I have to go to the barracks; be back again soon." I looked around + me, and tried to solve the problem. There was no bureau, nothing; not a + nook or corner where a thing might be stowed. I gazed at the motley + collection of bed-linen, dust-pans, silver bottles, boot jacks, saddles, + old uniforms, full dress military hats, sword-belts, riding-boots, cut + glass, window-shades, lamps, work-baskets, and books, and I gave it up in + despair. You see, I was not an army girl, and I did not know how to + manage. + </p> + <p> + There was nothing to be done, however, but to follow Jack's advice, so I + threw the boots, saddles and equipments under the bed, and laid the other + things back in the chests, closed the lids and went out to take a look at + the post. Towards evening, a soldier came for orders for beef, and I + learned how to manage that. I was told that we bought our meats direct + from the contractor; I had to state how much and what cuts I wished. + Another soldier came to bring us milk, and I asked Jack who was the + milkman, and he said, blessed if he knew; I learned, afterwards, that the + soldiers roped some of the wild Texas cows that were kept in one of the + Government corrals, and tied them securely to keep them from kicking; then + milked them, and the milk was divided up among the officers' families, + according to rank. We received about a pint every night. I declared it was + not enough; but I soon discovered that however much education, position + and money might count in civil life, rank seemed to be the one and only + thing in the army, and Jack had not much of that just then. + </p> + <p> + The question of getting settled comfortably still worried me, and after a + day of two, I went over to see what Mrs. Bailey had done. To my surprise, + I found her out playing tennis, her little boy asleep in the + baby-carriage, which they had brought all the way from San Francisco, near + the court. I joined the group, and afterwards asked her advice about the + matter. She laughed kindly, and said: "Oh! you'll get used to it, and + things will settle themselves. Of course it is troublesome, but you can + have shelves and such things—you'll soon learn," and still smiling, + she gave her ball a neat left-hander. + </p> + <p> + I concluded that my New England bringing up had been too serious, and + wondered if I had made a dreadful mistake in marrying into the army, or at + least in following my husband to Arizona. I debated the question with + myself from all sides, and decided then and there that young army wives + should stay at home with their mothers and fathers, and not go into such + wild and uncouth places. I thought my decision irrevocable. + </p> + <p> + Before the two small deep windows in our room we hung some Turkey red + cotton, Jack built in his spare moments a couch for me, and gradually our + small quarters assumed an appearance of comfort. I turned my attention a + little to social matters. We dined at Captain Montgomery's (the commanding + officer's) house; his wife was a famous Washington beauty. He had more + rank, consequently more rooms, than we had, and their quarters were very + comfortable and attractive. + </p> + <p> + There was much that was new and interesting at the post. The Indians who + lived on this reservation were the White Mountain Apaches, a fierce and + cruel tribe, whose depredations and atrocities had been carried on for + years, in and around, and, indeed, far away from their mountain homes. But + this tribe was now under surveillance of the Government, and guarded by a + strong garrison of cavalry and infantry at Camp Apache. They were divided + into bands, under Chiefs Pedro, Diablo, Patone and Cibiano; they came into + the post twice a week to be counted, and to receive their rations of beef, + sugar, beans, and other staples, which Uncle Sam's commissary officer + issued to them. + </p> + <p> + In the absence of other amusement, the officers' wives walked over to + witness this rather solemn ceremony. At least, the serious expression on + the faces of the Indians, as they received their rations, gave an air of + solemnity to the proceeding. + </p> + <p> + Large stakes were driven into the ground; at each stake, sat or stood the + leader of a band; a sort of father to his people; then the rest of them + stretched out in several long lines, young bucks and old ones, squaws and + pappooses, the families together, about seventeen hundred souls in all. I + used to walk up and down between the lines, with the other women, and the + squaws looked at our clothes and chuckled, and made some of their + inarticulate remarks to each other. The bucks looked admiringly at the + white women, especially at the cavalry beauty, Mrs. Montgomery, although I + thought that Chief Diablo cast a special eye at our young Mrs. Bailey, of + the infantry. + </p> + <p> + Diablo was a handsome fellow. I was especially impressed by his + extraordinary good looks. + </p> + <p> + This tribe was quiet at that time, only a few renegades escaping into the + hills on their wild adventures: but I never felt any confidence in them + and was, on the whole, rather afraid of them. The squaws were shy, and + seldom came near the officers' quarters. Some of the younger girls were + extremely pretty; they had delicate hands, and small feet encased in + well-shaped moccasins. They wore short skirts made of stripped bark, which + hung gracefully about their bare knees and supple limbs, and usually a + sort of low-necked camisa, made neatly of coarse, unbleached muslin, with + a band around the neck and arms, and, in cold weather a pretty blanket was + wrapped around their shoulders and fastened at the breast in front. In + summer the blanket was replaced by a square of bright calico. Their + coarse, black hair hung in long braids in front over each shoulder, and + nearly all of them wore an even bang or fringe over the forehead. Of + course hats were unheard of. The Apaches, both men and women, had not then + departed from the customs of their ancestors, and still retained the + extraordinary beauty and picturesqueness of their aboriginal dress. They + wore sometimes a fine buckskin upper garment, and if of high standing in + the tribe, necklaces of elks teeth. + </p> + <p> + The young lieutenants sometimes tried to make up to the prettiest ones, + and offered them trinkets, pretty boxes of soap, beads, and small mirrors + (so dear to the heart of the Indian girl), but the young maids were coy + enough; it seemed to me they cared more for men of their own race. + </p> + <p> + Once or twice, I saw older squaws with horribly disfigured faces. I + supposed it was the result of some ravaging disease, but I learned that it + was the custom of this tribe, to cut off the noses of those women who were + unfaithful to their lords. Poor creatures, they had my pity, for they were + only children of Nature, after all, living close to the earth, close to + the pulse of their mother. But this sort of punishment seemed to be the + expression of the cruel and revengeful nature of the Apache. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII. LIFE AMONGST THE APACHES + </h2> + <p> + Bowen proved to be a fairly good cook, and I ventured to ask people to + dinner in our little hall dining-room, a veritable box of a place. One + day, feeling particularly ambitious to have my dinner a success, I made a + bold attempt at oyster patties. With the confidence of youth and + inexperience, I made the pastry, and it was a success; I took a can of + Baltimore oysters, and did them up in a fashion that astonished myself, + and when, after the soup, each guest was served with a hot oyster patty, + one of the cavalry officers fairly gasped. "Oyster patty, if I'm alive! + Where on earth—Bless my stars! And this at Camp Apache!" + </p> + <p> + "And by Holy Jerusalem! they are good, too," claimed Captain Reilly, and + turning to Bowen, he said: "Bowen, did you make these?" + </p> + <p> + Bowen straightened himself up to his six foot two, clapped his heels + together, and came to "attention," looked straight to the front, and + replied: "Yes, sir." + </p> + <p> + I thought I heard Captain Reilly say in an undertone to his neighbor, "The + hell he did," but I was not sure. + </p> + <p> + At that season, we got excellent wild turkeys there, and good Southdown + mutton, and one could not complain of such living. + </p> + <p> + But I could never get accustomed to the wretched small space of one room + and a hall; for the kitchen, being detached, could scarcely be counted in. + I had been born and brought up in a spacious house, with plenty of + bedrooms, closets, and an immense old-time garret. The forlorn makeshifts + for closets, and the absence of all conveniences, annoyed me and added + much to the difficulties of my situation. Added to this, I soon discovered + that my husband had a penchant for buying and collecting things which + seemed utterly worthless to me, and only added to the number of articles + to be handled and packed away. I begged him to refrain, and to remember + that he was married, and that we had not the money to spend in such ways. + He really did try to improve, and denied himself the taking of many an + alluring share in raffles for old saddles, pistols, guns, and cow-boy's + stuff, which were always being held at the sutler's store. + </p> + <p> + But an auction of condemned hospital stores was too much for him, and he + came in triumphantly one day, bringing a box of antiquated dentist's + instruments in his hand. + </p> + <p> + "Good gracious!" I cried, "what can you ever do with those forceps?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh! they are splendid," he said, "and they will come in mighty handy some + time." + </p> + <p> + I saw that he loved tools and instruments, and I reflected, why not? There + are lots of things I have a passion for, and love, just as he loves those + things and I shall never say any more about it. "Only," I added, aloud, + "do not expect me to pack up such trash when we come to move; you will + have to look out for it yourself." + </p> + <p> + So with that spiteful remark from me, the episode of the forceps was + ended, for the time at least. + </p> + <p> + As the winter came on, the isolation of the place had a rather depressing + effect upon us all. The officers were engaged in their various duties: + drill, courts-martial, instruction, and other military occupations. They + found some diversion at "the store," where the ranchmen assembled and told + frontier stories and played exciting games of poker. Jack's duties as + commissary officer kept him much away from me, and I was very lonely. + </p> + <p> + The mail was brought in twice a week by a soldier on horseback. When he + failed to come in at the usual time, much anxiety was manifested, and I + learned that only a short time before, one of the mail-carriers had been + killed by Indians and the mail destroyed. I did not wonder that on + mail-day everybody came out in front of the quarters and asked: "Is the + mail-carrier in?" And nothing much was done or thought of on that day, + until we saw him come jogging in, the mail-bag tied behind his saddle. Our + letters were from two to three weeks old. The eastern mail came via Santa + Fe to the terminus of the railroad, and then by stage; for in 1874, the + railroads did not extend very far into the Southwest. At a certain point + on the old New Mexico road, our man met the San Carlos carrier, and + received the mail for Apache. + </p> + <p> + "I do not understand," I said, "how any soldier can be found to take such + a dangerous detail." + </p> + <p> + "Why so?" said Jack. "They like it." + </p> + <p> + "I should think that when they got into those canons and narrow defiles, + they would think of the horrible fate of their predecessor," said I. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps they do," he answered; "but a soldier is always glad to get a + detail that gives him a change from the routine of post life." + </p> + <p> + I was getting to learn about the indomitable pluck of our soldiers. They + did not seem to be afraid of anything. At Camp Apache my opinion of the + American soldier was formed, and it has never changed. In the long march + across the Territory, they had cared for my wants and performed + uncomplainingly for me services usually rendered by women. Those were + before the days of lineal promotion. Officers remained with their + regiments for many years. A feeling of regimental prestige held officers + and men together. I began to share that feeling. I knew the names of the + men in the company, and not one but was ready to do a service for the + "Lieutenant's wife." "K" had long been a bachelor company; and now a young + woman had joined it. I was a person to be pampered and cared for, and they + knew besides that I was not long in the army. + </p> + <p> + During that winter I received many a wild turkey and other nice things for + the table, from the men of the company. I learned to know and to + thoroughly respect the enlisted man of the American army. + </p> + <p> + And now into the varied kaleidoscope of my army life stepped the Indian + Agent. And of all unkempt, unshorn, disagreeable-looking personages who + had ever stepped foot into our quarters, this was the worst. + </p> + <p> + "Heaven save us from a Government which appoints such men as that to watch + over and deal with Indians," cried I, as he left the house. "Is it + possible that his position here demands social recognition?" I added. + </p> + <p> + "Hush!" said the second lieutenant of K company. "It's the Interior + Department that appoints the Indian Agents, and besides," he added, "it's + not good taste on your part, Martha, to abuse the Government which gives + us our bread and butter." + </p> + <p> + "Well, you can say what you like, and preach policy all you wish, no + Government on earth can compel me to associate with such men as those!" + With that assertion, I left the room, to prevent farther argument. + </p> + <p> + And I will here add that in my experience on the frontier, which extended + over a long period, it was never my good fortune to meet with an Indian + Agent who impressed me as being the right sort of a man to deal with those + children of nature, for Indians are like children, and their intuitions + are keen. They know and appreciate honesty and fair dealing, and they know + a gentleman when they meet one. + </p> + <p> + The winter came on apace, but the weather was mild and pleasant. One day + some officers came in and said we must go over to the "Ravine" that + evening, where the Indians were going to have a rare sort of a dance. + </p> + <p> + There was no one to say to me: "Do not go," and, as we welcomed any little + excitement which would relieve the monotony of our lives, we cast aside + all doubts of the advisability of my going. So, after dinner, we joined + the others, and sallied forth into the darkness of an Arizona night. We + crossed the large parade-ground, and picked our way over a rough and + pathless country, lighted only by the stars above. + </p> + <p> + Arriving at the edge of the ravine, what a scene was before us! We looked + down into a natural amphitheatre, in which blazed great fires; hordes of + wild Apaches darted about, while others sat on logs beating their tomtoms. + </p> + <p> + I was afraid, and held back, but the rest of the party descended into the + ravine, and, leaning on a good strong arm, I followed. We all sat down on + the great trunk of a fallen tree, and soon the dancers came into the + arena. + </p> + <p> + They were entirely naked, except for the loin-cloth; their bodies were + painted, and from their elbows and knees stood out bunches of feathers, + giving them the appearance of huge flying creatures; jingling things were + attached to their necks and arms. Upon their heads were large frames, made + to resemble the branching horns of an elk, and as they danced, and bowed + their heads, the horns lent them the appearance of some unknown animal, + and added greatly to their height. Their feathers waved, their jingles + shook, and their painted bodies twisted and turned in the light of the + great fire, which roared and leaped on high. At one moment they were + birds, at another animals, at the next they were demons. + </p> + <p> + The noise of the tomtoms and the harsh shouts of the Indians grew wilder + and wilder. It was weird and terrifying. Then came a pause; the arena was + cleared, and with much solemnity two wicked-looking creatures came out and + performed a sort of shadow dance, brandishing knives as they glided + through the intricate figures. + </p> + <p> + It was a fascinating but unearthly scene, and the setting completed the + illusion. Fright deprived me of the power of thought, but in a sort of + subconscious way I felt that Orpheus must have witnessed just such mad + revels when he went down into Pluto's regions. Suddenly the shouts became + war whoops, the demons brandished their knives madly, and nodded their + branching horns; the tomtoms were beaten with a dreadful din, and terror + seized my heart. What if they be treacherous, and had lured our small + party down into this ravine for an ambush! The thing could well be, I + thought. I saw uneasiness in the faces of the other women, and by mutual + consent we got up and slowly took our departure. I barely had strength to + climb up the steep side of the hollow. I was thankful to escape from its + horrors. + </p> + <p> + Scarce three months after that some of the same band of Indians fired into + the garrison and fled to the mountains. I remarked to Jack, that I thought + we were very imprudent to go to see that dance, and he said he supposed we + were. But I had never regarded life in such a light way as he seemed to. + </p> + <p> + Women usually like to talk over their trials and their wonderful + adventures, and that is why I am writing this, I suppose. Men simply will + not talk about such things. + </p> + <p> + The cavalry beauty seemed to look at this frontier life philosophically—what + she really thought about it, I never knew. Mrs. Bailey was so much + occupied by the care of her young child and various out-door amusements, + that she did not, apparently, think much about things that happened around + us. At all events, she never seemed inclined to talk about them. There was + no one else to talk to; the soil was strange, and the atmosphere a foreign + one to me; life did not seem to be taken seriously out there, as it was + back in New England, where they always loved to sit down and talk things + over. I was downright lonesome for my mother and sisters. + </p> + <p> + I could not go out very much at that time, so I occupied myself a good + deal with needle-work. + </p> + <p> + One evening we heard firing across the canon. Jack caught up his sword, + buckling on his belt as he went out. "Injuns fighting on the other side of + the river," some soldier reported. Finding that it did not concern us, + Jack said, "Come out into the back yard, Martha, and look over the + stockade, and I think you can see across the river." So I hurried out to + the stockade, but Jack, seeing that I was not tall enough, picked up an + empty box that stood under the window of the room belonging to the Doctor, + when, thud! fell something out onto the ground, and rolled away. I started + involuntarily. It was dark in the yard. I stood stock still. "What was + that?" I whispered. + </p> + <p> + "Nothing but an old Edam cheese," said this true-hearted soldier of mine. + I knew it was not a cheese, but said no more. I stood up on the box, + watched the firing like a man, and went quietly back into the quarters. + After retiring, I said, "You might just a swell tell me now, you will have + to sooner or later, what was in the box—it had a dreadful sound, as + it rolled away on the ground." + </p> + <p> + "Well," said he, "if you must know, it was an Injun's head that the Doctor + had saved, to take to Washington with him. It had a sort of a malformed + skull or jaw-bone or something. But he left it behind—I guess it got + a leetle to old for him to carry," he laughed. "Somebody told me there was + a head in the yard, but I forgot all about it. Lucky thing you didn't see + it, wasn't it? I suppose you'd been scared—well, I must tell the + fatigue party to-morrow to take it away. Now don't let me forget it," and + this soldier of many battles fell into the peaceful slumber which comes to + those who know not fear. + </p> + <p> + The next day I overheard him telling Major Worth what had happened, and + adding that he would roast that Doctor if he ever came back. I was seeing + the rugged side of life, indeed, and getting accustomed to shocks. + </p> + <p> + Now the cavalry beauty gave a dinner. It was lovely; but in the midst of + it, we perceived a sort of confusion of moccasined footsteps outside the + dining-room. My nerves were, by this time, always on the alert. I glanced + through the large door opening out into the hall, and saw a group of + Indian scouts; they laid a coffee-sack down by the corner fire-place, near + the front door. The commanding officer left the table hastily; the + portiere was drawn. + </p> + <p> + I had heard tales of atrocious cruelties committed by a band of Indians + who had escaped from the reservation and were ravaging the country around. + I had heard how they maimed poor sheep and cut off the legs of cattle at + the first joint, leaving them to die; how they tortured women, and burned + their husbands and children before their eyes; I had heard also that the + Indian scouts were out after them, with orders to bring them in, dead or + alive. + </p> + <p> + The next day I learned that the ringleader's head was in the bag that I + had seen, and that the others had surrendered and returned. The scouts + were Apaches in the pay of the Government, and I always heard that, as + long as they were serving as scouts, they showed themselves loyal and + would hunt down their nearest relative. + </p> + <p> + Major Worth got tired of the monotony of a bachelor's life at Camp Apache + and decided to give a dance in his quarters, and invite the chiefs. I + think the other officers did not wholly approve of it, although they felt + friendly enough towards them, as long as they were not causing + disturbances. But to meet the savage Apache on a basis of social equality, + in an officer's quarters, and to dance in a quadrille with him! Well, the + limit of all things had been reached! + </p> + <p> + However, Major Worth, who was actually suffering from the ennui of + frontier life in winter, and in time of peace, determined to carry out his + project, so he had his quarters, which were quite spacious, cleared and + decorated with evergreen boughs. From his company, he secured some men who + could play the banjo and guitar, and all the officers and their wives, and + the chiefs with their harems, came to this novel fete. A quadrille was + formed, in which the chiefs danced opposite the officers. The squaws sat + around, as they were too shy to dance. These chiefs were painted, and wore + only their necklaces and the customary loin-cloth, throwing their blankets + about their shoulders when they had finished dancing. I noticed again + Chief Diablo's great good looks. + </p> + <p> + Conversation was carried on principally by signs and nods, and through the + interpreter (a white man named Cooley). Besides, the officers had picked + up many short phrases of the harsh and gutteral Apache tongue. + </p> + <p> + Diablo was charmed with the young, handsome wife of one of the officers, + and asked her husband how many ponies he would take for her, and Pedro + asked Major Worth, if all those white squaws belonged to him. + </p> + <p> + The party passed off pleasantly enough, and was not especially subversive + to discipline, although I believe it was not repeated. + </p> + <p> + Afterwards, long afterwards, when we were stationed at David's Island, New + York Harbor, and Major Worth was no longer a bachelor, but a dignified + married man and had gained his star in the Spanish War, we used to meet + occasionally down by the barge office or taking a Fenster-promenade on + Broadway, and we would always stand awhile and chat over the old days at + Camp Apache in '74. Never mind how pressing our mutual engagements were, + we could never forego the pleasure of talking over those wild days and + contrasting them with our then present surroundings. "Shall you ever + forget my party?" he said, the last time we met. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIII. A NEW RECRUIT + </h2> + <p> + In January our little boy arrived, to share our fate and to gladden our + hearts. As he was the first child born to an officer's family in Camp + Apache, there was the greatest excitement. All the sheep-ranchers and + cattlemen for miles around came into the post. The beneficent canteen, + with its soldiers' and officers' clubrooms did not exist then. So they all + gathered at the sutler's store, to celebrate events with a round of + drinks. They wanted to shake hands with and congratulate the new father, + after their fashion, upon the advent of the blond-haired baby. Their great + hearts went out to him, and they vied with each other in doing the + handsome thing by him, in a manner according to their lights, and their + ideas of wishing well to a man; a manner, sometimes, alas! disastrous in + its results to the man! However, by this time, I was getting used to all + sides of frontier life. + </p> + <p> + I had no time to be lonely now, for I had no nurse, and the only person + who was able to render me service was a laundress of the Fifth Cavalry, + who came for about two hours each day, to give the baby his bath and to + arrange things about the bed. I begged her to stay with me, but, of + course, I knew it was impossible. + </p> + <p> + So here I was, inexperienced and helpless, alone in bed, with an infant a + few days old. Dr. Loring, our excellent Post Surgeon, was both kind and + skillful, but he was in poor health and expecting each day to be ordered + to another station. My husband was obliged to be at the Commissary Office + all day, issuing rations to troops and scouts, and attending to the duties + of his position. + </p> + <p> + But, realizing in a measure the utter helplessness of my situation, he + sent a soldier up to lead a wire cord through the thick wall at the head + of my bed and out through the small yard into the kitchen. To this they + attached a big cow-bell, so, by making some considerable effort to reach + up and pull this wire, I could summon Bowen, that is, if Bowen happened to + be there. But Bowen seemed always to be out at drill or over at the + company quarters, and frequently my bell brought no response. When he did + come, however, he was just as kind and just as awkward as it was possible + for a great big six-foot farmer-soldier to be. + </p> + <p> + But I grew weaker and weaker with trying to be strong, and one day when + Jack came in and found both the baby and myself crying, he said, man-like, + "What's the matter?" I said, "I must have some one to take care of me, or + we shall both die." + </p> + <p> + He seemed to realize that the situation was desperate, and mounted men + were sent out immediately in all directions to find a woman. + </p> + <p> + At last, a Mexican girl was found in a wood-chopper's camp, and was + brought to me. She was quite young and very ignorant and stupid, and spoke + nothing but a sort of Mexican "lingo," and did not understand a word of + English. But I felt that my life was saved; and Bowen fixed up a place on + the couch for her to sleep, and Jack went over to the unoccupied room on + the other side of the cabin and took possession of the absent doctor's + bed. + </p> + <p> + I begged Jack to hunt up a Spanish dictionary, and fortunately one was + found at the sutler's store, which, doubtless the sutler or his + predecessor had brought into the country years before. + </p> + <p> + The girl did not know anything. I do not think she had ever been inside a + casa before. She had washed herself in mountain streams, and did not know + what basins and sponges were for. So it was of no use to point to the + objects I wanted. + </p> + <p> + I propped myself up in bed and studied the dictionary, and, having some + idea of the pronunciation of Latin languages, I essayed to call for warm + water and various other necessary articles needed around a sick bed. + Sometimes I succeeded in getting an idea through her impervious brain, but + more often she would stand dazed and immovable and I would let the + dictionary drop from my tired hands and fall back upon the pillow in a + sweat of exhaustion. Then Bowen would be called in, and with the help of + some perfunctory language and gestures on his part, this silent creature + of the mountains would seem to wake up and try to understand. + </p> + <p> + And so I worried through those dreadful days—and the nights! Ah! we + had better not describe them. The poor wild thing slept the sleep of death + and could not hear my loudest calls nor desperate shouts. + </p> + <p> + So Jack attached a cord to her pillow, and I would tug and tug at that and + pull the pillow from under her head. It was of no avail. She slept + peacefully on, and it seemed to me, as I lay there staring at her, that + not even Gabriel's trump would ever arouse her. + </p> + <p> + In desperation I would creep out of bed and wait upon myself and then + confess to Jack and the Doctor next day. + </p> + <p> + Well, we had to let the creature go, for she was of no use, and the + Spanish dictionary was laid aside. + </p> + <p> + I struggled along, fighting against odds; how I ever got well at all is a + wonder, when I think of all the sanitary precautions taken now-a-days with + young mothers and babies. The Doctor was ordered away and another one + came. I had no advice or help from any one. Calomel or quinine are the + only medicines I remember taking myself or giving to my child. + </p> + <p> + But to go back a little. The seventh day after the birth of the baby, a + delegation of several squaws, wives of chiefs, came to pay me a formal + visit. They brought me some finely woven baskets, and a beautiful + pappoose-basket or cradle, such as they carry their own babies in. This + was made of the lightest wood, and covered with the finest skin of fawn, + tanned with birch bark by their own hands, and embroidered in blue beads; + it was their best work. I admired it, and tried to express to them my + thanks. These squaws took my baby (he was lying beside me on the bed), + then, cooing and chuckling, they looked about the room, until they found a + small pillow, which they laid into the basket-cradle, then put my baby in, + drew the flaps together, and laced him into it; then stood it up, and laid + it down, and laughed again in their gentle manner, and finally soothed him + to sleep. I was quite touched by the friendliness of it all. They laid the + cradle on the table and departed. Jack went out to bring Major Worth in, + to see the pretty sight, and as the two entered the room, Jack pointed to + the pappoose-basket. + </p> + <p> + Major Worth tip-toed forward, and gazed into the cradle; he did not speak + for some time; then, in his inimitable way, and half under his breath, he + said, slowly, "Well, I'll be d—d!" This was all, but when he turned + towards the bedside, and came and shook my hand, his eyes shone with a + gentle and tender look. + </p> + <p> + And so was the new recruit introduced to the Captain of Company K. + </p> + <p> + And now there must be a bath-tub for the baby. The sutler rummaged his + entire place, to find something that might do. At last, he sent me a + freshly scoured tub, that looked as if it might, at no very remote date, + have contained salt mackerel marked "A One." So then, every morning at + nine o'clock, our little half-window was black with the heads of the + curious squaws and bucks, trying to get a glimpse of the fair baby's bath. + A wonderful performance, it appeared to them. + </p> + <p> + Once a week this room, which was now a nursery combined with bedroom and + living-room, was overhauled by the stalwart Bowen. The baby was put to + sleep and laced securely into the pappoose-basket. He was then carried + into the kitchen, laid on the dresser, and I sat by with a book or + needle-work watching him, until Bowen had finished the room. On one of + these occasions, I noticed a ledger lying upon one of the shelves. I + looked into it, and imagine my astonishment, when I read: "Aunt Hepsey's + Muffins," "Sarah's Indian Pudding," and on another page, "Hasty's Lemon + Tarts," "Aunt Susan's Method of Cooking a Leg of Mutton," and "Josie + Well's Pressed Calf Liver." Here were my own, my very own family recipes, + copied into Bowen's ledger, in large illiterate characters; and on the + fly-leaf, "Charles Bowen's Receipt Book." I burst into a good hearty + laugh, almost the first one I had enjoyed since I arrived at Camp Apache. + </p> + <p> + The long-expected promotion to a first lieutenancy came at about this + time. Jack was assigned to a company which was stationed at Camp + MacDowell, but his departure for the new post was delayed until the spring + should be more advanced and I should be able to undertake the long, rough + trip with our young child. + </p> + <p> + The second week in April, my baby just nine weeks old, we began to pack + up. I had gained a little in experience, to be sure, but I had lost my + health and strength. I knew nothing of the care of a young infant, and + depended entirely upon the advice of the Post Surgeon, who happened at + that time to be a young man, much better versed in the sawing off of + soldiers' legs than in the treatment of young mothers and babies. + </p> + <p> + The packing up was done under difficulties, and with much help from our + faithful Bowen. It was arranged for Mrs. Bailey, who was to spend the + summer with her parents at Fort Whipple, to make the trip at the same + time, as our road to Camp MacDowell took us through Fort Whipple. There + were provided two ambulances with six mules each, two baggage-wagons, an + escort of six calvarymen fully armed, and a guide. Lieutenant Bailey was + to accompany his wife on the trip. + </p> + <p> + I was genuinely sorry to part with Major Worth, but in the excitement and + fatigue of breaking up our home, I had little time to think of my + feelings. My young child absorbed all my time. Alas! for the ignorance of + young women, thrust by circumstances into such a situation! I had + miscalculated my strength, for I had never known illness in my life, and + there was no one to tell me any better. I reckoned upon my superbly + healthy nature to bring me through. In fact, I did not think much about + it; I simply got ready and went, as soldiers do. + </p> + <p> + I heard them say that we were not to cross the Mogollon range, but were to + go to the north of it, ford the Colorado Chiquito at Sunset Crossing, and + so on to Camp Verde and Whipple Barracks by the Stoneman's Lake road. It + sounded poetic and pretty. Colorado Chiquito, Sunset Crossing, and + Stoneman's Lake road! I thought to myself, they were prettier than any of + the names I had heard in Arizona. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIV. A MEMORABLE JOURNEY + </h2> + <p> + How broken plunged the steep descent! How barren! Desolate and rent By + earthquake shock, the land lay dead, Like some proud king in old-time + slain. An ugly skeleton, it gleamed In burning sands. The fiery rain Of + fierce volcanoes here had sown Its ashes. Burnt and black and seamed With + thunder-strokes and strewn With cinders. Yea, so overthrown, That wilder + men than we had said, On seeing this, with gathered breath, "We come on + the confines of death!"—JOAQUIN MILLER. + </p> + <p> + Six good cavalrymen galloped along by our side, on the morning of April + 24th, 1875, as with two ambulances, two army wagons, and a Mexican guide, + we drove out of Camp Apache at a brisk trot. + </p> + <p> + The drivers were all armed, and spare rifles hung inside the ambulances. I + wore a small derringer, with a narrow belt filled with cartridges. An + incongruous sight, methinks now, it must have been. A young mother, pale + and thin, a child of scarce three months in her arms, and a pistol belt + around her waist! + </p> + <p> + I scarcely looked back at Camp Apache. We had a long day's march before + us, and we looked ahead. Towards night we made camp at Cooley's ranch, and + slept inside, on the floor. Cooley was interpreter and scout, and although + he was a white man, he had married a young Indian girl, the daughter of + one of the chiefs and was known as a squaw man. There seemed to be two + Indian girls at his ranch; they were both tidy and good-looking, and they + prepared us a most appetizing supper. + </p> + <p> + The ranch had spaces for windows, covered with thin unbleached muslin (or + manta, as it is always called out there), glass windows being then too + great a luxury in that remote place. There were some partitions inside the + ranch, but no doors; and, of course, no floors except adobe. Several + half-breed children, nearly naked, stood and gazed at us as we prepared + for rest. This was interesting and picturesque from many standpoints + perhaps, but it did not tend to make me sleepy. I lay gazing into the fire + which was smouldering in the corner, and finally I said, in a whisper, + "Jack, which girl do you think is Cooley's wife?" + </p> + <p> + "I don't know," answered this cross and tired man; and then added, "both + of 'em, I guess." + </p> + <p> + Now this was too awful, but I knew he did not intend for me to ask any + more questions. I had a difficult time, in those days, reconciling what I + saw with what I had been taught was right, and I had to sort over my ideas + and deep-rooted prejudices a good many times. + </p> + <p> + The two pretty squaws prepared a nice breakfast for us, and we set out, + quite refreshed, to travel over the malapais (as the great lava-beds in + that part of the country are called). There was no trace of a road. A few + hours of this grinding and crunching over crushed lava wearied us all, and + the animals found it hard pulling, although the country was level. + </p> + <p> + We crossed Silver Creek without difficulty, and arrived at Stinson's + ranch, after traveling twenty-five miles, mostly malapais. Do not for a + moment think of these ranches as farms. Some of them were deserted sheep + ranches, and had only adobe walls standing in ruins. But the camp must + have a name, and on the old maps of Arizona these names are still to be + found. Of course, on the new railroad maps, they are absent. They were + generally near a spring or a creek, consequently were chosen as camps. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bailey had her year-old boy, Howard, with her. We began to experience + the utmost inconvenience from the lack of warm water and other things so + necessary to the health and comfort of children. But we tried to make + light of it all, and the two Lieutenants tried, in a man's way, to help us + out. We declared we must have some clean towels for the next day, so we + tried to rinse out, in the cold, hard water of the well, those which we + had with us, and, as it was now nightfall and there was no fire inside + this apparently deserted ranch, the two Lieutenants stood and held the wet + towels before the camp-fire until they were dry. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Bailey and I, too tired to move, sat and watched them and had each + our own thoughts. She was an army girl and perhaps had seen such things + before, but it was a situation that did not seem quite in keeping with my + ideas of the fitness of things in general, and with the uniform in + particular. The uniform, associated in my mind with brilliant functions, + guard-mount, parades and full-dress weddings—the uniform, in fact, + that I adored. As I sat, gazing at them, they both turned around, and, + realizing how almost ludicrous they looked, they began to laugh. Whereupon + we all four laughed and Jack said: "Nice work for United States officers! + hey, Bailey?" + </p> + <p> + "It might be worse," sighed the handsome, blond-haired Bailey. + </p> + <p> + Thirty miles the next day, over a good road, brought us to Walker's ranch, + on the site of old Camp Supply. This ranch was habitable in a way, and the + owner said we might use the bedrooms; but the wild-cats about the place + were so numerous and so troublesome in the night, that we could not sleep. + I have mentioned the absence of windows in these ranches; we were now to + experience the great inconvenience resulting therefrom, for the low open + spaces furnished great opportunity for the cats. In at one opening, and + out at another they flew, first across the Bailey's bed, then over ours. + The dogs caught the spirit of the chase, and added their noise to that of + the cats. Both babies began to cry, and then up got Bailey and threw his + heavy campaign boots at the cats, with some fitting remarks. A momentary + silence reigned, and we tried again to sleep. Back came the cats, and then + came Jack's turn with boots and travelling satchels. It was all of no + avail, and we resigned ourselves. Cruelly tired, here we were, we two + women, compelled to sit on hard boxes or the edge of a bed, to quiet our + poor babies, all through that night, at that old sheep-ranch. Like the + wretched emigrant, differing only from her inasmuch as she, never having + known comfort perhaps, cannot realize her misery. + </p> + <p> + The two Lieutenants slipped on their blouses, and sat looking helplessly + at us, waging war on the cats at intervals. And so the dawn found us, our + nerves at a tension, and our strength gone—a poor preparation for + the trying day which was to follow. + </p> + <p> + We were able to buy a couple of sheep there, to take with us for supplies, + and some antelope meat. We could not indulge, in foolish scruples, but I + tried not to look when they tied the live sheep and threw them into one of + the wagons. + </p> + <p> + Quite early in the day, we met a man who said he had been fired upon by + some Indians at Sanford's Pass. We thought perhaps he had been scared by + some stray shot, and we did not pay much attention to his story. + </p> + <p> + Soon after, however, we passed a sort of old adobe ruin, out of which + crept two bare-headed Mexicans, so badly frightened that their dark faces + were pallid; their hair seemed standing on end, and they looked stark mad + with fear. They talked wildly to the guide, and gesticulated, pointing in + the direction of the Pass. They had been fired at, and their ponies taken + by some roving Apaches. They had been in hiding for over a day, and were + hungry and miserable. We gave them food and drink. They implored us, by + the Holy Virgin, not to go through the Pass. + </p> + <p> + What was to be done? The officers took counsel; the men looked to their + arms. It was decided to go through. Jack examined his revolver, and saw + that my pistol was loaded. I was instructed minutely what to do, in case + we were attacked. + </p> + <p> + For miles we strained our eyes, looking in the direction whence these men + had come. + </p> + <p> + At last, in mid-afternoon, we approached the Pass, a narrow defile winding + down between high hills from this table-land to the plain below. To say + that we feared an ambush, would not perhaps convey a very clear idea of + how I felt on entering the Pass. + </p> + <p> + There was not a word spoken. I obeyed orders, and lay down in the bottom + of the ambulance; I took my derringer out of the holster and cocked it. I + looked at my little boy lying helpless there beside me, and at his + delicate temples, lined with thin blue veins, and wondered if I could + follow out the instructions I had received: for Jack had said, after the + decision was made, to go through the Pass, "Now, Mattie, I don't think for + a minute that there are any Injuns in that Pass, and you must not be + afraid. We have got to go through it any way; but"—he hesitated,—"we + may be mistaken; there may be a few of them in there, and they'll have a + mighty good chance to get in a shot or two. And now listen: if I'm hit, + you'll know what to do. You have your derringer; and when you see that + there is no help for it, if they get away with the whole outfit, why, + there's only one thing to be done. Don't let them get the baby, for they + will carry you both off and—well, you know the squaws are much more + cruel than the bucks. Don't let them get either of you alive. Now"—to + the driver—"go on." + </p> + <p> + Jack was a man of few words, and seldom spoke much in times like that. + </p> + <p> + So I lay very quiet in the bottom of the ambulance. I realized that we + were in great danger. My thoughts flew back to the East, and I saw, as in + a flash, my father and mother, sisters and brother; I think I tried to say + a short prayer for them, and that they might never know the worst. I fixed + my eyes upon my husband's face. There he sat, rifle in hand, his features + motionless, his eyes keenly watching out from one side of the ambulance, + while a stalwart cavalry-man, carbine in hand, watched the other side of + the narrow defile. The minutes seemed like hours. + </p> + <p> + The driver kept his animals steady, and we rattled along. + </p> + <p> + At last, as I perceived the steep slope of the road, I looked out, and saw + that the Pass was widening out, and we must be nearing the end of it. + "Keep still," said Jack, without moving a feature. My heart seemed then to + stop beating, and I dared not move again, until I heard him say, "Thank + God, we're out of it! Get up, Mattie! See the river yonder? We'll cross + that to-night, and then we'll be out of their God d——d + country!" + </p> + <p> + This was Jack's way of working off his excitement, and I did not mind it. + I knew he was not afraid of Apaches for himself, but for his wife and + child. And if I had been a man, I should have said just as much and + perhaps more. + </p> + <p> + We were now down in a flat country, and low alkali plains lay between us + and the river. My nerves gradually recovered from the tension in which + they had been held; the driver stopped his team for a moment, the other + ambulance drove up alongside of us, and Ella Bailey and I looked at each + other; we did not talk any, but I believe we cried just a little. Then Mr. + Bailey and Jack (thinking we were giving way, I suppose) pulled out their + big flasks, and we had to take a cup of good whiskey, weakened up with a + little water from our canteens, which had been filled at Walker's ranch in + the morning. Great Heavens! I thought, was it this morning that we left + Walker's ranch, or was it a year ago? So much had I lived through in a few + hours. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XV. FORDING THE LITTLE COLORADO + </h2> + <p> + At a bend in the road the Mexican guide galloped up near the ambulance, + and pointing off to the westward with a graceful gesture, said: "Colorado + Chiquito! Colorado Chiquito!" And, sure enough, there in the afternoon sun + lay the narrow winding river, its surface as smooth as glass, and its + banks as if covered with snow. + </p> + <p> + We drove straight for the ford, known as Sunset Crossing. The guide was + sure he knew the place. But the river was high, and I could not see how + anybody could cross it without a boat. The Mexican rode his pony in once + or twice; shook his head, and said in Spanish, "there was much quicksand. + The old ford had changed much since he saw it." He galloped excitedly to + and fro, along the bank of the river, always returning to the same place, + and declaring "it was the ford; there was no other; he knew it well." + </p> + <p> + But the wagons not having yet arrived, it was decided not to attempt + crossing until morning, when we could get a fresh start. + </p> + <p> + The sun was gradually sinking in the west, but the heat down in that + alkali river-bottom even at that early season of the year was most + uncomfortable. I was worn out with fright and fatigue; my poor child cried + piteously and incessantly. Nothing was of any avail to soothe him. After + the tents were pitched and the camp-fires made, some warm water was + brought, and I tried to wash away some of the dust from him, but the + alkali water only irritated his delicate skin, and his head, where it had + lain on my arm, was inflamed by the constant rubbing. It began to break + out in ugly blisters; I was in despair. We were about as wretchedly off as + two human beings could be, and live, it seemed to me. The disappointment + at not getting across the river, combined with the fear that the Indians + were still in the neighborhood, added to my nervousness and produced an + exhaustion which, under other circumstances, would have meant collapse. + </p> + <p> + The mournful and demoniacal cries of the coyotes filled the night; they + seemed to come close to the tent, and their number seemed to be legion. I + lay with eyes wide open, watching for the day to come, and resolving each + minute that if I ever escaped alive from that lonely river-bottom with its + burning alkali, and its millions of howling coyotes, I would never, never + risk being placed in such a situation again. + </p> + <p> + At dawn everybody got up and dressed. I looked in my small hand-mirror, + and it seemed to me my hair had turned a greyish color, and while it was + not exactly white, the warm chestnut tinge never came back into it, after + that day and night of terror. My eyes looked back at me large and hollow + from the small glass, and I was in that state when it is easy to imagine + the look of Death in one's own face. I think sometimes it comes, after we + have thought ourselves near the borders. And I surely had been close to + them the day before. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + If perchance any of my readers have followed this narrative so far, and + there be among them possibly any men, young or old, I would say to such + ones: "Desist!" For what I am going to tell about in this chapter, and + possibly another, concerns nobody but women, and my story will now, for + awhile, not concern itself with the Eighth Foot, nor the army, nor the War + Department, nor the Interior Department, nor the strategic value of Sunset + Crossing, which may now be a railroad station, for all I know. It is + simply a story of my journey from the far bank of the Little Colorado to + Fort Whipple, and then on, by a change of orders, over mountains and + valleys, cactus plains and desert lands, to the banks of the Great + Colorado. + </p> + <p> + My attitude towards the places I travelled through was naturally + influenced by the fact that I had a young baby in my arms the entire way, + and that I was not able to endure hardship at that time. For usually, be + it remembered, at that period of a child's life, both mother and infant + are not out of the hands of the doctor and trained nurse, to say nothing + of the assistance so gladly rendered by those near and dear. + </p> + <p> + The morning of the 28th of April dawned shortly after midnight, as + mornings in Arizona generally do at that season, and after a hasty camp + breakfast, and a good deal of reconnoitering on the part of the officers, + who did not seem to be exactly satisfied about the Mexican's knowledge of + the ford, they told him to push his pony in, and cross if he could. + </p> + <p> + He managed to pick his way across and back, after a good deal of + floundering, and we decided to try the ford. First they hitched up ten + mules to one of the heavily loaded baggage-wagons, the teamster cracked + his whip, and in they went. But the quicksand frightened the leaders, and + they lost their courage. Now when a mule loses courage, in the water, he + puts his head down and is done for. The leaders disappeared entirely, then + the next two and finally the whole ten of them were gone, irrevocably, as + I thought. But like a flash, the officers shouted: "Cut away those mules! + Jump in there!" and amid other expletives the men plunged in, and feeling + around under the water cut the poor animals loose and they began to crawl + out on the other bank. I drew a long breath, for I thought the ten mules + were drowned. + </p> + <p> + The guide picked his way over again to the other side and caught them up, + and then I began to wonder how on earth we should ever get across. + </p> + <p> + There lay the heavy army wagon, deep mired in the middle of the stream, + and what did I see? Our army chests, floating away down the river. I cried + out: "Oh! do save our chests!" "They're all right, we'll get them + presently," said Jack. It seemed a long time to me, before the soldiers + could get them to the bank, which they did, with the aid of stout ropes. + All our worldly goods were in those chests, and I knew they were soaked + wet and probably ruined; but, after all, what did it matter, in the face + of the serious problem which confronted us? + </p> + <p> + In the meantime, some of the men had floated the other boxes and trunks + out of the wagon back to the shore, and were busy taking the huge vehicle + apart. Any one who knows the size of an army wagon will realize that this + was hard work, especially as the wagon was mired, and nearly submerged. + But the men worked desperately, and at last succeeded in getting every + part of it back onto the dry land. + </p> + <p> + Somebody stirred up the camp-fire and put the kettle on, and Mrs. Bailey + and I mixed up a smoking strong hot toddy for those brave fellows, who + were by this time well exhausted. Then they set to work to make a boat, by + drawing a large canvas under the body of the wagon, and fastening it + securely. For this Lieutenant of mine had been a sailor-man and knew well + how to meet emergencies. + </p> + <p> + One or two of the soldiers had now forded the stream on horseback, and + taken over a heavy rope, which was made fast to our improvised boat. I was + acquainted with all kinds of boats, from a catamaran to a full-rigged + ship, but never a craft like this had I seen. Over the sides we clambered, + however, and were ferried across the treacherous and glassy waters of the + Little Colorado. All the baggage and the two ambulances were ferried over, + and the other wagon was unloaded and drawn over by means of ropes. + </p> + <p> + This proceeding took all day, and of course we could get no farther, and + were again obliged to camp in that most uncomfortable river-bottom. But we + felt safer on that side. I looked at the smooth surface of the river, and + its alkali shores, and the picture became indelibly impressed upon my + memory. The unpleasant reality destroyed any poetic associations which + might otherwise have clung to the name of Sunset Crossing in my ever vivid + imagination. + </p> + <p> + After the tents were pitched, and the camp snugged up, Mr. Bailey produced + some champagne and we wished each other joy, that we had made the + dangerous crossing and escaped the perils of Sanford's Pass. I am afraid + the champagne was not as cold as might have been desired, but the bottle + had been wrapped in a wet blanket, and cooled a little in that way, and we + drank it with zest, from a mess-cup. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVI. STONEMAN'S LAKE + </h2> + <p> + The road began now to ascend, and after twenty miles' travelling we + reached a place called Updyke's Tanks. It was a nice place, with plenty of + wood and grass. The next day we camped at Jay Coxe's Tanks. It was a hard + day's march, and I was tired out when we arrived there. The ambulance was + simply jerked over those miles of fearful rocks; one could not say driven + or dragged over, for we were pitched from rock to rock the entire + distance. + </p> + <p> + Stoneman's Lake Road was famous, as I afterwards heard. Perhaps it was + just as well for me that I did not know about it in advance. + </p> + <p> + The sure-footed mules picked their way over these sharp-edged rocks. There + was not a moment's respite. We asked a soldier to help with holding the + baby, for my arms gave out entirely, and were as if paralyzed. The jolting + threw us all by turns against the sides of the ambulance (which was not + padded), and we all got some rather bad bruises. We finally bethought + ourselves of the pappoose basket, which we had brought along in the + ambulance, having at the last moment no other place to put it. So a halt + was called, we placed the tired baby in this semi-cradle, laced the sides + snugly over him, and were thus enabled to carry him over those dreadful + roads without danger. + </p> + <p> + He did not cry much, but the dust made him thirsty. I could not give him + nourishment without stopping the entire train of wagons, on account of the + constant pitching of the ambulance; delay was not advisable or expedient, + so my poor little son had to endure with the rest of us. The big Alsatian + cavalryman held the cradle easily in his strong arms, and so the long + miles were travelled, one by one. + </p> + <p> + At noon of this day we made a refreshing halt, built a fire and took some + luncheon. We found a shady, grassy spot, upon which the blankets were + spread, and we stretched ourselves out upon them and rested. But we were + still some miles from water, so after a short respite we were compelled to + push on. We had been getting steadily higher since leaving Sunset + Crossing, and now it began to be cold and looked like snow. Mrs. Bailey + and I found it very trying to meet these changes of temperature. A good + place for the camp was found at Coxe's Tanks, trenches were dug around the + tents, and the earth banked up to keep us warm. The cool air, our great + fatigue, and the comparative absence of danger combined to give us a + heavenly night's rest. + </p> + <p> + Towards sunset of the next day, which was May Day, our cavalcade reached + Stoneman's Lake. We had had another rough march, and had reached the limit + of endurance, or thought we had, when we emerged from a mountain pass and + drew rein upon the high green mesa overlooking Stoneman's Lake, a + beautiful blue sheet of water lying there away below us. It was good to + our tired eyes, which had gazed upon nothing but burnt rocks and alkali + plains for so many days. Our camp was beautiful beyond description, and + lay near the edge of the mesa, whence we could look down upon the lovely + lake. It was a complete surprise to us, as points of scenery were not much + known or talked about then in Arizona. Ponds and lakes were unheard of. + They did not seem to exist in that drear land of arid wastes. We never + heard of water except that of the Colorado or the Gila or the tanks and + basins, and irrigation ditches of the settlers. But here was a real + Italian lake, a lake as blue as the skies above us. We feasted our eyes + and our very souls upon it. + </p> + <p> + Bailey and the guide shot some wild turkeys, and as we had already eaten + all the mutton we had along, the ragout of turkey made by the soldier-cook + for our supper tasted better to us tired and hungry travellers, perhaps, + than a canvasback at Delmonico's tastes to the weary lounger or the + over-worked financier. + </p> + <p> + In the course of the day, we had passed a sort of sign-board, with the + rudely written inscription, "Camp Starvation," and we had heard from Mr. + Bailey the story of the tragic misfortunes at this very place of the + well-known Hitchcock family of Arizona. The road was lined with dry bones, + and skulls of oxen, white and bleached in the sun, lying on the bare + rocks. Indeed, at every stage of the road we had seen evidences of hard + travel, exhausted cattle, anxious teamsters, hunger and thirst, despair, + starvation, and death. + </p> + <p> + However, Stoneman's Lake remains a joy in the memory, and far and away the + most beautiful spot I ever saw in Arizona. But unless the approaches to it + are made easier, tourists will never gaze upon it. + </p> + <p> + In the distance we saw the "divide," over which we must pass in order to + reach Camp Verde, which was to be our first stopping place, and we looked + joyfully towards the next day's march, which we expected would bring us + there. + </p> + <p> + We thought the worst was over and, before retiring to our tents for the + night, we walked over to the edge of the high mesa and, in the gathering + shadows of twilight, looked down into the depths of that beautiful lake, + knowing that probably we should never see it again. + </p> + <p> + And indeed, in all the years I spent in Arizona afterward, I never even + heard of the lake again. + </p> + <p> + I wonder now, did it really exist or was it an illusion, a dream, or the + mirage which appears to the desert traveller, to satisfy him and lure him + on, to quiet his imagination, and to save his senses from utter + extinction? + </p> + <p> + In the morning the camp was all astir for an early move. We had no time to + look back: we were starting for a long day's march, across the "divide," + and into Camp Verde. + </p> + <p> + But we soon found that the road (if road it could be called) was worse + than any we had encountered. The ambulance was pitched and jerked from + rock to rock and we were thumped against the iron framework in a most + dangerous manner. So we got out and picked our way over the great sharp + boulders. + </p> + <p> + The Alsatian soldier carried the baby, who lay securely in the pappoose + cradle. + </p> + <p> + One of the cavalry escort suggested my taking his horse, but I did not + feel strong enough to think of mounting a horse, so great was my + discouragement and so exhausted was my vitality. Oh! if girls only knew + about these things I thought! For just a little knowledge of the care of + an infant and its needs, its nourishment and its habits, might have saved + both mother and child from such utter collapse. + </p> + <p> + Little by little we gave up hope of reaching Verde that day. At four + o'clock we crossed the "divide," and clattered down a road so near the + edge of a precipice that I was frightened beyond everything: my senses + nearly left me. Down and around, this way and that, near the edge, then + back again, swaying, swerving, pitching, the gravel clattering over the + precipice, the six mules trotting their fastest, we reached the bottom and + the driver pulled up his team. "Beaver Springs!" said he, impressively, + loosening up the brakes. + </p> + <p> + As Jack lifted me out of the ambulance, I said: "Why didn't you tell me?" + pointing back to the steep road. "Oh," said he, "I thought it was better + for you not to know; people get scared about such things, when they know + about them before hand." + </p> + <p> + "But," I remarked, "such a break-neck pace!" Then, to the driver, "Smith, + how could you drive down that place at such a rate and frighten me so?" + </p> + <p> + "Had to, ma'am, or we'd a'gone over the edge." + </p> + <p> + I had been brought up in a flat country down near the sea, and I did not + know the dangers of mountain travelling, nor the difficulties attending + the piloting of a six-mule team down a road like that. From this time on, + however, Smith rose in my estimation. I seemed also to be realizing that + the Southwest was a great country and that there was much to learn about. + Life out there was beginning to interest me. + </p> + <p> + Camp Verde lay sixteen miles farther on; no one knew if the road were good + or bad. I declared I could not travel another mile, even if they all went + on and left me to the wolves and the darkness of Beaver Springs. + </p> + <p> + We looked to our provisions and took account of stock. There was not + enough for the two families. We had no flour and no bread; there was only + a small piece of bacon, six potatoes, some condensed milk, and some + chocolate. The Baileys decided to go on; for Mrs. Bailey was to meet her + sister at Verde and her parents at Whipple. We said good-bye, and their + ambulance rolled away. Our tent was pitched and the baby was laid on the + bed, asleep from pure exhaustion. + </p> + <p> + The dread darkness of night descended upon us, and the strange odors of + the bottom-lands arose, mingling with the delicious smoky smell of the + camp-fire. + </p> + <p> + By the light of the blazing mesquite wood, we now divided what provisions + we had, into two portions: one for supper, and one for breakfast. A very + light meal we had that evening, and I arose from the mess-table + unsatisfied and hungry. + </p> + <p> + Jack and I sat down by the camp-fire, musing over the hard times we were + having, when suddenly I heard a terrified cry from my little son. We + rushed to the tent, lighted a candle, and oh! horror upon horrors! his + head and face were covered with large black ants; he was wailing + helplessly, and beating the air with his tiny arms. + </p> + <p> + "My God!" cried Jack, "we're camped over an ant-hill!" + </p> + <p> + I seized the child, and brushing off the ants as I fled, brought him out + to the fire, where by its light I succeeded in getting rid of them all. + But the horror of it! Can any mother brought up in God's country with kind + nurses and loved ones to minister to her child, for a moment imagine how I + felt when I saw those hideous, three-bodied, long-legged black ants + crawling over my baby's face? After a lapse of years, I cannot recall that + moment without a shudder. + </p> + <p> + The soldiers at last found a place which seemed to be free from ant-hills, + and our tent was again pitched, but only to find that the venomous things + swarmed over us as soon as we lay down to rest. + </p> + <p> + And so, after the fashion of the Missouri emigrant, we climbed into the + ambulance and lay down upon our blankets in the bottom of it, and tried to + believe we were comfortable. + </p> + <p> + My long, hard journey of the preceding autumn, covering a period of two + months; my trying experiences during the winter at Camp Apache; the sudden + break-up and the packing; the lack of assistance from a nurse; the terrors + of the journey; the sympathy for my child, who suffered from many ailments + and principally from lack of nourishment, added to the profound fatigue I + felt, had reduced my strength to a minimum. I wonder that I lived, but + something sustained me, and when we reached Camp Verde the next day, and + drew up before Lieutenant O'Connell's quarters, and saw Mrs. O'Connell's + kind face beaming to welcome us, I felt that here was relief at last. + </p> + <p> + The tall Alsatian handed the pappoose cradle to Mrs. O'Connell. + </p> + <p> + "Gracious goodness! what is this?" cried the bewildered woman; "surely it + cannot be your baby! You haven't turned entirely Indian, have you, amongst + those wild Apaches?" + </p> + <p> + I felt sorry I had not taken him out of the basket before we arrived. I + did not realize the impression it would make at Camp Verde. After all, + they did not know anything about our life at Apache, or our rough travels + to get back from there. Here were lace-curtained windows, well-dressed + women, smart uniforms, and, in fact, civilization, compared with what we + had left. + </p> + <p> + The women of the post gathered around the broad piazza, to see the wonder. + But when they saw the poor little wan face, the blue eyes which looked + sadly out at them from this rude cradle, the linen bandages covering the + back of the head, they did not laugh any more, but took him and ministered + to him, as only kind women can minister to a sick baby. + </p> + <p> + There was not much rest, however, for we had to sort and rearrange our + things, and dress ourselves properly. (Oh! the luxury of a room and a tub, + after that journey!) Jack put on his best uniform, and there was no end of + visiting, in spite of the heat, which was considerable even at that early + date in May. The day there would have been pleasant enough but for my + wretched condition. + </p> + <p> + The next morning we set out for Fort Whipple, making a long day's march, + and arriving late in the evening. The wife of the Quartermaster, a total + stranger to me, received us, and before we had time to exchange the usual + social platitudes, she gave one look at the baby, and put an end to any + such attempts. "You have a sick child; give him to me;" then I told her + some things, and she said: "I wonder he is alive." Then she took him under + her charge and declared we should not leave her house until he was well + again. She understood all about nursing, and day by day, under her good + care, and Doctor Henry Lippincott's skilful treatment, I saw my baby + brought back to life again. Can I ever forget Mrs. Aldrich's blessed + kindness? + </p> + <p> + Up to then, I had taken no interest in Camp MacDowell, where was stationed + the company into which my husband was promoted. I knew it was somewhere in + the southern part of the Territory, and isolated. The present was enough. + I was meeting my old Fort Russell friends, and under Doctor Lippincott's + good care I was getting back a measure of strength. Camp MacDowell was not + yet a reality to me. + </p> + <p> + We met again Colonel Wilkins and Mrs. Wilkins and Carrie, and Mrs. Wilkins + thanked me for bringing her daughter alive out of those wilds. Poor girl; + 'twas but a few months when we heard of her death, at the birth of her + second child. I have always thought her death was caused by the long hard + journey from Apache to Whipple, for Nature never intended women to go + through what we went through, on that memorable journey by Stoneman's + Lake. + </p> + <p> + There I met again Captain Porter, and I asked him if he had progressed any + in his courtship, and he, being very much embarrassed, said he did not + know, but if patient waiting was of any avail, he believed he might win + his bride. + </p> + <p> + After we had been at Whipple a few days, Jack came in and remarked + casually to Lieutenant Aldrich, "Well, I heard Bernard has asked to be + relieved from Ehrenberg. + </p> + <p> + "What!" I said, "the lonely man down there on the river—the prisoner + of Chillon—the silent one? Well, they are going to relieve him, of + course?" + </p> + <p> + "Why, yes," said Jack, falteringly, "if they can get anyone to take his + place." + </p> + <p> + "Can't they order some one?" I inquired. + </p> + <p> + "Of course they can," he replied, and then, turning towards the window, he + ventured: "The fact is Martha, I've been offered it, and am thinking it + over." (The real truth was, that he had applied for it, thinking it + possessed great advantages over Camp MacDowell. ) + </p> + <p> + "What! do I hear aright? Have your senses left you? Are you crazy? Are you + going to take me to that awful place? Why, Jack, I should die there!" + </p> + <p> + "Now, Martha, be reasonable; listen to me, and if you really decide + against it, I'll throw up the detail. But don't you see, we shall be right + on the river, the boat comes up every fortnight or so, you can jump aboard + and go up to San Francisco." (Oh, how alluring that sounded to my ears!) + "Why, it's no trouble to get out of Arizona from Ehrenberg. Then, too, I + shall be independent, and can do just as I like, and when I like," et + caetera, et caetera. "Oh, you'll be making the greatest mistake, if you + decide against it. As for MacDowell, it's a hell of a place, down there in + the South; and you never will be able to go back East with the baby, if we + once get settled down there. Why, it's a good fifteen days from the + river." + </p> + <p> + And so he piled up the arguments in favor of Ehrenberg, saying finally, + "You need not stop a day there. If the boat happens to be up, you can jump + right aboard and start at once down river." + </p> + <p> + All the discomforts of the voyage on the "Newbern," and the memory of + those long days spent on the river steamer in August had paled before my + recent experiences. I flew, in imagination, to the deck of the "Gila," and + to good Captain Mellon, who would take me and my child out of that + wretched Territory. + </p> + <p> + "Yes, yes, let us go then," I cried; for here came in my inexperience. I + thought I was choosing the lesser evil, and I knew that Jack believed it + to be so, and also that he had set his heart upon Ehrenberg, for reasons + known only to the understanding of a military man. + </p> + <p> + So it was decided to take the Ehrenberg detail. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVII. THE COLORADO DESERT + </h2> + <p> + Some serpents slid from out the grass That grew in tufts by shattered + stone, Then hid below some broken mass Of ruins older than the East, That + Time had eaten, as a bone Is eaten by some savage beast. + </p> + <p> + Great dull-eyed rattlesnakes—they lay All loathsome, yellow-skinned, + and slept Coiled tight as pine knots in the sun, With flat heads through + the centre run; Then struck out sharp, then rattling crept Flat-bellied + down the dusty way. + </p> + <p> + —JOAQUIN MILLER. + </p> + <p> + At the end of a week, we started forth for Ehrenberg. Our escort was now + sent back to Camp Apache, and the Baileys remained at Fort Whipple, so our + outfit consisted of one ambulance and one army wagon. One or two soldiers + went along, to help with the teams and the camp. + </p> + <p> + We travelled two days over a semi-civilized country, and found quite + comfortable ranches where we spent the nights. The greatest luxury was + fresh milk, and we enjoyed that at these ranches in Skull Valley. They + kept American cows, and supplied Whipple Barracks with milk and butter. We + drank, and drank, and drank again, and carried a jugful to our bedside. + The third day brought us to Cullen's ranch, at the edge of the desert. + Mrs. Cullen was a Mexican woman and had a little boy named Daniel; she + cooked us a delicious supper of stewed chicken, and fried eggs, and good + bread, and then she put our boy to bed in Daniel's crib. I felt so + grateful to her; and with a return of physical comfort, I began to think + that life, after all, might be worth the living. + </p> + <p> + Hopefully and cheerfully the next morning we entered the vast Colorado + desert. This was verily the desert, more like the desert which our + imagination pictures, than the one we had crossed in September from + Mojave. It seemed so white, so bare, so endless, and so still; + irreclaimable, eternal, like Death itself. The stillness was appalling. We + saw great numbers of lizards darting about like lightning; they were + nearly as white as the sand itself, and sat up on their hind legs and + looked at us with their pretty, beady black eyes. It seemed very far off + from everywhere and everybody, this desert—but I knew there was a + camp somewhere awaiting us, and our mules trotted patiently on. Towards + noon they began to raise their heads and sniff the air; they knew that + water was near. They quickened their pace, and we soon drew up before a + large wooden structure. There were no trees nor grass around it. A Mexican + worked the machinery with the aid of a mule, and water was bought for our + twelve animals, at so much per head. The place was called Mesquite Wells; + the man dwelt alone in his desolation, with no living being except his + mule for company. How could he endure it! I was not able, even faintly, to + comprehend it; I had not lived long enough. He occupied a small hut, and + there he staid, year in and year out, selling water to the passing + traveller; and I fancy that travellers were not so frequent at Mesquite + Wells a quarter of a century ago. + </p> + <p> + The thought of that hermit and his dreary surroundings filled my mind for + a long time after we drove away, and it was only when we halted and a + soldier got down to kill a great rattlesnake near the ambulance, that my + thoughts were diverted. The man brought the rattles to us and the new toy + served to amuse my little son. + </p> + <p> + At night we arrived at Desert Station. There was a good ranch there, kept + by Hunt and Dudley, Englishmen, I believe. I did not see them, but I + wondered who they were and why they staid in such a place. They were + absent at the time; perhaps they had mines or something of the sort to + look after. One is always imagining things about people who live in such + extraordinary places. At all events, whatever Messrs. Hunt and Dudley were + doing down there, their ranch was clean and attractive, which was more + than could be said of the place where we stopped the next night, a place + called Tyson's Wells. We slept in our tent that night, for of all places + on the earth a poorly kept ranch in Arizona is the most melancholy and + uninviting. It reeks of everything unclean, morally and physically. Owen + Wister has described such a place in his delightful story, where the young + tenderfoot dances for the amusement of the old habitues. + </p> + <p> + One more day's travel across the desert brought us to our El Dorado. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVIII. EHRENBERG ON THE COLORADO + </h2> + <p> + Under the burning mid-day sun of Arizona, on May 16th, our six good mules, + with the long whip cracking about their ears, and the ambulance rattling + merrily along, brought us into the village of Ehrenberg. There was one + street, so called, which ran along on the river bank, and then a few cross + streets straggling back into the desert, with here and there a low adobe + casa. The Government house stood not far from the river, and as we drove + up to the entrance the same blank white walls stared at me. It did not + look so much like a prison, after all, I thought. Captain Bernard, the man + whom I had pitied, stood at the doorway, to greet us, and after we were + inside the house he had some biscuits and wine brought; and then the + change of stations was talked of, and he said to me, "Now, please make + yourself at home. The house is yours; my things are virtually packed up, + and I leave in a day or two. There is a soldier here who can stay with + you; he has been able to attend to my simple wants. I eat only twice a + day; and here is Charley, my Indian, who fetches the water from the river + and does the chores. I dine generally at sundown." + </p> + <p> + A shadow fell across the sunlight in the doorway; I looked around and + there stood "Charley," who had come in with the noiseless step of the + moccasined foot. I saw before me a handsome naked Cocopah Indian, who wore + a belt and a gee-string. He seemed to feel at home and began to help with + the bags and various paraphernalia of ambulance travellers. He looked to + be about twenty-four years old. His face was smiling and friendly and I + knew I should like him. + </p> + <p> + The house was a one-story adobe. It formed two sides of a hollow square; + the other two sides were a high wall, and the Government freight-house + respectively. The courtyard was partly shaded by a ramada and partly open + to the hot sun. There was a chicken-yard in one corner of the inclosed + square, and in the centre stood a rickety old pump, which indicated some + sort of a well. Not a green leaf or tree or blade of grass in sight. + Nothing but white sand, as far as one could see, in all directions. + </p> + <p> + Inside the house there were bare white walls, ceilings covered with manta, + and sagging, as they always do; small windows set in deep embrasures, and + adobe floors. Small and inconvenient rooms, opening one into another + around two sides of the square. A sort of low veranda protected by lattice + screens, made from a species of slim cactus, called ocotilla, woven + together, and bound with raw-hide, ran around a part of the house. + </p> + <p> + Our dinner was enlivened by some good Cocomonga wine. I tried to ascertain + something about the source of provisions, but evidently the soldier had + done the foraging, and Captain Bernard admitted that it was difficult, + adding always that he did not require much, "it was so warm," et caetera, + et caetera. The next morning I took the reins, nominally, but told the + soldier to go ahead and do just as he had always done. I selected a small + room for the baby's bath, the all important function of the day. The + Indian brought me a large tub (the same sort of a half of a vinegar barrel + we had used at Apache for ourselves), set it down in the middle of the + floor, and brought water from a barrel which stood in the corral. A low + box was placed for me to sit on. This was a bachelor establishment, and + there was no place but the floor to lay things on; but what with the + splashing and the leaking and the dripping, the floor turned to mud and + the white clothes and towels were covered with it, and I myself was a + sight to behold. The Indian stood smiling at my plight. He spoke only a + pigeon English, but said, "too much-ee wet." + </p> + <p> + I was in despair; things began to look hopeless again to me. I thought + "surely these Mexicans must know how to manage with these floors." Fisher, + the steamboat agent, came in, and I asked him if he could not find me a + nurse. He said he would try, and went out to see what could be done. + </p> + <p> + He finally brought in a rather forlorn looking Mexican woman leading a + little child (whose father was not known), and she said she would come to + us for quinze pesos a month. I consulted with Fisher, and he said she was + a pretty good sort, and that we could not afford to be too particular down + in that country. And so she came; and although she was indolent, and + forever smoking cigarettes, she did care for the baby, and fanned him when + he slept, and proved a blessing to me. + </p> + <p> + And now came the unpacking of our boxes, which had floated down the + Colorado Chiquito. The fine damask, brought from Germany for my linen + chest, was a mass of mildew; and when the books came to light, I could + have wept to see the pretty editions of Schiller, Goethe, and Lessing, + which I had bought in Hanover, fall out of their bindings; the latter, + warped out of all shape, and some of them unrecognizable. I did the best I + could, however, not to show too much concern, and gathered the pages + carefully together, to dry them in the sun. + </p> + <p> + They were my pride, my best beloved possessions, the links that bound me + to the happy days in old Hanover. + </p> + <p> + I went to Fisher for everything—a large, well-built American, and a + kind good man. Mrs. Fisher could not endure the life at Ehrenberg, so she + lived in San Francisco, he told me. There were several other white men in + the place, and two large stores where everything was kept that people in + such countries buy. These merchants made enormous profits, and their + families lived in luxury in San Francisco. + </p> + <p> + The rest of the population consisted of a very poor class of Mexicans, + Cocopah, Yuma and Mojave Indians, and half-breeds. + </p> + <p> + The duties of the army officer stationed here consisted principally in + receiving and shipping the enormous quantity of Government freight which + was landed by the river steamers. It was shipped by wagon trains across + the Territory, and at all times the work carried large responsibilities + with it. + </p> + <p> + I soon realized that however much the present incumbent might like the + situation, it was no fit place for a woman. + </p> + <p> + The station at Ehrenberg was what we call, in the army, "detached + service." I realized that we had left the army for the time being; that we + had cut loose from a garrison; that we were in a place where good food + could not be procured, and where there were practically no servants to be + had. That there was not a woman to speak to, or to go to for advice or + help, and, worst of all, that there was no doctor in the place. Besides + all this, my clothes were all ruined by lying wet for a fortnight in the + boxes, and I had practically nothing to wear. I did not then know what + useless things clothes were in Ehrenberg. + </p> + <p> + The situation appeared rather serious; the weather had grown intensely + hot, and it was decided that the only thing for me to do was to go to San + Francisco for the summer. + </p> + <p> + So one day we heard the whistle of the "Gila" going up; and when she came + down river, I was all ready to go on board, with Patrocina and Jesusita, + [*] and my own child, who was yet but five months old. I bade farewell to + the man on detached service, and we headed down river. We seemed to go + down very rapidly, although the trip lasted several days. Patrocina took + to her bed with neuralgia (or nostalgia); her little devil of a child + screamed the entire days and nights through, to the utter discomfiture of + the few other passengers. A young lieutenant and his wife and an army + surgeon, who had come from one of the posts in the interior, were among + the number, and they seemed to think that I could help it (though they did + not say so). + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Diminutive of Jesus, a very common name amongst the + Mexicans. Pronounced Hay-soo-se-ta. +</pre> + <p> + Finally the doctor said that if I did not throw Jesusita overboard, he + would; why didn't I "wring the neck of its worthless Mexican of a mother?" + and so on, until I really grew very nervous and unhappy, thinking what I + should do after we got on board the ocean steamer. I, a victim of + seasickness, with this unlucky woman and her child on my hands, in + addition to my own! No; I made up my mind to go back to Ehrenberg, but I + said nothing. + </p> + <p> + I did not dare to let Doctor Clark know of my decision, for I knew he + would try to dissuade me; but when we reached the mouth of the river, and + they began to transfer the passengers to the ocean steamer which lay in + the offing, I quietly sat down upon my trunk and told them I was going + back to Ehrenberg. Captain Mellon grinned; the others were speechless; + they tried persuasion, but saw it was useless; and then they said good-bye + to me, and our stern-wheeler headed about and started for up river. + </p> + <p> + Ehrenberg had become truly my old man of the sea; I could not get rid of + it. There I must go, and there I must stay, until circumstances and the + Fates were more propitious for my departure. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIX. SUMMER AT EHRENBERG + </h2> + <p> + The week we spent going up the Colorado in June was not as uncomfortable + as the time spent on the river in August of the previous year. Everything + is relative, I discovered, and I was happy in going back to stay with the + First Lieutenant of C Company, and share his fortunes awhile longer. + </p> + <p> + Patrocina recovered, as soon as she found we were to return to Ehrenberg. + I wondered how anybody could be so homesick for such a God-forsaken place. + I asked her if she had ever seen a tree, or green grass (for I could talk + with her quite easily now). She shook her mournful head. "But don't you + want to see trees and grass and flowers?" + </p> + <p> + Another sad shake of the head was the only reply. + </p> + <p> + Such people, such natures, and such lives, were incomprehensible to me + then. I could not look at things except from my own standpoint. + </p> + <p> + She took her child upon her knee, and lighted a cigarette; I took mine + upon my knee, and gazed at the river banks: they were now old friends: I + had gazed at them many times before; how much I had experienced, and how + much had happened since I first saw them! Could it be that I should ever + come to love them, and the pungent smell of the arrow-weed which covered + them to the water's edge? + </p> + <p> + The huge mosquitoes swarmed over us in the nights from those thick clumps + of arrow-weed and willow, and the nets with which Captain Mellon provided + us did not afford much protection. + </p> + <p> + The June heat was bad enough, though not quite so stifling as the August + heat. I was becoming accustomed to climates, and had learned to endure + discomfort. The salt beef and the Chinaman's peach pies were no longer + offensive to me. Indeed, I had a good appetite for them, though they were + not exactly the sort of food prescribed by the modern doctor, for a young + mother. Of course, milk, eggs, and all fresh food were not to be had on + the river boats. Ice was still a thing unknown on the Colorado. + </p> + <p> + When, after a week, the "Gila" pushed her nose up to the bank at + Ehrenberg, there stood the Quartermaster. He jumped aboard, and did not + seem in the least surprised to see me. "I knew you'd come back," said he. + I laughed, of course, and we both laughed. + </p> + <p> + "I hadn't the courage to go on," I replied + </p> + <p> + "Oh, well, we can make things comfortable here and get through the summer + some way," he said. "I'll build some rooms on, and a kitchen, and we can + surely get along. It's the healthiest place in the world for children, + they tell me." + </p> + <p> + So after a hearty handshake with Captain Mellon, who had taken such good + care of me on my week's voyage up river, I being almost the only + passenger, I put my foot once more on the shores of old Ehrenberg, and we + wended our way towards the blank white walls of the Government house. I + was glad to be back, and content to wait. + </p> + <p> + So work was begun immediately on the kitchen. My first stipulation was, + that the new rooms were to have wooden floors; for, although the Cocopah + Charley kept the adobe floors in perfect condition, by sprinkling them + down and sweeping them out every morning, they were quite impossible, + especially where it concerned white dresses and children, and the little + sharp rocks in them seemed to be so tiring to the feet. + </p> + <p> + Life as we Americans live it was difficult in Ehrenberg. I often said: + "Oh! if we could only live as the Mexicans live, how easy it would be!" + For they had their fire built between some stones piled up in their yard, + a piece of sheet iron laid over the top: this was the cooking-stove. A pot + of coffee was made in the morning early, and the family sat on the low + porch and drank it, and ate a biscuit. Then a kettle of frijoles [*] was + put over to boil. These were boiled slowly for some hours, then lard and + salt were added, and they simmered down until they were deliciously fit to + eat, and had a thick red gravy. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + *Mexican brown bean. +</pre> + <p> + Then the young matron, or daughter of the house, would mix the peculiar + paste of flour and salt and water, for tortillas, a species of unleavened + bread. These tortillas were patted out until they were as large as a + dinner plate, and very thin; then thrown onto the hot sheet-iron, where + they baked. Each one of the family then got a tortilla, the spoonful of + beans was laid upon it, and so they managed without the paraphernalia of + silver and china and napery. + </p> + <p> + How I envied them the simplicity of their lives! Besides, the tortillas + were delicious to eat, and as for the frijoles, they were beyond anything + I had ever eaten in the shape of beans. I took lessons in the making of + tortillas. A woman was paid to come and teach me; but I never mastered the + art. It is in the blood of the Mexican, and a girl begins at a very early + age to make the tortilla. It is the most graceful thing to see a pretty + Mexican toss the wafer-like disc over her bare arm, and pat it out until + transparent. + </p> + <p> + This was their supper; for, like nearly all people in the tropics, they + ate only twice a day. Their fare was varied sometimes by a little carni + seca, pounded up and stewed with chile verde or chile colorado. + </p> + <p> + Now if you could hear the soft, exquisite, affectionate drawl with which + the Mexican woman says chile verde you could perhaps come to realize what + an important part the delicious green pepper plays in the cookery of these + countries. They do not use it in its raw state, but generally roast it + whole, stripping off the thin skin and throwing away the seeds, leaving + only the pulp, which acquires a fine flavor by having been roasted or + toasted over the hot coals. + </p> + <p> + The women were scrupulously clean and modest, and always wore, when in + their casa, a low-necked and short-sleeved white linen camisa, fitting + neatly, with bands around neck and arms. Over this they wore a calico + skirt; always white stockings and black slippers. When they ventured out, + the younger women put on muslin gowns, and carried parasols. The older + women wore a linen towel thrown over their heads, or, in cool weather, the + black riboso. I often cried: "Oh! if I could only dress as the Mexicans + do! Their necks and arms do look so cool and clean." + </p> + <p> + I have always been sorry I did not adopt their fashion of house apparel. + Instead of that, I yielded to the prejudices of my conservative partner, + and sweltered during the day in high-necked and long-sleeved white + dresses, kept up the table in American fashion, ate American food in so + far as we could get it, and all at the expense of strength; for our + soldier cooks, who were loaned us by Captain Ernest from his company at + Fort Yuma, were constantly being changed, and I was often left with the + Indian and the indolent Patrocina. At those times, how I wished I had no + silver, no table linen, no china, and could revert to the primitive + customs of my neighbors! + </p> + <p> + There was no market, but occasionally a Mexican killed a steer, and we + bought enough for one meal; but having no ice, and no place away from the + terrific heat, the meat was hung out under the ramada with a piece of + netting over it, until the first heat had passed out of it, and then it + was cooked. + </p> + <p> + The Mexican, after selling what meat he could, cut the rest into thin + strips and hung it up on ropes to dry in the sun. It dried hard and + brittle, in its natural state, so pure is the air on that wonderful river + bank. They called this carni seca, and the Americans called it "jerked + beef." + </p> + <p> + Patrocina often prepared me a dish of this, when I was unable to taste the + fresh meat. She would pound it fine with a heavy pestle, and then put it + to simmer, seasoning it with the green or red pepper. It was most savory. + There was no butter at all during the hot months, but our hens laid a few + eggs, and the Quartermaster was allowed to keep a small lot of commissary + stores, from which we drew our supplies of flour, ham, and canned things. + We were often without milk for weeks at a time, for the cows crossed the + river to graze, and sometimes could not get back until the river fell + again, and they could pick their way back across the shifting sand bars. + </p> + <p> + The Indian brought the water every morning in buckets from the river. It + looked like melted chocolate. He filled the barrels, and when it had + settled clear, the ollas were filled, and thus the drinking water was a + trifle cooler than the air. One day it seemed unusually cool, so I said: + "Let us see by the thermometer how cool the water really is." We found the + temperature of the water to be 86 degrees; but that, with the air at 122 + in the shade, seemed quite refreshing to drink. + </p> + <p> + I did not see any white people at all except Fisher, Abe Frank (the mail + contractor), and one or two of the younger merchants. If I wanted + anything, I went to Fisher. He always could solve the difficulty. He + procured for me an excellent middle-aged laundress, who came and brought + the linen herself, and, bowing to the floor, said always, "Buenos dias, + Senorita!" dwelling on the latter word, as a gentle compliment to a + younger woman, and then, "Mucho calor este dia," in her low, drawling + voice. + </p> + <p> + Like the others, she was spotlessly clean, modest and gentle. I asked her + what on earth they did about bathing, for I had found the tub baths with + the muddy water so disagreeable. She told me the women bathed in the river + at daybreak, and asked me if I would like to go with them. + </p> + <p> + I was only too glad to avail myself of her invitation, and so, like + Pharoah's daughter of old, I went with my gentle handmaiden every morning + to the river bank, and, wading in about knee-deep in the thick red waters, + we sat down and let the swift current flow by us. We dared not go deeper; + we could feel the round stones grinding against each other as they were + carried down, and we were all afraid. It was difficult to keep one's + foothold, and Capt. Mellon's words were ever ringing in my ears, "He who + disappears below the surface of the Colorado is never seen again." But we + joined hands and ventured like children and played like children in these + red waters and after all, it was much nicer than a tub of muddy water + indoors. + </p> + <p> + A clump of low mesquite trees at the top of the bank afforded sufficient + protection at that hour; we rubbed dry, slipped on a loose gown, and + wended our way home. What a contrast to the limpid, bracing salt waters of + my own beloved shores! + </p> + <p> + When I thought of them, I was seized with a longing which consumed me and + made my heart sick; and I thought of these poor people, who had never + known anything in their lives but those desert places, and that muddy red + water, and wondered what they would do, how they would act, if transported + into some beautiful forest, or to the cool bright shores where clear blue + waters invite to a plunge. + </p> + <p> + Whenever the river-boat came up, we were sure to have guests, for many + officers went into the Territory via Ehrenberg. Sometimes the + "transportation" was awaiting them; at other times, they were obliged to + wait at Ehrenberg until it arrived. They usually lived on the boat, as we + had no extra rooms, but I generally asked them to luncheon or supper (for + anything that could be called a dinner was out of the question). + </p> + <p> + This caused me some anxiety, as there was nothing to be had; but I + remembered the hospitality I had received, and thought of what they had + been obliged to eat on the voyage, and I always asked them to share what + we could provide, however simple it might be. + </p> + <p> + At such times we heard all the news from Washington and the States, and + all about the fashions, and they, in their turn, asked me all sorts of + questions about Ehrenberg and how I managed to endure the life. They were + always astonished when the Cocopah Indian waited on them at table, for he + wore nothing but his gee-string, and although it was an every-day matter + to us, it rather took their breath away. + </p> + <p> + But "Charley" appealed to my aesthetic sense in every way. Tall, and + well-made, with clean-cut limbs and features, fine smooth copper-colored + skin, handsome face, heavy black hair done up in pompadour fashion and + plastered with Colorado mud, which was baked white by the sun, a small + feather at the crown of his head, wide turquoise bead bracelets upon his + upper arm, and a knife at his waist—this was my Charley, my + half-tame Cocopah, my man about the place, my butler in fact, for Charley + understood how to open a bottle of Cocomonga gracefully, and to keep the + glasses filled. + </p> + <p> + Charley also wheeled the baby out along the river banks, for we had had a + fine "perambulator" sent down from San Francisco. It was an incongruous + sight, to be sure, and one must laugh to think of it. The Ehrenberg babies + did not have carriages, and the village flocked to see it. There sat the + fair-haired, six-months-old boy, with but one linen garment on, no cap, no + stockings—and this wild man of the desert, his knife gleaming at his + waist, and his gee-string floating out behind, wheeling and pushing the + carriage along the sandy roads. + </p> + <p> + But this came to an end; for one day Fisher rushed in, breathless, and + said: "Well! here is your baby! I was just in time, for that Injun of + yours left the carriage in the middle of the street, to look in at the + store window, and a herd of wild cattle came tearing down! I grabbed the + carriage to the sidewalk, cussed the Injun out, and here's the child! It's + no use," he added, "you can't trust those Injuns out of sight." + </p> + <p> + The heat was terrific. Our cots were placed in the open part of the corral + (as our courtyard was always called). It was a desolate-looking place; on + one side, the high adobe wall; on another, the freight-house; and on the + other two, our apartments. Our kitchen and the two other rooms were now + completed. The kitchen had no windows, only open spaces to admit the air + and light, and we were often startled in the night by the noise of thieves + in the house, rummaging for food. + </p> + <p> + At such times, our soldier-cook would rush into the corral with his rifle, + the Lieutenant would jump up and seize his shotgun, which always stood + near by, and together they would roam through the house. But the thieving + Indians could jump out of the windows as easily as they jumped in, and the + excitement would soon be over. The violent sand-storms which prevail in + those deserts, sometimes came up in the night, without warning; then we + rushed half suffocated and blinded into the house, and as soon as we had + closed the windows it had passed on, leaving a deep layer of sand on + everything in the room, and on our perspiring bodies. + </p> + <p> + Then came the work, next day, for the Indian had to carry everything out + of doors; and one storm was so bad that he had to use a shovel to remove + the sand from the floors. The desert literally blew into the house. + </p> + <p> + And now we saw a singular phenomenon. In the late afternoon of each day, a + hot steam would collect over the face of the river, then slowly rise, and + floating over the length and breadth of this wretched hamlet of Ehrenberg, + descend upon and envelop us. Thus we wilted and perspired, and had one + part of the vapor bath without its bracing concomitant of the cool shower. + In a half hour it was gone, but always left me prostrate; then Jack gave + me milk punch, if milk was at hand, or sherry and egg, or something to + bring me up to normal again. We got to dread the steam so; it was the + climax of the long hot day and was peculiar to that part of the river. The + paraphernalia by the side of our cots at night consisted of a pitcher of + cold tea, a lantern, matches, a revolver, and a shotgun. Enormous yellow + cats, which lived in and around the freight-house, darted to and fro + inside and outside the house, along the ceiling-beams, emitting loud + cries, and that alone was enough to prevent sleep. In the old part of the + house, some of the partitions did not run up to the roof, but were left + open (for ventilation, I suppose), thus making a fine play-ground for cats + and rats, which darted along, squeaking, meowing and clattering all the + night through. An uncanny feeling of insecurity was ever with me. What + with the accumulated effect of the day's heat, what with the thieving + Indians, the sand-storms and the cats, our nights by no means gave us the + refreshment needed by our worn-out systems. By the latter part of the + summer, I was so exhausted by the heat and the various difficulties of + living, that I had become a mere shadow of my former self. + </p> + <p> + Men and children seem to thrive in those climates, but it is death to + women, as I had often heard. + </p> + <p> + It was in the late summer that the boat arrived one day bringing a large + number of staff officers and their wives, head clerks, and "general + service" men for Fort Whipple. They had all been stationed in Washington + for a number of years, having had what is known in the army as + "gilt-edged" details. I threw a linen towel over my head, and went to the + boat to call on them, and, remembering my voyage from San Francisco the + year before, prepared to sympathize with them. But they had met their fate + with resignation; knowing they should find a good climate and a pleasant + post up in the mountains, and as they had no young children with them, + they were disposed to make merry over their discomforts. + </p> + <p> + We asked them to come to our quarters for supper, and to come early, as + any place was cooler than the boat, lying down there in the melting sun, + and nothing to look upon but those hot zinc-covered decks or the ragged + river banks, with their uninviting huts scattered along the edge. + </p> + <p> + The surroundings somehow did not fit these people. Now Mrs. Montgomery at + Camp Apache seemed to have adapted herself to the rude setting of a log + cabin in the mountains, but these were Staff people and they had enjoyed + for years the civilized side of army life; now they were determined to + rough it, but they did not know how to begin. + </p> + <p> + The beautiful wife of the Adjutant-General was mourning over some freckles + which had come to adorn her dazzling complexion, and she had put on a + large hat with a veil. Was there ever anything so incongruous as a hat and + veil in Ehrenberg! For a long time I had not seen a woman in a hat; the + Mexicans all wore a linen towel over their heads. + </p> + <p> + But her beauty was startling, and, after all, I thought, a woman so + handsome must try to live up to her reputation. Now for some weeks Jack + had been investigating the sulphur well, which was beneath the old pump in + our corral. He had had a long wooden bath-tub built, and I watched it with + a lazy interest, and observed his glee as he found a longshoreman or + roustabout who could caulk it. The shape was exactly like a coffin (but + men have no imaginations), and when I told him how it made me feel to look + at it, he said: "Oh! you are always thinking of gloomy things. It's a fine + tub, and we are mighty lucky to find that man to caulk it. I'm going to + set it up in the little square room, and lead the sulphur water into it, + and it will be splendid, and just think," he added, "what it will do for + rheumatism!" + </p> + <p> + Now Jack had served in the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteers during the + Civil War, and the swamps of the Chickahominy had brought him into close + acquaintance with that dread disease. + </p> + <p> + As for myself, rheumatism was about the only ailment I did not have at + that time, and I suppose I did not really sympathize with him. But this + energetic and indomitable man mended the pump, with Fisher's help, and led + the water into the house, laid a floor, set up the tub in the little + square room, and behold, our sulphur bath! + </p> + <p> + After much persuasion, I tried the bath. The water flowed thick and inky + black into the tub; of course the odor was beyond description, and the + effect upon me was not such that I was ever willing to try it again. Jack + beamed. "How do you like it, Martha?" said he. "Isn't it fine? Why people + travel hundreds of miles to get a bath like that!" + </p> + <p> + I had my own opinion, but I did not wish to dampen his enthusiasm. Still, + in order to protect myself in the future, I had to tell him I thought I + should ordinarily prefer the river. + </p> + <p> + "Well," he said, "there are those who will be thankful to have a bath in + that water; I am going to use it every day." + </p> + <p> + I remonstrated: "How do you know what is in that inky water—and how + do you dare to use it?" + </p> + <p> + "Oh, Fisher says it's all right; people here used to drink it years ago, + but they have not done so lately, because the pump was broken down." + </p> + <p> + The Washington people seemed glad to pay us the visit. Jack's eyes danced + with true generosity and glee. He marked his victim; and, selecting the + Staff beauty and the Paymaster's wife, he expatiated on the wonderful + properties of his sulphur bath. + </p> + <p> + "Why, yes, the sooner the better," said Mrs. Martin. "I'd give everything + I have in this world, and all my chances for the next, to get a tub bath!" + </p> + <p> + "It will be so refreshing just before supper," said Mrs. Maynadier, who + was more conservative. + </p> + <p> + So the Indian, who had put on his dark blue waist-band (or sash), made + from flannel, revelled out and twisted into strands of yarn, and which + showed the supple muscles of his clean-cut thighs, and who had done up an + extra high pompadour in white clay, and burnished his knife, which gleamed + at his waist, ushered these Washington women into a small apartment + adjoining the bath-room, and turned on the inky stream into the + sarcophagus. + </p> + <p> + The Staff beauty looked at the black pool, and shuddered. "Do you use it?" + said she. + </p> + <p> + "Occasionally," I equivocated. + </p> + <p> + "Does it hurt the complexion?" she ventured. + </p> + <p> + "Jack thinks it excellent for that," I replied. + </p> + <p> + And then I left them, directing Charley to wait, and prepare the bath for + the second victim. + </p> + <p> + By and by the beauty came out. "Where is your mirror?" cried she (for our + appointments were primitive, and mirrors did not grow on bushes at + Ehrenberg); "I fancy I look queer," she added, and, in truth, she did; for + our water of the Styx did not seem to affiliate with the chemical + properties of the numerous cosmetics used by her, more or less, all her + life, but especially on the voyage, and her face had taken on a queer + color, with peculiar spots here and there. + </p> + <p> + Fortunately my mirrors were neither large nor true, and she never really + saw how she looked, but when she came back into the living-room, she + laughed and said to Jack: "What kind of water did you say that was? I + never saw any just like it." + </p> + <p> + "Oh! you have probably never been much to the sulphur springs," said he, + with his most superior and crushing manner. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps not," she replied, "but I thought I knew something about it; why, + my entire body turned such a queer color." + </p> + <p> + "Oh! it always does that," said this optimistic soldier man, "and that + shows it is doing good." + </p> + <p> + The Paymaster's wife joined us later. I think she had profited by the + beauty's experience, for she said but little. + </p> + <p> + The Quartermaster was happy; and what if his wife did not believe in that + uncanny stream which flowed somewhere from out the infernal regions, + underlying that wretched hamlet, he had succeeded in being a benefactor to + two travellers at least! + </p> + <p> + We had a merry supper: cold ham, chicken, and fresh biscuit, a plenty of + good Cocomonga wine, sweet milk, which to be sure turned to curds as it + stood on the table, some sort of preserves from a tin, and good coffee. I + gave them the best to be had in the desert—and at all events it was + a change from the Chinaman's salt beef and peach pies, and they saw fresh + table linen and shining silver, and accepted our simple hospitality in the + spirit in which we gave it. + </p> + <p> + Alice Martin was much amused over Charley; and Charley could do nothing + but gaze on her lovely features. "Why on earth don't you put some clothes + on him?" laughed she, in her delightful way. + </p> + <p> + I explained to her that the Indian's fashion of wearing white men's + clothes was not pleasing to the eye, and told her that she must cultivate + her aesthetic sense, and in a short time she would be able to admire these + copper-colored creatures of Nature as much as I did. + </p> + <p> + But I fear that a life spent mostly in a large city had cast fetters + around her imagination, and that the life at Fort Whipple afterwards + savored too much of civilization to loosen the bonds of her soul. I saw + her many times again, but she never recovered from her amazement at + Charley's lack of apparel, and she never forgot the sulphur bath. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XX. MY DELIVERER + </h2> + <p> + One day, in the early autumn, as the "Gila" touched at Ehrenberg, on her + way down river, Captain Mellon called Jack on to the boat, and, pointing + to a young woman, who was about to go ashore, said: "Now, there's a girl I + think will do for your wife. She imagines she has bronchial troubles, and + some doctor has ordered her to Tucson. She comes from up North somewhere. + Her money has given out, and she thinks I am going to leave her here. Of + course, you know I would not do that; I can take her on down to Yuma, but + I thought your wife might like to have her, so I've told her she could not + travel on this boat any farther without she could pay her fare. Speak to + her: she looks to me like a nice sort of a girl." + </p> + <p> + In the meantime, the young woman had gone ashore and was sitting upon her + trunk, gazing hopelessly about. Jack approached, offered her a home and + good wages, and brought her to me. + </p> + <p> + I could have hugged her for very joy, but I restrained myself and advised + her to stay with us for awhile, saying the Ehrenberg climate was quite as + good as that of Tucson. + </p> + <p> + She remarked quietly: "You do not look as if it agreed with you very well, + ma'am." + </p> + <p> + Then I told her of my young child, and my hard journeys, and she decided + to stay until she could earn enough to reach Tucson. + </p> + <p> + And so Ellen became a member of our Ehrenberg family. She was a fine, + strong girl, and a very good cook, and seemed to be in perfect health. She + said, however, that she had had an obstinate cough which nothing would + reach, and that was why she came to Arizona. From that time, things went + more smoothly. Some yeast was procured from the Mexican bakeshop, and + Ellen baked bread and other things, which seemed like the greatest + luxuries to us. We sent the soldier back to his company at Fort Yuma, and + began to live with a degree of comfort. + </p> + <p> + I looked at Ellen as my deliverer, and regarded her coming as a special + providence, the kind I had heard about all my life in New England, but had + never much believed in. + </p> + <p> + After a few weeks, Ellen was one evening seized with a dreadful toothache, + which grew so severe that she declared she could not endure it another + hour: she must have the tooth out. "Was there a dentist in the place?" + </p> + <p> + I looked at Jack: he looked at me: Ellen groaned with pain. + </p> + <p> + "Why, yes! of course there is," said this man for emergencies; "Fisher + takes out teeth, he told me so the other day." + </p> + <p> + Now I did not believe that Fisher knew any more about extracting teeth + than I did myself, but I breathed a prayer to the Recording Angel, and + said naught. + </p> + <p> + "I'll go get Fisher," said Jack. + </p> + <p> + Now Fisher was the steamboat agent. He stood six feet in his stockings, + had a powerful physique and a determined eye. Men in those countries had + to be determined; for if they once lost their nerve, Heaven save them. + Fisher had handsome black eyes. + </p> + <p> + When they came in, I said: "Can you attend to this business, Mr. Fisher?" + </p> + <p> + "I think so," he replied, quietly. "The Quartermaster says he has some + forceps." + </p> + <p> + I gasped. Jack, who had left the room, now appeared, a box of instruments + in his hand, his eyes shining with joy and triumph. + </p> + <p> + Fisher took the box, and scanned it. "I guess they'll do," said he. + </p> + <p> + So we placed Ellen in a chair, a stiff barrack chair, with a raw-hide + seat, and no arms. + </p> + <p> + It was evening. + </p> + <p> + "Mattie, you must hold the candle," said Jack. "I'll hold Ellen, and, + Fisher, you pull the tooth." + </p> + <p> + So I lighted the candle, and held it, while Ellen tried, by its flickering + light, to show Fisher the tooth that ached. + </p> + <p> + Fisher looked again at the box of instruments. "Why," said he, "these are + lower jaw rollers, the kind used a hundred years ago; and her tooth is an + upper jaw." + </p> + <p> + "Never mind," answered the Lieutenant, "the instruments are all right. + Fisher, you can get the tooth out, that's all you want, isn't it?" + </p> + <p> + The Lieutenant was impatient; and besides he did not wish any slur cast + upon his precious instruments. + </p> + <p> + So Fisher took up the forceps, and clattered around amongst Ellen's sound + white teeth. His hand shook, great beads of perspiration gathered on his + face, and I perceived a very strong odor of Cocomonga wine. He had + evidently braced for the occasion. + </p> + <p> + It was, however, too late to protest. He fastened onto a molar, and with + the lion's strength which lay in his gigantic frame, he wrenched it out. + </p> + <p> + Ellen put up her hand and felt the place. "My God! you've pulled the wrong + tooth!" cried she, and so he had. + </p> + <p> + I seized a jug of red wine which stood near by, and poured out a + gobletful, which she drank. The blood came freely from her mouth, and I + feared something dreadful had happened. + </p> + <p> + Fisher declared she had shown him the wrong tooth, and was perfectly + willing to try again. I could not witness the second attempt, so I put the + candle down and fled. + </p> + <p> + The stout-hearted and confiding girl allowed the second trial, and between + the steamboat agent, the Lieutenant, and the red wine, the aching molar + was finally extracted. + </p> + <p> + This was a serious and painful occurrence. It did not cause any of us to + laugh, at the time. I am sure that Ellen, at least, never saw the comical + side of it. + </p> + <p> + When it was all over, I thanked Fisher, and Jack beamed upon me with: "You + see, Mattie, my case of instruments did come in handy, after all." + </p> + <p> + Encouraged by success, he applied for a pannier of medicines, and the + Ehrenberg citizens soon regarded him as a healer. At a certain hour in the + morning, the sick ones came to his office, and he dispensed simple drugs + to them and was enabled to do much good. He seemed to have a sort of + intuitive knowledge about medicines and performed some miraculous cures, + but acquired little or no facility in the use of the language. + </p> + <p> + I was often called in as interpreter, and with the help of the sign + language, and the little I knew of Spanish, we managed to get an idea of + the ailments of these poor people. + </p> + <p> + And so our life flowed on in that desolate spot, by the banks of the Great + Colorado. + </p> + <p> + I rarely went outside the enclosure, except for my bath in the river at + daylight, or for some urgent matter. The one street along the river was + hot and sandy and neglected. One had not only to wade through the sand, + but to step over the dried heads or horns or bones of animals left there + to whiten where they died, or thrown out, possibly, when some one killed a + sheep or beef. Nothing decayed there, but dried and baked hard in that + wonderful air and sun. + </p> + <p> + Then, the groups of Indians, squaws and halfbreeds loafing around the + village and the store! One never felt sure what one was to meet, and + although by this time I tolerated about everything that I had been taught + to think wicked or immoral, still, in Ehrenberg, the limit was reached, in + the sights I saw on the village streets, too bold and too rude to be + described in these pages. + </p> + <p> + The few white men there led respectable lives enough for that country. The + standard was not high, and when I thought of the dreary years they had + already spent there without their families, and the years they must look + forward to remaining there, I was willing to reserve my judgement. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXI. WINTER IN EHRENBERG + </h2> + <p> + We asked my sister, Mrs. Penniman, to come out and spend the winter with + us, and to bring her son, who was in most delicate health. It was said + that the climate of Ehrenberg would have a magical effect upon all + diseases of the lungs or throat. So, to save her boy, my sister made the + long and arduous trip out from New England, arriving in Ehrenberg in + October. + </p> + <p> + What a joy to see her, and to initiate her into the ways of our life in + Arizona! Everything was new, everything was a wonder to her and to my + nephew. At first, he seemed to gain perceptibly, and we had great hopes of + his recovery. + </p> + <p> + It was now cool enough to sleep indoors, and we began to know what it was + to have a good night's rest. + </p> + <p> + But no sooner had we gotten one part of our life comfortably arranged, + before another part seemed to fall out of adjustment. Accidents and + climatic conditions kept my mind in a perpetual state of unrest. + </p> + <p> + Our dining-room door opened through two small rooms into the kitchen, and + one day, as I sat at the table, waiting for Jack to come in to supper, I + heard a strange sort of crashing noise. Looking towards the kitchen, + through the vista of open doorways, I saw Ellen rush to the door which led + to the courtyard. She turned a livid white, threw up her hands, and cried, + "Great God! the Captain!" She was transfixed with horror. + </p> + <p> + I flew to the door, and saw that the pump had collapsed and gone down into + the deep sulphur well. In a second, Jack's head and hands appeared at the + edge; he seemed to be caught in the debris of rotten timber. Before I + could get to him, he had scrambled half way out. "Don't come near this + place," he cried, "it's all caving in!" + </p> + <p> + And so it seemed; for, as he worked himself up and out, the entire + structure feel in, and half the corral with it, as it looked to me. + </p> + <p> + Jack escaped what might have been an unlucky bath in his sulphur well, and + we all recovered our composure as best we could. + </p> + <p> + Surely, if life was dull at Ehrenberg, it could not be called exactly + monotonous. We were not obliged to seek our excitement outside; we had + plenty of it, such as it was, within our walls. + </p> + <p> + My confidence in Ehrenberg, however, as a salubrious dwelling-place, was + being gradually and literally undermined. I began to be distrustful of the + very ground beneath my feet. Ellen felt the same way, evidently, although + we did not talk much about it. She probably longed also for some of her + own kind; and when, one morning, we went into the dining-room for + breakfast, Ellen stood, hat on, bag in hand, at the door. Dreading to meet + my chagrin, she said: "Good-bye, Captain; good-bye, missis, you've been + very kind to me. I'm leaving on the stage for Tucson—where I first + started for, you know." + </p> + <p> + And she tripped out and climbed up into the dusty, rickety vehicle called + "the stage." I had felt so safe about Ellen, as I did not know that any + stage line ran through the place. + </p> + <p> + And now I was in a fine plight! I took a sunshade, and ran over to + Fisher's house. "Mr. Fisher, what shall I do? Ellen has gone to Tucson!" + </p> + <p> + Fisher bethought himself, and we went out together in the village. Not a + woman to be found who would come to cook for us! There was only one thing + to do. The Quartermaster was allowed a soldier, to assist in the + Government work. I asked him if he understood cooking; he said he had + never done any, but he would try, if I would show him how. + </p> + <p> + This proved a hopeless task, and I finally gave it up. Jack dispatched an + Indian runner to Fort Yuma, ninety miles or more down river, begging + Captain Ernest to send us a soldier-cook on the next boat. + </p> + <p> + This was a long time to wait; the inconveniences were intolerable: there + were our four selves, Patrocina and Jesusita, the soldier-clerk and the + Indian, to be provided for: Patrocina prepared carni seca with peppers, a + little boy came around with cuajada, a delicious sweet curd cheese, and I + tried my hand at bread, following out Ellen's instructions. + </p> + <p> + How often I said to my husband. "If we must live in this wretched place, + let's give up civilization and live as the Mexicans do! They are the only + happy beings around here. + </p> + <p> + "Look at them, as you pass along the street! At nearly any hour in the day + you can see them, sitting under their ramada, their backs propped against + the wall of their casa, calmly smoking cigarettes and gazing at nothing, + with a look of ineffable contentment upon their features! They surely have + solved the problem of life!" + </p> + <p> + But we seemed never to be able to free ourselves from the fetters of + civilization, and so I struggled on. + </p> + <p> + One evening after dusk, I went into the kitchen, opened the kitchen closet + door to take out some dish, when clatter! bang! down fell the bread-pan, + and a shower of other tin ware, and before I could fairly get my breath, + out jumped two young squaws and without deigning to glance at me they + darted across the kitchen and leaped out the window like two frightened + fawn. + </p> + <p> + They had on nothing but their birthday clothes and as I was somewhat + startled at the sight of them, I stood transfixed, my eyes gazing at the + open space through which they had flown. + </p> + <p> + Charley, the Indian, was in the corral, filling the ollas, and, hearing + the commotion, came in and saw just the disappearing heels of the two + squaws. + </p> + <p> + I said, very sternly: "Charley, how came those squaws in my closet?" He + looked very much ashamed and said: "Oh, me tell you: bad man go to kill + 'em; I hide 'em." + </p> + <p> + "Well," said I, "do not hide any more girls in this casa! You savez that?" + </p> + <p> + He bowed his head in acquiescence. + </p> + <p> + I afterwards learned that one of the girls was his sister. + </p> + <p> + The weather was now fairly comfortable, and in the evenings we sat under + the ramada, in front of the house, and watched the beautiful pink glow + which spread over the entire heavens and illuminated the distant mountains + of Lower California. I have never seen anything like that wonderful color, + which spread itself over sky, river and desert. For an hour, one could + have believed oneself in a magician's realm. + </p> + <p> + At about this time, the sad-eyed Patrocina found it expedient to withdraw + into the green valleys of Lower California, to recuperate for a few + months. With the impish Jesusita in her arms, she bade me a mournful + good-bye. Worthless as she was from the standpoint of civilized morals, I + was attached to her and felt sorry to part with her. + </p> + <p> + Then I took a Mexican woman from Chihuahua. Now the Chihuahuans hold their + heads high, and it was rather with awe that I greeted the tall middle-aged + Chihuahuan lady who came to be our little son's nurse. Her name was + Angela. "Angel of light," I thought, how fortunate I am to get her! + </p> + <p> + After a few weeks, Fisher observed that the whole village was eating + Ferris ham, an unusual delicacy in Ehrenberg, and that the Goldwaters' had + sold none. So he suggested that our commissary storehouse be looked to; + and it was found that a dozen hams or so had been withdrawn from their + canvas covers, the covers stuffed with straw, and hung back in place. + Verily the Chihuahuan was adding to her pin-money in a most unworthy + fashion, and she had to go. After that, I was left without a nurse. My + little son was now about nine months old. + </p> + <p> + Milk began to be more plentiful at this season, and, with my sister's + advice and help, I decided to make the one great change in a baby's life + i.e., to take him from his mother. Modern methods were unknown then, and + we had neither of us any experience in these matters and there was no + doctor in the place. + </p> + <p> + The result was, that both the baby and myself were painfully and + desperately ill and not knowing which way to turn for aid, when, by a + lucky turn of Fortune's wheel, our good, dear Doctor Henry Lippincott came + through Ehrenberg on his way out to the States. Once more he took care of + us, and it is to him that I believe I owe my life. + </p> + <p> + Captain Ernest sent us a cook from Yuma, and soon some officers came for + the duck-shooting. There were thousands of ducks around the various + lagoons in the neighborhood, and the sport was rare. We had all the ducks + we could eat. + </p> + <p> + Then came an earthquake, which tore and rent the baked earth apart. The + ground shivered, the windows rattled, the birds fell close to the ground + and could not fly, the stove-pipes fell to the floor, the thick walls + cracked and finally, the earth rocked to and fro like some huge thing + trying to get its balance. + </p> + <p> + It was in the afternoon. My sister and I were sitting with our needle-work + in the living-room. Little Harry was on the floor, occupied with some + toys. I was paralyzed with fear; my sister did not move. We sat gazing at + each other, scarce daring to breathe, expecting every instant the heavy + walls to crumble about our heads. The earth rocked and rocked, and rocked + again, then swayed and swayed and finally was still. My sister caught + Harry in her arms, and then Jack and Willie came breathlessly in. "Did you + feel it?" said Jack. + </p> + <p> + "Did we feel it!" said I, scornfully. + </p> + <p> + Sarah was silent, and I looked so reproachfully at Jack, that he dropped + his light tone, and said: "It was pretty awful. We were in the Goldwaters' + store, when suddenly it grew dark and the lamps above our heads began to + rattle and swing, and we all rushed out into the middle of the street and + stood, rather dazed, for we scarcely knew what had happened; then we + hurried home. But it's all over now." + </p> + <p> + "I do not believe it," said I; "we shall have more"; and, in fact, we did + have two light shocks in the night, but no more followed, and the next + morning, we recovered, in a measure, from our fright and went out to see + the great fissures in that treacherous crust of earth upon which Ehrenberg + was built. + </p> + <p> + I grew afraid, after that, and the idea that the earth would eventually + open and engulf us all took possession of my mind. + </p> + <p> + My health, already weakened by shocks and severe strains, gave way + entirely. I, who had gloried in the most perfect health, and had a + constitution of iron, became an emaciated invalid. + </p> + <p> + From my window, one evening at sundown, I saw a weird procession moving + slowly along towards the outskirts of the village. It must be a funeral, + thought I, and it flashed across my mind that I had never seen the + burying-ground. + </p> + <p> + A man with a rude cross led the procession. Then came some Mexicans with + violins and guitars. After the musicians, came the body of the deceased, + wrapped in a white cloth, borne on a bier by friends, and followed by the + little band of weeping women, with black ribosos folded about their heads. + They did not use coffins at Ehrenberg, because they had none, I suppose. + </p> + <p> + The next day I asked Jack to walk to the grave-yard with me. He postponed + it from day to day, but I insisted upon going. At last, he took me to see + it. + </p> + <p> + There was no enclosure, but the bare, sloping, sandy place was sprinkled + with graves, marked by heaps of stones, and in some instances by rude + crosses of wood, some of which had been wrenched from their upright + position by the fierce sand-storms. There was not a blade of grass, a + tree, or a flower. I walked about among these graves, and close beside + some of them I saw deep holes and whitnened bones. I was quite ignorant or + unthinking, and asked what the holes were. + </p> + <p> + "It is where the coyotes and wolves come in the nights," said Jack. + </p> + <p> + My heart sickened as I thought of these horrors, and I wondered if + Ehrenberg held anything in store for me worse than what I had already + seen. We turned away from this unhallowed grave-yard and walked to our + quarters. I had never known much about "nerves," but I began to see + spectres in the night, and those ghastly graves with their coyote-holes + were ever before me. The place was but a stone's throw from us, and the + uneasy spirits from these desecrated graves began to haunt me. I could not + sit alone on the porch at night, for they peered through the lattice, and + mocked at me, and beckoned. Some had no heads, some no arms, but they + pointed or nodded towards the grewsome burying-ground: "You'll be with us + soon, you'll be with us soon." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXII. RETURN TO THE STATES + </h2> + <p> + I dream of the east wind's tonic, Of the breakers' stormy roar, And the + peace of the inner harbor With the long low Shimmo shore. + </p> + <p> + * * * * + </p> + <p> + I long for the buoy-bell's tolling When the north wind brings from afar + The smooth, green, shining billows, To be churned into foam on the bar. + </p> + <p> + Oh! for the sea-gulls' screaming As they swoop so bold and free! Oh! for + the fragrant commons, And the glorious open sea!— + </p> + <p> + For the restful great contentment, For the joy that is never known Till + past the jetty and Brant Point Light The Islander comes to his own! + </p> + <p> + —MARY E. STARBUCK. + </p> + <p> + "I must send you out. I see that you cannot stand it here another month," + said Jack one day; and so he bundled us onto the boat in the early spring, + and took us down the river to meet the ocean steamer. + </p> + <p> + There was no question about it this time, and I well knew it. + </p> + <p> + I left my sister and her son in Ehrenberg, and I never saw my nephew + again. A month later, his state of health became so alarming that my + sister took him to San Francisco. He survived the long voyage, but died + there a few weeks later at the home of my cousin. + </p> + <p> + At Fort Yuma we telegraphed all over the country for a nurse, but no money + would tempt those Mexican women to face an ocean voyage. Jack put me on + board the old "Newbern" in charge of the Captain, waited to see our vessel + under way, then waved good-bye from the deck of the "Gila," and turned his + face towards his post and duty. I met the situation as best I could, and + as I have already described a voyage on this old craft, I shall not again + enter into details. There was no stewardess on board, and all arrangements + were of the crudest description. Both my child and I were seasick all the + way, and the voyage lasted sixteen days. Our misery was very great. + </p> + <p> + The passengers were few in number, only a couple of Mexican miners who had + been prospecting, an irritable old Mexican woman, and a German doctor, who + was agreeable but elusive. + </p> + <p> + The old Mexican woman sat on the deck all day, with her back against the + stateroom door; she was a picturesque and indolent figure. + </p> + <p> + There was no diversion, no variety; my little boy required constant care + and watching. The days seemed endless. Everbody bought great bunches of + green bananas at the ports in Mexico, where we stopped for passengers. + </p> + <p> + The old woman was irritable, and one day when she saw the agreeable German + doctor pulling bananas from the bunch which she had hung in the sun to + ripen, she got up muttering "Carramba," and shaking her fist in his face. + He appeased her wrath by offering her, in the most fluent Spanish, some + from his own bunch when they should be ripe. + </p> + <p> + Such were my surroundings on the old "Newbern." The German doctor was + interesting, and I loved to talk with him, on days when I was not seasick, + and to read the letters which he had received from his family, who were + living on their Rittergut (or landed estates) in Prussia. + </p> + <p> + He amused me by tales of his life at a wretched little mining village + somewhere about fifty miles from Ehrenberg, and I was always wondering how + he came to have lived there. + </p> + <p> + He had the keenest sense of humor, and as I listened to the tales of his + adventures and miraculous escapes from death at the hands of these + desperate folk, I looked in his large laughing blue eyes and tried to + solve the mystery. + </p> + <p> + For that he was of noble birth and of ancient family there was no doubt. + There were the letters, there was the crest, and here was the offshoot of + the family. I made up my mind that he was a ne'er-do-weel and a rolling + stone. He was elusive, and, beyond his adventures, told me nothing of + himself. It was some time after my arrival in San Francisco that I learned + more about him. + </p> + <p> + Now, after we rounded Cape St. Lucas, we were caught in the long heavy + swell of the Pacific Ocean, and it was only at intervals that my little + boy and I could leave our stateroom. The doctor often held him while I ran + below to get something to eat, and I can never forget his kindness; and + if, as I afterward heard in San Francisco, he really had entered the "Gate + of a hundred sorrows," it would perhaps best explain his elusiveness, his + general condition, and his sometimes dazed expression. + </p> + <p> + A gentle and kindly spirit, met by chance, known through the propinquity + of a sixteen days' voyage, and never forgotten. + </p> + <p> + Everything comes to an end, however interminable it may seem, and at last + the sharp and jagged outlines of the coast began to grow softer and we + approached the Golden Gate. + </p> + <p> + The old "Newbern," with nothing in her but ballast, rolled and lurched + along, through the bright green waters of the outer bar. I stood leaning + against the great mast, steadying myself as best I could, and the tears + rolled down my face; for I saw the friendly green hills, and before me lay + the glorious bay of San Francisco. I had left behind me the deserts, the + black rocks, the burning sun, the snakes, the scorpions, the centipedes, + the Indians and the Ehrenberg graveyard; and so the tears flowed, and I + did not try to stop them; they were tears of joy. + </p> + <p> + The custom officers wanted to confiscate the great bundles of Mexican + cigarettes they found in my trunk, but "No," I told them, "they were for + my own use." They raised their eyebrows, gave me one look, and put them + back into the trunk. + </p> + <p> + My beloved California relatives met us, and took care of us for a + fortnight, and when I entered a Pullman car for a nine days' journey to my + old home, it seemed like the most luxurious comfort, although I had a + fourteen-months-old child in my arms, and no nurse. So does everything in + this life go by comparison. + </p> + <p> + Arriving in Boston, my sister Harriet met me at the train, and as she took + little Harry from my arms she cried: "Where did you get that sunbonnet? + Now the baby can't wear that in Boston!" + </p> + <p> + Of course we were both thinking hard of all that had happened to me since + we parted, on the morning after my wedding, two years before, and we were + so overcome with the joy of meeting, that if it had not been for the + baby's white sunbonnet, I do not know what kind of a scene we might have + made. That saved the situation, and after a few days of rest and necessary + shopping, we started for our old home in Nantucket. Such a welcome as the + baby and I had from my mother and father and all old friends! + </p> + <p> + But I saw sadness in their faces, and I heard it in their voices, for no + one thought I could possibly live. I felt, however, sure it was not too + late. I knew the East wind's tonic would not fail me, its own child. + </p> + <p> + Stories of our experiences and misfortunes were eagerly listened to, by + the family, and betwixt sighs and laughter they declared they were going + to fill some boxes which should contain everything necessary for comfort + in those distant places. So one room in our old house was set apart for + this; great boxes were brought, and day by day various articles, useful, + ornamental, and comfortable, and precious heirlooms of silver and glass, + were packed away in them. It was the year of 1876, the year of the great + Centennial, at Philadelphia. Everybody went, but it had no attractions for + me. I was happy enough, enjoying the health-giving air and the comforts of + an Eastern home. I wondered that I had ever complained about anything + there, or wished to leave that blissful spot. + </p> + <p> + The poorest person in that place by the sea had more to be thankful for, + in my opinion, than the richest people in Arizona. I felt as if I must cry + it out from the house-tops. My heart was thankful every minute of the day + and night, for every breath of soft air that I breathed, for every bit of + fresh fish that I ate, for fresh vegetables, and for butter—for + gardens, for trees, for flowers, for the good firm earth beneath my feet. + I wrote the man on detached service that I should never return to + Ehrenberg. + </p> + <p> + After eight months, in which my health was wholly restored, I heard the + good news that Captain Corliss had applied for his first lieutenant, and I + decided to join him at once at Camp MacDowell. + </p> + <p> + Although I had not wholly forgotten that Camp MacDowell had been called by + very bad names during our stay at Fort Whipple, at the time that Jack + decided on the Ehrenberg detail, I determined to brave it, in all its + unattractiveness, isolation and heat, for I knew there was a garrison and + a Doctor there, and a few officers' families, I knew supplies were to be + obtained and the ordinary comforts of a far-off post. Then too, in my + summer in the East I had discovered that I was really a soldier's wife and + I must go back to it all. To the army with its glitter and its misery, to + the post with its discomforts, to the soldiers, to the drills, to the + bugle-calls, to the monotony, to the heat of Southern Arizona, to the + uniform and the stalwart Captains and gay Lieutenants who wore it, I felt + the call and I must go. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIII. BACK TO ARIZONA + </h2> + <p> + The last nails were driven in the precious boxes, and I started overland + in November with my little son, now nearly two years old. + </p> + <p> + "Overland" in those days meant nine days from New York to San Francisco. + Arriving in Chicago, I found it impossible to secure a section on the + Pullman car so was obliged to content myself with a lower berth. I did not + allow myself to be disappointed. + </p> + <p> + On entering the section, I saw an enormous pair of queer cow hide shoes, + the very queerest shoes I had ever seen, lying on the floor, with a much + used travelling bag. I speculated a good deal on the shoes, but did not + see the owner of them until several hours later, when a short thick-set + German with sandy close-cut beard entered and saluted me politely. "You + are noticing my shoes perhaps Madame?" + </p> + <p> + "Yes" I said, involuntarily answering him in German. + </p> + <p> + His face shone with pleasure and he explained to me that they were made in + Russia and he always wore them when travelling. "What have we," I thought, + "an anarchist?" + </p> + <p> + But with the inexperience and fearlessness of youth, I entered into a most + delightful conversation in German with him. I found him rather an + extraordinarily well educated gentleman and he said he lived in Nevada, + but had been over to Vienna to place his little boy at a military school, + "as," he said, "there is nothing like a uniform to give a boy + self-respect." He said his wife had died several months before. I + congratulated myself that the occupant of the upper berth was at least a + gentleman. + </p> + <p> + The next day, as we sat opposite each other chatting, always in German, he + paused, and fixing his eyes rather steadily upon me he remarked: "Do you + think I put on mourning when my wife died? no indeed, I put on white kid + gloves and had a fiddler and danced at the grave. All this mourning that + people have is utter nonsense." + </p> + <p> + I was amazed at the turn his conversation had taken and sat quite still, + not knowing just what to say or to do. + </p> + <p> + After awhile, he looked at me steadily, and said, very deferentially, + "Madame, the spirit of my dead wife is looking at me from out your eyes." + </p> + <p> + By this time I realized that the man was a maniac, and I had always heard + that one must agree with crazy people, so I nodded, and that seemed to + satisfy him, and bye and bye after some minutes which seemed like hours to + me, he went off to the smoking room. + </p> + <p> + The tension was broken and I appealed to a very nice looking woman who + happened to be going to some place in Nevada near which this Doctor lived, + and she said, when I told her his name, "Why, yes, I heard of him before I + left home, he lives in Silver City, and at the death of his wife, he went + hopelessly insane, but," she added, "he is harmless, I believe." + </p> + <p> + This was a nice fix, to be sure, and I staid over in her section all day, + and late that night the Doctor arrived at the junction where he was to + take another train. So I slept in peace, after a considerable agitation. + </p> + <p> + There is nothing like experience to teach a young woman how to travel + alone. + </p> + <p> + In San Francisco I learned that I could now go as far as Los Angeles by + rail, thence by steamer to San Diego, and so on by stage to Fort Yuma, + where my husband was to meet me with an ambulance and a wagon. + </p> + <p> + I was enchanted with the idea of avoiding the long sea-trip down the + Pacific coast, but sent my boxes down by the Steamer "Montana," sister + ship of the old "Newbern," and after a few days' rest in San Francisco, + set forth by rail for Los Angeles. At San Pedro, the port of Los Angeles, + we embarked for San Diego. It was a heavenly night. I sat on deck enjoying + the calm sea, and listening to the romantic story of Lieutenant Philip + Reade, then stationed at San Diego. He was telling the story himself, and + I had never read or heard of anything so mysterious or so tragic. + </p> + <p> + Then, too, aside from the story, Mr. Reade was a very good-looking and + chivalrous young army officer. He was returning to his station in San + Diego, and we had this pleasant opportunity to renew what had been a very + slight acquaintance. + </p> + <p> + The calm waters of the Pacific, with their long and gentle swell, the pale + light of the full moon, our steamer gliding so quietly along, the soft air + of the California coast, the absence of noisy travellers, these made a fit + setting for the story of his early love and marriage, and the tragic + mystery which surrounded the death of his young bride. + </p> + <p> + All the romance which lived and will ever live in me was awake to the + story, and the hours passed all too quickly. + </p> + <p> + But a cry from my little boy in the near-by deck stateroom recalled me to + the realities of life and I said good-night, having spent one of the most + delightful evenings I ever remember. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Reade wears now a star on his shoulder, and well earned it is, too. I + wonder if he has forgotten how he helped to bind up my little boy's finger + which had been broken in an accident on the train from San Francisco to + Los Angeles? or how he procured a surgeon for me on our arrival there, and + got a comfortable room for us at the hotel? or how he took us to drive + (with an older lady for a chaperon), or how he kindly cared for us until + we were safely on the boat that evening? If I had ever thought chivalry + dead, I learned then that I had been mistaken. + </p> + <p> + San Diego charmed me, as we steamed, the next morning, into its shining + bay. But as our boat was two hours late and the stage-coach was waiting, I + had to decline Mr. Reade's enchanting offers to drive us around the + beautiful place, to show me the fine beaches, and his quarters, and all + other points of interest in this old town of Southern California. + </p> + <p> + Arizona, not San Diego, was my destination, so we took a hasty breakfast + at the hotel and boarded the stage, which, filled with passengers, was + waiting before the door. + </p> + <p> + The driver waited for no ceremonies, muttered something about being late, + cracked his whip, and away we went. I tried to stow myself and my little + boy and my belongings away comfortably, but the road was rough and the + coach swayed, and I gave it up. There were passengers on top of the coach, + and passengers inside the coach. One woman who was totally deaf, and some + miners and blacksmiths, and a few other men, the flotsam and jetsam of the + Western countries, who come from no one knoweth whence, and who go, no one + knoweth whither, who have no trade or profession and are sometimes even + without a name. + </p> + <p> + They seemed to want to be kind to me. Harry got very stage-sick and gave + us much trouble, and they all helped me to hold him. Night came. I do not + remember that we made any stops at all; if we did, I have forgotten them. + The night on that stage-coach can be better imagined than described. I do + not know of any adjectives that I could apply to it. Just before dawn, we + stopped to change horses and driver, and as the day began to break, we + felt ourselves going down somewhere at a terrific speed. + </p> + <p> + The great Concord coach slipped and slid and swayed on its huge springs as + we rounded the curves. + </p> + <p> + The road was narrow and appeared to be cut out of solid rock, which seemed + to be as smooth as soapstone; the four horses were put to their speed, and + down and around and away we went. I drew in my breath as I looked out and + over into the abyss on my left. Death and destruction seemed to be the end + awaiting us all. Everybody was limp, when we reached the bottom—that + is, I was limp, and I suppose the others were. The stage-driver knew I was + frightened, because I sat still and looked white and he came and lifted me + out. He lived in a small cabin at the bottom of the mountain; I talked + with him some. "The fact is," he said, "we are an hour late this morning; + we always make it a point to 'do it' before dawn, so the passengers can't + see anything; they are almost sure to get stampeded if we come down by + daylight." + </p> + <p> + I mentioned this road afterwards in San Francisco, and learned that it was + a famous road, cut out of the side of a solid mountain of rock; long + talked of, long desired, and finally built, at great expense, by the state + and the county together; that they always had the same man to drive over + it, and that they never did it by daylight. I did not inquire if there had + ever been any accidents. I seemed to have learned all I wanted to know + about it. + </p> + <p> + After a little rest and a breakfast at a sort of roadhouse, a relay of + horses was taken, and we travelled one more day over a flat country, to + the end of the stage-route. Jack was to meet me. Already from the stage I + had espied the post ambulance and two blue uniforms. Out jumped Major + Ernest and Jack. I remember thinking how straight and how well they + looked. I had forgotten really how army men did look, I had been so long + away. + </p> + <p> + And now we were to go to Fort Yuma and stay with the Wells' until my + boxes, which had been sent around by water on the steamer "Montana," + should arrive. I had only the usual thirty pounds allowance of luggage + with me on the stage, and it was made up entirely of my boy's clothing, + and an evening dress I had worn on the last night of my stay in San + Francisco. + </p> + <p> + Fort Yuma was delightful at this season (December), and after four or five + days spent most enjoyably, we crossed over one morning on the old rope + ferryboat to Yuma City, to inquire at the big country store there of news + from the Gulf. There was no bridge then over the Colorado. + </p> + <p> + The merchant called Jack to one side and said something to him in a low + tone. I was sure it concerned the steamer, and I said: "what it is?" + </p> + <p> + Then they told me that news had just been received from below, that the + "Montana" had been burned to the water's edge in Guaymas harbor, and + everything on board destroyed; the passengers had been saved with much + difficulty, as the disaster occurred in the night. + </p> + <p> + I had lost all the clothes I had in the world—and my precious boxes + were gone. I scarcely knew how to meet the calamity. + </p> + <p> + Jack said: "Don't mind, Mattie; I'm so thankful you and the boy were not + on board the ship; the things are nothing, no account at all." + </p> + <p> + "But," said I, "you do not understand. I have no clothes except what I + have on, and a party dress. Oh! what shall I do?" I cried. + </p> + <p> + The merchant was very sympathetic and kind, and Major Wells said, "Let's + go home and tell Fanny; maybe she can suggest something." + </p> + <p> + I turned toward the counter, and bought some sewing materials, realizing + that outside of my toilet articles and my party dress all my personal + belongings were swept away. I was in a country where there were no + dressmakers, and no shops; I was, for the time being, a pauper, as far as + clothing was concerned. + </p> + <p> + When I got back to Mrs. Wells I broke down entirely; she put her arms + around me and said: "I've heard all about it; I know just how you must + feel; now come in my room, and we'll see what can be done." + </p> + <p> + She laid out enough clothing to last me until I could get some things from + the East, and gave me a grey and white percale dress with a basque, and a + border, and although it was all very much too large for me, it sufficed to + relieve my immediate distress. + </p> + <p> + Letters were dispatched to the East, in various directions, for every sort + and description of clothing, but it was at least two months before any of + it appeared, and I felt like an object of charity for a long time. Then, + too, I had anticipated the fitting up of our quarters with all the pretty + cretonnes and other things I had brought from home. And now the contents + of those boxes were no more! The memory of the visit was all that was left + to me. It was very hard to bear. + </p> + <p> + Preparations for our journey to Camp MacDowell were at last completed. The + route to our new post lay along the valley of the Gila River, following it + up from its mouth, where it empties into the Colorado, eastwards towards + the southern middle portion of Arizona. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIV. UP THE VALLEY OF THE GILA + </h2> + <p> + The December sun was shining brightly down, as only the Arizona sun can + shine at high noon in winter, when we crossed the Colorado on the + primitive ferryboat drawn by ropes, clambered up into the great + thorough-brace wagon (or ambulance) with its dusty white canvas covers all + rolled up at the sides, said good-bye to our kind hosts of Fort Yuma, and + started, rattling along the sandy main street of Yuma City, for old Camp + MacDowell. + </p> + <p> + Our big blue army wagon, which had been provided for my boxes and trunks, + rumbling along behind us, empty except for the camp equipage. + </p> + <p> + But it all seemed so good to me: I was happy to see the soldiers again, + the drivers and teamsters, and even the sleek Government mules. The old + blue uniforms made my heart glad. Every sound was familiar, even the + rattling of the harness with its ivory rings and the harsh sound of the + heavy brakes reinforced with old leather soles. + </p> + <p> + Even the country looked attractive, smiling under the December sun. I + wondered if I had really grown to love the desert. I had read somewhere + that people did. But I was not paying much attention in those days to the + analysis of my feelings. I did not stop to question the subtle fascination + which I felt steal over me as we rolled along the smooth hard roads that + followed the windings of the Gila River. I was back again in the army; I + had cast my lot with a soldier, and where he was, was home to me. + </p> + <p> + In Nantucket, no one thought much about the army. The uniform of the + regulars was never seen there. The profession of arms was scarcely known + or heard of. Few people manifested any interest in the life of the Far + West. I had, while there, felt out of touch with my oldest friends. Only + my darling old uncle, a brave old whaling captain, had said: "Mattie, I am + much interested in all you have written us about Arizona; come right down + below and show me on the dining-room map just where you went." + </p> + <p> + Gladly I followed him down the stairs, and he took his pencil out and + began to trace. After he had crossed the Mississippi, there did not seem + to be anything but blank country, and I could not find Arizona, and it was + written in large letters across the entire half of this antique map, + "Unexplored." + </p> + <p> + "True enough," he laughed. "I must buy me a new map." + </p> + <p> + But he drew his pencil around Cape Horn and up the Pacific coast, and I + described to him the voyages I had made on the old "Newbern," and his face + was aglow with memories. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," he said, "in 1826, we put into San Francisco harbor and sent our + boats up to San Jose for water and we took goats from some of those + islands, too. Oh! I know the coast well enough. We were on our way to the + Ar'tic Ocean then, after right whales." + </p> + <p> + But, as a rule, people there seemed to have little interest in the army + and it had made me feel as one apart. + </p> + <p> + Gila City was our first camp; not exactly a city, to be sure, at that + time, whatever it may be now. We were greeted by the sight of a few old + adobe houses, and the usual saloon. I had ceased, however, to dwell upon + such trifles as names. Even "Filibuster," the name of our next camp, + elicited no remark from me. + </p> + <p> + The weather was fine beyond description. Each day, at noon, we got out of + the ambulance, and sat down on the warm white sand, by a little clump of + mesquite, and ate our luncheon. Coveys of quail flew up and we shot them, + thereby insuring a good supper. + </p> + <p> + The mules trotted along contentedly on the smooth white road, which + followed the south bank of the Gila River. Myriads of lizards ran out and + looked at us. "Hello, here you are again," they seemed to say. + </p> + <p> + The Gila Valley in December was quite a different thing from the Mojave + desert in September; and although there was not much to see, in that low, + flat country, yet we three were joyous and happy. + </p> + <p> + Good health again was mine, the travelling was ideal, there were no + discomforts, and I experienced no terrors in this part of Arizona. + </p> + <p> + Each morning, when the tent was struck, and I sat on the camp-stool by the + little heap of ashes, which was all that remained of what had been so + pleasant a home for an afternoon and a night, a little lonesome feeling + crept over me, at the thought of leaving the place. So strong is the + instinct and love of home in some people, that the little tendrils shoot + out in a day and weave themselves around a spot which has given them + shelter. Such as those are not born to be nomads. + </p> + <p> + Camps were made at Stanwix, Oatman's Flat, and Gila Bend. There we left + the river, which makes a mighty loop at this point, and struck across the + plains to Maricopa Wells. The last day's march took us across the Gila + River, over the Maricopa desert, and brought us to the Salt River. We + forded it at sundown, rested our animals a half hour or so, and drove + through the MacDowell canon in the dark of the evening, nine miles more to + the post. A day's march of forty-five miles. (A relay of mules had been + sent to meet us at the Salt River, but by some oversight, we had missed + it.) + </p> + <p> + Jack had told me of the curious cholla cactus, which is said to nod at the + approach of human beings, and to deposit its barbed needles at their feet. + Also I had heard stories of this deep, dark canon and things that had + happened there. + </p> + <p> + Fort MacDowell was in Maricopa County, Arizona, on the Verde River, + seventy miles or so south of Camp Verde; the roving bands of Indians, + escaping from Camp Apache and the San Carlos reservation, which lay far to + the east and southeast, often found secure hiding places in the fastnesses + of the Superstition Mountains and other ranges, which lay between old Camp + MacDowell and these reservations. + </p> + <p> + Hence, a company of cavalry and one of infantry were stationed at Camp + MacDowell, and the officers and men of this small command were kept busy, + scouting, and driving the renegades from out of this part of the country + back to their reservations. It was by no means an idle post, as I found + after I got there; the life at Camp MacDowell meant hard work, exposure + and fatigue for this small body of men. + </p> + <p> + As we wound our way through this deep, dark canon, after crossing the Salt + River, I remembered the things I had heard, of ambush and murder. Our + animals were too tired to go out of a walk, the night fell in black + shadows down between those high mountain walls, the chollas, which are a + pale sage-green color in the day-time, took on a ghastly hue. They were + dotted here and there along the road, and on the steep mountainsides. They + grew nearly as tall as a man, and on each branch were great excrescences + which looked like people's heads, in the vague light which fell upon them. + </p> + <p> + They nodded to us, and it made me shudder; they seemed to be something + human. + </p> + <p> + The soldiers were not partial to MacDowell canon; they knew too much about + the place; and we all breathed a sigh of relief when we emerged from this + dark uncanny road and saw the lights of the post, lying low, long, flat, + around a square. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXV. OLD CAMP MACDOWELL + </h2> + <p> + We were expected, evidently, for as we drove along the road in front of + the officers' quarters they all came out to meet us, and we received a + great welcome. + </p> + <p> + Captain Corliss of C company welcomed us to the post and to his company, + and said he hoped I should like MacDowell better than I did Ehrenberg. Now + Ehrenberg seemed years agone, and I could laugh at the mention of it. + </p> + <p> + Supper was awaiting us at Captain Corliss's, and Mrs. Kendall, wife of + Lieutenant Kendall, Sixth Cavalry, had, in Jack's absence, put the + finishing touches to our quarters. So I went at once to a comfortable + home, and life in the army began again for me. + </p> + <p> + How good everything seemed! There was Doctor Clark, whom I had met first + at Ehrenberg, and who wanted to throw Patrocina and Jesusita into the + Colorado. I was so glad to find him there; he was such a good doctor, and + we never had a moment's anxiety, as long as he staid at Camp MacDowell. + Our confidence in him was unbounded. + </p> + <p> + It was easy enough to obtain a man from the company. There were then no + hateful laws forbidding soldiers to work in officers' families; no dreaded + inspectors, who put the flat question, "Do you employ a soldier for menial + labor?" + </p> + <p> + Captain Corliss gave me an old man by the name of Smith, and he was glad + to come and stay with us and do what simple cooking we required. One of + the laundresses let me have her daughter for nurserymaid, and our small + establishment at Camp MacDowell moved on smoothly, if not with elegance. + </p> + <p> + The officers' quarters were a long, low line of adobe buildings with no + space between them; the houses were separated only by thick walls. In + front, the windows looked out over the parade ground. In the rear, they + opened out on a road which ran along the whole length, and on the other + side of which lay another row of long, low buildings which were the + kitchens, each set of quarters having its own. + </p> + <p> + We occupied the quarters at the end of the row, and a large bay window + looked out over a rather desolate plain, and across to the large and + well-kept hospital. As all my draperies and pretty cretonnes had been + burnt up on the ill-fated ship, I had nothing but bare white shades at the + windows, and the rooms looked desolate enough. But a long divan was soon + built, and some coarse yellow cotton bought at John Smith's (the sutler's) + store, to cover it. My pretty rugs and mats were also gone, and there was + only the old ingrain carpet from Fort Russell. The floors were adobe, and + some men from the company came and laid down old canvas, then the carpet, + and drove in great spikes around the edge to hold it down. The floors of + the bedroom and dining-room were covered with canvas in the same manner. + Our furnishings were very scanty and I felt very mournful about the loss + of the boxes. We could not claim restitution as the steamship company had + been courteous enough to take the boxes down free of charge. + </p> + <p> + John Smith, the post trader (the name "sutler" fell into disuse about now) + kept a large store but, nothing that I could use to beautify my quarters + with—and our losses had been so heavy that we really could not + afford to send back East for more things. My new white dresses came and + were suitable enough for the winter climate of MacDowell. But I missed the + thousand and one accessories of a woman's wardrobe, the accumulation of + years, the comfortable things which money could not buy especially at that + distance. + </p> + <p> + I had never learned how to make dresses or to fit garments and although I + knew how to sew, my accomplishments ran more in the line of outdoor + sports. + </p> + <p> + But Mrs. Kendall whose experience in frontier life had made her + self-reliant, lent me some patterns, and I bought some of John Smith's + calico and went to work to make gowns suited to the hot weather. This was + in 1877, and every one will remember that the ready-made house-gowns were + not to be had in those days in the excellence and profusion in which they + can to-day be found, in all parts of the country. + </p> + <p> + Now Mrs. Kendall was a tall, fine woman, much larger than I, but I used + her patterns without alterations, and the result was something like a bag. + They were freshly laundried and cool, however, and I did not place so much + importance on the lines of them, as the young women of the present time + do. To-day, the poorest farmer's wife in the wilds of Arkansas or Alaska + can wear better fitting gowns than I wore then. But my riding habits, of + which I had several kinds, to suit warm and cold countries, had been left + in Jack's care at Ehrenberg, and as long as these fitted well, it did not + so much matter about the gowns. + </p> + <p> + Captain Chaffee, who commanded the company of the Sixth Cavalry stationed + there, was away on leave, but Mr. Kendall, his first lieutenant, consented + for me to exercise "Cochise," Captain Chaffee's Indian pony, and I had a + royal time. + </p> + <p> + Cavalry officers usually hate riding: that is, riding for pleasure; for + they are in the saddle so much, for dead earnest work; but a young + officer, a second lieutenant, not long out from the Academy, liked to + ride, and we had many pleasant riding parties. Mr. Dravo and I rode one + day to the Mormon settlement, seventeen miles away, on some business with + the bishop, and a Mormon woman gave us a lunch of fried salt pork, + potatoes, bread, and milk. How good it tasted, after our long ride! and + how we laughed about it all, and jollied, after the fashion of young + people, all the way back to the post! Mr Dravo had also lost all his + things on the "Montana," and we sympathized greatly with each other. He, + however, had sent an order home to Pennsylvania, duplicating all the + contents of his boxes. I told him I could not duplicate mine, if I sent a + thousand orders East. + </p> + <p> + When, after some months, his boxes came, he brought me in a package, done + up in tissue paper and tied with ribbon: "Mother sends you these; she + wrote that I was not to open them; I think she felt sorry for you, when I + wrote her you had lost all your clothing. I suppose," he added, mustering + his West Point French to the front, and handing me the package, "it is + what you ladies call 'lingerie.'" + </p> + <p> + I hope I blushed, and I think I did, for I was not so very old, and I was + touched by this sweet remembrance from the dear mother back in Pittsburgh. + And so many lovely things happened all the time; everybody was so kind to + me. Mrs. Kendall and her young sister, Kate Taylor, Mrs. John Smith and I, + were the only women that winter at Camp MacDowell. Afterwards, Captain + Corliss brought a bride to the post, and a new doctor took Doctor Clark's + place. + </p> + <p> + There were interminable scouts, which took both cavalry and infantry out + of the post. We heard a great deal about "chasing Injuns" in the + Superstition Mountains, and once a lieutenant of infantry went out to + chase an escaping Indian Agent. + </p> + <p> + Old Smith, my cook, was not very satisfactory; he drank a good deal, and I + got very tired of the trouble he caused me. It was before the days of the + canteen, and soldiers could get all the whiskey they wanted at the + trader's store; and, it being generally the brand that was known in the + army as "Forty rod," they got very drunk on it sometimes. I never had it + in my heart to blame them much, poor fellows, for every human beings wants + and needs some sort of recreation and jovial excitement. + </p> + <p> + Captain Corliss said to Jack one day, in my presence, "I had a fine batch + of recruits come in this morning." + </p> + <p> + "That's lovely," said I; "what kind of men are they? Any good cooks + amongst them?" (for I was getting very tired of Smith). + </p> + <p> + Captain Corliss smiled a grim smile. "What do you think the United States + Government enlists men for?" said he; "do you think I want my company to + be made up of dish-washers?" + </p> + <p> + He was really quite angry with me, and I concluded that I had been too + abrupt, in my eagerness for another man, and that my ideas on the subject + were becoming warped. I decided that I must be more diplomatic in the + future, in my dealings with the Captain of C company. + </p> + <p> + The next day, when we went to breakfast, whom did we find in the + dining-room but Bowen! Our old Bowen of the long march across the + Territory! Of Camp Apache and K company! He had his white apron on, his + hair rolled back in his most fetching style, and was putting the coffee on + the table. + </p> + <p> + "But, Bowen," said I, "where—how on earth—did you—how + did you know we—what does it mean?" + </p> + <p> + Bowen saluted the First Lieutenant of C company, and said: "Well, sir, the + fact is, my time was out, and I thought I would quit. I went to San + Francisco and worked in a miners' restaurant" (here he hesitated), "but I + didn't like it, and I tried something else, and lost all my money, and I + got tired of the town, so I thought I'd take on again, and as I knowed + ye's were in C company now, I thought I'd come to MacDowell, and I came + over here this morning and told old Smith he'd better quit; this was my + job, and here I am, and I hope ye're all well—and the little boy?" + </p> + <p> + Here was loyalty indeed, and here was Bowen the Immortal, back again! + </p> + <p> + And now things ran smoothly once more. Roasts of beef and haunches of + venison, ducks and other good things we had through the winter. + </p> + <p> + It was cool enough to wear white cotton dresses, but nothing heavier. It + never rained, and the climate was superb, although it was always hot in + the sun. We had heard that it was very hot here; in fact, people called + MacDowell by very bad names. As the spring came on, we began to realize + that the epithets applied to it might be quite appropriate. + </p> + <p> + In front of our quarters was a ramada, [*] supported by rude poles of the + cottonwood tree. Then came the sidewalk, and the acequia (ditch), then a + row of young cottonwood trees, then the parade ground. Through the acequia + ran the clear water that supplied the post, and under the shade of the + ramadas, hung the large ollas from which we dipped the drinking water, for + as yet, of course, ice was not even dreamed of in the far plains of + MacDowell. The heat became intense, as the summer approached. To sleep + inside the house was impossible, and we soon followed the example of the + cavalry, who had their beds out on the parade ground. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + *A sort of rude awning made of brush and supported by + cottonwood poles. +</pre> + <p> + Two iron cots, therefore, were brought from the hospital, and placed side + by side in front of our quarters, beyond the acequia and the cottonwood + trees, in fact, out in the open space of the parade ground. Upon these + were laid some mattresses and sheets, and after "taps" had sounded, and + lights were out, we retired to rest. Near the cots stood Harry's crib. We + had not thought about the ants, however, and they swarmed over our beds, + driving us into the house. The next morning Bowen placed a tin can of + water under each point of contact; and as each cot had eight legs, and the + crib had four, twenty cans were necessary. He had not taken the trouble to + remove the labels, and the pictures of red tomatoes glared at us in the + hot sun through the day; they did not look poetic, but our old enemies, + the ants, were outwitted. + </p> + <p> + There was another species of tiny insect, however, which seemed to drop + from the little cotton-wood trees which grew at the edge of the acequia, + and myriads of them descended and crawled all over us, so we had to have + our beds moved still farther out on to the open space of the parade + ground. + </p> + <p> + And now we were fortified against all the venomous creeping things and we + looked forward to blissful nights of rest. + </p> + <p> + We did not look along the line, when we retired to our cots, but if we + had, we should have seen shadowy figures, laden with pillows, flying from + the houses to the cots or vice versa. It was certainly a novel experience. + </p> + <p> + With but a sheet for a covering, there we lay, looking up at the starry + heavens. I watched the Great Bear go around, and other constellations and + seemed to come into close touch with Nature and the mysterious night. But + the melancholy solemnity of my communings was much affected by the howling + of the coyotes, which seemed sometimes to be so near that I jumped to the + side of the crib, to see if my little boy was being carried off. The good + sweet slumber which I craved never came to me in those weird Arizona + nights under the stars. + </p> + <p> + At about midnight, a sort of dewy coolness would come down from the sky, + and we could then sleep a little; but the sun rose incredibly early in + that southern country, and by the crack of dawn sheeted figures were to be + seen darting back into the quarters, to try for another nap. The nap + rarely came to any of us, for the heat of the houses never passed off, day + or night, at that season. After an early breakfast, the long day began + again. + </p> + <p> + The question of what to eat came to be a serious one. We experimented with + all sorts of tinned foods, and tried to produce some variety from them, + but it was all rather tiresome. We almost dreaded the visits of the + Paymaster and the Inspector at that season, as we never had anything in + the house to give them. + </p> + <p> + One hot night, at about ten o'clock, we heard the rattle of wheels, and an + ambulance drew up at our door. Out jumped Colonel Biddle, Inspector + General, from Fort Whipple. "What shall I give him to eat, poor hungry + man?" I thought. I looked in the wire-covered safe, which hung outside the + kitchen, and discovered half a beefsteak-pie. The gallant Colonel declared + that if there was one thing above all others that he liked, it was cold + beefsteak-pie. Lieutenant Thomas of the Fifth Cavalry echoed his + sentiments, and with a bottle of Cocomonga, which was always kept cooling + somewhere, they had a merry supper. + </p> + <p> + These visits broke the monotony of our life at Camp MacDowell. We heard of + the gay doings up at Fort Whipple, and of the lovely climate there. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Thomas said he could not understand why we wore such bags of dresses. + I told him spitefully that if the women of Fort Whipple would come down to + MacDowell to spend the summer, they would soon be able to explain it to + him. I began to feel embarrassed at the fit of my house-gowns. After a few + days spent with us, however, the mercury ranging from l04 to l20 degrees + in the shade, he ceased to comment upon our dresses or our customs. + </p> + <p> + I had a glass jar of butter sent over from the Commissary, and asked + Colonel Biddle if he thought it right that such butter as that should be + bought by the purchasing officer in San Francisco. It had melted, and + separated into layers of dead white, deep orange and pinkish-purple + colors. Thus I, too, as well as General Miles, had my turn at trying to + reform the Commissary Department of Uncle Sam's army. + </p> + <p> + Hammocks were swung under the ramadas, and after luncheon everybody tried + a siesta. Then, near sundown, an ambulance came and took us over to the + Verde River, about a mile away, where we bathed in water almost as thick + as that of the Great Colorado. We taught Mrs. Kendall to swim, but Mr. + Kendall, being an inland man, did not take to the water. Now the Verde + River was not a very good substitute for the sea, and the thick water + filled our ears and mouths, but it gave us a little half hour in the day + when we could experience a feeling of being cool, and we found it worth + while to take the trouble. Thick clumps of mesquite trees furnished us + with dressing-rooms. We were all young, and youth requires so little with + which to make merry. + </p> + <p> + After the meagre evening dinner, the Kendalls and ourselves sat together + under the ramada until taps, listening generally to the droll anecdotes + told by Mr. Kendall, who had an inexhaustible fund. Then another night + under the stars, and so passed the time away. + </p> + <p> + We lived, ate, slept by the bugle calls. Reveille means sunrise, when a + Lieutenant must hasten to put himself into uniform, sword and belt, and go + out to receive the report of the company or companies of soldiers, who + stand drawn up in line on the parade ground. + </p> + <p> + At about nine o'clock in the morning comes the guard-mount, a function + always which everybody goes out to see. Then the various drill calls, and + recalls, and sick-call and the beautiful stable-call for the cavalry, when + the horses are groomed and watered, the thrilling fire-call and the + startling assembly, or call-to-arms, when every soldier jumps for his + rifle and every officer buckles on his sword, and a woman's heart stands + still. + </p> + <p> + Then at night, "tattoo," when the company officers go out to receive the + report of "all present and accounted for"—and shortly after that, + the mournful "taps," a signal for the barrack lights to be put out. + </p> + <p> + The bugle call of "taps" is mournful also through association, as it is + always blown over the grave of a soldier or an officer, after the coffin + has been lowered into the earth. The soldier-musicians who blow the calls, + seem to love the call of "taps," (strangely enough) and I remember well + that there at Camp MacDowell, we all used to go out and listen when "taps + went," as the soldier who blew it, seemed to put a whole world of sorrow + into it, turning to the four points of the compass and letting its clear + tones tremble through the air, away off across the Maricopa desert and + then toward the East, our home so faraway. We never spoke, we just + listened, and who can tell the thoughts that each one had in his mind? + Church nor ministers nor priests had we there in those distant lands, but + can we say that our lives were wholly without religion? + </p> + <p> + The Sunday inspection of men and barracks, which was performed with much + precision and formality, and often in full dress uniform, gave us + something by which we could mark the weeks, as they slipped along. There + was no religious service of any kind, as Uncle Sam did not seem to think + that the souls of us people in the outposts needed looking after. It would + have afforded much comfort to the Roman Catholics had there been a priest + stationed there. + </p> + <p> + The only sermon I ever heard in old Camp MacDowell was delivered by a + Mormon Bishop and was of a rather preposterous nature, neither instructive + nor edifying. But the good Catholics read their prayer-books at home, and + the rest of us almost forgot that such organizations as churches existed. + </p> + <p> + Another bright winter found us still gazing at the Four Peaks of the + MacDowell Mountains, the only landmark on the horizon. I was glad, in + those days, that I had not staid back East, for the life of an officer + without his family, in those drear places, is indeed a blank and empty + one. + </p> + <p> + "Four years I have sat here and looked at the Four Peaks," said Captain + Corliss, one day, "and I'm getting almighty tired of it." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVI. A SUDDEN ORDER + </h2> + <p> + In June, 1878, Jack was ordered to report to the commanding officer at + Fort Lowell (near the ancient city of Tucson), to act as Quartermaster and + Commissary at that post. This was a sudden and totally unexpected order. + It was indeed hard, and it seemed to me cruel. For our regiment had been + four years in the Territory, and we were reasonably sure of being ordered + out before long. Tucson lay far to the south of us, and was even hotter + than this place. But there was nothing to be done; we packed up, I with a + heavy heart, Jack with his customary stoicism. + </p> + <p> + With the grief which comes only at that time in one's life, and which sees + no end and no limit, I parted from my friends at Camp MacDowell. Two years + together, in the most intimate companionship, cut off from the outside + world, and away from all early ties, had united us with indissoluble + bonds,—and now we were to part,—forever as I thought. + </p> + <p> + We all wept; I embraced them all, and Jack lifted me into the ambulance; + Mrs. Kendall gave a last kiss to our little boy; Donahue, our + soldier-driver, loosened up his brakes, cracked his long whip, and away we + went, down over the flat, through the dark MacDowell canon, with the + chollas nodding to us as we passed, across the Salt River, and on across + an open desert to Florence, forty miles or so to the southeast of us. + </p> + <p> + At Florence we sent our military transportation back and staid over a day + at a tavern to rest. We met there a very agreeable and cultivated + gentleman, Mr. Charles Poston, who was en route to his home, somewhere in + the mountains nearby. We took the Tucson stage at sundown, and travelled + all night. I heard afterwards more about Mr. Poston: he had attained some + reputation in the literary world by writing about the Sun-worshippers of + Asia. He had been a great traveller in his early life, but now had built + himself some sort of a house in one of the desolate mountains which rose + out of these vast plains of Arizona, hoisted his sun-flag on the top, + there to pass the rest of his days. People out there said he was a + sun-worshipper. I do not know. "But when I am tired of life and people," I + thought, "this will not be the place I shall choose." + </p> + <p> + Arriving at Tucson, after a hot and tiresome night in the stage, we went + to an old hostelry. Tucson looked attractive. Ancient civilization is + always interesting to me. + </p> + <p> + Leaving me at the tavern, my husband drove out to Fort Lowell, to see + about quarters and things in general. In a few hours he returned with the + overwhelming news that he found a dispatch awaiting him at that post, + ordering him to return immediately to his company at Camp MacDowell, as + the Eighth Infantry was ordered to the Department of California. + </p> + <p> + Ordered "out" at last! I felt like jumping up onto the table, climbing + onto the roof, dancing and singing and shouting for joy! Tired as we were + (and I thought I had reached the limit), we were not too tired to take the + first stage back for Florence, which left that evening. Those two nights + on the Tucson stage are a blank in my memory. I got through them somehow. + </p> + <p> + In the morning, as we approached the town of Florence, the great blue army + wagon containing our household goods, hove in sight—its white canvas + cover stretched over hoops, its six sturdy mules coming along at a good + trot, and Sergeant Stone cracking his long whip, to keep up a proper pace + in the eyes of the Tucson stage-driver. + </p> + <p> + Jack called him to halt, and down went the Sergeant's big brakes. Both + teams came to a stand-still, and we told the Sergeant the news. + Bewilderment, surprise, joy, followed each other on the old Sergeant's + countenance. He turned his heavy team about, and promised to reach Camp + MacDowell as soon as the animals could make it. At Florence, we left the + stage, and went to the little tavern once more; the stage route did not + lie in our direction, so we must hire a private conveyance to bring us to + Camp MacDowell. Jack found a man who had a good pair of ponies and an open + buckboard. Towards night we set forth to cross the plain which lies + between Florence and the Salt River, due northwest by the map. + </p> + <p> + When I saw the driver I did not care much for his appearance. He did not + inspire me with confidence, but the ponies looked strong, and we had forty + or fifty miles before us. + </p> + <p> + After we got fairly into the desert, which was a trackless waste, I became + possessed by a feeling that the man did not know the way. He talked a good + deal about the North Star, and the fork in the road, and that we must be + sure not to miss it. + </p> + <p> + It was a still, hot, starlit night. Jack and the driver sat on the front + seat. They had taken the back seat out, and my little boy and I sat in the + bottom of the wagon, with the hard cushions to lean against through the + night. I suppose we were drowsy with sleep; at all events, the talk about + the fork of the road and the North Star faded away into dreams. + </p> + <p> + I awoke with a chilly feeling, and a sudden jolt over a rock. "I do not + recollect any rocks on this road, Jack, when we came over it in the + ambulance," said I. + </p> + <p> + "Neither do I," he replied. + </p> + <p> + I looked for the North Star: I had looked for it often when in open boats. + It was away off on our left, the road seemed to be ascending and rocky: I + had never seen this piece of road before, that I was sure of. + </p> + <p> + "We are going to the eastward," said I, "and we should be going + northwest." + </p> + <p> + "My dear, lie down and go to sleep; the man knows the road; he is taking a + short cut, I suppose," said the Lieutenant. There was something not at all + reassuring in his tones, however. + </p> + <p> + The driver did not turn his head nor speak. I looked at the North Star, + which was getting farther and farther on our left, and I felt the gloomy + conviction that we were lost on the desert. + </p> + <p> + Finally, at daylight, after going higher and higher, we drew up in an old + deserted mining-camp. + </p> + <p> + The driver jerked his ponies up, and, with a sullen gesture, said, "We + must have missed the fork of the road; this is Picket Post." + </p> + <p> + "Great Heavens!" I cried; "how far out of the way are we?" + </p> + <p> + "About fifteen miles," he drawled, "you see we shall have to go back to + the place where the road forks, and make a new start." + </p> + <p> + I nearly collapsed with discouragement. I looked around at the ruined + walls and crumbling pillars of stone, so weird and so grey in the dawning + light: it might have been a worshipping place of the Druids. My little son + shivered with the light chill which comes at daybreak in those tropical + countries: we were hungry and tired and miserable: my bones ached, and I + felt like crying. + </p> + <p> + We gave the poor ponies time to breathe, and took a bite of cold food + ourselves. + </p> + <p> + Ah! that blighted and desolate place called Picket Post! Forsaken by God + and man, it might have been the entrance to Hades. + </p> + <p> + Would the ponies hold out? They looked jaded to be sure, but we had + stopped long enough to breathe them, and away they trotted again, down the + mountain this time, instead of up. + </p> + <p> + It was broad day when we reached the fork of the road, which we had not + been able to see in the night: there was no mistaking it now. + </p> + <p> + We had travelled already about forty miles, thirty more lay before us; but + there were no hills, it was all flat country, and the owner of these brave + little ponies said we could make it. + </p> + <p> + As we neared the MacDowell canon, we met Captain Corliss marching out with + his company (truly they had lost no time in starting for California), and + he told his First Lieutenant he would make slow marches, that we might + overtake him before he reached Yuma. + </p> + <p> + We were obliged to wait at Camp MacDowell for Sergeant Stone to arrive + with our wagonful of household goods, and then, after a mighty weeding out + and repacking, we set forth once more, with a good team of mules and a + good driver, to join the command. We bade the Sixth Cavalry people once + more good-bye, but I was so nearly dead by this time, with the heat, and + the fatigue of all this hard travelling and packing up, that the keener + edge of my emotions was dulled. Eight days and nights spent in travelling + hither and thither over those hot plains in Southern Arizona, and all for + what? + </p> + <p> + Because somebody in ordering somebody to change his station, had forgotten + that somebody's regiment was about to be ordered out of the country it had + been in for four years. Also because my husband was a soldier who obeyed + orders without questioning them. If he had been a political wire-puller, + many of our misfortunes might have been averted. But then, while I half + envied the wives of the wire-pullers, I took a sort of pride in the blind + obedience shown by my own particular soldier to the orders he received. + </p> + <p> + After that week's experience, I held another colloquy with myself, and + decided that wives should not follow their husbands in the army, and that + if I ever got back East again, I would stay: I simply could not go on + enduring these unmitigated and unreasonable hardships. + </p> + <p> + The Florence man staid over at the post a day or so to rest his ponies. I + bade him good-bye and told him to take care of those brave little beasts, + which had travelled seventy miles without rest, to bring us to our + destination. He nodded pleasantly and drove away. "A queer customer," I + observed to Jack. + </p> + <p> + "Yes," answered he, "they told me in Florence that he was a 'road agent' + and desperado, but there did not seem to be anyone else, and my orders + were peremptory, so I took him. I knew the ponies could pull us through, + by the looks of them; and road agents are all right with army officers, + they know they wouldn't get anything if they held 'em up." + </p> + <p> + "How much did he charge you for the trip?" I asked. + </p> + <p> + "Sixteen dollars," was the reply. And so ended the episode. Except that I + looked back to Picket Post with a sort of horror, I thought no more about + it. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVII. THE EIGHTH FOOT LEAVES ARIZONA + </h2> + <p> + And now after the eight days of most distressing heat, and the fatigue of + all sorts and varieties of travelling, the nights spent in a stage-coach + or at a desert inn, or in the road agent's buckboard, holding always my + little son close to my side, came six days more of journeying down the + valley of the Gila. + </p> + <p> + We took supper in Phoenix, at a place known as "Devine's." I was hearing a + good deal about Phoenix; for even then, its gardens, its orchards and its + climate were becoming famous, but the season of the year was unpropitious + to form a favorable opinion of that thriving place, even if my opinions of + Arizona, with its parched-up soil and insufferable heat, had not been + formed already. + </p> + <p> + We crossed the Gila somewhere below there, and stopped at our old camping + places, but the entire valley was seething hot, and the remembrance of the + December journey seemed but an aggravating dream. + </p> + <p> + We joined Captain Corliss and the company at Antelope Station, and in two + more days were at Yuma City. By this time, the Southern Pacific Railroad + had been built as far as Yuma, and a bridge thrown across the Colorado at + this point. It seemed an incongruity. And how burning hot the cars looked, + standing there in the Arizona sun! + </p> + <p> + After four years in that Territory, and remembering the days, weeks, and + even months spent in travelling on the river, or marching through the + deserts, I could not make the Pullman cars seem a reality. + </p> + <p> + We brushed the dust of the Gila Valley from our clothes, I unearthed a hat + from somewhere, and some wraps which had not seen the light for nearly two + years, and prepared to board the train. + </p> + <p> + I cried out in my mind, the prayer of the woman in one of Fisher's + Ehrenberg stories, to which I used to listen with unmitigated delight, + when I lived there. The story was this: "Mrs. Blank used to live here in + Ehrenberg; she hated the place just as you do, but she was obliged to + stay. Finally, after a period of two years, she and her sister, who had + lived with her, were able to get away. I crossed over the river with them + to Lower California, on the old rope ferry-boat which they used to have + near Ehrenberg, and as soon as the boat touched the bank, they jumped + ashore, and down they both went upon their knees, clasped their hands, + raised their eyes to Heaven, and Mrs. Blank said: 'I thank Thee, oh Lord! + Thou hast at last delivered us from the wilderness, and brought us back to + God's country. Receive my thanks, oh Lord!'" + </p> + <p> + And then Fisher used to add: "And the tears rolled down their faces, and I + knew they felt every word they spoke; and I guess you'll feel about the + same way when you get out of Arizona, even if you don't quite drop on your + knees," he said. + </p> + <p> + The soldiers did not look half so picturesque, climbing into the cars, as + they did when loading onto a barge; and when the train went across the + bridge, and we looked down upon the swirling red waters of the Great + Colorado from the windows of a luxurious Pullman, I sighed; and, with the + strange contradictoriness of the human mind, I felt sorry that the old + days had come to an end. For, somehow, the hardships and deprivations + which we have endured, lose their bitterness when they have become only a + memory. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVIII. CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA + </h2> + <p> + A portion of our regiment was ordered to Oregon, to join General Howard, + who was conducting the Bannock Campaign, so I remained that summer in San + Francisco, to await my husband's return. + </p> + <p> + I could not break away from my Arizona habits. I wore only white dresses, + partly because I had no others which were in fashion, partly because I had + become imbued with a profound indifference to dress. + </p> + <p> + "They'll think you're a Mexican," said my New England aunt (who regarded + all foreigners with contempt). "Let them think," said I; "I almost wish I + were; for, after all, they are the only people who understand the + philosophy of living. Look at the tired faces of the women in your + streets," I added, "one never sees that sort of expression down below, and + I have made up my mind not to be caught by the whirlpool of advanced + civilization again." + </p> + <p> + Added to the white dresses, I smoked cigarettes, and slept all the + afternoons. I was in the bondage of tropical customs, and I had lapsed + back into a state of what my aunt called semi-barbarism. + </p> + <p> + "Let me enjoy this heavenly cool climate, and do not worry me," I begged. + I shuddered when I heard people complain of the cold winds of the San + Francisco summer. How do they dare tempt Fate, thought I, and I wished + them all in Ehrenberg or MacDowell for one summer. "I think they might + then know something about climate, and would have something to complain + about!" + </p> + <p> + How I revelled in the flowers, and all the luxuries of that delightful + city! + </p> + <p> + The headquarters of the Eighth was located at Benicia, and General Kautz, + our Colonel, invited me to pay a visit to his wife. A pleasant boat-trip + up the Sacramento River brought us to Benicia. Mrs. Kautz, a handsome and + accomplished Austrian, presided over her lovely army home in a manner to + captivate my fancy, and the luxury of their surroundings almost made me + speechless. + </p> + <p> + "The other side of army life," thought I. + </p> + <p> + A visit to Angel Island, one of the harbor defences, strengthened this + impression. Four years of life in the southern posts of Arizona had almost + made me believe that army life was indeed but "glittering misery," as the + Germans had called it. + </p> + <p> + In the autumn, the troops returned from Oregon, and C company was ordered + to Camp MacDermit, a lonely spot up in the northern part of Nevada (Nevada + being included in the Department of California). I was sure by that time + that bad luck was pursuing us. I did not know so much about the "ins and + outs" of the army then as I do now. + </p> + <p> + At my aunt's suggestion, I secured a Chinaman of good caste for a servant, + and by deceiving him (also my aunt's advice) with the idea that we were + going only as far as Sacramento, succeeded in making him willing to + accompany us. + </p> + <p> + We started east, and left the railroad at a station called "Winnemucca." + MacDermit lay ninety miles to the north. But at Winnemucca the Chinaman + balked. "You say: 'All'e same Saclamento': lis place heap too far: me no + likee!" I talked to him, and, being a good sort, he saw that I meant well, + and the soldiers bundled him on top of the army wagon, gave him a lot of + good-natured guying, and a revolver to keep off Indians, and so we secured + Hoo Chack. + </p> + <p> + Captain Corliss had been obliged to go on ahead with his wife, who was in + the most delicate health. The post ambulance had met them at this place. + </p> + <p> + Jack was to march over the ninety miles, with the company. I watched them + starting out, the men, glad of the release from the railroad train, their + guns on their shoulders, stepping off in military style and in good form. + </p> + <p> + The wagons followed—the big blue army wagons, and Hoo Chack, looking + rather glum, sitting on top of a pile of baggage. + </p> + <p> + I took the Silver City stage, and except for my little boy I was the only + passenger for the most of the way. We did the ninety miles without resting + over, except for relays of horses. + </p> + <p> + I climbed up on the box and talked with the driver. I liked these + stage-drivers. They were "nervy," fearless men, and kind, too, and had a + great dash and go about them. They often had a quiet and gentle bearing, + but by that time I knew pretty well what sort of stuff they were made of, + and I liked to have them talk to me, and I liked to look out upon the + world through their eyes, and judge of things from their standpoint. + </p> + <p> + It was an easy journey, and we passed a comfortable night in the stage. + </p> + <p> + Camp MacDermit was a colorless, forbidding sort of a place. Only one + company was stationed there, and my husband was nearly always scouting in + the mountains north of us. The weather was severe, and the winter there + was joyless and lonesome. The extreme cold and the loneliness affected my + spirits, and I suffered from depression. + </p> + <p> + I had no woman to talk to, for Mrs. Corliss, who was the only other + officer's wife at the post, was confined to the house by the most delicate + health, and her mind was wholly absorbed by the care of her young infant. + There were no nurses to be had in that desolate corner of the earth. + </p> + <p> + One day, a dreadful looking man appeared at the door, a person such as one + never sees except on the outskirts of civilization, and I wondered what + business brought him. He wore a long, black, greasy frock coat, a tall + hat, and had the face of a sneak. He wanted the Chinaman's poll-tax, he + said. + </p> + <p> + "But," I suggested, "I never heard of collecting taxes in a Government + post; soldiers and officers do not pay taxes." + </p> + <p> + "That may be," he replied, "but your Chinaman is not a soldier, and I am + going to have his tax before I leave this house." + </p> + <p> + "So, ho," I thought; "a threat!" and the soldier's blood rose in me. + </p> + <p> + I was alone; Jack was miles away up North. Hoo Chack appeared in the hall; + he had evidently heard the man's last remark. "Now," I said, "this + Chinaman is in my employ, and he shall not pay any tax, until I find out + if he be exempt or not." + </p> + <p> + The evil-looking man approached the Chinaman. Hoo Chack grew a shade + paler. I fancied he had a knife under his white shirt; in fact, he felt + around for it. I said, "Hoo Chack, go away, I will talk to this man." + </p> + <p> + I opened the front door. "Come with me" (to the tax-collector); "we will + ask the commanding officer about this matter." My heart was really in my + mouth, but I returned the man's steady and dogged gaze, and he followed me + to Captain Corliss' quarters. I explained the matter to the Captain, and + left the man to his mercy. "Why didn't you call the Sergeant of the Guard, + and have the man slapped into the guard-house?" said Jack, when I told him + about it afterwards. "The man had no business around here; he was trying + to browbeat you into giving him a dollar, I suppose." + </p> + <p> + The country above us was full of desperadoes from Boise and Silver City, + and I was afraid to be left alone so much at night; so I begged Captain + Corliss to let me have a soldier to sleep in my quarters. He sent me old + Needham. So I installed old Needham in my guest chamber with his loaded + rifle. Now old Needham was but a wisp of a man; long years of service had + broken down his health; he was all wizened up and feeble; but he was a + soldier; I felt safe, and could sleep once more. Just the sight of Needham + and his old blue uniform coming at night, after taps, was a comfort to me. + </p> + <p> + Anxiety filled my soul, for Jack was scouting in the Stein Mountains all + winter in the snow, after Indians who were avowedly hostile, and had + threatened to kill on sight. He often went out with a small pack-train, + and some Indian scouts, five or six soldiers, and I thought it quite wrong + for him to be sent into the mountains with so small a number. + </p> + <p> + Camp MacDermit was, as I have already mentioned, a "one-company post." We + all know what that may mean, on the frontier. Our Second Lieutenant was + absent, and all the hard work of winter scouting fell upon Jack, keeping + him away for weeks at a time. + </p> + <p> + The Piute Indians were supposed to be peaceful, and their old chief, + Winnemucca, once the warlike and dreaded foe of the white man, was now + quiet enough, and too old to fight. He lived, with his family, at an + Indian village near the post. + </p> + <p> + He came to see me occasionally. His dress was a curious mixture of + civilization and savagery. He wore the chapeau and dress-coat of a General + of the American Army, with a large epaulette on one shoulder. He was very + proud of the coat, because General Crook had given it to him. His shirt, + leggings and moccasins were of buckskin, and the long braids of his + coal-black hair, tied with strips of red flannel, gave the last touch to + this incongruous costume. + </p> + <p> + But I must say that his demeanor was gentle and dignified, and, after + recovering from the superficial impressions which his startling costume + had at first made upon my mind, I could well believe that he had once been + the war-leader, as he was now the political head of his once-powerful + tribe. + </p> + <p> + Winnemucca did not disdain to accept some little sugar-cakes from me, and + would sit down on our veranda and munch them. + </p> + <p> + He always showed me the pasteboard medal which hung around his neck, and + which bore General Howard's signature; and he always said: "General Howard + tell me, me good Injun, me go up—up—up"—pointing + dramatically towards Heaven. On one occasion, feeling desperate for + amusement, I said to him: "General Howard very good man, but he make a + mistake; where you go, is not up—up—up, but," pointing + solemnly to the earth below us, "down—down—down." He looked + incredulous, but I assured him it was a nice place down there. + </p> + <p> + Some of the scattered bands of the tribe, however, were restless and + unsubdued, and gave us much trouble, and it was these bands that + necessitated the scouts. + </p> + <p> + My little son, Harry, four years old, was my constant and only companion, + during that long, cold, and anxious winter. + </p> + <p> + My mother sent me an appealing invitation to come home for a year. I + accepted gladly, and one afternoon in May, Jack put us aboard the Silver + City stage, which passed daily through the post. + </p> + <p> + Our excellent Chinese servant promised to stay with the "Captain" and take + care of him, and as I said "Good-bye, Hoo Chack," I noticed an expression + of real regret on his usually stolid features. + </p> + <p> + Occupied with my thoughts, on entering the stage, I did not notice the + passengers or the man sitting next me on the back seat. Darkness soon + closed around us, and I suppose we fell asleep. Between naps, I heard a + queer clanking sound, but supposed it was the chains of the harness or the + stage-coach gear. The next morning, as we got out at a relay station for + breakfast, I saw the handcuffs on the man next to whom I had sat all the + night long. The sheriff was on the box outside. He very obligingly changed + seats with me for the rest of the way, and evening found us on the + overland train speeding on our journey East. Camp MacDermit with its + dreary associations and surroundings faded gradually from my mind, like a + dream. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The year of 1879 brought us several changes. My little daughter was born + in mid-summer at our old home in Nantucket. As I lay watching the curtains + move gently to and fro in the soft sea-breezes, and saw my mother and + sister moving about the room, and a good old nurse rocking my baby in her + arms, I could but think of those other days at Camp Apache, when I lay + through the long hours, with my new-born baby by my side, watching, + listening for some one to come in. There was no one, no woman to come, + except the poor hard-working laundress of the cavalry, who did come once a + day to care for the baby. + </p> + <p> + Ah! what a contrast! and I had to shut my eyes for fear I should cry, at + the mere thought of those other days. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + Jack took a year's leave of absence and joined me in the autumn at + Nantucket, and the winter was spent in New York, enjoying the theatres and + various amusements we had so long been deprived of. Here we met again + Captain Porter and Carrie Wilkins, who was now Mrs. Porter. They were + stationed at David's Island, one of the harbor posts, and we went over to + see them. "Yes," he said, "as Jacob waited seven years for Rachel, so I + waited for Carrie." + </p> + <p> + The following summer brought us the good news that Captain Corliss' + company was ordered to Angel Island, in the bay of San Francisco. "Thank + goodness," said Jack, "C company has got some good luck, at last!" + </p> + <p> + Joyfully we started back on the overland trip to California, which took + about nine days at that time. Now, travelling with a year-old baby and a + five-year-old boy was quite troublesome, and we were very glad when the + train had crossed the bleak Sierras and swept down into the lovely valley + of the Sacramento. + </p> + <p> + Arriving in San Francisco, we went to the old Occidental Hotel, and as we + were going in to dinner, a card was handed to us. "Hoo Chack" was the name + on the card. "That Chinaman!" I cried to Jack. "How do you suppose he knew + we were here?" + </p> + <p> + We soon made arrangements for him to accompany us to Angel Island, and in + a few days this "heathen Chinee" had unpacked all our boxes and made our + quarters very comfortable. He was rather a high-caste man, and as true and + loyal as a Christian. He never broke his word, and he staid with us as + long as we remained in California. + </p> + <p> + And now we began to live, to truly live; for we felt that the years spent + at those desert posts under the scorching suns of Arizona had cheated us + out of all but a bare existence upon earth. + </p> + <p> + The flowers ran riot in our garden, fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh + fish, and all the luxuries of that marvellous climate, were brought to our + door. + </p> + <p> + A comfortable Government steamboat plied between San Francisco and its + harbor posts, and the distance was not great—only three quarters of + an hour. So we had a taste of the social life of that fascinating city, + and could enjoy the theatres also. + </p> + <p> + On the Island, we had music and dancing, as it was the headquarters of the + regiment. Mrs. Kautz, so brilliant and gay, held grand court here—receptions, + military functions, lawn tennis, bright uniforms, were the order of the + day. And that incomparable climate! How I revelled in it! When the fog + rolled in from the Golden Gate, and enveloped the great city of Saint + Francis in its cold vapors, the Island of the Angels lay warm and bright + in the sunshine. + </p> + <p> + The old Spaniards named it well, and the old Nantucket whalers who sailed + around Cape Horn on their way to the Ar'tic, away back in the eighteen + twenties, used to put in near there for water, and were well familiar with + its bright shores, before it was touched by man's handiwork. + </p> + <p> + Was there ever such an emerald green as adorned those hills which sloped + down to the bay? Could anything equal the fields of golden escholzchia + which lay there in the sunshine? Or the blue masses of "baby-eye," which + opened in the mornings and held up their pretty cups to catch the dew? + </p> + <p> + Was this a real Paradise? + </p> + <p> + It surely seemed so to us; and, as if Nature had not done enough, the + Fates stepped in and sent all the agreeable young officers of the regiment + there, to help us enjoy the heavenly spot. + </p> + <p> + There was Terrett, the handsome and aristocratic young Baltimorean, one of + the finest men I ever saw in uniform; and Richardson, the stalwart Texan, + and many others, with whom we danced and played tennis, and altogether + there was so much to do and to enjoy that Time rushed by and we knew only + that we were happy, and enchanted with Life. + </p> + <p> + Did any uniform ever equal that of the infantry in those days? The dark + blue, heavily braided "blouse," the white stripe on the light blue + trousers, the jaunty cap? And then, the straight backs and the slim lines + of those youthful figures! It seems to me any woman who was not an + Egyptian mummy would feel her heart thrill and her blood tingle at the + sight of them. + </p> + <p> + Indians and deserts and Ehrenberg did not exist for me any more. My + girlhood seemed to have returned, and I enjoyed everything with the + keenest zest. + </p> + <p> + My old friend Charley Bailey, who had married for his second wife a most + accomplished young San Francisco girl, lived next door to us. + </p> + <p> + General and Mrs. Kautz entertained so hospitably, and were so beloved by + all. Together Mrs. Kautz and I read the German classics, and went to the + German theatre; and by and by a very celebrated player, Friedrich Haase, + from the Royal Theatre of Berlin, came to San Francisco. We never missed a + performance, and when his tour was over, Mrs. Kautz gave a lawn party at + Angel Island for him and a few of the members of his company. It was + charming. I well remember how the sun shone that day, and, as we strolled + up from the boat with them, Frau Haase stopped, looked at the blue sky, + the lovely clouds, the green slopes of the Island and said: "Mein Gott! + Frau Summerhayes, was ist das fur ein Paradies! Warum haben Sie uns nicht + gesagt, Sie wohnten im Paradies!" + </p> + <p> + So, with music and German speech, and strolls to the North and to the + South Batteries, that wonderful and never to-be-forgotten day with the + great Friedrich Haase came to an end. + </p> + <p> + The months flew by, and the second winter found us still there; we heard + rumors of Indian troubles in Arizona, and at last the orders came. The + officers packed away their evening clothes in camphor and had their + campaign clothes put out to air, and got their mess-chests in order, and + the post was alive with preparations for the field. All the families were + to stay behind. The most famous Indian renegade was to be hunted down, and + serious fighting was looked for. + </p> + <p> + At last all was ready, and the day was fixed for the departure of the + troops. + </p> + <p> + The winter rains had set in, and the skies were grey, as the command + marched down to the boat. + </p> + <p> + The officers and soldiers were in their campaign clothes; the latter had + their blanket-rolls and haversacks slung over their shoulders, and their + tin cups, which hung from the haversacks, rattled and jingled as they + marched down in even columns of four, over the wet and grassy slopes of + the parade ground, where so short a time before all had been glitter and + sunshine. + </p> + <p> + I realized then perhaps for the first time what the uniform really stood + for; that every man who wore it, was going out to fight—that they + held their lives as nothing. The glitter was all gone; nothing but sad + reality remained. + </p> + <p> + The officers' wives and the soldiers' wives followed the troops to the + dock. The soldiers marched single file over the gang-plank of the boat, + the officers said good-bye, the shrill whistle of the "General McPherson" + sounded—and they were off. We leaned back against the coal-sheds, + and soldiers' and officers' wives alike all wept together. + </p> + <p> + And now a season of gloom came upon us. The skies were dull and murky and + the rain poured down. + </p> + <p> + Our old friend Bailey, who was left behind on account of illness, grew + worse and finally his case was pronounced hopeless. His death added to the + deep gloom and sadness which enveloped us all. + </p> + <p> + A few of the soldiers who had staid on the Island to take care of the + post, carried poor Bailey to the boat, his casket wrapped in the flag and + followed by a little procession of women. I thought I had never seen + anything so sad. + </p> + <p> + The campaign lengthened out into months, but the California winters are + never very long, and before the troops came back the hills looked their + brightest green again. The campaign had ended with no very serious losses + to our troops and all was joyous again, until another order took us from + the sea-coast to the interior once more. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0029" id="link2HCH0029"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIX. CHANGING STATION + </h2> + <p> + It was the custom to change the stations of the different companies of a + regiment about every two years. So the autumn of '82 found us on the way + to Fort Halleck, a post in Nevada, but differing vastly from the desolate + MacDermit station. Fort Halleck was only thirteen miles south of the + Overland Railroad, and lay near a spur of the Humboldt range. There were + miles of sage-brush between the railroad and the post, but the mountains + which rose abruptly five thousand feet on the far side, made a magnificent + background for the officers' quarters, which lay nestled at the bottom of + the foot-hills. + </p> + <p> + "Oh! what a lovely post!" I cried, as we drove in. + </p> + <p> + Major Sanford of the First Cavalry, with Captain Carr and Lieutenant Oscar + Brown, received us. "Dear me," I thought, "if the First Cavalry is made up + of such gallant men as these, the old Eighth Infantry will have to look + out for its laurels." + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Sanford and Mrs. Carr gave us a great welcome and vied with each + other in providing for our comfort, and we were soon established. + </p> + <p> + It was so good to see the gay yellow of the cavalry again! Now I rode, to + my heart's content, and it was good to be alive; to see the cavalry drill, + and to ride through the canons, gorgeous in their flaming autumn tints; + then again to gallop through the sage-brush, jumping where we could not + turn, starting up rabbits by the score. + </p> + <p> + That little old post, now long since abandoned, marked a pleasant epoch in + our life. From the ranches scattered around we could procure butter and + squabs and young vegetables, and the soldiers cultivated great garden + patches, and our small dinners and breakfasts live in delightful memory. + </p> + <p> + At the end of two years spent so pleasantly with the people of the First + Cavalry, our company was again ordered to Angel Island. But a second very + active campaign in Arizona and Mexico, against Geronimo, took our soldiers + away from us, and we passed through a period of considerable anxiety. June + of '86 saw the entire regiment ordered to take station in Arizona once + more. + </p> + <p> + We travelled to Tucson in a Pullman car. It was hot and uninteresting. I + had been at Tucson nine years before, for a few hours, but the place + seemed unfamiliar. I looked for the old tavern; I saw only the railroad + restaurant. We went in to take breakfast, before driving out to the post + of Fort Lowell, seven miles away. Everything seemed changed. Iced + cantaloupe was served by a spick-span alert waiter; then, quail on toast. + "Ice in Arizona?" It was like a dream, and I remarked to Jack, "This isn't + the same Arizona we knew in '74," and then, "I don't believe I like it as + well, either; all this luxury doesn't seem to belong to the place." + </p> + <p> + After a drive behind some smart mules, over a flat stretch of seven miles, + we arrived at Fort Lowell, a rather attractive post, with a long line of + officers' quarters, before which ran a level road shaded by beautiful + great trees. We were assigned a half of one of these sets of quarters, and + as our half had no conveniences for house-keeping, it was arranged that we + should join a mess with General and Mrs. Kautz and their family. We soon + got settled down to our life there, and we had various recreations; among + them, driving over to Tucson and riding on horseback are those which I + remember best. We made a few acquaintances in Tucson, and they sometimes + drove out in the evenings, or more frequently rode out on horseback. Then + we would gather together on the Kautz piazza and everybody sang to the + accompaniment of Mrs. Kautz's guitar. It was very hot, of course; we had + all expected that, but the luxuries obtainable through the coming of the + railroad, such as ice, and various summer drinks, and lemons, and butter, + helped out to make the summer there more comfortable. + </p> + <p> + We slept on the piazzas, which ran around the houses on a level with the + ground. At that time the fad for sleeping out of doors, at least amongst + civilized people, did not exist, and our arrangements were entirely + primitive. + </p> + <p> + Our quarters were surrounded by a small yard and a fence; the latter was + dilapidated, and the gate swung on one hinge. We were seven miles from + anywhere, and surrounded by a desolate country. I did not experience the + feeling of terror that I had had at Camp Apache, for instance, nor the + grewsome fear of the Ehrenberg grave-yard, nor the appalling fright I had + known in crossing the Mogollon range or in driving through Sanford's Pass. + But still there was a haunting feeling of insecurity which hung around me + especially at night. I was awfully afraid of snakes, and no sooner had we + lain ourselves down on our cots to sleep, than I would hear a rustling + among the dry leaves that had blown in under our beds. Then all would be + still again; then a crackling and a rustling—in a flash I would be + sitting up in bed. "Jack, do you hear that?" Of course I did not dare to + move or jump out of bed, so I would sit, rigid, scared. "Jack! what is + it?" "Nonsense, Mattie, go to sleep; it's the toads jumping about in the + leaves." But my sleep was fitful and disturbed, and I never knew what a + good night's rest was. + </p> + <p> + One night I was awakened by a tremendous snort right over my face. I + opened my eyes and looked into the wild eyes of a big black bull. I think + I must have screamed, for the bull ran clattering off the piazza and out + through the gate. By this time Jack was up, and Harry and Katherine, who + slept on the front piazza, came running out, and I said: "Well, this is + the limit of all things, and if that gate isn't mended to-morrow, I will + know the reason why." + </p> + <p> + Now I heard a vague rumor that there was a creature of this sort in or + near the post, and that he had a habit of wandering around at night, but + as I had never seen him, it had made no great impression on my mind. Jack + had a great laugh at me, but I did not think then, nor do I now, that it + was anything to be laughed at. + </p> + <p> + We had heard much of the old Mission of San Xavier del Bac, away the other + side of Tucson. Mrs. Kautz decided to go over there and go into camp and + paint a picture of San Xavier. It was about sixteen miles from Fort + Lowell. + </p> + <p> + So all the camp paraphernalia was gotten ready and several of the officers + joined the party, and we all went over to San Xavier and camped for a few + days under the shadow of those beautiful old walls. This Mission is almost + unknown to the American traveler. + </p> + <p> + Exquisite in color, form and architecture, it stands there a silent + reminder of the Past. + </p> + <p> + The curious carvings and paintings inside the church, and the precious old + vestments which were shown us by an ancient custodian, filled my mind with + wonder. The building is partly in ruins, and the little squirrels were + running about the galleries, but the great dome is intact, and many of the + wonderful figures which ornament it. Of course we know the Spanish built + it about the middle or last of the sixteenth century, and that they tried + to christianize the tribes of Indians who lived around in the vicinity. + But there is no sign of priest or communicant now, nothing but a desolate + plain around it for miles. No one can possibly understand how the building + of this large and beautiful mission was accomplished, and I believe + history furnishes very little information. In its archives was found quite + recently the charter given by Ferdinand and Isabella, to establish the + "pueblo" of Tucson about the beginning of the 16th century. + </p> + <p> + After a few delightful days, we broke camp and returned to Fort Lowell. + </p> + <p> + And now the summer was drawing to a close, and we were anticipating the + delights of the winter climate at Tucson, when, without a note of warning, + came the orders for Fort Niobrara. We looked, appalled, in each other's + faces, the evening the telegram came, for we did not even know where Fort + Niobrara was. + </p> + <p> + We all rushed into Major Wilhelm's quarters, for he always knew + everything. We (Mrs. Kautz and several of the other ladies of the post, + and myself) were in a state of tremendous excitement. We pounded on Major + Wilhelm's door and we heard a faint voice from his bedroom (for it was + after ten o'clock); then we waited a few moments and he said, "Come in." + </p> + <p> + We opened the door, but there being no light in his quarters we could not + see him. A voice said: "What in the name of—" but we did not wait + for him to finish; we all shouted: "Where is Fort Niobrara?" "The Devil!" + he said. "Are we ordered there?" "Yes, yes," we cried; "where is it?" + "Why, girls," he said, relapsing into his customary moderate tones, "It's + a hell of a freezing cold place, away up north in Nebraska." + </p> + <p> + We turned our backs and went over to our quarters to have a consultation, + and we all retired with sad hearts. + </p> + <p> + Now, just think of it! To come to Fort Lowell in July, only to move in + November! What could it mean? It was hard to leave the sunny South, to + spend the winter in those congealed regions in the North. We were but just + settled, and now came another break-up! + </p> + <p> + Our establishment now, with two children, several servants, two saddle + horses, and additional household furnishings, was not so simple as in the + beginning of our army life, when three chests and a box or two contained + our worldly goods. Each move we made was more difficult than the last; our + allowance of baggage did not begin to cover what we had to take along, and + this added greatly to the expense of moving. + </p> + <p> + The enormous waste attending a move, and the heavy outlay incurred in + travelling and getting settled anew, kept us always poor; these + considerations increased our chagrin over this unexpected change of + station. There was nothing to be done, however. Orders are relentless, + even if they seem senseless, which this one did, to the women, at least, + of the Eighth Infantry. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0030" id="link2HCH0030"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXX. FORT NIOBRARA + </h2> + <p> + The journey itself, however, was not to be dreaded, although it was so + undesired. It was entirely by rail across New Mexico and Kansas, to St. + Joseph, then up the Missouri River and then across the state to the + westward. Finally, after four or five days, we reached the small frontier + town of Valentine, in the very northwest corner of the bleak and desolate + state of Nebraska. The post of Niobrara was four miles away, on the + Niobrara (swift water) River. + </p> + <p> + Some officers of the Ninth Cavalry met us at the station with the post + ambulances. There were six companies of our regiment, with headquarters + and band. + </p> + <p> + It was November, and the drive across the rolling prairie-land gave us a + fair glimpse of the country around. We crossed the old bridge over the + Niobrara River, and entered the post. The snow lay already on the brown + and barren hills, and the place struck a chill to my heart. + </p> + <p> + The Ninth Cavalry took care of all the officers' families until we could + get established. Lieutenant Bingham, a handsome and distinguished-looking + young bachelor, took us with our two children to his quarters, and made us + delightfully at home. His quarters were luxuriously furnished, and he was + altogether adorable. This, to be sure, helped to soften my first harsh + impressions of the place. + </p> + <p> + Quarters were not very plentiful, and we were compelled to take a house + occupied by a young officer of the Ninth. What base ingratitude it seemed, + after the kindness we had accepted from his regiment! But there was no + help for it. We secured a colored cook, who proved a very treasure, and on + inquiring how she came to be in those wilds, I learned that she had + accompanied a young heiress who eloped with a cavalry lieutenant, from her + home in New York some years before. + </p> + <p> + What a contrast was here, and what a cruel contrast! With blood thinned + down by the enervating summer at Tucson, here we were, thrust into the + polar regions! Ice and snow and blizzards, blizzards and snow and ice! The + mercury disappeared at the bottom of the thermometer, and we had nothing + to mark any degrees lower than 40 below zero. Human calculations had + evidently stopped there. Enormous box stoves were in every room and in the + halls; the old-fashioned sort that we used to see in school-rooms and + meeting-houses in New England. Into these, the soldiers stuffed great logs + of mountain mahogany, and the fires were kept roaring day and night. + </p> + <p> + A board walk ran in front of the officers' quarters, and, desperate for + fresh air and exercise, some of the ladies would bundle up and go to walk. + But frozen chins, ears and elbows soon made this undesirable, and we gave + up trying the fresh air, unless the mercury rose to 18 below, when a few + of us would take our daily promenade. + </p> + <p> + We could not complain of our fare, however, for our larder hung full of + all sorts of delicate and delicious things, brought in by the grangers, + and which we were glad to buy. Prairie-chickens, young pigs, venison, and + ducks, all hanging, to be used when desired. + </p> + <p> + To frappe a bottle of wine, we stood it on the porch; in a few minutes it + would pour crystals. House-keeping was easy, but keeping warm was + difficult. + </p> + <p> + It was about this time that the law was passed abolishing the + post-trader's store, and forbidding the selling of whiskey to soldiers on + a Government reservation. The pleasant canteen, or Post Exchange, the + soldiers' club-room, was established, where the men could go to relieve + the monotony of their lives. + </p> + <p> + With the abolition of whiskey, the tone of the post improved greatly; the + men were contented with a glass of beer or light wine, the canteen was + well managed, so the profits went back into the company messes in the + shape of luxuries heretofore unknown; billiards and reading-rooms were + established; and from that time on, the canteen came to be regarded in the + army as a most excellent institution. The men gained in self-respect; the + canteen provided them with a place where they could go and take a bite of + lunch, read, chat, smoke, or play games with their own chosen friends, and + escape the lonesomeness of the barracks. + </p> + <p> + But, alas! this condition of things was not destined to endure, for the + women of the various Temperance societies, in their mistaken zeal and + woeful ignorance of the soldiers' life, succeeded in influencing + legislation to such an extent that the canteen, in its turn, was + abolished; with what dire results, we of the army all know. + </p> + <p> + Those estimable women of the W. C. T. U. thought to do good to the army, + no doubt, but through their pitiful ignorance of the soldiers' needs they + have done him an incalculable harm. + </p> + <p> + Let them stay by their lectures and their clubs, I say, and their other + amusements; let them exercise their good influences nearer home, with a + class of people whose conditions are understood by them, where they can, + no doubt, do worlds of good. + </p> + <p> + They cannot know the drear monotony of the barracks life on the frontier + in times of peace. I have lived close by it, and I know it well. A + ceaseless round of drill and work and lessons, and work and lessons and + drill—no recreation, no excitement, no change. + </p> + <p> + Far away from family and all home companionship, a man longs for some + pleasant place to go, after the day's work is done. Perhaps these women + think (if, in their blind enthusiasm, they think at all) that a young + soldier or an old soldier needs no recreation. At all events, they have + taken from him the only one he had, the good old canteen, and given him + nothing in return. + </p> + <p> + Now Fort Niobrara was a large post. There were ten companies, cavalry and + infantry, General August V. Kautz, the Colonel of the Eighth Infantry, in + command. + </p> + <p> + And here, amidst the sand-hills of Nebraska, we first began to really know + our Colonel. A man of strong convictions and abiding honesty, a soldier + who knew his profession thoroughly, having not only achieved distinction + in the Civil War, but having served when little more than a boy, in the + Mexican War of 1846. Genial in his manners, brave and kind, he was beloved + by all. + </p> + <p> + The three Kautz children, Frankie, Austin, and Navarra, were the + inseparable companions of our own children. There was a small school for + the children of the post, and a soldier by the name of Delany was + schoolmaster. He tried hard to make our children learn, but they did not + wish to study, and spent all their spare time in planning tricks to be + played upon poor Delany. It was a difficult situation for the soldier. + Finally, the two oldest Kautz children were sent East to boarding-school, + and we also began to realize that something must be done. + </p> + <p> + Our surroundings during the early winter, it is true, had been dreary + enough, but as the weather softened a bit and the spring approached, the + post began to wake up. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime, Cupid had not been idle. It was observed that Mr. + Bingham, our gracious host of the Ninth Cavalry, had fallen in love with + Antoinette, the pretty and attractive daughter of Captain Lynch of our own + regiment, and the post began to be on the qui vive to see how the affair + would end, for nobody expects to see the course of true love run smooth. + In their case, however, the Fates were kind and in due time the happy + engagement was announced. + </p> + <p> + We had an excellent amusement hall, with a fine floor for dancing. The + chapel was at one end, and a fairly good stage was at the other. + </p> + <p> + Being nearer civilization now, in the state of Nebraska, Uncle Sam + provided us with a chaplain, and a weekly service was held by the Anglican + clergyman—a tall, well-formed man, a scholar and, as we say, a + gentleman. He wore the uniform of the army chaplain, and as far as looks + went could hold his own with any of the younger officers. And it was a + great comfort to the church people to have this weekly service. + </p> + <p> + During the rest of the time, the chapel was concealed by heavy curtains, + and the seats turned around facing the stage. + </p> + <p> + We had a good string orchestra of twenty or more pieces, and as there were + a number of active young bachelors at the post, a series of weekly dances + was inaugurated. Never did I enjoy dancing more than at this time. + </p> + <p> + Then Mrs. Kautz, who was a thorough music lover and had a cultivated taste + as well as a trained and exquisite voice, gave several musicales, for + which much preparation was made, and which were most delightful. These + were given at the quarters of General Kautz, a long, low, rambling + one-story house, arranged with that artistic taste for which Mrs. Kautz + was distinguished. + </p> + <p> + Then came theatricals, all managed by Mrs. Kautz, whose talents were + versatile. + </p> + <p> + We charged admission, for we needed some more scenery, and the neighboring + frontier town of Valentine came riding and driving over the prairie and + across the old bridge of the Niobrara River, to see our plays. We had a + well-lighted stage. Our methods were primitive, as there was no gas or + electricity there in those days, but the results were good, and the + histrionic ability shown by some of our young men and women seemed + marvellous to us. + </p> + <p> + I remember especially Bob Emmet's acting, which moved me to tears, in a + most pathetic love scene. I thought, "What has the stage lost, in this + gifted man!" + </p> + <p> + But he is of a family whose talents are well known, and his personality, + no doubt, added much to his natural ability as an actor. + </p> + <p> + Neither the army nor the stage can now claim this brilliant cavalry + officer, as he was induced, by urgent family reasons, shortly after the + period of which I am writing, to resign his commission and retire to + private life, at the very height of his ambitious career. + </p> + <p> + And now the summer came on apace. A tennis-court was made, and added + greatly to our amusement. We were in the saddle every day, and the country + around proved very attractive at this season, both for riding and driving. + </p> + <p> + But all this gayety did not content me, for the serious question of + education for our children now presented itself; the question which, + sooner or later, presents itself to the minds of all the parents of army + children. It is settled differently by different people. It had taken a + year for us to decide. + </p> + <p> + I made up my mind that the first thing to be done was to take the children + East and then decide on schools afterwards. So our plans were completed + and the day of departure fixed upon. Jack was to remain at the Post. + </p> + <p> + About an hour before I was to leave I saw the members of the string + orchestra filing across the parade ground, coming directly towards our + quarters. My heart began to beat faster, as I realized that Mrs. Kautz had + planned a serenade for me. I felt it was a great break in my army life, + but I did not know I was leaving the old regiment forever, the regiment + with which I had been associated for so many years. And as I listened to + the beautiful strains of the music I loved so well, my eyes were wet with + tears, and after all the goodbye's were said, to the officers and their + wives, my friends who had shared all our joys and our sorrows in so many + places and under so many conditions, I ran out to the stable and pressed + my cheek against the soft warm noses of our two saddle horses. I felt that + life was over for me, and nothing but work and care remained. I say I felt + all this. It must have been premonition, for I had no idea that I was + leaving the line of the army forever. + </p> + <p> + The ambulance was at the door, to take us to Valentine, where I bade Jack + good bye, and took the train for the East. His last promise was to visit + us once a year, or whenever he could get a leave of absence. + </p> + <p> + My husband had now worn the single bar on his shoulder-strap for eleven + years or more; before that, the straps of the second lieutenant had + adorned his broad shoulders for a period quite as long. Twenty-two years a + lieutenant in the regular army, after fighting, in a volunteer regiment of + his own state, through the four years of the Civil War! The "gallant and + meritorious service" for which he had received brevets, seemed, indeed, to + have been forgotten. He had grown grey in Indian campaigns, and it looked + as if the frontier might always be the home of the senior lieutenant of + the old Eighth. Promotion in that regiment had been at a standstill for + years. + </p> + <p> + Being in Washington for a short time towards mid-winter enjoying the + social side of military life at the Capital, an opportunity came to me to + meet President Cleveland, and although his administration was nearing its + close, and the stress of official cares was very great, he seemed to have + leisure and interest to ask me about my life on the frontier; and as the + conversation became quite personal, the impulse seized me, to tell him + just how I felt about the education of our children, and then to tell him + what I thought and what others thought about the unjust way in which the + promotions and retirements in our regiment had been managed. + </p> + <p> + He listened with the greatest interest and seemed pleased with my + frankness. He asked me what the soldiers and officers out there thought of + "So and So." "They hate him," I said. + </p> + <p> + Whereupon he laughed outright and I knew I had committed an indiscretion, + but life on the frontier does not teach one diplomacy of speech, and by + that time I was nerved up to say just what I felt, regardless of results. + </p> + <p> + "Well," he said, smiling, "I am afraid I cannot interfere much with those + military matters;" then, pointing with his left hand and thumb towards the + War Department, "they fix them all up over there in the Adjutant General's + office," he added. + </p> + <p> + Then he asked me many more questions; if I had always stayed out there + with my husband, and why I did not live in the East, as so many army women + did; and all the time I could hear the dull thud of the carpenters' + hammers, for they were building even then the board seats for the public + who would witness the inaugural ceremonies of his successor, and with each + stroke of the hammer, his face seemed to grow more sad. + </p> + <p> + I felt the greatness of the man; his desire to be just and good: his + marvellous personal power, his ability to understand and to sympathize, + and when I parted from him he said again laughingly, "Well, I shall not + forget your husband's regiment, and if anything turns up for those fine + men you have told me about, they will hear from me." And I knew they were + the words of a man, who meant what he said. + </p> + <p> + In the course of our conversation he had asked, "Who are these men? Do + they ever come to Washington? I rarely have these things explained to me + and I have little time to interfere with the decisions of the Adjutant + General's office." + </p> + <p> + I replied: "No, Mr. President, they are not the men you see around + Washington. Our regiment stays on the frontier, and these men are the ones + who do the fighting, and you people here in Washington are apt to forget + all about them." + </p> + <p> + "What have they ever done? Were they in the Civil War?" he asked. + </p> + <p> + "Their records stand in black and white in the War Department," I replied, + "if you have the interest to learn more about them." + </p> + <p> + "Women's opinions are influenced by their feelings," he said. + </p> + <p> + "Mine are based upon what I know, and I am prepared to stand by my + convictions," I replied. + </p> + <p> + Soon after this interview, I returned to New York and I did not give the + matter very much further thought, but my impression of the greatness of + Mr. Cleveland and of his powerful personality has remained with me to this + day. + </p> + <p> + A vacancy occurred about this time in the Quartermaster's Department, and + the appointment was eagerly sought for by many Lieutenants of the army. + President Cleveland saw fit to give the appointment to Lieutenant + Summerhayes, making him a Captain and Quartermaster, and then, another + vacancy occurring shortly after, he appointed Lieutenant John McEwen Hyde + to be also a Captain and Quartermaster. + </p> + <p> + Lieutenant Hyde stood next in rank to my husband and had grown grey in the + old Eighth Infantry. So the regiment came in for its honor at last, and + General Kautz, when the news of the second appointment reached him, + exclaimed, "Well! well! does the President think my regiment a nursery for + the Staff?" + </p> + <p> + The Eighth Foot and the Ninth Horse at Niobrara gave the new Captain and + Quartermaster a rousing farewell, for now my husband was leaving his old + regiment forever; and, while he appreciated fully the honor of his new + staff position, he felt a sadness at breaking off the associations of so + many years—a sadness which can scarcely be understood by the young + officers of the present day, who are promoted from one regiment to + another, and rarely remain long enough with one organization to know even + the men of their own Company. + </p> + <p> + There were many champagne suppers, dinners and card-parties given for him, + to make the good-bye something to be remembered, and at the end of a + week's festivities, he departed by a night train from Valentine, thus + eluding the hospitality of those generous but wild frontiersmen, who were + waiting to give him what they call out there a "send-off." + </p> + <p> + For Valentine was like all frontier towns; a row of stores and saloons. + The men who kept them were generous, if somewhat rough. One of the + officers of the post, having occasion to go to the railroad station one + day at Valentine, saw the body of a man hanging to a telegraph pole a + short distance up the track. He said to the station man: "What does that + mean?" (nodding his head in the direction of the telegraph pole). + </p> + <p> + "Why, it means just this," said the station man, "the people who hung that + man last night had the nerve to put him right in front of this place, by G—. + What would the passengers think of this town, sir, as they went by? Why, + the reputation of Valentine would be ruined! Yes, sir, we cut him down and + moved him up a pole or two. He was a hard case, though," he added. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0031" id="link2HCH0031"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXI. SANTA FE + </h2> + <p> + I made haste to present Captain Summerhayes with the shoulder-straps of + his new rank, when he joined me in New York. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The orders for Santa Fe reached us in mid-summer at Nantucket. I knew + about as much of Santa Fe as the average American knows, and that was + nothing; but I did know that the Staff appointment solved the problem of + education for us (for Staff officers are usually stationed in cities), and + I knew that our frontier life was over. I welcomed the change, for our + children were getting older, and we were ourselves approaching the age + when comfort means more to one than it heretofore has. + </p> + <p> + Jack obeyed his sudden orders, and I followed him as soon as possible. + </p> + <p> + Arriving at Santa Fe in the mellow sunlight of an October day, we were met + by my husband and an officer of the Tenth Infantry, and as we drove into + the town, its appearance of placid content, its ancient buildings, its + great trees, its clear air, its friendly, indolent-looking inhabitants, + gave me a delightful feeling of home. A mysterious charm seemed to possess + me. It was the spell which that old town loves to throw over the strangers + who venture off the beaten track to come within her walls. + </p> + <p> + Lying only eighteen miles away, over a small branch road from Llamy (a + station on the Atchison and Topeka Railroad), few people take the trouble + to stop over to visit it. "Dead old town," says the commercial traveller, + "nothing doing there." + </p> + <p> + And it is true. + </p> + <p> + But no spot that I have visited in this country has thrown around me the + spell of enchantment which held me fast in that sleepy and historic town. + </p> + <p> + The Governor's Palace, the old plaza, the ancient churches, the antiquated + customs, the Sisters' Hospital, the old Convent of Our Lady of Loretto, + the soft music of the Spanish tongue, I loved them all. + </p> + <p> + There were no factories; no noise was ever heard; the sun shone peacefully + on, through winter and summer alike. There was no cold, no heat, but a + delightful year-around climate. Why the place was not crowded with health + seekers, was a puzzle to me. I had thought that the bay of San Francisco + offered the most agreeable climate in America, but, in the Territory of + New Mexico, Santa Fe was the perfection of all climates combined. + </p> + <p> + The old city lies in the broad valley of the Santa Fe Creek, but the + valley of the Santa Fe Creek lies seven thousand feet above the sea level. + I should never have known that we were living at a great altitude, if I + had not been told, for the equable climate made us forget to inquire about + height or depth or distance. + </p> + <p> + I listened to old Father de Fourri preach his short sermons in English to + the few Americans who sat on one side of the aisle, in the church of Our + Lady of Guadaloupe; then, turning with an easy gesture towards his Mexican + congregation, who sat or knelt near the sanctuary, and saying, "Hermanos + mios," he gave the same discourse in good Spanish. I felt comfortable in + the thought that I was improving my Spanish as well as profiting by Father + de Fourri's sound logic. This good priest had grown old at Santa Fe in the + service of his church. + </p> + <p> + The Mexican women, with their black ribosos wound around their heads and + concealing their faces, knelt during the entire mass, and made many long + responses in Latin. + </p> + <p> + After years spent in a heathenish manner, as regards all church + observations, this devout and unique service, following the customs of + ancient Spain, was interesting to me in the extreme. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes on a Sunday afternoon I attended Vespers in the chapel of the + Sisters' Hospital (as it was called). A fine Sanitarium, managed entirely + by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity. + </p> + <p> + Sister Victoria, who was at the head of the management, was not only a + very beautiful woman, but she had an agreeable voice and always led in the + singing. + </p> + <p> + It seemed like Heaven. + </p> + <p> + I wrote to my friends in the East to come to the Sisters' Hospital if they + wanted health, peace and happiness, for it was surely to be found there. I + visited the convent of Our Lady of Loretto: I stood before a high wall in + an embrasure of which there was a low wooden gate; I pulled on a small + knotted string which hung out of a little hole, and a queer old bell rang. + Then one of the nuns came and let me in, across a beautiful garden to the + convent school. I placed my little daughter as a day pupil there, as she + was now eleven years old. The nuns spoke very little English and the + children none at all. + </p> + <p> + The entire city was ancient, Spanish, Catholic, steeped in a religious + atmosphere and in what the average American Protestant would call the + superstitions of the dark ages. There were endless fiestas, and + processions and religious services, I saw them all and became much + interested in reading the history of the Catholic missions, established so + early out through what was then a wild and unexplored country. After that, + I listened with renewed interest to old Father de Fouri, who had tended + and led his flock of simple people so long and so lovingly. + </p> + <p> + There was a large painting of Our Lady of Guadaloupe over the altar—these + people firmly believed that she had appeared to them, on the earth, and so + strong was the influence around me that I began almost to believe it too. + I never missed the Sunday morning mass, and I fell in easily with the + religious observances. + </p> + <p> + I read and studied about the old explorers, and I seemed to live in the + time of Cortez and his brave band. I became acquainted with Adolf + Bandelier, who had lived for years in that country, engaged in research + for the American Archaeological Society. I visited the Indian pueblos, + those marvellous structures of adobe, where live entire tribes, and saw + natives who have not changed their manner of speech or dress since the + days when the Spaniards first penetrated to their curious dwellings, three + hundred or more years ago. I climbed the rickety ladders, by which one + enters these strange dwellings, and bought the great bowls which these + Indians shape in some manner without the assistance of a potter's wheel, + and then bake in their mud ovens. + </p> + <p> + The pueblo of Tesuque is only nine miles from Santa Fe, and a pleasant + drive, at that; it seemed strange to me that the road was not lined with + tourists. But no, they pass all these wonders by, in their disinclination + to go off the beaten track. + </p> + <p> + Visiting the pueblos gets to be a craze. Governor and Mrs. Prince knew + them all—the pueblo of Taos, of Santa Clara, San Juan, and others; + and the Governor's collection of great stone idols was a marvel indeed. He + kept them laid out on shelves, which resembled the bunks on a great + vessel, and in an apartment especially reserved for them, in his residence + at Santa Fe, and it was always with considerable awe that I entered that + apartment. The Governor occupied at that time a low, rambling adobe house, + on Palace Avenue, and this, with its thick walls and low window-seats, + made a fit setting for the treasures they had gathered. + </p> + <p> + Later on, the Governor's family occupied the palace (as it is always + called) of the old Spanish Viceroy, a most ancient, picturesque, yet + dignified building, facing the plaza. + </p> + <p> + The various apartments in this old palace were used for Government offices + when we were stationed there in 1889, and in one of these rooms, General + Lew Wallace, a few years before, had written his famous book, "Ben Hur." + </p> + <p> + On the walls were hanging old portraits painted by the Spaniards in the + sixteenth century. They were done on rawhide, and whether these + interesting and historic pictures have been preserved by our Government I + do not know. + </p> + <p> + The distinguished Anglican clergyman living there taught a small class of + boys, and the "Academy," an excellent school established by the + Presbyterian Board of Missions, afforded good advantages for the young + girls of the garrison. And as we had found that the Convent of Loretto was + not just adapted to the education of an American child, we withdrew + Katharine from that school and placed her at the Presbyterian Academy. + </p> + <p> + To be sure, the young woman teacher gave a rousing lecture on total + abstinence once a week; going even so far as to say, that to partake of + apple sauce which had begun to ferment was yielding to the temptations of + Satan. The young woman's arguments made a disastrous impression upon our + children's minds; so much so, that the rich German Jews whose daughters + attended the school complained greatly; for, as they told us, these girls + would hasten to snatch the decanters from the sideboard, at the approach + of visitors, and hide them, and they began to sit in judgment upon their + elders. Now these men were among the leading citizens of the town; they + were self-respecting and wealthy. They could not stand these extreme + doctrines, so opposed to their life and their traditions. We informed Miss + X. one day that she could excuse our children from the total abstinence + lecture, or we should be compelled to withdraw them from the school. She + said she could not compel them to listen, but preach she must. She + remained obedient to her orders from the Board, and we could but respect + her for that. Our young daughters were, however, excused from the lecture. + </p> + <p> + But our time was not entirely given up to the study of ancient pottery, + for the social life there was delightful. The garrison was in the centre + of the town, the houses were comfortable, and the streets shaded by old + trees. The Tenth Infantry had its headquarters and two companies there. + Every afternoon, the military band played in the Plaza, where everybody + went and sat on benches in the shade of the old trees, or, if cool, in the + delightful sunshine. The pretty and well-dressed senoritas cast shy + glances at the young officers of the Tenth; but, alas! the handsome and + attractive Lieutenants Van Vliet and Seyburn, and the more sedate + Lieutenant Plummer, could not return these bewitching glances, as they + were all settled in life. + </p> + <p> + The two former officers had married in Detroit, and both Mrs. Van Vliet + and Mrs. Seyburn did honor to the beautiful city of Michigan, for they + were most agreeable and clever women, and presided over their army homes + with distinguished grace and hospitality. + </p> + <p> + The Americans who lived there were all professional people; mostly + lawyers, and a few bankers. I could not understand why so many Eastern + lawyers lived there. I afterwards learned that the old Spanish land grants + had given rise to illimitable and never-ending litigation. + </p> + <p> + Every morning we rode across country. There were no fences, but the wide + irrigation ditches gave us a plenty of excitement, and the riding was + glorious. I had no occasion yet to realize that we had left the line of + the army. + </p> + <p> + A camping trip to the head-waters of the Pecos, where we caught speckled + trout in great abundance in the foaming riffles and shallow pools of this + rushing mountain stream, remaining in camp a week under the spreading + boughs of the mighty pines, added to the variety and delights of our life + there. + </p> + <p> + With such an existence as this, good health and diversion, the time passed + rapidly by. + </p> + <p> + It was against the law now for soldiers to marry; the old days of + "laundresses" had passed away. But the trombone player of the Tenth + Infantry band (a young Boston boy) had married a wife, and now a baby had + come to them. They could get no quarters, so we took the family in, and, + as the wife was an excellent cook, we were able to give many small + dinners. The walls of the house being three feet thick, we were never + troubled by the trombone practice or the infant's cries. And many a + delightful evening we had around the board, with Father de Fourri, Rev. + Mr. Meany (the Anglican clergyman), the officers and ladies of the Tenth, + Governor and Mrs. Prince, and the brilliant lawyer folk of Santa Fe. + </p> + <p> + Such an ideal life cannot last long; this existence of ours does not seem + to be contrived on those lines. At the end of a year, orders came for + Texas, and perhaps it was well that orders came, or we might be in Santa + Fe to-day, wrapt in a dream of past ages; for the city of the Holy Faith + had bound us with invisible chains. + </p> + <p> + With our departure from Santa Fe, all picturesqueness came to an end in + our army life. Ever after that, we had really good houses to live in, + which had all modern arrangements; we had beautiful, well-kept lawns and + gardens, the same sort of domestic service that civilians have, and lived + almost the same life. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0032" id="link2HCH0032"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXII. TEXAS + </h2> + <p> + Whenever I think of San Antonio and Fort Sam Houston, the perfume of the + wood violet which blossomed in mid-winter along the borders of our lawn, + and the delicate odor of the Cape jessamine, seem to be wafted about me. + </p> + <p> + Fort Sam Houston is the Headquarters of the Department of Texas, and all + the Staff officers live there, in comfortable stone houses, with broad + lawns shaded by chinaberry trees. Then at the top of the hill is a great + quadrangle, with a clock tower and all the department offices. On the + other side of this quadrangle is the post, where the line officers live. + </p> + <p> + General Stanley commanded the Department. A fine, dignified and able man, + with a great record as an Indian fighter. Jack knew him well, as he had + been with him in the first preliminary survey for the northern Pacific + Railroad, when he drove old Sitting Bull back to the Powder River. + </p> + <p> + He was now about to reach the age of retirement; and as the day + approached, that day when a man has reached the limit of his usefulness + (in the opinion of an ever-wise Government), that day which sounds the + knell of active service, that day so dreaded and yet so longed for, that + day when an army officer is sixty-four years old and Uncle Sam lays him + upon the shelf, as that day approached, the city of San Antonio, in fact + the entire State of Texas poured forth to bid him Godspeed; for if ever an + army man was beloved, it was General Stanley by the State of Texas. + </p> + <p> + Now on the other side of the great quadrangle lay the post, where were the + soldiers' barracks and quarters of the line officers. This was commanded + by Colonel Coppinger, a gallant officer, who had fought in many wars in + many countries. + </p> + <p> + He had his famous regiment, the Twenty-third Infantry, and many were the + pleasant dances and theatricals we had, with the music furnished by their + band; for, as it was a time of peace, the troops were all in garrison. + </p> + <p> + Major Burbank was there also, with his well-drilled Light Battery of the + 3rd Artillery. + </p> + <p> + My husband, being a Captain and Quartermaster, served directly under + General George H. Weeks, who was Chief Quartermaster of the Department, + and I can never forget his kindness to us both. He was one of the best men + I ever knew, in the army or out of it, and came to be one of my dearest + friends. He possessed the sturdy qualities of his Puritan ancestry, united + with the charming manners of an aristocrat. + </p> + <p> + We belonged, of course, now, with the Staff, and something, an intangible + something, seemed to have gone out of the life. The officers were all + older, and the Staff uniforms were more sombre. I missed the white stripe + of the infantry, and the yellow of the cavalry. The shoulder-straps all + had gold eagles or leaves on them, instead of the Captains' or + Lieutenants' bars. Many of the Staff officers wore civilians' clothes, + which distressed me much, and I used to tell them that if I were Secretary + of War they would not be permitted to go about in black alpaca coats and + cinnamon-brown trousers. + </p> + <p> + "What would you have us do?" said General Weeks. + </p> + <p> + "Wear white duck and brass buttons," I replied. + </p> + <p> + "Fol-de-rol!" said the fine-looking and erect Chief Quartermaster; "you + would have us be as vain as we were when we were Lieutenants?" + </p> + <p> + "You can afford to be," I answered; for, even with his threescore years, + he had retained the lines of youth, and was, in my opinion, the finest + looking man in the Staff of the Army. + </p> + <p> + But all my reproaches and all my diplomacy were of no avail in reforming + the Staff. Evidently comfort and not looks was their motto. + </p> + <p> + One day, I accidentally caught a side view of myself in a long mirror + (long mirrors had not been very plentiful on the frontier), and was + appalled by the fact that my own lines corresponded but too well, alas! + with those of the Staff. Ah, me! were the days, then, of Lieutenants + forever past and gone? The days of suppleness and youth, the careless gay + days, when there was no thought for the future, no anxiety about + education, when the day began with a wild dash across country and ended + with a dinner and dance—-were they over, then, for us all? + </p> + <p> + Major Burbank's battery of light artillery came over and enlivened the + quiet of our post occasionally with their brilliant red color. At those + times, we all went out and stood in the music pavilion to watch the drill; + and when his horses and guns and caissons thundered down the hill and + swept by us at a terrific gallop, our hearts stood still. Even the + dignified Staff permitted themselves a thrill, and as for us women, our + excitement knew no bounds. + </p> + <p> + The brilliant red of the artillery brought color to the rather grey aspect + of the quiet Headquarters post, and the magnificent drill supplied the + martial element so dear to a woman's heart. + </p> + <p> + In San Antonio, the New has almost obliterated the Old, and little remains + except its pretty green river, its picturesque bridges, and the historic + Alamo, to mark it from other cities in the Southwest. + </p> + <p> + In the late afternoon, everybody drove to the Plaza, where all the country + people were selling their garden-stuff and poultry in the open square. + This was charming, and we all bought live fowl and drove home again. One + heard cackling and gobbling from the smart traps and victorias, and it + seemed to be a survival of an old custom. The whole town took a drive + after that, and supped at eight o'clock. + </p> + <p> + The San Antonio people believe there is no climate to equal theirs, and + talk much about the cool breezes from the Gulf of Mexico, which is some + miles away. But I found seven months of the twelve too hot for comfort, + and I could never detect much coolness in the summer breezes. + </p> + <p> + After I settled down to the sedateness which is supposed to belong to the + Staff, I began to enjoy life very much. There is compensation for every + loss, and I found, with the new friends, many of whom had lived their + lives, and had known sorrow and joy, a true companionship which enriched + my life, and filled the days with gladness. + </p> + <p> + My son had completed the High School course in San Antonio, under an able + German master, and had been sent East to prepare for the Stevens Institute + of Technology, and in the following spring I took my daughter Katharine + and fled from the dreaded heat of a Texas summer. Never can I forget the + child's grief on parting from her Texas pony. She extorted a solemn + promise from her father, who was obliged to stay in Texas, that he would + never part with him. + </p> + <p> + My brother, then unmarried, and my sister Harriet were living together in + New Rochelle and to them we went. Harry's vacation enabled him to be with + us, and we had a delightful summer. It was good to be on the shores of + Long Island Sound. + </p> + <p> + In the autumn, not knowing what next was in store for us, I placed my dear + little Katharine at the Convent of the Sacred Heart at Kenwood on the + Hudson, that she might be able to complete her education in one place, and + in the care of those lovely, gentle and refined ladies of that order. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after that, Captain Jack was ordered to David's Island, New York + Harbor (now called Fort Slocum), where we spent four happy and + uninterrupted years, in the most constant intercourse with my dear brother + and sister. + </p> + <p> + Old friends were coming and going all the time, and it seemed so good to + us to be living in a place where this was possible. + </p> + <p> + Captain Summerhayes was constructing officer and had a busy life, with all + the various sorts of building to be done there. + </p> + <p> + David's Island was then an Artillery Post, and there were several + batteries stationed there. (Afterwards it became a recruiting station.) + The garrison was often entirely changed. At one time, General Henry C. + Cook was in command. He and his charming Southern wife added so much to + the enjoyment of the post. Then came our old friends the Van Vliets of + Santa Fe days; and Dr. and Mrs. Valery Havard, who are so well known in + the army, and then Colonel Carl Woodruff and Mrs. Woodruff, whom we all + liked so much, and dear Doctor Julian Cabell, and others, who completed a + delightful garrison. + </p> + <p> + And we had a series of informal dances and invited the distinguished + members of the artist colony from New Rochelle, and it was at one of these + dances that I first met Frederic Remington. I had long admired his work + and had been most anxious to meet him. As a rule, Frederic did not attend + any social functions, but he loved the army, and as Mrs. Remington was + fond of social life, they were both present at our first little invitation + dance. + </p> + <p> + About the middle of the evening I noticed Mr. Remington sitting alone and + I crossed the hall and sat down beside him. I then told him how much I had + loved his work and how it appealed to all army folks, and how glad I was + to know him, and I suppose I said many other things such as literary men + and painters and players often have to hear from enthusiastic women like + myself. However, Frederic seemed pleased, and made some modest little + speech and then fell into an abstracted silence, gazing on the great flag + which was stretched across the hall at one end, and from behind which some + few soldiers who were going to assist in serving the supper were passing + in and out. I fell in with his mood immediately, as he was a person with + whom formality was impossible, and said: "What are you looking at, Mr. + Remington?" He replied, turning upon me his round boyish face and his blue + eyes gladdening, "I was just thinking I wished I was behind in there where + those blue jackets are—you know—behind that flag with the + soldiers—those are the men I like to study, you know, I don't like + all this fuss and feathers of society"—then, blushing at his lack of + gallantry, he added: "It's all right, of course, pretty women and all + that, and I suppose you think I'm dreadful and—do you want me to + dance with you—that's the proper thing here isn't it?" Whereupon, he + seized me in his great arms and whirled me around at a pace I never + dreamed of, and, once around, he said, "that's enough of this thing, isn't + it, let's sit down, I believe I'm going to like you, though I'm not much + for women." I said "You must come over here often;" and he replied, + "You've got a lot of jolly good fellows over here and I will do it." + </p> + <p> + Afterwards, the Remingtons and ourselves became the closest friends. Mrs. + Remington's maiden name was Eva Caton, and after the first few meetings, + she became "little Eva" to me—and if ever there was an embodiment of + that gentle lovely name and what it implies, it is this woman, the wife of + the great artist, who has stood by him through all the reverses of his + early life and been, in every sense, his guiding star. + </p> + <p> + And now began visits to the studio, a great room he had built on to his + house at New Rochelle. It had an enormous fire place where great logs were + burned, and the walls were hung with the most rare and wonderful Indian + curios. There he did all the painting which has made him famous in the + last twenty years, and all the modelling which has already become so well + known and would have eventually made him a name as a great sculptor. He + always worked steadily until three o'clock and then there was a walk or + game of tennis or a ride. After dinner, delightful evenings in the studio. + </p> + <p> + Frederic was a student and a deep thinker. He liked to solve all questions + for himself and did not accept readily other men's theories. He thought + much on religious subjects and the future life, and liked to compare the + Christian religion with the religions of Eastern countries, weighing them + one against the other with fairness and clear logic. + </p> + <p> + And so we sat, many evenings into the night, Frederic and Jack stretched + in their big leather chairs puffing away at their pipes, Eva with her + needlework, and myself a rapt listener: wondering at this man of genius, + who could work with his creative brush all day long and talk with the + eloquence of a learned Doctor of Divinity half the night. + </p> + <p> + During the time we were stationed at Davids Island, Mr. Remington and Jack + made a trip to the Southwest, where they shot the peccary (wild hog) in + Texas and afterwards blue quail and other game in Mexico. Artist and + soldier, they got on famously together notwithstanding the difference in + their ages. + </p> + <p> + And now he was going to try his hand at a novel, a real romance. We talked + a good deal about the little Indian boy, and I got to love White Weasel + long before he appeared in print as John Ermine. The book came out after + we had left New Rochelle—but I received a copy from him, and wrote + him my opinion of it, which was one of unstinted praise. But it did not + surprise me to learn that he did not consider it a success from a + financial point of view. + </p> + <p> + "You see," he said a year afterwards, "that sort of thing does not + interest the public. What they want,"—here he began to mimic some + funny old East Side person, and both hands gesticulating—"is a back + yard and a cabbage patch and a cook stove and babies' clothes drying + beside it, you see, Mattie," he said. "They don't want to know anything + about the Indian or the half-breed, or what he thinks or believes." And + then he went off into one of his irresistible tirades combining ridicule + and abuse of the reading public, in language such as only Frederic + Remington could use before women and still retain his dignity. "Well, + Frederic," I said, "I will try to recollect that, when I write my + experiences of Army Life." + </p> + <p> + In writing him my opinion of his book the year before, I had said, "In + fact, I am in love with John Ermine." The following Christmas he sent me + the accompanying card. + </p> + <p> + Now the book was dramatized and produced, with Hackett as John Ermine, at + the Globe Theatre in September of 1902—the hottest weather ever on + record in Boston at that season. Of course seats were reserved for us; we + were living at Nantucket that year, and we set sail at noon to see the + great production. We snatched a bite of supper at a near-by hotel in + Boston and hurried to the theatre, but being late, had some difficulty in + getting our seats. + </p> + <p> + The curtain was up and there sat Hackett, not with long yellow hair (which + was the salient point in the half-breed scout) but rather well-groomed, + looking more like a parlor Indian than a real live half-breed, such as all + we army people knew. I thought "this will never do." + </p> + <p> + The house was full, Hackett did the part well, and the audience murmured + on going out: "a very artistic success." But the play was too mystical, + too sad. It would have suited the "New Theatre" patrons better. I wrote + him from Nantucket and criticized one or two minor points, such as the + 1850 riding habits of the women, which were slouchy and unbecoming and + made the army people look like poor emigrants and I received this letter + in reply: + </p> + <p> + WEBSTER AVENUE, NEW ROCHELLE, N. Y. + </p> + <p> + My dear Mrs. S., + </p> + <p> + Much obliged for your talk—it is just what we want—proper + impressions. + </p> + <p> + I fought for that long hair but the management said the audience has got + to, have some Hackett—why I could not see—but he is a matinee + idol and that long with the box office. + </p> + <p> + We'll dress Katherine up better. + </p> + <p> + The long rehearsals at night nearly killed me—I was completely done + up and came home on train Monday in that terrific heat and now I am in the + hands of a doctor. Imagine me a week without sleep. + </p> + <p> + Hope that fight took Jack back to his youth. For the stage I don't think + it was bad. We'll get grey shirts on their men later. + </p> + <p> + The old lady arrives to-day—she has been in Gloversville. + </p> + <p> + I think the play will go—but, we may have to save Ermine. The public + is a funny old cat and won't stand for the mustard. + </p> + <p> + Well, glad you had a good time and of course you can't charge me up with + the heat. + </p> + <p> + Yours, FREDERICK R. + </p> + <p> + Remington made a trip to the Yellowstone Park and this is what he wrote to + Jack. His letters were never dated. + </p> + <p> + My dear Summerhayes: + </p> + <p> + Say if you could get a few puffs of this cold air out here you would think + you were full of champagne water. I feel like a d—- kid— + </p> + <p> + I thought I should never be young again—but here I am only 14 years + old—my whiskers are falling out. + </p> + <p> + Capt. Brown of the 1st cav. wishes to be remembered to you both. He is + Park Superintendent. Says if you will come out here he will take care of + you and he would. + </p> + <p> + Am painting and doing some good work. Made a "govt. six" yesterday. + </p> + <p> + In the course of time, he bought an Island in the St. Lawrence and they + spent several summers there. + </p> + <p> + On the occasion of my husband accepting a detail in active service in + Washington at the Soldiers' Home, after his retirement, he received the + following letter. + </p> + <p> + INGLENEUK, CHIPPEWA BAY, N. Y. + </p> + <p> + My dear Jack— + </p> + <p> + So there you are—and I'm d—- glad you are so nicely fixed. + It's the least they could do for you and you ought to be able to enjoy it + for ten years before they find any spavins on you if you will behave + yourself, but I guess you will drift into that Army and Navy Club and + round up with a lot of those old alkalied prairie-dogs whom neither + Indians nor whiskey could kill and Mr. Gout will take you over his route + to Arlington. + </p> + <p> + I'm on the water wagon and I feel like a young mule. I am never going to + get down again to try the walking. If I lose my whip I am going to drive + right on and leave it. + </p> + <p> + We are having a fine summer and I may run over to Washington this winter + and throw my eye over you to see how you go. We made a trip down to New + Foundland but saw nothing worth while. I guess I am getting to be an old + swat—I can't see anything that didn't happen twenty years ago, + </p> + <p> + Y— FREDERICK R. + </p> + <p> + At the close of the year just gone, this great soul passed from the earth + leaving a blank in our lives that nothing can ever fill. Passed into the + great Beyond whose mysteries were always troubling his mind. Suddenly and + swiftly the call came—the hand was stilled and the restless spirit + took its flight. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0033" id="link2HCH0033"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXXIII. DAVID'S ISLAND + </h2> + <p> + At Davids' Island the four happiest years of my army life glided swiftly + away. + </p> + <p> + There was a small steam tug which made regular and frequent trips over to + New Rochelle and we enjoyed our intercourse with the artists and players + who lived there. + </p> + <p> + Zogbaum, whose well known pictures of sailors and warships and soldiers + had reached us even in the far West, and whose charming family added so + much to our pleasure. + </p> + <p> + Julian Hawthorne with his daughter Hildegarde, now so well known as a + literary critic; Henry Loomis Nelson, whose fair daughter Margaret came to + our little dances and promptly fell in love with a young, slim, straight + Artillery officer. A case of love at first sight, followed by a short + courtship and a beautiful little country wedding at Miss Nelson's home on + the old Pelham Road, where Hildegarde Hawthorne was bridesmaid in a white + dress and scarlet flowers (the artillery colors) and many famous literary + people from everywhere were present. + </p> + <p> + Augustus Thomas, the brilliant playwright, whose home was near the + Remingtons on Lathers' Hill, and whose wife, so young, so beautiful and so + accomplished, made that home attractive and charming. + </p> + <p> + Francis Wilson, known to the world at large, first as a singer in comic + opera, and now as an actor and author, also lived in New Rochelle, and we + came to have the honor of being numbered amongst his friends. A devoted + husband and kind father, a man of letters and a book lover, such is the + man as we knew him in his home and with his family. + </p> + <p> + And now came the delicious warm summer days. We persuaded the + Quartermaster to prop up the little row of old bathing houses which had + toppled over with the heavy winter gales. There were several bathing + enthusiasts amongst us; we had a pretty fair little stretch of beach which + was set apart for the officers' families, and now what bathing parties we + had! Kemble, the illustrator, joined our ranks—and on a warm summer + morning the little old Tug Hamilton was gay with the artists and their + families, the players and writers of plays, and soon you could see the + little garrison hastening to the beach and the swimmers running down the + long pier, down the run-way and off head first into the clear waters of + the Sound. What a company was that! The younger and the older ones all + together, children and their fathers and mothers, all happy, all well, all + so gay, and we of the frontier so enamored of civilization and what it + brought us! There were no intruders and ah! those were happy days. Uncle + Sam seemed to be making up to us for what we had lost during all those + long years in the wild places. + </p> + <p> + Then Augustus Thomas wrote the play of "Arizona" and we went to New York + to see it put on, and we sat in Mr. Thomas' box and saw our frontier life + brought before us with startling reality. + </p> + <p> + And so one season followed another. Each bringing its pleasures, and then + came another lovely wedding, for my brother Harry gave up his bachelor + estate and married one of the nicest and handsomest girls in Westchester + County, and their home in New Rochelle was most attractive. My son was at + the Stevens Institute and both he and Katharine were able to spend their + vacations at David's Island, and altogether, our life there was near to + perfection. + </p> + <p> + We were doomed to have one more tour in the West, however, and this time + it was the Middle West. + </p> + <p> + For in the autumn of '96, Jack was ordered to Jefferson Barracks, + Missouri, on construction work. + </p> + <p> + Jefferson Barracks is an old and historic post on the Mississippi River, + some ten miles south of St. Louis. I could not seem to take any interest + in the post or in the life there. I could not form new ties so quickly, + after our life on the coast, and I did not like the Mississippi Valley, + and St. Louis was too far from the post, and the trolley ride over there + too disagreeable for words. After seven months of just existing (on my + part) at Jefferson Barracks, Jack received an order for Fort Myer, the + end, the aim, the dream of all army people. Fort Myer is about three miles + from Washington, D. C. + </p> + <p> + We lost no time in getting there and were soon settled in our pleasant + quarters. There was some building to be done, but the duty was + comparatively light, and we entered with considerable zest into the social + life of the Capital. We expected to remain there for two years, at the end + of which time Captain Summerhayes would be retired and Washington would be + our permanent home. + </p> + <p> + But alas! our anticipation was never to be realized, for, as we all know, + in May of 1898, the Spanish War broke out, and my husband was ordered to + New York City to take charge of the Army Transport Service, under Colonel + Kimball. + </p> + <p> + No delay was permitted to him, so I was left behind, to pack up the + household goods and to dispose of our horses and carriages as best I + could. + </p> + <p> + The battle of Manila Bay had changed the current of our lives, and we were + once more adrift. + </p> + <p> + The young Cavalry officers came in to say good-bye to Captain Jack: every + one was busy packing up his belongings for an indefinite period and + preparing for the field. We all felt the undercurrent of sadness and + uncertainty, but "a good health" and "happy return" was drunk all around, + and Jack departed at midnight for his new station and new duties. + </p> + <p> + The next morning at daybreak we were awakened by the tramp, tramp of the + Cavalry, marching out of the post, en route for Cuba. + </p> + <p> + We peered out of the windows and watched the troops we loved so well, + until every man and horse had vanished from our sight. + </p> + <p> + Fort Myer was deserted and our hearts were sad. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + My sister Harriet, who was visiting us at that time, returned from her + morning walk, and as she stepped upon the porch, she said: "Well! of all + lonesome places I ever saw, this is the worst yet. I am going to pack my + trunk and leave. I came to visit an army post, but not an old women's home + or an orphan asylum: that is about all this place is now. I simply cannot + stay!" + </p> + <p> + Whereupon, she proceeded immediately to carry out her resolution, and I + was left behind with my young daughter, to finish and close up our life at + Fort Myer. + </p> + <p> + To describe the year which followed, that strenuous year in New York, is + beyond my power. + </p> + <p> + That summer gave Jack his promotion to a Major, but the anxiety and the + terrible strain of official work broke down his health entirely, and in + the following winter the doctors sent him to Florida, to recuperate. + </p> + <p> + After six weeks in St. Augustine, we returned to New York. The stress of + the war was over; the Major was ordered to Governor's Island as Chief + Quartermaster, Department of the East, and in the following year he was + retired, by operation of the law, at the age limit. + </p> + <p> + I was glad to rest from the incessant changing of stations; the life had + become irksome to me, in its perpetual unrest. I was glad to find a place + to lay my head, and to feel that we were not under orders; to find and to + keep a roof-tree, under which we could abide forever. + </p> + <p> + In 1903, by an act of Congress, the veterans of the Civil War, who had + served continuously for thirty years or more were given an extra grade, so + now my hero wears with complacency the silver leaf of the + Lieutenant-Colonel, and is enjoying the quiet life of a civilian. + </p> + <p> + But that fatal spirit of unrest from which I thought to escape, and which + ruled my life for so many years, sometimes asserts its power, and at those + times my thoughts turn back to the days when we were all Lieutenants + together, marching across the deserts and mountains of Arizona; back to my + friends of the Eighth Infantry, that historic regiment, whose officers and + men fought before the walls of Chapultepec and Mexico, back to my friends + of the Sixth Cavalry, to the days at Camp MacDowell, where we slept under + the stars, and watched the sun rise from behind the Four Peaks of the + MacDowell Mountains: where we rode the big cavalry horses over the sands + of the Maricopa desert, swung in our hammocks under the ramadas; swam in + the red waters of the Verde River, ate canned peaches, pink butter and + commissary hams, listened for the scratching of the centipedes as they + scampered around the edges of our canvas-covered floors, found scorpions + in our slippers, and rattlesnakes under our beds. + </p> + <p> + The old post is long since abandoned, but the Four Peaks still stand, + wrapped in their black shadows by night, and their purple colors by day, + waiting for the passing of the Apache and the coming of the white man, who + shall dig his canals in those arid plains, and build his cities upon the + ruins of the ancient Aztec dwellings. + </p> + <p> + The Sixth Cavalry, as well as the Eighth Infantry, has seen many + vicissitudes since those days. Some of our gallant Captains and + Lieutenants have won their stars, others have been slain in battle. + </p> + <p> + Dear, gentle Major Worth received wounds in the Cuban campaign, which + caused his death, but he wore his stars before he obeyed the "last call." + </p> + <p> + The gay young officers of Angel Island days hold dignified commands in the + Philippines, Cuba, and Alaska. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + My early experiences were unusually rough. None of us seek such + experiences, but possibly they bring with them a sort of recompense, in + that simple comforts afterwards seem, by contrast, to be the greatest + luxuries. + </p> + <p> + I am glad to have known the army: the soldiers, the line, and the Staff; + it is good to think of honor and chivalry, obedience to duty and the pride + of arms; to have lived amongst men whose motives were unselfish and whose + aims were high; amongst men who served an ideal; who stood ready, at the + call of their country, to give their lives for a Government which is, to + them, the best in the world. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes I hear the still voices of the Desert: they seem to be calling + me through the echoes of the Past. I hear, in fancy, the wheels of the + ambulance crunching the small broken stones of the malapais, or grating + swiftly over the gravel of the smooth white roads of the river-bottoms. I + hear the rattle of the ivory rings on the harness of the six-mule team; I + see the soldiers marching on ahead; I see my white tent, so inviting after + a long day's journey. + </p> + <p> + But how vain these fancies! Railroad and automobile have annihilated + distance, the army life of those years is past and gone, and Arizona, as + we knew it, has vanished from the face of the earth. + </p> + <p> + THE END. <a name="link2H_APPE" id="link2H_APPE"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + APPENDIX. + </h2> + <h3> + NANTUCKET ISLAND, June 1910. + </h3> + <p> + When, a few years ago, I determined to write my recollections of life in + the army, I was wholly unfamiliar with the methods of publishers, and the + firm to whom I applied to bring out my book, did not urge upon me the + advisability of having it electrotyped, firstly, because, as they said + afterwards, I myself had such a very modest opinion of my book, and, + secondly because they thought a book of so decidedly personal a character + would not reach a sale of more than a few hundred copies at the farthest. + The matter of electrotyping was not even discussed between us. The entire + edition of one thousand copies was exhausted in about a year, without + having been carried on the lists of any bookseller or advertised in any + way except through some circulars sent by myself to personal friends, and + through several excellent reviews in prominent newspapers. + </p> + <p> + As the demand for the book continued, I have thought it advisable to + re-issue it, adding a good deal that has come into my mind since its + publication. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + It was after the Colonel's retirement that we came to spend the summers at + Nantucket, and I began to enjoy the leisure that never comes into the life + of an army woman during the active service of her husband. We were no + longer expecting sudden orders, and I was able to think quietly over the + events of the past. + </p> + <p> + My old letters which had been returned to me really gave me the + inspiration to write the book and as I read them over, the people and the + events therein described were recalled vividly to my mind—events + which I had forgotten, people whom I had forgotten—events and people + all crowded out of my memory for many years by the pressure of family + cares, and the succession of changes in our stations, by anxiety during + Indian campaigns, and the constant readjustment of my mind to new scenes + and new friends. + </p> + <p> + And so, in the delicious quiet of the Autumn days at Nantucket, when the + summer winds had ceased to blow and the frogs had ceased their pipings in + the salt meadows, and the sea was wondering whether it should keep its + summer blue or change into its winter grey, I sat down at my desk and + began to write my story. + </p> + <p> + Looking out over the quiet ocean in those wonderful November days, when a + peaceful calm brooded over all things, I gathered up all the threads of my + various experiences and wove them together. + </p> + <p> + But the people and the lands I wrote about did not really exist for me; + they were dream people and dream lands. I wrote of them as they had + appeared to me in those early years, and, strange as it may seem, I did + not once stop to think if the people and the lands still existed. + </p> + <p> + For a quarter of a century I had lived in the day that began with reveille + and ended with "Taps." + </p> + <p> + Now on this enchanted island, there was no reveille to awaken us in the + morning, and in the evening the only sound we could hear was the "ruck" of + the waves on the far outer shores and the sad tolling of the bell buoy + when the heaving swell of the ocean came rolling over the bar. + </p> + <p> + And so I wrote, and the story grew into a book which was published and + sent out to friends and family. + </p> + <p> + As time passed on, I began to receive orders for the book from army + officers, and then one day I received orders from people in Arizona and I + awoke to the fact that Arizona was no longer the land of my memories. I + began to receive booklets telling me of projected railroads, also pictures + of wonderful buildings, all showing progress and prosperity. + </p> + <p> + And then came letters from some Presidents of railroads whose lines ran + through Arizona, and from bankers and politicians and business men of + Tucson, Phoenix and Yuma City. Photographs showing shady roads and + streets, where once all was a glare and a sandy waste. Letters from mining + men who knew every foot of the roads we had marched over; pictures of the + great Laguna dam on the Colorado, and of the quarters of the Government + Reclamation Service Corps at Yuma. + </p> + <p> + These letters and pictures told me of the wonderful contrast presented by + my story to the Arizona of today; and although I had not spared that + country, in my desire to place before my children and friends a vivid + picture of my life out there, all these men seemed willing to forgive me + and even declared that my story might do as much to advance their + interests and the prosperity of Arizona as anything which had been written + with only that object in view. + </p> + <p> + My soul was calmed by these assurances, and I ceased to be distressed by + thinking over the descriptions I had given of the unpleasant conditions + existing in that country in the seventies. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime, the San Francisco Chronicle had published a good review + of my book, and reproduced the photograph of Captain Jack Mellon, the + noted pilot of the Colorado river, adding that he was undoubtedly one of + the most picturesque characters who had ever lived on the Pacific Coast + and that he had died some years ago. + </p> + <p> + And so he was really dead! And perhaps the others too, were all gone from + the earth, I thought when one day I received a communication from an + entire stranger, who informed me that the writer of the review in the San + Francisco newspaper had been mistaken in the matter of Captain Mellon's + death, that he had seen him recently and that he lived at San Diego. So I + wrote to him and made haste to forward him a copy of my book, which + reached him at Yuma, on the Colorado, and this is what he wrote: + </p> + <p> + YUMA, Dec. 15th, 1908. + </p> + <p> + My dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + </p> + <p> + Your good book and letter came yesterday p. m., for which accept my + thanks. My home is not in San Diego, but in Coronado, across the bay from + San Diego. That is the reason I did not get your letter sooner. + </p> + <p> + In one hour after I received your book, I had orders for nine of them. All + these books go to the official force of the Reclamation Service here who + are Damming the Colorado for the Government Irrigation Project. They are + not Damming it as we formerly did, but with good solid masonry. The Dam is + 4800 feet long and 300 feet wide and 10 feet above high water. In high + water it will flow over the top of the Dam, but in low water the ditches + or canals will take all the water out of the River, the approximate cost + is three million. There will be a tunnel under the River at Yuma just + below the Bridge, to bring the water into Arizona which is thickly settled + to the Mexican Line. + </p> + <p> + I have done nothing on the River since the 23rd of last August, at which + date they closed the River to Navigation, and the only reason I am now in + Yumais trying to get something from Government for my boats made useless + by the Dam. I expect to get a little, but not a tenth of what they cost + me. + </p> + <p> + Your book could not have a better title: it is "Vanished Arizona" sure + enough, vanished the good and warm Hearts that were here when you were. + The People here now are cold blooded as a snake and are all trying to get + the best of the other fellow. + </p> + <p> + There are but two alive that were on the River when you were on it. + Polhemus and myself are all that are left, but I have many friends on this + coast. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + The nurse Patrocina died in Los Angeles last summer and the crying kid + Jesusita she had on the boat when you went from Ehrenberg to the mouth of + the River grew up to be the finest looking Girl in these Parts; She was + the Star witness in a murder trial in Los Angeles last winter, and her + picture was in all of the Papers. + </p> + <p> + I am sending you a picture of the Steamer "Mojave" which was not on the + river when you were here. I made 20 trips with her up to the Virgin River, + which is 145 miles above Fort Mojave, or 75 miles higher than any other + man has gone with a boat: she was 10 feet longer than the "Gila" or any + other boat ever on the River. (Excuse this blowing but it's the truth). + </p> + <p> + In 1864 I was on a trip down the Gulf of California, in a small sail boat + and one of my companions was John Stanton. In Angel's Bay a man whom we + were giving a passage to, murdered my partner and ran off with the boat + and left Charley Ticen, John Stanton and myself on the beach. We were + seventeen days tramping to a village with nothing to eat but cactus but I + think I have told you the story before and what I want to know, is this + Stanton alive. He belonged to New Bedford—his father had been master + of a whale-ship. + </p> + <p> + When we reached Guaymas, Stanton found a friend, the mate of a steamer, + the mate also belonged to New Bedford. When we parted, Stanton told me he + was going home and was going to stay there, and as he was two years + younger than me, he may still be in New Bedford, and as you are on the + ground, maybe you can help me to find out. + </p> + <p> + All the people that I know praise your descriptive power and now my dear + Mrs. Summerhayes I suppose you will have a hard time wading through my + scrawl but I know you will be generous and remember that I went to sea + when a little over nine years of age and had my pen been half as often in + my hand as a marlin spike, I would now be able to write a much clearer + hand. + </p> + <p> + I have a little bungalow on Coronado Beach, across the bay from San Diego, + and if you ever come there, you or your husband, you are welcome; while I + have a bean you can have half. I would like to see you and talk over old + times. Yuma is quite a place now; no more adobes built; it is brick and + concrete, cement sidewalks and flower gardens with electric light and a + good water system. + </p> + <p> + My home is within five minutes walk of the Pacific Ocean. I was born at + Digby, Nova Scotia, and the first music I ever heard was the surf of the + Bay of Fundy, and when I close my eyes forever I hope the surf of the + Pacific will be the last sound that will greet my ears. + </p> + <p> + I read Vanished Arizona last night until after midnight, and thought what + we both had gone through since you first came up the Colorado with me. My + acquaintance with the army was always pleasant, and like Tom Moore I often + say: + </p> + <p> + Let fate do her worst, there are relics of joy Bright dreams of the past + which she cannot destroy! Which come in the night-time of sorrow and care + And bring back the features that joy used to wear. Long, long be my heart + with such memories filled! + </p> + <p> + I suppose the Colonel goes down to the Ship Chandler's and gams with the + old whaling captains. When I was a boy, there was a wealthy family of + ship-owners in New Bedford by the name of Robinson. I saw one of their + ships in Bombay, India, that was in 1854, her name was the Mary Robinson, + and altho' there were over a hundred ships on the bay, she was the + handsomest there. + </p> + <p> + Well, good friend, I am afraid I will tire you out, so I will belay this, + and with best wishes for you and yours, + </p> + <p> + I am, yours truly, + </p> + <p> + J. A. MELLON. + </p> + <p> + P. S.—Fisher is long since called to his Long Home. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + I had fancied, when Vanished Arizona was published, that it might possibly + appeal to the sympathies of women, and that men would lay it aside as a + sort-of a "woman's book"—but I have received more really sympathetic + letters from men than I have from women, all telling me, in different + words, that the human side of the story had appealed to them, and I + suppose this comes from the fact that originally I wrote it for my + children, and felt perfect freedom to put my whole self into it. And now + that the book is entirely out of my hands, I am glad that I wrote it as I + did, for if I had stopped to think that my dream people might be real + people, and that the real people would read it, I might never have had the + courage to write it at all. + </p> + <p> + The many letters I have received of which there have been several hundred + I am sure, have been so interesting that I reproduce a few more of them + here: + </p> + <p> + FORT BENJAMIN HARRISON, INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA. January 10, 1909. + </p> + <p> + My dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + </p> + <p> + I have just read the book. It is a good book, a true book, one of the best + kind of books. After taking it up I did not lay it down till it was + finished—till with you I had again gone over the malapais deserts of + Arizona, and recalled my own meetings with you at Niobrara and at old Fort + Marcy or Santa Fe. You were my cicerone in the old town and I couldn't + have had a better one—or more charming one. + </p> + <p> + The book has recalled many memories to me. Scarcely a name you mention but + is or was a friend. Major Van Vliet loaned me his copy, but I shall get + one of my own and shall tell my friends in the East that, if they desire a + true picture of army life as it appears to the army woman, they must read + your book. + </p> + <p> + For my part I feel that I must congratulate you on your successful work + and thank you for the pleasure you have given me in its perusal. + </p> + <p> + With cordial regard to you and yours, and with best wishes for many happy + years. + </p> + <p> + Very sincerely yours, + </p> + <p> + L. W. V. KENNON, Maj. 10th Inf. + </p> + <p> + HEADQUARTERS THIRD BRIGADE, NATIONAL GUARD OF PENNSYLVANIA, WILKES-BARRE, + PENNSYLVANIA. JANUARY 19, 1908. + </p> + <p> + Dear Madam: + </p> + <p> + I am sending you herewith my check for two copies of "Vanished Arizona." + This summer our mutual friend, Colonel Beaumont (late 4th U. S. Cav.) + ordered two copies for me and I have given them both away to friends whom + I wanted to have read your delightful and charming book. I am now ordering + one of these for another friend and wish to keep one in my record library + as a memorable story of the bravery and courage of the noble band of army + men and women who helped to blaze the pathway of the nation's progress in + its course of Empire Westward. + </p> + <p> + No personal record written, which I have read, tells so splendidly of what + the good women of our army endured in the trials that beset the army in + the life on the plains in the days succeeding the Civil War. And all this + at a time when the nation and its people were caring but little for you + all and the struggles you were making. + </p> + <p> + I will be pleased indeed if you will kindly inscribe your name in one of + the books you will send me. + </p> + <p> + Sincerely Yours, C. B. DOUGHERTY, Brig. Gen'l N. G. Pa. Jan. 19, 1908 + </p> + <p> + SCHENECTADY, N. Y. June 8th, 1908. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. John W. Summerhayes, North Shore Hill, Nantucket, Mass. + </p> + <p> + My Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + </p> + <p> + Were I to say that I enjoyed "Vanished Arizona, "I should very + inadequately express my feelings about it, because there is so much to + arouse emotions deeper than what we call "enjoyment;" it stirs the + sympathies and excites our admiration for your courage and your fortitude. + In a word, the story, honest and unaffected, yet vivid, has in it that + touch of nature which makes kin of us all. + </p> + <p> + How actual knowledge and experience broadens our minds! Your appreciation + of, and charity for, the weaknesses of those living a lonely life of + deprivation on the frontier, impressed me very much. I wish too, that what + you say about the canteen could be published in every newspaper in + America. + </p> + <p> + Very sincerely yours, + </p> + <p> + M. F. WESTOVER, Secretary Gen'l Electric Co. + </p> + <p> + THE MILITARY SERVICE INSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. Governor's Island, + N. Y. June 25, 1908. + </p> + <p> + Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + </p> + <p> + I offer my personal congratulations upon your success in producing a work + of such absorbing interest to all friends of the Army, and so instructive + to the public at large. + </p> + <p> + I have just finished reading the book, from cover to cover, to my wife and + we have enjoyed it thoroughly. + </p> + <p> + Will you please advise me where the book can be purchased in New York, or + otherwise mail two copies to me at 203 W. 54th Street, New York City, with + memo of price per copy, that I may remit the amount. + </p> + <p> + Very truly yours, + </p> + <p> + T. F. RODENBOUGH, Secretary and Editor (Brig. Gen'l. U. S. A.) + </p> + <p> + YALE UNIVERSITY, NEW HAVEN, CONN. + </p> + <p> + May 15, 1910. + </p> + <p> + Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + </p> + <p> + I have read every word of your book "Vanished Arizona" with intense + interest. You have given a vivid account of what you actually saw and + lived through, and nobody can resist the truthfulness and reality of your + narrative. The book is a real contribution to American history, and to the + chronicles of army life. + </p> + <p> + Faithfully yours, WM. LYON PHELPS, + </p> + <p> + [Professor of English literature at Yale University.] + </p> + <p> + LONACONING, MD., Jan. 2, 1909. + </p> + <p> + Col. J. W. Summerhays, New Rochelle, N. Y. + </p> + <p> + Dear Sir: + </p> + <p> + Captain William Baird, 6th Cavalry, retired, now at Annapolis, sent me + Mrs. Summerhay's book to read, and I have read it with delight, for I was + in "K" when Mrs. Summerhays "took on" in the 8th. Myself and my brother, + Michael, served in "K" Company from David's Island to Camp Apache. + Doubtless you have forgotten me, but I am sure that you remember the tall + fifer of "K", Michael Gurnett. He was killed at Camp Mohave in Sept. 1885, + while in Company "G" of the 1st Infantry. I was five years in "K", but my + brother re-enlisted in "K", and afterward joined the First. He served in + the 31st, 22nd, 8th and 1st. + </p> + <p> + Oh, that little book! We're all in it, even poor Charley Bowen. Mrs. + Summerhays should have written a longer story. She soldiered long enough + with the 8th in the "bloody 70's" to be able to write a book five times as + big. For what she's done, God bless her! She is entitled to the Irishman's + benediction: "May every hair in her head be a candle to light her soul to + glory." We poor old Regulars have little said about us in print, and wish + to God that "Vanished Arizona" was in the hands of every old veteran of + the "Marching 8th." If I had the means I would send a copy to our 1st + Serg't Bernard Moran, and the other old comrades at the Soldiers' Home. + But, alas, evil times have fallen upon us, and—I'm not writing a + jeremiad—I took the book from the post office and when I saw the + crossed guns and the "8" there was a lump in my throat, and I went into + the barber shop and read it through before I left. A friend of mine was in + the shop and when I came to Pringle's death, he said, "Gurnett, that must + be a sad book you're reading, why man, you're crying." + </p> + <p> + I believe I was, but they were tears of joy. And, Oh, Lord, to think of + Bowen having a full page in history; but, after all, maybe he deserved it. + And that picture of my company commander! [Worth]. Long, long, have I + gazed on it. I was only sixteen and a half years old when I joined his + company at David's Island, Dec. 6th, 1871. Folliot A. Whitney was 1st + lieutenant and Cyrus Earnest, 2nd. What a fine man Whitney was. A finer + man nor truer gentleman ever wore a shoulder strap. If he had been company + commander I'd have re-enlisted and stayed with him. I was always afraid of + Worth, though he was always good to my brother and myself. I deeply + regretted Lieut. Whitney's death in Cuba, and I watched Major Worth's + career in the last war. It nearly broke my heart that I could not go. Oh, + the rattle of the war drum and the bugle calls and the marching troops, it + set me crazy, and me not able to take a hand in the scrap. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Summerhays calls him Wm. T. Worth, isn't it Wm. S. Worth? + </p> + <p> + The copy I have read was loaned me by Captain Baird; he says it's a + Christmas gift from General Carter, and I must return it. My poor wife has + read it with keen interest and says she: "William, I am going to have that + book for my children," and she'll get it, yea, verily! she will. + </p> + <p> + Well, Colonel, I'm right glad to know that you are still on this side of + the great divide, and I know that you and Mrs. S. will be glad to hear + from an old "walk-a-heap" of the 8th. + </p> + <p> + I am working for a Cumberland newspaper—Lonaconing reporter—and + I will send you a copy or two of the paper with this. And now, permit me + to subscribe myself your + </p> + <p> + Comrade In Arms, + </p> + <p> + WILLIAM A. GURNETT. + </p> + <p> + Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + </p> + <p> + Read your book—in fact when I got started I forgot my bedtime (and + you know how rigid that is) and sat it through. + </p> + <p> + It has a bully note of the old army—it was all worthwhile—they + had color, those days. + </p> + <p> + I say—now suppose you had married a man who kept a drug store—see + what you would have had and see what you would have missed. + </p> + <p> + Yours, FREDERIC REMINGTON. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Vanished Arizona, by Martha Summerhayes + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VANISHED ARIZONA *** + +***** This file should be named 1049-h.htm or 1049-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/4/1049/ + +Produced by A Team of Arizona women, and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Vanished Arizona + Recollections of the Army Life by a New England Woman + +Author: Martha Summerhayes + +Posting Date: August 7, 2008 [EBook #1049] +Release Date: September, 1997 +[Last updated: April 8, 2012] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VANISHED ARIZONA *** + + + + +Produced by A Team of Arizona women + + + + + +VANISHED ARIZONA + +Recollections of the Army Life by a New England Woman + + +by Martha Summerhayes + + + + +TO MY SON HARRY SUMMERHAYES WHO SHARED THE VICISSITUDES OF MY LIFE IN +ARIZONA, THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED + + + + + +Preface + +I have written this story of my army life at the urgent and ceaseless +request of my children. + +For whenever I allude to those early days, and tell to them the tales +they have so often heard, they always say: "Now, mother, will you write +these stories for us? Please, mother, do; we must never forget them." + +Then, after an interval, "Mother, have you written those stories of +Arizona yet?" until finally, with the aid of some old letters written +from those very places (the letters having been preserved, with other +papers of mine, by an uncle in New England long since dead), I have been +able to give a fairly connected story. + +I have not attempted to commemorate my husband's brave career in the +Civil War, as I was not married until some years after the close of that +war, nor to describe the many Indian campaigns in which he took part, +nor to write about the achievements of the old Eighth Infantry. I leave +all that to the historian. I have given simply the impressions made upon +the mind of a young New England woman who left her comfortable home +in the early seventies, to follow a second lieutenant into the wildest +encampments of the American army. + +Hoping the story may possess some interest for the younger women of the +army, and possibly for some of our old friends, both in the army and in +civil life, I venture to send it forth. + +POSTCRIPT (second edition). + +The appendix to this, the second edition of my book, will tell something +of the kind manner in which the first edition was received by my friends +and the public at large. + +But as several people had expressed a wish that I should tell more of my +army experiences I have gone carefully over the entire book, adding some +detail and a few incidents which had come to my mind later. + +I have also been able, with some difficulty and much patient effort, +to secure several photographs of exceptional interest, which have been +added to the illustrations. + +January, 1911. + + + +CONTENTS + + PREFACE + + CHAPTER + I. GERMANY AND THE ARMY + II. I JOINED THE ARMY + III. ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING + IV. DOWN THE PACIFIC COAST + V. THE SLUE + VI. UP THE RIO COLORADO + VII. THE MOJAVE DESERT + VIII. LEARNING HOW TO SOLDIER + IX. ACROSS THE MOGOLLONS + X. A PERILOUS ADVENTURE + XI. CAMP APACHE + XII. LIFE AMONGST THE APACHES + XIII. A NEW RECRUIT + XIV. A MEMORABLE JOURNEY + XV. FORDING THE LITTLE COLORADO + XVI. STONEMAN'S LAKE + XVII. THE COLORADO DESERT + XVIII. EHRENBERG ON THE COLORADO + XIX. SUMMER AT EHRENBERG + XX. MY DELIVERER + XXI. WINTER IN EHRENBERG + XXII. RETURN TO THE STATES + XXIII. BACK TO ARIZONA + XXIV. UP THE VALLEY OF THE GILA + XXV. OLD CAMP MACDOWELL + XXVI. A SUDDEN ORDER + XXVII. THE EIGHTH FOOT LEAVES ARIZONA + XXVIII. CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA + XXIX. CHANGING STATION + XXX. FORT NIOBRARA + XXXI. SANTA FE + XXXII. TEXAS + XXXIII. DAVID'S ISLAND + + APPENDIX + + + + +VANISHED ARIZONA + + + + +CHAPTER I. GERMANY AND THE ARMY + +The stalwart men of the Prussian army, the Lancers, the Dragoons, the +Hussars, the clank of their sabres on the pavements, their brilliant +uniforms, all made an impression upon my romantic mind, and I listened +eagerly, in the quiet evenings, to tales of Hanover under King George, +to stories of battles lost, and the entry of the Prussians into the old +Residenz-stadt; the flight of the King, and the sorrow and chagrin which +prevailed. + +For I was living in the family of General Weste, the former +stadt-commandant of Hanover, who had served fifty years in the army and +had accompanied King George on his exit from the city. He was a gallant +veteran, with the rank of General-Lieutenant, ausser Dienst. A charming +and dignified man, accepting philosophically the fact that Hanover had +become Prussian, but loyal in his heart to his King and to old Hanover; +pretending great wrath when, on the King's birthday, he found yellow +and white sand strewn before his door, but unable to conceal the joyful +gleam in his eye when he spoke of it. + +The General's wife was the daughter of a burgomaster and had been +brought up in a neighboring town. She was a dear, kind soul. + +The house-keeping was simple, but stately and precise, as befitted +the rank of this officer. The General was addressed by the servants as +Excellenz and his wife as Frau Excellenz. A charming unmarried daughter +lived at home, making, with myself, a family of four. + +Life was spent quietly, and every evening, after our coffee (served in +the living-room in winter, and in the garden in summer), Frau Generalin +would amuse me with descriptions of life in her old home, and of how +girls were brought up in her day; how industry was esteemed by her +mother the greatest virtue, and idleness was punished as the most +beguiling sin. She was never allowed, she said, to read, even on Sunday, +without her knitting-work in her hands; and she would often sigh, and +say to me, in German (for dear Frau Generalin spoke no other tongue), +"Ach, Martha, you American girls are so differently brought up"; and I +would say, "But, Frau Generalin, which way do you think is the better?" +She would then look puzzled, shrug her shoulders, and often say, "Ach! +times are different I suppose, but my ideas can never change." + +Now the dear Frau Generalin did not speak a word of English, and as I +had had only a few lessons in German before I left America, I had the +utmost difficulty at first in comprehending what she said. She spoke +rapidly and I would listen with the closest attention, only to give up +in despair, and to say, "Gute Nacht," evening after evening, with my +head buzzing and my mind a blank. + +After a few weeks, however, I began to understand everything she said, +altho' I could not yet write or read the language, and I listened with +the greatest interest to the story of her marriage with young Lieutenant +Weste, of the bringing up of her four children, and of the old days in +Hanover, before the Prussians took possession. + +She described to me the brilliant Hanoverian Court, the endless +festivities and balls, the stately elegance of the old city, and the +cruel misfortunes of the King. And how, a few days after the King's +flight, the end of all things came to her; for she was politely +informed one evening, by a big Prussian major, that she must seek other +lodgings--he needed her quarters. At this point she always wept, and I +sympathized. + +Thus I came to know military life in Germany, and I fell in love with +the army, with its brilliancy and its glitter, with its struggles +and its romance, with its sharp contrasts, its deprivations, and its +chivalry. + +I came to know, as their guest, the best of old military society. They +were very old-fashioned and precise, and Frau Generalin often told me +that American girls were too ausgelassen in their manners. She often +reproved me for seating myself upon the sofa (which was only for old +people) and also for looking about too much when walking on the streets. +Young girls must keep their eyes more cast down, looking up only +occasionally. (I thought this dreadfully prim, as I was eager to see +everything). I was expected to stop and drop a little courtesy on +meeting an older woman, and then to inquire after the health of each +member of the family. It seemed to take a lot of time, but all the other +girls did it, and there seemed to be no hurry about anything, ever, +in that elegant old Residenz-stadt. Surely a contrast to our bustling +American towns. + +A sentiment seemed to underlie everything they did. The Emperor meant +so much to them, and they adored the Empress. A personal feeling, an +affection, such as I had never heard of in a republic, caused me to stop +and wonder if an empire were not the best, after all. And one day, +when the Emperor, passing through Hanover en route, drove down the +Georgen-strasse in an open barouche and raised his hat as he glanced at +the sidewalk where I happened to be standing, my heart seemed to stop +beating, and I was overcome by a most wonderful feeling--a feeling that +in a man would have meant chivalry and loyalty unto death. + +In this beautiful old city, life could not be taken any other than +leisurely. Theatres with early hours, the maid coming for me with a +lantern at nine o'clock, the frequent Kaffee-klatsch, the delightful +afternoon coffee at the Georgen-garten, the visits to the Zoological +gardens, where we always took our fresh rolls along with our +knitting-work in a basket, and then sat at a little table in the open, +and were served with coffee, sweet cream, and butter, by a strapping +Hessian peasant woman--all so simple, yet so elegant, so peaceful. + +We heard the best music at the theatre, which was managed with the same +precision, and maintained by the Government with the same generosity, +as in the days of King George. No one was allowed to enter after the +overture had begun, and an absolute hush prevailed. + +The orchestra consisted of sixty or more pieces, and the audience was +critical. The parquet was filled with officers in the gayest uniforms; +there were few ladies amongst them; the latter sat mostly in the boxes, +of which there were several tiers, and as soon as the curtain fell, +between the acts, the officers would rise, turn around, and level their +glasses at the boxes. Sometimes they came and visited in the boxes. + +As I had been brought up in a town half Quaker, half Puritan, the custom +of going to the theatre Sunday evenings was rather a questionable one +in my mind. But I soon fell in with their ways, and found that on Sunday +evenings there was always the most brilliant audience and the best plays +were selected. With this break-down of the wall of narrow prejudice, I +gave up others equally as narrow, and adopted the German customs with my +whole heart. + +I studied the language with unflinching perseverance, for this was the +opportunity I had dreamed about and longed for in the barren winter +evenings at Nantucket when I sat poring over Coleridge's translations of +Schiller's plays and Bayard Taylor's version of Goethe's Faust. + +Should I ever read these intelligently in the original? + +And when my father consented for me to go over and spend a year and live +in General Weste's family, there never was a happier or more grateful +young woman. Appreciative and eager, I did not waste a moment, and my +keen enjoyment of the German classics repaid me a hundred fold for all +my industry. + +Neither time nor misfortune, nor illness can take from me the memory of +that year of privileges such as is given few American girls to enjoy, +when they are at an age to fully appreciate them. + +And so completely separated was I from the American and English colony +that I rarely heard my own language spoken, and thus I lived, ate, +listened, talked, and even dreamed in German. + +There seemed to be time enough to do everything we wished; and, as the +Franco-Prussian war was just over (it was the year of 1871), and many +troops were in garrison at Hanover, the officers could always join us at +the various gardens for after-dinner coffee, which, by the way, was not +taken in the demi-tasse, but in good generous coffee-cups, with plenty +of rich cream. Every one drank at least two cups, the officers smoked, +the women knitted or embroidered, and those were among the pleasantest +hours I spent in Germany. + +The intrusion of unwelcome visitors was never to be feared, as, by +common consent, the various classes in Hanover kept by themselves, thus +enjoying life much better than in a country where everybody is striving +after the pleasures and luxuries enjoyed by those whom circumstances +have placed above them. + +The gay uniforms lent a brilliancy to every affair, however simple. +Officers were not allowed to appear en civile, unless on leave of +absence. + +I used to say, "Oh, Frau General, how fascinating it all is!" "Hush, +Martha," she would say; "life in the army is not always so brilliant as +it looks; in fact, we often call it, over here, 'glaenzendes Elend.'" + +These bitter words made a great impression upon my mind, and in after +years, on the American frontier, I seemed to hear them over and over +again. + +When I bade good-bye to the General and his family, I felt a tightening +about my throat and my heart, and I could not speak. Life in Germany had +become dear to me, and I had not known how dear until I was leaving it +forever. + + + + +CHAPTER II. I JOINED THE ARMY + +I was put in charge of the captain of the North German Lloyd S. S. +"Donau," and after a most terrific cyclone in mid-ocean, in which we +nearly foundered, I landed in Hoboken, sixteen days from Bremen. + +My brother, Harry Dunham, met me on the pier, saying, as he took me in +his arms, "You do not need to tell me what sort of a trip you have had; +it is enough to look at the ship--that tells the story." + +As the vessel had been about given up for lost, her arrival was somewhat +of an agreeable surprise to all our friends, and to none more so than +my old friend Jack, a second lieutenant of the United States army, who +seemed so glad to have me back in America, that I concluded the only +thing to do was to join the army myself. + +A quiet wedding in the country soon followed my decision, and we set +out early in April of the year 1874 to join his regiment, which was +stationed at Fort Russell, Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. + +I had never been west of New York, and Cheyenne seemed to me, in +contrast with the finished civilization of Europe, which I had so +recently left, the wildest sort of a place. + +Arriving in the morning, and alighting from the train, two gallant +officers, in the uniform of the United States infantry, approached +and gave us welcome; and to me, the bride, a special "welcome to the +regiment" was given by each of them with outstretched hands. + +Major Wilhelm said, "The ambulance is right here; you must come to our +house and stay until you get your quarters." + +Such was my introduction to the army--and to the army ambulance, in +which I was destined to travel so many miles. + +Four lively mules and a soldier driver brought us soon to the post, +and Mrs. Wilhelm welcomed us to her pleasant and comfortable-looking +quarters. + +I had never seen an army post in America. I had always lived in places +which needed no garrison, and the army, except in Germany, was an +unknown quantity to me. + +Fort Russell was a large post, and the garrison consisted of many +companies of cavalry and infantry. It was all new and strange to me. + +Soon after luncheon, Jack said to Major Wilhelm, "Well, now, I must go +and look for quarters: what's the prospect?" + +"You will have to turn some one out," said the Major, as they left the +house together. + +About an hour afterwards they returned, and Jack said, "Well, I have +turned out Lynch; but," he added, "as his wife and child are away, I do +not believe he'll care very much." + +"Oh," said I, "I'm so sorry to have to turn anybody out!" + +The Major and his wife smiled, and the former remarked, "You must not +have too much sympathy: it's the custom of the service--it's always +done--by virtue of rank. They'll hate you for doing it, but if you +don't do it they'll not respect you. After you've been turned out once +yourself, you will not mind turning others out." + +The following morning I drove over to Cheyenne with Mrs. Wilhelm, and +as I passed Lieutenant Lynch's quarters and saw soldiers removing +Mrs. Lynch's lares and penates, in the shape of a sewing machine, +lamp-shades, and other home-like things, I turned away in pity that such +customs could exist in our service. + +To me, who had lived my life in the house in which I was born, moving +was a thing to be dreaded. + +But Mrs. Wilhelm comforted me, and assured me it was not such a serious +matter after all. Army women were accustomed to it, she said. + + + + +CHAPTER III. ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING + +Not knowing before I left home just what was needed for house-keeping in +the army, and being able to gather only vague ideas on the subject from +Jack, who declared that his quarters were furnished admirably, I +had taken out with me but few articles in addition to the silver and +linen-chests. + +I began to have serious doubts on the subject of my menage, after +inspecting the bachelor furnishings which had seemed so ample to my +husband. But there was so much to be seen in the way of guard mount, +cavalry drill, and various military functions, besides the drives to +town and the concerts of the string orchestra, that I had little time to +think of the practical side of life. + +Added to this, we were enjoying the delightful hospitality of the +Wilhelms, and the Major insisted upon making me acquainted with the +"real old-fashioned army toddy" several times a day,--a new beverage +to me, brought up in a blue-ribbon community, where wine-bibbing and +whiskey drinking were rated as belonging to only the lowest classes. +To be sure, my father always drank two fingers of fine cognac before +dinner, but I had always considered that a sort of medicine for a man +advanced in years. + +Taken all in all, it is not to be wondered at if I saw not much in those +few days besides bright buttons, blue uniforms, and shining swords. + +Everything was military and gay and brilliant, and I forgot the very +existence of practical things, in listening to the dreamy strains of +Italian and German music, rendered by our excellent and painstaking +orchestra. For the Eighth Infantry loved good music, and had imported +its musicians direct from Italy. + +This came to an end, however, after a few days, and I was obliged to +descend from those heights to the dead level of domestic economy. + +My husband informed me that the quarters were ready for our occupancy +and that we could begin house-keeping at once. He had engaged a soldier +named Adams for a striker; he did not know whether Adams was much of +a cook, he said, but he was the only available man just then, as the +companies were up north at the Agency. + +Our quarters consisted of three rooms and a kitchen, which formed +one-half of a double house. + +I asked Jack why we could not have a whole house. I did not think I +could possibly live in three rooms and a kitchen. + +"Why, Martha," said he, "did you not know that women are not reckoned +in at all at the War Department? A lieutenant's allowance of quarters, +according to the Army Regulations, is one room and a kitchen, a +captain's allowance is two rooms and a kitchen, and so on up, until a +colonel has a fairly good house." I told him I thought it an outrage; +that lieutenants' wives needed quite as much as colonels' wives. + +He laughed and said, "You see we have already two rooms over our proper +allowance; there are so many married officers, that the Government has +had to stretch a point." + +After indulging in some rather harsh comments upon a government which +could treat lieutenants' wives so shabbily, I began to investigate my +surroundings. + +Jack had placed his furnishings (some lace curtains, camp chairs, and a +carpet) in the living-room, and there was a forlorn-looking bedstead in +the bedroom. A pine table in the dining-room and a range in the kitchen +completed the outfit. A soldier had scrubbed the rough floors with a +straw broom: it was absolutely forlorn, and my heart sank within me. + +But then I thought of Mrs. Wilhelm's quarters, and resolved to try my +best to make ours look as cheerful and pretty as hers. A chaplain was +about leaving the post and wished to dispose of his things, so we +bought a carpet of him, a few more camp chairs of various designs, and a +cheerful-looking table-cover. We were obliged to be very economical, as +Jack was a second lieutenant, the pay was small and a little in arrears, +after the wedding trip and long journey out. We bought white Holland +shades for the windows, and made the three rooms fairly comfortable and +then I turned my attention to the kitchen. + +Jack said I should not have to buy anything at all; the Quartermaster +Department furnished everything in the line of kitchen utensils; and, as +his word was law, I went over to the quartermaster store-house to select +the needed articles. + +After what I had been told, I was surprised to find nothing smaller than +two-gallon tea-kettles, meat-forks a yard long, and mess-kettles deep +enough to cook rations for fifty men! I rebelled, and said I would not +use such gigantic things. + +My husband said: "Now, Mattie, be reasonable; all the army women keep +house with these utensils; the regiment will move soon, and then what +should we do with a lot of tin pans and such stuff? You know a second +lieutenant is allowed only a thousand pounds of baggage when he changes +station." This was a hard lesson, which I learned later. + +Having been brought up in an old-time community, where women deferred to +their husbands in everything, I yielded, and the huge things were sent +over. I had told Mrs. Wilhelm that we were to have luncheon in our own +quarters. + +So Adams made a fire large enough to roast beef for a company of +soldiers, and he and I attempted to boil a few eggs in the deep +mess-kettle and to make the water boil in the huge tea-kettle. + +But Adams, as it turned out, was not a cook, and I must confess that my +own attention had been more engrossed by the study of German auxiliary +verbs, during the few previous years, than with the art of cooking. + +Of course, like all New England girls of that period, I knew how to make +quince jelly and floating islands, but of the actual, practical side of +cooking, and the management of a range, I knew nothing. + +Here was a dilemma, indeed! + +The eggs appeared to boil, but they did not seem to be done when we took +them off, by the minute-hand of the clock. + +I declared the kettle was too large; Adams said he did not understand it +at all. + +I could have wept with chagrin! Our first meal a deux! + +I appealed to Jack. He said, "Why, of course, Martha, you ought to know +that things do not cook as quickly at this altitude as they do down at +the sea level. We are thousands of feet above the sea here in Wyoming." +(I am not sure it was thousands, but it was hundreds at least.) + +So that was the trouble, and I had not thought of it! + +My head was giddy with the glamour, the uniform, the guard-mount, the +military music, the rarefied air, the new conditions, the new interests +of my life. Heine's songs, Goethe's plays, history and romance were +floating through my mind. Is it to be wondered at that I and Adams +together prepared the most atrocious meals that ever a new husband had +to eat? I related my difficulties to Jack, and told him I thought +we should never be able to manage with such kitchen utensils as were +furnished by the Q. M. D. + +"Oh, pshaw! You are pampered and spoiled with your New England +kitchens," said he; "you will have to learn to do as other army women +do--cook in cans and such things, be inventive, and learn to do with +nothing." This was my first lesson in army house-keeping. + +After my unpractical teacher had gone out on some official business, I +ran over to Mrs. Wilhelm's quarters and said, "Will you let me see your +kitchen closet?" + +She assented, and I saw the most beautiful array of tin-ware, shining +and neat, placed in rows upon the shelves and hanging from hooks on the +wall. + +"So!" I said; "my military husband does not know anything about these +things;" and I availed myself of the first trip of the ambulance over +to Cheyenne, bought a stock of tin-ware and had it charged, and made +no mention of it--because I feared that tin-ware was to be our bone of +contention, and I put off the evil day. + +The cooking went on better after that, but I did not have much +assistance from Adams. + +I had great trouble at first with the titles and the rank: but I soon +learned that many of the officers were addressed by the brevet title +bestowed upon them for gallant service in the Civil War, and I began +to understand about the ways and customs of the army of Uncle Sam. In +contrast to the Germans, the American lieutenants were not addressed by +their title (except officially); I learned to "Mr." all the lieutenants +who had no brevet. + +One morning I suggested to Adams that he should wash the front windows; +after being gone a half hour, to borrow a step-ladder, he entered the +room, mounted the ladder and began. I sat writing. Suddenly, he +faced around, and addressing me, said, "Madam, do you believe in +spiritualism?" + +"Good gracious! Adams, no; why do you ask me such a question?" + +This was enough; he proceeded to give a lecture on the subject worthy of +a man higher up on the ladder of this life. I bade him come to an end +as soon as I dared (for I was not accustomed to soldiers), and suggested +that he was forgetting his work. + +It was early in April, and the snow drifted through the crevices of the +old dried-out house, in banks upon our bed; but that was soon mended, +and things began to go smoothly enough, when Jack was ordered to join +his company, which was up at the Spotted Tail Agency. It was expected +that the Sioux under this chief would break out at any minute. They had +become disaffected about some treaty. I did not like to be left alone +with the Spiritualist, so Jack asked one of the laundresses, whose +husband was out with the company, to come and stay and take care of +me. Mrs. Patten was an old campaigner; she understood everything about +officers and their ways, and she made me absolutely comfortable for +those two lonely months. I always felt grateful to her; she was a dear +old Irish woman. + +All the families and a few officers were left at the post, and, with the +daily drive to Cheyenne, some small dances and theatricals, my time was +pleasantly occupied. + +Cheyenne in those early days was an amusing but unattractive frontier +town; it presented a great contrast to the old civilization I had +so recently left. We often saw women in cotton wrappers, high-heeled +slippers, and sun-bonnets, walking in the main streets. Cows, pigs, and +saloons seemed to be a feature of the place. + +In about six weeks, the affairs of the Sioux were settled, and the +troops returned to the post. The weather began to be uncomfortably hot +in those low wooden houses. I missed the comforts of home and the fresh +sea air of the coast, but I tried to make the best of it. + +Our sleeping-room was very small, and its one window looked out over the +boundless prairie at the back of the post. On account of the great heat, +we were obliged to have this window wide open at night. I heard the +cries and wails of various animals, but Jack said that was nothing--they +always heard them. + +Once, at midnight, the wails seemed to be nearer, and I was terrified; +but he told me 'twas only the half-wild cats and coyotes which prowled +around the post. I asked him if they ever came in. "Gracious, no!" he +said; "they are too wild." + +I calmed myself for sleep--when like lightning, one of the huge +creatures gave a flying leap in at our window, across the bed, and +through into the living-room. + +"Jerusalem!" cried the lieutenant, and flew after her, snatching his +sword, which stood in the corner, and poking vigorously under the divan. + +I rolled myself under the bed-covers, in the most abject terror lest +she might come back the same way; and, true enough, she did, with a most +piercing cry. I never had much rest after that occurrence, as we had no +protection against these wild-cats. + +The regiment, however, in June was ordered to Arizona, that dreaded and +then unknown land, and the uncertain future was before me. I saw the +other women packing china and their various belongings. I seemed to be +helpless. Jack was busy with things outside. He had three large army +chests, which were brought in and placed before me. "Now," he said, "all +our things must go into those chests"--and I supposed they must. + +I was pitifully ignorant of the details of moving, and I stood +despairingly gazing into the depths of those boxes, when the jolly +and stout wife of Major von Hermann passed my window. She glanced in, +comprehended the situation, and entered, saying, "You do not understand +how to pack? Let me help you: give me a cushion to kneel upon--now bring +everything that is to be packed, and I can soon show you how to do it." +With her kind assistance the chests were packed, and I found that we had +a great deal of surplus stuff which had to be put into rough cases, or +rolled into packages and covered with burlap. Jack fumed when he saw it, +and declared we could not take it all, as it exceeded our allowance of +weight. I declared we must take it, or we could not exist. + +With some concessions on both sides we were finally packed up, and +left Fort Russell about the middle of June, with the first detachment, +consisting of head-quarters and band, for San Francisco, over the Union +Pacific Railroad. + +For it must be remembered, that in 1874 there were no railroads in +Arizona, and all troops which were sent to that distant territory either +marched over-land through New Mexico, or were transported by steamer +from San Francisco down the coast, and up the Gulf of California to Fort +Yuma, from which point they marched up the valley of the Gila to the +southern posts, or continued up the Colorado River by steamer, to +other points of disembarkation, whence they marched to the posts in the +interior, or the northern part of the territory. + +Much to my delight, we were allowed to remain over in San Francisco, and +go down with the second detachment. We made the most of the time, which +was about a fortnight, and on the sixth of August we embarked with six +companies of soldiers, Lieutenant Colonel Wilkins in command, on the old +steamship "Newbern," Captain Metzger, for Arizona. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. DOWN THE PACIFIC COAST + +Now the "Newbern" was famous for being a good roller, and she lived +up to her reputation. For seven days I saw only the inside of our +stateroom. At the end of that time we arrived off Cape St. Lucas (the +extreme southern point of Lower California), and I went on deck. + +We anchored and took cattle aboard. I watched the natives tow them off, +the cattle swimming behind their small boats, and then saw the poor +beasts hoisted up by their horns to the deck of our ship. + +I thought it most dreadfully cruel, but was informed that it had been +done from time immemorial, so I ceased to talk about it, knowing that +I could not reform those aged countries, and realizing, faintly perhaps +(for I had never seen much of the rough side of life), that just as +cruel things were done to the cattle we consume in the North. + +Now that Mr. Sinclair, in his great book "The Jungle," has brought the +multiplied horrors of the great packing-houses before our very eyes, we +might witness the hoisting of the cattle over the ship's side without +feeling such intense pity, admitting that everything is relative, even +cruelty. + +It was now the middle of August, and the weather had become insufferably +hot, but we were out of the long swell of the Pacific Ocean; we had +rounded Cape St. Lucas, and were steaming up the Gulf of California, +towards the mouth of the Great Colorado, whose red and turbulent waters +empty themselves into this gulf, at its head. + +I now had time to become acquainted with the officers of the regiment, +whom I had not before met; they had come in from other posts and joined +the command at San Francisco. + +The daughter of the lieutenant-colonel was on board, the beautiful and +graceful Caroline Wilkins, the belle of the regiment; and Major Worth, +to whose company my husband belonged. I took a special interest in the +latter, as I knew we must face life together in the wilds of Arizona. I +had time to learn something about the regiment and its history; and that +Major Worth's father, whose monument I had so often seen in New York, +was the first colonel of the Eighth Infantry, when it was organized in +the State of New York in 1838. + +The party on board was merry enough, and even gay. There was Captain +Ogilby, a great, genial Scotchman, and Captain Porter, a graduate of +Dublin, and so charmingly witty. He seemed very devoted to Miss Wilkins, +but Miss Wilkins was accustomed to the devotion of all the officers of +the Eighth Infantry. In fact, it was said that every young lieutenant +who joined the regiment had proposed to her. She was most attractive, +and as she had too kind a heart to be a coquette, she was a universal +favorite with the women as well as with the men. + +There was Ella Bailey, too, Miss Wilkins' sister, with her young and +handsome husband and their young baby. + +Then, dear Mrs. Wilkins, who had been so many years in the army that she +remembered crossing the plains in a real ox-team. She represented the +best type of the older army woman--and it was so lovely to see her +with her two daughters, all in the same regiment. A mother of grown-up +daughters was not often met with in the army. + +And Lieutenant-Colonel Wilkins, a gentleman in the truest sense of +the word--a man of rather quiet tastes, never happier than when he +had leisure for indulging his musical taste in strumming all sorts of +Spanish fandangos on the guitar, or his somewhat marked talent with the +pencil and brush. + +The heat of the staterooms compelled us all to sleep on deck, so our +mattresses were brought up by the soldiers at night, and spread about. +The situation, however, was so novel and altogether ludicrous, and our +fear of rats which ran about on deck so great, that sleep was well-nigh +out of the question. + +Before dawn, we fled to our staterooms, but by sunrise we were glad to +dress and escape from their suffocating heat and go on deck again. +Black coffee and hard-tack were sent up, and this sustained us until the +nine-o'clock breakfast, which was elaborate, but not good. There was no +milk, of course, except the heavily sweetened sort, which I could not +use: it was the old-time condensed and canned milk; the meats were +beyond everything, except the poor, tough, fresh beef we had seen +hoisted over the side, at Cape St. Lucas. The butter, poor at the +best, began to pour like oil. Black coffee and bread, and a baked sweet +potato, seemed the only things that I could swallow. + +The heat in the Gulf of California was intense. Our trunks were brought +up from the vessel's hold, and we took out summer clothing. But how +inadequate and inappropriate it was for that climate! Our faces burned +and blistered; even the parting on the head burned, under the awnings +which were kept spread. The ice-supply decreased alarmingly, the meats +turned green, and when the steward went down into the refrigerator, +which was somewhere below the quarter-deck, to get provisions for the +day, every woman held a bottle of salts to her nose, and the officers +fled to the forward part of the ship. The odor which ascended from +that refrigerator was indescribable: it lingered and would not go. It +followed us to the table, and when we tasted the food we tasted the +odor. We bribed the steward for ice. Finally, I could not go below at +all, but had a baked sweet potato brought on deck, and lived several +days upon that diet. + +On the 14th of August we anchored off Mazatlan, a picturesque and +ancient adobe town in old Mexico. The approach to this port was +strikingly beautiful. Great rocks, cut by the surf into arches and +caverns, guarded the entrance to the harbor. We anchored two miles out. +A customs and a Wells-Fargo boat boarded us, and many natives came along +side, bringing fresh cocoanuts, bananas, and limes. Some Mexicans bound +for Guaymas came on board, and a troupe of Japanese jugglers. + +While we were unloading cargo, some officers and their wives went on +shore in one of the ship's boats, and found it a most interesting place. +It was garrisoned by Mexican troops, uniformed in white cotton shirts +and trousers. They visited the old hotel, the amphitheatre where the +bull-fights were held, and the old fort. They told also about the +cock-pits--and about the refreshing drinks they had. + +My thirst began to be abnormal. We bought a dozen cocoanuts, and I drank +the milk from them, and made up my mind to go ashore at the next port; +for after nine days with only thick black coffee and bad warm water to +drink, I was longing for a cup of good tea or a glass of fresh, sweet +milk. + +A day or so more brought us to Guaymas, another Mexican port. Mrs. +Wilkins said she had heard something about an old Spaniard there, +who used to cook meals for stray travellers. This was enough. I was +desperately hungry and thirsty, and we decided to try and find him. Mrs. +Wilkins spoke a little Spanish, and by dint of inquiries we found the +man's house, a little old, forlorn, deserted-looking adobe casa. + +We rapped vigorously upon the old door, and after some minutes a small, +withered old man appeared. + +Mrs. Wilkins told him what we wanted, but this ancient Delmonico +declined to serve us, and said, in Spanish, the country was "a desert"; +he had "nothing in the house"; he had "not cooked a meal in years"; he +could not; and, finally, he would not; and he gently pushed the door to +in our faces. But we did not give it up, and Mrs. Wilkins continued to +persuade. I mustered what Spanish I knew, and told him I would pay him +any price for a cup of coffee with fresh milk. He finally yielded, and +told us to return in one hour. + +So we walked around the little deserted town. I could think only of the +breakfast we were to have in the old man's casa. And it met and exceeded +our wildest anticipations, for, just fancy! We were served with a +delicious boullion, then chicken, perfectly cooked, accompanied by some +dish flavored with chile verde, creamy biscuit, fresh butter, and golden +coffee with milk. There were three or four women and several officers in +the party, and we had a merry breakfast. We paid the old man generously, +thanked him warmly, and returned to the ship, fortified to endure the +sight of all the green ducks that came out of the lower hold. + +You must remember that the "Newbern" was a small and old propeller, +not fitted up for passengers, and in those days the great refrigerating +plants were unheard of. The women who go to the Philippines on our great +transports of to-day cannot realize and will scarcely believe what we +endured for lack of ice and of good food on that never-to-be-forgotten +voyage down the Pacific coast and up the Gulf of California in the +summer of 1874. + + + + +CHAPTER V. THE SLUE + +At last, after a voyage of thirteen days, we came to anchor a mile or so +off Port Isabel, at the mouth of the Colorado River. A narrow but deep +slue runs up into the desert land, on the east side of the river's +mouth, and provides a harbor of refuge for the flat-bottomed +stern-wheelers which meet the ocean steamers at this point. Hurricanes +are prevalent at this season in the Gulf of California, but we had been +fortunate in not meeting with any on the voyage. The wind now freshened, +however, and beat the waves into angry foam, and there we lay for three +days on the "Newbern," off Port Isabel, before the sea was calm enough +for the transfer of troops and baggage to the lighters. + +This was excessively disagreeable. The wind was like a breath from a +furnace; it seemed as though the days would never end, and the wind +never stop blowing. Jack's official diary says: "One soldier died +to-day." + +Finally, on the fourth day, the wind abated, and the transfer was begun. +We boarded the river steamboat "Cocopah," towing a barge loaded with +soldiers, and steamed away for the slue. I must say that we welcomed the +change with delight. Towards the end of the afternoon the "Cocopah" put +her nose to the shore and tied up. It seemed strange not to see pier +sand docks, nor even piles to tie to. Anchors were taken ashore and the +boat secured in that manner: there being no trees of sufficient size to +make fast to. + +The soldiers went into camp on shore. The heat down in that low, flat +place was intense. Another man died that night. + +What was our chagrin, the next morning, to learn that we must go back to +the "Newbern," to carry some freight from up-river. There was nothing +to do but stay on board and tow that dreary barge, filled with hot, red, +baked-looking ore, out to the ship, unload, and go back up the slue. +Jack's diary records: "Aug. 23rd. Heat awful. Pringle died to-day." He +was the third soldier to succumb. It seemed to me their fate was a hard +one. To die, down in that wretched place, to be rolled in a blanket and +buried on those desert shores, with nothing but a heap of stones to mark +their graves. + +The adjutant of the battalion read the burial service, and the +trumpeters stepped to the edge of the graves and sounded "Taps," which +echoed sad and melancholy far over those parched and arid lands. My eyes +filled with tears, for one of the soldiers was from our own company, and +had been kind to me. + +Jack said: "You mustn't cry, Mattie; it's a soldier's life, and when a +man enlists he must take his chances." + +"Yes, but," I said, "somewhere there must be a mother or sister, or some +one who cares for these poor men, and it's all so sad to think of." + +"Well, I know it is sad," he replied, soothingly, "but listen! It is all +over, and the burial party is returning." + +I listened and heard the gay strains of "The girl I left behind me," +which the trumpeters were playing with all their might. "You see," said +Jack, "it would not do for the soldiers to be sad when one of them +dies. Why, it would demoralize the whole command. So they play these gay +things to cheer them up." + +And I began to feel that tears must be out of place at a soldier's +funeral. I attended many a one after that, but I had too much +imagination, and in spite of all my brave efforts, visions of the poor +boy's mother on some little farm in Missouri or Kansas perhaps, or in +some New England town, or possibly in the old country, would come before +me, and my heart was filled with sadness. + +The Post Hospital seemed to me a lonesome place to die in, although the +surgeon and soldier attendants were kind to the sick men. There were no +women nurses in the army in those days. + +The next day, the "Cocopah" started again and towed a barge out to the +ship. But the hot wind sprang up and blew fiercely, and we lay off and +on all day, until it was calm enough to tow her back to the slue. By +that time I had about given up all hope of getting any farther, and if +the weather had only been cooler I could have endured with equanimity +the idle life and knocking about from the ship to the slue, and from +the slue to the ship. But the heat was unbearable. We had to unpack our +trunks again and get out heavy-soled shoes, for the zinc which covered +the decks of these river-steamers burned through the thin slippers we +had worn on the ship. + +That day we had a little diversion, for we saw the "Gila" come down the +river and up the slue, and tie up directly alongside of us. She had on +board and in barges four companies of the Twenty-third Infantry, who +were going into the States. We exchanged greetings and visits, and from +the great joy manifested by them all, I drew my conclusions as to what +lay before us, in the dry and desolate country we were about to enter. + +The women's clothes looked ridiculously old-fashioned, and I wondered if +I should look that way when my time came to leave Arizona. + +Little cared they, those women of the Twenty-third, for, joy upon joys! +They saw the "Newbern" out there in the offing, waiting to take them +back to green hills, and to cool days and nights, and to those they had +left behind, three years before. + +On account of the wind, which blew again with great violence, the +"Cocopah" could not leave the slue that day. The officers and soldiers +were desperate for something to do. So they tried fishing, and caught +some "croakers," which tasted very fresh and good, after all the curried +and doctored-up messes we had been obliged to eat on board ship. + +We spent seven days in and out of that slue. Finally, on August the +26th, the wind subsided and we started up river. Towards sunset we +arrived at a place called "Old Soldier's Camp." There the "Gila" joined +us, and the command was divided between the two river-boats. We were +assigned to the "Gila," and I settled myself down with my belongings, +for the remainder of the journey up river. + +We resigned ourselves to the dreadful heat, and at the end of two more +days the river had begun to narrow, and we arrived at Fort Yuma, which +was at that time the post best known to, and most talked about by army +officers of any in Arizona. No one except old campaigners knew much +about any other post in the Territory. + +It was said to be the very hottest place that ever existed, and from the +time we left San Francisco we had heard the story, oft repeated, of the +poor soldier who died at Fort Yuma, and after awhile returned to beg for +his blankets, having found the regions of Pluto so much cooler than the +place he had left. But the fort looked pleasant to us, as we approached. +It lay on a high mesa to the left of us and there was a little green +grass where the post was built. + +None of the officers knew as yet their destination, and I found myself +wishing it might be our good fortune to stay at Fort Yuma. It seemed +such a friendly place. + +Lieutenant Haskell, Twelfth Infantry, who was stationed there, came down +to the boat to greet us, and brought us our letters from home. He then +extended his gracious hospitality to us all, arranging for us to come to +his quarters the next day for a meal, and dividing the party as best he +could accommodate us. It fell to our lot to go to breakfast with Major +and Mrs. Wells and Miss Wilkins. + +An ambulance was sent the next morning, at nine o'clock, to bring us up +the steep and winding road, white with heat, which led to the fort. + +I can never forget the taste of the oatmeal with fresh milk, the eggs +and butter, and delicious tomatoes, which were served to us in his +latticed dining-room. + +After twenty-three days of heat and glare, and scorching winds, +and stale food, Fort Yuma and Mr. Haskell's dining-room seemed like +Paradise. + +Of course it was hot; it was August, and we expected it. But the heat +of those places can be much alleviated by the surroundings. There were +shower baths, and latticed piazzas, and large ollas hanging in the +shade of them, containing cool water. Yuma was only twenty days from San +Francisco, and they were able to get many things direct by steamer. Of +course there was no ice, and butter was kept only by ingenious devices +of the Chinese servants; there were but few vegetables, but what was to +be had at all in that country, was to be had at Fort Yuma. + +We staid one more day, and left two companies of the regiment there. +When we departed, I felt, somehow, as though we were saying good-bye to +the world and civilization, and as our boat clattered and tugged away +up river with its great wheel astern, I could not help looking back +longingly to old Fort Yuma. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. UP THE RIO COLORADO + +And now began our real journey up the Colorado River, that river unknown +to me except in my early geography lessons--that mighty and untamed +river, which is to-day unknown except to the explorer, or the few people +who have navigated its turbulent waters. Back in memory was the picture +of it on the map; here was the reality, then, and here we were, on the +steamer "Gila," Captain Mellon, with the barge full of soldiers towing +on after us, starting for Fort Mojave, some two hundred miles above. + +The vague and shadowy foreboding that had fluttered through my mind +before I left Fort Russell had now also become a reality and crowded out +every other thought. The river, the scenery, seemed, after all, but an +illusion, and interested me but in a dreamy sort of way. + +We had staterooms, but could not remain in them long at a time, on +account of the intense heat. I had never felt such heat, and no one else +ever had or has since. The days were interminable. We wandered around +the boat, first forward, then aft, to find a cool spot. We hung up our +canteens (covered with flannel and dipped in water), where they would +swing in the shade, thereby obtaining water which was a trifle cooler +than the air. There was no ice, and consequently no fresh provisions. A +Chinaman served as steward and cook, and at the ringing of a bell we all +went into a small saloon back of the pilothouse, where the meals were +served. Our party at table on the "Gila" consisted of several unmarried +officers, and several officers with their wives, about eight or nine in +all, and we could have had a merry time enough but for the awful heat, +which destroyed both our good looks and our tempers. The fare was +meagre, of course; fresh biscuit without butter, very salt boiled beef, +and some canned vegetables, which were poor enough in those days. Pies +made from preserved peaches or plums generally followed this delectable +course. Chinamen, as we all know, can make pies under conditions that +would stagger most chefs. They may have no marble pastry-slab, and the +lard may run like oil, still they can make pies that taste good to the +hungry traveller. + +But that dining-room was hot! The metal handles of the knives were +uncomfortably warm to the touch; and even the wooden arms of the chairs +felt as if they were slowly igniting. After a hasty meal, and a few +remarks upon the salt beef, and the general misery of our lot, we would +seek some spot which might be a trifle cooler. A siesta was out of the +question, as the staterooms were insufferable; and so we dragged out the +weary days. + +At sundown the boat put her nose up to the bank and tied up for the +night. The soldiers left the barges and went into camp on shore, to +cook their suppers and to sleep. The banks of the river offered no very +attractive spot upon which to make a camp; they were low, flat, and +covered with underbrush and arrow-weed, which grew thick to the water's +edge. I always found it interesting to watch the barge unload the men at +sundown. + +At twilight some of the soldiers came on board and laid our mattresses +side by side on the after deck. Pajamas and loose gowns were soon en +evidence, but nothing mattered, as they were no electric lights to +disturb us with their glare. Rank also mattered not; Lieutenant-Colonel +Wilkins and his wife lay down to rest, with the captains and lieutenants +and their wives, wherever their respective strikers had placed their +mattresses (for this was the good old time when the soldiers were +allowed to wait upon officers 'families). + +Under these circumstances, much sleep was not to be thought of; the +sultry heat by the river bank, and the pungent smell of the arrow-weed +which lined the shores thickly, contributed more to stimulate than to +soothe the weary nerves. But the glare of the sun was gone, and after +awhile a stillness settled down upon this company of Uncle Sam's +servants and their followers. (In the Army Regulations, wives are not +rated except as "camp followers.") + +But even this short respite from the glare of the sun was soon to end; +for before the crack of dawn, or, as it seemed to us, shortly after +midnight, came such a clatter with the fires and the high-pressure +engine and the sparks, and what all they did in that wild and reckless +land, that further rest was impossible, and we betook ourselves with +our mattresses to the staterooms, for another attempt at sleep, which, +however, meant only failure, as the sun rose incredibly early on that +river, and we were glad to take a hasty sponge from a basin of rather +thick looking river-water, and go again out on deck, where we could +always get a cup of black coffee from the Chinaman. + +And thus began another day of intolerable glare and heat. Conversation +lagged; no topic seemed to have any interest except the thermometer, +which hung in the coolest place on the boat; and one day when Major +Worth looked at it and pronounced it one hundred and twenty-two in the +shade, a grim despair seized upon me, and I wondered how much more heat +human beings could endure. There was nothing to relieve the monotony of +the scenery. On each side of us, low river banks, and nothing between +those and the horizon line. On our left was Lower [*] California, and on +our right, Arizona. Both appeared to be deserts. + + * This term is here used (as we used it at Ehrenberg) to + designate the low, flat lands west of the river, without any + reference to Lower California proper,--the long peninsula + belonging to Mexico. + +As the river narrowed, however, the trip began to be enlivened by the +constant danger of getting aground on the shifting sand-bars which are +so numerous in this mighty river. Jack Mellon was then the most famous +pilot on the Colorado, and he was very skilful in steering clear of the +sand-bars, skimming over them, or working his boat off, when once fast +upon them. The deck-hands, men of a mixed Indian and Mexican race, stood +ready with long poles, in the bow, to jump overboard, when we struck +a bar, and by dint of pushing, and reversing the engine, the boat would +swing off. + +On approaching a shallow place, they would sound with their poles, and +in a sing-song high-pitched tone drawl out the number of feet. Sometimes +their sleepy drawling tones would suddenly cease, and crying loudly, "No +alli agua!" they would swing themselves over the side of the boat into +the river, and begin their strange and intricate manipulations with the +poles. Then, again, they would carry the anchor away off and by means of +great spars, and some method too complicated for me to describe, Captain +Mellon would fairly lift the boat over the bar. + +But our progress was naturally much retarded, and sometimes we were +aground an hour, sometimes a half day or more. Captain Mellon was +always cheerful. River steamboating was his life, and sand-bars were his +excitement. On one occasion, I said, "Oh! Captain, do you think we +shall get off this bar to-day?" "Well, you can't tell," he said, with a +twinkle in his eye; "one trip, I lay fifty-two days on a bar," and then, +after a short pause, "but that don't happen very often; we sometimes lay +a week, though; there is no telling; the bars change all the time." + +Sometimes the low trees and brushwood on the banks parted, and a young +squaw would peer out at us. This was a little diversion, and picturesque +besides. They wore very short skirts made of stripped bark, and as +they held back the branches of the low willows, and looked at us with +curiosity, they made pictures so pretty that I have never forgotten +them. We had no kodaks then, but even if we had had them, they could not +have reproduced the fine copper color of those bare shoulders and arms, +the soft wood colors of the short bark skirts, the gleam of the sun upon +their blue-black hair, and the turquoise color of the wide bead-bands +which encircled their arms. + +One morning, as I was trying to finish out a nap in my stateroom, +Jack came excitedly in and said: "Get up, Martha, we are coming to +Ehrenberg!" Visions of castles on the Rhine, and stories of the +middle ages floated through my mind, as I sprang up, in pleasurable +anticipation of seeing an interesting and beautiful place. Alas! for my +ignorance. I saw but a row of low thatched hovels, perched on the edge +of the ragged looking river-bank; a road ran lengthwise along, and +opposite the hovels I saw a store and some more mean-looking huts of +adobe. + +"Oh! Jack!" I cried, "and is that Ehrenberg? Who on earth gave such a +name to the wretched place?" + +"Oh, some old German prospector, I suppose; but never mind, the place +is all right enough. Come! Hurry up! We are going to stop here and land +freight. There is an officer stationed here. See those low white walls? +That is where he lives. Captain Bernard of the Fifth Cavalry. It's quite +a place; come out and see it." + +But I did not go ashore. Of all dreary, miserable-looking settlements +that one could possibly imagine, that was the worst. An unfriendly, +dirty, and Heaven-forsaken place, inhabited by a poor class of Mexicans +and half-breeds. It was, however, an important shipping station for +freight which was to be sent overland to the interior, and there was +always one army officer stationed there. + +Captain Bernard came on board to see us. I did not ask him how he liked +his station; it seemed to me too satirical; like asking the Prisoner of +Chillon, for instance, how he liked his dungeon. + +I looked over towards those low white walls, which enclosed the +Government corral and the habitation of this officer, and thanked my +stars that no such dreadful detail had come to my husband. I did not +dream that in less than a year this exceptionally hard fate was to be my +own. + +We left Ehrenberg with no regrets, and pushed on up river. + +On the third of September the boilers "foamed" so that we had to tie up +for nearly a day. This was caused by the water being so very muddy. The +Rio Colorado deserves its name, for its swift-flowing current sweeps by +like a mass of seething red liquid, turbulent and thick and treacherous. +It was said on the river, that those who sank beneath its surface were +never seen again, and in looking over into those whirlpools and swirling +eddies, one might well believe this to be true. + +From there on, up the river, we passed through great canons and the +scenery was grand enough; but one cannot enjoy scenery with the mercury +ranging from 107 to 122 in the shade. The grandeur was quite lost upon +us all, and we were suffocated by the scorching heat radiating from +those massive walls of rocks between which we puffed and clattered +along. + +I must confess that the history of this great river was quite unknown to +me then. I had never read of the early attempts made to explore it, both +from above and from its mouth, and the wonders of the "Grand Canon" were +as yet unknown to the world. I did not realize that, as we steamed along +between those high perpendicular walls of rock, we were really seeing +the lower end of that great chasm which now, thirty years later, has +become one of the most famous resorts of this country and, in fact, of +the world. + +There was some mention made of Major Powell, that daring adventurer, +who, a few years previously, had accomplished the marvellous feat of +going down the Colorado and through the Grand Canon, in a small boat, he +being the first man who had at that time ever accomplished it, many men +having lost their lives in the attempt. + +At last, on the 8th of September, we arrived at Camp Mojave, on the +right bank of the river; a low, square enclosure, on the low level of +the flat land near the river. It seemed an age since we had left Yuma +and twice an age since we had left the mouth of the river. But it was +only eighteen days in all, and Captain Mellon remarked: "A quick trip!" +and congratulated us on the good luck we had had in not being detained +on the sandbars. "Great Heavens," I thought, "if that is what they call +a quick trip!" But I do not know just what I thought, for those eighteen +days on the Great Colorado in midsummer, had burned themselves into my +memory, and I made an inward vow that nothing would ever force me into +such a situation again. I did not stop to really think; I only felt, and +my only feeling was a desire to get cool and to get out of the Territory +in some other way and at some cooler season. How futile a wish, and how +futile a vow! + + Dellenbaugh, who was with Powell in 1869 in his second + expedition down the river in small boats, has given to the + world a most interesting account of this wonderful river and + the canons through which it cuts its tempestuous way to the + Gulf of California, in two volumes entitled "The Romance of + the Great Colorado" and "A Canon Voyage". + +We bade good-bye to our gallant river captain and watched the great +stern-wheeler as she swung out into the stream, and, heading up river, +disappeared around a bend; for even at that time this venturesome pilot +had pushed his boat farther up than any other steam-craft had ever +gone, and we heard that there were terrific rapids and falls and unknown +mysteries above. The superstition of centuries hovered over the "great +cut," and but few civilized beings had looked down into its awful +depths. Brave, dashing, handsome Jack Mellon! What would I give and +what would we all give, to see thee once more, thou Wizard of the Great +Colorado! + +We turned our faces towards the Mojave desert, and I wondered, what +next? + +The Post Surgeon kindly took care of us for two days and nights, and we +slept upon the broad piazzas of his quarters. + +We heard no more the crackling and fizzing of the stern-wheeler's +high-pressure engines at daylight, and our eyes, tired with gazing at +the red whirlpools of the river, found relief in looking out upon the +grey-white flat expanse which surrounded Fort Mojave, and merged itself +into the desert beyond. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. THE MOJAVE DESERT + +Thou white and dried-up sea! so old! So strewn with wealth, so sown +with gold! Yes, thou art old and hoary white With time and ruin of +all things, And on thy lonesome borders Night Sits brooding o'er with +drooping wings.--JOAQUIN MILLER. + + +The country had grown steadily more unfriendly ever since leaving Fort +Yuma, and the surroundings of Camp Mojave were dreary enough. + +But we took time to sort out our belongings, and the officers arranged +for transportation across the Territory. Some had bought, in San +Francisco, comfortable travelling-carriages for their families. They +were old campaigners; they knew a thing or two about Arizona; we +lieutenants did not know, we had never heard much about this part of our +country. But a comfortable large carriage, known as a Dougherty wagon, +or, in common army parlance, an ambulance, was secured for me to travel +in. This vehicle had a large body, with two seats facing each other, and +a seat outside for the driver. The inside of the wagon could be closed +if desired by canvas sides and back which rolled up and down, and by a +curtain which dropped behind the driver's seat. So I was enabled to have +some degree of privacy, if I wished. + +We repacked our mess-chest, and bought from the Commissary at Mojave the +provisions necessary for the long journey to Fort Whipple, which was the +destination of one of the companies and the headquarters officers. + +On the morning of September 10th everything in the post was astir with +preparations for the first march. It was now thirty-five days since we +left San Francisco, but the change from boat to land travelling offered +an agreeable diversion after the monotony of the river. I watched with +interest the loading of the great prairie-schooners, into which went the +soldiers' boxes and the camp equipage. Outside was lashed a good deal of +the lighter stuff; I noticed a barrel of china, which looked much like +our own, lashed directly over one wheel. Then there were the massive +blue army wagons, which were also heavily loaded; the laundresses with +their children and belongings were placed in these. + +At last the command moved out. It was to me a novel sight. The wagons +and schooners were each drawn by teams of six heavy mules, while a team +of six lighter mules was put to each ambulance and carriage. These +were quite different from the draught animals I had always seen in the +Eastern States; these Government mules being sleek, well-fed and trained +to trot as fast as the average carriage-horse. The harnesses were quite +smart, being trimmed off with white ivory rings. Each mule was "Lize" +or "Fanny" or "Kate", and the soldiers who handled the lines were +accustomed to the work; for work, and arduous work, it proved to be, as +we advanced into the then unknown Territory of Arizona. + +The main body of the troops marched in advance; then came the ambulances +and carriages, followed by the baggage-wagons and a small rear-guard. +When the troops were halted once an hour for rest, the officers, who +marched with the soldiers, would come to the ambulances and chat awhile, +until the bugle call for "Assembly" sounded, when they would join their +commands again, the men would fall in, the call "Forward" was sounded, +and the small-sized army train moved on. + +The first day's march was over a dreary country; a hot wind blew, and +everything was filled with dust. I had long ago discarded my hat, as an +unnecessary and troublesome article; consequently my head wa snow a mass +of fine white dust, which stuck fast, of course. I was covered from head +to foot with it, and it would not shake off, so, although our steamboat +troubles were over, our land troubles had begun. + +We reached, after a few hours' travel, the desolate place where we were +to camp. + +In the mean time, it had been arranged for Major Worth, who had no +family, to share our mess, and we had secured the services of a soldier +belonging to his company whose ability as a camp cook was known to both +officers. + +I cannot say that life in the army, as far as I had gone, presented any +very great attractions. This, our first camp, was on the river, a little +above Hardyville. Good water was there, and that was all; I had not yet +learned to appreciate that. There was not a tree nor a shrub to give +shade. The only thing I could see, except sky and sand, was a ruined +adobe enclosure, with no roof. I sat in the ambulance until our tent was +pitched, and then Jack came to me, followed by a six-foot soldier, and +said: "Mattie, this is Bowen, our striker; now I want you to tell him +what he shall cook for our supper; and--don't you think it would be +nice if you could show him how to make some of those good New England +doughnuts? I think Major Worth might like them; and after all the +awful stuff we have had, you know," et caetera, et caetera. I met the +situation, after an inward struggle, and said, weakly, "Where are the +eggs?" "Oh," said he, "you don't need eggs; you're on the frontier now; +you must learn to do without eggs." + +Everything in me rebelled, but still I yielded. You see I had been +married only six months; the women at home, and in Germany also, had +always shown great deference to their husbands' wishes. But at that +moment I almost wished Major Worth and Jack and Bowen and the mess-chest +at the bottom of the Rio Colorado. However, I nerved myself for the +effort, and when Bowen had his camp-fire made, he came and called me. + +At the best, I never had much confidence in my ability as a cook, but +as a camp cook! Ah, me! Everything seemed to swim before my eyes, and I +fancied that the other women were looking at me from their tents. Bowen +was very civil, turned back the cover of the mess-chest and propped it +up. That was the table. Then he brought me a tin basin, and some flour, +some condensed milk, some sugar, and a rolling-pin, and then he hung a +camp-kettle with lard in it over the fire. I stirred up a mixture in +the basin, but the humiliation of failure was spared me, for just then, +without warning, came one of those terrific sandstorms which prevail +on the deserts of Arizona, blowing us all before it in its fury, and +filling everything with sand. + +We all scurried to the tents; some of them had blown down. There was not +much shelter, but the storm was soon over, and we stood collecting +our scattered senses. I saw Mrs. Wilkins at the door of her tent. She +beckoned to me; I went over there, and she said: "Now, my dear, I am +going to give you some advice. You must not take it unkindly. I am an +old army woman and I have made many campaigns with the Colonel; you have +but just joined the army. You must never try to do any cooking at the +camp-fire. The soldiers are there for that work, and they know lots more +about it than any of us do." + +"But, Jack," I began-- + +"Never mind Jack," said she; "he does not know as much as I do about it; +and when you reach your post," she added, "you can show him what you can +do in that line." + +Bowen cleared away the sandy remains of the doubtful dough, and prepared +for us a very fair supper. Soldiers' bacon, and coffee, and biscuits +baked in a Dutch oven. + +While waiting for the sun to set, we took a short stroll over to the +adobe ruins. Inside the enclosure lay an enormous rattlesnake, coiled. +It was the first one I had ever seen except in a cage, and I was +fascinated by the horror of the round, grayish-looking heap, so near the +color of the sand on which it lay. Some soldiers came and killed it. +But I noticed that Bowen took extra pains that night, to spread buffalo +robes under our mattresses, and to place around them a hair lariat. +"Snakes won't cross over that," he said, with a grin. + +Bowen was a character. Originally from some farm in Vermont, he had +served some years with the Eighth Infantry, and for a long time in the +same company under Major Worth, and had cooked for the bachelors' mess. +He was very tall, and had a good-natured face, but he did not have much +opinion of what is known as etiquette, either military or civil; he +seemed to consider himself a sort of protector to the officers of +Company K, and now, as well, to the woman who had joined the company. +He took us all under his wing, as it were, and although he had to be +sharply reprimanded sometimes, in a kind of language which he seemed to +expect, he was allowed more latitude than most soldiers. + +This was my first night under canvas in the army. I did not like those +desert places, and they grew to have a horror for me. + +At four o'clock in the morning the cook's call sounded, the mules were +fed, and the crunching and the braying were something to awaken the +heaviest sleepers. Bowen called us. I was much upset by the dreadful +dust, which was thick upon everything I touched. We had to hasten our +toilet, as they were striking tents and breaking camp early, in order +to reach before noon the next place where there was water. Sitting on +camp-stools, around the mess-tables, in the open, before the break of +day, we swallowed some black coffee and ate some rather thick slices +of bacon and dry bread. The Wilkins' tent was near ours, and I said to +them, rather peevishly: "Isn't this dust something awful?" + +Miss Wilkins looked up with her sweet smile and gentle manner and +replied: "Why, yes, Mrs. Summerhayes, it is pretty bad, but you must not +worry about such a little thing as dust." + +"How can I help it?" I said; "my hair, my clothes, everything full of +it, and no chance for a bath or a change: a miserable little basin of +water and--" + +I suppose I was running on with all my grievances, but she stopped me +and said again: "Soon, now, you will not mind it at all. Ella and I are +army girls, you know, and we do not mind anything. There's no use in +fretting about little things." + +Miss Wilkins' remarks made a tremendous impression upon my mind and I +began to study her philosophy. + +At break of day the command marched out, their rifles on their +shoulders, swaying along ahead of us, in the sunlight and the heat, +which continued still to be almost unendurable. The dry white dust of +this desert country boiled and surged up and around us in suffocating +clouds. + +I had my own canteen hung up in the ambulance, but the water in it got +very warm and I learned to take but a swallow at a time, as it could not +be refilled until we reached the next spring--and there is always some +uncertainty in Arizona as to whether the spring or basin has gone dry. +So water was precious, and we could not afford to waste a drop. + +At about noon we reached a forlorn mud hut, known as Packwood's ranch. +But the place had a bar, which was cheerful for some of the poor men, +as the two days' marches had been rather hard upon them, being so "soft" +from the long voyage. I could never begrudge a soldier a bit of cheer +after the hard marches in Arizona, through miles of dust and burning +heat, their canteens long emptied and their lips parched and dry. I +watched them often as they marched along with their blanket-rolls, their +haversacks, and their rifles, and I used to wonder that they did not +complain. + +About that time the greatest luxury in the entire world seemed to me +to be a glass of fresh sweet milk, and I shall always remember Mr. +Packwood's ranch, because we had milk to drink with our supper, and some +delicious quail to eat. + +Ranches in that part of Arizona meant only low adobe dwellings occupied +by prospectors or men who kept the relays of animals for stage routes. +Wretched, forbidding-looking places they were! Never a tree or a bush to +give shade, never a sign of comfort or home. + +Our tents were pitched near Packwood's, out in the broiling sun. They +were like ovens; there was no shade, no coolness anywhere; we would have +gladly slept, after the day's march, but instead we sat broiling in the +ambulances, and waited for the long afternoon to wear away. + +The next day dragged along in the same manner; the command marching +bravely along through dust and heat and thirst, as Kipling's soldier +sings: + + +"With its best foot first And the road a-sliding past, An' every +bloomin' campin'-ground Exactly like the last". + + +Beal's Springs did not differ from the other ranch, except that possibly +it was even more desolate. But a German lived there, who must have had +some knowledge of cooking, for I remember that we bought a peach pie +from him and ate it with a relish. I remember, too, that we gave him a +good silver dollar for it. + +The only other incident of that day's march was the suicide of Major +Worth's pet dog "Pete." Having exhausted his ability to endure, this +beautiful red setter fixed his eye upon a distant range of mountains, +and ran without turning, or heeding any call, straight as the crow +flies, towards them and death. We never saw him again; a ranchman told +us he had known of several other instances where a well-bred dog had +given up in this manner, and attempted to run for the hills. We had a +large greyhound with us, but he did not desert. + +Major Worth was much affected by the loss of his dog, and did not join +us at supper that night. We kept a nice fat quail for him, however, and +at about nine o'clock, when all was still and dark, Jack entered the +Major's tent and said: "Come now, Major, my wife has sent you this nice +quail; don't give up so about Pete, you know." + +The Major lay upon his camp-bed, with his face turned to the wall of his +tent; he gave a deep sigh, rolled himself over and said: "Well, put it +on the table, and light the candle; I'll try to eat it. Thank your wife +for me." + +So the Lieutenant made a light, and lo! and behold, the plate was there, +but the quail was gone! In the darkness, our great kangaroo hound had +stolen noiselessly upon his master's heels, and quietly removed the +bird. The two officers were dumbfounded. Major Worth said: "D--n my +luck;" and turned his face again to the wall of his tent. + +Now Major Worth was just the dearest and gentlest sort of a man, but he +had been born and brought up in the old army, and everyone knows that +times and customs were different then. + +Men drank more and swore a good deal, and while I do not wish my story +to seem profane, yet I would not describe army life or the officers as +I knew them, if I did not allow the latter to use an occasional strong +expression. + +The incident, however, served to cheer up the Major, though he continued +to deplore the loss of his beautiful dog. + +For the next two days our route lay over the dreariest and most desolate +country. It was not only dreary, it was positively hostile in its +attitude towards every living thing except snakes, centipedes and +spiders. They seemed to flourish in those surroundings. + +Sometimes either Major Worth or Jack would come and drive along a few +miles in the ambulance with me to cheer me up, and they allowed me to +abuse the country to my heart's content. It seemed to do me much good. +The desert was new to me then. I had not read Pierre Loti's wonderful +book, "Le Desert," and I did not see much to admire in the desolate +waste lands through which we were travelling. I did not dream of the +power of the desert, nor that I should ever long to see it again. But +as I write, the longing possesses me, and the pictures then indelibly +printed upon my mind, long forgotten amidst the scenes and events of +half a lifetime, unfold themselves like a panorama before my vision and +call me to come back, to look upon them once more. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. LEARNING HOW TO SOLDIER + +"The grasses failed, and then a mass Of dry red cactus ruled the land: +The sun rose right above and fell, As falling molten from the skies, And +no winged thing was seen to pass." Joaquin Miller. + + +We made fourteen miles the next day, and went into camp at a place +called Freeze-wash, near some old silver mines. A bare and lonesome +spot, where there was only sand to be seen, and some black, +burnt-looking rocks. From under these rocks, crept great tarantulas, not +forgetting lizards, snakes, and not forgetting the scorpion, which ran +along with its tail turned up ready to sting anything that came in its +way. The place furnished good water, however, and that was now the most +important thing. + +The next day's march was a long one. The guides said: "Twenty-eight +miles to Willow Grove Springs." + +The command halted ten minutes every hour for rest, but the sun poured +down upon us, and I was glad to stay in the ambulance. It was at these +times that my thoughts turned back to the East and to the blue sea and +the green fields of God's country. I looked out at the men, who were +getting pretty well fagged, and at the young officers whose uniforms +were white with dust, and Frau Weste's words about glaenzendes Elend +came to my mind. I fell to thinking: was the army life, then, only +"glittering misery," and had I come to participate in it? + +Some of the old soldiers had given out, and had to be put on the army +wagons. I was getting to look rather fagged and seedy, and was much +annoyed at my appearance. Not being acquainted with the vicissitudes of +the desert, I had not brought in my travelling-case a sufficient number +of thin washbodices. The few I had soon became black beyond recognition, +as the dust boiled (literally) up and into the ambulance and covered +me from head to foot. But there was no help for it, and no one was much +better off. + +It was about that time that we began to see the outlines of a great +mountain away to the left and north of us. It seemed to grow nearer and +nearer, and fascinated our gaze. + +Willow Grove Springs was reached at four o'clock and the small cluster +of willow trees was most refreshing to our tired eyes. The next day's +march was over a rolling country. We began to see grass, and to feel +that, at last, we were out of the desert. The wonderful mountain still +loomed up large and clear on our left. I thought of the old Spanish +explorers and wondered if they came so far as this, when they journeyed +through that part of our country three hundred years before. I wondered +what beautiful and high-sounding name they might have given it. I +wondered a good deal about that bare and isolated mountain, rising out +of what seemed an endless waste of sand. I asked the driver if he knew +the name of it: "That is Bill Williams' mountain, ma'am," he replied, +and relapsed into his customary silence, which was unbroken except by an +occasional remark to the wheelers or the leaders. + +I thought of the Harz Mountains, which I had so recently tramped over, +and the romantic names and legends connected with them, and I sighed to +think such an imposing landmark as this should have such a prosaic name. +I realized that Arizona was not a land of romance; and when Jack came +to the ambulance, I said, "Don't you think it a pity that such monstrous +things are allowed in America, as to call that great fine mountain 'Bill +Williams' mountain'?" + +"Why no," he said; "I suppose he discovered it, and I dare say he had a +hard enough time before he got to it." + +We camped at Fort Rock, and Lieutenant Bailey shot an antelope. It was +the first game we had seen; our spirits revived a bit; the sight of +green grass and trees brought new life to us. + +Anvil Rock and old Camp Hualapais were our next two stopping places. +We drove through groves of oaks, cedars and pines, and the days began +hopefully and ended pleasantly. To be sure, the roads were very rough +and our bones ached after a long day's travelling. But our tents were +now pitched under tall pine trees and looked inviting. Soldiers have a +knack of making a tent attractive. + +"Madame, the Lieutenant's compliments, and your tent is ready." + +I then alighted and found my little home awaiting me. The tent-flaps +tied open, the mattresses laid, the blankets turned back, the camp-table +with candle-stick upon it, and a couple of camp-chairs at the door of +the tent. Surely it is good to be in the army I then thought; and after +a supper consisting of soldiers' hot biscuit, antelope steak broiled +over the coals, and a large cup of black coffee, I went to rest, +listening to the soughing of the pines. + +My mattress was spread always upon the ground, with a buffalo robe under +it and a hair lariat around it, to keep off the snakes; as it is said +they do not like to cross them. I found the ground more comfortable than +the camp cots which were used by some of the officers, and most of the +women. + +The only Indians we had seen up to that time were the peaceful tribes +of the Yumas, Cocopahs and Mojaves, who lived along the Colorado. We had +not yet entered the land of the dread Apache. + +The nights were now cool enough, and I never knew sweeter rest than came +to me in the midst of those pine groves. + +Our road was gradually turning southward, but for some days Bill +Williams was the predominating feature of the landscape; turn whichever +way we might, still this purple mountain was before us. It seemed to +pervade the entire country, and took on such wonderful pink colors at +sunset. Bill Williams held me in thrall, until the hills and valleys in +the vicinity of Fort Whipple shut him out from my sight. But he seemed +to have come into my life somehow, and in spite of his name, I loved him +for the companionship he had given me during those long, hot, weary and +interminable days. + +About the middle of September, we arrived at American ranch, some ten +miles from Fort Whipple, which was the headquarters station. Colonel +Wilkins and his family left us, and drove on to their destination. Some +officers of the Fifth Cavalry rode out to greet us, and Lieutenant Earl +Thomas asked me to come into the post and rest a day or two at their +house, as we then had learned that K Company was to march on to Camp +Apache, in the far eastern part of the Territory. + +We were now enabled to get some fresh clothing from our trunks, which +were in the depths of the prairie-schooners, and all the officers' wives +were glad to go into the post, where we were most kindly entertained. +Fort Whipple was a very gay and hospitable post, near the town of +Prescott, which was the capital city of Arizona. The country being +mountainous and fertile, the place was very attractive, and I felt sorry +that we were not to remain there. But I soon learned that in the army, +regrets were vain. I soon ceased to ask myself whether I was sorry or +glad at any change in our stations. + +On the next day the troops marched in, and camped outside the post. The +married officers were able to join their wives, and the three days we +spent there were delightful. There was a dance given, several informal +dinners, drives into the town of Prescott, and festivities of various +kinds. General Crook commanded the Department of Arizona then; he was +out on some expedition, but Mrs. Crook gave a pleasant dinner for us. +After dinner, Mrs. Crook came and sat beside me, asked kindly about our +long journey, and added: "I am truly sorry the General is away; I should +like for him to meet you; you are just the sort of woman he likes." A +few years afterwards I met the General, and remembering this remark, +I was conscious of making a special effort to please. The indifferent +courtesy with which he treated me, however, led me to think that women +are often mistaken judges of their husband's tastes. + +The officers' quarters at Fort Whipple were quite commodious, and after +seven weeks' continuous travelling, the comforts which surrounded me at +Mrs. Thomas' home seemed like the veriest luxuries. I was much affected +by the kindness shown me by people I had never met before, and I +kept wondering if I should ever have an opportunity to return their +courtesies. "Don't worry about that, Martha," said Jack, "your turn will +come." + +He proved a true prophet, for sooner or later, I saw them all again, +and was able to extend to them the hospitality of an army home. +Nevertheless, my heart grows warm whenever I think of the people who +first welcomed me to Arizona, me a stranger in the army, and in the +great southwest as well. + +At Fort Whipple we met also some people we had known at Fort Russell, +who had gone down with the first detachment, among them Major and Mrs. +Wilhelm, who were to remain at headquarters. We bade good-bye to the +Colonel and his family, to the officers of F, who were to stay behind, +and to our kind friends of the Fifth Cavalry. + +We now made a fresh start, with Captain Ogilby in command. Two days took +us into Camp Verde, which lies on a mesa above the river from which it +takes its name. + +Captain Brayton, of the Eight Infantry, and his wife, who were already +settled at Camp Verde, received us and took the best care of us. Mrs. +Brayton gave me a few more lessons in army house-keeping, and I could +not have had a better teacher. I told her about Jack and the tinware; +her bright eyes snapped, and she said: "Men think they know everything, +but the truth is, they don't know anything; you go right ahead and have +all the tinware and other things; all you can get, in fact; and when the +time comes to move, send Jack out of the house, get a soldier to come in +and pack you up, and say nothing about it." + +"But the weight--" + +"Fiddlesticks! They all say that; now you just not mind their talk, but +take all you need, and it will get carried along, somehow." + +Still another company left our ranks, and remained at Camp Verde. The +command was now getting deplorably small, I thought, to enter an Indian +country, for we were now to start for Camp Apache. Several routes were +discussed, but, it being quite early in the autumn, and the Apache +Indians being just then comparatively quiet, they decided to march the +troops over Crook's Trail, which crossed the Mogollon range and was +considered to be shorter than any other. It was all the same to me. I +had never seen a map of Arizona, and never heard of Crook's Trail. +Maps never interested me, and I had not read much about life in the +Territories. At that time, the history of our savage races was a blank +page to me. I had been listening to the stories of an old civilization, +and my mind did not adjust itself readily to the new surroundings. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. ACROSS THE MOGOLLONS + +It was a fine afternoon in the latter part of September, when our small +detachment, with Captain Ogilby in command, marched out of Camp Verde. +There were two companies of soldiers, numbering about a hundred men +in all, five or six officers, Mrs. Bailey and myself, and a couple +of laundresses. I cannot say that we were gay. Mrs. Bailey had said +good-bye to her father and mother and sister at Fort Whipple, and +although she was an army girl, she did not seem to bear the parting very +philosophically. Her young child, nine months old, was with her, and +her husband, as stalwart and handsome an officer as ever wore +shoulder-straps. But we were facing unknown dangers, in a far country, +away from mother, father, sister and brother--a country infested with +roving bands of the most cruel tribe ever known, who tortured before +they killed. We could not even pretend to be gay. + +The travelling was very difficult and rough, and both men and animals +were worn out by night. But we were now in the mountains, the air was +cool and pleasant, and the nights so cold that we were glad to have a +small stove in our tents to dress by in the mornings. The scenery was +wild and grand; in fact, beyond all that I had ever dreamed of; more +than that, it seemed so untrod, so fresh, somehow, and I do not suppose +that even now, in the day of railroads and tourists, many people have +had the view of the Tonto Basin which we had one day from the top of the +Mogollon range. + +I remember thinking, as we alighted from our ambulances and stood +looking over into the Basin, "Surely I have never seen anything to +compare with this--but oh! would any sane human being voluntarily go +through with what I have endured on this journey, in order to look upon +this wonderful scene?" + +The roads had now become so difficult that our wagon-train could not +move as fast as the lighter vehicles or the troops. Sometimes at a +critical place in the road, where the ascent was not only dangerous, but +doubtful, or there was, perhaps, a sharp turn, the ambulances waited to +see the wagons safely over the pass. Each wagon had its six mules; each +ambulance had also its quota of six. + +At the foot of one of these steep places, the wagons would halt, the +teamsters would inspect the road, and calculate the possibilities of +reaching the top; then, furiously cracking their whips, and pouring +forth volley upon volley of oaths, they would start the team. Each mule +got its share of dreadful curses. I had never heard or conceived of +any oaths like those. They made my blood fairly curdle, and I am not +speaking figuratively. The shivers ran up and down my back, and I half +expected to see those teamsters struck down by the hand of the Almighty. + +For although the anathemas hurled at my innocent head, during +the impressionable years of girlhood, by the pale and determined +Congregational ministers with gold-bowed spectacles, who held forth +in the meeting-house of my maternal ancestry (all honor to their +sincerity), had taken little hold upon my mind, still, the vital drop +of the Puritan was in my blood, and the fear of a personal God and His +wrath still existed, away back in the hidden recesses of my heart. + +This swearing and lashing went on until the heavily-loaded +prairie-schooner, swaying, swinging, and swerving to the edge of the +cut, and back again to the perpendicular wall of the mountain, would +finally reach the top, and pass on around the bend; then another would +do the same. Each teamster had his own particular variety of oaths, each +mule had a feminine name, and this brought the swearing down to a sort +of personal basis. I remonstrated with Jack, but he said: teamsters +always swore; "the mules wouldn't even stir to go up a hill, if they +weren't sworn at like that." + +By the time we had crossed the great Mogollon mesa, I had become +accustomed to those dreadful oaths, and learned to admire the skill, +persistency and endurance shown by those rough teamsters. I actually +got so far as to believe what Jack had told me about the swearing being +necessary, for I saw impossible feats performed by the combination. + +When near camp, and over the difficult places, we drove on ahead and +waited for the wagons to come in. It was sometimes late evening before +tents could be pitched and supper cooked. And oh! to see the poor jaded +animals when the wagons reached camp! I could forget my own discomfort +and even hunger, when I looked at their sad faces. + +One night the teamsters reported that a six-mule team had rolled down +the steep side of a mountain. I did not ask what became of the poor +faithful mules; I do not know, to this day. In my pity and real distress +over the fate of these patient brutes, I forgot to inquire what boxes +were on the unfortunate wagon. + +We began to have some shooting. Lieutenant Bailey shot a young deer, +and some wild turkeys, and we could not complain any more of the lack of +fresh food. + +It did not surprise us to learn that ours was the first wagon-train +to pass over Crook's Trail. For miles and miles the so-called road was +nothing but a clearing, and we were pitched and jerked from side to side +of the ambulance, as we struck large rocks or tree-stumps; in some steep +places, logs were chained to the rear of the ambulance, to keep it from +pitching forward onto the backs of the mules. At such places I got out +and picked my way down the rocky declivity. + +We now began to hear of the Apache Indians, who were always out, in +either large or small bands, doing their murderous work. + +One day a party of horseman tore past us at a gallop. Some of them +raised their hats to us as they rushed past, and our officers recognized +General Crook, but we could not, in the cloud of dust, distinguish +officers from scouts. All wore the flannel shirt, handkerchief tied +about the neck, and broad campaign hat. + +After supper that evening, the conversation turned upon Indians in +general, and Apaches in particular. We camped always at a basin, or a +tank, or a hole, or a spring, or in some canon, by a creek. Always from +water to water we marched. Our camp that night was in the midst of a +primeval grove of tall pine trees; verily, an untrodden land. We had a +big camp-fire, and sat around it until very late. There were only five +or six officers, and Mrs. Bailey and myself. + +The darkness and blackness of the place were uncanny. We all sat looking +into the fire. Somebody said, "Injuns would not have such a big fire as +that." + +"No; you bet they wouldn't," was the quick reply of one of the officers. + +Then followed a long pause; we all sat thinking, and gazing into the +fire, which crackled and leaped into fitful blazes. + +"Our figures must make a mighty good outline against that fire," +remarked one of officers, nonchalantly; "I dare say those stealthy sons +of Satan know exactly where we are at this minute," he added. + +"Yes, you bet your life they do!" answered one of the younger men, +lapsing into the frontiersman's language, from the force of his +convictions. + +"Look behind you at those trees, Jack," said Major Worth. "Can you see +anything? No! And if there were an Apache behind each one of them, we +should never know it." + +We all turned and peered into the black darkness which surrounded us. + +Another pause followed; the silence was weird--only the cracking of the +fire was heard, and the mournful soughing of the wind in the pines. + +Suddenly, a crash! We started to our feet and faced around. + +"A dead branch," said some one. + +Major Worth shrugged his shoulders, and turning to Jack, said, in a low +tone, "D---- d if I don't believe I'm getting nervous," and saying "good +night," he walked towards his tent. + +No element of doubt pervaded my mind as to my own state. The weird +feeling of being up in those remote mountain passes, with but a handful +of soldiers against the wary Apaches, the mysterious look of those black +tree-trunks, upon which flickered the uncertain light of the camp-fire +now dying, and from behind each one of which I imagined a red devil +might be at that moment taking aim with his deadly arrow, all inspired +me with fear such as I had never before known. + +In the cyclone which had overtaken our good ship in mid-Atlantic, where +we lay tossing about at the mercy of the waves for thirty-six long +hours, I had expected to yield my body to the dark and grewsome depths +of the ocean. I had almost felt the cold arms of Death about me; but +compared to the sickening dread of the cruel Apache, my fears then had +been as naught. Facing the inevitable at sea, I had closed my eyes and +said good-bye to Life. But in this mysterious darkness, every nerve, +every sense, was keenly alive with terror. + +Several of that small party around the camp-fire have gone from amongst +us, but I venture to say that, of the few who are left, not one will deny +that he shared in the vague apprehension which seized upon us. + +Midnight found us still lingering around the dead ashes of the fire. +After going to our tent, Jack saw that I was frightened. He said: "Don't +worry, Martha, an Apache never was known to attack in the night," and +after hearing many repetitions of this assertion, upon which I made him +take his oath, I threw myself upon the bed. After our candle was out, I +said: "When do they attack?" Jack who, with the soldiers' indifference +to danger, was already half asleep, replied: "Just before daylight, +usually, but do not worry, I say; there aren't any Injuns in this +neighborhood. Why! Didn't you meet General Crook to-day? You ought to +have some sense. If there'd been an Injun around here he would have +cleaned him out. Now go to sleep and don't be foolish." But I was taking +my first lessons in campaigning, and sleep was not so easy. + +Just before dawn, as I had fallen into a light slumber, the flaps of the +tent burst open, and began shaking violently to and fro. I sprang to my +feet, prepared for the worst. Jack started up: "What is it?" he cried. + +"It must have been the wind, I think, but it frightened me," I murmured. +The Lieutenant fastened the tent-flaps together, and lay down to sleep +again; but my heart beat fast, and I listened for every sound. + +The day gradually dawned, and with it my fears of the night were +allayed. But ever after that, Jack's fatal answer, "Just before +daylight," kept my eyes wide open for hours before the dawn. + + + + + +CHAPTER X. A PERILOUS ADVENTURE + +One fine afternoon, after a march of twenty-two miles over a rocky road, +and finding our provisions low, Mr. Bailey and Jack went out to shoot +wild turkeys. As they shouldered their guns and walked away. Captain +Ogilby called out to them, "Do not go too far from camp." + +Jack returned at sundown with a pair of fine turkeys! but Bailey failed +to come in. However, as they all knew him to be an experienced woodsman, +no one showed much anxiety until darkness had settled over the camp. +Then they began to signal, by discharging their rifles; the officers +went out in various directions, giving "halloos," and firing at +intervals, but there came no sound of the missing man. + +The camp was now thoroughly alarmed. This was too dangerous a place +for a man to be wandering around in all night, and search-parties +of soldiers were formed. Trees were burned, and the din of rifles, +constantly discharged, added to the excitement. One party after another +came in. They had scoured the country--and not a trace of Bailey. + +The young wife sat in her tent, soothing her little child; everybody +except her, gave up hope; the time dragged on; our hearts grew heavy; +the sky was alight with blazing trees. + +I went into Mrs. Bailey's tent. She was calm and altogether lovely, and +said: "Charley can't get lost, and unless something has happened to him, +he will come in." + +Ella Bailey was a brave young army woman; she was an inspiration to the +entire camp. + +Finally, after hours of the keenest anxiety, a noise of gladsome shouts +rang through the trees, and in came a party of men with the young +officer on their shoulders. His friend Craig had been untiring in the +search, and at last had heard a faint "halloo" in the distance, and one +shot (the only cartridge poor Bailey had left). + +After going over almost impassable places, they finally found him, lying +at the bottom of a ravine. In the black darkness of the evening, he had +walked directly over the edge of the chasm and fallen to the bottom, +dislocating his ankle. + +He was some miles from camp, and had used up all his ammunition except +the one cartridge. He had tried in vain to walk or even crawl out of +the ravine, but had finally been overcome by exhaustion and lay there +helpless, in the wild vastnesses of the mountains. + +A desperate situation, indeed! Some time afterwards, he told me how he +felt, when he realized how poor his chances were, when he saw he had +only one cartridge left and found that he had scarce strength to answer +a "halloo," should he hear one. But soldiers never like to talk much +about such things. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. CAMP APACHE + +By the fourth of October we had crossed the range, and began to see +something which looked like roads. Our animals were fagged to a state +of exhaustion, but the travelling was now much easier and there was good +grazing, and after three more long day's marches, we arrived at Camp +Apache. We were now at our journey's end, after two months' continuous +travelling, and I felt reasonably sure of shelter and a fireside for the +winter at least. I knew that my husband's promotion was expected, but +the immediate present was filled with an interest so absorbing, that a +consideration of the future was out of the question. + +At that time (it was the year of 1874) the officers' quarters at Camp +Apache were log cabins, built near the edge of the deep canon through +which the White Mountain River flows, before its junction with Black +River. + +We were welcomed by the officers of the Fifth Cavalry, who were +stationed there. It was altogether picturesque and attractive. In +addition to the row of log cabins, there were enormous stables and +Government buildings, and a cutler's store. We were entertained for +a day or two, and then quarters were assigned to us. The second +lieutenants had rather a poor choice, as the quarters were scarce. We +were assigned a half of a log cabin, which gave us one room, a small +square hall, and a bare shed, the latter detached from the house, to be +used for a kitchen. The room on the other side of the hall was occupied +by the Post Surgeon, who was temporarily absent. + +Our things were unloaded and brought to this cabin. I missed the barrel +of china, and learned that it had been on the unfortunate wagon which +rolled down the mountain-side. I had not attained that state of mind +which came to me later in my army life. I cared then a good deal about +my belongings, and the annoyance caused by the loss of our china was +quite considerable. I knew there was none to be obtained at Camp Apache, +as most of the merchandise came in by pack-train to that isolated place. + +Mrs. Dodge, of the Twenty-third Infantry, who was about to leave the +post, heard of my predicament, and offered me some china plates and +cups, which she thought not worth the trouble of packing (so she said), +and I was glad to accept them, and thanked her, almost with tears in my +eyes. + +Bowen nailed down our one carpet over the poor board floor (after having +first sprinkled down a thick layer of clean straw, which he brought from +the quartermaster stables). Two iron cots from the hospital were brought +over, and two bed-sacks filled with fresh, sweet straw, were laid upon +them; over these were laid our mattresses. Woven-wire springs were then +unheard of in that country. + +We untied our folding chairs, built a fire on the hearth, captured an +old broken-legged wash-stand and a round table from somewhere, and that +was our living-room. A pine table was found for the small hall, which +was to be our dinning-room, and some chairs with raw-hide seats were +brought from the barracks, some shelves knocked up against one wall, to +serve as sideboard. Now for the kitchen! + +A cooking-stove and various things were sent over from the Q. M. +store-house, and Bowen (the wonder of it!) drove in nails, and hung up +my Fort Russell tin-ware, and put up shelves and stood my pans in rows, +and polished the stove, and went out and stole a table somewhere (Bowen +was invaluable in that way), polished the zinc under the stove, and lo! +and behold, my army kitchen! Bowen was indeed a treasure; he said he +would like to cook for us, for ten dollars a month. We readily accepted +this offer. There were no persons to be obtained, in these distant +places, who could do the cooking in the families of officers, so it +was customary to employ a soldier; and the soldier often displayed +remarkable ability in the way of cooking, in some cases, in fact, more +than in the way of soldiering. They liked the little addition to their +pay, if they were of frugal mind; they had also their own quiet room +to sleep in, and I often thought the family life, offering as it did a +contrast to the bareness and desolation of the noisy barracks, appealed +to the domestic instinct, so strong in some men's natures. At all +events, it was always easy in those days to get a man from the company, +and they sometimes remained for years with an officer's family; in some +cases attending drills and roll-calls besides. + +Now came the unpacking of the chests and trunks. In our one diminutive +room, and small hall, was no closet, there were no hooks on the bare +walls, no place to hang things or lay things, and what to do I did not +know. I was in despair; Jack came in, to find me sitting on the edge of +a chest, which was half unpacked, the contents on the floor. I was very +mournful, and he did not see why. + +"Oh! Jack! I've nowhere to put things!" + +"What things?" said this impossible man. + +"Why, all our things," said I, losing my temper; "can't you see them?'' + +"Put them back in the chests,--and get them out as you need them," +said this son of Mars, and buckled on his sword. "Do the best you can, +Martha, I have to go to the barracks; be back again soon." I looked +around me, and tried to solve the problem. There was no bureau, nothing; +not a nook or corner where a thing might be stowed. I gazed at the +motley collection of bed-linen, dust-pans, silver bottles, boot +jacks, saddles, old uniforms, full dress military hats, sword-belts, +riding-boots, cut glass, window-shades, lamps, work-baskets, and books, +and I gave it up in despair. You see, I was not an army girl, and I did +not know how to manage. + +There was nothing to be done, however, but to follow Jack's advice, so +I threw the boots, saddles and equipments under the bed, and laid the +other things back in the chests, closed the lids and went out to take a +look at the post. Towards evening, a soldier came for orders for beef, +and I learned how to manage that. I was told that we bought our meats +direct from the contractor; I had to state how much and what cuts I +wished. Another soldier came to bring us milk, and I asked Jack who was +the milkman, and he said, blessed if he knew; I learned, afterwards, +that the soldiers roped some of the wild Texas cows that were kept in +one of the Government corrals, and tied them securely to keep them +from kicking; then milked them, and the milk was divided up among the +officers' families, according to rank. We received about a pint every +night. I declared it was not enough; but I soon discovered that however +much education, position and money might count in civil life, rank +seemed to be the one and only thing in the army, and Jack had not much +of that just then. + +The question of getting settled comfortably still worried me, and +after a day of two, I went over to see what Mrs. Bailey had done. To my +surprise, I found her out playing tennis, her little boy asleep in the +baby-carriage, which they had brought all the way from San Francisco, +near the court. I joined the group, and afterwards asked her advice +about the matter. She laughed kindly, and said: "Oh! you'll get used to +it, and things will settle themselves. Of course it is troublesome, +but you can have shelves and such things--you'll soon learn," and still +smiling, she gave her ball a neat left-hander. + +I concluded that my New England bringing up had been too serious, and +wondered if I had made a dreadful mistake in marrying into the army, or +at least in following my husband to Arizona. I debated the question with +myself from all sides, and decided then and there that young army wives +should stay at home with their mothers and fathers, and not go into such +wild and uncouth places. I thought my decision irrevocable. + +Before the two small deep windows in our room we hung some Turkey red +cotton, Jack built in his spare moments a couch for me, and gradually +our small quarters assumed an appearance of comfort. I turned my +attention a little to social matters. We dined at Captain Montgomery's +(the commanding officer's) house; his wife was a famous Washington +beauty. He had more rank, consequently more rooms, than we had, and +their quarters were very comfortable and attractive. + +There was much that was new and interesting at the post. The Indians who +lived on this reservation were the White Mountain Apaches, a fierce and +cruel tribe, whose depredations and atrocities had been carried on for +years, in and around, and, indeed, far away from their mountain homes. +But this tribe was now under surveillance of the Government, and guarded +by a strong garrison of cavalry and infantry at Camp Apache. They were +divided into bands, under Chiefs Pedro, Diablo, Patone and Cibiano; +they came into the post twice a week to be counted, and to receive their +rations of beef, sugar, beans, and other staples, which Uncle Sam's +commissary officer issued to them. + +In the absence of other amusement, the officers' wives walked over to +witness this rather solemn ceremony. At least, the serious expression on +the faces of the Indians, as they received their rations, gave an air of +solemnity to the proceeding. + +Large stakes were driven into the ground; at each stake, sat or stood +the leader of a band; a sort of father to his people; then the rest +of them stretched out in several long lines, young bucks and old ones, +squaws and pappooses, the families together, about seventeen hundred +souls in all. I used to walk up and down between the lines, with the +other women, and the squaws looked at our clothes and chuckled, and +made some of their inarticulate remarks to each other. The bucks looked +admiringly at the white women, especially at the cavalry beauty, Mrs. +Montgomery, although I thought that Chief Diablo cast a special eye at +our young Mrs. Bailey, of the infantry. + +Diablo was a handsome fellow. I was especially impressed by his +extraordinary good looks. + +This tribe was quiet at that time, only a few renegades escaping into +the hills on their wild adventures: but I never felt any confidence in +them and was, on the whole, rather afraid of them. The squaws were shy, +and seldom came near the officers' quarters. Some of the younger girls +were extremely pretty; they had delicate hands, and small feet encased +in well-shaped moccasins. They wore short skirts made of stripped bark, +which hung gracefully about their bare knees and supple limbs, and +usually a sort of low-necked camisa, made neatly of coarse, unbleached +muslin, with a band around the neck and arms, and, in cold weather a +pretty blanket was wrapped around their shoulders and fastened at the +breast in front. In summer the blanket was replaced by a square of +bright calico. Their coarse, black hair hung in long braids in front +over each shoulder, and nearly all of them wore an even bang or fringe +over the forehead. Of course hats were unheard of. The Apaches, both men +and women, had not then departed from the customs of their ancestors, +and still retained the extraordinary beauty and picturesqueness of their +aboriginal dress. They wore sometimes a fine buckskin upper garment, and +if of high standing in the tribe, necklaces of elks teeth. + +The young lieutenants sometimes tried to make up to the prettiest +ones, and offered them trinkets, pretty boxes of soap, beads, and small +mirrors (so dear to the heart of the Indian girl), but the young maids +were coy enough; it seemed to me they cared more for men of their own +race. + +Once or twice, I saw older squaws with horribly disfigured faces. I +supposed it was the result of some ravaging disease, but I learned that +it was the custom of this tribe, to cut off the noses of those women who +were unfaithful to their lords. Poor creatures, they had my pity, for +they were only children of Nature, after all, living close to the earth, +close to the pulse of their mother. But this sort of punishment seemed +to be the expression of the cruel and revengeful nature of the Apache. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. LIFE AMONGST THE APACHES + +Bowen proved to be a fairly good cook, and I ventured to ask people to +dinner in our little hall dining-room, a veritable box of a place. One +day, feeling particularly ambitious to have my dinner a success, I +made a bold attempt at oyster patties. With the confidence of youth and +inexperience, I made the pastry, and it was a success; I took a can of +Baltimore oysters, and did them up in a fashion that astonished myself, +and when, after the soup, each guest was served with a hot oyster patty, +one of the cavalry officers fairly gasped. "Oyster patty, if I'm alive! +Where on earth--Bless my stars! And this at Camp Apache!" + +"And by Holy Jerusalem! they are good, too," claimed Captain Reilly, and +turning to Bowen, he said: "Bowen, did you make these?" + +Bowen straightened himself up to his six foot two, clapped his heels +together, and came to "attention," looked straight to the front, and +replied: "Yes, sir." + +I thought I heard Captain Reilly say in an undertone to his neighbor, +"The hell he did," but I was not sure. + +At that season, we got excellent wild turkeys there, and good Southdown +mutton, and one could not complain of such living. + +But I could never get accustomed to the wretched small space of one room +and a hall; for the kitchen, being detached, could scarcely be counted +in. I had been born and brought up in a spacious house, with plenty +of bedrooms, closets, and an immense old-time garret. The forlorn +makeshifts for closets, and the absence of all conveniences, annoyed +me and added much to the difficulties of my situation. Added to this, I +soon discovered that my husband had a penchant for buying and collecting +things which seemed utterly worthless to me, and only added to the +number of articles to be handled and packed away. I begged him to +refrain, and to remember that he was married, and that we had not the +money to spend in such ways. He really did try to improve, and denied +himself the taking of many an alluring share in raffles for old saddles, +pistols, guns, and cow-boy's stuff, which were always being held at the +sutler's store. + +But an auction of condemned hospital stores was too much for him, and +he came in triumphantly one day, bringing a box of antiquated dentist's +instruments in his hand. + +"Good gracious!" I cried, "what can you ever do with those forceps?" + +"Oh! they are splendid," he said, "and they will come in mighty handy +some time." + +I saw that he loved tools and instruments, and I reflected, why not? +There are lots of things I have a passion for, and love, just as he +loves those things and I shall never say any more about it. "Only," I +added, aloud, "do not expect me to pack up such trash when we come to +move; you will have to look out for it yourself." + +So with that spiteful remark from me, the episode of the forceps was +ended, for the time at least. + +As the winter came on, the isolation of the place had a rather +depressing effect upon us all. The officers were engaged in their +various duties: drill, courts-martial, instruction, and other military +occupations. They found some diversion at "the store," where the +ranchmen assembled and told frontier stories and played exciting games +of poker. Jack's duties as commissary officer kept him much away from +me, and I was very lonely. + +The mail was brought in twice a week by a soldier on horseback. When he +failed to come in at the usual time, much anxiety was manifested, and I +learned that only a short time before, one of the mail-carriers had +been killed by Indians and the mail destroyed. I did not wonder that on +mail-day everybody came out in front of the quarters and asked: "Is the +mail-carrier in?" And nothing much was done or thought of on that day, +until we saw him come jogging in, the mail-bag tied behind his saddle. +Our letters were from two to three weeks old. The eastern mail came +via Santa Fe to the terminus of the railroad, and then by stage; for +in 1874, the railroads did not extend very far into the Southwest. At +a certain point on the old New Mexico road, our man met the San Carlos +carrier, and received the mail for Apache. + +"I do not understand," I said, "how any soldier can be found to take +such a dangerous detail." + +"Why so?" said Jack. "They like it." + +"I should think that when they got into those canons and narrow defiles, +they would think of the horrible fate of their predecessor," said I. + +"Perhaps they do," he answered; "but a soldier is always glad to get a +detail that gives him a change from the routine of post life." + +I was getting to learn about the indomitable pluck of our soldiers. They +did not seem to be afraid of anything. At Camp Apache my opinion of the +American soldier was formed, and it has never changed. In the long +march across the Territory, they had cared for my wants and performed +uncomplainingly for me services usually rendered by women. Those were +before the days of lineal promotion. Officers remained with their +regiments for many years. A feeling of regimental prestige held officers +and men together. I began to share that feeling. I knew the names of the +men in the company, and not one but was ready to do a service for the +"Lieutenant's wife." "K" had long been a bachelor company; and now a +young woman had joined it. I was a person to be pampered and cared for, +and they knew besides that I was not long in the army. + +During that winter I received many a wild turkey and other nice things +for the table, from the men of the company. I learned to know and to +thoroughly respect the enlisted man of the American army. + +And now into the varied kaleidoscope of my army life stepped the Indian +Agent. And of all unkempt, unshorn, disagreeable-looking personages who +had ever stepped foot into our quarters, this was the worst. + +"Heaven save us from a Government which appoints such men as that to +watch over and deal with Indians," cried I, as he left the house. "Is it +possible that his position here demands social recognition?" I added. + +"Hush!" said the second lieutenant of K company. "It's the Interior +Department that appoints the Indian Agents, and besides," he added, +"it's not good taste on your part, Martha, to abuse the Government which +gives us our bread and butter." + +"Well, you can say what you like, and preach policy all you wish, no +Government on earth can compel me to associate with such men as those!" +With that assertion, I left the room, to prevent farther argument. + +And I will here add that in my experience on the frontier, which +extended over a long period, it was never my good fortune to meet with +an Indian Agent who impressed me as being the right sort of a man to +deal with those children of nature, for Indians are like children, and +their intuitions are keen. They know and appreciate honesty and fair +dealing, and they know a gentleman when they meet one. + +The winter came on apace, but the weather was mild and pleasant. One +day some officers came in and said we must go over to the "Ravine" that +evening, where the Indians were going to have a rare sort of a dance. + +There was no one to say to me: "Do not go," and, as we welcomed any +little excitement which would relieve the monotony of our lives, we cast +aside all doubts of the advisability of my going. So, after dinner, we +joined the others, and sallied forth into the darkness of an Arizona +night. We crossed the large parade-ground, and picked our way over a +rough and pathless country, lighted only by the stars above. + +Arriving at the edge of the ravine, what a scene was before us! We +looked down into a natural amphitheatre, in which blazed great fires; +hordes of wild Apaches darted about, while others sat on logs beating +their tomtoms. + +I was afraid, and held back, but the rest of the party descended into +the ravine, and, leaning on a good strong arm, I followed. We all sat +down on the great trunk of a fallen tree, and soon the dancers came into +the arena. + +They were entirely naked, except for the loin-cloth; their bodies were +painted, and from their elbows and knees stood out bunches of feathers, +giving them the appearance of huge flying creatures; jingling things +were attached to their necks and arms. Upon their heads were large +frames, made to resemble the branching horns of an elk, and as they +danced, and bowed their heads, the horns lent them the appearance of +some unknown animal, and added greatly to their height. Their feathers +waved, their jingles shook, and their painted bodies twisted and turned +in the light of the great fire, which roared and leaped on high. At +one moment they were birds, at another animals, at the next they were +demons. + +The noise of the tomtoms and the harsh shouts of the Indians grew wilder +and wilder. It was weird and terrifying. Then came a pause; the arena +was cleared, and with much solemnity two wicked-looking creatures came +out and performed a sort of shadow dance, brandishing knives as they +glided through the intricate figures. + +It was a fascinating but unearthly scene, and the setting completed the +illusion. Fright deprived me of the power of thought, but in a sort of +subconscious way I felt that Orpheus must have witnessed just such +mad revels when he went down into Pluto's regions. Suddenly the shouts +became war whoops, the demons brandished their knives madly, and nodded +their branching horns; the tomtoms were beaten with a dreadful din, and +terror seized my heart. What if they be treacherous, and had lured our +small party down into this ravine for an ambush! The thing could well +be, I thought. I saw uneasiness in the faces of the other women, and +by mutual consent we got up and slowly took our departure. I barely had +strength to climb up the steep side of the hollow. I was thankful to +escape from its horrors. + +Scarce three months after that some of the same band of Indians fired +into the garrison and fled to the mountains. I remarked to Jack, that I +thought we were very imprudent to go to see that dance, and he said he +supposed we were. But I had never regarded life in such a light way as +he seemed to. + +Women usually like to talk over their trials and their wonderful +adventures, and that is why I am writing this, I suppose. Men simply +will not talk about such things. + +The cavalry beauty seemed to look at this frontier life +philosophically--what she really thought about it, I never knew. Mrs. +Bailey was so much occupied by the care of her young child and various +out-door amusements, that she did not, apparently, think much about +things that happened around us. At all events, she never seemed inclined +to talk about them. There was no one else to talk to; the soil was +strange, and the atmosphere a foreign one to me; life did not seem to +be taken seriously out there, as it was back in New England, where they +always loved to sit down and talk things over. I was downright lonesome +for my mother and sisters. + +I could not go out very much at that time, so I occupied myself a good +deal with needle-work. + +One evening we heard firing across the canon. Jack caught up his sword, +buckling on his belt as he went out. "Injuns fighting on the other side +of the river," some soldier reported. Finding that it did not concern +us, Jack said, "Come out into the back yard, Martha, and look over the +stockade, and I think you can see across the river." So I hurried out to +the stockade, but Jack, seeing that I was not tall enough, picked up +an empty box that stood under the window of the room belonging to the +Doctor, when, thud! fell something out onto the ground, and rolled away. +I started involuntarily. It was dark in the yard. I stood stock still. +"What was that?" I whispered. + +"Nothing but an old Edam cheese," said this true-hearted soldier of +mine. I knew it was not a cheese, but said no more. I stood up on the +box, watched the firing like a man, and went quietly back into the +quarters. After retiring, I said, "You might just a swell tell me now, +you will have to sooner or later, what was in the box--it had a dreadful +sound, as it rolled away on the ground." + +"Well," said he, "if you must know, it was an Injun's head that the +Doctor had saved, to take to Washington with him. It had a sort of a +malformed skull or jaw-bone or something. But he left it behind--I guess +it got a leetle to old for him to carry," he laughed. "Somebody told me +there was a head in the yard, but I forgot all about it. Lucky thing you +didn't see it, wasn't it? I suppose you'd been scared--well, I must tell +the fatigue party to-morrow to take it away. Now don't let me forget +it," and this soldier of many battles fell into the peaceful slumber +which comes to those who know not fear. + +The next day I overheard him telling Major Worth what had happened, +and adding that he would roast that Doctor if he ever came back. I +was seeing the rugged side of life, indeed, and getting accustomed to +shocks. + +Now the cavalry beauty gave a dinner. It was lovely; but in the midst of +it, we perceived a sort of confusion of moccasined footsteps outside +the dining-room. My nerves were, by this time, always on the alert. +I glanced through the large door opening out into the hall, and saw +a group of Indian scouts; they laid a coffee-sack down by the corner +fire-place, near the front door. The commanding officer left the table +hastily; the portiere was drawn. + +I had heard tales of atrocious cruelties committed by a band of Indians +who had escaped from the reservation and were ravaging the country +around. I had heard how they maimed poor sheep and cut off the legs of +cattle at the first joint, leaving them to die; how they tortured women, +and burned their husbands and children before their eyes; I had heard +also that the Indian scouts were out after them, with orders to bring +them in, dead or alive. + +The next day I learned that the ringleader's head was in the bag that I +had seen, and that the others had surrendered and returned. The scouts +were Apaches in the pay of the Government, and I always heard that, as +long as they were serving as scouts, they showed themselves loyal and +would hunt down their nearest relative. + +Major Worth got tired of the monotony of a bachelor's life at Camp +Apache and decided to give a dance in his quarters, and invite the +chiefs. I think the other officers did not wholly approve of it, +although they felt friendly enough towards them, as long as they were +not causing disturbances. But to meet the savage Apache on a basis of +social equality, in an officer's quarters, and to dance in a quadrille +with him! Well, the limit of all things had been reached! + +However, Major Worth, who was actually suffering from the ennui of +frontier life in winter, and in time of peace, determined to carry out +his project, so he had his quarters, which were quite spacious, cleared +and decorated with evergreen boughs. From his company, he secured some +men who could play the banjo and guitar, and all the officers and their +wives, and the chiefs with their harems, came to this novel fete. A +quadrille was formed, in which the chiefs danced opposite the officers. +The squaws sat around, as they were too shy to dance. These chiefs were +painted, and wore only their necklaces and the customary loin-cloth, +throwing their blankets about their shoulders when they had finished +dancing. I noticed again Chief Diablo's great good looks. + +Conversation was carried on principally by signs and nods, and through +the interpreter (a white man named Cooley). Besides, the officers had +picked up many short phrases of the harsh and gutteral Apache tongue. + +Diablo was charmed with the young, handsome wife of one of the officers, +and asked her husband how many ponies he would take for her, and Pedro +asked Major Worth, if all those white squaws belonged to him. + +The party passed off pleasantly enough, and was not especially +subversive to discipline, although I believe it was not repeated. + +Afterwards, long afterwards, when we were stationed at David's Island, +New York Harbor, and Major Worth was no longer a bachelor, but a +dignified married man and had gained his star in the Spanish War, +we used to meet occasionally down by the barge office or taking a +Fenster-promenade on Broadway, and we would always stand awhile and chat +over the old days at Camp Apache in '74. Never mind how pressing our +mutual engagements were, we could never forego the pleasure of talking +over those wild days and contrasting them with our then present +surroundings. "Shall you ever forget my party?" he said, the last time +we met. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. A NEW RECRUIT + +In January our little boy arrived, to share our fate and to gladden our +hearts. As he was the first child born to an officer's family in Camp +Apache, there was the greatest excitement. All the sheep-ranchers and +cattlemen for miles around came into the post. The beneficent canteen, +with its soldiers' and officers' clubrooms did not exist then. So they +all gathered at the sutler's store, to celebrate events with a round of +drinks. They wanted to shake hands with and congratulate the new father, +after their fashion, upon the advent of the blond-haired baby. Their +great hearts went out to him, and they vied with each other in doing the +handsome thing by him, in a manner according to their lights, and their +ideas of wishing well to a man; a manner, sometimes, alas! disastrous in +its results to the man! However, by this time, I was getting used to all +sides of frontier life. + +I had no time to be lonely now, for I had no nurse, and the only person +who was able to render me service was a laundress of the Fifth Cavalry, +who came for about two hours each day, to give the baby his bath and +to arrange things about the bed. I begged her to stay with me, but, of +course, I knew it was impossible. + +So here I was, inexperienced and helpless, alone in bed, with an infant +a few days old. Dr. Loring, our excellent Post Surgeon, was both kind +and skillful, but he was in poor health and expecting each day to +be ordered to another station. My husband was obliged to be at the +Commissary Office all day, issuing rations to troops and scouts, and +attending to the duties of his position. + +But, realizing in a measure the utter helplessness of my situation, he +sent a soldier up to lead a wire cord through the thick wall at the head +of my bed and out through the small yard into the kitchen. To this they +attached a big cow-bell, so, by making some considerable effort to reach +up and pull this wire, I could summon Bowen, that is, if Bowen happened +to be there. But Bowen seemed always to be out at drill or over at the +company quarters, and frequently my bell brought no response. When he +did come, however, he was just as kind and just as awkward as it was +possible for a great big six-foot farmer-soldier to be. + +But I grew weaker and weaker with trying to be strong, and one day +when Jack came in and found both the baby and myself crying, he said, +man-like, "What's the matter?" I said, "I must have some one to take +care of me, or we shall both die." + +He seemed to realize that the situation was desperate, and mounted men +were sent out immediately in all directions to find a woman. + +At last, a Mexican girl was found in a wood-chopper's camp, and was +brought to me. She was quite young and very ignorant and stupid, and +spoke nothing but a sort of Mexican "lingo," and did not understand a +word of English. But I felt that my life was saved; and Bowen fixed up +a place on the couch for her to sleep, and Jack went over to the +unoccupied room on the other side of the cabin and took possession of +the absent doctor's bed. + +I begged Jack to hunt up a Spanish dictionary, and fortunately one +was found at the sutler's store, which, doubtless the sutler or his +predecessor had brought into the country years before. + +The girl did not know anything. I do not think she had ever been inside +a casa before. She had washed herself in mountain streams, and did not +know what basins and sponges were for. So it was of no use to point to +the objects I wanted. + +I propped myself up in bed and studied the dictionary, and, having some +idea of the pronunciation of Latin languages, I essayed to call for warm +water and various other necessary articles needed around a sick bed. +Sometimes I succeeded in getting an idea through her impervious brain, +but more often she would stand dazed and immovable and I would let the +dictionary drop from my tired hands and fall back upon the pillow in a +sweat of exhaustion. Then Bowen would be called in, and with the help of +some perfunctory language and gestures on his part, this silent creature +of the mountains would seem to wake up and try to understand. + +And so I worried through those dreadful days--and the nights! Ah! we had +better not describe them. The poor wild thing slept the sleep of death +and could not hear my loudest calls nor desperate shouts. + +So Jack attached a cord to her pillow, and I would tug and tug at that +and pull the pillow from under her head. It was of no avail. She slept +peacefully on, and it seemed to me, as I lay there staring at her, that +not even Gabriel's trump would ever arouse her. + +In desperation I would creep out of bed and wait upon myself and then +confess to Jack and the Doctor next day. + +Well, we had to let the creature go, for she was of no use, and the +Spanish dictionary was laid aside. + +I struggled along, fighting against odds; how I ever got well at all is +a wonder, when I think of all the sanitary precautions taken now-a-days +with young mothers and babies. The Doctor was ordered away and another +one came. I had no advice or help from any one. Calomel or quinine are +the only medicines I remember taking myself or giving to my child. + +But to go back a little. The seventh day after the birth of the baby, a +delegation of several squaws, wives of chiefs, came to pay me a formal +visit. They brought me some finely woven baskets, and a beautiful +pappoose-basket or cradle, such as they carry their own babies in. This +was made of the lightest wood, and covered with the finest skin of +fawn, tanned with birch bark by their own hands, and embroidered in blue +beads; it was their best work. I admired it, and tried to express to +them my thanks. These squaws took my baby (he was lying beside me on the +bed), then, cooing and chuckling, they looked about the room, until they +found a small pillow, which they laid into the basket-cradle, then put +my baby in, drew the flaps together, and laced him into it; then stood +it up, and laid it down, and laughed again in their gentle manner, and +finally soothed him to sleep. I was quite touched by the friendliness of +it all. They laid the cradle on the table and departed. Jack went out +to bring Major Worth in, to see the pretty sight, and as the two entered +the room, Jack pointed to the pappoose-basket. + +Major Worth tip-toed forward, and gazed into the cradle; he did not +speak for some time; then, in his inimitable way, and half under his +breath, he said, slowly, "Well, I'll be d--d!" This was all, but when he +turned towards the bedside, and came and shook my hand, his eyes shone +with a gentle and tender look. + +And so was the new recruit introduced to the Captain of Company K. + +And now there must be a bath-tub for the baby. The sutler rummaged his +entire place, to find something that might do. At last, he sent me a +freshly scoured tub, that looked as if it might, at no very remote date, +have contained salt mackerel marked "A One." So then, every morning at +nine o'clock, our little half-window was black with the heads of the +curious squaws and bucks, trying to get a glimpse of the fair baby's +bath. A wonderful performance, it appeared to them. + +Once a week this room, which was now a nursery combined with bedroom and +living-room, was overhauled by the stalwart Bowen. The baby was put to +sleep and laced securely into the pappoose-basket. He was then carried +into the kitchen, laid on the dresser, and I sat by with a book or +needle-work watching him, until Bowen had finished the room. On one of +these occasions, I noticed a ledger lying upon one of the shelves. I +looked into it, and imagine my astonishment, when I read: "Aunt Hepsey's +Muffins," "Sarah's Indian Pudding," and on another page, "Hasty's Lemon +Tarts," "Aunt Susan's Method of Cooking a Leg of Mutton," and "Josie +Well's Pressed Calf Liver." Here were my own, my very own family +recipes, copied into Bowen's ledger, in large illiterate characters; +and on the fly-leaf, "Charles Bowen's Receipt Book." I burst into a good +hearty laugh, almost the first one I had enjoyed since I arrived at Camp +Apache. + +The long-expected promotion to a first lieutenancy came at about +this time. Jack was assigned to a company which was stationed at Camp +MacDowell, but his departure for the new post was delayed until the +spring should be more advanced and I should be able to undertake the +long, rough trip with our young child. + +The second week in April, my baby just nine weeks old, we began to pack +up. I had gained a little in experience, to be sure, but I had lost my +health and strength. I knew nothing of the care of a young infant, and +depended entirely upon the advice of the Post Surgeon, who happened at +that time to be a young man, much better versed in the sawing off of +soldiers' legs than in the treatment of young mothers and babies. + +The packing up was done under difficulties, and with much help from our +faithful Bowen. It was arranged for Mrs. Bailey, who was to spend the +summer with her parents at Fort Whipple, to make the trip at the same +time, as our road to Camp MacDowell took us through Fort Whipple. There +were provided two ambulances with six mules each, two baggage-wagons, an +escort of six calvarymen fully armed, and a guide. Lieutenant Bailey was +to accompany his wife on the trip. + +I was genuinely sorry to part with Major Worth, but in the excitement +and fatigue of breaking up our home, I had little time to think of my +feelings. My young child absorbed all my time. Alas! for the ignorance +of young women, thrust by circumstances into such a situation! I had +miscalculated my strength, for I had never known illness in my life, +and there was no one to tell me any better. I reckoned upon my superbly +healthy nature to bring me through. In fact, I did not think much about +it; I simply got ready and went, as soldiers do. + +I heard them say that we were not to cross the Mogollon range, but were +to go to the north of it, ford the Colorado Chiquito at Sunset Crossing, +and so on to Camp Verde and Whipple Barracks by the Stoneman's Lake +road. It sounded poetic and pretty. Colorado Chiquito, Sunset Crossing, +and Stoneman's Lake road! I thought to myself, they were prettier than +any of the names I had heard in Arizona. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. A MEMORABLE JOURNEY + +How broken plunged the steep descent! How barren! Desolate and rent By +earthquake shock, the land lay dead, Like some proud king in old-time +slain. An ugly skeleton, it gleamed In burning sands. The fiery rain +Of fierce volcanoes here had sown Its ashes. Burnt and black and seamed +With thunder-strokes and strewn With cinders. Yea, so overthrown, That +wilder men than we had said, On seeing this, with gathered breath, "We +come on the confines of death!"--JOAQUIN MILLER. + + +Six good cavalrymen galloped along by our side, on the morning of April +24th, 1875, as with two ambulances, two army wagons, and a Mexican +guide, we drove out of Camp Apache at a brisk trot. + +The drivers were all armed, and spare rifles hung inside the ambulances. +I wore a small derringer, with a narrow belt filled with cartridges. An +incongruous sight, methinks now, it must have been. A young mother, pale +and thin, a child of scarce three months in her arms, and a pistol belt +around her waist! + +I scarcely looked back at Camp Apache. We had a long day's march before +us, and we looked ahead. Towards night we made camp at Cooley's ranch, +and slept inside, on the floor. Cooley was interpreter and scout, and +although he was a white man, he had married a young Indian girl, the +daughter of one of the chiefs and was known as a squaw man. There +seemed to be two Indian girls at his ranch; they were both tidy and +good-looking, and they prepared us a most appetizing supper. + +The ranch had spaces for windows, covered with thin unbleached muslin +(or manta, as it is always called out there), glass windows being then +too great a luxury in that remote place. There were some partitions +inside the ranch, but no doors; and, of course, no floors except adobe. +Several half-breed children, nearly naked, stood and gazed at us as +we prepared for rest. This was interesting and picturesque from many +standpoints perhaps, but it did not tend to make me sleepy. I lay gazing +into the fire which was smouldering in the corner, and finally I said, +in a whisper, "Jack, which girl do you think is Cooley's wife?" + +"I don't know," answered this cross and tired man; and then added, "both +of 'em, I guess." + +Now this was too awful, but I knew he did not intend for me to ask any +more questions. I had a difficult time, in those days, reconciling what +I saw with what I had been taught was right, and I had to sort over my +ideas and deep-rooted prejudices a good many times. + +The two pretty squaws prepared a nice breakfast for us, and we set out, +quite refreshed, to travel over the malapais (as the great lava-beds in +that part of the country are called). There was no trace of a road. A +few hours of this grinding and crunching over crushed lava wearied us +all, and the animals found it hard pulling, although the country was +level. + +We crossed Silver Creek without difficulty, and arrived at Stinson's +ranch, after traveling twenty-five miles, mostly malapais. Do not for a +moment think of these ranches as farms. Some of them were deserted sheep +ranches, and had only adobe walls standing in ruins. But the camp must +have a name, and on the old maps of Arizona these names are still to be +found. Of course, on the new railroad maps, they are absent. They were +generally near a spring or a creek, consequently were chosen as camps. + +Mrs. Bailey had her year-old boy, Howard, with her. We began to +experience the utmost inconvenience from the lack of warm water and +other things so necessary to the health and comfort of children. But we +tried to make light of it all, and the two Lieutenants tried, in a man's +way, to help us out. We declared we must have some clean towels for the +next day, so we tried to rinse out, in the cold, hard water of the well, +those which we had with us, and, as it was now nightfall and there was +no fire inside this apparently deserted ranch, the two Lieutenants stood +and held the wet towels before the camp-fire until they were dry. + +Mrs. Bailey and I, too tired to move, sat and watched them and had each +our own thoughts. She was an army girl and perhaps had seen such things +before, but it was a situation that did not seem quite in keeping with +my ideas of the fitness of things in general, and with the uniform in +particular. The uniform, associated in my mind with brilliant functions, +guard-mount, parades and full-dress weddings--the uniform, in fact, +that I adored. As I sat, gazing at them, they both turned around, +and, realizing how almost ludicrous they looked, they began to laugh. +Whereupon we all four laughed and Jack said: "Nice work for United +States officers! hey, Bailey?" + +"It might be worse," sighed the handsome, blond-haired Bailey. + +Thirty miles the next day, over a good road, brought us to Walker's +ranch, on the site of old Camp Supply. This ranch was habitable in a +way, and the owner said we might use the bedrooms; but the wild-cats +about the place were so numerous and so troublesome in the night, that +we could not sleep. I have mentioned the absence of windows in these +ranches; we were now to experience the great inconvenience resulting +therefrom, for the low open spaces furnished great opportunity for the +cats. In at one opening, and out at another they flew, first across the +Bailey's bed, then over ours. The dogs caught the spirit of the chase, +and added their noise to that of the cats. Both babies began to cry, and +then up got Bailey and threw his heavy campaign boots at the cats, with +some fitting remarks. A momentary silence reigned, and we tried again +to sleep. Back came the cats, and then came Jack's turn with boots and +travelling satchels. It was all of no avail, and we resigned ourselves. +Cruelly tired, here we were, we two women, compelled to sit on hard +boxes or the edge of a bed, to quiet our poor babies, all through that +night, at that old sheep-ranch. Like the wretched emigrant, differing +only from her inasmuch as she, never having known comfort perhaps, +cannot realize her misery. + +The two Lieutenants slipped on their blouses, and sat looking helplessly +at us, waging war on the cats at intervals. And so the dawn found us, +our nerves at a tension, and our strength gone--a poor preparation for +the trying day which was to follow. + +We were able to buy a couple of sheep there, to take with us for +supplies, and some antelope meat. We could not indulge, in foolish +scruples, but I tried not to look when they tied the live sheep and +threw them into one of the wagons. + +Quite early in the day, we met a man who said he had been fired upon by +some Indians at Sanford's Pass. We thought perhaps he had been scared by +some stray shot, and we did not pay much attention to his story. + +Soon after, however, we passed a sort of old adobe ruin, out of which +crept two bare-headed Mexicans, so badly frightened that their dark +faces were pallid; their hair seemed standing on end, and they looked +stark mad with fear. They talked wildly to the guide, and gesticulated, +pointing in the direction of the Pass. They had been fired at, and their +ponies taken by some roving Apaches. They had been in hiding for over +a day, and were hungry and miserable. We gave them food and drink. They +implored us, by the Holy Virgin, not to go through the Pass. + +What was to be done? The officers took counsel; the men looked to their +arms. It was decided to go through. Jack examined his revolver, and saw +that my pistol was loaded. I was instructed minutely what to do, in case +we were attacked. + +For miles we strained our eyes, looking in the direction whence these +men had come. + +At last, in mid-afternoon, we approached the Pass, a narrow defile +winding down between high hills from this table-land to the plain below. +To say that we feared an ambush, would not perhaps convey a very clear +idea of how I felt on entering the Pass. + +There was not a word spoken. I obeyed orders, and lay down in the bottom +of the ambulance; I took my derringer out of the holster and cocked it. +I looked at my little boy lying helpless there beside me, and at his +delicate temples, lined with thin blue veins, and wondered if I could +follow out the instructions I had received: for Jack had said, after the +decision was made, to go through the Pass, "Now, Mattie, I don't think +for a minute that there are any Injuns in that Pass, and you must not be +afraid. We have got to go through it any way; but"--he hesitated,--"we +may be mistaken; there may be a few of them in there, and they'll have a +mighty good chance to get in a shot or two. And now listen: if I'm hit, +you'll know what to do. You have your derringer; and when you see that +there is no help for it, if they get away with the whole outfit, why, +there's only one thing to be done. Don't let them get the baby, for they +will carry you both off and--well, you know the squaws are much more +cruel than the bucks. Don't let them get either of you alive. Now"--to +the driver--"go on." + +Jack was a man of few words, and seldom spoke much in times like that. + +So I lay very quiet in the bottom of the ambulance. I realized that we +were in great danger. My thoughts flew back to the East, and I saw, as +in a flash, my father and mother, sisters and brother; I think I tried +to say a short prayer for them, and that they might never know the +worst. I fixed my eyes upon my husband's face. There he sat, rifle in +hand, his features motionless, his eyes keenly watching out from one +side of the ambulance, while a stalwart cavalry-man, carbine in hand, +watched the other side of the narrow defile. The minutes seemed like +hours. + +The driver kept his animals steady, and we rattled along. + +At last, as I perceived the steep slope of the road, I looked out, and +saw that the Pass was widening out, and we must be nearing the end of +it. "Keep still," said Jack, without moving a feature. My heart seemed +then to stop beating, and I dared not move again, until I heard him say, +"Thank God, we're out of it! Get up, Mattie! See the river yonder? We'll +cross that to-night, and then we'll be out of their God d----d country!" + +This was Jack's way of working off his excitement, and I did not mind +it. I knew he was not afraid of Apaches for himself, but for his wife +and child. And if I had been a man, I should have said just as much and +perhaps more. + +We were now down in a flat country, and low alkali plains lay between us +and the river. My nerves gradually recovered from the tension in which +they had been held; the driver stopped his team for a moment, the other +ambulance drove up alongside of us, and Ella Bailey and I looked at each +other; we did not talk any, but I believe we cried just a little. Then +Mr. Bailey and Jack (thinking we were giving way, I suppose) pulled out +their big flasks, and we had to take a cup of good whiskey, weakened up +with a little water from our canteens, which had been filled at Walker's +ranch in the morning. Great Heavens! I thought, was it this morning +that we left Walker's ranch, or was it a year ago? So much had I lived +through in a few hours. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. FORDING THE LITTLE COLORADO + +At a bend in the road the Mexican guide galloped up near the ambulance, +and pointing off to the westward with a graceful gesture, said: +"Colorado Chiquito! Colorado Chiquito!" And, sure enough, there in the +afternoon sun lay the narrow winding river, its surface as smooth as +glass, and its banks as if covered with snow. + +We drove straight for the ford, known as Sunset Crossing. The guide was +sure he knew the place. But the river was high, and I could not see how +anybody could cross it without a boat. The Mexican rode his pony in +once or twice; shook his head, and said in Spanish, "there was much +quicksand. The old ford had changed much since he saw it." He galloped +excitedly to and fro, along the bank of the river, always returning to +the same place, and declaring "it was the ford; there was no other; he +knew it well." + +But the wagons not having yet arrived, it was decided not to attempt +crossing until morning, when we could get a fresh start. + +The sun was gradually sinking in the west, but the heat down in that +alkali river-bottom even at that early season of the year was most +uncomfortable. I was worn out with fright and fatigue; my poor child +cried piteously and incessantly. Nothing was of any avail to soothe him. +After the tents were pitched and the camp-fires made, some warm water +was brought, and I tried to wash away some of the dust from him, but the +alkali water only irritated his delicate skin, and his head, where it +had lain on my arm, was inflamed by the constant rubbing. It began +to break out in ugly blisters; I was in despair. We were about as +wretchedly off as two human beings could be, and live, it seemed to me. +The disappointment at not getting across the river, combined with +the fear that the Indians were still in the neighborhood, added to my +nervousness and produced an exhaustion which, under other circumstances, +would have meant collapse. + +The mournful and demoniacal cries of the coyotes filled the night; they +seemed to come close to the tent, and their number seemed to be legion. +I lay with eyes wide open, watching for the day to come, and resolving +each minute that if I ever escaped alive from that lonely river-bottom +with its burning alkali, and its millions of howling coyotes, I would +never, never risk being placed in such a situation again. + +At dawn everybody got up and dressed. I looked in my small hand-mirror, +and it seemed to me my hair had turned a greyish color, and while it +was not exactly white, the warm chestnut tinge never came back into it, +after that day and night of terror. My eyes looked back at me large and +hollow from the small glass, and I was in that state when it is easy to +imagine the look of Death in one's own face. I think sometimes it comes, +after we have thought ourselves near the borders. And I surely had been +close to them the day before. + + +***** + + +If perchance any of my readers have followed this narrative so far, and +there be among them possibly any men, young or old, I would say to such +ones: "Desist!" For what I am going to tell about in this chapter, and +possibly another, concerns nobody but women, and my story will now, for +awhile, not concern itself with the Eighth Foot, nor the army, nor the +War Department, nor the Interior Department, nor the strategic value of +Sunset Crossing, which may now be a railroad station, for all I know. It +is simply a story of my journey from the far bank of the Little Colorado +to Fort Whipple, and then on, by a change of orders, over mountains +and valleys, cactus plains and desert lands, to the banks of the Great +Colorado. + +My attitude towards the places I travelled through was naturally +influenced by the fact that I had a young baby in my arms the entire +way, and that I was not able to endure hardship at that time. For +usually, be it remembered, at that period of a child's life, both mother +and infant are not out of the hands of the doctor and trained nurse, to +say nothing of the assistance so gladly rendered by those near and dear. + +The morning of the 28th of April dawned shortly after midnight, as +mornings in Arizona generally do at that season, and after a hasty +camp breakfast, and a good deal of reconnoitering on the part of the +officers, who did not seem to be exactly satisfied about the Mexican's +knowledge of the ford, they told him to push his pony in, and cross if +he could. + +He managed to pick his way across and back, after a good deal of +floundering, and we decided to try the ford. First they hitched up ten +mules to one of the heavily loaded baggage-wagons, the teamster cracked +his whip, and in they went. But the quicksand frightened the leaders, +and they lost their courage. Now when a mule loses courage, in the +water, he puts his head down and is done for. The leaders disappeared +entirely, then the next two and finally the whole ten of them were gone, +irrevocably, as I thought. But like a flash, the officers shouted: "Cut +away those mules! Jump in there!" and amid other expletives the men +plunged in, and feeling around under the water cut the poor animals +loose and they began to crawl out on the other bank. I drew a long +breath, for I thought the ten mules were drowned. + +The guide picked his way over again to the other side and caught them +up, and then I began to wonder how on earth we should ever get across. + +There lay the heavy army wagon, deep mired in the middle of the stream, +and what did I see? Our army chests, floating away down the river. I +cried out: "Oh! do save our chests!" "They're all right, we'll get them +presently," said Jack. It seemed a long time to me, before the soldiers +could get them to the bank, which they did, with the aid of stout ropes. +All our worldly goods were in those chests, and I knew they were soaked +wet and probably ruined; but, after all, what did it matter, in the face +of the serious problem which confronted us? + +In the meantime, some of the men had floated the other boxes and trunks +out of the wagon back to the shore, and were busy taking the huge +vehicle apart. Any one who knows the size of an army wagon will realize +that this was hard work, especially as the wagon was mired, and nearly +submerged. But the men worked desperately, and at last succeeded in +getting every part of it back onto the dry land. + +Somebody stirred up the camp-fire and put the kettle on, and Mrs. Bailey +and I mixed up a smoking strong hot toddy for those brave fellows, who +were by this time well exhausted. Then they set to work to make a boat, +by drawing a large canvas under the body of the wagon, and fastening +it securely. For this Lieutenant of mine had been a sailor-man and knew +well how to meet emergencies. + +One or two of the soldiers had now forded the stream on horseback, and +taken over a heavy rope, which was made fast to our improvised boat. +I was acquainted with all kinds of boats, from a catamaran to a +full-rigged ship, but never a craft like this had I seen. Over the +sides we clambered, however, and were ferried across the treacherous +and glassy waters of the Little Colorado. All the baggage and the two +ambulances were ferried over, and the other wagon was unloaded and drawn +over by means of ropes. + +This proceeding took all day, and of course we could get no farther, and +were again obliged to camp in that most uncomfortable river-bottom. But +we felt safer on that side. I looked at the smooth surface of the river, +and its alkali shores, and the picture became indelibly impressed upon +my memory. The unpleasant reality destroyed any poetic associations +which might otherwise have clung to the name of Sunset Crossing in my +ever vivid imagination. + +After the tents were pitched, and the camp snugged up, Mr. Bailey +produced some champagne and we wished each other joy, that we had made +the dangerous crossing and escaped the perils of Sanford's Pass. I am +afraid the champagne was not as cold as might have been desired, but the +bottle had been wrapped in a wet blanket, and cooled a little in that +way, and we drank it with zest, from a mess-cup. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. STONEMAN'S LAKE + +The road began now to ascend, and after twenty miles' travelling we +reached a place called Updyke's Tanks. It was a nice place, with plenty +of wood and grass. The next day we camped at Jay Coxe's Tanks. It was +a hard day's march, and I was tired out when we arrived there. The +ambulance was simply jerked over those miles of fearful rocks; one could +not say driven or dragged over, for we were pitched from rock to rock +the entire distance. + +Stoneman's Lake Road was famous, as I afterwards heard. Perhaps it was +just as well for me that I did not know about it in advance. + +The sure-footed mules picked their way over these sharp-edged rocks. +There was not a moment's respite. We asked a soldier to help with +holding the baby, for my arms gave out entirely, and were as if +paralyzed. The jolting threw us all by turns against the sides of +the ambulance (which was not padded), and we all got some rather bad +bruises. We finally bethought ourselves of the pappoose basket, which we +had brought along in the ambulance, having at the last moment no other +place to put it. So a halt was called, we placed the tired baby in this +semi-cradle, laced the sides snugly over him, and were thus enabled to +carry him over those dreadful roads without danger. + +He did not cry much, but the dust made him thirsty. I could not give him +nourishment without stopping the entire train of wagons, on account +of the constant pitching of the ambulance; delay was not advisable or +expedient, so my poor little son had to endure with the rest of us. The +big Alsatian cavalryman held the cradle easily in his strong arms, and +so the long miles were travelled, one by one. + +At noon of this day we made a refreshing halt, built a fire and took +some luncheon. We found a shady, grassy spot, upon which the blankets +were spread, and we stretched ourselves out upon them and rested. But +we were still some miles from water, so after a short respite we were +compelled to push on. We had been getting steadily higher since leaving +Sunset Crossing, and now it began to be cold and looked like snow. Mrs. +Bailey and I found it very trying to meet these changes of temperature. +A good place for the camp was found at Coxe's Tanks, trenches were dug +around the tents, and the earth banked up to keep us warm. The cool air, +our great fatigue, and the comparative absence of danger combined to +give us a heavenly night's rest. + +Towards sunset of the next day, which was May Day, our cavalcade reached +Stoneman's Lake. We had had another rough march, and had reached the +limit of endurance, or thought we had, when we emerged from a mountain +pass and drew rein upon the high green mesa overlooking Stoneman's Lake, +a beautiful blue sheet of water lying there away below us. It was good +to our tired eyes, which had gazed upon nothing but burnt rocks +and alkali plains for so many days. Our camp was beautiful beyond +description, and lay near the edge of the mesa, whence we could look +down upon the lovely lake. It was a complete surprise to us, as points +of scenery were not much known or talked about then in Arizona. Ponds +and lakes were unheard of. They did not seem to exist in that drear land +of arid wastes. We never heard of water except that of the Colorado +or the Gila or the tanks and basins, and irrigation ditches of the +settlers. But here was a real Italian lake, a lake as blue as the skies +above us. We feasted our eyes and our very souls upon it. + +Bailey and the guide shot some wild turkeys, and as we had already +eaten all the mutton we had along, the ragout of turkey made by the +soldier-cook for our supper tasted better to us tired and hungry +travellers, perhaps, than a canvasback at Delmonico's tastes to the +weary lounger or the over-worked financier. + +In the course of the day, we had passed a sort of sign-board, with the +rudely written inscription, "Camp Starvation," and we had heard from +Mr. Bailey the story of the tragic misfortunes at this very place of +the well-known Hitchcock family of Arizona. The road was lined with dry +bones, and skulls of oxen, white and bleached in the sun, lying on the +bare rocks. Indeed, at every stage of the road we had seen evidences +of hard travel, exhausted cattle, anxious teamsters, hunger and thirst, +despair, starvation, and death. + +However, Stoneman's Lake remains a joy in the memory, and far and away +the most beautiful spot I ever saw in Arizona. But unless the approaches +to it are made easier, tourists will never gaze upon it. + +In the distance we saw the "divide," over which we must pass in order +to reach Camp Verde, which was to be our first stopping place, and we +looked joyfully towards the next day's march, which we expected would +bring us there. + +We thought the worst was over and, before retiring to our tents for the +night, we walked over to the edge of the high mesa and, in the gathering +shadows of twilight, looked down into the depths of that beautiful lake, +knowing that probably we should never see it again. + +And indeed, in all the years I spent in Arizona afterward, I never even +heard of the lake again. + +I wonder now, did it really exist or was it an illusion, a dream, or the +mirage which appears to the desert traveller, to satisfy him and lure +him on, to quiet his imagination, and to save his senses from utter +extinction? + +In the morning the camp was all astir for an early move. We had no +time to look back: we were starting for a long day's march, across the +"divide," and into Camp Verde. + +But we soon found that the road (if road it could be called) was worse +than any we had encountered. The ambulance was pitched and jerked from +rock to rock and we were thumped against the iron framework in a most +dangerous manner. So we got out and picked our way over the great sharp +boulders. + +The Alsatian soldier carried the baby, who lay securely in the pappoose +cradle. + +One of the cavalry escort suggested my taking his horse, but I did +not feel strong enough to think of mounting a horse, so great was my +discouragement and so exhausted was my vitality. Oh! if girls only knew +about these things I thought! For just a little knowledge of the care +of an infant and its needs, its nourishment and its habits, might have +saved both mother and child from such utter collapse. + +Little by little we gave up hope of reaching Verde that day. At four +o'clock we crossed the "divide," and clattered down a road so near the +edge of a precipice that I was frightened beyond everything: my senses +nearly left me. Down and around, this way and that, near the edge, then +back again, swaying, swerving, pitching, the gravel clattering over the +precipice, the six mules trotting their fastest, we reached the +bottom and the driver pulled up his team. "Beaver Springs!" said he, +impressively, loosening up the brakes. + +As Jack lifted me out of the ambulance, I said: "Why didn't you tell +me?" pointing back to the steep road. "Oh," said he, "I thought it was +better for you not to know; people get scared about such things, when +they know about them before hand." + +"But," I remarked, "such a break-neck pace!" Then, to the driver, +"Smith, how could you drive down that place at such a rate and frighten +me so?" + +"Had to, ma'am, or we'd a'gone over the edge." + +I had been brought up in a flat country down near the sea, and I did not +know the dangers of mountain travelling, nor the difficulties attending +the piloting of a six-mule team down a road like that. From this time +on, however, Smith rose in my estimation. I seemed also to be realizing +that the Southwest was a great country and that there was much to learn +about. Life out there was beginning to interest me. + +Camp Verde lay sixteen miles farther on; no one knew if the road were +good or bad. I declared I could not travel another mile, even if +they all went on and left me to the wolves and the darkness of Beaver +Springs. + +We looked to our provisions and took account of stock. There was not +enough for the two families. We had no flour and no bread; there was +only a small piece of bacon, six potatoes, some condensed milk, and some +chocolate. The Baileys decided to go on; for Mrs. Bailey was to meet her +sister at Verde and her parents at Whipple. We said good-bye, and their +ambulance rolled away. Our tent was pitched and the baby was laid on the +bed, asleep from pure exhaustion. + +The dread darkness of night descended upon us, and the strange odors of +the bottom-lands arose, mingling with the delicious smoky smell of the +camp-fire. + +By the light of the blazing mesquite wood, we now divided what +provisions we had, into two portions: one for supper, and one for +breakfast. A very light meal we had that evening, and I arose from the +mess-table unsatisfied and hungry. + +Jack and I sat down by the camp-fire, musing over the hard times we were +having, when suddenly I heard a terrified cry from my little son. We +rushed to the tent, lighted a candle, and oh! horror upon horrors! +his head and face were covered with large black ants; he was wailing +helplessly, and beating the air with his tiny arms. + +"My God!" cried Jack, "we're camped over an ant-hill!" + +I seized the child, and brushing off the ants as I fled, brought him out +to the fire, where by its light I succeeded in getting rid of them all. +But the horror of it! Can any mother brought up in God's country with +kind nurses and loved ones to minister to her child, for a moment +imagine how I felt when I saw those hideous, three-bodied, long-legged +black ants crawling over my baby's face? After a lapse of years, I +cannot recall that moment without a shudder. + +The soldiers at last found a place which seemed to be free from +ant-hills, and our tent was again pitched, but only to find that the +venomous things swarmed over us as soon as we lay down to rest. + +And so, after the fashion of the Missouri emigrant, we climbed into the +ambulance and lay down upon our blankets in the bottom of it, and tried +to believe we were comfortable. + +My long, hard journey of the preceding autumn, covering a period of +two months; my trying experiences during the winter at Camp Apache; the +sudden break-up and the packing; the lack of assistance from a nurse; +the terrors of the journey; the sympathy for my child, who suffered from +many ailments and principally from lack of nourishment, added to the +profound fatigue I felt, had reduced my strength to a minimum. I wonder +that I lived, but something sustained me, and when we reached Camp Verde +the next day, and drew up before Lieutenant O'Connell's quarters, and +saw Mrs. O'Connell's kind face beaming to welcome us, I felt that here +was relief at last. + +The tall Alsatian handed the pappoose cradle to Mrs. O'Connell. + +"Gracious goodness! what is this?" cried the bewildered woman; "surely +it cannot be your baby! You haven't turned entirely Indian, have you, +amongst those wild Apaches?" + +I felt sorry I had not taken him out of the basket before we arrived. I +did not realize the impression it would make at Camp Verde. After +all, they did not know anything about our life at Apache, or our rough +travels to get back from there. Here were lace-curtained windows, +well-dressed women, smart uniforms, and, in fact, civilization, compared +with what we had left. + +The women of the post gathered around the broad piazza, to see the +wonder. But when they saw the poor little wan face, the blue eyes which +looked sadly out at them from this rude cradle, the linen bandages +covering the back of the head, they did not laugh any more, but took him +and ministered to him, as only kind women can minister to a sick baby. + +There was not much rest, however, for we had to sort and rearrange our +things, and dress ourselves properly. (Oh! the luxury of a room and a +tub, after that journey!) Jack put on his best uniform, and there was +no end of visiting, in spite of the heat, which was considerable even +at that early date in May. The day there would have been pleasant enough +but for my wretched condition. + +The next morning we set out for Fort Whipple, making a long day's march, +and arriving late in the evening. The wife of the Quartermaster, a total +stranger to me, received us, and before we had time to exchange the +usual social platitudes, she gave one look at the baby, and put an end +to any such attempts. "You have a sick child; give him to me;" then I +told her some things, and she said: "I wonder he is alive." Then she +took him under her charge and declared we should not leave her house +until he was well again. She understood all about nursing, and day +by day, under her good care, and Doctor Henry Lippincott's skilful +treatment, I saw my baby brought back to life again. Can I ever forget +Mrs. Aldrich's blessed kindness? + +Up to then, I had taken no interest in Camp MacDowell, where was +stationed the company into which my husband was promoted. I knew it +was somewhere in the southern part of the Territory, and isolated. The +present was enough. I was meeting my old Fort Russell friends, and under +Doctor Lippincott's good care I was getting back a measure of strength. +Camp MacDowell was not yet a reality to me. + +We met again Colonel Wilkins and Mrs. Wilkins and Carrie, and Mrs. +Wilkins thanked me for bringing her daughter alive out of those wilds. +Poor girl; 'twas but a few months when we heard of her death, at the +birth of her second child. I have always thought her death was caused by +the long hard journey from Apache to Whipple, for Nature never intended +women to go through what we went through, on that memorable journey by +Stoneman's Lake. + +There I met again Captain Porter, and I asked him if he had progressed +any in his courtship, and he, being very much embarrassed, said he did +not know, but if patient waiting was of any avail, he believed he might +win his bride. + +After we had been at Whipple a few days, Jack came in and remarked +casually to Lieutenant Aldrich, "Well, I heard Bernard has asked to be +relieved from Ehrenberg. + +"What!" I said, "the lonely man down there on the river--the prisoner +of Chillon--the silent one? Well, they are going to relieve him, of +course?" + +"Why, yes," said Jack, falteringly, "if they can get anyone to take his +place." + +"Can't they order some one?" I inquired. + +"Of course they can," he replied, and then, turning towards the window, +he ventured: "The fact is Martha, I've been offered it, and am thinking +it over." (The real truth was, that he had applied for it, thinking it +possessed great advantages over Camp MacDowell. ) + +"What! do I hear aright? Have your senses left you? Are you crazy? +Are you going to take me to that awful place? Why, Jack, I should die +there!" + +"Now, Martha, be reasonable; listen to me, and if you really decide +against it, I'll throw up the detail. But don't you see, we shall be +right on the river, the boat comes up every fortnight or so, you can +jump aboard and go up to San Francisco." (Oh, how alluring that sounded +to my ears!) "Why, it's no trouble to get out of Arizona from Ehrenberg. +Then, too, I shall be independent, and can do just as I like, and when +I like," et caetera, et caetera. "Oh, you'll be making the greatest +mistake, if you decide against it. As for MacDowell, it's a hell of a +place, down there in the South; and you never will be able to go back +East with the baby, if we once get settled down there. Why, it's a good +fifteen days from the river." + +And so he piled up the arguments in favor of Ehrenberg, saying finally, +"You need not stop a day there. If the boat happens to be up, you can +jump right aboard and start at once down river." + +All the discomforts of the voyage on the "Newbern," and the memory of +those long days spent on the river steamer in August had paled before my +recent experiences. I flew, in imagination, to the deck of the "Gila," +and to good Captain Mellon, who would take me and my child out of that +wretched Territory. + +"Yes, yes, let us go then," I cried; for here came in my inexperience. I +thought I was choosing the lesser evil, and I knew that Jack believed it +to be so, and also that he had set his heart upon Ehrenberg, for reasons +known only to the understanding of a military man. + +So it was decided to take the Ehrenberg detail. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. THE COLORADO DESERT + +Some serpents slid from out the grass That grew in tufts by shattered +stone, Then hid below some broken mass Of ruins older than the East, +That Time had eaten, as a bone Is eaten by some savage beast. + +Great dull-eyed rattlesnakes--they lay All loathsome, yellow-skinned, +and slept Coiled tight as pine knots in the sun, With flat heads through +the centre run; Then struck out sharp, then rattling crept Flat-bellied +down the dusty way. + +--JOAQUIN MILLER. + + +At the end of a week, we started forth for Ehrenberg. Our escort was now +sent back to Camp Apache, and the Baileys remained at Fort Whipple, so +our outfit consisted of one ambulance and one army wagon. One or two +soldiers went along, to help with the teams and the camp. + +We travelled two days over a semi-civilized country, and found quite +comfortable ranches where we spent the nights. The greatest luxury was +fresh milk, and we enjoyed that at these ranches in Skull Valley. They +kept American cows, and supplied Whipple Barracks with milk and butter. +We drank, and drank, and drank again, and carried a jugful to our +bedside. The third day brought us to Cullen's ranch, at the edge of +the desert. Mrs. Cullen was a Mexican woman and had a little boy named +Daniel; she cooked us a delicious supper of stewed chicken, and fried +eggs, and good bread, and then she put our boy to bed in Daniel's crib. +I felt so grateful to her; and with a return of physical comfort, I +began to think that life, after all, might be worth the living. + +Hopefully and cheerfully the next morning we entered the vast Colorado +desert. This was verily the desert, more like the desert which our +imagination pictures, than the one we had crossed in September +from Mojave. It seemed so white, so bare, so endless, and so still; +irreclaimable, eternal, like Death itself. The stillness was appalling. +We saw great numbers of lizards darting about like lightning; they were +nearly as white as the sand itself, and sat up on their hind legs and +looked at us with their pretty, beady black eyes. It seemed very far off +from everywhere and everybody, this desert--but I knew there was a camp +somewhere awaiting us, and our mules trotted patiently on. Towards noon +they began to raise their heads and sniff the air; they knew that water +was near. They quickened their pace, and we soon drew up before a large +wooden structure. There were no trees nor grass around it. A Mexican +worked the machinery with the aid of a mule, and water was bought for +our twelve animals, at so much per head. The place was called Mesquite +Wells; the man dwelt alone in his desolation, with no living being +except his mule for company. How could he endure it! I was not able, +even faintly, to comprehend it; I had not lived long enough. He occupied +a small hut, and there he staid, year in and year out, selling water to +the passing traveller; and I fancy that travellers were not so frequent +at Mesquite Wells a quarter of a century ago. + +The thought of that hermit and his dreary surroundings filled my mind +for a long time after we drove away, and it was only when we halted and +a soldier got down to kill a great rattlesnake near the ambulance, that +my thoughts were diverted. The man brought the rattles to us and the new +toy served to amuse my little son. + +At night we arrived at Desert Station. There was a good ranch there, +kept by Hunt and Dudley, Englishmen, I believe. I did not see them, but +I wondered who they were and why they staid in such a place. They were +absent at the time; perhaps they had mines or something of the sort to +look after. One is always imagining things about people who live in such +extraordinary places. At all events, whatever Messrs. Hunt and Dudley +were doing down there, their ranch was clean and attractive, which was +more than could be said of the place where we stopped the next night, a +place called Tyson's Wells. We slept in our tent that night, for of +all places on the earth a poorly kept ranch in Arizona is the most +melancholy and uninviting. It reeks of everything unclean, morally and +physically. Owen Wister has described such a place in his delightful +story, where the young tenderfoot dances for the amusement of the old +habitues. + +One more day's travel across the desert brought us to our El Dorado. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. EHRENBERG ON THE COLORADO + +Under the burning mid-day sun of Arizona, on May 16th, our six good +mules, with the long whip cracking about their ears, and the ambulance +rattling merrily along, brought us into the village of Ehrenberg. There +was one street, so called, which ran along on the river bank, and then a +few cross streets straggling back into the desert, with here and there +a low adobe casa. The Government house stood not far from the river, and +as we drove up to the entrance the same blank white walls stared at me. +It did not look so much like a prison, after all, I thought. Captain +Bernard, the man whom I had pitied, stood at the doorway, to greet +us, and after we were inside the house he had some biscuits and wine +brought; and then the change of stations was talked of, and he said to +me, "Now, please make yourself at home. The house is yours; my things +are virtually packed up, and I leave in a day or two. There is a soldier +here who can stay with you; he has been able to attend to my simple +wants. I eat only twice a day; and here is Charley, my Indian, who +fetches the water from the river and does the chores. I dine generally +at sundown." + +A shadow fell across the sunlight in the doorway; I looked around and +there stood "Charley," who had come in with the noiseless step of the +moccasined foot. I saw before me a handsome naked Cocopah Indian, who +wore a belt and a gee-string. He seemed to feel at home and began to +help with the bags and various paraphernalia of ambulance travellers. +He looked to be about twenty-four years old. His face was smiling and +friendly and I knew I should like him. + +The house was a one-story adobe. It formed two sides of a hollow square; +the other two sides were a high wall, and the Government freight-house +respectively. The courtyard was partly shaded by a ramada and partly +open to the hot sun. There was a chicken-yard in one corner of the +inclosed square, and in the centre stood a rickety old pump, which +indicated some sort of a well. Not a green leaf or tree or blade of +grass in sight. Nothing but white sand, as far as one could see, in all +directions. + +Inside the house there were bare white walls, ceilings covered with +manta, and sagging, as they always do; small windows set in deep +embrasures, and adobe floors. Small and inconvenient rooms, opening +one into another around two sides of the square. A sort of low veranda +protected by lattice screens, made from a species of slim cactus, called +ocotilla, woven together, and bound with raw-hide, ran around a part of +the house. + +Our dinner was enlivened by some good Cocomonga wine. I tried to +ascertain something about the source of provisions, but evidently the +soldier had done the foraging, and Captain Bernard admitted that it was +difficult, adding always that he did not require much, "it was so warm," +et caetera, et caetera. The next morning I took the reins, nominally, +but told the soldier to go ahead and do just as he had always done. I +selected a small room for the baby's bath, the all important function of +the day. The Indian brought me a large tub (the same sort of a half of a +vinegar barrel we had used at Apache for ourselves), set it down in the +middle of the floor, and brought water from a barrel which stood in +the corral. A low box was placed for me to sit on. This was a bachelor +establishment, and there was no place but the floor to lay things on; +but what with the splashing and the leaking and the dripping, the floor +turned to mud and the white clothes and towels were covered with it, and +I myself was a sight to behold. The Indian stood smiling at my plight. +He spoke only a pigeon English, but said, "too much-ee wet." + +I was in despair; things began to look hopeless again to me. I thought +"surely these Mexicans must know how to manage with these floors." +Fisher, the steamboat agent, came in, and I asked him if he could not +find me a nurse. He said he would try, and went out to see what could be +done. + +He finally brought in a rather forlorn looking Mexican woman leading a +little child (whose father was not known), and she said she would come +to us for quinze pesos a month. I consulted with Fisher, and he said +she was a pretty good sort, and that we could not afford to be too +particular down in that country. And so she came; and although she was +indolent, and forever smoking cigarettes, she did care for the baby, and +fanned him when he slept, and proved a blessing to me. + +And now came the unpacking of our boxes, which had floated down the +Colorado Chiquito. The fine damask, brought from Germany for my linen +chest, was a mass of mildew; and when the books came to light, I could +have wept to see the pretty editions of Schiller, Goethe, and Lessing, +which I had bought in Hanover, fall out of their bindings; the latter, +warped out of all shape, and some of them unrecognizable. I did the best +I could, however, not to show too much concern, and gathered the pages +carefully together, to dry them in the sun. + +They were my pride, my best beloved possessions, the links that bound me +to the happy days in old Hanover. + +I went to Fisher for everything--a large, well-built American, and a +kind good man. Mrs. Fisher could not endure the life at Ehrenberg, so +she lived in San Francisco, he told me. There were several other white +men in the place, and two large stores where everything was kept that +people in such countries buy. These merchants made enormous profits, and +their families lived in luxury in San Francisco. + +The rest of the population consisted of a very poor class of Mexicans, +Cocopah, Yuma and Mojave Indians, and half-breeds. + +The duties of the army officer stationed here consisted principally in +receiving and shipping the enormous quantity of Government freight which +was landed by the river steamers. It was shipped by wagon trains across +the Territory, and at all times the work carried large responsibilities +with it. + +I soon realized that however much the present incumbent might like the +situation, it was no fit place for a woman. + +The station at Ehrenberg was what we call, in the army, "detached +service." I realized that we had left the army for the time being; that +we had cut loose from a garrison; that we were in a place where good +food could not be procured, and where there were practically no servants +to be had. That there was not a woman to speak to, or to go to for +advice or help, and, worst of all, that there was no doctor in the +place. Besides all this, my clothes were all ruined by lying wet for a +fortnight in the boxes, and I had practically nothing to wear. I did not +then know what useless things clothes were in Ehrenberg. + +The situation appeared rather serious; the weather had grown intensely +hot, and it was decided that the only thing for me to do was to go to +San Francisco for the summer. + +So one day we heard the whistle of the "Gila" going up; and when she +came down river, I was all ready to go on board, with Patrocina and +Jesusita, [*] and my own child, who was yet but five months old. I bade +farewell to the man on detached service, and we headed down river. We +seemed to go down very rapidly, although the trip lasted several days. +Patrocina took to her bed with neuralgia (or nostalgia); her little +devil of a child screamed the entire days and nights through, to the +utter discomfiture of the few other passengers. A young lieutenant and +his wife and an army surgeon, who had come from one of the posts in the +interior, were among the number, and they seemed to think that I could +help it (though they did not say so). + + * Diminutive of Jesus, a very common name amongst the + Mexicans. Pronounced Hay-soo-se-ta. + +Finally the doctor said that if I did not throw Jesusita overboard, +he would; why didn't I "wring the neck of its worthless Mexican of +a mother?" and so on, until I really grew very nervous and unhappy, +thinking what I should do after we got on board the ocean steamer. I, +a victim of seasickness, with this unlucky woman and her child on +my hands, in addition to my own! No; I made up my mind to go back to +Ehrenberg, but I said nothing. + +I did not dare to let Doctor Clark know of my decision, for I knew he +would try to dissuade me; but when we reached the mouth of the river, +and they began to transfer the passengers to the ocean steamer which +lay in the offing, I quietly sat down upon my trunk and told them I +was going back to Ehrenberg. Captain Mellon grinned; the others were +speechless; they tried persuasion, but saw it was useless; and then they +said good-bye to me, and our stern-wheeler headed about and started for +up river. + +Ehrenberg had become truly my old man of the sea; I could not get rid of +it. There I must go, and there I must stay, until circumstances and the +Fates were more propitious for my departure. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. SUMMER AT EHRENBERG + +The week we spent going up the Colorado in June was not as uncomfortable +as the time spent on the river in August of the previous year. +Everything is relative, I discovered, and I was happy in going back +to stay with the First Lieutenant of C Company, and share his fortunes +awhile longer. + +Patrocina recovered, as soon as she found we were to return to +Ehrenberg. I wondered how anybody could be so homesick for such a +God-forsaken place. I asked her if she had ever seen a tree, or green +grass (for I could talk with her quite easily now). She shook her +mournful head. "But don't you want to see trees and grass and flowers?" + +Another sad shake of the head was the only reply. + +Such people, such natures, and such lives, were incomprehensible to me +then. I could not look at things except from my own standpoint. + +She took her child upon her knee, and lighted a cigarette; I took mine +upon my knee, and gazed at the river banks: they were now old friends: I +had gazed at them many times before; how much I had experienced, and how +much had happened since I first saw them! Could it be that I should ever +come to love them, and the pungent smell of the arrow-weed which covered +them to the water's edge? + +The huge mosquitoes swarmed over us in the nights from those thick +clumps of arrow-weed and willow, and the nets with which Captain Mellon +provided us did not afford much protection. + +The June heat was bad enough, though not quite so stifling as the August +heat. I was becoming accustomed to climates, and had learned to endure +discomfort. The salt beef and the Chinaman's peach pies were no longer +offensive to me. Indeed, I had a good appetite for them, though they +were not exactly the sort of food prescribed by the modern doctor, for +a young mother. Of course, milk, eggs, and all fresh food were not to be +had on the river boats. Ice was still a thing unknown on the Colorado. + +When, after a week, the "Gila" pushed her nose up to the bank at +Ehrenberg, there stood the Quartermaster. He jumped aboard, and did not +seem in the least surprised to see me. "I knew you'd come back," said +he. I laughed, of course, and we both laughed. + +"I hadn't the courage to go on," I replied + +"Oh, well, we can make things comfortable here and get through the +summer some way," he said. "I'll build some rooms on, and a kitchen, +and we can surely get along. It's the healthiest place in the world for +children, they tell me." + +So after a hearty handshake with Captain Mellon, who had taken such +good care of me on my week's voyage up river, I being almost the only +passenger, I put my foot once more on the shores of old Ehrenberg, and +we wended our way towards the blank white walls of the Government house. +I was glad to be back, and content to wait. + +So work was begun immediately on the kitchen. My first stipulation was, +that the new rooms were to have wooden floors; for, although the Cocopah +Charley kept the adobe floors in perfect condition, by sprinkling them +down and sweeping them out every morning, they were quite impossible, +especially where it concerned white dresses and children, and the little +sharp rocks in them seemed to be so tiring to the feet. + +Life as we Americans live it was difficult in Ehrenberg. I often said: +"Oh! if we could only live as the Mexicans live, how easy it would be!" +For they had their fire built between some stones piled up in +their yard, a piece of sheet iron laid over the top: this was the +cooking-stove. A pot of coffee was made in the morning early, and the +family sat on the low porch and drank it, and ate a biscuit. Then a +kettle of frijoles [*] was put over to boil. These were boiled slowly +for some hours, then lard and salt were added, and they simmered down +until they were deliciously fit to eat, and had a thick red gravy. + + *Mexican brown bean. + +Then the young matron, or daughter of the house, would mix the +peculiar paste of flour and salt and water, for tortillas, a species +of unleavened bread. These tortillas were patted out until they were +as large as a dinner plate, and very thin; then thrown onto the +hot sheet-iron, where they baked. Each one of the family then got a +tortilla, the spoonful of beans was laid upon it, and so they managed +without the paraphernalia of silver and china and napery. + +How I envied them the simplicity of their lives! Besides, the tortillas +were delicious to eat, and as for the frijoles, they were beyond +anything I had ever eaten in the shape of beans. I took lessons in the +making of tortillas. A woman was paid to come and teach me; but I never +mastered the art. It is in the blood of the Mexican, and a girl begins +at a very early age to make the tortilla. It is the most graceful thing +to see a pretty Mexican toss the wafer-like disc over her bare arm, and +pat it out until transparent. + +This was their supper; for, like nearly all people in the tropics, they +ate only twice a day. Their fare was varied sometimes by a little carni +seca, pounded up and stewed with chile verde or chile colorado. + +Now if you could hear the soft, exquisite, affectionate drawl with which +the Mexican woman says chile verde you could perhaps come to realize +what an important part the delicious green pepper plays in the cookery +of these countries. They do not use it in its raw state, but generally +roast it whole, stripping off the thin skin and throwing away the seeds, +leaving only the pulp, which acquires a fine flavor by having been +roasted or toasted over the hot coals. + +The women were scrupulously clean and modest, and always wore, when in +their casa, a low-necked and short-sleeved white linen camisa, fitting +neatly, with bands around neck and arms. Over this they wore a calico +skirt; always white stockings and black slippers. When they ventured +out, the younger women put on muslin gowns, and carried parasols. The +older women wore a linen towel thrown over their heads, or, in cool +weather, the black riboso. I often cried: "Oh! if I could only dress as +the Mexicans do! Their necks and arms do look so cool and clean." + +I have always been sorry I did not adopt their fashion of house apparel. +Instead of that, I yielded to the prejudices of my conservative partner, +and sweltered during the day in high-necked and long-sleeved white +dresses, kept up the table in American fashion, ate American food in +so far as we could get it, and all at the expense of strength; for our +soldier cooks, who were loaned us by Captain Ernest from his company at +Fort Yuma, were constantly being changed, and I was often left with the +Indian and the indolent Patrocina. At those times, how I wished I had +no silver, no table linen, no china, and could revert to the primitive +customs of my neighbors! + +There was no market, but occasionally a Mexican killed a steer, and we +bought enough for one meal; but having no ice, and no place away from +the terrific heat, the meat was hung out under the ramada with a piece +of netting over it, until the first heat had passed out of it, and then +it was cooked. + +The Mexican, after selling what meat he could, cut the rest into thin +strips and hung it up on ropes to dry in the sun. It dried hard and +brittle, in its natural state, so pure is the air on that wonderful +river bank. They called this carni seca, and the Americans called it +"jerked beef." + +Patrocina often prepared me a dish of this, when I was unable to taste +the fresh meat. She would pound it fine with a heavy pestle, and then +put it to simmer, seasoning it with the green or red pepper. It was most +savory. There was no butter at all during the hot months, but our hens +laid a few eggs, and the Quartermaster was allowed to keep a small lot +of commissary stores, from which we drew our supplies of flour, ham, and +canned things. We were often without milk for weeks at a time, for the +cows crossed the river to graze, and sometimes could not get back until +the river fell again, and they could pick their way back across the +shifting sand bars. + +The Indian brought the water every morning in buckets from the river. +It looked like melted chocolate. He filled the barrels, and when it had +settled clear, the ollas were filled, and thus the drinking water was a +trifle cooler than the air. One day it seemed unusually cool, so I said: +"Let us see by the thermometer how cool the water really is." We found +the temperature of the water to be 86 degrees; but that, with the air at +122 in the shade, seemed quite refreshing to drink. + +I did not see any white people at all except Fisher, Abe Frank (the +mail contractor), and one or two of the younger merchants. If I wanted +anything, I went to Fisher. He always could solve the difficulty. He +procured for me an excellent middle-aged laundress, who came and brought +the linen herself, and, bowing to the floor, said always, "Buenos dias, +Senorita!" dwelling on the latter word, as a gentle compliment to a +younger woman, and then, "Mucho calor este dia," in her low, drawling +voice. + +Like the others, she was spotlessly clean, modest and gentle. I asked +her what on earth they did about bathing, for I had found the tub baths +with the muddy water so disagreeable. She told me the women bathed in +the river at daybreak, and asked me if I would like to go with them. + +I was only too glad to avail myself of her invitation, and so, like +Pharoah's daughter of old, I went with my gentle handmaiden every +morning to the river bank, and, wading in about knee-deep in the thick +red waters, we sat down and let the swift current flow by us. We dared +not go deeper; we could feel the round stones grinding against each +other as they were carried down, and we were all afraid. It was +difficult to keep one's foothold, and Capt. Mellon's words were ever +ringing in my ears, "He who disappears below the surface of the Colorado +is never seen again." But we joined hands and ventured like children +and played like children in these red waters and after all, it was much +nicer than a tub of muddy water indoors. + +A clump of low mesquite trees at the top of the bank afforded sufficient +protection at that hour; we rubbed dry, slipped on a loose gown, and +wended our way home. What a contrast to the limpid, bracing salt waters +of my own beloved shores! + +When I thought of them, I was seized with a longing which consumed me +and made my heart sick; and I thought of these poor people, who had +never known anything in their lives but those desert places, and that +muddy red water, and wondered what they would do, how they would act, +if transported into some beautiful forest, or to the cool bright shores +where clear blue waters invite to a plunge. + +Whenever the river-boat came up, we were sure to have guests, for +many officers went into the Territory via Ehrenberg. Sometimes the +"transportation" was awaiting them; at other times, they were obliged to +wait at Ehrenberg until it arrived. They usually lived on the boat, as +we had no extra rooms, but I generally asked them to luncheon or supper +(for anything that could be called a dinner was out of the question). + +This caused me some anxiety, as there was nothing to be had; but I +remembered the hospitality I had received, and thought of what they had +been obliged to eat on the voyage, and I always asked them to share what +we could provide, however simple it might be. + +At such times we heard all the news from Washington and the States, and +all about the fashions, and they, in their turn, asked me all sorts of +questions about Ehrenberg and how I managed to endure the life. They +were always astonished when the Cocopah Indian waited on them at table, +for he wore nothing but his gee-string, and although it was an every-day +matter to us, it rather took their breath away. + +But "Charley" appealed to my aesthetic sense in every way. Tall, and +well-made, with clean-cut limbs and features, fine smooth copper-colored +skin, handsome face, heavy black hair done up in pompadour fashion and +plastered with Colorado mud, which was baked white by the sun, a small +feather at the crown of his head, wide turquoise bead bracelets upon his +upper arm, and a knife at his waist--this was my Charley, my half-tame +Cocopah, my man about the place, my butler in fact, for Charley +understood how to open a bottle of Cocomonga gracefully, and to keep the +glasses filled. + +Charley also wheeled the baby out along the river banks, for we had +had a fine "perambulator" sent down from San Francisco. It was an +incongruous sight, to be sure, and one must laugh to think of it. The +Ehrenberg babies did not have carriages, and the village flocked to see +it. There sat the fair-haired, six-months-old boy, with but one linen +garment on, no cap, no stockings--and this wild man of the desert, his +knife gleaming at his waist, and his gee-string floating out behind, +wheeling and pushing the carriage along the sandy roads. + +But this came to an end; for one day Fisher rushed in, breathless, and +said: "Well! here is your baby! I was just in time, for that Injun of +yours left the carriage in the middle of the street, to look in at the +store window, and a herd of wild cattle came tearing down! I grabbed the +carriage to the sidewalk, cussed the Injun out, and here's the child! +It's no use," he added, "you can't trust those Injuns out of sight." + +The heat was terrific. Our cots were placed in the open part of the +corral (as our courtyard was always called). It was a desolate-looking +place; on one side, the high adobe wall; on another, the freight-house; +and on the other two, our apartments. Our kitchen and the two other +rooms were now completed. The kitchen had no windows, only open spaces +to admit the air and light, and we were often startled in the night by +the noise of thieves in the house, rummaging for food. + +At such times, our soldier-cook would rush into the corral with his +rifle, the Lieutenant would jump up and seize his shotgun, which always +stood near by, and together they would roam through the house. But the +thieving Indians could jump out of the windows as easily as they jumped +in, and the excitement would soon be over. The violent sand-storms +which prevail in those deserts, sometimes came up in the night, without +warning; then we rushed half suffocated and blinded into the house, and +as soon as we had closed the windows it had passed on, leaving a deep +layer of sand on everything in the room, and on our perspiring bodies. + +Then came the work, next day, for the Indian had to carry everything out +of doors; and one storm was so bad that he had to use a shovel to remove +the sand from the floors. The desert literally blew into the house. + +And now we saw a singular phenomenon. In the late afternoon of each day, +a hot steam would collect over the face of the river, then slowly rise, +and floating over the length and breadth of this wretched hamlet of +Ehrenberg, descend upon and envelop us. Thus we wilted and perspired, +and had one part of the vapor bath without its bracing concomitant +of the cool shower. In a half hour it was gone, but always left me +prostrate; then Jack gave me milk punch, if milk was at hand, or sherry +and egg, or something to bring me up to normal again. We got to dread +the steam so; it was the climax of the long hot day and was peculiar +to that part of the river. The paraphernalia by the side of our cots +at night consisted of a pitcher of cold tea, a lantern, matches, a +revolver, and a shotgun. Enormous yellow cats, which lived in and around +the freight-house, darted to and fro inside and outside the house, along +the ceiling-beams, emitting loud cries, and that alone was enough to +prevent sleep. In the old part of the house, some of the partitions did +not run up to the roof, but were left open (for ventilation, I suppose), +thus making a fine play-ground for cats and rats, which darted along, +squeaking, meowing and clattering all the night through. An uncanny +feeling of insecurity was ever with me. What with the accumulated effect +of the day's heat, what with the thieving Indians, the sand-storms and +the cats, our nights by no means gave us the refreshment needed by our +worn-out systems. By the latter part of the summer, I was so exhausted +by the heat and the various difficulties of living, that I had become a +mere shadow of my former self. + +Men and children seem to thrive in those climates, but it is death to +women, as I had often heard. + +It was in the late summer that the boat arrived one day bringing a large +number of staff officers and their wives, head clerks, and "general +service" men for Fort Whipple. They had all been stationed in Washington +for a number of years, having had what is known in the army as +"gilt-edged" details. I threw a linen towel over my head, and went to +the boat to call on them, and, remembering my voyage from San Francisco +the year before, prepared to sympathize with them. But they had met +their fate with resignation; knowing they should find a good climate and +a pleasant post up in the mountains, and as they had no young children +with them, they were disposed to make merry over their discomforts. + +We asked them to come to our quarters for supper, and to come early, as +any place was cooler than the boat, lying down there in the melting sun, +and nothing to look upon but those hot zinc-covered decks or the ragged +river banks, with their uninviting huts scattered along the edge. + +The surroundings somehow did not fit these people. Now Mrs. Montgomery +at Camp Apache seemed to have adapted herself to the rude setting of +a log cabin in the mountains, but these were Staff people and they +had enjoyed for years the civilized side of army life; now they were +determined to rough it, but they did not know how to begin. + +The beautiful wife of the Adjutant-General was mourning over some +freckles which had come to adorn her dazzling complexion, and she had +put on a large hat with a veil. Was there ever anything so incongruous +as a hat and veil in Ehrenberg! For a long time I had not seen a woman +in a hat; the Mexicans all wore a linen towel over their heads. + +But her beauty was startling, and, after all, I thought, a woman so +handsome must try to live up to her reputation. Now for some weeks Jack +had been investigating the sulphur well, which was beneath the old pump +in our corral. He had had a long wooden bath-tub built, and I watched it +with a lazy interest, and observed his glee as he found a longshoreman +or roustabout who could caulk it. The shape was exactly like a coffin +(but men have no imaginations), and when I told him how it made me feel +to look at it, he said: "Oh! you are always thinking of gloomy things. +It's a fine tub, and we are mighty lucky to find that man to caulk it. +I'm going to set it up in the little square room, and lead the sulphur +water into it, and it will be splendid, and just think," he added, "what +it will do for rheumatism!" + +Now Jack had served in the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteers during the +Civil War, and the swamps of the Chickahominy had brought him into close +acquaintance with that dread disease. + +As for myself, rheumatism was about the only ailment I did not have at +that time, and I suppose I did not really sympathize with him. But this +energetic and indomitable man mended the pump, with Fisher's help, and +led the water into the house, laid a floor, set up the tub in the little +square room, and behold, our sulphur bath! + +After much persuasion, I tried the bath. The water flowed thick and inky +black into the tub; of course the odor was beyond description, and the +effect upon me was not such that I was ever willing to try it again. +Jack beamed. "How do you like it, Martha?" said he. "Isn't it fine? Why +people travel hundreds of miles to get a bath like that!" + +I had my own opinion, but I did not wish to dampen his enthusiasm. +Still, in order to protect myself in the future, I had to tell him I +thought I should ordinarily prefer the river. + +"Well," he said, "there are those who will be thankful to have a bath in +that water; I am going to use it every day." + +I remonstrated: "How do you know what is in that inky water--and how do +you dare to use it?" + +"Oh, Fisher says it's all right; people here used to drink it years ago, +but they have not done so lately, because the pump was broken down." + +The Washington people seemed glad to pay us the visit. Jack's eyes +danced with true generosity and glee. He marked his victim; and, +selecting the Staff beauty and the Paymaster's wife, he expatiated on +the wonderful properties of his sulphur bath. + +"Why, yes, the sooner the better," said Mrs. Martin. "I'd give +everything I have in this world, and all my chances for the next, to get +a tub bath!" + +"It will be so refreshing just before supper," said Mrs. Maynadier, who +was more conservative. + +So the Indian, who had put on his dark blue waist-band (or sash), made +from flannel, revelled out and twisted into strands of yarn, and which +showed the supple muscles of his clean-cut thighs, and who had done up +an extra high pompadour in white clay, and burnished his knife, which +gleamed at his waist, ushered these Washington women into a small +apartment adjoining the bath-room, and turned on the inky stream into +the sarcophagus. + +The Staff beauty looked at the black pool, and shuddered. "Do you use +it?" said she. + +"Occasionally," I equivocated. + +"Does it hurt the complexion?" she ventured. + +"Jack thinks it excellent for that," I replied. + +And then I left them, directing Charley to wait, and prepare the bath +for the second victim. + +By and by the beauty came out. "Where is your mirror?" cried she (for +our appointments were primitive, and mirrors did not grow on bushes at +Ehrenberg); "I fancy I look queer," she added, and, in truth, she did; +for our water of the Styx did not seem to affiliate with the chemical +properties of the numerous cosmetics used by her, more or less, all her +life, but especially on the voyage, and her face had taken on a queer +color, with peculiar spots here and there. + +Fortunately my mirrors were neither large nor true, and she never really +saw how she looked, but when she came back into the living-room, she +laughed and said to Jack: "What kind of water did you say that was? I +never saw any just like it." + +"Oh! you have probably never been much to the sulphur springs," said he, +with his most superior and crushing manner. + +"Perhaps not," she replied, "but I thought I knew something about it; +why, my entire body turned such a queer color." + +"Oh! it always does that," said this optimistic soldier man, "and that +shows it is doing good." + +The Paymaster's wife joined us later. I think she had profited by the +beauty's experience, for she said but little. + +The Quartermaster was happy; and what if his wife did not believe +in that uncanny stream which flowed somewhere from out the infernal +regions, underlying that wretched hamlet, he had succeeded in being a +benefactor to two travellers at least! + +We had a merry supper: cold ham, chicken, and fresh biscuit, a plenty of +good Cocomonga wine, sweet milk, which to be sure turned to curds as it +stood on the table, some sort of preserves from a tin, and good coffee. +I gave them the best to be had in the desert--and at all events it was a +change from the Chinaman's salt beef and peach pies, and they saw fresh +table linen and shining silver, and accepted our simple hospitality in +the spirit in which we gave it. + +Alice Martin was much amused over Charley; and Charley could do nothing +but gaze on her lovely features. "Why on earth don't you put some +clothes on him?" laughed she, in her delightful way. + +I explained to her that the Indian's fashion of wearing white men's +clothes was not pleasing to the eye, and told her that she must +cultivate her aesthetic sense, and in a short time she would be able to +admire these copper-colored creatures of Nature as much as I did. + +But I fear that a life spent mostly in a large city had cast fetters +around her imagination, and that the life at Fort Whipple afterwards +savored too much of civilization to loosen the bonds of her soul. I +saw her many times again, but she never recovered from her amazement at +Charley's lack of apparel, and she never forgot the sulphur bath. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. MY DELIVERER + +One day, in the early autumn, as the "Gila" touched at Ehrenberg, on her +way down river, Captain Mellon called Jack on to the boat, and, pointing +to a young woman, who was about to go ashore, said: "Now, there's a girl +I think will do for your wife. She imagines she has bronchial troubles, +and some doctor has ordered her to Tucson. She comes from up North +somewhere. Her money has given out, and she thinks I am going to leave +her here. Of course, you know I would not do that; I can take her on +down to Yuma, but I thought your wife might like to have her, so I've +told her she could not travel on this boat any farther without she could +pay her fare. Speak to her: she looks to me like a nice sort of a girl." + +In the meantime, the young woman had gone ashore and was sitting upon +her trunk, gazing hopelessly about. Jack approached, offered her a home +and good wages, and brought her to me. + +I could have hugged her for very joy, but I restrained myself and +advised her to stay with us for awhile, saying the Ehrenberg climate was +quite as good as that of Tucson. + +She remarked quietly: "You do not look as if it agreed with you very +well, ma'am." + +Then I told her of my young child, and my hard journeys, and she decided +to stay until she could earn enough to reach Tucson. + +And so Ellen became a member of our Ehrenberg family. She was a fine, +strong girl, and a very good cook, and seemed to be in perfect health. +She said, however, that she had had an obstinate cough which nothing +would reach, and that was why she came to Arizona. From that time, +things went more smoothly. Some yeast was procured from the Mexican +bakeshop, and Ellen baked bread and other things, which seemed like the +greatest luxuries to us. We sent the soldier back to his company at Fort +Yuma, and began to live with a degree of comfort. + +I looked at Ellen as my deliverer, and regarded her coming as a special +providence, the kind I had heard about all my life in New England, but +had never much believed in. + +After a few weeks, Ellen was one evening seized with a dreadful +toothache, which grew so severe that she declared she could not endure +it another hour: she must have the tooth out. "Was there a dentist in +the place?" + +I looked at Jack: he looked at me: Ellen groaned with pain. + +"Why, yes! of course there is," said this man for emergencies; "Fisher +takes out teeth, he told me so the other day." + +Now I did not believe that Fisher knew any more about extracting teeth +than I did myself, but I breathed a prayer to the Recording Angel, and +said naught. + +"I'll go get Fisher," said Jack. + +Now Fisher was the steamboat agent. He stood six feet in his stockings, +had a powerful physique and a determined eye. Men in those countries had +to be determined; for if they once lost their nerve, Heaven save them. +Fisher had handsome black eyes. + +When they came in, I said: "Can you attend to this business, Mr. +Fisher?" + +"I think so," he replied, quietly. "The Quartermaster says he has some +forceps." + +I gasped. Jack, who had left the room, now appeared, a box of +instruments in his hand, his eyes shining with joy and triumph. + +Fisher took the box, and scanned it. "I guess they'll do," said he. + +So we placed Ellen in a chair, a stiff barrack chair, with a raw-hide +seat, and no arms. + +It was evening. + +"Mattie, you must hold the candle," said Jack. "I'll hold Ellen, and, +Fisher, you pull the tooth." + +So I lighted the candle, and held it, while Ellen tried, by its +flickering light, to show Fisher the tooth that ached. + +Fisher looked again at the box of instruments. "Why," said he, "these +are lower jaw rollers, the kind used a hundred years ago; and her tooth +is an upper jaw." + +"Never mind," answered the Lieutenant, "the instruments are all right. +Fisher, you can get the tooth out, that's all you want, isn't it?" + +The Lieutenant was impatient; and besides he did not wish any slur cast +upon his precious instruments. + +So Fisher took up the forceps, and clattered around amongst Ellen's +sound white teeth. His hand shook, great beads of perspiration gathered +on his face, and I perceived a very strong odor of Cocomonga wine. He +had evidently braced for the occasion. + +It was, however, too late to protest. He fastened onto a molar, and with +the lion's strength which lay in his gigantic frame, he wrenched it out. + +Ellen put up her hand and felt the place. "My God! you've pulled the +wrong tooth!" cried she, and so he had. + +I seized a jug of red wine which stood near by, and poured out a +gobletful, which she drank. The blood came freely from her mouth, and I +feared something dreadful had happened. + +Fisher declared she had shown him the wrong tooth, and was perfectly +willing to try again. I could not witness the second attempt, so I put +the candle down and fled. + +The stout-hearted and confiding girl allowed the second trial, and +between the steamboat agent, the Lieutenant, and the red wine, the +aching molar was finally extracted. + +This was a serious and painful occurrence. It did not cause any of us +to laugh, at the time. I am sure that Ellen, at least, never saw the +comical side of it. + +When it was all over, I thanked Fisher, and Jack beamed upon me with: +"You see, Mattie, my case of instruments did come in handy, after all." + +Encouraged by success, he applied for a pannier of medicines, and the +Ehrenberg citizens soon regarded him as a healer. At a certain hour in +the morning, the sick ones came to his office, and he dispensed simple +drugs to them and was enabled to do much good. He seemed to have a sort +of intuitive knowledge about medicines and performed some miraculous +cures, but acquired little or no facility in the use of the language. + +I was often called in as interpreter, and with the help of the sign +language, and the little I knew of Spanish, we managed to get an idea of +the ailments of these poor people. + +And so our life flowed on in that desolate spot, by the banks of the +Great Colorado. + +I rarely went outside the enclosure, except for my bath in the river at +daylight, or for some urgent matter. The one street along the river was +hot and sandy and neglected. One had not only to wade through the sand, +but to step over the dried heads or horns or bones of animals left there +to whiten where they died, or thrown out, possibly, when some one killed +a sheep or beef. Nothing decayed there, but dried and baked hard in that +wonderful air and sun. + +Then, the groups of Indians, squaws and halfbreeds loafing around the +village and the store! One never felt sure what one was to meet, and +although by this time I tolerated about everything that I had been +taught to think wicked or immoral, still, in Ehrenberg, the limit was +reached, in the sights I saw on the village streets, too bold and too +rude to be described in these pages. + +The few white men there led respectable lives enough for that country. +The standard was not high, and when I thought of the dreary years they +had already spent there without their families, and the years they must +look forward to remaining there, I was willing to reserve my judgement. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. WINTER IN EHRENBERG + +We asked my sister, Mrs. Penniman, to come out and spend the winter with +us, and to bring her son, who was in most delicate health. It was said +that the climate of Ehrenberg would have a magical effect upon all +diseases of the lungs or throat. So, to save her boy, my sister made +the long and arduous trip out from New England, arriving in Ehrenberg in +October. + +What a joy to see her, and to initiate her into the ways of our life in +Arizona! Everything was new, everything was a wonder to her and to my +nephew. At first, he seemed to gain perceptibly, and we had great hopes +of his recovery. + +It was now cool enough to sleep indoors, and we began to know what it +was to have a good night's rest. + +But no sooner had we gotten one part of our life comfortably arranged, +before another part seemed to fall out of adjustment. Accidents and +climatic conditions kept my mind in a perpetual state of unrest. + +Our dining-room door opened through two small rooms into the kitchen, +and one day, as I sat at the table, waiting for Jack to come in to +supper, I heard a strange sort of crashing noise. Looking towards the +kitchen, through the vista of open doorways, I saw Ellen rush to the +door which led to the courtyard. She turned a livid white, threw up +her hands, and cried, "Great God! the Captain!" She was transfixed with +horror. + +I flew to the door, and saw that the pump had collapsed and gone down +into the deep sulphur well. In a second, Jack's head and hands appeared +at the edge; he seemed to be caught in the debris of rotten timber. +Before I could get to him, he had scrambled half way out. "Don't come +near this place," he cried, "it's all caving in!" + +And so it seemed; for, as he worked himself up and out, the entire +structure feel in, and half the corral with it, as it looked to me. + +Jack escaped what might have been an unlucky bath in his sulphur well, +and we all recovered our composure as best we could. + +Surely, if life was dull at Ehrenberg, it could not be called exactly +monotonous. We were not obliged to seek our excitement outside; we had +plenty of it, such as it was, within our walls. + +My confidence in Ehrenberg, however, as a salubrious dwelling-place, was +being gradually and literally undermined. I began to be distrustful of +the very ground beneath my feet. Ellen felt the same way, evidently, +although we did not talk much about it. She probably longed also +for some of her own kind; and when, one morning, we went into the +dining-room for breakfast, Ellen stood, hat on, bag in hand, at the +door. Dreading to meet my chagrin, she said: "Good-bye, Captain; +good-bye, missis, you've been very kind to me. I'm leaving on the stage +for Tucson--where I first started for, you know." + +And she tripped out and climbed up into the dusty, rickety vehicle +called "the stage." I had felt so safe about Ellen, as I did not know +that any stage line ran through the place. + +And now I was in a fine plight! I took a sunshade, and ran over to +Fisher's house. "Mr. Fisher, what shall I do? Ellen has gone to Tucson!" + +Fisher bethought himself, and we went out together in the village. Not +a woman to be found who would come to cook for us! There was only one +thing to do. The Quartermaster was allowed a soldier, to assist in the +Government work. I asked him if he understood cooking; he said he had +never done any, but he would try, if I would show him how. + +This proved a hopeless task, and I finally gave it up. Jack dispatched +an Indian runner to Fort Yuma, ninety miles or more down river, begging +Captain Ernest to send us a soldier-cook on the next boat. + +This was a long time to wait; the inconveniences were intolerable: there +were our four selves, Patrocina and Jesusita, the soldier-clerk and the +Indian, to be provided for: Patrocina prepared carni seca with peppers, +a little boy came around with cuajada, a delicious sweet curd cheese, +and I tried my hand at bread, following out Ellen's instructions. + +How often I said to my husband. "If we must live in this wretched place, +let's give up civilization and live as the Mexicans do! They are the +only happy beings around here. + +"Look at them, as you pass along the street! At nearly any hour in the +day you can see them, sitting under their ramada, their backs propped +against the wall of their casa, calmly smoking cigarettes and gazing at +nothing, with a look of ineffable contentment upon their features! They +surely have solved the problem of life!" + +But we seemed never to be able to free ourselves from the fetters of +civilization, and so I struggled on. + +One evening after dusk, I went into the kitchen, opened the kitchen +closet door to take out some dish, when clatter! bang! down fell the +bread-pan, and a shower of other tin ware, and before I could fairly get +my breath, out jumped two young squaws and without deigning to glance +at me they darted across the kitchen and leaped out the window like two +frightened fawn. + +They had on nothing but their birthday clothes and as I was somewhat +startled at the sight of them, I stood transfixed, my eyes gazing at the +open space through which they had flown. + +Charley, the Indian, was in the corral, filling the ollas, and, hearing +the commotion, came in and saw just the disappearing heels of the two +squaws. + +I said, very sternly: "Charley, how came those squaws in my closet?" He +looked very much ashamed and said: "Oh, me tell you: bad man go to kill +'em; I hide 'em." + +"Well," said I, "do not hide any more girls in this casa! You savez +that?" + +He bowed his head in acquiescence. + +I afterwards learned that one of the girls was his sister. + +The weather was now fairly comfortable, and in the evenings we sat under +the ramada, in front of the house, and watched the beautiful pink +glow which spread over the entire heavens and illuminated the distant +mountains of Lower California. I have never seen anything like that +wonderful color, which spread itself over sky, river and desert. For an +hour, one could have believed oneself in a magician's realm. + +At about this time, the sad-eyed Patrocina found it expedient to +withdraw into the green valleys of Lower California, to recuperate for a +few months. With the impish Jesusita in her arms, she bade me a mournful +good-bye. Worthless as she was from the standpoint of civilized morals, +I was attached to her and felt sorry to part with her. + +Then I took a Mexican woman from Chihuahua. Now the Chihuahuans hold +their heads high, and it was rather with awe that I greeted the tall +middle-aged Chihuahuan lady who came to be our little son's nurse. Her +name was Angela. "Angel of light," I thought, how fortunate I am to get +her! + +After a few weeks, Fisher observed that the whole village was eating +Ferris ham, an unusual delicacy in Ehrenberg, and that the Goldwaters' +had sold none. So he suggested that our commissary storehouse be looked +to; and it was found that a dozen hams or so had been withdrawn from +their canvas covers, the covers stuffed with straw, and hung back in +place. Verily the Chihuahuan was adding to her pin-money in a most +unworthy fashion, and she had to go. After that, I was left without a +nurse. My little son was now about nine months old. + +Milk began to be more plentiful at this season, and, with my sister's +advice and help, I decided to make the one great change in a baby's life +i.e., to take him from his mother. Modern methods were unknown then, and +we had neither of us any experience in these matters and there was no +doctor in the place. + +The result was, that both the baby and myself were painfully and +desperately ill and not knowing which way to turn for aid, when, by a +lucky turn of Fortune's wheel, our good, dear Doctor Henry Lippincott +came through Ehrenberg on his way out to the States. Once more he took +care of us, and it is to him that I believe I owe my life. + +Captain Ernest sent us a cook from Yuma, and soon some officers came +for the duck-shooting. There were thousands of ducks around the various +lagoons in the neighborhood, and the sport was rare. We had all the +ducks we could eat. + +Then came an earthquake, which tore and rent the baked earth apart. The +ground shivered, the windows rattled, the birds fell close to the ground +and could not fly, the stove-pipes fell to the floor, the thick walls +cracked and finally, the earth rocked to and fro like some huge thing +trying to get its balance. + +It was in the afternoon. My sister and I were sitting with our +needle-work in the living-room. Little Harry was on the floor, occupied +with some toys. I was paralyzed with fear; my sister did not move. We +sat gazing at each other, scarce daring to breathe, expecting every +instant the heavy walls to crumble about our heads. The earth rocked and +rocked, and rocked again, then swayed and swayed and finally was still. +My sister caught Harry in her arms, and then Jack and Willie came +breathlessly in. "Did you feel it?" said Jack. + +"Did we feel it!" said I, scornfully. + +Sarah was silent, and I looked so reproachfully at Jack, that he +dropped his light tone, and said: "It was pretty awful. We were in the +Goldwaters' store, when suddenly it grew dark and the lamps above our +heads began to rattle and swing, and we all rushed out into the middle +of the street and stood, rather dazed, for we scarcely knew what had +happened; then we hurried home. But it's all over now." + +"I do not believe it," said I; "we shall have more"; and, in fact, we +did have two light shocks in the night, but no more followed, and the +next morning, we recovered, in a measure, from our fright and went out +to see the great fissures in that treacherous crust of earth upon which +Ehrenberg was built. + +I grew afraid, after that, and the idea that the earth would eventually +open and engulf us all took possession of my mind. + +My health, already weakened by shocks and severe strains, gave way +entirely. I, who had gloried in the most perfect health, and had a +constitution of iron, became an emaciated invalid. + +From my window, one evening at sundown, I saw a weird procession moving +slowly along towards the outskirts of the village. It must be a funeral, +thought I, and it flashed across my mind that I had never seen the +burying-ground. + +A man with a rude cross led the procession. Then came some Mexicans with +violins and guitars. After the musicians, came the body of the deceased, +wrapped in a white cloth, borne on a bier by friends, and followed by +the little band of weeping women, with black ribosos folded about their +heads. They did not use coffins at Ehrenberg, because they had none, I +suppose. + +The next day I asked Jack to walk to the grave-yard with me. He +postponed it from day to day, but I insisted upon going. At last, he +took me to see it. + +There was no enclosure, but the bare, sloping, sandy place was sprinkled +with graves, marked by heaps of stones, and in some instances by rude +crosses of wood, some of which had been wrenched from their upright +position by the fierce sand-storms. There was not a blade of grass, a +tree, or a flower. I walked about among these graves, and close beside +some of them I saw deep holes and whitnened bones. I was quite ignorant +or unthinking, and asked what the holes were. + +"It is where the coyotes and wolves come in the nights," said Jack. + +My heart sickened as I thought of these horrors, and I wondered if +Ehrenberg held anything in store for me worse than what I had already +seen. We turned away from this unhallowed grave-yard and walked to our +quarters. I had never known much about "nerves," but I began to see +spectres in the night, and those ghastly graves with their coyote-holes +were ever before me. The place was but a stone's throw from us, and the +uneasy spirits from these desecrated graves began to haunt me. I +could not sit alone on the porch at night, for they peered through the +lattice, and mocked at me, and beckoned. Some had no heads, some no +arms, but they pointed or nodded towards the grewsome burying-ground: +"You'll be with us soon, you'll be with us soon." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. RETURN TO THE STATES + +I dream of the east wind's tonic, Of the breakers' stormy roar, And the +peace of the inner harbor With the long low Shimmo shore. + +* * * * + +I long for the buoy-bell's tolling When the north wind brings from afar +The smooth, green, shining billows, To be churned into foam on the bar. + +Oh! for the sea-gulls' screaming As they swoop so bold and free! Oh! for +the fragrant commons, And the glorious open sea!-- + +For the restful great contentment, For the joy that is never known Till +past the jetty and Brant Point Light The Islander comes to his own! + +--MARY E. STARBUCK. + + +"I must send you out. I see that you cannot stand it here another +month," said Jack one day; and so he bundled us onto the boat in the +early spring, and took us down the river to meet the ocean steamer. + +There was no question about it this time, and I well knew it. + +I left my sister and her son in Ehrenberg, and I never saw my nephew +again. A month later, his state of health became so alarming that my +sister took him to San Francisco. He survived the long voyage, but died +there a few weeks later at the home of my cousin. + +At Fort Yuma we telegraphed all over the country for a nurse, but no +money would tempt those Mexican women to face an ocean voyage. Jack put +me on board the old "Newbern" in charge of the Captain, waited to see +our vessel under way, then waved good-bye from the deck of the "Gila," +and turned his face towards his post and duty. I met the situation +as best I could, and as I have already described a voyage on this old +craft, I shall not again enter into details. There was no stewardess +on board, and all arrangements were of the crudest description. Both +my child and I were seasick all the way, and the voyage lasted sixteen +days. Our misery was very great. + +The passengers were few in number, only a couple of Mexican miners +who had been prospecting, an irritable old Mexican woman, and a German +doctor, who was agreeable but elusive. + +The old Mexican woman sat on the deck all day, with her back against the +stateroom door; she was a picturesque and indolent figure. + +There was no diversion, no variety; my little boy required constant care +and watching. The days seemed endless. Everbody bought great bunches of +green bananas at the ports in Mexico, where we stopped for passengers. + +The old woman was irritable, and one day when she saw the agreeable +German doctor pulling bananas from the bunch which she had hung in the +sun to ripen, she got up muttering "Carramba," and shaking her fist +in his face. He appeased her wrath by offering her, in the most fluent +Spanish, some from his own bunch when they should be ripe. + +Such were my surroundings on the old "Newbern." The German doctor +was interesting, and I loved to talk with him, on days when I was not +seasick, and to read the letters which he had received from his family, +who were living on their Rittergut (or landed estates) in Prussia. + +He amused me by tales of his life at a wretched little mining village +somewhere about fifty miles from Ehrenberg, and I was always wondering +how he came to have lived there. + +He had the keenest sense of humor, and as I listened to the tales of +his adventures and miraculous escapes from death at the hands of these +desperate folk, I looked in his large laughing blue eyes and tried to +solve the mystery. + +For that he was of noble birth and of ancient family there was no doubt. +There were the letters, there was the crest, and here was the offshoot +of the family. I made up my mind that he was a ne'er-do-weel and a +rolling stone. He was elusive, and, beyond his adventures, told me +nothing of himself. It was some time after my arrival in San Francisco +that I learned more about him. + +Now, after we rounded Cape St. Lucas, we were caught in the long heavy +swell of the Pacific Ocean, and it was only at intervals that my little +boy and I could leave our stateroom. The doctor often held him while I +ran below to get something to eat, and I can never forget his kindness; +and if, as I afterward heard in San Francisco, he really had entered +the "Gate of a hundred sorrows," it would perhaps best explain his +elusiveness, his general condition, and his sometimes dazed expression. + +A gentle and kindly spirit, met by chance, known through the propinquity +of a sixteen days' voyage, and never forgotten. + +Everything comes to an end, however interminable it may seem, and at +last the sharp and jagged outlines of the coast began to grow softer and +we approached the Golden Gate. + +The old "Newbern," with nothing in her but ballast, rolled and lurched +along, through the bright green waters of the outer bar. I stood leaning +against the great mast, steadying myself as best I could, and the tears +rolled down my face; for I saw the friendly green hills, and before me +lay the glorious bay of San Francisco. I had left behind me the deserts, +the black rocks, the burning sun, the snakes, the scorpions, the +centipedes, the Indians and the Ehrenberg graveyard; and so the tears +flowed, and I did not try to stop them; they were tears of joy. + +The custom officers wanted to confiscate the great bundles of Mexican +cigarettes they found in my trunk, but "No," I told them, "they were for +my own use." They raised their eyebrows, gave me one look, and put them +back into the trunk. + +My beloved California relatives met us, and took care of us for a +fortnight, and when I entered a Pullman car for a nine days' journey to +my old home, it seemed like the most luxurious comfort, although I had +a fourteen-months-old child in my arms, and no nurse. So does everything +in this life go by comparison. + +Arriving in Boston, my sister Harriet met me at the train, and as +she took little Harry from my arms she cried: "Where did you get that +sunbonnet? Now the baby can't wear that in Boston!" + +Of course we were both thinking hard of all that had happened to me +since we parted, on the morning after my wedding, two years before, and +we were so overcome with the joy of meeting, that if it had not been for +the baby's white sunbonnet, I do not know what kind of a scene we might +have made. That saved the situation, and after a few days of rest and +necessary shopping, we started for our old home in Nantucket. Such a +welcome as the baby and I had from my mother and father and all old +friends! + +But I saw sadness in their faces, and I heard it in their voices, for no +one thought I could possibly live. I felt, however, sure it was not too +late. I knew the East wind's tonic would not fail me, its own child. + +Stories of our experiences and misfortunes were eagerly listened to, by +the family, and betwixt sighs and laughter they declared they were going +to fill some boxes which should contain everything necessary for comfort +in those distant places. So one room in our old house was set apart for +this; great boxes were brought, and day by day various articles, useful, +ornamental, and comfortable, and precious heirlooms of silver and glass, +were packed away in them. It was the year of 1876, the year of the great +Centennial, at Philadelphia. Everybody went, but it had no attractions +for me. I was happy enough, enjoying the health-giving air and the +comforts of an Eastern home. I wondered that I had ever complained about +anything there, or wished to leave that blissful spot. + +The poorest person in that place by the sea had more to be thankful for, +in my opinion, than the richest people in Arizona. I felt as if I must +cry it out from the house-tops. My heart was thankful every minute of +the day and night, for every breath of soft air that I breathed, for +every bit of fresh fish that I ate, for fresh vegetables, and for +butter--for gardens, for trees, for flowers, for the good firm earth +beneath my feet. I wrote the man on detached service that I should never +return to Ehrenberg. + +After eight months, in which my health was wholly restored, I heard the +good news that Captain Corliss had applied for his first lieutenant, and +I decided to join him at once at Camp MacDowell. + +Although I had not wholly forgotten that Camp MacDowell had been called +by very bad names during our stay at Fort Whipple, at the time that Jack +decided on the Ehrenberg detail, I determined to brave it, in all its +unattractiveness, isolation and heat, for I knew there was a garrison +and a Doctor there, and a few officers' families, I knew supplies were +to be obtained and the ordinary comforts of a far-off post. Then too, +in my summer in the East I had discovered that I was really a soldier's +wife and I must go back to it all. To the army with its glitter and +its misery, to the post with its discomforts, to the soldiers, to the +drills, to the bugle-calls, to the monotony, to the heat of Southern +Arizona, to the uniform and the stalwart Captains and gay Lieutenants +who wore it, I felt the call and I must go. