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diff --git a/6823.txt b/6823.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2e1072a --- /dev/null +++ b/6823.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10010 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Army Letters from an Officer's Wife, +1871-1888, by Frances M.A. Roe + +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: Army Letters from an Officer's Wife, 1871-1888 + +Author: Frances M.A. Roe + +Release Date: November, 2004 [EBook #6823] +Posting Date: June 4, 2009 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTERS FROM AN OFFICER'S WIFE *** + + + + +Produced by Dianne Bean + + + + + + + + +ARMY LETTERS FROM AN OFFICER'S WIFE + + +By Frances M. A. Roe + + + + +PREFACE + +PERHAPS it is not necessary to say that the events mentioned in the +letters are not imaginary--perhaps the letters themselves tell that! +They are truthful accounts of experiences that came into my own +life with the Army in the far West, whether they be about Indians, +desperadoes, or hunting--not one little thing has been stolen. They +are of a life that has passed--as has passed the buffalo and the +antelope--yes, and the log and adobe quarters for the Army. All flowery +descriptions have been omitted, as it seemed that a simple, concise +narration of events as they actually occurred, was more in keeping with +the life, and that which came into it. FRANCES M. A. ROE. + + + + + +ARMY LETTERS FROM AN OFFICER'S WIFE + + +KIT CARSON, COLORADO TERRITORY, October, 1871. + +IT is late, so this can be only a note--to tell you that we arrived here +safely, and will take the stage for Fort Lyon to-morrow morning at six +o'clock. I am thankful enough that our stay is short at this terrible +place, where one feels there is danger of being murdered any minute. +Not one woman have I seen here, but there are men--any number of +dreadful-looking men--each one armed with big pistols, and leather belts +full of cartridges. But the houses we saw as we came from the station +were worse even than the men. They looked, in the moonlight, like huge +cakes of clay, where spooks and creepy things might be found. The hotel +is much like the houses, and appears to have been made of dirt, and a +few drygoods boxes. Even the low roof is of dirt. The whole place is +horrible, and dismal beyond description, and just why anyone lives here +I cannot understand. + +I am all upset! Faye has just been in to say that only one of my trunks +can be taken on the stage with us, and of course I had to select one +that has all sorts of things in it, and consequently leave my pretty +dresses here, to be sent for--all but the Japanese silk which happens to +be in that trunk. But imagine my mortification in having to go with +Faye to his regiment, with only two dresses. And then, to make my +shortcomings the more vexatious, Faye will be simply fine all the time, +in his brand new uniform! + +Perhaps I can send a long letter soon--if I live to reach that army post +that still seems so far away. + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, October, 1871. + +AFTER months of anticipation and days of weary travel we have at last +got to our army home! As you know, Fort Lyon is fifty miles from Kit +Carson, and we came all that distance in a funny looking stage coach +called a "jerkey," and a good name for it, too, for at times it seesawed +back and forth and then sideways, in an awful breakneck way. The day was +glorious, and the atmosphere so clear, we could see miles and miles in +every direction. But there was not one object to be seen on the vast +rolling plains--not a tree nor a house, except the wretched ranch and +stockade where we got fresh horses and a perfectly uneatable dinner. + +It was dark when we reached the post, so of course we could see +nothing that night. General and Mrs. Phillips gave us a most cordial +welcome--just as though they had known us always. Dinner was served soon +after we arrived, and the cheerful dining room, and the table with its +dainty china and bright silver, was such a surprise--so much nicer than +anything we had expected to find here, and all so different from the +terrible places we had seen since reaching the plains. It was apparent +at once that this was not a place for spooks! General Phillips is not a +real general--only so by brevet, for gallant service during the war. I +was so disappointed when I was told this, but Faye says that he is very +much afraid that I will have cause, sooner or later, to think that +the grade of captain is quite high enough. He thinks this way because, +having graduated at West Point this year, he is only a second lieutenant +just now, and General Phillips is his captain and company commander. + +It seems that in the Army, lieutenants are called "Mister" always, but +all other officers must be addressed by their rank. At least that is +what they tell me. But in Faye's company, the captain is called general, +and the first lieutenant is called major, and as this is most confusing, +I get things mixed sometimes. Most girls would. A soldier in uniform +waited upon us at dinner, and that seemed so funny. I wanted to watch +him all the time, which distracted me, I suppose, for once I called +General Phillips "Mister!" It so happened, too, that just that instant +there was not a sound in the room, so everyone heard the blunder. +General Phillips straightened back in his chair, and his little son gave +a smothered giggle--for which he should have been sent to bed at once. +But that was not all! That soldier, who had been so dignified and stiff, +put his hand over his mouth and fairly rushed from the room so he could +laugh outright. And how I longed to run some place, too--but not to +laugh, oh, no! + +These soldiers are not nearly as nice as one would suppose them to be, +when one sees them dressed up in their blue uniforms with bright brass +buttons. And they can make mistakes, too, for yesterday, when I asked +that same man a question, he answered, "Yes, sorr!" Then I smiled, of +course, but he did not seem to have enough sense to see why. When I +told Faye about it, he looked vexed and said I must never laugh at an +enlisted man--that it was not dignified in the wife of an officer to do +so. And then I told him that an officer should teach an enlisted man +not to snicker at his wife, and not to call her "Sorr," which was +disrespectful. I wanted to say more, but Faye suddenly left the room. + +The post is not at all as you and I had imagined it to be. There is no +high wall around it as there is at Fort Trumbull. It reminds one of a +prim little village built around a square, in the center of which is a +high flagstaff and a big cannon. The buildings are very low and broad +and are made of adobe--a kind of clay and mud mixed together--and the +walls are very thick. At every window are heavy wooden shutters, that +can be closed during severe sand and wind storms. A little ditch--they +call it acequia--runs all around the post, and brings water to the trees +and lawns, but water for use in the houses is brought up in wagons from +the Arkansas River, and is kept in barrels. + +Yesterday morning--our first here--we were awakened by the sounds of +fife and drum that became louder and louder, until finally I thought the +whole Army must be marching to the house. I stumbled over everything +in the room in my haste to get to one of the little dormer windows, but +there was nothing to be seen, as it was still quite dark. The drumming +became less loud, and then ceased altogether, when a big gun was fired +that must have wasted any amount of powder, for it shook the house and +made all the windows rattle. Then three or four bugles played a little +air, which it was impossible to hear because of the horrible howling +and crying of dogs--such howls of misery you never heard--they made +me shiver. This all suddenly ceased, and immediately there were lights +flashing some distance away, and dozens of men seemed to be talking +all at the same time, some of them shouting, "Here!" "Here!" I began +to think that perhaps Indians had come upon us, and called to Faye, who +informed me in a sleepy voice that it was only reveille roll-call, and +that each man was answering to his name. There was the same performance +this morning, and at breakfast I asked General Phillips why soldiers +required such a beating of drums, and deafening racket generally, to +awaken them in the morning. But he did not tell me--said it was an +old army custom to have the drums beaten along the officers' walk at +reveille. + +Yesterday morning, directly after guard-mounting, Faye put on his +full-dress uniform--epaulets, beautiful scarlet sash, and sword--and +went over to the office of the commanding officer to report officially. +The officer in command of the post is lieutenant colonel of the +regiment, but he, also, is a general by brevet, and one can see by +his very walk that he expects this to be remembered always. So it +is apparent to me that the safest thing to do is to call everyone +general--there seem to be so many here. If I make a mistake, it will be +on the right side, at least. + +Much of the furniture in this house was made by soldier carpenters here +at the post, and is not only very nice, but cost General Phillips +almost nothing, and, as we have to buy everything, I said at dinner last +evening that we must have some precisely like it, supposing, of course, +that General Phillips would feel highly gratified because his taste +was admired. But instead of the smile and gracious acquiescence I had +expected, there was another straightening back in the chair, and a +silence that was ominous and chilling. Finally, he recovered sufficient +breath to tell me that at present, there were no good carpenters in the +company. Later on, however, I learned that only captains and officers of +higher rank can have such things. The captains seem to have the best of +everything, and the lieutenants are expected to get along with smaller +houses, much less pay, and much less everything else, and at the same +time perform all of the disagreeable duties. + +Faye is wonderfully amiable about it, and assures me that when he gets +to be a captain I will see that it is just and fair. But I happen +to remember that he told me not long ago that he might not get his +captaincy for twenty years. Just think of it--a whole long lifetime--and +always a Mister, too--and perhaps by that time it will be "just and +fair" for the lieutenants to have everything! + +We saw our house yesterday--quarters I must learn to say--and it is +ever so much nicer than we had expected it to be. All of the officers' +quarters are new, and this set has never been occupied. It has a hall +with a pretty stairway, three rooms and a large shed downstairs, and +two rooms and a very large hall closet on the second floor. A soldier is +cleaning the windows and floors, and making things tidy generally. Many +of the men like to cook, and do things for officers of their company, +thereby adding to their pay, and these men are called strikers. + +There are four companies here--three of infantry and one troop of +cavalry. You must always remember that Faye is in the infantry. With +the cavalry he has a classmate, and a friend, also, which will make +it pleasant for both of us. In my letters to you I will disregard army +etiquette, and call the lieutenants by their rank, otherwise you would +not know of whom I was writing--an officer or civilian. Lieutenant +Baldwin has been on the frontier many years, and is an experienced +hunter of buffalo and antelope. He says that I must commence riding +horseback at once, and has generously offered me the use of one of his +horses. Mrs. Phillips insists upon my using her saddle until I can get +one from the East, so I can ride as soon as our trunks come. And I am to +learn to shoot pistols and guns, and do all sorts of things. + +We are to remain with General and Mrs. Phillips several days, while our +own house is being made habitable, and in the meantime our trunks and +boxes will come, also the colored cook. I have not missed my dresses +very much--there has been so much else to think about. There is a little +store just outside the post that is named "Post Trader's," where many +useful things are kept, and we have just been there to purchase some +really nice furniture that an officer left to be sold when he was +retired last spring. We got only enough to make ourselves comfortable +during the winter, for it seems to be the general belief here that these +companies of infantry will be ordered to Camp Supply, Indian Territory, +in the spring. It must be a most dreadful place--with old log houses +built in the hot sand hills, and surrounded by almost every tribe of +hostile Indians. + +It may not be possible for me to write again for several days, as I will +be very busy getting settled in the house. I must get things arranged +just as soon as I can, so I will be able to go out on horseback with +Faye and Lieutenant Baldwin. + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, October, 1871. + +WHEN a very small girl, I was told many wonderful tales about a grand +Indian chief called Red Jacket, by my great-grandmother, who, you will +remember, saw him a number of times when she, also, was a small girl. +And since then--almost all my life--I have wanted to see with my very +own eyes an Indian--a real noble red man--dressed in beautiful skins +embroidered with beads, and on his head long, waving feathers. + +Well, I have seen an Indian--a number of Indians--but they were not Red +Jackets, neither were they noble red men. They were simply, and only, +painted, dirty, and nauseous-smelling savages! Mrs. Phillips says that +Indians are all alike--that when you have seen one you have seen all. +And she must know, for she has lived on the frontier a long time, and +has seen many Indians of many tribes. + +We went to Las Animas yesterday, Mrs. Phillips, Mrs. Cole, and I, to do +a little shopping. There are several small stores in the half-Mexican +village, where curious little things from Mexico can often be found, +if one does not mind poking about underneath the trash and dirt that is +everywhere. While we were in the largest of these shops, ten or twelve +Indians dashed up to the door on their ponies, and four of them, +slipping down, came in the store and passed on quickly to the counter +farthest back, where the ammunition is kept. As they came toward us in +their imperious way, never once looking to the right or to the left, +they seemed like giants, and to increase in size and numbers with every +step. + +Their coming was so sudden we did not have a chance to get out of their +way, and it so happened that Mrs. Phillips and I were in their line of +march, and when the one in the lead got to us, we were pushed aside with +such impatient force that we both fell over on the counter. The others +passed on just the same, however, and if we had fallen to the floor, I +presume they would have stepped over us, and otherwise been oblivious to +our existence. This was my introduction to an Indian--the noble red man! + +As soon as they got to the counter they demanded powder, balls, and +percussion caps, and as these things were given them, they were stuffed +down their muzzle-loading rifles, and what could not be rammed down the +barrels was put in greasy skin bags and hidden under their blankets. I +saw one test the sharp edge of a long, wicked-looking knife, and then +it, also, disappeared under his blanket. All this time the other Indians +were on their ponies in front, watching every move that was being made +around them. + +There was only the one small door to the little adobe shop, and into +this an Indian had ridden his piebald pony; its forefeet were up a step +on the sill and its head and shoulders were in the room, which made it +quite impossible for us three frightened women to run out in the street. +So we got back of a counter, and, as Mrs. Phillips expressed it, "midway +between the devil and the deep sea." There certainly could be no mistake +about the "devil" side of it! + +It was an awful situation to be in, and one to terrify anybody. We were +actually prisoners--penned in with all those savages, who were evidently +in an ugly mood, with quantities of ammunition within their reach, and +only two white men to protect us. Even the few small windows had iron +bars across. They could have killed every one of us, and ridden far away +before anyone in the sleepy town found it out. + +Well, when those inside had been given, or had helped themselves to, +whatever they wanted, out they all marched again, quickly and silently, +just as they had come in. They instantly mounted their ponies, and all +rode down the street and out of sight at race speed, some leaning so far +over on their little beasts that one could hardly see the Indian at all. +The pony that was ridden into the store door was without a bridle, and +was guided by a long strip of buffalo skin which was fastened around his +lower jaw by a slipknot. It is amazing to see how tractable the Indians +can make their ponies with only that one rein. + +The storekeeper told us that those Indians were Utes, and were greatly +excited because they had just heard there was a small party of Cheyennes +down the river two or three miles. The Utes and Cheyennes are bitter +enemies. He said that the Utes were very cross--ready for the blood of +Indian or white man--therefore he had permitted them to do about as they +pleased while in the store, particularly as we were there, and he +saw that we were frightened. That young man did not know that his own +swarthy face was a greenish white all the time those Indians were in the +store! Not one penny did they pay for the things they carried off. Only +two years ago the entire Ute nation was on the warpath, killing every +white person they came across, and one must have much faith in Indians +to believe that their "change of heart" has been so complete that these +Utes have learned to love the white man in so short a time. + +No! There was hatred in their eyes as they approached us in that store, +and there was restrained murder in the hand that pushed Mrs. Phillips +and me over. They were all hideous--with streaks of red or green paint +on their faces that made them look like fiends. Their hair was roped +with strips of bright-colored stuff, and hung down on each side of their +shoulders in front, and on the crown of each black head was a small, +tightly plaited lock, ornamented at the top with a feather, a piece of +tin, or something fantastic. These were their scalp locks. They wore +blankets over dirty old shirts, and of course had on long, trouserlike +leggings of skin and moccasins. They were not tall, but rather short and +stocky. The odor of those skins, and of the Indians themselves, in that +stuffy little shop, I expect to smell the rest of my life! + +We heard this morning that those very savages rode out on the plains in +a roundabout way, so as to get in advance of the Cheyennes, and then had +hidden themselves on the top of a bluff overlooking the trail they knew +the Cheyennes to be following, and had fired upon them as they passed +below, killing two and wounding a number of others. You can see how +treacherous these Indians are, and how very far from noble is their +method of warfare! They are so disappointing, too--so wholly unlike +Cooper's red men. + +We were glad enough to get in the ambulance and start on our way to the +post, but alas! our troubles were not over. The mules must have felt +the excitement in the air, for as soon as their heads were turned toward +home they proceeded to run away with us. We had the four little mules +that are the special pets of the quartermaster, and are known throughout +the garrison as the "shaved-tails," because the hair on their tails is +kept closely cut down to the very tips, where it is left in a square +brush of three or four inches. They are perfectly matched--coal-black +all over, except their little noses, and are quite small. They are full +of mischief, and full of wisdom, too, even for government mules, and +when one says, "Let's take a sprint," the others always agree--about +that there is never the slightest hesitation. + +Therefore, when we first heard the scraping of the brake, and saw that +the driver was pulling and sawing at the tough mouths with all his +strength, no one was surprised, but we said that we wished they had +waited until after we had crossed the Arkansas River. But we got over +the narrow bridge without meeting more than one man, who climbed over +the railing and seemed less anxious to meet us than we were to meet him. +As soon as we got on the road again, those mules, with preliminary kicks +and shakes of their big heads, began to demonstrate how fast they +could go. We had the best driver at the post, and the road was good and +without sharp turns, but the ambulance was high and swayed, and the pace +was too fast for comfort. + +The little mules ran and ran, and we held ourselves on our seats the +best we could, expecting to be tipped over any minute. When we reached +the post they made a wonderful turn and took us safely to the government +corral, where they stopped, just when they got ready. One leader looked +around at us and commenced to bray, but the driver was in no mood for +such insolence, and jerked the poor thing almost down. + +Three tired, disheveled women walked from the corral to their homes; and +very glad one of them was to get home, too! Hereafter I shall confine +myself to horseback riding--for, even if John is frisky at times, I +prefer to take my chances with the one horse, to four little long-eared +government mules! But I have learned to ride very well, and have a +secure seat now. My teachers, Faye and Lieutenant Baldwin, have been +most exacting, but that I wanted. Of course I ride the army way, tight +in the saddle, which is more difficult to learn. Any attempt to "rise" +when on a trot is ridiculed at once here, and it does look absurd after +seeing the splendid and graceful riding of the officers. I am learning +to jump the cavalry hurdles and ditches, too. I must confess, however, +that taking a ditch the first time was more exciting than enjoyable. +John seemed to like it better than I did. + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, November, 1871. + +IN many of my letters I have written about learning to ride and to +shoot, and have told you, also, of having followed the greyhounds after +coyotes and rabbits with Faye and Lieutenant Baldwin. These hunts exact +the very best of riding and a fast horse, for coyotes are very swift, +and so are jack-rabbits, too, and one look at a greyhound will tell +anyone that he can run--and about twice as fast as the big-eared +foxhounds in the East. But I started to write you about something quite +different from all this--to tell you of a really grand hunt I have been +on--a splendid chase after buffalo! + +A week or so ago it was decided that a party of enlisted men should +be sent out to get buffalo meat for Thanksgiving dinner for +everybody--officers and enlisted men--and that Lieutenant Baldwin, who +is an experienced hunter, should command the detail. You can imagine how +proud and delighted I was when asked to go with them. Lieutenant Baldwin +saying that the hunt would be worth seeing, and well repay one for the +fatigue of the hard ride. + +So, one morning after an early breakfast, the horses were led up from +the stables, each one having on a strong halter, and a coiled picket +rope with an iron pin fastened to the saddle. These were carried so that +if it should be found necessary to secure the horses on the plains, they +could be picketed out. The bachelors' set of quarters is next to ours, +so we all got ready together, and I must say that the deliberate way +in which each girth was examined, bridles fixed, rifles fastened to +saddles, and other things done, was most exasperating. But we finally +started, about seven o'clock, Lieutenant Baldwin and I taking the lead, +and Faye and Lieutenant Alden following. + +The day was very cold, with a strong wind blowing, so I wore one of +Faye's citizen caps, with tabs tied down over my ears, and a large silk +handkerchief around my neck, all of which did not improve my looks +in the least, but it was quite in keeping with the dressing of the +officers, who had on buckskin shirts, with handkerchiefs, leggings, and +moccasins. Two large army wagons followed us, each drawn by four mules, +and carrying several enlisted men. Mounted orderlies led extra horses +that officers and men were to ride when they struck the herd. + +Well, we rode twelve miles without seeing one living thing, and then +we came to a little adobe ranch where we dismounted to rest a while. By +this time our feet and hands were almost frozen, and Faye suggested that +I should remain at the ranch until they returned; but that I refused +to do--to give up the hunt was not to be thought of, particularly as +a ranchman had just told us that a small herd of buffalo had been seen +that very morning only two miles farther on. So, when the horses were a +little rested, we started, and, after riding a mile or more, we came to +a small ravine, where we found one poor buffalo, too old and emaciated +to keep up with his companions, and who, therefore, had been abandoned +by them, to die alone. He had eaten the grass as far as he could reach, +and had turned around and around until the ground looked as though it +had been spaded. + +He got up on his old legs as we approached him, and tried to show fight +by dropping his head and throwing his horns to the front, but a child +could have pushed him over. One of the officers tried to persuade me to +shoot him, saying it would be a humane act, and at the same time give +me the prestige of having killed a buffalo! But the very thought of +pointing a pistol at anything so weak and utterly helpless was revolting +in the extreme. He was such an object of pity, too, left there all alone +to die of starvation, when perhaps at one time he may have been leader +of his herd. He was very tall, had a fine head, with an uncommonly long +beard, and showed every indication of having been a grand specimen of +his kind. + +We left him undisturbed, but only a few minutes later we heard the sharp +report of a rifle, and at once suspected, what we learned to be a +fact the next day, that one of the men with the wagons had killed him. +Possibly this was the most merciful thing to do, but to me that shot +meant murder. The pitiful bleary eyes of the helpless old beast have +haunted me ever since we saw him. + +We must have gone at least two miles farther before we saw the herd we +were looking for, making fifteen or sixteen miles altogether that we had +ridden. The buffalo were grazing quietly along a meadow in between low, +rolling hills. We immediately fell back a short distance and waited for +the wagons, and when they came up there was great activity, I assure +you. The officers' saddles were transferred to their hunters, and the +men who were to join in the chase got their horses and rifles ready. +Lieutenant Baldwin gave his instructions to everybody, and all started +off, each one going in a different direction so as to form a cordon, +Faye said, around the whole herd. Faye would not join in the hunt, but +remained with me the entire day. He and I rode over the hill, stopping +when we got where we could command a good view of the valley and watch +the run. + +It seemed only a few minutes when we saw the buffalo start, going from +some of the men, of course, who at once began to chase them. This kept +them running straight ahead, and, fortunately, in Lieutenant Baldwin's +direction, who apparently was holding his horse in, waiting for them +to come. We saw through our field glasses that as soon as they got +near enough he made a quick dash for the herd, and cutting one out, had +turned it so it was headed straight for us. + +Now, being on a buffalo hunt a safe distance off, was one thing, but to +have one of those huge animals come thundering along like a steam +engine directly upon you, was quite another. I was on one of Lieutenant +Baldwin's horses, too, and I felt that there might be danger of his +bolting to his companion, Tom, when he saw him dashing by, and as I was +not anxious to join in a buffalo chase just at that time, I begged Faye +to go with me farther up the hill. But he would not go back one step, +assuring me that my horse was a trained hunter and accustomed to such +sights. + +Lieutenant Baldwin gained steadily on the buffalo, and in a wonderfully +short time both passed directly in front of us--within a hundred feet, +Faye said. Lieutenant Baldwin was close upon him then, his horse looking +very small and slender by the side of the grand animal that was taking +easy, swinging strides, apparently without effort and without speed, his +tongue lolling at one side. But we could see that the pace was really +terrific--that Lieutenant Baldwin was freely using the spur, and that +his swift thoroughbred was stretched out like a greyhound, straining +every muscle in his effort to keep up. He was riding close to the +buffalo on his left, with revolver in his right hand, and I wondered why +he did not shoot, but Faye said it would be useless to fire then--that +Lieutenant Baldwin must get up nearer the shoulder, as a buffalo is +vulnerable only in certain parts of his body, and that a hunter of +experience like Lieutenant Baldwin would never think of shooting unless +he could aim at heart or lungs. + +My horse behaved very well--just whirling around a few times--but Faye +was kept busy a minute or two by his, for the poor horse was awfully +frightened, and lunged and reared and snorted; but I knew that he could +not unseat Faye, so I rather enjoyed it, for you know I had wanted to go +back a little! + +Lieutenant Baldwin and the buffalo were soon far away, and when our +horses had quieted down we recalled that shots had been fired in another +direction, and looking about, we saw a pathetic sight. Lieutenant +Alden was on his horse, and facing him was an immense buffalo, standing +perfectly still with chin drawn in and horns to the front, ready for +battle. It was plain to be seen that the poor horse was not enjoying +the meeting, for every now and then he would try to back away, or give +a jump sideways. The buffalo was wounded and unable to run, but he could +still turn around fast enough to keep his head toward the horse, and +this he did every time Lieutenant Alden tried to get an aim at his side. + +There was no possibility of his killing him without assistance, and +of course the poor beast could not be abandoned in such a helpless +condition, so Faye decided to go over and worry him, while Lieutenant +Alden got in the fatal shot. As soon as Faye got there I put my fingers +over my ears so that I would not hear the report of the pistol. After +a while I looked across, and there was the buffalo still standing, and +both Faye and Lieutenant Alden were beckoning for me to come to them. At +first I could not understand what they wanted, and I started to go over, +but it finally dawned upon me that they were actually waiting for me to +come and kill that buffalo! I saw no glory in shooting a wounded animal, +so I turned my horse back again, but had not gone far before I heard the +pistol shot. + +Then I rode over to see the huge animal, and found Faye and Lieutenant +Alden in a state of great excitement. They said he was a magnificent +specimen--unusually large, and very black--what they call a blue +skin--with a splendid head and beard. I had been exposed to a bitterly +cold wind, without the warming exercise of riding, for over an hour, and +my hands were so cold and stiff that I could scarcely hold the reins, +so they jumped me up on the shoulders of the warm body, and I buried +my hands in the long fur on his neck. He fell on his wounded side, +and looked precisely as though he was asleep---so much so that I +half expected him to spring up and resent the indignity he was being +subjected to. + +Very soon after that Faye and I came on home, reaching the post about +seven o'clock. We had been in our saddles most of the time for twelve +hours, on a cold day, and were tired and stiff, and when Faye tried +to assist me from my horse I fell to the ground in a heap. But I got +through the day very well, considering the very short time I have +been riding--that is, really riding. The hunt was a grand sight, and +something that probably I will never have a chance of seeing again--and, +to be honest, I do not want to see another, for the sight of one of +those splendid animals running for his life is not a pleasant one. + +The rest of the party did not come in until several hours later; +but they brought the meat and skins of four buffalo, and the head of +Lieutenant Alden's, which he will send East to be mounted. The skin +he intends to take to an Indian camp, to be tanned by the squaws. +Lieutenant Baldwin followed his buffalo until he got in the position he +wanted, and then killed him with one shot. Faye says that only a cool +head and experience could have done that. Much depends upon the horse, +too, for so many horses are afraid of a buffalo, and lunge sideways just +at the critical moment. + +Several experienced hunters tell marvelous tales of how they have +stood within a few yards of a buffalo and fired shot after shot from a +Springfield rifle, straight at his head, the balls producing no effect +whatever, except, perhaps, a toss of the head and the flying out of a +tuft of hair. Every time the ball would glance off from the thick skull. +The wonderful mat of curly hair must break the force some, too. This +mat, or cushion, in between the horns of the buffalo Lieutenant Alden +killed, was so thick and tangled that I could not begin to get my +fingers in it. + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, December, 1871. + +OUR first Christmas on the frontier was ever so pleasant, but it +certainly was most vexatious not to have that box from home. And I +expect that it has been at Kit Carson for days, waiting to be brought +down. We had quite a little Christmas without it, however, for a number +of things came from the girls, and several women of the garrison sent +pretty little gifts to me. It was so kind and thoughtful of them +to remember that I might be a bit homesick just now. All the little +presents were spread out on a table, and in a way to make them present +as fine an appearance as possible. Then I printed in large letters, on a +piece of cardboard, "One box--contents unknown!" and stood it up on the +back of the table. I did this to let everyone know that we had not been +forgotten by home people. My beautiful new saddle was brought in, also, +for although I had had it several weeks, it was really one of Faye's +Christmas gifts to me. + +They have such a charming custom in the Army of going along the line +Christmas morning and giving each other pleasant greetings and looking +at the pretty things everyone has received. This is a rare treat out +here, where we are so far from shops and beautiful Christmas displays. +We all went to the bachelors' quarters, almost everyone taking over some +little remembrance--homemade candy, cakes, or something of that sort. + +I had a splendid cake to send over that morning, and I will tell you +just what happened to it. At home we always had a large fruit cake made +for the holidays, long in advance, and I thought I would have one this +year as near like it as possible. But it seemed that the only way to get +it was to make it. So, about four weeks ago, I commenced. It was quite +an undertaking for me, as I had never done anything of the kind, and +perhaps I did not go about it the easiest way, but I knew how it should +look when done, and of course I knew precisely how it should taste. +Eliza makes delicious every-day cake, but was no assistance whatever +with the fruit cake, beyond encouraging me with the assurance that it +would not matter in the least if it should be heavy. + +Well, for two long, tiresome days I worked over that cake, preparing +with my own fingers every bit of the fruit, which I consider was a fine +test of perseverance and staying qualities. After the ingredients were +all mixed together there seemed to be enough for a whole regiment, so we +decided to make two cakes of it. They looked lovely when baked, and just +right, and smelled so good, too! I wrapped them in nice white paper that +had been wet with brandy, and put them carefully away--one in a stone +jar, the other in a tin box--and felt that I had done a remarkably fine +bit of housekeeping. The bachelors have been exceedingly kind to me, +and I rejoiced at having a nice cake to send them Christmas morning. But +alas! I forgot that the little house was fragrant with the odor of spice +and fruit, and that there was a man about who was ever on the lookout +for good things to eat. It is a shame that those cadets at West Point +are so starved. They seem to be simply famished for months after they +graduate. + +It so happened that there was choir practice that very evening, and that +I was at the chapel an hour or so. When I returned, I found the three +bachelors sitting around the open fire, smoking, and looking very +comfortable indeed. Before I was quite in the room they all stood up +and began to praise the cake. I think Faye was the first to mention +it, saying it was a "great success"; then the others said "perfectly +delicious," and so on, but at the same time assuring me that a large +piece had been left for me. + +For one minute I stood still, not in the least grasping their meaning; +but finally I suspected mischief, they all looked so serenely contented. +So I passed on to the dining room, and there, on the table, was one of +the precious cakes---at least what was left of it, the very small piece +that had been so generously saved for me. And there were plates with +crumbs, and napkins, that told the rest of the sad tale--and there was +wine and empty glasses, also. Oh, yes! Their early Christmas had been +a fine one. There was nothing for me to say or do--at least not just +then--so I went back to the little living-room and forced myself to +be halfway pleasant to the four men who were there, each one looking +precisely like the cat after it had eaten the canary! The cake was +scarcely cold, and must have been horribly sticky--and I remember +wondering, as I sat there, which one would need the doctor first, and +what the doctor would do if they were all seized with cramps at the same +time. But they were not ill--not in the least--which proved that the +cake was well baked. If they had discovered the other one, however, +there is no telling what might have happened. + +At half after ten yesterday the chaplain held service, and the little +chapel was crowded--so many of the enlisted men were present. We sang +our Christmas music, and received many compliments. Our little choir +is really very good. Both General Phillips and Major Pierce have fine +voices. One of the infantry sergeants plays the organ now, for it was +quite too hard for me to sing and work those old pedals. Once I forgot +them entirely, and everybody smiled--even the chaplain! + +From the chapel we--that is, the company officers and their wives--went +to the company barracks to see the men's dinner tables. When we entered +the dining hall we found the entire company standing in two lines, one +down each side, every man in his best inspection uniform, and every +button shining. With eyes to the front and hands down their sides they +looked absurdly like wax figures waiting to be "wound up," and I did +want so much to tell the little son of General Phillips to pinch one and +make him jump. He would have done it, too, and then put all the blame +upon me, without loss of time. + +The first sergeant came to meet us, and went around with us. There +were three long tables, fairly groaning with things upon them: buffalo, +antelope, boiled ham, several kinds of vegetables, pies, cakes, +quantities of pickles, dried "apple-duff," and coffee, and in the center +of each table, high up, was a huge cake thickly covered with icing. +These were the cakes that Mrs. Phillips, Mrs. Barker, and I had sent +over that morning. It is the custom in the regiment for the wives of +the officers every Christmas to send the enlisted men of their husbands' +companies large plum cakes, rich with fruit and sugar. Eliza made the +cake I sent over, a fact I made known from its very beginning, to keep +it from being devoured by those it was not intended for. + +The hall was very prettily decorated with flags and accoutrements, +but one missed the greens. There are no evergreen trees here, only +cottonwood. Before coming out, General Phillips said a few pleasant +words to the men, wishing them a "Merry Christmas" for all of us. +Judging from the laughing and shuffling of feet as soon as we got +outside, the men were glad to be allowed to relax once more. + +At six o'clock Faye and I, Lieutenant Baldwin, and Lieutenant Alden +dined with Doctor and Mrs. Wilder. It was a beautiful little dinner, +very delicious, and served in the daintiest manner possible. But out +here one is never quite sure of what one is eating, for sometimes +the most tempting dishes are made of almost nothing. At holiday time, +however, it seems that the post trader sends to St. Louis for turkeys, +celery, canned oysters, and other things. We have no fresh vegetables +here, except potatoes, and have to depend upon canned stores in the +commissary for a variety, and our meat consists entirely of beef, except +now and then, when we may have a treat to buffalo or antelope. + +The commanding officer gave a dancing party Friday evening that was most +enjoyable. He is a widower, you know. His house is large, and the rooms +of good size, so that dancing was comfortable. The music consisted of +one violin with accordion accompaniment. This would seem absurd in the +East, but I can assure you that one accordion, when played well by a +German, is an orchestra in itself. And Doos plays very well. The girls +East may have better music to dance by, and polished waxed floors to +slip down upon, but they cannot have the excellent partners one has at +an army post, and I choose the partners! + +The officers are excellent dancers--every one of them--and when you are +gliding around, your chin, or perhaps your nose, getting a scratch now +and then from a gorgeous gold epaulet, you feel as light as a feather, +and imagine yourself with a fairy prince. Of course the officers were in +full-dress uniform Friday night, so I know just what I am talking about, +scratches and all. Every woman appeared in her finest gown. I wore my +nile-green silk, which I am afraid showed off my splendid coat of tan +only too well. + +The party was given for Doctor and Mrs. Anderson, who are guests of +General Bourke for a few days. They are en route to Fort Union, +New Mexico. Mrs. Anderson was very handsome in an elegant gown of +London-smoke silk. I am to assist Mrs. Phillips in receiving New Year's +day, and shall wear my pearl-colored Irish poplin. We are going out now +for a little ride. + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, January, 1872. + +WHEN we came over on the stage from Kit Carson last fall, I sat on top +with the driver, who told me of many terrible experiences he had passed +through during the years he had been driving a stage on the plains, and +some of the most thrilling were of sand storms, when he had, with great +difficulty, saved the stage and perhaps his own life. There have been +ever so many storms, since we have been here, that covered everything in +the houses with dust and sand, but nothing at all like those the driver +described. But yesterday one came--a terrific storm--and it so happened +that I was caught out in the fiercest part of it. + +As Faye was officer of the day, he could not leave the garrison, so +I rode with Lieutenant Baldwin and Lieutenant Alden. The day was +glorious--sunny, and quite warm--one of Colorado's very best, without a +cloud to be seen in any direction. We went up the river to the mouth of +a pretty little stream commonly called "The Picket Wire," but the real +name of which is La Purgatoire. It is about five miles from the post +and makes a nice objective point for a short ride, for the clear water +gurgling over the stones, and the trees and bushes along its banks, are +always attractive in this treeless country. + +The canter up was brisk, and after giving our horses the drink from the +running stream they always beg for, we started back on the road to the +post in unusually fine spirits. Almost immediately, however, Lieutenant +Baldwin said, "I do not like the looks of that cloud over there!" We +glanced back in the direction he pointed, and seeing only a streak +of dark gray low on the horizon, Lieutenant Alden and I paid no more +attention to it. But Lieutenant Baldwin was very silent, and ever +looking back at the queer gray cloud. Once I looked at it, too, and was +amazed at the wonderfully fast way it had spread out, but just then John +shied at something, and in managing the horse I forgot the cloud. + +When about two miles from the post, Lieutenant Baldwin, who had fallen +back a little, called to us, "Put your horses to their best pace--a sand +storm is coming!" Then we knew there was a possibility of much +danger, for Lieutenant Baldwin is known to be a keen observer, and our +confidence in his judgment was great, so, without once looking back to +see what was coming after us, Lieutenant Alden and I started our horses +on a full run. + +Well, that cloud increased in size with a rapidity you could never +imagine, and soon the sun was obscured as if by an eclipse. It became +darker and darker, and by the time we got opposite the post trader's +there could be heard a loud, continuous roar, resembling that of a heavy +waterfall. + +Just then Lieutenant Baldwin grasped my bridle rein on the right and +told Lieutenant Alden to ride close on my left, which was done not a +second too soon, for as we reached the officers' line the storm struck +us, and with such force that I was almost swept from my saddle. The wind +was terrific and going at hurricane speed, and the air so thick with +sand and dirt we could not see the ears of our own horses. The world +seemed to have narrowed to a space that was appalling! You will think +that this could never have been--that I was made blind by terror--but I +can assure you that the absolute truth is being written. + +Lieutenant Baldwin's voice sounded strange and far, far away when he +called to me, "Sit tight in your saddle and do not jump!" And then +again he fairly yelled, "We must stay together--and keep the horses from +stampeding to the stables!" He was afraid they would break away and +dash us against the iron supports to the flagstaff in the center of the +parade ground. How he could say one word, or even open his mouth, I do +not understand, for the air was thick with gritty dirt. The horses were +frantic, of course, whirling around each other, rearing and pulling, in +their efforts to get free. + +We must have stayed in about the same place twenty minutes or longer, +when, just for one instant, there was a lull in the storm, and I caught +a glimpse of the white pickets of a fence! Without stopping to think of +horse's hoofs and, alas! without calling one word to the two officers +who were doing everything possible to protect me, I shut my eyes tight, +freed my foot from the stirrup, and, sliding down from my horse, started +for those pickets! How I missed Lieutenant Alden's horse, and how I got +to that fence, I do not know. The force of the wind was terrific, and +besides, I was obliged to cross the little acequia. But I did get over +the fifteen or sixteen feet of ground without falling, and oh, the joy +of getting my arms around those pickets! + +The storm continued for some time; but finally the atmosphere began +to clear, and I could see objects around me. And then out of the dust +loomed up Lieutenant Baldwin. He was about halfway down the line and +riding close to the fence, evidently looking for me. When he came up, +leading my horse, his face was black with more than dirt. He reminded me +of having told me positively not to jump from my horse, and asked if +I realized that I might have been knocked down and killed by the crazy +animals. Of course I had perceived all that as soon as I reached safety, +but I could not admit my mistake at that time without breaking down and +making a scene. I was nervous and exhausted, and in no condition to be +scolded by anyone, so I said: "If you were not an old bachelor you would +have known better than to have told a woman not to do a thing--you would +have known that, in all probability, that would be the very thing she +would do first!" That mollified him a little, but we did not laugh--life +had just been too serious for that. + +The chaplain had joined us, and so had Lieutenant Alden. The fence I had +run to was the chaplain's, and when the good man saw us he came out and +assisted me to his house, where I received the kindest care from Mrs. +Lawton. I knew that Faye would be greatly worried about me, so as soon +as I had rested a little--enough to walk--and had got some of the dust +out of my eyes, the chaplain and I hurried down to our house to let him +know that I was safe. + +At every house along the line the heavy shutters were closed, and not +one living thing was to be seen, and the post looked as though it might +have been long abandoned. There was a peculiar light, too, that made the +most familiar objects seem strange. Yes, we saw a squad of enlisted men +across the parade ground, trying with immense ropes to get back in place +the heavy roof of the long commissary building which had been partly +blown off. + +We met Faye at our gate, just starting out to look for us. He said that +when the storm first came up he was frightened about me, but when the +broad adobe house began to rock he came to the conclusion that I was +about as safe out on the plains as I would be in a house, particularly +as I was on a good horse, and with two splendid horsemen who would take +the very best care of me. My plait of hair was one mass of dirt and was +cut and torn, and is still in a deplorable condition, and my face looks +as though I had just recovered from smallpox. As it was Monday, the +washing of almost every family was out on lines, about every article of +which has gone to regions unknown. The few pieces that were Caught by +the high fences were torn to shreds. + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, January, 1872. + +OUR little party was a grand success, but I am still wondering how it +came about that Mrs. Barker and I gave it together, for, although we +are all in the same company and next-door neighbors, we have seen very +little of each other. She is very quiet, and seldom goes out, even for +a walk. It was an easy matter to arrange things so the two houses could, +in a way, be connected, as they are under the same long roof, and the +porches divided by a railing only, that was removed for the one evening. +The dancing was in our house, and the supper was served at the Barkers'. +And that supper was a marvel of culinary art, I assure you, even if it +was a fraud in one or two things, We were complimented quite graciously +by some of the older housekeepers, who pride themselves upon knowing how +to make more delicious little dishes out of nothing than anyone else. +But this time it was North and South combined, for you will remember +that Mrs. Barker is from Virginia. + +The chicken salad--and it was delicious--was made of tender veal, but +the celery in it was the genuine article, for we sent to Kansas City for +that and a few other things. The turkey galantine was perfect, and the +product of a resourceful brain from the North, and was composed almost +entirely of wild goose! There was no April fool about the delicate +Maryland biscuits, however, and other nice things that were set forth. +We fixed up cozily the back part of our hall with comfortable chairs and +cushions, and there punch was served during the evening. Major Barker +and Faye made the punch. The orchestra might have been better, but the +two violins and the accordion gave us music that was inspiring, and gave +us noise, too, and then Doos, who played the accordion, kept us merry by +the ever-pounding down of one government-shod foot. + +Everyone in the garrison came--even the chaplain was here during the +supper. The officers Were in full-dress uniform, and the only man in +plain evening dress was Mr. Dunn, the post trader, and in comparison to +the gay uniforms of the officers he did look so sleek, from his shiny +black hair down to the toes of his shiny black pumps! Mrs. Barker and +I received, of course, and she was very pretty in a pink silk gown +entirely covered with white net, that was caught up at many places +by artificial pink roses. The color was most becoming, and made very +pronounced the rich tint of her dark skin and her big black eyes. + +Well, we danced before supper and we danced after supper, and when we +were beginning to feel just a wee bit tired, there suddenly appeared in +our midst a colored woman--a real old-time black mammy--in a dress +of faded, old-fashioned plaids, with kerchief, white apron, and a +red-and-yellow turban tied around her head. We were dancing at the time +she came in, but everyone stopped at once, completely lost in amazement, +and she had the floor to herself. This was what she wanted, and she +immediately commenced to dance wildly and furiously, as though she was +possessed, rolling her big eyes and laughing to show the white teeth. +Gradually she quieted down to a smooth, rhythmic motion, slowly swaying +from side to side, sometimes whirling around, but with feet always flat +on the floor, often turning on her heels. All the time her arms were +extended and her fingers snapping, and snapping also were the +black eyes. She was the personification of grace, but the dance was +weird--made the more so by the setting of bright evening dresses and +glittering uniforms. One never sees a dance of this sort these days, +even in the South, any more than one sees the bright-colored turban. +Both have passed with the old-time darky. + +Of course we recognized Mrs. Barker, more because there was no one else +in our small community who could personify a darky so perfectly, than +because there was any resemblance to her in looks or gesture. The +make-up was artistic, and how she managed the quick transformation +from ball dress to that of the plantation, with all its black paint and +rouge, Mrs. Barker alone knows, and where on this earth she got that +dress and turban, she alone knows. But I imagine she sent to Virginia +for the whole costume. At all events, it was very bright in her to think +of this unusual divertissement for our guests when dancing was beginning +to lag a little. The dance she must have learned from a mammy when a +child. I forgot to say that during the time she was dancing our fine +orchestra played old Southern melodies. And all this was arranged and +done by the quietest woman in the garrison! + +Our house was upset from one end to the other to make room for the +dancing, but the putting of things in order again did not take long, as +the house has so very little in it. Still, I always feel rebellious when +anything comes up to interfere with my rides, no matter how pleasant it +may be. There have been a great many antelope near the post of late, +and we have been on ever so many hunts for them. The greyhounds have not +been with us, however, for following the hounds when chasing those fleet +animals not only requires the fastest kind of a horse and very good +riding, but is exceedingly dangerous to both horse and rider because of +the many prairie-dog holes, which are terrible death traps. And besides, +the dogs invariably get their feet full of cactus needles, which cause +much suffering for days. + +So we have been flagging the antelope, that is, taking a shameful +advantage of their wonderful curiosity, and enticing them within rifle +range. On these hunts I usually hold the horses of the three officers +and my own, and so far they have not given me much trouble, for each one +is a troop-trained animal. + +The antelope are shy and wary little creatures, and possess an abnormal +sense of smell that makes it absolutely necessary for hunters to move +cautiously to leeward the instant they discover them. It is always an +easy matter to find a little hill that will partly screen them--the +country is so rolling--as they creep and crawl to position, ever mindful +of the dreadful cactus. When they reach the highest point the flag +is put up, and this is usually made on the spot, of a red silk +handkerchief, one corner run through the rammer of a Springfield rifle. +Then everyone lies down flat on the ground, resting on his elbows, with +rifle in position for firing. + +Antelope always graze against the wind, and even a novice can tell when +they discover the flag, for they instantly stop feeding, and the entire +band will whirl around to face it, with big round ears standing straight +up, and in this way they will remain a second or two, constantly +sniffing the air. Failing to discover anything dangerous, they will take +a few steps forward, perhaps run around a little, giving quick tossings +of the head, and sniffing with almost every breath, but whatever they +do the stop is always in the same position--facing the flag, the strange +object they cannot understand. Often they will approach very slowly, +making frequent halts after little runs, and give many tossings of the +head as if they were actually coquetting with death itself! Waiting for +them to come within range of the rifle requires great patience, for the +approach is always more or less slow, and frequently just as they are at +the right distance and the finger is on the trigger, off the whole +band will streak, looking like horizontal bars of brown and white! I am +always so glad when they do this, for it seems so wicked to kill such +graceful creatures. It is very seldom that I watch the approach, but +when I do happen to see them come up, the temptation to do something to +frighten them away from those murderous guns is almost irresistible. + +But never once are they killed for mere pleasure! Their meat is tender +and most delicious after one has learned to like the "gamey" flavor. +And a change in meat we certainly do need here, for unless we can have +buffalo or antelope now and then, it is beef every day in the month--not +only one month, but every month. + +The prairie-dog holes are great obstacles to following hounds on the +plains, for while running so fast it is impossible for a horse to see +the holes in time to avoid them, and if a foot slips down in one it +means a broken leg for the horse and a hard throw for the rider, and +perhaps broken bones also. Following these English greyhounds--which +have such wonderful speed and keenness of sight--after big game on vast +plains, is very different from running after the slow hounds and foxes +in the East, and requires a very much faster horse and quite superior +riding. One has to learn to ride a horse--to get a perfect balance that +makes it a matter of indifference which-way the horse may jump, at any +speed--in fact, one must become a part of one's mount before these hunts +can be attempted. + +Chasing wolves and rabbits is not as dangerous, for they cannot begin +to run as fast as antelope. And it is great fun to chase the big +jack-rabbits. They know their own speed perfectly and have great +confidence in it. When the hounds start one he will give one or two +jumps high up in the air to take a look at things, and then he commences +to run with great bounds, with his enormously long ears straight up like +sails on a boat, and almost challenges the dogs to follow. But the +poor hunted thing soon finds out that he must do better than that if +he wishes to keep ahead, so down go the ears, flat along his back, and +stretching himself out very straight, goes his very fastest, and then +the real chase is on. + +But Mr. Jack-Rabbit is cunning, and when he sees that the long-legged +dogs are steadily gaining upon him and getting closer with every jump, +he will invariably make a quick turn and run back on his own tracks, +often going right underneath the fast-running dogs that cannot stop +themselves, and can only give vicious snaps as they jump over him. Their +stride--often fifteen and twenty feet--covers so much more ground +than the rabbit's, it is impossible for them to make as quick turns, +therefore it is generally the slow dog of the pack that catches the +rabbit. And frequently a wise old rabbit will make many turns and +finally reach a hole in safety. + +The tail of a greyhound is his rudder and his brake, and the sight is +most laughable when a whole pack of them are trying to stop, each tail +whirling around like a Dutch windmill. Sometimes, in their frantic +efforts to stop quickly, they will turn complete somersaults and roll +over in a cloud of dust and dirt. But give up they never do, and once +on their feet they start back after that rabbit with whines of +disappointment and rage. Many, many times, also, I have heard the dogs +howl and whine from the pain caused by the cactus spines in their feet, +but not once have I ever seen any one of them lag in the chase. + +But the pack here is a notoriously fine one. The leader. Magic, is a +splendid dog, dark brindle in color, very swift and very plucky, +also most intelligent. He is a sly rascal, too. He loves to sleep +on Lieutenant Baldwin's bed above all things, and he sneaks up on it +whenever he can, but the instant he hears Lieutenant Baldwin's step on +the walk outside, down he jumps, and stretching himself out full length +in front of the fire, he shuts his eyes tight, pretends to be fast +asleep, and the personification of an innocent, well-behaved dog! But +Lieutenant Baldwin knows his tricks now, and sometimes, going to the +bed, he can feel the warmth from his body that is still there, and if he +says, "Magic, you old villain," Magic will wag his tail a little, which +in dog language means, "You are pretty smart, but I'm smart, too!" + +With all this outdoor exercise, one can readily perceive that the +days are not long and tiresome. Of course there are a few who yawn +and complain of the monotony of frontier life, but these are the +stay-at-homes who sit by their own fires day after day and let cobwebs +gather in brain and lungs. And these, too, are the ones who have time to +discover so many faults in others, and become our garrison gossips! If +they would take brisk rides on spirited horses in this wonderful air, +and learn to shoot all sorts of guns in all sorts of positions, +they would soon discover that a frontier post can furnish plenty of +excitement. At least, I have found that it can. + +Faye was very anxious for me to become a good shot, considering it +most essential in this Indian country, and to please him I commenced +practicing soon after we got here. It was hard work at first, and I had +many a bad headache from the noise of the guns. It was all done in a +systematic way, too, as though I was a soldier at target practice. They +taught me to use a pistol in various positions while standing; then +I learned to use it from the saddle. After that a little four-inch +bull's-eye was often tacked to a tree seventy-five paces away, and I +was given a Spencer carbine to shoot (a short magazine rifle used by the +cavalry), and many a time I have fired three rounds, twenty-one shots in +all, at the bull's-eye, which I was expected to hit every time, too. + +Well, I obligingly furnished amusement for Faye and Lieutenant Baldwin +until they asked me to fire a heavy Springfield rifle--an infantry gun. +After one shot I politely refused to touch the thing again. The noise +came near making me deaf for life; the big thing rudely "kicked" me over +on my back, and the bullet--I expect that ball is still on its way to +Mars or perhaps the moon. This earth it certainly did not hit! Faye is +with the company almost every morning, but after luncheon we usually +go out for two or three hours, and always come back refreshed by the +exercise. And the little house looks more cozy, and the snapping of the +blazing logs sounds more cheerful because of our having been away from +them. + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, April, 1872. + +SOME of the most dreadful things have occurred since I wrote you last, +and this letter will make you unhappy, I know. To begin with, orders +have actually come from Department Headquarters at Leavenworth for two +companies of infantry here--General Phillips' and Captain Giddings'--to +go to Camp Supply! So that is settled, and we will probably leave this +post in about ten days, and during that time we are expected to sell, +give away, smash up, or burn about everything we possess, for we have +already been told that very few things can be taken with us. I do not +see how we can possibly do with less than we have had since we came +here. + +Eliza announced at once that she could not be induced to go where there +are so many Indians--said she had seen enough of them while in New +Mexico. I am more than sorry to lose her, but at the same time I cannot +help admiring her common sense. I would not go either if I could avoid +it. + +You will remember that not long ago I said that Lieutenant Baldwin was +urging me to ride Tom, his splendid thoroughbred, as soon as he could be +quieted down a little so I could control him. Well, I was to have ridden +him to-day for the first time! Yesterday morning Lieutenant Baldwin had +him out for a long, hard run, but even after that the horse was nervous +when he came in, and danced sideways along the officers' drive in his +usual graceful way. Just as they got opposite the chaplain's house, two +big St. Bernard dogs bounded over the fence and landed directly under +the horse, entangling themselves with his legs so completely that when +he tried to jump away from them he was thrown down on his knees with +great force, and Lieutenant Baldwin was pitched over the horse's head +and along the ground several feet. + +He is a tall, muscular man and went down heavily, breaking three ribs +and his collar bone on both sides! He is doing very well, and is as +comfortable to-day as can be expected, except that he is grieving +piteously over his horse, for the poor horse--beautiful Tom--is utterly +ruined! Both knees have been sprung, and he is bandaged almost as much +as his master. + +The whole occurrence is most deplorable and distressing. It seems so +dreadful that a strong man should be almost killed and a grand horse +completely ruined by two clumsy, ill-mannered dogs. One belongs to the +chaplain, too, who is expected to set a model example for the rest of +us. Many, many times during the winter I have ridden by the side of Tom, +and had learned to love every one of his pretty ways, from the working +of his expressive ears to the graceful movement of his slender legs. He +was a horse for anyone to be proud of, not only for his beauty but as a +hunter, too, and he was Lieutenant Baldwin's delight and joy. + +It does seem as if everything horrible had come all at once. The order +we have been expecting, of course, as so many rumors have reached us +that we were to go, but all the time there has been hidden away a little +hope that we might be left here another year. + +I shall take the greyhound puppy, of course. He is with Blue, his +mother, at Captain Richardson's quarters, but he is brought over every +day for me to see. His coat is brindled, dark brown and black--just like +Magic's--and fine as the softest satin. One foot is white, and there is +a little white tip to his tail, which, it seems, is considered a mark of +great beauty in a greyhound. We have named him Harold. + +Nothing has been done about packing yet, as the orders have just been +received. The carpenters in the company will not be permitted to do one +thing for us until the captain and first lieutenant have had made every +box and crate they want for the move. I am beginning to think that it +must be nice to be even a first lieutenant. But never mind, perhaps Faye +will get his captaincy in twenty years or so, and then it will be all +"fair and square." + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, May, 1872. + +EVERYTHING is packed or disposed of, and we are ready to start to-morrow +on the long march to Camp Supply. Two large army wagons have been +allowed to each company for the officers' baggage, but as all three +officers are present with the company Faye is in, and the captain has +taken one of the wagons for his own use, we can have just one half of +one of those wagons to take our household goods to a country where it is +absolutely impossible to purchase one thing! We have given away almost +all of our furniture, and were glad that we had bought so little when +we came here. Our trunks and several boxes are to be sent by freight to +Hays City at our own expense, and from there down to the post by wagon, +and if we ever see them again I will be surprised, as Camp Supply is +about one hundred and fifty miles from the railroad. We are taking +only one barrel of china--just a few pieces we considered the most +necessary--and this morning Faye discovered that the first lieutenant +had ordered that one barrel to be taken from the wagon to make more room +for his own things. Faye ordered it to be put back at once, and says it +will stay there, too, and I fancy it will! Surely we are entitled to all +of our one half of the wagon--second choice at that. + +I am to ride in an ambulance with Mrs. Phillips, her little son and her +cook, Mrs. Barker and her small son. There will be seats for only four, +as the middle seat has been taken out to make room for a comfortable +rocking-chair that will be for Mrs. Phillips's exclusive use! The dear +little greyhound puppy I have to leave here. Faye says I must not take +him with so many in the ambulance, as he would undoubtedly be in the +way. But I am sure the puppy would not be as troublesome as one small +boy, and there will be two small boys with us. It would be quite bad +enough to be sent to such a terrible place as Camp Supply has been +represented to us, without having all this misery and mortification +added, and all because Faye happens to be a second lieutenant! + +I have cried and cried over all these things until I am simply hideous, +but I have to go just the same, and I have made up my mind never again +to make myself so wholly disagreeable about a move, no matter where we +may have to go. I happened to recall yesterday what grandmother said to +me when saying good-by: "It is a dreadful thing not to become a woman +when one ceases to be a girl!" I am no longer a girl, I suppose, so I +must try to be a woman, as there seems to be nothing in between. One can +find a little comfort, too, in the thought that there is no worse place +possible for us to be sent to, and when once there we can look forward +to better things sometime in the future. I do not mind the move as much +as the unpleasant experiences connected with it. + +But I shall miss the kind friends, the grand hunts and delightful rides, +and shall long for dear old John, who has carried me safely so many, +many miles. + +Lieutenant Baldwin is still ill and very depressed, and Doctor Wilder is +becoming anxious about him. It is so dreadful for such a powerful man as +he has been to be so really broken in pieces. He insists upon being up +and around, which is bad, very bad, for the many broken bones. + +I will write whenever I find an opportunity. + +OLD FORT ZARAH, KANSAS, April, 1872. + +OUR camp to-night is near the ruins of a very old fort, and ever +since we got here, the men have been hunting rattlesnakes that have +undoubtedly been holding possession of the tumble-down buildings, many +snake generations. Dozens and dozens have been killed, of all sizes, +some of them being very large. The old quarters were evidently made of +sods and dirt, and must have been dreadful places to live in even when +new. + +I must tell you at once that I have the little greyhound. I simply took +matters in my own hands and got him! We came only five miles our first +day out, and after the tents had been pitched that night and the various +dinners commenced, it was discovered that many little things had been +left behind, so General Phillips decided to send an ambulance and two +or three men back to the post for them, and to get the mail at the same +time. It so happened that Burt, our own striker, was one of the men +detailed to go, and when I heard this I at once thought of the puppy I +wanted so much. I managed to see Burt before he started, and when asked +if he could bring the little dog to me he answered so heartily, "That +I can, mum," I felt that the battle was half won, for I knew that if +I could once get the dog in camp he would take care of him, even if I +could not. + +Burt brought him and kept him in his tent that night, and the little +fellow seemed to know that he should be good, for Burt told me that he +did not whimper once, notwithstanding it was his first night from his +mother and little companions. The next morning, when he was brought to +me, Faye's face was funny, and after one look of astonishment at the +puppy he hurried out of the tent--so I could not see him laugh, I think. +He is quite as pleased as I am, now, to have the dog, for he gives +no trouble whatever. He is fed condensed milk, and I take care of him +during the day and Burt has him at night. He is certainly much better +behaved in the ambulance than either of the small boys who step upon +our feet, get into fierce fights, and keep up a racket generally. The +mothers have been called upon to settle so many quarrels between their +sons, that the atmosphere in the ambulance has become quite frigid. + +The day we came from the post, while I was grieving for the little +greyhound and many other things I had not been permitted to bring with +me, and the rocking-chair was bruising my ankles, I felt that it was not +dignified in me to submit to the treatment I was being subjected to, and +I decided to rebel. Mrs. Barker and her small son had been riding on the +back seat, and I felt that I was as much entitled to a seat here as the +boy, nevertheless I had been sitting on the seat with Mrs. Phillips's +servant and riding backward. This was the only place that had been left +for me at the post that morning. After thinking it all over I made up my +mind to take the small boy's seat, but just where he would sit I did not +know. + +When I returned to the ambulance after the next rest--I was careful +to get there first--I sat down on the back seat and made myself +comfortable, but I must admit that my heart was giving awful thumps, for +Mrs. Barker's sharp tongue and spitfire temper are well known. My head +was aching because of my having ridden backward, and I was really cross, +and this Mrs. Barker may have noticed, for not one word did she say +directly to me, but she said much to her son--much that I might have +resented had I felt inclined. The small boy sat on his mother's lap and +expressed his disapproval by giving me vicious kicks every few minutes. + +Not one word was said the next morning when I boldly carried the puppy +to that seat. Mrs. Barker looked at the dog, then at me, with great +scorn, but she knew that if she said anything disagreeable Mrs. Phillips +would side with me, so she wisely kept still. I think that even Faye has +come to the conclusion that I might as well have the dog--who lies +so quietly in my lap--now that he sees how I am sandwiched in with +rocking-chairs, small boys, and servants. The men march fifty minutes +and halt ten, each hour, and during every ten minutes' rest Harold and I +take a little run, and this makes him ready for a nap when we return to +the ambulance. From this place on I am to ride with Mrs. Cole, who has +her own ambulance. This will be most agreeable, and I am so delighted +that she should have thought of inviting me. + +Camping out is really very nice when the weather is pleasant, but the +long marches are tiresome for everybody. The ambulances and wagons are +driven directly back of the troops, consequently the mules can never go +faster than a slow walk, and sometimes the dust is enough to choke us. +We have to keep together, for we are in an Indian country, of course. +I feel sorry for the men, but they always march "rout" step and seem to +have a good time, for we often hear them laughing and joking with each +other. + +We are following the Arkansas River, and so far the scenery has been +monotonous--just the same rolling plains day after day. Leaving our +first army home was distressing, and I doubt if other homes and other +friends will ever be quite the same to me. Lieutenant Baldwin was +assisted to the porch by his faithful Mexican boy, so he could see +us start, and he looked white and pitifully helpless, with both arms +bandaged tight to his sides. One of those dreadful dogs is in camp and +going to Camp Supply with us, and is as frisky as though he had done +something to be proud of. + +This cannot be posted until we reach Fort Dodge, but I intend to write +to you again while there, of course, if I have an opportunity. + +FORT DODGE, KANSAS, May, 1872. + +IT was nearly two o'clock yesterday when we arrived at this post, and +we go on again to-day about eleven. The length of all marches has to be +regulated by water and wood, and as the first stream on the road to +Camp Supply is at Bluff Creek, only ten miles from here, there was no +necessity for an early start. This gives us an opportunity to get fresh +supplies for our mess chests, and to dry things also. + +There was a terrific rain and electric storm last evening, and this +morning we present anything but a military appearance, for around each +tent is a fine array of bedding and clothing hung out to dry. Our camp +is at the foot of a hill a short distance back of the post, and during +the storm the water rushed down with such force that it seemed as though +we were in danger of being carried on to the Arkansas River. + +We had just returned from a delightful dinner with Major and Mrs. +Tilden, of the cavalry, and Faye had gone out to mount the guard for the +night, when, without a moment's warning, the storm burst upon us. The +lightning was fierce, and the white canvas made it appear even worse +than it really was, for at each flash the walls of the tent seemed to +be on fire. There was no dark closet for me to run into this time, but +there was a bed, and on that I got, taking the little dog with me for +company and to get him out of the wet. He seemed very restless and +constantly gave little whines, and at the time I thought it was because +he, too, was afraid of the storm. The water was soon two and three +inches deep on the ground under the tent, rushing along like a mill +race, giving little gurgles as it went through the grass and against the +tent pins. The roar of the rain on the tent was deafening. + +The guard is always mounted with the long steel bayonets on the rifles, +and I knew that Faye had on his sword, and remembering these things made +me almost scream at each wicked flash of lightning, fearing that he +and the men had been killed. But he came to the tent on a hard run, and +giving me a long waterproof coat to wrap myself in, gathered me in his +arms and started for Mrs. Tilden's, where I had been urged to remain +overnight. When we reached a narrow board walk that was supposed to run +along by her side fence, Faye stood me down upon it, and I started to do +some running on my own account. Before I had taken two steps, however, +down went the walk and down I went in water almost to my knees, and then +splash--down went the greyhound puppy! Up to that instant I had not been +conscious of having the little dog with me, and in all that rain and +water Faye had been carrying me and a fat puppy also. + +The walk had been moved by the rushing water, and was floating, which +we had no way of knowing, of course. I dragged the dog out of the +water, and we finally reached the house, where we received a true army +welcome--a dry one, too--and there I remained until after breakfast +this morning. But sleep during the night I did not, for until long after +midnight I sat in front of a blazing fire holding a very sick puppy. Hal +was desperately ill and we all expected him to die at any moment, and I +was doubly sorrowful, because I had been the innocent cause of it. Ever +since I have had him he has been fed condensed milk only--perhaps a +little bread now and then; so when we got here I sent for some fresh +milk, to give him a treat. He drank of it greedily and seemed to enjoy +it so much, that I let him have all he wanted during the afternoon. And +it was the effect of the milk that made him whine during the storm, and +not because he was afraid of the lightning. He would have died, I do +believe, had it not been for the kindness of Major Tilden who knows all +about greyhounds. They are very delicate and most difficult to raise. +The little dog is a limp bunch of brindled satin this morning, wrapped +in flannel, but we hope he will soon be well. + +A third company joined us here and will go on to Camp Supply. Major +Hunt, the captain, has his wife and three children with him, and they +seem to be cultured and very charming people. Mrs. Hunt this moment +brought a plate of delicious spice cake for our luncheon. There is a +first lieutenant with the company, but he is not married. + +There is only one mail from here each week, so of course there will be +only one from Camp Supply, as that mail is brought here and then carried +up to the railroad with the Dodge mail. It is almost time for the tents +to be struck, and I must be getting ready for the march. + +CAMP SUPPLY, INDIAN TERRITORY, May, 1872. + +THIS place is quite as dreadful as it has been represented to us. There +are more troops here than at Fort Lyon, and of course the post is very +much larger. There are two troops of colored cavalry, one of white +cavalry, and three companies of infantry. The infantry companies that +have been stationed here, and which our three companies have come to +relieve, will start in the morning for their new station, and will use +the transportation that brought us down. Consequently, it was necessary +to unload all the things from our wagons early this morning, so they +could be turned over to the outgoing troops. I am a little curious to +know if there is a second lieutenant who will be so unfortunate as to be +allowed only one half of a wagon in which to carry his household goods. + +Their going will leave vacant a number of officers' quarters, therefore +there will be no selection of quarters by our officers until to-morrow. +Faye is next to the junior, so there will be very little left to select +from by the time his turn comes. The quarters are really nothing more +than huts built of vertical logs plastered in between with mud, and the +roofs are of poles and mud! Many of the rooms have only sand floors. We +dined last evening with Captain and Mrs. Vincent, of the cavalry, +and were amazed to find that such wretched buildings could be made so +attractive inside. But of course they have one of the very best houses +on the line, and as company commander, Captain Vincent can have done +about what he wants. And then, again, they are but recently married, and +all their furnishings are new and handsome. There is one advantage +in being with colored troops--one can always have good servants. Mrs. +Vincent has an excellent colored soldier cook, and her butler was +thoroughly trained as such before he enlisted. It did look so funny, +however, to see such a black man in a blue Uniform. + +The march down from Fort Dodge was most uncomfortable the first two +days. It poured and poured rain, and then poured more rain, until +finally everybody and everything was soaked through. I felt so sorry for +the men who had to march in the sticky mud. Their shoes filled fast with +water, and they were compelled constantly to stop, take them off, +and pour out the water. It cleared at last and the sun shone warm and +bright, and then there was another exhibition in camp one afternoon, of +clothing and bedding drying on guy ropes. + +All the way down I was on the lookout for Indians, and was laughed at +many a time for doing so, too. Every time something unusual was seen in +the distance some bright person would immediately exclaim, "Oh, that +is only one of Mrs. Rae's Indians!" I said very little about what I saw +during the last day or two, for I felt that the constant teasing must +have become as wearisome to the others as it had to me. But I am still +positive that I saw the black heads of Indians on the top of ever so +many hills we passed. When they wish to see and not be seen they crawl +up a hill on the side farthest from you, but only far enough up to +enable them to look over, and in this position they will remain for +hours, perfectly motionless, watching your every movement. Unless you +notice the hill very carefully you will never see the black dot on top, +for only the eyes and upper part of the head are exposed. I had been +told all this many times; also, that when in an Indian country to be +most watchful when Indians are not to be seen. + +Camp Supply is certainly in an Indian country, for it is surrounded by +Comanches, Apaches, Kiowas, Cheyennes, and Arapahoes--each a hostile +tribe, except the last. No one can go a rod from the garrison without an +escort, and our weekly mail is brought down in a wagon and +guarded by a corporal and several privates. Only last week two +couriers--soldiers--who had been sent down with dispatches from Fort +Dodge, were found dead on the road, both shot in the back, probably +without having been given one chance to defend themselves. + +We are in camp on low land just outside the post, and last night we +were almost washed away again by the down-pouring rain, and this morning +there is mud everywhere. And this is the country that is supposed never +to have rain! Mrs. Vincent invited me most cordially to come to her +house until we at least knew what quarters we were to have, and Captain +Vincent came early to-day to insist upon my going up at once, but I +really could not go. We have been in rain and mud so long I feel that I +am in no way fit to go to anyone's house. Besides, it would seem selfish +in me to desert Faye, and he, of course, would not leave the company as +long as it is in tents. We are delighted at finding such charming people +as the Vincents at this horrid place. + +CAMP SUPPLY, INDIAN TERRITORY, June, 1872. + +WE are in our own house now and almost settled. When one has only a few +pieces of furniture it does not take long to get them in place. It is +impossible to make the rooms look homelike, and I often find myself +wondering where in this world I have wandered to! The house is of logs, +of course, and has a pole and dirt roof, and was built originally for an +officers' mess. The dining room is large and very long, a part of which +we have partitioned off with a piece of canvas and converted into a +storeroom. We had almost to get down on our knees to the quartermaster +before he would give us the canvas. He is in the quartermaster's +department and is most arrogant; seems to think that every nail and tack +is his own personal property and for his exclusive use. + +Our dining room has a sand floor, and almost every night little white +toadstools grow up all along the base of the log walls. All of the logs +are of cottonwood and have the bark on, and the army of bugs that hide +underneath the bark during the day and march upon us at night is to be +dreaded about as much as a whole tribe of Indians! + +I wrote you how everyone laughed at me on the march down because I was +positive I saw heads of Indians on the sand hills so many times. +Well, all that has ceased, and the mention of "Mrs. Rae's Indians" is +carefully avoided! There has been sad proof that the Indians were there, +also that they were watching us closely and kept near us all the way +down from Fort Dodge, hoping for a favorable opportunity to steal the +animals. The battalion of the --th Infantry had made only two days' +march from here, and the herders had just turned the horses and mules +out to graze, when a band of Cheyenne Indians swooped down upon them and +stampeded every animal, leaving the companies without even one mule! +The poor things are still in camp on the prairie, waiting for something, +anything, to move them on. General Phillips is mightily pleased that the +Indians did not succeed in getting the animals from his command, and I +am pleased that they cannot tease me any more. + +My ride with Lieutenant Golden, Faye's classmate, this morning was very +exciting for a time. We started directly after stable call, which is at +six o'clock. Lieutenant Golden rode Dandy, his beautiful thoroughbred, +that reminds me so much of Lieutenant Baldwin's Tom, and I rode a troop +horse that had never been ridden by a woman before. As soon as he was +led up I noticed that there was much white to be seen in his eyes, and +that he was restless and ever pawing the ground. But the orderly said he +was not vicious, and he was sure I could ride him. He did not object in +the least to my skirt, and we started off in fine style, but before we +reached the end of the line he gave two or three pulls at the bit, and +then bolted! My arms are remarkably strong, but they were like a child's +against that hard mouth. He turned the corner sharply and carried me +along back of the laundress' quarters, where there was a perfect network +of clothes lines, and where I fully expected to be swept from the +saddle. But I managed to avoid them by putting my head down close to the +horse's neck, Indian fashion. He was not a very large horse, and lowered +himself, of course, by his terrific pace. He went like the wind, on +and up the hill in front of the guard house. There a sentry was walking +post, and on his big infantry rifle was a long bayonet, and the poor +man, in his desire to do something for me, ran forward and held the +gun horizontally right in front of my horse, which caused him to give a +fearful lunge to the right and down the hill. How I managed to keep my +seat I do not know, and neither do I know how that mad horse kept right +side up on that down jump. But it did not seem to disturb him in the +least, for he never slackened his speed, and on we went toward the +stables, where the cavalry horses were tied to long picket ropes, and +close together, getting their morning grooming. + +All this time Lieutenant Golden had not attempted to overtake me, +fearing that by doing so he might make matters worse, but when he saw +that the horse was running straight for his place on the line, he pushed +forward, and grasping my bridle rein, almost pulled the horse on his +haunches. He said later that I might have been kicked to death by the +troop horses if I had been rushed in among them. We went on to the +stables, Lieutenant Golden leading my horse, and you can fancy how +mortified I was over that performance, and it was really unnecessary, +too. Lieutenant Golden, also the sergeant, advised me to dismount and +try another horse, but I said no! I would ride that one if I could have +a severer bit and my saddle girths tightened. Dismount before Lieutenant +Golden, a cavalry officer and Faye's classmate, and all those staring +troopers--I, the wife of an infantry officer? Never! It was my first +experience with a runaway horse, but I had kept a firm seat all the +time--there was some consolation in that thought. + +Well, to my great relief and comfort, it was discovered that the chin +chain that is on all cavalry bits had been left off, and this had made +the curb simply a straight bit and wholly ineffective. The sergeant +fastened the chain on and it was made tight, too, and he tightened the +girths and saw that everything was right, and then Lieutenant Golden and +I started on our ride the second time. I expected trouble, as the horse +was then leaving his stable and companions, but when he commenced to +back and shake his head I let him know that I held a nice stinging whip, +and that soon stopped the balking. We had to pass three long picket +lines of horses and almost two hundred troopers, every one of whom +stared at me with both eyes. It was embarrassing, of course, but I was +glad to let the whole line of them see that I was capable of managing my +own horse, which was still very frisky. I knew very well, too, that the +sergeant's angry roar when he asked, "Who bridled this horse?" had +been heard by many of them. Our ride was very delightful after all its +exciting beginning, and we are going again to morrow morning. I want +to let those troopers see that I am not afraid to ride the horse they +selected for me. + +I shall be so glad when Hal is large enough to go with me. He is growing +fast, but at present seems to be mostly legs. He is devoted to me, but +I regret to say that he and our old soldier cook are not the dearest +friends. Findlay is so stupid he cannot appreciate the cunning things +the little dog does. Hal is fed mush and milk only until he gets his +second teeth, and consequently he is wild about meat. The odor of a +broiling beefsteak the other day was more than he could resist, so he +managed to get his freedom by slipping his collar over his head, and +rushing into the kitchen, snatched the sizzling steak and was out again +before Findlay could collect his few wits, and get across the room to +stop him. The meat was so hot it burned his mouth, and he howled from +the pain, but drop it he did not until he was far from the cook. This +I consider very plucky in so young a dog! Findlay ran after the little +hound, yelling and swearing, and I ran after Findlay to keep him from +beating my dog. Of course we did not have beefsteak that day, but, as I +told Faye, it was entirely Findlay's fault. He should have kept watch +of things, and not made it possible for Hal to kill himself by eating a +whole big steak! + +Yesterday, Lieutenant Golden came in to luncheon, and when we went in +the dining room I saw at once that things were wrong, very wrong. A +polished table is an unknown luxury down here, but fresh table linen we +do endeavor to have. But the cloth on the table yesterday was a sight +to behold, with big spots of dirt all along one side and dirt on top. +Findlay came in the room just as I reached the table, and I said, +"Findlay, what has happened here?" He gave one look at the cloth where +I pointed, and then striking his knuckles together, almost sobbed out, +"Dot tamn dog, mum!" Faye and Lieutenant Golden quickly left the room +to avoid hearing any more remarks of that kind, for it was really very +dreadful in Findlay to use such language. This left me alone, of course, +to pacify the cook, which I found no easy task. Old Findlay had pickled +a choice buffalo tongue with much care and secrecy, and had served it +for luncheon yesterday as a great surprise and treat. There was the +platter on the table, but there could be no doubt of its having been +licked clean. Not one tiny piece of tongue could be seen any place. + +The window was far up, and in vain did I try to convince everyone that +a strange dog had come in and stolen the meat, that Hal was quite too +small to have reached so far; but Findlay only looked cross and Faye +looked hungry, so I gave that up. Before night, however, there was +trouble and a very sick puppy in the house, and once again I thought he +would die. And every few minutes that disagreeable old cook would +come in and ask about the dog, and say he was afraid he could not get +well--always with a grin on his face that was exasperating. Finally, +I told him that if he had served only part of the tongue, as he should +have done, the dog would not have been so ill, and we could have had +some of it. That settled the matter--he did not come in again. Findlay +has served several enlistments, and is regarded as an old soldier, and +once upon a time he was cook for the colonel of the regiment, therefore +he sometimes forgets himself and becomes aggressive. I do not wonder +that Hal dislikes him. + +And Hal dislikes Indians, too, and will often hear their low mumbling +and give little growls before I dream that one is near. They have a +disagreeable way of coming to the windows and staring in. Sometimes +before you have heard a sound you will be conscious of an uncomfortable +feeling, and looking around you will discover five or six Indians, large +and small, peering at you through the windows, each ugly nose pressed +flat against the glass! It is enough to drive one mad. You never know +when they are about, their tread is so stealthy with their moccasined +feet. + +Faye is officer of the guard every third day now. This sounds rather +nice; but it means that every third day and night--exactly twenty-four +hours--he has to spend at the guard house, excepting when making the +rounds, that is, visiting sentries on post, and is permitted to come +to the house just long enough to eat three hurried meals. This is doing +duty, and would be all right if there were not a daily mingling of white +and colored troops which often brings a colored sergeant over a white +corporal and privates. But the most unpleasant part for the officer of +the guard is that the partition in between the officer's room and guard +room is of logs, unchinked, and very open, and the weather is very hot! +and the bugs, which keep us all in perpetual warfare in our houses, have +full sway there, going from one room to the other. + +The officers say that the negroes make good soldiers and fight like +fiends. They certainly manage to stick on their horses like monkeys. The +Indians call them "buffalo soldiers," because their woolly heads are so +much like the matted cushion that is between the horns of the buffalo. +We had letters from dear old Fort Lyon yesterday, and the news about +Lieutenant Baldwin is not encouraging. He is not improving and Doctor +Wilder is most anxious about him. But a man as big and strong as he was +must certainly get well in time. + +CAMP SUPPLY, INDIAN TERRITORY, June, 1872. + +IT seems as if I had to write constantly of unpleasant occurrences, but +what else can I do since unpleasant occurrences are ever coming +along? This time I must tell you that Faye has been turned out of +quarters--"ranked out," as it is spoken of in the Army. But it all +amounts to the same thing, and means that we have been driven out of our +house and home, bag and baggage, because a captain wanted that one set +of quarters! Call it what one chooses, the experience was not pleasant +and will be long remembered. Being turned out was bad enough in itself, +but the manner in which it was done was humiliating in the extreme. We +had been in the house only three weeks and had worked so hard during +that time to make it at all comfortable. Findlay wanted to tear down the +canvas partition in the dining room when we left the house, and I was +sorry later on that I had not consented to his doing so. + +One morning at ten o'clock I received a note from Faye, written at the +guard house, saying that his set of quarters had been selected by a +cavalry officer who had just arrived at the post, and that every article +of ours must be out of the house that day by one o'clock! Also that, as +he was officer of the guard, it would be impossible for him to assist +me in the least, except to send some enlisted men to move the things. +At first I was dazed and wholly incapable of comprehending the +situation--it seemed so preposterous to expect anyone to move everything +out of a house in three hours. But as soon as I recovered my senses I +saw at once that not one second of the precious time must be wasted, and +that the superintendence of the whole thing had fallen upon me. + +So I gathered my forces, and the four men started to work in a way that +showed they would do everything in their power to help me. All that was +possible for us to do, however, was almost to throw things out in a side +yard, for remember, please, we had only three short hours in which to +move everything--and this without, warning or preparation of any kind. +All things, big and small, were out by one o'clock, and just in time, +too, to avoid a collision with the colored soldiers of the incoming +cavalry officer, who commenced taking furniture and boxes in the house +at precisely that hour. + +Of course there was no hotel or even restaurant for me to go to, and +I was too proud and too indignant to beg shelter in the house of a +friend--in fact, I felt as if I had no friend. So I sat down on a chair +in the yard with the little dog by me, thinking, I remember, that the +chair was our own property and no one had a right to object to my being +there. And I also remember that the whole miserable affair brought to +mind most vividly scenes of eviction that had been illustrated in +the papers from time to time, when poor women had been evicted for +nonpayment of rent! + +Just as I had reached the very lowest depths of misery and woe, Mrs. +Vincent appeared, and Faye almost immediately after. We three went to +Mrs. Vincent's house for luncheon, and in fact I remained there until we +came to this house. She had just heard of what had happened and hastened +down to me. Captain Vincent said it was entirely the fault of the +commanding officer for permitting such a disgraceful order to leave his +office; that Captain Park's family could have remained one night longer +in tents here, as they had been in camp every night on the road from +Fort Sill. + +There came a ludicrous turn to all this unpleasantness, for, by the +ranking out of one junior second lieutenant, six or more captains and +first lieutenants had to move. It was great fun the next day to see the +moving up and down the officers' line of all sorts of household goods, +for it showed that a poor second lieutenant was of some importance after +all! + +But I am getting on too fast. Faye, of course, was entitled to two +rooms, some place in the post, but it seems that the only quarters he +could take were those occupied by Lieutenant Cole, so Faye decided at +once to go into tents himself, in preference to compelling Lieutenant +Cole to do so. Now it so happened that the inspector general of the +department was in the garrison, and as soon as he learned the condition +of affairs, he ordered the post quartermaster to double two sets +of quarters--that is, make four sets out of two--and designated the +quartermaster's own house for one of the two. But Major Knox divided +off two rooms that no one could possibly occupy, and in consequence has +still all of his large house. But the other large set that was doubled +was occupied by a senior captain, who, when his quarters were reduced +in size, claimed a new choice, and so, turning another captain out, the +ranking out went on down to a second lieutenant. But no one took our old +house from Captain Park, much to my disappointment, and he still has it. + +The house that we are in now is built of cedar logs, and was the +commanding officer's house at one time. It has a long hall running +through the center, and on the left side Major Hunt and his family have +the four rooms, and we have the two on the right. Our kitchen is across +the yard, and was a chicken house not so very long ago. It has no floor, +of course, so we had loads of dirt dug out and all filled in again with +clean white sand, and now, after the log walls have been scraped and +whitened, and a number of new shelves put up, it is really quite nice. +Our sleeping room has no canvas on the walls inside, and much of the +chinking has fallen out, leaving big holes, and I never have a light in +that room after dark, fearing that Indians might shoot me through those +holes. They are skulking about the post all the time. + +We have another cook now--a soldier of course--and one that is rather +inexperienced. General Phillips ordered Findlay back to the company, +saying he was much needed there, but he was company cook just one +day when he was transferred to the general's own kitchen. Comment is +unnecessary! But it is all for the best, I am sure, for Farrar is very +fond of Hal, and sees how intelligent he is, just as I do. The little +dog is chained to a kennel all the time now, and, like his mistress, is +trying to become dignified. + +Faye was made post adjutant this morning, which we consider rather +complimentary, since the post commander is in the cavalry, and there are +a number of cavalry lieutenants here. General Dickinson is a polished +old gentleman, and his wife a very handsome woman who looks almost as +young as her daughter. Miss Dickinson, the general's older daughter, is +very pretty and a fearless rider. In a few days we two are to commence +our morning rides. + +How very funny that I should have forgotten to tell you that I have a +horse, at least I hope he will look like a horse when he has gained some +flesh and lost much long hair. He is an Indian pony of very good size, +and has a well-shaped head and slender little legs. He has a fox +trot, which is wonderfully easy, and which he apparently can keep up +indefinitely, and like all Indian horses can "run like a deer." So, +altogether, he will do very well for this place, where rides are +necessarily curtailed. I call him Cheyenne, because we bought him of +Little Raven, a Cheyenne chief. I shall be so glad when I can ride +again, as I have missed so much the rides and grand hunts at Fort Lyon. + +Later: The mail is just in, and letters have come from Fort Lyon +telling us of the death of Lieutenant Baldwin! It is dreadful--and seems +impossible. They write that he became more and more despondent, until +finally it was impossible to rouse him sufficiently to take an interest +in his own life. Faye and I have lost a friend--a real, true friend. A +brother could not have been kinder, more considerate than he was to both +of us always. How terribly he must have grieved over the ruin of the +horse he was so proud of, and loved so well! + +CAMP SUPPLY, INDIAN TERRITORY, September, 1872. + +THE heat here is still intense, and it never rains, so everything is +parched to a crisp. The river is very low and the water so full of +alkali that we are obliged to boil every drop before it is used for +drinking or cooking, and even then it is so distasteful that we flavor +it with sugar of lemons so we can drink it at all. Fresh lemons are +unknown here, of course. The ice has given out, but we manage to cool +the water a little by keeping it in bottles and canteens down in the +dug-out cellar. + +Miss Dickinson and I continue our daily rides, but go out very early in +the morning. We have an orderly now, as General Dickinson considers it +unsafe for us to go without an escort, since we were chased by an Indian +the other day. That morning the little son of General Phillips was with +us, and as it was not quite as warm as usual, we decided to canter down +the sunflower road a little way--a road that runs to the crossing of +Wolf Creek through an immense field of wild sunflowers. These sunflowers +grow to a tremendous height in this country, so tall that sometimes you +cannot see over them even when on horseback. Just across the creek there +is a village of Apache Indians, and as these Indians are known to be +hostile, this particular road is considered rather unsafe. + +But we rode on down a mile or more without seeing a thing, and had just +turned our ponies' heads homeward when little Grote, who was back of +us, called out that an Indian was coming. That was startling, but +upon looking back we saw that he was a long distance away and coming +leisurely, so we did not pay much attention to him. + +But Grote was more watchful, and very soon screamed, "Mrs. Rae, Mrs. +Rae, the Indian is coming fast--he's going to catch us!" And then, +without wasting time by looking back, we started our ponies with a bound +that put them at their best pace, poor little Grote lashing his most +unmercifully, and crying every minute, "He'll catch us! He'll catch us!" + +That the Indian was on a fleet pony and was gaining upon us was very +evident, and what might have happened had we not soon reached the +sutler's store no one can tell, but we did get there just as he caught +up with us, and as we drew in our panting horses that hideous savage +rode up in front of us and circled twice around us, his pony going like +a whirlwind; and in order to keep his balance, the Indian leaned far +over on one side, his head close to the pony's neck. He said "How" +with a fiendish grin that showed how thoroughly he was enjoying our +frightened faces, and then turned his fast little beast back to the +sunflower road. Of course, as long as the road to the post was clear +we were in no very great danger, as our ponies were fast, but if that +savage could have passed us and gotten us in between him and the Apache +village, we would have lost our horses, if not our lives, for turning +off through the sunflowers would have been an impossibility. + +The very next morning, I think it was, one of the government mules +wandered away, and two of the drivers went in search of it, but not +finding it in the post, one of the men suggested that they should go +to the river where the post animals are watered. It is a fork of the +Canadian River, and is just over a little sand hill, not one quarter of +a mile back of the quarters, but not in the direction of the sunflower +road. The other man, however, said he would not go--that it was not +safe--and came back to the corral, so the one who proposed going went on +alone. + +Time passed and the man did not return, and finally a detail was sent +out to look him up. They went directly to the river, and there they +found him, just on the other side of the hill--dead. He had been shot +by some fiendish Indian soon after leaving his companion. The mule has +never been found, and is probably in a far-away Indian village, where +he brays in vain for the big rations of corn he used to get at the +government corral. + +Last Monday, soon after luncheon, forty or fifty Indians came rushing +down the drive in front of the officers' quarters, frightening some of +us almost out of our senses. Where they came from no one could tell, for +not one sentry had seen them until they were near the post. They rode +past the houses like mad creatures, and on out to the company gardens, +where they made their ponies trample and destroy every growing thing. +Only a few vegetables will mature in this soil and climate, but melons +are often very good, and this season the gardeners had taken much pains +with a crop of fine watermelons that were just beginning to ripen. But +not one of these was spared--every one was broken and crushed by the +little hoofs of the ponies, which seem to enjoy viciousness of this kind +as much as the Indians themselves. + +A company of infantry was sent at once to the gardens, but as it was not +quite possible for the men to outrun the ponies, the mischief had been +done before they got there, and all they could do was to force them back +at the point of the bayonet. Cavalry was ordered out, also, to drive +them away, but none of the troops were allowed to fire upon them, and +that the Indians knew very well. It might have brought on an uprising! + +It seems that the Indians were almost all young bucks out for a frolic, +but quite ready, officers say, for any kind of devilment. They rode +around the post three or four times at breakneck speed, each circle +being larger, and taking them farther away. At last they all started for +the hills and gradually disappeared--all but one, a sentinel, who could +be seen until dark sitting his pony on the highest hill. I presume there +were dozens of Indians on the sand hills around the post peeking over to +see how the fun went on. + +They seem to be watching the post every second of the day, ready to +pounce upon any unprotected thing that ventures forth, be it man or +beast. At almost any time two or three black dots can be seen on the top +of the white sand hills, and one wonders how they can lie for hours in +the hot, scorching sand with the sun beating down on their heads and +backs. And all the time their tough little ponies will stand near them, +down the hill, scarcely moving or making a sound. Some scouts declare +that an Indian pony never whinnies or sneezes! But that seems absurd, +although some of those little beasts show wonderful intelligence and +appear to have been apt pupils in treachery. + +CAMP SUPPLY, INDIAN TERRITORY, October, 1872. + +THIS place is becoming more dreadful each day, and every one of the +awful things I feared might happen here seems to be coming to pass. +Night before last the post was actually attacked by Indians! It was +about one o'clock when the entire garrison was awakened by rifle shots +and cries of "Indians! Indians!" There was pandemonium at once. The +"long roll" was beaten on the infantry drums, and "boots and saddles" +sounded by the cavalry bugles, and these are calls that startle all who +hear them, and strike terror to the heart of every army woman. They mean +that something is wrong--very wrong--and demand the immediate report +for duty at their respective companies of every officer and man in the +garrison. + +Faye jumped into his uniform, and saying a hasty good-by, ran to his +company, as did all the other officers, and very soon we could hear the +shouting of orders from every direction. + +Our house is at the extreme end of the officers' line and very isolated, +therefore Mrs. Hunt and I were left in a most deplorable condition, with +three little children--one a mere baby--to take care of. We put them all +in one bed and covered them as well as we could without a light, which +we did not dare have, of course. Then we saw that all the doors and +windows were fastened on both sides. We decided that it would be quite +impossible for us to remain shut up inside the house, so we dressed our +feet, put on long waterproof coats over our nightgowns as quickly and +silently as possible, and then we sat down on the steps of the front +door to await--we knew not what. I had firm hold of a revolver, and felt +exceedingly grateful all the time that I had been taught so carefully +how to use it, not that I had any hope of being able to do more with it +than kill myself, if I fell in the hands of a fiendish Indian. I believe +that Mrs. Hunt, however, was almost as much afraid of the pistol as she +was of the Indians. + +Ten minutes after the shots were fired there was perfect silence +throughout the garrison, and we knew absolutely nothing of what was +taking place around us. Not one word did we dare even whisper to each +other, our only means of communication being through our hands. The +night was intensely dark and the air was close--almost suffocating. + +In this way we sat for two terrible hours, ever on the alert, ever +listening for the stealthy tread of a moccasined foot at a corner of the +house. And then, just before dawn, when we were almost exhausted by the +great strain on our strength and nerves, our husbands came. They told us +that a company of infantry had been quite near us all the time, and that +a troop of cavalry had been constantly patrolling around the post. I +cannot understand how such perfect silence was maintained by the troops, +particularly the cavalry. Horses usually manage to sneeze at such times. + +There is always a sentry at our corner of the garrison, and it was +this sentinel who was attacked, and it is the general belief among the +officers that the Indians came to this corner hoping to get the-troops +concentrated at the beat farthest from the stables, and thus give them +a chance to steal some, if not all, of the cavalry horses. But Mr. +Red Man's strategy is not quite equal to that of the Great Father's +soldiers, or he would have known that troops would be sent at once to +protect the horses. + +There were a great many pony tracks to be seen in the sand the next +morning, and there was a mounted sentinel on a hill a mile or so away. +It was amusing to watch him through a powerful field glass, and we +wished that he could know just how his every movement could be seen. +He sat there on his pony for hours, both Indian and horse apparently +perfectly motionless, but with his face always turned toward the post, +ready to signal to his people the slightest movement of the troops. + +Faye says that the colored troops were real soldiers that night, alert +and plucky. I can readily believe that some of them can be alert, and +possibly good soldiers, and that they can be good thieves too, for last +Saturday night they stole from us the commissary stores we had expected +to last us one week--everything, in fact, except coffee, sugar, and such +things that we keep in the kitchen, where it is dry. + +The commissary is open Saturday mornings only, at which time we are +requested to purchase all supplies we will need from there for the +following week, and as we have no fresh vegetables whatever, and no +meat except beef, we are very dependent upon the canned goods and other +things in the commissary. + +Last Saturday Mrs. Hunt and I sent over as usual, and most of the +supplies were put in a little dug-out cellar in the yard that we use +together--she having one side, I the other. On Sunday morning Farrar +happened to be the first cook to go out for things for breakfast, and +he found that the door had been broken open and the shelves as bare as +Mother Hubbard's. Everything had been carried off except a few candles +on Mrs. Hunt's side, and a few cakes of laundry soap on mine! The +candles they had no use for, and the thieves were probably of a class +that had no use for soap, either. + +Our breakfast that morning was rather light, but as soon as word got +abroad of our starving condition, true army hospitality and generosity +manifested itself. We were invited out to luncheon, and to dinner, and +to breakfast the next morning. You can see how like one big family +a garrison can be, and how in times of trouble we go to each other's +assistance. Of course, now and then we have disagreeable persons with +us--those who will give you only three hours to move out of your house, +or one who will order your cook from you. + +CAMP SUPPLY, INDIAN TERRITORY, January, 1873. + +ALL that remained of Captain White was carried to the little cemetery +yesterday, with all the military honors possible at such a far-away +post We have no chaplain, therefore one of the cavalry officers read +the service for the dead at the house, just before the march to the +cemetery. Almost all of the cavalry of the garrison was out, mounted, +Captain White's own troop having the lead, of course, and the greater +part of the infantry was out also, and there was a firing detail, with +guns reversed. + +The casket, covered with a large flag, was carried on a caisson, and +his horse, led by an orderly, was covered with a large blanket of black +cloth. Over this was the saddle, and on top of the saddle rested his +helmet--the yellow horsehair plume and gold trimmings looking soiled by +long service. His sabre was there, too, and strapped to the saddle on +each side were his uniform boots, toes in stirrups--all reversed! This +riderless horse, with its pall of black, yellow helmet, and footless +boots, was the saddest sight imaginable. + +I did not go to the cemetery, but we heard distinctly the firing of the +three volleys over the grave and the sounding of taps on the bugles. The +garrison flag had been drawn to half mast almost the moment of Captain +White's death, but at the last sound of taps it was immediately pulled +up to full mast, and soon the troops came back to their quarters, the +field music playing lively airs. + +This seemed so unnecessarily cruel, for Mrs. White must have heard every +note, and she is still so wretchedly ill. The tiny baby has been +taken from the house by the motherly wife of an officer, and the other +tots--four in all--are being cared for by others. We have all been +taking turns in sitting up nights during the illness of husband and +wife, and last night three of us were there, Captain Tillman and Faye in +one room, and I with Mrs. White. It was a terrible night, probably the +one that has exacted, or will exact, the greatest self-control, as it +was the one before the burial. + +In civil life a poor widow can often live right on in her old home, but +in the Army, never! Mrs. White will have to give up the quarters just +as soon as she and the little baby are strong enough to travel. She has +been in a warm climate many years, and her friends are all in the North, +so to-morrow a number of us are to commence making warm clothing for her +and the children. She has absolutely nothing of the kind, and seems to +be pitifully helpless and incapable of thinking for herself. + +Soon after I got home this morning and was trying to get a little sleep, +I heard screams and an awful commotion across the hall in one of Mrs. +Hunt's rooms, and running over to see what was the matter, I found Mrs. +Hunt standing upon a chair, and her cook running around like a madman, +with a stick of wood in his hand, upsetting furniture and whacking +things generally. I naturally thought of a mouse, and not being afraid +of them, I went on in and closed the door. I doubt if Mrs. Hunt saw me, +she was so intently watching the man, who kept on upsetting things. +He stopped finally, and then held up on the wood a snake--a dead +rattlesnake! We measured it, and it was over two feet long. + +You can see how the house is built by the photograph I sent you, that +there are no chimneys, and that the stovepipes go straight up through +the pole and sod roof. The children insist that the snake came down the +pipe in the liveliest kind of a way, so it must have crawled up the logs +to the roof, and finding the warmth of the pipe, got too close to the +opening and slipped through. However that may be, he got into the room +where the three little children were playing alone. Fortunately, the +oldest recognized the danger at once, and ran screaming to her mother, +the other two following. Mrs. Hunt was almost ill over the affair, +and Major Hunt kept a man on top and around the old house hunting for +snakes, until we began to fear it would be pulled down on our heads. + +This country itself is bad enough, and the location of the post is most +unfortunate, but to compel officers and men to live in these old huts +of decaying, moldy wood, which are reeking with malaria and alive with +bugs, and perhaps snakes, is wicked. Officers' families are not obliged +to remain here, of course. + +But at dreadful places like this is where the plucky army wife is most +needed. Her very presence has often a refining and restraining influence +over the entire garrison, from the commanding officer down to the last +recruit. No one can as quickly grasp the possibilities of comfort in +quarters like these, or as bravely busy herself to fix them up. She +knows that the stay is indefinite, that it may be for six months, or +possibly six years, but that matters not. It is her army home--Brass +Button's home--and however discouraging its condition may be, for his +sake she pluckily, and with wifely pride, performs miracles, always +making the house comfortable and attractive. + +FORT DODGE, KANSAS, January, 1873. + +OUR coming here was most unexpected and very unpleasant in every way. +General Phillips and Major Barker quarreled over something, and Major +Barker preferred charges against the general, who is his company +commander, and now General Phillips is being tried here by general court +martial. Faye and I were summoned as witnesses by Major Barker, just +because we heard a few words that were said in front of our window late +one night! The court has thoughtfully excused me from going into the +court room, as I could only corroborate Faye's testimony. I am so +relieved, for it would have been a terrible ordeal to have gone in that +room where all those officers are sitting, in full-dress uniform, too, +and General Phillips with them. I would have been too frightened to have +remembered one thing, or to have known whether I was telling the truth +or not. + +General Dickinson and Ben dark, his interpreter, came up in the +ambulance with us, and the poor general is now quite ill, the result of +an ice bath in the Arkansas River! When we started to come across on the +ice here at the ford, the mule leaders broke through and fell down +on the river bottom, and being mules, not only refused to get up, but +insisted upon keeping their noses under the water. The wheelers broke +through, too, but had the good sense to stand on their feet, but they +gave the ambulance such a hard jerk that the front wheels broke off more +ice and went down to the river bottom, also. By the time all this had +occurred, I was the only one left inside, and found myself very busy +trying to keep myself from slipping down under the front seat, where +water had already come in. General Dickinson and Faye were doing +everything possible to assist the men. + +Just how it was accomplished would make too long a story to tell, but +in a short time the leaders were dragged out and on their feet, and the +rear wheels of the ambulance let down on the river bottom, and then we +were all pulled up on the ice again, and came on to the post in safety. +All but General Dickinson, who undertook to hold out of the water the +heads of the two leaders who seemed determined to commit suicide by +keeping their noses down, the general forgetting for once that he was +commanding officer. But one of those government mules did not forget, +and with a sudden jerk of his big head he pulled the general over and +down from the ice into the water, and in such a way that he was wedged +tight in between the two animals. One would have expected much objection +on the part of the mules to the fishing out of the general, but those +two mules kept perfectly still, apparently satisfied with the mischief +that had already been done. I can fancy that there is one mule still +chuckling over the fact of having gotten even with a commanding officer! +It is, quite warm now, and the ice has gone out of the river, so there +will be no trouble at the ford to-morrow, when we start back. + +There is one company of Faye's regiment stationed here, and the officer +in command of the post is major of the Third, so we feel at home. We are +staying with Lieutenant Harvey, who is making it very pleasant for us. +Hal is with us, and is being petted by everybody, but most of all by the +cavalry officers, some of whom have hunted with Magic, Hal's father. + +Last evening, while a number of us were sitting on the veranda after +dinner, a large turkey gobbler came Stalking down the drive in front of +the officers' quarters. Hal was squatted down, hound fashion, at the +top of the steps, and of course saw the gobbler at once. He never moved, +except to raise his ears a little, but I noticed that his eyes opened +wider and wider, and could see that he was making an estimate of the +speed of that turkey, and also making up his mind that it was his duty +as a self-respecting hound to resent the airs that were being assumed +by the queer thing with a red nose and only two legs. So as soon as the +turkey passed, down he jumped after him, and over him and around him, +until really the poor thing looked about one half his former size. Then +Hal got back of the turkey and waited for it to run, which it proceeded +to do without loss of time, and then a funny race was on! I could have +cried, I was so afraid Hal would injure the turkey, but everyone else +laughed and watched, as though it was the sporting event of the year, +and they assured me that the dog would have to stop when he got to +the very high gate at the end of the line. But they did not know that +greyhound, for the gate gave him still another opportunity to show the +thing that had wings to help its absurd legs along what a hound puppy +could do. When they reached the gate the turkey went under, but the +puppy went over, making a magnificent jump that landed him yards in +advance of the turkey, thereby causing him the loss of the race, for +before he could stop himself and turn, the gobbler had very wisely +hidden himself in a back yard. + +There was a shouting and clapping of hands all along the line because +of the beautiful jump of so young a dog, but I must confess that all I +thought of just then was gratitude that my dog had not made an untimely +plucking of somebody's turkey, for in this country a turkey is something +rare and valuable. + +Hal came trotting back with his loftiest steps and tail high in the air, +evidently much pleased with his part in the entertainment. He is +very tall now, and ran by the ambulance all the way up, and has been +following me on my rides for some time. + +CIMARRON REDOUBT, KANSAS, January, 1873. + +WHEN Faye was ordered here I said at once that I would come, too, and +so I came! We are at a mail station--that is, where the relay mules +are kept and where the mail wagon and escort remain overnight on their +weekly trips from Camp Supply to Fort Dodge. A non-commissioned officer +and ten privates are here all the time. + +The cause of Faye's being here is, the contractor is sending big trains +of grain down to Camp Supply for the cavalry horses and other animals, +and it was discovered that whisky was being smuggled to the Indians in +the sacks of oats. So General Dickinson sent an officer to the redoubt +to inspect each sack as it is carried past by the ox trains. Lieutenant +Cole was the first officer to be ordered up, but the place did not agree +with him, and at the end of three weeks he appeared at the post on a +mail wagon, a very sick man--very sick indeed! In less than half an hour +Faye was ordered to relieve him, to finish Lieutenant Cole's tour in +addition to his own detail of thirty days, which will give us a stay +here of over five weeks. + +As soon as I heard of the order I announced that I was coming, but it +was necessary to obtain the commanding officer's permission first. This +seemed rather hopeless for a time, the general declaring I would "die +in such a hole," where I could have no comforts, but he did not say I +should not come. Faye did not want to leave me alone at the post, but +was afraid the life here would be too rough for me, so I decided the +matter for myself and began to make preparations to come away, and that +settled all discussion. We were obliged to start early the next morning, +and there were only a few hours in which to get ready. Packing the mess +chest and getting commissary stores occupied the most time, for after +our clothing was put away the closing of the house was a farce, "Peu de +bien, peu de soin!" Farrar was permitted to come, and we brought Hal and +the horse, so the family is still together. + +The redoubt is made of gunny sacks filled with sand, and is built on +the principle of a permanent fortification in miniature, with bastions, +flanks, curtains, and ditch, and has two pieces of artillery. The +parapet is about ten feet high, upon the top of which a sentry walks all +the time. This is technically correct, for Faye has just explained it +all to me, so I could tell you about our castle on the plains. We have +only two rooms for our own use, and these are partitioned off with +vertical logs in one corner of the fortification, and our only roof is +of canvas. + +When we first got here the dirt floor was very much like the side of a +mountain--so sloping that we had difficulty in sitting upon the chairs. +Faye had these made level at once, and fresh, dry sand sprinkled +everywhere. + +We are right in the heart of the Indian country, almost on the line +between Kansas and the Indian Territory, and are surrounded by any +number of villages of hostile Indians. We are forty miles from Camp +Supply and about the same distance from Fort Dodge. The weather is +delightful--sunny and very warm. + +I was prevented from finishing this the other day by the coming of a +dozen or more Arapahoe Indians, but as the mail does not go north until +to-morrow morning, I can tell you of the more than busy time we have had +since then. + +For two or three days the weather had been unseasonably warm--almost +like summer--and one evening it was not only hot, but so sultry one +wondered where all the air had gone. About midnight, however, a terrific +wind came up, cold and piercing, and very soon snow began to fall, and +then we knew that we were having a "Texas norther," a storm that is +feared by all old frontiersmen. Of course we were perfectly safe from +the wind, for only a cyclone could tear down these thick walls of sand, +but the snow sifted in every place--between the logs of the inner wall, +around the windows--and almost buried us. And the cold became intense. + +In the morning the logs of that entire wall from top to bottom, were +white inside with snow, and looked like a forest in the far North. The +floor was covered with snow, and so was the foot of the bed! Our rooms +were facing just right to catch the full force of the blizzard. The +straightening-out was exceedingly unpleasant, for a fire could not be +started in either stove until after the snow had been swept out. But a +few soldiers can work miracles at times, and this proved to be one +of the times. I went over to the orderly room while they brushed and +scraped everywhere and fixed us up nicely, and we were soon warm and +dry. + +The norther continued twenty-four hours, and the cold is still freezing. +All the wood inside was soon consumed, and the men were compelled to +go outside the redoubt for it, and to split it, too. The storm was so +fierce and wholly blinding that it was necessary to fasten the end of a +rope around the waist of each man as he went out, and tie the other +end to the entrance gate to prevent him from losing his direction and +wandering out on the plains. Even with this precaution it was impossible +for a man to remain out longer than ten minutes, because of the terribly +cold wind that at times was almost impossible to stand up against. + +Faye says that he cannot understand why the place has never been made +habitable, or why Lieutenant Cole did not have the wood brought inside, +where it would be convenient in case of a storm. Some of the men are +working at the wood still, and others are making their quarters' a +little more decent. Every tiny opening in our own log walls has been +chinked with pieces of blanket or anything that could be found, and the +entire dirt floor has been covered with clean grain sacks that are held +down smooth and tight by little pegs of wood, and over this rough +carpet we have three rugs we brought with us. At the small window are +turkey-red curtains that make very good shades when let down at night. +There are warm army blankets on the camp bed, and a folded red squaw +blanket on the trunk. The stove is as bright and shining as the strong +arm of a soldier could make it, and on it is a little brass teakettle +singing merrily. + +Altogether the little place looks clean and cheerful, quite unlike the +"hole" we came to. Farrar has attended to his part in the kitchen also, +and things look neat and orderly there. A wall tent has been pitched +just outside our door that gives us a large storeroom and at the same +time screens us from the men's quarters that are along one side of the +sandbag walls. + +On the side farthest from us the mules and horses are stabled, but one +would never know that an animal was near if those big-headed mules did +not occasionally raise their voices in brays that sound like old squeaky +pumps. When it is pleasant they are all picketed out. + +At the first coming of the blizzard the sentry was ordered from the +parapet, and is still off, and I am positive that unless one goes on +soon at night I shall be wholly deaf, because I strain my ears the whole +night through listening for Indians. The men are supposed to be ever +ready for an attack, but if they require drums and cannon to awaken them +in a garrison, how can they possibly hear the stealthy step of an Indian +here? It is foolish to expect anything so unreasonable. + +CIMARRON REDOUBT, KANSAS, January, 1873. + +FANCY our having given a dinner party at this sand-bag castle on the +plains, miles and miles from a white man or woman! The number of guests +was small, but their rank was immense, for we entertained Powder-Face, +Chief of the Arapahoe Nation, and Wauk, his young squaw, mother of his +little chief. + +Two or three days ago Powder-Face came to make a formal call upon the +"White Chief," and brought with him two other Indians--aides we would +call them, I presume. A soldier offered to hold his horse, but he would +not dismount, and sat his horse with grave dignity until Faye went out +and in person invited him to come in and have a smoke. He is an Indian +of striking personality--is rather tall, with square, broad shoulders, +and the poise of his head tells one at once that he is not an ordinary +savage. + +We must have found favor with him, for as he was going away he announced +that he would come again the next day and bring his squaw with him. +Then Faye, in his hospitable way, invited them to a midday dinner! I was +almost speechless from horror at the very thought of sitting at a table +with an Indian, no matter how great a chief he might be. But I could say +nothing, of course, and he rode away with the understanding that he was +to return the following day. Faye assured me that it would be amusing to +watch them, and be a break in the monotony here. + +They appeared promptly, and I became interested in Wauk at once, for she +was a remarkable squaw. Tall and slender, with rather a thin, girlish +face, very unlike the short, fat squaws one usually sees, and she had +the appearance of being rather tidy, too. I could not tell if she was +dressed specially for the occasion, as I had never seen her before, but +everything she had on was beautifully embroidered with beads--mostly +white--and small teeth of animals. She wore a sort of short skirt, high +leggings, and of course moccasins, and around her shoulders and falling +far below her waist was a queer-shaped garment--neither cape nor +shawl--dotted closely all over with tiny teeth, which were fastened on +at one end and left to dangle. + +High up around her neck was a dog collar of fine teeth that was really +beautiful, and there were several necklaces of different lengths hanging +below it, one of which was of polished elk teeth and very rare. The +skins of all her clothing had been tanned until they were as soft as +kid. Any number of bracelets were on her arms, many of them made of tin, +I think. Her hair was parted and hung in loose ropes down each shoulder +in front. Her feet and hands were very small, even for an Indian, and +showed that life had been kind to her. I am confident that she must have +been a princess by birth, she was so different from all squaws I have +seen. She could not speak one word of English, but her lord, whom she +seemed to adore, could make himself understood very well by signs and a +word now and then. + +Powder-Face wore a blanket, but underneath it was a shirt of fine skins, +the front of which was almost covered with teeth, beads, and wampum. His +hair was roped on each side and hung in front, and the scalp lock on top +was made conspicuous by the usual long feather stuck through it. + +The time came when dinner could no longer be put off, so we sat down. +Our menu in this place is necessarily limited, but a friend at Fort +Dodge had added to our stores by sending us some fresh potatoes and +some lettuce by the mail wagon just the day before, and both of these +Powder-Face seemed to enjoy. In fact, he ate of everything, but Wauk was +more particular--lettuce, potatoes, and ham she would not touch. Their +table manners were not of the very best form, as might be expected, but +they conducted themselves rather decently--far better than I had feared +they would. All the time I was wondering what that squaw was thinking +of things! Powder-Face was taken to Washington last year with chiefs of +other nations to see the "Great Father," so he knew much of the white +man's ways, but Wauk was a wild creature of the plains. + +We kept them bountifully supplied with everything on the table, so our +own portion of the dinner would remain unmolested, although neither Faye +nor I had much appetite just then. When Farrar came in to remove the +plates for dessert, and Powder-Face saw that the remaining food was +about to disappear, he pushed Farrar back and commenced to attend to the +table himself. He pulled one dish after another to him, and scraped each +one clean, spreading all the butter on the bread, and piled up +buffalo steak, ham, potatoes, peas--in fact, every crumb that had been +left--making one disgusting mess, and then tapping it with his finger +said, "Papoose! Papoose!" We had it all put in a paper and other things +added, which made Wauk almost bob off her chair in her delight at having +such a feast for her little chief. But the condition of my tablecloth +made me want to bob up and down for other feelings than delight! + +After dinner they all sat by the stove and smoked, and Powder-Face told +funny things about his trip East that we could not always interpret, but +which caused him and Wauk to laugh heartily. Wauk sat very close to him, +with elbows on her knees, looking as though she would much prefer to be +squatted down upon the floor. + +The tepee odor became stifling, so in order to get as far from the +Indians as possible, I went across the room and sat upon a small trunk +by the window. I had not been there five minutes, however, before that +wily chief, who had apparently not noticed my existence, got up from +his chair, gathered his blanket around him, and with long strides came +straight to me. Then with a grip of steel on my shoulder, he jerked me +from the trunk and fairly slung me over against the wall, and turning to +Faye with his head thrown back he said, "Whisk! Whisk!" at the same time +pointing to the trunk. + +The demand was imperious, and the unstudied poise of the powerfully +built Indian, so full of savage dignity, was magnificent. As I calmly +think of it now, the whole scene was grand. The rough room, with its +low walls of sand-bags and logs, the Indian princess in her picturesque +dress of skins and beads, the fair army officer in his uniform of +blue, both looking in astonishment at the chief, whose square jaws and +flashing eyes plainly told that he was accustomed to being obeyed, and +expected to be obeyed then! + +Faye says that I missed part of the scene; that, backed up against +sand-bags and clinging to them on either side for support, stood a +slender young woman with pigtail hanging down one shoulder, so terrified +that her face, although brown from exposure to sun and wind, had become +white and chalky. It is not surprising that my face turned white; the +only wonder is that the pigtail did not turn white, too! + +It was not right for Faye to give liquor to an Indian, but what else +could be done under the circumstances? There happened to be a flask of +brandy in the trunk, but fortunately there was only a small quantity +that we had brought up for medicinal purposes, and it was precious, too, +for we were far from a doctor. But Faye had to get it out for the chief, +who had sat there smoking in such an innocent way, but who had all the +time been studying out where there might be hidden some "whisk!" Wauk +drank almost all of it, Powder-Face seeming to derive more pleasure in +seeing her drink his portion than in drinking it himself. Consequently, +when she went out to mount her horse her steps were a little unsteady, +over which the chief laughed heartily. + +It was with the greatest relief I saw them ride away. They certainly had +furnished entertainment, but it was of a kind that would satisfy one for +a long time. I was afraid they might come for dinner again the following +day, but they did not. + +Powder-Face thought that the pony Cheyenne was not a good enough horse +for me, so the morning after he was here an Indian, called Dog, appeared +with a very good animal, large and well gaited, that the chief had sent +over, not as a present, but for a trade. + +We let poor Cheyenne go back to the Indians, a quantity of sugar, +coffee, and such things going with him, and now I have a strawberry-roan +horse named Powder-Face. + +Chief Powder-Face, who is really not old, is respected by everyone, +and has been instrumental in causing the Arapahoe nation to cease +hostilities toward white people. Some of the chiefs of lesser rank have +much of the dignity of high-born savages, particularly Lone Wolf and his +son Big Mouth, both of whom come to see us now and then. Lone Wolf is no +longer a warrior, and of course no longer wears a scalp lock and strings +of wampum and beads, and would like to have you believe that he has ever +been the white man's friend, but I suspect that even now there might +be brought forth an old war belt with hanging scalps that could tell +of massacre, torture, and murder. Big Mouth is a war chief, and has the +same grand physique as Powder-Face and a personality almost as striking. +His hair is simply splendid, wonderfully heavy and long and very glossy. +His scalp lock is most artistic, and undoubtedly kept in order by a +squaw. + +The picture of the two generations of chiefs is unique and rare. It +shows in detail the everyday dress of the genuine blanket Indians as we +see them here. Just how it was obtained I do not know, for Indians +do not like a camera. We have daily visits from dozens of so-called +friendly Indians, but I would not trust one of them. Many white people +who have lived among Indians and know them well declare that an Indian +is always an Indian; that, no matter how fine the veneering civilization +may have given him, there ever lies dormant the traits of the savage, +ready to spring forth without warning in acts of treachery and fiendish +cruelty. + +CIMARRON REDOUBT, January, 1873. + +IT was such a pleasant surprise yesterday when General Bourke drove up +to the redoubt on his way to Camp Supply from dear old Fort Lyon. He +has been ordered to relieve General Dickinson, and was taking down +furniture, his dogs, and handsome team. Of course there was an escort, +and ever so many wagons, some loaded with tents and camp outfits. We +are rejoicing over the prospect of having an infantry officer in command +when we return to the post. The general remained for luncheon and seemed +to enjoy the broiled buffalo steak very much. He said that now there +are very few buffalo in Colorado and Kansas, because of their wholesale +slaughter by white men during the past year. These men kill them for the +skins only, and General Bourke said that he saw hundreds of carcasses on +the plains between Lyon and Dodge. They are boldly coming to the Indian +Territory now, and cavalry has been sent out several times to drive them +from the reservation. + +If the Indians should attempt to protect their rights it would be called +an uprising at once, so they have to lie around on the sand hills and +watch their beloved buffalo gradually