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. BACK TO ARIZONA + +The last nails were driven in the precious boxes, and I started overland +in November with my little son, now nearly two years old. + +"Overland" in those days meant nine days from New York to San Francisco. +Arriving in Chicago, I found it impossible to secure a section on the +Pullman car so was obliged to content myself with a lower berth. I did +not allow myself to be disappointed. + +On entering the section, I saw an enormous pair of queer cow hide shoes, +the very queerest shoes I had ever seen, lying on the floor, with a much +used travelling bag. I speculated a good deal on the shoes, but did not +see the owner of them until several hours later, when a short thick-set +German with sandy close-cut beard entered and saluted me politely. "You +are noticing my shoes perhaps Madame?" + +"Yes" I said, involuntarily answering him in German. + +His face shone with pleasure and he explained to me that they were made +in Russia and he always wore them when travelling. "What have we," I +thought, "an anarchist?" + +But with the inexperience and fearlessness of youth, I entered into a +most delightful conversation in German with him. I found him rather an +extraordinarily well educated gentleman and he said he lived in Nevada, +but had been over to Vienna to place his little boy at a military +school, "as," he said, "there is nothing like a uniform to give a +boy self-respect." He said his wife had died several months before. I +congratulated myself that the occupant of the upper berth was at least a +gentleman. + +The next day, as we sat opposite each other chatting, always in German, +he paused, and fixing his eyes rather steadily upon me he remarked: "Do +you think I put on mourning when my wife died? no indeed, I put on white +kid gloves and had a fiddler and danced at the grave. All this mourning +that people have is utter nonsense." + +I was amazed at the turn his conversation had taken and sat quite still, +not knowing just what to say or to do. + +After awhile, he looked at me steadily, and said, very deferentially, +"Madame, the spirit of my dead wife is looking at me from out your +eyes." + +By this time I realized that the man was a maniac, and I had always +heard that one must agree with crazy people, so I nodded, and that +seemed to satisfy him, and bye and bye after some minutes which seemed +like hours to me, he went off to the smoking room. + +The tension was broken and I appealed to a very nice looking woman who +happened to be going to some place in Nevada near which this Doctor +lived, and she said, when I told her his name, "Why, yes, I heard of +him before I left home, he lives in Silver City, and at the death of +his wife, he went hopelessly insane, but," she added, "he is harmless, I +believe." + +This was a nice fix, to be sure, and I staid over in her section all +day, and late that night the Doctor arrived at the junction where he +was to take another train. So I slept in peace, after a considerable +agitation. + +There is nothing like experience to teach a young woman how to travel +alone. + +In San Francisco I learned that I could now go as far as Los Angeles by +rail, thence by steamer to San Diego, and so on by stage to Fort Yuma, +where my husband was to meet me with an ambulance and a wagon. + +I was enchanted with the idea of avoiding the long sea-trip down the +Pacific coast, but sent my boxes down by the Steamer "Montana," sister +ship of the old "Newbern," and after a few days' rest in San Francisco, +set forth by rail for Los Angeles. At San Pedro, the port of Los +Angeles, we embarked for San Diego. It was a heavenly night. I sat +on deck enjoying the calm sea, and listening to the romantic story of +Lieutenant Philip Reade, then stationed at San Diego. He was telling the +story himself, and I had never read or heard of anything so mysterious +or so tragic. + +Then, too, aside from the story, Mr. Reade was a very good-looking and +chivalrous young army officer. He was returning to his station in San +Diego, and we had this pleasant opportunity to renew what had been a +very slight acquaintance. + +The calm waters of the Pacific, with their long and gentle swell, the +pale light of the full moon, our steamer gliding so quietly along, the +soft air of the California coast, the absence of noisy travellers, these +made a fit setting for the story of his early love and marriage, and the +tragic mystery which surrounded the death of his young bride. + +All the romance which lived and will ever live in me was awake to the +story, and the hours passed all too quickly. + +But a cry from my little boy in the near-by deck stateroom recalled me +to the realities of life and I said good-night, having spent one of the +most delightful evenings I ever remember. + +Mr. Reade wears now a star on his shoulder, and well earned it is, too. +I wonder if he has forgotten how he helped to bind up my little boy's +finger which had been broken in an accident on the train from San +Francisco to Los Angeles? or how he procured a surgeon for me on our +arrival there, and got a comfortable room for us at the hotel? or how he +took us to drive (with an older lady for a chaperon), or how he kindly +cared for us until we were safely on the boat that evening? If I had +ever thought chivalry dead, I learned then that I had been mistaken. + +San Diego charmed me, as we steamed, the next morning, into its shining +bay. But as our boat was two hours late and the stage-coach was waiting, +I had to decline Mr. Reade's enchanting offers to drive us around the +beautiful place, to show me the fine beaches, and his quarters, and all +other points of interest in this old town of Southern California. + +Arizona, not San Diego, was my destination, so we took a hasty breakfast +at the hotel and boarded the stage, which, filled with passengers, was +waiting before the door. + +The driver waited for no ceremonies, muttered something about being +late, cracked his whip, and away we went. I tried to stow myself and my +little boy and my belongings away comfortably, but the road was rough +and the coach swayed, and I gave it up. There were passengers on top of +the coach, and passengers inside the coach. One woman who was totally +deaf, and some miners and blacksmiths, and a few other men, the flotsam +and jetsam of the Western countries, who come from no one knoweth +whence, and who go, no one knoweth whither, who have no trade or +profession and are sometimes even without a name. + +They seemed to want to be kind to me. Harry got very stage-sick and gave +us much trouble, and they all helped me to hold him. Night came. I do +not remember that we made any stops at all; if we did, I have forgotten +them. The night on that stage-coach can be better imagined than +described. I do not know of any adjectives that I could apply to it. +Just before dawn, we stopped to change horses and driver, and as the +day began to break, we felt ourselves going down somewhere at a terrific +speed. + +The great Concord coach slipped and slid and swayed on its huge springs +as we rounded the curves. + +The road was narrow and appeared to be cut out of solid rock, which +seemed to be as smooth as soapstone; the four horses were put to their +speed, and down and around and away we went. I drew in my breath as I +looked out and over into the abyss on my left. Death and destruction +seemed to be the end awaiting us all. Everybody was limp, when we +reached the bottom--that is, I was limp, and I suppose the others were. +The stage-driver knew I was frightened, because I sat still and looked +white and he came and lifted me out. He lived in a small cabin at the +bottom of the mountain; I talked with him some. "The fact is," he said, +"we are an hour late this morning; we always make it a point to 'do it' +before dawn, so the passengers can't see anything; they are almost sure +to get stampeded if we come down by daylight." + +I mentioned this road afterwards in San Francisco, and learned that it +was a famous road, cut out of the side of a solid mountain of rock; long +talked of, long desired, and finally built, at great expense, by the +state and the county together; that they always had the same man to +drive over it, and that they never did it by daylight. I did not inquire +if there had ever been any accidents. I seemed to have learned all I +wanted to know about it. + +After a little rest and a breakfast at a sort of roadhouse, a relay of +horses was taken, and we travelled one more day over a flat country, to +the end of the stage-route. Jack was to meet me. Already from the stage +I had espied the post ambulance and two blue uniforms. Out jumped Major +Ernest and Jack. I remember thinking how straight and how well they +looked. I had forgotten really how army men did look, I had been so long +away. + +And now we were to go to Fort Yuma and stay with the Wells' until my +boxes, which had been sent around by water on the steamer "Montana," +should arrive. I had only the usual thirty pounds allowance of luggage +with me on the stage, and it was made up entirely of my boy's clothing, +and an evening dress I had worn on the last night of my stay in San +Francisco. + +Fort Yuma was delightful at this season (December), and after four or +five days spent most enjoyably, we crossed over one morning on the old +rope ferryboat to Yuma City, to inquire at the big country store there +of news from the Gulf. There was no bridge then over the Colorado. + +The merchant called Jack to one side and said something to him in a low +tone. I was sure it concerned the steamer, and I said: "what it is?" + +Then they told me that news had just been received from below, that the +"Montana" had been burned to the water's edge in Guaymas harbor, and +everything on board destroyed; the passengers had been saved with much +difficulty, as the disaster occurred in the night. + +I had lost all the clothes I had in the world--and my precious boxes +were gone. I scarcely knew how to meet the calamity. + +Jack said: "Don't mind, Mattie; I'm so thankful you and the boy were not +on board the ship; the things are nothing, no account at all." + +"But," said I, "you do not understand. I have no clothes except what I +have on, and a party dress. Oh! what shall I do?" I cried. + +The merchant was very sympathetic and kind, and Major Wells said, "Let's +go home and tell Fanny; maybe she can suggest something." + +I turned toward the counter, and bought some sewing materials, realizing +that outside of my toilet articles and my party dress all my personal +belongings were swept away. I was in a country where there were no +dressmakers, and no shops; I was, for the time being, a pauper, as far +as clothing was concerned. + +When I got back to Mrs. Wells I broke down entirely; she put her arms +around me and said: "I've heard all about it; I know just how you must +feel; now come in my room, and we'll see what can be done." + +She laid out enough clothing to last me until I could get some things +from the East, and gave me a grey and white percale dress with a basque, +and a border, and although it was all very much too large for me, it +sufficed to relieve my immediate distress. + +Letters were dispatched to the East, in various directions, for every +sort and description of clothing, but it was at least two months before +any of it appeared, and I felt like an object of charity for a long +time. Then, too, I had anticipated the fitting up of our quarters with +all the pretty cretonnes and other things I had brought from home. And +now the contents of those boxes were no more! The memory of the visit +was all that was left to me. It was very hard to bear. + +Preparations for our journey to Camp MacDowell were at last completed. +The route to our new post lay along the valley of the Gila River, +following it up from its mouth, where it empties into the Colorado, +eastwards towards the southern middle portion of Arizona. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. UP THE VALLEY OF THE GILA + +The December sun was shining brightly down, as only the Arizona sun +can shine at high noon in winter, when we crossed the Colorado on +the primitive ferryboat drawn by ropes, clambered up into the great +thorough-brace wagon (or ambulance) with its dusty white canvas covers +all rolled up at the sides, said good-bye to our kind hosts of Fort +Yuma, and started, rattling along the sandy main street of Yuma City, +for old Camp MacDowell. + +Our big blue army wagon, which had been provided for my boxes and +trunks, rumbling along behind us, empty except for the camp equipage. + +But it all seemed so good to me: I was happy to see the soldiers again, +the drivers and teamsters, and even the sleek Government mules. The old +blue uniforms made my heart glad. Every sound was familiar, even the +rattling of the harness with its ivory rings and the harsh sound of the +heavy brakes reinforced with old leather soles. + +Even the country looked attractive, smiling under the December sun. I +wondered if I had really grown to love the desert. I had read somewhere +that people did. But I was not paying much attention in those days +to the analysis of my feelings. I did not stop to question the subtle +fascination which I felt steal over me as we rolled along the smooth +hard roads that followed the windings of the Gila River. I was back +again in the army; I had cast my lot with a soldier, and where he was, +was home to me. + +In Nantucket, no one thought much about the army. The uniform of the +regulars was never seen there. The profession of arms was scarcely known +or heard of. Few people manifested any interest in the life of the Far +West. I had, while there, felt out of touch with my oldest friends. Only +my darling old uncle, a brave old whaling captain, had said: "Mattie, I +am much interested in all you have written us about Arizona; come right +down below and show me on the dining-room map just where you went." + +Gladly I followed him down the stairs, and he took his pencil out and +began to trace. After he had crossed the Mississippi, there did not seem +to be anything but blank country, and I could not find Arizona, and it +was written in large letters across the entire half of this antique map, +"Unexplored." + +"True enough," he laughed. "I must buy me a new map." + +But he drew his pencil around Cape Horn and up the Pacific coast, and +I described to him the voyages I had made on the old "Newbern," and his +face was aglow with memories. + +"Yes," he said, "in 1826, we put into San Francisco harbor and sent +our boats up to San Jose for water and we took goats from some of those +islands, too. Oh! I know the coast well enough. We were on our way to the +Ar'tic Ocean then, after right whales." + +But, as a rule, people there seemed to have little interest in the army +and it had made me feel as one apart. + +Gila City was our first camp; not exactly a city, to be sure, at that +time, whatever it may be now. We were greeted by the sight of a few old +adobe houses, and the usual saloon. I had ceased, however, to dwell upon +such trifles as names. Even "Filibuster," the name of our next camp, +elicited no remark from me. + +The weather was fine beyond description. Each day, at noon, we got out +of the ambulance, and sat down on the warm white sand, by a little clump +of mesquite, and ate our luncheon. Coveys of quail flew up and we shot +them, thereby insuring a good supper. + +The mules trotted along contentedly on the smooth white road, which +followed the south bank of the Gila River. Myriads of lizards ran out +and looked at us. "Hello, here you are again," they seemed to say. + +The Gila Valley in December was quite a different thing from the Mojave +desert in September; and although there was not much to see, in that +low, flat country, yet we three were joyous and happy. + +Good health again was mine, the travelling was ideal, there were no +discomforts, and I experienced no terrors in this part of Arizona. + +Each morning, when the tent was struck, and I sat on the camp-stool by +the little heap of ashes, which was all that remained of what had been +so pleasant a home for an afternoon and a night, a little lonesome +feeling crept over me, at the thought of leaving the place. So strong is +the instinct and love of home in some people, that the little tendrils +shoot out in a day and weave themselves around a spot which has given +them shelter. Such as those are not born to be nomads. + +Camps were made at Stanwix, Oatman's Flat, and Gila Bend. There we left +the river, which makes a mighty loop at this point, and struck across +the plains to Maricopa Wells. The last day's march took us across the +Gila River, over the Maricopa desert, and brought us to the Salt River. +We forded it at sundown, rested our animals a half hour or so, and drove +through the MacDowell canon in the dark of the evening, nine miles more +to the post. A day's march of forty-five miles. (A relay of mules had +been sent to meet us at the Salt River, but by some oversight, we had +missed it.) + +Jack had told me of the curious cholla cactus, which is said to nod at +the approach of human beings, and to deposit its barbed needles at their +feet. Also I had heard stories of this deep, dark canon and things that +had happened there. + +Fort MacDowell was in Maricopa County, Arizona, on the Verde River, +seventy miles or so south of Camp Verde; the roving bands of Indians, +escaping from Camp Apache and the San Carlos reservation, which lay +far to the east and southeast, often found secure hiding places in the +fastnesses of the Superstition Mountains and other ranges, which lay +between old Camp MacDowell and these reservations. + +Hence, a company of cavalry and one of infantry were stationed at Camp +MacDowell, and the officers and men of this small command were kept +busy, scouting, and driving the renegades from out of this part of the +country back to their reservations. It was by no means an idle post, as +I found after I got there; the life at Camp MacDowell meant hard work, +exposure and fatigue for this small body of men. + +As we wound our way through this deep, dark canon, after crossing the +Salt River, I remembered the things I had heard, of ambush and murder. +Our animals were too tired to go out of a walk, the night fell in black +shadows down between those high mountain walls, the chollas, which are a +pale sage-green color in the day-time, took on a ghastly hue. They were +dotted here and there along the road, and on the steep mountainsides. +They grew nearly as tall as a man, and on each branch were great +excrescences which looked like people's heads, in the vague light which +fell upon them. + +They nodded to us, and it made me shudder; they seemed to be something +human. + +The soldiers were not partial to MacDowell canon; they knew too much +about the place; and we all breathed a sigh of relief when we emerged +from this dark uncanny road and saw the lights of the post, lying low, +long, flat, around a square. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. OLD CAMP MACDOWELL + +We were expected, evidently, for as we drove along the road in front of +the officers' quarters they all came out to meet us, and we received a +great welcome. + +Captain Corliss of C company welcomed us to the post and to his company, +and said he hoped I should like MacDowell better than I did Ehrenberg. +Now Ehrenberg seemed years agone, and I could laugh at the mention of +it. + +Supper was awaiting us at Captain Corliss's, and Mrs. Kendall, wife +of Lieutenant Kendall, Sixth Cavalry, had, in Jack's absence, put the +finishing touches to our quarters. So I went at once to a comfortable +home, and life in the army began again for me. + +How good everything seemed! There was Doctor Clark, whom I had met first +at Ehrenberg, and who wanted to throw Patrocina and Jesusita into the +Colorado. I was so glad to find him there; he was such a good doctor, +and we never had a moment's anxiety, as long as he staid at Camp +MacDowell. Our confidence in him was unbounded. + +It was easy enough to obtain a man from the company. There were then +no hateful laws forbidding soldiers to work in officers' families; no +dreaded inspectors, who put the flat question, "Do you employ a soldier +for menial labor?" + +Captain Corliss gave me an old man by the name of Smith, and he was glad +to come and stay with us and do what simple cooking we required. One of +the laundresses let me have her daughter for nurserymaid, and our small +establishment at Camp MacDowell moved on smoothly, if not with elegance. + +The officers' quarters were a long, low line of adobe buildings with no +space between them; the houses were separated only by thick walls. In +front, the windows looked out over the parade ground. In the rear, they +opened out on a road which ran along the whole length, and on the other +side of which lay another row of long, low buildings which were the +kitchens, each set of quarters having its own. + +We occupied the quarters at the end of the row, and a large bay window +looked out over a rather desolate plain, and across to the large and +well-kept hospital. As all my draperies and pretty cretonnes had been +burnt up on the ill-fated ship, I had nothing but bare white shades at +the windows, and the rooms looked desolate enough. But a long divan was +soon built, and some coarse yellow cotton bought at John Smith's (the +sutler's) store, to cover it. My pretty rugs and mats were also gone, +and there was only the old ingrain carpet from Fort Russell. The floors +were adobe, and some men from the company came and laid down old canvas, +then the carpet, and drove in great spikes around the edge to hold it +down. The floors of the bedroom and dining-room were covered with canvas +in the same manner. Our furnishings were very scanty and I felt very +mournful about the loss of the boxes. We could not claim restitution as +the steamship company had been courteous enough to take the boxes down +free of charge. + +John Smith, the post trader (the name "sutler" fell into disuse about +now) kept a large store but, nothing that I could use to beautify my +quarters with--and our losses had been so heavy that we really could not +afford to send back East for more things. My new white dresses came and +were suitable enough for the winter climate of MacDowell. But I missed +the thousand and one accessories of a woman's wardrobe, the accumulation +of years, the comfortable things which money could not buy especially at +that distance. + +I had never learned how to make dresses or to fit garments and although +I knew how to sew, my accomplishments ran more in the line of outdoor +sports. + +But Mrs. Kendall whose experience in frontier life had made her +self-reliant, lent me some patterns, and I bought some of John Smith's +calico and went to work to make gowns suited to the hot weather. This +was in 1877, and every one will remember that the ready-made house-gowns +were not to be had in those days in the excellence and profusion in +which they can to-day be found, in all parts of the country. + +Now Mrs. Kendall was a tall, fine woman, much larger than I, but I used +her patterns without alterations, and the result was something like a +bag. They were freshly laundried and cool, however, and I did not place +so much importance on the lines of them, as the young women of the +present time do. To-day, the poorest farmer's wife in the wilds of +Arkansas or Alaska can wear better fitting gowns than I wore then. But +my riding habits, of which I had several kinds, to suit warm and cold +countries, had been left in Jack's care at Ehrenberg, and as long as +these fitted well, it did not so much matter about the gowns. + +Captain Chaffee, who commanded the company of the Sixth Cavalry +stationed there, was away on leave, but Mr. Kendall, his first +lieutenant, consented for me to exercise "Cochise," Captain Chaffee's +Indian pony, and I had a royal time. + +Cavalry officers usually hate riding: that is, riding for pleasure; +for they are in the saddle so much, for dead earnest work; but a young +officer, a second lieutenant, not long out from the Academy, liked to +ride, and we had many pleasant riding parties. Mr. Dravo and I rode one +day to the Mormon settlement, seventeen miles away, on some business +with the bishop, and a Mormon woman gave us a lunch of fried salt pork, +potatoes, bread, and milk. How good it tasted, after our long ride! and +how we laughed about it all, and jollied, after the fashion of young +people, all the way back to the post! Mr Dravo had also lost all his +things on the "Montana," and we sympathized greatly with each other. +He, however, had sent an order home to Pennsylvania, duplicating all the +contents of his boxes. I told him I could not duplicate mine, if I sent +a thousand orders East. + +When, after some months, his boxes came, he brought me in a package, +done up in tissue paper and tied with ribbon: "Mother sends you these; +she wrote that I was not to open them; I think she felt sorry for you, +when I wrote her you had lost all your clothing. I suppose," he added, +mustering his West Point French to the front, and handing me the +package, "it is what you ladies call 'lingerie.'" + +I hope I blushed, and I think I did, for I was not so very old, and +I was touched by this sweet remembrance from the dear mother back in +Pittsburgh. And so many lovely things happened all the time; everybody +was so kind to me. Mrs. Kendall and her young sister, Kate Taylor, Mrs. +John Smith and I, were the only women that winter at Camp MacDowell. +Afterwards, Captain Corliss brought a bride to the post, and a new +doctor took Doctor Clark's place. + +There were interminable scouts, which took both cavalry and infantry +out of the post. We heard a great deal about "chasing Injuns" in the +Superstition Mountains, and once a lieutenant of infantry went out to +chase an escaping Indian Agent. + +Old Smith, my cook, was not very satisfactory; he drank a good deal, and +I got very tired of the trouble he caused me. It was before the days of +the canteen, and soldiers could get all the whiskey they wanted at the +trader's store; and, it being generally the brand that was known in the +army as "Forty rod," they got very drunk on it sometimes. I never had +it in my heart to blame them much, poor fellows, for every human beings +wants and needs some sort of recreation and jovial excitement. + +Captain Corliss said to Jack one day, in my presence, "I had a fine +batch of recruits come in this morning." + +"That's lovely," said I; "what kind of men are they? Any good cooks +amongst them?" (for I was getting very tired of Smith). + +Captain Corliss smiled a grim smile. "What do you think the United +States Government enlists men for?" said he; "do you think I want my +company to be made up of dish-washers?" + +He was really quite angry with me, and I concluded that I had been +too abrupt, in my eagerness for another man, and that my ideas on the +subject were becoming warped. I decided that I must be more diplomatic +in the future, in my dealings with the Captain of C company. + +The next day, when we went to breakfast, whom did we find in the +dining-room but Bowen! Our old Bowen of the long march across the +Territory! Of Camp Apache and K company! He had his white apron on, his +hair rolled back in his most fetching style, and was putting the coffee +on the table. + +"But, Bowen," said I, "where--how on earth--did you--how did you know +we--what does it mean?" + +Bowen saluted the First Lieutenant of C company, and said: "Well, sir, +the fact is, my time was out, and I thought I would quit. I went to San +Francisco and worked in a miners' restaurant" (here he hesitated), "but +I didn't like it, and I tried something else, and lost all my money, and +I got tired of the town, so I thought I'd take on again, and as I knowed +ye's were in C company now, I thought I'd come to MacDowell, and I came +over here this morning and told old Smith he'd better quit; this was my +job, and here I am, and I hope ye're all well--and the little boy?" + +Here was loyalty indeed, and here was Bowen the Immortal, back again! + +And now things ran smoothly once more. Roasts of beef and haunches of +venison, ducks and other good things we had through the winter. + +It was cool enough to wear white cotton dresses, but nothing heavier. It +never rained, and the climate was superb, although it was always hot in +the sun. We had heard that it was very hot here; in fact, people called +MacDowell by very bad names. As the spring came on, we began to realize +that the epithets applied to it might be quite appropriate. + +In front of our quarters was a ramada, [*] supported by rude poles of +the cottonwood tree. Then came the sidewalk, and the acequia (ditch), +then a row of young cottonwood trees, then the parade ground. Through +the acequia ran the clear water that supplied the post, and under the +shade of the ramadas, hung the large ollas from which we dipped the +drinking water, for as yet, of course, ice was not even dreamed of in +the far plains of MacDowell. The heat became intense, as the summer +approached. To sleep inside the house was impossible, and we soon +followed the example of the cavalry, who had their beds out on the +parade ground. + + *A sort of rude awning made of brush and supported by + cottonwood poles. + +Two iron cots, therefore, were brought from the hospital, and placed +side by side in front of our quarters, beyond the acequia and the +cottonwood trees, in fact, out in the open space of the parade ground. +Upon these were laid some mattresses and sheets, and after "taps" had +sounded, and lights were out, we retired to rest. Near the cots stood +Harry's crib. We had not thought about the ants, however, and they +swarmed over our beds, driving us into the house. The next morning Bowen +placed a tin can of water under each point of contact; and as each cot +had eight legs, and the crib had four, twenty cans were necessary. He +had not taken the trouble to remove the labels, and the pictures of red +tomatoes glared at us in the hot sun through the day; they did not look +poetic, but our old enemies, the ants, were outwitted. + +There was another species of tiny insect, however, which seemed to drop +from the little cotton-wood trees which grew at the edge of the acequia, +and myriads of them descended and crawled all over us, so we had to +have our beds moved still farther out on to the open space of the parade +ground. + +And now we were fortified against all the venomous creeping things and +we looked forward to blissful nights of rest. + +We did not look along the line, when we retired to our cots, but if we +had, we should have seen shadowy figures, laden with pillows, flying +from the houses to the cots or vice versa. It was certainly a novel +experience. + +With but a sheet for a covering, there we lay, looking up at the starry +heavens. I watched the Great Bear go around, and other constellations +and seemed to come into close touch with Nature and the mysterious +night. But the melancholy solemnity of my communings was much affected +by the howling of the coyotes, which seemed sometimes to be so near +that I jumped to the side of the crib, to see if my little boy was being +carried off. The good sweet slumber which I craved never came to me in +those weird Arizona nights under the stars. + +At about midnight, a sort of dewy coolness would come down from the sky, +and we could then sleep a little; but the sun rose incredibly early in +that southern country, and by the crack of dawn sheeted figures were to +be seen darting back into the quarters, to try for another nap. The nap +rarely came to any of us, for the heat of the houses never passed off, +day or night, at that season. After an early breakfast, the long day +began again. + +The question of what to eat came to be a serious one. We experimented +with all sorts of tinned foods, and tried to produce some variety from +them, but it was all rather tiresome. We almost dreaded the visits of +the Paymaster and the Inspector at that season, as we never had anything +in the house to give them. + +One hot night, at about ten o'clock, we heard the rattle of wheels, and +an ambulance drew up at our door. Out jumped Colonel Biddle, Inspector +General, from Fort Whipple. "What shall I give him to eat, poor hungry +man?" I thought. I looked in the wire-covered safe, which hung outside +the kitchen, and discovered half a beefsteak-pie. The gallant Colonel +declared that if there was one thing above all others that he liked, it +was cold beefsteak-pie. Lieutenant Thomas of the Fifth Cavalry echoed +his sentiments, and with a bottle of Cocomonga, which was always kept +cooling somewhere, they had a merry supper. + +These visits broke the monotony of our life at Camp MacDowell. We heard +of the gay doings up at Fort Whipple, and of the lovely climate there. + +Mr. Thomas said he could not understand why we wore such bags of +dresses. I told him spitefully that if the women of Fort Whipple would +come down to MacDowell to spend the summer, they would soon be able +to explain it to him. I began to feel embarrassed at the fit of my +house-gowns. After a few days spent with us, however, the mercury +ranging from l04 to l20 degrees in the shade, he ceased to comment upon +our dresses or our customs. + +I had a glass jar of butter sent over from the Commissary, and asked +Colonel Biddle if he thought it right that such butter as that should +be bought by the purchasing officer in San Francisco. It had melted, +and separated into layers of dead white, deep orange and pinkish-purple +colors. Thus I, too, as well as General Miles, had my turn at trying to +reform the Commissary Department of Uncle Sam's army. + +Hammocks were swung under the ramadas, and after luncheon everybody +tried a siesta. Then, near sundown, an ambulance came and took us over +to the Verde River, about a mile away, where we bathed in water almost +as thick as that of the Great Colorado. We taught Mrs. Kendall to swim, +but Mr. Kendall, being an inland man, did not take to the water. Now the +Verde River was not a very good substitute for the sea, and the thick +water filled our ears and mouths, but it gave us a little half hour in +the day when we could experience a feeling of being cool, and we found +it worth while to take the trouble. Thick clumps of mesquite trees +furnished us with dressing-rooms. We were all young, and youth requires +so little with which to make merry. + +After the meagre evening dinner, the Kendalls and ourselves sat together +under the ramada until taps, listening generally to the droll anecdotes +told by Mr. Kendall, who had an inexhaustible fund. Then another night +under the stars, and so passed the time away. + +We lived, ate, slept by the bugle calls. Reveille means sunrise, when a +Lieutenant must hasten to put himself into uniform, sword and belt, and +go out to receive the report of the company or companies of soldiers, +who stand drawn up in line on the parade ground. + +At about nine o'clock in the morning comes the guard-mount, a function +always which everybody goes out to see. Then the various drill calls, +and recalls, and sick-call and the beautiful stable-call for the +cavalry, when the horses are groomed and watered, the thrilling +fire-call and the startling assembly, or call-to-arms, when every +soldier jumps for his rifle and every officer buckles on his sword, and +a woman's heart stands still. + +Then at night, "tattoo," when the company officers go out to receive the +report of "all present and accounted for"--and shortly after that, the +mournful "taps," a signal for the barrack lights to be put out. + +The bugle call of "taps" is mournful also through association, as it is +always blown over the grave of a soldier or an officer, after the coffin +has been lowered into the earth. The soldier-musicians who blow the +calls, seem to love the call of "taps," (strangely enough) and I +remember well that there at Camp MacDowell, we all used to go out and +listen when "taps went," as the soldier who blew it, seemed to put a +whole world of sorrow into it, turning to the four points of the compass +and letting its clear tones tremble through the air, away off across the +Maricopa desert and then toward the East, our home so faraway. We never +spoke, we just listened, and who can tell the thoughts that each one +had in his mind? Church nor ministers nor priests had we there in +those distant lands, but can we say that our lives were wholly without +religion? + +The Sunday inspection of men and barracks, which was performed with +much precision and formality, and often in full dress uniform, gave us +something by which we could mark the weeks, as they slipped along. There +was no religious service of any kind, as Uncle Sam did not seem to think +that the souls of us people in the outposts needed looking after. It +would have afforded much comfort to the Roman Catholics had there been a +priest stationed there. + +The only sermon I ever heard in old Camp MacDowell was delivered by +a Mormon Bishop and was of a rather preposterous nature, neither +instructive nor edifying. But the good Catholics read their prayer-books +at home, and the rest of us almost forgot that such organizations as +churches existed. + +Another bright winter found us still gazing at the Four Peaks of the +MacDowell Mountains, the only landmark on the horizon. I was glad, in +those days, that I had not staid back East, for the life of an officer +without his family, in those drear places, is indeed a blank and empty +one. + +"Four years I have sat here and looked at the Four Peaks," said Captain +Corliss, one day, "and I'm getting almighty tired of it." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. A SUDDEN ORDER + +In June, 1878, Jack was ordered to report to the commanding officer at +Fort Lowell (near the ancient city of Tucson), to act as Quartermaster +and Commissary at that post. This was a sudden and totally unexpected +order. It was indeed hard, and it seemed to me cruel. For our regiment +had been four years in the Territory, and we were reasonably sure of +being ordered out before long. Tucson lay far to the south of us, and +was even hotter than this place. But there was nothing to be done; we +packed up, I with a heavy heart, Jack with his customary stoicism. + +With the grief which comes only at that time in one's life, and which +sees no end and no limit, I parted from my friends at Camp MacDowell. +Two years together, in the most intimate companionship, cut off from +the outside world, and away from all early ties, had united us with +indissoluble bonds,--and now we were to part,--forever as I thought. + +We all wept; I embraced them all, and Jack lifted me into the +ambulance; Mrs. Kendall gave a last kiss to our little boy; Donahue, our +soldier-driver, loosened up his brakes, cracked his long whip, and away +we went, down over the flat, through the dark MacDowell canon, with the +chollas nodding to us as we passed, across the Salt River, and on across +an open desert to Florence, forty miles or so to the southeast of us. + +At Florence we sent our military transportation back and staid over a +day at a tavern to rest. We met there a very agreeable and cultivated +gentleman, Mr. Charles Poston, who was en route to his home, somewhere +in the mountains nearby. We took the Tucson stage at sundown, and +travelled all night. I heard afterwards more about Mr. Poston: he had +attained some reputation in the literary world by writing about the +Sun-worshippers of Asia. He had been a great traveller in his early +life, but now had built himself some sort of a house in one of the +desolate mountains which rose out of these vast plains of Arizona, +hoisted his sun-flag on the top, there to pass the rest of his days. +People out there said he was a sun-worshipper. I do not know. "But when +I am tired of life and people," I thought, "this will not be the place I +shall choose." + +Arriving at Tucson, after a hot and tiresome night in the stage, we went +to an old hostelry. Tucson looked attractive. Ancient civilization is +always interesting to me. + +Leaving me at the tavern, my husband drove out to Fort Lowell, to see +about quarters and things in general. In a few hours he returned with +the overwhelming news that he found a dispatch awaiting him at that +post, ordering him to return immediately to his company at Camp +MacDowell, as the Eighth Infantry was ordered to the Department of +California. + +Ordered "out" at last! I felt like jumping up onto the table, climbing +onto the roof, dancing and singing and shouting for joy! Tired as we +were (and I thought I had reached the limit), we were not too tired to +take the first stage back for Florence, which left that evening. Those +two nights on the Tucson stage are a blank in my memory. I got through +them somehow. + +In the morning, as we approached the town of Florence, the great blue +army wagon containing our household goods, hove in sight--its white +canvas cover stretched over hoops, its six sturdy mules coming along +at a good trot, and Sergeant Stone cracking his long whip, to keep up a +proper pace in the eyes of the Tucson stage-driver. + +Jack called him to halt, and down went the Sergeant's big brakes. +Both teams came to a stand-still, and we told the Sergeant the news. +Bewilderment, surprise, joy, followed each other on the old Sergeant's +countenance. He turned his heavy team about, and promised to reach Camp +MacDowell as soon as the animals could make it. At Florence, we left the +stage, and went to the little tavern once more; the stage route did not +lie in our direction, so we must hire a private conveyance to bring us +to Camp MacDowell. Jack found a man who had a good pair of ponies and an +open buckboard. Towards night we set forth to cross the plain which lies +between Florence and the Salt River, due northwest by the map. + +When I saw the driver I did not care much for his appearance. He did +not inspire me with confidence, but the ponies looked strong, and we had +forty or fifty miles before us. + +After we got fairly into the desert, which was a trackless waste, I +became possessed by a feeling that the man did not know the way. He +talked a good deal about the North Star, and the fork in the road, and +that we must be sure not to miss it. + +It was a still, hot, starlit night. Jack and the driver sat on the front +seat. They had taken the back seat out, and my little boy and I sat in +the bottom of the wagon, with the hard cushions to lean against through +the night. I suppose we were drowsy with sleep; at all events, the talk +about the fork of the road and the North Star faded away into dreams. + +I awoke with a chilly feeling, and a sudden jolt over a rock. "I do +not recollect any rocks on this road, Jack, when we came over it in the +ambulance," said I. + +"Neither do I," he replied. + +I looked for the North Star: I had looked for it often when in open +boats. It was away off on our left, the road seemed to be ascending and +rocky: I had never seen this piece of road before, that I was sure of. + +"We are going to the eastward," said I, "and we should be going +northwest." + +"My dear, lie down and go to sleep; the man knows the road; he is taking +a short cut, I suppose," said the Lieutenant. There was something not at +all reassuring in his tones, however. + +The driver did not turn his head nor speak. I looked at the North Star, +which was getting farther and farther on our left, and I felt the gloomy +conviction that we were lost on the desert. + +Finally, at daylight, after going higher and higher, we drew up in an +old deserted mining-camp. + +The driver jerked his ponies up, and, with a sullen gesture, said, "We +must have missed the fork of the road; this is Picket Post." + +"Great Heavens!" I cried; "how far out of the way are we?" + +"About fifteen miles," he drawled, "you see we shall have to go back to +the place where the road forks, and make a new start." + +I nearly collapsed with discouragement. I looked around at the ruined +walls and crumbling pillars of stone, so weird and so grey in the +dawning light: it might have been a worshipping place of the Druids. +My little son shivered with the light chill which comes at daybreak in +those tropical countries: we were hungry and tired and miserable: my +bones ached, and I felt like crying. + +We gave the poor ponies time to breathe, and took a bite of cold food +ourselves. + +Ah! that blighted and desolate place called Picket Post! Forsaken by God +and man, it might have been the entrance to Hades. + +Would the ponies hold out? They looked jaded to be sure, but we had +stopped long enough to breathe them, and away they trotted again, down +the mountain this time, instead of up. + +It was broad day when we reached the fork of the road, which we had not +been able to see in the night: there was no mistaking it now. + +We had travelled already about forty miles, thirty more lay before us; +but there were no hills, it was all flat country, and the owner of these +brave little ponies said we could make it. + +As we neared the MacDowell canon, we met Captain Corliss marching +out with his company (truly they had lost no time in starting for +California), and he told his First Lieutenant he would make slow +marches, that we might overtake him before he reached Yuma. + +We were obliged to wait at Camp MacDowell for Sergeant Stone to arrive +with our wagonful of household goods, and then, after a mighty weeding +out and repacking, we set forth once more, with a good team of mules +and a good driver, to join the command. We bade the Sixth Cavalry people +once more good-bye, but I was so nearly dead by this time, with the +heat, and the fatigue of all this hard travelling and packing up, that +the keener edge of my emotions was dulled. Eight days and nights spent +in travelling hither and thither over those hot plains in Southern +Arizona, and all for what? + +Because somebody in ordering somebody to change his station, had +forgotten that somebody's regiment was about to be ordered out of the +country it had been in for four years. Also because my husband was a +soldier who obeyed orders without questioning them. If he had been a +political wire-puller, many of our misfortunes might have been averted. +But then, while I half envied the wives of the wire-pullers, I took a +sort of pride in the blind obedience shown by my own particular soldier +to the orders he received. + +After that week's experience, I held another colloquy with myself, and +decided that wives should not follow their husbands in the army, and +that if I ever got back East again, I would stay: I simply could not go +on enduring these unmitigated and unreasonable hardships. + +The Florence man staid over at the post a day or so to rest his ponies. +I bade him good-bye and told him to take care of those brave little +beasts, which had travelled seventy miles without rest, to bring us +to our destination. He nodded pleasantly and drove away. "A queer +customer," I observed to Jack. + +"Yes," answered he, "they told me in Florence that he was a 'road agent' +and desperado, but there did not seem to be anyone else, and my orders +were peremptory, so I took him. I knew the ponies could pull us through, +by the looks of them; and road agents are all right with army officers, +they know they wouldn't get anything if they held 'em up." + +"How much did he charge you for the trip?" I asked. + +"Sixteen dollars," was the reply. And so ended the episode. Except that +I looked back to Picket Post with a sort of horror, I thought no more +about it. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. THE EIGHTH FOOT LEAVES ARIZONA + +And now after the eight days of most distressing heat, and the fatigue +of all sorts and varieties of travelling, the nights spent in a +stage-coach or at a desert inn, or in the road agent's buckboard, +holding always my little son close to my side, came six days more of +journeying down the valley of the Gila. + +We took supper in Phoenix, at a place known as "Devine's." I was hearing +a good deal about Phoenix; for even then, its gardens, its orchards +and its climate were becoming famous, but the season of the year was +unpropitious to form a favorable opinion of that thriving place, even if +my opinions of Arizona, with its parched-up soil and insufferable heat, +had not been formed already. + +We crossed the Gila somewhere below there, and stopped at our old +camping places, but the entire valley was seething hot, and the +remembrance of the December journey seemed but an aggravating dream. + +We joined Captain Corliss and the company at Antelope Station, and in +two more days were at Yuma City. By this time, the Southern Pacific +Railroad had been built as far as Yuma, and a bridge thrown across the +Colorado at this point. It seemed an incongruity. And how burning hot +the cars looked, standing there in the Arizona sun! + +After four years in that Territory, and remembering the days, weeks, and +even months spent in travelling on the river, or marching through the +deserts, I could not make the Pullman cars seem a reality. + +We brushed the dust of the Gila Valley from our clothes, I unearthed +a hat from somewhere, and some wraps which had not seen the light for +nearly two years, and prepared to board the train. + +I cried out in my mind, the prayer of the woman in one of Fisher's +Ehrenberg stories, to which I used to listen with unmitigated delight, +when I lived there. The story was this: "Mrs. Blank used to live here +in Ehrenberg; she hated the place just as you do, but she was obliged to +stay. Finally, after a period of two years, she and her sister, who had +lived with her, were able to get away. I crossed over the river with +them to Lower California, on the old rope ferry-boat which they used +to have near Ehrenberg, and as soon as the boat touched the bank, they +jumped ashore, and down they both went upon their knees, clasped their +hands, raised their eyes to Heaven, and Mrs. Blank said: 'I thank Thee, +oh Lord! Thou hast at last delivered us from the wilderness, and brought +us back to God's country. Receive my thanks, oh Lord!'" + +And then Fisher used to add: "And the tears rolled down their faces, and +I knew they felt every word they spoke; and I guess you'll feel about +the same way when you get out of Arizona, even if you don't quite drop +on your knees," he said. + +The soldiers did not look half so picturesque, climbing into the cars, +as they did when loading onto a barge; and when the train went across +the bridge, and we looked down upon the swirling red waters of the Great +Colorado from the windows of a luxurious Pullman, I sighed; and, with +the strange contradictoriness of the human mind, I felt sorry that +the old days had come to an end. For, somehow, the hardships and +deprivations which we have endured, lose their bitterness when they have +become only a memory. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA + +A portion of our regiment was ordered to Oregon, to join General Howard, +who was conducting the Bannock Campaign, so I remained that summer in +San Francisco, to await my husband's return. + +I could not break away from my Arizona habits. I wore only white +dresses, partly because I had no others which were in fashion, partly +because I had become imbued with a profound indifference to dress. + +"They'll think you're a Mexican," said my New England aunt (who regarded +all foreigners with contempt). "Let them think," said I; "I almost wish +I were; for, after all, they are the only people who understand the +philosophy of living. Look at the tired faces of the women in your +streets," I added, "one never sees that sort of expression down below, +and I have made up my mind not to be caught by the whirlpool of advanced +civilization again." + +Added to the white dresses, I smoked cigarettes, and slept all the +afternoons. I was in the bondage of tropical customs, and I had lapsed +back into a state of what my aunt called semi-barbarism. + +"Let me enjoy this heavenly cool climate, and do not worry me," I +begged. I shuddered when I heard people complain of the cold winds of +the San Francisco summer. How do they dare tempt Fate, thought I, and I +wished them all in Ehrenberg or MacDowell for one summer. "I think they +might then know something about climate, and would have something to +complain about!" + +How I revelled in the flowers, and all the luxuries of that delightful +city! + +The headquarters of the Eighth was located at Benicia, and General +Kautz, our Colonel, invited me to pay a visit to his wife. A pleasant +boat-trip up the Sacramento River brought us to Benicia. Mrs. Kautz, a +handsome and accomplished Austrian, presided over her lovely army home +in a manner to captivate my fancy, and the luxury of their surroundings +almost made me speechless. + +"The other side of army life," thought I. + +A visit to Angel Island, one of the harbor defences, strengthened this +impression. Four years of life in the southern posts of Arizona had +almost made me believe that army life was indeed but "glittering +misery," as the Germans had called it. + +In the autumn, the troops returned from Oregon, and C company was +ordered to Camp MacDermit, a lonely spot up in the northern part of +Nevada (Nevada being included in the Department of California). I was +sure by that time that bad luck was pursuing us. I did not know so much +about the "ins and outs" of the army then as I do now. + +At my aunt's suggestion, I secured a Chinaman of good caste for a +servant, and by deceiving him (also my aunt's advice) with the idea that +we were going only as far as Sacramento, succeeded in making him willing +to accompany us. + +We started east, and left the railroad at a station called "Winnemucca." +MacDermit lay ninety miles to the north. But at Winnemucca the Chinaman +balked. "You say: 'All'e same Saclamento': lis place heap too far: me +no likee!" I talked to him, and, being a good sort, he saw that I meant +well, and the soldiers bundled him on top of the army wagon, gave him a +lot of good-natured guying, and a revolver to keep off Indians, and so +we secured Hoo Chack. + +Captain Corliss had been obliged to go on ahead with his wife, who was +in the most delicate health. The post ambulance had met them at this +place. + +Jack was to march over the ninety miles, with the company. I watched +them starting out, the men, glad of the release from the railroad train, +their guns on their shoulders, stepping off in military style and in +good form. + +The wagons followed--the big blue army wagons, and Hoo Chack, looking +rather glum, sitting on top of a pile of baggage. + +I took the Silver City stage, and except for my little boy I was the +only passenger for the most of the way. We did the ninety miles without +resting over, except for relays of horses. + +I climbed up on the box and talked with the driver. I liked these +stage-drivers. They were "nervy," fearless men, and kind, too, and had a +great dash and go about them. They often had a quiet and gentle bearing, +but by that time I knew pretty well what sort of stuff they were made +of, and I liked to have them talk to me, and I liked to look out upon +the world through their eyes, and judge of things from their standpoint. + +It was an easy journey, and we passed a comfortable night in the stage. + +Camp MacDermit was a colorless, forbidding sort of a place. Only one +company was stationed there, and my husband was nearly always scouting +in the mountains north of us. The weather was severe, and the winter +there was joyless and lonesome. The extreme cold and the loneliness +affected my spirits, and I suffered from depression. + +I had no woman to talk to, for Mrs. Corliss, who was the only other +officer's wife at the post, was confined to the house by the most +delicate health, and her mind was wholly absorbed by the care of her +young infant. There were no nurses to be had in that desolate corner of +the earth. + +One day, a dreadful looking man appeared at the door, a person such as +one never sees except on the outskirts of civilization, and I wondered +what business brought him. He wore a long, black, greasy frock coat, +a tall hat, and had the face of a sneak. He wanted the Chinaman's +poll-tax, he said. + +"But," I suggested, "I never heard of collecting taxes in a Government +post; soldiers and officers do not pay taxes." + +"That may be," he replied, "but your Chinaman is not a soldier, and I am +going to have his tax before I leave this house." + +"So, ho," I thought; "a threat!" and the soldier's blood rose in me. + +I was alone; Jack was miles away up North. Hoo Chack appeared in the +hall; he had evidently heard the man's last remark. "Now," I said, "this +Chinaman is in my employ, and he shall not pay any tax, until I find out +if he be exempt or not." + +The evil-looking man approached the Chinaman. Hoo Chack grew a shade +paler. I fancied he had a knife under his white shirt; in fact, he felt +around for it. I said, "Hoo Chack, go away, I will talk to this man." + +I opened the front door. "Come with me" (to the tax-collector); "we will +ask the commanding officer about this matter." My heart was really in my +mouth, but I returned the man's steady and dogged gaze, and he followed +me to Captain Corliss' quarters. I explained the matter to the Captain, +and left the man to his mercy. "Why didn't you call the Sergeant of the +Guard, and have the man slapped into the guard-house?" said Jack, when +I told him about it afterwards. "The man had no business around here; he +was trying to browbeat you into giving him a dollar, I suppose." + +The country above us was full of desperadoes from Boise and Silver City, +and I was afraid to be left alone so much at night; so I begged Captain +Corliss to let me have a soldier to sleep in my quarters. He sent me old +Needham. So I installed old Needham in my guest chamber with his loaded +rifle. Now old Needham was but a wisp of a man; long years of service +had broken down his health; he was all wizened up and feeble; but he +was a soldier; I felt safe, and could sleep once more. Just the sight +of Needham and his old blue uniform coming at night, after taps, was a +comfort to me. + +Anxiety filled my soul, for Jack was scouting in the Stein Mountains +all winter in the snow, after Indians who were avowedly hostile, and had +threatened to kill on sight. He often went out with a small pack-train, +and some Indian scouts, five or six soldiers, and I thought it quite +wrong for him to be sent into the mountains with so small a number. + +Camp MacDermit was, as I have already mentioned, a "one-company post." +We all know what that may mean, on the frontier. Our Second Lieutenant +was absent, and all the hard work of winter scouting fell upon Jack, +keeping him away for weeks at a time. + +The Piute Indians were supposed to be peaceful, and their old chief, +Winnemucca, once the warlike and dreaded foe of the white man, was now +quiet enough, and too old to fight. He lived, with his family, at an +Indian village near the post. + +He came to see me occasionally. His dress was a curious mixture of +civilization and savagery. He wore the chapeau and dress-coat of a +General of the American Army, with a large epaulette on one shoulder. He +was very proud of the coat, because General Crook had given it to him. +His shirt, leggings and moccasins were of buckskin, and the long braids +of his coal-black hair, tied with strips of red flannel, gave the last +touch to this incongruous costume. + +But I must say that his demeanor was gentle and dignified, and, after +recovering from the superficial impressions which his startling costume +had at first made upon my mind, I could well believe that he had +once been the war-leader, as he was now the political head of his +once-powerful tribe. + +Winnemucca did not disdain to accept some little sugar-cakes from me, +and would sit down on our veranda and munch them. + +He always showed me the pasteboard medal which hung around his neck, +and which bore General Howard's signature; and he always said: "General +Howard tell me, me good Injun, me go up--up--up"--pointing dramatically +towards Heaven. On one occasion, feeling desperate for amusement, I said +to him: "General Howard very good man, but he make a mistake; where you +go, is not up--up--up, but," pointing solemnly to the earth below us, +"down--down--down." He looked incredulous, but I assured him it was a +nice place down there. + +Some of the scattered bands of the tribe, however, were restless +and unsubdued, and gave us much trouble, and it was these bands that +necessitated the scouts. + +My little son, Harry, four years old, was my constant and only +companion, during that long, cold, and anxious winter. + +My mother sent me an appealing invitation to come home for a year. I +accepted gladly, and one afternoon in May, Jack put us aboard the Silver +City stage, which passed daily through the post. + +Our excellent Chinese servant promised to stay with the "Captain" and +take care of him, and as I said "Good-bye, Hoo Chack," I noticed an +expression of real regret on his usually stolid features. + +Occupied with my thoughts, on entering the stage, I did not notice the +passengers or the man sitting next me on the back seat. Darkness soon +closed around us, and I suppose we fell asleep. Between naps, I heard a +queer clanking sound, but supposed it was the chains of the harness or +the stage-coach gear. The next morning, as we got out at a relay station +for breakfast, I saw the handcuffs on the man next to whom I had sat all +the night long. The sheriff was on the box outside. He very obligingly +changed seats with me for the rest of the way, and evening found us on +the overland train speeding on our journey East. Camp MacDermit with its +dreary associations and surroundings faded gradually from my mind, like +a dream. + + +***** + + +The year of 1879 brought us several changes. My little daughter was +born in mid-summer at our old home in Nantucket. As I lay watching the +curtains move gently to and fro in the soft sea-breezes, and saw my +mother and sister moving about the room, and a good old nurse rocking my +baby in her arms, I could but think of those other days at Camp Apache, +when I lay through the long hours, with my new-born baby by my side, +watching, listening for some one to come in. There was no one, no woman +to come, except the poor hard-working laundress of the cavalry, who did +come once a day to care for the baby. + +Ah! what a contrast! and I had to shut my eyes for fear I should cry, at +the mere thought of those other days. + + +***** + + +Jack took a year's leave of absence and joined me in the autumn at +Nantucket, and the winter was spent in New York, enjoying the theatres +and various amusements we had so long been deprived of. Here we met +again Captain Porter and Carrie Wilkins, who was now Mrs. Porter. They +were stationed at David's Island, one of the harbor posts, and we went +over to see them. "Yes," he said, "as Jacob waited seven years for +Rachel, so I waited for Carrie." + +The following summer brought us the good news that Captain Corliss' +company was ordered to Angel Island, in the bay of San Francisco. "Thank +goodness," said Jack, "C company has got some good luck, at last!" + +Joyfully we started back on the overland trip to California, which took +about nine days at that time. Now, travelling with a year-old baby and a +five-year-old boy was quite troublesome, and we were very glad when +the train had crossed the bleak Sierras and swept down into the lovely +valley of the Sacramento. + +Arriving in San Francisco, we went to the old Occidental Hotel, and as +we were going in to dinner, a card was handed to us. "Hoo Chack" was the +name on the card. "That Chinaman!" I cried to Jack. "How do you suppose +he knew we were here?" + +We soon made arrangements for him to accompany us to Angel Island, and +in a few days this "heathen Chinee" had unpacked all our boxes and made +our quarters very comfortable. He was rather a high-caste man, and as +true and loyal as a Christian. He never broke his word, and he staid +with us as long as we remained in California. + +And now we began to live, to truly live; for we felt that the years +spent at those desert posts under the scorching suns of Arizona had +cheated us out of all but a bare existence upon earth. + +The flowers ran riot in our garden, fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh +fish, and all the luxuries of that marvellous climate, were brought to +our door. + +A comfortable Government steamboat plied between San Francisco and its +harbor posts, and the distance was not great--only three quarters of an +hour. So we had a taste of the social life of that fascinating city, and +could enjoy the theatres also. + +On the Island, we had music and dancing, as it was the headquarters +of the regiment. Mrs. Kautz, so brilliant and gay, held grand court +here--receptions, military functions, lawn tennis, bright uniforms, were +the order of the day. And that incomparable climate! How I revelled in +it! When the fog rolled in from the Golden Gate, and enveloped the great +city of Saint Francis in its cold vapors, the Island of the Angels lay +warm and bright in the sunshine. + +The old Spaniards named it well, and the old Nantucket whalers who +sailed around Cape Horn on their way to the Ar'tic, away back in the +eighteen twenties, used to put in near there for water, and were +well familiar with its bright shores, before it was touched by man's +handiwork. + +Was there ever such an emerald green as adorned those hills which sloped +down to the bay? Could anything equal the fields of golden escholzchia +which lay there in the sunshine? Or the blue masses of "baby-eye," which +opened in the mornings and held up their pretty cups to catch the dew? + +Was this a real Paradise? + +It surely seemed so to us; and, as if Nature had not done enough, +the Fates stepped in and sent all the agreeable young officers of the +regiment there, to help us enjoy the heavenly spot. + +There was Terrett, the handsome and aristocratic young Baltimorean, one +of the finest men I ever saw in uniform; and Richardson, the stalwart +Texan, and many others, with whom we danced and played tennis, and +altogether there was so much to do and to enjoy that Time rushed by and +we knew only that we were happy, and enchanted with Life. + +Did any uniform ever equal that of the infantry in those days? The +dark blue, heavily braided "blouse," the white stripe on the light blue +trousers, the jaunty cap? And then, the straight backs and the slim +lines of those youthful figures! It seems to me any woman who was not an +Egyptian mummy would feel her heart thrill and her blood tingle at the +sight of them. + +Indians and deserts and Ehrenberg did not exist for me any more. My +girlhood seemed to have returned, and I enjoyed everything with the +keenest zest. + +My old friend Charley Bailey, who had married for his second wife a most +accomplished young San Francisco girl, lived next door to us. + +General and Mrs. Kautz entertained so hospitably, and were so beloved by +all. Together Mrs. Kautz and I read the German classics, and went to the +German theatre; and by and by a very celebrated player, Friedrich Haase, +from the Royal Theatre of Berlin, came to San Francisco. We never missed +a performance, and when his tour was over, Mrs. Kautz gave a lawn party +at Angel Island for him and a few of the members of his company. It +was charming. I well remember how the sun shone that day, and, as we +strolled up from the boat with them, Frau Haase stopped, looked at the +blue sky, the lovely clouds, the green slopes of the Island and said: +"Mein Gott! Frau Summerhayes, was ist das fur ein Paradies! Warum haben +Sie uns nicht gesagt, Sie wohnten im Paradies!" + +So, with music and German speech, and strolls to the North and to the +South Batteries, that wonderful and never to-be-forgotten day with the +great Friedrich Haase came to an end. + +The months flew by, and the second winter found us still there; we heard +rumors of Indian troubles in Arizona, and at last the orders came. The +officers packed away their evening clothes in camphor and had their +campaign clothes put out to air, and got their mess-chests in order, +and the post was alive with preparations for the field. All the families +were to stay behind. The most famous Indian renegade was to be hunted +down, and serious fighting was looked for. + +At last all was ready, and the day was fixed for the departure of the +troops. + +The winter rains had set in, and the skies were grey, as the command +marched down to the boat. + +The officers and soldiers were in their campaign clothes; the latter had +their blanket-rolls and haversacks slung over their shoulders, and their +tin cups, which hung from the haversacks, rattled and jingled as they +marched down in even columns of four, over the wet and grassy slopes of +the parade ground, where so short a time before all had been glitter and +sunshine. + +I realized then perhaps for the first time what the uniform really stood +for; that every man who wore it, was going out to fight--that they +held their lives as nothing. The glitter was all gone; nothing but sad +reality remained. + +The officers' wives and the soldiers' wives followed the troops to the +dock. The soldiers marched single file over the gang-plank of the +boat, the officers said good-bye, the shrill whistle of the "General +McPherson" sounded--and they were off. We leaned back against the +coal-sheds, and soldiers' and officers' wives alike all wept together. + +And now a season of gloom came upon us. The skies were dull and murky +and the rain poured down. + +Our old friend Bailey, who was left behind on account of illness, grew +worse and finally his case was pronounced hopeless. His death added to +the deep gloom and sadness which enveloped us all. + +A few of the soldiers who had staid on the Island to take care of the +post, carried poor Bailey to the boat, his casket wrapped in the flag +and followed by a little procession of women. I thought I had never seen +anything so sad. + +The campaign lengthened out into months, but the California winters are +never very long, and before the troops came back the hills looked their +brightest green again. The campaign had ended with no very serious +losses to our troops and all was joyous again, until another order took +us from the sea-coast to the interior once more. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. CHANGING STATION + +It was the custom to change the stations of the different companies of a +regiment about every two years. So the autumn of '82 found us on the +way to Fort Halleck, a post in Nevada, but differing vastly from the +desolate MacDermit station. Fort Halleck was only thirteen miles south +of the Overland Railroad, and lay near a spur of the Humboldt range. +There were miles of sage-brush between the railroad and the post, but +the mountains which rose abruptly five thousand feet on the far side, +made a magnificent background for the officers' quarters, which lay +nestled at the bottom of the foot-hills. + +"Oh! what a lovely post!" I cried, as we drove in. + +Major Sanford of the First Cavalry, with Captain Carr and Lieutenant +Oscar Brown, received us. "Dear me," I thought, "if the First Cavalry is +made up of such gallant men as these, the old Eighth Infantry will have +to look out for its laurels." + +Mrs. Sanford and Mrs. Carr gave us a great welcome and vied with each +other in providing for our comfort, and we were soon established. + +It was so good to see the gay yellow of the cavalry again! Now I rode, +to my heart's content, and it was good to be alive; to see the cavalry +drill, and to ride through the canons, gorgeous in their flaming autumn +tints; then again to gallop through the sage-brush, jumping where we +could not turn, starting up rabbits by the score. + +That little old post, now long since abandoned, marked a pleasant epoch +in our life. From the ranches scattered around we could procure butter +and squabs and young vegetables, and the soldiers cultivated great +garden patches, and our small dinners and breakfasts live in delightful +memory. + +At the end of two years spent so pleasantly with the people of the First +Cavalry, our company was again ordered to Angel Island. But a second +very active campaign in Arizona and Mexico, against Geronimo, took our +soldiers away from us, and we passed through a period of considerable +anxiety. June of '86 saw the entire regiment ordered to take station in +Arizona once more. + +We travelled to Tucson in a Pullman car. It was hot and uninteresting. +I had been at Tucson nine years before, for a few hours, but the place +seemed unfamiliar. I looked for the old tavern; I saw only the railroad +restaurant. We went in to take breakfast, before driving out to the +post of Fort Lowell, seven miles away. Everything seemed changed. Iced +cantaloupe was served by a spick-span alert waiter; then, quail on +toast. "Ice in Arizona?" It was like a dream, and I remarked to Jack, +"This isn't the same Arizona we knew in '74," and then, "I don't believe +I like it as well, either; all this luxury doesn't seem to belong to the +place." + +After a drive behind some smart mules, over a flat stretch of seven +miles, we arrived at Fort Lowell, a rather attractive post, with a long +line of officers' quarters, before which ran a level road shaded by +beautiful great trees. We were assigned a half of one of these sets of +quarters, and as our half had no conveniences for house-keeping, it +was arranged that we should join a mess with General and Mrs. Kautz and +their family. We soon got settled down to our life there, and we had +various recreations; among them, driving over to Tucson and riding on +horseback are those which I remember best. We made a few acquaintances +in Tucson, and they sometimes drove out in the evenings, or more +frequently rode out on horseback. Then we would gather together on the +Kautz piazza and everybody sang to the accompaniment of Mrs. Kautz's +guitar. It was very hot, of course; we had all expected that, but the +luxuries obtainable through the coming of the railroad, such as ice, and +various summer drinks, and lemons, and butter, helped out to make the +summer there more comfortable. + +We slept on the piazzas, which ran around the houses on a level with the +ground. At that time the fad for sleeping out of doors, at least amongst +civilized people, did not exist, and our arrangements were entirely +primitive. + +Our quarters were surrounded by a small yard and a fence; the latter was +dilapidated, and the gate swung on one hinge. We were seven miles from +anywhere, and surrounded by a desolate country. I did not experience the +feeling of terror that I had had at Camp Apache, for instance, nor the +grewsome fear of the Ehrenberg grave-yard, nor the appalling fright I +had known in crossing the Mogollon range or in driving through Sanford's +Pass. But still there was a haunting feeling of insecurity which hung +around me especially at night. I was awfully afraid of snakes, and no +sooner had we lain ourselves down on our cots to sleep, than I would +hear a rustling among the dry leaves that had blown in under our beds. +Then all would be still again; then a crackling and a rustling--in a +flash I would be sitting up in bed. "Jack, do you hear that?" Of course +I did not dare to move or jump out of bed, so I would sit, rigid, +scared. "Jack! what is it?" "Nonsense, Mattie, go to sleep; it's +the toads jumping about in the leaves." But my sleep was fitful and +disturbed, and I never knew what a good night's rest was. + +One night I was awakened by a tremendous snort right over my face. I +opened my eyes and looked into the wild eyes of a big black bull. I +think I must have screamed, for the bull ran clattering off the piazza +and out through the gate. By this time Jack was up, and Harry and +Katherine, who slept on the front piazza, came running out, and I said: +"Well, this is the limit of all things, and if that gate isn't mended +to-morrow, I will know the reason why." + +Now I heard a vague rumor that there was a creature of this sort in or +near the post, and that he had a habit of wandering around at night, +but as I had never seen him, it had made no great impression on my mind. +Jack had a great laugh at me, but I did not think then, nor do I now, +that it was anything to be laughed at. + +We had heard much of the old Mission of San Xavier del Bac, away the +other side of Tucson. Mrs. Kautz decided to go over there and go into +camp and paint a picture of San Xavier. It was about sixteen miles from +Fort Lowell. + +So all the camp paraphernalia was gotten ready and several of the +officers joined the party, and we all went over to San Xavier and camped +for a few days under the shadow of those beautiful old walls. This +Mission is almost unknown to the American traveler. + +Exquisite in color, form and architecture, it stands there a silent +reminder of the Past. + +The curious carvings and paintings inside the church, and the precious +old vestments which were shown us by an ancient custodian, filled +my mind with wonder. The building is partly in ruins, and the little +squirrels were running about the galleries, but the great dome is +intact, and many of the wonderful figures which ornament it. Of course +we know the Spanish built it about the middle or last of the sixteenth +century, and that they tried to christianize the tribes of Indians +who lived around in the vicinity. But there is no sign of priest or +communicant now, nothing but a desolate plain around it for miles. No +one can possibly understand how the building of this large and beautiful +mission was accomplished, and I believe history furnishes very little +information. In its archives was found quite recently the charter given +by Ferdinand and Isabella, to establish the "pueblo" of Tucson about the +beginning of the 16th century. + +After a few delightful days, we broke camp and returned to Fort Lowell. + +And now the summer was drawing to a close, and we were anticipating +the delights of the winter climate at Tucson, when, without a note of +warning, came the orders for Fort Niobrara. We looked, appalled, in each +other's faces, the evening the telegram came, for we did not even know +where Fort Niobrara was. + +We all rushed into Major Wilhelm's quarters, for he always knew +everything. We (Mrs. Kautz and several of the other ladies of the post, +and myself) were in a state of tremendous excitement. We pounded on +Major Wilhelm's door and we heard a faint voice from his bedroom (for it +was after ten o'clock); then we waited a few moments and he said, "Come +in." + +We opened the door, but there being no light in his quarters we could +not see him. A voice said: "What in the name of--" but we did not +wait for him to finish; we all shouted: "Where is Fort Niobrara?" "The +Devil!" he said. "Are we ordered there?" "Yes, yes," we cried; "where is +it?" "Why, girls," he said, relapsing into his customary moderate tones, +"It's a hell of a freezing cold place, away up north in Nebraska." + +We turned our backs and went over to our quarters to have a +consultation, and we all retired with sad hearts. + +Now, just think of it! To come to Fort Lowell in July, only to move in +November! What could it mean? It was hard to leave the sunny South, to +spend the winter in those congealed regions in the North. We were but +just settled, and now came another break-up! + +Our establishment now, with two children, several servants, two saddle +horses, and additional household furnishings, was not so simple as +in the beginning of our army life, when three chests and a box or two +contained our worldly goods. Each move we made was more difficult than +the last; our allowance of baggage did not begin to cover what we had to +take along, and this added greatly to the expense of moving. + +The enormous waste attending a move, and the heavy outlay incurred +in travelling and getting settled anew, kept us always poor; these +considerations increased our chagrin over this unexpected change of +station. There was nothing to be done, however. Orders are relentless, +even if they seem senseless, which this one did, to the women, at least, +of the Eighth Infantry. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. FORT NIOBRARA + +The journey itself, however, was not to be dreaded, although it was so +undesired. It was entirely by rail across New Mexico and Kansas, to +St. Joseph, then up the Missouri River and then across the state to +the westward. Finally, after four or five days, we reached the small +frontier town of Valentine, in the very northwest corner of the bleak +and desolate state of Nebraska. The post of Niobrara was four miles +away, on the Niobrara (swift water) River. + +Some officers of the Ninth Cavalry met us at the station with the post +ambulances. There were six companies of our regiment, with headquarters +and band. + +It was November, and the drive across the rolling prairie-land gave us +a fair glimpse of the country around. We crossed the old bridge over the +Niobrara River, and entered the post. The snow lay already on the brown +and barren hills, and the place struck a chill to my heart. + +The Ninth Cavalry took care of all the officers' families until we +could get established. Lieutenant Bingham, a handsome and +distinguished-looking young bachelor, took us with our two children +to his quarters, and made us delightfully at home. His quarters were +luxuriously furnished, and he was altogether adorable. This, to be sure, +helped to soften my first harsh impressions of the place. + +Quarters were not very plentiful, and we were compelled to take a house +occupied by a young officer of the Ninth. What base ingratitude it +seemed, after the kindness we had accepted from his regiment! But +there was no help for it. We secured a colored cook, who proved a very +treasure, and on inquiring how she came to be in those wilds, I learned +that she had accompanied a young heiress who eloped with a cavalry +lieutenant, from her home in New York some years before. + +What a contrast was here, and what a cruel contrast! With blood thinned +down by the enervating summer at Tucson, here we were, thrust into the +polar regions! Ice and snow and blizzards, blizzards and snow and ice! +The mercury disappeared at the bottom of the thermometer, and we had +nothing to mark any degrees lower than 40 below zero. Human calculations +had evidently stopped there. Enormous box stoves were in every room and +in the halls; the old-fashioned sort that we used to see in school-rooms +and meeting-houses in New England. Into these, the soldiers stuffed +great logs of mountain mahogany, and the fires were kept roaring day and +night. + +A board walk ran in front of the officers' quarters, and, desperate for +fresh air and exercise, some of the ladies would bundle up and go to +walk. But frozen chins, ears and elbows soon made this undesirable, and +we gave up trying the fresh air, unless the mercury rose to 18 below, +when a few of us would take our daily promenade. + +We could not complain of our fare, however, for our larder hung full of +all sorts of delicate and delicious things, brought in by the grangers, +and which we were glad to buy. Prairie-chickens, young pigs, venison, +and ducks, all hanging, to be used when desired. + +To frappe a bottle of wine, we stood it on the porch; in a few minutes +it would pour crystals. House-keeping was easy, but keeping warm was +difficult. + +It was about this time that the law was passed abolishing the +post-trader's store, and forbidding the selling of whiskey to soldiers +on a Government reservation. The pleasant canteen, or Post Exchange, the +soldiers' club-room, was established, where the men could go to relieve +the monotony of their lives. + +With the abolition of whiskey, the tone of the post improved greatly; +the men were contented with a glass of beer or light wine, the canteen +was well managed, so the profits went back into the company messes in +the shape of luxuries heretofore unknown; billiards and reading-rooms +were established; and from that time on, the canteen came to be +regarded in the army as a most excellent institution. The men gained in +self-respect; the canteen provided them with a place where they could +go and take a bite of lunch, read, chat, smoke, or play games with their +own chosen friends, and escape the lonesomeness of the barracks. + +But, alas! this condition of things was not destined to endure, for the +women of the various Temperance societies, in their mistaken zeal +and woeful ignorance of the soldiers' life, succeeded in influencing +legislation to such an extent that the canteen, in its turn, was +abolished; with what dire results, we of the army all know. + +Those estimable women of the W. C. T. U. thought to do good to the army, +no doubt, but through their pitiful ignorance of the soldiers' needs +they have done him an incalculable harm. + +Let them stay by their lectures and their clubs, I say, and their other +amusements; let them exercise their good influences nearer home, with a +class of people whose conditions are understood by them, where they can, +no doubt, do worlds of good. + +They cannot know the drear monotony of the barracks life on the frontier +in times of peace. I have lived close by it, and I know it well. A +ceaseless round of drill and work and lessons, and work and lessons and +drill--no recreation, no excitement, no change. + +Far away from family and all home companionship, a man longs for some +pleasant place to go, after the day's work is done. Perhaps these women +think (if, in their blind enthusiasm, they think at all) that a young +soldier or an old soldier needs no recreation. At all events, they have +taken from him the only one he had, the good old canteen, and given him +nothing in return. + +Now Fort Niobrara was a large post. There were ten companies, cavalry +and infantry, General August V. Kautz, the Colonel of the Eighth +Infantry, in command. + +And here, amidst the sand-hills of Nebraska, we first began to really +know our Colonel. A man of strong convictions and abiding honesty, a +soldier who knew his profession thoroughly, having not only achieved +distinction in the Civil War, but having served when little more than a +boy, in the Mexican War of 1846. Genial in his manners, brave and kind, +he was beloved by all. + +The three Kautz children, Frankie, Austin, and Navarra, were the +inseparable companions of our own children. There was a small school +for the children of the post, and a soldier by the name of Delany was +schoolmaster. He tried hard to make our children learn, but they did not +wish to study, and spent all their spare time in planning tricks to be +played upon poor Delany. It was a difficult situation for the +soldier. Finally, the two oldest Kautz children were sent East to +boarding-school, and we also began to realize that something must be +done. + +Our surroundings during the early winter, it is true, had been dreary +enough, but as the weather softened a bit and the spring approached, the +post began to wake up. + +In the meantime, Cupid had not been idle. It was observed that Mr. +Bingham, our gracious host of the Ninth Cavalry, had fallen in love with +Antoinette, the pretty and attractive daughter of Captain Lynch of our +own regiment, and the post began to be on the qui vive to see how the +affair would end, for nobody expects to see the course of true love run +smooth. In their case, however, the Fates were kind and in due time the +happy engagement was announced. + +We had an excellent amusement hall, with a fine floor for dancing. The +chapel was at one end, and a fairly good stage was at the other. + +Being nearer civilization now, in the state of Nebraska, Uncle Sam +provided us with a chaplain, and a weekly service was held by the +Anglican clergyman--a tall, well-formed man, a scholar and, as we say, a +gentleman. He wore the uniform of the army chaplain, and as far as looks +went could hold his own with any of the younger officers. And it was a +great comfort to the church people to have this weekly service. + +During the rest of the time, the chapel was concealed by heavy curtains, +and the seats turned around facing the stage. + +We had a good string orchestra of twenty or more pieces, and as there +were a number of active young bachelors at the post, a series of weekly +dances was inaugurated. Never did I enjoy dancing more than at this +time. + +Then Mrs. Kautz, who was a thorough music lover and had a cultivated +taste as well as a trained and exquisite voice, gave several musicales, +for which much preparation was made, and which were most delightful. +These were given at the quarters of General Kautz, a long, low, rambling +one-story house, arranged with that artistic taste for which Mrs. Kautz +was distinguished. + +Then came theatricals, all managed by Mrs. Kautz, whose talents were +versatile. + +We charged admission, for we needed some more scenery, and the +neighboring frontier town of Valentine came riding and driving over +the prairie and across the old bridge of the Niobrara River, to see our +plays. We had a well-lighted stage. Our methods were primitive, as there +was no gas or electricity there in those days, but the results were +good, and the histrionic ability shown by some of our young men and +women seemed marvellous to us. + +I remember especially Bob Emmet's acting, which moved me to tears, in a +most pathetic love scene. I thought, "What has the stage lost, in this +gifted man!" + +But he is of a family whose talents are well known, and his personality, +no doubt, added much to his natural ability as an actor. + +Neither the army nor the stage can now claim this brilliant cavalry +officer, as he was induced, by urgent family reasons, shortly after the +period of which I am writing, to resign his commission and retire to +private life, at the very height of his ambitious career. + +And now the summer came on apace. A tennis-court was made, and added +greatly to our amusement. We were in the saddle every day, and the +country around proved very attractive at this season, both for riding +and driving. + +But all this gayety did not content me, for the serious question of +education for our children now presented itself; the question which, +sooner or later, presents itself to the minds of all the parents of army +children. It is settled differently by different people. It had taken a +year for us to decide. + +I made up my mind that the first thing to be done was to take the +children East and then decide on schools afterwards. So our plans were +completed and the day of departure fixed upon. Jack was to remain at the +Post. + +About an hour before I was to leave I saw the members of the string +orchestra filing across the parade ground, coming directly towards our +quarters. My heart began to beat faster, as I realized that Mrs. Kautz +had planned a serenade for me. I felt it was a great break in my army +life, but I did not know I was leaving the old regiment forever, the +regiment with which I had been associated for so many years. And as I +listened to the beautiful strains of the music I loved so well, my +eyes were wet with tears, and after all the goodbye's were said, to the +officers and their wives, my friends who had shared all our joys and our +sorrows in so many places and under so many conditions, I ran out to +the stable and pressed my cheek against the soft warm noses of our two +saddle horses. I felt that life was over for me, and nothing but work +and care remained. I say I felt all this. It must have been premonition, +for I had no idea that I was leaving the line of the army forever. + +The ambulance was at the door, to take us to Valentine, where I bade +Jack good bye, and took the train for the East. His last promise was to +visit us once a year, or whenever he could get a leave of absence. + +My husband had now worn the single bar on his shoulder-strap for eleven +years or more; before that, the straps of the second lieutenant had +adorned his broad shoulders for a period quite as long. Twenty-two +years a lieutenant in the regular army, after fighting, in a volunteer +regiment of his own state, through the four years of the Civil War! The +"gallant and meritorious service" for which he had received brevets, +seemed, indeed, to have been forgotten. He had grown grey in Indian +campaigns, and it looked as if the frontier might always be the home of +the senior lieutenant of the old Eighth. Promotion in that regiment had +been at a standstill for years. + +Being in Washington for a short time towards mid-winter enjoying the +social side of military life at the Capital, an opportunity came to me +to meet President Cleveland, and although his administration was nearing +its close, and the stress of official cares was very great, he seemed to +have leisure and interest to ask me about my life on the frontier; and +as the conversation became quite personal, the impulse seized me, to +tell him just how I felt about the education of our children, and then +to tell him what I thought and what others thought about the unjust +way in which the promotions and retirements in our regiment had been +managed. + +He listened with the greatest interest and seemed pleased with my +frankness. He asked me what the soldiers and officers out there thought +of "So and So." "They hate him," I said. + +Whereupon he laughed outright and I knew I had committed an +indiscretion, but life on the frontier does not teach one diplomacy +of speech, and by that time I was nerved up to say just what I felt, +regardless of results. + +"Well," he said, smiling, "I am afraid I cannot interfere much with +those military matters;" then, pointing with his left hand and thumb +towards the War Department, "they fix them all up over there in the +Adjutant General's office," he added. + +Then he asked me many more questions; if I had always stayed out there +with my husband, and why I did not live in the East, as so many +army women did; and all the time I could hear the dull thud of the +carpenters' hammers, for they were building even then the board seats +for the public who would witness the inaugural ceremonies of his +successor, and with each stroke of the hammer, his face seemed to grow +more sad. + +I felt the greatness of the man; his desire to be just and good: his +marvellous personal power, his ability to understand and to sympathize, +and when I parted from him he said again laughingly, "Well, I shall not +forget your husband's regiment, and if anything turns up for those fine +men you have told me about, they will hear from me." And I knew they +were the words of a man, who meant what he said. + +In the course of our conversation he had asked, "Who are these men? Do +they ever come to Washington? I rarely have these things explained to me +and I have little time to interfere with the decisions of the Adjutant +General's office." + +I replied: "No, Mr. President, they are not the men you see around +Washington. Our regiment stays on the frontier, and these men are the +ones who do the fighting, and you people here in Washington are apt to +forget all about them." + +"What have they ever done? Were they in the Civil War?" he asked. + +"Their records stand in black and white in the War Department," I +replied, "if you have the interest to learn more about them." + +"Women's opinions are influenced by their feelings," he said. + +"Mine are based upon what I know, and I am prepared to stand by my +convictions," I replied. + +Soon after this interview, I returned to New York and I did not give the +matter very much further thought, but my impression of the greatness of +Mr. Cleveland and of his powerful personality has remained with me to +this day. + +A vacancy occurred about this time in the Quartermaster's Department, +and the appointment was eagerly sought for by many Lieutenants of the +army. President Cleveland saw fit to give the appointment to Lieutenant +Summerhayes, making him a Captain and Quartermaster, and then, another +vacancy occurring shortly after, he appointed Lieutenant John McEwen +Hyde to be also a Captain and Quartermaster. + +Lieutenant Hyde stood next in rank to my husband and had grown grey in +the old Eighth Infantry. So the regiment came in for its honor at last, +and General Kautz, when the news of the second appointment reached him, +exclaimed, "Well! well! does the President think my regiment a nursery +for the Staff?" + +The Eighth Foot and the Ninth Horse at Niobrara gave the new Captain and +Quartermaster a rousing farewell, for now my husband was leaving his old +regiment forever; and, while he appreciated fully the honor of his new +staff position, he felt a sadness at breaking off the associations of +so many years--a sadness which can scarcely be understood by the young +officers of the present day, who are promoted from one regiment to +another, and rarely remain long enough with one organization to know +even the men of their own Company. + +There were many champagne suppers, dinners and card-parties given for +him, to make the good-bye something to be remembered, and at the end of +a week's festivities, he departed by a night train from Valentine, thus +eluding the hospitality of those generous but wild frontiersmen, who +were waiting to give him what they call out there a "send-off." + +For Valentine was like all frontier towns; a row of stores and saloons. +The men who kept them were generous, if somewhat rough. One of the +officers of the post, having occasion to go to the railroad station one +day at Valentine, saw the body of a man hanging to a telegraph pole a +short distance up the track. He said to the station man: "What does that +mean?" (nodding his head in the direction of the telegraph pole). + +"Why, it means just this," said the station man, "the people who hung +that man last night had the nerve to put him right in front of this +place, by G--. What would the passengers think of this town, sir, as +they went by? Why, the reputation of Valentine would be ruined! Yes, +sir, we cut him down and moved him up a pole or two. He was a hard case, +though," he added. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. SANTA FE + +I made haste to present Captain Summerhayes with the shoulder-straps of +his new rank, when he joined me in New York. + + +***** + + +The orders for Santa Fe reached us in mid-summer at Nantucket. I knew +about as much of Santa Fe as the average American knows, and that was +nothing; but I did know that the Staff appointment solved the problem of +education for us (for Staff officers are usually stationed in cities), +and I knew that our frontier life was over. I welcomed the change, for +our children were getting older, and we were ourselves approaching the +age when comfort means more to one than it heretofore has. + +Jack obeyed his sudden orders, and I followed him as soon as possible. + +Arriving at Santa Fe in the mellow sunlight of an October day, we were +met by my husband and an officer of the Tenth Infantry, and as we drove +into the town, its appearance of placid content, its ancient buildings, +its great trees, its clear air, its friendly, indolent-looking +inhabitants, gave me a delightful feeling of home. A mysterious charm +seemed to possess me. It was the spell which that old town loves to +throw over the strangers who venture off the beaten track to come within +her walls. + +Lying only eighteen miles away, over a small branch road from Llamy +(a station on the Atchison and Topeka Railroad), few people take the +trouble to stop over to visit it. "Dead old town," says the commercial +traveller, "nothing doing there." + +And it is true. + +But no spot that I have visited in this country has thrown around me +the spell of enchantment which held me fast in that sleepy and historic +town. + +The Governor's Palace, the old plaza, the ancient churches, the +antiquated customs, the Sisters' Hospital, the old Convent of Our Lady +of Loretto, the soft music of the Spanish tongue, I loved them all. + +There were no factories; no noise was ever heard; the sun shone +peacefully on, through winter and summer alike. There was no cold, +no heat, but a delightful year-around climate. Why the place was not +crowded with health seekers, was a puzzle to me. I had thought that the +bay of San Francisco offered the most agreeable climate in America, +but, in the Territory of New Mexico, Santa Fe was the perfection of all +climates combined. + +The old city lies in the broad valley of the Santa Fe Creek, but the +valley of the Santa Fe Creek lies seven thousand feet above the +sea level. I should never have known that we were living at a great +altitude, if I had not been told, for the equable climate made us forget +to inquire about height or depth or distance. + +I listened to old Father de Fourri preach his short sermons in English +to the few Americans who sat on one side of the aisle, in the church of +Our Lady of Guadaloupe; then, turning with an easy gesture towards his +Mexican congregation, who sat or knelt near the sanctuary, and saying, +"Hermanos mios," he gave the same discourse in good Spanish. I felt +comfortable in the thought that I was improving my Spanish as well as +profiting by Father de Fourri's sound logic. This good priest had grown +old at Santa Fe in the service of his church. + +The Mexican women, with their black ribosos wound around their heads and +concealing their faces, knelt during the entire mass, and made many long +responses in Latin. + +After years spent in a heathenish manner, as regards all church +observations, this devout and unique service, following the customs of +ancient Spain, was interesting to me in the extreme. + +Sometimes on a Sunday afternoon I attended Vespers in the chapel of +the Sisters' Hospital (as it was called). A fine Sanitarium, managed +entirely by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity. + +Sister Victoria, who was at the head of the management, was not only a +very beautiful woman, but she had an agreeable voice and always led in +the singing. + +It seemed like Heaven. + +I wrote to my friends in the East to come to the Sisters' Hospital if +they wanted health, peace and happiness, for it was surely to be found +there. I visited the convent of Our Lady of Loretto: I stood before a +high wall in an embrasure of which there was a low wooden gate; I pulled +on a small knotted string which hung out of a little hole, and a +queer old bell rang. Then one of the nuns came and let me in, across a +beautiful garden to the convent school. I placed my little daughter as +a day pupil there, as she was now eleven years old. The nuns spoke very +little English and the children none at all. + +The entire city was ancient, Spanish, Catholic, steeped in a religious +atmosphere and in what the average American Protestant would call +the superstitions of the dark ages. There were endless fiestas, and +processions and religious services, I saw them all and became much +interested in reading the history of the Catholic missions, established +so early out through what was then a wild and unexplored country. After +that, I listened with renewed interest to old Father de Fouri, who had +tended and led his flock of simple people so long and so lovingly. + +There was a large painting of Our Lady of Guadaloupe over the +altar--these people firmly believed that she had appeared to them, on +the earth, and so strong was the influence around me that I began almost +to believe it too. I never missed the Sunday morning mass, and I fell in +easily with the religious observances. + +I read and studied about the old explorers, and I seemed to live in +the time of Cortez and his brave band. I became acquainted with Adolf +Bandelier, who had lived for years in that country, engaged in research +for the American Archaeological Society. I visited the Indian pueblos, +those marvellous structures of adobe, where live entire tribes, and saw +natives who have not changed their manner of speech or dress since the +days when the Spaniards first penetrated to their curious dwellings, +three hundred or more years ago. I climbed the rickety ladders, by which +one enters these strange dwellings, and bought the great bowls which +these Indians shape in some manner without the assistance of a potter's +wheel, and then bake in their mud ovens. + +The pueblo of Tesuque is only nine miles from Santa Fe, and a pleasant +drive, at that; it seemed strange to me that the road was not lined +with tourists. But no, they pass all these wonders by, in their +disinclination to go off the beaten track. + +Visiting the pueblos gets to be a craze. Governor and Mrs. Prince knew +them all--the pueblo of Taos, of Santa Clara, San Juan, and others; and +the Governor's collection of great stone idols was a marvel indeed. +He kept them laid out on shelves, which resembled the bunks on a +great vessel, and in an apartment especially reserved for them, in his +residence at Santa Fe, and it was always with considerable awe that +I entered that apartment. The Governor occupied at that time a low, +rambling adobe house, on Palace Avenue, and this, with its thick walls +and low window-seats, made a fit setting for the treasures they had +gathered. + +Later on, the Governor's family occupied the palace (as it is always +called) of the old Spanish Viceroy, a most ancient, picturesque, yet +dignified building, facing the plaza. + +The various apartments in this old palace were used for Government +offices when we were stationed there in 1889, and in one of these rooms, +General Lew Wallace, a few years before, had written his famous book, +"Ben Hur." + +On the walls were hanging old portraits painted by the Spaniards in +the sixteenth century. They were done on rawhide, and whether these +interesting and historic pictures have been preserved by our Government +I do not know. + +The distinguished Anglican clergyman living there taught a small class +of boys, and the "Academy," an excellent school established by the +Presbyterian Board of Missions, afforded good advantages for the young +girls of the garrison. And as we had found that the Convent of Loretto +was not just adapted to the education of an American child, we withdrew +Katharine from that school and placed her at the Presbyterian Academy. + +To be sure, the young woman teacher gave a rousing lecture on total +abstinence once a week; going even so far as to say, that to partake of +apple sauce which had begun to ferment was yielding to the temptations +of Satan. The young woman's arguments made a disastrous impression +upon our children's minds; so much so, that the rich German Jews whose +daughters attended the school complained greatly; for, as they told us, +these girls would hasten to snatch the decanters from the sideboard, +at the approach of visitors, and hide them, and they began to sit +in judgment upon their elders. Now these men were among the leading +citizens of the town; they were self-respecting and wealthy. They could +not stand these extreme doctrines, so opposed to their life and their +traditions. We informed Miss X. one day that she could excuse our +children from the total abstinence lecture, or we should be compelled +to withdraw them from the school. She said she could not compel them to +listen, but preach she must. She remained obedient to her orders from +the Board, and we could but respect her for that. Our young daughters +were, however, excused from the lecture. + +But our time was not entirely given up to the study of ancient pottery, +for the social life there was delightful. The garrison was in the centre +of the town, the houses were comfortable, and the streets shaded by old +trees. The Tenth Infantry had its headquarters and two companies there. +Every afternoon, the military band played in the Plaza, where everybody +went and sat on benches in the shade of the old trees, or, if cool, in +the delightful sunshine. The pretty and well-dressed senoritas cast shy +glances at the young officers of the Tenth; but, alas! the handsome +and attractive Lieutenants Van Vliet and Seyburn, and the more sedate +Lieutenant Plummer, could not return these bewitching glances, as they +were all settled in life. + +The two former officers had married in Detroit, and both Mrs. Van Vliet +and Mrs. Seyburn did honor to the beautiful city of Michigan, for they +were most agreeable and clever women, and presided over their army homes +with distinguished grace and hospitality. + +The Americans who lived there were all professional people; mostly +lawyers, and a few bankers. I could not understand why so many Eastern +lawyers lived there. I afterwards learned that the old Spanish land +grants had given rise to illimitable and never-ending litigation. + +Every morning we rode across country. There were no fences, but the wide +irrigation ditches gave us a plenty of excitement, and the riding was +glorious. I had no occasion yet to realize that we had left the line of +the army. + +A camping trip to the head-waters of the Pecos, where we caught speckled +trout in great abundance in the foaming riffles and shallow pools +of this rushing mountain stream, remaining in camp a week under the +spreading boughs of the mighty pines, added to the variety and delights +of our life there. + +With such an existence as this, good health and diversion, the time +passed rapidly by. + +It was against the law now for soldiers to marry; the old days of +"laundresses" had passed away. But the trombone player of the Tenth +Infantry band (a young Boston boy) had married a wife, and now a baby +had come to them. They could get no quarters, so we took the family in, +and, as the wife was an excellent cook, we were able to give many small +dinners. The walls of the house being three feet thick, we were never +troubled by the trombone practice or the infant's cries. And many a +delightful evening we had around the board, with Father de Fourri, +Rev. Mr. Meany (the Anglican clergyman), the officers and ladies of the +Tenth, Governor and Mrs. Prince, and the brilliant lawyer folk of Santa +Fe. + +Such an ideal life cannot last long; this existence of ours does not +seem to be contrived on those lines. At the end of a year, orders came +for Texas, and perhaps it was well that orders came, or we might be in +Santa Fe to-day, wrapt in a dream of past ages; for the city of the Holy +Faith had bound us with invisible chains. + +With our departure from Santa Fe, all picturesqueness came to an end in +our army life. Ever after that, we had really good houses to live in, +which had all modern arrangements; we had beautiful, well-kept lawns +and gardens, the same sort of domestic service that civilians have, and +lived almost the same life. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. TEXAS + +Whenever I think of San Antonio and Fort Sam Houston, the perfume of the +wood violet which blossomed in mid-winter along the borders of our lawn, +and the delicate odor of the Cape jessamine, seem to be wafted about me. + +Fort Sam Houston is the Headquarters of the Department of Texas, and all +the Staff officers live there, in comfortable stone houses, with broad +lawns shaded by chinaberry trees. Then at the top of the hill is a great +quadrangle, with a clock tower and all the department offices. On the +other side of this quadrangle is the post, where the line officers live. + +General Stanley commanded the Department. A fine, dignified and able +man, with a great record as an Indian fighter. Jack knew him well, as +he had been with him in the first preliminary survey for the northern +Pacific Railroad, when he drove old Sitting Bull back to the Powder +River. + +He was now about to reach the age of retirement; and as the day +approached, that day when a man has reached the limit of his usefulness +(in the opinion of an ever-wise Government), that day which sounds the +knell of active service, that day so dreaded and yet so longed for, that +day when an army officer is sixty-four years old and Uncle Sam lays him +upon the shelf, as that day approached, the city of San Antonio, in fact +the entire State of Texas poured forth to bid him Godspeed; for if ever +an army man was beloved, it was General Stanley by the State of Texas. + +Now on the other side of the great quadrangle lay the post, where were +the soldiers' barracks and quarters of the line officers. This was +commanded by Colonel Coppinger, a gallant officer, who had fought in +many wars in many countries. + +He had his famous regiment, the Twenty-third Infantry, and many were +the pleasant dances and theatricals we had, with the music furnished +by their band; for, as it was a time of peace, the troops were all in +garrison. + +Major Burbank was there also, with his well-drilled Light Battery of the +3rd Artillery. + +My husband, being a Captain and Quartermaster, served directly under +General George H. Weeks, who was Chief Quartermaster of the Department, +and I can never forget his kindness to us both. He was one of the best +men I ever knew, in the army or out of it, and came to be one of my +dearest friends. He possessed the sturdy qualities of his Puritan +ancestry, united with the charming manners of an aristocrat. + +We belonged, of course, now, with the Staff, and something, an +intangible something, seemed to have gone out of the life. The officers +were all older, and the Staff uniforms were more sombre. I missed +the white stripe of the infantry, and the yellow of the cavalry. The +shoulder-straps all had gold eagles or leaves on them, instead of +the Captains' or Lieutenants' bars. Many of the Staff officers wore +civilians' clothes, which distressed me much, and I used to tell them +that if I were Secretary of War they would not be permitted to go about +in black alpaca coats and cinnamon-brown trousers. + +"What would you have us do?" said General Weeks. + +"Wear white duck and brass buttons," I replied. + +"Fol-de-rol!" said the fine-looking and erect Chief Quartermaster; "you +would have us be as vain as we were when we were Lieutenants?" + +"You can afford to be," I answered; for, even with his threescore years, +he had retained the lines of youth, and was, in my opinion, the finest +looking man in the Staff of the Army. + +But all my reproaches and all my diplomacy were of no avail in reforming +the Staff. Evidently comfort and not looks was their motto. + +One day, I accidentally caught a side view of myself in a long mirror +(long mirrors had not been very plentiful on the frontier), and was +appalled by the fact that my own lines corresponded but too well, alas! +with those of the Staff. Ah, me! were the days, then, of Lieutenants +forever past and gone? The days of suppleness and youth, the careless +gay days, when there was no thought for the future, no anxiety about +education, when the day began with a wild dash across country and ended +with a dinner and dance---were they over, then, for us all? + +Major Burbank's battery of light artillery came over and enlivened the +quiet of our post occasionally with their brilliant red color. At those +times, we all went out and stood in the music pavilion to watch the +drill; and when his horses and guns and caissons thundered down the hill +and swept by us at a terrific gallop, our hearts stood still. Even the +dignified Staff permitted themselves a thrill, and as for us women, our +excitement knew no bounds. + +The brilliant red of the artillery brought color to the rather grey +aspect of the quiet Headquarters post, and the magnificent drill +supplied the martial element so dear to a woman's heart. + +In San Antonio, the New has almost obliterated the Old, and little +remains except its pretty green river, its picturesque bridges, and the +historic Alamo, to mark it from other cities in the Southwest. + +In the late afternoon, everybody drove to the Plaza, where all the +country people were selling their garden-stuff and poultry in the open +square. This was charming, and we all bought live fowl and drove +home again. One heard cackling and gobbling from the smart traps and +victorias, and it seemed to be a survival of an old custom. The whole +town took a drive after that, and supped at eight o'clock. + +The San Antonio people believe there is no climate to equal theirs, and +talk much about the cool breezes from the Gulf of Mexico, which is some +miles away. But I found seven months of the twelve too hot for comfort, +and I could never detect much coolness in the summer breezes. + +After I settled down to the sedateness which is supposed to belong to +the Staff, I began to enjoy life very much. There is compensation for +every loss, and I found, with the new friends, many of whom had lived +their lives, and had known sorrow and joy, a true companionship which +enriched my life, and filled the days with gladness. + +My son had completed the High School course in San Antonio, under an +able German master, and had been sent East to prepare for the Stevens +Institute of Technology, and in the following spring I took my daughter +Katharine and fled from the dreaded heat of a Texas summer. Never can I +forget the child's grief on parting from her Texas pony. She extorted a +solemn promise from her father, who was obliged to stay in Texas, that +he would never part with him. + +My brother, then unmarried, and my sister Harriet were living together +in New Rochelle and to them we went. Harry's vacation enabled him to be +with us, and we had a delightful summer. It was good to be on the shores +of Long Island Sound. + +In the autumn, not knowing what next was in store for us, I placed my +dear little Katharine at the Convent of the Sacred Heart at Kenwood +on the Hudson, that she might be able to complete her education in one +place, and in the care of those lovely, gentle and refined ladies of +that order. + +Shortly after that, Captain Jack was ordered to David's Island, New +York Harbor (now called Fort Slocum), where we spent four happy and +uninterrupted years, in the most constant intercourse with my dear +brother and sister. + +Old friends were coming and going all the time, and it seemed so good to +us to be living in a place where this was possible. + +Captain Summerhayes was constructing officer and had a busy life, with +all the various sorts of building to be done there. + +David's Island was then an Artillery Post, and there were several +batteries stationed there. (Afterwards it became a recruiting station.) +The garrison was often entirely changed. At one time, General Henry C. +Cook was in command. He and his charming Southern wife added so much to +the enjoyment of the post. Then came our old friends the Van Vliets of +Santa Fe days; and Dr. and Mrs. Valery Havard, who are so well known in +the army, and then Colonel Carl Woodruff and Mrs. Woodruff, whom we all +liked so much, and dear Doctor Julian Cabell, and others, who completed +a delightful garrison. + +And we had a series of informal dances and invited the distinguished +members of the artist colony from New Rochelle, and it was at one of +these dances that I first met Frederic Remington. I had long admired his +work and had been most anxious to meet him. As a rule, Frederic did +not attend any social functions, but he loved the army, and as Mrs. +Remington was fond of social life, they were both present at our first +little invitation dance. + +About the middle of the evening I noticed Mr. Remington sitting alone +and I crossed the hall and sat down beside him. I then told him how much +I had loved his work and how it appealed to all army folks, and how +glad I was to know him, and I suppose I said many other things such +as literary men and painters and players often have to hear from +enthusiastic women like myself. However, Frederic seemed pleased, and +made some modest little speech and then fell into an abstracted silence, +gazing on the great flag which was stretched across the hall at one +end, and from behind which some few soldiers who were going to assist +in serving the supper were passing in and out. I fell in with his mood +immediately, as he was a person with whom formality was impossible, and +said: "What are you looking at, Mr. Remington?" He replied, turning +upon me his round boyish face and his blue eyes gladdening, "I was +just thinking I wished I was behind in there where those blue jackets +are--you know--behind that flag with the soldiers--those are the men +I like to study, you know, I don't like all this fuss and feathers of +society"--then, blushing at his lack of gallantry, he added: "It's all +right, of course, pretty women and all that, and I suppose you think I'm +dreadful and--do you want me to dance with you--that's the proper thing +here isn't it?" Whereupon, he seized me in his great arms and whirled me +around at a pace I never dreamed of, and, once around, he said, "that's +enough of this thing, isn't it, let's sit down, I believe I'm going to +like you, though I'm not much for women." I said "You must come over +here often;" and he replied, "You've got a lot of jolly good fellows +over here and I will do it." + +Afterwards, the Remingtons and ourselves became the closest friends. +Mrs. Remington's maiden name was Eva Caton, and after the first few +meetings, she became "little Eva" to me--and if ever there was an +embodiment of that gentle lovely name and what it implies, it is this +woman, the wife of the great artist, who has stood by him through all +the reverses of his early life and been, in every sense, his guiding +star. + +And now began visits to the studio, a great room he had built on to his +house at New Rochelle. It had an enormous fire place where great logs +were burned, and the walls were hung with the most rare and wonderful +Indian curios. There he did all the painting which has made him famous +in the last twenty years, and all the modelling which has already become +so well known and would have eventually made him a name as a great +sculptor. He always worked steadily until three o'clock and then +there was a walk or game of tennis or a ride. After dinner, delightful +evenings in the studio. + +Frederic was a student and a deep thinker. He liked to solve all +questions for himself and did not accept readily other men's theories. +He thought much on religious subjects and the future life, and liked to +compare the Christian religion with the religions of Eastern countries, +weighing them one against the other with fairness and clear logic. + +And so we sat, many evenings into the night, Frederic and Jack stretched +in their big leather chairs puffing away at their pipes, Eva with her +needlework, and myself a rapt listener: wondering at this man of genius, +who could work with his creative brush all day long and talk with the +eloquence of a learned Doctor of Divinity half the night. + +During the time we were stationed at Davids Island, Mr. Remington and +Jack made a trip to the Southwest, where they shot the peccary (wild +hog) in Texas and afterwards blue quail and other game in Mexico. +Artist and soldier, they got on famously together notwithstanding the +difference in their ages. + +And now he was going to try his hand at a novel, a real romance. We +talked a good deal about the little Indian boy, and I got to love White +Weasel long before he appeared in print as John Ermine. The book came +out after we had left New Rochelle--but I received a copy from him, and +wrote him my opinion of it, which was one of unstinted praise. But it +did not surprise me to learn that he did not consider it a success from +a financial point of view. + +"You see," he said a year afterwards, "that sort of thing does not +interest the public. What they want,"--here he began to mimic some funny +old East Side person, and both hands gesticulating--"is a back yard and +a cabbage patch and a cook stove and babies' clothes drying beside it, +you see, Mattie," he said. "They don't want to know anything about the +Indian or the half-breed, or what he thinks or believes." And then he +went off into one of his irresistible tirades combining ridicule and +abuse of the reading public, in language such as only Frederic Remington +could use before women and still retain his dignity. "Well, Frederic," I +said, "I will try to recollect that, when I write my experiences of Army +Life." + +In writing him my opinion of his book the year before, I had said, "In +fact, I am in love with John Ermine." The following Christmas he sent me +the accompanying card. + +Now the book was dramatized and produced, with Hackett as John Ermine, +at the Globe Theatre in September of 1902--the hottest weather ever on +record in Boston at that season. Of course seats were reserved for us; +we were living at Nantucket that year, and we set sail at noon to see +the great production. We snatched a bite of supper at a near-by hotel in +Boston and hurried to the theatre, but being late, had some difficulty +in getting our seats. + +The curtain was up and there sat Hackett, not with long yellow hair +(which was the salient point in the half-breed scout) but rather +well-groomed, looking more like a parlor Indian than a real live +half-breed, such as all we army people knew. I thought "this will never +do." + +The house was full, Hackett did the part well, and the audience murmured +on going out: "a very artistic success." But the play was too mystical, +too sad. It would have suited the "New Theatre" patrons better. I wrote +him from Nantucket and criticized one or two minor points, such as the +1850 riding habits of the women, which were slouchy and unbecoming and +made the army people look like poor emigrants and I received this letter +in reply: + +WEBSTER AVENUE, NEW ROCHELLE, N. Y. + +My dear Mrs. S., + +Much obliged for your talk--it is just what we want--proper impressions. + +I fought for that long hair but the management said the audience has got +to, have some Hackett--why I could not see--but he is a matinee idol and +that long with the box office. + +We'll dress Katherine up better. + +The long rehearsals at night nearly killed me--I was completely done up +and came home on train Monday in that terrific heat and now I am in the +hands of a doctor. Imagine me a week without sleep. + +Hope that fight took Jack back to his youth. For the stage I don't think +it was bad. We'll get grey shirts on their men later. + +The old lady arrives to-day--she has been in Gloversville. + +I think the play will go--but, we may have to save Ermine. The public is +a funny old cat and won't stand for the mustard. + +Well, glad you had a good time and of course you can't charge me up with +the heat. + +Yours, FREDERICK R. + + +Remington made a trip to the Yellowstone Park and this is what he wrote +to Jack. His letters were never dated. + +My dear Summerhayes: + +Say if you could get a few puffs of this cold air out here you would +think you were full of champagne water. I feel like a d--- kid-- + +I thought I should never be young again--but here I am only 14 years +old--my whiskers are falling out. + +Capt. Brown of the 1st cav. wishes to be remembered to you both. He is +Park Superintendent. Says if you will come out here he will take care of +you and he would. + +Am painting and doing some good work. Made a "govt. six" yesterday. + +In the course of time, he bought an Island in the St. Lawrence and they +spent several summers there. + +On the occasion of my husband accepting a detail in active service in +Washington at the Soldiers' Home, after his retirement, he received the +following letter. + + +INGLENEUK, CHIPPEWA BAY, N. Y. + +My dear Jack-- + +So there you are--and I'm d--- glad you are so nicely fixed. It's the +least they could do for you and you ought to be able to enjoy it for ten +years before they find any spavins on you if you will behave yourself, +but I guess you will drift into that Army and Navy Club and round up +with a lot of those old alkalied prairie-dogs whom neither Indians +nor whiskey could kill and Mr. Gout will take you over his route to +Arlington. + +I'm on the water wagon and I feel like a young mule. I am never going to +get down again to try the walking. If I lose my whip I am going to drive +right on and leave it. + +We are having a fine summer and I may run over to Washington this winter +and throw my eye over you to see how you go. We made a trip down to New +Foundland but saw nothing worth while. I guess I am getting to be an old +swat--I can't see anything that didn't happen twenty years ago, + +Y-- FREDERICK R. + + +At the close of the year just gone, this great soul passed from the +earth leaving a blank in our lives that nothing can ever fill. Passed +into the great Beyond whose mysteries were always troubling his mind. +Suddenly and swiftly the call came--the hand was stilled and the +restless spirit took its flight. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. DAVID'S ISLAND + +At Davids' Island the four happiest years of my army life glided swiftly +away. + +There was a small steam tug which made regular and frequent trips over +to New Rochelle and we enjoyed our intercourse with the artists and +players who lived there. + +Zogbaum, whose well known pictures of sailors and warships and soldiers +had reached us even in the far West, and whose charming family added so +much to our pleasure. + +Julian Hawthorne with his daughter Hildegarde, now so well known as a +literary critic; Henry Loomis Nelson, whose fair daughter Margaret +came to our little dances and promptly fell in love with a young, slim, +straight Artillery officer. A case of love at first sight, followed by a +short courtship and a beautiful little country wedding at Miss Nelson's +home on the old Pelham Road, where Hildegarde Hawthorne was bridesmaid +in a white dress and scarlet flowers (the artillery colors) and many +famous literary people from everywhere were present. + +Augustus Thomas, the brilliant playwright, whose home was near the +Remingtons on Lathers' Hill, and whose wife, so young, so beautiful and +so accomplished, made that home attractive and charming. + +Francis Wilson, known to the world at large, first as a singer in comic +opera, and now as an actor and author, also lived in New Rochelle, +and we came to have the honor of being numbered amongst his friends. A +devoted husband and kind father, a man of letters and a book lover, such +is the man as we knew him in his home and with his family. + +And now came the delicious warm summer days. We persuaded the +Quartermaster to prop up the little row of old bathing houses which had +toppled over with the heavy winter gales. There were several bathing +enthusiasts amongst us; we had a pretty fair little stretch of beach +which was set apart for the officers' families, and now what bathing +parties we had! Kemble, the illustrator, joined our ranks--and on a warm +summer morning the little old Tug Hamilton was gay with the artists and +their families, the players and writers of plays, and soon you could see +the little garrison hastening to the beach and the swimmers running down +the long pier, down the run-way and off head first into the clear waters +of the Sound. What a company was that! The younger and the older ones +all together, children and their fathers and mothers, all happy, all +well, all so gay, and we of the frontier so enamored of civilization +and what it brought us! There were no intruders and ah! those were happy +days. Uncle Sam seemed to be making up to us for what we had lost during +all those long years in the wild places. + +Then Augustus Thomas wrote the play of "Arizona" and we went to New York +to see it put on, and we sat in Mr. Thomas' box and saw our frontier +life brought before us with startling reality. + +And so one season followed another. Each bringing its pleasures, and +then came another lovely wedding, for my brother Harry gave up his +bachelor estate and married one of the nicest and handsomest girls in +Westchester County, and their home in New Rochelle was most attractive. +My son was at the Stevens Institute and both he and Katharine were able +to spend their vacations at David's Island, and altogether, our life +there was near to perfection. + +We were doomed to have one more tour in the West, however, and this time +it was the Middle West. + +For in the autumn of '96, Jack was ordered to Jefferson Barracks, +Missouri, on construction work. + +Jefferson Barracks is an old and historic post on the Mississippi River, +some ten miles south of St. Louis. I could not seem to take any interest +in the post or in the life there. I could not form new ties so quickly, +after our life on the coast, and I did not like the Mississippi Valley, +and St. Louis was too far from the post, and the trolley ride over there +too disagreeable for words. After seven months of just existing (on my +part) at Jefferson Barracks, Jack received an order for Fort Myer, the +end, the aim, the dream of all army people. Fort Myer is about three +miles from Washington, D. C. + +We lost no time in getting there and were soon settled in our pleasant +quarters. There was some building to be done, but the duty was +comparatively light, and we entered with considerable zest into the +social life of the Capital. We expected to remain there for two years, +at the end of which time Captain Summerhayes would be retired and +Washington would be our permanent home. + +But alas! our anticipation was never to be realized, for, as we all +know, in May of 1898, the Spanish War broke out, and my husband was +ordered to New York City to take charge of the Army Transport Service, +under Colonel Kimball. + +No delay was permitted to him, so I was left behind, to pack up the +household goods and to dispose of our horses and carriages as best I +could. + +The battle of Manila Bay had changed the current of our lives, and we +were once more adrift. + +The young Cavalry officers came in to say good-bye to Captain Jack: +every one was busy packing up his belongings for an indefinite period +and preparing for the field. We all felt the undercurrent of sadness +and uncertainty, but "a good health" and "happy return" was drunk +all around, and Jack departed at midnight for his new station and new +duties. + +The next morning at daybreak we were awakened by the tramp, tramp of the +Cavalry, marching out of the post, en route for Cuba. + +We peered out of the windows and watched the troops we loved so well, +until every man and horse had vanished from our sight. + +Fort Myer was deserted and our hearts were sad. + + +***** + +My sister Harriet, who was visiting us at that time, returned from her +morning walk, and as she stepped upon the porch, she said: "Well! of all +lonesome places I ever saw, this is the worst yet. I am going to pack +my trunk and leave. I came to visit an army post, but not an old women's +home or an orphan asylum: that is about all this place is now. I simply +cannot stay!" + +Whereupon, she proceeded immediately to carry out her resolution, and I +was left behind with my young daughter, to finish and close up our life +at Fort Myer. + +To describe the year which followed, that strenuous year in New York, is +beyond my power. + +That summer gave Jack his promotion to a Major, but the anxiety and the +terrible strain of official work broke down his health entirely, and in +the following winter the doctors sent him to Florida, to recuperate. + +After six weeks in St. Augustine, we returned to New York. The stress +of the war was over; the Major was ordered to Governor's Island as Chief +Quartermaster, Department of the East, and in the following year he was +retired, by operation of the law, at the age limit. + +I was glad to rest from the incessant changing of stations; the life +had become irksome to me, in its perpetual unrest. I was glad to find a +place to lay my head, and to feel that we were not under orders; to find +and to keep a roof-tree, under which we could abide forever. + +In 1903, by an act of Congress, the veterans of the Civil War, who had +served continuously for thirty years or more were given an extra +grade, so now my hero wears with complacency the silver leaf of the +Lieutenant-Colonel, and is enjoying the quiet life of a civilian. + +But that fatal spirit of unrest from which I thought to escape, and +which ruled my life for so many years, sometimes asserts its power, +and at those times my thoughts turn back to the days when we were all +Lieutenants together, marching across the deserts and mountains of +Arizona; back to my friends of the Eighth Infantry, that historic +regiment, whose officers and men fought before the walls of Chapultepec +and Mexico, back to my friends of the Sixth Cavalry, to the days at Camp +MacDowell, where we slept under the stars, and watched the sun rise from +behind the Four Peaks of the MacDowell Mountains: where we rode the +big cavalry horses over the sands of the Maricopa desert, swung in our +hammocks under the ramadas; swam in the red waters of the Verde River, +ate canned peaches, pink butter and commissary hams, listened for the +scratching of the centipedes as they scampered around the edges of our +canvas-covered floors, found scorpions in our slippers, and rattlesnakes +under our beds. + +The old post is long since abandoned, but the Four Peaks still stand, +wrapped in their black shadows by night, and their purple colors by day, +waiting for the passing of the Apache and the coming of the white man, +who shall dig his canals in those arid plains, and build his cities upon +the ruins of the ancient Aztec dwellings. + +The Sixth Cavalry, as well as the Eighth Infantry, has seen many +vicissitudes since those days. Some of our gallant Captains and +Lieutenants have won their stars, others have been slain in battle. + +Dear, gentle Major Worth received wounds in the Cuban campaign, which +caused his death, but he wore his stars before he obeyed the "last +call." + +The gay young officers of Angel Island days hold dignified commands in +the Philippines, Cuba, and Alaska. + + +***** + + +My early experiences were unusually rough. None of us seek such +experiences, but possibly they bring with them a sort of recompense, in +that simple comforts afterwards seem, by contrast, to be the greatest +luxuries. + +I am glad to have known the army: the soldiers, the line, and the Staff; +it is good to think of honor and chivalry, obedience to duty and the +pride of arms; to have lived amongst men whose motives were unselfish +and whose aims were high; amongst men who served an ideal; who +stood ready, at the call of their country, to give their lives for a +Government which is, to them, the best in the world. + +Sometimes I hear the still voices of the Desert: they seem to be calling +me through the echoes of the Past. I hear, in fancy, the wheels of the +ambulance crunching the small broken stones of the malapais, or grating +swiftly over the gravel of the smooth white roads of the river-bottoms. +I hear the rattle of the ivory rings on the harness of the six-mule +team; I see the soldiers marching on ahead; I see my white tent, so +inviting after a long day's journey. + +But how vain these fancies! Railroad and automobile have annihilated +distance, the army life of those years is past and gone, and Arizona, as +we knew it, has vanished from the face of the earth. + +THE END. + +APPENDIX. + +NANTUCKET ISLAND, June 1910. + +When, a few years ago, I determined to write my recollections of life +in the army, I was wholly unfamiliar with the methods of publishers, and +the firm to whom I applied to bring out my book, did not urge upon me +the advisability of having it electrotyped, firstly, because, as they +said afterwards, I myself had such a very modest opinion of my book, +and, secondly because they thought a book of so decidedly personal a +character would not reach a sale of more than a few hundred copies at +the farthest. The matter of electrotyping was not even discussed between +us. The entire edition of one thousand copies was exhausted in about +a year, without having been carried on the lists of any bookseller or +advertised in any way except through some circulars sent by myself to +personal friends, and through several excellent reviews in prominent +newspapers. + +As the demand for the book continued, I have thought it advisable to +re-issue it, adding a good deal that has come into my mind since its +publication. + + +***** + + +It was after the Colonel's retirement that we came to spend the summers +at Nantucket, and I began to enjoy the leisure that never comes into the +life of an army woman during the active service of her husband. We were +no longer expecting sudden orders, and I was able to think quietly over +the events of the past. + +My old letters which had been returned to me really gave me the +inspiration to write the book and as I read them over, the people and +the events therein described were recalled vividly to my mind--events +which I had forgotten, people whom I had forgotten--events and people +all crowded out of my memory for many years by the pressure of family +cares, and the succession of changes in our stations, by anxiety during +Indian campaigns, and the constant readjustment of my mind to new scenes +and new friends. + +And so, in the delicious quiet of the Autumn days at Nantucket, when the +summer winds had ceased to blow and the frogs had ceased their pipings +in the salt meadows, and the sea was wondering whether it should keep +its summer blue or change into its winter grey, I sat down at my desk +and began to write my story. + +Looking out over the quiet ocean in those wonderful November days, when +a peaceful calm brooded over all things, I gathered up all the threads +of my various experiences and wove them together. + +But the people and the lands I wrote about did not really exist for +me; they were dream people and dream lands. I wrote of them as they had +appeared to me in those early years, and, strange as it may seem, I did +not once stop to think if the people and the lands still existed. + +For a quarter of a century I had lived in the day that began with +reveille and ended with "Taps." + +Now on this enchanted island, there was no reveille to awaken us in the +morning, and in the evening the only sound we could hear was the "ruck" +of the waves on the far outer shores and the sad tolling of the bell +buoy when the heaving swell of the ocean came rolling over the bar. + +And so I wrote, and the story grew into a book which was published and +sent out to friends and family. + +As time passed on, I began to receive orders for the book from army +officers, and then one day I received orders from people in Arizona and +I awoke to the fact that Arizona was no longer the land of my memories. +I began to receive booklets telling me of projected railroads, also +pictures of wonderful buildings, all showing progress and prosperity. + +And then came letters from some Presidents of railroads whose lines ran +through Arizona, and from bankers and politicians and business men +of Tucson, Phoenix and Yuma City. Photographs showing shady roads and +streets, where once all was a glare and a sandy waste. Letters from +mining men who knew every foot of the roads we had marched over; +pictures of the great Laguna dam on the Colorado, and of the quarters of +the Government Reclamation Service Corps at Yuma. + +These letters and pictures told me of the wonderful contrast presented +by my story to the Arizona of today; and although I had not spared that +country, in my desire to place before my children and friends a vivid +picture of my life out there, all these men seemed willing to forgive +me and even declared that my story might do as much to advance their +interests and the prosperity of Arizona as anything which had been +written with only that object in view. + +My soul was calmed by these assurances, and I ceased to be distressed by +thinking over the descriptions I had given of the unpleasant conditions +existing in that country in the seventies. + +In the meantime, the San Francisco Chronicle had published a good review +of my book, and reproduced the photograph of Captain Jack Mellon, the +noted pilot of the Colorado river, adding that he was undoubtedly one of +the most picturesque characters who had ever lived on the Pacific Coast +and that he had died some years ago. + +And so he was really dead! And perhaps the others too, were all gone +from the earth, I thought when one day I received a communication from +an entire stranger, who informed me that the writer of the review in +the San Francisco newspaper had been mistaken in the matter of Captain +Mellon's death, that he had seen him recently and that he lived at San +Diego. So I wrote to him and made haste to forward him a copy of my +book, which reached him at Yuma, on the Colorado, and this is what he +wrote: + +YUMA, Dec. 15th, 1908. + +My dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +Your good book and letter came yesterday p. m., for which accept my +thanks. My home is not in San Diego, but in Coronado, across the bay +from San Diego. That is the reason I did not get your letter sooner. + +In one hour after I received your book, I had orders for nine of them. +All these books go to the official force of the Reclamation Service here +who are Damming the Colorado for the Government Irrigation Project. They +are not Damming it as we formerly did, but with good solid masonry. The +Dam is 4800 feet long and 300 feet wide and 10 feet above high water. +In high water it will flow over the top of the Dam, but in low water +the ditches or canals will take all the water out of the River, the +approximate cost is three million. There will be a tunnel under the +River at Yuma just below the Bridge, to bring the water into Arizona +which is thickly settled to the Mexican Line. + +I have done nothing on the River since the 23rd of last August, at which +date they closed the River to Navigation, and the only reason I am now +in Yumais trying to get something from Government for my boats made +useless by the Dam. I expect to get a little, but not a tenth of what +they cost me. + +Your book could not have a better title: it is "Vanished Arizona" sure +enough, vanished the good and warm Hearts that were here when you were. +The People here now are cold blooded as a snake and are all trying to +get the best of the other fellow. + +There are but two alive that were on the River when you were on it. +Polhemus and myself are all that are left, but I have many friends on +this coast. + +***** + +The nurse Patrocina died in Los Angeles last summer and the crying kid +Jesusita she had on the boat when you went from Ehrenberg to the mouth +of the River grew up to be the finest looking Girl in these Parts; She +was the Star witness in a murder trial in Los Angeles last winter, and +her picture was in all of the Papers. + +I am sending you a picture of the Steamer "Mojave" which was not on +the river when you were here. I made 20 trips with her up to the Virgin +River, which is 145 miles above Fort Mojave, or 75 miles higher than any +other man has gone with a boat: she was 10 feet longer than the "Gila" +or any other boat ever on the River. (Excuse this blowing but it's the +truth). + +In 1864 I was on a trip down the Gulf of California, in a small sail +boat and one of my companions was John Stanton. In Angel's Bay a man +whom we were giving a passage to, murdered my partner and ran off with +the boat and left Charley Ticen, John Stanton and myself on the beach. +We were seventeen days tramping to a village with nothing to eat but +cactus but I think I have told you the story before and what I want to +know, is this Stanton alive. He belonged to New Bedford--his father had +been master of a whale-ship. + +When we reached Guaymas, Stanton found a friend, the mate of a steamer, +the mate also belonged to New Bedford. When we parted, Stanton told me +he was going home and was going to stay there, and as he was two years +younger than me, he may still be in New Bedford, and as you are on the +ground, maybe you can help me to find out. + +All the people that I know praise your descriptive power and now my dear +Mrs. Summerhayes I suppose you will have a hard time wading through my +scrawl but I know you will be generous and remember that I went to sea +when a little over nine years of age and had my pen been half as often +in my hand as a marlin spike, I would now be able to write a much +clearer hand. + +I have a little bungalow on Coronado Beach, across the bay from San +Diego, and if you ever come there, you or your husband, you are welcome; +while I have a bean you can have half. I would like to see you and talk +over old times. Yuma is quite a place now; no more adobes built; it is +brick and concrete, cement sidewalks and flower gardens with electric +light and a good water system. + +My home is within five minutes walk of the Pacific Ocean. I was born at +Digby, Nova Scotia, and the first music I ever heard was the surf of the +Bay of Fundy, and when I close my eyes forever I hope the surf of the +Pacific will be the last sound that will greet my ears. + +I read Vanished Arizona last night until after midnight, and thought +what we both had gone through since you first came up the Colorado with +me. My acquaintance with the army was always pleasant, and like Tom +Moore I often say: + +Let fate do her worst, there are relics of joy Bright dreams of the past +which she cannot destroy! Which come in the night-time of sorrow and +care And bring back the features that joy used to wear. Long, long be my +heart with such memories filled! + +I suppose the Colonel goes down to the Ship Chandler's and gams with the +old whaling captains. When I was a boy, there was a wealthy family of +ship-owners in New Bedford by the name of Robinson. I saw one of +their ships in Bombay, India, that was in 1854, her name was the Mary +Robinson, and altho' there were over a hundred ships on the bay, she was +the handsomest there. + +Well, good friend, I am afraid I will tire you out, so I will belay +this, and with best wishes for you and yours, + +I am, yours truly, + +J. A. MELLON. + +P. S.