disappear, and all the time they +know only too well that with them will go the skins that give them +tepees and clothing, and the meat that furnishes almost all of their +sustenance. + +During the blizzard two weeks ago ten or twelve of these buffalo hunters +were caught out in the storm, and being unable to find their own camps +they wandered into Indian villages, each man about half dead from +exposure to the cold and hunger. All were suffering more or less from +frozen feet and hands. In every case the Indians fed and cared for them +until the storm was over, and then they told them to go--and go fast +and far, or it would not be well with them. Faye says that it was truly +noble in the Indians to keep alive those men when they knew they had +been stealing so much from them. But Faye can always see more good in +Indians than I can. Even a savage could scarcely kill a man when he +appeals to him for protection! + +There is some kind of excitement here every day--some pleasant, some +otherwise--usually otherwise. The mail escort and wagon are here two +nights during the week, one on the way to Fort Dodge, the other on the +return trip, so we hear the little bits of gossip from each garrison. +The long trains of army wagons drawn by mules that carry stores to the +post always camp near us one night, because of the water. + +But the most exciting times are when the big ox trains come along that +are taking oats and corn to the quartermaster for the cavalry horses and +mules, for in these sacks of grain there is ever a possibility of liquor +being found. The sergeant carefully punches the sacks from one end to +the other with a long steel very much like a rifle rammer; but so far +not a thing has been found, but this is undoubtedly because they +know what to expect at this place now. Faye is always present at the +inspection, and once I watched it a short distance away. + +When there are camps outside I always feel a little more protected from +the Indians. I am kept awake hours every night by my uncontrollable fear +of their getting on top of the parapet and cutting holes in the canvas +over our very heads and getting into the room that way. A sentry is +supposed to walk around the top every few minutes, but I have very +little confidence in his protection. I really rely upon Hal more than +the sentry to give warning, for that dog can hear the stealthy step +of an Indian when a long distance from him. And I believe he can smell +them, too. + +We bought a beautiful buffalo-calf robe for a bed for him, and that +night I folded it down nicely and called him to it, thinking he would be +delighted with so soft and warm a bed. But no! He went to it because I +called him and patted it, but put one foot on it he would not. He gave +a little growl, and putting his tail up, walked away with great dignity +and a look of having been insulted. + +Of course the skin smelled strong of the tepee and Indians. We sunned +and aired it for days, and Farrar rubbed the fur with camphor and other +things to destroy the Indian odor, and after much persuading and any +amount of patience on our part, Hal finally condescended to use the +robe. He now considers it the finest thing on earth, and keeps close +watch of it at all times. + +We have visits from Indians every day, and this variation from the +monotony is not agreeable to me, but Faye goes out and has long powwows +with them. They do not hesitate to ask for things, and the more you give +the more you may. + +The other morning Faye saw a buffalo calf not far from the redoubt, and +decided to go for it, as we, also the men, were in need of fresh meat. +So he started off on Powder-Face, taking only a revolver with him. I +went outside to watch him ride off, and just as the calf disappeared +over a little hill and he after it, an Indian rode down the bluff at the +right, and about the same distance away as I thought Faye might be, and +started in a canter straight across in the direction Faye had gone. Very +soon he, also, was back of the little hill and out of sight. + +I ran inside and called the sergeant, and was trying to explain the +situation to him as briefly as possible when he, without waiting for me +to finish, got his rifle and cartridge belt, and ordering a couple +of men to follow, started off on a hard run in the direction I had +designated. As soon as they reached the top of the hill they saw Faye, +and saw also that the Indian was with him. The men went on over slowly, +but stopped as soon as they got within rifle range of Faye, for of +course the Indian would never have attempted mischief when he knew that +the next instant he would be riddled with bullets. The Indian was facing +the soldiers and saw them at once, but they were at Faye's back, so he +did not know they were there until he turned to come home. + +Faye says that the Indian was quite near before he saw him at all, as he +had not been thinking of Indians in his race after the little buffalo. +He came up and said "How!" of course, and then by signs asked to see +Faye's revolver, which has an ivory handle with nickel barrel and +trimmings, all of which the Indian saw at once, and decided to make his +own without loss of time, and then by disarming Faye he would be master +of things generally. + +Faye pulled the pistol from its holster and held it out for the Indian +to look at, but with a tight grip on the handle and finger on trigger, +the muzzle pointed straight to his treacherous heart. This did not +disturb the Indian in the least, for he grasped the barrel and with a +twist of the wrist tried to jerk it down and out of Faye's hand. But +this he failed to do, so, with a sarcastic laugh, he settled himself +back on his pony to await a more favorable time when he could catch Faye +off guard. He wanted that glistening pistol, and he probably wanted the +fat pony also. And thus they sat facing each other for several minutes, +the Indian apparently quite indifferent to pistols and all things, +and Faye on the alert to protect himself against the first move of +treachery. + +It would have been most unsafe for Faye to have turned from the crafty +savage, and just how long the heart-to-heart interview might have lasted +or what would have happened no one can tell if the coming in sight +of the soldiers with their long guns had not caused him to change his +tactics. After a while he grunted "How!" again, and, assuming an air of +great contempt for soldiers, guns, and shiny pistols, rode away and soon +disappeared over the bluff. There was only the one Indian in sight, but, +as the old sergeant said, "there might have been a dozen red devils just +over the bluff!" + +One never knows when the "red devils" are near, for they hide themselves +back of a bunch of sage brush, and their ponies, whose hoofs are never +shod, can get over the ground very swiftly and steal upon you almost as +noiselessly as their owners. It is needless to say that we did not have +fresh buffalo that day! And the buffalo calf ran on to the herd wholly +unconscious of his narrow escape. + +We expect to return to Camp Supply in a few days, and in many ways I +shall be sorry to leave this place. It is terrible to be so isolated, +when one thinks about it, especially if one should be ill. I shall miss +Miss Dickinson in the garrison very much, and our daily rides together. +General Dickinson and his family passed here last week on their way to +his new station. + +CAMP SUPPLY, INDIAN TERRITORY, February, 1873. + +UPON our return from the Cimarron we found a dear, clean house all +ready for us to move into. It was a delightful surprise, and after the +wretched huts we have been living in ever since we came to this post, +the house with its white walls and board floors seems like fairyland. It +is made of vertical logs of course, the same as the other quarters, but +these have been freshly chinked, and covered on the inside with canvas. +General Bourke ordered the quartermaster to fix the house for us, and I +am glad that Major Knox was the one to receive the order, for I have not +forgotten how disagreeable he was about the fixing up of our first house +here. One can imagine how he must have fumed over the issuing of so much +canvas, boards, and even the nails for the quarters of only a second +lieutenant! + +Many changes have been made during the few weeks General Bourke has been +here, the most important having been the separating of the white troops +from the colored when on guard duty. The officers and men of the colored +cavalry have not liked this, naturally, but it was outrageous to put +white and black in the same little guard room, and colored sergeants +over white corporals and privates. It was good cause for desertion. But +all that is at an end now. General Dickinson is no longer commanding +officer, and best of all, the colored troops have been ordered to +another department, and the two troops of white cavalry that are to +relieve them are here now and in camp not far from the post, waiting for +the barracks to be vacated. + +We have felt very brave since the camp has been established, and two +days ago several of us drove over to a Cheyenne village that is a mile +or so up the creek. But soon after we got there we did not feel a bit +brave, for we had not been out of the ambulance more than five minutes, +when one of their criers came racing in on a very wet pony, and rode +like mad in and out among the tepees, all the time screaming something +at the top of his voice. + +Instantly there was a jabbering by all of them and great commotion. Each +Indian talked and there seemed to be no one to listen. Several tepees +were taken down wonderfully quick, and a number of ponies were hurried +in, saddled, and ridden away at race speed, a few squaws wailing as they +watched them go, guns in their hands. Other squaws stood around looking +at us, and showing intense hatred through their wicked eyes. It was soon +discovered by all of us that the village was really not attractive, and +four scared women came back to the garrison as fast as government mules +could bring them! What was the cause of so much excitement we will +probably never know--and of course we should not have gone there without +an officer, and yet, what could one man have done against all those +savages! + +We were honored by a visit from a chief the other day. He was a Cheyenne +from the village, presumably, and his name was White Horse. He must +have been born a chief for he was young, very dignified, and very +good-looking, too, for an Indian. Of course his face was painted in a +hideous way, but his leggings and clothing generally were far more +tidy than those of most Indians. His chest was literally covered with +polished teeth of animals, beads, and wampum, arranged artistically in +a sort of breastplate, and his scalp lock, which had evidently been +plaited with much care, was ornamented with a very beautiful long +feather. + +Fortunately Faye was at home when he came, for he walked right in, +unannounced, except the usual "How!" Faye gave him a chair, and this he +placed in the middle of the room in a position so he could watch both +doors, and then his rifle was laid carefully upon the floor at his right +side. He could speak his name, but not another word of English, so, +thinking to entertain him, Faye reached for a rifle that was standing in +one corner of the room to show him, as it was of a recent make. Although +the rifle was almost at the Indian's back the suspicious savage saw +what Faye was doing, and like a flash he seized his own gun and laid it +across his knees, all the time looking straight at Faye to see what he +intended to do next. Not a muscle of his race moved, but his eyes were +wonderful, brilliant, and piercing, and plainly said, "Go ahead, I'm +ready!" + +I saw the whole performance and was wondering if I had not better run +for assistance, when Faye laughed, and motioned the Indian to put his +rifle down again, at the same time pulling the trigger of his own to +assure him that it was not loaded. This apparently satisfied him, but he +did not put his gun back on the floor, but let it rest across his knees +all the time he sat there. And that was for the longest time--and never +once did he change his position, turn his head, or, as we could see, +move an eyelid! But nevertheless he made one feel that it was not +necessary for him to turn his head--that it was all eyes, that he could +see up and down and across and could read one's very thoughts, too. + +The Indian from whom we bought Powder-Face--his name is Dog, you will +remember--has found us out, and like a dog comes every day for something +to eat. He always walks right into the kitchen; if the door is closed he +opens it. If he is not given things he stands around with the greatest +patience, giving little grunts now and then, and watches Farrar +until the poor soldier becomes worn out and in self-defense gives him +something, knowing full well all the time that trouble is being stored +up for the next day. The Indian never seems cross, but smiles at +everything, which is most unusual in a savage. + +With the white cavalry is a classmate of Faye's, Lieutenant Isham, +and yesterday I went out to camp with him and rode his horse, a large, +spirited animal. It was the horse's first experience with a side saddle, +and at first he objected to the habit and jumped around and snorted +quite a little, but he soon saw that I was really not a dangerous person +and quieted down. + +As Lieutenant Isham and I were cantering along at a nice brisk gait we +met Faye, who was returning from the camp on Powder-Face, and it could +be plainly seen that he disapproved of my mount. But he would not turn +back with us, however, and we went on to camp without him. There is +something very fascinating about a military camp--it is always so +precise and trim--the little tents for the men pitched in long straight +lines, each one looking as though it had been given especial attention, +and with all things is the same military precision and neatness. It was +afternoon stables and we rode around to the picket lines to watch the +horses getting their grooming. + +When I got home Faye was quick to tell me that I would certainly be +killed if I continued to ride every untrained horse that came along! Not +a very pleasant prospect for me; but I told him that I did not want to +mortify him and myself, too, by refusing to mount horses that his own +classmates, particularly those in the cavalry, asked me to ride, and +that I knew very well he would much prefer to see me on a spirited +animal than a "gentle ladies' horse" that any inexperienced rider could +manage. So we decided that the horse, after all, was not a vicious +beast, and I am to ride him again to-morrow. + +Last evening we gave a delightful little dance in the hall in honor of +the officers and their wives who are to go, and the officers who have +come. We all wore our most becoming gowns, and anyone unacquainted with +army life on the frontier would have been surprised to see what handsome +dresses can be brought forth, even at this far-away post, when occasion +demands. There are two very pretty girls from the East visiting in the +garrison, and several of the wives of officers are young and attractive, +and the mingling of the pretty faces and bright-colored dresses with the +dark blue and gold of the uniforms made a beautiful scene. It is not in +the least surprising that girls become so silly over brass buttons. Even +the wives get silly over them sometimes! + +CAMP SUPPLY, INDIAN TERRITORY, April, 1873. + +IN the last mail Faye heard from his application for transfer to another +company, and the order will be issued as soon as the lieutenant in that +company has been promoted, which will be in a few weeks. This will +take us back to Fort Lyon with old friends, and Faye to a company whose +captain is a gentleman. He was one of Faye's instructors at West Point. + +I have a new horse--and a lively one, too--so lively that I have not +ridden him yet. He was a present from Lieutenant Isham, and the way in +which he happened to possess him makes a pretty little story. The troop +had been sent out on a scout, and was on its way back to the post to be +paid, when one evening this pony trotted into camp and at once tried +to be friendly with the cavalry horses, but the poor thing was so +frightfully hideous with its painted coat the horses would not permit +him to come near them for some time. But the men caught him and brought +him on to the stables, where there was trouble at once, for almost every +man in the troop claimed ownership. So it was finally decided by the +captain that as soon as the troop had been paid the horse should be +raffled, that each man in that one troop could have the privilege of +buying a chance at one dollar, and that the money should go in the troop +fund. This arrangement delighted the men, as it promised something new +in the way of a frolic. + +In due time the paymaster arrived, the men were paid, and then in a few +minutes there was brisk business going on over at the quarters of +the troop! Every enlisted man in the troop--sergeants, corporals, and +privates, eighty-four in all--bought a chance, thus making a fine +sum for the fund. A private won the horse, of whom Lieutenant Isham +immediately bought him and presented him to me. + +He is about fifteen hands high and not in the least of a pony build, but +is remarkably slender, with fine head and large intelligent eyes. Just +what his color is we do not know, for he is stained in red-brown stripes +all over his body, around his legs, and on his face, but we think he is +a light gray. When he wandered to camp, a small bell was tied around +his neck with a piece of red flannel, and this, with his having been so +carefully stained, indicates almost conclusively that he was a pet. Some +of the soldiers insist that he was a race pony, because he is not only +very swift, but has been taught to take three tremendous jumps at the +very beginning of his run, which gives him an immense advantage, but +which his rider may sometimes fail to appreciate. These jumps are often +taught the Indian race ponies. The horse is gentle with Faye and is +certainly graceful, but he is hard to hold and inclined to bolt, so I +will not try him until he becomes more civilized. + +The Indians are very bold again. A few days ago Lieutenant Golden was in +to luncheon, and while we were at the table we saw several Kiowas rush +across the creek and stampede five or six horses that belonged to our +milkman, who has a ranch just outside the garrison. In a few minutes an +orderly appeared with an order for Lieutenant Golden and ten men to go +after them without delay, and bring the horses back. + +Of course he started at once, and chased those Indians all the +afternoon, and got so close to them once or twice that they saw the +necessity of lightening the weight on their tired ponies, and threw off +their old saddles and all sorts of things, even little bags of shot, but +all the time they held on to their guns and managed to keep the stolen +horses ahead of them. They had extra ponies, too, that they swung +themselves over on when the ridden beasts began to lag a little. When +night came on Lieutenant Golden was compelled to give up the chase, and +had to return to the post without having recovered one of the stolen +horses. + +One never knows here what dreadful things may come up any moment. +Everything was quiet and peaceful when we sat down to luncheon, yet in +less than ten minutes we saw the rush of the Indians and the stampede of +the milkman's horses right from our dining-room window. The horses were +close to the post too. Splendid cavalry horses were sent after them, +but it requires a very swift horse to overtake those tough little Indian +ponies at any time, and the Kiowas probably were on their best ponies +when they stampeded the horses, for they knew, undoubtedly, that cavalry +would soon be after them. + +DODGE CITY, KANSAS, June, 1873. + +WE reached this place yesterday, expecting to take the cars this morning +for Granada, but the servant who was to have come from Kansas City on +that train will not be here until to-morrow. When the time came to say +good-by, I was sorry to leave a number of the friends at Camp Supply, +particularly Mrs. Hunt, with whom we stayed the last few days, while we +were packing. Everyone was at the ambulance to see us off--except the +Phillips family. + +We were three days coming up, because of one or two delays the very +first day. One of the wagons broke down soon after we left the post, +and an hour or so was lost in repairing it, and at Buffalo Creek we were +delayed a long time by an enormous herd of buffalo. It was a sight that +probably we will never see again. The valley was almost black with the +big animals, and there must have been hundreds and hundreds of them on +either side of the road. They seemed very restless, and were constantly +moving about instead of grazing upon the buffalo grass, which is +unusually fine along that valley, and this made us suspect that they had +been chased and hunted until the small bands had been driven together +into one big herd. Possibly the hunters had done this themselves, so +the slaughter could be the greater and the easier. It is remarkable that +such grand-looking beasts should have so little sense as to invariably +cross the road right in front of moving teams, and fairly challenge +one to make targets of them. It was this crossing of large numbers that +detained us so long yesterday. + +When we got out about fifteen miles on the road, an Apache Indian +appeared, and so suddenly that it seemed as if he must have sprung up +from the ground. He was in full war dress--that is, no dress at all +except the breech clout and moccasins--and his face and whole naked body +were stained in many colors in the most hideous manner. In his scalp +lock was fastened a number of eagle feathers, and of course he wore two +or three necklaces of beads and wampum. There was nothing unusual +about the pony he was riding, except that it was larger and in +better condition than the average Indian horse, but the one he was +leading--undoubtedly his war horse--was a most beautiful animal, one of +the most beautiful I ever saw. + +The Apache evidently appreciated the horse, for he had stained only his +face, but this had been made quite as frightful as that of the Indian. +The pony was of a bright cream color, slender, and with a perfect head +and small ears, and one could see that he was quick and agile in every +movement. He was well groomed, too. The long, heavy mane had been parted +from ears to withers, and then twisted and roped on either side with +strips of some red stuff that ended in long streamers, which were blown +out in a most fantastic way when the pony was running. The long tail +was roped only enough to fasten at the top a number of strips of the red +that hung almost to the ground over the hair. Imagine all this savage +hideousness rushing upon you--on a yellow horse with a mane of waving +red! His very presence on an ordinary trotting pony was enough to freeze +the blood in one's veins. + +That he was a spy was plainly to be seen, and we knew also that his band +was probably not far away. He seemed in very good spirits, asked for +"tobac," and rode along with us some distance--long enough to make a +careful estimate of our value and our strength. Finally he left us and +disappeared over the hills. Then the little escort of ten men received +orders from Faye to be on the alert, and hold themselves and their +rifles ready for a sudden attack. + +We rode on and on, hoping to reach the Cimarron Redoubt before dark, but +that had to be given up and camp was made at Snake Creek, ten miles the +other side. Not one Indian had been seen on the road except the Apache, +and this made us all the more uncomfortable. Snake Creek was where the +two couriers were shot by Indians last summer, and that did not add to +our feelings of security--at least not mine. We were in a little coulee, +too, where it would have been an easy matter for Indians to have sneaked +upon us. No one in the camp slept much that night, and most of the men +were walking post to guard the animals. And those mules! I never heard +mules, and horses also, sneeze and cough and make so much unnecessary +noise as those animals made that night. And Hal acted like a crazy +dog--barking and growling and rushing out of the tent every two minutes, +terrifying me each time with the fear that he might have heard the +stealthy step of a murderous savage. + +Everyone lived through the night, however, but we were all glad to make +an early start, so before daylight we were on the road. The old sergeant +agreed with Faye in thinking that we were in a trap at the camp, and +should move on early. We did not stop at the Redoubt, but I saw as we +passed that the red curtains were still at the little window. + +It seems that we are not much more safe in this place than we were in +camp in an Indian country. The town is dreadful and has the reputation +of being one of the very worst in the West since the railroad has been +built. They say that gamblers and all sorts of "toughs" follow a new +road. After breakfast this morning we started for a walk to give Hal a +little run, but when we got to the office the hotel proprietor told us +that the dog must be led, otherwise he would undoubtedly be stolen right +before our eyes. Faye said: "No one would dare do such a thing; I would +have him arrested." But the man said there was no one here who would +make the arrest, as there certainly would be two or more revolvers to +argue with first, and in any case the dog would be lost to us, for if +the thief saw that he could not hold him the dog would undoubtedly be +shot. Just imagine such a thing! So Hal was led by his chain, but he +looked so abused and miserable, and I was so frightened and nervous, our +outing was short, and here we are shut up in our little room. + +We can see the car track from the window, and I wonder how it will seem +to go over in a car, the country that we came across in wagons only +one year ago. From Granada we will go to the post in an ambulance, a +distance of forty or more miles. But a ride of fifty miles over these +plains has no terrors for me now. The horses, furniture, and other +things went on in a box car this morning. It is very annoying to be +detained here so long, and I am a little worried about that girl. The +telegram says she was too sick to start yesterday. + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, June, 1873. + +IT has been impossible for me to write before, for I have been more than +busy, both day and night, ever since we got here. The servant for whom +we waited at Dodge City, and who I had hoped would be a great assistance +to me in getting settled, came to us very ill--almost too ill to be +brought over from Granada. But we could not leave her there with no one +to take care of her, and of course I could not remain with her, so there +was nothing else to be done--we had to bring her along. We had accepted +Mrs. Wilder's invitation to stay with them a few days until we could get +settled a little, but all that was changed when we got here, for we were +obliged to come directly to our own house, unpack camp bedding and the +mess chest, and do the best we could for ourselves and the sick girl. + +The post surgeon told us as soon as he had examined the girl that she +had tuberculosis in almost its last stage, and that she was threatened +with double pneumonia! So you can imagine what I have been through in +the way of nursing, for there was no one in the garrison who would come +to assist me. The most unpleasant part of it all is, the girl is most +ungrateful for all that is being done for her, and finds fault with +many things. She has admitted to the doctor that she came to us for +her health; that as there are only two in the family, she thought there +would be so little for her to do she could ride horseback and be out of +doors most of the time! What a nice arrangement it would have been--this +fine lady sitting out on our lawn or riding one of our horses, and I +in the kitchen preparing the dinner, and then at the end of the month +humbly begging her to accept a little check for thirty dollars! + +We have an excellent soldier cook, but the care of that miserable girl +falls upon me, and the terrible experience we passed through at Dodge +City has wholly unfitted me for anything of the kind. The second night +we were there, about one o'clock, we were awakened by loud talking and +sounds of people running; then shots were fired very near, and instantly +there were screams of agony, "I'm shot! I'm shot!" from some person +who was apparently coming across the street, and who fell directly +underneath our window. We were in a little room on the second floor, and +its one window was raised far up, which made it possible for us to hear +the slightest sound or movement outside. + +The shooting was kept up until after the man was dead, many of the +bullets hitting the side of the hotel. It was simply maddening to have +to stay in that room and be compelled to listen to the moans and death +gurgle of that murdered man, and hear him cry, "Oh, my lassie, my poor +lassie!" as he did over and over again, until he could no longer speak. +It seemed as though every time he tried to say one word, there was the +report of a pistol. After he was really dead we could hear the fiends +running off, and then other people came and carried the body away. + +The shooting altogether did not last longer than five or ten minutes, +and at almost the first shot we could hear calls all over the wretched +little town of "Vigilante! Vigilante!" and knew that the vigilantes were +gathering, but before they could get together the murderous work had +been finished. All the time there had been perfect silence throughout +the hotel. The proprietor told us that he got up, but that it would have +been certain death if he or anyone else had opened a door. + +Hal was on the floor in a corner of our room, and began to growl after +the very first scream, and I was terrified all the time for fear he +would go to the open window and attract the attention of those murderers +below, who would undoubtedly have commenced firing at the window and +perhaps have killed all of us. But the moans of the dying man frightened +the dog awfully, and he crawled under the bed, where he stayed during +the rest of the horrible night. The cause of all the trouble seems to +have been that a colored man undertook to carry in his wagon three or +four men from Dodge City to Fort Dodge, a distance of five miles, but +when he got out on the road a short distance he came to the conclusion, +from their talk, that they were going to the post for evil purposes, +and telling them that he would take them no farther, he turned his team +around to come back home. On the way back the men must have threatened +him, for when he got in town he drove to the house of some colored +people who live on a corner across from the hotel and implored them to +let him in, but they were afraid and refused to open the door, for by +that time the men were shooting at him. + +The poor man ran across the street, leaving a trail of blood that +streamed from his wounds, and was brutally killed under our window. +Early the next morning, when we crossed the street to go to the cars, +the darky's mule was lying on the ground, dead, near the corner of the +hotel, and stuck on one long ear was the murdered man's hat. Soon after +we reached Granada a telegram was received giving an account of the +affair, and saying also that in less than one half hour after the train +had passed through, Dodge City was surrounded by troops of United States +cavalry from Fort Dodge, that the entire town was searched for the +murderers, but that not even a trace of one had been discovered. + +When I got inside a car the morning after that awful, awful night, it +was with a feeling that I was leaving behind me all such things and that +by evening I would be back once more at our old army home and away +from hostile Indians, and hostile desperadoes too. But when I saw that +servant girl with the pale, emaciated face and flushed cheeks, so ill +she could barely sit up, my heart went down like lead and Indians seemed +small trials in comparison to what I saw ahead of me. + +Well, she will go in a few days, and then I can give the house some +attention. The new furniture and china are all here, but nothing has +been done in the way of getting settled. The whole coming back has been +cruelly disappointing, and I am so tired and nervous I am afraid of my +own shadow. So after a while I think I will go East for a few weeks, +which I know you will be glad to hear. + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, August, 1873. + +WE have just come in from a drive to the Purgatoire with Colonel Knight +behind his handsome horses. It makes me sad, always, to go over that +familiar road and to scenes that are so closely associated with my +learning to ride and shoot when we were here before. The small tree that +was my target is dead but still standing, and on it are several little +pieces of the white paper bull's eyes that Faye and Lieutenant Baldwin +tacked on it for me. + +We often see poor Tom. The post trader bought him after Lieutenant +Baldwin's death, so the dear horse would always have good care and not +be made to bring and carry for a cruel master. He wanders about as he +chooses and is fat, but the coat that was once so silky and glossy is +now dull and faded, and the horse looks spiritless and dejected. Poor +Tom! The greyhound, Magic, still remembers their many, many hunts +together when the horse would try to outrun the dog, and the hound often +goes out to make him little visits, and the sight is pathetic. That +big dog of the chaplain's is still here, and how the good man can +conscientiously have him about, I cannot understand. + +Colonel Knight has two large dogs also, but they are shut in the stable +most of the time to guard his pair of valuable horses. The horses are +not particularly fast or spirited, but they are very beautiful and +perfectly matched in color and gait. + +Ever since Hal has been old enough to run with a horse, he has always +gone with me riding or driving. So the first time we drove with Colonel +Knight I called Hal to go with us and he ran out of the house and over +the fence with long joyful bounds, to be instantly pounced upon, and +rolled over into the acequia by the two big dogs of Colonel Knight's +that I had not even heard of! Hal has splendid fighting blood and has +never shown cowardice, but he is still a young dog and inexperienced, +and no match for even one old fighter, and to have two notoriously +savage, bloodthirsty beasts gnawing at him as though he was a bone was +terrible. But Hal apparently never thought of running from them, and +after the one howl of surprise gave his share of vicious growls and +snaps. But the old dogs were protected by their heavy hair, while Hal's +short coat and fine skin were easily torn. + +We all rushed to his rescue, for it looked as though he would be torn in +pieces, and when I saw a long cut in his tender skin I was frantic. But +finally the two black dogs were pulled off and Hal was dragged out of +the ditch and back to the house, holding back and growling all the time, +which showed plainly he was not satisfied with the way the affair had +ended. The drive that day I did not enjoy! + +Hal was not torn so deeply as to have unsightly scars, for which I was +thankful. From that day on, however, he not only hated those dogs, +but disliked the man who cares for them, and seemed to consider him +responsible for their very existence. And it was wonderful that he +should recognize Cressy's step on the ground as he passed at the side of +our house. Several times when he would be stretched out on the floor, +to all appearances fast asleep, I have seen him open his eyes wide and +growl when the man and dogs were passing, although it was perfectly +impossible for him to have seen them. + +One morning about ten days ago when I was on the second floor, I heard +an awful noise downstairs--whines, growls, and howls all so mingled +together one would have thought there were a dozen dogs in the house. +I ran down to see what could possibly be the matter, and found Hal at a +window in the dining room that looked out on the back yard, every hair +on his brindled back standing straight up and each white tooth showing. +Looking out I saw that Turk, the more savage of the two black dogs, was +in the yard and could not get out over the high board fence. Cressy +was probably on guard that day, and sentry over the prisoners who had +brought water. The dog must have followed him in and then managed to get +left. + +Hal looked up at me, and for one instant kept perfectly still, waiting +to see what I would do. His big brown eyes were almost human in their +beseeching, and plainly said, "You cannot have forgotten--you will +surely let me out!" And let him out I did. I opened the doors leading +to the yard, and almost pushing me over he rushed to the black dog with +great leaps and the most blood-curdling growls, jumping straight over +him, then around him, then over him again and again, and so like a +whirlwind, the poor black beast was soon crazy, for snap as fast as he +might, it was ever at the clear, beautiful air. Hal was always just out +of reach. + +After he had worried the dog all he wanted to Hal proceeded to business. +With a greyhound trick, he swung himself around with great force and +knocked the big dog flat upon the ground, and holding him down with his +two paws he pulled out mouthful after mouthful of long hair, throwing it +out of his mouth right and left. If the dog attempted to raise his big +head Hal was quick to give a wicked snap that made the head fall down +again. When I saw that Hal had actually conquered the dog and had proved +that he-was the splendid hound I had ever considered him to be, I told +West to go out at once and separate them. But for the very first time +West was slow--he went like a snail. It seemed that one of the dogs had +snapped at his leg once, and I believe he would have been delighted if +Hal had gnawed the dog flesh and bone. He pulled Hal in by his collar +and opened the gate for Turk, and soon things were quite once more. + +All that day Hal's eyes were like stars, and one could almost see a grin +on his mouth. He was ever on the alert, and would frequently look out on +the yard, wag his tail and growl. The strangest thing about it all is, +that not once since that morning has he paid the slightest attention to +Cressy or the two dogs, except to growl a little when they have happened +to meet. Turk must have told his companion about the fight, for he, too, +finds attractions in another direction when he sees Hal coming. + +Some of our friends have found pleasure in teasing me about my sporting +taste, private arena, and so on, but I do not mind so very much, since +the fight brought about peace, and proved that Hal has plenty of pluck. +Those two Knight dogs are looked upon as savage wolves by every mother +in the garrison, and when it is known that they are out, mothers and +nurses run to gather in their small people. + +Hal has developed a taste for hunting that has been giving trouble +lately, when he has run off with Magic and the other hounds. So now he +is chained until after guard mounting, by which time the pack has gone. +The signal officer of the department was here the other day when Faye +and men from the company were out signaling, and after luncheon I told +West to go out to him on Powder-Face and lead King, so he could ride +the horse in, instead of coming in the wagon with the men. Late in the +afternoon West came back and reported that he had been unable to find +Faye, and then with much hesitation and choking he told me that he had +lost Hal! + +He said that as they had gone up a little hill, they had surprised a +small band of antelope that were grazing rather near on the other side, +and that the hound started after them like a streak, pulling one down +before they had crossed the lowland, and then, not being satisfied, +he had raced on again after the band that had disappeared over a hill +farther on. That was the last he saw of him. West said that he wanted +to bring the dead antelope to the post, but could not, as both horses +objected to it. + +My heart was almost broken over the loss of my dog, and I started for my +own room to indulge in a good cry when, as I passed the front door that +was open, I happened to look out, and there, squatted down on the walk +to the gate was Hal! I ran out to pet him, but drew back in horror when +I saw the condition he was in. His long nose and all of his white chest +were covered with a thick coating of coarse antelope hair plastered in +with dried blood. The dog seemed too tired to move, and sat there with +a listless, far-away look that made me wish he could tell all about his +hunt, and if he had lost the second poor little antelope. West almost +danced from joy when he saw him, and lost no time in giving him a bath +and putting him in his warm bed. Greyhounds are often great martyrs to +rheumatism, and Deacon, one of the pack, will sometimes howl from pain +after a hunt. And the howl of a greyhound is far-reaching and something +to be remembered. + +Very soon now I will be with you! Faye has decided to close the house +and live with the bachelors while I am away. This will be much more +pleasant for him than staying here all alone. + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, October, 1873. + +THE trip out was tiresome and seemed endless, but nothing worth +mentioning happened until I got to Granada, where Faye met me with an +ambulance and escort wagon. It was after two o'clock in the morning when +the train reached the station, and as it is the terminus of the road, +every passenger left the car. I waited a minute for Faye to come in, but +as he did not I went out also, feeling that something was wrong. + +Just as I stepped off the car, Mr. Davis, quartermaster's clerk, +appeared and took my satchel, assuring me that Faye was right there +waiting for me. This was so very unlike Faye's way of doing things, that +at once I suspected that the real truth was not being told. But I went +with him quickly through the little crowd, and on up the platform, and +then I saw Faye. He was standing at one corner of the building--all +alone, and I recognized him instantly by the long light-blue overcoat +and big campaign hat with brim turned up. + +And I saw also, standing on the corner of the platform in front of him, +a soldier with rifle in hand, and on the end of it glistening in the +moonlight was a long bayonet! I had lived with troops long enough to +know that the bayonet would not be there unless the soldier was a sentry +guarding somebody or something. I naturally turned toward Faye, but was +held back by Mr. Davis, and that made me indignant, but Faye at once +said quietly and in a voice just loud enough for me to hear, "Get in +the ambulance and ask no questions!" And still he did not move from +the corner. By this time I was terribly frightened and more and more +puzzled. Drawn up close to the farther side of the platform was an +ambulance, also an escort wagon, in which sat several soldiers, and +handing my trunk checks to Mr. Davis, I got, into the ambulance, my +teeth chattering as though I had a chill. + +The very instant the trunks were loaded Faye and the sentry came, and +after ordering the corporal to keep his wagon and escort close to us, +and telling me to drop down in the bottom of the ambulance if I heard +a shot, Faye got on the ambulance also, but in front with the driver. +Leaning forward, I saw that one revolver was in his hand and the other +on the seat by his side. In this way, and in perfect silence, we rode +through the town and until we were well out on the open plain, when we +stopped just long enough for Faye to get inside, and a soldier from the +wagon to take his seat by the driver. + +Then Faye told me of what had occurred to make necessary all these +precautions. He had come over from Fort Lyon the day before, and had +been with Major Carroll, the depot quartermaster, during the afternoon +and evening. The men had established a little camp just at the edge of +the miserable town where the mules could be guarded and cared for. + +About nine o'clock Faye and Mr. Davis started out for a walk, but before +they had gone far Faye remembered that he had left his pistols and +cartridge belt on a desk in the quartermaster's office, and fearing +they might be stolen they went back for them. He put the pistols on +underneath his heavy overcoat, as the belt was quite too short to fasten +outside. + +Well, he and Mr. Davis walked along slowly in the bright moonlight past +the many saloons and gambling places, never once thinking of danger, +when suddenly from a dark passageway a voice said, "You are the man I +want," and bang! went a pistol shot close to Faye's head--so close, in +fact, that as he ducked his head down, when he saw the pistol pointed at +him, the rammer slot struck his temple and cut a deep hole that at once +bled profusely. Before Faye could get out one of his own pistols from +underneath the long overcoat, another shot was fired, and then away +skipped Mr. Davis, leaving Faye standing alone in the brilliant +moonlight. As soon as Faye commenced to shoot, his would-be assassin +came out from the dark doorway and went slowly along the walk, taking +good care, however, to keep himself well in the shadow of the buildings. + +They went on down the street shooting back and forth at each other, Faye +wondering all the time why he could not hit the man. Once he got him in +front of a restaurant window where there was a bright light back of +him, and, taking careful aim, he thought the affair could be ended right +there, but the ball whizzed past the man and went crashing through +the window and along the tables, sending broken china right and left. +Finally their pistols were empty, and Faye drew out a second, at the +sight of which the man started to run and disappeared in the shadows. + +As soon as the shooting ceased men came out from all sorts of places, +and there was soon a little crowd around Faye, asking many questions, +but he and Major Carroll went to a drug store, where his wounds could be +dressed. For some time it was thought there must be a ball in the deep +hole in his temple. When Faye had time to think he understood why he had +done such poor shooting. He is an almost sure shot, but always holds his +pistol in his left hand, and of course aims with his left eye. But that +night his left eye was filled with blood the very first thing from the +wound in his left temple, which forced him unconsciously to aim with his +right eye, which accounts for the wild shots. + +The soldiers heard of the affair in camp, and several came up on a run +and stood guard at the drug store. A rumor soon got around that Oliver +had gone off to gather some of his friends, and they would soon be at +the store to finish the work. Very soon, however, a strange man came in, +much excited, and said, "Lieutenant! Oliver's pals are getting ready +to attack you at the depot as the train comes in," and out he went. The +train was due at two o'clock A. M., and this caused Faye four hours of +anxiety. He learned that the man who shot at him was "Billy Oliver," a +horse thief and desperado of the worst type, and that he was the leader +of a band of horse thieves that was then in town. To be threatened by +men like those was bad enough in itself, but Faye knew that I would +arrive on that train. That was the cause of so much caution when the +train came in. There were several rough-looking men at the station, but +if they had intended mischief, the long infantry rifles in the hands of +drilled soldiers probably persuaded them to attend to their own affairs. +A man told the corporal, however, that Oliver's friends had decided not +to kill Faye at the station, but had gone out on horseback to meet him +on the road. This was certainly misery prolonged. + +The mules were driven through the town at an ordinary gait, but when we +got on the plain they were put at a run, and for miles we came at that +pace. The little black shaved-tails pulled the ambulance, and I think +that for once they had enough run. The moonlight was wonderfully bright, +and for a long distance objects could be seen, and bunches of sage bush +and Spanish bayonet took the forms of horsemen, and naturally I saw +danger in every little thing we passed. + +One thing occurred that night that deserves mentioning. Some one told +the soldiers that Oliver was hidden in a certain house, and one of them, +a private, started off without leave, and all alone for that house. When +he got there the entire building was dark, not a light in it, except +that of the moon which streamed in through two small windows. But the +gritty soldier went boldly in and searched every little room and every +little corner, even the cellar, but not a living thing was found. It may +have been brave, but it was a dreadful thing for the trooper to do, for +he so easily could have been murdered in the darkness, and Faye and +the soldiers never have known what had become of him. Colonel Bissell +declares that the man shall be made a corporal upon the first vacancy. + +The man Oliver was in the jail at Las Animas last summer for stealing +horses. The old jail was very shaky, and while it was being made +more secure, he and another man--a wife murderer--were brought to +the guardhouse at this post. They finally took them back, and Oliver +promptly made his escape, and the sheriff had actually been afraid to +re-arrest him. We have all begged Faye to get out a warrant for the man, +but he says it would simply be a farce, that the sheriff would pay no +attention to it. The whole left side of Faye's face is badly swollen and +very painful, and the wound in his ankle compels him to use a cane. +Just how the man managed to shoot Faye in the ankle no one seems to +understand. + +Granada must be a terrible place! The very afternoon Faye was there a +Mexican was murdered in the main street, but not the slightest attention +was paid to the shooting--everything went right on as though it was an +everyday occurrence. The few respectable people are afraid even to try +to keep order. + +Dodge City used to be that way and there was a reign of terror in the +town, until finally the twelve organized vigilantes became desperate +and took affairs in their own hands. They notified six of the leading +desperadoes that they must be out of the place by a certain day and +hour. Four went, but two were defiant and remained. When the specified +hour had passed, twelve double-barreled shotguns were loaded with +buckshot, and in a body the vigilantes hunted these men down as they +would mad dogs and riddled each one through and through with the big +shot! It was an awful thing to do, but it seems to have been absolutely +necessary and the only way of establishing law and order. Our friends +at Fort Dodge tell us that the place is now quite decent, and that a +man can safely walk in the streets without pistols and a belt full of +cartridges. + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, October, 1873. + +ONE naturally looks for all sorts of thrilling experiences when out +on the frontier, but to have men and things mix themselves up in a +maddening way in one's very own house, as has recently been done in +mine, is something not usually counted upon. To begin with, Mrs. Rae is +with us, and her coming was not only most unlocked for up to two days +ago, but through a wretched mistake in a telegram she got here just +twenty-four hours before we thought she would arrive. Ordinarily this +would have been a delightful surprise, but, unfortunately, things had +begun to "mix!" + +Faye had suffered so much from the wound in his head that very little +attention had been given the house since my return from the East, +therefore it was not in the very best of order. It was closed during my +two months' absence, as Faye had lived down with the bachelors. The very +day that Mrs. Rae came the quartermaster had sent a man to repair one of +the chimneys, and plaster and dirt had been left in my room, the one I +had intended Mrs. Rae to occupy. And then, to make matters just as bad +as possible, there was a sand storm late in the afternoon that had, of +course, sifted dust over all things. + +But this was not all! My nerves had not recovered from the shock at +Granada, and had given out entirely that day just before dinner, and +had sent me to bed with an uncomfortable chill. Still, I was not +disheartened. Before I went East many things had been put away, but West +had unpacked and polished the silver several days before, and the glass +was shining and the china closets in perfect order, all of which had +been attended to with my own hands. Besides, the wife of one of the +sergeants was to come the next morning to dust and clean the little +house from top to bottom, so there was really nothing to worry about, +as everything would be in order long before time for the stage to arrive +that would bring Mrs. Rae. + +But after the chill came a fever, and with the fever came dreams, +most disturbing dreams, in which were sounds of crunching gravel, then +far-away voices--voices that I seemed to have heard in another world. A +door was opened, and then--oh! how can I ever tell you--in the hall came +Faye's mother! By that time dreams had ceased, and it was cruel reality +that had to be faced, and even now I wonder how I lived through the +misery of that moment--the longing to throw myself out of the window, +jump in the river, do anything, in fact, but face the mortification of +having her see the awful condition of her son's house! + +Her son's house--that was just it. I did not care at all for myself, my +only thought was for Faye whose mother might find cause to pity him for +the delinquencies of his wife! First impressions are indelible, and +it would be difficult to convince Mrs. Rae ever that the house was not +always dusty and untidy. How could she know that with pride I had ever +seen that our house, however rough it might have been, was clean and +cheerful. And of what use would it be to arrange things attractively +now? She would be justified in supposing that it was only in its company +dress. + +I was weak and dizzy from fever and a sick heart, but I managed to +get dressed and go down to do the best I could. West prepared a little +supper, and we made things as comfortable as possible, considering the +state of affairs. Mrs. Rae was most lovely about everything--said she +understood it all. But that could not be, not until she had seen one of +our sand storms, from the dust of which it is impossible to protect a +thing. I have been wishing for a storm ever since, so Mrs. Rae could see +that I was not responsible for the condition of things that night. + +Now this was not all--far, far from it. On the way out in the cars, Mrs. +Rae met the colonel of the regiment--a real colonel, who is called a +colonel, too--who was also on his way to this post, and with him was +Lieutenant Whittemore, a classmate of Faye's. Colonel Fitz-James was +very courteous to Mrs. Rae, and when they reached Kit Carson he insisted +upon her coming over with him in the ambulance that had been sent to +meet him. This was very much more comfortable than riding in the old +stage, so she gladly accepted, and to show her appreciation of the +kindness, she invited the colonel, also Lieutenant Whittemore, to dine +with us the following evening! + +Yes, there is still more, for it so happens that Colonel Fitz-James +is known to be an epicure, to be fussy and finical about all things +pertaining to the table, and what is worse takes no pains to disguise +it, and in consequence is considered an undesirable dinner guest by +the most experienced housekeepers in the regiment. All this I had often +heard, and recalled every word during the long hours of that night as +I was making plans for the coming day. The combination in its entirety +could not have been more formidable. There was Faye's mother, a splendid +housekeeper--her very first day in our house. His colonel and an +abnormally sensitive palate--his very first meeting with each of us. +His classmate, a young man of much wealth--a perfect stranger to me. A +soldier cook, willing, and a very good waiter, but only a plain everyday +cook; certainly not a maker of dainty dishes for a dinner party. And +my own experiences in housekeeping had been limited to log huts in +outlandish places. + +Every little thing for that dinner had to be prepared in our own house. +There was no obliging caterer around the corner where a salad, an ice, +and other things could be hurriedly ordered; not even one little market +to go to for fish, flesh, or fowl; only the sutler's store, where their +greatest dainty is "cove" oysters! Fortunately there were some young +grouse in the house which I had saved for Mrs. Rae and which were just +right for the table, and those West could cook perfectly. + +So with a head buzzing from quinine I went down in the morning, and with +stubborn determination that the dinner should be a success, I proceeded +to carry out the plans I had decided upon during the night. + +The house was put in splendid order and the dinner prepared, and Colonel +Knight was invited to join us. I attempted only the dishes that could +be served well--nothing fancy or difficult--and the sergeant's wife +remained to assist West in the kitchen. It all passed off pleasantly +and most satisfactorily, and Colonel Fitz-James could not have been more +agreeable, although he looked long and sharply at the soldier when he +first appeared in the dining room. But he said not a word; perhaps he +concluded it must be soldier or no dinner. I have been told several +nice things he said about that distracting dinner before leaving the +garrison. But it all matters little to me now, since it was not found +necessary to take me to a lunatic asylum! + +Mrs. Rae saw in a paper that Faye had been shot by a desperado, and +was naturally much alarmed, so she sent a telegram to learn what had +happened, and in reply Faye telegraphed for her to come out, and +fearing that he must be very ill she left Boston that very night. But we +understood that she would start the next day, and this misinterpretation +caused my undoing--that and the sand storm. + +That man Oliver has at last been arrested and is now in the jail at +Las Animas, chained with another man--a murderer--to a post in the dark +cellar. This is because he has so many times threatened the jailer. He +says that some day he will get out, and then his first act will be to +kill the keeper, and the next to kill Lieutenant Rae. He also declares +that Faye kicked him when he was in the guardhouse at the post. Of +course anyone with a knowledge of military discipline would know this +assertion to be false, for if Faye had done such a thing as that, he +might have been court-martialed. + +The sheriff was actually afraid to make the arrest the first time he +went over, because so many of Oliver's friends were in town, and so he +came back without him, although he saw him several times. The second +trip, however, Oliver was taken off guard and was handcuffed and out of +the town before he had a chance to rally his friends to his assistance. +He was brought to Las Animas during the night to avoid any possibility +of a lynching. The residents of the little town are full of indignation +that the man should have attempted to kill an officer of this garrison. +He is a horse thief and desperado, and made his escape from their jail +several months back, so altogether they consider that the country can +very well do without him. I think so, too, and wish every hour in the +day that the sheriff had been less cautious. Oliver cannot be tried +until next May, when the general court meets, and I am greatly +distressed over this fact, for the jail is old and most insecure, and he +may get out at any time. The fear and dread of him is on my mind day and +night. + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, December, 1873. + +EVERYONE in the garrison seems to be more or less in a state of +collapse! The bal masque is over, the guests have departed, and all that +is left to us now are the recollections of a delightful party that gave +full return for our efforts to have it a success. + +We did not dream that so many invitations would be accepted at far-away +posts, that parties would come from Fort Leavenworth, Fort Riley, Fort +Dodge, and Fort Wallace, for a long ambulance ride was necessary from +each place. But we knew of their coming in time to make preparations +for all, so there was no confusion or embarrassment. Every house on +the officers' line was filled to overflowing and scarcely a corner left +vacant. + +The new hospital was simply perfect for an elaborate entertainment. +The large ward made a grand ballroom, the corridors were charming for +promenading, and, yes, flirting, the dining room and kitchen perfect for +the supper, and the office and other small rooms were a nice size for +cloak rooms. Of course each one of these rooms, big and small, had to +be furnished. In each dressing room was a toilet table fitted out with +every little article that might possibly be needed during the evening, +both before and after the removal of masks. All this necessitated +much planning, an immense amount of work, and the stripping of our own +houses. But there were a good many of us, and the soldiers were cheerful +assistants. I was on the supper committee, which really dwindled down +to a committee of one at the very last, for I was left alone to put the +finishing touches to the tables and to attend to other things. The vain +creatures seemed more interested in their own toilets, and went home to +beautify themselves. + +The commanding officer kept one eye, and the quartermaster about a dozen +eyes upon us while we were decorating, to see that no injury was done +to the new building. But that watchfulness was unnecessary, for the many +high windows made the fastening of flags an easy matter, as we draped +them from the casing of one window to the casing of the next, which +covered much of the cold, white walls and gave an air of warmth and +cheeriness to the rooms. Accoutrements were hung everywhere, every bit +of brass shining as only an enlisted man can make it shine, and the long +infantry rifles with fixed bayonets were "stacked" whereever they would +not interfere with the dancing. + +Much of the supper came from Kansas City--that is, the celery, fowls, +and material for little cakes, ices, and so on--and the orchestra +consisted of six musicians from the regimental band at Fort Riley. The +floor of the ballroom was waxed perfectly, but it is hoped by some of +us that much of the lightning will be taken from it before the hospital +cots and attendants are moved in that ward. + +Everybody was en masque and almost everyone wore fancy dress and some +of the costumes were beautiful. The most striking figure in the rooms, +perhaps, was Lieutenant Alden, who represented Death! He is very tall +and very slender, and he had on a skintight suit of dark-brown drilling, +painted from crown to toe with thick white paint to represent the +skeleton of a human being; even the mask that covered the entire head +was perfect as a skull. The illusion was a great success, but it made +one shiver to see the awful thing walking about, the grinning skull +towering over the heads of the tallest. And ever at its side was a red +devil, also tall, and so thin one wondered what held the bones together. +This red thing had a long tail. The devil was Lieutenant Perkins, of +course. + +Faye and Doctor Dent were dressed precisely alike, as sailors, the +doctor even wearing a pair of Faye's shoes. They had been very sly about +the twin arrangement, which was really splendid, for they are just about +the same size and have hair very much the same color. But smart as they +were, I recognized Faye at once. The idea of anyone thinking I would not +know him! + +We had queens and milkmaids and flower girls galore, and black starry +nights and silvery days, and all sorts of things, many of them very +elegant. My old yellow silk, the two black lace flounces you gave me, +and a real Spanish mantilla that Mrs. Rae happened to have with her, +made a handsome costume for me as a Spanish lady. I wore almost all the +jewelry in the house; every piece of my own small amount and much +of Mrs. Rae's, the nicest of all having been a pair of very large +old-fashioned "hoop" earrings, set all around with brilliants. My comb +was a home product, very showy, but better left to the imagination. + +The dancing commenced at nine o'clock, and at twelve supper was served, +when we unmasked, and after supper we danced again and kept on dancing +until five o'clock! Even then a few of us would have been willing +to begin all over, for when again could we have such a ballroom with +perfect floor and such excellent music to dance by? But with the new day +came a new light and all was changed, much like the change of a ballet +with a new calcium light, only ours was not beautifying, but most trying +to tired, painted faces; and seeing each other we decided that we could +not get home too fast. In a few days the hospital will be turned over to +the post-surgeon, and the beautiful ward will be filled with iron +cots and sick soldiers, and instead of delicate perfumes, the odor of +nauseous drugs will pervade every place. + +I have been too busy to ride during the past week, but am going out this +afternoon with the chaplain's young daughter, who is a fearless +rider, although only fourteen. King is very handsome now and his gait +delightful, but he still requires most careful management. He ran away +with me the other day, starting with those three tremendous strides, +but we were out on a level and straight road, so nothing went wrong. All +there was for me to do was to keep my seat. Lieutenant Perkins and Miss +Campbell were a mile or more ahead of us, and after he had passed them +he came down to a trot, evidently flattering himself that he had won a +race, and that nothing further was expected of him. + +He jumps the cavalry hurdles beautifully--goes over like a deer, Hal +always following directly back of him. Whatever a horse does that dog +wants to do also. Last spring, when we came up from Camp Supply, he +actually tried to eat the corn that dropped from King's mouth as he +was getting his supper one night in camp. He has scarcely noticed +Powder-Face since the very day King was sent to me, but became devoted +to the new horse at once. I wonder if he could have seen that the new +horse was the faster of the two! + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, May, 1874. + +THERE is such good news to send you to-day I can hardly write it fast +enough. The Territorial Court has been in session, and yesterday +that horse thief, Billy Oliver, was tried and sentenced to ten years' +imprisonment in the penitentiary! The sheriff and a posse started for +Canon City this morning with him and another prisoner, and I hope that +he will not make his escape on the way over. The sheriff told Faye +confidentially the route he intended to take, which is not at all the +one he is supposed to be going over, and threw out strong hints to the +effect that if he wanted to put an end to the man's vicious career there +would be no interference from him (the sheriff) or his posse. He even +told Faye of a lonesome spot where it could be accomplished easily and +safely! + +This was a strange thing for a sheriff to do, even in this country of +desperadoes, and shows what a fiend he considers Oliver to be. He said +that the man was the leader of a gang of the lowest and boldest type +of villains, and that even now it would be safer to have him out of the +way. Sheriffs are afraid of these men, and do not like to be obliged to +arrest them. + +The day of the trial, and as Faye was about to go to the court room, a +corporal came to the house and told him that he had just come from Las +Animas, where he had heard from a reliable source that many of Oliver's +friends were in the town, and that it was their intention to kill Faye +as he came in the court room. He even described the man who was to do +the dreadful work, and he told Faye that if he went over without an +escort he would certainly be killed. + +This was simply maddening, and I begged Faye to ask for a guard, but he +would not, insisting that there was not the least danger, that even a +desperado would not dare shoot an army officer in Las Animas in a public +place, for he knew he would be hung the next moment. That was all very +well, but it seemed to me that it would be better to guard against the +murder itself rather than think of what would be done to the murderer. I +knew that the corporal would never have come to the house if he had not +heard much that was alarming. + +So Faye went over without a guard, but did condescend to wear his +revolvers. He says that the first thing he saw as he entered the court +room were six big, brawny cavalrymen, each one a picked man, selected +for bravery and determination. Of course each trooper was armed with +large government revolvers and a belt full of cartridges. He also saw +that they were sitting near, and where they could watch every move of +a man who answered precisely to the corporal's description, and as he +passed on up through the crowd he almost touched him. His hair was long +and hung down on his shoulders about a face that was villainous, and he +was "armed to the teeth." There were other tough-looking men seated near +this man, each one armed also. + +Colonel Bissell had heard of the threat to kill Faye, and ordered a +corporal, the very man who searched so bravely through the dark house +for Oliver at Granada, and five privates to the court, with instructions +to shoot at once the first and every man who made the slightest move to +harm Faye! Those men knew very well what the soldiers were there for, +and I imagine that after one look at their weather-beaten faces, which +told of many an Indian campaign, the villains decided that it would be +better to keep quiet and let Oliver manage his own affairs. + +A sergeant and one or two privates were summoned by Oliver to give +testimony against Faye, but each one told the same story, and said most +emphatically that Faye had not done more than speak to the man in the +line of duty, and as any officer would have done. Directly after guard +mounting, and as the new guard marches up to the guardhouse, the old +guard is ordered out, also the prisoners, and the prisoners stand in the +middle of the line with soldiers at each end, and every man, enlisted +man and prisoner, is required to stand up straight and in line. It was +at One of these times that Oliver claimed that Faye kicked him, when +he was officer of the day. Faye and Major Tilford say that the man was +slouching, and Faye told him to stand up and take his hands out of his +pockets. A small thing to murder an officer for, but I imagine that any +sort of discipline to a man of his character was most distasteful. + +Of course Faye left the court room as soon as his testimony had been +given. When the sentence was pronounced the judge requested all visitors +to remain seated until after the prisoner had been removed, which showed +that he was a little afraid of trouble, and knew the bitter feeling +against the horse thief in the town. Several girls and young officers +from the post were outside in an ambulance, and they commenced to cheer +when told of the sentence, but the judge hurried a messenger out to +them with a request that they make no demonstration whatever. He is a +fearless and just judge, and it is a wonder that desperadoes have not +killed him long ago. + +Perhaps now I can have a little rest from the terrible fear that has +been ever with me day and night during the whole winter, that Oliver +would escape from the old jail and carry out his threat of double +murder. He had made his escape once, and I feared that he might get out +again. But that post and chain must have been very securely fixed down +in that cellar. + +FORT LYON, COLORADO TERRITORY, June, 1874. + +BY this time you have my letter telling you that the regiment has been +ordered to the Department of the Gulf. Since then we have heard that it +is to go directly to Holly Springs, Mississippi, for the summer, where +a large camp is to be established. Just imagine what the suffering will +be, to go from this dry climate to the humidity of the South, and from +cool, thick-walled adobe buildings to hot, glary tents in the midst +of summer heat! We will reach Holly Springs about the Fourth of July. +Faye's allowance for baggage hardly carries more than trunks and a few +chests of house linen and silver, so we are taking very few things with +us. It is better to give them away than to pay for their transportation +such a long distance. + +Both horses have been sold and beautiful King has gone. The young man +who bought him was a stranger here, and knew absolutely nothing about +the horse except what some one in Las Animas had told him. He rode him +around the yard only once, and then jumping down, pulled from his pocket +a fat roll of bills, counted off the amount for horse, saddle, and +bridle, and then, without saying one word more than a curt "good +morning," he mounted the horse again and rode out of the yard and +away. I saw the whole transaction from a window--saw it as well as +hot, blinding tears would permit. Faye thinks the man might have been +a fugitive and wanted a fast horse to get him out of the country. We +learned not long ago, you know, that King had been an Indian race pony +owned by a half-breed named Bent. He sent word from Camp Supply that I +was welcome to the horse if I could ride him! The chaplain has bought +Powder-Face, and I am to keep him as long as we are here. Hal will go +with us, for I cannot give up that dog and horses, too. + +Speaking of Hal reminds me of the awful thing that occurred here a few +days ago. I have written often of the pack of beautiful greyhounds owned +by the cavalry officers, and of the splendid record of Magic--Hal's +father--as a hunter, and how the dog was loved by Lieutenant Baldwin +next to his horse. + +But unless the dogs were taken on frequent hunts, they would steal off +on their own account and often be away a whole day, perhaps until after +dark. The other day they went off this way, and in the afternoon, as +Lieutenant Alden was riding along by the river, he came to a scene +that made him positively ill. On the ground close to the water was +the carcass of a calf, which had evidently been filled with poison for +wolves, and near it on the bank lay Magic, Deacon, Dixie, and other +hounds, all dead or dying! Blue has bad teeth and was still gnawing at +the meat, and therefore had not been to the water, which causes almost +instant death in cases of poisoning by wolf meat. + +As soon as Lieutenant Alden saw that the other dogs were past doing for, +he hurried on to the post with Blue, and with great difficulty saved her +life. So Hal and his mother are sole survivors of the greyhounds that +have been known at many of the frontier posts as fearless and tireless +hunters, and plucky fighters when forced to fight. Greyhounds will +rarely seek a fight, a trait that sometimes fools other dogs and brings +them to their Waterloo. When Lieutenant Alden told me of the death of +the dogs, tears came in his eyes as he said, "I have shared my bed +with old Magic many a time!" And how those dogs will be missed at the +bachelor quarters! When we came here last summer, I was afraid that the +old hounds would pounce upon Hal, but instead of that they were most +friendly and seemed to know he was one of them--a wanderer returned. + +ST. CHARLES HOTEL, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, September, 1877. + +LIFE in the Army is certainly full of surprises! At Pass Christian +yesterday morning, Faye and I were sitting on the veranda reading the +papers in an indifferent sort of way, when suddenly Faye jumped up and +said, "The Third has been ordered to Montana Territory!" At first I +could not believe him--it seemed so improbable that troops would be sent +to such a cold climate at this season of the year, and besides, most of +the regiment is at Pittsburg just now because of the great coal strike. +But there in the Picayune was the little paragraph of half a dozen +lines that was to affect our lives for years to come, and which had the +immediate power to change our condition of indolent content, into one of +the greatest activity and excitement! + +Faye went at once to the telegraph office and by wire gave up the +remainder of his leave, and also asked the regimental adjutant if +transportation was being provided for officers' families. The distance +is so great, and the Indians have been so hostile in Montana during the +past two years, that we thought families possibly would not be permitted +to go. + +After luncheon we packed the trunks, carefully separating things so +there would be no necessity for repacking if I could not go, and I can +assure you that many an article was folded down damp with hot tears--the +very uncertainty was so trying. In the evening we went around to +say "good-by" to a few of the friends who have been so cordial and +hospitable during the summer. Early this morning we came from Pass +Christian, and soon after we got here telegrams came for Faye, one +ordering him to proceed to Pittsburg and report for duty, and another +saying that officers' families may accompany the regiment. This was +glorious news to me. The fear and dread of having to be left behind had +made me really ill--and what would have become of me if it had actually +come to pass I cannot imagine. I can go--that is all sufficient for +the present, and we expect to leave for Pittsburg this evening at nine +o'clock. + +The late start gives us a long day here with nothing to do. After a +while, when it is not quite so hot outside, we are going out to take a +farewell look at some of our old haunts. Our friends are all out of the +city, and Jackson Barracks is too far away for such a warm day--besides, +there is no one there now that we know. + +It seems quite natural to be in this dear old hotel, where all during +the past winter our "Army and Navy Club" cotillons were danced every two +weeks. And they were such beautiful affairs, with two splendid military +orchestras to furnish the music, one for the dancing and one to give +choice selections in between the figures. We will carry with us to the +snow and ice of the Rocky Mountains many, many delightful memories of +New Orleans, where the French element gives a charm to everything. The +Mardi-Gras parades, in which the regiment has each year taken such +a prominent part--the courtly Rex balls--the balls of Comus--the +delightful Creole balls in Grunewald Hall--the stately and exclusive +balls of the Washington Artillery in their own splendid hall--the +charming dancing receptions on the ironclad monitor Canonicus, also the +war ship Plymouth, where we were almost afraid to step, things were +so immaculate and shiny--and then our own pretty army fetes at Jackson +Barracks--regimental headquarters--each and all will be remembered, ever +with the keenest pleasure. + +But the event in the South that has made the deepest impression of all +occurred at Vicksburg, where for three weeks we lived in the same house, +en famille and intimately, with Jefferson Davis! I consider that to have +been a really wonderful experience. You probably can recall a little of +what I wrote you at the time--how we were boarding with his niece in her +splendid home when he came to visit her. + +I remember so well the day he arrived. He knew, of course, that an +army officer was in the house, and Mrs. Porterfield had told us of his +coming, so the meeting was not unexpected. Still, when we went down to +dinner that night I was almost shivering from nervousness, although the +air was excessively warm. I was so afraid of something unpleasant coming +up, for although Mrs. Porterfield and her daughter were women of culture +and refinement, they were also rebels to the very quick, and never +failed at any time to remind one that their uncle was "President" Davis! +And then, as we went in the large dining room, Faye in his very bluest, +shiniest uniform, looked as if he might be Uncle Sam himself. + +But there was nothing to fear--nothing whatever. A tall, thin old man +came forward with Mrs. Porterfield to meet us--a courtly gentleman of +the old Southern school--who, apparently, had never heard of the Civil +War, and who, if he noticed the blue uniform at all, did not take the +slightest interest in what it represented. His composure was really +disappointing! After greeting me with grave dignity, he turned to Faye +and grasped his hand firmly and cordially, the whole expression of his +face softening just a little. I have always thought that he was +deeply moved by once again seeing the Federal Blue under such friendly +circumstances, and that old memories came surging back, bringing with +them the almost forgotten love and respect for the Academy--a love that +every graduate takes to his grave, whether his life be one of honor or +of disgrace. + +One could very easily have become sentimental, and fancied that he was +Old West Point, misled and broken in spirit, admitting in dignified +silence his defeat and disgrace to Young West Point, who, with Uncle +Sam's shoulder straps and brass buttons, could be generously oblivious +to the misguidance and treason of the other. We wondered many times if +Jefferson Davis regretted his life. He certainly could not have been +satisfied with it. + +There was more in that meeting than a stranger would have known of. In +the splendid dining room where we sat, which was forty feet in length +and floored with tiles of Italian marble, as was the entire large +basement, it was impossible not to notice the unpainted casing of +one side of a window, and also the two immense patches of common gray +plaster on the beautifully frescoed walls, which covered holes made by +a piece of shell that had crashed through the house during the siege +of Vicksburg. The shell itself had exploded outside near the servants' +quarters. + +Then, again, every warm evening after dinner, during the time he was at +the house, Jefferson Davis and Faye would sit out on the grand, marble +porch and smoke and tell of little incidents that had occurred at West +Point when each had been a cadet there. At some of these times they +would almost touch what was left of a massive pillar at one end, +that had also been shattered and cracked by pieces of shell from U.S. +gunboats, one piece being still imbedded in the white marble. + +For Jefferson Davis knew that Faye's father was an officer in the Navy, +and that he had bravely and boldly done his very best toward the undoing +of the Confederacy; and by his never-failing, polished courtesy to +that father's son--even when sitting by pieces of shell and patched-up +walls--the President of the Confederacy set an example of dignified +self-restraint, that many a Southern man and woman--particularly +woman--would do well to follow. + +For in these days of reconstruction officers and their families are not +always popular. But at Pass Christian this summer we have received the +most hospitable, thoughtful attention, and never once by word or deed +were we reminded that we were "Yank-Tanks," as was the case at Holly +Springs the first year we were there. However, we did some fine +reconstruction business for Uncle Sam right there with those pert +Mississippi girls--two of whom were in a short time so thoroughly +reconstructed that they joined his forces "for better or for worse!" + +The social life during the three years we have been in the South has +most of the time been charming, but the service for officers has often +been most distasteful. Many times they have been called upon to escort +and protect carpetbag politicians of a very low type of manhood--men +who could never command one honest vote at their own homes in the +North. Faye's company has been moved twenty-one times since we came from +Colorado three years ago, and almost every time it was at the request of +those unprincipled carpetbaggers. These moves did not always disturb us, +however, as during most of the time Faye has been adjutant general of +the District of Baton Rouge, and this kept us at Baton Rouge, but during +the past winter we have been in New Orleans. + +Several old Creole families whose acquaintance we made in the city last +winter, have charming old-style Southern homes at Pass Christian, where +we have ever been cordially welcomed. It was a common occurrence for me +to chaperon their daughters to informal dances at the different cottages +along the beach, and on moonlight sailing parties on Mr. Payne's +beautiful yacht, and then, during the entire summer, from the time we +first got there, I have been captain of one side of a croquet team, Mr. +Payne having been captain of the other. The croquet part was, of course, +the result of Major Borden's patient and exacting teaching at Baton +Rouge. + +Mentioning Baton Rouge reminds me of my dear dog that was there almost +a year with the hospital steward. He is now with the company at Mount +Ver-non Barracks, Alabama, and Faye has telegraphed the sergeant to see +that he is taken to Pittsburg with the company. + +We are going out now, first of all to Michaud's for some of his +delicious biscuit glace! Our city friends are all away still, so there +will be nothing for us to do but wander around, pour passer le temps +until we go to the station. + +MONONGAHELA HOUSE, PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, September, 1877. + +ONCE again we have our trunks packed for the long trip to Montana, and +this time I think we will go, as the special train that is to take us +is now at the station, and baggage of the regiment is being hurriedly +loaded. Word came this morning that the regiment would start to-night, +so it seems that at last General Sherman has gained his point. For +three long weeks we have been kept here in suspense--packing and then +unpacking--one day we were to go, the next we were not to go, while the +commanding general and the division commander were playing "tug of war" +with us. + +The trip will be long and very expensive, and we go from a hot climate +to a cold one at a season when the immediate purchase of warm clothing +is imperative, and with all this unexpected expense we have been forced +to pay big hotel bills for weeks, just because of a disagreement between +two generals that should have been settled in one day. Money is very +precious to the poor Army at present, too, for not one dollar has been +paid to officers or enlisted men for over three months! How officers +with large families can possibly manage this move I do not see--sell +their pay accounts I expect, and then be court martialed for having done +so. + +Congress failed to pass the army appropriation bill before it adjourned, +consequently no money can be paid to the Army until the next session! +Yet the Army is expected to go along just the same, promptly pay Uncle +Sam himself all commissary and quartermaster bills at the end of each +month, and without one little grumble do his bidding, no matter what the +extra expense may be. I wonder what the wise men of Congress, who were +too weary to take up the bill before going to their comfortable homes--I +wonder what they would do if the Army as a body would say, "We are +tired. Uncle, dear, and are going home for the summer to rest. You will +have to get along without us and manage the Indians and strikers the +best way you can." This would be about as sensible as forcing the Army +to be paupers for months, and then ordering regiments from East to West +and South to North. Of course many families will be compelled to remain +back, that might otherwise have gone. + +We are taking out a young colored man we brought up with us from Holly +Springs. He has been at the arsenal since we have been here, and Hal has +been with him. It is over one year since the dog saw me, and I am almost +afraid he will not know me tonight at the station. Before we left Pass +Christian Faye telegraphed the sergeant to bring Hal with the company +and purchase necessary food for him on the way up. So, when the company +got here, bills were presented by several of the men, who claimed to +have bought meat for the dog, the sum total of which was nine dollars +for the two days! We were so pleased to know that Hal had been so well +cared for. But the soldiers were welcome to the money and more with it, +for we were so glad to have the dog with us again, safe and well. + +We have quite a Rae family now--Faye and I--a darky, a greyhound, and +one small gray squirrel! It will be a hard trip for Billie, but I have +made for him a little ribbon collar and sewed securely to it a long tape +which makes a fine "picket rope" that can be tied to various things +in various places, and in this way he can be picketed and yet receive +exercise and air. + +We are to go almost straight north from the railroad for a distance +of over four hundred miles, and of course this will take several weeks +under the most favorable conditions. But you must not mind our going +so far away--it will be no farther than the Indian Territory, and the +climate of Montana must be very much better than it was at Camp Supply, +and the houses must certainly be more comfortable, as the winters are so +long and severe. I shall be so glad to have a home of my own again, and +have a horse to ride also. + +Faye has just come from the station and says that almost everything has +been loaded, and that we are really to start to-night at eight o'clock. +This is cheering news, for I think that everyone is anxious to get +to Montana, except the poor officers who cannot afford to take their +families with them. + +CORINNE, UTAH TERRITORY, September, 1877. + +WE were almost one week coming out, but finally got here yesterday +morning. Our train was a special, and having no schedule, we were often +sidetracked for hours at a time, to make way for the regular trains. As +soon as possible after we arrived, the tents were unpacked and put up, +and it was amazing to see how soon there was order out of chaos. This +morning the camp looks like a little white city--streets and all. There +is great activity everywhere, as preparations have already commenced for +the march north. Our camp "mess" has been started, and we will be very +comfortable, I think, with a good soldier cook and Cagey to take care of +the tents. I am making covers for the bed, trunk, and folding table, +of dark-blue cretonne with white figures, which carries out the color +scheme of the folding chairs and will give a little air of cheeriness +to the tent, and of the same material I am making pockets that can be +pinned on the side walls of the tent, in which various things can be +tucked at night. These covers and big pockets will be folded and put in +the roll of bedding every morning. + +There are not enough ambulances to go around, so I had my choice between +being crowded in with other people, or going in a big army wagon by +myself, and having had one experience in crowding, I chose the wagon +without hesitation. Faye is having the rear half padded with straw and +canvas on the sides and bottom, and the high top will be of canvas drawn +over "bows," in true emigrant fashion. Our tent will be folded to form +a seat and placed in the back, upon which I can sit and look out through +the round opening and gossip with the mules that will be attached to +the wagon back of me. In the front half will be packed all of our camp +furniture and things, the knockdown bed, mess-chest, two little stoves +(one for cooking), the bedding which will be tightly rolled in canvas +and strapped, and so on. Cagey will sit by the driver. There is not one +spring in the wagon, but even without, I will be more comfortable than +with Mrs. Hayden and three small children. They can have the ambulance +to themselves perhaps, and will have all the room. I thought of Billie, +too. He can be picketed all the time in the wagon, but imagine the +little fellow's misery in an ambulance with three restless children for +six or eight hours each day! + +Hal is with us--in fact, I can hardly get away from the poor dog, he is +so afraid of being separated from me again. When we got to the station +at Pittsburg he was there with Cagey, and it took only one quick glance +to see that he was a heart-broken, spirit-broken dog. Not one spark was +left of the fire that made the old Hal try to pull me through an immense +plate-glass mirror, in a hotel at Jackson, Mississippi, to fight his +own reflection (the time the strange man offered one hundred and fifty +dollars for him), and certainly he was not the hound that whipped the +big bulldog at Monroe, Louisiana, two years ago. He did not see me as I +came up back of him, and as he had not even heard my voice for over +one year, I was almost childishly afraid to speak to him. But I +finally said, "Hal, you have not forgotten your old friend?" He turned +instantly, but as I put my hand upon his head there was no joyous bound +or lifting of the ears and tail--just a look of recognition, then a +raising up full length of the slender body on his back legs, and putting +a forefoot on each of my shoulders as far over as he could reach, he +gripped me tight, fairly digging his toe nails into me, and with his +head pressed close to my neck he held on and on, giving little low +whines that were more like human sobs than the cry of a dog. Of course I +had my arms around him, and of course I cried, too. It was so pitifully +distressing, for it told how keenly the poor dumb beast had suffered +during the year he had been away from us. People stared, and soon there +was a crowd about us with an abundance of curiosity. Cagey explained the +situation, and from then on to train time, Hal was patted and petted and +given dainties from lunch baskets. + +He was in the car next to ours, coming out, and we saw him often. Many +times there were long runs across the plains, when the only thing to +be seen, far or near, would be the huge tanks containing water for the +engines. At one of these places, while we were getting water. Cagey +happened to be asleep, and a recruit, thinking that Hal was ill-treated +by being kept tied all the time, unfastened the chain from his collar +and led him from the car. + +The first thing the dog saw was another dog, and alas! a greyhound +belonging to Ryan, an old soldier. The next thing he saw was the dear, +old, beautiful plains, for which he had pined so long and wearily. The +two dogs had never seen each other before, but hounds are clannish and +never fail to recognize their own kind, so with one or two jumps by way +of introduction, the two were off and out of sight before anyone at the +cars noticed what they were doing. I was sitting by the window in our +car and saw the dogs go over the rolling hill, and saw also that a dozen +or more soldiers were running after them. I told Faye what had happened, +and he started out and over the hill on a hard run. Time passed, and we +in the cars watched, but neither men nor dogs came back. Finally a long +whistle was blown from the engine, and in a short time the train began +to move very slowly. The officers and men came running back, but +the dogs were not with them! My heart was almost broken; to leave my +beautiful dog on the plains to starve to death was maddening. I wanted +to be alone, so to the dressing room I went, and with face buried in a +portiere was sobbing my very breath away when Mrs. Pierce, wife of Major +Pierce, came in and said so sweetly and sympathetically: "Don't cry, +dear; Hal is following the car and the conductor is going to stop the +train." + +Giving her a hasty embrace, I ran back to the end of the last car, and +sure enough, there was Hal, the old Hal, bounding along with tail high +up and eyes sparkling, showing that the blood of his ancestors was still +in his veins. The conductor did not stop the train, simply because the +soldiers did not give him an opportunity. They turned the brakes and +then held them, and if a train man had interfered there would have been +a fight right then and there. + +As soon as the train was stopped Faye and Ryan were the first to go for +the dogs, but by that time the hounds thought the whole affair great fun +and objected to being caught--at least Ryan's dog objected. The porter +in our car caught Hal, but Ryan told him to let the dog go, that he +would bring the two back together. This was shrewd in Ryan, for he +reasoned that Major Carleton might wait for an officer's dog, but never +for one that belonged to only an enlisted man; but really it was the +other way, the enlisted men held the brakes. The dogs ran back almost +a mile to the water tank, and the conductor backed the train down after +them, and not until both dogs were caught and on board could steam budge +it ahead. + +The major was in temporary command of the regiment at that time. He is +a very pompous man and always in fear that proper respect will not be +shown his rank, and when we were being backed down he went through our +car and said in a loud voice: "I am very sorry Mrs. Rae, that you +should lose your fine greyhound, but this train cannot be detained any +longer--it must move on!" I said nothing, for I saw the two big men in +blue at the brake in front, and knew Major Carleton would never order +them away, much as he might bluster and try to impress us with his +importance, for he is really a tender-hearted man. + +Poor Faye was utterly exhausted from running so long, and for some time +Ryan was in a critical condition. It seems that he buried his wife quite +recently, and has left his only child in New Orleans in a convent, and +the greyhound, a pet of both wife and little girl, is all he has left +to comfort him. Everyone is so glad that he got the dog. Hal was not +unchained again, I assure you, until we got here, but poor Cagey almost +killed himself at every stopping place running up and down with the dog +to give him a little exercise. + +It is really delightful to be in a tent once more, and I am anticipating +much pleasure in camping through a strange country. A large wagon +train of commissary stores will be with us, so we can easily add to +our supplies now and then. It is amazing to see the really jolly mood +everyone seems to be in. The officers are singing and whistling, and we +can often hear from the distance the boisterous laughter of the men. And +the wives! there is an expression of happy content on the face of each +one. We know, if the world does not, that the part we are to take +on this march is most important. We will see that the tents are made +comfortable and cheerful at every camp; that the little dinner after the +weary march, the early breakfast, and the cold luncheon are each and +all as dainty as camp cooking will permit. Yes, we are sometimes called +"camp followers," but we do not mind--it probably originated with some +envious old bachelor officer. We know all about the comfort and cheer +that goes with us, and then--we have not been left behind! + +RYAN'S JUNCTION, IDAHO TERRITORY, October, 1877. + +WE are snow-bound, and everyone seems to think we that we will be +compelled to remain here several days. It was bright and sunny when the +camp was made yesterday, but before dark a terrible blizzard came up, +and by midnight the snow was deep and the cold intense. As long as we +remain inside the tents we are quite comfortable with the little conical +sheet-iron stoves that can make a tent very warm. And the snow that had +banked around the canvas keeps out the freezing-wind. We have everything +for our comfort, but such weather does not make life in camp at all +attractive. + +Faye just came in from Major Pierce's tent, where he says he saw a funny +sight. They have a large hospital tent, on each side of which is a row +of iron cots, and on the cots were five chubby little children--one a +mere baby--kicking up their little pink feet in jolly defiance of their +patient old mammy, who was trying to keep them covered up. The tent was +warm and cozy, but outside, where the snow was so deep and the cold +so penetrating, one could hardly have believed that these small people +could have been made so warm and happy. But Mrs. Pierce is a wonderful +mother! Major Pierce was opposed to bringing his family on this long +march, to be exposed to all kinds of weather, but Mrs. Pierce had no +idea of being left behind with two days of car and eight days of the +worst kind of stage travel between her husband and herself; so, like a +sensible woman, she took matters in her own hands, and when we reached +Chicago, where she had been visiting, there at the station was the +smiling Mrs. Pierce with babies, governess, nurses, and trunks, all +splendidly prepared to come with us--and come they all did. After the +major had scolded a little and eased his conscience, he smiled as much +as the other members of the family. + +The children with us seem to be standing the exposure wonderfully well. +One or two were pale at first, but have become rosy and strong, although +there is much that must be very trying to them and the mothers also. The +tents are "struck" at six sharp in the morning, and that means that we +have to be up at four and breakfast at five. That the bedding must be +rolled, every little thing tucked away in trunks or bags, the mess chest +packed, and the cooking stove and cooking utensils not only made ready +to go safely in the wagon, but they must be carried out of the tents +before six o'clock. At that time the soldiers come, and, when the bugle +sounds, down go the tents, and if anything happens to be left inside, it +has to be fished out from underneath the canvas or left there until the +tent is folded. The days are so short now that all this has to be done +in the darkness, by candle or lantern light, and how mothers can get +their small people up and ready for the day by six o'clock, I cannot +understand, for it is just all I can manage to get myself and the tent +ready by that time. + +We are on the banks of a small stream, and the tents are evidently +pitched directly upon the roosting ground of wild geese, for during the +snowstorm thousands of them came here long after dark, making the most +dreadful uproar one ever heard, with the whirring of their big wings and +constant "honk! honk!" of hundreds of voices. They circled around so +low and the calls were so loud that it seemed sometimes as if they +were inside the tents. They must have come home for shelter and become +confused and blinded by the lights in the tents, and the loss of their +ground. We must be going through a splendid country for game. + +I was very ill for several days on the way up, the result of +malaria--perhaps too many scuppernong grapes at Pass Christian, and +jolting of the heavy army wagon that makes a small stone seem the size +of a boulder. One morning I was unable to walk or even stand up, and +Faye and Major Bryant carried me to the wagon on a buffalo robe. All of +that day's march Faye walked by the side of my wagon, and that allowed +him no rest whatever, for in order to make it as easy for me as +possible, my wagon had been placed at the extreme end of the long line. +The troops march fifty minutes and halt ten, and as we went much slower +than the men marched, we would about catch up with the column at each +rest, just when the bugle would be blown to fall in line again, and then +on the troops and wagons would go, Faye was kept on a continuous tramp. +I still think that he should have asked permission to ride on the wagon, +part of the day at least, but he would not do so. + +One evening when the camp was near a ranch, I heard Doctor Gordon tell +Faye outside the tent that I must be left at the place in the morning, +that I was too ill to go farther! I said not a word about having heard +this, but I promised myself that I would go on. The dread of being left +with perfect strangers, of whom I knew nothing, and where I could not +possibly have medical attendance, did not improve my condition, but fear +gave me strength, and in the morning when camp broke I assured Doctor +Gordon that I was better, very much better, and stuck to it with so much +persistence that at last he consented to my going on. But during many +hours of the march that morning I was obliged to ride on my hands and +knees! The road was unusually rough and stony, and the jolting I could +not endure, sitting on the canvas or lying on the padded bottom of the +wagon. + +It so happened that Faye was officer of the day that day, and Colonel +Fitz-James, knowing that he was under a heavy strain with a sick wife in +addition to the long marches, sent him one of his horses to ride--a very +fine animal and one of a matched team. At the first halt Faye missed +Hal, and riding back to the company saw he was not with the men, so he +went on to my wagon, but found that I was shut up tight, Cagey asleep, +and the dog not with us. He did not speak to either of us, but kept on +to the last wagon, where a laundress told him that she saw the dog going +back down the road we had just come over. + +The wagon master, a sergeant, had joined Faye, riding a mule, and the +two rode on after the dog, expecting every minute to overtake him. But +the recollection of the unhappy year at Baton Rouge with the hospital +steward was still fresh in Hal's memory, and the fear of another +separation from his friends drove him on and on, faster and faster, and +kept him far ahead of the horses. When at last Faye found him, he was +sitting by the smoking ashes of our camp stove, his long nose pointed +straight up, giving the most blood-curdling howls of misery and woe +possible for a greyhound to give, and this is saying much. The poor +dog was wild with delight when he saw Faye, and of course there was +no trouble in bringing him back; he was only too glad to have his old +friend to follow. He must have missed Faye from the company in the +morning, and then failing to find me in the shut-up wagon, had gone back +to camp for us. This is all easily understood, but how did that hound +find the exact spot where our tent had been, even the very ashes of our +stove, on that large camp ground when he has no sense of smell? + +I wondered all the day why I did not see Faye and when the stop for +luncheon passed and he had not come I began to worry, as much as I could +think of anything beyond my own suffering. Late in the afternoon we +reached the camp for the night, and still Faye had not come and no +one could tell me anything about him. And I was very, very ill! Doctor +Gordon was most kind and attentive, but neither he nor other friends +could relieve the pain in my heart, for I felt so positive that +something was wrong. + +Just as our tent had been pitched Faye rode up, looking weary and +worried, said a word or two to me, and then rode away again. He soon +returned, however, and explained his long absence by telling me briefly +that he had gone back for the dog. But he was quiet and distrait, and +directly after dinner he went out again. When he came back he told me +all about everything that had occurred. + +Under any circumstances, it would have been a dreadful thing for him to +have been absent from the command without permission, but when officer +of the day it was unpardonable, and to take the colonel's horse with him +made matters all the worse. And then the wagon master was liable to have +been called upon at any time, if anything had happened, or the command +had come to a dangerous ford. Faye told me how they had gone back for +the dog, and so on, and said that when he first got in camp he rode +immediately to the colonel's tent, turned the horse over to an orderly, +and reported his return to the colonel, adding that if the horse was +injured he would replace him. Then he came to his own tent, fully +expecting an order to follow soon, placing him under arrest. + +But after dinner, as no order had come, he went again to see the colonel +and told him just how the unfortunate affair had come about, how he had +felt that if the dog was not found it might cost me my life, as I was so +devoted to the dog and so very ill at that time. The colonel listened +to the whole story, and then told Faye that he understood it all, that +undoubtedly he would have done the same thing! I think it was grand +in Colonel Fitz-James to have been so gentle and kind--not one word of +reproach did he say to Faye. Perhaps memories of his own wife came to +him. The colonel may have a sensitive palate that makes him unpopular +with many, but there are two people in his regiment who know that he has +a heart so tender and big that the palate will never be considered again +by them. Of course the horse was not injured in the least. + +We are on the stage road to Helena, and at this place there is a fork +that leads to the northwest which the lieutenant colonel and four +companies will take to go to Fort Missoula, Montana. The colonel, +headquarters, and other companies are to be stationed at Helena +during the winter. We expect to meet the stage going south about noon +to-morrow, and you should have this in eight days. Billie squirrel has +a fine time in the wagon and is very fat. He runs off with bits of my +luncheon every day and hides them in different places in the canvas, to +his own satisfaction at least. One of the mules back of us has become +most friendly, and will take from my hand all sorts of things to eat. + +Poor Hal had a fit the other day, something like vertigo, after having +chased a rabbit. Doctor Gordon says that he has fatty degeneration of +the heart, caused by having so little exercise in the South, but that he +will probably get over it if allowed to run every day. But I do not like +the very idea of the dog having anything the matter with his heart. It +was so pathetic to have him stagger to the tent and drop at my feet, +dumbly confident that I could give him relief. + +CAMP NEAR HELENA, MONTANA TERRITORY, November, 1877. + +THE company has been ordered to Camp Baker, a small post nearly sixty +miles farther on. We were turned off from the Helena road and the rest +of the command at the base of the mountains, and are now about ten miles +from Helena on our way to the new station, which, we are told, is a +wretched little two-company post on the other side of the Big Belt +range of mountains. I am awfully disappointed in not seeing something of +Helena, and very, very sorry that we have to go so far from our friends +and to such an isolated place, but it is the company's turn for detached +service, so here we are. + +The scenery was grand in many places along the latter part of the march, +and it is grand here, also. We are in a beautiful broad valley with +snow-capped mountains on each side. From all we hear we conclude there +must be exceptionally good hunting and fishing about Camp Baker, and +there is some consolation in that. The fishing was very good at several +of our camps after we reached the mountains, and I can assure you +that the speckled trout of the East and these mountain trout are not +comparable, the latter are so far, far superior. The flesh is white and +very firm, and sometimes they are so cold when brought out of the water +one finds it uncomfortable to hold them. They are good fighters, too, +and even small ones give splendid sport. + +One night the camp was by a beautiful little stream with high banks, and +here and there bunches of bushes and rocks--an ideal home for trout, so +I started out, hoping to catch something--with a common willow pole and +ordinary hook, and grasshoppers for bait. Faye tells everybody that I +had only a bent pin for a hook, but of course no one believes him. Major +Stokes joined me and we soon found a deep pool just at the edge of +camp. His fishing tackle was very much like mine, so when we saw Captain +Martin coming toward us with elegant jointed rod, shining new reel, and +a camp stool, we felt rather crestfallen. Captain Martin passed on and +seated himself comfortably on the bank just below us, but Major Stokes +and I went down the bank to the edge of the pool where we were compelled +to stand, of course. + +The water was beautifully clear and as soon as everybody and everything +became quiet, we saw down on the bottom one or two trout, then more +appeared, and still more, until there must have been a dozen or so +beautiful fish in between the stones, each one about ten inches long. +But go near the hooks they would not, neither would they rise to Captain +Martin's most tempting flies--for he, too, saw many trout, from where he +sat. We stood there a long time, until our patience was quite exhausted, +trying to catch some of those fish, sometimes letting the current take +the grasshoppers almost to their very noses, when finally Major Stokes +whispered, "There, Mrs. Rae there, try to get that big fellow!" Now as +we had all been most unsuccessful with the little "fellows," I had no +hope whatever of getting the big one, still I tried, for he certainly +was a beauty and looked very large as he came slowly along, carefully +avoiding the stones. Before I had moved my bait six inches, there was +a flash of white down there, and then with a little jerk I hooked that +fish--hooked him safely. + +That was very, very nice, but the fish set up a terrible fight that +would have given great sport with a reel, but I did not have a reel, and +the steep bank directly back of me only made matters worse. I saw that +time must not be wasted, that I must not give him a chance to slacken +the line and perhaps shake the hook off, so I faced about, and putting +the pole over my shoulder, proceeded to climb the bank of four or +five feet, dragging the flopping fish after me! Captain Martin laughed +heartily, but instead of laughing at the funny sight, Major Stokes +jumped to my assistance, and between us we landed the fish up on the +bank. It was a lovely trout--by far the largest we had seen, and Major +Stokes insisted that we should take him to the commissary scales, where +he weighed over three and one half pounds! + +The jumping about of my big trout ruined the fishing, of course, in that +part of the stream for some time, so, with a look of disgust for things +generally, Captain Martin folded his rod and camp stool and returned +to his tent. I had the trout served for our dinner, and, having been +so recently caught, it was delicious. These mountain trout are very +delicate, and if one wishes to enjoy their very finest flavor, they +should be cooked and served as soon as they are out of the water. If +kept even a few hours this delicacy is lost--a fact we have discovered +for ourselves on the march up. + +The camp to-night is near the house of a German family, and I am writing +in their little prim sitting room, and Billie squirrel is with me and +very busy examining' things generally. I came over to wait while +the tents were being pitched, and was received with such cordial +hospitality, and have found the little room so warm and comfortable that +I have stayed on longer than I had intended. Soon after I came my kind +hostess brought in a cup of most delicious coffee and a little pitcher +of cream--real cream--something I had not tasted for six weeks, and she +also brought a plate piled high with generous pieces of German cinnamon +cake, at the same time telling me that I must eat every bit of it--that +I looked "real peaked," and not strong enough to go tramping around with +all those men! When I told her that it was through my own choice that +I was "tramping," that I enjoyed it she looked at me with genuine pity, +and as though she had just discovered that I did not have good common +sense. + +We start on early in the morning, and it will take two three days to +cross the mountains. The little camp of one company looks lonesome after +the large regimental camp we have been with so long. The air is really +wonderful, so clear and crisp and exhilarating. It makes me long for +a good horse, and horses we intend to have as soon as possible. We are +anticipating so much pleasure in having a home once more, even if it +is to be of logs and buried in snow, perhaps, during the winter. Hal +is outside, and his beseeching whines have swelled to awful howls that +remind me of neglected duties in the tent. + +CAMP BAKER, MONTANA TERRITORY, November, 1877. + +IT was rather late in the afternoon yesterday when we got to this +post, because of a delay on the mountains. But this did not cause +inconvenience to anyone--there was a vacant set of quarters that +Lieutenant Hayden took possession of at once for his family, and where +with camp outfit they can be comfortable until the wagons are unloaded. +Faye and I are staying with the commanding officer and his wife. Colonel +Gardner is lieutenant colonel of the --th Infantry, and has a most +enviable reputation as a post commander. As an officer, we have not +seen him yet, but we do know that he can be a most charming host. He +has already informed Faye that he intends to appoint him adjutant and +quartermaster of the post. + +We are in a little valley almost surrounded by magnificent, heavily +timbered mountains, and Colonel Gardner says that at any time one can +find deer, mountain sheep, and bear in these forests, adding that there +are also mountain lions and wild cats! The scenery on the road from +Helena to Camp Baker was grand, but the roads were dreadful, most of the +time along the sides of steep mountains that seemed to be one enormous +pile of big boulders in some places and solid rock in others. These +roads have been cut into the rock and are scarcely wider than the wagon +track, and often we could look almost straight down seventy-five feet, +or even more, on one side, and straight up for hundreds of feet on the +other side. + +And in the canons many of the grades were so steep that the wheels of +the wagons had to be chained in addition to the big brakes to prevent +them from running sideways, and so off the grade. I rode down one of +these places, but it was the last as well as the first. Every time +the big wagon jolted over a stone--and it was jolt over stones all +the time--it seemed as if it must topple over the side and roll to the +bottom; and then the way the driver talked to the mules to keep them +straight, and the creaking and scraping of the wagons, was enough to +frighten the most courageous. + +In Confederate Gulch we crossed a ferry that was most marvelous. A heavy +steel cable was stretched across the river--the Missouri--and fastened +securely to each bank, and then a flat boat was chained at each end to +the cable, but so it could slide along when the ferryman gripped the +cable with a large hook, and gave long, hard pulls. Faye says that the +very swift current of the stream assisted him much. + +The river runs through a narrow, deep canon where the ferry is, and at +the time we crossed everything was in dark shadow, and the water looked +black, and fathoms deep, with its wonderful reflections. The grandeur of +these mountains is simply beyond imagination; they have to be seen to +be appreciated, and yet when seen, one can scarcely comprehend their +immensity. We are five hundred miles from a railroad, with endless +chains of these mountains between. All supplies of every description are +brought up that distance by long ox trains--dozens of wagons in a train, +and eight or ten pairs of oxen fastened to the one long chain that pulls +three or four heavily loaded wagons. We passed many of these trains on +the march up, and my heart ached for the poor patient beasts. + +We are to have one side of a large double house, which will give us as +many rooms as we will need in this isolated place. Hal is in the house +now, with Cagey, and Billie is there also, and has the exclusive run of +one room. The little fellow stood the march finely, and it is all owing +to that terrible old wagon that was such a comfort in some ways, but +caused me so much misery in others. These houses must be quite warm; +they are made of large logs placed horizontally, and the inner walls are +plastered, which will keep out the bitter cold during the winter. The +smallest window has an outside storm window. + +CAMP BAKER, MONTANA TERRITORY, December, 1877. + +THIS post is far over in the Belt Mountains and quite cut off from the +outside world, and there are very few of us here, nevertheless the days +pass wonderfully fast, and they are pleasant days, also. And then we +have our own little excitements that are of intense interest to us, even +if they are never heard of in the world across the snow and ice. + +The Rae family was very much upset two days ago by the bad behavior of +my horse Bettie, when she managed to throw Faye for the very first time +in his life! You know that both of our horses, although raised near this +place, were really range animals, and were brought in and broken for us. +The black horse has never been very satisfactory, and Faye has a battle +with him almost every time he takes him out, but Bettie had been lovely +and behaved wonderfully well for so young a horse, and I have been so +pleased with her and her delightful gaits--a little single foot and easy +canter. + +The other morning Faye was in a hurry to get out to a lumber camp and, +as I did not care to go, he decided to ride my horse rather than waste +time by arguing with the black as to which road they should go. Ben +always thinks he knows more about such things than his rider. Well, +Kelly led Bettie up from the corral and saddled and bridled her, and +when Faye was ready to start I went out with him to give the horse a few +lumps of sugar. She is a beautiful animal--a bright bay in color--with +perfect head and dainty, expressive ears, and remarkably slender legs. + +Faye immediately prepared to mount; in fact, bridle in hand, had his +left foot in the stirrup and the right was over the horse, when up went +Miss Bet's back, arched precisely like a mad cat's, and down in +between her fore legs went her pretty nose, and high up in the air went +everything--man and beast--the horse coming down on legs as rigid +and unbending as bars of steel, and then--something happened to Faye! +Nothing could have been more unexpected, and it was all over in a +second. + +Kelly caught the bridle reins in time to prevent the horse from running +away, and Faye got up on his feet, and throwing back his best West Point +shoulders, faced the excited horse, and for two long seconds he and Miss +Bet looked each other square in the eye. Just what the horse thought no +one knows, but Kelly and I remember what Faye said! All desire to laugh, +however, was quickly crushed when I heard Kelly ordered to lead the +horse to the sutler's store, and fit a Spanish bit to her mouth, and to +take the saddle off and strap a blanket on tight with a surcingle, for I +knew that a hard and dangerous fight between man and horse was about to +commence. Faye told Cagey to chain Hal and then went in the house, soon +returning, however, without a blouse, and with moccasins on his feet and +with leggings. + +When Kelly returned he looked most unhappy, for he loves horses and +has been so proud of Bettie. But Faye was not thinking of Kelly and +proceeded at once to mount, having as much fire in his eyes as the horse +had in hers, for she had already discovered that the bit was not to her +liking. As soon as she felt Faye's weight, up went her back again, +but down she could not get her head, and the more she pushed down, the +harder the spoon of the bit pressed against the roof of her mouth. This +made her furious, and as wild as when first brought from the range. + +She lunged and lunged--forward and sideways--reared, and of course tried +to run away, but with all the vicious things her little brain could +think of, she could not get the bit from her mouth or Faye from her +back. So she started to rub him off--doing it with thought and in the +most scientific way. She first went to the corner of our house, then +tried the other corner of that end, and so she went on, rubbing up +against every object she saw--house, tree, and fence--even going up the +steps at the post trader's. That I thought very smart, for the bit +was put in her mouth there, and she might have hoped to find some kind +friend who would take it out. + +It required almost two hours of the hardest kind of riding to conquer +the horse, and to teach her that just as long as she held her head up +and behaved herself generally, the bit would not hurt her. She finally +gave in, and is once more a tractable beast, and I have ridden her +twice, but with the Spanish bit. She is a nervous animal and will always +be frisky. It has leaked out that the morning she bucked so viciously, +a cat had been thrown upon her back at the corral by a playful soldier, +just before she had been led up. Kelly did not like to tell this of a +comrade. It was most fortunate that I had decided not to ride at that +time, for a pitch over a horse's head with a skirt to catch on the +pommel is a performance I am not seeking. And Bettie had been such a +dear horse all the time, her single foot and run both so swift and +easy. Kelly says, "Yer cawn't feel yerse'f on her, mum." Faye is +quartermaster, adjutant, commissary, signal officer, and has other +positions that I cannot remember just now, that compel him to be at his +own office for an hour every morning before breakfast, in addition to +the regular office hours during the day. The post commander is up and +out at half past six every workday, and Sundays I am sure he is a most +unhappy man. But Faye gets away for a hunt now and then, and the other +day he started off, much to my regret, all alone and with only a rifle. +I worry when he goes alone up in these dense forests, and when an +officer goes with him I am so afraid of an accident, that one may shoot +the other. It is impossible to take a wagon, or even ride a horse among +the rocks and big boulders. There are panthers and wild cats and wolves +and all sorts of fearful things up there. The coyotes often come down +to the post at night, and their terrible, unearthly howls drive the dogs +almost crazy--and some of the people, too. + +I worried about Faye the other morning as usual, and thought of all the +dreadful things that could so easily happen. And then I tried to forget +my anxiety by taking a brisk ride on Bettie, but when I returned I found +that Faye had not come, so I worried all the more. The hours passed and +still he was away, and I was becoming really alarmed. At last there was +a shout at a side door, and running out I found Faye standing up very +tall and with a broad smile on his face, and on the ground at his feet +was an immense white-tail deer! He said that he had walked miles on the +mountain but had failed to find one living thing, and had finally come +down and was just starting to cross the valley on his way home, when +he saw the deer, which he fortunately killed with one shot at very long +range. He did not want to leave it to be devoured by wolves while he +came to the corral for a wagon, so he dragged the heavy thing all the +way in. And that was why he was gone so long, for of course he was +obliged to rest every now and then. I was immensely proud of the +splendid deer, but it did not convince me in the least that it was safe +for Faye to go up in that forest alone. Of course Faye has shot other +deer, and mountain sheep also, since we have been here, but this was the +first he had killed when alone. + +Of all the large game we have ever had--buffalo, antelope, black-tail +deer, white-tail deer--the mountain sheep is the most delicious. The +meat is very tender and juicy and exceedingly rich in flavor. It is very +"gamey," of course, and is better after having been frozen or hung for +a few days. These wary animals are most difficult to get, for they are +seldom found except on the peaks of high mountains, where the many big +rocks screen them, so when one is brought in, it is always with great +pride and rejoicing. There are antelope in the lowlands about here, but +none have been brought in since we came to the post. The ruffed grouse +and the tule hens are plentiful, and of course nothing can be more +delicious. + +And the trout are perfect, too, but the manner in which we get them this +frozen-up weather is not sportsmanlike. There is a fine trout stream +just outside the post which is frozen over now, but when we wish a few +nice trout for dinner or breakfast. Cagey and I go down, and with a +hatchet he will cut a hole in the ice through which I fish, and usually +catch all we want in a few minutes. The fish seem to be hungry and rise +quickly to almost any kind of bait except flies. They seem to know that +this is not the fly season. The trout are not very large, about eight +and ten inches long, but they are delicate in flavor and very delicious. + +Cagey is not a wonderful cook, but he does very well, and I think that +I would much prefer him to a Chinaman, judging from what I have seen of +them here. Mrs. Conrad, wife of Captain Conrad, of the --th Infantry, +had one who was an excellent servant in every way except in the manner +of doing the laundry work. He persisted in putting the soiled linen in +the boiler right from the basket, and no amount of talk on the part of +Mrs. Conrad could induce him to do otherwise. Monday morning Mrs. Conrad +went to the kitchen and told him once more that he must look the linen +over, and rub it with plenty of water and soap before boiling it. The +heathen looked at her with a grin and said, "Allee light, you no likee +my washee, you washee yousel'," and lifting the boiler from the stove he +emptied its entire steaming contents out upon the floor! He then went to +his own room, gathered up his few clothes and bedding, and started off. +He knew full well that if he did not leave the reservation at once he +would be put off after such a performance. + +CAMP BAKER, MONTANA TERRITORY, February, 1878. + +HOME seems very cozy and attractive after the mountains of snow and ice +we crossed and re-crossed on our little trip to Helena. The bitter cold +of those canons will long be remembered. But it was a delightful change +from the monotonous life in this out-of-the-way garrison, even if we did +almost freeze on the road, and it was more than pleasant to be with old +friends again. + +The ball at the hall Friday evening was most enjoyable, and it was +simply enchanting to dance once more to the perfect music of the +dear old orchestra. And the young people in Helena are showing their +appreciation of the good music by dancing themselves positively thin +this winter. The band leader brought from New Orleans the Creole music +that was so popular there, and at the ball we danced Les Varietes four +times; the last was at the request of Lieutenant Joyce, with whom I +always danced it in the South. It is thoroughly French, bringing in the +waltz, polka, schottische, mazurka, and redowa. Some of those Creole +girls were the personification of grace in that dance. + +We knew of the ball before leaving home, and went prepared for it, but +had not heard one word about the bal masque to be given by "The Army +Social Club" at Mrs. Gordon's Tuesday evening. We did not have one +thing with us to assist in the make-up of a fancy dress; nevertheless we +decided to attend it. Faye said for me not to give him a thought, that +he could manage his own costume. How I did envy his confidence in man +and things, particularly things, for just then I felt far from equal to +managing my own dress. + +I had been told of some of the costumes that were to be worn by friends, +and they were beautiful, and the more I heard of these things, the +more determined I became that I would not appear in a domino! So Monday +morning I started out for an idea, and this I found almost immediately +in a little shop window. It was only a common pasteboard mask, but +nevertheless it was a work of art. The face was fat and silly, and +droll beyond description, and to look at the thing and not laugh was +impossible. It had a heavy bang of fiery red hair. I bought it without +delay, and was wondering where I could find something to go with it in +that little town, when I met a friend--a friend indeed--who offered me +some widths of silk that had been dyed a most hideous shade of green. + +I gladly accepted the offer, particularly as this friend is in deep +mourning and would not be at the ball to recognize me. Well, I made this +really awful silk into a very full skirt that just covered my ankles, +and near the bottom I put a broad band of orange-colored cambric--the +stiff and shiny kind. Then I made a Mother Hubbard apron of white +paper-cambric, also very stiff and shiny, putting a big full ruche of +the cambric around neck, yoke, and bottom of sleeves. For my head I made +a large cap of the white cambric with ruche all around, and fastened it +on tight with wide strings that were tied in a large stiff bow under the +chin. We drew my evening dress up underneath both skirt and apron +and pinned it securely on my shoulders, and this made me stout and +shapeless. Around this immense waist and over the apron was drawn a wide +sash of bright pink, glossy cambric that was tied in a huge bow at the +back. But by far the best of all, a real crown of glory, was a pigtail +of red, red hair that hung down my back and showed conspicuously on the +white apron. This was a loan by Mrs. Joyce, another friend in mourning, +and who assisted me in dressing. + +We wanted the benefit of the long mirror in the little parlor of the +hotel, so we carried everything there and locked the door. And then +the fun commenced! I am afraid that Mrs. Joyce's fingers must have been +badly bruised by the dozens of pins she used, and how she laughed at me! +But if I looked half as dreadful as my reflection in the mirror I must +have been a sight to provoke laughter. We had been requested to give +names to our characters, and Mrs. Joyce said I must be "A Country +Girl," but it still seems to me that "An Idiot" would have been more +appropriate. + +I drove over with Major and Mrs. Carleton. The dressing rooms were +crowded at Mrs. Gordon's, so it was an easy matter to slip away, give my +long cloak and thick veil to a maid, and return to Mrs. Carleton before +she had missed me, and it was most laughable to see the dear lady go +in search for me, peering in everyone's face. But she did not find me, +although we went down the stairs and in the drawing-room together, and +neither did one person in those rooms recognize me during the evening. +Lieutenant Joyce said he knew to whom the hair belonged, but beyond that +it was all a mystery. + +That evening will never be forgotten, for, as soon as I saw that no one +knew me, I became a child once more, and the more the maskers laughed +the more I ran around. When I first appeared in the rooms there was a +general giggle and that was exhilarating, so off I went. After a time +Colonel Fitz-James adopted me and tagged around after me every place; I +simply could not get rid of the man. I knew him, of course, and I +also knew that he was mistaking me for some one else, which made his +attentions anything but complimentary. I told him ever so many times +that he did not know me, but he always insisted that it was impossible +for him to be deceived, that he would always know me, and so on. He was +acting in a very silly manner--quite too silly for a man of his years +and a colonel of a regiment, and he was keeping me from some very nice +dances, too, so I decided to lead him a dance, and commenced a rare +flirtation in cozy corners and out-of-the-way places. I must admit, +though, that all the pleasure I derived from it was when I heard the +smothered giggles of those who saw us. The colonel was in a domino and +had not tried to disguise himself. + +We went in to supper together, and I managed to be almost the last one +to unmask, and all the time Colonel Fitz-James, domino removed, was +standing in front of me, and looking down with a smile of serene +expectancy. The colonel of a regiment is a person of prominence, +therefore many people in the room were watching us, not one suspecting, +however, who I was. So when I did take off the mask there was a shout: +"Why, it is Mrs. Rae," and "Oh, look at Mrs. Rae," and several friends +came up to us. Well, I wish you could have seen the colonel's face--the +mingled surprise and almost horror that was expressed upon it. Of course +the vain man had placed himself in a ridiculous position, chasing around +and flirting with the wife of one of his very own officers--a second +lieutenant at that! It came out later that he, and others also, had +thought that I was a Helena girl whom the colonel admires very much. +It was rather embarrassing, too, to be told that the girl was sitting +directly opposite on the other side of the room, where she was watching +us with two big, black eyes. And then farther down I saw Faye also +looking at us--but then, a man never can see things from a woman's view +point. + +The heat and weight of the two dresses had been awful, and as soon as +I could get away, I ran to a dressing room and removed the cambric. But +the pins! There seemed to be thousands of them. Some of the costumes +were beautiful and costly, also. Mrs. Manson, a lovely little woman of +Helena, was "A Comet." Her short dress of blue silk was studded with +gold stars, and to each shoulder was fastened a long, pointed train of +yellow gauze sprinkled with diamond dust. An immense gold star with a +diamond sunburst in the center was above her forehead, and around her +neck was a diamond necklace. Mrs. Palmer, wife of Colonel Palmer, was +"King of Hearts," the foundation a handsome red silk. Mrs. Spencer +advertised the New York Herald; the whole dress, which was flounced +to the waist, was made of the headings of that paper. Major Blair was +recognized by no one as "An American citizen," in plain evening dress. I +could not find Faye at all, and he was in a simple red domino, too. + +I cannot begin to tell you of the many lovely costumes that seemed most +wonderful to me, for you must remember that we were far up in the Rocky +Mountains, five hundred miles from a railroad! I will send you a copy +of the Helena paper that gives an account of the ball, in which you will +read that "Mrs. Rae was inimitable--the best sustained character in the +rooms." I have thought this over some, and I consider the compliment +doubtful. + +We remained one day longer in Helena than we had expected for the +bal masque; consequently we were obliged to start back the very next +morning, directly after breakfast, and that was not pleasant, for we +were very tired. The weather had been bitter cold, but during the night +a chinook had blown up, and the air was warm and balmy as we came across +the valley. When we reached the mountains, however, it was freezing +again, and there was glassy ice every place, which made driving over the +grades more dangerous than usual. In many places the ambulance wheels +had to be "blocked," and the back and front wheels of one side chained +together so they could not turn, in addition to the heavy brake, and +then the driver would send the four sharp-shod mules down at a swinging +trot that kept the ambulance straight, and did not give it time to slip +around and roll us down to eternity. + +There is one grade on this road that is notoriously dangerous, and +dreaded by every driver around here because of the many accidents that +have occurred there. It is cut in the side of a high mountain and has +three sharp turns back and forth, and the mountain is so steep, it is +impossible to see from the upper grade all of the lower that leads down +into the canon called White's Gulch. This one mountain grade is a mile +and a half long. But the really dangerous place is near the middle turn, +where a warm spring trickles out of the rocks and in winter forms thick +ice over the road; and if this ice cannot be broken up, neither man nor +beast can walk over, as it is always thicker on the inner side. + +I was so stiffened from the overheating and try-to-fool dancing at Mrs. +Gordon's, it was with the greatest difficulty I could walk at all on the +slippery hills, and was constantly falling down, much to the amusement +of Faye and the driver. But ride down some of them I would not. At +Canon Ferry, where we remained over night, the ice in the Missouri was +cracked, and there were ominous reports like pistol shots down in the +canon below. At first Faye thought it would be impossible to come over, +but the driver said he could get everything across, if he could come at +once. Faye walked over with me, and then went back to assist the driver +with the mules that were still on the bank refusing to step upon the +ice. But Faye led one leader, and the driver lashed and yelled at all of +them, and in this way they crossed, each mule snorting at every step. + +There were the most dreadful groans and creakings and loud reports +during the entire night, and in the morning the river was clear, except +for a few pieces of ice that were still floating down from above. The +Missouri is narrow at Canon Ferry, deep and very swift, and it is +a dreadful place to cross at any time, on the ice, or on the cable +ferryboat. They catch a queer fish there called the "ling." It has three +sides, is long and slender, and is perfectly blind. They gave us some +for supper and it was really delicious. + +We found everything in fine order upon our return, and it was very +evident that Cagey had taken good care of the house and Hal, but Billie +grayback had taken care of himself. He was given the run of my room, but +I had expected, of course, that he would sleep in his own box, as usual. +But no, the little rascal in some way discovered the warmth of the +blankets on my bed, and in between these he had undoubtedly spent most +of the time during our absence, and there we found him after a long +search, and there he wants to stay all the time now, and if anyone +happens to go near the bed they are greeted with the fiercest kind of +smothered growls. + +The black horse has been sold, and Faye has bought another, a sorrel, +that seems to be a very satisfactory animal. He is not as handsome as +Ben, nor as fractious, either. Bettie is behaving very well, but is +still nervous, and keeps her forefeet down just long enough to get +herself over the ground. She is beautiful, and Kelly simply adores her +and keeps her bright-red coat like satin. Faye can seldom ride with me +because of his numerous duties, and not one of the ladies rides here, +so I have Kelly go, for one never knows what one may come across on the +roads around here. They are so seldom traveled, and are little more than +trails. + +CAMP BAKER, MONTANA TERRITORY, March, 1878. + +THE mail goes out in the morning, and in it a letter must be sent to +you, but it is hard--hard for me to write--to have to tell you that my +dear dog, my beautiful greyhound, is dead--dead and buried! It seems so +cruel that he should have died now, so soon after getting back to his +old home, friends, and freedom. On Tuesday, Faye and Lieutenant Lomax +went out for a little hunt, letting Hal go with them, which was unusual, +and to which I objected, for Lieutenant Lomax is a notoriously poor shot +and hunter, and I was afraid he might accidentally kill Hal--mistake him +for a wild animal. So, as they went down our steps I said, "Please do +not shoot my dog!" much more in earnest than in jest, for I felt that +he would really be in danger, as it would be impossible to keep him with +them all the time. + +As they went across the parade ground, rifles over their shoulders, Hal +jumped up on Faye and played around him, expressing his delight at being +allowed to go on a hunt. He knew what a gun was made for just as well as +the oldest hunter. That was the last I saw of my dog! Faye returned long +before I had expected him, and one quick glance at his troubled face +told me that something terrible had happened. I saw that he was unhurt +and apparently well, but--where was Hal? With an awful pain in my heart +I asked, "Did Lieutenant Lomax shoot Hal?" After a second's hesitation +Faye said "No; but Hal is dead!" It seemed too dreadful to be true, and +at first I could not believe it, for it had been only such a short time +since I had seen him bounding and leaping, evidently in perfect health, +and oh, so happy! + +No one in the house even thought of dinner that night, and poor black +Cagey sobbed and moaned so loud and long Faye was obliged to ask him +to be quiet. For hours I could not listen to the particulars. Faye +says that they had not gone out so very far when he saw a wild cat some +distance away, and taking careful aim, he shot it, but the cat, instead +of falling, started on a fast run. Hal was in another direction, but +when he heard the report of the rifle and saw the cat running, he +started after it with terrific speed and struck it just as the cat fell, +and then the two rolled over and over together. + +He got up and stood by Faye and Lieutenant Lomax while they examined the +cat, and if there was anything wrong with him it was not noticed. But +when they turned to come to the post, dragging the dead cat after them, +Faye heard a peculiar sound, and looking back saw dear Hal on the ground +in a fit much like vertigo. He talked to him and petted him, thinking he +would soon be over it--and the plucky dog did get up and try to follow, +but went down again and for the last time The swift run and excitement +caused by encountering an animal wholly different from anything he had +ever seen before was too great a strain upon the weak heart. + +Before coming to the house Faye had ordered a detail out to bury him, +with instructions to cover the grave with pieces of glass to keep the +wolves away. The skin and head of the cat, which was really a lynx, are +being prepared for a rug, but I do not see how I can have the thing in +the house, although the black spots and stripes with the white make the +fur very beautiful. The ball passed straight through the body. + +The loneliness of the house is awful, and at night I imagine that I hear +him outside whining to come in. Many a cold night have I been up two and +three times to straighten his bed and cover him up. His bed was the skin +of a young buffalo, and he knew just when it was smooth and nice, and +then he would almost throw himself down, with a sigh of perfect content. +If I did not cover him at once, he would get up and drop down again, +and there he would stay hours at a time with the fur underneath and +over him, with just his nose sticking out. He suffered keenly from the +intense cold here because his hair was so short and fine. And then he +was just from the South, too, where he was too warm most of the time. + +It makes me utterly wretched to think of the long year he was away from +us at Baton Rouge. But what could we have done? We could not have had +him with us, in the very heart of New Orleans, for he had already been +stolen from us at Jackson Barracks, a military post! + +With him