--Fisher is long since called to his Long Home. + + +***** + + +I had fancied, when Vanished Arizona was published, that it might +possibly appeal to the sympathies of women, and that men would lay it +aside as a sort-of a "woman's book"--but I have received more really +sympathetic letters from men than I have from women, all telling me, in +different words, that the human side of the story had appealed to them, +and I suppose this comes from the fact that originally I wrote it for my +children, and felt perfect freedom to put my whole self into it. And now +that the book is entirely out of my hands, I am glad that I wrote it as +I did, for if I had stopped to think that my dream people might be real +people, and that the real people would read it, I might never have had +the courage to write it at all. + +The many letters I have received of which there have been several +hundred I am sure, have been so interesting that I reproduce a few more +of them here: + +FORT BENJAMIN HARRISON, INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA. January 10, 1909. + +My dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +I have just read the book. It is a good book, a true book, one of the +best kind of books. After taking it up I did not lay it down till it was +finished--till with you I had again gone over the malapais deserts of +Arizona, and recalled my own meetings with you at Niobrara and at old +Fort Marcy or Santa Fe. You were my cicerone in the old town and I +couldn't have had a better one--or more charming one. + +The book has recalled many memories to me. Scarcely a name you mention +but is or was a friend. Major Van Vliet loaned me his copy, but I shall +get one of my own and shall tell my friends in the East that, if they +desire a true picture of army life as it appears to the army woman, they +must read your book. + +For my part I feel that I must congratulate you on your successful work +and thank you for the pleasure you have given me in its perusal. + +With cordial regard to you and yours, and with best wishes for many +happy years. + +Very sincerely yours, + +L. W. V. KENNON, Maj. 10th Inf. + +HEADQUARTERS THIRD BRIGADE, NATIONAL GUARD OF PENNSYLVANIA, +WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA. JANUARY 19, 1908. + +Dear Madam: + +I am sending you herewith my check for two copies of "Vanished Arizona." +This summer our mutual friend, Colonel Beaumont (late 4th U. S. Cav.) +ordered two copies for me and I have given them both away to friends +whom I wanted to have read your delightful and charming book. I am now +ordering one of these for another friend and wish to keep one in my +record library as a memorable story of the bravery and courage of the +noble band of army men and women who helped to blaze the pathway of the +nation's progress in its course of Empire Westward. + +No personal record written, which I have read, tells so splendidly of +what the good women of our army endured in the trials that beset the +army in the life on the plains in the days succeeding the Civil War. And +all this at a time when the nation and its people were caring but little +for you all and the struggles you were making. + +I will be pleased indeed if you will kindly inscribe your name in one of +the books you will send me. + +Sincerely Yours, C. B. DOUGHERTY, Brig. Gen'l N. G. Pa. Jan. 19, 1908 + +SCHENECTADY, N. Y. June 8th, 1908. + +Mrs. John W. Summerhayes, North Shore Hill, Nantucket, Mass. + +My Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +Were I to say that I enjoyed "Vanished Arizona, "I should very +inadequately express my feelings about it, because there is so much +to arouse emotions deeper than what we call "enjoyment;" it stirs +the sympathies and excites our admiration for your courage and your +fortitude. In a word, the story, honest and unaffected, yet vivid, has +in it that touch of nature which makes kin of us all. + +How actual knowledge and experience broadens our minds! Your +appreciation of, and charity for, the weaknesses of those living a +lonely life of deprivation on the frontier, impressed me very much. +I wish too, that what you say about the canteen could be published in +every newspaper in America. + +Very sincerely yours, + +M. F. WESTOVER, Secretary Gen'l Electric Co. + +THE MILITARY SERVICE INSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. Governor's +Island, N. Y. June 25, 1908. + +Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +I offer my personal congratulations upon your success in producing +a work of such absorbing interest to all friends of the Army, and so +instructive to the public at large. + +I have just finished reading the book, from cover to cover, to my wife +and we have enjoyed it thoroughly. + +Will you please advise me where the book can be purchased in New York, +or otherwise mail two copies to me at 203 W. 54th Street, New York City, +with memo of price per copy, that I may remit the amount. + +Very truly yours, + +T. F. RODENBOUGH, Secretary and Editor (Brig. Gen'l. U. S. A.) + +YALE UNIVERSITY, NEW HAVEN, CONN. + +May 15, 1910. + +Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +I have read every word of your book "Vanished Arizona" with intense +interest. You have given a vivid account of what you actually saw and +lived through, and nobody can resist the truthfulness and reality of +your narrative. The book is a real contribution to American history, and +to the chronicles of army life. + +Faithfully yours, WM. LYON PHELPS, + +[Professor of English literature at Yale University.] + +LONACONING, MD., Jan. 2, 1909. + +Col. J. W. Summerhays, New Rochelle, N. Y. + +Dear Sir: + +Captain William Baird, 6th Cavalry, retired, now at Annapolis, sent me +Mrs. Summerhay's book to read, and I have read it with delight, for +I was in "K" when Mrs. Summerhays "took on" in the 8th. Myself and my +brother, Michael, served in "K" Company from David's Island to Camp +Apache. Doubtless you have forgotten me, but I am sure that you remember +the tall fifer of "K", Michael Gurnett. He was killed at Camp Mohave in +Sept. 1885, while in Company "G" of the 1st Infantry. I was five years +in "K", but my brother re-enlisted in "K", and afterward joined the +First. He served in the 31st, 22nd, 8th and 1st. + +Oh, that little book! We're all in it, even poor Charley Bowen. Mrs. +Summerhays should have written a longer story. She soldiered long enough +with the 8th in the "bloody 70's" to be able to write a book five times +as big. For what she's done, God bless her! She is entitled to the +Irishman's benediction: "May every hair in her head be a candle to light +her soul to glory." We poor old Regulars have little said about us in +print, and wish to God that "Vanished Arizona" was in the hands of every +old veteran of the "Marching 8th." If I had the means I would send a +copy to our 1st Serg't Bernard Moran, and the other old comrades at the +Soldiers' Home. But, alas, evil times have fallen upon us, and--I'm not +writing a jeremiad--I took the book from the post office and when I saw +the crossed guns and the "8" there was a lump in my throat, and I went +into the barber shop and read it through before I left. A friend of mine +was in the shop and when I came to Pringle's death, he said, "Gurnett, +that must be a sad book you're reading, why man, you're crying." + +I believe I was, but they were tears of joy. And, Oh, Lord, to think of +Bowen having a full page in history; but, after all, maybe he deserved +it. And that picture of my company commander! [Worth]. Long, long, have +I gazed on it. I was only sixteen and a half years old when I joined his +company at David's Island, Dec. 6th, 1871. Folliot A. Whitney was 1st +lieutenant and Cyrus Earnest, 2nd. What a fine man Whitney was. A finer +man nor truer gentleman ever wore a shoulder strap. If he had been +company commander I'd have re-enlisted and stayed with him. I was always +afraid of Worth, though he was always good to my brother and myself. +I deeply regretted Lieut. Whitney's death in Cuba, and I watched Major +Worth's career in the last war. It nearly broke my heart that I could +not go. Oh, the rattle of the war drum and the bugle calls and the +marching troops, it set me crazy, and me not able to take a hand in the +scrap. + +Mrs. Summerhays calls him Wm. T. Worth, isn't it Wm. S. Worth? + +The copy I have read was loaned me by Captain Baird; he says it's a +Christmas gift from General Carter, and I must return it. My poor wife +has read it with keen interest and says she: "William, I am going to +have that book for my children," and she'll get it, yea, verily! she +will. + +Well, Colonel, I'm right glad to know that you are still on this side of +the great divide, and I know that you and Mrs. S. will be glad to hear +from an old "walk-a-heap" of the 8th. + +I am working for a Cumberland newspaper--Lonaconing reporter--and I will +send you a copy or two of the paper with this. And now, permit me to +subscribe myself your + +Comrade In Arms, + +WILLIAM A. GURNETT. + + + +Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +Read your book--in fact when I got started I forgot my bedtime (and you +know how rigid that is) and sat it through. + +It has a bully note of the old army--it was all worthwhile--they had +color, those days. + +I say--now suppose you had married a man who kept a drug store--see what +you would have had and see what you would have missed. + +Yours, FREDERIC REMINGTON. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Vanished Arizona, by Martha Summerhayes + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VANISHED ARIZONA *** + +***** This file should be named 1049.txt or 1049.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/4/1049/ + +Produced by A Team of Arizona women + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +This etext was prepared by a team of Arizona women. + +Much of the colloquial grammar and spelling is retained, +only minimal corrections have been made in obvious cases. + + + + + +Vanished Arizona, +Recollections of the Army Life by a New England Woman + + +by Martha Summerhayes + + + + +TO MY SON HARRY SUMMERHAYES +WHO SHARED THE VICISSITUDES OF MY LIFE IN ARIZONA, +THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED + + + + + + +Preface + +I have written this story of my army life at the urgent and +ceaseless request of my children. + +For whenever I allude to those early days, and tell to them the +tales they have so often heard, they always say: "Now, mother, +will you write these stories for us? Please, mother, do; we must +never forget them." + +Then, after an interval, "Mother, have you written those stories +of Arizona yet?" until finally, with the aid of some old letters +written from those very places (the letters having been +preserved, with other papers of mine, by an uncle in New England +long since dead), I have been able to give a fairly connected +story. + +I have not attempted to commemorate my husband's brave career in +the Civil War, as I was not married until some years after the +close of that war, nor to describe the many Indian campaigns in +which he took part, nor to write about the achievements of the +old Eighth Infantry. I leave all that to the historian. I have +given simply the impressions made upon the mind of a young New +England woman who left her comfortable home in the early +seventies, to follow a second lieutenant into the wildest +encampments of the American army. + +Hoping the story may possess some interest for the younger women +of the army, and possibly for some of our old friends, both in +the army and in civil life, I venture to send it forth. + +POSTCRIPT (second edition). + +The appendix to this, the second edition of my book, will tell +something of the kind manner in which the first edition was +received by my friends and the public at large. + +But as several people had expressed a wish that I should tell +more of my army experiences I have gone carefully over the entire +book, adding some detail and a few incidents which had come to my +mind later. + +I have also been able, with some difficulty and much patient +effort, to secure several photographs of exceptional interest, +which have been added to the illustrations. + +January, 1911. + + + +CONTENTS + +PREFACE + +CHAPTER +I. GERMANY AND THE ARMY +II. I JOINED THE ARMY +III. ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING +IV. DOWN THE PACIFIC COAST +V. THE SLUE +VI. UP THE RIO COLORADO +VII. THE MOJAVE DESERT +VIII. LEARNING HOW TO SOLDIER +IX. ACROSS THE MOGOLLONS +X. A PERILOUS ADVENTURE +XI. CAMP APACHE +XII. LIFE AMONGST THE APACHES +XIII. A NEW RECRUIT +XIV. A MEMORABLE JOURNEY +XV. FORDING THE LITTLE COLORADO +XVI. STONEMAN'S LAKE +XVII. THE COLORADO DESERT +XVIII. EHRENBERG ON THE COLORADO +XIX. SUMMER AT EHRENBERG +XX. MY DELIVERER +XXI. WINTER IN EHRENBERG +XXII. RETURN TO THE STATES +XXIII. BACK TO ARIZONA +XXIV. UP THE VALLEY OF THE GILA +XXV. OLD CAMP MACDOWELL +XXVI. A SUDDEN ORDER +XXVII. THE EIGHTH FOOT LEAVES ARIZONA +XXVIII. CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA +XXIX. CHANGING STATION +XXX. FORT NIOBRARA +XXXI. SANTA FE +XXXII. TEXAS +XXXIII. DAVID'S ISLAND + +APPENDIX + + + + +Vanished Arizona + +CHAPTER I + +GERMANY AND THE ARMY + +The stalwart men of the Prussian army, the Lancers, the Dragoons, +the Hussars, the clank of their sabres on the pavements, their +brilliant uniforms, all made an impression upon my romantic mind, +and I listened eagerly, in the quiet evenings, to tales of +Hanover under King George, to stories of battles lost, and the +entry of the Prussians into the old Residenz-stadt; the flight of +the King, and the sorrow and chagrin which prevailed. + +For I was living in the family of General Weste, the former +stadt-commandant of Hanover, who had served fifty years in the +army and had accompanied King George on his exit from the city. +He was a gallant veteran, with the rank of General-Lieutenant, +ausser Dienst. A charming and dignified man, accepting +philosophically the fact that Hanover had become Prussian, but +loyal in his heart to his King and to old Hanover; pretending +great wrath when, on the King's birthday, he found yellow and +white sand strewn before his door, but unable to conceal the +joyful gleam in his eye when he spoke of it. + +The General's wife was the daughter of a burgomaster and had been +brought up in a neighboring town. She was a dear, kind soul. + +The house-keeping was simple, but stately and precise, as +befitted the rank of this officer. The General was addressed by +the servants as Excellenz and his wife as Frau Excellenz. A +charming unmarried daughter lived at home, making, with myself, a +family of four. + +Life was spent quietly, and every evening, after our coffee +(served in the living-room in winter, and in the garden in +summer), Frau Generalin would amuse me with descriptions of life +in her old home, and of how girls were brought up in her day; how +industry was esteemed by her mother the greatest virtue, and +idleness was punished as the most beguiling sin. She was never +allowed, she said, to read, even on Sunday, without her +knitting-work in her hands; and she would often sigh, and say to +me, in German (for dear Frau Generalin spoke no other tongue), +"Ach, Martha, you American girls are so differently brought up"; +and I would say, "But, Frau Generalin, which way do you think is +the better?" She would then look puzzled, shrug her shoulders, +and often say, "Ach! times are different I suppose, but my ideas +can never change." + +Now the dear Frau Generalin did not speak a word of English, and +as I had had only a few lessons in German before I left America, +I had the utmost difficulty at first in comprehending what she +said. She spoke rapidly and I would listen with the closest +attention, only to give up in despair, and to say, "Gute Nacht," +evening after evening, with my head buzzing and my mind a blank. + +After a few weeks, however, I began to understand everything she +said, altho' I could not yet write or read the language, and I +listened with the greatest interest to the story of her marriage +with young Lieutenant Weste, of the bringing up of her four +children, and of the old days in Hanover, before the Prussians +took possession. + +She described to me the brilliant Hanoverian Court, the endless +festivities and balls, the stately elegance of the old city, and +the cruel misfortunes of the King. And how, a few days after the +King's flight, the end of all things came to her; for she was +politely informed one evening, by a big Prussian major, that she +must seek other lodgings--he needed her quarters. At this point +she always wept, and I sympathized. + +Thus I came to know military life in Germany, and I fell in love +with the army, with its brilliancy and its glitter, with its +struggles and its romance, with its sharp contrasts, its +deprivations, and its chivalry. + +I came to know, as their guest, the best of old military society. +They were very old-fashioned and precise, and Frau Generalin +often told me that American girls were too ausgelassen in their +manners. She often reproved me for seating myself upon the sofa +(which was only for old people) and also for looking about too +much when walking on the streets. Young girls must keep their +eyes more cast down, looking up only occasionally. (I thought +this dreadfully prim, as I was eager to see everything). I was +expected to stop and drop a little courtesy on meeting an older +woman, and then to inquire after the health of each member of the +family. It seemed to take a lot of time, but all the other girls +did it, and there seemed to be no hurry about anything, ever, in +that elegant old Residenz-stadt. Surely a contrast to our +bustling American towns. + +A sentiment seemed to underlie everything they did. The Emperor +meant so much to them, and they adored the Empress. A personal +feeling, an affection, such as I had never heard of in a +republic, caused me to stop and wonder if an empire were not the +best, after all. And one day, when the Emperor, passing through +Hanover en route, drove down the Georgen-strasse in an open +barouche and raised his hat as he glanced at the sidewalk where I +happened to be standing, my heart seemed to stop beating, and I +was overcome by a most wonderful feeling--a feeling that in a man +would have meant chivalry and loyalty unto death. + +In this beautiful old city, life could not be taken any other +than leisurely. Theatres with early hours, the maid coming for me +with a lantern at nine o'clock, the frequent Kaffee-klatsch, the +delightful afternoon coffee at the Georgen-garten, the visits to +the Zoological gardens, where we always took our fresh rolls +along with our knitting-work in a basket, and then sat at a +little table in the open, and were served with coffee, sweet +cream, and butter, by a strapping Hessian peasant woman--all so +simple, yet so elegant, so peaceful. + +We heard the best music at the theatre, which was managed with +the same precision, and maintained by the Government with the +same generosity, as in the days of King George. No one was +allowed to enter after the overture had begun, and an absolute +hush prevailed. + +The orchestra consisted of sixty or more pieces, and the audience +was critical. The parquet was filled with officers in the gayest +uniforms; there were few ladies amongst them; the latter sat +mostly in the boxes, of which there were several tiers, and as +soon as the curtain fell, between the acts, the officers would +rise, turn around, and level their glasses at the boxes. +Sometimes they came and visited in the boxes. + +As I had been brought up in a town half Quaker, half Puritan, the +custom of going to the theatre Sunday evenings was rather a +questionable one in my mind. But I soon fell in with their ways, +and found that on Sunday evenings there was always the most +brilliant audience and the best plays were selected. With this +break-down of the wall of narrow prejudice, I gave up others +equally as narrow, and adopted the German customs with my whole +heart. + +I studied the language with unflinching perseverance, for this +was the opportunity I had dreamed about and longed for in the +barren winter evenings at Nantucket when I sat poring over +Coleridge's translations of Schiller's plays and Bayard Taylor's +version of Goethe's Faust. + +Should I ever read these intelligently in the original ? + +And when my father consented for me to go over and spend a year +and live in General Weste's family, there never was a happier or +more grateful young woman. Appreciative and eager, I did not +waste a moment, and my keen enjoyment of the German classics +repaid me a hundred fold for all my industry. + +Neither time nor misfortune, nor illness can take from me the +memory of that year of privileges such as is given few American +girls to enjoy, when they are at an age to fully appreciate them. + +And so completely separated was I from the American and English +colony that I rarely heard my own language spoken, and thus I +lived, ate, listened, talked, and even dreamed in German. + +There seemed to be time enough to do everything we wished; and, +as the Franco-Prussian war was just over (it was the year of +1871), and many troops were in garrison at Hanover, the officers +could always join us at the various gardens for after-dinner +coffee, which, by the way, was not taken in the demi-tasse, but +in good generous coffee-cups, with plenty of rich cream. Every +one drank at least two cups, the officers smoked, the women +knitted or embroidered, and those were among the pleasantest +hours I spent in Germany. + +The intrusion of unwelcome visitors was never to be feared, as, +by common consent, the various classes in Hanover kept by +themselves, thus enjoying life much better than in a country +where everybody is striving after the pleasures and luxuries +enjoyed by those whom circumstances have placed above them. + +The gay uniforms lent a brilliancy to every affair, however +simple. Officers were not allowed to appear en civile, unless on +leave of absence. + +I used to say, "Oh, Frau General, how fascinating it all is!" +"Hush, Martha," she would say; "life in the army is not always so +brilliant as it looks; in fact, we often call it, over here, +'glaenzendes Elend.' " + +These bitter words made a great impression upon my mind, and in +after years, on the American frontier, I seemed to hear them over +and over again. + +When I bade good-bye to the General and his family, I felt a +tightening about my throat and my heart, and I could not speak. +Life in Germany had become dear to me, and I had not known how +dear until I was leaving it forever. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +I JOINED THE ARMY + +I was put in charge of the captain of the North German Lloyd S. +S. "Donau," and after a most terrific cyclone in mid-ocean, in +which we nearly foundered, I landed in Hoboken, sixteen days from +Bremen. + +My brother, Harry Dunham, met me on the pier, saying, as he took +me in his arms, "You do not need to tell me what sort of a trip +you have had; it is enough to look at the ship--that tells the +story." + +As the vessel had been about given up for lost, her arrival was +somewhat of an agreeable surprise to all our friends, and to none +more so than my old friend Jack, a second lieutenant of the +United States army, who seemed so glad to have me back in +America, that I concluded the only thing to do was to join the +army myself. + +A quiet wedding in the country soon followed my decision, and we +set out early in April of the year 1874 to join his regiment, +which was stationed at Fort Russell, Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. + +I had never been west of New York, and Cheyenne seemed to me, in +contrast with the finished civilization of Europe, which I had so +recently left, the wildest sort of a place. + +Arriving in the morning, and alighting from the train, two +gallant officers, in the uniform of the United States infantry, +approached and gave us welcome; and to me, the bride, a special +"welcome to the regiment" was given by each of them with +outstretched hands. + +Major Wilhelm said, "The ambulance is right here; you must come +to our house and stay until you get your quarters." + +Such was my introduction to the army--and to the army ambulance, +in which I was destined to travel so many miles. + +Four lively mules and a soldier driver brought us soon to the +post, and Mrs. Wilhelm welcomed us to her pleasant and +comfortable-looking quarters. + +I had never seen an army post in America. I had always lived in +places which needed no garrison, and the army, except in Germany, +was an unknown quantity to me. + +Fort Russell was a large post, and the garrison consisted of +many companies of cavalry and infantry. It was all new and +strange to me. + +Soon after luncheon, Jack said to Major Wilhelm, "Well, now, I +must go and look for quarters: what's the prospect?" + +"You will have to turn some one out," said the Major, as they +left the house together. + +About an hour afterwards they returned, and Jack said, "Well, I +have turned out Lynch; but," he added, "as his wife and child are +away, I do not believe he'll care very much." + +"Oh," said I, "I'm so sorry to have to turn anybody out!" + +The Major and his wife smiled, and the former remarked, "You must +not have too much sympathy: it's the custom of the service--it's +always done--by virtue of rank. They'll hate you for doing it, +but if you don't do it they'll not respect you. After you've been +turned out once yourself, you will not mind turning others out." + +The following morning I drove over to Cheyenne with Mrs. Wilhelm, +and as I passed Lieutenant Lynch's quarters and saw soldiers +removing Mrs. Lynch's lares and penates, in the shape of a sewing +machine, lamp-shades, and other home-like things, I turned away +in pity that such customs could exist in our service. + +To me, who had lived my life in the house in which I was born, +moving was a thing to be dreaded. + +But Mrs. Wilhelm comforted me, and assured me it was not such a +serious matter after all. Army women were accustomed to it, she +said. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING + +Not knowing before I left home just what was needed for +house-keeping in the army, and being able to gather only vague +ideas on the subject from Jack, who declared that his quarters +were furnished admirably, I had taken out with me but few +articles in addition to the silver and linen-chests. + +I began to have serious doubts on the subject of my menage, after +inspecting the bachelor furnishings which had seemed so ample to +my husband. But there was so much to be seen in the way of guard +mount, cavalry drill, and various military functions, besides the +drives to town and the concerts of the string orchestra, that I +had little time to think of the practical side of life. + +Added to this, we were enjoying the delightful hospitality of the +Wilhelms, and the Major insisted upon making me acquainted with +the "real old-fashioned army toddy" several times a day,--a new +beverage to me, brought up in a blue-ribbon community, where +wine-bibbing and whiskey drinking were rated as belonging to only +the lowest classes. To be sure, my father always drank two +fingers of fine cognac before dinner, but I had always considered +that a sort of medicine for a man advanced in years. + +Taken all in all, it is not to be wondered at if I saw not much +in those few days besides bright buttons, blue uniforms, and +shining swords. + +Everything was military and gay and brilliant, and I forgot the +very existence of practical things, in listening to the dreamy +strains of Italian and German music, rendered by our excellent +and painstaking orchestra. For the Eighth Infantry loved good +music, and had imported its musicians direct from Italy. + +This came to an end, however, after a few days, and I was obliged +to descend from those heights to the dead level of domestic +economy. + +My husband informed me that the quarters were ready for our +occupancy and that we could begin house-keeping at once. He had +engaged a soldier named Adams for a striker; he did not know +whether Adams was much of a cook, he said, but he was the only +available man just then, as the companies were up north at the +Agency. + +Our quarters consisted of three rooms and a kitchen, which formed +one-half of a double house. + +I asked Jack why we could not have a whole house. I did not think +I could possibly live in three rooms and a kitchen. + +"Why, Martha," said he, "did you not know that women are not +reckoned in at all at the War Department? A lieutenant's +allowance of quarters, according to the Army Regulations, is one +room and a kitchen, a captain's allowance is two rooms and a +kitchen, and so on up, until a colonel has a fairly good house." +I told him I thought it an outrage; that lieutenants' wives +needed quite as much as colonels' wives. + +He laughed and said, "You see we have already two rooms over our +proper allowance; there are so many married officers, that the +Government has had to stretch a point." + +After indulging in some rather harsh comments upon a government +which could treat lieutenants' wives so shabbily, I began to +investigate my surroundings. + +Jack had placed his furnishings (some lace curtains, camp chairs, +and a carpet) in the living-room, and there was a forlorn-looking +bedstead in the bedroom. A pine table in the dining-room and a +range in the kitchen completed the outfit. A soldier had scrubbed +the rough floors with a straw broom: it was absolutely forlorn, +and my heart sank within me. + +But then I thought of Mrs. Wilhelm's quarters, and resolved to +try my best to make ours look as cheerful and pretty as hers. A +chaplain was about leaving the post and wished to dispose of his +things, so we bought a carpet of him, a few more camp chairs of +various designs, and a cheerful-looking table-cover. We were +obliged to be very economical, as Jack was a second lieutenant, +the pay was small and a little in arrears, after the wedding trip +and long journey out. We bought white Holland shades for the +windows, and made the three rooms fairly comfortable and then I +turned my attention to the kitchen. + +Jack said I should not have to buy anything at all; the +Quartermaster Department furnished everything in the line of +kitchen utensils; and, as his word was law, I went over to the +quartermaster store-house to select the needed articles. + +After what I had been told, I was surprised to find nothing +smaller than two-gallon tea-kettles, meat-forks a yard long, and +mess-kettles deep enough to cook rations for fifty men! I +rebelled, and said I would not use such gigantic things. + +My husband said: "Now, Mattie, be reasonable; all the army women +keep house with these utensils; the regiment will move soon, and +then what should we do with a lot of tin pans and such stuff? You +know a second lieutenant is allowed only a thousand pounds of +baggage when he changes station." This was a hard lesson, which I +learned later. + +Having been brought up in an old-time community, where women +deferred to their husbands in everything, I yielded, and the huge +things were sent over. I had told Mrs. Wilhelm that we were to +have luncheon in our own quarters. + +So Adams made a fire large enough to roast beef for a company of +soldiers, and he and I attempted to boil a few eggs in the deep +mess-kettle and to make the water boil in the huge tea-kettle. + +But Adams, as it turned out, was not a cook, and I must confess +that my own attention had been more engrossed by the study of +German auxiliary verbs, during the few previous years, than with +the art of cooking. + +Of course, like all New England girls of that period, I knew how +to make quince jelly and floating islands, but of the actual, +practical side of cooking, and the management of a range, I knew +nothing. + +Here was a dilemma, indeed! + +The eggs appeared to boil, but they did not seem to be done when +we took them off, by the minute-hand of the clock. + +I declared the kettle was too large; Adams said he did not +understand it at all. + +I could have wept with chagrin! Our first meal a deux! + +I appealed to Jack. He said, "Why, of course, Martha, you ought +to know that things do not cook as quickly at this altitude as +they do down at the sea level. We are thousands of feet above the +sea here in Wyoming." (I am not sure it was thousands, but it was +hundreds at least.) + +So that was the trouble, and I had not thought of it! + +My head was giddy with the glamour, the uniform, the +guard-mount, the military music, the rarefied air, the new +conditions, the new interests of my life. Heine's songs, Goethe's +plays, history and romance were floating through my mind. Is it +to be wondered at that I and Adams together prepared the most +atrocious meals that ever a new husband had to eat? I related my +difficulties to Jack, and told him I thought we should never be +able to manage with such kitchen utensils as were furnished by +the Q. M. D. + +"Oh, pshaw! You are pampered and spoiled with your New England +kitchens," said he; "you will have to learn to do as other army +women do--cook in cans and such things, be inventive, and learn +to do with nothing." This was my first lesson in +army house-keeping. + +After my unpractical teacher had gone out on some official +business, I ran over to Mrs. Wilhelm's quarters and said, "Will +you let me see your kitchen closet?" + +She assented, and I saw the most beautiful array of tin-ware, +shining and neat, placed in rows upon the shelves and hanging +from hooks on the wall. + +"So!" I said; "my military husband does not know anything about +these things;" and I availed myself of the first trip of the +ambulance over to Cheyenne, bought a stock of tin-ware and had it +charged, and made no mention of it--because I feared that +tin-ware was to be our bone of contention, and I put off the evil +day. + +The cooking went on better after that, but I did not have much +assistance from Adams. + +I had great trouble at first with the titles and the rank: but I +soon learned that many of the officers were addressed by the +brevet title bestowed upon them for gallant service in the Civil +War, and I began to understand about the ways and customs of the +army of Uncle Sam. In contrast to the Germans, the American +lieutenants were not addressed by their title (except +officially); I learned to "Mr." all the lieutenants who had no +brevet. + +One morning I suggested to Adams that he should wash the front +windows; after being gone a half hour, to borrow a step-ladder, +he entered the room, mounted the ladder and began. I sat writing. +Suddenly, he faced around, and addressing me, said, "Madam, do +you believe in spiritualism?" + +"Good gracious! Adams, no; why do you ask me such a question ?" + +This was enough; he proceeded to give a lecture on the subject +worthy of a man higher up on the ladder of this life. I bade him +come to an end as soon as I dared (for I was not accustomed to +soldiers), and suggested that he was forgetting his work. + +It was early in April, and the snow drifted through the crevices +of the old dried-out house, in banks upon our bed; but that was +soon mended, and things began to go smoothly enough, when Jack +was ordered to join his company, which was up at the Spotted Tail +Agency. It was expected that the Sioux under this chief would +break out at any minute. They had become disaffected about some +treaty. I did not like to be left alone with the Spiritualist, so +Jack asked one of the laundresses, whose husband was out with the +company, to come and stay and take care of me. Mrs. Patten was an +old campaigner; she understood everything about officers and +their ways, and she made me absolutely comfortable for those two +lonely months. I always felt grateful to her; she was a dear old +Irish woman. + +All the families and a few officers were left at the post, and, +with the daily drive to Cheyenne, some small dances and +theatricals, my time was pleasantly occupied. + +Cheyenne in those early days was an amusing but unattractive +frontier town; it presented a great contrast to the old +civilization I had so recently left. We often saw women in cotton +wrappers, high-heeled slippers, and sun-bonnets, walking in the +main streets. Cows, pigs, and saloons seemed to be a feature of +the place. + +In about six weeks, the affairs of the Sioux were settled, and +the troops returned to the post. The weather began to be +uncomfortably hot in those low wooden houses. I missed the +comforts of home and the fresh sea air of the coast, but I tried +to make the best of it. + +Our sleeping-room was very small, and its one window looked out +over the boundless prairie at the back of the post. On account of +the great heat, we were obliged to have this window wide open at +night. I heard the cries and wails of various animals, but Jack +said that was nothing--they always heard them. + +Once, at midnight, the wails seemed to be nearer, and I was +terrified; but he told me 'twas only the half-wild cats and +coyotes which prowled around the post. I asked him if they ever +came in. "Gracious, no!" he said; "they are too wild." + +I calmed myself for sleep--when like lightning, one of the huge +creatures gave a flying leap in at our window, across the bed, +and through into the living-room. + +"Jerusalem!" cried the lieutenant, and flew after her, snatching +his sword, which stood in the corner, and poking vigorously under +the divan. + +I rolled myself under the bed-covers, in the most abject terror +lest she might come back the same way; and, true enough, she did, +with a most piercing cry. I never had much rest after that +occurrence, as we had no protection against these wild-cats. + +The regiment, however, in June was ordered to Arizona, that +dreaded and then unknown land, and the uncertain future was +before me. I saw the other women packing china and their various +belongings. I seemed to be helpless. Jack was busy with things +outside. He had three large army chests, which were brought in +and placed before me. "Now," he said, "all our things must go +into those chests"--and I supposed they must. + +I was pitifully ignorant of the details of moving, and I stood +despairingly gazing into the depths of those boxes, when the +jolly and stout wife of Major von Hermann passed my window. She +glanced in, comprehended the situation, and entered, saying, "You +do not understand how to pack? Let me help you: give me a cushion +to kneel upon--now bring everything that is to be packed, and I +can soon show you how to do it." With her kind assistance the +chests were packed, and I found that we had a great deal of +surplus stuff which had to be put into rough cases, or rolled +into packages and covered with burlap. Jack fumed when he saw it, +and declared we could not take it all, as it exceeded our +allowance of weight. I declared we must take it, or we could not +exist. + +With some concessions on both sides we were finally packed up, +and left Fort Russell about the middle of June, with the first +detachment, consisting of head-quarters and band, for San +Francisco, over the Union Pacific Railroad. + +For it must be remembered, that in 1874 there were no railroads +in Arizona, and all troops which were sent to that distant +territory either marched over-land through New Mexico, or were +transported by steamer from San Francisco down the coast, and up +the Gulf of California to Fort Yuma, from which point they +marched up the valley of the Gila to the southern posts, or +continued up the Colorado River by steamer, to other points of +disembarkation, whence they marched to the posts in the interior, +or the northern part of the territory. + +Much to my delight, we were allowed to remain over in San +Francisco, and go down with the second detachment. We made the +most of the time, which was about a fortnight, and on the sixth +of August we embarked with six companies of soldiers, Lieutenant +Colonel Wilkins in command, on the old steamship "Newbern," +Captain Metzger, for Arizona. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +DOWN THE PACIFIC COAST + +Now the "Newbern" was famous for being a good roller, and she +lived up to her reputation. For seven days I saw only the inside +of our stateroom. At the end of that time we arrived off Cape St. +Lucas (the extreme southern point of Lower California), and I +went on deck. + +We anchored and took cattle aboard. I watched the natives tow +them off, the cattle swimming behind their small boats, and then +saw the poor beasts hoisted up by their horns to the deck of our +ship. + +I thought it most dreadfully cruel, but was informed that it had +been done from time immemorial, so I ceased to talk about it, +knowing that I could not reform those aged countries, and +realizing, faintly perhaps (for I had never seen much of the +rough side of life), that just as cruel things were done to the +cattle we consume in the North. + +Now that Mr. Sinclair, in his great book "The Jungle," has +brought the multiplied horrors of the great packing-houses before +our very eyes, we might witness the hoisting of the cattle over +the ship's side without feeling such intense pity, admitting that +everything is relative, even cruelty. + +It was now the middle of August, and the weather had become +insufferably hot, but we were out of the long swell of the +Pacific Ocean; we had rounded Cape St. Lucas, and were steaming +up the Gulf of California, towards the mouth of the Great +Colorado, whose red and turbulent waters empty themselves into +this gulf, at its head. + +I now had time to become acquainted with the officers of the +regiment, whom I had not before met; they had come in from other +posts and joined the command at San Francisco. + +The daughter of the lieutenant-colonel was on board, the +beautiful and graceful Caroline Wilkins, the belle of the +regiment; and Major Worth, to whose company my husband belonged. +I took a special interest in the latter, as I knew we must face +life together in the wilds of Arizona. I had time to learn +something about the regiment and its history; and that Major +Worth's father, whose monument I had so often seen in New York, +was the first colonel of the Eighth Infantry, when it was +organized in the State of New York in 1838. + +The party on board was merry enough, and even gay. There was +Captain Ogilby, a great, genial Scotchman, and Captain Porter, a +graduate of Dublin, and so charmingly witty. He seemed very +devoted to Miss Wilkins, but Miss Wilkins was accustomed to the +devotion of all the officers of the Eighth Infantry. In fact, it +was said that every young lieutenant who joined the regiment had +proposed to her. She was most attractive, and as she had too kind +a heart to be a coquette, she was a universal favorite with the +women as well as with the men. + +There was Ella Bailey, too, Miss Wilkins' sister, with her young +and handsome husband and their young baby. + +Then, dear Mrs. Wilkins, who had been so many years in the army +that she remembered crossing the plains in a real ox-team. She +represented the best type of the older army woman--and it was so +lovely to see her with her two daughters, all in the same +regiment. A mother of grown-up daughters was not often met with +in the army. + +And Lieutenant-Colonel Wilkins, a gentleman in the truest sense +of the word--a man of rather quiet tastes, never happier than +when he had leisure for indulging his musical taste in strumming +all sorts of Spanish fandangos on the guitar, or his somewhat +marked talent with the pencil and brush. + +The heat of the staterooms compelled us all to sleep on deck, so +our mattresses were brought up by the soldiers at night, and +spread about. The situation, however, was so novel and altogether +ludicrous, and our fear of rats which ran about on deck so great, +that sleep was well-nigh out of the question. + +Before dawn, we fled to our staterooms, but by sunrise we were +glad to dress and escape from their suffocating heat and go on +deck again. Black coffee and hard-tack were sent up, and this +sustained us until the nine-o'clock breakfast, which was +elaborate, but not good. There was no milk, of course, except the +heavily sweetened sort, which I could not use: it was the +old-time condensed and canned milk; the meats were beyond +everything, except the poor, tough, fresh beef we had seen +hoisted over the side, at Cape St. Lucas. The butter, poor at the +best, began to pour like oil. Black coffee and bread, and a baked +sweet potato, seemed the only things that I could swallow. + +The heat in the Gulf of California was intense. Our trunks were +brought up from the vessel's hold, and we took out summer +clothing. But how inadequate and inappropriate it was for that +climate! Our faces burned and blistered; even the parting on the +head burned, under the awnings which were kept spread. The +ice-supply decreased alarmingly, the meats turned green, and when +the steward went down into the refrigerator, which was somewhere +below the quarter-deck, to get provisions for the day, every +woman held a bottle of salts to her nose, and the officers fled +to the forward part of the ship. The odor which ascended from +that refrigerator was indescribable: it lingered and would not +go. It followed us to the table, and when we tasted the food we +tasted the odor. We bribed the steward for ice. Finally, I could +not go below at all, but had a baked sweet potato brought on +deck, and lived several days upon that diet. + +On the 14th of August we anchored off Mazatlan, a picturesque and +ancient adobe town in old Mexico. The approach to this port was +strikingly beautiful. Great rocks, cut by the surf into arches +and caverns, guarded the entrance to the harbor. We anchored two +miles out. A customs and a Wells-Fargo boat boarded us, and many +natives came along side, bringing fresh cocoanuts, bananas, and +limes. Some Mexicans bound for Guaymas came on board, and a +troupe of Japanese jugglers. + +While we were unloading cargo, some officers and their wives went +on shore in one of the ship's boats, and found it a most +interesting place. It was garrisoned by Mexican troops, uniformed +in white cotton shirts and trousers. They visited the old hotel, +the amphitheatre where the bull-fights were held, and the old +fort. They told also about the cock-pits--and about the +refreshing drinks they had. + +My thirst began to be abnormal. We bought a dozen cocoanuts, and +I drank the milk from them, and made up my mind to go ashore at +the next port; for after nine days with only thick black coffee +and bad warm water to drink, I was longing for a cup of good tea +or a glass of fresh, sweet milk. + +A day or so more brought us to Guaymas, another Mexican port. +Mrs. Wilkins said she had heard something about an old Spaniard +there, who used to cook meals for stray travellers. This was +enough. I was desperately hungry and thirsty, and we decided to +try and find him. Mrs. Wilkins spoke a little Spanish, and by +dint of inquiries we found the man's house, a little old, +forlorn, deserted-looking adobe casa. + +We rapped vigorously upon the old door, and after some minutes a +small, withered old man appeared. + +Mrs. Wilkins told him what we wanted, but this ancient Delmonico +declined to serve us, and said, in Spanish, the country was "a +desert"; he had "nothing in the house"; he had "not cooked a meal +in years"; he could not; and, finally, he would not; and he +gently pushed the door to in our faces. But we did not give it +up, and Mrs. Wilkins continued to persuade. I mustered what +Spanish I knew, and told him I would pay him any price for a cup +of coffee with fresh milk. He finally yielded, and told us to +return in one hour. + +So we walked around the little deserted town. I could think only +of the breakfast we were to have in the old man's casa. And it +met and exceeded our wildest anticipations, for, just fancy! We +were served with a delicious boullion, then chicken, perfectly +cooked, accompanied by some dish flavored with chile verde, +creamy biscuit, fresh butter, and golden coffee with milk. There +were three or four women and several officers in the party, and +we had a merry breakfast. We paid the old man generously, thanked +him warmly, and returned to the ship, fortified to endure the +sight of all the green ducks that came out of the lower hold. + +You must remember that the "Newbern" was a small and old +propeller, not fitted up for passengers, and in those days the +great refrigerating plants were unheard of. The women who go to +the Philippines on our great transports of to-day cannot realize +and will scarcely believe what we endured for lack of ice and of +good food on that never-to-be-forgotten voyage down the Pacific +coast and up the Gulf of California in the summer of 1874. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE SLUE + +At last, after a voyage of thirteen days, we came to anchor a +mile or so off Port Isabel, at the mouth of the Colorado River. +A narrow but deep slue runs up into the desert land, on the east +side of the river's mouth, and provides a harbor of refuge for +the flat-bottomed stern-wheelers which meet the ocean steamers at +this point. Hurricanes are prevalent at this season in the Gulf +of California, but we had been fortunate in not meeting with any +on the voyage. The wind now freshened, however, and beat the +waves into angry foam, and there we lay for three days on the +"Newbern," off Port Isabel, before the sea was calm enough for +the transfer of troops and baggage to the lighters. + +This was excessively disagreeable. The wind was like a breath +from a furnace; it seemed as though the days would never end, and +the wind never stop blowing. Jack's official diary says: "One +soldier died to-day." + +Finally, on the fourth day, the wind abated, and the transfer was +begun. We boarded the river steamboat "Cocopah," towing a barge +loaded with soldiers, and steamed away for the slue. I must say +that we welcomed the change with delight. Towards the end of the +afternoon the "Cocopah" put her nose to the shore and tied up. It +seemed strange not to see pier sand docks, nor even piles to tie +to. Anchors were taken ashore and the boat secured in that +manner: there being no trees of sufficient size to make fast to. + +The soldiers went into camp on shore. The heat down in that low, +flat place was intense. Another man died that night. + +What was our chagrin, the next morning, to learn that we must go +back to the "Newbern," to carry some freight from up-river. There +was nothing to do but stay on board and tow that dreary barge, +filled with hot, red, baked-looking ore, out to the ship, unload, +and go back up the slue. Jack's diary records: "Aug. 23rd. Heat +awful. Pringle died to-day." He was the third soldier to succumb. +It seemed to me their fate was a hard one. To die, down in that +wretched place, to be rolled in a blanket and buried on those +desert shores, with nothing but a heap of stones to mark their +graves. + +The adjutant of the battalion read the burial service, and the +trumpeters stepped to the edge of the graves and sounded "Taps," +which echoed sad and melancholy far over those parched and arid +lands. My eyes filled with tears, for one of the soldiers was +from our own company, and had been kind to me. + +Jack said: "You mustn't cry, Mattie; it's a soldier's life, and +when a man enlists he must take his chances." + +"Yes, but," I said, "somewhere there must be a mother or sister, +or some one who cares for these poor men, and it's all so sad to +think of." + +"Well, I know it is sad," he replied, soothingly, "but listen! It +is all over, and the burial party is returning." + +I listened and heard the gay strains of "The girl I left behind +me," which the trumpeters were playing with all their might. "You +see," said Jack, "it would not do for the soldiers to be sad when +one of them dies. Why, it would demoralize the whole command. So +they play these gay things to cheer them up." + +And I began to feel that tears must be out of place at a +soldier's funeral. I attended many a one after that, but I had +too much imagination, and in spite of all my brave efforts, +visions of the poor boy's mother on some little farm in Missouri +or Kansas perhaps, or in some New England town, or possibly in +the old country, would come before me, and my heart was filled +with sadness. + +The Post Hospital seemed to me a lonesome place to die in, +although the surgeon and soldier attendants were kind to the +sick men. There were no women nurses in the army in those days. + +The next day, the "Cocopah" started again and towed a barge out +to the ship. But the hot wind sprang up and blew fiercely, and we +lay off and on all day, until it was calm enough to tow her back +to the slue. By that time I had about given up all hope of +getting any farther, and if the weather had only been cooler I +could have endured with equanimity the idle life and knocking +about from the ship to the slue, and from the slue to the ship. +But the heat was unbearable. We had to unpack our trunks again +and get out heavy-soled shoes, for the zinc which covered the +decks of these river-steamers burned through the thin slippers we +had worn on the ship. + +That day we had a little diversion, for we saw the "Gila" come +down the river and up the slue, and tie up directly alongside of +us. She had on board and in barges four companies of the +Twenty-third Infantry, who were going into the States. We +exchanged greetings and visits, and from the great joy manifested +by them all, I drew my conclusions as to what lay before us, in +the dry and desolate country we were about to enter. + +The women's clothes looked ridiculously old-fashioned, and I +wondered if I should look that way when my time came to leave +Arizona. + +Little cared they, those women of the Twenty-third, for, joy upon +joys! They saw the "Newbern" out there in the offing, waiting to +take them back to green hills, and to cool days and nights, and +to those they had left behind, three years before. + +On account of the wind, which blew again with great violence, the +"Cocopah" could not leave the slue that day. The officers and +soldiers were desperate for something to do. So they tried +fishing, and caught some "croakers," which tasted very fresh and +good, after all the curried and doctored-up messes we had been +obliged to eat on board ship. + +We spent seven days in and out of that slue. Finally, on August +the 26th, the wind subsided and we started up river. Towards +sunset we arrived at a place called "Old Soldier's Camp." There +the "Gila" joined us, and the command was divided between the two +river-boats. We were assigned to the "Gila," and I settled myself +down with my belongings, for the remainder of the journey up +river. + +We resigned ourselves to the dreadful heat, and at the end of two +more days the river had begun to narrow, and we arrived at Fort +Yuma, which was at that time the post best known to, and most +talked about by army officers of any in Arizona. No one except +old campaigners knew much about any other post in the Territory. + +It was said to be the very hottest place that ever existed, and +from the time we left San Francisco we had heard the story, oft +repeated, of the poor soldier who died at Fort Yuma, and after +awhile returned to beg for his blankets, having found the regions +of Pluto so much cooler than the place he had left. But the fort +looked pleasant to us, as we approached. It lay on a high mesa to +the left of us and there was a little green grass where the post +was built. + +None of the officers knew as yet their destination, and I found +myself wishing it might be our good fortune to stay at Fort Yuma. +It seemed such a friendly place. + +Lieutenant Haskell, Twelfth Infantry, who was stationed there, +came down to the boat to greet us, and brought us our letters +from home. He then extended his gracious hospitality to us all, +arranging for us to come to his quarters the next day for a meal, +and dividing the party as best he could accommodate us. It fell +to our lot to go to breakfast with Major and Mrs. Wells and Miss +Wilkins. + +An ambulance was sent the next morning, at nine o'clock, to bring +us up the steep and winding road, white with heat, which led to +the fort. + +I can never forget the taste of the oatmeal with fresh milk, the +eggs and butter, and delicious tomatoes, which were served to us +in his latticed dining-room. + +After twenty-three days of heat and glare, and scorching winds, +and stale food, Fort Yuma and Mr. Haskell's dining-room seemed +like Paradise. + +Of course it was hot; it was August, and we expected it. But the +heat of those places can be much alleviated by the surroundings. +There were shower baths, and latticed piazzas, and large ollas +hanging in the shade of them, containing cool water. Yuma was +only twenty days from San Francisco, and they were able to get +many things direct by steamer. Of course there was no ice, and +butter was kept only by ingenious devices of the Chinese +servants; there were but few vegetables, but what was to be had +at all in that country, was to be had at Fort Yuma. + +We staid one more day, and left two companies of the regiment +there. When we departed, I felt, somehow, as though we were +saying good-bye to the world and civilization, and as our boat +clattered and tugged away up river with its great wheel astern, I +could not help looking back longingly to old Fort Yuma. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +UP THE RIO COLORADO + +And now began our real journey up the Colorado River, that river +unknown to me except in my early geography lessons--that mighty +and untamed river, which is to-day unknown except to the +explorer, or the few people who have navigated its turbulent +waters. Back in memory was the picture of it on the map; here was +the reality, then, and here we were, on the steamer "Gila," +Captain Mellon, with the barge full of soldiers towing on after +us, starting for Fort Mojave, some two hundred miles above. + +The vague and shadowy foreboding that had fluttered through my +mind before I left Fort Russell had now also become a reality and +crowded out every other thought. The river, the scenery, seemed, +after all, but an illusion, and interested me but in a dreamy +sort of way. + +We had staterooms, but could not remain in them long at a time, +on account of the intense heat. I had never felt such heat, and +no one else ever had or has since. The days were interminable. We +wandered around the boat, first forward, then aft, to find a cool +spot. We hung up our canteens (covered with flannel and dipped in +water), where they would swing in the shade, thereby obtaining +water which was a trifle cooler than the air. There was no ice, +and consequently no fresh provisions. A Chinaman served as +steward and cook, and at the ringing of a bell we all went into a +small saloon back of the pilothouse, where the meals were served. +Our party at table on the "Gila" consisted of several unmarried +officers, and several officers with their wives, about eight or +nine in all, and we could have had a merry time enough but for +the awful heat, which destroyed both our good looks and our +tempers. The fare was meagre, of course; fresh biscuit without +butter, very salt boiled beef, and some canned vegetables, which +were poor enough in those days. Pies made from preserved peaches +or plums generally followed this delectable course. Chinamen, as +we all know, can make pies under conditions that would stagger +most chefs. They may have no marble pastry-slab, and the lard may +run like oil, still they can make pies that taste good to the +hungry traveller. + +But that dining-room was hot! The metal handles of the knives +were uncomfortably warm to the touch; and even the wooden arms of +the chairs felt as if they were slowly igniting. After a hasty +meal, and a few remarks upon the salt beef, and the general +misery of our lot, we would seek some spot which might be a +trifle cooler. A siesta was out of the question, as the +staterooms were insufferable; and so we dragged out the weary +days. + +At sundown the boat put her nose up to the bank and tied up for +the night. The soldiers left the barges and went into camp on +shore, to cook their suppers and to sleep. The banks of the river +offered no very attractive spot upon which to make a camp; they +were low, flat, and covered with underbrush and arrow-weed, which +grew thick to the water's edge. I always found it interesting to +watch the barge unload the men at sundown. + +At twilight some of the soldiers came on board and laid our +mattresses side by side on the after deck. Pajamas and loose +gowns were soon en evidence, but nothing mattered, as they were +no electric lights to disturb us with their glare. Rank also +mattered not; Lieutenant-Colonel Wilkins and his wife lay down to +rest, with the captains and lieutenants and their wives, wherever +their respective strikers had placed their mattresses (for this +was the good old time when the soldiers were allowed to wait upon +officers 'families). + +Under these circumstances, much sleep was not to be thought of; +the sultry heat by the river bank, and the pungent smell of the +arrow-weed which lined the shores thickly, contributed more to +stimulate than to soothe the weary nerves. But the glare of the +sun was gone, and after awhile a stillness settled down upon this +company of Uncle Sam's servants and their followers. (In the Army +Regulations, wives are not rated except as "camp followers.") + +But even this short respite from the glare of the sun was soon to +end; for before the crack of dawn, or, as it seemed to us, +shortly after midnight, came such a clatter with the fires and +the high-pressure engine and the sparks, and what all they did in +that wild and reckless land, that further rest was impossible, +and we betook ourselves with our mattresses to the staterooms, +for another attempt at sleep, which, however, meant only failure, +as the sun rose incredibly early on that river, and we were glad +to take a hasty sponge from a basin of rather thick looking +river-water, and go again out on deck, where we could always get +a cup of black coffee from the Chinaman. + +And thus began another day of intolerable glare and heat. +Conversation lagged; no topic seemed to have any interest except +the thermometer, which hung in the coolest place on the boat; and +one day when Major Worth looked at it and pronounced it one +hundred and twenty-two in the shade, a grim despair seized upon +me, and I wondered how much more heat human beings could endure. +There was nothing to relieve the monotony of the scenery. On each +side of us, low river banks, and nothing between those and the +horizon line. On our left was Lower * California, and on our +right, Arizona. Both appeared to be deserts. + +*This term is here used (as we used it at Ehrenberg) to designate +the low, flat lands west of the river, without any reference to +Lower California proper,--the long peninsula belonging to Mexico. + +As the river narrowed, however, the trip began to be enlivened by +the constant danger of getting aground on the shifting sand-bars +which are so numerous in this mighty river. Jack Mellon was then +the most famous pilot on the Colorado, and he was very skilful in +steering clear of the sand-bars, skimming over them, or working +his boat off, when once fast upon them. The deck-hands, men of a +mixed Indian and Mexican race, stood ready with long poles, in +the bow, to jump overboard, when we struck a bar,and by dint of +pushing, and reversing the engine, the boat would swing off. + +On approaching a shallow place, they would sound with their +poles, and in a sing-song high-pitched tone drawl out the number +of feet. Sometimes their sleepy drawling tones would suddenly +cease, and crying loudly, "No alli agua!" they would swing +themselves over the side of the boat into the river, and begin +their strange and intricate manipulations with the poles. Then, +again, they would carry the anchor away off and by means of great +spars, and some method too complicated for me to describe, +Captain Mellon would fairly lift the boat over the bar. + +But our progress was naturally much retarded, and sometimes we +were aground an hour, sometimes a half day or more. Captain +Mellon was always cheerful. River steamboating was his life, and +sand-bars were his excitement. On one occasion, I said, "Oh! +Captain, do you think we shall get off this bar to-day ?" "Well, +you can't tell," he said, with a twinkle in his eye; "one trip, I +lay fifty-two days on a bar," and then, after a short pause, "but +that don't happen very often; we sometimes lay a week, though; +there is no telling; the bars change all the time." + +Sometimes the low trees and brushwood on the banks parted, and a +young squaw would peer out at us. This was a little diversion, +and picturesque besides. They wore very short skirts made of +stripped bark, and as they held back the branches of the low +willows, and looked at us with curiosity, they made pictures so +pretty that I have never forgotten them. We had no kodaks then, +but even if we had had them, they could not have reproduced the +fine copper color of those bare shoulders and arms, the soft wood +colors of the short bark skirts, the gleam of the sun upon their +blue-black hair, and the turquoise color of the wide bead-bands +which encircled their arms. + +One morning, as I was trying to finish out a nap in my +stateroom, Jack came excitedly in and said: "Get up, Martha, we +are coming to Ehrenberg!" Visions of castles on the Rhine, and +stories of the middle ages floated through my mind, as I sprang +up, in pleasurable anticipation of seeing an interesting and +beautiful place. Alas! for my ignorance. I saw but a row of low +thatched hovels, perched on the edge of the ragged looking +river-bank; a road ran lengthwise along, and opposite the hovels +I saw a store and some more mean-looking huts of adobe. + +"Oh! Jack!" I cried, "and is that Ehrenberg? Who on earth gave +such a name to the wretched place?" + +"Oh, some old German prospector, I suppose; but never mind, the +place is all right enough. Come! Hurry up! We are going to stop +here and land freight. There is an officer stationed here. See +those low white walls? That is where he lives. Captain Bernard of +the Fifth Cavalry. It's quite a place; come out and see it." + +But I did not go ashore. Of all dreary, miserable-looking +settlements that one could possibly imagine, that was the worst. +An unfriendly, dirty, and Heaven-forsaken place, inhabited by a +poor class of Mexicans and half-breeds. It was, however, an +important shipping station for freight which was to be sent +overland to the interior, and there was always one army officer +stationed there. + +Captain Bernard came on board to see us. I did not ask him how he +liked his station; it seemed to me too satirical; like asking the +Prisoner of Chillon, for instance, how he liked his dungeon. + +I looked over towards those low white walls, which enclosed the +Government corral and the habitation of this officer, and thanked +my stars that no such dreadful detail had come to my husband. I +did not dream that in less than a year this exceptionally hard +fate was to be my own. + +We left Ehrenberg with no regrets, and pushed on up river. + +On the third of September the boilers "foamed" so that we had to +tie up for nearly a day. This was caused by the water being so +very muddy. The Rio Colorado deserves its name, for its +swift-flowing current sweeps by like a mass of seething red +liquid, turbulent and thick and treacherous. It was said on the +river, that those who sank beneath its surface were never seen +again, and in looking over into those whirlpools and swirling +eddies, one might well believe this to be true. + +>From there on, up the river, we passed through great canons and +the scenery was grand enough; but one cannot enjoy scenery with +the mercury ranging from 107 to 122 in the shade. The grandeur +was quite lost upon us all, and we were suffocated by the +scorching heat radiating from those massive walls of rocks +between which we puffed and clattered along. + +I must confess that the history of this great river was quite +unknown to me then. I had never read of the early attempts made +to explore it, both from above and from its mouth, and the +wonders of the "Grand Canon" were as yet unknown to the world. I +did not realize that, as we steamed along between those high +perpendicular walls of rock, we were really seeing the lower end +of that great chasm which now, thirty years later, has become one +of the most famous resorts of this country and, in fact, of the +world. + +There was some mention made of Major Powell, that daring +adventurer, who, a few years previously, had accomplished the +marvellous feat of going down the Colorado and through the Grand +Canon, in a small boat, he being the first man who had at that +time ever accomplished it, many men having lost their lives in +the attempt. + +At last, on the 8th of September, we arrived at Camp Mojave, on +the right bank of the river; a low, square enclosure, on the low +level of the flat land near the river. It seemed an age since we +had left Yuma and twice an age since we had left the mouth of the +river. But it was only eighteen days in all, and Captain Mellon +remarked: "A quick trip!" and congratulated us on the good luck +we had had in not being detained on the sandbars. "Great +Heavens," I thought, "if that is what they call a quick trip!" +But I do not know just what I thought, for those eighteen days on +the Great Colorado in midsummer, had burned themselves into my +memory, and I made an inward vow that nothing would ever force me +into such a situation again. I did not stop to really think; I +only felt, and my only feeling was a desire to get cool and to +get out of the Territory in some other way and at some cooler +season. How futile a wish, and how futile a vow! + +______________________________________________________ +Dellenbaugh, who was with Powell in 1869 in his second expedition +down the river in small boats, has given to the world a most +interesting account of this wonderful river and the canons +through which it cuts its tempestuous way to the Gulf of +California, in two volumes entitled "The Romance of the Great +Colorado" and "A Canon Voyage". +______________________________________________________ + + We bade good-bye to our gallant river captain and watched the +great stern-wheeler as she swung out into the stream, and, +heading up river, disappeared around a bend; for even at that +time this venturesome pilot had pushed his boat farther up than +any other steam-craft had ever gone, and we heard that there were +terrific rapids and falls and unknown mysteries above. The +superstition of centuries hovered over the "great cut," and but +few civilized beings had looked down into its awful depths. +Brave, dashing, handsome Jack Mellon! What would I give and what +would we all give, to see thee once more, thou Wizard of the +Great Colorado! + +We turned our faces towards the Mojave desert, and I wondered, +what next? + +The Post Surgeon kindly took care of us for two days and nights, +and we slept upon the broad piazzas of his quarters. + +We heard no more the crackling and fizzing of the +stern-wheeler's high-pressure engines at daylight, and our eyes, +tired with gazing at the red whirlpools of the river, found +relief in looking out upon the grey-white flat expanse which +surrounded Fort Mojave, and merged itself into the desert +beyond. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE MOJAVE DESERT + +Thou white and dried-up sea! so old! So strewn with wealth, so +sown with gold! Yes, thou art old and hoary white With time and +ruin of all things, And on thy lonesome borders Night Sits +brooding o'er with drooping wings. --JOAQUIN MILLER. + + +The country had grown steadily more unfriendly ever since leaving +Fort Yuma, and the surroundings of Camp Mojave were dreary +enough. + +But we took time to sort out our belongings, and the officers +arranged for transportation across the Territory. Some had +bought, in San Francisco, comfortable travelling-carriages for +their families. They were old campaigners; they knew a thing or +two about Arizona; we lieutenants did not know, we had never +heard much about this part of our country. But a comfortable +large carriage, known as a Dougherty wagon, or, in common army +parlance, an ambulance, was secured for me to travel in. This +vehicle had a large body, with two seats facing each other, and a +seat outside for the driver. The inside of the wagon could be +closed if desired by canvas sides and back which rolled up and +down, and by a curtain which dropped behind the driver's seat. So +I was enabled to have some degree of privacy, if I wished. + +We repacked our mess-chest, and bought from the Commissary at +Mojave the provisions necessary for the long journey to Fort +Whipple, which was the destination of one of the companies and +the headquarters officers. + +On the morning of September 10th everything in the post was astir +with preparations for the first march. It was now thirty-five +days since we left San Francisco, but the change from boat to +land travelling offered an agreeable diversion after the monotony +of the river. I watched with interest the loading of the great +prairie-schooners, into which went the soldiers' boxes and the +camp equipage. Outside was lashed a good deal of the lighter +stuff; I noticed a barrel of china, which looked much like our +own, lashed directly over one wheel. Then there were the massive +blue army wagons, which were also heavily loaded; the laundresses +with their children and belongings were placed in these. + +At last the command moved out. It was to me a novel sight. The +wagons and schooners were each drawn by teams of six heavy mules, +while a team of six lighter mules was put to each ambulance and +carriage. These were quite different from the draught animals I +had always seen in the Eastern States; these Government mules +being sleek, well-fed and trained to trot as fast as the average +carriage-horse. The harnesses were quite smart, being trimmed off +with white ivory rings. Each mule was "Lize" or "Fanny" or +"Kate", and the soldiers who handled the lines were accustomed to +the work; for work, and arduous work, it proved to be, as we +advanced into the then unknown Territory of Arizona. + +The main body of the troops marched in advance; then came the +ambulances and carriages, followed by the baggage-wagons and a +small rear-guard. When the troops were halted once an hour for +rest, the officers, who marched with the soldiers, would come to +the ambulances and chat awhile, until the bugle call for +"Assembly" sounded, when they would join their commands again, +the men would fall in, the call "Forward" was sounded, and the +small-sized army train moved on. + +The first day's march was over a dreary country; a hot wind blew, +and everything was filled with dust. I had long ago discarded my +hat, as an unnecessary and troublesome article; consequently my +head wa snow a mass of fine white dust, which stuck fast, of +course. I was covered from head to foot with it, and it would not +shake off, so, although our steamboat troubles were over, our +land troubles had begun. + +We reached, after a few hours' travel, the desolate place where +we were to camp. + +In the mean time, it had been arranged for Major Worth, who had +no family, to share our mess, and we had secured the services of +a soldier belonging to his company whose ability as a camp cook +was known to both officers. + +I cannot say that life in the army, as far as I had gone, +presented any very great attractions. This, our first camp, was +on the river, a little above Hardyville. Good water was there, +and that was all; I had not yet learned to appreciate that. There +was not a tree nor a shrub to give shade. The only thing I could +see, except sky and sand, was a ruined adobe enclosure ,with no +roof. I sat in the ambulance until our tent was pitched, and then +Jack came to me, followed by a six-foot soldier, and said: +"Mattie, this is Bowen, our striker; now I want you to tell him +what he shall cook for our supper; and--don't you think it would +be nice if you could show him how to make some of those good New +England doughnuts? I think Major Worth might like them; and after +all the awful stuff we have had, you know," et caetera, et +caetera. I met the situation, after an inward struggle, and said, +weakly, "Where are the eggs?" "Oh," said he, "you don't need +eggs; you're on the frontier now; you must learn to do without +eggs." + +Everything in me rebelled, but still I yielded. You see I had +been married only six months; the women at home, and in Germany +also, had always shown great deference to their husbands' wishes. +But at that moment I almost wished Major Worth and Jack and Bowen +and the mess-chest at the bottom of the Rio Colorado. However, I +nerved myself for the effort, and when Bowen had his camp-fire +made, he came and called me. + +At the best, I never had much confidence in my ability as a cook, +but as a camp cook! Ah, me! Everything seemed to swim before my +eyes, and I fancied that the other women were looking at me from +their tents. Bowen was very civil, turned back the cover of the +mess-chest and propped it up. That was the table. Then he brought +me a tin basin, and some flour, some condensed milk, some sugar, +and a rolling-pin, and then he hung a camp-kettle with lard in it +over the fire. I stirred up a mixture in the basin, but the +humiliation of failure was spared me, for just then, without +warning, came one of those terrific sandstorms which prevail on +the deserts of Arizona, blowing us all before it in its fury, and +filling everything with sand. + +We all scurried to the tents; some of them had blown down. There +was not much shelter, but the storm was soon over, and we stood +collecting our scattered senses. I saw Mrs. Wilkins at the door +of her tent. She beckoned to me; I went over there, and she said: +"Now, my dear, I am going to give you some advice. You must not +take it unkindly. I am an old army woman and I have made many +campaigns with the Colonel; you have but just joined the army. +You must never try to do any cooking at the camp-fire. The +soldiers are there for that work, and they know lots more about +it than any of us do." + +"But, Jack," I began-- + +"Never mind Jack," said she; "he does not know as much as I do +about it; and when you reach your post," she added, "you can show +him what you can do in that line." + +Bowen cleared away the sandy remains of the doubtful dough, and +prepared for us a very fair supper. Soldiers' bacon, and coffee, +and biscuits baked in a Dutch oven. + +While waiting for the sun to set, we took a short stroll over to +the adobe ruins. Inside the enclosure lay an enormous +rattlesnake, coiled. It was the first one I had ever seen except +in a cage, and I was fascinated by the horror of the round, +grayish-looking heap, so near the color of the sand on which it +lay. Some soldiers came and killed it. But I noticed that Bowen +took extra pains that night, to spread buffalo robes under our +mattresses, and to place around them a hair lariat. "Snakes won't +cross over that," he said, with a grin. + +Bowen was a character. Originally from some farm in Vermont, he +had served some years with the Eighth Infantry, and for a long +time in the same company under Major Worth, and had cooked for +the bachelors' mess. He was very tall, and had a good-natured +face, but he did not have much opinion of what is known as +etiquette, either military or civil; he seemed to consider +himself a sort of protector to the officers of Company K, and +now, as well, to the woman who had joined the company. He took us +all under his wing, as it were, and although he had to be sharply +reprimanded sometimes, in a kind of language which he seemed to +expect, he was allowed more latitude than most soldiers. + +This was my first night under canvas in the army. I did not like +those desert places, and they grew to have a horror for me. + +At four o'clock in the morning the cook's call sounded, the mules +were fed, and the crunching and the braying were something to +awaken the heaviest sleepers. Bowen called us. I was much upset +by the dreadful dust, which was thick upon everything I touched. +We had to hasten our toilet, as they were striking tents and +breaking camp early, in order to reach before noon the next place +where there was water. Sitting on camp-stools, around the +mess-tables, in the open, before the break of day, we swallowed +some black coffee and ate some rather thick slices of bacon and +dry bread. The Wilkins' tent was near ours, and I said to them, +rather peevishly: "Isn't this dust something awful?" + +Miss Wilkins looked up with her sweet smile and gentle manner and +replied: "Why, yes, Mrs. Summerhayes, it is pretty bad, but you +must not worry about such a little thing as dust." + +"How can I help it?" I said; "my hair, my clothes, everything +full of it, and no chance for a bath or a change: a miserable +little basin of water and--" + +I suppose I was running on with all my grievances, but she +stopped me and said again: "Soon, now, you will not mind it at +all. Ella and I are army girls, you know, and we do not mind +anything. There's no use in fretting about little things." + +Miss Wilkins' remarks made a tremendous impression upon my mind +and I began to study her philosophy. + +At break of day the command marched out, their rifles on their +shoulders, swaying along ahead of us, in the sunlight and the +heat, which continued still to be almost unendurable. The dry +white dust of this desert country boiled and surged up and around +us in suffocating clouds. + +I had my own canteen hung up in the ambulance, but the water in +it got very warm and I learned to take but a swallow at a time, +as it could not be refilled until we reached the next spring--and +there is always some uncertainty in Arizona as to whether the +spring or basin has gone dry. So water was precious, and we could +not afford to waste a drop. + +At about noon we reached a forlorn mud hut, known as Packwood's +ranch. But the place had a bar, which was cheerful for some of +the poor men, as the two days' marches had been rather hard upon +them, being so "soft" from the long voyage. I could never +begrudge a soldier a bit of cheer after the hard marches in +Arizona, through miles of dust and burning heat, their canteens +long emptied and their lips parched and dry. I watched them often +as they marched along with their blanket-rolls, their haversacks, +and their rifles, and I used to wonder that they did not +complain. + +About that time the greatest luxury in the entire world seemed to +me to be a glass of fresh sweet milk, and I shall always remember +Mr. Packwood's ranch, because we had milk to drink with our +supper, and some delicious quail to eat. + +Ranches in that part of Arizona meant only low adobe dwellings +occupied by prospectors or men who kept the relays of animals for +stage routes. Wretched, forbidding-looking places they were! +Never a tree or a bush to give shade, never a sign of comfort or +home. + +Our tents were pitched near Packwood's, out in the broiling sun. +They were like ovens; there was no shade, no coolness anywhere; +we would have gladly slept, after the day's march, but instead we +sat broiling in the ambulances, and waited for the long afternoon +to wear away. + +The next day dragged along in the same manner; the command +marching bravely along through dust and heat and thirst, as +Kipling's soldier sings: + + +"With its best foot first +And the road +a-sliding past, +An' every bloomin' campin'-ground +Exactly like the last". + + +Beal's Springs did not differ from the other ranch, except that +possibly it was even more desolate. But a German lived there, who +must have had some knowledge of cooking, for I remember that we +bought a peach pie from him and ate it with a relish. I remember, +too, that we gave him a good silver dollar for it. + +The only other incident of that day's march was the suicide of +Major Worth's pet dog "Pete." Having exhausted his ability to +endure, this beautiful red setter fixed his eye upon a distant +range of mountains, and ran without turning, or heeding any call, +straight as the crow flies, towards them and death. We never saw +him again; a ranchman told us he had known of several other +instances where a well-bred dog had given up in this manner, and +attempted to run for the hills. We had a large greyhound with us, +but he did not desert. + +Major Worth was much affected by the loss of his dog, and did not +join us at supper that night. We kept a nice fat quail for him, +however, and at about nine o'clock, when all was still and dark, +Jack entered the Major's tent and said: "Come now, Major, my wife +has sent you this nice quail; don't give up so about Pete, you +know." + +The Major lay upon his camp-bed, with his face turned to the wall +of his tent; he gave a deep sigh, rolled himself over and said: +"Well, put it on the table, and light the candle; I'll try to eat +it. Thank your wife for me." + +So the Lieutenant made a light, and lo! and behold, the plate was +there, but the quail was gone! In the darkness, our great kangaroo +hound had stolen noiselessly upon his master's heels, and quietly +removed the bird. The two officers were dumbfounded. Major Worth +said: "D--n my luck;" and turned his face again to the wall of +his tent. + +Now Major Worth was just the dearest and gentlest sort of a man, +but he had been born and brought up in the old army, and everyone +knows that times and customs were different then. + +Men drank more and swore a good deal, and while I do not wish my +story to seem profane, yet I would not describe army life or the +officers as I knew them, if I did not allow the latter to use an +occasional strong expression. + +The incident, however, served to cheer up the Major, though he +continued to deplore the loss of his beautiful dog. + +For the next two days our route lay over the dreariest and most +desolate country. It was not only dreary, it was positively +hostile in its attitude towards every living thing except snakes, +centipedes and spiders. They seemed to flourish in those +surroundings. + +Sometimes either Major Worth or Jack would come and drive along a +few miles in the ambulance with me to cheer me up, and they +allowed me to abuse the country to my heart's content. It seemed +to do me much good. The desert was new to me then. I had not read +Pierre Loti's wonderful book, "Le Desert," and I did not see much +to admire in the desolate waste lands through which we were +travelling. I did not dream of the power of the desert, nor that +I should ever long to see it again. But as I write, the longing +possesses me, and the pictures then indelibly printed upon my +mind, long forgotten amidst the scenes and events of half a +lifetime, unfold themselves like a panorama before my vision and +call me to come back, to look upon them once more. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +LEARNING HOW TO SOLDIER + +"The grasses failed, and then a mass Of dry red cactus ruled the +land: The sun rose right above and fell, As falling molten from +the skies, And no winged thing was seen to pass." Joaquin Miller. + + +We made fourteen miles the next day, and went into camp at a +place called Freeze-wash, near some old silver mines. A bare and +lonesome spot, where there was only sand to be seen, and some +black, burnt-looking rocks. From under these rocks, crept great +tarantulas, not forgetting lizards, snakes, and not forgetting +the scorpion, which ran along with its tail turned up ready to +sting anything that came in its way. The place furnished good +water, however, and that was now the most important thing. + +The next day's march was a long one. The guides said: +"Twenty-eight miles to Willow Grove Springs." + +The command halted ten minutes every hour for rest, but the sun +poured down upon us, and I was glad to stay in the ambulance. It +was at these times that my thoughts turned back to the East and +to the blue sea and the green fields of God's country. I looked +out at the men, who were getting pretty well fagged, and at the +young officers whose uniforms were white with dust, and Frau +Weste's words about glaenzendes Elend came to my mind. I fell to +thinking: was the army life, then, only "glittering misery," and +had I come to participate in it? + +Some of the old soldiers had given out, and had to be put on the +army wagons. I was getting to look rather fagged and seedy, and +was much annoyed at my appearance. Not being acquainted with the +vicissitudes of the desert, I had not brought in my +travelling-case a sufficient number of thin washbodices. The few +I had soon became black beyond recognition, as the dust boiled +(literally) up and into the ambulance and covered me from head to +foot. But there was no help for it, and no one was much better +off. + +It was about that time that we began to see the outlines of a +great mountain away to the left and north of us. It seemed to +grow nearer and nearer, and fascinated our gaze. + +Willow Grove Springs was reached at four o'clock and the small +cluster of willow trees was most refreshing to our tired eyes. +The next day's march was over a rolling country. We began to see +grass, and to feel that, at last, we were out of the desert. The +wonderful mountain still loomed up large and clear on our left. I +thought of the old Spanish explorers and wondered if they came so +far as this, when they journeyed through that part of our country +three hundred years before. I wondered what beautiful and +high-sounding name they might have given it. I wondered a good +deal about that bare and isolated mountain, rising out of what +seemed an endless waste of sand. I asked the driver if he knew +the name of it: "That is Bill Williams' mountain, ma'am," he +replied, and relapsed into his customary silence, which was +unbroken except by an occasional remark to the wheelers or the +leaders. + +I thought of the Harz Mountains, which I had so recently tramped +over, and the romantic names and legends connected with them, and +I sighed to think such an imposing landmark as this should have +such a prosaic name. I realized that Arizona was not a land of +romance; and when Jack came to the ambulance, I said, "Don't you +think it a pity that such monstrous things are allowed in +America, as to call that great fine mountain 'Bill Williams' +mountain'?" + +"Why no," he said; "I suppose he discovered it, and I dare say he +had a hard enough time before he got to it." + +We camped at Fort Rock, and Lieutenant Bailey shot an antelope. +It was the first game we had seen; our spirits revived a bit; the +sight of green grass and trees brought new life to us. + +Anvil Rock and old Camp Hualapais were our next two stopping +places. We drove through groves of oaks, cedars and pines, and +the days began hopefully and ended pleasantly. To be sure, the +roads were very rough and our bones ached after a long day's +travelling. But our tents were now pitched under tall pine trees +and looked inviting. Soldiers have a knack of making a tent +attractive. + +"Madame, the Lieutenant's compliments, and your tent is ready." + +I then alighted and found my little home awaiting me. The +tent-flaps tied open, the mattresses laid, the blankets turned +back, the camp-table with candle-stick upon it, and a couple of +camp-chairs at the door of the tent. Surely it is good to be in +the army I then thought; and after a supper consisting of +soldiers' hot biscuit, antelope steak broiled over the coals, and +a large cup of black coffee, I went to rest, listening to the +soughing of the pines. + +My mattress was spread always upon the ground, with a buffalo +robe under it and a hair lariat around it, to keep off the +snakes; as it is said they do not like to cross them. I found the +ground more comfortable than the camp cots which were used by +some of the officers, and most of the women. + +The only Indians we had seen up to that time were the peaceful +tribes of the Yumas, Cocopahs and Mojaves, who lived along the +Colorado. We had not yet entered the land of the dread Apache. + +The nights were now cool enough, and I never knew sweeter rest +than came to me in the midst of those pine groves. + +Our road was gradually turning southward, but for some days Bill +Williams was the predominating feature of the landscape; turn +whichever way we might, still this purple mountain was before us. +It seemed to pervade the entire country, and took on such +wonderful pink colors at sunset. Bill Williams held me in thrall, +until the hills and valleys in the vicinity of Fort Whipple shut +him out from my sight. But he seemed to have come into my life +somehow, and in spite of his name, I loved him for the +companionship he had given me during those long, hot, weary and +interminable days. + +About the middle of September, we arrived at American ranch, some +ten miles from Fort Whipple, which was the headquarters station. +Colonel Wilkins and his family left us, and drove on to their +destination. Some officers of the Fifth Cavalry rode out to greet +us, and Lieutenant Earl Thomas asked me to come into the post and +rest a day or two at their house, as we then had learned that K +Company was to march on to Camp Apache, in the far eastern part +of the Territory . + +We were now enabled to get some fresh clothing from our trunks, +which were in the depths of the prairie-schooners, and all the +officers' wives were glad to go into the post, where we were most +kindly entertained. Fort Whipple was a very gay and hospitable +post, near the town of Prescott, which was the capital city of +Arizona. The country being mountainous and fertile, the place was +very attractive, and I felt sorry that we were not to remain +there. But I soon learned that in the army, regrets were vain. I +soon ceased to ask myself whether I was sorry or glad at any +change in our stations. + +On the next day the troops marched in, and camped outside the +post. The married officers were able to join their wives, and the +three days we spent there were delightful. There was a dance +given, several informal dinners, drives into the town of +Prescott, and festivities of various kinds. General Crook +commanded the Department of Arizona then; he was out on some +expedition, but Mrs. Crook gave a pleasant dinner for us. After +dinner, Mrs. Crook came and sat beside me, asked kindly about our +long journey, and added: "I am truly sorry the General is away; I +should like for him to meet you; you are just the sort of woman +he likes." A few years afterwards I met the General, and +remembering this remark, I was conscious of making a special +effort to please. The indifferent courtesy with which he treated +me, however, led me to think that women are often mistaken judges +of their husband's tastes. + +The officers' quarters at Fort Whipple were quite commodious, and +after seven weeks' continuous travelling, the comforts which +surrounded me at Mrs. Thomas' home seemed like the veriest +luxuries. I was much affected by the kindness shown me by people +I had never met before, and I kept wondering if I should ever +have an opportunity to return their courtesies. "Don't worry +about that, Martha," said Jack, "your turn will come." + +He proved a true prophet, for sooner or later, I saw them all +again, and was able to extend to them the hospitality of an army +home. Nevertheless, my heart grows warm whenever I think of the +people who first welcomed me to Arizona, me a stranger in the +army, and in the great southwest as well. + +At Fort Whipple we met also some people we had known at Fort +Russell, who had gone down with the first detachment, among them +Major and Mrs. Wilhelm, who were to remain at headquarters. We +bade good-bye to the Colonel and his family, to the officers of +F, who were to stay behind, and to our kind friends of the Fifth +Cavalry. + +We now made a fresh start, with Captain Ogilby in command. Two +days took us into Camp Verde, which lies on a mesa above the +river from which it takes its name. + +Captain Brayton, of the Eight Infantry, and his wife, who were +already settled at Camp Verde, received us and took the best +care of us. Mrs. Brayton gave me a few more lessons in army +house-keeping, and I could not have had a better teacher. I told +her about Jack and the tinware; her bright eyes snapped, and she +said: "Men think they know everything, but the truth is, they +don't know anything; you go right ahead and have all the tinware +and other things; all you can get, in fact; and when the time +comes to move, send Jack out of the house, get a soldier to come +in and pack you up, and say nothing about it." + +"But the weight--" + +"Fiddlesticks! They all say that; now you just not mind their +talk, but take all you need, and it will get carried along, +somehow." + +Still another company left our ranks, and remained at Camp Verde. +The command was now getting deplorably small, I thought, to enter +an Indian country, for we were now to start for Camp Apache. +Several routes were discussed, but, it being quite early in the +autumn, and the Apache Indians being just then comparatively +quiet, they decided to march the troops over Crook's Trail, which +crossed the Mogollon range and was considered to be shorter than +any other. It was all the same to me. I had never seen a map of +Arizona, and never heard of Crook's Trail. Maps never interested +me, and I had not read much about life in the Territories. At +that time, the history of our savage races was a blank page to +me. I had been listening to the stories of an old civilization, +and my mind did not adjust itself readily to the new +surroundings. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +ACROSS THE MOGOLLONS + +It was a fine afternoon in the latter part of September, when our +small detachment, with Captain Ogilby in command, marched out of +Camp Verde. There were two companies of soldiers, numbering +about a hundred men in all, five or six officers, Mrs. Bailey and +myself, and a couple of laundresses. I cannot say that we were +gay. Mrs. Bailey had said good-bye to her father and mother and +sister at Fort Whipple, and although she was an army girl, she +did not seem to bear the parting very philosophically. Her young +child, nine months old, was with her, and her husband, as +stalwart and handsome an officer as ever wore shoulder-straps. +But we were facing unknown dangers, in a far country, away from +mother, father, sister and brother--a country infested with +roving bands of the most cruel tribe ever known, who tortured +before they killed. We could not even pretend to be gay. + +The travelling was very difficult and rough, and both men and +animals were worn out by night. But we were now in the mountains, +the air was cool and pleasant, and the nights so cold that we +were glad to have a small stove in our tents to dress by in the +mornings. The scenery was wild and grand; in fact, beyond all +that I had ever dreamed of; more than that, it seemed so untrod, +so fresh, somehow, and I do not suppose that even now, in the day +of railroads and tourists, many people have had the view of the +Tonto Basin which we had one day from the top of the Mogollon +range. + +I remember thinking, as we alighted from our ambulances and stood +looking over into the Basin, "Surely I have never seen anything +to compare with this--but oh! would any sane human being +voluntarily go through with what I have endured on this journey, +in order to look upon this wonderful scene?" + +The roads had now become so difficult that our wagon-train could +not move as fast as the lighter vehicles or the troops. Sometimes +at a critical place in the road, where the ascent was not only +dangerous, but doubtful, or there was, perhaps, a sharp turn, the +ambulances waited to see the wagons safely over the pass. Each +wagon had its six mules; each ambulance had also its quota of +six. + +At the foot of one of these steep places, the wagons would halt, +the teamsters would inspect the road, and calculate the +possibilities of reaching the top; then, furiously cracking their +whips, and pouring forth volley upon volley of oaths, they would +start the team. Each mule got its share of dreadful curses. I had +never heard or conceived of any oaths like those. They made my +blood fairly curdle, and I am not speaking figuratively. The +shivers ran up and down my back, and I half expected to see those +teamsters struck down by the hand of the Almighty. + +For although the anathemas hurled at my innocent head, during the +impressionable years of girlhood, by the pale and determined +Congregational ministers with gold-bowed spectacles, who held +forth in the meeting-house of my maternal ancestry (all honor to +their sincerity), had taken little hold upon my mind, still, the +vital drop of the Puritan was in my blood, and the fear of a +personal God and His wrath still existed, away back in the hidden +recesses of my heart. + +This swearing and lashing went on until the heavily-loaded +prairie-schooner, swaying, swinging, and swerving to the edge of +the cut, and back again to the perpendicular wall of the +mountain, would finally reach the top, and pass on around the +bend; then another would do the same. Each teamster had his own +particular variety of oaths, each mule had a feminine name, and +this brought the swearing down to a sort of personal basis. I +remonstrated with Jack, but he said: teamsters always swore; "the +mules wouldn't even stir to go up a hill, if they weren't sworn +at like that." + +By the time we had crossed the great Mogollon mesa, I had become +accustomed to those dreadful oaths, and learned to admire the +skill, persistency and endurance shown by those rough teamsters. +I actually got so far as to believe what Jack had told me about +the swearing being necessary, for I saw impossible feats +performed by the combination. + +When near camp, and over the difficult places, we drove on ahead +and waited for the wagons to come in. It was sometimes late +evening before tents could be pitched and supper cooked. And oh! +to see the poor jaded animals when the wagons reached camp! I +could forget my own discomfort and even hunger, when I looked at +their sad faces. + +One night the teamsters reported that a six-mule team had rolled +down the steep side of a mountain. I did not ask what became of +the poor faithful mules; I do not know, to this day. In my pity +and real distress over the fate of these patient brutes, I forgot +to inquire what boxes were on the unfortunate wagon. + +We began to have some shooting. Lieutenant Bailey shot a young +deer, and some wild turkeys, and we could not complain any more +of the lack of fresh food. + +It did not surprise us to learn that ours was the first +wagon-train to pass over Crook's Trail. For miles and miles the +so-called road was nothing but a clearing, and we were pitched +and jerked from side to side of the ambulance, as we struck large +rocks or tree-stumps; in some steep places, logs were chained to +the rear of the ambulance, to keep it from pitching forward onto +the backs of the mules. At such places I got out and picked my +way down the rocky declivity. + +We now began to hear of the Apache Indians, who were always out, +in either large or small bands, doing their murderous work. + +One day a party of horseman tore past us at a gallop. Some of +them raised their hats to us as they rushed past, and our +officers recognized General Crook, but we could not, in the cloud +of dust, distinguish officers from scouts. All wore the flannel +shirt, handkerchief tied about the neck, and broad campaign hat. + +After supper that evening, the conversation turned upon Indians +in general, and Apaches in particular. We camped always at a +basin, or a tank, or a hole, or a spring, or in some canon, by a +creek. Always from water to water we marched. Our camp that night +was in the midst of a primeval grove of tall pine trees; verily, +an untrodden land. We had a big camp-fire, and sat around it +until very late. There were only five or six officers, and Mrs. +Bailey and myself. + +The darkness and blackness of the place were uncanny. We all sat +looking into the fire. Somebody said, "Injuns would not have such +a big fire as that." + +"No; you bet they wouldn't," was the quick reply of one of the +officers. + +Then followed a long pause; we all sat thinking, and gazing into +the fire, which crackled and leaped into fitful blazes. + +"Our figures must make a mighty good outline against that fire," +remarked one of officers, nonchalantly; "I dare say those +stealthy sons of Satan know exactly where we are at this minute," +he added. + +"Yes, you bet your life they do!" answered one of the younger +men, lapsing into the frontiersman's language, from the force of +his convictions. + +"Look behind you at those trees, Jack," said Major Worth. "Can +you see anything? No! And if there were an Apache behind each one +of them, we should never know it." + +We all turned and peered into the black darkness which +surrounded us. + +Another pause followed; the silence was weird--only the cracking +of the fire was heard, and the mournful soughing of the wind in +the pines. + +Suddenly, a crash! We started to our feet and faced around. + +"A dead branch," said some one. + +Major Worth shrugged his shoulders, and turning to Jack, said, in +a low tone, "D---- d if I don't believe I'm getting nervous," and +saying "good night," he walked towards his tent. + +No element of doubt pervaded my mind as to my own state. The +weird feeling of being up in those remote mountain passes, with +but a handful of soldiers against the wary Apaches, the +mysterious look of those black tree-trunks, upon which flickered +the uncertain light of the camp-fire now dying, and from behind +each one of which I imagined a red devil might be at that moment +taking aim with his deadly arrow, all inspired me with fear such +as I had never before known. + +In the cyclone which had overtaken our good ship in mid-Atlantic, +where we lay tossing about at the mercy of the waves for +thirty-six long hours, I had expected to yield my body to the dark +and grewsome depths of the ocean. I had almost felt the cold arms +of Death about me; but compared to the sickening dread of the +cruel Apache, my fears then had been as naught. Facing the +inevitable at sea, I had closed my eyes and said good-bye to +Life. But in this mysterious darkness, every nerve, every sense, +was keenly alive with terror. + +Several of that small party around the camp-fire have gone from +amongst us, but I venture to say that ,of the few who are left, +not one will deny that he shared in the vague apprehension which +seized upon us. + +Midnight found us still lingering around the dead ashes of the +fire. After going to our tent, Jack saw that I was frightened. He +said: "Don't worry, Martha, an Apache never was known to attack +in the night," and after hearing many repetitions of this +assertion, upon which I made him take his oath, I threw myself +upon the bed. After our candle was out, I said: "When do they +attack?" Jack who, with the soldiers' indifference to danger, was +already half asleep, replied: "Just before daylight, usually, but +do not worry, I say; there aren't any Injuns in this +neighborhood. Why! Didn't you meet General Crook to-day? You +ought to have some sense. If there'd been an Injun around here he +would have cleaned him out. Now go to sleep and don't be +foolish." But I was taking my first lessons in campaigning, and +sleep was not so easy. + +Just before dawn, as I had fallen into a light slumber, the flaps +of the tent burst open, and began shaking violently to and fro. I +sprang to my feet, prepared for the worst. Jack started up: "What +is it?" he cried. + +"It must have been the wind, I think, but it frightened me," I +murmured. The Lieutenant fastened the tent-flaps together, and +lay down to sleep again; but my heart beat fast, and I listened +for every sound. + +The day gradually dawned, and with it my fears of the night were +allayed. But ever after that, Jack's fatal answer, "Just before +daylight," kept my eyes wide open for hours before the dawn. + + + + + +CHAPTER X + +A PERILOUS ADVENTURE + +One fine afternoon, after a march of twenty-two miles over a +rocky road, and finding our provisions low, Mr. Bailey and Jack +went out to shoot wild turkeys. As they shouldered their guns +and walked away. Captain Ogilby called out to them, "Do not go +too far from camp." + +Jack returned at sundown with a pair of fine turkeys! but Bailey +failed to come in. However, as they all knew him to be an +experienced woodsman, no one showed much anxiety until darkness +had settled over the camp. Then they began to signal, by +discharging their rifles; the officers went out in various +directions, giving "halloos," and firing at intervals, but there +came no sound of the missing man. + +The camp was now thoroughly alarmed. This was too dangerous a +place for a man to be wandering around in all night, and +search-parties of soldiers were formed. Trees were burned, and +the din of rifles, constantly discharged, added to the +excitement. One party after another came in. They had scoured the +country--and not a trace of Bailey. + +The young wife sat in her tent, soothing her little child; +everybody except her, gave up hope; the time dragged on; our +hearts grew heavy; the sky was alight with blazing trees. + +I went into Mrs. Bailey's tent. She was calm and altogether +lovely, and said: "Charley can't get lost, and unless something +has happened to him, he will come in." + +Ella Bailey was a brave young army woman; she was an inspiration +to the entire camp. + +Finally, after hours of the keenest anxiety, a noise of gladsome +shouts rang through the. trees, and in came a party of men with +the young officer on their shoulders. His friend Craig had been +untiring in the search, and at last had heard a faint "halloo" in +the distance, and one shot (the only cartridge poor Bailey had +left). + +After going over almost impassable places, they finally found +him, lying at the bottom of a ravine. In the black darkness of +the evening, he had walked directly over the edge of the chasm +and fallen to the bottom, dislocating his ankle. + +He was some miles from camp, and had used up all his ammunition +except the one cartridge. He had tried in vain to walk or even +crawl out of the ravine, but had finally been overcome by +exhaustion and lay there helpless, in the wild vastnesses of the +mountains. + +A desperate situation, indeed! Some time afterwards, he told me +how he felt, when he realized how poor his chances were, when he +saw he had only one cartridge left and found that he had scarce +strength to answer a "halloo," should he hear one. But soldiers +never like to talk much about such things. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +CAMP APACHE + +By the fourth of October we had crossed the range, and began to +see something which looked like roads. Our animals were fagged to +a state of exhaustion, but the travelling was now much easier and +there was good grazing, and after three more long day's marches, +we arrived at Camp Apache. We were now at our journey's end, +after two months' continuous travelling, and I felt reasonably +sure of shelter and a fireside for the winter at least. I knew +that my husband's promotion was expected, but the immediate +present was filled with an interest so absorbing, that a +consideration of the future was out of the question. + +At that time (it was the year of 1874) the officers' quarters at +Camp Apache were log cabins, built near the edge of the deep +canon through which the White Mountain River flows, before its +junction with Black River. + +We were welcomed by the officers of the Fifth Cavalry, who were +stationed there. It was altogether picturesque and attractive. In +addition to the row of log cabins, there were enormous stables +and Government buildings, and a cutler's store. We were +entertained for a day or two, and then quarters were assigned to +us. The second lieutenants had rather a poor choice, as the +quarters were scarce. We were assigned a half of a log cabin, +which gave us one room, a small square hall, and a bare shed, the +latter detached from the house, to be used for a kitchen. The +room on the other side of the hall was occupied by the Post +Surgeon, who was temporarily absent. + +Our things were unloaded and brought to this cabin. I missed the +barrel of china, and learned that it had been on the unfortunate +wagon which rolled down the mountain-side. I had not attained +that state of mind which came to me later in my army life. I +cared then a good deal about my belongings, and the annoyance +caused by the loss of our china was quite considerable. I knew +there was none to be obtained at Camp Apache, as most of the +merchandise came in by pack-train to that isolated place. + +Mrs. Dodge, of the Twenty-third Infantry, who was about to leave +the post, heard of my predicament, and offered me some china +plates and cups, which she thought not worth the trouble of +packing (so she said), and I was glad to accept them, and thanked +her, almost with tears in my eyes. + +Bowen nailed down our one carpet over the poor board floor +(after having first sprinkled down a thick layer of clean straw, +which he brought from the quartermaster stables). Two iron cots +from the hospital were brought over, and two bed-sacks filled +with fresh, sweet straw, were laid upon them; over these were +laid our mattresses. Woven-wire springs were then unheard of in +that country. + +We untied our folding chairs, built a fire on the hearth, +captured an old broken-legged wash-stand and a round table from +somewhere, and that was our living-room. A pine table was found +for the small hall, which was to be our dinning-room, and some +chairs with raw-hide seats were brought from the barracks, some +shelves knocked up against one wall, to serve as sideboard. Now +for the kitchen! + +A cooking-stove and various things were sent over from the Q. M. +store-house, and Bowen (the wonder of it!) drove in nails, and +hung up my Fort Russell tin-ware, and put up shelves and stood my +pans in rows, and polished the stove, and went out and stole a +table somewhere (Bowen was invaluable in that way), polished the +zinc under the stove, and lo! and behold, my army kitchen! Bowen +was indeed a treasure; he said he would like to cook for us, for +ten dollars a month. We readily accepted this offer. There were +no persons to be obtained, in these distant places, who could do +the cooking in the families of officers, so it was customary to +employ a soldier; and the soldier often displayed remarkable +ability in the way of cooking, in some cases, in fact, more than +in the way of soldiering. They liked the little addition to their +pay, if they were of frugal mind; they had also their own quiet +room to sleep in, and I often thought the family life, offering +as it did a contrast to the bareness and desolation of the noisy +barracks, appealed to the domestic instinct, so strong in some +men's natures. At all events, it was always easy in those days to +get a man from the company, and they sometimes remained for years +with an officer's family; in some cases attending drills and +roll-calls besides. + +Now came the unpacking of the chests and trunks. In our one +diminutive room, and small hall, was no closet, there were no +hooks on the bare walls, no place to hang things or lay things, +and what to do I did not know. I was in despair; Jack came in, to +find me sitting on the edge of a chest, which was half unpacked, +the contents on the floor. I was very mournful, and he did not +see why. + +"Oh! Jack! I've nowhere to put things!" + +"What things?" said this impossible man. + +"Why, all our things," said I, losing my temper; "can't you see +them?'' + +"Put them back in the chests,--and get them out as you need +them," said this son of Mars, and buckled on his sword. "Do the +best you can, Martha, I have to go to the barracks; be back again +soon." I looked around me, and tried to solve the problem. There +was no bureau, nothing; not a nook or corner where a thing might +be stowed. I gazed at the motley collection of bed-linen, +dust-pans, silver bottles, boot jacks, saddles, old uniforms, +full dress military hats, sword-belts, riding-boots, cut glass, +window-shades, lamps, work-baskets, and books, and I gave it up +in despair. You see, I was not an army girl, and I did not know +how to manage. + +There was nothing to be done, however, but to follow Jack's +advice, so I threw the boots, saddles and equipments under the +bed, and laid the other things back in the chests, closed the +lids and went out to take a look at the post. Towards evening, a +soldier came for orders for beef, and I learned how to manage +that. I was told that we bought our meats direct from the +contractor; I had to state how much and what cuts I wished. +Another soldier came to bring us milk, and I asked Jack who was +the milkman, and he said, blessed if he knew; I learned, +afterwards, that the soldiers roped some of the wild Texas cows +that were kept in one of the Government corrals, and tied them +securely to keep them from kicking; then milked them, and the +milk was divided up among the officers' families, according to +rank. We received about a pint every night. I declared it was not +enough; but I soon discovered that however much education, +position and money might count in civil life, rank seemed to be +the one and only thing in the army, and Jack had not much of +that just then. + +The question of getting settled comfortably still worried me, and +after a day of two, I went over to see what Mrs. Bailey had done. +To my surprise, I found her out playing tennis, her little boy +asleep in the baby-carriage, which they had brought all the way +from San Francisco, near the court. I joined the group, and +afterwards asked her advice about the matter. She laughed kindly, +and said: "Oh! you'll get used to it, and things will settle +themselves. Of course it is troublesome, but you can have shelves +and such things--you'll soon learn," and still smiling, she gave +her ball a neat left-hander. + +I concluded that my New England bringing up had been too serious, +and wondered if I had made a dreadful mistake in marrying into +the army, or at least in following my husband to Arizona. I +debated the question with myself from all sides, and decided then +and there that young army wives should stay at home with their +mothers and fathers, and not go into such wild and uncouth +places. I thought my decision irrevocable. + +Before the two small deep windows in our room we hung some Turkey +red cotton, Jack built in his spare moments a couch for me, and +gradually our small quarters assumed an appearance of comfort. I +turned my attention a little to social matters. We dined at +Captain Montgomery's (the commanding officer's) house; his wife +was a famous Washington beauty. He had more rank, consequently +more rooms, than we had, and their quarters were very comfortable +and attractive. + +There was much that was new and interesting at the post. The +Indians who lived on this reservation were the White Mountain +Apaches, a fierce and cruel tribe, whose depredations and +atrocities had been carried on for years, in and around, and, +indeed, far away from their mountain homes. But this tribe was +now under surveillance of the Government, and guarded by a strong +garrison of cavalry and infantry at Camp Apache. They were +divided into bands, under Chiefs Pedro, Diablo, Patone and +Cibiano; they came into the post twice a week to be counted, and +to receive their rations of beef, sugar, beans, and other +staples, which Uncle Sam's commissary officer issued to them. + +In the absence of other amusement, the officers' wives walked +over to witness this rather solemn ceremony. At least, the +serious expression on the faces of the Indians, as they received +their rations, gave an air of solemnity to the proceeding. + +Large stakes were driven into the ground; at each stake, sat or +stood the leader of a band; a sort of father to his people; then +the rest of them stretched out in several long lines, young bucks +and old ones, squaws and pappooses, the families together, about +seventeen hundred souls in all. I used to walk up and down +between the lines, with the other women, and the squaws looked at +our clothes and chuckled, and made some of their inarticulate +remarks to each other. The bucks looked admiringly at the white +women, especially at the cavalry beauty, Mrs. Montgomery, +although I thought that Chief Diablo cast a special eye at our +young Mrs. Bailey, of the infantry. + +Diablo was a handsome fellow. I was especially impressed by his +extraordinary good looks. + +This tribe was quiet at that time, only a few renegades escaping +into the hills on their wild adventures: but I never felt any +confidence in them and was, on the whole, rather afraid of them. +The squaws were shy, and seldom came near the officers' +quarters. Some of the younger girls were extremely pretty; they +had delicate hands, and small feet encased in well-shaped +moccasins. They wore short skirts made of stripped bark, which +hung gracefully about their bare knees and supple limbs, and +usually a sort of low-necked camisa, made neatly of coarse, +unbleached muslin, with a band around the neck and arms, and, in +cold weather a pretty blanket was wrapped around their shoulders +and fastened at the breast in front. In summer the blanket was +replaced by a square of bright calico. Their coarse, black hair +hung in long braids in front over each shoulder, and nearly all +of them wore an even bang or fringe over the forehead. Of course +hats were unheard of. The Apaches, both men and women, had not +then departed from the customs of their ancestors, and still +retained the extraordinary beauty and picturesqueness of their +aboriginal dress. They wore sometimes a fine buckskin upper +garment, and if of high standing in the tribe, necklaces of elks +teeth. + +The young lieutenants sometimes tried to make up to the +prettiest ones, and offered them trinkets, pretty boxes of soap, +beads, and small mirrors (so dear to the heart of the Indian +girl), but the young maids were coy enough; it seemed to me they +cared more for men of their own race. + +Once or twice, I saw older squaws with horribly disfigured faces. +I supposed it was the result of some ravaging disease, but I +learned that it was the custom of this tribe, to cut off the +noses of those women who were unfaithful to their lords. Poor +creatures, they had my pity, for they were only children of +Nature, after all, living close to the earth, close to the pulse +of their mother. But this sort of punishment seemed to be the +expression of the cruel and revengeful nature of the Apache. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +LIFE AMONGST THE APACHES + +Bowen proved to be a fairly good cook, and I ventured to ask +people to dinner in our little hall dining-room, a veritable box +of a place. One day, feeling particularly ambitious to have my +dinner a success, I made a bold attempt at oyster patties. With +the confidence of youth and inexperience, I made the pastry, and +it was a success; I took a can of Baltimore oysters, and did +them up in a fashion that astonished myself, and when, after the +soup, each guest was served with a hot oyster patty, one of the +cavalry officers fairly gasped. "Oyster patty, if I'm alive! +Where on earth--Bless my stars! And this at Camp Apache!" + +"And by Holy Jerusalem! they are good, too," claimed Captain +Reilly, and turning to Bowen, he said: "Bowen, did you make +these?" + +Bowen straightened himself up to his six foot two, clapped his +heels together, and came to "attention," looked straight to the +front, and replied: "Yes, sir." + +I thought I heard Captain Reilly say in an undertone to his +neighbor, "The hell he did," but I was not sure. + +At that season, we got excellent wild turkeys there, and good +Southdown mutton, and one could not complain of such living. + +But I could never get accustomed to the wretched small space of +one room and a hall; for the kitchen, being detached, could +scarcely be counted in. I had been born and brought up in a +spacious house, with plenty of bedrooms, closets, and an immense +old-time garret. The forlorn makeshifts for closets, and the +absence of all conveniences, annoyed me and added much to the +difficulties of my situation. Added to this, I soon discovered +that my husband had a penchant for buying and collecting things +which seemed utterly worthless to me, and only added to the +number of articles to be handled and packed away. I begged him to +refrain, and to remember that he was married, and that we had not +the money to spend in such ways. He really did try to improve, +and denied himself the taking of many an alluring share in +raffles for old saddles, pistols, guns, and cow-boy's stuff, +which were always being held at the cutler's store. + +But an auction of condemned hospital stores was too much for him, +and he came in triumphantly one day, bringing a box of +antiquated dentist's instruments in his hand. + +"Good gracious!" I cried, "what can you ever do with those +forceps?" + +"Oh! they are splendid," he said, "and they will come in mighty +handy some time." + +I saw that he loved tools and instruments, and I reflected, why +not? There are lots of things I have a passion for, and love, +just as he loves those things and I shall never say any more +about it. "Only," I added, aloud, "do not expect me to pack up +such trash when we come to move; you will have to look out for it +yourself." + +So with that spiteful remark from me, the episode of the forceps +was ended, for the time at least. + +As the winter came on, the isolation of the place had a rather +depressing effect upon us all. The officers were engaged in their +various duties: drill, courts-martial, instruction, and other +military occupations. They found some diversion at "the store," +where the ranchmen assembled and told frontier stories and played +exciting games of poker. Jack's duties as commissary officer kept +him much away from me, and I was very lonely. + +The mail was brought in twice a week by a soldier on horseback. +When he failed to come in at the usual time, much anxiety was +manifested, and I learned that only a short time before, one of +the mail-carriers had been killed by Indians and the mail +destroyed. I did not wonder that on mail-day everybody came out +in front of the quarters and asked: "Is the mail-carrier in?" And +nothing much was done or thought of on that day, until we saw him +come jogging in, the mail-bag tied behind his saddle. Our letters +were from two to three weeks old. The eastern mail came via Santa +Fe to the terminus of the railroad, and then by stage; for in +1874, the railroads did not extend very far into the Southwest. +At a certain point on the old New Mexico road, our man met the +San Carlos carrier, and received the mail for Apache. + +"I do not understand," I said, "how any soldier can be found to +take such a dangerous detail." + +"Why so?" said Jack. "They like it." + +"I should think that when they got into those canons and narrow +defiles, they would think of the horrible fate of their +predecessor," said I. + +"Perhaps they do," he answered; "but a soldier is always glad to +get a detail that gives him a change from the routine of post +life." + +I was getting to learn about the indomitable pluck of our +soldiers. They did not seem to be afraid of anything. At Camp +Apache my opinion of the American soldier was formed, and it has +never changed. In the long march across the Territory, they had +cared for my wants and performed uncomplainingly for me services +usually rendered by women. Those were before the days of lineal +promotion. Officers remained with their regiments for many years. +A feeling of regimental prestige held officers and men together. +I began to share that feeling. I knew the names of the men in the +company, and not one but was ready to do a service for the +"Lieutenant's wife." "K" had long been a bachelor company; and +now a young woman had joined it. I was a person to be pampered +and cared for, and they knew besides that I was not long in the +army. + +During that winter I received many a wild turkey and other nice +things for the table, from the men of the company. I learned to +know and to thoroughly respect the enlisted man of the American +army. + +And now into the varied kaleidoscope of my army life stepped the +Indian Agent. And of all unkempt, unshorn, disagreeable-looking +personages who had ever stepped foot into our quarters, this was +the worst. + +"Heaven save us from a Government which appoints such men as that +to watch over and deal with Indians," cried I, as he left the +house. "Is it possible that his position here demands social +recognition?" I added. + +"Hush!" said the second lieutenant of K company. "It's the +Interior Department that appoints the Indian Agents, and +besides," he added, "it's not good taste on your part, Martha, to +abuse the Government which gives us our bread and butter." + +"Well, you can say what you like, and preach policy all you wish, +no Government on earth can compel me to associate with such men +as those!" With that assertion, I left the room, to prevent +farther argument. + +And I will here add that in my experience on the frontier, which +extended over a long period, it was never my good fortune to meet +with an Indian Agent who impressed me as being the right sort of +a man to deal with those children of nature, for Indians are like +children, and their intuitions are keen. They know and appreciate +honesty and fair dealing, and they know a gentleman when they +meet one. + +The winter came on apace, but the weather was mild and pleasant. +One day some officers came in and said we must go over to the +"Ravine" that evening, where the Indians were going to have a +rare sort of a dance. + +There was no one to say to me: "Do not go," and, as we welcomed +any little excitement which would relieve the monotony of our +lives, we cast aside all doubts of the advisability of my going. +So, after dinner, we joined the others, and sallied forth into +the darkness of an Arizona night. We crossed the large +parade-ground, and picked our way over a rough and pathless +country, lighted only by the stars above. + +Arriving at the edge of the ravine, what a scene was before us! +We looked down into a natural amphitheatre, in which blazed great +fires; hordes of wild Apaches darted about, while others sat on +logs beating their tomtoms. + +I was afraid, and held back, but the rest of the party descended +into the ravine, and, leaning on a good strong arm, I followed. +We all sat down on the great trunk of a fallen tree, and soon the +dancers came into the arena. + +They were entirely naked, except for the loin-cloth; their bodies +were painted, and from their elbows and knees stood out bunches +of feathers, giving them the appearance of huge flying creatures; +jingling things were attached to their necks and arms. Upon their +heads were large frames, made to resemble the branching horns of +an elk, and as they danced, and bowed their heads, the horns lent +them the appearance of some unknown animal, and added greatly to +their height. Their feathers waved, their jingles shook, and +their painted bodies twisted and turned in the light of the great +fire, which roared and leaped on high. At one moment they were +birds, at another animals, at the next they were demons. + +The noise of the tomtoms and the harsh shouts of the Indians grew +wilder and wilder. It was weird and terrifying. Then came a +pause; the arena was cleared, and with much solemnity two +wicked-looking creatures came out and performed a sort of shadow +dance, brandishing knives as they glided through the intricate +figures. + +It was a fascinating but unearthly scene, and the setting +completed the illusion. Fright deprived me of the power of +thought, but in a sort of subconscious way I felt that Orpheus +must have witnessed just such mad revels when he went down into +Pluto's regions. Suddenly the shouts became war whoops, the demons +brandished their knives madly, and nodded their branching horns; +the tomtoms were beaten with a dreadful din, and terror seized my +heart. What if they be treacherous, and had lured our small party +down into this ravine for an ambush! The thing could well be, I +thought. I saw uneasiness in the faces of the other women, and by +mutual consent we got up and slowly took our departure. I barely +had strength to climb up the steep side of the hollow. I was +thankful to escape from its horrors. + +Scarce three months after that some of the same band of Indians +fired into the garrison and fled to the mountains. I remarked to +Jack, that I thought we were very imprudent to go to see that +dance, and he said he supposed we were. But I had never regarded +life in such a light way as he seemed to. + +Women usually like to talk over their trials and their wonderful +adventures, and that is why I am writing this, I suppose. Men +simply will not talk about such things. + +The cavalry beauty seemed to look at this frontier life +philosophically--what she really thought about it, I never knew. +Mrs. Bailey was so much occupied by the care of her young child +and various out-door amusements, that she did not, apparently, +think much about things that happened around us. At all events, +she never seemed inclined to talk about them. There was no one +else to talk to; the soil was strange, and the atmosphere a +foreign one to me; life did not seem to be taken seriously out +there, as it was back in New England, where they always loved to +sit down and talk things over. I was downright lonesome for my +mother and sisters. + +I could not go out very much at that time, so I occupied myself a +good deal with needle-work. + +One evening we heard firing across the canon. Jack caught up his +sword, buckling on his belt as he went out. "Injuns fighting on +the other side of the river," some soldier reported. Finding that +it did not concern us, Jack said, "Come out into the back yard, +Martha, and look over the stockade, and I think you can see +across the river." So I hurried out to the stockade, but Jack, +seeing that I was not tall enough, picked up an empty box that +stood under the window of the room belonging to the Doctor, when, +thud! fell something out onto the ground, and rolled away. I +started involuntarily. It was dark in the yard. I stood stock +still. "What was that?" I whispered. + +"Nothing but an old Edam cheese," said this true-hearted soldier +of mine. I knew it was not a cheese, but said no more. I stood up +on the box, watched the firing like a man, and went quietly back +into the quarters. After retiring, I said, "You might just a +swell tell me now, you will have to sooner or later, what was in +the box--it had a dreadful sound, as it rolled away on the +ground." + +"Well," said he, "if you must know, it was an Injun's head that +the Doctor had saved, to take to Washington with him. It had a +sort of a malformed skull or jaw-bone or something. But he left +it behind--I guess it got a leetle to old for him to carry," he +laughed. "Somebody told me there was a head in the yard, but I +forgot all about it. Lucky thing you didn't see it, wasn't it? I +suppose you'd been scared--well, I must tell the fatigue party +to-morrow to take it away. Now don't let me forget it," and this +soldier of many battles fell into the peaceful slumber which +comes to those who know not fear. + +The next day I overheard him telling Major Worth what had +happened, and adding that he would roast that Doctor if he ever +came back. I was seeing the rugged side of life, indeed, and +getting accustomed to shocks. + +Now the cavalry beauty gave a dinner. It was lovely; but in the +midst of it, we perceived a sort of confusion of moccasined +footsteps outside the dining-room. My nerves were, by this time, +always on the alert. I glanced through the large door opening out +into the hall, and saw a group of Indian scouts; they laid a +coffee-sack down by the corner fire-place, near the front door. +The commanding officer left the table hastily; the portiere was +drawn. + +I had heard tales of atrocious cruelties committed by a band of +Indians who had escaped from the reservation and were ravaging +the country around. I had heard how they maimed poor sheep and +cut off the legs of cattle at the first joint, leaving them to +die; how they tortured women, and burned their husbands and +children before their eyes; I had heard also that the Indian +scouts were out after them, with orders to bring them in, dead or +alive. + +The next day I learned that the ringleader's head was in the bag +that I had seen, and that the others had surrendered and +returned. The scouts were Apaches in the pay of the Government, +and I always heard that, as long as they were serving as scouts, +they showed themselves loyal and would hunt down their nearest +relative. + +Major Worth got tired of the monotony of a bachelor's life at +Camp Apache and decided to give a dance in his quarters, and +invite the chiefs. I think the other officers did not wholly +approve of it, although they felt friendly enough towards them, +as long as they were not causing disturbances. But to meet the +savage Apache on a basis of social equality, in an officer's +quarters, and to dance in a quadrille with him! Well, the limit +of all things had been reached! + +However, Major Worth, who was actually suffering from the ennui +of frontier life in winter, and in time of peace, determined to +carry out his project, so he had his quarters, which were quite +spacious, cleared and decorated with evergreen boughs. From his +company, he secured some men who could play the banjo and guitar, +and all the officers and their wives, and the chiefs with their +harems, came to this novel fete. A quadrille was formed, in which +the chiefs danced opposite the officers. The squaws sat around, +as they were too shy to dance. These chiefs were painted, and +wore only their necklaces and the customary loin-cloth, throwing +their blankets about their shoulders when they had finished +dancing. I noticed again Chief Diablo's great good looks. + +Conversation was carried on principally by signs and nods, and +through the interpreter (a white man named Cooley). Besides, the +officers had picked up many short phrases of the harsh and +gutteral Apache tongue. + +Diablo was charmed with the young, handsome wife of one of the +officers, and asked her husband how many ponies he would take for +her, and Pedro asked Major Worth, if all those white squaws +belonged to him. + +The party passed off pleasantly enough, and was not especially +subversive to discipline, although I believe it was not repeated. + +Afterwards, long afterwards, when we were stationed at David's +Island, New York Harbor, and Major Worth was no longer a +bachelor, but a dignified married man and had gained his star in +the Spanish War, we used to meet occasionally down by the barge +office or taking a Fenster-promenade on Broadway, and we would +always stand awhile and chat over the old days at Camp Apache in +'74. Never mind how pressing our mutual engagements were, we +could never forego the pleasure of talking over those wild days +and contrasting them with our then present surroundings. "Shall +you ever forget my party ?" he said, the last time we met. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A NEW RECRUIT + +In January our little boy arrived, to share our fate and to +gladden our hearts. As he was the first child born to an +officer's family in Camp Apache, there was the greatest +excitement. All the sheep-ranchers and cattlemen for miles around +came into the post. The beneficent canteen, with its soldiers' +and officers' clubrooms did not exist then. So they all gathered +at the cutler's store, to celebrate events with a round of +drinks. They wanted to shake hands with and congratulate the new +father, after their fashion, upon the advent of the blond-haired +baby. Their great hearts went out to him, and they vied with each +other in doing the handsome thing by him, in a manner according +to their lights, and their ideas of wishing well to a man; a +manner, sometimes, alas! disastrous in its results to the man! +However, by this time, I was getting used to all sides of +frontier life. + +I had no time to be lonely now, for I had no nurse, and the only +person who was able to render me service was a laundress of the +Fifth Cavalry, who came for about two hours each day, to give the +baby his bath and to arrange things about the bed. I begged her +to stay with me, but, of course, I knew it was impossible. + +So here I was, inexperienced and helpless, alone in bed, with an +infant a few days old. Dr. Loring, our excellent Post Surgeon, +was both kind and skillful, but he was in poor health and +expecting each day to be ordered to another station. My husband +was obliged to be at the Commissary Office all day, issuing +rations to troops and scouts, and attending to the duties of his +position. + +But, realizing in a measure the utter helplessness of my +situation, he sent a soldier up to lead a wire cord through the +thick wall at the head of my bed and out through the small yard +into the kitchen. To this they attached a big cow-bell, so, by +making some considerable effort to reach up and pull this wire, I +could summon Bowen, that is, if Bowen happened to be there. But +Bowen seemed always to be out at drill or over at the company +quarters, and frequently my bell brought no response. When he did +come, however, he was just as kind and just as awkward as it was +possible for a great big six-foot farmer-soldier to be. + +But I grew weaker and weaker with trying to be strong, and one +day when Jack came in and found both the baby and myself crying, +he said, man-like, "What's the matter?" I said, "I must have some +one to take care of me, or we shall both die." + +He seemed to realize that the situation was desperate, and +mounted men were sent out immediately in all directions to find a +woman. + +At last, a Mexican girl was found in a wood-chopper's camp, and +was brought to me. She was quite young and very ignorant and +stupid, and spoke nothing but a sort of Mexican "lingo," and did +not understand a word of English. But I felt that my life was +saved; and Bowen fixed up a place on the couch for her to sleep, +and Jack went over to the unoccupied room on the other side of +the cabin and took possession of the absent doctor's bed. + +I begged Jack to hunt up a Spanish dictionary, and fortunately +one was found at the cutler's store, which, doubtless the cutler +or his predecessor had brought into the country years before. + +The girl did not know anything. I do not think she had ever been +inside a casa before. She had washed herself in mountain streams, +and did not know what basins and sponges were for. So it was of +no use to point to the objects I wanted. + +I propped myself up in bed and studied the dictionary, and, +having some idea of the pronunciation of Latin languages, I +essayed to call for warm water and various other necessary +articles needed around a sick bed. Sometimes I succeeded in +getting an idea through her impervious brain, but more often she +would stand dazed and immovable and I would let the dictionary +drop from my tired hands and fall back upon the pillow in a sweat +of exhaustion. Then Bowen would be called in, and with the help +of some perfunctory language and gestures on his part, this +silent creature of the mountains would seem to wake up and try to +understand. + +And so I worried through those dreadful days--and the nights! Ah! +we had better not describe them. The poor wild thing slept the +sleep of death and could not hear my loudest calls nor desperate +shouts. + +So Jack attached a cord to her pillow, and I would tug and tug at +that and pull the pillow from under her head. It was of no avail. +She slept peacefully on, and it seemed to me, as I lay there +staring at her, that not even Gabriel's trump would ever arouse +her. + +In desperation I would creep out of bed and wait upon myself and +then confess to Jack and the Doctor next day. + +Well, we had to let the creature go, for she was of no use, and +the Spanish dictionary was laid aside. + +I struggled along, fighting against odds; how I ever got well at +all is a wonder, when I think of all the sanitary precautions +taken now-a-days with young mothers and babies. The Doctor was +ordered away and another one came. I had no advice or help from +any one. Calomel or quinine are the only medicines I remember +taking myself or giving to my child. + +But to go back a little. The seventh day after the birth of the +baby, a delegation of several squaws, wives of chiefs, came to +pay me a formal visit. They brought me some finely woven baskets, +and a beautiful pappoose-basket or cradle, such as they carry +their own babies in. This was made of the lightest wood, and +covered with the finest skin of fawn, tanned with birch bark by +their own hands, and embroidered in blue beads; it was their best +work. I admired it, and tried to express to them my thanks. These +squaws took my baby (he was lying beside me on the bed), then, +cooing and chuckling, they looked about the room, until they +found a small pillow, which they laid into the basket-cradle, +then put my baby in, drew the flaps together, and laced him into +it; then stood it up, and laid it down, and laughed again in +their gentle manner, and finally soothed him to sleep. I was +quite touched by the friendliness of it all. They laid the cradle +on the table and departed. Jack went out to bring Major Worth in, +to see the pretty sight, and as the two entered the room, Jack +pointed to the pappoose-basket. + +Major Worth tip-toed forward, and gazed into the cradle; he did +not speak for some time; then, in his inimitable way, and half +under his breath, he said, slowly, "Well, I'll be d--d!" This was +all, but when he turned towards the bedside, and came and shook +my hand, his eyes shone with a gentle and tender look. + +And so was the new recruit introduced to the Captain of Company +K. + +And now there must be a bath-tub for the baby. The cutler +rummaged his entire place, to find something that might do. At +last, he sent me a freshly scoured tub, that looked as if it +might, at no very remote date, have contained salt mackerel +marked "A One." So then, every morning at nine o'clock, our +little half-window was black with the heads of the curious squaws +and bucks, trying to get a glimpse of the fair baby's bath. A +wonderful performance, it appeared to them. + +Once a week this room, which was now a nursery combined with +bedroom and living-room, was overhauled by the stalwart Bowen. +The baby was put to sleep and laced securely into the +pappoose-basket. He was then carried into the kitchen, laid on +the dresser, and I sat by with a book or needle-work watching +him, until Bowen had finished the room. On one of these +occasions, I noticed a ledger lying upon one of the shelves. I +looked into it, and imagine my astonishment, when I read: "Aunt +Hepsey's Muffins," "Sarah's Indian Pudding," and on another page, +"Hasty's Lemon Tarts," "Aunt Susan's Method of Cooking a Leg of +Mutton," and "Josie Well's Pressed Calf Liver." Here were my own, +my very own family recipes, copied into Bowen's ledger, in large +illiterate characters; and on the fly-leaf, "Charles Bowen's +Receipt Book." I burst into a good hearty laugh, almost the first +one I had enjoyed since I arrived at Camp Apache. + +The long-expected promotion to a first lieutenancy came at about +this time. Jack was assigned to a company which was stationed at +Camp MacDowell, but his departure for the new post was delayed +until the spring should be more advanced and I should be able to +undertake the long, rough trip with our young child. + +The second week in April, my baby just nine weeks old, we began +to pack up. I had gained a little in experience, to be sure, but +I had lost my health and strength. I knew nothing of the care of +a young infant, and depended entirely upon the advice of the Post +Surgeon, who happened at that time to be a young man, much better +versed in the sawing off of soldiers' legs than in the treatment +of young mothers and babies. + +The packing up was done under difficulties, and with much help +from our faithful Bowen. It was arranged for Mrs. Bailey, who was +to spend the summer with her parents at Fort Whipple, to make the +trip at the same time, as our road to Camp MacDowell took us +through Fort Whipple. There were provided two ambulances with six +mules each, two baggage-wagons, an escort of six calvarymen fully +armed, and a guide. Lieutenant Bailey was to accompany his wife +on the trip. + +I was genuinely sorry to part with Major Worth, but in the +excitement and fatigue of breaking up our home, I had little time +to think of my feelings. My young child absorbed all my time. +Alas! for the ignorance of young women, thrust by circumstances +into such a situation! I had miscalculated my strength, for I had +never known illness in my life, and there was no one to tell me +any better. I reckoned upon my superbly healthy nature to bring +me through. In fact, I did not think much about it; I simply got +ready and went, as soldiers do. + +I heard them say that we were not to cross the Mogollon range, +but were to go to the north of it, ford the Colorado Chiquito at +Sunset Crossing, and so on to Camp Verde and Whipple Barracks by +the Stoneman's Lake road. It sounded poetic and pretty. Colorado +Chiquito, Sunset Crossing, and Stoneman's Lake road! I thought to +myself, they were prettier than any of the names I had heard in +Arizona. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +A MEMORABLE JOURNEY + +How broken plunged the steep descent! How barren! Desolate and +rent By earthquake shock, the land lay dead, Like some proud +king in old-time slain. An ugly skeleton, it gleamed In burning +sands. The fiery rain Of fierce volcanoes here had sown Its +ashes. Burnt and black and seamed With thunder-strokes and strewn +With cinders. Yea, so overthrown, That wilder men than we had +said, On seeing this, with gathered breath, "We come on the +confines of death!" --JOAQUIN MILLER. + + +Six good cavalrymen galloped along by our side, on the morning of +April 24th, 1875, as with two ambulances, two army wagons, and a +Mexican guide, we drove out of Camp Apache at a brisk trot. + +The drivers were all armed, and spare rifles hung inside the +ambulances. I wore a small derringer, with a narrow belt filled +with cartridges. An incongruous sight, methinks now, it must have +been. A young mother, pale and thin, a child of scarce three +months in her arms, and a pistol belt around her waist! + +I scarcely looked back at Camp Apache. We had a long day's march +before us, and we looked ahead. Towards night we made camp at +Cooley's ranch, and slept inside, on the floor. Cooley was +interpreter and scout, and although he was a white man, he had +married a young Indian girl, the daughter of one of the chiefs +and was known as a squaw man. There seemed to be two Indian girls +at his ranch; they were both tidy and good-looking, and they +prepared us a most appetizing supper. + +The ranch had spaces for windows, covered with thin unbleached +muslin (or manta, as it is always called out there), glass +windows being then too great a luxury in that remote place. +There were some partitions inside the ranch, but no doors; and, +of course, no floors except adobe. Several half-breed children, +nearly naked, stood and gazed at us as we prepared for rest. This +was interesting and picturesque from many standpoints perhaps, +but it did not tend to make me sleepy. I lay gazing into the fire +which was smouldering in the corner, and finally I said, in a +whisper, "Jack, which girl do you think is Cooley's wife?" + +"I don't know," answered this cross and tired man; and then +added, "both of 'em, I guess." + +Now this was too awful, but I knew he did not intend for me to +ask any more questions. I had a difficult time, in those days, +reconciling what I saw with what I had been taught was right, and +I had to sort over my ideas and deep-rooted prejudices a good +many times. + +The two pretty squaws prepared a nice breakfast for us, and we +set out, quite refreshed, to travel over the malapais (as the +great lava-beds in that part of the country are called). There +was no trace of a road. A few hours of this grinding and +crunching over crushed lava wearied us all, and the animals found +it hard pulling, although the country was level. + +We crossed Silver Creek without difficulty, and arrived at +Stinson's ranch, after traveling twenty-five miles, mostly +malapais. Do not for a moment think of these ranches as farms. +Some of them were deserted sheep ranches, and had only adobe +walls standing in ruins. But the camp must have a name, and on +the old maps of Arizona these names are still to be found. Of +course, on the new railroad maps, they are absent. They were +generally near a spring or a creek, consequently were chosen as +camps. + +Mrs. Bailey had her year-old boy, Howard, with her. We began to +experience the utmost inconvenience from the lack of warm water +and other things so necessary to the health and comfort of +children. But we tried to make light of it all, and the two +Lieutenants tried, in a man's way, to help us out. We declared we +must have some clean towels for the next day, so we tried to +rinse out, in the cold, hard water of the well, those which we +had with us, and, as it was now nightfall and there was no fire +inside this apparently deserted ranch, the two Lieutenants stood +and held the wet towels before the camp-fire until they were dry. + +Mrs. Bailey and I, too tired to move, sat and watched them and +had each our own thoughts. She was an army girl and perhaps had +seen such things before, but it was a situation that did not seem +quite in keeping with my ideas of the fitness of things in +general, and with the uniform in particular. The uniform, +associated in my mind with brilliant functions, guard-mount, +parades and full-dress weddings--the uniform, in fact, that I +adored. As I sat, gazing at them, they both turned around, and, +realizing how almost ludicrous they looked, they began to laugh. +Whereupon we all four laughed and Jack said: "Nice work for +United States officers! hey, Bailey ?" + +"It might be worse," sighed the handsome, blond-haired Bailey. + +Thirty miles the next day, over a good road, brought us to +Walker's ranch, on the site of old Camp Supply. This ranch was +habitable in a way, and the owner said we might use the bedrooms; +but the wild-cats about the place were so numerous and so +troublesome in the night, that we could not sleep. I have +mentioned the absence of windows in these ranches; we were now to +experience the great inconvenience resulting therefrom, for the +low open spaces furnished great opportunity for the cats. In at +one opening, and out at another they flew, first across the +Bailey's bed, then over ours. The dogs caught the spirit of the +chase, and added their noise to that of the cats. Both babies +began to cry, and then up got Bailey and threw his heavy campaign +boots at the cats, with some fitting remarks. A momentary silence +reigned, and we tried again to sleep. Back came the cats, and +then came Jack's turn with boots and travelling satchels. It was +all of no avail, and we resigned ourselves. Cruelly tired, here +we were, we two women, compelled to sit on hard boxes or the edge +of a bed, to quiet our poor babies, all through that night, at +that old sheep-ranch. Like the wretched emigrant, differing only +from her inasmuch as she, never having known comfort perhaps, +cannot realize her misery. + +The two Lieutenants slipped on their blouses, and sat looking +helplessly at us, waging war on the cats at intervals. And so the +dawn found us, our nerves at a tension, and our strength gone--a +poor preparation for the trying day which was to follow. + +We were able to buy a couple of sheep there, to take with us for +supplies, and some antelope meat. We could not indulge, in +foolish scruples, but I tried not to look when they tied the live +sheep and threw them into one of the wagons. + +Quite early in the day, we met a man who said he had been fired +upon by some Indians at Sanford's Pass. We thought perhaps he had +been scared by some stray shot, and we did not pay much attention +to his story. + +Soon after, however, we passed a sort of old adobe ruin, out of +which crept two bare-headed Mexicans, so badly frightened that +their dark faces were pallid; their hair seemed standing on end, +and they looked stark mad with fear. They talked wildly to the +guide, and gesticulated, pointing in the direction of the Pass. +They had been fired at, and their ponies taken by some roving +Apaches. They had been in hiding for over a day, and were hungry +and miserable. We gave them food and drink. They implored us, by +the Holy Virgin, not to go through the Pass. + +What was to be done? The officers took counsel; the men looked to +their arms. It was decided to go through. Jack examined his +revolver, and saw that my pistol was loaded. I was instructed +minutely what to do, in case we were attacked. + +For miles we strained our eyes, looking in the direction whence +these men had come. + +At last, in mid-afternoon, we approached the Pass, a narrow +defile winding down between high hills from this table-land to +the plain below. To say that we feared an ambush, would not +perhaps convey a very clear idea of how I felt on entering the +Pass. + +There was not a word spoken. I obeyed orders, and lay down in the +bottom of the ambulance; I took my derringer out of the holster +and cocked it. I looked at my little boy lying helpless there +beside me, and at his delicate temples, lined with thin blue +veins, and wondered if I could follow out the instructions I had +received: for Jack had said, after the decision was made, to go +through the Pass, "Now, Mattie, I don't think for a minute that +there are any Injuns in that Pass, and you must not be afraid. We +have got to go through it any way; but"--he hesitated,--"we may +be mistaken; there may be a few of them in there, and they'll +have a mighty good chance to get in a shot or two. And now +listen: if I'm hit, you'll know what to do. You have your +derringer; and when you see that there is no help for it, if they +get away with the whole outfit, why, there's only one thing to be +done. Don't let them get the baby, for they will carry you both +off and--well, you know the squaws are much more cruel than the +bucks. Don't let them get either of you alive. Now"--to the +driver--"go on." + +Jack was a man of few words, and seldom spoke much in times like +that. + +So I lay very quiet in the bottom of the ambulance. I realized +that we were in great danger. My thoughts flew back to the East, +and I saw, as in a flash, my father and mother, sisters and +brother; I think I tried to say a short prayer for them, and that +they might never know the worst. I fixed my eyes upon my +husband's face. There he sat, rifle in hand, his features +motionless, his eyes keenly watching out from one side of the +ambulance, while a stalwart cavalry-man, carbine in hand, watched +the other side of the narrow defile. The minutes seemed like +hours. + +The driver kept his animals steady, and we rattled along. + +At last, as I perceived the steep slope of the road, I looked +out, and saw that the Pass was widening out, and we must be +nearing the end of it. "Keep still," said Jack, without moving a +feature. My heart seemed then to stop beating, and I dared not +move again, until I heard him say, "Thank God, we're out of it! +Get up, Mattie! See the river yonder? We'll cross that to-night, +and then we'll be out of their God d----d country!" + +This was Jack's way of working off his excitement, and I did not +mind it. I knew he was not afraid of Apaches for himself, but for +his wife and child. And if I had been a man, I should have said +just as much and perhaps more. + +We were now down in a flat country, and low alkali plains lay +between us and the river. My nerves gradually recovered from the +tension in which they had been held; the driver stopped his team +for a moment, the other ambulance drove up alongside of us, and +Ella Bailey and I looked at each other; we did not talk any, but +I believe we cried just a little. Then Mr. Bailey and Jack +(thinking we were giving way, I suppose) pulled out their big +flasks, and we had to take a cup of good whiskey, weakened up +with a little water from our canteens, which had been filled at +Walker's ranch in the morning. Great Heavens! I thought, was it +this morning that we left Walker's ranch, or was it a year ago? +So much had I lived through in a few hours. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +FORDING THE LITTLE COLORADO + +At a bend in the road the Mexican guide galloped up near the +ambulance, and pointing off to the westward with a graceful +gesture, said: "Colorado Chiquito! Colorado Chiquito!" And, sure +enough, there in the afternoon sun lay the narrow winding river, +its surface as smooth as glass, and its banks as if covered with +snow. + +We drove straight for the ford, known as Sunset Crossing. The +guide was sure he knew the place. But the river was high, and I +could not see how anybody could cross it without a boat. The +Mexican rode his pony in once or twice; shook his head, and said +in Spanish, "there was much quicksand. The old ford had changed +much since he saw it." He galloped excitedly to and fro, along +the bank of the river, always returning to the same place, and +declaring "it was the ford; there was no other; he knew it well." + +But the wagons not having yet arrived, it was decided not to +attempt crossing until morning, when we could get a fresh start. + +The sun was gradually sinking in the west, but the heat down in +that alkali river-bottom even at that early season of the year +was most uncomfortable. I was worn out with fright and fatigue; +my poor child cried piteously and incessantly. Nothing was of any +avail to soothe him. After the tents were pitched and the +camp-fires made, some warm water was brought, and I tried to wash +away some of the dust from him, but the alkali water only +irritated his delicate skin, and his head, where it had lain on +my arm, was inflamed by the constant rubbing. It began to break +out in ugly blisters; I was in despair. We were about as +wretchedly off as two human beings could be, and live, it seemed +to me. The disappointment at not getting across the river, +combined with the fear that the Indians were still in the +neighborhood, added to my nervousness and produced an exhaustion +which, under other circumstances, would have meant collapse. + +The mournful and demoniacal cries of the coyotes filled the +night; they seemed to come close to the tent, and their number +seemed to be legion. I lay with eyes wide open, watching for the +day to come, and resolving each minute that if I ever escaped +alive from that lonely river-bottom with its burning alkali, and +its millions of howling coyotes, I would never, never risk being +placed in such a situation again. + +At dawn everybody got up and dressed. I looked in my small +hand-mirror, and it seemed to me my hair had turned a greyish +color, and while it was not exactly white, the warm chestnut +tinge never came back into it, after that day and night of +terror. My eyes looked back at me large and hollow from the +small glass, and I was in that state when it is easy to imagine +the look of Death in one's own face. I think sometimes it comes, +after we have thought ourselves near the borders. And I surely +had been close to them the day before. + +* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * +* * + +If perchance any of my readers have followed this narrative so +far, and there be among them possibly any men, young or old, I +would say to such ones: "Desist! For what I am going to tell +about in this chapter, and possibly another, concerns nobody but +women, and my story will now, for awhile, not concern itself with +the Eighth Foot, nor the army, nor the War Department, nor the +Interior Department, nor the strategic value of Sunset Crossing, +which may now be a railroad station, for all I know. It is simply +a story of my journey from the far bank of the Little Colorado to +Fort Whipple, and then on, by a change of orders, over mountains +and valleys, cactus plains and desert lands, to the banks of the +Great Colorado. + +My attitude towards the places I travelled through was naturally +influenced by the fact that I had a young baby in my arms the +entire way, and that I was not able to endure hardship at that +time. For usually, be it remembered, at that period of a child's +life, both mother and infant are not out of the hands of the +doctor and trained nurse, to say nothing of the assistance so +gladly rendered by those near and dear, + +The morning of the 28th of April dawned shortly after midnight, +as mornings in Arizona generally do at that season, and after a +hasty camp breakfast, and a good deal of reconnoitering on the +part of the officers, who did not seem to be exactly satisfied +about the Mexican's knowledge of the ford, they told him to push +his pony in, and cross if he could. + +He managed to pick his way across and back, after a good deal of +floundering, and we decided to try the ford. First they hitched +up ten mules to one of the heavily loaded baggage-wagons, the +teamster cracked his whip, and in they went. But the quicksand +frightened the leaders, and they lost their courage. Now when a +mule loses courage, in the water, he puts his head down and is +done for. The leaders disappeared entirely, then the next two and +finally the whole ten of them were gone, irrevocably, as I +thought. But like a flash, the officers shouted: "Cut away those +mules! Jump in there!" and amid other expletives the men plunged +in, and feeling around under the water cut the poor animals loose +and they began to crawl out on the other bank. I drew a long +breath, for I thought the ten mules were drowned. + +The guide picked his way over again to the other side and caught +them up, and then I began to wonder how on earth we should ever +get across. + +There lay the heavy army wagon, deep mired in the middle of the +stream, and what did I see? Our army chests, floating away down +the river. I cried out: "Oh! do save our chests!" "They're all +right, we'll get them presently," said Jack. It seemed a long +time to me, before the soldiers could get them to the bank, which +they did, with the aid of stout ropes. All our worldly goods were +in those chests, and I knew they were soaked wet and probably +ruined; but, after all, what did it matter, in the face of the +serious problem which confronted us? + +In the meantime, some of the men had floated the other boxes and +trunks out of the wagon back to the shore, and were busy taking +the huge vehicle apart. Any one who knows the size of an army +wagon will realize that this was hard work, especially as the +wagon was mired, and nearly submerged. But the men worked +desperately, and at last succeeded in getting every part of it +back onto the dry land. + +Somebody stirred up the camp-fire and put the kettle on, and Mrs. +Bailey and I mixed up a smoking strong hot toddy for those brave +fellows, who were by this time well exhausted. Then they set to +work to make a boat, by drawing a large canvas under the body of +the wagon, and fastening it securely. For this Lieutenant of mine +had been a sailor-man and knew well how to meet emergencies. + +One or two of the soldiers had now forded the stream on +horseback, and taken over a heavy rope, which was made fast to +our improvised boat. I was acquainted with all kinds of boats, +from a catamaran to a full-rigged ship, but never a craft like +this had I seen. Over the sides we clambered, however, and were +ferried across the treacherous and glassy waters of the Little +Colorado. All the baggage and the two ambulances were ferried +over, and the other wagon was unloaded and drawn over by means of +ropes. + +This proceeding took all day, and of course we could get no +farther, and were again obliged to camp in that most +uncomfortable river-bottom. But we felt safer on that side. I +looked at the smooth surface of the river, and its alkali shores, +and the picture became indelibly impressed upon my memory. The +unpleasant reality destroyed any poetic associations which might +otherwise have clung to the name of Sunset Crossing in my ever +vivid imagination. + +After the tents were pitched, and the camp snugged up, Mr. Bailey +produced some champagne and we wished each other joy, that we had +made the dangerous crossing and escaped the perils of Sanford's +Pass. I am afraid the champagne was not as cold as might have +been desired, but the bottle had been wrapped in a wet blanket, +and cooled a little in that way, and we drank it with zest, from +a mess-cup. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +STONEMAN'S LAKE + +The road began now to ascend, and after twenty miles' travelling +we reached a place called Updyke's Tanks. It was a nice place, +with plenty of wood and grass. The next day we camped at Jay +Coxe's Tanks. It was a hard day's march, and I was tired out when +we arrived there. The ambulance was simply jerked over those +miles of fearful rocks; one could not say driven or dragged over, +for we were pitched from rock to rock the entire distance. + +Stoneman's Lake Road was famous, as I afterwards heard. Perhaps +it was just as well for me that I did not know about it in +advance. + +The sure-footed mules picked their way over these sharp-edged +rocks. There was not a moment's respite. We asked a soldier to +help with holding the baby, for my arms gave out entirely, and +were as if paralyzed. The jolting threw us all by turns against +the sides of the ambulance (which was not padded), and we all got +some rather bad bruises. We finally bethought ourselves of the +pappoose basket, which we had brought along in the ambulance, +having at the last moment no other place to put it. So a halt was +called, we placed the tired baby in this semi-cradle, laced the +sides snugly over him, and were thus enabled to carry him over +those dreadful roads without danger. + +He did not cry much, but the dust made him thirsty. I could not +give him nourishment without stopping the entire train of wagons, +on account of the constant pitching of the ambulance; delay was +not advisable or expedient, so my poor little son had to endure +with the rest of us. The big Alsatian cavalryman held the cradle +easily in his strong arms, and so the long miles were travelled, +one by one. + +At noon of this day we made a refreshing halt, built a fire and +took some luncheon. We found a shady, grassy spot, upon which the +blankets were spread, and we stretched ourselves out upon them +and rested. But we were still some miles from water, so after a +short respite we were compelled to push on. We had been getting +steadily higher since leaving Sunset Crossing, and now it began +to be cold and looked like snow. Mrs. Bailey and I found it very +trying to meet these changes of temperature. A good place for the +camp was found at Coxe's Tanks, trenches were dug around the +tents, and the earth banked up to keep us warm. The cool air, our +great fatigue, and the comparative absence of danger combined to +give us a heavenly night's rest. + +Towards sunset of the next day, which was May Day, our cavalcade +reached Stoneman's Lake. We had had another rough march, and had +reached the limit of endurance, or thought we had, when we +emerged from a mountain pass and drew rein upon the high green +mesa overlooking Stoneman's Lake, a beautiful blue sheet of +water lying there away below us. It was good to our tired eyes, +which had gazed upon nothing but burnt rocks and alkali plains +for so many days. Our camp was beautiful beyond description, and +lay near the edge of the mesa, whence we could look down upon the +lovely lake. It was a complete surprise to us, as points of +scenery were not much known or talked about then in Arizona. +Ponds and lakes were unheard of. They did not seem to exist in +that drear land of arid wastes. We never heard of water except +that of the Colorado or the Gila or the tanks and basins, and +irrigation ditches of the settlers. But here was a real Italian +lake, a lake as blue as the skies above us. We feasted our eyes +and our very souls upon it. + +Bailey and the guide shot some wild turkeys, and as we had +already eaten all the mutton we had along, the ragout of turkey +made by the soldier-cook for our supper tasted better to us tired +and hungry travellers, perhaps, than a canvasback at Delmonico's +tastes to the weary lounger or the over-worked financier. + +In the course of the day, we had passed a sort of sign-board, +with the rudely written inscription, "Camp Starvation," and we +had heard from Mr. Bailey the story of the tragic misfortunes at +this very place of the well-known Hitchcock family of Arizona. +The road was lined with dry bones, and skulls of oxen, white and +bleached in the sun, lying on the bare rocks. Indeed, at every +stage of the road we had seen evidences of hard travel, exhausted +cattle, anxious teamsters, hunger and thirst, despair, +starvation, and death. + +However, Stoneman's Lake remains a joy in the memory, and far and +away the most beautiful spot I ever saw in Arizona. But unless +the approaches to it are made easier, tourists will never gaze +upon it. + +In the distance we saw the "divide," over which we must pass in +order to reach Camp Verde, which was to be our first stopping +place, and we looked joyfully towards the next day's march, which +we expected would bring us there. + +We thought the worst was over and, before retiring to our tents +for the night, we walked over to the edge of the high mesa and, +in the gathering shadows of twilight, looked down into the depths +of that beautiful lake, knowing that probably we should never see +it again. + +And indeed, in all the years I spent in Arizona afterward, I +never even heard of the lake again. + +I wonder now, did it really exist or was it an illusion, a dream, +or the mirage which appears to the desert traveller, to satisfy +him and lure him on, to quiet his imagination, and to save his +senses from utter extinction? + +In the morning the camp was all astir for an early move. We had +no time to look back: we were starting for a long day's march, +across the "divide," and into Camp Verde. + +But we soon found that the road (if road it could be called) was +worse than any we had encountered. The ambulance was pitched and +jerked from rock to rock and we were thumped against the iron +framework in a most dangerous manner. So we got out and picked +our way over the great sharp boulders. + +The Alsatian soldier carried the baby, who lay securely in the +pappoose cradle. + +One of the cavalry escort suggested my taking his horse, but I +did not feel strong enough to think of mounting a horse, so great +was my discouragement and so exhausted was my vitality. Oh! if +girls only knew about these things I thought! For just a little +knowledge of the care of an infant and its needs, its nourishment +and its habits, might have saved both mother and child from such +utter collapse. + +Little by little we gave up hope of reaching Verde that day. At +four o'clock we crossed the "divide,"and clattered down a road so +near the edge of a precipice that I was frightened beyond +everything: my senses nearly left me. Down and around, this way +and that, near the edge, then back again, swaying, swerving, +pitching, the gravel clattering over the precipice, the six mules +trotting their fastest, we reached the bottom and the driver +pulled up his team. "Beaver Springs!" said he, impressively, +loosening up the brakes. + +As Jack lifted me out of the ambulance, I said: "Why didn't you +tell me?" pointing back to the steep road. "Oh," said he, "I +thought it was better for you not to know; people get scared +about such things, when they know about them before hand." + +"But," I remarked, "such a break-neck pace!" Then, to the +driver, "Smith, how could you drive down that place at such a +rate and frighten me so?" + +"Had to, ma'am, or we'd a'gone over the edge." + +I had been brought up in a flat country down near the sea, and I +did not know the dangers of mountain travelling, nor the +difficulties attending the piloting of a six-mule team down a +road like that. >From this time on, however, Smith rose in my +estimation. I seemed also to be realizing that the Southwest was +a great country and that there was much to learn about. Life out +there was beginning to interest me. + +Camp Verde lay sixteen miles farther on; no one knew if the road +were good or bad. I declared I could not travel another mile, +even if they all went on and left me to the wolves and the +darkness of Beaver Springs. + +We looked to our provisions and took account of stock. There was +not enough for the two families. We had no flour and no bread; +there was only a small piece of bacon, six potatoes, some +condensed milk, and some chocolate. The Baileys decided to go on; +for Mrs. Bailey was to meet her sister at Verde and her parents +at Whipple. We said good-bye, and their ambulance rolled away. +Our tent was pitched and the baby was laid on the bed, asleep +from pure exhaustion. + +The dread darkness of night descended upon us, and the strange +odors of the bottom-lands arose, mingling with the delicious +smoky smell of the camp-fire. + +By the light of the blazing mesquite wood, we now divided what +provisions we had, into two portions: one for supper, and one for +breakfast. A very light meal we had that evening, and I arose +from the mess-table unsatisfied and hungry. + +Jack and I sat down by the camp-fire, musing over the hard times +we were having, when suddenly I heard a terrified cry from my +little son. We rushed to the tent, lighted a candle, and oh! +horror upon horrors! his head and face were covered with large +black ants; he was wailing helplessly, and beating the air with +his tiny arms. + +"My God!" cried Jack, "we're camped over an ant-hill!" + +I seized the child, and brushing off the ants as I fled, brought +him out to the fire, where by its light I succeeded in getting +rid of them all. But the horror of it! Can any mother brought up +in God's country with kind nurses and loved ones to minister to +her child, for a moment imagine how I felt when I saw those +hideous, three-bodied, long-legged black ants crawling over my +baby's face? After a lapse of years, I cannot recall that moment +without a shudder. + +The soldiers at last found a place which seemed to be free from +ant-hills, and our tent was again pitched, but only to find that +the venomous things swarmed over us as soon as we lay down to +rest. + +And so, after the fashion of the Missouri emigrant, we climbed +into the ambulance and lay down upon our blankets in the bottom +of it, and tried to believe we were comfortable. + +My long, hard journey of the preceding autumn, covering a period +of two months; my trying experiences during the winter at Camp +Apache; the sudden break-up and the packing; the lack of +assistance from a nurse; the terrors of the journey; the +sympathy for my child, who suffered from many ailments and +principally from lack of nourishment, added to the profound +fatigue I felt, had reduced my strength to a minimum. I wonder +that I lived, but something sustained me, and when we reached +Camp Verde the next day, and drew up before Lieutenant +O'Connell's quarters, and saw Mrs. O'Connell's kind face beaming +to welcome us, I felt that here was relief at last. + +The tall Alsatian handed the pappoose cradle to Mrs. O'Connell. + +"Gracious goodness! what is this?" cried the bewildered woman; +"surely it cannot be your baby! You haven't turned entirely +Indian, have you, amongst those wild Apaches?" + +I felt sorry I had not taken him out of the basket before we +arrived. I did not realize the impression it would make at Camp +Verde. After all, they did not know anything about our life at +Apache, or our rough travels to get back from there. Here were +lace-curtained windows, well-dressed women, smart uniforms, and, +in fact, civilization, compared with what we had left. + +The women of the post gathered around the broad piazza, to see +the wonder. But when they saw the poor little wan face, the blue +eyes which looked sadly out at them from this rude cradle, the +linen bandages covering the back of the head, they did not laugh +any more, but took him and ministered to him, as only kind women +can minister to a sick baby. + +There was not much rest, however, for we had to sort and +rearrange our things, and dress ourselves properly. (Oh! the +luxury of a room and a tub, after that journey!) Jack put on his +best uniform, and there was no end of visiting, in spite of the +heat, which was considerable even at that early date in May. The +day there would have been pleasant enough but for my wretched +condition. + +The next morning we set out for Fort Whipple, making a long day's +march, and arriving late in the evening. The wife of the +Quartermaster, a total stranger to me, received us, and before we +had time to exchange the usual social platitudes, she gave one +look at the baby, and put an end to any such attempts. "You have +a sick child; give him to me;" then I told her some things, and +she said: "I wonder he is alive." Then she took him under her +charge and declared we should not leave her house until he was +well again. She understood all about nursing, and day by day, +under her good care, and Doctor Henry Lippincott's skilful +treatment, I saw my baby brought back to life again. Can I ever +forget Mrs. Aldrich's blessed kindness? + +Up to then, I had taken no interest in Camp MacDowell, where was +stationed the company into which my husband was promoted. I knew +it was somewhere in the southern part of the Territory, and +isolated. The present was enough. I was meeting my old Fort +Russell friends, and under Doctor Lippincott's good care I was +getting back a measure of strength. Camp MacDowell was not yet a +reality to me. + +We met again Colonel Wilkins and Mrs. Wilkins and Carrie, and +Mrs. Wilkins thanked me for bringing her daughter alive out of +those wilds. Poor girl; 'twas but a few months when we heard of +her death, at the birth of her second child. I have always +thought her death was caused by the long hard journey from Apache +to Whipple, for Nature never intended women to go through what we +went through, on that memorable journey by Stoneman's Lake. + +There I met again Captain Porter, and I asked him if he had +progressed any in his courtship, and he, being very much +embarrassed, said he did not know, but if patient waiting was of +any avail, he believed he might win his bride. + +After we had been at Whipple a few days, Jack came in and +remarked casually to Lieutenant Aldrich, "Well, I heard Bernard +has asked to be relieved from Ehrenberg. + +"What!" I said, "the lonely man down there on the river--the +prisoner of Chillon--the silent one? Well, they are going to +relieve him, of course?" + +"Why, yes," said Jack, falteringly, "if they can get anyone to +take his place." + +"Can't they order some one?" I inquired. + +"Of course they can," he replied, and then, turning towards the +window, he ventured: "The fact is Martha, I've been offered it, +and am thinking it over." (The real truth was, that he had +applied for it, thinking it possessed great advantages over Camp +MacDowell. ) + +"What! do I hear aright? Have your senses left you? Are you +crazy? Are you going to take me to that awful place? Why, Jack, I +should die there!" + +"Now, Martha, be reasonable; listen to me, and if you really +decide against it, I'll throw up the detail. But don't you see, +we shall be right on the river, the boat comes up every fortnight +or so, you can jump aboard and go up to San Francisco." (Oh, how +alluring that sounded to my ears!) "Why, it's no trouble to get +out of Arizona from Ehrenberg. Then, too, I shall be independent, +and can do just as I like, and when I like," et caetera, et +caetera. "Oh, you'll be making the greatest mistake, if you +decide against it. As for MacDowell, it's a hell of a place, down +there in the South; and you never will be able to go back East +with the baby, if we once get settled down there. Why, it's a +good fifteen days from the river." + +And so he piled up the arguments in favor of Ehrenberg, saying +finally, "You need not stop a day there. If the boat happens to +be up, you can jump right aboard and start at once down river." + +All the discomforts of the voyage on the "Newbern," and the +memory of those long days spent on the river steamer in August +had paled before my recent experiences. I flew, in imagination, +to the deck of the "Gila," and to good Captain Mellon, who would +take me and my child out of that wretched Territory. + +"Yes, yes, let us go then," I cried; for here came in my +inexperience. I thought I was choosing the lesser evil, and I +knew that Jack believed it to be so, and also that he had set his +heart upon Ehrenberg, for reasons known only to the understanding +of a military man. + +So it was decided to take the Ehrenberg detail. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE COLORADO DESERT + +Some serpents slid from out the grass That grew in tufts by +shattered stone, Then hid below some broken mass Of ruins older +than the East, That Time had eaten, as a bone Is eaten by some +savage beast. + +Great dull-eyed rattlesnakes--they lay All loathsome, +yellow-skinned, and slept Coiled tight as pine knots in the sun, +With flat heads through the centre run; Then struck out sharp, +then rattling crept Flat-bellied down the dusty way. + +--JOAQUIN MILLER. + + +At the end of a week, we started forth for Ehrenberg. Our escort +was now sent back to Camp Apache, and the Baileys remained at +Fort Whipple, so our outfit consisted of one ambulance and one +army wagon. One or two soldiers went along, to help with the +teams and the camp. + +We travelled two days over a semi-civilized country, and found +quite comfortable ranches where we spent the nights. The greatest +luxury was fresh milk, and we enjoyed that at these ranches in +Skull Valley. They kept American cows, and supplied Whipple +Barracks with milk and butter. We drank, and drank, and drank +again, and carried a jugful to our bedside. The third day brought +us to Cullen's ranch, at the edge of the desert. Mrs. Cullen was +a Mexican woman and had a little boy named Daniel; she cooked us +a delicious supper of stewed chicken, and fried eggs, and good +bread, and then she put our boy to bed in Daniel's crib. I felt +so grateful to her; and with a return of physical comfort, I +began to think that life, after all, might be worth the living. + +Hopefully and cheerfully the next morning we entered the vast +Colorado desert. This was verily the desert, more like the desert +which our imagination pictures, than the one we had crossed in +September from Mojave. It seemed so white, so bare, so endless, +and so still; irreclaimable, eternal, like Death itself. The +stillness was appalling. We saw great numbers of lizards darting +about like lightning; they were nearly as white as the sand +itself, and sat up on their hind legs and looked at us with their +pretty, beady black eyes. It seemed very far off from everywhere +and everybody, this desert--but I knew there was a camp somewhere +awaiting us, and our mules trotted patiently on. Towards noon +they began to raise their heads and sniff the air; they knew that +water was near. They quickened their pace, and we soon drew up +before a large wooden structure. There were no trees nor grass +around it. A Mexican worked the machinery with the aid of a mule, +and water was bought for our twelve animals, at so much per head. +The place was called Mesquite Wells; the man dwelt alone in his +desolation, with no living being except his mule for company. How +could he endure it! I was not able, even faintly, to comprehend +it; I had not lived long enough. He occupied a small hut, and +there he staid, year in and year out, selling water to the +passing traveller; and I fancy that travellers were not so +frequent at Mesquite Wells a quarter of a century ago. + +The thought of that hermit and his dreary surroundings filled my +mind for a long time after we drove away, and it was only when we +halted and a soldier got down to kill a great rattlesnake near +the ambulance, that my thoughts were diverted. The man brought +the rattles to us and the new toy served to amuse my little son. + +At night we arrived at Desert Station. There was a good ranch +there, kept by Hunt and Dudley, Englishmen, I believe. I did not +see them, but I wondered who they were and why they staid in such +a place. They were absent at the time; perhaps they had mines or +something of the sort to look after. One is always imagining +things about people who live in such extraordinary places. At all +events, whatever Messrs. Hunt and Dudley were doing down there, +their ranch was clean and attractive, which was more than could +be said of the place where we stopped the next night, a place +called Tyson's Wells. We slept in our tent that night, for of all +places on the earth a poorly kept ranch in Arizona is the most +melancholy and uninviting. It reeks of everything unclean, +morally and physically. Owen Wister has described such a place in +his delightful story, where the young tenderfoot dances for the +amusement of the old habitues. + +One more day's travel across the desert brought us to our El +Dorado. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +EHRENBERG ON THE COLORADO + +Under the burning mid-day sun of Arizona, on May 16th, our six +good mules, with the long whip cracking about their ears, and the +ambulance rattling merrily along, brought us into the village of +Ehrenberg. There was one street, so called, which ran along on +the river bank, and then a few cross streets straggling back into +the desert, with here and there a low adobe casa. The Government +house stood not far from the river, and as we drove up to the +entrance the same blank white walls stared at me. It did not look +so much like a prison, after all, I thought. Captain Bernard, the +man whom I had pitied, stood at the doorway, to greet us, and +after we were inside the house he had some biscuits and wine +brought; and then the change of stations was talked of, and he +said to me, "Now, please make yourself at home. The house is +yours; my things are virtually packed up, and I leave in a day or +two. There is a soldier here who can stay with you; he has been +able to attend to my simple wants. I eat only twice a day; and +here is Charley, my Indian, who fetches the water from the river +and does the chores. I dine generally at sundown." + +A shadow fell across the sunlight in the doorway; I looked +around and there stood "Charley," who had come in with the +noiseless step of the moccasined foot. I saw before me a handsome +naked Cocopah Indian, who wore a belt and a gee-string. He seemed +to feel at home and began to help with the bags and various +paraphernalia of ambulance travellers. He looked to be about +twenty-four years old. His face was smiling and friendly and I +knew I should like him. + +The house was a one-story adobe. It formed two sides of a hollow +square; the other two sides were a high wall, and the Government +freight-house respectively. The courtyard was partly shaded by a +ramada and partly open to the hot sun. There was a chicken-yard +in one corner of the inclosed square, and in the centre stood a +rickety old pump, which indicated some sort of a well. Not a +green leaf or tree or blade of grass in sight. Nothing but white +sand, as far as one could see, in all directions. + +Inside the house there were bare white walls, ceilings covered +with manta, and sagging, as they always do; small windows set in +deep embrasures, and adobe floors. Small and inconvenient rooms, +opening one into another around two sides of the square. A sort +of low veranda protected by lattice screens, made from a species +of slim cactus, called ocotilla, woven together, and bound with +raw-hide, ran around a part of the house. + +Our dinner was enlivened by some good Cocomonga wine. I tried to +ascertain something about the source of provisions, but +evidently the soldier had done the foraging, and Captain Bernard +admitted that it was difficult, adding always that he did not +require much, "it was so warm," et caetera, et caetera. The next +morning I took the reins, nominally, but told the soldier to go +ahead and do just as he had always done. I selected a small room +for the baby's bath, the all important function of the day. The +Indian brought me a large tub (the same sort of a half of a +vinegar barrel we had used at Apache for ourselves), set it down +in the middle of the floor, and brought water from a barrel which +stood in the corral. A low box was placed for me to sit on. This +was a bachelor establishment, and there was no place but the +floor to lay things on; but what with the splashing and the +leaking and the dripping, the floor turned to mud and the white +clothes and towels were covered with it, and I myself was a +sight to behold. The Indian stood smiling at my plight. He spoke +only a pigeon English, but said, "too much-ee wet." + +I was in despair; things began to look hopeless again to me. I +thought "surely these Mexicans must know how to manage with these +floors." Fisher, the steamboat agent, came in, and I asked him +if he could not find me a nurse. He said he would try, and went +out to see what could be done. + +He finally brought in a rather forlorn looking Mexican woman +leading a little child (whose father was not known), and she said +she would come to us for quinze pesos a month. I consulted with +Fisher, and he said she was a pretty good sort, and that we could +not afford to be too particular down in that country. And so she +came; and although she was indolent, and forever smoking +cigarettes, she did care for the baby, and fanned him when he +slept, and proved a blessing to me. + +And now came the unpacking of our boxes, which had floated down +the Colorado Chiquito. The fine damask, brought from Germany for +my linen chest, was a mass of mildew; and when the books came to +light, I could have wept to see the pretty editions of Schiller, +Goethe, and Lessing, which I had bought in Hanover, fall out of +their bindings; the latter, warped out of all shape, and some of +them unrecognizable. I did the best I could, however, not to show +too much concern, and gathered the pages carefully together, to +dry them in the sun. + +They were my pride, my best beloved possessions, the links that +bound me to the happy days in old Hanover. + +I went to Fisher for everything--a large, well-built American, +and a kind good man. Mrs. Fisher could not endure the life at +Ehrenberg, so she lived in San Francisco, he told me. There were +several other white men in the place, and two large stores where +everything was kept that people in such countries buy. These +merchants made enormous profits, and their families lived in +luxury in San Francisco. + +The rest of the population consisted of a very poor class of +Mexicans, Cocopah, Yuma and Mojave Indians, and half-breeds. + +The duties of the army officer stationed here consisted +principally in receiving and shipping the enormous quantity of +Government freight which was landed by the river steamers. It was +shipped by wagon trains across the Territory, and at all times +the work carried large responsibilities with it. + +I soon realized that however much the present incumbent might +like the situation, it was no fit place for a woman. + +The station at Ehrenberg was what we call, in the army, "detached +service." I realized that we had left the army for the time +being; that we had cut loose from a garrison; that we were in a +place where good food could not be procured, and where there were +practically no servants to be had. That there was not a woman to +speak to, or to go to for advice or help, and, worst of all, that +there was no doctor in the place. Besides all this, my clothes +were all ruined by lying wet for a fortnight in the boxes, and I +had practically nothing to wear. I did not then know what useless +things clothes were in Ehrenberg. + +The situation appeared rather serious; the weather had grown +intensely hot, and it was decided that the only thing for me to +do was to go to San Francisco for the summer. + +So one day we heard the whistle of the "Gila" going up; and when +she came down river, I was all ready to go on board, with +Patrocina and Jesusita,* and my own child, who was yet but five +months old. I bade farewell to the man on detached service, and +we headed down river. We seemed to go down very rapidly, +although the trip lasted several days. Patrocina took to her bed +with neuralgia (or nostalgia); her little devil of a child +screamed the entire days and nights through, to the utter +discomfiture of the few other passengers. A young lieutenant and +his wife and an army surgeon, who had come from one of the posts +in the interior, were among the number, and they seemed to think +that I could help it (though they did not say so). + +*Diminutive of Jesus, a very common name amongst the Mexicans. +Pronounced Hay-soo-se-ta. + +Finally the doctor said that if I did not throw Jesusita +overboard, he would; why didn't I "wring the neck of its +worthless Mexican of a mother?" and so on, until I really grew +very nervous and unhappy, thinking what I should do after we got +on board the ocean steamer. I, a victim of seasickness, with this +unlucky woman and her child on my hands, in addition to my own! +No; I made up my mind to go back to Ehrenberg, but I said +nothing. + +I did not dare to let Doctor Clark know of my decision, for I +knew he would try to dissuade me; but when we reached the mouth +of the river, and they began to transfer the passengers to the +ocean steamer which lay in the offing, I quietly sat down upon my +trunk and told them I was going back to Ehrenberg. Captain Mellon +grinned; the others were speechless; they tried persuasion, but +saw it was useless; and then they said good-bye to me, and our +stern-wheeler headed about and started for up river. + +Ehrenberg had become truly my old man of the sea; I could not get +rid of it. There I must go, and there I must stay, until +circumstances and the Fates were more propitious for my +departure. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +SUMMER AT EHRENBERG + +The week we spent going up the Colorado in June was not as +uncomfortable as the time spent on the river in August of the +previous year. Everything is relative, I discovered, and I was +happy in going back to stay with the First Lieutenant of C +Company, and share his fortunes awhile longer. + +Patrocina recovered, as soon as she found we were to return to +Ehrenberg. I wondered how anybody could be so homesick for such a +God-forsaken place. I asked her if she had ever seen a tree, or +green grass (for I could talk with her quite easily now). She +shook her mournful head. "But don't you want to see trees and +grass and flowers?" + +Another sad shake of the head was the only reply. + +Such people, such natures, and such lives, were incomprehensible +to me then. I could not look at things except from my own +standpoint. + +She took her child upon her knee, and lighted a cigarette; I took +mine upon my knee, and gazed at the river banks: they were now +old friends: I had gazed at them many times before; how much I +had experienced, and how much had happened since I first saw +them! Could it be that I should ever come to love them, and the +pungent smell of the arrow-weed which covered them to the water's +edge? + +The huge mosquitoes swarmed over us in the nights from those +thick clumps of arrow-weed and willow, and the nets with which +Captain Mellon provided us did not afford much protection. + +The June heat was bad enough, though not quite so stifling as the +August heat. I was becoming accustomed to climates, and had +learned to endure discomfort. The salt beef and the Chinaman's +peach pies were no longer offensive to me. Indeed, I had a good +appetite for them, though they were not exactly the sort of food +prescribed by the modern doctor, for a young mother. Of course, +milk, eggs, and all fresh food were not to be had on the river +boats. Ice was still a thing unknown on the Colorado. + +When, after a week, the "Gila" pushed her nose up to the bank at +Ehrenberg, there stood the Quartermaster. He jumped aboard, and +did not seem in the least surprised to see me. "I knew you'd come +back," said he. I laughed, of course, and we both laughed. + +"I hadn't the courage to go on," I replied + +"Oh, well, we can make things comfortable here and get through +the summer some way," he said. "I'll build some rooms on, and a +kitchen, and we can surely get along. It's the healthiest place +in the world for children, they tell me." + +So after a hearty handshake with Captain Mellon, who had taken +such good care of me on my week's voyage up river, I being +almost the only passenger, I put my foot once more on the shores +of old Ehrenberg, and we wended our way towards the blank white +walls of the Government house. I was glad to be back, and content +to wait. + +So work was begun immediately on the kitchen. My first +stipulation was, that the new rooms were to have wooden floors; +for, although the Cocopah Charley kept the adobe floors in +perfect condition, by sprinkling them down and sweeping them out +every morning, they were quite impossible, especially where it +concerned white dresses and children, and the little sharp rocks +in them seemed to be so tiring to the feet. + +Life as we Americans live it was difficult in Ehrenberg. I often +said: "Oh! if we could only live as the Mexicans live, how easy +it would be!" For they had their fire built between some stones +piled up in their yard, a piece of sheet iron laid over the top: +this was the cooking-stove. A pot of coffee was made in the +morning early, and the family sat on the low porch and drank it, +and ate a biscuit. Then a kettle of frijoles* was put over to +boil. These were boiled slowly for some hours, then lard and salt +were added, and they simmered down until they were deliciously +fit to eat, and had a thick red gravy. + +*Mexican brown bean. + +Then the young matron, or daughter of the house, would mix the +peculiar paste of flour and salt and water, for tortillas, a +species of unleavened bread. These tortillas were patted out +until they were as large as a dinner plate, and very thin; then +thrown onto the hot sheet-iron, where they baked. Each one of the +family then got a tortilla, the spoonful of beans was laid upon +it, and so they managed without the paraphernalia of silver and +china and napery. + +How I envied them the simplicity of their lives! Besides, the +tortillas were delicious to eat, and as for the frijoles, they +were beyond anything I had ever eaten in the shape of beans. I +took lessons in the making of tortillas. A woman was paid to come +and teach me; but I never mastered the art. It is in the blood of +the Mexican, and a girl begins at a very early age to make the +tortilla. It is the most graceful thing to see a pretty Mexican +toss the wafer-like disc over her bare arm, and pat it out until +transparent. + +This was their supper; for, like nearly all people in the +tropics, they ate only twice a day. Their fare was varied +sometimes by a little carni seca, pounded up and stewed with +chile verde or chile colorado. + +Now if you could hear the soft, exquisite, affectionate drawl +with which the Mexican woman says chile verde you could perhaps +come to realize what an important part the delicious green pepper +plays in the cookery of these countries. They do not use it in +its raw state, but generally roast it whole, stripping off the +thin skin and throwing away the seeds, leaving only the pulp, +which acquires a fine flavor by having been roasted or toasted +over the hot coals. + +The women were scrupulously clean and modest, and always wore, +when in their casa, a low-necked and short-sleeved white linen +camisa, fitting neatly, with bands around neck and arms. Over +this they wore a calico skirt; always white stockings and black +slippers. When they ventured out, the younger women put on +muslin gowns, and carried parasols. The older women wore a linen +towel thrown over their heads, or, in cool weather, the black +riboso. I often cried: "Oh! if I could only dress as the Mexicans +do! Their necks and arms do look so cool and clean." + +I have always been sorry I did not adopt their fashion of house +apparel. Instead of that, I yielded to the prejudices of my +conservative partner, and sweltered during the day in high-necked +and long-sleeved white dresses, kept up the table in American +fashion, ate American food in so far as we could get it, and all +at the expense of strength; for our soldier cooks, who were +loaned us by Captain Ernest from his company at Fort Yuma, were +constantly being changed, and I was often left with the Indian +and the indolent Patrocina. At those times, how I wished I had no +silver, no table linen, no china, and could revert to the +primitive customs of my neighbors! + +There was no market, but occasionally a Mexican killed a steer, +and we bought enough for one meal; but having no ice, and no +place away from the terrific heat, the meat was hung out under +the ramada with a piece of netting over it, until the first heat +had passed out of it, and then it was cooked. + +The Mexican, after selling what meat he could, cut the rest into +thin strips and hung it up on ropes to dry in the sun. It dried +hard and brittle, in its natural state, so pure is the air on +that wonderful river bank. They called this carni seca, and the +Americans called it "jerked beef." + +Patrocina often prepared me a dish of this, when I was unable to +taste the fresh meat. She would pound it fine with a heavy +pestle, and then put it to simmer, seasoning it with the green or +red pepper. It was most savory. There was no butter at all during +the hot months, but our hens laid a few eggs, and the +Quartermaster was allowed to keep a small lot of commissary +stores, from which we drew our supplies of flour, ham, and canned +things. We were often without milk for weeks at a time, for the +cows crossed the river to graze, and sometimes could not get back +until the river fell again, and they could pick their way back +across the shifting sand bars. + +The Indian brought the water every morning in buckets from the +river. It looked like melted chocolate. He filled the barrels, +and when it had settled clear, the ollas were filled, and thus +the drinking water was a trifle cooler than the air. One day it +seemed unusually cool, so I said: "Let us see by the thermometer +how cool the water really is." We found the temperature of the +water to be 86 degrees; but that, with the air at 122 in the +shade, seemed quite refreshing to drink. + +I did not see any white people at all except Fisher, Abe Frank +(the mail contractor), and one or two of the younger merchants. +If I wanted anything, I went to Fisher. He always could solve the +difficulty. He procured for me an excellent middle-aged +laundress, who came and brought the linen herself, and, bowing to +the floor, said always, "Buenos dias, Senorita!" dwelling on the +latter word, as a gentle compliment to a younger woman, and then, +"Mucho calor este dia," in her low, drawling voice. + +Like the others, she was spotlessly clean, modest and gentle. I +asked her what on earth they did about bathing, for I had found +the tub baths with the muddy water so disagreeable. She told me +the women bathed in the river at daybreak, and asked me if I +would like to go with them. + +I was only too glad to avail myself of her invitation, and so, +like Pharoah's daughter of old, I went with my gentle handmaiden +every morning to the river bank, and, wading in about knee-deep +in the thick red waters, we sat down and let the swift current +flow by us. We dared not go deeper; we could feel the round +stones grinding against each other as they were carried down, and +we were all afraid. It was difficult to keep one's foothold, and +Capt. Mellon's words were ever ringing in my ears, "He who +disappears below the surface of the Colorado is never seen +again." But we joined hands and ventured like children and played +like children in these red waters and after all, it was much +nicer than a tub of muddy water indoors. + +A clump of low mesquite trees at the top of the bank afforded +sufficient protection at that hour; we rubbed dry, slipped on a +loose gown, and wended our way home. What a contrast to the +limpid, bracing salt waters of my own beloved shores! + +When I thought of them, I was seized with a longing which +consumed me and made my heart sick; and I thought of these poor +people, who had never known anything in their lives but those +desert places, and that muddy red water, and wondered what they +would do, how they would act, if transported into some beautiful +forest, or to the cool bright shores where clear blue waters +invite to a plunge. + +Whenever the river-boat came up, we were sure to have guests, for +many officers went into the Territory via Ehrenberg. Sometimes +the "transportation" was awaiting them; at other times, they were +obliged to wait at Ehrenberg until it arrived. They usually lived +on the boat, as we had no extra rooms, but I generally asked them +to luncheon or supper (for anything that could be called a dinner +was out of the question) . + +This caused me some anxiety, as there was nothing to be had; but +I remembered the hospitality I had received, and thought of what +they had been obliged to eat on the voyage, and I always asked +them to share what we could provide, however simple it might be. + +At such times we heard all the news from Washington and the +States, and all about the fashions, and they, in their turn, +asked me all sorts of questions about Ehrenberg and how I managed +to endure the life. They were always astonished when the Cocopah +Indian waited on them at table, for he wore nothing but his +gee-string, and although it was an every-day matter to us, it +rather took their breath away. + +But "Charley" appealed to my aesthetic sense in every way. Tall, +and well-made, with clean-cut limbs and features, fine smooth +copper-colored skin, handsome face, heavy black hair done up in +pompadour fashion and plastered with Colorado mud, which was +baked white by the sun, a small feather at the crown of his head, +wide turquoise bead bracelets upon his upper arm, and a knife at +his waist--this was my Charley, my half-tame Cocopah, my man +about the place, my butler in fact, for Charley understood how to +open a bottle of Cocomonga gracefully, and to keep the glasses +filled. + +Charley also wheeled the baby out along the river banks, for we +had had a fine "perambulator" sent down from San Francisco. It +was an incongruous sight, to be sure, and one must laugh to think +of it. The Ehrenberg babies did not have carriages, and the +village flocked to see it. There sat the fair-haired, +six-months-old boy, with but one linen garment on, no cap, no +stockings--and this wild man of the desert, his knife gleaming at +his waist, and his gee-string floating out behind, wheeling and +pushing the carriage along the sandy roads. + +But this came to an end; for one day Fisher rushed in, +breathless, and said: "Well! here is your baby! I was just in +time, for that Injun of yours left the carriage in the middle of +the street, to look in at the store window, and a herd of wild +cattle came tearing down! I grabbed the carriage to the sidewalk, +cussed the Injun out, and here's the child! It's no use," he +added, "you can't trust those Injuns out of sight." + +The heat was terrific. Our cots were placed in the open part of +the corral (as our courtyard was always called). It was a +desolate-looking place; on one side, the high adobe wall; on +another, the freight-house; and on the other two, our apartments. +Our kitchen and the two other rooms were now completed. The +kitchen had no windows, only open spaces to admit the air and +light, and we were often startled in the night by the noise of +thieves in the house, rummaging for food. + +At such times, our soldier-cook would rush into the corral with +his rifle, the Lieutenant would jump up and seize his shotgun, +which always stood near by, and together they would roam through +the house. But the thieving Indians could jump out of the +windows as easily as they jumped in, and the excitement would +soon be over. The violent sand-storms which prevail in those +deserts, sometimes came up in the night, without warning; then we +rushed half suffocated and blinded into the house, and as soon as +we had closed the windows it had passed on, leaving a deep layer +of sand on everything in the room, and on our perspiring bodies. + +Then came the work, next day, for the Indian had to carry +everything out of doors; and one storm was so bad that he had to +use a shovel to remove the sand from the floors. The desert +literally blew into the house. + +And now we saw a singular phenomenon. In the late afternoon of +each day, a hot steam would collect over the face of the river, +then slowly rise, and floating over the length and breadth of +this wretched hamlet of Ehrenberg, descend upon and envelop us. +Thus we wilted and perspired, and had one part of the vapor bath +without its bracing concomitant of the cool shower. In a half +hour it was gone, but always left me prostrate; then Jack gave me +milk punch, if milk was at hand, or sherry and egg, or something +to bring me up to normal again. We got to dread the steam so; it +was the climax of the long hot day and was peculiar to that part +of the river. The paraphernalia by the side of our cots at night +consisted of a pitcher of cold tea, a lantern, matches, a +revolver, and a shotgun. Enormous yellow cats, which lived in and +around the freight-house, darted to and fro inside and outside +the house, along the ceiling-beams, emitting loud cries, and that +alone was enough to prevent sleep. In the old part of the house, +some of the partitions did not run up to the roof, but were left +open (for ventilation, I suppose), thus making a fine play-ground +for cats and rats, which darted along, squeaking, meowing and +clattering all the night through. An uncanny feeling of +insecurity was ever with me. What with the accumulated effect of +the day's heat, what with the thieving Indians, the sand-storms +and the cats, our nights by no means gave us the refreshment +needed by our worn-out systems. By the latter part of the summer, +I was so exhausted by the heat and the various difficulties of +living, that I had become a mere shadow of my former self. + +Men and children seem to thrive in those climates, but it is +death to women, as I had often heard. + +It was in the late summer that the boat arrived one day bringing +a large number of staff officers and their wives, head clerks, +and "general service" men for Fort Whipple. They had all been +stationed in Washington for a number of years, having had what is +known in the army as "gilt-edged" details. I threw a linen towel +over my head, and went to the boat to call on them, and, +remembering my voyage from San Francisco the year before, +prepared to sympathize with them. But they had met their fate +with resignation; knowing they should find a good climate and a +pleasant post up in the mountains, and as they had no young +children with them, they were disposed to make merry over their +discomforts. + +We asked them to come to our quarters for supper, and to come +early, as any place was cooler than the boat, lying down there in +the melting sun, and nothing to look upon but those hot +zinc-covered decks or the ragged river banks, with their +uninviting huts scattered along the edge. + +The surroundings somehow did not fit these people. Now Mrs. +Montgomery at Camp Apache seemed to have adapted herself to the +rude setting of a log cabin in the mountains, but these were +Staff people and they had enjoyed for years the civilized side of +army life; now they were determined to rough it, but they did not +know how to begin. + +The beautiful wife of the Adjutant-General was mourning over some +freckles which had come to adorn her dazzling complexion, and she +had put on a large hat with a veil. Was there ever anything so +incongruous as a hat and veil in Ehrenberg! For a long time I had +not seen a woman in a hat; the Mexicans all wore a linen towel +over their heads. + +But her beauty was startling, and, after all, I thought, a woman +so handsome must try to live up to her reputation. Now for some +weeks Jack had been investigating the sulphur well, which was +beneath the old pump in our corral. He had had a long wooden +bath-tub built, and I watched it with a lazy interest, and +observed his glee as he found a longshoreman or roustabout who +could caulk it. The shape was exactly like a coffin (but men have +no imaginations), and when I told him how it made me feel to look +at it, he said: "Oh! you are always thinking of gloomy things. +It's a fine tub, and we are mighty lucky to find that man to +caulk it. I'm going to set it up in the little square room, and +lead the sulphur water into it, and it will be splendid, and just +think," he added, "what it will do for rheumatism!" + +Now Jack had served in the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteers +during the Civil War, and the swamps of the Chickahominy had +brought him into close acquaintance with that dread disease. + +As for myself, rheumatism was about the only ailment I did not +have at that time, and I suppose I did not really sympathize with +him. But this energetic and indomitable man mended the pump, with +Fisher's help, and led the water into the house, laid a floor, +set up the tub in the little square room, and behold, our sulphur +bath! + +After much persuasion, I tried the bath. The water flowed thick +and inky black into the tub; of course the odor was beyond +description, and the effect upon me was not such that I was ever +willing to try it again. Jack beamed. "How do you like it, +Martha?" said he. "Isn't it fine? Why people travel hundreds of +miles to get a bath like that!" + +I had my own opinion, but I did not wish to dampen his +enthusiasm. Still, in order to protect myself in the future, I +had to tell him I thought I should ordinarily prefer the river. + +"Well," he said, "there are those who will be thankful to have a +bath in that water; I am going to use it every day." + +I remonstrated: "How do you know what is in that inky water--and +how do you dare to use it ?" + +"Oh, Fisher says it's all right; people here used to drink it +years ago, but they have not done so lately, because the pump was +broken down." + +The Washington people seemed glad to pay us the visit. Jack's +eyes danced with true generosity and glee. He marked his victim; +and, selecting the Staff beauty and the Paymaster's wife, he +expatiated on the wonderful properties of his sulphur bath. + +"Why, yes, the sooner the better," said Mrs. Martin. "I'd give +everything I have in this world, and all my chances for the next, +to get a tub bath!" + +"It will be so refreshing just before supper," said Mrs. +Maynadier, who was more conservative. + +So the Indian, who had put on his dark blue waist-band (or sash), +made from flannel, revelled out and twisted into strands of yarn, +and which showed the supple muscles of his clean-cut thighs, and +who had done up an extra high pompadour in white clay, and +burnished his knife, which gleamed at his waist, ushered these +Washington women into a small apartment adjoining the bath-room, +and turned on the inky stream into the sarcophagus. + +The Staff beauty looked at the black pool, and shuddered. "Do you +use it?" said she. + +"Occasionally," I equivocated. + +"Does it hurt the complexion?" she ventured. + +"Jack thinks it excellent for that," I replied. + +And then I left them, directing Charley to wait, and prepare the +bath for the second victim. + +By and by the beauty came out. "Where is your mirror ?" cried she +(for our appointments were primitive, and mirrors did not grow on +bushes at Ehrenberg); "I fancy I look queer," she added, and, in +truth, she did; for our water of the Styx did not seem to +affiliate with the chemical properties of the numerous cosmetics +used by her, more or less, all her life, but especially on the +voyage, and her face had taken on a queer color, with peculiar +spots here and there. + +Fortunately my mirrors were neither large nor true, and she never +really saw how she looked, but when she came back into the +living-room, she laughed and said to Jack: "What kind of water +did you say that was? I never saw any just like it." + +"Oh! you have probably never been much to the sulphur springs," +said he, with his most superior and crushing manner. + +"Perhaps not," she replied, "but I thought I knew something about +it; why, my entire body turned such a queer color." + +"Oh! it always does that," said this optimistic soldier man, "and +that shows it is doing good." + +The Paymaster's wife joined us later. I think she had profited by +the beauty's experience, for she said but little. + +The Quartermaster was happy; and what if his wife did not believe +in that uncanny stream which flowed somewhere from out the +infernal regions, underlying that wretched hamlet, he had +succeeded in being a benefactor to two travellers at least! + +We had a merry supper: cold ham, chicken, and fresh biscuit, a +plenty of good Cocomonga wine, sweet milk, which to be sure +turned to curds as it stood on the table, some sort of preserves +from a tin, and good coffee. I gave them the best to be had in +the desert--and at all events it was a change from the Chinaman's +salt beef and peach pies, and they saw fresh table linen and +shining silver, and accepted our simple hospitality in the spirit +in which we gave it. + +Alice Martin was much amused over Charley; and Charley could do +nothing but gaze on her lovely features. "Why on earth don't you +put some clothes on him?" laughed she, in her delightful way. + +I explained to her that the Indian's fashion of wearing white +men's clothes was not pleasing to the eye, and told her that she +must cultivate her aesthetic sense, and in a short time she would +be able to admire these copper-colored creatures of Nature as +much as I did. + +But I fear that a life spent mostly in a large city had cast +fetters around her imagination, and that the life at Fort Whipple +afterwards savored too much of civilization to loosen the bonds +of her soul. I saw her many times again, but she never recovered +from her amazement at Charley's lack of apparel, and she never +forgot the sulphur bath. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +MY DELIVERER + +One day, in the early autumn, as the "Gila" touched at Ehrenberg, +on her way down river, Captain Mellon called Jack on to the boat, +and, pointing to a young woman, who was about to go ashore, said: +"Now, there's a girl I think will do for your wife. She imagines +she has bronchial troubles, and some doctor has ordered her to +Tucson. She comes from up North somewhere. Her money has given +out, and she thinks I am going to leave her here. Of course, you +know I would not do that; I can take her on down to Yuma, but I +thought your wife might like to have her, so I've told her she +could not travel on this boat any farther without she could pay +her fare. Speak to her: she looks to me like a nice sort of a +girl." + +In the meantime, the young woman had gone ashore and was sitting +upon her trunk, gazing hopelessly about. Jack approached, +offered her a home and good wages, and brought her to me. + +I could have hugged her for very joy, but I restrained myself and +advised her to stay with us for awhile, saying the Ehrenberg +climate was quite as good as that of Tucson. + +She remarked quietly: "You do not look as if it agreed with you +very well, ma'am.'' + +Then I told her of my young child, and my hard journeys, and she +decided to stay until she could earn enough to reach Tucson. + +And so Ellen became a member of our Ehrenberg family. She was a +fine, strong girl, and a very good cook, and seemed to be in +perfect health. She said, however, that she had had an obstinate +cough which nothing would reach, and that was why she came to +Arizona. >From that time, things went more smoothly. Some yeast +was procured from the Mexican bakeshop, and Ellen baked bread and +other things, which seemed like the greatest luxuries to us. We +sent the soldier back to his company at Fort Yuma, and began to +live with a degree of comfort. + +I looked at Ellen as my deliverer, and regarded her coming as a +special providence, the kind I had heard about all my life in New +England, but had never much believed in. + +After a few weeks, Ellen was one evening seized with a dreadful +toothache, which grew so severe that she declared she could not +endure it another hour: she must have the tooth out. "Was there a +dentist in the place?" + +I looked at Jack: he looked at me: Ellen groaned with pain. + +"Why, yes! of course there is," said this man for emergencies; +"Fisher takes out teeth, he told me so the other day." + +Now I did not believe that Fisher knew any more about extracting +teeth than I did myself, but I breathed a prayer to the Recording +Angel, and said naught. + +"I'll go get Fisher," said Jack. + +Now Fisher was the steamboat agent. He stood six feet in his +stockings, had a powerful physique and a determined eye. Men in +those countries had to be determined; for if they once lost +their nerve, Heaven save them. Fisher had handsome black eyes. + +When they came in, I said: "Can you attend to this business, Mr. +Fisher?" + +"I think so," he replied, quietly. "The Quartermaster says he has +some forceps." + +I gasped. Jack, who had left the room, now appeared, a box of +instruments in his hand, his eyes shining with joy and triumph. + +Fisher took the box, and scanned it. "I guess they'll do," said +he. + +So we placed Ellen in a chair, a stiff barrack chair, with a +raw-hide seat, and no arms. + +It was evening. + +"Mattie, you must hold the candle," said Jack. "I'll hold Ellen, +and, Fisher, you pull the tooth." + +So I lighted the candle, and held it, while Ellen tried, by its +flickering light, to show Fisher the tooth that ached. + +Fisher looked again at the box of instruments. "Why," said he, +"these are lower jaw rollers, the kind used a hundred years ago; +and her tooth is an upper jaw." + +"Never mind," answered the Lieutenant, "the instruments are all +right. Fisher, you can get the tooth out, that's all you want, +isn't it?" + +The Lieutenant was impatient; and besides he did not wish any +slur cast upon his precious instruments. + +So Fisher took up the forceps, and clattered around amongst +Ellen's sound white teeth. His hand shook, great beads of +perspiration gathered on his face, and I perceived a very strong +odor of Cocomonga wine. He had evidently braced for the occasion. + +It was, however, too late to protest. He fastened onto a molar, +and with the lion's strength which lay in his gigantic frame, he +wrenched it out. + +Ellen put up her hand and felt the place. "My God! you've pulled +the wrong tooth!" cried she, and so he had. + +I seized a jug of red wine which stood near by, and poured out a +gobletful, which she drank. The blood came freely from her mouth, +and I feared something dreadful had happened. + +Fisher declared she had shown him the wrong tooth, and was +perfectly willing to try again. I could not witness the second +attempt, so I put the candle down and fled. + +The stout-hearted and confiding girl allowed the second trial, +and between the steamboat agent, the Lieutenant, and the red +wine, the aching molar was finally extracted. + +This was a serious and painful occurrence. It did not cause any +of us to laugh, at the time. I am sure that Ellen, at least, +never saw the comical side of it. + +When it was all over, I thanked Fisher, and Jack beamed upon me +with: "You see, Mattie, my case of instruments did come in handy, +after all." + +Encouraged by success, he applied for a pannier of medicines, and +the Ehrenberg citizens soon regarded him as a healer. At a +certain hour in the morning, the sick ones came to his office, +and he dispensed simple drugs to them and was enabled to do much +good. He seemed to have a sort of intuitive knowledge about +medicines and performed some miraculous cures, but acquired +little or no facility in the use of the language. + +I was often called in as interpreter, and with the help of the +sign language, and the little I knew of Spanish, we managed to +get an idea of the ailments of these poor people. + +And so our life flowed on in that desolate spot, by the banks of +the Great Colorado. + +I rarely went outside the enclosure, except for my bath in the +river at daylight, or for some urgent matter. The one street +along the river was hot and sandy and neglected. One had not only +to wade through the sand, but to step over the dried heads or +horns or bones of animals left there to whiten where they died, +or thrown out, possibly, when some one killed a sheep or beef. +Nothing decayed there, but dried and baked hard in that +wonderful air and sun. + +Then, the groups of Indians, squaws and halfbreeds loafing around +the village and the store! One never felt sure what one was to +meet, and although by this time I tolerated about everything that +I had been taught to think wicked or immoral, still, in +Ehrenberg, the limit was reached, in the sights I saw on the +village streets, too bold and too rude to be described in these +pages. + +The few white men there led respectable lives enough for that +country. The standard was not high, and when I thought of the +dreary years they had already spent there without their families, +and the years they must look forward to remaining there, I was +willing to reserve my judgement. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +WINTER IN EHRENBERG + +We asked my sister, Mrs. Penniman, to come out and spend the +winter with us, and to bring her son, who was in most delicate +health. It was said that the climate of Ehrenberg would have a +magical effect upon all diseases of the lungs or throat. So, to +save her boy, my sister made the long and arduous trip out from +New England, arriving in Ehrenberg in October. + +What a joy to see her, and to initiate her into the ways of our +life in Arizona! Everything was new, everything was a wonder to +her and to my nephew. At first, he seemed to gain perceptibly, +and we had great hopes of his recovery. + +It was now cool enough to sleep indoors, and we began to know +what it was to have a good night's rest. + +But no sooner had we gotten one part of our life comfortably +arranged, before another part seemed to fall out of adjustment. +Accidents and climatic conditions kept my mind in a perpetual +state of unrest. + +Our dining-room door opened through two small rooms into the +kitchen, and one day, as I sat at the table, waiting for Jack to +come in to supper, I heard a strange sort of crashing noise. +Looking towards the kitchen, through the vista of open doorways, +I saw Ellen rush to the door which led to the courtyard. She +turned a livid white, threw up her hands, and cried, "Great God! +the Captain!" She was transfixed with horror. + +I flew to the door, and saw that the pump had collapsed and gone +down into the deep sulphur well. In a second, Jack's head and +hands appeared at the edge; he seemed to be caught in the debris +of rotten timber. Before I could get to him, he had scrambled +half way out. "Don't come near this place," he cried, "it's all +caving in!" + +And so it seemed; for, as he worked himself up and out, the +entire structure feel in, and half the corral with it, as it +looked to me. + +Jack escaped what might have been an unlucky bath in his sulphur +well, and we all recovered our composure as best we could. + +Surely, if life was dull at Ehrenberg, it could not be called +exactly monotonous. We were not obliged to seek our excitement +outside; we had plenty of it, such as it was, within our walls. + +My confidence in Ehrenberg, however, as a salubrious +dwelling-place, was being gradually and literally undermined. I +began to be distrustful of the very ground beneath my feet. Ellen +felt the same way, evidently, although we did not talk much about +it. She probably longed also for some of her own kind; and when, +one morning, we went into the dining-room for breakfast, Ellen +stood, hat on, bag in hand, at the door. Dreading to meet my +chagrin, she said: "Good-bye, Captain; good-bye, missis, you've +been very kind to me. I'm leaving on the stage for Tucson--where +I first started for, you know." + +And she tripped out and climbed up into the dusty, rickety +vehicle called "the stage." I had felt so safe about Ellen, as I +did not know that any stage line ran through the place. + +And now I was in a fine plight! I took a sunshade, and ran over +to Fisher's house. "Mr. Fisher, what shall I do? Ellen has gone +to Tucson!" + +Fisher bethought himself, and we went out together in the +village. Not a woman to be found who would come to cook for us! +There was only one thing to do. The Quartermaster was allowed a +soldier, to assist in the Government work. I asked him if he +understood cooking; he said he had never done any, but he would +try, if I would show him how. + +This proved a hopeless task, and I finally gave it up. Jack +dispatched an Indian runner to Fort Yuma, ninety miles or more +down river, begging Captain Ernest to send us a soldier-cook on +the next boat. + +This was a long time to wait; the inconveniences were +intolerable: there were our four selves, Patrocina and Jesusita, +the soldier-clerk and the Indian, to be provided for: Patrocina +prepared carni seca with peppers, a little boy came around with +cuajada, a delicious sweet curd cheese, and I tried my hand at +bread, following out Ellen's instructions. + +How often I said to my husband. "If we must live in this wretched +place, let's give up civilization and live as the Mexicans do! +They are the only happy beings around here. + +"Look at them, as you pass along the street! At nearly any hour +in the day you can see them, sitting under their ramada, their +backs propped against the wall of their casa, calmly smoking +cigarettes and gazing at nothing, with a look of ineffable +contentment upon their features! They surely have solved the +problem of life!" + +But we seemed never to be able to free ourselves from the fetters +of civilization, and so I struggled on. + +One evening after dusk, I went into the kitchen, opened the +kitchen closet door to take out some dish, when clatter! bang! +down fell the bread-pan, and a shower of other tin ware, and +before I could fairly get my breath, out jumped two young squaws +and without deigning to glance at me they darted across the +kitchen and leaped out the window like two frightened fawn. + +They had on nothing but their birthday clothes and as I was +somewhat startled at the sight of them, I stood transfixed, my +eyes gazing at the open space through which they had flown. + +Charley, the Indian, was in the corral, filling the ollas, and, +hearing the commotion, came in and saw just the disappearing +heels of the two squaws. + +I said, very sternly: "Charley, how came those squaws in my +closet?" He looked very much ashamed and said: "Oh, me tell you: +bad man go to kill 'em; I hide 'em." + +"Well," said I, "do not hide any more girls in this casa! You +savez that?" + +He bowed his head in acquiescence. + +I afterwards learned that one of the girls was his sister. + +The weather was now fairly comfortable, and in the evenings we +sat under the ramada, in front of the house, and watched the +beautiful pink glow which spread over the entire heavens and +illuminated the distant mountains of Lower California. I have +never seen anything like that wonderful color, which spread +itself over sky, river and desert. For an hour, one could have +believed oneself in a magician's realm. + +At about this time, the sad-eyed Patrocina found it expedient to +withdraw into the green valleys of Lower California, to +recuperate for a few months. With the impish Jesusita in her +arms, she bade me a mournful good-bye. Worthless as she was from +the standpoint of civilized morals, I was attached to her and +felt sorry to part with her. + +Then I took a Mexican woman from Chihuahua. Now the Chihuahuans +hold their heads high, and it was rather with awe that I greeted +the tall middle-aged Chihuahuan lady who came to be our little +son's nurse. Her name was Angela. "Angel of light," I thought, +how fortunate I am to get her! + +After a few weeks, Fisher observed that the whole village was +eating Ferris ham, an unusual delicacy in Ehrenberg, and that the +Goldwaters' had sold none. So he suggested that our commissary +storehouse be looked to; and it was found that a dozen hams or so +had been withdrawn from their canvas covers, the covers stuffed +with straw, and hung back in place. Verily the Chihuahuan was +adding to her pin-money in a most unworthy fashion, and she had +to go. After that, I was left without a nurse. My little son was +now about nine months old. + +Milk began to be more plentiful at this season, and, with my +sister's advice and help, I decided to make the one great change +in a baby's life i.e., to take him from his mother. Modern +methods were unknown then, and we had neither of us any +experience in these matters and there was no doctor in the +place. + +The result was, that both the baby and myself were painfully and +desperately ill and not knowing which way to turn for aid, when, +by a lucky turn of Fortune's wheel, our good, dear Doctor Henry +Lippincott came through Ehrenberg on his way out to the States. +Once more he took care of us, and it is to him that I believe I +owe my life. + +Captain Ernest sent us a cook from Yuma, and soon some officers +came for the duck-shooting. There were thousands of ducks around +the various lagoons in the neighborhood, and the sport was rare. +We had all the ducks we could eat. + +Then came an earthquake, which tore and rent the baked earth +apart. The ground shivered, the windows rattled, the birds fell +close to the ground and could not fly, the stove-pipes fell to +the floor, the thick walls cracked and finally, the earth rocked +to and fro like some huge thing trying to get its balance. + +It was in the afternoon. My sister and I were sitting with our +needle-work in the living-room. Little Harry was on the floor, +occupied with some toys. I was paralyzed with fear; my sister did +not move. We sat gazing at each other, scarce daring to breathe, +expecting every instant the heavy walls to crumble about our +heads. The earth rocked and rocked, and rocked again, then swayed +and swayed and finally was still. My sister caught Harry in her +arms, and then Jack and Willie came breathlessly in. "Did you +feel it?" said Jack. + +"Did we feel it!" said I, scornfully. + +Sarah was silent, and I looked so reproachfully at Jack, that he +dropped his light tone, and said: "It was pretty awful. We were +in the Goldwaters' store, when suddenly it grew dark and the +lamps above our heads began to rattle and swing, and we all +rushed out into the middle of the street and stood, rather +dazed, for we scarcely knew what had happened; then we hurried +home. But it's all over now." + +"I do not believe it," said I; "we shall have more"; and, in +fact, we did have two light shocks in the night, but no more +followed, and the next morning, we recovered, in a measure, from +our fright and went out to see the great fissures in that +treacherous crust of earth upon which Ehrenberg was built. + +I grew afraid, after that, and the idea that the earth would +eventually open and engulf us all took possession of my mind. + +My health, already weakened by shocks and severe strains, gave +way entirely. I, who had gloried in the most perfect health, and +had a constitution of iron, became an emaciated invalid. + +>From my window, one evening at sundown, I saw a weird procession +moving slowly along towards the outskirts of the village. It must +be a funeral, thought I, and it flashed across my mind that I had +never seen the burying-ground. + +A man with a rude cross led the procession. Then came some +Mexicans with violins and guitars. After the musicians, came the +body of the deceased, wrapped in a white cloth, borne on a bier +by friends, and followed by the little band of weeping women, +with black ribosos folded about their heads. They did not use +coffins at Ehrenberg, because they had none, I suppose. + +The next day I asked Jack to walk to the grave-yard with me. He +postponed it from day to day, but I insisted upon going. At last, +he took me to see it. + +There was no enclosure, but the bare, sloping, sandy place was +sprinkled with graves, marked by heaps of stones, and in some +instances by rude crosses of wood, some of which had been +wrenched from their upright position by the fierce sand-storms. +There was not a blade of grass, a tree, or a flower. I walked +about among these graves, and close beside some of them I saw +deep holes and whitnened bones. I was quite ignorant or +unthinking, and asked what the holes were. + +"It is where the coyotes and wolves come in the nights," said +Jack. + +My heart sickened as I thought of these horrors, and I wondered +if Ehrenberg held anything in store for me worse than what I had +already seen. We turned away from this unhallowed grave-yard and +walked to our quarters. I had never known much about "nerves," +but I began to see spectres in the night, and those ghastly +graves with their coyote-holes were ever before me. The place was +but a stone's throw from us, and the uneasy spirits from these +desecrated graves began to haunt me. I could not sit alone on the +porch at night, for they peered through the lattice, and mocked +at me, and beckoned. Some had no heads, some no arms, but they +pointed or nodded towards the grewsome burying-ground: "You'll be +with us soon, you'll be with us soon." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +RETURN TO THE STATES + +I dream of the east wind's tonic, Of the breakers' stormy roar, +And the peace of the inner harbor With the long low Shimmo +shore. + +* * * * + +I long for the buoy-bell's tolling When the north wind brings +from afar The smooth, green, shining billows, To be churned +into foam on the bar. + +Oh! for the sea-gulls' screaming As they swoop so bold and +free! Oh! for the fragrant commons, And the glorious open +sea!-- + +For the restful great contentment, For the joy that is never +known Till past the jetty and Brant Point Light The Islander +comes to his own! + +--MARY E. STARBUCK. + + +"I must send you out. I see that you cannot stand it here another +month,'' said Jack one day; and so he bundled us onto the boat in +the early spring, and took us down the river to meet the ocean +steamer. + +There was no question about it this time, and I well knew it. + +I left my sister and her son in Ehrenberg, and I never saw my +nephew again. A month later, his state of health became so +alarming that my sister took him to San Francisco. He survived +the long voyage, but died there a few weeks later at the home of +my cousin. + +At Fort Yuma we telegraphed all over the country for a nurse, but +no money would tempt those Mexican women to face an ocean voyage. +Jack put me on board the old "Newbern" in charge of the Captain, +waited to see our vessel under way, then waved good-bye from the +deck of the "Gila," and turned his face towards his post and +duty. I met the situation as best I could, and as I have already +described a voyage on this old craft, I shall not again enter +into details. There was no stewardess on board, and all +arrangements were of the crudest description. Both my child and I +were seasick all the way, and the voyage lasted sixteen days. Our +misery was very great. + +The passengers were few in number, only a couple of Mexican +miners who had been prospecting, an irritable old Mexican woman, +and a German doctor, who was agreeable but elusive. + +The old Mexican woman sat on the deck all day, with her back +against the stateroom door; she was a picturesque and indolent +figure. + +There was no diversion, no variety; my little boy required +constant care and watching. The days seemed endless. Everbody +bought great bunches of green bananas at the ports in Mexico, +where we stopped for passengers. + +The old woman was irritable, and one day when she saw the +agreeable German doctor pulling bananas from the bunch which she +had hung in the sun to ripen, she got up muttering "Carramba," +and shaking her fist in his face. He appeased her wrath by +offering her, in the most fluent Spanish, some from his own bunch +when they should be ripe. + +Such were my surroundings on the old "Newbern." The German +doctor was interesting, and I loved to talk with him, on days +when I was not seasick, and to read the letters which he had +received from his family, who were living on their Rittergut (or +landed estates) in Prussia. + +He amused me by tales of his life at a wretched little mining +village somewhere about fifty miles from Ehrenberg, and I was +always wondering how he came to have lived there. + +He had the keenest sense of humor, and as I listened to the tales +of his adventures and miraculous escapes from death at the hands +of these desperate folk, I looked in his large laughing blue eyes +and tried to solve the mystery. + +For that he was of noble birth and of ancient family there was no +doubt. There were the letters, there was the crest, and here was +the offshoot of the family. I made up my mind that he was a +ne'er-do-weel and a rolling stone. He was elusive, and, beyond +his adventures, told me nothing of himself. It was some time +after my arrival in San Francisco that I learned more about him. + +Now, after we rounded Cape St. Lucas, we were caught in the long +heavy swell of the Pacific Ocean, and it was only at intervals +that my little boy and I could leave our stateroom. The doctor +often held him while I ran below to get something to eat, and I +can never forget his kindness; and if, as I afterward heard in +San Francisco, he really had entered the "Gate of a hundred +sorrows," it would perhaps best explain his elusiveness, his +general condition, and his sometimes dazed expression. + +A gentle and kindly spirit, met by chance, known through the +propinquity of a sixteen days' voyage, and never forgotten. + +Everything comes to an end, however interminable it may seem, and +at last the sharp and jagged outlines of the coast began to grow +softer and we approached the Golden Gate. + +The old "Newbern," with nothing in her but ballast, rolled and +lurched along, through the bright green waters of the outer bar. +I stood leaning against the great mast, steadying myself as best +I could, and the tears rolled down my face; for I saw the +friendly green hills, and before me lay the glorious bay of San +Francisco. I had left behind me the deserts, the black rocks, the +burning sun, the snakes, the scorpions, the centipedes, the +Indians and the Ehrenberg graveyard; and so the tears flowed, and +I did not try to stop them; they were tears of joy. + +The custom officers wanted to confiscate the great bundles of +Mexican cigarettes they found in my trunk, but "No," I told +them, "they were for my own use. "They raised their eyebrows, +gave me one look, and put them back into the trunk. + +My beloved California relatives met us, and took care of us for a +fortnight, and when I entered a Pullman car for a nine days' +journey to my old home, it seemed like the most luxurious +comfort, although I had a fourteen-months-old child in my arms, +and no nurse. So does everything in this life go by comparison. + +Arriving in Boston, my sister Harriet met me at the train, and as +she took little Harry from my arms she cried: "Where did you get +that sunbonnet? Now the baby can't wear that in Boston!" + +Of course we were both thinking hard of all that had happened to +me since we parted, on the morning after my wedding, two years +before, and we were so overcome with the joy of meeting, that if +it had not been for the baby's white sunbonnet, I do not know +what kind of a scene we might have made. That saved the +situation, and after a few days of rest and necessary shopping, +we started for our old home in Nantucket. Such a welcome as the +baby and I had from my mother and father and all old friends! + +But I saw sadness in their faces, and I heard it in their voices, +for no one thought I could possibly live. I felt, however, sure +it was not too late. I knew the East wind's tonic would not fail +me, its own child. + +Stories of our experiences and misfortunes were eagerly listened +to, by the family, and betwixt sighs and laughter they declared +they were going to fill some boxes which should contain +everything necessary for comfort in those distant places. So one +room in our old house was set apart for this; great boxes were +brought, and day by day various articles, useful, ornamental, and +comfortable, and precious heirlooms of silver and glass, were +packed away in them. It was the year of 1876, the year of the +great Centennial, at Philadelphia. Everybody went, but it had no +attractions for me. I was happy enough, enjoying the +health-giving air and the comforts of an Eastern home. I wondered +that I had ever complained about anything there, or wished to +leave that blissful spot. + +The poorest person in that place by the sea had more to be +thankful for, in my opinion, than the richest people in Arizona. +I felt as if I must cry it out from the house-tops. My heart was +thankful every minute of the day and night, for every breath of +soft air that I breathed, for every bit of fresh fish that I ate, +for fresh vegetables, and for butter--for gardens, for trees, for +flowers, for the good firm earth beneath my feet. I wrote the man +on detached service that I should never return to Ehrenberg. + +After eight months, in which my health was wholly restored, I +heard the good news that Captain Corliss had applied for his +first lieutenant, and I decided to join him at once at Camp +MacDowell. + +Although I had not wholly forgotten that Camp MacDowell had been +called by very bad names during our stay at Fort Whipple, at the +time that Jack decided on the Ehrenberg detail, I determined to +brave it, in all its unattractiveness, isolation and heat, for I +knew there was a garrison and a Doctor there, and a few officers' +families, I knew supplies were to be obtained and the ordinary +comforts of a far-off post. Then too, in my summer in the East I +had discovered that I was really a soldier's wife and I must go +back to it all. To the army with its glitter and its misery, to +the post with its discomforts, to the soldiers, to the drills, to +the bugle-calls, to the monotony, to the heat of Southern +Arizona, to the uniform and the stalwart Captains and gay +Lieutenants who wore it, I felt the call and I must go. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +BACK TO ARIZONA + +The last nails were driven in the precious boxes, and I started +overland in November with my little son, now nearly two years +old. + +"Overland" in those days meant nine days from New York to San +Francisco. Arriving in Chicago, I found it impossible to secure a +section on the Pullman car so was obliged to content myself with +a lower berth. I did not allow myself to be disappointed. + +On entering the section, I saw an enormous pair of queer cow hide +shoes, the very queerest shoes I had ever seen, lying on the +floor, with a much used travelling bag. I speculated a good deal +on the shoes, but did not see the owner of them until several +hours later, when a short thick-set German with sandy close-cut +beard entered and saluted me politely. "You are noticing my shoes +perhaps Madame?" + +"Yes" I said, involuntarily answering him in German. + +His face shone with pleasure and he explained to me that they +were made in Russia and he always wore them when travelling. +"What have we," I thought, "an anarchist?" + +But with the inexperience and fearlessness of youth, I entered +into a most delightful conversation in German with him. I found +him rather an extraordinarily well educated gentleman and he said +he lived in Nevada, but had been over to Vienna to place his +little boy at a military school, "as," he said, "there is nothing +like a uniform to give a boy self-respect." He said his wife had +died several months before. I congratulated myself that the +occupant of the upper berth was at least a gentleman. + +The next day, as we sat opposite each other chatting, always in +German, he paused, and fixing his eyes rather steadily upon me he +remarked: "Do you think I put on mourning when my wife died? no +indeed, I put on white kid gloves and had a fiddler and danced at +the grave. All this mourning that people have is utter nonsense." + +I was amazed at the turn his conversation had taken and sat quite +still, not knowing just what to say or to do. + +After awhile, he looked at me steadily, and said, very +deferentially, "Madame, the spirit of my dead wife is looking at +me from out your eyes." + +By this time I realized that the man was a maniac, and I had +always heard that one must agree with crazy people, so I nodded, +and that seemed to satisfy him, and bye and bye after some +minutes which seemed like hours to me, he went off to the smoking +room. + +The tension was broken and I appealed to a very nice looking +woman who happened to be going to some place in Nevada near which +this Doctor lived, and she said, when I told her his name, "Why, +yes, I heard of him before I left home, he lives in Silver City, +and at the death of his wife, he went hopelessly insane, but," +she added, "he is harmless, I believe." + +This was a nice fix, to be sure, and I staid over in her section +all day, and late that night the Doctor arrived at the junction +where he was to take another train. So I slept in peace, after a +considerable agitation. + +There is nothing like experience to teach a young woman how to +travel alone. + +In San Francisco I learned that I could now go as far as Los +Angeles by rail, thence by steamer to San Diego, and so on by +stage to Fort Yuma, where my husband was to meet me with an +ambulance and a wagon. + +I was enchanted with the idea of avoiding the long sea-trip down +the Pacific coast, but sent my boxes down by the Steamer +"Montana," sister ship of the old "Newbern," and after a few +days' rest in San Francisco, set forth by rail for Los Angeles. +At San Pedro, the port of Los Angeles, we embarked for San Diego. +It was a heavenly night. I sat on deck enjoying the calm sea, and +listening to the romantic story of Lieutenant Philip Reade, then +stationed at San Diego. He was telling the story himself, and I +had never read or heard of anything so mysterious or so tragic. + +Then, too, aside from the story, Mr. Reade was a very +good-looking and chivalrous young army officer. He was returning +to his station in San Diego, and we had this pleasant opportunity +to renew what had been a very slight acquaintance. + +The calm waters of the Pacific, with their long and gentle swell, +the pale light of the full moon, our steamer gliding so quietly +along, the soft air of the California coast, the absence of noisy +travellers, these made a fit setting for the story of his early +love and marriage, and the tragic mystery which surrounded the +death of his young bride. + +All the romance which lived and will ever live in me was awake to +the story, and the hours passed all too quickly. + +But a cry from my little boy in the near-by deck stateroom +recalled me to the realities of life and I said good-night, +having spent one of the most delightful evenings I ever remember. + +Mr. Reade wears now a star on his shoulder, and well earned it +is, too. I wonder if he has forgotten how he helped to bind up my +little boy's finger which had been broken in an accident on the +train from San Francisco to Los Angeles? or how he procured a +surgeon for me on our arrival there, and got a comfortable room +for us at the hotel? or how he took us to drive (with an older +lady for a chaperon), or how he kindly cared for us until we were +safely on the boat that evening? If I had ever thought chivalry +dead, I learned then that I had been mistaken. + +San Diego charmed me, as we steamed, the next morning, into its +shining bay. But as our boat was two hours late and the +stage-coach was waiting, I had to decline Mr. Reade's enchanting +offers to drive us around the beautiful place, to show me the +fine beaches, and his quarters, and all other points of interest +in this old town of Southern California. + +Arizona, not San Diego, was my destination, so we took a hasty +breakfast at the hotel and boarded the stage, which, filled with +passengers, was waiting before the door. + +The driver waited for no ceremonies, muttered something about +being late, cracked his whip, and away we went. I tried to stow +myself and my little boy and my belongings away comfortably, but +the road was rough and the coach swayed, and I gave it up.There +were passengers on top of the coach, and passengers inside the +coach. One woman who was totally deaf, and some miners and +blacksmiths, and a few other men, the flotsam and jetsam of the +Western countries, who come from no one knoweth whence, and who +go, no one knoweth whither, who have no trade or profession and +are sometimes even without a name. + +They seemed to want to be kind to me. Harry got very stage-sick +and gave us much trouble, and they all helped me to hold him. +Night came. I do not remember that we made any stops at all; if +we did, I have forgotten them. The night on that stage-coach can +be better imagined than described. I do not know of any +adjectives that I could apply to it. Just before dawn, we stopped +to change horses and driver, and as the day began to break, we +felt ourselves going down somewhere at a terrific speed. + +The great Concord coach slipped and slid and swayed on its huge +springs as we rounded the curves. + +The road was narrow and appeared to be cut out of solid rock, +which seemed to be as smooth as soapstone; the four horses were +put to their speed, and down and around and away we went. I drew +in my breath as I looked out and over into the abyss on my left. +Death and destruction seemed to be the end awaiting us all. +Everybody was limp, when we reached the bottom--that is, I was +limp, and I suppose the others were. The stage-driver knew I was +frightened, because I sat still and looked white and he came and +lifted me out. He lived in a small cabin at the bottom of the +mountain; I talked with him some. "The fact is," he said, "we are +an hour late this morning; we always make it a point to 'do it' +before dawn, so the passengers can't see anything; they are +almost sure to get stampeded if we come down by daylight." + +I mentioned this road afterwards in San Francisco, and learned +that it was a famous road, cut out of the side of a solid +mountain of rock; long talked of, long desired, and finally +built, at great expense, by the state and the county together; +that they always had the same man to drive over it, and that they +never did it by daylight. I did not inquire if there had ever +been any accidents. I seemed to have learned all I wanted to know +about it. + +After a little rest and a breakfast at a sort of roadhouse, a +relay of horses was taken, and we travelled one more day over a +flat country, to the end of the stage-route. Jack was to meet me. +Already from the stage I had espied the post ambulance and two +blue uniforms. Out jumped Major Ernest and Jack. I remember +thinking how straight and how well they looked. I had forgotten +really how army men did look, I had been so long away. + +And now we were to go to Fort Yuma and stay with the Wells' until +my boxes, which had been sent around by water on the steamer +"Montana," should arrive. I had only the usual thirty pounds +allowance of luggage with me on the stage, and it was made up +entirely of my boy's clothing, and an evening dress I had worn on +the last night of my stay in San Francisco. + +Fort Yuma was delightful at this season (December), and after +four or five days spent most enjoyably, we crossed over one +morning on the old rope ferryboat to Yuma City, to inquire at the +big country store there of news from the Gulf. There was no +bridge then over the Colorado. + +The merchant called Jack to one side and said something to him in +a low tone. I was sure it concerned the steamer, and I said: +"what it is?" + +Then they told me that news had just been received from below, +that the "Montana" had been burned to the water's edge in Guaymas +harbor, and everything on board destroyed; the passengers had +been saved with much difficulty, as the disaster occurred in the +night. + +I had lost all the clothes I had in the world--and my precious +boxes were gone. I scarcely knew how to meet the calamity. + +Jack said: "Don't mind, Mattie; I'm so thankful you and the boy +were not on board the ship; the things are nothing, no account at +all." + +"But," said I, "you do not understand. I have no clothes except +what I have on, and a party dress. Oh! what shall I do?" I +cried. + +The merchant was very sympathetic and kind, and Major Wells said, +"Let's go home and tell Fanny; maybe she can suggest something." + +I turned toward the counter, and bought some sewing materials, +realizing that outside of my toilet articles and my party dress +all my personal belongings were swept away. I was in a country +where there were no dressmakers, and no shops; I was, for the +time being, a pauper, as far as clothing was concerned. + +When I got back to Mrs. Wells I broke down entirely; she put her +arms around me and said: "I've heard all about it; I know just +how you must feel; now come in my room, and we'll see what can be +done." + +She laid out enough clothing to last me until I could get some +things from the East, and gave me a grey and white percale dress +with a basque, and a border, and although it was all very much +too large for me, it sufficed to relieve my immediate distress. + +Letters were dispatched to the East, in various directions, for +every sort and description of clothing, but it was at least two +months before any of it appeared, and I felt like an object of +charity for a long time. Then, too, I had anticipated the fitting +up of our quarters with all the pretty cretonnes and other +things I had brought from home. And now the contents of those +boxes were no more! The memory of the visit was all that was left +to me. It was very hard to bear. + +Preparations for our journey to Camp MacDowell were at last +completed. The route to our new post lay along the valley of the +Gila River, following it up from its mouth, where it empties into +the Colorado, eastwards towards the southern middle portion of +Arizona. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +UP THE VALLEY OF THE GILA + +The December sun was shining brightly down, as only the Arizona +sun can shine at high noon in winter, when we crossed the +Colorado on the primitive ferryboat drawn by ropes, clambered up +into the great thorough-brace wagon (or ambulance) with its dusty +white canvas covers all rolled up at the sides, said good-bye to +our kind hosts of Fort Yuma, and started, rattling along the +sandy main street of Yuma City, for old Camp MacDowell. + +Our big blue army wagon, which had been provided for my boxes and +trunks, rumbling along behind us, empty except for the camp +equipage. + +But it all seemed so good to me: I was happy to see the soldiers +again, the drivers and teamsters, and even the sleek Government +mules. The old blue uniforms made my heart glad. Every sound was +familiar, even the rattling of the harness with its ivory rings +and the harsh sound of the heavy brakes reinforced with old +leather soles. + +Even the country looked attractive, smiling under the December +sun. I wondered if I had really grown to love the desert. I had +read somewhere that people did. But I was not paying much +attention in those days to the analysis of my feelings. I did not +stop to question the subtle fascination which I felt steal over +me as we rolled along the smooth hard roads that followed the +windings of the Gila River. I was back again in the army; I had +cast my lot with a soldier, and where he was, was home to me. + +In Nantucket, no one thought much about the army. The uniform of +the regulars was never seen there. The profession of arms was +scarcely known or heard of. Few people manifested any interest in +the life of the Far West. I had, while there, felt out of touch +with my oldest friends. Only my darling old uncle, a brave old +whaling captain, had said: "Mattie, I am much interested in all +you have written us about Arizona; come right down below and show +me on the dining-room map just where you went." + +Gladly I followed him down the stairs, and he took his pencil out +and began to trace. After he had crossed the Mississippi, there +did not seem to be anything but blank country, and I could not +find Arizona, and it was written in large letters across the +entire half of this antique map, "Unexplored." + +"True enough," he laughed. "I must buy me a new map." + +But he drew his pencil around Cape Horn and up the Pacific coast, +and I described to him the voyages I had made on the old +"Newbern," and his face was aglow with memories. + +"Yes," he said, "in 1826, we put into San Francisco harbor and +sent our boats up to San Jose for water and we took goats from +some of those islands,too. Oh! I know the coast well enough. We +were on our way to the Ar'tic Ocean then, after right whales." + +But, as a rule, people there seemed to have little interest in +the army and it had made me feel as one apart. + +Gila City was our first camp; not exactly a city, to be sure, at +that time, whatever it may be now. We were greeted by the sight +of a few old adobe houses, and the usual saloon. I had ceased, +however, to dwell upon such trifles as names. Even "Filibuster," +the name of our next camp, elicited no remark from me. + +The weather was fine beyond description. Each day, at noon, we +got out of the ambulance, and sat down on the warm white sand, +by a little clump of mesquite, and ate our luncheon. Coveys of +quail flew up and we shot them, thereby insuring a good supper. + +The mules trotted along contentedly on the smooth white road, +which followed the south bank of the Gila River. Myriads of +lizards ran out and looked at us. "Hello, here you are again," +they seemed to say. + +The Gila Valley in December was quite a different thing from the +Mojave desert in September; and although there was not much to +see, in that low, flat country, yet we three were joyous and +happy. + +Good health again was mine, the travelling was ideal, there were +no discomforts, and I experienced no terrors in this part of +Arizona. + +Each morning, when the tent was struck, and I sat on the +camp-stool by the little heap of ashes, which was all that +remained of what had been so pleasant a home for an afternoon and +a night, a little lonesome feeling crept over me, at the thought +of leaving the place. So strong is the instinct and love of home +in some people, that the little tendrils shoot out in a day and +weave themselves around a spot which has given them shelter. Such +as those are not born to be nomads. + +Camps were made at Stanwix, Oatman's Flat, and Gila Bend. There +we left the river, which makes a mighty loop at this point, and +struck across the plains to Maricopa Wells. The last day's march +took us across the Gila River, over the Maricopa desert, and +brought us to the Salt River. We forded it at sundown, rested our +animals a half hour or so, and drove through the MacDowell canon +in the dark of the evening, nine miles more to the post. A day's +march of forty-five miles. (A relay of mules had been sent to +meet us at the Salt River, but by some oversight, we had missed +it.) + +Jack had told me of the curious cholla cactus, which is said to +nod at the approach of human beings, and to deposit its barbed +needles at their feet. Also I had heard stories of this deep, dark +canon and things that had happened there. + +Fort MacDowell was in Maricopa County, Arizona, on the Verde +River, seventy miles or so south of Camp Verde; the roving bands +of Indians, escaping from Camp Apache and the San Carlos +reservation, which lay far to the east and southeast, often found +secure hiding places in the fastnesses of the Superstition +Mountains and other ranges, which lay between old Camp MacDowell +and these reservations. + +Hence, a company of cavalry and one of infantry were stationed at +Camp MacDowell, and the officers and men of this small command +were kept busy, scouting, and driving the renegades from out of +this part of the country back to their reservations. It was by no +means an idle post, as I found after I got there; the life at +Camp MacDowell meant hard work, exposure and fatigue for this +small body of men. + +As we wound our way through this deep, dark canon, after +crossing the Salt River, I remembered the things I had heard, of +ambush and murder. Our animals were too tired to go out of a +walk, the night fell in black shadows down between those high +mountain walls, the chollas, which are a pale sage-green color in +the day-time, took on a ghastly hue. They were dotted here and +there along the road, and on the steep mountainsides. They grew +nearly as tall as a man, and on each branch were great +excrescences which looked like people's heads, in the vague light +which fell upon them. + +They nodded to us, and it made me shudder; they seemed to be +something human. + +The soldiers were not partial to MacDowell canon; they knew too +much about the place; and we all breathed a sigh of relief when +we emerged from this dark uncanny road and saw the lights of the +post, lying low, long, flat, around a square. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +OLD CAMP MACDOWELL + +We were expected, evidently, for as we drove along the road in +front of the officers' quarters they all came out to meet us, and +we received a great welcome. + +Captain Corliss of C company welcomed us to the post and to his +company, and said he hoped I should like MacDowell better than I +did Ehrenberg. Now Ehrenberg seemed years agone, and I could +laugh at the mention of it. + +Supper was awaiting us at Captain Corliss's, and Mrs. Kendall, +wife of Lieutenant Kendall, Sixth Cavalry, had, in Jack's +absence, put the finishing touches to our quarters. So I went at +once to a comfortable home, and life in the army began again for +me. + +How good everything seemed! There was Doctor Clark, whom I had +met first at Ehrenberg, and who wanted to throw Patrocina and +Jesusita into the Colorado. I was so glad to find him there; he +was such a good doctor, and we never had a moment's anxiety, as +long as he staid at Camp MacDowell. Our confidence in him was +unbounded. + +It was easy enough to obtain a man from the company. There were +then no hateful laws forbidding soldiers to work in officers' +families; no dreaded inspectors, who put the flat question, "Do +you employ a soldier for menial labor?" + +Captain Corliss gave me an old man by the name of Smith, and he +was glad to come and stay with us and do what simple cooking we +required. One of the laundresses let me have her daughter for +nurserymaid, and our small establishment at Camp MacDowell moved +on smoothly, if not with elegance. + +The officers' quarters were a long, low line of adobe buildings +with no space between them; the houses were separated only by +thick walls. In front, the windows looked out over the parade +ground. In the rear, they opened out on a road which ran along +the whole length, and on the other side of which lay another row +of long, low buildings which were the kitchens, each set of +quarters having its own. + +We occupied the quarters at the end of the row, and a large bay +window looked out over a rather desolate plain, and across to the +large and well-kept hospital. As all my draperies and pretty +cretonnes had been burnt up on the ill-fated ship, I had nothing +but bare white shades at the windows, and the rooms looked +desolate enough. But a long divan was soon built, and some coarse +yellow cotton bought at John Smith's (the cutler's) store, to +cover it. My pretty rugs and mats were also gone, and there was +only the old ingrain carpet from Fort Russell. The floors were +adobe, and some men from the company came and laid down old +canvas, then the carpet, and drove in great spikes around the +edge to hold it down. The floors of the bedroom and dining-room +were covered with canvas in the same manner. Our furnishings were +very scanty and I felt very mournful about the loss of the boxes. +We could not claim restitution as the steamship company had been +courteous enough to take the boxes down free of charge. + +John Smith, the post trader (the name "sutler" fell into disuse +about now) kept a large store but, nothing that I could use to +beautify my quarters with--and our losses had been so heavy that +we really could not afford to send back East for more things. My +new white dresses came and were suitable enough for the winter +climate of MacDowell. But I missed the thousand and one +accessories of a woman's wardrobe, the accumulation of years, the +comfortable things which money could not buy especially at that +distance. + +I had never learned how to make dresses or to fit garments and +although I knew how to sew, my accomplishments ran more in the +line of outdoor sports. + +But Mrs. Kendall whose experience in frontier life had made her +self-reliant, lent me some patterns, and I bought some of John +Smith's calico and went to work to make gowns suited to the hot +weather. This was in 1877, and every one will remember that the +ready-made house-gowns were not to be had in those days in the +excellence and profusion in which they can to-day be found, in +all parts of the country. + +Now Mrs. Kendall was a tall, fine woman, much larger than I, but +I used her patterns without alterations, and the result was +something like a bag. They were freshly laundried and cool, +however, and I did not place so much importance on the lines of +them, as the young women of the present time do. To-day, the +poorest farmer's wife in the wilds of Arkansas or Alaska can wear +better fitting gowns than I wore then. But my riding habits, of +which I had several kinds, to suit warm and cold countries, had +been left in Jack's care at Ehrenberg, and as long as these +fitted well, it did not so much matter about the gowns. + +Captain Chaffee, who commanded the company of the Sixth Cavalry +stationed there, was away on leave, but Mr. Kendall, his first +lieutenant, consented for me to exercise "Cochise," Captain +Chaffee's Indian pony, and I had a royal time. + +Cavalry officers usually hate riding: that is, riding for +pleasure; for they are in the saddle so much, for dead earnest +work; but a young officer, a second lieutenant, not long out from +the Academy, liked to ride, and we had many pleasant riding +parties. Mr. Dravo and I rode one day to the Mormon settlement, +seventeen miles away, on some business with the bishop, and a +Mormon woman gave us a lunch of fried salt pork, potatoes, bread, +and milk. How good it tasted, after our long ride! and how we +laughed about it all, and jollied, after the fashion of young +people, all the way back to the post! Mr Dravo had also lost all +his things on the "Montana," and we sympathized greatly with each +other. He, however, had sent an order home to Pennsylvania, +duplicating all the contents of his boxes. I told him I could not +duplicate mine, if I sent a thousand orders East. + +When, after some months, his boxes came, he brought me in a +package, done up in tissue paper and tied with ribbon: "Mother +sends you these; she wrote that I was not to open them; I think +she felt sorry for you, when I wrote her you had lost all your +clothing. I suppose," he added, mustering his West Point French +to the front, and handing me the package, "it is what you ladies +call 'lingerie.' " + +I hope I blushed, and I think I did, for I was not so very old, +and I was touched by this sweet remembrance from the dear mother +back in Pittsburgh. And so many lovely things happened all the +time; everybody was so kind to me. Mrs. Kendall and her young +sister, Kate Taylor, Mrs. John Smith and I, were the only women +that winter at Camp MacDowell. Afterwards, Captain Corliss +brought a bride to the post, and a new doctor took Doctor Clark's +place. + +There were interminable scouts, which took both cavalry and +infantry out of the post. We heard a great deal about "chasing +Injuns" in the Superstition Mountains, and once a lieutenant of +infantry went out to chase an escaping Indian Agent. + +Old Smith, my cook, was not very satisfactory; he drank a good +deal, and I got very tired of the trouble he caused me. It was +before the days of the canteen, and soldiers could get all the +whiskey they wanted at the trader's store; and, it being +generally the brand that was known in the army as "Forty rod," +they got very drunk on it sometimes. I never had it in my heart +to blame them much, poor fellows, for every human beings wants +and needs some sort of recreation and jovial excitement. + +Captain Corliss said to Jack one day, in my presence, "I had a +fine batch of recruits come in this morning." + +"That's lovely," said I; "what kind of men are they? Any good +cooks amongst them?" (for I was getting very tired of Smith). + +Captain Corliss smiled a grim smile. "What do you think the +United States Government enlists men for?" said he; "do you think +I want my company to be made up of dish-washers?" + +He was really quite angry with me, and I concluded that I had +been too abrupt, in my eagerness for another man, and that my +ideas on the subject were becoming warped. I decided that I must +be more diplomatic in the future, in my dealings with the Captain +of C company. + +The next day, when we went to breakfast, whom did we find in the +dining-room but Bowen! Our old Bowen of the long march across the +Territory! Of Camp Apache and K company! He had his white apron +on, his hair rolled back in his most fetching style, and was +putting the coffee on the table. + +"But, Bowen," said I, "where--how on earth--did you--how did you +know we--what does it mean?" + +Bowen saluted the First Lieutenant of C company, and said: "Well, +sir, the fact is, my time was out, and I thought I would quit. I +went to San Francisco and worked in a miners' restaurant" (here +he hesitated), "but I didn't like it, and I tried something else, +and lost all my money, and I got tired of the town, so I thought +I'd take on again, and as I knowed ye's were in C company now, I +thought I'd come to MacDowell, and I came over here this morning +and told old Smith he'd better quit; this was my job, and here I +am, and I hope ye're all well--and the little boy?" + +Here was loyalty indeed, and here was Bowen the Immortal, back +again! + +And now things ran smoothly once more. Roasts of beef and +haunches of venison, ducks and other good things we had through +the winter. + +It was cool enough to wear white cotton dresses, but nothing +heavier. It never rained, and the climate was superb, although it +was always hot in the sun. We had heard that it was very hot +here; in fact, people called MacDowell by very bad names. As the +spring came on, we began to realize that the epithets applied to +it might be quite appropriate. + +In front of our quarters was a ramada,* supported by rude poles +of the cottonwood tree. Then came the sidewalk, and the acequia +(ditch), then a row of young cottonwood trees, then the parade +ground. Through the acequia ran the clear water that supplied the +post, and under the shade of the ramadas, hung the large ollas +from which we dipped the drinking water, for as yet, of course, +ice was not even dreamed of in the far plains of MacDowell. The +heat became intense, as the summer approached. To sleep inside +the house was impossible, and we soon followed the example of the +cavalry, who had their beds out on the parade ground. + +*A sort of rude awning made of brush and supported by cottonwood +poles. + +Two iron cots, therefore, were brought from the hospital, and +placed side by side in front of our quarters, beyond the acequia +and the cottonwood trees, in fact, out in the open space of the +parade ground. Upon these were laid some mattresses and sheets, +and after "taps" had sounded, and lights were out, we retired to +rest. Near the cots stood Harry's crib.We had not thought about +the ants, however, and they swarmed over our beds, driving us +into the house. The next morning Bowen placed a tin can of water +under each point of contact; and as each cot had eight legs, and +the crib had four, twenty cans were necessary. He had not taken +the trouble to remove the labels, and the pictures of red +tomatoes glared at us in the hot sun through the day; they did +not look poetic, but our old enemies, the ants, were outwitted. + +There was another species of tiny insect, however, which seemed +to drop from the little cotton-wood trees which grew at the edge +of the acequia, and myriads of them descended and crawled all +over us, so we had to have our beds moved still farther out on to +the open space of the parade ground. + +And now we were fortified against all the venomous creeping +things and we looked forward to blissful nights of rest. + +We did not look along the line, when we retired to our cots, but +if we had, we should have seen shadowy figures, laden with +pillows, flying from the houses to the cots or vice versa. It was +certainly a novel experience. + +With but a sheet for a covering, there we lay, looking up at the +starry heavens. I watched the Great Bear go around, and other +constellations and seemed to come into close touch with Nature +and the mysterious night. But the melancholy solemnity of my +communings was much affected by the howling of the coyotes, which +seemed sometimes to be so near that I jumped to the side of the +crib, to see if my little boy was being carried off. The good +sweet slumber which I craved never came to me in those weird +Arizona nights under the stars. + +At about midnight, a sort of dewy coolness would come down from +the sky, and we could then sleep a little; but the sun rose +incredibly early in that southern country, and by the crack of +dawn sheeted figures were to be seen darting back into the +quarters, to try for another nap. The nap rarely came to any of +us, for the heat of the houses never passed off, day or night, at +that season. After an early breakfast, the long day began again. + +The question of what to eat came to be a serious one. We +experimented with all sorts of tinned foods, and tried to produce +some variety from them, but it was all rather tiresome. We almost +dreaded the visits of the Paymaster and the Inspector at that +season, as we never had anything in the house to give them. + +One hot night, at about ten o'clock, we heard the rattle of +wheels, and an ambulance drew up at our door. Out jumped Colonel +Biddle, Inspector General, from Fort Whipple. "What shall I give +him to eat, poor hungry man?" I thought. I looked in the +wire-covered safe, which hung outside the kitchen, and discovered +half a beefsteak-pie. The gallant Colonel declared that if there +was one thing above all others that he liked, it was cold +beefsteak-pie. Lieutenant Thomas of the Fifth Cavalry echoed his +sentiments, and with a bottle of Cocomonga, which was always kept +cooling somewhere, they had a merry supper. + +These visits broke the monotony of our life at Camp MacDowell. We +heard of the gay doings up at Fort Whipple, and of the lovely +climate there. + +Mr. Thomas said he could not understand why we wore such bags of +dresses. I told him spitefully that if the women of Fort Whipple +would come down to MacDowell to spend the summer, they would +soon be able to explain it to him. I began to feel embarrassed at +the fit of my house-gowns. After a few days spent with us, +however, the mercury ranging from l04 to l20 degrees in the +shade, he ceased to comment upon our dresses or our customs. + +I had a glass jar of butter sent over from the Commissary, and +asked Colonel Biddle if he thought it right that such butter as +that should be bought by the purchasing officer in San Francisco. +It had melted, and separated into layers of dead white, deep +orange and pinkish-purple colors. Thus I, too, as well as General +Miles, had my turn at trying to reform the Commissary Department +of Uncle Sam's army. + +Hammocks were swung under the ramadas, and after luncheon +everybody tried a siesta. Then, near sundown, an ambulance came +and took us over to the Verde River, about a mile away, where we +bathed in water almost as thick as that of the Great Colorado. We +taught Mrs. Kendall to swim, but Mr. Kendall, being an inland +man, did not take to the water. Now the Verde River was not a +very good substitute for the sea, and the thick water filled our +ears and mouths, but it gave us a little half hour in the day +when we could experience a feeling of being cool, and we found it +worth while to take the trouble. Thick clumps of mesquite trees +furnished us with dressing-rooms. We were all young, and youth +requires so little with which to make merry. + +After the meagre evening dinner, the Kendalls and ourselves sat +together under the ramada until taps, listening generally to the +droll anecdotes told by Mr. Kendall, who had an inexhaustible +fund. Then another night under the stars, and so passed the time +away. + +We lived, ate, slept by the bugle calls. Reveille means sunrise, +when a Lieutenant must hasten to put himself into uniform, sword +and belt, and go out to receive the report of the company or +companies of soldiers, who stand drawn up in line on the parade +ground. + +At about nine o'clock in the morning comes the guard-mount, a +function always which everybody goes out to see. Then the various +drill calls, and recalls, and sick-call and the beautiful +stable-call for the cavalry, when the horses are groomed and +watered, the thrilling fire-call and the startling assembly, or +call-to-arms, when every soldier jumps for his rifle and every +officer buckles on his sword, and a woman's heart stands still. + +Then at night, "tattoo," when the company officers go out to +receive the report of "all present and accounted for"--and +shortly after that, the mournful "taps," a signal for the barrack +lights to be put out. + +The bugle call of "taps" is mournful also through association, as +it is always blown over the grave of a soldier or an officer, +after the coffin has been lowered into the earth. The +soldier-musicians who blow the calls, seem to love the call of +"taps," (strangely enough) and I remember well that there at Camp +MacDowell, we all used to go out and listen when "taps went," as +the soldier who blew it, seemed to put a whole world of sorrow +into it, turning to the four points of the compass and letting +its clear tones tremble through the air, away off across the +Maricopa desert and then toward the East, our home so faraway. We +never spoke, we just listened, and who can tell the thoughts that +each one had in his mind? Church nor ministers nor priests had we +there in those distant lands, but can we say that our lives were +wholly without religion? + +The Sunday inspection of men and barracks, which was performed +with much precision and formality,and often in full dress +uniform, gave us something by which we could mark the weeks, as +they slipped along. There was no religious service of any kind, +as Uncle Sam did not seem to think that the souls of us people in +the outposts needed looking after. It would have afforded much +comfort to the Roman Catholics had there been a priest stationed +there. + +The only sermon I ever heard in old Camp MacDowell was delivered +by a Mormon Bishop and was of a rather preposterous nature, +neither instructive nor edifying. But the good Catholics read +their prayer-books at home, and the rest of us almost forgot that +such organizations as churches existed. + +Another bright winter found us still gazing at the Four Peaks of +the MacDowell Mountains, the only landmark on the horizon. I was +glad, in those days, that I had not staid back East, for the life +of an officer without his family, in those drear places, is +indeed a blank and empty one. + +"Four years I have sat here and looked at the Four Peaks," said +Captain Corliss, one day, "and I'm getting almighty tired of +it." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +A SUDDEN ORDER + +In June, 1878, Jack was ordered to report to the commanding +officer at Fort Lowell (near the ancient city of Tucson), to act +as Quartermaster and Commissary at that post. This was a sudden +and totally unexpected order. It was indeed hard, and it seemed +to me cruel. For our regiment had been four years in the +Territory, and we were reasonably sure of being ordered out +before long. Tucson lay far to the south of us, and was even +hotter than this place. But there was nothing to be done; we +packed up, I with a heavy heart, Jack with his customary +stoicism. + +With the grief which comes only at that time in one's life, and +which sees no end and no limit, I parted from my friends at Camp +MacDowell. Two years together, in the most intimate +companionship, cut off from the outside world, and away from all +early ties, had united us with indissoluble bonds,--and now we +were to part,--forever as I thought. + +We all wept; I embraced them all, and Jack lifted me into the +ambulance; Mrs. Kendall gave a last kiss to our little boy; +Donahue, our soldier-driver, loosened up his brakes, cracked his +long whip, and away we went, down over the flat, through the +dark MacDowell canon, with the chollas nodding to us as we +passed, across the Salt River, and on across an open desert to +Florence, forty miles or so to the southeast of us. + +At Florence we sent our military transportation back and staid +over a day at a tavern to rest. We met there a very agreeable and +cultivated gentleman, Mr. Charles Poston, who was en route to his +home, somewhere in the mountains nearby. We took the Tucson stage +at sundown, and travelled all night. I heard afterwards more +about Mr. Poston: he had attained some reputation in the literary +world by writing about the Sun-worshippers of Asia. He had been a +great traveller in his early life, but now had built himself some +sort of a house in one of the desolate mountains which rose out +of these vast plains of Arizona, hoisted his sun-flag on the top, +there to pass the rest of his days. People out there said he was +a sun-worshipper. I do not know. "But when I am tired of life and +people," I thought, "this will not be the place I shall choose." + +Arriving at Tucson, after a hot and tiresome night in the stage, +we went to an old hostelry. Tucson looked attractive. Ancient +civilization is always interesting to me. + +Leaving me at the tavern, my husband drove out to Fort Lowell, to +see about quarters and things in general. In a few hours he +returned with the overwhelming news that he found a dispatch +awaiting him at that post, ordering him to return immediately to +his company at Camp MacDowell, as the Eighth Infantry was ordered +to the Department of California. + + Ordered "out" at last! I felt like jumping up onto the table, +climbing onto the roof, dancing and singing and shouting for joy! +Tired as we were (and I thought I had reached the limit), we were +not too tired to take the first stage back for Florence, which +left that evening. Those two nights on the Tucson stage are a +blank in my memory. I got through them somehow. + +In the morning, as we approached the town of Florence, the great +blue army wagon containing our household goods, hove in +sight--its white canvas cover stretched over hoops, its six +sturdy mules coming along at a good trot, and Sergeant Stone +cracking his long whip, to keep up a proper pace in the eyes of +the Tucson stage-driver. + +Jack called him to halt, and down went the Sergeant's big brakes. +Both teams came to a stand-still, and we told the Sergeant the +news. Bewilderment, surprise, joy, followed each other on the old +Sergeant's countenance. He turned his heavy team about, and +promised to reach Camp MacDowell as soon as the animals could +make it. At Florence, we left the stage, and went to the little +tavern once more; the stage route did not lie in our direction, so +we must hire a private conveyance to bring us to Camp MacDowell. +Jack found a man who had a good pair of ponies and an open +buckboard. Towards night we set forth to cross the plain which +lies between Florence and the Salt River, due northwest by the +map. + +When I saw the driver I did not care much for his appearance. He +did not inspire me with confidence, but the ponies looked strong, +and we had forty or fifty miles before us. + +After we got fairly into the desert, which was a trackless waste, +I became possessed by a feeling that the man did not know the +way. He talked a good deal about the North Star, and the fork in +the road, and that we must be sure not to miss it. + +It was a still, hot, starlit night. Jack and the driver sat on +the front seat. They had taken the back seat out, and my little +boy and I sat in the bottom of the wagon, with the hard cushions +to lean against through the night. I suppose we were drowsy with +sleep; at all events, the talk about the fork of the road and the +North Star faded away into dreams. + +I awoke with a chilly feeling, and a sudden jolt over a rock. "I +do not recollect any rocks on this road, Jack, when we came over +it in the ambulance," said I. + +"Neither do I," he replied. + +I looked for the North Star: I had looked for it often when in +open boats. It was away off on our left, the road seemed to be +ascending and rocky: I had never seen this piece of road before, +that I was sure of. + +"We are going to the eastward," said I, "and we should be going +northwest." + +"My dear, lie down and go to sleep; the man knows the road; he is +taking a short cut, I suppose," said the Lieutenant. There was +something not at all reassuring in his tones, however. + +The driver did not turn his head nor speak. I looked at the North +Star, which was getting farther and farther on our left, and I +felt the gloomy conviction that we were lost on the desert. + +Finally, at daylight, after going higher and higher, we drew up +in an old deserted mining-camp. + +The driver jerked his ponies up, and, with a sullen gesture, +said, "We must have missed the fork of the road; this is Picket +Post." + +"Great Heavens!" I cried; "how far out of the way are we?" + +"About fifteen miles," he drawled, "you see we shall have to go +back to the place where the road forks, and make a new start." + +I nearly collapsed with discouragement. I looked around at the +ruined walls and crumbling pillars of stone, so weird and so grey +in the dawning light: it might have been a worshipping place of +the Druids. My little son shivered with the light chill which +comes at daybreak in those tropical countries: we were hungry and +tired and miserable: my bones ached, and I felt like crying. + +We gave the poor ponies time to breathe, and took a bite of cold +food ourselves. + +Ah! that blighted and desolate place called Picket Post! Forsaken +by God and man, it might have been the entrance to Hades. + +Would the ponies hold out? They looked jaded to be sure, but we +had stopped long enough to breathe them, and away they trotted +again, down the mountain this time, instead of up. + +It was broad day when we reached the fork of the road, which we +had not been able to see in the night: there was no mistaking it +now. + +We had travelled already about forty miles, thirty more lay +before us; but there were no hills, it was all flat country, and +the owner of these brave little ponies said we could make it. + +As we neared the MacDowell canon, we met Captain Corliss marching +out with his company (truly they had lost no time in starting for +California), and he told his First Lieutenant he would make slow +marches, that we might overtake him before he reached Yuma. + +We were obliged to wait at Camp MacDowell for Sergeant Stone to +arrive with our wagonful of household goods, and then, after a +mighty weeding out and repacking, we set forth once more, with a +good team of mules and a good driver, to join the command. We +bade the Sixth Cavalry people once more good-bye, but I was so +nearly dead by this time, with the heat, and the fatigue of all +this hard travelling and packing up, that the keener edge of my +emotions was dulled. Eight days and nights spent in travelling +hither and thither over those hot plains in Southern Arizona, and +all for what? + +Because somebody in ordering somebody to change his station, had +forgotten that somebody's regiment was about to be ordered out of +the country it had been in for four years. Also because my +husband was a soldier who obeyed orders without questioning them. +If he had been a political wire-puller, many of our misfortunes +might have been averted. But then, while I half envied the wives +of the wire-pullers, I took a sort of pride in the blind +obedience shown by my own particular soldier to the orders he +received. + +After that week's experience, I held another colloquy with +myself, and decided that wives should not follow their husbands +in the army, and that if I ever got back East again, I would +stay: I simply could not go on enduring these unmitigated and +unreasonable hardships. + +The Florence man staid over at the post a day or so to rest his +ponies. I bade him good-bye and told him to take care of those +brave little beasts, which had travelled seventy miles without +rest, to bring us to our destination. He nodded pleasantly and +drove away. "A queer customer," I observed to Jack. + +"Yes," answered he, "they told me in Florence that he was a 'road +agent' and desperado, but there did not seem to be anyone else, +and my orders were peremptory, so I took him. I knew the ponies +could pull us through, by the looks of them; and road agents are +all right with army officers, they know they wouldn't get +anything if they held 'em up." + +"How much did he charge you for the trip?" I asked. + +"Sixteen dollars," was the reply. And so ended the episode. +Except that I looked back to Picket Post with a sort of horror, I +thought no more about it. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +THE EIGHTH FOOT LEAVES ARIZONA + +And now after the eight days of most distressing heat, and the +fatigue of all sorts and varieties of travelling, the nights +spent in a stage-coach or at a desert inn, or in the road agent's +buckboard, holding always my little son close to my side, came +six days more of journeying down the valley of the Gila. + +We took supper in Phoenix, at a place known as "Devine's." I was +hearing a good deal about Phoenix; for even then, its gardens, +its orchards and its climate were becoming famous, but the season +of the year was unpropitious to form a favorable opinion of that +thriving place, even if my opinions of Arizona, with its +parched-up soil and insufferable heat, had not been formed +already. + +We crossed the Gila somewhere below there, and stopped at our old +camping places, but the entire valley was seething hot, and the +remembrance of the December journey seemed but an aggravating +dream. + +We joined Captain Corliss and the company at Antelope Station, +and in two more days were at Yuma City. By this time, the +Southern Pacific Railroad had been built as far as Yuma, and a +bridge thrown across the Colorado at this point. It seemed an +incongruity. And how burning hot the cars looked, standing there +in the Arizona sun! + +After four years in that Territory, and remembering the days, +weeks, and even months spent in travelling on the river, or +marching through the deserts, I could not make the Pullman cars +seem a reality. + +We brushed the dust of the Gila Valley from our clothes, I +unearthed a hat from somewhere, and some wraps which had not seen +the light for nearly two years, and prepared to board the train. + +I cried out in my mind, the prayer of the woman in one of +Fisher's Ehrenberg stories, to which I used to listen with +unmitigated delight, when I lived there. The story was this: +"Mrs. Blank used to live here in Ehrenberg; she hated the place +just as you do, but she was obliged to stay. Finally, after a +period of two years, she and her sister, who had lived with her, +were able to get away. I crossed over the river with them to +Lower California, on the old rope ferry-boat which they used to +have near Ehrenberg, and as soon as the boat touched the bank, +they jumped ashore, and down they both went upon their knees, +clasped their hands, raised their eyes to Heaven, and Mrs. Blank +said: 'I thank Thee, oh Lord! Thou hast at last delivered us from +the wilderness, and brought us back to God's country. Receive my +thanks, oh Lord!'" + +And then Fisher used to add: "And the tears rolled down their +faces, and I knew they felt every word they spoke; and I guess +you'll feel about the same way when you get out of Arizona, even +if you don't quite drop on your knees," he said. + +The soldiers did not look half so picturesque, climbing into the +cars, as they did when loading onto a barge; and when the train +went across the bridge, and we looked down upon the swirling red +waters of the Great Colorado from the windows of a luxurious +Pullman, I sighed; and, with the strange contradictoriness of the +human mind, I felt sorry that the old days had come to an end. +For, somehow, the hardships and deprivations which we have +endured, lose their bitterness when they have become only a +memory. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA + +A portion of our regiment was ordered to Oregon, to join General +Howard, who was conducting the Bannock Campaign, so I remained +that summer in San Francisco, to await my husband's return. + +I could not break away from my Arizona habits. I wore only white +dresses, partly because I had no others which were in fashion, +partly because I had become imbued with a profound indifference +to dress. + +"They'll think you're a Mexican," said my New England aunt (who +regarded all foreigners with contempt). "Let them think," said I; +"I almost wish I were; for, after all, they are the only people +who understand the philosophy of living. Look at the tired faces +of the women in your streets," I added, "one never sees that sort +of expression down below, and I have made up my mind not to be +caught by the whirlpool of advanced civilization again." + +Added to the white dresses, I smoked cigarettes, and slept all +the afternoons. I was in the bondage of tropical customs, and I +had lapsed back into a state of what my aunt called +semi-barbarism. + +"Let me enjoy this heavenly cool climate, and do not worry me," I +begged. I shuddered when I heard people complain of the cold +winds of the San Francisco summer. How do they dare tempt Fate, +thought I, and I wished them all in Ehrenberg or MacDowell for +one summer. "I think they might then know something about +climate, and would have something to complain about!" + +How I revelled in the flowers, and all the luxuries of that +delightful city! + +The headquarters of the Eighth was located at Benicia, and +General Kautz, our Colonel, invited me to pay a visit to his +wife. A pleasant boat-trip up the Sacramento River brought us to +Benicia. Mrs. Kautz, a handsome and accomplished Austrian, +presided over her lovely army home in a manner to captivate my +fancy, and the luxury of their surroundings almost made me +speechless. + +"The other side of army life," thought I. + +A visit to Angel Island, one of the harbor defences, strengthened +this impression. Four years of life in the southern posts of +Arizona had almost made me believe that army life was indeed but +"glittering misery," as the Germans had called it. + +In the autumn, the troops returned from Oregon, and C company was +ordered to Camp MacDermit, a lonely spot up in the northern part +of Nevada (Nevada being included in the Department of +California). I was sure by that time that bad luck was pursuing +us. I did not know so much about the "ins and outs" of the army +then as I do now. + +At my aunt's suggestion, I secured a Chinaman of good caste for a +servant, and by deceiving him (also my aunt's advice) with the +idea that we were going only as far as Sacramento, succeeded in +making him willing to accompany us. + +We started east, and left the railroad at a station called +"Winnemucca." MacDermit lay ninety miles to the north. But at +Winnemucca the Chinaman balked. "You say: 'All'e same +Saclamento': lis place heap too far: me no likee!" I talked to +him, and, being a good sort, he saw that I meant well, and the +soldiers bundled him on top of the army wagon, gave him a lot of +good-natured guying, and a revolver to keep off Indians, and so +we secured Hoo Chack. + +Captain Corliss had been obliged to go on ahead with his wife, +who was in the most delicate health. The post ambulance had met +them at this place. + +Jack was to march over the ninety miles, with the company. I +watched them starting out, the men, glad of the release from the +railroad train, their guns on their shoulders, stepping off in +military style and in good form. + +The wagons followed--the big blue army wagons, and Hoo Chack, +looking rather glum, sitting on top of a pile of baggage. + +I took the Silver City stage, and except for my little boy I was +the only passenger for the most of the way. We did the ninety +miles without resting over, except for relays of horses. + +I climbed up on the box and talked with the driver. I liked these +stage-drivers. They were "nervy," fearless men, and kind, too, +and had a great dash and go about them. They often had a quiet +and gentle bearing, but by that time I knew pretty well what sort +of stuff they were made of, and I liked to have them talk to me, +and I liked to look out upon the world through their eyes, and +judge of things from their standpoint. + +It was an easy journey, and we passed a comfortable night in the +stage. + +Camp MacDermit was a colorless, forbidding sort of a place. Only +one company was stationed there, and my husband was nearly always +scouting in the mountains north of us. The weather was severe, +and the winter there was joyless and lonesome. The extreme cold +and the loneliness affected my spirits, and I suffered from +depression. + +I had no woman to talk to, for Mrs. Corliss, who was the only +other officer's wife at the post, was confined to the house by +the most delicate health, and her mind was wholly absorbed by the +care of her young infant. There were no nurses to be had in that +desolate corner of the earth. + +One day, a dreadful looking man appeared at the door, a person +such as one never sees except on the outskirts of civilization, +and I wondered what business brought him. He wore a long, black, +greasy frock coat, a tall hat, and had the face of a sneak. He +wanted the Chinaman's poll-tax, he said. + +"But," I suggested, "I never heard of collecting taxes in a +Government post; soldiers and officers do not pay taxes." + +"That may be," he replied, "but your Chinaman is not a soldier, +and I am going to have his tax before I leave this house." + +"So, ho," I thought; "a threat!" and the soldier's blood rose in +me. + +I was alone; Jack was miles away up North. Hoo Chack appeared in +the hall; he had evidently heard the man's last remark. "Now," I +said, "this Chinaman is in my employ, and he shall not pay any +tax, until I find out if he be exempt or not." + +The evil-looking man approached the Chinaman. Hoo Chack grew a +shade paler. I fancied he had a knife under his white shirt; in +fact, he felt around for it. I said, "Hoo Chack, go away, I will +talk to this man." + +I opened the front door. "Come with me" (to the tax-collector); +"we will ask the commanding officer about this matter." My heart +was really in my mouth, but I returned the man's steady and +dogged gaze, and he followed me to Captain Corliss' quarters. I +explained the matter to the Captain, and left the man to his +mercy. "Why didn't you call the Sergeant of the Guard, and have +the man slapped into the guard-house?" said Jack, when I told him +about it afterwards. "The man had no business around here; he was +trying to browbeat you into giving him a dollar, I suppose." + +The country above us was full of desperadoes from Boise and +Silver City, and I was afraid to be left alone so much at night; +so I begged Captain Corliss to let me have a soldier to sleep in +my quarters. He sent me old Needham. So I installed old Needham +in my guest chamber with his loaded rifle. Now old Needham was +but a wisp of a man; long years of service had broken down his +health; he was all wizened up and feeble; but he was a soldier; I +felt safe, and could sleep once more. Just the sight of Needham +and his old blue uniform coming at night, after taps, was a +comfort to me. + +Anxiety filled my soul, for Jack was scouting in the Stein +Mountains all winter in the snow, after Indians who were avowedly +hostile, and had threatened to kill on sight. He often went out +with a small pack-train, and some Indian scouts, five or six +soldiers, and I thought it quite wrong for him to be sent into +the mountains with so small a number. + +Camp MacDermit was, as I have already mentioned, a "one-company +post." We all know what that may mean, on the frontier. Our +Second Lieutenant was absent, and all the hard work of winter +scouting fell upon Jack, keeping him away for weeks at a time. + +The Piute Indians were supposed to be peaceful, and their old +chief, Winnemucca, once the warlike and dreaded foe of the white +man, was now quiet enough, and too old to fight. He lived, with +his family, at an Indian village near the post. + +He came to see me occasionally. His dress was a curious mixture +of civilization and savagery. He wore the chapeau and dress-coat +of a General of the American Army, with a large epaulette on one +shoulder. He was very proud of the coat, because General Crook +had given it to him. His shirt, leggings and moccasins were of +buckskin, and the long braids of his coal-black hair, tied with +strips of red flannel, gave the last touch to this incongruous +costume. + +But I must say that his demeanor was gentle and dignified, and, +after recovering from the superficial impressions which his +startling costume had at first made upon my mind, I could well +believe that he had once been the war-leader, as he was now the +political head of his once-powerful tribe. + +Winnemucca did not disdain to accept some little sugar-cakes from +me, and would sit down on our veranda and munch them. + +He always showed me the pasteboard medal which hung around his +neck, and which bore General Howard's signature; and he always +said: "General Howard tell me, me good Injun, me go +up--up--up"--pointing dramatically towards Heaven. On one +occasion, feeling desperate for amusement, I said to him: +"General Howard very good man, but he make a mistake; where you +go, is not up--up--up, but," pointing solemnly to the earth below +us, "down--down--down." He looked incredulous, but I assured him +it was a nice place down there. + +Some of the scattered bands of the tribe, however, were restless +and unsubdued, and gave us much trouble, and it was these bands +that necessitated the scouts. + +My little son, Harry, four years old, was my constant and only +companion, during that long, cold, and anxious winter. + +My mother sent me an appealing invitation to come home for a +year. I accepted gladly, and one afternoon in May, Jack put us +aboard the Silver City stage, which passed daily through the +post. + +Our excellent Chinese servant promised to stay with the "Captain" +and take care of him, and as I said "Good-bye, Hoo Chack," I +noticed an expression of real regret on his usually stolid +features. + +Occupied with my thoughts, on entering the stage, I did not +notice the passengers or the man sitting next me on the back +seat. Darkness soon closed around us, and I suppose we fell +asleep. Between naps, I heard a queer clanking sound, but +supposed it was the chains of the harness or the stage-coach +gear. The next morning, as we got out at a relay station for +breakfast, I saw the handcuffs on the man next to whom I had sat +all the night long. The sheriff was on the box outside. He very +obligingly changed seats with me for the rest of the way, and +evening found us on the overland train speeding on our journey +East. Camp MacDermit with its dreary associations and +surroundings faded gradually from my mind, like a dream. + +* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * +* * + +The year of 1879 brought us several changes. My little daughter +was born in mid-summer at our old home in Nantucket. As I lay +watching the curtains move gently to and fro in the soft +sea-breezes, and saw my mother and sister moving about the room, +and a good old nurse rocking my baby in her arms, I could but +think of those other days at Camp Apache, when I lay through the +long hours, with my new-born baby by my side, watching, listening +for some one to come in. There was no one, no woman to come, +except the poor hard-working laundress of the cavalry, who did +come once a day to care for the baby. + +Ah! what a contrast! and I had to shut my eyes for fear I should +cry, at the mere thought of those other days. + +* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * +* * * * + +Jack took a year's leave of absence and joined me in the autumn +at Nantucket, and the winter was spent in New York, enjoying the +theatres and various amusements we had so long been deprived of. +Here we met again Captain Porter and Carrie Wilkins, who was now +Mrs. Porter. They were stationed at David's Island, one of the +harbor posts, and we went over to see them. "Yes," he said, "as +Jacob waited seven years for Rachel, so I waited for Carrie." + +The following summer brought us the good news that Captain +Corliss' company was ordered to Angel Island, in the bay of San +Francisco. "Thank goodness," said Jack, "C company has got some +good luck, at last!" + +Joyfully we started back on the overland trip to California, +which took about nine days at that time. Now, travelling with a +year-old baby and a five-year-old boy was quite troublesome, and +we were very glad when the train had crossed the bleak Sierras +and swept down into the lovely valley of the Sacramento. + +Arriving in San Francisco, we went to the old Occidental Hotel, +and as we were going in to dinner, a card was handed to us. "Hoo +Chack" was the name on the card. "That Chinaman!" I cried to +Jack."How do you suppose he knew we were here?" + +We soon made arrangements for him to accompany us to Angel +Island, and in a few days this "heathen Chinee" had unpacked all +our boxes and made our quarters very comfortable. He was rather a +high-caste man, and as true and loyal as a Christian. He never +broke his word, and he staid with us as long as we remained in +California. + +And now we began to live, to truly live; for we felt that the +years spent at those desert posts under the scorching suns of +Arizona had cheated us out of all but a bare existence upon +earth. + +The flowers ran riot in our garden, fresh fruits and vegetables, +fresh fish, and all the luxuries of that marvellous climate, were +brought to our door. + +A comfortable Government steamboat plied between San Francisco +and its harbor posts, and the distance was not great--only three +quarters of an hour. So we had a taste of the social life of that +fascinating city, and could enjoy the theatres also. + +On the Island, we had music and dancing, as it was the +headquarters of the regiment. Mrs. Kautz, so brilliant and gay, +held grand court here--receptions, military functions, lawn +tennis, bright uniforms, were the order of the day. And that +incomparable climate! How I revelled in it! When the fog rolled +in from the Golden Gate, and enveloped the great city of Saint +Francis in its cold vapors, the Island of the Angels lay warm and +bright in the sunshine. + +The old Spaniards named it well, and the old Nantucket whalers +who sailed around Cape Horn on their way to the Ar'tic, away back +in the eighteen twenties, used to put in near there for water, +and were well familiar with its bright shores, before it was +touched by man's handiwork. + +Was there ever such an emerald green as adorned those hills which +sloped down to the bay? Could anything equal the fields of golden +escholzchia which lay there in the sunshine? Or the blue masses +of "baby-eye," which opened in the mornings and held up their +pretty cups to catch the dew? + +Was this a real Paradise? + +It surely seemed so to us; and, as if Nature had not done enough, +the Fates stepped in and sent all the agreeable young officers of +the regiment there, to help us enjoy the heavenly spot. + +There was Terrett, the handsome and aristocratic young +Baltimorean, one of the finest men I ever saw in uniform; and +Richardson, the stalwart Texan, and many others, with whom we +danced and played tennis, and altogether there was so much to do +and to enjoy that Time rushed by and we knew only that we were +happy, and enchanted with Life. + +Did any uniform ever equal that of the infantry in those days? +The dark blue, heavily braided "blouse," the white stripe on the +light blue trousers, the jaunty cap? And then, the straight backs +and the slim lines of those youthful figures! It seems to me any +woman who was not an Egyptian mummy would feel her heart thrill +and her blood tingle at the sight of them. + +Indians and deserts and Ehrenberg did not exist for me any more. +My girlhood seemed to have returned, and I enjoyed everything +with the keenest zest. + +My old friend Charley Bailey, who had married for his second wife +a most accomplished young San Francisco girl, lived next door to +us. + +General and Mrs. Kautz entertained so hospitably,and were so +beloved by all. Together Mrs. Kautz and I read the German +classics, and went to the German theatre; and by and by a very +celebrated player, Friedrich Haase, from the Royal Theatre of +Berlin, came to San Francisco. We never missed a performance, and +when his tour was over, Mrs. Kautz gave a lawn party at Angel +Island for him and a few of the members of his company. It was +charming. I well remember how the sun shone that day, and, as we +strolled up from the boat with them, Frau Haase stopped, looked +at the blue sky, the lovely clouds, the green slopes of the +Island and said: "Mein Gott! Frau Summerhayes, was ist das fur +ein Paradies! Warum haben Sie uns nicht gesagt, Sie wohnten im +Paradies!" + +So, with music and German speech, and strolls to the North and to +the South Batteries, that wonderful and never to-be-forgotten day +with the great Friedrich Haase came to an end. + +The months flew by, and the second winter found us still there; +we heard rumors of Indian troubles in Arizona, and at last the +orders came. The officers packed away their evening clothes in +camphor and had their campaign clothes put out to air, and got +their mess-chests in order, and the post was alive with +preparations for the field. All the families were to stay behind. +The most famous Indian renegade was to be hunted down, and +serious fighting was looked for. + +At last all was ready, and the day was fixed for the departure of +the troops. + +The winter rains had set in, and the skies were grey, as the +command marched down to the boat. + +The officers and soldiers were in their campaign clothes; the +latter had their blanket-rolls and haversacks slung over their +shoulders, and their tin cups, which hung from the haversacks, +rattled and jingled as they marched down in even columns of four, +over the wet and grassy slopes of the parade ground, where so +short a time before all had been glitter and sunshine. + +I realized then perhaps for the first time what the uniform +really stood for; that every man who wore it, was going out to +fight--that they held their lives as nothing. The glitter was all +gone; nothing but sad reality remained. + +The officers' wives and the soldiers' wives followed the troops +to the dock. The soldiers marched single file over the gang-plank +of the boat, the officers said good-bye, the shrill whistle of +the "General McPherson" sounded--and they were off. We leaned +back against the coal-sheds, and soldiers' and officers' wives +alike all wept together. + +And now a season of gloom came upon us. The skies were dull and +murky and the rain poured down. + +Our old friend Bailey, who was left behind on account of illness, +grew worse and finally his case was pronounced hopeless. His +death added to the deep gloom and sadness which enveloped us all. + +A few of the soldiers who had staid on the Island to take care of +the post, carried poor Bailey to the boat, his casket wrapped in +the flag and followed by a little procession of women. I thought +I had never seen anything so sad. + +The campaign lengthened out into months, but the California +winters are never very long, and before the troops came back the +hills looked their brightest green again. The campaign had ended +with no very serious losses to our troops and all was joyous +again, until another order took us from the sea-coast to the +interior once more. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +CHANGING STATION + +It was the custom to change the stations of the different +companies of a regiment about every two years. So the autumn of +'82 found us on the way to Fort Halleck, a post in Nevada, but +differing vastly from the desolate MacDermit station. Fort +Halleck was only thirteen miles south of the Overland Railroad, +and lay near a spur of the Humboldt range. There were miles of +sage-brush between the railroad and the post, but the mountains +which rose abruptly five thousand feet on the far side, made a +magnificent background for the officers' quarters, which lay +nestled at the bottom of the foot-hills. + +"Oh! what a lovely post!" I cried, as we drove in. + +Major Sanford of the First Cavalry, with Captain Carr and +Lieutenant Oscar Brown, received us. "Dear me," I thought, "if +the First Cavalry is made up of such gallant men as these, the +old Eighth Infantry will have to look out for its laurels." + +Mrs. Sanford and Mrs. Carr gave us a great welcome and vied with +each other in providing for our comfort, and we were soon +established. + +It was so good to see the gay yellow of the cavalry again! Now I +rode, to my heart's content, and it was good to be alive; to see +the cavalry drill, and to ride through the canons, gorgeous in +their flaming autumn tints; then again to gallop through the +sage-brush, jumping where we could not turn, starting up rabbits +by the score. + +That little old post, now long since abandoned, marked a pleasant +epoch in our life. From the ranches scattered around we could +procure butter and squabs and young vegetables, and the soldiers +cultivated great garden patches, and our small dinners and +breakfasts live in delightful memory. + +At the end of two years spent so pleasantly with the people of +the First Cavalry, our company was again ordered to Angel Island. +But a second very active campaign in Arizona and Mexico, against +Geronimo, took our soldiers away from us, and we passed through a +period of considerable anxiety. June of '86 saw the entire +regiment ordered to take station in Arizona once more. + +We travelled to Tucson in a Pullman car. It was hot and +uninteresting. I had been at Tucson nine years before, for a few +hours, but the place seemed unfamiliar. I looked for the old +tavern; I saw only the railroad restaurant. We went in to take +breakfast, before driving out to the post of Fort Lowell, seven +miles away. Everything seemed changed. Iced cantaloupe was served +by a spick-span alert waiter; then, quail on toast. "Ice in +Arizona?" It was like a dream, and I remarked to Jack, "This +isn't the same Arizona we knew in '74," and then, "I don't +believe I like it as well, either; all this luxury doesn't seem +to belong to the place." + +After a drive behind some smart mules, over a flat stretch of +seven miles, we arrived at Fort Lowell, a rather attractive post, +with a long line of officers' quarters, before which ran a level +road shaded by beautiful great trees. We were assigned a half of +one of these sets of quarters, and as our half had no +conveniences for house-keeping, it was arranged that we should +join a mess with General and Mrs. Kautz and their family. We soon +got settled down to our life there, and we had various +recreations; among them, driving over to Tucson and riding on +horseback are those which I remember best. We made a few +acquaintances in Tucson, and they sometimes drove out in the +evenings, or more frequently rode out on horseback. Then we would +gather together on the Kautz piazza and everybody sang to the +accompaniment of Mrs. Kautz's guitar. It was very hot, of +course; we had all expected that, but the luxuries obtainable +through the coming of the railroad, such as ice, and various +summer drinks, and lemons, and butter, helped out to make the +summer there more comfortable. + +We slept on the piazzas, which ran around the houses on a level +with the ground. At that time the fad for sleeping out of doors, +at least amongst civilized people, did not exist, and our +arrangements were entirely primitive. + +Our quarters were surrounded by a small yard and a fence; the +latter was dilapidated, and the gate swung on one hinge. We were +seven miles from anywhere, and surrounded by a desolate country. +I did not experience the feeling of terror that I had had at Camp +Apache, for instance, nor the grewsome fear of the Ehrenberg +grave-yard, nor the appalling fright I had known in crossing the +Mogollon range or in driving through Sanford's Pass. But still +there was a haunting feeling of insecurity which hung around me +especially at night. I was awfully afraid of snakes, and no +sooner had we lain ourselves down on our cots to sleep, than I +would hear a rustling among the dry leaves that had blown in +under our beds. Then all would be still again; then a crackling +and a rustling--in a flash I would be sitting up in bed. "Jack, +do you hear that?" Of course I did not dare to move or jump out +of bed, so I would sit, rigid, scared. "Jack ! what is it?" +"Nonsense, Mattie, go to sleep; it's the toads jumping about in +the leaves. "But my sleep was fitful and disturbed, and I never +knew what a good night's rest was. + +One night I was awakened by a tremendous snort right over my +face. I opened my eyes and looked into the wild eyes of a big +black bull. I think I must have screamed, for the bull ran +clattering off the piazza and out through the gate. By this time +Jack was up, and Harry and Katherine, who slept on the front +piazza, came running out, and I said: "Well, this is the limit of +all things, and if that gate isn't mended to-morrow, I will know +the reason why." + +Now I heard a vague rumor that there was a creature of this sort +in or near the post, and that he had a habit of wandering around +at night, but as I had never seen him, it had made no great +impression on my mind. Jack had a great laugh at me, but I did +not think then, nor do I now, that it was anything to be laughed +at. + +We had heard much of the old Mission of San Xavier del Bac, away +the other side of Tucson. Mrs. Kautz decided to go over there and +go into camp and paint a picture of San Xavier. It was about +sixteen miles from Fort Lowell. + +So all the camp paraphernalia was gotten ready and several of the +officers joined the party, and we all went over to San Xavier and +camped for a few days under the shadow of those beautiful old +walls. This Mission is almost unknown to the American traveler. + +Exquisite in color, form and architecture, it stands there a +silent reminder of the Past. + +The curious carvings and paintings inside the church, and the +precious old vestments which were shown us by an ancient +custodian, filled my mind with wonder. The building is partly in +ruins, and the little squirrels were running about the galleries, +but the great dome is intact, and many of the wonderful figures +which ornament it. Of course we know the Spanish built it about +the middle or last of the sixteenth century, and that they tried +to christianize the tribes of Indians who lived around in the +vicinity. But there is no sign of priest or communicant now, +nothing but a desolate plain around it for miles. No one can +possibly understand how the building of this large and beautiful +mission was accomplished, and I believe history furnishes very +little information. In its archives was found quite recently the +charter given by Ferdinand and Isabella, to establish the +"pueblo" of Tucson about the beginning of the 16th century. + +After a few delightful days, we broke camp and returned to Fort +Lowell. + +And now the summer was drawing to a close, and we were +anticipating the delights of the winter climate at Tucson, when, +without a note of warning, came the orders for Fort Niobrara. We +looked, appalled, in each other's faces, the evening the telegram +came, for we did not even know where Fort Niobrara was. + +We all rushed into Major Wilhelm's quarters, for he always knew +everything. We (Mrs. Kautz and several of the other ladies of the +post, and myself) were in a state of tremendous excitement. We +pounded on Major Wilhelm's door and we heard a faint voice from +his bedroom (for it was after ten o'clock); then we waited a few +moments and he said,"Come in." + +We opened the door, but there being no light in his quarters we +could not see him. A voice said: "What in the name of--" but we +did not wait for him to finish; we all shouted: "Where is Fort +Niobrara?" "The Devil!" he said. "Are we ordered there?" "Yes, +yes," we cried; "where is it?" "Why, girls," he said, relapsing +into his customary moderate tones, "It's a hell of a freezing +cold place, away up north in Nebraska." + +We turned our backs and went over to our quarters to have a +consultation, and we all retired with sad hearts. + +Now, just think of it! To come to Fort Lowell in July, only to +move in November! What could it mean? It was hard to leave the +sunny South, to spend the winter in those congealed regions in +the North. We were but just settled, and now came another +break-up! + +Our establishment now, with two children, several servants, two +saddle horses, and additional household furnishings, was not so +simple as in the beginning of our army life, when three chests +and a box or two contained our worldly goods. Each move we made +was more difficult than the last; our allowance of baggage did +not begin to cover what we had to take along, and this added +greatly to the expense of moving. + +The enormous waste attending a move, and the heavy outlay +incurred in travelling and getting settled anew, kept us always +poor; these considerations increased our chagrin over this +unexpected change of station. There was nothing to be done, +however. Orders are relentless, even if they seem senseless, +which this one did, to the women, at least, of the Eighth +Infantry. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +FORT NIOBRARA + +The journey itself, however, was not to be dreaded, although it +was so undesired. It was entirely by rail across New Mexico and +Kansas, to St. Joseph, then up the Missouri River and then across +the state to the westward. Finally, after four or five days, we +reached the small frontier town of Valentine, in the very +northwest corner of the bleak and desolate state of Nebraska. The +post of Niobrara was four miles away, on the Niobrara (swift +water) River. + +Some officers of the Ninth Cavalry met us at the station with the +post ambulances. There were six companies of our regiment, with +headquarters and band. + +It was November, and the drive across the rolling prairie-land +gave us a fair glimpse of the country around. We crossed the old +bridge over the Niobrara River, and entered the post. The snow +lay already on the brown and barren hills, and the place struck a +chill to my heart. + +The Ninth Cavalry took care of all the officers' families until +we could get established. Lieutenant Bingham, a handsome and +distinguished-looking young bachelor, took us with our two +children to his quarters, and made us delightfully at home. His +quarters were luxuriously furnished, and he was altogether +adorable. This, to be sure, helped to soften my first harsh +impressions of the place. + +Quarters were not very plentiful, and we were compelled to take a +house occupied by a young officer of the Ninth. What base +ingratitude it seemed, after the kindness we had accepted from +his regiment! But there was no help for it. We secured a colored +cook, who proved a very treasure, and on inquiring how she came +to be in those wilds, I learned that she had accompanied a young +heiress who eloped with a cavalry lieutenant, from her home in +New York some years before. + +What a contrast was here, and what a cruel contrast! With blood +thinned down by the enervating summer at Tucson, here we were, +thrust into the polar regions! Ice and snow and blizzards, +blizzards and snow and ice! The mercury disappeared at the bottom +of the thermometer, and we had nothing to mark any degrees lower +than 40 below zero. Human calculations had evidently stopped +there. Enormous box stoves were in every room and in the halls; +the old-fashioned sort that we used to see in school-rooms and +meeting-houses in New England. Into these, the soldiers stuffed +great logs of mountain mahogany,and the fires were kept roaring +day and night. + +A board walk ran in front of the officers' quarters, and, +desperate for fresh air and exercise, some of the ladies would +bundle up and go to walk. But frozen chins, ears and elbows soon +made this undesirable, and we gave up trying the fresh air, +unless the mercury rose to 18 below, when a few of us would take +our daily promenade. + +We could not complain of our fare, however, for our larder hung +full of all sorts of delicate and delicious things, brought in by +the grangers, and which we were glad to buy. Prairie-chickens, +young pigs, venison, and ducks, all hanging, to be used when +desired. + +To frappe a bottle of wine, we stood it on the porch; in a few +minutes it would pour crystals. House-keeping was easy, but +keeping warm was difficult. + +It was about this time that the law was passed abolishing the +post-trader's store, and forbidding the selling of whiskey to +soldiers on a Government reservation. The pleasant canteen, or +Post Exchange, the soldiers' club-room, was established, where +the men could go to relieve the monotony of their lives. + +With the abolition of whiskey, the tone of the post improved +greatly; the men were contented with a glass of beer or light +wine, the canteen was well managed, so the profits went back into +the company messes in the shape of luxuries heretofore unknown; +billiards and reading-rooms were established; and from that time +on, the canteen came to be regarded in the army as a most +excellent institution. The men gained in self-respect; the +canteen provided them with a place where they could go and take a +bite of lunch, read, chat, smoke, or play games with their own +chosen friends, and escape the lonesomeness of the barracks. + +But, alas! this condition of things was not destined to endure, +for the women of the various Temperance societies, in their +mistaken zeal and woeful ignorance of the soldiers' life, +succeeded in influencing legislation to such an extent that the +canteen, in its turn, was abolished; with what dire results, we +of the army all know. + +Those estimable women of the W. C. T. U. thought to do good to +the army, no doubt, but through their pitiful ignorance of the +soldiers' needs they have done him an incalculable harm. + +Let them stay by their lectures and their clubs, I say, and their +other amusements; let them exercise their good influences nearer +home, with a class of people whose conditions are understood by +them, where they can, no doubt, do worlds of good. + +They cannot know the drear monotony of the barracks life on the +frontier in times of peace. I have lived close by it, and I know +it well. A ceaseless round of drill and work and lessons, and +work and lessons and drill--no recreation, no excitement,no +change. + +Far away from family and all home companionship, a man longs for +some pleasant place to go, after the day's work is done. Perhaps +these women think (if, in their blind enthusiasm, they think at +all) that a young soldier or an old soldier needs no recreation. +At all events, they have taken from him the only one he had, the +good old canteen, and given him nothing in return. + +Now Fort Niobrara was a large post. There were ten companies, +cavalry and infantry, General August V. Kautz, the Colonel of the +Eighth Infantry, in command. + +And here, amidst the sand-hills of Nebraska, we first began to +really know our Colonel. A man of strong convictions and abiding +honesty, a soldier who knew his profession thoroughly, having not +only achieved distinction in the Civil War, but having served +when little more than a boy, in the Mexican War of 1846. Genial +in his manners, brave and kind, he was beloved by all. + +The three Kautz children, Frankie, Austin, and Navarra, were the +inseparable companions of our own children. There was a small +school for the children of the post, and a soldier by the name of +Delany was schoolmaster. He tried hard to make our children +learn, but they did not wish to study, and spent all their spare +time in planning tricks to be played upon poor Delany. It was a +difficult situation for the soldier. Finally, the two oldest +Kautz children were sent East to boarding-school, and we also +began to realize that something must be done. + +Our surroundings during the early winter, it is true, had been +dreary enough, but as the weather softened a bit and the spring +approached, the post began to wake up. + +In the meantime, Cupid had not been idle. It was observed that +Mr. Bingham, our gracious host of the Ninth Cavalry, had fallen +in love with Antoinette, the pretty and attractive daughter of +Captain Lynch of our own regiment, and the post began to be on +the qui vive to see how the affair would end, for nobody expects +to see the course of true love run smooth. In their case, +however, the Fates were kind and in due time the happy engagement +was announced. + +We had an excellent amusement hall, with a fine floor for +dancing. The chapel was at one end, and a fairly good stage was +at the other. + +Being nearer civilization now, in the state of Nebraska, Uncle +Sam provided us with a chaplain, and a weekly service was held by +the Anglican clergyman--a tall, well-formed man, a scholar and, +as we say, a gentleman. He wore the uniform of the army chaplain, +and as far as looks went could hold his own with any of the +younger officers. And it was a great comfort to the church people +to have this weekly service. + +During the rest of the time, the chapel was concealed by heavy +curtains, and the seats turned around facing the stage. + +We had a good string orchestra of twenty or more pieces, and as +there were a number of active young bachelors at the post, a +series of weekly dances was inaugurated. Never did I enjoy +dancing more than at this time. + +Then Mrs. Kautz, who was a thorough music lover and had a +cultivated taste as well as a trained and exquisite voice, gave +several musicales, for which much preparation was made, and which +were most delightful. These were given at the quarters of General +Kautz, a long, low, rambling one-story house, arranged with that +artistic taste for which Mrs. Kautz was distinguished. + +Then came theatricals, all managed by Mrs. Kautz, whose talents +were versatile. + +We charged admission, for we needed some more scenery, and the +neighboring frontier town of Valentine came riding and driving +over the prairie and across the old bridge of the Niobrara River, +to see our plays. We had a well-lighted stage. Our methods were +primitive, as there was no gas or electricity there in those +days, but the results were good, and the histrionic ability shown +by some of our young men and women seemed marvellous to us. + +I remember especially Bob Emmet's acting, which moved me to +tears, in a most pathetic love scene. I thought, "What has the +stage lost, in this gifted man!" + +But he is of a family whose talents are well known, and his +personality, no doubt, added much to his natural ability as an +actor. + +Neither the army nor the stage can now claim this brilliant +cavalry officer, as he was induced, by urgent family reasons, +shortly after the period of which I am writing, to resign his +commission and retire to private life, at the very height of his +ambitious career. + +And now the summer came on apace. A tennis-court was made, and +added greatly to our amusement. We were in the saddle every day, +and the country around proved very attractive at this season, +both for riding and driving. + +But all this gayety did not content me, for the serious question +of education for our children now presented itself; the question +which, sooner or later, presents itself to the minds of all the +parents of army children. It is settled differently by different +people. It had taken a year for us to decide. + +I made up my mind that the first thing to be done was to take the +children East and then decide on schools afterwards. So our plans +were completed and the day of departure fixed upon. Jack was to +remain at the Post. + +About an hour before I was to leave I saw the members of the +string orchestra filing across the parade ground, coming directly +towards our quarters. My heart began to beat faster, as I +realized that Mrs. Kautz had planned a serenade for me. I felt it +was a great break in my army life, but I did not know I was +leaving the old regiment forever, the regiment with which I had +been associated for so many years. And as I listened to the +beautiful strains of the music I loved so well, my eyes were wet +with tears, and after all the goodbye's were said, to the +officers and their wives, my friends who had shared all our joys +and our sorrows in so many places and under so many conditions, I +ran out to the stable and pressed my cheek against the soft warm +noses of our two saddle horses. I felt that life was over for me, +and nothing but work and care remained. I say I felt all this. It +must have been premonition, for I had no idea that I was leaving +the line of the army forever. + +The ambulance was at the door, to take us to Valentine, where I +bade Jack good bye, and took the train for the East. His last +promise was to visit us once a year, or whenever he could get a +leave of absence. + +My husband had now worn the single bar on his shoulder-strap for +eleven years or more; before that, the straps of the second +lieutenant had adorned his broad shoulders for a period quite as +long. Twenty-two years a lieutenant in the regular army, after +fighting, in a volunteer regiment of his own state, through the +four years of the Civil War! The "gallant and meritorious +service" for which he had received brevets, seemed, indeed, to +have been forgotten. He had grown grey in Indian campaigns, and +it looked as if the frontier might always be the home of the +senior lieutenant of the old Eighth. Promotion in that regiment +had been at a standstill for years. + +Being in Washington for a short time towards mid-winter enjoying +the social side of military life at the Capital, an opportunity +came to me to meet President Cleveland, and although his +administration was nearing its close, and the stress of official +cares was very great, he seemed to have leisure and interest to +ask me about my life on the frontier; and as the conversation +became quite personal, the impulse seized me, to tell him just +how I felt about the education of our children, and then to tell +him what I thought and what others thought about the unjust way +in which the promotions and retirements in our regiment had been +managed. + +He listened with the greatest interest and seemed pleased with my +frankness. He asked me what the soldiers and officers out there +thought of "So and So." "They hate him," I said. + +Whereupon he laughed outright and I knew I had committed an +indiscretion, but life on the frontier does not teach one +diplomacy of speech, and by that time I was nerved up to say just +what I felt, regardless of results. + +"Well," he said, smiling, "I am afraid I cannot interfere much +with those military matters;" then, pointing with his left hand +and thumb towards the War Department, "they fix them all up over +there in the Adjutant General's office," he added. + +Then he asked me many more questions; if I had always stayed out +there with my husband, and why I did not live in the East, as so +many army women did; and all the time I could hear the dull thud +of the carpenters' hammers, for they were building even then the +board seats for the public who would witness the inaugural +ceremonies of his successor, and with each stroke of the hammer, +his face seemed to grow more sad. + +I felt the greatness of the man; his desire to be just and good: +his marvellous personal power, his ability to understand and to +sympathize, and when I parted from him he said again laughingly, +"Well, I shall not forget your husband's regiment, and if +anything turns up for those fine men you have told me about, they +will hear from me." And I knew they were the words of a man, who +meant what he said. + +In the course of our conversation he had asked, "Who are these +men? Do they ever come to Washington? I rarely have these things +explained to me and I have little time to interfere with the +decisions of the Adjutant General's office." + +I replied: "No, Mr. President, they are not the men you see +around Washington. Our regiment stays on the frontier, and these +men are the ones who do the fighting, and you people here in +Washington are apt to forget all about them." + +"What have they ever done? Were they in the Civil War?" he asked. + +"Their records stand in black and white in the War Department," I +replied, "if you have the interest to learn more about them." + +"Women's opinions are influenced by their feelings," he said. + +"Mine are based upon what I know, and I am prepared to stand by +my convictions," I replied. + +Soon after this interview, I returned to New York and I did not +give the matter very much further thought, but my impression of +the greatness of Mr. Cleveland and of his powerful personality +has remained with me to this day. + +A vacancy occurred about this time in the Quartermaster's +Department, and the appointment was eagerly sought for by many +Lieutenants of the army. President Cleveland saw fit to give the +appointment to Lieutenant Summerhayes, making him a Captain and +Quartermaster, and then, another vacancy occurring shortly after, +he appointed Lieutenant John McEwen Hyde to be also a Captain and +Quartermaster. + +Lieutenant Hyde stood next in rank to my husband and had grown +grey in the old Eighth Infantry. So the regiment came in for its +honor at last, and General Kautz, when the news of the second +appointment reached him, exclaimed, "Well! well! does the +President think my regiment a nursery for the Staff?" + +The Eighth Foot and the Ninth Horse at Niobrara gave the new +Captain and Quartermaster a rousing farewell, for now my husband +was leaving his old regiment forever; and, while he appreciated +fully the honor of his new staff position, he felt a sadness at +breaking off the associations of so many years--a sadness which +can scarcely be understood by the young officers of the present +day, who are promoted from one regiment to another, and rarely +remain long enough with one organization to know even the men of +their own Company. + +There were many champagne suppers, dinners and card-parties given +for him, to make the good-bye something to be remembered, and at +the end of a week's festivities, he departed by a night train +from Valentine, thus eluding the hospitality of those generous +but wild frontiersmen, who were waiting to give him what they +call out there a "send-off." + +For Valentine was like all frontier towns; a row of stores and +saloons. The men who kept them were generous, if somewhat rough. +One of the officers of the post, having occasion to go to the +railroad station one day at Valentine, saw the body of a man +hanging to a telegraph pole a short distance up the track. He +said to the station man: "What does that mean?" (nodding his head +in the direction of the telegraph pole). + +"Why, it means just this," said the station man, "the people who +hung that man last night had the nerve to put him right in front +of this place, by G--. What would the passengers think of this +town, sir, as they went by? Why, the reputation of Valentine +would be ruined! Yes, sir, we cut him down and moved him up a +pole or two. He was a hard case, though," he added. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +SANTA FE + +I made haste to present Captain Summerhayes with the +shoulder-straps of his new rank, when he joined me in New York. + +* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * +* * * + +The orders for Santa Fe reached us in mid-summer at Nantucket. I +knew about as much of Santa Fe as the average American knows, and +that was nothing; but I did know that the Staff appointment +solved the problem of education for us (for Staff officers are +usually stationed in cities), and I knew that our frontier life +was over. I welcomed the change, for our children were getting +older, and we were ourselves approaching the age when comfort +means more to one than it heretofore has. + +Jack obeyed his sudden orders, and I followed him as soon as +possible. + +Arriving at Santa Fe in the mellow sunlight of an October day, we +were met by my husband and an officer of the Tenth Infantry, and +as we drove into the town, its appearance of placid content, its +ancient buildings, its great trees, its clear air, its friendly, +indolent-looking inhabitants, gave me a delightful feeling of +home. A mysterious charm seemed to possess me. It was the spell +which that old town loves to throw over the strangers who venture +off the beaten track to come within her walls. + +Lying only eighteen miles away, over a small branch road from +Llamy (a station on the Atchison and Topeka Railroad), few people +take the trouble to stop over to visit it. "Dead old town," says +the commercial traveller, "nothing doing there." + +And it is true. + +But no spot that I have visited in this country has thrown around +me the spell of enchantment which held me fast in that sleepy and +historic town. + +The Governor's Palace, the old plaza, the ancient churches, the +antiquated customs, the Sisters' Hospital, the old Convent of Our +Lady of Loretto, the soft music of the Spanish tongue, I loved +them all. + +There were no factories; no noise was ever heard; the sun shone +peacefully on, through winter and summer alike. There was no +cold, no heat, but a delightful year-around climate. Why the +place was not crowded with health seekers, was a puzzle to me. I +had thought that the bay of San Francisco offered the most +agreeable climate in America, but, in the Territory of New Mexico, +Santa Fe was the perfection of all climates combined. + +The old city lies in the broad valley of the Santa Fe Creek, but +the valley of the Santa Fe Creek lies seven thousand feet above +the sea level. I should never have known that we were living at a +great altitude, if I had not been told, for the equable climate +made us forget to inquire about height or depth or distance. + +I listened to old Father de Fourri preach his short sermons in +English to the few Americans who sat on one side of the aisle, in +the church of Our Lady of Guadaloupe; then, turning with an easy +gesture towards his Mexican congregation, who sat or knelt near +the sanctuary, and saying, "Hermanos mios," he gave the same +discourse in good Spanish. I felt comfortable in the thought that +I was improving my Spanish as well as profiting by Father de +Fourri's sound logic. This good priest had grown old at Santa Fe +in the service of his church. + +The Mexican women, with their black ribosos wound around their +heads and concealing their faces, knelt during the entire mass, +and made many long responses in Latin. + +After years spent in a heathenish manner, as regards all church +observations, this devout and unique service, following the +customs of ancient Spain, was interesting to me in the extreme. + +Sometimes on a Sunday afternoon I attended Vespers in the chapel +of the Sisters' Hospital (as it was called). A fine Sanitarium, +managed entirely by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity. + +Sister Victoria, who was at the head of the management, was not +only a very beautiful woman, but she had an agreeable voice and +always led in the singing. + +It seemed like Heaven. + +I wrote to my friends in the East to come to the Sisters' +Hospital if they wanted health, peace and happiness, for it was +surely to be found there. I visited the convent of Our Lady of +Loretto: I stood before a high wall in an embrasure of which +there was a low wooden gate; I pulled on a small knotted string +which hung out of a little hole, and a queer old bell rang. Then +one of the nuns came and let me in, across a beautiful garden to +the convent school. I placed my little daughter as a day pupil +there, as she was now eleven years old. The nuns spoke very +little English and the children none at all. + +The entire city was ancient, Spanish, Catholic, steeped in a +religious atmosphere and in what the average American Protestant +would call the superstitions of the dark ages. There were endless +fiestas, and processions and religious services, I saw them all +and became much interested in reading the history of the Catholic +missions, established so early out through what was then a wild +and unexplored country. After that, I listened with renewed +interest to old Father de Fouri, who had tended and led his flock +of simple people so long and so lovingly. + +There was a large painting of Our Lady of Guadaloupe over the +altar--these people firmly believed that she had appeared to +them, on the earth, and so strong was the influence around me +that I began almost to believe it too. I never missed the Sunday +morning mass, and I fell in easily with the religious +observances. + +I read and studied about the old explorers, and I seemed to live +in the time of Cortez and his brave band. I became acquainted +with Adolf Bandelier, who had lived for years in that country, +engaged in research for the American Archaeological Society. I +visited the Indian pueblos, those marvellous structures of adobe, +where live entire tribes, and saw natives who have not changed +their manner of speech or dress since the days when the Spaniards +first penetrated to their curious dwellings, three hundred or +more years ago. I climbed the rickety ladders, by which one +enters these strange dwellings, and bought the great bowls which +these Indians shape in some manner without the assistance of a +potter's wheel, and then bake in their mud ovens. + +The pueblo of Tesuque is only nine miles from Santa Fe, and a +pleasant drive, at that; it seemed strange to me that the road +was not lined with tourists. But no, they pass all these wonders +by, in their disinclination to go off the beaten track. + +Visiting the pueblos gets to be a craze. Governor and Mrs. Prince +knew them all--the pueblo of Taos, of Santa Clara, San Juan, and +others; and the Governor's collection of great stone idols was a +marvel indeed. He kept them laid out on shelves, which resembled +the bunks on a great vessel, and in an apartment especially +reserved for them, in his residence at Santa Fe, and it was +always with considerable awe that I entered that apartment. The +Governor occupied at that time a low, rambling adobe house, on +Palace Avenue, and this, with its thick walls and low +window-seats, made a fit setting for the treasures they had +gathered. + +Later on, the Governor's family occupied the palace (as it is +always called) of the old Spanish Viceroy, a most ancient, +picturesque, yet dignified building, facing the plaza. + +The various apartments in this old palace were used for +Government offices when we were stationed there in 1889, and in +one of these rooms, General Lew Wallace, a few years before, had +written his famous book, "Ben Hur." + +On the walls were hanging old portraits painted by the Spaniards +in the sixteenth century. They were done on rawhide, and whether +these interesting and historic pictures have been preserved by +our Government I do not know. + +The distinguished Anglican clergyman living there taught a small +class of boys, and the "Academy," an excellent school +established by the Presbyterian Board of Missions, afforded good +advantages for the young girls of the garrison. And as we had +found that the Convent of Loretto was not just adapted to the +education of an American child, we withdrew Katharine from that +school and placed her at the Presbyterian Academy. + +To be sure, the young woman teacher gave a rousing lecture on +total abstinence once a week; going even so far as to say, that +to partake of apple sauce which had begun to ferment was yielding +to the temptations of Satan. The young woman's arguments made a +disastrous impression upon our children's minds; so much so, that +the rich German Jews whose daughters attended the school +complained greatly; for, as they told us, these girls would +hasten to snatch the decanters from the sideboard, at the +approach of visitors, and hide them, and they began to sit in +judgment upon their elders. Now these men were among the leading +citizens of the town; they were self-respecting and wealthy. They +could not stand these extreme doctrines, so opposed to their life +and their traditions. We informed Miss X. one day that she could +excuse our children from the total abstinence lecture, or we +should be compelled to withdraw them from the school. She said +she could not compel them to listen, but preach she must. She +remained obedient to her orders from the Board, and we could but +respect her for that. Our young daughters were, however, excused +from the lecture. + +But our time was not entirely given up to the study of ancient +pottery, for the social life there was delightful. The garrison +was in the centre of the town, the houses were comfortable, and +the streets shaded by old trees. The Tenth Infantry had its +headquarters and two companies there. Every afternoon, the +military band played in the Plaza, where everybody went and sat +on benches in the shade of the old trees, or, if cool, in the +delightful sunshine. The pretty and well-dressed senoritas cast +shy glances at the young officers of the Tenth; but, alas! the +handsome and attractive Lieutenants Van Vliet and Seyburn, and +the more sedate Lieutenant Plummer, could not return these +bewitching glances, as they were all settled in life. + +The two former officers had married in Detroit, and both Mrs. Van +Vliet and Mrs. Seyburn did honor to the beautiful city of +Michigan, for they were most agreeable and clever women, and +presided over their army homes with distinguished grace and +hospitality. + +The Americans who lived there were all professional people; +mostly lawyers, and a few bankers. I could not understand why so +many Eastern lawyers lived there. I afterwards learned that the +old Spanish land grants had given rise to illimitable and +never-ending litigation. + +Every morning we rode across country. There were no fences, but +the wide irrigation ditches gave us a plenty of excitement, and +the riding was glorious. I had no occasion yet to realize that we +had left the line of the army. + +A camping trip to the head-waters of the Pecos, where we caught +speckled trout in great abundance in the foaming riffles and +shallow pools of this rushing mountain stream, remaining in camp +a week under the spreading boughs of the mighty pines, added to +the variety and delights of our life there. + +With such an existence as this, good health and diversion, the +time passed rapidly by. + +It was against the law now for soldiers to marry; the old days of +"laundresses" had passed away. But the trombone player of the +Tenth Infantry band (a young Boston boy) had married a wife, and +now a baby had come to them. They could get no quarters, so we +took the family in, and, as the wife was an excellent cook, we +were able to give many small dinners. The walls of the house +being three feet thick, we were never troubled by the trombone +practice or the infant's cries. And many a delightful evening we +had around the board, with Father de Fourri, Rev. Mr. Meany (the +Anglican clergyman), the officers and ladies of the Tenth, +Governor and Mrs. Prince, and the brilliant lawyer folk of Santa +Fe. + +Such an ideal life cannot last long; this existence of ours does +not seem to be contrived on those lines. At the end of a year, +orders came for Texas, and perhaps it was well that orders came, +or we might be in Santa Fe to-day, wrapt in a dream of past ages; +for the city of the Holy Faith had bound us with invisible +chains. + +With our departure from Santa Fe, all picturesqueness came to an +end in our army life. Ever after that, we had really good houses +to live in, which had all modern arrangements; we had beautiful, +well-kept lawns and gardens, the same sort of domestic service +that civilians have, and lived almost the same life. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +TEXAS + +Whenever I think of San Antonio and Fort Sam Houston, the perfume +of the wood violet which blossomed in mid-winter along the +borders of our lawn, and the delicate odor of the Cape jessamine, +seem to be wafted about me. + +Fort Sam Houston is the Headquarters of the Department of Texas, +and all the Staff officers live there, in comfortable stone +houses, with broad lawns shaded by chinaberry trees. Then at the +top of the hill is a great quadrangle, with a clock tower and all +the department offices. On the other side of this quadrangle is +the post, where the line officers live. + +General Stanley commanded the Department. A fine, dignified and +able man, with a great record as an Indian fighter. Jack knew him +well, as he had been with him in the first preliminary survey for +the northern Pacific Railroad, when he drove old Sitting Bull +back to the Powder River. + +He was now about to reach the age of retirement; and as the day +approached, that day when a man has reached the limit of his +usefulness (in the opinion of an ever-wise Government), that day +which sounds the knell of active service, that day so dreaded and +yet so longed for, that day when an army officer is sixty-four +years old and Uncle Sam lays him upon the shelf, as that day +approached, the city of San Antonio, in fact the entire State of +Texas poured forth to bid him Godspeed; for if ever an army man +was beloved, it was General Stanley by the State of Texas. + +Now on the other side of the great quadrangle lay the post, where +were the soldiers' barracks and quarters of the line officers. +This was commanded by Colonel Coppinger, a gallant officer, who +had fought in many wars in many countries. + +He had his famous regiment, the Twenty-third Infantry, and many +were the pleasant dances and theatricals we had, with the music +furnished by their band; for, as it was a time of peace, the +troops were all in garrison. + +Major Burbank was there also, with his well-drilled Light Battery +of the 3rd Artillery. + +My husband, being a Captain and Quartermaster, served directly +under General George H. Weeks, who was Chief Quartermaster of the +Department, and I can never forget his kindness to us both. He +was one of the best men I ever knew, in the army or out of it, +and came to be one of my dearest friends. He possessed the sturdy +qualities of his Puritan ancestry, united with the charming +manners of an aristocrat. + +We belonged, of course, now, with the Staff, and something, an +intangible something, seemed to have gone out of the life. The +officers were all older, and the Staff uniforms were more sombre. +I missed the white stripe of the infantry, and the yellow of the +cavalry. The shoulder-straps all had gold eagles or leaves on +them, instead of the Captains' or Lieutenants' bars. Many of the +Staff officers wore civilians' clothes, which distressed me much, +and I used to tell them that if I were Secretary of War they +would not be permitted to go about in black alpaca coats and +cinnamon-brown trousers. + +"What would you have us do?" said General Weeks. + +"Wear white duck and brass buttons," I replied. + +"Fol-de-rol!" said the fine-looking and erect Chief +Quartermaster; "you would have us be as vain as we were when we +were Lieutenants?" + +"You can afford to be," I answered; for, even with his threescore +years, he had retained the lines of youth, and was, in my +opinion, the finest looking man in the Staff of the Army. + +But all my reproaches and all my diplomacy were of no avail in +reforming the Staff. Evidently comfort and not looks was their +motto. + +One day, I accidentally caught a side view of myself in a long +mirror (long mirrors had not been very plentiful on the +frontier), and was appalled by the fact that my own lines +corresponded but too well, alas! with those of the Staff. Ah, me! +were the days, then, of Lieutenants forever past and gone? The +days of suppleness and youth, the careless gay days, when there +was no thought for the future, no anxiety about education, when +the day began with a wild dash across country and ended with a +dinner and dance---were they over, then, for us all? + +Major Burbank's battery of light artillery came over and +enlivened the quiet of our post occasionally with their brilliant +red color. At those times, we all went out and stood in the music +pavilion to watch the drill; and when his horses and guns and +caissons thundered down the hill and swept by us at a terrific +gallop, our hearts stood still. Even the dignified Staff +permitted themselves a thrill, and as for us women, our +excitement knew no bounds. + +The brilliant red of the artillery brought color to the rather +grey aspect of the quiet Headquarters post, and the magnificent +drill supplied the martial element so dear to a woman's heart. + +In San Antonio, the New has almost obliterated the Old, and +little remains except its pretty green river, its picturesque +bridges, and the historic Alamo, to mark it from other cities in +the Southwest. + +In the late afternoon, everybody drove to the Plaza, where all +the country people were selling their garden-stuff and poultry in +the open square. This was charming, and we all bought live fowl +and drove home again. One heard cackling and gobbling from the +smart traps and victorias, and it seemed to be a survival of an +old custom. The whole town took a drive after that, and supped at +eight o'clock. + +The San Antonio people believe there is no climate to equal +theirs, and talk much about the cool breezes from the Gulf of +Mexico, which is some miles away. But I found seven months of the +twelve too hot for comfort, and I could never detect much +coolness in the summer breezes. + +After I settled down to the sedateness which is supposed to +belong to the Staff, I began to enjoy life very much. There is +compensation for every loss, and I found, with the new friends, +many of whom had lived their lives, and had known sorrow and joy, +a true companionship which enriched my life, and filled the days +with gladness. + +My son had completed the High School course in San Antonio, under +an able German master, and had been sent East to prepare for the +Stevens Institute of Technology, and in the following spring I +took my daughter Katharine and fled from the dreaded heat of a +Texas summer. Never can I forget the child's grief on parting +from her Texas pony. She extorted a solemn promise from her +father, who was obliged to stay in Texas, that he would never +part with him. + +My brother, then unmarried, and my sister Harriet were living +together in New Rochelle and to them we went. Harry's vacation +enabled him to be with us, and we had a delightful summer. It was +good to be on the shores of Long Island Sound. + +In the autumn, not knowing what next was in store for us, I +placed my dear little Katharine at the Convent of the Sacred +Heart at Kenwood on the Hudson, that she might be able to +complete her education in one place, and in the care of those +lovely, gentle and refined ladies of that order. + +Shortly after that, Captain Jack was ordered to David's Island, +New York Harbor (now called Fort Slocum), where we spent four +happy and uninterrupted years, in the most constant intercourse +with my dear brother and sister. + +Old friends were coming and going all the time, and it seemed so +good to us to be living in a place where this was possible. + +Captain Summerhayes was constructing officer and had a busy life, +with all the various sorts of building to be done there. + +David's Island was then an Artillery Post, and there were several +batteries stationed there. (Afterwards it became a recruiting +station.) The garrison was often entirely changed. At one time, +General Henry C. Cook was in command. He and his charming +Southern wife added so much to the enjoyment of the post. Then +came our old friends the Van Vliets of Santa Fe days; and Dr. and +Mrs. Valery Havard, who are so well known in the army, and then +Colonel Carl Woodruff and Mrs. Woodruff, whom we all liked so +much, and dear Doctor Julian Cabell, and others, who completed a +delightful garrison. + +And we had a series of informal dances and invited the +distinguished members of the artist colony from New Rochelle, and +it was at one of these dances that I first met Frederic +Remington. I had long admired his work and had been most anxious +to meet him. As a rule, Frederic did not attend any social +functions, but he loved the army, and as Mrs. Remington was fond +of social life, they were both present at our first little +invitation dance. + +About the middle of the evening I noticed Mr. Remington sitting +alone and I crossed the hall and sat down beside him. I then told +him how much I had loved his work and how it appealed to all army +folks, and how glad I was to know him, and I suppose I said many +other things such as literary men and painters and players often +have to hear from enthusiastic women like myself. However, +Frederic seemed pleased, and made some modest little speech and +then fell into an abstracted silence, gazing on the great flag +which was stretched across the hall at one end, and from behind +which some few soldiers who were going to assist in serving the +supper were passing in and out. I fell in with his mood +immediately, as he was a person with whom formality was +impossible, and said: "What are you looking at, Mr. Remington?" +He replied, turning upon me his round boyish face and his blue +eyes gladdening, "I was just thinking I wished I was behind in +there where those blue jackets are--you know--behind that flag +with the soldiers--those are the men I like to study, you know, I +don't like all this fuss and feathers of society"--then, blushing +at his lack of gallantry, he added: "It's all right, of course, +pretty women and all that, and I suppose you think I'm dreadful +and--do you want me to dance with you--that's the proper thing +here isn't it?" Whereupon, he seized me in his great arms and +whirled me around at a pace I never dreamed of, and, once around, +he said, "that's enough of this thing, isn't it, let's sit down, +I believe I'm going to like you, though I'm not much for women." +I said "You must come over here often;" and he replied, "You've +got a lot of jolly good fellows over here and I will do it." + +Afterwards, the Remingtons and ourselves became the closest +friends. Mrs. Remington's maiden name was Eva Caton, and after +the first few meetings, she became "little Eva" to me--and if +ever there was an embodiment of that gentle lovely name and what +it implies, it is this woman, the wife of the great artist, who +has stood by him through all the reverses of his early life and +been, in every sense, his guiding star. + +And now began visits to the studio, a great room he had built on +to his house at New Rochelle. It had an enormous fire place where +great logs were burned, and the walls were hung with the most +rare and wonderful Indian curios. There he did all the painting +which has made him famous in the last twenty years, and all the +modelling which has already become so well known and would have +eventually made him a name as a great sculptor. He always worked +steadily until three o'clock and then there was a walk or game of +tennis or a ride. After dinner, delightful evenings in the +studio. + +Frederic was a student and a deep thinker. He liked to solve all +questions for himself and did not accept readily other men's +theories. He thought much on religious subjects and the future +life, and liked to compare the Christian religion with the +religions of Eastern countries, weighing them one against the +other with fairness and clear logic. + +And so we sat, many evenings into the night, Frederic and Jack +stretched in their big leather chairs puffing away at their +pipes, Eva with her needlework,and myself a rapt listener: +wondering at this man of genius, who could work with his creative +brush all day long and talk with the eloquence of a learned +Doctor of Divinity half the night. + +During the time we were stationed at Davids Island, Mr. Remington +and Jack made a trip to the Southwest, where they shot the +peccary (wild hog) in Texas and afterwards blue quail and other +game in Mexico. Artist and soldier, they got on famously together +notwithstanding the difference in their ages. + +And now he was going to try his hand at a novel, a real romance. +We talked a good deal about the little Indian boy, and I got to +love White Weasel long before he appeared in print as John +Ermine.The book came out after we had left New Rochelle--but I +received a copy from him, and wrote him my opinion of it, which +was one of unstinted praise. But it did not surprise me to learn +that he did not consider it a success from a financial point of +view. + +"You see," he said a year afterwards, "that sort of thing does +not interest the public. What they want,"--here he began to mimic +some funny old East Side person, and both hands +gesticulating--"is a back yard and a cabbage patch and a cook +stove and babies' clothes drying beside it, you see, Mattie," he +said. "They don't want to know anything about the Indian or the +half-breed, or what he thinks or believes." And then he went off +into one of his irresistible tirades combining ridicule and abuse +of the reading public, in language such as only Frederic +Remington could use before women and still retain his dignity. +"Well, Frederic," I said, "I will try to recollect that, when I +write my experiences of Army Life." + +In writing him my opinion of his book the year before, I had +said, "In fact, I am in love with John Ermine." The following +Christmas he sent me the accompanying card. + +Now the book was dramatized and produced, with Hackett as John +Ermine, at the Globe Theatre in September of 1902--the hottest +weather ever on record in Boston at that season. Of course seats +were reserved for us; we were living at Nantucket that year, and +we set sail at noon to see the great production. We snatched a +bite of supper at a near-by hotel in Boston and hurried to the +theatre, but being late, had some difficulty in getting our +seats. + +The curtain was up and there sat Hackett, not with long yellow +hair (which was the salient point in the half-breed scout) but +rather well-groomed, looking more like a parlor Indian than a +real live half-breed, such as all we army people knew. I thought +"this will never do." + +The house was full, Hackett did the part well, and the audience +murmured on going out: "a very artistic success." But the play +was too mystical, too sad. It would have suited the "New Theatre" +patrons better. I wrote him from Nantucket and criticized one or +two minor points, such as the 1850 riding habits of the women, +which were slouchy and unbecoming and made the army people look +like poor emigrants and I received this letter in reply: + +WEBSTER AVENUE, +NEW ROCHELLE, N. Y. + +My dear Mrs. S., + +Much obliged for your talk--it is just what we want--proper +impressions. + +I fought for that long hair but the management said the audience +has got to, have some Hackett--why I could not see--but he is a +matinee idol and that long with the box office. + +We'll dress Katherine up better. + +The long rehearsals at night nearly killed me--I was completely +done up and came home on train Monday in that terrific heat and +now I am in the hands of a doctor. Imagine me a week without +sleep. + +Hope that fight took Jack back to his youth. For the stage I +don't think it was bad. We'll get grey shirts on their men later. + +The old lady arrives to-day--she has been in Gloversville. + +I think the play will go--but, we may have to save Ermine. The +public is a funny old cat and won't stand for the mustard. + +Well, glad you had a good time and of course you can't charge me +up with the heat. + +Yours, +FREDERICK R. + + +Remington made a trip to the Yellowstone Park and this is what he +wrote to Jack. His letters were never dated. + +My dear Summerhayes: + +Say if you could get a few puffs of this cold air out here you +would think you were full of champagne water. I feel like a d--- +kid-- + +I thought I should never be young again--but here I am only 14 +years old--my whiskers are falling out. + +Capt. Brown of the 1st cay. wishes to be remembered to you both. +He is Park Superintendent. Says if you will come out here he will +take care of you and he would. + +Am painting and doing some good work. Made a "govt. six" yesterday. + +In the course of time, he bought an Island in the St. Lawrence +and they spent several summers there. + +On the occasion of my husband accepting a detail in active +service in Washington at the Soldiers' Home, after his +retirement, he received the following letter. + + +INGLENEUK, CHIPPEWA BAY, N. Y. + +My dear Jack-- + +So there you are--and I'm d--- glad you are so nicely fixed. It's +the least they could do for you and you ought to be able to enjoy +it for ten years before they find any spavins on you if you will +behave yourself, but I guess you will drift into that Army and +Navy Club and round up with a lot of those old alkalied +prairie-dogs whom neither Indians nor whiskey could kill and Mr. +Gout will take you over his route to Arlington. + +I'm on the water wagon and I feel like a young mule. I am never +going to get down again to try the walking. If I lose my whip I +am going to drive right on and leave it. + +We are having a fine summer and I may run over to Washington this +winter and throw my eye over you to see how you go. We made a +trip down to New Foundland but saw nothing worth while. I guess I +am getting to be an old swat--I can't see anything that didn't +happen twenty years ago, + +Y-- +FREDERICK R. + + +At the close of the year just gone, this great soul passed from +the earth leaving a blank in our lives that nothing can ever +fill. Passed into the great Beyond whose mysteries were always +troubling his mind. Suddenly and swiftly the call came--the hand +was stilled and the restless spirit took its flight. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +DAVID'S ISLAND + +At Davids' Island the four happiest years of my army life glided +swiftly away. + +There was a small steam tug which made regular and frequent trips +over to New Rochelle and we enjoyed our intercourse with the +artists and players who lived there. + +Zogbaum, whose well known pictures of sailors and warships and +soldiers had reached us even in the far West, and whose charming +family added so much to our pleasure. + +Julian Hawthorne with his daughter Hildegarde, now so well known +as a literary critic; Henry Loomis Nelson, whose fair daughter +Margaret came to our little dances and promptly fell in love with +a young, slim, straight Artillery officer. A case of love at +first sight, followed by a short courtship and a beautiful little +country wedding at Miss Nelson's home on the old Pelham Road, +where Hildegarde Hawthorne was bridesmaid in a white dress and +scarlet flowers (the artillery colors) and many famous literary +people from everywhere were present. + +Augustus Thomas, the brilliant playwright, whose home was near +the Remingtons on Lathers' Hill, and whose wife, so young, so +beautiful and so accomplished, made that home attractive and +charming. + +Francis Wilson, known to the world at large, first as a singer in +comic opera, and now as an actor and author, also lived in New +Rochelle, and we came to have the honor of being numbered +amongst his friends. A devoted husband and kind father, a man of +letters and a book lover, such is the man as we knew him in his +home and with his family. + +And now came the delicious warm summer days. We persuaded the +Quartermaster to prop up the little row of old bathing houses +which had toppled over with the heavy winter gales. There were +several bathing enthusiasts amongst us; we had a pretty fair +little stretch of beach which was set apart for the officers' +families, and now what bathing parties we had! Kemble, the +illustrator, joined our ranks--and on a warm summer morning the +little old Tug Hamilton was gay with the artists and their +families, the players and writers of plays, and soon you could +see the little garrison hastening to the beach and the swimmers +running down the long pier, down the run-way and off head first +into the clear waters of the Sound. What a company was that! The +younger and the older ones all together, children and their +fathers and mothers, all happy, all well, all so gay, and we of +the frontier so enamored of civilization and what it brought us! +There were no intruders and ah! those were happy days. Uncle Sam +seemed to be making up to us for what we had lost during all +those long years in the wild places. + +Then Augustus Thomas wrote the play of "Arizona" and we went to +New York to see it put on, and we sat in Mr. Thomas' box and saw +our frontier life brought before us with startling reality. + +And so one season followed another. Each bringing its pleasures, +and then came another lovely wedding, for my brother Harry gave +up his bachelor estate and married one of the nicest and +handsomest girls in Westchester County, and their home in New +Rochelle was most attractive. My son was at the Stevens Institute +and both he and Katharine were able to spend their vacations at +David's Island, and altogether, our life there was near to +perfection. + +We were doomed to have one more tour in the West, however, and +this time it was the Middle West. + +For in the autumn of '96, Jack was ordered to Jefferson +Barracks, Missouri, on construction work. + +Jefferson Barracks is an old and historic post on the Mississippi +River, some ten miles south of St. Louis. I could not seem to +take any interest in the post or in the life there. I could not +form new ties so quickly, after our life on the coast, and I did +not like the Mississippi Valley, and St. Louis was too far from +the post, and the trolley ride over there too disagreeable for +words. After seven months of just existing (on my part) at +Jefferson Barracks, Jack received an order for Fort Myer, the +end, the aim, the dream of all army people. Fort Myer is about +three miles from Washington, D. C. + +We lost no time in getting there and were soon settled in our +pleasant quarters. There was some building to be done, but the +duty was comparatively light, and we entered with considerable +zest into the social life of the Capital. We expected to remain +there for two years, at the end of which time Captain Summerhayes +would be retired and Washington would be our permanent home. + +But alas! our anticipation was never to be realized, for, as we +all know, in May of 1898, the Spanish War broke out, and my +husband was ordered to New York City to take charge of the Army +Transport Service, under Colonel Kimball. + +No delay was permitted to him, so I was left behind, to pack up +the household goods and to dispose of our horses and carriages as +best I could. + +The battle of Manila Bay had changed the current of our lives, +and we were once more adrift. + +The young Cavalry officers came in to say good-bye to Captain +Jack: every one was busy packing up his belongings for an +indefinite period and preparing for the field. We all felt the +undercurrent of sadness and uncertainty, but "a good health" and +"happy return" was drunk all around, and Jack departed at +midnight for his new station and new duties. + +The next morning at daybreak we were awakened by the tramp, tramp +of the Cavalry, marching out of the post, en route for Cuba. + +We peered out of the windows and watched the troops we loved so +well, until every man and horse had vanished from our sight. + +Fort Myer was deserted and our hearts were sad. + +* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * +* * + +My sister Harriet, who was visiting us at that time, returned +from her morning walk, and as she stepped upon the porch, she +said: "Well! of all lonesome places I ever saw, this is the worst +yet. I am going to pack my trunk and leave. I came to visit an +army post, but not an old women's home or an orphan asylum: that +is about all this place is now. I simply cannot stay!" + +Whereupon, she proceeded immediately to carry out her resolution, +and I was left behind with my young daughter, to finish and close +up our life at Fort Myer. + +To describe the year which followed, that strenuous year in New +York, is beyond my power. + +That summer gave Jack his promotion to a Major, but the anxiety +and the terrible strain of official work broke down his health +entirely, and in the following winter the doctors sent him to +Florida, to recuperate. + +After six weeks in St. Augustine, we returned to New York. The +stress of the war was over; the Major was ordered to Governor's +Island as Chief Quartermaster, Department of the East, and in the +following year he was retired, by operation of the law, at the +age limit. + +I was glad to rest from the incessant changing of stations; the +life had become irksome to me, in its perpetual unrest. I was +glad to find a place to lay my head, and to feel that we were not +under orders; to find and to keep a roof-tree, under which we +could abide forever. + +In 1903, by an act of Congress, the veterans of the Civil War, +who had served continuously for thirty years or more were given +an extra grade, so now my hero wears with complacency the silver +leaf of the Lieutenant-Colonel, and is enjoying the quiet life of +a civilian. + +But that fatal spirit of unrest from which I thought to escape, +and which ruled my life for so many years, sometimes asserts its +power, and at those times my thoughts turn back to the days when +we were all Lieutenants together, marching across the deserts and +mountains of Arizona; back to my friends of the Eighth Infantry, +that historic regiment, whose officers and men fought before the +walls of Chapultepec and Mexico, back to my friends of the Sixth +Cavalry, to the days at Camp MacDowell, where we slept under the +stars, and watched the sun rise from behind the Four Peaks of the +MacDowell Mountains: where we rode the big cavalry horses over +the sands of the Maricopa desert, swung in our hammocks under the +ramadas; swam in the red waters of the Verde River, ate canned +peaches, pink butter and commissary hams, listened for the +scratching of the centipedes as they scampered around the edges +of our canvas-covered floors, found scorpions in our slippers, +and rattlesnakes under our beds. + +The old post is long since abandoned, but the Four Peaks still +stand, wrapped in their black shadows by night, and their purple +colors by day, waiting for the passing of the Apache and the +coming of the white man, who shall dig his canals in those arid +plains, and build his cities upon the ruins of the ancient Aztec +dwellings. + +The Sixth Cavalry, as well as the Eighth Infantry, has seen many +vicissitudes since those days. Some of our gallant Captains and +Lieutenants have won their stars, others have been slain in +battle. + +Dear, gentle Major Worth received wounds in the Cuban campaign, +which caused his death, but he wore his stars before he obeyed +the "last call." + +The gay young officers of Angel Island days hold dignified +commands in the Philippines, Cuba, and Alaska. + +* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * +* * * * + +My early experiences were unusually rough. None of us seek such +experiences, but possibly they bring with them a sort of +recompense, in that simple comforts afterwards seem, by contrast, +to be the greatest luxuries. + +I am glad to have known the army: the soldiers, the line, and the +Staff; it is good to think of honor and chivalry, obedience to +duty and the pride of arms; to have lived amongst men whose +motives were unselfish and whose aims were high; amongst men who +served an ideal; who stood ready, at the call of their country, +to give their lives for a Government which is, to them, the best +in the world. + +Sometimes I hear the still voices of the Desert: they seem to be +calling me through the echoes of the Past. I hear, in fancy, the +wheels of the ambulance crunching the small broken stones of the +malapais, or grating swiftly over the gravel of the smooth white +roads of the river-bottoms. I hear the rattle of the ivory rings +on the harness of the six-mule team; I see the soldiers marching +on ahead; I see my white tent, so inviting after a long day's +journey. + +But how vain these fancies! Railroad and automobile have +annihilated distance, the army life of those years is past and +gone, and Arizona, as we knew it, has vanished from the face of +the earth. + +THE END. + +APPENDIX. + +NANTUCKET ISLAND, June 1910. + +When, a few years ago, I determined to write my recollections of +life in the army, I was wholly unfamiliar with the methods of +publishers, and the firm to whom I applied to bring out my book, +did not urge upon me the advisability of having it electrotyped, +firstly, because, as they said afterwards, I myself had such a +very modest opinion of my book, and, secondly because they +thought a book of so decidedly personal a character would not +reach a sale of more than a few hundred copies at the farthest. +The matter of electrotyping was not even discussed between us. +The entire edition of one thousand copies was exhausted in about +a year, without having been carried on the lists of any +bookseller or advertised in any way except through some circulars +sent by myself to personal friends, and through several excellent +reviews in prominent newspapers. + +As the demand for the book continued, I have thought it advisable +to re-issue it, adding a good deal that has come into my mind +since its publication. + +* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * + * * * * + +It was after the Colonel's retirement that we came to spend the +summers at Nantucket, and I began to enjoy the leisure that never +comes into the life of an army woman during the active service of +her husband. We were no longer expecting sudden orders, and I was +able to think quietly over the events of the past. + +My old letters which had been returned to me really gave me the +inspiration to write the book and as I read them over, the people +and the events therein described were recalled vividly to my +mind--events which I had forgotten, people whom I had +forgotten--events and people all crowded out of my memory for +many years by the pressure of family cares, and the succession of +changes in our stations, by anxiety during Indian campaigns, and +the constant readjustment of my mind to new scenes and new +friends. + +And so, in the delicious quiet of the Autumn days at Nantucket, +when the summer winds had ceased to blow and the frogs had ceased +their pipings in the salt meadows, and the sea was wondering +whether it should keep its summer blue or change into its winter +grey, I sat down at my desk and began to write my story. + +Looking out over the quiet ocean in those wonderful November +days, when a peaceful calm brooded over all things, I gathered up +all the threads of my various experiences and wove them together. + +But the people and the lands I wrote about did not really exist +for me; they were dream people and dream lands. I wrote of them +as they had appeared to me in those early years, and, strange as +it may seem, I did not once stop to think if the people and the +lands still existed. + +For a quarter of a century I had lived in the day that began with +reveille and ended with "Taps." + +Now on this enchanted island, there was no reveille to awaken us +in the morning, and in the evening the only sound we could hear +was the "ruck" of the waves on the far outer shores and the sad +tolling of the bell buoy when the heaving swell of the ocean came +rolling over the bar. + +And so I wrote, and the story grew into a book which was +published and sent out to friends and family. + +As time passed on, I began to receive orders for the book from +army officers, and then one day I received orders from people in +Arizona and I awoke to the fact that Arizona was no longer the +land of my memories. I began to receive booklets telling me of +projected railroads, also pictures of wonderful buildings, all +showing progress and prosperity. + +And then came letters from some Presidents of railroads whose +lines ran through Arizona, and from bankers and politicians and +business men of Tucson, Phoenix and Yuma City. Photographs +showing shady roads and streets, where once all was a glare and a +sandy waste. Letters from mining men who knew every foot of the +roads we had marched over; pictures of the great Laguna dam on +the Colorado, and of the quarters of the Government Reclamation +Service Corps at Yuma. + +These letters and pictures told me of the wonderful contrast +presented by my story to the Arizona of today; and although I had +not spared that country, in my desire to place before my children +and friends a vivid picture of my life out there, all these men +seemed willing to forgive me and even declared that my story +might do as much to advance their interests and the prosperity of +Arizona as anything which had been written with only that object +in view. + +My soul was calmed by these assurances, and I ceased to be +distressed by thinking over the descriptions I had given of the +unpleasant conditions existing in that country in the seventies. + +In the meantime, the San Francisco Chronicle had published a good +review of my book, and reproduced the photograph of Captain Jack +Mellon, the noted pilot of the Colorado river, adding that he was +undoubtedly one of the most picturesque characters who had ever +lived on the Pacific Coast and that he had died some years ago. + +And so he was really dead! And perhaps the others too, were all +gone from the earth, I thought when one day I received a +communication from an entire stranger, who informed me that the +writer of the review in the San Francisco newspaper had been +mistaken in the matter of Captain Mellon's death, that he had +seen him recently and that he lived at San Diego. So I wrote to +him and made haste to forward him a copy of my book, which +reached him at Yuma, on the Colorado, and this is what he wrote: + +YUMA, Dec. 15th, 1908. + +My dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +Your good book and letter came yesterday p. m., for which accept +my thanks. My home is not in San Diego, but in Coronado, across +the bay from San Diego. That is the reason I did not get your +letter sooner. + +In one hour after I received your book, I had orders for nine of +them. All these books go to the official force of the Reclamation +Service here who are Damming the Colorado for the Government +Irrigation Project. They are not Damming it as we formerly did, +but with good solid masonry. The Dam is 4800 feet long and 300 +feet wide and 10 feet above high water. In high water it will +flow over the top of the Dam, but in low water the ditches or +canals will take all the water out of the River, the approximate +cost is three million. There will be a tunnel under the River at +Yuma just below the Bridge, to bring the water into Arizona which +is thickly settled to the Mexican Line. + +I have done nothing on the River since the 23rd of last August, +at which date they closed the River to Navigation, and the only +reason I am now in Yumai s trying to get something from +Government for my boats made useless by the Dam. I expect to get +a little, but not a tenth of what they cost me. + +Your book could not have a better title: it is "Vanished Arizona" +sure enough, vanished the good and warm Hearts that were here +when you were. The People here now are cold blooded as a snake +and are all trying to get the best of the other fellow. + +There are but two alive that were on the River when you were on +it. Polhemus and myself are all that are left, but I have many +friends on this coast. + +* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * +* * * + +The nurse Patrocina died in Los Angeles last summer and the +crying kid Jesusita she had on the boat when you went from +Ehrenberg to the mouth of the River grew up to be the finest +looking Girl in these Parts; She was the Star witness in a murder +trial in Los Angeles last winter, and her picture was in all of +the Papers. + +I am sending you a picture of the Steamer "Mojave" which was not +on the river when you were here. I made 20 trips with her up to +the Virgin River, which is 145 miles above Fort Mojave, or 75 +miles higher than any other man has gone with a boat: she was 10 +feet longer than the "Gila" or any other boat ever on the River. +(Excuse this blowing but it's the truth). + +In 1864 I was on a trip down the Gulf of California, in a small +sail boat and one of my companions was John Stanton. In Angel's +Bay a man whom we were giving a passage to, murdered my partner +and ran off with the boat and left Charley Ticen, John Stanton +and myself on the beach. We were seventeen days tramping to a +village with nothing to eat but cactus but I think I have told +you the story before and what I want to know, is this Stanton +alive. He belonged to New Bedford--his father had been master of +a whale-ship. + +When we reached Guaymas, Stanton found a friend, the mate of a +steamer, the mate also belonged to New Bedford. When we parted, +Stanton told me he was going home and was going to stay there, +and as he was two years younger than me, he may still be in New +Bedford, and as you are on the ground, maybe you can help me to +find out. + +All the people that I know praise your descriptive power and now +my dear Mrs. Summerhayes I suppose you will have a hard time +wading through my scrawl but I know you will be generous and +remember that I went to sea when a little over nine years of age +and had my pen been half as often in my hand as a marlin spike, I +would now be able to write a much clearer hand. + +I have a little bungalow on Coronado Beach, across the bay from +San Diego, and if you ever come there, you or your husband, you +are welcome; while I have a bean you can have half. I would like +to see you and talk over old times. Yuma is quite a place now; no +more adobes built; it is brick and concrete, cement sidewalks and +flower gardens with electric light and a good water system. + +My home is within five minutes walk of the Pacific Ocean. I was +born at Digby, Nova Scotia, and the first music I ever heard was +the surf of the Bay of Fundy, and when I close my eyes forever I +hope the surf of the Pacific will be the last sound that will +greet my ears. + +I read Vanished Arizona last night until after midnight, and +thought what we both had gone through since you first came up the +Colorado with me. My acquaintance with the army was always +pleasant, and like Tom Moore I often say: + +Let fate do her worst, there are relics of joy Bright dreams of +the past which she cannot destroy! Which come in the night-time +of sorrow and care And bring back the features that joy used to +wear. Long, long be my heart with such memories filled! + +I suppose the Colonel goes down to the Ship Chandler's and gams +with the old whaling captains. When I was a boy, there was a +wealthy family of ship-owners in New Bedford by the name of +Robinson. I saw one of their ships in Bombay, India, that was in +1854, her name was the Mary Robinson, and altho' there were over +a hundred ships on the bay, she was the handsomest there. + +Well, good friend, I am afraid I will tire you out, so I will +belay this, and with best wishes for you and yours, + +I am, yours truly, + +J. A. MELLON. + +P. S.--Fisher is long since called to his Long Home. + +* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * + * * * * + +I had fancied, when Vanished Arizona was published, that it might +possibly appeal to the sympathies of women, and that men would +lay it aside as a sort-of a "woman's book"--but I have received +more really sympathetic letters from men than I have from women, +all telling me, in different words, that the human side of the +story had appealed to them, and I suppose this comes from the +fact that originally I wrote it for my children, and felt perfect +freedom to put my whole self into it. And now that the book is +entirely out of my hands, I am glad that I wrote it as I did, for +if I had stopped to think that my dream people might be real +people, and that the real people would read it, I might never +have had the courage to write it at all. + +The many letters I have received of which there have been several +hundred I am sure, have been so interesting that I reproduce a +few more of them here: + +FORT BENJAMIN HARRISON, INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA. January 10, 1909. + +My dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +I have just read the book. It is a good book, a true book, one of +the best kind of books. After taking it up I did not lay it down +till it was finished--till with you I had again gone over the +malapais deserts of Arizona, and recalled my own meetings with +you at Niobrara and at old Fort Marcy or Santa Fe. You were my +cicerone in the old town and I couldn't have had a better one--or +more charming one. + +The book has recalled many memories to me. Scarcely a name you +mention but is or was a friend. Major Van Vliet loaned me his +copy, but I shall get one of my own and shall tell my friends in +the East that, if they desire a true picture of army life as it +appears to the army woman, they must read your book. + +For my part I feel that I must congratulate you on your +successful work and thank you for the pleasure you have given me +in its perusal. + +With cordial regard to you and yours, and with best wishes for +many happy years. + +Very sincerely yours, + +L. W. V. KENNON, Maj. 10th Inf. + +HEADQUARTERS THIRD BRIGADE, NATIONAL GUARD OF PENNSYLVANIA, +WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA. JANUARY 19, 1908. + +Dear Madam: + +I am sending you herewith my check for two copies of "Vanished +Arizona." This summer our mutual friend, Colonel Beaumont (late +4th U. S. Cav.) ordered two copies for me and I have given them +both away to friends whom I wanted to have read your delightful +and charming book. I am now ordering one of these for another +friend and wish to keep one in my record library as a memorable +story of the bravery and courage of the noble band of army men +and women who helped to blaze the pathway of the nation's +progress in its course of Empire Westward. + +No personal record written, which I have read, tells so +splendidly of what the good women of our army endured in the +trials that beset the army in the life on the plains in the days +succeeding the Civil War. And all this at a time when the nation +and its people were caring but little for you all and the +struggles you were making. + +I will be pleased indeed if you will kindly inscribe your name in +one of the books you will send me. + +Sincerely Yours, C. B. DOUGHERTY, Brig. Gen'l N. G. Pa. Jan. 19, +1908 + +SCHENECTADY, N. Y. June 8th, 1908. + +Mrs. John W. Summerhayes, North Shore Hill, Nantucket, Mass. + +My Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +Were I to say that I enjoyed "Vanished Arizona, "I should very +inadequately express my feelings about it, because there is so +much to arouse emotions deeper than what we call "enjoyment;" it +stirs the sympathies and excites our admiration for your courage +and your fortitude. In a word, the story, honest and unaffected, +yet vivid, has in it that touch of nature which makes kin of us +all. + +How actual knowledge and experience broadens our minds! Your +appreciation of, and charity for, the weaknesses of those living +a lonely life of deprivation on the frontier, impressed me very +much. I wish too, that what you say about the canteen could be +published in every newspaper in America. + +Very sincerely yours, + +M. F. WESTOVER, Secretary Gen'l Electric Co. + +THE MILITARY SERVICE INSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. Governor's +Island, N. Y. June 25, 1908. + +Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +I offer my personal congratulations upon your success in +producing a work of such absorbing interest to all friends of the +Army, and so instructive to the public at large. + +I have just finished reading the book, from cover to cover, to my +wife and we have enjoyed it thoroughly. + +Will you please advise me where the book can be purchased in New +York, or otherwise mail two copies to me at 203 W. 54th Street, +New York City, with memo of price per copy, that I may remit the +amount. + +Very truly yours, + +T. F. RODENBOUGH, Secretary and Editor (Brig. Gen'l. U. S. A.) + +YALE UNIVERSITY, NEW HAVEN, CONN. + +May 15, 191O. + +Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +I have read every word of your book "Vanished Arizona" with +intense interest. You have given a vivid account of what you +actually saw and lived through, and nobody can resist the +truthfulness and reality of your narrative. The book is a real +contribution to American history, and to the chronicles of army +life. + +Faithfully yours, WM. LYON PHELPS, + +[Professor of English literature at Yale University.] + +LONACONING, MD., Jan. 2, 1909. + +Col. J. W. Summerhays, New Rochelle, N. Y. + +Dear Sir: + +Captain William Baird, 6th Cavalry, retired, now at Annapolis, +sent me Mrs. Summerhay's book to read, and I have read it with +delight, for I was in "K" when Mrs. Summerhays "took on" in the +8th. Myself and my brother, Michael, served in "K" Company from +David's Island to Camp Apache. Doubtless you have forgotten me, +but I am sure that you remember the tall fifer of "K", Michael +Gurnett. He was killed at Camp Mohave in Sept. 1885, while in +Company "G" of the 1st Infantry. I was five years in "K", but my +brother re-enlisted in "K", and afterward joined the First. He +served in the 31st, 22nd, 8th and 1st. + +Oh, that little book! We're all in it, even poor Charley Bowen. +Mrs. Summerhays should have written a longer story. She soldiered +long enough with the 8th in the "bloody 70's" to be able to write +a book five times as big. For what she's done, God bless her! She +is entitled to the Irishman's benediction: "May every hair in her +head be a candle to light her soul to glory." We poor old +Regulars have little said about us in print, and wish to God that +"Vanished Arizona" was in the hands of every old veteran of the +"Marching 8th." If I had the means I would send a copy to our 1st +Serg't Bernard Moran, and the other old comrades at the Soldiers' +Home. But, alas, evil times have fallen upon us, and--I'm not +writing a jeremiad--I took the book from the post office and when +I saw the crossed guns and the"8" there was a lump in my throat, +and I went into the barber shop and read it through before I +left. A friend of mine was in the shop and when I came to +Pringle's death, he said, "Gurnett, that must be a sad book +you're reading, why man, you're crying." + +I believe I was, but they were tears of joy. And, Oh, Lord, to +think of Bowen having a full page in history; but, after all, +maybe he deserved it. And that picture of my company commander! +[Worth]. Long, long, have I gazed on it. I was only sixteen and a +half years old when I joined his company at David's Island, Dec. +6th, 1871. Folliot A. Whitney was 1st lieutenant and Cyrus +Earnest, 2nd. What a fine man Whitney was. A finer man nor truer +gentleman ever wore a shoulder strap. If he had been company +commander I'd have re-enlisted and stayed with him. I was always +afraid of Worth, though he was always good to my brother and +myself. I deeply regretted Lieut. Whitney's death in Cuba, and I +watched Major Worth's career in the last war. It nearly broke my +heart that I could not go. Oh, the rattle of the war drum and the +bugle calls and the marching troops, it set me crazy, and me not +able to take a hand in the scrap. + +Mrs. Summerhays calls him Wm. T. Worth, isn't it Wm. S. Worth? + +The copy I have read was loaned me by Captain Baird; he says it's +a Christmas gift from General Carter, and I must return it. My +poor wife has read it with keen interest and says she: "William, +I am going to have that book for my children," and she'll get it, +yea, verily! she will. + +Well, Colonel, I'm right glad to know that you are still on this +side of the great divide, and I know that you and Mrs. S. will be +glad to hear from an old "walk-a-heap" of the 8th. + +I am working for a Cumberland newspaper--Lonaconing reporter--and +I will send you a copy or two of the paper with this. And now, +permit me to subscribe myself your + +Comrade In Arms, + +WILLIAM A. GURNETT. + + + +Dear Mrs. Summerhayes: + +Read your book--in fact when I got started I forgot my bedtime +(and you know how rigid that is) and sat it through. + +It has a bully note of the old army--it was all worthwhile--they +had color, those days. + +I say--now suppose you had married a man who kept a drug +store--see what you would have had and see what you would have +missed. + +Yours, FREDERIC REMINGTON. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Etext of Vanished Arizona, by Summerhayes + diff --git a/old/old/variz10.zip b/old/old/variz10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2a2671f --- /dev/null +++ b/old/old/variz10.zip |