passed the very last of his blood, a breed of greyhounds that +was known in Texas, Kansas, and Colorado as wonderful hunters, also +remarkable for their pluck and beauty of form. Hal was a splendid +hunter, and ever on the alert for game. Not one morsel of it would he +eat, however, not even a piece of domestic fowl, which he seemed to look +upon as game. Sheep he considered fine game, and would chase them +every opportunity that presented itself. This was his one bad trait, an +expensive one sometimes, but it was the only one, and was overbalanced +many times by his lovable qualities that made him a favorite with all. +Every soldier in the company loved him and was proud of him, and would +have shared his dinner with the dog any day if called upon to do so. + +NATIONAL HOTEL, HELENA, MONTANA TERRITORY, May, 1878. + +TO hear that we are no longer at Camp Baker will be a surprise, but +you must have become accustomed to surprises of this kind long ago. +Regimental headquarters, the companies that have been quartered at the +Helena fair grounds during the winter, and the two companies from Camp +Baker, started from here this morning on a march to the Milk River +country, where a new post is to be established on Beaver Creek. It is +to be called Fort Assiniboine. The troops will probably be in camp until +fall, when they will go to Fort Shaw. + +We had been given no warning whatever of this move, and had less than +two days in which to pack and crate everything. And I can assure you +that in one way it was worse than being ranked out, for this time there +was necessity for careful packing and crating, because of the rough +mountain roads the wagons had to come over. But there were no accidents, +and our furniture and boxes are safely put away here in a government +storehouse. + +At the time the order came, Faye was recorder for a board of survey +that was being held at the post, and this, in addition to turning over +quartermaster and other property, kept him hard at work night and day, +so the superintendence of all things pertaining to the house and +camp outfit fell to my lot. The soldiers were most willing and +most incompetent, and it kept me busy telling them what to do. The +mess-chest, and Faye's camp bedding are always in readiness for ordinary +occasions, but for a camp of several months in this climate, where it +can be really hot one day and freezing cold the next, it was necessary +to add many more things. Just how I managed to accomplish so much in +so short a time I do not know, but I do know that I was up and packing +every precious minute the night before we came away, and the night +seemed very short too. But everything was taken to the wagons in very +good shape, and that repaid me for much of the hard work and great +fatigue. + +And I was tired--almost too tired to sit up, but at eight o'clock I got +in an ambulance and came nearly forty miles that one day! Major Stokes +and Captain Martin had been on the board of survey, and as they were +starting on the return trip to Helena, I came over with them, which not +only got me here one day in advance of the company, but saved Faye the +trouble of providing for me in camp on the march from Camp Baker. We +left the post just as the troops were starting out. Faye was riding +Bettie and Cagey was on Pete. + +I brought Billie, of course, and at Canon Ferry I lost that squirrel! +After supper I went directly to my room to give him a little run and +to rest a little myself, but before opening his box I looked about for +places where he might escape, and seeing a big crack under one of the +doors, covered it with Faye's military cape, thinking, as I did so, that +it would be impossible for a squirrel to crawl through such a narrow +place. Then I let him out. Instead of running around and shying at +strange objects as he usually does, he ran straight to that cape, and +after two or three pulls with his paws, flattened his little gray +body, and like a flash he and the long bushy tail disappeared! I was en +deshabille, but quickly slipped on a long coat and ran out after him. + +Very near my door was one leading to the kitchen, and so I went on +through, and the very first thing stumbled over a big cat! This made me +more anxious than ever, but instead of catching the beast and shutting +it up, I drove it away. In the kitchen, which was dining room also, sat +the two officers and a disagreeable old man, and at the farther end was +a woman washing dishes. I told them about Billie and begged them to keep +very quiet while I searched for him. Then that old man laughed. That was +quite too much for my overtaxed nerves, and I snapped out that I failed +to see anything funny. But still he laughed, and said, "Perhaps you +don't, but we do." I was too worried and unhappy to notice what he +meant, and continued to look for Billie. + +But the little fellow I could not find any place in the house or +outside, where we looked with a lantern. When I returned to my room I +discovered why the old man laughed, for truly I was a funny sight. I had +thought my coat much longer than it really was--that is all I am willing +to say about it. I was utterly worn out, and every bone in my body +seemed to be rebelling about something, still I could not sleep, but +listened constantly for Billie. I blamed myself so much for not having +shut up the cat and fancied I heard the cat chasing him. + +After a long, long time, it seemed hours, I heard a faint noise like a +scratch on tin, and lighting a lamp quickly, I went to the kitchen and +then listened. But not a sound was to be heard. At the farther end a +bank had been cut out to make room for the kitchen, which gave it a dirt +wall almost to the low ceiling, and all across this wall were many rows +of shelves where tins of all sorts and cooking utensils were kept, and +just above the top shelf was a hole where the cat could go out on the +bank. I put the lamp back of me on the table and kept very still and +looked all along the shelves, but saw nothing of Billie. Finally, I +heard the little scratch again, and looking closely at some large tins +where I thought the sound had come from, I saw the little squirrel. +He was sitting up in between two of the pans that were almost his own +color, with his head turned one side, and "hands on his heart," watching +me inquisitively with one black eye. + +He was there and apparently unharmed, but to catch him was another +matter. I approached him in the most cautious manner, talking and cooing +to him all the time, and at last I caught him, and the little fellow was +so glad to be with friends once more, he curled himself in my hands, +and put two little wet paws around a thumb and held on tight. It was +raining, and he was soaking wet, so he must have been out of doors. It +would have been heartbreaking to have been obliged to come away without +finding that little grayback, and perhaps never know what became of +him. I know where my dear dog is, and that is bad enough. We heard just +before leaving the post that men of the company had put up a board at +Hal's grave with his name cut in it. We knew that they loved him and +were proud of him, but never dreamed that any one of them would show so +much sentiment. Faye has taken the horses with him and Cagey also. + +The young men of Helena gave the officers an informal dance last night. +At first it promised to be a jolly affair, but finally, as the evening +wore on, the army people became more and more quiet, and at the last +it was distressing to see the sad faces that made dancing seem a farce. +They are going to an Indian country, and the separation may be long. I +expect to remain here for the present, but shall make every effort to +get to Benton after a while, where I will be nearly one hundred and +fifty miles nearer Faye. The wife of the adjutant and her two little +children are in this house, and other families of officers are scattered +all over the little town. + +COSMOPOLITAN HOTEL, HELENA, MONTANA TERRITORY, August, 1878. + +YOU will see that at last I decided to move over to this hotel. I made +a great mistake in not coming before and getting away from the cross +old housekeeper at the International, who could not be induced by +entreaties, fees, or threats, to get the creepy, crawly things out of +my room. How I wish that every one of them would march over to her +some fine night and keep her awake as they have kept me. It made me so +unhappy to leave Mrs. Hull there with a sick child, but she would not +come with me, although she must know it would be better for her and the +boy to be here, where everything is kept so clean and attractive. There +are six wives of officers in the house, among them the wife of General +Bourke, who is in command of the regiment. She invited me to sit at her +table, and I find it very pleasant there. She is a bride and almost a +stranger to us. + +The weather has been playing all sorts of pranks upon us lately, and we +hardly know whether we are in the far North or far South. For two +weeks it was very warm, positively hot in this gulch, but yesterday +we received a cooling off in the form of a brisk snowstorm that lasted +nearly two hours. Mount Helena was white during the rest of the day, and +even now long streaks of snow can be seen up and down the peak. But a +snowstorm in August looked very tame after the awful cloud-burst that +came upon us without warning a few days before, and seemed determined to +wash the whole town down to the Missouri River. + +It was about eleven o'clock, and four of us had gone to the shops to +look at some pretty things that had just been brought over from a boat +at Fort Benton by ox train. Mrs. Pierce and Mrs. Hull had stopped at a +grocery next door, expecting to join Mrs. Joyce and me in a few minutes. +But before they could make a few purchases, a few large drops of rain +began to splash down, and there was a fierce flash of lightning and +deafening thunder, then came the deluge! Oceans of water seemed to be +coming down, and before we realized what was happening, things in the +street and things back of the store were being rushed to the valley +below. + +All along the gulch runs a little stream that comes from the canon above +the town. The stream is tiny and the bed is narrow. On either side of +it are stores with basements opening out on these banks. Well, in an +alarmingly short time that innocent-looking little creek had become +a roaring, foaming black river, carrying tables, chairs, washstands, +little bridges--in fact everything it could tear up--along with it +to the valley. Many of these pieces of furniture lodged against the +carriage bridge that was just below the store where we were, making a +dangerous dam, so a man with a stout rope around his waist went in the +water to throw them out on the bank, but he was tossed about like a +cork, and could do nothing. Just as they were about to pull him in the +bridge gave way, and it was with the greatest difficulty he was kept +from being swept down with the floating furniture. He was dragged back +to our basement in an almost unconscious condition, and with many cuts +and bruises. + +The water was soon in the basements of the stores, where it did much +damage. The store we were in is owned by a young man--one of the beaux +of the town--and I think the poor man came near losing his mind. He +rushed around pulling his hair one second, and wringing his hands the +next, and seemed perfectly incapable of giving one order, or assisting +his clerks in bringing the dripping goods from the basement. Very unlike +the complacent, diamond-pin young man we had danced with at the balls! + +The cloud-burst on Mount Helena had caused many breaks in the enormous +ditches that run around the mountain and carry water to the mines on the +other side. No one can have the faintest conception of how terrible a +cloud-burst is until they have been in one. It is like standing under +an immense waterfall. At the very beginning we noticed the wagon of a +countryman across the street with one horse hitched to it. The horse was +tied so the water from an eaves trough poured directly upon his back, +and not liking that, he stepped forward, which brought the powerful +stream straight to the wagon. + +Unfortunately for the owner, the wagon had been piled high with all +sorts of packages, both large and small, and all in paper or paper bags. +One by one these were swept out, and as the volume of water increased in +force and the paper became wet and easily torn, their contents went in +every direction. Down in the bottom was a large bag of beans, and +when the pipe water reached this, there was a white spray resembling a +geyser. Not one thing was left in that wagon--even sacks of potatoes and +grain were washed out! It is a wonder that the poor horse took it all as +patiently as he did. + +During all this time we had not even heard from our friends next door; +after a while, however, we got together, but it was impossible to return +to the hotel for a long time, because of the great depth of water in the +street. Mrs. Pierce, whose house is on the opposite side of the ravine, +could not get to her home until just before dark, after a temporary +bridge had been built across the still high stream. Not one bridge +was left across the creek, and they say that nothing has been left at +Chinatown--that it was washed clean. Perhaps there is nothing to be +regretted in this, however, except that any amount of dirt has been +piled up right in the heart of Helena. The millionaire residents seem +to think that the great altitude and dry atmosphere will prevent any ill +effects of decaying debris. + +We went to the assay building the other day to see a brick of gold taken +from the furnace. The mold was run out on its little track soon after we +got there, and I never dreamed of what "white heat" really means, until +I saw the oven of that awful furnace. We had to stand far across the +room while the door was open, and even then the hot air that shot out +seemed blasting. The men at the furnace were protected, of course. The +brick mold was in another mold that after a while was put in cold water, +so we had to wait for first the large and then the small to be opened +before we saw the beautiful yellow brick that was still very hot, but we +were assured that it was then too hard to be in danger of injury. It +was of the largest size, and shaped precisely like an ordinary building +brick, and its value was great. It was to be shipped on the stage the +next morning on its way to the treasury in Washington. + +It is wonderful that so few of those gold bricks are stolen from the +stage. The driver is their only protector, and the stage route is +through miles and miles of wild forests, and in between huge boulders +where a "hold-up" could be so easily accomplished. + +CAMP ON MARIAS RIVER, MONTANA TERRITORY, September, 1878. + +AN old proverb tells us that "All things come to him who waits," but +I never had faith in this, for I have patiently waited many times for +things that never found me. But this time, after I had waited and waited +the tiresome summer through, ever hoping to come to Fort Benton, and +when I was about discouraged, "things come," and here I am in camp with +Faye, and ever so much more comfortable than I would have been at the +little old hotel at Benton. + +There are only two companies here now--all the others having gone with +regimental headquarters to Fort Shaw--otherwise I could not be here, for +I could not have come to a large camp. Our tents are at the extreme end +of the line in a grove of small trees, and next to ours is the doctor's, +so we are quite cut off from the rest of the camp. Cagey is here, and +Faye has a very good soldier cook, so the little mess, including the +doctor, is simply fine. I am famished all the time, for everything +tastes so delicious after the dreadful hotel fare. The two horses are +here, and I brought my saddle over, and this morning Faye and I had a +delightful ride out on the plain. But how I did miss my dear dog! He was +always so happy when with us and the horses, and his joyous bounds and +little runs after one thing and another added much to the pleasure of +our rides. + +Fort Benton is ten miles from camp, and Faye met me there with an +ambulance. I was glad enough to get away from that old stage. It was +one of the jerky, bob-back-and-forth kind that pitches you off the seat +every five minutes. The first two or three times you bump heads with the +passenger sitting opposite, you can smile and apologize with some grace, +but after a while your hat will not stay in place and your head becomes +sensitive, and finally, you discover that the passenger is the most +disagreeable person you ever saw, and that the man sitting beside you is +inconsiderate and selfish, and really occupying two thirds of the seat. + +We came a distance of one hundred and forty miles, getting fresh horses +every twenty miles or so. The morning we left Helena was glorious, and I +was half ashamed because I felt so happy at coming from the town, where +so many of my friends were in sorrow, but tried to console myself with +the fact that I had been ordered away by Doctor Gordon. There were +many cases of typhoid fever, and the rheumatic fever that has made Mrs. +Sargent so ill has developed into typhoid, and there is very little hope +for her recovery. + +The driver would not consent to my sitting on top with him, so I had +to ride inside with three men. They were not rough-looking at all, and +their clothes looked clean and rather new, but gave one the impression +that they had been made for other people. Their pale faces told that +they were "tenderfeet," and one could see there was a sad lacking of +brains all around. + +The road comes across a valley the first ten or twelve miles, and +then runs into a magnificent canon that is sixteen miles long, called +Prickly-Pear Canon. As I wrote some time ago, everything is brought up +to this country by enormous ox trains, some coming from the railroad at +Corinne, and some that come from Fort Benton during the Summer, having +been brought up by boat on the Missouri River. In the canons these +trains are things to be dreaded. The roads are very narrow and the +grades often long and steep, with immense boulders above and below. + +We met one of those trains soon after we entered the canon, and at the +top of a grade where the road was scarcely wider than the stage itself +and seemed to be cut into a wall of solid rock. Just how we were to pass +those huge wagons I did not see. But the driver stopped his horses and +two of the men got out, the third stopping on the step and holding on to +the stage so it was impossible for me to get out, unless I went out +the other door and stood on the edge of an awful precipice. The driver +looked back, and not seeing me, bawled out, "Where is the lady?" "Get +the lady out!" The man on the step jumped down then, but the driver +did not put his reins down, or move from his seat until he had seen me +safely on the ground and had directed me where to stand. + +In the meantime some of the train men had come up, and, as soon as the +stage driver was ready, they proceeded to lift the stage--trunks and +all--over and on some rocks and tree tops, and then the four horses were +led around in between other rocks, where it seemed impossible for them +to stand one second. There were three teams to come up, each consisting +of about eight yoke of oxen and three or four wagons. It made me almost +ill to see the poor patient oxen straining and pulling up the grade +those huge wagons so heavily loaded. The crunching and groaning of the +wagons, rattling of the enormous cable chains, and the creaking of the +heavy yokes of the oxen were awful sounds, but above all came the yells +of the drivers, and the sharp, pistol-like reports of the long whips +that they mercilessly cracked over the backs of the poor beasts. It was +most distressing. + +After the wagons had all passed, men came back and set the stage on +the road in the same indifferent way and with very few words. Each man +seemed to know just what to do, as though he had been training for years +for the moving of that particular stage. The horses had not stirred and +had paid no attention to the yelling and cracking of whips. While coming +through the canons we must have met six or seven of those trains, every +one of which necessitated the setting in mid-air of the stage coach. It +was the same performance always, each man knowing just what to do, and +doing it, too, without loss of time. Not once did the driver put down +the reins until he saw that "the lady" was safely out and it was ever +with the same sing-song, "balance to the right," voice that he asked +about me--except once, when he seemed to think more emphasis was needed, +when he made the canon ring by yelling, "Why in hell don't you get the +lady out!" But the lady always got herself out. Rough as he was, I felt +intuitively that I had a protector. We stopped at Rock Creek for dinner, +and there he saw that I had the best of everything, and it was the same +at Spitzler's, where we had supper. + +We got fresh horses at The Leavings, and when I saw a strange driver on +the seat my heart sank, fearing that from there on I might not have +the same protection. We were at a large ranch--sort of an inn--and just +beyond was Frozen Hill. The hill was given that name because a number of +years ago a terrible blizzard struck some companies of infantry while +on it, and before they could get to the valley below, or to a place of +shelter, one half of the men were more or less frozen--some losing legs, +some arms. They had been marching in thin clothing that was more or +less damp from perspiration, as the day had been excessively hot. These +blizzards are so fierce and wholly blinding, it is unsafe to move a step +if caught out in one on the plains, and the troops probably lost their +bearings as soon as the storm struck them. + +It was almost dark when we got in the stage to go on, and I thought it +rather queer that the driver should have asked us to go to the corral, +instead of his driving around to the ranch for us. Very soon we were +seated, but we did not start, and there seemed to be something wrong, +judging by the way the stage was being jerked, and one could feel, too, +that the brake was on. One by one those men got out, and just as the +last one stepped down on one side the heads of two cream-colored horses +appeared at the open door on the other side, their big troubled eyes +looking straight at me. + +During my life on the frontier I have seen enough of native horses to +know that when a pair of excited mustang leaders try to get inside a +stage, it is time for one to get out, so I got out! One of those men +passengers instantly called to me, "You stay in there!" I asked, "Why?" +"Because it is perfectly safe," said a second man. I was very indignant +at being spoken to in this way and turned my back to them. The driver +got the leaders in position, and then looking around, said to me that +when the balky wheelers once started they would run up the hill "like +the devil," and I would surely be left unless I was inside the stage. + +I knew that he was telling the truth, and if he had been the first man +to tell me to get in the coach I would have done so at once, but it so +happened that he was the fourth, and by that time I was beginning to +feel abused. It was bad enough to have to obey just one man, when +at home, and then to have four strange men--three of them idiots, +too--suddenly take upon themselves to order me around was not to be +endured. I had started on the trip with the expectation of taking care +of myself, and still felt competent to do so. Perhaps I was very tired, +and perhaps I was very cross. At all events I told the driver I would +not get in--that if I was left I would go back to the ranch. So I stayed +outside, taking great care, however, to stand close to the stage door. + +The instant I heard the loosening of the brake I jumped up on the step, +and catching a firm hold each side of the door, was about to step in +when one of those men passengers grabbed my arm and tried to jerk me +back, so he could get in ahead of me! It was a dreadful thing for anyone +to do, for if my hands and arms had not been unusually strong from +riding hard-mouthed horses, I would undoubtedly have been thrown +underneath the big wheels and horribly crushed, for the four horses were +going at a terrific gait, and the jerky was swaying like a live thing. +As it was, anger and indignation gave me extra strength and I scrambled +inside with nothing more serious happening than a bruised head. But that +man! He pushed in back of me and, not knowing the nice little ways of +jerkies, was pitched forward to the floor with an awful thud. But after +a second or so he pulled himself up on his seat, which was opposite +mine, and there we two sat in silence and in darkness. I noticed the +next morning that there was a big bruise on one side of his face, at the +sight of which I rejoiced very much. + +It was some distance this side of the hill when the driver stopped his +horses and waited for the two men who had been left. They seemed much +exhausted when they came up, but found sufficient breath to abuse the +driver for having left them; but he at once roared out, "Get in, I +tell you, or I'll leave you sure enough!" That settled matters, and we +started on again. Very soon those men fell asleep and rolled off their +seats to the floor, where they snored and had bad dreams. I was jammed +in a corner without mercy, and of course did not sleep one second during +the long wretched night. Twice we stopped for fresh horses, and at both +places I walked about a little to rest my cramped feet and limbs. At +breakfast the next morning I asked the driver to let me ride on top with +him, which he consented to, and from there on to Benton I had peace and +fresh air--the glorious air of Montana. + +Yesterday--the day after I got here--I was positively ill from the awful +shaking up, mental as well as physical, I received on that stage ride. +We reached Benton at eleven. Faye was at the hotel with an ambulance +when the stage drove up, and it was amusing to look at the faces of +those men when they saw Faye in his uniform, and the government outfit. +We started for camp at once, and left them standing on the hotel porch +watching us as we drove down the street. It is a pity that such men +cannot be compelled to serve at least one enlistment in the Army, and be +drilled into something that resembles a real man. But perhaps recruiting +officers would not accept them. + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY, October, 1878. + +MY stay at the little town of Sun River Crossing was short, for when +I arrived there the other day in the stage from Benton, I found a note +awaiting me from Mrs. Bourke, saying that I must come right on to Fort +Shaw, so I got back in the stage and came to the post, a distance of +five miles, where General Bourke was on the lookout for me. He is in +command of the regiment as well as the post, as Colonel Fitz-James is +still in Europe. Of course regimental headquarters and the band are +here, which makes the garrison seem very lively to me. The band is out +at guard mounting every pleasant morning, and each Friday evening there +is a fine concert in the hall by the orchestra, after which we have a +little dance. The sun shines every day, but the air is cool and crisp +and one feels that ice and snow are not very far off. + +The order for the two companies on the Marias to return to the Milk +River country was most unexpected. That old villain Sitting Bull, chief +of the Sioux Indians, made an official complaint to the "Great Father" +that the half-breeds were on land that belonged to his people, and were +killing buffalo that were theirs also. So the companies have been sent +up to arrest the half-breeds and conduct them to Fort Belknap, and to +break up their villages and burn their cabins. The officers disliked the +prospect of doing all this very much, for there must be many women and +little children among them. Just how long it will take no one can tell, +but probably three or four weeks. + +And while Faye is away I am staying with General and Mrs. Bourke. I +cannot have a house until he comes, for quarters cannot be assigned +to an officer until he has reported for duty at a post. There are two +companies of the old garrison here still, and this has caused much +doubling up among the lieutenants--that is, assigning one set of +quarters to two officers--but it has been arranged so we can be by +ourselves. Four rooms at one end of the hospital have been cut off from +the hospital proper by a heavy partition that has been put up at the +end of the long corridor, and these rooms are now being calcimined and +painted. They were originally intended for the contract surgeon. We will +have our own little porch and entrance hall and a nice yard back of the +kitchen. It will all be so much more private and comfortable in every +way than it could possibly have been in quarters with another family. + +It is delightful to be in a nicely furnished, well-regulated house once +more. The buildings are all made of adobe, and the officers' quarters +have low, broad porches in front, and remind me a little of the houses +at Fort Lyon, only of course these are larger and have more rooms. There +are nice front yards, and on either side of the officers' walk is a +row of beautiful cottonwood trees that form a complete arch. They are +watered by an acequia that brings water from Sun River several miles +above the post. The post is built along the banks of that river but I +do not see from what it derived its name, for the water is muddy all the +time. The country about here is rather rolling, but there are two large +buttes--one called Square Butte that is really grand, and the other is +Crown Butte. The drives up and down the river are lovely, and I think +that Bettie and I will soon have many pleasant mornings together on +these roads. After the slow dignified drives I am taking almost every +day, I wonder how her skittish, affected ways will seem to me! + +I am so glad to be with the regiment again--that is, with old friends, +although seeing them in a garrison up in the Rocky Mountains is very +different from the life in a large city in the far South! Four companies +are still at Fort Missoula, where the major of the regiment is in +command. Our commanding officer and his wife were there also during the +winter, therefore those of us who were at Helena and Camp Baker, feel +that we must entertain them in some way. Consequently, now that everyone +is settled, the dining and wining has begun. Almost every day there is +a dinner or card party given in their honor, and several very delightful +luncheons have been given. And then the members of the old garrison, +according to army etiquette, have to entertain those that have just +come, so altogether we are very gay. The dinners are usually quite +elegant, formal affairs, beautifully served with dainty china and +handsome silver. The officers appear at these in full-dress uniform, and +that adds much to the brilliancy of things, but not much to the comfort +of the officers, I imagine. + +Everyone is happy in the fall, after the return of the companies from +their hard and often dangerous summer campaign, and settles down for the +winter. It is then that we feel we can feast and dance, and it is then, +too, that garrison life at a frontier post becomes so delightful. We +are all very fond of dancing, so I think that Faye and I will give a +cotillon later on. In fact, it is about all we can do while living in +those four rooms. + +We have Episcopal service each alternate Sunday, when the Rev. Mr. Clark +comes from Helena, a distance of eighty-five miles, to hold one service +for the garrison here and one at the very small village of Sun River. +And once more Major Pierce and I are in the same choir. Doctor Gordon +plays the organ, and beautifully, too. For some time he was organist in +a church at Washington, and of course knows the service perfectly. Our +star, however, is a sergeant! He came to this country with an opera +troupe, but an attack of diphtheria ruined his voice for the stage, so +he enlisted! His voice (barytone) is still of exquisite quality, and +just the right volume for our hall. + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY, January, 1879. + +THERE has been so much going on in the garrison, and so much for me to +attend to in getting the house settled, I have not had time to +write more than the note I sent about dear little Billie. I miss him +dreadfully, for, small as he was, he was always doing something cunning, +always getting into mischief. He died the day we moved to this house, +and it hurts even now when I think of how I was kept from caring for him +the last day of his short life. And he wanted to be with me, too, for +when I put him in his box he would cling to my fingers and try to get +back to me. It is such a pity that we ever cracked his nuts. His lower +teeth had grown to perfect little tusks that had bored a hole in the +roof of his mouth. As soon as that was discovered, we had them cut off, +but it was too late--the little grayback would not eat. + +We are almost settled now, and Sam, our Chinese cook, is doing +splendidly. At first there was trouble, and I had some difficulty in +convincing him that I was mistress of my own house and not at all afraid +of him. Cagey has gone back to Holly Springs. He had become utterly +worthless during the summer camp, where he had almost nothing to do. + +Our little entertainment for the benefit of the mission here was a +wonderful success. Every seat was occupied, every corner packed, and we +were afraid that the old theater might collapse. We made eighty dollars, +clear of all expenses. The tableaux were first, so the small people +could be sent home early. Then came our pantomime. Sergeant Thompson +sang the words and the orchestra played a soft accompaniment that made +the whole thing most effective. Major Pierce was a splendid Villikins, +and as Dinah I received enough applause to satisfy anyone, but the +curtain remained down, motionless and unresponsive, just because I +happened to be the wife of the stage manager! + +The prison scene and Miserere from Il Trovatore were beautiful. Sergeant +Mann instructed each one of the singers, and the result was far beyond +our expectations. Of course the fine orchestra of twenty pieces was a +great addition and support. Our duet was not sung, because I was seized +with an attack of stage fright at the last rehearsal, so Sergeant Mann +sang an exquisite solo in place of the duet, which was ever so much +nicer. I was with Mrs. Joyce in one scene of her pantomime, "John +Smith," which was far and away the best part of the entertainment. Mrs. +Joyce was charming, and showed us what a really fine actress she is. The +enlisted men went to laugh, and they kept up a good-natured clapping and +laughing from first to last. + +It was surprising that so many of the Sun River and ranch people came, +for the night was terrible, even for Montana, and the roads must have +been impassable in places. Even here in the post there were great drifts +of snow, and the path to the theater was cut through banks higher than +our heads. It had been mild and pleasant for weeks, and only two nights +before the entertainment we had gone to the hall for rehearsal with +fewer wraps than usual. We had been there about an hour, I think, when +the corporal of the guard came in to report to the officer of the day, +that a fierce blizzard was making it impossible for sentries to walk +post. His own appearance told better than words what the storm was. He +had on a long buffalo coat, muskrat cap and gauntlets, and the fur from +his head down, also heavy overshoes, were filled with snow, and at each +end of his mustache were icicles hanging. He made a fine, soldierly +picture as he brought his rifle to his side and saluted. The officer +of the day hurried out, and after a time returned, he also smothered +in furs and snow. He said the storm was terrific and he did not see how +many of us could possibly get to our homes. + +But of course we could not remain in the hall until the blizzard had +ceased, so after rehearsing a little more, we wrapped ourselves up as +well as we could and started for our homes. The wind was blowing at +hurricane speed, I am sure, and the heavy fall of snow was being carried +almost horizontally, and how each frozen flake did sting! Those of us +who lived in the garrison could not go very far astray, as the fences +were on one side and banks of snow on the other, but the light snow had +already drifted in between and made walking very slow and difficult. We +all got to our different homes finally, with no greater mishap than +a few slightly frozen ears and noses. Snow had banked up on the floor +inside of our front door so high that for a few minutes Faye and I +thought that we could not get in the house. + +Major Pierce undertook to see Mrs. Elmer safely to her home at the +sutler's store, and in order to get there they were obliged to cross a +wide space in between the officers' line and the store. Nothing could be +seen ten feet from them when they left the last fence, but they tried +to get their bearings by the line of the fence, and closing their eyes, +dashed ahead into the cloud of blinding, stinging snow. Major Pierce +had expected to go straight to a side door of the store, but the awful +strength of the wind and snow pushed them over, and they struck a corner +of the fence farthest away--in fact, they would have missed the fence +also if Mrs. Elmer's fur cape had not caught on one of the pickets, and +gone out on the plains to certain death. Bright lights had been placed +in the store windows, but not one had they seen. These storms kill so +many range cattle, but the most destructive of all is a freeze after a +chinook, that covers the ground with ice so it is impossible for them +to get to the grass. At such times the poor animals suffer cruelly. We +often hear them lowing, sometimes for days, and can easily imagine that +we see the starving beasts wandering on and on, ever in search of an +uncovered bit of grass. The lowing of hundreds of cattle on a cold +winter night is the most horrible sound one can imagine. + +Cold as it is, I ride Bettie almost every day, but only on the high +ground where the snow has been blown off. We are a funny sight sometimes +when we come in--Bettie's head, neck, and chest white with her frozen +breath, icicles two or three inches long hanging from each side of her +chin, and my fur collar and cap white also. I wear a sealskin cap with +broad ear tabs, long sealskin gauntlets that keep my hands and arms +warm, and high leggings and moccasins of beaver, but with the fur +inside, which makes them much warmer. A tight chamois skin waist +underneath my cadet-cloth habit and a broad fur collar completes a +riding costume that keeps me warm without being bungling. I found a +sealskin coat too warm and heavy. + +No one will ride now and they do not know what fine exercise they are +missing. And I am sure that Bettie is glad to get her blood warm once +during the twenty-four hours. Friends kindly tell me that some day I +will be found frozen out on the plains, and that the frisky Bettie +will kill me, and so on. I ride too fast to feel the cold, and Bettie I +enjoy--all but the airs she assumes inside the post. Our house is near +the center of the officers' line, and no matter which way I go or what +I do, that little beast can never be made to walk one step until we get +out on the road, but insists upon going sideways, tossing her head, +and giving little rears. It looks so affected and makes me feel very +foolish, particularly since Mrs. Conger said to me the other day: "Why +do you make your horse dance that way--he might throw you." I then asked +her if she would not kindly ride Bettie a few times and teach her to +keep her feet down. But she said it was too cold to go out! + +We have much more room in this house than we had in the hospital, and +are more comfortable every way. Almost every day or evening there is +some sort of an entertainment--german, dinner, luncheon, or card party. +I am so glad that we gave the first cotillon that had ever been given +in the regiment, for it was something new on the frontier; therefore +everyone enjoyed it. Just now the garrison seems to have gone cotillon +crazy, and not being satisfied with a number of private ones, a german +club has been organized that gives dances in the hall every two weeks. +So far Faye has been the leader of each one. With all this pleasure, the +soldiers are not being neglected. Every morning there are drills and a +funny kind of target practice inside the quarters, and of course there +are inspections and other things. + +FORT ELLIS, MONTANA TERRITORY, January, 1879. + +IT is still cold, stinging cold, and we are beginning to think +that there was much truth in what we were told on our way over last +fall--that Fort Ellis is the very coldest place in the whole territory. +For two days the temperature was fifty below, and I can assure you +that things hummed! The logs of our house made loud reports like pistol +shots, and there was frost on the walls of every room that were not near +roaring fires. No one ventures forth such weather unless compelled to +do so, and then, of course, every precaution is taken to guard against +freezing. In this altitude one will freeze before feeling the cold, as +I know from experience, having at the present time two fiery red ears of +enormous size. They are fiery in feeling, too, as well as in color. + +The atmosphere looks like frozen mist, and is wonderful, and almost at +any time between sunrise and sunset a "sun dog" can be seen with its +scintillating rainbow tints, that are brilliant yet exquisitely delicate +in coloring. Our houses are really very warm--the thick logs are +plastered inside and papered, every window has a storm sash and every +room a double floor, and our big stoves can burn immense logs. But +notwithstanding all this, our greatest trial is to keep things to eat. +Everything freezes solid, and so far we have not found one edible that +is improved by freezing. It must be awfully discouraging to a cook to +find on a biting cold morning, that there is not one thing in the house +that can be prepared for breakfast until it has passed through the +thawing process; that even the water in the barrels has become solid, +round pieces of ice! All along the roof of one side of our house are +immense icicles that almost touch the snow on the ground. These are a +reminder of the last chinook! + +But only last week it was quite pleasant--not real summery, but warm +enough for one to go about in safety. Faye came down from the saw-mill +one of those days to see the commanding officer about something and to +get the mail. When he was about to start back, in fact, was telling me +good-by, I happened to say that I wished I could go, too. Faye said: +"You could not stand the exposure, but you might wear my little fur +coat" Suggesting the coat was a give-in that I at once took advantage +of, and in precisely twenty minutes Charlie, our Chinese cook, had been +told what to do, a few articles of clothing wrapped and strapped, and +I on Bettie's back ready for the wilds. An old soldier on a big corral +horse was our only escort, and to his saddle were fastened our various +bags and bundles. + +Far up a narrow valley that lies in between two mountain ranges, the +government has a saw-mill that is worked by twenty or more soldiers +under the supervision of an officer, where lumber can be cut when needed +for the post. One of these ranges is very high, and Mount Bridger, first +of the range and nearest Fort Ellis, along whose base we had to go, has +snow on its top most of the year. Often when wind is not noticeable at +the post, we can see the light snow being blown with terrific force +from the peak of this mountain for hundreds of yards in a perfectly +horizontal line, when it will spread out and fall in a magnificent spray +another two or three hundred feet. + +The mill is sixteen miles from Fort Ellis, and the snow was very +deep--so deep in places that the horses had difficulty in getting their +feet forward, and as we got farther up, the valley narrowed into a +ravine where the snow was even deeper. There was no road or even trail +to be seen; the bark on trees had been cut to mark the way, but far +astray we could not have gone unless we had deliberately ridden up the +side of a mountain. The only thing that resembled a house along the +sixteen miles was a deserted cabin about half way up, and which only +accentuated the awful loneliness. + +Bettie had been standing in the stable for several days, and that, with +the biting cold air in the valley, made her entirely too frisky, and she +was very nervous, too, over the deep snow that held her feet down. We +went Indian file--I always in the middle--as there were little grades +and falling-off places all along that were hidden by the snow, and I was +cautioned constantly by Faye and Bryant to keep my horse in line. The +snow is very fine and dry in this altitude, and never packs as it does +in a more moist atmosphere. + +When we had ridden about one half the distance up we came to a little +hill, at the bottom of which was known to be a bridge that crossed the +deep-cut banks of one of those mountain streams that are dry eleven +months of the year and raging torrents the twelfth, when the snow melts. +It so happened that Faye did not get on this bridge just right, so down +in the light snow he and Pete went, and all that we could see of them +were Faye's head and shoulders and the head of the horse with the awful +bulging eyes! Poor Pete was terribly frightened, and floundered about +until he nearly buried himself in snow as he tried to find something +solid upon which to put his feet. + +I was just back of Faye when he went down, but the next instant I had +retreated to the top of the hill, and had to use all the strength in my +arms to avoid being brought back to the post. When Bettie saw Pete go +down, she whirled like a flash and with two or three bounds was on +top of the hill again. She was awfully frightened and stood close to +Bryant's horse, trembling all over. Poor Bryant did not know what to do +or which one to assist, so I told him to go down and get the lieutenant +up on the bank and I would follow. Just how Faye got out of his +difficulty I did not see, for I was too busy attending to my own +affairs. Bettie acted as though she was bewitched, and go down to the +bridge she would not. Finally, when I was about tired out, Faye said we +must not waste more time there and that I had better ride Pete. + +So I dismounted and the saddles were changed, and then there was more +trouble. Pete had never been ridden by a woman before, and thinking, +perhaps, that his sudden one-sidedness was a part of the bridge +performance, at once protested by jumps and lunges, but he soon quieted +down and we started on again. Bettie danced a little with Faye, but +that was all. She evidently remembered her lost battle with him at Camp +Baker. + +It was almost dark when we reached the saw-mill, and as soon as it +became known that I was with the "lieutenant" every man sprang up from +some place underneath the snow to look at me, and two or three ran over +to assist Bryant with our things. It was awfully nice to know that I was +a person of importance, even if it was out in a camp in the mountains +where probably a woman had never been before. The little log cabin built +for officers had only the one long room, with large, comfortable bunk, +two tables, chairs, a "settle" of pine boards, and near one end of the +room was a box stove large enough to heat two rooms of that size. By the +time my stiffened body could get inside, the stove had been filled to +the top with pine wood that roared and crackled in a most cheerful and +inviting manner. + +But the snow out there! I do not consider it advisable to tell the exact +truth, so I will simply say that it was higher than the cabin, but that +for some reason it had left an open space of about three feet all around +the logs, and that gave us air and light through windows which had been +thoughtfully placed unusually high. The long stable, built against +a bank, where the horses and mules were kept, was entirely buried +underneath the snow, and you would never have dreamed that there was +anything whatever there unless you had seen the path that had been +shoveled down to the door. The cabin the men lived in, I did not see at +all. We were in a ravine where the pine forest was magnificent, but one +could see that the trees were shortened many feet by the great depth of +snow. + +Our meals were brought to us by Bryant from the soldiers' mess, and as +the cook was only a pick-up, they were often a mess indeed, but every +effort was made to have them nice. The day after we got there the cook +evidently made up his mind that some recognition should be shown of +the honor of my presence in the woods, so he made a big fat pie for my +dinner. It was really fat, for the crust must have been mostly of lard, +and the poor man had taken much pains with the decorations of twisted +rings and little balls that were on the top. It really looked very nice +as Bryant set it down on the table in front of me, with an air that the +most dignified of butlers might have envied, and said, "Compliments +of the cook, ma'am!" Of course I was, and am still, delighted with the +attention from the cook, but for some reason I was suspicious of that +pie, it was so very high up, so I continued to talk about it admiringly +until after Bryant had gone from the cabin, and then I tried to cut it! +The filling--and there was an abundance--was composed entirely of big, +hard raisins that still had their seeds in. The knife could not cut +them, so they rolled over on the table and on the floor, much like +marbles. I scooped out a good-sized piece as well as I could, gathered +up the runaway raisins, and then--put it in the stove. + +And this I did at every dinner while I was there, almost trembling each +time for fear Bryant would come in and discover how the pie was being +disposed of. It lasted long, for I could not cut off a piece for Faye, +as Bryant had given us to understand in the beginning that the chef +d'oeuvre was for me only. + +Nothing pleases me more than to have the enlisted men pay me some +little attention, and when the day after the pie a beautiful little gray +squirrel was brought to me in a nice airy box, I was quite overcome. +He is very much like Billie in size and color, which seems remarkable, +since Billie was from the far South and this little fellow from the far +North. I wanted to take him out of the box at once, but the soldier said +he would bite, and having great respect for the teeth of a squirrel, I +let him stay in his prison while we were out there. + +The first time I let him out after we got home he was frantic, and +jumped on the mantel, tables, and chairs, scattering things right and +left. Finally he started to run up a lace window curtain back of the +sewing machine. On top of the machine was a plate of warm cookies +that Charlie had just brought to me, and getting a sniff of those the +squirrel stopped instantly, hesitated just a second, and then over he +jumped, took a cookie with his paws and afterwards held it with his +teeth until he had settled himself comfortably, when he again took it +in his paws and proceeded to eat with the greatest relish. After he had +eaten all he very well could, he hid the rest back of the curtain in +quite an at-home way. There was nothing at all wonderful in all this, +except that the squirrel was just from the piney woods where warm sugar +cakes are unknown, so how did he know they were good to eat? + +I was at the saw-mill four days, and then we all came in together and on +bob sleds. There were four mules for each sleigh, so not much attention +was paid to the great depth of snow. Both horses knew when we got to +the bridge and gave Bryant trouble. Every bit of the trail out had +been obliterated by drifting snow, and I still wonder how these animals +recognized the precise spot when the snow was level in every place. + +We found the house in excellent order, and consider our new Chinaman +a treasure. A few days before Faye went to the mill I made some Boston +brown bread. I always make that myself, as I fancy I can make it very +good, but for some reason I was late in getting it on to steam that +day, so when I went to the kitchen to put it in the oven I found a +much-abused Chinaman. When he saw what I was about to do he became very +angry and his eyes looked green. He said, "You no put him in l'oven." +I said, "Yes, Charlie, I have to for one hour." He said, "You no care +workman, you sploil my dee-nee, you get some other boy." + +Now Charlie was an excellent servant and I did not care to lose him, but +to take that bread out was not to be considered. I would no longer have +been mistress of my own house, so I told him quietly, "Very well," and +closed the oven door with great deliberation. The dinner was a little +better than usual, and I wondered all the time what the outcome would +be. I knew that he was simply piqued because I had not let him make the +bread. After his work was all done he came in and said, with a smile +that was almost a grin, "I go now--I send 'nother boy," and go he did. +But the "other boy" came in time to give us a delicious breakfast, and +everything went on just the same as when old Charlie was here. He is in +Bozeman and comes to see us often. + +This Charlie takes good care of my chickens that are my pride and +delight. There are twenty, and every one is snow white; some have heavy +round topknots. I found them at different ranches. It is so cold here +that chicken roosts have to be covered with strips of blanket and made +flat and broad, so the feathers will cover the chickens' feet, otherwise +they will be frozen. It is a treat to have fresh eggs, and without +having to pay a dollar and a half per dozen for them. That is the price +we have paid for eggs almost ever since we came to the Territory. + +FORT ELLIS, MONTANA TERRITORY, June, 1880. + +EVERYTHING is packed and on the wagons--that is, all but the camp outfit +which we will use on the trip over--and in the morning we will start +on our way back to Fort Shaw. With the furniture that belongs to the +quarters and the camp things, we were so comfortable in our own house +we decided that there was no necessity to go to Mrs. Adams's, except +for dinner and breakfast, although both General and Mrs. Adams have been +most hospitable and kind. + +The way these two moves have come about seems very funny to me. Faye +was ordered over here to command C Company when it was left without an +officer, because he was senior second lieutenant in the regiment and +entitled to it. The captain of this company has been East on recruiting +service, and has just been relieved by Colonel Knight, captain of Faye's +company at Shaw; as that company is now without an officer, the senior +second lieutenant has to return and command his own company. This +recognition of a little rank has been expensive to us, and disagreeable +too. The lieutenants are constantly being moved about, often details +that apparently do not amount to much but which take much of their small +salary. + +The Chinaman is going with us, for which I am most thankful, and at his +request we have decided to take the white chickens. Open boxes have been +made specially for them that fit on the rear ends of the wagons, and +we think they will be very comfortable--but we will certainly look like +emigrants when on the road. The two squirrels will go also. The men of +the company have sent me three squirrels during the winter. The dearest +one of all had been injured and lived only a few days. The flying +squirrel is the least interesting and seems stupid. It will lie around +and sleep during the entire day, but at dark will manage to get on some +high perch and flop down on your shoulder or head when you least expect +it and least desire it, too. The little uncanny thing cannot fly, +really, but the webs enable it to take tremendous leaps. I expect +that it looks absurd for us to be taking across the country a small +menagerie, but the squirrels were presents, and of course had to go, and +the chickens are beautiful, and give us quantities of eggs. Besides, if +we had left the chickens, Charlie might not have gone, for he feeds them +and watches over them as if they were his very own, and looks very cross +if the striker gives them even a little corn. + +Night before last an unusually pleasant dancing party was given by +Captain McAndrews, when Faye and I were guests of honor. It was such a +surprise to us, and so kind in Captain McAndrews to give it, for he is a +bachelor. Supper was served in his own quarters, but dancing was in the +vacant set adjoining. The rooms were beautifully decorated with flags, +and the fragrant cedar and spruce. Mrs. Adams, wife of the commanding +officer, superintended all of the arrangements and also assisted in +receiving. The supper was simply delicious--as all army suppers are--and +I fancy that she and other ladies of the garrison were responsible for +the perfect salads and cakes. + +The orchestra was from Bozeman, so the music was very good. Quite a +party of young people also, many of them friends of ours, came up from +Bozeman, which not only swelled the number of guests, but gave life to +the dance, for in a small garrison like this the number of partners is +limited. The country about here is beautiful now; the snow is melting +on the mountains, and there is such a lovely green every place, I almost +wish that we might have remained until fall, for along the valleys and +through the canons there are grand trails for horseback riding, while +Fort Shaw has nothing of the kind. + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY, July, 1880. + +WE are with the commanding officer and his wife for a few days while our +house is being settled. Every room has just been painted and tinted and +looks so clean and bright. The Chinaman, squirrels, and chickens are +there now, and are already very much at home, and Charlie is delighted +that the chickens are so much admired. + +The first part of the trip over was simply awful! The morning was +beautiful when we left Ellis--warm and sunny--and everybody came to see +us oft. We started in fine spirits, and all went well for ten or twelve +miles, when we got to the head waters of the Missouri, where the three +small rivers, Gallatin, Jefferson, and Madison join and make the one big +river. The drive through the forest right there is usually delightful, +and although we knew that the water was high in the Gallatin by Fort +Ellis, we were wholly unprepared for the scene that confronted us when +we reached the valley. Not one inch of ground could be seen--nothing +but the trees surrounded; by yellow, muddy water that showed quite a +current. + +The regular stage road has been made higher than the ground because of +these July freshets, when the snow is melting on the mountains, but it +was impossible to keep on it, as its many turns could not be seen, +and it would not have helped much either, as the water was deep. The +ambulance was in the lead, of course, so we were in all the excitement +of exploring unseen ground. The driver would urge the mules, and if the +leaders did not go down, very good--we would go on, perhaps a few yards. +If they did go down enough to show that it was dangerous that way, he +would turn them in another direction and try there. Sometimes it was +necessary almost to turn around in order to keep upon the higher +ground. In this way mules and drivers worked until four o'clock in +the afternoon, the dirty water often coming up over the floor of the +ambulance, and many times it looked as if we could not go on one step +farther without being upset in the mud and water. + +But at four we reached an island, where there was a small house and a +stable for the stage relay horses, and not far beyond was another island +where Faye decided to camp for the night. It was the only thing he +could have done. He insisted upon my staying at the house, but I finally +convinced him that the proper place for me was in camp, and I went on +with him. The island was very small, and the highest point above water +could not have been over two feet. Of course everything had to be +upon it--horses, mules, wagons, drivers, Faye and I, and the two small +squirrels, and the chickens also. In addition to our own traveling +menagerie there were native inhabitants of that island--millions and +millions of mosquitoes, each one with a sharp appetite and sharp sting. +We thought that we had learned all about vicious mosquitoes while in the +South, but the Southern mosquitoes are slow and caressing in comparison +to those Montana things. + +It was very warm, and the Chinaman felt sorry for the chickens shut up +in the boxes, where fierce quarrels seemed to be going on all the time. +So after he had fed them we talked it over, and decided to let them +out, as they could not possibly get away from us across the big body of +water. There were twenty large chickens in one big box, and twenty-seven +small ones that had been brought in a long box by themselves. Well, +Charlie and one of the men got the boxes down and opened them. At once +the four or five mother hens clucked and scratched and kept on clucking +until the little chicks were let out, when every one of them ran to its +own mother, and each hen strutted off with her own brood. That is the +absolute truth, but is not all. When night came the chickens went back +to their boxes to roost--all but the small ones. Those were left outside +with their mothers, and just before daylight Charlie raised a great +commotion when he put them up for the day's trip. + +When we were about ready to start in the morning, a man came over from +the house and told Faye that he would pilot us through the rest of the +water, that it was very dangerous in places, where the road had been +built up, and if a narrow route was not carefully followed, a team would +go down a bank of four or five feet. He had with him just the skeleton +of a wagon--the four wheels with two or three long boards on top, drawn +by two horses. So we went down in the dirty water again, that seemed to +get deeper and deeper as we splashed on. + +Now and then I could catch a glimpse of our pilot standing up on the +boards very much like a circus rider, for the wagon wheels were twisting +around over the roots of trees and stones, in a way that required +careful balancing on his part. We got along very well until about noon, +when a soldier came splashing up on a mule and told Faye that one of the +wagons had turned over! That was dreadful news and made me most anxious +about the trunks and chests, and the poor chickens, too, all of which +might be down under the water. + +They got the ambulance under some trees, unfastened the mules and led +them away, leaving me alone, without even the driver. The soldier had +thoughtfully led up Pete for Faye to ride back, and the mules were +needed to assist in pulling the wagon up. Fortunately the wagon was +caught by a tree and did not go entirely over, and it so happened, too, +that it was the one loaded more with furniture than anything else, so +not much damage was done. + +Our pilot had left us some time before, to hurry on and get any +passengers that might come in the stage that runs daily between Helena +and Bozeman. As soon as I began to look around a little after I was left +alone in the ambulance, I discovered that not so very far ahead was an +opening in the trees and bushes, and that a bit of beautiful dry land +could be seen. I was looking at it with longing eyes when suddenly +something came down the bank and on into the water, and not being +particularly brave, I thought of the unprotected position I was in. But +the terrible monster turned out to be our pilot, and as he came nearer, +I saw that he had something on the wagon--whether men or women or mere +bags of stuff I could not tell. + +But in time he got near enough for me to see that two men were with +him--most miserable, scared tourists--both standing up on the seesawing +boards, the first with arms around the pilot's neck, and the second with +his arms around him. They were dressed very much alike, each one +having on his head an immaculate white straw hat, and over his coat +a long--very long--linen duster, and they both had on gloves! Their +trousers were pulled up as high as they could get them, giving a fine +display of white hose and low shoes. The last one was having additional +woe, for one leg of his trousers was slipping down, and of course it was +impossible for him to pull it up and keep his balance. Every turn of +the wheels the thick yellow water was being spattered on them, and I can +imagine the condition they were in by the time they reached the little +inn on the island. The pilot thought they were funny, too, for when he +passed he grinned and jerked his head back to call my attention to them. +He called to know what had happened to me, and I told him that I was a +derelict, and he would ascertain the cause farther on. + +After a while--it seemed hours to me--Faye and the wagons came up, and +in time we got out of the awful mess and on dry land. It was the Fourth +of July, and we all wished for a gun or something that would make a loud +noise wherewith we could celebrate--not so much the day as our +rejoicing at getting out of the wilderness. The men were in a deplorable +condition, wet and tired, for no one had been able to sleep the night +before because of the vicious mosquitoes and the stamping of the poor +animals. So, when Faye saw one of the drivers go to a spring for water, +and was told that it was a large, fine spring, he decided to camp right +there and rest before going farther. + +But rest we could not, for the mosquitoes were there also, and almost +as bad as they had been on the island, and the tents inside were covered +with them as soon as they were pitched. If there is a person who thinks +that a mosquito has no brain, and is incapable of looking ahead, that +person will soon learn his mistake if ever he comes to the Missouri +River, Montana! The heat was fierce, too, and made it impossible for us +to remain in the tents, so we were obliged, after all, to sit out under +the trees until the air had cooled at night sufficiently to chill the +mosquitoes. + +The chickens were let out at every camp, and each time, without fail, +they flew up to their boxes on the wagons. Charlie would put in little +temporary roosts, that made them more comfortable, and before daylight +every morning he would gather up the little ones and the mothers and +put them in the crates for the day. He is willing and faithful, but has +queer ideas about some things. Just as I was getting in the ambulance +the second morning on the trip, I heard a crunching sound and then +another, and looking back, I saw the Chinaman on top of the mess chest +with head bent over and elbows sticking out, jumping up and down with +all his strength. + +I ran over and told him not to do so, for I saw at once what was the +matter. But he said, "He velly blig--he no go downee--me flixee him," +and up and down he went again, harder than ever. After a lengthy +argument he got down, and I showed him once more how to put the things +in so the top would shut tight. There were a good many pieces of broken +china, and these Charlie pitched over in the water with a grin that +plainly said, "You see--me flixee you!" Of course the soldiers saw it +all and laughed heartily, which made Charlie very angry, and gave him a +fine opportunity to express himself in Chinese. The rest of the trip was +pleasant, and some of the camps were delightful, but I am afraid that I +no longer possess beautiful white chickens--my Chinaman seems to be the +owner of all, big and small. + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY, August, 1880. + +THE company has been ordered to "proceed without delay" to Fort +Maginnis, a post that is just being established, and to assist another +company in building temporary log quarters. The other company will go +from Fort Missoula, and has to remain at the new post during the winter, +but Faye's company will return here in November. We were all ready to go +to the Yellowstone Park next week with General and Mrs. Bourke, but this +order from Department Headquarters upsets everything. The company was +designated there, and go it must, although Faye has been at Fort Shaw +only six weeks. He has command, of course, as Colonel Knight is East on +recruiting service, and the first lieutenant is abroad. + +General and Mrs. Bourke could not understand at first why I would not +go with them to the park, just the same, but I understood perfectly, and +said at once that I would go to Maginnis with Faye. For, to go in one +direction where there is only a weekly mail, and Faye to go in another +direction where there is no mail at all, and through an Indian country, +was not to be considered one second. I was half afraid that the +commanding officer might forbid my going with Faye, as he could have +done, but he did not, and when he saw that I could not be persuaded to +change my mind, an ambulance was ordered to go with the command, so I +can have a shelter when it storms, for I shall ride Bettie on the trip. + +The distance over is one hundred and fifty miles right across mountains +and valleys, and there will be only a faint trail to guide us, and I am +anticipating great delight in such a long horseback ride through a wild +country. We will have everything for our comfort, too. Faye will be in +command, and that means much, and a young contract surgeon, who has been +recently appointed, will go with us, and our Chinese cook will go also. +I have always wanted to take a trip of this kind, and know that it +will be like one long picnic, only much nicer. I never cared for real +picnics--they always have so much headache with them. We have very +little to do for the march as our camp outfit is in unusually fine +condition. After Charlie's "flixee" so much mess-chest china, Faye had +made to order a complete set for four people of white agate ware with +blue bands. We have two sets of plates, vegetable dishes, cups and +saucers, egg cups, soup plates, and a number of small pieces. The plates +and dishes, also platters, can be folded together, and consequently +require very little room, and it is a great comfort to know that these +things are unbreakable, and that we will not be left without plates for +the table when we get in the wilds, and the ware being white looks very +nice, not in the least like tin. It came yesterday, just in time. + +The two squirrels I carried to the woods and turned loose. I could +not take them, and I would not leave them to be neglected perhaps. The +"Tiger" was still a tiger, and as wild and fierce as when he came from +the saw-mill, and was undoubtedly an old squirrel not to be taught new +tricks. The flying thing was wholly lacking in sense. I scattered pounds +of nuts all about and hope that the two little animals will not suffer. +The Chinaman insisted upon our taking those chickens! He goes out +every now and then and gives them big pans of food and talks to them in +Chinese with a voice and expression that makes one almost want to weep, +because the chickens have to be left behind. + +We are to start on the eighteenth, and on the nineteenth we had expected +to give a dinner--a very nice one, too. I am awfully sorry that we could +not have given it before going away, for there are so many things to +do here during the winter. The doctor has had no experience whatever in +camp life, and we are wondering how he will like it. He looks like a man +who would much prefer a nice little rocking-chair in a nice little room. + +CAMP NEAR JUNOT'S, IN THE JUDITH BASIN, August, 1880. + +THIS will be left at a little trading store as we pass to-morrow +morning, with the hope that it will soon be taken on to Benton and +posted. + +So far, the trip has been delightful, and every bit as nice as I had +anticipated. The day we left the post was more than hot--it was simply +scorching; and my whole face on the right side, ear and all, was +blistered before we got to the ferry. Just now I am going through a +process of peeling which is not beautifying, and is most painful. + +Before we had come two miles it was discovered that a "washer" was +lacking on one of the wheels of a wagon, and a man was sent back on a +mule to get one. This caused a delay and made Faye cross, for it really +was inexcusable in the wagon master to send a wagon out on a trip like +this in that condition. The doctor did not start with the command, but +rode up while we were waiting for the man with the washer. The soldiers +were lounging on the ground near the wagons, talking and laughing; but +when they saw the doctor coming, there was perfect silence over there, +and I watched and listened, curious to see what effect the funny sight +would have upon them. First one sat up, then another, and some stood +up, then some one of them giggled, and that was quite enough to start +everyone of them to laughing. They were too far away for the laughing +and snickering to be disrespectful, or even to be noticed much, but I +knew why they laughed, for I laughed too. + +The doctor did not present a military appearance. He is the very +smallest man I ever saw, and he was on a government horse that is known +by its great height--sixteen hands and two inches, I believe--and the +little man's stirrups were about half way down the horse's sides, +and his knees almost on the horse's back. All three of us are wearing +officers' white cork helmets, but the doctor's is not a success, being +ever so much too large for his small head, consequently it had tilted +back and found a resting place on his shoulders, covering his ears and +the upper part of his already hot face. For a whip he carried a little +switch not much longer than his gauntlets, and which would have puzzled +the big horse, if struck by it. With it all the little man could not +ride, and as his government saddle was evidently intended for a big +person, he seemed uncertain as to which was the proper place to sit--the +pommel, the middle, or the curved back. All during that first day's +march the soldiers watched him. I knew this, although we were at the +head of the column--for every time he would start his horse up a little +I could hear smothered laughter back of us. + +It was late when we finally got across the Missouri on the funny +ferryboat, so we camped for the night on this side near the ferryman's +house. It was the doctor's first experience in camp, and of course he +did not know how to make himself comfortable. He suffered from the +heat, and became still warmer by rushing up and down fanning himself +and fighting mosquitoes. Then after dinner he had his horse saddled, +a soldier helped him to mount, and he rode back and forth bobbing all +sorts of ways, until Faye could stand it no longer and told him to show +some mercy to the beast that had carried him all day, and would have to +do the same for days to come. + +Most of the camps have been in beautiful places--always by some clear +stream where often there was good trout fishing. In one or two of these +we found grayling, a very gamey fish, that many epicures consider more +delicate than the trout. We have a fine way of keeping fish for the +following day. As soon as possible after they have been caught we pack +them in long, wet grass and put them in a cool spot, and in this way +they will keep remarkably fresh. + +We have had an abundance of game, too--all kinds of grouse and prairie +chicken, and the men killed one antelope. The Chinaman thought that +Faye shot quite too many birds, and began to look cross when they were +brought in, which annoyed me exceedingly, and I was determined to stop +it. So one evening, after Faye had taken some young chicken to the cook +tent, I said to the doctor, "Come with me," and going over to the tent +I picked up the birds and went to some trees near by, and handing the +doctor one, asked him to help me pick them, at the same time commencing +to pull the feathers out of one myself. The poor doctor looked as though +he was wishing he had made a specialty of dementia, and stood like a +goose, looking at the chicken. Charlie soon became very restless--went +inside the tent, and then came out, humming all the time. Finally he +gave in, and coming over to us, fairly snatched the birds from me and +said, "Me flixee him," and carried the whole bunch back of his tent +where we could not see him. Since that evening Charlie has been the most +delighted one in camp when Faye has brought birds in. + +All the way we have had only a faint trail to follow, and often even +that could not be seen after we had crossed a stream. At such places +Faye, the doctor, and I would spread out and search for it. As Bettie +and I were always put in the middle, we were usually the finders. One +day we came up a hill that was so steep that twelve mules had to be +hitched to each wagon in order to get it up. Another day we went down +a hill where the trail was so sidling, that the men had to fasten big +ropes to the upper side of each wagon to hold it right side up as it was +drawn down. Another day we made only a few miles because of the deep-cut +banks of a narrow little stream that wound around and across a valley, +and which we had to cross eight times. At every crossing the banks had +to be sloped off and the bed built up before the wagons could be drawn +over. Watching all this has been most entertaining and the whole trip is +making a man of the doctor. + +To-night we are in camp in the Judith Basin and by the Judith River--a +beautiful stream, and by far the largest we have seen on the march. And +just across the river from us is a stockade, very high and very large, +with heavy board gate that was closed as we came past. We can see the +roof of the cabin inside, and a stovepipe sticking up through it. Faye +says that he has just heard that the place is a nest of horse thieves of +the boldest and most daring type, and that one of them is coming to see +him this evening! He was told all this by the Frenchman, Junot, who has +a little trading store a mile or so from here. + +Faye and the doctor rode over there as soon as the tents had been +pitched, to ascertain if the company from Missoula had passed. Our trail +and the one from the Bitter Root valley fork there. The company passed +several days ago, so we will go on in the morning; otherwise we would +have been obliged to wait for it. + +I had to stay here all alone as Faye would not consent to my going with +him. He gave me one of his big pistols, and I had my own small one, +and these I put on a table in the tent, after they had gone, and then +fastened the tent flaps tight and sat down to await events. But the tent +soon became stifling, and it occurred to me that it was foolish to shut +myself up so I could not see whatever might come until it was right upon +me, so putting my pistol in my pocket and hiding the other, I opened the +tent and went out. The first thing I saw was a fishing pole with line +and fly, and that I took, and the next was the first sergeant watching +me. I knew then that Faye had told him to take care of me. + +I went over to tell him that I was going for a fish, and then on down to +the beautiful river, whose waters are green and very much the color of +the Niagara River. I cast the fly over on the water, and instantly a +large fish came up, took the fly, and went down again so easily and +gracefully that he scarcely made a ripple on the water until he felt +the pull of the line. That was when I forgot everything connected with +camp--Faye, horse thieves, and Indians! I had no reel, of course, and +getting the big fish out of the water was a problem, for I was standing +on a rather high and steep bank. It jumped and jerked in a way that made +me afraid I might be pulled down instead of my pulling the fish up, so I +began to draw him in, and then up, hand over hand, not daring to +breathe while he was suspended in the air. It called for every bit of my +strength, as the shiny thing was so heavy. But I got him; and his length +was just twice the width of my handkerchief--a splendid salmon trout. +I laid it back of a rock in the shade, and went on down the stream, +casting my one fly, and very soon I caught another trout of precisely +the same size as the first, and which I landed the same way, too. I put +it by the rock with the other. + +I kept on down the river, whipping it with my lucky fly every few steps, +but I caught no more fish, neither did I get a rise, but I did not mind +that, for I had the two beauties, and I was having a grand time too. I +had caught both large fish without assistance and with a common willow +pole. All that serenity was upset, however, when I heard my name called +with such a roar that I came near jumping over the bank to save myself +from whatever was after me, but the "What are you doing so far from +camp?" came just in time to stop me. + +It was Faye, of course, and he was cross because I had gone so far +alone, and had, in a way, disregarded his instructions--had done as I +pleased after he had left me alone. I wanted to go to Junot's, therefore +was not one bit sorry that I had frightened him, and said not a word +to his sputtering about the danger from Indians and horse thieves as we +started back to camp. After we had gone a little distance up I said, "I +left something by that rock." I tried to lift the big fish to show him, +but they were too heavy, and I had to hold up one at a time as I +said, "This is Mr. Indian and this Mr. Horse Thief!" Faye was almost +speechless over my having caught two such large trout, and started +to camp with them at such a pace I had to run, almost, to keep up. He +thought of something of great importance to say to the first sergeant, +simply because he wanted to show them to the company. Some beautiful +trout have been brought in by the enlisted men who went up the river, +and I am so glad, for now they will have such a nice supper. + +The horse thieves undoubtedly knew this country well, when they selected +this valley for their hiding place. They have an abundance of delicious +fish the year round at their very door, and there is any amount of +game near, both furred and feathered, and splendid vegetables they +can certainly raise, for they have just sent Faye a large grain sack +overflowing with tender, sweet corn, new beets, turnips, cabbage, and +potatoes. These will be a grand treat to us, as our own vegetables gave +out several days ago. But just think of accepting these things from a +band of desperadoes and horse thieves! Their garden must be inside the +immense stockade, for there is nothing of the kind to be seen outside. +They probably keep themselves in readiness for a long siege by sheriff +and posse that may come down upon them at any time without warning. And +all the time they know that if ever caught stealing horses, their trial +will last just as long as it will take to drag them to a tree that has a +good strong branch. + +Charlie says that he is a mason and reads every evening in a book that +is of his own printing. It is really wonderful. Every evening after +dinner he sits out in front of his tent with a large silk handkerchief +over his head, and perhaps another with which to fight the ever-present +mosquitoes, and reads until dark. He is the only literary person in the +command and we are quite proud of him. He is a great comfort to Faye and +me, for his cooking is delicious. The doctor has a camp appetite now and +is not as finicky as when we started on the trip. + +FORT MAGINNIS, MONTANA TERRITORY, September, 1880. + +IT is almost one week since we got here, but I have not written before +as no mail has been sent out. I hope that the letter left with Junot has +been received, also the two or three notes that were given to horsemen +we met on their way to Fort Benton. + +At first, Faye did not tell me all that he knew about those horse +thieves in the Judith Basin, but it finally came out that the trader, +Junot, had told him a most blood-curdling tale of events to come. He had +declared most positively that the desperadoes were planning to attack +the command, the very next morning while crossing the Judith Mountains, +with a hope, of course, of getting the animals. He also told Faye that +one of them would be in camp that evening to ask permission to go with +him to Maginnis. Faye said the whole story was absurd, particularly +the attack, as those horse thieves would never dare attack government +troops. Besides, he had over fifty good men with him, and probably there +were only ten or twelve horse thieves. So not much attention was paid to +what the old Frenchman had said. + +But after dinner, when we were sitting outside and Faye and the doctor +were smoking, a man came around the corner of the tent with long, +swinging strides, and was in our midst before we had dreamed of anyone +being near. He spoke to Faye courteously, and declining a chair, dropped +down full length on the ground, with elbows in the grass and chin on the +palms of his hands. His feet were near the tent and his face out, which +placed him in a fine position to observe everything in the camp without +anyone seeing that he was doing so, especially as his eyes were screened +by a soft, broad-brimmed hat. It was impossible to see their color, of +course. + +He was young--not over twenty-eight or thirty--and handsome, with a face +that was almost girlish in its fairness. His hair was neatly cut, and so +was his light mustache, and his smooth face showed that he had recently +shaved. He was tall and lithe, and from his chin to his toes was dressed +in fine buckskin--shirt, trousers, leggings, and moccasins--and around +his neck was tied a blue cotton handkerchief, new and clean. That the +man could be a horse thief, an outlaw, seemed most incredible. + +He talked very well, too, of the country and the game, and we were +enjoying the change in our usual after-dinner camp conversation, when +suddenly up he jumped, and turning around looked straight at Faye, and +then like a bomb came the request to be allowed to go with him to Fort +Maginnis! He raised the brim of his hat, and there seemed to be a look +of defiance in his steel-blue eyes. But Faye had been expecting this, +and knowing that he was more than a match for the villain, he got up +from his camp stool leisurely, and with great composure told the man: +"Certainly, I will be very glad to have some one along who knows +the trail so well." To be told that he knew the trail must have been +disconcerting to the man, but not one word did he say in reference to +it. + +After he had gone, Faye went over to the company, where he remained some +time, and I learned later that he had been giving the first sergeant +careful instructions for the next day. I could not sleep that night +because of horrible dreams--dreams of long, yellow snakes with fiery +eyes crawling through green grass. I have thought so many times since of +how perfectly maddening it must have been to those horse thieves to have +twenty-two nice fat mules and three horses brought almost within the +shadow of their very own stockade, and yet have it so impossible to +gather them in! + +At the appointed time the buckskin-man appeared the following morning +on a beautiful chestnut horse with fancy bridle and Mexican saddle, and +with him came a friend, his "pal" he told Faye, who was much older and +was a sullen, villainous-looking man. Both were armed with rifles and +pistols, but there was nothing remarkable in that; in this country it +is a necessity. We started off very much as usual, except that Faye kept +rather close to the "pal," which left Bettie and me alone most of the +time, just a little at one side. I noticed that directly back of the +horse thieves walked a soldier, armed with rifle and pistol, and Faye +told me that night that he was one of the best sharpshooters in the +Army, and that he was back of those men with orders to shoot them down +like dogs if they made one treacherous move. The buckskin man was one of +the most graceful riders I ever saw, and evidently loved his fine mount, +as I saw him stroke his neck several times--and the man himself was +certainly handsome. + +Faye had told me that I must not question anything he might tell me +to do, so after we had crossed the valley and gone up the mountains a +little distance he called to me in a voice unnecessarily loud, that I +must be tired riding so far, and had better get in the ambulance for +a while. I immediately dismounted, and giving the bridle rein to a +soldier, I waited for the ambulance to come up. As I got in, I felt that +perhaps I was doing the first act in an awful tragedy. The horsemen and +wagons had stopped during the minute or two I was getting in, but I saw +soldiers moving about, and just as soon as I was seated I looked out to +see what was going on. + +A splendid old sergeant was going to the front with four soldiers, whom +I knew were men to be trusted, each one with rifle, bayonet, and belt +full of cartridges, and then I saw that some of the plans for that day's +trip had not been told to me. The men were placed in front of everyone, +four abreast, and Faye at once told the thieves that under no conditions +must one ever get in front of the advance guard. How they must have +hated it all--four drilled soldiers in front of them and a sharpshooter +back of them, and all the time treated by Faye as honored guests! + +There were four men at the rear of the wagons, and the posting of these +rear and advance guards, and placing men on either side of the wagons, +had been done without one order from Faye, so my dismounting must have +been the signal for the sergeant to carry out the orders Faye had given +him the night before. Not by one turn of the head did those outlaws show +that they noticed those changes. + +In that way we crossed the range. We met a dozen or more men of the very +roughest type, each one heavily armed. They were in parties of two and +three, and Faye thinks that a signal was passed between one of them and +the "pal." But there was no attack as had been predicted! What might +have taken place, however, if Faye had not been prepared, no one can +tell. Certainly part of Junot's story had been carried out--the horse +thief came to the tent and came with us to Maginnis, and it was not +because he wanted the protection of the troops. Faye insists that an +attack was never thought of, but as he was responsible for government +property, including the animals, he had to make preparation to protect +them. Of course those men wanted only the animals. We passed many places +on the divide that were ideal for an ambush--bluffs, huge boulders, and +precipices--everything perfect for a successful hold up. + +The men came on to the post with us, and were in camp two nights with +the soldiers. The second day from the Judith, we stopped for luncheon +near a small stream where there were a great many choke-cherry bushes, +and "Buckskin Joe"*--that was his name--brought large bunches of +the cherries to me. His manner showed refinement, and I saw that his +wonderful eyes could be tender as well as steely. Perhaps he had sisters +at the old home, and perhaps, too, I was the first woman he had seen +in months to remind him of them. I shall always believe that he is from +good people some place East, that his "dare-devil" nature got him into +some kind of trouble there, and that he came to this wild country to +hide from Justice. The very morning after we got here, not long after +our breakfast, he appeared at our tent with a fine young deer slung +across the back of his horse, which he presented to us. He had just +killed it. It was most acceptable, as there was no fresh meat in camp. +He and his "pal" stayed around that day and night, and then quietly +disappeared. Not one of the soldiers, even, saw them go. + +*About six years after this occurrence, there was a graphic account +in the Western papers of the horrible death of "Buckskin Joe," who +was known as one of the most daring and slippery horse thieves in the +Territory. After evading arrest many times, he was finally hunted down +by a sheriff's posse, when his fiendish fighting excited the admiration +of those who were killing him. A bullet broke one of his legs, and +he went down, but he kept on shooting--and so fast that no one dared +approach him. And when the forearm of his pistol hand was shattered, he +grasped the pistol with the other hand and continued to shoot, even +when he could not sit up, but had to hold himself up by the elbow of his +broken arm. He was finally killed, fairly riddled with bullets. He knew, +of course, all the time what his fate would be if taken alive, and he +chose the cold lead instead of the end of a rope. + + +It was pleasant to meet our old friends here. Colonel Palmer is in +command, and I was particularly glad to see them. After Mrs. Palmer had +embraced me she held me off a little and said: "What have you been doing +to your face? my, but you are ugly!" The skin on the blistered side has +peeled off in little strips, leaving the new skin very white in between +the parched brown of the old, so I expect I do resemble a zebra or an +Indian with his war paint on. The post, which is only a camp as yet, +is located at the upper end of a beautiful valley, and back of us is a +canon and mountains are on both sides. Far down the valley is a large +Indian village, and we can distinctly see the tepees, and often hear the +"tom-toms" when the Indians dance. There are other Indian camps near, +and it is not safe to go far from the tents without an escort. It seems +to be a wonderful country for game--deer, grouse, and prairie chicken. +Twice we have seen deer come down from the mountains and drink from the +stream just below the post. Bettie and I have scared up chicken every +time we have taken little runs around the camp, and Faye has shot large +bags of them. They are not as great a treat to us as to our friends, for +we had so many on the way over. + +We have two wall tents, one for sitting room and one for bedroom, and in +front a "fly" has been stretched. Our folding camp furniture makes the +tents very comfortable. Back of these is the mess, or dining tent, and +back of that is the cook tent. Charlie has a small range now, which +keeps him squeaking or half singing all the time. One morning, before +we got this stove from the quartermaster, breakfast was late, very late. +The wind was blowing a gale, and after waiting and waiting, we concluded +that Charlie must be having trouble with the little sheet-iron camp +stove. So Faye went back to see what was the matter. He returned +laughing, and said he had found a most unhappy Chinaman; that Charlie +was holding the stove down with a piece of wood with one hand, and with +the other was trying to keep the breakfast on the stove. + +You know the stovepipe goes up through a piece of tin fastened in the +roof of the tent, which is slanting, and when the canvas catches the +wind and flops up and down and every other way, the stovepipe naturally +has to go with it. The wind was just right that morning to flop +everything--canvas, pipe, stove, and breakfast, too--particularly the +delicate Saratoga chips Charlie had prepared for us, and which, Faye +said, were being blown about like yellow rose leaves. The poor little +heathen was distracted, but when he saw Faye he instantly became a +general and said at once, "You hole-ee him--me takee bleckfus." So Faye +having a desire for breakfast, held down the stove while Charlie got +things together. The Saratoga chips were delicate and crisp and looked +nice, too, but neither the doctor nor I asked Faye if they were some of +the "rose leaves" or just plain potatoes from a dish! + +Charlie is splendid and most resourceful. Very near our tent is a small +stream of cold, clear water, and on one side of this he has made a +little cave of stones through which the water runs, and in this he +keeps the butter, milk, and desserts that require a cool place. He is +pottering around about something all the time. There is just one poor +cow in the whole camp, so we cannot get much milk--only one pint each +day--but we consider ourselves very fortunate in getting any at all. I +brought over fourteen dozen eggs, packed in boxes with salt. We are to +start back the first of November, so after we got here I worked out a +little problem in mathematics, and found that the eggs would last by +using only two each day. But Charlie does better than this; he will +manage to get along without eggs for a day or two, and will then +surprise us with a fine omelet or custard. But he keeps an exact account +and never exceeds his allowance. + +The doctor is still with us, and shows no inclination to join the +officers' mess that has just been started. He seems to think that he is +one of the family, and would be greatly surprised, and hurt probably, if +he should discover that we would rather be alone. + +FORT MAGINNIS, MONTANA TERRITORY, September, 1880. + +THERE is a large village of Cree Indians in the valley below, and for +several days they were a great nuisance in the garrison. One bright +morning it was discovered that a long line of them had left their tepees +and were coming in this direction. They were riding single file, of +course, and were chanting and beating "tom-toms" in a way to make one's +blood feel frozen. I was out on one of the little hills at the time, +riding Bettie, and happened to be about the first to see them. I started +for the post at once at a fast gait and told Faye and Colonel Palmer +about them, but as soon as it was seen that they were actually coming to +the post, I rode out again about as fast as I had come in, and went to a +bit of high ground where I could command a view of the camp, and at the +same time be screened by bushes and rocks. And there I remained until +those savages were well on their way back to their own village. + +Then I went in, and was laughed at by everyone, and assured by some that +I had missed a wonderful sight. The Crees are Canadian Indians and are +here for a hunt, by permission of both governments. They and the Sioux +are very hostile to each other; therefore when four or five Sioux +swooped down upon them a few days ago and drove off twenty of their +ponies, the Crees were frantic. It was an insult not to be put up +with, so some of their best young warriors were sent after them. They +recaptured the ponies and killed one Sioux. + +Now an Indian is shrewd and wily! The Sioux had been a thief, therefore +the Crees cut off his right hand, fastened it to a long pole with the +fingers pointing up, and with much fuss and feathers--particularly +feathers--brought it to the "White Chief," to show him that the good, +brave Crees had killed one of the white man's enemies! The leading +Indian carried the pole with the hand, and almost everyone of those that +followed carried something also--pieces of flags, or old tin pans or +buckets, upon which they beat with sticks, making horrible noises. Each +Indian was chanting in a sing-song, mournful way. They were dressed +most fancifully; some with red coats, probably discarded by the Canadian +police, and Faye said that almost everyone had on quantities of beads +and feathers. + +Bringing the hand of a dead Sioux was only an Indian's way of begging +for something to eat, and this Colonel Palmer understood, so great tin +cups of hot coffee and boxes of hard-tack were served to them. Then they +danced and danced, and to me it looked as though they intended to dance +the rest of their lives right on that one spot. But when they saw that +any amount of furious dancing would not boil more coffee, they stopped, +and finally started back to their village. + +Faye tells me that as he was going to his tent from the dancing, he +noticed an Indian who seemed to be unusually well clad, his moccasins +and leggings were embroidered with beads and he was wrapped in a +bright-red blanket, head as well as body. As he passed him a voice said +in the purest English, "Lieutenant, can you give me a sear spring for my +rifle?" The only human being near was that Indian, wrapped closely in +a blanket, with only his eyes showing, precisely as one would expect to +see a hostile dressed. Faye said that it gave him the queerest kind of a +sensation, as though the voice had come from another world. He asked the +Indian where he had learned such good English and technical knowledge +of guns, and he said at the Carlisle school. He said also that he was +a Piegan and on a visit to some Cree friends. This was one of the many +proofs that we have had, that no matter how good an education the Indian +may receive, he will return to his blanket and out-of-the-pot way of +living just as soon as he returns to his people. It would be foolish to +expect anything different. + +But those Cree Indians! The coffee had been good, very good, and they +wanted more, so the very next morning they brought to Colonel Palmer +an old dried scalp lock, scalp of "White Chief's enemy," with the same +ceremony as they had brought the hand. Then they sat around his tent and +watched him, giving little grunts now and then until in desperation he +ordered coffee for them, after which they danced. The men gave them bits +of tobacco too. Well, they kept this performance up three or four days, +each day bringing something to Colonel Palmer to make him think they had +killed a Sioux. This became very tiresome; besides, the soldiers were +being robbed of coffee, so Colonel Palmer shut himself in his tent and +refused to see them one day, and an orderly told them to go away and +make no noise. They finally left the post looking very mournful, the men +said. I told Colonel Palmer that he might better have gone out on the +hills as I did; that it was ever so much nicer than being shut up in a +tent. + +Bettie is learning to rear higher and higher, and I ride Pete now. The +last time I rode her she went up so straight that I slipped back in my +saddle, and some of the enlisted men ran out to my assistance. I let her +have her own way and came back to the tent, and jumping down, declared +to Faye that I would never ride her again. She is very cute in her +badness, and having once discovered that I didn't like a rearing horse, +she has proceeded to rear whenever she wanted her own way. I have +enjoyed riding her because she is so graceful and dainty, but I have +been told so many times that the horse was dangerous and would throw me, +that perhaps I have become a little nervous about her. + +A detail of soldiers goes up in the mountains twice every day for poles +with which to make the roofs of the log quarters. They go along a trail +on the other side of the creek, and on this side is a narrow deer path +that runs around the rocky side of a small mountain. Ever since I have +been here I have wanted to go back of the mountain by that path. So, +when I happened to be out on Pete yesterday afternoon at the time the +men started, I at once decided to take advantage of their protection and +ride around the little mountain. + +About half a mile up, there were quantities of bushes eight and ten feet +high down in the creek bed, and the narrow trail that Pete was on was +about on a level with the tops of the bushes. At my left the hill was +very steep and covered with stones. I was having a delightful time, +feeling perfectly safe with so many soldiers within call. But suddenly +things changed. Down in those bushes there was a loud crashing and +snapping, and then straight up into the air jumped a splendid deer! +His head and most of his neck were above the bushes, and for just one +instant he looked at us with big inquisitive eyes before he went down +again. + +When the deer went up Pete went up, too, on the steep hill, and as I +was on his back I had to go with him. The horse was badly frightened, +snorted, and raised his tail high, and when I tried to get him down on +the trail, the higher up he went on the rolling stones. I could almost +touch the side of the mountain with my whip in places, it was so steep. +It was a most dangerous position to be in, and just what elevation I +might have been carried to eventually I do not know, had not the deer +stopped his crashing through the bushes and bounded up on the opposite +bank, directly in front of the first team of mules, and then on he +streaked it across a plateau and far up a mountain side, his short white +tail showing distinctly as he ran. With the deer, Pete seemed to think +that the Evil One had gone, too, and consented to return to the trail +and to cross the stream over to the wagons. + +The corporal had stopped the wagons until he saw that I was safely down, +and I asked him why he had not killed the deer--we are always in need of +game--and he said that he had not seen him until he was in front of the +mules, and that it was impossible then, as the deer did not wait for +them to get the rifles out of their cases on the bottom of the wagons. +That evening at the whist table I told Colonel Palmer about the deer and +Pete, and saw at once that I had probably gotten the poor corporal in +trouble. Colonel Palmer was very angry that the men should even think +of going several miles from the post, in an Indian country, with their +rifles cased and strapped so they would have been practically useless in +case of an attack. + +Faye says that the men were not thinking of Indians, but simply trying +to keep their rifles from being marred and scratched, for if they did +get so they would be "jumped" at the first inspection. Colonel Palmer +gave most positive orders for the soldiers to hold their rifles in their +hands on their way to and from the mountains, which perhaps is for the +best. + +But I am afraid they will blame me for such orders having been issued. + +FORT MAGINNIS, MONTANA TERRITORY, October, 1880. + +IT is not surprising that politicians got a military post established +here, so this wonderful country could be opened and settled, for the +country itself is not only beautiful, but it has an amount of game every +place that is almost beyond belief. Deer are frequently seen to come +down from the mountains to the creek for water, and prairie chicken +would come to our very tents, I fancy, if left to follow their +inclinations. + +Faye is officer of the day every third day, but the other two days there +is not much for him to do, as the company is now working on the new +quarters under the supervision of the quartermaster. So we often go off +on little hunts, usually for chicken, but sometimes we go up on one of +the mountains, where there are quantities of ruffed grouse. These are +delicious, with meat as tender and white as young chicken, and they are +so pretty, too, when they spread the ruffs around their necks and make +fans of their short tail feathers. + +Yesterday we went out for birds for both tables--the officers' mess and +our own. The other officers are not hunters, and Faye is the possessor +of the only shotgun in the garrison, therefore it has been a great +pleasure to us to bring in game for all. Faye rides Bettie now +altogether, so I was on Pete yesterday. We had quite a number of +chickens, but thought we would like to get two or three more; therefore, +when we saw a small covey fly over by some bushes, and that one bird +went beyond and dropped on the other side, Faye told me to go on a +little, and watch that bird if it rose again when he shot at the others. +It is our habit usually for me to hold Faye's horse when he dismounts to +hunt, but that time he was some distance away, and had slipped his hand +through the bridle rein and was leading Bettie that way. Both horses are +perfectly broken to firearms, and do not in the least mind a gun. I have +often seen Bettie prick up her ears and watch the smoke come from the +barrel with the greatest interest. + +Everything went on very well until I got where I might expect to see the +chicken, and then I presume I gave more thought to the bird than to the +ground the horse was on. At all events, it suddenly occurred to me that +the grass about us was very tall, and looking down closely I discovered +that Pete was in an alkali bog and slowly going down. I at once tried to +get him back to the ground we had just left, but in his frantic efforts +to get his feet out of the sticky mud, he got farther to one side and +slipped down into an alkali hole of nasty black water and slime. That +I knew to be exceedingly dangerous, and I urged the horse by voice +and whip to get him out before he sank down too deep, but with all his +efforts he could do nothing, and was going down very fast and groaning +in his terror. + +Seeing that I must have assistance without delay, I called to Faye to +come at once, and sat very still until he got to us, fearing that if I +changed my position the horse might fall over. Faye came running, and +finding a tuft of grass and solid ground to stand upon, pulled Pete by +the bridle and encouraged him until the poor beast finally struggled +out, his legs and stomach covered with the black slime up to the flaps +of my saddle, so one can see what danger we were in. There was no way +of relieving the horse of my weight, as it was impossible for me to jump +and not get stuck in the mud myself. This is the only alkali hole we +have discovered here. It is screened by bunches of tall grass, and +I expect that many a time I have ridden within a few feet of it when +alone, and if my horse had happened to slip down on any one of these +times, we probably would have been sucked from the face of the earth, +and not one person to come to our assistance or to know what had +happened to us. + +When Faye heard my call of distress, he threw the bridle back on Bettie, +and slipping the shotgun through the sling on the saddle, hurried over +to me, not giving Bettie much thought. The horse has always shown the +greatest disinclination to leaving Pete, but having her own free will +that time, she did the unexpected and trotted to a herd of mules not far +off, and as she went down a little hill the precious shotgun slipped out +of the sling to the ground, and the stock broke! The gun is perfectly +useless, and the loss of it is great to us and our friends. To be in +this splendid game country without a shotgun is deplorable; still, +to have been buried in a hole of black water and muck would have been +worse. + +Later. Such an awful wind storm burst upon us while I was writing two +days ago, I was obliged to stop. The day was cold and our tents were +closed tight to keep the heat in, so we knew nothing of the storm until +it struck us, and with such fierceness it seemed as if the tents must go +down. Instantly there was commotion in camp--some of the men tightening +guy ropes, and others running after blankets and pieces of clothing +that had been out for an airing, but every man laughed and made fun +of whatever he was doing. Soldiers are always so cheerful under such +difficulties, and I dearly love to hear them laugh, and yell, too, over +in their tents. + +The snow fell thick and fast, and the wind came through the canon back +of us with the velocity of a hurricane. As night came on it seemed to +increase and the tents began to show the strain and one or two had +gone down, so the officers' families were moved into the unfinished log +quarters for the night. Colonel Palmer sent for me to go over also, and +Major Bagley came twice for me, saying our tents would certainly fall, +and that it would be better to go then, than in the middle of the night. +But I had more faith in those tents, for they were new and pitched +remarkably well. Soon after we got here, long poles had been put up on +stakes all along each side of, and close to, the tents, and to these the +guy ropes of both tents and "fly" covers had been securely fastened, all +of which had prevented much flopping of canvas. Dirt had been banked +all around the base of the tents, so with a very little fire we could be +warm and fairly comfortable. + +The wind seemed to get worse every minute, and once in a while there +would be a loud "boom" when a big Sibley tent would be ripped open, +and then would come yells from the men as they scrambled after their +belongings. After it became dark it seemed dismal, but Faye would not go +in a building, and I would not leave him alone to hold the stove down. +This was our only care and annoyance. It was intensely cold, and in +order to have a fire we were compelled to hold the pipe down on the +little conical camp stove, for with the flopping of the tent and fly, +the pipe was in constant motion. Faye would hold it for a while, then I +would relieve him, and so on. The holding-down business was very funny +for an hour or two, but in time it became monotonous. + +We got through the night very well, but did not sleep much. The tearing +and snapping of tents, and the shouting of the men when a tent would +fall upon them was heard frequently, and when we looked out in the +morning the camp had the appearance of having been struck by a cyclone! +Two thirds of the tents were flat on the ground, others were badly torn, +and the unfinished log quarters only added to the desolation. Snow was +over everything ten or twelve inches deep. But the wind had gone down +and the atmosphere was wonderfully clear, and sparkling, and full of +frost. + +Dinner the evening before had not been a success, so we were very prompt +to the nice hot breakfast Charlie gave us. That Chinaman has certainly +been a great comfort on this trip. The doctor came over looking cross +and sick. He said at once that we had been wise in remaining in our +comfortable tents, that everybody in the log houses was sneezing and +complaining of stiff joints. The logs have not been chinked yet, and, as +might have been expected, wind and snow swept through them. The stoves +have not been set up, so even one fire was impossible. Two or three of +their tents did go down, however, the doctor's included, and perhaps +they were safer in a breezy house, after all. + +The mail has been held back, and will start with us. The time of going +was determined at Department Headquarters, and we will have to leave +here on the first--day after to-morrow--if such a thing is possible. We +return by the way of Benton. It is perfectly exasperating to see prairie +chicken all around us on the snow. Early this morning there was a large +covey up in a tree just across the creek from our tent, looking over at +us in a most insolent manner. They acted as though they knew there was +not a shotgun within a hundred miles of them. They were perfectly safe, +for everyone was too nearly frozen to trouble them with a rifle. + +Camping on the snow will not be pleasant, and we regret very much that +the storm came just at this time. Charlie is busy cooking all sorts of +things for the trip, so he will not have much to do on the little camp +stove. He is a treasure, but says that he wishes we could stay here; +that he does not want to return to Fort Shaw. This puzzles me very much, +as there are so many Chinamen at Shaw and not one here. The doctor will +not go back with us, as he has received orders to remain at this post +during the winter. + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY, November, 1880. + +THE past few days have been busy ones. The house has received much +needed attention and camp things have been looked over and put away, +ready for the next move. The trip back was a disappointment to me and +not at all pleasant. The wagons were very lightly loaded, so the men +rode in them all the way, and we came about forty miles each day, the +mules keeping up a steady slow trot. Of course I could not ride those +distances at that gait, therefore I was compelled to come in the old, +jerky ambulance. + +The snow was still deep when we left Maginnis, and at the first camp +snow had to be swept from the ground where our tent was pitched. But +after that the weather was warm and sunny. We saw the greatest number of +feathered game--enormous flocks of geese, brant, and ducks. Our camp one +night was near a small lake just the other side of Benton, and at dusk +hundreds of geese came and lit on the water, until it looked like one +big mass of live, restless things, and the noise was deafening. Some +of the men shot at them with rifles, but the geese did not seem to mind +much. + +Charlie told me at Maginnis that he did not want to return to Shaw, and +I wondered at that so many times. I went in the kitchen two miserable +mornings back and found him sitting down looking unhappy and +disconsolate. I do not remember to have ever seen a Chinaman sitting +down that way before, and was afraid he might be sick, but he said at +once and without preamble, "Me go 'way!" He saw my look of surprise and +said again, "Me go 'way--Missee Bulk's Chinee-man tellee me go 'way." I +said, "But, Charlie, Lee has no right to tell you to go; I want you +to stay." He hesitated one second, then said in the most mournful of +voices, "Yes, me know, me feel vellee blad, but Lee, he tellee me go--he +no likee mason-man." No amount of persuasion could induce him to stay, +and that evening after dinner he packed his bedding on his back and went +away--to the Crossing, I presume. Charlie called himself a mason, and +has a book that he made himself which he said was a "mason-man blook," +but I learned yesterday that he is a "high-binder," no mason at all, +and for that reason the Chinamen in the garrison would not permit him to +remain here. They were afraid of him, yet he seemed so very trustworthy +in every way. But a highbinder in one's own house! + +There has been another departure from the family--Bettie has been sold! +Lieutenant Warren wanted her to match a horse he had recently bought. +The two make a beautiful little team, and Bettie is already a great +pet, and I am glad of that, of course, but I do not see the necessity of +Lieutenant Warren's giving her sugar right in front of our windows! His +quarters are near ours. He says that Bettie made no objections to the +harness, but drove right off with her mate. + +There was a distressing occurrence in the garrison yesterday that I +cannot forget. At all army posts the prisoners do the rough work, such +as bringing the wood and water, keeping the yards tidy, bringing the +ice, and so on. Yesterday morning one of the general prisoners here +escaped from the sentry guarding him. The long-roll was beaten, and as +this always means that something is wrong and calls out all the troops, +officers and men, I ran out on the porch to see what was the matter, +fearing there might be a fire some place. It seemed a long time before +the companies got in line, and then I noticed that instead of fire +buckets they were carrying rifles. Directly every company started off +on double time and disappeared in between two sets of barracks at one +corner of the parade ground. Then everything was unusually quiet; not +a human being to be seen except the sentry at the guardhouse, who was +walking post. + +It was pleasant, so I sat down, still feeling curious about the trouble +that was serious enough to call out all the troops. It was not so very +long before Lieutenant Todd, who was officer of the day, came from the +direction the companies had gone, pistol in hand, and in front of him +was a man with ball and chain. That means that his feet were fastened +together by a large chain, just long enough to permit him to take short +steps, and to that short chain was riveted a long one, at the end +of which was a heavy iron ball hanging below his belt. When we see a +prisoner carrying a ball and chain we know that he is a deserter, or +that he has done something very bad, which will probably send him to the +penitentiary, for these balls are never put on a prisoner who has only a +short time in the guardhouse. + +The prisoner yesterday--who seemed to be a young man--walked slowly to +the guardhouse, the officer of the day following closely. Going up the +steps and on in the room to a cot, he unfastened the ball from his belt +and let it thunder down on the floor, and then throwing himself down on +the cot, buried his face in the blankets, an awful picture of woe and +despair. On the walk by the door, and looking at him with contempt, +stood a splendid specimen of manhood--erect, broad-chested, with clear, +honest eyes and a weather-beaten face--a typical soldier of the United +States Army, and such as he, the prisoner inside might have become in +time. Our house is separated from the guardhouse by a little park +only, and I could plainly see the whole thing--the strong man and the +weakling. + +In the meantime, bugles had called the men back to quarters, and very +soon I learned all about the wretched affair. The misguided young man +had deserted once before, was found guilty by a general court-martial, +and sentenced to the penitentiary at Leavenworth for the regulation time +for such an offense, and to-morrow morning he was to have started for +the prison. Now he has to stand a second court-martial, and serve a +double sentence for desertion! + +He was so silly about it too. The prisoners were at the large ice house +down by the river, getting ice out for the daily delivery. There were +sentinels over them, of course, but in some way that man managed to +sneak over the ice through the long building to an open door, through +which he dropped down to the ground, and then he ran. He was missed +almost instantly and the alarm given, but the companies were sent to the +lowland along the river, where there are bushes, for there seemed to be +no other place where he could possibly secrete himself. + +The officer of the day is responsible, in a way, for the prisoners, so +of course Lieutenant Todd went to the ice house to find out the cause +of the trouble, and on his way back he accidentally passed an old +barrel-shaped water wagon. Not a sound was heard, but something told +him to look inside. He had to climb up on a wheel in order to get high +enough to look through the little square opening at the top, but he is +a tall man and could just see in, and peering down he saw the wretched +prisoner huddled at one end, looking more like an animal than a human +being. He ordered him to come out, and marched him to the guardhouse. + +It was a strange coincidence, but the officer of the day happened to +have been promoted from the ranks, had served his three years as an +enlisted man, and then passed a stiff examination for a commission. One +could see by his walk that he had no sympathy for the mother's baby. +He knew from experience that a soldier's life is not hard unless the +soldier himself makes it so. The service and discipline develop all the +good qualities of the man, give him an assurance and manly courage he +might never possess otherwise, and best of all, he learns to respect law +and order. + +The Army is not a rough place, and neither are the men starved or +abused, as many mothers seem to think. Often the company commanders +receive the most pitiful letters from mothers of enlisted men, +beseeching them to send their boys back to them, that they are being +treated like dogs, dying of starvation, and so on. As though these +company commanders did not know all about those boys and the life they +had to live. + +It is such a pity that these mothers cannot be made to realize that army +discipline, regular hours, and plain army food is just what those "boys" +need to make men of them. Judging by several letters I have read, sent +to officers by mothers of soldiers, I am inclined to believe that weak +mothers in many cases are responsible for the desertion of their weak +sons. They sap all manhood from them by "coddling" as they grow up, and +send them out in the world wholly unequal to a vigorous life--a +life without pie and cake at every meal. Well! I had no intention of +moralizing this way, but I have written only the plain truth. + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY September, 1881. + +THERE has been quite a little flutter of excitement in the garrison +during the past week brought about by a short visit from the Marquis +of Lome and his suite. As governor general of Canada, he had been +inspecting his own military posts, and then came on down across the line +to Shaw, en route to Dillon, where he will take the cars for the East. +Colonel Knight is in command, so it fell upon him to see that Lord Lome +was properly provided for, which he did by giving up absolutely for his +use his own elegantly furnished quarters. Lord Lome took possession at +once and quietly dined there that evening with one or two of his staff, +and Colonel Knight as his guest. + +The members of the suite were entertained by different officers of the +garrison, and Captain Percival of the Second Life Guards was our guest. +They were escorted across the line to this post by a company of Canadian +mounted police, and a brave appearance those redcoats made as they rode +on the parade ground and formed two lines through which the governor +general and his staff rode, with the booming of cannon. Colonel Knight +went out to meet them, escorted by our mounted infantry in command of +Lieutenant Todd. + +The horses of the mounted police were very small, and inferior in every +way to the animals one would expect the Canadian government to provide, +and it did look very funny to see the gorgeously dressed police with +their jaunty, side-tilted caps riding such wretched little beasts! + +Our officers were on the parade to receive the governor general, and the +regimental band was there also, playing all sorts of things. Presently, +without stop, and as though it was the continuation of a melody, the +first notes of "God Save the Queen" were heard. Instantly the head +of every Englishman and Canadian was uncovered--quietly, and without +ostentation or slightest break in hand-shaking and talking. It was +like a military movement by bugle call! Some of us who were looking on +through filmy curtains thought it a beautiful manifestation of loving +loyalty. They were at a military post of another nation, in the midst of +being introduced to its officers, yet not one failed to remember and to +remind, that he was an Englishman ever! + +Mrs. Gordon saved me the worry of preparing an elaborate dinner at this +far-away place, by inviting us and our guest to dine with her and her +guests. I am inclined to think that this may have been a shrewd move on +the part of the dear friend, so she could have Hang to assist her +own cook at her dinner. It was a fine arrangement, at all events, and +pleased me most of all. I made the salad and arranged the table for her. +Judging from what I saw and heard, Hang was having a glorious time. He +had evidently frightened the old colored cook into complete idiocy, and +was ordering her about in a way that only a Chinaman knows. + +The dinner was long, but delicious and enjoyable in every way. Lord +Bagot, the Rev. Dr. MacGregor, Captain Chater, and others of the +governor general's staff were there--sixteen of us in all. Captain +Percival sat at my right, of course, and the amount he ate was simply +appalling! And the appetites of Lord Bagot and the others were equally +fine. Course after course disappeared from their plates--not a scrap +left on them--until one wondered how it was managed. Soon after dinner +everyone went to Colonel Knight's quarters, where Lord Lome was holding +a little reception. He is a charming man, very simple in his manner, and +one could hardly believe that he is the son-in-law of a great queen and +heir to a splendid dukedom. + +He had announced that he would start at ten o'clock the next morning, +so I ordered breakfast at nine. A mounted escort from the post was to +go with him to Dillon in command of Faye. It has always seemed so absurd +and really unkind for Americans to put aside our own ways and +customs when entertaining foreigners, and bore them with wretched +representations of things of their own country, thereby preventing them +from seeing life as it is here. So I decided to give our English captain +an out and out American breakfast--not long, or elaborate, but dainty +and nicely served. And I invited Miss Mills to meet him, to give it a +little life. + +Well, nine o'clock came, so did Miss Mills, so did half after nine come, +and then, finally ten o'clock, but Captain Percival did not come! I was +becoming very cross--for half an hour before I had sent Hang up to call +him, knowing that he and Faye also, were obliged to be ready to start +at ten o'clock. I was worried, too, fearing that Faye would have to go +without any breakfast at all. Of course the nice little breakfast was +ruined! Soon after ten, however, our guest came down and apologized very +nicely--said that the bed was so very delightful be simply could not +leave it. Right there I made a mental resolution to the effect that if +ever a big Englishman should come to my house to remain overnight, I +would have just one hour of delight taken from that bed! + +To my great amusement, also pleasure. Captain Percival ate heartily of +everything, and kept on eating, and with such apparent relish I began to +think that possibly it might be another case of "delight," and finally +to wonder if Hang had anything in reserve. Once he said, "What excellent +cooks you have here!" This made Miss Mills smile, for she knew that Hang +had been loaned out the evening before. Faye soon left us to attend to +matters in connection with the trip, but the three of us were having a +very merry time--for Captain Percival was a most charming man--when +in the room came Captain Chater, his face as black as the proverbial +thundercloud, and after speaking to me, looked straight and reprovingly +at Captain Percival and said, "You are keeping his excellency waiting!" +That was like a bomb to all, and in two seconds the English captains had +shaken hands and were gone. + +The mounted police are still in the post, and I suspect that this is +because their commander is having such a pleasant time driving and +dining with his hostess, who is one of our most lovely and fascinating +women. I received a note from Faye this morning from Helena. He says +that so far the trip has been delightful, and that in every way and by +all he is being treated as an honored guest. Lord Lome declined a large +reception in Helena, because the United States is in mourning for its +murdered President. What an exquisite rebuke to some of our ignorant +Americans! Faye writes that Lord Lome and members of his staff are +constantly speaking in great praise of the officers' wives at Shaw, +and have asked if the ladies throughout the Army are as charming and +cultured as those here. + +Our young horses are really very handsome now, and their red coats are +shining from good grooming and feeding. They are large, and perfectly +matched in size, color, and gait, as they should be, since they are half +brothers. I am learning to drive now, a single horse, and find it very +interesting--but not one half as delightful as riding--I miss a saddle +horse dreadfully. Now and then I ride George--my own horse--but he +always reminds me that his proper place is in the harness, by making his +gait just as rough as possible. + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY, December, 1881. + +YOU will be greatly surprised to hear that Faye has gone to Washington! +His father is very ill--so dangerously so that a thirty-days' leave +was telegraphed Faye from Department Headquarters, without his having +applied for it so as to enable him to get to Admiral Rae without delay. +Some one in Washington must have asked for the leave. It takes so long +for letters to reach us from the East that one never knows what may +be taking place there. Faye started on the next stage to Helena and at +Dillon will take the cars for Washington. + +Faye went away the night before the entertainment, which made it +impossible for me to be in the pantomime "Villikens and Dinah," +so little Miss Gordon took my place and acted remarkably well, +notwithstanding she had rehearsed only twice. The very stage that +carried Faye from the post, brought to us Mr. Hughes of Benton for a few +days. But this turned out very nicely, for Colonel and Mrs. Mills, who +know him well, were delighted to have him go to them, and there he is +now. The next day I invited Miss Mills and Mr. Hughes to dine with me +informally, and while I was in the dining room attending to the few +pieces of extra china and silver that would be required for dinner (a +Chinaman has no idea of the fitness of things), Volmer, our striker, +came in and said to me that he would like to take the horses and the +single buggy out for an hour or so, as he wanted to show them to a +friend. + +I saw at once that he and I were to have our usual skirmish. There is +one, always, whenever Faye is away any length of time. The man has a +frightful temper, and a year ago shot and killed a deserter. He was +acquitted by military court, and later by civil court, both courts +deciding that the shooting was accidental. But the deserter was a +catholic and Volmer is a quaker, so the feeling in the company was so +hostile toward him that for several nights he was put in the guardhouse +for protection. Then Faye took him as striker, and has befriended him +in many ways. But those colts he could not drive. So I told him that the +horses could not go out during the lieutenant's absence, unless I went +with them. He became angry at once, and said that it was the first team +he had ever taken care of that he was not allowed to drive as often +as he pleased. A big story, of course, but I said to him quietly, "You +heard what I said, Volmer, and further discussion will be quite useless. +You were never permitted to take the colts out when Lieutenant Rae was +here, and now that he is away, you certainly cannot do so." And I turned +back to my spoons and forks. + +Volmer went out of the room, but I had an uncomfortable feeling that +matters were not settled. In a short time I became conscious of loud +talking in the kitchen, and could distinctly hear Volmer using most +abusive language about Faye and me. That was outrageous and not to be +tolerated a second, and without stopping to reason that it would be +better not to hear, and let the man talk his anger off, out to the +kitchen I went. I found Volmer perched upon one end of a large wood box +that stands close to a door that leads out to a shed. I said: "Volmer, +I heard what you have been saying, as you intended I should, and now +I tell you to go out of this house and stay out, until you can speak +respectfully of Lieutenant Rae and of me." But he sat still and looked +sullen and stubborn. I said again, "Go out, and out; of the yard too." +But he did not move one inch. + +By that time I was furious, and going to the door that was so close to +the man he could have struck me, I opened it wide, and pointing out +with outstretched arm I said, "You go instantly!" and instantly he +went. Chinamen are awful cowards, and with the first word I said to the +soldier, Hang had shuffled to his own room, and there he had remained +until he heard Volmer go out of the house. Then he came back, and +looking at me with an expression of the most solemn pity, said, "He +vellee blad man--he killee man--he killee you, meb-bee!" The poor little +heathen was evidently greatly disturbed, and so was I, too. Not because +I was at all afraid of being killed, but because of the two spirited +young horses that still required most careful handling. And Faye might +be away several months! I knew that the commanding officer, also the +quartermaster, would look after them and do everything possible to +assist me, but at the same time I knew that there was not a man in the +post who could take Volmer's place with the horses. He is a splendid +whip and perfect groom. I could not send them to Mr. Vaughn's to run, as +they had been blanketed for a long time, and the weather was cold. + +Of course I cried a little, but I knew that I had done quite right, that +it was better for me to regulate my own affairs than to call upon the +company commander to do so for me. I returned to the dining room, but +soon there was a gentle knock on the door, and opening it, I saw Volmer +standing in front of me, cap in hand, looking very meek and humble. Very +respectfully he apologized, and expressed his regret at having offended +me. That was very pleasant, but knowing the man's violent temper, and +thinking of coming days, I proceeded to deliver a lecture to the effect +that there was not another enlisted man in the regiment who would use +such language in our house, or be so ungrateful for kindness that we had +shown him. Above all, to make it unpleasant for me when I was alone. + +I was so nervous, and talking to a soldier that way was so very +disagreeable, I might have broken down and cried again--an awful thing +to have done at that time--if I had not happened to have seen Hang's +head sticking out at one side of his door. He had run to his room again, +but could not resist keeping watch to see if Volmer was really intending +to "killee" me. He is afraid of the soldier, and consequently hates him. +Soon after he came, Volmer, who is a powerful man, tied him down to his +bed with a picket rope, and such yells of fury and terror were never +heard, and when I ran out to see what on earth was the matter, the +Chinaman's eyes were green, and he was frothing at the mouth. For days +after I was afraid that Hang would do some mischief to the man. + +It is the striker's duty always to attend to the fires throughout the +house, and this Volmer is doing very nicely. But when Faye went away he +told Hang to take good care of me--so he, also, fixes the fires, and at +the same time shows his dislike for Volmer, who will bring the big wood +in and make the fires as they should be. Just as soon as he goes out, +however, in marches Hang, with one or two small pieces of wood on his +silk sleeve, and then, with much noise, he turns the wood in the stove +upside down, and stirs things up generally, after which he will put in +the little sticks and let it all roar until I am quite as stirred up +as the fire. After he closes the dampers he will say to me in his most +amiable squeak, "Me flixee him--he vellee glood now." This is all very +nice as long as the house does not burn. + +Night before last Mrs. Mills invited me to a family dinner. Colonel +Mills was away, but Mr. Hughes was there, also Lieutenant Harvey to whom +Miss Mills is engaged, and the three Mills boys, making a nice little +party. But I felt rather sad--Faye was still en route to Washington, and +going farther from home every hour, and it was impossible to tell when +he would return, Mrs. Mills seemed distraite, too, when I first got to +the house, but she soon brightened up and was as animated as ever. The +dinner was perfect. Colonel Mills is quite an epicure, and he and Mrs. +Mills have a reputation for serving choice and dainty things on their +table. We returned to the little parlor after dinner, and were talking +and laughing, when something went bang! like the hard shutting of a +door. + +Mrs. Mills jumped up instantly and exclaimed, "I knew it--I knew it!" +and rushed to the back part of the house, the rest of us running after +her. She went on through to the Chinaman's room, and there, on his cot, +lay the little man, his face even then the color of old ivory. He had +fired a small Derringer straight to his heart and was quite dead. I did +not like to look at the dying man, so I ran for the doctor and almost +bumped against him at the gate as he was passing. There was nothing that +he could do, however. + +Mrs. Mills told us that Sam had been an inveterate gambler--that he had +won a great deal of money from the soldiers, particularly one, who had +that very day threatened to kill him, accusing the Chinaman of having +cheated. The soldier probably had no intention of doing anything of the +kind, but said it to frighten the timid heathen, just for revenge. Sam +had eaten a little dinner, and was eating ice-cream, evidently, when +something or somebody made him go to his room and shoot himself. The +next morning the Chinamen in the garrison buried him--not in the post +cemetery, but just outside. Upon the grave they laid one or two suits +of clothing, shoes--all Chinese, of course--and a great quantity of +food--much of it their own fruits. That was for his spirit until it +reached the Happy Land. The coyotes ate the food, but a Chinaman would +never believe that, so more food was taken out this morning. + +They are such a queer people! Hang's breakfast usually consists of a +glass of cold water with two or three lumps of sugar dissolved in it and +a piece of bread broken in it also. When it is necessary for Hang to be +up late and do much extra work, I always give him a can of salmon, of +which he seems very fond--or a chicken, and tell him to invite one or +two friends to sit with him. This smooths away all little frowns and +keeps things pleasant. Volmer killed the chicken once, and Hang brought +it to me with eyes blazing--said it was poor--and "He ole-ee hin," so +I found that the only way to satisfy the suspicious man was to let him +select his own fowl. He always cooks it in the one way--boils it with +Chinese fruits and herbs, and with the head and feet on--and I must +admit that the odor is appetizing. But I have never tasted it, although +Hang has never failed to save a nice piece for me. He was with Mrs. +Pierce two years, and it was some time before I could convince him that +this house was regulated my way and not hers. Major Pierce was promoted +to another regiment and we miss them very much. + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY, July, 1882. + +THE garrison seems lonesome since the two companies have been out, and I +am beginning to feel that I am at home alone quite too much. Faye was in +Washington two months, and almost immediately after he got back he was +ordered to command the paymaster's escort from Helena here, and now he +is off again for the summer! The camp is on Birch Creek not far from the +Piegan Agency. The agents become frightened every now and then, and ask +for troops, more because they know the Indians would be justified in +giving trouble than because there is any. + +An officer is sent from the post to inspect all the cattle and rations +that are issued to them--yet there is much cheating. Once it was +discovered that a very inferior brand of flour was being given the +Indians--that sacks with the lettering and marks of the brand the +government was supposed to issue to them had been slipped over the sacks +which really held the inferior flour, and carefully tied. Just imagine +the trouble some one had taken, but there had been a fat reward, of +course, and then, where had those extra sacks come from--where had the +fine flour gone? + +Some one could have explained it all. I must admit, however, that anyone +who has seen an Indian use flour would say that the most inferior grade +would be good enough for them, to be mixed in dirty old pans, with still +dirtier hands. This lack of cleanliness and appreciation of things by +the Indians makes stealing from them very tempting. + +The very night after the troops had gone out there was an excitement in +the garrison, and, as usual, I was mixed up in it, not through my own +choosing, however. I had been at Mrs. Palmer's playing whist during the +evening, and about eleven o'clock two of the ladies came down to the +house with me. The night was the very darkest I ever saw, and of this we +spoke as we came along the walk. Almost all the lights were out in the +officers' quarters, making the whole post seem dismal, and as I came in +the house and locked the door, I felt as if I could never remain +here until morning. Hang was in his room, of course but would be no +protection whatever if anything should happen. + +Major and Mrs. Stokes have not yet returned from the East, so the +adjoining house is unoccupied, and on my right is Mrs. Norton, who is +alone also, as Doctor Norton is in camp with the troops. She had urged +me to go to her house for the night, but I did not go, because of the +little card party. I ran upstairs as though something evil was at my +heels and bolted my door, but did not fasten the dormer windows that +run out on the roof in front. Before retiring, I put a small, lighted +lantern in a closet and left the door open just a little, thinking that +the streak of light would be cheering and the lantern give me a light +quickly if I should need one. + +Our breakfast had been very early that morning, on account of the troops +marching, and I was tired and fell asleep immediately, I think. After +a while I was conscious of hearing some one walking about in the room +corresponding to mine in the next house, but I dozed on, thinking to +myself that there was no occasion for feeling nervous, as the people +next door were still up. But suddenly I remembered that the house was +closed, and just then I distinctly heard some one go down the stairs. +I kept very still and listened, but heard nothing more and soon went to +sleep again, but again I was awakened--this time by queer noises--like +some one walking on a roof. There were voices, too, as if some one was +mumbling to himself. + +I got the revolver and ran to the middle of the room, where I stood +ready to shoot or run--it would probably have been run--in any +direction. I finally got courage to look through a side window, feeling +quite sure that Mrs. Norton was out with her Chinaman, looking after +some choice little chickens left in her care by the doctor. But not one +light was to be seen in any place, and the inky blackness was awful to +look upon, so I turned away, and just as I did so, something cracked and +rattled down over the shingles and then fell to the ground. But which +roof those sounds came from was impossible to tell. With "goose flesh" +on my arms, and each hair on my head trying to stand up, I went back to +the middle of the room, and there I stood, every nerve quivering. + +I had been standing there hours--or possibly it was only two short +minutes--when there was one loud, piercing shriek, that made me almost +scream, too. But after it was perfect silence, so I said to myself that +probably it had been a cat--that I was nervous and silly. But there came +another shriek, another, and still another, so expressive of terror +that the blood almost froze in my veins. With teeth chattering and limbs +shaking so I could hardly step, I went to a front window, and raising it +I screamed, "Corporal of the guard!" + +I saw the sentinel at the guardhouse stop, as though listening, in front +of a window where there was a light, and seeing one of the guard gave +strength to my voice, and I called again. That time the sentry took it +up, and yelled, "Corporal of the guard, No. 1!" Instantly lanterns were +seen coming in our direction--ever so many of the guard came, and to our +gate as they saw me at a window. But I sent them on to the next house +where they found poor Mrs. Norton in a white heap on the grass, quite +unconscious. + +The officer of the day was still up and came running to see what the +commotion was about--and several other officers came. Colonel Gregory, +a punctilious gentleman of the old school--who is in command just +now--appeared in a striking costume, consisting of a skimpy evening +gown of white, a dark military blouse over that, and a pair of military +riding boots, and he carried an unsheathed saber. He is very tall and +thin and his hair is very white, and I laugh now when I think of how +funny he looked. But no one thought of laughing at that time. Mrs. +Norton was carried in, and her house searched throughout. No one was +found, but burned matches were on the floor of one or two rooms, which +gave evidence that some one had been there. + +In the yard back of the house a pair of heavy overshoes, also government +socks, were found, so it was decided that the man had climbed up on the +roof and entered the house through a dormer window that had not been +fastened. No one would look for the piece of shingle that night, but in +the morning I found it on the ground close to the house. + +All the time the search was being made I had been in the window. Colonel +Mills insisted that I should go to his house for the remainder of the +night, but suggested that I put some clothes on first! It occurred to me +then, for the first time, that my own costume was rather striking--not +quite the proper thing for a balcony scene. Everyone was more than kind, +but for a long time after Miss Mills and I had gone to her room my teeth +chattered and big tears rolled down my face. Mrs. Norton declares that I +was more frightened than she was, and I say, "Yes, probably, but you did +not stop to listen to your own horrible screams, and then, after making +us believe that you were being murdered, you quietly dropped into +oblivion and forgot the whole thing." + +Just as the entire garrison had become quiet once more--bang! went a +gun, and then again we heard people running about to see what was the +matter, and if the burglar had been caught. But it proved to have been +the accidental going off of a rifle at the guardhouse. The instant +that Colonel Gregory ascertained that a soldier had really been in Mrs. +Norton's house, check roll-call was ordered--that is, the officer of the +day went to the different barracks and ordered the first sergeants +to get the men up and call the roll at once, without warning or +preparation. In that way it was ascertained if the men were on their +cots or out of quarters. But that night every man was "present or +accounted for." At the hospital, roll-call was not necessary, but they +found an attendant playing possum! A lantern held close to his face did +not waken him, although it made his eyelids twitch, and they found that +his heart was beating at a furious rate. His clothes had been thrown +down on the floor, but socks were not to be found with them. + +So he is the man suspected.. He will get his discharge in three days, +and it is thought that he was after a suit of citizen clothes of the +doctor's. Not so very long ago he was their striker. No one in the +garrison has ever heard of an enlisted man troubling the quarters of +an officer, and it is something that rarely occurs. I spend every night +with Mrs. Norton now, who seems to have great confidence in my ability +to protect her, as I can use a revolver so well. She calmly sleeps on, +while I remain awake listening for footsteps. The fact of my having +been at a military post when it was attacked by Indians--that a man +was murdered directly under my window, when I heard every shot, every +moan--and my having had two unpleasant experiences with horse thieves, +has not been conducive to normal nerves after dark. + +During all the commotion at Mrs. Norton's the night the man got in her +house, her Chinaman did not appear. One of the officers went to his room +in search of the burglar and found him--the Chinaman--sitting up in his +bed, almost white from fear. He confessed to having heard some one in +the kitchen, and when asked why he did not go out to see who it was, +indignantly replied, "What for?--he go way, what for I see him?" + +I feel completely upset without a good saddle horse. George is +developing quite a little speed in single harness, but I do not care for +driving--feel too much as though I was part of the little buggy instead +of the horse. Major and Mrs. Stokes are expected soon from the East, and +I shall be so glad to have my old neighbors back. + +CAMP ON BIRCH CREEK, NEAR PIEGAN AGENCY, MONTANA TERRITORY, September, +1882. + +BY this time you must have become accustomed to getting letters from all +sorts of out-of-the-way places, therefore I will not weary you with long +explanations, but simply say that Major Stokes and Faye sent for Mrs. +Stokes and me to come to camp, thinking to give us a pleasant little +outing. We came over with the paymaster and his escort. Major Carpenter +seemed delighted to have us with him, and naturally Mrs. Stokes and I +were in a humor to enjoy everything. We brought a nice little luncheon +with us for everybody--that is, everyone in the ambulance. The escort of +enlisted men were in a wagon back of us, but the officer in charge was +with us. + +The Indians have quieted down, and several of the officers have gone on +leave, so with the two companies now here there are only Major Stokes, +who is in command, Faye, Lieutenant Todd, and Doctor Norton. Mrs. Stokes +has seen much of camp life, and enjoys it now and then as much as I do. +The importance of our husbands as hosts--their many efforts to make us +comfortable and entertain us--is amusing, yet very lovely. They give +us no rest whatever, but as soon as we return from one little excursion +another is immediately proposed. There is a little spring wagon in camp +with two seats, and there are two fine mules to pull it, and with this +really comfortable turn-out we drive about the country. Major Stokes is +military inspector of supplies at this agency, and every Piegan knows +him, so when we meet Indians, as we do often, there is always a powwow. + +Three days ago we packed the little wagon with wraps and other things, +and Major and Mrs. Stokes, Faye, and I started for a two days' outing +at a little lake that is nestled far up on the side of a mountain. It +is about ten miles from here. There is only a wagon trail leading to +it, and as you go on up and up, and see nothing but rocks and trees, it +would never occur to you that the steep slope of the mountain could be +broken, that a lake of good size could be hidden on its side. You do +not get a glimpse of it once, until you drive between the bushes and +boulders that border its banks, and then it is all before you in amazing +beauty. The reflections are wonderful, the high lights showing with +exquisite sharpness against the dark green and purple depths of the +clear, spring water. + +The lake is fearfully deep--the Indians insist that in places it is +bottomless--and it is teeming with trout, the most delicious mountain +trout that can be caught any place, and which come up so cold one can +easily fancy there is an iceberg somewhere down below. Some of these +fish are fourteen or more inches long. + +It was rather late in the afternoon when we reached the lake, so we +hurriedly got ourselves ready for fishing, for we were thinking of a +trout dinner. Four enlisted men had followed us with a wagon, in which +were our tents, bedding, and boxes of provisions, and these men +busied themselves at once by putting up the little tents and making +preparations for dinner, and we were anxious to get enough fish for +their dinner as well as our own. At a little landing we found two +row-boats, and getting in these we were soon out on the lake. + +If one goes to Fish Lake just for sport, and can be contented with +taking in two or three fish during an all day's hard work, flies should +be used always, but if one gets up there when the shadows are long and +one's dinner is depending upon the fish caught, one might as well begin +at once with grasshoppers--at least, that is what I did. I carried a box +of fine yellow grasshoppers up with me, and I cast one over before the +boat had fairly settled in position. It was seized the instant it +had touched the water, and down, down went the trout, its white sides +glistening through the clear water. For some reason still unaccountable +I let it go, and yard after yard of line was reeled out. Perhaps, after +all, it was fascination that kept me from stopping the plunge of the +fish, that never stopped until the entire line was let out. That brought +me to my senses, and I reeled the fish up and got a fine trout, but I +also got at the same time an uncontrollable longing for land. To be in +a leaky, shaky old boat over a watery, bottomless pit, as the one that +trout had been down in, was more than I could calmly endure, so with +undisguised disgust Faye rowed me back to the landing, where I caught +quite as many fish as anyone out in the boats. + +One of the enlisted men prepared dinner for us, and fried the trout in +olive oil, the most perfect way of cooking mountain trout in camp. They +were delicious--so fresh from the icy water that none of their delicate +flavor had been lost, and were crisp and hot. We had cups of steaming +coffee and all sorts of nice things from the boxes we had brought from +the post. A flat boulder made a grand table for us, and of course each +one had his little camp stool to sit upon. Altogether the dinner was a +success, the best part of it being, perhaps, the exhilarating mountain +air that gave us such fine appetites, and a keen appreciation of +everything ludicrous. + +While we were fishing, our tents had been arranged for us in real +soldier fashion. Great bunches of long grass had been piled up on each +side underneath the little mattresses, which raised the beds from the +ground and made them soft and springy. Those "A" tents are very small +and low, and it is impossible to stand up in one except in the center +under the ridgepole, for the canvas is stretched from the ridgepole +to the ground, so the only walls are back and front, where there is an +opening. I had never been in one before and was rather appalled at its +limitations, and neither had I ever slept on the ground before, but I +had gone prepared for a rough outing. Besides, I knew that everything +possible had been done to make Mrs. Stokes and me comfortable. The air +was chilly up on the mountain, but we had any number of heavy blankets +that kept us warm. + +The night was glorious with brilliant moonlight, and the shadows of the +pine trees on the white canvas were black and wonderfully clear cut, as +the wind swayed the branches back and forth. The sounds of the wind were +dismal, soughing and moaning as all mountain winds do, and made me think +of the Bogy-man and other things. I found myself wondering if anything +could crawl under the tent at my side. I wondered if snakes could have +been brought in with the grass. I imagined that I heard things moving +about, but all the time I was watching those exquisite shadows of the +pine needles in a dreamy sort of way. + +Then all at once I saw the shadow of one, then three, things as they ran +up the canvas and darted this way and that like crazy things, and which +could not possibly have grown on a pine tree. And almost at the same +instant, something pulled my hair! With a scream and scramble I was soon +out of that tent, but of course when I moved all those things had moved, +too, and wholly disappeared. So I was called foolish to be afraid in a +tent after the weeks and months I had lived in camp. But just then Mrs. +Stokes ran from her tent, Major Stokes slowly following, and then it +came out that there had been trouble over there also, and that I was +not the only one in disgrace. Mrs. Stokes had seen queer shadows on her +canvas, and coming to me, said, "Will says those things are squirrels!" +That was too much, and I replied with indignation, "They are not +squirrels at all; they are too small and their tails are not bushy." + +Well, there was a time! We refused absolutely, positively, to go back +to our tents until we knew all about those darting shadows. We saw that +those two disagreeable men had an understanding with each other and were +much inclined to laugh. It was cold and our wrappers not very warm, +but Mrs. Stokes and I finally sat down upon some camp stools to await +events. Then Faye, who can never resist an opportunity to tease, said to +me, "You had better take care, mice might run up that stool!" So the cat +was out! I have never been afraid of mice, and have always considered it +very silly in women to make such a fuss over them. But those field mice +were different; they seemed inclined to take the very hair from your +head. Of course we could not sit up all night, and after a time had to +return to our tents. I wrapped my head up securely, so my hair could not +be carried off without my knowing something about it. Ever so many times +during the night I heard talking and smothered laughter, and concluded +that the soldiers also were having small visitors with four swift little +legs. + +We had more delicious trout for our breakfast; that time fried with tiny +strips of breakfast bacon. The men had been out on the lake very early, +and had caught several dozen beautiful fish. The dinner the evening +before had been much like an ordinary picnic, but the early breakfast up +on the side of a mountain, with big boulders all around, was something +to remember. One can never imagine the deliciousness of the air +at sunrise up on the Rocky Mountains, It has to be breathed to be +appreciated. + +Everyone fished during the morning and many fish were caught, every one +of which were carefully packed in wet grass and brought to Birch Creek, +to the unfortunates who had not been on that most delightful trip to +Fish Lake. After luncheon we came down from the mountain and drove to +the Piegan Agency. The heavy wagon came directly to camp, of course. +There is nothing remarkable to be seen at the agency--just a number of +ordinary buildings, a few huts, and Indians standing around the door of +a store that resembles a post trader's. Every Indian had on a blanket, +although Major Stokes said there were several among them who had been to +the Carlisle School. + +Along the road before we reached the agency, and for some distance after +we had left it, we passed a number of little one-room log huts occupied +by Indians, often with two squaws and large families of children; and at +some of these we saw wretched attempts at gardening. Those Indians are +provided with plows, spades, and all sorts of implements necessary for +the making of proper gardens, and they are given grain and seeds to +plant, but seldom are any of these things made use of. An Indian scorns +work of any kind--that is only for squaws. The squaws will scratch up a +bit of ground with sticks, put a little seed in, and then leave it for +the sun and rain to do with as it sees fit. No more attention will be +paid to it, and half the time the seed is not covered. + +One old chief raised some wheat one year--I presume his squaws did all +the work--and he gathered several sackfuls, which was made into flour at +the agency mill. The chief was very proud. But when the next quarterly +issue came around, his ration of flour was lessened just the amount his +wheat had made, which decided all future farming for him! Why should he, +a chief, trouble himself about learning to farm and then gain nothing +in the end! There is a fine threshing machine at the agency, but the +Indians will have nothing whatever to do with it. They cannot understand +its workings and call it the "Devil Machine." + +As we were nearing the Indian village across the creek from us, we came +to a most revolting spectacle. Two or three Indians had just killed an +ox, and were slashing and cutting off pieces of the almost quivering +flesh, in a way that left little pools of blood in places on the side. +There were two squaws with them, squatted on the ground by the dead +animal, and those hideous, fiendish creatures were scooping up the +warm blood with their hands and greedily drinking it! Can one imagine +anything more horrible? We stopped only a second, but the scene was too +repulsive to be forgotten. It makes me shiver even now when I think +of the flashing of those big knives and of how each one of the savages +seemed to be reveling in the smell and taste of blood! I feel that they +could have slashed and cut into one of us with the same relish. It was +much like seeing a murder committed. + +Major Stokes told us last evening that when he returned from the East +a few weeks ago, he discovered that one of a pair of beautiful pistols +that had been presented to him had been stolen, that some one had gone +upstairs and taken it out of the case that was in a closet corresponding +to mine, so that accounts for the footsteps I heard in that house the +night the man entered Mrs. Norton's house. But how did the man know just +where to get a pistol? The hospital attendant who was suspected that +night got his discharge a few days later. He stayed around the +garrison so long that finally Colonel Gregory ordered him to leave the +reservation, and just before coming from the post we heard that he had +shot a man and was in jail. A very good place for him, I think. + +We expect to return to the post in a few days. I would like to remain +longer, but as everybody and everything will go, I can't very well. The +trout fishing in Birch Creek is very good, and I often go for a little +fish, sometimes alone and sometimes Mrs. Stokes will go with me. I do +not go far, because of the dreadful Indians that are always wandering +about. They have a small village across the creek from us, and every +evening we hear their "tom-toms" as they chant and dance, and when the +wind is from that direction we get a smell now and then of their dirty +tepees. Major Stokes and Mrs. Stokes, also, see the noble side of +Indians, but that side has always been so covered with blankets and +other dirty things I have never found it! + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY, November, 1882. + +YOU will be shocked, I know, when you hear that we are +houseless--homeless--that for the second time Faye has been ranked out +of quarters! At Camp Supply the turn out was swift, but this time it +has been long drawn out and most vexatious. Last month Major Bagley came +here from Fort Maginnis, and as we had rather expected that he would +select our house, we made no preparations for winter previous to his +coming. But as soon as he reached the post, and many times after, he +assured Faye that nothing could possibly induce him to disturb us, and +said many more sweet things. + +Unfortunately for us, he was ordered to return to Fort Maginnis to +straighten out some of his accounts while quartermaster, and Mrs. Bagley +decided to remain as she was until Major Bagley's return. He was away +one month, and during that time the gardener stored away in our little +cellar our vegetables for the winter, including quantities of beautiful +celery that was packed in boxes. All those things had to be taken down +a ladder, which made it really very hard work. Having faith in Major +Bagley's word, the house was cleaned from top to bottom, much painting +and calcimining having been done. All the floors were painted and +hard-oiled, and everyone knows what discomfort that always brings about. +But at last everything was finished, and we were about to settle down to +the enjoyment of a tidy, cheerful little home when Major Bagley appeared +the second time, and within two hours Faye was notified that his +quarters had been selected by him! + +We are at present in two rooms and a shed that happened to be +unoccupied, and I feel very much as though I was in a second-hand shop. +Things are piled up to the ceiling in both rooms, and the shed is full +also. All of the vegetables were brought up from the cellar, of course, +and as the weather has been very cold, the celery and other tender +things were frozen. General and Mrs. Bourke have returned, and at +once insisted upon our going to their house, but as there was nothing +definite about the time when we will get our house, we said "No." We are +taking our meals with them, however, and Hang is there also, teaching +their new Chinaman. But I can assure you that I am more than cross. If +Major Bagley had selected the house the first time he came, or even +if he had said nothing at all about the quarters, much discomfort and +unpleasantness would have been avoided. They will get our nice clean +house, and we will get one that will require the same renovating we have +just been struggling with. I have made up my mind unalterably to one +thing--the nice little dinner I had expected to give Major and Mrs. +Bagley later on, will be for other people, friends who have had less +honey to dispose of. + +The splendid hunting was interrupted by the move, too. Every October in +this country we have a snowstorm that lasts usually three or four days; +then the snow disappears and there is a second fall, with clear sunny +days until the holidays. This year the weather remained warm and the +storm was later than usual, but more severe when it did come, driving +thousands of water-fowl down with a rush from the mountain streams and +lakes. There is a slough around a little plateau near the post, and for +a week or more this was teeming with all kinds of ducks, until it was +frozen over. Sometimes we would see several species quietly feeding +together in the most friendly way. Faye and I would drive the horses +down in the cutter, and I would hold them while he walked on ahead +hunting. + +One day, when the snow was falling in big moist flakes that were so +thick that the world had been narrowed down to a few yards around us, +we drove to some tall bushes growing on the bank of the slough. Faye was +hunting, and about to make some ducks rise when he heard a great whir +over his head, and although the snow was so thick he could not see just +what was there, he quickly raised his gun and fired at something he saw +moving up there. To his great amazement and my horror, an immense swan +dropped down and went crashing through the bushes. It was quite as +white as the snow on the ground, and coming from the dense cloud of snow +above, where no warning of its presence had been given, no call sounded, +one felt that there was something queer about it all. With its enormous +wings spread, it looked like an angel coming to the earth. + +The horses thought so, also, for as soon as it touched the bushes they +bolted, and for a few minutes I was doubtful if I could hold them. I was +so vexed with them, too, for I wanted to see that splendid bird. They +went around and around the plateau, and about all I was able to do at +first was to keep them from going to the post. They finally came down +to a trot, but it was some time before I could coax them to go to the +bushes where the swan had fallen. I did not blame them much, for when +the big bird came down, it seemed as if the very heavens were falling. +We supplied our friends with ducks several days, and upon our own dinner +table duck was served ten successive days. And it was just as acceptable +the last day as the first, for almost every time there was a different +variety, the cinnamon, perhaps, being the most rare. + +Last year Hang was very contrary about the packing down of the eggs for +winter use. I always put them in salt, but he thought they should be put +in oats because Mrs. Pierce had packed hers that way. You know he had +been Mrs. Pierce's cook two years before he came to me, and for a time +he made me weary telling how she had things done. Finally I told him he +must do as I said, that he was my cook now. There was peace for a while, +and then came the eggs. + +He would not do one thing to assist me, not even take down the eggs, and +looked at Volmer with scorn when he carried down the boxes and salt. I +said nothing, knowing what the result would be later on if Hang remained +with me. When the cold weather came and no more fresh eggs were brought +in, it was astonishing to see how many things that stubborn Chinaman +could make without any eggs at all. Get them out of the salt he simply +would not. Of course that could not continue forever, so one day I +brought some up and left them on his table without saying a word. He +used them, and after that there was no trouble, and one day in the +spring he brought in to show me some beautifully beaten eggs, and said, +"Velly glood--allee same flesh." + +This fall when the time came to pack eggs, I said, "Hang, perhaps we had +better pack the eggs in oats this year." He said, "Naw, loats no glood!" +Then came my revenge. I said, "Mrs. Pierce puts hers in oats," but he +became angry and said, "Yes, me know--Missee Pleese no know--slalt makee +him allee same flesh." And in salt they are, and Hang packed every one. +I offered to show him how to do it, but he said, "Me know--you see." It +gave him such a fine opportunity to dictate to Volmer! If the striker +did not bring the eggs the very moment he thought they should be in, +Hang would look him up and say, "You bling leggs!" Just where these +boxes of eggs are I do not know. The Chinaman has spirited them off to +some place where they will not freeze. He cannot understand all this +ranking out of quarters, particularly after he had put the house in +perfect order. When I told him to sweep the rooms after everything had +been carried out, he said: "What for? You cleanee house nuff for him; +he no care," and off he went. I am inclined to think that the little man +was right, after all. + +There have been many changes in the garrison during the past few months, +and a number of our friends have gone to other posts. Colonel and Mrs. +Palmer, Major and Mrs. Pierce, and Doctor and Mrs. Gordon are no longer +here. We have lost, consequently, both of our fine tenors and excellent +organist, and our little choir is not good now. Some of us will miss in +other ways Colonel Palmer's cultivated voice. During the summer four of +us found much pleasure in practicing together the light operas, each one +learning the one voice through the entire opera. + +When we get settled, if we ever do, we will be at our old end of the +garrison again, and our neighbors on either side will be charming +people. There is some consolation in that; nevertheless, I am thinking +all the time of the pretty walls and shiny floors we had to give up, and +to a very poor housekeeper, too. After we get our house, it will take +weeks to fix it up, and it will be impossible to take the same interest +in it that we found in the first. If Faye gets his first lieutenancy in +the spring, it is possible that we may have to go to another post, which +will mean another move. But I am tired and cross; anyone would be under +such uncomfortable conditions. + +FORT ELLIS, MONTANA TERRITORY, March, 1883. + +THE trip over was by far the most enjoyable of any we have taken between +Fort Shaw and this post, and we were thankful enough that we could come +before the snow began to melt on the mountains. Our experience with the +high water two years ago was so dreadful that we do not wish to ever +encounter anything of the kind again. The weather was delightful--with +clear, crisp atmosphere, such as can be found only in this magnificent +Territory. It was such a pleasure to have our own turn-out, too, and to +be able to see the mountains and canons as we came along, without having +our heads bruised by an old ambulance. + +Faye had to wait almost twelve years for a first lieutenancy, and now, +when at last he has been promoted, it has been the cause of our leaving +dear friends and a charming garrison, and losing dear yellow Hang, also. +The poor little man wept when he said good-by to me in Helena. We had +just arrived and were still on the walk in front of the hotel, and of +course all the small boys in the street gathered around us. I felt very +much like weeping, too, and am afraid I will feel even more so when I +get in my own home. Hang is going right on to China, to visit his mother +one year, and I presume that his people will consider him a very rich +man, with the twelve hundred dollars he has saved. He has never cut his +hair, and has never worn American clothes. Even in the winter, when +it has been freezing cold, he would shuffle along on the snow with his +Chinese shoes. + +I shall miss the pretty silk coats about the house, and his swift, +almost noiseless going around. That Chinamen are not more generally +employed I cannot understand, for they make such exceptional servants. +They are wonderfully economical, and can easily do the work of two +maids, and if once you win their confidence and their affection they are +your slaves. But they are very suspicious. Once, when Bishop Tuttle was +with us, he wanted a pair of boots blackened, and set them in his room +where Hang could see them, and on the toe of one he put a twenty-five +cent piece. Hang blackened the boots beautifully, and then put the money +back precisely where it was in the first place. Then he came to me +and expressed his opinion of the dear bishop. He said, "China-man no +stealee--you tellee him me no stealee--he see me no takee him"--and then +he insisted upon my going to see for myself that the money was on the +boot. I was awfully distressed. The bishop was to remain with us several +days, and no one could tell how that Chinaman might treat him, for I +saw that he was deeply hurt, but it was utterly impossible to make him +believe otherwise than that the quarter had been put there to test his +honesty. I finally concluded to tell the bishop all about it, knowing +that his experience with all kinds of human nature had been great in his +travels about to his various missions, and his kindness and tact with +miner, ranchman, and cowboy; he is now called by them lovingly "The +Cowboy Bishop." He laughed heartily about Hang, and said, "I'll fix +that," which he must have done to Hang's entire satisfaction, for he +fairly danced around the bishop during the remainder of his stay with +us. + +Faye was made post quartermaster and commissary as soon as he reported +for duty here, and is already hard at work. The post is not large, +but the office of quartermaster is no sinecure. An immense amount of +transportation has to be kept in readiness for the field, for which +the quartermaster alone is held responsible, and this is the base of +supplies for outfits for all parties--large and small--that go to +the Yellowstone Park, and these are many, now that Livingstone can be +reached from the north or the south by the Northern Pacific Railroad. +Immense pack trains have to be fitted out for generals, congressmen, +even the President himself, during the coming season. These people +bring nothing whatever with them for camp, but depend entirely upon the +quartermaster here to fit them out as luxuriously as possible with tents +and commissaries--even to experienced camp cooks! + +The railroad has been laid straight through the post, and it looks very +strange to see the cars running directly back of the company quarters. +The long tunnel--it is to be called the Bozeman tunnel--that has been +cut through a large mountain is not quite finished, and the cars are +still run up over the mountain upon a track that was laid only for +temporary use. It requires two engines to pull even the passenger trains +up, and when the divide is reached the "pilot" is uncoupled and run down +ahead, sometimes at terrific speed. One day, since we came, the engineer +lost control, and the big black thing seemed almost to drop down the +grade, and the shrieking of the continuous whistle was awful to listen +to; it seemed as if it was the wailing of the souls of the two men being +rushed on--perhaps to their death. The thing came on and went screaming +through the post and on through Bozeman, and how much farther we do +not know. Some of the enlisted men got a glimpse of the engineer as he +passed and say that his face was like chalk. We will not be settled for +some time, as Faye is to take a set of vacant quarters on the hill until +one of the officers goes on leave, when we will move to that house, as +it is nicer and nearer the offices. He could have taken it when we came +had he been willing to turn anyone out. It seems to me that I am waiting +for a house about half the time, yet when anyone wants our house it is +taken at once! + +For a few days we are with Lieutenant and Mrs. Fiske. They gave us an +elegant dinner last evening. Miss Burt and her brother came up from +Bozeman. This evening we dine with Major and Mrs. Gillespie of the +cavalry. He is in command of the post--and tomorrow we will dine with +Captain and Mrs. Spencer. And so it will go on, probably, until everyone +has entertained us in some delightful manner, as this is the custom in +the Army when there are newcomers in the garrison. I am so sorry that +these courtesies cannot be returned for a long time--until we get really +settled, and then how I shall miss Hang! How I am to do without him I do +not quite see. + +FORT ELLIS, MONTANA TERRITORY, July, 1884. + +THIS post is in a most dilapidated condition, and it--also the country +about--looks as though it had been the scene of a fierce bombardment. +And bombarded we certainly have been--by a terrific hailstorm that made +us feel for a time that our very lives were in danger. The day had been +excessively warm, with brilliant sunshine until about three o'clock, +when dark clouds were seen to be coming up over the Bozeman Valley, and +everyone said that perhaps at last we would have the rain that was so +much needed, I have been in so many frightful storms that came from +innocent-looking clouds, that now I am suspicious of anything of the +kind that looks at all threatening. Consequently, I was about the first +person to notice the peculiar unbroken gray that had replaced the black +of a few minutes before, and the first, too, to hear the ominous roar +that sounded like the fall of an immense body of water, and which could +be distinctly heard fifteen minutes before the storm reached us. + +While I stood at the door listening and watching, I saw several people +walking about in the garrison, each one intent upon his own business and +not giving the storm a thought. Still, it seemed to me that it would be +just as well to have the house closed tight, and calling Hulda we soon +had windows and doors closed--not one minute too soon, either, for the +storm came across the mountains with hurricane speed and struck us with +such force that the thick-walled log houses fairly trembled. With the +wind came the hail at the very beginning, changing the hot, sultry air +into the coldness of icebergs. Most of the hailstones were the size of +a hen's egg, and crashed through windows and pounded against the house, +making a noise that was not only deafening but paralyzing. The sounds of +breaking glass came from every direction and Hulda and I rushed from +one room to the other, not knowing what to do, for it was the same scene +everyplace--floors covered with broken glass and hail pouring in through +the openings. + +The ground upon which the officers' quarters are built is a little +sloping, therefore it had to be cut away, back of the kitchen, to make +the floor level for a large shed where ice chest and such things are +kept, and there are two or three steps at the door leading from the shed +up to the ground outside. This gradual rise continues far back to the +mountains, so by the time the hail and water reached us from above they +had become one broad, sweeping torrent, ever increasing in volume. In +one of the boards of our shed close to the steps, and just above the +ground, there happened to be a large "knot" which the pressure of the +water soon forced out, and the water and hailstones shot through and +straight across the shed as if from a fire hose, striking the wall of +the main building! The sight was most laughable--that is, at first it +was; but we soon saw that the awful rush of water that was coming in +through the broken sash and the remarkable hose arrangement back of the +kitchen was rapidly flooding us. + +So I ran to the front door, and seeing a soldier at one of he barrack +windows, I waved and waved my hand until he saw me. He understood at +once and came running over, followed by three more men, who brought +spades and other things. In a short time sods had been banked up at +every door, and then the water ceased to come in. By that time the +heaviest of the storm had passed over, and the men, who were most +willing and kind, began to shovel out the enormous quantity of +hailstones from the shed. They found by actual measurement that they +were eight inches deep--solid hail, and over the entire floor. Much +of the water had run into the kitchen and on through to the butler's +pantry, and was fast making its way to the dining room when it was cut +off. The scenes around the little house were awful. More or less water +was in each room, and there was not one unbroken pane of glass to be +found, and that was not all---there was not one unbroken pane of glass +in the whole post. That night Faye telegraphed to St. Paul for glass to +replace nine hundred panes that had been broken. + +Faye was at the quartermaster's office when the storm came up, and while +it was still hailing I happened to look across the parade that way, and +in the door I saw Faye standing. He had left the house not long before, +dressed in a suit of immaculate white linen, and it was that suit that +enabled me to recognize him through the veil of rain and hail. Sorry as +I was, I had to laugh, for the picture was so ludicrous--Faye in those +chilling white clothes, broken windows each side of him, and the ground +covered with inches of hailstones and ice water! He ran over soon after +the men got here, but as he had to come a greater distance his pelting +was in proportion. Many of the stones were so large it was really +dangerous to be hit by them. + +When the storm was over the ground was white, as if covered with +snow, and the high board fences that are around the yards back of the +officers' quarters looked as though they had been used for targets and +peppered with big bullets. Mount Bridger is several miles distant, yet +we can distinctly see from here the furrows that were made down its +sides. It looks as if deep ravines had been cut straight down from peak +to base. The gardens are wholly ruined--not one thing was left in them. +The poor little gophers were forced out of their holes by the water, +to be killed by the hail, and hundreds of them are lying around dead. I +wondered and wondered why Dryas did not come to our assistance, but he +told us afterward that when the storm first came he went to the stable +to fasten the horses up snug, and was then afraid to come away, first +because of the immense hailstones, and later because both horses were so +terrified by the crashing in of their windows, and the awful cannonade +of hail on the roof. A new cook had come to us just the day before the +storm, and I fully expected that she would start back to Bozeman that +night, but she is still here, and was most patient over the awful +condition of things all over the house. She is a Pole and a good cook, +so there is a prospect of some enjoyment in life after the house gets +straightened out. There was one thing peculiar about that storm. Bozeman +is only three miles from here, yet not one hailstone, not one drop of +rain did they get there. They saw the moving wall of gray and heard the +roar, and feared that something terrible was happening up here. + +The storm has probably ruined the mushrooms that we have found so +delicious lately. At one time, just out of the post, there was a long, +log stable for cavalry horses which was removed two or three years +ago, and all around, wherever the decayed logs had been, mushrooms have +sprung up. When it rains is the time to get the freshest, and many a +time Mrs. Fiske and I have put on long storm coats and gone out in the +rain for them, each bringing in a large basket heaping full of the most +delicate buttons. The quantity is no exaggeration whatever--and to be +very exact, I would say that we invariably left about as many as we +gathered. Usually we found the buttons massed together under the soft +dirt, and when we came to an umbrella-shaped mound with little cracks +on top, we would carefully lift the dirt with a stick and uncover big +clusters of buttons of all sizes. We always broke the large buttons off +with the greatest care and settled the spawn back in the loose dirt for +a future harvest. We often found large mushrooms above ground, and these +were delicious baked with cream sauce. They would be about the size of +an ordinary saucer, but tender and full of rich flavor--and the buttons +would vary in size from a twenty-five-cent piece to a silver dollar, +each one of a beautiful shell pink underneath. They were so very +superior to mushrooms we had eaten before--with a deliciousness all +their own. + +We are wondering if the storm passed over the Yellowstone Park, where +just now are many tents and considerable transportation. The party +consists of the general of the Army, the department commander, members +of their staffs, and two justices of the supreme court. From the park +they are to go across country to Fort Missoula, and as there is only a +narrow trail over the mountains they will have to depend entirely upon +pack mules. These were sent up from Fort Custer for Faye to fit out for +the entire trip. I went down to the corral to see them start out, and +it was a sight well worth going to see. It was wonderful, and laughable, +too, to see what one mule could carry upon his back and two sides. + +The pack saddles are queer looking things that are strapped carefully +and firmly to the mules, and then the tents, sacks, boxes, even stoves +are roped to the saddle. One poor mule was carrying a cooking stove. +There were forty pack mules and one "bell horse" and ten packers--for of +course it requires an expert packer to put the things on the saddle so +they are perfectly balanced and will not injure the animal's back. The +bell horse leads, and wherever it goes the mules will follow. + +At present Faye is busy with preparations for two more parties of +exceedingly distinguished personnel. One of these will arrive in a day +or two, and is called the "Indian Commission," and consists of senator +Dawes and fourteen congressmen. The other party for whom an elaborate +camp outfit is being put in readiness consists of the President of +the United States, the lieutenant general of the Army, the governor of +Montana, and others of lesser magnitude. A troop of cavalry will escort +the President through the park. Now that the park can be reached by +railroad, all of the generals, congressmen, and judges are seized with a +desire to inspect it--in other words, it gives them a fine excuse for an +outing at Uncle Sam's expense. + +CAMP ON YELLOWSTONE RIVER, YELLOWSTONE PARK, August, 1884. + +OUR camp is in a beautiful pine grove, just above the Upper Falls and +close to the rapids; from out tent we can look out on the foaming river +as it rushes from one big rock to another. Far from the bank on an +immense boulder that is almost surrounded by water is perched my tent +companion, Miss Hayes. She says the view from there is grand, but how +she can have the nerve to go over the wet, slippery rocks is a mystery +to all of us, for by one little misstep she would be swept over the +falls and to eternity. + +Our party consists of Captain and Mrs. Spencer, their little niece, Miss +Hayes, and myself--oh, yes, Lottie, the colored cook, and six or +eight soldiers. We have part of the transportation that Major General +Schofield used for this same trip two weeks ago, and which we found +waiting for us at Mammoth Hot Springs. We also have two saddle horses. +By having tents and our own transportation we can remain as long as we +wish at any one place, and can go to many out-of-the-way spots that the +regular tourist does not even hear of. But I do not intend to weary +you with long descriptions of the park, the wonderful geysers, or the +exquisitely tinted water in many of the springs, but to tell you of +our trip, that has been most enjoyable from the very minute we left +Livingstone. + +We camped one night by the Fire-Hole River, where there is a spring I +would like to carry home with me! The water is very hot--boils up a foot +or so all the year round, and is so buoyant that in a porcelain tub of +ordinary depth we found it difficult to do otherwise than float, and its +softening effect upon the skin is delightful. A pipe has been laid +from the spring to the little hotel, where it is used for all sorts of +household purposes. Just fancy having a stream of water that a furnace +somewhere below has brought to boiling heat, running through your +house at any and all times. They told us that during the winter when +everything is frozen, all kinds of wild animals come to drink at the +overflow of the spring. There are hundreds of hot springs in the park, I +presume, but that one at Marshall's is remarkable for the purity of its +water. + +Captain Spencer sent to the hotel for fresh meat and was amazed when the +soldier brought back, instead of meat, a list from which he was asked to +select. At that little log hotel of ten or twelve rooms there were seven +kinds of meat--black-tail deer, white-tail deer, bear, grouse, prairie +chicken, squirrels, and domestic fowl--the latter still in possession +of their heads. Hunting in the park is prohibited, and the proprietor +of that fine game market was most careful to explain to the soldier that +everything had been brought from the other side of the mountain. That +was probably true, but nevertheless, just as we were leaving the +woods by "Hell's Half Acre," and were coming out on a beautiful meadow +surrounded by a thick forest, we saw for one instant a deer standing on +the bank of a little stream at our right, and then it disappeared in the +forest. Captain Spencer was on horseback, and happening to look to the +left saw a man skulking to the woods with a rifle in his hand. The poor +deer would undoubtedly have been shot if we had been a minute or two +later. + +For two nights our camp was in the pine forest back of "Old Faithful," +and that gave us one whole day and afternoon with the geysers. Our +colored cook was simply wild over them, and would spend hours looking +down in the craters of those that were not playing. Those seemed to +fascinate her above all things there, and at times she looked like a +wild African when she returned to camp from one of them. Not far from +the tents of the enlisted men was a small hot spring that boiled lazily +in a shallow basin. It occurred to one of the men that it would make a +fine laundry, so he tied a few articles of clothing securely to a stick +and swished them up and down in the hot sulphur water and then hung +them up to dry. Another soldier, taking notice of the success of that +washing, decided to do even better, so he gathered all the underwear, +he had with him, except those he had on, and dropped them down in the +basin. He used the stick, but only to push them about with, and alas! +did not fasten them to it. They swirled about for a time, and then +all at once every article disappeared, leaving the poor man in dumb +amazement. He sat on the edge of the spring until dark, watching and +waiting for his clothes to return to him; but come back they did not. +Some of the men watched with him, but most of them teased him cruelly. +Such a loss on a trip like this was great. + +When we got to Obsidian Mountain, Miss Hayes and I decided that we would +like to go up a little distance and get a few specimens to carry home +with us. Our camp for the night was supposed to be only one mile farther +on, and the enlisted men and two wagons were back of us, so we thought +we could safely stay there by ourselves. The so-called mountain is +really only a foothill to a large mountain, but is most interesting from +the fact that it is covered with pieces of obsidian, mostly smoke-color, +and that long ago Indians came there for arrowheads. + +A very narrow road has been cut out of the rocks at the base of the +mountain, and about four feet above a small stream. It has two very +sharp turns, and all around, as far as we could see, it would be +exceedingly dangerous, if not impossible, for large wagons to pass. Miss +Hayes and I went on up, gathering and rejecting pieces of obsidian that +had probably been gathered and rejected by hundreds of tourists before +us, and we were laughing and having a beautiful time when, for some +reason, I looked back, and down on the point where the road almost +doubles on itself I saw an old wagon with two horses, and standing +by the wagon were two men. They were looking at us, and very soon one +beckoned. I looked all around, thinking that some of their friends must +certainly be near us, but no one was in sight. By that time one man +was waving his hat to us, and then they actually called, "Come on down +here--come down, it is all right!" + +Miss Hayes is quite deaf, and I was obliged to go around rocks before +I could get near enough to tell her of the wagon below, and the men not +hear me. She gave the men and wagon an indifferent glance, and then went +on searching for specimens. I was so vexed I could have shaken her. She +will scream over a worm or spider, and almost faint at the sight of a +snake, but those two men, who were apparently real tramps, she did not +mind. The situation was critical, and for just one instant I thought +hard. If we were to go over the small mountain we would probably be +lost, and might encounter all sorts of wild beasts, and if those men +were really vicious they could easily overtake us. Besides, it would +never do to let them suspect that we were afraid. So I decided to go +down--and slowly down I went, almost dragging Miss Hayes with me. She +did not understand my tactics, and I did not stop to explain. + +I went right to the men, taking care to get between them and the road +to camp. I asked them if they were in trouble of any kind, and they said +"No." I could hardly control my voice, but it seemed important that I +should give them to understand at once who we were. So I said, "Did +you meet our friends in the army ambulance just down the road?" The two +looked at each other and then one said "Yes!" I continued with, "There +are two very large and heavily loaded army wagons, and a number of +soldiers coming down the other road that should be here right now." They +smiled again, and said something to each other, but I interrupted with, +"I do not see how those big wagons and four mules can pass you here, and +it seems to me you had better get out of their way, for soldiers can be +awfully cross if things are not just to suit them." + +Well, those two men got in the old wagon without saying one word and +started on, and we watched them until they had disappeared from sight +around a bend, and then I said to Miss Hayes, "Come!" and lifting my +skirts, I started on the fastest run I ever made in my life, and I kept +it up until I actually staggered. Then I sat upon a rock back of some +bushes and waited for Miss Hayes, who appeared after a few minutes. We +rested for a short time and then went on and on, and still there was +nothing to be seen of the meadow where the camp was supposed to be. +Finally, after we had walked miles, it seemed to us, we saw an opening +far ahead, and the sharp silhouette of a man under the arch of trees, +and when we reached the end of the wooded road we found Captain +Spencer waiting for us. He at once started off on a fine inspection-day +reprimand, but I was tired and cross and reminded him that it was he who +had told us that the camp would be only one mile from us, and if we +had not listened to him we would not have stopped at all. Then we all +laughed! + +Captain and Mrs. Spencer had become worried, and the ambulance was just +starting back for us when fortunately we appeared. Miss Hayes cannot +understand yet why I went down to that wagon. The child does not fear +tramps and desperadoes, simply because she has never encountered them. +Whether my move was wise or unwise, I knew that down on the road +we could run--up among the rocks we could not. Besides, I have the +satisfaction of knowing that once in my life I outgeneraled a man--two +men--and whether they were friends or foes I care not now. I was wearing +an officer's white cork helmet at the time, and possibly that helped +matters a little. But why did they call to us--why beckon for us to +come down? It was my birthday too. That evening Mrs. Spencer made some +delicious punch and brought out the last of the huge fruit cake she made +for the trip. We had bemoaned the fact of its having all been eaten, +and all the time she had a piece hidden away for my birthday, as a great +surprise. + +We have had one very stormy day. It began to rain soon after we broke +camp in the morning, not hard, but in a cold, penetrating drizzle. +Captain and Mrs. Spencer were riding that day and continued to ride +until luncheon, and by that time they were wet to the skin and shaking +from the cold. We were nearing the falls, the elevation was becoming +greater and the air more chilling every minute. We had expected to reach +the Yellowstone River that day, but it was so wet and disagreeable that +Captain Spencer decided to go into camp at a little spring we came to in +the early afternoon, and which was about four miles from here. The tents +were pitched just above the base of a hill--you would call it a mountain +in the East--and in a small grove of trees. The ground was thickly +carpeted with dead leaves, and everything looked most attractive from +the ambulance. + +When Miss Hayes and I went to our tent, however, to arrange it, we +found that underneath that thick covering of leaves a sheet of water +was running down the side of the hill, and with every step our feet sank +down almost ankle deep in the wet leaves and water. Each has a little +iron cot, and the two had been set up and the bedding put upon them by +the soldiers, and they looked so inviting we decided to rest a while and +get warm also. But much to our disgust we found that our mattresses were +wet and all of our blankets more or less wet, too. It was impossible to +dry one thing in the awful dampness, so we folded the blankets with the +dry part on top as well as we could, and then "crawled in." We hated to +get up for dinner, but as we were guests, we felt that we must do +so, but for that meal we waited in vain--not one morsel of dinner was +prepared that night, and Miss Hayes and I envied the enlisted men when +we got sniffs of their boiling coffee. Only a soldier could have found +dry wood and a place for making coffee that night. + +When it is at all wet Faye always has our tents "ditched," that is, the +sod turned up on the canvas all around the bottom. So just before dark +I asked Captain Spencer if the men could not do that to our tent, and it +was done without delay. It made a great difference in our comfort, for +at once the incoming of the water was stopped. We all retired early that +night, and notwithstanding our hunger, and the wet below and above us, +our sleep was sound. In the morning we found several inches of snow on +the ground and the whole country was white. The snow was so moist and +clinging, that the small branches of trees were bent down with its +weight, and the effect of the pure white on the brilliant greens was +enchanting. Over all was the glorious sunshine that made the whole +grand scene glisten and sparkle like fairyland. And that day was the +twenty-sixth of August! + +It was wretchedly cold, and our heaviest wraps seemed thin and light. +Lottie gave us a nice hot breakfast, and after that things looked much +more cheerful. By noon most of the snow had disappeared, and after +an early luncheon we came on to these dry, piney woods, that claim an +elevation of nine thousand feet. The rarefied air affects people so +differently. Some breathe laboriously and have great difficulty in +walking at all, while to others it is most exhilarating, and gives them +strength to walk great distances. Fortunately, our whole party is of the +latter class. + +Yesterday morning early we all started for a tramp down the canon. I +do not mean that we were in the canon by the river, for that would have +been impossible, but that we went along the path that runs close to the +edge of the high cliff. We carried our luncheon with us, so there was no +necessity for haste, and every now and then we sat upon the thick carpet +of pine needles to rest, and also study the marvelous coloring of the +cliffs across the river. The walls of the canon are very high and very +steep--in many places perpendicular--and their strata of brilliant +colors are a marvel to everyone. It was a day to be remembered, and no +one seemed to mind being a little tired when we returned late in the +afternoon. The proprietor of the little log hotel that is only a short +distance up the river, told Captain Spencer that we had gone down six +good miles--giving us a tramp altogether, of twelve miles. It seems +incredible, for not one of us could walk one half that distance in less +rarefied air. + +Just below the big falls, and of course very near our camp, is a nature +study that we find most interesting. An unusually tall pine tree has +grown up from between the boulders at the edge of the river. The tree is +now dead and its long branches have fallen off, but a few outspreading +short ones are still left, and right in the center of these a pair of +eagles have built a huge nest, and in that nest, right now, are two dear +eaglets! The tree is some distance from the top of the cliff, but it is +also lower, otherwise we would not have such a fine view of the nest and +the big babies. They look a little larger than mallard ducks, and are +well feathered. They fill the nest to overflowing, and seem to realize +that if they move about much, one would soon go overboard. The two old +birds--immense in size--can be seen soaring above the nest at almost any +time, but not once have we seen them come to the nest, although we have +watched with much patience for them to do so. The great wisdom shown by +those birds in the selection of a home is wonderful. It would be utterly +impossible for man or beast to reach it. + +Another nature study that we have seen in the park, and which, to me, +was most wonderful, was a large beaver village. Of course most people of +the Northwest have seen beaver villages of various sizes, but that one +was different, and should be called a city. There were elevated roads +laid off in squares that run with great precision from one little +house to the other. There are dozens and dozens of houses--perhaps a +hundred--in the marshy lake, and the amount of intelligence and cunning +the little animals have shown in the construction of their houses and +elevated roads is worth studying. They are certainly fine engineers. + +We take the road home from here, but go a much more direct route, which +will be by ambulance all the way to Fort Ellis, instead of going by the +cars from Mammoth Hot Springs. I am awfully glad of this, as it will +make the trip one day longer, and take us over a road that is new to +us, although it is the direct route from Ellis to the Park through Rocky +Canon. + +FORT ELLIS, MONTANA TERRITORY, November, 1884. + +ONLY a few days more, and then we will be off for the East! It is over +seven years since we started from Corinne on that long march north, +and I never dreamed at that time that I would remain right in this +territory, until a splendid railroad would be built to us from another +direction to take us out of it. Nearly everything is packed. We expect +to return here in the spring, but in the Army one never knows what +destiny may have waiting for them at the War Department. Besides, I +would not be satisfied to go so far away and leave things scattered +about. + +The two horses, wagons, and everything of the kind have been disposed +of--not because we wanted to sell them, but because Faye was unwilling +to leave the horses with irresponsible persons during a long winter in +this climate, when the most thoughtful care is absolutely necessary to +keep animals from suffering. Lieutenant Gallagher of the cavalry bought +them, and we are passing through our second experience of seeing others +drive around horses we have petted, and taught to know us apart from all +others. George almost broke my heart the other day. He was standing in +front of Lieutenant Gallagher's quarters, that are near ours, when I +happened to go out on the walk, not knowing the horses were there. He +gave a loud, joyous whinnie, and started to come to me, pulling Pete and +the wagon with him. I ran back to the house, for I could not go to him! +He had been my own horse, petted and fed lumps of sugar every day with +my own hands, and I always drove him in single harness, because his +speed was so much greater than Pete's. + +My almost gownless condition has been a cause of great worry to me, +but Pogue has promised to fix up my wardrobe with a rush, and after +the necessary time for that in Cincinnati, I will hurry on to Columbus +Barracks for my promised visit to Doctor and Mrs. Gordon. Then on home! +Faye will go to Cincinnati with me, and from there to the United States +Naval Home, of which his father is governor at present. I will have to +go there, too, before so very long. + +We attended a pretty cotillon in Bozeman last evening and remained +overnight at the hotel. Faye led, and was assisted by Mr. Ladd, of +Bozeman. It was quite a large and elaborate affair, and there were +present "the butcher, the baker, and candlestick maker." Nevertheless, +everything was conducted with the greatest propriety. There are five +or six very fine families in the small place--people of culture and +refinement from the East--and their influence in the building up of the +town has been wonderful. The first year we were at Fort Ellis one would +see every now and then a number, usually four numerals, painted in +bright red on the sidewalk. Everyone knew that to have been the work +of vigilantes, and was a message to some gambler or horse thief to get +himself out of town or stand the shotgun or rope jury. The first time I +saw those red figures--I knew what they were for--it seemed as if they +had been made in blood, and step over them I could not. I went out in +the road around them. We have seen none of those things during the past +two years, and for the sake of those who have worked so hard for law and +order, we hope the desperado element has passed on. + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY, May, 1885. + +IT is nice to be once more at this dear old post, particularly under +such very pleasant circumstances. The winter East was enjoyable and +refreshing from first to last, but citizens and army people have so +little in common, and this one feels after being with them a while, no +matter how near and dear the relationship may be. Why, one half of them +do not know the uniform, and could not distinguish an officer of the +Army from a policeman! I love army life here in the West, and I love all +the things that it brings to me--the grand mountains, the plains, and +the fine hunting. The buffalo are no longer seen; every one has been +killed off, and back of Square Butte in a rolling valley, hundreds of +skeletons are bleaching even now. The valley is about two miles from the +post. + +We are with the commanding officer and his wife, and Hulda is here also. +She was in Helena during the winter and came from there with us. I am +so glad to have her. She is so competent, and will be such a comfort a +little later on, when there will be much entertaining for us to do. We +stopped at Fort Ellis two days to see to the crating of the furniture +and to get all things in readiness to be shipped here, this time by +the cars instead of by wagon, through mud and water. We were guests of +Captain and Mrs. Spencer, and enjoyed the visit so much. Doctor and Mrs. +Lawton gave an informal dinner for us, and that was charming too. + +But the grand event of the stop-over was the champagne supper that +Captain Martin gave in our honor--that is, in honor of the new adjutant +of the regiment. He is the very oldest bachelor and one of the oldest +officers in the regiment--a very jolly Irishman. The supper was +old-fashioned, with many good things to eat, and the champagne frappe +was perfect. I do believe that the generous-hearted man had prepared at +least two bottles for each one of us. Every member of the small garrison +was there, and each officer proposed something pleasant in life for +Faye, and often I was included. There was not the least harm done to +anyone, however, and not a touch of headache the next day. + +As usual, we are waiting for quarters to avoid turning some one out. But +for a few days this does not matter much, as our household goods are +not here, except the rugs and things we sent out from Philadelphia. +Faye entered upon his new duties at guard mounting this morning, and I +scarcely breathed until the whole thing was over and the guard was on +its way to the guardhouse! It was so silly, I knew, to be afraid that +Faye might make a mistake, for he has mounted the guard hundreds of +times while post adjutant. But here it was different. I knew that from +almost every window that looked out on the parade ground, eyes friendly +and eyes envious were peering to see how the new regimental adjutant +conducted himself, and I knew that there was one pair of eyes green from +envy and pique, and that the least faux-pas by Faye would be sneered at +and made much of by their owner. But Faye made no mistake, of course. I +knew all the time that it was quite impossible for him to do so, as he +is one of the very best tacticians in the regiment--still, it is the +unexpected that so often happens. + +The band and the magnificent drum major, watching their new commander +with critical eyes, were quite enough in themselves to disconcert any +man. I never told you what happened to that band once upon a time! It +was before we came to the regiment, and when headquarters were at Fort +Dodge, Kansas. Colonel Mills, at that time a captain, was in command. +It had been customary to send down to the river every winter a detail of +men from each company to cut ice for their use during the coming year. +Colonel Mills ordered the detail down as usual, and also ordered the +band down. It seems that Colonel Fitz-James, who had been colonel of the +regiment for some time, had babied the bandsmen, one and all, until they +had quite forgotten the fact of their being enlisted men. + +So over to Colonel Mills went the first sergeant with a protest against +cutting ice, saying that they were musicians and could not be expected +to do such work, that it would chap their lips and ruin their delicate +touch on the instruments. Colonel Mills listened patiently and then +said, "But you like ice during the summer, don't you?" The sergeant +said, "Yes, sir, but they could not do such hard work as the cutting of +ice." Colonel Mills said, "You are musicians, you say?" The unsuspicious +sergeant, thinking he had gained his point, smilingly said, "Yes, sir!" +But there must have been an awful weakness in his knees when Colonel +Mills said, "Very well, since you are musicians and cannot cut ice, you +will go to the river and play for the other men while they cut it +for you!" The weather was freezing cold, and the playing of brass +instruments in the open air over two feet of solid ice, would have been +painful and difficult, so it was soon decided that it would be better to +cut ice, after all, and in a body the band went down with the other men +to the river without further complaint or protest. + +It is a splendid band, and has always been regarded as one of the very +best in the Army, but there are a few things that need changing, which +Faye will attend to as quickly as possible, and at the same time bring +criticism down upon his own head. The old adjutant is still in the post, +and--"eyes green" are here! + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY, August, 1885. + +MY ride this morning was grand! My new horse is beginning to see that +I am really a friend, and is much less nervous. It is still necessary, +however, for Miller, our striker, to make blinders with his hands back +of Rollo's eyes so he will not see me jump to the saddle, otherwise I +might not get there. I mount in the yard back of the house, where no one +can see me. The gate is opened first, and that the horse always stands +facing, for the instant he feels my weight upon his back there is a +little flinch, then a dash down the yard, a jump over the acequia, then +out through the gate to the plain beyond, where he quiets down and I fix +my stirrup. + +There is not a bit of viciousness about this, as the horse is gentle and +most affectionate at all times, but he has been terribly frightened by +a saddle, and it is distressing to see him tremble and his very flesh +quiver when one is put upon his back, no matter how gently. He had been +ridden only three or four times when we bought him, and probably by a +"bronco breaker," who slung on his back a heavy Mexican saddle, +cinched it tight without mercy, then mounted with a slam over of a +leather-trousered leg, let the almost crazy horse go like the wind, and +if he slackened his speed, spurs or "quirt," perhaps both, drove him on +again. I know only too well how the so-called breaking is done, for +I have seen it many times, and the whole performance is cruel and +disgraceful. There are wicked horses, of course, but there are more +wicked men, and many a fine, spirited animal is ruined, made an "outlaw" +that no man can ride, just by the fiendish way in which they are first +ridden. But the more crazy the poor beast is made, the more fun and +glory for the breaker. + +Rollo is a light sorrel and a natural pacer; he cannot trot one step, +and for that reason I did not want him, but Faye said that I had better +try him, so he was sent up. The fact of his being an unbroken colt, Faye +seemed to consider a matter of no consequence, but I soon found that it +was of much consequence to me, inasmuch as I was obliged to acquire a +more precise balance in the saddle because of his coltish ways, and at +the same time make myself--also the horse--perfectly acquainted with the +delicate give and take of bit and bridle, for with a pacer the slightest +tightening or slackening at the wrong time will make him break. When +Rollo goes his very fastest, which is about 2:50, I never use a stirrup +and never think of a thing but his mouth! There is so little motion to +his body I could almost fancy that he had no legs at all--that we are +being rushed through the air by some unseen force. It is fine! + +Faye has reorganized the band, and the instrumentation is entirely new. +It was sent to him by Sousa, director of the Marine Band, who has been +most kind and interested. The new instruments are here, so are the two +new sets of uniform--one for full dress, the other for concerts and +general wear. Both have white trimmings to correspond with the regiment, +which are so much nicer than the old red facings that made the band look +as if it had been borrowed from the artillery. All this has been the +source of much comment along the officers' quarters and in the barracks +across the parade ground, and has caused several skirmishes between Faye +and the band. It was about talked out, however, when I came in for my +share of criticism! + +The post commander and Faye came over from the office one morning and +said it was their wish that I should take entire charge of the music +for services in church, that I could have an orchestra of soft-toned +instruments, and enlisted men to sing, but that all was to be under my +guidance. I must select the music, be present at all practicings, and +give my advice in any way needed. At first I thought it simply a very +unpleasant joke, but when it finally dawned upon me that those two men +were really in earnest, I was positive they must be crazy, and that I +told them. The whole proposition seemed so preposterous, so ridiculous, +so everything! I shall always believe that Bishop Brewer suggested +church music by the soldiers. Faye is adjutant and in command of the +band, so I was really the proper person to take charge of the church +musicians if anybody did, but the undertaking was simply appalling. But +the commanding officer insisted and Faye insisted, and both gave many +reasons for doing so. The enemy was too strong, and I was forced to give +in, the principal reason being, however, that I did not want some one +else to take charge! + +In a short time the little choir was organized and some of the very +best musicians in the band were selected for the orchestra. We have +two violins (first and second), one clarinet, violoncello, oboe, and +bassoon, the latter instrument giving the deep organ tones. There have +been three services, and at one Sergeant Graves played an exquisite solo +on the violin, "There is a green hill far away," from the oratorio of +St. Paul. At another, Matijicek played Gounod's "Ave Maria" on the oboe, +and last Sunday he gave us, on the clarinet, "Every valley shall be +exalted." The choir proper consists of three sergeants and one corporal, +and our tenor is his magnificence, the drum major! + +Service is held in a long, large hall, at the rear end of which is a +smaller room that can be made a part of the hall by folding back large +doors. We were just inside this small room and the doors were opened +wide. On a long bench sat the four singers, two each side of a very +unhappy woman, and back of the bench in a half circle were the six +musicians. Those musicians depended entirely upon me to indicate to them +when to play and the vocalists when to sing, therefore certain signals +had been arranged so that there would be no mistake or confusion. There +I sat, on a hot summer morning, almost surrounded by expert musicians +who were conscious of my every movement, and then, those men were +soldiers accustomed to military precision, and the fear of making a +mistake and leading them wrong was agonizing. At the farther end of +the hall the Rev. Mr. Clark was standing, reading along in an easy, +self-assured way that was positively irritating. And again, there was +the congregation, each one on the alert, ready to criticise, probably +condemn, the unheard-of innovation! Every man, woman, and child was at +church that morning, too--many from curiosity, I expect--and every time +we sang one half of them turned around and stared at us. + +During the reading of the service I could not change my position, turn +my head, or brush the flies that got upon my face, without those six +hands back of me pouncing down for their instruments. It was impossible +to sing the chants, as the string instruments could not hold the tones, +so anthems were used instead--mostly Millard's--and they were very +beautiful. Not one mistake has ever been made by anyone, but Sergeant +Moore has vexed me much. He is our soprano, and has a clear, high-tenor +voice and often sings solos in public, but for some unexplainable reason +he would not sing a note in church unless I sang with him, so I had to +hum along for the man's ear alone. Why he has been so frightened' I do +not know, unless it was the unusual condition of things, which have been +quite enough to scare anyone. + +Well, I lived through the three services, and suppose I can live through +more. The men are not compelled to do this church work, although not +one would think of refusing. There is much rehearsing to be done, and +Sergeant Graves has to transpose the hymns and write out the notes for +each instrument, and this requires much work. To show my appreciation of +their obedience to my slightest request, a large cake and dozens of eggs +have been sent to them after each service. It is funny how nice things +to eat often make it easy for a man to do things that otherwise would be +impossible! + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY, July, 1886. + +MY trip to Helena was made alone, after all! The evening before I +started Mrs. Todd told me that she could not go, frankly admitting that +she was afraid to go over the lonesome places on the road with only the +driver for a protector. It was important that I should see a dentist, +and Mrs. Averill was depending upon me to bring her friend down from +Helena who was expected from the East, so I decided to go alone. The +quartermaster gave me the privilege of choosing my driver, and I asked +for a civilian, a rather old man who is disliked by everyone because +of his surly, disagreeable manner. Just why I chose him I cannot tell, +except that he is a good driver and I felt that he could be trusted. The +morning we started Faye said to him, "Driver, you must take good care of +Mrs. Rae, for she asked for you to drive on this trip," which must have +had its effect--that, and the nice lunch I had prepared for him--for he +was kind and thoughtful at all times. + +It takes two days to go to Helena from here, a ride of forty-five miles +one day and forty the second; and on each long drive there are stretches +of miles and miles over mountains and through canons where one is far +from a ranch or human being, and one naturally thinks of robbers and +other unpleasant things. At such places I rode on top with the driver, +where I could at least see what was going on around us. + +Just before we crossed the Bird-Tail divide we came to a wonderful +sight, "a sight worth seeing," the driver said; and more to gratify him +than because I wanted to, we stopped. An enormous corral had been put up +temporarily, and in it were thousands of sheep, so closely packed that +those in the center were constantly jumping over the others, trying to +find a cooler place. In the winter, when the weather is very cold, sheep +will always jump from the outer circle of the band to the center, where +it is warm; they always huddle together in cold weather, and herders +are frequently compelled to remain right with them, nights at a time, +working hard every minute separating them so they will not smother. One +of the men, owner of the sheep, I presume, met us and said he would +show me where to go so I could see everything that was being done, which +proved to be directly back of a man who was shearing sheep. They told +me that he was the very fastest and most expert shearer in the whole +territory. Anyone could see that he was an expert, for three men were +kept busy waiting upon him. At one corner of the corral was a small, +funnel-shaped "drive," the outer opening of which was just large enough +to squeeze a sheep through, and in the drive stood a man, sheep in hand, +ever ready to rush it straight to the hands of the shearer the instant +he was ready for it. + +The shearer, who was quite a young man, sat upon a box close to the +drive, and when he received a sheep it was always the same way--between +his knees--and he commenced and finished the shearing of each animal +exactly the same way, every clip of the large shears counting to the +best advantage. They told me that he gained much time by the unvarying +precision that left no ragged strips to be trimmed off. The docility of +those wild sheep was astonishing. Almost while the last clip was +being made the sheep was seized by a second assistant standing at the +shearer's left, who at once threw the poor thing down on its side, where +he quickly painted the brand of that particular ranch, after which it +was given its freedom. It was most laughable to see the change in the +sheep--most of them looking lean and lanky, whereas in less than one +short minute before, their sides had been broad and woolly. A third man +to wait upon the shearer was kept busy at his right carefully gathering +the wool and stuffing it in huge sacks. Every effort was made to keep it +clean, and every tiny bit was saved. + +About four o'clock we reached Rock Creek, where we remained overnight at +a little inn. The house is built of logs, and the architecture is about +as queer as its owner. Mrs. Gates, wife of the proprietor, can be, and +usually is, very cross and disagreeable, and I rather dreaded stopping +there alone. But she met me pleasantly--that is, she did not snap my +head off--so I gathered courage to ask for a room that would be near +some one, as I was timid at night. That settled my standing in her +opinion, and with a "Humph!" she led the way across a hall and through +a large room where there were several beds, and opening a door on the +farther side that led to still another room, she told me I could have +that, adding that I "needn't be scared to death, as the boys will sleep +right there." I asked her how old the boys were, and she snapped, "How +old! why they's men folks," and out of the room she went. Upon looking +around I saw that my one door opened into the next room, and that as +soon as the "boys" occupied it I would be virtually a prisoner. To be +sure, the windows were not far from the ground, and I could easily jump +out, but to jump in again would require longer arms and legs than I +possessed. But just then I felt that I would much prefer to encounter +robbers, mountain lions, any gentle creatures of that kind, to asking +Mrs. Gates for another room. + +When I went out to supper that night I was given a seat at one end of +a long table where were already sitting nine men, including my own +civilian driver, who, fortunately, was near the end farthest from me. +No one paid the slightest attention to me, each man attending to his +own hungry self and trying to outdo the others in talking. Finally they +commenced telling marvelous tales about horses that they had ridden and +subdued, and I said to myself that I had been told all about sheep that +day, and there it was about horses, and I wondered how far I would have +to go to hear all sorts of things about cattle! But anything about +a horse is always of interest to me, and those men were particularly +entertaining, as it was evident that most of them were professional +trainers. + +There was sitting at the farther end of the table a rather young-looking +man, who had been less talkative than the others, but who after a while +said something about a horse at the fort. The mentioning of the post +was startling, and I listened to hear what further he had to say. And +he continued, "Yes, you fellers can say what yer dern please about yer +broncos, but that little horse can corral any dern piece of horseflesh +yer can show up. A lady rides him, and I guess I'd put her up with the +horse. The boys over there say that she broke the horse herself, and I +say! you fellers orter see her make him go--and he likes it, too." + +By the time the man stopped talking, my excitement was great, for I was +positive that he had been speaking of Rollo, although no mention had +been made of the horse's color or gait. So I asked what gait the horse +had. He and two or three of the other men looked at me with pity in +their eyes--actual pity--that plainly said, "Poor thing--what can you +know about gaits"; but he answered civilly, "Well, lady, he is what we +call a square pacer," and having done his duty he turned again to his +friends, as though they only could understand him, and said, "No cow +swing about that horse. He is a light sorrel and has the very handsomest +mane yer ever did see--it waves, too, and I guess the lady curls it--but +don't know for sure." + +The situation was most unusual and in some ways most embarrassing, +also. Those nine men were rough and unkempt, but they were splendid +horsemen--that I knew intuitively--and to have one of their number +select my very own horse above all others to speak of with unstinted +praise, was something to be proud of, but to have my own self calmly and +complacently disposed of with the horse--"put up," in fact--was quite +another thing. But not the slightest disrespect had been intended, and +to leave the table without making myself known was not to be thought of. +I wanted the pleasure, too, of telling those men that I knew the gait +of a pacer very well--that not in the least did I deserve their pity. My +face was burning and my voice unnatural when I threw the bomb! + +I said, "The horse you are speaking of I know very well. He is mine, and +I ride him, and I thank you very much for the nice things you have +just said about him!" Well, there was a sudden change of scene at that +table--a dropping of knives and forks and various other things, and I +became conscious of eyes--thousands of eyes--staring straight at me, as +I watched my bronco friend at the end of the table. The man had +opened his eyes wide, and almost gasped "Gee-rew-s'lum!"--then utterly +collapsed. He sat back in his chair gazing at me in a helpless, +bewildered way that was disconcerting, so I told him a number of things +about Rollo--how Faye had taken him to Helena during race week and +Lafferty, a professional jockey of Bozeman, had tested his speed, and +had passed a 2:30 trotter with him one morning. The men knew Lafferty, +of course. There was a queer coincidence connected with him and Rollo. +The horse that he was driving at the races was a pacer named Rolla, +while my horse, also a pacer, was named Rollo. + +All talk about horses ceased at once, and the men said very little to +each other during the remainder of the time we were at the table. It was +almost pathetic, and an attention I very much appreciated, to see how +bread, pickles, cold meat, and in fact everything else on that rough +table, were quietly pushed to me, one after the other, without one word +being said. That was their way of showing their approval of me. It was +unpolished, but truly sincere. + +I was not at all afraid that night, for I suspected that the horsemen at +the supper-table were the "boys" referred to by Mrs. Gates. But it was +impossible to sleep. The partition between the two rooms must have been +very thin, for the noises that came through were awful. It seemed as +though dozens of men were snoring at the same time, and that some of +them were dangerously "croupy," for they choked and gulped, and every +now and then one would have nightmare and groan and yell until some one +would tell him to "shut up," or perhaps say something funny about him +to the others. No matter how many times those men were wakened they were +always cheerful and good-natured about it. A statement that I cannot +truthfully make about myself on the same subject! + +It was not necessary for me to leave my room through the window the next +morning, although my breakfast was early. The house seemed deserted, +and I had the long table all to myself. At six o'clock we started on +our ride to Helena. I sat with the driver going through the long +Prickly-Pear canon, and had a fine opportunity of seeing its magnificent +grandeur, while the early shadows were still long. The sun was on many +of the higher boulders, that made them sparkle and show brilliantly in +their high lights and shadows. The trees and bushes looked unusually +fresh and green. We hear that a railroad will soon be built through that +canon--but we hope not. It would be positively wicked to ruin anything +so grand. + +We reached Helena before luncheon, and I soon found Miss Duncan, who was +expecting me. We did not start back until the second day, so she and +I visited all the shops and then drove out to Sulphur Spring. The way +everybody and everything have grown and spread out since the Northern +Pacific Railroad has been running cars through Helena is most amazing. +It was so recently a mining town, just "Last Chance Gulch," where +Chinamen were digging up the streets for gold, almost undermining the +few little buildings, and Chinamen also were raising delicious +celery, where now stand very handsome houses. Now Main street has many +pretentious shops, and pretty residences have been put up almost to the +base of Mount Helena. + +The ride back was uneventful, greatly to Miss Duncan's disappointment. +It is her first visit to the West, and she wants to see cowboys and all +sorts of things. I should have said "wanted to see," for I think that +already her interest in brass buttons is so great the cowboys will +never be thought of again. There were two at Rock Creek, but they were +uninteresting--did not wear "chaps," pistols, or even big spurs. At the +Bird-Tail not one sheep was to be seen--every one had been sheared, and +the big band driven back to its range. Miss Duncan is a pretty girl, and +unaffected, and will have a delightful visit at this Western army post, +where young girls from the East do not come every day. And then we have +several charming young bachelors! + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY, December, 1887. + +THE excitement is about over. Our guests have returned to their homes, +and now we are settling down to our everyday garrison life. The wedding +was very beautiful and as perfect in every detail as adoring father and +mother and loving friends could make it. It was so strictly a military +wedding, too--at a frontier post where everything is of necessity "army +blue"--the bride a child of the regiment, her father an officer in the +regiment many years, and the groom a recent graduate from West Point, +a lieutenant in the regiment. We see all sorts of so-called military +weddings in the East--some very magnificent church affairs, others at +private houses, and informal, but there are ever lacking the real +army surroundings that made so perfect the little wedding of Wednesday +evening. + +The hall was beautifully draped with the greatest number of flags of all +sizes--each one a "regulation," however--and the altar and chancel rail +were thickly covered with ropes and sprays of fragrant Western cedars +and many flowers, and from either side of the reredos hung from their +staffs the beautifully embroidered silken colors of the regiment. At the +rear end of the hall stood two companies of enlisted men--one on each +side of the aisle--in shining full-dress uniforms, helmets in hand. The +bride's father is captain of one of those companies, and the groom a +lieutenant in the other. As one entered the hall, after passing numerous +orderlies, each one in full-dress uniform, of course, and walked up +between the two companies, every man standing like a statue, one became +impressed by the rare beauty and military completeness of the whole +scene. + +The bride is petite and very young, and looked almost a child as she and +her father slowly passed us, her gown of heavy ivory satin trailing +far back of her. The orchestra played several numbers previous to the +ceremony--the Mendelssohn March for processional, and Lohengrin for +recessional, but the really exquisite music was during the ceremony, +when there came to us softly, as if floating from afar over gold lace +and perfumed silks and satins, the enchanting strains of Moszkowski's +Serenade! Faye remained with the orchestra all the time, to see that +the music was changed at just the right instant and without mistake. The +pretty reception was in the quarters of Major and Mrs. Stokes, and there +also was the delicious supper served. Some of the presents were elegant. +A case containing sixty handsome small pieces of silver was given by the +officers of the regiment. A superb silver pitcher by the men of Major +Stokes's company, and an exquisite silver after-dinner coffee set by the +company in which the groom is a lieutenant. Several young officers came +down from Fort Assiniboine to assist as ushers, and there were at the +post four girls from Helena. An army post is always an attractive place +to girls, but it was apparent from the first that these girls came for +an extra fine time. I think they found it! + +They were all at our cotillon Monday evening, and kept things moving +fast. It was refreshing to have a new element, and a little variety +in partners. We have danced with each other so much that everyone has +become more or less like a machine. Faye led, dancing with Miss Stokes, +for whom the german was given. The figures were very pretty--some of +them new--and the supper was good. To serve refreshments of any kind +at the hall means much work, for everything has to be prepared at the +house--even coffee, must be sent over hot; and every piece of china and +silver needed must be sent over also. Mrs. Hughes came from Helena on +Saturday and remained with me until yesterday. + +You know something of the awful times I have had with servants since +Hulda went away! First came the lady tourist--who did us the honor to +consent to our paying her expenses from St. Paul, and who informed me +upon her arrival that she was not obliged to work out--no indeed--that +her own home was much nicer than our house--that she had come up to see +the country, and so forth. We found her presence too great a burden, +particularly as she could not prepare the simplest meal, and so invited +her to return to her elegant home. Then came the two women--the mother +to Mrs. Todd, the daughter to me--who were insulted because they +were expected to occupy servant's rooms, and could not "eat with the +family"--so Mrs. Todd and I gave them cordial invitations to depart. +Then came my Russian treasure--a splendid cook, but who could not be +taught that a breakfast or dinner an hour late mattered to a regimental +adjutant, and wondered why guard mounting could not be held back while +she prepared an early breakfast for Faye. After a struggle of two months +she was passed on. A tall, angular woman with dull red hair drawn up +tight and twisted in a knot as hard as her head, was my next trial. She +was the wife of a gambler of the lowest type, but that I did not know +while she was here. + +One day I told her to do something that she objected to, and with her +hands clinched tight she came up close as if to strike me. I stood +still, of course, and quietly said, "You mustn't strike me." She looked +like a fury and screamed, "I will if I want to!" She was inches +taller than I, but I said, "If you do, I will have you locked in the +guardhouse." She became very white, and fairly hissed at me, "You can't +do that--I ain't a soldier." I told her, "No, if you were a soldier you +would soon be taught to behave yourself," and I continued, "you are in +an army post, however, and if you do me violence I will certainly call +the guard." Before I turned to go from the room I looked up at her +and said, "Now I expect you to do what I have told you to do." I fully +expected a strike on my head before I got very far, but she controlled +herself. I went out of the house hoping she would do the same and never +return, but she was there still, and we had to tell her to go, after +all. I must confess, though, that the work she had objected to doing she +did nicely while I was out. Miller told me that she had three pistols +and two large watches in her satchel when she went away. + +Then came a real treasure--Scotch Ellen--who has been with us six +months, and has been very satisfactory every way. To be sure she has had +awful headaches, and often it has been necessary for some one to do her +work. She and the sergeant's wife prepared the supper for the german, +and everything was sent to the hall in a most satisfactory way--much to +my delight. Nothing wrong was noticed the next morning either, until she +carried chocolate to Mrs. Hughes, when I saw with mortification that she +looked untidy, but thinking of the confusion in her part of the house, I +said nothing about it. + +Our breakfast hour is twelve o'clock, and about eleven Mrs. Hughes and +I went out for a little walk. In a short time Faye joined us, and just +before twelve I came in to see if everything was in its proper place on +the table. As I went down the hall I saw a sight in the dining room that +sent shivers down my back. On the table were one or two doilies, and +one or two of various other things, and at one side stood the Scotch +treasure with a plate in one hand upon which were a few butter balls, +and in the other she held a butter pick. The doors leading through +pantry into the kitchen were open and all along the floor I could see +here and there a little golden ball that had evidently rolled off +the plate. I could also see the range--that looked black and cold and +without one spark of fire! + +Going to the side of the table opposite Ellen I said, "Ellen, what is +the matter with you?"--and looking at me with dull, heavy eyes, she +said, "And what is the matter wit' you?" Then I saw that she was drunk, +horribly drunk, and told her so, but she could only say, "I'm drunk, +am I?" I ran outside for Faye, but he and Mrs. Hughes had walked to the +farther end of the officers' line, and I was compelled to go all that +distance before I could overtake them and tell of my woes. I wanted the +woman out of the house as quickly as possible, so that Miller--who is a +very good cook--and I could prepare some sort of a breakfast. Faye went +to the house with his longest strides and told the woman to go at once, +and I saw no more of her. Mrs. Hughes was most lovely about the whole +affair--said that not long ago she had tried a different cook each week +for six in succession. That was comforting, but did not go far toward +providing a breakfast for us. Miller proved to be a genuine treasure, +however, and the sergeant's wife--who is ever "a friend indeed"--came to +our assistance so soon we scarcely missed the Scotch creature. Still, it +was most exasperating to have such an unnecessary upheaval, just at +the very time we had a guest in the house--a dainty, fastidious little +woman, too--and wanted things to move along smoothly. I wonder of what +nationality the next trial will be! If one gets a good maid out here the +chances are that she will soon marry a soldier or quarrel with one, as +was the Case with Hulda. For some unaccountable reason a Chinese laundry +at Sun River has been the cause of all the Chinamen leaving the post. + +Now I must tell of something funny that happened to me. + +The morning before Mrs. Hughes arrived I went out for a little ride, and +about two miles up the river I left the road to follow a narrow trail +that leads to a bluff called Crown Butte. I had to go through a large +field of wild rosebushes, then across an alkali bed, and then through +more bushes. I had passed the first bushes and was more than half way +across the alkali, Rollo's feet sinking down in the sticky mud at every +step, when there appeared from the bushes in front of me, and right in +the path, two immense gray wolves. If they had studied to surprise me in +the worst place possible they could not have succeeded better. Rollo saw +them, of course, and stopped instantly, giving deep sighs, preparing +to snort, I knew. To give myself courage I talked to the horse, slowly +turning him around, so as to not excite him, or let the timber wolves +see that I was running from them. + +But the horse I could not deceive, for as soon as his back was toward +them, head and tail went up, and there was snort after snort. He could +not run, as we were still in the alkali lick. I looked back and saw that +the big gray beasts were slowly moving toward us, and I recognized the +fact that the mud would not stop them, if they chose to cross it. Once +free of the awful stickiness, I knew that we would be out of danger, as +the swiftest wolf could never overtake the horse--but it seemed as if it +were miles across that white mud. But at last we got up on solid ground, +and were starting off at Rollo's best pace, when from out of the bushes +in front of us, there came a third wolf! The horse stopped so suddenly +it is a wonder I was not pitched over his head, but I did not think of +that at the time. + +The poor horse was terribly frightened, and I could feel him tremble, +which made me all the more afraid. The situation was not pleasant, and +without stopping to think, I said, "Rollo, we must run him down--now do +your best!" and taking a firm hold of the bridle, and bracing myself +in the saddle, I struck the horse hard with my whip and gave an awful +scream. I never use a whip on him, so the sting on his side and yell in +his ears frightened him more than the wolf had, and he started on again +with a rush. But the wolf stood still--so did my heart--for the beast +looked savage. When it seemed as though we were actually upon him I +struck the horse again and gave scream after scream as fast as my lungs +would allow me. The big gray thing must have thought something evil was +coming, for he sprang back, and then jumped over in the bushes and did +not show himself again. Rollo came home at an awful pace; but I looked +back once and saw, standing in the road near the bushes, five timber +wolves, evidently watching us. Just where the other two had been I will +never know, of course. + +We have ridden and driven up that road many, many times, and I have +often ridden through those rosebushes, but have never seen wolves or +coyotes. Down in the lowland on the other side of the post we frequently +see a coyote that will greet us with the most unearthly howls, and will +sometimes follow carriages, howling all the time. But everyone looks +upon him as a pet. Those big, gray timber wolves are quite another +animal, fierce and savage. Some one asked me why I screamed, but I could +not tell why. Perhaps it was to urge the horse--perhaps to frighten the +wolf--perhaps to relieve the strain on my nerves. Possibly it was just +because I was frightened and could not help it! + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY, May, 1888. + +SUCH upheaval orders have been coming to the post the past few days, +some of us wonder if there has not been an earthquake, and can only sit +around and wait in a numb sort of way for whatever may come next. + +General Bourke, who has been colonel of the regiment, you know, has been +appointed a brigadier general and is to command the Department of the +Platte, with headquarters at Omaha, Nebraska. This might have affected +Faye under any circumstances, as a new colonel has the privilege of +selecting his own staff officers, but General Bourke, as soon as he +received the telegram telling of his appointment, told Faye that he +should ask for him as aide-de-camp. This will take us to Omaha, also, +and I am almost heartbroken over it, as it will be a wretched life for +me--cooped up in a noisy city! At the same time I am delighted that Faye +will have for four years the fine staff position. These appointments are +complimentary, and considered most desirable. + +The real stir-up, however, came with orders for the regiment to go to +Fort Snelling, Minnesota, for that affects about everyone here. Colonel +Munson, who relieves General Bourke as colonel of the regiment, is in +St. Paul, and is well known as inspector general of this department, +which perhaps is not the most flattering introduction he could have +had to his new regiment. He telegraphed, as soon as promoted, that he +desired Faye to continue as adjutant, but of course to be on the staff +of a general is far in advance of being on the staff of a colonel. The +colonel commands only his own regiment--sometimes not all of that, as +when companies are stationed at other posts than headquarters--whereas +a brigadier general has command of a department consisting of many army +posts and many regiments. + +The one thing that distresses me most of all is, that I have to part +from my horse! This is what makes me so rebellious, for aside from my +own personal loss, I have great sorrow for the poor dumb animal that +will suffer so much with strangers who will not understand him. No +one has ridden or driven him for two years but myself, and he has been +tractable and lovable always. During very cold weather, when perhaps he +would be too frisky, I have allowed him to play in the yard back of the +house, until all superfluous spirits had been kicked and snorted off, +after which I could have a ride in peace and safety. Faye thinks that +he is entirely too nervous ever to take kindly to city sights and +sounds--that the fretting and the heat might kill him. + +So it has been decided that once again we will sell everything--both +horses and all things pertaining to them, reserving our saddles only. +Every piece of furniture will be sold, also, as we do not purpose to +keep house at all while in Omaha. How I envy our friends who will go +to Fort Snelling! We have always been told that it is such a beautiful +post, and the people of St. Paul and Minneapolis are most charming. +It seems so funny that the regiment should be sent to Snelling just as +Colonel Munson was promoted to it. He will have to move six miles only! + +We know that when we leave Fort Shaw we will go from the old army life +of the West--that if we ever come back, it will be to unfamiliar scenes +and a new condition of things. We have seen the passing of the buffalo +and other game, and the Indian seems to be passing also. But I must +confess that I have no regret for the Indians--there are still too many +of them! + +FORT SHAW, MONTANA TERRITORY, May, 1888. + +THERE can be only two more days at this dear old post, where we have +been so happy, and I want those to pass as quickly as possible, and have +some of the misery over. Our house is perfectly forlorn, with just a few +absolute necessaries in it for our use while here. Everything has been +sold or given away, and all that is left to us are our trunks and army +chests. Some fine china and a few pieces of cut glass I kept, and even +those are packed in small boxes and in the chests. + +The general selling-out business has been funny. No one in the regiment +possessed many things that they cared to move East with them, and as we +did not desire to turn our houses into second-hand shops, where people +could handle and make remarks about things we had treasured, it was +decided that everything to be sold should be moved to the large +hall, where enlisted men could attend to the shop business. Our only +purchasers were people from Sun River Crossing, and a few ranches +that are some distance from the post, and it was soon discovered that +anything at all nice was passed by them, so we became sharp--bunching +the worthless with the good--and that worked beautifully and things sold +fast. + +These moves are of the greatest importance to army officers, and many +times the change of station is a mere nothing in comparison to the +refitting of a house, something that is never taken into consideration +when the pay of the Army is under discussion. The regiment has been on +the frontier ten years, and everything that we had that was at all nice +had been sent up from St. Paul at great expense, or purchased in Helena +at an exorbitant price. All those things have been disposed of for +almost nothing, and when the regiment reaches Fort Snelling, where +larger quarters have to be furnished for an almost city life, the +officers will be at great expense. Why I am bothering about Snelling +I fail to see, as we are not going there, and I certainly have enough +troubles of my Own to think about. + +This very morning, Mrs. Ames, of Sun River Crossing, who now owns dear +Rollo, came up to ask me to show her how to drive him! Just think of +that! She talked as though she had been deceived--that it was my duty +to show her the trick by which I had managed to control the horse, and, +naturally, it would be a delightful pleasure to me to be allowed to +drive him once more, and so on. Mrs. Ames said that yesterday she +started out with him, intending to come to the post to let me see +him--fancy the delicate feeling expressed in that--but the horse went so +fast she became frightened, for it seemed as though the telegraph poles +were only a foot apart. She finally got the horse turned around and +drove back home, when her husband got in and undertook to drive him, but +with no better success; but he, too, started the horse toward his old +home. + +Mr. Ames then told her to have Rollo put back in the stable until she +could get me to show her how to drive him. I almost cried out from pure +pity for the poor dumb beast that I knew was suffering so in his longing +for his old home and friends who understood him. But for the horse's +sake I tried not to break down. I told her that first of all she must +teach the horse to love her. That was an awfully hard thing to say, I +assure you, and I doubt if the woman understood my meaning after all. +When I told her not to pull on his mouth she looked amazed, and said, +"Why, he would run away with me if I didn't!" But I assured her that he +would not--that he had been taught differently--that he was very nervous +and spirited--that the harder she pulled the more excited he would +become--that I had simply held him steady, no more. I saw that Mrs. Ames +did not believe one word that I had said, but I tried to convince her, +for the sake of the unhappy animal that had been placed at her mercy. + +I have often met and passed her out on the road, and the horse she +drives is a large, handsome animal, and we had supposed that she was a +good whip; so, when Mr. Ames appeared the other day and said his wife +had asked him to come up and buy the sorrel horse for her we were +delighted that such a good home had been found for him--and for Fannie +too. Mr. Ames bought the entire outfit. Fannie is beautiful, but wholly +lacking in affection, and can take care of herself any place. + +All sorts of people have been here for the horses--some wanted both, +others only one--but Faye would not let them go to any of them, as he +was afraid they would not have the best of care. Rollo had been gone +only an hour or so when a young man--a typical bronco breaker--came to +buy him, and seemed really distressed because he had been sold. He said +that he had broken him when a colt at Mr. Vaughn's. It so happened that +Faye was at the adjutant's office, and the man asked for me. I was very +glad, for I had always wanted to meet the person who had slammed +the saddle first on Rollo's back. I told him that it was generally +considered at the post that I had broken the horse! I said that he had +been made cruelly afraid of a saddle, and for a long time after we +had bought him, he objected to it and to being mounted, and I did not +consider a horse broken that would do those things. I said also, +that the horse had not been gaited. He interrupted with, "Why, he's +a pacer"--just as though that settled everything; but I told him that +Rollo had three perfectly trained grades of speed, each one of which I +had taught him. + +The young man's face became very red and he looked angry, but I had a +beautiful time. It was such a relief to express my opinion to the man +just at that time, too, when I was grieving so for the horse. I saw at +once that he was a bronco breaker from his style of dress. He had on +boots of very fine leather with enormously high heels, and strapped +to them were large, sharp-pointed Mexican spurs. His trousers were of +leather and very broad at the bottom, and all down the front and outside +was some kind of gray fur--"chaps" this article of dress is called--and +in one hand he held a closely plaited, stinging black "quirt." He wore a +plaid shirt and cotton handkerchief around his neck. That describes the +man who rode Rollo first--and no wonder the spirited, high-strung colt +was suspicious of saddles, men, and things. I watched the man as he rode +away. His horse was going at a furious gallop, with ears turned back, as +if expecting whip or spur any instant, and the man sat far over on one +side, that leg quite straight as though he was standing in the long +stirrup, and the other was resting far up on the saddle--which was of +the heavy Mexican make, with enormous flaps, and high, round pommel in +front. I am most thankful that Rollo has gone beyond that man's reach, +as everything about him told of cruelty to horses. + +Yet, Mrs. Ames seemed such a cold woman--so incapable of understanding +or appreciating the affection of a dumb animal. During the years we +owned Rollo he was struck with the whip only once--the time I wanted him +to run down a wolf up the river. + +The Great Northern Railroad runs very near Fort Shaw now--about twenty +miles, I think--and, that will make it convenient for the moving of the +regiment, and all of us, in fact. We will go to St. Paul on the special +train with the regiment, for Faye will not be relieved as adjutant until +he reaches Fort Snelling, where we will remain for a day or two. It will +be a sad trip for me, for I love the West and life at a Western post, +and the vanities of city life do not seem attractive to me--and I shall +miss my army friends, too! + +Perhaps it is a small matter to mention, but since I have been with the +Army I have ridden twenty-two horses that had never been ridden by a +woman before! As I still recollect the gait and disposition of each +horse, it seems of some consequence to me, for unbroken as some were, I +was never unseated--not once! + +THE PAXTON HOTEL, OMAHA, NEBRASKA, August, 1888. + +ALMOST five weeks have passed since we left dear Fort Shaw! During that +time we have become more or less accustomed to the restrictions of a +small city, but I fancy that I am not the only one of the party from +Montana who sometimes sighs for the Rocky Mountains and the old garrison +life. Here we are not of the Army--neither are we citizens. General and +Mrs. Bourke are still dazzled by the brilliancy of the new silver star +on the general's shoulder straps, and can still smile. Faye says very +little, but I know that he often frets over his present monotonous +duties and yearns for the regiment, his duties as adjutant of the +regiment, the parades, drills, and outdoor life generally, that make +life so pleasant at a frontier post. + +Department Headquarters is in a government building down by the river, +and the offices are most cheerless. All the officers wear civilian +clothes, and there is not one scrap of uniform to be seen any +place--nothing whatever to tell one "who is who," from the department +commander down to Delaney, the old Irish messenger! Each one sits at his +desk and busies himself over the many neatly tied packages of official +papers upon it, and tries to make the world believe that he is +happy--but there are confidential talks, when it is admitted that life +is dreary--the regiment the only place for an energetic officer, and +so on. Yet not one of those officers could be induced to give up his +detail, for it is always such a compliment to be selected from the +many for duty at headquarters. Faye and Lieutenant Travis are on the +general's personal staff, the others belong to the department. Just now, +Faye is away with the department commander, who is making an official +tour of inspection through his new department, which is large, and +includes some fine posts. It is known as "The Department of the Platte." + +Everyone has been most hospitable--particularly the army people at Fort +Omaha--a post just beyond the city limits. Mrs. Wheeler, wife of the +colonel in command, gave a dancing reception very soon after we +got here, and an elegant dinner a little later on--both for the new +brigadier general and his staff. Mrs. Foster, the handsome wife of the +lieutenant colonel, gave a beautiful luncheon, and the officers of the +regiment gave a dance that was pleasant. But their orchestra is far from +being as fine as ours. In the city there have been afternoon and evening +receptions, and several luncheons, the most charming luncheon of all +having been the one given by my friend, Mrs. Schuyler, at the Union +Club. One afternoon each week the club rooms are at the disposal of the +wives of its members, and so popular is this way of entertaining, +the rooms are usually engaged weeks in advance. The service is really +perfect, and the rooms airy and delightfully cool--and cool rooms are +great treasures in this hot place. + +The heat has been almost unbearable to us from the mountains, and one +morning I nearly collapsed while having things "fitted" in the stuffy +rooms of a dressmaker. Many of these nouveaux riches dress elegantly, +and their jewels are splendid. All the women here have such white skins, +and by comparison I must look like a Mexican, my face is so brown from +years of exposure to dry, burning winds. Of course there has been much +shopping to do, and for a time it was so confusing--to have to select +things from a counter, with a shop girl staring at me, or perhaps +insisting upon my purchasing articles I did not want. For years we had +shopped from catalogues, and it was a nice quiet way, too. Parasols +have bothered me. I would forget to open them in the street, and would +invariably leave them in the stores when shopping, and then have to go +about looking them up. But this is the first summer I have been East in +nine years, and it is not surprising that parasols and things mix me up +at times. + +Faye has a beautiful saddle horse--his gait a natural single foot--and +I sometimes ride him, but most of my outings are on the electric cars. I +might as well be on them, since I have to hear their buzz and clang both +day and night from our rooms here in the hotel. The other morning, as +I was returning from a ride across the river to Council Bluffs, I heard +the shrill notes of a calliope that reminded me that Forepaugh's +circus was to be in town that day, and that I had promised to go to the +afternoon performance with a party of friends. But soon there were other +sounds and other thoughts. Above the noise of the car I heard a brass +band--and there could be no mistake--it was playing strong and full one +of Sousa's marches, "The March Past of the Rifle Regiment"--a march +that was written for Faye while he was adjutant of the regiment, and +"Dedicated to the officers and enlisted men" of the regiment. For almost +three years that one particular march had been the review march of the +regiment--that is, it had been played always whenever the regiment +had passed in review before the colonel, inspector general of the +department, or any official of sufficient rank and authority to review +the troops. + +The car seemed to go miles before it came to a place where I could get +off. Every second was most precious and I jumped down while it was still +in motion, receiving a scathing rebuke from the conductor for doing so. +I almost ran until I got to the walk nearest the band, where I tagged +along with boys, both big and small. The march was played for some time, +and no one could possibly imagine, how those familiar strains thrilled +me. But there was an ever-increasing feeling of indignation that a +tawdry coated circus band, sitting in a gilded wagon, should presume to +play that march, which seemed to belong exclusively to the regiment, and +to be associated only with scenes of ceremony and great dignity. + +The circus men played the piece remarkably well, however, and when it +was stopped I came back to the hotel to think matters over and have a +heart-to-heart talk with myself. Of course I am more than proud that +Faye is an aide-de-camp, and would not have things different from what +they are, but the detail is for four years, and the thought of living in +this unattractive place that length of time is crushing. But Faye will +undoubtedly have his captaincy by the expiration of the four years, and +the anticipation of that is comforting. It is the feeling of loneliness +I mind here--of being lost and no one to search for me. I miss the +cheery garrison life--the delightful rides, and it may sound funny, but +I miss also the little church choir that finally became a joy to me. +Sergeant Graves is now leader of the regimental band at Fort Snelling, +and Matijicek is in New York, a member of the Damrosch orchestra. It is +still something to wonder over that I should have been on a street car +that carried me to a circus parade at the precise time the Review March +was being played! It seems quite as marvelous as my having been seated +at a supper table in a far-away ranch in Montana, the very night a +number of horse breakers were there, also at the table, and one of them +"put up" Rollo and me to his friends. I shall never forget how queer +I felt when I heard myself discussed by perfect strangers in my very +presence--not one of whom knew in the least who I was. It made me think +that perhaps I was shadowy--invisible--although to myself I did not feel +at all that way. + +Faye wrote to Mr. Ames about Rollo, thinking that possibly he might buy +him back, but Mr. Ames wrote in reply that Rollo had already been sold, +because Mrs. Ames had found it impossible to manage him. Also that he +was owned by the post trader at Fort Maginnis, who was making a pet of +him. So, as the horse had a good home and gentle treatment, it was once +more decided to leave him up in his native mountains. It might have +been cruel to have brought him here to suffer from the heat, and to be +frightened and ever fretted by the many strange sights and sounds. But I +am not satisfied, for the horse had an awful fear of men when ridden or +driven by them, and I know that he is so unhappy and wonders why I no +longer come to him, and why I do not take him from the strange people +who do not understand him. He was a wonderfully playful animal, and +sometimes when Miller would be leading the two horses from our yard to +the corral, he would turn Rollo loose for a run. That always brought +out a number of soldiers to see him rear, lunge, and snort; his turns +so quick, his beautiful tawny mane would be tossed from side to side +and over his face until he looked like a wild horse. The more the men +laughed the wilder he seemed to get. He never forgot Miller, however, +but would be at the corral by the time he got there, and would go to his +own stall quietly and without guidance. Poor Rollo! + +CAMP NEAR UINTAH MOUNTAINS, WYOMING TERRITORY, August, 1888. + +TO be back in the mountains and in camp is simply glorious! And to see +soldiers walking around, wearing the dear old uniform, just as we used +to see them, makes one feel as though old days had returned. The two +colored men--chef and butler--rather destroy the technique of a military +camp, but they seem to be necessary adjuncts; and besides, we are not +striving for harmony and effect, but for a fine outing, each day to be +complete with its own pleasures. It was a novel experience to come to +the mountains in a private car! The camp is very complete, as the camp +of a department commander should be, and we have everything for our +comfort. We are fourteen miles from the Union Pacific Railroad and six +from Fort Bridger, from which post our tents and supplies came. Our ice +is sent from there, also, and of course the enlisted men are from that +garrison. + +The party consists of General and Mrs. Bourke, Mrs. Hall, Mrs. Bourke's +sister, Mrs. Ord of Omaha, General Stanley, paymaster, Captain Rives, +judge advocate--both of the department staff--Lieutenant Travis, junior +aide-de-camp, Faye, and myself. Mrs. Ord is a pretty woman, always wears +dainty gowns, and is a favorite with Omaha society people. I know her +very well, still I hesitated about wearing my short-skirted outing suit, +fearing it would shock her. But a day or two after we got here she said +to me, "What are we to do about those fish, Mrs. Rae? I always catch the +most fish wherever I go, but I hear that you are successful also!" + +So with high spirits we started out by ourselves that very morning, +everyone laughing and betting on our number of fish as we left camp. I +wore the short skirt, but Mrs. Ord had her skirts pinned so high I +felt that a tuck or two should be taken in mine, to save her from +embarrassment. The fishing is excellent here and each one had every +confidence in her own good luck, for the morning was perfect for trout +fishing. Once I missed Mrs. Ord, and pushing some bushes back where +I thought she might be, I saw a most comical sight. Lying flat on the +ground, hat pushed back, and eyes peering over the bank of the stream, +was Mrs. Ord, the society woman! I could not help laughing--she was so +ridiculous in that position, which the pinned-up dress made even more +funny--but she did not like it, and looking at me most reproachfully +said, "You have frightened him away, and I almost had him." She had been +in that position a long time, she said, waiting for a large trout to +take her hook. The race for honors was about even that day, and there +was no cause for envy on either side, for neither Mrs. Ord nor I caught +one fish! + +Our camp is near Smith's fork of Snake River, and not far from the camp +is another fork that never has fish in it--so everyone tells us. That +seemed so strange, for both streams have the same water from the stream +above, and the same rocky beds. One day I thought I would try the +stream, as Smith's fork was so muddy we could not fish in that. There +had been a storm up in the mountains that had caused both streams +to rise, so I caught some grasshoppers to bait with, as it would be +useless, of course, to try flies. I walked along the banks of the +swollen stream until I saw a place where I thought there should be a +trout, and to that little place the grasshopper was cast, when snap! +went my leader. I put on another hook and another grasshopper, but +the result was precisely the same, so I concluded there must be a snag +there, although I had supposed that I knew a fish from a snag! I tried +one or two other places, but there was no variation--and each time I +lost a leader and hook. + +In the meantime a party had come over from camp, Faye among them, and +there had been much good advice given me--and each one had told me that +there were no fish ever in that stream; then they went on up and sat +down on the bank under some trees. I was very cross, for it was not +pleasant to be laughed at, particularly by women who had probably never +had a rod in their hands. And I felt positive that it had been fish that +had carried off my hooks, and I was determined to ascertain what was the +matter. So I went back to our tent and got a very long leader, which I +doubled a number of times. I knew that the thickness would not frighten +the fish, as the water was so cloudy. I fixed a strong hook to that, +upon which was a fine grasshopper, and going to one of the places where +my friends said I had been "snagged," I cast it over, and away it all +went, which proved that I had caught something that could at least act +like a fish. I reeled it in, and in time landed the thing--a splendid +large trout! My very first thought was of those disagreeable people who +had laughed at me--Faye first of all. So after them I went, carrying the +fish, which gained in weight with every step. Their surprise was great, +and I could see that Faye was delighted. He carried the trout to camp +for me, and I went with him, for I was very tired. + +The next morning I went to that stream again, taking with me a book of +all sorts of flies and some grasshoppers. The department commander went +over also. He asked me to show him where I had lost the hooks, but I +said, "If you fish in those places you will be laughed at more than I +was yesterday." He understood, and went farther down. The water was much +more clear, but still flies could not be seen, so I used the scorned +grasshopper. In about two hours I caught sixteen beautiful trout, which +weighed, en masse, a little over twenty-five pounds! I cast in the very +places where I had lost hooks, and almost every time caught a fish. I +left them in the shade in various places along the stream, and Faye and +a soldier brought them to camp. A fine display they made, spread out on +the grass, for they seemed precisely the same size. + +The general caught two large and several small trout--those were all +that day. It was most remarkable that I should have found the only good +places in the stream at a time when the water was not clear. Not only +the right places, but the one right day, for not one trout has been +caught there since. Perhaps with the high water the fish came up from +Snake River, although trout are supposed to live in clear water. We can +dispose of any number of birds and fish here, for those that are not +needed for our own large mess can be given to the soldiers, and we often +send chicken and trout to our friends at Fort Bridger. The farther one +goes up the stream the better the fishing is--that is, the fish are more +plentiful, but not as large as they are here. + +About sixteen miles up--almost in the mountains--was General Crook's +favorite fishing ground, and when he was in command of the department +he and General Stanley, who also is an expert fisherman, came here many +times, consequently General Stanley is familiar with the country about +here. The evening after my splendid catch, General Stanley said that +he would like to have Mrs. Ord and me go with him up the stream several +miles, and asked if I would be willing to give Mrs. Ord the stream, as +she had never used a fly, adding that she seemed a little piqued because +I had caught such fine fish. I said at once that I would be delighted to +give her the lead, although I knew, of course, that whoever goes second +in a trout stream has very poor sport. But the request was a compliment, +and besides, I had caught enough fish for a while. + +The next day we made preparations, and early on the morning of the +second we started. The department commander had gone to Omaha on +official business, so he was not with us, and Faye did not go; but the +rest of the party went twelve miles and then established a little camp +for the day, and there we left them. Mrs. Ord and I and General Stanley, +with a driver, got on a buckboard drawn by two mules, and went five +miles farther up the stream, until, in fact, it was impossible for even +a buckboard to go along the rocky trail. There we were expected to take +the stream, and as soon as we left the wagon, Mrs. Ord and I retired +to some bushes to prepare for the water. I had taken the "tuck" in my +outing skirt, so there was not much for me to do; but Mrs. Ord pulled up +and pinned up her serge skirt in a way that would have brought a small +fortune to a cartoonist. When we came from the bushes, rods in hand, the +soldier driver gave one bewildered stare, and then almost fell from +his seat. He was too respectful to laugh outright and thus relieve his +spasms, but he would look at us from the side of his eye, turn his face +from us and fairly double over--then another quick look, and another +double down again. Mrs. Ord laughed, and so did I. She is quite stout +and I am very thin, and I suppose the soldier did see funny things about +us. We saw them ourselves. + +I shall never forget my first step in that water! It was as chilling as +if it had been running over miles of ice, and by comparison the August +sun seemed fiery; but these things were soon forgotten, for at once the +excitement of casting a fly began. It is almost as much pleasure to put +a little fly just where you want it, as it is to catch the fish. My rod +and reel were in perfect condition--Faye had seen to that--and my book +of flies was complete, and with charming companions and a stream full +of trout, a day of unusual pleasure was assured. We were obliged to wade +every step, as the banks of the stream had walls of boulders and thick +bushes. Most of the stream was not very deep, but was a foamy, roaring +torrent, rushing over the small rocks and around the large ones, with +little, still, dark places along the banks--ideal homes for the mountain +trout. We found a few deep pools that looked most harmless, but the +current in them was swift and dangerous to those who could not always +keep their balance. It was most difficult for me to walk on the slippery +stones at first, and I had many a fall; but Mrs. Ord, being heavy, +avoided upsets very nicely. At times we would be in water above our +waists, and then Mrs. Ord and I would fall back with General Stanley for +protection, who alternately praised and laughed at us during the whole +day. Mrs. Ord was very quick to learn where and how to cast a fly, and +I was delighted to let General Stanley see that grasshoppers were not at +all necessary to my success in fishing. + +We sat upon a big, flat rock at luncheon, and were thankful that General +Stanley was a tall man and could keep the box of sandwiches from getting +wet. When we toppled over he always came to our assistance, so at times +his wading boots were not of much use to him. Mrs. Ord was far ahead of +me in number of fish, and General Stanley said that I had better keep +up with her, if I wished. The stream had broadened out some, so finally +Mrs. Ord whipped the left side, which is easier casting, and I whipped +the right. We waded down the entire five miles, and Mrs. Ord, who +had the stream most of the time, caught sixty-four trout and I caught +fifty-six, and General Stanley picked up fourteen, after our splashing +and frightening away the fish we did not catch. The trout were small, +but wonderfully full of fight in that cold water. Of course General +Stanley carried them for us. The driver had been ordered to keep within +call on the trail, as General Stanley thought it would be impossible for +Mrs. Ord and me to wade the five miles; but the distance seemed short to +us; we never once thought of being tired, and it was with great regret +we reeled in our lines. + +There was a beaver dam above the picnic camp, and before we came to it I +happened to get near the bank, where I saw in the mud the impression of +a huge paw. It was larger than a tea plate, and was so fresh one could +easily see where the nails had been. I asked General Stanley to look at +it, but he said, "That? oh, that is only the paw of a cub--he has been +down after fish." At once I discovered that the middle of the stream was +most attractive, and there I went, and carefully remained there the rest +of the way down. If the paw of a mere "cub" could be that enormous size, +what might not be the size of an ordinary grown-up bear, paws included! +Mrs. Ord declared that she rather liked little bears--they were so +cunning and playful--but I noticed she avoided the banks, also. + +We had left dry clothing at the small camp, and when we returned we +found nice little retreats all ready for us, made of cloaks and things, +in among the boulders and bushes. There were cups of delicious hot tea, +too; but we were not cold, and the most astonishing thing about that +whole grand day is, we did not feel stiff or the slightest discomfort +in any form after it. The tramp was long and the water cold, and my own +baths many. I might have saved myself, sometimes, from going all the way +down had I not been afraid of breaking my rod, which I always held high +when I fell. The day was one to be remembered by Mrs. Ord and me. We had +thought all the time that General Stanley was making a great sacrifice +by giving up a day's sport for our amusement, and that it was so kind of +him, for, of course he could not be enjoying the day; but it seems that +he had sport of which we knew nothing until the following day--in fact, +we know nothing about it yet! But he began to tell the most absurd +stories of what we did, and we must have done many unusual things, for +he is still entertaining the camp with them. He was very proud of us, +nevertheless, and says so often. The ride of twelve miles back to camp +seemed endless, for as soon as the excitement of the stream was over we +found that we were tired--awfully tired. + +We have only a few weeks more of this delightful life. The hunting is +excellent, too, and Faye and Captain Rives often bring in large bags of +mountain grouse and young sage hens. The sage chicken are as tender and +delicious as partridge before they begin to feed upon wild sage in the +fall, but one short day in the brush makes them different birds and +wholly unpalatable. We often send birds, and fish also, to friends at +Fort Bridger, who were most hospitable the day we arrived, and before +coming to camp. + +I had quite forgotten the wedding yesterday! It was at Fort Bridger, and +the bride, a daughter of the post trader, is related to several families +of social position at Omaha. We put on the very prettiest gowns we had +with us, but the effect was disappointing, for our red faces looked +redder than ever above delicate laces and silks. The ceremony was +at noon--was very pretty--and everything passed off beautifully. The +breakfast was delicious, and we wondered at the dainty dishes served so +far from a caterer. The house was not large, and every bit of air had +been shut out by darkening the windows, but we were spared the heat and +smell of lamps on the hot day by the rooms being lighted by hundreds +of candles, each one with a pretty white shade. But some of us felt +smothered, and as soon as the affair was over, started immediately for +the camp, where we could have exhilarating mountain air once more. + +It was really one whole day stolen from our outing! We can always have +crowded rooms, receptions, and breakfasts, wherever we happen to be in +the East, but when again will we be in a glorious camp like this--and +our days here are to be so few! From here we are to go to Salt Lake City +for a week or two. + +THE WALKER HOUSE, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. September, 1888. + +THE weather is still very warm, but not hot enough to keep us from going +to the lake as usual this morning. The ride is about eighteen miles +long, and is always more or less pleasant. The cars, often long trains, +are narrow gauge, open, and airy. The bathing is delightful, but wholly +unlike anything to be found elsewhere. The wonderfully clear water is +cool and exhilarating, but to swim in it is impossible, it is so heavy +from its large percentage of salt. So every one floats, but not at all +as one floats in other waters. We lie upon our backs, of course--at +least we think we do--but our feet are always out of the water, and our +heads straight up, with large straw hats upon them. + +They have a way of forming human chains on the water that often startles +one at first. They are made by hooking one's arms close to the shoulder +over the ankles of another person, still another body hooking on to you, +and so on. Then each one will stretch his or her arms out and paddle +backward, and in this way we can go about without much effort, and can +see all the funny things going on around us. As I am rather tall, +second position in a chain is almost always given to me, and my first +acquaintance with masculine toes close to my face came very near being +disastrous. The feet stood straight up, and the toes looked so very +funny, with now and then a twitch back or front, that soon I wanted +to laugh, and the more I tried not to the more hysterical I became. My +shoulders were shaking, and the owner of the toes--a pompous man--began +to suspect that I was laughing and probably at the toes. Still he +continued to twist them around--one under the other--in an astonishing +way, that made them fascinating. The head of the chain--the pompous +man--became ominously silent. At last I said, almost sobbing, "Can't +you see for yourself how funny all those things are in front of us? They +look like wings in their pin-feather stage--only they are on the wrong +side--and I am wondering if the black stockings would make real black +wings--and what some of us would do with them, after all!" After that +there was less pompous dignity and less hysteria, although the toes +continued to wigwag. + +It is a sight that repays one to watch, when dozens of these +chains--some long, some short--are paddling about on the blue water that +is often without a ripple. It is impossible to drown, for sink in it you +cannot, but to get the brine in one's nose and throat is dangerous, as +it easily causes strangulation, particularly if the person is at all +nervous. We wear little bits of cotton in our ears to prevent the +water from getting in, for the crust of salt it would leave might cause +intense pain. + +Bathing in water so salt makes one both hungry and sleepy, therefore it +is considered quite the correct thing to eat hot popcorn, and snooze +on the return trip. We get the popcorn at the pavilion, put up in +attractive little bags, and it is always crisp and delicious. Just +imagine a long open car full of people, each man, woman, and child +greedily munching the tender corn! By the time one bag full has been +eaten, heads begin to wobble, and soon there is a "Land of Nod"--real +nod, too. Some days, when the air is particularly soft and balmy, +everyone in the car will be oblivious of his whereabouts. Not one stop +is made from the lake to the city. + +Faye and I were at the lake almost a week--Garfield Beach the bathing +place is called---so I could make a few water-color drawings early in +the morning, when the tints on the water are so pearly and exquisitely +delicate. During the day the lake is usually a wonderful blue--deep +and brilliant--and the colors at sunset are past description. The sun +disappears back of the Oquirah Mountains in a world of glorious yellow +and orange, and as twilight comes on, the mountains take on violet and +purple shades that become deeper and deeper, until night covers all from +sight. + +There was not a vacant room at Garfield Beach, so they gave us two large +rooms at Black Rock--almost one mile away, but on the car line. The +rooms were in a low, long building, that might easily be mistaken for +soldiers' barracks, and which had broad verandas with low roofs all +along both sides. That queer building had been built by Brigham Young +for his seven wives! It consisted of seven apartments of two rooms each, +a sitting room and sleeping room; all the sitting rooms were on one +side, opening out upon the one veranda, and the bedrooms were on the +other side and opened out upon the other veranda. These apartments did +not connect in any way, except by the two porches. Not far from that +building was another that had once been the dining room and kitchen +of the seven wives. These mormon women must be simply idiotic, or have +their tempers under good control! + +It was all most interesting and a remarkable experience to have lived +in one of Brigham Young's very own houses. But the place was +ghostly--lonesome beyond everything--and when the wind moaned and sighed +through the rooms one could fancy it was the wailing of the spirits +of those seven wretched wives. When we returned at night to the dark, +unoccupied building, it seemed more spooky than ever, after the +music and light at Garfield Beach. Our meals were served to us at the +restaurant at the pavilion. I made some very good sketches of the lake, +Antelope Island, and a number of the wonderful Black Rock that is out in +the lake opposite the Brigham Young house. + +About two miles from the city, and upon the side of the Wasatch +Mountains, is Camp Douglas, an army post, which the new department +commander came to inspect. The inspection was in the morning, and we +all went to see it, and were driven in the post with the booming of +cannon--the salute always given a brigadier general when he enters a +post officially. It was pretty to see the general's wife partly cover +her ears, and pretend that she did not like the noise, when all the time +her eyes were sparkling, and we knew that every roar of the big guns +added to her pride. If all those guns had been for Faye I could never +have stayed in the ambulance. + +It is charming up there--in the post--and the view is magnificent. We +sat out on a vine-covered porch during the inspection, and watched the +troops and the review. It made me so happy, and yet so homesick, too, to +see Faye once more in his uniform. The inspection was all too short, and +after it was over, many officers and their wives came to call upon us, +when wine and delicious cake was served. We were at the quarters of the +colonel and post commander. That was the second post we had taken Mrs. +Ord to, and she is suddenly enthusiastic over army people, forgetting +that Omaha has a post of its own. But with us she has been in the tail +of the comet--which made things more interesting. Army people are nice, +though, particularly in their own little garrison homes. + +There is only one mormon store here, and that is very large and +cooperative. Every mormon who has anything whatever to sell is compelled +to take it to that store to be appraised, and a percentage taken from +it. There are a few nice gentile shops, but mormons cannot enter them; +they can purchase only at the mormon store, where the gentiles are ever +cordially welcomed also. Splendid fruit and vegetables are grown in this +valley--especially the fruit, which is superior to any we ever saw. The +grapes are of many varieties, each one large and rich with flavor, and +the peaches and big yellow pears are most luscious. Upon our table down +in the dining room there is always an immense glass bowl of selected +fruit--peaches, pears, and grapes, and each time we go down it seems to +look more attractive. + +We have been to see the tabernacle, with its marvelous acoustic +properties, and the temple, which is not yet finished. The immense pipe +organ in the tabernacle was built where it now stands, and entirely by +mormons. From Brigham Young's old home a grand boulevard runs, through +the city, across the valley, and over the hill far away, and how much +beyond I do not know. This road, so broad and white, Brigham Young said +would lead to Jerusalem. They have a river Jordan here, too, a little +stream that runs just outside the city. + +There are grand trees in every street, and every old yard, and one +cannot help feeling great indignation to see where in some places the +incoming gentiles have cut trees down to make space for modern showy +buildings, that are so wholly out of harmony with the low, artistic +white houses and vine-covered walls. It is such a pity that these high, +red buildings could not have been kept outside, and the old mormon city +left in its original quaint beauty. + +We will return to Omaha soon now, and I shall at once become busy with +preparations for the winter East. I have decided to go home in October, +so I can have a long, comfortable visit before going to Washington. +Faye wishes me to join him there the last of December. I am not very +enthusiastic over the prospect of crowded rooms, daily receptions and +"teas," and other affairs of more formality. But since I cannot return +to the plains, I might as well go to the city, where we will meet people +of culture, see the fascinating Diplomatic Corps, and be presented +to the President's beautiful young wife. Later on there will be the +inauguration--for we expect to pass the winter in Washington. + +THE END + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Army Letters from an Officer's Wife, +1871-1888, by Frances M.A. Roe + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LETTERS FROM AN OFFICER'S WIFE *** + +***** This file should be named 6823.txt or 6823.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/6/8/2/6823/ + +Produced by Dianne Bean + +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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